Josie Maran serum review

This might be my first actual product review on my blog!

A few weeks ago Influenster sent me the Josie Maran Argan Beta-Retinoid Pink Algae Serum free to test. I do have to note that not all Josie Maran products have worked for me because I do have mature oily skin. But I was excited to try this out!

It looks sort of like thin cough syrup out of the dropper. However, once you apply it to the skin, it does not keep that appearance.

I started incorporating it into my morning routine. I kept using my regular toner, eye cream and moisturizer products.

Within days I noticed my skin starting to brighten up and lose its dullness. I noticed that my melasma was fading. I also did not have an increase in oiliness to my skin.

I have tried several serums but Ive been pretty loyal to the BareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Infusion for about 3 years. Ive gone thru two full sizes and several deluxe/travel sizes. Ive found that it works for my skin type and I havent had any issues using it.

There is a significant price difference between the BareMinerals serum and the Josie Maran serum ($38 vs $68) but there is also a significant difference in the results of my skin using the Josie Maran serum. I may alternate between the two, but the Josie Maran serum is my new favorite!

Thank you to Influenster for introducing me to this wonderful skin care product!

Have you discovered any new loves?

Start Fresh 2020 Declutter

My apologies for not having this up yesterday, but time got away from me.

I realize that I did an end of year declutter but after watching LizzieLovesLife’s video on decluttering her expired/old products, I decided I really needed to take a better look thru my collection. I didnt want to start off the year/decade with expired products.

Its a shame that so many products in my collection were showing signs of their age. Some stopped performing (but I thought I could make them work) and others are simply expired.

I have also decided that I will be decluttering my ABH Modern Renaissance and Subculture palettes at the end of the year. I have progress on both palettes but I dont think they will perform by next year. I am trying to hit pan on every shadow this year.

I also have 4 lipsticks that didnt even make it into my collection that I will be giving to my daughter in law. (Not pictured) I didnt outright pay for them. They came in subscription boxes last month and so I wont be factoring them into any of my totals since the subscription box is already accounted for in my yearly budget.

After adding up the values, the amount shown in the photo below is $167.05.

2020 Project Pan Plans – 20 in 20

I have decided to do another rolling project pan as well as continue to work thru my perfumes.

I will be doing this years project a little different than in the past. I will be doing 10 body care products and 10 Makeup products. I will be rolling in new items as I finish.

For Body Care, I will be working on:

1. Hand Cream – Dionis White Jasmine & Shea hand cream
2. Foot Care – Lush Pink Peppermint foot cream
3. Dry Shampoo –  R&Co Badlands paste
4. Body Lotion – jojoba oil
5. Lip Scrub – Laura Geller
6. Eye Care – Ulta eye gels
7. Face Mask – Elemis thousand flower mask
8. Lip Product – Sephora Lip Balm
9. Cleanser – Clean and Clear Morning Burst
10. Perfume – Elizabeth and James Nirvana rollerball

For Makeup, I will be working on:

1. Primer – Dr Brandt Luminizer
2. Concealer – Aurora X Ipsy
3. Powder Foundation – BareMinerals Matte
4. Liquid Foundation – Maybelline Matte and Poreless
5. Powder – Essense All About Matt
6. Setting Powder – Cover FX powder
7. Blush – Tarte Paarty
8. Brows – Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz
9. Brow Gel – Chella
10. Eyeliner – Ulta Double sided (Black side only)

I will also be continuing to work on using my perfumes. This year, Ill be concentrating on trying to use up two rollerballs and at least one deluxe sized mini. I hope to finish 10 decanted samples. (I finished 33 of these last year.)

I also want to hit pan on at least 20 eyeshadows this year.

Are you planning on doing a project pan this year?

 

December 2019 Empties

I cannot believe that the year is over! The end of another decade. The beginning of something new is about to occur…

The end of a year is something special. You can say goodbye to the old and hello to the new. You can strive to be something more. You can reinvent yourself.

On a makeup related note: Make sure to replace your mascaras, makeup sponges and liquid liners if you have had them in use over 3 months. Dont start your year using old or dirty tools 🙂

This months empties total is $185.45!!

Our total amount for 2019 is $1,419.50!

This amount far exceeds what I thought I would have used up for the year! It all adds up.

How many products did you finish this month?

November 2019 Empties

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We have spent the last week sick but we are almost at the end! I finally dont have medicine head anymore.

I spent the last 5 or 6 months working thru some Elf skincare products. They were very affordable but I need something with more effective ingredients as an older woman. They would be great for teens as an entrance to skin care tho.

Elf regularly has sales, so if you are interested, just create an account and you will be notified about those sales.

You will also notice that I am steadily working thru my 25 to the 25th Project Pan  products! Im so excited to see how much progress I can get!

This months empties total is $129.93!!

Were you able to finish anything this past month?

25 to the 25th Christmas Project Pan

Edit: This post was supposed to go up last Thursday but we had some connectivity issues and it wouldnt publish. I lost a large bit of this post so thats why its not as detailed as many of my other project introductions.

I decided to do one last project before the end of the year. I wanted to make sure I finished off a lot of samples I had hanging around and use up some older skin care products before the end of the year.

Most of these products will be easy to finish because they are either foil samples or I just have a small amount left.

Will you be doing one last push to finish anything?

Project 10 Pan Update & New Products!

Last year I decided to do a traditional Project 10 Pan and as of May, I have finished 10 products!!!

If you forgot, I have finished the:

1. MUFE Primer
2. UD Naked Basics (Foxy) shade
3. UD Naked Basics (WOS) shade
4. MUFE Foundation Sample
5. Essence Make Me Brow
6. Laura Mercier Caviar Stick (Rosegold)
7. Stila Glitter and Glow (Kitten)
8. Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Mascara
9. Marc Jacobs Highliner
10. IT Cosmetics CC+ Foundation

I am beyond thrilled that I was able to finish these products! 

I havent finished any other project pan products since May even though I have tried. I took a month off of panning, especially since my Spring into Summer project was a complete fail.

And Im back with a ‘NEW” Project 10 Pan that will hopefully be as successful as the first half of the year.

The products I will be working on are (some have been rolled back into this project):

1. Ulta eye primer*
2. Mac Oil Control Lotion*
3. Becca First Light Priming Filter*
4. Essence Make Me Brow
5. Laura Geller Lip Strip
6. Sephora Lip Balm
7. BareMinerals Concealer
8. Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder
9. Elf Brow Wax*
10. BareMinerals Lasting Line

• *Denotes prior project inclusion

Have you been actively panning this year? Have you been successful?

(Ignore the weird graph below)

 

2857 × 171

Birthday Haul!

My birthday is next week (the 19th) and after receiving those emails with the coupons/codes, I decided to make some purchases.

Most of my purchases were skin care related.

 

I purchased some sheet masks, facial sprays and a Peter Thomas Roth brush on sunscreen from Ulta. I really enjoyed the Neutrogena sheet masks so I stocked up on those. I wanted to try some watermelon based skin care, so Im trying out the Ulta brand.

I chose the Drunk Elephant birthday gift from Sephora. I really have been enjoying the Peter Thomas Roth mask sample I have, so I purchased it in the full size. The Sephora lip infusions are $3 each and I really enjoy the two I already have. I also chose a Sephora brow product that might have been $3. I chose the Tarte lip balm from my VIB points, and the Moschino perfume (the windex bottle) was a code you put in if you spent $25-35. The other items were samples (they are all perfume samples).

My local BareMinerals store closed a few months ago so I didnt think I would get the free birthday shadow this year. I have sold/decluttered all of my other loose shadows from BareMinerals because I dont use them. However, this year I was able to choose which shade I wanted (out of three). I chose the Queen Phyllis shade because it makes for a great inner corner highlight. I also purchased a mini concealer (Im actually almost finished the one that has been in my project pan.) as well as a cream shadow. Both were in their sale section.

I won’t say how much I spent. (its not pretty) Ive been doing so well on my low-buy / no buy until now. HOWEVER, I am no where close to how much I spent last year and Ive been using quite alot up this year.

Have you been trying to spend less this year? Did you splurge for your birthday?

May 2019 Empties

I have to say that I had a very good month of May. I was able to finish up several deluxe makeup and skin care products.

If you aren’t following my blog or my Instagram, you might not be aware that I am doing the May Mask Challenge by Lisa Stevens so this month of empties is a bit skin care heavy.  My goal was to mask 15 times in May, but I managed to mask 24 days!

A major standout to me is the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Mask! You can’t beat the price and it made my skin feel so moisturized. I have very oily skin and most masks just make my skin feel slimy, but the Neutrogena Hydro Boost mask was outstanding. The serum just sunk right into my skin and it did not slide around like others have. You HAVE to try it!

This months empties total is $97.90!!

Did you participate in the May Mask Challenge?

Project Updates

I currently have three projects running. Im doing a Project 10 Pan, A Spring into Summer Project, and a Rocky Horror Picture Show based project. Im doing pretty great at my Project 10 Pan, but I have to admit Im slacking on the others so far.

Project 10 Pan Update:

I have finished my Tarte mascara and Marc Jacobs eyeliner. This makes 9 products in this project panned.

I will be adding in the:

• R&Co Badlands dry shampoo paste – Ive only used this a handful of times but its the oldest dry shampoo I have. Its a deluxe size so it will be easier to pan than my full size dry shampoos.
• YSL Touche Eclat Blur Primer – This is the oldest primer I have and its also a deluxe size. I still have the smallest amount of primer Im still working on but Ill be starting this one very soon.
• BareMinerals 5 in 1 cream eyeshadow (Luminous Pearl) – This is the oldest cream shadow in my collection and Id like to use it up before it expires. It looks great on its own as well as with brightening other shadows.

Spring into Summer Update: 

So far I have only finished the three of four decanted perfume samples. I have been making progress on the Becca primer and the Bareminerals concealer. The Makeup Forever foundation is going slower than I thought it would. Im currently using it as a concealer for under my eyes but its a thicker consistency so only a small amount is necessary.

Rocky Horror Picture Show Update: 

I only recently started this project but I have already finished the Boscia mask. I have added in the Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal mask and have been using it in the May Mask Challenge from Lisa Stevens. I don’t have a lot left and Im fairly certain Ill have this finished by the end of the month.

How are you doing on your projects? Have you been making any progress?

Let me know in the comments!