September haul from France

As I chose to go to the French riviera for summer holidays this year, of course I visited a few stores on the trip. I visited a fragrance manufacturer in the town of Grasse in the south of France; Fragonard, there we got a guided tour in English about the production that takes place in the factory, short introduction about the origin of plants used in the fragrance industry, the noses who "design" the scents and the difference between eau de toilette and parfums. There were all kinds of interesting things the guide went over on the tour, for example if you spray a parfum on your wrist you are not supposed to rub your wrists together, only tap, other vise you ruin the molecules in the parfum! The tour then of course ended in the store, and omg I have seldom seen as many people in a buying frenzy!! People were buying A LOT. Everyone came out of the store with their husbands carrying big bags loaded with soaps, perfumes, and home fragrances. I got a bit inspired, and did buy a few things. But I am sure my body chemistry is different in the south of France in 28 degrees Celsius vs. Iceland 8 degrees! I just hope the fragrances I did buy end up working for me as I have become quite sensitive to scents and some tend to give me a headache in the last few years.  

Perfumes, eye cream, face cream and a deodorant

French pharmacy haul

Fragonard - Fleur de citronnier eau de toilette (50 ml): This scent reminds me a lot of Dolce & Gabbana light blue - it is the year edition from Fragonard, and this year they went with the citrus flower. I had been smelling the Light blue from D&G but this one actually smells nicer so I decided to grab a bottle after spraying it on me, and it being very light, fresh and airy. It is a bit of a summer scent though, so I will proably save it for next summer. Now I just regret of not have taken 2 bottles as this is a limited edition and I will probably never get my hands on another bottle! 

Embryolisse - Radiant eye express cooling and refreshing eye care stick (4.5 g): I came across this by total accident in one of the pharmacies I visited on my holiday. It costed less than 20 Euro so I just decided to grab it. Later I found out it costs about two times as much in Iceland!! It is very cooling, and a genius product as a matter of a fact.

Olivéa - Deodorant pierre d'alun (60 g): This I just randomly saw in the supermarket, I already have a crystal deodorant, but for one reason or another I thought it would be a genius idea to buy one in France.

Fragonard - Face cream - Royal jelly skin care (50 ml): My mom loves royal jelly, and as this was available for purchase at the perfume factory I decided to grab one for me and one for my mom.

Fragonard - Juste un baiser parfum (15 ml): Originally I spayed this perfume on me in the store, I also tried the eau de toilette. And walking around Grasse one hour later I could hardly smell it on myself anymore, which is always a good sign in regards to fragrances, so I decided to go back and buy the smallest version which is this 15 ml. Right away in the evening I regretted not to have purchased a bigger bottle, as the scent just kept on getting better as the day passed. 

Fragonard - Juste un baiser eau de toilette (100 ml): So full of buyers remorse of not having gotten a bigger bottle of the parfum in Grass, I grabbed this one in a store in Cannes. And can you imagine that this 100 ml eau de toilette costs the same as the 15 ml parfum? I feel there is a small difference between the parfum and the eau de toilette - maybe the alcohol in the eau de toilette is making that version a little bit stingy and the parfum version to be a little bit more grounded and earthy. I just hope these scents will work for me as well as they did in 28 degrees in France, in Iceland in winter - but this is definitely more of a all year round scent vs. the Fleur de citronnier, the Juste un baiser might be more of a winter one. 

Bioderma - Créaline H2O L'eau micellaire originale (2 x 500 ml): I do recommend that you visit a few pharmacies to do a small price comparison on the things that you are considering to buy. For example this duo was 8 Euros more expensive in another pharmacy compared to the pharmacy I bought this in. Did I need two 500 ml micellar water bottles, definitely not, but they will for sure be used up in the end.

Klorane - Anti-hair loss strenghtening & stimulating shampoo (400 ml): I have been struggling with a lot of hair loss for the last 12 months or so, so I did not need a push when I saw this on the shelf, and I am willing to try anything 

A Derma - Exomega control emolient shower oil anti-scratching (500 ml): I bought small bottle of this a few years ago. And it is amazing, I had actually seen this refill on a discount in a pharmacy in Oslo, there the discount was only for members of the "club" so I did not buy it there - then when I saw this on an offer for just over 10 Euro in France, I jumped on it. No membership needed! I love France!

Marvis - Whitening mint fuoride toothpaste (85 ml): Then this has become a classic purchase for a lot of people traveling to France or Italy - I just finished a small tube of this type so I just grabbed a big one this time. 

What did you buy on holiday this year?

Project pan 2025

For the year 2025 I will be focusing on a few items, both makeup and skincare for the year to come, as I usually do. Along this project pan I will be doing a makeup + skincare no buy for 2025! My ultimate goal will be to get better results on reached goals for 2025 vs. to my project pan 2024, which reached 37.5 % success rate. So my goal for 2025 will be to reach my goal on over 37.5% of the items in the project pan 2025.

10 of the 14 products in my project pan 2025

Lipstick, color corrector and testers

Guinot - Lounge vie mains hand cream (15 ml):

Weight at the start of 2025: 20 g

Goal: Finish it

Why: I got this amongst many other items from Guinot in a Christmas calendar in 2022 - I have not used so many items from this calendar so it makes sense to use some of the items, including this hand cream.

Dr. Organic - Organic manuka honey skin lotion (200 ml):

Weight at the start of 2025: 224 g

Goal: Finish it

Why: This was gifted to me in 2019 and thus one of the oldest body lotions I have so it makes sense to use it up and move it out of my stash, and work on other things.

Bioeffect - EGF body serum (120 ml):

Weight at the start of 2025: 159 g

Goal: Finish it

Why: It has already expired with a label marked June 2023 - so it is past it's due date and it would be good to finish it.

Bioeffect - Osa water mist (60 ml):

Weight at the start of 2025: 83 g

Goal: Finish it 

Why: I bought it in 2021, and it has a best before date 05/2025 so this is the year to finish it. 

The body shop - Himalayan charcoal purifying glow mask (75 ml):

Weight at the start of 2025: 229 g

Goal: Use it up

Why: It is getting old, and I have not much use for it anymore - as my skin tends to be more dry than oily- but it might be nice to use once a month or so.

Fenty Beauty - Gloss bomb in Fenty glow (9 ml):

Remaining amount at the start of 2025: 2/3 of the gloss remains in the tube, product sits at T in Fenty.

Goal: Use it up.

Why: It is far from being my favorite gloss, but it might pair nicely with the Charlotte lipstick for work.

Ecooking - Primer (30 ml):

Remaining amount at the start of 2025: Half.

Goal: Use it up.

Why: I did manage to use half of the primer in 2024, and it is a cleaner product, and I do really like the formula, I decided to continue working on this primer vs. the 3 or 4 others I have in my stash. Plus the packaging gets super messy. So it is ideal to use it up and in 2026 I could move onto a different primer. I still like this one that much I could well consider to buy it again in a few years.  

The Ordinary - 100% Cold-pressed virgin marula oil (30 ml):

Amount remaining in bottle at the start of 2025: The oil sits just above the sticker on to glass.

Goal: Finish it, by using it in my hair and mix in with my moisturizers.

Why: Oils tend to go bad, and I have had this in my stash for quite some time. I originally bought it to use it in at the ends of my hair, but I found it a bit of a too dry texture compared to the hair oils I had used in the past. So it would be ideal to get some use out of it, before it goes off. 

The body shop - Brow and lash gel, clear (10 ml):

Amount remaining at the start of 2025: The gel sits in the tube between the O and D in Body on the side of the product. 

Goal: Finish it.

Why: This is guaranteed the oldest item in my stash.

Gosh - Kohl eyeliner in 005 nude (1.1 g):

Length of pencil at start of 2025: 11.5 cm

Goal: Use 0.5 cm of it

Why: To get some use out of it before it dries out. 

Charlotte Tilbury - Nude matte lipstick in Very Victoria (3.5 g):

Length at the start of 2025: 2.5 cm from plastic base

Goal: Use 0.5 cm of it

Why: I have focused on a few lipsticks in the years past, so now it was time for this one. It is a nice color of pinky brown, just a tad more brown than my lips, so it wears off nicely. 

Becca - Under eye brightening corrector (2.3 g):

Weight at the start of 2025: 22 g

Goal: Use it up

Why: It was a part of my project pan 2023, and I did not finish it then, so it is time to use it up. Plus I have a full size backup I would love to move onto. 

Inglot - YSM cream foundation in shade 45 (1.5 ml):

Goal: Use it up

Why: It is old in my stash of testers, and it would be good to get some use out of a few of them. I have no idea how the shade is, so it might end up just ending in the trash, as 45 sounds like a medium shade. And I have fair skin. 

Inglot - Beautifier tinted cream in shade 102 (1.5 ml):

Goal: Use it up

Why: Same applies to this one as to the previous tester - get some use out of my tester stash, so it is ideal to add two samples, or "give me" products that I should be able to use up with ease and boost the amount of items I will be able to use up, and increase my usage percentage.

Other goals for 2025 include a makeup and skincare no buy until black Friday 2025 - as I started my no buy around that time in 2024. So instead of shopping in 2025 I intend to enjoy the items I have in my stash and play with the items I already have, instead of buying more. Other goals for 2025 include using a face mask once a week and a hair mask two times a month.

Will I allow myself some exception from the rule? Yes, for the months January - November 2025 I will make an exception from the no buy makeup and skincare rule in two cases, where I can buy two products in kind of emergencies if you will. What the emergencies might be, I am not sure - but will give an exception for the no buy rule for two products during this period. Also I will be able to get the Sephora and Ulta birthday gifts in February, and those birthday gifts do not count as the two products I will be able to buy in case of "emergencies".

January - March haul 2024

So here is my haul for the first three months of the year, they are a mixed bunch, some are purchases I made abroad and some are birthday gifts. My project pan for 2024 is not completely going as planned, as I stocked up on an item I had really no plans to stock up on... but I hope it will go better moving forward in the year 2024.

Glow cream, toner, cleanser, creams and a tinted moisturizer

Glow powder, fizz tamers, lip products and eye wands

Face masks

Barbie beauty bag

Bondi Sands - Gloss finishing glow instant luminous bronzed sheen for face and body (100 ml): My friend gave this to me for my birthday, we had seen it used by someone on social media and it looked really nice, she was so sweet to remember, and gifted it to me amongst other things. 

The body shop - Aloe soothing toner (250 ml): I grabbed this during a sales night in Kringlan shopping mall when The body shop was offering 20 or 25% off of everything in store. As I have almost finished my current bottle of this, I thought it was ideal to buy one on a discount as there are just a few weeks 

Clinique - Take the day off cleansing balm (125 ml): I had made it one of my goals in my project pan for 2024, not to purchase it again until I had finished some of my makeup removers, but it was on such a good price I caved in and bought it for later. 

Peach & Lily - Matcha pudding antioxidant cream (25 ml): As a Ulta member, and happened to be close to an Ulta store in February (my birthday month), I did go in store and got to choose amongst pre selected items and was torn between this and a Kopari body cream, and ended on choosing this one. 

Ecooking - Night cream (50 ml): I grabbed this item whilst at work, during a flight back and forth to Kastrup airport Copenhagen, but as we had an unusually long stop in at CPH I ran into the duty free and bought this plus the Tromborg item listed below. I had just finished the jar of this I had before, and I LOVE it.

Dr. Jart - Ceramidin cream mist, intensive moisturizing (110 ml): My friend who gave me the Bodi Sands product also gave me this ceramidin cream mist, as I had mentioned to her I was very curious about this product (again I had seen on some instragram feed of an influencer). 

Saie - Slip tint broad spectrum spf 35 sunscreen tinted moisturizer (40 ml): I got tempted to buy this during one of my many Sephora visits, as it contains mineral spf, and could be perfect for work.

Garnier Fructis - Sleek and shine frizz tamer (8 ml): This I came across in one of the US drug store and thought it would be amazing, it is not so great. But it will suffice to use while I stay abroad for work for simple hair fixes, but for the stubborn small hairs, it does not work.

Kosas  - Air brow clear lifting treatment gel (1.77 g): This with the Kosas lip oil was a part of the Sephora birthday gift for 2024. There were a few options, and I was going back and forth between this one and a skincare set from Youth to the people. But for the makeup hoarder I am of course I opted for more makeup. 

Nature Republic - Honey melting lip in 01 Apricot (2.7 g): I saw Stait of Kait featuring this in one of her videos, and it sounded super nice, so I decided to grab in whilst in New York for work. So there went 50% of my colored lip product quota for 2024.

Tromborg - Baked minerals in silk (5.5 g): I had been eyeing this product for years, and finally pulled the trigger during a turnaround in CPH. It is a little bit dark and golden for a traditional highlighter (they also sell a lighter color called Highlight) but as this has been hyped among Danish beauty-bloggers for year I went with Silk.

Vieve - Eye wand in Hazelnut (1.4 g): I came across this brand not too long ago, and I had been very intrigued about it. And as I went on a short holiday with my friends to the UK, I decided to order some products and have them shipped my hotel in England. I chose this color as it is a medium brown shade and probably super versatile.

Vieve - Eye wand in Sand (1.4. g): I decided to grab another item from Vieve, as so many times before, I was torn between another eye wand and a liquid blush. But opted for the eye wand as I am trying to reel it in on the liquid or cream blushes. 

Kosas - Wet lip oil gloss plumping treatment gloss in Unbottoned (2 ml): The other half of the Sephora birthday gift. I swatched the color in store, and from there, there was no going back. The makeup birthday gift it would be. 

Purederm skin solutions - Deep purifying pink 02 bubble mask peach (25 g): Another friend of mine is also a lot into skincare, and gifted me this facemask and the following two packaged skincare products. 

Iroha Nature - Pre-soaked pads hydrating toner cica + blueberry (10 pcs 25 g): At first I mistook this for a facemask, but what a genius product, pre soaked toner pads. Perfect for travel.

Iroha Nature - Aloe vera and hyloronic acid Soothing and hydrating face mask (20 ml): The third skincare product I got gifted from my friend for my birthday.

PS - Moisturizing avocado sheet mask (23 g): Avocado face mask for 1 Pound at Primark, I just had to.

Primark - Barbie beauty bag: When I spotted this in Primark, I just could not resist and had to buy it. 

This was quite a lot for three months, but a few of the items were indeed birthday gifts. But as I got a few facemasks, I really have to put some effort to use these single use sheet face masks. 

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!!

November - December Haul 2022

It's time for the last haul of the year - I will really have to put more effort into scaling back my purchases next year - as I have backups upon backups of skin creams, serums, mascaras etc. in my stash. Anyway here comes the haul for the last two months of the year.

Serum, color makeup, testers and a makeup brush

Eyeshadow palette, hair products and eye serum

Five Caudalie testers (one missing in pic)

Milk Makeup - Pore eclipse mattifying primer (4 ml): This item came in a pack from Sephora; Sephora favorites sparkly clean set. 

Taramar - Night treatment (10 ml): We were gifted this item at work, as we met one of the Taramar representative on his way to launch the brand in Dubai!! Super cool, I have been on their email list for over a year, but still had not tried anything out yet - now I have the perfect opportunity to test this brand out and he also gave us a few other samples: Day treatment, Purifying treatment and The serum.

Biossance - Squalane + omega repair cream (15 ml): This came in the Sephora favorites set, and is perfect for work to take abroad or to put into my gym-bag :)

JVN - Complete conditioning mist (60 ml): I was super curious about this hair leave in treatment, but given my laziness to use hair products, I decided to go for the smaller size

Caudalie - Vinoperfect - radiance serum complexion correction (10 ml): this serum came with the Sephora favorites set, and is perfect for the work or gym bag! 

Saie - Mascara 101, black (5 g): Perhaps the only thing I do not need is a mascara, given the fact that I have at least 3 backups, but I think all of the un-opened ones are some version of a sample size.

Ilia beauty - Balmy gloss, only you (4.3 ml): I have been super curious about this brand, as it is apparently a clean one, and this as many products in this haul came in the Sephora favorites set. 

Rose Inc - Lip and cheek color, Heliotrope (4.5 g): This also came with the Sephora favorites set, and with the lip gloss from Ilia, were the two products I was most curious about. And after swatching the blush in store - I just had to buy this set. 

Hourglass - Vanish seamless concealer brush: A lot of my purchases these days are due to recommendations, usually someone from Youtube, this being no exception, this time it was Maree, who recommended this brush, but it was exactly what the dr. ordered as I had been having some issues blending my concealer under my eyes of late. And it works perfectly!

Jason Wu - Flora 9 - 01 Matte Agave (5.85 g): I had planned to purchase a different palette in Ulta on a black Friday offer in store, but when I swatched "Too faced Born this way the natural nudes" I found some of the shimmer colors to be too chunky for my taste, and just picked one up for my friend. So when I found myself in Ulta one hour later, feeling sad I did not fall in love with the Too faced palette, I decided to buy this on a whim and as a somewhat of a compensation for not buying the other one. It performs over average for a drugstore matt colors, and has a selection of matte colors perfect in the crease. 

Big Sexy Hair - Volumizing conditioner (1000 ml): This I picked up in Ulta during black Friday week - as it was on generous discount, and I was running out of conditioner and needed to pick one up.

Mac - Fix+ stay over alcohol free long-lasting setting spay (30 ml): I have for a long time wanted to try the MacFix+ and when I knew they had this one, an alcohol free version it sounded perfect. So I decided to buy this one in it's smaller version as well. 

Perricone MD - Essential Fx Acyl-Glutathione Eylid lift serum (15 ml): This I got tempted to buy after seeing it featured in a video from Tiffany D on Youtube. And as it came highly recommended by her, and I am starting to feel my age is catching up with my hooded eyelids I decided to grab it as it was on a 40% discount on the Perricone webpage.. but it was still expensive, even with the discount.

Eva Nyc - Mane magic 10 in 1 primer (160 ml): Yet another recommendation from Youtube, this time it was Jessica Braun, and with my hair being unusually long these days, the ends are super dry and brittle, so this is amazing to spray into my hair before I brush it through - and it does indeed prevent further hair breakage. 

Caudalie - Vinoperfect - radiance serum complexion correction (5 x 1.5 ml): I got these testers with my purchase of the sparkly clean set at Sephora - perfect for travel! 

That sums up the makeup, skincare and body care purchases for 2022. 

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....

June - July haul 2022

Well as I have started to fly again, with stops in the US and Canada on a monthly basis, I have had some opportunity to shop a bit, as well as I have picked up a few items in Iceland ofc.

Soap, sunscreen, deodorant and facial cream

Body cream, hair mask and Tangle Teezer

Makeup, facial spf and cream tester

 

Shea Moisture - African black soap (227 g): This has been a tried and true product for me, as facial soap for my skin issues - I was not in a dire need of a refill, but as I spotted it in Target I grabbed it. 

Eau Thermale Avéne - Mineral lotion spf  (100 ml): This I bought in Canada, as I was planning to travel abroad in July, only with hand luggage, and in need of some sunscreen that I could take on carry on (which has a max of 100 ml bottles). 

Hawaiian Tropic - Silk hydration protective sun lotion (180 ml): This I picked up in the supermarket in Iceland, I had not bought an Hawaiian Tropic in years - as I theoretically had enough spf bottles. But it came in very handy, as I squirted some of this bottle into a small travel bottle to bring with me to Croatia. The other spf bottles I have, come in foam and spray form - and would not be rebottled so easily!

Native Deodorant - Aloe and Green tea, sensitive (75 g): I have been very curious about aluminum free deodorant, and as I am finally seeing to an end of one of my 3 previous bottles, it was time to pick this one up.

La Roche-Posay - Kerium DS creme (39 g): I had picked up a tube of this for my nephew a few years back, as he was struggling with flakey eyebrows. And recently I had started to get flakey spots between my eyebrows and eyelids, I went on a mission to find a tube for me to use. And I really think it works!! 

Sol de Janeiro - Brazilian bum bum cream (75 ml): I smelled this exact product a few years back, and did absolutely not understand the hype around this scent as I really did not like it at first sniff. But now - omg I loved it!! Given the fact I have more than enough of body lotions, I just grabbed the small jar of it. But I might actually be tempted to buy other types, or even the scent spray.

Macadamia oil extract - Hair mask (250 ml): My hair after about 5 days of sun and sea in Croatia went totally haywire, and I managed to find this in one of the little shops on the island I was staying - and it managed to turn my haywire hair around after one treatment. But you do need to be consistent with it. 

Tangle Teezer hairbrush: My friend was so kind to grab this for me while she was on a holiday in UK. This has since moved into my gym bag - so I will never forget to take a hairbrush with me to the gym again

Kosas - Revealer concealer in 01N (6 ml): Did I need a concealer? 100% not, I already have about 4 concealers in different formats. Two in liquid format as a matter of a fact. Have I started to use it yet? No not yet... 

Kosas - Revealer skin improving foundation in Very cool light 120 (30 ml): Who am I? Purchasing two foundations in the same year? And I already have several in my stash (again in a few formats; liquid, mineral powder and pressed powder). I guess I just have to put real effort to in 2022 to doll myself up on an everyday basis.

Urban Decay - All nighter long lasting makeup setting spray (30 ml): This was purchased with the intent to take it with me to Croatia for the wedding to double insure the makeup. Then in the end there was no space in my hand luggage for more liquids. I just got one sprits from my friend who managed to take some with her to the wedding. 

It Cosmetics - Your skin but better CC+ color correcting full coverage cream spf 50 in fair (32 ml): I had gotten one or two testers of this particular product in Sephora a while back. And given my previous experience, this product performed exceptionally well, with good staying power, without creasing or looking cakey. And given the fact I was going to a wedding in Croatia, where the temperature would be around 35 degrees Celsius, I would need something long lasting. So I grabbed this during some online discount in Hagkaup Iceland

Revlon - Colorstay brow fiber filler in 303 medium brown (6.8 ml): I am about to run our of my Rimmel colored eyebrow gel, and on a recommendation from Lisa J on Youtube. 

La Roche-Posay - Anthelios mineral fluid 50 spf (50 ml): I got sucked in in a Canadian drugstore to pick this up (even though I have a bottle of Supergoop zink screen). Now I just have to be more active in using these facial sunscreens.

Laura Mercier - Translucent loose setting powder (5 g): This was a part of my Sephora birthday gift for 2022. And boy am I excited to give this a whirl, as this is a product that has been hyped up for years.

Laura Mercier - Caviar stick eye color in strapless (1 g): The other part of the Sephora birthday gift I selected for 2022. Another product from LM that I have heard about for years but never tried. 

Tower 28 - Beach please cheek and lip color in Magic hour (4.5 g): I had been curious about this product and this brand since 2019 or 2020. So I could not resist when I spotted it in Sephora.

It Cosmetics - Confidence in a cream, tester (? g): This came as a bonus with the It Cosmetics CC+ cream. Another leaflet for me to use up for sure... I might even have to go on a "tester use up" mission.

So will I perhaps calm down in my purchases in the months to come? Well I have two orders being shipped as we speak... and several items on my "research list" 

Empties January - December 2021

 So here is the whole lot I used up of beauty products in 2021...

Products I finished in 2021

The rest of the products I used up in 2021

Essence - stay all day concealer - 10 natural beige (7 ml): this was a product was a part of my beauty goals for 2021, and I managed to finish it in the first half of 2021

Essence - Lash Princess mascara (12 ml): This remains a hyped up mascara on YT, I did not like the brush though, found the wand a bit too big, and I do prefer a plastic bristle brush. So it tended to smudge a bit when I was applying it on my hooded eyes - might buy again in a pinch.

Lumene - Vitamin C+ anti-puffiness roll-on eye serum (10 ml): This was a part of my beauty goals for 2021, I managed to use the little product that remained in it. Glad it is finished as I am sure the C vitamin has probably lost it's potency since I bought it. 

Lancome - Bi-Facil double action eye makeup remover (200 ml): This is absolutely my favorite eye-makeup remover and I will for sure continue to repurchase it.

The body shop - Aloe Calming toner (250 ml): This is absolutely my favorite toner, and I always continue to purchase it as long as the Body shop makes it. 

Lumene - Intense hydration 24 hour moisturizer (50 ml): One of my favorite day creams, soft and I love the scent soft and mild. 

Cover Girl - Ready set gorgeous - 115 (30 ml): This foundation was unsuccessfully a part of my beauty goals for 2019, and surprisingly the tube seemed to be never ending, as more and more product came out of it's nozzle. 

Skyn Iceland - Pure Cloud Cream (10 ml): Continuing on the theme from last year to use up my testers, this is a very light cream and probably most suitable for oily skin, as my skin is combo, and this was a product I used in the autumn, it was not the best for me, as even though having a combo skin, I sometimes have a dry skin surface, and this cream really did not play along well with that. Never the same I managed to finish it. 

Dr. Organic - Organic Manuka Honey hand and nail cream (125 ml): this hand cream is by far the best hand cream I have ever tried.

Hurraw - Grapefruit lip balm (4.3 gr): This lip balm is average, not the greatest and not the worst.

Artdeco - Soft eyeliner waterproof, 16 (1.2 g): this eyeliner is super close to Mac Teddy eye-kohl, but this is not an empties as such. But a declutter, I have Mac teddy in my stash - and this one is getting a bit old, and I rarely use it, so it's time to declutter it.

Sephora - Macadamia hand masks (1 pair): After a season of excessive hand washing and hand sanitizing, this was exactly what the dr. ordered, and my god did each glove come with a lot of product!! After my first use, I stored it in the fridge, and used the day after, and right after using it on my hands for the 2nd time, I threw the "gloves" on my feet and used them as a partial foot mask! 

Blue Lagoon - Algae mask ice cube (7 ml): this is a fairly strong mask, so I did not have this on for very long. But my skin felt squeaky clean afterwards. 

Dr. Hauschka - Hand creme (10 ml): Another tester used up - yey!! Actually I expected this hand cream to be better than it was, considering it was from Dr. Hauschka. Would choose Dr. Organic any day!

L'oréal Paris Elvital - Steam mask - for long damaged hair (20 ml): This hair-mask even came with it's own shower cap, and a whole lot of product!! And the dry ends of my hair felt super soft afterwards.

John Frieda - Frizz Ease hair serum (3 ml): Another tester done, this product is always nice from time to time. But I am not much of a hair-person so usually I do not fuss too much with my hair.

The labs organics - Hyalurornic serum 200 (1 ml): Another tester used up in 2021, this tester was way too small to be able to say anything about the product though.

Inglot lab - Hydrating day serum (1 ml): The same goes for this tester, as the last one, too small to be able to say anything about the product. 

Did you use up a lot this year?

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!!

January - April haul 2021

Covid 19 remains to be a defining factor for 2021, with very few events, no social gatherings, hence very few occations where one wears full face of makeup or fells inclined to buy something new.

So in the first four months of 2021 I only bought three items:

January - April haul

Gosh - Kohl eye liner (1,1 g): So I took a second attempt to use a skin colored eye liner to use in the lower water line to open the eyes. Have I used since? No...

Nailberry - Breathable nail polish - Simplicity (15 ml): I had been very curious about this nailpolish brand since it launched in 2019 or 2020 in Iceland, claiming to be toxic free, breathable and not discoloring the nails yellow. Number of uses? Once, did not feel at all differnet from regular nail polish.

Gua sha - rose quartz facial massage stone: I grabbed this item on a birthday sale with Nola. I had wantet to try this type of facial massager and also wanted to try to use it on my stiff shoulder/neck to see if it would be able to release some tension. Have I used it? Yes once on my face and once on my neck/shoulder area. 

Should I maybe stop purchasing any beauty products, as I do even use them more than once? Yes deffinetly!

Current wishlist - makeup contemplations - January 2021

 I last made a wishlist in March 2020, before the true Covid-19 strike, and the entire list consisted of only eyeshadow palettes. Of that list, there are two items from that list still on my wishlist: Charlotte Tilbury - eyes to mezmerize - Oyster pearl (previously called Marie Antonette) and the Tom Ford quad in nude dip. Then there are also a few other items that have trickled onto my wishlist.

Westman Atelier - Vital skin foundation stick - 68 USD @WestmanAtelier

Photo credit: www.cultbeauty.com

I have really wanted to try this foundation for some time, as this is a clean brand, and in theory would not irritate my skin. But with the fact I do not see a possibility to travel abroad in the near future, I highly doubt I will be able to get this in the near future. Plus I have quite the accumulation of face products that need to be finished before purchasing more. 

Jo Malone - Wood sage and sea salt cologne - 142 USD @Sephora

Photo credit: www.jomalone.com

This perfume has been on my wishlist for years, but as I have a backload of fragrances in my stash, it really does not make sense for me to buy any more until I at least finish a bottle or two of the seven perfumes, of various siszes from 15 ml to 100 ml.

Nars Cosmetics - Lip gloss - Turkish delight - 24 USD @Sephora 

Photo credit: www.narscosmetics.com 

This gloss which was made famous by Kim Kardashian, I am super curious to try out at one point. Still I have way too much lip products, and this color might be too light for me to pull of with my dark hair.

Natasha Denona - Mini retro palette - 25 USD @Sephora

Photo credit: www.beautylish.com

The Charlotte Tilbury, pillow talk quad used to be on my wishlist last year, but now I am not so sure any more. With all my palettes, and the price of the Charlotte Tilbury one, and considering how many seem to love the Natasha Denona formula, I am a bit curious about the brand. And of the smaller palettes she has the mini retro appeals the most to me. 

Bare Minerals - Gen Nude eyeshadow palette - Neutral / Rose - 29 USD @Sephora

Photo credit: www.bareminerals.com

These palettes have been hyped so much for quality on Youtube, by several of content creators I follow. The colors that appeal the most to me are neutral and rose. The funny thing is though, when I swatched this palette in store, the neutral one looks more pink than the rose one, but then again the rose one is a tad cooler than the neutral one. The neutral palette resembles the Charlotte Tilbury pillowtalk quad more, but the rose one reminds me more of the Natasha Denona mini retro palette. What these palettes lack though is a beautiful high shine topper kind of shadow, like both the Charlotte Tilbury and Natasha Denona palettes have.

Nars Cosmetics - Voyageur eyeshadow palette - Suede - 29 GBP @LookFantastic

Photo credit: www.lookfantastic.com

This palette and the brand Nazar has also been on my radar for some time. But this now has been discontinued, and is not available on the company's website. And even though I love the color story, after a palette becomes discontinued, it somehow becomes less relevant, and not as appealing. But I am still curious about eyehsadows and other products from Nars. 

Anything on your list?