Maychiri's Thoughts

Sinsay Regenerating Hand Cream Toucan Review

January 03, 2024

Also one of three little birdie hand creams this week! The second one is the curious toucan! This is the Sinsay Regenerating Hand Cream Toucan! Note that these don’t have an “official” name, so this is my best guess as to what it would be.

I do admit, I was not supposed to buy this cream! I came to Sinsay to buy one dress... only to leave with three hand creams in tow! Look, I didn’t even care about the quality of these creams, I simply had to have them! So I grabbed this toco as well as the other two birdies! Aww, it’s sooo adorable! How could I not buy it?? So, let’s see how good this cream is!

Packaging: oh this is sooo cute! Aww! This is a soft plastic tube that feels totally smooth. I love the pink striped pattern, it’s such a calming soft pink! And the white background is perfect – as is the white cap! The cap closes extremely tightly, so that the cream doesn’t go off too soon. But the absolutely best thing about this tube? The curious lil toucan! Aww, look at that adorable birb! I feel like the pink is a great combo with the black feathers of the toucan. This toucan is a bit bashful, but it is more than happy to help your hands regenerate overnight ♥︎ ! All the information about this cream is in the back. I love the design here, it’s just as adorable as the parrot cream!

Ingredients: glycerine, shea (Butyrospermum parkii) butter, passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) seed oil, almond (Prunus amygdalus dulcis) oil, barley (Hordeum vulgare) powder, star fruit (Averrhoa carambola) fruit extract for nourishment. No parabens. The scent is divine! Although, I am not good at differentiating tropical fruit scents, so I wouldn’t know what it is on my own; fortunately, it says what it is exactly on the tube! Apparently, it is maracuja/passion fruit scent! It’s very intense and smells perfectly tropical! And it’s delicious! It’s very, very sweet but also kinda sour at the same time, which, yeah, does smell like passion fruit, now that I think about it! Passion fruit isn’t my favourite tropical fruit, but I do like it from time to time. I have to be careful – this cream might make me hungry right before bed! The expiration date is listed as a concrete date at the top of the tube.

This is a white cream, nothing special in this regard.

Ooh, now this is an interesting formula! It’s not at all ‘wet’ greasy, it actually feels like a dry type of grease... kinda like butter. It’s a very thick formula, a bit thicker than the parrot cream from this range, but it somehow feels lighter. Interesting! It’s super easy to buff into the skin, much easier than the parrot cream. And it absorbs within seconds! It doesn’t feel at all tacky or greasy, just smooth and very soft. It’s so lightweight that I can barely feel it! Were it not for the intense scent, I wouldn’t even remember applying it! One of my biggest pet peeves with hand creams is how they often leave hands greasy, which, combined with my excess sweat just makes everything feel soggy and unbearable. This is precisely why I almost exclusively use hand creams before bed, never during the day.

However, this cream is so lightweight and comfortable and silky that I could wear it during the day as well as before going to bed! I love it!

So, this is supposed to be a regenerating hand cream... hmm, I’m not sure it does regenerate all that much, but my skin is in fairly good condition now, so I cannot say how well it would heal serious injuries/conditions. I wonder how much it would help in the middle of summer when I routinely develop dry, flaky skin on my palms (probably keratolysis exfoliativa)? It definitely seems more nourishing than the parrot cream, but it still doesn’t feel supremely luxurious or like it’s helping a lot. I don’t know, it just feels too light after it absorbs... and my hands feel pretty much the same in the morning. I guess that’s good, since it obviously prevents dryness! I do wish it was a bit more hydrating, but I love how nourishing it feels immediately after applying it.

It’s hydrating enough for my hands, which are already quite problematic. It’s surprising though just how good this cream is for the nails and cuticles! This cream keeps my nails in good condition and prevents my cuticles from swelling up like they always do, usually. Of course, I would still recommend using a nail oil, but apparently this cream actually nourishes the nails! Great! I do suppose though that this cream would be better suited for people with normal/dry skin, although it is still pretty good even for mixed skin.

In conclusion, I like this cream! I like it slightly more than the parrot cream, but that doesn’t mean that this is an exceptionally great cream. Just like the parrot cream, this one too is just too light. Like, it’s great that it becomes invisible on skin after absorbing, that makes it incredibly comfortable to wear, but just how hydrating or nourishing can it truly be when it’s so light? For what it’s worth, it does seem to be fairly regenerating, even though I cannot precisely say just how much right now since my hands aren’t horribly dry and flaky now. But since it does keep my skin in the same condition as when I went to bed, I would say that it is hydrating and regenerating enough – especially for the nails! Oh yeah, my nails feel a bit stronger and the cuticles are softer and less bulgy now. Oh and the scent! It’s delicious, smelling just like the freshest passion fruit! Perhaps a bit too delicious before going to bed? Well, this little toucan is here to take care of your hands overnight and make sure you wake up with soft skin! Thank you little buddy! I do wish this cream was more hydrating, but I like it a lot as-is, which makes me happy in the end. However, this also means I will not be recommending it – it was this close, but I just can’t when I cannot verify how regenerating it truly is. Still, I am very happy I bought the lil toco!

Rating: 7/10

Would buy again? Probably, YES

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Bird Hand Creams

Sinsay Moisturising Hand Cream Parrot Review

January 03, 2024

One of three bird-themed hand creams for this week! The first one is the bashful little parrot! This is the Sinsay Moisturising Hand Cream Parrot! Note that these don’t have an “official” name, so this is the closest approximation.

As soon as I saw these creams I knew I had to buy them immediately! I am an avid birb lover, so any products that have birds on the packaging, especially such adorable birds, appeal to me immensely! I especially love cute little birbs like this parrot! I was actually supposed to just buy one dress, but how could I not buy this little birdie friend?? I didn’t even care about the quality, I just wanted it! Let’s see how good this cream is!

Packaging: omg!! It’s sooo cute, aww! It’s a smooth plastic tube with the most adorable lil parrot! It’s so smol! I love the lavender/white striped pattern, it’s soothing and fits perfectly with the parrot. The parrot is very happy to see you! It’s even happier to help moisturise your hands ♥︎! All the information about this cream is in the back. The cap is white and closes super tightly so that the cream lasts as long as possible! I cannot explain how much I am in love with the design of this hand cream! Aww, sooo adorable!

Ingredients: glycerine, shea (Butyrospermum parkii) butter, Aloe barbadensis leaf juice powder, almond (Prunus amygdalus dulcis) oil, barley (Hordeum vulgare) powder, peach (Prunus persica) fruit extract for nourishment. No parabens. Hmm, sounds hydrating! The scent is intense and very tropical and summery! I myself wouldn’t be able to identify what it smells like, I’d just say that it’s aromatic and sweet and somewhat zesty at the same time, with a definitely tropical tone to tone Thankfully, they spell out exactly what this scent us supposed to be: guava fruit! Aha! Explains why I wouldn’t know, I have never eaten guava or even seen it in real life (I have heard of it, though). It’s a delicious scent! The expiration date is listed as a specific date on top of the tube.

This is a white cream – who’d have guessed??

The formula is interesting but very pleasant! It’s thick and greasy, but it’s not oily greasy. It’s a much more dry type of grease, like butter. It’s a totally smooth formula that is easy to buff into the skin. However, it’s thick, right, so you do need to rub for a while before it is 100% absorbed. It absorbs within seconds then, and doesn’t feel at all tacky or greasy or oily. I can actually barely feel it at all! It’s such a lightweight formula, despite being greasy. I really love this formula! It’s super comfortable and since it dries so fast you can use it before bed without worrying that it will smear all over the bedsheets!

Well, honestly, it’s not really all that moisturising! Or maybe my skin is just too demanding... as it can get really dry sometimes (but still sweaty). I routinely develop patches of super dry skin on my palms (probable keratolysis exfoliativa?), which feel sandy and irritating and even itchy at times, so I need rich, highly moisturising creams for my hands. This one feels too light after it absorbs, like it’s not going to help much. And indeed, it does not, as those cracked, dry patches are still there when I wake up (I always apply a hand cream before going to bed). But, that doesn’t mean it is a totally useless cream! It is hydrating enough for most of my skin (apart from those dry patches) and it keeps my nails in good shape!

So I’d say that it is going to be good for anyone with normal skin, perhaps even mixed. I wish it were more hydrating, especially given the name, but it is good enough, honestly.

In conclusion, while this cream isn’t the... ‘cream of the crop’, shall we say, it is still a good cream. I love its unique buttery formula that feels greasy, but more dry greasy. It feels pleasant on the skin and it absorbs quickly. It’s also a very lightweight formula! Perfect for everyday use! But it is, sadly, not very moisturising, despite being called a moisturising cream. It hydrates the skin to some degree, making the skin softer overall, but it cannot help with skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema or keratolysis exfoliativa. You’ll need a much richer cream for that! The other great thing about this cream is the scent! It smells so deliciously tropic, literally like summer! This is because it has a natural-smelling guava fruit scent! I honestly wouldn’t know it was guava had they not specified that; I am not too good at identifying specific plants/fruit inside fragrances. To me it smells like July, like summer and vacation and swimming in the ocean. Perfectly soothing! Also, the design! Look at that lil birb! This lil parrot seems very happy with the cream, and you know what? I’m happy with it, too. It may not be exceptional, but it is a good everyday cream that keeps my skin in good condition (as long as there are no other conditions). Honestly, I would recommend it – but only to those who have normal-type skin! It’s just not enough for extra dry, or oily skin. Now, say goodbye to lil Princess the Parrot!

Rating: 6.5/10

Would buy again? Hmm, YES

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Bird Hand Creams

New Stuff - Part 24

January 03, 2024

0 Comments

Balea

Balea Geschenkset Mindful Meditation Review

December 27, 2023

0 Comments

Ebelin

Ebelin Naturally Beautiful Make-up-Korrekturstäbchen Review

December 27, 2023

The penultimate review for today is something small and humble, but very practical! These are the Ebelin Naturally Beautiful Make-up-Korrekturstäbhen (Make up correction sticks, in English)!

I did not originally plan on buying these, but they were 50% off and I never had any reusable swabs prior to these, so why the hell not! They cost less than a euro and I wanted to finish the set as much as I could anyways so I bought them. I’m sure they’ll be useful... at some point. Now, let’s see if they are any good!

Packaging: simple and rustic, like the rest of this LE. The packaging definitely looks like it’s been recycled. The swabs come in a (~~recycled?~~ Yup, says so in the back haha) paper sleeve with a cutout in the front so that you can touch the swabs to see how the feel. Not hygienic at all! Who knows how many people touched them already... oh well, they are washable so it doesn’t really matter in the end!

The swabs look very rustic, just like the rest of this LE! They have a light rosy handle that looks like it is sprinkled; recycled materials, especially paper, usually look like this, so I’d be inclined to believe them when they say that it was made with 50% recycled wheat.

The tip of the swab is pure white, which is very pretty, but it will very quickly become stained, especially if you use it to perfect the shape of say, red lipstick or deep black eyeliner. I love how rustic and vintage they look!

The tips are relatively flexible, but don’t bend them too much or they will snap off. I like that they have some flexibility to them, makes them easier to use. The tips are made of this super soft plush material that feels only slightly hard. It’s not the type of plush you’d find in reusable makeup remover pads, it’s a stiffer, slightly harder type of plush. But it still feels wonderful on the skin. It’s just hard enough for you to be able to press down if you need more force to remove products.

Speaking of usability, these are incredibly easy to use. Thanks to both the flexibility of the head, and the rigid centre of the head. And because they have a doe-foot shape, this makes them very precise. Of course, a pointed tip would be better, but a doe-foot gives you a flat surface that you can use if you need to fix larger areas. This allows you to really precisely fine-tune the shape of your lipstick or a cat-eye, or anything else, really. You don’t even need to (strictly speaking) use makeup remover with them; you can use them dry, or wet or with a makeup remover. Of course, it’ll be easier to fix mistakes if you drop a few drops of micellar water onto the swabs, just make sure not to apply so much that they are soaked.

And, because they are reusable, you can just wash them and use them again later! They can safely be washed with hand soap, it won’t ruin the plush material. So just wash them as you would anything else, no need to be extra gentle either, as these swabs are pretty robust. Of course, if you used the swabs on a very intense colour, particularly anything in the red part of the spectrum, expect to have a lot of trouble removing it fully.

I used one swab with a red lipstick and was unable to fully remove the red colour from the swab. This doesn’t affect the swabs negatively, but it ruins the pristine white colour of the tips.

All in all, I am pretty happy with these! These were my first foray into reusable swabs, because I was kinda tired of wasting a ton of swabs just to fix small mistakes, and it’s not at all eco-friendly either. These are eco-friendly because you can reuse them many times before the material deteriorates too much. The tips are soft but relatively hard, which is good because that allows you to press harder with the swab if you have something that it really stubborn and doesn’t want to come off. They are also relatively flexible! The doe-foot shape allows you to really get into the smallest nooks and crannies and fine-tune the shape of eyeliner, or lipstick, or eye pencil or, well, anything! They are also pretty easy to wash, and you don’t need to be super careful washing them because they are robust. Hand soap cleans them nicely. Now, is this some genius, never-seen-before invention? No, but it is hella useful and practical! I mostly bought it out of curiosity, but I really like them! They’re also surprisingly high quality! So yeah, eco-friendly and high quality! I would recommend them, they are awesome! But sadly, as all Ebelin LEs, they were gone less than a month after they arrived... shame, I would like to have another package.

Rating: 8.5/10

Would buy again? YES

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Blush Brush

Ebelin Naturally Beautiful Rougepinsel Review

December 27, 2023

Alright, the next review is the Ebelin Naturally Beautiful Rougepinsel (eng: Blush brush).

I had already bought the other Naturally Beautiful brushes by the time I bought this one, so of course I had to buy this one too to complete the collection! Bonus: I managed to grab it 50% off! Of course, this brush was part of a limited edition that was gone in only a couple of weeks, so I was terrifically lucky to find it marked down. I like natural, recycled items, and the handle of this brush is made of 50% recycled materials, which is very good. Some people might scoff at these ‘natural’, recycled beauty products, but let’s first see how good it is before we judge it!

Packaging: it came in cardboard packaging that only covered the hairs and ferrule; the handle was left sticking out so that you can feel the recycled material. It’s good that the hairs were protected by a plastic window, it’s much more hygienic than when people can touch the hairs.

The brush itself has quite a rustic, natural appearance: it has an off-white speckled handle (made of 50% recycled wheat!), a hidden ferrule (you can only see the very end of it which is rose gold) and hairs that have the softest gradient from dark brown at the base to soft brown at the tips.

The ferrule is quite large! The handle feels very robust despite being made from 50% recycled wheat! The hairs are synthetic and a bit shiny, but they don’t look at all cheap; in fact, they look rather expensive! The hairs are cut almost perfectly evenly although there can be a bit of fraying on the edge hairs. I had no fall-out or crimping or any other problems with the hairs; they are really high quality! The hairs are wonderfully soft, even when using a stippling motion. So wonderful!

This brush is way more than adequate for both blushes and highlighters. It applies a generous amount of pigment and blends it out so easily, which makes it exceptionally easy to use! I know that it is definitely too wide for highlighters, but it is actually an incredibly precise brush: I can tap on just a bit of highlighter to my cupids bow with ease, despite it not having a tapered tip. It is equally great for blushers and you can get a beautiful, even wash of colour on your cheeks with this brush.

It honestly blew my mind just how great this brush is to use! Though I wouldn’t use it for contouring, it is too fluffy for that.

This brush is super easy to wash and doesn’t absorb a lot of shampoo, making rinsing it a piece of cake! The hairs don’t lose their shape and can be reshaped easily when it is wet.

Conclusion: Ebelin rarely disappoints with their makeup brushes, and this one is no exception! Its hairs are super soft and very well-made and allow for both a subtle wash of colour across a large area of for a precise, intense look on a smaller area. It was primarily designed to be used for blushers and its shape definitely fits this purpose: a fluffy, slightly flared out brush with a surprisingly precise tip. It’s ideal for blushers, but also, surprisingly, for highlighters, too! The shape is nowhere near ideal but it applies highlighters so wonderfully, making them look perfectly blended out yet still very intense! Of course, with blushers, it is super easy to get a precise, extremely natural look and it is just as easy to build them up to a more intense finish! This brush is exceptionally good at blending, which honestly, is a necessity for blush brushes. The extremely soft hairs and ease of blending out pigments means that this brush is a joy to use; it is also a joy to wash as it takes barely more than half a minute to get it sparkly clean! So, to all the naysayers who claim that ‘natural’ or recycled brushes are inferior to ‘normal’ ones, this brush proves that that claim isn’t always true! Sometimes, ‘clean’ products are even better, like this brush! If only it wasn’t a limited edition product, then I would wholeheartedly recommend it! But as that LE was discontinued quite a long time ago, the chances of finding this amazing brush are very, very slim. Such a shame, as it is truly incredible!

Rating: 9/10

Would buy again? YES

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Ebelin

Ebelin Naturally Beautiful Make-Up Ei Review

December 27, 2023

The next review is the Ebelin Naturally Beautiful Make-Up Ei (Make up Egg, in English).

I bought this blending sponge on a whim, as I was only using brushes at the time. I did think I would eventually switch to using sponges, so I wanted to have a couple of good quality sponges to get started with. This one was 50% off its regular price, and it has apparently been infused with green tea, so it seemed like it would be good for my sensitive skin. And since I am quite eco-friendly I also really liked the fact that it was made of 50% recycled materials! It was part of an Ebelin limited edition, called Naturally Beautiful, which also included brushes, reusable makeup swabs and a couple of other things. So I had to decide whether to buy it quickly, or it would be gone forever in a week or two, like all limited editions from Ebelin!

The sponge came in cardboard packaging that had a cut-out that allows you to touch the sponge to feel its texture. That’s not too hygienic but, ah sure, whatever.

This is a greenish-brown coloured sponge; the colour reminds me of green tea. There is an embossed Ebelin logo, but besides that there are no other details. This is a classic egg-shaped sponge: pointed on one end and rounded on the other end. It’s pretty average sized, if a tiny bit small, but it is still definitely big enough to be easy to use. It’s big enough to blend out foundation on my cheeks and forehead quickly and precise enough to properly blend out foundation or concealer in the undereye area. The texture of the sponge is pretty fine, but still visible and looks so soft! Also, this sponge had a noticeable green tea scent while it was still fresh. It has since lost that scent after a large number of washes, but it was quite interesting to me that it was green tea scented! There must’ve been quite a lot of green tea inside it!

The sponge is super soft when dry and equally soft when wet. The softness is ideal for my sensitive skin as it lessens the chance any irritations might occur.

This sponge feels a bit, hmm, stretchy, or flimsy when wet; I don’t really mind it, but it is much more stretched out than my previous sponge, which felt firm when wet. I guess it’s due to the recycled materials used? Anyways, that does not pose a problem for how well it blends, as it blends very well! It’s not the best at blending, but it is far from bad. I can blend out foundation or concealer in less than a minute and the result is super natural and soft. It’s definitely a lot less coverage than when using a brush, which isn’t a bad thing necessarily!

The sponge is really easy to use, even though it doesn’t feel as bouncy as the previous sponge. At least it feels velvety soft!

This sponge is extremely easy to wash; it takes approximately the same amount of time to wash this sponge as it does to wash a foundation brush. It’s much easier to wash than the previous sponge! It also doesn’t absorb a ton of shampoo, which means that it takes a really short amount of time to wash it properly. I don’t need to keep squeezing shampoo out of it as most of it comes out in the first rinse.

This sponge is really durable, especially when you take into consideration that it is made of 50% recycled materials. It might seem like it is a bit flimsy, but that’s not actually true: even after a month of regular use it still looks and feels identical to when I first opened it. The texture of the sponge is the same, and it performs the same, too. So, it is quite good quality!

Also, the water was green the first time I washed the sponge. I assume this is the green tea infusion. Given that the water isn’t green anymore when I wash the sponge that probably means I washed all the green tea out. Perhaps there is still some left, who knows?

All in all, this is actually quite a good makeup egg sponge. I like that it has been partly recycled and that it is infused with green tea, which is known for its skin calming properties. It’s big enough to be used on the larger areas of the face and super soft, so that it doesn’t cause any irritations. It is quite good at blending and doesn’t leave a blotchy finish, although the finish is very light and natural. I do prefer a heavier, fuller coverage finish, this too is good, especially when I don’t have a lot of time to do my makeup. It’s also super easy to wash, and can be totally clean after a minute of washing. The only thing I don’t really like is how stretchy it feels when it is wet; it’s not that bouncy, firm feeling that I had gotten used to, so this softness kind of bothers me. Unfortunately, this sponge was part of a limited edition, but if it were still available I would recommend it! It is a great, eco-friendly sponge perfect for sensitive skin.

Rating: 7.5/10

Would buy again? Probably YES (if it wasn’t an LE)

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Sinsay Regenerating Hand Cream Toucan Review

Sinsay Moisturising Hand Cream Parrot Review

New Stuff - Part 24

Balea Geschenkset Mindful Meditation Review

Ebelin Naturally Beautiful Make-up-Korrekturstäbchen Review

Ebelin Naturally Beautiful Rougepinsel Review

Ebelin Naturally Beautiful Make-Up Ei Review

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