March 2013 Favourites

Alverde Coconut body oil

I use oils a lot as a body moisturiser, hair oil, makeup remover and instead of shaving gel (makes your legs feel really soft). This one smells like coconut muffins, it's not too greasy and has a pump.

Catrice Made to Stay Metall of Honour

I wore nothing but neutral, skintone colour on my lids for months, but I decided it's time for a change. I wore a brown smokey eye for most of the time and Metall of Honour acted as a base to get the intensity and longevity of the eyeshadow. It's a dark brown-bronze colour that can be applied sheer or very intense. Unfortunately, it was discontinued a few months ago. 

Naked Palette shade Smog

On top of Metall of Honour I wore Smog, which is one of my favourite shades ever. It's a bronze with gold shimmer and makes my eyes look more blue (it's next to Half Baked).

Nyx blush in Taupe

I finally found a good contouring shade for my super pale skin. I wore it every day this month. I haven't done a review yet, but I will soon.

Nyx Rouge Creme blush in Natural
I just got it this month and it's quickly become one of my favourite cream blushes. It's a pale pink that is actually quite pigmented. Review will be posted soon.

Essence Hang Loose from Surf Babe TE

I tend to wear the same nail polishes over and over again, but this month I decided to wear something I haven't worn more that much. I went for a LE shade called Hang Loose from Essence, which is a light lavender shade. It's really pale, so it looks more like a nude shade but with a twist.

Missha M Signature Complete BB cream #13

So far the lightest shade I have ever found and it matches me perfectly right now. Texture-wise it's really light and runny, while the coverage light-medium.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection

A great full coverage concealer, I absolutely understand the hype. I think it deserves all the praise, especially because of the great staying power.

Tonymoly Petite Bunny Gloss Bar in Juicy Peach

Possibly the cutest lip balms ever. They are nicely moisturising and have enough pigment. Juicy Peach is light pink with some peach and it actually reminds me a bit of Mac Hue.

Victoria's Secret Coconut Passion  and L'Occitane Ambre eau de toilette

The combination of the two creates the most amazing amber-vanilla scent. Coconut Passion by itself is a very gourmand scent and Ambre adds a more woody, Mediterranean twist.

Tigi Bed Head Spoil Me

In my heap of hair products, which I swear I use most of them, there are a few products that haven't really bonded with, but I still hold on to them for some reason. In this case it's because I have a fondness for Tigi products and they rarely disappoint me. And here enters Tigi Bed Head Spoil Me. I got it once as a freebie when I purchased the Masterpiece hairspray, which I use a lot, but this product confused me. It's a defrizzer, smoother and instant restyler. The instructions say it's supposed to be used on dry or damp hair and that it's great as a second day spray to refresh your hairstyle. It also claims to have a bit of a hold. I used it the way they said on the instructions and I saw no effect whatsoever apart from making my hair smell like lemon sweets. This was before I was using a hair dryer and I left my hair to dry naturally. I put it in the back of my hair care shelf for a long time and "rediscovered" it while cleaning. I decided to check some reviews to see how other people use it, so I could finally have some use out of it. After some experimenting, I came to a conclusion that it works best on damp hair before hair drying. It doesn't claim to be heat activated, but it doesn't work other way, at least on my hair. This is a brilliant defrizzer, I absolutely notice the difference if I don't use it. My hair is annoyingly frizzy, especially if I use a drugstore conditioner and this helps a lot. It performs best in combination with one of the silicone oils (Macadamia Healing Oil triumphs here). One of the best features, in my opinion, is the fact it's extremely lightweight, it actually feels like there is nothing on your hair. For a product that I considered completely unessential, I would actually repurchase it. Of course, if I don't find something better, but so far I haven't.

The can is massive with 300ml of product (it's the same size as the Mastepiece hairspray in the back of the picture). Tigi Bed Head products are sold in hair salons and online. If you plan to order online, forget UK sites or eBay because aerosols can't be shipped via air mail. Prices vary, but it's around 15€. Tigi has some brilliant products and I actually used a lot of Tigi in my early teens, I don't know why I stopped. The scents of their products are so yummy. The Bed Head line has mostly tropical fruity scents, something I really like. I think I might purchase a few Tigi products soon, especially their styling products. Totally Baked from the Candy Fixations line is the first on my list.

Product of the Week #7

I put Balea Bodycreme Sunny Peach in my recent wishlist post and I got it at the first opportunity I had. Which was a Saturday. At 8 P.M.. Late night shopping anyone? Anyway, the pot is huge. There is 500 ml of product for a super cheap price of only 1.95€. Nope, I didn't mix the numbers, it's that cheap. Normally, you'd expect something pretty rubbish for such a price, but we are talking about Balea. Those folks usually deliver and they did it again. The texture is light. It's still a cream, but very light, almost airy and perfect for hotter months. It is nicely moisturising and it sinks in relatively fast, but you'll be slightly sticky for a while. Now about the scent which is obviously the reason I got it. I'm very, very picky about peach scents. My favourite hands down is the TBS Vineyard Peach, the rest didn't really impress me apart from shower gel, again from Balea, a LE called Traum Geschöpft (post about peach scents here). It is a pretty good peach scent. I'd describe it as a ripe peach meets its yoghurt version mixed with a typical cream scent. Quite nice really. It's not strong, but it does linger for about an hour. All in all, if you like peach scents, this a nice body moisturiser for a bargain price.

My Tips for Dealing with Dry Hair

I've been dealing with my very dry hair most of my life. By very dry I mean the entire length of the hair is dry, from roots to the tips including the scalp. It's just the way it is, my whole family has such hair, it’s in our genes. My hair rarely gets greasy and I do see this as a positive, because I cannot imagine washing my hair every day or every two days. I've picked up quite a few tips though the years from various sources or just something I discovered myself and I'll share them with you. I wrote this post months ago, but I wasn't sure if I should post it. You see, I'm not an expert in anyway, this is just based on my experience with my hair and not a lot of people has such dry hair.

In the last two years my hair got a gazillion times better, so I though why not share how I did it. Here is a comparison of my hair a few years ago and a picture from the Hair Oil Series, which I posted in January. If you're wondering why there is such a difference in colour, it's because it was taken in completely different lights and the bottom third of my hair in the first picture was dyed red-brown. My hair is still far from perfect. The top layers are very dry and it's very frizzy if I don't use a lot of products. I'm definitely not a shampoo-plus-two-minutes-of-conditioner kind of girl. You can read about my hair care in these two posts: click and click.

I still can't believe left the house with such hair, but this is how my hair looked during my teens. I avoided heat tools, something I regret because my hair just looked like a mess. I tried every way I could find to do define my natural curls, but truth be told, it never looked that great or at least not for long. My second mistake was using mainly drugstore products. While it's fine for someone with normal or oily hair, but if your hair is really dry, most drugstore products won't be nearly enough moisturising for you.

I know there probably aren't a lot of people with such dry hair, most have more oily hair or at least oily roots and dry ends, but you can still pick up a tip or two. A fair warning this will be a long post.

 

1. Oils as pre-wash treatment - I cannot stress enough, what a massive difference it makes. Best for dry hair are macadamia, argan, coconut and jojoba oil. Try mixing your own personal blend and if you have a problematic scalp, add a few essential oils like tea tree, rosemary, etc. Apply it generously on your hair, including the scalp. Leave it on for at least an hour (overnight is best) and then continue with your regular routine. Hot oil is even more effective. Put it in a microwave for a few seconds (about 20, careful it can be very hot, in that case leave it to cool until it’s at a temperature you can already tolerate) and apply it on your hair, massaging it into the scalp. You can also wrap your hair with a warm towel or use a hair dryer on a slow setting. 

2. Don’t wash your hair too often - washing often will strip your hair of that little natural oil it has and thus making it drier. I believe no one should wash their hair every day, even if your hair is greasy. Invest in a dry shampoo to give yourself at least one more day of presentable hair. 

3. Use a moisturising, but foremost a gentle shampoo - Go for a more creamy formula and find something that doesn't dry out your hair. I've tried a gazillion shampoos and here are my favourites: Herbal Essences Hello Hydration (light blue packaging), Orofluido, La Roche Posay Kerium for dry hair, L'occitane repairing shampoo, L’Oreal Everpure Moisture shampoo, Keune Ultra Mild, Garnier Ultra Doux Apricot and Almond shampoo and Kérastase Nutritive Bain Oléo-Relax Smoothing Shampoo. If you think sulphates might be too harsh and irritating for you, find a shampoo that is free of them, however, I've had sulphate free and normal shampoos, and both sides have some good shampoos and bad. Some shampoos with sulphates were the most moisturising and gentle I've found, particularly the ones from chemists. I used to be very careful about ingredients and I still read them, but since I stopped worrying so much about them (though I still avoid some), I've found much better products. For example, Lavera shampoos made my scalp very itchy as did Alverde’s and since I've been mostly using shampoos from La Roche Posay this hasn't happened to me. I would still like to point out that allergy to sulphates is very rare.

4. Baking soda instead cleansing shampoos - cleansing shampoos are a big no-no for me because they make my hair dry as straw. Baking soda is not only cheaper, but also more gentle. It's odd to use it by itself, because it's a powder and there is no lather. If you are bothered by that just simply mix it in your shampoo. It will make your hair shiny, lighter and will remove build-up from styling and silicone based products. I keep a 500g box of baking soda, which I got in Eurospin, in my bathroom.

5. Use a conditioner or a hair mask after every washing. Don’t use it just once a week or less. If your hair gets greasy fast use a lighter conditioner only on the ends, but if your hair is dry, use a hair mask (or if it’s not so dry - a really moisturising conditioner) every time you wash your hair. Don’t use drugstore conditioners, because most don’t do anything for dry hair. Go straight for the mask version. Some gems in drugstores are: Dove Oil Care (in my opinion the best), Fructis Oil Repair mask, Herbal Essences Hello Hydration (it's lighter, but still very good), John Frieda Brilliant Brunette and Aussie 3 Minute Miracle. Slightly more expensive are Redken All Soft and Tigi Dumb Blonde. Have at least two at once, one deep treatment and one lighter conditioner or mask, and alternate between them, depending on the condition of your hair.

6. Invest in a good deep treatment/ hair mask - I'm serious. Spend a bit more on a hair mask and you will see a significant difference. Some good salon ones for very dry hair are: Joico K-Pack Hydrator, Joico Moisture Recovery Treatment Balm,  Tigi S-Factor Serious Conditioner and Kérastase Nutritive Masquitense Épais - Thick. Use it every time you feel your hair needs a bit of a boost of moisture. It's fine if you use a deep treatment more than once a week, in fact, I sometimes use it two times a week or until my hair feels ok again.

7. Leave it on longer than it says - This goes mostly to drugstore treatments that say it works in 1 minute. Honestly how can it have time to work in a minute? Sure certain ingredients do their job instantly, but some need more time to be absorbed or deposited on the hair. Conditioners and treatments do their best in 20-30 minutes. The only exception applies to salon treatments with keratin or proteins. Those should only be left a few minutes. Protein treatment will make your hair stronger, but can get drying it time, so make sure you don't use it too often. 

8. Don’t apply conditioners, hair masks and treatments on soaking wet hair. Soaking wet hair won’t get much benefits from the treatment. Imagine your hair is like a sponge. If it’s full of water it can’t absorb much more, but if your hair is damp or dry the treatment will penetrate into the hair easier. Wrap your hair in a towel for a few minutes before applying hair mask, but don’t, I repeat don’t towel dry them by rubbing, you’ll cause unnecessary damage. 

9. I’m not going to say don't use a hair-dryer - the fact is I've been avoiding them my entire life. The reason for that was that every time a hair dresser dried my hair it was dry as a Sahara. But, I learned to dry it myself and it looks better than it ever did. It’s sleeker, looks more healthy and it's not as knotty. Knottiness can be a big problem for us curly girls with dry hair as it only causes more damage. It is essential to have a good detangling product. Best I find are packed with silicones, but they sure do help a lot. If I let my hair dry naturally it feels a lot drier than if I dry it with a hair dryer. The secrets are to use heat protection, don’t use a high heat setting (I use the lowest or medium), don’t touch your hair with the nozzle because you will torch the cuticle and use a big barrel brush, going just once or twice through each strand. It will make your hair sleeker but not poker straight and won't be dry. 

10. Use heat protection – I can’t stress this enough, but so many people are too lazy to use it. Use it before everything - hair drying, straightening or curling, basically any time there are heat tools involved. I like Tigi S-Factor Heat Defender, because it feels like oil, but there are plenty on the market for different prices. Kérastase Nutritive Nectar Thermique is a great one for dry hair and also works as a leave-in conditioner. I also have Tigi Catwalk Blow Out and Redken Extreme anti-snap for heat protection, and both of these are light enough for someone with normal and I dare say oily hair. 

13. Leave-in conditioner is an important step – and often overlooked. A good leave-in treatment will seal the moisture and give that extra boost of hydration. Find one that suits you. I love Sexy Healthy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner as I really notice that my hair stays hydrated longer. I also use Redken extreme anti-snap which is a protein treatment that strengthens the hair and Orofluido Sahara that really helps with the dryness. 

14. Silicone oil hybrids – I really like them, they make your hair look more shiny and healthy. For really dry hair, I like Macadamia Healing Oil and Orofluido Beauty Elixir. I wrote more about them in the Introduction to Hair oils Series. 

15. I really like to use oils when my hair feels dry. By oils, I mean proper oils, not the ones with silicones. It's not really important what kind it is, either marketed as a hair oil or a body oil or an oil for cooking (macadamia, coconut,..), there are plenty on the market.  These on the picture are the ones I have  and I use them for a lot of things, not just hair. I use these when my hair feels really dry and I use those with silicones, when I just need to tame it a bit and I feel pure oil might weight it down (most silicones oils are much lighter compared to pure oils)

16. Invest in a Tangle Teezer or something similar – especially if your hair is really knotty. It makes brushing your hair so much easier and you’ll prevent a lot of damage. 

17. I don't believe in the idea you should use everything from the same line. There could be a good shampoo in one line, but the conditioner is bad. Mix, customize your care, find what suit you best. I've found mine, but am still improving it. 

18. My take on the whole silicone free thing – there are a lot of people and articles about silicones being bad for your hair. I just hate those annoying reviewers on MUA who write a review along these lines: This has silicones in it and it will only make your hair drier and ruin them”, but they haven’t even tried the product. Come on, don’t make it sound so black and white. First thing you should know is that there are different types of silicones and some do wash off. Naive as I was, I really believed this silicones being really bad business a couple of years ago. I completely cut out silicones and used only natural brands like Lavera, Alverde and the likes. During those years I never noticed any positive change. In fact, I hated it. My hair got worse, drier, more knotty and completely unruly. So no, it didn't work for me, my hair simply likes silicones. Try it at your own risk. In my experience, my hair got a billion times better when I started using salon brands, but everyone's hair is different 

So this completes my epic post. It sure took a long time to write it and I probably forgot something. I hope this was useful, at least a few tips and thanks for reading.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer

I wanted this concealer for so long and had so many problems getting it, but it was worth it. First, I couldn't find a seller on eBay that would ship it to Slovenia, so I asked my friend, who was just going to London if she could get it for me. She couldn't find a single Superdrug where it wasn't sold out. I gave up and bought EL Maximum Cover instead. Of course I had to shell out 40€ for it, but I'm not sorry. Then in end of January, I finally ordered it on eBay and the package got lost. Fortunately, the seller refunded me and I ordered it again from another seller. This time it took only three days to arrive, I guess I had to get lucky sometime. It is a great concealer, especially for spots. I haven't found a drugstore concealer with so much coverage. Too bad it's not sold in Slovenia, I suspect it'd be a best seller.

Coverage is almost full, it's definitely full with two or more layers. It's great for covering blemishes, redness and other imperfections. It covers circles very well, however, I prefer Maybelline's the Eraser Eye for under the eyes because it looks like skin and is brightening. In terms of coverage it's close to Maximum Cover, however, the latter has more coverage and you use far less.

The texture is creamy and thick, it blends nicely both with fingers and a brush. The finish is matte and  it's not particularly moisturising. I like a bit more moisturising concealers for under the eyes, so if I feel I need more coverage, I put Collection 2000 on first and then Maybelline's the Eraser eye on top to brighten it a bit and to avoid it looking cakey. Because it sets matte, it can look cakey on dry skin, but this becomes more of an issue when it's wearing off. If your skin is dry, I suggest using a heavy moisturiser underneath. 

Staying power is amazing for a drugstore concealer. It outlast all of my foundations apart from EL Maximum cover. My only problem is that sometimes it can look patchy when it wears off.

It have the lightest shade called 1 Fair which is a very light shade with neutral to yellow undertones. It's definitely not as yellow as Essence Stay with me 10 or Healthy Mix 51.

Packaging is a slim tube with a doe foot applicator. Like so many reviewers, I noticed that the writing wears off fast.

When I first got it, it reminded me a lot of Essence Stay All Day concealer. The texture is similar, however, the Collection 2000 one has a lot more coverage

As I said I bought it on eBay for 9€ with shipping. It's sold mainly in the UK in Superdrug.

No foundation, just concealer:

This is a lovely full coverage and long lasting concealer that works well especially for covering spots. It's exactly what I've been looking for covering blemishes, but I couldn't find in our drugstores. I'll definitely keep it in my bag for on the go. 

Beauty Wishlist #3

1. Batiste Dry Shampoo - I've always wanted to try one and one of my readers, Branka, highly recommended I should try it since, based on her experience, it's better than any dry shampoo sold here and she confirmed that Asos ships them to Slovenia. I really like the Syoss one, but I want something that smells better and sweeter. I'm not sure which one I should get, I'm gravitating towards the Tropical one.  

2. TONYMOLY Cat Chu Wink Lipstick - Who can resist such adorable packaging? Tonymoly has some cute makeup (for example their Petite Bunny Gloss Bars) and these are sheer, glossy lipsticks. The only problem is that I can't decide on which colour I want. 

3. Eucerin ph5 Shower Oil - I've been told by my dermatologist that my flaky and itchy scalp problems originate from the fact that my scalp is very dry, so I had an idea to use my L'Occitane shower oil as shampoo, because it's really gentle and moisturising. As crazy as it sounds, it actually worked. It foamed nicely, cleaned my hair, but left my scalp and hair moisturised and didn't leave it limp. However, I am very frugal with L'Occitane's oil because of the price, so I decided to pick up Eucerin version. If it won't work, I'll just go on a search for a super moisturising shampoo.

4. Balea Bodycreme Sunny Peach - I saw this on Balea's website and it will be LE. Peach is one of my favourite scents and I'm interested in how this smells. I'll probably not smell as awesome as the TBS Vineyard Peach BB, but I'm willing to give it a go. I'm still not sure when and if it will be available in our DM's.

5. Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus and 6. Fairy Drops Platinum Waterproof mascara - my main issue with my lashes is that they refuse to stay curled. I hear Japanese mascaras are great in the holding curl department, so after an intensive search on MUA, I narrowed it down to two mascaras. I'm not quite sure which I'm going to pick, but probably the Majolica one. 

7. Balea new limited edition of tropical scented products - I am a sucker for tropical scents, Escada's LE scents are my fuel in the Summer, so imagine my excitement when I saw an announcement for this collection of Balea LE products on their Facebook page. So far I've only seen them on Balea's website and I don't know when or if this hits our DM's. I just hope they smell nice. 

Product of the Week #6

I've been waiting for Alverde Aroma Pflegeöl Kokos to arrive in our DM's and I finally spotted it in their "new releases display". It smells like a coconut creamy dessert or a coconut muffin, basically a mix of coconut and vanilla, but not too heavy or excessively sweet. It's not my favourite coconut scent, but it's ok nonetheless. I love using oils and I use them for body, hair, taking off makeup, etc. This is quite a light oil, but still greasy, it's a lot like their Argan Mandel hair oil. I really like using it for hair, because it works the same as the Argan one, but this is a bigger bottle and you get more product for the price . It's a nice body oil, because it sinks in relatively fast for an oil. It comes in a glass bottle with a pump and costs 3.95€ for 100ml.

Ingredients

Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil*, Glycine Soja Oil*, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Parfum**, Cocos Nucifera Extract*, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil*, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil 

*ingredients from certified organic agriculture

**from natural essential oils

Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque

I'm a hair junkie, you probably gathered as much if you read my posts regularly. Deep Repair Masque is really hyped up by beauty bloggers and naturally, I had to try it. I really like their Healing Oil Treatment (review) and I wanted to try more things from their brand, so this was first on the list. My hair type is described under About page, but just to recap: very dry, coarse, frizzy, curly and thick. It's never soft no matter what I use. I can get it softer with hot oil treatment and heat styling, but it doesn't last long. I've had this mask for a month now and I've used it a lot, combining it with different products to see how it performs. I have to say, I'm not particularly impressed. 

This is a very thick product, about as thick as S-Factor's Serious Conditioner, imagine it as a medium thickness body butter. I favour thicker conditioners, because for some reason I believe they just work better. Due to it's consistency, it does take a bit of effort to apply it evenly. I'm never frugal when it comes to hair treatments, so I apply it generously on the 2/3 of my hair length, leaving out the top of my hair. I always leave treatments for at least 20 minutes, but usually longer. It washes off ok and doesn't leave any residue behind, but immediately when I was washing it off, I could feel it's just was not enough for my hair. It made my hair feel and look like I just used a better drugstore treatment. Dove Oil Care works the same on my hair for a fraction of the price.

I used it in a conjunction with their Healing Oil Treatment and I was very disappointed to see that it left my hair crazy frizzy. It's so odd, because their oil on its own works wonderfully as a defrizzer. Every time I used it, I had the same result. The only time I finally got a sleek result was when I used a hot oil treatment before and then a lot of Healing oil with Tigi Spoil Me before blow drying  The same as with drugstore treatments, my hair didn't stay hydrated for long, I had to resort to my Alverde Argan Mandel oil to keep the dryness and frizz at bay. 

I've had such an odd experience with this product. I'm not saying it's bad, because it's not. I just think it's not enough for my hair. I believe all the rave reviews are truly genuine, it's just that most reviewers have  moderately dry hair or ends and an oily scalp, so it probably works wonders for them. However, Dove Oil Care treatment from drugstore for 4€ works just about the same and this mask is really expensive. I love S-Factor Serious Conditioner, Joico K-Pack Hydrator and Moisture Recovery Treatment balm for my hair, but I'm still looking for that magic product that would finally make my hair super soft. It's just that I've been told by someone that my hair feels prickly and it didn't exactly inspire much confidence. If you have any recommendations for a heavy duty treatment leave a comment, but please no advertising, because I'll simply erase it.

Deep Repair Masque comes in different sizes. You can get a sample 30 ml size for about 3.5€ and the 250 ml, which I have, was 21.75€ on eBay.

You have the rest of my hair reviews under label hair, or go to All-Time Favourites page for favourites (also if you click the picture Hair Care it will take you to hair label). Thanks for reading.

Missha M Signature Real Complete BB Cream

I became very, very pale this winter, too pale for my beloved Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in 51, so I went on a search for an extremely light shade of foundation or BB cream. I found some great reviews on MUA for Missha's BB creams and their shade number 13, so I ordered myself a small tube of the M Signature Real Complete B.B. Cream. This is my third Asian BB and it is very different than the other two I tried (Skin79 Pink Label - review and Holika Holika Peach Girl - review), particularly in terms of texture. 

The texture is very light and runny. It reminds me a lot of Bourjois Healthy Mix serum, but the latter has a bit more coverage. Also, unlike HM serum, this BB leaves my skin tacky for about a 1/2 hour, then it finally dries and sets. It has an SPF 25 PA++. Like most Asian BB's, it best applied with fingers, namely it needs the warmth of the finger tips to blend in. Since it's not as thick as the rest BBs, it also works fine with a brush.

It has light to medium coverage. It evens out the skin and covers minor redness, however, as you can see on the picture below, it doesn't cover blemishes, dark circles or strong redness. It has a dewy finish and I suspect most with oilier skins will perhaps find it too dewy. Like Healthy Mix Serum it makes your skin look like you have nothing on, it just looks like your skin but better and this is the finish I love the most. I don't detect any grey tones that Asian BB creams usually have.

Staying power is decent, it's not going to last all day, but keep in mind this is a dewy, light coverage foundation. It wears off nicely, evenly and doesn't go patchy like foundations with fuller coverage do on me.

It smells like baby powder and the scent is quite strong, but it disappears quickly.

The shade I got, number 13, is the lightest I have ever come across. It's somewhere between neutral and pinky toned, and fits me perfectly right now. In fact, this is the first foundation/BB that fits me that well and  Bourjois foundations, though very light, are very yellow toned. There are two more shades, number 21, which I hear is close to Skin79's Pink Label BB, and darker one, number 23.

I got the small, 20g tube, which is nice and it's easy to get the product out. The full size tubes come with a pump and contains 45g of product.

I bought it on eBay for 11$ (8.5€ / 7.30£). Full size is about 14€ / 12.50£ / 17$ (it depends on the seller, obviously).

I've had it for a month now and I really enjoy wearing it, however, I got blackheads on my nose, which I've never had before. I can't be certain that this BB is the cause for it, it could be Collection 2000 concealer causing it, but these are the only things I changed. I haven't had any breakouts elsewhere.

I'm wearing only Missha BB here with no concealer:

I'm also wearing Missha BB but with Collection 2000 concealer in this post.

I really like this BB, because the shade is perfect, I love the light texture, dewy finish and the fact that is almost undetectable on the skin. However, I don't like that it leaves my skin tacky and I'm concerned about the blackheads. It rivals my beloved Healthy Mix Serum, however, I still think the latter looks and feels better on the skin.

Thanks for reading!

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Tonymoly Petite Bunny Gloss Bars

These must be the most adorable little tinted lip balms ever! I did a preview post (here) a few weeks ago and I've had them for long enough to do a proper review. Tonymoly is a Korean brand and there are 9 shades of Petite Bunny Gloss Bars. I got number 05 called Juicy Peach and 06 called Juicy Orange.

The packaging is super cute, little pens with bunny caps and each colour has a different face expression. Juicy Peach has a happy face and Juicy Orange a grumpy one. I adore the grumpy face on Juicy Orange, because it reminds me of grumpy kitty, my favourite meme. It's a standard lip balm, you screw the bottom to get the product out. The problem is that sometimes it doesn't go back and you have to push it back in. 

I expected them to be very sheer, but I was surprised that they are actually do have some pigmentation, especially the Juicy Orange one, but mind you, you'll need a few swipes. In term of glossiness, they remind me of Revlon's Lip Butters, it's more of a creamy shine than glossy. They are very soft and buttery, I really like how they feel on the lips. They are moisturising like any lip balm and don't cling to patches, but wear off evenly. Staying power is nothing special for a tinted lip balm, you'll be lucky to get an hour from it, though Juicy Orange manages to stay longer due to the intensity of the colour.

Juicy Peach is a light, baby pink with a hint of peach. It reminds me a lot of a lip balm version of Hue by Mac. I really enjoy wearing this shade, this is my definition of my perfect everyday natural shade. However,it needs a lot of swipes to get the colour going. It has a light artificial peach scent, but it's not too strong.

Juicy Orange is a pigmented orange. I knew it would be orange when I was buying it, despite the fact that the packaging is more pink-coral, I just had to have it because of the grumpy bunny packaging. Besides, I don't own anything orange in my collection. Orange is a difficult colour to pull off, but this is sheer and glossy enough to still make it work (I did quite a heavy swatch). It has a stronger scent than the Peach one. It's a medicinal orange scent, reminds me of Panadol/Lekadol syrup medicine if you remember it. I actually really like it.

I got them on eBay for 6$ each (4.6€) from this seller. I might get some other colours and I'll probably repurchase Juicy Peach as I really like the colour on me.

Thanks for reading.

New In #1

These are the things I bought in February and the beginning of March, so I've had a few products for a while now and there will be full reviews for some things in the following months. If you have any request for which ones should I do first, leave a comment. 

Tigi s Factor Flat Iron Shine Spray Heat Defender

I repurchased my favourite heat protectant for my dry hair. I did a review here.

Balea Dry Shampoo

 I got this because it was a lot cheaper than Syoss  (the one I usually use). The scent is nice, but I find this one does leaves my hair a bit white and that doesn't happen to me when I use Syoss. I'll go back to my old favourite.

Tigi Catwalk Sleek Mystique Blow Out 

I got this when Cheapsmells had an offer on Tigi. I normally use Redken Anti Snap for heat protection, but that one has proteins in it and it's not a good idea to use it all the time. This reminds me of John Frieda Brilliant Brunnete Shine Shock, because it has shimmer in it. I don't notice my hair being sleeker with this, but I've only used it once so far.

Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque

This is such a hyped up product and sorry to all who love it, but this is average. It's no where near as moisturising as Tigi S Factor Serious conditioner or Joico K-Pack Hydrator and Joico Moisture Recovery Treatment balm, but more about it in the review.

Bioderma Sensibio Micelar Water

Another repurchase. I've been using it almost every day for the past two years. I love this stuff.

L'Occitane Honey Foaming Gel 

It has a gorgeous honey scent and is basically the same thing as the discontinued Honey Harvest Foaming Jelly.

L'Occitane Ambre eau de Toillete 

a warm, balmy, amber-vanilla scent. It smells very comforting, snug and slightly smokey at times, but not sweet. I absolutely love the bottle, it looks so classic like something you would find on a vanity from the 1920's.

Calvin Klein Euphoria Blossom 

I got this for Valentine's Day and it was 50% off in DM. I have two other Euphorias which I love, but blossom is very different than the original. To me it smells like pomegranate and spring flowers, basically a great fragrance for Spring.

 My growing CK Euphoria collection, I have this picture as my screensaver.

Missha Signature Real complete BB cream 

It reminds me of Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, which is my favourite foundation, but with an SPF. The shade 13, which is really, really light matches me perfectly right now. I suspect it will be one of my favourites, but I have to give it a proper test.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer 

A very hyped up concealer and for a reason. This has high coverage and is superb for blemishes, however, I still prefer Maybelline the Eraser for under eyes.

Catrice Prime and Fine Smoothing Refiner 

It's not as siliconey as I expected it to be, I liked the Pore Minimizer Instant Perfector by Clinique more. I'm not that impressed by it.

TonyMoly Petite Bunny Gloss Bar

The cutest tinted lip balms ever! I'll do a review soon, but these are  nicely moisturising with a decent pigmentation.

I also ordered the following:

 - Rimmel Apocalips in Stellar
 - Garnier Ultimate Beauty Oil
 - Nyx blush in Taupe
 - Milani Liquif'Eye eyeliner in Gold

 - Nyx Rouge Cream Blush in Natural

Man those are some slow packages. I ordered the NYX and Milani stuff on my birthday at the end of January and there still no sign of it. I don't know why I even bother ordering from Cherryculture, I've had problems with them before, one of the packages got lost and arrived after four months. When will I learn!

Apocalips and Beauty Oil were supposedly shipped on 28.2. from feelunique, I'm not worried yet, but it's sure taking it's time! I've had packages from UK arriving in three days, but usually it takes six days.

Thanks for reading!