April's Empties

This month has been a normal empties month:

• Pai daycream in Macademia & Rose has not been finished yet, but it reached the expiry date. I quite like the neutral texture but I opened it too late 

•  De Mamiel Spring oil is nice, but I'm not too fond of it's lemony, home-cleansing scent. I added some neroli & geranium to perk it up: that worked 

•  Nourish Revital-eye made it to my Best of 2013 List. I've emptied my 2nd tube & keep on loving its effect on my eyes.

• Avene eau Thermale had been on my wishlist for a while. I got the samplesize and like it, but I cannot really distinguish between this one and La Roche Posay: I just like both types.
•  Ren Evercalm cleanser is lovely, but these days I'm more partial to either cleansing oils or micellar waters. But it's nice to try
• Kris dAmour makes some lovely oils. The soothing faceoil, is everything it promises, delightfully soo
• Estelle & Child lifting Eyecream was a bit of a miss for me. It gave me an irritation: the saleswoman told me it was because the eyec  re am contained too many actives but I don, t have yhis promblem with either Pai Echium nor Nourish Revital-Eyes. It's just not working for me.

Both of my pot eyeliners dried out.  

I really liked RMS Unpowder which explained why I finished in 4 months

• Nexxus Emergencee changed into Polymedic: the formula is still similarly brilliant and givesmhair a good dose of protein.
• Trilogy Refresh and Shine is an excellent, organic conditioner with light but effective detangling properties
• Less is MORE Lindengloss shampoo smells amazing and cleanses light but effectively. I want themfull size now!
• Ila Nourish body lotion is light and has that hwrbal scent. Lovely, but the full size would be a tad too pricy for me
• Last but not least has been Timothy Dunn Mille Fleurs candle: so good that it should become a perfume.

March Empties...

A bit early but I won't be emptying anything cosmetic tonight. So before you think it's a joke (tomorrow) I'll post it now:

Photo upwards is empty no 1: a delicious home candle from L'Occitane in Amber. L'Occitane got a head-up from a reknown perfume blogger as one of the affordable but high quality perfume candle. Ambre is indeed quite pure and it is intensely sensual. It only is about € 15 and will keep the room fragantly delicious for 20 hrs or more.

Kneipp has a new bathoil with Argan oil, Marula and olive oils and I was curious about it's "Beauty Secret". I'm not too fond of it because of the fragance.

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Tisserand Massage oil works as a bodyoil and even in the bath. The Energy blend is zesty and fresh and the oils do not take too long to penetrate.

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The Fushi Really Good Sports Oil was a gwp and it's nice, but I will not repurchase as Kneipp has a similar range with arnica that might even cure muscles a bit quicker.

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De Tuinen Macademia Oil has been a hairoil: I love oils for hair and Macademia is a fatty one that has excellent moisturizing properties.

I've blogged about Cane + Austin over here and I loved the easiness of the pads. I repurchased the travel pack, wrapped individually, for travelling. For home peeling I restarted Omorovzica Copper peel again: Mixing up various peels stops the skin from being lazy and I still want to finish that set too. 

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Tammy Fender Intensive Repair Balm was still a part of the sensitive skin set. I brought it over on a sunny holiday as an after sun treatment and it's truly efficient and balmy. Which on a sidenote, it can be too balmy for daily morning use as it stays slightly sticky on the skin.

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Nourish Kale Revital-Eye Kale Biomimetic Anti-Ageing Eye Cream made it to my "Best of 2013"-list and I'm already on a new bottle.

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Kris d'Amour is a line of wonderful organic skincare and so generous with samples. The Rejuvenation Face oil has been a generous supply of 7 days: I wish my skin wasn't as sensible at the time being so I could see the results a bit better. I believe it's quite potent.

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Trilogy Ageproof Smoother has been a sort-of primer product for my skin. I should have put it into creases/beginning wrinkles etc only but I loved it over some larger pores as well. Good primer ability without feeling silicony & not irritating either.

Essence is one of my nail Drugstore favourite for being cheap and effective. The Fast Cuticle Remover really is on par with Creative Nail Designs (CND) or Sally Hanson cuticle remover within a fraction of the price.

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Viviscal Extra Strenght, the classic! My hair is healthy now (thanks to superfoods) but some faster growth would be nice. I finished month 1: I'll see in month 3 if it worked.

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I blogged about Esprique Eyebrow (Adambeauty calls it  'Eyeblow' -> ???)  over here. I like it and somehow I start to prefer a brow-pot or pencil as those show up more. Must be the Cara D effect.

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Silk Natural Finishing Powder in Date Bait is a true unsung hero in my collection. Gah, I should blog about it!!! It's the reason why I ignored NARS light reflecting pressed setting powder as that one is so unsubtle (read: sparkly) next to this formula. It's photoshop soft light filter in a jar! Ok, I still have 'Love Lure" so I'll review that version asap.

Now here's a long story again. Such trauma and relived trauma. But thanks to this B4 Colour hair Colour removal mixture I was able to live through muddy colour a bit shorter than I was about 14 years ago. Shortly: I went to the hairdresser wanting this (bit more polished and blended):

 

And ended up with this kind of colour:

Being 150 euros poorer.

First, I cannot figure why she gave me a muddy dark colour in the first place: I showed her the image of the "blonde in LBD" above to her place and told her that I wanted something similar. I was already quite blonde but I wanted more light on the bottom and some darkness at the top: like about 99% of all actesses and models have these days, not forgetting the fashionbloggers. No biggie, right? Well, Miss Superfriendly Organic Hairdresser turned into something Miss Evil-paint and totally messed up my nice previous colour. I complained, and then she did some dreadful, chunky highlights that looked like slutty-ville. OMG, I ran away before she could harm my hair some more (after being there for 5 hours already).

At home I've been washing with this B4 and it does remove a lot of colour. Pjew! Now the woman has muddy coloured me and did some weird blue toner afterwards so I still have to un-colour for a next round, but I have to give my hair a break first...Poor hairs! Good I have been on Viviscal for a month.

I really want to give her a negative rating on the review site but am not sure if I should do that: should I warn some other women too? I do not want to ruin her business but this has been most inconsiderate after me being so clear about what I wanted in the 1st place!

So that's about it for the month of March: I hope April won't be too traumatic beauty-wise, at least I'll stay away from "recommended" colourists for a while.

BirkinBagBeauty's Best of 2013: Face Care

It's my last section of the "BEST of 2013"-list and I have found some gorgeous face-care newbies last year.

Serum:

Serums are my babies because they are the most effective and potent in targeting a 'problem'. Hence, if you would tell be beginning '13 that I would pick a cheap serum as my favourite, I'd probably laugh: I need a sure investment and normally that means €€€. Still, this 'baby'  has been my favourite all-rounder so far for an affordable price (review Nourish Hydrating Peptide serum here).

[Winter] Daycream: 

Trevano Organic Day Cream is a balmy daycream (think soft cream cheese) that melts easily into the skin. It absorbs within 2 minutes: not every balmy cream does that. Hence, my skin feels hydrated, calmed and is ready for makeup in a short time, perfect for fast mornings. Cons: No sunblock but I get that from specialised suncreens.

Face Oil:

 

I was on par between De Mamiel Autumn Oil & Bodhi Desert Rose Facial Oil. The total blend of aromatherapy & flower remedy made this oil so special that De Mamiel has gotten my vote (more here). 

Night Cream:

You might think I am doing a 'best of Organic' section, but I truly enjoyed the organic bunch the most. Aurelia Cell Revitalise Night Moisturizer is used as the topping over my nightoil. I see the results when I do: dewier, less flakies, more relaxed skin, and I miss it when I don't. 

Eyecream:

Eyecreams start to get important at 'a certain age' and they have quite the list to fullfill: tightening, hydrating, depuffing, combatting undereye circles etc. My favourite is Nourish Revital-Eye Kale Anti-Ageing Eye Cream. [recently reviewed  here]

Selftan:

There hasn't been another face-selftan that live up to Collistar Face Magic Drops Selftan (original review here). I've dabbled into promoted-by-Kate [Moss, not the Driveller] St. Tropez but what's up with the scent? So as Madonna once said, "Italians do it Better"

Mads not the selftan-type but she sure knows to preserve a t-shirt!

Multitasker:

Manuka honey has been a multitasker for cleansing the face (how to here), dabbing on pimples, healing small wounds, adding to masks, a hair lightener (see here) and for a antibacterial sweetener internally.

~ Those are my selections for 'Face Care' ~

My 'Makeup' favourites have been discussed over here and my 'Body'-pampering over here.

Resolution '14: Superfoods with Nourish Revital-Eye Kale Biomimetic Anti-Ageing Eye Cream

Sooo, what's in a name again? 

Nourish is amping up the big names, formulas & even the superfoods for its latest eyecream. 

Or is it that intelligence lies in the eye of the beholder? But if you want to judge a book at its cover the box definitely gets a (pseudo?)intellectual one:

I still know some mimesis theories from social studies...so the idea of Biomimesis? Mmmm, the skin around my eyes will imitate a gorgeous dewy rosepetal leaf??
But the thing that got me into the eyecream this time was health, not intelligence: Kale, one of the hyped superfoods of our era...so how would this perform in an eyecream?

See, my Nourish contains Kale???

 Da Promise:

"Visibly reduces lines and dark circles for a brighter, rested look"

 What's really inside:

Kale [Brassica olerecea leaf extract] is ingredient no 2 on the list, which means it is quite potent.

Source & more info on ingredients here

 Verdict:

• The promise of 'visibly lightening dark circles' is true to an extend. I switched to Estelle & Child for a night and I found myself to me 'more shadowy' the next morning.
• The bottle really looks like my older love Pai Echium & Argan (see here)
• Softening Laughter-lines: the area around my eyes look more relaxed & less crepe-y
• I feel a slight tightening feeling after 1 minute
• Scent: neutral
• Diminishing wrinkles: I pat the extra lotion around my lips & the lines there seem soften too
• Diminishing puffiness: somewhat. Generally a cold chamille teabag works more effectively after really late nights (or emotional events) but it de-slackens when having normal activities/emotions.
• Nourish Revital-Eye is lotion-like, compared to Pai Echium slightly thicker texture
• Pricerange: mid.  £29.50 for 10 ml is relatively expensive, but the thin lotion means you use little for a larger area

Conclusion:

An intellectual health-boost for the eyes that makes them appear younger & fresher.

Availability:
On Naturisimo, BeingContent &  their own Nourish-site ofcourse

Nourish Relax Hydrating Peptide Serum

Budget & curiosity led me to a new serum: Nourish Relax Peptide Serum

 

Budget because I gotten a bit tired of spending fortunes on serums. Curiosity as I needed a soother for the winter that could still multitask as an anti-ager...

I think I am not the only person who likes their skincare to multitask. 

Thus, the promise:

Also, the tripeptides sounded interesting:

Thus, not only promises this serum to sooth the skin, but it plumps up by Hyaluronic acid and the Carrot extract will lighten up hyperpigmentation.

That's a three-step multitasker.

a lovely sturdy plastic bottle with easy pump applicator

The Relax serum is composed of 85% organic ingredients.

As for the ingredients:

 Highly listed is the Carrot Root Powder.  I never knew that Carrot Root Powder would be a natural lightener. When I googled it I found some information on Carrot Oil and that is supposed to be an antioxidant, calming on irritated skin and anti-ageing due to the carotenes and Vitamin A (source).

The box-mentioned Tripeptide or Palmitoy tripeptide-5 is to stimulate "tissue growth factor that stimulate the collagen in the skin" (source).

Lavender is a natural antiseptant that also is a soothing component in aromatherapy.

Result:

I have been using up a whole bottle during month of November and I really like it. My skin behaved quite good without getting its normal over-sensitivity under Autumn weather conditions. Now is this not my only tool to try to keep my skin calm: I eat various superfoods lately, including extra omega oils & taking more MSM-supplements. Also, I have been tuning in with precious oils for the skin -> De Mamiel Autumn Oil I will discuss soon. 

Then again, the application of the serum should be good and not-irritating at first touch. It really feels like a soft serum and absorbs quickly. The scent is as good as neutral with a slight hint of lavender: important for the sensitive ones. And yes, my skin is more soothed than normally.

As for anti-ageing: I think it makes my face smoother and some beginning lines less pronounced. I really missed it when I finished it (I reordered quite fast). 

I do not have that much hyper-pigmentation anymore so I cannot say it really lightened it or if winter and lack of sunshine stepped in. Still, my skin looks brighter and more even.

Moreover, it collaborates really nice with my other skincare (even not from the same range) so its not only a multitasker, also a co-worker.

Conclusion:

It tackles no 1 on the priority list (soothing) and multitasks it way to step 2 (anti-ageing) and 3 (hyperpigmentation). And that for about €20...

Availability:

I bought mine on naturissimo and you can also buy it on their website