I think it's safe to say, most people hate facial sunscreens. I feel so lucky to live in a time where there has been a major shift towards sunscreens that are skincare. Now, so many formulas are being brought out that are doing so much more than just being the SPF step in your routine. You're now getting skin care benefits and protection all in one. Cutting down on heavy layers and making the process feel fantastic.
Aqua Bomb Broad Spectrum SPF 50 has been a hot ticket item for almost a year now. It was honestly hard to find. I adore Belief's Aqua Bomb range and I really just had to try it out.
It feels silky and smooth, it absorbs quickly and without heaviness or tackiness. It feels amazing on the skin and just weightless. It's honestly hard to believe it's a sunscreen at all.
The formula uses Homosalate (9%), Octocrylene (9%), Octisalate (4.5%), Avobenzone (2.7%), providing a broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection. There is also a bunch of great skincare love in the tube, Maragold Extract and Woodbine are just two.
Pros:
Light weight
Hydrating
No white cast
High SPF Value (50 SPF)
No Pilling
Feels great on the skin
Cons:
Is a bit pricy ($51.50), but it is inline with Belif's pricing
Overall, this is a great SPF, well worth the money because it is skin care and SPF that just feels like skincare. I love the feel on my skin because it really isn't there. I love that is a high SPF because that is what I look for. It also just fits with what I like about Belif as a whole, it is skincare that is working for me, and that is a great thing.
When it comes to beauty products, recycling your empties isn't always as easy as it should be. Where I live black plastic isn't allowed, neither are refill pouches. I have no clue what happens to pumps or sprays. All of this has lead me to recycling most of my beauty, body care and hair care empties at stores that have their own recycling programs. They all differ though and allow different things. It is a confusing mess, which is why I am doing this post. I am going to show you where you can go in Canada to recycle your beauty products. Who does it, what they take and what to expect.
First off, there are two companies that offer recycling services for the stores, Terracycleand Pact. Even with that, they all have very different restrictions and requirements for recycling. So, let us take a look at what each retailer accepts and doesn't.
L'Occitane En Provence
L'Occitane is one of the first retailers in Canada to offer a recycling program. They pretty much take any product type that they would sell (although from any brand). Since they don't sell cosmetics, other then lip balm sticks, you are out of luck at their stores. You'll also get 10% off one product purchased the same day as your recycling drop offs (great perk). Items do not need to be clean, but they do need to be dry.
Items accepted for recycling:
Beauty packaging such as lip balm tubes, makeup remover bottles and pumps, fragrances bottles and pumps, and deodorant sticks.
Skin care packaging such as face mask packaging, refill pouches, and dispensers and tubes for soap, facial cleansers and body lotions.
Hair care packaging such as pumps and caps from shampoo and conditioner bottles, hair care dispensers and containers, hair product trigger heads, and refill pouches.
I personally recycle my hand soap refill pouches (I do not know where else to recycle those) and any shampoo or body wash packaging that is black. They also seem to be the only place to take glass fragrance bottles, so my old perfumes go there too.
To learn a bit more and to find a L'occitane that offers recycling here is the link to their Terracycle page.
Hudson's Bay
Hudson's Bay aka The Bay, North America's oldest retailer has a pretty great program offered through Pact. You can drop off almost any cosmetic product or skin care, from any brand with some conditions. The skin care or other products have to be under 60 ml in size. Which eliminates almost all body and hair care packaging that is not travel size. You can give them pumps, caps, lip glosses, mascaras, etc. You will also get 1000 Hudson Bay Reward points for every 5 items you bring in.
Aluminum tubes • Toothpaste tubes & toothbrushes • Nail polish & nail polish remover • Beauty sponges • Aerosol cans
Hair & skin care tools
I have dropped a bunch of old makeup there, lots of mascaras and lip gloss tubes.
You can use their location finder and see a bit more information on right here.
L'oreal Paris / Recycling in Beauty
L'oreal Paris launched a recycling program at London Drugs, Jean Coutu and Walmart locations though Terracycle. Since I live in Ontario, Walmart is my only option. They take both cosmetics and skin care products. Products do not need to be cleaned, which is pretty fantastic (they do ask you try to remove as much product as possible).
Items accepted for recycling:
Plastic and glass tubes, pots, pumps, sprays, and jars
Lipstick, lip balm, and lip gloss tubes, cases, and caps
Mascara tubes
Eyeliner pencils and cases
Eyeshadow and bronzer cases
Foundation packaging
Powder cases
Eyeshadow and concealer tubes and sticks
Items not accepted for recycling:
Perfume, nail polish bottles, nail polish remover bottles, pressurized canisters (including aerosol cans), organics, broken glass, bio-medical waste, diapers, medication, sharps (including razors), and electronic devices.
I generally take my skin care empties and things like foundation bottles to Walmart for recycling. I had a hard time finding the box the first time I went, but once I learned it was by the customer service, I had no issue finding it at any other Walmarts since.
There Terracyle site has more info on where you can find a L'oreal recycling location, click here to see more.
Holt Renfrew x Terracycle
Holt Renfew is an upscale department store that has an extensive beauty department. Their recycling department is run though Terracycle. They take all brands, most products that local recycling will not and the products don't have to be cleaned out first.
Items accepted for recycling:
Beauty product packaging including compacts, concealer sticks & tubes, eyeliner & lip pencils, foundation bottles & tubes, lipsticks & balms, and mascara.
Items not accepted for recycling:
Sharp and flammable items, aerosol cans, fragrance bottles, nail polish bottles, and nail polish remover bottles.
I have brought my empty makeup containers to the store, If you want to see more about the program or a store locator, you can find it on the program's Terracycle page here.
Winners Beauty Collection Program
Winners has added a boxes to their beauty areas. Their program is run through Pact. It is very similar to Hudson's Bays, as they only take items 60 ml and smaller. There are some other differences, such as they take makeup palettes and metal tubes. Items must be empty, clean and dry before drop off.
Items accepted for recycling:
Containers
Plastic bottles and jars smaller than 60 ml.
Ceramic and porcelain jars
Coloured glass bottles and jars
Compacts and palettes
Tubes
Plastic and aluminum squeezable tubes (including toothpaste)
Mascara tubes and wands
Lipstick and lip gloss tubes and applicators
Other
Caps and closures
Pumps and dispensers
Droppers and applicators
Makeup pencils, sticks and caps
Items not accepted for recycling:
Containers
Plastic bottles and jars larger than 60 ml.
Clear or frosted glass bottles and jars
Stainless steel or aluminum bottles and jars
Cardboard and paper
Aerosol cans
Plastic bags and wrappers
Other
Beauty sponges and brushes
Nail polish and nail polish remover
Hair and skincare tools
Toothbrushes
I haven't taken anything to one of these yet, because I've only seen it once. I thought my Marshall's would have it, but learned it is only for Winners locations.
The program is at select Winners only, and the website doesn't show you which ones, but you can learn more on the Winners' website here.
The Ordinary / Deciem
Ok, so this is an odd one. The Ordinary / Deciem stores have these boxes in them for recycling, but absolutely no information at on them. Not what they take, what they don't, not who runs it. I read something about it a few years back and now cant find it at all. The more sleuthing I do, the more it seems like they were working with Terracycle, and that partnership is now over.
The below Instagram post is all I can find on it now. I am assuming, you can bring back any of their product packaging to the store.
Sephora is the latest store to enter the recycling game and they're doing it with Pact. There are a lot of items they take, and a lot they do not. Items have to be cleaned out to be recycled here. They also have to be less then 2 x 2 inches in size, which man that is small if you are taking palettes.
Items accepted for recycling:
Must be 2x2 inches or smaller.
Plastic
Small Tubes, Bottles, Jars, Caps
Lipstick, Lip Gloss, and Mascara Tubes, Wands, and Applicators
Eyeliner, Brow, and Lip Pencils -Pumps, Dispensers
Coloured Glass
Small Bottles, Jars
Mixed Materials
Palettes, Compacts, Pumps
Dental Floss Containers
Toothpaste Tubes
Items not accepted for recycling:
Items accepted through your local curbside recycling program, which may include: plastic packaging larger than 2x2 inches, clear or frosted glass bottles and jars, and more.
I haven't taken anything back yet, I actually had a hard time finding the box, it was behind the online order pickup stand.
There is a much larger list of details on both the Sephora and Pact sites. You read them hereand here. If you are still confused (as I was) there is a guide that will help you sort out if Sephora will take it back. See it here.
Summary
We've come a long way in just a few years. We may have lost programs like The Body Shop and Mac, but gained so many more. I did my best to understand everything every companies websites and boxes have said. They may have changed. I personally have struggled to clean out my containers. I had a sunscreen completely clog up my sink when I tried to wash it out.
I hope this post helped you sort out what to do with your empties. I am pretty much always brining things in for recycling now, I just don't trust things like pumps and sprays will get dealt with properly otherwise.
I haven't posted a haul post in what seems forever. Honestly I haven't been buying much and when I do I forget to post on them. I recently grabbed some things from Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart and Sephora (with a friends and family 20% off coupon).
I have never tried a thing from Sol de Janeiro, but this sounded really intriguing to me. Unlike their other mists this one said 'perfume mist' on the description vs 'hair and body fragrance mist' but when it arrived it said 'body fragrance mist'. What the difference of all of this makes but it was a bit confusing.
Anyways this is a light fragrance that's fruity and tropical.
The notes are:
TOP: Passionfruit Nectar, Água de Coco
MID: Tiger Orchid, Jasmine Honey
DRY: Pink Patchouli, Vanilla Bean
I've been enjoying it but wish it had less of a coconut lingering scent to it.
I already have one TF palette and thought this would be a good time to pick up another.
Desert Fox is made up of pale orange, deep shimmering gold, light warm brown, and deep brown with red undertones shades.
Bumble And Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Hot Oil Concentrate (5 Pack) Remember hot oil for hair? V05 comes to mind (which went out of business but seems to be back in the USA). Anyways, I have wanted some for a long time, so when I saw this limited edition product I thought it was worth picking up. You can also get them in singles, but this seemed like a great idea so I got it.
Sephora Collection Holiday Coconut Foot Mask & Holiday Mango Hand Mask I have no clue why I picked these up, except they were $7 and 20% more off made them seem intriguing. My feet and hands get pretty beat up during the holidays so maybe they'll make them feel a bit more comfortable.
Sephora has 3 different versions of these tonics, I chose the B3 version. I understand it to be a toner. I haven't opened it yet, but am excited to try it out.
I picked these sticks up at Walmart. They are rich and creamy, these happen to have no shimmer or sparkle to them but have a nice sheen. They can be used for the lips, cheeks or eyes, I clearly wanted these shades for my eyes.
So far I really like them and love that I was able to fine shimmer free versions.
This was in a random holiday display at my Shoppers Drug Mart. It is by Quo and is a massaging facial tool. It cost about $14 so it seemed like a great idea.
L'oreal Extraordinary Oil Daily Treatment
Ok so I have no clue at why I bought this. I guess I thought it was a single shot oil for your hair like the hot oil. I realize now that it is just a sample single size of the Extraordinary Oil, either way I bought it for my aunt so I hope she likes it.
So that is a bunch of stuff I got recently. I did just place some orders for the Sephora Sale, so maybe I will post more on them soon.
Have you splurged on anything lately?
*I purchased everything myself with my own money. Some links contain affiliate links that may earn me a small commission.
Just before the holidays, I picked up Belif's Bestsellers On-The-Go Kit from Sephora. It was $30 and featured 5 best sellers from Belief. Since I have never tried the brand, but had been hearing a lot about it, I thought this was the perfect way for me to try out some of their most popular products.
- 20 mL/ 068 oz Bergamot Herbal Extract Toner - 10 mL/ 0.33 oz Hungarian Water Essence - 5mL/ 0.17 oz Moisturizing and Firming Eye Cream - 10 mL/ 0.33 oz The Truth Cream Aqua Bomb
- A clear travel bag
I have been using the kit for the last few weeks pretty constantly and I thought I would give a little run down of how I feel about them.
All the products are meant for dry, normal, combination and oily skin types. Which seems pretty broad to me.
Foam cleansers aren't really my dry skins thing, so I was excited about this being both a creamy cleanser that still foams. It foamed up quite a bit, I didn't use much but could have used much less. My skin felt soft and supple after using it. It definitely didn't feel tight. Since every time I used it I was not wearing makeup I do not know how well it works in that department. What I do know is my 30ml is going to last me a very long time indeed.
I love Bergamot a whole ton, something about its smell is just fantastic to me. It is herbal but not over the top with the scent. This miniature has a firm bottle you can not squeeze and need to shake the product out of it. I usually aim for about 5 drops of it. It smells real nice and absorbs right away. I like how my skin feels when I use it, more hydrated and supple, but I am not using as much as I would like because of the tiny bottle. If I had a full size I would maybe do two layers of 7 drops.
I like essences but still don't grasp how they are not toners at the same time. What I do know is the more I layer items like this the better my skin behaves. This one seems behaves a bit like a watery serum. This one has a pump, I usually use two pumps on my face. Generally my skin likes this one too. It is pretty hydrating and feels nice on my skin.
Moisturizing and Firming Eye Cream
They do not sell a full size of this at Sephora
This is a thick eye cream, I mean thick. Which is good I guess. You do not need a lot, so that is a good thing. I actually really like this one, I often find eye creams liquidy and runny and therefor don't absorb all the time into the eye area too fast. This one is thick so there isn't a lot of product going on and it just absorbs faster I find.
The set actually lists this as The Truth Cream - Aqua Bomb, which is a different product, but the photo and what was actually in the kit was The True Cream - Moisturizing Bomb 🤷.
My skin is drryyyyyyy and always will be, my constant state of dehydration ads to this. Because of this I always need very rich creams. This one isn't too thick but it does a solid job of hydrating my skin. Because this is just a tiny travel jar I haven't been able to indulge in as much as I would like for fear of flying though it. That being said my skin always feel soft and sublet after using it.
After using the whole series of products for a few weeks I noticed a few thing.
One this a is a great kit for a great price and I appreciate the value in that. I got to try out a whole line of their best sellers with limited investment. So that is a big plus.
Two this set wouldn't last me too long. I feel this will last the average person about a week and a half. Since my skin is dry I want to use more of they toner, essence and bomb. Like a lot more, which actually brings us to our next point.
Three, this is a great regular skin set, but my skin is dry and this was hydrating, but not hydrating enough for me. I think if I had full sized products it might not be as much of a concern because I could just apply more, but as it stands I need just a tad bit more hydration than this provides it.
Overall I really like the set and I am super glad I got it. I think it works well for me in the day time when I require less hydration, but at night it just isn't enough for me unless I boost it with an oil and a sleep mask. I will say as I wright this my skin feels nicely hydrated and plumped up, so maybe I am overreacting.
I would definitely try more products from Belif, I think there is some good quality in their products, they don't irritate my skin and my skin is generally liking the products quite a bit. I would like to try their Hydration Always With You Set since it is meant for dryer skin.
Have you tried anything from Belif? What do you think of the brand?
*This post features products purchased by me with my own money. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.
It is that time of year again, the Sephora VIB Rouge sale happened and I went and bought a lot of stuff while I could get a discount on it.
I honestly only got the last of my orders the other day due to the ongoing Canada Post strike so I know it is a little late, but anyways here it is.
Sephora Collection: Enchanted Sky Palette ($13)
The last few years I have been extremely impressed with Sephora Collection's limited edition holiday products. I have used the palettes non-stop and have just loved their pigmentation, blendablity and colours. Of course, I was excited about this year's products as a result. Sadly there weren't as many smaller palettes, but I did manage to pick this guy up. It runs for $13 regular price and is extremely pigmented and buttery. I love that it is little and kind of a no-frills palette while still looking festive.
Sephora Collection: The Glowy Surprise ($17)
How cute is this? It is a holiday cracker style gift set. The gold sleeve slides off if you want to give it as a gift or put it on a table. A side note, I just saw a sneak peek at the Black Friday deals and saw there were two new Suprise crackers, so those should be exciting.
It contains a highlight stick, blush stick and long-lasting lipstick. The shades for the face seem to be holiday limited editions but the lipstick is a permanent item.
Sephora Favourites: Sunkissed Glow($48 /on sale for $24)
I have not picked up Favourites Set (that isn't a lip one) in so long, but they always deliver on value and variety. This one features bronzer from some top selling brands and even has full-sized Ciate product. I have Benefit Hoola and Tarte Park Avenue Princess, which means I will be tossing them into some co-workers Xmas gifts.
Bite: Agave Treat Trio Mini Agave Lip Mask Set ($20)
I love Bite oh so much. Every year I pick up at least one set. This year I am treating my lips to their lip mask set. I am most excited for the Candy Cane one but I have also loved the Maple in the past.
TOO FACED: Gingerbread Spice Eye Shadow Palette ($59), The Sweet Smell of Christmas-Mini Melted Liquid Lipstick Set ($32), and Melted Gingerbread Girl Liquified Long Wear Matte Lipstick ($25)
Soooo, yeah I went gingerbread crazy. I really wanted the Gingerbread palette, so I got it. It is so pretty and it smells so yummy. I also picked up Gingerbread Girl Liquified Long Wear Matte Lipstick to go with the Gingerbread Boy I already had as well as the set of 4 minis. I can say everything here is amazing and I am so glad I managed to get them all.
FENTY BEAUTY BY RIHANNA: Bomb Baby Mini Lip and Face Set ($28)
I really haven't tried much from Fenty yet, but everyone says I need Bomb Baby and this set seemed like a good value to try it out. I am pretty excited.
Makeup Forever: Empty Palettes ($2)
I have a few MUFE items that need a palette and these magnetic babies work well with many other shadows too, so I thought it would be a good time to get some more of them.
So there you go, all the goodies I picked up this year during the sale. I am pretty happy with myself.
What did you get during the Holiday VIB, VIB Rouge and BI sale?
Jill Oliver-Fox is a Toronto based beauty blogger with a love for beauty, food, and pets. She began the blog in 2009 and hasn't stopped since. To read more click
here.
