January - May haul 2025

So much for sticking to my no buy 2025 - where I gave myself the exception to purchase two items until Black Friday sales in 2025! I caved in three times, as I purchased three items, and that in effect when only just over three months have passed of the year! 

The first purchase was made on my birthday whilst on a work-trip abroad. In came the "birthday" blues - so a trip to Target was just the medicine where I ended up buying myself a elf blush. The other purchases were two different lip balms - one from Refy and the other from Violette Fr. Then some other stuff came into my possession in the form of gifts and purchases, mainly hair-products, a category which I have so far not been wild about. 

Hair towel, mini Guinot products and a hair serum

Sephora gift, samples, and a gifted facemask

Kerastase conditioner and shampoo

Cosrx - The 6 peptide skin booster (30 ml): This was the Utla birthday gift in 2025 - and I was fortunate enough to be close to a Ulta store in my birthday month to pick one up.

Aquis flip - hair drying tool - wove with copper sure: This hair towel I ran into at a Marshalls store in Baltimore. This one is woven with copper which is supposed to be good for the hair. It was on a really nice discount, well turns out the elastic was not very well sown into the base. So I had to sow it up again. But as I have been dealing with hair-loss it is worth giving a go.

Elf - Camo liquid blush - Peach perfect (4 ml): This I got tempted to buy on my birthday in February, wandering around the isles in Target being hit with a wave of the birthday blues. Since I have perhaps used it two or three times, it is a very soft color.

Guinot - Micellaire cleansing water (30 ml): My sister had already gifted me a x-mas calendar containing these Guinot products. But my mom was also gifted this calendar, and she figured she would not use any of them, so she ended up giving me a few of them. 

Kerastase Genesis - Fortifying serum (90 ml): I have been dealing with considerable hair-loss in the last six months or so, and after seeing this being recommended all over social media I decided to grab a bottle during the Sephora sale. It turned out to be hard to find it in store, as I had to visit three different stores in Washington DC to find it in stock. You are supposed to use it every day, in combo with the shampoo and conditioner from the same line. I have not used it like that, but when it is getting closer to a hair-wash day, I put it in the day in before a wash. The smell of this product is nice, but it tends to linger for at least 24 hours. I have also started taking hair-vitamin on a regular basis, and hope I will able to turn this hair-loss around. 

Guinot - Express eye makeup remover (30 ml): This was also re-homed to me from my mom. 

Guinot - Hydra toning lotion (30 ml): The last item I got from my mom. I better start using some of these items, as I have duplicates by now. But they are the perfect size to take to work or on holiday. 

L'occitane - Hand cream - dry skin (30 ml): One of my co-worker who was flying with us on standby, gifted all of the crew small hand-creams. A perfect size for the handbag.

Refy - Tinted lip gloss - Taupe (13 ml): This was a 100% weakness purchase. I had seen this color featured on some social media. And during a layover in Washington I forgot my lip-balm at my hotel room, and instead of me going back to fetch it - I popped into the next Sephora store and bought this one. The color is super soft though - and does hardly show up on my lips at all, I might as well have purchased the clear gloss. But then my lips are quite rosy pigmented. 

Summer Fridays - Lip butter balm - Pink sugar (7 g): This was a part of the Sephora birthday gift for 2025 - so of course I decided to grab the free gift this year.

Summer Fridays - Jet lag mask (15 g): Also a part of the Sephora birthday gift, and have I heard nice things about this mask.

Violette Fr - Bisou Jelly - Bonbon Caramel (2.5 g): This is a brand I have had my eye on for some time, and now it just launched in Sephora. So I got tempted to buy one item in New York. Not sure the color suits me very well, it is described as a warm caramel color, maybe I will just put it aside for a few months as it might be more suitable in the autumn. 

Summer Fridays - Rich cushion cream ultra plumping moisturizer (2 ml): The third and last item in the Sephora birthday gift.

Elemis - Pro-collagen marine cream (2 x 2 ml): This most likely came into my possession at Sephora, as some free samples they give you with purchase. 

Sephora - Green tea eyes mask (6 g): A friend gifted this to me for my birthday.

PS - Two blender sponges: I came across these at the register at Primark, and I decided to give them a try.

Kerastase Genesis - Fortifying anti hair-fall conditioner (200 ml): After I bought the hair serum from the same line, I saw a summer giftbox on a 20% discount in one of the hair salons of Reykjavik, so I decided to splurge and buy the shampoo and conditioner.

Kerastase Genesis - Anti hair-fall fortifying shampoo (200 ml): This was a part of previously mentioned gift set. I have only used it once, so it's too soon to say if it works. I am also taking hair vitamins on the regular, so any improvement will probably be two sided.  

So all in all - quite the fail from a no-buy until Black Friday 2025. I did give myself the exception to purchase two items until that time, well in the period of January - May I have indeed purchased three items, two of them being a lip product. The third; a liquid blush. Ironically when this spring powder blushes are making a serious comeback. And what on earth do I have to do with more lip glosses when I had 14 lip-glosses before and 7 lip balms? Totaling now in 15 lip glosses and 8 lip balms! It usually takes me years to finish one lip-balm or gloss.... 

Something really needs to change! And the only person who has the power to do it, well it's me!

July - September haul 2024

As per usual some items keep rolling into my possession, let's not even talk about the stuff you see and grab whilst you are on holiday, or the items you purchase for your upcoming trip. 

Mix of Sephora, Target, Amazon and Denmark purchases

Wrinkles schminkles giftbag

Haul mostly from Helsinki and Greece

Biossance - Squalane + marine algae eye cream (3 ml) and Squalane + omega repair cream (15 ml): This I decided to use some of my Sephora points on, moistly as I forgot my moisturizer on a work trip to the US, and also as I was going on holiday and this was a perfect travel size moisturizer for the trip, and I had previously gotten a sample of the cream, and I really did like it.

Miild - Skin glow tinted beauty balm in 02 Soft coral (7.9 ml): This was a recent launch from Miild, and I simply could not resist. The hardest thing was actually to choose the color as all of their options were super cute.

Numbuzin - 2 Cica repair cream (60 ml): This I ordered on Amazon, as it is supposed to be similar to Dr. Jart ceramidin skin barrier cream.  

Miild - Cleansing cream, mild and light for dry and sensitive skin (100 ml): I decided to pick this up on a short holiday in Copenhagen. As this is a brand I am very interested in.

Derma - 30 Sun lotion high spf (150 ml): I picked this up in Fotex in Copenhagen, I was running low on my spf 30 and this grabbed my attention with the "bedst i test" label and being fragrance free.

Herbal Essences - Rose hips shampoo (100 ml): This I picked up in Target specially for holiday 

Herbal Essences - Rose hips conditioner (100 ml): The same for this as the shampoo, perfect size for travelling 

GIVE Beauty - Eye see in sparkle multidimensional eye pigment in the color Dazzle (5.5 g): So much for not falling for a discount! I had been keeping an eye on this product ever since I saw it featured in one of Erin Nicole's videos and had been wondering if I should pull the trigger on it or not. Then when I saw it was on offer, I did indeed pull the trigger.  

CeraVe - Hydrating facial cleanser for normal to dry skin (87 ml): This I also picked up in Target, as I managed to forget my mini Drunk Elephant deluxe sample size at the pool. So I needed a new facial cleanser to take with me to the gym or to the pool. 

Farmacy - Green clean makeup meltaway cleansing balm (20 ml): This I got as a gift with purchase with the Give eye sparkle. I have wanted to try this makeup cleanser, so now is the perfect time to try a mini one. 

Dior - Diorshow maximizer 4D (10 ml): I had an older version of this product (then called 3D) but I had to change it out as I got an eye infection and had to take out the mascara and the Dior 3D maximizer I was using at the time. I have yet not tried this one out, but if it is any good as the 3D I am sure it will be amazing.

Wrinkles Scminkles giftbag - Wrinkles schminkles morning after glow serum (60 ml), Forehead wrinkle patches (2 patches), Neck wrinkle patch, Chest wrinkle patch, mouth & lip wrinkle patches (2 patches), Eye wrinkle patches (6 patches), Self dissolving microneedle patches (4 patches), Silicone patch cleanser (6 x 1.5 ml), 2 scrunchies and a spa headband: This I won in a online Facebook giveaway, I have been curious about this brand for some time, now I can try these multi use patches.

Lumene - Nordic berry length & volume - mascara with cranberry and lash lengthening complex in brown (8 ml): I easily broke my "no buy" on mascaras as I came across the Lumene brand at Helsinki airport. I used to love their blueberry mascara, but as that type did not come in a brown color, so I decided to pick this one up. And I found out the price difference between this product in the supermarket in Helsinki vs. the HEL airport is 2 Euro cheaper at the airport.

Biafin - Skin emulsion (100 ml): Finally I ran into the OG Biafin cream, it is supposed to be good for sensitive skin, minor burns and rashes. 

Olivolio - Deep hydration foot care cream (150 ml): I have bought this before for my mom, and she absolutely loves it, so as I was recommended to use a foot cream, it made perfect sense to pick this up whilst on holiday in Greece.

Donkey milk treasures - Lip balm organic olive oil & beeswax natural spf 15+ (3.2 g): I seem to have managed to loose my spf lip balm, so I grabbed this one in the supermarket in Greece. The packaging is a little bit rinky dink, but the product inside is ok. 

Pharmacy skincare - L300 Normal to combination skin face cream light sensitive (60 ml): The skincare aisle in the supermarket in Helsinki was amazing, so it became the ultimate temptation to buy some skincare there, I was originally going to buy a cream from a Finnish brand that my friend uses, but that turned out to contain parabens, so I opted for this Norwegian brand instead.

Lumene - CC all over concealer in 0.5 light (8.5 ml): This concealer had a massive stand in the supermarket in Helskinki. Did I need a concealer? Definitely not, but somehow it ended in my basket anyway! 

Skinfix - Triple lipid-peptide cream (2 ml): This I got as a sample from Sephora by the entrance when I went in there one day. 

Pff.. now it is seriously time to pull the breaks on this shopping addiction.

January - March Haul 2023

 So here is what I hauled in January to March, plus a few birthday treats....

Cosmetics and a hair oil

Skin care

Ilia - Multi stick - At last (2.5 g): This was a part of the Sephora birthday gift I chose for myself this year

Ilia - Limitless mascara - After midnight (3 g): This mascara sample also came with the Sephora birthday gift.

JVN - Complete pre-wash scalp oil (50 ml): I decided to pick this up, as I have been dealing with an itchy scalp in the last few weeks. Hope it will work some magic for me.

Ilia - The necessary eyeshadow palette - Cool Nude (6x1.5 g): I had been quite interested in a talc-free eyeshadow formula as my eyelids have started to feel quite dry, and borderline peeling at times. So this being talc free and with vitamine E sounded like a great idea. It was some bit of a learning curve how to use the shades, they are quite powder and at first they seemed hard to blend, but the formula requires me to put down the light color all over my eyelid as base, before working on the other colors.

Maybelline - Expert wear eyeshadow - 40S Nude glow (2.3 g): I got this one by a recommendation from Jessica Braun - and supposedly it is a close dupe to Mac All that glitters. 

Inglot - Eyeshadow matte - 356 (3 g): I grabbed this single shadow during an online discount with Inglot. But I had been eyeing the Dior Backstage Cool neutrals palette, as it had similar colors to the Ilia Cool Nude one, but the Ilia was missing a matte light pink shade. So I decided to order it online from Inglot to be able to get a similar look to the Dior palette. 

RMS Beauty - Buriti bronzer (5.67 g): My friend gave me a credit in Elira, a relatively new beauty store in Iceland. They sell amongst other brands RMS and Roen. So it was a hard choice between this bronzer, an RMS blush or a Roen quad. And I decided with the Buriti bronzer as I would get the most use out of it. 

Kjær Weis - Eye pencil - Brown (1.1 g): I picked this up in Blue Mercury in NYC for a ridiculous price for an eye-liner, due to it not being a "refill" but as it came with the silver cap. The brown color is beautiful, and I will for sure buy a refill going forward. It is supposedly organic and I assume better for your eyes. 

Neutrogena - Cica-repair hand mask (1 pair): My friends gave this to me as a part of a care pack - when we went to Copenhagen for my birthday trip. 

Up & Up - Advanced scar gel skin protectant (20 g): I was on the hunt for a Mederma in Target, but I spotted this one next to Mederma, and it has exactly the same ingredients in it, and was considerably cheaper than Mederma. So I picked this up for my chapped knee, hoping it will diminish the likelihood of a permanent scar.

Biotherm - Aquasource gel (1 ml): This sample also came with my birthday care pack.

Biotherm - Aquasource Aura concentrate - Intense regenerating serum moisture and glow (2 ml): Also a part of the birthday care pack.

Biotherm - Aqua glow super concentrate (1 ml): Part of the birthday care pack.

Biotherm - Aqua pure super concentrate (1 ml): And lastly, also a part of the birthday care pack. 

So with these purchases, I have managed to use up my color cosmetics shopping quota for January - May - and it's only March!!

August - October Haul 2022

 So I lost it a little bit in the eye-shadow department in these last few months

Cream eyeshadow and brushes

Liquid eyeshadow, makeup removers and eye cream

Sheet mask and facial concentrates

Body care, hair care, creams and lotions

Facial masks and testers

Maybelline - Color tattoo eyeshadow - Socialite (4 g): I have one eyeshadow from the original launch of the color tattoo, and I absolutely love it. It is one of those products that I am actually close to finishing, as I believe it used to be a part of a project pan in 2019.  

RMS beauty - Eye polish - Solar (4,25 g): RMS launched a new series of cream eyeshadows, this type being the old one, and thus on a good discount on the RMS website, so I decided to snatch one up before they go off the market forever.

Revlon - Colorstay cream eyeshadow - 730 praline (5,2 g): I bought this one at the same occasion as the Maybelline one would you believe? The color is beautiful, but the packaging is awful, yes the base is clear class, but the lid is extremely difficult to screw off if it has remained closed for a few days -  so difficult as a matter of a fact, ones hand hurts trying to unscrew it, which makes it not worth it to keep it as it is such a hustle to get into.

BK beauty - 107 flat brush: I had been curious about the BK beauty brand from the moment they launched, as I had watched Lisa J on Youtube for some time before they launched. So I took the advantage of a discount they had running on their web-page. 

BK beauty - 101 contoured foundation brush: this brush I was the most curious about out of the entire BK beauty collection. So far I have only used it a handful of times, but it does an immaculate job of blending out foundation. 

Armani beauty - Eye tint liquid eyeshadow - 11 rose ashes (3,9 ml): ttsandra raved about this product, and especially this color in one of her youtube videos. And me being on the light pink eyeshadow train, and the Armani website having a sale, it somehow ended up in my posession. 

Bioderma - Micellar water makeup remover (250 ml): I have wanted to give this one a try for several years now, so it was about time I picked it up.

Skinfix - Barrier + triple lipid boost 360 brightening eye cream (15 ml): after experiencing dry flaking eye-lids, I decided to grab this eye cream in Sephora, to have in my beauty bag for work. So this one now comes with me when I stay abroad for work, as well as I grab it when at home, and it feels super calming and moisturizing. 

Sephora - Waterproof eye makeup remover (200 ml): a tried and true staple in my arsenal of makeup removers.

Garnier - Moisture bomb sheet mask (32 g): my friend bought me the sweetest "take care" package when I was at home with a bad flu at the end of August - tea, honey, candy, cinnamon buns and a facial mask! What a friend!! I was close to tears I tell you!

La Roche-Posay - Hyalu B5 serum, anti-wrinkle concentrate repairing replumping (30 ml): well you will spot a theme here, three anti wrinkle serums/concentrates? Well I guess it is safe to assume the fact the big 4-0 is approaching soon is getting to me. 

La Roche-Posay - Retinol B3 serum, anti-wrinkle concentrate renewing resurfacing (30 ml): did I need another concentrate from La Roche-Posay, I guess not, but apparently could not stop myself. Where I am going to find the time to slather all these products on my face, and with the amount of products that await to be used, god knows when I will come around to it.

Ecooking - Night cream (50 ml): This came as a free gift with purchase in Magasin Copenhagen when I bought a few hand soaps from the same brand. And this brand is actually something I am quite interested in, vegan, clean and free from unnecessary ingredients (assumedly).

Joico - K-pak Color therapy - Color protecting shampoo (1 L): I picked this up in Marshalls in Toronto, as I love to buy big jugs of shampoo and conditioner, then you do not have to think about buying it again for months at a time.

Dove - 0% aluminum sensitive deodorant (74 g): like with the eyeshadows I am also on a deodorant shopping spree? I mean how many armpits do I have? Well one good thing is that my previous deodorant is about to be finished 

Lumene - Nordic bloom anti-wrinkle & firm moisturizing v-shape serum (30 ml): as Lumene is a brand I really love, I decided to pick up this serum while in Copenhagen. Now I just have to finish a few of the ones waiting in line among my backup products. 

Mario Badescu - Drying lotion (29 ml): in the last few months, I have started to develop pimples on my face, this being an issue I have not had to deal with for several years, I decided to pick this drying lotion up which is supposed to work miracles against blemishes. 

CeraVe - Therapeutic hand cream (85 g): I was flying with a co-worker who really recommended this hand cream, as with flying, frequent washing of your hands and hand sanitizer they tend to be very dry.

Nature Republic - Real nature mask sheet - olive, bamboo, acai berry, tomato and green tea (23 ml each): My friend who went to S-Korea came bearing gifts after her holiday, five facial masks and a few samples from this brand I have once come across in Toronto before. 

Nature Republic - Vitapair C - dark spot serum: I might have to google how to use these samples.

Nature Republic - Snail solution, emulsion: some version of a snail cream - I am exited to try

Nature Republic - Snail solution, skin booster: same for this one. I seriously have to get working on my samples though! 

I seriously need to stop shopping....

January - May haul 2022 + Birthday gifts

So it's way due for an updated haul for the fist part of the year + what I got gifted for my birthday in February

The items I have collected so far in 2022

Testers of body butters and a sheet mask

The body shop - Aloe calming toner (250 ml): I love this product, and this is probably my third or fourth repurchase. So when the body shop was having some discount I grabbed a refill.

The body shop - Hemp hard working hand protector (10 ml): This is absolutely the best hand cream I have EVER tried, my mom used to own this stuff. And now it is really needed as my hands are super dry.

Maybelline - Lifter gloss in 003 Moon (5.4 ml): This gloss got so much hype online so I really got tempted to buy it for myself for my birthday, and it really is amazing! To me it is like a better version of Fenty Beauty gloss bomb. The Maybelline has really similar colors, chunky packaging and you do not feel any grit on your lips from the Maybelline one, whereas from the one color I own from Fenty, I feel some grit from the glitter on my lips (but I have sensitive skin so I might feel something that the average person does not sense).

The body shop - Almond nail and cuticle manicure oil (1.8 ml): My friend gifted me this one along with the face mask. It will come in super handy as I have started to fly again, and with the constant hand washing, hand sanitizing and the dry air on the airplanes my hands tend to feel super dehydrated.

The body shop - Body butter Avocado (8 ml): This I got gifted on a bachelorette party we hosted for one of my friends, and all of the girls who attended got a small gift bag containing several body shop testers.

The body shop -  Aloe Calm sheet mask (18 ml): This item my friend also gifted me for my birthday! Sounds intriguing. Will have to resume the Mask Monday ritual again this summer to use some of the masks I have stashed away.

The body shop - Body butter Almond milk (8 ml): This I was also gifted on the bachelorette party

The body shop - Body butter Shea (8 ml): I also got this one in the goodie bag at the bachelorette party. This especially will come in super handy, as my skin is starting to get really dry.

What have you bought so far into the year?

Beauty goals for 2021 - final results

So did I hit my beauty goals for 2021..?

Final results of beauty goals 2021

Lumene - Instant glow beauty serum (30 ml): 

Weight at the start of 2021 (with packaging - as for all of the products): 78 g 

Weight at the end of 2021: 70 g

Goal: was to finish it up - I ended up using only 8 g

Kiko - Stick eyeshadow - 05 (1,64 g): 

Weight at the start of 2021: 11 g

Weight at the end of 2021: 10 g 

Goal: was to use 0,6 g of it - according to the weight I did reach the goal - but I am not so sure, as the scale I use is just a standard kitchen scale 

Garnier - 5 sec perfect blur, soothing perfecting primer (30 ml): 

Weight at the start of 2021: 34 g

Weight at the end of 2021: 32 g.Goal: use 10 g - I used 2 g 

Goal: was to use 10 - I used 2 g - as I used this product probably around 4 times this year I should just stop buying primers

Jergens BB Body perfecting skin cream -all medium to deep skin tones (221 ml): 

Weight at the start of 2021: 95 g

Weight at the end of 2021: 41 g 

Goal: was to finish it up, well I did not reach it

One direction - Our moment eau de parfum (100 ml): 

Weight at the start of 2021: 324 g

Weight at the end of 2021: 304 g 

Goal: was to finish it up, but I did use 20 g in the course of 2021

Lumene - Vitamin C+ anti-puffiness roll-on eye serum (10 ml) - (missing on photo):

Weight at the start of 2021: 10 g

Weight at the end of 2021: 8 g (empty packaging) 

Goal: was to finish it up, which I did

Clarins - Radiance-Plus golden glow booster (15 ml): 

Weight at the start of 2021: 27 g

Weight at the end of 2021: 26 g 

Goal was to use half of the remaining product, or get the product line down to the area where "radiance-plus" is written on the packaging. I did use this in the year of 2021, but I did not reach my goal

Essence - Stay all day concealer - 10 natural beige (7 ml): 

Weight at the start of 2021: 9 g

Weight at the end of 2021: 7 g (empty packaging without stopper)

Goal: was to use it up, I did reach that goal

Victoria's Secret - lip gloss (13 g): 

Weight at the start of 2021: 11 g

Wight at the end of 2021: 9 g

Goal: was to finish it up, ended up using only 2 g

Gina Tricot Beauty - eye-shadow - 42 caramel (1,8 g): 

Weight at the start of 2021: 13 g

Weight at the end of 2021: 11 g (I am sure a lot of the product went down the drain though as the shadow kept crumbling).

Goal: was to hit pan, and that goal I did reach.

So all over I only hit 2 of my goals, finished the Lumene C+ vitamine eye cream and hit pan on the Gina Tricot eye-shadow

Other goals:

1. No impulse buys just because there is a discount - 90% successful - as I was only tempted to buy one gift box in Copenhagen on discount, but still I had had my eye on that gloss for some time. So the other items came as a bonus with the purchase, and at a cheaper price than if I had bought that lip gloss in Iceland by itself
2. Only one eye-palette purchase in 2021 - Yes I did reach this goal as I did not even buy a single eye shadow palette in 2021
3. No body lotion purchase in 2021- Yes did not buy a body lotion in 2021
4. No bronzer purchase in 2021 - Yes did not buy a bronzer in 2021
5. Keep an ongoing wish-list - Yes I did keep an ongoing wish list
6. Use nail-polish at least once a month - Did not reach that goal - maybe used nail polish 3 times during 2021! 

May - December Haul 2021

For the second half of the year 2021 Covid-19 continued to rise and fall, in regards to makeup purchased I made a small order from Colourpop and later in the year I managed to go on a weekend trip to Copenhagen, and as my sister went to Florida for a week, I made a small order on Sephora and used up some points I had with them. 

Haul from USA and Denmark

Haul from Denmark and an order from Colourpop

Becca, Bio Effect and Meraki products

Rare Beauty - Selena's faves 4 pice mini set: Dewy liquid blush - Joy (3,2 ml), Liquid luminizer - Mesmerize (2,5 ml), Matte lip cream - Inspire (3 ml) and Universal volumizing mascara - Black (8 ml). I had this sent to my sister's hotel in Florida, as this was a brand that was not sold in Sephora stores in Denmark. But this was a brand I had been super curious about since it launched. The blush is super pigmented, you only need one dot on each cheek and then blend it out, the same for the hightligter. And the matt lip cream has a very unique formula, it feels somewhat plushy and super comfortable on the lips!! The mascara will have to go in my backup drawer as I am working on finishing older mascaras from my collection. But a small size containing a whopping 8 ml (that is the same amount as a full size Lancome Idole).

Ecooking - Primer (30 ml): I was very curious about this brand, which is a clean Danish brand. I had had by eye on a few different products from them. The poweder-foundations colors were weird in some way, so I did choose to pick up this primer, as it swatched amazing. I just have to up my primer game in 2021.

Nudestix - All over face dewy color - Bohemian Rose (1,8 g): As I was ordering from Sephora and had outstanding points, and this item was available for 100 points I decided to grab it, as the point perks in store are rarely this good.

Kiehl's - Creamy eye treatment with Avocado (14 ml): As my eye-cream is about to be finished I thought it would be a great idea to grab this in Magasin in Copenhagen, as this was a brand that was not sold in Iceland (it launched about one week after I came home from Copenhagen). But Magasin was having some good discounts on Black Friday weekend.

Pure & Care - Konjac sponge: Since I saw this in store in Denmark 2016, I have been curious about this kind of a product, so when I was browsing in Normal in Copenhagen, I grabbed one and I am super curious to try it! 

Colourpop - Cosmic charge (2,1 g): When I saw Amanda Z on Youtube recommend this shadow I just knew I had to get it. And I jumped on board when Colourpop was offering some discounts on their website I decided to grab it.

Colourpop - Ritz (2,1 g): as I was already putting in a Colourpop order, I decided to grab Ritz also, which has been compared to Urban Decay space cowboy single shadow, which of course is not sold in Iceland. Ritz is in a way a kind of a shimmer topper, the shade is fairly sheer, but has nice shimmer in the formula. Something I might have to slab on my eyes over new years! 

Miild - Skin and lip care (15 ml): This was the other Danish brand I was interested in, and they are also a clean brand like Ecooking. Very Danish!! This product I thought was genius, as it is a lip balm, and you can also use it anywhere on your skin, perfect if you have a dry patch on your face, so this is perfect to have on the go if you tend to get dry patches that irritate you during the day.

Miild - Natural Mineral Concealer duo - 01 Light Ample (2,4 g): And as this product swatched so well, and would be perfect for every day, when you are not in the mood to put on a full face. Plus it was on an amazing offer in Magasin. 

Clarins - Beauty must have -01 instant light natural lip perfector (12 ml), hand and nail treatment cream (30 ml), instant eye makeup remover (50 ml) and supra volume mascara (3,5 ml). As I saw this set in Matas, on a 25% discount, making the set cheaper than just the lip gloss in Iceland, and the color of the gloss in the set was a color I had have my eye on already I decided to snatch it up.

Becca - Under eye brightening corrector - Ligt to medium (4,5 g): This I grabbed last minute at the end of summer or September, as Becca closed, and as I recently started to love the little jar I have of this item, so I decided to grab one as a backup before I would not be able to get them. Little did I now that Smashbox picked up a few of Becca's favorite items under Smashbox x Becca - this product being one of them.

Bio Effect - Volcanic exfoliator (280 ml): This I got as a gift with purchase when I bought the Bio Effect EGF eye serum. And omg what a gift with purchase - I just need to start using it!!

Bio Effect - EGF eye serum (6 ml): I was looking for a super light eye cream that I could put onto my skin just above the crease of my eyes - as I felt recently my skin is not looking it's best there, I guess my age is catching up with my, in combination with puffy eyes due to allergies and it needs some tlc.

Meraki [lime] lip balm (4.8 g): My friend gifted me this for Christmas, and what a perfect timing, as I was about to buy a lip balm to put in my handbag.

Well with all these purchases over the year 2021 I will have my work cut out for me in my beauty goals for 2022. But a good development is for sure that there was no eye shadow purchase in the entire year of 2021!!

Beauty goals for 2020

Since the year 2017 I have chosen 10 beauty products each year to focus on for the year, this year being no different.

The products for my beauty goals for 2020

So here come the ten products I decided to focus on for the year 2020, and the reasons why I chose them:

Yves Saint Laurent - Volupté tint in oil - No. 4 (6 ml): Remaining product with packaging 25 g: As this is a lip oil I purchased a few years back, so it is about time for me to use it up, before the oil in the product goes off and becomes unusable. As well as this seems to be a discontinued product from YSL.

Bourjois Paris - Happy light luminous serum primer (15 ml): Remaining product with packaging 56 g: This is the first of two roll over products from 2019. There is just a tiny little bit left, but a small amount goes a long way, and in all honesty I really need a one give me product or two.

Jucy Couture - Viva La Jucy eau de parfum spray (50 ml): Remaining product with packaging 291 g: As this is one of my older perfumes, it is about time for me to use it up before it goes bad. I love the smell far to much to let it go to waste, plus the fact that the color of the perfume seems to have darkened a little bit, which could be an indicator that the scent is about to turn off.

Elizabeth Arden - Green tea honey drops body cream (500 ml): Remaining product with packaging 427 g: So many of my friends have recommended this body cream, so I bought it at the CPH airport a few years back, and have barely used it. As it is an expensive product, and contains mineral oil (which I try not to buy these days), it is due time for it to get used up!

Origins - Drink up 10 minute mask to quench skin's thirst (100 ml): Remaining product with packaging 44 g:This is a roll-over product from 2019. No matter how much effort I put into finishing this product last year I just was not able to finish it. So now in 2020 I really have to grab the bull by the horns and put mask Mondays firmly into place and knock this product out.

Maybelline - Color Sensational lipstick - 235 Warm me up (4,2 g): Remaining product from base of lipstick 2,3 cm: This is one of the older lipstick I own, and seems not to agree with my perioral dermatitis, but I do love the color and want to use it up. I mainly use it for work, and I do not go in every day, so my skin seems to tolerate it in moderate dosages. When it is done, I am for sure going to get a Mac lipstick that is super similar in Modesty - sometime in the future - right after the project? Hopefully not, as I have a lot of lip products to burn through.

Victoria's Secret - Lip gloss (13 g): Remaining product with packaging 15 g: One of the oldest lip glosses I own, and way due to get used up.

Youngblood - Mineral rice setting powder - Medium (10 g): Remaining product with packaging 36 g: Actually this is my only loose powder, but I have several setting powders that I have not broken into yet, in any real way. So I want to knock this one out, to have one less setting powder in my stash.

Alix Avien - Pearly eyeshadow - Bronze: Remaining product from end to tip 7 cm: I thought it could be an excellent idea to focus on one cream eyeshadow product each year. To make sure I am getting some use out of them before they dry out on me, as well as to defer me from buying a whole lot of them, just for them to sit in my collection and go bad. And as I used this in December 2019 I could feel it was not as creamy as when I purchased it, and it is the second oldest cream eyeshadow I have in my collection (after Maybelline color tattoo, which was in my "Beauty goals for 2019"), it was a no brainer to put it in this project. My goal? To use 2 cm of it this year.

Clarins - Lipliner pencil - 02 nude beige (1,2 g): Remaining product from end to tip 12,5 cm: I rarely use lip pencils at all, so as I have five of them in my stash, it was a perfect idea to put one of the older one into this project, as a reminder, both to use lip liners, and to defer me from buying any more of them. My goal is to use half of it up.

Other goals for 2020:

1. No nail polish purchases
2. No purchases just because there is a discount
3. Maximum one cream eyeshadow purchase for the year 2020
4. Maximum two eyeshadow palette purchases in 2020
5. Keep an ongoing wishlist
6. Only one lipstick purchase

Do you have plans to empty something in the coming year?

July-September haul

It seems to have become a standard for me to do an update on my beauty product purchases in about every three months. This being no exception, so here come the items I have purchased abroad and domestically in the last three months:

Face powder, mist, blush. strobe cream, eyeshadow, gloss and a lip brush

Nail polish, cleanser and foot scrub

Boots No. 7 - Lift & luminate triple action translucent finishing powder - Light/Medium (10 g): After I saw Jessica Braun sing praises for this finishing powder, I just could not resist buying it in Target on one of my visits to that store. Did I need it? No. Do I need it in the next 4 months? Probably not...

Mac - Strobe cream - pinklight (50 ml): I had heard so many good things about this product, I was really curious to try. so far I really do like it, it gives the skin a subtle glow and also works good if I mix it with my foundation. But to my surprise I found out later that you can purchase a smaller version of this product. If I had known that I would for sure have bought the smaller, over the whopping 50 ml bottle.

Sephora Collection - Pro lip brush #85: This purchase was probably the most sensible one out of this haul, as it is perfect to use to finish up lipsticks that are almost done.

Caudalie - Beauty elixir (30 ml): I have been curious to try this facial mist, as many of the beauty bloggers rave about it. And as I managed to lower my "stock" of face mists, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to grab this 30 ml one to try. 

L'oreal skin awakening blush - 01 peach addict (9 g): I am just a sukker for blushes and offers, even though I had decided that one of my beauty goals for 2019 would be not to make a purchase just because there is an offer. Failed once again.

Tromborg eyeshadow - Winter leaf (2,5 g): I really love the Tromborg eyeshadow I already owned, so I really wanted to add another one into my collection. And I picked a really basic usable color, brown, a bit on the darker side.

Clarins - Natural lip perfector - 06 (12 ml): This has long been a very popular gloss in Iceland, and I had never tried it so one day in the duty free I decided to give it a try.

Essie gel couture duo - Fairy tailor and top coat (13,5 ml): I previously had set the goal for myself in 2019 not to buy any colored nail polishes, but I had heard such good things about the top coat, and this duo was on a good deal, so I caved in and bought it.

Matas Natur - 2 in 1 Cleansing milk, e-vitamin and aloe (200 ml): When I was in Copenhagen this summer for one day, I went back to my old "stomping-grounds" in the Danish capital. Rented a bike and biked around all my favorite places, school and old neighbourhood, with a few stops in my favorite stores; Matas included. And they have really renovated the stores, and they look amazing! There I came across their Matas Natur line, which is formulated without all the bad ingredients you can find in cosmetics. And from that line this cleansing milk appealed the most to me - so it came home with me.

Footlogix - Exfoliating seaweed scrub (250 ml): Me and my mom went to a spa in Montréal this summer, and both of us really liked this product the beautician used on us. So we both ended up buying a bottle.

So 10 new items in the last three months? Seriously, as much as I have set myself a goal to finish in 2019? Now something really has to change!

Empties January - April 2019

So here is a small summary of the items I have used up in the first four months of the year + one declutter.

Empties + declutter Jan-April 2019

The body shop - Aloe calming toner (250 ml): an amazing toner, that did not irritate my skin, or my perioral dermatitis in the slightest. Love love love.

Pantene Pro-V - Radiant color shine shampoo (375 ml): an average shampoo, at a good price for the size of the bottle, have nothing to complain about it. But I am no shampoo snob, so I have no idea what is a good or a bad shampoo.

Jean Paul Gaultier - Scandal eau de parfum (tester): A nice sample of the Scandal perfume, not in love enough though to purchase. To strong for every day use in my opinion, plus I have too many perfumes

Herbal essences - Hydralicious reconditioning conditioner for dry/damaged hair (300 ml): my favorite conditioner, makes my hair so soft and nice, too bad it has been discontinued, but I do hope I find another shampoo and conditioner in their range I will love as much as this one.

The body shop - Vitamin E overnight serum-in-oil (28 ml): Another love from The body shop, really love this serum-in-oil, as it seems to calm my perioral dermatitis, will 100% buy again.

L'Occitane en provence - Verveine body lotion (250 ml): A light average body lotion, that was a part of my beauty goals for 2019. I will not go out of my way to repurchase.

Rimmel - Scandaleyes waterproof kohl kajal in 005 nude (1,2 g): This item is the one I decided to declutter from my collection as it basically fell apart on me, as the kohl itself fell out of the pencil, and as it was very dried out and loose in the pencil, I decided to declutter it. In theory I would like to get a nude eye-pencil, but I tend not to use one on a daily basis, plus I have found out that the pencils that come in a wood pencil, tend to last longer, over the ones that are packed in plastic. Or they tend to keep their moisture for a longer time.

Inglot - Bright amber - solid perfume (2,3 g): Another item I used up that was a part of  my beauty goals for this year. I did like the smell, but am not so into solid perfumes.

Dr. Hauschka - regenerating day cream - sample (1,5 ml): A tester I got of this very nice day cream, a light and easily absorbed texture. And would I in deed consider buying it in full size, well when I have made some dent in my stash of day-creams.

Have you finished anything up recently?

X-mas and birthday gifts

It is about time that I summarize up what I got for X-mas and for my birthday, which was on the 11th of February.

Nyx Ultimate shadow palette - warm neutrals, Chanel Soleil tan de Chanel - bronze universel 

and GlamGlow - waterburst hydrated glow moisturizer

GlamGlow - bubblesheet mask and Nyx - born to glow highlight palette

Morphe x James Charles 

Escada - Especially Escada delicate notes

Inika - truly organic - Pure rosehip oil

Nyx - Ultimate shadow palette in warm neutrals (13,28 g): a friend gave me this palette, which was something I had been contemplating buying for myself for months as I did not own any warm color eyeshadows prior. I am still having a learning curve in how to do my eye-makeup with warm colors, but it has a bunch of options that goes from neutral to dramatic, casual to events.

Chanel - Soleil tan de Chanel in bronze universel (30 g): another friend gave me this all so hyped bronzer for my birthday, something that was in deed on my wish-list. And in deed it is a lovely product.

GlamGlow - Waterburst hydrated glow moisturizer (15 ml): I got this with the bubblesheet mask for X-mas, and am I super excited to give this brand a try as I have not tried any of their products (apart from getting a free mini-spa mask treatment at the mall during a promotion).

GlamGlow - Bubblesheet oxygenating deep cleanse mask (1 mask): I am also super excited to try this mask out, as the brand is mainly known for their masks. 

Nyx - Born to glow highlighting palette (28,8 g): a beautiful highlighter palette my friend gifted to me over the holidays 2018. Slowly but surely becoming my favorite.
Morphe - The James Charles palette (75,7 g): my nephew was so kind to give me my favorite item for my birthday, a makeup item! And is this as a matter of a fact my first colorful eyeshadow palette, and my first Morphe product ever. So I am super excited to give it a try, and am in no doubt I can create a myriad of looks with it.
Escada - Especially Escada delicate notes (50 ml): I was gifted this scent from my parents for x-mas 2018. The scent is described as airy, fresh rose and grapefruit scent on Fragrantica.com
Inika - truly organic - Pure rosehip oil (15 ml): my mom gave me this oil for my birthday, but I had put it on a wish-list, as I heard rosehip oil is supposed to be really good for perioral dermatitis. So I am super excited to give it a try.

What is new in your "collection"?

Beauty goals for 2019 / Project pan 2019

So as it is the last day of 2019 it's about time to mark out my beauty goals for 2019, or project pan if you like.

So as in previous years I have selected ten items from my beauty stash, a combo of makeup, body and hair care. Some are far along, others not so much. 

So let's see what I will be dealing with in the year of 2019...

First seven products

Last three products

Lumene - Bright now vitamin C eye cream (15 ml): This item has been in use for such a long time, I think it's about time to use it up, and a rough estimate I guess I have about 4 ml left. As well I have another eye cream waiting to get used, it's an ideal goal to finish this one up.

Cover Girl - Ready set gorgeous in the color 115 (30 ml): This item is my oldest cream foundation, and truth be told probably over it's shelf life, but as long as it does not smell weird or have a weird texture I will continue to use it. The remaining product is though hard to estimate as the packaging isn't see-through, but when I squeeze all air out I would estimate I have 2/3 left of the foundation, or about 20 ml.

Origins - Drink up 10 minute mask to quench skin's thirst (100 ml): This item has been in my collection for longer than I care to remember. And do I estimate I have a whopping 35 ml left of it. And to finish it, I aim to implement mask Monday's so I will remember to use it every week. 

L'Occitane en provence - Verveine body lotion (250 ml): Each project is in a need of one give me product, a product that you are bound to finish up quickly and will pepp you for the year to come. I guess there are about 60 ml left of this body lotion, and will be ideal to finish, as I actually have body lotions that are "older" in my collection than this one, so as soon as this one is finished, I will start on one of those older ones.

Avon - Maroccan argan oil (30 ml): As I focused on two hair products last year, I thought I could at least finish one in 2019. I have about 10 ml left of this product, and as my ends are starting to get a bit dry (actually needing of a haircut) this is ideal to use up in the coming year.

Bourjois Paris - Happy light luminous serum primer (15 ml): This is a roll over product from my beauty goals from 2018. It has a little bit more left than half, so I would guess there are about 9 ml left of the serum primer. And as last year was such a fail to reach my goal to finish it, it will continue to be in my beauty goals for 2019.

Express - Love Express eau de parfum (10 ml): As this is my oldest roller ball, and I have two unopened ones, and I LOVE this scent, I would hate for it to go off before I get a chance to use it up. 

Bourjois Paris - Smokey eyes trio - 09 Lady vert de gris (4,5 g): There is only one color in this trio that I have not hit pan on, so my goal for this year is to hit pan on the shimmery metallic color.

Maybelline - color tattoo 24hr - gel cream eyeshadow - 35 on and on bronze: As this has started to dry out my goal with this product is to hit side pan.

Inglot - Bright amber - solid perfume (2,3 g): My first and only solid perfume I have ever owned, it is in deed an interesting concept, but still prefer a liquid one, as the scent spreads more easily, and compared to this particular solid perfume, the liquid ones last longer. 

Other "rules" for my beauty goals 2019 are the following:

1. Not to buy any colored nail-polishes (nail strengtheners and top coats not included in the definition of "colored nail-polish").
2. No impulse buys, or buys just because there is a sale or discount
3. Max 1 perfume purchase
4. No buy January and No buy March - maybe other months to be scheduled later on
5. Max 2 eye-shadow palette purchases
6. Max 2 brush purchases

Do you have any goals for 2019?

Beauty goals for 2018 - results

So as it has come to the end of the year, it is time for an update on my "Beauty goals for 2018" where I planned to finish ten selected items from my collection.

So out of the ten items I planned to finish or hit pan on, I was successful on seven of the items. 

Five products that I finished marked with X (original photo)

I did finish my Lancome kohl pencil

 

Two fails and reached my goal to hit pan on one (marked with /)

Did not finish this one but managed to use up about 1/3

So I reached my goals on seven of the ten items, and the items I reached my goals on were:

Dove - intense repair overnight cream (120 ml): used up 1/3 of the product that was left.

The body shop - Vitamin C skin boost (30 ml): estimated 6-10 ml used up.

Dove - Repair therapy, Color radiance hair mask (200 ml): used up the remaining 3-4 applications.

Wet and wild - nail polish in the color 442A (14 ml): when this got too thick and difficult to apply, I finally gave up on it, I had originally 4-6 ml left. And maybe I was able to use up about half of the remaining product.

Victoria's secret - Unwrap me, beauty rush, whipped cream and winter pear, body dial-a-shimmer lotion (200 ml): this item probably had about 100 ml left when I started the project. The pump on it broke early on, so I ended up depotting it and use it up from a different container.

Lancome le crayon kohl noir (0,7 g): it started the year 2018 as a 3,5 cm long pencil and was I able to use it until it became 2,5 cm long, at which point the kohl itself fell out of the pencil. And to use that 1 cm took me almost the entire year.

Maybelline - depotted eyeshadow in a champagne shimmery color: this item was a roll over product from 2017, and whas my goal to hit pan on the eyeshadow. Which I managed to do in early January. 

So the three remaining items I did not reach my goals on were:

Clinique - Blush in Fig (1,8 g): this is a depotted "gift with purchase" blush, and if I compare how the pan looked in the beginning of the year, I perhaps finished a little less than half of the blush I started the year with. OMG and this has been my primary blush of the year, and I probably finished less than 1 gram of it - BUT it is a very pigmented blush and I only need a tiny bit of it to give me a nice rouge on my cheeks. 

Estée Lauder - Double wear, stay in place powder makeup SPF 10 (16 g) - color 2N2 Fresco 01: I acknowledged the fact that it would be hard to use this foundation up in the year as the pan was and still is quite thick on the sides. And as can be seen this goal was far from reached. As a matter of a fact I kind of gave up in the middle of the year and abandoned this as my main foundation, and used Cover Girl - Ready set gorgeous, which I hauled in 2015. 

Bourjois Paris - Happy light luminous serum primer (15 ml): from the point I started the year until now, I have probably used up just over 1/3 of the product, so about 5-6 ml of product I have managed to use.

So all over I am pretty glad about my success, as there was more success than failure for sure. And super glad that I was finally able to use up the Lancome le crayon kohl noir, which I first put in a project pan for the year 2016 - so it "only" took three years to finish up. 

Did you do a project pan this year?

Sample summary

So as I have accumulated a few samples through the last few months, I decided to post a short sample summary.

Brush soap and facial cream

Serums

Sigma - Sigmagic - Liquid brush clenser (7,5 ml): I got this sample as a bonus with my Sigma brushes. Hope it is as good as my beauty blender liquid soap, which I use currently to wash my brushes.

Tatcha - The water cream (1 ml): A very light moisturizer, I got a 2 and a half use out of this sample. Did I like it? Yes, love it? Maybe not - maybe too small of a tester to get one hooked on it.

L'occitane - Imortelle reset, overnight reset oil in serum (5 ml): This I got as a gift in store, it was a part of a promotional campaign, where you would get this sample, and it would reset your skin in 7 days. I have not tested it yet, as it would be a perfect serum to take with me on a short holiday.

Kiehl's - Midnight recovery concentrate (4 ml): This I got with one of my Sephora orders, as a 100 point perk. And as this is a product I have heard a lot about, I was very curious to try it. That being said, I have not tried it yet, probably the same reason why I have not tried the L'occitane serum, it is small and convenient for travel. 

What about you, have you gotten any interesting testers recently? 

Or are you  reluctant to use these mini-sizes for travel, like me?

USA + CAN Haul

So in the last few stops I have had in N-America I picked a few things up

USA + CAN Haul

John Frieda - Brilliant brunette multi tone revealing moisturizing shampoo (750 ml): This shampoo I have used from time to time, I really like the brand, but it tends to be way too expensive in Iceland. So when I saw this at 9.99 CAD in Marshalls, it jumped into my hand and to the register.

Vichy - Aqualia thermal hydrating serum (30 ml): this I picked up in a Shoppers Drugmart in Toronto, in spite of me planning to go "stock free" as my friends motto is. Not to have a big stock of backups waiting to be used, rather buy when you are out, or couple of days/a week of running out. I wish to go more towards that direction, but given the price difference of French pharmacy skincare products between Canada and the States, I decided to pick this serum up as a backup for the one I am using now from Lumene.

La Roche-Posay - Micellar water: the lovely shop assistant at Shoppers Drugmart, who suggested the Vichy serum for my skintype, kindly gave this to me as a bonus with that purchase. An absolute perfect travel size.

Shea Moisture - African Black soap, acne prone face and body bar: I am not acne prone, but love this soap for my skin, and it seems to keep my perioral dermatitis at bay. And as long as it works, I am reluctant to try anything else, and when I saw this small bar, I thought it would be a perfect replacement, when I run out of the last pieces of the rest of my original bar - which now live in a small soapbox in my suitcase.

Sonia Kashuk - precision concealer makeup brush: This I picked up in Target (see here) intended for use with my Soap and glory - kick ass concealer, which has two concealer colors, one more of a yellow tone which works perfectly on the face, blended in with your finger. But the pinky/salmon tone of the concealer I have never been able to get to work under my eyes to color correct dark circles. It always ended up to thick, dry and impossible to blend in under my eye. I really hoped that this brush would work with that concealer, long story short; it did not help it at all, still too dry and difficult to blend out under the eye. Maybe I should even return the brush, as I do not really have any other use for it?