Review: Sephora Instant Depuffing Eye Mask

The Sephora Instant Depuffing Eye Mask is supposed to fight signs of fatigue around your eyes "better than a nap". While I actually always prefer a nap to any eye mask, there are occasions where you don't have time for one, so how does this eye mask help in those cases?

I would say it's better than no mask at all, but the effect it gives you is not very dramatic. It does make your eyes look slightly more alert and rested, but one should not expect miracles. The mask also has a nice cooling sensation, that I really liked, and this eye mask is packed in a really convenient wrapper that makes it perfect to take with you on trips. So if you are looking for an eye mask that is easy to carry with you, this might definitely be what you are looking for!

You should be aware of the fact that the results you do get with the Sephora Instant Depuffing Eye Mask are not very long lasting, though. You'll look a bit more refreshed for around one day or one night, not more. So I would recommend using these for special occasions, not on a regular basis. It's probably better to find a really good eye cream if you suffer from puffy eye constantly, I think!

Review: Biotop Professional Quinoa 911 shampoo for dry and damaged hair

A new brand that I have been trying lately is Biotop Professional, a brand that creates high quality hair care products that are not tested on animals (a must for me, personally, when it comes to hair care products. You wouldn't believe how many of them are tested on animals, after all!), based on natural ingredients, such as water and quinoa.

I think the shampoo from the range, the 911 shampoo for dry and damaged hair, is nice, and cleans my hair well, but at the same time, it is rather boring, and does not have any outstanding features at all. What I do think a lot of people will like about this shampoo, however, is that it has almost no scent (I know there are a lot of people out there who hate strong scents in beauty products and shampoos), no coloring and so on, so it feels very "clean" and "pure", so to speak.

It's not so much what I am looking for personally in a shampoo, though, so while the shampoo does make my hair feel nice and clean, I think I won't be purchasing it again, simply because this shampoo is "not my style" as much as some other shampoos I've tried. So I guess I would rather use my favorite shampoos instead, or look and try other shampoos, that I have not tried before, in order to find a new favorite!

That said, I am pretty sure there is a huge market for this type of shampoo, so while I am not that into it, I am sure plenty of others will be.

Review: Hairkop Essence Intensive Nourishing Shampoo

I've written about Hairkop Essence products and their amazing scents here on the blog before (see this review, this review and this review, for instance), so when I spotted some other Hairkop Essence products in a local store recently, I was very excited to try them out too, since my first experience with the brand was so good.

But sadly, the Hairkop Essence Intensive Nourishing Shampoo is somehow not as exciting as the other shampoo I tried. It doesn't have that amazing scent, even though the scent is by no means bad either, it's just a bit... bleh.
And the results for me at least were not as spectacular with this shampoo as with the previous one I tried. The shampoo is intended for damaged, colored and unmanageable hair, which is definitely at least partly my hair type.

But I have to say that it is by all means a nice shampoo, I think my expectations were just way too high after having tried their other shampoo first. But I would still recommend this shampoo, and I might also get it again if I can't find my favorite Hairkop Essence shampoo for some reason.

Review: Kava Kava Rescue Mask

So I told you what I thought of the Kava Kava Rescue Shampoo yesterday, but this shampoo also has a buddy in the form of the Kava Kava Rescue Mask. So what about that? Is the hair mask any good or not?

I would say it is, although I am now a bit more familiar with Kava Kava hair masks, so I guess I am not as blown away by them as I was when I first tried them. But the texture of the hair mask is just as nice on the Kava Kava Rescue Mask as it was on the other hair masks I tried in the past, and the scent is nice, yet subtle too.

But most importantly, this hair mask makes my hair:
Softer
More manageable
Smell great
and less frizzy
So I am definitely pleased with the results of this too!

The mask is intended for those with dry, frizzy and rebellious hair, but I think most people could probably benefit from using this hair mask. But if you have any of the hair types mentioned, you definitely will!

I will definitely be getting the Kava Kava Rescue Mask again myself, there's no doubt about that!

Review: Kava Kava Rescue Shampoo for Dry, Frizzy and Rebellious Hair

I've tried Kava Kava products for blonde hair before (read my reviews here, here and here), and I loved them, so when I spotted some other Kava Kava products in a store that seemed to suit my hair type, I thought there would surely be no harm in trying those too.
That's how the Kava Kava Rescue Shampoo, along with a hair mask from the same range, ended up in my bathroom.

And I am happy to report that this Kava Kava shampoo is just as lovely as the other one I've tried. It has a very unusual pink color, that makes the shampoo look really cool and different (I'm such a sucker for those kinds of things!), and the scent is amazing too!

It also lathers really well, so you don't need to use a lot of shampoo to get your hair clean, and the packaging is chic but also original, so I pretty much love everything about this shampoo!

I think Kava Kava is definitely one of the better hair care brands that I've tried in a long, long time, and I will definitely buy both this shampoo, as well as all the other products by them that I've tried already again! They're just that good, even though the brand is still fairly unknown! But sometimes it really pays off to try some lesser known brands, Kava Kava is perfect proof of that!

If Kava Kava is not sold where you live, I see you can quite often find their products, including this shampoo, I believe, on Ebay.

Review: Korres Almond and Linseed Nourishing Hair Mask

I've reviewed Korres hair products here on the blog previously, but if you thought the Korres Almond and Linseed shampoo and conditioner sounded good, you will probably love the Korres Almond and Linseed Nourishing Hair Mask, too, because it's really good, so it obviously deserves its own post!

First of all, this hair mask has a very faint, but nice scent, so it's not a good choice for those who want a strong scent in their hair masks or shampoos. But the results are excellent! This hair mask really made my hair silky, smooth and soft, which is no easy task. It almost never happens to me with other hair products, so that alone is impressive!

This hair mask is supposed to be used by those with dry or damaged hair, mine is very dry, and I felt it worked really well with my hair type, so I would definitely recommend it to those who have dry and maybe coarse or frizzy hair, since I do believe it will work well for you.

The packaging on the Korres hair mask is just as sleek and simple as on the other products from the same range, and the price is quite good as well. So I do believe I would buy all the products I've tried from this range, including the Korres Almond and Linseed Hair Mask, again.

Review: Anatomicals You Need A Blooming Shower Rose And Jasmine Body Cleanser

I've tried Anatomicals' products before, and I find them to be average, yet very reasonably priced and cute when it comes to presentation, so while no Anatomicals product has really blown me away so far, I still buy them from time to time, mostly to try new types of products/scent combinations and so on. And that is actually the reason I got the Anatomicals You Need A Blooming Shower Rose And Jasmine Body Cleanser too, I wanted to see if rose and jasmine works together. And yes, I do think it does, even though it is not the most exciting scent combination perhaps.

The scent is very original, though, and the texture nice and easy to work with. The cleanser also lathers a lot, which is nice, since it means you don't have to use a lot of the product each time, but you still get clean.

So I would definitely get this again, especially if I can get an ASOS discount on it (which is what I think happened last time), it's a basic, yet cute and nice shower gel basically.

Review: Korres Pomegranate Cleansing and Makeup Removing Wipes

I have very limited experience with Korres products, even though it is a brand that I have been very curious about for quite some time. I've only tried a handful of products, some of which I've liked a lot (like this and this), and some of which have slightly disappointed me (like this), so when I recently bought a pack of Korres Pomegranate Cleansing and Makeup Removing Wipes, I thought they would help me decide what I think about this brand once and for all. But no such luck. Because the Korres Cleansing and Makeup Removing Wipes are not good, but also not very bad. They are just... bland.

So these wipes really do not change my opinion about Korres in any way. I guess I will just have to try more of their products in order to figure out if this is a brand for me or not!

So why did I think these wipes were bland?

First of all, they do clean your face, but not very well. So you need to use a lot of them in order to get any cleansing done, which is not very cost efficient, of course.

And they have no extra perks, such as leaving your skin nicely exfoliated, like these cleansing wipes, or smell amazing, like these, so in my opinion, there is really no reason to choose these wipes over any other wipes.

So I would say you can always get these wipes in case you find them on sale or for a really great price for some other reason, or if no other cleansing wipes are available for some reason. But otherwise, you can usually find many other, better options out there.

Review: Sephora Triple Action Cleansing Water

Now, when I got the Sephora Triple Action Cleansing Water, I had no idea of what cleansing waters were and I had not tried them previously, so it was hard to know what to expect. Sephora says, though, that you can use this water instead of a cleanser, just to wipe your make up and any other dirt you may have on your face off easily, which sounded really good, so I thought: Why not give it a try?

And while the texture of this Triple Action Cleansing Water is indeed very similar to water, it also has the cleansing properties of water. By that I mean that I feel like I have to use crazy amounts of this liquid in order to clean my face. And even then, it doesn't feel completely clean, so I always felt I should use a face wash on my face, too, after using this, which is kind of not the point, so I would not recommend this for anyone looking for a one stop solution. I do think it can be a good purchase for those who don't mind having a separate make up remover product, and a separate cleansing product, though. If you are fine with that, the Sephora Triple Action Cleansing Water definitely does a good job, just like any make up remover wipes you might get, but it cannot be used instead of a proper cleanser completely, no matter what Sephora says!

I got the small travel size bottle, which was okay, even though nothing extraordinary.

I do think I might get this product again, if I run into it for some reason (like I've mentioned in a few posts before, I don't have a Sephora where I live, so it's not something I will bump into on a regular basis, I don't think), but I don't think it's a super necessary product, so I am not sure if I would recommend this to others or not. It depends how much you like not-that-necessary-beauty-products, I guess!

Review: Lancome Tresor perfume

When shopping at Sephora in Paris, I was also given a sample of Lancome's scent Tresor, a scent I believe I have tried before, a long, long time ago. But I remembered nothing about this scent when I tried it again, and when I did, I understood why. It really isn't a scent that appeals to me in any way, you see. It feels like a typical old lady scent, somehow. So I would be very surprised if I caught a lot of young women wearing this.

It's a very sweet scent, with apricot flower, vanilla, peach and rose, just to mention a few of the notes, and it's rather strong too, so while I usually like both sweet and long lasting scents, this is just way too much for me!

I would imagine it would be a good option for people:
Who are looking for very strong, bold scents
Who are a bit older
and/or
Who are looking for something to wear to special occasions.

But an every day use perfume this is definitely not! And I doubt that I will ever be getting this scent myself, it just is not for me on any level. If I was offered a sample in the future, I might even turn that down, to be honest!

Review: Sephora Pore Clarifying Mask

So, my experiences with Sephora products have not been the best, to say the least (read a little bit about why here, here and here), but their Pore Clarifying Mask is pretty good. It's a face mask for oily skin, meant to remove impurities, and I think it does it rather well.

The Sephora Pore Clarifying Mask also doesn't like have any really big and annoying negative sides, like most of their other products seem to, so I was very, very pleased with this mask, that I used 2 times, since the pack I bought came with 2 masks.

But since I only used the mask twice, I can say anything about effects after prolonged use or anything. But using this as an occasional cleansing face mask definitely worked for me! It also didn't make me break out, like some products can, and it comes in a size that is definitely perfect for anyone travelling. So I would recommend it both for those in need of a face mask for travels, and those who need a deep cleansing face mask for oily skin.

I don't have a Sephora where I live, but I would buy this again if I run into a Sephora while travelling, especially since the price for these 2 masks is pretty good too!