Less succesful products: Bison Finland Spa Relax bath & ELF daily brush cleanser

The title is a bit of a euphonism, but I want to keep it a bit more positive than to say that these products were utterly useless, because they might work for some people.

My first 'meh'-moment was a powdered bath product from Bison. This product has been based on the powdered Japanese bath products that are sold from various Japanese brands. Lotuspalace has been raving about Kracie Tabinoyado bath powders, and honestly, I have tried one sachet of those (thanks to a freebie from Lotuspalace) and those were excellent!

I am a bit of a cheapskate every now and then, so I wanted to purchase the budget version before splurging on Kracie Tabinoyado. Or, it is not really budget but it was available by one package.

The Bison Finland spa relax Lemon Grass & Herb was not really my thing. It smelled like Lysol (or any other superartificial lemon scent that you can get from old-school household cleansing products) for 30 seconds, and then it dissolved into a superlight scent.

The sauna effect was not present. As you can see on the package, the person is surrounded by steam. Ofcourse, it is mentioned to create a similar experience as a Finnish sauna.

Ingredients in Japanese for Japanese readers

Well, I have never been into a Finnish sauna so I have absolutely no personal experience. However, I am quite sure that the effect of the bath powder was nothing like a Finnish sauna (use of steam, heat, cleansing herbs, etc).

A yellowish powder for the bath

I did see a colour change in the water, as it turned into a yellowish colour. However, I did not experience anything like the Kracie Tabinoyado sachet, which made the water really coloured and fun with a strong but pleasant scent.

Ofcourse, my opinion is only personal, as Lotuspalace has been enthousiastic about Bison Finland Relax Spa's. The rates on sasa.com are really positive as well, so I might be a bit spoiled ;p

I bought the sachet on sasa.com.

From a Japanese bathing product back to the American cosmetics...more specifically E.L.F studio range.

It would not be a surprise to know that I wear makeup every now and then (why would I blog about it so fanatically, right?). And if you wear makeup, you will use brushes too. Although a large amount of makeup products are really easy to apply by hands as well, I still like to use my brushes for precision and for hygienic reasons.

And if I like the brushes because they are hygienic, then they should stay hygienic as well. I wash my brushes often because why would I contaminate my own skin with old, accumulated bacteria (eww). My cosmetic tools should be as clean as possible.

So when I saw the E.L.F. Daily Brush Cleanser on the E.L.F. site (uk), I thought I would hit the jackpot. Fantastic, a product that cleanses and has anti-bacterial effects!!!

Althought the product is quite effective in cleansing brushes, it was actually more time-consuming to clean with the spray than with the normal shampoo-and-rinse-method.

So the method of cleansing with this spray is too labourous:

• You first have to spray it on and distribute it over the entire brush, reaching all the hairs.


• You have to get a paper or normal towel to remove the spray and the remains of the makeup


• Not all makeup is removed after this process


• The brush is still quite moist and wet after this process!!! Actually, the brush has to dry for at least a day to get dry!!!


• which is just as much time as drying my brushes when washing them the standard way


• The scent is absolutely too poignant...it lingers for a couple of hours in the room when using it.


• The same scent will be there when you will use the brush (when finally dry)...

Conclusion: if it would had an instant-dry effect, I would find it to be very useful. However, when I have to wait as long for it compared to the ordinary method, I would certainly prefer the normal method, which is better on hygienic fronts as well

So it is not really an alternative to the normal cleansing method.

I am not the only one who is 'meh' about it. The reviews on makeupalley are not really raving as well.

Remember, these are just opinions. I try to be as honest as possible on my blog, so when I am positive about something, I actually like it and it works for me (at that moment).