August's Empties

August has been a month of buying plenty newbies - finishing few = just 13 finished ups... 

1. Seacret Body scrub:

This scrub is from those Dead-sea companies that are in larger capitals around Europe: they stop people on the street by scrubbing their hands and coaching them inside their shop. I usually avoid them because their products are basically overpriced, but I caved for a scrub because it would do "miracles" on problem skin. It is a nice firm scrub on a mixed base of oil. Nice: yes; worth the price: nope, a DIY dead sea salt scrub would be less perfumed (only if you want to) and just as effective.

2. Kora Organics (by Miranda Kerr) facial spray

So I caved for the hype and Miranda's promise of 'skins as good as hers'. Yeh, I'm too old to believe but like Lourdes' water: you can always try. The spray smells a bit musty imo, some herbal component is quite present. I haven't seen any dramatic result using it. Verdict: overpriced & overhyped.

3. Givenchy Mr. Light concealer in Mr. Macaroon 

I love this concealer and I've been alternating Mr. Toast (3) & Mr. Macaroon (4) depending on my level of selftan. It's my 3rd tube and its one of the better undereye concealers out there. It covers without getting caky; it refects light without going discoball. Repurchase: Absolutely, though I bought Charlotte Tilbury because my colour was sold out (love hers too)

4. Kiss Me Heavy Rotation Long Volume Dynamic Mascara & Max Factor Wild Mega volume

Both were nice but neither I will repurchase. Kiss Me keeps the curl and thickens a bit, but has the tendency to clump as well. Max Factor needs a lot of primer to keep any curl or have a good effect.

5. Flormar Rotating Macara

Wow, so handy! A mascara that has a rotating brush that can go in both directions. I really liked the formula that was thin and never clogging. I'm keeping the brush to use with other mascaras until the battery runs out.

6. Merumaya Skin Brightening Exfoliating Peel
A wonderful chemical peel that exfoliates skin without overstripping: think REN Glycolactic Renewal Mask only slightly more herbally fraganced. I was not a fan of her eyecream but this one is really nice & effective.

7. Zoya Nailpolish Savita & Essie Wicked
A case of 'bottles in sunlight' that changed the texture. I like both colours: Savita is a matte purple that looks velvety on and Essie Wicked it that blood dried classic hue.

8. Trevarno TCL cream
Organically harvested in the UK. Their products are delightfully affordable with some potent ingredients. TLC says it all: when skin is being oversensitive. It smells like a herbal garden. I love that it's a cream instead of a balm. It soothes, but not the complete miracle.

9. Collistar Selftan Face magic drops
This selftan does not need an introduction on my blog anymore because I adore it (review here). 

10. Konjac sponge
I got this one in a complete set from Lovelula. I have used it every now and then and it feels quite neutral and effective.

11. Weleda Iris daycream
This was also a gift with purchase and it's a big surprise: I love the thin, slightly neutral consistency that layers beautifully over serums. It smells like a light flower: Iris ofcourse. Repurchase: yes, as it's affordable, agrees well with my skin and is wonderful for summer.

12. African Botanics Marula oil Neroli infused 
I got this sample from my facialist in Amsterdam. I went there for a Marie Veronique Organics facial and was surprised that this hard-to-get brand was one of her working brands. It's a really thick oil and moisturizes quite heavily: I think I'd prefer it for winter.

13.  BioNike Defence XAge Serum
An Anti-age serum suitable for very sensitive skin. I bought it in Italy as part of a travelset. This serum would be ideal for long-distance flights: soothing, anti-ageing and moisturizing.

New Skin-bies: Merumaya 'Tease Me Please Me' Taster set

My unlimited curiosity of serums was being intensified after I've read some a of Merumaya's Iconic Youth Serum in the British Vogue (see here).
I'm normally not too convinced by magazine's articles but they do raise my interest if the price is right and the other reviews are positive too. In this case, yes...interested, so I went for the Taster set with a full-sized eyecream to try out first:

The serum was the item I had been most interested in, and honestly the only thing I've tried so far. Boohoo on me, because brands often recommend that you use the full line. I personally disagree on always using everything from one line, because often brands have one (or some) star-products whereas the others might be better from other brands.

In my case, I just wanted to try out the serum separately with my other cleansers before I coordinated my skincare with the whole line.

Easy description, and yes...follow up with products from their line:

Their site is throwing with some hi-tech new ingredients to raise the customer's interest:

And the precise list of ingredients:

The serum is a clearer, yellowish colour:

I've been trying it for 2 weeks and my personal verdict is this:

• provides enough moisture for me to wear alone on warmer days
• aromatic scent that lingers a while
• slightly silicony feel (dimeticone is high on the ingredient list)
• has a line/pore diffusing quality over it

Conclusion:
Serums are liked or not-so-much on aspects other than performance. I liked it performance but the scent wasn't my thing. Also, the silicony feel is something I like in a primer, but not in a serum. I am curious about the rest of the samples and the full-sized eyecream.

Available:
The 'Tease Me Please Me' set is on the Meramuya site (here) for £24.50 and the individual serum here.