Maybelline Dream Pure BB 8-IN-1 Skin Clearing Perfector | Review + FOTD

 
I first heard about Maybelline's new Dream Pure BB Cream on Teresa's blog, Money Can Buy Lipstick (her review and comparison to the original Dream Fresh BB Cream here).  I'd been having some breakouts on my chin and jawline and the idea of wearing a base product containing 2% salicylic acid seemed pretty brills.  I mean, why wear a regular base when you can wear a crime-fighting one that's working out your acne issues while you go about your daily routine?

*Quickie side vent: Living in Atlanta, a city consisting of 5.45 MILLION people and winning the title of the 9th largest metro area in the United States, one would assume I'd have decent access to drugstore products.  Alas, one would be wrong.  I cannot tell you how often I visit multiple retailers such as Target, CVS, Walgreen's, Publix, and Kroger, and roll snake eyes when attempting to track down a newly released drugstore makeup or skincare item.  It is muy loco.  I've even asked fellow Atlanta-area bloggers, including the lovely Quinn / Mama Fashionista, and they've agreed that newly released drugstore goodies can be quite elusive.  That being said, I was unable to find the Dream Pure BB Cream locally and resorted to ordering a tube from Walmart.com.  It worked out nicely because I was able to use a Walmart gift card a friend had given us for our wedding, and I received the BB Cream very quickly.  Anywho, back to the review!

Maybelline's Dream Pure BB promises to deliver the following 8 items of intrigue:

• Clears acne 
• Conceals imperfections 
• Minimizes look of pores 
• Reduces appearance of redness 
• Adjusts to skin tone 
• Hydrates and smoothes 
• Enhances and clarifies skin 
• Is oil-free, with a lightweight feel

Compared to the original Dream Fresh BB (review here), the Dream Pure formula seems to provide a bit less coverage and dries to a matte finish.  I don't detect a medicinal scent.  The shade medium matches my NW25 skin well, but I can see it working for both someone slightly deeper and slightly fairer than me due to the sheerness of the coverage.  It's available in 5 shades: Light, Light/Medium, Medium, Medium/Deep, and Deep.

Maybelline Dream Pure BB Medium on NW25 skin in natural light

I can't speak to it's power to clear acne because it is not the only base product or acne product I use.  I can say that it has not caused me to break out.  On my combination oily skin, this BB cream holds up well for about 5-6 hours before my skin looks and feels a bit greasy.  I tested it both with and without a setting powder, and the results were the same.  In comparison, NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer (review here) provides more coverage.  Also, my new favorite base product, Lumene Time Freeze CC Cream (review SOON!!), also provides more coverage and looks "just applied" even at the end of the day.  I personally prefer slightly more coverage when dealing with break outs.  The Maybelline Dream Pure BB might work better for me in the winter as the humid weather really poses a huge challenge for foundations.  Also, my skin looks REALLY spotty and freckled right now and posting the photos below was not an easy decision!

Left: No Makeup / Right: Wearing only Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream in Medium  

In the photo below taken outside on a sunny day, I've applied Dream Pure to the left side of my face and left the right side of my face bare.  You can see the left side looks more even overall and the spots and freckles are more camouflaged.

Left side: Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream in Medium / Right side: No Makeup

Overall, I'd recommend Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream to someone seeking a salicylic acid base product with light coverage who has normal to dry skin.

Oh, and PS: a few days after I ordered this from Walmart, I found it on the shelves at my local CVS!

Where to Buy: Walmart, CVS, Target
Price: $8.99 USD MSRP (I got mine for $7.44 USD at Walmart)

What's your favorite summer base option?  

Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream FOTD

1. Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream (set with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural - not pictured)
2. Garnier Anti-Dark Circle Eye Roller
3. Laura Mercier Sand Glow Caviar Stick
4. Clinique Chocolate Lustre Cream Shaper (review here)
5. Benefit Cosmetics Bad Gal Lash
6. Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Medium Brown (not pictured - oops!)
7. Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer (review here)
8. City Color Cosmetics Fresh Melon Be Matte Blush
9. Flower Beauty Wispy Wisteria Lip Service Lip Butter

(photo taken 5 hours after application)

A little Southern Hospitality for your feet! | Mint Julep Sweet Tea Foot Soak, Sunday's Best Foot Creme, Honey Lemon Cuticle Salve, & Magnolia Foaming Sugar Scrub

"Feet sweatin’ like a prostitute in church?"  When a company's marketing for foot powder is this cheeky, you know I'm in!  I saw Southern Hospitality's pretty products on Instagram and I'd already found numerous products of intrigue on their site when I received an email from them asking if I'd be interested in sampling a few items.  I was thrilled!  After falling in love with everything I received and then buying MOAR, I'm excited to share these goodies with y'all!

Southern Hospitality was created by a southern podiatrist named Dr. Quinton Yeldell and his business savvy belle Krystel Ford.  Together they created a charming line of natural preventative care products made in small batches using the highest quality ingredients from their Brooklyn, NY-based hub.  Their products are foot-focused but are appropriate for use over the entire body.

It's easy to see why their foot soaks are the top selling product!  Packaged like a giant tea bag, you simply pop it into a tub of 8 cups of warm water and soak your feet for 15-20 minutes.  I never soak my feet, but after one session, I was a convert!  I even got  Mr. Glambunctious (ha!) to give it a try and he loved it!  The Mint Julep Sweet Tea Foot Soak, $5.00 USD, combines peppermint oil and lavender topped off with spearmint.  It really awakens your feet and leaves them feeling calm, cool, and collected long after you're done soaking.  I purchased 4 more Sweet Tea Foot Soaks in a variety of scents (there are 12 in all) that very night!  They are THAT good.  I now really look forward to soaking my feet because it's extremely relaxing after a long day at work.

I'm not being dramatic when I say the Sunday's Best Foot Creme, $8.00 USD for 2 oz, is a miracle worker.  I have sweaty feet.  Let's just put it out there.  I never - EVER - put lotion on my feet because it never absorbs and just feels...wrong.  I was dubious about slathering on a foot creme but this stuff is FANTASTICO.  It's very thick, but once you begin to massage it into the skin, it absorbs quickly.  I like to top mine off with a pair of cotton socks before bed and wake up to ultra soft, completely non-sweaty feet.  I immediately started using this as a hand creme because I loved everything about it, and it soaks right into my hands as well.  The Foot Creme can be used anywhere on the body and comes in 8 scents and 3 sizes.  I love Sunday's Best.  It smells so crisp and clean, like fresh laundry hot out of the dryer.  It's huff-worthy.

The Honey Lemon Cuticle Salve, $6.00 USD for .25 oz, comes in a sweet little slide-top tin that beckons to be put in your purse.  It smells like you're having lemonade and sugar cookies in heaven.  If you have cuticles, you should pick up a tin.  ESPECIALLY if you love to change out your nail polish often.  This cuticle salve hydrates my acetone-stressed cuticles like a champ and leaves them looking mint!

The Magnolia Foaming Sugar Scrub, $7.00 USD for 2 oz, works double duty as a cleanser and an exfoliant, leaving your feet feeling soft and clean and ready for your prettiest pair of summer sandals.  It comes in 8 scents and 2 sizes (2 oz and 12 oz).  Magnolia smells fresh and floral with a touch of sweetness, much like a magnolia bloom.

After one relaxing foot soaking session using all of the above soaks, scrubs n' rubs, I went back to sohofeet.com and ordered 4 different Sweet Tea Foot Soaks, 3 Sunday's Best Foot Cremes, and the Sunday's Best Foot Powder.  If you'll notice, one of the soaks (Coconut!) is missing from the photo above because I used it the same day I received my order!  It was awesome; it smelled just like fresh coconuts and left my feet singing Bob Marley songs.  I bought the Foot Cremes to give as gifts because I loved mine so much.

I plan to keep soaking, exfoliating, moisturizing, and powdering with these incredibly amazing products throughout the year.  The quality of the products, tremendous customer service, and the overall value of everything I've tried has been top notch and I highly recommend Southern Hospitality products.  So much so, that I plan to give them out throughout the year as gifts!

Do I have any suggestions for the fine folks at Southern Hospitality?
1. PLEASE MAKE CANDLES!!  Every scent is just gorgeous and if you guys started making candles, I would be your BFF.  I mean, wouldn't a candle go nicely with the whole "sit back, relax, and soak your tired feet" vibe?  I certainly think so!  ;)
2.  I wish you guys shipped internationally!  I have many wonderful readers from around the globe who I just know would love your products as much as I do!

If you're in the continental US, or have a friend here who can order for you and then ship it over, you can peruse all of their offerings at sohofeet.com!  If not, look for one of my favorite Southern Hospitality products in an international giveaway coming soon! ☺

Do you ever soak your tootsies?  What's your favorite way to treat your hard working feet?

FAVORITES! | MAY 2014 ❤

 
It's that time again!  Monthly faves, yo!  In May, I really focused more on hair and skin and less on makeup.  These five products were in high demand at Casa Bartholomew:

1. Bumble and bumble Creme de Coco Tropical-Riche Shampoo.  I actually never buy high-end shampoo or conditioner but I happened to find the travel size versions of the B&b Gentle Shampoo and Conditioner on the shelves of my local Sephora days before my wedding/honeymoon.  I couldn't find travel sized versions of my go-to shamp champ and conditioner combo, so I gambled on the B&b.  Greatest shopping gamble ever!  I LOVED the Gentle Shampoo and Conditioner!  When I used that up, I found the Creme de Coco travel size on All Cosmetics Wholesale for $3.99 so I decided to try it.  I have fine hair that can't stand up to heavy moisturizing shampoos, but this one is PERFECTION.  My hair has life and my scalp is quite pleased with itself!  It also smells like coconuts which has become my absolute favorite scent lately.  They make a Creme de Coco Conditioning Masque that has me droolin' like a One Direction fan at an impromptu mall concert.  I have to thank my friends Blair and Maggie who have been longtime Bumble and bumble fans for tipping me over the "should I try this?" edge.  SO worth it.  You can find 2 ounce travel sizes of their shampoos at Amazon.com and Sephora.com which is AWESOME because you can try a small one before committing to the full 8 ounce size.

2. Terra Dolce Orange Peel Collagen Boosting Sugar Scrub.  This stuff ROCKS!  Such a delightful citrusy scrub that doesn't leave an oily residue on you or the shower floor.  I love using it to exfoliate before shaving or self tanning.  Full review here.

3. Avène Thermal Spring Water.  A lot of people seemed meh about receiving this in their last Birchbox send, but I'm tellin' ya: this stuff is AWESOME!  Have a mask, facial oil, or serum that requires damp skin?  Spray this on your face instead of flipping tap water onto it and tell me you don't notice a difference the next morning.  Other things I've personally found it useful for: cooling off on a hot day (stick it in an ice-filled cooler with your bevs and sammies for an extra chilly treat), refreshing your hair product (my hair needs water if it's going to do the wave and this is perfect for on the go touch-ups!), soothing sunburned skin before or after applying aloe, and helping to prevent razor burn.  Going to the pool or beach and need to clean sunscreen off your hands?  Spritz this into your hands, rub, and wipe off your paws on a towel.  Eyes burning from chlorine or sunscreen?  Close your eyes and generously spray them with the Thermal Water and pat dry with a towel.  This stuff is a summer savior!

4. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette.  I let the limited edition release of this pass me by over the holidays, but was thrilled to see it made permanent and scooped it up during the last Sephora VIB Sale for 20% off.  Weee!  Dim Light is perfection.  Not too glowy, not too matte.  A perfect "life giver" for skin, even for this oily gal.  Incandescent Light, exclusive (for now) to the palette, is a gorgeous highlighter that doesn't emphasize pores.  Radiant Light, which I always feared would be like a light show in New Mexico, is a divine powder for adding that desired bronze goddess effect without looking like a glitter bug.  This palette is a great way to sample three of the Ambient Lighting Powders, and now that's it's permanent, you can pick it up at your leisure.

5. NARS Lip Gloss in Eternal Red.  Can I just start a slow clap for NARS reformulating and repackaging their glosses?  Gone is the plastic scent that turned so many people off from the original glosses, and now these non-sticky beauties are in gorgeous clear tubes so the color is easy to spot.  Eternal Red has been on heavy rotation for me, along with Salamanca, but as a girl who doesn't think of herself as a "red lips" lady, Eternal Red is my jam.  It adds a lovely neutral-toned true red color to the lips with a gorgeous shiny (and did I mention non-sticky?) finish.  You can layer it on to up the color intensity or just apply one layer for a softer red look.  I would recommend this color to anyone, especially those who fear red lips.  Eternal Red is such a low-maintenance way to up the glam factor this summer!

What were some of your May faves?

Explore the best of Florida with Terra Dolce Floridian Body Lotion, Body Oil, and Sugar Scrub

When Alison Cripps, the Owner and Founder of Terra Dolce along with her husband Andrew, contacted me to ask if I'd be interested in sampling a few of their products, I was thrilled!  I really loved that their products were vegan, cruelty free, and made just a few hundred miles south of my hacienda in the beautiful Sunshine State!  They even come with a "From Florida" certification from the Florida Department of Agriculture!  With every Terra Dolce purchase, they plant a tree.  What's not to love?!  Plus, just look at these two healthy, happy people:

You know you want to buy body care products from them.  Resistance is futile. ;)

Terra Dolce Floridian Body Lotion, $24.00 USD for 8 oz,  is a heavy on hydration but light on the skin, a perfect summer essential.  It smells AMAZING.  If the sweet scent of oranges makes your heart go pitter-pat, you will absolutely love this moisturizer!  It worked wonders on my Sahara-style dry shins and soaked in pronto.  This body lotion contains vitamins, botanical extracts, calendula, chamomile and arnica to help protect your skin and restore it's resiliency.

Terra Dolce Floridian Body Oil, $27.00 USD for 12 oz, is packed with essential oils, antioxidants, and vitamin C and is the perfect bath companion.  You can add a few drops to your bath to soothe and hydrate your skin, or, if baths aren't your jam, you can smooth this luxurious oil directly onto your damp skin post-shower.  Either way, you're left with radiant, glowy skin that feels perfectly moisturized.  This is also your razor's new BFF!  Rub a few drops of this oil onto your legs in the bath or shower and prepare for the closest and most comfortable shave of your life.

Terra Dolce Orange Peel Collagen Boosting Sugar Scrub, $27.00 USD for 12 oz, made with pure sugar, natural oils, extracts and essentials blends fresh from Florida.  Even though this scrub contains olive and grape seed oil, in addition to a blend of essential oils, it doesn't feel oily on the skin or leave any residue on you or your tub!  This scrub is my absolute favorite Terra Dulce product!  It smells of freshly squeezed orange juice and exfoliates the skin without irritation.  This is packed with sugar so you get a wonderfully gritty scrub that doesn't all melt away in the warm shower water immediately upon contact.  Don't you guys feel so disappointed when a scrub contains precisely 4 scrub grains and they melt away before you can say "Crikey"?  That doesn't happen with this scrub.  You can also partner this with the Body Oil for an exceedingly dreamy leg shaving experience.  Exfoliate your legs with the Sugar Scrub, rinse, then apply the Body Oil and shave.  Your legs will be so soft and smooth afterward.  You can also follow that up with the Body Lotion for soft leg nirvana!

Terra Dolce goodies can be shipped to virtually anywhere in the world (though some items may be restricted), so check out their website if you're interested in picking up some of their lovely organic body care products.  Happy Spa-ing!