Welcome back to another Beauty Finds. This edition is linen exfoliation mitts.
These exfoliating mitts are also a Recycle Less edition. Like most of my beauty products I try to look for the lesser plastic options. This is almost impossible so I go more for ingredients that are clean and/or natural. These mitts seemed the perfect version of the two, linen being a natural, sustainable when grown sustainably fibre and a zero waste option as they biodegrade down being 100% linen.
I found them in Druni. Druni in Spain has a great selection of bio, organic brands and has the cutest beauty accessories line by 1699 who do good dupes of more expensive brands beauty accessories at a fraction of the price. Recently they started a more sustainable line. The exfoliator mitts being one of the products.
I have a few requirements when it comes to cosmetics and skin care: cruelty free, natural, clean, vegan better. I do my best to avoid the nasty ingredients such as SLSs, parabens, PEGs, silicones, etc. Petrochemicals are the sneakiest with so many derivatives and aliases. I also avoid palm oil and it’s derivatives as I prefer orangutans. Coconut oil marketed as the good oil I’m also cutting down on as it can be just a damaging crop as palm oil. If I do get products with these ingredients in I try to get organic or sustainably sourced. With make up it’s a little harder so I go for cruelty free brands. I prefer products with less plastic and thankfully more brands are aware consumers don’t want unnecessary plastic (or governments are telling them less plastic). My skin type’s oily sensitive, acne prone and now wrinkles. I know nothing stops those lines, but if I can delay them then….
Kai toner blends Distilled Water to purify the skin, Aloe Vera and Coconut Sugar to exfoliate the skin, naturally astringent Witch Hazel and an infusion of mineral-rich Hawaiian Seaweeds and Nigari to support exfoliation, purification and balancing of the skin.
I found Kai toner in a department store in Honolulu on holiday last year in the main shopping/high street. There were so many local skincare and cosmetic brands I wanted to take them all back with me. Luggage allowance and pennies prevented me. Lets not talk about Target’s beauty department, Ulta or Sephora on the ‘mainland’ either. I’d have needed an extra suitcase just for beauty products as I’d have gone crazy if it was unlimited. We did get another suitcase each, but mine wasn’t filled entirely of beauty products!
Toners are the one product I’m not that loyal with. Creams, cleansers I’ll stick with a brand for a few bottles. Toner’s being the link between restoring ph levels after cleaning and before serums, oils and creams I switch out a lot more regularly. Maybe this because I can tell if my skin likes them more than other products.
Aloe vera, coconut sugar, Hawaiian seaweed and formulated for oily skin had me. Even more so hibiscus flowers my favourite flower. Made in Hawaii, I’m in. Local crafted, I’m in. Sustainably crafted, locally harvested, naturally active and certified organic, I’m always in. I really like Hawaiian Body Products ethics and use of ingredients and materials.
I’m in no way a full face of makeup girl. I use a makeup sponge to apply BB cream or tinted moisturiser and concealer. Just like all the products I use I try to make sure all the beauty tools I use are also from cruelty free, clean ingredient, vegan if possible brands. I know the last 2 aren’t always possible with cosmetics. I also try to go for the lesser plastic packaging brand to help keep my plastic consumption down. I know I could use my fingers to apply products, it’s best I don’t. Brushes I find I don’t get a smooth blended finish and I’m there all day trying to get it streakless.
I’d been using a Beautyblender for a few years until last year I started not being happy with it and wanting change. I’m not sure if they changed the formula or me using a different product it wasn’t working the same as before. I use makeup sponges damp and leave to air dry. The last 2 Beautyblenders I used weren’t air drying as quickly. I know that towards the end of a foundation or BB cream it doesn’t apply as well but this was happening mid way through a tube with regular cleaning of the sponge. Usually I could get 3 months use out of one until it needs replacing as it seems damp all the time product doesn’t apply as good. I noticed it needed replacing after 2 months. I also noticed as it wasn’t drying as quickly it got faint dark spots I wasn’t sure if were mould or part of the sponge. Also the first few washes so much pink dye came out! Imagine what that dye does to your face and the water system. It also seemed to eat/absorb a lot of product taking forever to wash out.
Here you can see the fade after about a month of weekly cleaning
As for application I can’t remember. It was okay but I never liked that I couldn’t always get a smooth finish for undereye coverage. Two other reasons why I wanted to switch were it was getting more expensive in Sephora and the packaging for the original pink version went on steroids. Would I buy again, probably no now I know there are others out there. sephora.es €14.95
I wanted to try Fenty Beauty Precision Makeup Sponge for one for two reasons. The price, about €2 cheaper than Beautyblender, it has lesser plastic packaging and I was intrigued by its flat side and top. Would it make a different? Yes! It makes applying and blending or tapping product so much easier!
Summer’s here and so is keeping oil slicks at bay. The last 2 summer’s I’ve been trying to finds a translucent talc free, due to talc being possibly carcinogenic, silicone free loose powder to keep the shine at bay. I don’t use primer as I don’t want another product wanting to clog my skin and I want a little shine as I don’t like the all matte look.
In the winter I skip powder however however when the heat and humidity arrives, forget dewy skin. This girl has a full on oily slick look. I have learnt to work with my oil skin not fight it. Finding the right moisturiser helps as does BB cream or tinted foundation. For the days when I know full oil slick’s inevitable I like a little loose powder on my T zone. Loose cruelty free, petroleum (aka plastic) ingredient powders for some reason are more expensive than pressed power and harder to find. Or maybe I looked in the wrong place. Out of the four I tried, only one is now in use and even then I’m thinking shine is down to the products underneath and keeping hydrated. Excessive shiny oily skin is often down to being dehydrated. I should also point out I don’t bake. Too many lines and I only do BB cream or lightweight foundation.
With all my cosmetics I like cruelty free, vegan if possible, clean ingredients, natural ingredients. No nasty toxic ingredients like petroleum and it’s alias (3rd or 4th generation I sometime use depending on ewg.com), parabens, SLS’s, phthalates, etc. I try to avoid palm oil as I prefer orangutans having forests. With skincare it’s easier, with make up it’s harder. My skin type is oily, sensitive, acne and yes, now anti ageing as those lines…
A genius, light diffusing loose powder that blurs, visibly reduces dark shadows and boosts radiance. Use all over face, matching skin tone for an enhanced complexion or a lighter shade for under eyes for a brightening effect.
I wanted to try something by Charlotte Tilbury. She’d launched a little earlier in Sephora Spain and I’d been hearing so much on YouTube by beauty YouTuber’s I no longer watch about her line. I wanted a translucent powder but I also wanted to try one of her products. I’d checked out reviews before and should have left it on the shelf. The sales assistant said even though it’s not translucent as the range then didn’t have one (maybe they do now) being ‘fair’, it’s the right shade for me. You know I ignored that little voice that said no.
Welcome to another Beauty Finds: Hair Care Bars Part 2! As some you may know I’m trying to reduce my plastic consumption. I’ve always said beauty products after food are the the hardest plastic area for me to reduce. Thankfully with hair care, it’s getting easier to go plastic free with solid shampoo and conditioner bars! However just like their liquid counterparts it takes many frogs to find the right ones.
I’ve found some bars might contain too much sulphate that make my fine hair go crazy frizzy. Nobody wants that! I also feel sometimes the ingredients are a little more concentrated being in a bar. Just like with all my beauty products I always go for cruelty free products, vegan a bonus. I prefer natural clean products and try to avoid nasty ingredients such as parabens, petrochemical ingredients and its derivatives, SLS etc. I avoid palm oil if I can as I prefer orangutangs. I’m not perfect, some nasty ingredients slip through as I sped read the label, or it’s a derivatives or an alias I’m not familiar with. With make up I opt for cruelty free, clean as possible ingredients however it’s harder with make up than skincare to avoid the crap free ingredients. My skin type is oily, combo, sensitive, acne and needs all the help it can get with anti aging. My hair type is fine, gets greasy quickly and is prone to damage even though I don’t colour it or use any heat treatments on it. I often get OWay rebuilding treatment.
One thing I have noticed with solid shampoo and conditioners is the price. It’s a lot kinder to the bank balance. Depending on the size they also last longer. This I find interesting as many natural liquid shampoos and conditioners cost almost 3-5 times or more the price of a bar.
This did what it said, neutral for all hair types. I was sad when it had it’s last lather. It kept my hair happy and shiny in 3 countries with 3 different climates. It left it feeing clean, happy, a little shiny. It’s scent didn’t really smell, it lathered nicely, it was a great everyday shampoo. I would repeat buy however:
natjtan 