Figuring out what skincare works for my skin has been one of my biggest struggles since I turned 19. All throughout high school, I was fortunately blessed with really forgiving skin that almost never broke out. But as I’ve gotten older, my skin started changing (from dry skin to super dry skin to combination skin) and needing different products to make it happy.

Although watching YouTube videos and reading blog posts helped a lot, it was still hard to figure out exactly what would work for my skin. Sometimes, I would try out products that SOUND like they would work for me but ended up making my skin worse. And the worst part? I’d waste a bunch of money trying the products!

Until magically, one day, HelloAva reached out to me.

A Personalized Skincare Routine

HelloAva is a personalized skincare service that’s powered by AI technology and supported by licensed aestheticians and dermatologists. They utilize AI to personally curate a skincare regimen for every client. All you have to do is take a quiz with Ava, and their platform and their in-house skin advisors will draw out your skin type and the best-suited products for it.

Although I am always slightly wary about companies promoting AI use (as then you’re depending on an algorithm/computer to discover your skincare routine), I love that HelloAva also has a team of licensed skin care experts who text you and review with you your concerns, and ensure you’re getting products that will work for you.

How To Start

To get started, all you have to do is navigate to their home page, and click Take The Quiz. You will be asked a series of question about your age, ethnicity, skin type, concerns, brands you want to try, and budget, which will all be taken into consideration when they are crafting your personalized skincare routine.

What Happens Then?

After you take the quiz, it will take you to a results page which will tell you all about your skin type, it’s strengths and weaknesses, and what it needs. Then, one of their skin experts will text you and confirm the details of the quiz, ask you a few more detailed questions, and give you a final list of recommendations. You can also just take the product recommendations from the quiz if you want. They will give you 4+ product options in each category of products (exfoliant, moisturizer, toner, serum, SPF, etc.) for you to choose from.

30% Off Luxury Skincare Brands

HelloAva partners with tons of popular skincare brands that you already know and love. Which means your skincare regimen can consist of products you already have researched or have heard people rave about. They work with brands like Caudalie, L’Oreal, Boscia, Origins, Kiehl’s, Sunday Riley, Tatcha, fresh, and more!

10% Discount For Refills

Once you’ve used up your products, they also offer a refill discount for 10% off. So you’ll be saving on your initial order of the products and on your second order if you decide you love your new skincare routine!

If you want to learn more about HelloAva and the quizzing process, feel free to check out my comprehensive video where I talk about my experience with them from start to finish.

I discovered some products this summer that I really wish I had known about while I was still in school—so this one goes out to all the students!

Here are my top 5 products that you need this back to school season.

Jack Black Deep Dive Glycolic Facial Cleanser*

I find that every time fall comes along, my skin just decides it’s a good idea to shrivel up and die and I develop sebum bumps on my forehead and chin. This happens every time there’s a drastic change in weather between seasons but it’s especially bad between summer and autumn.

I started using the Jack Black Glycolic Facial Cleanser as a face mask a little while back and have been using it once or twice a week as a mask rather than as a cleanser. And yes, this is okay (it says so on the back of the packaging).  The clay helps the mask stay on your face and suck out all the nasty, dirty stuff that accumulates throughout the day. This guy is also gentle enough that it doesn’t strip my skin of any more oils than it needs to.

On days I feel like my skin is looking a little dull and I’m finding more sebum bumps on my forehead, I’ll apply this mask 5-10 minutes before I hop in the shower and just wash it off once I’m in there. It’s a super quick and easy process which is great for someone who usually hates spending time doing masks. ??

STIL Classics

I can’t explain to you how obsessed with this agenda I am. I was using my Leuchtrum bullet journals as weekly agendas before this. I love the creativity that writing or planning on bullets give you. I still use my bullet journals every day for idea planning and meeting notes but my STIL Classics agenda has definitely taken the lead in the actual agenda front.

My favourite aspect of this journal is actually NOT the design (although it is every minimalists’ wet daydream) but the amazing weekly layouts. Each month starts off with a goals and to-dos page and then a monthly view and weekly views.

Here’s the part that gets me excited: It has two separate layouts for each week. One is a checklist (with checkboxes and everything!) for each day of the week. As someone who likes to write to-do lists in my agenda, this is a genius idea to me. They also provide you with a week-at-a-glance layout that has the days divided into different time frames; Morning, Day, and Night. THIS is great because it shows me my weekly schedule and I can quickly look at which time slots I’m busy and which time slots I’m free. How AMAZING is that? I am a stationery lover so this stuff is right up my alley (hence the excitement).

CaseApp Cases*

Without rhyme or reason, I found that I dropped my phone the most often when I was in school. In the lecture halls, in my labs, in the hallway, in the caf…somehow my phone was always the first thing to slip out of my hands. I mainly purchased cheap phone cases all throughout high school and university (b***** please, spend $60 on a phone case? How about NO) but most of them have been huge let downs and did not protect my phone from the drops.

Dropped screens are a lot more expensive than a $60 phone case.

CaseApps recently reached out to me and sent me 2 of their customizable phone cases and MAN…I would’ve saved myself a lot of money and trouble if I had one of these babies during school.

I chose the “Tough” case for my iPhone 7+ and it wraps around the entirety of my phone perfectly and has raised edges to protect it from front drops. They’ve also got loads of designs to choose from as well as a customizable option where you can choose to print any image of your choice, in either matte or glossy, onto a phone case and get it shipped to you!

Most of their cases are only $34 each which is a STEAL for the styles and protection that it provides. I, of course, had to pick out a palm leaf one and a grey-coloured design because it’s me and everyone knows I can’t stay away from either of those prints.

If you want to try out any of their cases or create you own, you can use ‘SPEAKOFTHEANGEL20’ for 20% off until October 10! 

Lush Mouthwash Tabs*

These are a lifesaver mainly because on countless occasions I’ve ran out of my house, forgetting to brush my teeth beforehand. Don’t lie, we’ve all been there. My professors took attendance extremely seriously so I was NOT about to sacrifice some grades for fresh breath.

Thankfully with these babies, I won’t have to.

These are also amazing for traveling as well. All you have to do is chew the tab and then rinse your mouth out with water. And VOILA! Mouthwash on-the-go. 

Bobbi Brown Contour and Highlight Sticks

I’ve pretty much retired my powder bronzers ever since I purchased these sticks in the middle of summer. They are a dream to apply and blend and give me so much more precision with my contour. I’ve been using them every single day since I’ve picked them up and they’ve already jumped to the top of my holy grail items list.

Save yourself the trouble of ordering KKW beauty contouring sticks and just pick up these babies instead. I promise you, you won’t regret it.

What are your back to school necessities?

Until next time,

About Bleu Lavande

Bleu Lavande is a Canadian brand that focuses on wellness, purity, and the use of natural ingredients when possible. They started one of the first Lavender farms in Canada, and since then have created all their products around the use of Lavender essential oil.

The Product

The Multifunctional Day and Night Face Cream is the first clinically-proven face cream made with an organic argan oil and sea-lavender base. It is a heavier cream filled with many different oils which I found worked really well with my dry skin. However, despite all the essential oil content, my skin drinks this baby up instantly! It doesn’t leave your face with a greasy feeling after applying and that’s probably my favourite thing about it. In the morning I mist my face with my toner before applying one pump of this moisturizer to keep the application slightly lighter. 

This product also claims to be great for anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and helps with the production of collagen as well! These aren’t effects that I have experienced myself as I’m not at the age where I can reap those benefits yet, but prevention is key right?!

And have I mentioned the LOVELY scent the oils (especially the lavender oil) give this product? Something about a light lavender scents is so calming and serene. It’s the perfect night cream to apply before bed! 

Verdict

I’ve already mentioned at the beginning of this post that I would definitely repurchase the Multifunctional Face Cream after I finish my current tube. I’ve gone through about half the tube since June with daily usage. I only use one pump every time I apply it because a bit this stuff goes a long way! One tube of this cream is $40 which isn’t a small price tag. But considering one tube will last you about 4 months, it’s only technically $10 a month! That’s a price that I can get behind ??

If you have any further questions about the product feel free to leave them in the comments below. 

Have you ever tried any Bleu Lavande products, and what did you think about them?

Edit: I’ve since tried a lot of other masks in similar textures! If you’re looking for a good alternative to the Mask of Magnaminty, my new favourite is the PureHeals Centella Green Tea Pack! It has even better ingredients and is a Korean skincare brand! The texture and colour is quite similar but the PureHeals one is more buttery and soft on the skin.

About a month ago, I went to Lush and purchased a few products to try out. Since my skin has been really acting up lately, I decided I would give some natural products a try and see if it would help. If you’re interested in seeing what else I purchased from Lush, you can check out my mini haul here.

The product I want to review for you guys today is the Mask of Magnaminty. I’ve been using this for almost four weeks now, and I’ve been loving it ! The Lush girl suggested that I try this out when I asked her for something that would give me a nice deep clean and would help with the clogging of my pores. And I’ve definitely been seeing results !

 Magnanimity definition : the act of being magnanimous; generosity

I have been using this hand in hand with the two other products that I bought (the Tea Tree Toner, and Grease Lightening) so those could also have had an effect in the state of my skin, but because one of them is just a mild toner and the other is a spot treatment, I can conclude that this is probably what’s helping my skin overall.

I try my best to use this bad boy at least 2 – 3 times a week, and if I forget, then at least once a week at the bare minimum. I originally thought that buying the smaller size ($12.95 for 125 g) would only last me a couple of tries before I had to go back to purchase another tub of it, but surprisingly this has lasted me quite a well. I’ve used it probably 6-8 times now and it still has a pretty substantial amount left in the tub.

The description on the website says

Mask of Magnaminty isn’t technically a daily ‘facial wash’; it’s actually a deep cleansing face and back mask. China clay and fresh peppermint reach deep down to pull the debris from your pores, giving you that delightful tingly-clean sensation. We add loads of aduki beans to exfoliate flaky or dry skin, vanilla absolute to calm redness and honey to soothe. Our inventors created Mask of Magnaminty to be the ‘ultimate face mask’, intense but not harsh or abrasive on the skin. We recommend using Mask of Magnaminty weekly to keep the skin in good condition.

The grainy texture from the added aduki beans was definitely a little strange to me. This was probably the first face mask that I’ve tried that has that kind of texture to it. It wasn’t until I was washing the mask off before I realized why the beans were there. When you are rinsing off the mask, the aduki beans helps you really gently exfoliate your skin. So as you rub the mask away, you are actually rubbing the beans against your skin. I really enjoyed this because they actually give a gentle (but not so gentle that it doesn’t work) exfoliating, instead of a harsh one like my St. Ives Apricot Scrub does.

Another thing that was slightly alarming was the peppermint. When first applied to your face, the minty-ness is definitely very prominent and almost a little off-putting. Let me just tell you now.. this is a VERY minty mask. And most other minty, tingly masks that I’ve tried, I didn’t end up liking because it always seemed to dry out my skin in the end. So right off the bat, I already thought to myself “Nope, not going to like this. Definitely going to dry out my skin.” BUUUUT to my surprise, this actually did the exact opposite. Not only did it make my skin feel exceptionally clean afterwards, my skin actually felt moisturized and replenished as well. I’m guessing it’s the vanilla and the honey in it, but my skin felt soothed and polished all at the same time. Oh and the minty-ness only lasts for a couple of minutes. After the couple of minutes has passed, the mask will no longer feel extremely minty, and just feel normal on your skin.

I don’t think I would use this mask every single day, because it does perform quite a deep clean for your skin, so I would assume that if used too much, it may strip your skin of some of its essential oils. But I will use this mask every other day, and I have no problems with my skin drying out from it. I naturally have extremely dry skin, so this is always a relief for me when it comes to cleansers and masks.

Overall, this mask seems like it’s been doing wonders for my skin ! After the first use, my skin had just felt well-cleaned, but I didn’t see much of a difference as far as my spots go. But after a few times of using this cleanser, I definitely noticed a positive change in my skin. My break outs have definitely lessened, and my skin has been feeling less dry and flakey, since it does a great job moisturizing, restoring and exfoliating it !

If you’re in the market for a new deep cleanser, or even just a nice mask to try, I would definitely give Mask of Magnaminty a go. It’s no wonder the Lush girl told me this is one of her holy grail products, because I know for fact I will definitely be repurchasing this one when I need a refill.

Not to mention it smells like mint chocolate ice cream… ♡

Hope this post was helpful !

More soon,

I recently went to Lush and purchased some new things to try out ! Alright so here’s the zinger…. Before this Lush trip, I’ve actually never set foot into Lush before. DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNNNN.

I know I know, what kind of blogger/youtuber has never tried Lush before. Unheard of ! Unbelievable ! Unacceptable !

But, I’m not going to lie, I’ve only been using these products for a few days, and I am already in love. I know I’m definitely going to be trying more things from them as soon as I finish these.

The only thing is, I really don’t want this to become a full on addiction where I go crazy buying products before I’ve finished the previous. Because 1) I can’t give you guys good enough reviews if I’m using too many products at once ! 2) Products will go to waste because I won’t finish them before their expiry date. SO. I’ve decided I’m going to learn the art of self-control and NOT go ham buying Lush products.

Bath bombs though… might be a different story. We’ll see.

Okay, Products that I bought : 

The first product that I picked up was Mask of Magnaminty. I’ve heard countless youtubers talk about this product, so when the Lush girl recommended it to me and my problematic skin (as of late) I bought it without a second thought. I’m going to be doing a full review and demo on this mask soon, so I don’t want to say too much about it. I will say however, that I’ve only used it once but I’m already loving it ! The smaller size (125 g), which is the one I picked up, costs $12.95, and the larger size (315 g) costs $24.95.

The next two products I bought both have Tea Tree as their main ingredient. My skin has been breaking out like none other for the past couple of months. I’ve already tried a bunch of different things to treat it but nothing has really consistently solved my issues. I’m just finishing up the last of some of the other acne-treating products I have, so I thought I would give Lush a go.

Known for it’s natural and fresh ingredients, I’m sure it will be a lot better for skin than trying out products with I don’t know WHAT in them.

So I bought their Tea Tree Water which is a toner. I bought the large size which is a 250 mL bottle, which costed me $21.95, but there is also a smaller size that is 100 mL for $9.95. I use toner every single day so I didn’t see a point in buying a small bottle of this. I also want to mention that I love that this comes in a spray bottle. It feels really good spritzing this on my face after I wash it, but also, when you eliminate the use of cotton pads with your toner, every last drop of the toner will be going onto your face. So you won’t be wasting none of it on the cotton pads !

The other product I wanted to try was their Grease Lightening Tea Tree Gel. This is a much higher concentration of tea tree oil, and is supposed to be used as a spot treatment. So when you’re breaking out or just have a spot, you rub a little bit of this on your problematic areas before you go to bed, and this will really help deep clean it as well as dry the spot out ! This only comes in one size, a 45 g bottle that retails for $13.95, but honestly this bottle will last me quite a long time. Because I will only be using this as a spot treatment, I only use a very minimal amount each time. And honestly, a little goes a long way with this!

So far I’ve only been using these products for what… 2 days? So I definitely want to continue using them for a while before I can give you guys my opinion on them. I will definitely be doing reviews on everything I try out from Lush from now on. I have seriously fallen in love with their company in the last couple of days. I’m really hoping these products work well with my skin because I would choose Lush purely due to the fact that they use so many natural ingredients and don’t do any testing on animals.

Not to mention their products don’t cost a ridiculous amount of money either !

I also tried out one of their bath bombs today, but it wasn’t one of the items that I bought, it was actually a gift. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of it as it was dissolving, so I think I will skip on a review on that particular bomb. But if you guys want to see reviews on other bath bombs definitely let me know !

ALSO, if you’ve tried any of the products mentioned above, let me know how you got on with them !

Seriously cannot wait to try more Lush products… GAH.

More soon,