face palettes

Hello,

for today's post I decided to spice things up and show you something I had for quite a while now but since it still excites me and I love wearing products from both palettes I think they deserve a chance on my blog plus I already took photos of them on the day I purchased them.

They are the Trend It Up face contouring palettes. The first, top one is all matte and second is shimmery, full of highlighters.

The colors look nice, natural and I got them on sale so of course I picked up both, one don't just pass on such a good sale.

Lets start with the original all matte one first.
They made it easy even for the dummies, the names or should I say the purpose of using is imprinted on the actual product.

The half missing pan of contour powder (that happens when you are too excited to take photos and then start using it before you check the pics and you didn't notice that something is missing...) is just perfect. It is cool toned to naturally mimic the shades.
Bronze can be a little tricky since it is very warm but with a light hand it is manageable.
Th highlight shade is yellow toned without and shimmer or sheen but I guess if you have slightly darker skin tone it will look lighter, on my pale complexion it just blends in and I use it as a face powder. A bit of a fail but at least I found some good use for it.
This palette is pigmented but very powdery so I'm guessing with a constant use I will get through the powders rather quickly.

Next is this beautiful shimmery palette with three gorgeous highlighters.

First 'contour' shade is too dark for me but as a bronzer/blush topper is nice or on the eyes it is magical. It is very warm, orange-y bronze with some unique pink reflex which was impossible to capture on the camera, you will just have to trust me.
Glow is 'typical' golden one which isn't too yellow so it can look natural even on lighter skin tones.

The last, highlight shade is my favorite. It is not completely white but natural cream toned even though on the skin it is blinding (not that the other two aren't super reflective).

So here they are all swatched together and the difference between cool toned contour and warm bronzer is obvious.

The matte highlighter here comes very yellow because I packed it on so it becomes visible. I use soft kabuki brush and gently disperse it all over my face so the color doesn't even show.

I think that the shimmery palette steals the show here. They can be applied gently but if you don't slack they are the 'seen from the out of space' kind of highlighters. There are no chunky glitters just beautiful shine also the formula here is different, they aren't powdery but rather feel creamy even though they are powders.

Huh, that was a long one but that happens when you really like something, you just want to talk about it and recommend it to everyone. If you have an option I would urge you try them out the next time you are at the store, you won't regret it.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

Hello,

I'm  so not ready for the Summer but I'm trying. Every year I try to put more attention to my skin and hair during warmer months but after the season is gone I'm back to the lazy me. Sometimes taking care of myself is just too time consuming but I would like to change that.

I finished up Avon Foot Works Pineapple cooling foot lotion. It was pretty jelly like but very moisturizing also the fresh scent was a bonus. I always get these limited editions with great scents but more so because they are really nice and make my feet look presentable in no time.

This awesome scented Lush Plum Rain body wash was lovely. I loved the fresh plum scent and deep purple color but I think it is a little too expensive for what it is (I personally don't like to spent big bucks on washes but rather indulge in body lotions). It did last me for a long time and I'm in love with the scent but honestly I don't think I will repurchase it.

This mask,  Avon Advance Technique Moroccan Argan oil hair mask, was recommended to me by my sister who is using it for a long time now. The scent is typical for the line and I like it a lot. The mask itself worked really well in such a short time (at the back it says that you can rinse it off after 5 min and I don't have more time than that) and I was still able to see the difference in my hair. They were softer, silkier, smoother and with less frizz. I already repurchased it but now they have this pale gold packaging. I don't mind the outer look of a product as long as it is the same.

Catrice Cool & Matt primer stick was from last years limited edition and I already raved about it and I said that it is such a shame that they don't make it permanent. It is not the best  one out there, I have pretty oily skin and this one doesn't keep me matte all day long but my make-up wears so nicely through the day that I'm not mad. My L'oreal foundation looks great on top and that is what matters. I would repurchase it again if I could.

Catrice All Matt plush shine control powder in Transparent is my ultimate favorite powder. It looks amazing over freshly applied foundation or over greasy face after a couple of hours. It never makes me look cakey or patchy and I love it. This particular baby wasn't finished but I dropped it by accident and it shattered. I cleaned the floor and bought new one in the same day. I don't want to be left without it.

The very last item is Catrice Lip Glow Secret Glowtensify lip pencil which was reviewed on my blog quite recently and my overall impression wasn't good so instead of keeping it and saving it I decided to trash it and make room for better products. This one was pink and it is supposed to work with your warmth and unique chemistry to turn into your perfect pink shade. On me this type of color changing products always turn bright pink and this one was not an exception. At the moment I don't like loud lips but that was not what made me toss it away. It is the weird sticky, waxy texture that doesn't settle and it was driving me insane. I don't want to go full crazy so I'm letting go of this one.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Project polish

Hello,

for this month project polish I picked quite randomly actually three pink nail varnishes with different finishes, textures...

First is Essence Bubble Gum clear nail polish with pink dots. They aren't shiny or glittery but on a softer pink base they remind me of strawberry seeds. It is fun and I did wore it a couple of times but not recently. I went through my extensive collection and decided to give it away while it is still good and someone else could enjoy it more than I am.

Next one is another Essence polish in the shade Love and Care. I sort of feel bad for giving it away because it was kindly sent to me. I love the formula but the shade isn't really my piece of cake so I only wore it twice last year and that was it. The other reason for parting with it is the fact that my sister has a similar color and she is nearly done with it and she loves it so I decided to give it to her. I guess it is still better to give it away to someone who will love and wear it non stop, that is the purpose of nail polishes, right?

The very last one is also from Essence and it is named Pop (which says on the front of the bottle) or Just can't get enough (which reads at the back). I remember when this collection was out everyone was wondering why they have two names. Anyways, this is a lovely holographic top coat with warm undertone. I loved painting it over soft pinks or nude colors but now it got so goopey and thick that I have to part with it.

That concludes 13 bottles and still counting.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Pure Expression

Hello,

I still have plenty of L.O.V. products to show it to you. This time it's the nail polish. It is my very first and wow, they can make excellent varnishes.

L.O.V. color and care nail polish in Pure Expression was my first pick.
Soft cream color that can be put on in a hurry and it looks great with everything, it seems like a good deal especially because I used up my only cream polish up.

I like the fact that it is a bit sheer even though the camera makes it look more sheer. I like this 'I have no polish' kind of look because it looks effortless and clean, not to mention that it can be applied almost in the dark but it will still look nice.

The formula is very nice, not too liquid but it spreads like butter and it also dries in a reasonable time. I wore it for six days I think and there were no chips just a little bit of tip wear and that is A+. The only 'flaw' is that the look above was made with four coats, I am used to two coaters so this is a bit much but the end result is so nice that I'm not even mad.

I bought two more colors and I think they will be more pigmented and I will report back after I try them.




Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Chestnut and Shirocco

Hello,

I was at the H&M and ventured into their make-up aisle to find some beauties on sale. After checking that they weren't touched I picked up two products (I had my eye one on beautiful shadow but all of them were swatched and ruined so I didn't picked them up).

I grabbed face powder in the shade Chestnut and cream eye shadow in Shirocco.

The face powder in the Chestnut coloring is way too dark for me but I wanted to use it as a bronzer. They had some lighter shades but the sample that I tried showed me that they are somehow powdery and the color appears lighter on the skin than in the palette (later I realized that the brush picks up the powder nicely and the product itself is very pigmented).

Shirocco (also a breed of horses) cream shade is quite warm and a little out of my comfort zone but the one I initially wanted was already tried so I opted for second best.

The texture is pudding like and very different from all of my potted shadows (Maybelline Tattoos and Avon Mark ones are harder). It is very easy to get too much on the fingertips because a little touch is enough to cover both lids.

Chestnut is deep but as mentioned a light swatch with a finger didn't really showed up that much that is why I went for a really deep shade. On the swatch below I did a couple of swipes but my bronzer brush is very good at picking the pigment and I have to be extra careful not to apply too much.

Here the first swatch is cream shadow which shows the rich color (one swipe) and some golden shimmer that adds even more warmth and some extra life to the game.

Second is face powder which I'm using to warm up my cheeks but only with a light hand and some serious brush tapping.

Shirocco cream shadow applies nicely and it is easy to blend out with my fingers. The only 'problem' is heavy pigmentation so I have to be careful not to have too much on my fingers but other than that it is great. It sets nicely and doesn't budge even on my greasy lids but it still gives you enough time to work with it before it completely sets.

And one closeup to see the shimmer, sometimes I add a golden shadow on top to lighten it up or just pat something glittery to get even more sparkles.

All in all the 'bronzer' takes me a little more time to blend but it is matte and I don't think I have a matte bronzer. I still prefer shimmery or sateen finish but sometimes I still want to go all matte and this will be handy.
For the cream shadow I have only great things to say about. The most impressive is the staying power. I like this formula even more that the slightly harder Maybelline tattoos which also have a great staying power (only the matte versions work for me). I'm almost done with one of them, the most neutral and instead of repurchasing it I will check the H&M beauty to see if they have a light neutral, everyday shade and I will rather get that one over the Maybelline one.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Glow... like you can't stop laughing

Hello,

another five days have passed but I'm back with the highlighting palette that rocked my world. This was a great way to try some rather unusual shades to see if I can pull them off. This product was kindly provided to me from Essence PR team and I can't thank them enough.

Essence had this beautiful collection called Glow... and in some stores it is still there. I received one out of the two highlighter palettes named ...like you can't stop laughing, which is also embossed onto the product (mine is almost gone). The palette isn't small by no means so I think it will last me a life time.

I feel like this one is overall cooler and lighter. I did look at the other one while in the store but they didn't have any samples to try and it looked dark for my pale complexion so I passed.

Starting from the top shade which looks pretty scary in the packaging as it looks grey but on the skin is that pure white with maybe a hint of silver sheen, great for cooler skin tones or if you just like that super bright highlight.

Second one looks a little warmer in real life and it is cream but as the first one this one too looks very different on the skin, it reflex pink. It looks nice with some pinky blush even though it contains some glitter.

Third shade looks very pink in the pan but on the skin it shows up blue and very glittery. This one is my least favorite but as an eye shadow topper it is manageable.

The last one looks peachy and that is exactly how it looks like on the skin at least one doesn't come as a surprise. This one too has a nice sheen like the top shade and it looks nice as a topper over peachy- coral blushes or over bronzers.

Swatches were made in the opposite order so the first swatch is the bottom one in the palette and so on.

All four are shining like crazy, they are buildable but they start pigmented and you can only make them as one of those seen from space kind of highlighters. I don't think they are for shy people. I like my highlighter to be less obvious but when I want that magic these are the ones I reach for (or the single highlighter also from this line).

Here you compare the peachy shade which has beautiful sateen finish and the blue shade next to it which doesn't have a base color just some cool toned blue shimmer/glitter.

Middle two shades have more of a shimmer which isn't what I want but I think pink (the third swatch) is still manageable because I can pair it with the pink blush and the glitter isn't as obvious as it is in the blue one (second swatch) plus I don't want to walk around with blue cheeks.

This photo was done with a shaky hand (when you make gazillion photos and you aren't completely happy with none of them so the sun is already setting and it is getting dark) you get a photo like this but I decided to keep it just to show you the colors and that you will believe me that the second shade from the bottom in the palette or the second swatch actually look blue.

My favorite has to be the white one for really obvious cheek days, second is the peach one, especially now in the warmer weather to spice things up. Pink will get used occasionally and the blue one is way out of my comfort zone but it looks nice on sertan days just in the center of the lid paired with cooler tones. 

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

Hello,

holy cow how time flies, don't you agree? It is already the middle of May, Spring is almost gone but to me it feels like Winter was just yesterday, right?

First I have a recurring player which is this Alkmene Tea Tree face wash. My skin responds well to the Tea Tree so it was a no-brainer to get this one but I didn't like the packaging with this texture. The gel is pretty liquid so this short nozzle spills it, you have to pick up the bottle, tilt it and that is the only way to collect the product. I guess I'm lazy but pumps are supposed to be convenient and the packaging on this one sucks (or rather I should said I'm too lazy for it ;) but the face wash is really nice for my oily, acne prone skin. It cleansed it without stripping it out and the scent was weirdly calming and therapeutic to my nose.

Balea always have these fun products for a limited time. This time I picked up a Tropic Fun hand cream which smells like a tropic heaven filled up with pineapples. I kept it at work and my coworkers used it as well. Whenever I saw someone massaging their hands with their eyes closed and with a smile on their face I knew they they were transported to the beach all thanks to this baby. Everyone liked it and it was such a big pick me up kind of cream that I wouldn't mind having another tube of it. The texture was light, almost gel- like and it did absorb fast, it wasn't the most moisturizing one in the world (I still prefer my Avon Care glycerin hand & nail one but when it comes to the scent this one beats them all).

Avon Planet SPA Relaxing Provence Spa with Lavender & Jasmine hand cream was another hand cream that was gone this month. This one was kept in my pocket due to its small size. I expected to have obvious Lavender scent but it was softer and a bit more flowery (Jasmine). It was nice but if you are a die hard Lavender fan than this won't be it. I liked the formula enough that I will try some other scents as well (I already picked up the Olive one, next it will be the Argan).

Avon Perfect Kiss Naturally Nude and Sweetly Peach lip glosses are the last two that I had. These were some of my favorites and I'm sad that they stopped making them. The only reason why they aren't completely used up is that I have been saving them because if I would use them they would be gone, instead I didn't use them and didn't get to enjoy in them and now I have to toss them while they are still full. I know there is no logic, I feel bad enough and I will try to be better in the future.

The little pot is Avon Nutra Effects Ageless Revitalizing eye cream. I bought it right when it came out as I was looking for something new but it didn't convinced me. The texture is a 'regular' cream that takes a little time to absorb (not ideal when I'm in a hurry) but on a long turn I didn't notice any difference. Not only that it claims to fill in the little lines (moisturize the skin so much that the fine lines disappears) but also to help to reduce the dark under eye area where I notice no results. So when I dropped the lid and it rolled under the bed I couldn't be bothered to find it right away, I was late for work. When I came back I forgot so the next morning I figure it out that the lid is still missing but it took me another day to finally move my bed to find the cap. By the time (almost two days the cream was exposed to air and if I would love it I would find the lid right away, wash it and close it tightly) the pot was reunited with its top, some of its moisture evaporated so the cream was thicker. I didn't toss it but I used it at night with a thicker layer and finish it up faster.

The very last item is another Avon Planet Spa item, this time a Caribbean Escape with crushed Pearls and Sea Algae illuminating body butter. I completely forgot to take the photo of the actual product, someone might be interested in the shimmer but for the disclaimer the shimmer is golden and super fine but there is tons of it. On the sun I would sparkle like a secret Vampire ;) What sold me on it was the gorgeous scent. Pearls and Algae? I think Pearl is mentioned because of the shimmer and the Algae? I seriously don't know, it definitely doesn't smell rotten or weird but rather comforting, warm and somehow creamy. I think everyone would like it, it is just so very soothing and perfect to apply it from head to toe and then snuggle in the bed.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day