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: 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: Beauty-Boxes în România: Lulubox

Eu sunt o mare iubitoare de surprize plăcute. Din acest motiv mă uitam cu o oarecare invidie la beauty-blogger-ițele din Germania, Angia și SUA cum povesteau despre cutiuțele cu surprize pe care le primeau. Evident primirea cutiei în sine nu era o surpriză - pentru că era precomandată și preplătită (~$10 sau ~€10) - dar conținutul nu era cunoscut până la deschiderea ei de unde și surpriza. Scriu cu invidie, pentru că respectivele cutii se livrau doar în țările respective, iar la noi nu am găsit așa ceva la data respectivă.
Dar uite că la un mom dat au apărut și la noi cutiuțele cu suprize. După un mic studiu de piață am decis să comand Lulubox. Am comandat cutia din septembrie și pe cea din octombrie. Dar am avut parte de o surpriză neplăcuta și am fost tare dezamăgită, iată de ce:

• Ca să poți comanda cutia, trebuie să primești un cod de la ei. Ceea ce mi se pare prea complicat, în definitiv este o cutie cu cosmetice, nu secrete naționale.
• Cutiile au ajuns târziu: cutia din septembrie a ajuns pe 1 octombrie și cea din octombrie (după o prealabilă informare pe facebook a unor întârzieri) a ajuns pe 7 noiembrie.
• Cutia ar trebui sa conțină 5 produse (în variante mini sau full size) - al 5-lea produs fiind o surpriza.

• În septembrie cutia s-a numit Metamorphosis și a conținut după cum urmează:
  Două mostre de parfum (1,5 ml fiecare): „La vie est belle” de la Lancôme și „Lady Rebel” de la Mango
  O mostră de rimmel  „Outrageous Volume” de la Sephora (2 ml)
  O cremă de corp de la Collistar in variantă small size (30 ml)
  O ojă de la Sephora 5 ml (produsul supriză)

• În octombrie care s-a numit Beauty Day:
  Alte două mostre de parfum (fiecare 1,5 ml unul fiind produsul surpriză): „Signorina” de la Salvatore Ferragamo și „Mademoiselle Ricci” de la Nina Ricci
  O mostră de mască antiacneică pentru față (gramaj nespecificat) de la Lush
  O mostră de șampon și una de balsam (8 ml fiecare) cu un voucher de reducere pentru tratament capilar toate de la Keune
  Un cub pentru baie (18 gr) de la Sephora
• Nu neg calitatea acestor produse, dar mă deranjează că se cer 59 RON pentru niște mostre pe care scrie clar ”vânzarea interzisă” iar singurele produse ”full size” au un gramaj similar cu cel al mostrelor.

În concluzie m-am lecuit de cutiile cu surprize de la noi. Aștept să văd dacă nu vor apărea altele mai bune cu mai multe review-uri la ele și poate abia atunci îmi voi mai comanda una.

Singurul lucru bun pentru mine din toată povestea asta a fost marea pasiune pe care am dezvoltat-o pentru unul din parfumuri „La vie est belle” de la Lancôme.

Alex.

Behind the Mirror: Empties: OILS

I know I haven't posted in a while, but this doesn't mean I have been idle. I have this post to prove that. Currently I am fighting with a pretty nasty acne and I hope to report about my "adventure" soon.

I have learned that oils come in a multitude of consistencies – heavy, light and everything in between. There are also essential oils, oils that are the product of pressing a certain plant or seed or fruit and there are oils that are the result of mixing a plant extract with another oil (usually called a base).

The majority of oils are good for hair, face and body. You don’t need to have very dry skin to use oils, there are oils that can be used also by persons with oily skin (I am one of those) to help regulate the sebum "production". I will present you some of the oils I have been using since my latest Empties post and what my experiences were with them.

MACADAMIA NUT OIL

It is a light oil, that penetrates the skin very fast. It is a lovely oil for body, face and hair. I used it mainly combined with other oils massaged into my skin after shower. I discovered this oil when I prepared myself a body lotion to help heal the stretch masks – the macadamia nut oil being the main ingredient to help with the healing process, because one of his main characteristics is that it helps healing the scars and other skin ruptures. It should be also very good for the hair, however I discovered that my hair needs a strongly hydrating oil.

I also used it combined with green tea essential oil in face massages after gommage, because it is good for oily skin like mine.

I am not that crazy about its smell, actually it makes me queasy and I usually add some tea tree essential oil to mask some of the scent, but I can still feel it. Now don’t imagine it is a very strong smell, it is only a mild smell, but I am funny like that about scents.

LOGONA BIO ALOE + VERBENA OIL

Besides aloe and verbena, it also contains sweet almond oil, olive oil, jojoba oil and soybean oil. I used this oil after showers and I liked it, however I wasn't very impressed. I think the jojoba, sweet almond and olive oils were slightly diluted. After using my own home made mixtures out of 100% natural oils, I got the feeling that the oils were diluted in this mixture. On the other hand the smell of verbena is AMAZING.

ALOE VERA OIL

This is an oil that can be used by all skin types. It helps with the cellular restructuring process and heals any irritations and allergies. It is actually aloe vera extract mixed in soybean oil and vitamin E. I used it after gommage, because it helped calm the skin and repair the cells. I also used it to calm after hair removal process appearing rashes.

I used it mixed with other oils (macadamia oil) to apply after staying in the sun.

GRAPE SEEDS OIL

Everybody went crazy after the Caudalie oil, but I am wondering how many knew, that it is based on grape seeds oil. The grape seeds oil helps keep the skin looking young and fresh. It penetrates the skin fast and keeps it hydrated. It also helps it fight against the free radicals that cause it to age and diminish its elasticity.

I used it mainly in the evenings on my neck area in slow massage movements. And I was amazed to discover some 3-4 months later that the skin looked much better. I also used it combined with green face clay for face masks.

RASPBERRY SEED OIL

This oil is a thick oil and should be used combined with other oils. I used it mixed with the macadamia one, aloe vera and the grape seed oil. It has a natural SPF of 6 and I used it mainly in the evenings after going in the sun and also after being to the beach in the after sun oil I mentioned above. When I added this oil, the consistency of the oils mixture got much thicker, but still it penetrated the skin fast and it helped keeping it hydrated.

CASTOR OIL
I got this bottle about a year ago and have been using it ever since in mixtures with powder henna, directly on the ends of the hair and on the lashes in the evening after make-up removal and after I applied the around the eye skin care. I feel this oil really helps keeping my eyelashes flexible and healthy after being coated in mascara the whole day and it also  keeps them from falling off. In the same time it helps keeping my long hair from getting dry and damaged.
This is a very heavy oil, like a thick syrup if you want, and it coats the hair completely and enters deep into the root and body of the hair. The end result is a stronger hair and less falling off. In the same time it keeps the skin from drying and has slight antimicrobial effect.

I bought all oils except the Logona mixture oil (which I bought from Life Care) from elemental.

Smile. It is good for the skin.

Music: Epica and Delain live at ArtMania Festival 2012 in Sibiu

Last week-end I went back-packing to Sibiu for the ArtMania festival for the Epica and Delain concerts. I was in Sibiu for the ArtMania festival last year as well and loved the city’s beautiful architecture and atmosphere. You can hear a multitude of languages only by walking on the street. The city center is mainly concentrated between the Large and the Small Square, where also a lot of shops and cafés with the original architecture give the place a wonderful old atmosphere. The festival has a lot of activities which happen around this area and thus giving the festival and all its events a special sophisticated aura. During the festival you will always run in Sibiu into some events that are part of it - for example, we had dinner and coffee in a most pleasant way accompanied by Tristania's concert.

Whenever I go at a live concert, I expect to be surprised. I know the music, but I don’t know the show. I am always looking for those details that set the live performance of the songs apart from their studio recorded versions. With this in mind I went to the Epica show on Friday evening. I’ve seen Epica last year in Bucharest, when they were promoting “Design Your Universe”, now they were promoting their latest album “Requiem for the Indifferent”. Their show at the ArtMania was significantly shorter, however I liked the songs the band picked to cover all their 10 year music history: “Cry for The Moon”, “Martyr of the Free World”, “Sancta Terra”, “Consign to Oblivion”. Epica’s music is complex and calculated to the smallest detail and these qualities become transparent in their live performances. I enjoyed watching each band member “at work” on the stage before me, there is a lot that can be seen and learned from them. Nonetheless I felt a slight tension in the communication with the audience, which I also felt at the show in Bucharest, but which is not transparent in other live records of their performances. I think I would like to see them perform in another venue as well…

I must admit that I was very curious about Delain’s concert, especially since their last album, “We Are The Others” starts to shape their musical identity. I was absolutely taken aback by Charlotte’s energy and enthusiasm, as she was by the public’s great response. Her voice sounds amazing: powerful and melodic, she controls it very well and is very concentrated on her technique and in the same time she maintains a constant connection to the public. The music compliments and contours her voice perfectly. The songs for which you should definitely go see a Delain concert are: “Milk and Honey”, “Mother Machine”,  “Get The Devil Out Of Me”, “Invidia”, “Virtue and Vice” and “The Gathering”. Or you should go just to see a band having fun and enjoying playing you their music.

Sing, it keeps the soul young!

Alex.