Review: Marine Fine Touch Hair Mask

I wrote about an absolutely awful shampoo from the brand Marine a couple of days ago, but I should in all fairness also mention that I actually did buy the hair mask from the same line as well, when I got the shampoo.

Now, since the shampoo was so bad, you'd expect for the hair mask to be that as well, I suppose, but the hair mask is actually pretty harmless. It does not have a horrible scent, it has a really nice, normal texture, and it actually makes my hair pretty nice after I've used it.

I'm not sure it is one of the best hair masks I've ever tried or anything like that, but it certainly is pretty nice, and I might get it again in the future (without the shampoo, of course). I do think this shampoo wasn't very cheap though, so I am sure you can get a similar hair mask for a better price, if you look around a bit.

Something I just love right now

Is the fact that Nivea has started selling miniatures of their most popular products, such as their deodorants, shaving creams etc. where I live. These are just so convenient to take on a trip, or even to carry to work (well, the deodorants, anyway) if needed. I've gotten a whole bunch of these, for both me and my husband, I must admit!

Review: Marine Rich and Smooth Shampoo

I've been trying out quite a lot of different shampoos, conditioners and other hair products for quite some time now, because I really want to find a shampoo that I love everything about. One thing is for sure though: the Marine Rich and Smooth Shampoo I tried a while ago is definitely not my ultimate shampoo!

The shampoo itself is actually rather harmless. The texture is not perfect, but not really, really bad either, it's just a bit slimey and gross, if you ask me. The shampoo does clean my hair nicely, too, and the packaging is fine. But the scent of this shampoo is just horrible!

I've actually never tried any shampoo, nor any other beauty product with such a strong and unpleasant scent. The scent is really, really strong, and lingers for a really long time, and reminds me of melted plastic. There is nothing nice, natural or neutral about it, it just gives you the feeling if having washed your hair at the nearest plastic factory or something.

Needless to say, I will definitely not be getting this shampoo again. There is no need to, and I didn't even finish the bottle I had, so why on earth would I want another one?

The shampoo isn't tested on animals though, and it is salt free. So while I do find it quite bad, I do this some other shampoo manufacturers still have a thing or two to learn from Marine, that makes the shampoo!

Review: Calvin Klein CKOne

I recently ordered quite a few scents from Strawberrynet, one of which was Calvin Klein's CKOne, a classic scent, that I actually used to use when I was a lot younger as well, so I was actually already familiar with this scent, but I was still curious to see if I would still like this light, fresh and citrus-y scent. And as luck would have it (since I ordered the largest bottle on offer) I did!

This is a very simple, yet unique scent, which was the first unisex scent ever released, I believe, and it is still definitely one of the best unisex scents out there, if you ask me. It gives you that "just out of the shower" smell a lot of people (including me!) really like, just like perfumes like Clean.

I think it's a minimal scent that goes best with a casual look, like jeans, not so much with a very formal look, for evenings, but I actually like fresh, simple scents better anyway, so this is really a perfect scent for me.

I will definitely get this scent again, after I run out. But I suppose it will take a while, since the bottle I have is rather big.

Review: Apivita Green Tea & Bergamot Shower Gel

This is another product I was fortunate enough to try while I was in Greece recently. And actually, even if I wouldn't have wanted to try it, I would still have become familiar with it, I think, since the scent of this shower gel, used in all the rooms of the hotel I stayed at, of course, is so strong that it actually lingers all over the hotel, I think. Now, I am not necessarily saying this is a bad thing, because I actually really like the scent of this shower gel (it has a very strong green tea scent, I would say), but it does mean that the scent is incredibly strong, so I can't really recommend this shower gel to anyone who is sensitive to strong scents and/or who doesn't like green tea and how that smells.

Other than that, this shower gel is actually very nice. It has a really nice texture, it lathers nicely and of course, it cleans you off well.

So I think I would buy this shower gel if it was for sale where I live (it isn't, as far as I know, anyway), because I did really like it.

Review: Calvin Klein Downtown

Strawberrynet, where I regularly get beauty products of all kinds, had a special offer on perfumes and scents recently, so I ordered quite a few new scents. Now I've had a chance to try most of these for a while, so I thought I would share some thoughts on them. The first scent I wanted to share some thoughts on is Calvin Klein's Downtown.

This scent was launched in late 2013, and is a fairly modern, urban scent (hence the name, I suppose), and since it was described as having notes of lemon, bergamot, pear, plum, cedar and violet, just to name a few, I thought I would like it, so I took a chance and ordered it, without ever having had a chance to try it.

But I was actually really happy with this scent when I got it. It's light and cute, yet not overpowering, making it a good choice for every day use, in my opinion.

The longevity is not the best, however, I can't smell the scent for more than a couple of hours at most, making this scent a bit less suitable for every day use, I suppose. So while I would not mind wearing this scent to work etc., I don't think this is what I will actually do, instead, I think I will use this for special occasions etc. in the evening.

But I would definitely call Downtown a unique scent, it doesn't remind me of any other scent that I've tried, which is nice. I also find the packaging both sleek, pretty and unique, which is nice.

Due to the problem with longevity, I am not sure I would be getting this perfume again though. We'll see...

Review: Apivita Conditioner with Citrus and Honey

Of course, the hotel I wrote about in my previous post did not only supply me with shampoo, they did give me some conditioner from the same Apivita line as well. And the Apivita Conditioner with Citrus and Honey was just as nice, if not even nicer, than the shampoo from the same line!

First of all, I was amazed by how little of this conditioner I needed to use each time. As I've mentioned before on the blog, I have thick and unruly, very long hair, so I usually need to use tons of products in order to see any results. But not with the Apivita Conditioner with Citrus and Honey, because a little really goes a very long way with this conditioner!

I also liked the scent, which was subtle, yet fresh, and the light, but lovely texture of the conditioner.

The only complaint I have about this conditioner is really that the bottle was not the best, it was rather hard to get product out of it. But this did not bother me so much that I wouldn't get it again, because you can definitely work around this, but still wanted to mention it, in order to illustrate that this is not a perfect conditioner, even though it is pretty good.

Review: Apivita Citrus & Honey Shampoo

A great thing about traveling is that this gives you a chance to try brands you are not familiar with already. This happened to me on a recent trip to Greece, where the hotel I stayed at supplied me with Apivita products.

Apivita is a Greek company, specializing in natural and holistic beauty products, so I was thrilled to give them a try.

The first product I tried, and will be reviewing here on the blog, is Apivita's Citrus and Honey Shampoo. And I have to say I quite liked this shampoo! The texture was lovely, even though it was a bit hard to get the last of the shampoo out of the bottle (that said, the bottles I was using were the small kind, I am not sure you would have the same problem if you have big bottles of this shampoo at your disposal), and my hair turned out very nice after I washed it with this shampoo. Clean, light and smelling delicious, basically.

I also would not have been able to tell that this shampoo is a very natural and organic one, which it is, which is nice, since many shampoos that are more natural, feel a bit less luxurious and nice, but the Apivita Citrus & Honey shampoo definitely does not!

I am not sure I can buy  this shampoo where I live, but it I could, I would definitely consider it, since this shampoo was indeed quite nice!

Review: Sephora Toffee Creamy Body Wash

When I reviewed Sephora's Vanilla scented Creamy Body Wash yesterday, I mentioned that I had gotten the same product, with a few different scents as well. The scent I actually thought I would like the most is the toffee one, since I love anything toffee, but sadly, the toffee scent wasn't very strong in this body wash. I mean, it does have a vague toffee scent, but not a scent that lingers for very long, and I have also tried better toffee body washes in the past (while the Sephora Vanilla Body Wash is probably the best vanilla one I've ever tried), so I definitely prefer the vanilla one over the toffee one.

That said, the Sephora Toffee Creamy Body Wash is just as nice as the vanilla one otherwise, besides the scent, that I do believe could be improved. The texture is nice, the packaging user friendly and nice, and price was pretty decent too. So if you are into lighter toffee scents, this could definitely work for you!

I definitely think I will be getting more of these body washes in the future too, but I might skip the toffee scent, since it wasn't really that much to my liking...

Review: Benefit Foamingly Clean Face Wash

Another product I bought during my recent visit to Sephora, mentioned in the previous post, was Benefit's Foamingly Clean Face Wash. I was actually pretty excited to try this, since I had heard a lot of good things about Benefit as a brand, but I had never had a chance to try any of their products myself. Sadly, the Foamingly Clean Face Wash was a bit of a disappointment.

Now, I am not saying it is a bad face wash, because it isn't, it's just not a very good either, just very average. The packaging is not very user friendly either, even though it is cute to look at. But getting anything out of the package is pretty annoying, and that's a big no-no for me.

The face wash did not really make my skin better, but it did not create any problems in my already problematic skin (prone to break outs when using new products, for instance), so that was good.

I've read that a lot of other people found the scent of the Benefit Foamingly Clean Face Wash strong or weird, but I can't say I agree regarding that. I think the scent is rather harmless and boring, even.

It's a rather thick cream, with a heavy feel, which is not my personal preference when it comes to face washes, but I think this is something you get used to pretty fast, so that's not a big issue, if you ask me.

While I will use all of this face wash until I run out of it, I would not repurchase it. It's just not special enough for that.

Review: Sephora Vanilla Creamy Body Wash

I think I've mentioned before on the blog that there isn't a Sephora where I live, which is why I make sure to always visit Sephora while traveling. And when I saw several Sephora stores in Athens, Greece, while traveling recently, I did not make an exception to this rule. Instead, I went in and bought quite a few things. I will be reviewing several of them here on the blog, of course, but let's start with Sephora's own Vanilla Creamy Body Wash.

Now, due to my previous, rather unpleasant experiences with Sephora's own products, you might think I would steer clear of their products these days, but I have to say this is not the case, since Sephora always seems to come up with new, really appealing products somehow. Like the Sephora Vanilla Creamy Body Wash, as it happens.

You see, I love vanilla in any shape or form. I love to eat it, smear it on myself and even spray it on myself when I can (even though I haven't really ran into a very good vanilla perfume for a long time). And when I visited Sephora, I actually needed a new body wash, since I had ran out of my old ones. So this seemed like a really sensible purchase to me!

And it actually really was! Because not only does this body wash smell delicious, and exactly like vanilla, it is a really pleasant product to use too. The texture is nice, a little goes a long way with this body wash, and I think the scent lingers for quite some time, which I really like.

So I would definitely get this one again! I also bought the same body wash in some other scents as well, but I haven't had a chance to try those yet, so let me get back to you when I have...