I really don't use that much stuff. But I do love to sample things, smell things and just generally play around with face/body/haircare.
I'm an American in Paris this year, and damn if I don't love going into French pharmacies and picking up exotic new pastes, gels, and lotions. If there's one word (three times) to describe my tastes in just about everything, it's FICKLE, FICKLE FICKLE. I have a beauty routine, but the beautifiers I use are destined to 3 months on the bathroom shelf and are then never heard from again. I like to try new things, and then I often miss the old but get distracted by the shininess of yet another screw-off lid. I plan to blaze through products over here, from L'Occitaine to some obscure Tunisian homeopathic soap. And I'll tell you all about it.
Skin: Oily like Exxon. Or used to be, until I got on the pill. Now it's nearly perfect (thank you modern medicine!), so what I use to wash my face depends on the season. In autumn and winter, I use more "milks" and "creams" and in spring and summer I use more "cleansers" and "scrubs."
Hair: Thick, brown, curly. I am happy to have such nice hair but I can never seem to find to get a cut that gives it the right shape! Fiddling around with cuts means a lot of fiddling around with styling products, like this from Aveda and this from John Frieda. (If you noticed that the two hair sprays I've chosen are actually counteracting each other, give yourself 5 points. Urrgh.)
Shamp and Cond: I have no patience for shampoo and conditioner. I so love all the different scents and shit, but I just can't waste my time on two rinse cycles. So I buy 2-in-1. (Am I going to have my contributor status taken away now??) I am currently using a way too vanilla-y smelling one from Timotei. 2-in-1's are marketed for penny-pinching sports girls, which, okay, I might be a little bit of. But I tell you, I'd be happy to pay $20 for a "bergamot and fig" version!
Showers vs. Bath: Let me tell you a little something about the French and showers: it's just not worth it. I don't know why, but so many people here have a shower nozzle that doesn't attach to the wall. Getting up in the morning is enough of a production as is--I don't need to be splashing water all over the place and spraying myself in the eye. In the States I usually take showers, but let the bubbles begin. So far, I've bought myself Le Petit Marseillais bath gel (green tea and ginger scent). It was cheap and is gingery. C'est correct, quoi. More exciting things to come.
Day-to-day: Haven't found a good facial wash here for everyday yet. I used to use Nivea Visage but I couldn't commit. I did find this awesome pink clay masque by Cattier that I've been using every couple of days against the stress acne. I get a kick out of the pinkness, its smell is very subtle yet fragrant, it's organic, there's no animal testing, and it's manufactured locally right outside of Paris. Win win win win and win-situation! The only negative: it's kind of ugly. I am very picky about label design.
More about make-up and perfumes to come.
À plus!
5 comments:
If I ever meet a 2 in 1 that will properly condition and detangle my hair, I'm all over it. But, like I said, I use a deep conditioning treatment as my daily conditioner so... ergh.
I used Pert Plus for years. Loved it. And the conditioning was gooooood. I forget why I stopped using it!
For most of last year, I used Pantene's 2 in 1 line. Maybe you could give that a whirl? I thought they worked really well, especially the "smooth hair" variety...
When I wash with Pert Plus, I still have to use a separate conditioner after it. However, it really depends on the length of my hair - when I had short hair, I sometimes skipped conditioner altogether.
Hmm, well, now I'm starting to think I should give REAL shampoo and conditioner a try again. After all, I'm in the bath over here, so I've got more time...
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