Skincare Review: Volition Beauty Strawberry-C Brightening Serum

I have been trying a lot of vitamin c serums lately, which I’ve really been enjoying because I love vitamin c. My skin really responds to it and it has helped brighten my skin so much. I never go out of the house without applying a vitamin c serum (and SPF, of course).

The Strawberry-C Brightening Serum ($42) from Volition Beauty is a vegan and cruelty-free serum that promises to brighten, hydrate, reduce excess oil, and minimize the appearance of redness and fine lines using strawberry fruit and seed extract, kakadu plum, hyaluronic acid, and cucumber fruit water.

This serum brightened my skin and gave me a glow but what sets it apart from the other vitamin c serums that I’ve tried is how it also hydrates my skin. I can cleanse, use this, and then go straight to using my SPF. I have oily skin so having a hydrating serum is very important in my routine. I can just support this with a hydrating primer so it lessens my skincare routine in the morning. I also noticed how, after about a month of use, this also helped a bit with the redness on my skin and has left my skin soft. My skin looks more even and plump after using this.

I would recommend this product to those looking for a hydrating and brightening serum that feels nourishing and soothing to the skin.

The Volition Beauty Strawberry-C Brightening Serum was provided by @volitionbeauty . Available at volitionbeauty.com

Skincare Review: Beekman 1802 Triple Milk 5-Piece Set

What started as a farm has now evolved into a lifestyle brand. Beekman 1802 works with farmers, craftspeople, and artisans to produce everything from food, home items to apparel and skincare.

They sent over their Triple Milk Collection, which uses three kinds of milk – goat milk to soothe, coconut milk to condition, and milk protein to nourish.

To melt makeup and oil-based products, the Triple Milk Cleanser ($35) uses argan oil, olive oil, and sweet almond oil to cleanse the skin. This is a bit creamy for my preference but it was able to remove makeup easily. It also feels gentle on the skin. It leaves a film but it was easily removed by the second cleanser.

As a second cleanser, Triple Milk Bar ($12) aims to draw out water-based debris before leaving the skin soft and hydrated. This is my favorite out of the set. It’s creamy and nourishing, it easily foams, and it cleanses the skin thoroughly without drying it.

The Triple Milk Peel ($40) promises to lift dead skin for a softer, glowing complexion. I was prepared for this to sting but it didn’t. It actually felt so gentle so this would be a good exfoliator for those who are just starting with exfoliants and those who have sensitive skin.

The Triple Milk Skin Milk ($50) works to hydrate and protect the skin. I like the milky and watery texture of this moisturizer. It applied beautifully but it felt heavy on the skin after a few minutes. It also made my skin oilier so this might be best used by those with dry skin.

The Triple Milk Primer SPF 35 ($30) is designed to be an oil-free, weightless, invisible, pore-perfecting primer with a broad-spectrum zinc oxide sunscreen with UVA/UVB filters. This, like the moisturizer, felt heavy on the skin. I will have to pull this out on the colder months as I have a feeling it would work better for me by that time.

Overall, those with dry and sensitive skin would enjoy using this EWG certified set as they are moisturizing, gentle, and nourishing to the skin.

The Beekman 1802 Triple Milk 5-Piece Set were provided by @beekman1802 . Available individually or as a set for $140 at beekman1802.com

Makeup Review: Lilah B. Glisten + Glow™ Skin Illuminator in Rose Bronze

A close up the Glisten + Glow™ Skin Illuminator in Rose Bronze from Lilah B. As always, the brand knocks it out with a luxe pebble packaging that not only looks good, it’s also very sturdy.

This highlighter aims to awaken and revitalize dull complexion using black currant seed oil extract, sunflower oil extract, carotenoids, plant sterols, fatty acids, and brown sea algae.

This is a very subtle highlighter. It’s more of a complexion enhancer for me. Unlike other highlighters, this cleanly provides a subtle glow to the high points of my face like the cupid’s bow and my nose (as seen in the photos of me using it). For someone with oily skin , it can be difficult to to find something like this – a highlighter that doesn’t make my skin look like an oiled grease pan after a few hours.

This has a very soft and creamy consistency so it’s easy to use. like using my fingers for a subtle sheen and a brush if I want a more precise and more defined highlight. The skin grabs the product easily and looks like it melts upon contact resulting in a natural-looking application.

The shade Rose Bronze is exactly as advertised. It’s a bronze highlighter with a pinkish undertone that works well for my medium brown skin. It gives off that summer glow that we all want to hold on to for as long as we can. I find that the shade complements medium to dark complexions as it makes the skin have that warm glow.

The Lilah B. Glisten + Glow™ Skin Illuminator in Rose Bronze was provided by @lilahbeauty . Available for $32 at lilahbeauty.com

Skincare Review: I Dew Care Say You Dew Moisturizing Vitamin C Gel + Cream and Plush Party Buttery Vitamin C Lip Mask

Memebox positioned their in-house brand I Dew Care as fun and playful and the packaging attests to that. They are all cute but not childish, colorful without being too loud. They sent over two of their products from their Vitamin C collection.

Containing gel and cream to its name, I immediately picked up the Say You Dew Moisturizing Vitamin C Gel + Cream ($29).

This moisturizer promises to hydrate and brighten the skin using lemon extract, vitamin c, and banana extract. The gel + cream description is correct as it has a fluffy gel consistency that looks so light but has some weight to it when applied.

It leaves the skin a bit tacky and for me, I use this as a sleeping mask. It feels moisturizing and nourishing to the skin but I only use this when my skin is feeling a bit tight because it can feel heavy at times. It does moisturize and brighten the skin and gives me a plump complexion the morning after.

The Plush Party Buttery Vitamin C Lip Mask ($16) contains cocoa butter, hibiscus flower extract, and vitamins c and e to moisturize, nourish, and condition the lips.

This lip mask does what it claims to do – it moisturizes and nourishes the lips after use. It has a thick texture like most lip masks and lasts through drinking that 3 am water we sometimes need. It feels as if it leaves a film on the lips that doesn’t budge until I brush my teeth. While using this, I haven’t encountered chapping or drying.

These products are also cruelty-free and are formulated without parabens, phthalates, or silicones.

The I Dew Care Say You Dew Moisturizing Vitamin C Gel + Cream and Plush Party Buttery Vitamin C Lip Mask were provided by @idewcare and @memebox . Available at memebox.com

Body Care: BeautyBio The Radiance | Body

After discovering how much comfortable I am with body oil, I have since preferred it over body creams. I have a few body oils in my stash and a few months ago, The Radiance | Body from BeautyBio was added to the lineup.

This body oil also acts as a hair oil and nail oil . It promises to rescue dry skin, lackluster hair, and brittle nails using a combination of jojoba, apricot, and olive oils to hydrate, protect, and nourish the skin. It smells like berries and feels light and smooth to the touch. It also feels moisturizing but it feels tacky afterward when applied directly to the skin, which surprised me. I have extremely dry skin on my legs and I was expecting this to sink in so quickly that I would have to apply it twice. It doesn’t completely dry and as a matter of preference, I like body oils that dry matte.

I prefer this as a nail oil and the dropper is really helpful in controlling the amount of product I need per application. It helps soften and moisturize the skin around my nails.

The BeautyBio The Radiance | Body was provided by @beautybio . Available for $60 at beautybio.com