Empties

 Hello,

it is the end of the first moth and I managed to use quite a lot of products.

First is Korres Peach Blossom body lotion. I liked thin texture but the scent wasn't what I was expecting. Sweet and slightly fruity but it did not reminded me of Pears or Blossoms, still nice but a little underwhelming just like the previous scents that I have tried from Korres.

Next bottle took me a while to finish up and I am glad because it was expensive. It is Byredo Gypsy Water hair perfume. It reminded me of a fancy spa, refreshing and still warm scent. I loved putting it in my hair and going to bed to relax and sleep. I would get it again but it is pricey and it does not last long. Maybe I will get a perfume version which is probably stronger.

In the tall bottle is Ziaja Cucumber toner and I mostly used it in my spray bottle and spray it over my fresh make-up to hydrate it. I liked it for that but it was nothing too special. 

Lastly there are two Biobaza deodorants, first is Winter Magic creamy deodorant with candy cane scent and second is Silky Comfort with Shea butter and Jojoba. I liked the scents but formula did not work for me. I was still sweating because these aren't antiperspirants and I am okay with it but my armpits stank. I have never had deodorants or antiperspirants that would made it worst, honestly I would rather be without than wearing these.

Bottle with pipette is my daily serum with Niacinamide from Revox. It was slightly sticky but after it absorbed it was not detectable and I was able to layer a face cream over it. I really liked it and will buy it again.

White tube is another staple of mine and it is Bioderma sensibio anti redness cream. I had this years ago and I remember this lotion being very greasy so I guess they changed it and made it easier to absorb. I like this new version better and I think I have another tube somewhere already.

Cute cat is Skin79 soothing BB cream. It was not the best for when my skin was dry and flaky because it accentuates that but otherwise I liked it a lot. The shade was a nice match and I liked to use it under my foundation. I would get it again.

Banilla co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey propolis rejuvenating essence toner was a gift with purchase and the first thing when I opened it is the lovely scent. Very floral honey like and I noticed that it gave my skin a hydration boost, when I use up some other toners and essences I will get this one again.

Golden bottle is Alexandre J.  The Majestic Amber perfume, ambery and sweet scent, at first quite sharp. Not my favorite but nice for longevity. I was glad that I used it up but probably I will not be getting it again.

Last is Avon revitacool base coat. This one is yellow toned and unfortunately it looks like that also on my nails and yellow tone is what I try to avoid and not to add on, so I decided to throw it away since I would rather use something clear or pink toned.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

bellow are my massive August empties. I had to split them between two post since it was too big of a batch to show in just one.

I used up another tube of Neutrogena oil free moisturiser which is my everyday morning lotion under my make-up. I love the light texture which quickly absorbs and leaves no trace just hydrated skin and it doesn't greases me out. I have already purchased two more tubes.

Big tall blue bottle is Pantene hair biology cleansing & reconstructive shampoo. It was nicely creamy and it foamed up nicely. The scent was also very nice, floral and fruity but also fresh (very appropriate for a clean hair scent). I have a greasy skin and scalp so this one really removed all the buildup but didn't strip my hair. I ended up really liking it especially with the matching mask.

In the same light blue tone there is a big pot of Pantene hair biology cleansing  & reconstructive mask. The scent is the same and it is very nice, I wonder if they make a hair spray as well. I know I would get it. The mask was thick and it gripped to my hair while I would shave. I tried to keep it on for as long as possible and my hair were soft and hydrated afterwards. It was not the most hydrating mask that I have tried but it was nice especially for the low price, not bad at all and I would get this duo again.

On top there is Some by Mi Yuja Niacin dark spot correcting stick. I really liked the simplicity of a stick which softly glided over my skin like butter. I fortunately don't have super dark spots anymore but even those spots that I did accumulate and weren't too deep were diminished pretty fast. I liked the effect and the stick format. 

Another brightening product from the Some by Mi brand. This is a mini and it was a gift with purchase Galactomyces pure vitamin C glow serum. I wasn't light as water but it also wasn't sticky, the consistency was right for a pipette application and it was quickly absorbed. I like to incorporate some brightening agents into my routine so I will probably buy a bigger bottle of it and alternate with the stick mentioned above.

Next to it in the pink bottle is The Body Shop vitamin E cooling gel mist. It looks like a aloe vera gel but there is enough liquid in it to spray out. I haven't noticed any cooling and extra hydration. I even took it with me on a vacation and it felt like a regular toner, nothing too special. The scent was non existent but if some of it landed on my lips it had a bitter taste so I tried to avoid getting in on there.

While getting the cooling mist I also got The Body Shop vitamin E gel moisture cream. It was pretty light but I was surprised that it was even too light for my greasy skin. It sinked in quickly but my skin was still pulling and it felt too tight. I used it up in combination with heavier lotions and I will not be buying these two from The Body Shop again.

In the pale tube with a mouse is Biobaza winter magic hand cream which I purchased last year but started using it in the summer time. It had this sweet wintery scent that I liked but the formula wasn't my favorite. It was heavy and did not sink into my skin, it left a greasy film over it and everything I touched was covered with my prints. I used it up as fast as I could and will not be buying it again. 

Last two are Versache Crystal Noir body wash and body lotion tubes which I have receive with my bottle of perfume. I love the scent but in these two the smell is slightly different and slightly less pleasant. Body wash was fine, in the shower it lather and I liked it enough to use it up the body moisturiser was greasy and that is what I really didn't like on top of the odd scent. I was glad that I managed to finish them up and will not get any sets again. I would rather just get the bottle since the scent is the best.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

it is the last day of this year and I'm cleaning my space. Pretty much my entire closet got a fresh start and I have to do the same with skincare and make-up. These are the last empties for the year and it is time to move on.

I purchased this body wash this year and the scent was so nice that I just had to use it immediately. It is from Balea and is named Flower Shower, to me it is a creamy blackurrant scent and I liked it a lot. I know this is a limited edition scent and probably I won't be able to get it again but if I see it I will buy it.

Next is Biobaza body lotion in the Spring Flowers option (Rose and Geranium). This to me smells more like Lavender and I was ok with that because it smells so comforting and lovely, quite perfect for going to bed. I think this is still available and I will get it again. The texture was on more liquid side so I had to be extra careful when I would open it but that is the only minus I can see. 

Then there is Hazelnut oil from Milnica and I used it as my first step of removing my make-up. The packaging is a bit awkward because it has a large opening so spilling too much happened frequently. The oil itself is nice, it lifted my make-up and didn't irritate my eyes. I would get it again. 

The very last item is my beloved Catrice Powerfull 5 liquid lip balm in the shade Fresh Acai Berry. I treat it more like a lip gloss but in reality it is more of a hybrid between a lipstick and a lip gloss in my opinion. It has pigment (that lovely fresh off red shade which made my lips look more plump but not overly tinted) but still is a bit shiny (not glossy but also made it last a bit longer than a regular gloss). The pigment stayed on my lips for longer than the shine did and I love that also this particular shade was a good match for me. I really liked it and would get it again in the same color, the only negative point is that it wasn't moisturising at all.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

today I have super short list of items I have finished up in the first half of the month, I think in the second half I will have some more products, but we shall see.

Her it goes another tube of Neutrogena oil free daily face moisturizer. For years this has been my favorite and it still is. Love the light texture which keeps me matte for longer, how fast it absorbs and even if sometimes my skin feels dry this helps it relive instantly. This remains my holy grail and I'm already on my next tube.

I randomly picked up this Biobaza natural doe in Green Tea Sensation and it was a lucky pick. It is a deodorant and not anti-perspirant so I still sweat but the formula made me smell fresh all day long. For me this really thick all the boxes and the green tea scent is so calming and fresh smelling... I would definitely repurchase it  again.

The last two items are exactly the same and are The Body Shop Peppermint Candy Cane body lotions. They were limited editions scents but I bought a lot of them because I can't resist the cooling peppermint-y scent with sweet sugar notes. I loved using them even now in the hot Summer and I'm super sad that this line isn't permanent. I still have one hand cream left and then it is gone. I sincerely hope that soon they will bring it back and I would go and buy some more :)

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

another empties post in a row. This has become the easiest post to write but also I had nothing new to talk about. That changed yesterday because I went shopping and bought a few new make-up bits. I wanted to get new face primer and along the way I got some more products...

Biobaza Bee Balm and I have two versions of them. Yellow is Ginger & Honey and purple one is Lavender & Vanilla. In my initial review I said that they are on the top three list of my favorite lip balms formula but now I seem like I changed my mind. I wore them in the cold weather and that is when I had some issues. It seem like this formula doesn't like cold weather because it gets all gunky, hard and sticky at he same time while on the lips, outside or indoors if it is too cold. That product buildup is not looking nice and it also feels 'uncomfortable'. If I ever repurchase these I will make sure to use them while it is warm but at the end I don't think I will. There are so many brands out there that I would like to try out...

Next is this lovely dry shampoo from Langhaar Mädchen which is already a repurchase. Affordable price with a lovely scent, somehow floral with a touch of power, barely any white residue and matte finish. This is neck to neck with the Batiste and I will buy more from both brands, I just wish LM would have more scents but this one that they have is amazing already, so...

Last are two face powders, one is my old time favorite and the other one I just finished up so I can throw it away. One of my favorites is Rimmel London Stay Matte face powder in Transparent. I went through a couple of them and I still have backups. I love how matte my face looks like and it holds my oils at bay for a few hours and then I just retouch and continue with my day.

The other one is Benecos Natural compact powder in the shade Porcelain. When I bough it it was the lightest shade available (maybe now they have shades for paler people but I haven't checked them out in a while). It was too dark for me but I would use it on my neck to help it match (my neck seems to appear lighter than my face so I use a tad lighter foundation on my face and a tad darker one on my neck and at the end my face and neck don't look like they belong to two different people ;)

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

my goodness how time flies. I had some other post half ready but my laziness was in the way. Oh well, there is still more time next month ;)

Lets first start with Biobaza purple fresh body lotion with Lavender and Lemon. I love anything lavender so combination with lemon sounded nice enough to get it and the fresh jet calming lavender note in here is absolutely lovely. I love the scent but the packaging is a bit off for me. The lotion is quite liquid so the tube which has the opening at the bottom is a bit inconvenient (some of the product got spilled before I adjusted and started to shaking the tube upside down before opening it). I started to use it right after I got home form a vacation and perhaps my skin was a bit dry and I felt like this didn't moisturize it enough on its own. I love the scent but I feel like it is not nourishing enough for me... I bough another tube at the same time with a different scent so soon I will test it out and then I will decide if this is something worth repurchasing or not.

Next is lovely Yves Rocher Monoi Lagoon hair and body wash. I absolutely adore this rich scent and it is great for vacation time or when I want to feel like I'm on a vacation. It is meant to be used all over the body and usually I don't use these multipurpose products on my hair but this smelled so nice that I used it as a shampoo and even the next day my hair smelled divine. I think every year they come out with this collection and I'm interesting in picking it up next year again.

This next yellow bottle is a bit hard to recognize but it is Yves Rocher Monoi body oil. I purchased it at the same time as the previous product but the oil on this one started to leak and the label came off completely. The scent was the same, tropical and super sweet, just how I like it. I don't think this oil is the best for my skin (not nourishing enough) but on a vacation I mixed it with Apricot oil (I finished it in my previous empties and I felt like the combo was really nice, moisturizing from the Apricot part and the Frangipani note in here made it a winner). I will probably repurchase it again next year because I adore the scent.

Then we have this mini sized Nivea MicellAIR water. I received it in an advent calendar which I bought a couple of years ago. It was scentless and really nice. I felt like it removed pretty much all of my make-up residue that was left after a two step cleansing method. I don't think I came across a 'bad' micellar water so far. At the moment I'm using something else but if I ever see this one on sale or with a nice price tag I will repurchase it again.

Second to last product was a complete fail for me. I remember buying the entire set (lotion, body wash, hand cream and this body spray and splitting it with my sister) but only now I decided to use it. It is Avon natural Milk and Honey body spray and this is pure alcohol, it settles down after a couple of minutes and then it has a nice creamy milk & honey scent but to get through the first minutes was a struggle that I did not want to endure. I decided to just pour it away and call it done. I'm not 100% sure if the high alcohol levels are due to its age or that is just the way it is, I definitely won't buy it again.

The very last item is one of my favorites and it is The Body Shop Moring hand cream. In general I like their hand creams but this scent put a spell on me. It is very heavy white floral with some underlaying creaminess. I absolutely love it, so much that I purchased the big tub of the body butter from the same scent and I can't wait to start using it. I would just like to touch on the formula a bit because I noticed that different scents have different textures. This one is almost a gel but a little goes a long way, if i used a bit too much it would get a bit sticky so I was careful not to use too much plus that means that I had this little 30 ml tube for months.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Bee balms

Hello,

it is time for a lip balm review. I actually bought these two on two separate occasions but after trying the first one out I wanted to get another scent. In the past I had their Sun balm with an SPF but it was way too soft (it melted on the beach) and the sun protection made it very bitter tasting. I didn't have high hopes but since I later bought the other one it has to be good, right? Keep reading to find more.

Biobaza Bee balm in Lavender & Vanilla and Ginger & Honey lip balms.

At first they seemed a bit dry and hard but once I worked down the top layer they are pretty soft and creamy (my lips look a bit glossy after using them, which is a good sign for me).
They claim to be 100% natural, paraben, preservative and mineral oil free. I will admit, I bought them because of the scents and not because I would be so concerned about chemicals.
The lavender & Vanilla is as you would expect very Lavender heavy which is the reason why I bought it (I love Lavender and I know some people don't like it but I love it), the Vanilla is just in the background making it a bit creamy.
The Ginger & Honey smells like Honey to me but in the background I can detect something weird. Perhaps it is the spicier Ginger but I hoped for a sweet scent, it is still very nice but I just hoped to be a bit sweeter and warmer.
The formula for me is really nice (I count these two in my top three lip balms), my dry lips were healed after a couple of layers of these two. I keep one at work and the other one at home and my lips are nourished and replenished even under the mask.
I will definitely buy more once I'm done with them. Lavender & Vanilla will for sure become my staple, Ginger & Honey perhaps. There is also Olive & Grapefruit, Shea butter & Avocado and Kids version. I want to try all of them but first I need to finish at least 10 balms before I go and buy more.




Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

Hello,

happy new year. I hope you survived your holidays well and are ready for new adventures.
I have decided to shop less this year and rather use my extensive stash of products but Essence is teasing me with all the products that they will discontinue soon (everything will retire, every single product!!!! I can't believe because I thought that I have found my holy grail concealer and powder but soon they will be gone). I will try to pull myself back and not buy every single product but in the mean time I'm using what I have which is evident on the two photos below.

First is Avon ultra shiny tubes in Dreamy Peach. I love the formula on these but this quite glittery orange shade didn't rock my boat. Now they have them in slightly different packaging but they still feel the same. I did use mine a bit but like I said the color didn't suit me so eventually it went bad and I'm tossing it in the bin but I'm thinking of getting some other shade.

Then there are the two EOS sphere balms in Vanilla Bean and Pumpkin Spice. The scents were okay but the formula was really not for me. They are very hard and even when I rubbed like twenty times it felt like nothing on the lips. I prefer a bit softer balms that melts into my lips and nourish them. These two failed and while there is still plenty of product left in both, I'm getting rid of them.

Biobaza makes this Bee balm with some SPF and I thought that it will be great for the beach time. I was wrong. This balm is much softer and when I took it with me on Summer vacation it already started to melt so taking it with me to the beach was a no no. At the end I did used it up but next time I will look for some other balm to take it with me to the beach.

Essence used to make these Sheer & Shine lipsticks which were absolutely amazing (now they have Color up! Shine on! line which is very similar). My red shade is named I feel pretty and it really is pretty. I used almost entire tube of it but at the end it started to taste a bit weird so I'm throwing it away because I don't want to risk any infections.

The very last item is Avon ridge filling base coat. It was a bit thicker but otherwise a pretty regular, standard base coat. I like it but I have a couple of other bottles left and I have to use them up before buying something new (I'm on a low buy so I have to keep telling that to myself so I don't forget  ;).

I have bought this set from Aldo Vandini two years ago and I'm super glad that I finally used it up. The pink tube is body wash and white is body lotion. They are both Magnolia scented and it is the scent that remind me of my childhood and I love it a lot. The body wash was nothing special but the lotion was top notch. The scent on my skin developed and after using it a couple of days in a row my sheets and pj started to smell like it and I dare to say that it even helped me fall asleep faster. I would repurchase the lotion in a heartbeat but since I have plenty of tubes and bottles already it will have to wait. The body wash like I said nice but I prefer to buy cheaper washes and rather splurge on lotions.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day