Aveo
Balea
Dove
Empties
Eucerin
FA
Hada Labo
Joico
L'Oreal
Olaplex
Oriflame
Orofluido
Pantene
Schwarzkopf
Subrina
The Body Shop
Empties #35
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 Bombee Whitening Honey Mask Pack, MY BEAUTY DIARY Natural Key Series Facial Mask Black Pearl & THE FACE SHOP The Solution Soothing Mask with Madecassoside
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!
