Today we went shopping at Carrefour, I really wanted to get some of those press-on nails that they had and see what hair supplies were available but I only accomplished one of those goals.
There were no press on nails to be found anywhere! But I did manage to get the entire line of Garnier Ultra Doux Richesse D’Argan as well as some other things.
Since my move here this line has been my holy staple and it is very hard to get my hands on all the products when I need them. They fly off the shelves so fast!
I also picked up Garnier Ultra Doux L’huile Merveilleuse aux huiles d’argan et de camélia which is also another one of my favorites, if I’m not using abierto one of Garnier’s oils. You can probably tell I adore Garnier’s products. What can I say? They work really well for my hair and they are inexpensive.
My last purchase was a Gel Micellaire Nettoyant from Le Petit Marseillais.
Gel Micellaire Nettoyant Fraîcheur de Rose
I’ve used Eau Micellaire from Cien which I’ve spoken about here and Eau Micellaire from U which I’ve also briefly spoken about here. This is my first time using a Gel Micellaire and I’m really interested in seeing what the difference is. The scent is the same as the 1 Minute Masque of theirs that I recently used and spoke about here.
All in all, it was a pretty good haul and didn’t cost that much money.
If you’re lucky you can find all these products at your local Carrefour and you don’t have a Carrefour in your location then you might be able to find one of two items at a Super U, Lidl, Netto, or other supermarché. You can also try looking on Amazon, I can’t guarantee that the price will be pocket-friendly though.
Recently I was given the opportunity to test out the new 1 Minute Masque from Le Petit Marseillais, If you don’t know this brand it is can’t say that I blame you, I never heard of it either until I moved here but it has become a steady staple in our lives whether it’s leave-in conditioner (I see you Karité et Argan) or lotion, Le Petit Marseillais has something for all your skin and hair needs.
Needless to say, I was excited to have the chance to try out their 1 Minute Masque, I don’t normally have skin issues but lately, I’ve been getting a couple of pimples and this Masque is just what I needed to keep my face moisturized.
In my package I received:
2 Masque 1 Minute Sous La Douche
Fraîcheur de Rose Aux Roses bio de Méditerranée and Délice de Miel Au miel de Haute-Provence.
1 campaign packet
10 coupons for 1€ off any 1 Minute Masque.
You can find more information and stores near you (in France) that sell the masques at Le Petit Marseillais.
I used the Fraîcheur de Rose first and spoke about my experience on my personal Insta account, the post is no longer available but here is what it said.
Wash day is the perfect time to try out my 1 minute mask from Le Petit Marseillais.
I tried the Fraîcheur de Rose and let me tell you the smell is divine. I love roses and this smells exactly like the rose in my mother’s garden.
There are little beads in here and I’m very particular about these because they tend be pretty harsh on my face but these are really gentle and I didn’t really feel them at all.
After washing off the masque my face is very soft and I’m
beyond happy with the results.
Seriously the scent is amazing, I can’t stop opening the bottle to smell it
I’m definitely going to buy more when I finish this bottle.
@dat_gyul June 15, 2019
I used the Délice de Miel this morning and while the scent isn’t my absolute favorite I must say that it left my face feeling very soft and refreshed.
I will probably buy the Apricot and Lemon just to try them out and of course, you already read that I will buy a new tube of the Rose when this one is finished. I’m still on the fence about the Honey, I mean I do like how soft my face is now but the smell? I guess only time will tell.
Now I’m off to finalize my thoughts on my camping experience, so look for that the next time I post!
So I spoke about getting the I’m In email for the OPI Tokyo Spring Collection here.
I’m happy to say that I received it almost directly after I posted that. I didn’t really get much time to try out the polishes before getting ready for our weekend camping trip which I will talk about later.
In the Voxbox I received:
1 Infinite Shine Primer
2 Infinite Shine Polishes (Hurry-juku Get this Color! and I’m On a Sushi Roll)
1 Infinite Shine Gloss
In the email I received it said 3 polishes but I only received 2 which is fine since these things tend to change before you actually receive the package.
I’ve been back for a week now and have had time to try out my new polishes. My nails aren’t the best at the moment because of all the anxiety and stress I had before the trip but I did put in the polish to see how long it lasts.
It’s been 3 days and do far so good, no chipping, the nails are as shiny as when I first applied the polish, and it will hopefully last another 4 days or more.
The process of applying the varnished was pretty easy, I applied the Primer first which is just a clear coat, I then applied my color of choice, I did alternating colors on my hands so 4 nails were one color and the middle the other color, finally I applied the gloss. One dip in the pot colored my thumb and another dip colored the remaining 3 nails, I also had to remove a lot of excess polish because I made the mistake of trying to brush just out the pot and made a big mess. So, remember remove the excess before polishing! I won’t say that it took long to finish drying at all but be careful not to touch it bump into anything while the nails are drying out you could end up with fingerprints on your nails.
If you’re interested in buying the Infinite Shine Primer and Gloss in a set you can find it at Sephora for 24,50€.
If you’re not in France you can get it at Amazon for $20.50.
If you want the Infinite Shine Tokyo Spring Collection you can find the polishes at Sephora at 14,50€ per polish.
In the US you can check OPI to find a store near you.
I think I will pick up some false nails to really give these lovelies a try, maybe I might get fancy and try a design!
So last month I got a Survey from Influenster for a new Voxbox, I completed it but wasn’t confident I would get it because I’ve only ever had three of those surveys and didn’t get the last one I completed. I mean it will almost be a month since I did the survey and I didn’t really think much of it so imagine my surprise when I get an email saying I’m In!
If you’re just now hearing about this, Influenster is a site where people post reviews about products they’ve used before, you can also receive free products from different brands to try out, I received a mascara from Marc Jacobs which I blogged about here, if this sounds interesting to you, you can visit the site and learn more https://www.influenster.com/.
I’m super excited, to say the least, I’m going to receive the new Opi Tokyo Spring Collection you can read more about it here. I have no idea what colors I will be receiving and I am partial to purple but my only two nail polishes are purple so maybe I will receive something else and I can finally branch out.
In the Voxbox will be an Infinite Shine Primer, an Infinite Shine Gloss, and three colors from the collection to test and share my reviews with my followers.
The system works in three steps to give you a gel-like shine:
Step 1: To start, apply one coat of the Infinite Shine Primer to each nail. Make sure to shake the primer beforehand to mix thoroughly.
Step 2: Apply two thin coats of Infinite Shine polish to each nail. We recommend working on both hands at the same time so they dry properly.
Step 3: Apply one coat of Infinite Shine Gloss to each nail to finish off your final nail look.
We do have plans to be away for the weekend and I’m really hoping that I get the box before then so that I can try out the polish before we leave. If I don’t get it before then well I guess I’ll just have a lovely surprise waiting for me.
I’m off to work on some genealogy now, so I’ll update you guys when I get back from my trip or before then!
I think it was two weeks ago I ordered my phone and these past weeks were torture, I am not the most patient person and I really wanted to be able to talk to my family without cutting the conversation short to charge my phone. I would just sit and wait and wait for some kind of answer as to just when exactly I would receive my phone. Like a week after I ordered it, or rather my husband ordered it for me 😊 he told me I would get it the next week. The next week came and I was still phone less the date was changed to the next week!
So the week it was supposed to be delivered we got the paper in the mailbox to pick it up at the post office hooray!! My husband went to the post office pretty much straight from work and they were closed! It was soul-crushing because I had been there earlier in the day with my son on a class trip. We’d have to get it the next day and finally on Saturday I got my Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 in my hands and it was beautiful.
Neptune Blue
I bought the 32GB model in Neptune Blue, first of all, let me just say that purple is my favorite color and as soon as I saw that purple I knew this was the phone I would go with. The phone is very responsive but you have to remember that my last phone was 5 years old so my new phone is probably not that fast but compared to the old one it was lightning to me. It charges fast and I don’t have to be attached to my charging cable just to make a phone call, I haven’t actually made a call with my phone yet, I just don’t have anyone who calls me other than my parents and they haven’t called yet so I can’t talk about the quality of a call. I really like the fingerprint scanner, my old phone Huawei P8 Lite 2015 didn’t have one so this is like fancy stuff for me, I also have my usual pattern code and tap to wake. I really like tap to wake when I’m doing something and get distracted for a bit and want to go back to doing what I was originally doing on my phone.
Oh and my most favorite aspect! I found this gem when looking for a way to block a phone number, I get A LOT of calls from unknown numbers and they annoy the hell out of me so this is heaven-sent!
I don’t know why this isn’t standard procedure, if you want to call me you should text me first so I can know who you are, I treasure my private life and my phone number is part of my private life.
I haven’t really gotten to play with the camera too much, I’ve been sick and only to the school to drop my son and back, feels like I’ve been inside for a month, to be honest.
This was the first photo I took with my phone, I didn’t know there would be a watermark until after I took the picture.
If you want to remove the Watermark it’s as simple as going into your Camera Settings and finding the option that says Dual camera watermark. I’m looking forward to going out and finding things to take a picture of, I miss being excited to take out my phone or camera and hope that I can find that passion again.
In case you were wondering, you can find the specs of my phone here at GSMARENA.
It really is a great phone and if you’re thinking of getting one for yourself it’s not too expensive at 199,99€. It’s a pretty sweet deal if you’re on a budget like myself if you’re looking for something with a little more storage I heard there was a 64 GB version but it’s not Globally available as yet.
Alright, then my lovelies, time for me to discover even new features hidden in my phone!
So today I finally gave my Dry Shampoo a chance to do its stuff. I had my hair in twists all week and didn’t wash anything and over the weekend I was ill so no wash day still. I decided to try out my Bamboo and White Grape Dry Shampoo from U that I recently picked up in Super U which I spoke about here. I’ll do a little review for you to see if it’s something you might think about adding to your wash day routine.
This Dry Shampoo is for Tous types de cheveux which is French for All hair types. I didn’t want to pick up the others because I wasn’t sure how it would interact with my hair. This one just settled the safest bet.
So I’m just going to translate the most important parts of the instructions:
Use on dry hair. Shake well before use. Keep the can at a vertical position of 15 cm from the hair and spray at the roots. Leave it alone for 2 minutes before rubbing in the powder residue.
When I first sprayed this it was a pretty strong scent but it quickly faded to a much more pleasing scent. I could definitely feel the alcohol interacting with my scalp, not in a burning way but just to let me know that it was present. There was no white residue left behind after running it in.
So far my scalp is tingly and smells wonderful but will it do anything for my hair?
I guess tomorrow we’ll see. I’ll be sure to update this post with how my hair turned out after a night with the dry shampoo.
As promised I’m updating this post to include what my hair looked like after using the dry shampoo.
To be honest, I really shouldn’t have used the dry shampoo at this point in time because of the build-up of gel in my hair but it wasn’t too bad just not really effective at doing much of anything. My hair ended up pulled back in a puff after all.
The most I can say is that you can’t see the build-up which somehow the dry shampoo masked a little?
I promised myself that I was going to do a wash day on Wednesday when I don’t have anywhere to go and finally use this new product that I bought a few weeks ago. I’ll probably give you a little review of it later this week.
As you guys may or may not know I shaved off all my relaxed hair two years ago and let my natural hair grow in. Let me tell you it was quite an adventure.
While I enjoy my hair in its natural state I wash my hair quite often and it’s getting expensive continuously buying Shampoo, Conditioner, Deep Conditioner, and Leave-in Conditioner. Hair oil can last me a few months so there’s no problem on that front.
I keep seeing reviews of Dry Shampoo and some of them have not gotten very good reviews from other women of color. The one that did have good reviews was the DevaCurl No-Poo Original Zero Lather Conditioning Cream it’s not exactly a Dry Shampoo but it seems the Quick Cleanser is no longer available. This poses a problem for me because of 1. DevaCurl not shipping to France and 2. Buying it on the French Amazon is expensive as hell DevaCurl No-Poo-Cleanser. On the DevaCurl website, the cleanser is just $10, and Amazon.fr it is 38,00€ which is a $32.97 increase. I understand importing can be expensive but $32.97?!
With DevaCurl out of the running I turned to Dry Shampoos that would be readily available in the stores around me, they include the likes of Batiste, Garnier Ultra Doux, and U by Super U.
Yes, I live in a very small town and our offerings are very limited!
I was not going to pick up any Batiste because of all the reviews I’ve seen where it does nothing but makes natural hair greasy and leaves a white residue. That left me with Garnier Ultra Doux and U by Super U, I’m well acquainted with the brands having used Shampoo, Conditioner, Leave-in Conditioner, and Deep conditioner from both the Ultra Doux line and U by Super U, I’ve also used hair oil, Micellaire water, and facial moisturizers by U.
With this in mind, I think I will buy both the Garnier Ultra Doux Dry Shampoo and the U by Super U to test out which one I like better.
What about you? Do you have a brand of Dry Shampoo that you like?
It’s been almost three years since the loss and I think I’m finally breaking out of the what-ifs. I know in reality I will always wonder in the back of my mind just who this little person could have been, sometimes my mind conjures up images of a little girl, and other times it’s a little boy running around with Naveen. These days my mind takes another direction, I wonder will I ever attempt to have another? I think if I was assured of medical care and support from family I could attempt it but financially we might never have another child and that makes me sad. I wish things were different but it is what it is.
I’ve started exercising this month, I’ve been using the WeBurn app, you can download it on the App Store and on Google Play.
WeBurn stands for the most effective, short (7 minutes) and science-based Women HIIT Home Workouts that are fun to do and extremely motivating. Get your personal 7-minute Workout Plan, create your 7-minute Workout Challenge, turn on the music and get in the shape of your life!
Join the community for free and reach your fitness goals faster and with more motivation and fun than anywhere else: lose weight, build muscles, live healthy or just get fit.
I haven’t been active since I moved here and I wanted something I could do in the short space of time between dropping and picking Naveen up from school. It has a 4.7 rating on Google Play and the reviews were fairly good. Disclaimer: You do have to pay for the app but you can do two workouts for free. I do Body Shaping (135-162 KCAL) and Bikini Body (136-163 KCAL) which are free workouts. You can choose between three workout difficulties. Since I am a beginner I went with the Easier difficulty, I really didn’t want to start out hard and get discouraged. I gave myself one week to do the Easy one then I would try the Medium and see how I feel. It was a bit easy at first but by the second day, I was contemplating whether I had made a mistake but I stuck with it. Now that I’m heading towards my second week and will begin doing the Medium difficulty I’m a bit afraid, here is where my determination will really be tested.
I am not affiliated in any way with Cien or Lidl, I was not given these products to review or offered a reward for my review.
I was recently complimented on my clear skin, to be honest, I have never had much issue with my skin, one or two pimples over the years, my main problem is my raccoon eyes but they are hereditary so not much I can do about it except try to find a really good concealer.
Even if I’ve never had to battle bumps on my face I still try to take care of it, one of the first things I did when moving here was to find a good facial wash and moisturizer, I was not used to the cold and it was proving to me that I needed moisture more than anything in this unforgiving temperature, my husband bought me a Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse set that included a small bottle of bath oil, multipurpose oil, a candle, and hydrating cream.
These items served me well for a few months but I had run out and Nuxe is not the cheapest product to buy especially when you have a really small income. I needed something but I had no idea what to buy so I asked a friend what she used, her answer was Nuxe lol but she also mentioned that there was a line of products by Lidl called Cien and she had heard good things about it, Lidl, if you don’t know, is a German global discount supermarket chain, based in Neckarsulm, Germany, that operates over 10,000 stores across Europe and the United States. There is a Lidl very close to my home and it is very affordable so I decided to give it a try.
I picked up the Crème Hydrante Aqua for 2,99€
Made with Glycerol and Pantherol.
This cream will deeply moisturize your skin and protect it from the harmful effects of the sun thanks to its UV filter. Its formula is without mineral oils which allow for better absorption of the cream, without leaving a greasy effect, it promotes the oxygenation of the skin.
Essential protection for all skin types.
No added Mineral Oils.
A great success and a recognized quality that allowed him to be acclaimed by a jury of consumers during the 12th Victoires de la Beauté.
I also picked up the Aqua Rich Gel Nettoyant for a little under 2€.
For clean and fresh skin.
For Normal and Mixed skin.
Lastly, I picked up the Eau Micellaire Refraichissment for a little under 2€.
Facial Cleanser
Makeup Remover
Refreshing
Now, this was my first time using a Micellar Water I don’t know if it’s usual for it to leave your face feeling dry but this one does that, I always put on some of the moisturizers after using this, it works really well for removing makeup and I especially love that it’s a pump bottle I just have to press my cleansing pad down on the tip and the product comes up and wets my cleansing pad, this bottle design leads to less product wastage and one bottle can last you a pretty long time.
I’ve been using these products for a year and a half now and I think they do their jobs very well, my face has never been more smooth or soft, if I don’t moisturize around my nose it can get pretty dry but not with these products. In total, I think all the products came up to less than 7€.
If you’re in France and don’t have a lot of money to spend or just like a good bargain I’d highly suggest buying these products from Lidl.
You know that feeling when you open your mailbox and there’s something in there with your name on it? I don’t really experience that feeling, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve ever received anything, I don’t really order anything online, I’ve gotten some books in the mail, some clothes as well but that’s about it. Every time I go out to the box I am not really expecting anything but still feel a little disappointed that everything is for my husband, he gets packages all the time, sometimes I have to sign for them and that is a tale for another day.
So imagine my joy when I opened my mailbox yesterday and inside was a package with my name on it, I was overjoyed, I ripped it open with quickness and inside was a box that said Marc Jacobs Beauty. Let me back up just a bit and tell you about this package. I’ve been a member of a website called Influenster (it’s a website that sends you products to test for your honest review) I think it’s been about three to four years, so right around the time when I was pregnant, if you’re new to my blog I suffered from Hyperemesis Gravidarum (severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy) which basically made me an invalid for nine months, I then went through postpartum depression and post-traumatic stress disorder which lasted for about a year. In 2015, I moved from my Caribbean home and went through a series of terrible events. The loss of my puppy, finding out my mother was in the hospital, I was taking punches left and right but the worst one was losing my second baby. What should have been the happiest time of my life was stained with dark spots that I couldn’t find a way out from.
I’ve always been weak to dark moods and Expat depression added itself to my growing pile, while I always seemed to find myself out of my foul moods this one seemed enormous. What helped was finally being able to talk to my mother online, she hates the internet but there was no other way for us to communicate. My days seemed a little sunnier, one of my brothers who had a distaste for social media also joined and I found myself happy.
I got off-topic, my apologies, I can ramble on and on sometimes, anyway I was very sick and couldn’t do much with my Influenster account so it laid dormant for years. This year I decided to get more active on it, I reviewed products I had already used, I answered questions, I followed accounts, I was enjoying myself, out of nowhere I got a survey asking if I wanted to be sent a product to review, I answered yes and about two weeks later I got a message saying I was chosen!
I was thrilled, along with no interest in my Influenster account I hadn’t been using my makeup kit much, so I relished the chance to go back to something that gave me a little joy in life, I’m nowhere near to being MUA status, not even close I just enjoy enhancing my features. I have to be honest when I say my happiness was wearing off a bit when I saw everyone else reviewing their VoxBoxes and I was still without my product, see the way my mind works it immediately jumped to the worst scenarios, I swore my box got lost or someone stole it, I questioned whether I put the right address in, my mind was whirling and then yesterday there it was.
Disbelief and exhilaration, I wanted to do everything right to make sure I did the review right and they would choose me again.
Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Mascara Volume Spectaculaire VoxBox
Testing out my new mascara.
A little eyeliner and mascara make me feel pretty!
I’ve been testing the mascara now for three days and have to say that I’m pretty much in love with it, the mascara goes on smoothly and gives an instant boost to my lashes, and let’s not joke about it but my lashes are not the best, they are short, thin, and not at all impressive which is why I was shocked to see how long and luscious it got from the mascara. There is just one thing I don’t care for about the mascara, it is on the heavier side, if I use three swipes of mascara my lashes will clump horribly so what I did to fix this issue was to go over it with another mascara brush, I was able to separate the lashes to fully enjoy the length and dark color the mascara provided.
In the picture above I applied the mascara to just my right eye and you can see for yourself the difference the mascara has made to my pitiful lashes. I don’t think I will ever leave the house again without using my Velvet Noir mascara even if I use nothing else.
Crucianize 