Shea Butter
This is a must-have for the winter. I use Shea butter on my lips, hands, cuticles, heels and hair ends. I also like dabbing some on top of lipstick for a soft dewy look. It also works on cracked nostrils if you have a running nose in the dead of winter. The one I have happens to be from Finigrana and it's certified organic, but I'm not terribly picky about the brand. Shea butter is scentless and it has an amazing texture.Herbatint Permanent Haircolor Gel
I bought this natural-ish Italian hair dye during my last trip to Poland. You mix two liquids in a bowl, apply with a tinting brush (you need to buy this separately), wash off after 30 minutes. The mixture is like a gel, and I find it really easy to apply. If you prefer, you can mix the whole thing in an empty hair colour bottle. The colour is quite vivid and glossy, and it covered my greys quite well, though not completely (which is fine by me, since I hate a flat wall of colour). I love it for the quick and easy application as compared to henna. And there is no run-off when I wash my hair. Also -- the two bottles have caps which means you don't have to use up the whole product at a time. I usually prepare small quantities and use them for emergency touch-ups around the hairline and my parting. The reason I still use henna most of the time is the volume it gives me plus the amazing natural highlights/lowlights. Plus, Herbatint isn't completely natural,The colours tend to run dark, so go two shades lighter! It is important to really condition your hair after rinsing out the dye, since it can be drying, and the sachet that comes with the dye does a pretty good job. In fact, it is amazing, and I have been considering buying a bigger bottle of it.
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| My hair on Khadi Henna. You can see the natural highlights I'mtalking about. |
Khadi Henna
This is probably the best Henna I have ever used, and the storekeeper that I bought it from told me it's been getting rave reviews from her customers as well. It is ground to a really fine powder which makes it easy to apply -- I didn't even have to mix in conditioner to get some kind of workable texture. The colour comes out pretty vibrant and stays on for a decent amount of time. One package contains enough Henna for two applications (my hair goes till by bra band, and I have a lot of it). Five stars, will definitely repurchase. I got mine at the amazing Beauty and Nature store in Munich, it's got a ton of interesting natural cosmetics in different price ranges, plus knowledgeable salespeople.Lumene Bright Now Vitamin C Day Cream and Eye Cream
This and the Lumene eye cream were gifts from a Finnish bra-blogger Secret Santa round. It is made with the Arctic cloudberry -- a Finnish friend of mine once brought some from Finland and told me it's great delicacy, and if a Fin finds some Arctic cloudberies in the forest they will keep the spot secret! The cream is one of those rare rich-but-not-greasy products, it really moisturises and didn't clog up my skin one bit. I've also heard that people with skin prone to breakouts love it.Lavera Self Tanning Face Cream
I own and love the Lavera self-tanner for the body, so I was pretty excited when this came out. Except that... it doesn't really do much. The effect is much lighter than that of the body tanner, and the formula is lighter too, so I'm guessing that it is targeted at those that are paler than me and have had issues with using the body tanner on their face. The Lavera self tanners don't wash off the skin, they basically dye the skin.Out of all the products I have mentioned, the Khadi Henna is definitely the favourite one, and will be a staple in my hair care routine.
Let me know if you have questions, and if you have ever used any of the above products let me know how they worked for you.
