New Bits and Bobs from May – review

Two weeks ago, I published a post with all the new products I bought or received in May (*click* to view the original post). Now, it’s time for short and quick reviews of the products – if you want a more detailed review for any of the products, let me know in the comments!

The L’Oreal Make-up remover says it’s not greasy, but it definitely is. I don’t mind it as much as I thought I would. It removes my make up great, even the waterproof mascara, so I’ll continue using it.

I quickly realized that I really cannot and should not be using anti-perspirants, no matter how badly I want to be sweat free. I didn’t like the Garnier InvisiCalm since it made my skin really sticky and weird feeling, so I threw it away.

I’ve rambled on and on about Nivea Protect&Refresh line already and I am a big fan. I’ve been using this sunscreen on every sunny outing so far and I am a big fan of the cooling effect.

The Mirati face wash gets a big thumbs up as well – it is a soft cooling gel that makes my face squeaky clean. I haven’t had any bad reaction to it and my skin is looking pretty great, if I say so myself. I’ve noticed that I only need the smallest amount to make it work, so this tub will last me ages. View Post

Monthly make-up basket

As I’ve already mentioned in my blog post schedule, I’m planning on doing a bi-weekly make-up basket. I’ve decided on doing so because I think that I will switch between products a lot more this way and perhaps even rediscover some forgotten gems in my stash (but that naturally doesn’t mean I won’t use anything else besides the mentioned items). Besides that, it will also benefit my make-up collection since I’ve quickly learned that each item must be cleaned before photos are taken 🙂


That being said, here are the products I’ll be using more for the next two weeks.


I pulled out one of my newer purchases, the L’Oreal Infallible Mattifying base to see if it will reduce some of the shine. For foundation, I’m going to go with Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation (30 – Beige). I know I’ve used this a couple of times in the Autumn when I got it but I think the formula was too thin so I stopped using it.


I’ll use the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in shade 15 which is nice for my under eye area. For setting everything, I’m going with the Maybelline Fit me Compact Powder (250 – Sun Beige) to see how it will hold my foundation in place.


As far as contouring goes, I’ve had the Collection Countour Kit Highlight&Sculpt for more than six months and maybe used it once. I think the highlight is beautiful and I hope the contour shade will be appropriate for my already slightly bronzed face. On days I don’t want to bother with contour, I’ll use the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Powder.


I’m also going to be using my new Golden Rose Silky Touch Blush-On in shade 207. I think this nice peachy color is absolutely perfect for spring and I can’t wait to start using this beautiful blush.


I’m going to try and use up the Too Faced Shadow Insurance Primer since it’s a sample and I’ve had it since forever. I’m excited to start properly using the Catrice Chocolate Nudes which have been on some travels with me but don’t get enough love at home. View Post

Midyear favorites 2015

You may have noticed that I stopped doing monthly favorites about 6 months ago. The reason is quite simple – I don’t have many new favorites every month, so I prefer not to talk about products until I have a firm opinion about them. With that in mind, I give you my mid-year favorites for 2015 – the products I used and loved in the first six months of this year.


Let’s start with body products. I’ve talked about both of these before.


My first favorite is Nivea In-Shower Body Milk with shea butter. I love the idea of moisturizing while taking a shower and it really saves me a lot of time. I prefer this formula for dry skin to the one for normal skin – the shea butter really gives it the additional *umph*.

Secondly, I’ve really been enjoying my Stenders Salt Scrub in Rose and it’s not long before I’ll completely run out. It’s a fine scrub with some rose petals in it – it gets rid of the old epidermis and also moisturizes, since it’s oil based. The only downside is the amount of time you’ll need to scrub your shower clean after using it.

For hair, I haven’t found my new favorite shampoo&conditioner combo just yet. The only thing I am including here is my Kerastase Elixir Ultime. I apply this to my roots and about 10 cm up after each wash and I feel I’ve had lot less split and dry hair in the past few months. This product is quite expensive, but the bottle will last you ages, since you need the smallest amount per day / per wash.


I was the last beauty blogger on the planet to get something from the L’Oreal Micellar line, but I now understand why everyone is so excited about it. I really, really like this micellar gel – the tiniest amount removes my daily make-up without any problems. It also does quite a good job at removing waterproof mascara, although I must admit that I usually tackle that with other products.

After L’Oreal Micellar gel, I tend to use the Ole Henriksen African Red Tea Foaming Cleanser. I have talked about this great product before – it’s really easy to use (massaged into the skin and rinsed off), smells wonderfully and leaves my face clean and fresh.

For moisturizer, I am almost done with the Afrodita Hydra Thermal 24h Ultra Moisturizing Cream. I really like this product – it’s a simple, no fuss moisturizer and it does its job. Also, from all of the products in these favorites, I would guess that it has the best price: number of uses ratio. View Post

Product empties

I was under the impression that while hubby was away for two weeks, I would have plenty of time and would post something new every day. Well… that turned out well, now didn’t it? I’m sorry to have gone MIA for 20 days, but now I’m back and let’s get this party started!

I actually wanted to write some other posts before this one, but as it turns out, cleaning out your closets really makes the empties pile up – I found quite a few products that had only a tiny bit left and that’s now gone.

Pantene Aqua Light, Garnier Fructis Repair and shine 3, Moroccanoil, Goldwell Golden Spray
I used up the Garnier Fructis Repair & Shine shampoo and conditioner. Both contain three nutritive fruit oils: olive, avocado and shea oil. I liked them well enough, especially the fruity scent, but they did nothing really special for my hair. I would not repurchase them.

I also used up the Pantene Aqua Light shampoo (which went a bit faster since hubby was stealing it all the time). This served as a shampoo to get rid of build up in my hair – it really gave them a good wash and they got that squeaky feeling to them – do you know what I’m talking about? I would repurchase this, since it’s inexpensive and works really well. As you can see, I also had some samples of this conditioner lying around so those went as well.

Keeping up with the hair theme, I finished the Moroccanoil treatment. For some reason, this went really fast – I expected it to last much longer, but to be honest, I was using it twice per days just because it made my hair incredibly silky and healthy looking. I still think that this would last much longer if it was used with a pump, since I sometimes got much more out of the bottle than needed. So I will purchase the full size (after I use up my Keraste oil), but probably keep the pump bottle from Keraste and put it in there.

I got the Goldwell Golden Spray from my hair stylist as a new year present. I liked it well enough – it didn’t make my hair sticky and was easy to brush out at the end of the day. It used to be hard to find a good hairspray, but right now, there are so many good ones out there that I probably will not purchase this, but instead try something new. View Post

First Empties of 2015!

This post is way overdue, especially due to the fact that my spare closet was starting too look like some hoarder’s wet dream. A bunch of empties and no time to share my thoughts on them with you, my beauties. But this changes – right now!

Let’s start with some haircare.

I used up the Schwarzkopf Gliss Hair Repair for dry and damaged hair – and for once, the shampoo and the conditioner both lasted the exact same amount of washes. I don’t know why, but usually I use up the conditioner way faster. Anyway, this came recommended by a friend and I loved the product. It really did make a difference in my hair, leaving it a bit shinier and I’ve also noticed less frizz and fewer flyaways. I also use the deep conditioning mask, but I’ve got a couple more uses in that one.


As for this Essence Road Trip dry shampoo, I just don’t know. It was a random purchase and I used it just as randomly. It didn’t really convince me in making my hair any less greasy, so I mainly used it if my hair was clean but had a smell (e.g. if I was baking/cooking something with a heavy smell). So I wouldn’t repurchase this.

I have rambled about the Axe Anarchy deodorant so much in my empties, I’m not going to repeat myself. I was however slightly surprised by the Nivea Angel Star Invisible deodorant. I think they changed the formula on that one – when I used it in the past it really did the job, but for some reason this one just did not perform. It’s not really empty, but I am throwing it away since it’s useless.

Alas, I also used up an entire bottle of Chloe by Chloe perfume in about 6 months. I purchased a double size of this a couple of months back so I hope it lasts me at least until 2016. I love this smell, but I would not recommend a certain perfume to anyone, since it’s completely a personal preference. I will say, however, that it lasts beautifully on my skin – I get compliments on it even after 12 hours. View Post