Shopping from March to April

All my beauty shopping from March to April.

Well, March was an expensive month for me even though I didn't accumulate much new products. I went both to the hair stylist (162 €) and lash/brow lift combo (115 €) appointment. Hair fix was long overdue and we chopped all the leftover permanent bits off and now I have a short, straight dark brown bob and some lighter brown highlights.

Lash/brow lift on the other hand I wanted to try a bit ex tempore. To see if I get an allergic reaction, how the results look on me, and how long they will last.

I believe I had InLei lash/brow lift, because the cosmetologist said it was an Italian brand. When I later took a look at beauty salons around me, most seem to be doing Yumi lashes, which I understand to be French and one of the first lash lift brands. For me it was all the same as I don't have experience to have preference. My cosmetologist was well recommended and had been long in the industry so I chose based on that.

The treatment took 1,5 hours. It didn't hurt or sting at all. It was slightly uncomfortable of course, and at some point I felt a panic rising due to having my eyes basically glued shut. I had to keep repeating to myself  "remember to breathe". But once I got over that, the time went pretty quickly. But I find it's pretty important that the cosmetologist has their own room or otherwise closed space and concentrates on you. It would have been very distracting if they would have answered phone, had another client, had coffee or whatever at the same time.

I must say, it felt weird then someone combs your lashes and she did it several times over and over. I think I have quite dense lashes, so they grow on top of each other. She did say it makes the lash lift last and look better if everyday I comb my lashes as well so they don't clump. My lashes are long-ish, but wouldn't say long.

The permanent solution smells bad but that I knew already. Not bad like making you sick, just generally unpleasant smell. 

After doing the lifts, she dyed my lashes&brows and that makes a huge difference as well. The tips of my lashes are very light.

Because I have oily skin (she could tell immediately) she said the lifts might not last as long, the oiliness helps to grow/shed hair faster. But everything depends on individual. The lifts should last 4-8 weeks.

However, the end results were great! Both lashes&brows. I definitely look like I would have applied mascara and curled my lashes. For me, mascara is the most important make up item after foundation. I look more awake. After that comes brow gel.

Brows look good too, but if I wanted to save, I would skip brows and take only lash lift. I can dye my brows at home and style them pretty well, both shaving and plucking. Of course having brow lift makes them easier to brush/style at home in the morning. I have a good amount of hair so brow lift didn't really make a difference in that sense.

Together the lash&brow lift cost 115 €, separately lashes are 75€ and brows 65 € at that salon. The prices are similar elsewhere as well. I think I'd like to try Yumi lashes too, just to compare. 

Interestingly, she did not recommend any lash/brow serums even though she applied serums and conditioning butters at the end. I might purchase a lash serum at some point anyway, my lashes do have potential to be even greater on their own.

I do not count beauty salons in my yearly cosmetics budget, yet. Because I have never done it in the past either, I rarely go anywhere except hair salon every two years, lol! But I will keep them in my bonus budget and maybe will merge them at some point.

EDIT: More about the lifts after 3-4 weeks! I can see some lashes growing more downturned but I haven't lost all treated lashes yet. However, my left eye with originally more down turned and sparse lashes didn't respond to treatment as well as my right eye so they look a tiny bit mis matched. But the lifts didn't make my lashes/brow hairs any weaker and I didn't lose them faster than usual! My brows were a bit dry for a while though. 

After 5 weeks, I think my brows are completely new hair. Can't comment on lashes, probably almost all new as well. Maybe the fact I can't tell means, that my natural lashes are quite ok as well! What a pleasant discovery.

Anyway, back to the purchases. Quite boring repurchases and basics mostly this time! Altogether 75 €. 

CCS Cracked Heel Repair

Vichy Capital Soleil UV Clear Anti Imperfections Water Fluid SPF50+

From a pharmacy. Been using the foot cream for a month, maybe? I think it does work. It uses a combination of 25% urea and some lactic acid. Something to keep my feet soft between foot peeling socks. 

I actually haven't used the sunscreen yet, but it was just too tempting! Gah, I am not a diligent sunscreen user even though I'd like to be. (I just counted, last year I finished 4 facial sunscreens.)

Blistex Sensitive Lip Balm

Garnier Micellar Gel Wash

Four Reasons Color Mask Toning Treatment Chocolate

Essence The Nail Care Oil

Masque Me Up Foot Peeling Mask 0% Perfume

Altogether about 29 €. I actually did need a new lip balm by my bedside, so I repurchased the same one from Blistex. I actually needed a new face wash, so I repurchased Garnier's Micellar Wash that is my affordable staple product. 

I haven't used nail oils before, so I opted for something cheap to try them out - Essence's cost only 2,5 €. Now I just should get into habit of slathering it on every evening before bed! I've been using it for a few weeks now 1-3 times a day and honestly I am not sure if I see any difference. It is fragranced and the scent lingers for a while. It does absorb quite quickly, 5-10 minutes.

The hair mask I bought from the hairdresser to keep up the color. Haven't actually used it yet at all. Wonder if it was an unnecessary purchase after all. 

But I did use the foot mask already! It was from Normal (a chain store selling a bit of this and that in Scandinavia) and cost only about 4,5 € maybe? It was ok and it took 3-4 days for my feet to peel a little (I kept them on for 40min). But I wasn't expecting anything crazy, since I had just used 2 months ago Dermosil peeling socks and they were very effective! And afterwards I puchased CSS Cracked Heel Repair cream and had been using that. 

 

De La Cruz, Acne Treatment Ointment with 10% Sulfur, Maximum Strength

My skin does love sulfur. It is affordable and attacks both bacterial&fungal acne, but it smells soo bad! Worth a shot if you struggle with weird acne. This is a repurchase. From iherb.