Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Cream

I was always avoiding duty free shops at the airports, I thought everything there was overpriced and luxurious, but I think I'm getting old, because now I spend more and more time there every time I travel.

A couple of months ago I found a Burt's Bees sample set (Head to toe kit) at one of the airports in Berlin. There are 6 products in the kit (a lip balm, face cleanser, shower gel, hand salve, body cream and a foot cream). I had never used anything by Burt's Bees, but I knew the brand and I knew their products are natural and don't have any nasty chemicals in them, so I grabbed it and I couldn't wait to try it.

I like taking care of my feet, I like them to look nice, I want them soft and pretty :) So I was happy to see that the set contained a natural foot cream. And it's supposed to smell like coconuts? Great! The smell is actually amazing - coconut and mint, very summery and refreshing, the smell is probably my favourite thing about this product. Unfortunately there is not much more that I love about it, it doesn't really work for me. I use it in the evenings, I put a generous amount of the cream on my feet, massage it in, put some cotton socks on and go to bed. In the morning my feet are just as they were the day before.

The consistency is kind of weird - a bit oily, a bit sticky (like honey), not watery but also not very thick. I don't know why it's called a cream, it's definitely not like other foot creams I have tried before. It has a slightly yellowish colour.

I don't have much left, so I will use it up and probably never get it again. It's not a very bad product, I just think my skin needs something else. If I ever decide to get a sample kit again and this cream is in it - I will not throw it away or give it to someone else, because the smell is amazing and I don't hate the product after all, but I don't think I will ever consider getting a full-size version of the product on its own.

When you can't squeeze any more cream out of the tube, make sure to cut it open - there is still a LOT of product inside!

Lubię dbać o stopy przez cały rok, ale latem (prawdopodobnie jak większość z Was), zwracam na nie szczególną uwagę, dlatego bardzo się ucieszyłam, że w skład zestawu próbek Burt's Bees, który kupiłam na lotnisku w Berlinie wchodzi właśnie krem do stóp. Do tego kokosowy! Zapach kremu jest obłędny - kokosowo-miętowy, dla mnie pachnie jak wakacje w tubce :) Ale na tym plusy się kończą, bo krem nie robi absolutnie nic. Nakładam go obficie na noc, zakładam skarpetki, a rano budzę się ze stopami w takim samym stanie jak przed pójściem spać. Ostatnio użyłam go nawet wymieszanego z olejem kokosowym, licząc na odrobinę nawilżenia, ale to też nie pomogło. Sama konsystencja kremu też nie jest zachęcająca - nie jest to właściwie krem, to coś na kształt gęstego oleju wymieszanego z miodem - tłustego i lepkiego. Bardzo chciałam polubić ten krem, bo podoba mi się filozofia firmy Burt's Bees i fajnie by było mieć pięknie pachnący, naturalny krem do pielęgnacji stóp, ale nie tym razem. Jeszcze kiedyś trafi mi się on w jakimś zestawie to na pewno go nie wyrzucę, ale nie kupię pełnowymiarowej wersji tego produktu. 

My cleansers and how I use them

At some point, about two years ago, I had real problems with my skin - it was red, irritated and very sensitive, so I had to look for alternative ways to wash it. I discovered OCM and I fell in love with it, but when my skin got better I started looking for some drugstore products that I might use. Here are the four cleansers that I am currently using.

Let's start with my least favourite one - the white tub on the right is a product by a Polish brand AA. All of their products are meant to be used by people with sensitive skin, but this one is a "specialized care for very dry, atopic and hypersensitive skin". It is very gentle and yet it removes make-up very well. It's a white gel-cream and it "does not contain irritants, allergens, parabens, color additives or fragrance composition". It's all cool, but why is the second ingredient on the list mineral oil? I don't mind it in body butters, but I don't like it on my face, I think it clogged my pores quite a bit. Now i only use it with a face brush and I make sure nothing stays on my face. If your skin doesn't react to mineral oil - try it if you can. It definitely doesn't irritate my skin, it does remove make-up and it lathers up a tiny little bit. I got it from my friend recently, I probably wouldn't get it myself because of the mineral oil and I don't think I will ever buy it after having tried it. But it washes make-up brushes well!

I love LUSH and their products, so of course I have to have some of their face cleansers - Angels on Bare Skin and Herbalism..Actually I am running out of both of them, I probably have like a one use left out of each. I bought them at the same time, and since they have quite a short shelf-life (3 months) AND since I was stupid enough not to check their expiration dates when I was getting them (and I got them already one month after they were made, so I basically have to use two of them in two months) I was using them quite a bit recently. I like both of them. When I got my first tub of AoBS I also asked for a sample of Herbalism, because even though it sounded like something I would like I was quite worried about the smell - a lot of people seem to hate it, but I actually think it smells like Martini ;) Both of them are gentle scrubs and both of them contain kaolin and a lot of oils and extracts. If you want something stronger, something that I think provides a bit of a deeper cleanse - go for Herbalism. If you want something smoother or if your skin likes gentle scrubs - try Angels on Bare Skin. I have sensitive skin and neither of them irritated it. They don't remove make-up so I use them only in the morning. I will definitely repurchase both of them, I am just not sure if I want to have them both at the same time, because 3 months is definitely not enough to use it as it's supposed to be used (just a tiny amount of the paste with some water).

My last cleanser is Neutrogena One-step gentle cleanser. I found it on an offer in Rossmann, checked the ingredients list quickly and it seemed ok (I'm no expert of course) so I decided to give it a try. I quite like it! It removes make-up like a dream, doesn't try my face out, doesn't irritate it and lasts for ages. You need less than a pump to remove a full face of make-up. I like the smell, I like the bottle and I love the fact, that even waterproof cosmetics are easily removed by this cleanser. I will probably repurchase it again. Oh, and it washes brushes very well too!

So currently my morning cleansers are the LUSH ones and in the evenings I use AA or Neutrogena. Sometimes I will remove my eye make-up first with one of my micellar waters and then use the cleansers, sometimes I will just use oils (OCM). And if you have any cleansers that you would recommend - let me know!

Alverde Repair Haarbutter (Avocado Sheabutter)

One of my best friends here in Istanbul recently moved back to Poland, but before she did she left me a lot (a LOT!) of her cosmetics. Thanks to the luggage limitations I became a happy owner of a couple of products that I would probably never buy, one of them being Alverde's hair butter.

In case you don't know - Alverde is a German brand, available in dm drugstores, they specialize in natural cosmetics (this product is also vegan).

I try not to use silicones and harsh sulphates on my hair, I love using oils and products that are as natural as possible, so this product seemed to fit my haircare perfectly. And also - a hair butter? I'd never used anything like that and it sounded very moisturising and nourishing, so I couldn't wait to give it a try. The consistency is really dense and rich and kind of reminds me of greek yoghurt ;)

I don't know German, so at first I used it as a hair mask, on wet hair, after using a shampoo. That was a total failure, it did absolutely nothing good for my hair and for the whole day my hair was extremely dry and it felt quite rough. So the next day I used it before taking a shower - I put a bit of oil on my hair, then a generous amount of the hair butter mixed with a bit of honey. I washed and conditioned my hair as usual and the effect was amazing - soft, shiny, nourished hair, and I think this is the combination that works best on my hair. I tried it on its own, but the results were not amazing. Now I use it with honey and oil, keep it on my hair for about 30 minutes before taking a shower and I am quite happy with it.

There are no dm drugstores anywhere near me so I won't be repurchasing it, I also won't be begging my friends living in Germany to get it for me. It's a decent base if you like customizing your hair masks, but I would not recommend using it on its own.

Moja znajoma niedawno wyprowadzała się ze Stambułu i ze względu na ograniczenia bagażowe postanowiła oddać mi sporą część swoich kosmetyków. Stałam się więc posiadaczką wielu produktów, których pewnie nigdy w życiu bym nie kupiła. Jednym z nich jest to masło do włosów firmy Alverde. Próbowałam używać go na kilka sposobów - jako odżywkę po myciu włosów (totalna klapa), przed myciem, samodzielnie (może nie klapa, ale rewelacji też nie było), przed myciem, na olej (nieźle) i w mojej ulubionej wersji, czyli wymieszanej z olejem i z miodem (super!). Teraz używam jej tylko w dwóch ostatnich odsłonach i nie narzekam, ale raczej sama sobie tego masła nie kupię. Jest to moim zdaniem bardzo fajna podstawa do tworzenia własnych masek z różnymi olejkami i innymi półproduktami, sama mam wrażenie w ogóle nie działa. Pachnie dosyć mocno, ale mnie ten zapach nie przeszkadza. Dziwne jest to, że zasycha na włosach w lekką skorupę (trzymam na włosach przed myciem około pół godziny), nawet w połączeniu z olejami. Nie polecam, ale też nie odradzam, to taki średniaczek, który może być nieco ulepszony, ale nie ma co go szukać na siłę.

Rimmel - Lycra Pro 420 Aqua Cool

I'm not really a fan of pinks and reds on my nails (that's why I didn't like the last Rimmel nail polish I wrote about), but I do enjoy blue nails. I think I have many more blues than reds in my collection. Last year I found this little gem in one of the drugstores, and since Rimmel polishes here in Turkey are relatively cheap (always under 5TL, which is about 2,5 euros) I didn't feel bad about getting yet another bottle.

I don't think I really care about seasons and you will see me wearing black in August and bright green in December, but somehow I gravitate towards this particular colour in the spring and summer. I love how the shade of Aqua Cool is the exact shade of the summer sky in Turkey. I remember last year I held my hand up to compare those two colours (my nails and the sky) and I fell in love with this shade just a bit more.

The application is smooth, the formulation is flawless, creamy and I get full opacity after 3 coats. The brush is short and wide. It has a very glossy finish and I don't feel like I have to use a topcoat with it - it will last for at least 4 days on it's own, without a basecoat or a topcoat. It's a very pretty, light periwinkle colour, I think one of my favourite shades of blue, I think it somehow compliments my pale skin.

Most of the time I wear it on its own, but if I want a bit of sparkle or something extra I like to put one or two coats of mrs and mr glitter by essence on my thumbs.

Mój ulubiony lakier na wiosnę i lato! Uwielbiam niebieskie lakiery na paznokciach, a ten pokochałam wyjątkowo mocno, prawdopodobnie dlatego, że w zeszłym roku zauważyłam, że to dokładnie taki sam kolor jaki miało któregoś plażowego dnia niebo nad Morzem Czarnym. Jest to chyba jedyny lakier, o który byłam pytana przez kilka osób, usłyszałam bardzo wiele komplementów mając go na paznokciach. Nakłada się jak marzenie, trzyma się dobrych kilka dni, nie odpryskuje. Kryje po jednej grubszej warstwie, ale ja wolę nakładać dwie albo trzy cieńsze. Lubię go samodzielnie, ale bardzo fajnie wygląda też z topperem Essence mrs and mr glitter (ja zwykle nakładam brokat tylko na dwa paznokcie, bo nie lubię ich zmywać ;) ). Wiem, że seria Lycra Pro ostatnio zmieniła opakowanie, nie wiem, czy ten kolor jest obecny w nowej serii, mam nadzieję, że tak, bo jest naprawdę świetny. Kosztował około 7zł w Stambule.

My Eco Tools brushes

When I started getting into make-up I realized that I probably should own some brushes too. Up until then I would just use the brushes that ususally come with the products or just use my fingers. Not the best thing to do, right? Brushes can be expensive and I didn't want to spend much on them, so I started looking for the best quality and lowest prices. And (among others) I found Eco Tools.

The first brush I got was the Powder Brush. By that time I had already found a nice powder brush but I needed a brush for my bronzer, so I thought I would try the Eco Tools one for that. It's fluffy, extremely soft and works great for bronzers and powders (compact and loose ones). I have washed it a lot and it doesn't shed or lose its shape. 

When I was in Poland looking for my first foundation I also wanted to try some foundation brushes. I hear a lot about Real Techniques Buffing Brush, but since that one comes only in a set and I didn't really want all the other brushes I decided to try the Eco Tools version of a buffing brush. It had amazing reviews, wasn't expensive at all and I found without any problems in my drugstore. I love that brush so much! I use it to apply foundation or my tinted moisturizer and it works well with both. It's soft, washes well and keeps its shape just like the powder brush. 

The next brush I got was the Eye Shading Brush. And I don't like this one as much as the other ones. It's soft, has a nice shape and washes well like all the others, but somehow I feel like it doesn't transfer the eyeshadows to my lids well enough. I always feel like there is too much product left on the brush, I almost feel like the bristles are sticky, a bit rubbery. I was thinking that maybe it's my eyeshadow base's fault, but I'm not sure. I will obviously continue to use it but I am also on a hunt for a better eyeshadow brush.

I bought my last Eco Tools brush, the Airbrush Concealer brush recently and I noticed the company changed their design a bit. But the quality is still amazing - the bristles are super soft, they blend the concealer like a dream, much better than fingers, but everything that needs covering is covered. I use it for blending in the concealer (duh!) and then I apply some setting powder with the same brush and I love the finish it gives. It's small enough to work well under eyes, but its dome shape makes it perfect for covering blemishes and any other things that you want covered. I think this one is my favourite Eco Tools brush so far!

As I said the brushes are all cheap and the quality is great, but also the company's philosophy is great. I love that they use recycled materials and bamboo instead of plastic. The bristles are synthetic and totally cruelty free. So as you can see I love almost everything about those products and I know that soon I will probably get some more brushes by Eco Tools :)