beauty reviews – natjtan

Beauty Finds: Sioris Feel So Fresh Toner Review

12/04/202212/04/2022by natjtanLeave a Comment

Welcome to Beauty Finds! This edition features Sioris Feel So Fresh toner.

This was Miin Cosmetics find. If there’s one product I’m not so loyal with it’s toner. A toner’s role is to return the skin to its ideal state after cleansing for the next stages of skincare. Cleansing strips away impurities including the ‘good ones’. A toner returns the skin to its neutral pH level around 5 and hydrate the skin to help absorb further products to come. Some toners also help remove any left over residue from cleansing although my belief is those said cleansers aren’t doing their role properly! Skip a paragraph for the review otherwise read on about my beauty requirements.

I have a few requirements when it comes to beauty products: cruelty free, natural, clean, vegan better. I do my best to avoid 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 containing palm or coconut oil 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….

Sioris Feel So Fresh Toner

A facial toner contains Yuja Extract Water (77.9%) which is an orange citrus from Jeju Island infused with Witch Hazel Water, Willow Bark Extract and Broccoli Extract to help balance, hydrate dry sensitive skin.

Note dry sensitive skin! I have oily skin! When I was trying this is was just after lockdown was lifted and this girl wanted a new toner! It was hard finding one the previous months and I was allowed out to shop.

I ignored my inner voice saying stay away, it contains witch hazel! Witch hazel is meant to be good for oily acne skin however I find it’s way too drying with my skin. Ignoring that voice and saying no look it has Yuja extract! That’s one of the most potent vitamin C sources in skin care! The aloe vera leaf extract and glycerin will counteract any of the drying properties of the witch hazel.

Ingredients:

Please note the Sioris uses seasonal ingredients so each batch may differ in ingredients depending on the time of year each batch is produced.

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Beauty and Skin Care, Lifestyle, Recycle Less

Beauty Finds: NaturaBio Cosmetics Bàlsamo Labial Nutritivo Vanilla Caléndula Bio/Nourishing Bio Vanilla Calendula Lip Balm Review

08/03/202205/04/2022by natjtanLeave a Comment

Welcome to another Beauty Finds! This edition features NaturaBio Cosmetics Bàlsamo Labial Nutritivo Vanilla Caléndula Bio or Nourishing Bio Vanilla Calendula Lip Balm.

Lip balm would be just one of the products I’d take to a deserted island in life time supply. I think lip balm was the first beauty product I started using as a teen. It’s also the one product I’m always searching for the perfect one. Lip balm is also sometimes the cheaper product in a line if you want to try out a new brand without breaking the bank (although from experience those lip balms aren’t good and feel like a waste of money). A good lip balm is hard to find and sometimes the most overlooked in skin care (lipstick can do what lip balm does!). More so if you’re looking for a plastic free, petroleum free lip balm. The more eco friendly the lip balm the less cute packaging it comes in. I prefer tube lip balms over pot lip balms as they’re more hygienic. Tube lips balms however are usually plastic which if you want to reduce plastic consumption this makes it harder to find a good lip balm. Please skip a paragraph for the review otherwise read on about my beauty product requirements.

NaturaBio Cosmetics Bàlsamo Labial Nutritivo Caléndula Bio/Nourishing Bio Calendula Lip Balm

Vanilla scented lips. With repairing Bio calendula. Softens and nourishes the skin of the lips. Get to know the Nourishing Lip Balm Vanilla Calendula NaturaBIO Cosmetics Discover the active ingredients of NaturaBIO Cosmetics Calendula Vanilla Nourishing Lip Balm: Organic calendula: repairing effect. Organic almond oil, organic shea butter and organic cocoa butter: nourish the lips and softens them. Bio beeswax: protects the lips. Fall in love NaturaBIO Cosmetics Vanilla Calendula Nourishing Lip Balm is formulated with the best active ingredients, among which stand out the Bio calendula and the mix of vegetable oils that will give your lips a repairing effect even for the driest or most chapped.

Prunus amygdalus dulcis Oil*, Cera Alba*, C10-18 Tryglycerides,Butyrospermum Parkii Butter*, Candelilla Cera, Jojoba Esters, Helianthusannus (Sunflower) Seed Cera, Tocopherol, Acacia Decurrens Flower Cera,Polyglycerin-3, Theobroma cacao Butter*, Olea europaea Fruit Oil*,Calendula officinalis Extract*, Aroma.*Ingredientes procedentes de agricultura ecológica.

I found NaturaBio Cosmetics Nourishing Bio Vanilla Calendula lip balm in Veritas an ecological chain of supermarkets in Spain. First by the cash desks as a small throw it in your basket enticement (it worked). Now when they get a batch in it sells fast.

All the packaging aside from the label is cardboard. The label’s plastic. All you get is the lip balm, no external packaging to you the customer. The actual design of the packaging is ingenious. There’s no twisting motion like a lipstick. Just by pulling off the lid the balm pops up with a vacuum motion! Sometimes however towards the end of the lip balm it needs a little push from beneath.

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Beauty and Skin Care, Lifestyle

Beauty Finds: Lip Balms. The One Product I Can’t Live Without

26/10/202008/03/2022by natjtan1 Comment

If I was on a deserted island and had to choose a lifetime of beauty supplies, I couldn’t choose from 1 or 3 products. There’d be at least 12 products for sure. Multi purpose moisturiser would be one. At the top of the list would be lip balms. An SPF one and regular one.

Sadly I can no longer get my favourite lip balm brand Sierra Bees easily in Spain anymore. I used to order online, however with shipping it’s not worth it. Most lip balms I find in Spain have paraffin or another petroleum derived ingredient which I avoid. My preferred SPF lip balm is no longer produced by Tone It Up. For the past year I’ve been trying out different brands and have yet to find one I like. I also want to cut down on plastic where I can so in the next few months I’ll be experimenting making my own lip balms, regular and natural SPF lip balms as I generally wear non spf lip balms inside, spf lip balms inside. I’ll for sure be sharing how they go!

As always I have a few requirements when it comes to beauty products. Cruelty free, clean ingredients, natural ingredients better, vegan even better. While I am a vegan I eat honey however if any product does contain honey depending on its source I might use it. If it’s organic honey I might be more persuaded as I know the bees have been looked after well. Generally the only honey or beeswax in a product I will use are lip balms.

I also to my best to avoid nasty ingredients such as SLS’s, parabens, phthalates, petrochemicals etc and their alias and derivatives. Some derivatives depending on how far down the chain they are or generation of petrochemical I might, but I prefer to avoid them. I also do my best to avoid palm oil, its alias and derivatives as I prefer oranguatans and tigers. Again if it’s from a sustainable plantation I might. Palm oil is also tricky as to how it’s labelled. Coconut oil is just as bad for the environment so I try to go again for sustainable plantations. With cosmetics I go for cruelty free and clean ingredients as with make up can be tricky. My skin types oily, sensitive, acne prone and now those wrinkles!

Ecolips Berry SPF15

This was my go to SPF lip balm from iherb and YesStyle before shipping got tricky and the price was stupid for one.

I did like these lip balms being my go to when out. They hydrated great, aren’t too greasy but left a little gloss without white cast being a chemical sunscreern. I also didn’t have to keep reapplying. The scent’s not too over powering and doesn’t go off to some weird smell. Unfortunately they contain Avobenzone and octinxate two SPF chemical filters which can harm coral reefs so I won’t be repurchasing. I’m hoping I can find good SPF lip balms before spring next year (and a zinc oxide sunscreen that doesn’t dry out my skin). I know raspberry oil and carrot oil are natural spf sunscreens but I don’t know if I was to make lip balms with them in if they’d work.

Alaffia Coconut Pineapple Ethically Traded Lip Balm

I got this on holiday in the USA and quite liked. It has a yummy pineapple sweet/candy piña colada scent that doesn’t go yucky, contains just ‘4’ (not listed is what’s in the coconut pineapple flavour) ingredients and kept my lips hydrated but at times not always moisturised for long periods of time if that makes sense. The smell on migraine days was a bit too much but apart from that I liked it. The only con was how quickly I got through it. Would I repurchase? Yes and iherb ships it to Spain!

All Good Original Certified Organic Lip Balm

Another USA find which I really enjoyed using! It did a great job of hydrating and mostiuriding without being too greasy. I used most of the lip balms over the summer which does affect their abilities as they’re naturally warmer and easier to use due to the heat. This one has a peppermint scent which did get slightly medical towards the end. Again on migraine days I didn’t always want to use it. I was however a little sad when I finished the tube up. Would I repurchase? Yes.

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Beauty and Skin Care, Lifestyle

Beauty Finds: Makeup Sponges: Beautyblender vs Fenty Beauty vs Tarte Cosmetics

22/07/202022/07/2020by natjtanLeave a Comment

The battle of a few cruelty free makeup sponges!

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.

Beauty b lender

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

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Precision Makeup Sponge

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!

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Beauty and Skin Care, Lifestyle

Beauty Finds: Translucent Loose Powder, Charlotte Tilbury, Nude by Nature, Lily Lola & Honest Beauty

08/07/202008/07/2020by natjtan1 Comment

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…

Charlotte Tilbury Charlottes Genius Magic Powder Under Eye and Face 1 Fair

Soft focusing light defusing loose powder

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.

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