Cold Weather Beauty Essentials

If you live in Malta or a country with an extremely humid climate, you would know we cold weather is a killer here - for me at least. We don't get snow or sub-zero temperatures mind you, but when it's cold it can wreak havoc on my skin, making it dry and lack-lustre all over.

In this post, I will be sharing my absolute must-haves to beat the effects of cold weather as voted by you on my Instastories ;)

I will start with the one product that I don't leave the house without - hand cream. My favourites are from L'Occitaine and The Body Shop not only because they smell nice and do an excellent job at keeping chilblains at bay, but they come in the perfect size to put in handbags, which is why I make sure to stock up on them as I literally keep one in every bag. My personal favourites are Argan Oil, Almond Milk & Honey and Coconut from The Body Shop (I currently have the Christmas trio which is shown here), while from L'Occitaine, my favourites are the three shown in the picture with the Radiant Balm being my absolute favourite - it leaves a subtle shimmer on your hands + smells amazeballs!

Hydration is key all year round but I do tend to switch formulas according to season. For my face, I am currently loving Lierac Hydragenist Moisturising Gel Cream and Moisturising Serum. They both have light textures that are easily absorbed and don't cause my skin to turn oily while doing a great job at hydrating my skin. To prevent my lips from getting chapped, Eau Thermale Avene lipbalm is my best friend. It doesn't leave a white residue on my lips and keeps them moisturised for a long time.

For the rest of my body? Human+Kind Family Remedy Cream does the job. It is suitable for a ton of skin conditions, is all natural and is great for use by children and adults alike! Lastly, to beat cold weather's number 1 ailment - colds, I have resorted to ImmunAction and PropoliEVSP by Erba Vita. You can read my full review about both products here but they have really helped me in beating colds this year.

What are your trusted ways of beating the cold?

Review | La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Mains Barrier Repairing Cream

Being a nail technician I am obsessed with having my nails...and hands in perfect condition. However, my full-time job requires me to wear latex gloves and wash my hands frequently with alcohol-based soap. While I understand this is all for my safety, my hands can get very dry and sometimes they even crack a little and we all know how painful that can be.

Consequently, I always carry La Roche-Posay Lipikar Xerand hand cream in my lab coat to apply each time I wash my hands. It does a brilliant job at keeping my hands from going dry but although it is rapidly absorbed, sometimes my hands still feel a little greasy. Luckily, the same brand has launched a new Barrier Repairing Cream to complete their Cicaplast range which cares for the well-being of our hands while we still can carry on with our work; enter LRP Cicaplast Mains (I will be reviewing the other product to joint the range, Cicaplast Levres in a separate post).

 

 

The reason our hands are quite fragile, apart from the harsh tasks and environmental factors they are constantly exposed to, is because the skin on them is so thin and has very few sebaceous glands (glands that secrete sebum to keep skin moisturized). Hence, the importance of applying a good hand cream to counteract unsightly cracked skin can never be over-stated enough - remember, your hands can belie your age!

 

Read on to see what I think about this product after testing it out for two weeks!

Starting with a look at the packaging, it is pretty much the standard packaging you would expect from LRP - all clean and white with their logo and product information printed on the packaging. The 50mL tube comes in a box along with an informative insert.

 

As for texture, the cream is quite thick but melts rapidly into the skin without leaving any greasy residues whatsoever so you can go on with whatever task you were ensuing - very practical for work! It feels very nice on the skin (almost like wearing a pair of velvet gloves!)

 and immediately soothes any irritation and redness. LRP claims that the cream resists 3 hand washing and up to 6 mechanical rubbings. In fact I don't feel the need to apply the cream after each time I wash my hands.

 

Cicaplast Mains contains shea butter, 4% Niacinamide and 30% Glycerin which contribute lipid replenishing, soothing and protective actions respectively to recover the skin's damaged barriers as quickly as possible, hence preventing the skin from turning more vulnerable to external aggressions. Moreover, it is free from any fragrances and parabens.

 

As I have already said, I have been using this cream daily for two weeks now and my hands have responded very well especially while at work. Consequently, Cicaplast Mains has replaced Lipikiar Xerand in my lab coat pocket and bag!

 

I would recommend this hand repair cream to everyone basically as it can also be used by children and I am really liking the way my hands are looking this winter!

 

La Roche Posay products are available from leading pharmacies nation wide and prices are very affordable too. For more information, check out the local Facebook page.

PR Sample

Nail Polish Collection | Nail Treatments

For the last post dealing with my nail polish collection, I decided to share with you the nail treatments I have in my collection and talk a little bit more in detail about them. I also have a variety of top coats and my favourite hand creams at the end of the post. Read on to see what I think about each product!

 

Nail Strengthening and Hardening Treatments

 

There is a variety of nail strengthening treatments on the market to cater for different nail problems. Mine are quite strong but after gel manicures and wearing polish all the time, I sometimes find I need to help them regain strength. Here it is important to note though that it is not recommended to use a strengthening treatment for more than 3 weeks as it can have the reverse effect. You can check out my article about how nail hardeners work on local beauty portal www.eve.com.mt over here.

 

 

My favourite nail strengtheners are the Mavala Scientifique Penetrating Nail Hardener and Orly Nailtrition. The Mavala one is meant to be applied over bare nail tips and allowed a few seconds to seep into the nail layers to exert its action. It contains formaldehyde so I don't like to use it frequently and when I do, I always have cuticle oil on the skin surrounding the nails to prevent the product touching my skin. I sometimes use this on clients on fragile nails to help strengthen their nails and I always get positive feedback about it so I totally recommend this.  On the other hand, Orly Nailtrition is a polish type of strengthener enriched with bamboo, collagen and keratin extracts and does miracles for peeling and splitting nails. You can check out a full review here.

 

 

Next up are two treatments from Essence from their Studio Nails range. I have the Ultra Strong Nail Hardener and the Pro White Hardener. I sometimes switch to these especially when I don't feel like having colour on my nails. Both seem to do a good job in keeping my nails in shape and the Pro White version has the added bonus of making the nails look brighter. Kudos for the small price tag!

 

The last nail hardener in my stash is the Sally Hansen No More Breaks which I was utterly disappointed with. I was going through a phase where my nails were breaking like crazy and I decided to try this product and see how it works. My bad though, I should have checked reviews about it as the few I found all agreed that it did nothing to their nails. Not only that, as soon as it dried, it just peeled off my nails and I tried every which way to make sure there were no oil residues and that my nails were completely clean but to no avail. My advice, stay clear of this and spend your pennies on something else such as the above suggestions.

 

Nail Whitening Treatments

 

Sometimes I want my nails to show their true colours but a little help is always good to have on hand! For this reason I have two nail whitening treatments in my stash, namely, Essence Studio Nails Pro White Effect and Sally Hansen Insta-Brite. They both do a good job at giving the illusion of whiter nails especially the Essence one with its lilac tint but I prefer the Sally Hansen one for a more natural look. I like to pair them with Essence Tip Painter for a fuss-free French manicure that is quick and easy to achieve!
 

 

Cuticle Treatments

I can never stress enough the importance of taking proper care of our cuticles. They are there to protect our nails from bacteria and infections so keeping them in tip top condition is a must. My favourite products are Rimmel Cuticle Scrub - an exfoliating and conditioning treatment in one; Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover - dissolves excess cuticle in just 15 seconds, a hit with clients and lastly, Seacret Cuticle Oil - a must have to apply every day for soft and supple cuticles!
 

 

Top Coats

I have accumulated quite a lot of top coats but I still haven't one the perfect one so please bring your suggestions forward, they are more than welcome. Anyways, here are the ones I currently have in my collection:
- Essence Glitter Top Coat: good for adding some silver shimmer to any nail colour to jazz it up a little.
- Essence Quick Dry Top Coat: I don't know why they named this one 'quick dry' because it takes ages to dry. I only use it to adhere rhinestones and other nail art embellishments.
- Essence Gel Look Top Coat: I love the glossy finish this gives to any manicure but be warned...the polish underneath has to be completely dry otherwise this will just bubble.

- E.L.F. Matte Finisher Top Coat: does what it says on the bottle...gives nail polish a matte finish.
- Rimmel Base Coat Top Coat Pro: another one of those top coats that take quite some time to dry but the results are well worth the wait!
- China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat: I had really high expectations for this one but it was a total let down. It smells horrible and the polish underneath has to be completely dry before applying because it will cause bubbles. The thing I hate most about it is that the polish only lasts a day or two without chipping.
- AODL UV Top Coat: I got this from Born Pretty Store and I really like the results as it lasts as long as I want my manicure to.  The only downside is that it has to be cured under UV light.

- Essence Nail Art Express Dry Drops: now I know this is not a top coat but it is a life saver when it comes to polishes that take excessively long to dry. Be careful though, the polish has to be slightly tacky as if you apply them directly to fresh polish, they will just slide off the nail.

 

Random Treatments

Lastly, I have some random treatments and stuff. I will start with this Nail Polish Remover Gel that I got from Born Pretty Store. I think it is quite an innovative product and I like to use it on glitter polish when I am too lazy to use the foil removal method. It smells of mint but they have other smells available too.

 

Then there is the Essence Nail Polish Corrector Pencil which is a must when dealing with darker polish to correct mistakes and remove nail polish from cuticles. I like the smell of the remover and the shape of the applicator because it even gets to those hard-to-reach areas.

Orly Bonder comes next. This is a rubberised base coat which promotes better nail polish adhesion. I prefer to use it over another base coat though because it has a tendency to stain the nails orange. It does a good job though because I find polish lasts longer when I use this.

The final nail treatment I have to share with you is the Orly Fungus MD. I always have one of these in my kit ever since I had treated a client that got a fungal infection from another nail technician. This did wonders and helped alleviate the pain and discolouration on her nails. I like the very sanitary pipette it comes with and it is rapidly absorbed into the nail.
 



Hand Creams 

 

Hand creams are very important because they provide the necessary moisture to our hands which we strip away when washing them and performing daily chores. I always recommend to my clients to keep a small tub on their bed side table and massage a little before going to bed. You can use this time to push back your cuticles while they are soft and moist and the heat from your duvet will make absorption easier and more rapid (alternatively you can wear gloves in colder months). Another tip is to keep a hand cream (preferably in a pump dispenser bottle) onto each sink you have in your house to apply a little after washing your hands. Here are my favourite ones:

- La Roche Posay Lipikar Xerand is my go-to hand cream during the colder months because it replenishes the lipid layer in my hands, counteracting dryness and making them softer in seconds due to it being rapidly absorbed.

 

- Essence 24h Hand Protection Balm Vanilla Apple Pie was actually a limited edition product and it didn't cost more than €2! I love the smell of this one and I generally use it at work to mask the odour from latex gloves.

 

- Marks and Spencer Essential Extracts White Peach & Almond Hand & Nail Cream is my hand cream of choice when giving myself a manicure. It has a light fragrance and is rapidly absorbed into the skin and doesn't leave any greasy residues.

 

 

- MOR Cosmetics Black Currant Iris Hand Cream is quite a luxurious cream which I use as a treat once a week to try and preserve it for as long as I can. It has a rich floral scent that lingers on for hours after application, yet your hands are not left greasy at all. 

 

- Marks and Spencer Ingredients Coconut Hand Butter is the last cream in my stash and I use this on my clients when they book a manicure. Coconut is a very popular scent and everyone seems to love it so it is almost always a safe choice. Being a hand butter, it is richer in texture than hand cream and that is why it is my product of choice for clients, to give them a full pampering experience.

That concludes my Nail Polish Collection series of posts. I hope you enjoyed these posts as much as I enjoyed putting them together for you. If you would like to see my nail art stash, just leave a comment below and I will do my very best to share it with you all :)

Review: Essence 24h Hand Protection Balm in Vanilla Apple Pie (Winter Edition)

Today I have a rave review of a product I have been using ever since I got it and as much as I am trying my best to revert to other hand creams I have just to make it last for as long as possible, I can't seem to stop taking whiffs out of it and consequently end up applying it... I'm talking about none other than the Essence 24h Hand Protection Balm in Vanilla Apple Pie (Winter Edition).

Now I am an avid hand cream user and over the last couple of years I have accumulated quite a few so I know my good ones and the bad ones.  This falls under the 'good' category.  I first heard of this product from Denise of All Things Fabulous Blog and when I went to Tony's Pharmacy last month I saw the last tube of this product and since I'm a sucker for everything vanilla, I grabbed faster than I could say Essence... and I'm so glad I did!!

The divine-smelling cream comes in a 75ml tube with a nice, warm 'illustration' of the product's scent.  The cream itself is white and has a rather thick consistency and a little will go a long way.  It doesn't leave a greasy residue when only a small amount is used but if you use a little too much, it is bound to take more time to be absorbed into your skin.  Controlling how much product you put out shouldn't be a problem though because of the actual packaging.

Being small, this hand cream is ideal to take with you out and about and personally, I always carry it around in my lab coat when I am at work to moisturise my hands and leave them smelling good after taking off the not-so-nice-smelling latex gloves. 

The only thing I am disappointed about with this product is the fact that it is a Winter Edition and I'm not sure if Essence will re-release it next winter so if I manage to catch sight of another one, I'll be sure to pick it up fast!  Needless to say, I totally recommend this product and the best part is that I bought it for only €1.50!!

So that was my two cents on this product. Have you ever tried it?

Monthly Favourites: February 2012

Another month, more favourites! This month I got to try quite a lot of new products and most of them have managed to make it to my favourites.  I also have some accessories that I have been wearing almost everyday so without further ado, let me get started :)

Starting with cosmetics, the main favourites this month come from Essence cosmetics.  I have bought some new stuff from the brand and cannot wait for the launch of the new products this coming March! I have been enjoying the delicious smelling hand cream most and I like that it seeps rapidly into the skin and leaves no greasy residue.  Being small, I take it with me to work and it is perfect to mask the latex smell of gloves which no matter how many times I wash my hands, seems to cling to me all day.  The mascara is really true to its name and I really like the silicon wand.  As for the lipgloss (I like Cotton Candy), it is a very pigmented ligloss and I like the applicator wand too.  I like to pair it with the Matte Lip Color in Tea Rose from elf cosmetics when I want a more dramatic lip without being too in your face.  Lastly, the Color & Go nail polish in Irreplaceable is a very unique taupe shade with flecks of gold glitter in it that offers a nice alternative to the plain, creme finish nude nail polishes.

This month, I have resorted to BB Cream during the day and I have used it whenever I needed I little coverage yet still not that full on coverage you get with foundation and I set it with the e.l.f. Translucent Matifying Powder. I have also been using Jojoba oil once a week on my face to treat blemishes and prevent them from leaving marks on my face and eliminate any existing ones.  All I can say is that so far I'm pretty satisfied with what it does!

Moving on to my two main purchases this month, my first ever Mac and Chanel lipsticks!! I haven't used the Chanel one much as I only bought it yesterday but I'm so in love with the colour and packaging!!! The Mac one is Milan Mode while the Chanel one is from the Rouge Allure Range and it is no. 66 Confidentielle.

On my nails, I have really been loving the look of magnetic nails, more specifically the Red nail art kit from Pupa Milano.  I like how you can create instant, cool nail art with the magnets, especially when I'm in a hurry! You can read my full review here and, also, my Maltese followers have till tomorrow to enter for a chance to win a kit themesleves (read rules here)!  Also, I have been using Orly's Nailtrition and Top 2 Bottom with every manicure and I can safely my nails have never been this strong!  Lastly, Essie's Shine Of The Times has also been a favourite this month. It is the only flake polish I own and I really like the effect it gives layered over different base colours!

Lastly, I have been wearing my new Spinning Rings which were a Valentine's present from Johan every single time I go out! I do not wear them for work out of fear of accidentally throwing them away with gloves.

What were your favourite products this month?