Empties

 Hello,

the end of month is here and I used up only a small portion of my products this round. There are quite a few items that were close to be finished but I will have to transfer them into a new month.

First item is Mac fix+ matte fixing spray. It has a concealed bottom part (white gradient paint from the bottom up) and I did not know that there was white powder on the bottom. First time using it I did not shake it and I got white specks all over my face, my boyfriend thought that this was a new dotted make-up :) I was able to cover specks up with foundation sponge but I learned that there is matte powder and to use it properly I had to shake it first. It was a nice spray, it did keep my make-up for longer (not as long as the next one) and my skin looked matte/dry. I am used to glowy spray like the Catrice next to it.

Second is another fixing spray, this one is my beloved Catrice ultra last fixing spray. Bottle holds 60 ml of product and I use it up pretty fast, now in the hot Summer even faster. It creates a glowy film and my natural oils don't come out or towards the end of the day there is a little shine (it depends from the temperatures). It makes me naturally glowy (there are no shimmers) or if I apply more I can look super glowy but I like to keep it at the natural level. I used Mac and this Catrice ones together to get enough setting but with a moderate glow.

Next is Neutrogena oil free moisturiser. I used up another tube of it. I find this formula just right for under my make-up. I find it hydrating enough for my skin but still not greasy so my make-up would slip off. It nourishes, salicylic acid tries to keep my pores clean and my make-up blends with my skin. Still after so many years I love reaching for it and keep repurchasing it.

White tube is Embriolise hydra light cream. First I find this tube to be hard to squeeze, I bet there is still enough products left for at least three full face sessions but I was not able to get it out. Texture was visually grainy, soft to the touch but when it cam out of the tube it was kind of clinging like there are some hard particles inside. I don't know if this is just how the formula is or I might had it too long and it started to separate. Scent was fresh and slightly green (like a bouquet of fresh stems), texture was lightweight but it took a while to absorb. I was not the biggest fan of the formula so I will not be buying it again.

La Roche-Posay daily repair fluid moisturiser from the Toleraine Dermallergo line. It is meant for sensitive and redness prone skin. The texture was lightweight and it absorbed quickly. I have not noticed any breakouts but sometimes it was not hydrating enough for me so I would combine it with something more nourishing but only at night time not under my make-up. Packaging was also pretty neat, inside is a plastic clear bag and it sucks the product, it is airtight and less prone to go bad or contaminate. I probably will not be getting it again but it wasn't a bad one, just not hydrating enough.

Last item is another frequently repurchased item, it is Essence camouflage+ matte concealer in Light Rose. I use it around my eyes to conceal darkness and slightly brighten my area. I prefer to use little since it has a nice coverage but I still prefer to leave a bit of my natural shadows to come through since it looks a bit more natural and it is less creasing. This formula is nicely creamy but after months of using it gets more and more dry and that results in even dryer under eyes. I usually go through one per year and it is not even completely finished - I always open a new one before my previous is completely finished to avoid creasing. I noticed that this one is discontinued but they came out with a new revamped line... it is intriguing but I still have one back up left.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Naked Lunch

 Hello,

I have been sitting on this little guy for a while now and it is time for it to see the world :)

It is single shadow from MAC in the super flattering shade Naked Lunch. I was influenced by my sister to buy it since she has it as well and it looked so pretty one her.

In the pan it looks like an every other cream shade, the sateen shine is somewhat hidden from view but once on the skin then it comes out to play.

I love the finish but one me it pulls a bit warmer than anticipated and if you know that I am not a fan of warm tones on my skin... 

I wish it would stay on the neutral side but fortunately it is not super warm. I like wearing it as one and done shadow all over my lids, very easy but still something shiny. On my primer it does stay put.

I wish brands would release more sateen shadows since they are easy to wear and give a bit of subtle glow, I dream of a cool toned bronze or maybe a grey with a lavender shift... 

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

$ellout

 Hello,

finally I am trying some famous Mac lipsticks and everyday neutral pink is my first take.

Mac lipstick from the Lusterglass sheer shine in the $ellout version. I heard about these shiny lipsticks and I wanted to get an everyday soft pink shade

This imprint looks very nice and the shade looks just right for my desire. I like the sleek black tube but when I take the lid off the magic unveils.

On me it pulls more peachy than pink and where is the shine? Online I see people with juicy lips but on me the shine is eaten up. It is super pigmented and slightly pale on me so it just doesn't look right. I can add a bit of lip gloss but that is extra step that I did not think I would have to make.

This particular shade isn't right for me (I should probably get Syrup), I think it lacks shine and is slightly too pigmented for me.

Sadly this one did not meet my expectations and I will not get more shades from this line but there is so many people who loves it so it is down to preference.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Grapely Admired

 Hello,

already a while ago I purchased two Mac tinted lip balms but I wanted a plum shade which was sadly sold out. After receiving my two shades (Floral Coral and Sweet Treat) Plum got back in stock but it was also announced that they will discontinue them and replace them with new formulas and without much thinking I purchased another one. 

It is Mac glow play tinted lip balm in the Grapely Admired shade. This 'old' packaging had holo letters and see through lid. I heard so much about their glossiness that I just had to give it a go.

I expected Grapely Adimred to be a true plum but on the sheer side. In the packaging it looks very juicy. The formula is soft and while applying it, the product can move inside the bullet and I have to be careful when retracting so I don't scrape the sides.

The swatch shows the glow, glossiness but also that the shade on my skin turns more fuchsia. On my lips it is even more apparent.

So the color is not my favorite (Floral Coral is my fav) but I like the shine but sadly it lasts for only about 15-20 min.

My biggest minus is sadly the formula. While they look good on the lips it drys them out. After wearing it for a few hours (reapplying consistently) my lips started to crack and peel.

I feel like these are just for the show and not for hydration. Every time I make sure that I bring a nourishing balm with me to keep my lips in check.

While these are gone they came out with new ones in the non transparent packaging. I was so curious that I have already purchased it but I haven't tried it out, hopefully the new ones will be better for my lips.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

I had big plans on finishing up tons of products but the day was approaching and it was becoming more and more obvious that there will be less finished items than planed in the first place. Oh well, I guess it will be better next month.

I have finished up Issey Miyake L'eau D'Issey pout Homme body wash. It was a gift with purchase and it made me fell in love with this aquatic and to my nose unisex scent. It is light in touch and stays with me for a long time (I'm showering in the evening so it is hard to tell just how long-lasting the scent is but after a while my PJ got a light linger of it). I will definitely get myself a bottle of this perfume while I probably won't buy this body wash again. I like generic body washes to save up my money for fragrance ;)

Next is MAC fix+ face setting spray. I liked it a lot but still my beloved Catrice fixing spray wins (for me it works better and it is cheaper) but I'm still glad to try it out. I recently picked up the matte version so I will see if that one will become my favourite.

Avon also makes body sprays and I purchased this Jasmine Whisper body mist that makes my sheets smell  like clean laundry (that is how I used it up). The scent is gone soon but since I fall asleep really fast it doesn't really matter. I know I said that I won't be buying body sprays (poor longevity) so I don't remember how I acquired this particular bottle but all I know is that I enjoyed this scent but I won't be buying it again, I would get other products with this scent (body wash or moisturisers). 

Next in line is another Avon product and it is Jelly lip tint in the shade Sheer Pink. It looks very pale but it turns hot pink with the help of the warmth of my skin. I liked the even tint all over my lips but I was getting sick of the color so I was glad that I managed to finish it up. This is long discontinued but even if it would still be available I would pass it only because of the bright color.

The very last item is Carmex Pomegranate lip balm. It does smell fruity and it is very soft but the SPF makes for a weird taste. Slightly bitter and unpleasant. I'm super glad that it is finished because I have no desire to buy it again. Usually sun protection in lip products results in bitter and awkward taste so I'm not a big fan.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

this time I don't have a lot of products but almost all of them are make-up... I'm super happy to finally finish up some of my colored cosmetics since I find these to be much harder to get through plus some of these I almost got tired of and I can't wait to start using something else as a replacement.

First is my beloved Bioderma anti redness cream, it is a staple in my skincare routine for years now. I use it every second day at night time and my face is less red in the morning. The texture isn't too greasy which I appreciate as well. I already have a new tube and this cream will always be in my bathroom.

Next is MAC studio face and body foundation in the shade N1. On the bottom photo you can see swatch and on me this pulls yellow/orange and it is too dark. My solution was to apply it sheer... but then there is no coverage... I of course bought it blindly to get such an off matching but at the end I made it work. I was using it lightly on my neck, to avoid 'make-up face and bare everything else' look, just to have a sheer layer on my neck to help blend my face foundation better. I will not buy it again since the formula didn't work for me.

I finally finished up a blush! So very happy to see it gone. It was a lovely pastel peach shade and it will be missed but at the same time I'm ready to use something else as well. It is Tony Moly Salmon Nude shade but to me it is nether Salmon or nude like. It was completely matte and light in pigmentation. I really liked the formula since it was hard even for my pale complexion to get too much blush and I like sheer blushes, they work for my style of make-up.

The very last item is Catrice generation plump & shine lip gloss in the shade Rosy Amber. It was a light nudy-pink shade. On me a little too light and milky but a light layer looked ok. I loved the formula just the shade wasn't my favorite but I still made it work. I would not repurchase this shade (I think it is already discontinued) but I have one more to go through and that shade is more up my alley. 

Thank you for reading  and have a nice day

Empties

Hello,

pampering my skin is something I really like to do. It has become more of a ritual than hassle through the years and just now I'm realizing what works for me. It is a process and it takes time, in the mean time I buy a lot of so so products but even they have to get used up.

Let's start with the Secret Key Multi cell night repair ampoule serum. It is supposed to be a moisturizing and brightening serum, I have noticed right after applying it to my face that my skin drank it up like a glass of water in the desert. It felt extremely moisturizing especially combined with oils on top. I have a lot of acne scars (bright red dots that are super stubborn) but I wouldn't go so far to claim that it helped to reduce them faster (they take months to disappear so tracking them down and figuring out how long it takes them to go away is hard). I liked it a lot and I would get it again simply for its moisturizing properties but since I can only get it online I will try to get something similar from the stores around me.

I love Avon care hand creams (my favorite is still the most basic one named Glycerin hand, nail & cuticle hand cream). This one, youth restore hand, nail & cuticle cream was nice but it felt like it didn't absorb properly and when I went and wash my hands it came off and my skin was dry again. It just sit on top and didn't work its magic into the deeper layers of my skin.

 This next product was an impulse purchase from Alverde. It is their Orange and Melissa body spray which smells amazing by the way, citrus-y but warm at the same time. It is such a shame that it is only a body spray which fades away way too fast.

The last item is a necessity for every nail polish lover. I go through a bottle of nail polish remover every couple of months. This time it was this Aveo Hibiscus nail polish remover. Towards the end I couldn't pick the scent anymore, I don't know if that is because I got used to it, it faded or my nose can't pick up the scents properly anymore. I often buy removers from this brand because they are inexpensive and effective. I already bought a new bottle again from this brand just in a different 'scent'.

My favorite category are lip products. This time around I have three. The first is old Catrice Vitamin lip treatment in a bright red shade named Bohemian Raspberry. Sheer and very glossy on the lips with a somewhat fruity scent, so very different from all the vanilla/caramel ones that are floating around. It was moisturizing and nourishing my lips and that is the important bit, I still have four left so I don't feel particularly sad about finishing this discontinued product.

Next is my first and perhaps also the last M.A.C. lip product (I find their products very expensive  and especially lip glosses are pricey considering how little product you get), mine was a gift. It is the dazzleglas in the Love Alert shade. Bright red with little shimmer particles, I liked how the color wore off, it looked lighter and just a bit flushed but it got sticky so instead of reapplying it I had to remove it completely and then apply fresh layer. It did lasted on my lips a bit longer than the rest of the glosses that I have tried but the sticky feeling toward the end, 1,92 g of product and the price tag around 20 EUR seems too much for me to handle.

And the lipstick is Avon ultra color nourishing in Nurturing Nude. These lipsticks are pretty special and unique (I have another shade and more in depth review will follow) because of its balm infused core where the pigment and clear balm are unevenly mixed together so each lipstick and every application are unique. Better review with swatches will follow but I don't think I will repurchase it again even though it was a nice nude shade with mostly lovely formula. I prefer it with more of a balm ratio so it was more of a sheer wash of color.

Last but not least is Avon Caribbean Escape  with crushed pearls and sea algae illuminating body butter. This smells so so nice but I don't like the tiny little golden shimmer because it ends up everywhere. Still, this was my second pot of it, if they will ever make it without shimmer I will buy it again but till then I will pass. Maybe I will rather get the face mask with the same scent which isn't anything too special, a bit moisturizing but I will get my kick in the scent department from it.


Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Big surprise

Hello,

I think I mentioned before that my sister is the best and she once again proved just how well she knows me with this huge gift from abroad. All of the items are from the brands which aren't available in my country so that makes it even better.

She took a trip to the The Body Shop and picked up this Wild Argan oil, the radiant oil for body and hair. I love oils and the scent on this one is amazing and I can't wait to start using it on my hair because the scent tends to stay longer if I spray my hair.

In the back is a lovely decorative box from Rituals with two mini perfumes. Voyage en Inde in a black bottle and Fleurs de L'Himalaya in a powdery pink. I will see how they perform on my skin and I will for sure take some more photos to show you how beautiful and simple the bottles are. BTW, this was gift with purchase so if you want to get it all you have to do is to shop at the Rituals...

Next is another Rituals item but this one is from Hammam Olive Secret line with refreshing eucalyptus and organic olive scent and it is a body wash but the lady in the store told my sister that because it contains clay a lot of people are using it as a face wash which is what I will try since I'm always trying to deep cleanse my face and what better way to do it than with clay, right?

I have never been in Kiko store and I almost said that I have nothing from them but now I remembered that my sister once gifted me a nail polish, so this item is not my first but it is my first skin care item from them. It is supposed to be micellar water for normal to dry skin and I will give it a go. There is never too much moisture, especially in Winter time.

In a round pot is a lovely light brown, Kiko eye shadow with some sparse shimmer in it. The shade is 122 Matte Beaver Brown and it looks like something I could wear without worrying about beeing too dark.

In a square pot is another Kiko single eye shadow but this one belongs to the wet and dry range, I got it in the shade 33 Pearly Golden Beige which is a beautiful yellow toned highlighter shade with tons of little shimmer. I love this type of colors for my inner corners and I can't leave it out but this shade has magnetic closure (I know this isn't anything new but this is my first and it feels more luxurious than it probably is).

The last item is from M.A.C. and it is their technakohl eye liner in the shade Raisinette which is a very dark brown and I think it will be a nice replacement for my black and grey pencils and it will look phenomenal with warmer toned shadows.

Whuh, that was a lot, right? It will take me a long time to properly test everything but it will be fun.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

My first MAC product

Hello,

I have the best sister in the whole world. She travels a lot and she always surprises me with a gift. This time it was a MAC product. She knows that I love lip glosses so she decided to get me a dazzleglass Love Alert. 

MAC Dazzleglass Love Alert

The color is sheer red with a lot of glitters (I like to put red tinted lip balm or a lipstick underneath to get an even color). I'm normally not a fan of shimmer or glitter in my lip products but this one is quite nice. Glitter is visible on the lips but I can't feel it at all.

MAC Dazzleglass Love Alert swatch

The scent is very nice, it reminds me of vanilla but when it is on I can't detect it anymore. 

I heard a lot of people mentioned that MAC glosses or glasses as they call them, are sticky and I have to say that at first when I applied it it is not  but I feel it gets a little bit sticky after a while and specially at the end. When it is time to reapply it gets annoyingly sticky, specially towards the inner part of my mouth. 

The wand is a whole another story. I have never seen anything similar. It has short plastic bristles that are tempered into a point. The first time I used it they were so hard like it was made out of solid plastic but the next time it was better and now they are soft and easy to use. Another thing is that they are short and don't pick a lot of product, I have small thin lips and one layer isn't enough to cover them. This isn't a major problem but it is more annoying than anything. 

So in conclusion: I like the color and that the glitter particles aren't rough, I'm in love with the scent but stickiness is a deal breaker plus the high price. I honesty don't think I will buy any more, maybe if I will really like the color but otherwise this is my first and last MAC glass.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day