Beauty | Empties #1

MAC Full Coverage Foundation in NC15

This is the first high-end foundation I ever bought. I wanted something with a little more coverage and in the right colour. So I decided to go to MAC, since they  have a very wide range of colours there.

I first used it as a foundation, but now I use it as an concealer. I do think that it can look a little cakey sometimes. So that’s why I wanted something lighter. The colour is a little bit to light for me, but with some bronzer that problem is solved. This foundation is perfect for when you have acne or scars on your face. I covers them up really well. You can apply it lightly for  medium coverage or heavy for full coverage. It is a very versatile product.

I would repurchase it, but honestly I want to try out the other MAC concealers first. So maybe in a couple of years.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in 100 Ivory

I hated this at first. It made me look orange and it just wasn’t something for me. Untill I mixed it with Bourjois Healthy Mix and I fell in love with it. The colour is a bit too dark, but when you blend it down your neck it is not very noticeable. I have repurchased this one already and I would definitely do it again. Unfortunately they don’t sell it in stores anymore. At least I can’t find it. I also see it as a summer foundation, because of the glowy effect. So this will be my go to summer foundation.

Catrice Prime and Fine Translucent Loose Powder

I love this powder a lot. It keeps the shine away for a very long time. I hate to reapply powder so the fact that it does its job is amazing. I also have repurchased this one a lot. Right now I am trying there other matte powder. I have to say I am not a fan,  so right after I’ve finished that one I will buy this powder.

Maybelline The Rocket Mascara in Black Waterproof

This mascara is really really good. I think it holds the curl very well and it stays put for most of the days, since I can end up liking a raccoon with normal mascara. I will definitely repurchase this mascara over and over again.

Charles Worthington Hair Healer

At first I really liked this product. After a while it made the ends of my hair really dry and I stopped using it. A couple of months ago I went through my drawer and found it again. I have used it in combination with a drugstore hair oil and It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In Spray. This really moisturizes my hair. I would not repurchase it again, since I have other hair products that work better.

Bioderma Créaline/Sensibio H20

The hype around this product is definitely worth it. It takes you make-up off very well. I used it more as a toner. Since it takes a lot of cotton pads to take off your foundation. I also had an allergic reaction, because I had to rub my make-up off. But as a toner it works fine. It takes off the make-up that is still left on my face. You can also use it as an eye make-up remover, but I do not really like it to use it for that. I would definitely repurchase it.

IndeedLabs Hydraluron Moisture Booster

This is a serum that I absolutely love. It really puts moisture back in to your skin. If you have dry skin this will be the holy grail product for you. I have combination/oily skin, but in the colder months my skin always tends to be a little bit dryer. Only con: you cannot buy it in The Netherlands. But I would definitely repurchase this product if I could.

Philosophy Purity Cleanser

My holy grail cleanser. I takes of your make-up very well. I do not like to take of my eye make-up with this, but you can use it for that. It leaves my skin feeling very clean and soft. I would definitely repurchase it.

Kiehl's Ultra Oil Free Lotion

Another product that I have bought multiple times. It is a really good all-round moisturizer. It leaves my skin feeling moisturized and soft. It leaves your skin a little bit greasy though, but I can live with that. I would definitely repurchase it.

So these were all the empty products I have. I need to have a box where I can put in all my empty products. And of course not forget to put them in there.

 Have you tried any of these products?

Skincare | Updated Skincare Routine 2013

So I did a skincare routine probably about a year ago. Since that it has changed a lot. So I felt like it was time to share my new skincare routine with you.

Morning routine:

In the morning I don't really do a lot. I wash my face with the Cetaphil Cleanser, than I dry my face with a towel and moisturise my face with the Kiehls Ultra Facial Oil-Free Lotion.

I want to do more though, but I have no idea what..

Evening routine:

So in the evening I do a way more than in the morning. I have a lot of steps that I do every evening.

Step 1: I start with washing my hands. This way I have no bacteria on my hands.

Step 2: Taking of my eye make-up. I use a drugstore eye cleansing oil with a cotton pad (not in photo) and make sure that all my eye make-up is removed.

Step 3: I take 2-3 pumps of the MAC Cleansing Oil and massage that into my face. Then I rinse my face with lukewarm water so that most of the make-up and oil is of my face. 

Step 4: I take a pea size amount of the Philosophy Purity Cleanser and massage that in to my face. My face is still wet so I do not have to add water. I recently rediscovered my face brush (not in photo). It is a small brush that you can use to cleanse your face. I make the brush wet and use circular motions on my face. I use it very gently, otherwise my skin will get very irritated. After that I rinse my face with lukewarm water and dry my face with a towel.

Step 5: Now it is time for my toner/tonic. I haven't used one in a while, but it really makes a difference. I take 2 pumps of the Pixi Glow Tonic on a cotton pad and take that all over my face.

Step 6: At night I use the Hydraluron Serum. I take a pea size amount and massage this in to my skin.

Step 7: For moisturiser I use the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Lotion. I take a pea size amount and again massage this in to my skin.

Optional:

Eye cream: I know that this is maybe a bad thing, but I do not use eye cream every night. I used the Kiehl's eye cream with avocado. Which I really liked, but I never really saw a difference, so I didn't repurchase it. I have a lot of eye cream samples though so that is what I use. Right know I use the Snowberry Smoothing Eye Serum and I have to say I really like it.

Acne: For this I still use Lush Grease Lightning. I have not really found THE acne fighting product for my skin, so if you have any recommendations I would love to hear them.

So this is my morning and evening skincare routine. I hope it has helped some of you and I would love to know what your skincare routine is!

My Skin Care Routine

I always had problems with my skin. It is really sensitive so I can't just try out a product because I might get an allergic reaction. I also have acne-prone skin, so food or skin care products can give me break outs.

I have searched a long time for a good skincare routine and I finally think I found it! I still get break outs sometimes but it isn't as bad as it used to be.

Step 1: Eye Cleanser

I always clean my eyes first. I just put some eye cleansing oil on two cotton pads and I rub my eye makeup off my eyes. I just use a drugstore eye cleansing oil for this.

Step 2: Face Cleanser

Than I take my Purity Made Simple from Philosophy. I take a bit on my hand and mix it with some water than I massage it on my face for about one minute. Just to make sure that there is no make-up on my face left. Then I wash it off with warm water.

Purity Made Simple 240 ml €20,29

Step 3: Face Toner

To make sure that all the make-up and cleanser are off my face I use a toner as my last cleansing step. I really like Lush Eau Roma Water. I spray this on a cotton pad and wipe it all over my face.

Lush Eau Roma Water 250 g €11,65

Step 4: Serum

After all the cleansing steps I use a serum on my skin. I use Philosophy's Keep the Peace Serum to calm down the redness in my skin. (I also like Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate). I just take some drops and massage it in to my skin.

Philosophy's Keep the Peace Serum 27 ml € 45,71

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate 30 ml €39,00 

Step 5: Eye Cream

This is the first eye cream I have ever used and I really like it. I take a small amount of Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado and tap that in to my under eye area.

Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado €25,00

Step 6: Face Cream/Lotion

If you have read my Hope in a Jar review, you know about my search for the perfect moisturizer. I think that this is the best moisturizer I have ever used. I take a bit of Kiehl's Ultra Facial oil-free Lotion and massage this in to my skin until my face does not feel sticky any more.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial oil-free Lotion €24,00

Step 7: Treatment for break outs (optional)

When I have a really bad break out I use a special acne treatment so that it will go away sooner. I do not use one particular product. So I will just name all the products that I have used and that worked for me.

Benefit - Boo Boo Zap €20,00

Lush - Grease Lightning €10,15

Biodermal - Acne Cream €12,35

Just take some of the product and put it on the problem area.

After this my skin care routine is completed! I know these are a lot of steps and products, but if my skin looks good it is totally worth it!

I hope this maybe helps you finding your one skincare routine. Just try out a lot of products and see what works for you!

What kind of products do you use in your skincare routine?

Philosophy Hope in a Jar Review

I heard so much about Hope in a Jar, I have read a lot of reviews and everybody was really positive about this cream, so I thought that this would be the solution for my skin.

I have a really difficult skin. It is really sensitive (when I try new products there is always a risk I get an allergic reaction and believe me that does not look good). I also have a combination skin so a really oily T-Zone which is really annoying and I am acne - prone which means some products, foods or when I am stressed or something like that give me break-outs. And those break outs leave scarring behind which sucks..
So I have red, sensitive skin with scars that gets break outs very often.

When I find a new product I always believe that this is the ONE that gives me beautiful skin. (Most of the time it is not)
So of course I thought that Hope in a Jar was the one.

The Cream

The cream has some kind of watery feeling when you put it on your skin, so a little goes a long way. The smell however is not that attractive. The cream has a really chemical smell. The first time I put it on my face I could smell it all day. After a week I did not notice the smell anymore. You get used to it and maybe start loving it, but in the beginning it is not that nice.

My experience

The first time I put the cream on my face I went to a musical, but because me and my dad were there to early we walked on the boulevard which was next to the beach. There was also a lot of wind that day, so that is maybe the reason why my face did not look good at the end of the day. A lot of my foundation was gone and there was a lot of oil on my face you could just see that my skin wasn't liking my new cream.
I did not had an allergic reaction to it so I continued using it because I paid like €40 for it so I did not wanted to stop after just one day. My skin started to look better with my new cream and was getting used to it only after a while I noticed that I needed to put more cream on my face to get a moisturized feeling. Otherwise my skin would look really dry and oily.
So I was half way threw the jar and I came to the conclusion that it just didn't work for me.
I do think that it is a good cream because in the beginning I definitely saw a change in my skin which was good, so I would recommend it to people even in the end it did not work for me.

Now I use Kiehl's oil free lotion which is good but I am always curious for new moisturizers, do you have any recommendations?