Review : Effaclar K, by Laroche-Posay

Having oily skin is one of the most annoying things in the world. You just have to check all the time if you're not shining like a disco ball haha. It's even worse during the summer, when the sun is out, because mattifying products don't last for so long. 

I'm trying to improve my skin by testing new products, and for about a month I've been using the Effaclar K by Laroche-Posay.

(Yes, it is Marie Antoinette in the background)

I read a lot of good reviews about it, and as it is a pharmacy product, I knew it would be more efficient than a drugstore brand product.

It is supposed to improve the look of the skin, diminish the spots and keep the face more matte and clear. It is a treatment that can be used in the morning and/or at night before bed.

In the morning, you can apply it under the makeup as a base, but I always apply my moisturising cream afterwards, and my makeup only after. 

After about a week of using it, I noticed a change on my skin. It is a lot clearer, I have fewer spots depending on the days - sometimes I have none at all (which happens very rarely to me !), sometimes I've still got a few, but they disappear quicker than before. 

Concerning the mattifying aspect, I'm not sure if it does help or not. My skin is not at its worse now so I'm quite happy about it, but it still gets oily after a few hours, especially when I'm out under the sun. But there is a product from Laroche-Posay supposed to make your skin matte, and I'm probably going to buy it and pair it with this one to see how it goes. 

But the Effaclar K is a really nice product in itself and does a good job at clearing your skin. There are several Effaclar (the letter after changes depending on the type of skin it is made for), I know there is one for sensitive skin for example.

If you struggle to keep a nice spotless skin, you should really try this product or any of the same range, they all seem very helpful !

Julia xx

My makeup favourites for a nude look ♥

Hello !

Instead of doing a post with my favourite beauty items in general, I've decided to split my favourites into a series of several themes. I'm starting with my favourite products to use to create a nude look !

Most days, I tend to go for natural makeup, without eyeshadow or strong lipstick, just because I can't be bothered to do it all the time. But a nude look doesn't mean a bare face either, and it's always pleasant to have a nice result with only a few products and very little time ! :)

Here are my favourite products I always use to achieve a quick nude look :

For the skin, I only use a bit of concealer (the Full Cover by Makeup Forever) to hide redness, spots and dark circles. After that I apply some powder, the Stay Matte by Rimmel, which is very good to keep a matte look for a while.

Then to add a bit of light, I use a tiny bit of High Beam highlighter by Benefit. It is so pretty, I adore it ! I put it on my browbone and on the top of my cheekbones, it gives a nice glow to the face without being too shimmery, which I really like - I'm not keen on proper glitter anywhere else than on my eyelids !

Of course you could add some blush on the cheeks and that's what I do usually, but I don't have a favourite in this category, I tend to use by Sephora pink blush (which has no name) all the time. Just a bit of pink on the cheeks make you look more alive !

For the eyes, I use my Vibrant Eye pencil by Kiko as an eyeliner. The colour is a dark brown which looks more natural and neutral than black, and which fits a nude look better. This pencil is really smooth and you can blend it easily if needed. The only other thing I wear on my eyes is mascara, and my favourite ever is the They're Real by Benefit - nothing new here, everybody knows how great it is !

(yep the pencil is disgusting and not even sharpened... sorry for that !)

Last but not least, I stick to a very light pink for my lips with the Apocalips by Rimmel (named "Show off" in France, no idea why they changed the name), this is the colour 201 "Solstice" - again the names are different in France, but this one really looks like the "Galaxy" colour you have in anglophone countries. It is not a real nude, more of a pink with a slight shimmer, but it looks natural enough.

I've added what I would use on my nails to complete the look : the is the Maybelline Forever Strong Pro  in the colour "ivory rose". It is a simple beige nail polish, which applied in three coats gives you the best nude nails ever. It is so chic and makes your hands look like delicate princess hands ! The brush is nice and thick also, like the Essie brushes, so you apply it very easily. A must have !

There you have it, my favourite beauty items for a nude look ! Maybe you have and love some of these already :)

These pinks and beiges are the best colours to make you look nice but effortless !

Julia xx

My Empties #2

Hello everybody !

I've been finishing a lot of products lately, so it's the perfect time for an empties blog post ! I've got hair products, face products, moisturisers... Quite a few essential items ! But are they good ? Let's see...

1/ Dove Hair Therapy Intensive Repair mask

I heard of the quality of Dove products through Faye's blog. She said their range of skin and hair products were really good, so it made me curious. After all, they're quite cheap so if they are efficient, that must be worth trying !

I went for their Intensive Repair mask, as my hair is dry I want to moisturise it as much as possible. And it is indeed a good product ! It leaves your hair shiny and soooo soft, that's amazing. I already bought it again !

2/ Huile Prodigieuse by Nuxe

(The label has come off but I hope you recognise the iconic bottle !)

Everybody knows the Huile Prodigieuse, I'm sure - and so you all know how good it is. It is a dry oil that yoy can use for pretty much everything : your skin, your face, your hair. It smells really good, and what I love about it is the fact that even though it's an oil, it sinks in the skin very quickly. It works very well as a hair treatment : you can use it as a mask, leave it for a few hours, and it definitely moisturises your hair. 

I bought it again because I can't live without it, and I'm thinking about buying the glittery oil for the summer, it would look absolutely wonderful on the skin under the sun!

3/ Moisturising hand cream by Sephora, cotton flower

I'm always trying new hand creams, because my hands are dry all the time and I like to take care of them. I had never tried a Sephora hand cream before, and I've got mixed feelings about it. The thing that I love the most about it is its smell : I love anything that smells like cotton or light flowers.

For the moisture however, this cream is not the most effective : it does give you some moisture at the beginning, but it is not enough for me, especially during the winter when you need a super protection from the cold. This cream is more of a "light spring hand cream", but as it is not moisturising enough, I won't buy it myself (I got this one for my birthday from a lovely friend).

4/ Nivea Aqua Effect refreshing cleansing gel

I've already made a blog post about how I love this cleanser, so I won't be too long for this now !

This Nivea Aqua Affect cleansing gel works so well for me, it really purifies my skin and leaves it soft and clear. It's the only cleanser that I'm using at the moment, and I've probably bought it over four times already, but I'm happy with it so I'll stick with it until I find one even better !

5/  L'Oreal Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Miscellar Solution

I made a review about this miscellar solution a few months ago saying how good it was, so if you haven't read it made you should check it out, if you're interested :)

This is a very nice product, it does its job well and if you're looking for a nice, neutral makeup remover, this is the one for you ! By the time I'm writing this, I've already finished my second bottle and I've repurchased it again haha.

6/ Garnier Moisture Match, combination to oily skin

The Moisture Match range has a lot of different creams, for all types of skin. The green one is for combination to oily skin. I'm always on the hunt for a good mattifying cream, and even though this one is nice (smells good, quite light and moisturising), I'm not impressed by it and it doesn't really have any mattifying power. I didn't rebuy it, but it is a nice product anyway, it would suit combination skin better I guess !

7/ L'Oréal Ever Pure Shampoo, colour care and moisture

I dye my hair red, and it is one of the most difficult colours to keep. And I heard that sulfate-free hair products helps the colour to stay bright longer, and of course this L'Oréal shampoo was mentioned as a good product to use. Now that I've tried it myself, I'm quite disappointed because it didn't do anything more than the shampoo I used before. The colour didn't stay on longer than before, my hair wasn't smoother nor healthier, as it was supposed to be because of the absence of sulfates.

I didn't repurchase it, and I'm still hoping I'll find the perfect shampoo for coloured hair one day !

8/ Kiko Invisible Powder

To end this post on a more positive note, I really recommend this powder if you're in a country where you can find Kiko stores (I konw they aren't everywhere yet).

It mattifies the skin very well, sets the makeup on and gives a really nice finish to the skin. Also, it lasts a long long time, I've had this one for more than a year before running out of it. I don't remember its price but I can tell you it's cheap (nothing like the HD powder by Make Up Forever !) and the quality is really good compared to the price. Needless to say, I bought it again already and I can't go out without having applied it on my makeup !

***

Well, that was a long one ! I've been collecting these over the past few weeks, but still, I think I have never finished so many products at the same time before haha.

I hope this can be useful to you, to give you an idea of what could be worth buying and what is not !

Julia xx

Wishlist : Spring '14

I haven't made a wishlist in ages ! Maybe because I haven't bought many things either during the last months. But now that we're in spring (and almost in summer, who could believe time would pass so quickly !), I decided it was finally time for a new wishlist.

So here are all the things I want to buy in the upcoming months ! :

1. Dahlia Noir, by Givenchy (50mL), 62,90€ in Sephora. I got this perfume for Christmas and I've finished it, sadly ! It smells sooo good and is perfect for the season, that's why I need it again in my life.

2. Fit Me Concealer, Maybelline, around 9€. I've heard many good things about this concealer, and I'm almost running out of my Full Cover Concealer by MUFE, and I can't afford another one right now haha. We'll see if this one's good !

3. Effaclar K, Laroche-Posay, around 12€. This product is a sort of base/cream for combination to oily skin, supposed to reduce spots, regulate the sebum of the skin, make it look clearer, etc. Again I've heard good things about it, and Laroche-Posay is a nice brand for skin-related products. 

4. They're Real mascara, Benefit, 25€. I've got this mascara in sample size, and I'm afraid it'll run out soon. It is such a good mascara, I must buy it again !

5. Wives and Daughters, Elizabeth Gaskell. I've watched the BBC adaptation of 1999 of the novel, and I loved it so much I want to read it now (I'll probably make a blog post about it by the way). Nineteenth century literature is my favourite, so I know I'll have a great time reading the book.

Well, that's it for my spring wishlist ! I could add some other things in it, but they aren't items in particular, more like "categories of things I need to get" : some pastel nail polishes, new black treggings, a mid-season jacket... Let's hope I will find all these things !

Julia xx

Review : Green Clay Mint Mask, by Cattier

Hello !

I'm not sure if the brand Cattier is well-known or sold everywhere, but I've been using this clay mask for a while and I thought it would be interesting to make a review of it. It is the mask for oily skin (there is an entire range for different types of skin).

I'd never heard of Cattier before buying this mask, and I chose it completely randomly one day as I was looking around in a pharmacy. Clay is good for the skin, and especially for oily skin - it takes off the excess of sebum, purifies and matifies very well.

The clay looks like this :

So basically, you apply the clay on your face (obviously, be careful around the eyes !), and you leave it on for ten minutes, then you take it off and your skin's ready. The thing with clay masks is that you musn't let it dry on the skin, and I learnt that only a few months ago ! If the clay starts drying, you have to wet it a bit.

The product is sooo annoying to take off, it takes ages and leaves your washbasin green, but in the end it is worth it. My skin is so soft and nice and matte when I use this mask, but it is also kind of light and clear too.

Of course, you should always moisturise your face once you've used clay, because it is naturally a bit drying.

The other good thing about this product is that it is labelled as organic, which is always nice.

I haven't tried any other products of this brand yet, but I'll probably buy some others because I definitely wasn't disappointed with this one !

Julia xx

My empties #1

Hi everyone !

Today I'm trying a new type of posts that I've seen in many other blogs but that I never thought about doing before. Empties posts are quite nice to discover new products or see if something is worth the try or not.

I've got five things that I've finished recently, so I'm going to show them to you and tell you what I think of them and if I'm going to repurchase them or not !

1/ Le Volume mascara, Chanel

I've spoken of this mascara in my all times favourites, some months ago. It is a really good product, makes your lashes look great. The brush is quite thick and takes every lash perfectly.

Although because of its price, I won't be buying it again for now (and I have a sample size of the great They're Real by Benefit to use hehe). But I'll surely buy it someday, because I loved it !

2/ Blueberry body butter, The Body Shop

I've had this body butter since last year, and I finally finished it ! I only used it during the autumn/winter times, so that's probably why it lasted me so long.

The smell is quite good, not too strong nor too sweet. And it lasts a few hours on the skin, which is always nice ! But I won't rebuy this one, because I want to try new scents from The Body Shop.

3/ Exfoliating body scrub, Galeries Lafayette

I bought this last summer during the sales, mainly because it was cheap and smelt good haha. It smells of iris, so a very floral and light scent. I used it as a scrub before using my shower gel, and it did a good job and left my skin soft. The exfoliating bits are tiny so they don't hurt your skin as some scrubs could do. But I won't be buying it again, because I have another one of the same brand to use !

It is only sold in the Galeries Lafayette in France I guess, but it is maybe something to try if you are in France and want a nice shower product !

4/ Gliss Ultimate Repair mask, Schwarzkopf

As I have curly coloured hair, I'm always on the hunt for a good mask that will moisturise my hair and leave it soft. I've tried sooo many that I couldn't list them all, but as I've just finished this one I can really say what I think about it.

It is one of those masks that you apply after your shampoo for a few minutes - I always left it for about three to five minutes. It does make your hair soft, and pretty shiny too. But this effect doesn't last, at least on me. If you have normal to dry hair I think it should work well - but if your hair is damaged or frizzy, it probably won't be enough.

Not sure I'll rebuy it because I'm always changing my hair routine (at this point this is not even a routine haha), but I can say that it's a pretty good product anyway!

5/ Vanilla dee-lite body lotion, Lush

I got this lotion on the Lush box I received for my birthday. I was excited to try it out, because I haven't had the chance to use a cream/body lotion from Lush before.

First, the smell is amazing. Although it is called Vanilla dee-lite, it doesn't smell of vanilla, but rather of jasmine, and it even reminds me a bit of lilac, which is my favourite flower ! So as you can imagine, I love the smell of it. It is very light-weight as it is a lotion obviously, and it is very refreshing. I would recommend it for the months of spring especially, because it is not at all a winter smell.

As it is very light, it doesn't moisturise your skin deeply, and if you have a very dry skin I would probably advise you to use a thicker texture. But I'd love to buy this again for spring and summer, I love it !

***

That's it for my first empties ! A lot of shower/body products as you can see, but naturally these are the ones we can finish the most easily. 

I'll do another empties post in a few months maybe, see if I can find new interesting products to show you !

Julia xx

Review : L'Oreal Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Miscellar Solution

Since I've discovered miscellar water and miscellar solutions to take makeup off, I haven't really found another type of makeup remover that satisfied me completely. Whenever I use a gel or a creamy texture, I feel like my face is still dirty and oily and I need to use a cleanser straight away to take off the makeup remover. With miscellar solutions, this didn't happen anymore !

My favourite one is the Bioderma miscellar solution for oily skin. As it is a French brand, I think you can't buy it in other countries, unless you buy it online of course. So I decided to try the L'Oréal one, which came out quite recently, and see if it was a good alternative to Bioderma.

Basically it's like water, but it does an incredible job at taking your makeup off. It doesn't have a scent, which is good if you don't like the (sometimes strong !) smells of common makeup removers.

It is really effective and takes off everything you have on your face very quickly and leaves your skin clean. I haven't tried it with waterproof mascara but I guess it should work well too.

The product claims to be good for dry and sensitive skin, and even though my skin isn't sensitive, from what I've heard it does indeed work well on these types of skin.

One thing though, you have to be careful when you put it on your cotton pad, the hole on the bottle is a bit too large so you could easily drop much more product than what you actually need.

It is nonetheless a good product, you won't be disappointed about it's efficiency ! But I think I still prefer the "eau miscellaire" by Bioderma (and that's the one I'll be buying next time). But for people who can't have easy access to Bioderma, this L'Oreal miscellar solution is still a good alternative !

Julia xx

Lush birthday haul

Hey there !

Since it was my birthday on the 25th of October, I received some Lush products (all of my friends know that I'm a huge Lush fan !). I thought I would share them with you, and give my thoughts on the items that I've already tested. Let's go !

I'll start by my favourite items, the bath products !

I've got the Sunnyside bubble bar, which I can't wait to use - I looove glitter ! And it smells really good, a bit like lemon and orange and fresh citrus fruits like that. 

Also I have the Shoot for the stars ballistic. First, the name is really cute ! and the smell is amazing, it actually smells like the "Honey I washed the kids" soap, a.k.a. my favourite Lush scent ever. And it is a big ballistic, you could use it in two or three baths if you cut it.

I have two more more bath products, from the Hello Gorgeous present box.

The huge white and pink thing is the Comforter bubble bar. Again if you buy this you'll get a good use out of it, it is so big that you would probably have it for quite a while ! and it smells delicious.

The pretty pink ballistic with flowers on it is called Think Pink. Although I'm repeating myself a lot there, it smells very good and can be divided in two for more use. A thing that may be a bit annoying is that the flowers keep falling and I lose it everywhere, but it won't matter anymore when it's melting in the bath !

Then, as you can see from the picture above, I've got the Vanilla Dee-lite body lotion. It is a very light product and actually doesn't smell of vanilla, it is more flowery and somehow reminds me a bit of lilac (which is my favourite flower, yay !). It is not very moisturising though, so for autumn-winter I would not use it all the time as a real moisturiser.

Speaking of moisturiser, a sample of the Gorgeous face cream came in the box. It is a very good moisturiser and does a great job. The smell this time is not really my cup of tea, it smells of orange blossom so it is quite strong - but other people may like it. It is nonetheless a good product and I'll still use it at night to moisturise my skin before bed !

Last but not least, a shower product : the Rub rub rub shower scrub. 

 

First of all, can we talk about the colour of this ? I love it ! It is so fun to use. One more time, the smell is quite strong and reminds me of lemon and citrus fruits. It has sea salt in it to exfoliate the skin, and it is very good - not too gentle but not too strong either. You can also use it as a simple shower gel, that's what I've been doing since I got it.

So that's all for my Lush birthday haul ! I really enjoy these products and I'm kind of using them all at the same time haha. 

And now that the Christmas collection is out, I think I'm gonna buy some new stuff soon... I can't fight against Lush, unfortunately !

Julia xx

Nivea Aqua Effect refreshing cleansing gel, a skin saviour

Long title for a product that's worth the try !

The Refreshing Cleansing gel by Nivea, from the Aqua Effect range, really helped my skin to look better. I bought it about two weeks ago and the difference is already here. Actually I saw a difference after three to four days of use only, and I was so amazed because I've never experienced anything like that, with any face product, ever. 

I tend to have a lot of breakouts but only on my forehead (my oily skin doesn't help), and it really upsets me because I had to hide all this with concealer all the time, and I needed more time to put my makeup on than when I don't have a lot of spots... I clean my face every morning, and after I took off my makeup, but it was still annoying and didn't stop the breakouts. 

But one day I wanted to try a new cleanser and picked this Nivea one because it seemed to be okay. I didn't do a research about it before and I had never heard of it, but at that point I thought any cleanser would "do the job" on my skin. Yes, I was kind of desperate !

(Sorry for the mess in the background !)

I used this cleanser every morning and evening, and it took me only a few days to notice a huge difference on my skin. It was clearer, cleaner, and literally all my spots disappeared. I haven't had a breakout since I started using it. I still have two or three little spots from time to time but they are really tiny and I only need some powder foundation to hide them. And the best thing is that in two days, they totally fade !

I'm in love with this cleanser. It is for normal to combination skin, but even though mine is more on the oily side, it is still really effective and didn't cause any bad consequences. 

If you have the same kind of skin problems as me, you should definitely try this cleanser, it is amazing !

If you want more info about the product, this is the link to its web page : click here !

Julia xx

Beauty : my all time favourites

Hello people !

Today I'm going to share my beauty favourites. As I don't try enough products every months to make monthly favourites, I decided that it would be good to share the products that I particularly love and that I still will be using for a while.

The first product is skincare : it's the Crème Prodigieuse by Nuxe for normal to combination skin.

I got this cream in a Christmas box and at first I was afraid to use it as I have oily skin, but I decided to give it a go anyway. And I'm glad I did !

First of all, the cream smells delicious. The texture is not too watery nor too thick. It moisturises the skin, but without leaving an oily feeling when you've applied it. I use it as my daily moisturiser since maybe January and I still have a lot in it. I really recommend it, Nuxe are said to make really good skincare products and that one proves it to be true !

Another Nuxe product that I cannot live without is the Rêve de Miel lipbalm.

I made a review about it a few months ago, saying how good this balm was. I repurchased it last month and I'll probably be using it non stop from now on.

It is very moisturising and recommended if your lips are really chapped. The texture is thick and smells of honey. The best lipbalm I've ever tried !

Next is a Lush product ! I've tried a few of their face cleansers, but I always go back to this one (and I'm definitely purchasing it again soon) : the Aqua Marina.

 (I'm not putting a picture of mine, because it's empty haha, I've filled the box with bubble bath things !)

This cleanser is amazing. It smells reaaally good (it may not be to everybody's taste but I love it !), very fresh and "natural" etc. The texture is a bit unusual, a pinky cream with seaweed on it. The seaweed can be difficult to handle in the beginning but you get used to it. It works like most of the other Lush face cleansers : you take a little amount of product in your hand, pour some water on it to make it melt a little and then wash your face with it. When you're done, you face looks so clean and pretty. The only thing is that it leaves some areas of your skin quite dry (if you naturally have dry patches sometimes), but that's the only thing I noticed.  Anyways, this product is perfect for daily use, to clean your face in the morning and then in the evening after you've taken off your makeup.

The next product is a statement one. It is so famous that I won't talk about it much, everybody knows (and probably has) it. It is the Naked Palette, by Urban Decay. Here it is, without the brush because I've stored it elsewhere :

Do I really need to explain why this palette is fantastic ? The colours are perfect, either for everyday wear or for a going out/party makeup, the eyeshadows are very pigmented, they last very long (I don't even use a primer anymore and they still stay all day on my eyes)... And 12 eyeshadows for about 45€ (even though I paid a little less when I bought it, which was two years ago) is quite a good deal !
This palette will last me a very long time, this is the only real palette I own and it is definitely enough for now ! I love using it, the colours suit my skintone perfectly and I like them better than the ones of the Naked 2 Palette. Love that !


Another eye product in my favourites, a mascara this time. I've had the chance to try this as a sample, which was sent to me after I asked for it online (thanks to a website offer). And now I use it all the time and I'm really considering buying it when I run out of it because it's so good ! It's the Le Volume mascara by Chanel. It looks like this :

 

I'm really happy that I got to try it because it's amazing. I love the brush, it curls your lashes very well and makes the mascara easy to use. Your eyelashes look longer, more voluminous, but not dramatic either. I've had it for about two months and I've been using it non stop ! I just fell in love with it. 

The last face product of my favourites is a lipstick I've already talked about, but I love it so much that I have to add it to my list. It is the l'Oréal Caresse lipstick in "dating coral".

As I've already swatched it and talked about it in a previous article, I'll just add that it's one of my favourite lipsticks, the colour is wonderful and goes with every makeup. When I don't want to put a lot of colour on my lips, I go for it because even though it's a coral, it has a nice glossy finish that makes it look fresh and simple. Maybe I'll try other colours of this range, because this one is so good !

My last all time favourites product is a nail polish. Even though I love nail polishes to death, I don't tend to have one or several favourites in terms of colour, because it changes all the time depending on my mood. But there is one nail polish that I love all the time, that I could wear any day, and which is maybe my favourite colour ; it is the 529 Graphite by Chanel. 

You can see how much I love it by the so little amount of product that is left here ! I've never finished a bottle of nail polish before, I will be so sad when I finish this one... And I'm not sure about buying it again because of the price and because even though the colour is wonderful, it doesn't stay really long on the nails.

In spite of the negative "technical" aspects of it, it will stay on my favourites forever just because of its colour. It looks beautiful and shiny in the bottle, and it's even greater on the nails. Have you ever seen real graphite ? well that's what inspired the nail polish, and I think they did a good job.

Aren't they the same ?

 

 

So this colour looks great on the nails and I love wearing it. Favourite colour ever. Thanks Chanel, you're way too expensive but you did right with this one !

***

So I'm done with my all time favourites. I would recommend those products to everybody, they worked out great on me so I hope it does the same for everyone else !

Julia xx

Review : Angels on bare skin by Lush

Hello !

Today I'll be reviewing a Lush face cleanser, Angels on bare skin.

At first, I was supposed to buy Coalface, but I changed my mind because I thought Angels on bare skin was maybe more useful for me, as it has little bits that could be good for exfoliating my face.

This is the product :

 

Here is what the website says about the product :

"Angels on Bare Skin evens out skin tone, reduces redness and improves the health and appearance of your skin – giving a natural healthy glow.

The ground almonds in this product release their goodness and turn to an almond milk on your hand when you add water."

 The main ingredients are almond, kaolin and essential oils, and lavender. It looks like this :

You can see the little lavender bits of the product. They can fall off it very easily when you take some product so you can find them everywhere in the sink ! And the little orange dots (if you can see them here) are the almonds.

Basically, to use the product, you take some of it (about the size of a pea) and mix it with water, then apply it on your face. Then, of course, you take off the product and that's it !

When I use the product (every morning and night - I mean before going to bed or around that time), it cleans my face very well and makes it smooth and mat. I noticed that it diminishes my imperfections and spots and leaves my skin clear. I really like that !

The only thing that bugs me is that after I clean my face with it, my skin is dry in some areas, around the nose and on my chin. I've always had dryness in these areas of my face, and unfortunately the cleanser is not moisturising enough - I know it's not really meant to be, but still.

For the smell, it is a quite strong one. When I first smelt it, I disliked it (even though it's lavender and I love it) because it was so strong. But after some time you get used to it. It reminds me of the Portuguese countryside where I go every now and then during the summer !

So to sum up, this cleanser is a good product and does the job well, but it's not a miraculous one though.

I'm not going to purchase it again, I'll try a new one to see if I find the perfect one for me !

Julia xx

Wishlist : April '13

Hi everyone !

This is my second wishlist of the year. I always love making these lists because the thought of buying things makes me happy. Yeah, maybe it's a disease like when you play poker too much or something, but what can you do ?
I'll probably don't even buy everything from my wishlist anyway. From my March wishlist, I only bought the dress and the Make Up Forever foundation (which I'll be reviewing soon !). Unfortunately, I didn't find the New Look necklace that I wanted, and I didn't like the chambray skirt when I saw it in the shop.
Concerning the Coalface cleanser from Lush... I may buy it this month, but I'm not sure now that I have spotted another cleanser that seems good. We'll see !
And I'm adding a book in this wishlist, because I've wanted to read it for so long it's now an obsession, I need to get it !

So here is the list :

1. H&M sleeveless blouse from the Conscious collection, here for £9.99.

2. Angels on Bare Skin, Lush, £6.25 for 100g.

or (I'm not sure of what to choose yet)

3. Coalface, Lush, 4.70 for 100g.

4. Tan cat face clip frame purse, New Look, on the website for 4.99€.

5. Ultra Glossy Stylo (SPF 15), Kiko, you can have it here (the brand ships in the UK) for 4.90€.

6. Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen (any edition really, it will not be more than 5€).

***

That's all for this month ! again not a huge list featuring loads of Chanel or MAC products, I would be too disappointed if I made a list and ended up buying nothing from it, heh.

I wish you all a very nice weekend !

Julia xx

Review : Love Lettuce by Lush

Hello !

Today I'm making a review of one of Lush's fresh masks, Love Lettuce ! 

Honestly I don't understand the name, even more because it's very different from the French one, how did they translate that and why... But that doesn't really matter after all.

I wanted to try one of these fresh masks for a long time, and I finally decided to take one. According to how they were described on the website, Love Lettuce was the one that suited me best. 

Here is what Lush says about it :

"This mask is a seaweed gel with exfoliating granules through it. 

Ideal for those who want to clear away dead skin and brighten the face, whilst also gently treating it to softening ingredients."

Exfoliating + brighten the face + softening ingredients = perfect !

So it looks like this :

Yes in French it's called "Balançoire", and you could translate that by "swing"... Strange !

This product is made of agar agar gel (it's a seaweed - I prefer explaining that just because before I bought this I didn't know what agar agar was), honey, almond oil, lavender oil... and some other things but you can have a good idea of the product just with those.

Concerning the texture : the mask is not as thick as it looks on the first picture. Not too thick, not too liquid, just the right texture to apply on the face without struggling to put it nicely everywhere. There are a lot of almond pieces in it, so that when you put it and when you take it off, it exfoliates your face naturally - meaning that you don't have to rub your face yourself.

But you have to be careful when after you apply the mask : when it dries, the pieces of almond can fall very easily. Even just by slightly touching your skin with the tip of your finger, almonds will just fall from your face. That's not a big problem, of course, but it's worth being noticed.

I won't post a picture of my face with it - but you can easily imagine what you would look like if you put it !

Now for the smell : as many Lush products, it's quite a strong smell. It doesn't stay on your skin or on your hands after you've used it, but you have that smell from the moment you apply it to the moment you take it off. It smells of lavender, and I know some people really hate this smell so think about it before buying, if you don't like lavender this mask can be very unpleasant to use. 

I personally adore it !

And finally, for the result !

I've used Love Lettuce maybe five or six times since I got it (about two weeks ago). I've read that you can use it two times a week or so, but I use it more - sometimes just as a sort of cleanser, without leaving it ten minutes on my face. It's not really a cheap product and I have only ten days left to use it so I don't want any waste hehe.

Now that I've used it a few times, I can notice some changes on my skin. It seems brighter ; the skin looks less tired than it did before. As I have a combination to oily skin, I have (well, I had !) some dry areas on my face, mostly around my nose, and when I wore foundation it was awful. After I started using Love Lettuce, this dryness slowly disappeared and now it's completely gone ! I'm very happy with that.

And when you take off the product, your skin is very soft and matified for a while. 

***

To sum up, I think Love Lettuce is a very good product, of great quality. You can definitely see a difference before and after you've used it, the face is a lot prettier then.

Would I buy it again ? Yes totally, but not for now : I want to try coalface by Lush too and I cannot buy them both at the same time, but I will surely come back to Love Lettuce later !

You can find the product here !

Julia xx