How I Clean My Face

I think all of us have gone through some testing phases until getting to the revelatory point where the cleansing routine has been satisfyingly settled.
Well, my experiment phase seems to have lasted until a couple weeks ago, when many wonderful pieces came together and formed : The Face Cleansing Routine

And with this I'm excluding the part where I remove my eye make-up and throw some micellar water on to be sure all is gone. I know many cleansers say they take off waterproof make-up and all, but I prefer to reduce the rubbing to a minimum, especially around my eyes. That's why I use an efficient removed for that area and then get into the real cleaning with other things so that my skin is breathing happily.

For the record, I do this routine mostly in the evening because my skin is quite good and doesn't need excessive cleansing.  I do sometimes use the Moa Balm under my BB cream in the morning tho, to replace the face oil when I want to change it up a bit.

Here we go then:

The Burt's Bees Orange Essence Facial Cleanser has got to be the best cleanser I have ever tried. As opposed to most cleansers, this thing actually has a real amount of orange oil and it was the first time in my life that after using a cleanser, I felt my skin still be a bit oily. And this is a  gel cleanser, so for the fact that it is so great for dry skin, it gets all the points from me.Not to mention that it also removes make-up effectively, but like I said, I prefer less scrubbing in order to get that one off. 

When I want my skin to feel squeaky clean I will opt for Good Things Fresh Start cleanser. This one doesn't dry out the face, but you feel that it has been cleansed and that you best add some extra moisture to it. Does a great job nevertheless.

Once or twice a week, I also go for the Burt's Bees Peach and Willow Bark Deep Pore Scrub simply because I want to clean things as deep as I can.The surface is a good place to start, but in order to keep the surface happy,you need to make sure the deeper layers are also content. What I completely adore about it is the fact that is has actual peach kernel pieces through it,which do the scrubbing.

And last but not least, my absolute favorite, the Moa Balm. If I were to chose one thing that can do all the cleansing from start to finish and moisturize, it is this product. Basically, it can take your make-up off, even better than the Burt's Bees cleanser actually, it cleans your pores (it is great for acne prone skin) and it moisturizes with its mix of oils.


What are your cleansing favorites?Have you tried any of these?




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June Favorites

It's July. Just take a moment to think about that. More than half of the year has passed and I really can't believe it. It's like spring was just starting yesterday. Crazy! But it also means it's time for some new favorites to appear.

Of course, by the time summer hits, I use less and less things on my face and as you can see, there's almost no make-up in here.

What I was incredibly astounded by was the Real Techniques Shading Brush. I mean, you hear things about a product and you hear everyone hyping it up but you don't really expect it to be THAT great.And then you try it and it's beyond that great.

Let's stick to the face and say that I've found a surprisingly good white pearly eyeshadow. Just perfect for that little highlight on your inner eye corner and on the brow bone. It was sitting there in Boots, at the Natural Collection stand and basically, I just accidentally looked at it as that display really doesn't look too appealing. But guys, the shade is magnificent! It's called White Opal and that is basically what it looks like also.

One more for on the face is the Mario Badescu Enzyme Revitalizing Mask. My thing with Mario Badescu products is that some contain parabens and I prefer not interacting with those, but this mask is clear of that and leaves my skin in the most splendid condition!

Moving on to lips and not only, I think you've seen me swoon about the Moa Balm  a lot, and for good reason. It cleanses,it hydrates, it heals, it basically does everything in just one miracle balm. If I use it as my last step in removing makeup I get the happiest skin you could think of, and it seems to work wonders for acne also.

Balm-wise, I'm overjoyed to have gotten the Nuxe Reve de Miel because it's so thick and efficient, you just need to apply it once a day to get immediate results. Needless to say, I've gotten to the stage where balm is not a necessity anymore, all thanks to this little pot.

Then the nails of course. Favorites have been Essie's Mint Candy Apple and Barry M Greenberry. If my mint obsession was not obvious until now: here you go! You can see the Essie swatch Here and the Barry M one Here .

Hair - wise, I'm a devoted Aussie user, but since on my trip to London I only had hand luggage with me, it meant I could only do minis. And so it came to pass that the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Conditioner and John Frieda Full Repair met and formed the most beautiful pair in hair history. I cringe at the thought that my 3 Minute Miracle is about to run out, but one cringeworthy thought at a time I say. Keeping it optimistic.

The same kind of London circumstances happened with me buying the Body Shop White Musk Libertine Eau de Parfum. It was there, I was there, I saw it, I smelled it, and even if I usually am not a fan of musky things, this pink thing somehow attached itself to my nostrils in quite a convincing manner. And here we are, still as happy as ever with each other.                  



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My Travel Skincare Mini Kit

By the time you read this, I'll be in London so you will also notice less posting until sometime next week. But for that trip, and because I'm only traveling with hand luggage, I need some minis for my face to stay happy. 
I didn't really find all of the things that I use, for example, you will see my Vichy Eye Makeup Remover replaced with one from Sephora. Not as gentle on the eyes as Vichy but definitely gets the job done.
The Bioderma Sensibio has also been replaced with two Micellar Waters from Vichy. Why, you ask? Well because I couldn't find minis of the exact products I was looking for.

                             

Here's the List:

- Vichy Normaderm Micellar Water

- Vichy 3 in 1 Purete Thermale Micellar Water

- Sephora Waterproof Eye Make-Up Remover

- Mario Badescu Cleansing Milk

- Mario Badescu Ceramide Eye Gel (very handy for tired eyes that I always seem to have)

- Mario Badescu Honey Moisturizer

- Mario Badescu Caviar Night Cream

- MOA Balm ( cannot travel without this )

- Mario Badescu Enzyme Revitalizing Mask

- REN Biomimetic Lip Balm

I'm quite glad I managed to cover all my bases and actually find minis or sample sizes of my favorite things. You can see I put a lot in the "face cleaning" section because that is the most important thing to me: having a clean face.

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May Favorites

                         

Quite pink this month, aren't we?
I've managed to get a sorta flu last month, which has led to some magnificent revelations, like how the MOA Balm can basically do anything, from cleaning your face, to keeping it hydrated to curing rashes from constant nose blowing. I'm not sure there's enough space here to go on about how incredibly grateful I am to this thing.
Then  we have the oils, one that is almost empty and in need of refilling is the Burt's Bees Lemon & Vitamin E Body Oil. I'm quite sure I will pledge allegiance to Burt's Bees soon.
The generic Castor Oil has also proven to be a grand ol' invention of nature. Apply it on lashes and brows and it will make them fuller and stronger. Same goes for your hair and the hardening part for the nails. I will say though, I heard stories of wild hair appearing anywhere this oil touched the skin. I'm here to tell you "not really". It takes a while for this thing to have effect, so don't panic if you drop oil on your chin. No goatee will pop up.
A surprising favorite is the L'Erbolario Rose Shower Gel. I say surprising because its smell reminds me more of hospital and almost not at all of rose, but it has such great ingredients and leaves the skin so nice that I've been tempted to ignore the sanitary smell.
The nails have seen a significant increase of Orly Gumdrop use, as you can see on my nails here, here and more recently here.
And of course: the face. I'm still using the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream and my one true lash friend, the Eyeko Fat Brush Mascara. Both still impressing me a long time into using them. You can read the respective reviews by clicking the links and I must say, my opinion has only improved since.

And what are some of your favorites?





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On My Nightstand | The Flu Edition

The past week or so I've managed to have the privilege of not being able to use my airways to their full extent. What am I saying, I haven't been able to use them at all. That's why, I would like to show you some of the things that have been keeping me good company during this time.

Tissues and lots of 'em! As you can see I stacked up quite a bit, but by now I've use them so much that my brain hurts from the intense nose blowing. Speaking of noses, one cannot survive without the nose drops. I'd like to tell you more about the miraculous teal drops but all I know is the doctor has spoken and I listened. Then of course, my friend for sinus: Nurofen. I don't like taking pills of any sort, and only grab one in cases of almost certain death or...you know...sinus shattering pain. I can always rely on these pills though to save the day.

In terms of Vitamins, you need them! I chose to chew on Goji Berries because they're the all round miracle fruit. Another favorite have been lemons which I just put in anything I could.

Then, for some breathing help, I dragged along the Mint Essential Oil because it helps with clearing the airways.

And then, finally some "beauty" bits. I had completely forgotten how dehydrated you get when you're sick. My lips have not been this dry for as long as I can remember, but thank God for the Nuxe Reve de Miel , because it is the thickest, most "I wanna stay on!" lip balm I have met.At one point though, the texture started feeling too thick and I switched to the MOA Balm . Now, let me tell you, without this balm I would have been really bad off. Because it has acted as a face cleanser,moisturizer,nose soother from the constant tissue rubbing and lip balm. It contains Tea Tree Oil (among many other great oils) and my skin decided it only wants to have the MOA at one point. The smell was also perfect for a sicko such as myself, as it was both soothing and refreshing. Cleaned my face perfectly and kept it hydrated so well that you couldn't even tell I was sick from just looking at my skin's state. At one point, the thing was actually glowing and I had to take a moment and laugh at the contradiction. I mean, I was suffering there and my skin was just flourishing away.

So now you know what my nightstand currently looks like and what's been keeping me well during this nice time.

                            

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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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Recently On My Lips

                            

I don't know if you're aware yet, but beside nail polishes I'm a bit of a compulsive lip balm collector. I can never have enough and it recently turned out to come in handy because my lips have been going through a rebel phase where even after drinking more than 2 liters of water a day, they still look and feel dry. Still haven't gotten to the bottom of it, but like most things wrong with my skin, I can probably trace it back to the ventilation system in the office.

In any case, I have some of the golden oldies like the Rosebud Lip Salve  that might be petrolatum based but has done miracles for my lips throughout time, then some very new ones I'm somewhat undecided about. Those would be the Nivea Lip Butters. I have always liked Nivea, basically because we have all grown up with it but  I've read the ingredients of the lip butters and there's a bucketload of paraffin in there. Something I really don't want anywhere on me. And that brings me to my freakout in retrospect, is the Nivea classic cream also full of paraffin ? I'm afraid to Google that because paraffin is a side product of petroleum and it's one of those really badass mineral oils. But like I said, they are really new purchases so I have yet to try them out properly. But what I can tell you is free from any mineral oils is the MOA Green Balm . Only oils on the ingredient list makes it the most multifuntional balm I own.I can use it as a hand cream,face cream and lip balm. 

Then we have the Order of the Tube, starring Dr Organic Rose Otto Serum, which is ideal for the cold days where you want to make sure your lips don't get the full frost.It's a thick-ish balm that you really feel is doing something for your lips. Keeping is rosey, next on the list is Balance Me Rose Otto  Intensive Lip Salve. What I like most about this are the ingredients and the smell that really makes me feel there's no BS about it. No fake scents, it just lets the balm do all the talking. Now, I'm someone who tends to get anything off my lips in no time. Same goes for this and it's a pity because I have a feeling, would it have be able to reside more on there, it would have accomplished even more.

Last but not least we have Sportsgirl Smooth Operator Paw Paw Balm. In case you are like me and have no clue what Paw Paw is..... it's Papaya. Yep, it isn't the magical paw of an indigenous magical bunny like we all assumed.

This thing is awesome! Even thicker than the Dr Organic serum and even more long lasting. I can usually judge how desperate my lips are by the time it takes them to soak up this balm. Recently, it's been gone in no time.

What are some of your favorite lip case products? 

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MOA The Green Balm

                            

Early this year I decided it was finally time to get some things from Feelunique and while browsing, I stumbled upon this little piece of goodness.

Initially I had no idea what it did or what it was for, but reading more about it made me really want to try it because basically, it was described as the Everything Balm.

I will admit that I had huge expectations from this balm and I will also admit that in the beginning, I didn't think it rose up to them. But that was because I was smearing it on my lips like a mad woman expecting magic to occur.It is more of a long term miracle worker when it comes to lips.

Then I remembered, this is the "everything balm" not the "lips only balm". So one day, at the office, I felt like my chin was starting to flake. It was just a feeling, it wasn't happening, but feeling such dry skin on yourself is  anything but great. So after thinking a bit how I could remedy it, I grabbed the Moa balm out of my bag        ( yes, I always have it with me), and applied the TINIEST bit on my chin. Instant relief! For the entire day!

That's when I noticed that this balm could indeed be THE secret weapon against dry spots of any kind.

I've even tried it as a hand cream since and I think it is the best one I've tried. Even if it's not an actual hand cream, it even does a better job that the L'Occitane Dry Hand Cream with Shea Butter, which you know, is a specialized hand cream.

I just need a tiny drop and it's enough for all over my hands, because it has not an oily, but creamy-oily consistency if it makes sense. You can feel that it's nice and fatty but it's incredibly smooth, spreads really well and sinks into your skin in no time,so no fatty residue is left. Absolutely incredible for hands.

I will always be an activist for the MOA and its dry skin saving properties.

Can you see the amazing ingredients that it has? All natural or of natural origin and all super soothing and incredible for the skin. It smells like...well... tea tree. It's a very soothing smell to have on you.

All in All

Holy Grail this one. I had just gotten the mini, but even if I am utterly addicted to this balm, I think I'll still buy a mini next time, simply because it's very handy to just throw in your bag and carry around.

Not to mention that I've been using it for almost 2 months, all over my skin, and it you can barely see that it's been used, that's how little you need.

It really is a miracle balm. 

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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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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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