X-mas haul 2022

I received three gifts this year that can be considered beauty related..

Guinot Advent calendar

Gifts from my nephews

Guinot Advent Calendar: My sister gifted me my Christmas gift from her in advance on December 1st. It contained 24 little bags, each containing a deluxe sample size of different Guinot products. Contents of the Advent calendar: Sculpt expert cream - sculpt and firm cream body (30 ml), Longue vie corps body cream - firming youth cream body (30 ml), Hydra fraicheur milk - cleansing milk face (30 ml), Hydrazone corps lotion - gentle moisturizing lotion body (30 ml), Gommage facile easy scrub - gentle exfoliating gel body (30 ml), Nouvelle vie cream - first signs of ageing cream face (15 ml), Biologic exfoliating gel - gentle exfoliating gel face (15 ml), Dynamisant anti-fatigue mask - instant refreshing mask face (15 ml), Night logic cream - anti-fatigue radiance night cream face (15 ml), Anti-wrinkle mask - instant revitalising anti-wrinkle mask face dull skin (15 ml), Pur confort cream - soothing protective cream spf15 face sensitive skin (15 ml), Longue vie mains hand cream - youth cream anti-dark spots hands (15 ml), Eclat parfait scrub - exfoliating cream with double microbeads face (15 ml), Mirific anti-age oil - anti aging oil body (15 ml), Hydra fraicheur toning lotion - toning lotion face (30 ml), Micellaire cleansing water - cleansing water face and eyes all skin types (30 ml), Longue vie pids foot cream - regenerating youth cream feet (15 ml), Express yeux eye make-up remover - cleansing lotion non-oily eyes (30 ml), Hydra summum serum - perfect moisturising serum face (5 ml), Hydra finish cream - moisturising complexion-enhancing cream spf  face (10 ml), Masters colors Paris - lip definer lip pencil - color 01 (0,28 g), Masters colors Paris - lipstick color 02 (4 g), Masters colors Paris - nail color - color 30 (5 ml) and a Guinot facial brush. 

Shiseido - Colorgel lip balm: - 108 Lotus (2g): one of my nephew and his bf, gifted me 2 Clarins lip balms, one in 02 and the other in 04 - so I swapped the 02 and paid a little difference to change it to this Shiseido lip balm. The formula is a dream, rich color and super soft on one's lips!

The body shop - Aloe calming toner (250ml): I had requested this toner for x-mas when my younger nephew asked me what I wanted for x-mas. I am about half way through my other one I have. And this is something I purchase repeatedly it was ideal to get it for x-mas.

Clarins - Lip comfort oil - 04 Pitaya (7 ml): This was another item I had requested for x-mas, as I had been super curious about this oil from Clarins. This color is apparently PH-responsive, but the 02 color is not. Both of them are pink, but I assume my lips turn more pink with 04 - 02 applies more clear - but according to swatches online 02 is also a super cute color. Maybe I will get that one when I finish 04. 

That sums up my beauty x-mas gifts, did you get any?

January - May haul 2022 + Birthday gifts

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

The items I have collected so far in 2022

Testers of body butters and a sheet mask

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What have you bought so far into the year?

Discontinued products due to perioral dermatitis

The last time I posted a summary of items I have stopped using due to perioral dermatitis was in April 2016. So I guess I have been quite lucky regarding to the products I have been using since then, as they have not seemed to aggravate my perioral dermatitis to the point it has caused a flare up. Well until now that is.

But now there are three products that seem to have caused a flare up with my perioral dermatitis 

The tree discontinued products

Laneige - lip sleeping mask (20 g): This I bought last year in the US at a whopping price of 20 USD. Sadly it seems to irritate my perioral dermatitis, BUT of the three products I am decluttering it does irritate my POD (perioral dermatitis) the least. But this I gave to a friend, hoping she will have better luck with it than I did.

Lumene - Soft touch hydrating toner, for dry to normal skin (200 ml): This is as a matter of a fact one of my favorite brands, so the fact that this toner did not work for me, almost broke my heart. But this product in conjunction with the next one, seemed to cause quite an irritation with my POD. My skin around my mouth became red and irritated, borderline "inflamed". But a nature-homeopathic "doctor" I saw thinks the chemical Peg-10 is the main culprit as she claims all the Peg chemicals wreck havoc with the skin barrier. If that is true or not, I have no idea, but the Peg-10 chemical in this product was one of the first five ingredients, so that gives the idea that there is a lot of Peg-10 in the toner. So I will for sure try to stay away from Peg ingredients in the near future.

Inika truly organic - Pure rosehip oil (15 ml): This also aggravated my skin, which is quite surprising, as it is a pure organic rosehip oil, which is supposed to be really good for perioral dermatitis. So the fact it did not work for me is quite annoying as well as it was a birthday gift from my parents. 

Has anything not worked for you lately? 

Empties January - April 2019

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

Empties + declutter Jan-April 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have you finished anything up recently?

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.

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!

Shopping in Stockholm

I went to Stockholm with work in the beginning of February, and of course did a little shopping, a few items of clothing were picked up in Gina Tricot and H&M.
Beauty wise, I went on a bit of a shopping-spree and got my hands on a few Lumene products, which are considerably cheaper in Sweden than in Iceland, so I stocked up on the following products;

- Arctic aqua 24H balancing moisturizer for oily and combination skin
- Radiant touch refreshing toner
- Blueberry curl mascara
- Waterproof eye make up remover

- H&M matte top coat
- H&M lipstick in Bare if you dare
- Maybelline colorama nail polish in Ballerina

 

Stockholm shopping

Then I bought a few creams from Lumene to give as gifts, and as I won't use them myself and thus not able to review them (and the recipients might read this blog) so I won't mention them here...
As I bought so much stuff the lovely ladies at the Lumene counter in Ahlens gave me two Lumene lip-glosses as a gift. Wow, how those little gestures make a big difference, I was just thrilled about getting something extra.

These will of course not be counted in the yearly allowance, as they were all bought abroad ;) Kind of cheating, I know.

Thank you for reading,
Ella

First purchases of 2013

The first two things I bought this year were both from Lumene:

- Sensitive touch gentle toner

- Arctic Aqua 2 in 1 skin perfecting moisture booster

Both of these items were bought in January, so we can say that my January and February item budget is thus gone!

The toner is really great, after I started using it I have not gotten a singe break out, so for just over 2 months that is really good!
The Arctic aqua 2 in 1, is less than expected, and is far off from my old Sothys Hydradvace, intensive hydrating serum. But I still am going to use it with the cream from the same line, so we will se how the two are going to work out toghether. The Arctic aqua 2 in 1 is a bit of a water/gel consistency, when my Sothys serum was more like a thin cream. I guess as that one was the first serum I ever used, all serums or skin boosters are going to be compared to that.

Thank you for reading,
Elin

Empties 2012

These are not all of the empties of last year, but some of them.

Empties 2012

Orlane, Normalane astringent soothing lotion for mixed and oily skin.

- This toner was not good, didn't do anything for me, as using nothing at all.

Neutrogena, ageless essentials continous hydration face cream with 25 SPF.

- When I started to use this last summer it was ok, but now this winter it broke me out, so I have stopped using it (even though it's not emptly) not to be bought again or ever used again, new home; the trash.

- Victoria's secret, fragrant body splash in Love spell.
This I bought ages ago, and finally finished now. The smell is always as nice even though the purple colour went out of the water as I made the crucial mistake of storing the bottle in direct sunlight (in my batroom window).

Sothys Hydradvace, intensive hydrating serum.
- A great serum works really well with my Hydradvance moisturizing cream. The only downside: it contains parabens, and thus will not be bought again - even though I REALLY want to. Really good product.

Boots, Botanics skin brightening toner.
- The best toner I have ever used, really gentle on the skin and does brighten the skin. Will definetly buy again, too bad there is not a Boots store in Iceland.

The body shop, hi-shine lip treatment (gloss).
- They have changed the packaging at the body shop, this is a 13 ml tube (cut in half), now they have a 14 ml. My tube doesn't have a colour indication on the bottle, but I think it's closes to party pink in the line they have now. It was a little bit too glittery for my liking, as I could just feel a little bit of glitter particles on my lips. Plus the bottle is way too big and lasts forever. Which could be good for some, but I like to switch out my glosses more often, so smaller bottles for me please.

N.Y.C. liquid lipstick in 433A Christine.
- I don't think N.Y.C. makes this anymore, at least not in this packaging. A really nice orange colour and small enough sparkles so I don't feel them on my lips.

Have you tried any of these?

Ella