back to basics!

in terms of skin care. funnily enough i figured out that cheap brands work best for me. expensive moisturizers tend to break me out and organic ones make my skin go itchy. so, here's what i've been using recently:

masks and exfoliator

left to right: cleansing mask when i get spots, scrub/mask by soap&glory to use once a week, moisturizing mask when my skin feels dry

cleansing

cleanser and make up removal wipes

toning (and some extra boost in winter)

toner and a vitamin serum for the colder months

moisturizing

left to right: daytime moisturizer, nighttime moisturizer, eye cream

face care and glossy box september

okay, i've given up on the AOK stuff altogether- be it organic or not, i'm not happy with the results i'm getting. i'm back to some very basic cleansing products:

in terms of moisturizers i'm using a basic one for night time and a sample of a very pricey one  (klapp extreme) from my latest glossy box:

i really like the weleda hand cream, but i'm not going to repurchase it as i have other (cheaper) options that work just as well.

i quite like the moisturizer, too. i am, however, not willing to pay about €50 for a jar of the stuff.

haven't tried the nail polish yet, so no review on that.

the shampoo was okay- organic and all that- but i needed a lot of conditioner afterwards to get some moisture into my hair.

loved the burt's bees lotion, but there are other options for that as well.

AOK bio expert

been trying out this range of organic face care products: AOK Bio Expert

will post a full review later, just a few things for starters:
+ 99% organic
+ doesn't contain any irritants
- don't like the scent
- the cleansing gel is SO hard to get off your skin
- the moisturizers (i got all three of them) are far too rich for me and make my skin very shiny
- generally not impressed with what it does for my skin

BUT i've only been using the stuff for a few weeks, will give it another try and get back to you about it!

eye opener!

over the summer vacations my bf and i did quite a bit of experimenting concerning shampoos and conditioners for thin hair that needs volume (*YAY* for having the same type of hair as your bf). we have come up with the following (it's different products for him and me simply because our tastes in scents vary):
i'm going to be using the YES to TOMATOES shampoo and conditioner and he's going to be using the ECO AWESOME shampoo and conditioner from tigis love, peace & the planet line (please excuse the whacky link for the later as the tigi site seems to be down). that is after we've used up all the left over samples and half emptied bottles that have accumulated X)

i have decided on something else as well. i am giving up on going all organic for good. i don't seem to be able to find purely organic products that work for my skin (face or body). i will be using what works best for me and what i like the scent of (i'm very much a scent oriented person). in terms of haircare my shampoo and conditioner will be free of silicone as i've noticed that too much of that weighs my thin hair down even more. other than that i just don't care anymore what's in my cosmetics. most of my favorites are organic, though. i'm still on the lookout for a good daytime moisturizer that works for my combination skin. it should not leave my skin all shiny or too dry...

as soon as my list of favorite products is complete in all departments (hair, face, body) i will post an update here ;)

i noticed something else as well. i used to be a huge fan of THE BODY SHOP as a teenager simply because there was nothing comparable about. then i switched to YVES ROCHER as their stuff became more readily available (in shops instead of just via catalogues) and then went into a right LUSH frenzy (i have more bars of soap than i'm every gonna use up in my life!) and now... i went all the way back to THE BODY SHOP. i think it's gonna be for good this time- not that i don't shop at the other places occasionally ;)

reviews for you

i've been testing out a few things- mostly organic and irritant free. i'm liking these combos:

yes to tomatoes shampoo and conditioner, swiss haircare volumizing mask

i got the yes to tomatoes stuff in a miniatures set. it was for my hair and skin type and i really like the effect it has. however none of the products smell nice :/ the swiss haircare mask i got in my july glossybox. i like it, but i have yet to check whether it's up to my demands in terms of being irritant free.

yes to tomatoes face mask and daily moisturizer, kiehl's acai berry tonic spray, the body shop carrot moisturizer

the two yes to tomatoes things complete the set i got. the kiehl's spray was in my july glossybox and the body shop carrot moisturizer has been my favorite for a while. unfortunately in contains silicone oil and i will have to find something else to use for night time :/

i have also tried the vitalumière aqua foundation by chanel and i LOVE how it feels on my skin. i wouldn't buy it, though, as i don't really use foundation anymore. here's a link:  CHANEL VITALUMIÈRE AQUA

and then i had a few trial sized packs of a multi-purpose cream by neutrogena that i really liked. it's my mum's bday on the 17th and i'm considering to buy her one of these: NEUTROGENA

had the afternoon off...

...went for a stroll in the city center, picked up a few things.

first i went to try some new scents:

l'occitane - fleurs de ceriser

betty barclay - pure style

*yum yum* i really like it- it's not fruity or flowery, though

then i came across this fabulous new LE by essence

i got the orange lipstick and the red nail polish :)

fashion haul

on friday i went shopping with my sister and on saturday i went to the mall (that time by myself). here's what i got:

two pairs of sweat pants from zara

two denim skirts and the cutest baby mickey and minnie shirt ever from C&A

a pretty dress from H&M that i wore today :)

a FAB DC universe shirt from mister lady jeans (and two pairs of leggings)

two more shirts from olymp&hades (featuring my designated football shirt)

mini haul...

i finally found it! a drugstore face care line that doesn't have any irritants or otherwise unhealthy stuff in it:

it's new, so i had vouchers for everything :) i'm gonna do a review, but first i want to use up all the other stuff i have. and in order to do so, i needed to buy a few essentials as i want to start trying all products of the new line at one time.

and i finally found the retro apple blossom shampoo i had been looking out for. i'm going to run the ingredients list through codecheck- i wonder what's gonna turn up X) i also bought a gorgeous nail polish and some concealer. with my new glasses it's vital to get rid of my under eye circles as they would show big time.

skin care products

i tried two lines of skin care for combination skin. i only had trial sized versions of the products.

florena: i like that it's free of all the stuff i'm trying to avoid, but according to codecheck it isn't entirely irritant free :/ the website is looking for people willing to test the entire range- i might go apply for that.

clinique: it's very harsh despite the fact that it was supposed to be for my type of skin. it smelled funny and left my skin very, very shiny. the products aren't irritant free or easily affordable. that's a miss for me!

stuff that i want...

need help!

as i already mentioned in an earlier entry i am trying yet again to make my entire routine sulfate, silicone and parabene free. it's not as easy as you would think. i'm gonna tell you now what i got so far and which products i still need replacements for:


hair:

shampoo - garnier natural beauty granatapfel & bierhefe, yes to tomatoes, the body shop rainforest

conditioner - alterra feuchtigkeitsspülung granatapfel, yves rocher himbeeressig, the body shop rainforest

deep cleansing shampoo - lush big

deep conditioner - alterra granatapfel, the body shop rainforest

leave in conditioner (detangler) - schauma seiden-kamm, the body shop grapeseed glossing serum

i am also gonna try to go back to only washing my hair every other day!


face:

make up removal wipes - balea young pink, my skin pink or blue

tonic - balea young green, florena mattifying

cleanser - balea young pink, nonique (all available lines)

mask - montagne jeunesse sheet masks (all types)

eye cream - alverde augentrost, nonique

what i'm still searching for are day and night creams. i'd prefer a light, moisturizing cream for daytime and a more nourishing cream for nighttime. most day creams i've used were mattifying and all of them contain bad ingredients (mostly silica). i might go try the nonique moisturizers for daytime. i'm currently using my trusty carrot moisturizer from the body shop at night, but it contains silicone oil (which is less harmful than proper silicone, but still...). has anyone tried the yes to tomatoes facial hydrating lotion?!
also i'm still looking for a face scrub- or maybe i'm just gonna switch to using one of those little brushes?!


body:

hand cream - alverde vitamin, alterra granatapfel

body wash - creme 21 jasmine & vanilla, the body shop earth lovers, alterra (all scents), balea young turteltäubchen/raubkatze

body lotion/butter - yves rocher mandelmilch, alverde macadamia, florena körperbutter

deodorant: hidro fugal doppel effekt roll-on

here i'm looking for more options in terms of body wash and lotion. i'm also still on the look out for a decent scrub and shaving gel :/

silicone, sulfate and parabene free everything?!

is that even possible? i'm doing my best to have a go and try! unfortunately german (or european?!) brands are far behind american ones on making their products healthier.

i discovered this brand that has all natural products: NONIQUE which in germany is exclusive to schlecker drugstores.

and then there's THIS

the scent of my childhood :) i only wish there was some info on the ingredients :/

tiny haul :)

left to right:
nail hardener (which i'm gonna need as i'm letting my gel nails grow out)
limited edition holographic nail polish
lip gloss with spf
two hair scroos- gonna try them out and then maybe buy more (they are supposed to hold your bun together without a hair elastic)

there are decent girly shirts out at my uni, finally- had to get one!

a lovely outfit from promod- couldn't pass up the cute apple design X)

skin care routine

i finally got round to testing the new "my skin" line by essence. all the products come in very pretty packaging and they smell very nice, too. the combination of face wash and mattifying moisturizer do make my skin stay matte all day, BUT it also goes very dry- and i usually have oily to combination skin!

i have switched up my routine to accommodate this:

i only use the my skin moisturizer in the morning and my trusty carrot moisturizer by the body shop in the evening. i also put the face wash in the shower to use as a weekly scrub rather than a daily cleanser. i'm back to my balea med face wash.

after all this i'm gonna try the "all about tomatoes" line- both face and hair products.

our daily shower routine...

... is back to being ALL organic :)

frank's stuff:

my stuff:

my favorite body wash and lotion combo atm:

and here's our assorted hair and body stuff:

flowery summer dresses

two new dresses i bought for summer:

the longer one can also be worn as a skirt (by OTTO), the shorter one is by NEW YORKER ;)

details:

glossy box may 2011

unboxing:

the contents:

the only thing i've tried so far is the l'occitane hand cream and it's VERY good indeed.

fun stuff to buy...

my favorite websites to buy funny shirts and accessories from:

http://www.davidandgoliathtees.com/
http://www.tokidoki.it/
http://www.threadless.com/
http://shop.asurocks.de/

blue accessories...

as i already told you, i want these shoes:


they are from OTTO and so are these three purses:



design-wise i like the last one best, but that happens to be the one with the blue most different from the shoes- of course!

then i also checked DAWANDA (german ETSY) for purses and came up with this:








i know they don't all fit my criteria (small, same blue as the shoes, cross shoulder strap), but they are all so PRETTY X)

what do you guys think?

my body mist collection and some other stuff

my body mists:

my favorite one is the body shop - japanese cherry blossom, but i also love the secret - lavender (THANK YOU, alexis, for that one!) and the avon - black cherry & nutmeg one. the two on the right are a local drugstore brand and even when layered with the matching body lotion the scent doesn't last for 30mins :/

i bought two trial size bottles of new skin care by nivea:

a body lotion on the left and a body wash on the right. they are okay, i guess, but nowhere near as good as my beloved creme21 stuff ;)

and then i bought two pairs of shoes for summer:

left: crocs from the new translucent line
right: ipanemas by gisele bündchen

new stuff... and new ideas ;)

today was my first day off *YAY* of course the first thing i did was to go to the city center to get some shopping done:


just a few things. the only really expensive item being my new wallet by fossil. i had asked for it for xmas, but the original price was €70. today i saw it on sale for €40 :D here a few close ups:



and with the angelology book definitely being too boring for lovely spring days this makes for two new additions to my purse:

(yes it's machiavelli and yes i deem this fitting for spring time)

this afternoon i went to my parents' place to have an early easter lunch with mum, as my parents are visiting grandma over the holidays. we went for a little stroll in the village and at one of the local shops i spotted this pretty cord fabric:

any ideas what i might use it for? it's 1,60m wide. btw, here's a site that sells the fabrics online: http://www.farbenmix.de/

speaking of crafting. i'm having a case for my blackberry custom made from this site: http://www.vomheimathafen.de/

and i also ordered my first glossy box (it's like birch box for germany): http://www.glossybox.de/