dove – Beauty Playbox

In September I restated my empties. I’ve lost count to the amount of products I finished for my #100empties challenge, but it’s been more than one hundred, of that I am sure. Felt like a fresh start – and also felt like increasing the number to 365. So, #365empties.

Here’s what I finished in September.

Body Respect Aloe Vera Cleansing Gel

(That’s a bit of tobacco stuck to the pump if you’re wondering. Eww, a smoker, etc. etc.)

I bought this because my friend bought this, and I like trying new things. The scent of this was heavenly – whenever I used it, I felt like I was just pushing my face into a huge pot of apple jelly, although I cannot 100% state that this smells anything like apples. Weird, I know, just describing the sensation here. The texture was great too – it was cooling and smooth. Didn’t find it drying, and on light make-up days it cleansed well. Had trouble with silicone in my foundation and primer, though, and didn’t do well with most mascaras.

An okay product that I’m in no rush to repurchase.

Dove Go Fresh Cucumber Deodorant

I bought Dove Go Fresh Cucumber deodorant thanks to a casual recommendation from a blogger I no longer even read. Since then it has become a firm staple in my routine, and I will buy it again, and again, and again. I find it a bit on the pricey side on certain months, but whenever I can, I stock up on several to always have this Dove antiperspirant around. It’s usually on a buy one get second one for half price offer in one of the local shops, so I take advantage of that.

Dove Go Fresh Cucumber is one of the only deodorant scents that I absolutely do not mind. It also never gave me any irritation whatsoever. I could shave, depilate, epilate, and do whatever the hell else to my armpits, and then apply this straight after some rough towel drying – and Dove Go Fresh Cucumber and Green Tea will help soothe the skin. It requires no drying time, but could leave some white streaks on your clothes if you dress right after, so I usually apply it before going to bed, and find there’s no need to reapply in the morning.

I will buy it as long as it is around.

Faberlic Bust Push-Up Cream

I can’t really comment on its push-up qualities, but I’m pretty sure anyone size C and up won’t see any. However, it is a decent moisturiser. Absorbs quickly, so there’s no trouble using this cream right before I dress for the day. There is perhaps a certain improvement in the overall quality of skin, but it’s no magic. Oddly smells of lemons. I’m currently going through the second tube of this, which I bought together with this one.

Might buy again when on offer, with its moisturising properties in mind.

Faberlic Raspberry and White Cocolate Body Scrub

A gentle scrub with a delicious scent. This looks just like a raspberry jam would, so it’s no wonder the packaging actually has ‘inedible’ written all over it. The white chocolate scent is also present, although it’s quite high on the artificial side. Because of the jelly consistency, sometimes I found it hard to spread and massage evenly over the skin. The exfoliation is fine, but sometimes I felt like a certain area with rougher skin needed more work. Works great on the decolletage, though.

Will buy again when on offer.

NYM Not Your Mother’s ‘Clean Freak’ Purifying Shampoo

NYM Not Your Mother’s products have been such a hit and miss for me! There’s no official representative here, so all I tried, I got from the grey market. So far I’ve tried two types of shampoos, a conditioner, and a UV protector. This shampoo is okay, but I wouldn’t go as far as calling it purifying – though perhaps there’s a certain meaning that I put into this word that doesn’t quite align with the brand’s philosophy of not using harsh cleaners in their products. Plus I’m very fussy when it comes to shampoos. Very fussy.

When I did not wash my hair for three days, I certainly needed a stronger product, as I could still find oily patches in my hair after washing the shampoo off. Was easy to work into hair and easy to wash off. Nice scent.

Might buy again.

BeYu Light Reflecting Concealer in shade 5

The product looks full, but rest assured there’s nothing left there. I’ve used up all I could, and what remains has become dry, oxidised, and flaky. This is a good, rather heavy-duty concealer, although I found that come end of the workweek I needed two layers of BeYu Light Reflecting Concealer, especially in the inner corners of my undereye area, where it gets especially dark. Sometimes it would also accentuate all the existent and nonexistent fine lines, even if I would set it with my ever-wonderful Elf undereye setting powder.

Shade 5 is the lightest available on the local market – I honestly don’t know if BeYu makes lighter shades than that. It might as well, because 5 is rather yellow and dark for me in autumn and winter. I can work with it, but I’d rather it were lighter. While I use BeYu Light Reflecting Concealer mostly under my eyes, I found that it works fine to hide an occasional spot as well. It also works great to even out pores around my nose (though not on it, mind).

The lady at the shop touted it as a dupe for a Clarins concealer.Having never tried any Clarins products, I cannot comment. Will I buy again? I’m currently using up a hand-me-down from a friend – hers did not suit her at all. After that, I might repurchase this, because the price and the shade and the texture are one of the best I’ve encountered locally.

We’ll see.

Faberlic Express Volume Mascara

Dude. I bought this at complete random, because it was on some epic offer. When I opened it, I was disappointed by the shape of the brush (tiny), and the formula felt runny and sticky. I used it once, and then forgot about it for two weeks or so. And when I tried it again, it was suddenly one of the best mascaras I’ve ever used. It doesn’t quite catch up to my (discontinued) favourite from Giordani Gold (scroll way down) or Misslyn Sexy Lashes, but two coats would give me lots of volume and drama – and even a bit of a curl! Nothing gives my lashes a curl.

I gave a tube of this to my BFF, however her review isn’t as glorious – she still finds it runny and rather useless. I then sold a tube of this to a colleague, so I’m going to ask her opinion as well.

Me, I’ll be getting another tube of this once I’m done with some other mascaras in my stash.

October is over already, and I’ve got quite a few finished products in my empties bag. I’ll put up a post about them in the next two weeks, God willing.

AVON Naturals Hair Care Essential Balance Mango & Ginger 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner

Can I just say… Tone it down, brands. All y’all name your products in a way that’s not at all Twitter-friendly.

I bought this product for its scent alone. Previously I had a shea butter and apricot one from the same series, and it smelt so good, I never wanted to do anything but wash my hair over and over again so I could just bathe in the scent. That’s saying a lot, because washing hair is one of my least favourite beauty procedures. This scent doesn’t disappoint either, but somewhere in the middle it became tiring. Not sure why I buy these ten-gallon packages, because commitment to one particular scent or formula is totes not my thing when it comes to bath products.

Shampoo-wise, it’s a good product, but didn’t match my scalp and hair exactly. It’s a hard thing to do, though, so I hold no grudge against it. It’s a 2-in-1, and if you’ve got short hair, or maybe even well-behaved mid-length hair, then I dare say the 2-in-1 will work, at least occasionally. Everyone else would need to use a conditioner with it.

Maybe I will repurchase it, but in a smaller size.

P.S. How many convincing words can one fit unto one label? Natural, science, technology, essential, care, balance… It’s either natural or tech, tho, but whatever.

Dove Hair Therapy Nutritive Solutions Daily Moisture Shampoo

I love Dove hair gels, deodorants, and body lotions — in fact, I’m going to do dedicated posts about each of these things soon enough — but their shampoos are horrible for me. The scent is harsh. The product foams up a whole lot. It’s not ‘moisturising’ in the slightest, rather, it stripped my poor scalp off of all oils, sending it into an overdrive each time, leaving me with greasy roots in something like 12 hours. The formula is thick and feels soft during the application, but it was very harsh afterwards. This is one of the worst shampoos I’ve tried in a long while. Will not repurchase, will not recommend.

Eveline Lip Gloss

This thing is old. It’s so old, I can’t even tell you the colour and the correct product name. I bought it on a sale long, long time ago, used it as long as it was usable, and then I just kinda forgot to discard it. It had a lovely vanilla-ish scent, and it was one of the less stickier glosses. They have since then discontinued this particular product, I think.

Oriflame All-Over Makeup Remover

(FYI, that’s not a piece of gum holding it. It’s an unfortunate bunch of sticky tack.)

Needed a make-up remover, and this was on some epic offer. I was a little hesitant, because the previous variation of Oriflame makeup remover (green rectangular bottles) was not good. It wasn’t particularly offensive, it just… didn’t remove much. This one is a certain upgrade of the formula, but if you need a heavy-duty remover, then this is still not your guy. I want to check out their waterproof makeup remover, see if it’s any better. Will probably repurchase if on offer.

Oriflame Volare Perfume

Very rose-scented, a little too much for me. The bottle was redesigned, however, and I’m going to buy that thing just for the bottle alone, because it’s in a shape of a crystal rose, and who doesn’t want a crystal rose on their vanity?! No one, that’s who.

Chistaya Liniya 48 hr Phyto-Deodorant in Calendula

Rather on the wet side, and a little bit harsh smelling, but overall I was pleased with it. What I loved most perhaps was the packaging. It is upside-down. How brilliant is that?! No weird balancing acts required to use up all of the product. I wish it were in a bit of a less… cone-like shape, though, because at times I found it hard to grip. Might try other scents, but I think calendula is the lightest of them all.

Pur-Lisse face cream sample

This came with my Lip Monthly bag. I hesitated using it at first, because it’s for normal to dry skin, and I’m as oily skinned as they come. However, this was a very nice cream. It moisturised well enough and didn’t leave any greasy residue. It smelt pretty much like nothing — an odd trace of non-offensive dust, maybe?.. Don’t know how to describe it. Anyway, these non-smells are a huge plus in my book, and I rather more prefer them to any kind of artificial or natural fragrance. No irritation, no break-outs, no rough patches. I cannot say this was an ideal match for my skin, though.