alverde Eye Creme for normal skin // Review

The alverde Eye Creme For Normal Skin has been my favorite everyday eye creme for quite a few years now. I tried other brands and other eye cremes from alverde themselves but this is still by far the best I ever used.

My skin is generally dry and especially after I take my make up off I need moisture to be put back into my skin. The area around my eyes is rather sensitive and easily irritated by products. This eye creme actually helps my skin when it is irritated and red. It calms down my skin, moisturizes it wonderfully and sinks in quickly. Even the alverde Eye Creme For Dry Skin was not as moisturizing as this one for normal skin is (apart from that my skin got heavily irritated by that eye creme).You do have to wait a few minutes after applying it until you can start to put on male up though but that is not a big issue to me because any eye creme I ever used was like that.

On top of working really well this is also one of the cheapest eye cremes I could find. Eye creme can be very expensive but so far I have never found one that I thought was worth spending so much more money on.

I try to only use natural cosmetic products in my everyday skin care routine and this has been a staple in said routine for years now. I would generally recommend this eye creme for every skin type and every age. The only downside to it is that it has no SPF but that is generally hard to find in drugstore skin care products.

What is your favorite eye creme?

Favorites // January

When I put together the collage at the top I actually thought about excluding a product or two from this post just so the collage would look better. Pretty pictures are undeniably a big part of a blog but to include or exclude products because of the way they look seems hypocritical because I do want to talk about the products I actually like. That whole concept just seems a little messed up...

DoveNutritive Solutions Oil Care Spray: This is a wonderful new discovery of mine. I have written a review about this product already so I do not want to talk about it for too long but if you struggle with brushing your hair after washing it maybe you should give this product a try.

Astor Perfect Stay Gel Shine Nail Polish 502/503 Crème Brulée & Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer Effect Coat 41 Two Million Dollar Baby: I have been posting a lot about this Astor nail polish over the past few months but I just keep coming back to it. I have worn this combination of nude and golden glitter twice in January - which is a lot for me. I hardly wear the same nail polish on my nails two times in a row.

batiste Dry Shampoo For Brunettes: About two months ago I got a hair cut - which is nothing that special but this time I finally did it: I got bangs! Now they are pretty much grown out and I am going to have to get them re-cut but when I still had full on bangs I had to change my hair care routine. With that my biggest rediscovery was dry shampoo. I generally like using dry shampoo whenever I want to avoid washing my hair for another day. With bangs it was the most practical product ever. I wash my hair about every other day and there was nothing better for my second-day-bangs than this product. I love the look and texture it gives to my hair and especially my bangs.

alverde Limited Edition Winter Love Body Butter: It is no secret that I am a big fan of alverde body butters. This is one that has a thicker texture and I do prefer a 'softer' texture when it comes to body butters but I still like this one. It still sinks in quicker than any other body butter or lotion and it moisturizes my skin wonderfully. This is a rare limited edition version of the alverde body butter but I hope that in the future they keep coming out with special editions because to be quite frank I do not like the 'original' scent that much.

H&M  Little Black Handbag:  This is the bag I bought on Black Friday last year and is one of the best 'fashion investments' I have made in a long time. I use this bag almost everyday. It s small but still fits a lot of stuff and it looks good with any outfit I wear. This is basically the little back bag of my dreams.

Shape of You by Ed Sheeran: When there is a new song that I really like I just listen to it on repeat and any other musics tends to get neglected. This is one of those songs. It has been so long since Ed Sheeran's last release and I am so happy he is back.

What were you favorites in January?

Alverde Face Scrub // Review

The Alverde Apricot & Calendula Face Scrub for every skin type is the only face scrub I ever used up and repurchsed. They have changed the packaning since I bought my first bottle but the product itself has not changed. I simply forgot to include this product in my Best Products of 2016 post because it had definitely earned a spot in that list.

The scrub is gentle but still effective. It does not dry out my skin but I still apply moisturizer after using it. I now use this scrub about every other day or at least twice a week. It really helps clear out my skin and I can definitely tell a difference in my skin the next morning after using it. I have dry skin and this scrub also helps with getting rid of dry skin patches without drying out my skin even more.

I would definitley recommend this scrub for anyone with dry skin because it is hard to find a scrub that works with that skin type. This is one of the few procuts I would actually think to work with pretty much every skin type (like the product claims it does).

What is your favorite face scrub?

Updated Skin Care Routine // Part II

Last week I posted the Part I of my updated skin care routine. This week I would like to talk about some more products that I use in my everyday skin care routine.

I do not just have dry skin, I also have dry lips. Every night before bed I use the labello Lip Butter  Raspberry Rosé (you might know these as a Nivea product but in Germany labello sells these lip butters - it is the same product). During the day or when I am out of the house I use the Carmex Classic Moisturizing Lip Balm. That is much more hygienic and I prefer the look of it. It just looks like a clear gloss whereas the labello lip butter has a milky finish that I do not like on my lips.

Another product that I - try to - use every night is hand creme. I do love L'occitan hand cremes but I do not buy these for myself because they are rather expensive. A hand creme that I have been really liking lately is the Nivea Anti-Age Hand Creme. I mostly use it at night but I really like that this hand creme has SPF. It claims to have an anti-aging effect which I do not really believe in. If it actually has such an effect I would not mind but I would not depend on that.

The alverde Body Butter Macadamia is the best body moisturizer I have ever used. It is the most moisturizing and at the same time sinks into the skin quicker than anything else I have ever used. I am generally not a big fan of body lotions and I prefer the consistency of body butters'. I do not actually like the scent of macadamia but it is a very subtle scent and even though I would prefer a different scent I still like this product.

There are a few more products I use in my skin care routine but I do not actually like them enough to call them staples or repurchase them when they run out. One of those products is the the Body Shop Body Scrub Blueberry. It is a good body scrub but it is rather expensive and when I pay that much money for a products I expect it to be great and not just good. It removes dry skin well but it does not clear out my skin as well as I would want it to. Another product I use regularly is the Alverde Clear SOS Serum as a spot treatment. Again I do like this product but it does not work as well as I would want it to. I will use this product up but I probably won't repurchase this.

What are some of your skin care staples?

What products can you recommend?

Updated Skin Care Routine // Part I

It has been over a year since my last skin care post. There are things that have changed, products that are still the same and others that have been replaced. My skin is sensitive but there are not too many products that break me out. The biggest problem I have with my skin is how dry it can get and this is the skin care routine that helps me manage that.

In my everyday life I usually wear waterproof mascara and my favorite eye make-up remover is the Garnier Make-Up Remover 2 in 1 waterproof. It is gentle on the skin but at the same time it removes all my mascara. If I ever wear non-waterproof I use the Rival de Loop Clean & Care Oil Free Eye-Make-Up Remover which I have used for years before I started wearing waterproof mascara. I do not wear foundation or BB creme so I only use water to remove any make-up residue on my skin and no extra products. I have tried many eye cremes and my favorite - by far - is the alverde Eye Creme for every skin type. This has already been a part of my last skin care routine and I have talked about this in my Favorites 2014. It moisturizes well, sinks in quickly and does not irritate my skin or eyes. At night I also use an old favorite: Weleda Skin Food. If you have dry skin you should definitely give this product a try. It is the most moisturizing creme I know because the skin actually takes in the moisture and the creme does not just sit on your skin without sinking in. It does leave your skin feeling a little sticky which is why I only use it at night but it works really well.

Sometimes - when I feel like my skin needs it - I do like to use the alverde Apricot & Calendula Face Scrub for normal skin. To me it is the perfect mix of effective and gentle. Of course it does not give you perfect skin over night but it definitely has a positive effect on my skin. It helps my skin to clear out and gets rid of dry skin very gently. After that I use the Weleda Skin Food at night or the alverde Face Oil Wild Rose for dry skin in the day time.

If I did not wash my face or take a shower in the morning I still apply a moisturizer in the morning. It is either the Nivea Sun Anti-Age Moisturizer with SPF 50 in the summer or the alverde Teint Perfection Beauty Serum now that the sun is not out that much anymore. I would like the alverde Perfect Teint to have an SPF too so I am not sure if I am going to repurchase this again but I really do like the finish it leave on my skin.

Part II of my skin care routine will be coming up next week. I only realized how many different products I do actually use when I started writing this post so I decided to divide this up into two posts. Today I talked about what products I use on y face but next week I will talk about what else I do to take care of the rest of my skin.

What are your favorite skin care products?

Products I've Used Up // March

alverde Shower Gel Mint & Bergamot: Peppermint is my favorite scent ever and I did really like this combination. The scent was nice but somehow I did not like it as a shower gel. I cannot really explain it. The scent and the product itself were great, I guess I just do not like peppermint-scented shower gel?

Schwarzkopf got2b Anti-Frizz Lotion: This is one of my favorite hair care products of all time. I already repurchased this multiple times and did it again this time. It is definitely the best anti-frizz product I have ever tried.

alverde Wild Rose Moisturizer: I generally like alverde skin care products but this I do have to admit was not my favorite. I actually did not use this up and according to the expiration-date on the bottle it should not have gone bad yet - but it definitely has. The scent has gone really bad and I do not feel comfortable using it anymore. It says on the packaging that this is meant for dry skin but if your skin is really dry like mine this moisturizer will probably not be enough. The facial oil from this line on the other hand works wonderfully with my skin.

the Body Shop Body Scrub Early Harvest Raspberry: I owned this body scrub before and repurchased it because I liked it back then. This time around I did not like this as much. It is still a good body scrub but I am pretty sure you can find a better one out there.

What products did you use up this month?

Drugstore HAUL // November

I am on a strict ban from buying make up and so far I have been sticking to it. I have not bought make up in over a month by now. I soon need a new concealer and new mascara but that does not count. This is what I buy at the drugstore when I do not buy make up.

Gillette Venus Spa Breeze Razor: I already own this razor and I really do like it. Sadly it is quite expensive and so are the blades. My razor is a few years old and while it still works fine it is pretty disgusting by now and I was in desperate need of a new one. 

Balea Shower Gel & Oil Pearls: I struggle to find a shower gel that I really like. I do not have high expectations for shower gel but somehow I still cannot find one I actually enjoy using. Hopefully I will like using this one as much as I like the scent and packaging.

alverde Shower Gel with Pomegranate & Ginger: My quest to find a good moisturizing shower gel that also smells good is still going on. Maybe I have found it now? I have never tried alverde shower gel before but since I usually like alverde products I do have rather high expectations.

Balea Teint Perfection: This is supposed to make pores and fine lines disappear for a 'perfect teint'. I heard a lot of positive things about this on YouTube. We will see how it works.

Garnier Eye Make Up Remover 2 in 1: I did not set out to repurchase this but it is the best and cheapest eye make up remover for waterproof mascara that I know of. It is not perfect but it is good. If you know of any other eye make up removers for waterproof mascara, please let me know!

ISANA Nail Polish Remover: This is my favorite nail polish remover and I repurchase this all the time. I guess there is nothing more to say about this :P

What have you been shopping for this month?

October // Drugstore HAUL

Dove limited edition winter care body lotion: Do I like Dove products or not? I cannot think of one I liked at the top of my head. Yet I do somehow have a rather positive image of the brand. It is a little strange. Anyways, I did want to try one of their body lotions again because I cannot remember the last time I did that. There were a lot of scents to chose from but I could not help but go with the winter themed one.
Balea shaving gel sweet madarin: I am not so sure about what I think about the packaging (pink cheetah print?). At the same time the colors do look pretty autumnal. At the end of the day it is a new scent in the Balea shaving gel range and that is always exciting to me.
Balea cool blossom shower gel: What was I thinking?! There I was talking about how I would stay away form citrus scents in the future after being so disappointed by the palmolive shower gel and here I go again. At least it is blood orange. I do like the scent in the bottle, we will see how I like it when I actually use it.
Balea moisturizing face mask for dry skin: My skin is generally dry but now that the weather is changing from sunny autumn day to freezing cold October mornings it is getting even dryer. I have yet to find the perfect moisturizing face mask so maybe this will be candidate?

August Drugstore HAUL

This is a little late collective Drugstore Haul. Now that I look at it all at once I seem to have started to purchase a lot of nail polish again. I have to be careful not to start buying too many again!

Palolive Shower Gel

Why did I buy this? Well... To be honest I hate the Palmolive shower gel I am using at the moment. It is just awful but I feel like I am the only person in the world who feels like that. Everyone loves this brand. That is why I wanted to give it a second chance by going in a totally different direction this time. Cross your fingers!

alverde eye creme for normal to dry skin

This is a new product in the alvered skin care range. I did not even now they had added this! I just went back to repurchase my usual eye creme but than I saw this. There did not use to be an eye creme for dry skin by alverde and now I am really happy to try this. It is rather expensive for an alverde product (more expensive than my old eye creme) and so I am not quite sure about whether I will repurchase this if there is no big difference to my old favorite.

Dove advanced hair series oxygen hair mask

Did I need more hair products? No, definitely not. I have wanted to try the Dove oxygen series form some time now and when I saw this on sale I could not resist it. I cannot remember ever really having liked a Dove hair care product but I always want to try it again.

p2  perfect nail hardener

I do have to admit - usually I dislike the packaging of p2 products. I often do not even buy products because I just cannot handle the packaging. I can deal with boring packaging but when I straight up dislike it that is a no-go. This packaging on the other hand I love. Does this not look amazing? I love p2 base coats but since it takes forever to use one of those up whenever I get to buy a new one the old one is not even available anymore. I have high hopes for this base coat.

essence the gel nail polish top coat

Actually my boyfriend got me this. I wrote my normal essence better than gel nails top coat on the shopping list but when he could not find it he chose this one for me. I have tried it out once now and so far I do really like it.

trend it up double volume & shine nail polish 200

Sometimes I am just in the mood for a very specific nail color. Keeping in mind how big my collection of nail polishes is I find it hard to believe that there are still color-groups I do not own. But there are! I did not own a deep dark purple nail polish, can you believe it?
There were a few colors I liked from various brands but I decided on this one for multiple reasons. 1.) It is the most perfect color. 2.) There was an almost identical one by p2 that would have been less expensive (only 30 ct but still!) that I had heard great thing about but the packaging was just so... eww that I could not bring myself to buy it. 3.) I have never tried anything from this brand ever before. I read good things about the trend it up nail polishes so I am excited to try it out.

essence nail polish the darks 16 well plum!

Little spoiler here - I have worn the trend it up nail polish already and I am not the biggest fan. Hopefully this will be better. It is a slightly lighter purple but it is still pretty dark.

Maybelline Super Stay Gel Nail Color Soho, So Hot 505 Forever Red

- Did I forget to take a picture of this?! Yes, I did.... You can check it out here: click! - 

This was another case of 'I cannot believe I did not own a color like this?!'. I love the Maybelline Super Stay nail polishes which is why I wanted to get this classic color from that brand even though it is a little bit more expensive. The color is amazing but thinking about how red is supposed to be the new trend color I am already thinking about getting several more shades... that is not good... I should not do that. I probably still will  ;)

essence lash & brow gel mascara 

This is a repurchase. I like this product. I do not love it but I do not know of a better one that is that cheap so I just keep repurchasing it. It is definitely the best brow gel from the drugstore.

essence duo sharpener

My old duo sharpener by uma is basically falling apart. Are there good or bad sharpeners out there? I do not know so I just got this one.

What did you shop for this month?

Nivea double effect eye-make-up remover

I only own two waterproof make up products: the Catrice Glamour Doll volume mascara waterproof and the Catrice Liquid Liner waterproof 010 Don't Leave Me! and when I bought them I also had to get a waterproof make-up remover. I owned the Rival de Loop waterproof make-up remover and did not like that at all. It dried my skin out and left a no-good oily residue on my eyelids that was hard to get rid of. So since I do like a lot of Nivea skin care products I decided to give this one a try.

It works a lot better for me than the Rival de Loop one. You have to take your time to take of your eye make-up and let the cotton pad sit on there for a while but it does get the job done. It does leave your eyelids feeling a little oily but they do not feel so gross. It is more like you applied a little to much face oil. You can easily get rid of the oily residue with just some water.

It is not an perfect eye-make-up remover but the the best that I know. What eye-make-up remover do you use to take off your waterproof eye-make-up?

May Favorites

This Favorites post is a little late but I still wanted to post it since I have skipped this for the last few months. I always find myself having more actual new favorites when the seasons change and this transition form spring to summer is no different.

alverde wild rose facial oil

The must have for summer this year (at least for me)! I have ridiculously dry skin and this is the one product that actually helps with that while still sinking into my skin quickly and not making me shiny at all.

Catrice Multi Colour Blush 010 Riviera Rose

This is the only blush I ever bought twice. I think you can still get it but they changed the packaging and I am not sure about this but the newest version is mat. I love this color. It looks super natural on the skin and goes with pretty much everything.

Catrice Liquid Liner waterproof 010 Don't Leave Me!

Best eyeliner-purchase ever! I will do a separate review of this product later this month. I have only used it a few times but I am already impressed.

Maybelline Super Stay Forever Strong Gel Nail Color 615 Mint for Life

I have not worn nail polish in a long time but this color got me back into it. I think it has been in my favorites more than once but I had to include it again. - WAIT! I cannot believe this. I was just checking my blog so I could link a notd and just realized I never posted anything like that. Next time I wear it I will make sure to post one!

Nivea three in one cleansing fluid

This is a product I almost forgot to mention. I hardly ever wear foundation but when I do this is how I take it off. It is hard to believe but this is even more gentle to my skin than the Rival de Loop clean & care eye-make-up remover. It is also more expensive which is why I still use the Rival de Loop one to take my eye-make-up off.  

What were your favorites for May?

Products I've used up - May

I know that this containers do not look the best anymore - but that is what happens when using them over a long time ;)

alverde face oil wild rose

I am loving this stuff more and more. Needless to say I repurchased it already. My skin is very dry and other than the moisturizer from this line - which I do not like at all - this helps with my dry skin amazingly. In the colder months or when my skin is just feeling exceptionally dry I apply another layer of moisturizer after using this. Right now as it is getting warmer and my skin is not as dry as usually using this in the morning is usually enough. It absorbs into my skin really fast which makes it perfect for those mornings were you do not have a lot of time to wait between applying your moisturizer and putting on your make up.

L'Oreal Paris Elvital hair mask

Nothing special - that is what first comes to my mind when thinking about this product. There is a definite difference between using this and not putting on a hair mask or conditioner. Still there are better hair masks. I did not mind this one since I have had a lot worse but I do not think I will ever repurchase it either.

theBodyShop Early-harvest Raspberry Body Scrub

The scent is just wonderful. I like all theBodyShop products I have ever tried (at least I cannot think of one I did not like on the top of my head right now). Right now I am using the Sweet Lemon Sugar Body Scrub by theBodyShop and I like that as well (so far).

Rival deLoop Clean & Care oil free eye make-up remover & Carmex

These are staples in my everyday routine. I always repurchase these two products and have talked about them way too much in here - so what is there more to say?

What products did you use up this month?

Drugstore HAUL

I tried not to shop this month - well, epic fail. While I did run out of moisturizer and of course I had to repurchase that, was there really a need for another nail polish? No, there was not.

alverde eye creme for every skin type

This is the best drugstore eye creme I have ever used and repurchase it all the time! I can highly recommend this. I have a very sensitive eye area and this does not irritate my skin at all. Love it!

Maybelline Super Stay Forever Strong Gel Nail Color 615 Mint for Life

Again, did I need this? Hell no. But it is soooo pretty! (And it was on sale.) I love the forever strong nail polish line be Maybelline. They have great colors and they really are the polishes that stay on my nails the longest.

Catrice Limited Edtion Nude Purism Pure Shimmer Highlighter

Oh my. I love myself some highlighter but it is so hard to find good ones in the drugstore. For what I have found Catrice simply does the best ones. I am so looking forward to finally wearing this! Doesn't it just look fantastic? (And no glitter!!! Shimmering champagne perfection...)

Weleda Skin Food

Another frequently repurchased product. I have very dry skin and this is just heaven for my skin type. Sadly it is a little more expensive....

What have you been shopping for lately?