Empties #6

Yes, exams are killing me right now. No, let's not talk about it. This quick blogpost is the sixth in its series, it's EMPTIES TIME! So to any new readers, I basically explain to you what products I've been using up and what my thoughts were on them. Let's get started. 

REVIEW: Rituals Good Luck Scrub

Since I'm not really a body care person, I haven't really review many body products on the blog yet. However, a product that is a must for me is a body scrub. I recently tried out the Rituals Good Luck scrub, which (as usually with Rituals products) smells amazingly of orange and cedar wood. 

First of all, don't mind the messed up packaging. This tub of product has been living in my shower for a while, and the packaging hasn't completely survived, as you can see.

Packaging: I really dislike the packaging. Because it's a tub of product, it's impossible to use under the shower. The shower water will run into the packaging. It doesn't seem to mess up the packaging too much, but it's very annoying. Also, even though the lid is on tightly, shower water will still find its way into the tub, since I don't have a shower caddy.

Use: The use of this product is pretty similar to that of any body scrub. I actually find this scrub too harsh for my skin, which is an issue I've never encountered before. My body skin isn't sensitive at all, but it reacts quite heavily after using this. It becomes a bit red and feels kinda sore. But yes, I guess it exfoliates very well. Beauty is pain? 

Price: €18.50 for 375g of product. This certainly isn't the cheapest body scrub out there and so I'm actually quite disappointed, especially since I usually adore Rituals products. 

Conclusion: I didn't like this product very much. The packaging is very annoying under the shower, and the scrub is too harsh for my liking.

What body scrub have you been using or would you recommend?

Xx Anine

REVIEW: RItuals Touch of Heaven body cream

Really, I'm not a body butter kind of gal. Taking hours to make it sink into your skin, not being able to wear decent pants for an hour because your legs are still too sticky? No thanks. However, the Rituals Touch of Heaven body cream changed the entire body cream game for me.

What's the difference with your average body butter? Although the packaging suggests a rich body cream, this is incredibly light and sinks into the skin in under three minutes. Oh, and it smells heavenly too, did I mention that? Sweet orange & cedar, you simply can't go wrong with that. Good job, Rituals. *enthusiastic clapping*

Price: Around the 10 euro mark. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find it on the Rituals website. I'm starting to freak out, maybe they discontinued it? Noooooooooo.

Conclusion: This is the first body moisturizing product that I like. That must be a breakthrough, right?!


What's your favorite body cream?

xX Anine

REVIEW: Rituals Yin bed and body spray

One of the things I've wanted for a very long time, has been a bed spray. This Rituals Yin bed and body spray is perfect for spraying clean towels, bed linen, or simply yourself before you go to bed. I got this product as a gift a few months ago and use it weekly, and love it. 

On the packaging, the scent is described as organic white lotus and Yi Yi Ren. Since that doesn't really tell us anything, I can only say it smells very calming and it reminds me of the smell of clean linen, only this is a bit heavier. I do notice its relaxing effect but the scent doesn't bother me at all at night.

Claims: The product claims to improve calm sleeping behavior and meditation. It shouldn't stain and should be safe for your textile. It doesn't contain any alcohol.

Ingredients: See below.

Price: You get 50ml of product for €16.50, which I think is very affordable for such a nice product.

Conclusion: Obviously this product is not a must-have, but it's just that extra luxury item that can make your night even more relaxing.


Have you tried any body sprays before?

xX Anine

REVIEW: Rituals Sakura spring foaming shower oil

February usually is the kind of month where the positive effect of the New Year totally has burnt out and we're kind of falling in this big black hole of winter. The cold, the nasty weather, and a usually pretty empty bank account has us craving for summer. 

While we wait for that to happen, I find some relaxing moments can really help me feel on top of the world again. What better way to totally relax than with this Rituals 'Zensational' Sakura Spring foaming shower oil? It's the second shower oil Rituals came out with, and I was able to try it out, since they come for free if you spend over a certain amount (yes, guilty). The full size will be available in March. 

I had never tried a shower oil before and thus was kind of worried, since I hate the feeling of sticky, oily products, such as body lotions on my skin. But this product contains exactly the right amount of oil and moisture for me. 

As you rub the oil in your skin, it lathers up slightly and changes into a very thin, moisturizing foam that will not leave any oily residue on my skin. And as with all Rituals products, it feels and smells simply amazing!

The product contains Organic Rice Milk and Cherry Blossom and leaves your skin smelling very fresh. Perfect for spring!

Conclusion: I am definitely repurchasing the full size of this baby. This thing is pure luxury in a bottle, but so easy and fast to use. 

Have you ever used shower oils?

Xoxo Anine

Empties #3

Today I've got more empties to share with you! Keep on reading for some more mini-reviews of these products.

I used up another of the Maybelline Lumi Touch Concealer in the color 1. This concealer is just perfect for a light concealing effect. All my other concealers have been too creamy for my lighter foundation application I've been doing lately. This thing is my holy grail, I actually have to get myself to use up my other concealers for once since I can't stop using this one.

Hema nail polishes are by far the cheapest ones out there, and they really have been stepping up their game. I've been using their base and top coat for as long as I can remember (they're so darn cheap) and they do a good job too, I find. 

I've also been trying to use up some perfume samples. Here I have two Hermès Kelly Calèche perfume samples. Like, don't love. 

I love me some Rituals products, and their body scrubs are very nice and smell amazing, and they're affordable too. This Wai Wang exfoliating body scrub has tiny particles that don't scrub too harshly. Does the job just fine.

For some reason I had tons of these sample sachets of the Rituals Organic Bamboo and Ginger Face n°1 gentle facial cleanser. It lathered very nicely and left my face feeling very soft. I doubt if it cleansed very decently though.

I'm already almost at the end of my second tube of this Vichy Normaderm night cream. I used to like it when I was on my exchange program in England and my skin was drier, but lately I've been dreading using it. It separates when squeezing it out of the tube and leaves my skin oily in the morning. I think it might have been an old tube.

Last but not least I have this Biotherm claryfing lotion sample. It's not very much like a lotion, more like a micellaire water and it didn't do much for my skin.

What products have you been loving or disliking lately?

Xoxo,

Anine

Empties #2

Let's get into this empties post! Find my last empties post here!

The first thing I used up was the Lush Avobath bath bomb. I really liked the moisturizing effect of it, but barely was able to smell it. Such a shame! 

This is the second bottle of Vichy Normaderm Miccelaire water I used up. I liked it, but I like Bioderma better!

This Syoss one minute repair mask has lasted me ages! No seriously, it took me more than a year to use this baby up. I used it after shampooing and conditioning and really loved it. I think I will be repurchasing this. It made my hair feel so soft and smooth without making it greasy easily or weigh it down, plus it really did need just one minute to work properly. 

I also used up this sample of the Rituals Himalaya Wisdom body scrub. I did not like this, it made my skin feel greasy. Also the grain in this scrub felt too big, too rough.

These two Fa deodorants also last me a pretty long time. I liked them enough, I'm not very picky when it comes to deodorant. 

Next: this L'Oréal cleansing milk. It took off my makeup nicely, but left my skin feeling a bit greasy. Will not repurchase (I know cleansing milks aren't great for combination skin but I like it a lot to take off my makeup).

Here is another Rituals product: the Sunrise scrub. I liked this product, the grain in the product wasn't too big and it moisturized my skin without making it greasy. The smell was nice.

Last but not least, these Garnier makeup cleansing wipes. Before these, I used the Simple ones and I liked the Simple ones so much better. These didn't seem to do anything for my skin, barely took off my makeup and still cost me 6 euros. Ridiculous!


I hope you liked this fast post,

Xoxo
Anine

Fall beauty favorites

Can you believe how fall is already coming to an end? Call me an early bird, but Christmas and winter is pretty much all I can think about. So even though we still have a few weeks of fall left, I already have my fall favorites ready to share!


Coastal Scents 88 Original palette

I've been wanting this palette for years, but always thought I wouldn't spend my money on these pretty bright colours. One night, I couldn't resist anymore and bought it online. When it arrived at my home, I was very impressed with it. Coastal scents packaged the palette so secure with meters of bubble wrap, so no damage could be done to the palette. I love the colours. It's not comparable to a MAC eyeshadow; but you definately get your money's worth. I don't use it daily, but I do use it weekly for nice colours to add to my eyemakeup looks.



Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation

I went to an Urban Decay night several weeks ago and got a discount. I was looking for a liquid foundation and had heard some amazing things about this one so decided to pick it up. I have been using it every day and am loving it so much. I was a bit concerned about wearing liquid foundation with my oily skin, but this might be the only liquid foundation that I could even maybe wear without a setting powder. I wouldn't, but I could. It leaves a nice dewy finish on the skin, has nice medium but buildable coverage and fits my skin so perfectly. Three words: I. Love. This!



Sleek Makeup Pout Polish

I heard some nice things about the Sleek pout polishes. I bought them in two colours, Perfect Plum and Peach perfection, but absolutely love the Perfect Plum colour. It works as a tinted lip conditioner and is very moisterizing. Also, I thought the colour would fade after about half an hour/an hour, since that's what happens with my Labello tinted lip balms. But I was surprised to see that it stays on for hours. I also love the colour, because even though it's pretty dark and red, the colour is very wearable and I've already used it a lot!



MAC Russian Red Lipstick

I got this lipstick as a gift for my birthday and have had in on my wishlist for quite a while. I remember putting it on my lips a few years ago after secretly trying my mom's lipstick on. I was amazed by its staying power and saw that it was MAC's Russian Red. Since that day I had been dreaming about getting my own. It's a bright colour so not the most everyday lipstick, but it's perfect for holiday partys or when you go out for drinks. I do use it on a daily basis, I just dab the colour on so it gives a faded and less bright effect.



Lush Tea Tree water

I can't believe I hadn't tried this before. I heard raving reviews everywhere about this product, but I try not to buy too much skin products, since I have testers lying around everywhere that I still have to finish. But when I bought this (the small bottle) and used it, it felt as if I was at a spa. It felt very nice, softening and revitalizing for my skin. This product is perfect for oily and acne-prone skin.



Rituals Facial Tonic

I've been using this product for a long time, but I'm running out of it sadly enough and now realize how much I actually loved it and how much use I got out of it. This toner freshens up my face and makes it feel really healthy and dewy.



Realtechniques brushes

 

 

Since I'm on my exchange program in England right now, I thought that this would be my only chance every to pick up the Realtechniques brushes. These brushes were made by Samantha Chapman, Youtube guru from Pixiwoo. I first bought the Expert Face brush which I use for applying foundation and it works wonders. As mentioned before, I've just started using liquid foundation because I always believed my skin was too oily for liquid foundation, but it got too dry for my MAC Studio Fix Foundation. So I needed a brush that made it very easy to apply foundation, since I am a newbie at the liquid kind. This brush really saved me and has made me more experienced in applying liquid foundation. I also bought the blush brush. It took me a bit longer to learn to love this one, but now I understand how to properly use it and how much to put on the brush, it does the job perfecty. I ended up splurging on the eye brush kit and the seperate eye brush, and those work amazing as well. I really have to keep myself from buying the entire line!

ELF brush belt 

I bought this in my make-up craze at the beginning of October. But I really got a lot of use out of this brush belt already since I had a lot of make-up jobs. It looks really professional, and it might get you more jobs. The MAC brush belt is probably better in quality, but I didn't feel like spending loads of money on a brush belt. I'm not a profesional make-up artist, but just someone who really likes make up and enjoys helping people out on (more amateur) photoshoots.



I hope you enjoyed this fall beauty favorites post!

Xx
Anine

Rituals haul!

Ever been to a rituals store? No? I suggest you do so. Because when you walk in, a weird thing happens. You forget the busy world around you and end up in a relaxing dreamworld of delicious scents and relaxation. I literally want to buy everything in that store.

I've already bought quite a lot of products, usually as a gift for friends or my mother. The bath oil and the massage oil smell so good. The hammam mud scrub is also amazing! My skin always tingles after I've used it and it feels so... clean!

But I wanted to try some new Rituals skincare products. I bought the brightening face exfoliator and the mild & refreshing facial tonic (both Lotus flower & Rice milk). They both smell and feel so good. And they're about both about 10 euros which is so cheap for such good products.

I'll use it for a while and let you know what I think of these products, but on first sight they're so worth it. They make me feel like I have my own little personal spa at home. I wanted to buy the night creme and eye serum as well, but they were a bit too expensive for me. I might just buy them in a few years when I'm making money or ask them for my birthday/christmas. I've already got this huge list of beauty items I want! So excited to try all of the Rituals products!

Have you ever tried the Rituals products? Which ones are your favorite?

Kisses! Xx