frozen spring

cruelty free & sustainable living

New In: Vacation Haul!

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After two weeks I’m back in Stockholm! I was spending some time with my family and friends back in Croatia and while I was there I purchased some (well, more than some) products, mostly from brands which aren’t available in Sweden, like essence and catrice cosmetics. Other products are available in Sweden, but they’re more expensive here so… I got them cheaper! :D

On the photo above you can see all the products I got, but I also got a few clothing items and a bag which you can see in the end of my post. Anyway, keep reading to see what I got!

Lush Cosmetics

Since I started buying (only) cruelty free products, I began to explore Lush cosmetics more often and my wish list is getting longer and longer with every click on their website! My last purchase contains four products: Brun and Noir henna, Soak and Float and New Shampoo Bars. First two products are something I’ll be using for the first time, I already did my homework, looked at tutorials, read plenty reviews and I’m really looking forward to it! I’ll definitely take some photos and show you some before/after pictures. :)

Shampoo bars are something new as well, but I’m not so excited about them as I am about henna. :D Soak and Float shampoo bar is for my husband who has really sensitive scalp and the other one is for my hair. But I’ll be trying my husband’s bar as well since my scalp tends to get sensitive from time to time, too. :)

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catrice cosmetics

It’s really a shame that catrice isn’t available in Sweden since they have so many good and affordable drugstore products (and by affordable I mean REALLY affordable, not like some local brands :D). I was considering picking up a few more products, but I was trying to be reasonable (we see how that worked out, LOL). Anyway, I got 2 nail polishes in shades 108 The Very Berry Best and 115 Summer Nights’ Sky, Defining Blushes in shades 040 Think Pink and 110 Legend-berry (these were on sale, I think they’re going to be discontinued), Softly Touch Shadow in shade Nude NETisfaction (limited edition), Mascara Lashes To Kill and Longlasting Lip Pencil in shade 170 Plumplona Ole.  The Lip Booster was GWP.

The price range for these products is approximately between $3-$5 (if I’m not mistaken) so, indeed affordable. :)

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Wet n Wild

This brand is available in Sweden, but the prices are quite higher than those in Croatia, unfortunately. Not to mention that their counter is always so dirty and messy which really turns me off from purchasing anything! :/ I got only three products in Croatia, probably those that everyone raves about: megalast nail polish in 2% milk and megalast lipsticks in Smokin’ Hot Pink and Ravin’ Raisin. I’ll post my swatches this week. :)

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Minimal Chic

Minimal Chic is a Croatian based handmade skincare brand made by a good friend of mine and I can’t repeat enough how much I love her vision, products and product design! I generally love to support small businesses, whether they make skincare products, makeup, bags, pottery or anything else. ♥

For now I have only a few products (from left): Makeup Remover*, Vitamin C Serum and Hyaluronic Acid Serum.

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essence cosmetics

essence and catrice are sister makeup brands and they often have similar products or shades, but catrice is more “serious” while essence is the perfect brand for young(er) folks. I still buy some stuff from time to time, mostly nail products, but I do tend to grab a lip product here and there.

What I got this time: essence studio nail repairing & caring oils, colour & care strengthening nail polishes in shades 01 take a break and 03 happy nails, bloggers’ beauty secret nail polish in  shade 04 shine bright, studio nails triple care, nail polishes from the merry berry collection (LE Christmas collection) in shades 03 pink & perfect and 01 I love my golden pumps, nail cuticle remover pen and lipliner in 06 satin mauve.

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Rituals, theBalm, alverde, Holyplant

My last beauty related image contains four different brands and products. My favourite from the bunch is probably The Ritual of Sakura Foaming Shower Gel from Rituals! I love this collection and I plan to buy a few more products, the first one my list is the body cream. The rest of the products on the picture are: theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer Highlighter, Alverde Wildrose Sheabutter face mask and Holyplant hand & nail cream.

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Okay, done with makeup and skincare so let’s get to fashion! I don’t really buy clothes that much so I got only a few items. Three of them are clothing items from a Polish brand called Mohito – lovely choice of interesting designs and colors, unfortunately, again not available in Sweden and they don’t ship to Sweden either. :( I got a simple sleeveless black blouse with an interesting collar that has some flowers on it (they didn’t have a better picture, but I guess you can use a bit of imagination :)), basic grey t-shirt with lovely drawings all over it and a navy-like sweater with some makeup symbols (that’s why I purchased it, anyway :D ).

My last item is a bag which I got from a brand called Carpisa and they have a range of bags designed by sisters Penelope and Monica Cruz. Really nice collection, too bad they had only one black bag. :D And I have to mention how I’m delighted that they have plenty faux leather bags since I had some serious trouble finding a bag which isn’t made of real leather. :/

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Huh, finally! Done with this post, don’t think I’ll be posting any long new in posts any time soon! :D

What do you like the most among these products? :)

Vesna ♥

New In: Make Up Store ♥

Make Up Store has some really great deals at the moment so I picked a few products – a lipstick and three eye products! Their current deals are: 100 SEK for a lipstick (regular price: 185 SEK) / products in the old packaging: 50 SEK/each or three for 100 SEK.

Products I got:

  • Lipstick: China Red
  • Cyber Shadow: Sapphire
  • Eyedust: Hectic & Wisteria

All four products have a lovely texture and pigmentation but my favorite product is, of course, China Red lipstick! No surprises there! ;) Here are my photos and swatches!

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China Red lipstick

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Cyber Shadow in shade Sapphire

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Eyedust in shades Hectic and Wisteria

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l-r: China Red, Sapphire, Hectic, Wisteria

Which product do you like the most? :)

Vesna ♥

Naturisimo ♥

Ten days ago I wrote a post where I mentioned a few products I was eager to try and just a few days after I published my post, I placed an order with naturisimo where I ordered desired skin care products. ♥ I was quite shocked this morning when I received my package, only 5 days (weekend included) after it was sent! Just wow! Naturisimo definitely exceeded my expectations!

Anyway, this is what I got:

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This is how the package looks on the inside when you open it – nicely protected!

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Another thing that’s really important is that naturisimo has free delivery worldwide, which is awesome! This is an UK website which means no additional costs for those living in the EU. :)

Currently they have 10% off on everything with code BANK10 (ends midnight GMT, Tuesday May 3rd).

Have you any experience with online shopping from Naturisimo? :)

Vesna ♥

New in ♥

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It’s been a while since my last new in post, so here’s an overview of products I got in the last few months. :)

  • Montagne Jeunesse masks – I don’t remember the last time I used these masks, but I was so glad when I noticed them in a local store! I immediately purchased three of them and can’t wait to put on one of them this weekend!
  • Depend has become my go-to nail care brand. After getting their nail serum, I ended up getting their strengthener and cuticle peeling. I also got one nail polish from their spring collection, I already tried it and I’m not really thrilled since it starts to peel off as soon as it comes in contact with water! Since my hands are often in water, I don’t think I’ll be buying them any time soon even though I like a few shades!
  • Minimal Chic is a brand owned by a friend of mine and she sent me two products to try – makeup remover oil and nail/cuticle care oil. Love them both!
  • IsaDora Mascara Volume 2.0 is a mascara that I keep buying. I think this is my 3rd or 4th time buying it and, yes, I’m obviously satisfied with it. :D
  • I’m not a fan of liquid foundations, but after reading good reviews about Lumene Finland Longwear Blur Foundation I decided to test it myself, and that turned out to be a good move because I really love it! Review coming soon!
  • Weleda Gentle Cleansing Milk – I’m kinda on the fence with this brand – their products are fine, but I’m not thrilled, but not ready to give up on them just yet so I’ll keep testing them! :D
  • Lunette Menstrual Cup – The first time I read about these cups was a few years ago, but back then I wasn’t really attracted to them. A few weeks ago, I was reading about them again, and I just decided to get it. I’ve been using tampons for a looooong time, but to be honest, I am a bit paranoid about them and I was feeling more and more uncomfortable using them and I was trying to find a alternative to using them, so, here I am with my new product. I already have some first impressions and I will share them soon!
  • cold pressed ricinus oil apparently might help with grooming your brows, I yet have to see that :D
  • Make Up Store Microshadow, shade Future – already posted HERE

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A few other products I also got, mostly food related!

  • Urtekram – I love this brand and everything they offer! Such a nice selection of organic products. ♥ Vanilla powder & Cardemom are must haves in my kitchen!
  • Garant tea, different sorts. I think this is a local brand, they offer a huge selection of products.
  • Rituals Jasmine Delight tea – new collection in their range, I had to test the tea first, but I think I’ll go back to their store to grab some skin care products as well!
  • Gorjuss! My all time favorite! :D Git it from my brother who was visiting us a few weeks back, and even though he hates Gorjuss, he ended up getting this notebook for me. He must really love me. :D

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Vesna ♥

New In ♥

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Since I’ve managed to collect a handful selection of new products, here’s one new in post were I’ll show you and tell a bit about products I purchased lately.

I’ll start with one of my favourite brand when it comes to skin care – Green Girl Aromakozmetika, a small privately owned business from Croatia. I discovered this brand a few years ago and I’ve been loving it ever since. Greta (the owner) makes one of the best hand made skin care products and I can’t recommend her enough. Once again, I ordered Take it off balm (the best product for removing ANY eye makeup!), and Touch my skin gel mask which contains AHA. I’ll be also trying a new product, Shame on you body butter, and I just opened it a little bit to smell it and, oh my!, it smells so heavenly! ♥

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Rituals had 20% off on everything for Black Friday so I used that opportunity to finally buy Yin calming bed & body mist (199 SEK) and to get another box of Emperor’s Dream tea (50 SEK). This is my favourite tea from their range and I recommend it if you want something relaxing before going to bed. When it comes to Yin, I tried it and can say it’s really calming. I can already see myself using it all the time. :)

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Urtekram is one of my latest discoveries. I’ve been actually buying their food for a while now but just recently got into their cosmetic range as well. A few weeks back I purchased shampoo from their Rose range and I went back to get the conditioner (51.90 SEK) and roll-on (39 SEK), too. I love this collection, it has a nice and gentle scent and shampoo is working well for me so I figured I want to try other products as well. I haven’t tried them yet though, so I can’t comment just yet. Aloe Vera Shower Gel is for my husband. :)

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I’ve been reading a lot about dry brushing and I even watched some tutorials and even though I’ve been thinking for a long time how I want to try it, I didn’t manage to buy a brush until a few days ago. I came across a small range of ecotools brushes at my local pharmacy and one of the brushes they had was this Dry Body Brush (99 SEK). I already tried it and I can say that I was expecting it to be a bit rougher but, it’s not. It’s actually soft, but not too soft and it works well. I wished they had a brush with a removable handle, but since they don’t, I went rather for this brush instead of getting the one with handle (they have it as well).

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Just a bit of nail products – China Glaze Change Your Altitude, China Glaze Sleeping Under The Stars (both were on sale at H&M; 59.50 SEK/each) and Depend Ginseng Nail Serum (129 SEK) (something for my poor nails, for some reason I have some issues right now and I hope this product will help a bit).

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My latest catch, this one is actually from yesterday – IsaDora Golden Edition Holiday Palette (179 SEK), H&M Colour Essence Eye Pencil (49.50 SEK) and H&M Soft Kajal Eye Pencil (39.50 SEK). I’ll be posting some swatches tomorrow. This palette is GORGEOUS!!! :D

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Last but not least – Pukka tea (45 SEK/each)! Haven’t tried the womankind but I did try the other, relax, one and I can say that it really is relaxing. I’ve been under some stress lately and I’m happy I got it because it is helping me to relax. ♥

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So, that would be it for now! I will be reviewing most of these products in the future so stay tuned! :)

Vesna ♥