bliss lemon+sage Body Butter Vs. Cake Milk Made Nourishing Body Butter

Loose powders aren't the only thing I've been comparing these past few weeks. I've also been testing out two yummy selling body butters, one made by Cake and the other made by bliss, to see if one performs better than the other.

Comparing these two products was easy: I simply applied the Cake one to just my left leg and I applied the bliss one to just my right leg.

The immediate results were identical. Both of these body butters have a thick, rich texture that feels fabulous on. Yeah, both moisturizers did leave my skin feeling a little greasy but they also felt like they were really hydrating my skin.

After two weeks’ worth of nearly daily use, both of my legs were silky smooth and soft.  Based on both touch and look, both body butters did a great, and essentially equal job, at moisturizing my skin.
But while these body butters might produce identical results, they do have a few key differences. The first is price. At around $35 for a 6.7 oz, the bliss butter is pricier than the Cake one, runs around $24 for 8 oz. They’re also packaged differently, with the bliss moisturizer coming in a tube while the Cake one is packaged in a tube.

Both products do share multiple ingredients, including coconut oil, but only Cake claims to have a body butter that’s free of parabens, gluten, GMOs and other controversial ingredients.

Then there's how these two products smell. Both of these body butters are heavily scented but in very different ways. The Cake butter has a sweet scent that always reminds me of baking (it contains notes of vanilla, milk and raspberries) while the bliss butter has a citrus-y, “clean” scent that sort of reminds me of cleaning products but in a good way.

Personally, I love both scents but I can see why someone might be turned off by one of them. And while it should go without saying, if you’re someone who has issues with scented products, avoid both of these body butter.

But if you love rich, scented body butters, you’ll want to check out both of these items. Which one to use really depends on which scent you prefer; as well as how much you want to spend to get well hydrated skin.

Want to learn more about Cake’s Milk Made Nourishing Body Butter? Then read my review on it, and its matching body scrub, over here.

Smashbox’s Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder Vs. Make Up For Ever’s Super Matte Loose Powder.

First, let me apologize for the lack of posts; between NXNE and a couple real estate transactions, last week was a very busy one.

But today I've been able to carve out a bit of time to write up a comparison of two loose powders that I've been testing out: Smashbox’s Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder and Make Up For Ever’s Super Matte Loose Powder.

So which one is best? Well, that depends on your skin type and your wallet.

My June 2013 Topbox

My first ever Topbox arrived yesterday and I have to say that I am very, very impressed with what I received and with how quickly, and easily, it arrived.  

For my $12 subscription fee, I received:

• Belvada Cosmetics Mini Eyelash Curler
• Benefit Ultra Plush Gloss in Sugarbomb (6.5 ml)
• Jelly Pong Pong Cosmetics Fairy Lashes Mascara (full-sized)
• China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Safari Queen (full-sized)

Field Trip

Congratulations to Toronto-based record label Arts & Crafts on throwing not only one hell of a birthday party but also on organizing one of the best outdoor, music festivals that this city has ever seen.

Yep, that’s a pretty strong statement but I think it’s one that the majority of the people who spent this past Saturday at Arts & Crafts’ Field Trip festival would agree with. The record label organized the day as a 10th anniversary party for itself (and I think as an excuse for the disbanded Broken Social Scene, who helped to found the label, to play one more show) but in the end, they created the model for a perfect festival.

(Before I write anything else I should mention that this entry is photos-free because I only had my phone with me and I didn't want to waste its battery life on taking crappy images. If you want to see some great Field Trip photos, check out these ones over on BlogTO.)

While our day did have a shaky start thanks to ill-formed security people who sent us in the wrong direction, the rest of it was basically perfect (okay, it could have been warmer). Once we got to the correct ticket window, we were quickly given our tickets and then whisked inside.

Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics Nail Polish

I received my free sample of Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics nail polish in my Beauty Board gift bag. Like everyone at the Beauty Board, I was drawn to Cheeky Monkey’s colourful display and its owner, Andrea Pahn’s friendly, outgoing personality.

Based in Toronto, the company aims to be, “…edgy and fun, but above all, high quality. Just like the women who wear them.” Currently, Cheeky Monkey, which claims to be a, “Environmentally responsible company in our operations and our products,” offers several dozen nail products and polish colours, all in a three-free formula (no toluene, formaldehyde, or dibutyl phthalate).

Each shade has a cheeky name though some are cleverer than others. The colour I (and I think everyone else at the Beauty Board) received was a rich red shade called Cheap Whore. Now, I have nothing against fun, and even dirty, colour names but “cheap whore” just seems tacky. Personally, I would have preferred it if this colour had just been called “whore.”