ZiwiPeak Good-Dog Treats Review #ChewyInfluencer

During the month of June, while taking the Stella and Chewy's 30 Day Raw Challenge, Venus also had a chance to try out some yummy raw treats from ZiwiPeak - curtesy of Chewy.com.

ZiwiPeak food and treats are sourced and manufactured in New Zealand. What I love even more about ZiwiPeak is that they use their own manufacturing facility, so there's no cross contamination, and they are personally watching over their products as they're moving through the facility.

Good-Dog Treat comes in three different flavors; Venison, Lamb, and Beef - as well as chew bones. Venus received the Venison variety to try.

The ingredients consist of air-dried venison meat along with lecithin (to keep the meat chewably soft) and a few other natural additives to help taste and preservation.

These treats come in relatively small sizes, but are also soft and easy to tear if you have a smaller dog.

Venus prefers them whole, and waits patiently for these special savory treats.

ZiwiPeak Good-Dog Treats get a 4/4 - two thumbs up from mom and two paws up from Venus.

Find them on Chewy!

Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was received for this post. This blog will always provide honest opinions, beliefs or experiences on products reviewed.

Hydrating with Honey - Banila Co Miss Flower & Mr Honey Cream and Essence Oil Review

There was a time when I thought I was going to miss out on all the honey goodness skincare had to offer, but some careful patch testing revealed that I mainly need to avoid bee venom, and that most products with honey or propolis are just fine for me. More than just fine, in fact, they've become ingredients that now star in some of my favorite products at the moment.

I've been loving these Banila Co products because, let's face it, tretinoin is a drying creature - even for my oily skin, it still leaves me flaky if I don't properly protect my skin at night.

Before we get started, I want to note that this post does contain affiliate links. If you click these links and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. This is what helps fund this blog and everything I do here - including purchase review items and host giveaways.

Banila Co Miss Flower & Mr Honey Cream
This cream is designed to be a thick powerhouse of honey, propolis, and royal jelly that holds moisture in your skin and makes it more resilient. It claims to strengthen your skin barrier, brighten, hydrate, and make the skin more elastic.

Ingredients: Honey extract (42%), aureobasidium pullulans ferment, dipropylene glycol, dimethicone, cyclopentasiloxane, butylene glycol, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol, PCA dimethicone, niacinamide, glycereth-26, petrolatum, trisiloxane, glyceryl stearate SE, butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, chrysanthellum indicum extract, plukenetia volubilis seed oil, argania spinosa (argan) kernel oil, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, royal jelly extract, calendula officinalis flower extract, chamomilla recutita seed oil, pentylene glycol, dimethiconol, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP copolymer, PEG-150 distearate, water, raffinose, caprylyl glycol, dipotassium glycyrrhizate, adenosine, arginine, caprylic/capric triglyceride, octyldodecanol, hydrogenated coco-glycerides, sodium starch octenylsuccinate, maltodextrin, calcium pantothenate, hydrogenated lecithin, sodium ascorbyl phosphate, tocopheryl acetate, pyridoxine HCI, silica, xanthan gum, disodium EDTA, phenoxyethanol, fragrance, CI 19140.

Banila Co Miss Flower & Mr Honey Essence Oil
This oil is designed to moisturize and provide elasticity to the skin. It also claims to brighten.

Ingredients: Collagen extract (55%), glycerin, water, methylgluceth-20, polyglycerin-3, niacinamide, ethanol, honey extract, aureobasidium pullulans ferment, theobroma cacao (cocoa) extract, royal jelly extract, propolis extract, chrysanthellum indicum extract, plukenetia volubilis seed oil, argania spinosa kernel oil, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, anthemis nobilis flower extract, oenothera biennis (evening primrose) oil, limnanthes alba (meadowfoam) seed oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed extract, calendula officinalis flower extract, pentylene glycol, PEG-8, butylene glycol, glyceryl polyacrylate, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, adenosine, tromethamine, caprylic/capric triglyceride, octyldodecanol, hydrogenated coco-glyceride, sodium starch octenyl succinate, maltodextrin, calcium pantothenate, hydrogenated lecithin, sodium ascorbyl phosphate, tocopheryl acetate, pyridoxine HCI, silica, xanthan gum, carbomer, disodium EDTA, phenoxyethanol, fragrance.

Comparison
The first noticeably similar thing about these two products, besides the name and honey ingredients, is the smell. Have you ever smelled fresh honey? Sweet and incredibly aromatic with a sugary floral undertone. Both these products smell absolutely amazing, and have become my new standard for honey scented things.

As you can imagine, being a cream and an oil, the textures of these two products are completely different. The cream has a thick greasy texture, reminiscent of Vaseline, but surprisingly absorbs into the skin without any issue. While this cream is meant to be an occlusive because of the oils in its ingredients, I personally find it to be a nice hydrating cream for day or night (when my skin isn't overly oily) because of the beautiful and non-greasy finish it leaves.

The essence oil is like a lightweight oil - it's runny and feels oily but it doesn't feel thick. It has a more watery texture, but it still slightly repellent of the skin at first like an oil. There are many additives in this oil that help it's texture feel less... oily... but there is also alcohol which helps thin it out slightly and more than likely evaporates as the oil is applied to the skin.

As far as performance, I personally enjoy the cream more on my oily skin - but also because of the alcohol content in the oil. While my skin doesn't seem to react too badly when I apply the oil at the end of my routine, I still experience mild breakouts occationally while using it, so I limit applications to once or twice a week so I can still enjoy the honey and collagen benefits it has to offer.

I find both to be equally hydrating, and both smell just as delicious and sweet as the other, but the cream absorbs better into my skin, and is my go-to night cream. I am appreciative of the honey extracts that hydrate and smooth my skin while combatting acne on my skin, the niacinamide for brightening my skin, and the collagen for smoothing and plumping my skin - but since I use a prescription treatment as well I cannot say how well these products work alone for these issues, only how well they hydrate my skin, which they do very well.

You can find these products at Memebox* (Cream / Oil), Jolse (Cream / Oil) and Amazon (Cream / Oil).

Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was received for this post. The Glitter Chic blog will always provide honest opinions, beliefs or experiences on products reviewed. If you have any questions, please contact me at gothickornchic at gmail dot com. This post may contain affiliate links, marked with an "*" and I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase using one of those links - which costs nothing to the consumer but does help this site. The disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Elizavecca Gold CF-Nest White Bomb Eye Cream Review #bbcosmetic

I'm going to admit right now that I've never kept up on using an eye cream before in my life. I get one, and use it a few times before deciding that my regular skincare is just as well going up under my eyes as it is on the rest of my face. And that is that.

I'm a big fan of Elizavecca products, and not just because of that adorable little piggy, but because their products generally work well with my skin.

The Elizavecca Gold CF-Nest White Bomb Eye Cream is the second part of a package I received from BB Cosmetic - the first being the Choonee Rejuvenating Horse Fat Masks I reviewed last week.

Before we get started, I want to note that this product was received as a press sample, and the bottom of the post does contain affiliate links. If you click these links and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. This is what helps fund this blog and everything I do here - including purchase review items and host giveaways.

Have you even woken up one morning and swear you look drastically older than you did the night before? That happened to me when I turned 30 a couple months ago. It's like a switch flipped and my body thought I had a lot of aging to catch up on. I noticed fine lines and my first grey hairs, and of course some new pains that I think I'm too young to be complaining about yet... But regardless I was determined to get my semi-youthful face back, and part of that quest was finally settling down with an eye cream and getting serious - about regular application that is.

This eye cream contains Swiftlet Nest Extract to help stimulate collagen production, niacinamde to brighten, and a mixture of other moisturizing oils and extracts to hydrate and protect the delicate eye area.

Swiftlet nest extract is harvested carefully as not to disturb the nesting habits of the birds (even from abandoned nests). It is actually the saliva of swiftlets used to "cement" their nests together. Swiftlet nest extract has been harvested for hundreds of years to be used in birds nest soup and other dishes, thought to be nutrient-rich and offering several health benefits including digestive aide and immune system support.

The tube packaging looks beautiful for this product, so elegant with the touches of gold. And of course it wouldn't be Elizavecca without the "milky piggy" adorning the tube. I'm very appreciative of the small opening on this easy-to-squeeze tube, it's much more simple to dispense than scooping out of a jar.

The eye cream is white in color with specks of gold throughout. It has a light fresh lotion scent that doesn't linger.

It spreads thinly across my skin, and have a thick lotion feel, but isn't too heavy for my oily skin.

With a bit of patting with my ring finger, the cream absorbs within seconds into my skin.

I used this eye cream for 3 weeks (daily) and feel like my eye area looks more "awake" during the day than it used to. Forgive the change in lighting below, but the area looks a bit less creased (but it wasn't too bad beforehand) and the darkness is less severe.

Overall I'm really happy with this cream and will continue to use it - and am thoroughly convinced that - at my age - an eye cream is absolutely more beneficial than just regular skincare.

This eye cream is available at BB Cosmetic, as well as on Amazon.

Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was received for this post. The Glitter Chic blog will always provide honest opinions, beliefs or experiences on products reviewed. If you have any questions, please contact me at gothickornchic at gmail dot com. This post may contain affiliate links, marked with an "*" and I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase using one of those links - which costs nothing to the consumer but does help this site. The disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Venus Has Started The Stella & Chewy's 30 Day Raw Challenge! #chewyinfluencer

There was a slight delay in our start-up with this challenge but, from now through the middle of July, Venus will be transitioning to and eating only Stella and Chewy's Freeze Dried Dinners.

Our box arrived from Chewy.com - as they are so generously sponsoring this challenge - and Venus knew it meant something good was at the door. She managed to jump right in the box and investigate! Of course I had to pop a bag open and let her sample...

Stella and Chewy's Freeze Dried Dinners come in easy to store bags that are even easier to serve up at meal time. The freeze dried patties weigh about .4oz each - very lightweight, and easy to break apart.

There is something so satifying about looking at a bag of dog food and being able to recognize whole food ingredients. The Stella and Chewy's Freeze Dried Dinner Pattys have meat at the first three ingredients, and continues to list many vegetables, fruits, vitamins and minerals. This is a food I feel very confident feeding my baby girl for the next month.

The patties can also be broken up into a bowl with water added - 1/4 cup of water for every two patties - to rehydrate the freeze dried meat. This is really helpful to make sure Venus is getting enough water in her diet. She's generally more concerned with meat vs water.

Venus will eat about 7 patties daily.

So.. first impressions?

I think this will be a fun 30 days. I can't wait to see what changes this challenge makes for Venus.

Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was received for this post. This blog will always provide honest opinions, beliefs or experiences on products reviewed. 

Illi Total Aging Care Cleansing Water Review

Believe it or not, even with oily skin I'm still at risk of feeling like I've overwashed my face. Mornings are the worst for me - after using Curology my face generally feels "normal" in the morning vs dripping oil like a grease canister. This is a great feeling for me, except that if I wash it in the morning when it's not super oily, my skin ends up feeling more on the dry side all morning, if not all day. So it was then that I set out on my quest for a cleansing water.

Not only was a cleansing water an ideal solution for minimal cleansing, but also for mornings and evenings when I just didn't have the ambition to fully cleanse my face as well. I've tried a couple others that my skin didn't particularly care for.

This was my most anticipated from the three cleansing waters I started out with, and luckily for me - the illi Total Aging Care Cleansing Water became just the skincare unicorn I had been looking for.

Before we get started, I want to note that this post does contain affiliate links. If you click these links and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. This is what helps fund this blog and everything I do here - including purchase review items and host giveaways.

Illi is a brand boasting hanbang ingredients - bringing a collaboration of fermented herbal goodness to your skin, christened with the most amazing scents you could imagine. Well, that's my personal opinion anyway - not everyone will enjoy these scents, but even with my susceptibility to migraines the Total Aging Care Cleansing Water (and other illi products I've tried so far) smells like heaven in a bottle and I find myself seeking out more items to try.

If you are unfamiliar with cleansing waters, they are a water infused with mild cleansing agents that do not need to be washed away. When applying them to cotton you can simply wipe away makeup, sunscreen, dirt, and oils - leaving behind skin that feels moist and refreshed. This water is no exception, and is even infused with other vitamins and minerals to soothe and protect all skin types, including sensitive skin.

Ingredients: Water, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Panax Ginseng Extract, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Natto Gum, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Disodium EDTA, 1,2-Hexanediol, Fragrance

Camellia sinensis (green tea) provides powerful antioxidant benefits that ward off the effects of aging. It's also an anti-carcinogenic that can minimize the damaging effects of sun exposure. It is also an anti-inflamatory in addition to minimizing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Camellia japonica also provides antioxidant effects as well as omega and vitamin-rich hydration that is beneficial for anti-aging.
While strong signs of aging are not a current issue for my skin, camellia is at the top of my list of requirements to slow the visible signs of aging as much as possible.

The illi Total Aging Care Cleansing Water comes in an easy to dispense, flip top plastic bottle. It's simple to squeeze or even just shake a small amount out onto a cotton pad.

The water is liquid - just as any other water is - but it has the most intoxicating scent. The camellia, and what I imagine is added fragrance, gives this cleansing water a light floral scent that is sweet with an undertone of honey. The oil and glycerin gives it a nice amount of slip.

To use, I saturate about half of a cotton pad. In the photos below I am using the Cosrx cottons.

My face doesn't look the best here, but this is my full face of makeup after a whole day. I tried a new cushion out and it stayed fairly well, aside from the constant nose-blowing that accompanied the allergies I was dealing with at the time.

As you can see below, it took 6 pads to remove a full face of makeup, including waterproof mascara. To me, this was impressive, considering I generally use two cleansers (oil and "foaming") to remove any makeup. The real test was to see if this removed enough to inhibit any clogged pores the following morning...

...and it passed! Not only did I not have any clogged pores or new acne the following morning, but I only had minimal waterproof mascara left behind in my lashes. I usually have this even after oil cleansing, as sleeping allows my eyes to work this debris out overnight, so I'm really impressed that a cleansing water worked this well.

So, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, this really has become just what I've been searching for. I use it to cleanse in the morning, and I use it to cleanse most nights now as well - since I haven't been leaving the house in this intense heat. The scent is sometimes all I need to feel better after a long tiring day. And the cleansing power and smooth feeling my skin has afterwards is bringing back a glow I thought I'd never see on my face after I turned 30. I feel confident calling this my holy grail cleansing item right now.

I purchased this cleansing water at Memebox, but you can also find it at ViaSeol and W2Beauty.

Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was received for this post. The Glitter Chic blog will always provide honest opinions, beliefs or experiences on products reviewed. If you have any questions, please contact me at gothickornchic at gmail dot com. This post may contain affiliate links, marked with an "*" and I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase using one of those links - which costs nothing to the consumer but does help this site. The disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.