Empties

Hello,

I hope you're having fun on the last day of this year and that you will celebrate it with the people you love. I pushed and cleared out another 6 products which will be recycled and I will start fresh.

First thing in the background is Avon Planet SPA Caribbean Escape brightening face massage mask with crushed Pearls and Sea Algae. I can reassure you that it smells great, it is hard to describe but I would say it is creamy and a bit fruity (Papaya or Mango). It has some scrubbing particles and you are supposed to apply it onto fresh face and massage it, then the instructions says you just wipe it off but that doesn't work for me. I prefer to rinse it off and my face feels very soft and moisturized, it definitely leaves residue but it doesn't bother me because I use it at night. When it comes to brightening I haven't notice anything, if it works then the effect is subtle. All in all, I like the scent and how moisturized my skin felt after using it and I already repurchase it.

In the bottle there is Avon naturals daily hair refresher in the scent Raspberry and Hibiscus. It is very watery and even if I spray too much it dries like water, without any residue. I would say that this is just a perfume for hair but it smells like fresh Raspberries and I already repurchased it. When I use it I skip on the perfume and wear this on my hair and it makes me feel really good. I also love the shampoo and conditioner from this line and I like to spray my hair with it the next day or after two days to restore the scent.

Bottle next to it is Avon Advance Technique volume and curl mousse. It is also very watery but the pump transforms it into a loose foam which I massaged it into my scalp to get some volume or into my braid to prolong the curl. On my soft hair it didn't work that well and it also made them a bit crunchy which I despise. I finally managed to use it up and I won't repurchase it ever again.

Last bottle is Avon naturals body lotion in Passion fruit and Peony. I like naturals lotions because of their scent and this one didn't disappoint, it smells just like the name suggest and it is one of my absolute favorite. Sadly it is discontinued but if you ask your representative it might still be able to find it in the outlet brochure for you.

In the round pot there is Balea Freesia  and Violet limited edition cream. I used it as a night face cream and it worked like a charm. I thought that it will be greasy like the typical Nivea creams but it is much lighter in texture, my skin was able to absorb it but just because it gets really oily through the day I rather use it only at night. My skin is pretty sensitive but I didn't have any allergic reactions of breakouts and I would repurchase it again if it would be available. I have another one in the orange scent and I hope it has the same texture, that would make me very happy.

The last tiny 5 ml bottle is Avon Always perfume. I decided that it is time to use it up because I have full sized bottle and I don't like that this doesn't have a spray or a ball, which makes it hard to apply. I like to spray my perfumes so the scent isn't too strong and it gets on my hair where it last but if it is just a hole you can only use it on your wrists and then I have to swing them around for me to be able to smell it. I can look like I'm Italian, talking with people and use my hands excessively  ;)



Thank you for reading and have a nice last day

Empties

Hello,

I hope everyone has nice holidays. I'm sending you lots of love, health and happiness. I rarely do new year's resolution but if I do they are beauty related, something fun. I don't reinvent myself every year but instead I try to be better and top of the previous year. What about you?

I have been really good and used up a lot of product (tomorrow I will have another post filled with empty packaging, I like to split them if there are too much stuff).
First we have Krasna hand cream with lavender, cedar and orange. I talked about it last year here and I mentioned how much I love the scent and I still do. It is amazing but a little pricey, it costs around 10 € which is a lot but if I will get my hands on some coupons I will repurchase it again.

Next bottle is Avon naturals spiced orange and ginger body mist. This product is long gone which is unfortunate. I think the scent was fantastic and one of my favorite. If it would still be available I would definitely buy it again, it just doesn't get better than a fresh orange scent mixed with winter spices, I loved spraying my scarf with it and then duck my nose in it. I also find that this one was a bit more long lasting than some other scents but I don't know if it depends from the scent or in the past these naturals body mists were actually more long lasting.

Next product was in my shower for almost a year and the bottle looks a bit beaten up. It is Avon x-series Recharge hair & body wash for men. First of all the scent is fantastic, very manly and semi fresh, the other cool thing was the purple color. At first I wanted to use it solely as a body wash but the scent convinced me to use it on my hair and it work amazingly well as a clarifying shampoo. It made my hair silky soft and smooth, it tamed the frizzy hair but also made them completely straight with no volume. My hair has very little volume and when you take even that little of it away it looks a bit sad so I had to help myself with some volumizing products but I didn't care. My hair looked fantastic and they smelled good even the day after. I would definitely repurchase it if I can find it, I'm scared that Avon  discontinued this product sometime during this past year.

Next to it is another shampoo and also from Avon but from the Advance Technique line Smooth as Silk (already discontinued line). This was my 'regular' shampoo, I wash my hair every third day and on most days I used this one, maybe once in two weeks I used the bottle mentioned in previous paragraf. This one was okay, nothing special but it did it's job.

I continue with Avon products and next in line is Avon naturals dog rose and aloe toner, sadly also discontinued. I used up about seven or eight bottles of it and this one is the last one. It had nice rose scent but that wasn't the reason why I loved it so much, This toner was actually very moisturizing on my skin and I already miss it but I bought the 'new' toner from the line with rose and so far it is nice.

The last item is Avon ultra glazewear absolute lip gloss in the shade Renewing Rose which is one of my favorite glosses ever. I used up every single drop of it so I don't have a swatch photo in this post but you can check this post. I love how moisturizing it is and this shade is amazing on me, it has just the right amount of pigment and coverage, not too much but enough to show up. I already repurchase it because I saw that they will discontinue this line next year.


In this post there are a lot of awesome Avon products but a lot of them aren't available or they will soon be gone. Such a shame but I prefer to use up my beloved products then let them go bad. Tomorrow I will have another batch of empties, I guess I'm cleaning up my bathroom and want to start fresh in the new year.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Catrice delistings

Hello,

I was so excited to see the updated Catrice site with  the photos of the new stuff and also when I saw the list of the products which will leave us next year. I think they always deliberately discontinue the best items just to bug me but this year my list is very short, at least for the products which are leaving. I'm trying to be more responsible and buy less make-up but Catrice made it easier for me, they are getting rid off of a lot of products which just don't interest me but I made a list of three that I might pick up before they are gone for good.

The one lip product that jumped in my eye is Shine Appeal Fluid Lipstick in the shade Better Make a Mauve. They actually decided to completely remove this line (they are keeping the Shine Appeal Fluid Lipstick Intense) and I already have two shades so I'm familiar with the texture. I don't know why they are marked as lipsticks because they are clearly lip glosses and I think a lot of people were upset about that, if they would just mark them as lip glosses I think this line would do better. They feel like a lip balm but with a glossy finish and a nice color payoff, not the best but I personally prefer my lip glosses to be on the sheer side because they are easier to wear. This shade is a gorgeous mauve shade which would look amazing on me but the fact that I have 33 lip glosses makes me rethink. Do I need it? No, I don't but the shade and formula are too good to pass.

Next is Defining blush in Rose Couture. I don't have any blushes from this line but all I can find are positive reviews. It looks like everyone loves these and it is about time to pick one out. They are discontinuing two berry shades which looks great but not for my skin tone. I found some swatches online of this shade but they are very different from one another, on some photos it looks nude on some it appears to be powdery pink. I think I will have to see it with my own eyes and swatch it to see how it will go with my skin tone and then I will decide if I 'need it' or not.

The last item that looks interesting for me is the Highlighting Powder in the shade Starlight. All of my highlighters are golden, warm toned so I would like to try something cooler and this one appears to fell in that category, the only thing that is making me cautious is the pink color. On some swatches online it looks more pink than on the others but I guess it is another item I will have to see it in person and decide if it is something I will wear or not.

This time I'm very pleased with Catrice for not tossing a lot of my favorites, of course there are some other lip products and eye shadows and pencils that I would like to have but since I own so much already in those categories and seeing what is jet to come I think I can pass on them and wait for the brand new products to arrive and pick something from the new range.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Deep Plum

Hello,

blushes are becoming some of my favorite items and since I started using them last Autumn you would thought that I don't have that many, right? Well, you would be wrong, at this point I have 20 pans of blush counting the two from Avon I bought in my last campaign. So, for today I decided to show you one of them and give you my thoughts about it.

It comes in Avon's standard sleek black packaging which is the same as their eye shadow quads.

It is Avon luminous blush in the shade Deep Plum. To me it looks more like a mauve color but it does have some plumy undertones.

Inside you get a big mirror which is a plus but also a flimsy and scratchy brush for which I can't find any purpose.

This shade is packed with golden shimmer, don't get me wrong I love glowing cheeks in fact I rarely wear matte blushes but when I opened this one for the first time all I could think was, holy cow is this shimmery.

This blush is very pigmented but still buildable which is great, specially if you are fair. I noticed that the shimmer magically disappeared. Some of it is still there but it is not a glittery bomb as I was afraid of.

On a closer swatch you can see that the shimmer is not too distracting. The color also looks a bit different than in the pan, on my skin it turns berry, more pink than mauve. If you like that then great but I personally think that this color doesn't suit me so I will probably return it.

All in all this blush is really nice but unfortunately I don't like how this color looks on my skintone. Next week I will start using the other shade and I'm crossing my fingers that I will like it better.




Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

Hello,

we are already on the half of the month and that means collecting my empty beauty products, take photos of them and publish them on the almighty web.

First item is Avon Planet SPA Oriental Radiance balancing facial cleanser. I reviewed it already here so I will try to be short. The pump packaging is lovely and it can also be locked so it is also travel friendly. It is a clear gel which foams up after you mix it with water and it efficiently removes all the build up grease and it smells like a fresh cut grass. In my books this baby is a winner and I will definitely repurchase it soon.

It was not long time ago since I wrote about this Avon naturals Winterberry and Shea shimmering body lotion, for longer review you can click here. The scent is phenomenal, warm and rich, texture is great, you don't need whole lot but it moisturizes like something much more expensive stuff. It is slightly tinted but nothing to worry about if you let it sink in and also it contains golden shimmers which I'm not a fan of but they are bearable. This is my second used up tube and I have one more backup, next year I will probably repurchase it again.

Bottle in the middle is from Omnia cosmetics and it is a coconut scented nail polish remover. I honestly couldn't detect any special scent so I wouldn't really suggest you to rush and get it for the scent alone. It was a nice remover but I found similar ones for even less money (Essence, Aveo) or if I will want something really scented then I will repurchase Afrodita's nail polish removers.

Next is Avon naturals Green tea and Verbena scented body mist. I started to use it in the middle of the Summer when it felt really refreshing and nice. The scent itself was very fresh and flowery but weak enough to not give me a headache. I like the scent but it didn't really knocked me out of my socks and I also wasn't too impressed with its staying power. I'm happy that I tried it but I won't repurchase it again.

Last bottle is Yves Rocher Lagoon moisturizing body mist with Monoi flower. I bought it last Summer and you can see I'm not done with it but if you look at the right bottom corner you can see something white in the bottle, that is because it went bad. Did you ever had natural apple juice? And you left it open for too long? Then you will know that the texture changed and it got a bit thick and fuzzy at the bottom, that is exactly what happened with this product. I don't want to open it up and sniff it because I might dropped dead. I still love this scent, it is like the most beautiful Summer memory caught in the bottle just waiting for you to remember. I still have the body oil and I will make sure I will use it up next year. If I return back to the spray version I would definitely love to have it back in my collection but it is only available in the Summer but I think it would be better if I try to use up some more sprays and perfumes before repurchasing but I will buy it again, probably not next year but maybe year after.

The very last item is a lipstick sample from old Avon Ultra Color Rich line in the shade Sparkling Blush. It is a nice cherry red lipstick with shimmer, I mostly wore it more as a stain (second smeared swatch) just to add some tint to my lips. In the past I loved to wear bright colors on my lips but I'm getting older and now I prefer more toned down shades so if this would still be available I wouldn't buy it. I love the now reformulated line of the Ultra Color lipsticks and I have plenty to go through if I will buy more shades they will most definitely be more natural.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

CC pearls

Hello,

I think it was already two orders back when I purchased this product. I started using it the next day because I was so excited but I had some issues with it so I tried to use it in various ways. I have seen people using it as a highlighter or face powder.

It is Avon ideal flawless CC pearls. They come in the standard (for Avon at least) pot except the packaging is black and not bronze.

Inside there is a big white sponge which is just protecting the pearls from moving around and when you take it off the magic lies underneath. There are two (not full, I would say one and a half row) layers of five colored pearls. The idea is to swirl your brush in there and apply it all over your face for color correcting but does it work?

This is how they all together look like. I had to go over it like million times to make it show up but I can blame my skin tone for that, probably it is just so similar but that is the whole point. You want a finishing powder to match you, right?

 I took another photo in slightly less warm light but here you can barely see it (I marked it with the two arrows), there is a little sheen to it which is very nice in my opinion but just keep in mind I was applying it with a dense eye shadow brush. On the face you don't get that effect. The pearls are very hard and I got barely anything on my brush, for the swatches I collected the dust on the bottom of the box.

For fun I swatched all the individual colors separately and the first lighter two are very shimmery, coral one in the middle is still shimmery but less and the last lavender and green shades are matte and they appear a little chalky.

I like the simple, sleek packaging and the product/pearls are a joy to look at but how do they perform? I have oily skin, even now in the winter when it is dry it still gets oily over a couple of hours so I need my powder to be mattifying but this one just isn't. Does it color correct? On the swatch photos of the colors mixed together you can see that the color you get is beige, skin like so my opinion is no, they don't. I have them for almost two months now and I still don't know if I should return them or not. They do nothing for me but I keep thinking that the lighter pearl (the first swatch on the last photo) would be a really nice highlighter but is it worth keeping it just so I can use one fifth of a product?



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

preview: Catrice Prêt-à-Lumière

Hello,

I have seen a preview for the new Catrice limited edition and it blew me away. I'm a huge Cosnova fan well, I don't own anything from their L.O.V. line but I have plenty of Essence and Catrice products and their LE always gets me unprepared. This edition will be out by the end of December and is named Prêt-à-Lumière with mostly illuminating or glowy, sparkly items. If you would know me in person then you would know that I don't highlight, sometimes I put it illuminator on top of a blush or instead of an eye shadow but that is pretty much it, so why do I like this line so much? I don't know, maybe because it looks so pretty but the fact is that I want almost every single item from it. Sounds crazy, right?

Highlights, as far as the eye can reach: strobing is the make-up trend of the year. The Limited Edition “Prêt-à-Lumière” by CATRICE offers professional products to create the perfect glow from December 2016 to January 2017. There are plenty of variations to choose from, ranging from classic powder textures to liquid formulas with pipette applicators and creamy textures in a pen-shape. Different shades from flattering nude to rosé offer endless possibilities to highlight your best facial features. G(l)o(w) your way – by CATRICE.

GLAM & DOLL SPARKLING LASHES MASCARA

Shine & Sparkle. The popular Glam & Doll Mascara range is briefly being enhanced with a fine shimmer: the tried-and-tested texture makes false lashes totally superfluous. The sparkling effect ensures glistening highlights to perfect any eye make-up style.
Beauty Tip
The mascara can be worn solo or as a topper and creates fabulous optical reflections on the lashes with its light-reflecting shimmer pigments. The mascara is just as suitable for daytime wear as for glamorous smokey eye styles. For a subtle look, only apply the sparkling texture on the tips of the lashes.

HIGHLIGHTING POWDER

Luminous Love. An ultra-silky powder that is easy to blend for wonderfully soft transitions. Applied on top of creamy products, the Highlighting Powder intensifies the strobing effect. It can be applied on the face like a normal powder or used as an eyeshadow on the lids. Nude, gold and rosé each score points for their fine shimmer.
Beauty Tip:
Powder textures should always be applied on top of creamy products and never underneath! This way, make-up will last longer and is easier to blend. For highlighting powder, it’s best to use a slanted Blush Brush or our expert tool – the Fan Brush. In any case, the brush should have shorter bristles on the outside for easier blending.

LIP & EYE BROW LIFTER

HIGHlight. The Lip & Eye Brow Lifter comes in a pen-shape and is easy to handle, so it’s perfect “on the go”. The creamy texture contains light-reflecting pigments and skilfully sets radiant highlights – ideal for the strobing make-up trend. Available in champagne or rosé, these pens ensure a visible lifting effect when applied beneath the arch of the brows. They can also be applied on the inner corners of the eyes to optically enlarge them. Dabbing a little on the lip bow makes the lips look fuller.
Beauty Tip
Practical: When you’re on the go, these pens can also be used as regular highlighter to save space! Simply apply along the cheekbone and then use a finger or small sponge to blend and perfectly accentuate the facial features.

STROBING GEL HIGHLIGHTER

Radiant Skin. The gel in an elegant glass jar contains light-reflecting pigments and conjures-up a gorgeous rosé-bronze shine. The unique light reflections give the complexion a fresh look and a touch of elegance.
Beauty Tip
The combination of rosé and bronze results in a shade that suits most skin tones. The gel-like texture can be applied with the fingers or brush and spreads easily to create an all-over glow or to set targeted highlights.

FACE GLOW DEFINER

Stardust. The creamy highlighter with a flock applicator allows the targeted accentuation of individual facial features. A warm golden shade and a cool rosé tone complement any look, for example, when applied on the cheekbones or the brow bone.
Beauty Tip
Brunettes can achieve the most beautiful glow with the golden Face Glow Definer as warm shades offer the best match for darker hair and skin tones. The cool rosé shade, on the other hand, is ideal for blondes since their skin often has a naturally pinkish undertone. Apply the liquid texture directly on the desired areas of skin with the flock applicator to set targeted highlights beneath the arch of the brows or on the cheekbones.

ILLUMINATING SERUM PRIMER

Liquid Illumination. A liquid primer in a light, neutral beige shade with a delicate golden shimmer. Mixed with foundation, this all-rounder has a subtle effect, while the glow is more intense when applied solo. The pipette applicator allows a perfect dosage.
Beauty Tip
Upon application, the Illuminating Serum Primer has a neutral colour so it is suitable for every skin type. Mix the primer with body lotion and apply on the arms, neckline and back for a gorgeous party glow – ideal to celebrate New Year’s Eve, for example.

VINYL GLOSS-IN-STICK

Vinyl Lips. Smooth, shiny lips are guaranteed with these slim sticks. The lipsticks in a nice and narrow packaging are easy to apply accurately and come in a choice of subtle nude and flattering rosewood.
Beauty Tip
The Vinyl Gloss-In-Sticks are especially practical companions when time is short: to freshen-up the complexion, apply the creamy texture like a blush and gently pat into the skin with your fingers for rosy cheeks in seconds!

The only item that doesn't speak out to me is the sparkling mascara. I think it is nice and I would wear it two or three times but that would be it, I can't justify buying it for three uses, maybe if they would have mini version of it...

The other products all look to die for maybe I will stay away from the pink tones but I want everything else. I will make sure to swatch everything and buy the absolute 'necessities', that means as little as possible but who knows perhaps I will get super into highlighting...

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Fresh skin and bouquet of roses

Hello,

I used up my Mixa cleansing micellar water for sensitive skin and I wasn't too impressed with it so when I started using the new micellar water I had low expectations in order not to be too disappointed.

My sister brought me this bottle as a gift from abroad since we don't have this brand here. It is Kiko pure clean water, micellar cleansing water for normal to dry skin. I'm usually very oily but in this cold and dry weather my skin is rather flakey and dry.

This opening is very interesting and I have never had a bottle like this and it took me almost two weeks to figure it out. I know, I'm an idiot. So basically you just put the cotton pad on top and press it down while the bottle stands tall (no turning it upside down or shaking). For me two pumps are enough (I wipe my make-up off with a baby wipe and then wash it with a face wash so this is just to make sure everything is removed) and if there is any make-up residue left it gets it off. I tried it also on the face full of make-up and it worked like a charm, no tugging or dragging but I still prefer to use my baby wipes and face wash first simply because that way micellar water will last me for longer and I just got so used of doing the three step cleanse that if I don't do it like that I don't feel like my face is clean.
I don't know how much it costs because it was a gift but if it would be available for me to repurchase it I definitely would. This water is very gentle and effective but also it is scented, to me it smells like a fresh bouquet of roses. I don't think cosmetic items should be scented but if they do it right I like it. The scent is not too strong and it doesn't linger but if they would offer the perfume in the same scent it would be on my wishlist.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Avon

Hello,

what a crazy two weeks have been. My computer decided to let me down and I hope I found the problem and fix it otherwise I will need a new laptop. So, dear Saint Nicholas... but before that I decided to gift myself with some Avon products.

Previously I ordered huge bottle of Senses Heaven Harmony Lily of the valley and Apple body wash and since I love it so much I decided to get the smaller version as a hand soap.

To go along I picked up another Senses body wash in more Summery scent which is named Delightful Orchard Raspberry, Apple and Cassis. This smells wonderful and it reminds me of a fruit drink with Sour Cherries and Cassis.

I couldn't pass such a good deal they had on their Care hand creams, I picked up my favorite in the limited edition packaging. They do this twice a year and almost always I pick it up because they don't mess with the awesome glycerine hand and nail cream formula.

The two compacts could be quatro eye shadows (they had amazing deal on them but I managed to resist) instead I picked two true color luminous blushes out of the four available shades. I skipped on the peach shades but only because I have enough so I picked up rather unusual shades for me. One is Deep Plum which is a pinky mauve shade with tons of golden shimmer, I'm a fan of shine on my cheeks but this could be too much. The other one is named Classic Aura and is more of a peachy pink shade which appears almost matte, there are some random barely there particles but probably after applying it they are not even visible. I will know more after trying them out and I will also try to make photos of the shades because I noticed there aren't many online and probably it would be helpful to someone.

The last two items are lip glosses and not just any kind of glosses, these Ultra Glazewear Absolute glosses have one of my favorite formula and Renewing Rose is my favorite shade which I'm almost done with the first tube. I decided to pick the Soft Peach shade because you could only get even number of products and I didn't want to pick two of the same shades.
P.S. I hope I'm mistaken but a little bird told me that this line of lip glosses will get discontinued next year, that is why I stocked up.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day