dazzle 'n' sparkle

This is part two of The Quarterly Review. The part one (read here) was all about Beauty and here I review a bunch of my favorite skincare and hair care products that I used in the past quarter.

Jurlique Skin Balancing Face Oil is one of the many oils that I slather on my face during the winters. This one smells delicious and is loaded with essential oils and good stuff. I totally enjoyed using this oil during the last quarter and even before that. (review)

Loccitane Shower Oil is a must product for me in my shower during the winters. The stuff smells great and keeps the body soft, supple and nourished. Chicago people, you need this stuff!

Farmacy Sleep Tight Firming Night Balm This is a light weight, balm to oil kind of product. It is greasy yet light weight has no offensive scent. It is basically oil. I love oils and my dry skin accepted this one too. I will post a detailed review soon. Good stuff for dry skin. 

Pixi Glow Mud Cleanser is one of the best face cleansers from drugstore. Pixi has hit jackpot with 5% glycolic acid. It is neither too harsh nor too mild. Just like their glow tonic this one is brightening and soothing at the same time. A big thumbs up!!

Clarins Booster Drops come in three categories. Detox, Repair and Energy. Every single one targets different skin concerns. My absolute favorite is the Energy one. I add few drops of this to any serum or lotion and it instantly provide a boost of hydration. Also, it makes the water based, gel moisturizer more long lasting on my dry skin. The packaging is lovely too. 

Fresh Black Tea Firming Overnight Mask is a lovely product for normal to dry skin. The mask is soothing, nourishing and actually makes the skin supple. It can get heavy if used everyday. I have found my best way to layer and use it with exfoliating products and the results are amazing. (review)

Clarins Moisture Replenishing Lip Balm is more like a lip mask to me. I don't like to use it as a daily, day time balm. I find it a little thick for my liking. I do enjoy using it as a night time lip treatment. It works wonderful. 

Clarins Hand and Nail Treatment is good, hydrating and moisturizing hand cream. It smells divine. There are many other creams that perform equally good, that I like and are cheaper than this one, but a good smelling hand cream pumps up the luxury quotient and a couple of bucks extra for that 'feel good' luxury never hurts. (review)

Sally Hansen Nail Growth Miracle Serum is a product that I have been using for quite sometime and I noticed that it helped improve the health of my nails. I don't care if it makes my nail grow longer or not, but it has definitely made them stronger and less prone to breaking. (review)

Drybar Hot Toddy Heat & UV Protectant: The products from Drybar brand smells heavenly. It is a heat protectant, so there is no way to actually tell if it is working or not. For the scent alone I give it a five star. Also, that pink color is too cute! 

I have been loving the Capri Blue Candles a lot. These are moderately priced and are not insanely expensive as the Diptyque or Jo Malone. I do enjoy a Diptyque once in a while, but they don't fit my budget for everyday use. These candles both in Volcano and Aloha Orchid smell wonderful! The candle does not burns down evenly, which is the only downside. For the divine smell, I can live with this flaw. 

I got a bunch of books for the Holidays and this Domino one is just so pretty! It looks good on the shelf as well as coffee table. The pictures inside the book are good and informative.

Last year I picked the Paris in Color planner/calendar on sale from Barnes and Noble. It was too pretty to be used as a planner. The photographs by Nichole Robertson inside are stunning. I use it a lot as a back drop for my blog photos and flat lays.

A similar engagement calendar can be found here. I am not sure if the pictures inside are exactly the same as the one I have, but they all are from the book that goes by the same name, Paris in Color.

Other than few foil samples, there are not many products that didn't work for me. The two most disappointing ones were both hair care products. The ALTERNA Haircare CAVIAR Anti-Aging® Replenishing Moisture Milk was blah! It had the most horrible dispensing system. I love so many products from this brand, but this one was a total dud! An in-depth review will be coming soon. I really hate to bash a product, but then again, if I rave about good products, I have to share truly if something is not working. 

The next hair product is the Living Proof No Frizz Nourishing Styling Cream. I so badly wanted this one to work for me. I don't know what went wrong. It left my thin, frizzy hair crunchy and straw like. I used it exactly as directed. It is a very popular and well loved product, so I am sure that the product is good, just not for my hair type.