A Holiday Haul That Was Not Supposed To Happen

First of all sorry about the radio silence. I have been on a vacation in Estonia for a week and it has been amazing. I have barely opened my laptop. I couldn't tell you I'm off because I wanted to surprise some of my friends and they read the blog.

Anyway I will tell you more about my vacation soon. This post is about the things I bought while in Estonia. I was not supposed to buy anything as the New York vacation is in less than a month but you know how it goes..sometimes (read:always) you dont have willpower to resist.

Clothing & Accessories

- 2 new stripey tops from Lindex. Its a Swedish brand that has very affordable prices and I love their basics. I always pick up some tshirts while in Estonia. This time I was all about stripes so a basic cut tshirt and a comfy cotton top with 3/4 sleeves.

- I haven't found anything in Dubai H&M for about a year. I almost never go in anymore because the layout and the stock just dont interest me the slightest. The H&M in Tallinn is a brand new and huge store that has great displays and pretty things catch your eye much easier. I picked up this pink dress that will be perfect for work and requires minimum effort to look put together. I will try to take some outfit pictures soon.

- I obviously had to go to my sisters studio and do some damage at New Vintage by Kriss HQ. I came home with a black agate necklace called Metal is My Muse. I have the same style with a green stone but just love the black with gold as well. I also got some opal earrings and a plain golden necklace I will have engraved.

Skincare

- Lumene Gradual Self Tan Lotion is something I always used when I lived in Estonia. Its a Finnish skincare and makeup brand that has lovely natural ingredients and loads of good products. I like the gradual tan lotion as it builds up slowly and fades evenly. It is paraben free and smells nice. Excited to have it in my stash again.

- I wrote in my last skincare post that I didn't put enough thought into the last toner I bought and ended up purchasing a alcohol containing Clinique one that is just way too harsh. I picked up the REN Clarimatte toner to replace it. Its alchokol free but has all the good stuff like glycolic and lactic acid and salicilin. Very much looking forward to give this one a go.

- Khiels Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado was on my wishlist for awhile and I picked it up at airport Duty Free. I have been using it for a week and absolutely love it. Its perfect if you have fine lines and dry skin under the eyes.

- Joik soy wax scented candles are one of my absolute favorites. Its an Estonian brand and I always pick a few up because I cant resist. This time I got the Strawberry's & wine scent.

Make up

 

- I havent been to Estonia for a year and during that year something awesome has happened. They have started selling Real Techniques brushes here! Who knew!? After convincing my sister to get the Blush brush I stood umm-ing and ahh-ing at the stand for ages. I ended up leaving with the Starter Set for eyes. So overexcited about this one!

- I ran out of my Healthy Mix Serum while here so decided to switch it up and get a bottle of Bourjois Happy Light instead. I have had it before and like it just as much, its just a good staple and does the job nicely. 

- saving the best for last of course. I allowed myself a sneaky Duty Free purchase at Dubai Airport and Tom Ford Wild Ginger is finally mine. My-oh-my is that a beauty. I have been wearing it most days and have so much love for the orangery red shade, the fancy packaging and the perfect formula. I didn't have any lip liner to go with it and even thou I made an effort matching it to Mac ones in the end the closest shade was from Chanel counter. Whats a girl to do? The girl is to buy that Chanel lip liner (shade 56 Orange Intense).

Im flying back to Dubai tomorrow so will be on track with regular posts before you know it. Expect to hear all about my vacation.

Current Skincare

I will start this with a spoiler- I know very very little about skincare. I like reading about it and I love testing out new products but my actual knowledge about this subject is rather limited. So please keep that in mind.

I have mentioned before that my skin is normal/combination and blemish prone. A month ago the humidity hit Dubai and my skin went extra bad- normal became flaky dry and T-zone became proper oily. So I have switched up a few products for the summer months and it seems to help. My make up sits good and the blemishes are slowly disappearing. Something is working and I intend to keep most of this routine up.

So here goes my daily evening skincare routine.

1. Dermalogica PreCleanse oil to remove my make up. I had never ever used a oil based skincare product before and was worried it will give me breakouts but non of that nonsenses happened. Instead I fell in love with it. It melts away the impurities and the makeup so easily. It smells lovely. I give my face a little massage working the oil into dry skin and then wetting my hands I work it in more. I wash it off with lukewarm water.

 2. I follow with Vichy Normaderm Deep Cleansing Gel. This range is for combination/oily skin which is acne and shine prone. It has a little bit of Salicylic Acid which works well for my skin and it still feels gentle enough for use daily. Its nothing special but I have enjoyed using it.

About twice a week I use Dermalogica Skin Resurfacing Cleanser instead of the Vichy one. Now this one I love and felt an almost immediate change in my skin. This is an exfoliating cleanser with one of my favorite skincare components- Lactic acid. Lactic acid helps to accelerate cell turnover and really keeps my skin smoother and bump free. Its a highly active formula so I dont use it more than 2 times a week. I think this product made the biggest change in my skin. Its all kinds of fantastic.

I keep Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pore & Shine in my shower. I love the citrus scent and the gentle exfoliating bits in it. I use it once in a while. Its good value for money and feels great on the skin.

 3. If I wore waterproof mascara I will generally do a quick wipe down with Loreal Paris Make-up Remover Eyes & Lips Waterproof. I have used this for about 10 years and its in my books the best value for money when it comes to waterproof make-up removers.

4. The Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3 for combination/oily skin is a brand new addition. I admit I should have done a bit more research before I picked this one up as one of the main ingredients is alcohol and you can really smell it. The strong smell is not pleasant and I think the formula is a bit too harsh for me. I just wanted to reduce the shine and figured maybe this one helps but now I'm not sure. I cant use this daily so have been switching between this and Herbaline Essentials Cucumber & Rose Water Skin Tonic. Herbaline one is mild, lovely and fresh. It has spring water and rose water and other organic ingredients and I like it a lot but I dont think it does anything in the matter of helping reduce the shine.

5. I have been trying to pin down the next "best ever" serum and moisturizer. Until I make my decision and part with the pile of money it will inevitably cost I have the trusty Bodyshop Vitamine E Overnight Serum-in-oil and night cream to finish up. I especially like the serum-in-oil. It really plumps up my skin. I have my eyes on Khiels Midnight Recovery Concentrate or one of the Claudaile serums? Have you tried these?
For eyes I have been loving the Dermalogica Ultrasmoothing Eye Serum.

I would really appreciate recommendations for serum and toner if you have combination skin like I do. Is there something that your swear by? I'm a bit lost in the world of skin care.

The Pre-vacation Buzz

I will be honest with you..I can do that because you are not my boss. My mind has been prematurely on vacation mode this week and very little on work things. I mean like it was barely on any other things. Ok it was on vacation mode and one more thing but lets concentrate on the vacation for now.

We are flying to Sri Lanka tonight and spending the next 5 days laying on the beach, reading, drinking fruity cocktails,eating too much lentil curry and fresh fish. As I happen to be a big fan of making lists (grocery lists, to-do lists for work, lists about make up) packing list is one of my favorites. Today I will tell you about my vacation make up list.

We went to Sri Lanka for our honeymoon at the end last year so I know what to expect. In the 2 weeks we spent there I used eyeshadow once..so it was pretty clear to me what to pack for a super light make up bag.

Here goes:

 I cant be bothered to wear liquid foundation on a beach vacation, so daily I will use Caudalie Vinoperfect Broad Spectrum Day Perfection Fluid. It is new and its awesome so expect a full review shortly. Smells amazing, has SPF 15 and is tiny bit tinted so evens out the skin. GREAT product! Just in case I do feel like having a more done face Im bringing the Laura Mercier Mineral Powder. Laura kept telling me I need this and she was right as always. Its SPF 15 again, its light enough to wear in sweaty scenarios, it has great coverage and stays on long time. I had a whole mineral powder phase last year and tried a lot of them but this is by far my favorite!

I will bring 2 Lancome products- Hypnose Star mascara which is my current favorite and a Le Crayon Khol brown eye pencil. This works as my brow pencil and can be smudged into the eye line if I feel like it. Although I have a feeling it will be just mascara on my eyes for the next week.

And then there is the two products that are always in my make up bag. The ones I immediately repurchase and have been using longer than 10 years. Benefit High Beam is my absolute favorite highlighter ever and I love using it in the inner corner of my eyes and cheekbones on those "barely any make up" days. Its blends so easily and looks beautiful on bare skin or over foundation. The second one is YSL Touche Eclat complexion highlighter. My holy grail product for a more alive radiant face and eyes.


I will also bring the Tarte Amazonian clay 12-hour Blush in Exposed. Its great for a natural flush of color and can be built up. This one has top notch staying power.

For lips I chose the Lancome Gloss In Love in 144 in case I feel like having some color on in the evenings. For day time Im taking the Sleek Pout Polish SPF 15 in Peach Perfection.

I usually have my earrings in my make up bag as well. So the ones coming to vacation are the prettiest color amazonite drops that look amaze balls with a tan and small mountain crystal squares both from New Vintage by Kriss of course.

And thats it! I really dont want to lug too much with me as its less than a week and most of it will be spent on the beach wearing very little make up and clothes. I did of course do some pre-vacation shopping and came home with mint green shorts, new bikini and silver flats. So stay with me and I will report back from Sri Lanka soon.

If you feel like knowing what Im up to at Sri Lanka find me on Instagram @thelauracarlson (see on the right sidebar of the blog). There shall be an obnoxious amount of photos from pretty beaches and delicious dinners.

Have a lovely weekend!

I feel the Bliss

Every month I get a pretty box filled with some sample size beauty goodies delivered to my door. I'm sure there is an equivalent of this in every country..here it is called GlamBox.

We are already half way in March but I wanted to show you the February GlamBox which was a Bliss special.



Bliss is a brand I have always been curious about but never actually tried. Now that I got to try a bunch of things I must declare my love to some of the products.

In my February box there was:

Lets start with my two favorites from the box. The ones I plan to buy full size.

Faboulous Foaming Face Wash- this is apparently one of Bliss best sellers and I can see why. I love the smell and consistency. A thick gel that easily turns into foam. I always choose a face wash that can double up as a gentle scrub and this one has small exfoliating beads in it. Its oli-free which seems to be working well on my combination skin and the main ingredients are rosehip, chamomile and passion flower. All in all a lovely face wash Im excited to add to the collection.

Blood Orange and White Pepper Body Butter- I have a weakness for citrus smells..especially grapefruit and blood orange. This Bliss one is soooo nice. Its such a vibrate scent with a bit of spicy undertones from the white pepper. It leaves the skin smooth and moisturized like a body butter should.

I also got the Body Wash & Bubble Bath in same scent and I love it just as much.

The Triple Oxygen + c energizing cream- is a bit too rich for my T-zone so I dont use it in the mornings. I cant rave or say anything bad about it. Its a nice enough cream but I dont think I will purchase the full size. It just didnt do much for me.

The 2 things I'm yet to test out are the Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask and the Thats Incredi-'peel'  peel pads. Especially excited about the peel pads as I have never used anything similar.

All in all such lovely products and I cant wait to get my hands on the full size face wash and body butter.

Do you have any favorites from Bliss? Something else I should check out next time I lurk around that counter?

p.s. since you are here already why not come and hang out with me on Facebook as well.. Laura etc...

Origins-Drink Up

Cutting right to the chase here.

Origins Drink Up 10 Minute Mask is my favorite hydrating face mask.

The sole point of this post is to inform anyone who is on the lookout to "quench skin's thirst" to try Drink Up because its great.

Few reasons why it's so great:

-as always with Origins there is no parabens or other nasties in it

-it can be used as a 10min quick fix mask before doing your make up. For this I suggest washing it off with water not wiping it off with tissue. The tissue option leaves a thin layer on the skin which is great if you are going to bed but not ideal make up base. Washing it off however leaves a plump and more even skin to work your foundation into.

-it can be layered on as a thick cream and left overnight (this I do once a week). There is actually another version of this called Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask but I haven't tried that one yet. I just keep using the original one as an overnight mask. If you have combination skin like me you might not need the intensive version.

- it works wonders on skin that has a light sunburn and helps calm down the redness and irritation better than anything I have tried

- it also smells wonderfully peachy and fresh

They don't sell Origins in Dubai so after I ran out I had to order it online. Its kind of a staple in my skincare. And the first thing I did when it arrived was smell it..honestly I did! Thats how much I like the smell of this mask.

 In other but similar news. I'm loving my current hydrating products.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil I bought recently is great. I use it every other night and so far loving the softer more even skin I wake up to. Its not at all as oily as I predicted. I want to give it another few weeks to really see if there is a difference and then report back.


Yalla tried so hard to finally get on a blog picture also so here she is:

What's your current fav hydrating masks? Or even better whats the all time favorites?