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.

February Empties

 I think I'll be having a theme for the February Empties, and that is Target: Good Skin...

Read on if it worked or not:

1. La Roche Posay Thermal Water - I've been discussing this spritzy number in my 'Improving French' post. It's really neutral and the lovely size makes it wonderful for carrying around. Somewhere I read that Avene even has a better option -> curious

2. Kris D'Amour Soothing Body Butter -> I talked about it here and I have been putting this one on my eczema spots on both face & body. It's lovely, somewhat soothing but unfortunately not curing. I'm trying the Trevarno TLC cream now that feels like a better melt for the skin.

3. Antipodes Aura Mask -> purchased last year and finished lately for the heck of it. It's nice, but not what I would say "good". I've been testing it pre-[important]-date this summer and it didn't do that much in 1. clearing up skin 2. tightening pores nor 3. soothing dryness. Also nothing on brightening/luminising skin. I don't know what it does except getting money out of my purse. Then again, it's moisturizing and not irritating.

4. Elemis Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm -> This is one of those Clarins beauty balm clones out there. It smells a bit strong, and does a bit of illuminating under the foundation. I like it, but I wouldn't repurchase it for the fragance.

5. S5 Illuminate serum Hyperpigmentation -> This has been actually good in diminishuing post-sun darkness. I would repurchase but I'm on Kahina Brightening Serum now and that one is stellar.

6. Rouge Bunny Rouge Genesis Primer -> I stick with my original review. Moreover, it really whitens the skin too much [after self tan] and I do not think a primer without any CC (blahblah) should alternate the original skintone, just improve pores/skin/etc.

7.  Kris D'Amour Soothing Serum -> like most organic skincares the serums are often oils. It's nice but it didn't cure my eczema, so the search goes on.

8. Trilogy Very Gentle Moisturizing cream -> Delightfully scentless, and actually delightfully nothing. Perfect for when skin cannot stand anything but moisture.

Generally, nothing really worked so I had to bring in the extra cover of foundation, etc. Thus, I used up my very 1st foundation within 3 months (Rouge Bunny Rouge). Now there's something to say about not using that much makeup when having eczema, but not using it is not very self-confidence-building either: especially when one of those flawless girls next to you in the beautyshop complains about redness on her face: *grlllsishkll&*$%* [oh, I wasn't supposed to get agitated again as it aggraviates the skin??? Ooops]

1. Winner '13 Koh Gen Do Maifanshi still gets my vote, and I have to order from Barneys for that one.

2. Omorovicza Complexion Enhancer SPF 15 almost made it to my Best '13 list, weren't it a bit too orange. Actually, I feel this tinted moisturizer is more of those CC creams and the orange/peach perks up the skin. But sometimes it's a bit too orangy. I adore it's scent: Hungarian hothouse spa-ness!

3. Rouge Bunny Rouge Age Defying Foundation: My ultimate cover-up favourite! Somehow I'm still a 'natural girl' when wearing this one...

4. Pixi Sheer Cheek Gel in Sunkissed: This is also NATURE, not blush...It's lumiscent, dewy and looks like I woke up really beautiful...

5. Shiseido Maquillage Lip Essence Ex: Booohooo, I finished up my last backup! I once wrote about the 'lipstick transforming powers' as this is the powerranger among skinny lips. But where to get it now? I need mooooore...

Yes, my skin hasn't been too succesful these months, so when I didn't wear makeup I went for this Cousin It style:

That needed hair again, so here are the hair-empties:

1. Weleda Millet Nourishing Shampoo: This sample was my introduction to Weleda shampoos. They've gotten the raves but this shampoo was quite meh. It didn't clean that much, the moisturizing was not that good and it smelled like a weird herbal: and that is coming from someone who has been quite organic lately

2. Solgar Hyaluronic Acid supplements: Moisture from the inside to tackle the eczema. Meh, the healthy parts of my skin do look dewier and less wrinkly but I wanted it to help for the parts that really needed it.

3. L'Oreal Professionel Nature Mask Cacao: I totally adore the Cacao line and this mask has been brilliant! My hair has been cut a lot so the dry has been gone; I do not need that much of it these days but it still soothes like nothing else. The yummy & natural scent of chocolate is one of the perks as well! Absolutely gorgeous hairmask.

4. Apivita Propoline shampoo for oily roots & dry ends: Oh man, makeupalley rates this one so high and all I though about it was how average this shampoo was. It's really like Herbal Essences which is nice but not earthshockingly good. Also I felt it was irritating -> it gave me a new spur of dandruff. I've been throwing away this 3/4 full bottle :(

5. Kose Happy Bath Day handcream: Another "Why has this been discontinued" moment! It's also the last one from my stash. I was counting on something dupe-a-ble but I haven't found something that equals the thin-ness and effectivity (original review here)

6. Physalis Krill Omega Oils: I think I consist of 70% of oils these days, instead of water. I've been taking flaxseed oils, Chia Seeds, bake in coconut oil and I've been taking this one too. Effective? Might be but not effective to cure. I'm tired of all these efforts and oils now.

7. Schwarzkopf Bonacure Hairtherapy CS Shampoo in Silver: It's actually purple instead of silver. It gets the warmth out of highlights. My hair has been pulling a bit too reddish lately. I like being slightly strawberry blonde, but I toned down some warmth with this shampoo. It gets high rates and is quite effective. However, not too scalp-friendly so I will be moving on to Lush Daddy-O.

Pjew, lot of mini-reviews and a bit of complaining. Sometimes it gets a bit too much of having heaps of products that claim to be effective, but are not. I hope this helps a bit for the ones looking around :)

♥

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.

Using Used Gonna Use

I've been seeing so many tanning people on the beach lately that I positioned my bottles and empties in a similar horizontal position: (ps: not advocating tanning: wear sunscreen & hat!)

Eh ok, like people you do not see the labels (or who they are) so easily when they lie on their bellies, so: 

Used:               I have been using up a couple of skincare items.

a. The Omorovzica Gold Serum has been finished for more than a month ago: I started using it (see here), replaced it for Aurelia serum for a while (which I finished), and emptied this one too. I have to give the word like to it but it isn't love. I feel it firms my skin a bit, but for its price I consider it to be not the miracle product I think it should be. 

b. Bioderma Micellar Water: I gotten this baby size on one of my trips to Paris. Bioderma has a great cult following and I can see  and notice the easiness of this water. Nevertheless, since organic and natural varieties have stepped up the scene I think I prefer them instead. See also the bottle of my gonna use.

c. Akin Refreshing and Soothing Toner with Orange Blossoms: a lot of people suggest that the use of toners is completely unnecessary in skincare.  I believe in the ritual and aromatic powers of a skincare regime. Also, I love the feeling of removing the last trace of creamy or oily cleanser and preparing the skin in an aromatic way for the next step. This is my 2nd bottle being emptied and I love the orange flower in this baby.

Using: 

Armani Cosmetics Eyes to Kill in 04 Pulp Fiction: It has been my first Dutch Armani purchase. Not the one from the brick-'n-mortar store I discussed in the previous post, but an online purchase. I've gotten a velvety Rouge d'Armani 400 as a GWP. It's a longlasting red and I haven't been using it a lot: I am not a vivid red lip wearer but it is lovely to have a smaller size of this colour for if I ever want to splash out on a red lip. Or perhaps my friend who loves these type of lipstick is gonna convince me giving it to her (or steal it).

Pulp Fiction is a cult classic and I do not have to discuss why I bought and like it : )

Gonna Use:

My favourite (organic) micellar water from Melvita: Eau Fraiche Micellair. This is my 2nd bottle and I love how it agrees on my 'delightfully'  choosy skin. I could not buy it from my 1st provider because they suddenly did not want to ship it from the UK but I found another webshop who does. (not mentioning names cough, no really not gonna do).

Using, Used, Gonna Use...

Summer is almost here and I begin to enjoy colours again.

 So the products of the "used, using...gonna use" is finally more than just skincare:

Using:
 *Givenchy Le Rouge lipstick in Rouge Boudoir 204*

 This lipstick is bright and happy enough to pair up with a bit of (fake) tan and not too extreme for the lipstick-shy like I am. The moisture factor is not as dewy as Chanel but I actually like its resistance better for warmer weather.

Used:
*Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist sample I got in this set*

 It feels refreshing on the skin, but I was dissapointed in the misting effect: it's a pump instead of an aerosol mister. A pump might be friendlier for the environment but I prefer a thinner, aerosol-based spray instead of the slightly bigger drops you get from a pump. Also, for its price I consider it not that much better than earlier mists I tried.

*By Terry Rose de Rose Sheer Liquid blush in 03 Amber Rose*

 It is not fully finished but I have it since 2010 so I think it's due. As you can see, it is a blush lovingly used: it really needs a tiny drop for a gorgeous flush and I used lots of drops...I would absolutely repurchase but it's not for sale in Holland anymore.

Gonna Use:
* Kiko Colour Block in 04 Fierce Violet*

 Yes, I got into a Kiko shop again and fell in love with the vividness of Fierce Violet. First, It was hand-testing...then I decided to test it on my eyes, went into really warm weather, and after 9 hours it still was budgeproof and vivid!

Normally I sheer away from reallllly brights for my eyes but I totally love this sort of purple.

Deal Alert: Omorovicza GWP

Today's motto = "From one GWP into Another"

Before I'll explain the quote above, I'll let you know that urbanretreat.co.uk has an incredible GWP when spending £50 or more on Omorovicza.

First, something I really like from my previous GWP from Omorovicza:

The Copper peel has been everything to me what the peel I discussed yesterday hasn't been: fast, gentle, effective, and a breeze for the skin. 

And left my skin representative enough for going to more glam occasions than the IKEA.

So from one GWP into another: I've purchased this peel in full-size and (already) received my new GWP and the full-size peel

This GWP is slightly different than the one from Omorovicza's site earlier:

The night cream & thermal balm wasn't in their other set, so more to experiment with

(and perhaps another GWP from an earlier GWP)

Not promoting Urbanretreat but if you haven't ordered from them before:

Yours sincerely,

 Deal-alert-er Birkie

Omorovicza, going for Gold and thát GWP

I think I spend the most  € on a serum ever...!

Don't get me wrong: I am highly into skincare and the lack of eyeshadows swatched have gone happily to showing off serums, liquidy textures, creams and other dermis-philia/obsessivia!

Only, I tend to stick under a certain price-range that I hesitately crossed over recently.

The MOTIVE:

YES, that is some juicy GWP that gave me the extra push to finally let me buy that Gold serum from Omorovicza. They contained these beeeeaaauuuties:

But I am not that shallow and was also tempted by a 20% off for Dutch shoppers (NL20) and an excellent review on the serum on HolisticGreenBeauty (here).The more famous Cafémakeup reviewed it too, but I only noticed that review when I googled it for this blogpost.

love the fresh packaging of Omorovicza

And there was curiosity again. I've dabbed into silver recently with Argentum Apothecary La Lotion Infinie (here) and I found it time to go for gold.

I have been testing it for almost 3 weeks and I love the soft rose fragance that is barely noticable and perfect for my sensitive skin. A couple of weeks I had to quit using my Casanera Immortelle serum because of sensitivity issues and I believe this serum  has desensitised my skin into a more peaceful state.

Ingredients:

I cannot tell anything about the anti-ageing effects: it has just been two weeks but the luminicent quality and miniscule golden flecks inside of the serum already softens the beginning maturity of my skin.

So an expensive serum? Yes, with the 20% discount it set me back €135 instead of their more scaringly  €165 and the Gift with Purchase helped to take that plunge as it has their cultstatus Queen of Hungary toner, thát Copper peel that promises eternal smoothness (ok, exaggerating intensely), a Plumping cream and a mudmask...not that I already have any mudmasks yet but I wonder if this one really lives up to the raves.

Find it on the omorovicza site over here and I believe they have frequent discounts and a signing up discount. Also available on lookfantastic.com and cultbeauty.com, and various other etailers.