July empties

Odacité Rose + Neroli Hydra-Vitalizing Treatment Mist. Tata Harper Replenishing Nutrient Complex. Tata Harper Rejuvenating Serum. Tata Harper Restorative Eye Crème. Tata Harper Clarifying Mask.

• Odacité Rose + Neroli Hydra-Vitalizing Treatment Mist (50ml)

I bought this one because my Omorovicza Queen of Hungary mist was running out at the time, and I like rose and neroli.

I think I said somewhere already that I realized the mists never smell like I thought they would. It didn’t smell like rose although rose flower water is the second ingredient. It smelled more like neroli, which was kind of weird considering it’s the 3rd to last ingredient. My impression overall was that it smelled like… deep water.

Its pump didn’t produce fine mist. The advantage of that was that I didn’t feel the need to spray much, yet it covered my whole face and was certainly really hydrating. On the other hand, it wasn’t quite a joyful experience.

I don’t sound very positive… All things considered, it actually wasn’t bad. I liked the miron glass, the liquid itself did the job. It simply wasn’t what I expected with the smell, and the pump could be improved to give out finer mist.

I got this mist from Content Beauty in early May. I ran out of it in early July, so roughly two months of use.

Not going to repurchase, at least not in near future, because I have a thing with mists and like to discover new.

• Tata Harper Replenishing Nutrient Complex (sample – 1ml)

I got this sample from Tata Harper’s pop-up store at Stockmann.

Caroline Hirons said that it was slowly replacing her Clarins Skin Beauty Repair Concentrate in times when her skin was sensitizing. I was over-exfoliating my skin recently, and I found that it wouldn’t be able to replace the Clarins oil for me personally, but it was still a nice oil. It would work specially beautifully with other products from the range.

I already purchased its 10ml size, roll-on version from Content Beauty when they had 20% off going on.

About a week ago, it was renamed to be Retinoic Nutrient Face Oil.

• Tata Harper Rejuvenating Serum (sample – 1ml)

I got this sample also from the pop-up store at Stockmann, when they gave me a mini-facial and since then I’ve been a convert (I used to not be so impressed with Tata Harper products before).

I liked it like most of Tata Harper products, and I think I could use it during the day. The reason I didn’t buy its full size was because I’m using way too many oils at serum stage at the moment, I want to finish them before bringing more to the table. I also wanted to get the limited edition, but of course it was more expensive and I had to show some restraint.

• Tata Harper Restorative Eye Crème (sample – 0.5ml)

From Stockmann again, of course (people should really go there to try Tata Harper products and get samples).

This eye cream, like Caroline said, erases fine lines like a dream. I liked to use it during the night and get that effect in the morning when I woke up. Fine lines would appear again during the day after some laughs, but I think that’s just how it is. I read from somewhere that eye creams generally only hydrate the area so that fine lines and wrinkles won’t be so obvious, they won’t reverse time.

Another thing I liked about this eye cream was that it was gentle/non-irritating and didn’t give me milia. Those were the problems with other eye creams I tried before.

Already purchased the full size, also from Content Beauty in the same order with the Replenishing Nutrient Complex (20% off).

• Tata Harper Clarifying Mask (sample)

This sample I got from Naturelle. I was told that I can ask for it to be delivered to me.

The mask had a thick and grainy texture. Its smell was not as enticing as most of other Tata Harper products, but it wasn’t too unpleasant either, and I remember it dissipated quickly.

My skin felt smooth and clean but not tight afterwards. I’ve been having two little bumps on my chin, they’ve been refusing to become heads for weeks, but they seem to start giving in now (yay!). Probably the Resurfacing Mask I used yesterday also helped.

I purchased the full size today from Naturelle because their 20% sale was still going on.

June empties

Mahalo The Unveil. Paula’s Choice Resist 2% BHA. Clinique Fresh Pressed Vitamin C cleanser and booster. Tata Harper Clarifying Moisturizer. Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Peel Original Formula.

• Mahalo The Unveil (50ml)

I love this balm-to-milk cleanser. It’s green (literally), it smells wonderful, and it works beautifully on my skin. Doesn’t need a flannel, which is a plus for me because flannel in general feels a bit too harsh on my face (I still use flannel, but I try to keep it to minimum). Every time when my skin felt a bit rough, I would reach for this cleanser. Clean, fresh, smooth, supple skin after use. I also felt like massaging whenever I used it. When in doubt, go for it.

The only thing is, I realized that between a balm cleanser in a jar and a milk/cream cleanser in a bottle with pump, I would choose the latter. Because of convenience, I guess. It’s just my preference, there’s nothing wrong with the product really (I love it!). Together with its price (70€ at Naturelle), I decided to not repurchase.

Other products from the brand, I would definitely love giving them a try though, e.g. the Rare Indigo and the Bean Mask.

I bought The Unveil on the last day of March and it barely made it to June. Roughly two months of use for me. Given, I used it a lot, some days twice a day, and quite heavy handed too.

• Paula’s Choice Resist Daily Pore-Refining Treatment 2% BHA (88ml)

This is my replacement for Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion. I’m so glad I found it after so much pain with the Clinique MCL discontinuation. It works incredibly well and no irritation. I wonder why they go with “pore-refining” in the name though. To me BHA is mostly about preventing and treating acne, which I personally find it to be more important.

I bought mine from lookfantastic in December last year. I’m not entirely sure but I think I started using it right after receiving, because all other acid toners I tried at the time would irritate my skin. I used it every morning, so roughly 6 months of use.

Already repurchased.

• Clinique Fresh Pressed Renewing Powder Cleanser with Pure Vitamin C, and Daily Booster with Pure Vitamin C 10% (sample)

I’ve been trying to insert more vitamin C to my routine, which proves to not be so easy. I’m concerned about packaging (light-proof, air-tight, so that it will not oxidize too quickly), and I want something not sticky and non-irritating.

When Caroline Hirons introduced about this duo, I was interested. I was going to some stores to see it, but never proceeded to purchase. Then one time when I was in Stockmann, a staff came to ask if I needed help, and I said I was looking for the Fresh Pressed. She showed me where it was, introduced me about it, and gave me two samples to take home to try. Oooh nice. I wish more stores would be more quick and willing to give out samples.

All in all, I liked the powder cleanser and already purchased from feelunique utilizing their 15% discount code. The booster, I liked it in the sense that it’s not picky and you can mix it with any moisturizer. I still found it to be sticky though. I might want to try it again at some point. For now, not yet.

• Tata Harper Clarifying Moisturizer (sample – 1ml)

The Rebuilding Moisturizer might not be my favorite, but this one is totally right up my alley. Jessica Parker-Palmiero – a Tata Harper representative – was here in Finland, she gave me a mini-facial at Stockmann when they had a Tata Harper pop-up store in conjunction with Naturelle. It totally changed my conception about Tata Harper products, and I’m pretty much a convert now.

Back then when I was considering between Rebuilding and Clarifying, I went for Rebuilding because I was afraid the combination of Clarifying and my daily BHA would be too strong. But Jessica said it should be fine, and the Clarifying is indeed very gentle. It’s also much more skin-balancing than Rebuilding to me.

I got this sample from a purchase with Content Beauty. I already purchased the full-size (from Cult Beauty, they had 20% off for their 9-year anniversary), now waiting for it to arrive. Can hardly wait!

• Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Peel Original Formula (sample)

I was wary of glycolic acid after some bad reactions from some toners before when I tried to find an acid toner replacement for Clinique MCL. To my surprise, this worked very well?! My skin felt smooth, refined after use. I’m so in conflict. Good that its price is high so I’m safe (for now). I already dread for the time when I crave for both AHA and BHA in one toner with good action and result.

This sample was from a purchase earlier with Cult Beauty.