Sale at The Body Shop! Body Shopi sügisesed kliendipäevad -- täna veel jõuab!

The Body Shop new rewards card has arrived to Estonia! The Body Shopi uus kliendikaart on kohal!

Empties: summer 2012. Part 1

According to the weather, summer seems to be officially over for Estonia, so it's time to see what I've used up. This will be in two parts, the other coming up someday in September. Apparently I've needed lots and lots of products this summer. I'm simply too lazy to do the empties thing monthly:)

Here are my usual mini-reviews and product recommendations.

• Garnier Invisimineral deodorant. It had nice fresh scent, fighted the odour quite ok, but didn't fulfill it's promise not to leave white marks. Price: 2-3 euros, no repurchase.
• Garnier Bodytonic Slimming and Reshaping gel. A nice refreshing gel with a minty feel. I didn't notice any slimming or reshaping results though, but I used it only 2-3 times a week after gym. Maybe the results would be great if used twice a day daily? Don't know, but it sure sinks in fast and isn't sticky. Price: probably around 10 euros, no repurchase.
• Garnier Color Naturals Hair Colour. It's my holy grail DIY hair colour! The blonde shades (I've tried different blondes) are excellent for me, it is so cheap and easy to use and it makes my hair soft like no other haircolour. I'd say the results beat going to the hairdressers' for colour! Price: 2 euros (on sale), will definitely repurchase.

• Lumene Natural Code Face Wash & Toner. I loved these! Despite their skin purifying properties they didn't dry my skin out too much, but helped to keep it fresh and more matte. And they were very reasonably priced too. I would like to buy again, but unfortunately Lumene has changed their Natural Code line and these are no longer available. Certainly, a bit of a loss for me. Price: 6-7 euros each.

• ByPhasse Make-up remover wipes for sensitive skins and mature skins. I didn't notice much difference between the two varieties, but for some reason liked the sensitive skins version a bit more. Both were very soft, quite big and wet and removed make-up well for a wet wipe. I think at 2 euros a pack they were value for money and I will probably repurchase if I ever see them discounted again.

• The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Shower Gel. This had the total goodness of all The Body Shop shower gels! It smelled and looked yummy and had produced lots and lots of lather, so not much was needed. That's why it lasted for ages and ages and I grew a bit tired of it at the end. But that is rather a virtue than a vice, isn't it? I shall not repurchase Pink Grapefruit, but I shall certainly try other shower gels from The Body Shop. Price: 7 euros for 250 ml.
• Lush It's Raining Men Honey Rich Shower Gel for body and hair. This was one of the very few 2in1 shower products that actually worked well for hair too and didn't dry they out too much. It actually gave my hair some bounce and made them smooth! I also liked the mild honey scent and like The Body Shop one, it also lasted for ages. Extra points for the witty name! I shall probably buy it again in smaller travel size bottles as this is perfect for travelling and taking to the gym. Price: 11.65 euros for 250 ml.
• Freeman Bare Foot Iced Teaberry and Mint Foot Scrub. This foot scrub had somewhat larger and harsher scrubbing particles than most of other foot scrubs usually do. It was quite refreshing to use and scrubbed really well, so I'd recommend it over others if your feet need a good scrub. Myself, no repurchase, because I can do very well with my usual shower scrub and don't need an extra for my feet. Don't remember the price, but Freeman products are generally not expensive.

• Avon Anew Rejuvenate 24 hour eye cream day & night. Two eye creams in one pot! I liked this one so much it deserves a separate review. I shall add a link if I complete it. A repurchase already made! Around 10 euros from Avon brochure.
• Garnier Pure Active Roll-On. A lot of Garnier products here today :) Shaped exactly like Garnier undereye concealer (review here), this zit-killer knows it's job well. It really works on even the most painful of blemishes and helps them heal faster. On the downside it the fact that it leaves a bit of a sticky film on the skin, so it can't be used under or over makeup as it promises. I don't remember the price and will be on the lookout for a better one.
• Phytomer OligoPur Shine Control Moisturizing Fluid. Oh dear, I passionately hated this and regretted bitterly getting the bigger salon-size version! First, it didn't mattify, it made my face appear more shiny and sticky. Then, it didn't hydrate at all, my skin was still itchy after using it. To top it all off, it behaved impossibly under make-up, rolling off whenever I tried to use my foundation. Oh, and let's not forget it was expensive too: around 30 euros for 50 ml, but mine was 100 ml! I was desperately waiting for it to be empty, but I should have thrown this crap out a long ago. Absolutely no repurchase whatsoever.

• Lumene Eyebrow wax. Finally some empty make-up items in my empties project! This wax is also a Holy Grail product of mine, that totally deserves a review of it's own. Price: around 8 euros, definite repurchase.
• L'Oreal Glam Shine Juice lipgloss. A good nude coloured non-sticky lipgloss. Nice, but not so special. No repurchase.

• Dermoshop Cuticle Cream and Yves Rocher Coleurs Nature 8h Eyeshadow Duo. Neither were empty, but these simply didn't perform well, so I decided to throw them out. Simple as that.

• Just some random hotel shampoos and travel sized bottles, used up mostly at the gym.

That's all this time. Great success! It's a real relief to throw all these empty pots and tubes out, although several of them have become my favourites and already are or will soon be replaced.

Yours Truly,

Tolmu Rull

For my lovely Estonian ladies:

Palun, siin on sel suvel tühjaks tarvitatud potsikud ja tuubid! Neid on hästi palju, sest mitmed pikalt-pikalt kasutatud asjad olid lõpukorral. Soovitada julgen Garnier Color Naturals juuksevärvi, The Body Shopi ja Lushi dushigeele, Freemani jalakoorijat ja Avoni kaheosalist 24-tunni silmakreemi. Lõpuks ometi said otsa ka mõned meigiasjad, neist soovitan Lumene kulmuvaha. Kauge kaarega tuleks mööda käia Phytomeri OligoPur näokreemist. 

Siiralt teie,

Tolmu Rull

Beauty Night at The Body Shop Store and Estonian Beauty Bloggers First Meetup

Last Thursday, we Estonian beauty bloggers had a great milestone: our first bigger meeting. I must be the last one to post about it, but I'll still add my two cents.

Lovely Liz from Beautyfromliz had some information that The Body Shop offers Beauty Nights for 4-6 people with some light snacks, a glass of sparkling wine, makeup and product samples. All completely free! 

It was an opportunity not to be missed, so we got our act together after some discussions (date! time! our favourite store!) and got our beautiful bodies there. Leelo aka MissL from Beautybymissl even drove more than 200 kms to get there, being 31 weeks+ pregnant! 

MissL gazing the TBS makeup.

It was very nice to meet all fellow bloggers. At first we felt all a bit shy as Estonians always do, but by the end of the night felt quite at ease with each other I could say. 

Anna-Liisa telling us about TBS skincare.

At first there was an introductory greeting, then some of us went on to get our makeups done, the others listened to a short lecture about The Body Shop skincare ranges (me belonging to the latter party). A first I thought everyone will get a quick new face, that's why I'm wearing just some mineral powder and mascara (and looking quite bland on the pictures, I'd say. But that's OK.) 

Me and my almost makeup-free face.

After the introductory part, our gang just kept swatching and sniffing and testing (basically no sample product escaped from our hands!) ... and picking out products we wanted personal samples from to take at home. We liked some products, we disliked the others, but finally no girl left the store without purchase :P And we are a picky crowd! 

LiisM, me and MissL are wondering about the ingredients of TBS baby care range.

We even tried to swatch the new Lily Cole Cruelty Free LE collcection a bit. BTW, did I mention, all make up products were 30 % off and all other products 10 % off for us during the Beauty Night?

LiisM is trying to take a photo of the swatches on my hand.

Of course, a lot of opinions and beauty tips were shared, along with some laughter and personal details. 
The two hours that felt like an eternity first somehow melted away and then it was time to go home :( 

All made up! LiisK...

...Mammu...

... and Angeelika.

The reviews and opinions of other girls: Liz from Beautyfromliz, MissL from Beautybymissl, Angeelika from Iluelu by Angeelika and Mammu from Full Of Beauty.

Here we are left to right: Angeelika, Mammu, LiisK, Liz, SA Anna-Liisa, me  and MissL.

Have you had any meetups with beauty bloggers from your country?
Does The Body Shop offer free beauty nights in your country? If not, are you a bit jealous of us?

Yours Truly,
Tolmu Rull

For my lovely Estonian ladies: 

Alates juuni algusest pakuvad The Body Shopi poed Eestis iluõhtuid 4-6 inimesele. Väikesed näksid, klaas vahuveini, soovijatele meik, The Body Shopi toodete tutvustus, soodustused ja muidugi tootenäidised kõigile koju kaasa. Kogu see lõbu on täiesti tasuta, tuleb vaid meelepärases poes aeg kinni panna. Kahetunnised iluõhtud algavad reeglina kell 19. 

Eesti ilublogijatele oli see esmakordne suurem kohtumine. Küllap olete teistest blogidest selle kohta juba oksendamiseni tüdimuseni lugenud, aga postitan ikkagi oma vaatenurga ka.

Varem olin näost näkku kohtunud vaid Liisiga blogist Beautyfromliz. Kuna nii meile kui The Body Shopi rahvale oli see esmakordne üritus, olid kõik veidi eestlaslikult närvis, kuid lõppkokkuvõttes kukkus kenasti välja. 

LiisK leidis vist sobiva jumestuskreemi...

Pärast pisukest sissejuhatust pakuti valida, kas soovime lasta ennast meikida või hoopis kuulata nahahooldussarjade tutvustust. Kolm neiut lasid ennast meikida, mulle tundus nahahooldus seekord paeluvam. 

...ja istus meigitooli.

Tema järel saabus Angeelika kord.

Millegipärast kujutasin enne iluõhtut ette, et kõik saavad kiire meigi ja kandsin ainult veidi mineraalpuudrit, natuke ripsmetušši, põsepuna ja huuleläiget. Mõtlesin, et niikuinii võetakse kohe meik maha ja tehakse uus. Kui oleksin teadnud, et nii ei juhtu, oleksin kindlasti põhjalikuma meigi teinud. Ikkagi ilublogijatega kohtumine ju! 

MissL ja Liz hindavad swatch'e.

Pärast tootetutvustust läks lahti suur uurimine, proovimine, nuusutamine, siltide lugemine ja küsimuste esitamine, pildistamine, muljete vahetamine, nõuannete jagamine jne. 

Õhtu lõpuks said kõik lasta armsatesse pisikestesse topsikutesse tootenäidiseid kaasa pakkida, et need kodus järele katsetada. Eks mõni toode meeldis vähem ja mõni rohkem, kuid midagi huvitavat ja meelepärast leidis igaüks ja ostuta ei lahkunud vist keegi. Katsun teha lähiajal ülevaate, mis ma ostsin ja millised näidised kaasa sain. 


(Võrdluseks, I.L.U. poes Kristiines keelduti mulle jumestuskreemi sortsukest isegi siis kaasa panemast, kui pakkusin, et ostan vajaliku topsiku nende poest ise. Olevat nõutav see poes kohapeal näkku kanda :P) 

Kui kogu sellest meepotist mõni tõrvatilk välja otsida, siis ehk vaid see, et vahepeal muutus tegevus veidi kaootiliseks ja me kippusime teistele ostjatele pisut jalgu jääma, kuid esimese korra asi, eks. Ka oleks mulle meeldinud, kui kõik oleks kiirelt läbi käinud nii meigitoolist kui ka kuulnud nahahoolduse juttu.

Rocca TBS-i särasilmne juhatajanna.

Suur-suur tänu Rocca al Mare The Body Shopi rahvale, eriti särasilmsele juhatajannale, kelle nimi onmul meelest läinud, ja müüja Anna-Liisale!

Siiralt teie,
Tolmu Rull

Sleeping with Pinocchio: The Body Shop Blueberry Body Butter review

The body butters from The Body Shop are iconic. If you have never heard of them (which I don't believe, you must be living in some kind of cave then), here's the concept: they are very thick & greasy body creams that come in a big variety of scents from olive oil to mango, coconut & moringa. If you are curious what a moringa is, check here.

Anyway, dry-skinned people swear by The Body Shop body butters. There are a lot of other body butters around, but as far as I know, the ones from The Body Shop were the first. Hence the cult product status.

The blueberry body butter is a strange addition to the range. First, it comes out only when there's a sale on (like now).

 
Secondly, it does not smell like blueberries. It smells like a sawmill. Seriously, every time I use it, my husband says he's in bed with Pinocchio again. You know, the wooden boy from a fairy tale whose nose grew every time he lied. A stupid boy, who thought money trees would grow from soil when coins are planted.

Also, this body butter is very greasy. I mainly use it on my feet and calves that go very dry in wintertime. Then it just sinks in leaving the stink behind. I can't use this all over the body or in summertime, then I'd be a total greaseball just out of a sawmill.

But then again, I heard the other day somebody asking for it in The Body Shop store. People are different, you know. 

I've been using this for about two winters now. Either it will go bad or end up in my empties for a few months on from now. We'll see.

Buy again? Nope. I'm not a lumberjack really.

Yours Truly,

Tolmu Rull

For my lovely Estonian ladies:

Mustika kehavõi The Body Shopilt on üks veider toode. Esiteks, see on müügil vaid allahindluste ajal, seega kui see teile huvi pakub, siis on õige aeg minna ptaegu The Body Shopi poodi. Hinnaks oli vist 9.90 eurot.

Teiseks, see ei lõhna värskete mõnusate mustikate järele. See lõhnab nagu saeveski. Iga kord kui seda enne tudumist säärtele määrin, teeb mu mees nalja, et magab jälle koos Pinocchioga. See kehavõi võiks tõesti ometi kord otsa saada, lisaks veidrale lõhnale on see ka kaugeltki liiga rasvane mu jaoks.

Siiralt teie,

Tolmu Rull

Empties: winter 2012

Although I have not been very consistant with posting my empties project, I have still dutyfully collected them in the past month. By now, a big paper bag is almost full and annoyingly getting on my way all the time. So expect to see a lot more of empties soon :)

These empties were used up by me sometime during the winter months and although the bottles and tubes and their contents is long gone, the pictures are still waiting to be posted.

While it's not exactly "winter" here any more, the summer has completely failed to install this year. So why not to review some winter-y products?

Let's get a more detailed view of what I've used up.

• Make up remover wipes by ByPhasse and Alverde – both are cheap face wipes (around 2 euros or so) that worked fine. Still, no re-buy probably.

• The Body Shop Basil Purifying Mask – Ooh, this was a HG mask! I have already told you, how much I adore when vegetables and herbs are used in cosmetics. Basil is one of my favourite herbs and this mask smelt divine for me! It was that type of mask that doesn't go hard on your face and rather had a cooling & refreshing effect on the skin than deeply purifying one. I'd buy again in a heartbeat, but TBS doesn't offer this mask any more.

• Puhas Loodus (Pure Nature) deeply purifying scrub with microbeads & apple extract – Although the products of Puhas Loodus are far from being pure and ecological, I liked it. It was a good, cheap ( I think around 4-5 euros) & effective face scrub with very fine beads and a subtle apple scent. I'll probably buy again sometime.  

•  Avon Anew Pure O2 Oxygenating Youth Complex – Yuk! This day cream was way too greasy and did nothing for my skin. I struggled hard to use it up! 

• Lumene Matt Touch cleanser & toner – While Lumene is one of my favourite cosmetics companies, these Matt Touch products were not the best I have tried from them. Mainly because they didn't mattify my skin much and the toner contained alcohol. I know they have reformulated the product and I hope new version is much better. A repurchase? Maybe.

• Lactacyd Femina Intimate Wash – A girl's gotta have at least one product for every region of her body, right? :P One of the best intimate washes around. 'Nuff said.

• Alverde Naturkosmetik Herbal toothpaste -- It was an emergency buy from Germany. I didn't like it's taste too much, so I'm happy our ways have parted. Don't care it was vegan and everything.

• L'Oreal Paris Shine & Gloss duo -- I don't know why it was called shine & gloss duo, while it was simply a lipliner & lipstick duo in a pencil form :S Still, it was a nice nude hue for my skintone and I was quite sad when it came to it's end. A good nude lipliner is harder to find than you'd think. The double ended pencil packaging sucked, because a lot went to waste with sharpening and I had to throw quite a lot of product away because it became impossible to sharpen in the end. 

• Dove Summer Glow Moisturiser -- This self-tanning moisturiser has been praised by many beauty bloggers and I'm no exception. Normal to dark skin version gave a very nice brownish hue to my light skin and I liked the initial shimmer effect too. This was not my first bottle and I have already bought the same product again.

• Dove Colour Care shampoo – Just an ordinary drugstore shampoo, nothing much to say.

Weirdly, this time around I managed to use up a lot of products I'd actually buy again for several reasons. Not bad, I think.

Yours Truly,
Tolmu Rull

For my lovely Estonian ladies:


Tühjad potsikud ja tuubid eelmisest talvest. Loomulikult on see ärakasutatud kraam säilinud ainult piltide ja mälestuste näol, aga kui juba suvi sel aastal tulemata jäänud on, siis miks mitte talvist kraami meenutada, eks? Ülaltoodud kraamist soovitaksin eelkõige Puhta Looduse õunaga koorimiskreemi, Dove isepruunistajat ja Lactacydi intiimpesugeeli. The Body Shopi basiilikumaski ostaksin ka kohe uuesti, kuid minu suureks kurvastuseks seda enam ei valmistata ega müüda :(


Siiralt teie,
Tolmu Rull

Question Wednesday Blog Hop {Travel Edition}

This tag originates from Nykki's Mane blog. I don't plan to do it every week, only when I find the subject inspiring. This time Questions Wednesday questions are about travelling, a much beloved subject and perfect for breaking the long silence here (hint: it had something to do with travelling :))You can see what other bloggers answered here. 

1. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be?
I have done a fair share of travelling around Europe, touched the ground in Asia and even been to Africa once. Now my radar is set on Asian and Arabian countries and Caucasus region. I would especially like to go to Vietnam, Thailand, Azerbaidjan and Georgia. Saudi Arabia or Iraq would definitely be interesting, but a bit dangerous though, so I guess it's not gonna happen in real life. On completely different note, I also crave a summer vacation trip to Croatia.

A view of Abu Dhabi coastline.

2. Where is the coolest/best place you have ever traveled?

Hmm... I think it's impossible to make a statement like this, because each place is cool and unique in an whole different way, be it close to home or far-far away.

The list of my favourite destinations is quite long. I would always visit Dubai and Abu Dhabi again in an heartbeat, because it is a great all-in-one destination: interesting architecture and world's tallest skyscrapers, huge malls and exotic souk's, beautiful beaches and a selection of cool leisure activities all within a short cab ride. Not to mention the incredible luxury everywhere. The Sex and the City girls didn't have half as much fun there as they could have had :)

Girls do some shopping in The Dubai Mall.

I also like Turkey very much for exotic food, historical sights and shopping opportunities (the biggest beauty haul of my life happened in Turkey!), Germany is great for business and beer, Barcelona and Budapest for sun, beautiful sights and wine tasting, Ireland for being such a friendly, cozy and home-like country and so on.

The Body Shop at Dubai Mall.

3. How do you feel about road trips?
I am definitely in. I have been on two really long ones, one of them was more than 8000 kms and another about 4000 kms long. It's an easy way to travel, I like the independence a car gives you and being free of stupid air travel regulations.

Indoor skiing slope at the Dubai Mall.

4. You just won two tickets to your dream vacation, who's going with you?
My husband of course.

The Dubai Laguna. World's tallest building Burj Khalifa is still being built on the background.

Nice roadsign, isn't it?

5. Airport security is only allowing you to take 3 make-up items with you, what are they?
Some face powder to control the shine, a mascara and moisturizing lipgloss.

Yours Truly,
Tolmu Rull

Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the biggest mosque in UAE.

World's third biggest chandelier with millions of Swarovski crystals. 

A segment of world's largest hand- made carpet.

For my lovely Estonian ladies:

Reisides on keeleoskus hädavajalik, siin on võimalus seda harjutada :)




Siiralt teie,
Tolmu Rull

Burj al Arab in sunset.