Influenster #MysteryBrand Revealed! Garnier Fructis Damage Eraser

A week ago I posted about Influenster's most recent Canadian Campaign: The L'Oreal Mystery Brand VoxBox. If you would like to see that first impressions post click here. 

Based on product smell and some Google sleuthing, I had guessed that the mystery product was going to be Garnier's new Damage Eraser line. Yesterday, a big white box showed up in the mail which confirmed that I was correct in my guessing. Inside the box was the complete, full-size line of Garnier Damage Eraser products. The line includes: fortifying shampoo, fortifying conditioner, split ends bandage serum, and strength reconstructing butter.

This line boasts that it is great for dry, damaged hair, which is exactly what I have. However, my hair also gets extremely oily, extremely quickly at the scalp. I like to say I have combination hair. Read below to learn more about this line, and my thoughts on each of the products.

Fortifying Shampoo

"Want to bring back strength, vitality & shine to damaged hair? Reconstruct hair's strength for strong hair that looks rejuvenated. The formula contains Phyto-Keratin complex, with plant-based proteins and active fruit concentrate, and cupuacu butter, with natural lipids. It works in two ways to strengthen and rejuvenate the look of hair."

This shampoo smells amazing, the whole line does! It lathers quite well, and my hair feels clean once I rinse it out, but not dried out. Although it is a good shampoo, it is nothing miraculous. I get similar results from Herbal Essences and other drugstore shampoos.

Fortifying Conditioner

"Want to bring back strength, vitality & shine to damaged hair? Reconstruct hair's strength for strong hair that looks rejuvenated. The formula contains Phyto-Keratin complex, with plant-based proteins and active fruit concentrate, and cupuacu butter, with natural lipids. It works in two ways to strengthen and rejuvenate the look of hair."

The real magic happens with this conditioner. It has quite a thicker consistency than most other drugstore conditioners, and works well at replenishing the moisture that my dry, damaged hair needs. I use this only on the ends of my hair. It rinses out easily, and leaves my hair feeling soft, manageable, and tangle free.

Split Ends Bandage Serum

"Formulated with Phyto-Keratin complex and cupuacu butter, each drop helps prevent split ends and reconstructs and preserves hair's strength. Apply on towel-dried hair to fragile or damaged areas. Do not rinse out."

This has been the magic step for me within this line. Once I am out of the shower, I brush through my hair, ring out any excess water, and apply a nickel to quarter sized amount to the ends of my hair. I find this serum is too moisturizing to use on my whole head. My hair dries, and I am left with soft, shiny, frizz-free hair. Most days I don't style my hair, but it looks great with this product so I don't have too. When I straighten my hair I have less fly-aways and frizz.

Strength Reconstructing Butter

"This rich, indulgent butter is designed to intensely reconstruct hair's strength for strong, rejuvenated and shiny-looking hair. After shampooing, apply to wet hair from root to tip. Leave on for 3 to 5 minutes. Rinse."

This was a surprise item in the box, as we hadn't previously received a sample of this product. I am not normally a fan/user of hair masks, because I am too lazy to take the time. However, I am willing to try anything to hep with frizz, so I am going to be using this during my next spa day routine. I will report back with my thoughts once I have used this product.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with this Influenster Campaign, and I'm so excited to bring life back to my hair with these products. If you would like to sign up for Influenster, for a chance to be part of the next Campaign, then email me at mybeautyfulladventure@hotmail.com and I will send you an invite.

My Skincare Routine

 

I love reading other girls skincare routine posts so I thought that I would do one of my own.

 

Here is a little background on my skin type. I am a Combination/Oily skin girl. My cheek area is kind of dry to normal, but my T-zone gets extremely oily. I can get quite congested in the nose area but I don't get many breakouts. I never really had bad acne but I feel that over the past few years my skin has gotten a lot better.

 

Now I am not picky about skincare. I don't really have many Holy Grail products that I buy all the time and my routine isn't consistent. I buy whatever is on sale and I try to buy new products all the time if I don't see any results.I wash my face every night in the shower and have a routine that follows and then I lightly cleanse and tone in the morning with a different routine.

 

These are the products I have been working with on a daily basis, however, I do substitute other product samples into the routine from time to time, in order to use up my sample stash.

 

Night Time Routine

 

Step 1 - Every other day I use the St. Ives Apricot Scrub to give my skin an extra deep cleansing. Sometimes I go longer between uses but I can always tell when my skin needs some exfoliation. This gentle yet effective scrub is really the best one I have ever used and will continue to use for a long time.

 

Step 2 - My current facial cleanser is the Nivea Natural Beauty Exfoliating Daily Peeling Cleanser. I bought this cleanser at the Dollarama for $2 which is a steal compared to its price at Walmart or Shoppers Drug Mart. It has tiny exfoliating beads that you barely notice when you compare them to the beads in the St. Ives Scrub. It has a fresh scent and froths wonderfully with only a little bit of product. My skin always feels very clean, moisturized, and refreshed after I use this.

 

Step 3 - On the days that I am not using the St. Ives Scrub I use step 2 of the Clinique 3 Step System. This Clarifying Lotion is a liquid exfoliator. I find this can be quite harsh on my skin so I use this sparingly and make sure that I am not putting it too close to my eyes. This is a product that I find has really helped my skin since I started using it years ago. I will probably always use this.

 

Step 4 - Every night I apply Caryl Baker Visage Firming Eye Gel. I'm only 22 years old but I would rather prevent now then try and reverse later in life. I haven't noticed huge results from this eye gel so I will probably buy something different next time that is maybe a bit cheaper then this gel was.

 

Step 5 - Lastly I finish with Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. This has been my go to moisturizer for the last year and a half and I will probably continue to use it. This moisturizer gives enough moisture to my cheeks that are dry but isn't too heavy for my T-zone.

 

 Morning Routine

 

Step 1 - Even though I thoroughly cleansed my face the night before I like to use a makeup remover in the morning to get any last possible speck of makeup off my face before toning and applying new makeup for the day. Right now I am using Marcelle Essentials and I do enjoy this product but I might try something different once this bottle is empty. This is an oil free makeup remover and I recommend it to any other oily skinned girls. This stuff leaves no residue at all.

 

Step 2 - Toner! I used to use the Clean & Clear Astringent but found it extremely harsh and drying. I switched to Nivea Refreshing Toner for Combination skin because it was on sale and I LOVE THIS! It smells amazing and leaves my skin feeling cleansed and refreshed.

 

Step 3 - Like at night I use my eye gel again in the morning. The firming action makes my eyes ready for concealer and I feel that my concealer goes on better when I use my eye gel compared to when I don't.

 

Step 4 - Like every night, every morning, I moisturize with Clinique Dramatically Different Gel. If I am wearing foundation that day I will mix it with this moisturizer to make more of a tinted moisturizer.

 

 

Once a week I use a mask. My current favourite has been the St. Ives Timeless Skin Mineral Clay Firming Mask. This mint green, mint smelling mask feels cool on your face and, when I wash it off my skin feels tight but not in a bad way. My pores seem smaller when I use this mask and I feel like I just had a facial.

 

 

Here are swatches of some of the products. From right to left: St. Ives Apricot Scrub, Nivea Cleanser, St. Ives Firming Mask.

 

 

What are your favourite skincare items? Which ones do you recommend for me to try out next?