Skincare Empties!

Hey everyone!

So, I'm really starting to feel successful and happy as my 2012 project seems to go really nicely so far. I aim at emptying as many products as possible, first of all to use up all the half-empty products lingering around in my bathroom and on my makeup table and secondly to motivate myself to use some products more often (like eye cream for example).

Nivea Visage Daily Essentials Toner

This is the second bottle I've emptied of this and I still really like it. It's a wonderful refreshment after cleansing your skin and it's moisturizing which is even important if you have oily skin like I do. I'm about to get my third bottle!

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Daily Moisturizer

I had heard lots of good things about this product and so I went ahead and got a tube of this. It's a lovely everyday moisturizer, it's absorbed very quickly leaving your skin soft and healthy. It claims to minimize marks from previous blemishes whilst preventing new ones which I think is true, although I don't believe that my skin has cleared up only because of this moisturizer as I've tried out a bunch of other skincare products during the last couple of months, too. But overall, it's a great product for a great price and I already have a backup of this at home.

Do you have any recent empties? Or are you even participating in Project Pan?

Love,

Nathalie xx

Spring Haul (Shoes, Clothes, Beauty)

I was out and about yesterday and as I'm in terrible need to update my wardrobe a bit, I got a few things.

I absolutely adore these ballet flats by Graceland. They are a very deep, chocolatey brown color and made of two different fabrics. Even though there's some patent leather on them, they're so comfortable!

I got this three-quarter sleeve at a store called Pimkie. The color is totally out of my comfort zone, but my friend Hannah pushed me into trying this on and so I did. The color looked fantastic on me, it especially worked well with my hair color, so I had to get this.

The blue shirt is by H&M and I actually purchased this last week. I loved the color and it looked fabulous and so I couldn't resist. I love the button-down a lot! (see above)

Then I went to The Body Shop (I had a voucher and got 20% off with Glamour Shopping Card).

I had been wanting this skincare set for so long and finally took the splurge. It's the Seewead Range which is made for oily/combination skin. It contains a wash gel, a toner, a day cream and a night treatment. Can't wait to try this!

I had seen this conditioner online and when I was in store, I just grabbed it, smelled it and - Oh my gosh - this stuff smells heavenly! It's the Rainforest Shine Conditioner and as it's silicon free and everything, I purchased a mini-sized one (60ml / 2 fl.oz.)

Freebies!

I bought stuff for more than 20 bucks and so I received a sample size (50 ml/1.69 oz) of the Chocomania Body Butter. And of course a little sample, this time I got the Sweet Lemon Body Butter. We'll see how I like these :)

That's it for now, I have to say that I'm really happy with my purchases. One of my 2012 goals is to add more color to my wardrobe and this was definitely a good start!

What did you buy lately?

Love,
Nathalie xx

Mini HAUL: Eyelash Curlers, Lush...

I'm having a mini vacation next week (YAY!) and so today I went to school for only 3 hours of class. It's a tradition to go to town with your friends afterwards, and my girlies and I did. I actually wanted to get way more things, but then I ended up buying these few beauty items.

• Beliance Eyelash Curler
I repurchased this, my old one started to squeeze my lashes and make them fall out :(. I had had it for a year or so, I guess you can't expect too much.

• Balea Clear-Up Strips
I'm having some massive issues with my face at the moment and so I was is terrible need of some strips to remove all the blackheads I have.

• Balea Aqua Sheet Mask
I keep on repurchasing this over and over again: It moisturizes my skin perfectly making it soft and smooth and super hydrated. Plus the smell is really nice!

• p2 Cuticle Softener Gel
My cuticles are a serious mess at the moment, completely dried out and cracked (even though I always use hand cream, cuticle cream and stuff). So during my vacation, I will have plenty of time to recover them and make them look nice and beautiful again.

• LUSH Fresh Farmacy Sample
My oily skin is breaking out at the moment, not to much, but in a way that calls for extra treatment. I stopped by the new LUSH shop in my town and picked up a sample of this face soap. I hope this is going to turn my skin for the better! Review coming soon.


What did you recently buy?

Love,
Nathalie x

My Evening Skincare Routine

Hey guys!
I really have been in love with my evening skincare routine lately. I have found products that work well for my skin and I've done this routine for about a month, so I got really quick at it and I can proudly announce that it doesn't take me more than 10 minutes to get my basic routine done! I decided to divide this post into what I do everyday and what I do just once or twice a week.
Disclaimer: I'm using products for combination/oily skin.

The Basics

Step 1: Makeup Wipes

Picture is from here 

I used to remove my eye makeup with a 2-phase eye makeup remover, but I discovered that makeup wipes remove my entire makeup way better! I love Nivea's Facial Cleansing Wipes for normal to combination skin, they leave my skin refreshed and not too oily.
What I do: I take one wipe and remove my foundation and concealer with it at first, after that I remove my eye makeup (I don't like having removed mascara/eyeliner smeared all over my face).


Step 2: Wash Gel

Picture is from here

So now that my skin is clean, I'm moving into step 2. I have been using Nivea's Facial Wash Gel for a good 3 or 4 months and it didn't break my skin out. It also smells really amazing and moisturizes my skin.
What I do: I wet my face a little bit. Then I get a normal facial brush (you can get it at any drugstore OR check out the Clarisonic System), wet it and apply an amount of wash gel on it (just the size of a hazelnut). I work the wash gel on to my skin in circular motions, concentrating on my T-Zone. I make sure not to rubb my cheeks to much because they're way more sensitive than my T-Zone. All in all, I exfoliate my skin about 60 seconds.

Step 3: Toner

Picture is from here

I actually haven't planned to feature so many Nivea products in here, but obviously I use lots of them ;) I bought Nivea's Refreshing Toner when my other one ran out and I thought I just give it try because the wash gel had deeply satisfied me. I really like the smell of it (Nivea products smell SO good!). It's alcohol-free and leaves my skin refreshed and moisturized.
What I do: I get a clean cotton pad and drizzle a little toner on it. I gently put the toner on my face and on my neck.

Step 4: Moisturizer

Picture is from here

Surprise: It's not a Nivea product! I just got this moisturizer yesterday but I already fell in love with it. It's a creamy texture, almost like a rich cream (which I love in winter!) and it absorbs very quickly. It evens out my skin leaving it perfectly moisturized. I also used it this morning and I can say that it controls the oils on my skin amazingly!

What I do: I get a pea-size amount on my finger and gently work it into my skin.

The Specials

Face Masks

• Purifying: I swear by masks that contain dead sea mud, they deeply clean my skin. Whenever I notice that my skin gets worse, I put on this mask and after 1 or 2 days, everything's fine again.

• Moisturizing: I love moisturizing sheet masks in fall/winter! My skin is soft and refreshed after use. I usually cuddle up under my blanket, turn on my iPod, apply the mask and relax. After about 20 minutes, I take it off and gently massage the rests into my skin.

• Peel-Off: I sometimes use those masks instead of an exfoliator. They soften my skin and deeply clean it.

Scrubs

No, NOT the TV series (that I love), it's about exfoliating my skin. I usually get dead skin particles off with my facial brush, but sometimes I feel like I need to do MORE. I grab a warming scrub, apply this to my clean skin and leave it there for about 5 minutes. Then I wash it off and use toner and moisturizer,

Vapor Bath (for my face, of course!)

I like to do that because -guess what- it cleans my skin and on top of that, I think it's relaxing.

How I do it: I fill hot water into a big bowl and add two bags of camomile tea (calms my skin). I put my skin over the bowl and then I grab a towel and put it over my head (the vapor is not supposed to go anywhere but in my face!). I set a timer on 10 minutes and just relax.

I hope you liked this blog post! Please leave a comment below and tell me about your routine! I'd love to read how you do it :)

Love,
Nathalie x