THE FIGHT: Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Concentrated Hand Cream VS Natura Brasil Ekos Maracuja Hand Cream

Bonjour beauty addicts

Today, I am down in the dumps because boo went on vacation! Booooouh the bastard mean guy, he left me alone ... in this huge and empty Paris ... Well this is not going to get me down. There is still some beauty positive points: 1) plenty of time to write on my blog 2) I can invaaaaaade the bathroom with all my beauty products (yes, you know the ones that are hidden in the closet because you don't want boo to notice that you purchased ten foot creams ... you know just in case there is a nuclear war my feet must stay well hydrated it is V-I-T-A-L but boo cannot understand that ;-) 3) I can walk throught the apartment with my blue facial mask and/or with my hair-bleaching cream on my mustache (ah yeah, can someone please tell boo that being called each time Don Diego de la Vega with a sly laugh well it's a little annoying at the end :-) )

The last positive point is that now I can use my stinky cream! Yes, this organic cream made with essential oils of Tibet eucalyptus which works VERY WELL (can you realize that a farmer had to get the eucalyptus on the top of the Himalayas with snow shoes! ... at least that's what I believe when I think about the price I paid ...). But, that's what the saleswoman told me because I've never really had the opportunity to try it... I was ready to accept the olfactory sacrifice because I am a beauty warrior (= ready to everything to be beautiful) ... but not boo ah no he doesn't care at all!

I clearly remember the day I put this "mixture" (boo's expression) on my face, then slipped into the bed next to boo (I'm not going to use it at work... I am a beauty warrior not a beauty kamikaze), I wanted to give boo a  kiss (I'm a caring woman!) ... But then suddenly, while boo was approaching me, his face changed with an expression of disgust, he then violently removed his head and yelled "It stiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinks!!! What is this stuuuuuuuuuuuuuufff!" I answered "But boo it is my new organic facial cream with euc ... BUT WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" boo "On the couch, I don't want to spend the night with a polecat" me "No boo come baaaaaaack pleaaaaaaase!" "Nooooo, it stinks too much" ... Ok ... here alone in my cold bed ... I realized that this cream would be banished forever in boo's presence (and as I am often with boo...)

But now that he is gone so I can enjoy it and try my stinky cream youpiiii! (well I'm still going totake a look at the expiry date, because this story happened... wait .... at least a year ago!) ...

You will notice that I tend to digress. The theme of this blog is beauty so Dounia please remains focused (self-talk)! In this article I will introduce you a new "section" which will often come back on the blog (if you like it of course!), the FIGHT, as its name suggests the goal of this section is to compare two or more products and declare a winner. Generally, this will be same type products but I do not exclude to compare very diferrent products J

Today's theme is the hand hydratation , because no matter if we are in summer or winter, I would never repeat it enough hydratation is ABSOLUTELY VITAL. Hands say a lot about your beauty health, and sloppiness  is not easily repairable (I think that hand lifting doesn't yet exist!). So I hydrate my hands several times a day throughout the year., with no limit. I have a hand cream in my bag, one on my desk and and one on my nightstand. I have tested many creams and I picked two of them two of them for this first fight: Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Concentrated Hand Cream  VS Natura Brasil Ekos Maracuja Hand Cream.

VS

	Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Concentrated Hand Cream	Natura Brasil Ekos Maracuja hand cream	Winner
Description	It is the most famous product of the American  brand and it is recommended by dermatologists.	This is a product of the rising Brazilian brand Natura Brasil. This brand which promotes natural beauty is also number one in Brazil.
Round 1: Packaging	Simple, sober, "cold", packaging has a "medical" look (black white blue). I don't really like it.	Has the look of a maxi tube of paint, packaging is colorful and chic (green / yellow / silver). Easy to grab.	Natura Brasil
Round 2:  Scent	I don't like it, the cream has a "medical" scent. Some say it does not smell at all,  soit may be ok for those who love neutral products.	Maracuja oil has an incredible exotic scent (boo adoooores it!), you are immediately transported to Brazil. The cream makes your hands very glamourous . It is available in other different fragrances:  Açai, Cacau and Casthana.	Natura Brasil
Round 3: The texture	Sticky, but quickly absorbed by the skin.	Creamy, soft, quickly absorbed.	Natura Brasil
Round 4: Efficiency	Good hydratation.	Very good hydration.	Natura Brasil
Round 5: Price	6 € 20 50 ml (124 € / l) Relatively cheap. It is important because you must renew it regularly. However, the packaging make it difficult to use all the product.	14 € 50 75 ml (193 € / l) Rather expensive but the packaging allows you to use more product which is economic. In addition, you will need a smaller amount of product than for Neutrogena's hand cream to get to the same result.	Tied

You have understood that to me Natura Brasil Ekos Maracuja hand cream is the winner by KO . However, Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Concentrated Hand Cream  is a good alternative when you don't want to spend to much money. So usually I alternate between the two J

Where to buy it?

-       Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Concentrated Hand Cream : in all supermarkets, drugstores, etc.; to discover the brand http://www.neutrogena.com/

-        Natura Brasil Ekos Maracuja hand cream: Natura Brasil shop or https://www.naturabrasil.fr/ (there is a part in English but I don't know if they deliver all over the word) however you will find it on www.ebay.com

Urban Decay Naked Nail Set: nude is everything but boring! Part 1: Focus on Naked/Sidecar tones.

Hi beauty addicts,

 First of all, I apologize for the mistakes you may find in this article (I'm French…) but I will try my best to express myself in an understandable English :-) So, for my very first article, I have decided to introduce you to one of the last product I purchased during the sales. Yeah, because sales are my favorite beauty moments of the year :-) A soon as I opened the email received from Sephora announcing (in huge letters, in bold and in color) that sales were starting on their website I knew that I would spend all my pay grab some incredible bargains! But I was under shock when I discovered that the Naked nail polish set from Urban Decay I wanted to acquire for months was on a 50% discount (12 Euros instead of 24 Euros). I had no longer excuses for not purchasing this beauty gem and after all I am saving 12 Euros, I am sure boo is going to yell at me congratulate me for my savings.

So, the so-desired-nail-set is now in my virtual "bag". Oh great ! damn…shipping is free ONLY if my order exceeds 60 Euros. Heck! I am not going to waste 4 or 5 Euros, I am not of that kind ;-) and after all if I only purchase discounted products I will save money, this is pure maths. And there are 60 more Euros of products in my bag (which will be subject to latter articles in this blog). In the end, it is not that complicated to make savings! I am so proud of myself; I can wait to hide it from to tell everything to boo. 

But let us come back to the topic, this beautiful nail polish set. Packaging is very important to me and I am very happy with this set because it is very beautiful (as usually with Urban Decay). Here is the baby:

 This nail polish set is based on the now classic Urban Decay Naked theme but this time applied to nail polishes. I really like the concept as I am an absolute fan of the eyes make up palette Naked 1, I found it very interesting to be able to match your nail polish to your eye shadow especially in those very wearable colors. However, I was a little bit concerned with the quality of the nail polishes as I tend to use nail-specialized-brands (such as OPI, Essie, China Glaze, Color Club, etc.).

The set is composed of 6 nail polishes each one corresponding to an eye shadow of the Naked  palette: Naked, Sidecar, Toasted, Smog, Hustle and Creep. I like the mini format of the nail polishes because 1) I never finish the regular format, polishes dry and I have to throw them away 2) I can buy a lot of different nail polishes without feeling guilty 3) they fit in my make up case and I can take them everywhere with me. To me, this is the perfect size for non professional users.

  

I have decided, in this first part, to focus on the two nail polishes I have tried and liked at first glance: Naked and Sidecar. I will later make a review on the other nail polishes of the set.

 

First, Naked is a beige nude which will look tone on tone on golden-skinned girls like me. It will make your hands look beautiful and healthy. It will give you a very "chic" Parisian look. It is very wearable (as always when it comes to nude), can be worn with everything and at any season (this will be my favorite for the summer). This is the perfect color for a professional appointment or a first date.  However, I wore it during one week and in the end I found it a little bit insipid.

Sidecar is a beautiful transparent glitter beige. Usually, I hate glitter nail polishes but glitters are very small and fine. Thus, the nail polish looks chic. You can wear it during the day or  the night without looking like a "disco ball". However as it is transparent, I think that it is more a "decorative" nail polish which must be wore with another more covering nail polish. Used alone, it will give you a kind of " teenager" look.

So I decided to have a little bit of fun and use both nail polishes, as I do with the Naked eye shadows and the result is gorgeous: a very not insipid and chic nude. Below is the result with one coat of Naked and one coat of Sidecar.

Regarding the product quality, I was very surprised because it has a good holding: almost a week for Naked alone and a week for the duet Naked/Sidecar (with a base and a top coat). The brush is also very easy to use.

To summarize, good points are:

·         Beautiful colors

·         Possibility to mix the nail polishes between them and to match it to with your eye shadow

·         Good holding

·         Good format

  

Bad points are:

·         The price: 24 Euros (that's why I purchased it on sales)

Will I buy it again? Definitively YES (In fact I have already ordered 2 other sets on Sephora's website…), hurry up because it is a limited edition :-)

Where can you buy it? http://www.sephora.com/

To discover the brand: http://www.urbandecay.com/