June Empties

It's a cold and rainy June weekend, but this miserable Sunday evening is quite fine for blogging as I'm not tempted to do something else and delay my writing (which I've been doing for a while recently). I have a whole bunch of products used up during the month that I want to share, so let's move on to the list.

-Desert Essence "island mango" shampoo and conditioner: usually I will only buy a shampoo and use Earth Science hair mask (review below) as a conditioner, but this time was an exception, because "island mango" was a new duo in the market. I've used probably all of Desert Essence's shampoos+conditioners (some more than once), and I like each and every one of them. I think this mango set is on the richer/heavier side compared to some others (e.g. apple, raspberry, or lemon), but it doesn't make hair look greasy or over-moisturized. The result I get is pretty much the same I get from other Desert Essence products. The only con for me was the smell, which was on the stronger and sweeter side, and it was a bit unnatural. I expected this set to have a fresh juicy mango smell, but it wasn't anything even close to that. I'm currently using the new "Italian lemon" duo, and I already love it because of the fresh smell. 

-Desert Essence hair mask: I'm sure I've told about it already more than once as it's my must have product. I don't use it as a mask, but as a hair conditioner by applying to the ends of my hair (sometimes up to half hair length, but never the roots). It leaves hair silky smooth and soft. 

         

-Aubrey Organics shave cream in "orange cream": I've repurchase all 3 fragrances that these shave creams come in as I wanted to see if I still liked them. I do like the product, and the way it smells. I also like the texture, which is silicone-y feeling, BUT... because of the texture it's quite hard to clean the blades of the razor, and it seems like the razor doesn't last as long as it would otherwise. As far as I remember, this is the problem I has with these shave cream a few years ago when I first tried them, so I don't think I'll be repurchasing them again.

-Aubrey Organics "raspberry and orange" body scrub: Yes, I knew what I was ordering size-wise, but I was still surprised how small the container looked in person. It's a sugar scrub that I was looking at for a while, and when JMO website had a coupon code, I didn't think twice before ordering it. I was disappointed about the smell as I wouldn't describe it as having any raspberries or oranges in it - there was nothing fruity sweet or citrus-y, and all I smelled was sugar, which reminded more of a cake. While that wasn't what I expected, I was still hoping that the scrub itself will be great and will save the situation. Well, it wasn't and it didn't. It seemed like a very basic sugar and oils scrub that I could mix myself for 1/10 of the price. It didn't help that it wasn't long-lasting as I needed quite a lot for my whole body. If you don't want to experiment in your kitchen, save the money and get Hugo Naturals scrub - you will get a better product and twice the amount for half the money. 

-Milk+Honey body cream: no matter how much I love m+h spas and their products, I do have something negative to say about this cream. Well, let me start with the good things first, one of which is the effect. This rich cream makes the skin soft and gives plenty of moisture without leaving any residue. I love the natural smell of it as well. It kinda smells like an expensive high end cream, and well, it is pretty expensive ($34 for 8oz.). The cream was easy to apply and lasted a pretty long time, so the price isn't so bad. Yet, when paying that money, I want to get my money's worth, which is I want to be able to use all of the product. This is the problem that I had with this cream: the pump would stop dispensing the cream when there was still a good amount left on the bottom, so I decided to remove the pump and shake the cream out. My plan was working until the shaking part as the cream is so rich that it barely moves in the bottle. After good 5 minutes of vain effort (and a hurting hand) I gave up, and put the bottle into my empties bin. I'm pretty sure there was still about 4-6 days worth of the cream left in it, so that's something that keeps me from giving A+ for the product.   

-Alba Botanica "island citrus" body wash: you get the bang for your buck when you get this product. I'm not picky with my body gels, so as long as they smell good and last a long time, I'll use any of them. This body wash was exactly that, and I wouldn't mind repurchasing it in the future.

-Alba Botanica "acne dote" wet wipes: I love face & body scrub from the same line, but these wipes were just ok. I used them as an extra way to remove makeup, and give that extra cleanness to my face, but I had to be careful not to used them too close to the eye area as they would make me tear. Also, they were on the dryer side and didn't give any visible effect, so I'm not gonna buy these again.

-Thayer's "rose petal" witch hazel: it's one of my must have products as I use this toner constantly for probably 5+ years now. The brand has a bunch of fragrances, so I keep switching among them and I never get bored. I use toner on a cotton ball just to wipe of my face in case there's any makeup left after washing the face, so for that purpose it's a great product for a good price. 

-Aura Cacia tea tree oil: this thing is magic! I use tea tree oil as a disinfecting remedy for any skin irritations, pimples, cuts, etc.  

-Alba Botanica "acne dote" invisible treatment gel: not sure if I would buy it again as I rarely get any pimples (and when I do, tea tree oil works just as fine for me), but I really enjoyed using the product. It worked great against any pimple or soon-to-be-pimple. I must admit the gel did dry the skin a bit if applied few times in a row, but I didn't find that to be a big issue as it's used locally on the problematic spot.

-Mineral Fusion hydration mist: I wanted to use it on top of my makeup during the day to refresh the face, but I didn't like the smell, and ended up using it as a regular toner. I really can't say anything bad or good about this mist, except that the smell irritated me (can't even tell what was wrong with it as it wasn't strong or smelling a certain way).

-Vivi toothpaste with kalident, mango flavor: this toothpaste lasted me 2 months, which is a good time. My opinion about it didn't change much since my Vivi brand review almost a month ago. I know many people don't like that it doesn't foam, but that wasn't an issue for me. I did enjoy the mango flavor, and while I heard reviews that it doesn't give the fresh breath, I didn't expect that from a fruity toothpaste. Besides, Vivi makes this toothpaste in mint flavor, so no one is stopping mint lovers to get that flavor. As for the toothpaste, it does the job pretty well - the teeth feel clean and the breath is good. Yes, you don't get that minty freshness, but you're not even supposed to, so all is good. The only complaint I have is that the toothpaste seems to disappear once inside the mouth, and usually I used it with a bit of another toothpaste to get a more tangible feeling.  

-Plus White the coffee drinkers' whitening toothpaste: to tell the truth, I didn't notice any difference when using this toothpaste. It was a nice one, but just like any other minty toothpaste. However, I did start drinking coffee almost every day, and sometimes a few cups a day, so I'm thinking that maybe it did work on not making my teeth yellow. But then again, I've always been a tea drinker with at least 2 cups a day, so switching from tea to coffee shouldn't have made such a difference, which means the toothpaste wasn't working for me....

-Golden Rose matte nail polish: I don't know what I was thinking when I got this color a few years ago while on vacation in Lithuania, but I don't think I've used it once or twice ever since, and each time I was sorry I applied it the moment I did it. It's a nice color, but it's just not the color I wear. In fact, tonight I went through my nail polish box and took out the colors I've never worn or would not wear ever again, and put them into the empties bin for the next blog entry. 

-Emily super-dry skin sooth (sample size): this is one of those products that are petroleum jelly alternatives. I don't see much difference among different Emily's skin soothers as they all feel the same for me. They are good moisturizers, and I also used this one on my dog's paws during the winter.

-Everyday Minerals flat top kabuki brush: I like EM brushes a lot! This one was really great for applying mineral foundation. I did find a couple other uses for it as well as my likes and priorities in brushes changed throughout the years. I think I had this brush for at least 3-4 years now, and I've used it constantly. When I was washing it the last time, I noticed that it started shedding some hair. I didn't pay much attention to that, but it didn't stop when the brush dried, and since I have plenty of other brushes, I'm just getting rid of this one instead of using and being unhappy about hair on my face and everywhere around.

Brand review - KIDE

Fairly recently I found out about KIDE and its amazing products containing diamond dust. Not that I believe in gold/diamonds or other such stuff doing anything when applied to the skin, but I was attracted by wonderful packaging and good ingredients, so ever since I wanted to test a few products. However, some things are easier said than done. I could find only a few photos/swatches online, and the only place to buy KIDE in North America is The Detox Market. I did purchase my Kide "y-highlighter" there (review here), but I was hesitant to get other products, because they are quite expensive. Long story short, the products arrived, and here's my opinion on them.
      

-NE Correcting Powder
-KU Mineral Foundation in color "Natural"
-KA Shading Powder in color "Sunshine"

Swatches (bottom to top): correcting powder, mineral foundation, shading powder

These swatches are very very hard (not sure it would be possible to cover the face that much and look natural). The shading powder is still much lighter than it turns out to be in reality. 

NE Correcting Powder - I was probably the most excited about this product as I was hoping to use it as my main foundation to even out the skin tone and give natural glow (think of a natural option for Guerlain meteorites). The reality was that it did nothing for me. When I was trying it out, I had a red spot on my face, and thought that it's a perfect chance to see the real results of all these products. I applied this powder with a concealer brush to my red spot, and... nothing! I applied more and more, but still it didn't conceal it. I did use a concentrated powder brush to cover my whole face, but this powder just didn't seem to do anything. Later I did try to apply it on top of other mineral foundation, but since it gave no obvious results, I'm not sure if it did anything in that case or not. 

KU Mineral Foundation, color "Natural" - Even before getting it, I knew that it gives quite little coverage, but I was fine with that as I only need to even out the skin, and don't have much to cover. I was more worried about choosing the right color than about the coverage that it gives. The color is okay for me (I am "fairly light" from Bare Escentuals, and from Everyday Minerals I wear either semi-matte in "2N", or jojoba in "cream"), but the coverage, or should I say the lack of coverage, was the problem. Again, I did not get what I was hoping for from this foundation, and since it's called "foundation", I expected it to give that minimal coverage I was looking for. After applying the product quite heavily, I could still see my red spot very clearly, and the rest of the skin didn't look radiant or healthy - it just looked the same as with no makeup. However, I did find a way to use this foundation. I apply it when I want to refresh my makeup before going out in the end of the day, and it sets everything back in place pretty well. Yet it's not worth $85 for that purpose...

KA Shading Powder, color "Sunshine" - all that can go wrong went wrong with this one: wrong color, too pigmented, not matte enough. I was hoping to get a perfect shading/contouring product as this bronzer (and specifically this color) was described as a light matte one. Well, it's not light, it's not completely matte, and it's too pigmented. The color is more orange-y for my very light skin tone, so there's no way I could use it. Other than that, it's super pigmented, which would be great in other circumstances, but in this case it just makes things harder. I have a hard time to apply it light enough. Also, it has tiny shiny particles, and that is not what I was looking in the contouring product. Do I need to say I really didn't like it?

All in all, I'm happy I got a chance to try out more of Kide products. I do love my Kide "y-highlighter" in "gold", and I use it every day (no exceptions!). As for the products reviewed in this post, I will only continue using the correcting powder and mineral foundation, but I don't think I will even try to find a way to use the shading powder as it's too far from what I could work with.                  

Out With The Old, In With The New (empties and new purchases)

It's been a while since I shopped at Iherb.com, but I ran out of some of my favorite products, and needed replacement for them. I also finally got few items that I was postponing to purchase. If it's your first time shopping on this website, use code PIL356, and you will get $5 off your order ($10 if your total is $40 or more).

-Organix South nail & cuticle pen: while buying bottled nail oils is cheaper than buying pen type oils, I specifically wanted a pen so I could carry in my purse and use on the go. I already tried this pen, and I like that the oil is not runny and is not greasy making it very convenient to use (I tried it at work, and I had no problem working with papers after applying the oil on my cuticles).
-Alba Botanica 'acnedote' scrub: I'm getting predictable and boring with this one. It's my must-have product, and once I finish one, the next one is in my bathroom.
-Radius travel toothbrush: I wanted it for a while, so I was super happy to purchase the last one in stock. I use the regular Radius toothbrush, but this one seemed like a better option for traveling or just keeping in my purse in order to be able to brush my teeth while I'm on the go or at work. Besides, I don't need to carry an additional toothbrush case when I have this one. A big pro is that the head is changeable.
-Body Benefits massager sponge: I haven't tried it yet, but I'm very excited to.
-Nature's Way "hair & skin" supplement: I always try to use something extra to my regular multivitamins, fish oil, and calcium. This time I decided to work on my beauty.  


I love my Kide y-highlighter in "gold", so I was tempted to try few more items from the brand. While waiting for some discount on The Detox Market, I came across some Kide products on ebay. Usually I avoid buying cosmetics from ebay, but since this is such a rare brand, and the products were brand new, I took the risk. I admit that the ad sounded a bit too good to be true ($29 per item, free shipping), but I wanted them sooo badly. Well, when I received my package I was unpleasantly surprised ad the items were tested for sure (the was no texture on the top of the product, and it was clear that they were swatched). Long story short, my money was refunded, and the products stayed with me, so I was wondering if I should just throw them away, or if I should scratch the top layer and use them. I stick with the latter one.

-NE Correcting Powder: when trying out on my hand, it looked like it would give a pretty coverage, but on the face it wasn't that great in making the skin tone even. I need to test it more, but I don't think I would repurchase it.
-KA Shading Powder in color "Sunshine": The color is not exactly what I was looking for, so I need to play more with this bronzer, and see if I can find a good use for it.
-KU Mineral Foundation in color "Natural": This is a quite sheer foundation, but I don't have much to cover up, and I think I will enjoy using it everyday day to work. Just as the products above, this foundation is soft, and natural looking, and doesn't give cake-iness to the skin.


I also received some products from In Love With, but I will share my opinion on these in a separate post.

To balance out my purchases, I emptied out a bunch of products.

-Shikai "platinum" shampoo: not sure if it's the greatest purple shampoo out there, but I use it quite regularly, and always come back to it.
-Nubian Heritage heat protect keratin spray: It does have a strong sweet smell, so if you are sensitive to that, you might not like it. I was ok with it, and I enjoyed using this spray. I used as a leave-in conditioner. While I like the product, I'm not sure if I would repurchase as I like Aubrey Organic "jasmine" conditioning spray more (besides, it's more travel friendly).
-Garnier hair color in "white chocolate": Yes, it's far from natural, but this is an exception I will make. This is my summer hair color, and I only keep the dye for 10 mins on my hair (I wonder how succesful I am at justifying my actions),...
-Giovanni "50:50" shampoo: Some years ago Giovanni shampoos and conditioners were one of my favorites, but not anymore. I did like using this one, but I'm not so crazy that I would go back to buying another one.

-Aubrey Organics conditioner spray: It's light, but conditions well enough, and it gives nice shine to the hair. I also love how this spray smells. I have a new one on my bathroom shelf, and it's the product I will be repurchasing over and over again.
-Thesis "raspberry mint" toner: I'm not big on toners in general, but I was looking at this brand for a while, and when I saw it at Whole Foods, I couldn't resist. I'm obsessed with raspberries, so chose this one. Though in reality it's more minty, and I don't smell raspberries at all. I used it up, but would not repurchase.
-Giovanni "tangerine & papaya butter" body lotion: The texture was quite nice and light, it absorbed well, and gave enough moisture, but the fragrance is a bit too sweet, too strong, and too unnatural for what I prefer. I would recommend it to someone looking for a light body lotion, but I would not buy it myself again.
-Bath Petals "california rose garden" sea salt souffle: When buying this body scrub I was imagining a different texture, something more creamy/souffle-like. This is just basic sea salt scrub that is on the dryer side (damp salt basically, no oils). It was really sharp and I didn't like using it unless I missed with a whole lot of shower gel or some oils. If I used the scrub by itself, it would scratch my body.  
-Red Apple Lipstick lipstick samples: I was super excited about this brand, and I got one full size lipstick, and a couple of samples to try out different colors. The packaging and amount of those samples disappointed me as once opened, they cannot be closed, so you can't keep them around for longer period of time (and you cannot keep them in your purse). There is a tiny amount of the product in a sample, so I think they should either be free or shouldn't cost what they cost now. However, I love my full size lipstick and I use it quite often. I guess the company has few different textures, but the one I have is very pigmented, creamy, and tastes nice.

-BabySpa baby wipes: Originally bought these to use for cleaning my handbags, but I ended up using for cosmetic purposes too. They were ok, not too dry, not too moist, so probably I would buy them again.
-Evan Healy whipped shea butter: That smell! It is on the more expensive side, but worth every penny. I've used a couple of the jars in the past, and will repurchase in the future.
-Tatcha rice enzyme powder: I'm sure you're wondering what I'm talking about as you don't see the product in the picture. Actually, I poured it into that white bottle to have a more convenient access. I'm not a big fan of powdered products that need to be mixed with liquid before use, so this one spent time in my bathroom cabinet without being used. When I finally decided it was time to use it up, the smell was weird, and I ended up throwing it out. I did use it a couple times when I first got it, and the result was nice - the polish gave soft skin.
-Andalou Naturals face polish: In my mind face polish has to have tinier and more abrasive particles than the face scrub, so this Andalou polish wasn't what I was hoping for. I love most of Andalou Naturals products, but this was just a scrub, which means I wouldn't repurchase it.
-Alba Botanica "acnedote" scrub: Do I even need to say anything about it when it's the second time you see it in the same post? It's probably my most used/photographed/mentioned product in this blog. It's magic in a tube!

-Living Nature luminous pressed powder in color "Light": I was hoping to use this powder for setting my concealer in the undereye area, but I didn't like it for the job as it would crease, you could see the powder, and it wasn't giving flawless result. I did try to use it for the whole face to give some healthy glow, but it didn't work that way too. Finally I gave up, and the powder was buried deep in my makeup drawer. After a while I decided to try it instead of my Everyday Minerals mineral foundation, and to my surprise, I liked the result. The coverage wasn't great, but my face looked fresh, and natural. I used it for my "no makeup" days when I wanted something on my skin, or I would use it every day for workdays. While I think I liked it more than I didn't like it, I had days when I thought this powder didn't match my skin color (I think it's a bit pink toned, and I need neutral/yellow toned products), or that it wasn't giving any coverage. Overall I'm happy with the powder, but I will not repurchase it due to color.
-The All Natural Face vegan edible love dust in "Cocoa Sparkle": I tried a couple different products from the brand, and I wasn't impressed with any. I got this dust thinking how cute it would be to put some sparkle on my body when going out, but dreams were so different from reality. The product had tiny and huge chunks of glitter that just wouldn't stay on the skin, which means messiness all around. Besides, it didn't look right even on my pale skin, so I tried to find another way to use it up. I tried this as a dry shampoo-hair sparkle, but again I was disappointed as in my hair it looked darker than it should have.
-The All Natural Face food cleansers: I've had the majority of them, and they all smell divine (except for the avocado & cucumber one), but that's about all that's good about these cleansers. They are powder type, so you have to mix them with liquid before applying to the face. I always find it hard to find the perfect amount of dry and liquid to get the ideal combination. Another con for me is that these keep sticking together and dry up into a rock hard piece even when not handled with wet hands and kept tightly sealed. While using they give a super soft skin, but the effect is not lasting, and for me it's too messy of the process to use them.

Review: 100% Pure caffeine face mask

I like 100% Pure as a brand a lot, but was saddened by their recent price increase. I understand that raw materials go up, but some of the products increased by 30%, and that's not what materials increase by in one night. I assume there were more factors involve including shipping costs as 100% Pure now ships everything for free. The other awesome thing is their 25% flash sale on specific item. I do not remember for how long the sale lasts, but that information comes in the newsletter if you're curious. Anyway, one of the emails was promoting caffeine mask, and I just couldn't resist (they do have them in packs of 5 as well).

The mask is placed with water inside, and I was wondering how it's gonna feel on the skin. I was also worried that it will keep slipping off the face, but once put, it fell comfortably in placed and stayed on without a problem while I was working on my blog. The only weird things was the upper lip part which just wouldn't stay in place - if I fixed it, then the bottom of the mask wasn't feeling right, but if all else was fine, the upper lip part would just slip on the lip. That's how I left my mask on.

I kept the mask for about an hour even though the recommended time is 15-20 minutes. The directions mention that the longer you keep, the more moisture your skin absorbs, and the thinner the mask becomes. I didn't really notice the thinning effect. However, after removing the mask, my skin felt super soft and hydrated. In fact, I had a facial on Sunday, and the softness that my skin has after it up to today is the same one that 100% Pure mask gave me as well (except that caffeine mask's effect laster just for a day).

In general I'm not a big fan of masks, especially not the sheet ones, but I like this one. I"m still debating whether to get the 5-pack or not, but I'm leaning more towards yes.