Empties

Hello,

it is the end of another month. I can't believe November is already gone and tomorrow is already December. Christmas lights are everywhere, cold temperatures as sticking all day long, all we need is some snow...

First is Bebe Repair lip balm with cute Bees all over the tube. It convinced me immediately since I buy anything with Honey. The scent is very realistic (much better in my opinion than the Honey lip balm from Biobaza) and the formula was really nice as well. I would repurchase it again, it is not my favorite in terms of moisture (it is not bad but I had some better ones) but the scent is totally worth it.

Catrice Camouflage cream concealer in Ivory is a must in my make-up routine. The shade is spot on and this texture is soft enough to blend seamlessly into my skin and cover some stubborn acne plus the shade Ivory fits me perfectly.

Essence Bye, Bye Panda Eyes mascara was an absolute surprise. Honestly I did not expect much from it because it was my very first one from Essence and I wasn't sure it will suit me. It had a big wand which I normally like and the formula vise, it was my first tubing mascara. It gets removed super easily with just some water but otherwise it was very long lasting and there was no fall out. I really liked it and for sure I will repurchase it again. 

Evelin nail polish remover is a really inexpensive one that I already had before so this is already a repurchased bottle. Very efficient for very little money.

On of my favorite hand creams is this Avon care glycerin hand and nail Jasmin with vitamin E cream. It absorbs super fast and leaves my hands nourished and well taken care of. The scent is a bit soapy but also very light. At he moment this is the only care hand cream that they have in the 100 ml tube (the rest are 75 ml and cost the same). This is amazing hand cream for me and I will repurchase it for as long as they will have it.

Last is Ziaja body wash for kids. This is brown body wash and it smells just like Coca-Cola or Cockta (hence the brown color). This is gorgeous if you like this type of scents. I honestly didn't know I will love it so much. I am no longer a kid but little things in life brings me joy and this body wash was a blast. I already ordered a new bottle which will last me another 3-4 months (this is a large 500 ml bottle).

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

November shopping

 Hello,

I did a little bit of shopping and I feel like I didn't do too much. It has been quite a long time ago since I got some new make-up and this little trip felt so good plus there are some 'necessities' that I'm running out so these will nicely replace them on time.

I am huge fan of Catrice HD Liquid Coverage Foundation but this time I got it in a lighter shade named Porcelain Beige. Recently I had a feeling like my shade is a bit too dark so now I opted for a lighter option and I'm almost done with my bottle.

Next is another Catrice essential which is  Camouflage Cream in the shade Ivory. I have a little bit left in mine but since it is so very old I decided to just replace it with a fresh one. I love it for my uneven skin on my face and now with the mask covering my face and rubbing my skin and creating more acne...

I got myself a new lipstick and I'm super proud because I opted only for a tester and Avon recently came out with three new lipstick collections and I only got one out of all of them and even that one is a mini ;) This is Legend Cream lipstick and the shade is a lovely rose tone named Five Star.

Gloss next to it is from the new Catrice line named Powefull 5 lip balm (it looks like a gloss, it feels like a gloss, I don't know why they had to call it a lip balm?). I picked up the shade Fresh Acai Berry and can't wait to finally try it out.

On the bottom there is e.l.f. Make up mist & set fixing spray. I'm almost done with two so I decided to just get a new one that I haven't tried before even though I'm very happy with my Catrice ones.

Last are three new nail polishes and first is Catrice ICONails in a shade Get Lost In Red You Love which is a deep red and it reminds me of my first red polish from Avon Cherry Jubilee. It was dark red and oh so beautiful. I'm familiar with the Catrice lovely formula so I'm sure I will love it.

The other two are from Trend it Up Urban Safari collection. They look like they will be beautiful toppers but I will see how opaque they will be on its own. The shimmery white is 030 and olive green is 050.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Flirty Rose & Sheer You Up

 Hello,

me and my mom have a similar taste in lipstick formulas (not that we eat them ;) so I was pretty excited when she started to talk about these amazing lipsticks from Catrice. After a picture she send me I figured it out that she is talking about tinted lip balms but somehow they do feel like a light lipsticks. I immediately bought my first shade which was accidentally the same as my mom has and later I got myself another hue and I bought two, another one for my lovely mom so we can continue being 'lipstick' twins.

Here are two Catrice Sheer Beautifying lip balms with tint. I have them in Flirty Rose and Sheer You Up shades. They have carboard packaging which fits nicely (they close tightly) but I sometimes notice a paper scent while I'm applying them, luckily it disappears pretty quickly.

The Flirty Rose got a bit mushed but it is fine, they are a bit soft if you roll them all the way up so I tried to be careful and after taking pictures, I quickly roll them back safely.

Flirty Rose is pretty light shade and  at first it can look a bit pale even on me but after reapplying it a couple of times it gets better, at least in my opinion. This one can apply a bit uneven so rubbing my lips together after a fresh coat it will just mess it up so I try not to touch it.

A bit deeper Sheer You Up is my 'perfect' shade of rose/pink for my lips. A bit deeper to define but still light enough so it doesn't scream that I am wearing lipstick.

This shade doesn't apply patchy or uneven, I can also rub my lips together and the pigment will not transfer (it will transfer onto the glass, I'm talking about lifting and transferring the pigment around the lips).

On bare skin they are pretty light and a bit shiny, a lovely lip balm texture if you ask me.

After a long day wearing them I noticed that the lighter shade Flirty Rose leaves my lips dry and flakey (not a good look especially when the shade is so light which emphases every imperfection) but the deeper shade Sheer You Up doesn't do that. Apparently it is more moisturizing. 

On the top of each lid Catrice states that each balm is infused with an extra oil and after checking out the ingredient list there actually is a different oil in each shade besides different coloring.

Light Flirty Rose has Almond oil but the rose one Sheer You Up has Olive oil and my lips are really liking it.

I will use up the paler one but probably I will layer it with something more moisturizing, my lips don't need to suffer but the deeper shade is my new love. I was actually thinking of getting ether a backup or a new shade for black Friday but then I decided that I have enough. I will first finish these two and then get myself some more.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Light Rose

 Hello,

for today I have one of the 'essential' products from my collection. I am a long time fan of Essence concealers and this one is no different.

It is Essence Camouflage + matt concealer in the shade Light Rose. I was scared that it would have a pink tone but I can't spot it, I think it just means that it isn't particularly yellow. To my vision it is pretty neutral and super light.

The packaging and the applicator is the same as it is on the Healthy Glow version which I'm very well familiar with and I love it. At first I was hesitant to get this matt version but then I decided to try out something new.

The shade is super light but it matches me, it is about half a tone lighter but I only use it around my eyes and it helps to even brighten this area.

I was really scared that matt formula means that it will be dry and will crease since the Healthy Glow version is perfect (it doesn't have any shimmer so I'm a bit confused as why one is matt and other healthy glow-y).

The packaging is exactly the same they just seem to focus more on the matt versions since they have more shades available. I seriously don't think it matters which version you get, just try to find the shade that matches you and you will be fine.

The formula is creamy enough to easily cover 'problematic areas', pigmented enough that you don't need much and with a light dusting of a powder it will be set and won't move around. I have particularly oily skin but my under eye area is normal to sometimes dry. On the last couple of days we had pretty cold weather and I haven't noticed any change in creasing or longevity of my undereye concealer. I even prefer Essence liquid camouflage concealer over the Catrice one in the similar styled tube and even that one is pretty great. I think Essence is crushing the game with its concealers and I hope they will never discontinue them, just bring even more shades and tones so we all can enjoy in it.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Desert Bloom or Pink For Me

 Hello,

today I have a 'battle' of two Maybelline lipsticks. I bought both on the same day and at first the colors look super similar but formulas are different so they also act different on the lips.

First red tube is Maybelline Hydra Extreme Desert Bloom and second in a more recognizable tube is Color Sensational Pink For Me.

The shades looks very similar but as I mentioned they look and behave different while worn.

First swatch is Desert Bloom and appears more peachy nude while Pink For Me is a deeper rose with almost a brown undertone.

Here you can almost see the the difference in the texture, Desert Bloom is much creamier almost glossy looking while Pink For Me is more pigmented and the pigments slowly eat all of the shine so after a while it looks semi matte on my lips.

I tried to wear both lipsticks at once to really see the differences but I messed up and swapped them so on the first part of my lips there is deeper Pink For Me and lighter Dessert Bloom follows. 

If I leave the shades behind and just focus on the texture Color Sensational Pink For Me lipstick is more pigmented and with two layers I reach maximum opacity. It doesn't completely settles so when I drink it leaves a distinct mark but the pigment is still in full swing on my lips. It doesn't survive eating but drinking with this baby on is effortless (the glass has marks but my lips don't have any gaps or weak pigmentation). It lasts for hours and only after eating I retouch it. My lips also didn't complain too much, after a long day they did felt a bit dry but nothing too noticeable.

The second part of my lips is covered with Maybelline Hydra Extreme Desert Bloom lipstick which is weaker in pigmentation. I rubbed it a couple of times over my lips to get decent pigmentation on but it is also a lighter color and closer to my natural lip shade so it is obvious that it doesn't show up super bold. It is much more shiny looking and after drinking there is not much pigment on the glass or the lips. I'm a bit bothered that my lips felt very dry and looked chapped after two/three hours of wearing it on its own.

I prefer the packaging of the Color Sensational lipstick but when it comes to the shade and finish I love the Hydra Extreme lipstick. I live for these type of almost glossy/tinted lip balm lipsticks (reviews of some tinted lip balms are coming), reapplying doesn't bother me that much and so I much prefer the Hydra Extreme lipstick but I have to keep a lip balm with me and apply it under otherwise my lips look very angry. 

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Project Polish

 Hello,

I haven't done one of these in a while but I decided that these three beauties are gone. There is still some left in each but since they are so old they don't properly dry on my nails and I just end up with dents and tip wear the next day. I decided to move them out of my collection to make room for some fresh ones (yes, I did some shopping and bought exactly three new nail polishes).

The first nail polish is Catrice London's Weather Forecast and is probably the one that started my nail polish obsession. I started watching nail polish blogs and this one looked so beautiful on photos but Catrice wasn't even available back then. Eventually Catrice came to town and I was quick to buy it. It was love at first sight but seeing it now it has more of a nostalgic value. The shade is nice but a bit dull looking grey just doesn't rock my boat. I have another super similar shade from Essence that I will use next so at the end I won't even miss it.

Next are two special Moon Rock collection shades, lavender hued one is Magical Bluelight and berry one is called Moonlight Berriage. Both are opaque in two coats or really pretty as one coaters over some other polishes (great for the days when I was too lazy to remove and repaint, I would just put one coat over and be done). They are quite old and I have to admit that they don't dry anymore and therefore are unusable for me. I really liked them, the colors and the effects still excite me but they just aren't practical to use anymore so they will have to go.

The last two shades are pretty unique and I have nothing similar but for now I will focus on the ones that I still have in my rather large collection and I won't try to find something similar just jet.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Berry Drizzle

 Hello,

we live in crazy times we can all agree on that, but a little self care is always a good pick me up. For today I have a product that always make me happy whenever I use it.

                    

Avon Color Trend fruity lip gloss in the shade Berry Drizzle. It comes in a handy dandy 10 ml tube. I got it in a prearranged set and couldn't choose shade so that is why I have this purple gloss that I wouldn't pick myself.

The color is pretty light but it is packed with purple/blue shimmers. If I apply super thick coat the shade and shimmer is visible but for normal application they are barely visible. This gloss has some of my favorite look. It looks very glossy and juicy on the lips.

I'm wearing it through all day long and my lips aren't complaining so I will go that far and say that it is moisturizing enough for me on its own.

Here I applied it pretty thick but on the lips the shade and blue reflexion are barely visible and I'm glad. The texture is non sticky and this gloss has somewhat sweet watermelon scent. 

Even though it looks a bit scary in the tube it is very subtle and I love it. Avon used to have these Shiny Tubes glosses and they were amazing (I went through 6 tubes and have 2 more backups) but I think I like these new ones better because of the fruity scent and because these are even juicier looking on my lips.

I'm usually super happy with Avon glosses and this one didn't disappoint ether. I will most definitely get some more of them.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

not much time has left of this year and we can only hope for a better future. I like to finish with lots of used up products, it feels sort of like a Spring clean. I find products that are a bit dusty or almost forgotten and I try to just finish them up and start the year with some less clutter.

For this round there are a lot of my favorites which are already or will be repurchased.

First is Nivea Cherry Blossom and Jojoba oil infused body lotion and I have to say that the scent is divine. Usually Cherry Blossom scents are very faint but here they made it quite strong and it is beautiful. I loved putting it all over me and then going to sleep, it was perfect to sooth me after a long day. For me it gets ten plus points for the scent. Next I would like to touch on the texture a bit, it is lotion like but it has oil infused formula which makes this lotion a bit more greasy than usual, so it takes a bit longer to absorb. After using it for days I noticed that my skin felt a bit itchy sometimes which is a sign of dry skin so I started to use it even more and combining with some other moisturizers to help out my skin. I love the scent but probably I won't repurchase it again because my skin need something more nourishing than this but I will miss this scent.

This is my second (I think, or is it already third?) tube of Ren flash rinse 1 minute facial with water activated vitamin C. My sister actually hooked me on this and I already have a new tube of it. Tiny scrubbing particles nicely exfoliate but in touch with water the texture turns into oil like consistency. I used it approximately twice a week and the tube lasts for a long time (I cut it in half so it looks smaller than it actually is). The next day my skin is softer and pimples are reduced, it is such an effective product and I hope they never stop making it.

Another Ren product but this one is glycol lactic radiance renewal mask. This was suggested to me by a shop assistant and I bought it in a good faith that it will retexturized my skin (I have acne scars on my cheeks and also still some fresh pimples every once in a while) but I haven't noticed any drastic results (like I did with the product mention above). You are supposed to put it on in a thick layer and leave it for ten minutes and then wipe it off. My skin is on a roller coast and testing this product in these months full of stress and all day wearing mask is not ideal and maybe I was expecting too much from this Ren mask. I will see how my skin will respond now when I'm out of it, because sometimes I notice how good a product is when I ran out of it and then I will choose if I need to repurchase it or not.

Pflanzen kozmetik von Mueller Jojoba oil has also became a staple in my routine. I get it because it  is inexpensive and my skin likes it. I use it in the evening as a first step to remove my make-up and sometimes after my face is already clean to moisturize it. My skin don't react poorly to it so I will definitely repurchase it again after I use my extensive face oil collection.

Next is Milnica's Lavender toner. I tried other ones from this brand and I liked them all so I decided to finally get my favorite Lavender toner (I loved it from other brands but I never tried the one from Milnica) and it is just as amazing as from any other brand. I pour it into a spray bottle and love using it over my fresh face of make-up to melt my make-up with my skin, it looks super natural and hydrated, after it dries I apply fixing spray to lock everything and when it is dry, a generous layer of face powder. For me that proves to be the most long lasting combination under a mask and Lavender tones is already on my to get list.

This product is the only one I am disappointed within this round and it is Avon Planet spa Heavenly Hydration with Mediterranean olive oil hand cream. It smells divine just like the other products from this line (I remember loving the hair balm/conditioner) but this cream is way too greasy. No matter how little I use it never absorbs and just leaves greasy stains all over. When I would go and wash my hands it came right off and my skin on my hand seemed dry and dehydrated. A fail in my books and I will never ever repurchase it again but I know that my sister had another one from this Planet Spa collection and she really liked it, now I have to ask her which one it was and maybe I will get that one...

The very last item is a surprising one and it is the EOS Sugared Plum lip balm. In the past I tried their sphere balms and I didn't liked them one bit but I gave them a second chance and get this one. It smelled like sweet Plum and the formula was quite greasy which I like. It felt moisturizing and nourishing on my lips and if I wore it all day long my lips were well taken care off. I googled and found out that this scent is discontinued but after I am done with some more balms I will pick another one from the extensive EOS collection that they have and if the formula will be the same I will like it just as much as this one.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Rosy Amber and A Little Bit of Base

 Hello,

I made only one shopping trip while Catrice had products on sale and picked up only two lip products before they got discontinued for good.

Catrice Generation Plump & Shine lip gloss in the shade Rosy Amber and Catrice multitalent lip primer in A Little Bit of Base.

I used to get clear lip liners to prime my lips but this Catrice one with a much bigger tip seem even more fitting for what I do because I fill in the entire lip. I used up my previous lip liner so I had no hesitations to get this primer. It fills my lips very quickly and it fills in any lines or conceal dry patches so whatever colored lip product I use on top comes out much nicer.

                            

The second product is from my much loved lip gloss collection. I believe this is my fourth shade and while I wanted it for so long I feel like is my least favorite.

Rosy Amber is very light pinky/nude shade. I can't decide if it is more node or pink or more peachy because the color is so blended among all these shades.

Rosy Amber is like I mentioned pretty light and on this close up you can see what it does (I didn't wear primer underneath but if I would you wouldn't be able to see how the gloss accentuates my lip lines).

After wearing it for around 10 minutes it smooths over and it is not so obvious or I can just use lipstick underneath.

Here you can barely see the issue only because I'm standing a bit further away so the 'issue' isn't so big or dramatic because nowdays no one stays so close to me plus we are all wearing masks :)

Even though we have this current situation I still like to put some tinted lip product on while I go to work and reapply through the day, I guess it gives me certain feeling like everything is going to be okay if I keep the routine, I guess it keeps me sane and I love lip products :)

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Into the Dark

 Hello,

I think it is time to show off this pretty varnish. It is one of my favorites and such a jewel in my collection.

It is Essence Vampire's Love LE nail polish in the shade Into the Dark. A beautiful navy color with silver sparkle.

This shade charmed me years ago when I first saw it in the store and I just had to have it. Blue has remained as one of my favorite colors to paint on my nails.

I absolutely love the dark base but as dark as it looks it never comes across as black, it has enough life to it to remain blue. The silver shimmer nicely compliments the paint but when I still had gold top coat with the same sized particles I loved putting that on top and I loved the gold and blue combo.

This nail polish is almost gone and I will miss it dearly but I already bought a deep navy shade which will respectfully replace this love of mine.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day