August - October Haul 2023

 There is really a general theme for my purchases in 2023 - and the theme is called makeup brushes!! 

The main haul of Augsut - October 2023

Sephora makeup brushes

Testers from Sephora

Elf - Halo glow liquid filter - 1 fair (31.5 ml): This is supposed to be a dupe for the famous Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood flawless filter. I have never tried the CT one, but this one looks promising. I will for sure have to work on a primer in 2024 for my project pan as I seem to have accumulated quite a few throughout the last few years. 

Glow recipe x Barbie - Watermelon glow pink juice moisturizer (25 ml) and Watermelon glow niacinamide dew drops serum (15 ml): My friend asked me to grab one of these sets when I was in the US - and when I saw the packaging, a pink metal box I knew I had to grab one for myself as well. 

Generic Value Products - Color protecting shampoo, compare to Matrix biolage color last shampoo (473 ml): My friend recommended this brand in Sally's Beauty, so I decided to grab a bottle, as I knew Matrix was a good brand, as my mom used to use that brand in her hair salon. 

First aid beauty - KP smoothing body lotion with 10% AHA (170 g): I have the suspicion I suffer from keratosis pilaris (KP) on my legs, as they tend to be red and spotty. It could also just be eczema as in later years I have skin inflammation issues on my face, so it would be no surprise I have developed KP - so when at Ulta in Target I grabbed a tube with me to give a try. 

Neutrogena -  Rapid wrinkle repair regenerating cream, accelerated retinol SA (48 g): I seriously had a shock after one of my flights to the US in October - the lighting in the restroom in my hotel room was too good, so I was able to spot some fine lines I had never spotted before, I went straight to Youtube to find a good retinol for sensitive skin, and this one was one of the ones that came highly recommended. 

Glossier - Monochrome essential eyeshadow trio in almond (3.9 g): I am always drawn into small eyeshadow palettes (over bigger ones), and this came recommended by a few of the youtubers I tend to watch. I usually draw in a dark brown to complete the look, but I have one dark brown single laying around that pairs perfectly with this one, so I am not very disappointed by the fact that this is just a trio instead of a quad. Though quad for the packaging would have been nice. 

Goden Rose - Mega volume city style mascara (9 ml): this purchase broke one my rules for 2023 - not to buy any mascara, but as I was traveling around in Turkey, I just had to grab one of my favorite mascara on that trip. 

Sephora - Pro foundation 47: I got tempted to buy this brush and the following during the latest Sephora sale, on 30% discount.

Sephora - Pro shadow 14: I also got this one on a Sephora 30% sale - in retrospect maybe I should have gotten the smaller eyeshadow brush number 15.

Sephora beauty insider - Glow recipe - Watermelon glow niacinamide dew drops (15 ml) and Watermelon glow PHA + BHA pore tight toner (25 ml): I was gifted these products and the following while browsing in Sephora, Georgetown Washington.

JVN - Complete air dry cream (20 ml): I was also gifted this item in Sephora. I am not entirely sure what is the purpose of this product, do we need a cream in the hair to let it air dry now?

Did you buy something of late?

According to my calculations I have purchased 9 colored items of the 12 I set my self out as a maximum purchase of 2023 of colored cosmetics products - then to that number I can add 3 sample sizes:

Ilia - The necessary eyeshadow palette in cool nude

Maybelline - eyeshadow in nude glow

Inglot - matte eyeshadow in 356

RMS Beauty - Buriti bronzer

Kjær Weis - brown eyeliner

Nars - gloss in Turkish delight

Elf - Halo glow liquid filter

Golden Rose - City style mascara

Glossier - eyeshadow trio in Almond

Ilia - Multi stick in at last (mini)

Ilia - Limitless mascara (mini)

Rose inc - tinted serum (tester)

Total of 12 colored cosmetics, three of the items are testers/gift with purchase sizes, so I wonder if they should could towards the total 12 count? Still there is quite some product in those samples.

What of the items I purchased I could have skipped? Or which of these I did not like so much in retrospect? Number one that comes to mind, and most likely the only item on this list; the Inglot eyeshadow, it is superdry and almost no pigment comes off from it.

Best purchase? The eyeliner from Kjær Weis and the Turkish delight gloss from Nars - those two are amazing. 

Nota bene I have not started to use the following: Ilia multi stick, Ilia mascara, Rose inc tinted serum, Elf halo glow and the Golden rose mascara..

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. 

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!!

Empties February - April 2018

So here are the empties for the monts of February, March and April. Also there is included a one declutter.

Shampoo, body cream and face creams

Mascara, concealer and lip products

So for the three months from February and until the end of April I have finished up seven products, and decluttered one.

Nip+Fab - Tummy fix (100 ml): this gel cream is an anti cellulite cream, which I used on my thighs by a recomendation by an icelandic beauty guru, I never used it consistently enough though to see any difference, but glad it is finished. Will not repurchase.
Maria Nila - Pure volume shampoo (350 ml):  a sulphate and paraben free shampoo from the super popular Swedish brand Maria Nila, It was good, but maybe not as good as the hype about it suggest, and the price tag? Super expensive in Iceland.
The Body Shop - Vitamin C skin boost (30 ml): a kind of a serum cream, which had a bit of a slippy feeling - for sure not a favorite.
Lumene - Lahde (spring water) Intense hydration 24h moisturizer (50 ml): my absolutely favorite moisturizer - already have a backup, but I also want to try the Lumene vitamin c cream.
Lumene - Blueberry wild volume mascara (7 ml): this used to be my absolutely favorite mascara, that was before they changed the wand on it -
Nip+Fab - Eye fix (2 ml): this is the item I decluttered, and oh my gosh, it was never good. It is a super pinky concealer for under eyes, but when I pulled it out of my stash it had separated, and the forumula was all lumpy, so to the bin it goes.
Dior - Dior addict gloss in 643 Diablotine (6,5 ml): a warm coral shimmery gloss, which was bought years ago. Really liked the dior formula, would like to buy this formula again in a different tone, when I have managed to finish some of my glosses and lipsticks I already own.
Labello - olive and lemon lip balm (4,8 g/5,5 ml): a great lip balm that does not aggravate my perioral dermatitis rash to burst out.

What have you used up lately?

Empties January - October 2017

This year I have been a bit out of the blog scene as I have been busy writing my master thesis, but now when that has been handed in, defended and I have formally graduated there is about time to get back to blogging. And it's about time for me to do an empties, and this time, a whopping empties from January to the end of October 2017.

Empties Jan-Oct

Empties Jan-Oct

So I have accumulated quite an amount of products I have finished up this year.

Favourite sun - After sun aloe vera gel: I bought this in Turkey a few years back, and these type of product; Aloe vera gels I use in particular when I go abroad. And is a complete must for me to have on a beach holiday as it can really help when you get sunburned, or if the skin is red after a day in the sun. This brand was quite the average Aloe vera gel, neither better or worse than any other.

Pantene Pro-V - Repair & Protect, miracle protecting conditioner: when I go to the States, I tend to stock up on shampoo and conditioners, as they are so much cheaper in America compared to Iceland. And this was no exception, and would I say that this is an average Pantene Pro-V contitioner.

Garnier - Micellar cleansing water: my absolute favorite micellar water brand. It get's rid of all eye-makeup without any rubbing or scrubbing. Have tried a few other brands, but Garnier remains my favorite of all time.

Lumene - Radiant touch refreshing toner for normal/combination skin: I loved this toner, it left my skin clean and clear. Would buy again, if I would not have a thing for trying new toners on a regular basis.

John Frieda - Brilliant Brunette multi-tone revealing daily moisture shampoo for natural or highlighted brunettes: this is one of the shampoo's I bought in the States as well. I generally like the John Frieda shampoo and conditioners and love the smell of them. In the States I tend to buy them, but I think they are a bit over priced in Iceland for what they are.

Kiss my face - Natural Active Life deodorant, fragrance free: a few years ago after seeing a documentary about aluminum in deodorants I took on an extensive research about aluminum free deodorants and watch video after video on Youtube about them. And did I end up ordering this brand through Amazon. As a matter of a fact I love it, it has no scent, which sometimes I miss a little bit. But it does not irritate my skin (which some more "organic" deodorants do). But I love that it is a stick, which is my preferred type of deodorant, I hate the sprays and the wet roller-ball feels too cold and wet in the morning.

Burt's Bees - Tinted lip balm, honeysuckle: loved this lip balm, and even scraped the product out of the container, so I was able to use every single bit of it up.

Biotherm Eau Soleil, fragrance tester: I love this scent, and would 100% buy if I did not own way to many fragrances at the moment. But will for sure keep this in mind when my "stock" goes down.

Hollister - SoCal, fragrance: one of my favorite fragrances, but unfortunately it has been discontinued. But very happy I was able to use it up before it went bad, plus it was a part of my "beauty goals for 2017" to use up.

Forever - Aloe Jojoba shampoo: a small tester I got when I was buying a aloe vera juice from Forever. This packet though was way to small for me to have some opinion about it.

Dr. Organic - Organic Manuka Honey cream - rescue: I bought this cream on a whim when I was in Copenhagen last autumn, after my perioral dermatitis flared up. It was a good facial cream, but not sure it worked any miracles, and not sure if I would repurchase.

Lumene Cloudberry length serum mascara: a plastic wand mascara, which I usually prefer over the natural bristle wand. But this is a very casual mascara for me, not a lot of umpf, but good to wear day to day, and did not irritate my eyes.

The body shop - grape fruit body butter: a very nice body butter from the body shop, a smaller jar which was perfect to take with me to Greece. I might actually buy this scent again as it not overly sweet.

Burt's Bees - lip gloss in Autumn Haze: this is an average lip gloss, a bit on the sticky side. But 100% natural, and that is a rare find. This item was a part of my "beauty goals for 2017" to use up, which I did, as I removed the stopper and used the product as much up as humanly possible without cutting/slicing the tube in half.

UK + GR+ DK + FI Haul

So far this year I have been on two holidays, one to Corfu, Greece, with connecting flights in London, and then to Copenhagen and Finland. And these are the things I grabbed on those trips.

UK + GR + DK + FI haul

Finlayson Coronna cosmetics bag

On my trip to Greece, I bought two items, one in the airport at Gatwick where I grabbed a Mac paint-pot in Groundwork. This is the perfect no effort, minimal eyeshadow product for everyday. Do not regret it for one minute.

In Sephora in Corfu I bought a Sephora Lotus face mask - which claims to be moisturizing and soothing. Obviously I have not used it yet, but come winter I am sure it will come in handy.

In Copenhagen I picked up the Essence Lash princess mascara. And this type was the one that I had heard the most positive reviews about. In fact I have been trying to get my hands onto one for a couple of years, but the Essence stands where I have bumped into them abroad tend to be very picked over, and sold out. So I was pleasantly surprised they had a full stand in Føtex in Fredriksberg Center in Copenhagen.

The rest of the shopping was done in Finland, where I bought several items from Lumene, the Finnish skincare brand and shampoo and conditioner from the Swedish brand Maria Nila.

Lumene Lahde [Source] Arctic spring water enriched facial mist. I bought this with the intention to replace my Body shop vitamin E facial spray which is almost finished.

Maria Nila Luminous colour shampoo and conditioner. They are vegan and cruelty free, and do not contain sulphates and parabens. I have tried a shampoo from their volume line and so far I like it. And as per bottle is about 10 EUR cheaper in Finland compared to Iceland I decided to pick them up.

Lumene soft touch hydrating toner for dry and normal skin. I still am using the toner I bought in DK last year, but it always good to have a backup ready to go. And as things in Iceland tend to be quite expensive, it always pays off to stock up while abroad.

Lumene Lahde [Source] Pure arctic miracle 3 in 1 micellar cleansing water. This was on offer, and also bought as a back up, when I finish the micellar water I am using currently. But now days I only use micellar water to remove my eye makeup.

Lumene Invisible Illumination - Instant glow beauty serum. This is a colored serum, and I did I choose the color: universal light. And claims to subtly enhance ones complexion, so it is probably a very sheer coverage.

Then I totally fell in love with this little cosmetics bag from Finlayson Coronna, so that also fell into my shopping cart. 

DK + SE Haul

While I was on an exchange program in Copenhagen, Denmark I of course went shopping, and did some damage, both online (as I did not have to pay import tax from EU countries into Denmark, as I have to do if I order something and have it shipped to Iceland).

Also I went for a day to Malmo Sweden and bought one of the items there.

DK + SE haul

The Body shop Himalayan charcoal purifying glow mask - have used this once on my nose - did not see any miracles, but maybe they will happen if I use this once a week.

Lumene Spring water intense hydration 24h moisturizer - this is my favorite skincare brand, and it is Finnish, and is the one product I picked up in Sweden. And I was so happy to find it - as it is not sold in DK. 

La Roche-Posay toleraine ultra - a cream that is highly recommended in the POD community for perioral dermatitis, as it is a skin cream for ultra-sensetive or allergic skin. Really looking forward to try it, unfortunately it is not sold in Iceland.

Dr. Organic organic manuka honey cream - it is a little bit to rich for me, so I can just get away with it in winter. This is also recommended for POD, but for me it is not working too good. As I have some dry flakyness going on as of late.

Sephora triple action cleansing water face and eyes with calendula extract - Calendula for one is recommended for POD, so I am looking forward to try this one when I run out of the Garnier micellar water.

The body shop aloe calming toner - this one is fragrance-fee, colourant-free, perservative-free and alcohol-free. I am just loving the new look and emphasis of The body shop on cleaner products. And am on the final drops of my Lumene toner, so I it will not be long untill I can crack this open.

Gosh darling lashes extreme volume mascara - you can not live in DK without buying a danish product, right?

Too Faced soul mates blushing bronzer in Carrie & Big - was tempted to order this through Amazon to DK, as this was a limited edition and again unawailable in Iceland.

Garnier BB cream sensetive skin in light - not sure how I will get along with this as it has chemical sunscreen spf. But I just loved the Garnier miracle skin cream, and I really wanted a Garnier tinted cream back into my life.

Lily LoLo mineral foundation in barely buff - have not tested it yet, as I have too many open foundations as of late. Maybe I should have opted to put one foundation into my beauty goals for 2017?

Lily LoLo super kabuki brush - had to buy the matching brush, but if you are interested in Lily LoLo, I would deffinetly recommend to buy around Black Friday - as they had several offers going on around and on that date in 2017 from the Lily LoLo website.

Tromborg eyeshadow in fairy - just a beautiful danish brand, that is all about good ingredients, wanted to buy their mineral foundation, but it did not contain clean enough ingredients for me, so I opted to buy an eyeshadow. And what a selection they have, their eye-grease quads were just beautiful. But as they stated on that packaging it had an expiry date 3 or 6 months after opening, and  I have several cream eye-products today I opted for a powder eyeshadow. And omg it is so finely milled, it is hands down the softest eyeshadow I own. And the colour is gorgeous, either in the crease with a lighter colour on the lid, or on the lid, with a darker colour in the crease!

Empties August - December 2016

So here come the products I managed to finish up during my stay in Copenhagen, August untill December 2016

Products used up in August - December 2016

Elf mineral eyeshadow primer, very good primer, finished up, and it was a part of my beauty goals for 2016
Revlon moisture stay lip tint in sheer spice 07; was depoted into the little round jar, is completely finished up, and was a part of beauty goals 2016.
The body shop total energy exhilirating body wash; a 10 ml sample which has been in my collection for a very long time - pleasant with scrubbing particles in.
Janssen cosmetics hydrating lotion; this product was really nice, while hydrating my skin it did not irritate the perioral dermatitis. Will for sure repurchase.
Emporio Armani Diamonds body lotion; this was gifted to me for x-mas a few years back as a perfume and body lotion set - it was nice and the scent lingered on my skin for some time afterwards.
Cover Girl clump crusher mascara; a really nice mascara, would repurchase if it was sold in Iceland.
Clarins foaming body exfoliator; the scrub particles in this product are really nice, but I just hate the smell of the "standard" Clarins body products, and would thus not repurchase.
Victoria's Secret Very Sexy sheer sexy mist; I finally used this product up, which was a part of my beauty goals 2016. I used it as a body spray and as a perfume. Will not repurchase, the smell was not unpleasant, but got really tired of it. 

Holiday Haul

During my holiday in Turkey I picked up a few things, and on the way, in the duty free and in Berlin as I had a few hours in the city in between my connecting flights.

Holiday haul

Mistic perfumum in Z21 and Z20- copies of fragrances from high street brands, I do not consider myself to support the knock-off industry but as these were gifted to me and smell quite nice I use them from time to time.

Sin Kov - the best anti mosquito spray I have ever used, so I bought a back-up to use on holiday next time.

EVY technology sunscreen mousse spf 30 - this is a re-launch of Proderm, and has never failed me before, but I have actually started to think my skin is getting more sensitive, and I might need spf 50 as I managed to get red after sunbathing. 

Golden Rose maxim eyes and city style mascaras. I have bought the city style before and loved it.

Clinique mineral sunscreen fluid for face. I loved this sunscreen, it did not irritate my perioral dermatitis at all, probably as it is not a chemical sunscreen, but a mineral one. 

Kiko stick eyeshadow in 05 rosy brown - this I bought in Berlin, am still testing it out.

Flormar Flashe baked eyeshadow in 04 peachy dazzles. This brand is Turkish and I just had to pick one up, it is pink to me, and higly pigmennted. (So now I have actually broken the low buy by buying 2 eyeshadow products after finishing 5 items from my finish 10 beauty goals for 2016).

Kiko stick eyeshadow in 05 rosy brown and Flormar Flash baked eye shadow in 04 peachy dazzles

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.

Turkey Haul - what made it home

Bioderma; I picked up the legendary Bioderma micellar water - and I'm testing it out as we speak - but truth be told I can not spot the difference between this and the Garnier micellar water.
Nivea sun bronze and protect sunscreen spf 30: picked this up in Turkey as I imagined it would be a lot cheaper in Turkey compared to Greece - which turned out to be the case as i paid about 1200 ISK for it in Migros supermarket in Marmaris, compared to INKA supermarket in Greece where it was about 2100 ISK. Like it a lot, only downside: it contains parabens.
Golden rose maxim eyes mascara
Favorite sun - after sun aloe vera gel: the cheapest I could find in Side and was 15 turkish liras. It works fine
Golden rose miracle lash mascara
Elidor shampoo and conditiones (this bottle represents both) - pretty good for the price
Sephora glass file
Sephora pink tweezers

Empties October 2014 - March 2015

So these are my empties over the last few months:

October '14 - March ' 15 trash

Purity basics moisturizer from hampton - an average hotel body lotion- came in handy on travels.
Lady speed stick in shower fresh - love the scent, but will not repurchase as it contains aluminum.
Lumene sensitive touch gentle toner - love it will repurchase if I like this better than the other Lumene toner I am using currently.
Garnier micellar water - love this makeup remover will repurchase.
Garnier miracle skin cream - like it a lot, the colour matches me perfectly and it is easy to use when you are in a hurry (I am always in a hurry). Would like to try the Garnier BB cream next time (when I finish some foundations).
Nuxe paris micellar foam cleanser - would repurchase if it was available in Iceland. But it ran out faster than my Body shop nutriganics foaming clenser. Am now working on a one from Lumene.
The body shop Aloe protective serum for sensitive skin. Love this - a light and a creamy formula. Do I like it more than my Sothys serum? No, but I like the price better of the body shop one. Might repurchase.
Avon Moroccan argan oil shampoo - average shampoo. Will not repurchase.
Estée Lauder Emerald dream eau de parfum - my favorite summer scent, would repurchase if it was still on the market - do you know of a dupe?
The body shop Moringa body scrub - a decent one. Will probably not buy this scent again.
Physicians formula Organic wear in black. It became dry too fast - but maybe it was an old tube? But when it was good it was GREAT.
Lumene sensitive touch mascara. Ordered this one when I was having eye alergy problems. It was gentle on my eyes - a natural basic mascara.
Clinique chubby stick in 02 whole lotta honey- like the colour but hate how much product is left inside the bottom of the bullet - scooped it out - it will last for months.
YSL mascara in shocking, black - a deluxe sample. Love this mascara, too bad I had to throw it out before it went bad on me, as I got an eye-infection while using it. And didn't want to risk getting it again if the germs got into the tube. Would love to buy this, but not sure if I can justify buying such an expensive mascara. Maybe when I finish all the other mascaras I have, and have managed to finish some other products.
Clinique solour surge gloss in 21 azalea - too sticky - hated it. Will not buy EVER.

So some hits and misses,
will gladly throw all of this away

untill next time,
Ella

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

USA haul fall 2014

So I dashed to NYC with my sister in the end of October, of course I did some beauty shopping along with the eating and sight seeing. The biggest damage was done in Bergdorf Goodman, then Sephora but most of it was bought in CVS or in one of the small drug stores of New York. But still I tried my best not to go overboard, as I already have too much beauty stuff, and as of late I really believe less is more!

USA haul

Hourglass ambient lighting palette

The most expensive of the items, and was I totally sold by the staff at Bergdorf Goodman, who were super nice and helpful and gave me and my sister the time to an demonstration (which is very uncommon in Iceland). The phrase "treat yourself" was used a lot, and yes I did treat myself - have to encorporate this to my daily routine, as of now I feel this is too fancy and nice to use everyday. Wrong, I should treat myself every day to use this product.

Loréal infallible eye shadows in 890 bronzed taupe and 892 amber rush

A regret buy? Almost as these came at over 9 USD a pop, wow, and then I think two of the colours from the comfort zone are dupes for these two - but they are beautiful - I would buy them on a sale only.

Wet and wild shine protective base coat

An oldy but a goody - there says new shade on this bottle, but I have a 10 year old bottle from wet and wild in the same clear purply shade. I am quite sure it is the same. Too cheap to resist even thogh I had picked up the Orly bonder.

Orly bonder rubberized basecoat

I had heard so mutch things about this base coat, so when I saw it at CVS I just could not let it pass - still testing it out, but I totally belive the youtube beauty gurus.

Inm out the door top coat for nails

Another thing I had seen on some beauty chanel, picked this one over the Seche Vite, as it's supposed to contain less harmful cemicals. Yet to be tested.

Love express eau de parfum roller ball

Have wanted to buy this perfume for several years, I indulged in buying a roller ball - as I already have too many big perfume bottles.

Cover girl clump crusher by lashblast mascara in 800 very black

Youtube made me buy it

Wet and wild eye shadow palette in 738 comfort zone

Again Youtube made me buy it - it was not easy to find, found it in a random health + glass store in Astoria-Queens. Price was dirt cheap.

Clarins radiance-plus golden glow booster

Ruth Crilly on Youtube talked about this one sometime this summer - I had been searching for it in airports in Istanbul, Copenhagen and Iceland - and it was nowhere to be found or sold out everywhere - so I snatched it up in Sephora.

Untill next,

Ella

Turkey haul

So as my stay in Turkey is coming to a finish I thought I would do a gathered haul of the beauty items I have bought while I have been here.

Turkey haul

Golden rose nail polish no. 09 - a nice white slightly shimmery
Golden rose nail polish no. 247 - a hot pink almost neon colour
Flormar nail polish in QD02 soft pink - a nice neutral pink
Pastel pro fashion quad eyeshadow no 280 - nice neautral browns
Cecile nail polish number 96 - light pink colour
Sephora bronzer brush no. 44
Sephora complexion kabuki no. 47
Pull & Bear shot woman perfume gold colour
Miss Manga, mega volume waterproof mascara from Loreal
Golden rose mascara city style - mega volume and length
Alix Avien pearly eyeshadow in bronze (I would say it's more pinky taupe in colour)
Flormar nail enamel dryer
Alix Avien - multicolour no 03
Golden rose nail polish no. 242
Golden rose nail polish no. 238 - this one has small silver glimmer sparkels - but it's impossible to use as it is extremely streaky

I'll give out more detailed review as I start using these products on a regular basis ;)

Empties January - February 2014

This time around I managed to finish four items:

Sothys Hydra-nourishing mask:
I just love this mask, it's thin enough to be able to put it on at night and sleep with it, not having to wash it of, and my skin is extra soft and moist the morning after. Will buy again, as soon as Sothys becomes a paraben free brand.

TRESemmé vitamin C&E natural for all ahir types conditioner:
A terrible conditioner for my hair, it's way too light for my dry ends - never going to pruchase this again.

Lumene bluberry curl mascara:
My abosolute favorite mascara - see review here and here. Will 100% buy again, when I finish my other mascaras.

L'oréal Elvital nutri-gloss shine shampoo:
Average shampoo, not good and not bad. Might buy again, when I'm on a budget.

Thank you for reading,
Ella

Lumene blueberry curl mascara - review

This is absoloutly my favorite mascara!

It has a plastic brush that has short bristles on 2 sides, and longer on the 2 other sides - so it makes mascara application on the bottom lashes super easy!
It is made with 100% organic blueberry, it's not blue though.. it claims to keep lashes perfectly curled and to be clump-free volume. I'm not sure if it makes the lashes extra curly, or if it keeps the curl better if you curl your lashes with an eye-lash curler. I don't have super straight lashes.. so I'm not a good judge of that.. but it is clump free :) And I just love the wand so so mutch!

Some pictures (clean wand):

Video review here

What is your favorite mascara?

Seattle Haul

So I went on a long weekend trip to Seattle, USA in November and this is what I managed to pick up in Target, Sephora, Ulta, MAC and online at Amazon:

The haul

The shopping list:

Target:
Revlon just bitten kissabe balm stain in romantic
Elf blush in mellow mauve
Almay eyeliner in 207 brown
Rimmel scandal eyes in 005 nude
Maybelline instant age rewind concealer
Maybelline falsies flare mascara in black
Physicians formula organic wear mascara in black
Nicole by opi in kissed at midnight - from the Selena Gomez line (missing in photo see here)

Sephora;
Tarte blush in exposed
Formula X for Sephora nailpolish in light my fire (missing in photo see here)
Kat von D eyeshdow trio in dreamer
Korres lip butter in pomegranate (missing in photo see here)

Ulta:
Revlon just bitten kissabe balm stain in honey
Revlon just bitten kissabe balm stain in adore
 
Mac;
Mac amplified lipstick in dark side
Mac lip pencil in vino

Amazon online:
Real techniques powder brush
Real techniques expert face brush
Real techniques travel set with essential foundation brush, domed shadow brush and multi task brush
Almay intense i-color satin-i kit for blue eyes
Nicole by opi moisture plus (missing in photo see here)

I also ordered one parfum from Amazon: So Cal by Hollister - which is a discontinued scent - so I couldn't resist.

Regrets:

I wish I had picked up a neautral every day lipstick colour from Mac, and would like to swap one of the Revlon red just bitten kissable balm stains for a more neutral one. Wish I would have had more time in Ulta, even though my purse would probably not like it - I'm now craving an essence eyeliner in 08 Teddy (which is supposed to be a dupe for Mac Teddy) and it's only 0.99 USD. Then I'm almost regretting not to have bought the Naked 1 palette from Urban Decay - nr. 3 was not out yet when I was there... then again I try to convince myself Naked 1 contains parabens, and I have a lot of the colours in my collection already (even though they are not from Urban Decay).

Otherwise there is nothing standing in the way of me looking gorgeous in the near future..

Thank you for reading,
Ella

Eye update

So an update on the eye-rash:

I tried to take a photo of the rash, but it really didn't show up on camera, either my camera is not good enough, or the rash was so mild. Actually I think it was a combination of the two. As I talked about in my previous post about the matter, I did give a couple of products a shot at it's own to see if a particular product was causing the rash. A gave my mascara a go, then my purple eye-liner and then my Trucco eye shadow in Eden, but nothing did seemed to cause more problems, but still I suspect the Trucco eye shadow - which makes me very hesitant to use it - plus I don't have the box anymore so I have no idea what it contains. 

Then the good news I got an earlier appointment with my skin-specialist, and actually on the day I went to see him, which was probably around the 4 and a half week mark since the rash re-appeared, I could hardly see the rash - it had gotten so mild. The doctor took a look at it, and after I speculated with him if it was an allergy reaction or something else, he decided to give me a mild steroid cream to put on my eyelids 2x a day for one week: ultracortenol 5 mg/g.  And by now the rash has totally disappeared. Then my doctor told me to start using make-up again, and then if the rash re-appears I will have to have an allergy test done. So day one today and I'm back on mascara and eyeliner, and I guess I will slowly start using stuff again, one eye item at a time - unless I get really bold one day :) Still really hesitant to use the Trucco eye shadow, as I read online that a lot of people are allergic to pink and purple colour pigment, and my eyeliner and eyeshadow are both in those colour-families.. I have also cleaned all my brushes very thoroughly (if there was a shampoo residue or some bacteria in them causing the rash), and thought about if I was using a new shampoo, and I am kind of using a new shampoo. A lot of eye-rashes are caused by shampoo or hair products that just run over your eyes while you are taking a shower. Then nail-polish is a common culprit, apparently the first 12-24 hours after you apply the polish, the polish is still drying and a lot of chemicals are getting out of the polish (which can cause eye-rash). I really think the shampoo or nail polish is not the cause in my case because I wasn't wearing nail polish when the rash appeared and had already used the shampoo for some time - and have been using the same eye-cream for over a year and my eye-make up remover for about 6 months.

When I come to think of it I'm kind of appalled by the amount of products we use that could actually be causing this issue. Everything from eyelid primer, eye shadow, liner, mascara (apparently fibers in mascara is a common eye-irritant), eye cream, facial cream?, shampoo, nail-polish, eye-makeup remover, facial soap or something else entirely could be causing this rash.

Then I'm torn between if this happens again, if I should have an allergy test done or not, as it's quite expensive. I really don't want to use the Trucco colour again (as I've persuaded myself that that was the cause - even though I had used it before for an extended period of time), then I'm worried that the Mac blackberry eye shadow will cause me the same reaction as it's very similar colour, even more pink than the Trucco Eden.. Today I'm only wearing my Body shop 17 golden brown eyeliner and Lumene bluberry curl mascara (which I love so much it deserves it's own blog post). But wow what a difference a bit of mascara and eyeliner does for me after a week with absolutely nothing on my eyes (except for under eye concealer). So I think my game-plan will be to use only these 2 products for one week (unless they cause rash reappearance), and then maybe try an eye shadow for a week with a primer.. and then a another eyeliner and so on.. and eventually Mac blueberry..

Have you got any makeup allergies?

Thank you for reading,

Ella