Sunday 22 January 2012

My top 10 beauty products

Now, I know, this blog isn’t a beauty blog, but I got challenged to list my top 10 beauty products from a bunch of other Swedish vintage bloggers. A lot of things I use I have no particulars for at all- I buy the mascara that happen to have a good price or use the shampoo that I find in the shower. There are a few things that I use exclusivly, so some are just brands that I love, even if I use other brands too.

Here they are, in no particular order. Enjoy

1. Mia at Visage. Not a product, but a person. I have been going to her for facials for nearly 15 years and that’s the beast beauty decision I have ever done. I have a very sensitive skin and I started because I had such bad breakouts that I wanted my doctor to send me to skin specialist. He recommended that I try facials first and I have never looked back since. I have better skin now than I had in my early twenties. If I could afford it I would go every month, but 2-4 times a year makes a difference. It’s nice to be pampered.


2. Pixie Epoxy from Fyrinnae. I always had problems with getting my eye shadows stay put until I tried Pixie Epoxy. Now I can’t do without. You can use it with a primer, but I use it alone. Basically it works like glue for eye shadows. You spread the tiniest amount possibly over your eyelid before applying the shadow and then it stays put all day without fading or creasing. Despite all this staying power it washes away very easily. It works best for sparkly and shimmery shadows- matte ones sometimes look a bit chalky and apart from kipping it in place, it also improves the colour. It gives saturation and depth to shadows in a way I have never seen before. PE was made for Fyrinnae’s loose eye shadows, which are great shadows- check out the Arcane Magic collection, those shadows change colour depending on light and how close you are. But PE works on eye shadows from other brands too.


3. Mene & Moy Phytic Acid Cream. Not for every skin, but I love it. I tend to get very red cheeks and dry skin, especially in the winter, but none of that since I started using this one.


4. Beasme lipstick. I didn’t try them until a few months ago, but I’m completely converted. I do use other lipsticks, but not as often. Fantastic shades, fantastic quality. Not cheap, but on the other hand they last and last. I have been working on my sample of Hot Red almost daily for a few months now and only now I’m starting to see a dent in the pot.


5. Mineral foundation from Lucy Minerals. I have tried a number of mineral brands and even if I have always liked them better than traditional foundations, I have never been as satisfied as I have been LM. It’s very easy to apply and looks very natural. There are several shades as well as pure white, so you can mix a shade that suits you if you can’t find one ready-made. It’s possibly to buy samples to try out. Due to their blend ability I have found that I can use three of the shades, depending on season. They are also free from parabens which many mineral foundations contain and which many react on- me for example.


6. Diamond Perfect Finish from Purely Cosmetics. Easily the best loose powder I have tried. Very finely milled- you can use it as a primer as well as finishing powder.


7. Perfume oils from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. Before my eyes opened for vintage perfume, BPAL’s perfumes were the only ones I used for years. Modern perfumes tend to give me headache of smell very weird on me. I still use BPAL most days as I have workmates who are scent sensitive to normal perfumes, but have no problems with BPAL. It’s not a trial, they have a VAST catalogue, so huge that it’s a bit daunting to even try to find something you like. Then it’s ever so easy to slid into a collection mania- ask me, I know. I purged my stash a few month ago, now I “only” have some 60 samples, and some ten bottles. Apart from smelling good, I love how the scents are inspired from literature, art and history. There an Alice in Wonderland-collection, a Lovecraft, Shakespeare and much more.


8. Baby Foot Deep Skin Foot Exfoliation. Plastic socks with goo inside. You put it on your feet (I put an old sock on top to keep them put), wait two hours and rinse. After a few days your feet will shed the outmost layers of dead skin, leaving your feel a lot softer. Now, a professional pedicure is a lot better, and the Baby Foot is somewhat pricey, so you may want to spring for that instead, but if you, like me, never finds the time for an appointment, then I think Baby Foot is an excellent way to kick-start softer feet.


9. Babor’s Calming Sensitive Day Cream. I know, I know, you always hear that expensive face creams are just a waste of money and you can as well use something cheap. But every time I do my skin breaks out and Mia looks me sternly in the eye when I come for my facial and asks me WHAT I have been using in my face. So I have resigned. On the other hand, a little goes a very long way.

10. Also from Babor, Sensational Eye Cream. Yes, I do spend a lot of money on my face. What can I say, I’m vain.

Other top 10's
Kellerman Vintage
Fröken Pimpinell
Dahling It's Vintagy!
Onedreamycloset
Vid mitt skrivbord
Miss Meadows

11 comments:

Fanny said...

Många intressanta produkter, känns absolut som att det är dags för en ansiktsbehandling efter månader av vinterkyla på stackars ansiktet.

Isis said...

Fanny: Jag bokade just en till i Februari. :) Fast jag märker på hyn att den här vintern har varit mildare än förra. :)

Anonymous said...

Jag är helt såld på mineralsmink som inte innehåller en massa "extra". Jag hade inte hört talats om Lucy Minerals förut, men vill man köpa svenskt i ungefär samma prisklass rekommenderar jag starkt TiKei.

Kristina said...

Det är oftast vettigare att satsa på kvalitet. Jag har konsumerat i årtionden på de stora parfym/kosmetika märkena och jag kände mig såååå lurad när jag började använda preparat från kosmetolog märken och cosmoceutical märken som Akademikliniken. Vad har jag betalat för alla dessa år? Asdyra marknadsföringskampanjer, fina förpackningar och brand! Det är vad jag betalat för.Suck... Förstår fullständigt att du valt att satsa på Mene&Moy och Babor, klokt val!

Kate said...

Those foot socks make me feel funny... Don't they make your feet super sensitive and prone to blisters? xx

JB said...

Haha, vad roligt att du också går på Visage! Själv har jag bara använt Babors handprodukter men de är fantastiska.

Isis said...

Emma: Nytt för mig, så det ska jag kolla upp. :)

Kristina: Du har så rätt! Mitt värsta hudköp var Clinique som var så hajpat i början av 90-talet. Deras "experter" analyserade min hy så fel de bara kunde.

Kate O: Oh no, it only peel away dead skin and only one layer. The first time I used them it removed skin from all over the foot, but after that only from the sole. :)

BettyB: Så lustigt! Har inte testat handprodukterna från Babor, men har en ansiktsrengöring också som jag älskar.

Anonymous said...

BPAL's huge catalogue has made me exhausted every single time I've visited it. I never ordered anything, there was just too much, with too little structure, I could never decide on anything and the vast array, along with the Gothic names and descriptions, made them all seem more or less interchangeable. I'm sure I'm missing out, but I just can't deal with that many similar-seeming options.

Isis said...

pimpinett: I can understand that- it's pretty overwhelming. But considering the volume there are a lot more hits than misses, but it's a bit difficult to pinpoint them. I got a bit obsessive about collection their samples a couple of years back and ended up with more than I care to think about. So I've been able to sift out a few real hits. :)

Isis said...

Sanne: How nice! I would like to be able to use talc as I like the feeling, but my my skin braks out when I use it. :(

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