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?

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?

IS + X-mas gift haul

I have to admit that most of my beauty purchases are made abroad, so it's about time I make an account of the items I bought in my home country + the two beauty items I got for X-mas.

Benefit - They're real mascara: I have for a long time really wanted to try some of the mascaras from Benefit, and when I saw this on a sale, I snatched one.

Nars audacius lipstic - Anna: my nephew was so kind to give this to me for Christmas. And am super excited to try this one out

Milani - Prep+Set+Glow illuminating transparent powder 02: This I bought as I had some credit left on a gift card I received last year. Heard some really good things about it - so it will be exciting to try

Inglot eyeshadow - colour 363 (3,0 g) - a medium grey, brown with a hint of purple: when I turned in my master-thesis I thought I did deserve a small reward, and as I have never tried anything from Inglot before I thought it would be a perfect treat.
Essie nail lacquer - buy me a cameo: a rosy metallic colour a friend of mine gave me for x-mas. This colour is a tiny bit darker than the one I am planning to use up in 2018 - so will have this one waiting.

Helena Rubinstein - All mascaras, complete eye make-up remover: there was a 25% discount in one of the big supermarkets in Iceland, on all cosmetics, so I thought it would be a perfect time to get a better eye makeup remover than micelar water which is not performing so well with my Lumene mascara. Unfortunately this brand in my opinion is not as good as the Lancomé Bi-Facil one, which remains my favorite ;)

So that summons up all my cosmetics and beauty purchases and gifts in the year of 2017. Which comes to a total of 15 items.

Empties September - December 2015

I did not finish a lot of products during this time, one of the reasons might be that I have developed a skin condition called perioral dermatitis, which describes itself with a rash around the mouth (and can appear around eyes also). Thus I have been very hesitant to use new facial products, as it started in the beginning of September, when I started using a new facial wash, a new moisturizer and a toner I had not used in over 2 months. It is really hard to cover up, as makeup can make it worse. I have now been on a 2 month antibiotic tablet course, which has made it disappear. But it might come again, so I need to be super careful of what I use on my skin, and have become very skeptical regarding different products, I have not dared to use the moisturizer or the facial wash I had just started when the PD (perioral dermatitis) appeared. So I might do a another post soon on products that I am afraid to use, as they might have been the PD trigger, either due to ingredients or the fact the products I have are turning old.

But here are my empties for Septemer - December 2015:

Empties September-December 2015

John Freida full repair full body conditioner - a good and softening conditioner, but nothing spectacular. Over priced, might buy again when on discount

Lumene bright touch refreshing cleansing foam - super nice facial foam wash

Golden Rose mega volume and length city style mascara - I think this mascara has tiny black fibers in it, it did not bother my eyes, and was super nice and the price in Turkey was great (wish I had bought this type again)

Nivea pure and natural regenerating night care - very nice night cream, my first night cream in fact. Now the bottle comes in plastic which makes me not want to buy it, as it is cheap looking.

Empties July - August 2015

So here are my empties for July and August 2015 - a lot of them are holiday related as I was on a long holiday this summer,

Lavera sunscreen sensitive kids

Sunscreens, mosquito repellent, creams, nail polish and facial wash

Duru perfume shower gel in exotic bamboo

Verdicts:
Lavera sunscreen: will never buy again, it was awful, had to scrubb it off my skin as it made a white layer on top of my skin
Nivea sunscreen spf 30 pocket size: perfect to carry around in your purse when you need to reapply sunscreen on the go - and not too heavy to carry around either.
Off aqua anti mosquito spray: awful, I sprayed it all over my legs and arms and still was bitten many times over by mosquitos - will never buy again
Wet and Wild base coat: a very old one, managed to use a lot of it even though it was thick - perfect as a base coat for toes.
Proderm sunscreen spf 30: a very good moose sunscree (and paraben free)
Body farm pommengranate 24 hour cream: very good - bought a different cream from same company now in Greece.
Summertime anti mosquito spray: not a good one - sprayed all over, still got bitten.
Lumene BB serum
Korres yougurt face mask: an ok facial mask - love the size that it's so small.
Yes to cucumbers after sun shimmering serum; beautiful after sun watery after sun treatment, not too shimmery either.
Clinique facial wash: love it, very gentle and perfect travel size.
Sin Kov anti mosquito spray: the BEST anti mosquito spray I have ever tried, just a few sprits and you get no bites at all - will 100% buy again, when in Turkey (where I bought it)
Duru perfume exotic bamboo shower gel: this was so cheap in the supermarket in Turkey, came in very handy as a hand soap and a shower gel during my travels, and not too strong of a scent either.

Untill next time,
Elin

Florida haul February 2015 + 1

Less is more did not apply this time around, I got kind of crazy on Amazon, in Target, Walmart, Sephora, Ulta, Ross, Tj Max and Marshalls and here is the result:

USA haul winter 2015

Batiste dry shampoo - dark and deep brown
Jergens BB body - medium deep
Swoon - gloss scooper
Lumene refreshing cleansing foam
Yes to cucumbers - natural after-sun serum with shimmer
Pantene pro-v ultimate 10 BB cream
Proganix anti-fade argan oil and uv spray for hair
Lumene bright now vitamin c BB serum
Garnier eye makeup remover 2in1 (this is the +1 item - as it is bought in Iceland)
Bleanderclenser (for beauty blender)
Beauty blender
Organics organic wear BB mascara
Burt's bees lip gloss - 203 Autumn haze
Urban decay primer potion
Mederma advanced scar gel
Cover girl - redy sed gorgeous in 115 buff beige
NYC smooth skin bronzing face powder - sunny
YSL Volupté tint in oil no.4 I rose you
Milani baked blush - 05 Luminoso
Wet and wild - Fergie daily
Maybelline colour sensational - 235 warm me up
NYX butter gloss - creme brulee
Sonia Kashuk - sweet pea 04

Thank you for looking by

Empties May - September 2014

So this is what I managed to finish now these last few months:

Empties May - September

The body shop Nutriganics foaming facial wash - a very nice and gentle facial wash, it might not have the best smell in to world, but not too bad either and 98% organic - which I love.

Proderm sunscreen mousse SPF 30 - paraben free and my favorite sun-screen, only downside it is quite expensive and can not be bought everywhere.

Oleosome eye gel for dry skin - this is my first eye cream, my skin is not dry, but it has not irritated my eye area. But don't know if I see a difference, but it has not made my eye area worse.

Nivea Sun protect and bronze SPF 30 - contains parabens, sadly - but it is a great sunscreen - did not burn once - and got a really nice bronze tan :)

Lumene Arctic Aqua 2in1 skin perfecting moisture booster - a very nice gel like serum, gives my skin some extra moisture, though even it might be oily, it's sometimes lacking moisture.

Peter Thomas Roth mega rich body lotion - got this when I was staying in a hotel somewhere - do not like the smell, and the cream is too thin also - but handy while travelling.

Nivea Sun pocket size SPF 30 - this is genius, only 50 ml - so it's not to heavy to carry in your purse while strolling through cities, and you can take care of your skin and re-apply sunscreen without dragging a huge bottle around.

Nivea sun protect and bronze SPF 30 - spray bottle, I like this one better than the cream - as it is more lightweight, and doesn't leave you with white streaks all over your body after you come out of the water. Only downside; it has parabens in it.

Vaseline essential moisture pure oat extract. This has been my favorite brand for many years... they have so good moisturizers - downside: it has parabens, magnesium aluminum sterate (is that bad for you?) and petrolatum - I swore I was not going to use any products with petrolatum and parabens - but sometimes you can not find anything else so you have to compromize.

Aerie Whoa eau de toilette samplers - love the smell of this one, if I had an Aerie store within my reach and not too many toilettes already I would definetly buy this one.

Steam cream in happyness - I absoloutly hate the smell of this - it smells to me like a foot cream. My sister gave it to me with good intentions a few years ago, and now when I went to Turkey I thought I would finish it up as it was lightweight and not to heavy for my skin during summer. What happened when I opnened it after the flight, it had all separated, the cream and oil were now floating around in the jar, and it was super liquidy. If it was the heat change from home to Turkey, the shake during the flight, airpressure or what, I don't know. But I used it for my face in the beginning and then ended up using it on my feet and legs, as suddenly it got more rich than before. Really strange - will not buy again!

Empties March - April 2014

So these were the empties these two months:

Trash-goers

Versace Bright crystal eau de toilette - a light and feminine scent

Tommy Hilfiger True star Gold - a little bit spicy scent

Avon advance techniques moroccan argan oil - this thing worked wonders on my dry ends, and it's not that expensive either - a win win. Recommend 100% for dry ends, it will change your hair.

Lumene arctic aqua 24h balancing moisturizer -

Crabtree & Evelyn La Source relaxing body lotion - a light and quick absorbing body lotion, but I just hate the smell of it - never going to buy again.

Zara lip gloss - a pink lipgloss that goes on a bit clear, an average lip gloss, a bit on the sticky side, so take care and not put too mutch on - Buy again? No.

Olivelia by macrovita lip balm in vanilla -  a super soft and moisturizing lip gloss - would definetly buy again if I can get my hands on it (probably somewhere in Greece)

dr.organic organic pomengranate lip balm - this is a bit on the waxy side, but I love the fact it's organic and lasts a long time on the lips, I always put this on my lips before I go to bed. Buy again? Yes when I have made a dent on my stock of lip products.

Bodyfarm avocado nourishing night cream for all skin types (sample) - a bit thick cream, propably great for dry skin - as I have combination skin I would only use this once a week - as it's too rich for my skin.

And then this sucker:

Almay oil free gente eye makeup remover - worst makeup remover I have ever used - see video here

See you soon with more empties,
Ella

Products for March, April and May

There was a discount evening at Smaralind shopping mall earlier this year, as a ladies night, and a lot of stores offered awesome discounts, either on spesific types of products or on everything in the store. As I was running out of a few products I purchased these;

 

Body shop vitamin C facial scrub

Body shop nutricanics foaming facial wash

Doctor organics lip balm in pommengranate

The Vitamine C facial scrub is ok, not great and not awful, but sure there is a better facial scrub out there for me yet to try. Still have not tried the Nutricanics facial wash, as I have still not finished the old one, but that will happen in the next few days I think, so a rewiev soon. The Doctor organics lip balm, is not so good, too waxy for my taste, and not moisturising enough. 

So now a three month item-budget gone

Thank you for reading,

Ella