Books: "Wirklich wichtig sind die Schuhe" Elīna Garanča

Dear fellow book readers and lovers,

I always thought I was drawn towards strong personalities, women and men who possess impressive intelligence, strong character, great talent, and immense dedication. I believe this is the reason why, upon listening to the mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča for the first time, I immediately liked her. Now, I am not saying (or writing) that I knew all the above mentioned aspects about her or anything about her life only from listening to her singing "Mon coer s'ouvre a ta voix" on YouTube, but my point is that there are things you can tell just by listening to a singer (that being said, don't ask my opinion on Adele or any other trendy pop icon out there). Elīna impressed me from the first audition, because I realized as I was listening to her sing each song, that she had relentlessly studied the respective musical piece, had practiced each song note for note until it sounded good. Being an opera singer and opera fan myself, these things were obvious to me.

Photo by Paul Schirnhofer from http://elinagaranca.com/

Later on I saw an interview with her, taken as she was working on a gala concert for Baden-Baden and then I realized that she is indeed a strong woman, she knows what she wants and she works hard to get it, without taking any shortcuts. I believe this is the key to her success. Later on, when I heard that she has a book out, I got it as soon as I could. So this post is about her book, "Wirklich wichtig sind die Schuhe" ("The shoes are really important"), which I just finished the other night.

Book cover

One thing you should know right off the bat is that Elīna is from Latvia and she learned German all by herself as she was working on her first engagement in Germany at the Opera in Meiningen, with a dictionary and while listening to the German TV talk shows, which makes her endeavor in writing her first book in German all the more impressive. She wrote this book as she was pregnant with her second daughter, Christine, and tells the story of how she grew up in a highly musical family and then decided to choose a career in music, as an opera singer nonetheless.
Elīna's voice type is categorized as a mezzo-soprano (middle soprano). This means that her timbre is lower and deeper than that of a soprano. The roles usually given to mezzo-sopranos are supporting roles and in some operas not as impressive as the ones of the soprano. This is the reason why she decided to accept the opportunity to work at an opera outside of Latvia, in Germany. Germany has a tradition of classical music and opera. I believe this is also the reason why Elīna decided to write her autobiography in German.
The things I loved about the book were the honesty of her discourse (when she explains how she studies every piece note by note, how she wants to understand every character she embodies, how she explains that she is no coloratura mezzo-soprano), the diplomacy with which she talks about her colleagues, and even about those which whom she didn't have the best of relationships, and the full disclosure of the realities of an opera singer (although full of musical drama, there are a lot of mundane aspects an opera singer needs to resolve from healthcare to performance gowns).
One thing that stayed with me is her anti-diva attitude: she wants to be honest to her public by understanding the director's view of the specific opera, by understanding and acting her characters fully (from ingenue young boys, to fiery gypsies and classy ladies) and by delivering the best role possible. Yes, she is a perfectionist and she is very hard on herself, but at the same time she said one thing that Anna Netrebko said at one point, "Nobody will notice and support you in this business if you can't sing, you don't have the talent". She feels that opera will stand the test of time, because of the subjects based on the feelings that the singers deliver to the public and the public's reaction and resonance to these feelings.
The title refers to the fact that as an opera singer one needs to pay attention to a lot of things as one performs on stage, and she prefers to feel comfortable in the shoes she will perform, so that she can feel comfortable and act her part freely.
Finishing this book, I realized that I was instinctively drawn to her not only for her great singing, but also for all her qualities as a strong minded, willed and hard working singer. If you know German and like the music, I recommend you read it.
What are your favorite auto
biographies?
What did you read recently?

Cheers,
Alex.

Find me on Goodreads and Instagram.

Snapchat alex-andreea.

Music. Week-end concerts with Delain and Hollywood Vampires.

Hello dear readers,

I love music in most shapes and sizes that float around in the specter of classical and metal. I do admit that I am especially bias to Opera, Operatic Metal mixes and good old-fashioned Heavy Metal stuff, but I won't say no to Rock, or Symphonic, even Progressive for that matter. The important part for me is good quality of execution and unexpected creativity.

This being said, I was having a hard time the other week, as I was leaving the office on Friday to head to the Metalhead Meeting to see Delain for the 3rd time live, to remember the last time I went to a concert. I missed Tarja's December Ave Maria concert (it got sold out before I managed to get tickets and then there were none left). So, that makes it the Maximum Rock festival in October, when we went to see Epica. I used to remember the last concert I saw, used to prepare myself mentally in advance and put quite a lot of effort in getting ready on the day of the concert to attend the event. But at one point things changed. I am not sure if it is all the classical Opera stuff I've been learning recently, that outshine with their pompous highly concentrated music any demonstrative fan. Possible, but I don't feel anymore like donning on my lovely corsets to stand for hours, jumping up and down, whilst singing with my beloved bands. But I do appreciate those who still do this and enjoy it! I wonder, if this is what they mean by gothic chick growing up. :)

But let's not stray from today's topic. Which is Delain's concert from Metalheat Meeting on Friday and Hollywood's Vampires concert two days later, on Monday.

Delain was playing at the Metalheast Fest, before Dragonforce (which sadly, though highly virtuous didn't impress me that much and left me feeling as tired as if I were sprinting for 80 minutes or listened to Rossini's entire "La Cenerentola").

Photo by Carlos Funes

They had some technical difficulties which impeded them to start on time, but they more than compensated through their professionalism - their energy was highly positive and they communicated with the fans constantly throughout the show - you don't have to take my word for it, check out Carlos Funes' complete pictures of the show here.
When bands play at festivals, they usually have a given time frame in which to create a playlist and sing enough of their songs to please their fans and impress any potential new ones. In their 10 years career (which they will celebrate this year) they released 4 albums and 2 special re-releases and have quite a lot of iconic songs - which follow on subjects like loss of humanity "Mother Machine", loss of individuality "Army of Dolls" and intolerance, specifically referring to Sophie Lancaster's tragic death, "We Are The Others".

Photo by Carlos Funes

Their music per se is not something very complex or complicated, but it is honest and it does fall in the Symphonic Metal category and have electro and gothic influences. I have seen Delain now for the 3rd time and Charlotte is still one of the good front women out there - smart, fearless, has her own style, and most importantly, she sings really well (and it is clear that she works on honing her vocal skills) and communicates with the audience.

Photo by Carlos Funes

Her band members are all great musicians, from Merel (who is the wiz-kid with the guitar), to Timo (who kills at guitar and does some backing vocals), to Martijn (who is the master of the keys and symphonic), to Otto (who plays a very mean bass and on occasion also does the grunts) and to Ruben (who kills at drums). Together they are a well honed machine and this is what they presented to the public at the Metalhead Meeting. Next to the 3 songs I mentioned above, they also played "Get the Devil Out of Me", "Stardust", "Sleepwalker's dream", "Pristine", "April Rain" and their latest "Suckerpunch", which is also present on their newly announced future album "Moonbathers" (about which I will write as soon as it comes out). Even though they had a limited time (60 minutes) at the fest, I did enjoy the concert and I do hope to see them playing their own concert soon in Bucharest. Maybe enjoy some of their great collaboration with Alissa White-Glutz and Marko Hietala songs live as well.

As Delain was playing on Friday, other musicians where landing in Bucharest to spend their week-end looking for Vampires in Transylvania, at Bran (the castle and the town). It was a gang of good old friends, who are successful on more levels, and who decided it was high time they shared their passion for music with the world. Coincidentally they are Alice Cooper (the master of Horror himself), Joe Perry (from Aerosmith) and Johnny Depp (who's presence made all his fans go both completely mental and go to a concert they wouldn't normally attend) and they called their covenant the Hollywood Vampires, an homage to the band with the same name created in the 70s (by Alice Cooper among others) to bring homage to fellow musician friends fallen due to various abuses. Coincidentally this name is highly appropriate considering "the Cooper woman's" appearance in Depp's "Dark Shadows", made after the popular 70s series about a 18th century vampire in the crazy 70s and Alice Cooper's love for all things horror.

Photo by Miluță Flueraș

I will tell you right off the bat, if you didn't listen to their album yet (which is unforgivable, go get it and listen to it now) this is not an Alice Cooper concert, in the sense that it has no gory stuff, no slutty, murderous nurses, no executions, no snakes, no spiders and ironically, no vampires. Which was hinted as soon as we arrived at the venue and saw the row of fans waiting in line to get in, with quite a few Jack Sparrows and Edward Scissorhands among them. And then after getting in, being greeted by a huge Johnny Depp Sauvage advert and girls giving away samples of the Dior perfume.
I felt like the band's mission was to please their older fan base, educate their new one and give their other old and lost fellow musician friends an homage. They played a tight concert, focusing completely on music, cramming as much as possible in their playlist time, kicking it off with a huge fireworks show, meant to "Raise the Dead" (which was the first song) and continued with great covers by Motorhead, David Bowie, T.Rex, Love, The Doors, The Who, Fleetwood Mac, Aerosmith and Tiny Bradshaw, even some original's "Bad As I Am" (composed by Johnny Depp, Tommy Henriksen and Bruce Witkin), "Seven And Seven Is" (an unreleased song Alice Cooper covered in 1981), ending with "School's out", Johnny Depp's Birthday celebration and another fireworks show. You can see here the entire album with the pictures taken by Miluță Flueraș.

Photo by Miluță Flueraș

Alice Cooper proved once again that he is first and foremost a highly skilled showman and a great musician - his singing on "Break on Through" is scarily close to the original. I especially loved him playing harmonica on Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love". Joe Perry did most of the lead guitar parts and a lot of the backing vocals. Johnny Depp is not a complete noob at playing a guitar, he played in some of his movies, privately with various musician friends and he showed up at Alice Cooper concerts in the past, playing his Gibson guitar quite successfully. It seems that these encounters and their friendship gave them enough confidence to go on a world-wide tour. Nonetheless, he still seemed slightly uncomfortable in his position as a guitarist and played a solo in unison with Joe Perry, but one third from his musical line.

Photo by Miluță Flueraș

Where the band is completed by various highly talented musicians on the album's recording (Sir Paul McCartney and Dave Gorhl to just name a few), on stage they are joined by some of the musicians playing with Alice Cooper on his "traditional" shows.
Overall, I enjoyed immensely being part of this experience and listening to those amazing songs! I hope they will keep up the good work and hope to hear new stuff from them, as well as to see them soon.

I want to thank Carlos Funes and Miluță Flueraș for allowing me to use their beautiful photos!
And in case you were wondering, I wasn't paid at all for this article and I went to the shows with tickets I paid for.

Did you attend these events as well?
What other concerts did you attend lately?

Rock on!
Alex.

Find me on Goodreads and Instagram.

Snapchat alex-andreea.

Book and Movie Review: The Night Manager

Hi Dear Fellow Reading (and on Occasion Screen Adaptation) Lovers,

Today I will talk to you about "The Night Manager" by John le Carré the book and the recent mini series created by BBC. If you are like me and don't want any sort of details on a book you are reading or a movie you want to watch before you actually finish, then read no further. Otherwise, enjoy my thoughts "The Night Manager".

The book tells the story of a British night manager, Jonathan Pine, who works at a high end hotel in Cairo. It is there that he meets the beautiful, exotic and mysterious Sophie, an Egyptian lady, who is the mistress of Freddy Hamid, who, together with his brothers, is involved in a multitude of illegal and dirty affairs. Sophie approaches Jonathan and provides him for safe keeping some documents containing secret information on Freddy's affairs together with the "worst man in the world", Richard Onslow Roper - a professional arms seller. Trying to do the right thing, Jonathan informs the secret services, however they are unable to take action and moreover alert Freddy, who subsequently violently kills her.
Years later, trying to forget about Sophie, Jonathan works as a night manager at a high end hotel in the heart of the Alps, in Switzerland, when he finds himself one night face to face with Roper himself and his entire entourage, who came to stay at that same hotel for some days. It is under these circumstances that he meets Jed, who is described as being Roper's woman, and he inevitably and hopelessly falls in love with her untained freshness. It is now that he decides to contact the British Secret Service again and accepts Burr's offer to spy on Roper. Under the guidance of Burr, Jonathan changes his life dramatically, to create himself a valid background to infiltrate himself and subsequently be accepted in Roper's entourage.
Burr, together with his colleague in the British Ministry and his American friend in the Secret Services, run behind the entire operation, having to fight various attacks from Roper's supportes infiltrated in or affiliated to other departments within the Secret Services in both Great Britain and the United States.

Le Carré builds Jonathan's character as being the perfect candidate for an undercover spy: he is intelligent, handsome, has the ability of being very diplomatic and assertive when the situation requires, can hide his true thoughts and feelings from the ones around him while at the same time remaining a very close observer of the world and people around him, his army training provides him the necessary tools to be a good strategist and provides him the knowledge on weapons and warfare. But at the same time he has a flaw - women. He falls dangerously hard for the most unattainable women, that besides their intelligence, mystery, grace and elegance. However complicated the female object of his desires might be, his feelings run deep and are true - they fuel his drive to bring Roper down. It is this drive, complimented by Burr's dedication and resourcefulness, that fuel Burr's operation. But do not be mistaken, not every night manager at a five start hotel can be a spy, the unique character traits, and the past of Jonathan Pine make him a good spy.
And being a good actor, who knows how to portray his characters, makes Tom Hiddleston the perfect candidate for the part of Jonathan Pine. I remember seeing him as Loki and saying to myself - this guy, he can truly act. Seeing his subsequent movies, this conviction became certainty.
You can see him suffer for Sophie, fall in love for Jed, hating Roper, and liking Roper. Yes, liking Roper, that is the twist Le Carré brought to his book - Roper, who was the worst man in the world, was also very charismatic, intelligent, loved Jed, had a son whom he also loved, in a nutshell Roper had feelings too. Yes, he was killing people and fueling wars, but he was human and at the end of the day could bleed.
Hugh Laurie's "Dickie" Roper seems like the appropriate choice to be the Roper to Hiddleston's Pine. He needs no presentation, not after "House" and "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" and his books ("The Gun Seller" springs appropriately to mind) and his music, and is probably one of the few really actors who Hiddleston ca be equal to and by whom at times even eclipsed.

The mini series changed the time of the story - it is happening not in the '90s, but in our present day - and the ending is different as well - I believe each generation understands happy endings differently: Le Carré had a slightly darker view of the World after the Cold War, compared to the current creative team at BBC, who wanted to bring a happy end for the already skimming audience -. It emphasised more on some parts of the story (the war demonstration) and kept others more in the background (the intricate relationships within the "River House"). But I enjoyed immensely pregnant Olivia Colman as Angela Burr, she was amazing and even more bad-ass than the Leonard Burr in the book (and Leonard is the true bad-ass in the book) and Tom Hollander as gay Corky (even though Jonathan killing him in the move, as opposed to the book, is completely unexpected, and I still don't understand the relevance of the story as opposed to the other changes that did make sense).

Did you see the series? Did you read the books? What did you think of them?

Cheers,
Alex.

Find me on Goodreads and Instagram.

Snapchat alex-andreea.

Beauty. How I make my own night oil serum.

Hey All,

I decided today to share with you the recipe I use for my night oil serum. I have developed my own serum night oil as I was working to recover my skin from acne and Roacutane treatment. And thinking back on it, I am using it for some years now, I change the recipe based on what ingredients I have at the moment, but the idea remained basically the same:

All ingredients for my night serum oil 

• Pure oils
• Vitamins
• Active, non-comedogenic, lightweight, scarring reducing oils

Today the ingredients I used are the following:

• Pure oils:
• Rice bran (contains phytosterols, oryzanol and ferulic acid - it has antioxidant, anti-aging, soothing and cutaneous regenerative effects, with a dry texture, absorbed easily into the skin)
• Madonna lily (contains amega 6, omega 9, palmitic and stearic acids, and phytosterols - helps prevent and diminish pigmentation spots and redness, with a slight anti-inflammatory property, very good for fragile, sensitive skin)
• Argan (contains phytosterols and antioxidants - it has anti-ageing, reparatory, regenerative and hydrating properties, it has comedogenic properties, however it doesn't generate acne or pustules)
• Nigella (contains polisaturated fatty acids, nigelline, nigellone, thymoquinone, para-cymene, vitamine E and carotenoids - which help purify and ameliorate various skin ailments)
• Jojoba (contains gadoleic, erucic and nervonic acids, poliphenols, tanins - it penetrates the skin via the hair folicule and mimics the skin sebun, which helps reduce the oil generated by the skin and promoted skin balance)
• Camelia (or green tea oil, rich in omega 9, vitamins and squalan - it has a skin restructuring effect, with a dry texture, absorbed easily in the skin and non-comedogenic)



My bottle with the previous night serum oil and the ingredients for the new one

• Active oils:
• Blackcurrant (contains an array of fatty acids and vitamin E - it has regenerative, antioxidante and rebalancing effects for the skin, very good for mature, lifeless, wrinkled skin)
• Schisandra (contains a mixture of active ingredients and anti-oxidants that help problematic, atopic and reactive skin - it helps with skin rashes and skin recovery)
• Raspberry (contains carotenoids, gallic acid and vitamin E - it has a small SPF, helps protect the skin from sun damage, promotes recovery and skin illumination)
• Pomegranate (contains a potent formulation of vitamin C- it helps fight skin ageing)
• Acmella (reduces skin scarring by stimulating the elastine and collagen buil up in the skin)
• Arnica extract (used in traditional medicine for its helps regenerating properties - reduces the skin damage, muscle and skin pain)
• Vitamin A - skin restructuring properties
• Vitamin E - oil conservant and anti-ageing properties

Mixing all the above mentioned ingredients created a serum with a multitude of properties:

• Hydrating and relaxing the skin during the night
• If applied over the night creams or treatments, it helps the night cream's active ingredients enter the skin into the deep layers.
• Because I do not use any synthetic perfumes or ingredients, it doesn't irritate my sensitive skin
• Helps prevent pores from getting clogged, hence pimples and blemished don't appear over night
• Reduces scarring and has an anti-aging effect

I use a pump recipient and the oil mix lasts some 6-7 months at a time. I don't use the ingredients all at once and they last a pretty long time for more mixtures.

I get all my ingredients from Elemental and they have amazing customer service and delivery services for Romania and Hungary. I highly recommend them.

Recently, after I have already been using my mix for years, Kiehl's opened a store in Bucharest and I discovered their Midnight Recovery Concentrate. I love the scent and the texture - it is slightly lighter than my mix, but they both seem to work in the same way.

What is you favorite night treatment?

Do you make your own skin care products?
What do you think about home-made skin care?

Take care,

Alex.

Find me on Goodreads and Instagram.

Snapchat alex-andreea.

Beauty. New products in April.

Dear reader,

today I want to talk about the new products I got April.

New products I purchased in April

Face masks from Skinlite
Why: I love the face masks from Skinlite. They have proven until now to be packed with vitamins, antioxidants and active ingredients that don't break me out, but help reduce the scars. The duo mask pack with exfoliating gel (not foaming) and vitamin mask is great for helping the skin recovering its texture. The snail masks (although I was reluctant initially) are my favorites, because after using them my skin is plump, hydrated and the make-up sits amazing on it no matter what face cream I use.
How: I use them 1-2 twice a week on Sundays and Wednesdays.
Where: I get these masks from dm in Bucharest, they are not that expensive.
Conclusion: This brand is Korean, they don't test their products on animals and the ingredients they use are really high quality.

Collagen Eye Zone Mask from Skinlite
Why: These are under eye sheet masks enriched with allantoin and panthenol - which stimulate collagen build up in the skin, Vitamin E, Green Tea extract and fruits (papaya, Rosa Centifolia and Camellia) extracts - the list of ingredients is really short, which usually makes for a good product.
How: I take two patches from the bag, I put them on after I did all my other masks and leave it on until the patches are dry. It is not aggressive to my under skin area and for some hours after using it the dark patches under my skin are visibly attenuated. The pack has 30 sheets and I keep it in the fridge.
Where: I got this from dm in Bucharest.
Conclusion: Since I loved all the other Skinlite masks, I thought I'd try this one out as well. So far so good. No break outs on the under eye area - which happened to me before from other eye patches.

Grape seed oil from Mayam
Why: I finished one these bottles at the beginning of April, as I wrote about here. It is an amazing oil for removing the make-up from my skin, even the SPF cream and the water resistant mascara.
How: It is a great oil, because it is light and doesn't break me out.
Where: I get oils from Elemental for years and their oils never disappointed me.
Conclusion: For the moment, grape seed oil works for removing my make-up and I will continue to use it for the moment.

Anti Age Q10 & UV Filters Hand Cream from Nivea
Why: It has a fluid texture, but that penetrates the skin fast and hydrates it. Like all Nivea products it leaves a nice scent, but the formulation of this cream is actually very good, compared to other creams with SPF. It leaves the skin smooth and illuminated. Looking at the ingredients I saw that it has cocoa butter gkycerides, glycerin and creatine.
How: I use it mostly at night, but also during the day when I go out, because it does have a small SPF, enough for the hands, so long as I reapply it after I wash my hands. I was impressed by this cream, when I realized that the scratches from our cats have been healing at a much faster rate and without leaving any marks.
Where: I got it from the beauty aisle in the supermarket.
Conclusion: I like the texture and the fact that it is not greasy. The illuminating and regenerating effect where nice surprises to this cream and this is why I repurchased it.

In-Shower Body Lotion Firming was from Nivea
Why: I was so busy this month, that I thought I would spare some time, if I use done these in-shower body lotions. It should have Q10 and menthol beads - which I feel clearing my nose as I use them.
How: I use it after the shower, when I am in a hurry, mostly in the mornings, because it also wakes me up.
Where: I got it from the beauty aisle in the supermarket.
Conclusion: I chose this Q10 product, because I thought it would be as good as the hand cream, however it is not as hydrating as I was expecting.


Juicy Shaker from Lancôme

Juicy Shaker before shaking

Why: It contains sweet almond oil, cranberry seed oil, peach kernel oil, dog-rose oil as well as pigment. The product is applied on the lips with an interesting looking sponge applicator.
How: When you shake it (the fact that it is in the shape of a cocktail shaker, makes the whole shaking slightly decadent) the pigment is mixed with the oil. The sponge applicator picks the right amount of product and you apply it on the lips with a buffing movement. Depending how much color you want, you can reapply. After the oil is absorbed in the skin, the lips remain nicely pigmented.
Where: I was pleasantly surprised to find this product in March at Sephora in Bucharest.

Juicy Shaker after shaking and applicator

Conclusion: The color I have is "Berry in Love" (the girl at the counter convinced me to get a more intense color than I intended and I don't regret it) and my boyfriend complimented me when I wore this one time, because it smelled and tasted like berries. After the product is applied it leaves a nice, luxurious shine on the lips and after the oily shine is gone, it leaves the lips nicely hydrated and slightly pigmented.
Because the product is oily, the color will slip outside of the lip line and look feathery, this is why I always use a transparent lip liner.
I like this first product developed and released by Lancôme under Lisa Eldridge's tutelage as Global Director. Her expertise and experience in the beauty world is without par. In the development of this product it is clear that she has been inspired by the Asian make-up culture, about which she talks on her blog.
#bantheboring

"Berry in Love" one application

"Berry in Love" two applications

RealTechniques Make-up Brushes Nic's Picks
Why: I have another basic brush set from RealTechniques, which I got some years back and the brushes are in the exact same shape and form.
How: The 5 brushes contained in the pack are:

The brushes

Duo Fiber Face brush (great for powder and  blending the foundation onto the skin)
Cheeck brush (I use it for blusher, the finish is natural, given I do not take too much product on it)
Angled shadow brush (very good for blending the eye shadow on my eye socket).
Base shadow brush (great for applying shadows, including the inner corner of the eye and on the browbone underneath the brow)
Eyeliner brush (I love this brush. It didn't seem much when I first saw it in the pack, but boy can I draw fine lines and fancy flicks with it.)
Where: I got this set on iherb.
Conclusion: The price/ quality ratio is really good for these brushes. They wash really well and they hold for a very long time. I am not a make-up artist, I put on make-up to go to work or for any special occasions. I recommend these brushes under this capacity.

O.P.I. Nail Envy Nail Strengthener
Why: I never quite  thought that my fingernails need a strengthener, because I can't let them get too long (my fingers being rather long), I use a glass nail file and never cut them. I also use keratine on them before using any nail polish. However going to the gym (a combination of weight lifting, exercising and innate clumsiness), made my nails really brittle and they ended up getting rather short and quite exfoliated. I thought I will use this one from O.P.I., since I have their RapiDry Quick Drying Top Coat and Drip Dry drops, both which I really like.
How: The treatment lasts 7 days. You apply two coats on day 1, reapply 1 coat on day 3 and 5. On day 7 you clean it off and then reapply.
Where: I got it from Douglas in Bucharest.
Conclusion: This is the matter version, there is also a shiny one. I liked it from the first week of application, it goes on smooth and dries really fast, and it gave my nails a nice finish (even if it looks milky in the bottle, it does't look matte on the nails). After I took it off, I realized that my nails were indeed stronger (even after going to the gym). I also used it as a base for nail polish and it behaved beautifully. Since I started using this strengthener, after I remove it, my fingernails have a nice natural shiny sheen, and I can even sport longer fingernails than before.

What are your new acquired products?
Did you try any of these products?
What do you think about them?

Cheers,
Alex.

Find me on Goodreads and Instagram.

Snapchat alex-andreea.

Gadget. Philips Lumea. IPL Hair Removal System

Hello there dear fellow gadget lovers,

Today I will write about my experience with another recently acquired gadget - Philips Lumea Prestige SC2009/00 (the one with 3 light filters). I love gadgets and I love technology and when I first heard about an IPL option to remove unwanted hair, I wanted to try it. The only problem was that it was very expensive and I had to go to a beauty parlor to get the treatment done - both of which are things that make me uncomfortable.

As I am posting this photo, I realize the irony in the message behind it. ;)

When I first heard about an at-home hair removal device with IPL technology, I wanted to give it a try, but wanted to first wait for some feedback and for the price to become more accessible.
To give some context as to why I was looking into this hair removal option, I am a brunette with sensitive white skin and stubborn hair in unwanted places. I therefore feel I need a more permanent and comfortable solution than waxing, razor blades, creams and the traditional tweezer epilator - all of which at different times in the course of history have given me various severity degrees of rashes.

Before I give you my feedback on the treatment, I have to explain a little bit about the science behind it. Philips Lumea has been designed by scientists and dermatologists to help remove the hair without causing health problems.

You should take some precautions, because you cannot use the device if any of the below apply:

• you have a preexisting condition (like: epilepsy with light sensitivity, lupus erythematodes, porphyria, congestive heart disease, diabetes, immunosuppressive disease, skin cancer, collagen disorder, etc)
• are on special treatment (Accutane/Roaccutane in the past six months; AHAs, BHAs, azelaic acid, topical isotretinoin in the past week; if you are taking treatment that reduces the skin sensitivity or induces photo-alleric situations)
• have any sort of injuries on your skin (infection, eczema, burns, inflammation of hair folicles, open lacerations, abrasions, herpes simplex, wounds or lesions and haematomas)
• Last but not least, your skin is really dark - skin type VI (you rarely or never sunburn and you have very dark tanning). This is not being racist, but pure physics - the device will not be effective on dark skin color: the skin will absorb all the light and none will be left over for the hair roots to absorb (see below "How it works" for more details).
• If you are pregnant or breastfeed.
• There are other precautions, I would suggest to read the booklet before you buy or use the device

How it works:

• The light pulsates at a very high frequency and is being absorbed by the hair follicules - therefore the lighter the skin, the less light it will absorb leaving more for the hair to absorb.
• The pulses of light stimulate the hair follicule to go into a resting phase and as a consequence the hair sheds naturally.
• The device has a light setting adapted for the various colors of the skin (except really dark ones, on which it won't work, due to the reason explained above) and hair (except light blond red and gray).
• It comes with 3 attachable light filters (facial, body and bikini).

Pre-IPL treatment:

• Make sure your skin is hydrated and clean - no deodorant or skin moisturizer. It is better to use the device after the shower
• You should remove your hair with a razor blade - because immediately after that you can use the device - or with wax  - in which case you have to wait 24 hours before you use the IPL treatment.
• The idea is that the shorter the hair, the better chances of the hair root to absorb the light and the more effective the treatment.

Treatment and expectations:

• Total treatment duration is estimated at 8-10 weeks (4-5 treatments)
• Afterwards touch-up treatment phase takes about 8 weeks.
• You should have one IPL treatment every two weeks (which is the time it will take for the hairs fallout).
• Towards the middle of the treatment time frame you should already observe an improvement.
• After the first treatments, the frequency of the treatment can be increased to 4-8 weeks, more as maintenance treatments.
• But results vary from person to person.

Post-IPL treatment:

• Use moisturizer (one that will not cause further irritations, one for sensitive skin would be best) on the treated areas
• When you leave the house use an SPF 50+ product
• Don't tan 48 hours (solar or sun) before and after treatment (producer's recommendation)

My experience:

• I am a good candidate for IPL treatment, because I have very fair skin and pretty dark hair - so the hair roots will absorb most of the light.
• I am using this product for about 2 months now on legs, arms, under arms, bikini areas and face, and so far things are good.
• Lumea is really easy to use. After I select the appropriate level (from 1 to 5) I just press it on my skin and pus the button. It has a safety mechanism, unless the outer rim of the adapter is completely pressed to the skin, it won't flash. Also, the flashes are harmless to the eyes, however not looking directly at it will help.
• After 5 treatments the density is much reduced, the hairs grow much slower, without skin undergrowth, and there are areas where these are completely gone.
• The best improvement is visible on my hands.
• The hairs on my legs are still there, but not as dense and not as thick. The result of shaving them lasts much longer.
• I can't use products with lactic acid or salicylic acid in their formulation at all between all IPL sessions. This means that I use no intimate washes with lactic acid or face products with salicylic acid on the area that will be treated with Lumea.
• I did notice that after I used the treatment on my face, on that area some pores started to "clean themselves up", which means that I had to "take care of" some blackheads without any BHA or AHA ingredients, which proved to be difficult, but eventually healed with some Kiehl's Calendula toner and Daily Reviving Concentrate.
• It takes me less time to use the IPL procedure (not to mention it is much quieter) than it took me to use the traditional tweezer epilator, given I charge Lumea beforehand - it won't work if it is connected to the power socket, must be pre-charged, which takes about 40 mins. This is also due to the fact that I have quite a big area to cover (to explain, I am 1,80m, out of which 1m long are my legs).
• I use Lumea after shower on clean and dry skin and after each IPL session, my skin is slightly sensitive and I always use a hydrating product. During the day I always use SPF 50+ on my face and body. I never tan anyway, so  I am good.
• So far this hair removal method works much better than any other method I tried.

Conclusion:

• The results obtained with this tool are the closest I can get to feeling comfortable in my hairless skin (meaning no rashes and a week-long hairless skin after treatment or shaving).
• I am not naïve in believing that I use it for 16 weeks and then no more hair in unwanted places.
• I will have to use Lumea less and less frequent, but so long as I take care of the skin and protect it accordingly, it will work (as explained above in the first bullet under "Conclusion").
• At the same time, I discovered that Bucharest exploded with various IPL-products ads. As for recommendation, I am not sure I can recommend it to anyone else, due to the long list of precautions that need to be taken into consideration. I think if you want to use it, you should do your research and if you are not sure, you should consult your dermatologist.
• Oh, and in case you had any doubts. I paid for it with my own money and got it from emag.

Did you also use the IPL method to remove body hair?

What was your experience?
What hair removal technique works best for you?

Take care!

Cheers,

Alex.

Find me on Goodreads and Instagram.

Snapchat alex-andreea.

Beauty: Used-Up Products. Edition 1. March-April.

Hello dear readers,

I was thinking about the best way to share with you my Beauty-related research. And what other way to do it, than to show you my results? I decided to show you my thoughts when I purchase the products and after I have used them up.

As a general rule, you will find details pertaining to reasons why (mostly active ingredients and formulation), how I dealt with the products (fingers crossed for no skin "explosions" or rashes), my conclusion (basically if I will rekindle my relationship with the respective product) and where I got it from (which is an entire adventure considering that I live in Bucharest, a lot of the products I want to try are not readily available here and most international sites that advertise World wide delivery, mean only some countries in Europe and Russia. [Rant start] I don't want to be mean, but last time I checked Romania was in Europe and furthermore a member of the EU, but leaving politics aside, last time I tried to order Levi's jeans to fit my boyfriend's long legs and Ole Henriksen stuff for my breakout skin, it didn't work. I got really upset, because although the market place should guarantee free and equal opportunities to all its customers, some companies decide to go against it, and had to get creative with other brands. [Rant over.])

The products I used up and will talk about below

FACE CLEANSER
Grape Seed Oil from Mayam
Why: I lost count of how many bottles of this oil I have been using. Again, acne taught me to use lightweight oils on my skin to remove all make-up, including my water resistant mascara and sun screen.
How: I use it as a first cleansing step in the evening, straight on my face, I massage it until the make-up breaks down and then I remove it with a wash cloth dipped in warm water.
Conclusion: I am using this oil for years now, I started using it when I had really bad cystic acne and until now it worked wonderfully for me. I tried mixing it with other oils, but this is still the best for me.

Where: Elemental

Hydralight One Step Face Cleanser from Paula's Choice for normal, oily and combination skin.
Why: It has Sodium Hyaluronate, Allantoin and Niacinamide - all great ingredients for problematic skin, because they hydrate it and keep it young without coating it. This is the big bottle and is my second one. I liked that it cleaned my face without drying it (that's right I have a new problem with my skin now - it dries easily nowadays), I could use it on my eye area, it didn't clog my pores and most importantly, it didn't foam. One thing the acne taught me was that foaming cleansing products are the worst thing you could do to your face. I don't understand why the french pharmacy brands produce such acne cleansers. It confirms my theory that a brand that is either founded by a Dermatologist or has one on the development staff, makes products that can be trusted and are good for the skin.
How: I use it at night after the oil cleansing and in the morning. I loved removing it with warm water and the absence of scent. Paula's choice makes really good products, that have actual active ingredients.
Conclusion: I might buy this product again when I order from Paula's Choice.
Where: Paula's Choice Romania

SKIN CARE
Dermo Purifyer Eucerin
How: I have this for years now. I found it as I was cleaning my beauty cabinet. I got this before I went on Roacutane/ Acutane. I used it at night on my cleansed skin as an exfoliant.
Why: I don't remember exactly what acid it contained, but, based on the smell, I presume it was Salicylic Acid.
Conclusion: It was a decent exfoliator, but I felt it was slightly inefficient for my skin and it didn't manage to keep my pores from clogging.

Photoderm Spot SPF 50+ Bioderma
Why: I like Bioderma's SPF products. I have been using them for some time now and they never failed me. I got this cream some time back, again found it as I was cleaning my beauty cabinet. It is a good SPF cream, but it is really small 30 ml.
How: It is designed to be used after laser treatment to protect from post-treatment sun damage. The formula is really light and it is very easy to apply from the package. I like that it has no perfume.

Facial mask with pomegranate from Apivita
How: I liked this product, it smelled really nice, although I am not big on scents in the products I use. I liked its light texture and that it left my skin hydrated without getting it too oily.
Why: The fact that it was a 89% natural product made me get the big 40 ml version.

Wine Elixir Anti-Wrinkle & Firming Night Cream from Apivita
Why: I got this night cream because it was 93% natural and because it had Salicylic Acid. It smelled really nice, had a nice creamy texture.
Conclusion: Towards the end I couldn't use it on my face anymore, because it broke me out. I ended up using it on my decolletage and hands.

Nutriganics Drops of Youth from the Body Shop
Why: I got this product, because I wanted an oil free serum with youth enhancing/ preserving properties. I must admit it left me unimpressed, it didn't clog my pores or break me out, so this is a god thing, I guess.
How: I used it under my SPF cream, and was absorbed pretty well into the skin.
Conclusion: However nothing else good happened either. It is a scented product, it smells really fresh and pleasant, but I will not finish it up - used most of it though and this is my OCD consolation argument.

Beauty Effect Fakten Filler from Balea
Why: This is a hyaluronic acid serum. It did hydrate my skin, but alas! only for a short time.
How: I used it as a serum under my SPF cream.
Conclusion: After some weeks it started to break me out and I had to stop using it altogether.

Where: I got it from dm - Balea is dm's in-house brand. It has a really affordable price. 

EYES AREA
Aqua Porin Active Eye from Eucerin
Why: It should contain active ingredients that help keep the under eye area hydrated for longer whilst reducing any dark circles.
Conclusion: The package protects the product from oxidation. However, it is has a really light texture and my concealer constantly creased. I didn't see an improvement on my under eye area, but what I did observe was that my eyes started to water after each use - which my Ophthalmologist explained that it means an allergic reaction. I used the cream mostly at night.

GinZing from Origins
Why: I purchased it because origins is a natural brand. It has ginseng rrot extract, glycerin, cucumber fruit extract, chestnut seed extract, green tea leaf extract, magnolia leaf extract, apple fruit extract, caterpillar fungus extract, scutellaria baicalensis (Huang Qin - used in Chinese medicine, reduces oxidative stress) root extract giving the product light reflective and de-puffing properties.
How: I used it in the mornings before I applied my concealer.
Conclusion: This product lasted me for 1 year. It is nothing ground breaking, but it did the trick for some hours after applying it. After some time, however, my contact lenses induced dark circles were back.

Eye Cream SPF15 from Korres
Conclusion: This eye cream product made my years - almost 2 to be precise.
How: I used it in the mornings over my GinZing Origins cream because of the SPF15.
Where: I love Korres products, because they are natural. Unfortunately this product - one of the many - cannot be purchased in Romania, I got the product in Greece, when I was on vacation.

LIPS
Lip Butter in Guava from Korres
Why: These lip butters have shea butter and rice wax.
How: I used this product at night. It kept my lips hydrated all night until the morning.
Conclusion: I love these lip butters in the pots, I have several colors. I got this product in Greece, while I was using Roacutane/Acutane and it worked pretty good in the non-cold months, with a constant application.
I decided to start using up all the lip products that I use before I get any new ones, so there will be many more posts to come on lips.

MAKE-UP
Tan Tint Skinsheen Bronzer Stick from M.A.C.
Why: This is my first ever bronzer, which coincidentally is also a cream stick. The color was pretty good for my complexion, not too orange and not too ashy. The formula allowed the product to blend easily.
How: At the time I got this, I had to wear make-up to cover my acne. I used it as my first contouring attempts.
Conclusion: I used this product for quite a time, but then I had to stop, because after my acne healed, it broke me out.

HANDS
Cicaplast Mains from La Roche-Posay
Why: It contains Shea butter - helps hydrate the skin, 3% niacinamide - helps repair the skin cells and 30% glycerin - keeps the skin hydrated after hand washing.
Conclusion: This is hands down the best hand cream out there. I discovered it again as I was using Roacutane/Acutane in the cold months. It re-hydrated my hands and helped keeping them hydrated. Even after using it, when washing my hands it still kept the dryness at by. I recommended it to my friends and my boyfriend's Mom and it helped them recover from nearly bleeding hands from the cold and the harsh soap used in the office's bathrooms.

BODY CARE
Cocoa Butter Shower Cream by the Body Shop
Why: It did contain Cocoa Butter, which is very good for hydrating the skin all over my body.
Conclusion: It was a good hydrating shower gel if I managed to get it to spread on the skin. It was stubborn to be taken off with water. The smell got me quite queasy. I liked that it didn't make a lot of foam, though.
I ended using it on my feet, which helped keeping them hydrated.

Urea Bodylotion from Balea
Why: It contains 5% urea
Conclusion: I liked this body lotion. It hydrated my skin and kept it from getting red and raw after shaving my legs during the cold months.

FEET
Feet and Legs Ice Gel Balea
The packaging mentions that it has mint oil, but I didn't like the gel texture. It remained sticky on my skin. Smelled really fresh, but not my kind of scent.

HAIR
Smoothation from Londa
Why: I got this product ages ago and I used it quite intensely for some time, but it is now expired. It also contains silicones and I stopped using hair products with silicones in their formulation a while back. Therefore I need to get rid of this products.
Conclusion: I am rubbish at using hair tools and I don't want to torture my hair. I used this leave-in product after washing my hair as a heat protector, as I was using a blow-drying hair brush. It helped keeping my hair from getting too frizzy and to keep it slightly straighter (it is naturally curly and only a professional hair dresser can make it look good).

Have you used these products? What are your thoughts?
What products did you use up?
I would love to read your stories.

Cheers,
Alex.

Find me on Goodreads and Instagram.