My Sephora haul & mini reviews

Although I was in Poland more than a month ago, I haven't posted more about my beauty haul than a tiny peek in my huge Inglot traincase post and Benefit The Pretty Committee kit review. Here's a short overview of my Sephora haul. Needless to say I'm also madly in love with Sephora as many girls from the countries that don't have Sephora stores :P

Sephora has been my main beauty Mecca since 2004, when I accidentaly stumbed upon one of their stores in Bologna and was instantly hooked. The bad thing is we don't have them in Estonia or Scandinavian countries. So I admit, I have chosen my travel destinations according to whether they have Sephora stores or not :) I believe I'm not the only one to do so.

So, what's the contents of this black Sephora bag? First and foremost, my best find from Sephora, Benefit The Pretty Committee kit, full review here. But some other stuff too. 

Two eye pencils, Flashy liner in flashy taupe and Jumbo liner 12H wear in beige. Since both are waterproof and stay on really well, they have been my most used eye pencils this summer. I use Jumbo liner all over the lid as a wash of colour or as a base for eyeshadows. It glides on really well and I don't even need a brush to blend it. The beige colour with a hint of pink and some shimmer is perfect for nearly-there summer makeup. I paid 39 PLN (9,6 euros) for it.

The swatches

What I like most about Flashy liner is the soft taupey-bronzy tone that is perfect for complementing green eyes and useful for many make-up looks. It also glides on really easily. The shimmer in it doesn't really show up on the lids. What I don't like about it is the fact that it is not pigmented enough for using on waterline. I paid 30 PLN (7,4 euros) for it. 

Also I grabbed two synthetic eye shadow brushes, number 26 small and number 25 large from Sephora main brush collection (Sephora Pro Collection is not sold in Europe). They are meant specially for the application of cream shadows, but can double as concealer brushes as well. The short and light handles make them suitable for travel and they seem very durable. I like them! I don't remember the exact price, but they were around 10 euros each. 

Sephora Express empty 50 ml pot. I'm going to use it for decanting some body creams for travelling or taking to the gym. I paid around 2 euros for it.

The green thing is exfoliating face disk. It has very soft and small silicone bristles and is meant for using with a facial wash. It's comfortable to use and is great for everyday light exfoliation. I paid 20 PLN (4.90 euros) for it. 

Waterproof eye make up remover from Sephora own line. I was out of make up remover and thought why not give it a try? They place these kinds of products seductively by the cashier, you know :P I'm not disappointed, it removes makeup well, does not sting and is not too greasy. Next time I'll get it in travel size too. It was 26 PLN (6.40 euros).

You can also see my Sephora White Card, I regret deply I haven't paid much attention to Sephora loyalty program before, could have saved a lot by now. 

Finally, some free samples I got with my purchase. I like the fact that you get almost always some samples with your Sephora purchases. It's a nice touch, I think.

All in all, I'm very happy about my Sephora haul :) It's not a very big haul, but since I got some stuff from other stores as well, it all adds up. I like to do bigger hauls sometimes and then stay away from the shops for a long time. I have been a very good girl since the trip: I've stepped to a beauty store only once in July and haven't bought anything from the web also (although I have had an occasional peek what's on offer once or twice :P).

Yours Truly,
Tolmu Rull

For my lovely Estonian ladies:

Väike ülevaade minu Sephora ostudest Poolast. Eestile lähimad Sephora poed asuvadki umbes pooleteistpäevase autotripi kaugusel Poolas. Sinna sattudes soovitan kindlasti sisse astuda ja muu kraami kõrval tähelepanu pöörata nende oma kaubamärgile.

Benefiti komplekti olen juba näidanud ja arvustanud, minu ülejäänud ostud ongi Sephora oma tootesarjast. Lühidalt öeldes olen kõigi ostudega väga rahul ja see ei jää kindlasti minu viimaseks Sephora visiidiks.

Kui Sephorast midagi ostate, võtke kindlasti ka tasuta kliendikaart, millega saab neljandalt ostult 10 % allahindlust ja poes kasutada spetsiaalseid kaardiomanike soodukaid. Mina kahetsen, et ma juba varem ei viitsinud endale kaarti teha :( Kaarti registreerida ja lojaalsusprogrammi tingimustega lähemalt tutvuda saab näiteks siin.

Siiralt teie,
Tolmu Rull

Small Summery Lumene Haul

As I've probably mentioned before, Lumene is one of my favourite companies when it comes to skincare.

The three things I like most about Lumene, is that their products are relatively natural, have worked well for me in most cases and are very reasonably priced. Even better, they have regular discount campaigns, when you get 20-25 % off and sometimes a free gift with purchase. Yay!

I also like that they launch new products regularly or reformulate the old ones, usually making them better. Oh, I have so much great things to say about Lumene, must save some of it for next posts!

Lumene Vitamin C+ Radiance Nectar is my all-time favourite facial serum, I could say, a HG item. It's my 4th or 5th repurchase and that says something. I shall do a more in-depth review of it, I just say right now I like it a lot. I paid 13.24 euros for it with 20 % off.

Arctic Aqua 2 in 1 Skin-Perfecting Moisture Booster is a new addition to Lumene Arctic Aqua line. It is also used as a serum before face cream. I think it might be a nice hydrating gel for oiler skin types for summer. It's my first time purchase, so I'm not really sure what I think about it yet. I paid 11.12 euros for it with 20 % off. 

Finally, Berry Refresh is a new body care line from Lumene based on Finnish berries. This line is so new it's not on Lumene international web site yet, but you can see it on Finnish site here. I got this body moisturiser for free because my Lumene purchase was over 20 euros (around 25 USD). I already like it a lot, because it has the same great cloudberry scent as Vitamin C+ Radiance Nectar, contains over 90 % natural ingredients, is paraben-free, as most of Lumene products and sinks in very fast. I'm very eager to try other products from Berry Refresh line too.

Lumene products are widely acessible in Estonia & the Baltics and of course Finland where the company originates from. They are also present in USA and Russia (for all locations, check here).

I bought mine from Tallinna Kaubamaja at the end of May. Currently, Lumene products are 25 % off at Rosalind stores in Estonia.

Have you tried anything from Lumene? If not, would you like to?

Yours Truly,
Tolmu Rull

 
For my lovely Estonian ladies:

Lumene nahahooldustooted on mu suured lemmikud, ikka ja jälle satun neilt üht-teist soetama. Mai lõpus jõudsid ostukorvi minu kõigi aegade lemmikseerum Vitamin C+ Radiance Nectar, mida olen ostnud juba 4-5 korda. See ütleb nii mõndagi, eks.

Et üle 20-eurose ostuga sai Kaubamajast kaasa tasuta uue Berry Refresh-sarja murakalõhnalise kehakreemi, valisin lisaks seerumile välja ka Arctic Aqua 2 in 1 Skin-Perfecting Moisture Booster'i. See on kerge geel, mida soovitatakse kasutada naha niisutamiseks kreemi all, mina loodan, et minu rasusevõitu nahal töötab see suviselt kerge niisutajana kreemi asemel. Täpsemaid muljeid veel ei jaga :)

Kingituseks saadud muraka-kehakreem on küll väga mõnus ja kiiresti imenduv.

Muuseas, praegu on Rosalinnu poodides Lumene toodetel 25 % soodustust.

Siiralt teie,
Tolmu Rull

My biggest beauty buy ever. Hint: it's HUGE

As I hinted in the comments of my last post about beauty shopping abroad, I managed to take a little trip again. This time it was a roadtrip to Poland. In spite of the fact that it took place during European Football Championships 2012, I didn't go to Poland for football, but purely for fun and pleasure. And some shopping of course :P

One of the main advantages of a road trip is the opportunity to fit in loads and loads of luggage and boy, did I exploit that! I did a fair share of shopping, including my biggest beauty buy ever, not in terms of items bought but in terms of measures and kilograms.

Look, how small my huge cat looks compared to it!

Can you already guess, what it is?

It's three-storey PRO make-up artist's train case from Inglot! Inglot is a cosmetics company of Polish origin. It makes professional cosmetics & beauty accessories and as verified by many beauty bloggers, the quality is comparable to MAC or Make Up Store. (Of course I did a little Inglot make-up haul too, but I'll tell all about that in a separate post.)

A new family member perhaps?

When I first laid my eyes on the train case, I thought, wow, it's huge! I was just about to move on, when my hubby wondered about the price of it, as he knew I've had my eyes on a certain train case from Sephora for a while already.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I heard the price from the sales assistant. 353 PLN – that's roughly around 85 euros or 102 USD. A steal! Buy it, my husband said in a decisive voice. Buy it!

Nooooo, I said. It seemed simply obscene to buy it, because I'm not any MUA who does the faces of rich and famous people and needs to move sh.tloads of make-up items around. It seemed TOO big.

Backside with pull-out handle.

The male SA started seductively to open all the compartments and pulling out all the trays. It's only around 100 euros, he said. No, I said. No! So we left the store.

On wheels and all set for travel :P

Outside, my hubby became the voice of reason. Come on, I know you, he said. If you don't buy it, you'll gonna regret it later. And the rest of family will never hear the end of it. (Have I mentioned he in not a big fan of beauty buys, because he seems to think our home is badly contaminated with nail polish, make-up and all other things beauty already. In my humble opinion, it most certainly is not.)

I opened my wallet that had exactly 353 PLN in it. I took it as a sign from destiny and the biggest train case I've ever laid my eyes on became mine :)

The top part of the case.

I haven't regretted buying it since. In fact, I can still barely believe my luck. The pull-along case is made of made of sturdy plastic with metal edges and covered with synthetic leather-like material that is easy to clean inside. 

Famous Naked palette, a small part of my Polish haul and the keys inside the top part.

It divides into three separate parts. The upper part contains four trays, that can be pulled out and a middle compartment. It has to be lifted off to get to the middle section with two fold-out trays. The lower part has two roomy boxes in it. Upper and lower compartments can be locked so no one could steal your valuables.

With the top part off.

The case is roughly the size of an IKEA Helmer unit or airline hand baggage suitcase and I plan to use it as an organizer and beauty storage in my bedroom. It is most certainly the biggest (and heaviest, it weighs 12,5 kgs) beauty item I've ever bought and currently the one I'm most happy about. I bought it from Inglot boutique in Zlote Tarasy shopping centre in the heart of Warszawa, Poland.

Lower compartment and some of my Inglot haul. 

Do you like my new beauty storage solution? Wanna go to Poland too?

Yours Truly,

Tolmu Rull

Lihtsalt võrdluseks asetasin kohvrile mõned iluvidinad.

For my lovely Estonian ladies:

Naasin paar päeva tagasi just Poolast. Kuigi seal oli just jalgpalli-MM täies hoos, see mulle huvi ei pakkunud, aga Poola hiigelsuured ostukeskused küll. Nii sündiski minu suurim ja raskeim iluost: kolmekorruseline Ingloti kosmeetikakohver, mis maksis ainult 85 euro ringis. Loomulikult pole ma mingi maailma mööda ringi kärutav tippmodell või meigikunstnik, kel vaja kilode kaupa meigiasju kaasas kanda. Umbes lennuki käsipagasisse mahtuvast kohvrist saab minu magamistoas meigi, küünelakkide, pintslite ja muude ilutarvikute hoidja. Juba selle vaatamine teeb mind igal hommikul ärgates õnnelikuks ja ma loodan, et nii jääbki :)

Kuidas teile mu suurim (ja raskeim!) iluost meeldib?

Siiralt teie,

Tolmu Rull

Shopping abroad: little Drogas aka Latvian Superdrug haul & mini reviews

Doing my travel beauty products overview I discovered an old picture of a little haul from Riga.

In Latvia and Lithuania, there is a drugstore chain called Drogas, that is the Baltic version of UK's infamous Superdrug chain. As Superdrug, Drogas carries everything from lipsticks to underwear, only with slightly different brands and less discounts. (In some countries the store operates under the name Watson's, but all these stores belong to same international business group, budding business geniuses can find out more here.)

So I did a small haul there, and picked up Superdrug Cranberry and Pomegranate Shower Gel (1.49 LVL or 2.20 euros) & Body Butter (1.99 LVL or 2.85 euros). These smell divinely of pomegranate juice, are both quite moisturising and the body butter sinks into my skin much faster than The Body Shop body butters. The negative side is these contain SLS and paraffinum liquidum, but this does not bother me so much.

I also bought Watson's tweezers (0.99 LVL or 1.40 euros) that are OK, although I expected them to be sharper and double sharpener (0.89 LVL or 1.30 euros) that works super well. The pink crackle polish (1.79 LVL or 2.55 euros) was one I had missing from my Flormar crackle polishes line, review here.

My last purchase that time was InterVion natural fibre hair brush (2.59 LVL 3.70), that became my favourite fast. It detangles and smoothes hair in a second.

I also oggled Essence stand and might or might not gone back to make further aquantance with it :P

What can I say? Next time I'm in Latvia, I'll definitely drop by. As far as I know, the biggest and best Drogas store in Riga is in the Alfa shopping centre on Brivibas iela.

Have you been to Drogas? Do you have it (or Superdrug) at your country? Would you like to hear more about my beauty shopping abroad experiences?

Yours Truly,
Tolmu Rull

For my lovely Estonian ladies:

UK Superdrug'idest võime siin maailmanurgas vaid unistada, kuid Lätis ja Leedus on olemas Superdrug'iga samasse ärigruppi kuuluv poekett, mis kannab koledat baltipärast nime Drogas.

Ennevanasti oli Eestis sama (kosmeetika)pood Watson'si nime all, aga nüüd kahjuks enam mitte.

Muidugi ei müüda seal sama laia kaubavalikut, mis Superdrug'is, aga üht-teist põnevat siiski leiab. Näiteks on Läti Drogase poed Eestile lähim koht, kus müüakse blogimaailmas kuulsat Essence kosmeetikat. Mind paelusid ka Watsonsi kaubamärgi all pakutavad superodavad (ja täitsa kvaliteetsed!) ilutarvikud. Kindlasti lähen Drogas'e poodi veel.

Kas teie olete Drogas'esse sattunud? Huvitab teid üldse lugeda väljaspool Eestit shoppamisest?

Siiralt teie,
Tolmu Rull

Flormar Graffiti Nail Enamel polishes: review & a small contest!

Remember, some time ago I promised to show you some interesting crackle polishes? Here they are!

Flormar is a Turkish company and an old favourite of mine. It's very popular in Turkey, but not so widespread elsewhere, including Estonia. But their products are super and these polishes are no exception!

To be fair, I discovered Flormar Graffiti Nails polishes via MyLittleVanities blog. When I learned that they are finally available in Estonia, I just had to go and get them. Actually there are twelve colors in this line, but all of these were not available at the moment.

Just look how bright and beautiful these colours are! Texturewise, different crackle colours differ a bit: some are metallic, some are regularly matte and some are satiny and stay somewhere inbetween. Qualitywise these are a lot better than China Glaze Metallic Crackles: these are a lot easier to apply evenly and the cracks are much more consistent. They also dry very quickly.

I like the bottles too, I think they are fun and beautiful. The paper caps on the bottles will probably be lost soon. But on to the actual swatches:

I think the blue and silvery colours are my favourites and the yellow one is the least favourite. They don't have names, only numbers. I think it's not necessary to mark them down here.

And the promised little contest. You have to guess, what nail polish I'm wearing under these crackles. I want you to guess the company's name and the shade of the polish. The first person to guess correctly will receive a small prize from me! Hint: the prize comes straight from Turkey! Please leave your guesses at the comment section. A small hint for you: this is an extremely popular polish and it was launched this fall :)

The contest is open to all my GFC followers, no matter where in the world you live. New followers and multiple guesses are also allowed!

And a close shot of my nails. Please excuse the regrowth, it was not so visible if not looked through the macro lens. 

Yours Truly,

Tolmu Rull

For my lovely Estonian ladies:

Palun saage tuttavaks Türgi firma Flormar Graffiti Nail Enamel pragunevate lakkide sarjaga. Ma ei hakkagi pikalt heietama: need lakid on suurepärased, China Glaze kräkk-lakkidest oluliselt paremad!

Aga nüüd võistluse juurde! Arvake ära, mis lakk on mu küüntel praolakkide all. Ära on vaja arvata nii tootjafirma kui laki nimi. Esimesele õigele arvajale saadan Türgist toodud auhinna. Arvamused kirjutage palun kommentaaridesse ja ärge unustage seejuures olla ka GFC -followerid. 

Siiralt Teie,

Tolmu Rull

An old Body Shop haul

I found some pictures of a really old haul from The Body Shop. It actually took place in September already, when The Body Shop had 20 % off from everything and 30 % off from make up products for two days. Since they had a similar discount going on in November, I thought I'd post this haul anyway.

So what did I get and what are the quick reviews?

First, I bought the small, 30 ml Almond hand Cream for carrying around my handbag and the other, Wild Rose Hand Cream just because of the smell. I'm going to do a separate post on hand creams, so I'll just say that these are one of the best I've ever used. I like both very much and need to use them more often, especially now when the weather is getting cold! I'm sorry I can't remember the price of these any more.

The Body Shop shower gels are one of my favourites too. They may seem expensive at first, but the gel is thick and lathers a lot, thus lasting for a long time. The variety of different smells is fabulous too.

The 250 ml Moringa showel gel was free with my purchase. Usually it's 7 euros. I had to actually Google to find out that moringa is a tropical tree. While I wouldn't have picked this one by myself, I still like the smell – it's fresh and woody at the same time.

The last item is the only make up item in this haul. I was looking for a good and subtle, not-too shiny highlighter and that's what the Shimmer Waves 02 Blush totally is! Most highlighters tend to be too glittery or frosty for my oily skin. It is illuminating, but doesn't turn you into a disco ball. It is a safe rosy daytime highlighter that blends well into my skin and I'm quite happy with this. I've worn the “waves” separately on my eyes too, although it is primarily meant for face and cheeks. 

Swatched on NC15 skin. You can hardly see it and that was the effect I was going for.

The minor faults I can find are that the powder itself might have been a bit softer and the compact a bit more elegant, but these are really no biggies.  The Shimmer Waves must have cost around 18 euros prior to discount. This was the most expensive of the bunch, but I don't regret at all!

That's all for this time. I'm sure I'll raid The Body Shop more in the future.

Yours Truly,

Tolmu Rull

For my lovely Estonian ladies:

See Body Shopi haul pärineb tegelikult juba septembrikuisest allahindlusest, aga postitan ikkagi, sest küllap tuleb neil soodukaid veelgi.

Kätekreemid ostsin lähenevat talveaega silmas pidades ja olen nendega väga rahul. Kavatsen teha ka põhjalikuma arvustuse.

Shimmer Waves särapuudriga toonis Blush olen eriti rahul, sest see on mõnusalt tagasihoidliku tooni ning sädelusega ja kõlbab kasutada ka päevasel ajal.

Moringapuu lõhnaga dušika sain ostuga tasuta kaasa ning see on samuti OK. Ahjaa, tasuta Body Shopi kliendikaardi sain ka ostudega kaasa, aga seda pildil ei ole.

Kokkuvõttes hea haul, Body Shopi poode kavatsen ka edaspidi rüüstata. Body Shopi allahindluste osas täitsa tasub silmad lahti hoida.

Siiralt Teie,

Tolmu Rull

Estonian beauty trade show haul, part 2

It's time for Black Friday hauls already, but I still haven't posted the other part of my big Estonian beauty trade fair haul – haircare and makeup items. Shame on me, I know … I'll try to fix the problem now.

Tigi Love Peace The Planet is Tigi's eco-friendly line free of parabens, sulphates, artificial colours and fragrances. Unfortunately the shampoos from that line were sold out, so I got two conditioners – Walking On Sunshine meant for daily use and Eco Awesome that should be a bit more moisturising. I haven't tried these yet, so I can't really tell about the effects. We'll see, but the green tubes look very promising and fit well to the color scene of my bathroom. I think they were eur 5 each.

I had more luck with the Some Like It Hot heat and humidity resistant line and got both the shampoo and conditioner. I've been wanting these for some time now and could have really used them at summer. The SA was a bit ironic and asked whether I was going to a tropic vacation soon. As far as I know of, I'm not, but no worries, I shall use them next spring and summer. Tigi discontinues their products quite quickly, so there's a fair chance that these might not be on sale any more next summer. It was only wise to buy them in advance with such a discount, right? Don't remember the exact price, but I think the discount was 50 % from the regular price.

On to the styling products. I have tried Freak of Nature volumizer and thickener a lot already. It's great! Another review to come! I havent't tried Save The Earth Straightener and Defrizzer yet, but I expect it to be as good as Freak of Nature. Control Freak Straightener is an old friend of mine and a repurchase, so naturally I have a high opinion of this. These products were 50 % off, so eur 8 each. This is a total bargain, because Love Peace & the Planets are eur 16.50 and Control Freak is eur 17.90 normally.

Eco Freako Texturizer was THE bargain of the fair. It was only eur 2 a pot, while it's normally eur 16.50! I got two, planning to use the other in a giveaway or as a gift to a friend. I have tried mine and this is good too.

Finally, the make up I got from the fair – Palladio products from Tradehouse. These are Baked Shadow Trio in Pop Idol and eye shadow quad in Tantalizing Taupe. These seemed very pigmented and promising when I swatched them in store. I think the quad was 5 euros instead of regular 8 euros and baked shadows had some kind of discount too.

Palladio Shadow & Liner pencils are my old favourites. They are easy to use, waterproof and stay on very well. So I collected some new shades: Olive, Black Pearl, Silver Bells and Eclipse. I wish there were more shades in the range. 5 euros instead of 7 each.

In case anyone missed my first post about Ilu Sõnum haul, I must say that it is a really good spot for discounted beauty products. You can see the first part of my epic haul here.

Sincerely Yours,

Tolmu Rull

For my lovely Estonian ladies: 

Teie ees on hiiglasliku ilumessi-hauli teine osa. Siirad vabandused, et pole viitsinud seda varem üles panna. Kõiki tooteid pole veel jõudnud proovida, aga olen leidnud uue lemmiku Tigi Love Peace The Planet ökosarjast: Freak of Nature volüümikreemi. Loodan, et sarja ülejäänud tooted on sama head. 

Viimasel pildil on ka natuke meiki Palladio toodete näol. Shadow & Liner pliiatsid on ammused lemmikud oma hea püsivuse poolest. Lauvärvid on alles katsetamisel.

Siiralt Teie,

Tolmu Rull