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Souvenirs from a Magical Place
Now that I’ve finished writing all three recaps of our Iceland vacation, I want to do a show-and-tell about the souvenirs that I bought. We bought some gifts for friends and family as well, but I won’t be posting those here because we haven’t given all of them out yet.
Obviously, I bought a bunch of beauty products! Keep reading to see more of my Iceland purchases…
Blue Lagoon Masks
When I purchased our Blue Lagoon tickets prior to our trip, there was an option at checkout to pre-order their signature Silica Mud Mask [affiliate link] at a discount. So yeah…that was a no-brainer for me. I picked up my 2.6oz tube of the mask when we checked in at the lagoon. Easy peasy.
Of course, I browsed the Blue Lagoon gift shop before we left the lagoon. I had asked a friend if she wanted any Icelandic skin care and one of the things she was interested in was the BL Mineral Mask, so I bought one for her. But I didn’t buy anything else for myself at that point.
We did get to try the Silica Mud Mask while soaking in the Blue Lagoon, because our tickets included one mud mask apiece. My skin looked radiant the next day, so I while we were still in Reykjavik I hit up the Blue Lagoon store on Laugavegur to buy the Signature Masks Travel Set [affiliate link], which includes 1.6oz tubes of all four of their masks: Lava Scrub Mask, Silica Mud Mask, Algae Mask, and Mineral Mask [affiliate links]:
I’ve already used the Silica Mud Mask a couple times (I used up a sample tube that I received as a free gift at checkout when I bought the mask for my friend). And I’m still loving it! I’ve used the Algae Mask once so far and really liked it as well. The good news for those of us in the US is that Blue Lagoon skin care is available at some retailers here: Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, BlueMercury, and Moda Operandi, to name a few. So you don’t have to go all the way to Iceland to buy these masks.
Bioeffect Goodies
Bioeffect is a company that I learned about while researching Icelandic skin care brands before our trip. When I discovered that the brand’s Rekyjavik store was about a 30 second walk from our hotel, it was a done deal (though the brand is also available in gift shops and at the airport).
I bought a cream that my friend had requested, and picked out a couple goodies for myself: a 6-pack of the Imprinting Hydrogel Mask…
…and an 8-pack of the Imprinting Eye Masks. I have not tried either of these products yet, but will soon!
The Fragrance Set
While browsing gift shops around Reykjavik, I kept coming across local fragrance brand Fischersund. The brand also has its own store in Reykjavik that looks dark, mysterious, and intriguing. I didn’t end up making it to their actual store while in town…next time!
When I started sniffing their fragrances at gift shops around Reykjavik, I found them to be really unique. As I was browsing the Rammagerðin store on Laugavegur, I decided to buy this Langdegi (Light) Discovery Set [affiliate link], which contains 5ml spray bottles of three of their perfimes: No. 8 [affiliate link], No. 101, and ÚTILYKT.
Here are fragrance notes on these scents from the Fischersund website:
- No. 8: Our floral scent featuring bursts of tart rhubarb, citrus notes and crisp pine.
- No. 101: This green/herbal scent features notes of Angelica, sorrell, long grass,dandelions, black currants and poplar trees.
- ÚTILYKT: An ethereal scent features notes of ozone, moss, birch, mother of thyme and hints of seasalt.
These all smell SO good! They have a Dark discovery set [affiliate link] too, but I wasn’t as into those scents. I’m very happy with my Light set purchase. I would definitely consider buying at least one of these fragrances full sized. I’m terrible at describing perfumes, but I really do love these. They have solid perfume and candles, too!
Post-Trip Masks
I’m including this next purchase in my souvenir haul even though I ordered after our trip. While shopping in Reykjavik, I kept seeing these Þrir Iceland masks. I considered buying them when I saw them yet again at the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon gift shop, but I refrained. By the end of our trip I decided that I did want to buy these masks. But at that point I didn’t see the brand anywhere, not even at any of the shops in Keflavik airport! So I ended up ordering them after we returned home.
The masks are: Arctic Roseroot Moisturizing Mask, Volcano Scrub Exfoliating Mask, and Glacial Clay Purifying Mask. My guess is they will be similar to the Blue Lagoon counterparts. I’m so excited to try these as well!
Icelandic Tchotchkes
I love a tchotchke to remember vacations by. So of course, I bought some Iceland-specific souvenirs, as well as horror socks that I just couldn’t say no to:
The “journey pouch” on the top left is from Iceland Memories and features a beautiful watercolor design. The artist’s name is Patra Tawatpo and I thought the Northern Lights artwork was just so pretty.
I couldn’t ignore the Icelandic Phallological Museum gift shop at the end of our visit; I picked out a shot glass and holiday ornament. The horror socks are from Verzlanahöllin, a second floor thrift shop on Lauvegur. I went in to browse and was instantly overwhelmed, but found a couple end cap displays brimming with fun socks; this horror trio caught my eye. Not Iceland-specific, but they’re obviously right up my alley.
While we took shelter from a storm at the Icewear store in Vik, I bought a set of Icelandic minerals, a pewter shot glass, and a cute magnet to add to the small collection on our fridge.
The Ceramic Piece
Reykjavik has quite a few ceramic shops; as an amateur potter, I wanted to check some of them out. My favorite shop was Kaolin Keramik Galleri, which had some really gorgeous pieces. I loved everything there! I ended up buying this small volcano bud vase made by an artist named Dagný Gylfadóttir. When (not if) we go back to Iceland, I want to shop more at this place!
Snack Attack
We always go a little ham on buying snacks while traveling. It’s so fun to visit grocery stores and see what sort of snacks other countries have, especially when it comes to chips! We did purchase a bunch of snacks that didn’t make it back to the US because we ate them on our trip. Here’s what survived the voyage home:
Okay, so we didn’t bring that many actual snacks back. In addition to the few snacks, we bought some Icelandic salts as well as a jar of Icelandic Moss (an herb). We of course bought Friðheimar Tomato Salt after eating both lunch and dinner at the greenhouse and wine bar. We also bought a jar of pickled tomatoes there that got confiscated by KEF airport security. I packed all of our souvenirs and such in a backpack to carry on the plane, and completely forgot about not packing liquids in a carry-on. Ooops…my bad.
Saltverk is a ubiquitous local salt brand, so we bought jars of Arctic Thyme Salt and Lava Salt to enjoy a touch of Iceland at home. We’ve already been using the lava salt; it doesn’t really taste any different, but black salt adds a little bit of flair to a dish!
That’s my show-and-tell for the goodies that I will cherish because they came from such a special place. Every time I slather a Blue Lagoon mask on my face, I’ll be transported back to those amazing thermal waters. And every pinch of salt will remind me of our travels. Once we run out…well, it’ll be time to book another trip. 🙂
