feelunique.com and iHerb.com Order

Hi everyone! There were a couple little treats waiting for me in the mail when we got back from Vienna so I thought I'd share what I got! Since I've never had anything shipped here before, I was a bit worried that something would go wrong in transit or I'd enter my new address incorrectly, but I'm happy to report that both packages got here unscathed. 

I first heard about feelunique.com from one of my favorite bloggers/YouTubers EssieButton. They offer a variety of different skincare and beauty brands at a slightly discounted price, but the best part is the FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING! I'm lucky to find a site that even ships to the Czech Republic, so imagine my excitement to find one that is FREE! I only bought one thing because I was kind of treating this as a "trial run" to make sure I would even receive my parcel. The only downside is that a tracking number isn't provided and it took 3 weeks to get here but the shipping was free so I can't really complain. Either way, I'm sure I'll be ordering from them again in the future. Here's what I got!

NUXE Rěve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm 

I was telling my boyfriend probably 10 minutes before I bought this that I would never buy a lip balm in a pot again for as long as I live (and I rate his interest level in this statement a 2 out of 10). I think I was taking out my anger on potted products because I positively despise opening the tin that my Smith's Rosebud Salve comes in and also I'm not a fan of dipping my bacteria-ridden finger into a product and then putting that all over my mouth. All of my discrimination against potted lip balms promptly vanished as soon as lay (laid? Does anyone actually know??) eyes on this beauty. This is a cult favorite which naturally means that I had to have it to see what all the hype is about. 

If I had to describe the consistency, I would say it feels like if you sucked all the oil out of peanut butter and then put it on your lips. That's... a really weird way to describe something but it's all I can think of when I put it on. It's very thick and dry and it doesn't feel like it really sinks into my lips. It smells only a little like honey but mostly has a fresh lemon-y scent to it. It's not something I'd want to wear during the day or under any lip products. I'm still undecided if it actually nourishes my lips but I plan on using it more consistently in the coming winter months. If I end up hating it, at least the packaging is pretty and makes me feel fancy and French. :)


iHerb.com is a site that sells natural, organic and vegan skincare products, food, supplements, etc. Like feelunique, iHerb doesn't provide a tracking number with your order, which I consider to be a downside. There are a few options for delivery and of course I chose the cheapest one ($4, still not bad!). I'm pretty impressed that it only took 8 days to get to me though!

My skin did not know what to do when it found out that Prague has actual seasons, much unlike Texas which only consists of "hot as shit." I was absurdly dry around my eyes and lips and I had several clogged pores that I was dying to get rid of, not to mention my eczema was still driving me mad. I started to really dig around on my favorite skincare forum /r/SkincareAddiction on reddit.com. Seriously, if you're having skin issues or just want to begin a skincare routine, this is the best place to learn about proper skincare. There's so much misinformation on the internet, but this is one of the few places I trust when it comes to treating my skin right. This is also how I heard about iHerb.com. These products are pretty highly reviewed on there so I felt confident in my purchases. 

The haul!

Neem oil

I'd never heard of neem oil before I started having these skin issues (and apparently neither has my computer as it doesn't recognize the word). From what I hear, it is a miracle worker on eczema, zits, dry patches, you name it. I also noticed that anytime neem oil was mentioned, someone had to bring up how awful and potent it smells. The word on the street is that it smells like peanuts, garlic and Indian food all combined into one. I was desperate to find a cure for my eczema no matter how bad I would smell so I threw caution to the wind and bought this. 

The first time I smelled it, I was actually a bit disappointed. I wanted to be part of the "NEEM OIL REEKS" club too! It smelled like garlicky peanuts mixed with some onions. Nothing intolerable, right? WRONG. It wasn't until I put it all over my body that I truly understood what everyone was talking about. It smelled like... a burp after someone had eaten rotten Indian food and burnt tires. AND that person has halitosis. Ok, that was a bit dramatic but seriously, it's bad. I only used it once so I can't attest to its magical powers. I guess I was less itchy, I don't know? All I know is that I was stinky. I'll take the eczema, thanks.

Stridex Maximum Strength Soft Touch Pads 

Talk about a product that brings you back to your teenage days, huh? 

Though they're targeted for acne-prone people, these pads are an all around great product for anyone looking to chemically exfoliate. They're gentle enough to use 2-3x a day and don't contain alcohol like a lot of other similar products. I got these to hopefully keep breakouts at bay and to also clear some of the clogged pores I mentioned earlier. 

To use, it's suggested you: 1) cleanse, 2) use Stridex pad all over face 3) wait 10 minutes 4) apply moisturizer. I've been using these everyday for the past week or so but haven't seen much difference. It's still pretty early though and since I haven't been having any averse reactions to them, I think I'm going to start using them twice a day. Will let you know if they help! 

Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque

This is one of those products I've passed by in the drugstores for YEARS without giving it much thought. It's a face mask designed to draw out impurities, reduce oil and the size of pores. It's been around forever and it's reviewed highly on makeupalley.com so of course I wanted needed to try it.  

The instructions suggest to apply this all over your face and neck after cleansing, wait 15 minutes, then wash it off with a warm washcloth. I think whenever someone thinks of a face mask, this is what they have in mind. It's that classic green mask you seen women wearing in movies and I'm pretty sure I've freaked out my flatmate wearing this. It's a very thick, clay mask that has a cooling, minty feel on your face. After a few minutes, it dries down and leaves your face feeling kind of tight and crackly, if that makes sense (my face doesn't feel tight or stripped after I wash it off though, quite the opposite actually). I've only used it twice so far and I've noticed that any zits I have seem to be more dried out the next day. I'm going to keep using it 2x a week and I have high hopes that my skin will improve. 

Sierra Bees Organic Honey Lip Balm

This was a freebie with my iHerb order and anyone who knows me knows how much I love freebies! I loooooove this lip balm. It smells like honey and feels really moisturizing on my lips. I carry this with me everywhere I go now! I hope this product is still available with my next iHerb order because I'd love to have one as a backup!

For the curious, these pictures were taken at the Church of Saint Procopius in Žižkov, Prague. I think one of my favorite things about starting this blog is that I'm constantly on the lookout for interesting places to take photos of my products. In turn, this allows me to appreciate different parts of Prague/whatever city I'm in that I might have overlooked otherwise. :)

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any specific questions about the products :). Bye!

Vienna Makeup and Clothing Haul!

Hi all! We got back from Vienna earlier this week and I wanted to share with you my beauty and fashion haul! We were there for 2 days and 2 nights so I had plenty of time to scope out the drugstore/beauty scene. I had some brands in mind I wanted to try so we trekked around the city hoping to stumble upon something neat.

There were 3 main drugstores that I noticed - dm, Müller and BIPA (below). There are dm's a plenty in Prague so I wasn't particularly itching to go in (but I did, just because I'm a weirdo who's obsessed with drugstores). If Sephora and CVS had a lovechild, it would be called Müller. Müller has both drugstore and high end products but even the drugstore brands were significantly overpriced ($18 for a Maybelline mascara?! You've got to be shitting me). So naturally, I was drawn to BIPA - and how could you not be considering the store is BRIGHT PINK?! I simultaneously wanted to spend the rest of my life here and leave immediately since it was crowded and hot and it was likely I was going to die. 

This is the BIPA on Mariahilferstraße. I took this using a setting on my camera that extracts dramatic colors but it's actually pretty true to color. 

This store had a "styling lounge"! Cool!

The brand deBBY. Never heard of this before!

This is BIPA's store brand - LOOK. Sorry for the crappy picture, like I mentioned, it was really crowded. 

Now for what I got! Please excuse the inconsistency between picture backgrounds and lighting. The first few were taken in Vienna and the last few in Prague. I wanted them all to be taken in Vienna, but perhaps you can tell that it was raining and the sun had gone down and my feet hurt. Well, you probably can't tell that last part just from the photos, but I assure you, they did :)

In Vienna, I took these photos overlooking the Vienna Opera House which I've heard is one of the best opera houses in the world. The pictures in Prague were taken by the church in Jiřího z Poděbrad Square, about 3 blocks from the Prague TV Tower.   

I should also add that I can't give full reviews of these products as I've only used them a few times. I will let you know first impressions though. 

deBBY matSOLUTION Foundation in 102 Natural (€7.99).

This was kind of an impulse buy and I'm still undecided if that's a good or a bad thing. The shade is a bit too yellow for me (I'm about an NW30 if we're speaking MAC-ese) but it blends in really nicely and doesn't have a strong smell. After some googling, I learned that deBBY is owned by Deborah Group, an Italian cosmetics and beauty brand. The website leads me to believe that deBBY products are only found in Italy and unless I'm wildly mistaken, I was in Austria when I found this. I will update when I learn more about how it performs.

LOOK by BIPA Nail Quickie in Grey Delight (€1.99). See below for a better photo.

I've been so obsessed with these lavender grey-ish nail polish shades lately. I think this is a beautiful Autumn transition color and would go with a variety of different looks. As for the actual polish application, it was just so-so. Nothing spectacular, but not awful either. It does dry quickly but I managed to smudge it anyway. This is with 2 coats and a clear top coat. Please excuse my T-Rex hands ;)

Manhattan Colour Splash Liquid Lip Tint in 54L So Paris! (€3.99).

This is kind of an interesting lip product. It's unlike anything I have - not quite a gloss, not quite a lipstick. I'd say it's similar in consistency to YSL's Glossy Stains. It's not touted as a stain, but it definitely leaves behind a staining effect. It has a pretty potent berry-ish scent that disappears shortly after applying. It isn't something that I would ever wear on its own as it leaves a kind of "film" on my lips that I don't appreciate but all is well once I top it with a gloss or balm. This isn't holy grail material by any means, but I enjoy it and the color is nice for Fall. The Manhattan website leads me to believe that you can buy their products in Germany, Austria, Spain and Switzerland. 

LOOK by BIPA Catwalk Duo Mascara and Eyeliner  (€3.99).

As you can probably tell, I had the hardest time getting a good picture of this product; the fuchsia packaging did not want to photograph properly. Anyway, this has a black liquid eyeliner on one end and a mascara on the other. I was drawn to this product because of its multi-purpose use and I thought it would be an easy way to pack lighter on my trips. (Because everyone knows the answer to packing less stuff is to buy more stuff, right?) I've only used the mascara side of it and I wasn't impressed. It's a very wet formula which caused my lashes to bind together and look like I have about 4 really thick lashes - ew. The eyeliner side swatched very black and matte and I had a hard time washing it off even though it doesn't claim to be waterproof. I am shit at applying liquid liner but I thought this would be a good way to practice!

LOOK by BIPA Baked Eye Shadow Mono in #15 Vintage (€2.99).

For the life of me, I cannot think of an apt way to describe this eyeshadow color. I guess that's a good thing because that means there's nothing like it in my eyeshadow collection. If I had to try, I'd say it's a rosy pink with gold and silver and blue shimmer. That probably just made you more confused so let's just say it has all the colors! Pictures don't do it justice. It reminds me of the Hard Candy baked eyeshadow duos in the way it swatches and applies. I wore it today for the first time and it was VERY pigmented and shimmery. Just my kind of shade! LOVE! ♥ 

b.pretty Baked Eyeshadow in 15 Earth - (€2.49).

Look at this little guy! If this isn't just the cutest, tiniest eyeshadow you've ever seen, then I don't know what is! Now that I'm realizing the price in comparison to the size, it's kind of a rip off but it's cuteness makes me not care. I have a ton of neutral bronzey shades similar to this but it swatched nicely in the store and I thought it would be fun to try a new eyeshadow brand. I used it today for the first time and it's beautiful! Very shimmery and opaque and I think it could be a pretty one eyeshadow look. Though its size is convenient for traveling, I don't think it's something I'd take with me on a trip because the packaging is obviously cheap and baked eyeshadows are notorious for shattering. Happy to add it to my collection though!

Top to Bottom: Manhattan Lip Tint, b.pretty Baked eyeshadow, LOOK by BIPA Baked eyeshadow (all swatched once in natural light, no primer)

Of course, I couldn't resist stopping in Forever 21 while we were in Vienna. There isn't one in Prague and I needed a new pair of sunglasses and some inexpensive basic pieces for Fall. Despite being a 5 story store, I wasn't very impressed with the selection. There were about 7 pairs of sunglasses to choose from and I hated all of them. The jewelry section left something to be desired as well. Oh well, I guess that's better for my wallet. Here's what I got:

Left: Silver Wishbone Earrings (€1.90). Right: Abstract Zigzag Boyfriend Sweater  (€23.75).

I love funky jewelry so these wishbone earrings were right up my Ali (get it? my name's Ali). I really liked this oversized chunky sweater and I think that you could wear it with jeans, jeggings or tights of any color. It's super comfortable and warm and I was impressed with the quality. What a weird face I'm making... I blame it on the sun. 

And that's everything! Hope you enjoyed reading! :)