martes, 2 de junio de 2015

May favourites, 2015

¡Hi!

It's been so long since I last blogged about my monthly favourites, I think it's about time to do it again. As a result, here are my favourite froducts from May 2015.

Natural exfoliating device




Interesting, huh? I got it as a present from one of my friends when she came back from a trip to Tunisia. I wet its surface (soak it actually) and I do a circular motion over my skin applying very little preassure on the device. It's great to exfoliate the feet, but it's also good for legs, arms and cleavage. If you are to use this on your face though, be really really careful for it can be really harsh on your skin.

Skineye Honeycomb Cream

 It took me more than three months to finish it, using it day and night

Anti-wrinkle and whitening cream, as most Korean face creams are, this little baby is paraben, fragrance, mineral oil, TEA, imidazolidinyl urea, petrolatum, propylene glycol and benzophenon free. Its mousse-like texture is quite thick but it melts on your skin quite effortlessly. If you extend the cream on your face and let it sit there for a few seconds, it stars "foaming up". That allows the cream to penetrate better into the skin. Even so, this cream still takes a while to be absorved into the skin, but your skin is supermoisturized afterwards and it also calms the redness.
I bought it on eBay for about 10€.


 Directly from the jar. It looks and feels like butter.
Extended ever so slightly. And after a few second...
...¡Boom! ¡"Foam" in action!
Nourished and moisturized skin after massaging the "foam".
 
Crazy Rumors lip balm (Spiced Chai)

It tastes sooooo goood. Really like chai latte. It moisturises and it's pretty long lasting for a lip balm. It's 100% natural, vegan and cruelty free.

I bought it on iHerb for 2,44€.








Peripera Lumi Pang (PK08 Chu)


I love the packaging, the applicator allows you to effortlessly line your lips, the formula is quite moisturizing and the color is a really adorable pink. 

After eating or drinking, the glossy finnish is almost gone, but the color stays, though it's not as intense as before. I only apply this in the morning and when I take off my make up at night I still have some residue left.
I bought in on eBay for about 8€.

Brow pencil (brand?) (Brown)


I love the color. Even though the shade is called brown, this pencil is fairer than other Asian brow pencils that have the same shade name and it matches my hair color better.


I bought it at Daiso when I was in Los Angeles for about USD 2.

The Face Shop Design My Brow (04 Brown)


I like this brow pencil. Besides filling in the sparce spaces in my brows, this pencil allows me to create a very natural thicker brow. 
I bought it on eBay for about 4€.

Comparing both pencils: the swatch on the left belongs to the pencil from Daiso. The one on the right belongs to the pencil from The Face Shop.

Take care!
S

lunes, 1 de junio de 2015

Tony Moly Panda’s Dream White Hand Cream Review

Hello!

I received a sample of the Tony Moly Panda's Dream White Hand Cream and I decided to try it. So, here's my opinion on this product and some pictures.

 Ain't the packaging really cute?

Ingredients:
Water, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Glycerin, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Glyceryl Stearate, Polysorbate 60, PEG/PPG-17/6 Copolymer, Cyclopentasiloxane, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Beeswax, Cyclohexasiloxane, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Dimethicone, PEG-100 Stearate, Fragrance, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Polyacrylate-13, Chlorphenesin, Polyisobutene, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sorbitan Stearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Honey Extract, Phyllostachis Bambusoides Juice, Sorbitan Isostearate, Polysorbate 20, Disodium EDTA, Alcohol, Polyglutamic Acid, Citric Acid

And here are my thoughts about this product:
 
Good:
The smell is sweet, fruity, citrusy and clean. It lingers on for a while so, if you don’t like fragranced products, stay away from this cream.
A little goes a long way. I got three uses out of that little sample.


     
Before, with the cream (before spreading it) and after applying the cream.
As you can see, it has an immediate whitening effect. 

Bad:
The cream is really thick and, even if you only apply a small amount, it leaves a greasy film on your hands. It takes a loooot of time for it to get absorbed or evaporated.

Would I buy it?:
No, I prefer lighter formulas and, though this cream does not contain any parabens, Phenoxyethanol is a bit high on the list of ingredients. This cream also has some alcohol in it, which is drying and can irritate the skin.


Take care!

sábado, 30 de mayo de 2015

AHAVA: no parabens but lots of silicones in their products



         Two days ago, I went to a Sephora evening event. While I was browsing around, one of the employees approached me and started recommending me some products. I was off guard, just enjoying the nice atmosphere at the shop, and somehow I let her advice get to me without reluctance, not even reading the list of ingredients of the products or looking at their price. So, I ended up buying a bunch of very promising products that I will be returning after having read their list of ingredients.
The brand that the employee recommended me was AHAVA: a paraben-free natural cosmetics brand that has Dead Sea water in all its products and packs its lotions and potions in plastic containers and jars that are supposedly 100% recyclable. 


Here are the products I bought at Sephora and their retail prices:

Dead Mud Purifying Mud Soap. 100gr. 8€.
Ingredients
Potassium Lauryl Sulfate, Disodium Lauryl Sulfosuccinate, Corn (Zea Mays) Starch, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Purified Water, Maris Sal (Dead Sea Water), Silt (Dead Sea Mud), Dioctyldodecyl Fluoroheptyl Citrate, Titanium Dioxide, Phosphoric Acid, Parfum (Fragrance).














Time to Hydrate Active Moisture Gel Cream. 50ml. 38,75€.
Ingredients
Aqua (Mineral Spring Water), Glycereth-26, Cyclomethicone, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Propanediol (Corn derived Glycol), Glycerin, Cyclopentasiloxane, PEG/PPG-19/19 Dimethicone, Squalene (Phytosqualene), Sodium Lactate, Trehalose, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Methicone, Propylene Carbonate, Quaternium-18 Hectorite, Chitosan Succinamide, Maris Aqua (Dead Sea Water), Dimethiconol, Alanine, Creatine, Dehydroacetic Acid, Glycine, Magnesium Aspartate, Saccharide Hydrolysate, Urea, Isodecyl Isononanoate, Actinidia Chinensis (Kiwi) Fruit Water, Allantoin, Parfum (Fragrance), Benzotriazolyl Dodecyl p-Cresol, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, PEG-12 Dimethicone/PPG-20 Crosspolymer, Linum Usitatissimum (Linseed) Seed Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Benzyl Salicylate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Geraniol.

Time to Hydrate Gentle Eye Cream. 15ml. 30,50€.
Ingredients
Aqua (Mineral Spring Water), Cyclopentasiloxane & PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone & Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Isostearyl Isostearate, Glycerin, Propylene Carbonate & Quaternium-18 Hectorite, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Butylene Glycol & Ruscus Aculeatus Root (Butcherbroom) Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract & Propylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phenoxyethanol & Ethylhexylglycerin, Maris Sal (Dead Sea Water), Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Saccharide Isomerate, Panthenol (Pro Vitamin B5), Allantoin, Bisabolol, Ceratonia Siliqua (Carob Bean) Gum, Dunaliella Salina Extract, Phoenix Dactylifera (Date) Fruit Extract, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Hippophae Rhamnoides (Oblipicha) Fruit Oil.




 Dead Sea Osmoter™ Concentrate. 30ml. 52,50€.
Ingredients
Aqua (Mineral Spring Water), PVP, Maris Aqua (Dead Sea Water), Cyclomethicone, Dimethicone, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Isodecyl Isononanoate, Diisobutyl Adipate, Caprylyl Methicone, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Lactate, Trehalose, Dimethiconol, PEG-12 Dimethicone/PPG-20 Crosspolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Citrus Aurantium Amara Fruit Extract, Bisabolol, Squalene (Phytosqualene), Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Parfum (Fragrance), Sigesbeckia Orientalis Extract, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate\Sodium Acryloydimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Rabdosia Rubescens Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Benzotriazolyl Dodecyl p-Cresol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower ) Seed Oil, Melissa Officinalis Leaf Extract, Polyglyceryl-3 polyricinoleate, Citrus Reticulata Fruit Extract, Tris (Tetramethyl Hydroxypiperidinol) Citrate, Sodium Benzotriazolyl Butylphenol Sulfonate, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Ascorbic Acid, Glucosyl Hesperidin, Olea Europaea (Olive) Leaf Extract, Fructose, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract, Phosphatidylcholine, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocin.

Dead Sea Osmoter™ Eye Concentrate. 15ml. 43€.
Ingredients
Aqua (Mineral Spring Water), Glycerin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Maris Aqua (Dead Sea Water), PVP, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Caprylyl Methicone, Phenoxyethanol, PEG-12 Dimethicone/PPG-20 Crosspolymer, Darutoside, Strelitzia Nicolai Seed Aril Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Albizia Julibrissin Bark Extract, Caffeine, Lecithin, Palmitoyl Carnitine, Propylene Glycol, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water, Alanine, Creatine, Glycine, Magnesium Aspartate, Saccharide Hydrolysate, Urea, Sodium Lactate, Isohexadecane, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Bisabolol, Chrysin, N-Hydroxysuccinimide, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Steareth-20, Disodium Lauriminodipropionate Tocopheryl Phosphates, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Allantoin, Titanium Dioxide, Silica, Tin Oxide, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Extract, Benzotriazolyl Dodecyl p-Cresol, Aminomethyl Propanediol.

I had a 20% off so, I ended up paying 34,55€ less for the whole lot of products.

The AHAVA samples I was given with my purchase were:
Time to Clear Facial Mud Exfoliator
Ingredients
Aqua (Mineral Spring Water), Cocamide MEA & DMDM Hydantoin &Sodium Chloride & Sodium Lauroamphoacetate & Sodium Trideceth Sulfate & Aqua (Water), Ceteareth-20 & Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Disodium Lauroamphodiacetate & Hexylene Glycol & Isopropyl Alcohol, Nylon 6, Propanediol (Corn derived Glycol), Silt (Dead Sea Mud), Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Glyceryl Stearate & PEG-100 Stearate, Ethylhexyl Hydroxystearate, Glycol Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Lactic Acid, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate & Methylisothiazolinone, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Maris Sal (Dead Sea Salt).

Time to Clear All-In-One Toning Cleanser
Ingredients
Aqua (Mineral Spring Water), Isohexadecane, Cyclomethicone, Propanediol(Corn derived Glycol), Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) flower Water, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Phenyl Trimethicone, Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil & Propylene Glycol & Trideceth-9 & Aqua (Water), Acrylates\C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Aminomethyl Propanediol, Allantoin, Parfum (Fragrance), Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate & PEG-4 Laurate & PEG-4 Dilaurate & PEG-4, Methylisothiazolinone, Maris Aqua (Dead Sea Water), Dunaliella Salina Extract & Hydrogenated Polydecene, Glycerin & Phoenix Dactylifera (DATE) Fruit Extract.




 
Time to Clear Purifying Mud Mask
Ingredients
Kaolin, Silt (Dead Sea Mud), Aqua (Mineral Spring Water), Cocamide MEA & DMDM Hydantoin & Sodium Lauroamphoacetate & Sodium Trideceth Sulfate, Propanediol (Corn derived Glycol), Glyceryl Stearate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract & Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Ceteareth-30 & Cetearyl Alcohol, Maris Sal (Dead Sea Water), Sodium Lactate, Zinc Oxide, Caprylyl Glycol & Chlorphenesin & Phenoxyethanol, Panthenol (Pro Vitamin B5) , Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Oil, Stearyl Alcohol, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Peg-40 Stearate, Allantoin, Lactic Acid, Dimethicone, Sorbitan Tristearate, Xanthan Gum, PEG-5 Cocoate & PEG-8 Dicocoate & PEG-9 & Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Triclosan, Methylisothiazolinone, BHA, Tocopherol (Vitamin E).



I tested a couple of the products in the store before buying them and, by the way they left my skin, I should have known that one of their main ingredients was some sort of silicone.
There’s nothing wrong with silicones generally speaking, it’s just that -in high amounts- they don’t get along with my skin. What silicones do is that they form a non-soluble barrier on the skin, giving it a temporary “plump” look. In my case, when I apply a product that has silicone among its first five ingredients, my skin suffocates and starts getting bumpy around the sixth day of using that product.

When looking at the list of ingredients of all the products (something I usually do before buying a product), I sadly discovered that both the creams and the serums contain a high amount of silicones among its main ingredients. In addition to the silicones, the serums also have PVP, which is another barrier-forming (and fixing) ingredient, also amongst the first ingredients on the list. With such an amount of silicones I wonder if the good ingredients in the products will penetrate in the outer layer of the skin or if they will just sit on top of the skin doing nothing.

Comparing the ingredients from both the creams and the serums, I also noticed that while the Dead Sea water is one of the main ingredients in the serums, it is halfway through the list of ingredients in both creams.
Browsing through the internet (Paula’s Choice website and other sites), I also learned that the minerals in the Dead Sea water have not been proven to have any antiaging/wrinkle or dark spots-fighting properties, as the Sephora’s sales lady told me. So, all and all, the “plump” skin effect that that woman was raving so much about actually comes from all the silicones in the products and not from the minerals in the Dead Sea water. Since these products don’t come cheap, I feel scammed!

These products also have phenoxyethanol quite high up on the list of ingredients (higher than the Dead Sea water in both creams). Phenoxyethanol is one of the least irritating preservatives in cosmetics and it’s usually used as an alternative to parabens. “Phenoxyethanol is approved for worldwide use in all types of water-based cosmetics, up to a 1% concentration” (Paula’s Choice website). Now, if that ingredient is high up in the list of ingredients, either its concentration is higher than 1% in these creams and serums or, if it is 1%, you are basically just lathering mineral spring water, silicones and aloe juice on your face (add Dead Sea water for the serums).

I’m thinking about keeping the soap because it’s only got a couple of ingredients that are tagged as low health concern ingredients, because they might be irritating. But for 8€, it’d better be an amazing damn soap. 

As for the rest of the products: I will be returning them. I feel so stupid for not reading the list of ingredients before buying the products. I always do! Well, I guess I got caught up in the moment.

Regarding the samples I was given, I think I’m only going to use the scrub and the mud mask. The cleanser is one of those cleansers that don’t need to be rinsed off, which I’m not very fond of, and silicone is its third ingredient so, I don’t think I’m going to be using that sample.

Also if you are concerned about politics, then you probably would like to know that there is an international boycott campaign against AHAVA because, quoting Code Pink, “its products come from stolen Palestinian natural resources in the Occupied Territory of the Palestinian West Bank, and are produced in the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem.” For more information about this campaign click here.

Have you ever been in a similar situation where you let the sales lady advice you on what to buy just to find out you have to return what you bought because it doesn't suit you?

Take care!
S