Sephora

@jaaayp Yeah, that short study wasn’t convincing enough to make me try VT Reedle. I’ll put the following rambling into a spoiler tag because it’s kinda long 😂 : SpoilerIt’s good that Reedle didn’t cause allergic reactions in the study, though I wouldn’t expect it to anyway based on its INCI list. Eh, I don’t know how many people are truly allergic to centella asiatica or anything else in this product. I don’t care much about “non-comedogenic” claims in any skincare product because in the US (and probably some other countries), that’s usually based on a comedogenic scale, which itself is based on a problematic decades-old study done on rabbit ears, not human skin. (That study drove a lot of “petrolatum clogs pores” misinformation, among other things.) Oh, I put “microdarts” in quotes because that’s not really what’s in VT Reedle; it’s just the closest approximation I could think of to explain what the marine sponge spicules are supposed to do in this product. (VT calls them “hydrolized sponge,” not “spicules.”) I mean, those spicules aren’t plastic. I have no problem with things like microdart pimple patches, aside from wondering if they do actually deliver ingredients deeper into skin. The microdarts in those patches are usually made of things like salicylic acid and hyaluronic acid, and they’re designed to dissolve in the epidermis layer of skin. VT claims the sponge spicules in Reedle won’t go any deeper than the epidermis, no matter how hard you rub Reedle into your skin. If that’s true, then they should eventually slough off your face along with dead skin cells during your skin turnover cycle. And to be fair, foreign body reactions aren’t a common thing in skincare. Still, I think more (and longer) study is warranted. And if Reedle really doesn’t dive deeper than the epidermis, then I’m not convinced it’s going to help any ingredients that do need to get down into the dermis layer. Ascorbic acid immediately springs to mind: it can boost collagen, but not if it doesn’t get to the dermis. Then again, I’m not sure I’d want to apply an ascorbic acid serum after Reedle… I imagine my skin would feel too sensitive at that point, though I tolerate ascorbic acid just fine. It’d be like applying ascorbic acid right after microneedling, which my skin wouldn’t like. But I can see benefits for tyrosinase inhibiting ingredients like kojic acid and alpha arbutin, which ideally should reach the bottom of the epidermis layer to be most effective. Ascorbic acid’s also a tyrosinase inhibitor, so there’d still be some Reedle benefit for those of us battling hyperpigmentation. But it probably won’t help ascorbic acid get deep enough to boost collagen. There’s a YouTube video I’ve watched about 1/3 of (will watch the rest later) by someone interviewing an employee of VT’s product development team… skimming my Watch Later list… ah, the content creator is “EuniUnni” (someone whose videos I’ve never watched aside from part of this one, so I can’t vouch for her ability to be impartial and whatnot) and the video title is “VT answered all your questions for VT REEDLE SHOT: elimination, how to's, do's & don'ts, more!” It’s always good to hear a brand’s explanations of their own products. tl;dr: Reedle sounds promising to me as a hydration and anti-hyperpigmentation booster, but not a collagen production booster. And before I use it on my particular skin, I need to see more scientific data. 🙂It’s good that Reedle didn’t cause allergic reactions in the study, though I wouldn’t expect it to anyway based on its INCI list. Eh, I don’t know how many people are truly allergic to centella asiatica or anything else in this product. I don’t care much about “non-comedogenic” claims in any skincare product because in the US (and probably some other countries), that’s usually based on a comedogenic scale, which itself is based on a problematic decades-old study done on rabbit ears, not human skin. (That study drove a lot of “petrolatum clogs pores” misinformation, among other things.) Oh, I put “microdarts” in quotes because that’s not really what’s in VT Reedle; it’s just the closest approximation I could think of to explain what the marine sponge spicules are supposed to do in this product. (VT calls them “hydrolized sponge,” not “spicules.”) I mean, those spicules aren’t plastic. I have no problem with things like microdart pimple patches, aside from wondering if they do actually deliver ingredients deeper into skin. The microdarts in those patches are usually made of things like salicylic acid and hyaluronic acid, and they’re designed to dissolve in the epidermis layer of skin. VT claims the sponge spicules in Reedle won’t go any deeper than the epidermis, no matter how hard you rub Reedle into your skin. If that’s true, then they should eventually slough off your face along with dead skin cells during your skin turnover cycle. And to be fair, foreign body reactions aren’t a common thing in skincare. Still, I think more (and longer) study is warranted. And if Reedle really doesn’t dive deeper than the epidermis, then I’m not convinced it’s going to help any ingredients that do need to get down into the dermis layer. Ascorbic acid immediately springs to mind: it can boost collagen, but not if it doesn’t get to the dermis. Then again, I’m not sure I’d want to apply an ascorbic acid serum after Reedle… I imagine my skin would feel too sensitive at that point, though I tolerate ascorbic acid just fine. It’d be like applying ascorbic acid right after microneedling, which my skin wouldn’t like. But I can see benefits for tyrosinase inhibiting ingredients like kojic acid and alpha arbutin, which ideally should reach the bottom of the epidermis layer to be most effective. Ascorbic acid’s also a tyrosinase inhibitor, so there’d still be some Reedle benefit for those of us battling hyperpigmentation. But it probably won’t help ascorbic acid get deep enough to boost collagen. There’s a YouTube video I’ve watched about 1/3 of (will watch the rest later) by someone interviewing an employee of VT’s product development team… skimming my Watch Later list… ah, the content creator is “EuniUnni” (someone whose videos I’ve never watched aside from part of this one, so I can’t vouch for her ability to be impartial and whatnot) and the video title is “VT answered all your questions for VT REEDLE SHOT: elimination, how to's, do's & don'ts, more!” It’s always good to hear a brand’s explanations of their own products. tl;dr: Reedle sounds promising to me as a hydration and anti-hyperpigmentation booster, but not a collagen production booster. And before I use it on my particular skin, I need to see more scientific data. Lululun is a Japanese skincare brand. Many of their sheet masks are sold in resealable multi-sheet pouches. I especially love their “Premium Series” (aka “Travel Series”) sheet masks, which are based on ingredients from different regions of Japan and Hawaii. I’m a longtime fan of the peach, watermelon, green tea, and strawberry masks. Also love their cherry sheet mask. My skin is quite reactive/inflammation-prone: just rubbing with my hands can make it flare red and welt up, and my facial skin hates nearly all essential oils, too many fragrance components (limonene, linalool, etc.) in a single product, and any form of lavender. Actually, lavender’s my skin’s number one nemesis. Lululun has a lavender sheet mask I obviously can’t use 😅. I also won’t use their citrus or lemon sheet masks. I’m sure they’re lovely for folks whose skin tolerates ‘em, though.

😆 Thank you @jaaayp ! 🤣 I had not thought of the CT powder to help with the under eyes issue that I ahem also have! That’s another tricky area for me. Ugh. I do better to reflect off them with something like HUDA BEAUTY GLOWISH Bright Light Hydrating Sheer Concealer 02 Fair-Light and a dot of concealer over it but I’ve not used a powder for the fear of extra line emphasis. Smart to use if it blurs, sounds great! Could just be me that thinks it has a little more coverage than others! I need the glow. 😆 Thank you for your support always! 😘 Baby steps- I try in little ways! Lol. You’re doing great! I love/hate to pan stuff because then I’m sad if I can’t find it again to rebuy! Dumb! 🤦🏻‍♀️ . Btw, I don’t think brushes count. That is all.

@makeupbyaleiah Some of my favorite full coverage concealers for dark circles is the maybelline instant anti age eraser l.a girl hd pro concealer IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Full Coverage Anti-Aging Waterproof Concealer Hourglass Vanish™ Airbrush Concealer Urban Decay Quickie 24HR Full-Coverage Waterproof Concealer You could also color correct your under eyes first before concealing. Dark circles usually have a blue/purple tone to them so a peach or orange color corrector cancels that out. Charlotte Tilbury Magic Vanish Color Corrector is good or the L.A girls color corrector in case on a budget. I’m not sure what your skin type is so what works for me may not work for you but as far as foundations i like NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation but for drugstore loreal infallible

"What a peaceful, quiet day we are hav....." "SQUIRREL!" My friends named these pictures as "the Queen and her Servant" @danielledanielle   

I thought about picking up the Makeup by Mario too @jaaayp, but I talked myself out of it ... for now, that is. 🤣 The formula is really nice! In the glow version, I'm either 1.5N or 2N depending on the time of year. I tried the matte version once, but it was before the products were reformulated and I know that I was a different shade in the matte then - I want to say I can do the 1W in the winter in the matte version.

Ooooh GURL dress for everyday?!??!? You're fancy @ather 😂😂😂 but I mean it makes sense to me that you take up half a suitcase = 1 carry on? But that's really nice that you get to check bags for free!! Honestly, there was a trip that I tried to just bring a BAG/BACKPACK for my trip and I just couldn't do it (some people do tho, from what I've seen.....HOW IDK) I keep forgetting you're in Canada! Where's "south" in Canada or are you referring to US LOL Mexico? It's funny because I'll be in "north" 😂😂😂 where did you go on your solo trip? I'm actually getting ready for a solo trip next year. I'm always a little paranoid about traveling alone, esp internationally but I decided it's time. Any tips?

So true @ather! They can't all be 🐐🐐, right?! Right!! The CT moisturizer is fine - I know many folks enjoy it. There are just other moisturizers I like more and would choose over the CT. I've decided that moving forward, if I have a foil sample that I'm just not feeling wowwed about trying, I'll put it in the "things to be donated" bin. That way, someone who could use the product can do so and it'll help clear out products that I wouldn't otherwise enjoy or want to use.

Same!!! These are my personal faves too

@caitbird I should check out what they have now, too.

Ugh this blush @makeitup305 ! 🤩