Harvesting for winter

My local Rossmann was having a 20% off on some body creams so I thought that seeing as winter is slowly but surely approaching, thought I should collect a few for the cold harsh winter ahead!

Where: Rossmann, DM and Douglas (all creams were 2.79€ each for 400ml)

Essence end of season sale

(L-R: 01 velvet rose, 02 smooth berry, 03 soft nude) 

Even though I plan to check out the Essence end of season sale early every year, I'm surprised at how fast they clear out at the shops. I was lucky enough to grab these three Stay Matt lip creams, but only just. By the time I checked out 3-4 DM's all the long lasting lipglosses were gone! I picked up these three:

01 Velvet Rose

Although it looks like a salmon pink in the bottle it turned out to be a cool toned pink, so this is a bit too barbie pink for me and one that I cannot wear alone. It does however look fresh and dewy with a warm toned, peachy lipgloss ontop.

02 Smooth Berry

This is rather brighter than I expected and I feel like it would be great for a winter lip when my skin is a bit paler, still a nice colour though.

03 Soft Nude

This nude suprisingly went well with my complexion but as it is a matt finish I usually either wear a lipbalm beforehand or over the top so that there is some shine to it.

In my experience, the things that gets cleared out are either strong favourites...or the clearly, really bad stuff, like a lime green eyeshadow. This year Essence cleared out half of their collection including the lipglosses and matt lip creams (which have been huge favourites) as well as the Get The Big Lashes volume and curl mascara which was great for my stubby lashes and holds the curl unbelievably. Replacing them are 10 shades of long lasting lipsticks which promises to be a creamy lipstick with more colour payoff than the normal lipsticks - the packaging is also a great improvement than the basic lipsticks, encased in round all black tubes with the band of the lipstick colour in the middle.

All ex-articles costs .95cents and usually lasts the whole month, or earlier until sold out.

Where: DM and Karstadt

Souvenirs from Italy: Kiko cosmetics

During the hot Italian summer days, shopping is not really a thing I like to do. To be trying on clothes while sweating bullets in your own is just not ideal but I did want to bring something back from Italy. Enter: Kiko...rather, I entered Kiko and oh boy was that an experience. Italian sales people are quite the opposite of German sales people. As opposed to the customers being grateful to be in the presence of the sales people and therefore avoiding helping customers, the Italians offer product suggestions without being pushy or making you feel guilty for not buying them - they are also quite opinionated. If you pick something out in which they think will not suit you or not the right size, they will tell you, and the reason behind it. This makes it harder to leave a shop without buying something! Kiko stores in Italy are crazy full - full of customers, full of products and full of energetic, friendly sales people as well as loud music.

I went while they had a 50% off summer sale, and while I could have bought more, the heat and going with the hubs prevented me from getting anymore than I needed - which I suppose is a good thing?

Description:

Moisturising sublime light effect day cream, instantly radiant face, spf10 Sophisticated brightening particles that blend with facial skin, evening the complexion to bring out its natural splendour.

The Skin Glow comes in a squeezable pump bottle which makes it easy to use and less messy upon application. It's a great moisturiser for under makeup because of the lightweight consistency and acts as a somewhat illuminising primer. I'm not sure that it evens out the complexion because it's so thin that it gets absorbed into the skin fairly quickly in which it vanishes and leaves some glittery particles behind which is where the "instantly radiant" effect comes in.

The glittery particles are rather fine so it will not leave the skin like a disco ball but as I have combination skin I tend to use this as a highlighter for my cheeks and bridge of my nose during the summer (well, while I was in Italy anyway) and all over my face as a primer during the colder days when my complexion is rather dull and combination/dry.

(L-R: 06 golden brown, 04 golden chocolate) 

I also got two of their Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadows which are a bit too glittery for my liking but the lighter colour provides such a pale golden colour that the glitter seems to be not too noticeable once applied. After watching one of Mila Victoria's smokey eye tutorial video I was automatically drawn to the darker chocolate tone. This colour really do lasts long, longer than the lighter colours and doesn't smudge once applied.

(Moisturising Effect lipstick in "92 Light ")

Lastly I picked up a nude lipstick, I think it was part of their spring collection leftovers as it was only 1.90€ but as my obsession with finding the perfect nude lipstick lately is not slowing down any time soon, I automatically picked this up before even swatching it.

Long Lasting Stick eyeshadows: 4.90€

Empties 4

Emeron Kuning Langsat Lulur Mandi 250ml (body scrub)
Vivelle Papaya & Olive Lulur Mandi 250gr (body scrub)
Sun Sense daily face spf 30+ tinted sunscreen 75gr
Schlecker Melkfett Sensitiv 250ml
Biotherm age delaying hand and nail treatment 100ml
Molton Brown Ultra Light Bai Ji Hydrator 100ml

I'm convinced that Indonesia (and maybe other south east asian countries too?) make the best body scrubs because they are the most best way of getting the soot and debris from the streets off your body effectively when you are living in Indonesia. The two I've managed to finish work slightly differently to each other, the Vivelle Papaya & Olive scrub works as a wet scrub while you shower and the Emeron Kuning Langsat scrub is used on a dry body. I would repurchase both but I like the dry scrub slightly better than the wet and use this only on weekends when I have a bit of time on my hands.

I was given the Biotherm age delaying hand and nail treatment as a present and I've thoroughly enjoyed this hand cream - and for the price, it better be enjoyable! It's a rather thick cream so you are going to have to work it into the skin a bit more than other hand creams but it leaves your hands quite silky, best of all it is also water resistant. I love the rosy smell and it's rather addictive to use although I have found that the more I use it, the drier my hands get but I can't be sure if it's just like that in general or if it has something to do with using this particular product. I would repurchase this again but given the price tag (€9.95 for 100ml) I think I can probably get something cheaper.

I wanted to really like the Sun Sense Daily Face tinted sunscreen and the Molton Brown Ultra Light moisturiser so so much but just didn't. The sunscreen had everything I wanted; invisible tint finish, matt formula, oil-free cream base, and when swatched, it comes out with a slight pearly finish, almost like an illuminator but as soon as I put it on, it just balls badly on my face. It didn't matter whether I had put a heavy moisturiser, serum, make up base or nothing underneath it, it just balls like crazy. The Molton Brown Ultra Light Bai Ji Hydrator is directed towards men with dry skin but I think it would work better on oily skin because it absorbs rather quickly into my skin (and I have combination skin). It was intended for the hubs actually but he didn't like it at all except for the smell, and I would have to agree, it smells heavenly....just not such a good moisturiser for the directed user (dry skin). The Schlecker Melkfett was such a mistake purchase, I bought this when I first came to Germany and needed something to combat my dry skin, thought the thick consistency of putting pure fat on my skin would help but this was like putting vaseline all over your body, and it would not absorb into my body at all (if any). It is also perfume free which they should reconsider because it smelt like petrol (ok I didn't really mind the smell so much because I like the smell of petrol, but in a moisturiser?)

Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado

I've always had some reservations about Kiehl's products and as much as I love their fuss-free packaging, I end up being somewhat undecided about their products - this Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment is no exception. I was looking for a new eye cream and found myself at the Kiehl's counter at Karstadt one day, and before you know it a Kiehl's salesperson had sucked me into getting this. As I told him that I was looking for an eye cream, I presumed that what I bought was an eye cream, and in my excitement at purchasing a Kiehl's product, I neglected to read the fine print - and as you can see on the tub, the print is indeed rather fine.

So I first started using this as an eye cream, day and night but found it too rich to use twice a day. I did like the fact that when I used it in the mornings the area around my eyes were seemingly brighter but it left it looking a little greasy so I switched to using it only at nights. Only then I read the fine print - more importantly, the directions and it worked significantly. This was alot better to use at night because even though it was still greasy looking on my eyes, I wasn't going anywhere so it was fine. I also used it along the orbital bone as opposed to above it and the next morning my eyes certainly looked hydrated, it did not however made my eyes look brighter than when I wore it in the mornings but it was still hydrating.

I only use this product every few days or so (like a treatment) as it can leave the areas around my eyes a little too greasy when used regularly (I use it at nights only). I think that this is the ideal eye cream if you have really dry areas or have small patches of eczema around the eyes like the Hubs otherwise I'm still on the hunt for my holy grail eye cream.

Ingredients: Aqua/Water, Butyrospermum Parkii/Shea Butter, Butylene Glycol, Tridecyl Stearate, Isodecyl Salicylate, PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Persea Gratissima/Avocado Oil, Isocetyl Stearoyl Stearate, Propylene Glycol, Dipentaerythrityl Hexacaprylate/Hexacaprate, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Magnesium Sulfate, Phenoxyethanol, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Sodium PCA, Ozokerite, Metylparaben, Tocopheryl Acetate, Disodium EDTA, Isopropyl Palmitate, Copper PCA, Ethylparaben, Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Propylparaben, Zea Mays/Corn Oil, CI 75130/Beta-Carotene 

Where: Karstadt or Douglas (€25 for 14g)

Catrice Defining Blush in Think Pink

I was interested in how these Catrice blushes fared in comparison to other drugstore brands. I must confess, I partially bought it because of the packaging more so than the quality of the product itself which is why it took me a while to buy one of these blushes. I thought I should at least wait until Catrice did a shade that actually went with my complexion.

Upon swatching I found it to be a little on the powdery side but because it is so pigmented (which was a slight concern because as you can see, it's a relatively bright pink) but it blends rather easily and is really no fuss at all. The colour, although quite pink in the pan, is slightly on the warm side, which (apart from peaches and apricots being the season's colours for make up in Germany at the moment) is relatively hard to find at drugstores here. 

This blush suits my warm skintone but I think it would suit other skintones as well because even though it leans to a warmer shade of pink, it's not a completely coral colour so it will not look so overly warm on cooler skintones. This particular shade is also matt, a rare find in drugstore brands so it looks natural and on the high-end side. The blush also contains vitamins C and E which is probably not going to do much for the first layer of the skin but still a nice addition to any make up I suppose. I'm also a big fan of the compactness and minimalist look of these blushes - but I'm always a sucker for these kinds of packaging!

Where: DM, Rossmann and Karstadt (€3.45 for 5g)

Rival de Loop Young lipsticks

(Rival de Loop Young in 25 choc mousse) 

Rival de Loop Young is the Rossmann equivalent to Essence that can be found in DM in that it is targeted specifically towards the younger teens. As this is the case, it means that their make-up can be quite sheer and at times not as pigmented. The good thing about it is that their lipsticks, although quite sheer, tend to be on the moisturising side and may contain things such as jojoba oil etc etc. I can't really say that they are comparable to the Revlon lipbutters, but although they look like your typical lipstick, they feel more like a lip balm with colour.

I decided to try out a few as my mother discovered these the last time she was in Germany and had really loved it. The lipsticks themselves are lovely to wear and hydrate my lips at the same time. The packaging however, is on the cheap side I must say, as you can see with the lid, it is cased in a very thin white plastic tube that cracks easily so it's not really travel friendly.

Other than that, they are really great inexpensive lipsticks if you were wanting some neutral shades without glitter (I find alot of the neutral hydrating lipsticks have some sort of glitter to them which I don't like). If I ever leave Germany, I would definitely stock up on these - particularly with these three colours.

(L-R: 30 trés chic, 15 nude breeze, 25 choc mousse) 

The labels are not really true to colour - although the lipsticks come out sheer, they are not as pale as the labels. Trés chic is a lovely raspberry pink on the lips, the kind of colour you get when you've been eating a strawberry icypole. Nude breeze, although seemingly brown in the tube, is a sheer pinky nude on the lips. Choc mousse is a more peachy nude...so not really as the name suggests. These lipsticks really do need to be swatched before buying because as you can see, the names are misleading and although the lipsticks may look too bright or dark in the tube, they do come out sheer.

Where: Rossmann (€1.65 for 4.8gr)

Korres Gingseng Men's Cleanser

About a month ago I trekked it out to Offenbach and came across a Mueller shop. Never really saw this drugstore around town...actually, only ever really saw it in Spain. The first thing I noticed was that they had some Korres products...and that they were 50% off. Amongst other things I picked up this Men's face cleanser. Now the hubs is by no means a metrosexual kind of guy (which is one of the main reasons why I married him) so I bought this with the intention of using it myself.

I did however, a few weeks ago decided to clean the hubs' face with a quick swipe of the good old cleanser after his evening run and he was surprised with just how dirty the cotton pad came out. Since then he uses this from time to time so it's been a great standard face wash for the bathroom.

This is a fluid-like (a bit runnier than a gel) face wash that doesn't dry out the skin. The fragrance is rather on the strong side - perhaps from the extracts or they might have put additional fragrance in there but I don't mind the smell too much, it's a bit on the manly side but also a bit herby if that makes sense, much like an Indonesian day spa. This is a great cleanser for mornings as it's quite a basic face wash that doesn't irritate my skin and wish I picked up a backup for this one because I don't think they sell them anymore.

Where: Mueller (€16.50 for 150ml)
Please note: I bought this while they were having a 50% off men's skin range sale so I actually got it for  €8.45

Guhl Kopfhaut Pflegelotion

As it gets into spring/summer, the hubs' allergies and his eczema flares up (not the best combination). His allergies get so bad that he has to wash his hair every night before he goes to bed and as the water here is a bit hard, he gets really really dry scalp. I was scouring my local DM the other day and found this hair calming lotion by Guhl.

The bottle comes in a thin opening that twists up to open and shut, and this allows easy application to the hairline. I have to strongly state here that this is a daily calming lotion, which means, it is a temporary solution to dry scalp. So, it calms the scalp as soon as it is applied, it immediately cools the reddened skin and gives temporary relief - it doesn't last the whole day. The hubs normally applies this to his scalp (when he remembers) before he goes to bed so he can sleep a bit better without having to scratch.

He is really liking this, and even though it is not a permanent solution, it's great to reduce the constant itching and redness. I'm not sure if it improves the scalp for the long term but when you scratch less, it doesn't inflame and irritate the scalp as much, so I guess if you have a bit of eczema on your head as well, it might give you a whole lot of relief.


Where: DM (€4.45 for 125ml)

Travels: Australian brands

There are some great skincare brands in Australia that I feel are quite up there with Clarins and Loccitane and their packaging are just as elegant as the many high-end products in Europe but with a bit of a quirky touch so it's a little less intimidating to use!


Mor
For all packaging-obsessed people out there, Mor is definitely a brand that should be inspected closer. Leaning ever so slightly towards baroque style packaging, this luxurious pampering brand is the Ladurée of bath and body products.

Jurlique

It's interesting to hear stories behind such brands like Jurlique because in a way, it's a representative of the Australian people. Founded by one of the researchers and developers of Dr. Hauschka, this German husband and wife team immigrated to South Australia and before long Jurlique was born. Although their price point is quite high-end one of their notable products would be their Herbal Recovery Gel.








Aesop
For a brand to be originated from my hometown of Melbourne, I have to give this brand a shout out! Their packaging is reminiscent to that of the bottles that you would find at the old apothekes in Europe. I was told that the reason for the dark glass containers was because their products contain no preservatives so they are supposed help prevent spoilage.









Leif
New to the scene, this Sydney based skincare brand came out of a design studio called Container, that specializes in beauty packaging. Their range is quite small as they are newly established and are only sold in Sydney but their packaging is very slick and understated (and not overly girly) - something I'm a huge fan of. Using ingredients unique to Australia, their products are natural and plant based that have a somewhat distinct Australian smell (so lots of eucalyptus and tea tree if you are a fan).

Empties no. 3

A.S.A.P. Daily Facial Cleanser with AHA
Lacura Multi-Intensiv serum (anti-aging)
Seba-Med Antischuppen shampoo
Sanex Lactoserum deodorant
The Face Shop intensive Retinol Essence eye cream

This has been a rather boring trash week as you can see but living in a new country means getting used to everyday products that you're going to have to use for the majority of your time there.

I never had any problems with dandruff before but the water here is a bit hard and I have heard from other expats that their hair has been falling out due to the water (eeek!). The Seba-Med Antischuppen shampoo was actually a medical shampoo against dandruff so I kind of thought it would work out well (being in Germany and all). It made my hair so squeaky clean that it left the roots extremely dry. I would not repurchase this again, I think it's just perhaps too harsh for my hair. Similarly, The Face Shop Intensive Retinol Essence Eye Cream is also another product I would not repurchase. Although it hydrated my eye area well, I wouldn't say it helped with the wrinkles around my eyes so perhaps this is more for preventative measures rather than combating wrinkles.

On the things I would repurchase (and have so) without hesitation would be the Sanex Lactoserum deodorant. I purchased a whole bunch of these in Indonesia at 8,000Rp (€0.60c) which was a stroke of luck because they don't sell them anymore over there. They are alcohol-free and are not meant to leave any white marks on clothes, I'm going to be sad when my stash runs out.

On the things that I would repurchase again but won't includes the serum and the face cleanser because although the Lacura Face Multi-Intensiv Serum is a great little product (a thick cream that gets easily absorbed into the skin) and one that I don't feel guilty about using on my neck and chest day and night, it has a really strong smell that is a little strong to wear at night time. On the opposite end the A.S.A.P. Daily Facial Cleanser with AHA is a product that I find no fault in yet the price tag is a little too hefty that I'm going to have to find another alternative at a lower cost.

P2 Summer Attack blush

P2 came out with a limited edition collection for the summer called Summer Attack. With it comes bronzing products and some very bright lipsticks, P2 also introduces a set of brushes specifically for bronzing products. Although the collection looked quite appealing, I really had no use for most of them and the brushes were not so good to be honest with you (the mini kabuki was a little bigger than a thumb and too compact to evenly distribute powder and the smudge stick that is supposed to be a beauty blender is a bit tough).

(Beach 'n Blush in Sunrise Glow) 

The one thing that did interest me was this "Beach 'n Blush" in the colour 010 Sunrise Glow. On the pan it is a beautiful warm apricot-pink colour and because it is on the matte side, it tends to look alot duller on the skin. I don't think it's a pigmentation problem because the more layer of it that I apply, it just stayed the same colour on the skin. Overall I'm quite happy with it as the blush creates a natural colour to the cheeks and warms the skin, perfect for summer!

Where: DM (€3.25 for 6gr)

Ebelin foundation/maske pinsel

I was in the market for a mask brush as I'm a bit obsessed with face masks lately and I've always hated having more product on my fingers than on my face. Ebelin is a drugstore brand specialising in brushes and other make-up applicators and while their brushes are pretty sturdy and of good quality overall some of the applicators are either not shaped well for what they are supposed to be used for (eg. their eyeshadow brush) or the brushes are too long and not dense enough to be able to spread the product effectively.

I'm really liking this mask brush however, as it is so soft yet densely packed to use. No hair fall-out with these synthetic brushes and the black dye on the tip of the brush doesn't really run when you wash it.

 

Where: DM (€3.95)

Marbert Super Booster Concentrate Serum

Karstadt was having a 15% off skincare and seeing as I was in the market for a new serum I thought I should take advantage of the sale. I was at the Marbert section of the isle and saw that they had this vitamin C booster serum which looked interesting but on the other side of the isle there was this miscellaneous stand of all the gift sets from all the beauty brands that the husband spotted and Marbert had this gift set of another one of their boosters. This gift set marks the 75 years anniversary so I'm guessing that it's only available this year.

First off I think the booster is really for mature skin because it is from their anti-aging range. The elegant silver and white packaging (the vitamin C one came in a fresh yellow and white tube) also points to the fact that it is for mature skin. I feel like I should be in my 60's or something to buy this product but ok so I bought it thinking that perhaps it would not work on my skin and that I should have bought the vitamin C one but after using it for almost two months I'm so impressed with this. It smooths out my skin and makes it a bit more elastic. I've read somewhere that two pumps is all you need to do your face and neck but I use like double the amount because it just gets absorbed into the skin so quickly.



The gift set also comes with this little anti-aging cream but I'm waiting until my day creams have finished before I open this up.


Where: Karstadt (€29.95 for 50ml) although this gift set was the same price

Sariayu Solusi UV Whitening Mask

I had a facial while in Bali last - it wasn't as luxurious as it sounds, it was just at a local little salon on a side street somewhere in Kuta. Basically, the husband needed a haircut (Indonesian salons normally take a while for a simple haircut regime so they do the whole, hair washing, hair massaging, haircut, hair washing, hair drying, styling) and instead of waiting around until he finished I thought I might just do a basic facial.

Many asian countries are obsessed with whitening products and Indonesia is no exception, it's quite difficult to buy a body cream without having some sort of whitening in it (in fact, I think I've ever found only one at Carrefour) so when I did the facial, the lady who was doing my facial instinctively used a whitening mask on me. I didn't really mind it this time because I got so tanned on my face and nowhere else on my body that it kind of evened out my skin tone overall. The husband also noticed that my face seemed brighter so when I was at the new mall on Jalan Kuta we managed to find a Martha Tilaar shop and I bought the same mask to take back with me. This Solusi UV Whitening range also comes with a whitening night and day cream as well as whitening lotions, cleansing foams etc etc - really the whole lot so, if your main goal was to make your face and body ghostly white, I think you can really achieve that look within a couple of weeks just by using this range.


I don't use this mask regularly because like I said, after one application, you can already see your face whitening up so I use it on days where I've been in the sun all day and my forehead and nose becomes darker than the rest of my face.

After coming back from a rather warm autumn trip in Australia, my forehead was noticeably darker than the rest of my face (especially my cheeks!) So like I mentioned, I really only use this mask for my forehead and sometimes my nose and after a few applications my face generally becomes evenly toned again. The consistency is quite liquid and runny so it takes no effort to apply. Once applied, it feels a little prickly on the face (not at all uncomfortable, just tingly really) and I guess that's when you know the product is working. After about 10 minutes or so it hardens and tightens the face and when it gets completely dry, that's when you wash your face. For about €2.20 it is quite a bargain and I'm kind of regretting the fact that I didn't get a backup of this one for the summertime.

Where: Martha Tilaar stores (28,800 Rp for 100g)

Annemarie Börlind Rosentau Cleansing Milk and Toner

I'm not going to lie, I bought these purely for the glass containers they came in as well as the fact that they contained roses in them. I'm not normally the cleanser and toner type because I always feel like unless my routine involves washing my face with water, I was not convinced that it would clean my face adequately but nonetheless I thought I should give this German brand a go.

I'm one of those people who will keep adding moisturiser or serums on more times than recommended until my face feels adequately moisturised, or at least, until I can see a bit of sheen from the cream. While both products in combination leaves my skin feeling plump and moisturised which I love, the fact that both products absorbs so quickly into the skin, this makes them (especially the toner) run out alot quicker than expected.

 

Cleansing Milk

Directions: Apply mornings and evenings to the dry skin and allow to work for 30 seconds. Remove with cosmetic sponges and rinse with warm water.

When I saw these rosy coloured products I expect to smell...roses - the darker, the stronger the smell and when I saw these cleansing milk I imagined it to be like a rose party on my face, but it was surprisingly not the case. When I had used cleansing milks in the past, they always just sat on the surface of my skin. This particular one seeps into the skin and moisturises it ever so slightly while it removes makeup at the same time.

Where: Mueller (€20.59 for 150ml) also available at Douglas, Karstadt and some Apotheke but can be a bit more pricier

Cleansing milk ingredients: aqua, sorbitol, caprylic/capric triglyceride, polyglyceryl-6 stearate, sorbitan stearate, glyceryl stearate, lauryl glucoside, stearic acid, capryloyl glycine, sucrose cocoate, sodium cocoyl glutamate, benzyl alcohol, arginine, p-anisic acid, xanthan gum, glycerin, citronellol, geraniol, alcohol, fragrance, ginkgo biloba leaf extract, panthenol, mica, persea gratissima (avocado) fruit extract, ascorbyl palmitate, hydrogenated palm glycerides citrate, tocopherol, CI 77491 (iron oxides), lecithin, humulus lupulus (hops) extract, achillea millefolium extract, cucumis sativus (cucumber) fruit extract, equisetum arvense extract, salvia officinalis (sage) leaf extract, rosa damascena flowers distillate, phenoxyethanol.


Toner
Directions: Apply mornings and evenings to cleansed skin.

I expected this to be like rose water to be honest, the heavily frosted glass encasing the toner made it harder to see just how thick in consistency it is. It feels almost like a serum than a toner and absorbs rather quickly into the skin.

Where: Mueller (€17.49 for 150ml) also available at Douglas, Karstadt and some Apotheke but can be a bit more pricier

Facial toner ingredients: aqua, alcohol, sorbitol, sodium pca, polyglyceryl-5 laurate, sodium lactate, glycerin, panthenol, chondrus crispus (carrageenan), glycine, urea, xanthan gum, allantoin, sodium ascorbyl phosphate, beta vulgaris (beet) root extract, glyceryl caprylate, persea gratissima (avocado) fruit extract, lactic acid, citronellol, ginkgo biloba leaf extract,  phytantriol, humulus lupulus (hops) extract, geraniol, rosa damascena flower distillate, achillea millefolium extract, cucumis sativus (cucumber) fruit extract, equisetum arvense extract, salvia officinalis (sage) leaf extract, fragrance, shellac, phenoxyethanol.

Necessary Necessities

Sometimes (okay most times) whenever I'm in a country that I'm familiar with, I always do price checks against the country that I'm currently living in as well as whether those products are available. This haul is also what the hubs commonly refers to as the "we have that here too" haul and it usually irritates immensely him as it adds additional luggage weight to which he thinks is completely unnecessary.

When in Australia I always buy the same things or brands that I'm familiar with.

Nad's wax 350g
Waxes are things that are rare in Germany as women tend to shave their legs as opposed to waxing. I'm rather clumsy with sharp objects and the thought of learning to shave with sharp blades in my hand is just asking for trouble. Although they sell Nair wax strips here, there are only face or bikini waxes and they come in a packet of about 4-5 strips (you know the ones I mean) so if I were to do one leg, I would need to buy several packets and they cost quite a bit. Lets face it, I don't really know when I will be able to go to Australia next so I bought two tubs and one usually lasts about a year.

Hammer and Arm toothpaste 120g
I know, I know...umm there are toothpaste here in Germany too... but, but do they have an enamel restoring one? and do they cost .95cents each? Yes I'm a cheapo when it comes to the essentials that I've got to use for the rest of my life and when they had a sale for this brand at Priceline that I had never used before, thought I should just buy a few.

Organic soaps
I usually buy these near the Queen Victoria Market (it's a kind of wholesale soap shop called Soapbox) or at flea markets from a guy who makes them for other brands. Soapbox is frickin' amazing and they have so many kinds of soaps (from something boring like lavender to more exotic ones like lemongrass or manuka honey) that smells heavenly. They are normally bigger than regular soaps (the size of maybe 2 regular soaps??) and most of the time use all natural ingredients.

Other
I also get other essentials when I run out of them in my stash and these include sunscreen for the body and face, after sun aloe vera gels and body moisturisers.

Really Australia, it's going to set me back how much?

I have never really invested a lot of money into make-up because living in Australia, things were just...too bloody expensive to be honest with you. Take a Clarins milk cleanser; a 400ml bottle can set you back about €23 in Germany whereas a smaller (200ml) bottle in Australia is around $40AUD (€30).

Another thing that is quite ridiculously priced are the Revlon Lip Butters. They retail for a whopping $21.95AUD which, for a drugstore lipstick is beyond ridiculous but what's more ridiculous is that the lip butters are the cheapest of the Revlon lipsticks.

So when I was in Singapore during a 3 hour transit on my way back to Germany I managed to pick up a few Revlon Lip Butters at the Singapore airport (as Revlon is not available in Germany).

(Tutti Frutti - Sweet Tart - Lollipop) 

Tutti Frutti 
After reading the reviews on this I was convinced that this would be the best suited for my skin tone but the orange on my lips was too orange and somehow made my skin look a little grey perhaps it's clashing too much with my skin. Maybe I can mix it with another lipstick colour to tone it down, it was a toss up between this one and "candy apple" so maybe I should have gotten that one instead??

Sweet Tart
A warm toned pink which is rather bright at first application and takes some time to get used (if you are not usually a bright lipstick wearer like myself) to but turns into a beautiful pink as it warms to the lips.

Lollipop
This is a cool toned pink/purple and of all the three, this one suited me the most. Although it is not as sheer as some of the other lip butters it does wear off easily, and when it does, it tends to noticeably settle within the lines of my lips.


Where: Singapore Changi airport, Watson ($9.30SG for 15ml)

Emu Cream anyone?

Target was having 25% off sale on all their beauty items and although they had all the big drugstore brands like Revlon and Maybelline, they were far too expensive for me to warrant this 25% off. I mean looking at a $25 Revlon lipstick really turned me right off of looking at all the cosmetic stands which was a shame because I could do with a couple more of those Australis lipsticks. Instead, I picked up a couple of body creams (you always need body creams right?). What seems to be really booming here in Australia at the moment are emu creams and oils. I'm not sure where the craze came from but you always see some really cheap emu or sheep creams around all the drugstores and chemists.

There was a time when the vitamin E or goat's milk creams were booming and you can get a big tub of the creams for $2. I feel like once this hits the rest of the interweb world, these puppies will cost alot more than just a couple of bucks.


I picked up a tub of the Australian Cream Emu Oil cream as well as their Lanolin Oil cream to combat against the harsh German winter.

The packaging states: Australian Emu Oil Cream is a rich moisturiser formulated with Emu Oil and Vitamin E to help hydrate and soothe dry and overworked skin and make skin feel fresher and smoother. Australian Emu Oil Cream contains natural Australian Emu Oil obtained as a by-product of farm bred Emus. Not tested on animals.


I'm still a little divided on the whole "putting emu fat on my skin and be ok with it" kind of thing and I guess it'll be a while yet until I try this on as I still find it a bit of a weird concept. Perhaps I'll ease myself into it by testing out the sheep fat on my skin and see how it goes, but one thing's for sure - if Australians are using it, it must be good for dry skin because the summers in Australia can make your skin dry up like an over-cooked chicken.

Where: Target and Big W ($2.98AUD for 250g)
With the 25% off they were $2.25

Palmer's Purifying Mask

This is a relatively new thing from Palmer's (I think it came out some time last year?) and since I'm such a fan of their lotions in general (I love the cocoa scent!) I figured that I would also like this. The packaging states that it contains vitamin E and it's a purifying mask that draws out impurities and tightens and cools. It also contains green clay and sweet almond oil.

Upon application the mask starts to tighten slightly but not at all uncomfortable as it cools at the same time (it almost feels like you've put cucumber slices on your face). It's recommended that the mask be left on for 10 minutes but I normally put this on while I watch t.v. so I normally leave it on longer, just until the whole mask has completely hardened and pale - almost white in colour.


The term "clay" mask really describes exactly what this product is, the mask comes out quite dense and thick despite the fact that it spreads easily. It smells clay-like and very earthy with a hint of mint which gives me the feeling that it's detoxifying my skin. I don't feel like it has drawn out any impurities (ie. I haven't had any pimples come up to the surface after putting on the mask) but my skin has been looking pretty good lately. It has however slightly taken the grey and dullness out of my skin a little bit but perhaps I will need to really do the mask more often (the packaging says up to 3 times a week) to notice more of a difference.

I'm liking this clay mask so far as it is not so harsh and drying on my skin and I like the fact that the packaging is so unassuming that you would think it would do nothing for the skin but it's actually a great little product that really does what it claims to do. Perhaps when I get back to Germany and try it again I might change my mind but so far so good.

Where: Priceline, Target, Kmart, Big W, Chemist Warehouse and supermarkets ($9.99 for 120g)

Face of Australia Lip Quench in Lychee Crush

No longer had I found the Australis Colour Injects did I discover Face of Australia's Lip Quench. I did read up on this before I bought it and it seems like the primary concern was the smell. This is true. What drew me to this lipstick in the first place was the fact that it had spf 30+ but like previously mentioned, the spf makes the lipstick smell like the zinc cream in sunscreens - so herein lies the predicament. Personally, I would rather have the spf in it than having it smell pleasant but I do have a slight obsession with sunscreen.

So when something has the word "quench" in it, I thought that it would be something super moisturising and would quench my lips - just like biting into a watermelon on a hot summer's day. Ok so I was half expecting this to be like the Revlon lip butters but even more moisturising - I thought wrong. Although it glides on smooth, it kind of just sits on top of the lips and if you have flaking on your lips, it will stick to them unfortunately. Not ideal for my constant dry and flaking lips.

The colour I chose was Lychee Crush - actually it was again a toss up between this one and Iced Almond but unfortunately Iced Almond was a little too cool toned and too concealer looking on my lips. The Lychee Crush, when swatched was a beautiful peachy-pink nude colour that popped out against my skin but on my lips (perhaps I got too tanned in the meantime) it was a little too close to my skin tone so it looked more like I did have concealer on my lips. Perhaps it would look alot better with some heavy, smokey eye make-up but for a daytime look I think it's best to wear it with a dewy sun-kissed face.



Where: Priceline, Kmart, Big W and selected pharmacies Australia-wide ($9.45AUD for 4g)