L'OCCITANE Immortelle Oil Make-up Remover

So far this is my favourite cleansing oil I tried and the only one I can rely on to keep my skin in check. It removes heavy-duty makeup, including waterproof mascara, but it makes my vision very cloudy. I'm currently using the Shea Butter one, which is a bit cheaper, smells nicer and feels more comfortable to use, and it would definitely be my favourite ever, but it doesn't manage to keep my skin in such good condition as this one.

Repurchase: Yes.

VICTORIA'S SECRET Coconut Passion Fragrance Mist

There were days when I adored this and days when I was so fed up by it. People loved this scent on me and told me I smell like coconut vanilla cookies. I actually don't smell much coconut at all, it's definitely predominantly a vanilla fragrance, very warm, comforting and wintery. Coconut scents tend to be more beachy, but this one does not fit into that category at all. I loved this one for layering, particularly with Yves Rocher Noix de Coco and L'Occitane Amber (discontinued version). It's a scent with an excellent staying power, so you basically get 250 ml perfume for 12 €. Worth the purchase if you're considering it. 

Repurchase: I'm currently fed up with this scent and would prefer Mango Temptation, but I might buy it again one day.

THE BODY SHOP Vineyard Peach Cream Body Scrub

I'm the biggest fan of The Body Shop's Vineyard Peach range. The scent is divine! I often say it's my favourite scent ever and I have a body butter and a body mist from this range. Texture-wise this scrub was not terribly impressive. It's nicely creamy with sparser scrubby particles and it's quite a gentle scrub. The thing is that I prefer harsher scrubs, but if your skin is sensitive, you might like this. It rinses of completely, so there's no oily filter like at some other such products. I prefer my Soap & Glory scrubs. 

Repurchase: Other products from this line, but not this scrub.

L'OREAL Elseve Extraordinary Oil Shampoo

My favourite drugstore shampoo, but this the first bottle of Extraordinary version I used up. Before I had the Glatt-Intense version, which works exactly the same. I have very dry hair, so a majority of shampoos are drying on my hair and tangle it, but not this one. It's almost like a 2 in 1 shampoo + conditioner, so the comb just glides though the hair, plus it smells lovely, almost cinnamony. I heard from several people that it causes build-up on their hair and that it makes it look flat (even those with dry hair), but nothing like that happens to me. I love this shampoo and I hope they never discontinue it.

Repurchase: Yes, already done.

CHARLES WORTHINGTON Volume & Bounce Texturising Spray

Best texturising spray I've ever tried. It creates texture, which means that it helps achieve volume, it also makes the curls look more lived-in and helps them last longer. This one has a bit more hold than the rest, so it's like a hair spray mixed with a dry salt spray and it can make you hair feel a bit crispy if you use a lot of it, but in moderation it's fine. This is one of my essential products for creating all of those curly hairstyles I wear all the time.

Repurchase: I already have one in stock. I'd be lost without this.

L'OREAL Studio Line #TXT Excess Volume Textursing spray

70% off this bottle was used an air freshener. I'm not even sorry. I hated this and I was so struggling to use it up because it basically does nothing. It's a sticky hairspray-ish type of product with a very light hold, it feels wet when you spray a lot of it and it can make the hair feel sticky or unwashed. There is very little of that texture they promise and it does nothing to achieve more volume. Get Charles Worthington or VO5 instead.

Repurchase: Nope, nope, nope.

BALEA Rasiergel Summer Garden

A boring empty and one of those never-fails me products. I've been buying these in their numerous edition for years, but this one was one of my favourites because it smells like mango candy. Great LE, I hope they make more similar ones. 

Repurchase: Already have the grapefruit and the new coconut version.

REXONA Dry Deo Stick Anti-Perspirant

Clear Pure

Boring empty number two. A deodorant that never failed me in three or so years since I've been buying it and it's the only deodorant that didn't stop working before I even had a chance to use it up. A true unsung hero.

Repurchase: Every time even before I finish one.

BIO BEAUTE Lip Balm with Apricot Butter

I used to adore such products, these thick gloss type of lip balms and I had a ton of them from L'Occitane. But I've outgrown them and I prefer a more classic lip balm now. I can't fault this one - it moisturises well, though it's not for super dry, cracked lips, it gives a nice amount of shine that isn't too much and it smells exactly like pears. The amount you get is absolutely huge (15 ml), so it lasts forever.

Repurchase: No.

BALEA Pflegecreme Sail Away

I'm still using these as hand creams. I had most of the editions that were available and all were lovely, just simple thick creams that sink in fast. This one admittedly didn't have my favourite scent in the bunch. It had a fake raspberry scent that just didn't win me over, but I love the design of the tin. These thicken and go glassy-yellow after a few months, so you need to use them fast otherwise they don't absorb into the skin any more. I use the empty tins for storing booby pins.

Repurchase: I have a few other scents.

CADEAVERA Belebende Reinigungstűcker

These really were nothing special. I used them to remove swatches, but they were kind of weak. I used them a few times on my face, but found them harsh because the towels are those classic thin ones and I prefer quilted. They smell nice, like lilies of the valley and a bit fruity.

Repurchase: Nah, there are so many others.

L'OCCITANE Face Comforting Oil

I got several samples of this when they had the introductory promotion. I've been using Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse for about five years daily and this one by L'Occitane doesn't really compare. It's a nice oil that nourishes the skin, but despite being lighter that Nuxe's, it takes forever to sink it and I did no care for that silicone on the first place on the ingredients list. It's just that the ingredients read more like a hair serum than a face oil.

Ingredients.

Purchase: No.

SAPPHIRE 8 in 1 Complete Curling Wand

I bet you're shocked to see this here. I'm both shocked and livid because the damn thing broke. Never in my life anything broke on me. I have my first cell phone somewhere for god sakes and it wasn't Nokia. But literally in the midst of curling my hair, everything just went kaput. I gave it to my dad to fix it and the heater in one of the wands broke, but the rest of the things still supposedly gets electricity, however, when I plug it in - zilch, nada, nothing. I thought it might be suspicious that it allegedly works on dual voltage, so for US (110 V) and EU (240 V), but I suspect our higher voltage just wrecked it. I really became depended on this curler, it was so good, so I'm understandably upset about this. Well, at least I didn't pay for it (PR product), but I'll really miss it because it was brilliant. Well, I went back to my trusted Remington Pro Soft Curls. That one has been working with no problems for 6 years.

Repurchase: In a way I would love to, but I don't trust the whole voltage thing any more and to be fair neither the quality. Plus it's shipped from the USA, which means + 40 € of custom charges. 

I very rarely throw any makeup away. I mean I do stash purges, but what doesn't make the cut, I give away immediately if someone wants it (in last years there have been plenty of happy takers), while the rest I store in boxes because as I blogger, I always think that these things will comes handy for some future posts/comparisons or I just don't want to get rid of things because they were my (already expired) favourites. It's silly, I know. Most are over five years old, some are close to eight and they've changed texture as well as smell, so I'm not comfortable giving these away any more and it's time I let them go. Along with my old favourites are also some products that just sucked and I immediately regretted purchasing them. I bought them in another time, when most drugstore products were rubbish and finding something decent usually meant buying high-end products. Experience also thought me that I should avoid (Essence & Catrice) limited editions because they tend to end up in this boxes.
A final shout out to some great, already discontinued products - Essence Stay All Day cream eyeshadows (though their new pen versions are even better than these), Maybelline Dream Mousse blush (I adored this! Wore it every day for years, but it's gone off and I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. The new Dream Cream version is fabulous too, but mine's gone off), Essence Stay With Me lip glosses and Manhattan Soft Mat Lipcreams (Nyx Sort Matte lip creams dupes).
Anyone like me, who just can't say goodbye to products?

It's been a really long time since I last posted about my skin care routine and because I'm really happy with the state of my skin at the moment, I think there is no better time for an update. A lot has changed and a lot stayed the same, but basically since I revamped my skin care, my skin is a lot more balanced, I'd say very close to normal with my T-zone being just a bit oily sometimes, however, the dryness I was experiencing before mostly in winter months is gone. 

Previous skin care routine posts can be found here, here and here.

 Make up Removers

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

A nice drugstore micellar water, definitely my favourite budget one. As all I've tried so far, it feels like water and leaves no residue. I don't find it as effective as Bioderma since I use more cotton pads and product to get my skin completely clean, but the final result is the same. I use Garnier and Bioderma interchangeably.

Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution

A staple in my skin care since 2011. It's the best micellar water I've tried and I'll keep repurchasing it. It removes make up fast and leaves no residue behind - all in all it's a fantastic product for my skin. I buy it at a local pharmacy.

Maybelline Eye Make up Remover Waterproof

(Augen-Make-Up Entferner Spezial Waterproof) 

This is another product I've been buying for years. I wear only waterproof mascara because I have the most stubborn eyelashes that refuse to stay curled (and are a pain to get them curled), so I have to use oily removers. This one is a standard two-phase make up remover that removes waterproof mascara, but it does leave a greasy residue, though it doesn't make my vision cloudy.

Coconut Oil

I use it as a make up remover occasionally and I actually prefer it to Maybelline's remover because I notice how good my skin looks the next day, but it's a lot greasier and makes my vision super cloudy. It also works great as a moisturiser.

Cleanser 

balance Me cleanse and smooth face balm

I'm on my second tube so far of this balm cleanser with oatmeal exfoliating particles. It cleanses the skin while leaving it moisturised and I know that this is the main reason I'm dry patches-free, since regular gel/mousse cleansers left my skin super tight and dry, therefore dry patches appeared. This makes my skin look and feel nice, the only downside is the price.
I use washcloths to remove it.

Toner/AHA treatment

Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner

This is the product that keeps my skin, mostly forehead, smooth and clear. Though it contains gycolic acid, it's still moisturising, so it feels more like a lotion and it's super gentle (doesn't sting one bit, even if I have a small wound). Though, I'm a bit apprehensive about using AHA's so often, I haven't had a bad reaction, my skin did not become more sensitive and if I stop using it for a while my skin reverts to it's previous state with a bumpy forehead. I tend to apply it only on my forehead and chin, occasionally all over the face. I also cut the cotton pads in two and I only use a few drops per use. It's super expensive, but this is becoming a staple in my skin care routine. The only other product that made my skin look the same way is the much more expensive Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair.

 Moisturisers

L'Occitane Angelica Hydration Cream

My favourite moisturiser so far. It's sinks in fast, it's super hydrating, leaves a smooth, semi-matte finish and the skin feels almost velvety to the touch. It's the best moisturiser I've found for wearing under make up. The skin looks so healthy after using this and in general the skin improves over time in terms of hydration levels. My second favourite moisturiser that I've used up several tubes of is Eucerin Aquaporin Active Light.

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse

If you're an old follower on my blog, you'll know that I've been using this every day for three years already. This is a staple in my skincare, much has changed, but this stayed. This is one of those products I can hardly imagine being without. It keeps my skin super, super soft, radiant and healthy looking. It's a dry oil, so it actually doesn't feel that oily and it sinks in in minutes. It's a multi-purpose oil, so I use what's left on my hair and it keeps it in good condition. 

Extras and non-every day items 
I don't use face mask that often because I can't be bothered. 

Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque

 This has a really high rating on Make up Alley and it's really affordable for such a massive tube. It's a standard clay mask that is super thick and it draws out impurities from pores, but I dare not apply it on my cheeks because it completely dries out my skin. If you have really oily, problematic skin you'll love it. 

Neutrogena visibly clear 2-in1 wash mask

I've been using this since probably around 2006, so I've gone through a lot of tubes of this. I try a different mask every now and then, but I always come back to this one. It's another clay mask with salicylic acid, however, unlike Queen Helene one, this one doesn't dry out my skin at all. It can also be used as a cleanser, but it feels odd to me. It's inexpensive for the amount you get, smells nice and it's widely available. 

Origins Drink Up Intensive

Since my battle with dry patches is over, I don't use this much. In fact, I don't even find it all that good. It just feels like a thick, sticky moisturiser that smells like canned fruit salad (not peaches as most people say), which does moisturise very well, but my skin doesn't feel amazing after use as though I've applied something really special. Actually, I did have an emergency when Queen Helene mask really dried out my cheeks and made them rough, but this wasn't enough to fix the dryness.

REN Resurfacing AHA Concentrate

This serum is nothing revolutionary, but it does help those pesky blemish marks to fade faster. It doesn't remove them overnight, but long-term this is very effective. Also if I get a few spots this sometimes helps overnight, then sometimes it doesn't.

Sun Dance Mattierendes Sonnenfluid SPF30

(Mattifying sunprotecting fluid SPF30)

I barely spend a few minutes outside a day, so I don't wear sunscreen every day and I mostly wear BBs or foundations with SPF anyway. I like this one because it's really light, not greasy and it's really affordable.

Avene Cicalfate

This is just a basic antibacterial repairing treatment for any cuts, wounds, etc. I don't use this a lot on my face as I don't need to, but if it just happens that I squeezed a zit, I apply this to make it heal faster. 

Balea Soft & Clear Anti-Pickel Gel

This is rubbish, but it's the only spot treatment I have. I don't get a lot of spots and if I get them, I'm not that bothered. It's one of those on-spot gels with tons of alcohol and salicylic acid that in theory should make the spot dry out faster, but this one doesn't work.

Labello Fruity Shine Peach

Not the most moisturising lip balm, but it smells divine and the colour it gives is cute.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Swivel Stick

I don't suffer from dry lips at all and I think the reason for this also comes down to this swivel stick. I've been using it for years and it's my absolute favourite lip balm. I apply it as the last part of my routine and I wake up with my lips in perfect condition. I almost never use a lip balm during the day simply because I don't need to. I also love this for treating any rough, dry areas. 

Bio Beauté by Nuxe Lip Balm wit Apricot Butter 

This is another great lip balm, but with a more glossy finish. It smells great (pears), moisturises enough for my needs and the tube contains a generous 15 ml. 

And this is it. Basically I use balance Me cleanser, Clarins toner, L'Occitane moisturiser, Nuxe oil and Palmer's lip balm (or Nuxe lip balm) every night, and balance Me cleanser with L'Occitane moisturiser in the mornings. I'm looking for a morning cleanser that is quicker to use and I'm still missing Estee Lauder's Night Advance serum which is amazing.

Have a great day!

There is something inherently cool about Nuxe. They may be a pharmacy brand, but they're elegant and chic and you love to display their products on the vanity. There is no secret that I adore some of their products, for one I've been using Huile Prodigieuse every day as a face moisturiser for almost three years. Nuxe also has a subsidiary brand called Bio Beauté, a line of organic cosmetics, which prides itself on using juicy bio fruit to make their products. So it's not surprising that Bio Beauté by Nuxe Lip Balm with apricot butter* has one of the most mouthwatering fruity scent ever as it smells just like ripe pears we grow in our orchard.

The product is a creamy lip gloss that nourishes the lips. If you ever had any of the L'Occitane lip glosses you'll know what I kind of texture I mean. It says it's for dry or chapped lips and I have neither (one of the lucky girls here), but I feel like this might not be enough for healing chapped lips, though it's nice for every day care and protection against dryness (their famous Reve de Miel lip balm might be better suited for actual healing). The finish is creamy-glossy and it brings a bit of glam to the natural look, though it also pairs well with lipsticks if that is how you wish to wear it. I have to say the lasting power surprised me since it doesn't just rub off after 15 minutes like most glossy products but manages to cling on very long. It doesn't have any particular taste which I consider a good thing, though it does feel a bit "grainy" if you lick it off.


A tube will set you back 10 €, but it holds a surprising 15 ml of product, which is not a bad deal at all. You can see the ingredients here.

This is going in my bag. It's been years since I had such a product (ever since L'Occitane stopped making the awesome smelling versions. I used to own every one of them) and I almost feel like I'm in high school again. If you want something that combines care and a glossy look, give it a go.

Ni nobena skrivnost, da obožujem nekatere Nuxe izdelke. Njihovo suho olje Huile Prodigieuse uporabljam za obraz vsak dan že skoraj tri leta. Nuxe ima še eno dodatno linijo imenovano Bio Beauté z organsko kozmetiko, ki je vsebuje sočno bio sadje in del nje je tudi Bio-Beauté by Nuxe Mazilo za ustnice z mareličnim maslom*, ki diši čisto kot zrele hruške iz našega sadovnjaka, ampak res kot prave hruške.

Sam izdelek je kot nekakšno kremno bleščilo, če ste kdaj imeli L'Occitanova bleščila za ustnice potem boste vedeli kaj mislim. Namenjen je suhim in razpokanim ustnicam, ampak jaz nimam ne prvega in ne drugega problema, se pa mi vseeno zdi prelahek, da bi dejansko pozdravil ustnice (se mi zdi Reve de Miel morda boljša izbira), je pa super za vsakdanjo nego in zaščito pred suhostjo. Je super balzam za dni, ko ne nosiš šminke, ker ti da vsaj videz glossa, čeprav se dobro obnese tudi v kombinaciji s šminko. Me je kar malo presenetilo da ni izginil z ustnic po 15 minutah kot večina takih izdelkov, ampak se kar dobro obdrži za bleščilo. Nima nekega posebnega okusa, kar je meni všeč, ima pa tako bolj zrnato strukturo, ki se občuti, če ga malo slučajno zaide v usta. 

Tubica balzama, ki drži presenetljivih 15 ml, stane 10 €, kar ni slabo. Dobite ga lahko v lekarnah in trgovini Maxi in Leposana (E.Leclerc) v Ljubljani. Sestavine lahko vidite tukaj.

Skratka tole mazilo/gloss gre v mojo torbico. Že dolgo nisem imela takega izdelka, čeprav sem kot mlajša imela vse omejene izdaje L'Occitanovih bleščil (vsaj tiste, ki so bile kul) in tale je zelo podoben, pa še diši res super. Če iščete nekaj kar združuje nego in videz lip glossa v enem, vam ga priporočam.