Korean goodies: Holika Holika Daily Garden Green Tea cleansing foam review

I got this Holika Holika Daily Garden Green Tea Cleansing Foam simply because it was the cheapest cleanser I spotted on the website where I was doing my other Korean shopping. From the range of five or six I picked the variation that seemed to suit my skin's needs best.

Apart from the name of the product there's no other info in English, so I cannot comment on whether it delivers what it promises, but I can say that all Korean cleansers I've tried, including this one, are very similar and totally different from the ones I get here in Poland. 

The consistency of this product is thick, it looks more like a pearlescent paste than gel. When mixed with water it produces very rich foam that disappears upon contact with water, and leaves my skin literally squeaky clean. It feels as if my skin has been stripped of dirt and make up together with sebum and all other moisture. I have oily skin and I personally don't mind, but if you have normal to dry skin, please be warnes as this might not be a pleasant experience.

The product is heavily scented, I find it pleasant and refreshing.

As I've said, this is one of the cheapest cleansers on the market and it performs exactly the same as some more expensive ones I've tried, so I actually see no point in spending a fortune on something that doesn't offer any extra benefits.   

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Mitchell and Peach English Flowers Body Cream review

When I saw this Mitchell and Peach English Flowers body cream in my Glossybox last month I was super excited to try it out. Not that I'd ever heard of the brand, but the English flowers, you know, and something new to pamper myself with ...

What I noticed at first was that the list of ingredients included almost exclusively natural ones with hardly any chemicals at all, many of them were organic and the essential oils came from Mitchell's own farm. Can it get any better than this?

No, actually. This is the only good thing about the product. 

First of all, the body cream is very runny. It's easy to apply, but it sinks in within seconds and leaves my skin feeling as if it was never there. I don't feel it moisturises my skin enough and, mind you, my skin isn't dry at all. I have every reason to believe that for dry skin this may even make matters worse. Alcohol, which is the second ingredient, tends to evaporate and leave skin feeling tight. 

I'd say that this is the kind of moisturiser that can be used in a morning hurry as it sinks in immediately and you can put on your clothes straightaway.  But there's a tiny little hiccup, the scent. English flowers aren't flowery at all, the body cream smells very similar to Aesop Parsley Seed line. It's vegetal, herbal, medicinal but definitely not floral. I can't imagine applying it in the morning and then parading to work smelling as if I incidentally spilt stomach potion all over my body.

So, you must have already guessed that I'm not going to purchase this particular product and my interest in the brand equals zero.

   

project empties #12

A small bunch of empties this time. 

1. Goldwell Style Sign Hot Form Heat Styling Lotion was a nice heat protectant, I hope it worked.

2. Batiste XXL volume dry shampoo was effective, but left strong white cast and made my scalp itch and flake.

3. Soap & Glory Peaches & Cream 3-in-1 cleanser  was a nice cleansing lotion, though I prefer foam cleansers to double.

4. Eve Lom TLC Radiance Cream was a lovely daytime moisturiser. The only reason why I won't repurchase is that I'm always tempted to try out something new and hardly ever repurchase anything.

5. Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes eyeliner pencil in #0L was a lovely black pencil, it took me ages to use it up simply because I've got so many other black eyeliners that come in different sets (Urban Decay predominantly) so I have no need to repurchase a black eyeliner any time soon, but if the need arises, I'll seriously consider this one. 

L'Oreal Ideal Glow brightening scrub review

Before I start reviewing this product I need to say that it seems to me that it's traded in other countries under a different name or is sold exclusively on the Polish market. I've checked a number of UK websites and no similar product was to be found there, which is strange cause it's absolutely wonderful.

L'Oreal Ideal Glow Brightening Scrub is a combination of a cleansing gel and a scrub that is meant to be used once daily and promises brightened and smoothed skin. The particles embedded in the gel might seem a bit harsh to sensitive skin, but the gel tends to make them run on the skin less abrasively that it would seem in the first place, what's more the particles seem to dissolve as you massage the skin, so in spite of the first impression, the product is not as radical as it looks. 

Many people tend to stay away from cleansing gels as they strip their skins of moisture. Well, not in this case. This gel leaves my skin incredibly smooth and not less moisturised than before. 

I've been using this scrub daily for the past month or more to exfoliate before applying a self-tan to my face and I've noticed a substantial difference in my skin's smoothness and colour, I've also noticed less breakouts. The gel has a lovely peachy scent.

I absolutely love this stuff, I need it in my life all the time and I'll definitely repurchase as soon as I've used this one up, which won't happen any time soon as there's still plenty of it left, even though I've been using it daily for quite a while now. 

 Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Essence single eyeshadow in Out of the Blue review & swatches

Essence and Catrice are two sister brands, owned by the same holding company, whose policy differs substantially from the policies of other brands. Apart from the limited edition collections there's a constant turnover of stock. No products may be deemed permanent, the shades stay on the market for a year or so and then they go on sale and are finally discontinued. 

One of such products is my new acquisiton, Essence single eyeshadow #61 Out of the Blue.

It cost $1 and I must say it's a dollar well spent.

I've got a large collection of blues, both individual eyeshadows and palettes, and yet there's nothing quite like this in my collection. I would describe the shade as the perfect denim blue. It's shimmery, but nowhere near being frosty. The pigmentation is nothing crazy, but applied over some kind of eyeshadow base it performs really well. 

I always use a primer on my lids and most eyeshadows last all day, but unfortunately this isn't the case with my new Out of the Blue. The eyeshadow creased badly by early afternoon, which isn't a good result, I suppose.

To conclude I want to say that even though the performance was quite disappointing, the shadow is still worth the money I spent on it. The colour is lovely and makes a nice addition to my collection of blues. 

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

The Balm Balm Voyage palette review & swatches

Yes, I do admit it, I'm a packaging junkie and it was the packaging was that primarily attracted me to The Balm Balm Voyage palette.

The palette comes in a sleek cardboard box with a flip top opening that is equipped with magnetic closure. The vintage style of the box alludes to the motif of travel with 'snapshots' of landmarks, tickets and passports. Inside, apart from the eyeshadows you'll find an oval mirror that makes you look as if you were the one in the passport photo. Really cute.  

The palette consists of 16 eyeshadows, named after seat numbers, I suppose, and 3 lip and cheek cream products. Most shades are neutrals, but there are also a couple of brights that will liven up any kind of look. Most of the shadows are shimmers, a couple of them with a fairly frosty finish, but none of them is glittery. There are also a couple of matte shades that are always a nice addition to every palette. I may not be attracted to every shade, but one thing can be said for certain - all shadows within the palette perform exceptionally well.  All of them, even the matte ones, are buttery and soft, they glide on the lids beautifully, displaying no powderiness nor dryness. Every single one is highly pigmented, blends well, producing no fall out, and lasts all day on my oily lids. 

A4 is a gorgeous charcoal black shade with shimmer. I have nothing like this one in my stash. It's perfect in the outer corner or used as a liner.

B4 is a beautiful dark brown shimmer. Neither too warm nor too cool-toned.

C4 is the only shade that has something like glitter. It's a reddish brown with silver sparkle.

D4 is a khaki green, shimmer. I love khakis but I never use them as they don't look good on me.

A3 is a light silver with a somewhat frosty finish.

B3 is a gorgeous purple-based taupe with a matte finish.

C3 is a mid-tone brown with a matte finish.

D3 is a soft, muted, cool-toned gold. Very pretty and extremely unique.

A2 is a lovely bright, cool-toned, shimmery purple.

B2 has been described as blue by other bloggers, but to my eye it's a bright mint green with shimmer.

C2 is a matte teal shade.

D2 is hard to describe. It's a kind of flesh-toned shade, barely visible on my skin. Shimmer.

A1 is actually very similar to D2, just a bit darker.

B1 is another shade that matches my skin tone pretty well. Since it's matte it can be used all over the lid as a base shadow.

C1 is a light, almost white yellowish shade. Shimmer.

D1 is a yellow shade with shimmer. Really unusual, but I never use it. I'm not a big fan of yellow, not to mention yellow eyeshadow. 

As much as I love the eyeshadows, I barely reach for the lip/cheek creams hidden under the bottom flap.

First of all, I simply tend to forget that they're there and secondly they're a bit too drying on my lips and too greasy for my oily cheeks. What's more the insane pigmentation puts me off a bit as I don't want to end up looking like a clown. 

The shades themselves are actually very pretty and I find all of them perfectly wearable. 

Second Officer and Captain are actually sort of similar. Second Officer is more of a cool-toned proper red and Captain is a rosy shade. They have the same dewy finish that reminds me of a highly pigmented lip balm. I have oily skin so I use these as lipsticks rather than as blushes, but I can make them work for me if I dab on just the tiniest amount. They are so pigmented that this is what you need to do anyway.

First Officer is a peachy coral shade that has a strong pastel base to it. It's fully opaque and may look patchy on the lips, especially if you have dry lips or don't moisturise beforehand. It also offers satin to matte finish. This shade lasts way longer on my lips than the other two and performs better on my cheeks due to its cream to powder formula. I like this shade a lot, I don't have anything quite like it in my collection. It maintains a good balance between being bright and cheerful and bold and daring. Also makes a good base for a gloss if you find it too drying on the lips.    

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Easter 2014

Although nobody in our families, except the Great Grandma, is religious we tend to celebrate religious holidays in a traditional way for a couple of reasons. First of all our parents don't want to be left alone when the all families in the country gather together at the table. Secondly, we want to teach our children some elements of the nation's culture, even though it might not appeal to ourselves any longer.

And finally, the boys are always happy to get some surprise gifts on that that, which brightens up the day.

There aren't that many regional differences in Easter traditions in Poland, but the Great Grandma (Mr Hubby's granny) insists on circulating round the table with a hard-boiled egg and force feeding everyone with it, wishing everyone happy Easter, to which my family strongly objects.

This year, instead of starting with Easter breakfast, we gathered at about lunch time, which meant eating both breakfast and dinner at once, which was beyond my capacity. I've said before and I'll say it again, I don't like what my nation's cuisine has on offer and I can't wait to the moment when we've built the house and start inviting my family to Easters and Christmases. I wonder how they'll bear my cooking, though. 

The most popular topic of this Easter was the Warsaw Uprising and who was the evil one during the war- the Germans or the Russians, which made us escape to the garden for fresh air and gave us a second of stupid gaping at the birds and the kids. I realised again that my home is my castle and every time I pop my head out I sort of regret it. I'm not only totally incompatible with the society but also with my own parents.

This year my decision to spend at least one of my Easters somewhere far away reached the maturity stage and now I know that once we've completed all the works on the building site and settled there we're going to Morocco. Or to Turkey or Greece or elsewhere warm and sunny.  

After our Easter meal we decided to see some sights and went to the centre for a walk. The weather was sunny, but icy cold wind chilled us all down. We took some nice photos to commemorate the day and headed home.

On Monday we opened a new geocaching season. We started with our favourite multicache 'Kaszubskie drogowskazy', which might translate as Kashubian milestones and went in search of the hidden treasures cunningly disguised by one of our favourite cachers. 

The geocaching fever has struck us again. Next trips are planned for the 1-4 May.

Bourjois 1 Seconde mascara waterproof review

When wandering around the shelves of my favourite drugstore I spotted this new mascara by Bourjois. I cannot say why this particular one spoke to me as I hadn't bought a Bourjois mascara in years, but there was something about the packaging and the fact that it was available in waterproof version as well that made me take it home with me.

The 1 Seconde mascara promises one second volume, which I suppose means in a single brush stroke. It comes with the most peculiar applicator ever that consists of a combination of short spikey bristles and small balls. Rubber applicators tend to be prickly, but this one feels strangely comfortable. The bristles do coat my lashes decently well in one stroke, but I like my lashes much more volumised so I add one or two more coats. I haven't noticed much clumping nor crumbling.  Even though I bought this mascara in waterproof version, it doesn't dry stiff. My lashes feel flexible and that's why it's easy to add more coats smoothly. I like the way this mascara makes my lashes look. They're decently volumised and lengthened.

Now, on to the bad. 

The wand is just cut sharp at the tip and although this isn't the most massive brush in history, I find it very hard to reach my inner corner lashes and the bottom ones. What's more, if I do the brush deposits too much product there.

The mascara is not exactly watery, I'd describe it as gel consistency, nonetheless it does transfer and stain a a lot before it dries, so be careful when applying or else you'll end up with spotted eyeshadow on the upper lid and panda eyes below.

Well, you'll get panda eyes anyway cause this mascara, even though waterproof, does smudge a lot. It may be waterproof, but any contact with concealer, foundation, grease, sweat breaks it down and I end up with circles under my eyes. I've tried different concealers, powders etc and ended up with cakey, wrinkled, dry undereye with black traces of mascara where my lashes touched my undereye. This doesn't happen with other waterproof mascaras, eg. my recent favourite L'Oreal butterfly one.   

I'm in two minds about this mascara. I cannot say I don't like it, but for my bottom lashes I need to use another one. This is a drugstore mascara, but it's fairly expensive with its price dangerously close to Clinique mascaras. I'd strongly recommend getting it on some 40%off offer, if not, just fork out a couple more pounds and get something better. 

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

La Roche-Posay Rosaliac CC Creme review

Today I'd like to review La Roche-Possay Rosaliac CC Creme, the sample of which I got in my Glossybox in April. 

To review the cream properly I need to start with what it claims.

According to the booklet it came in, this product is meant for sensitive, redness prone skin. It's supposed to be a 2-in-1 product, replacing a moisturiser and a foundation. It moisturises and soothes the skin, making redness less pronounced. It comes in one shade that suits phototypes I-III and it's lightweight consistency suits all skin types.

Contains SPF 30.

Now, I must say that while this product might actually work for some skin types, I don't think it lives up to all the claims. 

Let's start with concealing redness. This cream does even out the skin tone quite nicely, but if redness is your pet problem, this will not replace a foundation. On my skin it looked surprisingly nice, but the redness didn't disappear.

Secondly, while being on the sheer side, this cream does match most fair skin tones, it certainly doesn't go well with oilier skin types. On my oliy skin it was greasy, never quite absorbed, I could feel it on my skin all the time and the feeling of make-up melting down my face accompanied me on a cool spring day.  

As for the product being especially addressed for sensitive skin types I must say I was more than surprised by its strong scent. It was very pleasant and I loved it, but it's common knowledge that fragrance is one of the most sensitizing ingredients of cosmetics and I'm sure it'll be a source of trouble for many.

I do understand I'm definitely not a target customer for this product. My skin is too oily and not sensitive. I do have some redness I keep fighting with, but it's just my skin type, not a result of allergies or dryness. But a target customer would probably expect more coverage and less sensitizing ingredients. 

Garnier Essentials Eye Make-up Remover with grape extract review

I've just realised that almost all skincare products, especially the cleansing stuff is actually Garnier. I seem to like the brand a lot as it delivers good quality for affordable price.

Garnier Essentials eye make-up remover with grape extract comes in a nice clear green bottle that is easy to operate.  The product inside is a watery, non-greasy substance that reminds me of any micellar solution. Actually, I can't tell the difference except for the fact that it's sold in a small container and costs almost as much as micellar water by the same brand. 

I find this eye make-up remover quite effective at removing cream and powder eyeshadows, but when it comes to waterproof mascara I need to reach for some kind of oil-based remover. I generally use this product to wipe off fall out from my undereye and it does its job perfectly well as it's non-greasy, doesn't interfere with my mascara or eyeshadows, neither does it make my concealer crease. It's a very decent product and suits my purposes well, but if asked if I would reourchase, I'd respond that Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water is equally efficient and the bottle is much bigger, which means better value for money.

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Glossybox April 2014

Here's my April Glossybox and what I found there. I'm not enthusiastic about the brands, but as far as the types of products are concerned I'm fully satisfied. The products are mentioned in random order as I like them all the same.

1. Aussie Miracle Recharge Colour leave in conditioner. Tried it, liked it, bought another one from the same line.

2. FM Group Make Up automatic eyeliner. Never heard of the brand before, apparently it's Polish, but I wouldn't know where to get it if I liked their product. The liner seems perfectly all right to me.

3. Dottore Cosmeceutici Sensitore Aqua Sensitive micellar solution. Haven't tried it yet, just reflected on the brand. This is another 'made in Poland' product, which I don't mind, but why the heck give your company an Italian name?

4. Isa Dora red lipstick, sample size. I like the shade, the formula and the minature product itself.

5. See By Chloe eau fraiche perfume sample. See By chloe is not my favourite scent at all, eau fraiche is slightly better.

6. It's Skin Prestige Creme D'Escargot BB is a surprise find. It's by a Korean brand I'd never heard of before. Although the BB cream displays no pigmentation, it makes a lovely moisturiser for my skin type so my interest in the brand is growing and I'm planning to order some more products from them.

7. Compeed Anti Blister Stick  and a sample plaster will definitely come in handy, especially for Mr Hubby and the kids.

There was also the first issue of beGlossy magazine, which contained a number of discount coupons, and a La Roche-Possay booklet with samples. 

Burberry Sheer Eye Shadow in Midnight Brown review & swatches

Burberry sheer Eye shadow in Midnight Brown

I'm a huge fan of Burberr Sheer Eyeshadow as not only do they look pretty, but boy, they do deliver. So when strawberrynet offered me an extra 10% off discount, combined with my regular loyalty discount I figured that was a now or never situation and grabbed the most wanted one from the entire line, Midnight Brown.

Burberry sheer Eye shadow in Midnight Brown

When it arrived I was more than surprised as I'd thought this would be more of a blackened brown, as the name suggests. Actually it turned out to be way lighter than Taupe Brown, which in turn surprised me with how dark it was. What's more the shade seemed way outside my favourite colour range, too warm and too golden. To me this shade looks like barley brown with intense shimmer. 

Feeling quite disappointed, I gave this eyeshadow a go and resentment turned to real love. To my astonishment the shade looked beautiful even on my cool-toned complexion, and what's more this eyeshadow didn't need any other shades to create a stunning look. I just patted it all over the lid and smudged below my eyes, blended out the edges, added some liner in the outer corner to intensify the look a bit and got the most amazing result!

Burberry sheer Eye shadow in Midnight Brown

The quality of this eyeshadow is second to none. It seems a bit dry and crumbly to touch, its shimmer feels almost like glitter, but it goes on incredibly smoothly on the lid, blends like heaven, delivers highly pigmented, beautifully shimmery colour and lasts all day. 

Despite the initial disappointment, Burberry Sheer Eyeshadow in Midnight Brown quickly became one of my favourite single eyeshadows ever. This eyeshadow is definitely a winner of the most misleading name of all times as there's nothing sheer nor midnight brown about it.

Burberry sheer Eye shadow in Midnight Brown

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Bumble and Bumble Thickening Shampoo, conditioner, Hairspray and Dry Spun review

Bumble and Bumble is definitely my favourite haircare brand and I generally believe that whatever they touch turns to gold. And at first I believed this was the case with their thickening line, but after using up half of the products pictured above my opinion is slightly less favourable.

I have been using simultaneously three products from the Thickening line - the shampoo, the conditioner and the hairspray.  All three of them are intended for fine hair and promise to add volume without weighing down the hair. 

The shampoo is a good cleansing product for the hair. It removes product build-up while kind of moisturising my hair, leaving it - I don't know how to explain it- wet from within. You need only a tiny drop of the product as it foams insanely, so even though the product is expensive you can get countless uses of it and it seems everlasting, especially if you have short hair, like I do.

The condition is kind of weird. You definitely need to leave it on for one or two minutes, as instructed. Then the hair is smooth and easy to comb, but when you're in a hurry and rinse it off immediately, it leaves the hair feeling rough and tangled. 

Both the shampoo and conditioner have a weird smell that I associate with something musty and stale, but it wasn't overall unpleasant. Just weird.

The hairspray is meant to be sprayed all over wet hair to lift it up, it can also be used on dry hair to set the style. It's non-sticky and lightweight, you don't feel it on your hair at all. The smell is consistent with the other two products within the range, but there's also a strong scent of alcohol that makes it smell a bit different overall. The product is a non-aerosol spray that comes with a pump that distributes the right amount of product nicely. This product doesn't have heat protecting properties.

I like using products from the same line as combos because I suppose they were designed to work well together. I reached for my Bumble and Bumble Thickening straight after using up my Straight Sexy Hair shampoo and conditioner and I immediately saw the difference. My hair was fuller and lighter, but less shiny and more electrostatic. I was happy with the result for a while but then I realised that my hair looked good only straight after washing. 'Next day' hair was again flat and limp and moreover it tended to look greasy. 

I feel the shampoo and the conditioner are all right and they do their job pretty well, but the hairspray really didn't do much to deliver the volume and hold it promises, not to mention lasting style. I'm glad I got it in travel size as anything bigger would be a total waste of money and this way it's a waste of a smaller kind of fortune. 

I generally don't want to say that these are bad products, it's just when you buy something so expensive your expectations are relatively higher. No miracle happened here for me.

I also want to say that the packaging that all products by the brand come in is dated and looks exactly like the bottles from The Body Shop. But it's good, on the other hand, as Mr Hubby never complains about using these highly overpriced goodies on his own head.    

While the Thickening Hairspray dates back to 1989 - no idea if the product has been reformulated since then - Bumble and Bumble's new addition to the line represents a much more modern approach to hair styling. Technically their Thickening Dry Spun is a texturising spray, but for me this is the best 'second day' hair reviver I've used since I started straightening my hair. This spray makes my hair look volumised and fresh and restyled without leaving white cast nor this crisp matte dryness. What's more it doesn't seem to irritate my dry scalp as much as other dry shampoos tend to do. It's insanely dear, but I use it only on my bangs so I expect it to last for a good couple of months. I'll be crying when it's gone and I've already started saving my money to repurchase. I'm also intending to get the Thickening mousse as I feel this is the product that will give my hair lots of volume and I won't need to wash it every single day. 

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

L'Oreal Color Riche Extraordinaire in #204 Tangerine Sonate review & swatches

The mid-March heat wave immediately shifted my interest from spring-time pastels to playful brights and I suddenly realised I needed something orange. 

I went to the nearest drugstore to see what they've got and my eyes fell on the new product from L'Oreal, the Color Riche Extraordinaire gloss that was on 40% off offer. I thought that was a good opportunity to give this a go.

The packaging looks better in pictures than in reality. The golden plastic seems actually quite brittle and it makes strange cracking sounds when I try to unscrew the top which make me fear the whole thing is going to fall apart and make terrible mess everywhere around.

The shade I picked is #204 Tangerine Sonate, which is an opaque bright orange that on my lips leans slightly coral. It's a gorgeous shade that shouts spring to me and I'm pretty happy to have it in my collection.

My only grudge is that my expectations about this product were so high due to the hype it got that it simply doesn't live up to them.

The fluffy applicator deposits a ton of thick product that feels kind of gloopy on my lips. The gloss is very opaque, but I think it's partly because of the amount of product that lands on my lips. This is a bright, pigmented shade so any unevenness is instantly visible and I haven't been able to avoid sheerer patches on my lips.

The gloss isn't as moisturising as you could expect as it kind of sits on my lips, but it's not drying either.

This product lasts just as long any other gloss does, but the good thing is that it disappears quite evenly. It leaves no stain behind.

Color Riche Extraordinaire has almost no scent detectable when you sniff it, but when applied to my lips and inhaled it starts to reveal a peachy scent. 

This is a very decent gloss that I really do enjoy wearing, but there's nothing exceptional or 'extraordinaire' about it. It lasts no more than 2 hours, feels very weird on the lips and the packaging seems a bit whimsy.

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.