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!

 

Hi gals!

Back in February I wrote about Alverde's new make-up line, which back then was not yet available in Hungary. Well, it still isn't, but to all of you who were interested back then I can tell that according to the people at the Hungarian Drogerie Markt, Alverde's make-up items are going to be introduced here on 4th September.

On another note: I recently blogged about the arrival of my most anticipated brand Bobbi Brown to Hungary, and how Douglas is planning to bring in a few other brands as well. Now we know what they are:

• Bobbi Brown (make-up)
• La Mer (skincare)
• Giorgio Armani (make-up)
• Kanebo (skincare and make-up, but only in August)
• Rancé (fragrances)
• Yves Saint Laurent (skincare and make-up)
• Frederic Fekkai (haircare)

The list looks really exciting! I'll keep you posted!

Cheers,
Izar  

Hi girls!

There's a girl on an online forum for Hungarian women who's a real expert when it comes to cosmetics and skincare. I've been reading the topic she's most active on for a while now (wonderful ladies with so much knowledge and experience!) and have learned a lot from her, especially when it comes to sun protection of which she's a real advocate.

Her name is Bagaela and it turns out she recently started a beauty blog of her own on Blogspot, Beauty-ela! Now that really is a big thing because, as I just said, she's a storehouse of knowedge, and it's already pretty obvious that her blog is going to be a wonderful source of information for all of us beauty-obsessed women.

Check out her latest post, The Ultimate Lip-Plumping Must-Have, in which she discusses Fusion Beauty's lip-plumping gloss LipFusion! One day, I'm going to get one of those... :-)

I strongly encourage you to pay her a visit and welcome her among us!

Thank you girls and have a nice day!

 

UPDATE (2008-06-20):

I'm still thrilled, but today I've been to the Douglas store mentioned below, and the sales rep told me that this brand will only be available from the middle of July, along with some other brands that are new to Hungary. (She couldn't tell what brands exactly, as she wasn't told yet.)

Oh well, we shall wait...

I'm so thrilled! The Bobbi Brown brand has finally entered the Hungarian market and has been available here since the second half of June.

So far, her products can only be purchased in only place: the Douglas store at Mammut II(a mammoth-sized mall in Budapest).

The mall, by the way, is a great place for cosmetics-crazy ladies visiting Hungary: check out all the beauty stores it houses*.

As soon as I can allocate some time for investigating the beauty-stores on my list, I'll visit their counter too, and report back on what's actually available here and how I like their stuff.

Have you ever tried any Bobbi Brown cosmetics? (Of course you have.) Did you like them? Any favorites? Share your findings with us beauty obsessed women!


* I was not payed or compensated in any way to say this, it's just my own, unbiased opinion! :-)