Review: Tony Moly Brightening Eye Base

So I have seen sooo many mixed reviews about this product. While scrolling through the reviews on Amazon, I thought to myself "is it actually any good?!" Well, despite my better judgement, I ditched my apprehension and bought myself one at Ulta. So here's my initial thoughts about the product: it does what it's supposed to. I will elaborate what that means in the paragraphs below.

About My Skin: I have very dry skin. I have large pores on my nose and flaky skin especially on my cheeks, and forehead.

Product Description: I have decided not to include the product description here because I think it has caused a bit of confusion. This product DOES NOT lighten the under eye area over time. It is an eye base, which is different from an eye lightener.

How to Use: Before applying makeup, apply under eyes or on eye lids for an instant brightened, awake look.

Review: So let me explain what this product does. This product does not lighten your skin over time. It is a brightening base for eye makeup and to lighten your dark circles. You apply this before putting on makeup. A bunch of people seem to think that this product is supposed to lighten their dark circles over time. Let me be the first to say, No. It does not do that. So now you know what it does, lets move onto the review. So the product glides on really nicely and doesn't really smell like anything. The texture is really smooth, kind of like a highlighter stick and it is bright white. When I applied it under my eyes, it flaked a little bit because I guess I didn't apply enough moisture to my skin before using it. Once I remedied this issue, it glided on smoothly and blended out really nicely. I have pretty bad bags and it made them mostly disappear, even without foundation on! When I applied it to my eyelids, it helped my eye shadow glow brighter and last longer. This is a big deal because I have  hanging eyelids and for some reason oily eyelids as well. Meaning eye shadow DOES NOT last very long on my eyelids at all. However, this product extends its life a little bit. So, knowing that this does not brighten dark circles, this product works very well! Even on my dry skin. It glides on smoothly, lasts a long time, and makes me look awake (and not zombie-like). I don't really have anything negative to say about it. :)

Tip: Moisturize skin well before using because sometimes it flakes a little bit.

Rating: 10/10
Safe for Sensitive Skin: Yes
Safe for Dry Skin: Yes
 

My Routine for Dry Natural Hair

My hair has been very upset with me. Until recently, my hair shed really badly and felt dry and brittle. On the average day, it's dry, fine and is prone to some serious build up, but until recently, my hair has really hated me. The reason why is actually pretty silly. I still didn't know what products to use on my hair! Let me explain. I've been natural for about 4 years now, I've gone through product after product, oil after oil and texture after texture. However,  one thing that I've learned is that my hair's needs are constantly changing. As my hair grows, deals with changing climates, and reacts to new products it changes. So on top of just learning about how to care for my hair, I had to take into account the effects of change.
   With this in mind, I feel like I have finally learned the secret to length retention and growth for my hair- minimalism. In college, I was obsessed with growth and if you came into my dorm everyday at around 9am, 2pm, and 8pm you'd find me messing around with my hair and checking my length. I was literally obsessed. For some girls, moisturizing hair twice a day is totally effective, but I learned that for me it's a total travesty. My hair shed as quickly as it grew and build-up inhibited hair growth. My obsession was stunting my hair growth. For successful hair growth, do as little manipulation to my hair as possible. However, the problem was that my hair is SUPER dry, SUPER fine, and is low porosity, meaning it resists moisture. All the odds were stacked against me and I didn't know what to do. My curls looked frizzy and dry, if I used product, the  product never dried in my hair making it even more frizzy. Grrr!!!! On top of that, I found out that my hair sheds really badly when I don't finger detangle it often enough. So yeah,...
   Now my hair is bra strap length and I learned exactly the right way to keep moisture in and define my stubborn, stubborn curls. Now I'm going to share what I've learned with you!

About my hair:

Porosity: Low Porosity
Density: High Density
Type: 3C
Strands: Fine
Length: BSL

DAILY 

Every night, I do an oil scalp massage and put a water based moisturizer into my hair. I try to keep the manipulation to an absolute minimum, so I gently finger detangle to get the product through my hair. After I apply the moisturizer, I also twist up that section and twist tightly to force the product through. So far it has been excellent for avoiding build-up. After that I put my hair into two crown braids and go to sleep. Most of the time, I just leave the crown braid in during the day so I don't over manipulate. I try to keep manipulation down to once a day. I've recently been using Shea Moisture's Mint & Ginger Detox & Refresh Hair & Scalp Leave-In Detangler, and I have been incredibly satisfied with the results! My curls are finally defined, healthy and not frizzy and gross. I will write a review for this product with full details.

Products:

1. Shea Moisture's Mint & Ginger Detox & Refresh Hair & Scalp Leave-In Detangler
2.  Oil Mixture: Aloe gel, coconut oil, Amla, Rosemary essential oil, Lemon essential oil, Grapeseed Oil

WEEKLY 

Every week, I do an ACV rinse on my hair to get rid of any build up. Build up has been a HUGE issue for me, so as much as I wish I could just wash it once a month, I really cannot. After the ACV, I do a quick shea moisture deep conditioner. After that I apply my Treseme conditioner and detangle my hair with a wide tooth comb very thoroughly. (Note: the only time a comb touches my hair is when my hair has gotten wet. Without it, my hair becomes a hot tangled mess.)

Products

1. Apple Cider Vinegar
2. Manuka Honey & Mafura Oil Intensive Hydration Masque

MONTHLY 

Once a month, I do a protein treatment because I find that too much protein makes my hair dry, brittle and crappy. For a protein treatment, I use Avacado, olive oil, two eggs, yogurt and neem powder. I let that sit for about one hour and rinse. Then I style as usual.

Notice that I never mentioned trimming my hair. That's because I don't, UNLESS my hair really needs it. If my ends are frayed and dry, I will trim them. Otherwise, there is no need to. Trimming hair regularly is actually just a myth. Besides, I noticed that those with the longest hair don't trim their hair at all! Well, I hope this post was some what helpful.

Review: Tony Moly I'm Real Rice Smooth Toner

Hey guys!! Sorry for the late posting! I was visiting my family in Virginia for a while. To get some more sunshine and some beach! The moist air is so much better for my dry skin than it is up here in MA, but I couldn't stay there forever. So I decided to go to Ulta to stock up for the dry, cold Boston air. I was met with a very sweet surprise- that's right-Korean skincare brands! Turns out Ulta stocks Tony Moly products! My sister just rolled her eyes, because I was like a kid in a candy store. I picked out three products and I am going to review all three products starting with Tony Moly's I'm Real Rice Smooth Toner. It's been exactly two weeks since I begin using this product so my review will be accurate depiction of the product's efficacy.

About My Skin: I have very dry skin. I have large pores on my nose and dry skin especially on my cheeks, and forehead.

Product Description:  This light and moisturizing toner refreshes and cleans skin for healthier more moisturized skin. It also contains rice, which is excellent for dry skin and moisture.

How to Use: Apply product to palm of hand, then pat it onto skin until somewhat dry.

Ingredients: 

Review: So my first impression of this product was apprehensive. Having super dry skin and the word toner triggers me a little. I had a terrible experience with a "mild" toner in high school. Long story short, I walked around all week with a red, burning, itchy, flaky face. I shudder at the thought. Anyway, I am proud to say that this product is NOTHING like that one. This toner (which is ACTUALLY mild) is so moisturizing and cleansing. The texture is very watery and clear. It applied nicely and didn't really have a smell. Not that I noticed at least. The first few applications were not very effective. I always wait at least two weeks before judging how effective a product is. After two weeks, I can say that it has not my face itchy, burning, red or flaky. In fact, it is minimizing my pores, and cleaning my skin so that my pores aren't so big. However, I had to learn that it won't keep my pores down all the time. I have to use it everyday religiously in order to keep my pores down. That makes sense given that pores never stay down anyway. If you have large pores, they will go back to their natural state after at least 24 hours, or when the product wears off. However, it worked well during the time I use it. Its light and very moisturizing. It doesn't dry out my skin at all or cause any issues to my sensitive skin. I give this product the green light!

Note: This product doesn't work immediately, so give it some time to begin working and penetrating your skin. Your skin also needs time to adjust to it. Some makeup guru's claim it takes your skin about two weeks to acclimate to a new product. During that time you may experience some breakouts and burning. That's normal. If it's really severe stop using the product, but minor burning and breakouts are to be expected. If you break out longer than two weeks then stop using the product and call your doctor (according to every infomercial ever). During the first week, it burned my cheeks once or twice, however, it has never burned me since. So give it at least two weeks before making the judgment call.

Rating: 10/10
Safe for Sensitive Skin: Yes
Safe for Dry Skin: Yes