Vichy Purete Thermale 3 in 1 Cleansing Micellar Solution Review

I'm really happy that this time I'm reviewing one of my HG and most used products for almost over 4 years. And it's such a shame that it's not particularly popular among other micellar lotions, like Bioderma's for example. But I'm here to make it a little more popular!

Packaging

The packaging I have is the 400 ml bottle that comes with a pump, but the 200 ml bottle comes with a plain cap. I love the fact that they put a pump for the big bottle because it's very practical. The older bottles used to be transparent, the newer ones are semitransparent but you can still see how much of the product is left in the bottle.

Ingredients

WATER • HEXYLENE GLYCOL • POLOXAMER 184 • GLYCERIN • ROSA GALLICA EXTRACT/ROSA GALLICA FLOWER EXTRACT • DISODIUM COCOAMPHODIACETATE • DISODIUM EDTA • PANTHENOL • OLYAMINOPROPYL BIGUANIDE • FRAGRANCE 

Texture - Usage

So this is a cleansing water, lightly scented with a mild rose scent. If you haven't used a micellar lotion before to remove your make up it's really easy to use, propably the easiest product to use for make up removal, you just put a few squirts of the lotion onto a cotton pad and you start to remove the make up of your face. I don't use it to remove my eye make up just because micellar lotions make my eye area super dry so I only use it to remove my face make up, such as foundation, powder and blush. It takes 2 damp large cotton pads to remove all of my foundation, even the long lasting ones, and it leaves my skin 100% clean, with no traces of foundation, it really does an excellent job. After that, I always use my cleansing gel, Avene's Cleanance Cleansing Gel, as my final cleansing step. I've always used 2 seperate cleansers to remove my face make up, whether I was using make up wipes, cleansing milks, cleansing oils or micellar lotions. You can still only use this and be done with the whole make up removal process, but it leaves my skin a little sticky and since I am oily, I like my skin to be 100% clean before I go to sleep.

It's suitable for every skintype, whether you have dry, normal or oily skin, I have oily skin and it works amazingly good. It's really good for sensitive skintypes also, except if you believe that the light rose scent it has may cause you problem, but I've tried other micellar lotions that are specifically for sensitive skintypes and had a bad reaction, one of them was Bioderma's Sensibio Micellar Lotion. I know it's very popular and everybody loves it, I personally used to love it but after 3 months of use my skin started to react really badly, every time I was using it my skin was feeling very itchy, it had a burning sensation and it was flaky, I must be the minority because I never read rants about it. With Vichy's Micellar Lotion I never had this problem and I'm using it for many years.

Price

In Greece the 200 ml bottle costs 11 euros and the 400 ml bottle costs 16 euros, and you can find it at the all pharmacies and Hondos Center stores. I know Vichy is a very popular brand in Europe so it's very easy to find it in pharmacies, and I'm pretty sure it's also available in Canada.

Pros

- Perfect for all skintypes, even the most sensitive ones.

- Removes all the make up easily, and if you have dry skin there's no need to use a second cleanser.

- The price for the 400 ml bottle is pretty good comparable to other micellar lotions.

- It comes with a pump, which makes it very easy to use.

Cons

- It's slightly scented with a mild rose scent, I personally like it and it doesn't irritate my skin, but some people with very sensitive skin might react to it. 

- It doesn't remove mascara really well, and I cannot use it to remove my eye make up because it makes my eye area really dry,but this is a problem with all the micellar lotions I've tried so far.

Rating: 9/10

As you can see, I really love this micellar lotion, and I barely find any bad things to tell you about it. I know I'm sure I will repurchase it in the future as I've done so many times until now, even though I may try others too just out of curiosity, but this one will always be my safe choice.

If you've tried it, let me know if you liked it or not. And if you haven't had the chance to try it so far, please do it because it's a great product!

Sophia

xoxo

My Highlighter Collection

Let's talk about highlighters! As you can see my humble collection includes mostly Mac, and that's because when I was younger I liked to collect highlighters from their limited edition collections, even though I almost never use them, yeah I'm that crazy! I also have a mini Benefit Highbeam, but since it's a liquid highlighter I didn't want to include it in this post, I wanted it to be more of my powder highlighter collection.

A highlighter is the best product to use when you want a dewy look but not all over your face just only on some parts of your face, you can easily wear a matte foundation and still look fresh and dewy! 

I like to use powder highlighters just because I have oily skin and they work better with oily skintypes, but you can also use a cream or a liquid one.

Where I can highlight? Cheekbones, browbones and under the bridge of the nose. When you highlight your cheekbones just be sure that you highlight the highest part of the cheekbones and not the apple of your cheeks, so when you look your face in the mirror the highlighter is visible only when you turn your head to the side. A simple trick to find the highest part of your cheekbones, and something I personally like to do all the time, is just take the handle of your brush, put it by the side of your nose and take it to the top part of your ear, then you will be able to feel the bone with your fingers. You can do a small C shape with your highlighter between your cheekbone and the end of your eyebrow.

Personally I like to highlight only my cheekbones just because I think that my nose does not need to be highlighted, that's the problem when you have a big and narrow nose. As for my browbones, I prefer to use matte eyeshadows.

 

So let's see what's in my collection!

top row L-R: Mac Refined MSF, Mac Glissade MSF, Seventeen 01 Pearl Finishing Powder

bottom row L-R: Mac Petticoat MSF, Mac Light Flush MSF, Mac Pearl Sunshine Beauty Powder

Mac Refined Mineralize Skinfinish

My most favorite highlighter from all the the ones that I own, and one of the few Mineralized Skinfinishes that Mac released which is soft and without any glitters, just fine shimmers! But what I love the most about Refined is the shade, it's a light apricot peachy shade that compliments any warm skintone, and looks amazing with peachy blushes. It was released with the Sugarsweet collection in Spring 2009. If only Mac had this in their regular line!

 Mac Glissade Mineralize Skinfinish

Before I bought Refined, this one was my most used MSF, it was released with Mac's Danse collection in 2006. Glissade is a rosy-peach shade with a very smooth texture but you can barely see it, it adds no color on the cheeks, it just highlights. It contains rose-gold shimmers and fine microglitters, but they're subtle enough to wear on daylight.

Seventeen 01 Pearl Finishing Powder

This is the latest addition to my highlighter collection, I actually won it at the Beauty Bloggers event in December. This is a great drugstore highlighter, it's not very cheap but also not as expensive as Mac MSFs are, plus it's not limited edition. It's a rose pink highlighter with silver shimmers, no glitters at all., and works really well with pink blushes. The texture is not super smooth, and if you spoiled yourself with a Mac Mineralized Skinfinish it's hard not to compare these two textures, but nevertheless it's an excellent powder highlighter!

Mac Petticoat Mineralize Skinfinish

This is the oldest MSF I own, it was released with the Lingerie collection back in December of 2005, yep it's that old! It's actually the original version of Petticoat, because Mac re-released it a few years after that. I remember I was so obsessed with this one, I was going to every single Mac counter to buy it and it was sold out everywhere, and then I finally swapped for it. Propably it was all for nothing because honestly I haven't used it that much since then! It looks so beautiful in the pan, it's a plum-rose shade with gorgeous deep plum and golden veining, but on the cheeks it's very metallic .It is also very pigmented and that makes it hard blending it with other shades of blush besides the same one, and I never use plum or rose blushes.

Mac Light Flush Mineralize Skinfinish

I have to say that Light Flush is my least favorite and barely used highlighter I own. It was released with the N collection in the winter of 2008, and I had really high expectations for this one because of all the reviews I've read back then. It was supposed to be a warm peachy pink shade, a more pigmented version of Glissade, but the reality is that it's an unpigmented muted rose shade  with golden shimmers, and the texture is not soft at all. I don't know what happened, I may got a bad one, but this one was a big dissapointment.

Mac Barbie Pearl Sunshine Beauty Powder

Along with Refined MSF, Pearl Sunshine is my HG highlighter, I can't choose between these two because I love them both so much! Pearl Sunshine is a soft peach, beige-peach shade I should say, with pink pearlised pigments. Its texture is totally different from the MSFs, it reminds me of Mac's pigments, very lightweight, and it's amazing on the browbone also. This is the best highlighter to compliment warm toned blushes, it gives that Jennifer Lopez glow on my cheekbones, and it's the only highlighter I use at summertime.

 Here are some swatches for you:

L-R: Mac Petticoat, Seventeen 01 Pearl, Mac Refined, Mac Pearl Sunshine, Mac Glissade, Mac Light Flush

I hope you liked my post! I want you to let me know what are your HG highlighters, and if you have any of the ones above, do you like them?

Sophia

xoxo

Essie Madison Ave-Hue Spring 2013

 

Spring is just around the corner, and you know what that means right? New spring nail collections!

Essie's new spring collection is inspired by some of the most fashionable streets of the world, from cities such as Paris, New York, London, Japan, Munich and Rio.

As you can see pastel colors are the number one trend for the new season, and Essie knows how to make the best pastels! Here are all six colors:

Madison Ave-Hue -Chic Upper East Side pink steps out in style, turning any ensemble into a million dollar baby. Cha-ching.

Go Ginza - soft cherry blossom invites you into a floating world of quiet luxury and exquisite beauty. Domo arigato.

Avenue Maintain - Fashionably adroit, lovely Parisian blue channels the je ne sais quoi allure of the capital of chic.

Bond With Whomever - London’s calling. Pick it up in posh lilac and click with the culture clique – here, there and everywhere.

Maximillian Strasse Her - Bavarian style savy rules this regal boulevard. In cool grey green, you’re promenade queen, no tiara required

Hip-Anema - Sashay down a sandy runway in poppy-bright red orange and show’em who’s the bossa. Work that beach.

This collection is like a mix of a spring and a summer in one. You have your trusty spring pastels but you also have a bright red orange and a sky blue shade that reminds me more of summer! Madison Ave-Hue and Hip-Anema are definitely in my wishlist!

What shades are in your wishlist for this spring? Let me know!

Sophia

xoxo

*The Spring 2013 collection in Greece will be available from March 2013 at hair and beauty salons, nail studios and spa, 12.5 € each.

January Favorites.

So it's that time of the month, and the first favorites post for the 2013, I'm so happy! It's been two months since my last favorites post, and for some weird reason I don't have lots of products to show you. Please excuse the bad lighting at some of my photos, it was so hard for me to find good natural light this past week, but I did my best.

The Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream
For two months straight I'm using this moisturizer and I've already finished the jar! I'm so surprised that I actually managed to finish a moisturizer, I never do that because most of them break me out, either right away or after a month of using them. I love how lightweight this gel moisturizer is, without feeling greasy, sometimes I find gel moisturizers not being as lightweight as they claim to be, but this one is perfect and works amazingly well under make up. I actually love it so much that I repurchased a jar, as you saw in my latest haul post here. If you have oily skin and you're looking for a basic moisturizer that costs less than 15 euros, you should try it!

Fresh Line Chocolate Body Milk
This is the only body lotion that I've been using this whole month, and just so you know I have lots of body lotions in my stash right now! I got it with the Chocolate and Vanilla set that I won at the Beauty Bloggers Event and I already did a small review here. It's very lightweight and it's perfect for those who don't have dry skin and don't like the heavy and sticky feeling of a body moisturizer on their bodies. It has the best texture for a summer body lotion, and it smells like pralines!

Stila In The Know Eyeshadow Palette
This palette was the best thing I purchased at Christmas! An eyeshadow palette full of matte neutral shades, I just couldn't ask for more! The best palette for everyday neutral looks for school or work, but you can also do dramatic sexy smokey eye looks with the darker shades because they're super pigmented! I'll do a review about this palette soon! The shades I use the most are Wind, Desert and Driftwood. Here are some swatches for you:

from left to right: Desert, Wind, Driftwood

Yves Saint Laurent Faux Cils Shocking Mascara
This is a sample of the mascara that I got as a freebie with a magazine a couple of months ago, I've been using it for a month now and I find it to be a very good mascara for giving length to the lashes. First of all I love the formula, it's neither too wet or too dry  it's something in between and it really holds my curl. It's not the mascara that will give to your lashes that false effect, but it makes my lashes look cute, and I say cute because it gives that "feather" look, I find it very girly! Too bad it's too expensive, over 30 euros, but if I'll find a good discount I may get it in full size.

La Roche Posay Respectissime Mascara
Yes, I included a second mascara to my monthly faves this time! I was sent this mascara by the company to test it out a few months ago but I didn't want to open it since I was using others at that time. Respectissime is suppose to give length and seperate your lashes, and it's perfect for those who have really sensitive eyes and for those who wear contacts. I have to agree that it does seperate really well but it doesn't give any length to my lashes what so ever! When I use it, my lashes look exactly as if I have no mascara on except a little more defined and blacker. Then why is in my favorites this month you may ask, that's because I find that Respectissime is one of the best mascaras I've ever used for my lower lashes! It has a tiny brush that allows you to apply mascara on the lower lashes very easy and without making a mess, which is something that most of us have serious problem with, huge mascara brushes are the worst of the lower lashes!

Here's a comparison picture between the brush of the YSL Faux Cils Shocking mascara, which is a normal sized mascara brush, and the one from the La Roche Posay mascara. See how slim and short Respectissime's brush is?

Mac Omega Eyeshadow
I actually use this eyeshadow for my brows. It's a light taupe brown shade, very similar to Mac's Lingering brow pencil, only a tone lighter. So for those who wear Lingering, you could also try Omega if you're looking for more of a natural look on your brows. I also noticed that it's quite similar to Naked eyeshadow from Urban Decay. I apply it with a Mac 208 brush which is an angled brush.

BareMinerals  Buxom Katie Lipgloss
Most of the times I have a love-hate releantionship with lipglosses, I like wearing them mostly at summertime, so for over 4 months I wasn't wearing any lip gloss at all, but this Buxom Katie one changed my mind. I got it at Christmas with the Buxom Time to Shine lipgloss set, as you can see it's not the full size. Katie is a very pretty baby pink shade with very fine silver shimmers and it is a little sticky. It gives a light cooling/tingling sensation to your lips, like a menthol lip balm, but it doesn't taste bad, it has a light vanilla taste. If I could use only one lipgloss from now on I'd be more than happy to use only this one!

Givenchy Dahlia Noir Eau De Perfum
I got this perfume last year as a gift, and I've been waiting since now to start using it again because it's definitely a winter perfume, musky/powdery and warm, very sexy I would say! I love the design of the bottle, very simple yet elegant.




I hope you liked my favorites this time and you didn't find them boring. I can't wait to read what were your favorites for the January! Let me know!

Sophia
xoxo