Maychiri's Thoughts: August 2024

Reviews From the Past - Part 54

August 29, 2024

Well, hello!

A bit of an eclectic couple of products, all found in good ol' Müller! And all that are not available anymore because they decided to retire them at one point.

So, the Guilia Beauty brand is one that I have no idea whether they are called Guilia Beauty or InCase of Beauty. There's little information online to clear up this confusion... anyways, this brand was stocked in Müller for only like a week or two. Why so short?? Wish I knew, but I managed to snag them while they were still available - and at a discount! Even though I have no idea what to expect but it's always exciting to try out super affordable stuff, just to see how good it really is. Because cheap doesn't always have to equate bad!

As for Misslyn? Well, that's quite an interesting story, so take a seat somewhere comfy... ahem. Misslyn was part of the regular stock in Müller since before the Pandemic, but I never paid much attention to it because it was a biiit pricey for me. But I always marveled at the designs of the products; they are all so retro and cute and perfectly up my alley! But then, one day, in 2021, I noticed that some products were marked down 50%, I thought this was to make room for new stuff, but I was mistaken. Then, through 2022 and 2023, suddenly, the whole display was marked down 50%. Ahh... so it's not at a discount to make room for a new season of stuff, it is simply being removed completely. This made me a bit sad, because I wanted to buy more stuff, but since they never restocked, all the products were like 4-5 years old. I didn't want to take any risks buying such old products, so I just made peace with what I managed to get. Oh well...

Oh, and what was Misslyn replaced with? MUA Makeup Academy! Now, this has got me real excited! Cannot wait to try out some of their products because a few that I already used were really good!

Now, the items for today are as follows:

See you soon!

Maja

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Blush

Misslyn Treat Me Sweet Powder Blush [08 - Be My Flamingo Forever!] Review

August 29, 2024

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Brush

Misslyn Shade & Blend Eyeshadow Brush Review

August 29, 2024

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Brush

Guilia Beauty Powder Brush 101 Review

August 29, 2024

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Caring

Eveline Nail Therapy 8 in 1 Total Action Review

August 22, 2024

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Acetone-free

Ebelin Nagellackentferner Aceton-Frei [Aloe Vera Duft] Review

August 22, 2024

Another nail polish remover since I am in the mood for some nail care! This is the Ebelin Nagellackentferner Aceton-Frei, variant Aloe Vera Duft! Or, in English, “Acetone Free Nail Polish Remover, variant Aloe Vera Scent”.

This week is nails week, and one necessary part of caring for your nails is having a way to safely remove nail polish. Ebelin nail polish removers have been pretty good thus far, so I keep coming back to them often, as soon as I see a new variant. This was a new variant at the time I bought it, it says that it’s for weak nails... my nails are pretty sensitive, so this sounds good! And Aloe is always good! Now, let’s see how good this nail polish remover actually is!

Packaging: relatively large plastic bottle. I really like the pink theme going on here! The bottle is light pink, while the sticker in the front has various different shades of pink. Information is in the back. The cap is black... missed opportunity for it to be dark magenta. Anyways, it closes very securely, so don’t worry about the remover spilling. Fairly simple design, but I like it!

Ingredients: almond (Prunus amygdalus dulcis) oil for nourishment. 3-free and no parabens. Oh, wait... it doesn’t actually have Aloe vera... I know that it’s called “Aloe Vera Scent”, but I thought it would have Aloe. Anyways, the scent is, at first, like ethyl acetate. Then, after that evaporates, it becomes gentle and softly sweet. Would I say that this is Aloe vera? Probably not, it just smells juicy and fresh, and somewhat sweet. Still, it’s a nice, not too overpowering scent! The expiration date is 12 months after opening.

Ethyl acetate is the solvent used in place of acetone. Ethyl acetate tends to be gentler on the nail bed, less drying, and causes fewer splinters. However, it is just as dangerous for plastic and metal. It etches plastics, and corrodes metals, which I learned the hard way when I had a mishap and some acetone-free remover got into the charging port of one of my phones and nearly caused it to permanently be unable to charge. Be careful how you use this!

The liquid is colourless. It evaporates quickly on nails but stays moist for quite some time in a cotton pad.

I am satisfied with how this remover removes nail polish. I like to really soak a cotton pad, to make sure I have enough remover, and then remove nail polish. This remover removes glossy nail polish easily, most times, without needing to rub the nails excessively. It works even better if I soak my nail in it for a few seconds. However, shimmery nail polishes can be a pain to remove, requiring multiple passes until my nail is clean. And the shimmer is likely to explode everywhere, but that’s not a problem of this remover. It still isn’t that hard to remove them, unlike glittery nail polishes. That’s where this remover truly struggles. It can take like half an hour just to remove glittery nail polish from a few nails! And a whole lot of rubbing! And, even though it has almond oil to nourish the nail bed, that doesn’t prevent mechanical damage from excessive rubbing. Still, I am happy with this nail polish remover, it removes most nail polishes easily enough.

And, thanks to the almond oil inside, it doesn’t dry out my nails as much as other acetone-free removers. Of course, all removers will dry out nails to some degree, but I found that the almond oil really helped a lot! My nails don’t look as dry or brittle with this remover.

All in all, this is a good nail polish remover that is gentler on the nails than acetone remover. It removes most types of nail polish easily, as long as it is not very shimmery or glittery. Glossy nail polishes usually come off pretty easily, without too much rubbing, which is good for my sensitive nails. Shimmery and glittery polishes take a fair bit more effort and rubbing to remove, and this does take a toll on my nails as they feel dried out afterwards. However, they don’t feel as dry as some removers make them, this is likely thanks to the almond oil inside. It helps hydrate the nail bed and prevents splitting. And the scent is quite nice, it’s very relaxing! It smells fresh and juicy and subtly sweet. Is this an Aloe vera scent? I honestly don’t know, but I like it nonetheless. I really like this nail polish remover, plus, it is a bargain and a half! Just look at the price, barely more than a euro and you get 125 mL, which lasts a very long time, even if you apply/remove nail polishes often. So yes, I will recommend this remover, it’s quite good.

Rating: 7.5/10

Would buy again? YES

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Acetone-free

Ebelin Nagellackentferner-Tücher Acetonfrei [Grün Tee Duft] Review

August 22, 2024

The first review for today, and we are starting off with something quite interesting! This is the Ebelin Nagellackentferner-Tücher Acetonfrei, variant Grün Tee Duft, in English: Nail Polish Remover Tissues, variant Green Tea Scent.

Ebelin's “normal” nail polish removers are pretty good most of the time, but they sometimes decide to make something entirely new, like this product. These are tissues presoaked in remover that should, in theory, be able to remove nail polishes easily. And they’re good for when you are travelling somewhere, because you don’t need a separate nail polish remover and cotton pads, since it’s both of those at once. Sounds quite interesting. But how good is this actually? I am really interested to find out, so let’s see!

Packaging: cardboard box with a green/black design. It’s regular old cardboard, so it is not very sturdy at all. But that doesn’t matter because the tissues are kept inside a plastic sachet, think the kind eyeglasses cleaning tissues come in. Anyways, the outer packaging is light on details, opting instead to have a bunch of text on all sides. The sachet of the tissues shares the same design as the outer packaging, it’s literally the same green/black design. Could this be packaged more safely? Absolutely.

Source: www.dm.hr

The tissues are pure white. They look like little squares that are big enough for a few nails, or at least, should be. They are perforated with a mesh throughout, I am unsure why it has this when this could cause the remover inside the tissues to evaporate more easily. The material is soft enough, but it is thick and robust, so they don’t tear easily. I would like it to be slightly softer, though. It might be the mesh that’s causing it to feel slightly abrasive.

Ingredients: glycerine, Aloe barbadensis leaf juice for nourishment. No parabens and 3-free (DBP, formaldehyde, toluene). This is acetone-free, so the solvent is the next closest thing to acetone, ethyl acetate. Ethyl acetate is typically just as effective at removing nail polishes as acetone, but it is gentler on the nails. However, it also has alcohol, so I’m worried it might be drying. I hope the Aloe is enough to prevent this. The scent is medicinal, it smells like... like, herbal and fresh and distinctly like a pharmacy. Green tea does have a sort of medicinal scent to it, but not nearly as strong as it is here.

It’s quite a harsh scent, especially at first, before the ethyl acetate evaporates. The expiration date is not listed anywhere... I guess they assume people will buy this and immediately start using it. What’s interesting is that they listed the manufacturing date, and not the PAO or expiration date.

Ethyl acetate etches plastics and corrodes metal! Be careful you don’t place these tissues on like your phone or your keyboard or something. It will remove the oleophobic coating on phone screens and it will strip plastic. And be doubly sure that it doesn’t get into contact with any golden connectors such as USB cables or charging ports! This is less of a problem with these tissues as the remover evaporates rather quickly, but still!

The remover is completely absorbed into the tissue, so I cannot say what it looks like. I suppose it’s colourless and completely liquid like most nail polish removers. I will say that the remover stays on the tissues for quite some time, so there’s no need to hurry. Although it does evaporate faster than the standard removers when applied to a cotton pad.

These tissues are used in much the same way you’d use wet tissues to clean glasses. Tear open the sachet and take the tissue out and then just rub it against the nails until the nail polish comes off. This is the idea, at least. In practice, it doesn’t really work that well. I find that there is just not enough remover on one pad, so I have to use multiple just to remove polish off of all my nails. And since this contains only 10 pieces, they get used up very quickly. I usually need 2-3, sometimes 4, for all my nails. As you can imagine, this means that one box lasts me approximately one week, like this.

Anyways, the tissues work best when you press down on the nail and then hold for a few seconds, before rubbing the nail with them. But even so, I need to rub my nails a lot just to break through the polish, and then rub some more to completely remove it. This is not at all good for my nails as it mechanically damages them, all that rubbing back and forth can cause the layers of keratin in the nail to split. And this is with glossy nail polishes! As you can imagine, these tissues are just not capable of removing anything shimmery or glittery. At least, not without causing massive damage. While they are not useless, ‘normal’ removers are far better.

My nails felt dry after I removed nail polish with these pads. I believe that this is not so much the ethyl acetate + alcohol causing the dryness, as much as it’s the excessive rubbing. The Aloe really helps here! I fear that my nails would be terribly split and brittle without the Aloe. But it manages to salvage the situation to some extent. Still, a nail oil is more than recommended because these tissues are not gentle on the nails.

In conclusion, eh, an interesting concept. But it doesn’t work quite as good in practice. The tissues come presoaked in remover, but there simply isn’t enough remover for me. And the mesh fabric of the tissue means it evaporates more quickly. The tissues themselves aren’t too abrasive against my nails, they are soft enough. But they also feel firm, which is good! This means that they rarely – if ever – tear. I’d say that the quality of the tissues themselves is better than how they perform. The only kind of nail polish they can remove is glossy nail polish, everything else is an exercise in futility. The only thing you will accomplish is damage your nails so much you’ll need days of intense treatment just to get them back to feeling okay again. And even with glossy nail polishes, I need to use multiple tissues for both of my hands. This isn’t economic nor good for my already sensitive nails. So, like, this isn’t the worst idea ever, it works... kinda... but it should work much, much better. As it is, I won’t give it a recommendation as it just damages nails too much because it requires too much rubbing to remove nail polish. Eh.

Rating: 4/10

Would buy again? NO (I’ll go back to normal removers)

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Reviews From the Past - Part 54

Misslyn Treat Me Sweet Powder Blush [08 - Be My Flamingo Forever!] Review

Misslyn Shade & Blend Eyeshadow Brush Review

Guilia Beauty Powder Brush 101 Review

Eveline Nail Therapy 8 in 1 Total Action Review

Ebelin Nagellackentferner Aceton-Frei [Aloe Vera Duft] Review

Ebelin Nagellackentferner-Tücher Acetonfrei [Grün Tee Duft] Review

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Maja Sekulić

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