Saturday, July 11, 2015

Skincare Empties & Blue Lagoon



Good for me, I have been using up more products! It drives me crazy having four shampoos with half an ounce left in each, but that's where I am, so hopefully I can finish those soon. Here are some that I finished while on vacation in UK & Paris, because I'm fabulous.
Clinique Comforting Cream Cleanser - good but kinda greasy. I have had this for ages, I think it was another product I got from my grandma's house. I have never bought a Clinique product in my life and I don't think I will, I'm too snobby and they come from the mall. Turns out this product has been discontinued, so, it was pretty old. However, for my dry skin this was a pretty good cleanser, but it didn't make my skin feel clean. It is like putting on a thick lotion and then rinsing it off, with the residue you'd expect. The residue wasn't there if I wiped it off with a cloth but I'm not a huge fan of using a cloth, I feel it makes my skin a bit red and irritated. Started to smell funny by the end of the bottle which was probably about 5 years past its expiration date but don't judge me. I really do recommend a cream cleanser for the super dry-skinned like myself, maybe a cold cream?
Aveeno Protect + Hydrate Sunscreen Lotion: My mom left this at my apartment when she visited, and then she didn't want it back. I realized why later when I was in Target and a nice lady was giving them out for free! So now I have another one. I like travel sizes for my daily products -- SPF face lotion, concealer, mascara -- so I can take them to the gym in the morning and not carry something big around all day, but, it makes my skin sting a little. I have no idea why, even the new one does. I'll finish it off since it's so tiny but, no thank you, lotion shouldn't hurt. I don't really have sensitive skin either, and I put it on in the morning when I don't even wash my face so it's not like it's getting into overly-exfoliated irritated skin or anything. I guess I could use it on my body but it would cover maybe one leg.
Blue Lagoon Algae and Mineral Body Lotion: this lotion was just OK despite the Blue Lagoon's status as the most magical, other-worldly, lunar landscape spa which is simultaneously bizarre, packed with people, relaxing, and good for your skin. Oh and also you can drink booze while in the pool/spa. The Blue Lagoon is a natural hot springs, the likes of which are everywhere in Iceland, and the water and the sediment in it (not sure how to describe this) is full of minerals like silica and algae that are really good for your skin and extra-relaxing. It has been turned into a huge super-modern spa and it is extremely popular. We only got to spend an hour or so in there due to arriving at the same time as about 5 other coach buses, long lines and somewhat poor planning by the travel company we booked with, but it was a magical hour. And then my brand-new-fiancé left his iPhone by the pool and I had to race back through the maze that is their locker rooms, fully clothed in my boots, to retrieve it minutes before the bus to the airport left. Anyway what was I saying... yeah, we got cheap flights to Iceland that included hotel, transport to and from the hotel via the Blue Lagoon, and while that was easy, really, the hotel left a lot to be desired and we didn't even stay there one night as most of the interesting bits of Iceland are more than a (5 hours of daylight in winter) day's drive away. But, I got engaged there! And Iceland is a fantastic, beautiful, near-perfect place. I think our travel package came with a coupon for $10 off something at the Blue Lagoon store so I got a small travel set which was $10.


Here I am in the Blue Lagoon, with some white silica mud stuff on my face. You can kinda swim/wade up to areas with buckets full of it and you put it on your face, then it just goes back into the water, and you can feel it around your feet all squishy. It's very clean and white so it doesn't feel disgusting like you would think. Afterwards my skin was all soft and smooth and wonderful. However the packaged products do not deliver the same effect. You have to go to Iceland for that.


Gratuitous second picture of the Blue Lagoon lotion, and Jergens Natural Glow lotion: I had an old bottle of this from, you guessed it, my grandma's house. I don't think gma was the fake-bake type so some other female relative must have left it there. I used it up but didn't feel like it actually delivered any color, gradual or otherwise, to my super-pale skin. I chalked it up to an old bottle and irregular use, but I was disappointed. Later I tried Target-brand Up&Up gradual tanning lotion and I was very impressed, but that's a subject for later. I went to Austin for a friend's bachelorette weekend and I wanted to look tan, so all the outdoorsy fit tan Texans would accept me as one of their own. I fake-baked using a serious, all-at-once self-tanner, which turned out horribly splotchy. I had to soak most of it off and scrub some of it off, which led to skin abrasion disasters. I reapplied much more carefully using a lotion instead of a spray, which turned out less dark but more even. I saw this travel size at Walgreens before I left and decided to buy it to use in place of my normal body lotion to keep my tan topped off and keep it from fading too quickly if I was in the pool or shaving frequently. I felt it did a good job for that purpose but in my experience, this won't help you actually get darker over time, even with daily use. 

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