Sunday, 30 January 2011
Avon haul & a little sale
Time again for another haul, recently I've been behaving myself and haven't bought much new stuff. Even my bf noticed it and acted surprised. But safe to say, a girl cannot have too many polishes...
I bought 2 holiday collection polishes: Golden Twilight (black with gold shimmer) and Golden Wine (a deep red with gold shimmer). These aren't my 'normal colours' but I wanted to give them a go. I like Avon's polishes, they have a variable colour range and are easy in usage.
I bought 2 holiday collection polishes: Golden Twilight (black with gold shimmer) and Golden Wine (a deep red with gold shimmer). These aren't my 'normal colours' but I wanted to give them a go. I like Avon's polishes, they have a variable colour range and are easy in usage.
And then I also bought some eyeliners, called Glimmerstick Diamonds because there is a bit of shimmer in it, this is one of their top selling products. I bought 4 colours: black, brown, grey and purple. But as you can see there are 5 sticks in the picture. I accidentally ordered the purple one two times, if anyone is interested I'm reselling it for 4euros and it can be shipped in an envelope....
Enjoy the rest of the sunday!
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Review Estée Lauder Intense softening lotion
Estée Lauder = luxurious! Shockingly, this is acutally the first Estée Lauder skin care item I used in my whole life. Let's see if it's worth its money...
I love the box with the gold and grey, the packaging is just screaming: "keep me". And so I did, I'm such a sucker for nice packaging, not that I ever do anything with it or look at it particular long. I just can't bring myself to throw it away when I begin using a product... I'm weak, I know.
I love the box with the gold and grey, the packaging is just screaming: "keep me". And so I did, I'm such a sucker for nice packaging, not that I ever do anything with it or look at it particular long. I just can't bring myself to throw it away when I begin using a product... I'm weak, I know.
I bought it because I was looking for a decent and moisturizing toner with good ingredients, this one gets a lot of good reviews and praises but it comes with a cost. I wanted to allow myself a little splurge and bought it for 40euros I believe and I've been using it for 4months now. It's a plastic bottle with a goldlike dop on it.
This wonderfully pampering toning lotion removes surface impurities while it perfects skin's surface—smoothing, softening and refreshing.Flecked with elemental gold, and with a luxuriously silky texture, it leaves skin with an invisible veil of moisture and helps maintain the optimum oil/moisture balance.
The toner has a lot of golden parts in it, they are visible inside the bottle but also when you put them on a cotton pad. However, in application they don't become noticeable so it didn't disturb me at all. This is probably Estées idea of luxurious. There's no smell to it, when looking at the ingredient list fragrance is also on the lowest part, this makes sense - I prefer no smell to heavy fragrance any day. Apart from the gold (it's really on the list, go see!) and the tiny bit of fragrance there are no irritating ingredients in this toner. The texture is liquid (surprise...) but thicker than other toners I've used in the past.
I use this toner after cleansing my face: I pour a bit of it on top of a cotton pad and pat/rub it gently on my face (you can also use it around your eye area). I immediately noticed the moisturizing ability of this toner: for once my skin didn't feel particular dry after finishing with the pad. Apart from that, it also feels refreshing as most toners do. After having used it for quite some time my skin definitely looked and felt better, it made my skin more glowy and that's always a good thing. However, with the winter and the cold my sensitive skin sometimes becomes even more sensitive and on those days this toner is irritating and stings a bit on my cheeks and mouth area. I only experienced this on the days when my skin really felt sensitive, which was about 15% of the time since I began using it. This is quite the turnoff for me, because on all other levels, I really like this product.
The goods: moisturizing, improves your skin with a glow, low on fragrance (good ingredients)
The bads: expensive price, can be irritating
Overall, I still like this product and would recommend it to those who don't have sensitive skin. I also read that if you're sensitive to jewelry, you should be carefull with this. If you want to try it, get a sample to be safe... The biggest obstacle on this product definitely is its price - it's Estée Lauder you know. Let's face it: it's expensive BUT it is so far the best toner I've ever used. Personally I wouldn't buy it again because my skin sometimes reacts to it and I don't like that feeling. I will continue my search and hopefully I'll come across something even better...
Toner recommendation - do tell!!
This wonderfully pampering toning lotion removes surface impurities while it perfects skin's surface—smoothing, softening and refreshing.Flecked with elemental gold, and with a luxuriously silky texture, it leaves skin with an invisible veil of moisture and helps maintain the optimum oil/moisture balance.
The toner has a lot of golden parts in it, they are visible inside the bottle but also when you put them on a cotton pad. However, in application they don't become noticeable so it didn't disturb me at all. This is probably Estées idea of luxurious. There's no smell to it, when looking at the ingredient list fragrance is also on the lowest part, this makes sense - I prefer no smell to heavy fragrance any day. Apart from the gold (it's really on the list, go see!) and the tiny bit of fragrance there are no irritating ingredients in this toner. The texture is liquid (surprise...) but thicker than other toners I've used in the past.
I use this toner after cleansing my face: I pour a bit of it on top of a cotton pad and pat/rub it gently on my face (you can also use it around your eye area). I immediately noticed the moisturizing ability of this toner: for once my skin didn't feel particular dry after finishing with the pad. Apart from that, it also feels refreshing as most toners do. After having used it for quite some time my skin definitely looked and felt better, it made my skin more glowy and that's always a good thing. However, with the winter and the cold my sensitive skin sometimes becomes even more sensitive and on those days this toner is irritating and stings a bit on my cheeks and mouth area. I only experienced this on the days when my skin really felt sensitive, which was about 15% of the time since I began using it. This is quite the turnoff for me, because on all other levels, I really like this product.
The goods: moisturizing, improves your skin with a glow, low on fragrance (good ingredients)The bads: expensive price, can be irritating
Overall, I still like this product and would recommend it to those who don't have sensitive skin. I also read that if you're sensitive to jewelry, you should be carefull with this. If you want to try it, get a sample to be safe... The biggest obstacle on this product definitely is its price - it's Estée Lauder you know. Let's face it: it's expensive BUT it is so far the best toner I've ever used. Personally I wouldn't buy it again because my skin sometimes reacts to it and I don't like that feeling. I will continue my search and hopefully I'll come across something even better...
Toner recommendation - do tell!!
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Feelunique haul
Feelunique has become one of my favourite online shopping sites, delivery is quick - within a week -, no shipping costs, decent prices and some time ago they had an extra 20% off coupon code which I had to use... Let's have a look at my purchases!
A Clarins one step cleanser: Clarins is one of those brand that I often come across but haven't used a lot - yet. I've heard that their cleansers are supposed te be very gentle and such, so I'm curious! Next to it a brush cleanser from bareMinerals, my brush cleanser from Shu Uemura is starting to run out and this spray looked very promising. I only use this type of brush cleansers when I don't have a lot of time or when I need another colour on the same brush. It's just convenient to have available.
And a bit more hair care... A few months ago I purchased some Joico products and after using them for the last months I fell in love, I'm quite amazed at the outcome of my hair (a review on the K Pak line from Joico is coming soon) and wanted to try more from this fabulous brand. So I purchased the Silk Result Conditioner, the K-Pak Intense Hydrator (which I already had but a back-up now) and the Body Luxe Foam for more volume.
Hope you like my new things, I know I do!!
A Clarins one step cleanser: Clarins is one of those brand that I often come across but haven't used a lot - yet. I've heard that their cleansers are supposed te be very gentle and such, so I'm curious! Next to it a brush cleanser from bareMinerals, my brush cleanser from Shu Uemura is starting to run out and this spray looked very promising. I only use this type of brush cleansers when I don't have a lot of time or when I need another colour on the same brush. It's just convenient to have available.
And a bit more hair care... A few months ago I purchased some Joico products and after using them for the last months I fell in love, I'm quite amazed at the outcome of my hair (a review on the K Pak line from Joico is coming soon) and wanted to try more from this fabulous brand. So I purchased the Silk Result Conditioner, the K-Pak Intense Hydrator (which I already had but a back-up now) and the Body Luxe Foam for more volume.Hope you like my new things, I know I do!!
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Review Sigma -short- eye shading brush E55
Yet another Sigma brush, this time the Eye shading brush called E55 with natural bristles. I've been using this one for half a year now and still enjoy using it... Defintely one of their better brushes as well.
Soft and dense with a rounded finish. Can be used to apply pressed or loose eye shadows and pigments. Ideal to build intense color on the eyelid. Natural bristles.
It costs 9$ on the Sigma website, this is called the short shader. It's also available in the large shader version and medium angled shader version, with the same kind of bristles. I'm definitely interested in purchasing the other 2 versions of this brush, because I like this one a lot. Cheap and effective brushes, what more can we ask for?
Soft and dense with a rounded finish. Can be used to apply pressed or loose eye shadows and pigments. Ideal to build intense color on the eyelid. Natural bristles.I mainly use this brush for colors on my eyelid or highlighting my eyebrows or inner corner of my eyes, it's a decent brush for these 3 jobs. It picks up the color nicely and lets you build up the intensity as much as you want. I've already washed it a lot and the bristles dry easily and stay in shape. The bristles are soft and still very dense, which makes this a good brush in my eyes.
It costs 9$ on the Sigma website, this is called the short shader. It's also available in the large shader version and medium angled shader version, with the same kind of bristles. I'm definitely interested in purchasing the other 2 versions of this brush, because I like this one a lot. Cheap and effective brushes, what more can we ask for?
Monday, 24 January 2011
Review Mario Badescu Vitamin C serum
The last few years I've really been into serums. Before I didn't care much and only slapped on moisturizer, I didn't know any better. Nevertheless when getting older, it's important to add a serum to your routine as it has a concentrated amount of antioxidants that will benefit your skin. When looking for a serum I want it to brighten my skin tone and fight signs of aging - which are most serums goals. Mario Badescu released this serum about a year ago and it was getting a lot of praise and claimed to fulfill my needs, so I gave it a go... It's called their Vitamin C serum, a name that sounds like music to my ears!
Antioxidant Vitamin C protects skin from free radicals and is essential in collagen production. This Vitamin C Serum contains 7.5% Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) to reduce discoloration and brighten skin. Formulated with Hyaluronic Acid to retain skin's natural moisture and Collagen to enhance skin's firmness and elasticity. How to Use: Apply 2-3 drops on clean skin avoiding eye area every other night. May be used under a moisturizer or alone.
The bottle contains 29ml and can be purchased from various webshops, I paid around 40euros for it, so I consider it to be a more pricy serum but not too outrageous as other luxurious brands. It's a green glass bottle with a droppersystem. It's not seethrough which is important to me to maintain the ingredients in it. I only preferred it had a pumpsystem to a dropper.
The ingredients list as seen below looks very promising in the beginning with a good base -glycol- and vitamin c. The only downside is the last ingredient on the list, lavender extract, as this can be irritating and damaging to the skin. Because it's the last ingredient and in a very tiny amount present I was still keen on trying it.
The serum itself is yellow and feels quite greasy at first. It sinks fast into your skin but it leaves a more oily finish. It also has a peculiar smell, a bit medicine-like, I'm not a fan of it at all. I've been using it for several months and it didn't irritate me or cause any breakouts. In the first month of usage I noticed a lot of improvement in my skins texture and a few acne scars/discolorations were fading. However, the next few months my skin remained the same and didn't improve anymore. The expiry date on the bottle when opening it is 3months and this may be a bit too accurate. Because of the dropper system the ingredients are exposed to air every time when using it and I believe this was the cause to it.
My boyfriend also used this serum for a few days as he had some discolorations as well, but it resulted in lots of breakouts. He stopped using it and tried it again after a week, the breakouts came back, so it was definitely the serum causing it.
The goods: results are soon visible, only a tiny amount needed to cover entire face
The bads: high price, weird smell, ingredients are not long preserved, lavender works irritating and can cause breakouts
Overall I was amazed at first by this serum but afterwards I was more dissapointed than amazed. It's too expensive for the time it delivers on its promises. It can also be irritating for the skin, which is always a negative to me - even if my skin doesn't react to it. I wouldn't repurchase this or recommend it to anyone. If Mario Badescu decided to change the ingredients a tiny bit and change it into a pumpsystem, this would be an amazing serum! If you have a favourite serum, feel free to share...
My boyfriend also used this serum for a few days as he had some discolorations as well, but it resulted in lots of breakouts. He stopped using it and tried it again after a week, the breakouts came back, so it was definitely the serum causing it.
The goods: results are soon visible, only a tiny amount needed to cover entire face
The bads: high price, weird smell, ingredients are not long preserved, lavender works irritating and can cause breakouts
Overall I was amazed at first by this serum but afterwards I was more dissapointed than amazed. It's too expensive for the time it delivers on its promises. It can also be irritating for the skin, which is always a negative to me - even if my skin doesn't react to it. I wouldn't repurchase this or recommend it to anyone. If Mario Badescu decided to change the ingredients a tiny bit and change it into a pumpsystem, this would be an amazing serum! If you have a favourite serum, feel free to share...
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About Me
- Evelien
- Belgian twenty-something year old blogger who adores all things beautywise and loves to share her knowledge... This blog reflects my thoughts on products I've personally used and random things that cross my mind. If you have a request for a review or want to ask me something etc..., you can contact me at beautyponder@hotmail.com.
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