I don't know what the weather is like where you live, but here it's been raging at us for a week now: high wind, rain, cold (below 10°C/50°F), and darkness all over the country. It came out of the blue, and sooner or later I'll have to accept that summer is officially over and dig my winter clothes out of the wardrobe.

As I mentioned in a previous post I don't mind the greyness that much: it feels like a cozy blanket has descended on the city and I can walk among the crowd unnoticed. For those who are not particularly fond of this kind of weather, here's something you can play with: colorful, smells good and protects your skin from the cold weather.

Alverde have really proved their mettle with their latest products. I'm nowhere near the end of trying them all, but I've been using a few and I'd like to share my findings with you.

These were the products I was most curious about, and I'm happy to say that all of them have met my expectations.



Let's start with the two body products.

This has got to be their most liquidy lotion to date. (I just wonder why they can't produce something similar for facial moisturizer.) It's pink and smells exactly like their facial moisturizer with acerola cherry and carrots (=Vitamincreme Acerola Karotte).

Somehow Alverde's body lotions are the only ones that keep my skin hydrated during winter. Bioderma has some really cool body lotions and I also really liked La Roche Posay's Lipikar, but I'm on a tight budget now and don't exactly have the money to spend on those products. Alverde's products have always worked for me, and this one's no exception. Every time I put it on in the morning (on slightly damp skin) I can practically hear as my skin drinks it all up and gives a contented little sigh afterwards. It sinks in fast and leaves only an extremely thin layer of oil on my skin which, contrary to what you might think, does not feel like a layer of oil at all. It's more like a protective barrier that feels velvety and doesn't allow my skin to tear itself apart from dryness.

So far this stuff has even kept my hands silky soft, but for extended periods spent outside in the cold weather I recommend Alverde's new body butter to be used as a hand-cream.

Ingredients:
Aqua, Alcohol, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (almond) Oil, Vitis Vinifera (grape) Seed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (jojoba) Oil*, Butyrospermum Parkii (shea butter)*, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Parfum**, Sodium Lactate, Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Tocopherol (vitamin E), Helianthus Annuus (sunflower) Seed Oil, Lactic Acid, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (cranberry) Fruit Extract, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Lithospermum Erythrorhizon (borago-like plant) Root Extract, Linalool**, Limonene**, Geraniol**
*ingredients from certified organic agriculture
** from natural essential oils






Like I mentioned above, this doubles as a superb handcream. Since I like to carry some around with me in my handbag and have an empty 30 ml pump-bottle laying around, I'm considering mixing the two (the body butter and the lotion) to create a cream that will both moisturize and protect my hands. (And not annoy above mentioned pump bottle too much. Aaaand smell like walnut cake with cranberry sauce on top. And... No more wishes. :-))

Anyway, what can I say? I'm glad I bought this one. :)

True, in the beginning I was somewhat hesitant about the the smell: it had something in it that reminded me too much of a product I hated because of its smell (Alverde Körpercreme Mandel Teerose). Somehow, though, my initial aversion to this product quickly faded away as I gradually began to tolerate and then later like its scent, and also because I soon discovered how much my skin and this product like each other. Well, who am I to argue with my skin, right? So now this body butter and I are best buddies: I put it on before I got to bed in the evening and I swear it's more comforting than a teddy-bear. :) It's really does smell like a slice of walnut cake (or my favorite, "Eszterházy-cake") and makes my skin silky soft. It needs about 5-7 minutes to sink in, but afterwards it's perfectly grease-free and lovely.

I can't recommend it enough. :)

Ingredients:
Aqua, Glycine Soja Oil*, Glycerin, Alcohol*, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil*, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter*, Theobroma Cacao Butter*, Olea Europea Oil*, Xanthan Gum, Calendula Officinalis Extract*, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Extract*, Rosa Damascena Flower Water*, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Ascorbyl Palmitate Parfum**, Limonene**, Benzyl Salicylate**, Linalool**, Citral**
*ingredients from certified organic agriculture
** from natural essential oils


There's not much to say about this one. Smells mouthwatering, though I'm not sure it actually reminds me of pineapples, but whatever... It's Alverde's usual shower gel formula, this time packed in a 200 ml tube.




An excellent brush and unbelievably enough it was a mere 700 HUF! It's fine, hard and easy to line your eyes with. Judge for yourselves:



Aside the ones I mentioned here, there are some other new products to look forward to:

Two new bubblebaths.


Cleansing foam with silk.


Two lip and cheek stains.

And a shower cream with figs and raw sugar. Yummy!

 

Hey everyone!

I hope you had a great week! (And that it was less rainy than mine... I swear, it only rains when one's on vacation, but you've already been told that by Murhpy, so I won't bother again.)

Mum and I had some business to take care of in the city center, and you'll never guess what happened: on our way back she went into a perfumery on her own to sample a pefume the name of which reminded her of an old perfume she used to own and love. My Mum. The one who practically has to be dragged into a cosmetics store by force every time I want to check something out. The one with whom I fought for years over my ever-growing collection of make-up and skincare items and from whom I (almost) hid every new product I bought. The one who still blames every catastrophe that happens in the world on cosmetics...

Yep, that one. ^_^

By the way, she was interested in the new Hermes fragrance Un Jardin Apres La Mousson.

We sampled both the old and the new version and she ended up liking the new one. We didn't buy it, but she promised herself she would when one of her businesses breaks even.

By the way, both the old and new version are exceptional for me: even hours after we sprayed them on they were not nauseating, and I can definitely imagine myself wearing them regularly, which is a rare thing for me. The new version reminds me more of a lush garden just after a spring shower, and I highly recommend it for summer. Upon sniffing the old version, my immediate reaction was: "Hmm, watermelon and something else... Aha! Black pepper!" And it turns out I was right. :-)

I'm not good at describing perfumes, both because it's difficult to begin with and they're not my biggest love, so I suggest you check out this perfume blog, where you can read a much more concise review on it than what I could provide you with.

Now that I'm done with my usual digression, let's turn our attention to what I promised to give you in this post's title.

Yep. I got it. After so many years of pining after it, I finally got it.

The Body Shop's Blueberry Body Butter. (E-Bay is a cosmetics-hungry Hungarian girl's best friend...)




I'll start with the most important thing you need to know about this product. It's a body-butter (well obviously...), and as such, you want to apply it the right way. If you've ever owned a LUSH body-butter (not a massage bar!), you probably remember that it was to be used in the shower or in the bath, under running water. You had to apply a small amount onto wet skin, massage it in and then rinse off.

The emphasis in the case of both body-butters in on "small amount" and "water". It's essential that you treat your body with TBS's Blueberry Body Butter while it's still wet, and that way you only need the tiniest amount for it to make your skin silky smooth and moisturized for a long time.

Take a look at the picture below. On my fingers is an amount that's enough for me for my arms, or my stomach and waist, or one of my legs. I only say this because I've read reviews on MUA by so many women who claimed this stuff is greasy and horribly thick that I felt I had to clear things up. Yes, if you put it on dry skin, you can bet it's going to be greasy and thick. I actually cannot imagine using it without water; it's almost impossible to do so anyway.




(Erm, yeah, I know, I have hands like that of a baby... Not very feminine, but my Dad's genes were kinda adamant in exercising their will, I guess.)

Anyway, I can't really tell you about the smell, at least I won't be able to make you imagine it, but it's juicy and spicy at the same time, much like blueberry yoghurt smells. Delicious!

Now it's effect is definitely something to rave about. What no other body-lotion, cream and butter had managed to achieve, this one had. The Body Shop's Blueberry Body Butter made my hands and my cuticles moisturized and incredibly soft right upon first application. (And keep in mind, I used the tiniest amount: probably a quarter of the size of a pea was enough.)

This body butter is something to turn to when no other product seems to be enough for your skin. After a nice shower, I put it on my skin in a very thin layer, and my entire body was smooth and hydrated all day. Sure enough, it felt just a tad heavy in 30 Celsius degrees (86 F), but this is a very thick body butter, and judging by that and the label, according to which it's meant for dry skin, it's bound to be too much for me in the summer, but will probably be perfect for my skin in winter.




All in all, The Body Shop's Blueberry Body Butter has been a great product so far, one I can highly recommend for women with dry skin and for those of you who, like me, suffer from dry, itchy skin all winter. Also, if you want to surround yourself with delicious scents (that don't last longer that two or three hours, unfortunately, but still smell wonderful), then don't pass The Body Shop's body butters up: they were made for you. ;-)


BTW, I saw Disney&Pixar's WALL-E today! I dare say it's even better than Ratatouille, and I loved that one very much, so that's really something. There's not much dialogue in it, but all the different ways in which Wall-E can say "Eeevaaaa!" (and vice versa) will surely make your heart melt. :-) If you want to see something cute, funny, exciting and visually stunning, then go and see WALL-E in your local movie theater.