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.

Moist to the People- hydrating with Olivine, The Ordinary and Herbivore

Blog -> Instagram -> Blog (& Instagram)

Going off the blog has not diminished my love for cosmetics...au contraire...I think I bought more because my skin was very *wack* and sensitive so my game was more on.

I went to post on Instagram (@suikerstruisje), every now and then, because I just love how a beautiful product can look in synch with other elements. But I miss writing in depth of how it works and how I find it effective. Emoticons are what they are, simple, and lengthy reviews are often looked over at the Gram.

So let's work it on the blog again :)! 

Left to right: 

• Olivine Love & Roses Beauty mist could pass as simple rosewater concoction, were it not that the roses have been organically harvested, rose quartz have been infused in the water, Moringa Seed extract, Andean Orchid Flower and Cassia extract that mimics hyaluronic acid...To amp up the beauty ritual, Olivine recommends chanting/voicing the mantra 'I am divine' while spritzing your face with this gorgeous tonic. Moreover, the bottle is a recyclable glass... 
• The Ordinary Buffet has become one of the Ordinary's star products, although it would be hard to pick a favourite of any of Deciem's newer, affordable skincare-line. What makes Buffet such a winner is the massive concoction of peptides that has been a bliss to my post Fraxel-laser skin...During autumn '16 my skin hardly recovered from the abrasive actions of the laser, nevertheless this peptide concoction offered my skin a helping hand in building up new skincells (also thanks to Rosehip oil and Manuka honey). For more info on the peptide blend, check their website here.
• Herbivore Orchid anti ageing Face oil has the most gorgeous dainty smell of all my skincare. And that is a lot. Positive emotions by scent can also help the pro-youth feeling (I don't like the word 'anti-ageing' for the record). Then I hear you think: with soooo many oils on the market, what makes this one IT? To me, I like a simple ingredient list with oils, I like complicated serums but the oils should be oils and a tad simple. Notwithstanding, they should be very potent. Orchid extract has minerals like Zinc,  Calcium and Magnesium but the process of the flower developing itself is so intricate that the 'plant memory' of youth and regeneration is quite upscale. Adding a beautiful Camelia Flower oil for the positive omegas makes it a gorgeous blend.

Ok, so let me add the way I posted this on Instagram. I'm always itching to write full reviews...

Now I noticed I've gotten lazier on the text...So give me some time and I'll be full-on blogger again, with plenty-o-text...

Brow-sing Naturally with Ecobrow defining wax in Marilyn

Brow are you?  Good? Then let's talk Ecological Brows or Ecobrow Defining Wax:

Eh,  a bit of a trite pun on words but how about the idea that first impressions count and people always are about that 'eyes are the mirror of the soul'. In that case, eyebrows are the framing of the mirror and they can be really important to characterize the face. The quintessential example would be Cara, but how about the 1920s moviestars who defined their fragile femininity with a thin & droopy brow:

source: Here & more brow-xamples

  I personally do not think "one brow fits all". Even if everyone seems to be into the Cara-brow, you got to consider her facial structure is delicate enough to pull off a masculine brow without loosing her femininity. I personally go for some more space between my eyes and a bit of a curve for a slightly more feminine shape on my squarer features. I still aim for a natural looking brow, ofcourse!

But let's take a look of how I liked Ecobrow as a brow-definer.

• Natural
• Lighweight
• beautiful Brow effects
• Smudge Proof
• Naturally Derived

Ok, last claim is "Naturally Derived": will that be true?

sorry for the smudgies

In the first place I find some of them sounding chemical, like Neopentyl glycol. Wiki says it is an organic chemical compound which sounds to me like a oxymoron...Organic and Chemical? Mmm... 

But I believe in their ecological sustainability just for the fact that I bought it from Sephora. You gotta trust the Americans for totally forking out all claims and promises like truth...or else...lawsuit!

In that case, let's check the "beautiful brow effect" it will bring me! Hurray!

Colour:

I picked Marilyn because it is the lightest colour around. I'm not a natural light blonde but my eyebrows have always been naturally light. I've been trying the darker ones, but they make my face look too stern. I simply want my existing colour to look thicker and shape some femininity in them.

The colour inside is a taupe with a slight hint of green:

The green won't show in the pot, but in the comparing swatches you will see it.

Comparing swatches:

I picked up my other blonde cream formulas to compare with Ecobrow Marilyn. They are:

• EB = Ecobrow Marilyn
• ABH= Anastasia Beverly hills Dipbrow in Blonde
• LM= Laura Mercier Brow Definer in Fair

My tools of the trade is my latest, supersharp Wayne Goss No. 8:

Swatches:

EB: Ecobrow Marilyn is the lightest of the bunch. I am so thrilled of this lightness because it totally fills my brow without altering the colour. Moreover, it is neutral enough without leaning either cool or gold.

ABH: I never noticed how greenly tinged Anastasia Beverly Hills in Blonde was before this swatch. I don't mind because it makes the drawn-in hairs appear more real. The colour is slightly on the cooler side and a bit too dark for a total brow-fill. It is pigmented enough to draw good hairs so I can alternate this with a lighter colour.

LM: Laura Mercier in Fair is a wonderful lighter colour with more warmth than Ecobrow. I do think it fades more quickly and it does not draw the hairs as vivid as Ecobrow.

Revisiting Promises:

• Natural: Mostly
• Lightweight: Very
• beautiful Brow effects: YES!
• Smudge Proof: Up to 8 hours with a natural fade
• Naturally Derived: I'm not specialised enough to prove it is but it has not been proven otherwise yes so I guess...

General review:

I have really fallen in love with Ecobrow Marilyn. It gives my brows a natural but sculpted look I love without looking fake. It last for a long time and I do not have to worry putting unnecessary chemicals on my face.

 Verdict = LOVE it.

Pit-Stop: Schmidt's Natural Deodorant in Bergamot & Lime

My evolution into more organic method of living:

 healthy -healthier - ehm...pitstop 

-> ironically it stops at the pits:

my little lime had forgotten his sunscreen, which explains the tan on his back

There is such a thing that is called orthorexia which is taking the healthy into excess: thank [..fill in your deity...] I have never took it so far as I would pass gladly on anything that flushes me from a side-that-doesn't-like-to-be-flushed. But I've been a lot healthier and gotten into the buzz of adding new superfood powders to my smoothie every time.

Something as bland but necessary as deodorant has been claimed to be one of the key 'poisoners' (take 'poison' lightly) of human bodies due to aluminium & other ingredients (here, here & one here). And to every study there are the ones that prove that the opposite...etc etc. They are still being sold, so I guess it's not a thing like transfat (yet??).

To be sure, I wanted to "go clean" and go for a natural deodorant. Schmidt's had gotten some raves online: it is also available in Holland so I could pick it up.

such free-dom, this deodorant

Free of this, Free of that: I took another step into organic-dom!

But the difficulties start with application.

So there's actually a spatula for scooping out the deodorant...

Which brings me to the texture = rockhard!

 

It rubs in as a sorta coconut oil: it melts after a bit of fingerrubbing and pit-pressing.

I can overlook a bit of extra work but as performance: not too impressed.

I'm not that stinky when I wear no deodorant if I have normal activities (or, I think I'm not). So I'd compare the no-deo first: I loved how it smelled on 1st application, a zesty citrusblend. After 5 hours I put my nose under my arms and "what the fruga-organic-Gwynneth-Uncoupling-esque?": a slight sweaty scent.

Ohoh, it seems like it actually activated my pits after a while. Some light chemical deodorants can do that too: blocking or masking for a while and after some time: sniff-pongy!

I brought it to a high-impact workout (standing at the other side of the room, just in case) and I had normal stinky level like at times I would forgot to deo or anti-transpirant at all.

Such a shame, look at some of the beautiful ingredients:

Ingredients (Bergamot + Lime): Butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), Maranta arundinacea (arrowroot) powder, Theobroma cacao (cocoa) seed butter, Citrus bergamia (bergamot) essential oil, Citrus aurantifolia (lime) essential oil, Tocopherol (vitamin E), Humulus lupulus (hop) extract

 

I can conclude that it doesn't really work for me. There are some reviews out there that love it (here, here & here). I personally won't go to all lenghts for being healthy so I'll keep the pits slightly chemical until I find my organic match.

So how far would you go for being healthy?

T is for Toner: Natural Being Manuka Toning Gel

I have a confession: I like toners, but I can ignore them easily as well: sometimes I believe my basic cleansing is enough. But unlike some opinions, I think they really can do something for the skin, or even your mood.

Gel-toners are fairly new to me. I think they are a bit like the Japanese Emulsion steps: not a real water but thin enough to pass as an in between real cleansing and serum/daycream. So when I saw a natural variety with Manuka in it: I got it!

So I've been going more natural/organic lately for specific reasons. I love the planet and think even one person can make a change, but foremost it has been vanity and sensitivity. But let's check out the sustainability of the product first: 

I went in easy #hashtag mode to sum up the benefits: #truebeautyfromwithin but #greatskincarehelps. Also #respect4Nature & #Nicetobunniesetc.

The #antimicrobial function is also perfect for acne-prone skin. Manuka is an absolute powerhouse on this function and the native Australians even put it on their wounds. I've once layered it over Pixel-lasered skin (gone quite wrong) and it really calmed & healed.

 

Review:

• the gel-form feels soothing on the skin
• adding the manuka adds to calming down
• the gel-texture helps in removing everything the previous cleanser did not remove
• without stripping skin from natural/protecting oils
• the rest of the gel will dry: aka similar as most Japanese Emulsion steps.
• Mid-range price
• smells light like a hint of honey and a tad of something zesty (probably the geranium)
• Good ingredient-list:
  
  Conclusion:
  I used it when my skin had been really sensitive and it really made a difference in toning it down. And after it has done that, I kinda forgot about it (like I said in the beginning about toners). Which in a way means that it does work, because I will not need it as often. However, I think I should be more consistent about using this as it will only strengthen my skin in the long run and will help into getting less sensitive too.
  
  
  Availability:
  You can get it straight from their website and read more about their philosophies too.

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

De Mamiel Autumn Facial Oil

Autumn is officially over and I'm about to discuss my De Mamiel Autumn oil. I'm still going to because seasons are not always bound to dates, so there you go:

 

 I adore this oil right now in autumn-like weather, but that is not how it started...

When I got this oil, the season-date was offically autumn, but felt like an Indian Summer. I opened it and found the fragance to be too warm, too obtrusive, so I went back to my Bodhi Face Oil.

Then it started to get colder, leaves where falling and the rain kicked in. I tried this oil again and the blend of warming and soothing oils felt like bliss.

I will not elaborate too much about this oil as De Mamiel is already brilliant in that (see here). The ingredient list proves that it is not only a couple of oils blended together: it is a long and beautiful list and it is not merely bound to aromatherapy. 

 

The Flower essences even go deeper into treating a specific target: perhaps Bach Flower Remedies might sound familiar, especially their Rescue Remedy.  For example, they addded "Yerba Santa – helps encourage healthy breathing, helps release trauma and promotes positive thought" & "Snowdrop – helps the mind accept transition". Both healthy breathing (during flu season) and acceptance for the seasonal transition is key for autumn.

Shortly, De Mamiel season oils combine both aromatherapy, beautiful base oils and the flower remedy powers to target the [possible] physical and emotional reaction that is attacted to the season.

I am often slightly cynical about 'the latest thing' but I have to notice that I love using this oil. The blend and the fragance (that I found obtrusive during summer weather) feels like the most harmonic blend at night when weather is autumn-like.

golden oil

Also, "next morning skin"! If my skin gotten sensitive (read: patchy) during the day, this oil has the properties to balance it over night. I wake up with less patches and a dewy & more radiant complexion.

I can't hardly think that De Mamiel Winter oil will be better. However, my curiosity and my almost empty bottle of Autumn made me order Winter too.

The 'Autumn' blend is still on sale at cultbeauty.com & victoriahealth.com. I'm waiting for 'Winter' that I bought from beingcontent, partly because I ordered their sample set (£3) that will include May Lindstrom the Blue Cocoon too.

previous sample set

I'm so curious if that one lives up to the already created hype. 

ps: Happy winter (summer for southern Hemisphere) and happy preparation for Xmas...

Noble Chamomille: Sanoflore and the calming white flower

I've gotten this effective beauty during one of my last visits to Paris. I've visited one of their multipludituded  'Pharmacies' to pick up something from Sanoflore:

I went for the highly acclaimed Aqua Magnifica as well (about that sooner) but I'd love to discuss Chamomille first.

Sanoflore, these days a part of the L'Oreal family, believes that well-done aromatherapy  "are far more concentrated in active molecules than synthetic ingredients" and "respects sensitive skin". In that case, I have already loved the calming Chamomile in Tammy Fender's Roman Chamomile tonic but found the price of her range to be too expensive.

Sanoflore is a perfect cheaper alternative because organic Chamomille is not too difficult to find. However, for the non-French (or Swiss) it might be more difficult to track. I also like Akoma Skincare a lot and they have a pure organic Chamomile water as well (here) for 10% of Tammy's price. And there are the local (organic) healthshops too....

So, what does Chamomile water do and why it's such a bliss during weather changes like Autumn?

"Chamomile water is well known for its ability to soothe dry skin and bring it back into balance. This fragrant water has an antibacterial effect that keeps blemishes at bay while it protects the skin from dry, windy weather.

100% pure, Chamomile water restores a healthy glow to your complexion and is used by some to treat the dark circles that form under the eyes. Applied lightly to the forehead and temples, it has a wonderful calming effect at the end of a stressful day" (Akoma's site) 

Well, the change from warm to dry & windy is something that sounds Autumn/winter, right? And who doesn't have dark circles they want to diminuish these days?

I will have a whole section on facial waters soon: it's sorta my thing lately...

Intelligent Nutrients Anti-ageing Body Elixir

Since summer is almost officially over there is the luxury to hide our bodies in our comfortable clothes again.

However, let's not forget to pamper our bodies after doing us a favour during summertime, and still being our loyal servants under more layered autumnal wear:

I bought some Intelligent Nutrients body-elixirs, read oils, because of the rave reviews on the organic beautyblogs (here & here), were on sale at feelunique, and I actually wanted something with organic wholeness. 

[I still use non-organic oils too: I will review Darphin's gorgeously fraganced Huile Nourissante soon] 

And there is the packaging that spells out joy, or peacefulness: dependant on the type of oil you have.

motivating words imprinted in the cardboard packaging

I picked two aromas: Restore & Attune.

Attune, according to the site, smells like "High summer in a greenhouse".

Restore, is meant for "mental rehab & refuge" and smells like "A haute bohemian".

various proof of certificated organicness

The bottle is a green glass and has a hygienic pump-dispenser that pumps out small-enough amounts to dose your oils:

The list of ingredients is a total powerhouse of various precious oils:

 

This oil is absolutely not marketed as a dry oil, but the result was a wonderfully dewy-but-dry texture of my arm after 2 minutes:

 

Verdict: I think it is too early to draw conclusions yet, but I really like the two oils. "Attune" is more of the "happy oil" that is perfect on chirpy days, and the other is wonderful when I have the "tired blahs" and need some serious "restore".

Availability: There full-price again on feelunique.com, however, Beautybay.com has a slight discount going on right now.

Melvita Anti-Pollution Cleansing Mousse

Mmm, good marketing: an Anti-Pollution Cleanser...Especially when most of the inhabitant on this planet live in big, polluted cities.

I had finished the Melvita Micellar Cleansing water and I liked it a lot. I also wanted to replace my latest mousse cleanser after finding the chemical scent a bit too strong (Kanebo Naive).  I remembered liking my more natural Nuxe cleansing mousse and was willing to try another French Natural brand to see if they would be similar-> I went for the Melvita version.

 

Melvita has various stamps upon the box being Cosmetique Bio certified or being an Organic Cosmetic brand. I attach a certain value on this tag, as I find most Organic brands to be friendlier to my (often sensitive) skin. 

The first thing that I noticed that the bottle was quite small. My earlier Melvita Micellar Water was of a 200 ml bottle and my previous Nuxe 3 roses Mousse was a 150 ml. This 50 ml one is a baby.

However, that makes it travel-friendlier and that can be important too. Especially since a Mousse cleanser is impossible to decant into smaller travel bottles, right?

Ingredients:

I think Blackcurrant water, Anise water and Olive extract are the most beneficial ingredients in here. I personally like the Moringa too: I've seen it in a Kerastase Elixir Ultime Moringa here and I know Kerastase does a ton of research before they claim an ingredient to be the most important!

I do not expect a lot of beneficial help from a cleanser, btw. Products that you rinse off do not need a really large dose of superingredients as they do not have the time (or properties) to absorb into the skin. However, some ingredients can help the soothing effect. Funnily, it is exactly the moment you notice this the most when you use a cleanser that has ingredients inside that your skin doesn't agree with.

Melvita Anti-Pollution Mousse is a soft mousse. It feels a bit watery, though, but I had a similar feel with the Nuxe 3 Roses Micellaire Mousse.

• scent: a faint citrus (orangy) that is refreshing at mornings.

• Cleansing: Soft but effective. In terms of hydratation I almost do not have to use moisturizer afterwards, but with the heating & cold weather I still need some.

• Anti-pollution/Deep Cleansing? I had been experiencing more blackheads lately. The mousse does not remove blackheads by itself, only deep cleansing by peels/extraction/steam/masks will do, but after a deep cleanse I feel that there are fewer blackheads appearing when I use this mousse. 
• Softening/Anti Ageing/Brightening? I bought this as a softer alternative for the Kose Naive or an alternative to my earlier Nuxe 3 Roses miscelaire and in both cases it is a softer cleanser that feels gentle on the skin. The cleanser does not claim to target anti-ageing or brightening, but includes ingredients such like blackcurrant has a high vitamine C level (brightening & anti-ageing) and anise (brightening).

CONCLUSION:
 Small but effective in cleansing the skin in a soft but effective way.

Availability:
On Melvita.com or  Naturisimo.com