LUSH Cupcake Face Mask

      Back again! After a long move across the country, I am back and ready to share my thoughts on a new product. Today I will be talking about the Cupcake Fresh Face Mask by Lush Cosmetics. I was able to trade in my empty black Lush pots for a free face mask (follow this neat little link to learn more https://www.lush.ca/5-Pot-Program/5-pot-program,en_CA,pg.html) and opted to try out Cupcake (because hello? Who doesn't love chocolate and cupcakes?!)

Lush has this to say about their Cupcake Fresh Face Mask:

Cupcake is our one Fresh Face Mask that was created for a bit of fun. At the time, our inventor’s daughter was a young girl having slumber parties with her girlfriends every weekend, so he whipped up a chocolate mint mask for young, oily skin (officially solidifying him as the coolest dad ever). If you suffer from oily or spotty skin, slather it in this cocoa concoction. With spearmint oil to cool, vanilla absolute to calm redness and Rhassoul mud to deeply cleanse- Cupcake is a sweet savior for young faces. Smothering yourself in chocolate for clearer skin? Every teenage girl’s dream.

      Being 22 going on 23, I can't quite call myself a teenager anymore, however my skin has not caught up to the rest of my biological clock and insists on keeping the lovely teenage charm of being combination/oily and acne-prone. So naturally, I tend to gravitate towards these masks that promise helping get rid of my spotty complexion with the hopes of a miracle product. For me, this was sadly not one of those products.



This face mask retails for $6.95 for 2.1oz and does need to remain refrigerated when not in use.

      Off the bat, the mask is thick and dense in texture and a beautiful dark chocolate brown in color. Upon taking a scoop out of the pot, I found it to be somehow even more thick than anticipated and difficult to spread on my skin. The smell is not quite as pleasant as I was hoping with a product named "Cupcake", however my cupcake standards are set pretty high (Lol!).

Here we have a before shot from the mask; as you can see I am (always) struggling with a few unappealing and unwelcome little bumps and zits.

      After taking a nice warm shower to open up my pores (hence the wet hair), I scooped a bit of product onto my hands and applied to the face. Truthfully, I am unsure if it was the cold temperature of the mask or the overall consistency, but it was fairly difficult to apply smoothly. It was very difficult to get a creamy texture, and I didn't really want to have big clumpy pieces on my face to dry so I warmed it up a bit and made it work.

*Side note: I have used the Catastrophe Cosmetic Fresh Face Mask (which I LOVED) and the consistency of that mask was much creamier and easy to blend*

      This mask did dry pretty thick and had a couple large clumps in it, and it was decently fragrant while drying. The chunkiness doesn't bother me as long as its a natural product (which obviously this was), but the fragrance was fairly annoying. This was one of those products that I eagerly awaited washing off.
      It washed off after a nice warm and thorough rinsing, which is a plus. However my face didn't have that soft and clean feeling that I crave after rinsing off a skin treatment. Just as sad is that over the weeks that I used this, I did not notice any difference in my breakouts or oiliness (boo).

      Overall, I will not lose hope in Lush's Fresh Face Masks! However this Cupcake just did not live up to it's glorious name and expectations in my personal opinion.

Thanks so much for reading!

Xoxo,
MK

Get Gorgeous Herb Tea for Clear Skin

 

Tea time!

This was my very first tea purchase from Republic of Tea, and I haven't looked back since! The "Get Gorgeous" Herb Tea for Clear Skin is part of their Be Well Red Tea Collection, which are made with rooibos and are caffeine free. I'm not going to lie to you, I originally picked this up for the super adorable pink container with inspirational beauty words (I now repurpose the cans for makeup brush holders!)

 

Here's what Republic of Tea has to say about Get Gorgeous:

Herb Tea for Clear Skin - Let's get one thing clear. True beauty comes from within. But when it comes to clear skin, some of us can use a little help.
   So here's good news: this organic, rooibos-based, naturally caffeine-free tea blend is brimming with antioxidants - your skin's best friend*.

 

 
 

 

Here's my little backstory:

I have struggled with acne since I was about 15. I have been using a 3 step skincare routine since I started highschool, and have taken advice and steps from doctors and dermatologists alike. I had finally got most of it under control within the last few years (aside from those pesky time of the month and stress visitors). At long last I discovered that eating poorly was taking its toll of my skin and the rest of my body, and I picked up this tea in hopes of helping along the path.

 

At first I was skeptical about drinking anything that promised to help with acne. After all, acne was on the exterior, so applying things topically seemed like the only way (WRONG)

.

Get Gorgeous contains:

Organic Rooibos (leaf), Orange (peel), Hibiscus (flower), Chamomile (flower), Red Clover (flower), Chaste Berry (fruit), Burdock (root). Other Ingredients: Natural Pomegranate Flavor

 

Personally, I find this tea to be light enough that I don't crave any sweetener or other additions. The tasting notes are dead-on to the description:

Subtly sweet, organic rooibos has a hint of earthiness in this all-herbal blend, it takes on a berry-like flavor with the brightness of orange peel and tart, flowery hibiscus to produce an invigorating cup of tea with a fruity undertone.

 

 

It's an enjoyable sip of berry/fruity without feeling like you are sipping down a fruit basket (don't care for overly sweet fruit teas, myself). Lately I find myself dropping a few mint leaves in my cup for an added herbal zing, and it has been great!

 

This tea cleans all of the toxins that eventually seep into your skin right out! Yes, in my personal experience with this tea I will tell you that it has a slight detoxing effect. I find myself in the bathroom more often when drinking Get Gorgeous. However, after flushing out all of these pimple seeking toxins, I feel cleaner and my skin doesn't look so bumpy and upset!

 

Overall, I think that with clean eating, plenty of water, and drinking some Get Gorgeous you can start the journey to kicking your blemishes to the curb.

 

You can check out Get Gorgeous and other reviews here:

http://www.republicoftea.com/get-gorgeous-herb-tea-for-clear-skin/p/V00725/

 

Thanks so much for reading!

If you have tried this blend, what did you think of it?

Happy Sipping <3

Get Lost Herb Tea for Weight Control

Winter brings a lot of things; fuzzy sweaters, delicate snow, and lots and lots of hot tea. This winter I was able to finish up a few cans of Republic of Tea varieties, including this Get Lost tea from their
"Be Well Red Tea" collection.

 

Personally, I'm a big fan of this collection. I adore drinking tea, so why not drink some that will benefit your health in some way or another (while providing cute names and packaging). I have sampled around half of the Be Well collection, and will be sure to provide feedback on them as I reach the bottom of the canisters.

 

I purchased this Get Lost tea 2 summers ago to help with my wedding fitness goals. I would alternate this teas with my other teas on workout days in my attempt at slimming and trimming. Looking back at things, I think it might have been wiser to order a tea from their "Get Active" collection, but the past is the past.

 

Republic of Tea has this to say about their Get Lost blend:

Herb Tea for Weight Control - Losing weight is all about moderation, expending energy, curbing sugar cravings, and being well. That's why, if you're thinking thin, this caffeine-free blend is for you.

Based on health-promoting, organic rooibos, it includes tropical banaba leaf, cinnamon and carob which satisfy the appetite, assisting craving control*. Carob and gymnema leaves help to tame your sweet tooth and the urge to indulge.

 

 

In my sipping, I found that this tea wasn't in my normal flavor palette. It was not typically herbal-y, nor was it sweet. The cinnamon is the more predominant taste, so drinking it in the summer did not really appeal to my seasonal taste buds. It was more of a semi-bitter tea in my personal opinion, and occasionally used honey as a natural sweetener in my cup.

Often I found myself sipping this tea with an evening or afternoon snack, something small to curb my constantly hungry appetite. This tea did seem to accomplish the goal of curbing my hunger for a short time, which is the description and goal of this particular blend.

I did save about 1/3 of the can for the following winter, which I did enjoy in the cinnamon-directed seasons such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, however as far as teas aiding in weight loss was concerned, I had found a few new blends that gave more of a detoxing effect that I was really searching for.

Overall, if you are searching for a less-than-sweet tea for enjoying in between meals without spoiling your entire appetite with something less nutritious, this would be a great tea for you. If you are looking for something with immediate weight loss results (such as a teatox), I would suggest searching for another cup.

 

Check out Get Lost tea and other reviews here:

http://www.republicoftea.com/get-lost-herb-tea-for-weight-control/p/V00730/

Thanks so much for reading, and

Happy Sipping! <3