face wash – 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.

(Two notes about the photo: First, I apologise for quality. Second, it’s not a typo, nor is it a counterfeit product: Diadermine is called Diademine in Russia and CIS. It’s due to phonetics.)

This is what happens when I shop with someone else and am rushed: I buy things I haven’t read a lot about, ending up with products that are a poor fit for my skin.

Upon the first few tries this product was okay. My skin felt a bit tight after using it, but nothing out of the ordinary. Being the possessor of oily skin, sometimes I welcome such tightness. I continued to use it for a while, and then my skin started looking red after. The redness dissipated in a minute, and tightness could be fixed with moisturiser and a mask 2-3 times a week. I couldn’t decide on another washer, and didn’t want to go back to my old one or purchase another dud, so I continued using Diadermine’s.

But then one day I ran out of make-up remover and used Garnier’s micellar water to remove make-up all over my face prior to washing it.

And my face inflamed.

I swear I was as red as an oddly cool-toned tomato. For a moment I wanted to take a picture, but then my nerve endings caught up with my optical, and my skin started burning. Luckily I remembered that I had Oriflame’s Aloe Vera & Arnica gel still, so I applied that sucker all over my face. Didn’t have much hope, but: It took the redness and the burning down immediately. I watched it go in the span of seconds. It left my face both refreshed and moisturised.

Call me an idiot, but I’m still using the washer – because I currently don’t have anything else, and if I skip at least one of the wash-tone-moisturise steps, I break out. I use it very sparingly, taking care to use a tiny amount and mix it with water in my hands prior to coating my face with it, and I don’t massage my face too much. When used like this, it’s OK. Better than soap, but I cannot recommend it either.

It doesn’t dry the skin out, and it doesn’t provoke break-outs or additional congestion for me (in fact, it clears it up), as some of the so-called balancing washers sometimes do. I’m not sure where the ‘supports skin’s hydra balance’ promise comes from, though, because that’s something this product doesn’t do.

I really hope that The Burn was an isolated incident. It didn’t happen again so far, although I never tried repeating the Garnier micellar water/ Diadermine washer combo, nor do I intend to.

Long story short, I’m in the market for a good facial cleanser, and I will not be repurchasing this one.