Cosmetics From Poland: What's Worth Buying Or Ordering?

I loved the Top-10 display in Helfy, Krakow

During my trip to Poland (which I was erratically documenting on my instagram) I was pleasantly surprised by the abundance of amazing cosmetics just about everywhere. A couple of years back I had to look for a tiny natural food store in a back alley just to get my hands on a Sylveco moisturiser, this time shelves of regular stores were chock-full of beautifully-packaged natural cosmetics, oils, soaps, and everything I could possibly wish for. Here is a brief primer on what is worth buying, plus how to shop if you don't speak polish.

First, if you don't like anywhere near Poland, I have seen at least Sylveco and Vianek online on Notino.

The best one-stop place to go in Poland to is the Pigment Drogerie, almost every big city has a branch. A similar assortment is to be found at the Kosmyk. Then most cities have a kind of store called a Mydlarnia which translates as the soapery, they specialise in soaps, as well as clays and oils. Finally, most places will have natural food stores which have an organic cosmetic section, search on google maps for "sklep ekologiczny".

Most younger employees do speak english, and are pretty knowledgeable about the products they carry. However they might not know all the english names of the herbs and the ingredients, so it's worth having a translation app.

What to buy:

Interestingly many polish brands don't carry an organic certificate like Ecocert (probably because these are very expensive). So I usually checked the website of the manufacturers to see if the product was organic.

Divide by 4 to get the approximate price in Euro.

Sylveco is the mother-brand of polish cosmetics, and is based on birch extracts. The products that contain the healing betuin (birch extract) have a heavier consistency, which may not suit everyone. The products without this ingredient are labeled as "lekkie" (light). 

Sylveco is amazing for those with anyone that suffers from serious skin problems such as dermatitis, acne, highly sensitive skin, dandruff etc. Most product are unscented. They can be used on skin that is irritated, or damaged in some way (look for the "Hypoallergic" label on them).

Sylveco carries a really good alcohol-free micellar cleanser. Their cleansing milk is based on the oil-cleansing principle and doesn't contain detergents. Their moisturiser (lekki krem brzozowy) is a great choice if you are looking for a light day cream.

Vianek and Biolaven are both daughter-brands of Sylveco. All three have really great ingredients, are free from animal-testing.

Biolaven is based on Lavender oil and Grapeseed oil. Their products are formulated to work with most kinds of skin, so if you want to make someone a gift you should pick this brand.

Vianek carries several lines for different types of skin: orange is nourishing, red is firming and anti-aging, blue is moisturising, green is cleansing, dark pink is soothing and relaxing, violet is strengthening and calming.

If you want a good alcohol-free natural micellar cleanser, you'll be spoilt for choice. If you wear waterproof makeup go for the one from Biolaven, for dry skin the blue Vianek, for sensitive skin the Sylveco linden (lipa) is perfect. Finally the orange Vianek has a 2in1 micellar solution and toner -- it contains a lot of nourishing ingredients like Calendula extract and almond oil and sea-buckthorn oil.

Make Me Bio is probably one of the best organic brands I have ever tried, their moisturising creams are legendary.

A very interesting brand that caught my eye is Orientana. Both the ingredients and scents are heavily inspired by South-East Asian as well as middle-eastern beauty. A lot of their hair care are based on Ayurveda and traditional Indian herbs, with the advantage of being free from mineral oils and generally up to organic cosmetic standards.

All the Orientana skin and body products smell amazing, with scents like mango, sandalwood. A very interesting produc is the enzymatic peeling based on enzymes from Papaya: Naturalny kremowy peeling do twarzy Papaja i żeń - szeń indyjski.

The Pigment drogerie has an entire cupboard with quite an impressive selection of cosmetic ingredients from ZrobSobieKrem. Here you can choose from several different kinds of hyaluron, a couple of different hydrolates, clays and active ingredients -- all for very low prices. The containers are pretty small which makes them perfect for the traveler. However if you are more serious about DIY cosmetics, it might be worth ordering from the website, also because of the exhaustive product descriptions.

Most of the Mydlarnia store that I saw carried all of the Wardi-shan soaps which are my favourite cleaning soap; as well as a very good selection of Aleppo soaps, African soaps, and more.

Clays is also something always worth picking up, as they are inexpensive and don't expire. White or blue or pink are gentler, green is the most cleansing one. The blue one looks really otherworldly.

The Polny Warkocz products draw upon Poland's Slavic traditions both in their aesthetics and their ingredients.

 If you are looking for something very moisturising and soothing or if you have problems with visible capillaries, the Mazidlo z Skrzypu (horsetail cream) from Polny Warkocz might be a good fit.

A must buy is at least one of the big array of oils from Your Natural Side. You can find just about everything from Argan oil (in a small affordable size!) to oils I haven't heard of before. It's worth to do a bit of research beforehand since the packaging doesn't say much about the properties of the oil. The same goes for the amazing array of hydrolates. I always stock up on hydrolates since it's normally really hard to find anything other than rosewater. Here I could pick between salvia, cystus, jasmine, chamomille and many more.

For the hair most places carried Khadi Henna as well as Orientana Henna, so there was a huge choice of available colours. Then there is the plant-based(ish) Tints Of Nature hair colour. You can find a selection of original Indian hair shampoos and oils as well as organic quality ones from Orientana and Khadi. Both brands also offer colourless Henna which gives the hair volume and lustre.

Dermacol originally developed their products for stage makeup.

From coloured cosmetics, the small Dermacol foundation tubes make really amazing concealer that is extremely high-coverage and doesn't budge. For highly-pigmented eyeshadow you can't beat Nabla. If you find a place that carries the Danish brand Gosh, you might want to pick up their concealer.

Also really worth a glance is the selection of natural toothpaste. I have heard that the charcoal ones are really good for whitening.

Helfy carries a really interesting collection of oriental perfumes. I was especially fascinated by the solid ones in little jars (you can see them on the lowest shelf in the photo above). If you are interested in organic perfume, the brand Acorelle is worth a sniff. They also have a very interesting selection of herbal teas, I got one with Soapwort which I plan to experiment with as a cleaners, as well as a traditional Slavic tea. If you are looking for something for hair or nails I can recommend Nettle (pokrzywa), Horsetail (skrzyp), for skin problems cystus (czystek).

Apart from Polish cosmetics, there are a lot of imported products that are worth a look. First, you can find quite a bit of German brands such as Weleda, Dr Hauschka and Eco Cosmetics, then the amazing (but pricey) Madara, whose Sun Flower / Moon Flower moisturiser I'm a huge fan of. Then the Bania Agafii products from Russia, which are a tad tricky for me because I can't read Cyrillic.

Finally I spotted the beautifully packaged Whamisa Organic Flowers  which is an organic Korean brand which are based on fermentation -- I'd really love to try this buy my budget was already strained and this brand isn't exactly cheap.

I have to say I ware really really tempted to move to Poland just to have access to all those goodies. I shopped quite a bit, so expect to see my favourite products in future reviews.

I know I have some readers from Poland, let me know what your favourite products are! What do I absolutely have to try when I'm there again?

HauteFlair Giveway: Win A Parfait Affinitas Bra Of Your Choice!

So it's time for an autumn giveaway! In my last post I talked about refreshing your lingerie drawer in the fall, and with a bit of luck two winners get to add a bra each to theirs! The HauteFlair online lingerie store is kindly sponsoring the prizes -- an Parfait Affinitas bra each for two lucky winners!


Rules: Please read!!!

• Giveway will end on 8 October 2017.
• Open worldwide
• The two winners will be picked at random.
• Each winner gets to choose one bra from the Parfait Affinitas line on Ahute Flair. This means you can choose between the models, colours and sizes that are available on HauteFlair.
• Winners will be notified per email, and this post will be updated with their first names. Sometimes the email notifications land in the spam folder, so be sure to check back to the blog!
• The winners can expect to get their prize within 30 days.

Enter below. The more tasks you complete, the more chance you have of winning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Lingerie Picks For This Autumn

One of my favourite things about the beginning of autumn is swapping out my wardrobe --light cottons and breezy linens  are packed away with little pieces of cedar wood tucked between them, and out come woolly knits and heavy draping layers. What I love most about dressing in the falls are the little details: socks peeking above boots, pompoms on caps and colourful bootlaces. And pretty (and well-fitting) lingerie below all those warm layers. That makes me feel well chic and elegant, even if I'm the only one who sees it all day.

One thing I usually do in the autumn is to go through my lingerie drawer, delegating worn-out bras to sleeping bras and welcoming a new bra or two to my little collection. Below is an overview of the bras from the HauteFlair online store that have caught my eye and that I'd love to see in my lingerie drawer this season. All of these bras come in a decent range of sizes, and I have tried to give an insight into the fit. And pssst, on the weekend it's time for you -- stay tuned for a special giveaway!

 

Tshirt bras that are just lined and not padded or moulded are really hard to find. The minimalistically designed Nouvelle Fullcup Addiction Lingerie is a great combo of stretchy and supportive. Don't let the name fool you, this bra is quite low-cut! The boning on the wings and the long underwires (under the armpits) keep migrated tissue contained. The mesh give a visual lightness to the cup, especially in the bigger sizes. This model also comes in beige as well as classic black.

If you prefer lace and botanical motives with a touch of old-world glamour, Sophia by Le Mystère will catch your eye. I've got a weakness for colourful lace, and I'd am drooling over the matching panties and the lace garter belt. I personally think that cornflower blue version is the prettiest, but the Sophia also comes in red and lack. The lace lies flat and is not very visible under clothes, the inside of the cups is lined with memory foam which makes them very soft. The band is a bit on the tighter side, so you might want to size up. 

If you are plus-size, the Panache Sculpresse Chi Chi is among the (still too few) bra models that have bands in bigger sizes as well -- to size 46 to be exact. The strong point of the Sculptresse Chi Chi is the construction -- the bra is very supportive and gives the breast a lot of lift and forward projection (thanks to the strong side panels which also contain any migrated breast tissue). The lace is stretchy and will not dig in into the breast tissue.

I recommend the Panache Sport to everybody, I already own two and am looking to add a third one to my collection so that I can go longer between laundry days. It's super comfortable, and supports the breasts by encapsulating them instead of flattening them. The breasts also supported from above (the top edges of the cups), which prevents them from bouncing up. The bra dries quickly and mine looks almost brand new after a lot of use. I have worn the Panache Sport for everything from running to Yoga to dance, and have always found this bra model to be extremely comfortable and supported. It's also both pretty enough and provides enough coverage to be worn on it's own. 

If you're not a fan of underwires (which are super-comfy), there is also an unwired model.

I already own the Charlotte from Parfait Affinitas in peach, but I'd love to get my paws on another of the colours it comes in. Either the red, or the floral pattern. This bra is a huge favourite of mine: it looks and feels really luxurious, like something that costs at least twice as much. The Charlotte is also sturdy and very supportive. The side-sling pulls the breasts front and center. An important thing is that the fit of the Charlotte has been changed, the underwires are shorter below the armpit and the cups are a tad smaller than before, so you might want to pop over to Bratabase to check out the fit comparision.

Above is the padded (halfcup) version of the Charlotte, there is also the balconette version that I have already reviewed. The cups of the padded are lined but not padded (in spite of what the name might suggest) version.

I feel that the black piping and the vertical lines on the cup add visual lift and make for a very flattering optical illusion.

Over to you: which bras are you lusting for this autumn? An don't forget to stay tuned for the HauteFlair giveaway this weekend!

Disclaimer: This post has been brought to you HauteFlair

How To Wean Yourself Off Heat Styling Your Hair

I love Jeniffer Anniston, but at this stage her hair was so damaged it hurts to look at it. Now she seems to be taking better care of it, but the healthiest it's been is in the old 1997 brunette photos.

While styling healthy hair with heat once in a while doesn't do much damage, regular use -- especially hair that is already weakened  -- is the single biggest cause of damaged hair. However if you have been heat styling regularly, it's really hard to stop cold turkey because the hair looks very damaged. I often see celebrities with straightened hair where, if you look closer, you can see that the hair is in very bad shape.

Today I'll be talking about why heat is damaging and how to wean your hair off heat styling.

First, you might be thinking: but my hair looks so poufy / blah / damaged without heat styling! Well, that's because your hair is damaged, and if you keep on heat styling, you'll keep on having damaged hair. 

Weaning yourself off heat-styling and taking good care of your hair will completely transform it. Once the damaged hair has grown out and is replaced by healthy hair, you won't need to do that much with it, it will look good and it will be easy to care for. Hair that hasn't been damaged by heat doesn't need taming with heat.

Heat dries the hair out. Also most styling tools are much too hot, and cause "bubble hair":

"Bubble hair is a sign of thermal injury. Hair dryers operating at 175°C or more can cause bubble hair. The use of hair curling tongs operating at 125°C and applied to the hair for one minute can also induce bubbles in hair fiber. All hair fibers contain air-filled spaces called vacuoles. These spaces can also become filled with water when the hair is wet. Too much heat vaporizes the water in the hair fibre into steam. This vaporization of the water may force the spaces in the hair to expand, eventually turning the hair into a sponge-like structure. These damaged hairs are weak and brittle as the bubbles destroy the integrity of the fiber."

Source: International journal of Trichtology

If you can't go cold turkey, first try limiting heat styling to special occasions. Or at least take a break every other day, and skip the weekends entirely. Wash your hair less often to stretch-out a straightening session, use dry shampoo to keep the hair fresh. However if you can go cold-turkey, that's the best!

Find a couple of good transitional styles. There are a million of braid and bun tutorials out there, you'll never get bored. Add accessories like headbands, barrettes, clips -- they are in right now and range from cute to sleek. Or use a scarf, turban, hat or beret or cap. 

When you do heat style, use good equipment with temperature regulation and use the lowest temperature possible. Don't ever use heat on soaking wet hair, let it dry a bit first. If heat-drying, stop when the hair is still slightly moist, to prevent over-drying. If using a flat iron, move the flat iron down each section of hair only once, and fairly rapidly.

Get a good haircut. Firstly, your ends are probably fried and split, splits can travel further up the hair shaft if you let them be. Cutting of the damage will free your hair, because the less damaged parts won't need that much taming with heat to make them look good. Secondly a good cut can make hair look ten times better.

Then you'll need to create a solid hair care routine. Damaged hair is usually high-porousity and very dry (though the scalp might be oily). At least once a week do a hair mask or oil your hair, and use a conditioner after every wash. Once in a while try a protein treatment.

Avoid all other ways of damaging your hair. Treat you hair as it were expensive old Chantilly lace. Minimise any kind of mechanical damage. Protect it from the sun.

Consider the reason why you heat style, and how you can get the same results in more hair-friendly ways. If you are after volume, washing with rye flour followed by flaxseed gel (leave it in) will give you more volume than you know what to do. If you are after smoothing or frizz control, try a few drops of oil. If your hair is naturally curly or very wavy and is often hard to manage, you might looks into the curly-girl method to help you work with your natural hair texture rather than against it. The curly-girl method is a life saver for very kinky curls, black women hair and anyone whose hair is frizzy because it's trying to be curly. If you really don't like your curly hair, look into no-heat straightening methods such as the wrapping method or using very large rollers on hair overnights. Also henna reduces the curl pattern (colourless henna, if you don't want it to dye the hair). If you want waves, there are tons of heatless ways to do that too, my favourite on is to do a twist-bun on the top of my head -- instant beach waves.

Patience. The first 2-6 weeks are the hardest, after that you will start seeing results. Stick to your routine. In a couple of months everyone will be seeing your results, and in a year or two your hair will be completely transformed. 

Finally, I suggest looking though the hair transformation stories on Anwen's blog. You can use google translate, but I think that the photos speak for themselves. Most of the girl went from chemically damaged and heat damaged hair to beautiful healthy locks through a good hair-care routine.

Photo credit

Cosmetic Favourites August '17: Sylveco, Blue Clay, Martina Gebhardt, Solid Fragrance, Neroli Hydrolate And Konjac Pads.

Blue Clay

I am a huge fan of pure clays as cleansing masks. I have been lusting after a blue clay since a couple of years and finally got my paws on this one. It is 100% kaolin, and so it's even gentler than white clay. It is perfect for dry or sensitive skin, and at the same time does a good job of cleansing and getting rid of impurities. It's also really fun to use, you look like a Smurf. After use my pores are cleaner and smaller, any oiliness is absorbed, and I feel that any irritation gets calmed down. The colour of the skin is also evened out, I think that this brightening effect is thanks to the high content of silica, a bit of which stays on the face.

You should always spritz the clay to prevent it from drying out on your face. If you want extra moisture you can mix it with yoghurt of flaxseed gel, however I prefer to just mix it with water or a hydrolate to get the undiluted cleansing effect and follow it up with something moisturising.

The one I have is from the on of the Mydlarnia stores in Poland, and I paid ca 4,50€ for 75g. I consider clays investment shopping since they never expire and a little goes a long way. On the website is says that it can also be used as a toothpaste or as a compress.

Sylveco Linden Micellar Cleanser

Very gentle and soothing, and does it's job really well. Removes all of my makeup without rubbing, I have a feeling that it does this better than the micellar solution from Cattier. It foams while cleansing, which I feel makes it even more effective. It doesn't dry out the skin at all, and doesn't irritate the eyes.

It leaves a gentle film behind, if this bothers you you can wipe it off with water or a hydrolate.

I got mine from Poland, but I also saw it online on Notino for ca 4,90€.

INCI: Aqua, Tilia Platyphyllos Flower Extract, Decyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Panthenol, Allantoin, Hydrolyzed Oats, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Lactic Acid, Phytic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Dehydroacetic Acid.

Magic Of India Natural Solid Fragrance

I have always wanted to own a solid fragrance and I got this one as a gift. The label says Lily Of The Valle but it smells nothing like that flower; rather it is a lovely heavy oriental-sweet-woodsy scent. The jar is handmade out of rosewood and looks very well-made, and would make a nice gift. The solid perfume is, according to the manufacturer, made of natural essential oils, tea tree oil, wheatgerm oil, aloe vera extract, beeswax and vegetable wax.

Neroli (Orange Blossom) Hydrolate

I love to try out new hydrolates but I keep on coming back to this one. I use this hydrolate in the morning to gently cleanse my skin, or after evening cleansing to restore the acidic pH of the skin. Sometimes I use it as a base for serums or mists. I apply it with my fingers and not a cotton pad so as not to waste any.

Just like most hydrolates it tones and lightly moisturises. It also visibly refreshes the skin, and I think that is lightly cleans the sebum from my pores and definitely balances bits of skin that produce too much oil. The scent is really nice, very relaxing, a kind of orange-ish not but more green and not flowery.

I ordered this one from Zrob Sobie Krem. The only minus point is that the lid wasn't closed properly and the contents of the package were a bit moist.

Martina Gebhart Linden Face Lotion

I always come back to Martina Gebhardt moisturisers, although I try a different one each time. This time I went for the Linden one because it's a one-time limited edition, apparently Martina Gebhardt used a part of the over 1000-year-old Tassilo Linden tree that grows in the monastery where the brand is located. She also said that this is the only time that she will be doing this, as the ancient tree cannot stand much stress. Anyway, apart from the romanticism of the story I absolutely love the scent of Linden flowers, which led me to been reading up on the properties of the Linden -- antioxidant and calming, it also helps against discolourations.

The Tassilo Linde moisturiser is an ideal product for the summer, it really moisturised my combination skin which can very easily get dry, without being too heavy for the summer or under makeup/sunscreen. I also felt that my dark discolourations were slightly lighter. The skin looks relaxed and fresh for the entire day. The scent is amazing, a big part of using the Linden Face Lotion is simply taking whiffs of the product.

One plus point for the (opaque!) glass packaging, one minus point for the pump breaking before I used up the product.

This moisturiser is a limited edition, but it's still available in some online and offline stores.

Inci: Aqua, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil°, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter*, Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter*, Cetearyl Alcohol, Tilia Cordata Flower, Leaf, Root and Bark Extract, Rosa Damascena Flower Water°, Lecithin*, Sambucus Nigra Root Extract°, Magnolia Officinalis Bark Extract*, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract°, Cetyl Alcohol, Spagyrische Essenz von Tilia Cordata Flower, Leaf, Root and Bark Extract, Gold, Silver, Sulfur, Aroma* (ätherisches Öl von Lindenblüte*, Sandelholz*, Geraniol**, Linalool**, Eugenol**, Benzylalcohol**) ° demeter-certified, * certified organic, ** from natural essential oils

Konjac Sponge Cleansing Pads

I was really hoping that they would be a zero-waste replacement for single-use cotton pads. They are advertised as makeup remover pads, so I tested them out by using them to clean off my sunscreen with a micellar cleanser,. This normally takes three cotton pads, so I used three konjac pads. After that I used a cotton pad to cleanse my face and it was absolutely full of sunscreen -- which means that the konjac pads didn't do anything. It just doesn't grab the way cotton does. The konjac sponges have a smoother side and a rougher side, the rougher side does cleanse somewhat but the smoother side doesn't.

However they do a decent job of cleansing the face after the makeup has been removed -- for example to lather a cleansing gel, they gently buff off any skin flakes. I use them to wipe my face in the morning with a hydrolate, and they are also great for applying liquid things like toners (which I don't want to spray and breathe in, but always fell a bit guilty to be waisting cotton pads on).

The konjac pads look really weird when they dry, they have to be hydrated in water and gently squeezed out, this makes them expand and become soft. After use they have to be washed with soap and hug in a specially provided mesh bag to dry.

I found them at my local TKMaxx, they were discounted from 24€ to 10€ which I consider to be overpriced, seeing as you can get a regular big konjac sponge for less than 5€.

What are your current cosmetic favourites? Did anything catch your eye? Let me know.