Mint and Berry

Hello,

for today I have prepared a simple post. Simple as a simple product that often gets forgotten but it is so essential. I'm talking about lip balm.

This is Alverde Mint and Berry LE lip balm (they have Calendula one that is part of their standard range and my sister loves it).
I went with it because I love Mint lip products. I have to say that it smells more like a toothpaste with some non sweet berries in the mix if that makes sense. I expected to be cooling but it is not.

The stick is soft red but it doesn't give off any color so you are good if you are applying it without the mirror. The texture is light and not greasy, because of that it also looks like nothing on the lips (I personally like the glossy look but this one has just a little shine for the first five minutes after that it looks like your bare lips). It also doesn't last for long, maybe thirty minutes and after that I feel the need to reapply.
It is moisturizing but nothing compared to per say similarly priced Terra Naturi one.

For me this is a very average balm. There is nothing about it that I would hate or dislike but it could be better. I will still use it up (I'm already half way through it) but then I will buy something nicer.




Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Lashes to kill

Hello,

Catrice send me this waterproof mascara just in time. While it is still cold we are getting glimpses of the real Spring and soon the days will be hot and humid and I will need make-up that lasts. In general I use Avon mascaras but since they send me this one I decided to try it out and I wasn't disappointed...

It is the 'new' Catrice lashes to kill pro instant volume mascara in black waterproof version (the non waterproof version comes in golden packaging).

I like the reflective blue packaging that sets it apart from other products but the most important thing (brush and formula) are hidden inside.

At first I was a bit scared because I am used to use rubber wands and this one has the more traditional bristles and I wasn't sure how it will comb through my lashes (I don't like clumpy and thick lashes).
Actually it manages to separate and elongate them nicely, it holds the volume nicely but not all day. After a couple of hours the curl drops a bit but I'm fine as long as it isn't the straight, I'm gonna poke you in the eye kind of situation.

The brush looks different from different angles so I like to rotate it while brushing it through my lashes so every lash gets covered and separated. I like how natural my lashes look but also 'done' at the same time. This is not your high drama kind of mascara but something you can use every day to get some definition plus you are covered if it starts raining.
The other thing I really like about it is also the formula. I have never had a mascara that I would love from the first use. They are all too wet for my liking for the first month but this isn't the case with this one. For day one this mascara killed it! I has become my go to everyday mascara and I seriously think that I will use it in September when my sister is getting married and I don't think I will be able to hold in the waterfall.
For that occasion I will for sure buy myself a new tube not just because this will be old but also because I will most probably use it up till then.




Thank you for reading and have a nice day

camouflage cream concealer

Hello,

I have one more product from this collection that was kindly sent to me by PR company and since I don't think it is too late I would like to show it to you so if you are interested you can still get it.

Here it is, Essence For Boys and Girls camouflage cream concealer. It only comes in one color way with two colors and I think they have something pretty similar in their standard range (the same type of packaging and the colors also look very similar).

So the idea is to mix them to get your perfect match and I like the option but at the same time it is very hard to mix your 'perfect' shade and get it 'right' for all the little areas that I need to cover.
Dipping my finger back and forth just makes a mess in both pans and slowly mixes both color together. I have been using it for quite a while but still I haven't find the right way to mix them.

They are both yellow toned which works for me well and as I thought that only the lighter shade will match me it proved me wrong. I'm using foundation that is a little too deep for me so the first, darker shade matches my face and the lighter shade is great for some under eye highlighting/coverage.

I was impressed by how creamy and pigmented these two are, I can cover up pretty much all of my redness, I just have to make sure that I blend the edges well because if I don't you can clearly see the lines.

I'm a big fan of Catrice camouflage concealers but this one is just as good, I would say that the Essence one has even better coverage but I spent a little more time at blending it in. Catrice one looks  more natural and has more shades to choose from. So there are pros and cons.
Under the line I would say that I discovered another great concealer and if you are on a budget and looking for something with high coverage and you are pretty fair, I would suggest you to try it out.




Thank you for reading and have a nice day

refreshing & moisturizing primer stick

Hello,

Essence came out with this TE almost a month ago but some of the stores still haven't got the products so there is still a chance to grab them before they are gone.

Essence For Boys and Girls TE contains 'basic' products and one of them is this refreshing & moisturizing primer stick. It comes in a small but chubby format.

The packaging and the product itself reminded me very much of an Catrice Summer TE Travelight Story from this past Summer about which you can read here.

You have to apply it straight on the face, at first it feels a bit cooling but it instantly makes the skin matte. For super oily gals like me this won't keep the oils at bay for the whole day so I use it on the days when it is not too hot (now is perfect) and the make-up on top wears really nice. I get shiny but foundation doesn't start to break or crack. All in all I really like it and the price is lower that it was on the Catrice one (they will come out with anther collection Active Warrior and it seem like it will include a very similar primer again), I like it a lot and I will try to hunt down a backup before it is gone.




Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

Hello,

this time around I'm having a lot of face products. I'm trying a lot of new stuff and some older ones that didn't convinced me have to go.

First and second tubes are two Holika Holika discontinued Petite BB creams. In the yellow packaging is Bouncy with nice coverage but way too dark for me so I barely used it. Second is Aqua and while the shade matches me better it has barely there coverage so I only used it on my neck to connect my face with the rest of my body.

The white tube is my second Avon Anew clinical advanced resurfacing peel with 10% glycolic acid. Inside you get 30 soaked pads which you rub over cleansed face and if you have some dry skin, acne or just sensitive skin it will lightly burn or tingle. It didn't bother me too much but I wasn't using them regularly so I can't tell if they worked for me. As I mentioned this is my second pack but I won't be spending my money on something I'm not even sure if it works for me.

The bottle on top is my beloved Afrodita great burdock hair oil. I swear that this oil is magical as it helps my hair grow faster (even my sister and mom can verify that because they both are using their own bottles of it). I talked about it here.

This lip balm was sent to me but I was so interested in it that I would probably spent my own money on it but at the end I'm glad that I didn't. This was very average balm that did very little for my dry and chapped lips but it smelled so nice, like a true Mango. It is from Essence & the lovely little things LE and was named & we kissed.

The last two tubes are both from Korean brands and are green make-up bases. First is Tony Moly Baby Doll make up mint base and second is The Face Shop air cotton green make up base. I did buy them on two different occasions and were my first make up primers and at the beginning I was excited about them but later I discovered better ones so these two were left forgotten. I know I had them for so long and that they probably already went bad so I'm tossing them before they start to reek.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Iridescent Pink, Opalescent Green and Peach Prism

Hello,

I was so very excited when I saw this palette in the bag. Doesn't it look stunning?

The reflective surface of this L.O.V. holographic highlighter palette is insane. It is made out of sturdy cardboard which is something I'm not to happy about it but it will do. The  magnetic closure is strong and it doesn't feel flimsy, it is just a personal preference (plastic over paper because I can wash it).

Inside you get three shades which looks very similar to one another but after swatching them there is a whole new story.

First shade is Iridescent Pink which swatches lavender, next is Opalescent Green which is 'the bold one' and the more conservative Peach Prism which comes out more pink than peach.

Really, in the palette they look very static and light, not reflective at all.

However, on the skin these come to life.

I didn't even tried to make pigmented swatches, they are all one swipes and the pigmentation is insane.

Iridescent Pink and Opalescent Green are the 'crazy' ones and I can't imagine myself wearing them on my cheeks. I prefer my highlighter to be more natural toned so the last one the Peach Prism is the only one that grazed my cheeks and I paired it pinky blush so it didn't look too out of place.

The first two shades makes a beautiful eye shadows. I paired them with some more toned down colors such as brown or grey and then just a little bit of one of these on the lid and my eye looks always turned out to be so eye catchy.

Peach Prism comes across as less pigmented from the bunch but that is not true. It has duochrome effect that is maybe more visible on the lower photo, in the real life it is more visible.

It has that gorgeous effect that I love so very much. You can see it only where the light hits it directly
otherwise it is almost invisible unlike the first two shades that are screaming out lout with their pigmented base.

I'm a young woman that is still trying and struggling with make-up and I prefer more 'natural' looking cheeks. I know there are women who are bolder and have no problem with adding some green glow onto their cupid's bow but I'm not one of them and that is okay.
I'm happy and grateful that I have been send this palette to review it and test something new out.
I now have pinky highlighter for my cheeks and two more eye shadows  ;)




Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Warm brown

Hello,

I don't think I ever talked about my brows on my blog. I have been using the same dark grey eye shadow and angled brush for years and the powder has a massive pan so I think maybe this year I will be done with it. I'm not fussy about my brows, I tried a couple of pencils and powder but I always go back to that old discontinued Avon palette so this product that was sent to me by L.O.V. was intriguing.

It is L.O.V. staining eyebrow cushion in the shade warm brown from their current forever brows collection. There is another shade available if your brows are cool toned maybe that one will suit you better.

The packaging is simple and sleek, just the way I like it. When you unscrew the lid there is the cushion which is very soft and delicate brush has no issues in pressing it down to get to the product. The brush picks a lot of product so it is easy to fill it in. It feels watery but probably that is only because I'm just so used to use powders.

The color is very warm and light brow and it couldn't be further away from my natural color but I still tried it out (on my off day). It looked weird but if the color would match me I think it would look natural.
They also claim to have staining properties which I haven't noticed. In the evening I washed my face with a regular face wash and all of the color came out, nothing stayed.
I even used it as an eye liner but it is too wet for that and when I went over the same line it just removed the previous layer and didn't want to build up to get that even line.

I will part with this product because I just can't find any use in my make-up for it but maybe someone else would.



Thank you for reading and have a nice day