Behind the Mirror: Empties August

Hello My Dear Readers,

I do hope you are all doing fine wherever you are!

I have been through some changes in July - I decided to take a Roaccutane treatment, I will post my experience in some months, after I will finish the treatment.

But today I will share with you what products I have been using up lately (since my last post about Empties in May) and what my experience was with them, because I discovered I have a pretty big collection of beauty “garbage” I need to send to the recycling bin.

M.A.C. Select Moisture Cover in NW15
I am actually an NC15, but the girl at the store suggested that some warmth will do my under eye area some good. I got this product in February and in the middle of July I discovered without any warnings that I finished it. I believe that this was mainly due to the packaging of which I am no big fan. I used it on my under eye area and on my acne spots. It made the under eye area look fresh, but it was not that good at covering the acne spots. I got another M.A.C. concealer in my color when I went to get one, after I unexpectedly ran out of this one.

Color & Soin Natural – 10R Shining Red

This is a bit of a cheat, because I used this in April, but somehow I forgot to mention it in the May Empties post. I got it from a local Pharmacy, when I could not get hold of my preferred henna from Mayam for about 2 months in a row.
PLUS: Very easy to apply, with strong natural pigments (it colored even dark hair like mine). It did not interact in a bad way with the parts of the hair that were dyed with henna (but if you want to use it, I recommend at least 2 months of pause between a henna mask and this dye). It is already prepared. It has no ammonia and silicones. The hair conditioner it comes with smelled really nice and had rosemary and eucalyptus oils.
MINUS: Double the price of henna and dried the hair pretty badly. The color disappeared in four weeks.

Balea Totes Meer Salz Dusche

I got this from DM at a time when my skin was very dry and irritated, because it stated on the label to be a good product for this skin type. It smells lovely of red fruits and is enriched with minerals. I could see that my skin felt better after this shower gel than it did before. I generally like the Balea products, because they are cheap and they work. This product had 300ml and was almost twice as cheap as a Nivea 250 ml shower gel.

NIVEA Powerfruit Relax

Speaking of Nivea shower gels, I fell in love with this shower gel that has Acai scent and Blueberry antioxidants. I am not sure if really has all these, but it smells heavenly (I also repurchased it) and keeps my skin from drying.

Alverde Ultrasensitiv Dushcreme

I also got this product in the winter, to calm down my highly allergic skin and I still used it on and off until spring, when I finally used it up completely. It is a very good product for very sensitive skin, it calms it down and keeps it from drying. It has no perfume, no colorants and preservatives. It is slightly more expensive than  the Balea products, but for an all natural product it is rather cheap.

Dettol Moisture Liquid Soap

I got this product to clean my brushes, because I am a freak and I clean my face brushes after every use, since I had some bad experiences with acne outbreaks. This liquid soap is supposed to kill 99.9% of bacteria. It is not as moisturizing as I would wish, but for the brushes it did a pretty good job.

Balea Wellness Fuß Badekristalle

I got this salt mixture for swollen feet after I did the half marathon in May. This bag is for 2 usages, I used one right after the run and another one sometime after to do my pedicure. I like the fact that it helped with the swollen feet and that the feet felt refreshed after using this. It contains camphor, mint and rosemary oils and aloe vera leaf powder, which help with swollen tissue and calm down any irritations. As with their shower gels, this Balea product is good worth for its money. I will get it again.

Balea Urea Handcreme

I liked this hand cream, it was very moisturizing, because of the urea and shea butter. It also smelled really nice. I used it mainly in the evenings, because I wanted something luxurious for my hands. I think you can also use this products without any problems during the day, as it is not heavy. I got this in winter and used it on and off until spring-summer. It is also a good product for its money.

Balea Hand Balsam

This product contains monoï oil and shea butter and in the same time has no perfume. I liked that it was like a balm and protected the skin from drying. I also used this product at night to get the same SPA-feeling I was mentioning about earlier. It had only 50 ml and costs as much as the Urea hand cream, but it is worth it, you get a good hand cream.

Alverde Körperbutter

I got this body butter in the winter when I wanted to use it for my hands at night, but eventually I ended using it on my body, after the winter allergies passed. It smells lovely of red oranges and elder flower, but it also has shea butter and glycerin. It penetrates the skin very fast and doesn’t leave it oily or creamy, but hydrated. The price is very good compared with other body butters from other brands. I really recommend it.

The Body Shop Absinthe Purifying Hand Cream
I fell in love with this cream the first time I tested it in the store. It smelled absolutely lovely. It has Brazilian nut (due to its highly hydrating properties) and marula (which has purifying properties) oils and absinthe extraxt. I like t use this hand cream during the day, because it is a very light cream, it is immediately absorbed in the skin and it leaves a lovely scent. I alway get a lot of compliments when I use this cream. I repurchased it in a bigger size.

Oriflame Feetup Foot Cream

This product has 10% urea and is a very heavy cream for feet. I used it at night and it was pretty good during the winter time. It kept the feet hydrated and fresh. But I went through it pretty fast and decided to use it on and off towards spring time. It is an ok product, I am not sure if I will repurchase it.

Kiss my Face Sport broad spectrum SPF 50

I managed to finish this product in a month, because we have summer in Bucharest and because I have very fair skin. I used it every time I left the house. I liked this product. I loved the smell and the fresh feeling I got when I used it. More details about where I got it from you can find in my post here. Unfortunately when I wanted to repurchase it from iHerb, they were out, so I had to get a similar product from another brand locally.

Garnier Mineral Intensive 72h

Now, normally I would not talk about antiperspirants, but I felt this was worth a small mention. The reason being the fact that it was pretty impressive how it behaved itself during the hard gym classes. I felt fresh even after the classes. It says on the bottle that it is “enriched with absorbent mineralite, regulates perspiration peaks”, is good for sensitive skin and has no alcohol. Nothing to contradict there.

Vichy Capital Soleil SPF 50

This cream is for oily skin, I got it last year (yes, I know, I shall not use last year’s sun protection, but this one was in the fridge) and used it when I went to the sea side and every day during summer. I was so happy when I finished it, because the smell drove me crazy. I cannot understand why some dermatological-cosmetic brands insist on adding perfume to some of their formulations, when they mention “hypoallergenic” on their packages. Sensitive skin being mostly allergic to perfumes (even natural ones). But in any case this product did its job and protected me from the sun and in the same time it kept my skin from getting too greasy. Unfortunately, I will not get this again.

Logona Bio Calendula Lip Balm

I love this product! It is perfect! Do you know how some of the lip products hydrate the lips, but in the same time you don’t feel that they are moisturized? Like the product only makes the first skin layer smoother, by coating it? Well this one doesn’t. You really feel like your lips are hydrated to the fullest. The only downside of it is that it does not have a SPF. I used it during the nights to keep my lips from drying. Oh… and this is my 2^nd finished tube.

OptiFree Replenish and Refresh Eye drops

I spoke about these products before, but this is the last time I will mention them. Because my doctor changed my lenses solution and eye drops.

Coconut Oil

I have been using this oil (that is solid at temperatures under 21 degrees) in a variety of mixtures (body oil, henna, hair oil and lip butter) because of its hydrating properties. I also applied this product in the evenings directly on my skin and hair, but I am no big fan of coconut smell, but in the morning the effect was wonderful – both the hair and skin were feeling hydrated and smooth and I still could detect a faint scent of coconuts. It is not a heavy oil and penetrates the skin very fast.

Castor Oil

This is a very heavy oil. I used it mainly in hair compositions (henna, hair oil) and applied it directly on my eyelashes each evening after I removed my make-up and applied the eye cream. At one point I even made an eye make-up remover with castor oil and cornflower water. I like what this hair does to the hairs: the hair is much shinier and the roots are strengthened.

Cornflower water

Besides using this water in the above mentioned eye make-up remover, I used it in eye cream and eye gel compositions. I talked about them here.

Argan Oil

Everybody without exception loves this oil. It is the perfect oil for hydrating any skin types and for preventing wrinkles. It is also very good for the hair. I used it in body oils and hair oils mixtures. I haven’t used it by itself on my face skin yet, because until recently my skin was oily, but now that it is drier I am thinking of using it in face massages.

Tahiti Monoï Oil

I know everybody is crazy after Monoï oil. I am not sure how many know, that this oil is composed of coconut oil with a specific natural fragrance, which makes it so unique and even good for dry and sensitive skin. I used it in body oil mixtures and as it is directly on the skin in the evenings. The smell is not overpowering, it actually is very soothing and calming and the skin felt amazing.

Pomegranate Oil

This is a very potent oil and needs to be added 1 to 10% in other oils. It has a very strong antioxidant effect, thus preventing wrinkles and premature skin ageing. I mixed it with various oils for body oil mixtures and added it also in face masks.

Ylang Ylang Essential Oil

I used this essential oil in hair mixtures. It makes the hair oil mixture and the henna mask smell better and even after you wash the hair and condition it, a faint smell of ylang-ylang can still be felt. One of its advantages is that it does not dry out the hair.

Red vine extract

I got this product with the idea of mixing it in eye creams, but after looking at the recipes I came to the conclusion I cannot add it. But after doing some more research, I found that I can use it in a make-up remover. So I added it and enjoyed the result very much. This is an active ingredient, which helps improve the blood flow in the capillaries and helps reduce dark circles around the eye. The overall effect of this ingredient is of fresh looking skin, because the skin gets more oxygen.

Tea Tree Essential Oil

I used this product in a face gommage cream, face masks, face oils for massage and make-up removal. I also used this product directly on the spots at night after the face oil. However only until after I started on the Roaccutane treatment I could notice an improvement for my skin due to this oil. I know that normally this product takes longer than its medical alternative (benzoyl peroxide) to show a real effect on the skin, but until recently I only felt that my skin was feeling slightly refreshed after using it, but with no other benefit. Now, I can really see what it can do. I am happy that I could really make use of this product and make my skin get over the chemical alternative that is benzoyl peroxide (or not, as it is now the case in Romania, that we cannot find Brevoxyl, the product containing this active ingredient anywhere).

I know it has been a very long post, but I do hope you can find some useful information within it. All these products were purchased by me during some months. This post is in no way a sponsored post.

Please let me know if you used or use some of these products. I would love to read what your experience was with them!

Until next time,
Smile, it is good for the skin!
Love,
Alex.

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Behind the Mirror: Empties

My Dear Readers,

I think it is about time I presented to you some of the products I finished since I posted my last finished products post. It has been a very long time and for some products I don't have the packages anymore, because I had to get rid of them when I moved.
This is why the first products I will talk about don't have photos.

Goldwell Dualsenses Green Pure Repair 60 sec treatment
I haven't been using any conditioner in more than 1 year, because I was using this product. I got the big bottle (1.500 ml) in December 2011 and it lasted until about February 2013 - so yes, more than 1 year. I loved it because it was all natural, it had goji berries, argan oil and shea butter extracts an no parabens, no silicones and it smelled divine. This is a hair mask, which should be used for damaged hair. My hair felt smooth, flexible and very silky by using this. I managed to grow it very long. When I used this hair treatment after henna, my hair felt amazing. I used it 2 times a week and during all this time, I did not use it entirely alone.
I recommend it to everybody who wants to have naturally beautiful hair. It really works.

elemental Mayam Apricot oil
I used this oil on its own to massage it into my neck and necklace areas in the evenings before I went to sleep, after I did my cleansing routine - being a rather heavy oil for my taste - compared to castor oil it is light - and entering slower into the skin I could not use it during the day. I wasn't very happy with the scent of this oil, but I liked the results of using it. The skin was brightened and looked much better - it is great for sensitive skin, because it calms it down and keeps it hydrated. I also used this oil in a combination with other oils (Aloe, Macadamia Nut, Tea Tree, Raspberry seed oil) when I was on the sea side, to help regenerate and calm down my skin after being to the beach.
It is an oil that can be used mostly on all skin types (in massages, for its illuminating effects), but if you have an oily skin I would not use it during the day and if it is acne prone, I would not use it more than 2-3 times a week.

Balea Med Creme-Öl Körperlotion
I got this body lotion last winter, when it was really cold and I got a horrible cold allergy. I used products from Balea Med before this one. Especially the products for highly sensitive skin (which have no smell and no parabens and have helped me with this allergy), but I wanted a bigger bottle than the one available for the highly sensitive skin products - this one was 400 ml. I got this and was not at all disappointed. The product even thought it has a thick consistency, it is almost immediately very well absorbed by the skin. The skin was hydrated in a way in which only the body oils I made did, without the oily sensations.
In the summer however I don't think I'll use this product, because it is somewhat too thick.

Alverde Deo mit Acerolakirsche
It has a 24h lasting effect and smells divine. I got this because it leaves no marks on the skin and has no aluminium  I recently purchased it again. I recommend it, but in the high summer, I think this product needs to be reapplied during the day.

Alverde Feuchtigkeitslotion Quitte und Brombeere
I got this product with the idea in mind, that it will be good for the winter time. Unfortunately I got a very bad allergy to the cold and had to switch to non-scented products, because it irritated my skin very much due to the smell. Even though it is an all natural product, my skin was that affected by the cold that no perfume (natural or not) was tolerated.
Once the cold was over I could use this product normally and I really enjoyed it's perfume without being affected by it. It has a light texture and it was very well absorbed by the skin, however not as hydrating as I would have wished.

Vichy Normaderm Solution Mincellaire
This is a product I bought last summer, shortly before my horrible acne breakout and which I haven't used since. I wanted to use it at the gym to remove the make-up before I worked out. I must admit I did not like this product very much, mainly because it dried my skin pretty badly. I decided to finish this product so I started using it again until I finished it, but I did not find it especially good. I did not see a big improvement on clearing or soothing my skin - I used it on a cotton pad to remove the first make-up layer, before using a face gel to deeply cleanse the skin.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Gel Moussant
I got this 400 ml bottle shortly before last Christmas and I used it up just at the beginning of April. I must admit I got completely hooked by this product - no wonder since it has citric acid (which helps gently exfoliate the skin) and zinc (which helps restore the skin tissue and heal the skin marks). It cleanses my skin without drying and it also keeps it from getting too fat. I think this is the best face wash I ever used and I highly recommend it to all those who have sensitive acne prone skin.
When I started using this product, in December my skin was starting to heal from the acne outbreak, but it was very dried out because of the treatment I received from the doctor. This gel helped by not over-drying and also by preventing the appearance of other blemishes. I also like the package it comes with and that it is really good value for money in this 400 ml size. I already got a new bottle.

astellas Zineryt
This is one of the products I received from my doctor to help cure the acne blemishes. It contains erythromycin (an antibiotic which helps cure a large range of bacteria) and zinc acetate (which helps hydrate and restore the affected tissue) as active ingredients. However the whole mixture is in alcohol and after about 5 weeks the product loses its effectiveness.
It did its job in a decent way, however I got to use a better product along the way. In any case this product is used during the day after cleansing the face, as a toner and before the make-up. During the colder months it is recommended to use a hydrating cream above it and in the summer a cream with SPF (30 or above).
Is you feel you need to use this product, ask your dermatologist first, because it is medicine.

Alcon Opti-Free Replenish
This is another bottle of the lenses solution I have used up. More details, on this can be found in this post.

Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Curl
I think this is the 4th one of these rimmels I have used up. I still love it, the only thing that bugs me with it, is that they added a perfume to this product. This disappointed me, because I do not like all things scented and especially not on the eyes, because I wear lenses and they are pretty sensitive. Otherwise it still does its job, but I am wondering, if I should not look for something non-scented, in order to prevent a possible allergy. Do you have a suggestion for a non scented rimmel that gives volume and curl to your lashes?
You can also find a blog post on this product here.

M.A.C. Blot Powder/ Pressed
This is my first ever M.A.C. product I used up. It lasted me for about 1 year and I loved it all the way. I had the color "Medium". It was a really good product for my oily skin (as its name, it blotted the skin) and it is very translucent, so it blended very well with all the foundations I used. I would most likely get this product again.
When I got this product at the M.A.C. counter, the lady was very nice and she was very helpful and supportive. It made me go again to the M.A.C. shop when I needed a new powder an later when I needed a foundation and concealer, but more on this to come.

La Roche-Posay Anthelios AC, SPF 30
It took me a year to finish this product, mainly because I started using it when I got the acne breakout and then had to switch to a 50 SPF and I had to abandon this product. I started using it again ever since the sun started burning on the sky again this spring and I finished it out. Another blog post on this product, you can find here.

What are your empties?
Smile, it is good for the skin!
Alex.

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Behind the Mirror: Eyes

I think it is very important to care for the area around your eyes. Because the skin here is very sensitive and gets damaged much easier (it also gets wrinkles before the rest of the skin). I think we all have seen women who don't look their age - either they look much older or much younger mostly depending on the way in which they developed wrinkles or not around their eyes.

There are a lot of issues that can appear with the around the eye area. Lisa Eldridge had a series of videos that covered this topic in detail and explains even better than a doctor I asked the same question a while back (here are the links Video 1 and Video 2). But the basic rule is to start using skin care products for the around the eye area as soon as possible - preferably from the same time you start using make-up. Because you will need some skin care to protect and recover the skin from the pigments in the cosmetics and from the make-up removal process. I am personally using skin care products for this area from around the same time I started using make-up. It is important to use this skincare also in the days when you are not using make-up, because it helps the skin to recover.

Getting to the practical part of this story - I use contact lenses, so the skin area around my eyes has to face an extra challenge besides make-up and make-up removal processesm - when putting and removing the lenses. Therefore I discovered it felt the need for more protection and more hydration. And after seeing Lisa's videos I decided I have to look for some key ingredients in the products I purchase: Hyaluronic Acid (to help the skin be firm and not wrinkle), Retinol A (help the wrinkle heal), Caffeine (to help drain the puffiness around the eyes). But in the same time a lot of companies are bringing out new elements that help with a lot of the around the eyes issues.

REDERMIC + YEUX from La Roche-Posay

This eye cream should help reduce the wrinkles and restore firmness to the eye area. I got this because it contained pure Vitamin C and Madecassoside (extract Centella Asiatica which has renowned recovery properties) and Neurosensine (a peptide that helps reverse the ageing process) and because it was recommended also for persons with sensitive eyes who wear lenses. After I checked the prospect again I saw it also contained Shea butter (which among other properties helps recover the skin, keeps it moist and has a slight sun protection natural factor).

It seemed to work pretty well, however the Vitamin C started to oxidize pretty soon, even if I kept it in the fridge. Also the packaging is not perfect – the body is made of metal, which constantly pushes the product out and when you open it the product just pours out in a larger quantity than you would have wanted.

This makes it difficult to use the product for the whole 6 months of guarantee after opening, even if the quantity and the concentration of the product would otherwise permit it. However this is my favorite eye cream care product by far.

Liftactiv Retinol HA from Vichy
I got it because of the active ingredients it contains (Hyaluronic Acid, Retinol A and even also Shea Butter). I must admit I did not research it very well and had the unpleasant surprise to discover that the packaging was really weird: it is in a pump and on the end it has an outstretched sort of arm with an opening in the end from which the product comes out. This "arm" should help massage the skin around the eye area, however I discovered that the hole trough which the product was coming out was roughly cut and it scratched my skin (which is actually against the whole care idea). Nonetheless it comes with some massaging indications, that can still be used if you do it lightly with your fingers.
Another disappointing thing about this product is that it lasted for ~2,5 months. This product is the competition to Redermic+. But I like Redermic+ better, mostly because I feel my skin felt better from it and it is more mild to the skin - Liftactiv felt a tad more aggressive to the skin.

HYDRAPHASE INTENSE YEUX from La Roche-Posay
This is what I am currently using, because I could not find Redermic+ when I went to the Pharmacy the day the Liftactiv from Vichy suddenly went empty. It contains Hyaluronic Acid and Caffeine and has a gel consistency which is very fast absorbed by the skin.
But if you use too much product, the skin feels sticky and it tends to stick together. Not a very nice feeling.
And I was absolutely amazed by the way in which my concealer "gets along" with it. With the other two creams the concealer creased pretty badly during the day and I had to "rearrange" it, with this it creases much less and the concealer stays better in place.





Speaking of concealers, here are the two concealers I have been using for my under eye area:

All about eyes concealer CLINIQUE
In the color 01 Light Neutral. It says that it "disguises dark undereye circles; reduces the appearance of puffiness". It has a thick consistency and it blends good under the eye giving a fresh appearance.
However it creases on me more than the one from Bourjois does.

healthy mix from BOURJOIS
In the color 51. On the packaging it says that it is hydrating but being oil free in the same time; it also has apricot extracts for radiance and raspberry which activates the micro-circulation.
The consistency of this concealer is much lighter and watery than the one of the Clinique concealer (not creasing as much also), but in the same time it is just as pigmented.




Besides these products, here are some tips and tricks from my experience:

• Drink a lot of fluids (especially green tea), because it helps drain the fluids from around the eye area and  thus reducing the puffiness.
• When you have very puffy eyes, use a green tea ice cube in a cloth or gauze and lightly massage the eye area. The swelling will go down and the eye will feel invigorated. But take care not to apply the ice cube directly on your skin, because it will hurt.
• In the summer time I found that using a make-up remover that was previously kept in the fridge helps calming and refreshes the eyes. The same goes for the eye cream.
• Massaging the skin around the eyes is good, but make it with very light movements and try to do it with cold fingers (keep them previously under cold water for a few seconds).
• Try to sleep a minimum of 7-8 hours a night. Sleep helps reduce the swellings, pigmentation and coloring under the eyes.

Sleep. 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.