Here we go with more products finished up. Very satisfying. I’ll give you an idea of whether I’ll repurchase or not.
Hair stuff. The usual dry shampoo, Batiste, this time the Blush scent. Used it before, will always repurchase Batiste. Also finished up Big shampoo from LUSH. This is for fine, limp hair and provides volume. You only need a teensy amount to suds up. Really liked the ocean salt scent and will repurchase.
I also finished an OLD conditioner from The Body Shop – when they had the Honey moisturising conditioner. Must have brought it with me when we moved from Australia. I discovered it in a cupboard and, since it didn’t smell funky, thought I’d use it up. The Honey range is discontinued, but it was a pretty good conditioner.
Cleansers. Quite a few gone. One I REALLY liked is from Lavera, a German brand. I’m pretty sure I bought it in Sweden and it’s called Basis Sensitiv Cleansing Gel with Organic Lemon Balm & Organic Mallow. OMG the smell of this cleanser is amazing. It is very effective and calming on the skin as well. Will have to buy another tube of this.
Eucerin Dermato Clean Mild Cleansing Milk. This was okay, nothing great. Very mild and didn’t irritate my skin but not as good as the Lavera cleanser. Won’t bother repurchasing.
Chanel Mousse Exfoliante Purete. I bought this at some duty-free shop at some airport. I liked it but there’s no exfoliating going on in my view. The tiny exfoliating beads can get in your eyes if you’re not careful. The tube lasted for ages, but I wouldn’t buy it again as it could be quite drying on the skin.
Neutrogena Nourishing Cream Cleanser – Night Calming. Yeah, this was okay. Nothing great. It was creamy but I didn’t notice it being very calming. Wouldn’t buy again.
Shower stuff. I picked up a large bottle Soap & Glory’s Clean on Me Creamy Clarifying Shower Gel. A very creamy body wash, with a gorgeous mandarin smell due to the mandarin peel extract. Lasted for ages, gentle on the skin and I would certainly buy again.
I found an old Lux shower gel in the same cupboard I find The Body Shop conditioner. Amazing how you can stash things away and then forget about them. This was a caramel and shea butter scent; don’t remember the actual name. It was a delectable scent with some exfoliating beads. I’d probably buy it again should I stumble on another bottle.
OMG yet another Nivea Natural Oil Shower Oil. I thought I had finished them all up, but no, I found another one. This product is quite watery, so I finished the bottle in one week. My love affair is over!
Body stuff. Made my way through another body butter from The Body Shop. You know I love these and will never be without a body butter from TBS. This was a second tub of the Vanilla Spice body butter. Every Christmas, I go berserk over the vanilla spice range (which is now called Spiced Vanilla I think) and I bought about four of these body butters back in 2006 or 2007. They’ve never been opened so are still okay and I have one left. Sugary, cinnamon-y, gingery, vanilla goodness at its best!
Also finished a small body butter from Melaleuca. It was a berry scent. Nothing remarkable.
Soaps. One I finished up was really creamy and soft on the skin. It’s by NZ brand, Henrietta Soaps, and it was the Goat’s Milk Natural Soap. No parabens or nasties. Had a very delightful but delicate scent. Would certainly buy again.
Olivella Gentle Beauty Soap. This soap is luxurious and good for the skin since it’s made from olive oil. I’m a great fan of the Olivella range, having polished off a shower gel and eye cream. The bar is quite hard and doesn’t do that horrid melt in the shower thing, and is a lovely moss green colour. A definite repurchase.
Eco Store Goat’s Milk soap with no nasty chemicals. This an NZ brand and I keep hoping the brand will wow me, but it doesn’t. I didn’t find this soap as creamy or as luxurious as the Henrietta soap. It’s an okay soap, nothing special.
LUSH Karma soap. Always sad to finish up anything from the Karma range. It’s my fav scent from LUSH – full of spicy patchouli, lemongrass, orange oil, and pine. Can’t get any better.
Face stuff. Evolu Facial Toner. I think this is my third bottle. Evolu is an NZ brand and I’ve used quite a lot of their products over the years. The toner has aloe vera and rosa gallica and I find it really calming on my skin. At the moment, I’m using a toner I make myself, with lemongrass essential oil from Bhutan, so I won’t buy this again for a bit.
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunscreen with SPF70. Yeah, I have to admit to not always using sunscreen. I do go out in the sun but usually wear a hat. But when I remember, I do like a sunscreen from Neutrogena. This one is great: not greasy and absorbs fast. Wears very well under makeup. Will repurchase.
Eye creams. Three finished up. The first one is from Bobbi Brown and it’s the Extra Eye Repair Cream. You get 15ml in the glass jar and it lasted me for over a year and a half. Why? Because you need just the teeniest amount to moisturise the under-eye area. Creamy, velvety, silky – choose the word because they all apply to this wonderful cream. Expensive but worth it. Will definitely repurchase once I finish up my current eye cream.
Also polished off the Divine Eyes from L’Occitane. This is touted to be anti-ageing and will help to smooth fine lines and reduce puffiness. It’s a creamy gel-like consistency but I didn’t think it did much at all. It was too light in texture for my liking and I prefer the thicker consistency of the Bobbi Brown cream. Won’t repurchase.
Melvita Naturalift Youthful Skin Complex (Eyes & Lips) cream. Pretty sure Melvita is a French brand. I bought this eye cream in Hong Kong at a Melvita store. Quite liked it. Glided on easily and seemed quite moisturising. I would buy it again but more intent on buying the Bobbi Brown eye cream.
Makeup. Three mascaras finished. Two from Essence and one old Revlon mascara (which had dried up). Both Essence mascaras were volumising and I will repurchase. However, I’m currently having a love affair with the new Revlon mascaras. They are amazing.
Essence All-In-One CC Cream Clear and Correct #10 Natural. I like to use a CC cream to even out the complexion. Just a little bit. And I really liked this cream. I do prefer the Rachel K CC cream though. Right now, I’m using a Revlon one, not bad but not great either.
Royal Nectar Original Face Mask. This is an NZ brand and, sadly, I had to throw it out. I was about half way through the tub and it started to smell funky. A combo of bee venom and manuka honey, it is supposed to have a tightening effect on the skin. I didn’t really notice this but did like the cream. I wouldn’t buy it again though.
Neutrogena Oil Free Moisturiser SPF 15. A pretty simple moisturiser. Absorbs well but nothing special. Because it’s oil free, I didn’t feel it was moisturising enough and I prefer more hydration.
Clinique Sculptwear Lift & Contour Serum for Face & Neck. I had a sample sachet of this and there was hardly any product in it. So can’t comment!
Makeup. FINALLY, finished my bottle of Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation (shade 1C1 Cool Bone). LOVE this foundation. It’s full coverage and stays put all day. You do have to work reasonably quickly to blend but not as quickly as with Revlon’s ColorStay. Really didn’t have to use a lot to get good coverage, which is why the bottle lasts a long time. I will certainly repurchase but I’d like to try Double Wear Light.
MAC eyeshadow in Naked Lunch. A long-time favourite. Love using it with MAC Bronze. Naked Lunch is a champagne pink with a hint of peach and reminds me of Stila’s Kitten eyeshadow. Part of my permanent eyeshadow collection.
Essence eyeshadow in shade #14 Chilli Vanilli. Not a fan of the Essence single eyeshadows as they are chalky and not very pigmented. I think their palettes are far better. So I’m tossing this eyeshadow.
Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil in #19 Hot Scorch. A great fan of these eye pencils. This is my second Hot Scorch pencil – a lovely soft golden bronze shade that is perfect for lining the waterline. Lasts most of the day – just a bit of fading.
Toothpaste. I thought I’d try out Colgate Optic White toothpaste as it claims to give you a visibly whiter smile. Not sure it does that but I did like the mint flavour. However, it contains fluoride, something I’m not keen on.
Yet another tube of Red Seal (NZ brand) Natural toothpaste. A great minty toothpaste and I’ve been through countless tubes of Red Seal over the years.
Vitamins. Not something I usually include but I thought I’d talk about Berocca Performance effervescent tablets in Orange flavour. I have been taking this for YEARS and I mean yeeeearrs. A long time in other words. Berocca contains Vitamin C and essential minerals, like calcium, magnesium and zinc. Any time I go away, I take enough tablets with me. Can’t do without Berocca.
I also finished a bottle of Nature’s Way Boswellia Standardized. Due to my fall in Rome in 2012, I’ve developed a hip issue. Basically, a loss of cartilage, so I take Boswellia as it helps with joint mobility and support.
Makeup remover pads. Normally, I use The Body Shop’s Organic Cotton Rounds but bought three packets of remover pads from Vitacost. They were the Organic Essentials Swisspers Cotton Rounds. Quite liked them although they are thinner than The Body Shop cotton rounds. You get 80 pads in a pack and I’ve finished one pack.
Perfume. A long-term favourite of mine is Chanel’s Coco Eau de Parfum. I always have a bottle of this perfume in my collection. It’s a very spicy Oriental with top notes of coriander, mandarin orange, peach, jasmine and Bulgarian rose; middle notes of mimosa, cloves, orange blossom, clover and rose; base notes of labdanum, amber, sandalwood, tonka bean, opoponax, civet and vanilla. So you can imagine how magnificent this perfume is to wear. It’s my Winter perfume.