Breath of Fresh Air and Eau Roma Water

I have tested three Lush toners and some steamers, but the ones with a stable place in my cabinet are Breath of Fresh Air and Eau Roma Water.

The number one for me is Eau Roma Water. According to Lush it is actually meant for "dry, sensitive or mature skin" and my skin is all that. This toner never irritates my skin. There's rose and lavender - I've heard that lavender is not ok for all of us sensitive girls, but if that's not your problem, then ERW is worth testing.

Breath of Fresh Air is lovely during the summer. I love the ingredients: sea water, seaweed, aloe.. I can just smell the ocean when I spray this all over my face. I use this together with Eau Roma Water, because Breath of Fresh Air irritates my skin a bit, if I use only it for several days.

I have also tested Tea Tree Water even though it's meant for oily skin. Nice scent and no irritations, although I just used it couple of times. My Lush loving male friend likes to use it and he's got oily skin.

I use these toners in the morning and it always feels luxurious - lovely scents in soft mist.. Sometimes I spray a little over makeup and then during the day a little spritz freshens in a second. It's a good idea to keep another bottle by your desktop and whenever you need a break, then spray some roses and lavenders, relax and enjoy (my employer should buy me this stuff, it improves my job quality ;)).

Additional benefit of buying any of these toners is that you'll get that bottle and you can reuse it. Just fill it with something else; how about sea salt water, your own scent mix, etc? If you like Lush steamers, you can pour the water into a toner bottle and reuse that too (just for a few days I think and let the water cool first). As a last tip I suggest that you place the  bottle in the fridge during those super hot summer days.. remember them? Summer will come, we just need to enjoy winter first. Yes, enjoy! Just remember; don't spray toner on your face and run into freezing air while still all wet..

Heidi Klum did it again

Heidi Klum did it again. Every year she's got the best Halloween costume. For those costumes, all goblins and witches will salute you, Heidi!

Breath Of God

Breath of God - what a masterpiece. I have a bottle from Be Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful days. This bottle is no longer available. Luckily the scent came back from Lush as part of the Gorilla perfumes. It's now sold in a simple, black package instead of this eccentric bottle.

The most important issue is that it is available. The package is not important, the scent is.

I read reviews about Breath of God. I got interested. Even the name was so.. big and strange. I mean, Breath of God? It's nothing like the usual PinkStars-BlingSexy-Some CelebWow names. I read more descriptions. It sounded like the perfect scent. But you know how sometimes you think you'll like something and IRL your nose says no thanks and disagrees? I ordered the sample first. I tested with excitement - would I love or hate it or would it be just bland?

It was so good that tears came to my eyes and dear readers, I'm telling you the truth. I smelled smoke and forests. I was suddenly at the riverside close to my birthplace where the winds blow over the water bringing notes of forests and smoke and something wild. First images settled on my skin and mind. The scent lured me and stayed with me. Later the Yang turned into Yin and I could smell flowers, but not those ordinary big blossoming ones, but something different. Wild flowers, flowers deep in the forests.

It's perfect, original and in balance.

You know a good scent when it has all the phases and not just one slap in your nose. You know it's good when it stays and lingers and the last phase holds on. You know you love it when you get your imagination running wild and you get an genuine aesthetic experience instead of feeling just fashionable or sexy.

"Wearing it, I feel a sense of wonder that so late in the perfume game there still can be such profound invention." - Perfumes The A to Z Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez. Check out my review of their book.

When you read other reviews of Breath of God you notice words like weird, surprising, original, different, masculine and feminine. This scent might scare the pants off you if you're not ready for it. But I recommend: be brave, test it. There's no other perfume like it.

While B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful was gone and all its perfumes unavailable, I was afraid to use this. I planned on holding on to every drop of it as long as I could and then keep the bottle. You know how good scent lingers on the empty bottle? I was so happy when Gorilla Perfumes marched in Lush stores, because then I could open my perfume cabinet and experience the Breath of God again.

There's neroli, lemon, melon, jasmine, rose, vetivert, sandalwood, cedarwood, amber and musk in Breath of God. They sound like ordinary ingredients. But the composition is not. I have sniffed the solid one in Lush shop and it was ok too. I haven't tested those separated parts Inhale and Exhale yet. I wonder if I'll ever test them - why, when there already is the one and only Breath of God.

Smith’s Mocha Rose Lip Balm

Vanilla, chocolate and coffee = perfect combination. Or purrrfect, as Mr Cat would put it.

I was happy with Smith's Minted Rose Lip Balm, but I just had to get this one too. Minted Rose scent is fresh and minty. Mocha Rose is sweet, but not too sweet. There's that note of good coffee and vanilla.. absolutely gorgeous.

I have both in my cabinet and I never take them with me. I only apply these in the morning and in the evening. That's because I use my finger for applying and at home I can do it right after washing my hands. I just know that if I had these babies with me during the day, I would sink my (bacteria-covered) finger into the jar. The scents are so yummy. You cannot resist them.

There are other Rosebuds in the garden of Smith's too. How about the classic Rosebud? Some brambleberry or strawberry? Menthol and eucalyptus? I want to have them all.

I feel so good every time I apply this. No matter how awful the weather or how stressful the day, applying some Rosebud on my lips is a moment of real luxury and happiness.

Best Anti-ageing products according to Good Housekeeping

I found an article of Good Housekeeping's first annual anti-aging awards and there is one product I'm testing right now. I'm testing really hard.. it's not really working, at least not yet, but I'm not giving up until I've used at least one tube.

Good Housekeeping test seems to be quite extensive compared to some usual mag surveys ("let's ask readers and then get some ads from companies plus add some Editors choices too"). Good Housekeeping Research Institute tested 90 products on 820 volunteers, conducted more than 3,000 lab tests, and tallied 1,800+ questionnaires to find the 26 best anti-aging beauty products.

There is something for all among the chosen products. They are not all expensive either. The one I'm testing is Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum. Virve from Ostolakossa blog recommended that one in her blog and explained how it's loved by many happy customers - it's a real bestseller. It should "reveal younger-looking skin in just 4 weeks" and damn it, my skin is rebelling against it.. I let you know more about it when the tube is empty :)

Back to that Good Housekeeping article; I would like to test these too:

• Vichy LiftActiv Retinol HA Night
• Olay Body Quench Plus Age Defying Body Lotion
• Dior Capture Totale Multi-Perfection Hand Repair Creme SPF (I love spending money on hand creams)
• Boots No7 Advanced Renewal Anti-ageing Glycolic Peel Kit or Clarins Bright Plus HP Brightening Peel (peel stuff sounds a bit scary, but I'll be brave. Woman must be brave when facing dangerous enemies like wrinkles)
• Peter Thomas Roth Firmx Growth Factor Extreme Neuropeptide Serum (neuropeptide. Sounds scientific so it must work ;))
• Banana Boat Ultra Defense SPF 50 Lotion (I think I have a tester. Now I only need to find it and check if it's too old)

Have you tested any of these yet?

I must state that in my opinion the most important anti-aging weapons are healthy food, some vitamins and minerals (like vitamin D3), exercise that you enjoy doing, sleeping well & enough, fresh air & nature, love and happiness.

I sincerely believe all those things will brighten any ageing face and body. I'm using military language when writing about aging, but hey, aging is not all bad. You get smarter and wiser when you get older. You learn. You have a better self-esteem. You know that one lame jacket will not ruin the rest of your life and that potential boyfriend's shoes are not the only issue you should check (Honey's traumatic teenage memories :))