New In #91

Afrodita Balea Cantu catrice CV Dove essence FA featured gliss Got2B L'Oreal Lavozon Moroccanoil New In Nivea Pantene Schabens Sundance TiGi

New In #91

Admin   May 22, 2020   Comment  

ESSENCE Blushlighter Gradient Powder Blush

03 Cassis Sunburst

This came out in the last Essence line update and it's available in four shades. I'm a sucker for glowy blushes, with L.O.V. being my favourites and Essence is made by the same company, so we already know they are experts at making luminous formulas without the look of chunky shimmer. And indeed as far as the size of the shimmer goes Essence nailed it. Shimmer is very fine and gives a very natural looking radiance, however, it's not very strong and for extra glow I still use a separate highlighter on the tops of the cheekbones. Pigmentation is good, but I suspect people with a darker skin tone will have to layer this one a lot, though at times I get almost too much pigment. It has to do with the fact that only the left side is properly "blushy" and the other is mostly just a highlight, so it matters from which side you swipe the brush when picking up the colour and it's can be difficult to get the balance just right for pale skin. Formula is not very tightly packed, meaning it's quite a dusty, at least now that's new. It doesn't blend as smoothly as L.O.V. blushes, so it needs some extra time. The formula overall is nice, though it's not the best blush you can get, but if you’re looking for something like L.O.V. blushes in terms of how it looks on the skin, this a good one for the price. I'm not sold on the shade, though. I expected a mauve-pink shade based on what I've seen online, but this is actually peachy pink shade, so not very unique. All the rest looked peachy-orange or brown, so I’m missing a neutral-cool pink-mauve shade in this range.

Müller, 4.29 €

CATRICE Clean ID Lip Oil

I originally went to the drugstore to get Clarins' Lip Oil, but since the stands are empty and I have no idea how things work now plus I didn't want to bother the SA, I abandoned that plan and got this instead. I wanted a thick, balmy lip gloss that would last a long time on the lips and nourish at the same time, so I remembered I liked the feel of the Clarins tester I once tried. Reviews for this are mixed with people who love it and some who find it sticky and gloopy, I'm more neutral about it, though I'm more one the "like side". It's thicker than an average lip gloss, yet not sticky. It feels nourishing on the lips and after most is gone, there is a nice layer of it left, however, I expected it to last longer, since it's thicker. It adds good level of a glass shine on the lips, but I don't like it's only available in a clear version. For one it's already cloudy looking in the bottle after a couple of weeks of use and my lips are not pretty enough for just a clear gloss, I need something to even them out. It’s got a chemical sweet scent.

Müller, 5.09 €

CV Cica Anti-Redness Beauty Skin Shot

CV has a new range of these small Beauty Shot products in 15 ml bottles. One is for oily skin, this one is for calming, there one with vitamin C and one is anti-age. I bought this purely because of ingredients because it has glycerine and niacinamide as the first on the list after water, plus centellia asiatica which my skin likes. This is an pastel green emulsion and it's meant to counteract redness, however, I don't find it effective and I don't even have a lot of redness, so don't count on this working in terms of neutralising ruddy cheeks. The emulsion is not something you'd apply in second because you need extra time to blend it in otherwise you're left with streaks. For a product for sensitive skin, I also find it odd they included fragrance, even though it is nice to my nose. It's not particularly hydrating on my skin, as when I apply this on its own, it sinks in fast, then after 15 minutes my skin feels tight and I need to add extra layers of skincare, so this won't replace any hydrating serums, but maybe it’s enough for combination/oily skin. Packaging has a pipette and it's just useless for such a thick formula, so scrape the product of it instead. In terms of effects, it’s too early to say and I can’t tell you if it works for its original purpose or sensitive skin. 

Ingredients.

Müller, 4.59 €

BALEA Vital Konzentrat Gegen Pigment Flecken

(concentrate against pigmentation marks)

Another product I picked up because it has niacinamide high on the list, but it also has a small amount of a version of vitamin C (ascorbyl  tetraisopalmitate) and pinolumin which reduces redness, calms down the skin and fades age spots. Reviews for this are not great, but based on what managed to gather is that people expected this to fade pigmentation marks fast and personally I don't expect miracles from any product. It's a small bottle with only 20 ml of product and this is not a very light, serum type of product, meaning you don't only use a little at once, so this might not last long. The texture is like a medium thick cream, so a type of product I'd use as one of the last, but mostly as the actual last step in my routine. I have been using just this in the evening for a week and my skin just started to look a bit better in terms of texture, but I can’t say much more about it in terms of results. I can't review this in terms of how it fades age spots, but my blemish marks are fading somewhat faster than usual, so maybe it's actually working.

Ingredients.

DM, 3.99 €

BALEA Teint Perfection Magic Teint Crème

(Skin Perfection Magic Skin Cream)

I knew this was a gamble, but glowing reviews swayed me even though I have successfully managed to avoid the hype for many years because I knew exactly what's going to happen. I had such a product before from Garnier and it ended up the same. This is the type of a tinted moisturiser that contains colour in mini beads and those burst when you rub them into the skin and release the colour. Garnier's was too dark and though I was sure this has the same tint inside, there were a few reviews that said they were very pale and this works for them. It's a medium thick cream that starts of slightly grey and you have to rub it in quite a lot for the colour to start to appear. The tint is very sheer, so coverage so low, I don't even notice that much of a difference in redness or unevenness. Colour is too dark for my pale skin tone, so even though it's sheer, this looks like a poor match on me. I could use it as a sort of a all over liquid bronzer, but it all fall apart on my neck and we also come to the second problem: When I try to blend this in nicely so I would have an even application, I just can't get it right and it makes me look like I have dirt on my face - maybe it's my skin or the fact need extra blending due to the mismatched shade, but I've tried it with an extra base and on completely clean skin, but I can't get this to work for me. I can see what it's popular and I know it works for less pale skins than mine, just check the reviews on meindm.at and disregard mine, but this was sadly a miss purchase for me and it wasn't that cheap for Balea.   

Ingredients.

DM, 5.49 €

BALEA Teint Pefection Wimpern Serum

(Skin Perfection Lash Serum)

This has mostly great reviews with some saying it works fantastically, but there are a few that say it does nothing and some scary reviews even say it made their lashes fall out. I hope the latter doesn't happen to me. I wanted to try the Etude House serum, but I'm not risking ordering online now and the price of Dermaluxe makes my eyes water, so this gets the first go. The only other lash serum I tried was from Mavala and it did nothing. Honestly I don't expect much from this, but I remain hopeful it will have some effect. I've done the before pictures with a measuring tool (not included) and I'll report back maybe when the bottle is finished or before if I see something. This is a gel type of product that feels like nothing on the lashes. I was concerned this will be obnoxious to use, but it's very easy to apply with the eyeliner-like brush and doesn't affect my vision. 

DM, 6.99 €

SCHAEBENS Cell Therapy Hydrogel Maske Anti-Age Booster

This has - you guessed it - niacinamide high on the list. I'm so full of surprises. But it also has allantoin, camelia extract plus some glycolic and malic acid albeit only in the middle of the list, so it's not a strong exfoliator. I loved the results of this one.

Sheet: A proper, non-stiff hydrogel mask in two parts and of course super slippery as you might expect, but as it warms up/start to dissolve, it clings better to the face and even shrinks. It was too large for my face, especially the top part, but like I said it shrank. It’s transparent.

Essence: There’s plenty of it and it’s a light, non-sticky formula.

Scent: a strong chemical scent that is noticeable all the time it’s on the face. It didn’t bother me much, but it might some. 

Effect: This had an immediate effect of more even and just nicer looking skin. It’s pretty much what you get with brightening Asian sheet masks, so I’ll definitely be repurchasing this one despite the price. My lines were less obvious and the skin had a healthy radiance to it. The essence absorbs completely and fast after the mask is removed. I need some extra moisturising care after this one for my dry skin because it’s not enough on its own.

Ingredients.

Müller, 2.95 €

AFRODITA COSMETICS Why Mask 4D Collagen Sleeping Mask

The reason I got this was peptides, which are on a decent position on the ingredients list. I didn’t expect an amazing result, only some decent nourishment and it’s alright in that respect. It’s like a regular semi-thick moisturiser, but more slippery feeling and it’s clear on the face like such products are. It’s heavily scented with a scent that some might find calming, but to me it’s a bit too spicy, like of like mixing lavender and patchouli, but I don’t think it’s this combination. I applied this in a thick layer (used about a half of one compartment at once) and by morning it was mostly absorbed with a layer of moisturiser still left. Afrodita mentions a visible reduction in lines, but mine stayed the same. It’s fine for the price, but nothing special. For visible results I preferred the Schaebens Hydrogel mask. 

Ingredients.

DM, 1.59 €

SUN DANCE Sensitiv Lippen Pflege Stift LSF 50

(Sensitive Lip Balm SPF 50)

I had this already, but I have no idea where mine went. For a basic lip balm with a high SPF this is very nice. Formula is not overly waxy and feels nicely nourishing on the lips, plus there's no bad taste. It manages to cling on for a while too. 

DM, 1.69 €

LAVAZON Sonnnenfluid Matt LSF50

(Sun Fluid Matte SPF 50)

I wanted cheap, very easily accessible sunscreen that I can use when I'm at home where it doesn't matter if I'm shiny or if I have white streaks. Lavazon has a few and I picked this one because it has no alcohol. Of course this is nowhere near as elegant as my A'Pieu sunscreen, neither is it as nice as Nivea's Mattifying version which costs more than twice as much, however, it definitely beats Nivea's Anti-Age Q10 version that's sitting in my drawer and I'm reluctant to use it use because it's not kind to my eyes (the greasiness I could get over, but that thing shifts all over the place). It's not light, more like a classic sunscreen and when you start to rub it in, it's very white, but that goes away with some extra blending. It's shiny, not even remotely matte, but I have seen worse, still I don't think this is a choice for those with any oiliness in the skin as even I have to powder it, but as great pluses I can say that it stays in its place, it doesn't feel greasy on the skin and it doesn't appear to be bothering my eyes. It's not the nicest sunscreen, but the price is acceptable and it's perfectly fine for me to wear at home.

Ingredients.

Müller, 3.99 €

MOROCCANOIL Intense Hydrating Mask

A repurchase. This is one of my favourite hydrating hair treatments, it's actually very similar in terms of effect to (I think discontinued) Kerastase Masquintense Thick, meaning it makes my hair feel silky and soft unlike other treatments (my hair is never soft like an average person's due to a thick texture, I mention this often). This has argan oil high on the list, so it's not somewhere down below the first 5 ingredients like at most who brag with some ingredients then you find them in the middle or even at the end of the ingredient list. I was planning on getting the 500 ml version, which is still my dream because I really don't want to save this one so much like I did the last one, but even with a discount this is so expensive.

Click2chic, 34.29 €

MOROCCANOIL Hydrating Styling Cream

I imagined this so differently - that's why it's so important when people review this to mention texture, it tells everything. I though this is a medium thick type of cream with that silicone feel that can be used on dry hair too without leaving the hair wet. This is actually quite liquid, so better suited to be used on damp hair right after rinsing off the conditioner to add an extra boost of moisture. Due to being so liquid I can't really use this to tame the frizz like I planned, instead it just some extra hydration, so pretty much the more creamy equivalent of Sexy Healthy Hair Soy Three Wheat leave-in (though that one has a tiny bit of protein too). I can use it on dry hair and it sinks in fast, but once it's gone, there's none of that silicone smooth feeling like at Olaplex n.6 or discontinued Dove Super Quench Crème Serum. I use this on damp hair as one of my first steps (I apply a lot of leave ins and it's still not enough). When I'm drying my hair this feels strangely slightly sticky and at first I was sure this was going to be a disaster because I want my hair silky smooth, but once it's dry that feeling is luckily gone. I'm not sure how I feel about this one yet. I think I'll have to go through the whole tube to make up my mind about it, but I expected a more impressive result.

Click2Chic, 11.10 € for 75 ml

TIGI BED HEAD Blow-Out Golden Illuminating Shine Cream

After I bought the Moroccanoil Hydrating Cream, I tried to recall a product that would have a similar silicone crème texture of Olaplex n.6 that I'm looking for, but it's cheaper and I remembered - Tigi After Party. It was one of my first ever hair products and I've never repurchased it because there was always so many other things to try (plus I got tired of it because one tube lasted me years and that damned packaging drives you crazy). I found this one randomly while checking Spletična - it's After Party with gold glitter. Texture is the same, as is the scent, they just changed the name, colour of the packaging and added tiny shimmer (original After Party still exists. I got this because it was what they had on Spletična and I was just ordering a birthday gift). It's got exactly the texture I like, so a silicone cream that I can use on damp hair and dry hair because it doesn't leave the hair wet and it effective at taming frizz. Oils like Orofluido do a similar job, so normal people don't need more stuff, but I'm not normal and I find these types cream and sometimes be more effective at taming the frizz for longer. It's tinted yellow, but it's not showing on my very blonde hair, but also the shimmer isn't that visible on me, though this gives shine just like other similar products. The packaging is equally terrible as at AP. It's got a pump, but the vacuum pull does not work best, when I got it got stuck a few times and you couldn't get out anything. I resorted to pushing it manually from the bottom and it fixed it, but man did it stir up memories. Plus it's so ugly, but that's my opinion. The product is lovely, so it's a shame about the packaging. So far it was only problematic for the first uses and it's been working ok since. 

Spletična, 12.20 €

BALEA Professional Collagen Power Struktur Elixier

Like all the rest of DM product, I found this on their website, where it has a high rating and it also has surprising nice ingredients. This has hydrolysed proteins high on the list, so it's basically something along the lines of a poor man's Joico K-Pack line or Redken's Anti-Snap, but scaled down at least compared to Joico with it's Quadramine complex. I'm in no short supply of protein treatments at the moment (well, I only have Joico stuff, but several products), still I picked this up because I was curious if it's any good - who wouldn't want to know about an very affordable protein treatment and if it's any good. It's a silicone free formula with glycerine as one of the first ingredients, so it combines some moisturising action too with the protein. All proteins are in hydrolysed version which is the most effective version of protein and they are quite high on the list. There also hyaluronic acid which benefits the scalp and supposedly hair too. Formula is like a thin gel-like formula and it's a leave-in product. It can be applied on damp or dry hair, but on dry hair it's similar to Moroccanoil Cream, so it sinks in and it feels like nothing. II don't notice it makes my hair any smoother and it dries into my usual super frizzy mess if I don't use any extra products. I've been using it for a few weeks and I can't say I see a visible improvement, still it's a nice way to add proteins because it's very light and it doesn't interfere with other products. 

Ingredients.

DM, 3-4 €

PANTENE PRO-V Intensive Repair Conditioner

A repurchase. This is my favourite drugstore conditioner (currently seriously rivalled by Cantu mentioned below). Since I've discovered it last year, I've gone through a few tubes already and I've tried several other products, which just consolidated my belief that this is the very affordable best brand I can get in our drugstores. I buy the 300 ml tubes they have in DM and Interspar, while Müller only has 200 ml ones. 

Interspar, 3.49 €

PANTENE Pro-V Hair Superfood Conditioner

Another repurchase. Both Repair and this one are so good. Superfood is even thicker than Repair, but they end up working the same on me, though this give me this faux feeling it's better because it's richer. 

Interspar, 3.49 €

CANTU Shea Butter for Natural Hair Hydrating Cream Conditioner

This brand is fairly new here and so far it's also the only one for natural hair we have, so one designed for curly, wavy hair or coils which tend to be a lot drier than straight, fine hair. As you might now my hair is very dry and coarse since forever (since I was 12 when my hair suddenly got curly and way before all the colouring) and few products actually nourish my hair for more than a day, so I had hopes that one for natural hair will finally be enough for me. After one use I can say this is pretty much HG miracle, but also not quite as great as I hoped - I'll explain. In terms of actual nourishment this worked astonishingly well. My ends on which lately even deep treatments didn't work despite having a haircut, finally feel like I used something. They feel nourished and finally not dry straight after a wash - and I'm writing this on day three. Just for that this will stay in my cupboard probably forever (provided it continues to work as effective in the next washes). However, this leaves the feeling of heaviness after rinsing it off, like the product hasn't been washed off properly (I know I did. Kerastase Chonologiste and Joico Moisture Recovery do the same), so I wouldn't recommend this to those with thin hair, even though that feeling actually went away completely by the next morning, leaving my hair surprisingly soft and it's stayed like that until I washed a week later. Lately only Olaplex overnight managed to do that. However, rubbish when it comes to taming the hair and leaving it silky, that's because it has no silicones which my hair needs to look normal (I've been through a yearlong silicone-free phase once and it's not for me). My hair dried very puffy, with a ton of volume and it was just all over the place, plus the feeling of heaviness and I didn't use any of my other leave-ins I normally use to get a more sleek look, so when I went to bed I was sure my hair is going to be a mess in the morning. But I just put in a tight bun like I always do and my the morning my hair had a fresh blow-out look with little frizz. There was no dryness and like I said it was soft, but it lacked the silkiness, still I'm super happy with this. I also didn't have to smoother my hair in extra leave-ins in the morning, which is unheard of and in the next days I only added small amount of leave ins, some Joico K-Pack serum and Balea's oil mentioned below. The packaging has 400 ml, which is superb and it smells strongly of Pina colada. It's not a super thick conditioner so it's easy to apply, it's similar to Pantene in that respect. I will get the Leave-in Cream from this brand. 

Müller, 8.99 €

SCHWARZKOPF GLISS Protein + Cocoa Butter 4-in-1 Moisture Mask

Normally I don't get excited by Gliss masks, as while they are good, in fact brilliant for most, they more on the average side for my hair. However, the 4-in-1 claim made it sound similar to Fructis Hair Food mask which can be used on dry hair as a leave-in conditioner as well. That one was nice, but not as nourishing as I hoped (I had Banana), this on the other hand has cocoa butter high on the list, so I thought it might be better. It turns out you can use this as a leave-in on damp hair, while it's not silicone-y to be smooth enough for dry hair.  The 4 uses are as a pre-wash treatment, mask, conditioner and leave-in, so basically it's just a hair mask that can double as a leave-in treatment, why differentiate between mask and conditioner is just beyond me. Texture of this of average thickness for a mask, it's not super thick like the purple one with Omegaplex, so it's much easier to apply. I used this as a mask and leave-in conditioner. My hair was drying so slow with this on, but unlike with Cantu conditioner, it dried straight and frizzy free, however, by the morning, my hair was curly-ish, frizzy and nor soft, so basically it performs like an average drugstore mask on me and I'm not super impressed by this. It’s probably amazing on those who have normal hair with some dryness, but I need more. I love the colour of the packaging, it’s so me. The scent is creamy with a bit spice or something. 

DM, 6.99 €

BALEA Schönheits Geheimnisse Reichhaltiges Cocosöl 

(Beauty Secrets Rich Coconut Oil)

I got this because it's silicone free. This means it's more nourishing and heavier than silicone-oils, it also means it makes the hair lank and feeling dirty just like all natural oils when you use them every day, but such oils are the only way I can deal with the excessive dryness of my ends. Silicone-oils are more temporary and foremost a staying product for me, but I use coconut oil on most days and I just can't stand the smell of it anymore. This surprised me a lot. Based on ingredients I thought this will be lighter, but it's nicely rich, yet not too heavy and it doesn't leave the hair looking overly greasy like coconut oil does. Actually I thought this was a light oil in a spray, but this has a pump and I'm much happier that it turned out that way. The scent is the same as in their Langhaar Mädchen Haaröl, which I use as heat protection, so a vanilla-coconut scent that's super basic, but way better than coconut oil to me. I hope they keep this and it's not just a summery limited edition because I intend to continue buying it.

Ingredients.

DM, 2.99 €

DOVE Oil Care Nährpflege Spülung

(Oil Care Nutritional Care Conditioner)

Dove used to be one of my absolute favourite hair brand, but now we only have two sets of shampoo and conditioner here. What happened to their hair care? When I was checking ingredients on Müller's online shop, this has argan oil high enough on the list, so I just picked up a bottle not even bothering to check if ingredients on the ones we have are match. They don't. Argan oil is at the very bottom on the list on my version and I'm wondering if it's like with Nutella where Slovenes and Eastern European countries get the rubbish stuff "adapted to the local consumer's taste" as if we desire the inferior stuff (though it makes no sense, since I got it in Müller) or it went through a recent reformulation. Now I don't expect much from it, but let's hope it's enough for my hair. I'll report back.

Müller, 2.99 €

BALEA PROFESSIONAL Kopfhaut-Balance Ansatz-Balsam

(Scalp Balance Balm)

This is a moisturiser for the scalp and I was immediately intrigued because I've been suffering from dandruff and dry scalp most of my life and I've tried everything to fix it. It has a very handy long and precise nozzle, which helps at application, but it's still very hard getting it all over the scalp, impossible really because this isn't liquid, it's a medium thick cream and I just give up before I manage to get it all over. There definitely less dandruff when I use it, but I use it in combination with the conditioner, however, my scalp is still itchy at times. I'll continue using it, as so far this line is very promising. This is also meant for the ends since it has some keratin, but it feels like nothing on my ends and I won't waste it for that. 

DM, 2.49 €

BALEA PROFESSIONAL Kopfhaut-Balance Spülung

(Scalp Balance Conditioner)

This isn't meant just for the scalp, but I will only combine it with a more nourishing treatment for the bottom part of my hair. It's creamy, yet light for a conditioner, still with my length and thickness it takes some time and acrobatics with flipping my hair around to get this on most parts of the scalp. I doesn't leave my hair greasy or heavy, in fact I have plenty of volume left, but you know I can't say if it's going to be the same on oily scalp. Just like the balm, this is very promising when it comes to my scalp condition. I'll report back when the tube is empty.  

DM, 1.79 €

ILIRIJA Hydrogen Cream 3%

I got two more of these developers. Since my hair is bleached and coloured, I swap the developers in the box colours with this one which is more gentle. I used this with Subrina Spectra Demi-permanent colours, specifically shade 8/10 Ice Blonde and Garnier's Color Naturals 9.1. 

DM, 1.29 €

L'OREAL PARIS Magic Retouch 

Medium to Dark Blonde (for Blondes with Dark Roots)

I got this a day after I did my roots, so I don't know if it works on dark hair yet. I missed with the shade. The light blonde one looked too yellow for my ashy colour and I compared a strand of my hair with the picture on the bottle, which perfectly matched, but this is a shade or two too dark. At least it's an natural to ashy looking colour, so I might be able to create an shadow roots look. If not I'll go pick up the light blonde one too, because so far I like the formula. It's natural looking on the hair, it's not like a hair spray or a dry shampoo that it could feel like something on the hair and it doesn't come off on bedding. We'll see in a week or two how it deals with the roots, mine come in blazingly fast.

DM, 6.19 €

SCWARZKOPF GOT2B Bye Bye Babyhaar Bändiger

(Babyhair Tamer)

Years ago John Frieda has a similar product which was so good, but it was discontinued. I saw this on meindm and I immediately knew I had to track it down. This stuff is pretty amazing for frizz and flyaways, it does the job so well and fast. It's like a hair gel in a mascara form, but it doesn't feel stiff or heavy. This has a plastic wand, while John Frieda has the classic one and I think this one is better. This also smells like peaches which is an extra plus.

Müller, 7.99 €

FA Magic Oil Indulgingly Caring Shower Gel

Blue Lotus Scent

I love this one, but it was hard to track down when I only went to grocery shops - since it's Fa, I thought it was everywhere. It's not that special, though the formula is thicker than average, but the winner for me is the aquatic floral scent. 

DM,  2-3 €

NIVEA Care Shower Love Splash

A repurchase. I feel in love with its refreshing orange peel bitter citrus scent. The formula is nice too, not drying, the gel is thicker than most and nice to use. 

DM, 2.59 €

BALEA Duschschaum 

Pure Energy 

I've had Balea's shower mousses before and they were amazing. This is not as rich and firm as I remember, or maybe I'm mixing it up with the Dove one which is just fabulous, but argan version I had smells terrible. Still it's a nicely fluffy foam that's nice to use. The scent is more lime than mint and not as intensely citrusy as I expected, it's kind of subdued for such a scent.

DM, 0.99 €

BALEA Bodylotion Urea

Last month I praised the entire Urea line and I said I plan to get the lotion too, which finally happened a few days ago. This leave the same silky smooth film on the skin as the hand cream, so I'm quite happy with it. Formula is medium thick lotion, similar to a Nivea Q10 one I have, so not as rich as BBW Ultra Shea. It's not a lotion for those who dislike when a product needs time to sink in and it needs extra buffing to get rid of the white streaks, but I use it at night, so I don't care. I've been using it every day since I got it, we'll see if it manages to do such a dramatic difference on my driers areas as the Nivea lotion did.

DM, 2-3 €

BALEA Rasiergel

Iced Berries

I wanted the new peach version that I've seen on IG, but they didn't have it. I'm actually quite happy with the scent of this one. It's a very sweet candy version of forest berries, it's definitely one of my favourites they've made. I currently have the coconut one, which is so bland compared to this, I plan to finish it soon. 

DM, 1.99 €

BALEA Bodygel Aloe Vera

I saw this was reduced and last year when I got sunburned I couldn't find a cheap enough aloe vera gel that would have it high on the list or be 100%. This only has 10% aloe vera, so you get what you pay for. As you might expect it's a pretty basic gel and luckily it doesn't feel too sticky for such a product plus there's no alcohol in it, though it's fragranced. 

DM, 0.89 €

BALEA Fuss Maske

I wanted to get the version with the socks from Balea or either Scholl, but I recoiled in horror when I saw the prices for something that's meant for single use. So I got this mini packet instead and I'll make my own socks. My feet are very dry, so I'm hoping for the best. I'm also regularly using Balea Urea 10%. 

DM, 0.79 €

DOVE Nourishing Secrets Restoring Ritual 48h Anti-Perspirant

With coconut and jasmine flower scent

A while ago I switched from this to FA, which I got because it was cheap and I'm used to switching deodorants after finishing one because they tend to stop working on me. FA turned out to be the worst one I've tried so far. I did not work for long, so I went back to this one, which is proving itself to very reliable. For a time I loved the coconut scent, then despised it, now I don't notice it, but all the time this never failed me.

Interspar, about 3 €

Have a great day!

New in #83

Afrodita Balea Dove Eucerin L'Oreal New In Nivea Olaplex Olaz Pantene

New in #83

Admin   August 20, 2019   Comment  

NIVEA Q10 Plus C Anti-wrinkle + Energy Skin Sleep Cream

Based on my limited (and possibly wrong) knowledge there are a few ingredients than have been scientifically proven to diminish signs of aging: vitamin A/retinol/retinoids, vitamin C, peptides, Coenzyme 10/ubiquinone and niacinamide/vitamin B3. I wanted to expand my routine by including some Q10 products and this one combines ubiquinone and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in one product, so I got it as a possible cheaper alternative to Eucerin Hyaluron Filler Vitamin C or as an accompanying product, since I really love Eucerin's emulsion. It's got no alcohol which is a plus for me and shea butter high on the list, so it's suited for normal-dry skin, while the rest will find it heavy. It doesn't state the concentration of vitamin C, so I presume it's no more than a few percent (I hear 12-20% of ascorbic acid is most effective, but I had best success with Eucerin's 10%). I've been using it every day for three weeks and in this time my skin reverted to its "blah" state before the Eucerin vitamin C-Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse combo. I see no brightening effect or a general improvement of my skin's condition, I even got a couple of spots which are taking its time to heal, though this cream doesn't appear to be breaking me out, it just isn't capable of keeping my skin stable and clear. My main complaint about this is how heavy it is, actually everything I've tried from Nivea is so rich and best suited as a last step in the routine, but given that vitamin C products tend to be low pH, I apply them as the first or second step in my routine (after acids if I use them). It's not an ideal product for my type of routine where I do a lot of layering, but if you are a cleanser + one product type of person, this will work out better for you. The packaging is great, a metal tube with a very precise, small nozzle. Vitamin C often needs months to see results, but with Eucerin I saw improvements in three weeks, so it's hard for me to keep insisting with the use of this one, when I know there are better vitamin C products available. I don't know what I'll do with this one, since I still like the ingredients list. I might move on to another vitamin C and move this to the end of routine as a regular moisturiser or sleeping mask. 

Ingredients.

DM, 12.49 €

NIVEA Q10 Power Deep Wrinkle + Firming Treatment

Another Q10 product I picked up. Usually this is sold in a pack of two, but Müller has individual vials. I went through Nivea's entire product list, checking ingredients of each and though most stuff is very average, this has ubiquinone high enough on the list for me to be interested (by the way, Nivea has it in general higher on the list than the cheaper Balea or Cadea Vera Q10 products, otherwise I'd buy those). This is a very small vial with only 6.5 ml of product and it's supposed to last 10 days, but I've gone much longer and I'm not frugal with it. Like I mentioned above under the sleeping mask, Nivea products are so heavy and this takes quite some time to absorb. Due to thickness it's not easy to spread, but it's very nourishing. The treatment showed no result, I had a tiny speck of hope it will perhaps diminish my lines around the lips, but they are as bad as they were before the Eucerin + Nuxe combo at which I has a feeling there was a bit of improvement. The packaging is a soft vial that can be squeezed and the applicator is a very precise nozzle.

Ingredients.

Müller, 4.99 €

 NIVEA Q10 Power Replenishing Pearls

I was picking only products with Q10 highest on the list of ingredients and this has it on 6th place after water, which is not as high as I'd want, but it also contains hyaluronic acid and creatine right after. The pearls intrigued me, though it's not my first such product as I had a L.O.V. primer with pearls. The latter is a light serum product and this is unexpectedly completely different. The texture of the pearls resembles more a thick cream or almost a balm, meaning it's quite heavy stuff that needs time to absorb. I expected this is a light hydrating serum, but it's definitely something more suited for the last step in the night routine. I'm not sure about this one yet, I've decided to keep it for later use because you really can't use more than one Nivea product in the routine even with my dry skin. It had some promising brightening results in the first days, but I'm not sure this was the reason for it. I'll have to get back to you with this one, for now I haven't been using it long enough to say anything definitive apart from that's it's very heavy and pretty much only for dry skin. 

Ingredients.

DM, 12.79 €

 NIVEA Q10 Power Anti-Wrinkle + Firming Mask and Hyaluron Cellular Filler 10 Minute Sheet Masks

I finally found these in Müller and they weren't cheap. We only have two versions here, but a vitamin C and three other exist. I haven't tried the Q10 Power yet, but when I do I'll report back.

Ingredients of Q10.

Hyaluron Cellular Filler

Sheet: Terribly thick and stiff. It's not a comfortable mask to wear and very far away from the much lovelier, thin Asian masks. It's slightly too big for my face, but the eye cutouts fit nice.

Essence: it's like a serum that at first appears light, but as it dries it just sits on the skin in this slightly tacky layer at which I have a feeling that if I rub my skin it will pill, so again like at most Nivea stuff, it's not a product for layering, but I did apply Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse several hours after use and it worked fine. 

Scent: Strong and chemical. It could be better, but I can deal with it.

Effect: Absolutely nothing and I mean nothing, not even the basic moisturising because my skin felt tight after use. This was overall very disappointing despite the promising ingredients.

Ingredients

Worth it? The thick material runs it for me. You're supposed to enjoy these masks, not be scared to move you face because the thick material prevents it from adhering completely. Asian masks are much better. The effects were also underwhelming, I expected a temporary filled out lines from mask like this, but if anything they looked worse the next day because despite the hyaluronic acid, my skin didn't feel moisturised like with my usual routine (I only used this mask to properly test it and added Nuxe much latter because my skin felt tight)

Müller, over 3 € each.

 OLAY Regenerist Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream Face Moisturizer with SPF 30 Broad Spectrum

OLAZ 3-Zonen Tagescreme LSF 30

No one talks about Olay/Olaz on blogs, but on Amazon I've read great reviews, so I went to explore ingredients on their website and discovered they have a lot of products with niacinamide, my favourite ingredient, high on the list and some also have peptides. I believe their Regenerist line is popular in North America, especially their classic red pot moisturiser, while their serum with AHA's that has been discontinued was more well known to beauty enthusiast. I have a few things on my wishlist, but I picked this moisturiser first to start, since Olaz here isn't cheap. This is their classic Regenerist formula with an added SPF 30 and it comes in a packaging with a pump, which I prefer to pots. The moisturiser has a medium-thick cream consistency and it's definitely suited more for dry skin, especially if you apply it in thick coat when plan to use this as a sunscreen on its own. It sinks into my skin in about 3-5 minutes, but it leaves a moisturising layer of product with a velvety feel, which fits my dry skin. I can apply the recommended amount for a sunscreen with no problems, but it's heavy and there is some shine. It's got a freshly washed clothes scent. So far I like, as I got it to use an SPF on days when I don't spend much time outside or when I have time in the morning to only apply one thing and SPF 30 is quite a lot of a day cream, as most here apart from a couple Nivea ones have an SPF 15 at most. I like the idea moisturiser + sunscreen in one plus I really wanted to try the Regenerist line, since it has such a great feedback on Amazon. 

By the way, Olaz has another day cream with SPF 30 that's half cheaper, also with niacinamide, has a pump, but I decided to get Regenerist because of peptides (and yes I know there are probably cheaper options with better ingredients, but I'm not very fussy about those and I rely mostly on reviews).

Ingredients.

Müller, 19.90 €

 AFRODITA COSMETICS Clean Phase Sensitive Solution Cleansing Oil Fluid

Čistilni oljni fluid

I'm still looking for a cheaper replacement for Biobaza Micellar Cleansing Oil (13 €) and I found this randomly on Afrodita's website, otherwise I wouldn't know it even exists (I follow their IG, but this hasn't been posted yet I think). Afrodita calls it an oil fluid, but a much better name would be an oil gel. This is the type of texture that Clarins’ Pure Melt Cleansing Gel has. It promises to cleanse the impurities and makeup, nourish and protect the skin with the help of a probiotics extract. It’s a thick gel that in contact with water turns into a thin milky emulsion and in general it feels nice to use, but there are three problems with this that make me not love this stuff:

1. It’s the worst makeup remover I’ve tried so far. It fails to remove makeup well, especially eye makeup. I use about the same makeup items for all of my cleansing oil tests (check the one with Lvly for example), but never has one been so weak as this one.

2. It irritates my eyes, which was the last thing I expected from something meant for sensitive skin. It's not terrible, but still, Biobaza doesn't do that, nor do most of cleansing oils I've tried from around here (K-Beauty ones are a different story, those are mostly like molten lava in my eyes).

3. It leaves a film of product on the skin. When it comes to cleansers I want it to rinse off completely, otherwise I just feel I've still got some impurities trapped in that coat of product. A second cleanser is needed.

The ingredients look good and it's very affordable, so it’s truly a shame this isn’t better. If you don’t wear makeup and do the double cleanse, maybe you’ll like it, but this is not for me.

 Müller, something under 4 € for 150 ml.

 *EUCERIN Hyaluron Filler Night Peeling & Serum

I had this on my wishlist in my June favourites post and Eucerin Slovenia people saw it and sent me a bottle (thank you). It's a dual product with two chambers, in one is an AHA peeling with glycolic acid and glycin saponin, while in the other are high and low molecular weight hyaluronic acid. One looks like a clear gel and the other a milky yellow-ish lotion and both together feel like a medium consistency gel that applies nicely, but can take time to absorb and even after that you can feel a layer of product, so it's not ideal for layering, but I wait a long time between applications of products (my skin care routine stretches hours currently, allowing everything to absorb sufficiently before applying other products on top). It's very gentle on my skin and I get no tingling, still I had hoped to see some results by now (two weeks of use), but it's like my skin is immune to AHA's and like I said above under Nivea product, my skin just isn't as nice as it was before. To be fair I don't even get results with the much stronger The Ordinary 30% AHA (my skin is so weird when it comes to AHA's, I get no tingling, brightening or "renewal" effect even with the strong stuff, so I actually prefer Skinfood's mechanical scrub Black Sugar), but since I had such lovely experience with Eucerin's Vitamin C, I had hopes this will be nice too. I use this in combination with Nivea's Vitamin C because I read they can be very compatible as the exfoliation effect of AHA might assist a better absorption of Vitamin C. I use both in my night routine. I think I'll give this a go with the combination of their Vitamin C, maybe that will be a better combination. By the way I think that this is the type of product that can be used on its own, since it combines acids and a moisturiser. I know most don't want a complicated and long skin care routine and this does two in one, but I have dry skin and my skin needs some extra care otherwise it feels a bit tight.

Ingredients.
Pharmacies, 42 €

 DOVE Purely Pampering Shower Gel

Coconut milk & jasmine petals

A repurchase. I mentioned this one many times, including the last new in. It smells divine, creamy floral, but not coconuty despite the name. Formula is one of the best for dry skin.

Intespar, 2 €

NIVEA Body Milk Firming Q10 + Vitamin C

There are two versions of this lotion, the white one has alcohol high on the list, presumably so it absorbs faster. This contains Q10 and vitamin C in a form of sodium ascorbyl phosphate, a stable form of vitamin C that can potentially even out the skin tone. Both ingredients are more towards the middle of the ingredients like, but still high enough for me to be interested (Balea's version had it on the last places of a long list, plus no vitamin C). In terms of texture it's the lightest formula in my collection (I like my body moisturisers heavy and thick), however, it takes a long time to absorb, in fact I can still feel it's on my skin in the morning. In terms of formula it's not my favourite, but I still like it and the effects of it surprised me. It somehow managed to make my driers parts, such as my creepily sandpaper-rough elbows become a lot less coarse which never happened with a regular body moisturiser to me and I had to use Mixa Cica-Cream separately on those parts. It also made my skin somewhat softer - completely unheard of for my skin. I'm always reading other people's reviews about how a moisturiser made their skin baby soft and I never got that effect ever - I don't know why my skin is never soft, but it likely the reason I have so many ingrown hair if I wax/epilate despite using heaps of scrubs and moisturisers, but this Nivea lotion made a tiny bit of an improvement in that department, so I'm actually quite impressed by it even though the texture is not my favourite and I'm not looking forward to applying this at the end of the day. The scent is typical Nivea creamy, some describe it as very strong granny like, but I don't find it like that at all - it's just a nice neutral scent. The packaging will very likely start to bother me in time, especially when it be close to being empty because the plastic is hard for my weak arms. 

Leclerc, 8 € (400 ml)

NIVEA Hand Cream Anti-age Q10

I got this not just because of Q10, but also because it has at least some UV protection, thought that very likely just a very low SPF because otherwise they'd clearly state it on the bottle. But it's better than nothing I suppose, as most hand creams have nothing. I expected I wouldn't like this because I'm very spoiled by L'Occitane's hand creams, however, this quite nice, in fact it's my favourite Nivea product I've tried recently. It's light, but moisturising enough and though it takes longer to absorb than L'Occitane, it's absorbs completely in a few minutes. Formula feels almost silky which I like a lot and the scent is a typical Nivea. It's nowhere near as nourishing as L'Occitane, but I'm enjoying using this and I've been using it every day since I got this - and I'm not one to use hand creams often.

DM, 2.99 €

 OLAPLEX No. 6 Bond Smoother Reparative Styling Creme

I'm on my second bottle of the more famous n.3 treatment, but this was released quite recently and it's their first leave-in product (they also just launched an oil, which is already on my wishlist). Reviews for this are fantastic and I was prepared to use it regularly even if it did nothing, as the fact it has bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate is good enough for me. This ingredient can enter through the hair shaft and fix broken sulphide bonds. Though I must say that Olaplex n.3 doesn't have amazing results on me, not like keratin product such as Joico K-Pack do, I feel it's maintaining the condition of my hair especially since it's gone though some bleaching processes. This can be used on damp and dry hair, I've used it both ways. It reminds me of my all-time favourite Dove Super Quench Crème Serum, meaning it's not an overly wet formula of a leave-in conditioner, so on dry hair it tames frizz and it doesn't pop back up when the wet part of the conditioner dries. It also nourishes the hair and untangles. On damp hair after washing it's amazing. In combination with Pantene Intensive Repair conditioner it made my hair so soft and silky (I said many times, my hair is rarely soft due to its coarse, thick texture), I couldn't stop touching my hair. So far I'm really liking this a lot, it's like my favourite moisturising leave-in/ defrizzer/tamer/ Dove Super Quench got an upgrade with the Olaplex ingredient. However, I already hate the packaging. It the same as at n.3 and it's hard to get the last bits out, and it's going to be even harder at this one because the product is much thicker than n.3. This should come in a tube.

Cult Beauty, 24 GBP

PANTENE Intensive Repair Conditioner

A repurchase. This is my favourite drugstore hair care discovery and on top of being easily accessible, it's also got frequent good discounts. This time I got the 300 ml bottle that DM and Spar sell, while Müller has only 200 ml versions. This conditioner is like a hair mask and it manages to nourish my thick, very dry hair.

Interspar, 3.49 €

 BALEA Oil Repair Intensiv Thermo Turbanmaske

No, no, no, no - this was a waste of my time. It the first turban mask I tried and expected a lot because this is supposed to be an intense treatment. There are so many things wrong with this, I don't know where to start. For one there's only 35 ml of product, I usually use about 50-60 ml for my long hair, but that's a problem specific to me, so you can ignore that. Number two the cap has only a light-medium coat of product on the inside and when you put it on the head, 90 % of it ends at the top layers. I couldn't get the product on the lengths on my hair no matter how much I massaged it when it was on my head. Number three and the main reason I feel duped by this: there is NO warming effect. Nothing, nada, zilch, not a tiny bit of warmth this promises and this pisses me of the most because otherwise I'd just say: yeah, it's fine if you have short hair that isn't too dry, but this is called a thermo mask and that's the main thing I expected. If it worked like it promised, I'd simply use a separate conditioner before and reap the benefits of the warming effect, since heat helps the products absorb better. The mask itself is ok, it's big enough, the sticker holds it tight the entire time and it even has a cute polka dot design, but it's oddly shaped at the top so you look like a garden gnome. In terms of effect I really wasn't sure whether that gentle moisturising effect was from this or did Pantene shampoo + a few leave ins do the actual job, but by the next day my hair was dry again. This has a high rating on meindm.at so don't just focus on my review, but I'm was not happy with it at all.

Ingredients.

DM, 2.99 €

NIVEA Curl Forming Spray

This attracted my attention because it contains oil, so I presumed it's a like a mix between that got2b Oh my Nude Tame it Softly oil spray I love and a hair spray. It can be used on dry and wet hair. On dry hair it's closer to a light-medium flexible hold hair spray than the weightless oil in spray, so there isn't as much shine as at got2b, but it's not drying like regular hair sprays can be. I can apply tons and it never feels heavy, it holds the frizz down, but at one point it does becomes noticeable as the hair becomes a bit hard, but not sticky and running fingers though the hair breaks that apart. On damp hair it says it prolongs the amount of time required to dry the hair so you have more time to shape it - I find that so stupid, but it wasn't that much of a difference, still I want to dry my hair as fast as I can since I have so much of it and it takes ages to do it anyway. I did not like this on damp hair because it made my hair feel like there's too much product and like it's not properly washed, however, it definitely enhanced my curls that I achieve by tying freshly blow-dried hair in a tight bun overnight, though they didn't last as long as they do when I use a curling iron (picture of those no heat curls here. Hair colour looks lighter because the picture is washed out due to me wearing black). Unlike a lot of other hair sprays, this isn't an assault on my respiratory organs and it's got a sort of a fruity scent. It's not the best on damp hair, however, even though I wasn't very keen on it on my first try when I used it on dry hair (to be fair I was caught in the rain that time later on the same day I used it), it's been doing remarkably on my second try. I used only this and not the got2b wax + hair spray combo I usually use and yet it managed to hold my curls so well for two days so it looked like I just curled it and they still look good albeit more loose. It could have more of that oil they boasts with, thought it feels a lot less dry than my usual hair spray and though it's still not 100% love, I'll keep on using it for holding my curls, as it might prove to be a worthy replacement for Lee Stafford hair spray.  

 DM, 3.29 €

 L'OREAL Excellence Creme

8.1 Light Ash Blonde

They changed the packaging of these and they removed the protective serum, which I liked, and replaced it with a shampoo. The latter has sulphates, something that surprised me because why would you wash off a fresh colour with a sulphate shampoo unless you want it to fade faster, so I'm not happy with the change. I hope the formula is the same, they say it is, but you never know. This is my favourite hair colour because it makes my hair actually soft. I can always rely on L'Oreal for having ashy shades of various levels that are best for counteracting strong red, orange and yellow tones. I haven't used this one yet, but I have used this shade before as well as 9.1 and 7.1, all are also great for dark natural brunettes for lightening the hair to a light brown with no bleach involved.

Müller, 5.99 €

DOVE Nourishing Secrets Restoring Ritual 48h Anti-Perspirant

Coconut & jasmine flower

Every time I get something with coconut I regret it. Of course this smells lovely, like light coconut with more predominant creamy florals, but I'm this weird person who loves coconut scents for the first 10 minutes and then I just can't take it anymore. Luckily I don't notice this one that much and so far it works as it should and I hope it stays that way.  

Interspar, 3.19 €