Empties

Hello,

we came to an end of the month and I collected a few empties. This time around there are quite a lot of lip products and knowing myself and my obsession over them I better make this intro short because the post will be long anyways.

Winter is saying goodbye and I wanted to finish up this old hand cream. It is Fruttini Peach & Pear scented hand cream. I bought it a long time ago and if I'm not mistaken they changed the packaging and I think this scent is gone. It had a lovely pear scent which is rare to find in cosmetics (pear often gets overlooked even though it is delicious) but also the formula was superb. Very thin, almost milky but hydrating enough to keep my hands soft and supple. I would repurchase it in a heartbeat but since the scent is gone I might try another fragrance and hope for the same formula.

In the orange tube is Avon Infinitize mascara in the Brown/Black shade (I always get this color, it still looks black but not as harsh  and I just prefer that). I wrote about it here where you can also see the special wand that it has. At first it looked scary but I quickly got used to it and I ended up really loving it. It separated my lashes, elongated them a bit and it managed to hold an impressive hold through the entire day. If you are on a hunt for a volumizing mascara this one is for you. At the moment I have five backup mascaras and one of them is another tube of this baby.

The following are four lip products that come to an end. First is Avon ultra glazewear lip gloss in the Pink Watermelon shade also the first swatch on the upper photo but I captured the shade better in the stand alone post here. It is still half full but it went bad. I started to feel weird tingle on my lips every time I would put it on and that was a dead ringer that it just went bad. Thankfully I wasn't a big fan of a bright fuchsia shade and multicolored glitter so this loss isn't so painful.

Next to it is Essence tinted sheer lip balm from the Happy Girls are pretty LE. Mine had a sticker with the Live, laugh, love and repeat name on it but on the official web site the lighter shade had a Pretty you! name. I remember there was a lot of confusion around the names but essentially my shade was the lighter from the two. It was a nice toned down baby pink shade with no shimmer particles and it was really moisturizing. I liked it so much that I even dig everything out from the packaging that is the reason why the swatch looks so weird because there wasn't enough product left. I would definitely repurchase it if it would still be available but I know Essence has some tinted lip balms in their regular line and I might pick one out to see it they reused this wonderful formula.

For last I saved the lipsticks. One is Catrice Ultimate Colour lipstick in the shade Kiss me if you can (discontinued two years ago but I have a back up). It is a nice soft pink shade, a little more vibrant than the lip balm I just wrote about and the lipstick also included some silver shimmer. I am not a huge fan of shimmery lips but this one wasn't so bad. Only if I wore it all day long and reapply constantly it did got a bit rough but I avoided that feeling by using other products. In a nutshell I liked the color, the shimmer wasn't too distracting and the formula was hydrating and glossy just how I like it.

Last lipstick bullet is from Avon Perfect Kiss line (beautiful packaging if you ask me) and the shade is called Kiss me Pink. To me this one looked more coral than pink with the slightest hint of shimmer. I remember really liking the formula but because it is super pigmented I didn't wore it whole lot until I picked it up this year and make a point in using it up. That didn't happened because the formula went bad before I could finish it up. Whenever I put it on I felt sand in my mouth, I could chew it and I might not be the smartest girl around but that is just wrong so I had to toss it. There is another similar color in my collection so I don't feel as bad but I will at least try to properly use that one up.

Huh, I knew whenever there are lip products I can write essays about them and this post could be even longer if I wouldn't restrain myself.


Thank you for reading and have a nice day

gift from Essence

Hello,

today I received a very special package. A couple of days ago I was contacted by Slovenian Essence team and they asked if I'm interested in trying some of their new products? Hell yeah, I love their products, usually they are a hit for me (I always do some research before purchasing so maybe that is the reason why I haven't bought any big duds from the line), items are super affordable and in step with trends that I want to try but I don't feel like spending half of my salary for a single blush.

I received four new products and I like the variety of items. I got something for the lips, something to color my cheeks, paint my nails and they covered the eye area with a pencil as well.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw the blushplay palette with a highlighter and two beautiful blushes. They have two color options, I got the Play it Peach but there is also the pink version.

I'm super happy that they send me the peach version because I prefer to wear peachy/coral blushes anyways. 

Next there is the new line of nail polishes, Glow & Care with Kukui oil. I have never heard of Kukui but I did some research and it originates from Polynesia and it is an official tree of Hawaii (whenever I will paint my nails with it I will think of sunny Hawaii and how badly I want to go there). The oil is know for its moisturizing properties, it is supposed to help at healing wounds and protect soft and sensitive baby's skin. I'm intrigued if I will notice any difference on the nails. My beauty is in the Love & Care shade.

This year they renovated the entire lip gloss line and now the packaging is curvier and they offer 13 shades. Shine, shine, shine lip glosses are supposed to be very wet looking and this particular shade, Runway, your way is a bold plum shade. I don't know how often I will wear it but maybe I will be able to make it more sheer. We will see.

Last but not least is the sculpting eye pencil. There are three color options and I got the Black to White version. Black is such a basic color that I will have no issues using it up and the 'white' end isn't really white but rather a cream color which will look great as an inner rim color.

Thank you Essence team for sending me these goodies. I'm sure I will have plenty of fun testing them out and maybe I will find some new favorites and must haves for the upcoming Spring. I will properly test them and then you can expect some more in depth reviews with color swatches.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Project Polish

Hello,

I decided to show you my used up nail polishes for this month a little earlier because I don't think I will be able to use more till the end of the month. Recently I have been wearing more pink and red colors on my nails and so it happened that I finished up two bottles.

First is Avon Color Trend Cherry Choc, I remember that it was part of the limited edition but I can't recall how old it is. It was a beautiful red color with a cream finish. The shade wasn't to bright or to dark, for me it was nearly perfect and I loved wearing it and I will miss it.

Next bottle is Catrice Welcome to Roosywood which on the other hand wasn't LE but it is discontinued. I was so excited to get this shade but when I put it on I didn't like it, so my only solution was to wear glitters on top and that worked fine for me. I wore this shade a lot this year and just changed top coats and so I was able to clear it out and I'm happy that it is gone.

All together I cleared out four bottles this year and I hope I will continue with the same or at least similar pace through the next couple of months.


Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Avon

Hello,

today was an exceptionally good day, I haven't had such a good day in a really long time and it is just a coincidence that I got my Avon order yesterday. What a better way to celebrate than with a gift, right? Even if you get it for yourself.

God knows I don't need more perfumes but this baby, Avon Love, was on a pretty good sale plus last year I used up the lotion in the same scent and I loved it. I hope I will love the scent in a perfume version as the name suggests  ;)

Next is a Planet SPA Mediterranean Olive Oil mask. I already used one or two tubes of it and I remember I liked it. It smells amazing and the gel texture is great for moisturizing my skin in warmer months. I consider it as a treat for my face and my skin loves it.

Standing tall is the new Supreme Nourishing mascara with argan and coconut oil. It claims to be nourishing and kind to your lashes, I will put that to the test and I will report back.

Within the same Supreme Nourishing line they released also lipsticks and because I couldn't pick a shade I went with two colors, Revitalizing Raspberry and Nurturing Nude. I have to admit that I like the coppery gold packaging, it makes this line stand out from the average looking make-up.

The last item is yet another Ultra Glazewear Absolute lip gloss in the shade Renewing Rose. I love this moisturizing line and this color is perfection for my lips. I already used up one tube last year and this is my second back-up of the same shade. Unfortunately Avon decided to discontinue this line and I had no choice but to stock up.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

Hello,

happy Valentine's day if you celebrate it. I got myself some chocolate and I'm snacking on it while typing ;)
I usually post my empties on the 15th but since February is shorter I am posting it today which is the middle of the month anyway.

First bottle is Avon planet SPA Sweet Sensuality Jasmine body mist. I like this scent, it makes me think of Spring because of the flowery note but on the other hand it is nothing too special and it also doesn't last on me. I liked the scent but I won't miss it and I'm happy to use something else (after all I have 32 more bottles of perfume or body sprays to go through).

Next is Avon Advance Technique daily shine mirror shine spray, such a long name but it is oil in a spray bottle. It can make my hair look a bit greasy if I use it too much but I don't notice any drastic change other than oiliness and my hair gets tangled whenever I used it on my ends. I didn't like it but I was determined to use it. My bottle is super old but they still have it in the brochure, I would rather recommend the oils that comes in the glass bottles with the pump. I tried three out of four and they are amazing.

If I skip to the end of the row there is Catrice retouch light reflecting concealer in the shade Ivory. I talked about it last year here and I still agree with that. I liked the slight yellow tone which matched me perfectly and creaminess of the product but it didn't have enough coverage for me and in the name they mention light reflecting pigments which I can't see. The other issue is the brush applicator. I never used it directly on the skin so I didn't contaminate the product and if you don't use it regularly the product stuck on the brush will get thick and it will be hard to apply. If you get something in this type of packaging you really have to commit using it. For me this particular product wasn't worth it and I will not repurchase it.

Next is Avon luminous blush in the shade Russet. This is my first blush and I only wanted to practice with it. I honestly don't think I ever wore it on my face for longer than an hour or that somebody saw me with it. The color is beautiful burnt orange with brick red mixed in it, I'm very attracted to blushes like that (I already have Catrice blush artist palette in Bronzeclat and Benecos blush in Toasted Toffee, I compared the two here and this Avon's Russet blush comes really close). The problem I'm having with it is pigmentation. I'm very fair and this blush is PIGMENTED and therefore hard to blend out, it is pretty obvious that it was meant for deeper skin tones. I'm tossing it away since it is over five years old, I'm never wearing it and I have two other blushes in really similar shades.

The last item is Avon Ultra Color Rich Mega impact lipstick in the color Never so Nude. My mom had this shade and it looked stunning on her so of course I had to get it myself. On me it wasn't so spectacular but it was a nice creamy nude with some reflex which made my lips optically fuller. I liked it a lot but I'm happy that it is gone due to its age.

The first swatch is Russet blush and second is a heavy layer of the Never so Nude lipstick, in real life they weren't so similar. I wore the lipstick a little lighter so it wasn't so obvious but for the purpose of taking photos I layered it up.


So, five more products have meet Mr. Bin and I'm working on some others to finish before the end of this shorter month.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

gel cleanser

Hello,

I have been working on my products even if I don't post as much as I used to and today I have a rather 'boring' one (is it just me or the most exciting stuff are make-up items?).

This is Avon clearskin pore penetrating gel cleanser. It is part of their acne prone line mostly for teenagers and even though I'm all grown up my skin still thinks I'm 15.
It comes in a tube with a twist up cap and since my last cleanser had a pump I really miss it. Pumps are so convenient, I'm not saying that this packaging is bad it is just that I'm lazy  ;)

The product itself is clear with random green beads in it. At first I was scared that they are the microbeads (plastic beads companies use in their skincare to exfoliate your skin but they are so bad for the environment because they are made of plastic which takes years to biodegrade and cause major pollution) but they aren't. I was relieved when I noticed that the green balls dissolved after rubbing. I don't think they do much, they are a bit gimicky because sometimes I don't get any when I squeeze the tube and sometimes I get two the most.
I use it in the morning and at night. Usually I take my make-up off with a baby wipe but I ran out of them so I just used this gel on my face full of make up and it seems to dissolve and remove pretty much everything, even mascara was gone. It doesn't burn my eyes even after rubbing the product to remove my eye make-up and opening my eyes during the process. You would think that the product isn't so gentle if it is meant to deeply clean your skin and especially concentrate on the pores. I then follow with a cotton pad soaked in micellar water and usually the pad is clean, that tells me that the gel does its job well.

So, to conclude. It is gentle to my eyes, my skin is clean after using it and it doesn't dry my skin out (afterwards my skin doesn't pull, it doesn't feel tight). For me this cleanser has it all and it has joined my favorites collection.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Night eye cream

Hello,

I started to use this eye cream in November and I used around one third of it maybe closer to half and now I'm ready to spill the beans.

It is Avon Anew Nutri - Advance eye cream in a pot. This packaging holds standard 15 ml of product.

The cream itself is white and has no particular scent. It is quite thick and it takes some time to fully absorb. For me that means that it is more suitable for night when I don't need to worry about greasiness.

I tried to use it in the morning under my make-up but it just takes to long to sink in and in the mornings I never have the time, do you?
It is hydrating and nourishing, my eye area did not get dry or patchy and my wrinkles didn't get worse as it sometimes happen in the cooler months (when the moisture leaves the skin the wrinkles can get more prominent). I like this eye cream but only at night, I still use something else in the morning and that is a bit frustrating but I guess it is not so bad. I will use it up and after that I will see if I will need to repurchase it again, maybe in the winter months next year when my skin will need something heavier.
I would recommend it to everyone with extremely dry eye area, you never know maybe this is the cream you have been looking for.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day