Tag: affordable

Phytosurgence Review: Phytobrushes, Spectral Shine, Flash Florescence Cream Shadows in Bloom, and Verdant Forcefield

by liftbakelove3 Comments on Phytosurgence Review: Phytobrushes, Spectral Shine, Flash Florescence Cream Shadows in Bloom, and Verdant Forcefield

I’ve been waiting to do another Phytosurgence review until I had enough products to do a full post with only buying things I thought I would love. And now I almost have too much for one post because they keep launching amazing things! If you haven’t heard of Phytosurgence before, they are a very small indie brand that focuses on transparent and conscious beauty. They make high performance and affordable products that absolutely rival luxury brands. As with my last Phytosurgence review, I’m about to really rave about the products so I want to say upfront that this was not sponsored, and I bought the products with my own money. As always, thank you so much for being here, and it would mean so much to me if you subscribe here or on Instagram @liftbakelove for new posts!

It took me an incredibly long time to start this paragraph because I’m still in shock about how good the Phytobrushes are, especially for both being under $15. I purchased both the Skybuff and Skyfluff brushes, and I’m in love with both of them. If you’re a regular reader here, you know how much I invest in fude brushes (from Sonia G., Chikuhodo, Wayne Goss, etc.), and these fit right in my collection because of how high quality they are. They suggest using the Skybuff for their Spectral Shine and Skyfluff for their Skin Spark blushes, but I actually love using them the opposite way. They blend out the products so seamlessly and quickly so that the products really look like they’re naturally part of your face – exactly the kind of look I love.

I used the Phytobrushes, Skin Spark blushes, and Spectral Shine highlight for a perfect no-makeup look

It’s so hard to describe how special Spectral Shine is and how unique the formula is. It doesn’t have glitter or shimmer, just really fine pearl pigments that blend seamlessly into the skin. It’s incredibly lightweight and feels like nothing but is super long lasting. Especially if you want something that looks like your skin but better in person (vs blinding highlights that look great on camera), this is for you. I was waiting for the right shade to come out, and then the limited edition Divine Daylight launched. It’s a peachy neutral beige shade, which is so at home on my skin.

Spectral Shine in Divine Daylight

I’ve been using the Flash Florescence Cream Shadows – In Bloom almost every day since I got them. The formula is incredibly thin and lightweight with very little fallout. I love how multidimensional the shimmers are – they’re just really special. I have two of the shades: Defiant Dahlia (described as a rich deep brown shade with violet undertones and neutral/gold shimmers scattered throughout) and Orchid Overload (described as a translucent based shade with pink, purple, and silver shimmer). Defiant Dahlia looks amazing as a one-and-done shadow, and Orchid Overload is one of my favorite toppers of all time. And these are about half of the price of the Hourglass Scattered Light eyeshadows! If you’d like me to get and review the other two shades, let me know in the comments below.

Flash Florescence Cream Shadow in Orchid Overload and Defiant Dahlia

I’m always looking for new moisturizers to try because of how ridiculously dry my skin is. Verdant Forcefield is described as a skin barrier reinforcing moisturizer that hydrates, softens, moisturizes, and protects with well studied vitamins, actives, and extracts. And it does all of that! I love how quickly is sinks in so I can move on to my next step without any pilling and how much softer my skin feels now that I’ve been testing it for over 3 months (I don’t like to review skincare until I’ve really tried it). It’s also only about $11 per ounce, which is a bargain compared to some of my other faves like like the Dr. Jart Ceramidin Cream at $28.4/ounce and Farmacy Honey Drop at $26.4/ounce. I still can’t get over how high quality Phytosurgence products are from the packaging to the efficacy for their prices.

Have you tried anything from Phytosurgence? Are there other products from them or other brands you’d like me to try and review? Let me know in the comments below, and thanks as always for reading!

Brand Review: The Inkey List Haircare

by liftbakeloveLeave a Comment on Brand Review: The Inkey List Haircare

After watching Kayley Melissa’s review on The Inkey List Haircare products, I really wanted to know if they were really as good as she said they were. Since her video was sponsored, I was a little skeptical, but 5 products for less than $60 shipped seemed like a great thing to review for all of my readers (thanks for being here!). I used the website’s “recipe builder” to get a routine recommendation and bought 5 of the recommended products. I’ve been testing these since May to make sure I can give a thorough review of their effectiveness and also took a break from using them for the last week to if there was a difference not using them (spoiler: there was!).

PCA Bond Repair Hair Treatment ($12.99) – I really struggle with breakage and split ends, and this product has completely changed that for me. I use this after every shower and now have way less breakage and almost no split ends despite not getting a hair cut for a long, long time. My hair also feels much softer and less frizzy even if I only used just this product. I’m used to needing to use a couple of different products to get my hair to look and feel great, so that really impressed me! The only con for me is that I can’t stand this packaging – it’s so hard to spray the product. I even had my husband try it to see if it was just me, and he struggled with it too. I love everything else about this product so I will definitely continue to use it and likely repurchase it, but I wish they made it way easier to use.

Peptide Volumizing Hair Treatment ($9.99) – In addition to my hair being super dry and brittle, it’s also really flat. I usually need to give myself a blow out or curl my hair to get any kind of volume, and I’ve been loving that I now can get volume without doing either of those things especially since it’s been so hot here. My hair looks thicker and bouncier whenever I use this and actually has some movement to it. I notice a huge difference when I skipped this, and it’s my go-to for when my hair is looking a little lifeless.

Caffeine stimulating scalp treatment ($14.99) – This product is really unique and was the only one of these that filled an actual gap in my collection. You are supposed to see best results after using it for 3 months, which I haven’t hit yet, so these are my initial impressions. It doesn’t create any issues for my hair even using it every night, and I can definitely already see a different in how fast my hair is growing and its strength. I’ve been seeing a lot less hair coming out onto my brush and in the shower since I started using this, and I’m excited to see the effects over time!

Shea Oil Nourishing Hair Treatment ($9.99) – This is meant for dry and brittle hair (which mine is!) and feels like a serum for your hair. It’s very lightweight and instantly makes my hair look way more hydrated and healthy. It also adds so much shine without destroying any volume I have. I like it a lot better than something like the Moroccanoil Treatment or the Verb Ghost oil which both feel much heavier. Even though it’s incredibly lightweight, I still found that if I applied too much, my hair did feel weighed down and greasy. While this happens much less than with other oil-based hair treatments, I still always try to use less than I think I need to avoid that.

Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Hair Treatment ($9.99) – This is another product meant to add hydration, boost shine, and reduce brittleness. Everything I said about that is true about this, and I used this interchangeably with the Shea Oil Nourishing Hair Treatment. I don’t think you need both, and this works just as well and also doesn’t add any heaviness or weigh my hair down. I found that I didn’t have the same issue when adding too much so I prefer this treatment for that reason, especially when I’m on day 2 or day 3 hair.

This whole haircare routine was less than $60, and I am so impressed by each of the products and how they work together. My three favorites are the PCA Bond Repair Hair Treatment, Peptide Volumizing Hair Treatment, and the Caffeine Stimulating Scalp Treatment because they are incredibly effective and I don’t have anything I can think of that’s remotely similar in the price range. That said, they’re all amazing, and I’m very glad I decided to try them out since I now have affordable stapes for myself and that I can recommend to you. Are there other hair products or brands you’d like a review of? Let me know in the comments below or on Instagram @liftbakelove!