How I store parts of my beauty items

I always find posts about beauty storage very interesting, so I think it is only fair I write some posts about how I store my own beauty products as well. Some of the things I own are actually stored in some really cute metal boxes, made by Derriere La Porte, so I thought showing those boxes - and their contents - would be a good start.

The boxes look like this:

And one of the boxes is for samples, and a rather small one. I was actually hoping it would be bigger when I bought it, but it was kind of hard to judge how big it was since I bought it online. So when I got it, I realized I wouldn't be able to fit all my samples into it, but I do try to put the samples I am currently using or want to get around to using in it.

This is what it currently contains:

It's some Payot products, that I got in the Glamguru box I got recently, some Paul and Joe miniature bottles that I haven't used up yet, half a sample of a Valentino perfume, a body lotion I got on a trip recently and a hair serum from Mon Platin, the brand that makes the hair mask and shampoo that I reviewed recently (here and here). If I remember correctly, I got the hair serum with the hair mask. But if not, then with the shampoo.

I also have a box for all my lip products, and this box is much bigger.

So it actually fits quite a lot of stuff:

What's currently in it is basically several products from the Bliss Fabulips set (reviewed here), Rosebud Salve in Minted Rose in both a jar and a tube, a breath freshening spray by Anatomicals (I am actually not sure why this is in my lip box, but it is, so I decided to leave it in, for authenticity's sake), a lip butter from Jelly Belly (Jelly Bean), a MAC Cremesheen Glass and a MAC Lustreglass, a Chanel lipstick (reviewed here), a Chanel lip balm (review to come!), a Dior Lip Maximizer (reviewed here), a Dior Lip Glow (reviewed here), a Pupa lip gloss that I got in the Glamguru box recently and a YSL Sheer Candy lip gloss.

With the exception of the Pupa lip gloss, that I haven't actually gotten around to trying yet, I use pretty much all of these products on a regular basis, but since I like variation, I don't always reach for the same product. So it's pretty handy to have a box where I can place all of them, so that I don't have to look around for lip products too much in the morning. Due to their small size, these small tubes can get lost quite easily otherwise.

Review: Mon Platin Natural Silk Therapy Hair Mask

I reviewed my new Mon Platin shampoo for blondes recently, but I also mentioned that I had a hair mask from the same brand already, so let's take a look at it now, shall we?

This mask is not just for blondes, though, like the shampoo, and it's also not purple in color, like the shampoo, but white in color, and suitable for all hair colors. It does have black caviar and silk in it though, so it does have some similarities to the shampoo, despite the differences.

The Mon Platin shampoo had a very distinctive and luxurious scent, which the hair mask doesn't, so because I was very pleased with the Mon Platin shampoo scent, the rather boring and neutral scent of the hair mask kind of disappointed me. But I did like the texture of it, and it does seem to agree with my hair, even though it didn't really do any wonders for me.

So I guess I would describe the Mon Platin Natural Silk Therapy Hair Mask as a rather average hair mask, that lacks the qualities that sets the Mon Platin shampoo apart. But it's not a bad hair mask by any means, just nothing special.

So I might buy this hair mask again if I run into it on offer for a really good price or something, but I am not in any rush to get another one of these jars, to be honest. But since the hair mask seems to last for quite some time (a very good quality!), luckily I don't have to either! I still have quite a lot of it left!

Finally got my Beautylishious beauty box!

When I got my Glamguru box a while ago, I mentioned in the post that I wrote about it that I had ordered another beauty box that I never got, from Beautylishious. Well, as it turns out, I did get it now, after quite a long while, so when I wrote that I was highly suspicious of the fact that the Beautylishious box was ever sent, I was obviously wrong. Because it did arrive, and it was quite nicely packed too. The box, which was actually more of a bag, looked like this when I got it:

One of the products (the face mask, consisting of a very fine powder of some sort) had leaked a bit, but other than that all the products arrived in perfect condition.

The bag contained 4 different products, that all seem to be full sized, which is really nice. And while I haven't had a chance to try them properly yet, the products seem to be of good quality.

The products I got were:
- A Ooh La La Naked Creamy Bliss Coco de Mer Body Wash, which was nice, since I actually needed a new body wash anyway.

- A small bottle of Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment for hair, something I was also pretty happy about since  I have tried the Macadamia brand in the past (see some previous experiences here and here, for instance) and liked it. So it will be nice to try yet another product from this brand!

- A Fresh Minty Foot Scrub by Ooh La Spa. A nice surprise as well, since I could actually use a foot scrub at the moment, yet it's one of those products I never seem to go out and buy, mostly because I get pedicures on a regular basis, so I don't do so much with my feet other than that. But I definitely don't mind having a reason for getting better at foot care!

- A Natural Face Mask with Rose Clay and Raspberry, by a company called Lilac Thyme Soap Company. This face mask looks really different from other masks I use on a regular basis, so I actually really look forward to trying it for that reason alone!

So my experience with the Beautylishious beauty box actually turned out to be a really positive one when I finally got the package. The products seem generous and nice, and the packaging was flawless as well. I am still not sure I would order this beauty box again, since it took a really, really long time for me to get it. But if you live in the UK, where Beautylishious is located I believe, you probably won't have that kind of problems with the shipping, so I would recommend this beauty box to others, at least if you happen to live in the UK!

Review: L'Occitane Cherry Princess Pearlescent Shower Cream

I reviewed the L'Occitane Cherry Princess Eau de Toilette recently, but I mentioned that I had gotten several  products from this range in this post, so it's time to review another one of them: the L'Occitane Cherry Princess Pearlescent Shower Cream which is basically a shower gel, with a slightly thicker texture, with the same scent as the Eau de Toilette.

If you read the review of the Eau de Toilette you'll know that I quite like the scent of this, but the scent is pretty unnoticeable in this shower cream, and the lasting power is not too impressive. Some people might like this, but I personally don't. I prefer for the scent to linger a bit. Or a lot even!

The shower gel was nice though, besides that. It didn't dry out my skin, felt nice to use, but I wouldn't call it anything out of the ordinary. So if you like the Cherry Princess scent, and like who sets with the same scent (I do, I think it's better than using products with different scents, since you don't always know how they work when they are combined, so it's better to stick to one specific scent instead), I would recommend it, but I don't think I would get it on it's own.

Review: Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Candeur

I got a Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in the shade Candeur at the same time that I got the Chanel mirror I wrote about in a previous post. And this was actually the first time I tried Chanel lipsticks. So I was rather pleasantly surprised by how creamy the lipstick was, and how nice it felt on my lips, almost like a lip butter or something. So not only does this lipstick turn my lips into a very pretty and natural looking color, it also seems to be keeping them very well hydrated, which I really, really like.

The coverage is not excellent though, so if you are reading this and want a lipstick that gives you full coverage, I'd probably go for another lipstick instead.

I'm not sure the higher price you pay for Chanel lipsticks are really worth it though. The Chanel Coco Rouge Shine is definitely a nice lipstick, I am not denying that at all, but on the other hand, it's not something very special or out of the ordinary either. So I am not sure I will be getting this lipstick again, unless I find a really good deal on it or something. But I would like to try more Chanel lip products when given the chance!

I must also say that the packaging makes a huge difference when it comes to the Chanel Rouge Coco Shine, it's very sleek and chic, like you would expect from a Chanel product I guess, so I do feel it's special to pull this lipstick out of your bag on a night out, which is nice, of course!

Review: Mon Platin Black Caviar Total Blonde Shampoo

I've been trying out a lot of hair care products and shampoos over the last couple of months, and I haven't found something perfect yet, even if I did run into some quite nice shampoos and other products (the ones from Kava Kava, for instance), so I am still trying out several new hair care products, including ones from brands I have never tried before. So when I spotted Mon Platin's Black Caviar range, I decided to give it a try, especially since caviar in beauty products has been intriguing me in general lately (I also tried some caviar capsules recently, read more about those here).

And like the Kava Kava shampoo for blondes, this shampoo, too, is purple in color, which I like, since it makes this shampoo stand out a bit.

The shampoo also has a "perfume-y" scent, which I personally like a lot, since it makes the shampoo feel quite luxurious, but it might not be for everyone. Let's say that if you don't like scents like Chanel's No 5, in your shampoo, steer clear of this shampoo!
But I quite liked the scent of this shampoo and it cleans your hair really nicely too.

I also have to say that you need very little of this product at a time, making the bottle last for quite some time, which is great!

So while I was not blown away by this shampoo, I did like it, and would probably get this again, as well as other products from this brand/line (I already have a Mon Platin Black Caviar Hair mask, too, but I will review that separately).

If you want to read more about the Mon Platin Natural Silk Theraphy line that this shampoo is from, you will find more information about it here, on Mon Platin's website.

Review: L'Occitane Cherry Princess Eau de toilette

I mentioned in a previous post that I had been shopping some stuff at L'Occitane, a store and brand I absolutely love. During this shopping spree, I decided to try out L'Occitane's new Cherry Princess range, since I love cherries, yet have never had a cherry scent, so I thought that could be nice. And I actually needed some new scents anyway, since I was running out of pretty much everything I had. So of course one of the things I got was the L'Occitane Cherry Princess Eau de toilette.

(I also got some other products from this range, but I will be reviewing those separately, so this review will just focus on the Eau de toilette itself)

First of all, the scent itself is very happy, if you can call a scent that, generally feels positive och cheerful basically, and does not only consist of cherry, but it does have a hint of other stuff too, mostly some florals I can't quite identify. But I really like the scent, it's both unique and memorable and sweet, but not too sweet.

Others seem to like this scent too, since I have been getting quite a few compliments when I've worn this scent. I always mention this if this happens to be the case, which might make it seem like getting compliments is really important to me. I should add that while I do like getting compliments, that's not really the reason I bring this up though, it's more a way of illustrating that I don't seem to be the only one who likes a particular scent, but it seems to be quite popular among others too.

The scent is a bit delicate though, and not very long lasting, so I do think you might need to re-apply this from time to time during the day, if you want to have a scent on you constantly.

I do quite like the packaging as well, by the way, it's very pretty and girly, and goes with the scent somehow.

All in all, this is definitely a scent I will be purchasing again, for sure. I've been using several L'Occitane scents for years, and this seems like a good addition to that "must buy L'Occitane" list I have.

So I am definitely glad I decided to give this scent a try!

Review: Sothys Hydravance Light Hydrating Creme

In this post, I'll be reviewing yet another product that I got in my Glamguru box recently. It's a light hydrating creme by a brand called Sothys Paris, a brand that I hadn't tried before, but boy am I happy I got a chance to try it now, thanks to Glamguru! Because this cream is really amazing!

I should add that since I have oily skin, it's hard for me to find good moisturizers, that hydrate my skin enough, without making it break out, but this cream, intended for normal and combination skin, actually does!

The texture is also absolutely lovely, very light and nice, and the skin absorbs this product really, really fast too, which I really like, because I don't like moisturizers that make your face feel greasy for a long time.

My skin also looked really nice after using this, so I would definitely recommend this cream to everyone with combination skin or oily skin, who still want to make sure their skin is hydrated enough (important, especially if you don't want any pesky wrinkles!) and find such a product hard to find. I absolutely loved this moisturizer, and the Sothys Hydravance Light Hydrating Creme definitely made me want to try more Sothys products too!

And yes, I will definitely be buying a full sized version of this cream!

Review: Uniq One All In One Hair Treatment

This is another item that I got from my Glamguru box. I only got a rather small bottle though, so I haven't had a chance to use this spray for very long, which might be a problem since a lot of products like this spray need to be used for quite some time before you see the results they get you. But this bottle did last me for around a week, during which I used it every day, and I should also add that I have very long, and very thick hair, so I need a lot of every hair product when I use it. So this bottle might have lasted other people longer, basically.

According to the manufacturer, Uniq One, this spray is supposed to do a lot of stuff for your hair, including:
- Repair dry and damaged hair
- Control frizz
- Add shine to your hair
- Protect against heat
- Make your hair silkier and smoother
- Protect your hair color, if you've dyed your hair
- Make the hair easier to brush and style
- Add body
and
- Prevent split ends.

This sounds great, of course, but I have to admit that I was a bit sceptical, since it seems a bit crazy that just one product could do all that for your hair.
What I did end up realizing was that this spray does prevent frizz, and thus makes your hair look smoother, which is great in itself, and I do think it made my hair look shinier and healthier as well. I also really liked that it didn't make my hair look or feel greasy, like some products can, so I appreciated that too.

I also didn't mind the scent of this spray, even though I can't say I loved it either. It has a kind of harmless spray, which is nice, I suppose, it means this spray is suitable for a lot of people, no matter what kind of preferences you have regarding scents.

As for the other effects this spray is supposed to have, I didn't really notice them as much, but I was still pretty happy with this spray, so I would probably consider buying a full sized bottle, even though I am not in any rush to do so. But definitely a nice spray, and I am happy I got a chance to try it!

Review: Moschino I Love Love

This scent was a part of my 5 scent Moschino set that I got quite some time ago (read a post about the set here), and like most other Moschino scents I have tried, it's simply lovely!

It reminds me a bit about Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue, and is also a very light, summery and flirty scent. It smells like a citrus/flower mix to me, and has a young and modern feel to it, despite being launched in 2004 already.

I just had a small bottle, but I've had the bigger bottles before, and like most Moschino bottles, this one is really adorable too.

I think the staying power is okay, although not perfect, but very similar to that of other Moschino scents, I guess.

I think this is a great fragrance for day time (a bit light for the evening perhaps) and I know I will definitely be repurchasing this, since I have already bought it several times so far. So I would definitely recommend this scent to any Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue fans, or fans of other Moschino scents!

Review: Beyond Professional Facial Vitamin Capsules with Black Caviar

This is a product that I got in my Glamguru box a while ago, and initially I was really excited to try it, for the rather silly reason that it has black caviar in it, that feels really luxurious somehow, and I had never tried any caviar based skincare before, so I thought that would be really interesting.

Then I noticed that this product is actually intended for women over 40, an age group I am not in, so I realized this might not be a very suitable product for me, after all, since it is a rather strong anti ageing product, but then I changed my mind again, figured anti ageing and vitamins can't really hurt, so I decide to use up the capsules I had gotten to see what caviar skincare was actually about.

I must say I like the capsules. They feel luxurious, are easy to open just with your hands, so you don't need to fiddle around with scissors or anything, and they have way more product - some kind of oil - in them than you would think.

The texture of the oil itself was also rather nice, but I can't say that I saw any results after using these capsules, which was a bit disappointing. But I should add that I got a rather small amount of capsules, so I didn't use the product for very long, and that I was not in the right age group for the product to begin with, so maybe that's not so weird?

These capsules are rather expensive as well, so I doubt I will be getting more of them for the next 10 years at least, but it was interesting to get a chance to try them.

If you read Hebrew, you can visit the website of the brand, Beyond Professional, here. But unfortunately the website is all in Hebrew for now, didn't manage to find any site in English about them.

Shopped: Stuff at L'Occitane

L'Occitane has been one of my favorite brands for beauty items and skincare for a really, really long time. That's why it's always so fun to go get something there, especially if they have new lines that I haven't tried before. And today I got some really nice stuff there, including some new products I've never tried!

One of the things I got was their Citrus Verbena scent, a long time favorite scent of mine that has actually been featured on the blog before, here:

But I also got several products from their new Cherry Princess range.

And they came in this really cute basket too:

I'm not sure how much I will use the basket, but it should come in handy for storing things at least!

I will be reviewing these products on the blog eventually, but since I just bought them today I have not had a chance to try them yet.