Autumn Shades - Alverde: Haul & Review (+ Laser Hair Removal Update)

Hey lovelies,

I apologize for not blogging much the last couple of weeks. I have so much to do that I hardly have any free time. I am very happy to get to write this post, though!!

The Autumn is at its peak and I walked a bit through the near-by forest to look at the colorful leaves. Such a relaxing sight...

I picked up the vast majority of an Autumn make-up feature by the organic drugstore brand Alverde. My favorites are the 2 lip glosses that look great on lips and taste like mint! The eye-shadows magic brown, sage, sand, and spirit are beautifully pigmented and are made of recyclable packaging. The magic rose blush is too pigmented for my fair skin color. I need to use the smallest amount to make it work for me. The matching eye-pencils magic wood and earth and the brown mascara (containing minerals and silk) have great effects but, unfortunately, they smudge throughout the day... As Alverde is a drugstore brand you get great value for money!! The earthy colors give my face a natural touch-up and I personally don't need to look 'well groomed' at all times. So, if my eye make-up doesn't last long - well, on some days I can live with it knowing that I can give my skin a rest by using this brand which abandons synthetic ingredients from all formulations.


Below you find the ingredients list for the entire special edition (too bad it's not a permanent set!) :

Lip Gloss with boost effect shade original:
Ricinus Communis Seed Oil*, Lanolin, Brassica Campestris, Aleurites/ Fordi Oil Copolymer, Rhus Verniciflua Cera, Cera Carnauba*, Candelilla Cera, CI 77019, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, CI 77891, Olea Europaea Oil*, Dipalmitoyl Hydroxyproline, Glycine Soja Oil*, Mentha Piperita Oil*, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Menthol, Silica, Aloe Barbadensis Extract, Capsicum Frutescens Fruit Extract*, Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tocopherol, CI 77163, CI 75470, Brassica Campestris Seed Oil*, Parfum**, Limonene**, Linalool**, Benzyl Benzoate**
* ingredients from certified organic agriculture
** natural essential oils

Lip Gloss with boost effect shade 002:
Ricinus Communis Seed Oil*, Lanolin, Brassica Campestris, Aleurites/ Fordi Oil Copolymer, Mica, Rhus Verniciflua Cera, Cera Carnauba*, Candelilla Cera, CI 77891, Glycine Soja Oil*, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Olea Europaea Oil*, Dipalmitoyl Hydroxyproline, Mentha Piperita Oil*, Hamamelis Virginiana Extract*, CI 77491, CI 77499, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Menthol, CI 75470, Silica, Aloe Barbadensis Extract, CI 77163, Capsicum Frutescens Fruit Extract*, Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract, Tocopherol, Brassica Campestris Seed Oil*, Aroma**, Limonene**, Linalool**, Benzyl Benzoate**
* ingredients from certified organic agriculture
** natural essential oils

Lip Colour shade 223 Magic Rosewood, 224 Magic Strawberry, 225 Magic Chesnut:
Ricinus Communis Seed Oil*, Mica, Cera Carnauba*, CI 77891, Candelilla Cera, Cera Alba*, Glycine Soja Oil*, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Oenothera Biennis Oil*, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil*, Shorea Stenoptera Butter, Hamamelis Virginiana Extract*, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Alcohol*, Aroma**, Linalool**, Benzyl Benzoate**, Coumarin**, Limonene**, Geraniol**,m [+/- Talc, CI 77163, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 75470]
* ingredients from certified organic agriculture
** from natural essential oils

Lipstick shade 118 Magic Nude, 119 Magic Tree, 120 Magic Berry:
Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, Mica, Kaolin, Butyrospermum Parkii*, Rhus Verniciflua Peel Cera, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil*, Rhus Succedanea Fruit Cera, Cera Alba*, Copernicia Cerifera Cera*, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbyl Palmitate; [+/- CI 77491, CI 77891, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 75470]
* ingredients from certified organic agriculture

Powder Rouge shade 504 Magic Rose, 505 Magic Terra:
Mica, Talc, Tricaprylin, Magnesium Stearate, Bisabolol, Hamamelis Virginiana Extract*, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil*, Simmondsia Chinensis Oil*, Glycine Soja Oil*, Olea Europaea Oil*, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Parfum**, Linalool**, Coumarin**, Benzyl Benzoate**, Limonene**, Geraniol**, [+/- CI 77163, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77891, CI 75470, Silver Oxide]
* ingredients from certified organic agriculture
** from natural essential oils

Eye-Shadow shade 310 Magic Sand, 311 Magic Sage, 312 Magic Brown, 313 Magic Spirit:
Mica, Talc, Tricaprylin, Magnesium Stearate, Bisabolol, Hamamelis Virginiana Extract*, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil*, Simmondsia Chinensis Oil*, Glycine Soja Oil*, Olea Europaea Oil*, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Parfum**, Linalool**, Coumarin**, Benzyl Benzoate**, Limonene**, Geraniol**, [+/- CI 77163, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77891, CI 77289, Tin Oxide, Silica, Silver Oxide]
* ingredients from certified organic agriculture
** from natural essential oils

Mascara shade 070 Magic Earth:
Aqua, Alcohol*, CI 77499, Stearic Acid, Cera Alba*, CI 77491, Algin, Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters, Jojoba Esters, Oenothera Biennis Oil*, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil*, Hamamelis Virginiana Leaf Extract*, Serica, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Shellac, Silica, Parfum**, Limonene**, Linalool**, Citral**, Citronellol**
* ingredients from certified organic agriculture
** natural essential oils

Eyeliner Kohl shade 041 Magic Earth, 042 Magic Wood, 043 Magic Forest:
Rhus Verniciflua Peel Cera, Mica, Butyrospermum Parkii*, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil*, Copernicia Cerifera Cera*, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbyl Palmitate; [+/- CI 77499, CI 77891, CI 77491, CI 77492]
* ingredients from certified organic agriculture

Do you like/use organic make-up?

Have a great week,
ur gypsy girl xx

P.S.: Laser Hair Removal Update:

It is going great!! Even after the first treatment I noticed that fewer hair are growing back and the second appointment was even more manageable in terms of the slight discomfort you get from the heat of the laser... you notice less and less of it with every new treatment! All thumbs up so far :-)

Summer Skin Dreams - Laser Hair Removal (Part I)

Hello my dear readers,

I hope you're having a great Sunday afternoon! I am not writing as many blog posts as I was aiming at when I started out but I am on a very tight schedule with my studies and I am spending practically my entire spare time with family and friends. BUT I have a lot of ideas for future posts that I am very excited to publish in the next couple of weeks (some products are brand new and need to be tested further). So, please bear with me, I am so enjoying to stay in touch with you!!

Last week I had my first laser hair removal treatment using the Super Hair Removal (SHR) system. According to the doctor at the Laser Center (I went to a specialist- NO mocking around with semi-trained persons in tanning salons on this matter, no no no!!) said that this laser is superior to others because it uses the benefits of an improved frequency rate (energy is released up to 10 times per second), so it can go with only 25% of the heat exposure of regular lasers, making it the safest on the market! The laser responds not only to the melanin (pigment) of the hair but also to the stem cells. As a consequence, even dark-skinned people experience good results and light fair hair will come off, too.

So Far So Good!

I decided to get rid of the lot - legs, underarms, upper lip, and bikini area. I was not sure at all what to expect but I can honestly say that my first session was surprisingly pleasant!! I did not feel intimidated by the staff (in fact, everyone was really considerate) and the SHR applicator did not hurt. The heat went up gradually each time that it was run over the skin (about 8-10 times on a fairly large body section, e.g. the front and sides of one upper leg) - and just when I felt like it was getting hot, the body part was done! Only on the thick pubic hair in the bikini area (the more melanin a hair contains, the more heat is being absorbed) I was really counting the seconds until it was over, ouch! I spent about two hours there, including waiting time and payment.

I can describe my impression best that way: The heat resembles the sensation when walking on an asphalted side-walk on a hot summer day.

What's supposed to happen now: All the hair that was growing at the time of this first laser session will grow out and (hopefully) never come back. As only 25% of the entire body hair is in this "growing" phase at any given point in time I need at least 4-8 sessions until the procedure is finished. So, the new set of "growing" hair will be treated in another 8 weeks time, and so on, until I am satisfied with the results.

I have experienced no side-effects so far. In fact, my skin feels smooth and is not red at all. I am required, though, to wear high protection sun block on the areas that are exposed to direct sun light. Also, a couple of days before the next treatment I was recommended to quit using self-tan lotions and I need to shave a day prior to the next session.

I was so worried to try this method but now I feel confident that I am doing the right thing. I decided to take this step because I get irritated skin and ingrown hair from any conventional hair removal technique (such as shaving, waxing, using epilators, shaving creams, you name it...) and my skin just does not come to a rest. A friend of mine used a similar method a couple of years ago (the second generation of the Intense Pulsed Light, IPL-2) and is very satisfied with the results!

I will keep you up to date after every new treatment, so finger's crossed I'm gonna stay this positive :-)

Dreams, dreams, dreams ...

(picture taken at the enchanted Getty villa in Malibu, California)

I really wanna know: What do you think of laser hair removal?! Have you heard of SHR or even tried it yourself?

All the best,
your frivolous(?!) gypsy Sam xx