Monthly Archives: July 2012

Kiehl’s Oil-Free Range

Posted on July 31, 2012 | 1 Comment

Vicky recently presented one of Kiehl’s new products on her blog, the ultra facial oil-free lotion. The other day I ran by our Kiehl’s counter by pure accident as I was looking at the counter next to it (it used to be an Origins one, and they are leaving the store and a lot of things were heavily discounted).

But when walking by the Kiehl’s counter I could not help put notice the display for the new oil-free range, including the above mentioned product. My skin has been way better lately and the allergy attacks calmed down a bit. So now I only get allergies about once every 1-2 weeks but if I get it my face is red for quite a while. Otherwise I am back to the almost perfect skin I was used to 1,5 years ago :) I would say it is even better.

So now I am finally free to try out a bit more when it comes to cleansing and lotions etc. As I am about to run out of my Liz Earle cleanser (which I liked but will not repurchase so soon – review coming up soon) I was looking for something else and thought this oil-free cleanser sounded interesting. And after reading Vicky’s description of the lotion I was already hooked on that one.

The line comes with a total of four products, and besides the cleanser and the lotion they also have a toner (I did not go for that one as I am happy with my Clinique one but if I like the other products, who knows…) and another gel cream, also for the face.

Due to my allergies I had to use lots of highly moisturizing products for the last couple of months but I am really looking forward to trying something oil-free again. A more detailed review will follow in a few weeks.

I was lucky to get a 10% foreign visitor discount and also got a little present, which consisted of two of their famous lip balms and another face lotion in a trial size (good for travelling).

Love, S.

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A Perfect Match

Posted on July 29, 2012 | 1 Comment

Benefit recently launched their new line of ultra plush lip glosses complementing their “Box o’ Powder” blushes. They come in six different colors (CORALista, dandelion, dallas, sugarbomb, bella bamba, and hoola), matching the design (and the color of course) of the blushes.

I decided to the CORALista gloss, as I also do have the CORALista blush and I was intrigued by the idea of matching blush-gloss-option. The other benefit blush which I have is the new Hervana one and I like it almost more than CORALista. Unfortunately they did not make a gloss for that one. There are a few more other blush-gloss-matches missing as well, but maybe they will follow at some point.

The gloss itself comes in a regular lip gloss tube. I am not too much of a fan of those tubes as I think it is nicer and easier to apply lip gloss with a foam applicator. From the “keeping it clean and hygienic” point of view the tube is however way better. You can just use a tissue to wipe it off when needed and I also like the thought that the color of the gloss will not turn funny looking (you know what I mean – the thing sometimes happens to a lip gloss with an applicator)  inside, even though you cannot see the inside of the tube of course.

Above you can see the color of the gloss. When it comes out of the tube it is still quite red and colorful and first I was worried it would be too much. But when spreading it out a bit you can see that it quickly dissolves in a way lighter color. As I have quite red lips naturally it is quite good though that the gloss is also reddish and pigmented as something pink you would not see on my lips at all. The CORALista gloss gives my lips a nice slightly reddish hue, while matching perfectly with my blush – just the way I like it. The gloss is not sticky and lasts on my lips for quite some time. And last but not least: it feels quite nourishing on my lips – something not every lip gloss does!

The glosses are available online and at benefit counters around the world. Did you get any of the glosses or are you planning on getting any?

Love, S.

 

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Body Mists by The Body Shop

Posted on July 28, 2012 | Leave a comment

Body mists of all sorts are well established in the US. I cannot remember any visits to the mall without dropping into a Bath & Bodyworks and picking up a few bottles (besides all the body lotions and body washes). They have however never been that popular in Germany and Europe in general.

As of late The Body Shop released a new series of body mists, while also relaunching a lot (if not even all) of their products including a new design on the products. That new design is quite appealing for me and as I love everything which smells good I wanted to try them out as soon as possible.

On my way back to the subway the other day I passed by one of their boutiques and went inside. I usually do not like to stay in their stores too long as the smell can be quite overpowering so I went straight for the body mists. Right away I saw that they also came out with one of my favorite scents: the pink grapefruit line. I did not really have to think twice and bought one bottle but managed to stick to this one product.

The come in eight different scents (besides pink grapefruit they have shea butter, moringa, vanilla, satsuma, mango, coconut, and strawberry available) and they cost 9 Euro for 100ml (I think I paid 95 DKK here in Denmark though).

I have to admit: if you prefer to wear perfume the body mist might be nothing for you as the smell is definitely there. And wearing two scents and not being able to smell any one of them properly does not really makes sense. But I think that especially in the summer the body mist is a nice alternative for perfume. It feels fresh on the skin and can just be reapplied if needed throughout the day. I already used it all day today when it was so warm and I loved to refresh a little bit after sitting in the sun for an hour.

Even though pink grapefruit is perfect for summer days I will definitely stock up on vanilla and moringa when I am in Germany in three weeks.

Love, S.

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Oh Sephora…

Posted on July 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

So yesterday I had my last day of work before my little “study vacation”. As a treat (and because I actually needed a few things) I dropped into the city after work and stopped at Sephora.

As yesterday’s pizza post was so long I want to keep this one rather short and let the pictures speak for themselves:

As you can see I bought a wild mixture of things. I actually needed new nail polish remover and I had heard about the one from Sephora, where you can stick your finger into the bottle. I used to have one of those back in the days when I went to school in the States. In Germany we unfortunately never had something like this – so I went for it.

I was also out of my favorite toner from Clinique so I bought another bottle of the number 2 toner. Besides that I was looking for some little plastic containers for flying, so that I do not always have to bring the whole bottle/tube of a product. I picked up one little plastic container but might go back for more. In the same shelf they had dry shampoo in relatively small size and I always wanted to try one out but never wanted to spend the money on a regular size so I thought it was quite convenient that they had those smaller size. Additionally I wanted to look for another blush brush from Sephora. Their brushes are quite good for the money and I went with the angled blush brush 131.

And now to the two products, which just happened to end up in my basket as well: Benefit’s new lip gloss in Coralista and another pot of Figgs & Rouge lip balm. I was tempted by the lip gloss for a while now but never ordered it anywhere. At the counter I was able to try out the color and as I have the blush Coralista as well I decided to go for it (a detailed review will follow soon). Sephora also has all those little things line up in front of the cashier. It is just super tempting to just grab up a few pieces here and there (lip balm, little bath stones, perfume sticks, etc.). Going with “only” one lip balm is actually good :)

Love, S.

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Home Made Pizza

Posted on July 26, 2012 | 2 Comments

When it comes to recipes I am a little copycat. On the other hand I believe that is what sharing them online is all about – for others to try out some amazing food. I therefore enjoyed very much trying out the recipe Vicky posted on her blog about 2-3 weeks ago.  The “bruschetta pizza” is my boyfriend’s favorite and as I was in the mood for some cooking I thought I try it out and share the result with you guys.

The pizza is very easy to make and you do not even need that many ingredients. The following measurements will give you two average size pizzas.

For the dough:

  • 300 gr. flour
  • 20 gr. yeast
  • 150 ml water
  • 2 table spoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt

For the bruschetta topping:

  • 1 red onion
  • 12 cocktail tomatoes
  • Salt & pepper

For the general topping:

  • Mozzarella
  • Tomato sauce
  • Arugula
  • Salami
  • Parmesan cheese in little strips

For the dough you put the flour into a bowl and add some salt. Then you warm up the yeast in the water. Vicky suggested warming the concoction of yeast and water in the oven for 5 minutes with 50 degrees Celsius.  I did that as well but if you use warm water it is not necessary.

Add the concoction to the flour and add the olive oil. Mix until the dough is not sticky anymore. You can easily test that by just taking it into your hands. When it does not stick to your fingers anymore the dough is ready.  Knit it into a ball, place it into a bowl, cover it with a towel and let it stand for 1-2 hours, while the dough rises.

When you are ready to prepare the actual pizza knit the dough through one more time and divide into portions. As mentioned the amounts from above will give you two average size pizzas so you basically have to split the dough only in two.  Roll out the dough as thin as you fee like it.

For me I can say; the thinner the better. Put the rolled out dough on backing paper and cover with tomato sauce and mozzarella. I added salami before the actual packing process, as I prefer that. Bake with 200 degrees Celsius for around 12-15 minutes (it always depends on the oven though).

While the pizza is in the oven cut the onion and the tomatoes into little cubes. It should be around 1/3 onion and 2/3 tomatoes but mix as you please. I just think that it becomes to “onionish” when it is mixed half/half. Add salt and pepper as you please.

When the pizza is done put arugula, the “bruschetta” mix and the Parmesan cheese on the pizza as you please. Enjoy while it is warm and fresh :)

Love, S.

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