Monday, March 31, 2014

Collective iHerb and Pharmacy Haul (Apivita, Bourjois, Real Techniques, Frezyderm, Elancyl, etc.)

If you follow me on Instagram you propably already know that a few weeks ago I placed two orders, one from iHerb and one from an online pharmacy, the Pharmnet, so I think it was about time to do a detailed haul post showing you exactly what I got.
Bourjois Happy Light Foundation
I'll start off with something that I got about a month ago and I absolutely love, the Bourjois Happy Light foundation. A couple of months ago I tried a sample of this foundation and I knew I had to get it in full size, the formulation of this foundation is something else! It doesn't have the texture of a regular foundation or any foundation that I've tried so far, it's extremely thin and fluidy, it provides a light to medium coverage and the best part is that even though it leaves a matte finish it's not that flat matte that most oil free foundations leave, but more of a glowy matte if that makes any sense. It may sounds really similar to Mac's Face & Body but it's not, Mac's F&B was extremely sticky on my face and it was really hard to blend , also the coverage was close to zero. Happy Light's texture is very similar to Garnier's BB cream for oily skins, I actually compared them both on my face and I find them extremely similar, they also provide the same coverage but the Garnier BB is more matte, it doesn't have the glow that Happy Light has. My only problem is that the shade 52 which I always buy at Bourjois foundations, the Happy Light in 52 is way too dark for me that's why I got the 51. I can still a small difference between my face and neck, especially the first half an hour of wearing it but after that it's like it melts with my skintone and I can't see any difference, which I find too weird.
 
Apivita Light Texture Face Cream SPF30 with Sea Lavender & Propolis
The quest for a face sunscreen that doesn't break me out has officially begun for me! Generally I have a really bad luck with face sunscreens, 99% of what I try always end up breaking me out, and I've tried so many brands, Avene, Vichy, LRP, Clinique, Korres, Shiseido, Roc, and many many more but in the end they all broke me out, and the ones that didn't, which are very few, they were extremely oily for my skintype. But there's one brand that so far I hadn't try and that's Apivita, so I decided to get the Light Texture Face Cream SPF30 with Sea Lavender & Propolis, which also came with a Face Mask with Sea Lavender as a gift, which is a huge bonus! I've tried it four times and so far I like it, I haven't noticed any break outs yet ,but it's be too early to tell. It doesn't leave the skin super matte, even though it says it's for oily skintypes, but it's not heavy at all. One time it did get shiny on my skin but that happened because I put way too much product on my face, and after I blotted my face with a blotting paper it didn't get shiny again even after many hours of wearing it.
 Elancyl Cellu Slim Night 
I don't know how many of you have tried anti-cellulite creams, but I have and that's because I do have a cellulite problem and to be honest I hate it, so once in a while I try a new one, and that time just happens to be only a few months before summer, (you get me right?). I do not expect any miracles from creams like these, but if the cream is good I do notice a difference at the texture of my skin, it's smoother and I like it. So far I've tried a few drugstore ones, which did absolutely nothing, and from french pharmacy brands I've only tried the Vichy one which I used to like until they changed the formula a few years ago. I've heard really good things about Elancyl, which is a very famous brand when it comes to slimming creams, so I got their newest one which is the Cellu Slim Night with Cecropia extract, Caffeine and booster GP4G, and it's an intensive night slimming care. I haven't tried it yet so I don't have an opinion about it, I only hope it works.

Frezyderm Moisturizing 24H Hydrating Cream
The last thing that I got is my HG moisturizer the Frezyderm Moisturizing 24H Hydrating Cream, because I just run out of the one that I had and I seriously cannot live without it! This is the third time that I've repurchased this moisturizer within 7-8 months, and for me that's a record, I don't think I've ever repurchased three times the same moisturizer in the past. If you want to know more about this moisturizer and why I absolutely love it, you can read my full review here.
Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge and Blush Brush
I always enjoy an iHerb haul, especially when it comes to make up brushes! I really wanted to get a second Blush Brush because the one that I had till now I've only used it for bronzer and I wanted a second one to use it for blushes, that's how much I love this brush! Also it was a great oppurtunity to try the Miracle Complexion Sponge, I've never tried the original Beautyblender because to be honest I would never spend 20 euros for a make up sponge that I would have to throw away after a couple of months but I read really good reviews about the Real Techniques one and it only costed me 5 euros so I said why not? Plus I really love sponges to apply my concealer, I always use some cheap disponsable ones, I hope this miracle complexion one will do an amazing job!
Cococare Jojoba Oil
Jojoba Oil is something that I've never tried before, and I read really good reviews about it. I got it mostly for my undereye area because sometimes it's super dry and an eye cream isn't moisturing enough for me, that's why I went for the Cococare Jojoba Oil, because even though it's a small bottle I think it will last me for ages as you only need a tiny amount of this for both eyes. I haven't tried it yet because I don't have a problem with dryness on my undereye area this period, but I hope I'll like it.

Thayers Unscented Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera Formula
A witch hazel is also a product that I've never tried before and I really wanted to, and because I wasn't the only one, my brother also wanted to try it so I got the most plain one that I could find, the Unscented Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera Formula. So far I've only tried it once, and I'm not so sure if I like it or not, it leaves a tight feeling on my face, maybe I will like it more at the summer when I'm super oily.




So that's everything that I got, I hope you liked it. Let me know if you've tried any of these products, I want to know your opinions about them! 

Oh and if you've never ordered from iHerb before, you can use the code TDZ975, and you will receive $10 off your first order of $40 or more, or $5 off if your order is less than $40.




Monday, March 17, 2014

Burt's Bees Sensitive Night Cream with Cotton Extract Review.

A few months ago I found a night moisturizer that I absolutely love, it's the Burt's Bees Sensitive Night Cream. In the past I've never used anything from Burt's Bees facial line so at first I hesitated whether it would work with my skintype or not, and also if it would be too heavy and cause me break outs, but it it turnt out to be a great moisturizer, so I decided to write a review about it!
Packaging
It comes in a glass jar, which is very heavy and in my opinion not practical at all, it's not travel friendly. It would be better if they'd replace it with a plastic one.

Price
Unfortunately Burt's Bees is a brand that is not available in Greece, so I purchased it online from Feelunique for 17 euros, which is quite an affordable price in my opinion. It contains 50g, and it lasted me for quite a few months because I only use it at night time.

 Texture
It has an opaque white color with a very lightweight texture, like a mousse, it blends quite easily onto the skin but it needs a bit of rubbing because it can leave white streaks if it's not blended properly, as you can see from the picture.
For my difficult skintype, which sometimes is combination and other times is very oily and dehydrated, this is a very good moisturizer. It helps a lot with the dry patches on my cheeks and around my mouth but in the same time it never made me super oily, well it can be a little shiny on my nose area but then again that is something that I expect from a night cream, so I don't mind. It never caused me break outs which is a huge plus for me since I'm very acne prone.
 The ingredients it contains are 99% natural, the main one is cotton extract which helps with minimising the effects of potential irritants such as harsh soaps or cleansers, and that's the main problem of my dehydrated skin. Here's what the brand says about this moisturizer:

- Softens and helps replenish skin's outer layer with Cotton Extract.
- Moisturises with Rice Extract.
- Helps calms skin with Aloe.
- Does not cause redness or irritation.
- Fragrance-free and hypo-allergenic.
- Allergy-tested and dermatologist-tested.

I couldn't agree more with all of the above! Whenever my skin had a reaction to the weather and became itchy and very dry this moisturizer helped a lot, it's very good for sensitive skins and for all skintypes, except maybe the very dry ones because I don't think this would be moisturizing enough for you.


Pros
 -It has a very lightweight "mousse" type of texture.

-It moisturizes the skin very well and it helps with dry patches.

-It's very gentle with sensitive skintypes, it helps with redness and itchyness.

-It's fragrance-free and hypo-allergenic.

- It's not heavy for combination and oily skintypes.


Cons
-It needs to be blended really well, otherwise it leaves white streaks on the face.

-It's not moisturizing enough for dry skintypes.



Rating: 9/10
Overall this is a great basic night moisturizer, it doesn't promise you anything more than a good hydration and that's exactly what it does. It's super gentle with sensitive skintypes, and if you have sensitive skin you know how hard is to find a moisturizer that helps with skin irritations such as ithyness, burning sensation, redness etc. I wanna try different night creams in the future but I would definitely repurchase it, it's my safe choice whenever my skin reacts badly.



 If any of you have tried the Burt's Bees Sensitive Night moisturizer let me know your opinion about it, I'm very curious because I haven't read that many reviews on it.