Collective Haul (The Body Shop, A-Derma, Vichy, Korres)

It's time for a haul post! As you can see I've got a lot of new skincare products to try out, because recently I run out of moisturizers and make up removers. I hauled a few stuff from The Body Shop, mostly because of their sales, and some other from french pharmacy brands. So let's see what I got.

Empties - Products I've Used Up #4

I haven't done an "empties" post in ages! I think the last time was six months ago. So when I realised that I haven't done one for so long and right after I opened the bag that I was keeping all of them I panicked because I had so many, especially the amount of mascaras, which I find ridiculously big! So I'll try to keep this post as small as I can. OK then, let's start!

Herbal Essences Bee Strong Shampoo

I've tries almost all of the Herbal Essences shampoos and this was propably my most favorite, it's the most moisturizing from all of their lines, but still after a two months of using it, it did dry out my hair and for that reason only I don't think I will repurchase it again.

Aussie Miracle Moist Conditioner

This is one of my HG conditioners, it manages to moisturize and detangle my hair without being heavy at all, even its texture is very lightweight and when I first tried it I never thought that a conditioner with such a lightweight texture could moisturize my hair that well! I have already repurchase it and I will continue repurchasing it in the future.

Sephora Coconut Smoothing Body Scrub

This was one of the worst body scrubs I have ever tried, it was something between a shower gel and a scrub but it never exfoliated my body as good as I wanted, it's a huge no from me and I will never purchase it again.

La Roche Posay Physiological Micellar Solution

One of the best micellar lotions/waters in the market, in my opinion it's even better than the Bioderma Sensibio, and it's very underrated noone ever talks abou it. It's extremely gentle with my sensitive skin and it leaves my face matte and not sticky at all. This was the second bottle I've used up and of course I've already repurchased it.

Vichy Purete Thermal 3 in 1 Cleansing Micellar Solution

Before trying the La Roche Posay one the Vichy Micellar Solution used to be my HG cleansing water because it was so gentle with my skin, but it kinda left my skin sticky. If you want to know more about it I've done a full review here.

Frezyderm Moisturizing 24H Hydrating Cream 

It's not a secret how much I love this moisturizer, since last August I've used up 2 bottles and now I'm using a third one, it's amazing for my combination/oily skin and it never broke me out. If you want to know more you can read my full review about it  here.

Burt's Bees Sensitive Night Cream with Cotton Extract

I was never a fan of night creams, I always thought they were too heavy for my skintype, but this one completely changed my mind, it's like my skin really needed it, especially in the wintertime. It calmed down my all of skin irritations, itchyness and peeling skin, it's perfect for sensitive skintypes! I've also done a full review here if you want to know more about it.

Korres Pomegranate Cleansing Scrub

I've used up so many of these little tubes the past couple of years, it's the only facial scrub that exfoliates so well and never irritated my skin that's why it's my HG. Right now I'm using the St.Ives Apricot one that I got last year from the UK but it's not as good as this one, I can't wait for it to finish so I can get the Korres one once more.

The Body Shop Shea Body Butter

The body butters from The Body Shop are essential products for me, I always have to keep one in my cabinet. I've tried so many of them but the Shea will always be my HG one, I loved it since I was a teenager. It has a warm-nutty and not overpowering scent that makes me want to eat my own skin everytime I use it.

Sephora Waterproof Eye MakeUp Remover

One of the best eye makeup removers that I've tried, it never irritated my eyes and takes off even the most stubborn mascaras without trying too much. I don't think that I will repurchase it again though because it's kind of expensive and I found another one that does the exact same job for less, but I may repurchase a mini one if I'm going to travel, it's so handy.

Vera Wang Princess Perfume

I'm not good at describing perfumes and scents so I'm not going to do it. I'm only going to say that I'm very picky with my perfumes and not only I've used up this bottle but I've also repurchased it and for me that says a lot, I rarely repurchase the same perfume. It's my HG everyday scent.

Seventeen Ideal Cover Liquid Concealer

I've gone through so many tubes of this concealer, no matter what new concealer I try I always come back to this one. The consistency is just perfect, it never made my undereye area dry and it covers my dark circles quite well.

Erre Due Volumizing Waterproof Mascara

This is a mascara that made my lashes extremely curled but it didn't do anything more than that, for me it was kind of meh. But if you want to know more here's my full review about it.

Maybelline The Falsies Flared Mascara

I was exremely dissapointed with this one, from the moment I opened it it was very dry, it's like it was opened way before I bought it. It was very hard to use it on my lashes and huge pieces of mascara were falling under my eyes. I had to throw it away only a month after I first used it.

Radiant Studio Perfect Mascara

I didn't have the chance to do a full review about this mascara, I had to stop using it only a few weeks after I opened it because of an eye infection. But overall it was an average everyday kind of mascara, it only gave a bit length to my lashes and nothing more.

L'oreal Mega Volume Collagene 24H Mascara

No doubt this is the best L'oreal mascara, from all the ones that I've tried from the L'oreal brand of course. It gives volume, it's super lightweight and it leaves my lashes really soft. If you want to know more about it, this is my full review.

Sephora Lash Plumper Mascara

The HG of all the mascaras that I've tried so far in my life, guys I think I've found the one! It has the same lightweight texture as the L'oreal Mega Volume Collagene 24H has but the results are way better, it gives amazing length and holds a curl like no other. I'm definitely going to repurchase it. You can read all about it here!

So these were all of my empty products for the past six months, I hope I didn't bore you with my long post. Have you tried any of these products? Did you like them? I wanna know!

Empties - Products I've Used Up #2

It's been so long since I did my last empties post, and I noticed that I gathered too many products within the past 5-6 months so it was about time to do another empties post.

Please excuse the bad light in some of the pictures, when i took them the weather was acting crazy! 

Vichy Eau Thermale Water Spray

I love using mineral water sprays on my face especially at summer time and when my face has some kind of irritation, burning sensation or itchyness. Vichy's water spray is a typical mineral water like most of the ones I've tried, but my favorite so far is Avene's, because I actually saw a difference on my face when it's irritated. One thing I don't like about the Vichy one is that it sprays all over my clothes except my face, they sould fix the spray in my opinion.

Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends Shampoo

I never thought I would even mention a shampoo in my blog, ever, and that's because all of the shampoos I've tried irritated my scalp after a while. But this one not only it hasn't irritate me so far, but I actually finished a whole bottle and also I'm almost done with my second one! It's the perfect shampoo for those who have long hair because it leaves it super soft without weight it down. One more positive thing is that is OK for oily scalps, most shampoos that are not targeted for oily scalps make my hair greasy within a day, but I never had this problem with this one. For me it's definitely a keeper!

 The Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream

This has been my HG moisturizer for almost half a year now, I seriously love it so much that I'm almost done with the second one that I got in January. It's perfect for oily skintypes, it hasn't break me out and I'm very acne prone when it comes to moisturizers. I'm not planning to change this moisturizer in the near future, right now for me this is perfect!

Sephora Waterproof Eye Make Up Remover

I've already talked about this eye make up remover and how I think this one is better than other duo phase eye make up removers. It doesn't stink my eyes, which is a huge plus for me since I have sensitive eyes, and it removes mascara and eyeliner very easy. I will continue repurchase this one!

Sephora Triple Action Cleansing Water

I got this micellar water long ago in a mini bottle just to try it out. The only thing I like about this one is the smell and the fact that it doesn't make my face oily afterwards. But it irritates my skin, especially my cheekbones and I cannot use it for 3 days straight. There are way better micellar waters outthere like La Roche Posay's Physiological and Vichy's Eau Thermale, both perfect for sensitive skintones.

John Frieda Frizz - Ease Extra Strength Serum

Before I found out about Sunsilk's Perfect Straight leave in cream this serum was the only one I was using before I blow dry my hair, it really manages the frizzyness and straightens hair super quick and easy. But it's way too expensive here, it costs 14 euros for only 50 ml of product, and I find that Sunsilk's Perfect Straight Leave In cream ( the purple one) does the same, maybe even better, job with only 3 euros for 150 ml of product. As you can see Sunsilk is definitely the winner in this battle, so I won't repurchase the Frizz Ease serum in the future.

Korres Olive Stones Deep Cleansing Scrub

This scrub along with the Pomegranate, also from Korres, are the best face scrubs I've ever tried so far, and I've tried lots of them. It smells amazing, like summer,  and the olive stones do an excellent job at exfoliating my skin without irritating it. If you like non salicylic acid scrubs you should try this one, it's superb!

Korres Pomegranate Cleansing Mask

This is a great cleansing mask for oily skintypes, way better than others I've tried. It cleanses the skin without drying it out, and I really saw a difference on my nose pores. Like the rest products from the Korres Pomegranate line, it smells amazing! In my opinion, you should try at least one product from the Pomegranate line just for the smell!

Mac Pro Longwear Foundation

I don't know how many times I've already mention this foundation, last time it was in my April favorites. This is my old one, now I'm using the new bottle I got a few months ago, and I've already used almost half of it. Best long lasting foundation in the market and it doesn't break me out. I'll definitely repurchase it in the future.

Escada Taj Sunset Fragrance

I love Escada's summer limited edition fragrances, every year they release a new one, Taj Sunset was released 2 years ago, and I really loved it. It's super fruity and summerish, and if you like that kind of scents for the summertime you should check out Escada fragrances. I'm pretty sure I'll get the new Cherry Blossom one really soon, it smells amazing!

L'oreal Mega Volume Collagene 24H mascara

This is propably the best mascara I've ever used for years and certaintly the best mascara that L'oreal has right now.  It makes my lashes super long and voluminous, but the best part is how soft it feels, it has a consistency that feels like mousse, perfect for those who have sensitive eyes. Most mascaras by the end of the day make my eyes watery and itchy, this one never did that. I only wish it was less expensive, but I'm definetely planning to repurchase it in the future.

So these were the empties I managed to collect these past few months, I hope my next empties post will be sooner than this one was. Let me know if you've tried any of the products that I mentioned above, and if you like them or not.

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

Collective Christmas Haul (Stila, bareMinerals, China Glaze, Vichy, Mac, Taylor Swift)

 

I think it was about time to show you what I hauled for Christmas! I got most of these stuff online, some of them were purchased on Black Friday but my post office was so slow and I received them 10 days ago! I was also waiting for another package from Lush to arrive so I can show you all the things that I purchased but it literally just arrived so I didn't have the time to take pictures. I may do a seperate post, only with my Lush goodies! So let's start!

Taylor Swift Wonderstruck Perfume Set

As I mentioned in my Christmas beauty wishlist post , every Christmas I like to buy a perfume, this year I was planning to buy Vera Wang's Lovestruck, but I saw this set at Feelunique for only 18 euros and I said why not! You get a 30ml bottle of the perfume plus a small 5 ml one, and the body lotion! 

I've read really good reviews about this perfume and since it's not available in Greece, buying it online was my only option. But it's a risk buying a perfume you haven't smell before, there's always a chance that you may not like it, and now that I smelled it I'm still not quite sure if I like it or not, but them again I've used it only twice! It's a little heavy and a sweet perfume, but a unique one for sure! At first it caused me a headache, but in the past I've had perfumes that I couldn't stand and then later I loved! So who knows, I may eventually get used to the scent!

Stila In The Know Eye Shadow Palette

This eye shadow palette is the highlight of my haul! Before November I've never even heard of this palette, and I think it was released last spring! But I was watching a Youtube video from ARose186 , and I suddenly started lemming it like crazy!

 It's a palette with only matte eyeshadows, and let me tell you it's so hard to find an eye shadow palette in the market with only matte eyeshadows, I think Too Faced has one but the colors are too cool toned for me. Amazing quality and pigmentation, all the colors are so pretty and neutral, perfect for subtle everyday looks or even intense night looks! Plus you get a full size Stila Smudge Stick Eye Liner in Halfmoon, it's a dark grey color, very creamy and long lasting!

 

 I got the palette from BeautyBay for 25 euros on Black Friday when they offered a 20% off. It normally  retails for 32 euros, in my opinion it's a really good price for 10 high quality eyeshadows and a full size eye pencil. I may also get the In The Light palette in the future,which contains one of my HG eye shadows ever, Kitten!

bareMinerals Buxom Time To Shine Lip Collection

I was lemming this lipgloss kit for a while now, it was also in my Christmas Beauty Wishlist. It contains 6 different Buxom liglosses, with 2 different textures, 4 of them are Lip Polishes which have shimmers, and 2 of them are Lip Creams with no shimmers at all. Buxom lipglosses are supposed to be lip plumpers, I haven't notice if my lips look more plumpy with these on or not, but let me tell you if you haven't try them before the first time you do it feels so weird! It's like you put ice on your lips and that sensation does not leave until you remove the whole lipgloss from your lips!

The one I use the most is the White Russian because it's a milky pink with cream texture and can be used on top of any lipstick! Katie is also my favorite which is light peachy pink with shimmers and Berry Blast which is a gorgeous berry color with no shimmers, perfect for the winter! I have to mention that they are a little bit sticky, mostly the Lip Polishes, but not as much as the Mac lipglasses are.

Vichy Normaderm 3 in 1 Cleanser + Scrub + Mask

I got this exfoliator/mask 2 weeks ago from the drugstore, I was looking for a good salycylic acid mask for a while now, and this one from Vichy had really good reviews. I got it mostly to use it on my nose and chin area where I have the main problem with my break outs, and make my pores look smaller and clearer! I've used it 3 times, I haven't notice any difference on my pores yet, but I like the natural clear finish it leaves on my skin afterwards!

Mac Omega Eye Shadow

I was looking for an eye shadow to use on my brows, that would have the exact same shade as my HG eye pencil from Mac, Lingering. I was told that Mac's Omega eye shadow is very similar to it so I went for it. I have to say that it's a tone lighter than Lingering but still in the same cool tone family, because I hate to use warm toned shades on my brows. I love the soft look it gives on my brows for an everyday use!

China Glaze Merry Berry and Champagne Kisses

I got these 2 shades from the new China Glaze Joy Holiday collection through Ebay. Merry Berry is a gorgeous and very sophisticated dark berry shade with a cream finish, a perfect shade for fall and winter!

Champagne Kisses, which I showed you in my Christmas NOTD here, is a rose gold glitter nail polish, very festive, very Christmassy, I love it!!

So that was my Christmas Haul, I hope you liked it! Have you try any of these products? 

What did you get for Christmas? Let me know!

Sophia

xoxo

Small Collective Haul (Too Faced, Sephora, Benefit, H&M, Vichy, etc.)

This is a small collective haul I did in the past few weeks. I had a coupon for 40% off at Sephora so I grabbed a few things, and also some stuff from the drugstore.

 

Too Faced Natural At Night Eyeshadow Palette

For quite some time now I really wanted to get more of the Too Faced eyeshadow palettes, I only have the Natural one and it's my HG for 2 years now, but most of their palettes have colors that I'm sure I'd never wear, like more cool toned shades, but when I saw this one I was 100% sure I will love it! It's full of warm and cozy shades such as warm browns, bronze, gold and khakies, perfect for the fall! For sure I'm going to do a full review in the future.

H&M lipstick in Dare To Kiss

This was an impulse buy when I was at H&M, they had just release a bunch of new make up stuff, including 3 lipsticks, 2 of them were red and plum and the one I got was the only nude. They didn't have a tester for it but from the packaging swatch I thought it would be a peachy nude but I was mistaken, it's a pinkish nude. I don't normally do pinkish nudes because they look horrible one me, I prefer peachy or brownish nudes, but I love its buttery texture and it costed me only 4 euros. On it's own it looks horrible on me but with a pink lipgloss on top it looks really good! Also it's a great dupe for Mac's Hue.

Benefit Hello Flawless SPF15 Custom Powder

You see me mentioned this powder foundation a lot in the past 3 months, so I'm not going to say a lot about this product. It's been my HG foundation the whole summer and because I hit pan in the first one I got in June, and since I had the 40% off coupon I had to get a new one. It's the perfect foundation for my lazy make up days! The shade that I use is the "Me Vain?" Champagne.

Vichy Purete Thermale 3 in 1 Micellar Lotion

This one has been my HG face make up removal for years. I've tried other micellar lotions/waters in the past such as Bioderma, Shiseido, Garnier, Sephora etc, but this one beats them all! It's suitable for sensiitve skintypes, perfect for my oily skin also, doesn't break me out, and it has a mild rose scent. The Bioderma Sensibio which is also for sensitive skintypes and it's from a pharmacy brand, caused me a horrible dermatitis, made my skin very itchy and I had a burning sensation on my skin for days.

Sephora Coconut Smoothing Scrub

I don't usually use body scrubs, because I'm super lazy, but in the past I really enjoyed Body Shop's Coconut Scrub, but it's very expensive and super creamy ( which I don't like), and since I rarely use one, I went for a cheaper one but with a coconut smell. This one from Sephora it's not creamy, it's more suitable for skins like mine which are not dry. I really like the soft coconut smell it has, it's not overpowering like the Body Shop's, it makes me wanna try more body stuff from their Coconut line.

Maybelline Colorama in #262 Pink Boom

These Colorama nail polishes are the newest ones from Maybelline. When I was in the drugstore I saw a huge display with them, and they have a whole bunch of shades. I really like its thin texture and the packaging too. I picked up this shade because I don't have lots of pinks, but they also have really pretty vampy ones, can't wait to buy some of those for the fall!

Essence nail polish in Sending You Kisses

For some weird reason when I see a 2 euro polish in such a cute shade I have to have it, that's what happened with this one from Essence. It's from the Ready to Boarding collection, they also had a light pastel yellow one and a tangerine one, but this raspberry color is more fall appropriate. But what I don't like is the gloopy texture, I might need to put some thinner in it.

Have you try any of these products? Let me know!

Sophia

xoxo