May's Used Ups...

For this month I mighta cheat a bit and add some things I used up in April as well.

Do you mind? I hope not...

• Superfoods: I've talked about the effect of Moringa before (the Kerastase oils here) so why not adding it to da smoothie. I think I really like the dynamic effect of it and I feel my skin behaves better when I add Moringa.
• By Killian Flower of Immortality: I liked it but I consider them too aquatic for a larger size.
• Chanel Les Beiges Poudre n 30: Honestly, I'm not a fan. It's too perfumed and it's not working that well as foundation or glow-i-fyer. I do bring it on holidays to top up over my sunscreen.
• Mascara Too Faced Better than Sex: This mascara is lovely but I still prefer MUFE Smokey Lash.
• NARS Eyeliner Stylo in Atlantic: A lovely colour of navy blue but it dried up quite fast.
• Phyto Phytokeratine Mask: as recommended by a hyperblonde (here) when I was quite blonde myself. Lovely, I stil prefer Alterna Fill & Fix Mask for blonde (or other colour) rescue.
• L'Oreal Glam Bronze: OMG, how old is that one again? #MUhoarder
• Stila Lipliner in Charming: #MUhoarder again...gotta clear some space
• Majolica Majorca Automatic liner in ?: this must be one of my oldest makeup-products (7 yrs) and it still gave this killer metallic blue line. Something NARS could learn from.

• Addiction by Ayako Eyeliner Pencil in Tokyo Jazz: This has been a part of their Tokyo Jazz '14 set (here). It was also the best quality item and I totally finished it: perfect tightliner tool. 

My skin finally settled from easily agitated to kinda normal. However, are we humans a satisfied species? I guess not. So I was happy to use a variety of serums adressed to other specific needs:
 *

• I wanted to like La Roche Posay Pigmentclar but it smelled like really strong aftershave.

• I used plenty of Odacite serums thanks to a Cultbeauty promotion: The Baobab + Sarsapilla has been an undereye serum I used for my face, quite gentle. In the beginning of May I used the Green Tea & Lemongrass  to perk up my blah complexion. It worked! On my clogged pores I used some Lavender & Jojoba but I could not see dramatic results. I prefer La Roche Posay Effaciclar for that purpose.
• The Gressa Minimalist Serum in 4 had been a tad to dark for me. However, on my holidays I gotten slightly too tan (failing sunblock) so it was an excellent, nourishing match.
•  The Caudalie Polyphenol Oil has been targeted to detox skin. I felt I woke up with clearer skin. It has a stronger fragance so I only would use it when my skin is slightly normal.
• I've been buyng Caudalie Polyphenol Serum a couple of times and I love it during spring to plump up skin.
• The unlabeled bottle has been my Marie Veronique Organics Sunscreen. Very lovely and quite matte. I love it in cities or places when I tend to go oily.
• The Dr. Jart Water Max Sleeping Mask has been a wonderful boost of moisture at night. It doesn't do that much more than adding moisture, but I have other potions to add the extras ;)

Here goes the hairstory again:

I've tried to be a blonde for a while. In order to maintain a middle blonde I started going to hairdressers who made me blonder each time. At a certain point I gotten into this unequal creation that consisted of blondes going way to grey on me (bad toning done) and darker roots. So do blondes have more fun? I guess when their hairdresser is right and when you have too much time on hands that you like to spend toning/uprooting...

I have been going slightly darker these days because maintainance was too much stress: weekly toning, greys when I have hardly any of my owns. etc.  I basically could not get that beautiful blonde level some of my fellow Dutch women have. A bad blonde can look tacky so the guys were not so lovely on me either.
Also, I've adapted an organic lifestyle, went glutenfree, used mostly organic products, so why would I infuse so many chemicals in my system by hairdyes?
Indeed, it's not for nothing that doctor's tell pregnant women NOT to dye their hair because it could harm their baby.   That could never been good news for your body even if you were not pregnant

But the things I did to be a beautiful blonde (by myself)...

• The Phyto Phytocyane also has been recommended by the platinum on XOVain. I think my hair grew a bit faster with it. The vials are a bit hazardous, though. 
• Viviscal: hairstuff from the inside. If it's good enough for models...
• Wella Ilumina is a professional hairdye used in hairdresser salons. Well, toning cost about $60 and they often plunge the cooler tone all over the hair, resulting in some greyer parts: very unflattering when you are almost 40! I did a more precise job by buying either the 9.60 or the 10.1 on the parts that needed toning. It was a heck of a job, though, and I often washed it out in 2 weeks. I think my hair is stubborn because I have the same when getting professional toning in salons. Anyway, if your hair responds normally to toning (about 4 weeks of pleasure of the colour) I guess that DIY is a beautifully cheap option. Just take care of reading a zillion of tutorials on it!
• Davines Finest Pigments Gloss in Pearl is also a professional gloss, only gentler because it does not need a developer. Pearl neutralises some yellows but for a serious yellow or orangy I'd suggest Ash. I like this one when you need instant softening after bleach without going into the harshness of chemical toning again, or blurring out the first greys. You can get them over here.
• I guess you guys know I love Lush Marilyn. I use it when I'm strawberry red, superblonde or  lighter brown. It's an awesome pre-conditioner.

We continue with hairstuff...

•  Gielly Green Repair Mask is one of the better organic hairmasks out there.
• Another fave is Alterna Caviar Repair Fill & Fix treatment Mask. It's protein based and wonderful when you need to restore lost protein.
• Supplements: Doctor's Best Hyaluronic Acid. I like this stuff...
• I often add Marine Based Collagen in my smoothies: it's supposed to plump up skin & hair from the inside.
• Kerastase Crystaliste Serum has been a godsend when I had extensions last year. However, I have to use it sparingly on my own hair.

Skin:

• Sana Hadanomy Collagen mist has been wonderful for a while, but I'm on organic facemists now.
• I found this Hada Labo moisturizer slightly too simple for my face, but it made an awesome thinner body lotion.
• Ren Morrocan Rose Body Lotion smells divine without going to chemical rose territory. It moisturizes well enough for winter skins but is a bliss for summer skin as well.
• I've gotten the Indigo Skin Repair cream as a cheaper alternative on Tatcha's Indigo cream (below). I think it works quite well on psoriasis: I mean,not completely healing but still enough to cope with. It's more affordable to put this on your body than the expensive blue Tatcha one.
• However, for face and a more intensive effect: Tatcha Indigo Cream does help.
• I've gotten First Aid Facial Radiance Pads as a cheaper alternative on Cane + Austin Retexturizing Pads (here). They exfoliate, but Cane & Austin are more effective.
• Rodial Dragon Blood Eye mask struck me as gimmicky, but I still bought some for a long haul flight. I like them better than cheaper varieties but they're pricey.

• Yves Rocher has this affordable 2-phase cleanser for eyes that can remove my stubborn Japanese Primer by Kanebo Kate
• Bionike Dependence Miscelair gel is an Italian apothecary brand that cleanses the face easily
• A gorgeous perfume stored too long: Nicolai Cococabana. Bye bye!
• I had to say goodbye to my very 1st Burberry Beauty product bought in London! I loved this foundation but never used it up.
• Fushi Organics Hydrating lipbalm packs up the right amount of moisture on lips: whether totally healthy or slightly winterrized/seasalted-in-summertime.

Nails:

My nails have been weak for some unknown reason, hence:

• I've been trying Mavala Scientifique to strenghten them: no result
• Then there was Koh Nail Hardener in Bamboo: neither worked for me
• I had to discard Essie Lambada because it dried up too much, aww...
• Same with China Glaze Unplugged
• and I left my newbie from & Other Stories in sunlight. Boohoo, such a pretty orange.

That has been a bit of product-chat. Also, the hairtalk. Someone asked me to dedicate a blogpost specifically on haircolour and I think I might do that. It's often a bit of a social experiment, going into a new colour. 
But first, a proper review on one single product again! Yes...