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