L'Occitane Repairing Shampoo for Dry & Damaged Hair

L'Occitane Repairing Shampoo for Dry & Damaged Hair

 I had a sample of this a while back. The conditioner and the mask didn't impress me so I didn't even plan to use it, but when I did, I remember feeling such a noticeable difference that I was genuinely impressed by it. I remember drying my hair and thinking holly smokes what did I use because my hair felt so nice, so it was on my wishlist ever since. It's meant for dry hair and it has 5 essential oils in it (angelica, lavender, geranium, patchouli, ylang-ylang). Ingredientshere. 

What I Bought in France and Other Recent Purchases

What I Bought in France and Other Recent Purchases


It's been more than two weeks since I've returned from France, but I wanted to a least try some of the products before I wrote anything. I didn't get much stuff. Strangely I left Sephora empty handed, but I did purchase a couple of things in Yves Roche, Douglas and Carrefour.


I already reviewed the Dream Touch blush here -> click.


I got two things in Douglas: I love... peaches & cream set and Bourjois Magic Nail polish remover.
I love... peaches & cream set includes a shower gel, lotion and a mesh bath sponge in the prettiest light peach colour. Both products have a nice peach-mixed-with-a-bit-of-cream scent, so sweet and fruity. Actually, it reminds me a bit of Britney Spears' Midnight Fantasy, or at least on how it smells on me. I was quite impressed by the lotion, because it's thicker than I thought it would be and it moisturises well.


Bourjois Magic Nail polish remover really cuts the amount of time you spent on removing nail polishes to a mere couple of minutes. I'm sure most of you already heard about this product. I do like it a lot, however, it is way to expensive for what it really is (I paid over 8€), so a bit of sponge with some remover. I'm just waiting for cheaper knock-offs to appear on the market. It does smell nice, like fruit and vanilla, also it leaves your fingers and nails quite moisturised, so it is better than your run-oft-he-mill nail polish remover.


I left Yves Rocher with two items: LE fragrance Mango and Passion Fruit and Monoi de Tahiti oil. I regret purchasing the latter as, if I use the description of my (male) friend, it smells like grandma. Ok, that's a bit harsh, but it is a bit to flowery for me (a lot of people like it a lot, judging by the good reviews on MUA). I expected a nice coconut-beachy fragrance and this is not it. But it does have a nice consistency and sinks into the skin quite fast.
The mango-passion fruit fragrance is lovely. It's a typical summer-coctail-Escada type of scent and I really like it. It doesn't last long though. There was another LE fragrance, which smelled like pina colada, but I restrained myself from purchasing a small bottle of that too.



Last month I suddenly wanted some jasmine scented products and after some well executed Google searches, I found that Lush Flying Fox shower gel and Lust perfume fit my wishes best. Both have a very strong jasmine scent,Flying Fox also has a bit of honey mixed in. It's not the type of scent I'd love to smell every day, but sometimes I do like something different. Flying Fox is very runny and I hate Lush packaging with passion (does anyone else find their plastic bottles so damn hard to squeeze?), so in general I probably won't repurchase it. I much prefer my L'Occitane almond shower oil for pampering.
Lust solid perfume has a very strong jasmine scent that I think a lot of people wouldn't really like (my friend - btw the same as above- pointed out it's nice, but too strong). The scent lasts really long on the skin, also beware that it leaves red stains on clothes.




Ruby Kisses nail polish in Tropical Blend looks amazing in the bottle. It's an amazing bright pinky-coral shade that unfortunately translates into neon orange on my nails. And I don't like that, so it's a miss purchase for me. The quality of the polish itself is quite nice though.


Essence recently released a collection of 6 fragrances that are available in 50 and 10 ml bottles. After testing all, I liked the Like a First Day in Spring the most and I purchased a small bottle. It's again a very Escadaish type of scent, so very sweet and fruity, but also a bit fresh. Top notes: orange, tangerine, pineapple. Middle notes: rose, blackberries, praline. Base notes: musk, sandalwood, vanilla. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long (but so don't Escada fragrances for a much heftier price tag), I don't mind respraying it anyway. The 10 ml bottle is a great purse size and not that expensive, it retails for around 3-4€.

Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer 20 Meet Me at Coral Island

Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer 20 Meet Me at Coral Island

It's similar to the Bourjois 10 Days #25, but less pink and with a slightly better formula (there is still room for improvement). Comparison swatches will be in another post. I plan to get the Essie Cute as a Button as well, so I might wait with the swatches until then.

Lancôme Hypnôse Custom-Wear Volume waterproof mascara

Oh, I how like this. It is remarkably similar in performance to my HG mascara Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Feline Black Waterproof , but it's easier to find. I'll do a proper review of course. Currently, all mascaras in Müller are 20% off (until 24.8.2013) and also Feel Unique has a sale. If you need a good volumising mascara that holds curl all day, go grab yourself one.

Bourjois Shine Edition 21 Rouge Making Of

This is sooo lovely. An amazing orange based red that is actually properly pigmented for a shiny lipstick. You can tell you really like a lip colour, when you wear it every day two weeks in a row despite having a massive collection of other shades. Bourjois does not disappoint with their lipstick formulas, their Rouge Edition is my favourite one. Review soon.

Aveo Nail Polish Remover Pads

Aveo Nail Polish Remover Pads

They smell really nice, kind of lighty fruity and they are a bit oily, therefore moisturising, but the remover is so weak. I need a lot of rubbing to get the nail polish off as it so slowly (or barely) dissolves anything. 

L'Occitane Brightening Cleansing Foam

I really dislike cleansing foams, but this is so highly recommended on Makeup Alley that I decided to try it out anyway. I needed something for the morning that simply washes off, but usually gel and foam cleansers dry out my skin. I got the 50ml version to trial and I'm planning to do a cleanser comparison post, so a proper review will be posted then, when I thoroughly try all of them out.

Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel

Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel

Another small size cleanser (50ml) to trial. As the name suggests, it's a gel cleanser, but it first turns to oil on dry skin and then when water is added, it lathers into a foam. Again, review will be posted with other cleansers.

Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask

I only got the 30ml size of eBay, but I have a feeling it will last me quite a while. It's a super moisturising mask for dry/dehydrated skin with a fruity scent (some say peach, but I have a basket of them next to me and such claims only make me wonder if they ever really smelled a peach before). My skin is feeling really comfortable at the moment, so I think I will be able to test it's full potential in winter, but so far I really like it.

Balea eye makeup removing pads waterproof

Balea eye makeup removing pads waterproof

These are so oily! Honestly, I never had pads or wipes that would be so soaked. They feel very greasy and it is like putting vegetable oil on my face plus they smell like it too. They do remove waterproof mascara completely, however, I need a separate remover to get rid of mess the oil leaves. I'll use them up, but the Maybelline remover is miles better.

Maybelline Eye makeup remover special waterproof

Maybelline Eye makeup remover special waterproof

Another repurchase. I don't even know how many bottle of this I've used up (or Bioderma. Both are my essentials). It's inexpensive and an effective makeup remover that I use it everyday to remove waterproof mascara and it does it's job.

L'Oreal Ever Riche hair mask

L'Oreal Ever Riche hair mask 

L'Oreal Ever Riche hair mask is a really good mask for a drugstore range. It's medium consistency and has the same sweet caramel scent as the shampoo. It's definitely one of the better ones from drugstore, but maybe not as good asDove Oil Repair 1 Minute and I would highly recommend you try it if you have really dry hair. Both the shampoo and the mask aren't cheap for drugstore products, they are about 8€ each, but great drugstore hair products for really dry hair are rare as diamonds. Ingredients for the shampoo here and for the mask here.

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

The lovely Slovenian blogger Maja from Pink Mascara had a giveaway recently and I won. She speaks so highly about it, so I really wanted to try it out and I was chuffed to bits, when I saw that she also included the bag. I know, what about that silly GWP bag? Well, it's mint green, which is my favourite colour, and I just briefly mentioned in one of the comments on her blog that I like Liz Earle's bags, I didn't even know she remembered and she just gave it to me. Thanks again! And go check out her blog. I will do a proper review in that cleansers post.

Cosmopolitan Beauty Expert Blend Perfection Sponge

 Cosmopolitan Beauty Expert Blend Perfection Sponge

I was never really into these sponges and while I'm certain it won't replace my Real Techniques brushes, I decided to try one out to see what the fuss is about. I didn't go for Essence one, because just about every one complained about them tearing, so I went for a Cosmopolitan version, because I am not paying over 20€ for the original Beauty Blender. I tested it once and it gives a fantastic skin-like finish, but it soaks up too much product, plus the staining will bother me. I doubt I'll ever get over the fact I need to use twice as much product and the finish is hardly any different than with RT brushes. I washed it once and when it was drying, it broke. Just greeeeaat. I was being gentle, I swear. Oh well, it's still useful and you can't see it when it's damp. I'll continue using it and if I happen to love it, it should pop up in some favourites post one day.