Empties

Hello,

it is time for the empties.
I think I'm doing pretty well. I'm not buying cosmetics and I'm just using what I already own and I went through quite a lot of products this month, in particularly in the second half of the month.

First is Avon Advance Technique heat protecting hair spray. Don't ask me if it works because I didn't notice the difference, it seems like a good idea to use it every time I blow dry my hair after a wash which is every third day. At the moment I don't have the alternative but I will think if this is something my hair needs, I guess I will see if my hair will get drastically drier and more damaged in the following weeks.

Next bottle is Krasna massage body oil with lavender. I used it as a body moisturizer after a shower and at the end I kept it at my sink. Every time I would wash my hands and before patting them dry I put a bit of this oil on my hands, massage it a bit and rinse the excess, that way I used it a bit faster and also protected my sensitive hands. I love doing that and at the moment I have a lot of oils to go through but lavender oil is definitely on my list. I will try to find cheaper versions of it the next time or at least get it on sale.

In the little red pot on top is Avon anew reversalist eye cream. I guess it was okay. The cream was lightweight so nice under my make-up but I got the feeling like it didn't do much. I just want it to be a bit more nourishing but at least it wasn't too greasy. This is a dual product since there is a highlighter 'hidden' in the cap. It was really hard to capture on the photo but it looks like a white cream but when you spread it on the skin it has pink/peach radiance to it. It actually looked really nice and you are supposed to put it under the eyes, unfortunately my eyes started to water and so I couldn't use it.

Big green pot is this lotion that my sister brought back from a vacation and I only guess that is the name: Tabaibaloe aloe face and body cream. It was lightweight but since I always associate aloe with clear gel I was surprised that it was slightly green looking lotion. The scent was very gummy bear -like and at first I liked it but after sometime (this pot is huge) I got over it and I'm super happy that I have finished it.

The very last item on the photo is the biggest disappointment. I got a little sample of this oil and when I tried it for the first time I could really feel the difference in my skin. The next morning my skin was softer and smoother so I was waiting for the perfect sale to get this expensive oil (almost a year later I have actually bought it). Caudalie Vine(active) overnight detox oil promised a lot but it didn't deliver it for me. I don't know if I got the old one or the sample gave me the placebo effect... I will never know but what I do know is that when I used the oil from this bottle my skin in the morning didn't look different. In fact if I used it consistently in the cold winter my skin got dry, I'm not saying that it dryed it out but I'm implying that it is not moisturizing enough so I had to use some other oils. Also the softness of my skin didn't improve. All in all I think this was a waste of my money but in the future you will see another face oil from Caudalie because I was foolish enough to buy two (the other one is from the 'red' line).

I only took a photo of the front  of this mascara but trust me it is the Avon superextend lengthening mascara in waterproof black. I don't remember why I got it in the waterproof version but this is one of my favorite mascaras and I already forgot how many tubes of this lash magnifier I went through. It has a plastic/rubber wand with tons of little spikes that comb and individualize the lashes, it also contains little fibers that adds to the length (it looks very natural only when the formula starts to dry out, after a couple of months these fibers starts to fall off the lashes, it is very minimal but a clear sight to replace the mascara). With a quick comb through it can look very natural but if you build it up it can look very dramatic and I like that.

Next is one of my favorite lipstick formulas: Catrice ultimate shine gel color in Red or Bad. Too bad that they don't make these anymore (Power plumping gel lipsticks looks like a revamped versions, really interesting and I already have my eye on two of the sades). This one was red but quite sheer and glossy, it did leave the stain so it was buildable and I could make it really bold if I wanted to but on most days I just wore it casually like a tinted lip balm. I still have two more shades to go through but when they will be gone I'm trying the new plumping ones...

The very last item is another discontinued one but with this one I don't mind it since it wasn't my favorite. Essence color correcting mattifying powder had different pastel tones in it but essentially was just white/translucent. It set my make up nicely when my skin was on the drier side but I had a feeling that if I would use it in the hot Summer it couldn't do much for my oily face so I'm super happy that I finished it up.


That is all for this month, I had a nice array of lovely and some not so good products but the most important part is that I'm sticking with my low buy and discover hidden gems that are already in my posession.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

Hello,

I hope everyone has nice holidays. I'm sending you lots of love, health and happiness. I rarely do new year's resolution but if I do they are beauty related, something fun. I don't reinvent myself every year but instead I try to be better and top of the previous year. What about you?

I have been really good and used up a lot of product (tomorrow I will have another post filled with empty packaging, I like to split them if there are too much stuff).
First we have Krasna hand cream with lavender, cedar and orange. I talked about it last year here and I mentioned how much I love the scent and I still do. It is amazing but a little pricey, it costs around 10 € which is a lot but if I will get my hands on some coupons I will repurchase it again.

Next bottle is Avon naturals spiced orange and ginger body mist. This product is long gone which is unfortunate. I think the scent was fantastic and one of my favorite. If it would still be available I would definitely buy it again, it just doesn't get better than a fresh orange scent mixed with winter spices, I loved spraying my scarf with it and then duck my nose in it. I also find that this one was a bit more long lasting than some other scents but I don't know if it depends from the scent or in the past these naturals body mists were actually more long lasting.

Next product was in my shower for almost a year and the bottle looks a bit beaten up. It is Avon x-series Recharge hair & body wash for men. First of all the scent is fantastic, very manly and semi fresh, the other cool thing was the purple color. At first I wanted to use it solely as a body wash but the scent convinced me to use it on my hair and it work amazingly well as a clarifying shampoo. It made my hair silky soft and smooth, it tamed the frizzy hair but also made them completely straight with no volume. My hair has very little volume and when you take even that little of it away it looks a bit sad so I had to help myself with some volumizing products but I didn't care. My hair looked fantastic and they smelled good even the day after. I would definitely repurchase it if I can find it, I'm scared that Avon  discontinued this product sometime during this past year.

Next to it is another shampoo and also from Avon but from the Advance Technique line Smooth as Silk (already discontinued line). This was my 'regular' shampoo, I wash my hair every third day and on most days I used this one, maybe once in two weeks I used the bottle mentioned in previous paragraf. This one was okay, nothing special but it did it's job.

I continue with Avon products and next in line is Avon naturals dog rose and aloe toner, sadly also discontinued. I used up about seven or eight bottles of it and this one is the last one. It had nice rose scent but that wasn't the reason why I loved it so much, This toner was actually very moisturizing on my skin and I already miss it but I bought the 'new' toner from the line with rose and so far it is nice.

The last item is Avon ultra glazewear absolute lip gloss in the shade Renewing Rose which is one of my favorite glosses ever. I used up every single drop of it so I don't have a swatch photo in this post but you can check this post. I love how moisturizing it is and this shade is amazing on me, it has just the right amount of pigment and coverage, not too much but enough to show up. I already repurchase it because I saw that they will discontinue this line next year.


In this post there are a lot of awesome Avon products but a lot of them aren't available or they will soon be gone. Such a shame but I prefer to use up my beloved products then let them go bad. Tomorrow I will have another batch of empties, I guess I'm cleaning up my bathroom and want to start fresh in the new year.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

Hello,

and welcome to the second part of my empties. On most of these items I have been working on for a longer period of time and it just happened that I used them up all at once.

I don't think I used up any hand creams recently so it was nice to see this one go. My hands are getting more dry so I will maybe use one or two more till the end of the year. This baby sized one is from LCN and it is named Nederland. It was also scented, they described it as a fresh ocean scent but it wasn't so obvious. The texture was light enough and fast absorbing if I applied a little at the time. It will be missed but I'm not sure where I can get it (I still haven't checked if LCN hand creams are available in my country). If I can find it I would repurchase it.

Next, there is a see through bottle from Krasna and this is their face cream. It had lovely lavender scent and great packaging, that is bottle with a pump. One pump was enough to cover my face and neck with it. In warmer months it was a little heavy so I used it only at night but now I can use it also in the morning but slightly less than a whole pump. At first it feels a bit oily but it sinks in, I don't know what kind of magic did they use but I haven't seen formula like that before. Beside moisturizing it also manged to calm down my skin and I really appreciate that but I don't know if I would repurchase it. I found great night and day cream for much less. Maybe I would get it next year in Autumn if I will get my hands on some discount coupons.

In the background there is Etude House Royal honey sheet mask. This time I only used one and I liked it. I don't know if I can properly judge it after one use only but my experience was nice. First, it smells like acacia blooming tree (in the back of our family house there is a big acacia tree so this remind me of my youth) which is divine on its own but there is enough liquid left in the packaging, after I took the mask out, that I used it on my face as a serum for the next week. I think you get much more than just one sheet mask in one pack so I'm excited to use the other two that I have left.

On this Avon Skin so soft enhance & glow body lotion I won't loose too many words since I already talked about here. It was tinted and shimmery lotion (not a self tanner) which was supposed to give your skin a nice glow but I am slightly too fair so I had to use it very sparingly. I was using it in the Summer but since I used so little I managed to completely use it up only now in October. I think this is still available but I won't buy it again.

Second to last is little round pot with red cap and it is Avon extra lasting cream eye shadow in Totally Taupe. I posted swatches and everything here. I loved the rather unusual color but mostly I liked that it stayed put without a primer and I have extremely oily lids. For me this is a little hero in a pot but before I used it up it dried and it was beyond repairable. I don't know if Avon still makes these, I know they released five new shades in Summer but they come with a black cap (not under extra lasting line) and they just came out with six metal inspired colors which didn't really caught my eye.

The last item is from Essence and it is their Stay with me line of glosses. They are already discontinued but the formula was superb, great scent and taste, super glossy and they manged to stay on my lip for longer than any other gloss. I have yet to find some similar glosses in their current range. My used up shade was called Pretty Witty and it was very pigmented raspberry shade, it wasn't my favorite because such bold colors are hard to maintain but I used it around the house or if I had some short errands to do. I would definitely buy some everyday shades if this line would still be available.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

Hello,

it is time to get rid of some empty packaging. In this one I have some awesome and some so-so products.

First we have an old Avon Color Trend blue mascara in Cobalt Cabaret (color of the lid matched the color of the product). I purchased it to have some fun and it was back in the days when I wasn't wearing any eye shadows. I remember I wore it on several occasions and when the light hit my lashes people noticed. Everyone was so surprised and almost shocked to see an unexpected pop of color. Now I'm older and I prefer to play with eye shadows so I don't think I will repurchase it again but you never know.

Next is Krasna body lotion with lavender, cedar and lemon. I talked and raved about it here. I absolutely love this product. I liked the scent, moisture, packaging just the price could be a bit lower. I think I will repurchase it again but first I have to go through at least 10 other moisturizers and get my hands on some coupons to buy it cheaper.

Black tube is Avon AT supreme oils with nutri 5 complex luxuriously nourished intense radiance treatment (could they make this name even longer?). I talked about the gorgeous scent this line has but using this treatment after using up the conditioner from the same line I haven't really noticed any difference. On my hair conditioner with 250 ml performed the same as this little 50 ml tube of 'treatment', the price however is almost the same or sometimes the treatment is even more expensive. I definitely won't repurchase it again.

Last year I purchased Avon Color Trend Glossy Rose lipstick and this year Rose came to an end. I swatched it here. It was moisturizing my lips but continuously reapplying it through the day it made the color stand out more and I just don't appreciate pale frosty lips. I pared it with lip glosses or wore it at home when no one could saw me.

The last item is also from Avon and it is nail experts vitamin C cuticle cream. I remember they were promoting an orange next to it so I was expecting to have citrus scent but it was actually unscented, what a bummer but the cream worked so I didn't pout for too long. It was a gel texture with some random orange beads in them which would melt while rubbing and massaging it into the skin. I used a little at the time because it was really efficient and non greasy, this little 15 ml tube lasted me for years and I'm bummed that it is no longer available. (There is cuticle cream in a white tube available and I had this one years ago and it stink like raw plastic, I don't recommend it).



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Lavender, cedar and lemon

Hello,

today I would like to talk about body moisturizer I started to use. I bought it last year and it smells so good that I didn't want to use it because I had a feeling that I'm gonna use it way to fast (my felling was correct).

It is Krasna body lotion with lavender, cedar and lemon.  In their simply designed bottle with a convenient pump you get 100 ml of product.

It gets really easy out of the pump and it is not too liquid, when the skin starts warming it up it gets a bit oily so I have to massage a little longer but it gets completely absorbed in matter of minutes. It feels great in this hot weather because I'm not a sticky mess afterwards.

The scent feels Summer appropriate. I smell mostly cedar and lemon. The combination is refreshing and it reminds me slightly of the mosquito repellents but it does not scares them. I woke up with a couple of nasty bites anyways.

I love the packaging, simple design, moisture it gives me and the scent but the price tag is a bit high, if I remember correctly it was around 10 € but I had a 50% off coupon which was nice. Previous month coupons were again floating around but I haven't purchased anything because I have way too many moisturizers but next time I will see them I will buy it again.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Lavender essential oil

Hello,

I love to smell good and I think everyone does as well. I love spraying myself with perfumes because they can totally change my mood, in fact I have become so obsessed that I counted how many bottles I have and the number is higher than 30. Whoa, that was a real wake up call for me. I decided that I will try to use up a couple of bottles and for the rest I will try to rotate and use all of them at least once this year. I feel better already but when I get frustrated or stressed out I rely on lavender scents, they never fail on me.

Krasna lavender essential oil 

I recently rediscovered this lavender essential oil from Krasna. I only used it in my candles to make my flat smell nice but now I started to use it on my skin instead of perfumes and I absolutely adore it. I don't know why it took me so long to try it. I can definitely see myself in the near future using more essential oils as scents. They are actually good for you and your skin, it depends which one you use and how natural it is but definitely they are better than manufactured perfumes.
This one in particular should smell calming as lavender does but I can sniff something else in it as well, even though on the packaging it says that it contains only lavender essential oil but I can detect mint or eucalyptus or something cooling. I almost have a felling that I could use it to clear my nose if I would ever got a cold. I know a lot of people don't like that cooling minty scent (my parents doesn't) but I really like it. I think together with lavender it makes for an unique mix.


Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Lavender again

Hello,

lavender is one of my favorite scents so it is not a surprise that I buy pretty much everything that smells like it. Here I have another Krasna product and this time it is a massage oil.

Krasna lavender massage oil

It smells lovely, just like lavender. I add it in my less scented body lotions or the ones that already smell like lavender to make them stronger. I like how moisturized my skin feels after I applied oil all over it. It is such a calming and comforting scent that makes me fall asleep much faster and when I wake up I can still smell it on my sheets.


Thank you for reading and have a nice day

lavender, cedar and orange

Hello,

in the title I left you a little hint of the product I'm going to talk about today. It is a crucial product especially now in the winter time when our hands get severely dehydrated and skin started to crack. To prevent all that we have to use hand creams, good ones and today I will introduce you one of my favorites.

Krasna hand cream

This is Krasna hand cream. It contains lavender, cedar and orange among other ingredients  but these three also give the scent. To me it is a lovely mix. One of my all time favorite scents is lavender (all of the Krasna products include it, that is the reason I love this brand so much) but here they mixed it with cedar and it comes off refreshing. It reminde me of home because we have cedar trees around our house but also the cedar scent is typical for Mediterranean where we spent our summer holidays. At the end you get a hint of orange which warms the scent and makes it more winter appropriate.
The texture is lightweight and it absorbs fast. The skin is not left greasy but soft and nourished.
This bottle contains 100 ml and costs around 10€. It is not cheap but if I take in observation just how much I love the scent and that it really helps my skin. When I do the math it pays off and I will definitely repurchased it.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Krasna bottles

Hello,

today I have a little sneak peak of what's going to be on my blog in the near future. I'm testing and loving products you can see on the photo below.
I love the scent of lavender, actually it is on of  my favorite. If I see a product that has lavender in it there is 90% chance that I will buy it even if I don't need it. I also love the color, if you could saw my nail polish collection you would feel like you are standing on lavender field.

Krasna products

I think it was last year when I spotted this Slovenian brand called Krasna (click on the name and it will take you straight on fields of lavender). I bought a lip balm and I don't need to explain that I used it up pretty fast and loved it.
That was my first product and since it convinced me I had to buy a lot of other products as well (I have a couple more that are not on the photo above ;).
The packaging as you can see is very simple and plain, in my books that is a plus. It doesn't look cheap but well thought. Design is not distracting and lets the natural products that are inside shine. So far their product are only available in Slovenia, you can buy them in selected stores or online.


Thank you for reading and have a nice day