Test Kitchen or The Edit or The Products New To Me

Hi Lovelies,


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

So three months ago I started new series to the blog, new (to me) products that come my way, but to be honest with you I am not sure how much longer I will keep this segment, as I've made a desision to downsize and minimise my green beauty collection (and everything else, really) so next month I might have nothing to blog about, and maybe one or two products the month after that, who knows?

It is just consumerism and wasting products drives me crazy, I am definitely someone who aims to use up all the products I own, and I decided to stop PR samples for skincare as I don't want to subject my poor sensitive skin to yet more testing of various products. I don't know why I took it upon myself to chain test creams and potions, but the truth is, my dermatitis prone face is at it's happiest when I use no products at all (or very minimal skincare) and protests wildly if I try something new. See my blog post on it here.

So, without contradicting myself, let's start the post, shall we? This is a rather large amount of products (at least for me) and the only reason I have so much new products is because I won two giveaways via Instagram, and that includes gorgeous Mahalo products - please don't hate me! But let's start from the begining and let's dive in, shall we? Oh, this post includes items that I bought with my own money, some PR products that were sent to me and as I already mentioned, two giveaway winnings.

100%Pure Matcha Green Tea Organic Moisturiser
I was intrigued by their recently released organic range, and although I didn't really need another moisturiser, I got this and a pack of my fave caffeine masks to get an awesome gift with purchase they had going on a while back.
I have to say the first impressions are not so good, which is not a good sign, I've come to come to trust my gut instinct, if a product does not impress me from a get go, it rarely makes it into my favourites later on. But this might be just the thing to change it, who knows?

100%Pure Caffeine Masks 

not new to me, these are very good, review and comparison to their other sheet masks to come.

100%Pure BB Cream in 20
This is part of the GWP and of course I was curious to try it. So far I've used it once, definitely dewy finish, but it kinda goes orange on the face, and I am not really liking that. Need to play with it more prior to reviewing it.

100%Pure Black Tea mascara and Black Eye Pencil
I used both of these products, I still have about half of their eye pencil from the about a year ago, and although it is still good, I will toss it and will open a new one. The mascara already smells funky which pisses me off, I've had purchased their mascara about 6 or 7 times now. And this is second tube that was sent to me old, if you ever open their mascara and will smell something other than pleasant fruity smell, know that's old and contact them for the replacement. The first time it happened to me I did get a replacement, although they tried to pull wool over my eyes saying their mascaras have "fermented" smell. No they don't, unless they are old! I used mine for about six months and they didn't change in any way, smell or consistency, and I know some bloggers that used it for 9months to a year without changes.
My love affair with 100%Pure is turning into a love-hate relationship because of their six months expiration date, but I'll go into more details in my 2016 Fall Empties post, which is to come really soon. Let's just say I took out some back ups and found them spoiled six months later despite company's claims they are good for 3yrs once unopened.

Bryt Skincare serum

This product is new to Ireland and that's why I got it, it is created by Catkin Wemyss-Bodmer, who won 13th place in the top 25 natural personalities in 2015, which definitely intrigued me. I haven't used this yet, but the ingredients are pretty good apart phenoxyethanol, which I don't use, as well as alcohol denat, which does not agree with my skin at all, so my gut instint says it might dry out my skin? Not sure, let's see, shall we?

Oh lord, I just realised I have three giveaways winnings here to show you, unbelievable! I was never lucky in lotteries and giveaways in my life, I don't know what have I done to get this fortune come my way, but touch wood these wouldn't be my last winnings!
So I present you with Skin & Tonic goodies, which of course I will review later on. One item came from green beauty swap.

Skin & Tonic Coco Mask
Skin & Tonic Naked Beauty Oil

Skin & Tonic Naked Lip Balm

Skin & Tonic Calm Balm

So far I have only tried the Coco mask, which I didn't even plan on trying until I've finished on some of the other products I have open now, but when I unscrewed the cap to see if the bottle is sealed, it wasn't, and I've decided to use it then in order not to waste a good product. It is a mix of powdered coconut milk, clay and some other things including lavender essential oil.

Another giveaway I have won back in the end of July from wonderful Candice Batista. I was going away for three weeks so I was afraid I'd miss my package, so I asked if the prize can be held until my return, and she kindly agreed. Long story short, a few emails and one forgotten package later, it is finally in my hands. The ingredients sound absolutely wonderful, but I haven't opened any of these yet as I've plenty of other products to use up, as I don't like having too many open products and thus wasting a part of them. These beauties will have to wait their turn.

Corpa Flora Beaute Divine Camelia Facial Oil

Corpa Flora Antidote 01 Firming

Corpa Flora Antidote 02 Vitality


And now for the best part of my haul, Mahalo! I was besides myself with joy when I got a message from the owner Maryna telling me that she was glad when randomiser.org selected me, and she was so kind and wonderful and calmed me down when I was fretting thinking my package was lost in the post (it took longer than I thought, and I was watching my postman as a hawk, as you would!) Her handwritten sweet note is something I will want to keep forever I think, as it will remind me of this wonderful package I've won - you can't get better than Mahalo in a green beauty world, and surely it is a one in a lifetime kind of miracle happening to me?

Mahalo Balm

Mahalo Bean Mask

Mahalo Vitality Elixir

(and a mini sizes of Indigo Balm as well as Vacation Glow oil)

Of course I have tried all of them already (apart from Vacay mini) and they are BEEEAAAUTIFUL products! Review is definitely to come, but *spoiler allert* - they are absolutely gorgeous products! I am in love! My budget (or rather no budget at all) won't stretch to get all of them, but I have to find ways to get at least one or two of them when the time comes.

Weleda Skin Food 

I have used quite a few products of Weleda in my time (purchased with my own money of course) and the one and only time I answered their call looking for bloggers, this is what I got. One teeny tiny cheapest product from their entire range. Blogger's beware, this brand will want you to work for nothing. When i emailed them to ask about it, they told me that "maybe I will warm up when I will actually start using this wonderful product". Gee, thanks!

Indigenous Beauty Deodorant samples

These just came in today, so no opinion on them yet, need to play with them first.

Bees Flying Wild Raw Honey Frankincense May Chang Body Butter

I was given this when I met the owner of this brand in Free From Expo that was happening a little while ago. If you follow me for some time, you know that this is my favourite company for body balms (and hand and foot balms) - review here - Arno uses only gorgeous purest organic ingredients for his products, and the results are pure magic! Definitely look out for a review in the near future!

One company I definitely won't be reviewing is Skyn Iceland, I got sent their Cooling lotion and eye cream. Hefty priced products didn't agree with me at all, eye cream made my undereyes swell and itch (outch!) and I only tried the cooling lotion on my hands once and I had to wash them off immediately too, too irritating as well. The smell can be felt from half a metre, and it is definitely not from a natural source, as there is frangrance in the ingredients list. How is that supposed to help with inflamed skin I don't know. Sorry brand, but I won't be testing your products much further.

So that is all for now! Please let me know if you want me to keep this segment to the blog? In a way it is kind of "blogger's mail" segment, and I am not sure if you guys want to see that or not?

Lots of Love,

Renata.

Test Kitchen or The Edit or Products New To Me

Hi Lovelies,

OMG! Everybody sit down please! OMG, soooo much stuff? I must be cray cray? Who gets this much new stuff while not even finished with the old ones I have? Gosh, Renata, you probably must think you need to keep the economy alive all by yourself, don't you?
Ok, let's calm down and break it down so it wouldn't look so bad, shall we? I realise it is obscene amount of new things by anyone's standard, but I thought you might be interested in what goes behind the scenes here at Green Life In Dublin HQ, aka my house :) This insane amount of products is a mix of my annual Neals Yard Remedies order I had to do before leaving for my holidays (and I've just realised I forgot to share it with all of you), two little was-feeling-sorry-for-myself online orders form Love Lula and Naturisimo, also from last month; then it is my holiday haul from Lithuania, where you get every single natural item which sparks your interest (duh!) and the rest are recent PR samples which I plan to review real soon, All this, and I have 35 or so drafts in my dashboard. Boy, it looks like I have some serious work to do!!
So I have gathered all these new products I am testing, and I nearly had a heart attack seeing How Many Things I've accumulated in such a short space of time, but as I explained it already, this is the mix of a few orders coming together at the same time (plus a few PR products here and there, but even those didn't arrive at my doorstep all at once, some of them have been sitting on my desk for a couple of months waiting for their turn). Proper testing of the products takes weeks, and while I would love to dish out reviews like a pancakes, I also take responsibility upon myself to test drive stuff for at least a few weeks, so my opinion would not be based on first impressions only. I have nothing against first impressions reviews, but knowing myself I want to use product for longer and see if it stands the test of time. Some of them will end up reviewed separately, some not. (Have you seen my latest "Disappointing Products" post? It is huge).

Also, make sure to enter my Instagram giveaway here! Good luck :)

Mayan Magic Balm - I got this along with Pure Anada order (something I also haven't shared with you, even though I have it for a few months now) and I am really pleased with this. Super awesome at healing dermatitis and sunburn, truly magical stuff! Definitely reviewing it!

Weleda Ratanhia Mouthwash concentrate - not sure how I feel about this yet, so far I am not amazed, I don't think it is doing anything? Hopefully my opinion will change?

Living Nature Soft Lights Illuminating Foundation - I really love this, and expect a review really soon. It is not a foundation if you ask me, more like a BB cream or tinted moisturiser, as it has minimal coverage, but it gives amazing luminous finish, and we all know I like dewy skin!

Cacay oils by Lepleu (forgot to include it in this photo, whoops! You can find it on my IG page).
 No opinion on face oil yet as I haven't tried it yet, but the nail and cuticles oil is nice, healed my badly looking cuticles in just a few uses.

Jane Iredale Pommisst Hydration Spray and Setting Powder - these are PR samples that were recommended to me, so far I only used them once or twice, I really like the hydration mist, but I need to test the setting powder a bit more. Gives matte finish.

Bio Mud Shampoo - this is my first ever mud/clay shampoo, so I didn't know what to expect from it, so far I only used it once and I think I like it, cleans hair really well, the only thing is it has sort of gummy or rubbery texture to it, so it will take a bit to get used to it. It also didn't pass my 4 day test, my hair looked oily and in need of a wash on day two.

Lavera Shaving Foam - It is my first shaving foam, so I've nothing to compare it to, but it has a thin foam and it works well, my legs were not irritated after using this. Errr, whoops, this is meant to go on men's faces, but every wife has to test her man's shaving foam, right? right?

Lipliner by PHB (natural and organic) - again, this is my first lip liner, not a huge lip person if I am honest with you, never felt the need for the lip liner, and this is bought on a whim. I think this is a wrong color for me, it says peach, but it is definitely more orange than peach! The organic label was what drew me to this product, but I am not sure I will use it much. Probably will end up giving it away. Let me know if you want a full review on this product?

Rose Quartz coloured chapstick by Naked Lips - again, wrong shade for me, although it looked gorgeous on Love Lula website. Great ingredients, I am not familiar with this brand, my train of thoughts was that I was looking for replacement for my beloved Pacifica lip butter in Coconut Nectar I believe, but this is not it, not even close. Oh well, I will use it up anyway, layering it with other lip products, as used alone it makes me sort of dead looking. Next!

Lash Fibers - I was instantly asked to do a review once I posted it on Instagram, and I will, just bear with me. Having sort of invisible lashes I need all the help I can get in this department (apart from lash extensions, thanks very much), so this seemed like a good idea until I realised how messy it is! Those fibers go everywhere and are a devil to clean form the cheeks/clothes/etc! Let me know if you use this product and how do you like it?

And now the part I didn't get round to yet:

Jason GF Shampoo & Conditioner, plus Apricot Shine Shampoo & Conditioner.

Urban Veda Soothing Sandalwood Facial Polish and Face Toner, plus Brightening Facial Wash and Toner

Natura Siberica Shampoo "We Love Lithuania" - now, how can I NOT buy this shampoo? No opinion yet as I am yet to open it.

Mango Butter

Shea Butter

Tamanu Oil

Babuska Agafia toothpaste x4 of them

Babuska Agafia shampoo

Karelia Organics Shampoo

Colloidal Silver spray

Skin & Tonic Gentle Scrub

Balance Me Pure Skin Face Wash

NYR Create shampoo/wash and whole lotta of other NYR goodies. Roundup post to come, and if you want to know what I think about other NYR products I've tried to date, click here.


One more thing I forgot to include is Botanicals Radiance Serum oil, photo here. It is 100% organic, certified by Soil Association, so I am excited to try it.


So this is it my dear friends! You would guess I would be done with the shopping for at least a few months? Not so much! I just got an insider mail that 100%Pure are doing an awesome Gift With Purchase deal very very soon, the one I was waiting for for nearly a whole year, so I will make sure to take advantage of and I suggest you do too! Want to know more? Stay glued to my IG and blog :)



Hope this didn't make your heads spinning?

Lots of love,
Renata.
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