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

A – Z Favorites

I recently learned about this tag from a fellow blogger and I must say that it is quite a fun one, since it really will make you go through your collection and pick out the things you absolutely love the most. Basically, you choose your favorite cosmetics item for each of the letters in the alphabet, hence the A to Z name. Here are my favorites!


A – Avon Advanced Techniques leave-in conditioner. I have talked about it here already. It’s my favorite conditioner and I will continue to use it on a daily basis. It gives my hair a little bit of nutrition and leaves it silky and shiny for the day, with the added bonus of a great scent.

B – Benefit They’re real! mascara. I didn’t like this mascara at first but after I left it open for about a month, it quickly became my favorite. It gives a ton of volume and really holds the curl for the entire day. It’s beginning to flake a bit so I’ll probably have to let it go soon, but I will repurchase it as well.

C – Catrice All matt plus foundation. Some of you suggested I try a Catrice foundation and although I was sceptical at first, I’ve already gone through half of the bottle in a month. It has great coverage without feeling heavy and leaves my skin matte for hours without any touch-ups. My absolute favorite foundation of 2015 so far.

D – Dvorec Trebnik bath salts. I just happen to have the Marigold salts opened right now, but I’ve tried many different scents and have loved them all. I already wrote about it here. Honestly, I’ve never taken as many baths as I do now since I’ve discovered this brand!

E – Essence Longlasting lipliner. I’ve got a separate post about these lip liners coming up so I don’t want to reveal too much, but since I’m putting them among my favorites, you can guess that I’m absolutely in love with them!


F – ….. I don’t think I own a single product from a brand that would start with F. I could technically cheat, but I won’t 🙂


G – Gliss Kur Intensivkur. These come in all kinds of formulas and I probably love the Ultimate Repair (black line) the best. However I go through quite a few different ones every month and I always feel that it really does have an effect on my hair, making it less frizzy and nourished from within.

H – ….. Again, I found some products from the brands starting with H, but it seems to be an unfortunate letter for me, since I don’t love any of them.

I – I love… bubble bath and shower creme. These again can be bought in a number of scents and I haven’t had one that I wouldn’t love yet. Also, you get a ton of product for a budget price, so it’s an overall winner in my book. View Post

Decluttering like a pro: everyday cosmetics (a long post!)

Every single time I bring home a new product, I feel the need to use it right away. It doesn’t really matter if I already have 3 hair sprays opened, or 5 body lotions – surely, this new one will be so utterly superior to them that I will throw the old ones away and only use the new one for the rest of my life. Sounds familiar? If it does, then you probably have seen something like this before.


Every once in a while, I reach a point when everything starts falling out, I have no place for new things and I really, really need to clean stuff out. So I did something similar as with nail polishes – got everything out and went through it. Here are the results with small reviews on each of the products and whether I tossed or kept it. I suggest you get a snack, since it’s going to be a long post!

Let’s start with hair products.

L’Oreal Elnett de Luxe – strong hold which also offers extra heat protection. I don’t like the pump, would prefer a spray, but it’s a good hold, and I don’t really use hair spray all that much. Keeping.

Taft Cashmere Touch Power Spray. This was sitting in the back of the closet for about 2 years and I distinctly remember why I stopped using it – it made my hair so hard that I had problems combing through it after I used it. Trash.

Aiko Styling Heat Protecting Spray. I did not know it was a Müller brand until this very moment. Did not care for this product – I didn’t see any difference in how my hair behaved or how good it looked whether I used it or not. Trash.

Syoss Anti-Grease dry shampoo. This smells like lemon, which I like a lot since it makes my hair smell fresh. It does work to give second day hair a bit of volume, but I wouldn’t necessarily use it instead of washing my hair after that. Good value for money – lasts a long time. Keeping.

Nivea Volume Sensation Styling Mousse. Number 4 (out of 5) – extra strong. I normally put it into wet hair before washing to give it a little extra volume around the base. There’s not really that much left, so I am keepingit.

In my previous post about hair botox I talked about the frizz in my hair and their general dullness. I have quite a few products to combat that, not including the Morrocan oil and Keraste oils I just purchased.


Smooth ‘n Shine Polishing spray-on polisher. I bought this in USA on a whim when I didn’t have anything to tame my hair with me. Actually produced by Schwarzkopf. I apply it to wet hair when I want it to look great but with the consequence of having to wash it the next day. Perfect for vacation when your hair is exposed to sun and heat every day. Keeping.

Balea Blond Glanz Kur. I’m not blonde anymore, so I have no need for something that would make my blonde hair more shiny. I will not pass this on since it’s pretty old anyhow. Trash.


Syoss Shine-Sealing Finish Fluid for normal-dull hair. It’s very similar to the Pantene Serum. I like it a lot – pump gives out exactly as much as I need for the entire length of my hair. Mostly natural ingredients. Keeping. This will last me forever.

Pantene Split End Mender Serum for normal – thick hair. It’s a serum with oily consistency for dry ends. Nothing special, but it makes the hair look a little bit less frizzy. Keeping.

Klas Revital Silicone. I’ve been forbidden by my hairdresser to use silicone on my hair since it apparently makes a coat around the hair which prevents the color from getting to it properly – meaning that if you apply silicone product to a piece of your hair (as I applied this to the roots), then chances are the color on this part will eventually not match the rest of your hair. View Post

A bit of TLC for my hair – Shisheido Senscience C.P.R.

As I probably mentioned in some of the past posts, I switched my hairdresser about six months ago. I was getting really unsatisfied with my old one (who in my opinion was not following the trends in products and styling at all) and decided to go for it. It was stressful, but I think it turned out OK

Anyway, I had blonde hair with highlights forever. For about half of my life. Since my old hairdresser really was not paying much attention to the quality of the products, my hair was damaged, brittle and breaking all the time.

So anyway, with the change of stylist, I was ready for something completely new. I decided that we should go back to my natural hair color (which is this really boring light brown), but give it a little somethin’ somethin’, if you know what I mean. After spending countless hours on internet, I eventually decided to go with sombre – basically a more subtle variation of ombre, where only individual locks are highlighted by hand. I am happy with the color, but my stylist kept going on and on about how we should do something more for my hair since it’s so damaged and unfortunate looking.

Eventually, I gave in and booked an appointment for “botox” – which leads us to this post.

This is my hair before the treatment. You can see that I had tons of split hair, frizz and how dry the hair looks (BTW, don’t judge, this was taken moments before I left for my appointment and at that point in time, I haven’t brushed it for about 10 hours).


Now let’s discuss this botox thing. The first thing that I want to make clear is that there is no actual botox involved. It’s basically a buzzword for a deep conditioning treatment, which can’t (well, is not supposed to) be done at home, like you would do with a normal hair mask.

There are many variations of these treatment available, but two are most frequent. First is the L’Oreal Fiberceutics treatment. This is the “light” version, apparently only takes less than an hour with the styling and everything and is considerably less expensive. From what I could gather, it gives a good first result, but is really not as effective in locking in the moisture in the hair. Basically, a glorified hair mask. You can find such treatments often on the websites offering special promotions.

The other treatment, which I have undergone, is the Senscience C.P.R. (Cuticle Porosity Reconstructive Treatment), developed by Shisheido. It is intended for very dry and damaged hair, which, in short, described my hair situation perfectly. The products contain Keratin, Silk Amino Acids and Bio-Structurer (which apparently is the key of the “secret” formula). It’s a two-step process which takes about an hour and a half to complete, so I was styled and out the door in about two hours. View Post

Look Fantastic Beauty Box – March 2015

The March edition of Look Fantastic Beauty Box arrived a lot faster than the February one and I was so excited to find the package on my desk when I arrived at work. I gave it my all and actually did not go snooping around the internet to see what other people received, so opening it was again a nice surprise.

But before we get into this box, let’s do a quick recap of some products in the February box. Remember this?

I have not yet tackled the Korres Citrus body milk and the Sea Mud cleanser. I absolutely don’t want anything to do with the Bellapierre eye pencil anymore – it’s so hard that I almost poked my eye out a couple of times while tightlining. I am quite disappointed since it was my first mineral eye pencil and I was really excited to receive it at first. Also, I am not impressed by the Monu Illuminating primer. It is very, very sticky and difficult to apply. It also doesn’t seem to extend the lifespan of my foundation or make it go on any smoother. I would not purchase a full size of either of these products.

I can however say that I am almost through with half of the bottle of Moroccanoil. It is an absolutely divine product and I love it. I will however hold on the final verdict until I try the new Kerastase oil I received recently. And finally, I am giving the dr. Pawpaw balm a big thumbs up – I used it for my lips almost every night and they have been looking considerably better than usually. I would definitely repurchase both of these items.

Anyway, let’s get to this month’s box. This is what I found inside.

Again, there were six items in the box, but I only found the last one when I rummaged through it so it’s not on the picture above. Oh well, it happens to the best of us.

Let’s go through the products quickly. I have used some of them already and can actually give my first impressions, which are of course still subject to change. Again, there was a nice booklet in the box as well, giving some information about the products inside.


Beginning with the biggest item in the box, the Wet Brush. It is supposed to easily detangle wet and dry locks, brush out tough knots and tangles. The retail value of this is 7.99 £, so about 11,1 €.

I tried it yesterday and it was OK. But just OK. After combing it a couple of times through my wet hair, I went in with my Tangle Teezer and there were still some knots to be found. I will probably chuck this into my beach bag and not worry about it being stolen, since (sorry, Wet Brush) it looks like something you’d purchase in DM for 2 €. It’s really small and for me, that’s a definite plus. Mind you, my hubby will be pleased as well, since he always ends up carrying my beach bag which is overflowing with stuff I have absolutely not use for at the beach. View Post