Review: Sephora Exfoliating Body Scrub

Time to review another Sephora product, I think!

But sadly, it's another product from this brand that I am far from happy with. But the Sephora Exfoliating Body Scrub might be the worst one out of all the Sephora products I've been trying lately.

Why?
Well, first of all it doesn't exfoliate very well. The grains in this scrub are really small, which works nicely if it's a face scrub, but body scrubs need something that gives a bigger impact. The Sephora Exfoliating Body Scrub doesn't have anything like that, so exfoliating with this body scrub is basically like not exfoliating at all.

Second of all, this clumps up, meaning that while you use it, you have these small white lumps all over you, which is really gross! So while the scrub does absolutely nothing beautywise, it really managed to disgust me while using it.

So I would definitely not recommend this body scrub to anyone, there are so many great scrubs out there that no-one should have to put up with this one. And I certainly won't be buying this scrub myself again either.

Review: La Roche-Posay Substiane Eyes

La Roche-Posay is a brand that I discovered only quite recently (read some of my first impressions of the brand here and here), but since I do like it, I wanted to try some more products by this brand. So since I needed a new eye cream when I went to Paris anyway, I decided to stop by a local pharmacy and pick up a La Roche-Posay one. They only had one called Substiane Eyes, so I have been giving that a try for some time now.

I have to admit that the first time I tried this cream, it gave me a bit of a stinging sensation, which was a bit worrying. But I had not been using any eye cream for quite some time (at least for several weeks) before that, and I remembered that this is something that had happened to me in the past as well, when I started using eye cream after not having used it for a while, so I decided to try it again, and then there was no stinging sensation! So I guess that was just something very temporary, because now I have no side effects when using this cream at all, but I still want to mention it, in case anyone reading this has very sensitive eyes and is considering getting this eye cream. It might sting for you too, after all.

Other than that first small glitch, I find this eye cream to be really good, though. The texture is lovely, thick, but not too thick, if you get what I mean, and it also absorbs very fast, which is a main issue that I often have with other eye creams.

The scent is nothing special, though, this cream feels very clinical, like a lot of other La Roche-Posay, and while I might have preferred this product with a really cool scent or packaging, the very basic scent and packaging does not bother me, and since I really like what this cream does to the skin around my eyes, I totally think I would get it again!

What I think of Soap & Glory's new packaging

As most of my readers probably already know, I am a huge fan of anything Soap and Glory, it's one of my all time favorite beauty brands, but since I had bought quite a lot of their products before they decided to re-do their packaging, it has taken me until now to get something with the new packaging on it.

I got two Fab Pore items, and I have to say that the change is huge, and, sadly, quite disappointing. I actually really liked all the cute pink packaging, I felt this was something that set Soap & Glory apart, and it looked great in my bathroom and shower too.

This new packaging looks way more boring, less unique and more medical, if that makes any sense. I get a toothpaste feeling from the tube, for sure, and really think Soap & Glory should have stuck to their old packaging. I understand that the reason for the change was that they wanted to make it easier for people to find products suited for their specific needs, but I think you could have done that somehow, while you kept the old style of packaging at the same time.

So I will definitely miss the old Soap & Glory packaging a lot!

That said, the products are so good I will still buy them, it's just a shame the packaging bores me now...

Review: Evian Le Brumisateur Natural Mineral Water Facial Spray

Ok, so let's take a short break from all the Sephora reviews, even though I still have quite a few Sephora items left to review still. But I also got Evian's famous Le Brumisateur Face Spray, and I wanted to share some thoughts on that as well.

Now, I've used some facial sprays in the past, and I liked them, even though I never saw them as a must have item in any way. I would say Evian's spray is pretty similar to the other facial sprays I've tried in the past, but I really like the rather small size of this product, since it makes it very portable and easy to carry with you, where ever you happen to be going. You also don't need to use a lot of the spray each time, so despite the small size, I would say the bottle contains quite a lot of product, due to that. I really do think this bottle will last me for quite some time!

 I've mostly been using this during flights, when my skin really tends to dry out, as well as when my face has gotten kind of hot, and it works wonderfully for that, but I am not sure what other uses I could think of for the Evian Natural Mineral Water Facial Spray, so while I like the product, I do not see it as a must have product in any way, and I am really not sure if I would buy it again. It's nice to have this, for sure, but it's not a product that fits into my beauty regime very naturally, if you know what I mean?

Considering that the spray consists of Evian water, a lot of people find it a bit too expensive, but I actually think it is reasonably priced, since it is very similar to MAC's way more expensive Skin Refresher (read review here), for instance, so I don't have an issue with the price, actually.

An interesting product, but I would only recommend it for those of you who already have some kind of clear idea of what you want to use it for, since I don't think everyone really needs one of these sprays.

Review: Sephora Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover

Another product I tried from Sephora's own line was their waterproof eye makeup remover. I must admit that I am by no means an expert on eye makeup removers, I mostly use non-waterproof mascara and not much more when it comes to eye makeup, so washing my eyes with my regular cleansers is usually enough.

That said, I have tried some eye makeup removers in the past, and the biggest difference between the Sephora Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover and the other ones I've tried in the past is that this eye makeup remover really stings my eyes, which was a bit surprising, because I read some reviews about this product, and most people who reviewed this eye makeup remover said it did not sting their eyes at all, so I guess it's an individual thing.

A bigger problem I have with the Sephora Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover, however, is that it doesn't really remove my eye makeup properly, which is what should be the most crucial thing when it comes to products like these, if you ask me. I had to put a lot of product on, 4 times or more and rub quite hard in order for any of it to come off. And I do not like product that make me rub my eyes, since that's one of the biggest beauty no-no's of all times, as we all know!

So like the Sephora Soothing Cleansing Water, their Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover was quite a disappointment too. Too bad, I really wanted to like Sephora's own brand. But there are definitely many way better eye makeup removers out there. So I really see no need to get this one again, to be honest.

Review: Sephora Soothing Cleansing Milk

Ok, so like I promised in my previous post, I will be reviewing some of the products I got at Sephora in Paris. First up: The Soothing Cleansing Milk, from their own Sephora brand.

Now, as you may know, I am a huge fan of Soap and Glory's Peaches and Clean Cleansing Milk (if you want to know why, read this review, where I explain it in detail), so whenever I try any other cleansing milk, I kind of hope it will be similar to the Soap and Glory one. Sephora's Cleansing Milk, however, is not as good by any means.

Why? you ask? Here are a few reasons:

• First of all, it doesn't clean well. I always use a muslin cloth to wipe my face after I wash it, and while I used a lot of the Sephora Soothing Cleansing Milk, with my Clarisonic dupe, the cloth still had clear traces of foundation on it when I wiped my face, something that normally doesn't happen when I wash my face with the products I usually use. And yes, I am sure I rinsed enough etc.!
• Second of all, this cleansing milk left my face feeling kind of greasy. Now, this is a product that is supposed to make your face feel softer after you use it, so maybe it contains some products that could be making your face both softer and greasier for some reason, but for me, the most important thing with facial cleansers is that they make my face feel fresh and clean, and this cleansing milk definitely does not do that!
• My face was also red and stung after I used this cleansing milk. Not a good look, or feeling!
• It also made my skin break out, and considering that it really does not cleanse your skin, I don't find it surprising at all.

So all in all, not a great cleanser for me, by any means, and I definitely will not be getting this again.

 The only good thing I can think of to say about the Sephora Soothing Cleansing Milk is that the small travel size is really good, if this cleanser works better for you than it did for me, it could definitely be the only facial cleanser you need to take with you on a short trip of let's say 5 days to a week. So when it comes to travel packaging, Sephora nails it, but when it comes to the product itself, it was really disappointing.

Shopped in Paris

I just came home from one of the places that is said to be the best in the world for shopping beauty items: Paris.

So of course I had to pick up some beauty products on my trip as well, most notably several products from La Roche-Posay, a brand I have tried before and loved, but I also went to Sephora and picked up some stuff from their own brand:

I also did some shopping at the duty free, mainly for perfumes, but I will blog about that, as well as review my new Sephora purchases a bit later.