inkey list – Leave it to Lea

Hey guys! Today we’re back with another round of product empties. I love doing these posts because I feel like I give the best reviews after using up a product. Lots of skincare and some haircare in today’s trash pile, so let’s get into it.

A collection of empty makeup, skincare and hair products.

First, we have L’Occitane Almond Delightful Body Balm. Almond is one of my favourite scents and I heard good things about the almond range from L’Occitane so I picked this one up. This stuff is thick. It was perfect during the winter months when my skin was drier. I prefer something slightly lighter because it’s less work to rub it into the skin. I would consider buying another product within their almond range because I do enjoy the scent. If you have dry skin I would recommend this one. It is on the higher end price-wise, just something to note.

The next product is a deluxe sample of the Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm. I like to use cleansing balms if I am wearing a full face of makeup – full-coverage foundation, liquid liner, glitter, etc. you get the point. This balm did a good job of breaking down all the stubborn makeup and leaving my face clean and ready for my second cleanser. I would consider repurchasing, but I decided to get the Versed cleansing balm instead. It’s almost half the price and available at Shoppers!

Another sample I had was the Biossance Squalane + Peptide Eye Gel. This eye gel is supposed to reduce puffiness and dark circles. Honestly, I didn’t notice much of a difference. I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again: I don’t think eye creams do much besides hydration. I do have to be careful because I find some eye creams can irritate my under eyes, which makes. After all, the skin is thinner under the eyes. So while the eye cream gets points for not irritating my under eyes, I didn’t notice a difference in puffiness and dark circles. I don’t think you need to buy this eye cream and I wouldn’t repurchase it.

The one makeup product I have is the Laura Geller LashBOSS Bold Mascara, which seems to have been discontinued since I’ve received it in my Boxycharm. This is fine by me because this mascara was mediocre. I don’t remember my thoughts on it because I didn’t reach for it often. It didn’t give me more volume or length so that’s why I didn’t use it. I’m getting rid of it because the last time I used the mascara it flaked on me and it hadn’t done that before, so I took that as a sign that it was done.

My first haircare empty is the Briogeo Farewell Frizz Blow Dry Perfection Heat Protectant Cream. If you watched my curly hair routine then you would know that I like to use this and a Living Proof Leave-In product as my heat protectant on days that I blow dry my hair. And I have to be honest that I like the Living Proof product more. I like the smell of this Briogeo cream. But I find that it weighs my hair down more and my curls never look as nice when I use the Briogeo cream. I’m not saying it’s bad necessarily. It’s great considering there are so few sulphate and silicone-free heat protectants on the market. But I prefer Living Proof’s heat protectant more.

The other two empties I have are the Briogeo deep conditioners: the Be Gentle, Be Kind Avocado + Kiwi Mega Moisture Superfoods Hair Mask and the Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Hair Mask (not pictured). Of the two I would say the Be Gentle, Be Kind is my favourite. I just don’t find the Don’t Despair, Despair mask to be hydrating enough. I don’t notice a difference when I use it. This is funny because I love the honey version of that mask. But even the Be Gentle, Be Kind is okay. I’m still on the hunt for the mask that will make my hair softer and smoother after using it. Please leave your suggestions for hair masks in the comments.

This product is slightly covered up in the photo, but the next product is a deluxe sample of the Biossance Squalane + Omega Repair Cream. This is a pretty thick cream so I didn’t want to use it on my face. I used it on my body instead. I don’t have any complaints. It did the job of moisturizing my skin. But I can’t necessarily recommend it since I don’t know what it would be like on the face.

I know a lot of people like The Inkey List Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum but I didn’t notice a difference while using it. I would pause and resume using the serum and I didn’t notice a difference. I have another hyaluronic acid serum that I got in my Boxycharm and I do notice a difference when I use that one. Maybe if you have dry skin you’ll notice a difference. But this is a pass for me guys.

A product I loved is the OLEHENRIKSEN Truth Juice Daily Cleanser. This is a great morning cleanser. The citrus scent just wakes me up. This leaves my skin feeling clean and smooth without stripping my skin. But it’s strong enough for my acne-prone skin. If you have normal or oily skin then I would recommend checking it out. I decided to not repurchase and tried a new cleanser, the Youth to the People one I got during the Sephora sale.

The next product is the Farmacy Daily Greens Oil-Free Gel Moisturizer with Moringa and Papaya. This moisturizer is for all my oily skin friends. My brother loves this moisturizer. He was using it behind my back and when I found out I told him to buy it himself. He said it was too expensive (but he’ll steal it from me, brothers 🙄). This is a lightweight gel that gives the perfect level of hydration for oily skin. Also, I feel like there is tea tree oil in this because it smells similar, but I can’t find it on the ingredient list so it must be something similar. Overall a good moisturizer. I have others I want to use up but I would consider repurchasing this one.

I finished my prescription acne cream recently and it’s $200 without insurance so I won’t be repurchasing it. 😭 So instead I decided to try the Benzagel Acne Gel. There are different – Differn XP is adapalene (retinoid) whereas Benzagel is benzoyl peroxide. I used benzoyl peroxide as a teen (I used Proactiv) and it was fine. From my research, it seems that the only difference is that adapalene is only available with a prescription but anyone can get a benzoyl peroxide cream. I just use this as a spot treatment. I find it’s too strong to use all over the skin. It does a good job of helping clear up my acne so I’ll continue to use Benzagel.

The final product is the Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream to Brighten and Depuff. I’ve already explained my grips with eye creams in general. This one has a slight orange tint which I guess helped with the look of darkness. I will say that this took a while to sink into the skin. So I would have to wait for it to sink into the skin otherwise my makeup wouldn’t look right. It’s not bad, but I have other opened eye creams that I will be using next.

And that is a very long product empties post. I hope this was helpful for you guys. Let me know in the comments what products you’ve finished lately!

xoxo

Lea

Hey guys! Today I am reviewing a couple of Inkey List products for you guys. I bought a few items back in November and have been testing them ever since. I’ve never tried anything from the brand but I had heard only good things so I was excited to try them out!

inkey list, the inkey list, skincare, skincare products, serums, peels

The Inkey List has been around for a while but only recently became available on the Sephora Canada website. The brand is similar to The Ordinary in the sense where the products are in simple packaging and are affordable. But unlike the Ordinary, the brand is very simple to understand and pride itself on being accessible. That was something I appreciated when trying to figure out what I wanted to purchase. Every product had an explanation of what it does, how it can help and how to use the product.

the inkey list, inkey list, hyaluronic acid, hyaluronic acid serum, serum, skincare

The first product I picked out and tested was the Hyaluronic Acid Serum. This serum is meant to help hydrate the skin. I picked this because everyone and their mother is talking about hyaluronic acid and I’ve never tried a dedicated serum that only has hyaluronic acid in it. So keep in mind that I have nothing to compare it to.

I didn’t notice a difference??? I don’t know if that’s because of this serum or if my skin doesn’t react much to hyaluronic acid. I apply it to my face and it doesn’t immediately feel hydrated, if anything it feels sticky. So it’s not like a moisturizer where you’ll get instant hydration. I tested this for a month and I didn’t notice any difference. So I stopped for a month and then started again for a month. NO DIFFERENCE. I don’t know guys, I have pretty oily skin but like everyone, I do get a little drier during the winter months. This time of year is probably when my skin is the driest and I noticed no effect.

I’m also not a huge fan of the packaging. It’s just a top that you flip out and squeeze, so it’s pretty easy to squeeze out too much. I also find that it gets clogged as well. I’m going to continue to use it but once I finish it I won’t be repurchasing it because I don’t notice anything.

inkey list, the inkey list, vitamin c, vitamin c serum, skincare

The next product I picked was the 15% Vitamin C and EGF Brightening Serum. I have tested out other vitamin C serums so I do have something to compare. This is supposed to help brighten dull skin and help with dark spots. I like the packaging of this more than the Hyaluronic Acid because it comes with a pump that dispenses the perfect amount. It has a slight scent but nothing offensive and it leaves the skin feeling slightly tacky.

Unlike the other serum, I found this one did make a difference in my skin. My skin did look brighter and it helped with some of my acne scarring. But it’s not as good as my Biossance serum. There is a dramatic price difference – the Biossance one is $95 whereas the Inkey List is $18.99. But there is also a difference in quality. Because the Inkey List Vitamin C serum is just vitamin C, I need to use other serums to get other benefits. Whereas the Biossance serum also has squalene and rose oil, which helps heal my acne and hydrate my skin. So my thoughts are if you are looking for just a vitamin C serum and already have other serums then sure this one will do the job. But sometimes it’s nice to get a pricier serum that will do everything than get multiple serums to do different jobs. Quality over quantity.

the inkey list, inkey list, apple cider vinegar, apple cider vinegar acid peel, skincare

The final product I purchased was the Apple Cider Vinegar Acid Peel and this is my favourite product that I tried. This product is perfect for my fellow oily and acne-prone friends. This peel is meant to brighten the skin, reduce redness and refine the look of texture.

The first time I used it I was shocked at how much it reduced the redness of my acne scarring. And even though it’s called a peel, it’s not a mask you have to physically peel off. I just wear it for 10 minutes and wash it off. I will note that it’s meant for scarring so I only use this when I don’t have any active breakouts. The product does tingle a bit while using it, so I would recommend using it once to twice a week as directed. This is a product that I will continue to use.

I’m unsure of my overall thoughts on the brand so far. It has been hit and miss for me, so I would research each product individually instead of saying everything is good. I like that the brand is keeping everything affordable and accessible, but I think that is reflected in the product. The packaging isn’t anything special and the products are pretty basic. They do the one thing they describe. So if you are on a budget or looking to fix one specific need then the Inkey List could be the solution. But if you like luxurious packaging and want to invest in some good products, then this isn’t the brand for you. I see skincare as an investment and I generally do prefer prettier packaging. I also don’t mind paying more for a product if I’m going to get better results. So I’m not saying that I won’t try anything else from the brand, but I just don’t see it becoming my new favourite brand.

Let me know in the comments if you guys have tried out this brand before. And if you have please tell me what your favourite products are. I wanted to try some other things but they were sold out. Okay, that’s it for today’s review!

xoxo

Lea

Tag: inkey list

Product Empties May 2021

First Time Trying Inkey List Products