Best Acne Cleanser: Zapzyt Acne Salicylic Acid Wash

 

If any of y'all had acne, I'm sure you've had your fair share of acne washes over the years. In my teenage years up until now, I've used the Neutrogena oil free pink grapefruit one, probably one of the Clean & Clear ones, some Korean/Japanese ones, none of which I really enjoyed. Recently, I've tried some other ones including the Cerave SA cleanser, Cetaphil acne cleanser, and SkinFix 2% BHA cleanser that also has azelaic acid and an acne body wash from Pacifica just to see if they perform well. Cerave SA I didn't like how my skin felt after, so I returned it. The Cetaphil I also returned right away, bc it is hard to squeeze and slips out of my hand easily when trying to lather. Most of these have 2% salicylic acid but are usually quite drying. 

The Zapzyt is the best 2% salicylic acid cleanser I've tried, it has a short list of ingredients, including aloe and chamomile which are soothing which I think helps with the non-drying quality. It lathers well but not as creamy as some Japanese cleansers. What I love most about it is after using it a few mornings in a row, I actually see a huge improvement in my blackheads, which nothing really helps other than clay masks which is a super temporary solution. 2% salicylic acid cleansers can also be a good way to mildly exfoliate even if you don't have acne, since the PC 2% BHA is quite popular (I've used 2 bottles of it but it doesn't make a huge difference on my skin? At least with blackheads, it does give you a glow)

On top of everything, it is also affordable at only $5.99 at Walgreens (or $9 ish on Amazon currently) for 5 oz. If you're in the market for an acne cleanser or a gentle exfoliating cleanser, this one is my top pick. Walgreens shipped my cleanser for free - didn't even need a minimum purchase $$.

I found out about this cleanser from Dr. Dray, it has very plain packaging - I hope everyone who has a need can find this cleanser bc it is amazing!

MASCARA | CoverGirl Total Tease mascara

$8+ for 0.21 oz / 6.5 ml

It's natural looking ish and not too clumpy. However...

Smudgety smudge smudge

LIQUID LIPSTICK | Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink in Lover

Korean style

Full lip

Bathroom lighting

So... I'm not sure if I dropped my phone? Because I wiped this a few times and the front camera photo still came out kind of blurry. Idk 

But this is how the lipstick looks. It's a little dark/cool toned mauve for my taste, but most importantly this Maybelline liquid lip is really dry -_- my lips feel raw after

Natural lighting

$8+ for 0.17 oz / 5 ml 

LIQUID LIP | Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink in Loyalist (Nude)

Left: Milani liquid lipstick in 10 Adorable

Right: Maybelline in Loyalist

Lip swatch

Idk if you can tell but I think it makes my lips very textured, almost too much so.

With a Jouer pink lip gloss

The wear of this product is no joke. Unfortunately, all the color are too unnatural for my taste. This nude is too light, and the other colors are too bright or too dark. The packaging is actually pretty cute, if they expanded the range I would try a different color

DRUGSTORE | New Revlon and Almay Makeup

Volumnizing mascara

Eyeshadow (maybe new colors?)

Eyeliner - there's a ballpoint pen that I don't consider a clever concept, reminds me of the old Maybelline eyeliner that I bought (review here)

Antiaging primer, concealer, foundation

Tubing mascarar

If I wore blush I would totally get some, unfortunately I don't really wear a lot of face products outside of BB cream and powder.

I got darker on my trip in New Orleans (we were outside basically all day. Despite the overcast I still got darker) so I purchased a darker color in the Revlon Youth FX foundation.

I've used it a few times and I like it a lot! It's very silicone-y but has good coverage and blends out very nicely. Will post photos soon

The mascara is a tubing mascara according to the advertisement. Unfortunately, my thin, long lashes just don't do well with nonwaterproof mascaras. It seemed to not smudge much on my smudge prone eye area though, so if you don't have a problem with your lashes staying curled, the mascara might be pretty good

MASCARA | Almay Get Up and Grow Extreme Length

Not sure if you can tell... But the wand is HUGE. Like, longer than my eye

This was on clearance at Walmart for $3.50 so ofc I couldn't resist. 

I quite enjoyed this mascara bc it's natural looking. Except 2 hours in, it started smudging on my undereye. Granted, mascara will always smudge on me (that's just how my lashes roll) but 2 hours is a bit too fast.

Probably will pass this along to someone who doesn't have that problem 

LIQUID LIP | Wet n Wild MegaLast Liquid Catsuit

*when you have something for too long and forget you didn't blog about it*

Top: 921B Nudist Peach

Bottom: 922B Coral Corruption

I am a sucker for inexpensive products that perform better than some higher end products out there

I first heard about this from Tati on Youtube, but at the time the colors I wanted were constantly sold out at Target and even on the WnW website. After a few weeks I finally got my hands on these

At $5 for 0.21 oz / 6 g, these are the cheapest liquid lipsticks I've seen

Even ColourPop is $6 for 0.11 oz / 3.2 g (which is 1/2 the product of the WnW, FYI)

They are fragrance free, long wearing with pretty good pigmentation. They are a little drying but I think that's the price you pay for a long lasting lip. It cracks a little bit if you don't apply it correctly or apply too much, but play around with it and it's easy to work with. 

I personally like Nudist Peach bc it's more neutral and peachy. Coral Corruption is a much brighter, coral pink. If you see these at Target and you're into liquid lips, I HIGHLY recommend this.

FOUNDATION | L'Oreal Infallible Pro Glow liquid foundation

After 12 hours

Pros

Natural looking

Smoothes over pores

Somewhat sanitary packaging

Cons

Not super long wearing

Not cheap for drugstore

Hard to tell color from the tube

Price

$12+ for 1 oz

Verdict

Quite a few Youtubers recommend this. It looks pretty good when I first apply it, but probably after a few hours when my skin gets oily, if I touch my face by accident it'll come off (even if I set it with powder). It's not especially lightweight to me, but it's not heavy. I'll still wear it when I only need my makeup to stay for a few hours, but I definitely rely on my other foundations to stay on, like the MUFE Mat Velvet (review here). If you're really good at not touching your face, this won't be too bad.

Edit: After using this a few more times after, I wish I could return this. It starts looking cakey on my skin just a few hours in, esp under the eyes. I understand that there is a matte version, but I think good quality foundations wouldn't start looking cakey that early, if anything it just looks oily :/

Would I recommend it?

If you have normal to dry skin

Would I repurchase?

No.

LONG WEARING LIPS | Maybelline SuperStay 24 Color

015 All Day Cherry

1 layer

2 layers after a couple hours

Price

$9+ for 2.3 ml liquid color / 1.8 g lip balm

Verdict

I really wanted a long lasting festive color. As you can kind of tell, it's a bit drying on the lips, but the lasting power is amazing! The lip balm makes the color shiny, so if you prefer the satin look you can leave the lipstick by itself, but it does look slightly dry.

Even after eating it doesn't really budge, I have to use extra makeup remover to remove it.

Repurchase?

Probably

Would I recommend it?

If you're into long wearing colors that last the whole day

SWATCHES | Red Lipstick Roundup (All Drugstore)

Merry Christmas Eve!
I've been more adventurous with lip colors recently, and since it's the holidays I thought I'd share my red lipsticks with you all. I mostly buy drugstore lipsticks unless it's a really unique color (I honestly think the quality difference between drugstore and high end is not noticeable, except maybe the scent).

L'Oreal Infallible Lip Paint in 326 Sultry Sangria shine

Nice black cherry color, smells like grapes which is a plus (for me)

Maybelline ColorSensational Matte Divine Wine matte

I wear this wine color the most

The Maybelline ColorSensational line tends to have a strange odor, it's not unpleasant but not particularly nice smelling. But I still applaud the quality of this line of lipsticks.

My friend's friend actually tried this lipstick one time we went out, and she went out to look for it the next day. It's an attractive wine red that's not too purple

Milani Color Statement Moisture Matte in Matte Confident matte

I got this from Target recently, it's only $5 and I am always intrigued by nondrying matte lipsticks. This is probably the most "true red" lipstick I own. Slight vanilla fragrance

Maybelline SuperStay 24 HR Lipcolor in All Day Cherry satin/shine

The most long wearing red lipstick I have, it takes a lot to remove fully but also doesn't budge, even if you eat oily foods. There is a slight golden shimmer to it. Smells fruity

L'Oreal HiP  Shine Struck Liquid Lipcolor in Turbulent shine

This is discontinued, I think this was the first red lipstick I bought, but never wore. I'm not a fan of glossy bright colors, I much prefer matte 

Maybelline ColorSensational in Dynamite Red satin

Another one of my favorites, this is a bit of an orange red

Revlon Super Lustrous in Love is On satin

More of a berry red but not as "raspberry" as Continuous Cranberry.

I think this is limited edition, I mostly got it bc it's a cute tube (the inside has the word love in many different languages). There is a strong artificial fragrance, but I always have a soft spot for Revlon lipsticks, it was one of my earlier discoveries when I first got into makeup

Maybelline SuperStay 14 HR lipstick in Continuous Cranberry satin

This is more of a berry red. The formula is one of the longer wearing lipsticks (in a bullet) I've tried. If they had a better color selection I would buy more shades. This has an artificial fruity scent, but one of the better scents compared to the rest of the red lipsticks

I want to try some red liquid lipsticks, but due to the sheer volume of my lipstick collection I'm hesitant to buy more. I think I purchased over 20 lipsticks this year, I've never even gone through one lipstick in my life o_O #hoarderstatus 

Lip products are definitely a weakness of mine

Are you loving the red lips for the holidays? What are your favorites?

Once it dries the SuperStay does not budge without an oil makeup remover