Empties

Hello,

this time there is a lot of make-up items in my empties and I always like to talk about them so lets just jump on the descriptions because this post will be long ;)

Red tube is Melvita Youthful day cream which I received in a giveaway. I thought I would give it to my mom but she didn't liked it so I used it and because I felt it was a bit heavy for me I rubbed it into my skin at night. It was nice but nothing special so I won't buy it again.

Next is my favorite under eye concealer and it is Catrice Liquid Camouflage in the 005 Light Natural. This covers my under eye area and barely crease. After I apply it I like to leave it so it sets, in the mean time I finish my make-up (it takes me maybe 15-20 minutes) and just before I leave I tap the under eye area with my fingertips and that does the trick for me. When I get home after 8h shift it looks perfect. I highly recommend it to everyone but I'm sure most of you are already hooked on.

L'oreal makes this amazing Infallible 24h matte foundation in the shade 11 Vanilla. This is my second tube already and of course I'm on my next one. I love the finish and the wear time, I just wish it would be a bit lighter but I mix in The Body Shop lightening drops to customize my right shade and it is perfect.

Next one is Essence instant matte fixing spray which is also my second used up bottle and I already have a backup. It really is good but Catrice Active Warrior fixing spray is even better but since it is a limited edition... When I will finish all of them I think I will get back to this little boy that saves my make-up.

Next is Enesti Aloe and Honey foaming face cleanser. It was given to my by my sister and while it says it is moisturizing and gentle I disagree. This stripped my skin of all oils and made it almost dry and too tight. It smelled so nice, just like honey but it burn my eyes like nothing else. No matter how careful I was it was like pouring acid in my eyes, I gave up and use it on my body just to use it up. 

I already talked about Labello Labellino Mint lip balm recently and I will just quickly recap everything. This lip balm feels hard and barely anything gets on my lips, it is like it forms a hard layer... Not moisturizing at all and the scent was just like the toothpaste mint, I will pass and toss it. I am not even tempted to try other scent or try more of their balms in stick versions because they always disappointed me but the balms in a pot are majestic. I only tried one but I'm convinced. Soon I will get myself another one.

These three glosses are from Avon Perfect Kiss line that I adore. I bought four when they came out with them and later bought five more because they are that good. First four were all used up these on the other hand are still relatively full but they went bad (I had them for years and even thought they were sealed they didn't survived). First is my favorite and a backup, it is named Mauve Kiss and it is more of a warm nude than mauve. Next is a shimmery Desirable Peach, I like the shade but I think it would look better without the shimmer. Last one packs a punch and it is Pout more Pink with the same shimmer. This type of pink looks very good one me and it makes my lips look a bit fuller, it is the tone and not the formula.

They are very glossy but not longlasting, whenever I used them I never needed to apply lip balm because they were moisturizing enough on its own and I like that. I'm so sad that I have to toss them but I started to notice the weird tingly feeling on my lips whenever I would use them so I think they went bad. I still have two more shades left and I will start using them as much as possible until they will also turn bad.

The very last item is Avon Shine Burst lipstick in the color Peach Punch. I love this formula because it is pigmented but at the same time so very glossy and I'm all about shine without the shimmer. I liked this peachy shade that looked so fresh on me but I have anther color named Rose and the shade is soft pink which I like more. I noticed that soon they will discontinue them and I think I have to get some more.




Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Light Natural concealer

Hello,

it is time to show you my favorite under eye concealer. I know I'm not the first or the last one to discover this gem but it is so good that I felt like I have to talk about it.

It is Catrice Liquid Camouflage high coverage concealer in the 005 Light Natural shade.

It is so light and creamy. Very easy to put it in the inner corners and blend it out with my fingers. Two thin layers are usually enough to get me that perfect jet natural looking coverage that lasts all day long.

It has a typical applicator, like lip gloss and you can apply it straight to the area that you want to conceal but I rather wipe it on the back of my hand so that way I avoid contaminating the entire tube. It is just my preference really.

The shade Light Natural is pretty light (almost my skin tone, maybe a smidge lighter so I can't use it all over my skin) and yellow toned which is great if you have blue under eyes or just yellow undertone.

The first swatch is liquid Catrice concealer in the Light Natural the second one is also by Catrice but is a Cream Camouflage concealer in a pot and mine is in the 010 Ivory (second pot already).
You can see that the liquid one is a bit lighter and more creamy/liquid which I find better for the under eye area because it creases so minimally. The one in a pot is better for the rest of my face, it is easier to cover up blemishes because of the slightly thicker consistency and the shade matches me better on my face.
All in all I love them both for different parts of my face and I hope Catrice will never ever discontinue them and even then I can try the Essence one which is also called camouflage...



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Sphere lip balms

Hello,

lip balms are my obsession and when I saw the famous EOS balms on our shelves I knew I won't be able to resist for long. Labello also jumped on the wagon and brought their version of egg sphere shaped balms and I got one as well.

So the two EOS balms were sold in a set (I don't think you can buy these scents individually and I really wanted to get the orange one). Orange one is Pumpkin Spice and the cream one is Vanilla Bean.
The light mint is Labellino and is simply named Mint.

The EOS balms are a bit hard at the beginning but after I rub them about five times I get some product on my lips. The layer feels very thin and it absorbs quickly so I have to reapply around 20 minutes after. Not ideal but they keep my lips relatively soft for a couple of hours, after that I have to incorporate another more moisturizing product to keep my lips chap free.
I bought the set because of the Pumpkin Spice scent alone, I wanted to know why people are going crazy over pumpkin spice products. I have to say that I was disappointed. To me the flavor and scent remind me of old/expired cinnamon cookies. Not a big fan but I think I will be able to use it up.
On the other had I fell in love with the Vanilla Bean scent. I expected to smell very strong and sweet of vanilla but I was wrong. To me it reads something creamy and has just a touch of vanilla, I think they have the 'regular' stick available in this scent and I just might pick it up even though I don't love the formula.

The last is Labellino from Labello in the Mint scent. The texture is even waxier and I have to rub it on my lips for longer to get any product on my lips. I even cut the dome a bit and it was better for like two uses. It makes me think that it gets a 'hard layer' and ideally I would have to scrap a layer off before every application.... This one is even less moisturizing than the EOS ones, I would say that it did nothing for my lips, it is  just a cute sphere and if the scent would convince me then maybe it would be worth it. In general I love mint lip products so I thought that I will love this one too but this mint is very toothpaste-y. I have never have a lip product in a mint flavor that would give me the toothpaste vibes, it is very strange.

As cool as they look unfortunately they don't pack a punch, my lips weren't happy when I was testing them out. I will keep the EOS ones and use them here or there but the Labellino is going into the trash.




Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Project Polish

Hello,

last month I skipped this post all together. I didn't have anything to show it to you  but this time I have used up some or I decided to part with them. They are all small 5 ml bottles but they still take time and lots of manicures to get through.

All of them belong to Essence 2015 advent calendar collection. I found so many lovely shades but now I noticed that the formula on these is not getting any better so for this year I set myself a goal to go through all 20 of them.

First is From me to You shade. It is hard to describe but if I try I would say maybe brick red, it is muted and not bright. I liked it until I found another one from Catrice (Coachella Vibes) that is very similar but a bit brighter and I like that one better so I gave this one to my sister and she loves it.

Next is deep blue The Night of Magic but on the nails it usually just looks black. I know I would never buy it myself because I always thought that black nail polish isn't for me but this one proved me wrong. I made sure that it always looked nice, no chips or nail tip and I think I made it look elegant instead grungy. Now I want another bottle of black or almost black nail varnish.

Made with Love is a light cream that is a smidge sheer after two coats but I liked that a lot. This has to be one of my favorites and I have to find something similar. I know this type of shades aren't exactly hard to find but I want something that is also sheer so it is easy to apply, fuss free but at the same time it looks so very polished. Any recommendations?

The last one is pistachio green Meet me at the Chimney. At first I wasn't sure about it. This shade was so different but the moment I put it on I loved it. While it was drying I thought that it would look cool matte but masterminds behind Essence beat me at it because it already have matte finish. It looked so great but application wasn't the best (mattes!!) and now I noticed that it started to separate and I just don't want to deal with the formula so I decided to trash it but I will be on the lookout for a similar shade with a glossy finish, I have a matte top coat so that can be solved pretty easily.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Dewy wet look stick

Hello,

let's highlight this day, shall we?

Catrice came out with the Dewy wet look stick which is more subtle highlighter that doesn't have color but instead lets the texture do the beaming, sort of.

Closeup shows a lot of shimmer but on the skin it is barely visible, probably that is due to the fact that each particle is so small  and when it is blended over your face it is not as dense. It doesn't have any base color so it appears clear.

I hope you can see it. I think here it looks a bit more sparkly than in real life. In person it is a little more obvious but at the same time it looks so very natural.
I tried to explain it to my sister and I compare it with a clear and greasy lip balm. Imagine applying your balm on your cheeks, the light would catch and it will accentuate the glow with just its natural shine and that is exactly how this highlighter feels like. It has zero color just dewy texture that reflex.
I think it looks amazing on the cheeks if everything else is matte, then it stands out and is really beautiful however if you have oily skin it looses its point also if you powder over it you loose it.

You would say 'Do I really need it? I can just use my lip balm.' well, then you will be at loss. I wear my hair down and I haven't noticed that my cheeks would be any greasier that on any other day when I use a different powder highlighter. My long hair don't stick to it. The product is greasy but not 'hair sticking to it' greasy, that makes it so great.

I think it is great for those days when I want to look natural with my highlighter but I have so many of them that I decided to give it to my sister (I can still buy it if I will miss it that much) who hasn't tried highlighter before. She has perfect skin and only uses a little concealer under her eyes and that is it for the face, she doesn't get oily or anything like that so I thought she will get along with it. A couple of days later she told me that she got sort of addicted to it. She doesn't even leave the house without it. Not only that she is using it on her cheeks but also under her brow bone and sometimes she does the glossy eye look. She is having so much fun with it and I  think make-up should be fun like that.




Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Active Warrior

Hello,

Catrice came out with this very interesting collection named Active Warrior and is full of waterproof or sweat resistance product which is cool for working out and great for the Summer time. I have oily skin and I could definitely need some help at keeping my oils at bay or not being so shiny so when Catrice PR team reached out and offered me these two products I said yes immediately.

They are from Catrice LE called Active Warrior. First product is Instant Blurring Stick and second is Make-up Freezing spray.

The packaging is exactly the same (sans the color and the 'water drops') as it is with the LE Catrice Travelight Story and Essence For Boys and Girls primer sticks.

I love those two so when I saw another one I just knew I had to get it. I expected to be the same (the other two feel so very similar) but to my surprise it feels different. It is a bit thicker but therefore it creates even better layer between your skin and foundation, any liquid spreads over like a charm because all of the pores and bumps are smooth. I didn't think that would be possible but this one is better than the two predecessors. If you can find them stock up. I know I will try.

This Catrice Make-up Freezing spray is the bomb. I thought that it will feel cooling but it doesn't, I honesty don't know why they named it that way but I don't care. The cap looks wonderful with all of those 3D water drops which are unique on each cap, the bottle is plastic even though it looks like glass. I think lighter plastic is a better choice if you like to take it on the go and carry it around in your purse.
I went to the store and bought two more (that was before I tried the stick, otherwise I would get some more of those as well). The mist is so fine and it spreads out so well that I need maybe two spritzes and my whole face is covered. The best I think is how well my make-up lasts. I still get dewy but my make-up is not sliding off or cracking, I think I like it better than my beloved already repurchased Essence Instant matte spray.

I sincerely hope that Catrice will make them permanent. The packaging is lovely but I can get pass that as long as the formulas are the same.


Thank you Catrice PR team for sending me over these two, I love them so very much and I already mourn the day when they will be all used up :(




Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Mousse vs. serum

Hello,

today's products may seem a bit boring but so very essential in hand care. They were kindly sent to me by our Essence PR team and I couldn't thank them enough.

The trend is rising in everything mousse so Essence didn't fall behind and released this Tropical hand mousse. You have to shake it a bit and just press the top and the light turquoise foam comes out. The more you shake it the firmer it is but it spreads like a charm.
If you can see how much there is on the photo below (not a full pump) that is enough for both of my hands. It moisturize them without the greasy feeling but if you apply a bit more then slippery hands are on the horizon.

I also love the scent which remind me of a fresh melon, nice and a bit hard to find in cosmetics I think. This is not the worlds best hand cream but the fun foam and fruity scent makes it exciting enough to buy it at least one more time and I have to get one bottle for my sister, she is a huge fan of foaming products (her indulging body foaming washes from Rituals... are now a staple in her shower), I just know she will like it.

The other product is Hydra nail care serum for both, nails and cuticles. I have to admit that the light blue color and  silvery bubbles makes it so nice to look at. I'm used to use thicker creams or oils but this really is a lightweight serum. I take a bit and apply on cuticles on one hand, massage it in (it is not oil based so it sinks in fast and there is no greasy residue left), I repeat on the other hand and if my cuticles are really dry (as they are at the moment) I do one more layer on all of my nails. After this little treatment my cuticles look like they got a professional care. I have been using it for almost three weeks straight and there is barely and use seen, this will last me a really long time but I haven't got any of the silver bulbs out. I imagine they would melt on my fingers but I just can't fish them out.


The nail and cuticle serum is fantastic, A+ while the hand mousse is more fun and deliciously scented. I don't think you would be disappointed if you pick it up the next time you will be browsing.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Daring Pink

Hello,

I feel so behind with my products. This blush was sent to me when it came out and I just never took enough time to sit down and write the review. I was using it since it arrived, I'm getting more and more into cheek products plus this color is so very me.

L.O.V. dewy gel blush stick in Daring Pink shade. There is another color available which is more peachy-orange.

The color to me is more coral-pink especially in the tube but on the swatch you will see it is more innocencent  pink.

On the other side there is also a very soft but dense brush which is a bit of a fail if you ask me. There is nothing wrong with it but I don't think it pairs well with the product. I find that if you want to use it to blend it it just wipes the product off. I bet it would be better for applying foundation then this particular blush.

The finish is dewy as they imply in the name description but after I blend it out with my fingers I still like to set it with some powder, it lasts longer but that way I lose the glow (nothing a little bit of highlighter can't fix).
It is that type of pink that looks so very good on the apples of my cheeks especially if I apply it a bit heavier and make the rest of my make-up very minimal. That way I get that sweet, fresh, healthy young girl look that I like. I don't wear it every day but let say once a week I like to channel someone extra healthy and fresh looking.
I tried it also on my lips but it did not go well, it feels almost powdery and dry so I wiped it off, it is definitely meant for the cheeks and the cheeks only.

All in all I really like this blush and I would like too see some more colors or even a bronzer with this formula...




Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

Hello,

this time I took some more time off from blogging. It is not that I don't have products to talk about, it's just me being lazy and enjoying in the first Spring rays. What about you?

This time around I have really a lot to cover so I will try to be as short as possible.
First product is nothing special, just a body wash but the scent is so charming that I keep buying it. It is Avon Senses Heaven Harmony with Lily of the Valley and Apple scent (I even have it in the hand wash version). I usually just get the big bottle of it (there is even bigger bottle, 720 ml, but it is too big to fit in my shower shelf but I get that one for washing my hands  ;) because I know I won't get sick of it.

Next are too Avon Care hand creams. First is the new with Coconut oil and second is older with Olive oil. Coconut has a slight scent that isn't too overpowering, the texture and ingredients are very similar to the standard/regular Care cream in the blue tube which happens to be my favorite hand cream. This is just the slightly scented version of it and I really like the scent so I already repurchased it. The olive one is creamier and almost a little heavier. It doesn't absorb that well into my skin and also when my skin is super dry it just doesn't help much, the scent is barely there but I won't buy it again because it is not providing my hands with enough moisture. I will rather get the regular Glycerin or the Coconut one.

This used to be my favorite shampoo and conditioner ever. It is Avon naturals Mango and Ginger. I remember when I still lived with my sister we would share it and keep repurchasing it. After a couple of years I bought it again and while I love the scent I don't think it did much for my hair. It is not bad, it doesn't make my hair dry or fizzy but it also doesn't make them silkier or smoother. I don't know, it just isn't outstanding but my sister still loves it. I guess our hair types aren't as similar as they used to be.

The last tube is slightly hiding in there but it is a lotion for Avon from the Cherish the moment line. I used the first one called Cherish and I really liked the scent so much that when they came out with the second version Cherish the moment I knew I had to get it. I liked this one a little better, it is more fruity opposed to floral and they both have something fresh to it. It is the perfect scent for the Spring and maybe someday in the future I will repurchase it again but first I have to go through some lotions that I already have.

I finally finished up this Mavala nail polish thinner. It is not that I was sick of it it is just that I had it for so long but recently I am trying to revive so many nail polishes and my sister is giving me hers to fix so no wonder it got empty. I don't know what would I do without this little miracle wonder, I guess I would have to toss so many beautiful colors :(  I already bought new bottle but this time it is from ArtDeco because they had some discount and it was cheaper, I also tried it and it works so I'm good.

This next bottle is also very old and I don't even know if they make it anymore, probably not but back in the days I used this one constantly. It is Essence gel-look clear top coat. I would apply a thin coat on fresh manicure and at least once during the following days until I would remove it completely and use something else. I used up so many bottles but I don't know when I stopped using top coat because now I rarely use it unless it is some kind of a shimmery or glittery top coat. I still have one bottle of clear top coat and I will try to use it more often if not to make my manicure glossier or to help it last longer then at least to use it up before it dries out completely.

First lip product form the bunch is L'occitane Zesty Lime lip balm. It smelled really nice and the product itself was a bit thicker which is not my favorite thing. At first it looked almost white but when I spread it over my lips it got clear and slightly glossy. It wasn't very moisturizing but the worst thing about it was how gunky it become after a while. I'm always rubbing my lips together and whenever I wore this balm I had to remind myself not to do it because if I did I would push the product on the sides of my lips where it would gather and turn white again, almost as if the sides of my lips aren't warm enough and it got a little thicker. The end result was product buildup especially on my thinner upper lip and to me that looks nasty so I would only use it around my apartment and I was so glad when it was done. For the hefty price tag these just aren't worth it even though I liked the scent.

The next lip balm is from Burt's Bees and it is the already discontinued Tiger Lily, peach shade. I had the pink one as well and both weren't nourishing enough but the color was nice on the lips, nothing too much but if I used it all day long the color could build up and it looked like a little too much (whenever I took it with me I also brought another clear balm and I would alternate, not just because of the color but also to actually moisturize my lips). On the photo below you can see that there is still a little left but I decided to toss it anyways. My lips are getting dry and this non nourishing balm did nothing so why keep it? This was my last lip product for them (I had five in total) and I wasn't happy with any of them so I really don't think I will buy more form BB.

The very- last item is from H&M Beauty and it is one of their cream blushes. Mine is in the Peachy Rose shade that was given to me by my sister. I used it quite a lot but I could use it even more, the shade was beautiful and the formula was very pigmented so I should ether use it every single day or I should have a deeper complexion in order to use it up completely. My heart breaks because it was a gift but it has been with me for two and a half years, the texture is getting more mousse-y and that tells me that it is not safe to use it anymore. I was thinking that I will clean it up and keep the packaging but it doesn't really have any sense. if the compact would have a mirror...
I hear a lot of good things about their powder blushes but the last time I was in the store and I walked through the beauty counters I picked up two more products which will be reviewed soon.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day