Drugstore Face Mask.... is it better to splurge?

First of all, I want to apologize for being absent for the past few weeks. Between Christmas and New Years I got hit with a cold that morphed itself into a flu virus of epic proportions. I am just starting to feel like myself again, so I knew it was time to get back at it. Time to play guinea pig!

One of my goals with this blog is to try things out and give my unfiltered thoughts so that you guys (my friends) don't waste your money on things. It's so hard to to know the honest reviews of people on the internet, because there are so many sponsorships (both announced and hidden) that can alter how someone presents something. I will not do that. I'm hoping that you guys can look to me to find out the truth on how a product performs for me. As always, if you guys have any questions about products, please feel free to ask me via Instagram, Twitter or even as a comment here! I would love to help in any way that I can. This is my passion!

Now, onto the review.

Last night I tried out the L'Oreal Pure-Clay Mask, Exfoliating & Pore Refining. This is the one with the orange coloured clay. If you didn't know, I have the largest pores I have ever seen. I'm not saying this to be overly critical of myself, I'm saying this as it is an absolute fact. Anything that says "pore refining" or "pore minimizing" always gets my attention. They also have a green mask that is "Purifying & Mattifying" and also a black one that is "Energizing & Brightening". Everywhere I looked people were talking about how much they enjoyed the "Energizing & Brightening" mask and how it was a dupe for the GlamGlow masks. If that is something that you think would benefit your skin and you pick it up to try, let me know what your thoughts are on it! I moreso needed the pore shrinking variety which is why I swayed the way I did. Plus, I hadn't heard anything on it.... good or bad.

First, let's look into the claims that this product has. It is said to:

          ~ Unclog and tighten pores
          ~ Exfoliate dead skin cells and smooth skins texture
          ~ Draw out build-up of impurities, dirt and pollution
          ~ Refresh skin and allow it to breathe

Not only that, but it claims visible results IMMEDIATELY. These claims include:

          ~ Skin texture looks refined and smoother
          ~ Pores are visibly minimized
          ~ Dead skin cells, dirt and oil feel removed from skin

This mask was pretty simple. Apply a thin layer to your face, avoiding the eye and mouth area. Let sit for ten to fifteen minutes. Rinse off using circular motions to help exfoliate skin. Applying it was very easy, it has a really nice texture that isn't difficult to apply to the face. To me, it felt almost whipped with fine particles for exfoliating. It didn't burn or tingle at all, which was great! It was very comfortable.

I let it sit for the full fifteen minutes and began to wash it off. I will say that, because of the soft texture, it wasn't very difficult to wash off. One thing I dislike about most clay masks is that it takes you twenty minutes of scrubbing and harming your skin in order to get everything off. I don't like to use anything too harsh on my face and cause any damage.

Now, the results.... my skin did feel a little bit smoother and cleaner than before the mask, however my pores didn't look any smaller. I was slightly disappointed as my main goal was to minimize the appearance of pores, at least a little bit. My skin does feel like it can breathe a bit better, which was great when it came time to using my night cream. I felt like it really was able to penetrate the skin and get the layers nourished.

Would I use this again? Yes. I will definitely use this face mask until I use it up. It did make a slight difference in my skin and made it much easier for my night cream to apply. I did also notice that my makeup went on nicer today as well, however these results are typical of many other exfoliating face masks I have tried.

Would I repurchase? Most likely not. Again, these results are pretty typical to most other exfoliating face mask I have used. If I were to recommend a drugstore face mask that exfoliates AND shrinks pores, it would be the Black Sugar face mask by Freeman. You can get it at Walmart for around $3 (CDN) and it is amazing. This L'Oreal face mask was $13 (CDN) and that was even on SALE! Unfortunately, this didn't do enough to justify a repurchase. I may look into the "Energizing and Brightening" one as there is a lot of hype around that formula.

If you guys want me to give one of the other two a chance and review it on my blog, let me know! I would love to try any products you guys are curious about. Anything I can do to help save you money, I am down for. Speaking of which.... have you thought of any Pintrest beauty hacks you want me to try? Leave me a comment down below and I would be happy to look into it!

I hope this review has been helpful for you. I'm always up for trying new products or answering any questions that you have. You can reach me on Instagram @cherrytrish or Twitter @cherrytrish17 anytime!

So, until next time, goodnight my friends!

Morphe: An Honest First Impression

I didn't plan on coming on here tonight and writing. I've had a long day. I took the day off work to enjoy, and somehow a "vacation day" turned into a "get-everything-done-possible-day". I guess because Christmas is only nine days away, we're all pretty busy.

For about two and a half years I have been intrigued by Morphe. It's one of those "YouTube Companies" that give every person and their brother an affiliate/discount code. You hear almost every beauty YouTuber talk about how amazing Morphe eyeshadows are and how affordable Morphe is as a company. I had always been curious to know if the products really were that great or if the YouTuber's were just spewing lines of B.S. in order to make their commission. I have debated many, many times on ordering from the Morphe website because there were only sold online and in their retail store, which is in California. But when you take a $25 (USD) eyeshadow palette and convert it to Canadian dollars, plus add in international shipping charges, and then add on the customs fees that are applied to cosmetics.... that $25 eyeshadow palette suddenly jumps to $50+ (CDN). When you're talking those prices, I would much rather go buy a palette at Sephora that I can swatch in store and confirm whether or not it's worth purchasing. Well, my fellow Canadian friends... I have some great news! Showcase (As Seen On TV) carries Morphe! I was able to go to the store, see the palettes close up, and swatch a few shadows to test. Not only do they carry some of the eyeshadow palettes, they also carry Morphe brushes, contour palettes, and gel liner! I'm hoping they get the blush palette back in store at my local store, because I would love to have that in my collection. Not only does Showcase carry Morphe, but they also carry a few ColourPop lippies which is another brand I have been dying to test (but haven't due to the international issue I stated before).

Now, the items are marked up a bit. When I say a bit... I mean huge! I purchased the 35O palette which is listed on Morphe's website for $22.99. Showcase sells the exact same palette for $49.99! I know the exchange rate is crazy right now, but come on! That is more than double the price! I refused to pay that, especially because I only wanted to dip my toes in the Morphe pond, as opposed to jumping right in with that red bill. Today, Morphe items were 25% off (I believe) so I could handle that a little bit better. Especially because when I saw the 35O palette in person, it was one of the most beautiful palettes I had ever seen. The colours and textures were outstanding. The picture online looks very blah. It does it no justice! Without hesitating, I grabbed that palette. I also wanted to try the M330 crease brush because I feel like I had heard every YouTuber talking about these brushes. I also grabbed the M224 brush which is a medium sized flat paddle brush (most likely for concealer). It was only a couple of bucks after the sale discount, so I figured I would try that one too. The markup on the brushes was a little brutal as well. Online the M330 sells for $5.99 (USD) and Showcase was selling it for $19.99. The M224 sells online for $2.99 (USD) whereas I believe Showcase was selling it for $6.99 (CDN). I purchased a few other things at Showcase that you will be seeing First Impressions on soon. I won't tell you what, but I'm pretty excited!

NOTE: A lot of these shadows are pulling more grey/blue tones as my lighting isn't great right now. I will be taking more photos in natural lighting this weekend. The shadows are mostly browns, oranges and reds.

As I mentioned before, I have had a long day. All I wanted to do tonight was curl up on the couch and watch a movie. But, if you know me, you know that I lack patience. I couldn't wait to jump into my Morphe palette. I had been waiting over two years to test this out... I physically could not wait any longer. I started swatching the shadows and I was absolutely impressed with the quality. I couldn't believe how pigmented most of them were. Yes, there are a few shadows in there that don't really get me excited, but four out of thirty-five really isn't bad. At all. I feel the same about some more expensive palettes that I own. My excitement grew and before I knew it I was practicing eye looks in the mirror. I wanted to see how they would perform. Finger swatches on your arm can only show so much and I wanted to know what I could expect when using them. I will insert some picture of two quick looks I did. One is more bold, which is more my speed. The other is a little softer. It shows how versatile this palette really is. Also, I didn't mean to use only drugstore/affordable products in these looks, but conveniently, that is how it worked out. Now, please note I don't have any foundation, concealer, or powder on. You are getting my bare skin. Blotches, giant pores, and all!

Milani Eyeshadow Primer ~ Wet N Wild MegaGlo Contour Palette (highlight shade to set my eyelids) - Dulce de Leche ~ Morphe 35O Palette ~ NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil - Milk ~ Covergirl - The Super Sizer Mascara ~ NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder

Milani Eyeshadow Primer ~ Wet N Wild MegaGlo Contour Palette (highlight shade to set my eyelids) - Dulce de Leche ~ Morphe 35O Palette ~ L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Smouldering Eyeliner - Black ~ Covergirl - The Super Sizer Mascara ~ NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder

Unfortunately, it is 10pm so my lighting isn't the best. It's not picking up the absolute beauty that these shadows are in person. The shimmer shades are incredible. On my softer look, the entire lid is coated in a cream shade that shifts to a soft pink. It was such a surprise when I swatched it because I was not expecting a shade like that. I have never seen a shade similar to that one, and I absolutely loved it. I cannot wait to play with it some more and create some new looks! I wasn't even this excited with my TooFaced Chocolate BonBons Palette I recently received. This palette blows that one out of the water (in my opinion, of course).

So, now that we know how much I enjoyed the palette, lets transition over to the brushes. Honestly, I didn't use the M224 tonight but it feels soft, sturdy, and everything I would look for in a concealer brush. I was thinking about using it when I practice cut creases. It might work well for that. I did, however, try out the coveted M330 crease brush, which everyone raves about. At first touch it is super soft and fluffy. But, once I used it with shadows on my eye, it started to shed immediately. Not just one or two strands, but upwards of ten to twelve! I'm hoping that this was just getting rid of some loose hairs. At this rate, the brush will only last me a week!

One last thing I wanted to mention about the eyeshadows was that they do leave a slight stain on your lid. After washing off my eye makeup tonight, I noticed that orangey/red side had a pink tint to my eyelids. This isn't something that bothers me personally though, so it's not a deal breaker. I have a photo below to show the slight discoloration that it left on my lid.

     not stainedslighty stained

Alright guys, I am off to bed! Again, this was just my first impression using these items and I will keep you updated as I use it more. Opinions could change, but as it stands right now I am thoroughly impressed. Good job, Morphe!

Let me know if you have any Morphe items that you love or even any that you don't! I love hearing about different products working for different people. 

Again, you can always find me on Twitter @cherrytrish17 or on Instagram @cherrytrish.

Until next time, goodnight my friends!