Empties

Hello,

this time of the month I have a nice selection of used up products. There are a little bit of everything.

First is what have quickly become my favorite foundation, it is L'oreal Infallible 24-h matte in the shade 11 Vanilla. I apply it with a damp sponge and the finish is almost matte, it offers a very nice high coverage. On those nasty areas where I have extra redness or pimples I add a bit more and at the end I can use very little concealer. The only 'flaw' is that it is still a smidge too dark but The Body Shop lightening drops 'fix' it for me. I have already repurchase it and I can't imagine what would happen when or if they will discontinued it.

Catrice used to make these amazing Ultimate Shine Gel Colour lipsticks. I have bought numerous bullets and gave them even to my mom and sister and they also got hooked on them. This one is in the Better than Nude shade which was a little too pale for me but with a little bit of lip gloss on top everything looked nice.

Another Catrice product is this Shine Appeal Liquid Lipstick in the shade Rose, would you...? These were just regular shiny lip glosses but with an amazing formula. They discontinued them pretty fast maybe because they marked them as liquid lipsticks and people expected matte finish instead they got very shiny formula. I didn't mind it, in fact I have another shade. To me they were very comfortable and moisturizing, in my opinion they should bring them back.

This next item is Essence Liquid Lipstick in a bright cool toned shade Colour Party. Just as the Catrice ones are misleading this one is too but this guy was way more pigmented and when you combine high gloss and a lot of pigment you get a product that can easily get out of control. I could apply it nicely but after thirty minutes I didn't know if the gloss is already dripping down my chin or is smeared all over my teeth. I prefer lip glosses with sheer color just because they are easier to wear and this one just didn't meet my taste. Also the color was all wrong for my undertone, such cool tones don't suit me and it was left forgotten in my drawl.

My sister brought me this The Body Shop Raspberry body butter from abroad and I decided to use it up in the Winter time. Such fruity, luxurious butter felt so good on my skin and made Winter time more bearable (I love Spring and Summer). I can see that they are discontinuing this scent but I have a lot of others that I need to get through but if you are looking for a butter that smells just like the Raspberry you can't go wrong with this one.

Avon Advance Technique Daily Shine 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner was something I used when I was a kid. It was the most basic and I never had any issues with my hair so this was great for me. Out of nostalgia I picked up another bottle and I decided to get the really big one. I still like the scent of the AT line but this particular shampoo didn't do anything amazing. It made my hair clean but nothing else. I have a couple from the Naturals range that I like better and will rather repurchase those but I might try some more from the AT line.

My sister gave me this sample sized Moroccanoil hair oil bottle because she used up the big one and she liked it a lot. At first I was using it on dry hair and it did nothing, well they could get greasy if I applied too much but that was it. Latter I started to use it on damp hair after I washed them and the next morning my hair were sleeker, shinier and more smooth not to mention how good they smelled. I used it up way too fast and now I miss it, I know that it is a little expensive but if I will have some coupons I will get myself a big bottle.

The very last item was a gift from Cosnova team and it is Essence for Boys and Girls sheet mask. This collection will be out soon in February and finally I am ahead with at least one review. The sheet fitted my face really well and I also didn't had any issues slipping it off my face. I could walk around my apartment and it stayed put. My skin afterward felt moisturized and a bit sticky, thankfully it was my day off so I didn't wear make-up later but I'm pretty sure I would have to wipe my face off with some micellar water. I have never had that sticky feeling after a sheet mask but since I wasn't putting any make-up on I didn't mind. Would I buy it? Probably not, I have tried some Korean ones and I like those better (they didn't feel sticky but they moisturized my skin really well plus after I used up a mask there was enough essence left for a couple of days while with the Essence one the package was empty).



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Shine Control Powder

Hello,

Catrice products are on sale and I feel rushed to tell you all about my favorites that are saying goodbye. The particular product that I'm showing you today isn't leaving but a different shade from the range is getting retired.

Catrice All Matte Plus Shine Control Powder in Transparent is the one on the photo above. I bought this one a while ago but only recently I started to use it. It is very light in shade and coverage so I think it will suit even slightly darker skin tones. At the moment the next deeper shade called Natural Beige is being discontinued so maybe you can try that one or wait for the 'replacement' shade called Universal which is white but if the pigmentation is the same as it on this one then you don't need to worry.

I find this powder to be great for my oily skin. I apply it right after I'm done with my foundation and concealer and it nicely locks my creamy product so I can continue with powder cheek products and they blend beautifully. My face doesn't look caked up but I still get oily, I just apply light layer over it and it still looks nice, some powders don't play well with my natural oils and make my foundation look all weird but not this one. I will even go so far and say that I like this one better than my Essence mattifying powder (I went through countless of pots so I really like it), this one just beats it.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Coachella Vibes

Hello,

Catrice sales are on, in fact there are already the new stuff out on displays but I'm still so very excited about all the 'new' stuff that I picked up recently (products that will unfortunately have to say goodbye and are only new to me).

This is my second Catrice Soft Blossom nail polish and honestly I only picked it up because of the interesting color. This one is named Coachella Vibes.
The catch here is that they are supposed to be scented. I only smell something that resembles ink from the pen balls from when I was in school. Floral scent? You have to have a lot of imagination to recognize it but after I wash my hands once I can't detect it.

This fresh watermelon color was on my wishlist for a long time but knowing just how many nail polishes I have I managed to resist buying it until I saw it on sale. I grabbed it with both of my hands and I'm loving it. It is red but still not in your face red. In my collection it is very unique and it makes me happy. It doesn't dry into a super glossy finish but that can easily be fixed with a layer of top coat.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Boys and Girls

Hello,

for today's post I have to thank Slovenian Cosnova team for sending me lots of lovely things shown below.

Boys & Girls TE will be available from February on and you are in for a treat. They will offer a lot of 'essentials' in a very attractive and cool packaging.

I receive a mega sized mattifying & fixing powder in Nobody is perfect, but I'm not nobody. I have very oily skin and so I can't wait to try this bad boy and see if it will work with my skin.

Facial Sheet masks are gaining on popularity and can quickly 'fix' your moisture level. I also love all the funny names, for instance the mask is named I'm fresh what about you? Can wait to see what will happen  ;)

In a stick there is Refreshing & Moisturizing face primer and the packaging is the same as it was in the Catrice Travelight Story one. I loved that one so much that I hoped that they will make it permanent, so far they haven't done it but this one looks like it could be the same thing. The name of it is I'm fresher than you!

The very last item on the photo is Camouflage Cream concealer with two shades. I know Essence used to have similar product but I never picked it up because I'm not too keen on the idea of mixing my perfect shade every morning but if you are struggling to get that perfect shade this could be a match for you. It is called I woke up like this - flawless! but unfortunately it is only available in one color way. I will report back after I try it out.

For me the most interesting TE are the ones with make-up, these essentials can look boring at the first glance but I have come around and realize that if the base is perfect you can build from there on. The only bad thing is that if you find a holy grail that you will want to repurchase it till the day you die (if I'm being a little melodramatic) it will be gone. I hope that the brand is just testing the waters with these products and if they will sell well or receive good feedback they will make them permanent, let us all cross our fingers but till then I will test them out and let you know which products deserve to be permanent in my opinion.




Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Trend it up eye shadows

Hello,

I decided to brighten up this dull day with some warm toned eye shadows. On the swatch they look so nice together and create a lovely Autumn inspired look (I wore them a ton in that season).

They are all Trend It Up eye shadows and on their page I can't find them anymore so they are probably in the process of discontinuing, not only the shades but the entire lines will be gone but they will be replaced with very similar looking products with different names.

First is Elastic Eye Shadow in the shade 020. Creamy texture feels very nice and I apply it with my finger, pigmentation is superb, blending is easy but the color doesn't suffer in the process. It contains shimmer and I love that it is not a yellow based gold but more cream toned. It looks so simple but it quickly become on of my favorites, now I have to find another one for my sister because I know she would love it too and the taupey grey shade that I wanted initially. Even though my lids are oily this doesn't crease but I use ArtDeco base underneath. One quick mention of the great packaging, on the lid around the rim there is a soft foam that closes the pot tightly so the air doesn't stand a chance and I bet it will not dry so fast as some of the other cream shadows from other brands (Avon extralasting pots).

Next is a rather colorful choice for me but the domed shape and intense shimmer made me think of beautiful Spring beetles and I just had to have it (I'm not a big bug person but this shade really spoke to me). It is part of the Scarabeo line (I recently picked up another shade so I know that you can still find them in some remote stores) and this happy grass green shade is in the 010 color. This one is buildable, I like to apply it with my finger in the center of the lid over some brown base and just blend the edges, that can take away some shimmer but I just pop some more on top until I reach the perfect balance between natural blend and  intense shimmer. I didn't noticed any major fallout but that could be because I use fingers and not a fluffy brush.

The very last one is Metallic eye shadow in the 030 shade. This one is even more shimmery and the pigmentation is stronger that in the Scarabeo one, even blended it stays bright and not dull. I was under the impresion that this line replaced the Scarabeo one and it is better in my opinion. This shade has some dimension and is one of those that if you use it on its own it looks like you used more that just one shade because of the reflex and color shifting.

I would really suggest everyone to try them out because they are all fantastic shadows. So very cheap, they come in array of shades and finishes, are buttery soft, easy to work with and the results are lust worthy. I have eight more shadows from them and soon they will all be featured and I know that they won't be the last ones  ;)





Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

Hello,

I'm seriously behind with all of my posts but I at least try to get my empties on time (which means that I can take the trash out  ;).

I cleared out my Avon Anew e-defence cream which I used as a night cream. It absorbs into my skin within minutes but I prefer my Neutrogena for the day. I usually paired it with some oils and it worked. My skin felt hydrated and taken care off but I didn't notice any drastic changes so I will continue to look for something outstanding.

Avon naturals rose toner was a bit blah. It smelled nice but it didn't make a difference in my skin and my mom claims the same thing (we don't live together anymore so we each had our own bottle and been testing it out and came to the same conclusion). The awesome scent just wasn't enough to keep me repurchase it again.

Afrodita's cosmetics was selling body milks and washes in sets (I think they are limited edition but I don't know for sure, they have a couple of other winter inspired scents). I honestly couldn't smell Cinnamon or Honey in the products, they smell nice, sort of creamy and warm. They weren't bad but also not amazing. Both had very thin and liquid consistency so I used them up super fast, think one month which I think is too fast so I won't be repurchasing.

Avon used to sell these huge SuperShock lip glosses. They have huge wands, fantastic melon scent and they lasted for quite some time but are old. Just last year I tossed my first one in peachy gold shade and now I have decided to toss the last two ones. First is Tickled Pink in a very natural but sparkly hue, the second one is my favorite and is called Ravishing Rose. I wanted to use them up last year but I don't think I used them once, I call this a fail and a clear sign that they are no longer needed in my collection and I can throw them in garbage before mold starts to grow.

The very last item is Essence invisible kiss transparent lip liner in Multitalent Wonder. It is basically clear lip liner. My first one was also from Essence but it was in the wooden format and I fell in love but since they discontinued it I bought this replacement (I have two more backups to go through and now even this one is no longer sold). It feels a bit waxy but it glides over the lips and fills in the lines or if your lips are chapped it will glued them so when you go over with a lipstick or lip gloss your lips will look like they are in perfect condition even if they are not. I cannot even imagine not having something like this in my stash, it has become a must just like a concealer or a mascara. I have to admit that I prefer the wooden pencil over this one because it was thicker and it didn't broke, with this one I have to be extra careful and even then I manage to break it (it happened three times and every time I wasted precious product). I know that Essence now don't have anything similar in their collection but something like a lip primer is coming in February, within Catrice line there is a chubby pencil that might be something similar and Avon has a clear liner in their brochure so I think I'm good.




Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Bring the Glam on

Hello,

let's start the year with a bang. I wish all of you lots of happy and bright moments and good health.
I wanted to start the year with one of my favorite brands and my so called beauty resolution was to try and get outside the box with make up. The lipstick that I'm showing you today definitely thick that box.

It is Essence Counting Stars star lipstick in a shade Bring the Glam on.
The packaging is a bit bigger that what I'm used to it but the plastic is sturdy and nice.

The product itself is star shaped which adds a little something but also makes the application easier. The pointy star shape is precise so you can leave your lip brush at home.

The shade is vivid and very cool toned violet. Pigmentation is superb, two layers and you are good to go. On my swatch it looks more pink but in real life it is cooler and more purple.

Here it is applied but again it is much more lavender hued as it looks on the photo (my camera just couldn't pick the right shade up, I also looked for some swatches and no one was able to capture the actual color). It is a little creamy almost matte and very comfortable. It lasts for a very long time. Essence can really make fantastic lipsticks. Let it be sheer and glossy or more pigmented and longlasting, they nail it every single time (at least the ones I have).

The shade is to put it lightly unusual for me. My skin looks even more yellow toned and it makes me look a bit weird, I'm not sure if that is good or bad but I tried it with a little clear gloss on top. From up close you can see that it is a bit uneven but from a 'normal' perspective you can't see it and I actually like it better glossy and a little less pigmented.

I will probably give it to my sister to play with it since she is more neutral in tone and I think it will look better on her.
If their 'new' longlasting range has similar formula then I need some of the neutral shades because I love this formula.




Thank you for reading and have a nice day