Hello everyone :) So Gold Elements reached out to me a couple of months ago and asked if I wanted to try some of their products out. After looking into their skincare line, I was excited to try out their line because their products feature gold leaves! Fun and exotic right?! So let's go through, take a look at the products, and I'll explain my experience with their products.

Let's get to the breakdown...

Disclaimer: Gold Elements sent me these products for review. They did not pay me and all opinions are my own.

Truffle Infusion Eye Serum

So I know what you're thinking... truffles?! What the heck?! First of all, truffles are a VERY pricy food that's considered a delicacy. However, when incorporated into skincare, it can help make your skin look more even by blocking the production of melanin in the skin. It also contains amino acids, which help prevent aging. 

 So let's talk about my experience with this eye serum. This eye serum has a light-weight consistency. I love that because it's perfect for layering, daytime, and the warmer months...which is when I was using this serum. It also smooths onto the skin very nicely. The serum is a beautiful gold color and almost has a bit of shimmer to it. Now let me talk about my eyes for a bit. I have SUPER sensitive eyes. It's honestly way too much to get into, but if you follow my social media or youtube channel, you've probably heard me talk about this. This serum did not irritate my eyes, which was a relief. I also liked that it kept my under eyes hydrated. I can notice when I'm neglecting my eye area (because my fine lines are more pronounced when I'm not being diligent) and which this serum, I felt that my under eye area looked more plump. It's hard to say whether or not I noticed a long-term difference, but I like this! 

 But here's the thing. This is EXPENSIVE. I actually didn't realize how much this cost (because they sent it to me in exchange for a review) until I looked up more information of this product for this review. When I saw the price, my jaw dropped. It's $699. I actually think this is a very valuable part of this review... I had no idea how much this line cost. In other words, when I was using this line, did I think this was a $699 eye serum? No. I had no idea. I thought it was nice, the packaging is nice.... but I honestly don't this is $699 nice. So takes that for what it's worth. 

Age Treatment Moisturizing Cleansing Oil

I love cleansing oils. I can't live without double cleansing my skin! I don't wear makeup everyday, but when I do, I wear a lot...so cleansing oils and balms are a must in my routine. As you can see in the picture below, it's a beautiful gold color. I love the consistency of this because it's super smooth and glides onto the skin. As for my experience with this cleansing oil, I love that this doesn't leave my skin feeling stripped. It actually leaves my skin feeling very comfortable, soft and smooth. I would say this is best for those you who don't wear a ton of makeup. As you can see below, I applied some mascara and eyeliner to the back of my hand and massaged the oil on the swatches to show you guys how effective this is. It doesn't break up the makeup as much as I'd like it to, so I save this for my no makeup days. 

After massaging the cleansing oil onto the makeup swatches. 

After I rinsed my hand. 

Intensive Cleansing and Softening Lotion

 I have very dry skin. So I've become more selective when it comes to cleansers. I can immediately tell if I like a cleanser or not just by judging how dry my skin feels after using it. This cleanser is really gentle on my skin. It leaves my skin feeling refreshed because it's a nice soft cleanser. However, again, with most of these products... I didn't realize how expensive these products were. So when I was using this, did I think this was a $129 cleanser? No, I didn't. I did enjoy using but I don't think I would shell out that much money for ANY cleanser. 

Also, I would like to note... this cleanser does not really lather! Totally a preference thing.. personally I don't mind but some of you might prefer a cleanser that lathers more! 

D'Or Facial Cream

This moisturizer kept my skin nice and hydrated. As you can see in the picture below, it's a medium consistency... not too thick, not too thin. I felt like this absorbed pretty quickly and didn't feel heavy on my skin. Overall, I feel like this is a pretty basic face cream. I didn't notice a significant difference (possibly because I always heavily hydrate my skin with LAYERS of skincare) but I like that it felt comfortable on my skin.   

D'Or Facial Peeling

Last but not least, I tried out their peeling gel. I personally like peeling gels because I feel like it's a gentle way to exfoliate and stimulate my skin without having to abrasively scrub at my skin. This peeling gel makes my skin feel SO SOFT! It does a really nice job of removing dead skin cells and my skin looks visibly brighter after using this.  

I hope you guys enjoyed my review of some of the Gold Elements products I received! Let me know if you've tried some of their products. I look forward to hearing your thoughts :) 

xoxo,

Morgan

The Travel Breakdown: London; Camden Market, Big Ben, House of Parliament

On day 2 in London, England after studying abroad in Paris, France, Michael and I spent most of our day at Camden Market. I'd say Camden Market is one of my favorite places in London because of the SHOPPING. You can find fun clothes and accessories for cheap and there's also a lot of great food to try! It's known for the "different" crowd it attracts and for offering unique items you can't find anywhere else! There also a booth wear this man bends words into wire for accessories. He makes everything from wire necklaces to bracelets to rings. I get compliments on the necklace I got made there all the time!

After walking around Camden Market for a while, we went and visited Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and St. Margaret's Church. There are landmarks we obviously had to visit because they're staples of London!

BIG BEN!

Once we had visited all these places in London, we walked along the Thames River and people watched until the sun went down. We returned to our apartment for the night and went to bed!

Have you ever been shopping in Camden Market??

xoxo, Morgan

The Travel Breakdown: London; Eurostar, London Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Oyster Cards

So as promised, here's the continuation of my study abroad series! After completing our program in Paris, France (study abroad posts start here) Michael and I boarded the Eurostar at the Gare du Nord and travelled to London! We arrive in London at 12:30 pm, and took advantage of the fact we still had almost a full day left! We dropped out stuff off at the flat we were staying in (we rented a room through Airbnb! This website is great for people on a budget who don't really want to stay in hostels) and immediately hopped onto the Underground and went to the London Bridge. We just wandered around this area until we stumbled upon an organic farmers market in the area. This was fun and interesting to look at, and it was nice to finally speak to other English speakers (you almost take it for granted being able to speak English until you are somewhere you must speak another language for a prolonged period of time!) From here, we walked all the way to Buckingham Palace! (yes, lots of walking!)

London has such pretty architecture!

Near the center of London!

Buckingham Palace! As you can see, it was a perfect day to walk around because it was overcast so it wasn't too hot!

After walking all over the city, we decided to take a break and ride the bus for a while. It's nice riding the bus in London because you can do some sight-seeing without having to walk! The fact that the buses there are double decker buses make them great for sight-seeing and tourists!

Travel Tip for London: Be sure to buy an Oyster card when you get there! (I believe they cost around 10 pounds) They are reloadable cards that you can buy in the Underground (their metro system) and you use them on the Underground and on the buses in London. It makes traveling much easier and when your done using it, they'll refund you your 10 pounds! Just make sure to look up a place that will exchange the Oyster card back into pounds for you... I believe we exchanged ours at Heathrow airport?

Where's you favorite place in London?? Did you use a lot of public transportation like us? As always, I love your feedback and comments. If you have any questions, leave a comment! :)

xoxo, Morgan  

The Travel Breakdown: Study Abroad in Paris; Sacré Coeur, Montmartre, Lock Bridge

On Day 27 of my study abroad experience, I slept in and then met up with Michael to visit Sacré Coeur in the Montmartre area. I'd visited Sacré Coeur before (I'd visited Paris two years prior to studying abroad in France), but Michael had never been there. It's definitely an area you should see once in your lifetime and a must-stop place if you visit Paris. We took the metro there, and walked up to the Basilica at the very top. It is seriously such a beautiful church. We sat inside for a little, just to soak up the experience more and then decided to walk around the shops around the church. There are a ton of tiny boutiques on the streets surrounding the basilica and lots to look at. Since this place is known for the painters in the area (there's actually a courtyard by the basilica that has TONS of artists painting and selling their art) we picked up two small paintings while we were here. We got a painting of the Notre Dame (one of my FAVORITE places in Paris) and the Eiffel Tower (of course!).

Day 28 was a Sunday and we went to the area around the Notre Dame for breakfast (if you're looking for places to just wander around and randomly find something to eat, this place is great for that because there are lots of little restaurants and cafes). Since it was one of our final days in Paris, we decided to climb the Eiffel Tower. We took the stairs, which was a work out, but definitely worth it for the views. It's actually pretty cheap to do as well (I believe it's about 4-6 euros per person to climb the first half of the Eiffel Tower, then less than 10 euros to go all the way to the top)

About half way up the Eiffel Tower...look at that VIEW!

On Day 29 of my study abroad experience in Paris, Michael and I had a "date night" type of thing to celebrate our whole experience in Paris. We stopped by the lock bridge by the Notre Dame, and put our own lock on it (we couldn't resist). After putting our lock on the bridge and throwing the key in the Seine (I wonder how many keys are at the bottom of that river! haha), we went to dinner. We found a restaurant by the Notre Dame and got a three course "set" meal. A "set" meal is where they offer an appetizer, main course, and dessert from a menu that offers 3-6 options for each course. You then pay a set price inside of paying each course individually... you just pay per person if that makes sense (just as an FYI, there are a lot of restaurants around the Notre Dame that offer this type of dining experience). I got french onion soup, steak and spaghetti, and a caramel custard. SO GOOD! After dinner, we had a final boat tour along the Seine River with the rest of our program. It was so bitter, sweet but nice to float along the river and admire the city at night. After that, a group of us decided to go to the Pantheon to reenact the scene from Midnight in Paris. (haha)

Our lock is the one with the huge red heart on it... I can't wait to go back in a couple years and see if it's still on there!

I forced Michael to pose with me so I could capture the moment...I'm such a girl. haha

Look how beautiful the Eiffel Tower is at night.. totally surreal to ride by it on the boat and see it sparkle!

I'll be adding pictures of Sacré Coeur soon, so be sure to check back! :) 

Also read on to my next post on DISNEYLAND PARIS!!!   

  xoxo, Morgan 

The Travel Breakdown: Study Abroad in Paris; Académie De La Bière, Mummified Animals, Yummy Mussels

With only a week left, I really felt like a true Parisian. On day 24, my friends and I got breakfast and attended class and then walked around the area of Bastille (the metro stop!). I love this area because they have tons of tiny boutiques that offer unique items and they have a couple open air markets here. Of course, I can't go to the open air market without picking up cherries and peaches... for some reason, they're so much better than the ones from home! For dinner that night, a group of us went to
Académie De La Bière (In English, this means the Beer Academy) and got the moules et frites (mussels and french fries!). Evidently, this place is known for this dish and I can see why! It was excellent and they gave super large servings! They're also known for their beers, but I'm not a big beer drinker so I obviously didn't get any. A great place to eat and they're open late ;) If you take the RER B, get off on Port-Royal.. it's very close to the RER exit.

On day 25 of my study abroad experience in Paris, Michael and I visited the Louvre Museum after class. With our program, we got in for free to all the museums in Paris, and since this museum is HUGE, we decided it was a good idea to go back and explore the museum one more time before we left. We spent more time in the Egyptian wing of the museum, and looked at all the mummified cats, dogs, fish, and crocodiles! So crazy! This is one museum I could spend days in and still not lose interest...and that's saying a lot ;) After, we got coffee and dinner at a cafe near the Cité Universitaire and met up with some friends to enjoy their company along the Seine River.  

Some of the displatys in the Louvre

On Day 26 of studying abroad in Paris, it was a typical day except we got a bunch of friends, crepes (yum!), apple cider (an alcoholic version of sparkling apple juice that's super popular in France), and a blanket and hung out in front of the Eiffel Tower for the night. We stayed there all night watching the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower and the people, who were all enjoying the beautiful warm, evening weather. It was amazing being there with good company, and just relaxing, which is sometimes hard to do in such a busy city :) We caught the last metro back (the metro closes at 2 am I believe) and went to bed!

Even though it was the middle of the night, you can see how busy and lively this area is all the time! :)

 Almost done with my Paris trip! So sad :( Let me know what you guys think or if you've ever visited any of the places I've mentioned!

Read my next post on Sacre Coeur and Montmartre! Seriously so beautiful!

xoxo, Morgan