Drugstore Delight: Derma E Hydrating Eye Cream

Another quick Drugstore Delight spotlight to close out my product reviews for the year! Truth be told, this pandemic funk + thinking about work + staying home all the time + not wearing makeup = not a lot of mental bandwidth left to think about beauty. Instead of testing lots of things, in the past couple of months I've switched up my skincare once, tried a new-to-me body butter...and used up two tubes of Derma E Hydrating Eye Cream ($23 at London Drugs). The fact that I haven't deviated from it for months on end should tell you how good it is.

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Drugstore Delight: Weleda Skin Food Body Butter

Beauty blogging tends to focus on the new and the buzzworthy. Weleda isn't new (they've been around since 1921), but their longevity, their status as a natural beauty pioneer, and their upcoming 100th anniversary should be buzzworthy. My friend Anya swears by Weleda Skin Food as a winter staple, which was what inspired me to pick up Weleda Skin Food Body Butter (approx. $22, available at London Drugs) when my last body moisturizer ran out.

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Drugstore Delight: Summer Skincare

When I pictured my 2020 summer, I did not foresee so many long WFH days and so little travel or vacation time, nor did I anticipate how tired and burnt out I'd feel. It seems as if all my brain bandwidth has gone towards work and just getting through the days and not much else. To save myself from daily decision-making fatigue, I've defaulted to variations on the same lounge-at-home outfits (Roots sweatshorts with a tee, or a loose and flowy T-shirt dress), and I've forgone experimenting with tons of new skincare. Instead, I've opted to add just a few products to my routine that are making my summertime complexion happy. Think lightweight textures, SPF protection, and an antioxidant boost. The best part? These products are affordable and accessible Drugstore Delights.

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Drugstore Delight: Avene Cleansing Foam

I've tried my share of cleansing waters, jellies, balms and oils, but there is something atavistically satisfying about a foaming face wash. Maybe it's the way the texture taps into nostalgic comfort and familiarity? Something about a sudsy face cleanser reminds me of younger and more carefree days, tickling the same pleasure centres in my lizard brain as teen rom-coms and Disney movies and Oreos. It just feels good and I can't explain why. Evidently the skincare geniuses at Avene felt the same way, because instead of making a jelly-like cleanser for sensitive skin, they gave us Avene Cleansing Foam ($23 at London Drugs).

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Drugstore Delight: Garnier Bio

With the economic turmoil happening right now and non-essential businesses being closed, drugstore beauty products have really come to the fore. I've always loved a good Drugstore Delight, but going forward (at least for the next little while) I'll focus on even more of them. After all, they're relatively affordable, easy to purchase at your local grocery or pharmacy, and they're a great way of adding a few moments of self-care and normalcy to stressful days. First up? The natural Garnier Bio skincare range, which just launched earlier this year. Garnier kindly sent me a box of samples a couple of months ago, so I'd already incorporated the products into my routine for long-term testing before the lockdown began.

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Drugstore Delight: Not Your Mother's Naturals Scalp Scrub

Are you a fan of scalp scrubs or do you think they're a gimmicky and unnecessary product? I was in the latter camp until just recently when I noticed that no matter how thoroughly I shampooed my hair, my roots were limp and my scalp didn't feel clean. The feeling persisted even when I switched shampoos and conditioners. That's why I picked up Not Your Mother's Naturals Activated Bamboo Charcoal & Purple Moonstone Restore & Reclaim Scalp Scrub ($8.99) during my last cross-border Ulta pilgrimage. I was already a big fan of NYM's hair masks (they smell amazing, the formulas are mostly natural, they're affordable and get the job done) so I figured their scalp scrub was worth a try.

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Drugstore Delight: Nivea Pure & Natural Body Milk

One of the quickest, most dramatic changes you can make towards a more natural beauty routine is switching to a natural body lotion. The skin covering your body amounts to a larger surface area than your face, and unlike something that can be rinsed away like soap, body lotion absorbs and stays. Since I decided to green up my beauty routine I've really enjoyed the natural body lotions and body butters I've tested, and there are a handful of affordable and effective options I keep returning to. (Rocky Mountain Soap Company, I'm looking at you.) But I don't love the fact that I have to go out of my way to specialty stores or websites when I run out, often paying $15-30 for what amounts to very little product volume-wise. It sometimes makes me nostalgic for more innocent days when I waltzed into any drugstore and picked up the biggest pump bottle of whatever was on sale and smelled good.

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Drugstore Delight: Ulta Ultra Slim Brow Pencil

Dior Brow Styler was one of my favourite beauty products of 2019, beloved for its superfine tip, ease of use, staying power, and natural effect. You know what I didn't love though? The price tag. As much as j'adore Dior, at the end of the day this was just a retractable, micro-tip brow pencil in dark brown, with a spoolie brush. Surely there was a more affordable dupe out there. And once I started looking, it didn't take me long to find one: the Ulta Ultra Slim Brow Pencil ($10).

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Drugstore Delight: Burt's Bees Conditioning Lip Scrub & Overnight Intensive Lip Treatment

Cold temperatures, indoor heating, drying long-wear lip colours...fall and winter are a harsh time for lips prone to chapping, so what better time than now to show them some TLC? Especially when affordable, effective, and 100% natural products like the Burt's Bees Conditioning Lip Scrub ($9.99 on sale for $7.99 at London Drugs) and Overnight Intensive Lip Treatment ($9.99 on sale for $7.99 at London Drugs) exist. These new-to-me lip goodies were among the products I was most excited to try at this year's #LDBeauty event and they did not disappoint.

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Drugstore Delight: Maybelline Lash Sensational Boosting Serum

A drugstore lash serum that actually works?! It sounds too good to be true, but that's exactly what Maybelline Lash Sensational Boosting Serum ($10.99 at London Drugs) is. I've been dying to write about this serum (which I received as a PR sample during last year's #LDBeauty event) for ages now, but I needed to wait the minimum 4 weeks to assess the results, and then wait a little longer to see if the serum would help my lashes survive the end-of-growth-cycle fallout.

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Drugstore Delight: Cover Girl Lash Blast Active Mascara

Athleisure beauty is a growing category as more people look for high-performance products that allow them to sweat and look good at the same time. Personally, I avoid makeup during my workouts because I don't want to clog pores and trigger breakouts, but if I'm going to a barre class right after work I'll leave my brow makeup and mascara on. For the latter, I've been hooked on the new Cover Girl Lash Blast Active Mascara ($9.99 at London Drugs) lately, which supposedly stays put without smudging or flaking for up to 24 hours, no matter how much of a sweat you work up.

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Drugstore Delight: Pixi DetoxifEYE Depuffing Eye Patches

Deadlines, study sessions, kids, insomnia, Netflix binges...whatever the reason may be, we've all probably had late nights and woken up with puffy eyes and dark circles at least once, yes? That's what makes a product like Pixi DetoxifEYE Depuffing Eye Patches so universally appealing. Soothing eye patches and masks are nothing new under the sun, but most of the time they're sold one pair at a time and cost $5-10+ a pop depending on the brand. By contrast, Pixi has packaged 30 pairs of hydrogel eye masks in a single jar that retails for $28 USD. The resulting product is more affordable and minimizes packaging and plastic waste. It also makes me more inclined to use eye patches regularly because I know there's a jar full of them just waiting for me whenever I need a pair—so convenient!

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Drugstore Delight: Derma E Vitamin C Concentrated Serum

This Drugstore Delight post has been a long time coming. In fact, the next time you see Derma E Vitamin C Concentrated Serum ($34 at London Drugs) featured on this blog it might very well be in an empties round-up because that's how well-used my sample bottle from last fall's #LDBeauty event has been! Vitamin C is not new in skincare, but it has been getting a lot of buzz lately as brands release new products featuring it as a hero ingredient. And rightfully so, because vitamin C can benefit everyone and every skin type.

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Drugstore Delight: Avene Couvrance High Tolerance Mascara

Who knew I'd find my Holy Grail mascara from a brand best known for sunscreens and skincare for sensitive skin? But Avene Couvrance High Tolerance Mascara ($19 at Shoppers Drug Mart) is just that. It ticks all the boxes when it comes to what I require of a mascara. I first tried this after getting a small sample as a gift with purchase when I bought an Avene SPF moisturizer; I loved it so much I stocked up and bought two full-size tubes while in Paris (Monoprix sale ftw!). In Paris it was available in black and brown, although based on my local Shoppers it seems to only be stocked in black here.

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Drugstore Delight: Pixi Rose Ceramide Cream

Pixi Beauty recently sent me the most gorgeous case full of rose-scented skincare goodies to try out, and while I'm still taking my time testing the other products, I couldn't resist spotlighting the newly launched Pixi Rose Ceramide Cream ($24) in its own post because it is just that good. A rich intensive moisturizer is just what the doctor prescribed for my dryer-than-normal skin, especially as Vancouver continues to hover around sub-zero temperatures. No wonder I've been reaching for it repeatedly.

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Drugstore Delight: Herbal Essences Detox Black Charcoal Shampoo & Replenish White Charcoal Conditioner

This blog is no stranger to charcoal-infused beauty products, whether they're all-natural, Asian, or drugstore. (See here, here, here, here, and here for evidence.) Now we have charcoal-infused drugstore haircare with the new Herbal Essences Detox Black Charcoal Shampoo and Replenish White Charcoal Conditioner. The charcoal purports to "detox" hair and remove buildup. In other words, think of these as gently clarifying shampoo and conditioner formulas.

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Drugstore Delight: Mascara & Eyeliner Round-up

At the #LDBeauty event I attended last fall, almost every brand was launching a new mascara or black liquid eyeliner with a novel twist. This is awesome news for beauty lovers: Mascara and liquid eyeliner need to be replaced more frequently to prevent the build-up of bacteria that can cause eye infections—3 months for mascara, 6 months for eyeliner—so all the better if you can find a drugstore gem that works for your needs and won't break the bank. If you're still hanging on to last year's dried-up products, you might want to toss them and look for these new launches the next time you're at your local London Drugs!

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Drugstore Delight: Olay Age Defying Advanced With Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Gel Cream Moisturizer

This Drugstore Delight review comes courtesy of my husband, who point blank refuses to do anything with his skin unless he's reminded to. You might remember that the last time I got him to try a face mask, five years fell off his face. Well, since then he's lapsed into his usual habits (or lack thereof). And even though he has excellent skin genes working in his favour, things have been looking a little ashy and dry lately. A couple weeks ago I offered to do my home facial routine on him, and afterward I handed him Olay Age Defying Advanced With Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Gel Cream Moisturizer.

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Drugstore Delight: Maybelline Super Stay Matte Ink

Between buying presents and attending parties—and all the primping and little extras in between—the holiday season can be a very expensive time of year. So isn't it wonderful when you find an affordable lipstick that you can rely on for added drama in day-to-night looks, one that stays on through cocktails and dinners? Well, look no further than Maybelline Super Stay Matte Ink ($11.99 at London Drugs).

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Drugstore Delight: L'Oreal Pure-Clay Skincare

September is often dubbed "the other January" because it's a fresh chance for us to tackle goals as we return to school and work. But as stress accumulates over the coming weeks our skin will probably crave a little TLC, especially when summer tans fade and the damage wrought by pollution and sun starts to reveal itself. The good news? You don't have to spend a mint to get effective skincare that works as the L'Oreal Pure-Clay line proves. This collection of masks and cleansers is formulated to tackle a wide variety of concerns and features a trio of clays (Kaolin, Montmorillonite, and Moroccan) as the hero ingredients. I've been testing them on and off since they crossed my beauty desk earlier this summer—I have my favourites and I'm sure if you try them, you'll have the formulas you're partial to as well. All the details after the jump!

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