Showing posts with label DrHauschka. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DrHauschka. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

12 Best Green Beauty Discoveries of 2017



Hi Lovelies,



Welcome back! And if you are new here, welcome 💕💕💕
green life in dublin
Best Green Beauty Discoveries of 2017



So I was browsing some blog or the other, and it had a post that struck a chord with me, New Discoveries Of The Year. So it got me thinking what are my best discoveries for last year and how come I never did any post like this before? After careful consideration and thinking about it for a week, here are my Best Discoveries of 2017 in no particular order. Most of them have reviews on the blog already, so I won't spend time talking about each product in great detail, and thus repeating myself. Only two products escaped my scrutiny so far, but I will make sure to get those reviews out asap. It's just that blogger's overwhelm is getting very real at this stage. Don't get me wrong, I love discovering new products! It's just I am afraid I could miss out on amazing products by not giving them the proper attention they deserve, due to the sheer volume of products I own. By the way, I am stock taking and minimizing my stash at the moment, so expect a blog sale post with lots of free products too.
But for now, let's focus on my best discoveries from last year, shall we?




Isun Ormus Myst

This is a signature ISUN product and for me, love at a first spritz! Have you ever heard of mystical ormus creatures found in living water? Well, you are about to find out! They are tiny spherical atoms of gold, silver and platinum found in clear spring water in Colorado mountains, where ISUN products are made, and that is exactly the base for this facial spritz. They are awesome at renewing and rejuvenating your skin. Plus it smells amazing! See review here. I need this beauty back in my life. It was very hard to choose as all Isun products are amazing in my opinion, but this was a love at a first spritz!



Earthwise Beauty Nap In The Meadow


This is my favourite product from Earthwise Beauty - I haven't tried that many, but I am keen to try more. The woman behind the brand, Ava Zhan is kind of green beauty wizard. Find my review of their Nap In The Meadow, Marshmallow Suds and Passion Eye Serum here. Many things from them are on my wishlist, and those include Sungod, Farizad's Veil, Cistus & Moonlight face mist, Ruby facial oil and one of the facial steams (I want to compare professional formulation to my own DIY)



Living Libations Products 

As soon as I discovered Dutch Health Store carries a large selection of Living Libations products, not just selected few Best Skin Ever, I placed an order for some dental products, and I loved them! Next came the spirulina shampoo, and it was equally amazing - so much that all of these products made into my 2017 Best Products post. You can find my review of the dental products here and the shampoo here; and all I can say, all the other products my this amazing truly clean brand, come this way! Seriously, you should see my Living Libations wishlist! Two miles long, no kidding.

Related posts:


DEW DAB REVIEW




Dr.Alkaitis Organic Healing Gel

This is one of those few items that escaped my scrutiny and exposure on social media. I bought this after receiving a sample in a green beauty swap with Italian blogger 1988 Bori, as I fell love with how good this was for my dermatitis affected area, it was instantly much calmer and soothed! I will review it separately some day, but I can say that it is one of those high end priced products worth the money, at least for me. Fabulous natural ingredients, but if you are very sensitive and can't handle much essential oils, please try to obtain a sample of it - my skin miraculously can handle it, but I have to close my eyes when I apply it, as it irritates them. It increased in price since I bought it, so let me just say I will be looking for deals like a hawk :)




This was a pleasant surprise and the most successful shoot-in-the-dark purchase of the year, and by that I mean it was the most successful perfume purchase online. So successful in fact that it went into my Top Three Favourite Perfumes Of All Times. Please see the review here if you missed it. It has sandalwood, vanilla, tonka bean, tobacco and cedarwood. Can be used for men too, which is exactly why I like it! I am one of those rare breed of females who prefer to wear male fragrance.
Get it from Love Lula here, or try a sample kit.



Leahlani Mermaid Mask

This isn't technically a 2017 discovery, it was only a year I finally invested in a full size of the mask, after discovering it a year previously. It is really amazing, with visible results (with continuous use) and amazing ingredients! Essentially it is a honey based mask with spirulina, but it also has some amazing extracts in it, and it is why I can't DIY it. It is also one of the cheapest masks in green beauty (and also available within Europe) and that is exactly why I will keep repurchasing it. Review to come soon.



A great natural brand that is available locally to me, and thanks goodness for that! (Get if from Amazon if not) I have numerous products, and I don't plan to stop there. Review can be found here, and I can tell I can understand why Hollywood and stars of a lesser caliber favour it - it is amazing. Palette and the liquid eye liner made into my 2017 Best Products post, and there is so many products I want to try next - mascara, lip products, green concealer, and hopefully V.Claire will make the coloured finishing pearls called Perles Sublimatrices available here too, because I really want to get them. It is not a need thing, more of a "want" thing - it would finish off my green beauty make up collection very nicely. It reminds me so much of those Guerlain pearls, and I see it as an ultimate luxe product.

 


Dudu Osun African Black Soap

Probably the most affordable out of all products I am mentioning here, and the one I intend to re-purchase time and time again. First of all, it has only minimal natural ingredients, secondly it works very well and does not dry out the skin, thirdly it comes in only cardboard box, no plastic, so it is good for the planet (and us). I have reviewed it here, and I kind of don't want to test and review other soaps, because this is so good. Get it from Love Lula here.



If you are after a full coverage concealer, you would love this. I have to be upfront, it is sticky, but it offers full coverage and I find it does not crease. This is my second favourite green beauty concealer after the Hynt Beauty Duo Perfecting concealer (which offers more coverage, but creases slightly, plus I sadly happen to be in between the shades). I have a review of a couple of Ere Perez products here, and I happen to love their Bondi blush too, which is one of the 20+ natural Nars Orgasm dupes I've found. Can be found in Love Lula here.


The best discovery of 2017 for my dermatitis prone skin. Repurchased at least five times in last year alone, so let this be a testament of how much I love it. We all know that bloggers rarely repurchase a thing, unless it is really good. And this is really good for my dry skin - it is amazing, and my skin just drinks it up! it is not designed to treat dermatitis, but my skin is on it's best behavior when I use this, and if I happen to have a breakout due to accidentally glutening myself or testing some unsuitable products, this is the first thing I reach for, as I know my skin will be soothed and calmed in an instant. See review in this link, and if you want to, get it from Love Lula here



Rahua Shampoo

Just like with Living Libations True Blue Spirulina shampoo, all I can say is this - it is worth the money. And trust me, I am not someone who recommends pricy products easily! Rahua line has been on my radar since the very start of my own switch to the green side, but it took me eight years to come round to try this - until then I spent many years having bad hair days - trying all the budget clean shampoos I could find, and crying crocodile tears when none of them worked for me.
I got mine in Love Lula.


So those were my favourite discoveries of 2017 - thinking back, it was amazing year for discovering new fantastic products. This is the first this type of post I'd done to date, but I will keep it up. It was fun to look back and remember the new-to-me things I enjoyed. 

What were your best discoveries of 2017? Please share, I would love to know!

*Update in 2020 - every single product is still a favourite and that is saying something ðŸ’•


P.s. Please make my day and subscribe & share this or any of my blog posts on social media - it helps to get the green beauty word out and for that I Thank You!

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Tata for now.

Lots of Love,
Renata.

green life in dublin


Disclaimer: You can't use any of my photos or blog text without my permission.

Disclaimer II: this post contains affiliate links. It is at no extra cost to you, and I thank you for using them. I am only affiliated with brands and online shops that align with my values. At the moment those are Love Lula and Neal's Yard Remedies. Other links are purely for your convenience and I do not earn anything from them. I want to be crystal clear about it, so we would be on the same page about it.

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Love Lula Beauty Box December 2017



Hello Lovelies,

Welcome back! And welcome, if you are new here 💕💕💕


green life in dublin
Love Lula Beauty Box December 2017

How are all of you? I hope you are calm and collected with all your shopping done, and other preparations well on their way too? Me, I am a total opposite, a total stressball, with a never-ending-to-do-list in one hand and phone in another to constantly check the time, as I find I have too little time for everything. 
Hmm, maybe some wine (hey, we are all adults here) and some pampering is in order?
Luckily Love Lula Beauty Box came in today and I was delighted to see something I could use for pampering night! 
Let's see what we got in December 2017 box? Let's dive in! Ok, this doesn't contain any tea or natural candles I imagined it would have for Christmas, but it contains three full sized items and a few samples, well worth the price you pay for the box! Any box containing natural make up is a favourite of mine, and in this box we get two, so big yay! Oh, by the way, the total value of this box is 58£ - woohoo or what? -and I believe this time round UK and international boxes were the same. Also, each box contains the code for 20% off for all the brands featured in the box, for this month it's Madara, PHB, Mossa, Urban Veda and DrHauschka. 
So let's see the individual products and my first impressions on them?


Madara SOS Instant Moisture + Radiance Hydra Mask 

This is the first of three full sized products. Worth 35£, this is almost the triple the price of the box alone. Right on time too, as I think all of us could do with some masking and soothing our skin. Full of all kinds of nourishing and soothing ingredients, I am excited to dive into this! It is a vegan product, I thought it is worth noting. 

Ingredients:
Aqua Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil Alcohol Rosa Damascena (Rosa) Flower Water Cetearyl Alcohol Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride Dicaprylyl Carbonate Arachidyl Alcohol Behenyl Alcohol Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Fruit Butter Hippophae Rhamnoides (Sea-buckthorn) Fruit Extract Sodium PCA Glycerin Stearic Acid Palmitic acid Aroma Arachidyl Glucoside Betaine Linum Usitatissimum (Flax/Linseed) Seed Extract Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Leaf Extract Paeonia Lactiflora (Peonia) Root Extract Coco Glucoside Xanthan Gum Sodium Hyaluronate Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid Hydrolysed Glycosaminoglycans Ascorbyl Palmitate (Vitamin C) Tocopherol Xylitol Iron oxide CI77492 Citronellol Geraniol Benzyl Salicylate Eugenol



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PHB natural & organic lip crayon in peach


PHB Natural & Organic Lip Crayon in Peach

Another full sized product, this retails for £8.95 for 4ml of product. Unfortunately I already own this, bought it before summer. I didn't particularly liked the way it looked on my lips, it was more orange than I imagined, so it is just sitting in my make up stash, unused and unloved. Perhaps it is time I dug it out and tried again, to see if it looks better in winter?
The new one from the box will either go into the stocking for my mother or I will set this aside for giveaway with Love Lula's permission. On the side note, have you seen my Love Lula Christmas Gift Guide? I have recommendations for everyone, from men to vegans in your life, as well as tea lovers and recs for someone who has everything. I've got you covered for those last minute gifts!

Ingredients:
Octydodecyl Srearoyl Stearate,C10-18 Triglycerides, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) oil, Copernicia Cerifera Cera, Olus Oil, Candelilla Cera, Mica, Sesamum Indicum Oil, Polyglycceryl-3 Diisostearate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sorbic Acid, C.I. 77891, C.I. 77491


PHB Ethical Beauty Liquid Eyeliner in Black

Yet another full size product that retails for 12.95£ - and I am excited to try it! At the moment I have other green beauty brand's liquid eyeliner, so it would be interesting to compare the two. I am the "perfect test bunny" as in my eyes are hooded, and the corners of my eyes go down, so if an eyeliner holds up on my eye, that means it's a good one.  First impressions are good, it is easy to use and dries down quick. I touched my eyes on purpose and very little of it came off. Not super black though, I needed a couple of layers of it. Now let's see how it will wears throughout the day. I will keep you posted on this.
PHB were super generous with their make up in the Love Lula boxes in the last half a year, we got their mascara, eye shadow and blending brush, and now a lip liner and liquid eye liner. 

Ingredients:
Ingredients: Aqua, *Hydrolyzed Zee Mays (Organic Corn Starch), Sorbitan Olivate, Iron oxides (CI 77499 CI77491), Mica, Leuconostoc /Radish Root Ferment Filtrate.


Next we have a few of the sachet samples, and out of five of them, I am excited to try only two, and those are Dr.Hauschka Hydrating Cream Mask and Mossa Skin Perfector, a BB cream from a brand that's new to Love Lula.  Mossa caught my eye straight after they launched in Love Lula, all of the products seems to have an affordable price point, and I might try a couple of their products soon.
As for Dr.Hauschka, I am only venturing into this brand, but their Rose Day Cream is my Holy Grail face cream at the moment that is surely be featured in my Best Products of 2017 post (coming very soon) and repurchased at least five times by now.

Next are some samples from Urban Veda, their Purifying Protecting Night Cream, Reviving Facial Oil and Reviving Day Cream, but I am sad to report I won't be trying these and will be passing those on - I have had at least four full sized products from this brand and they haven't worked out for my sensitive skin, even their soothing range aimed at my skin type. Then again, not everyone is as sensitive as me, so, everybody else, be my guest.


So, all in all, I am happy with this box, masks and make up, two of my favourite things! And I am glad that these are the full size products. So I will leave you here and I am off to play with the products :) Err, test the products, the correct term is testing :)



green life in dublin
Love Lula Beauty Box

I have to say I have been very happy to be receiving these Love Lula Beauty Boxes as part of LLABP program for the last half a year, and it quickly became one of my favourite things! I soon started looking forward receiving them, it feels like a Christmas coming soon each month, I am telling you. There are a few different options when it comes to your budget, slightly different for UK and international customers, and Love Lula is still running a promotion on them, up to 20% off. So it is a perfect time to get this as a present for yourself or for your loved one (gentlemen, are you listening?) - it is the gift that keeps on giving! And it is truly worth the price you are paying, as boxes come with a value of more than 50£ more often than not. I am yet to come across the box I would be disappointed in. I know I want to receive them as long as Love Lula makes them!


(39.76£ instead of 41.85£, 5% savings)

(75.33£ instead of 83.70£, a 10% saving)

(133.92£ instead of 168.40£, 20% savings)



(49.88£ instead of 52.50£, saving you 5%)


(168£ instead of 210£, whopping 20% savings)



So that is it for today. I will have two more blog posts for this year, a Yearly Overview and my Best Products for 2017, so please keep your eyes peeled for those. After that I will see you in 2018, and I will have a LOT of reviews coming your way then. I hope we will continue our green beauty journey together! I truly and deeply appreciate all of you who read my blog posts and take time to leave comments. Big hugs and kisses all round!

P.s. Please make my day and subscribe and share this or any of my blog posts on social media. Thank You! It really helps to get the green beauty word out.
Follow me on InstagramTwitterPinterestFacebook and YouTube.



Ta ta for now,
Lots of Love
Renata.


green life in dublin


 Disclaimer: You can't use my content without my permission first. That includes both pictures and any parts of the text. The beauty box came as a part of LLABP programme and it features affiliate links. That is no additional cost to you, and I thank you for using them.


Love Lula related posts You might enjoy:

Love Lula Green Beauty Christmas Gift Guide
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Shopping My Green Beauty Stash #3



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Lots of Love,
Renata.

Enjoy my content? A  tip into my PayPal Tip Jar -  will get You my eternal gratitude and more awesome green beauty reviews Your way! I weed out all the greenwashing products so You won't have to.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

My (not so) Minimal Black Friday Haul



Hello Lovelies,



Welcome back! And if you are new here, welcome 💕💕💕


DrHauschka Exquisite Rose set

Hello Lovelies, first of all I wanted to thank every single one of you who read my blog, I really appreciate all of you! So if you are here, huge bear hugs and kisses! Uff, I have to be honest and tell you upfront, in a week's time I will disconnect from social media, not only because of the Christmas period, but also because my mom is flying over for a holiday with us. As we live in a different countries, I see her next to nothing, so I shall cherish that time she will be here, right? 
So for those reasons I have to say that many of blog post I planned for December, will be published in January, as I am simply running out of time. Too much plans, too little time = super overwhelmed Renata, and that is only the blogging part of my life.
Anyway, let's have a look at what I bought in the Black Friday sales this year, shall we? After all, that is why you are all here. Err, before the BF sale started, I thought I will only get "essentials", and honest to God, I thought I did just that, but now that packages are nearly all here, I am thinking to myself "jeeez, woman, what have you done!!" Let me explain myself, and let me show you exactly what I did buy, in order that I bought them and then I can self bash myself later, as I will calculate my total with all of you together.. So far I applied head-in-the-sand method and didn't even added the totals yet. Insert sheepish grin here!

Sooo, my first purchase was a replacement of DrHauschka Rose Day Cream from Love Lula - as you might know, it is my Holy Grail Face Cream of the moment, and a constant repurchase. You can read my review here in the case you missed it. As you can see in the photo above, I chose a set called Exquisite Rose Gift Set, that is the same price as the cream, but it comes with two free sidekicks, both of them I am excited to try. It is still available in Love Lula Christmas shop.
I also included this set in my Love Lula gift guide here. Oh, and this set retails for £30.50, I saved 15% on it, which was the discount Love Lula had for the Black Friday.
Whoops, I totally forgot I added Living Nature Manuka Honey gel to my order at the last minute! Hehehe, finger slip! I am surely blaming finger slip if my husband asks! Shh, don't tell.

So the total for this order is £36.95, let's convert it to euros, and my total so far is 41.84€





Flying Wild Lip Balms - my Holy Grail for Winter

Flying Wild Frankincense & May Chang Honeybotter


Next I ordered a humongous tub of lovely body butter from one of my favourite Irish brands, Bees Flying Wild - it was my first body butter purchase this year, and I knew it will be amazing, as I liked all the products I tried from the brand so far - Arno uses only minimal and very natural ingredients, and it shows in the quality of products (see reviews here and here if you want to). Arno wasn't having any Black Friday sales, but I still wanted to order from him to support a local brand for Small Business Saturday. so that is exactly what I did. This giant tub of body butter (half a litre, no less!) was only 18.50€ and I got some of my favourite lip balms that actually stay on your lips, aka my winter saviours! No discounts as I mentioned previously, but I got two extra lip balms, so that is really appreciated!

Total for this order €29. Total so far 70.84€



green life in dublin
Inika Long Lash Mascara


Then the email from Inika popped into my inbox, and I simply couldn't resist their deal, so that's another 21£ or 23-24€ spent. Let me just say, watch this brand come next Friday, as they had amazing deals for four days where they were giving away full size stuff with the orders! The first day offer was free full size of their Long Lash mascara, and this is the more expensive one out of the two they carry. Inika mascara was the exact same thing I used since August, so technically I was due a new mascara, which was a catch for me. While I was mulling over should I get the mascara by itself or should I upgrade to one of their festive set with the mascara and the liquid liner for 25£, it sold out before my very own eyes, as did the cheaper mascara, so that simplified my choice (damn it though!) and I bought one mascara, and got one for free. Plus I got free shipping. Technically a score, but an impulse buy all the same.
Btw, I am due a Inika review, but it is one of those things I will carry over into the next year, as it will be one those huge blog posts, and it makes me tired already, even thinking about it, haha! I have like eight products to write about. 
By the way, Love Lula is doing an amazing deal on Inika now, where you get two free eye brushes for any order above 30£, so if you guys want to, you can get the mascara and liquid eyeliner set I mentioned above, plus something else (it might be a sample kit to bump you up to 30£ limit)

Total for this order 21£ or 23.77€ 
Total so far 94.61€

green life in dublin
Terra Nova Cordyceps


Then I started to get sick, and started thinking of the ways to boost my immune system fast, as we opened "sickness season" really early this year, and quite frankly, I am sick of feeling sick! Then I remembered one thing that really helped me to stay well while I was taking it, and that is cordyceps supplement. I have tried Terra Nova Cordyceps, Rhodiola and Ginseng from Love Lula before, and it really helped me. It was my first cordyceps product ever, but I felt it is one of those things that gives the effect immediately. But as that supplement was in powder, I went for capsules this time round (link here), and I bought two bottles instead of one. The instructions say take 1 to 3 a day, so I didn't want to order another bottle really soon. My plan is to start with 3 capsules and then decrease it afterwards. If you are more advanced when it comes to cordyceps and other medicinal mushrooms than me, please tell me more about it, what brands are the best, how long do you take it, what other mushrooms are good for immune system, I want to know it all.

I already lost the receipt for it, so please let me do the math here, 19.75£ x2, with 15% off is 33.6£, let's convert it to euros and you will get 38.05€

Total so far is 132.66€




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Neals Yard Remedies order


If there was one thing I waited for on Black Friday, it was Neals Yard Remedies 20% off sale, but they did not have it until like the 8th of December or something. I wasn't keen on spending another hundred euros, and they never have free shipping, which bugs me to no end, but I needed to stock up on their amazing Organic Thyme Cough Syrup, which is like the only thing that works for coughs, I really love the fact that it is organic, and it is like only a couple of euros dearer than the nasty chemical stuff you get in pharmacies. I had three bottles of it from my previous order, thinking it will last me the whole winter, but as I mentioned earlier, we opened the sickeness season early this year. So I didn't mince my words this time, I got five, plus Elderberry and Propolis Throat Spray and some essential oils - eucalyptus, frankincense and myrrh, plus lemon for cleaning. Order happened to be delivered while I was working away on this blog post, so I was able to insert a photo, with some better pictures to follow for upcoming reviews :) They have an array or great skincare, bodycare and make up, plus their Christmas sets are second to none, but I didn't need any of those this time round, so I skipped it.
P.s. If you happen to live in UK, Ireland, Germany or France, you might shop or browse my NYR page?

Total for this order was 101.35€ 
Total spent 234.01€

 
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So Natural Beauty Order


*Update a few weeks later. Umm, do you think I stopped there? Nope. I happened to be browsing IG and So Natural Beauty (fabulous Belgian online store) happened to be running a GWP offer that I deemed better than their BF sale, so I jumped in with both feet, and with order above 150€ I scored a full size of Leahlani Meli Glow and a free shipping. I finally got a full size of Mahalo Rare Indigo balm, a couple of soaps from Kopa Kaui (Hawaii brand that happens to be owned by Leah's of Leahlani mother) and a Calia shampoo, finally! I wanted to try it ever since Holistic Habits put it on the market for me a good few years ago. As you can also see in the photo, I also got a mini of Schmith's sensitive skin deodorant, but I am not sure I will go on to purchase the full size of it - in the case you don't know it, the brand just sold out to Unilever, and soon enough we will witness formulation and ingredients change for the worse, mark my word for it! 
Expect reviews for everything in the 2018. In this case I am #sorrynotsorry for wasting another wad of cash - these were the products I needed and really wanted to try, plus the gift with purchase was too gorgeous to pass on! The mask smells gorgeous and I am so excited to dive into it! (unfortunately so is my 5yr old, I might have to hide it really soon, haha!)

Total for this order: 152€
Total total: 386.01!!! 
Whaaat? Umm, if you will need me, I will be in the naughty corner until the next year.


So all in all, that is my Black Friday haul this year. I don't even know how much I saved, all I know I am a bit annoyed with myself for spending that much - it is not like someone threw a couple of hundred of euros in order for me to shop, isn't it?

What about you guys? What did you buy and are you happy with your purchases? Please let me know, I would love to see it all.


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Lots of Love,
Penniless Renata. 



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Enjoy my content? A  tip into my PayPal Tip Jar -  will get You my eternal gratitude and more awesome green beauty reviews Your way! I weed out all the greenwashing products so You won't have to.


 P.s. This blog posts features all the items I bought myself with my own money and affiliate links. They are at no extra cost to you, and I thank you so much if you use them xo