Maychiri's Thoughts: January 2024

Balea Tuchmaske Bedruckte Be Icy Review

January 26, 2024

Ooh, a wintery sheet mask! This is the Balea Tuchmaske Bedruckte Be Icy!

I just love adorable things, and that includes sheet masks. Balea have already had many such cute animal sheet masks, from koalas, to giraffes, to rabbits... now, for winter, they have a lil polar bear! I already know that these sheet masks often aren’t terribly good, but I still keep buying them because they are just too darn cute! So, will this one be an improvement or will it be just as average as the rest? Let’s see!

Packaging: a plastic pouch, as usual. But look at that cute bear cub! It’s got a little scarf to keep it warm (although, polar bears have a thick layer of fat to keep then warm anyways, so how much would they need a scarf??), and it’s obviously enjoying being surrounded by all the plants! These Balea animal sheet masks always have adorable designs, and this one is no different. I love the soft rose detailing, it’s a fantastic colour to pair with the icy blue. Information about this sheet mask can be found in the back.

Ingredients: glycerine, hyaluronic acid, Levant cotton (Gossypium herbaceum) seed extract, peach (Prunus persica) resin extract for nourishment. No parabens. Wow, hyaluronic acid and cotton extract in the top 5 ingredients! That’s what I like to see! The scent is... well, there’s not much to it, really. It doesn’t really smell like anything. Maybe slightly chemical and a bit like the sheet. The expiration date is nowhere to be found, as is standard with Balea sheet masks. Dunno why they don’t simply print it out. This mask is supposed to be left on for 10-20 minutes, which is a bit long.

The sheet is surprisingly comfortable! Balea sheet masks used to have really stiff, paper-like sheets that weren’t comfortable nor did they adhere properly. But it seems like they learned! This one is super soft and extremely stretchy and feels much better on the skin. It still somehow feels non-breathable and thick... idk why. Still, it is a massive improvement over the previous ones. But it’s so fricking huge, like even larger than masks tend to be for me. I know I have a small face, but this is really too huge, so it creases in many places.

One of these is not like the other... [source: dm.de]

This also means that the cute bear face print is not as visible as it should be. It’s not as badly crinkled up as with the previous Balea masks, but it still doesn’t fit right. Especially on the chin, it just cannot stay stuck there, it always comes off. Well, I am glad they are actually trying to improve, at least!

The serum is very greasy but not very heavy. It’s kinda slimy, to be honest. Not really what I would like, but it’s not the worst formula. However, it feels very tacky and like there’s a cast over my skin after it absorbs. Now that is uncomfortable!

This mask feels very, very refreshing while it is absorbing. It’s got a cooling sensation that isn’t due to menthol, so it feels comfortably cool. Although, it definitely doesn’t feel as relaxing in the winter as it would in the summer! It’s already cold outside, so this added coldness on my face isn’t exactly what I would like now! It also feels super hydrating! But besides that, it’s not much. Still, this exceptionally refreshing, cool feeling is awesome!

Wait... huh, this is interesting. Despite having hyaluronic acid so close to the top of the list, the results are honestly quite disappointing. My face looks wet – no, not hydrated, just wet. It’s moist and there’s no other effects. It also doesn’t feel terribly hydrated, either. Like, there’s literally no change, for better or worse. Blemishes look exactly the same, pores are exactly the same... like, does it do anything?? It certainly doesn’t look or feel like it! Shame, they get the sheet right finally but mess up the effectiveness of the serum.

No changes the following morning. My skin looks average, not particularly well or unwell. So yeah, this mask was a waste of time since it did nothing for my skin...

All in all, oh well, this one is even worse than most Balea sheet masks. While the sheet is an improvement, everything else is a downgrade. Sure, the sheet is super soft and super stretchy, and it is absolutely dripping with serum, but it doesn’t adhere well. It always comes off my chin, no matter how much I try to stick it. Oh, it’s also humongous, like, I know most sheet masks are going to be too large for my face, but this is almost absurd! The serum itself is gooey and greasy and soapy and not the most comfortable. It’s even less comfortable after it absorbs, as it becomes horribly tacky and like a cast. This all could theoretically be forgiven if this mask managed to show some real results... which it doesn’t. There’s literally 0 changes to the condition of my skin after using this sheet. My skin is neither calmer nor more hydrated. So that claim that it offers “intense hydration”? Yeah... no. I’m just so disappointed. I was expecting my skin to at least look hydrated and maybe ever so slightly plumper from all that hydration, but no. This mask does nothing... it’s just a waste of time (and money). Bah. Yeah, no, this isn’t getting any recommendations whatsoever, not when it does precisely nothing. Shame...

Rating: 3.5/10

Would buy again? NO

0 Comments

Balea

Reviews From the Past - Part 41

January 26, 2024

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Cien

Cien Nail Polish [13 - Metallic Rose] Review

January 18, 2024

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Cien

New Stuff - Part 25

January 18, 2024

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Avon

Avon Color Trend Lush Lips Balm [Chocolate] Review

January 12, 2024

Not a lot of items this week, but one of them is this tiny lip balm, the Avon Color Trend Lush Lips Balm, in the shade Chocolate!

To be completely honest, I bought this lip balm only because they had a chocolate flavour. The ad for it was on the very last page so I almost missed it, and even when I noticed it I contemplated whether to buy it or not. But you know what, one of the shades is called Chocolate, and me being a chocoholic, I caved in and decided to order it. Besides, I got it at 30% off! Now, I don’t really like these type of chapsticks very much; they usually become waxy and dry after some time. So, have I made a mistake by ordering this one? Well, let’s see!

Packaging: it couldn’t get any simpler, really. Just a thin small stick format that has a sticker all around it. The stick itself is pure white and looks kinda cheap. The sticker matches the name of the shade, chocolate, very well with its dark brown colour, although the magenta is a bit of a questionable choice. The retracting mechanism feels somewhat slippery but it’s actually super precise! You’ll have to keep rotating it for ages until more of the bullet is out. While this is good because it allows you to decide how much of the bullet you want to be out, it’s still annoying because you have to rotate it for ages. The sticker is where you’ll find all the information about the lip balm – the ingredients list is hidden on the underside of the sticker, so you’ll have peel it off. The cap is another thing that feels loose and cheap but it actually fits rather securely. I like how it makes a soft click when you close it properly. All in all, a cheap, albeit unusually robust packaging. I guess I got what I paid for...

Ingredients: petrolatum for nourishment. No parabens. Just petrolatum? Hmm... this doesn’t sound like it’s going to be enough. This lip balm is advertised as having SPF15 – indeed, it has a few sunscreens inside, namely, Octinoxate/Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (UVB) and Oxybenzone/benzophenone-3 (UVA/UVB). I’d be inclined to believe it does have SPF15, there’s not a lot of sunscreens and they aren’t too close to the top of the list. This may not be a lot of protection, but better SPF15 than nothing, right? The scent is delicious! It smells literally like molten chocolate! Ahh, perfect for a chocoholic like me! It doesn’t really taste like that, though, which might be a good thing actually! Don’t know how wise it would be to go to bed with the taste of chocolate on my lips! It’s also pretty intense! I absolutely adore this scent, oh it’s chocolate alright! The expiration date is not listed anywhere... great, how am I supposed to know how long it lasts now??? Very professional...

The colour of this lip balm sadly isn’t brown! You might think it would be brown with a name such as Chocolate, but it’s actually a warm peachy colour with a lot of brick tones. If it were more deeply pigmented I believe it would be a brick colour. This colour is nice, although it’s not at all what I was expecting. It should look good on most skintones; on pale people such ad me it looks very bricky, with a noticeable orange tone to it. It’s pretty, and very summery, but I am just not used to this type of colour on me that much.

The pigmentation isn’t too bad actually. However, to get it to be intense, you’ll need at least two layers. Unlike many lip balms, this one is actually layerable! With one layer it is quite sheer, but with two it becomes much richer. It’ll never be as pigmented as lipsticks, but it looks very nice on lips nevertheless! I’m actually surprised that it looks this nice, I thought it would either be very sheer or very patchy.

Hmm, this is a very comfortable formula! It is thick, yes, but it doesn’t feel too occlusive. It’s sooo creamy, though! Like, it does feel slightly greasy, but it’s not that waxy type of grease. It’s soft and slick and creamy (there’s definitely a lot of oils in this!). It feels quite rich, I must admit. It really feels like it’s going to continue nourishing my lips for hours! Thank god, because I was so afraid it would be that classical Labello formula that I really don’t like! This is much, much better!

So... this lip balm is durable enough to survive the night. This is great! In the morning it is still just as intensely pigmented as when I first applied it (well, most of the time). But if you apply it during the day, normal life activities will lead to it fading. It is not at all water-resistant; even just drinking water will make it fade considerably. So, if you plan to wear it during the day, you’ll certainly have to reapply it many times! But that’s okay, since it is so comfortable and soft.

But the most important question is “does it hydrate the lips?” Hmm, well, to a point. It is nowhere near strong enough to heal very dry or chapped lips, for that you’ll have to use a lip oil. But for minor dryness it’s good enough. My lips feel ‘normal’ when I wake up; that is, they aren’t dry or cracked but in decent condition. If they were significantly dry the night before they will still be a bit chapped in the morning, but this is proof that this lip balm can in fact hydrate the lips overnight.

However, I need stronger lip balms overnight, this is just not cutting it. But it is good enough if you use it during the day, from time to time! As long as it can keep my lips in good shape, even if it doesn’t significantly improve the condition...

Source: Avon Facebook

Since it is not at all water-resistant, you can simply wipe it off using a moist cotton pad. Indeed, this is how I remove it when I wake up! It comes off easily and doesn’t leave any greasy or waxy residues.

All in all, this lip balm is much better than I expected! I was expecting that typical waxy Labello formula that ends up drying too much on my lower lip and makes my lips flaky and dry, but it’s actually a smooth, slightly wet and not too greasy formula that feels incredibly comfortable. I usually apply it before bed because my lips become horribly dry in the morning if I don’t apply anything overnight. Honestly, I would like it to be more hydrating and nourishing; my lips don’t feel all that much better in the morning, but they do feel pretty much the same as the night before. This is actually good as, while it doesn’t heal the lips too much, it at least keeps them in good shape! This is not at all what I was expecting! So this is very surprising to me – but in a good way! It also never becomes waxy or dry, even 9 hours later, and it stays as pigmented as when you first applied it. Speaking of, the pigmentation is another positive surprise with this lip balm; while one layer is fairly sheer, two or three layers gives you very nice colour that is actually quite pigmented. This colour, coupled with the juicy shine, makes the lips look lush and hydrated. If you have terribly dry or chapped or flaky lips this lip balm won’t be able to help much, it’s just not hydrating enough. But if your lips are in fairly good shape and just need a protective layer to keep them from drying out, this lip balm will be good! Of course, since my lips are quite problematic oftentimes, I need more nourishment and more hydration, so, while this was a nice lip balm, I’ll most likely go back to lip oils. I honestly would recommend this lip balm, it’s cheap but it is really quite good!

Rating: 7.5/10

Would buy again? NO (need more hydration)

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Avon

Avon Care Blooming Garden Soothing Moisture Hand Cream with Jasmine & Glycerine Review

January 12, 2024

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Avon

Reviews From the Past - Part 40

January 12, 2024

Hello hello!

Another monthly Avon order... can you tell I was running out of cosmetics to order?

Indeed, this monthly order was one not too long before I stopped ordering stuff every month from Avon not because I suddenly started hating them or anything, I just slowly arrived to the end of my list of products that interested me. But one thing I always love is good fragrances, and as you can see, there's plenty of that here! Along with a few helpful things, such as a hand cream and a lip balm. The lip balm was an afterthought that I just added into the cart because why not? It tastes like chocolate and is super cheap.

So, let's start with the body sprays because - let me tell you - Avon body sprays rock! I love trying out all these new ones that they have every so often. This is because they never smell synthetic and the scent lingers for literal hours (longer than some Avon perfumes, even!).

The Velvet Seduction Body Mist seemed interesting to me because of the combination of blueberry and orchid. That sounds so fresh and summery! Yet, the orchid gives it an interesting sense of weight and drama. This wasn't one of the new sprays, I just liked the combination and it wasn't expensive, so why not?

The Pink Sands Body Mist I ordered because of a few reasons. First, because I liked it immediately after scratching the 'smell me' patch in the catalogue; it's, again, a super fresh, summery scent, but this one is much more lightweight compared to Velvet Seduction. Second, because it was new and had a discount. And third, because what the actual heck is 'pink coconut'?? I'd never heard of pink coconut before so I just had to order it to see what it's actually like!

The Flamingo Sunset Body Mist I bought because... well, flamingos! I gotta have flamingo-related stuff! But also because, after smelling it in the catalogue, I fell in love with it! The combination of pink pineapple and fragipani is so fragrant, but also sweet and slightly tart at the same time. It's like the perfect summer sunset, only in perfume form! I tried both the body spray and the shower gel and both are divine! Of course the flamingo-inspired product smells the best - it's only natural! Gah - I love this spray so much! Only... what's a pink pineapple, I thought they were yellow?? I swear I must be some pleb for not knowing these fancy exotic fruit varieties haha!

And finally, out of the fragrances, there's the Avon Scent Mix Love in Portofino EdT. Yeah, it's a small bottle, but it's meant to be mixed with other Scent Mix perfumes (I don't usually do that, though, as I love how each smells individually). This Scent Mix is part of the "Summer in Italy" collection of perfumes that is inspired by the natural aromas of some key places in Italy: Tuscany, Sicily, Capri, and Portofino. I've never to Portofino, but Avon describes it as being "a coastal city adorned with colourful buildings, surrounded by lush undergrowth and floral atmosphere". Sounds perfect for a vacation - and so does this EdT!

Gosh, it is so amazing! I don't know much about perfumes, but I know that this one smells incredibly crisp and fresh, yet still floral with a distinctly fruity note. The notes are: fresh strawberry, lilac, purple peony petals, violet flowers and vetiver. Strawberry is definitely very prominent, but the flowers are quite strong, too. It's a surprisingly intense EdT and it lasts for at least 4 hours before it starts to evaporate. Incredible!

All pictures source: Avon Facebook

So, with that out of the way, here are the full-size reviews for today:

See you soon!

Maja

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Bird Hand Creams

Sinsay Smoothing Hand Cream Flamingo Review

January 03, 2024

One cream that looks like it was tailor-made for me: the Sinsay Smoothing Hand Cream Flamingo. Note that the name is an approximation since Sinsay doesn’t have any “official” names on their website!

Of course I would buy this cream specifically, well, it’s got a flamingo! I’m a known lover of all things flamingo, so there was no chance I would pass this up! In fact, I was not supposed to buy any creams when I went to Sinsay; I was there with a specific goal in mind: to buy a dress that was on sale for a ridiculously low price. But, as I was browsing to see what’s on sale I happened to notice the stand with beauty products... and these adorable little birb creams on it! I love birds, and I love adorable things, so this is like literally perfect for me! I knew I had to buy at least one of them; well, would you happen to know, one of the creams has a shy lil flamingo on it! Yup, I knew at that point, if I were to buy only one of them, I'd buy this one! But I couldn’t resist them so I bought all three... oops! I am particularly ecstatic to try out this cream – surely, the flamingo will be a great cream? Well, I sure hope so! Now, let’s see what this little amigo has in store for us!

Packaging: aww, this is so adorable! The design itself is wonderfully cute, with a light blue/white vertical zig-zag pattern. I love chevron patterns in general so of course I’d like this one as well, especially with such a soothing light blue colour! The text is all in the back and boy is there a ton of it! The cap is white and closes super tightly, to prevent the cream from drying our. Of course, the star of this cream is right there in the front: the adorable lil flamingo! Aww, it looks a bit sad! Or maybe it’s just bashful? It’s a shy little birb, but it will try to help your skin as best as it can ♥︎ ! I cannot get over just how cute it is, awww. Absolutely my favourite design of the three birb hand creams, no doubt!

Ingredients: glycerine, shea (Butyrospermum parkii) butter, watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) seed oil, papaya (Carica papaya) fruit extract, mango (Mangifera indica) fruit extract, Leuconostoc/radish root ferment filtrate for nourishment. No parabens. Hmm, this looks promising! The scent is not as intense as with the other two birdie hand creams. It’s definitely tropical, and very sweet, with an interesting hint of muskiness. Honestly, I wouldn’t know what this scent is on my own! I love to eat tropical fruit, but I suck at recognising all the various tropical fruit scents, haha! Apparently, this is a pitaya scent, according to the back of the tube. Right, I haven’t really had fresh pitaya as much as I would’ve liked, that explains why I didn’t recognise the scent. In any case, it’s delicious, if a bit more subdued compared to the other two. This one is low-key. The expiration date is listed as a concrete date at the top of the tube.

This is a white cream... it would’ve been hella cool if it were light pink, inspired by the flamingo, but oh well.

Hmm, very interesting formula! And slightly different to the other two hand creams. It is absolutely greasy, but it feels like a dry grease, or more precisely, like butter. Yes, that’s right! It feels like slightly drier butter. This feels like it’s the thickest of the three creams; not by a large margin, but it for sure feels thicker than both the parrot cream and the toucan cream. It also feels slightly waxier, or dry greasy. Despite that, it feels incredibly lightweight; after I buff it into the skin (which takes maybe 30 seconds), it absorbs completely, so much that I literally cannot even feel it anymore. Despite being the waxiest and thickest of the three creams, this one feels like it is the easiest to buff into the skin, paradoxically.

Like, this type of formula by all accounts shouldn’t be this easy to buff in, yet it is! Marvellous! I reckon I could use it during the day, as well due to how smooth and silky my skin feels after it absorbs! I don’t usually apply hand creams during the day as I suffer from hyperhidrosis of the palms, so when sweat mixes with the greases in the cream... yuck, it all usually becomes a gross, slimy mess. But this cream doesn’t feel like it would be like that! Gosh, I love this formula, even if it does feel a smidge too lightweight to use before bed.

So... this is supposed to be a smoothing hand cream, eh? Sadly, it’s not strong enough for my skin during either winter or summer. During winter, central heating dehydrates my skin so much that my palms start to feel like sandpaper, all rough and flaky. And during the summer, it’s the same end results but with a different cause; due to the abnormally high summer temperatures I tend to sweat a lot, and all that sweat then causes my palms to, again, feel rough and flaky and like sandpaper (probable keratolysis exfoliativa?), only it’s even worse than during winter. So I obviously need strong hand creams... sadly, this one cannot heal or prevent this type of drying out.

I apply a liberal amount before bed and, sure, my hands immediately feel super soft and silky and smooth. But that doesn’t last long, which is evident in the morning when I wake up with dry, flaky skin. Even if it does manage to smoothen my skin, I should keep reapplying it every 2 hours for it to actually have noticeable results. Of course, it’s better than nothing... but it’s unfortunately not as good as I’d hoped it would be. This makes me incredibly sad... the flamingo is unable to help regenerate my poor skin. Sad face :( . Damn...

All in all, sadly, the lil flamingo couldn’t help my hands as much I had hoped it would. The formula is wonderfully buttery but not at all too greasy (it feels pretty dry greasy instead), and it takes all of 10 seconds for it to absorb into the skin. I love how soft and silky smooth it leaves my hands feeling! If only that lasted until the morning... I routinely wake up with dry hands instead. The super lightweight, comfortable formula had a price to pay in order to be like that and it turns out it is longevity, sadly. I need strong creams to prevent my skin from cracking both in winter and in summer and I really thought this one would be the strongest of the three, strong enough to help repair my damaged skin. While it cannot help with this, it is the most nourishing feeling of the three nonetheless! Now, the scent is not quite what I was expecting from a pitaya scent... but then again, I had no clue what pitaya would smell like, haha! It’s a low-key, very sweet, kinda milky but still definitely tropical kind of scent. It’s not as intense as what the other two creams have, for sure, but this makes it more appropriate to use before bed. I still happily use this cream, even if it doesn’t really help me all that much. But I do feel terribly sad that it has to be like this... but it’s a flamingo! The lil flamingo buddy does look a bit sad or bashful, doesn’t it? Perhaps it was a warning? Oh well, at least I’ll always have this adorable little birdie to look at, and I am grateful that it at least makes my skin soft for a couple of hours, if nothing else. I just wish it was more helpful. So... you know what? I cannot not recommend it, I don’t have it in my heart. So yeah, I will recommend this lovely little hand cream, but only to those who have normal-type skin, anything oilier or drier won’t feel any benefit from this cream. Now this lil bashful flamingo can go rest, I think it’s definitely earned it! It was so nice knowing you lil flamingo buddy!

Rating: 6.5/10

Would buy again? YES (because it’s a flamingo goddamn it! It doesn’t matter that it isn’t excellent!)

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Balea Tuchmaske Bedruckte Be Icy Review

Reviews From the Past - Part 41

Cien Nail Polish [13 - Metallic Rose] Review

New Stuff - Part 25

Avon Color Trend Lush Lips Balm [Chocolate] Review

Avon Care Blooming Garden Soothing Moisture Hand Cream with Jasmine & Glycerine Review

Reviews From the Past - Part 40

Sinsay Smoothing Hand Cream Flamingo Review

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