Magic Mirror

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Sunday Self-care, Episode 11: Left Holding the [Makeup] Bags

After a 17-month hiatus, I hesitated to continue this series: over the months (years?) of quarantine and “new normal,” this term got overused and became a cliche in record time. But since I still plan to write from time to time about beauty products, I don’t want to start each of them by explaining what that not-perfume-related post is doing on my blog. So, the series will continue.

* * *

As I started writing this post, I realized that until a month ago, I didn’t buy a single makeup bag/case. Ever. I don’t remember what I did before moving to the US (most likely, I didn’t need anything special for the only two items I would regularly carry – a tube of lipstick and a pressed powder compact. For decades here, I would be using cases and bags I got as a part of GWPs or sets. Of all the free makeup organizers I used over the years, I thought Dior had the best ones, followed by Shiseido. Unfortunately, in recent years, in an attempt to increase profitability, most brands either stopped using free bags with their GWPs having replaced them with cardboard boxes or cheapened them significantly. That’s how I found myself thinking, for the first time, about finding the right cosmetics bag to buy.

* * *

The last drop was when recently sitting in the car (in the passenger seat!) I was trying to fish out something I needed from my makeup bag. I knew it was there but could not find it. I complained to my vSO: “I wish I had one of those makeup organizers that you can open wide and see everything in it!” – “Then why wouldn’t you?” he replied.

By now, I’ve been eyeing for a while a recently released Charlotte Tilbury makeup bag. But wouldn’t it be too easy if I were just to buy it and be done? Instead, I decided to order from Amazon two more travel cosmetic organizers that were previously recommended by content creators I watch. All three arrived, and I spent an afternoon unpacking them, checking out their features and taking photos from all possible angles.

Price, Origin & Where Purchased

Charlotte Tilbury,Telena and EACHY Makeup Bags

(Disclaimer: links are not affiliated)

Charlotte Tilbury, made in the USA, $45 (purchased from Nordstrom, currently sold out there but still available from the brand’s site and other retailers).

Telena, made in China, $16.79 (purchased from Amazon).

EACHY, made in China, $23.99 (purchased from Amazon).

Packaging

All three came in an external plastic bag. Telena and EACHY also had a protective white fabric-like cover; Charlotte Tilbury had a paper sleeve. Charlotte Tilbury and EACHY had internal fillings to hold the form, and Telena came in folded flat, but it easily restored its form once unfolded.

Charlotte Tilbury,Telena and EACHY Makeup Bags

All three are packed equally well with EACHY being just a smidge ahead.

Charlotte Tilbury 4.5
EACHY 5
Telena 4.5

Exterior

Both Telena and EACHY bags are made from polyurethane, and Charlotte Tilbury is made of polyester. All three are water resistant.

Charlotte Tilbury,Telena and EACHY Makeup Bags

EACHY bag is light beige/cream. It has a quilted pattern, a light beige handle, a matching plastic zipper with two nicely looking round plastic golden sliders and a single pull tab.

Telena bag is beige with a brown accent, brown handle and a golden plastic zipper with two regular golden plastic sliders and two pull tabs; it is made with a pebbled leather effect.

Charlotte Tilbury bag is pink (surprise!), looks almost like patent leather, has no handle and features the strangest embroidered image of a lipstick held by teeth (the brand’s site calls it “ICONIC lip print design”). Is it supposed to be an allusion to a cigarette? (But why?) Or should it somehow be a phallic reference? (But how?). It has a rose gold metal zipper with one metal slider molded in the form of lipstick and two pull tabs. Because of that “iconic” feature, the Charlotte Tilbury bag is my least favorite in this category.

Charlotte Tilbury 3.5
EACHY 4
Telena 4.5

Interior and Functionality

All three bags are supposed to lay flat when fully open, and they almost do that with EACHY managing this task slightly better right off the bat. The rest will get there with the use.

Charlotte Tilbury,Telena and EACHY Makeup Bags open

EACHY and Telena bags have a solid colored interior that matches the exterior color, and Charlotte Tilbury bag has a contrasted much darker main color with a pattern created of repeating lines of the brand’s logo “CT” and the collection name “Pillow Talk” done in the pink color that matches the exterior. The fabric of the Charlotte Tilbury bag is so much superior to that used for the other two bags that it’s not even a contest (though I would have probably preferred to inverse the background and pattern colors to make it easier to find items on the lighter background). This is not to say that EACHY or Telena’s fabric is bad, but it could have been better.

Charlotte Tilbury bag has five main compartments, one zippered pocket on the internal “wall” and two smaller pockets on one of the divider panels. Interestingly, the internal zipper is plastic and not metal as the outside zipper.

Both Telena and EACHY bags have two main compartments divided by the zipped pocket “for brushes,” with a fabric one for Telena and a transparent plastic one for EACHY. While it’s not a bad idea, those pockets are not large enough for me to want to stick my nice brushes into. Both bags have one larger pocket on one “wall” and two smaller ones on the other.

Charlotte Tilbury 5
EACHY 4.5
Telena 4.5

Portability and the “Cat Test”

All three are not significantly different in measurements. Telena bag is the largest of the three: 250 mm x 120 mm x 120 mm / 9.84 inch x 4.72 inch x 4.72 inch, followed by EACHY: 235 mm x 105 mm x 110 mm / 9.25 inch x 4.13 inch x 4.33 inch, and Charlotte Tilbury, the smallest of them: 191 mm x 105 mm x 105 mm / 7.52 inch x 4.13 inch x 4.13 inch.

Charlotte Tilbury,Telena and EACHY Makeup Bags Size Comparison

The final consideration for me was how these bags fit into my purse.

While I managed to get each one of the three into my purse, Charlotte Tilbury’s bag was the only one that left some room for other important things I might want to fit in there, such as my wallet or sunglasses. I wished though it had been a little smaller.

The photo session took so long that Rusty finally decided it was time for the cat to get into the bag.

After examining EACHY and Charlotte Tilbury, he lost interest, so I’m not sure if it says anything about the Telena bag, or if it should be attributed to his short attention span.

Charlotte Tilbury 4.5
EACHY 4
Telena 4

My Choice

I didn’t do it while I was making my decision, but for this post, I calculated totals of all the ratings:

Charlotte Tilbury EACHY Telene
Packaging 4.5 5 4.5
Exterior 3.5 4 4.5
Interior 5 4.5 4.5
Portability 4.5 4 4
17.5 17.5 17.5

It explained my difficulties with choosing. If I could mix and match features, I would have preferred to have Charlotte Tilbury’s size, origin, metal zipper, interior construction and fabric quality, Telena’s exterior colors and pebbled leather effect and EACHY’s two round sliders (just preferably metal), central transparent zippered brush compartment, interior color (though, I wouldn’t mind keeping CT’s pattern – just in different colors) and its ability to open almost completely flat. But with the choices I had, I decided to go with Charlotte Tilbury as my purse makeup bag, which would replace the two I currently use (I carry a lot with me, not just makeup).

Charlotte Tilbury Makeup Bag and Two Bags it Replaced

… And then I decided to keep EACHY’s bag as a travel bag: I was preparing for a business trip and realized that I needed a larger bag, which I could put in my suitcase. It proved to be quite convenient. It seems like with my choices I took into consideration Rusty’s preferences.

 

… And by the time I finished writing this post, I figured out that I didn’t want to return Telena’s bag because I liked it as well. I’m not sure that I need it, so it might end up as a Christmas gift. But as of now, I’m left holding all the bags. Literally.

Rusty And Charlotte Tilbury Cosmetics Travel Bag

Images: My own

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Saturday Question: Do You “Collect” Anything (Besides Perfume)?

I think we all understand that while talking about our perfumes, the use of the word “collection” is somewhat a stretch: it is a collection in terms of being an assembly of items of the same type, probably even systematically arranged. But since the objects of the collection, perfumes, are being used (no matter how infrequently) and also can spoil, the “collection” part is a figure of speech rather than a literally meaning. Today’s question should be considered in this context.

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #203:

Do You “Collect” Anything (Besides Perfume)?

As it is hopefully clear from the introduction, the question is not about collecting art, baseball cards or vintage Hermes scarves. A “fair game” would be something that is/can be used up, which you’re buying in excess of regular use/consumption. Food, drinks, bath and body products, socks, ties, pens, paperclips, umbrellas, etc., etc. – I hope you got the idea.

If you have photos of your collections somewhere online and can share, please do.

My Answer

I LOVE lipsticks. It has been a while since I posted about them, but for a non-beauty-centric blog, the number of posts on the topic of lipsticks is quite telling: Lipstick Extravaganza, Lipstick Queen’s Mixed Metaphor, Sunday Self-care, Episode 6: Read My Lip… Care Choices, The (Last?) Two Queens, (Pillow) Talking myself into buying perfume, They had me at “Hello” – and now “Goodbye”, Frog Prince(ss)’s Kiss, Black Lace in Tropics, and more, but I’ll stop here.

A couple of years ago, I decided to sort all lipsticks I had at that time by color, take pictures of them and swatches, and have those photos with me every time I think of buying another one while at a counter. These are pictures of almost complete “collection” of my lipsticks back then.

I use lipsticks, lip balms, lip veils and other lip products daily. So, since these pictures were taken, I used up some of the lipsticks I had. Lock-down and not shopping as often somewhat helped to slow down my acquisitions, but still, I bought more than I finished (I think – I’m afraid to count).

 

Do You “Collect” Anything (Besides Perfume)?

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Sunday Question: Did You Buy Anything Perfume-related During the “Black Friday” Month?

It could be just me, but it felt like this November was crazier than usual with all the “Early Black Friday sales,” “Black Friday specials” and other variations on the t0pic that appeared right after Halloween. I am sure that even those of my readers who live in other parts of the world got at least some exposure to the online manifestation of this favorite American pastime.

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #191:

Did You Buy Anything Perfume-related During the “Black Friday” Month?

A full bottle, travel spray or a decant on an especially good sale? A sample set you were eyeing? Some fancy candles or a room spray? Something else?

Bonus question: did you buy anything at all (not perfume-related)?

My Answer

Since I do not really need anything, and I am still in a “no-buy”/”low buy” mode, I wasn’t even looking at any perfume sites. So, no damage to my wallet. At least in this area.

As to everything else, I was quite boring: I bought mostly what I would have bought anyway, maybe not right now but in the next 2-4 weeks – a new tea kettle (mine is threatening to quit working any day now), bulk tea I always buy, new silk pillowcases and several products from The Ordinary. Speaking of The Ordinary: until the end of the month, they are having 23% off their already low prices, free shipping and, with the code SLOWMPES, a free Multi-Peptide Eye Serum (not affiliated). I like and use their Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA. And this time I decided to try their new Soothing & Barrier Support Serum.

And I almost forgot: Rusty got a new heated bed.

Rusty's New Heated Bed

 

How about you?

Did You Buy Anything Perfume-related During the “Black Friday” Month?

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Sunday Self-care, Episode 10: A Woman In The LED Mask (And Other “Tools Of The Trade”)

Until recently, Clarisonic, an electric facial cleansing brush, was the only skincare appliance I’ve ever tried. Long before it became common knowledge, I figured out that washing my face with that brush produced the opposite of the desired effect: it was causing me to break out (and no, I didn’t forget to either clean or replace the brush head). I ditched the device and at least one unused replacement brush and never looked back.

But by the end of the first year of the “new normal,” after looking for many hours in the mirror and watching enough beauty influencers on YouTube, I got curious.

NuFACE Trinity, a device that “tones, lifts, and contours the facial muscles while also reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles,” was the first one I bought in the series of gizmos that, as I learned, have been created in recent years.

Rusty and NuFace Trinity

I’ve been using NuFACE Trinity quite frequently (though not 5 times per week, as recommended). After I bought it, I came across explanations (from the sources I trust) that face muscles are among a few that don’t require exercising: not only do they not get weaker with age, but extra muscle movements contribute to setting wrinkles rather than improving their appearance. And yet… I don’t know how or why it happened, and I cannot offer an explanation, but NuFACE has helped my jawline: it looks better.

Some people reported that they experienced some pinching or stinging, but for me, it has never been bad enough to notice. One thing I did not like was using the conducting gel: applying it by hand is messy, wasteful of product and quite cumbersome. For each part of the face you plan to massage, you need to put away the device (either turning it off or keeping it running), apply the gel, then wash your hands, use the device and repeat for the next area. But I found a way around it: I’m using a small pod to dispense the gel into and a brush to apply it to my face.

I know that the effect is temporary (and they do not promise otherwise), but I like this device: it seems well-made and is easy and pleasant to use. So, I will keep using it.

The next came Dr Dennis Gross DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro, a “wrinkle-reducing and acne-fighting […] FDA cleared […] device” with “100 LED lights in red mode and 62 LED lights in blue mode that work together to help boost collagen production, improve skin density, smooth wrinkles, diminish discoloration, and clear acne for a clear, younger-looking complexion.”

I had some doubts… But I read multiple articles about the legitimacy of LED therapy for improving skin conditions. And then, my favorite YouTube dermatologists from the Doctorly channel voiced their support for this type of device. So, I went for it (in the photo below, I persuaded my vSO to try it too).

Dr Dennis Gross DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro

I’ve been using DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro mask for almost two years. It takes just 3 minutes per day. Clearly, it is not too long, but the issue is that you’re supposed to use it after you clean your face. Which makes it slightly inconvenient for my mornings: being a night owl, I try to sleep up until I absolutely must get up for the morning meetings. So, it’s very unlikely that I have an extra 5 minutes in the morning for this ritual. And in the evening, it’s also not that straightforward: I need to wash my face, lay down with the mask, and then get up and continue with the evening skincare routine. It’s a little bit cumbersome. The device has straps that theoretically allow wear while standing, but they are amazingly poorly constructed and keep unfastening. So, if I do not want to risk breaking that quite expensive mask, doing it in a horizontal position is the safest bet. I see that the brand has probably realized the poor design decision with the straps because they changed them slightly compared to those I have. But still, those are too flimsy for the expensive device they are selling. The second complaint I have is the absence of the battery indicator. You never know when it’s time to charge it. So, periodically, after I had done all the dances finding time for it and cleaning my face, the mask would turn off in a minute instead of 3. Very annoying. If my electric toothbrush, which is also annoyingly expensive (but not even close to the price of the mask), can warn me that the battery is running low before there is not enough charge to function properly, that mask could have done it as well. And now, two years after the purchase, I noticed that it doesn’t keep the charge longer than for 2-3 applications.

 

 

But after all the grievances I collected and vengefully shared with you, does DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro work? I do not use it every day (for the above-stated reasons), but on average, I find time for it about 4 times per week. I cannot say that I see the effect. I cannot say that I do not see the effect. My skin does look better, so I could assume that it works. But since this mask is not the only tool or product I use daily, I wouldn’t be able to attribute all the improvements to any of them. But I’ll probably keep using the mask – just in case. But when it dies, I don’t think my next one will be from the same brand.

Rusty and GloPro

 

The most recent tool I got was a Facial Microneedling Tool from GloPro. I wasn’t even considering it until the last December when a department where I work decided to reward the employees with a gift. It wasn’t a gift card or some allowance. Instead, there was a link to a special rewards store where one could choose what they wanted from the offered selection. As I’ve seen before with that type of portal for employees, the value of provided rewards is very “uneven”: it might be a $50 headset, $90 designer perfume, or a $300 dish set. Prices aren’t shown – I just checked some of the offerings in regular stores. But regardless of the price, one can choose just 1 item. I usually struggle with those gifts because it’s hard to choose something I like or need, and I would hate to get something that would be just sitting and gathering dust. So, after going through the complete catalog back and forth several times, I finally realized that I wanted absolutely nothing. I sighed, went through it again and found that microneedling device.

Just in case you’re not familiar with this type of device (I wasn’t), you roll it over your skin, the head of the tool has tiny needles, and it vibrates. As it creates tiny traumas in the skin, it supposedly stimulates the skin to boost collagen production and improves products’ absorption. It is not painful while you do it.

I think my skin is too sensitive: the next day after I use the GloPro tool, I find red dots or even longer marks here and there on my face and neck. It’s not too bad or painful, maybe like a slight irritation (my crow’s feet are especially sensitive), it doesn’t happen every time, and it goes away in a day or two, but since those couple of days are not the most pleasant for my eyes, I tend to skip using the tool. The recommended frequency is 3 times per week. I manage to do it once a week (if that). Same as with the mask, I have no idea how effective the Facial Microneedling Tool is. But I’ll use it for a while.

Rusty and GloPro

Have you used any of these devices or any other tools?

 

Images: my own

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Saturday Question: Have You Adopted Any Makeup or Skincare Advice From Your Mother?

My loyal readers have probably got used by now to my not that straightforward chain of associations when it comes to Saturday Question topics. But today’s one is especially “twice removed.” I’ll explain in My Answer. Though, each of you should feel free to respond directly to the question without going into the intricacies of my train of thought.

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #121:

Have You Adopted Any Makeup or Skincare Advice From Your Mother?

When we’re young, we often pick up something from our older relatives, siblings or friends. Years later, we either stick to those advices, just forget them or realize that those were not really the gospel they seemed back then.

Do you remember any of those? Do you still follow any? Or, the opposite, have you got disillusioned in some of them?

My Answer

I promised, it wasn’t that straightforward.

Yesterday I watched one of the most hilarious videos from Lisa Eldridge. I’m sure that most of you knows who she is, but unless you follow her closely or visit your YouTube subscriptions regularly, you could have missed this – and you shouldn’t! It is an extremely funny GRWM-type of video, but instead of chatting with the viewers herself, Lisa was following audio instructions from a legendary Hollywood makeup artist from 50s-60s of the previous century. I hope you’ll watch and enjoy it as much as I did.

Since I’m neither an MUA nor mekup history buff, I was, let’s put it this way, slightly less impressed by the guy himself then commenters on the video page and thought that he was a pompous dick (pardon my French), despite Lisa’s attempt at the preemptive PC spiel. And still, thanks to Lisa’s talent, the video is worth watching. A week ago I would have said that, not the least to appreciate how far we came from the time when old and [self-]important men were telling us what we should or should not do with our lipsticks and eye shadows. Today the freedom to match my lipstick to my nail polish somehow suddenly feels less significant. But I digress.

As I watched that video, I was surprised by how many of the beauty advices got through the continents and, what is even more impressive, the “iron curtain” and were passed onto me by my mother.

I won’t list all of them not to spoil your viewing, but I’ll mention one that I tend to follow decades later: Do not apply mascara to your lower eyelashes.

The reasoning for this advise was that it would make my eyes look smaller. I do not know if that is even true. But even if it is, those who know me or saw my mom’s pictures would probably agree that this should be the last of the beauty-related worries for either of us. And I think that later in her life my mother had changed her opinion and was applying mascara to her lower lashes. And yet… Not that I wear mascara too often in general. But when I do, by my estimate, my lower eyelashes stay bare 9 out of 10 times.

 

How about you?

 

Have You Adopted Any Makeup or Skincare Advice From Your Mother?

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Sunday Self-care, Episode 9: Lather, Rinse, Repeat

I’m sure that experiences we had with shampoos depended strongly on time when and places where each of us was growing up.

In my childhood, it was a common knowledge that you shouldn’t wash your hair too often; and thinking now about the quality of hair products we had, I’m not surprised. I suspect that a cold climate and absence of hair driers contributed to that as well.

In decades and continents that passed since, the quality of shampoos I used progressively improved. Looking back, I realize that I liked all products that I used while I used them. And every time after years of sticking to the same variety, I would switch to something else. Usually more expensive.

I went from L’Oreal and Herbal Essence to Paul Mitchel and Biolage. The first really expensive (at least in my universe) shampoo was Fekkai Full Blown Volume Shampoo. I could swear my hair got more volume and became more manageable once I braved the expense. I loved and used it for years… until it had been reformulated. I don’t know what exactly the brand did, for all I know it could have been done to save dolphins or reduce the greenhouse effect. But I could tell that something had changed. Had they discontinued “my” shampoo and released another one under a different name, I could have given it a chance. But they hadn’t. So, I moved on.

For the last 7 years I’ve been using Living Proof Full Shampoo (and conditioner). It does everything I expect from it. I like it and still manage to buy 1 liter bottles online with a nice discount – so, while still steep, the price doesn’t feel completely unapproachable.

Living Proof Full Shampoo

And then I made a mistake: I got curious about “what is out there.” Since I wasn’t paying salon prices for either haircuts or coloring, it felt only right to experiment with some luxury shampoos… I shouldn’t have. I hoped that I would try the ridiculously expensive Oribe shampoo and wouldn’t find it special in any way.

Oribe Gold Lust Repair and Restore Shampoo

I do not think that Oribe’s Gold Lust Repair and Restore Shampoo makes my hair any healthier than the Living Proof’s shampoo does. But I like more how my hair looks when I use it. Is it really so, or is it the same effect as with drinking wine while knowing that it’s expensive? I don’t know and, same as with wine, won’t even pretend that I’m sure that in blind tasting I would necessarily tell them apart. But I enjoy using it, it feels special, and I know that now I don’t want not to have it in my shower (of course, as long as I can afford it). I still plan to alternate it with my Living Proof shampoo though.

* * *

There is a moral to this story: if you are happy with shampoo you currently use, unless you have money burning your pocket, don’t go to the next price level: it’s very hard to go back. If you do not like your current product, try finding something you like more in the same price range first. And whatever shampoo you end up using on a permanent basis, try to buy the largest bottle available and, whenever possible, with a discount.

Oribe Gold Lust Repair and Restore Shampoo 1 Liter

 

Images: my own

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Sunday Self-care, Episode 8: A Mask That Doesn’t Wear Me

I’m neither a proponent nor detractor of wearing face masks in principle: I’m not convinced one way or the other whether they have any effect on [not] spreading the virus. As long as they are required, I’ll keep wearing them. But when they were just coming into our lives 18 months ago, after the first shock subsided, and in addition to ramping up disposable masks production everyone started manufacturing all types of face coverings, for the longest time I refused to look at those masks as an accessory. For some reason, for me mentally it was important to keep their usage as strictly functional not succumbing to the “new normal.” So, I had a couple of black cloth masks that I washed in-between going to a grocery store once every two weeks. And since we weren’t going anywhere else, and for evening walks in our suburban neighborhood masks weren’t necessary, it was enough.

When the first talks about returning to work started, our company sent each of us a couple of very nice reusable masks (a double layer, knit cotton + knit something else) that we were supposed to use while working from the office. We didn’t go back to the office, but with more places opening up, it was convenient to have those extra masks to rotate between washes.

And that’s when I noticed that wearing those masks for longer than a couple of minutes was leaving marks on my face (and those were far from being beauty ones). I wasn’t too surprised since by that time I’ve already noticed a similar effect produced by my cotton pillow cases. So, it seemed to me that the logical solution to this problem would be the same – to get a silk mask.

Inspired by my success with silk pillow cases, I bought one mask from each of the two rivaling brands – Slip (leopard) and Blissy (tie-dye). Remembering my own advice on the color choice, I stayed away from solids.

Silk Face Masks Slip and Blissy

Both masks have 2 layers of silk, adjustable ear loops and a nose bridge.

A face mask from Blissy is much less expensive: now on the brand’s site it’s on sale for $14.95, and you can get either additional 20% off using the coupon they offer on the site, or if you’ve never bought anything from the site before, use my link and enter your email in the box on the bottom right, the one that says “get your reward”, to get a $20 off coupon).

A face covering from Slip is more expensive: its on sale on the brand’s site for $29.95 (!), and if you haven’t subscribed to their site yet, you can do it and get a 15% off coupon for the first purchase (if you’re not getting that offer, launch the site in the private browser window). Slip’s face cover has an additional 100% cotton internal lining, and it comes with spare 2 sets of silicone stoppers for ear loops and 10 spare nose wires.

When I tried them, both were very pleasant to the touch on skin. But as I started wearing them, I discovered that I couldn’t use the one from Blissy at all: it creates the weirdest “aerodynamic,” and my ears feel plugged. I’m not discounting the mask altogether because my vSO doesn’t have a similar reaction to the one I got for him, but for me it’s a total fail.

Slip’s face covering feels much better and doesn’t cause any ear discomfort. It drapes nicely and leaves enough breathing space. So, out of the two, I decided to keep using the Slip’s one, and it proved to be relatively comfortable on my recent 6-hours flight to Hawaii.

Slk Face Mask Slip

The funny thing is: even silk masks leave marks on my face. Now I’m thinking: maybe I should try a woven mask? Recently, I gave one as a gift to my vSO. I’m sure he won’t mind lending it to me in the name of a scientific experiment. OK, maybe not so much scientific…

Face Mask with Cats

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post.

Images: my own

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Sunday Self-care, Episode 7: Give Your Hands a Hand

Long before I got concerned with my hands showing my age, I suffered from dryness of the skin. So, for many-many years I’ve been constantly using hand creams and lotions, as well as trying to avoid subjecting my hands to any household chemicals.

Nivea Soft Moisturizing Cream

For years my go-to hand cream was NIVEA Soft Moisturizing Crème. I think that I liked it mostly for its texture and scent (though, I would have preferred the scent of the original Nivea cream in a navy tin). It was nice, it absorbed quickly, but I it seemed not to keep my hands moisturized for as long as I wanted to. Sometimes, I had to re-apply it during the night if I were to wake up and think that my hands were too dry, but I assumed that was the nature of the game.

Of course, had I spent any time looking into ingredients that were beneficial in hand creams, I would have realized sooner than not all creams were created equal. But somehow, I never doubted “old and proven” Nivea… And then, I did like the scent…

Since I didn’t think that there was anything wrong with the cream I was using, my several next explorations were all based on a scent.

Moroccanoil Hand Cream

Last summer, longing for a tropical vacation, I picked up the Moroccanoil hand cream the scent of which reminded me of my last trip to Hawaii. I liked it, and I might keep buying it from time to time, but since the scent is very pronounced, I didn’t (and wouldn’t) want to use it every night and definitely not during the day, I didn’t have a chance to notice its moisturizing properties.

Thymes Frasier Fir Hand Cream

At Christmas time, I usually crave everything fir scented. Partially, it’s because our Christmas tree, while being extremely lifelike, is still artificial. So, in addition to candles, room sprays and handwash with the coveted fir scent, last December I bought a tube of Thymes Frasier Fir hand cream. I love the scent! And it did a descent job providing moisture for my hands. But fir is a seasonal scent for me. It’s like with Christmas songs: I enjoy them all December long, but come January, they are banned in our household until the next year. So was that hand cream.

Soraya Hand Cream

For my birthday, Lucas (Chemist in the Bottle) sent me (among other great things) a tube of a hand cream Plante Odżywczy from a Polish brand, Soraya. WOW. It’s the best black currant note in a beauty product I’ve ever smelled, including perfumes! If I could get it in a bottle, I would love to wear it as perfume. This 99% natural cream has nice ingredients, and I love it! But in our globalization era, there are still things that one cannot buy online and have it delivered. And this hand cream is one of those things. Maybe one day they will deliver to the US. For now, I’ll enjoy what I have.

Aquaphor Advanced Therapy Hand Cream

The most recent discovery, thanks to one of my friend’s recommendations, was Aquaphor Healing Ointment. It doesn’t have any scent. It’s colorless. I do not enjoy using it whatsoever (and my vSO plainly refuses to, claiming that “it’s greasy” – it’s not). But it works. I think that my hands have never felt better than now (I mean, since I had to start using any creams). Not only I do not need to re-apply Aquaphor cream during the night, but I recently realized that during the day I feel the need to apply a hand cream much less often than I used to. And it absolutely does not interfere with my wearing or testing perfumes. So, probably for now I found my HG of hand creams. But it won’t stop me from enjoying from time to time some of the scented beauties that I have or hunt for new miracle hand helpers.

Hand Creams

Images: my own

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Sunday Self-care, Episode 6: Read My Lip… Care Choices

Three years ago, I shared with my readers the greatest discovery I made for my lip care.

I loved Agave Lip Balm and Agave Lip Mask from Bite Beauty and used them for a couple of years… until the brand decided to join the holier-than-thou crowd and went vegan. No. Same as fat-free or sugar-free foods are not identical to their less healthy predecessors (you might like them or prefer for health reasons or even for their taste, just don’t try to persuade me that they taste the same), lanolin-free Agave Lip Balm wasn’t as moisturizing as the one that I fell in love with. I found and bought a couple of old formula products postponing inevitable, but at some point, I had to accept that my favorite product was gone.

As I was on my last tube thinking of what to do next, I got an amazing tip from one of the YouTube videos. If you haven’t heard this yet, don’t laugh, but Lansinoh Lanolin Nipple Cream for Breastfeeding is just amazing for keeping your lips moist all night. It’s not expensive, and it comes in small inconspicuous tubes (in case you want to have some in your purse).

I was completely satisfied with my discovery and would have stuck to using it for years to come, but in my Sephora Birthday Gift, I got a sample of Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask. It was love from the first use! The one I got was the original (Berry scent), and not only it keeps my lips perfectly moisturized through the night, but it also has a very enjoyable light scent and texture.

You would think I’d stop there: I found two great products. But finding that Laneige mask made me think that I was so stuck on the loss of my favorite Agave Lip Balm that I didn’t even think to look for anything else. So, I just couldn’t resist when I saw on Sephora’s site a Give Me Some Lip Balm Set.

Lip Masks

It was quite educational to try 5 more products. I tried them without reading anything about them. While all of them are fine and quite… usable, none of them was love for me.

Sephora Coconut Lip Balm & Scrub – a strange combination, in my opinion: who on earth has come up with the idea that these two purposes can be served by the same product? I would have probably liked it more had it a more pronounced coconut smell/taste. I might finish it eventually, but it’s not something I will ever consider purchasing.

Tarte SEA Jelly Glaze Anytime Lip Mask in Strawberry Jelly has a light tint and some scent… The tint reminds me of a strawberry more than the scent. It is fine, and I use it at my work desk when I’m not wearing lipstick for a Zoom meeting. Since during the day I periodically eat or drink something, I’m not sure how well it hydrates – I re-apply it from time to time, which is fine with me. But once it’s gone – it’s gone.

Rose Petal-Soft Deep Hydration Lip Balm by fresh has a noticeable rose scent. It smells very pleasant until I apply it. Surprisingly, I discovered that I don’t like a rose in my lip products: it feels as if I had not fully washed off rose soap from my lips. I can’t complain about its moisturizing qualities, but I won’t use it if I have a choice.

Lip Fetish Divinyl Lip Shine in Nude Venus from Pat McGrath Labs is exactly what it promises to be – a lip shine with just the slightest hue. It’s not something to use at night, but during the day it has its uses – as a part of the discounted $21 5-product set. But I would have never paid its full price of $36. Almost all lipsticks, lip balms, etc. that I own are at least as nice as this Lip Shine, if not better. And most of them are less expensive.

Ilia Lip Wrap Treatment Mask is fine doing the job, but it is completely scentless and tasteless… For $26 it costs, I can buy more than a year supply of that Lanolin Nipple Cream.

My experiment has shown that with skincare I follow the same pattern as I noticed with perfumes and food: I do not like “all-natural,” “fat/sugar-free” or “clean” products (in the Sephora set all but Pat McGrath’s products were marked as “clean at Sephora”). In my book, all those properties are secondary to a good product. Quite rarely do I find something that I like among those that proudly announce their “virtues.”

I plan to keep taking advantage of the off-label use of the Lansinoh’s lanolin cream. And once I finish my small jar of Laneige, I’m going to buy the full version. Eventually, I might try their other scents: grapefruit and apricot smell nice. But initially, I’ll continue with the original berry scent, hoping that they won’t mess with a good thing that works. It is such a pleasure to use that product!

Do you have any favorite lip moisturizers?

 

Image: my own

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Sunday Self-care, Episode 5: Not that Ordinary Skincare

For many years my skincare routine was quite simple. In the morning, it was a face cleanser and a tinted moisturizer with some sunscreen properties. And in the evening, the same face cleanser was used again (a single cleanse since I didn’t use too much makeup) and a simple moisturizer. Sometimes I would use a random serum sample from a GWP (though, it was just a handful of otherwise trusted brands, such as Shiseido, Dior or Estee Lauder). The most exotic item in my day-to-day skincare was a softener from Shiseido (I’m not sure why; I think I just liked the scent and the feeling on my skin).

I kept telling myself that I would start doing more once I get older… But I kept postponing it, mostly because without a good understanding of what was supposed to be used with what, in what sequence and, what was the most important, for what purpose, it felt like a big fraud and attempt to get me to pay money for something I didn’t need.

Many skincare brands’ websites have some type of a step-by-step wizard that after asking you about your skin type and age group moves onto your skin concerns. Until very recently, reading those questions, I couldn’t figure out what to choose since nothing offered as an option seemed like a serious enough concern for me to do a targeted intervention.

Today, looking back, I suspect that the may reason for my attitude was that, despite my lifelong struggle with mild acne, my skin was in relatively good shape. My skin was never dry, and it isn’t that oily either any more. Signs of aging? Sure, but who of age 25+ doesn’t have those? Uneven skin tone? Of course! All my life I had freckles that I didn’t really like but kept under control with the year-round SPF and a tinted moisturizer. Acne is a different story, but I’ll do a separate post on it later in this series. All-in-all, I was reasonably happy with what I saw in the mirror.

And then I didn’t. First, I started noticing some dryness under my eyes. Then I suddenly realized that some areas of my face have visible pores. Then, as I described in the Fun out of the Sun episode of this series, I discovered that my skin tone got much more uneven than I ever remembered it to be. All that didn’t happen in one day (or even month), but at some point I started thinking about trying to counteract at least some of these effects.

My “gateway drug” into the new skincare reality was a Glass Skin Discovery Kit from Peach & Lily. I can’t remember how I discovered it, or why suddenly it spoke to me. But the idea of having a full set – a four-step skincare routine – suddenly felt very attractive. I bought the set and then even before I finished it, I got full-size products.

Has my skin gotten even a step closer to the mythical “glass skin”? I don’t know, probably not. But I like using this brand, so I keep it in the rotation.

Peach and Lily Skincare

And then I discovered The Ordinary. Of course, I heard about it at least several years earlier, it has been raved about even in perfume blogs and was considered as some type of a skincare revolution. Since back then I didn’t have any concerns they promised to help with, I wasn’t interested. But once I became interested, I wanted to try EVERYTHING.

I read through pages and pages of blog posts and articles, viewed numerous videos and went through the Regimen Builder of the brand’s site. I couldn’t figure out what I needed. I combined multiple recommendations and bought my first batch of The Ordinary products 8-9 months ago.

The Ordinary Skincare

After it arrived, I started panicking: I had no idea what could be combined with what either inside the set that I bought or between The Ordinary and all other products that I had. For the first time in my life, I had products that among the recommendation for use had instructions “do not use with other XXX.” It was scary because I wasn’t sure whether what I shouldn’t have combined with these new ones was in the products I already had: it’s not even enough to read labels since those tell you the specific ingredients’ names but not their generic/group name. So, I didn’t use any of them for a couple of months waiting until I would figure that out. Slowly I built some understanding of how products of the set that I got could be combined, but I still wasn’t sure what other products could be used together with them.

After approximately 6 months of using The Ordinary products, I can tell with a conviction that their Caffeine Solution works: it does reduce an under-eye puffiness within minutes. Everything else? I can’t say one way or the other: I don’t see any drastic improvements, but I’m not sure what I could expect after a half-year use. What I do know is that I do not enjoy that DIY lab-style skincare where I need to work hard on figuring out the allowed combinations.

I’m not sure that I or my wallet are ready to switch to Sisley or La Mer (while I still have doubts in my mind as to how much the topical solutions can do), but I think that my next stop will be brands that do at least some work of combining ingredients into something that resembles a finished product. I have many higher-end skincare samples from my recent epic GWP haul, so I plan to go through them figuring out if I want to give any of those brands a try. What I mean is, I know that it’s impossible to get any real results from a trial version of the active product. But since I have my doubts as to the effectiveness of any products, at least I can try to choose those that I enjoy using.

 

How do you build your skincare regimen? Do you have a good understanding of the ingredients that the products you use have? Or do you rely upon someone’s recommendations? Or do you not care?

 

Images: my own