You've got Mail! - Bioderma

 

Bioderma products are relatively easy or at least not too difficult to come by in Slovenia. There is a pharmacy near where I live where I've been getting all those bottles of the Sensibio H20 from for years now. I've also found that it was never excruciatingly difficult to get samples of the Bioderma products in stores and this set of tiny tubes arrived my mail box a few weeks ago.

 

This may be more of interest for the Slovenian readers but Bioderma now has its separate Slovenian website and if you fill-out form on their website with some basic data  about your skin you should receive a set of their pretty generous samples, selected to suit your skin type. As you can see, the samples which were chosen for me are from their Sensitive range (Atoderm) and from their acne-prone skin range (Sebium). So far I've only tried the Atoderm PP Baume and it was very calming and gentle on my winter-dry skin.

 

The company which distributes Bioderma in Slovenia also has a new webshop Sophia which next to Bioderma currently stocks also products from Nuxe and Bio-Beaute brands. I have already placed an order on their website (guess what I got?) and was happy with the customer services. The package arrived quickly and some lovely samples and a full size bottle of the NUXE Micellar Water which was/is part of the special promo for the first 200 customers, were included as well.

 

Have you tried any Bioderma products and do you like them or do you think they are over-hyped? I am glad that they are now available to purchase online as well so that I can keep a regular stash of those pink Bioderma bottles on my bathroom shelves.

Omorovicza Essentials travel kit and Queen of Hungary Mist

The Omorovicza Essentials travel kit was amongst the lemmings on my Winter Wishlist and as you can most probably tell, the set made its way into my grubby little hands. As the price of Omorovicza products is definitely high I jumped right in to their 30% Black Friday Sale back in November.

The Essentials kit contains four different products: the Queen of Hungary Mist (30 ml), Illuminating Moisturiser (20 ml), Rejuvenating Night Cream (20 ml) and two little jars of the Deep Cleansing Mask (2 x 5 ml). I would have preferred if a sample jar of their cleansing balm was added to the set because that way I could get a clear picture of the whole skincare range from this brand (added: I have noticed on the website that the cleansing balm has now replaced the mask in the set). 

The Queen of Hungary Mist is a lovely neroli and rose scented hydrating toner that comes in a nice spray bottle. I wouldn't say that this did wonders for my skin but it is definitely amongst the very few toners which don't irritate my skin and is moisturising but not too heavy on my skin. I ran out of this bottle first and after not using it for a few weeks decided I need one of these:

The second product which I really like from the set is the Rejuvenating Night Cream - this rich night cream works really well with my dry winter skin but I think that it will probably be too nourishing for me for the warmer months. After I put this on in the evening my skin looks calm and feels very soft. Another thing I loved with this one was its wonderful spicy fruity scent and this is coming from someone who generally hates fragranced skincare products.

The Illuminating Moisturiser was for me the only product in the set which I imagine I won't miss too much after I'm through this bottle. It's an ok hydrating moisturiser, in my opinion best suited for normal skin types but "just ok" is in my opinion not enough for such a steep price. 

Last but not least is the Deep Cleansing Mask: this sounds like your typical mud face mask but what I like about it is that it's not drying on my skin and after I take it off there is no redness left on my face which is rather unusual for a clay mask. This mask strikes the right balance between actually working and being gentle to the skin. It is certainly a very good cleansing mask and will make even those blemishes you didn't know you had pop out quicker (I know, sounds so attractive, right?). 

It is difficult to say which products I like the most and which have made the biggest difference to my skin because I started using the whole set at the same time together with some products from other brands but I predict that my next purchase will be the Cleansing Mask.

I purchased the set and the toner from Omorovicza website where they regularly have really good deals and GWPs. Currently they are having a really nice offer valid until the end of February: with each order above 150€ (gulp!) you receive a pink bag with four generously sized skincare minis including the Queen of Hungary Mist, Copper Peel, Instant Plumping Cream and Deep Cleansing Mask.

New lippies: NARS, Chanel and Giorgio Armani

These three black-cased lipsticks above have been some of my newest lipstick purchases in the last few months. Not necessarily what you would call typical fall/winter colours, except for the browned purple (or now the popularly called oxblood) that is Chanel's Rouge Allure in Rouge Noir. This is Chanel's third lipstick that goes by the name of Rouge Noir - this colour was previously done in the Hydrabase and Rouge Coco formulas, a comparison of which you can check out over at Cafe Makeup.

I've wanted to try one of the vampy lipsticks which get so popular each time the temperatures drop below zero and after a complete fail with Revlon's extremely dry and patchy matte lipstick in the colour Wine Not  I decided to just give Chanel's take on the vampy trend a try. Luckily, the formula of Rouge Noir is much nicer than that of Revlon - for such a dark colour it is surprisingly easy to apply although I would still recommend using a lip brush so that you don't end up looking like you've smeared blood all over your mouth. Rouge Noir also has a nice creamy finish with some slight red shimmer. I have found that the best way for me to pull off this colour is to cheat by lightly tapping the colour onto my lips and then blending it in with my finger or a brush - this takes off the brown undertones of the colour and gives a very beautiful soft purple toned effect to the lips, the colour I wish my lips naturally looked like.

 

Next up is Giorgio Armani's Rouge d'Armani in Pink 511. I have posted before about my love for the Rouge d'Armani formula and as soon as I had a chance to grab another colour, I did. I decided to go for this warm toned pink shade as I knew that I would get a lot of wear out of it. The formula as with the other Rouge d'Armanis is wonderful, it goes on very creamy but sets to a long-lasting finish. I wish Armani makeup was available here in Slovenia as their colour range is very nicely done and I can see myself trying and buying  a few other shades from the line.

Last and certainly least is NARS Sheer Lipstick in Cruising. I've had good experience with NARS sheer lipstick formula before (the colour Damage is one of my most used and I have nearly finished my first tube) so I was a little bit disappointed by the sheer shimmery pink nude that is Cruising. I don't know what I was expecting really, as the description of this shade on NARS website reads "nude pink" but it just looks very "blah" when applied. This doesn't mean that I haven't been using it, coupled with a pink lip pencil as a base it actually doesn't look all that bad. 

Next up on my lipstick wishlist is Maybelline's lipstick in Rose Vivid and I'm sure that I will find more lippies I like with the bright summer collections coming up (says I, wearing thick wool socks in the middle of the winter wonderland).

Meet Muri and Lili!

Happy New Year! See, I'm late even with my new year wishes but I hope that wishing you happy and healthy 328 remaining days of 2013 still counts.

This is just a quick post to say hi and show you a few photos of two precious little kittens who have kept us all very occupied ever since we got them back in July. Honestly I never imagined I could spend so much time just watching them and laughing at their little boxing sessions.

That fluffy little thing up in the basket is Lili - that photo was taken back in the summer and she is much bigger now. She may look cute and harmless but if anyone stands between her and her food it's not going to end well.

Muri here is photographed doing what he loves best - sleeping. He is certainly one lazy kitty but when he's in the zone no flower pot in the house is safe.

I hope your 2013 is off to a good start. I have no doubt that very soon we will be at the end of December wondering just how has another year gone by so quickly.

Winter Wishlist

'Tis the season to make a wishlist, la la la la laaaa la laa laa laaaaaaa. There have been so many amazing gift sets coming out this season that this list could honestly be a few pages long. But here are a couple of things that I've been wanting to try for a while together with some new gems. The total of this Polyvore set is headache inducing and this wishlist should in all honesty be titled the "Never-gonna-happen Wishlist". I will refrain from posting the prices - you can click on the link of each item if you want but it's at your own risk.

Frederic Malle Coffret Collection for Women (195€)
Frederic Malle has recently released three different boxes/"coffrets" contatining generous 5ml samples from the line. I've got my eye on the Collection for Women which includes 15 small bottles of all the women/unisex perfumes. The price of this one is very high for what are essentially samples and I already know that I absolutely hate one of the fragrances (Lipstick Rose) however I love quite a few (Carnal Flower, En Passant, Dans Tes Bras) so a safer option may be to just order regular samples of the fragrances I'd like to try and finally get that bottle of Carnal Flower that I've been wanting for ages. (See, I'm being sensible by replacing an expensive item on a WL with a slightly less expensive option).

Bare Escentuals / bareMinerals Light Show Palette (49,73€ at FeelUnique)

I have not read a bad review of the bareMinerals eye shadows and this set is a perfect opportunity to try their eyeshadows together with some other pieces. There are also some gorgeous looking palettes of eight eyeshadows by Bare Escentuals and overall they've just done a great job with their Holiday offerings.

Emma Hardie Amazing Face Natural Lift and Sculpt Moringa Cleansing Balm (34GBP)

This is another product that gets a lot of good reviews online: Beauty Mouth, LondonMakeUpGirl, Modesty Brown are only some of the few who love this product. As I'm using only the Bioderma Crealine micellar as my cleanser and makeup remover at the moment I am a little bit concerned that this may be too heavy but I think I'll give it a try anyway.

Le Metier de Beaute Nail Lacquer Hot'n'Saucy

I saw this polish featured on Messy Wand and just thought "Oh, pretty!". It looks like a typical holiday season shimmery red polish but I like that it's more on the brown side.

Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Icon
The new Hourglass Liquid Lipsticks received some mixed reviews online but I'll admit it that seeing the colour Icon on Christina Hendricks made me put this lippie straight to my wishlist. Want. Want. Want.

By Kilian L'Oeuvre Noire Collection 
After falling in love with a now almost empty sample of Ambre Oud from by Kilian I would love to try some other fragrances from their range and this collection of 10 7,5ml bottles of the L'Oeuvre Noire would be a great introduction to the range. The only problem is that By Kilian (currently) does not ship to Slovenia. Not. Cool.

Modalu Zahara bag in Toffee
Modalu became famous once Ms. Pippa Middleton started wearing their now renamed Pippa bag. I'm not really a fan of the Pippa design but Zahara looks like a perfect bag for me: a great balance between slouchy and structured (look at me, talking all fashion and stuff). I am slightly worried about the colour (I don't really have a lot of brown coloured accessories or clothes) and wish it came in a deep red or navy.

Aromatherapy Associates Ultimate Bath & Shower Oil Collection 
By now we can probably say for sure that I have a thing for sets of small bottles. This set includes the bath oils from their regular range and I could truly use a bath full of Relax right about now.

Omorovicza Essentials Travel Kit
For this one I can completely blame Replica of Visionary Beauty blog - her skin is very sensitive but she gets along with the products from this brand really well. Omorovicza is a very, very expensive brand and this set of mini sized skincare is not cheap but I think this will be my little splurge for December and hopefully the products will actually do some good for my skin.

Revlon Lip Butter in Lollipop and Berry Smoothie
And last but not least, the cheapest item on my list: Revlon Lip Butters. They got released in the US probably a year ago and have just made it to the virtual shelves of the Slovenian online shop Click2Chic and have sparked my interest once again. I think Lollipop and Berry Smoothie would be a good first choice but please let me know if you have any favourite shades from the line.

That's it! I never said this was going to be a short and cheap wishlist. Please let me know if you've tried any of the products on my List and share what's on your wishlist at the moment.

Postcards from Provence

Long time, no post! It's actually been more than 6 months since I last posted over here but it doesn't really feel like it's been that long at all.

I don't have any proper excuse why I haven't been blogging - I guess a little bit of laziness, some travelling and new family members in the form of kittens all contributed to my absence. So to get back into the swing of things I'll share with you some photos from a trip to Provence which I took way back in July. Remembering those warm and sunny days seems appropriate now that we just had our first snow this season.

Provence really lived up to my already high expectations - the beautiful picturesque villages on top of the hills, lavender fields, good food and beauty everywhere I looked.

Of course we went to visit Grasse, the capital of perfume - now we didn't see any fields of beautifully scented flowers there but decided to go directly to the International Perfume Museum which was wonderful as it showed all the different procedures of obtaining the perfume essence and throughout the Museum there were these little stops where you could smell certain perfume notes which made me want to order those little sets of raw perfume ingredients even more. There were also literally hundreds of perfume bottles and this little red riding hood was one of the cutest ones (of course I completely forgot which perfume was housed in this beauty).

There was only one con to the Museum in my eyes and that's the Museum Shop - I had all these ideas how it would be filled with English books on perfumes and some famous or very rare perfumes for purchase but unfortunately it was not and the perfumes in the Fragonard perfumery nearby weren't my cup of tea either so I came home without a single drop of new perfume.

We did however bring home a lot of lavender scented products. Generally I don't really love the scent of lavender in beauty products but the scent of real lavender in the fields of Valensole was just amazing and so soft unlike the sharp "lavender" scent that we're used to.

Besides the scented part of our trip there were of course many other memorable moments such as the very, very long drive through Gorges du Verdon, the largest Canyon in Europe...

... and yes, the colour of the water really was this vivid

... the peacefullness of Valensole...

... and the picture-perfect Roussillon, a little hilltop village known for its ochre quarries where they produced the warm coloured pigments which are still present here on every step.

On the last days of our trip we also stopped in Aix-En-Provence where we spent about three hours at their wonderful market trying out different kinds of food and just spending a lot of time looking at all different stands.

I do need to stop at the word "food" for a moment: we loved the baguettes, fresh fruit and yoghurts for breakfast in the morning, I tried the "peche plate" for the first time and loved them...

Peche plate, yum!

and we decided to do as the French do (or perhaps better yet as us tourists are told that the French do) and had desserts with every evening meal. This fondant right here in Villeneuve-les-Avignon was especially memorable, together with the hmm, intereseting English translation of the menu in said restaurant.

I wonder what the outputs would be ;)

And below is a fine example of "cafe gourmand" - coffee with an array of small desserts. This is pretty much close to perfection, right?

I had a great time in Provence and would love to go back soon, especially now that the days are starting to get colder and shorter although I'll admit that the colder months do have some other pros going for them. I've noticed that I've been getting a lot of Christmas related mails from online retailers already (are they getting earlier each year or is it just me?) which is just bizarre as Autumn just barely started. In the last 6 months I have also purchased and found some new wonderful products so reviews of those will slowly be sneaking up on the blog. I hope you're all ok and well and hopefully it won't take me another 6 months until my next post.

OCC Lip Tar in Strumpet

I can already imagine the weird search hits that I will get after this blog post title. But oh well, this OCC Lip Tar is worth it.

After hearing/reading so much about these lip tars I finally bought four of them last year - the Make-Up Designory store here in Ljubljana had a little sale on these (yay!) before they decided to stop carrying them (boo!).

The four colours that I got are:
- Strumpet (purple-red-pink goodness)
- Plum (a hideous grayed out plum/mauve - this looked quite promising in the tube but just looks awful on)
- NSFW (a bright, slightly warm-toned red)
- Pageant (it's a pastel-ly and bright pink at the same time, but looks darker and brighter on my lips)

Strumpet is the colour that I have so far worn the most, especially in the colder months - it's not quite purple, not quite red and has some pink in it as well and as you'll see in the photos below can look different depending on the lighting.

OCC Lip Tars are creamy liquid lip products that are very pigmented and definitely require a lip brush to apply - they do have a slanted tip (but I think the new reformulated packaging now comes with a very slim tip) that could be used for application but I doubt that it would work really well because you need a very small amount and need to apply it carefully as every little mistake shows. Even though the application requires more effort they make up for it in longevity - these are the most long-lasting lip products I have tried so far which is a good thing as having a tube and a lip brush and having to reapply these during the day doesn't sound so good.

As you can probably tell from the photo below there is some feathering but it's not nearly as noticable in real life and using a lip liner would probably help with this issue.

While the lip tars aren't moisturizing on the lips at all they aren't as drying as I thought they'd be (although using them everyday would probably show that they are not the kindest product to the lips). But for me the longevity, the lovely matte finish and the possibility of mixing different shades together make up for the not the most comfortable feeling on the lips.

 

I have Grandma on my wishlist next - the gorgeous coral: with that, Pageant and NSFW I'm all set for summer and I don't need to buy any other lipsticks now, who am I kidding, I'll shut up now. Have you tried any of the OCC lip tars? Let me know if you have any favourites!