Empties

 Hello,

it fells like the year has just started and the first month is already gone... so fast. The end of the January also make a lot of my favorite items come to an end. 

Nivea deo beauty elixir deomilk for sensitive skin has become my staple. I love this formula but I have always got it in the sensitive version (there are more) but I have a feeling they are discontinuing them because I can't find them :( I would repurchase it immediately if I could find it. It is an antiperspirant but I still sweat through, just my sweat now smells nice ;) It has creamy and neutral scent and that is the best. It doesn't interfere with my perfume but keeps me fresh and clean smelling all day long. I will miss it a lot.

Dusch Das Grapefruit & Ginger body wash was a pleasant surprise. I'm not a huge fan of Ginger but in here it wasn't too sharp, just clean and refreshing. I'm definitely buying it again.

My favorite foundation is from Catrice and it is their HD liquid coverage foundation in the shade Light Beige. I figure it out that not only this formula works for me (mattifying but not to the point of making me look dry, buildable coverage so I can choose to wear it thin on my good skin days or pack some more to cover some nasty red spots) and the shade is pretty perfect. I also have a lighter shade named Light Porcelain but it is too light for me, so now I just mix them together and hopefully I will be able to use up a lighter shade as well (unfortunately I bought two more bottles of the lighter shade by a mistake, ups).

The last is my beloved mascara which is sadly discontinued. It is Avon Super Extend Extreme mascara in black. It was great for combing through my lashes and make them super long (it has fake fibers which would actually elongate my lashes). It made me look like a doll and I loved it for that. Unfortunately I can't find it anymore but the original one in a black tube is still available. I know I had it and I liked it a lot but I loved this one in a yellow tube so much more that I have never went back and use the original one. Thankfully Avon makes a lot of different ones and I'm sure I will find something just as amazing.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

I finished plenty of items just before 2021 ended so there is no surprise that this time around I don't have that many... 

First top product is my beloved Alverde Rose face oil. I love the packaging with a precise pipette and product works for me. I still notice after using this oil for a couple of days in a row my skin is less red and more even in tone. I already have a new bottle ready to use up.

Big pot is The Body Shop Mediteranean Almond Milk with Oats, Instant Soothing Face Mask. This smells great, that is the best feature for me. The formula was a bit thick and oat particles were still visible. Honestly I didn't see much of a difference after using it. My skin definitely didn't hate it but also there wasn't any magical result visible. I won't repurchase this mask but maybe I will try some other mask from the brand.

Next is another The Body Shop item and it is their Almond Milk & Honey Soothing & Restoring body lotion for sensitive skin. This smells similar to the mask but even better. This helped me sleep like a baby at night. It is just such a comforting scent and I will definitely repurchase it again but at the moment I'm on a no buy for lotions because I have way too many.

The very last product is Dusch das Magnolia body wash. I stopped counting how many of these I finished already. The brand makes very inexpensive body washes and this scent is lovely. I always grab one of these at the store, I just can't resist. At the moment I don't think I have a back up but since I have plenty of different ones I'm not stressed but after I finish some more I'm getting this one again.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

I'm back with the last post for the year. Away with used up products and I'm ready to enter the new year with a new skincare routine and new scents.

Hopefully this new year will also bring some more peace and much needed rest for everyone.

First is this happy Avon senses wild Strawberry Dreams body wash. Happy because this scent was just lovely, Strawberries with cream, who doesn't like that? I would absolutely repurchase this one. The texture was a bit thicker, pudding like. I liked everything about it and it is already on my repurchase list.

This next product I just had to get because  I wanted to try all three products from this line. It is Neutrogena refreshingly clear daily exfoliator with pink grapefruit & vitamin C. It says that it is meant for daily use so expect thick gel with sparse but still somewhat big and abrasive particles. I almost forgot how mechanical scrub feels and I really have to say that I prefer more gentle version of enzyme or chemical ones. They don't feel like much but the next day the skin is baby soft. With this one my face turned a bit red, I have extra sensitive skin and in retrospect I didn't use it daily nor rub too vigorously. I'm glad that I'm done with it and I learned a lesson to not buy mechanical peelings any more (I did found one from Biore in my cabinet so I guess I will have to get through another one and then I'm really done with them).

Avon Planet spa Treasures of the Desert body butter with Moroccan argan oil was amazing. Scent wise it was creamy and comforting, perfect to apply before heading to bed. My skin liked the formula as well since it didn't get dry or itchy. It was great and I am sad to see it gone but I'm adding it to my list to repurchase it in the near future.

Avon Quantium for him fragrance was something I would wear for work a few years ago. Now I rediscovered it and instead of wearing it myself I would spray my apartment and it made it smell very warm and cozy. Quite perfect for cold weather on my day off when I could read all day and drink hot tea :)

I'm still a bit sad that Essence discontinued these shine, shine, shine lip glosses. My shade is Happines in a bottle. It was brown toned color with no shimmer. The scent is slightly fruity and the formula is extra juicy and glossy but I started to get sick of this shade so I'm super happy to see this one being finished. While this one is gone, I still have five more bottles of different shades to go through.

Essence smoothie gloss in Sweet Peach variable was also a really lovely product and also already discontinued. They had a few different ones and this one was the most modest, shade wise. Light peach shade with true peach scent and the tube was super convenient to use on the go.

In the pot is my beloved Nivea lip butter. This is my last one (out of the four) that I had and I will miss it. It had great formula which kept my lips moisturized and nourished. I would use it at night (yes, it is tinted but I didn't care for that) and in the morning my lips were really nice. I don't know why they had to discontinue these, they were amazing.

Last are two Catrice Sheer Beautifying lip balms in Flirty Rose and Sheer you up. One a bit lighter while the other one more rose/brighter toned. The last one was my favorite among the two but still I would not repurchase them because they weren't moisturizing at all. After a couple of reapplications my lips were dry so I had to make sure I had a separate lip balm with me to properly treat my lips but at least the shades were nice :)

Thank you for reading and have an amazing new year :)

Project polish

 Hello,

I still have so many nail polishes and it was time to declutter some more. Two are completely finished the rest are just too thick to be manageable.

First is very old Avon nail polish in the shade Violetta Sparkle and it has a very dark purple base with golden flakes. Opaque in just two coats. I really liked it but I wasn't using it lately. I have a similar shade from Misslyn so I'm ok but something is happening with this brand in our Si stores. The last time I was there the stand was half empty... I wonder if the brand is pulling form our market.

Next is limited edition Catrice nail varnish in the shade Paralilac. Very interesting taupe shade because sometimes leans a little towards grey and sometimes it had a purple sheen... this is one out of the two that were completely finished up. Even though it was unique and quite special I don't want to wear such shades anymore.

In the middle is another super duper old Avon bottle and for this one I don't even know the name. It is not written on the bottle (probably it was mentioned on the box) so I refer to it as Lavender :) I love lavender hues and this one is just perfect, on the nails it dried a little darker but still fine with me. The last time I used it, it just didn't want to dry up so I have to part with it but thankfully I have another very similar shade also from Avon.

I bought a bunch of these Essence nail candies, especially in the shade Soda pop & Candy shop when they were discontinuing them. This one looks very sheer and only with three coats I get a slightly milky layer. I was using it as a base coat because I don't like to use three colored coats over my nails. I found another nail polish from Essence which looks almost the same but after two coats I get the desired milky look (Sweet like Candy). I still have two bottles left and I will try to finish them next year.

The last item was given to me by my sister because she wasn't using it. it is O.P.I. Lost my bikini in Molokini. Love the medium vibrant hue but the formula for me wasn't the best. The very next day I got tip wear on almost all my nails but since the color is so beautiful I used it a couple of times and then I got sick of fixing it, so at the end I will just trash it.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

today's empties post is very special because all of the products shown are repurchases and therefore all amazing items which will be repurchased again in the future if I haven't already got them :)

Every few months I finish up one of these Neutrogena Oil free moisturizer, this one is from their Grapefruit line which has a slight scent but ingredients wise it is almost the same as the one from anti-acne range. I just get the one I ether see or is on sale. My skin loves it and I'm already using a new tube and have two backups.

Second is another one of my favorites and it is Essence Camouflage+ Healthy Glow liquid concealer in Light Ivory. This is light enough for me, creamy so it is easy to disperse but it doesn't crease under my eyes. Did I mention that it only cost a few Euros? The best one out there for me.

Summer inspired packaging belongs to Avon care revitalising with Banana hand cream. These are some of my favorites and even though they don't just change the scent but the formula sometimes is different this one is the best. Lovely, barely there Banana scent plus a very nourishing and lightweight formula which actually moisturizes my dry hands. The best one and I already repurchased it.

Terra Naturi made this Orange & Citrus lip balm which is my holy grail. I said in the past tense because they discontinued it and now make two different ones (I haven't tried them out yet, I'm hoping that they will be just as good). It is a bit on the greasy side, super moisturising and nourishing with a pleasant Orange scent. What more could I want from a lip balm? Nothing much and jet they still discontinued it...

This big bottle is Ziaja Bubble Cola body wash for kids, because I'm a big kid :) It is also repurchased item of mine (this empties post really is showcasing some of my favorites). It is brown like Cola and it smells exactly like it. I used it mostly as a shampoo, it made my hair super clean, removed all product buildup and it made them smelled like I poured Cola all over ;)  At the moment I'm using a grown up shampoo but after it is gone I'm going to start using my next bottle of Bubbly Cola :)

 

The last item in a glass pot in front is Avon mark cream eye shadow in Totally Taupe, also my second but unfortunately last pot because they discontinued it. Lovely silver/olive shade with silver sparkle which managed to keep my oily lids stay less greasy so my eye shadow stay put all day long. I would repurchase it if I could and get it in another shade as well.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Project Polish

 Hello,

I believe this is my first project polish for this year... and none of the polishes that you will see here were completely finished. That happens with old products, they just go bad...

First is Catrice Luxury Lacquers in the shade Thunder from Down Under. A beautiful black with silver sparkle, I thought it would have a rough finish but surprisingly it dried pretty smooth. This one didn't want to dry completely anymore so I'm throwing it out but I have two other similar shades in my collection so I won't be too sad.

Next is lovely Essence and their Millennial Pink shade. Pretty and opaque pastel shade which surprisingly applied nicely but after finishing a little more than half the bottle it became a bit too goopey and it is now hard to use. Again I found something else in my collection that looks similar but after that other bottle is gone I'm getting this one again. 

The last two are from Picture Polish brand. I won a giveaway years ago and I was able to pick three shades (the third one was picked by my sister and she has it), I picked up these two. Berry Nice and  Denim were the two shades that caught my eye. Berry Nice dries semi matte, I find the finish to be fun and slightly different from the rest of my purples but I can recreate it with a matte top coat. Denim is more unique I my stash and so far I haven't found a close enough shade. I have something that is more periwinkle and the particles are more of a shimmer than flakes... but so far it will do. 

I'm actively trying to use up what I have because clearly nail polishes that I have are old and going bad, the formulas just aren't as smooth as they used to be and aren't as fun to use. This year I have only buy two nail polishes and four are out the door. In the next few days I will go through some more polishes and I might declutter some more...

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

time is slipping through my fingers and it s almost December. This whole year went by in almost a blink of an eye. My goal of not buying as much as I did in the past is going well, from time to time I still slip and buy a bit more than what I need but in general I'm just using up what I already have.

Avon care softening moisture with Macadamia hand cream is the first item that I managed to use up. I usually love Avon care hand creams so when this one came out I had to try it out. It has a soft 'creamy' scent and a little goes a long way but the formula doesn't quite cut it for me. For me it doesn't sink in but rather stays on the surface and makes my hands slightly greasy but also it doesn't moisturize them as some other ones does. I'm glad that it is finished and I won't buy it ever again.

Next is Ziaja Enzyme peel for the face. It contains Papaya extracts for removing dead skin cells and since I'm trying to switch from mechanical scrubs to enzyme or chemical ones this Ziaja looked promising (there are also some moisturizing and calming ingredients included so the skin doesn't feel too stressed). It is a thicker gel and the instructions say to apply it on clean skin and rinse after 10 to 15 minutes... I figure it out that I'm too lazy to leave it on for that long :) I tried and when I did I did notice my skin being smoother but I already found other scrubs that are just as effective and work faster so I also won't buy this product again.

Essence came out with this collection of Hello, good stuff! items and I was quick to grab this face serum for hydration & glow with Pineapple extract. I heard a lot of people liking it so it didn't take long for me to pick it up. The scent is gorgeous, if you like Pineapple this is it. It absorbs into my skin and moisturizes it nicely, I was very pleased with it until I took it with me on my Summer vacation. I spend more time outside on the Sun and after washing my face I applied this all over thinking it will be good for my skin but then I started to notice this tingle, like the product seemed a bit too harsh for my sensitive skin. When I came home and avoided Sun as much as possible the tingle stopped. This is the only negative thing I have to say about it but it bothered me soo much that I won't buy it again.

There is Blistex lip balm Happy lips with Strawberry flavor. I think it was limited edition and it isn't available anymore. This has a nice soft texture (I love soft and buttery lip balms opposed to hard to melt into my lips ones), I enjoyed it a lot but after using it for so long I got sick of the artificial Strawberry scent.

The very last item is Dr. Grandel Hydro active eye contour gel with Hyaluron which is a proper gel but it can leave a bit of an oily glow on the skin. It has some shimmering flakes in the serum but I haven't noticed any big sparkle on the skin, it is rather the gel itself that shines because it takes a while to absorb. I have been using it daily (only at night time) and I feel like my eye area looks a bit better but it is hard to say. I haven't repurchased it (it is a bit expensive) because now I will see if my eye area will get 'worse' and that will be the 'proof' for me that it worked and if I will feel like it did something positive I will buy it again.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day