My Brazilian Peel Experience

The other week Sephora was giving a special pack of samples to their V. I. B.'s (basically the Beauty Insiders that spend way more than they need to be), and I picked one up because it had this one sample, the Brazilian Peel. It just sounded so appealing, maybe because it's "Brazilian?" I don't know, but I ended up buying my $35 worth of product to get this and I tried it on Saturday. This won't be a full review because I believe you're supposed to use it for a month (4 treatments) to get full results, so I'll just talk about what happened and my first impression of this stuff.

I've hear glycolic acid has its benefits with acne, so I thought this would be nice to try, and the anti-aging properties weren't so bad either :) Also, since it's supposed to tighten skin, I thought it would be good for my rather large pores.

The product comes loaded into a syringe. One side contains all the good stuff: glycolic acid, and the other is a neutralizer so that the stuff doesn't go nuts on your face.

Don't ask me which side is which...I'm NOT a Chemistry major!

Here's my face before this process. I used my Clarisonic and cleansed with St Ive's Green Tea Cleanser, which contains Salacylic Acid.

My forehead has been breaking out a bit lately, but this is it up a little closer.

Here's my nose area. Big pores.

I heard that there's a lot of product, so putting some on your hands may be wise (to decrease waste).

So the instructions say to shoot the whole syringe into your palm:

It shoots out really nice...no waste!

Then you have to mix the two parts with your fingers until you feel a heating sensation, then apply it to your face, neck, wherever!

It's colorless, and just makes your face a bit shiny. I really thought this was going to make my face burn or irritated because of its high glycolic acid content, but it didn't. And I guess I just assumed that because some salacylic acid and benzoyl peroxide treatments leave my face like that, but I will have to go out on a limb and say the glycolic acid isn't like those guys? During my 10 minutes, my face really tightened up, not to the point where I couldn't talk or show emotion, but enough to notice. I washed it off with cool water and patted dry.

I think my face looks a bit smoother. Maybe like I have a primer on? Nothing too noticeable though.

Pores look a bit tighter.

Forgot to take a before pic of my chin :( But this is after...no real change...

My hand doesn't look any much younger either :( Well...I think my hands look pretty descent, so I don't think they could get any younger looking ;)

FINAL THOUGHTS

This treatment wasn't really bad, but it wasn't as great as I thought it was. Maybe it's because I'm not really that old, and in need of such a treatment, but the day after, I think oil production was lower than usual, and it was really hot and humid in my house. So, that was a plus! I am quite non-differentiated about this stuff.

I must admit, I really liked the packaging. Like I mentioned earlier, it was literally a no waste package, which is great, especially for the price you would have to pay (if it wasn't a sample). I am a sucker for packaging, and if all my acne treatments came packaged like this, I would be in heaven!

Would I pay $78 to see what a month of this would do? Not at this moment, but I may check out the acne treating version of this stuff in the near future :)

Ebates Haul & First Impressions

I bought a bunch of stuff on ebates a few weeks ago. You can read more about it in my earlier post. So I was ready to do this like last week with all the stuff I got from Sephora, but I decided to wait for my Lancome stuff to come in :) Above is the stuff from Sephora and Lancome respectively. I will give some of my first impressions of these products. I haven't had a chance to really use all these yet (and I just got the Lancome stuff yesterday), so these aren't full reviews, just what I see for now.

Here's the Sephora stuff:

Shiseido Skincare 1 2 3 Pureness Oil Control Set

I've mentioned before that I've tried the moisturizer from this set, and to be honest with you, this whole set altogether is not really impressing me right now, but skincare always takes a while to get used to you, so I'm going to give this a few more weeks to set in.

Bumble and Bumble Seaweed Shampoo

This shampoo is nice. There's nothing horrible special about it, and I've never found a shampoo that completely blows me over, except for when I used Garnier Fructis shampoo for the very first time (made my hair feel like silk).

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Stingray

I heard that this is a great eyeliner for the waterline. However, I've been using this pretty regularly, and I have found that it's a good color and consistency, but it doesn't stay very well on my waterline :( It ends up smearing underneath my lashes, like most eyeliners. The search continues.

Dior Best in Show Mini Mascara Duo

I was looking forward to trying these two out because I've heard so many good things about them. I find the mascara to be a little wet, probably because it wasn't the waterproof formula. I don't find it especially great at anything, not worth the $24 (for the full size product). The primer is also nothing special. the brush is pretty neat though (see below).

The brush on the Diorshow mascara is really big, comparable to MAC Opulash, and Benefit Badgal Lash. I also find the formula quite similar, wet.

The brush on the primer was interesting, something like the rubber/silicone brushes you see on the Buxom Lash mascara, Maybelline One By One, and Covergirl Lashblast Volume. However, what makes it different is that the rows of bristles are slanted a little, which I think makes it weird to use, but it probably takes more getting used to.

MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Microfinish Powder

Couldn't get the greatest picture of this stuff (still gotta learn how to take these pictures). The product is kinda cool. It's lightweight, and colorless which makes it a good setting powder. It's also good for touch ups, I've noticed. It's not spectacular at oil control, but that's like most setting/finishing products that I've used in the past.

Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm Duo

Left: Black Tea & Blackberry, right: Grapefruit & Ginger

I like these lip balms, they're pretty good. I find that every once in a while they do get dry if I don't reapply, but they're one of the best lip balms I've used in a while.

SAMPLES!!

Of course, you can't forget the samples. Sephora gives three samples per order, their beauty insider program gives a deluxe sample for every 100 points you accumulate (sometimes an super deluxe sample for 500 points), and there are coupon codes you can use for deluxe samples as well. The regular samples (that are automatic with the orders), I usually don't end up using, I just get them because they're free. I always save my beauty insider points for the good deluxe samples and the 500 point perks.

I haven't used these yet, but here's what I got: Lancome La Base Pro, Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Face Polish (I actually don't really know what it's supposed to do), Shiseido Urban Environment UV Protection Cream for face/body. The two deluxe samples I got was the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Packet Trio, and Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cream Blush in Quickie. Also, because I got the Bumble and Bumble shampoo, I got that card at the top for a free service (styling) at a Bumble and Bumble salon, although I don't know if there are any here in Hawaii :/

Here's my stuff I ordered from Lancome:

Definicils Waterproof Mascara

I've used this mascara only once (today), and I have to say that I actually kinda like it so far. It doesn't clump, and I've had it on for maybe 5-6 hours and it hasn't smudged. The lengthening powers isn't all that grand, but I shall continue to try this one out and I'll see if it really is worth $25.

Here's the samples I got (I feel like I really scored with this one coupon code I used):

Color Design Lipstick in Wannabe

Juicy Tubes in Touched By Light

Juicy Tubes in Moulin Rose

Here's some swatches of those lip product samples:

Top to bottom: Juicy Tubes in Moulin Rose, Juicy Tubes in Touched by Light, Color Design Lipstick in Wannabe

I like the two Juicy Tubes lip glosses. The lipstick looks a bit intense for me, but we'll see what I can do with it

Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate

Bright Expert Dark Spot Corrector

All in all I am still trying to get a feel out of these products. Hopefully I'll be able to do more full, in-depth reviews in a week or two.

This post contains affiliate or invite links that I am able to earn commission from. I would not support any company that I didn't like. What I earn from affiliate programs are going to be used to improve this blog, and bring more things for my followers.