Skin Essentials set from Nutriganics line by The Body Shop

Before going on summer holidays I looked for a travel friendly format of products that would fit well in my travel bag. I picked up this Skin essentials kit from Nutriganics line by The Body Shop and I tested it during 3 weeks that I spent partially in Slovakia and in Italy. The set is for skin with first sign for aging (I passed that age already) which translated to me as something easy and simple, good for holidays. Some products were really that way; some surprised me in good, other in bad way. Let’s see what I think of them.

Price: 11€ in The Body Shop outlet store in Parndorf, Austria. It contains 50ml of Cleanser, 60 ml of toner, 15ml of each day and night cream, and a green case. The products lasted for 3 weeks and few days.

Scent: all products have herbal scent with hint of floral, not my favorite but doable. The products contain organic Babassu oil so that maybe be the aroma, I don’t know, I haven’t smelled this oil before.

FOAMING FACIAL WASH

This cleanser pumps out foam so it’s ready to use. It cleanses skin very well, takes off all makeup. I tried it to remove eye makeup as well and it stung my eyes little bit so I don’t recommend using it for this purpose. I’m usually afraid of cleansers since they dry my skin and it feels tight and uncomfortably. This cleanser doesn’t do that at all. It doesn’t dry my skin even though it really removes everything. I enjoy it very much (I have few uses left) and I’m actually considering purchasing a full size. This is for me, personally, the star of this kit.

REFRESHING TONER

I used the toner in a usual way, poured it on the cotton pad and wiped it over the face after cleansing it with foaming facial wash. While I was wiping the toner on my face I could see a sort of bubbly trace behind like the soap would leave (but less of bubbles). I was confused why the toner creates bubbles and looks like soap. I checked The Body Shop website and it doesn’t say that it should do this. I didn’t feel comfortable using it and since it wasn’t doing anything extra I left it behind after 3 weeks. This is for me the least favorite product from the kit and I would not purchase the full size.

SMOOTHING DAY AND NIGHT CREAM

Both creams had the same light creamy texture; they soaked easily in to the skin. I’m putting the reviews of both products in one because they perform the same way and most of the ingredients are the same, just in different order. There wasn’t much of a difference between these two which is actually disappointing. I was expecting from the night cream to have heavier texture and from the day cream to have a SPF. Fortunately, I was using them during the summer time, so the night cream moisturized my skin enough and I could layer heavy SPF over the day cream. I don’t think these creams would suit for dry skin, especially in winter they wouldn’t stand a chance with me.

Final verdict: I really like the cleanser, it is suitable for sensitive and dry skin as well, and I may purchase the full size. The rest of the kit didn’t impress me. I think it is really aimed at younger skin that doesn’t need much of the attention and that is more normal or slightly oily than dry.

One jacket – three outfits

When I was on vacation in Italy last August I didn’t want to do a lot of shopping rather enjoy the nature and old Italian towns. But I didn’t feel like sightseeing one afternoon so I went to Orio shopping center near Bergamo.

Usually I don’t go to Massimo Dutti as the prices are quite high but it was a period of sales so I dared to enter. And there it was, alone in the corner, last piece (literally last piece in one size – 38) of beautiful jacket in sand colour. I don’t wear 38 in jacket, usually I go for 40, just for the comfort but I tried it anyway and it fitted perfectly. I looked at the price tag and my eyes sparkled from joy. From 150€ down to 40€, I couldn’t leave it there. The quality is great, since I wore it, it is hard to go to cheap jackets, and they don’t feel comfortable anymore.

Anyway, the colour is unusual for me so I wanted to show you what I wore with it to work. I’m not the fashionista by any means so excuse me if the outfits seem to be too simple for your taste.

Special thank you goes to my lovely colleague, Alicja, who took these pictures.

Outfit n.1

Outfit n.1: 

Shirt: St. Oliver 

Trousers: Stradivarius (from this season) 

Belt: either Mango or H&M (there’s no brand name on it) 

Shoes: Luciano Barachini (sponsored by my mum, she didn’t want the shoes anymore so I took them) 

Ribbon: it was part of a blouse long time ago, you can buy it alone in some specialized shops

Outfit n.2

Outfit n.2: 

Blouse: Antea (I bought it during last year holidays in Mallorca) 

Trousers: Stradivarius (from this season) 

Belt: Carpesa (I don’t remember where I bought it, but it is pretty simple) 

Shoes: Nine West

Outfit n.3

Outfit n.3:

Shirt: Ralph Lauren

Jeans: Zara

Belt: either Mango or H&M (there’s no brand name on it)

Shoes: Mark & Spencer

Let me know what would you style it with; I’m open to new ideas.

Smokey Eye drama kit eyeshadow palettes by Max Factor

I recently spotted new eyeshadow palettes by Max Factor and decided to test them. They looked like great choice of colours and that they would be wearable even during the day time, not only for the smokey look as the name suggests.

Price: 8,99€ in DM drugstore in Slovakia.

Colours: I bought 2 palettes, 01 Opulent nudes (brown quad with 2 matt colour, one shimmery colour – bronze and one matt with micro glitter – cream colour) and 04 Luxe Lilacs (purple quad with 2 matts, one shimmery – lilac colour and one iridescent – white colour).

Texture: the eyeshadows are extremely powdery. You have to tap off excess otherwise you will find, especially dark colours, quite annoying to clean out from the under eyes area.

Pigmentation: the purple quad is not pigmented enough for me, I was actually disappointed that I had to reapply colours few time to get the desired intensity. The brown quad is pigmented enough and easy to apply. Both quads blend well and the choice of colours makes it easy to create a look even when you aren’t a makeup lover.

Longevity: darker colours stayed on the eyes well just with the eyeshadow base. On the other hand, the light colours in both palettes wouldn’t last all day so I had to use cream eyeshadow underneath to ensure that they stayed on till evening.

Final verdict: with the price tag it has, I’m actually quite disappointed. The quality of the eyeshadows is not excellent and the amount of the product is not generous either. I had to use smaller brushes for their application otherwise I would also get the colour “next door” on them. You can get bigger palettes by Essence paying half of what you pay for these by Max Factor and they are at least the same quality if not better.