GlamGlow Super Cleanse Daily Treatment Cleanser Review!

If you're like me then you have a love/hate relationship with GlamGlow. You LOVE how your skin feels after using their masks, but you HATE the price. I weep a little when I hand over my credit card and watch my bank account shrink.

But then I find myself looking at myself in the mirror, rocking out to some old school Destiny's Child and saying 'I woke up like this' and feeling #flawless. As much as I hate to say it, this mask is worth every. freaking. penny. And it tears me up to say so because I wish there was a cheaper alternative that gave GlamGlow a run for it's money, but nope - it is on a whole other level.

So here's the second issue - the jar is freaking tiny- which means your love affair with this beloved mask is on a very strict timeline. I seriously would daydream about a world where I could get the satisfaction and the results that the mask gives me on a daily basis. Well the GlamGlow gods (the triple Gs, as they will now be referred to - it was coined here my friends) heard my prayers and brought us all a cleanser!

You can click on the link below to check out my video review, or you can keep reading.

GlamGlow Super Cleanse Daily Treatment Cleanser Review

Now there are two cleansers, The Super Cleanse (a cleanser that is matched up with the Super Mud) and the Thirsty Cleanse (a cleanser matched up with Thirsty Mud). I haven't tried the Thirsty Cleanse or the Thirsty Mud as I do not have dry skin, so I cannot speak on the results of these products. However, I am a seasoned veteran when it comes to the Super Cleanse and Super Mud. 

The Super Cleanse is a mud to foam cleanser. You feel like you're putting a clay mask on as you spread it on your skin. I find you need 2 pumps in order to cover your whole face (but the pumps don't pump out as much as you expect). The cleanser will dry quickly on your skin, but it's okay to let it dry, you can leave it on for a few minutes as a mini mask. Once you're ready, dampen your hands and start rubbing in the cleanser, it will turn a light grey and slightly foam. Keep in mind, this cleanser does not have sulfates in it so you will not get the foaming satisfaction as you would with a sulfate cleanser. It's a good thing that it's sans sulfates because that would just strip your skin and the oils on your skin will be dried out enough already with the clay cleanser. 

My tips for using the cleanser - make sure you tone and hydrate your skin immediately after cleansing. If you use it at night then I definitely encourage you to opt for a rich moisturizer to ensure that your skin has ample hydration overnight. 

Pros

1. Skin feels immediately clean/soft after cleansing

2. You see immediate results. 

3. You get 5 oz. of product (yeah, that's a lot!)

4. The dispensing mechanism doesn't force you to use too much product.

Cons

1. The pump sometimes doesn't pump up when you push it down so you have to manually pull it up.

2. The cleanser container itself is self contained. This means that you cannot pop the cap off once you get to the end to ensure that you get every last drop of Glamglow goodness (and it's a pump too so it's not like you can sit it upside down and funnel out the product).

3. It's $43 (CAD), which sucks, but it's worth it.

Anyways, so that's pretty much all I have to say about the cleanser. If you want to check out my video review then click here. 

While you're at it, you should subscribe to my channel.

I hope you all have a great day and don't forget to put a bow on!

Hill

My New(ish) Skincare Routine

So I Recently got into a new skincare routine and have been seeing amazing results! I'm really big on staying away from sketchy chemicals that may be carcinogenic (cause cancer) or are harmful to my body in other ways. However, I still want my skincare to work (& I don't want to be throwing stuff on my face that may be 'good' for me but have no benefit for my skin). So off I went to Lush!

I used Lush skincare a few years back (I mean I've gone from Lush, to Dior, to Aloette, to Nude - and plenty of other skincare lines in between that I'm definitely forgetting). So what sparked this sudden turn around to Lush (aside from the fact that you can read and understand EVERY ingredient in their products and why it is there)? I was actually stuck in the Orlando airport a couple weeks ago and decided to stop by the shop and have a little chat to pass the time. Next thing you know I was sitting in a chair with a mask on my face and a hand massage. I loved the products but I settled for a toner and a sample of a moisturizer and was on my way. I don't like sampling products just to get some free stuff - I will typically buy something if I try it and I like it.

Just a little background on my skin. I used to have amazing skin (but seriously). I never had a single blemish, blackhead, or any other 'imperfection' on my face. The texture of my face was normal (sometimes combination based on the weather) and I had no sensitivities (minus extremely potent tea tree oil - that definitely burned my skin). I had zero worries in the world, I never wore foundation, tinted moisturizer, nothing, why? Because I didn't need it.

Flash forward to now. My job requires that I wear a full and 'inspirational' face of make up. Working long hours with everything from primer, to a full cover foundation, and a setting powder (and everything in between - you think of it, and it's on my face) caused my face to go 'HILLARY WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!" next thing you know, I had insane break outs, blackheads putting up shop on my face, and oily skin. I didn't know what to do, my skincare routine that I was so loyally committed to did not have a 'treat' step that was focused on break outs. I knew I had to change but I was honestly kind of scared - being 22 years old and JUST dealing with break out prevention was extremely weird - wasn't that suppose to happen like 10 years ago?

So my first step in the right direction was towards my Clarisonic (I initially had the Mia, but then I gave it to my mom and bought the newest model - the Aria). Why the Clarisonic? It works with the elasticity of your skin (the brush oscillates back in forth rather than spins like other brushes - spinning can tear your tissue and be rough on your skin), it pulls out the impurities, and it completely changed the texture of my face. You can use it twice a day - seven days a week. It is seriously an amazing investment.

My Clarisonic Aria with the deep pore cleansing brush

So after a few months of trying a bunch of skincare lines (which were lovely - but just couldn't get my face back to what it was) I finally settled on my first love - Lush.

Now I know, I know, I shouldn't sing my praises until my complete cell turnover (minimum 28 days) but I've already been so happy that I just can't help but to share my excitement! I will do a follow-up in 28 days though - with photos of my face (day 1 and day 28) to see if there's a change.

Now Down to the Routine...finally....

So for a cleanser I went with the Ultra Bland which is an amazing gentle cleanser & make up remover. It comes in a pot in a cream form and you just rub it into your dry skin and then wipe it off with a warm damp cloth. It honestly gets all my make up off - which I find is a very difficult task. 

I went off brand with my exfoliating scrub. I went with Burt's Bee's Acne Solution's Scrub. I got this because I wanted something natural that still had a salicylic acid in it (and willow bark - which is natural) to help with my break outs. I find that this scrub is gentle and has definitely helped with the texture of my skin.

Now I'm a HUGE mask junkie. I will typically do a mask at least once a week, if not twice a week. I fell in love with the one that I got to try out at the Lush store - and that was the Mask of Magnaminty. This mask is amazing! It has peppermint in it so it is super cooling on your skin. It also has china clay which acts as a magnet for pulling impurities out of your pores. The vanilla helps with redness and the honey soothes your skin. It honestly is everything I want in a mask all thrown together (and it's green - my favourite colour!)

Blue Steel -MEEEYOW!

It's Hulk Paste!

I chose the Tea Tree Water for my toner and it is unreal! I used it on my plane ride as a refresher and my face was the happiest little panda. It helps with redness, kills bacteria, and the best part? It's alcohol free! 

just the baby bottle for now

And lastly, a moisturizer! I went with the Vanishing Cream and oh man, this bad boy is the best. My skin feels so great and I don't have that awko taco oily residue going down. It has witch hazel (which is awesome for blemishes) and it is an extremely light lotion that completely melts into your skin (also, a little goes a heck of a long way!)

So that's all for now! My findings thus far? The Rocky Mountain that took up camp on my face has almost vanished, and the little ski hills are simply distant memories. My face has a beautiful (healthy) glow to it - it used to look like a perfect place to sautee some mushrooms. I was actually comfortable enough to leave the house today with NO make up on - just an itty bit of lip gloss and mascara (because why not?). I'm starting to wonder why I ever left my beloved lush - they have such an amazing variety of products and it smells like absolute heaven there. Not to mention - you get a free fresh mask every time you bring back 5 of the black pots (so that they can recycle them into new pots).