Shopping in March

Thanks to all kinds of sales, discounts, promotions and other deals, this month was generous with beauty products. While there's still one day left, and my wishlist is growing by the minute, I'm done with my shopping for March. So, here are the goodies I got throughout the month.

Trilogy "everything balm" - got mine from Whole Foods, but you can get it online at Naturisimo.com with 10% discount (use code TREAT for 10% off your order)
Samples of various Trilogy face care products and Yogi "skin detox" tea samples (use code DIT536 to get $5 or $10 discount off your first order from Iherb.com)

Madara deodorant and a bunch of cream samples

100% Pure: "cherry honey" facial scrub, brightening concealer in color "creme", lip glaze in color "strawberry" (heavy and light swatches on the right)
Ilia lip gloss in color "peek a boo"

Earth-Science hair mask - got mine at Whole Foods. Actually, got 2 of them as this is my must have product, but the other one is already in the shower.
Mineral Fusion "limitless beauty cream" multi-tasking cream
Mineral Fusion hydration mist
Sparitual "unveil" base coat
Zoya "armor" top coat

Shikai "cucumber melon" hand & body lotion
Minis of Deep Steep "daily repairing" shampoo and conditioner
Deep Steep "honeydew spearmint" moisture stick

Goodies from Iherb.com and Whole Foods - I don't want to repeat myself as you can find posts on these here and here.


Last, but not the least, items that are not natural/organic. There are few of my exceptions, including fragrances, mascaras and nail polishes. I am doing my best to change about nail polishes, and I am willing to find natural mascara that would make my lashes big, but I am skeptical about the perfumes as I've never smelled anything really good from a natural department. Well, never say never, so maybe someday I will be lucky. :)

Dolce & Gabbana ‘light blue sunset in salina’, 50ml EDT
Dolce & Gabbana 'pour femme’, 50ml EDP - actually, I got mine as a set that came with a lipstick and a mini fragrance bottle from Nordstrom Rack's clearance (paid around $30). I bought this as a backup for the one I'm currently using as I love this smell all year round.
Essie "comfy in cashmere" nail polish

Review: Sparitual "unveil" peel-off base coat

Have you ever passed on glitter nail polish just because it’s so hard to remove? Well, I have good news – SpaRitual “unveil” peel-off base coat. It retails for $17. This base coat is recommended for 1-2 day wear, and while in theory you may wear it as long as you want, for me it does start peeling after 3-4 days. I tried this base coat with different nail polishes, and each time it delivered what it promised. I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but I feel like the nail polish dries faster when using this product. One thing that I noticed is that if my hands stay in water for longer periods of time (e.g. dish washing), the nail polish starts peeling off. Last time the whole nail (I mean the base coat with nail polish) just fell off after dish washing. Yet, the others stayed intact and all I had to do is fix that one nail to have a perfect manicure again. Other than that I have no issues while using “unveil”. The nails don’t get ruined by everyday activity, and the nail polish stays on until I want to remove it.

SpaRitual "unveil" base coat - Dermstore offers free shipping on this product

Ingredients:

Ethyl Acetate, Butyl Acetate, Nitrocellulose, Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol/Trimellitic Anhydride Copolymer, Isopropyl Alcohol, Tosylamide/Epoxy Resin, Triphenyl Phosphate, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Propyl Acetate, Trimethyl Pentanyl Diisobutyrate, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Acetyl Tributyl Citrate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, N-Butyl Alcohol, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Stearalkonium Bentonite,Mica, Tin Oxide, Alumina, Silica, Trimethylpentanediyl Dibenzoate, Benzophenone-1, Polyvinyl Butyral, Citric Acid,Dimethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate. May Contain (+/-):CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77163 (Bismuth Oxychloride), CI 15850 (Red 6), CI 73360 (Red 30), CI 15880 (Red 34), CI 77491 (Red Iron Oxide), CI 77499 (Black Iron Oxide), CI 77492 (Yellow Iron Oxide), CI 77489 (Brown Iron Oxide), CI 15850 (Red 7), CI 77510 (Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide), CI 19140 (Yellow 5), CI 42090 (Blue 1), CI 60725 (Violet 2), CI 47005 (Yellow 10), CI 77000 (Aluminum Powder), CI 77007 (Ultramarines), CI 77266 (Black 2), CI 77288 (Chromium Oxide Greens). 

The only other peel-off base coat I’ve tried is OPI “glitter off” base coat, which was a disappointment as the nail polish wouldn’t peel in one sheet from the nail, and came off in tiny pieces even when scratching it off the nails. Needless to say that was just an experiment (the scratching part) and I ended up using regular nail polish remover.       

Iherb crazy

I love shopping at www.Iherb.com (who am I kidding? I love shopping in general), and March was special with many new items and promotions, so I just couldn’t keep my wallet closed. I got a bunch of products that I’ve tried before, and I got many more that I wanted to try for a while. While Iherb doesn’t sell exclusively natural products and one has to take an extra step to check the ingredient list, there’s always something good waiting to be purchased. If it’s your first time on Iherb, be sure to use a coupon code PIL356 and get $10 discount on your order of $40 or more, or get $5 for orders under $40. Free shipping when buying over $20 in the USA, but the store ships worldwide. 

I haven't tried all of the items I bought, so I will leave reviews later. Here is the result of my weakness :)

P.S. There are still a couple of days left to enjoy extra 30% off Aubrey Organics products (no coupon code needed). 

Bath Petals "California Rose Garden" sea salt souffle - it's a nice salt scrub, but be aware that the texture is on quite loose (damp salt), not like one of those sugar/salt-in-oil scrubs

Shikai "Color Reflect Platinum" shampoo - I've been using this shampoo for so many years now. While it's not the greatest purple shampoo (meaning it will not make miracles happen), it is really good and I haven't found anything better from a natural department.

Aubrey Organics "White Camellia and Jasmine" conditioner spray - great product and the price is unbelievable! It's a light spray, but will refresh hair instantly without leaving any greasiness, stickiness or any other yuck-iness. The product comes in a bigger size too, but be advised that buying 2 small ones is cheaper and you get an additional 10% discount.

Baby Spa wipes - got these to clean my handbags, so have no comments about their cosmetic use

Sierra Bees lip balms - this is a real deal! Don't be fooled by their simple packaging - these lip balms are really good. and they come in a bunch of flavors. I've gone through a couple of those, and they were great on my dry lips during the winter.

Larenim lip gloss in color "Mauvelous" - the taste/smell are very neutral and light, and the color is beautiful and natural looking. The lip gloss doesn't dry the lips and stays on pretty well. However, it will accentuate any flaws you have on the lips.

Aubrey Organics "Sea Buckthorn Leave-In Liquid Conditioner Curl Activator" - haven't tried this one yet, ut I hope it will work as a conditioner spray on my fine super straight hair.

Aubrey Organics "creme de la shave" shaving creams - got one of these "toasted almond", "orange cream", and "raspberry honey". I've used these a couple of years ago, so I wanted to refresh my memories and bought them again.

Plus White "The Coffee Drinker's" whitening toothpaste" in "Cool Mint" flavor - getting it for the first time, but after hearing so many great reviews, I expect nothing less than a miracle :)

Andalou Naturals "Sunflower Citrus" mini shampoo (comes in full size too) - love Andalou Naturals, especially their hair products! I have the full size bottle in the shower right now, I've had one before, and now I've got this mini one to keep in my travel case.

Earth Science "Olive Avocado" deep conditioning hair masque - this is a mini size, which I also got for my travel case. I do have the full size in my shower as it's a must have product for me, but I use it as a conditioner, not a mask.    

Aubrey Organics "White Camellia and Jasmine" conditioner spray - since I loved this spray so much, I had to get a backup (remember, buying 2 small ones is cheaper than getting bigger size bottle). Besides, these small bottles are great for traveling! 

Desert Essence "Italian Lemon" shampoo and conditioner - these are the new items on Iherb, so of course I had to get them. Desert Essence is one of my favorite brands for haircare products, and I'm certain I will not be disappointed by these two.

Desert Essence "Island Mango" shampoo and conditioner - again, new items on Iherb and new in my bathroom, but expectations are high!

New York is always a good idea... + Introduction

When was last time you did something for the first time?

I’m starting this new experience of blogging with hope of sharing all things beautiful… and natural! While exploring new products to try, I often have trouble finding reviews or swatches for some of them. I’m still not hundred percent converted to natural makeup, but I’m doing my best to finally do it and get rid of the bad-ingredient leftovers in my makeup drawer. So, in my blog I will review natural/organic items as well as share other details of my life (shopping, trips, everyday events, etc.). I don’t want to limit myself just to skincare/makeup, so I will be flexible with the topics I write about. I want to have fun with my writing, and not to be boring for myself. Yet, I really hope my product reviews will be helpful to others when deciding to try something new and to choose something better for oneself.

So, let’s get down to business.

Few weeks ago I was visiting my friends/went to a birthday party in New York. Oh, how I love the city! I get charged with energy once I get there, so no wonder I’ve been travelling to NYC so many times during the past year. I got so used to these trips that I even don’t take pictures anymore, and just enjoy the things I do. However, since I had this blog in my mind during my recent trip, I did put my iPhone’s camera to work.

This was my first time at the Grand Central station. It was a fun experience to do some shopping (did I mention I'm a tea addict?), to visit the market and to learn the secrets of the station itself.

the tempting market at the Grand Central station - never visit it when you're hungry :)

Shopping is the exciting part of my weekend getaways to The Big Apple! I check out the brands and stores that I don’t have back home. I know, I know, the almighty internet can help me with that, but I still like the touching part (seeing is believing!). Even my friends know that I have to visit every Whole Foods I see as I always find something different from what I find at Whole Foods here since different regions carry different brands. For this reason I was taken to Mrs. Green’s, and I did find a few things to try. P.S. One thing I still need to get is NYC magnet.

Mrs. Green's in Hartsdale, NY

I was really curious to visit Henri Bendel. I got my card case personalized (bought it online a while ago) and while in store I got tempted by this beautiful train case, which I got personalized too. It was perfect for my trip home!

Henri Bendel on 5th Ave.

While in NYC, I always get Sante eyebrow pencil in color "blonde" (this time I got two) - it never fails to give me perfect eyebrows! This time I also got Sante "lip duo contour & gloss" dual ended lip pencil in color "nude look". Weleda's creamy wash in not something I cannot get at home, but I didn't find the "citrus" one at my usual store, so I got during my trip (Whole Foods has an amazing sale on Weleda products currently!). 

Sante eyebrow pencil in "blonde" and
duo ended lip pencil in "nude look"

Links:

Henri Bendel Mind Your Business Card Case 

Henri Bendel West 57th Train Case

Sante eyebrow pencil

Sante lip pencil