Review 1st Anniversary Deauty Box

Not so long ago I posted a blog post on Deauty celebrating their first anniversary. I already got a mail announcing that my Deauty box was coming my way and to celebrate this occasion they made something special for the subscribers.

Apparently Deauty has hidden a golden ticket in some of the boxes. Those who have the ticket will be receiving something spectacular. Unfortunately I haven't won received the winning ticket.

A couple of days ago I was more than happy to open the door to the mailman to receive my package. I received, opened and smiled:

The first thing that caught my eye was the paper lying on top of it. It looked like recycled paper saying Deauty's blowing out his 1st candle and that this could be celebrated with us, Deauty subbies. A celebraton with a beauty box and flowers. Apparently the papers I was holding were actually 2 thin papers stuck to each other and in between there were little flower seeds that can be planted. A pleasant surprise although I'm, unlike most girls, not a huge flower fan. Nonetheless, a nice detail they added to the box.

Deauty's menu for August

Bioderma miscellar water for sensitive skin

I saw 2 cards lying on top of the products: Clinique long last lipstick and a Bioderma card. I got very excited seeing a Bioderma in my box. I've been a Bioderma user for about a year and a half and this little bottle is perfect to travel with.
On the back of the card I saw we could get a free shower gel by the brand Bioderma in a beauty store, where I always get my miscellar water. As soon as I tried it, I'll make sure I'll keep you posted on how I (dis)like it!
Seeing I use this famous product and like it a lot, this is definitely one of favorite products of I ever received in my Deauty box, whoot whoot! (favorite product of the box can be found below...excited!)

Clinique long lasting lipstick: All Heart

Then we got a Clinique lipstick in the shade All Heart. Since I'm a wuss and think red lipsticks are overboard for me, I'm sticking to tinted lipbalms for now. I did swatch the lipstick and I must say that this is a pretty darn good long lasting one. It's a pinkish red color that goes on smoothly and leaves a pretty sheen to it. As most long lasting lippies tend to dry out the lips, I was quite hesitant toward this product, but it actually didn't dry out my lips. A very nice product to have received in my box.





 

Next to the Clinique lipstick I just couldn't get my eyes off the Maybelline baby lips. Yes, as you all probably know, I'm a huge lip junkie, I admit it. I already own some of the baby lips, but the ones I have are from Hong Kong. The one we received, is the one from the States. Too bad it's a clear one, but I'm telling you: these are awe-some!

Maybelline baby lips: Hydrate

I got the Hydrate one and this smells a bit like lemon. It's not my favorite scent, but I can live with it. 
Apparently these babies are coming over to Belgium, YAY! The range that will be coming over to Belgium has 5 different lip balms: hydrate, freshen, repair (all transluscent), cherry me (hint of red), pink punch (hint of pink). They all have their own scent to them. Honestly, I can't wait to get a hold of these lip balms! This is definitely my favorite item of this month's box :)

What makes this lip balm different from the other ones? These contain centella asiatica extracts, which will heal chapped lips VERY fast.

Another cool detail: this contains an SPF of 20! For those who aren't confident enough yet to wear color on the lips, this is perfect to throw in your purse!

Avril: Cuisse de nymphe

This time Deauty also added a blush by the brand Avril. This is called Cuisse de nymphe (French for nymph's thigh). Somehow the name reminds of NARS' sexual tinted names. How they came up with that name, only Avril knows... As for the pigmentation, it's actually very good. It's a coral blush that, once applied, looks very natural on the cheeks. Thanks to Deauty my interest started growing for the brand Avril as the quality is quite good.

Garnier smoothing perfecting primer

The last item in my box is a skin primer by Garnier that should blur out the appearance of wrinkles, pores, imperfections an shine. When applied, I immediately noticed the velvety texture it left on my skin. It was as smooth as a baby's butt and it felt like I had nothing on.
I haven't tried it with a BB cream on top, but will be trying it out as soon as I have a fancy occasion to go to, because frankly, this looks like a darn good item!



I'm not sure whether I'm overwhelmed by their first anniversary, but I have to say that this box was one of their best beauty boxes they've sent out so far.

Deauty, keep it rolling and I wish you many more anniversaries to come! Congrats!

Hits & misses Jan-Jun 2013

Well hello there everyone and welcome back to my blog.

Today I'd like to share my hits & misses of the former month. I recall putting up a favorites of the month post last year for June 2012. I can't believe it's already been a year since I posted my favorites. Talked about consistency...woopsie!

Anyway, last month there were products I liked, but there were products I didn't like as well, so I decided to put a blog post on my hits&misses.

Let's cut the chit chat and jump right into it, shall we?

Hits

This month my lips have been dry as ever! It even dried out to the point that my corners started to crack which hurt like heck whenever I tried to open my mouth. I decided to put some Nivea lip butter on the lips so my lips could suck up all the moisture. It's not completely healed yet, but I'm getting there... As the name doesn't gives it away already, the formula is like butter, it's very creamy lip balm. Plus, it tastes so good, haha!

 

Nivea lip butter - vanilla & macadamia

Recently I caved in and bought some Embyolisse products. I'm still on the fence about the lait-crème on which I'll do a review soon, but I have been liking the hydra-mat emulsion.
It's a gel for normal and mixed skin which leaves the skin soft and matte.
It supposedly to leave the skin matte because it contains a natural derivative of corn starch which will absorb excess sebum and will reduce the shininess on your face. The apricot oil will tone and boost the skin and it contains the antioxidant vitamin E as well.

I've been liking it so far, although it doesn't keep my face matte ALL day long. I'm one happy chappy for this product keeping me matte for half the day!

Embyrolisse hydra-mat émulsion

If you've read my last year's favorites, you know by now I've been using the Clarisonic for almost a year now, and yes, I'm still a huge fan of this tool. It takes the dead skin cells off for me to look fab, hahaha! And I still like to combine my Clarisonic with my Bioré Acne gentle care oil control facial foam.

I've been treating my skin with love, but no product can keep those hormonal breakouts away. Here's when the Vichy Normaderm comes in, on which I've already done a review.
This baby dries out the imperfection so you can swing by life zit free, hahaha!

Vichy NormaDerm

Next to skin care products I do have a make up item to mention as well. I don't often think a product is wow-this-knocks-my-socks-off-like-nothing! But, I'd like to take the time to praise the one who made the Jealousness waterproof gel eyeliner (my review on it can be found here). This is the only eyeliner that will stay put on my waterline. As soon as you've put this into your waterline, it will not budge or whatsoever.

You probably know by now I have very oily eyelids and this causes for any eye product to give me panda eyes as the day goes by. Luckily this Jealousness eyepencil does NOT go anywhere unless you've want differently :)

I got mine in BK (black), but there are 6 other shades as well. And don't worry, one swipe of this eyepencil and you'll have a very pigmented waterline already.

Frankly, this is by far the best eyeliner I've ever used. For those who would like to give this baby a try, check out this website to get a hold of this eyeliner (Disclaimer: I'm not being sponsored for doing this blog post. All opinions are my own.)

Jealousness waterproof gel eyeliner - BK (black)

As I'm going from the top down, let's talk about nails :)
I've been ob-sessed with pastel colours recently. I still like to wear bold colours, but for some reason I always go back to my pastels.

Recently I've been rocking Diorlisse by Dior like crazy. It's a beautiful pastel pink colour which looks classy and put together, and will match with pretty much every outfit you wear.

And if I'm feeling like going crazy, I'll go pastel purple with Essie's Go Ginza! ;) It's a gorgeous lila that give your nails that hint of colour but still doens't look overdone.

As for my last hit of the month, let me just take a minute (and spray on some more, haha!). I'm talking about the Victor&Rolf's perfume called Flowerbomb.

Victor&Rolf - Flowerbomb

I accidentally picked up this bottle, smelled, sprayed and fell in love.

I never heard about this perfume before when I reached for this perfume bottle. As soon as I sprayed it, a magic of scents spread all over me and made me fall head over heels with this perfume.

As I suck at describing scents I looked it up and apparently it contains the following:
Notes: Sambac Jasmine, Centifolia Rose, Cattleya Orchid, Ballerina Freesia, Patchouli.
Style: Oriental. Gourmand. Floral.

It starts off quite sweet and dries down to a sweet, slightly vanillic dessert of amber and patchouli. The name Flowerbomb is suite misleading, as I don't smell a strong flower scent. Be assured that you don't have to like flowers to likes this perfume. If you're a lover of slightly sweet perfumes, this will be right up your alley.

Since every up has its down:

• quite expensive
• unfortunately the scent doesn't last very long on you

Nevertheless, this won't stop me from loving this perfume. Flowerbomb is the BOMB!

 

Misses

I have some dark spots on my face and when I saw these products I was too weak to pass it off. They're Garnier products which will treat dark spots, yeah right...

Garnier Dark Spot Corrector Daily Illuminating Moisturizer - Garnier Anti-Dark Spot Renovator Night

I'm not going to say that I expected immediate results, but these products just didn't do ANYTHING for my skin. The left one left my skin quite oily and the right product was just some gel I put on my skin before going to sleep. No no no, I won't be using these anymore.


Let's stick to the face and talk about another moisturizer. Yes, I did experiment quite a bit with moisturizers. I like to bring up the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel on which I've already done a review.

I've heard so many people raving about this product. People who have combination to oily skin. I know by now that most gels work better for oily skins, but this was a bit too harsh for my skin.

Whenever putting this on, it moisturized my cheek area, but it dried out my chin area after 5 minutes. This forced me to put another layer of this gel or to put another moisturizer on the drier sides of the face.

I'm aware that some people use 2 different moisturizers for their face, but I like to use just one.

Besides, this gel had a rather chemically smell to it when applying. Luckily this disappears after the gel has soaked into your skin.

I'm not a fan of this Clinique product and has actually left me quite disappointed.

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel

A few years ago I used the pore strips from Bioré. Apparently they changed their packaging, but I like to stick to products I know that work (normally...). I've been using the nose strips a few times and I'm not sure whether my little box is a bad one, but it just ... sucks! The date says it hasn't expired yet, so I'm hoping that mine is just a fault box.

Every time I use this, the white serum keeps sticking to my nose and when pulling the strip from my nose, the strip doesn't come off as one. The sticky side stays on my nose causing me to wash it off instead of tearing it off. It just didn't work at all. I can't do anything to help the product to come off more easily, because the strip is just too weak to be torn off.

A very big disappointment after being ecstatic for years about this product.

Bioré Pore pack

Last but not least, let's talk make up!
Who doesn't know CoverGirl? They're known for their Lashblasts and their red lipstick that Taylor raves so much about (for money, but still).

When I saw this eyeliner, I just had to pick it up, because who knows this is another great CG product. Well, it's not.

CoverGirl Perfect Point Plus eye pencil - 205 charcoal

I hoped this would be a dupe for my Benefit BADgal liner waterproof eye pencil, but unfortunately this smudged after wearing it for 2 minutes! No lie: I put it on my waterline, put the eye pencil in my bag, checked my phone for messages, looked into the mirror and saw a panda looking right back at me!

Luckily Taylor Swift isn't promoting this eye pencil, unless she's a panda look lover :)


These were my hits and misses for the first half of this year. What are your favorite products and what products do you really dislike and wouldn't recommend to anyone?

Review: Clinique dramatically different moisturizing gel

Hi there!

Thanks for stopping by and give your eyeballs a treat by reading this review.
I'm sure you've heard of the Clinique dramatically different moisturizing gel. If you haven't, you're probably a beauty newb who's trying to find decent moisturizer.

Before I start of rambling about this product, let me tell you something a little bit more about my skin.
As I hit puberty I had horrible skin (acne which left my face filled with acne scars..boooooo!). After having the worst skin period ever, my skin started too clear up with occasional break outs during that time of the month!
Nowadays I have a combination skin, meaning oily T-zone with normal cheeks but with dry patches here and there. If that's not a combination skin, then I'm absolutely clueless!

When buying a moisturizer, I mostly lean towards using a gel. Not only gives it a more cooling effect, gel is the only form of moisturizer that can handle my oily skin.

Let's go back to the product, shall we?

After using up myAquasource Moisturizing Skin Care Gel cream by Biotherm, I wanted something new since my skin got used to the Biotherm.

I've read so many reviews on the Clinique moisturizing gel, so I thought I'd give this one a go.

Clinique dramatically different moiturizing gel

• 125 ml (4.2 fl.oz.)
• combination oily to oily skin
• comes with a pump
• fragrance free

When I first started using this, I didn't really like it. It was kind of harsh on my skin, didn't moisturize enough having me to re-apply a second coat after 5 minutes, ...

I will use this bottle up, but I won't be repurchasing it.
I'm not sure whether this moisturizer is a bit too rough on my skin, but I do know my skin didn't really appreciate this Clinique product.

I'm already eying another moisturizer and cannot wait for it to give that one a try!
If you're interested in knowing which one I'm going to use, please leave a comment :)

Have a wonderful day you beauty lovers!

Products I've used up May '13

Hi everyone!

I'm back with another blog post. Today I'd like to talk to you beauties about the product I've used up, aka empties post :)

Let's work from the top down:

• Schwarzkopf Gliss Kur hair repair anti-klit spray

This is a spray which prevents knots in your hair and makes your hair silky smooth. It says it adds shine, I don't really notice any difference when spraying this in my hair, but it does makes it easier for me to brush through my hair after putting this in my damp hair.

You'll notice there's a little bit of a white solutions lying on top of the pink solutions. Just don't forget to give it a good shake before usage.

Good to know: I've used mine for about 2 years before using it all up, uhu!

• Clinique anti-blemish solutions clarifying lotion 

I think most of you know what this is. This is the step 2 from the Clinique 3 steps line for handling blemishes. I don't use this on a daily basis, because I think it would be to harsh for my skin should I use it every single day. In the end, it does dry out my skin, and I don't like that tucked feeling on my face.

I just put some on a cotton pad and sweep it all over my face. It makes sure to clear all dead surface cells and reduces excess oil that can cause unclogged pores (be gone impurities!).

You'll notice white powder on the bottom of the bottle, shake it until it dissolves into the lotion. The white powder is actually a medicine to treat acne. Good stuff? Hell yeah!

Good to know: Reduce usage if dry patches occur.

• Bioderma solution for sensitive skin

This has been a huge hit in Hong Kong before coming over to Belgium and the States.

I use this as my daily toner, if I need a more abrasive toner I'll use the Clinique one. But, this one is very gentle on the skin. It cleanses and removes my non-waterproof make up.
It's like putting water on your skin, only bottled in a fancy packaging :)

Put some on a cotton ball and sweep it over your face, as simple as that.

Good to know: this does NOT remove waterproof make up

• Biotherm Aquasource gel for normal to combination skin

This has been my HG for a few years.

It gives enough moisture but didn't make my face feel greasy, thanks to the gel formula. 

A very good moisturizer for the summer, not so much during the colder months.

Since I'm using another moisturizer for the moment, I won't be able to buy this immediately for the summer time!

• Fairy Drops Platinum mascara in waterproof formula

Holy moly guacemole, my HG mascara!

Honestly, this mascara makes my stubborn short lashes look like I'm wearing false eye lashes!

You'll notice that the brush has a curvy wand, this lifts my eye lashes to make them even more curly.

It gives volume, lengthens them thanks to the fibers in it, but still gives a very natural look to the eye...A-MA-ZING!

I use the one in waterproof formula because if I don't use waterproof I'll end up with raccoon eyes. Sexy, I know!

• Lancôme bi-facil double action eye makeup remover 

Bi-Facil is one of the most known eye make up removers in the beauty industry. Notice that there are 2 different parts in the bottle: a more deep blue (oil) and a light blue (toner). You should shake the bottle to let the 2 mix and then put it on a cotton pad before pressing it against your eye. 

People say this doesn't leave any greasy film on the eyes, but I do notice that it does when you reach the end of the bottle. It may be normal, but I don't think this (rather expensive) eye make up remover.

I must admit that it does a good job, but it's not like that this is the only one eye make up remover that works. I've had cheaper versions that do the job as well.

Good to know: Get eye make up removers with both oil and toner, it makes the taking off your waterproof make up much easier!

• Colgate Max White One

Who doesn't want whiter teeth? I thought so...

I gave this Colgate tooth paste a try, but unfortunately this has let me down. Not only didn't I notice any difference in my teeth shade but sometimes it left my mouth not as fresh as I would like it to be.

I will not be repurchasing this one fore sure, which is a shame because I do like the other plain Colgate tooth pastes.

• EOS organic lip balm smooth sphere in pomegranate raspberry 

 

I learned about the EOS products thanks to make up vids on Youtube. These are probably one the most cute lip balms ever. Are they that good? Not really. It's not very moisturizing, but I'm a sucker for packaging and as soon as I smelled the scent, I was sold!

These come on different scents and yes, I have them all...

• EOS hand lotion in berry blossom

Another product from the same line; the EOS hand lotion. As you can see on the picture it says: paraben- free. Yay for anything which is free of parabens.

You have to admit that this hand lotion looks quite adorable, but man oh man, wait until you get a sniff of this hand lotion. It smells heavenly! And it doesn't only smell good, no no, it makes your hand soft as a baby's bottom!

It doesn't leave any greasy film on your hand and it moisturizes as hell. Hands down, one of the best hand lotions I've ever used.




I'm sorry I didn't put pictures up that I've taken myself, but I've thrown most of the products out the door before realizing I could write a blog post about it.

I'll try to collect them from now on makes it more personal :)

Comment below if you liked this post and tell me what empties would you repurchase?

Clinique's chubby sticks

Interested in this post? Then you're just a lip balm freak as I am :)

I bought one a couple of months ago and fell in love with the concept.
Basically a chubby stick is a like a lip balm that looks like a big crayon that you can twist up without having it to sharpen it...EVER!

Clinique Chubby sticks

These lip balms kind of remind me of Maybelline's baby lips.

They're a little moisturizing, they're tinted and are balms that should be twisted up for usage.







I'm sure that this lip balm concept sounds familiar to the most of you:

• Revlon's Just Bitten lip balm stain
• Tarte's Lipsurgence
• HEMA lip sticks
• NARS Velvet Gloss Pencils
• and plenty of others brands

Mega Melon - Woppin' Watermelon - Curvy Candy

I have noticed that Chubby Sticks are those with the most sheer shades and are the least glossy balms, yet they're moisturizing enough to keep me going for a few hours.

Swatches Chubby Sticks

Top down:
Woppin' Watermelon : a sheer cool toned pink. Can be a dark pink if it's built up.
Mega Melon: a corally, old spiced pink
Curvy Candy: a sheer rosy pink

Do I like them? Yes.
Do I love them? No.

I'm still on the hunt for a good tinted lip balm, but these will do the trick for now :)
And by the way, how can you not smile just be reading the name?

Discover beauty

Hello everyone!

I'm sure you've all heard of Birchbox, the Little black Bag, the Ipsy Glam Bag, ... As a beauty freak I've read/saw tons and tons of reviews on these beauty boxes. These are subscriptions to a certain site where you pay a fix (and low!) amount of money and every month you'll get a box filled with beauty goodies in it. GREAT idea! Only downside? It's only for those beauties who live across the world! :(

Then, one day, I started reading the newspaper and saw a little add on the new Belgian beauty box, called Deauty.

Deauty stands for Discover Beauty. I didn't want to post anything about it before trying it out. In the meantime I've received 2 Deauty boxes, and I must admit...I'm pretty impressed by the goodies! Deauty mainly cooperates with brands such as Biotherm, Clarins, Essie, Kiehl's, Shu Uemura, ...)

Just make sure you create your own beauty profile (what type of skin, type of hair, ...) and you'll get your monthly box with approximately 4 to 6 beauty products. Sometimes I even received full size products, so I do think it's worth the money for trying out new goodies.

Here below you'll find the pictures of the boxes I received. Now, since I've already used most of my products, I had to use the pictures from their website www.deauty.be.

They've put ALL available products on these pictures. This means I didn't receive all these products. Depending on your beauty profile, you won't be able to try out products which aren't meant for your skin or hair.


Deauty box October:

This is a picture from their website.

I received 6 out of 8 from this box:

• Biotherm serum (full size)
• Biotherm for combo skin
• Kiehl's lip balm
• L'Oréal mascara (full size)
• L'Oréal eye liner (full size)
• Shu Uemura hair oil

Deauty box November:

This is a picture from their website.

As for the November box I got 6 products:

• Kiehl's Ultra facial cleanser
• Kiehl's Ultra facial cream
• Paul Mitchell super skinny serum
• Nails polish corrector pen by Jean Marin (full size)
• L'Oréal Youth Code luminizer serum
• Clinique High Impact mascara

As for the quality, I must say they're pretty darn good :)
I'm sure I'll be continuing my subscription with them and maybe surprise a friend by gifting her Deauty boxes!

I'll try to review them as soon as I receive them, but I hope you understand I wanted to make sure they were good stuff before I post anything about it.

Until then, see you later Deauties!

Favorites of the month: June 2012

Hi there! It's that time of the month again! No, I'm not talking about PMS, it's monthly favorites...YAAAAY!! So, let's jump right into it, shall we? :)

As some of you may know I bought a Clarisonic a while back, and I decided to try it out before I wanted to review it. Well...I tried and fell in love :)

Clarisonic - sensitive brush

I've been using it every other day, other days I may do a light scrub or just go over with it with some toner, about which I'll talk more in just a second. I've been using the Philosophy Purity Cleanser or the Bioré Acne Gentle Care - Oil control facial foam.

Philosophy Purity Cleanser

                                                                   





The Philosophy is a bit more drying to my skin, but since I do want to use up the entire bottle, I'll moisturize my skin immediately after towel drying my face.

Bioré Acne Gentle Care Oil Control Facial Foam

As Bioré's name says so, it's a foam. It's not as drying as the Purity cleanser. I definitely will be repurchasing this one as soon as I'm out of cleansers.









I use the brush for sensitive skin and I have to say, I finally understand what the fuss in the beauty world was about the Clarisonic! My skin has gotten a natural glow to it, without being oily and my impurities have significantly disappeared. I'm really loving it, parapapapa!

I've been using my Biotherm toner for a very long time, and I had to switch up toners because I think my skin got used to it. And since acne was popping up on occasions I couldn't afford to have them, I started using a Clinique' toner.

Clinique anti-blemish solutions toner

Most people use the 3 step skin care line, but since I'm not most people I just wanted to try out this clarifying lotion. If you look at the bottle you see there's a powder at the bottom, which is acne medication. You just shake up the bottle so the powder can disperse in the liquid and I just a put a little bit on a cotton ball and go over my face with it.

I always learned that it's better to use a serum before putting on your moisturizer. Well, since my skin has been so good to me, I wanted to pamper my skin as well. I tried the Estee Lauder Idealist Skin Refinisher serum.

Estee Lauder Idealist Skin Refinisher serum

After using this, I barely notice dry spots on my face. Take that combination skin!

Summer's up (yes, Belgium has summers as well!) and my skin gets quite dry during warm temperatures. *enters Garnier moisturising gel* :)

Garnier gel-cream

It's a very moisturizing gel-cream for the body for those with dry-sensitive skin. It says it contains L-Bifidus** (which is inspired on pro biotica in most yoghurts to keep your skin moisturized) and peach extract. It has a slights peach scent to it, but it's not an overpowering scent that will bother those who don't like scented goodies. I prefer gels to lotions because those just make my skin glows like I've put shimmer all over body. Gels just work better for me and I'm really loving this product.


I've been a huge fan of the Shu Uemura pro concealer for years, but since they're discontinued, I had to start looking for a replacer (not a dupe, because I'm afraid I'll never find something as good as my SU pro concealer).

Maybelline Pure Mineral Concealer: shade 1

I bought Maybelline Pure mineral concealer when I was back in Hong Kong, and I finally gave it a try. Since my skin has been approving, I need less concealer and the Maybelline covers up just fine actually. When I do need a little bit more coverage, I'll go back to my Shu Uemura, but Maybelline's liquid concealer is not doing a bad job at all.
Perhaps that this will be my go to concealer from now on. Maybe it's Maybelline?

A monthly favorite ain't a favorite without mentioning my nail polishes :)
I've really been digging my Essie Tart Deco.

Essie Tart Deco

It's a bright coral, slightly orangy, and I just love this baby! It's bright enough to give my outfits a pop of color, but it's not too bright that screams heeeeeeeeeeey, look at me! :D

Well beauties, this is it for this month. Stay tuned for more make up loving!