Guten Morgen

My favorite part about traveling in Europe is the pharmacies, or apotheke in this case. I visited my brother in Germany for Christmas and stopped into literally every single one I walked by. The Germany apotheke have a few different brands that the other pharmacies through Europe don’t have, specifically Germany brands Dr Hauschka and Weleda. Since it was cold AF I decided to grab both brands cult products and give see how they held up in the freezing weather.

IMAGE.JPG

Not sure how I’ve never tried Dr Hauschka, I’ve been wanting to get my hands on some forever. It’s half the US price in Germany and they sell sample sizes, so I grabbed their top selling Rose Day Cream to try during the day. The texture is super rich, which I love but can only use during winter months due to having combo skin and large pores. Enriched with extracts Rose Petals and Rose Hips, Shea Butter, Rose Wax, Avocado Oil, Marshmallow, and St Johns Wart, this natural moisturizer deeply hydrated while soothing irritation and calming redness, making it perfect for cold winter weather. The texture is hella thick, so you only need to use a little, I cut it with a few drops of Biossance Squalane +Vitamin C Rose Oil to make it spread. My skin felt hydrated all day and definitely protected from the cold winds and nasty winter weather that I was definitely not use to.

For my night cream I grabbed the Weleda Skin Food. I had already ordered one of these off Amazon and have been using it on my hands but I keep forgetting to throw it in my travel back (twice now...). The packaging says it’s for hands, elbows, dry patches, but I love to use it as a night cream when I’m really dry and flakey (after a few too many nights of retinol?). One of its main ingredients is Lanolin, an emollient from sheeps wool that is one of the best skin protectors. A slew of natural oils and waxes make this thick cream feel and smell like happiness and dreams. I wouldn’t recommend using this every night as it is pretty dense, but on those occasional nights where you need intense hydration, give it a go.

All in all I loved both of those.  Even though my skin was dry from the elements, my skin is combination, so regardless of how dry I feel, my pores are still large and can get clogged from heavier creams.If you are combo and want to try them, avoid using them on the nose, center of the forehead, or areas where you frequently get large pores.I used the Sephora Collection Charcoal Nose Strip after using these and it did the trick for cleaning them out.

Lip Service

Ever since I can remember, I've had an obsession with lip balms.  As a kid I always had the newest chap stick I could find at the drug store, I just needed a cure for dry lips.  I believe I have found some of the most life changing lip products, and I'm always trying new ones.  Here's a mix of my staples and new finds.

 

image.jpg

Moving to the dry West Coast with Hourglass Cosmetics, from humid East Coast, cracked and deflated my Restylane plumped lips and I was not thrilled.  After being trained on the brand, I had to try the No 28 Lip Treatment Oil.  The applicator is plated in 24k Gold, I needed it based on that alone!  It's base is made up of 14 Essential Oils, 10 Lipid Rich Plant Oils, and 4 Vitamins + 3 additional anti aging actives.  The Lip Oil boast redefining the lip line, plumping out fine lines, and 1 ingredient (Saliporine-8) even claims to boost hydration levels in the lips up to 6000% when used twice a day for 28 days.  I will testify that yes, it does all of this.  I use this every night before bed and every morning as the last step in my skincare routine, because it works, and my lips always look great and feel hydrated.  It has a very thick and glossy texture, so it stay put, great as a clear gloss throughout the day as well.  I always said I would buy this even if I didn't work for the company, well now I'm going to have to, ugh... Hourglass No28 Lip Treatment Oil 5/5 Stars $42

Skinn is a top selling TV exclusive brand which focuses on creating effective products by using all their resources on formulations, not packaging.  Their Lip Lip 6x Balm is no exception.  I got my hands on this balm a few months ago and I'm so hooked!  It's packed with a bunch of plant butters and oils as well as anti aging actives to help hydrate and plump fine lines.  I love the texture, it's this unique wax like balm that isn't terribly glossy, so it's great for men or anyone who wants a really natural looking lip treatment.  This has been one of my go to out and about lip balms as I love a lip treatment in a compact (vs a twist up), it slips right in my pocket and I can apply as much or as little as I want.  It definitely helps with the long term appearance of the lips.  Skinn Lip 6x Balm5/5 Stars $24.95

When I was headed to Paris I looked up all the must buy products and the Nuxe Rêve de Miel Lip Balm was on a lot of them.  Honey is one of my favorite ingredients, be it as a sweetener or in my cosmetic products, it's such an effective multi-taskers, I'd put it all over my body, and probably kick it off.  This balm comes in a little glass jar, which I love, except when I want to run out the door with it, it's not really pocket friendly.  But I definitely don't lose this one as easily as my others!  The balm has a very lightweight hydrating texture, stays on well, but it does have a slight gritty texture, which is usually from the Shea Butter.  I've been using this one before I run out the door to go on errands cause it stays on and I don't have to worry about reapplying.  Nuxe Rêve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm 4/5 Stars $19

As I'm in Whole Foods like 3 times a week, I usually find myself browsing the cosmetics section for for products I don't need.  I happened upon the Weleda EVERON Lip Balm on one trip when I was going out for the night and couldn't find my other lip balm.  One of the best purchases I've made at Whole Foods!  It has all your basics, Shea butter, jojoba oil, beeswax, but my favorite is the Rose wax and oil it has.  This lip balm smells like happiness and dreams!!  It stays on great, is affordable, and is a favorite of my friends (they always use mine) and I. Weleda EVERON lip Balm 5/5 Stars $4.69

 

Lip scrubs are honestly all pretty much the same.  Sugar, flavor, oils, it's not too complicated, here are a few I like.

The Lip Scrub by Sara Happ $24 - Comes in a bunch of really fun flavours, she always has seasonal and limited ones (I loved the Red Velvet Cake!) larger sugar granules in this one,  probably not the best for sensitive lips, but I like it and use it twice a week.

Fresh Sugar Lip Polish $24 - Probably the most popular and well known scrub out there.  Smaller sugar granules, gets the job done, not recommended for sensitive lips.

Bite Beauty Whipped Cherry Lip Scrub $18 - A lip scrub you can eat off, I'm sold.  Hydrating wax beads are gentle enough for the most sensitive lips, the brands signature Resveratrol for anti-aging, and a bunch of oils for hydration.  A definitely must have!

 

Do you have any favorites I should try?