The Balm TimeBalm Concealer

Concealer has never been part of my makeup routine but I've been starting to notice some under-eye circles and then the usual redness from blemishes. My friend works at Sephora and she had let my sister know that The Balm has a great concealer. I read the reviews on Sephora and loved what I saw. I purchased this along with my $10 Stila e/s It girl palette. FYI I got the concealer in the Light/Medium shade.

When I received it, I was a bit bummed that the packaging was really plain. It comes in a simple clear pot with a sponge. Hopefully they revamp their packaging for this product because then it would be perfect! Another thing I don't like very much is the smell. It's not awful by any means, but it has a bit of that "makeup smell" to it. The smell is noticeable initially, but goes away after a couple of minutes.

Anyway, I swirled my ring finger into the pot and was surprised it wasn't creamy as others have described. I thought it would be similar to Benefit's Boing concealer, as in super creamy. The consistency feels more like a MAC paint pot. I guess it really depends on where you place your makeup products though. I find that placing it out on my bathroom countertop when I'm in the shower helps soften it to the consistency I prefer. As far as coverage go, I really dig it! It covers up my problem areas and blends into my skin pretty well. This stuff lasts all day long for me too, even after a good run during my lunch break. What I like about this concealer is that it helps even out my skin tone as well. I like to put a little bit on the corners of my nose to cover up the redness and then a little bit over the area above my lip to help even out some of the darkness/shadow.

Time Balm sells for $18 a pop. While this is a bit steep in price, I say it's worth it. There is a good amount of product and a little goes a long way so I'm sure this will last me over a year.

Clarisonic Skin Care Brush

From the creators of the Sonicare® toothbrush comes the Clarisonic® Skincare Brush. Sonic technology first changed the way we clean our teeth, it's now changing how we cleanse our skin. The sonic frequency moves Clarisonic's soft, gentle brush back and forth at more than 300 times per second, thoroughly clearing pores and skin surface.

Here are some of the benefits this revolutionary skincare tool delivers:
- Removes makeup six times better than traditional methods.
- Clears pores and reduces the appearance of pore size.
- Cleanses so thoroughly that skincare products absorb better.
- Creates noticeably healthier looking skin.

I wanted to buy this about a year ago, but not having a job really prevented me from doing so. I had to put my money on far more important things such as student loans. Now that I have a full-time job, it has allowed me to buy things that I thought were out of reach for me. The Clarisonic comes with a hefty price after all. A $195 price tag. I have kept my eye on it for a really long time and have read reviews from several places so it was definitely something worth buying in my opinion.So far it has been working really well for me. I like that it's easy to use because it has a built in timer that beeps. Once you turn it on, the entire cleansing process takes 60 seconds. 20 for the forehead; 20 for the nose; and, 10 for each cheek. My skin feels so fresh and clean after using it, but without that tight feeling. It just makes your skin glow and soft!

The main reason why I bought it was because I wanted a really deep clean. I have a bad case of clogged pores and blackheads (on my nose). My pores never seem to want to unclog so regular cleansers have never fixed this issue. Although I thought my pores would be completely unclogged after using the Clarisonic for a week, it hasn't happened. I'm sure most of us want the results to happen right away, but it is going to take a bit more time for me to be 100% satisfied. I am sure with constant long-term use that it will prove more effective, so I'm going to be patient and be happy with the results I have seen so far.