Behind the Mirror: EMPTIES

Here is a list of the products I have been using in the last months. Feel free to comment back or ask questions, if you need more info. Enjoy!

TRIACNÉAL by Avène

This cream helps healing blemishes and treating spots, it also prevents the appearance of scars. The active ingredients in this cream are glycolic acid (helps eliminating the blemished through its peeling effect), retinaldehyde (limits the appearance of new eruptions and that of scars) and Efectiose®.

This product should be applied only of perfectly cleansed and dried skin and only on the blemish, not the entire face. I used it over Cleanance K from Avène on the blemishes. I really liked this product because it helped with the healing of the blemishes and also did not irritate the skin. I will definitely use it again.

SÉBIUM Gel Moussant by BIODERMA

I used this product before and I got along pretty well with it. Even though starting to use Avène’s Cleanance gel immediately after might speak against my previous statement. J

It has a lighter consistency than the Avène one and the bottle is bigger and lasts longer, so the pay-out is much better. But I did not get along very well with it, my skin literally exploded (also due to other causes, but it did not exfoliate as good as the Avène one – it does not contain lactic acid – so it had its own contribution to the overall boom! effect) and it dried the skin pretty badly.

On the other hand as all Bioderma products it contains Rhamnose (you can check here more info about Rhamnose).

SUN Invisible Protection SPF 30 from NIVEA

I liked this product because it did not leave traces on the skin and because it was absorbed pretty fast. However it was greasy on my skin and the smell made me queasy (yes, that nasty smell-problem of mine shows its ugly head again).

From the Sun Protection point of view I got along very well with it in the May, June months before the sun started to really burn. You should know that my skin is very fair and that I use sun protection from May until the sun decides to stop burning, because living in Bucharest in the summer you can get sunburned very fast and easy otherwise.

Photoderm Kid 50+ from BIODERMA

From June until August I used this product. I know it says it is for Kids, but it also says “Very High Protection Delicate Skin”. It had no fragrance and we got along very well, the only downside (with which I learned to live) was that it did leave some white traces, but massaging the product in the skin left no white traces.

Since the sun burned horribly from July until August in Bucharest and this product kept me from getting toasted, I think it was a very good product.

Sensibio H2O from BIODERMA

I wrote about this product before here, what I wanted to add is that I started keeping the product in the fridge and using it cold to remove the eye make-up in the evening. This helped relax the eyes and reduce the swollen feel after one day in the heat & sun.

Ultra-Sensitive Body Lotion from ALVERDE

This is recommended for very sensitive skin, all its ingredients are obtained from Biological cultures. It contains Jojoba and Shea butter, its consistency is very light and very fast absorbing. However I would have expected more hydration from the main ingredients  Otherwise it was very good in calming the skin after walking in the sun in the hot Bucharest summer.

Cellulite Shower Gel from BALEA

I am not one of those cellulite obsessed girls, I like using shower gels that claim to reduce the cellulite because they help keep the skin elastic. They contain caffeine and other ingredients that claim to reduce the cellulite. I use them with a massaging brush and as a body scrub. Since I started using them for this purpose the skin is much elastic and clean.

And coming to cellulite, I think I am one of those blessed girls that don’t over-obsess about this and don’t have also a visible problem with it.

Apricot Shower Gel by YVES ROCHER

I fell in love with the smell of this shower gel! I like the shower gels from “Les Plaisirs Nature” product range. They are perfect for summer days – they hydrate and refresh the skin. They fragrances reinvigorate my senses after one long day. So I definitely recommend one of these, if you want to pamper yourself.

Shea Butter Shower Gel from ELMIPLANT

I love this shower gel! It is the only shower gel I used that keeps my very dry and sensitive skin hydrated and happy! I used it in the Summer when I went to the beach, I use it now, when it’s colder outside and it is my go-to shower gel. It smells very fresh and natural and the skin feels happy! No more cracks (yes, you read correctly – cracks, that’s how dry my skin is and feels sometimes) and no more burns after hair removal processes. If you can find it, get it! Another thing I like about this shower gel is that it has no Parabens and Silicones.

On the other hand the Shea Butter is perfect for restoring damaged tissue and it also has a natural SPF of about 6. It also fights against free radicals.

Cellufight Exfoliating Shower Cream by ELMIPLANT

I used this up and got another one mainly because of the way it smelled and because it did not irritate my skin. like I mentioned above, I use these sort of shower gels mainly for body scrub purposes and not for their cellulite fighting abilities.

This one has caffeine, Crushed olive stones, guarana and Vitamin E (a very powerful natural antioxidant).

Lavender Floral Water from MAYAM
I got this product because Lavender is very good to care for oily acne prone skin and because I never used a floral water until now and wanted to see how it felt. But I hated the smell of Lavender all the way, it made me slightly queasy. It has calming, regenerating and purifying effects, also it is antimicrobial and antiseptic.
I used it sprayed directly on the face and mixed with clay for face masks.

Smile, it is good for the skin!
Alex.

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Behind the Mirror: May Empties

With some delay, here is my May empties products blog post.

PLEASE NOTE: I am not a dermatologist, the information I wrote is based strictly on my own research, my doctor's recommendations and my experience whith these products. Because I haven't found any such information when I researched these products a while ago, I decided I should put it all together, in case anyone else needs it like I did. If you are not sure these products might be good for you, please consult your doctor.

Avène Cleanance Gel Soapless Cleanser

I have been using this cleansing gel for more than a year now and we got along very well. Mainly because I have very sensitive skin prone to acne this was the only product I could use without aggravating the skin even more. I used it in the mornings and in the evenings. It cleansed the skin of all the impurities and make-up. When it comes to my face cleansing routine, I am very careful and thorough. I never go to bed without washing my face and applying an exfoliating or acne-treatment cream. Otherwise all hell breaks loose.
However I am happy I finished this cleansing gel, because I needed to change it for something more potent in the fight against acne. This gel was perfect during the winter time, when my skin was prone to dehydration as well, because it doesn’t leave the skin feeling too dry. On the warmer months however I need something that cleanses the pores more deeply.
It contains Avène thermal water (very soothing for sensitive skin, but more on that below), lactic acid (helps exfoliating the skin and thus cleansing it thoroughly), zinc gluconate (important ingredient for acne prone skin, that helps healing and activates the natural defense mechanism of the skin) and cucurbita pepo (pumpkin) seed oil (due to its high content of fatty acids and vitamin E it neutralizes the free radicals and enhances the capacity of the immune system of the skin to cure the various problems like wounds, acne scarring, rosacea, stretch marks etc).

Avène Cleanance K Cream-gel

For the same reasons mentioned above, I also used the hydrating exfoliating gel from Avène’s Cleanance range for sensitive acne prone skin. I used it at night, after I thoroughly cleansed my skin to exfoliate and remove black heads. Because it contains Avène thermal water its formulation is kind to the skin, because the AHA and BHA active ingredients are very damaging for the skin. AHA (alpha hydroxy acids) and BHA (beta hydroxy acids) are the acids that actually do the exfoliating of the dead and damaged skin cells and help heal the scarring - process which is known as chemical peel. Also because of these ingredients this cream needs to be used only at night, if the sunlight falls on the skin after you’ve applied a cream with these ingredients you might get highly sunburned – these ingredients make the skin more sensitive to the sun. Another reason why you should use SPF creams during the day (regardless of the season) if you have acne prone skin. Also due to their rejuvenating properties, these acids can be found in anti-ageing creams.
I have been using this cream for more than 1 year now. I used a tube up every 3-4 months. I could use it during the winter season, without getting my skin dry and dehydrated. The skin looked good and exfoliated. However I stopped using it after this tube was finished, because I got a very bad acne outburst and needed something stronger and lighter due to the warmer season.

Avène Thermal Spring Water

Like I mentioned in my blog post on the April Empties, I use Avène Thermal Spring Water because it keeps my skin from drying when I use brevoxyl on the acne that appears on my back. I also use this water on my face and whenever I need to refresh myself and my make-up (I try to do that at least once a day, half way through the day) and before and after exercising in the gym. I found it keeps the pores from clogging with sweat and make-up and prevents acne to form itself.

I spray it also on my boyfriend’s face in the evenings, so that it can counteract with the free radicals and soothe any sun and razor burns. He hates using any cosmetic product, except this one.

Looking at the ingredients its soothing and refreshing effects are more than clear, for ex: it contains zinc (of which I spoke above). 

Bioderman Sensibio H2O

Everybody has an intense relationship with this product. Some love it, other hate it with the same passion. After seeing Lisa Eldridge’s comments on this product, I decided to test it for myself some time ago. This is the 4^th bottle I used-up, so I think this product and I are for a long lasting relationship.

I must admit that I use it for objective reasons – it is a make-up remover for both eyes and skin without hurting my eyes and my skin (both being as I mentioned before sensitive). I cannot say this for the other products I used to remove the make-up from the eyes and face (like, for ex: the Vichy mincellar make-up remover, all of Nivea’s eye make-up removers, eye make-up removers from farmec, elmiplant and herbagen).
Because a product speaks to me only if the ingredients make sense, I took a peek at the ingredients list. Besides being a mincellar solution, it must have some other goodies, I thought to myself. It has Rhamnose and cucumber extract. Rhamnose is the new miracle ingredient that keeps the skin from ageing by stimulating the skin cells to produce natural collagen. It is being extracted from the Uncaria flower, also known as the cat claw. I found more details on Rhamnose on the Daily Telegraph. Cucumber is known to everyone, that it refreshes and purifies the skin, helps with dark circles around the eyes. So it is a perfect product in my book.
I will get it again, because this product and I have a good thing going.

Vichy Dercos Anti-Dandruff Treatment Shampoo

It seems that my sensitive oily skin sometimes gets dandruff and as a result of this combination my hair tends to fall. For this reason my dermatologist recommended me this shampoo. I use it for more than a year now and we get along very well.

I don’t wash my hair daily, because it is very long and the skin is very sensitive, so I use it twice a week. It helped me get over the hair loss, the oiliness and the dandruff. Its active ingredient is selenium disulfide.

I must admit, that I tried another shampoo, but returned to this one, because it is the only thing that works for me. The overall Vichy shampoos are effective. My boyfriend discovered that this statement is correct and uses them as well and his hair looks much better also.

The only down part might be that I use up a bottle in two months and have to get one every two months and this stuff doesn’t come cheap.

OPTI FREE Replenish

This is disinfectant solution for soft lenses. Because I am virtually blind without lenses, I wear them all the time and also in the office. Since in the office the air is conditioned and my skin is like I mentioned before sensitive, I got a mild case of conjunctivitis about a year and a half ago and the doctor changed my prescription for the solution to this one. Ever since I haven’t had another problem with my eyes. They are perfectly safe and healthy.

The only down side of this product is that it has only 300 ml and it lasts a little under two months, which is less than the other lenses solutions do. But nobody said health comes at a low price.

Refresh Eye Drops

Even though I use one of the best lenses out there – Biofinity by Cooper Vision, now and again I get dry eyes (due to the air conditioning in the office and at the gym). When the doctor prescribed me the lenses solution, she also prescribed me these eye drops. A bottle can be used two months after the opening and they counteract dryness and any allergies.

They are not very expensive, can be used more than three times a day over the lenses or not, which for some other drops out there cannot be done.

L-Carnitin and Magnesium Supplements

Because I believe beauty comes from within and if you fell good, you are beautiful, I will talk also about this health supplement I used up. I got this 60 capsules box from dm, more out of curiosity. I know L-Carnitin helps burn out the fat by transporting it to the mitochondria and thus transforming it in energy. Magnesium helps the muscles and the nervous system relax. Because I was going through a pretty hard gym program and needed to burn some fat here and there, I decided to try them out. I must admit that to some extent I felt better and with more energy than normal. It helped during the spring asthenia.

I stopped taking them after I finished up the 60 capsules, because it is not recommended to take long cures of L-Carnitin, or the organism will get used to them and stop producing the natural L-Carnitin.


Alverde cellulite peeling shower gel

I repurchased this product, because i absolutely love it. It smells of lemongrass and rosemary. I use it towards the end of the shower with an exfoliating body brush. It is invigorating and fresh and makes me feel good.
It contains caffeine, which helps breaking the fat cells apart and thus reducing the cellulite. The lemon and rosemary oils are from biological cultures and the smell is all natural - a mixture of etheric oils.
After the shower I use my anti cellulite gel I presented you in my AprilEmpties blog post. The shower gel lasts for about two months and I will get it every time I can from dm.
I love all the alverde products I used, they have mostly natural and bio products and are not very expensive.

Bourjois Rimmel Volume Glamour Ultra Curl

I am not a fake lashes kind of girl, but I do possess some long lashes which I like to show off (yes, I know, how very selfish of me). So I went to a Sephora shop and asked the lady for a curling, volume rimmel, expecting her to sell me some fake lashes. But no, instead she gave me this rimmel from Bourjois. I used it and I liked it. It is perfect for my lashes. It curls them just enough and elongates them just long enough for them to pop-up and in the end they don’t look clumpy. It is not water resistant, which is good, because I am no fan of water resistant rimmels, but it is also not very runny, as some of the non-water resistant rimmels are.

I understood that this rimmel contains natural bees wax and it is also good for lenses users. It is not expensive and we get along very well. I must admit I like Bourjois products (I was very sad when the Biodetox foundation was discontinued) and this one has not disappointed me, so afer this one was finished, I got another one.

Stay healthy, it is good for the skin!Alex.