Product Review: Charlotte’s Magic Night Cream

Details: The Charlotte’s Magic Night Cream is the mate to her daytime Magic Cream [You can view my review of the Charlotte’s Magic Cream here]. This nighttime elixir is to stop the aging process at night with firming and plumping with its time release retinol. It is sad Charlotte spent 5 years creating this product. For a drastic $145 for a 1.7oz (50ml); this is the luxury of Charlottes skincare.

My review: Like always, I’m 100% transparent and honest on these reviews. And as of right now this is on my worst list. I really (and I mean really) wanted to like this product but there was too many negatives for me to.
First the smell; it has like a honeysuckle scent which is nice until you get the undertones that to me smells terrible. I can’t even explain what the undertone is… chemical scent? Old lady perfume scent? Its just awful.
Second the texture; when it comes to lotions in a jar I assume you would be able to dip your finger and product comes up. But this stuff is like vaseline jelly. I have to scoop it with a small spoon cause its so jelly thick. 

Third the sticky feeling & extreme oil shine; this product once applied to the skin has a bit of a tacky feel which I cant stand. It sticks to my pillow and makes my sheets feel oily afterwards. And to top it off, your skin is super oily shiny. My husband laughed and took a picture to show how wet my face looked and it was embarrassing. NOW, if you have extremely dry skin and struggle with getting moisture: this product would work great! But if you have normal skin, oily skin, acne prone skin AVOID this. 
I plan to retry this skincare when I visit my family in NC early December. Maybe with the cold/dry air of NC it’ll be a useful product for me. 

Pros: If you have extremely dry skin, this will work. Nice Packaging.
Cons: Cost too much, undertone scent is off, tacky/sticky feeling is a turn off, and oily appearance on skin + product transfer to bedsheets.
My Rating: 1 Star. I’m honestly not a fan at all. But I know if someone struggles with dry skin especially in the winter time this would be like lotion gold. 

Shop the Product:
Sephora: Click here to shop CT Magic Night Cream at Sephora.com
Charlotte’s Official Website: Click here to shop the CT Magic Night Cream at Charlotte’s official website
Nordstrom: Click here to shop the CT Magic Night Cream at Nordstrom.com

Product Review: Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream

I’m reviewing a product that not a lot of beauty bloggers are speaking about because it’s a costly item but also the beauty line isn’t sold everywhere; until now. You can now purchase Charlotte Tilbury’s makeup + skincare line at Sephora’s website. With this new launch at Sephora I wanted to go in depth on if this ‘magic cream’ is really worth the hype (1.7 oz is priced at $100.00!)

The details: A high powered moisturizing cream with patented anti-agin, hydrating and youth boosting ingredients. Helps support and rebuild collagen production and cell energy while fighting off wrinkles. This product carries SPF 15 and is told to rehydrate dull, stressed and tired skin.

Star ratings: 5 stars 259, 1 star 6. 91% recommend rate with over 420 reviews. The low star reviews state some skin breakouts and the cost. 

My review: I was a bit flip floppy on if I should REALLY purchase this. I’m in my late 20’s and with the 3-0 just around the corner I really want to start reversing any signs of aging. I watched a Jeffree Star youtube video where I was hooked on Charlotte and made the final jump to purchase. The cream is quite thick which I like. I was able to massage and work the product into my skin well and seriously a little bit goes a LONG way. After 1 month of using this product I really do love it. My skin feels amazingly smooth and the collagen production I feel has helped because my skin has more elasticity and feels pump. The cost is extreme and I hate the size options ($29 for 14.7ml or $100 for 50ml). If you’re on a budget but you want a designer moisturizer I highly recommend Shiseido Essential Energy Moisturizing Cream [Read my Shiseido post here]. I have used an entire jar of Shiseido moisturizer and I’m in love with it and have seen identical results.  

Pros: Smells nice. Product is smooth to the touch. Quick drying. Shows instant results!
Cons: Cost. Product size.
My Rating: 5 Star. I must give it a 5 star cause it really works well and I enjoy the product. THOUGH, the price is high I suggest Shiseido Essential Energy OR testing a few products from Sephora/Ulta.

Shop the Product: 

Sephora: Click here to view the CT Magic Cream on Sephora.com

Charlotte Tilbury’s website: Click here to view the CT Magic Cream on Charlotte’s Official Website
Nordstrom: Click here to view the CT Magic Cream on Nordstrom.com

Product Review: Charlotte Tilbury Wonder Glow Primer

With Christmas coming soon and I want to start tackling “stocking stuffer” ideas and products worthy (or not worthy) of being on your Christmas Wishlist. 

When I think about ‘Charlotte Tilbury Makeup + Skincare', the factors I think is: 

- Costly. 

- Makeup Celebrities wear. 

- Jeffree Star youtube videos.

- Charlotte who?  

All is true. Her beauty line is recommended high-end. She’s known to do countless Celebrity Red Carpet looks and should thank A-list stars for making her so exclusive (her entire makeup collection is themed Old Hollywood Red Carpet). Jeffree Star reviews her beauty products on his YouTube channel often. And well, she’s a bit unknown to most cause she’s not sold everywhere. 

Honestly, there’s few stores that sell her products which gives that ‘exclusive’ vibe. When I talk about Charlotte Tilbury either I get the “OH to DIE for” or the “Wait? Where is that sold at?” question. 

I’m becoming a big fan of the brand and felt the Wonder Glow was intriguing enough to make it into my shopping cart on night; below is my review.

Details: 

Wonderglow is a skin primer with anti-aging properties and once applied gives off a soft focus glow. You can wear this under foundation, alone, or a quick pick me up highlight. Like many of Charlottes products the Wonderglow has the collagen supported properties and anti-wrinkle ingredients to help reverse skin damage and bring life to dull, tired and stressed skin. This primer is told to give a dewy look while making skin look flawless and poreless. 

Sephora Star Ratings: 22 reviews. 5 stars = 12. 1 star = 2. The low reviews complain about the shimmer properties in the primer.
Price: $44.00

My Review: I’ll admit, at first I didn’t like it and was a bit nervous about it. The product itself is a tan like color and had some shimmer-like look to it which really bothered me. Once I fully applied this onto my skin I noticed it blends REALLY well and the shimmer isn’t overpowering; its very subtle and gives that ‘glow blur’ look. You can use this many ways. As a primer before foundation, as a quick touch up highlight, or alone all over. I purchased this to try around my wedding time and loved it. And I’m still using because I love it so much! A little goes a LONG way. For about a month now I’ve been using this almost daily and the bottle still looks full. 

Pros: Does exactly what the product is supposed to do. Good texture, smooth application, little goes a long way.
Cons:  Retails for $44.00 and bit costly for a primer. Hard to find in-store and have to online order. 

Pomp and Palm star rating: 5 Stars! I really do love this product. I think its a great tool for your beauty bag and its so versatile you can wear it so many different ways. 

Makeup Products I Wore On My Wedding Day

Today’s post is a fun one. I talk about how Blair (Bryce’s sister who's a Hair + Makeup Artist) achieved my beautiful Wedding look. Surprisingly, the entire makeup routine only took about 25-30 minutes. While my hair on the other hand, took a few hours. 

I’ll start with Hair:

We washed my hair with a shampoo that had some texturizing product ingredients to help give some hold to my hair for all the curling and braids we plan to do. We used a hair sponge in color blonde to achieve the bun, about 30 bobby pins, and 3 small rubber band hair ties. We curled the hair all around as well and used Joico JoiShape Shaping and Finishing Spray to lock in the look. This look was a free style that Blair came up with and will gladly allow anyone to copy if they wish! 

For Makeup:

Like always, start with a good base. We used my Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer. For foundation we used a combination of my MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Foundation (Color Y315) and some of Blair’s personal collection. We highlighted my cheek bones with Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow primer and used a setting spray from MAKE UP FOR EVER . 

For brows we did the classic Anastasia Brow Powder Duo (in soft brown). Eye shadows was a combination of nudes and lilac color shadows from the Naked2 Palette (Tease and Verve) and Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Vol 2 (Seashell and Wave). Eyeliner was Too Faced Marker Liquid Eyeliner and mascara was Smashbox Super Fan Mascara. For lips we used Smashbox O-Gloss.

We only had to touch up once during the entire event which was around 6:30 pm when we wanted to do sunset pictures. We just blotted some face powder to remove some of the shine. 

The Wedding Series is officially coming to a close! I’ll make a post about the new direction my blog will take and plan to make a “Married Life” post in a few months. If you have anymore wedding questions please ask in the comments below, via email, facebook, or my instagram! 

Skin + Hair Routine Used For My Wedding

Today I’m talking about the skin + hair routine I did to prepare for my wedding. These products I selected in the hopes to achieve flawless skin, strong hair, white teeth and overall a healthy appearance. Most of the items I used 2 weeks - 3 month before my wedding. I’ll go into details of each and how far in advance I used the product before my wedding!

First things first, teeth whiting. 

I know photographers can photoshop whiter smiles but I wanted to already have pearly whites! I used the Crest Vivid White Strips. I started these about 1 month prior to my wedding and spaced them out (to prevent sensitivity; which I highly recommend if you have sensitive teeth). You can scoop these up at many stores but I personally purchased these from Amazon! 

Hands, Nails, and Toes. 

I did a lot on this subject. I used packets of skincare masks + conditioners to help make my skin silky soft and a good conditioned base for my nails about 1-2 weeks before my wedding. These can be purchased anywhere from Ulta to even the World Market! The price range bounced from only $2-$10. 
 I used Pedi Perfect a lot to help with the dry skin on my feet and to create a good base for when I get a pedicure. I purchased my Pedi Perfect at TjMaxx for under $10. I enjoyed using this product and plan to continue use.

The day before my wedding I went to get a Manicure + Pedicure. Both were Gel Polish and must say, I love the gel on my toe nails. Sadly, I removed my finger nails the day after my wedding because the nail technician did a terrible job. My BIGGEST tip for anyone is to go to a place you trust and even request the best technician. I regret dropping $55 on gel nails that I had to remove the following morning cause my cuticles were bleeding. 

Skincare.

I did A LOT on skincare. Every night for about 2.5-3 months before my wedding I used a good quality face wash and I rotated around on different skin moisturizers (I did this because my skin changes depending on stress and I noticed at times I need a richer moisturizer). 

I will note the best moisturizer I used was Shiseido Essential Energy Moisturizing Cream and the week of my wedding I solely used Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream + Charlotte’s Magic Night Cream. 

Haircare.
On my hair I was very careful with what shampoo and conditioner I used and how much. I followed the EXACT instructions on the bottle. About 2 weeks before the wedding Blair (Bryce's sister who’s a hair + makeup artist) did 4 hours worth of hair color. And 2 days before my wedding she also did a root touch up and toner. I decided to invest in some higher quality hair products and noticed a drastic difference in the texture and strength of my hair. I bounced around from using R+Co Gemstone shampoo  and Condtioner, Pureology Hydrate Shampoo and Conditioner, and Kristin Ess Extra Gentle Shampoo and Conditioner. 

My next post will be about what makeup products I used to achieve my wedding day look! Plus some detailed photos of my makeup look and hair style!