Saturday, January 31, 2015

For the Love of Caudalie: Divine Oil







Caudalie has been a favorite brand of mine for about two years now but, their divine oil scent is something special to me. The scent is absolutely luxe & heavenly, without being in any way overpowering. I love using this particular oil at the ends of my hair every night, no matter wet or dry; it miraculously takes my dry ends & turns them into this kind of soft magical feel with “divine” shine…ok I know it seems like I am going a bit overboard with this oil but, I just REALLY love it. 

The description from Caudalie’s website:
This luxurious dry oil moisturizes, nourishes and enhances the face, body and hair, thanks to its unique formula made with exceptional blend of oils (grape, hibiscus, sesame and argan) combined with our patented anti-oxidant Polyphenols. It envelops the skin with a subtle, floral and sun-kissed fragrance, with woody notes. 


I have lost count on how many empty bottle’s of this I have recycled over the last few years….I should really just buy the bigger bottle 100ml…hmm, birthday is coming up in a month… *adds to beauté wishlist*

While I was browsing the webs for my holiday shopping (so lazy, yet so positively convenient) I spotted on Caudalie’s website that they came out with a CANDLE in the DIVINE OIL scent. EXCITED would have been an understatement & naturally I put that in my electronic shopping cart instantly. If you personally love the scent of the Divine Oil or know someone who does & who also happens to love candles, GET THEM THIS. This candle smells exactly the same & burns so lovely, such a spa treat really. I have a feeling I may have to snatch up another one once I’ve used this one up…

You can purchase both on Caudalie’s website


  • Divine Oil , prices/sizes range from 15ml ($9), 50ml ($32), & 100ml ($49)





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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Skincare Routine: Night





Sorry for the delay on this post, finally found the time to sit down & type this baby up.

Get your tea ready folks, this will be lengthy one…


Pre-Cleanse: Again, with the pre-cleansing. Like I said in the last post, for my pre-cleansing I stick to micellar waters because more times than not, they are gentle enough for all skin types, even sensitive. My choice of micellar waters change now & again, but for nighttime use I love using Bioderma at the end of the day because it removes EVERYTHING, & isn’t that the point? ;)



Cleanse: I have been loving cleansing balms. I was late to the game of balms, but its better late than never, right? Best switch I ever made to be honest. My favorite cleanser of all time (too bold?!) is the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm. I can literally just go on about how much I love this cleanser but, I’ll save that for another day with another post (& also because I just ran out & am going to try something new…I will switch back to it in time…). 

At the moment I am using the Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm. I am still trying to get used to the non-lux feel of this particular one; & unlike the Emma Hardie one, there is no fragrance (which is great for a lot of sensitive skin types). I can’t give a good review of this particular one just yet, considering I just starting breaking this in less than a week ago but, fingers crossed this can be a cheaper & viable replacement of my beloved moringa one.


Toner: Again, I go back to using the Body Shop’s Vitamin E Hydrating Toner.





Treatment (if needed): If I need to put a halt on a breakout(s), my current treatment that I reach for is Dermalogica’s  Clear Start Breakout Clearing Overnight Treatment. Now, from my personal use of this product (it has been some months now), the title is misleading. For me, this doesn’t help clear my spots overnight but, it does help clear my spots in a few days time. I don’t get severe acne, more times than any it’s always hormonal, regardless this still does the trick. There is no burning or redness either, which I have experienced with almost all other acne treatments. And, it’s also quite affordable at $19, with a little going a long way so this will last those people who have the occasional breakout a very long time.



Eyecare: Like the morning, I use two different eye creams at night. One that you read in my morning skincare routine, the Boots Hydrating Eye Cream, I use the same way as I do in the morning, around the contours of my eye. For under eye treatment, I am currently using the Body Shop’s Vitamin E Eye Cream. It claims to help reduce the appearance of dark circles, fine lines, puffiness, etc. NOTE: I do not have heavy dark circles or puffiness so, I am unsure how this would work on those that do. For me, it shows with time but, I haven’t seen a complete disappearing act of the dark circles just yet. Though in the morning, my under eye area is so soft, hydrated, & smooth. The price point on this is pretty good as well; a plus is that there are usually great sales always happening either on The Body Shop’s website (& in-store) or Ulta’s website (& in-store) so always look out for those if you can.




Serum: Serums have been tricky with me; I can never tell if its actually helping or doing nothing to my skin, all I know is that I love Vichy’s Idéalia Life Serum. It’s supposed to improve skin pigmentation & give a more youthful appearance. Now, at 26 years old, I don’t know if I actually need to be looking more youthful than I already do, yet, in some way, over time (on my third bottle of this stuff) it has shown to improve my skin discolorations due to old acne scars. It has taken a lot longer than 8 days (another claim by Vichy) to see any kind of dramatic difference, so that claim also tends to be a bit misleading (personal opinion). Patience is a necessity when it comes to noticing a difference when using any kind of skincare product, & my patience is slowly starting to show and pay off, which makes me appreciate this product even more.




Oil: Oil is another new thing that I have let sneak into my skincare routine. With my combination skin, I never thought oil can help oil but, apparently it does just that. By the recommendation of another beauty blogger, Jess [who runs the amazing blog called Making It Up, check it out here], I decided to pick up & try my first oil by Clarins, with their Lotus Face Treatment Oil. Like the Clinique balm, I have not been using this for a long time so I can not say much about this yet; patience & time shall only tell. I love mixing this & my nighttime moisturizer together & have high hopes of letting more oils into my skincare routines in the future.


Moisturizer: I surprised myself at how much I actually really love this particular moisturizer but, than again, it is by my beloved Clarins. I use their Multi-Active Night Youth Recovery Cream for Normal to Combination Skin. This is yet another anti-aging product, though these have seemed to work best for my skin. It has medium consistency, & even when mixed with the oil, my face never looks or feels like an oily mess. It takes a few minutes to sink in, & when it does, my skin feels hydrated, comforted, & soft. When I wake up in the morning, my skin does look more radiant & awake like I got a good 8 hours of sleep in (even on those days where I don’t!). I am on my second pot of this baby, & this is a moisturizer that I will always have on hand.

I also exfoliate usually about twice a week, where I switch up products and/or the order that I use these products above in. I will make a separate post coming next with all that info.






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Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Skincare Routine: Morning


My morning skincare routine doesn’t vary quite often but, just the same I rotate out products once I use them up unless I see a significant difference, which in that case I would repurchase certain items here & there.

First things first…


Pre-Cleanse: I have been getting into the habit of pre-cleansing; which essentially is just a prep-cleanse before my actual cleanser. I am not saying that you NEED to pre-cleanse but, it helps along in the process of being able to help the skin get rid of dirt & impurities. My pre-cleanse cleanser (for nighttime as well) is & has been a micellar solution. For the morning, my pre-cleanse is Vichy’s 3-in-1 Micellar Cleansing Solution. From what I have seen, majority of micellar cleansers are great for sensitive skin types & have become a staple in the beauty world when it comes to the best kind of makeup-removers. I use this one by Vichy by soaking a cotton pad & gently swiping it across the face, which lifts up all dirt & impurities (your face does get dirty while you sleep!), which reveals a soft, clean complexion. I also find this particular one the best eye-makeup remover (better than Bioderma even, gasp!). After the prep is done, I get down to where the real action begins with my skincare.



Cleanser: I like using milk cleansers in the morning & in general; milk cleansers never dry out my face (unlike gel & foam). I find them to be relatively gentle as well, while leaving my skin clean, soft, and hydrated most importantly. This cleanser will vary every once in a while, unless I absolutely LOVE the cleanser I am using, such is the case with the Clarins Gentle Cleansing Milk w/Alpine Herbs, for Normal or Dry Skin. I put a little bit in the palm of my hand and put a little water into it, and massage it over my face, eyes, and neck, than proceed to take it off with a dampen a muslin cloth (flannel or wash cloth). For me, this is very gentle on my sensitive eyes (it may not be for the extremely sensitive though) and very calming on my skin in general.  I have come to have a bit of a love affair with Clarins over the last few months (a wonderful one at that!).



Toner: Toner’s and I have this love/hate relationship, so I don’t usually use them every single day but if I do, I spray it on rather than wiping it all across my face (I will get into that with my nighttime routine). The one that I love to spirtz on is by The Body Shop from their Vitamin E line. This is a great shot of hydration in the morning, absolutely love it. It has a very light scent that’s calming as it is pleasant. This line will pop up again within my routines.



Eyecare: I like to use two different products for eyecare in the morning. Firstly is Clarins Eye Contour Gel, which refreshes and cools my sensitive, tired under-eye area in the morning; it awakens those babies up! I personally love using eye gels in the morning because I find them to be more beneficial but, thats just a point of preference rather than any kind of skincare rule. The only thing that I don’t like about this particular eye gel is the packaging. The little tube just seems to sometimes have a mind of its own and the product comes out without me having to lightly squeeze the tube…which in turn starts to waste the product…which in turn makes me sad. I have the same problem with another Clarins product because its in the same kind of tube, grr. 

Getting over that…

The second eyecare that I use is by Boots, the Beautiful Skin Rich Hydrating Eye Cream for my     eye contour & right under my brow bone; areas where dryness occurs. This is great in hydrating and moisturizing that area perfectly; no other extra benefits with this one, does what it saids on the tube & the price point is pretty spectacular as well.



Serum: For serum, I go back to the Body Shop’s Vitamin E line with their moisture serum. I always need that extra boost of moisture to combat the dryness that my combination skin has. This serum is so light and soothing when applied to the skin & you just need a little bit for all day hydration. 



Moisturizer: I switch off between two moisturizers, depending on the kind of day. For more of an everyday (school, work, errands, etc) I like to use the Clarins Multi-Active Day Early Wrinkle Correction Cream. Now, I don't necessarily  need to worry about wrinkles just yet, regardless, this is still a great day moisturizer suitable for all skin types. No oily residue, no neglect of moisture, just a perfect pot of everything in one. When I know I will be away from home all day, I switch it with the Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré. I also use this as a makeup primer, and the makeup stays in place ALL.DAY.LONG. Probably the best 2-in-1 because you get the hydration from the creme as well as your makeup looking fabulous all day long. LOVE this multi-tasker!!



Next post…Nighttime Skincare!
That post will be even longer so make sure you grab a cup of tea beforehand…


Where To Purchase Products Mentioned In This Post...





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Sunday, January 11, 2015

welcome to j.beauté! : introduction post

Welcome!!

My name is Julie & I am a 20-something student & lover of all things beauty. I decided to start this blog to be able to share my thoughts on different types of beauty products that range from skincare to makeup, body to hair; with product favorites (& non-favourites), reviews, routines, tutorials, & more! I am NOT an expert in skincare or makeup, yet being able to take care of myself & my skin properly is a continuous learning process that I take the absolute pleasure in being able to do.  Here's to a new year, a new blog, & to all things beauté!!!

Also, don't forget to check out & follow my instagram, where I update daily about the ongoings of my beauté life!


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