June - August Haul 2025

 So how is my "no buy for 2025" going? Well it is going like this....

Brow glue, haircare, sunscreen, bronzer, nail polish etc.

Up close of the Camilla Phil all-over bronzing balm

Schwarzkopf & Henkel - Got 2be - 2 in 1 gel for brows and edges (16 ml): This I came across in a Normal store in Oslo and at first I was adamant NOT to purchase, but on my second visit to a Normal store in the city I could not resist the temptation as this has become super popular on social media.

Dr. Greve - Intimvask sensitiv med traenebær og aloe vera (200 ml): I saw a few of these personal soaps on the shelves in one of the supermarkets in Oslo and thought it might be a good idea to buy a smaller bottle than the one I have at home for travel. In retrospect I could have skipped this purchase as 200 ml is a bit much to take on holiday or travelling for work. So a small bottle in a Muji could have done the trick, and I have not ruled out to buy a small empty bottle next time I come across a Muji store.

Hawaiian Tropic - Sunscreen lotion sheer touch 30 (236 ml): While in Target, I thought it might be a good idea to buy this one again, as I have an open Spf 30 that would not last for a summer holiday - which I plan on taking later this summer. So this was quickly added to cart.

Aussie - 3 minute miracle moisture deep treatment (225 ml): This is another item I ran into in at a Normal store. I really do love the Normal stores I have gone into in Copenhagen, Paris and now Oslo. My dad used to LOVE this brand, and in particular the 3 minute miracle, so I decided to grab a bottle for old times sake. 

Herbal Essence - Rose hip shampoo (100 ml): I had just finished this shampoo I had from last year, and needed another for holiday so I picked this one up in Target.

OPI - Nail lacquer - Cajun Shrimp (15 ml): My favorite OPI polish; My chihuahua bites! is super thick and to the point I can not use it. And unfortunately that color it is not available in Iceland, but I knew the color Cajun Shrimp is pretty close, just a tad bit more red while "My chihuahua bites!" is tad more pink/coral. I had thought to purchase nail polish thinner (which I have not 100% ruled out). But as I ran into Cajun shrimp in Normal in Oslo for 50% of the price of a new OPI bottle in Iceland, I decided to grab the Cajun color. 

Camilla Phil Cosmetics - All-over bronzing balm in Universal glow (6,5 g): We came across a few Norwegian beauty brands while on holiday in Oslo, so there were a few brands we had never seen before, I would say though that the Danish brands are more tempting than the Norwegian brands (at least the in store options). But I did find this cream bronzer tempting enough for me to purchase it at the airport. It only comes in one color though, and even though I am quite fair I think it is more of a winter color for me. 

La Roche-Posay - Toleriane double repair face moisturizer (40 ml): This I came across in Target and I just could not resist the temptation, as I do love this brand and it was at a decent price point. 

So as you can read above, my no buy has not been going very well. But I am still getting less and less tempted by cosmetics in general that are sold in Sephora.. that is perhaps a good development as I do come across that store very frequently at work. 

Three month haul

One of the goals I put for myself in 2018 - was not to buy more than 12 beauty items in the following categories; makeup, nail polish and perfumes for the entire year of 2018. So that adds up to about one item per month.
So my shopping for January, February and March tallies up to three items form the particular categories that I have a 12 item limit on, and one item that I don't have a particular limit on.

Three month haul

The eye-shadows were a birthday treat for myself on my birthday, they are from Inglot, and did I pick the colours 303, which is a matte pinky colour with a hint of terracotta orange, and 450 which is a shimmery cranberry colour. They are really blendable and gorgeously pigmented, and am I really intrigued for more products by the brand.
The other two items I bought the other day when I was going through duty free, I was for sure not going to buy any nail polish this year until I would finish the polish that is a part of my "Beauty goals for 2018". But as I have to wear a lightly colored nail polish for my summer job this summer, and Essie help me grow and Nicole by OPI moisture plus, have not been working any wonders on my nails recently I decided to grab OPI Nail Envy in the color bubble bath. That way I could wear it for work and still strengthen my nails.
The forth and final item in this haul is the Clinique, take the day off, cleansing balm. This one does not count towards my 12 item limit for the year of 2018, but I had heard so many good things about it, I decided to try it, also I have to wear a full face of makeup this summer, so this was specially bought for that reason.

Have you bought anything recently?

My take on Christian Dior Holiday collection 2014

My biggest weakness when it comes to cosmetics is eye shadow palettes, so when the big high-end companies bring out their new Holiday collections I am always tempted to purchase one of them.

On the other hand I really don't need any more eye shadows, so I decided to try to shop my stash and come up with a similar idea I can use over the season, instead of buying more stuff that is not used.

Dior Christmas 2014

Nail polish in Gold shock - Eye shadow palette in 756 Golden shock

So this is what I came up with:

With flash

The body shop eyeshadows in 13 and 39 - both matte, one off white and the other black (I trew in a black to deepen the purple coulour.

Mac blackberry

Nicole by OPI - Selena Gomez in kissed at midnight

EGO eye shimmer (no colour indicated)

Maybelline eye shadow in 610 silken taupe

Bourjois eye shadow loose pigment in 01 regard praline rosé

And swatched:

Swatches without flash

Compared with swatches from the Dior golden shock eye shadow palette (you can see swatches on the blog Mostly Sunny) the purple and sparkling gold are not as pigmented, but I am quite sure you can get a similar result with these products.

The nail polishes are both clear top coats with gold glitter particles, the difference being that the Nicole by OPI has regular cut glitter particles and a bit of silver particles while the Dior more of a irregular particles only in gold colour.

Thank you for reading,

Ella

Shopping the stash for fall-trends 2013

I found this image from Lancóme online and used it for inspiration - and as a point of reference of shopping my stash:

Lancóme l'absolu désir - fall collection 2013

And this is what I found in my stash:

Elín's absolout desire?

Clinique lipstick in Flamenco no. 13
Revlon nail polish in Raven Red
Lancóme purple nail polish no. 117
Red nail polish from Gallo (Greek brand?)
OPI nail polish in Skyfall
Christian Breton bronzer in Terra Tan
Cover Girl blush duo in Fresh Roses
Lumene black mascara - just had to add this one as it's my favorite, very buildable

I think I'm good for this fall

Thank you for reading,
Ella

July rediscoveries / July favorites

So last month rediscoveries or July favorites would be these 2 very summery products;

OPI nailpolish - My chihuahua bites!

Joli rouge lipstick from Clarins in 711 papaya

711 papaya swatched - it has no shimmer

Both of these I bought last summer, when the coral colour was so very mutch the colour of summer 2012. Happily for me it's still in fashion, and have been my go to items last month... just love the nail-polish as it's somewhere between pink, orange and coral. A very pretty and summery colour. The lipstick is an absoloute favorite, and was a bit neglected in June (mostly due to rainy weather in Iceland), but it looks lovely on the lips, not too much, but still a bit of a pop of colour. Plus it's very soft and moisturizing on the lips

Thank you for reading,

Ella