Wishlist 2018

Wants/Curious

My wishlist for 2018, I may or may not buy (or request as a gift) something from here... truly, I don't need anything but I just record things I have taken an interest in. Quite many of these are in luxury product price range for me too. My 2017 Wishlist, I guess still relevant as I haven't found an eye cream/serum or new foundation or sleeping mask or sunscreen or...


* Kicks Beauty Vitamin C peeling pads

* Herbivore Botanicals Lapis Facial Oil

* Burt’s Bees Complete Nourishment Facial Oil 15ml

* EKOPHARMA Helsinki Herukka Siemenöljy (blackcurrant seed oil)

* Green People Facial Sun Cream SPF30 Scent Free 50ml

* Madara Superseed Soothing Hydration Organic Facial Oil

* Sukin Sensitive Facial Moisturiser 125ml

* ELIZABETH ARDEN ADVANCED CERAMIDE CAPSULES

* First Aid Beauty Anti-Redness Serum

* Goodal Sensitive Relief Lotion

* Paula’s Choice Calm Redness Relief Serum

* TOO FACED Love Light Prismatic Highlighter ( 9g )

* Deciem NIOD COPPER AMINO ISOLATE SERUM 2:1

* Deciem NIOD Flavanode Mud

* Deciem NIOD Modulating Glucosides

* Jurlique Purely Age-Defying Nourishing Cleansing Oil

* RENARDBLANC Multilayer Sun Block

* The Body Shop OILS OF LIFE INTENSELY REVITALISING CLEANSING OIL-IN-GEL

* Missha Near Skin Total Ceramide Cream

* Basiron AC gel

Dr. Young CentellaSCA Cream 50 ml Review

Ingredients:

Centella Asiatica Extract (57,12%), Cyclopentasiloxane, Glycerin, Cyclohexasiloxane, Butylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Polysorbate 60, 1,2-Hexanediol, Glyceryl Stearate, Sorbitan Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Betaine, Water, Pentylene Glycol, Microcrystalline Wax, Allantoin, Dipottassium Glycyrrhizate, Asiaticoside, Hyaluronic Acid, Dextrin, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extraxt, Disodium EDTA, Caprylyl Glycol, Chlorphenesin.

I try to mark the sunscreen ingredients in red and other possible irritants in lilac. Ingredients thought to be good and useful for skin I mark green.  Learning as I go, google is my friend etc...

Thoughts:

- I really have to think hard to come up with negatives for CentellaSCA Cream! Well, it's not heavy duty cream if you're looking for those qualities, not enough on its on for aging and dehydrated skin

- Also, I don't really see it "strengthening the skin" or being "special care" or very soothing; didn't notice any difference with my skin's redness or brightness or PIE



+ Very pleasant light cream gel

+ Absorbs in about a minute completely, no stickiness

+ Layering the gel cream works well, doesn't feel heavy

+ Considering the lightness, moisturizes well! Not enough alone for my aging skin but for example with a couple of drops squalane oil, just perfect for daytime

+ I didn't notice pilling or anything else funny when worn under makeup

+ Not irritating,  however I don't know if soothing either

+ No fragrance, maybe a slight stuffy smell but barely that either

* If you're looking for a centella asiatica cream/gel/moisturizer and Missha Near Skin Madecanol Cream is too thick/balmy/sticky for your taste and skin, I think Dr. Young's CentellaSCA Cream could be an excellent choice! They are about the same price too.

* I'm considering gifting this product to my sister who has an dehydrated oily and acne prone skin, she has liked Benton's aloe propolis gel as well and this is somehow similar in feel? Except I think CentellaSCA cream is better, or my skin likes it more at least.

* Near Skin Madecanol Cream feels a lot more occlusive compared to CentellaSCA Cream, but somehow CentellaSCA Cream feels more moisturizing/hydrating.

* When I started using this cream (I think October/November?) my skin wasn't very happy because I had been testing so many new things in a short time, I had overexfoliation and hormonal acne etc. First I added Squalane and my skin seemed to love it, then CentellaSCA cream and it worked very well in that situation. Certainly didn't make anything worse! Let's hope that it doesn't break me out now, my skin is in better condition and I haven't used it for a while. It does seem to have comedogenic ingredients. Sometimes I don't notice if something breaks me out if everything at the moment seems to be the problem...

* If I would have to choose between Missha Near Skin Madecanol Cream and this, I would maybe still prefer Missha's Cream. At least for winter. I really learned to love the balm texture it had.

Price: 

About $15.29 USD / 50 ml with shipping

Bought from: 

Rubyrubyshop

Buy again? 

Maybe? For those days when I want to play it safe. It is a good moisturiser but is it good enough to repurchase?

Worth the money? 

I think this gel cream suits all skin types and is so pleasant to use! Also at the same I wonder if a daily cream is worth so much as it gets used up so quickly and it didn't offer me anything "special". I will not stop searching for new centella asiatica products, but I certainly do not regret buying Dr. Young's CentellasSCA Cream.

BB / CC / Foundation Cream Comparisons / Swatches

I don't like shopping for foundations. Quite often it's such a pain to find a match, not to mention, it's a high chance they break me out. My skin has a yellow undertone but many foundations seem to steer to orange if they are warm which is just the worst look, because my skin is still quite neutral warm/bright/red splotches. Just the other day I swatched a lot of L'Oreal and Maybelline foundations at the store and none of them matched (too orange-ish, even light colors). Max Factor didn't have that problem as bad. I still find Lumene's shades the best compared to all other supermarket makeup brands, rarely the lighter shades go orange.

Out of the the next three, Pladerm seems to match the bright yellow in my skintone the best; Lumene is neutral, it matches well the overall tone without highlighting anything specific (warmness or coolness or redness.). The photo makes it look almost grey but it's not true. The Ordinary on the other hand, yikes. The shade is supposed to be "Light Neutral" but I find it looks unnatural on me, kind of steers to... orange. I had to be a lot more careful when trying to blend it on my face. However all of these shades are wearable on me and it also is a personal taste how you want to look and what shades to highlight. Both The Ordinary and Lumene clog my pores/break me out a little.

Pladerm Dual Sun Cream Blemish Balm SPF 48 PA++ Review

The Ordinary Serum Foundation 1.2N Light Neutral

Lumene CC Color Correcting Cream SPF 20 Light Review

Here are some random foundations I thought I would swatch together. The only new one is Lumene's Instant Glow Beauty Serum. As you can see (despite not so good photos - my skin is so red), Canmake's BB Cream is almost exactly the same shade like the discontinued Lumene's Glow Foundation. Their finish and feel is completely different though, Lumene is more liquidy and doesn't have the coverage of Canmake. Both give a very healthy look on my face, as if I had tanned, on a verge of being too dark. Can't be layered because then they become too dark. Missha's Perfect Cover BB Cream in 21 is way too gray to look comfortable, too light as well. Good for all the zombie looks! But honestly it's wearable as a thin well blended layer or mixed with something else. Lumene's Beauty Serum in Light is actually technically too light for me, but because it is so light, sheer and glowy, it works, it just disappears in! I had a sample of the Medium, and when I tried it on my face, it looked so unnatural. Maybe I used too much? This made me do a mistake later however, Lumene's Fresh Skin Tint I also bought in Light - and it is a smidge too light, sadly. Can't be layered at all. The formula is super good anyway and one day I might go for the medium shade!

Canmake Be My Baby BB Cream SPF50

Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF42 PA+++ in 21 Light Beige

Lumene Invisible Illumination Instant Glow Beauty Serum in Universal Light

Lumene Nude Perfection Glow Foundation in 1 Classic Beige SPF15

Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF42 PA+++ in 21 Light Beige

Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF42 PA+++ in 23 Natural Beige

If you ask me, Missha should totally do a shade 22 that would be in between these two, even though they both do blend in nicely and are similar. Still, 21 is too light for me, 23 is better.

Lumene's CC Cream in Light (at least this old version I have) is considerably darker/oxidizes darker than Lumene's Beauty Serum and Fresh Skin Tint in Universal Light shades. So maybe Ultra Light matches Universal Lights from CC line up. I feel that maybe Fresh Skin Tint is a bit cooler/pinker shade and slightly lighter compared to Beauty Serum that leans more yellow. That also could explain why on my face Fresh Skin Tint looks a bit too light. Of course this is just my speculation while staring at my arm swatches. :) None of them lean to orange however and they all look very wearable, neutral shades to light skintones and they are not full coverage so that gives a lot leeway. Still I wish Lumene would do some in between "Universal Light-Medium" shade! Considering I always seem to fall between the shades, maybe I am also shade matching wrong or try to match too critically.

Lumene Invisible Illumination Instant Glow Beauty Serum in Universal Light

Lumene Invisible Illumination Instant Glow Fresh Skin Tint in Universal Light

Lumene CC Color Correcting Cream SPF 20 Light Review

Beauty People 365 Stay Waterproof Brush Pen Eyeliner 0,5 g Review

Ingredients:

Water, Acrylates Copolymer, CI 77491, Butylene Glycol, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Black 2(77266), Alcohol, Sodium Polyacrylate, Steareth-20, 1,2-Hexanediol, Laureth-20, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Disodium EDTA, Illicium Verum (Anis) Fruit Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Phenoxyethanol.

I try to mark the sunscreen ingredients in red and other possible irritants in lilac. Ingredients thought to be good and useful for skin I mark green.  Learning as I go, google is my friend etc...

Thoughts:

- The color I have, Unique Brown, is a very dark brown (perfect color, almost like black but not so stark, goes with everything) but it goes completely black in a matter of hours!!! That is truly a deal breaker because I bought it for the color!

- Sometimes I can't get the color out of the brush tip despite shaking it vigorously, or the liquid comes out uneven

- Also if your eyelids are oily/not powdered enough/there's sunscreen the color doesn't stick

- Fades during the day but not in an ugly way, it just slowly disappears

- I doubt it is waterproof, it's not smudge proof, my eyelids kill everything

- It's not pricy but it's pricy for the amount of liquid you get



+ When the color comes out like intended, it's so incredibly easy and fast to create a beautiful pigmented line, usually I struggle with liquid eyeliners but with this pen type it was instantly crisp and symmetric

+ Fixing the line is easy too

+ Didn't irritate my eyes at all even though I did very tight line (not on waterline though, I don't think it will last at all)

+ Doesn't get flaky or ugly when it fades

* Even though it has a lot of points where it quite doesn't perform it's still pleasant to use overall so the only thing I'm truly mad about is the color that turns black!

* Still, it's usable and good for busy mornings (no need to play with liquid eyeliners and brushes) and ordinary days when you don't need a superb make-up that lasts perfectly. Easy and fast to wash off in the evening as well.

Price: 

USD 8.29 / 0,5 g

Bought from: 

Jolse

Buy again? 

No, at least not this color. 

Worth the money? 

I think it's overpriced because it doesn't do what it promises to do: waterproof, exact color, long lasting. Not to mention there is not very much product, only 0,5 grams!  I will gladly pay double price for an actually good product.

Head&Shoulders Anti-Dandruff Shampoo Classic Clean 250 ml Review

Ingredients:


Water, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycol Distearate, Zinc Carbonate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Xylenesulfonate, Zinc Pyrithione, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Dimethicone, Parfum, Sodium Benzoate, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Hydrochloric Acid, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Sodium Hydroxide, Magnesium Carbonate Hydroxide, Magnesium Nitrate, Sodium Polynaphtalenesulfonate, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Magnesium Chloride, CI 42090, Methylisothiazolinone, CI 17200.

I try to mark the sunscreen ingredients in red and other possible irritants in lilac. Ingredients thought to be good and useful for skin I mark green.  Learning as I go, google is my friend etc...

Thoughts:

- After using the shampoo for a while, I didn't get the same super clean feeling anymore

- If I remember right the cap of the bottle was quite tight



+ When I started to use this shampoo, my hair/scalp felt so clean, for several days

+ Very neutral, non-lingering smell

+ Pleasant to use, you don't have to think about the product too much when it works; I don't even remember if it was thick or thin in consistency because it was just perfect!

+ I like the classic clean design of the bottle

* I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised by Head&Shoulders shampoo! I always heard about it, it's such an classic, but I never bought it myself before! Maybe I thought it would be super medical harsh thing burning my scalp because I don't really have a dandruff problem, just that my scalp gets oily and hair flat.

Price: 

Maybe about 3,5 € / 250 ml

Bought from: 

Grocery store

Buy again? 

Maybe. I just finished L'Oreal Paris Elvital Phytoclear Anti-Dandruff Shampoo and I liked that one more and they battle in the same category.

Worth the money? 

I think so, yes. Nothing miraculous but works well! Could work for so many scalp types, almost a shame they market it for dandruff problems only. I would recommend Head&Shoulders.

Garnier Fructis Strengthening Shampoo Grow Strong 250 ml + Conditioner 200 ml Review

Ingredients:


Garnier Fructis Strengthening Shampoo Grow Strong

AQUA/WATER/EAU, SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE, COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE, SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE, GLYCOL DISTEARATE, SODIUM CHLORIDE, AMODIMETHICONE, PPG-5-CETETH-20, GUAR HYDROXYPROPYLTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, NIACINAMIDE, SACCHARUM OFFICINARUM EXTRACT/SUGAR CANE EXTRACT, SODIUM BENZOATE, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, TRIDECETH-6, SALICYLIC ACID, LIMONENE; CAMELLIA SINENSIS LEAF EXTACT, LINALOOL, 2-OLEAMIDO-1, 3-OCTADECANEDIOL, PYRUS MALUS EXTRAXT, CARBOMER, PYRIDOXINE HCI, CITRIC ACID, CETRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, CITRONELLOL, CITRUS MEDICA LIMONUM PEEL EXTRACT, PARFUM.

Garnier Fructis Strengthening Conditioner Grow Strong

QUA/WATER/EAU, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, BEHENTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, CETYL ESTERS, NIACINAMIDE, SACCHARUM OFFICINARUM EXTRACT/SUGAR CANE EXTRACT, TRIDECETH-6. CHLORHEXIDINE DIGLUCONATE, LIMONENE, CAMELLIA SINENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, LINALOOL; AMODIMETHICONE, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL, 2-OLEAMIDO-1, 3-OCTADECANEDIOL, PYRUS MALUS EXTRACT, PYRIDOXINE HCI, CITRIC ACID, CITRONELLOL, CETRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, CITRUS MEDICA LIMONUM PEEL EXTRACT, PARFUM.

I try to mark the sunscreen ingredients in red and other possible irritants in lilac. Ingredients thought to be good and useful for skin I mark green.  Learning as I go, google is my friend etc...

Thoughts:

- I didn't like the fruity candy fragrance in the long run, even though in the beginning it reminded me of my childhood; it was way too strong

- My scalp didn't really feel clean after using this shampoo

- Also my hair got oily faster so I had to wash if more often

- I didn't feel like the conditioner did much... almost the same as not using anything



+ Well, the smell did remind me of my childhood

+ I was able to use them to the end? Nothing horribly wrong

+ Very gentle, non-drying

* I was not the target group for this shampoo and conditioner so my opinion doesn't mean these are bad products, they just are not for me.

* I definitely think people with thin, fragile natural hair could like them. For processed hair they are not nourishing enough in my opinion.

Price: 

Maybe 2,50-3,50 € / 200 ml/250 ml

Bought from: 

Grocery store

Buy again? 

No.

Worth the money?

Not for me! The shampoo&conditioner were cheap but it doesn't matter if it's not nice to use them and they don't work for me.