The Shubhkamna: Eucerin
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Showing posts with label Eucerin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eucerin. Show all posts

Saturday, April 25, 2020

Empties #35

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I already went through one bottle of this and it was amazing. Idiotic as I always am, I did not instantly open a new one despite having two, instead I saved it and tried other disappointing vitamin C products. When I started focusing on the Ordinary, my skin worsened, so in my desperate attempt to go back to normal, I opened this and hoped it'll get me back on track. Sadly I failed, obviously because I kept on using The Ordinary product instead of going back to my old routine, so I wasted an entire bottle of this (I'm glad to report things have improved since I significantly cut back on the Ordinary). It still remains the only vitamin C product that I've noticed a difference at and when I was using it for the first time, my skin was in the best condition ever. 
Repurchase: Yes.

This was one of the nicest feeling skin care product I've tried. It has such a comfortable formula and it's a pleasure to use. However, it breaks me out, which breaks my heart because this is exactly the type of product I want to use so badly. Products where hyaluronic acid is high on the list very often break me out, so I'm struggling to include it into a routine as a stand-alone product, but my other skin care has enough of it, I use Cosrx 95 Galactomyces Essence, Cezanne lotion and Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream, which all contain a certain amount of it. 
Repurchase: Sadly no.

This isn't bad, but after using the whole tube, I'm not that impressed. I bought this when my skin was terribly dry (unimaginably flaky) and this is simply too light. It's meant for sensitive, dry skin, but the texture is only medium thick and my super dry skin absorbed it in minutes, then it felt like I didn't apply much. Even when my skin was better, normal-dry, this didn't impress me that much compared to my favourite moisturiser from Beauty of Joseon. It's think more suited for normal - combination - moderately dry sensitive skin, but I'm no expert. I had a lot more luck with Mixa Cica Cream with 5% Pantenol when dealing with very dry skin. 
Repurchase: No, I bought the 5% Urea night version instead and it's richer than this, neither I truly love. 


I've praised this in one of monthly favourites and I said I'll definitely repurchase, but I've only managed to track it down yesterday and grabbed two bottles. It smells so nice, an great floral scent, apparently it's lotus. The formula is a thick gel one, which is pleasant to use and though I'm not sure it's nourishing, it feels better than most shower gels. 
Repurchase: Yes. I got two. 

An average shower gel with a scent of candy with blueberry flavour. If you like such scents, it's a nice one. 
Repurchase: No. 

SUBRINA Kids 2 in 1 Shower Gel and Shampoo
Fruity
I have all four of these and Breezy is by far my favourite. This one stands out the least to me. It's got a basic pear-apple type of scent. I've only ever used it as a shower gel and not shampoo.
Repurchase: I have another one.


This is one of the nicest scents TBS ever made. I've said in before that to me it smells like Monte White, though people describe it differently. It's a nutty-tonka bean-vanilla scent, so gourmand, warm and cosy, perfect for autumn/winter. I hear it's very similar if not the same as the famous Brazilian Bum Bum Cream from Sol de Janeiro, but I never owned the latter so I can't confirm if it's true. The shower gel was the thickest creamy one I've tried, but it still foamed and rinsed off completely with some extra time (Dove is similar). The body butter was one of TBS's medium rich consistencies, so not as thick as Shea, but also not as thin like as Black Cherry they had ages ago. I still love their body butters, though I've since discovered that Bath & Body Works Ultra Shea are proper gems too when it comes to rich textures combined with amazing scents. 
Repurchase: Maybe the body butter.


My soles are very dry and I had high hopes for this, but even though the texture is very rich, balm-like and stays on the skin for a long time, it wasn't enough for me. I purchased the 10% version which absorbs much quicker and I prefer the texture of it, but neither are amazing when it comes to very dry skin. The scent of this one is similar to bug repellents. 
Repurchase: No.

AVEO 10% Urea 2 in 1 Handcreme
This was very decent. It's a light lotion type of cream and it absorbed quickly. It was ok for dry skin, but there are better for a similar price. This is a travel size version.
Repurchase: It's nice, but I'd only get it if I couldn't get Balea's Urea 5% 

DOVE Nourishing Secrets Restoring Ritual 48 Anti-Perspirant 
I started to appreciate this more recently. I've been using this one for several months and it always worked, then when it ran out, I got the one that had a discount that week, which was from Fa and it ended up being terrible. I got this one again and all is well. The scent is not a typical tropical coconut, but still very recognisably coconuty and plastic smelling. At first I liked it, then it got too much for me, but now I don't even notice it because I use this every day.
Repurchase: Done. 


You might know I always say the same thing: I don't see visible results from this, but I use it often regardless because it's the only product that help rebuild the bonds. Well, actually since I used Matrix Re-Bond (which is just amazing) this started working better too and when I left it on overnight with a shower cap on and a scarf that helped keep the temperature up, my hair felt so soft, like average people's hair, but only my bottom layers and not the top ones where I've had a very coarse texture since I reached my teens. It was kind of weird to have such soft hair, I'm just not used to it. For most people this will probably feel like a miracle product I'm guessing - I just wish it could do the job for all my hair. I recently bought the n.7 oil which is nothing special in terms of effect compared to others, but it has the same rebuilding ingredient, so I'm all for it.  
Repurchase: Done.

I praised this a lot in the past year and it's an excellent protein treatment especially for bleached/coloured hair. It can do miracles if you know when to use it (my hair becomes even more coarse when it lacks proteins. I do a test with wet hair, stretch it and if it's overstretches like a bubble gum, I know I have to use this) and in combination with Intense Hydrator from this line transforms my hair into something more normal. For some reason this separates in the bottle fast, even when new, so you need to shake it well before use, otherwise when you open it the liquid just pours out (I've had 3 new bottles are all were the same in this respect). Joico doesn't mention this on the tube, which isn't wise because people might think their bottle has gone off. 
Repurchase: Done.


My favourite shampoo for my very dry hair. I've gone through several bottles. 
Repurchase: Done. 

I've been buying this for many years and I've gone through quite a few. It's the cheapest good oil per mililitre and it also smells amazing. To me it's the same as for example Moroccanoil, Macadamia Natural Oil and Joico K-Pack, all are thick and rich formulas that suit my hair better than most oils from the drugstore which tend to be thin and more suitable for fine hair. One minus is that it doesn't have a pump, but I finally found one that fits from a used up COSRX essence, it's just the stem doesn't reach to the bottom. This oil also smells amazing, it has a lovely warm oriental vanilla-amber scent.
Repurchase: Done.


Since I've first tried this and Repair version last year, they've become my favourite drugstore hair discovery. They are best I can get around here that's available everywhere and for an affordable price. 
Repurchase: Done.

I've tried three out of four of these masks and all are fantastic, but also the same as Repair conditioner, at least on my hair. Based on the description I expected a purple mask as grey hair tends to go yellow with time and I thought I might use on my blond hair, but it's a regular clear one. It's only 160 ml which didn't last me many treatments on my long think hair, so it's not the best deal, but the packaging looks pretty. 
Repurchase: If it has a discount, otherwise I'll just buy the regular Intensive Repair.


I've talked a lot about this one. It's a bleach I fully trust. I've done a lot of sessions with it because I was going blonde very slowly, in fact it took me over a year and this never left my hair feeling overly dry, weak or in any way destroyed. The second it ran out I was online ordering a new one. One pack lasted me a lot of uses, about a year and I actually still have plenty of developer left, so I didn't have to repurchase that yet. I've first tried with a 6% developer which was not strong enough for my very dark hair, so I bought a 12%, which I've been mixing with 6% to get something in between instead of buying 9%. With that strength this bleaches my natural dark brown to yellow canary blonde in one session, some hair is even level 10, but mostly I get somewhere between 8-9. This contains succinic acid which creates a protective layer around the bonds and it appears to be working.
Repurchase: Done.


I've already talked about this one and showed results. After testing a few brands I've come to a realisation Subrina has the best cool blonde shades of level 10. I've used this straight after bleaching and it covered/neutralised canary yellow tones well. It can't deal that well with orange, which I expected, some of my pieces are still simply too dark for this. I honestly was blown away how well this worked because I've tried Schwarzkopf's drugstore equivalent and it did very little. I've used this is a weak 3% developer since it's a toning shade. I needed 1 + 1/2 tube for my long, thick hair. I really wish Subrina would focus also on making darker ashy/neutralising shades. They keep sticking to only level 10 ones, I'd really like to see level 9, 8 and 7 too (the only 710 shade they just discontinued). We really need such toning/demi-permanent shades in our drugstores. This actually the only such product available here. 
Repurchase: Yes, but I'm not sure I like myself so pale blonde. I'd like to be darker levels as originally planned and I'll have to buy such a product from another brand online. 

This was the first shade I tried back in autumn when my hair was still a darker shade of blonde and because I got a very pink result, I promised myself to try this when my hair is very blond. This became my favourite Colour Refresh shade, not just for colour, but also for toning. I decided to go full out purple because I was always wondering if such a shade would suit me. I got the colour on the box with a 1:1.5 mix (colour vs. clear conditioner) and it was so intense. It's a pretty colour, the same as Subrina's Saten/Spectra 88 and the newest Butter Colour 880, but too much for me. I'll show you the pictures in monthly favourites, but I already posted one on Subrina IG (I didn't use Butter Colour, but they are the same shades). With every wash I love it more. I got to the colour I've dreamed for a while, a beautiful pastel violet shade and with further washing, so when only a small amount is left (or you use only a drop of this shade in a conditioner/shade Clear) this works like a great toning shade. Diamond Blonde is blue-violet one that in a larger amount tones to a very ashy-grey shade, while this one looks more like their shade 20/2 or 1020 Pearl Blonde, so something like a sandy-beige light blonde. Personally I like this shade for toning more than Diamond Blonde, but you have to use the tiniest amount otherwise you have lilac hair, which is not such a terrible thing because it's a pretty shade. 
Repurchase: I have one more and all other shades.


Papa Recipe and MBD are two of my favourite mask for glow. Papa Recipe is more nourishing, so I use it when my skin is particularly dry and it's overall better than MBD, so it's my treatment for special ocassions. MBD is lighter, suited for all skin types I'd say and helps to make the complexion look more even and healthy. TFS Madecassoside is my "big guns" when my skin is very dry and right after breakouts because it helps to soothe, nourish and heal. Etude House's version is pretty much the same and cheaper, but I found it only after I bought a pack of these. TFS's wins in terms of hold well the sheet fits me, but Etude House tends to be cheaper in most places.  
Repurchase: Yes to all and I still have a few of each.

Have a great day!

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Empties #33

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I didn't like this foundation when I first got it as it looked awful on my skin, but I still used it regularly because it was one of the rare shades that fit me perfectly. I then completely rewamped my skin care routine and most foundations started to look much better on me, this one included. In fact by the end of the bottle I liked this one a lot. It's got light, maybe light-medium coverage with a nice natural finish. Before the skin care change this emphasised lines, pores and looked patchy on my nose, but after it looked like skin. Shade 110 fit me great and it's still one of the lightest shades in the drugstores (it's lighter than 110 from the Matte + Poreless line). It's more moisturising than Matte + Poreless, but on me they looked about the same, Matte just hides pores a bit and this one doesn't. 
Repurchase: I think I might, though I'm currently checking out their Urban Cover formula because the shades look promising too.

I put these two together because on my skin they looked identical. I wore them once one on each side and I couldn't tell them apart, in fact I liked to mix these two together because Siberia is too yellow and 110 Ivory is passably pink, but together they made the great pale neutral shade. Both are medium-full coverage foundations with a semi-matte or matte finish that isn't drying, the only difference was that Colourstay looked better as it wore off, as for some reason Nars collected around the nose on me. These two aren't actually empty, however, they are very old and I haven't been wearing them for a while because as they aged, the worse they started to look on the skin, but I'm putting them in storage, so I'll at least have them for comparison swatches. By my last use they looked terribly patchy, fake and I just took them off. Otherwise they are still the only high coverage foundations I liked well enough, at least when they were new.
Repurchase: Maybe Colorstay, but I'm happy with the medium coverage of Milani Conceal + Perfect. Sheer Glow is way too expensive, when a cheaper dupe for my skin exist.

I loved the cushion concept, as it's so easy and quick to apply. The formula had light coverage and it looked great freshly applied, but in time turned into a greasy finish that needed powdering. Still I liked it well enough.
Repurchase: I don't know if these exist anymore or if other TM formulas are similar, but I'd love to try some more cushion foundations.


My favourite mascara. It creates the biggest lashes, has the best multiplying effect because it catches individual lashes, it doesn't stick them together and it holds a curl of my stubborn lashes. One minus is the massive brush which almost always touches my lids during application, but I can live with it because it is regardless an absolutely outstanding mascara .
Repurchase: Done.

Another favourite. I use this every day because it's the best liquid eyeliner I've found. It's super black, matte, long-lasting and has never let me down. I always have a spare in stock.
Repurchase: Done.


I never warmed up to this. It's fine, just not really good. The texture is light, non-greasy, but it's only effective on regular makeup and when I'm using a separate eye makeup remover, I expect it to deal with the waterproof stuff too. It's indeed gentle as TBS say and it did not irritate my eyes. It's nice, just not what I need.
Repurchase: No.

My regular cleansing oil. It's one of rare oils that works with my skin as most others I've tried tend to break me out, but it's relatively weak and doesn't remove eye makeup well. This is probably my fifth or sixth bottle in a row and I use this every day without fail together with the Balea gel, but I'd still love to find something cheaper, easily accessible and effective - I just ordered Hada Labo which was 11.5 € for 200 ml (Biobaza is 12.79 € for 150 ml).
Repurchase: Done.

I got this instead of the Erfrieshendes/Refreshing version when it was gone from our DMs for a while. This was a bit more expensive, but I hoped it was similar enough and indeed it is. Only differences are the scent, as this is has none and strangely enough for a sensitive version, this isn't quite as gentle on my eyes as the refreshing version, but it wasn't terrible. 
Repurchase: Only if the Refreshing version is out of stock.


My favourite scrub. It's very harsh, since as the name itself says it's a sugar scrub, but it's the only thing that makes my skin feel smooth and soft. I have the honey version too, but even though it smells amazing, it's not as effective.
Repurchase: Done.

 I've been using this every day for over a year or two now and it has improved the texture of my skin. One of the differences I notice is that my makeup applies so much more smoothly since I started using this and my pores look less severe.
Repurchase: Done, now it has a new name Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence.

I got this because I expected a similar result that I got from COSRX Galactomyces plus brightening. It's just a sample, but it lasted me ages. It's a toner-like product and it contains Black Sugar Extract, niacinamide and galactomyces. I liked it, but I prefer CORSX.
Purchase: No.

One of my favourite toners, in terms of texture it's the nicest one I've tried. It reminds me a lot of Hada Labo Hyaluronic Lotion in terms of texture, which means it's not like our toners, instead a rich toner-meets-serum consistency. It feels so comforting and lovely on the skin, it's just great stuff. The smells is also amazing, like oranges and it became one of my favourite scents of skincare.
Purchase: I'd love to, but my skin care line up is so long already. Cezanne replaced this in my morning routine.


This is the first vitamin C product that is doing something for me. After about two weeks of use my skin started to look so good, it had a nice healthy glow, it was completely clear and started slowly becoming more even, though with my freckled complexion I'm not expecting a lot. The texture of this is so lovely and it's making me want to use it unlike Tiam's where I skipped a day simply because it was so obnoxious to use. It's an emulsion with a lovely smooth liquid formula that applies with ease and feels moisturising. The bottle is very small with only 7.5 ml of product and I find that it's best to keep it stored downwards because the soft bottom can't reach all the way to the end and even though you think it's empty, there is still some left. I love this, it's my favourite Vitamin C product out of the four I tried, but it is expensive per ml, so I don't know how often I'll be buying it. 
Repurchase: Yes.

I saw no results from this apart from a good dose of nourishment. It's very thick, so not easy to apply and it's got a strong fragrance. One plus - the bottle lasted me more than 10 days and I wasn't frugal with it. 
Repurchase: No.

This is the old formulation and actually this bottle is very old, so I haven't been using it for ages. I was very diligent with it for many months, kept hoping to see something, but I saw zero effect on my skin, so I stopped using it and focused on other products.
Repurchase: This version is discontinued, but they have many other versions. I ordered samples from other brands to see if I like those retinol products more. 


My favourite sunscreen, I'm sad to see this go. It's the lightest one I've found, it's got no shine and despite the tons of alcohol, it was never drying on my dry skin. I could easily apply the recommended amount without greasy heavy feeling or having to wait ages for it to set. The gel version works the same on my skin, but I believe people with oily skin prefer that one.
Repurchase: Yes, but they revamped the formula since this one.

This was hard to fall in love with after trying Biore. I just found this in my stash from 2017, so I haven't been using it for a while. It's got a rich texture that took 10 minutes to properly set, so it was not something to use in a hurry, but I could deal with that. The main reason I stopped using this was that it made my skin worse, so something in this must have been clogging my pores. I prefer Nivea's mattifying sunscreen from the products available in our drugstores. 
Repurchase: No.  

This was just awful all together. The thick, stiff sheet was very uncomfortable and there was no visible, not basic moisturising effect from it. K-Beauty masks are so much better.
Repurchase: No.


 SUBRINA Shower Gel
Cherry Blossom and Unicorn Splash
Three more of these have been used up, it's a standard in the shower. I get Cherry Blossom most because everyone likes it (powdery floral strong scent that lingers) and I got Rainbow Splash for a bit of a change. The latter smells like Haribo gummy bears. Currently I have the new Fresh Elder, which is my favourite at the moment. 
Repurchase: Yes.

DOVE Deeply Nourishing Shower Gel
The good old original with its luxurious thick and rich texture. This is by far my favourite shower product even though it's hard to get out when it's running low. 
Repurchase: Yes. I'm so glad this exists in a big bottle.

DOVE Body Wash
Summer Breeze
This is a limited edition scent that I found in Müller. It's a nice fruity-fresh clean scent, but nothing special. I wish Dove had something with grapefruit, orange or like Subrina's Fresh Elder. The formula is one of the new Dove ones, which are not as luxuriously creamy as the original, so I'm not 100% happy with it because when I pay more for a Dove shower gel I expect that fabulous rich texture, but it's fine, still better than most other stuff.
Repurchase: Probably not this scent anymore, but I repurchased Coconut & Jasmine, which is my favourite. 


I had this for absolutely ages and the reason for that is so typical of me it hurts - I love it, so I never used it and kept it only for special occasions, which is just a ridiculous thing to do and I need to stop doing that. I had hopes we would get this here by now, but it probably won't happen. It's actually very similar to Balea's version of shower foam and both are such lovely thick mousses that are just a pleasure to use. This one has a lovely sugary berry scent reminiscent of the discontinued Cedevita Fruit of the Forest I loved.
Repurchase: Yes, if I ever reach Austria again. 

THE BODY SHOP Satsuma Body Butter
This has one of the most refreshing, uplifting scents ever. I always had more of a love/not-loving-it-100% relationship with it because I have to be in the mood for such a zesty scent, but for summer months it's great and the scent is most intense on the skin of all TBS butters. I actually found a better refreshing, uplifting scent for my taste, TBS's, Grapefruit which is on my wishlist. The texture of Satsuma version is somewhere in between TBS's thickest Shea and lightest Honey and Almond Milk, but as is usual very nourishing and one of my favourite ever formulas.
Repurchase: Yes someday, but I'll get other version before it. I still have Shea, Cactus Flower and Pumpkin vanilla

BALEA Rasier Gel
Sweet Passion
I've been buying these for many years and I don't plan to switch. This version had very sweet tropical scent with more prominent notes of passionfruit.
Repurchase: Done.

NIVEA dry comfort Anti-Perspirant
Worked as it should, but the scent was boring. No significant yellow patches to report about, but as a stick deodorant it of course left white marks.
Repurchase: I don't know. I took Dove this time to mix it up a bit.


I liked this well enough. Formula is thin so I have to use a lot, but it's not drying which is a miracle when it comes to my hair. 
Repurchase: Yes. I also found Aveo has a version with 10% urea.

Best drugstore conditioner ever! Why does this not come in buckets? All joking aside, this truly is a marvellous formula that manages to nourish even my extremely dry, coarse and currently bleached/coloured hair, plus it even makes it a bit softer (miracle) and shinier. You have no idea how happy I am that I found this. The Superfood version is equally excellent too.
Repurchase: Done. 

This was my fail safe reasonably priced hair mask that I've been using for the past few years and I always got the 500 ml pot that lasted a long time. It was the cheapest hair mask that actually felt enough for my hair, but now I found Pantene Repair and Superfood lines which is cheaper, easier to get and it also smell better. I might still buy this one day because it has ceramides, but for now I'm happy with the cheaper alternative. 
Repurchase: Possibly.


I've said it before that I get no magical results from this, certainly not in the lines of Joico K-Pack or Schwarzkopf's Blondeme lines, but  since it has a bond rebuilding ingredient I like to use it to prevent damage rather than fix it, especially since I colour and bleach my hair. This promises to reconnect the broken sulphide bonds that are ruined by bleaching, colouring and heat tools. One bottle lasted me a lot more than I expected. A 100 ml usually doesn't go further than 2 uses when it comes to my hair, but this is so easy to spread that I got 6 and a half (I had to start a new bottle for the last treatment). I'm considering getting the shampoo and conditioner too, and I already got the Olaplex N.6 Bond Smoother Reparative Styling Crème, which has superior visible results to n.3 on my hair. 
Repurchase: Done.

My favourite spray leave-in conditioner. It helps my hair stay hydrated longer and helps me get a less frizzy blow-out. I had many bottles of this and for some reason each was slightly different. This bottle was thicker than most, so the spray didn't work as nicely as it should. I hope the next one will be the good old formula. I saw the packaging is different now. 
Repurchase: Yes.

I had this for more years than I should admit, but it's because it's not an oil I used regularly due to it being too light for my thick hair. I got it as a very generous gift with purchase and mine came in a LE bottle by Jade Jagger, though I have the original packaging too just in a small size that's in my car in my emergency bag. Because it's so light, this doesn't have as long lasting taming effects as for example Orofluido, Moroccanoil and Macadamia Natural Oil, which are all much heavier, but I used Elixir Ultime for very quick temporary fixes when my hair was frizzy or tangled. This is a formula more suited for thin hair, though for such a price there are so many cheaper dupes, such as Luxurious Coconut version that's sold in this part of Europe, but for something that's sold worldwide L'Oreal's is most similar (and actually Kerastase is their brand anyway).
Repurchase: No, I'll stick to the heavier Orofluido, Moroccanoil and Macadamia Natural Oil.


Utterly useless on my very dry, long hair. Too little product and I got no heating effect. 
Repurchase: No.

L'OREAL Excellence Crème 9.1 Natural Light Ash Blonde and 8.1 Light Ash Blonde
These two again did their job of toning, covering and lifting my hair colour after bleaching and created a much nicer result. I did another balayage session and made it to levels 10 (very light blonde) to 7 (dark blonde), so my hair was a mess of yellow and orange tones, meaning I couldn't just use a regular toner without either leaving orange tones in the hair or over toning the lightest bits to a blue shade, so I used a combination of these two: 8.1 on the crown (25 minutes), 9.1 in the middle lengths (10-15 minutes) and 9.1 with a 3% developer on the ends (4 minutes). I came out a an ashy blonde with some slightly warmers bits. Again my hair was not dry after use and the conditioner this comes with is amazing. I had the new and the old packaging. The old one has a protective serum and the new one a shampoo instead. I actually liked the shampoo, though it's not the best idea to wash off the colour with a shampoo and you should wait with washing for at least a couple of days (especially true for amonnia-free colours in case you didn't know), but Excellence colours are bloody hard to wash off (based on experience). 
Repurchase: Yes.



ETUDE HOUSE Sunprise Mild Airy Finish SPF 50+ PA +++ - I used up the last of my samples. This is a mineral sunscreen, so though it's very light, it does have some white cast from the start, but it sinks in within minutes and it goes away. It's dry on my skin, so I need to use a good moisturiser under it and a moisturising foundation, but for oily skin it could be a decent choice. Purchase: I prefer Biore, but this one isn't bad and it's mineral. I might get it one day.

PURITO Centelia Green Level Safe Sun Spf50+ PA++++ - In a thin coat it absorbs in a few minutes and leaves film of product, applied as recommended it takes several minutes to dry down to only a slightly tacky layer and after a while to a relatively dry to the touch noticeable layer, but makeup can be applied over it with no problems. It's not as nice as Biore nor even Nivea, but it's ok if you have plenty of time for it to dry down. It's heavily scented with a herbal kind of scent. Purchase: No, there are better ones, though this one isn't bad.

TONYMOLY Banana Hand Milk - this has a strong banana sweets scent (Casali), which disappears quickly. It's a cream-balm type of formula of medium thickness and it needs a few minutes to absorb completely. Ok, but there are better ones. Purchase: No

PURITO ABP Triple Synergy Liquid - this looked like a dupe for COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid and I prefer the latter. It's hard to say anything from a few samples I had, but it's a light liquid product that caused me no irritations. Purchase: No.

L'OCCITANE After-Shave Balm - I think my brother gave them these a long time ago. It smells lovely like cypress and shea butter. Formula is nicely rich. Purchase: As a gift for a man, yes.

TONLYMOLY The Chock Chock Green Tea Intense Cream - one sample was hard to judge from. It felt too thick and it has a strong green tea scent. Purchase: No.

TONYMOLY BCDation Plus - I would have liked this if the shade weren't too dark. It looks good on the skin, medium coverage, but without the heavy look and it looked fresh. Purchase: No.

THE FACE SHOP Le Marche The Therapy Oil-Drop Anti-Aging Serum - Ingredients-wise this is nothing special and I did not like this much. I expected a dry oil type of consistency, but this is a thick gel that just sits on the skin for hours refusing to sink in, so I couldn't even apply other skin care over it out of fear it will pill. I've only used it once, so I can't say much in terms of effect, but I saw nothing. Purchase: No

Have a great day!

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

New in #83

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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. 
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.
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. 
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.
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.
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).
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.
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 €

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