VO5 Heat Protect Styling Spray

Because we all use a blow dryer or straightening iron or curling iron. It is almost impossible to avoid them. Who has time to wait 4-5 hours to air dry their hair? Not me...My whole routine after the shower takes me 1-2 hours. Blow dry with a round brush... 40 min. If I want to wear it down, it gets straightened.... 1 hour at least...
It's like an arm workout. No joke! So a heat protection product is a must for me and it's an easy way to get extra protein and hydrating ingredients in the hair. I got mine at 25p...score.. because the pump was broken. No big deal. I just put it in another spray bottle and it works just fine. 
The only thing I don't like about it is the smell. Not the actual smell, but how strong it is. Hold your breath when you use it or you will choke. And it stays in the hair, which might be a good thing; your hair will smell nice...and you will smell nice, but you can't use perfume with it or they will clash. It says it can protect hair for up to 230 degrees, which is exactly what I use on my straightening iron. Now does it actually protect? How can you tell? I can never tell. But I will always use some protection from heat, just in case it does. I spray twice in each section and then wait about 10 minutes for my hair to absorb it. Then blow dry. After that, spray once in each section, let it dry, and go in with the iron. 
Overall, I do like it, but the smell is too much for me. So after I am finished with it, I will look for a new one. Do you recommend something? 

Rating:

3 out of 5

VO5 Plump It Up Dry Backcomb Spray

Bought this thinking it will be like my beloved Batiste Dry Shampoo. It's not! I'm not sure why I even expected that since it clearly isn't a dry shampoo, but there are days when I want volume at the roots even though my hair is not greasy. It says it has collagen in it, which should have been a red flag for me, since I really dislike that Tresemme hair powder which also promised big hair.
I have the same problem with the VO5. My hair feels sticky and impossible to comb thru. And the volume, not so much. I did use it just as the instruction said: shake it, spray from 30 cm and massage. Did all that, still no.  Maybe my hair is too dense to put in it anything texturing, maybe it's too thick and heavy for powders to lift it up, I don't know; but I give up with products like this. They clearly don't work for me. 
Has anyone with fine hair tried this? Did it work for you? Please let me know.
  

Rating:

1 out of 5

Global Beauty Care Pro Retinol Cream

This is what I currently use for most of the days...more nights actually. It is a thick formula, but on days when my skin is extra dry I put it under the Revlon Colorstay foundation, which is rather drying. I really enjoy putting under it something emollient, I feel like my skin looks more dewy and natural.

Back to the cream. I found it at TK Maxx for £5 and if I see it again I will pick it up. It's cheap and lasts a long time. Because it is thicker, a pea size scoop will cover the entire face. Now it says it has retinol, but because it's in a jar it probably won't last. If you are looking for a retinol product, go with a prescription one that really penetrates the skin. It has a lot of moisturising ingredients in it: plant oils and squalane and Hyaluronic acid.

For the ingredients in it, the price is really good. Doesn't have anything irritating in it, nor alcohol. Really impressed. For dry skin, really good, but I would not suggest this to anyone who is oily or combination. This will be too much. If I use it on oily days, it does break me out, because of the oils in it. It's just too much for my skin to absorb.
I will list the ingredients here because I can't find them on the internet:
Aqua, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Squalane, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil, Ceramide 1, Retinol, Rosin Oil, Ceteareth-6, Cetearyl Alcohol, Algae Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phenoxyethanol, Methylisothiazolinone

Rating:

4 out of 5

Effaclar Duo

Does it work? For me, Yes! Let's take the claims one by one.

1. " It reduces the appearance of blemishes". Well it does take down the redness in my skin, so we can check that. 
2. "Unclogs pores" I exfoliate almost daily, and extract my blackheads every week so I can't give a verdict on that.
3. " Helps to refine skin texture" A lot of people on the internet said they don't like the texture of the product and that it gets grainy on their skin. That never happened to me. In my opinion, it feels like a very light-weight cream that sinks in the skin immediately. And I use it as a serum, putting moisturiser on top. It doesn't feel dry at all, but don't rely on it as a moisturiser unless you are very oily. It has glycerin in it and some silicone so it can leave your skin smooth after use, but the grainy feel that others have experienced might be that their skin is dry or dehydrated when they put it on. If that happens, I would suggest to go in with a moisturising toner or face spray before applying Effaclar. 
4. "Controls the appearance of shine". It has some silicones in it, so it will do that to a certain extent, but not like a primer would. Also, being so light-weight it will not add to the "grease effect".
5. "Fights against marks". It has niacinamide, which is most likely the ingredient in it that takes down the redness. Also, niacinamide is used a lot in cosmetics because it helps with pigmentation issues. So we can agree with this claim.

This is my 5th bottle (had the old version too and liked it). I try new products but I repurchase it a lot because it helps my skin during it's tumultuous phases when my hormonal acne pops out to say "Hi!". I don't use it every day, just when I need it, and only at night. The main thing I like about it is how is calms down my face, takes down my redness and irritation feel. You know when you feel like there is something alive under your skin that is crawling out? Well this kicks it back down and tells it to shut it. It would be really good for oily skin, but I have dehydrated skin and often get very dry patches and I can still use it if I moisturise properly. Pretty good product. Always in my stash, ready to get out when I need it. 

Joico K-PAK Color therapy shampoo and conditioner

I always remember struggling with my hair. I have a lot of it, and it's course and for some reason damaged. Well maybe because I die my hair black every 3 months. Still, I am constantly battling frizziness and dryness, even though I stay away from the blow drier and straighteners most of the time. I just can't get it to be soft and luscious.
So after intensive research, I decided keratin is the way to go. But a keratin treatment is so bloody expensive. Ain't nobody got money for that! :) 
Here comes the next best thing. Keratin packed haircare. Joico always got good review on the internet so I decided to give it a go. The K-PAK line has a few variations, but I chose the one for colored hair. I have to say..I like it. Not love it.
Why like it? It cleans my hair without stripping it and when I use this set I tend to blowdry my hair because the heat sort of activates it and my hair gets softer and less unruly.
Why not love it? I still get frizz. If I'm being realistic it will take more then one bottle of something with keratin in it to get my hair to that stage. And I have to use heat in my hair to see the results. That I do not like, since heat it what causes the damage in the first place. If I let my hair to air dry, I just don't see any difference compared to drugstore shampoos. 

Rating:

3 out of 5

Empties... Lots of empties

Hello beauty junkies! Since this is my first post, I thought I would start with my favorite kind of post... empties! By far the one I read and watch on Youtube the most. Here are the products I finished recently:

I love taking baths... loveee. I do it at least once a week and I always use some salt or some product that helps my dry skin. Ocassionally, I fancy some bubbles, but they are somewhat drying, so I try to avoid them. That being said, the Avon Watermelon bubble bath smelled too good to avoid. I really like their bubble products, they foam up a lot and smell good and they are cheap. Would I repurchase? Probably  

For salts, my favorite kind are the Westlab ones. Good price (I find them at TK Maxx for £3.99); you get 2 uses out of them and they really do soften my skin, especially on my feet. These ones are the dead sea salt. Repurchase? YES

I go for the Radox ones when I run out of the Westlab and TK Maxx isn't in my way, because you can find these everywhere (Asta, Poundland) but I must say...not my favorite. They make the bathtub very slippery and I don't feel like they do anything for me. Repurchase? Maybe.. maybe not

The Detox foot pads I found at Poundland, used a couple of them, didn't feel anything. I have no idea if they work or not. Repurchase? I still have some of them, but after I am done with those....nope

Moving on to hair products. VO5 products are among my favorites. While I don't notice a big difference among their lines, I find that they all make my hair really soft and manageable, and they are so affordable. For 500 ml of shampoo I paid around £1.80 or somewhere under 2 at Asda. Repurchase? Already did

The Garnier conditioner I think is discountinued now, I found it at Poundland again; smelled really good, soften my hair a little, but nothing wow about it. Repurchase? Maybe

Dry shampoo. A must have. Useful in many ways, I am a brunette so the only one that doesn't leave a grey cast is the  Batiste one for dark hair. Really good at absorbing oil, gives hair texture, but it is heavy on the scalp, so I only use it when I have to and I always make sure to wash my hair that day. Repurchase? Already have another one

Make-up wise I cannot be without my Revlon Colorstay. I use shade 110 Ivory. Always have one, use it a lot. No review necessary, everyone knows about it. I also used up from Avon the Brow Gel in Dark Brown (around £5). I liked it. Good if you already have hair there, not going to be good if you have gaps to fill in. Repurchase? When I run out of the one I have, yes.

Lancome Doll Eyes. Love. Best mascara I tried. Repurchase? Heck yes, when I will need a mascara. Not in the near future. Haha. And the last product I had to throw out because it was so old is from Oriflame: the old version of the Studio Artist concealer. Didn't like it at all. Repurchase? I am not even tempted to try the new version. 

I also used up Isotrex, which is a prescription only treatment for acne, based on tretinoin (retin-a). I would not buy it again because it has alcohol in it, and it really does smell of it, irritating my eyes. I used it only as a spot treatment. 

We all know about Seche Vite. This is just a sample size of it. I love it, I use it constantly. Repurchase? Always

The Olay Firm and Lift targeted deep wrinkle treatment: used up not as a wrinkle filler (not that old yet) but as a 'primer'. For days when my skin is not oily, and I don't feel like putting on a heavy silicone product, this was just enough to give me some moisture, while still helping my makeup look good, since it does have silicone. Repurchase? Already have it

Eysilix eye cream from Indeed Labs: purchased from Boots after hearing all the hype with Hydraluron. Hmm..I have to think about this one. First of all, it irritated the skin around my eyes. While I did feel some tightening around my eyes, it did not moisturise enough for me. For that reason, not repurchasing.

Get used to seeing the Nivea HydroCare lip balm here. Always have them, I am very loyal to them because they do not leave a film on my lips, they sink in and with constant use they keep my lips plump and looking fuller. No joke. Every time I try a different one my lips don't look as good. Repurchase? I have 3 back-ups at all times. :)

I could label this picture as The Dry Skin Diary. The skin on my body is so dry, that I have to moisturise twice a day to not look like a crocodile. After every shower, I put so much lotion on that everything sticks to me. For 5 minutes that is, because after that it's all gone; my skin just drinks it in immediately. So I use about 1 litre of lotion per month.:) For body, the cocoa butter lotion from Derma V10. Just £1 for that big bottle, and it's buttery and soft; and it smells good. Repurchase? You know the answer...heck yes.

Hand cream..Nivea Express Hydration. I liked that it went in right away. Didn't feel greasy at all. Repurchase? I am not loyal to hand creams; always buy a different one.

For feet. Oh the lovely look of dry feet... #rollseyes  The Heel Softening cream from Avon was ok. Not amazing; still haven't found something that does wonder for me. It did soften my skin, but not to the point where I had baby soft skin. One can only dream.. Repurchase? Probably, but still trying new stuff 

For deodorant, I finished Garnier InvisiDry. It was good, did the job. Repurchase? I just buy what is on offer. 

The lavender spray from Avon Naturals. I buy anything lavender or that promises me a good sleep. Use it as a pillow spray. Repurchase? Aham.. it's lavender. :D 

Cooling mist from Poundland. When you get home from work and your legs hurt like..... damn, use this as a quick hit. Or if you can, take this with you. Use it every 5 minutes. I would if I could. 

The Tresemme 24 Hour Body powder for volume.. NO. Just no. Not even empty, but I am throwing it; it does not give you volume, it makes your hair sticky, and I feel like shampoo doesn't get it out.. 

For perfume, from Avon, Today Tomorrow Always Amour. Really Avon; Amour was not enough of a name?! Just sayin'.  While I do like the Today from that range, which really has staying power; this one did not smell of anything special and it faded quite quickly. Granted I rarely have issues with perfumes lasting on my skin. Repurchase? Nope.... I would suggest one of the original three. 

Cleansing time... Avon Solutions Bi-phase make-up remover. Looks like the regular removers that have two layers of solution in them, which you have to shake to mix. Removed waterproof mascara. In my book, that makes it a good one. Did not sting my eyes; nothing bad about it. Repurchase? Probably

40 Carrots Gentle Facial Scrub: Love it. I must say, it is not for beginners. Not that gentle as it says, it has granular particles in it that exfoliate your skin. My skin can take some proper manual exfoliation 3 times a week, so I really liked it. You can find it at TK Maxx. Already have another one. 

Last one...woohoo. Yves Rocher Micellar Water. I use it at the toner stage, not to remove my makeup, but after I cleanse to make sure everything is off my face. It has glycerin in it, so adds another layer of moisture, but I would not suggest getting it close to your eyes. It made the skin around my eyes burn a little. Repurchase? Half done with the another one already. 

Oh boy...this was a long one. Hope you liked my long post. As this is the first one I ever did, feel free to leave some feedback for me. I would love to hear what you think about these products if you tried them. Until later, kisses. D