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In case you missed the regular skincare stash updates: They aren’t gone completely, I just decided to do them quarterly instead of monthly to adapt to my reduced upload schedule. Which, at least that is what I assumed, would lead to a decrease in products acquired anyway. If I now look at the lineup, I am not sure this assumption held true. But in my defence, Abib basically counts as one package. Just one with a lot of stuff inside!

 

 

Other than the Korean beauty brand that is now available at several German drugstores, I did repurchase some favourites from Geek and Gorgeous, received a few products from Dr. Sam’s Skincare (a brand I reviewed on here before), the new peptide cream from Medik8 and even got a new laser for at home hair removal as well as a blow out spray from Chris McMillan.

The upside of these less frequent posts is that I already had the chance to play around with some of the products, so you’ll get a little more than you used to in terms of information!

 

 

 

New In from Abib

Let’s start with the brand I wasn’t really familiar with, Abib. It is a Korean beauty brand founded in 2016 and has various different „lines“ featuring a hero ingredient each. There is a PDRN one (I talked about PDRN in skincare here), a Heartleaf one (out of which I tried the very popular sunscreen that didn’t really work for me) and then the two I was sent products from: Jericho Rose and Glutathiosome.

The Jericho Rose line features resurrection plant and aims to deeply hydrate and revitalize the skin with Hyaluronic Acid, Ceramides and Beta-Glucan. From their extensive range I got sent the Abib Jericho Rose PHA Toner (15 ml for 15,65 €, full review coming soon), the Abib Jericho Rose Cream (75 ml for 16,88 €, full review coming soon), the Abib Jericho Rose Collagen Eye Cream (30 ml for 21 €, full review coming soon), the Abib Jericho Rose Collagen Eye Patches (90 g for 18 €, full review coming soon), the Abib Jericho Rose Collagen Pad (250 ml for 19 €, full review coming soon) and the Abib Jericho Rose Jelly Collagen Mask (1 piece for 4 €, full review coming soon).

Because of the cold and my skins tendency to get irritated over winter I decided to test these products first, which is why I can already tell you that the toner is lovely rich and hydrating, the eye cream nourishing without being greasy and the cream again rich, but comfortable to wear. The Collagen Eye Patches are like other Collagen Eye Patches I have tried, I feel except minor differences they all work the same way. Same goes for the sheet masks – you know I am not a huge fan of these. The pads however I haven’t tried as I am still unsure how they are supposed to be used to make sense.

More interest sparked the Abib Glutathiosome line when I shared them on Instagram. It features Niacinamide, Vitamin C (both Ascorbic Acid and a derivative) and Glutathione, all aiming to brighten hyperpigmentation. I figured using them would best suit me during summer, when being outdoors a lot more makes my hyperpigmentation reappear, so you can look forward to those reviews over the second half of the year. I have the Abib Glutathiosome Dark Spot Serum (50 ml for 26 €, full review coming soon), the Abib Glutathiosome Creme (75 ml for 28 €, full review coming soon) and the Abib Glutathiosome Dark Spot Pads (220 ml for 14 €, full review coming soon). Again, if you have tips on how to use the pads, feel free to share.

 

 

New in from Dr. Sam’s

Dr. Sam’s is a skincare brand I am familiar with, so some of the products already have a review I can link. It was founded by UK doctor Dr. Sam Bunting and is built around the idea of giving you a minimal routine that works supporting stronger actives you might need against breakouts or other skin concerns. Her whole line is fragrance-free.

From her line I got send the Dr. Sam’s Flawless Cleanser (200 ml for 24 €, full review here), the Dr. Sam’s Flawless Brightly Serum (30 ml for 60 €, full review coming soon), the Dr. Sam’s Flawless Nightly Serum (30 ml for 60 €, full review here) and the Dr. Sam’s Flawless Moisturizer Intense (50 ml for 43 €, full review coming soon).

Out of the four only the Brightly Serum and the Flawless Moisturizer Intense are new to me. The cleanser is one I like well enough, but don’t love and the Nightly Serum is one I didn’t enjoy for me personally as it is marketed as a retinoid product, which is technically true, but the retinoids used are Granactive Retinol and Bakuchiol, so nothing I’d think of when recommending a retinoid. I use prescription for my adult acne, so I don’t have use for that, but the addition of Azelaic Acid might make it a good choice for those with rosacea or inflammation as their main concern.

That leaves the Brightly Serum I haven’t tried yet and the Flawless Moisturizer Intense that I tested extensively over the last months, so my dedicated review will be up soon.

 

 

New In from Medik8

Most of you will know Medik8 from their Crystal Retinal Line. They were the first to make Retinal available to buy broadly, and while there are now a lot more products available, some of which are much more affordable, theirs are still a solid and cosmetically very elegant option. (You can read my review of their Crystal Retinal here). Over the last few years they have branched out into other product categories, and their newest release was the Medik8 Advanced Pro-Collagen Peptide Cream (50 ml for 100 €, full review coming soon).

It has a rich texture, so I used it over the colder months when my now 47 year old skin requires something more nourishing, and am already in the process of writing up my review. But – you heard it here first – I love the texture a lot.

 

 

New In from Geek and Gorgeous

The last skincare bits I want to show you are repurchases of products tried and loved for years: The Geek and Gorgeous Mighty Melt Cleansing Balm (98 ml for 11,85 €, full review here) that I love to remove makeup, but that can also double up as a morning cleanse because it rinses perfectly clean even without a wash cloth and that has the texture rivalling much more expensive balms.

And then the Geek and Gorgeous C-Glow Serum (30 ml for 12,49 €, full review here), my favorite Vitamin C Serum that I keep coming back to whenever I am done testing something else. It has a lightweight texture, doesn’t irritate my skin and (kept in the fridge) last me more than three months without turning color.

 

 

New In from Tria Laser

Now on to the devices. That one is the Tria 4X Hair Removal Laser 2nd Generation (1 device for 599,99 €, full review coming soon). You might remember I tried the Dermrays version (review is here) and the one from Currentbody (review is here), but while I keep using the one from Currentbody, I still need to shave once a week. For me all these devices have slowed and reduced hair growth, but not stopped them fully. There are different reasons as to why, I touch on them in my reviews, but this means I still have enough body hair to test another one of those.

This review will take longer as I gave each of them six months to work and plan on doing that for the Tria laser as well, just to keep things fair.

 

 

New in from Chris McMillan

Now hair care. I don’t do much with my hair except regular washes, regular bond building treatments to counteract the damage of regular bleaching and blow dry it twice, maybe three times a week. I am quite set in my products, so this one wasn’t one I specifically asked for, but that was sent over. It is the Chris McMillan The Glassy Smooth Blowdry Spray (50 ml for 16 $, full review coming soon) and it offers heat protection as well as giving your hair a very sleek and glossy look, So far I haven’t tried it, but as I just went to the hair dresser for a cut and color (very much overdue, the last time I went was in February 2025!) and am now very motivated to pay more attention to my styles, I will give it a go very soon.

 

 

New In from the drugstore

And then, finally, two repurchases from the drugstore that fall into the very unsexy body maintenance category. First, the Garnier Body Urea 24 h Skin Smoothing Cream Milk (400 ml for 3,99 €, full review coming soon), that I purchased twice. It is the one I have been using all winter because I love how soft it keeps my chronically dry shins. I do have minor complaints though: When you apply it, let it sink in and then a few hours later rub where you applied it, there can be a little pilling. Nothing major and the skin still feels very soft, but something my husband has commented on several times already. This is really not much of an issue, but something that might lead me to buy another one next quarter.

The next one is the Essie on-a-roll Apricot Cuticle Oil (13,5 ml for 11,95 €, full review coming soon) that I have used before, but had to through out after forgetting it in one of my many bags for several months so it started leaking and smelled off. I am usually not good with things like cuticle care, I am happy if I remember to use hand cream, but recently my nails have been in a very bad state, splitting despite being very short, so I decided they needed a little more TLC. I keep it at my desk, which makes it easier to remember to use it (after all that is where I spend the majority of my days) and hope for the best. I can’t tell you yet if it works, it will take time for the nail to regrow stronger, but it smells nice and absorbs quickly so I can keep typing without making a mess everywhere.

 

 

New In makeup

Something I almost forgot is that I did acquire new makeup as well. For my birthday in February my daughter gifted me one of the essence JUICY BOMBS (10 ml for 1,49 €, full review coming soon) which are apparently all the rage amongst teenagers right now, in the shade Birthday Bomb, a milky gloss with pink shimmery particles. It has a sweet vanilla taste to it, apparently it is supposed to taste like birthday cake, and is very hydrating. Because I enjoyed the formula I also got myself the one in Poppin Pomegranate, a red one. My daughter has almost every other shade there is, so if you want an overview, I’ll be happy to provide you with pictures.

 

 

Things I have been watching last Quarter

With the cold weather I spend more time indoors and more time watching Netflix, so I have a few things to share. On my own I finished the current season of Bridgerton. But while I am well aware that you watch them for costumes, handsome men in soaked shirts and drama more than you do for plot, I admit I wasn’t as taken with this one as I was with the other ones. Benedict Bridgerton is in my opinion the most handsome of the Bridgerton brothers, so it wasn’t a problem of „the view“. It was more that when looking at the way he acted, with very little regard for her situation and her reputation, I didn’t see passion leading to clouded judgement. I saw a man child that didn’t really care about the consequences someone else might have to pay for his moment of lust, which is way too often the case in present times, so I can’t reframe it romantically and leave it be. And the „solution“ at the end? (Spoiler ahead!) I didn’t like it at all, as it puts her reputation forever in the hands of him and his family – it is based on a lie and he could take it from her. Nothing romantic in this kind of power dynamics, neither in reality nor on Netflix.

Does that mean I won’t watch next season? Of course I will, hoping for more wet white shirts. And a different kind of story.

Together with my husband I watched the current season of The Witcher (yes, the first one without HIM). Again, not convinced – not (only) because of the change in the male actor, even though I am the first to admit that they are very, very different. No, the story felt weirdly hasty and sometimes as if filled with plot holes – I mean, why did Yen teleport in the middle of nowhere to see him, somehow put up a tent spacey enough for a family of six in which they bathed and f*cked and ate, only to come out in the mornings, greet the rest of the party („Sorry we let you sleep outside on the ground in the dirt while we were at it„) and then just teleport away? Was there any other reason for this scene than bringing naked skin on screen? The talk they had could have been had otherwise.

As I am a huge fan of the books (somehow I never played the games, can’t say why) I will watch next season as well, but with reduced excitement.

The most current thing we started watching is Vikings. I know we are very late to that, but I had it recommended several times, so we wanted to give it a go. But so far (we are on Episode 4) I don’t get it. The characters feel one dimensional and – in my opinion – is quite violent for the sake of being violent. As it is so successful, I must be missing something, so please do enlighten me in the comments.

We also went to the cinema, properly with popcorn, to watch Project Hail Mary. No, I have not read the book before, which probably was a mistake, and again I wasn’t fully happy. Yes, thank you, I realize how incredibly negative I sound today. It was a nice movie that kept me well entertained, but it felt like it couldn’t decide being a drama (being a hero against your will, humanity dying, loneliness on earth and in space,…) and a bromance with one guy a nerd and the other one giving Jar Jar Binks vibes a little too often. I have since spoken to a friend that has read the book and enjoyed the film a lot, so it is definitely me – don’t let my opinion deter you from going to the movies.

 

 

Things I have been reading

Maybe I am just more of a books person, out of whch I already finished seven this year. The first one was Precipice by Robert Harris, following the story of an affair the British Prime Minister had around the time when World War I started. The letters it is based on are true, much of the story around them fictional though, but it is a great read especially for those that enjoy reading about historical events.

As I usually try to read a fiction and a non-fiction book at the same time, picking up either of them in the evenings based on my energy levels, the next one finished is The DOSE Effect by T.J. Power. If you are in the productivity space, you have probably heard of it. It discusses the effects of the hormones Dopamin, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphins on our motivation and productivity and offers challenges to rebalance them should they have gotten out of their ideal state, something that can easily happen in our modern world. Not a bad book and certainly interesting if you have never paid these things attention, but I admit as a doctor I didn’t learn much new, it just confirmed that I do still spend too much time on my phone.

I also finished Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros, which is quite different in genre from the other two mentioned. Third in a row of fantasy romance novels I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next one. Is it majorly influencing the way I see the world and my personal development? Absolutely not. But it is great to take your mind off the awfulness on the news, has a convincing and strong female lead and an equally strong and „morally grey“ (in the best way possible) male lead with convincing chemistry.

In the same genre belong Ninth House and Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo, again a series not finished, which I read back to back during out one week skiing holiday. It is set in modern times and is – for easily frightened me – almost crossing the line of horrors I can take (you can tell by the way I start using a flash light when I need to go to the bathroom at night). The characters are multifaceted, interesting and with good chemistry (even though they haven’t hooked up yet, so much less explicit than Onyx Storm), and the horror described is a good mixture of hellish creatures and entitled college boys not caring about the feelings of others to stay realistic.

A recommendation from my sister was The book about getting older by Lucy Pollock. Lucy Pollock is a doctor specialising in geriatric care, and her book is a great read for anyone dealing with aging parents or realising that they might need to put some thought in well aging beyond how the skin looks now, because what used to be „old people“ isn’t that far away from your own age anymore. Again, from a physiological stand point I didn’t learn a lot, but the book is written beautifully and thought provoking and really did help me put things in perspective beyond understanding physiology.

French Braid by Anne Tyler is one of the books that is difficult to describe as really not much happens. At the same time though everything happens over the course of three generations, just not in a dramatic way, but in the subtle hurtful comments and misunderstandings that can make life incredibly miserable. I cried a lot reading it, but the good crying you get from books, not the crying crying you get from living through similar situations. Highly recommend.

 

 

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