Multiple Masking Mania: Clay's the new Sheetmask

Don't you often get that feeling that when something is a true hype, you start looking elsewhere? 

As with sheetmasking, I have been into Asian trends since the beginning of my blog (about 2007) and the occasional sheetmasks has often been a part of my facial routine. Don't get me wrong...I am so happy about the variety of sheetmasks popping up everywhere, instead of waiting for days for my gmarket Korea packet to come in...Sheetmasks are brilliant in moisture and adding a essence/serum really effectively, but when it comes to getting that pure, porepurging feeling...Clay is the word! 

Since I am still lazy to borrow from my own Instagram, ofcourse meticulously taken and edited photos, I had the theme "#spooning for #singlegirls is all about Multiple Masking". So there you go: 4 gorgeous colours of clay-based masks that each have a different purpose for the skin.

Left to Right:

• Lush Don't Look At Me Mask is as fresh as its smurfblue colour. It has a good whopping of citrus juice combined with the base-clay of Kaoline. Citrus Juice is nice for brightening skin and purifying pores, but I would steer away from the sensitive parts of your face. This one went on the nose and chin. It is quite fraganced of neroli essential oil...The blue colour, unfortunately, is a colourant and not derived from any natural clay-source.
• Cattier Paris Pink Clay Mask is the perfect type of clay for purifying sensitive skin. The list of ingredients is short: Pink clay, Organic sheabutter, Organic peppermint extract, Lactic acid (vegetable), Organic Aloe vera but that is enough to purify on a gentle level. The price was under a fiver and the cream-to-clay formula is easier than handling the power version of pink clay.

•  Before Herbana I never heard of Purple Clay before. According to Herbana (here) "Violet clay is a combination of a few natural clays which contains low concentration natural minerals. It is rich in silica and less absorptive than green clays" and I get a similar summing up of minerals from this and this site. Now Herbana amped up the youth-boosting factor for adding argan oil, Rosehip Oil and Aloe Vera gel. It still dries to a dry and violet mask but the effect is incredibly soft. I really like the effect this masks gives me: I feel purified without that overly dry feeling some clay masks can give. This retails for a reasonable € 13 on Etsy, and will make fun selfie/masking/scaring your cat/loved one game.

• You might have heard a lot about NIOD and their Flavavone Mud Mask. Niod often has an incredibly story behind their innovative ingredients, and this one is no exception about their triple faces of 1. Purifying ; 2. Protecting & 3. Responsive Phase. For the whopping amount of € 35 a good story should be behind it, right? Personally, I was not really wowed by this mask. During my most sensitive phase of my psoriasis, it actually felt quite drying and not really helping my skin. The Cattier Pink clay actually worked at that same phase, so I guess price, an elaborate story and innovation are not always an all-cure-for-all. Now my skin is a lot calmer, I find it just ok but not as good as the Cattier or my gorgeous new Herbana. I still like a lot of NIOD's products, especially the Copper serum, but this one did not float my boat.

Just as sheetmasking can be a lot of fun, I think the added natural or unnatural colours of the claymasks can look fun and also have an a beneficial value. Most people would think of claymasks as drying and more suitable for oily/combined skin but the gentlier versions of pink and purple clay can be quite beneficial for dryer, dehydrated and maturing skins thanks to the additional minerals. Closing off the skin from air and other elements, similar as taking a sheetmask, often helps the regeneration/purifying process some more. However, take in mind that clays can draw out the occassional pimple as well so perhaps before a date or special occasion, the sheetmasks would be a tad more smoothing.

Last minute Empties B4 2015 is over and done with...(part I)

Ohhh. look at the Used-up bag...It's totally full!

Ok, these are actually from the last two months, but fact is...that's a lot. And I feel slightly ashamed for not having reviewed anything in a full post yet. So that will be an after-idea but first I'll post the shorter reviews...

1st batch: Skincare & Co

• Sunday Riley Good Genes: I personally found this exfoliating treatment too strong for my sensitive skin. I used it for hands, and they gotten better texture. However, that's a bit too expensive for hands for repurchase.
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• Acorelle Skin Gel Sunblock SPF 30: This oil-in-gel felt too greasy on my skin.
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• Olivine Love + Roses Tonic: I really liked the freshness of this product and the fact it is made from organically grown roses. The glass bottle will be reused to decant other toners.
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• Grown Alchemist Antioxidant+3 Detox Serum: I was looking for a detoxing serum. It feels like a Essence, very watery. I think it helps a bit: the harder work is detoxing from the inside...
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• Arcona Chamomile Balm: Soooo REPURCHASE for wintertimes. This is a sensitive skin staple that I import from skinstore.com and often have to pay duties...still worth it.

-bottom part-

• Skin & Blossom Age Resist Daycream: This is a gorgeously neutral, organic daycream that is packed with good pro-youth ingredients. It needs a full review. Already Repurchased.
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• Aurelia Revitalise and Glow Serum: This baby has passed on my blog frequently (see here). Another Winter/seasonal change product I keep on repurchasing.
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• Tarte Maracula Oil: I like the light but nourishing feel of this oil. Does it have to be from Tarte? Meh, I like other brands as well but the freebie has been wonderful.
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• Tatcha Soothing Indigo Renewing Treatment: STAPLE for my problematic skin. It soothes upcoming psoriasis spots like no other and it costs me a fortune but worth it.

Next batch of skincare:

•  Algenist Gentle Rejuvenating Cleanser: Nice and foamy. Not the most advanced or organic but it does the job and is soft.
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• Sanoflore Floral Water in Camomile & Cornflower: The Camille is so soft and retexturizes skin so gently...Just got my new French repurchase today! The Cornflower water is ideal for post-cleaning the oil & water mascara removing products-that-always-leave-this-filter-on.
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• La Roche Posay Serozinc: Everyone seems to love this one and me too. Repurchase.
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• The Body Shop Camomile Waterproof eye makeup remover: Lovely. I think Yves Rocher or cheaper brands do a similar job. On the other hand, it feels absolutely like a breeze on my eyes and I do not need to use Cornflower water to soothe afterwards. Repurchase. 

Random Hair & Body Batch

• Elancyl Cellu-slim Nuit (night): I would not be Birkinbagbeauty if I did not test out the occasional anti-cellulite lotion. It's fine but I prefer a tube formula over a pot as active ingredients do not vaporize so quickly.
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• Phylia [de M] Connect: another frequent flyer on my blog (here). My love is cooling down as I do not see that much results anymore. Oversaturated maybe?
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• Lush Marilyn: I sound like a broken record but I often use this one to both moisturize and freshen my blondes in a natural, non-chemical way.
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• Shwarzkopf Blond Me Cool Ice Anti-Yellow-Effect Spray Conditioner: Ohhh, I cannot believe I reviewed it yet. It is the ideal holiday swim anti-brassy easy toner spray. 
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• Mediceuticals x-folate anti dandruff shampoo: Well, it does a bit of exfoliating but once going organic shampoo, you will find the chemicals still affecting your scalp negatively.

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Tomorrow I'll post the remaining Empties. Probably nobody will read it as everyone is too busy, but perhaps on your booze-fueled, hangover 1 January as some distraction for yer poor head ;)

December '13 Empties

I first want to make a special mention to my Lavshuca Moist Melting Rouge PK 6 that I totally lip-pencilled out!

I once compared this sweetie with Chanel Flirt (see here): I still have Flirt but I used this one totally. It might be that I am too careful with an expensive lipstick but I just luuuurve Lashuca's formulas and thin-to-bring-on-the-road size.

The other empties: the Hair-department:

The yellow Le Petite Marseillais hair conditioner with honey has actually been bought in Marseille (South of France)! It is one of their easy-to-find beauty line [think supermarkets] that smells wonderful and performs really well, also on my older (reaaaally damaged) hair. I'd sure repurchase if I empty some other conditioners, and get my way to France, ofcourse.

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Another hair conditioner that totally matches up with my newer hair has been Yarok Feed Your Volume travel size. It smells like fresh lemons & herbs, and it does give tons of body. It's really nice when your hair doesn't have that much damage (think top half & shorter 'dos). Even better, it is a bliss for people who have scalp-sensitivities and skin sensitivities as it is so natural and un-irritating. Cons: expensive.

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 Lush Marilyn is a hairmask for blonder or highlighted hair, but also wonderful for brunettes/redheads who like a fresh, lemony scent and a thinner mask that still moisturizes enough. Most Lush products have gone quite expensive over the years; this one is still quite close to its original price.

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 Swell Advanced Root Nutrient Complex (spray in front) needs a more detailed review than just me saying: 'love it'. It's a spray that reminds me of Phylia de M Connect & Yarok hairmousse in one. My hair is quite thick again after the treatments in 2013, but I like that Texas hair glamour these days so volume you go in an organic/natural way.

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I bought my Kerastase Elixir Moringa Immortelle during summer 2012 and I just finished it. It needs little product and smoothes out with a fresh scent. I like the Elixirs but right now I'm on another hairoil/serum. I will come back to that one soon.

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The Shu Uemura Muruto Volume Mask was discounted, and with another discount it was still expensive...hehe, but I was curious...I like it, but it smells quite chemical if you get more used to Yarok and other organic/natural products. Also, I believe the new natural/organic generation delivers just as well, or even better in terms of volume. Must be the herbs...

So let's talk organic/natural:

The black bottle on the left has been my Living Nature Tinted Moisturizer in Daylight. I'm really impressed by their tinted moisturizers, on par with the likes of Rouge Bunny Rouge & Omorovicza. I do think the difference between medium (Daylight) & Dawn Light (light) is a bit too much so I've been mixed both depending on my level [or absense] of selftan. It has macademia oil as its 3rd Lingredient and is 100% natural.

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The white bottle in front is another S5 Serum sample in Renew. I like it but not as much as Nourish Relax serum.

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The sack is inner beauty, or one of my superfood additives [addictives] in the antioxidant-forming Acai Powder. I already repurchased this as it tastes berry-ish and I feel healthier on it.

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The empty candle has been my Neom Refresh with sicilian lemon: really zesty during sluggish mornings.

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I've discussed Tisserant Luxury Bath oil over here and will repurchase. 

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Last, and certainly not least, Manuka Honey 18+. It is not just inner beauty: I use it as a cleansing method (read over here how to), an additives to powder masks, and...duh, inner beauty. Oh, and you can double it up as the main ingredient of a hair lightening mixture that works without damage: more about that here and here.

Hold on for the last line-up of empties

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  Essence Nude Glam's are fantastic nude nailpolishes for their price. Repurchase for sure.
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I haven't used up the Merumaya Intensely Youthful Eyecream. I didn't like the Ayurvedic-based fragance which lingers on quite long. My sensitive skin wasn't too fond of the formula either.
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Talking about eyes, I really liked BeautyDIY Green Tea brightening Eye Roll On. Unfortunately it is not being sold on Sasa.com anymore. Also, Sasa has been quite inconsistent delivering to my adress so I will have to forget about that online shop.
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Kracie Naive has been a lovely oil-cleanser for some time. However, I will venture upon the organic market for a more unchemical oil cleanser.
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The Clarisonic brush: Well, you gotta replace them after 3 months and I often want to do it earlier, but they are expensive so 3 months it is.
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I also didn't finish Max Factor False Lash Effect:  it gotten various raves but I found the formula dry and clumpy, and the brush too big for precise focus. Mascaras are often a personal preference so I'm glad it is not the most expensive type that I will throw away.
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My Suqqu Eyebrow pen dried out a bit too fast: according to another blogger that is not normal from Suqqu. I gotten it from a non-official Suqqu seller so that might be it.

Those were quite some empties for December: I 'compensated' by buying too much new stuff, ofcourse. And you will see that on the blog again...

Pretty Springy Things

- Something Cheeky

(YSL Creme de Blush 9)

-Something (from) Lush 

[Mumkin]

- Something Glossy 

[Le Metier de Beaute Sheer Brilliance Cannes]

Cannes looks really sparkly in spring-sunlight, but it's quite subtle on lips: 

- Something Mask-y 

Etos (Dutch Brand)

I guess it's more of a no [stop] buy for me lately....

skincare that didn't work for me

I have been buying a hefty dose of skincare the last couple of months. Fact is, my skin was having one of the worst episodes I have seen since...ever. In my attempt to 'save' my face and make it look somewhat normal, I purchased a significant amount of skincare.

I have been mentioning some of those on my blog. I think it would be honest to mention the ones that did not work for me. Mind, I have a oversensitive skin and various problems which makes my judgement to be a bit stricter than the average reviewer on skincare would be. On the other hand, there are lots of people who have issues with sensitivity nowadays, and it is always helpful to see which products are best to be avoided (according to me).

As for now, my skin seems to be recovering a bit (which took at least 5 months!!). It is not normal yet, but I do not experience severe issues anymore, and some days I can even venture outside without makeup, and still look like a human being.

Let's continue to the creams and potions that did not work for me:



1. Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentrée: I blogged about this in the beginning of November 2008 (here). The fact that I start out to review this cream again, is that I suspect that this particular cream has caused a part of my skin-problems I have beens struggeling with!
That is a harsh claim, and I want to mention that other issues such as credit-crunch-stress, etc etc, could also have something to do with it. However, the bulk of my problems started in November when I abandoned my organic skincare for this product.
I found it a waste to throw this product away, so I started using it on my hands and body a couple of days before: it resulted in light itching feeling and even my boyfriend mentioned that my skin looked worse (I probably even reacted on this product when I applied it on my body).

2. Uriage Bariéderm Creme Isolatée Reparatrice: I bought this product on easypharmacie, a French website with all kinds of drugstore products. It is supposed to layer an isolating barrier on the skin so it can heal under the layer without having to deal with the aggressions from outside (environmental).
It was not a bad product, and smells really neutral. However, it was indeed a bit too isolating for my skin and I did not like the feeling of having a 'film' on my skin. For the rest wasn't it moisturizing either. It was not expensive, only 7.90 euro, so I did not loose to much cash on it.

3. Uriage Toléderm creme Hydra apaisante: The good thing about this product is the neutral scent, the moisturizing properties and the fact that it comes in a hygienic pump flacon. It failed to calm down my skin, unfortunately. I could revisit it when my skin is less sensitive, but it was not the desensitivizing cream it claimed to be.

4. Clarins Huile Santal (Santal Oil for dry skin): it was recommended by a lovely saleswoman (she really was! She knew lots about skin-issues and such) and it worked for a couple of days: diminishing my dry patches and moisturizing my skin. After 7 days I became sensitive for the Santal scent and found that the oil was building up on my skin, therefore my skin became oversensitive again. Clarins is pricy: I think I paid 38 euro for this oil.

5. Emu Oil: I only portrayed one brand of emu-oil on the picture, but I have tried several brands. It does not diminish any dry patches or desensitises my skin. Moreover, I do not like the chicken-fat-like scent of the pure version, and my skin did not like the versions with essential oils. I experienced build up after one use...

6. Lierac Hydra-Chrono Fluid Fraicheur (for normal and combination skin): I had read some awesome reviews on the jar version of this cream, so I wanted it in a hygienic pump version. I loved the gel-like consistency, and it had a wonderful floral scent. Unfortunately, that same lovely floral scent became too much for me during the day...it is one thing to wear a lovely perfume on the pulse-points, but it is another thing to sniff perfume on your upper lip all the time. Further more, I liked the moisturizing properties but I found it lacking in anti-aging properties, and the effect of the cream simply lasted a couple of hours, having to reapply it constantly (and smelling perfume all the time). I do not think this cream has lasting beneficial effects on the skin: it is only a temporalily fix-up.

7. Clarins Baume Jeunesse: A balm of youth, who would not want that? I was really curious for this cream after reading several raves in glossy magazines. The nice saleslady who sold me the Santal Oil completely overwhelmed me with samples, including this cream (she even asked me which samples I wanted to try). The consistency is lovely, but the scent....sorry again, I have a sensitive nose, which reflects in an even more sensitive skin-reaction.


8. Decléor Aromessence Essential Balm: Aww, I received a sample of the Rose d'Orient version and loved it. I only ordered another version, which was not effective at all. I became nauscious by the Ylang Ylang scent and experienced more splotches in the morning. Decléor balms retail between $55 and $67, depending on the place/site you buy them.

9. Steamcream: It looked so cute and I was so eager to try it (here). You guess it: the scent...ha ha. Lavendel was not agreeing with me. The cream itself was a bit too thick and did not penetrate my skin properly, resulting in a unhappy skin.

10. Lush Paradise Regained: I was hoping to regain the epidermal paradise, alas, it resulted in nada. The scent was agreeable (finally), but it felt too thick and it could not calm down my irritated skin.

11. Chanel Rectifiance Intense eye: I do not have to tell you that everything Chanel costs you an arm and a leg. The eye cream was so raved about on makeupalley (before I bought it, it seems that 2 other reviewers consider this cream craptastic as well)....It did not do anything for my eyes and felt heavy and plasticy on my lids...booohooo.


12. Osea Malibu Eyes and Lips: The promise according to Osea:

Rich in Vitamins A, D and E, 100% natural Eyes and Lips utilizes the properties of powerful antioxidants to restore damaged skin while fighting free radicals. DPHP, a vegetable-derived amino acid stimulates the contraction of collagen fibers and strengthens the dermal connective tissue of the skin. Proven to be more than 65% more effective than Vitamin C, DPHP is an ideal ingredient to tone and firm the delicate skin around the eyes - known to show first signs of damage and aging. Osea's patent-pending, unique triple emulsion system supports the skin with an advanced level of hydration.

My opinion: waxy, useless and non-effective (smells neutral and decent, though)
13. Uriage Cicactive Fluide Hydrocolloïde: Another Uriage product that did not work for me. It layers a film on the skin, almost plasticy! It might work as a buffer when you have a open wound, or such, but it did not function as a proper skincare product.
14. Dr Hauschka Rejuvenating Mask: Another product that cannot receive enough rave reviews (here). It caused an itchfest for me...my skin was really irritated, splotchy and unmanageable after using this....As for the scent: a big nay!
15. Banilla The Mineral Suprise Essential Serum: Aww, I wanted to like this serum but it did not do anything for my skin (neither bad nor good). It felt like a primer when I applied it (a silicony feel). Unfortunately, I ordered 2 of these by accident...What to do with it now?
That was a small update of the skincare products I have used in the last couple of months, and did not find to be effective. This is just my two cents and a personal opinion...it might work perfectly for you. I just wanted to update some opinions about things I bought before, so you can see what I found effective, or not.

Have a BRILLIANT WEEKEND!!