2014 Favourites

Hi everyone,

I don't usually do blogposts about my monthly favourites but I wanted to do one big post about all of my 2014 favourites because there were quite a lot of products that I fell in love with last year. January is almost over but I thought I may as well post it anyway. Better late than never! 

I've already reviewed a few of them on my blog already and I'll leave links in case you want to read a more in depth description about any of those. There will also be a few I haven't blogged about yet so hopefully it will be an interesting read.

Skincare

Bebe More Melt Away Cleanser

This was my go to cleanser throughout 2014. It's cheap and works wonders! I'm pretty sure that it's part of the reason why my skin looked and felt nice throughout the whole year. It's paraben free and is great for cleanising sensitive skin. It has a foamy, mousse like texture and I found it to be moisturing. It's great for moving any excess makeup and leaves my skin  feeling extremely clean and soft. I'm on my second tube already and will probably repurchase it once that one is done. Read more about it here.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat

My skin can get quite oily during the summer and I used this on a daily basis. It worked extremely well at reducing the oil and keeping my complexion looking matte. It felt really nice on and didn't bother my sensitive skin at all. It's quite expensive but a tiny bit goes a long way and it has lasted me a really long time. 

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo +

I was a huge fan of the original Effaclar Duo and had been since 2012. Contrary to the original version, the Effaclar Duo + claims to prevent marks on the skin as well as correcting imperfections and unclogging pores (like the original). The consistency and texture has also changed. Where the first was more like a transparent gel, this one is creamier and white in colour. The first few times I used it, I was rather disappointed as it seemed to cause more breakouts but I was determined to stick with it as once again it's fairly expensive. After a while it cleared up my skin and I fell in love with it. I apply it after cleansing and toning, before putting on makeup.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar A.I.

Another long time favourite that I've never blogged about. This one is targeted more specifically at preventing spots and imperfections. I can't fault it. It has always worked wonders whenever my skin decides to play up. I apply it to any spots and redness just before going to sleep after cleansing and toning my skin. That way it has time to work it's magic over night. 

Makeup & Brushes

Zoeva Rose Golden Luxury Set

2014 was the year I decided to invest in these beauts. I did a blogpost on the original set here and my lovely mum bought me the eye brush set for Christmas. I adore these brushes, they're super soft and do their jobs extremely well. You get a bunch of different brushes, each with their own individual use (although feel free to use them for different things). The quality is incredible and I actually prefer them to my other brushes. 65€ may seem a lot for makeup brushes but when you calculate it, it works out to +/-5€ per brush which is amazing. Also there is the added fact that they are rose gold! So beautiful.

NARS Blush in Dolce Vita

I hadn't been using a lot a face products for a while but I fell back in love with this blush towards the end of last year (summer and autumn in particular). It's the most gorgeous deep red/pink colour and looks amazing on my skin (if I do say so myself). I've had it for over two years now and still haven't hit pan. As it's NARS, it is expensive but if you have money to spend and fancy getting a new blush, I definitely recommend it. I've written about it here.

Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstick in 49 Liasion & NARS Lipstick in Heatwave

Both of these lipsticks were featured in my Top 10 Lipsticks for Spring/Summer which you can read here. They're both beautiful, both expensive, both amazing. i love pairing Liaison with a brown smokey eye and Heatwave with winged liner. They're both creamy but Heatwave has a matte finish and Liaison has more of a pearl finish.

MAC Palette

I almost completed my MAC palette last year and I found myself using it on a day to day basis. When it comes to eyeshadows, MAC is definitely up there with my top favourites. Amazing quality, beautiful colours and reasonably priced. The ones I used the most were Sable, Mulch, Patina, Charcoal Brown and Naked Lunch but I adore all of them. Read more about my palette here.

Hair Products

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer Extreme

This has to be one of my all time favourite new discoveries of last year. I first started using it in March or April and have since repurchased it, despite it being fairly expensive. I really think that this has been the main reason why the condition of my hair has improved so drastically. It really is a hair saviour. Read more here.

Nivea Diamond Gloss Shampoo & Conditioner

Hands down my favourite shampoo and conditioner. They smell amazing and leave my hair looking glossy and feeling super soft. I always go back to these no matter how many other products I try. I wrote a more in depth blogpost about them here.

MoroccanOil & Kérastase Ciment Thermique

These two have been long term favourites of mine. I use them both religiously after every wash and they haven't stopped doing their magic. They make my hair feel so soft and manageable as well as keeping it in good condition. They also both smell amazing! Price wise, they are expensive but you don't need to use a lot and I find they last between six months to a year. Read more about the Ciment Thermique here.

COLAB Dry Shampoo London

I bought this a few months ago and it has since become a firm favourite. I have always had a love/hate (more hate) relationship with dry shampoos. Whether it was the smell or the fact that they didn't really help, I could never find the perfect one. Until now that is! The London scent is lovely and it actually helps make my hair look presentable on the days in between washes. It was also incredibly cheap for such a big can.

Bebe More Range

bare faced

with the Brighten Up moisturiser

with the moisturiser and the eye cream

                            with the eye cream                                          without the eye cream

finished face, no other face products used (foundation, concealer or powder)

I recently spotted new Bebe skincare products in Cactus. I admit, I am always drawn in by cute packaging and Bebe never fail in that aspect. There were three new products in the Bebe More Range, the Melt Away cleanser, the Beautiful Eyes eye cream and the Brighten-Up face cream. Naturally, I bought all three. For science. I don't actually feel bad about it, because Bebe isn't an expensive brand. Also I was in need of a daily moisturiser and I don't even own any eye creams. But there's a first time for everything.

My skin tends to be quite sensitive, in the sense that I have to be careful about what I put on my face. I often find that most moisturisers and creams make my face itch immediately after applying them. There are no actual psychical signs of this but my face feels so uncomfortable. This is also the reason why I don't use many face products like foundation. Even concealer feels horrible. So whenever I find a product that doesn't do this, I stick with it. The Vichy 3 in one cleanser, La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo serum, the Effaclar A.I. cream and the Effaclar Purifying cleanser are my go to products. However they are all on the more expensive side.

I did have high hopes for the Bebe products and they didn't disappoint. The cleanser is just as good as the Vichy and the La Roche Posay ones, my face always feels really soft and extremely clean after cleansing. 

I was most interested in the eye cream and was quite surprised by the results. I found the cream visibly lighten my under eye circles. Let it first be known that I don't really mind my under eye circles, they don't bother me as much as having spots for example, but I actually liked how the cream lightened up those areas. I looked a lot more awake! I don't think the photos do it justice, but you can tell there is a noticeable difference. Out of the whole range, this product is my favourite.

The moisturiser has SPF10 which is good because I have trouble finding  cheap moisturisers that contain any kind of SPF here in Luxembourg. As far as brightening goes, I do notice that my face looks less dull after using this cream. It feels really nice on as well and none of these Bebe products made my face itch or feel uncomfortable, which is a huge thumbs up for me. I have also noticed that my face doesn't get oily throughout the day whenever I use this cream, which is a plus.

So far after a month of trying them all out, I am really impressed with these products and will definitely repurchase them when I run out. The amount that you get in each product is more than enough as well, less is more with the eye cream and moisturiser and the cleanser comes in a reasonably sized tube as well. 

Have any of you tried these products before?

Current Skin Care Routine

Hi everyone! I thought I'd do a blogpost on my skin care routine. My skin has been clear and healthy for over three months now, since I started using these products, so I thought I'd share my tips and tricks. I've repurchased all of them, that's how good they are.

My skin type:

I'd say I have combination skin, but it's hard to tell, because it constantly differs depending on the seasons, sometimes it's greasy (Spring/Summer), sometimes it's very dry (Autumn/Winter). Is that normal? I really have no idea about skin. Spots were also a big problem. I used to never use any kind of product, but now that I've started, I've found it's made a huge difference. I've been spot free for over three months, with the allowance of one or two at my time of the month. 

What my skin goes through, make-up wise:

Like I've mentioned so many times, I never use foundation. Ever. This is due to the fact that when I was a young teenager, so around 13 years old, my mum told me that using foundation and concealer will just hide the problem and not deal with it. You'll be cleaning your skin and then putting stuff over it, so scars and spots will never have the chance to heal properly. I don't know if that's strictly true, that foundation, concealers and powders don't help at all, but I chose to believe it anyway. I'm definitely not saying foundation is bad, the main reason I don't use it is because I really hate the way it feels on my skin. I'm very weird regarding textures, and feeling it on my face just disgusts me a bit. But it's all personal choice, if foundation works for you, then that's great! I do occasionally use concealer, but recently I've stopped (concealer free for over three months!). I do use blush, but I've never found that damaging to the skin.


What I use:

I use all of these products apart from the face wipes in the morning too.

Garnier Essentials Make-Up Removing Face Wipes

I remove my make-up with these wipes every night before bed. They don't sting and they take off the majority of my make-up.

Vichy Purete Thermale Paraben Free One Step Cleanser for Sensitive Skin

After removing my make-up with the wipes, I splash my face with cold water. Then I use a coin sized blob of this and rub it in all over my face, eyes included, as it not only works as a cleanser, it also works as a toner and make-up remover. Then I rinse again with cold water. This leaves my face feeling really fresh and clean.

Bebe Young Care Shine Control Oil Free Face Toner

I use a bit of this with a cotton pad and rub it in all over my face. It stings a little, but it really does clean all the excess dirt off of my face and leaves my skin feeling nice and fresh.

Bebe Young Care Relaxing Care Day & Night Cream for all skin types

I use this as a moisturiser, after the toner dries. It smells amazing and leaves my skin feeling really soft.

Important tips that everyone already knows:

• Drinking a lot of water! I've been gradually swapping Ice Tea for water, and yes it has been hard but it is so important, not just for your skin, but for your hair and body too. 
• Fresh air. After being ill with the flu for a week, I like to spend as much time as possible outside, because the difference is so noticeable. Being stuck indoors makes my skin even greasier and more prone to breaking out in spots.
• Vitamin D (i.e. being out in the sun) My mum always says getting a lot of vitamin D does wonders to the skin, just don't forget suncream!

What are your favourite skin care products?

I went shopping (Review)

After work, we went to the supermarket and I couldn't resist buying some bits, it's an addiction I swear! My boyfriend and I needed to get some light bulbs and we left with a bunch of new toiletries. By "we" I mean I did, although he did get new razor heads. I'm this bad on a daily basis, what will I be like when I get paid?! Also, I might, possibly, maybe, with a bit of luck be going to England in February. I'm planning something a little bit big and exciting, but I don't want to mention it yet, just in case it doesn't work out. But let's be positive!

Anyway, onto what I purchased/repurchased and what my mum also picked up for me.

First up, a few Dove products. If there's one thing I can never have enough of, it's shampoos/conditioners. I have about a billion, and I love trying new ones, because I feel I've been getting closer to the perfect hair products that work a treat with my hair. I remember my sister saying she was content using her Dove shampoo and conditioner, back when I was getting Lee Stafford stuff in December, and after she left to go back to England after Christmas, I noticed Dove products in the shower. My family would say I'm know to, ahem, borrow other people's shampoo without asking, but the last few years I kicked that habit of wanting what others have, but these looked so lonely. And almost empty anyway. So I used them and my hair felt so, so soft and lovely, even when I let it air dry. It usually goes frizzy and horrible but I really noticed a huge difference using the Dove products. They also smell really nice and the packaging, which is white with gold, is very elegant, if shampoo can be elegant. The ones I got today, the same as the ones left abandoned it the shower (let me just note, if they belonged to my mum or other sister: sorry for using the last bit!), are called Dove Hair Therapy Nourishing Oil Care, which claim to "revitalise and smooth dry, rough and frizzy hair with weightless nutri-oils". That's my rough French translation anyway, because I'm too lazy to google what Dove has to say about it. But I'm sure it says pretty much that in English. So I got the shampoo, conditioner and a deep conditioner. They also had a leave-in conditioner, but I have my Bed Head Ego Boost for that. anyway, you're supposed to leave the deep conditioner in for about 3-5 minutes, which I did, and my hair is very soft and feels sort of light, but that could just be me thinking it feels like that. It definitely doesn't feel full of product, which makes my hair feel heavy and horrible, which is great! So far, I love this stuff.

Next, I asked my mum if she could find me bebe Relaxing Care Day & Night Cream, which is my moisturiser, and if she could find the bebe face wash, to get that too, please. Problem was, I was at work at the time and didn't have enough time to describe the product in detail, and the shop she went to only had my cream and a toner. Which is great because that means I get to try out a new product! So she got the bebe  Shine Control Oil-Free Face Lotion, which promises a "shine-free complexion, with lemongrass and fruitextracts and it cleanses and gets rid of dirt and excess oils that are on the skin". Again a rough translation, this time from German to English. Using my decent language skills, like a boss. So yeah, I had a bit of a mishap when I opened it and spilt it all over the place, over than that it's great. My day&night cream is great too, I've really seen a difference since I started using it, I get less spots (hardly any now!) and my skin feels really soft and is less patchy. My face wash, which we couldn't find (I looked too, when we went shopping), has also contributed to my improved skin condition. I really love these products and would recommend them to anyone who can get their hands on them. They have something to do with Johnson products, but I'm not sure if they're available in England, or if they're named differently. If not, try www.amazon.de or www.amazon.fr, because it's made in France apparently but is also translated into German, so I think you'll probably find it on one of those. More on my bebe experiences here.

And finally, a deodrant, Fa Mystic Moments Seductive Fragrance*, which I've repurchased because it is a very nice smelling deodrant indeed, probably the best I've ever smelt. My boyfriend loves it, probably because it smells quite "sexy" if that makes any sense?*(I noticed it had seducative fragrance after having written this sentence) It's so nice, and works well, it claims to have "24 hour reliable protection", and this really is a first, I actually believe that. Unless of course you do nothing but sport all day, therefore sweat like a pig, because the only thing that will help you in that case is a shower. It also says "no white marks & skin friendly" which is also very true. No translation needed because it's all in English (apart from the back, that's all in French and Dutch.Grrr) But yeah, this deodrant is great! I love it.

Have you tried any of these products? What are your thoughts?

bebe Skin Care Products

 

I'd run out of my Nivea Young Care stuff that I'd been usuing since March, and I wanted to try something different, but had no idea what to pick. So I just randomly chose a BeBe Day and Night moisturiser and a three in one face wash. I have combination skin, so I picked up the face wash for normal to combination skin, and the moisturiser is for all skin types. 

• bebe Young Care 3in1 Fresh Washgel for normal to combination skin

It claims to remove makeup and leave your skin feeling soft and fresh, and it's also soap free. And it actually does what it claims to do. It made my skin feel really nice and soft, and it felt clean, which is always a good thing haha. I really like this product, despit being all about nice smells, because obviously it doesn't have a smell, being soap free. I actually prefer this to my old Nivea one, because it seemed quite heavy. This even looks soft when you put it in your hands. It also looks quite shimmery and silky, if that makes sense.

• bebe Young Care Relaxing Care Day and Night Cream

Whereas the face wash doesn't have a smell, this cream smells absolutely wonderful! I really love this smell! I do realise that there is more to life and products than their smell, but for me it is really important. The moment I used this, I knew it was good. Every other moisturiser I've used makes me skin so oily, and makes my face really shiny. This one just does it's job, and keeps my skin moisturised without overdoing it. It also leaves my face very soft and nice smelling, of course. 

So I think I'm sold. I really do like these products, and until I find something even better, I'll stick with these.