Sky finds beauty

This product deserved a separate post, because it has been here for me for almost two years and I couldn't be more grateful. My cosmetologist swears by Inika's products, saying they're a bit cheaper alternative to Jane Irendale. Currently I own two of these mineral foundations and one travel-sized version.  The first shade I purchased was Unity P1, which was a bit darker than my natural skin tone, but it was perfect for summer. The travel-sized foundation is shade Unity N1 and I can say that they are quite different. The P1 is more pinkish (hence the P) and for me it seemed a bit lighter, while N1 seems darker with its more yellow undertones. The second time I bought a shade lighter Grace P1 that is my perfect match. Inika Organic Loose Mineral Foundation SPF25  I love that this powder builds, so you can choose what kind of coverage you'd like. For those simple days I like to just apply a bit on my more problematic spots and any redness areas. If my skin is looking bett...

On TikTok there has been some info that the ingredient DMDM Hydantoin, which is found in many shampoos and conditioners, causes hair to fall out. For example loved brands such as OGX, Dove, TIGI, TRESemme, Joico contain this preservative. There are also other common ingredients like salt (sodium chloride) and sulfates that can also cause hair loss and would be best to avoid.  Looking at all the ingredients in shampoos, it's sad to see that most contain at least one ingredient that could lead to some issues, so still seeking the perfect shampoo. Here is a compilation of the best DMDM Hydantoin-free, sulfate and salt free shampoos and conditioners that are also cruelty-free. milk_shake Integrity Nourishing shampoo and conditioner milk_shake Integrity Nourishing shampoo and conditioner Unfortunately, not all of their products are sulfate or salt free. Herbal Essences bio:renew shampoos and conditioners Herbal Essences bio:renew collection Their sulfate free shampoos contain ...

With winter upon us, my hair was feeling dry, so when reading about all the effects milk_shake's Incredible Milk should have, I just had to try it. This hair moisturising leave-in treatment has this tropical coconut-y scent and oily butter type formula. I spritz about 4 – 6 pumps on my hands and run it through my towel-dried hair. When it's completely dry I can definitely see the added shine and hydration. My hair is so much softer and feels healthier. It really does what it is supposed to and I love this little addition to my haircare routine.

I haven't been in the Christmas mood. Maybe it's the no snow and staying at home for me, but I still need it. So why not write a little festive blog post!  At Christmas I quite enjoy making presents. Brainstorming gift ideas, planning out the purchases within the budget and creating something to make someone happy. Also it means I get to do some shopping and it's nice to not buy things for myself all the time.  Whenever someone asks me what I want for Christmas I always come up with a list. Even if I don't need anything. I guess I just don't like it when I say I don't know, I don't have any wishes and then I am unhappy when I get a gift I don't like. So to help myself and others, I always come up with options. This year my Christmas wishlist is quite short, because I did my retail therapy in November. But these are a few things I can expect under the Christmas tree. This could also be used as a gift guide for self-care lovers. Satin pillowcase I'd sa...

I learned about milk_shake through my cosmetologist from whom I hear so much about all these great products and brands, so since she suggested it, it must be good. Milk_shake is a salon brand and has many shampoo and conditioner ranges. I chose the Sweet Camomile shampoo and conditioner (13–14€ each) to revitalize my bleached blonde hair. This sweet honey-camomile scented shampoo promises to revive highlights, soften, enhance the brilliance and vibrancy of blonde hair. I love that their products are paraben and sls/sles free. The scent of this shampoo is super sweet, but really nice as organic camomile and honey make me think of summer. The shampoo has this yellow see through gel-like formula, which foams nicely and cleans my hair well. The conditioner is the basic cream-like formula, which is super moisturising. After I let my hair air-dry, it always feels really clean and fresh. It starts getting greasy after 2–3 days of washing. My hair is more shiny and feels soft and moisturized. ...

Face masks are my Sunday evening must-haves to prepare for the next week. For my super oily skin clay and mud masks are essential. I haven't used Madara products before, but I've always wanted to try them, so when my Origins charcoal mask ran out, this was the perfect time. Price 24,99€ This Detox mask promises to absorbs excess oils and clarify your skin, eliminate any toxins or heavy metals, reduce inflammation, recharge skin with vitamins for a glowing complexion and retain hydration. Sounds too good to be true. So does it live up to all of that? I can say that I actually noticed a bit of a difference. Since it is a face mask, not a product that stays on your skin overnight, I didn't expect this to have that big of an effect on my skin, but I did notice that my skin seemed clearer and happier. Of course that can be the combination of all of my skincare products, but comparing to the Origins masks, this definitely had an actual effect. For me this mask didn't do wonde...

Suggested by Hyram. I think that's all there is to say hahah. Hyram is a skincare specialist and a Youtuber and he has recommended this product a lot. I've used Simple Skincare's products before and they really are as simple as they claim. Which is why Simple doesn't suit my complicated skin. But a cleanser on the other hand should be fine. They don't sell the Micellar Gel Face Wash in Estonia and there aren't many ways to order it online. Fortunately for me, a friend lives in the UK and she occassionally sends her family some stuff and I finally got to try this cleanser.  Like Hyram has said this gel wash is incredibly gentle, but still effective. It's lathers just enough and washes off easily, not drying out my skin, but still leaving me feeling fresh and clean. I don't think there's really much more to it. It seems to suit every skin type and the price is great, so I'd recommend it to everyone. 

Since I don't tan my face and use SPF 50, I have to play catch up somehow and this Ten Minute Tan for face and body by Vita Liberata seemed like a good solution. I'll be honest though, I don't think I would've bought it, I got it for free.  At first the scent caught me off guard. It's not really pleasant, but luckily it disappears quickly. For body I'd definitely use an applicatior mitt, but for my face I didn't. The texture is pretty sticky and it isn't easy to apply, especially a hefty amount like it says. Also it seems that if using for your whole body, you'd run out of the product pretty fast. I somehow managed so spread this evenly across my face and I left this sticky yellowish/brownish film on for about 12 minutes before rinsing. It says that it takes 6 hours to develop, I saw results the next day. The next day I could also smell the DHA signature scent a bit. A lot of reviews said that this mask didn't work. For me it did, but probably be...

Who doesn’t want to stay pale while still wearing SPF 50 on your face daily? My two hands are in the air, can’t you see? Another product that promises to fix my issues and give me a nice sunkissed tan/glow. These Lumene concentrated drops are meant to be mixed with a night time moisturizer, so you can wake up with a nice little tan on your face. I simply mix 3 drops of this in the palm of my hand with my moisturizer and evenly apply on my face and blend down my neck. At first I was hesitant if the vitamin C would mix well with my anti-acne products, but I haven't had any issues yet. Since I use a minimal amount of moisturizer on my face, I wasn't sure how this would work, but still I woke up with a nice sunkissed glow on my face. I haven't tried building the tan up with this, because of my acne fighting regimen, but this could possibly work as this contains the classic self-tanning ingredient DHA, which left a mild self-tanner scent. I accidentally left a drop of this on my...

PHformula came out with this new mattifying moisturizer, which is perfect for the summer. The Spot On moisturizer is for oily, acne-prone skin, hence it being mattifying and containing anti-inflammatory ingredients. I didn’t expect this to be that mattifying, so that surprised me a little. I mostly use the phFormula P.O.S.T. Recovery moisturizer during the night, but during the day, especially now with the warmer weather, the Spot On moisturizer is definitely more fitting with its lightweight and fast-absorbing formula. The consistency reminds me a little bit of PVA glue. Price 28€ I really don’t have much more to say about it. This is a nice lightweight mattifying moisturizer, just like it is supposed to be and does everything it says. My face still does get a bit shiny throughout the day, but a bit less than usual. A moisturizer can’t really do anything about super oily skin. Other than that there really isn't anything more to it, while it's still good, I kind of expe...

Hey, it's me! Pale again this summer. I feel like no matter how long I'm in the sun, I just don't really develop a tan. Or it's possible that I mostly sunbathe for 20 minutes and just can't anymore, cause it's too hot lol and I also have to wear SPF 50 on my face sooo... But I feel that the pale look doesn't really work for me. So after reading many many reviews, I decided to try the Vita Liberata Invisi Tanning Water, which seemed to be the most fool-proof tanning foam. Well, since reading the reviews lots of people said that the light shade didn't give them much of a tan, but more of a glow. But I wanted a tan, so I purchased the light-medium shade. Also don't forget the tanning mitt, which I also bought from Vita Liberata, which I found to be pretty good. The word Invisi is in the product name for a reason, because that means there is no colour guide when applying the foam. So while "tanning" the water doesn't transfer onto...

It was a dream of mine for the longest time to dye my hair blonde and I finally did it. While I love how cool my new blonde hair looks, maintaining it is not that easy. One thing is constantly bleaching the outgrown roots, the other is preserving a nice tone/shade of blonde hair. I love that with blonde hair you can tone it with different colours and it usually washes out, so you can try out many shades of blonde (including blue, purple, pink etc). At first I was all about the cold blonde. To maintain it I used Estel's Prima Blonde Silver mask, which was supposed help with that, but after using it for sometime,  it gave my hair a light green hue, which I did not enjoy. Because well blue (from the mask) and yellow (from the natural hair) makes green. So after my hairdresser explained the chemistry and introduced the idea of rose gold toned hair (because red tones neutralize green), I was excited to try it and after my hair dresser did her magic, I was completely in love. It actually...

When the darker times began (autumn, not whatever is happening now), my cosmetologist suggested it's the perfect time to start using retinol for my acne-prone skin. Unfortunately for me, my skin is mostly affected by my hormones, so it's almost impossible to control the breakouts and there is constant inflammation on my chin. Getting monthly skin treatments has definitely helped, but that by itself doesn't solve the problem. Retinol has proved to be good for not only aging skin, but also for treating acne, because it contains vitamin A, which helps skin cells regenerate faster, so the dead cells shouldn't build up as much. Retinol's downside is that it's increases skin's sensitvity to sun exposure, so it shouldn't be used during summer and sun protection throughout the year is necessary. Also retinol products are expensive AF. This pHformula cream cost me 85€ and apparently I got a discount. But the good thing with this and overall with pHformula...

English The reason why I'm writing this review in two languages is because I think this eye cream by the Estonian brand Berrichi deserves as much recognition as possible. What I adore about Berrichi is that their products are natural, vegan and cruelty-free. More about Berrichi here . I'm 20 now and people have said that they usually add eye creams to their skincare routines in their 20's to start preventing wrinkles around the eyes. That's not the reason why I use eye creams though, I just like the refreshed awake feeling and look some eye creams leave me with, but avoiding wrinkles is a good bonus. The Berrichi Eye Cream besides anti-aging properties is also supposed to reduce dark under-eye circles and pigmentation and support skin's natural barriers and protect from UV-radiation and environmental stressors. First I tried this eye cream's tester (it's always good to ask for testers at the store to try at home), which is when I knew this product ne...

*Milky Tonic and Collagen Tonic not included. Over some time I have used different Pixi face tonics and thought that why not rate them all together. The only Pixi tonics that I haven't tried are the Milky and the new Collagen tonics, maybe one day. But here are my thoughts on the rest of the Pixi tonics (from best to worst) 1. Vitamin C Tonic - out of all these, this had the most visible effects on my skin, which is why this is my favourite and I would purchase this again. The tonic made my skin feel and look healthy and luminous. Read the full review here . 9/10 2. Glycolic Acid Tonic - this one also had actual visible effects, such as my skin looking healthier and more vibrant, until this became too harsh for my skin, but I still feel like I would like to try this again, because glycolic acid is a really good gentle exfoliant and helps with skin regeneration. Also full review is here . 7.5/10 3.   Rose Tonic - this one didn't have that much of an effect on ...

So I went to a cosmetologist for the first time in my life to seek help with my acne struggles and well facials alone don't fix the issue. She gave me these two products by a brand called pHformula. This brand's products can only be bought from a professional, who has a license to do their treatments and sell their products. Which means that these products are to support the skin after the treatments and between facials. As my cosmetologist said, the skincare regimen at home is a lot more important than facials, so if you can't afford facial treatments regularly, then invest in your skincare routine. A.C. Recovery is like a treament type of serum. It costs about 61€ and contains tons of acne-fighting ingredients including mandelic acid, niacinamide and salicylic acid. This special formula should help renew and support the skin while recovering. I have been applying this twice a day, at night I pump a tiny pea-sized amount for my entire face and in the morning I jus...

After I found the holy grail Pixi Glow Tonic to be too intense for my skin (it is exfoliating so yeah), I was kinda afraid to try other Pixi products, although I like their style and I think they have great stuff. But since I'm currently dealing with acne scars, vitamin C is mostly suggested and this face toner seemed like a perfect addition to my current skincare routine. This tonic has Ferulic Acid (antioxidant), probiotics and willow bark - all of these are great for fighting acne, boosting collagen production and brightening the skin. I purchased the 100 ml size, because I've been disappointed by skincare products so many times that I'd rather pay and throw away less, if my skin dislikes it. I apply this in the morning and at night after cleansing. I pour some of this on my hands, rub them together and then I pat it all over my face (not the eyes of course). This way I like to think that I get more vitamin C on my face and also save some cotton pads. It works, s...

LUSH is an amazing organic brand mostly known for their bathbombs, but their skincare is also the bomb. Tbh the only skincare products I've tried from LUSH are the toners... But still, I've read a lot of good things about their skincare. LUSH has three toners: tea tree, sea and rose water. These spray toners are great for refreshing throughout the day, but also a good product to tone your skin, close pores and remove any excess dirt or cleanser residue. I like to take these everywhere with me if I feel oily or am in need for a quick cleansing. Price for 100g is 6,95€ and for 250g 12,95€ In search for a good inexpensive toner I found my way to the Tea Tree water for oily acne-prone skin.  Tea tree has antibacterial properties and it also mattifies. The toner only contains a few ingredients, all of which are natural. Grapefruit water is rich in vitamins and juniperberry water is antiseptic. I really like this toner. It is mattifying, refreshing, non-drying and makes my sk...

Pixi is now available in Estonia! Of course I had to get my hands on this cruelty-free brand from UK. I'm still struggling with acne (it won't go away!!) and I found out that glycolic acid helps skin cells renew faster and effectively removes dead skin cells. Maybe that would help my acne and acne scars heal faster. Also results include smaller pores, glowy and smoother skin, so why not? While searching for a good toner I've come across the Pixi Glow Tonic many times and apparently it is one of those holy grail skincare products. In store the price is about 22€ for 250ml. The packaging is already so simple and bright and obviously cute. The Glow Tonic contains 5% glycolic acid and other natural and beneficial ingredients. And very important - it is alcohol free!! Then you just pour some on a cotton pad and swipe across your face. The toner doesn't dry out my skin, which is great. It is pretty gentle and actually reduced my skin's sensitivity, although this is e...

A foundation that is matte, oil-free, full coverage? Yes, please!  This foundation has an emulsion type formula that brightens and nourishes skin, but also leaves it matte and controls the oil. So it's perfect for oily to combination skin. 13,49€ Usually I have problems finding lighter shades, but since Lumene is Nordic, they have mostly light shades. For me the shade 0 Light Ivory is perfect, but also 00 Ultra Light matched me, I just looked super pale. The coverage is medium to full coverage. It feels so light, but covers pretty much everything. I think the foundation looks better with primer, I usually apply the primer mostly in the T-zone, to keep the oil away and not let the foundation set in my pores.  The foundation leaves my skin looking semi-matte and really natural. After application I set my T-zone with some powder. When 3-4 hours pass I am usually pretty shiny, but with this foundation it looks like a natural shine (does that make sense?). It was a lit...