Empties #4

Once again, I dug out my beauty trash. I tried to keep your advice in mind and do this post a bit earlier this time so the post doesn't stretch into infinity. I don't think I did very well, though. 

Let's start small. I've gotten or purchased quite a lot of samples and for once, I managed to use some as well. 

I love Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting exfoliator. It was my first time trying something with BHA gel and I'm really tempted to get a full size of this. It made my skin bright, I really had a feeling that it was clean and soft. I can't say the same for the Delarom Infinite White serum – I noticed no difference to my skin after using a couple of these samples (which I got in the Dashbox). 

I will get my behind whooped by beauty bloggers for saying this, but I was really, really unimpressed with the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor. My hair didn't feel any different or feel any different after I used it. I might try some other Aussie products in the future, but I will not be purchasing this any time soon. 

Midyear favorites 2015

You may have noticed that I stopped doing monthly favorites about 6 months ago. The reason is quite simple – I don't have many new favorites every month, so I prefer not to talk about products until I have a firm opinion about them. With that in mind, I give you my mid-year favorites for 2015 – the products I used and loved in the first six months of this year.

Let's start with body products. I've talked about both of these before. 

My first favorite is Nivea In-Shower Body Milk with shea butter. I love the idea of moisturizing while taking a shower and it really saves me a lot of time. I prefer this formula for dry skin to the one for normal skin – the shea butter really gives it the additional *umph*.

Secondly, I've really been enjoying my Stenders Salt Scrub in Rose and it's not long before I'll completely run out. It's a fine scrub with some rose petals in it – it gets rid of the old epidermis and also moisturizes, since it's oil based. The only downside is the amount of time you'll need to scrub your shower clean after using it. 

For hair, I haven't found my new favorite shampoo&conditioner combo just yet. The only thing I am including here is my Kerastase Elixir Ultime. I apply this to my roots and about 10 cm up after each wash and I feel I've had lot less split and dry hair in the past few months. This product is quite expensive, but the bottle will last you ages, since you need the smallest amount per day / per wash.

Avon Glow Nailwear Pro+ : Flaming Orange and Plush Berry

A couple of days ago, I already posted a review of the Nutra Effects daily moisturizer and Luck La Vie Perfume that I was kindly sent by Avon Slovenija. 

As I already mentioned in that post, I want to do a separate review of their new summer shades from the Nailwear Pro+ line – Flaming Orange and Plush Berry. 

What’s in my beach bag?

Hopefully, by the time you are reading this, I’m either on my way to my well-deserved vacation or possibly already lying in the sun. Either way, I needed to do some packing and I thought I’d bring you along for the ride. 

This is most likely just a part of everything I will be hauling to the beach every day (and by that, I’m sure you can tell I really mean that my hubby will be the one at risk of a spinal injury). I will add tons of books, magazines, some temporary tattoos, fruit and water, phone, tablet and other bits and bobs I pick up along the way. But in the beauty sense, these are the main things that absolutely need to come with me. 

My bag was a freebie from Max Mara Weekend a couple of years ago and I love it. It’s a lovely boho-chic bag that doesn’t look too fancy and I don’t really care if it would get dirty (or worse, stolen). I can easily pack it away in the suitcase since it’s very soft. 

Inside the tote, I always keep a smaller bag – this one is another freebie from Decleor and I really like it since it can be pulled out and sealed (see the pink part), but when tucked in, it can also act as a large wallet & phone holder when you want to go get a drink at a cafe whilst at the beach. 

Of course, SPF is the bare essential when going to the beach. I normally keep two large bottles at hand. First one is for the first days when I’m still pale as a ghost – it’s the Nivea Sun Kids Pure&Sensitive lotion with SPF 50. The other one comes in handy when I get a bit of tan and I don’t risk getting sunburned as much anymore – that’s the Garnier Ambre Solaire with SPF 15. 

Naturally, we mustn’t forget about the face. I got this Decleor Aroma Sun Expert with SPF 30 this year and I’m hoping it will do its job well.

Speaking of getting a tan, here’s a product that has been all the rave this summer – the Afrodita 100 % Bronze Skin Fast Tanning Jam. I have had a little dip in it just to make sure I didn’t have any reaction to it, but I could hardly contain myself not to eat the whole jar. I’m curious to see how it will perform!

I like to dive and go snorkeling on my vacation, so my hair is always a bit of a mess. This year, I’m bringing along my new Wet Brush (from the Look Fantastic Beauty Box), since I am more willing to lose this as my Tangle Teezer. My hair stylist also hooked me up with the Schwarzkopf Sun protect Spray conditioner which I can use throughout the day to give my dry and frizzy hair some TLC. 

Since I do like to hang out with people when I’m on the beach, I also always bring with me a random deodorant and my lovely Body Shop Pink Grapefruit body mist. It’s a refreshing, rejuvenating smell that isn’t too heavy, but rather just gives the hint of freshness in the heat. 

On that note, I also always bring some make-up, just in case we decide to go to dinner straight from the beach. This year, I’m bringing my Avon Flawless CC cream and Lancome Virtuose Drama. Another perk from the Look Fantastic Beauty Box – my Cowshed lippy cow natural lip balm – is coming for the ride as well. 

And last, there are the accessories. As you can see from the first photo, I always bring a light scarf which I can wrap around my shoulders if the sun is hitting me too hard when we are walking to the beach. Other than that, I have some accessories that I couldn’t ever rock in Ljubljana, but go great together with my summer attires. 

And that’s it for my bag. Did I forget anything? Let me know - perhaps you won't be too late to save my skin! :)

Until next time, stay beautiful!

Avon surprise Nutra Effects daily cream and Luck La Vie Perfume review

Avon Slovenija was very kind and sent me a lovely package containing a lot of goodies a couple of weeks ago. 

Inside the package, I found the Nutra Effects daily cream, Luck La Vie Perfume and two of their new summer colors of nail polish in the Avon Glow Nailwear Pro+ line. These two, I’ll save for a separate review, since they absolutely deserve a post of their own (hint, hint), but today, let’s talk skincare first. 

Nutra Effects is a relatively new Avon line with active chia seed complex, which certainly counts as an innovative product in my book. The line contains no parabens and colorings. I am drooling over some other products as well, like the Argan infused hair mask or the cleansing foam. But that’s a whole other story.