Wake up in the morning feeling like P.Diddy

You know that feeling of opening your eyes in the morning and realising you can still sleep? Indefinitely! That's the beauty of a Saturday right there! 
And it gets even better when you give your skin something to be happy about! So, much like my Friday Night Pamper, this is the Saturday morning edition, where it's all about making the skin feel nice and clean, and ready for the day!

Since my skin is on the dry side, it's hard to find a clay mask that doesn't leave my face feeling like it's about to tear at the sides. The Good Things Manuka Honey face mask though is doing quite a great job at cleaning without drying. 
I know the Pixi Glow Tonic  and the L'Occitane Immortelle Essential Face Water are both toners, but where the Pixi one lightly exfoliates, the L'Occitane essential water restores hydration and plumpness so they complete eachother very well.
I'm still in the trying out phase with the Hydraluron Moisture Jelly and was wondering if you had any experiences with it so far? I have not tried the actual serum yet so if you have and want to share how that worked for you, please do.
I'm definitely someone who prefers oily and thick moisturisers more, like Shea Butter based ones. But this jelly type of thing is definitely much better suited as a make-up base, since it doesn't have anything greasy about it and keeps all of my eye make-up in place nicely.
As soon as I try it out more, I will let you know my full opinion on it. So far, it's nice and cooling, seen as how it's boiling outside!





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How do you care for your hands and nails?

It's been a long time since my nails have been so strong and my hands so soft. I used to pride myself with being a heavy hand cream user and a nail care worshipper but I've only recently realised that I had not really found the right products to get results with.
That has long changed ever since I started using the Trind Balm and Base coat/strengthener. Those two have made all the difference in the world and I can now pretty much scratch walls and the wall will give in before my nails will. I don't advise anyone to do it though.

I cannot emphasise this enough: Moisturising is the key to everything!
A happy face, soft hands and all-round satisfied skin.
That's why I've stocked up on L'Occitane  hand creams.  My favourite is the Shea Butter one because it's so rich and creamy, but I'm a sucker for packaging, so the Black Cherry hand cream had to come along too. The latter is much more watery and not necessarily as effective as the Shea Butter one, but if you want your hands to shimmer, it has glitter in it. Seriously.
I've only discovered it after seeing light reflect much to nicely off my palms. If I'd have to pick, it will be Shea Butter anytime.

And let us not forget cuticles and how they can make or break the clean and cared for look of a hand. Nobody likes dry or fringy cuticles...as is to be expected. I like to keep them happy with the Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream and it has not failed yet, in almost a year I've been using it.

So how do you keep your hands and nails happy?





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March Favorites

Fashionably late as usual, I give you: March favorites!

To be honest, there initially was a very different lineup for this post but at the end of March, some goodies arrived and even after a pretty short period of testing, I have been HUGELY impressed.

                           

Moa Green Balm
I have been using this for everything, from cuticles to lips, to face and hands. It is a universal savior and a definite repurchase. It has helped all my exposed parts during the freezing winter days, cold and wind. And with the dry skin that I'm sporting, it's quite magnificent to be able to do that. 

Nuxe Reve de Miel

Have almost all of us heard of the supernatural powers of this balm by now? I know I've stumbled upon nothing but praise. Even so, I wasn't too keen to believe everything because it sounded too good. Well you know what? It is THAT good! I'll have a proper review up soon and you will be able to hear all about how it has turned my lips from papyrus to velvet.

Eyeko Skinny Liner

I'm a gel eyeliner girl. Very dedicated to the gel cause, but boy oh boy this liner has shocked me. It has unbeatable lasting power. And I do mean unbeatable. No smudging, no moving, and seriously intense black. I could definitely be converted to this liner.

Eyeko Fat Brush Mascara

My fondness for Eyeko is quite great and in case you haven't noticed how obsessed I am with this mascara, I suggest you click on the link above to get to the review I did of it. 

Rimmel Apocalips in Nude Eclipse

I have been wanting to get my hands on this ever since I first saw it and I was right to want it! It's the best kind of lip product. Liquid but with a lipstick finish that is not too shiny and not too matte. Just right and especially great for dry lips that sometimes I prefer to not put lipstick,but more liquid products on.

L'Occitane Hand Cream

Along with the MOA balm, this is still a great friend for when the hands are about to give up. It has got to be the thickest and most efficient hand cream I have ever tried.

And now to the favorite polishes: Sally Hansen The Real Teal and Barry M Mint Green.

You will find a lot of swatches for those on the blog, just type in Sally Hansen or Barry M in the search tab I have in the sidebar, because they are true spring colors.

Do we share any favorites here? What are some of yours?

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What's In My Bag ?

                            

This post has been pretty fascinating to do in terms of realizing what I carry with me every day, and I've concluded once more that the main thing you will find in my bag are lip products.

Here's what we got:

Rosebud Strawberry Lip Salve

Moa Green Balm

MUA Lip Boom (ah darnit, why isn't it in this picture? Great job Joanna...)

L'Occitane Shea Butter Dry Hand Cream

L'Occitane Cherry Blossom Solid Perfume

Mario Badescu Hyaluronic Eye Cream

Mario Badescu Hyaluronic Day Cream

A handy dandy mirror

Hair elastic and some pins

Tempos

and ALWAYS my notebook and a pen

The Mario Badescu creams are actually two samples I got from my fellow blogger and co-worker Alexandra and I realized they were in my bag when I was taking things out.

Been trying them out a bit and will tell you more about them soon.

And now, let me show you a close-up of the things I think are vital to carry around.

I think tissues are a very useful thing to carry around, much like the mirror I always use when I feel like something is stuck in my eye (This happens more often than you'd assume). It helps fight the urge to rub my eyes frantically in hopes something will jump out of it.
Hand cream: in winter even more essential, but you must know, I also carry it around in summer, spring and autumn.
And last but not least, hair fixers. There will always be a rebel strain you want to pin up and there might come a time when you just need to pull your hair up. And with the amount of hair that I possess, a strong elastic is very important to have.

So tell me, what's in your bag? 






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L'Occitane 5 Essential Oils Repairing Shampoo and Conditioner

You know I asked you what L'Occitane reviews you wanna get first,and after the Almond Shower Oil this was a very popular one. So now, it's shampoo's turn.

                            
We have the 5 Essential Oils Repairing Shampoo and Conditioner. Now, I've been using them for about 3 weeks and I knew I'd end up saying what I'm about to say.
As far as hair care goes, L'Occitane and myself have never gotten along fully.I don't know what it is. The essential oils are incredible for my scalp but my hair is kinda dry, still. And this always happens. Whatever shampoo I use of theirs, my hair ends up being more dry than I expected.
There might be something bumping heads, I don't know.
Maybe my hair is just more receptive to other substances. Of all my body components, I'm afraid my hair is the biggest sell-out. It only appreciates the really commercial and not too great things like silicons.

BUT I can see a clear difference in terms of the dry it was before and the dry it is now. The ventilation in the office is a killer for anything exposed to it and I'm pretty sure these two help with keeping my hair not die all together.I think something that could work is using more conditioner. Because I have a huge load of hair, I think I underestimated the amount of conditioning it requires.

Like I said, it has left my scalp in an amazing condition, and this comes from someone with the driest of skins, especially in winter.

I think, my hair being so long, needs more than these two, so now I'm going to be trying the Aussie Luscious Long  range see what that can do. But it probably also needs some additional hair masks and TLC.
Speaking of which, if you have any suggestions for hair masks I could try, do let me know.

These shampoos sound great, smell great and do the perfect job in probably 99.999999% of cases
I will say it again, it probably is more an issue or compatibility with me because judging by how they treated my skin, I was left incredibly impressed. Nothing has ever managed to keep my scalp this healthy during winter.

Have you ever tried them? Or another L'Occitane shampoo?


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Pick Your Favorite Product To Review!

Last week I put up a post with some L'Occitane products that I was using but didn't know which one to write about first. So I asked you.
This week, I got some packages containing very pretty things that I want to show and tell you all about, but again, I prefer to ask which one you'd rather read about first.

                      
About the L'Occitane Dry Skin Hand Cream I already did a review HERE but I like their packaging so much, I really wanted it in the picture .
What else is on offer?
Moa Green Balm I have heard so much about and was dying to try.
Hema Eyeshadow Base that I discovered a while ago and finally got a refill.
Catrice Made To Stay cream eyeshadow. I'm in a copper/bronze phase and this color seemed pretty darn perfect.
Burt's Bees Lemon and Vitamin E Body Oil. You know me, oil lover extraordinaire. How could I have passed on the chance to try this?

So now it's all up to you, which one do you want to see reviewed first?

Which product do you want to see reviewed first?
	Moa Green Balm
	Hema Eyeshadow Base
	Catrice Made To Stay Eyeshadow
	Burt's Bees Body Oil
pollcode.com free polls

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L'Occitane Dry Skin Hand Cream

In winter, it's essential to moisturize any part of your skin that gets hit by the cold full on.
Especially when, like me, you mostly forget to wear gloves, your hands will get it. That's why I'm a fan of hand cream in general, but an avid user in winter.
For a long time I was sure I had the right hand cream, but when I tried this one, I was proven wrong.

                         
I LOVE the consistency of this product! 
It's thick enough to feel nourishing but light enough to not leave any unpleasant residue.
For example, I always have cold hands, so after using a hand cream, it's really not nice to have cold and damp hands. No such thing with this. Goes right into the skin and stays there.

Guess what another plus is?
Yep, the Shea Butter. As far as ingredients do, that is one of the few things I really crave in creams. And in this one, you can really feel it.

All in All
I'm actually going to go get some more tomorrow, because I really find it to be greatly moisturizing and has almost 100% good ingredients. Full of oils and butters, it makes for a perfect protection for your hands in winter.

Do you have any favorite hand cream for winter?


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L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil

Ah shower oil, one of my favorites. Being the proud owner of dry skin, everything has the potential of drying it out even more. 

The surprising thing about this shower oil is that it looks like an oil, feels like an oil but in contact with water, it becomes nice and foamy. In a very nice and soft way.
It is one of the few things that doesn't do any bad things to my skin. I've heard some like to use it especially for shaving their legs, as it doesn't leave that parched skin behind.
I like using it after swimming, when my skin has had more than enough of chlorinated water and thus is now even drier than before and it really makes it feel somewhat normal again.
It takes a lot for a product to make my skin feel "not like cracking", and this is one of the few that manage to do that. I get out of the shower with my skin feeling like the one of a normal human being, I would assume.
Almond oil is great for you to begin with, so having this in the shower too, is incredible.

L'Occitane is one of those brands with tradition, where you know you will get the good things you are told. I know that we are used to big foam, big smell and all sorts of spectacular things from the beauty products we use, but this brand delivers lovely smell,foam and still some spectacular things in normal quantities, where nothing gets harmed for the sake of the effect.
I really am a big fan of those who realize the importance of things that go on your skin and make products with that thought.
That's why I will always go for L'Occitane when given the choice.
And I really think that if you have the chance, this shower oil is something you should give a chance to.It's great for your body and once you try it, you might never want to go back to something else.

Have you tried L'Occitane products yet? Maybe this one?




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L'Occitane Goodie Bag

I do like me some gifts, as most of us do. And I like them even more when they are as great as this one I got from my mother.
She's very aware my skin is dry, so she went out and got a little bag of L'Occitane products for me to try.

Soap? I love soap! Good pick there mother.
Hand Cream? Anytime! My hands are craving it really bad this winter.
Shower Oil? Well as a matter of fact, the Almond Shower Oil is my favorite.
Shampoo and Conditioners with essential oils? Essential oils are some of my most faithful friends!

Which brings us to the purpose of this post: which one of these would you like to see reviewed first?
I will get round to reviewing all of them, of course, but if there's one you want to know more about sooner rather than later, this is the time to vote for it.
I'll make sure the review is up by next week.

Which product should I review first?
	Almond Shower Oil
	Shampoo and Conditioner
	Hand Cream
	Soap
pollcode.com free polls

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Favorite Products of 2012

Can you believe it's been another year already? While you're living it it feels long, of course, but when it comes to looking back it feels like it was just yesterday that I was on a train in Germany at -11C hoping to finally get home to that warm shower. I still get chills thinking of those temperatures, which just goes to prove how not so long ago it seems to have been.

Nevertheless, I will show you some things that have really impressed me this past year.    

                      
Vichy Eye Make-Up Remover is a recent discovery and you can read all my raving about it by clicking in the link.
Face Oils: both apricot and argan have been really good friends of mine this year.Starting to use face oils has really helped out my dry skin and if you want, you can read all about the amazing apricot oil HERE.
Rose Water: what a great thing this is! I use it as a toner and you'd be surprised how hydrating it is. I've also written all about it In This Post.
I love...Raspberry & Blackberry Hand Cream: so far, this is the only hand cream that I could feel, works.Normally you'd apply and reapply and still have dry hands, but with this you apply a couple of days and you're set for the week. And this is coming from a person working in an office with the most horrendously dry air.
L'occitane Almond Shower Oil: you would expect me to use oil in the shower also, wouldn't you? Well this one is the one! Smells incredible and is very friendly to my skin.

Make-up wise I also have, of course, a couple of great discoveries.

Eyeko Fat Brush Mascara: ever since I got it in June, I cannot stop raving about it. I also did a review when I first got it that you can find HERE
Rosebut Lip Salve and Dr Organic Rose Otto Lip Serum: are clear proof that I have a thing for roses. These two were included in my post about My Favorite Lip Balms and you will understand why after reading that. For the record, I've been using Rosebud since 2011 and still find it amazing.
Benecos Baked Blush: was the biggest surprise! I had gotten it and a beauty bloggers event but didn't want to use it because the color seemed too dark for me. Very mistaken I was! It is the perfect color with the perfect shimmer, because I do like my shimmers a lot.
Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer: still my favorite concealer. The texture is ideal for me, and so it the "match perfection" that it does. I've reviewed it Right Here back in the day.
Catrice Gel Eyeliner: has been a huge surprise, because I didn't expect such a great product for so little money. I wanted to try a gel liner and this was the only one I could find. Safe to say, we have never been apart since. The full post about it is HERE.
MeMeMe Beat The Blues Highlighter: I wanted Benefit's SunBeam for the longest time and when I finally went to get it, I discovered it was much too orange for me. And then I discovered this one. Match made in heaven! You can see the swatches and the full review in The Post I Wrote About It.
MUA Lipsticks: biggest surprise of the year! Who knew they had such nice lipsticks! It's about lipsticks in general, but if you want to see my favorite, then you can check out my post from earlier this week about the MUA LipBoom in Ok.com.


And last but not least, nail polishes

China Glaze: this was the year of me finally getting my hands on China Glaze polishes and I am extremely happy about that, because they turned out to be my favorite brand. The formula is unbeatable and so is the brush. The one you see here is Surfin' For Boys and it was the neon I had been looking for a long time! If you click on the link you will also see the swatches and you might agree that it's a gorgeous thing. As a matter of fact, I just wore it two days ago.
Barry M Aqua Glitter: I have a glitter obsession but this is beyond anything. First of all, it's a gorgeous polish that has incredible coverage for being just glitter AND it is so easy to remove! I sometimes don't feel like using glitter because I know what it means to remove it, but this one goes off like any other polish.
HERE is what it looks like on my nails.
Essie Bobbing For Baubles: the most craved color of the year. When I first saw it I had to have it, and it took a while before finding, ordering and finally getting it, but oh was it worth it! It's a color that works with anything. It's cool, it's classic, it's anything you like. On top of that, I think it is the most unique color I have seen. Try to give it a name, I dare you.
HERE it is, in all of its shiny glory.


So those were my favorites, what about you, what have some of your favorites been? Feel free to link me in your comment if you have a similar post up!





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