FEBRUARY ESSENTIALS

Monday morning and first day of February. Time flies faster and faster it is a fact now, but January passed excessively unnoticed – especially for those that decided to forget time during improvised holidays on an island, I’m pleading guilty. Anyway, it is time to get back to reality, and to beauty routines as well (no make-up and salted face 24/24 on Saint Martin was ok, but I’m afraid Geneva’s not ready for that yet) – so discover some of my current coup-de-coeur products that just arrived on the market (blogger’s advantages) and also those that I’m using for months now.

1. VICHY’S NORMADERM BB CLEAR

I got this BB cream to test from a PR agency months ago (in April 2015), and to be honest at that point my idea of what a “BB cream” is was very vague – ok I actually thought it was a posh synonym for “foundation”. But brace yourself my darlings: it is not. A BB cream or “Blemish Balm Cream” is not only used to hide the imperfections as a regular foundation would, but also to fight them. And Vichy developed it’s receipt with the goal of correcting and rebalancing the complexion while letting the skin breathe – quite a useful purpose when we know that most of the women living in big cities have stress and pollution problems that directly affect the skin, that most of them just don’t have the time to search and follow a skin treatment and that the easiest way to be found is to hide everything under a thick layer of foundation. Sad personal experience here.
So I tested it last April, and never stopped since as I fell in love with the light texture and the feeling of my soft skin after a few weeks of use.

2. LA ROCHE-POSAY’S LIPIKAR FLUIDE

In winter, if you’re someone that likes taking care of yourself, all your beauty routine is defined by one single word: moisturization. Because the skin does not forgive the cracks or dryness and needs, especially during the whole cold season, a constant relieving care. I started using La Roche-Posay’s new Lipikar Fluide a few weeks ago, and this soothing, protecting and hydrating fluid really deserves it’s place in the “Essentials” as it’s application is really pleasant – it penetrates the skin quite fast and is not sticky (oh I hate having to wait half an hour after applying a cream before being able to put a t-shirt or going to sleep), moreover this Lipikar Fluide contains Shea butter that is amazing when it comes to moisturizing.

3. CAUDALIE’S MAKE-UP REMOVING CLEANSING OIL

I’ve been using this cleansing oil for months now (yes the bottle you see on the picture is actually empty) and despite my reluctance in using any other make-up remover than my favorites micellar waters, I got seduced by Caudalie’s new generation oil. As everything in the famous parisian brand’s lines, that one has a formula of 100% natural origin (say yes to the sunflower seed oil, castor oil, grape-seed oil and sweet almond oil) as well as a delicious, sweet and milky fragrance.
The main asset of Caudalie’s Cleansing Oil is that it does not require a pad (and I dislike pads, for no valid reason), all you have to do is:
– dispense 3 pumps of oil into the palm of your hand
– warm and apply to the face to dissolve make-up
– add a little water and emulsify the product while continuing to massage
– rinse throughly with water
As a good friend of mine would say, easy-breezy!

4. JIL SANDER’S SIMPLY

Following the successful SIMPLY eau-de-parfum launched in 2014, Jil Sander introduces now a new version of the fragrance, the eau-de-toilette – which scent differs a bit from the original.
The head notes include fresh pear, combined with ambrette seed and galbanum. The heart notes are musk and violet as in the original scent, but this time enriched with additional notes of feminine tuberose and subtle nuances of spicy cardamom. The base notes consist of patchouli, leather and vanilla – very characteristic of the original version as well.
The bottle design is very faithful to Jil Sander’s aesthetics: elegant and uncluttered, white and golden, with clear lines and a timeless style (while the original SIMPLY was black and golden, but with the same bottle shape). Anyway this is a fresher fragrance at every level and will be available from February the 1st!

5. CHLORYS’ PURALIS MASK

In one of my previous article I have introduced you to Chlorys, that new Geneva-based, luxurious but affordable brand that stole my heart a few months ago. I bet you also remember the “Comfort Mask” from the Edeleiss line that I reviewed for the occasion. Well in January, as I came back from my Caribbean trip with that salted face I already described you a bit earlier, I was happy, no, lucky to find that little tube of Chlorys’ mask from the Puralis line waiting for me in the mailbox. I applied it thrice a week (yes, usually people only do it twice/week, but it was a matter of life and death) and waited for my skin to recover from the excesses of sun, salt, mojitos. Thanks to the Alpine plant extracts (Chlorys’ trademark) my skin got cleansed from impurities, moisturized and even soothed – definitely a February must-have!