Skincare - Nivea Clear-Up Strips

Purifying clear-up strips enriched with fruit acids

Hi everybody!

Yep, I'm obsessed with skincare at this moment. I really want to work towards this perfect poreless skin, so I'm trying out tons of skincare to try and achieve better skin. Using new products, obviously means my skin is changing.

My dry skin, now has some more oily bits and some larger pores around my nose and forehead. With larger pores, come along the black heads.

I've seen tons of videos doing the black blackhead masks, even DIY ones with craft glue and charcoal powder. There's no way I'm putting glue on my sensitive skin, so I went on the hunt for blackhead masks in my local stores. At DI, I found these Nivea Clear-Up Strips, so I decided to try these out.

Facts

In a package, you get 4 big nose strips and 2 bags with 2 smaller patches, which you can use on your chin and/or forehead.

Retail Price at DI: (I will check when I pick them up next)

Retail Price at Kruidvat: €6,79

The strips are advised to use on normal skin, although they are not really harsch, you can get away with them on dry skin too. 

The strips are skin-friendly and dermatologically tested.

How do they work?

The strips are only activated when in contact with water, which will make them attach to all impurities that clog up the pores and they deep clean them.

I like to use water from a spray can (like the Evian one in the picture) because you can literally spray and immediately apply the strip. I've tried with a washing cloth before, but it was just not wet enough.

Do not put water over the strip at any point, because the glue doesn't work anymore after that. 

Make sure you let the strip dry down completely before slowly removing the strips for the edges towards the centre.
More detailed instructions can be found on the individual packages.

While wet, the strips are really flexible and movable, so you can make them fit around your nose really well. 

The formula has a delicious lemon smell, wish leaves your skin feeling fresh and clean.

I'm really a fan, because they do the job and they are not harsh or irritate the skin!

TTFN! Ta Ta for now!

Skincare Review - Lancôme - Energie de Vie

Made of unstoppable energy

Hi Mad Family!

Good skincare, that's what everyone is looking for right? Good skincare is relative, because a product can work for one person, but do nothing for another and vice versa. Good skincare doesn't have to be expensive, you just have to find something that works for your skin! For me, the journey was at least to say: rocky! My skin is a weirdo, it likes every product for a little while and then it starts reacting badly: pimples, spots, decoloration, the full package. But after trying multiple brands of multiple price ranges, I'm happy to say that I have found a products range that works for my dry, sensitive skin.

Inspired by the power of nature, discover Energie de Vie at Lancôme.

A skincare collection that combines 3 exceptional plant life-forces; leaving your skin brimming with vital energy every day. As if bathed in morning dew, skin regains its natural quality;

a refined texture, healthy glow and renewed bounce.

Stimulate your skin and your senses for visible results with Energie de Vie

The Collection

The Collection consists of three products: a pearly lotion, a liquid moisturiser and a sleeping mask. I've tried two, namely the Liquid Moisturizer and the Sleeping Mask. The products were recommended to me by Nicole, the owner of my local beauty store. 

Energie de Vie Liquid Moisturiser

The smoothing & glow boosting liquid care is enriched with Goji Berry and Lemon Balm Oil. It is the perfect all-in-one liquid care for your skin. It really helps revitalize your skin if it feels dull, tired or dry (or all for those). The product smells really fresh, even minty sometimes. I like to use 3 to 4 pumps on my face and rub it gently. Even though the texture is oily, it doesn't leave your skin greasy or overly shiny. You end up with a healthy glow and skin that radiates from health! I also use it under my make up and it really helps set your make up into place and not break the foundation on top down.

This product really helped getting my skin more healthy. Because of the plumping ingredients, I always end up with a natural healthy glow. I even use it underneath my make up. Under my eyes I was struggling with really rough patches, which was gently fixed by this product. Your skin looks radiant all day, but it doesn't make your skin overly shiny or sticky... Perfect!

The moisturiser retails at £28 (30ml) or £42 (50ml) (official website) - €31,9 (30ml) or €48,5 (50ml) at Ici Paris XL Belgium
This product is also on the Glamour Beauty Power List

Energie de Vie Sleeping Face Mask
The overnight recovery sleeping mask is enriched with the same smoothing and hydrating ingredients as the moisturiser. This mask has a more gel-like texture, which makes it really light on your skin but rich in hydration at the same time. You can use this mask in two ways:
1/ put a thin layer all over your face and leave it set for the whole night for a daily hydration boost
2/ put a generous layer and leave it on for 10 minutes and remove the left over product with a tissue

Personally, I like to use a small amount every day, because I already had dry skin and now with the cold it dries out my skin even more. Maybe in summer I'd use it 2 to 3 times a week (as the website recommend), but now in winter I like my skin to be well hydrated. Also because in winter I like to use full coverage foundation, which tend to cling to dry patches more than medium or light coverage foundations.

The face mask retails at £42 (official website) - €55,5 at Ici Paris XL Belgium

I definitely recommend using the combination of the two products, because they work complementary day and night. If you don't have extremely dry skin, the moisturizer only would go a long way in my opinion. I wouldn't recommend this product for people with oily skin, because the product is so intensely hydrating, but please to ask for advice when in the store.

What is your favorite skincare? Any recommandations for products I should try? Let me know!

xo
Gaëtane

Skincare Review - L'oréal Paris - Pure Clay Face Masks

Pure Clay Your Way

Hi Mad Family!

Today I'm back with a new Beauty post! About a month ago, I discover these new face masks from L'oréal Paris tried them out for a bit, so now I can give you my honest opinion about it along with the official info provided by L'oréal!

The Collection

This new release consists of three brand new Clay Face masks. Each kind is a blend of three pure clays along with a unique natural ingredient with a specific target to help your skin.

The Masks

The masks retail at less than 10 euros per pot, each pot can be used up to 10 times.

Pure Clay Purity Mask

This is the light green mask. It has eucalyptus which works deep into the pores of your skin. L'oréal says it mattifies oily, skiny skin. 

Efficiency: purifying and mattifying

My opinion: This one is my favorite if you want to clean your skin, but not in a very intense way. This one is the most gently one out. I have dry skin and it gives just the right amount of intensity in purifying, without leaving my skin extra dry. It leaves my skin feeling soft and still nourished even tho it's a 'clearing' mask. I like to use this mask all over the face when I want to gently clean out my skin, or just on the cheeks when I combine with the others, when I feel like my skin needs a more thorough clean.

Pure Clay Detox Mask

This is the dark grey mask. It has Charcoal as the working ingredient to draw out impurities out of the skin and clarify normal, congested skin.

Efficiency: detoxifying and clarifying

My opinion: This one is definitely more intense for the skin, but this is my favorite out of all three. After it dries down, you can clearly see where the mask pull out impurities out of your skin. I like to use this in areas where I have black heads.

Pure Clay Glow Mask

This is the red mask. It has Red Algae as the working ingredient to exfoliate your skin, to illuminate dull, uneven skin tone.

Efficiency: exfoliating and smoothing

My opinion: This is my least favorite of all, even though this is a gentle exfoliating mask compared to other scrubs and stuff. I like to use it in areas where I have active breakouts, for me that's my mouth area where I tend to have breakouts most frequently. If you have very oily skin, this might turn out your favorite!

How to use / How I use them

Make sure you start with clean skin.

Take some of the product out of the pot, preferably with a scooper and not with your fingers (but I'm guilty to using my fingers too) and apply evenly to the skin. You can use one kind of mask all over your face or combine them the way you want/need for your skin. Leave the mask on for 5 to 10 minutes and they tend to dry down completely (the red one dries less in my opinion) in that time. Take a warm washing cloth and remove the mask with circular motions. Make sure to rinse the cloth regularly while taking the mask off. L'oréal states you can use these masks up to 3 times a week, but with my sensitive skin one time is more than enough, because they are quite intense after all

My favorite way to use them

- Detox Mask (grey): on the T-zone, down and around the nose

- Purity Mask (green): on the cheeks

- Glow Mask (red): around my mouth

*this is just the way I like to use them, you can mix and match how you want*

Are you planning on picking one of these masks up? Leave a comment down below!

TTFN! Ta Ta For Now!

xo

Gaëtane