Review - Estee Lauder Face Set

*This was a gift from a friend, but reviews are 100% honest and are in no way affected by the whole 'free' thing.

 This little Estee Lauder set is amazing.  I'm going to call it the 'Soft Clean' set since that's what most of the packaging seems to say.

The creme cleanser is super gentle and leaves your face feeling crazy soft.  It has a light perfume-y smell, but nothing that is offensive of strong.  It didn't break out even my sensitive skin.

This is the Soft Clean Silky Hydrating Lotion.  I've used up all of the products except for this one.  That isn't because it isn't good...In fact, it is the complete opposite.  I've hoarded it because it is SO GOOD for dry skin from allergies.  I tend to get dry skin around my nose from rubbing it a lot when my allergies go haywire and this is perfect to just dab around with a cotton ball so you're not having to do extra rubbing to just irritate things more.  Love.  It *is* technically a toner, but I usually just use Witch Hazel to tone and save this for the aforementioned skin problem.

This is the Advanced Night Repair, which I don't think is technically part of the set, but we're gonna throw it in there because...because.  I can.  That's why.

This stuff is good, but I found the smell to be off-putting.  While everything else on this review has the nice, soft, perfume-y smell I mentioned with the cleaner, this one smelled like vitamins and dirt.  I guess that could be good for your skin, but I'd find myself trying not to sniff it when I applied it.  Still, since it did make me wake up all moisturizey, that is something I can over look.

The only other con with this one is that I would apply it, let it dry, then apply a coat of the below moisturizer before going to bed...Maybe that isn't how you should use them because it would create a residue on my skin you could 'roll' off if you rubbed the moisturizer in too much...Like when you get glue on your hands.

Please to ignore my cold people bumps.

The Estee Lauder Resilience Lift Extreme - What can I say about this stuff?  I really love it.  It is so thick and creamy and moisturizes wonderfully.  The only con with it is that since it is so thick, you have to wait 5-10 minutes after applying it before you can apply makeup, but that isn't a big deal.

While we could sit here and argue for days over how high-priced these are, I can say that if I could afford to keep them around all the time, I probably would.  As stupid as it sounds, the gorgeous scent of (most of) these, the consistency of their formulas, and the gorgeousness of the packaging just make you feel like you're pampering yourself and your skin so much when you use them.  I know I've said it before, but everything should have cute packaging!!

Makeup Breakup - Clean n Clear Morning Glow Moisturizer

Yep, its a new series!!  Hopefully this one won't end up getting too many things added to it, but I figured it was time for a catchy name for all these products I use that don't work for me.  Introducing...MAKEUP BREAKUP!

Now, keep in mind, anything under this label will just be products that *I* didn't care for.  If you don't have an issue with the things I list about them and the reasons I give for breaking up with them then, by all means, give them a shot!  Most won't be horrible products by any stretch of the imagination, but everyone's skin and preferences are different, so these posts will be to just help people who have similar preferences to mine when shopping for new products!

On with the song and dance, no?

The first breakup goes to Clean n Clear Morning Glow Moisturizer.

It LOOKS like a normal moisturizer...

However, it isn't.  Now, it is hard to tell in the photos, but I left this one huge (and you can click it to get it even bigger), but this stuff has a freakin' MICRO SHIMMER IN IT!  Yeah, my arm is NOT that glowy.  It looks 'glowy' in the photo, but IRL, it looks like I got attacked by a 90's teenybopper.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love glitter and I love shimmer...but like many things in life, I only like it when I expect it or put it on myself.  Nowhere on this bottle does it mention that it has a shimmer in it.  Nowhere.  If it had, I wouldn't have bought it.  I think somewhere on the bottle it said something about a 'healthy glow'...well, yeah, anyone can fake that with a dusting of shimmer powder.  That's totally cheating.

Other than the shimmer, it is a good product, so it made me very sad that they soiled a good, moisturizing, great-smelling product with that crap.  And, yes, the shimmer does show and mix in with your foundation if you try to put makeup on over it.

So, sorry, Clean n Clear, I still love you, but as for the Morning Glow Moisturizer?  We gotta break up.

<3 WW

Listening to: "The Riff" - Lordi

Ole Henriksen Three Little Wonders Box Set Review

**Product was a gift from a friend, but all reviews are my own honest opinion and not swayed by the whole "free" thing.

Another one to review from the box o' awesome.  Insane that I got that in December and am STILL reviewing its contents.  Can we say best care package ever?!  Of course, I've reviewed a ton of other things that I've purchased or received on my own between all this stuff, but that is still a LOT OF REVIEWS.

This set is the Ole Henriksen Three Little Wonders Box Set - (from right to left) Sheer Transformation (a moisturizer), Truth Serum collagen booster, and Invigorating Night Gel.  I was a bit confused when I first opened the box that there was no face wash, but I quickly got over that.  Note no scent is mentioned because there wasn't any.  Some of the products had just a hint of something almost herbaly I couldn't put my finger on, but there was no overt scent to any of them.

This is what the serum looks like, and was my favorite by far.  It leaves your skin feeling so squeaky clean and refreshed.  I was leery of it because it appears to be oily, but it actually didn't break me out a bit.  The Wookie used this quite a bit as well and loved it.

These are the other two.  The moisturizer is silky and light, leaves your skin feeling soft but with no greasiness, and I like it quite a bit.  Is it magic?  No.  But it didn't irritate my skin and seemed to do what it is supposed to.

The night gel, I'm not so sure about.  It left a bad, odd, layer on my skin.  I don't know if night gels are SUPPOSED to do that as this is the first one I've tried, but I'd put it on about an hour or so before bed, but if I rubbed my face any time afterward, this stuff would roll up and come off in my hand, like when you have glue on your skin and you rub at it.  I tried using less of it, but no matter how little I used, it still did that.  I never had it do anything bad to my face, but I never woke up with OMG better skin, either, so that being said, I'd leave this one out just because of the gross factor.

Now, on to price.  From what I can see online, this mini trio set I have goes for about $70 (!!!), and the full sizes are $45 for each cream and $72 for the serum.  Figures the one I like the most would be the expensive one.  If I had money lying around all haphazardly and could afford to drop cash like that on products, then the serum and moisturizer would forever be in my cabinet as backups in case I ran out of my favorite so far (which has been the Benefit set) and because the Wookie liked the serum so much, but being as broke as I am, I doubt I'll get to enjoy these products again.  While I love how awesomely luxurious and spa-like it made me feel (before I even saw the prices), it just isn't something that is at all realistic for me to keep in my arsenal right now and, honestly, for that price, I expect my skin to look AMAZING, not "well, at least it didn't make it worse".

<3 WW