Product Review: ISANA Automatic Face Cleaning Brush

One small kid, several jobs, several blogs, lots of things to do in just 24 days. My mother always used to say that regardless how busy you are, you should never neglect your face. You better wake up at 5am twice the week to have a mask than spend one month or more completely neglecting yourself. I was not necessarily a well-behaved kid, listening to what my mother say, but her face was always good looking, regardless the age and the life hardships and illnesses she went through. 

In her memory, I am trying to keep up with my self-care, beauty rituals, either by using a face mask - twice the week, or by trying to get some treatments - once in a while - or practicing some healthy beauty tips. Of course nothing compares to the professional knowledge of a beauty practician, but as for now, my investments are better done in other areas therefore I am doing a lot of things by myself, using beauticians' advices and family lessons.

Face cleansing is very important as it is the basis of a healthy skin. It eliminates those dead cells and add a healthy touch to your face. I religiously remove my makeup every day, but in the last year I feel that I need some more serious treatment, which includes deep peeling and a treatment to add more vitality to my skin.

Therefore, when once I've seen ISANA Face Cleaning Brush, I decided to go for it in a second. As it costs under 15$ -  with batteries included - it does not include a high investment risk. It comes in a box, with a small bag to keep the product between uses, with three different brushes: silicon, normal and smooth. The product is small so it does not take too much storage space. The instruction booklet is written in a couple of languages - among which Hungarian, Turkish, German and Polish, but - unfortunatelly - no English. 

I am using it for already one month and very happy with the result. My skin looks healthier and I feel less guilty for not taking time off for my beauty routine. I have a small beauty parlor in my home and I can happily live with that.

The normal and silicone brush applies to all types of skin, while the smooth one is recommended for special types. I have a normal type of skin and I happily and successfully used the three of them. It works. The normal brush is recommended for intensive cleaning, the smooth one for gentle cleaning, while the silicon is good for peeling and deep cleaning. 

You can use it in several ways. Either on a wet skin or after using special face cleaning products, applied either directly on the brush or on the face. 

The automatic system has two speeds and a cycle lasts around 60 seconds. Every minutes it stops automatically. I personally used it for maximum 3 cycles. More than that it might provoke iritation or hurt. I've used it through circular movements on the cheeks, forehead, nase and chin. A couple of seconds - less than 30 - for each of this side is enough. 

After you are done, you can apply your usual daily creams. 

The brushes should be cleaned following every use and dried with a clean cloth. You need to be careful to not use it close to the eyes and, as in the case of all such products, keep them away from children. 

It is very easy to use - practically I do it early in the morning, with one hand, while the other hand is busy preparing the coffee and the breakfast. It makes it a good beauty care product for the time when too busy for scheduling an appointment at the beauty salon.  

Beauty Product Review: Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel by Benefit

The 'brows bar' by Benefit at Galeries Lafayette in Berlin

By nature I have think, full, dark eyebrows, that need at least every two weeks some special shaping intervention. Until my late 20s, I refused to do anything with them, just left them wild and dark, followed by a period when I made them so thin that I had to use a special pencil to fill them back. 

This unhappy brows period lasted until I discovered Anastasia Soare and her magic addictive kits. I am happy with everything she is creating for brows that I never cared about other products invading the market. My kit has everything: the make-up powder suited to my original brows colour, the perfect tweezers - both in terms of design and ease to use them efficiently - and the gel which I use at least once the day. I haven't look for or need anything else for years...

A couple of days ago though, I had the chance to try the brow volumizing fiber gel from the US-based company Benefit. The company has a long list of products for brows, but you shall buy them one by one. They have a special design and are sold in colourful packages with pin-up girls on the box. 

I tested the brow volumizing fiber gel for a full week, applying on the brows early in the morning. Waterproof, it lasts the whole day and can be applied easily, thanks to the fine and efficient brush. You just need to stroke the brush tip along the brow to define shape and eventually, if there is enough material to play with, to try to shape and build it. Usually, I am using a special gel which shapes the brow, preferably after I apply the make-up, and it has the advantage of maintaining the brow well defined for the rest of the day. The Benefit gel is rather a mascara and it helps especially those thin light colour brows, as it helps to better define the brows. However, if you are from the gang of 'big dark brows' it doesn't make such a big difference, except some fine definition, which is just fine. What I really loved was the fine brush and how easily you can use it on the brow length.
Despite those observations, I recommend the brow volumizing fiber gel, proferably in combination with another one of their many brows products. They are high quality, a good costs-benefits balance and do have a cute design. 

Product review: Aqua Kiss by Victoria's Secret

Easy to use and in a good looking package - at least at the first sight - Aqua Kiss by Victoria's Secret is a fresh and sparkling fragrance. Easy to use in the morning or in the evening, it creates the same impression of dynamic presence and young-at-heart bubbling personality. I personally use it in the morning, after the shower, and the scent itself makes me feel energized and in a conquering-the-world mood. I suppose I send the same message to the ones who feel my scent too.

The fragrance was created as a mixture of rain kissed fressia and daisy. Fressia is usually a very strong scent, but it seems that the right dosage was happily chosen here.

As for the bottle....It has a nice design with an image of blue flowers reflected and magnified by the liquid, but from close-by it is made of a relatively cheap plastic...For the 250 ml. bottle, the spray part can be easily damaged and it takes time to turn it round and round until it works properly. 

The Aqua Kiss fragrance is also available as shower gel and fragrance lotion.

In Germany, it is available by the Douglas stores, for around 15 EUR.