New In July

Balance Me Cleanse and Smooth face balm

I don't have a habit of buying expensive cleansers and I paid 22€ for it, so that's the first. It's a cleansing balm in a tube which means it's fluid compared to other balms which mostly come in a pot. I've been using it for a week now and I quite like it. I will do a full review in the future. More about it and ingredients list here.

Diorskin Nude BB Creme in 001

I was given a generous sample of this in June and after trying it for a few days, I took the plunge and bought it when I had a discount code on Feel Unique. I love light foundations/BBs with a skin-like finish and this is exactly that. I got the lightest shade which is a great match for me (it's pink toned and lighter than Bourjois HM Serum). I wrote about my first impressions here, but I will do a proper review.

Balea Shaving gel

 I've been buying these since forever, because they are such good quality and cheap. The Isana ones (Müller's brand) are so bad compared to these. Balea's are proper gel ones that transform into a really thick foam and they have some good conditioning agents in it, because it leaves the skin so soft with a similar effect that silicones in a hair conditioner have in a sense that it gives a false effect of hydrated and silky skin. I usually buy the LE ones, I wanted the Caribbean Dream LE that smells like coconut, but they'd run out. This one smells floral-powdery.

Alverde Coconut oil 

A repurchase. It's an essential item in my bathroom and I use for so many things - body, hair, as a makeup remover and mostly for shaving, because it leaves the skin crazy smooth and moisturised. I did a review here.

 Balea Cocos & Nectarine deodorant

Everything with peach or nectarine gets me excited, especially when the packaging is so pretty. I expected it to be something like the Traum Geschöpft LE, the peachy goodness it was, however, though it has that similar nectarine note in it, it's a lot fainter and creamier due to the coconut. There is also a shower gel with this scent, but I couldn't find it in my local DM.

Maybelline Eye makeup remover special waterproof

Another repurchase. I don't even know how many bottle of this I've used up (or Bioderma. Both are my essentials). It's inexpensive and an effective makeup remover that I use it everyday to remove waterproof mascara and it does it's job.

Balea eye makeup removing pads waterproof

These are so oily! Honestly, I never had pads or wipes that would be so soaked. They feel very greasy and it is like putting vegetable oil on my face plus they smell like it too. They do remove waterproof mascara completely, however, I need a separate remover to get rid of mess the oil leaves. I'll use them up, but the Maybelline remover is miles better.

L'Occitane Repairing Shampoo for Dry & Damaged Hair

 I had a sample of this a while back. The conditioner and the mask didn't impress me so I didn't even plan to use it, but when I did, I remember feeling such a noticeable difference that I was genuinely impressed by it. I remember drying my hair and thinking holly smokes what did I use because my hair felt so nice, so it was on my wishlist ever since. It's meant for dry hair and it has 5 essential oils in it (angelica, lavender, geranium, patchouli, ylang-ylang). Ingredients here. 

A sample of Angelica Hydration Cream

This is soo lovely! The perfect moisturiser for Summer. I have combination skin and this feels amazing. It's light, yet super moisturising and sinks into the skin in a minute leaving the skin fresh, moisturised with a radiant semi-matte finish. I find it a perfect base for makeup up. The scent is flowery fresh. I would purchase it, but I'm a bit bothered about the price and that's in a pot.

A sample of Immortelle Precious Serum

 It is marketed as anti-ageing product and it is a super, super light serum that sinks into the skin in seconds. The scent is a bit wild-flowery annoying and strong, but I can get past it. I would have to use it longer to really talk about results, but it does leave the skin hydrated. Ingredients here.

A sample of Vanille & Narcisse Eau de Toilette from the La Collection de Grasse

It's a lot more flowery than I expected it to be. From the beginning I smell mostly a strong flower note, daffodil in this case, mixed with vanilla. In a few hours only the sugary, warm vanilla remains. It is quite strong and lasts a long time. I'm not a fan of it, I much preferred their old Vanilla, but my mom loves it. 

La Roche-Posay Nutritic Intense

This is quite a new product by La Roche-Posay and there is another moisturiser in the Nutritic line in pot form, which has a thicker, more balm like texture. Nutritic moisturisers boast with a new generation of lipids, called MP-Lipids and are designed to comfort dry and sensitive skin. I love pharmacy moisturisers and this another nice one, however I have discovered it's clogging my pores. 

The texture is a medium thick cream that I find it similar to Nivea Soft cream and it applies like a dream. It feels lighter on the skin than I expected from a moisturiser for dry skin, but it also feels very moisturising. Though it sinks into the skin fast, it leaves some sort of a film on the skin. I had nasty patches appearing on my nose and cheek because I used a harsh cleanser and this completely healed them overnight. It really helps keeping my foundation from flaking throughout the day. Even though it's a nice base for make up, I'm not liking the tacky feeling it leaves (my pet peeve), which never really disappears during the day, however, I doubt many people would mind it. I prefer Eucerin's Aquaporin light because it just vanishes into the skin within minutes, yet leaves my skin perfectly moisturised and prepped for foundation.

The scent is quite strong and very pleasant. I can't describe it, but I wouldn't call it a typical pharmacy cream scent (I latter found a product with an almost identical scent which claims to smell like jasmine, but it's not that strongly floral). People sensitive to fragrance might find it too strong. I had zero irritations, but my skin isn't sensitive at all and can handle just about anything. The spots put a damper on my experience with this cream and they also appeared on my neck and cleavage.  

This is a lovely moisturiser for dry skin and were it not for the spots, I would repurchase it, because I have a feeling it would be the perfect moisturiser for winter when I get the most dry patches. I got it in a local pharmacy for 16€. I might try their other moisturisers, but for now I'll repurchase Eucerin Aquaporin light.

edit (24.02.2014): I gave this to my mom and she absolutely loves it. She's not the one to pay a lot for a moisturiser (I'm fairly certain 5€ was her limit before finding this) and now she's already repurchased it two times in a row. This doesn't clog her pores as it does to me and she says it's the best moisturiser she ever used and it's totally worth the money.

Have a great day!

My Everyday Makeup

I've never really gone into details about my everyday makeup look. Shame on me since I have been doing basically the same thing for about 3 years now. These are the products I have been using for a long time, most of them for years. Some I rave about constantly and some are those little unsung heroes that will finally be in the spotlight. I do the same routine when it comes to the base and eyes. The only thing I constantly change depending on my mood, where I'm going or what I'm wearing is the lip colour. This is my I-have-to-look-presentable-yet-not-over-the-top-look and it takes me not more than 5 minutes to do it.
I wrote about the brushes I use on an everyday basis in this post here.

I start with my beloved Bourjois Healthy Serum that I apply either with fingers or a Real Techniques brush. I am  always amazed how great this foundation looks on me. It is my skin but better and because the coverage is light-medium, the effect is more about blurring rather than completely covering the skin and  imperfections so my freckles still show through. It truly leaves my skin looking healthy and radiant, but not overly dewy in a sense it might even look a bit greasy. This makes it great for all year round. Another characteristic I truly love is the fact it leaves my skin dry to the touch. Sticky, tacky and wet feeling that most foundations and BBs leave is my pet peeve and this is one of the rare ones that doesn't do that.
I then continue with concealer, applying it under the eyes, around the nose, centre of my chin and any odd blemishes I might have. I use either Maybelline's Instant Anti-Age the Eraser Eye or Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer. I love both so it's more about which one is closer and I grab first. I also use Estee Lauder Double Wear Maximum Cover as a concealer often, especially when I need more coverage.
I finish the base with L'Oreal's Lumi Magique Primer which I use as a highlighter. It's my preferred choice when it comes to a natural looking highlighter because it isn't shimmery, but more pearly and it imparts a very natural glow.

Next are the eyes. I have mentioned before that I have hooded eyes (which you can see in my mascara or foundation posts), a fact I find very irritating as it is mostly futile to bother with eyeshadows or elaborate eyeliner looks since the don't really show or look good on me. I don't have a habit of wearing eyeshadow, however, when I do, it's one colour all over the lid, with black smudged between the lashes. My everyday look consists of a neutral base all the way to the brow for which I use MUA matte 16 or even just some powder (to prevent black eyeshadow  from smudging on the lid) and then my trusted NYX Black eyeshadow very close to the lashline creating the invisible liner effect and sometimes I do a slightly thicker line. I don't do any major flick as a result of my eyeshape. I do tightlining either with the same NYX eyeshadow or a black eyeliner. For a black eyeliner, my preferred choice is Urban Decay's 24/7 in Zero. I also use the MUA 16 eyeshadow for setting the concealer under the eyes and apply it to any places that I feel need to be mattified.
I wear Max Factor's Khol Pencil in Natural Glaze, a fleshtoned eyeliner, on my waterline to make the eyes look more awake, bigger and fresh looking.

Curling my lashes takes the most time. I have the most stubborn lashes that are very straight and don't hold the curl well, so I use a waterproof mascara and this trick. I use Tana eyelash curlers, which I find are the best reasonably priced ones available in Slovenia (I actually have two) and hold the lashes for about 30 seconds. If I feel they are not curled enough, I do it again. I then use a very, very small amount of of waterproof mascara. The one I've been using the most in the last years is the Maybelline the Colossal Volum' Express in a hideous yellow packaging which I don't tend to show much around. I then curl my lashes again and apply another coat of mascara but avoid applying too much as I want my lashes to look full but still natural and defined (I hate clumpy, spidery lashes. It is not a good look). This curling technique is the only thing I found that keeps my lashes curled and it never damaged them (I've been doing it for two years now)

When the eye makeup is finished and the base has set, I contour with Nyx Taupe blush using the Real Techniques contour brush. For some colour on the cheeks, I use Benefit's Coralista which is my favourite blush and I wear it on most days. It's a lovely coral with gold shimmer that gives a lovely glow and the colour really brightens up my face.

As already said, the lip colour is most often the only thing I change. My choice depends on how I'm feeling, what I'm wearing, what colour I prefer at that moment or any other whimsical reason. I put Catrice's Matte About Pink in the front because it is my staple colour and I wear it the most. You'll often see me sporting a red shade, currently I'm really into Essence's Floral Glam. Mac's Impassioned is also my preferred choice now as is Revlon's Pink About it . You can see all the other lip colour I own in my swatch gallery.

And here it is. The whole idea is to not look overdone, but natural. It's a very basic, barely there look that doesn't take long to do. More often than not I upgrade with a bright lip colour. I've done posts with me wearing a bright lip colour, so this time I'm wearing something more casual. I'm wearing Shiseido Glowing Matte PK 224, which is one of my all-time favourites, but I've never properly swatched it even though it's been on my lips most of last year (I've had the post ready for months now and I will post it eventually).

 And one more in a slightly different lighting, even though these are basically the same.

I'm wearing the same makeup, but with other lip colours (and I believe also blusher) in these posts: Catrice Matt About Pink, Rimmel Apocalips Stellar, Essence Guerilla Gardening TE Lip Cream Floral Glam, New Essence Goodies Part 2 and Nyx Blush Taupe (there I'm wearing Boots 17 Mirror Shine Beehive).

I hope this wasn't too long, it did end up quite long-winded. I assure you that though I wrote lots about how I do my everyday look it takes only minutes to do. Have a great day!

L'Oreal Skin Perfection 15 Second Miracle Cleansing Oil

I have a sad story to tell. I fell in love with this cleanser only to find out it doesn't work for me. It is my favourite cleanser I've ever used, but I discovered, much to my annoyance that mineral oil might be breaking me out. 

It is a fairly new product in L'Oreal's skin care line. I believe it was released with their micellar water, which I have yet to try. I haven't seen it in our drugstores yet, but I'm sure it'd be here soon. I got mine on Hqhair, but several online shops sell it. I've been using it for month and a half, and I must admit it really grew on me.

The texture is pretty much perfect as far as my preferences go. It's a light oil that you massage on your face. When water is added it emulsifies just like the L'Occitane Almond shower oil which I rave so much about. I then take a flannel that's been soaked in warm/hot water and wipe it off. It leaves the skin so nice and supple with not a single dry patch in sight, but doesn't leave any oily residue behind and my skin feels genuinely clean. None of the cleansers I've used left my skin so lovely. I feel like I don't even need to moisturise, but of course I still do. Normally, my skin gets abnormally tight with tons of dry patches appearing in the first five minutes after cleansing, but not with this. My only little gripe is that it makes my vision cloudy, but so do other oil-based removers and I can certainly live with it. It claims to remove waterproof makeup, which is a gross overstatement as I find it doesn't do anything when it comes to removing waterproof mascara (I've tried it with three different ones, one wasn't even a good waterproof one). It does remove the rest of the makeup well, but for eye makeup I have to resort to my trusted Maybelline Spezial Waterproof one. 

The scent of this cleanser is an absolute winner for me. Most people probably won't find it that special, but to me it is one of the most gorgeous scents I've smelled. To me it smells like those last walks of the day on the beach. That warm, salty sea breeze. I know it's a bit dramatic description of a scent, but my god is it lovely.  

Packaging is nice and simple, a plastic bottle with a handy pump. It says on the back to use 2-3 drops of the products, but I find you need much more. Two pumps is not enough, so I use about 3-5.

Lets address the whole ingredients problem. Basically what this cleanser is, is scented mineral oil. That's it, just cheap mineral oil. But mind you, so is the Shu Uemura Cleansing Beauty Oil and people love that stuff (ok, there is not only mineral oil in it, but it is the first on the ingredient list). It costs about 10€, which is a lot cheaper than the Shu Uemura one, but is a bit cheeky to put such a price for some scented mineral oil. I don't have a problem with mineral oil and I don't get what the big deal is, however, I have never ever used a skin care item with it. When I started buying skincare, oh so many years ago, I first memorised the list of all  supposed "bad" ingredients (you know your regular baddies: alcohol, comedogenic ingredients, petrol based chemicals,...) and avoided them like a plague. Eventually, I grew tired of the constant checking of the ingredients once I realised that none of the so called comedogenic ingredients have any harmful effect on my skin whatsoever and the whole deal with alcohol is just oversimplification. Unfortunately, it appears that mineral oil does clog my pores. Both my new moisturiser and this have a high content of mineral oil and I noticed that individual spots just kept appearing and it took forever for them to diminish plus my skin was healing abnormally slow. I even got a few spots on my neck which has never happened. I stopped using it for a week and spots disappeared, however, I got a case of nasty dry patches again as a result of using my old cleanser and it took heaps of moisturiser for them to finally heal. I already ordered the Balance Me Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm which I talked about in my wishlist post. Apparently it is similar to the seriously overpriced Emma Hardy one, so we'll see how that goes (it should arrive tomorrow I hope). Who knows, I might even like it more than this one.

What I can say is that it's a fantastic product and not overly expensive. It breaks my heart that it's clogging my pores, but if you don't have issues with mineral oil, give it a go. I might repurchase it and use it for something else, since I find the scent so alluring. But I'll stop using it for my face, because I can't have a new volcano growing on my forehead every few days (I just woke up with two new ones. Someone hates me for sure). 

Have a great day!

What's in my Bag

Aside from an unusually large amount of pens, I keep the contents of my bag at a quite basic level (for a girl, of course). I don't carry around a mass of makeup, because I find it unnecessary and I never need fixing it apart from the lipstick. So here is a pretty boring content of my bag:
(you'll have to excuse the low quality pictures. I had to use my old camera who could do with a few more MP among other things. But I kept them large so you can see things more closely if you wish to)

1. Mint green purse/valet (from Tally Weijl) 

2. One of those textile shopping bags (very well-made might I add, but takes up more place than the others)

3. Rubber/eraser or whatever you wish to call it

4. Soap bubbles, because what would a women's bag be without them (I'm so immature)

5. A collection of pens

6. My old, battered Sony MP3 player (NWZ-A816)

7. My smartphone Samsung Galaxy SII. The silicone case is from eBay called Purple flowers (the reindeer sticker is not included, of course)

8. My mint green mini zip bag from H&M holding a ton of stuff. I prefer to keep most of the stuff in here rather than having them scattered all over the bag as I don't want to waste hours of my life searching for stuff.

Contents of the mint green mini zip bag:

1. Preven's antibacterial wipes that I've been buying for years and are always in my bag

2. Makeup remover wipes from Essence the waterproof version ones. I've bought a few packs so far and they are quite lovely. Won't remove waterproof makeup, but don't sting my eyes and are compact/small enough to carry around.

3. A fresh pack of tissues

4. Anatomicals snog me senseless mints. How clever is the name!

5. Another collection of pens. Most are the Frixion ones which have a rubber on the other end and can be erased (might I say brilliant!).

6. Painkillers

7. Cloth for cleaning glasses

8. Sticky notes

9. Mini mirror that I got for super cheap in Butlers. It's is a great size, double sided and super slim. Love it.

10. Balea mini deodorant - my favourite because it smells like peaches. Unfortunately, it was a LE.

11. My trusted Kérastase Elixir Ultime for quick fixes, taming the frizz, giving shine and some aromatherapy. I love the fact it has a pump and the bottle is plastic.

12. Some über cheap, but pretty sunglasses that do little to protect my eyes from the sun (at least I suspect so. I should buy proper ones)

13. Burt's Bees lip balm

14. Mini H&M red lipstick. I love this shade.

15. Chewing Gums

16. A pin I've been carrying around for years. My friend gave it to me before we even knew each other. It never left my bag since he gave it to me, but carries no particular meaning.

17. A collection of hair ties, bobby pins and grips, which I rarely use because I always have my homemade ties either on my wrist or in my hair, but it's nice to have a spare.

18. Collection 2000 concealer. It covers everything.

19. This spot is meant for any lipstick that I am wearing on individual days, but in the picture it's Catrice's Matt About Pink, which I wear the most. I never carry more than two lipsticks - the one from H&M which is always in my bag and my shade of the day. I don't want my stuff (including other makeup products) to get forgotten/lost in my bag.
I don't always carry the mini zip bag, especially if use my small bag (which is more often than my "big" bag), but I just take a few products with me including the phone and my purse.

So the mystery is revealed. It's a pretty boring collection of stuff, but it's all I need. Hope you enjoyed this post and have a great day! 

Tigi Totally Baked Volumizing & Preping Hair Meringue

This is one of those products I just can't get to work for me. I've had it for months now and I have been trying to use it in different ways to make it work, I but think I'll just give up. I believe this is the first Tigi product I don't like and I have been a fan of Tigi products for a almost decade (their scents are divine and their S Factor line has some of the best stuff I've ever found). Sugar Fixations is a fairly new line with five styling products inspired by sugar . 

Given the amount of positive reviews and raves about this volumising mousse, it was at the top of my wishlist. I had just run out of my Balea Power Volume mousse (which was fine, nothing special but good enough) and I wanted something new. I needed something that gives some extra hold to get the curls to stay longer as well as give the hair some body since my hair is quite heavy due to the length and not having layers.

I wrote in my April New In post where I shared my first impressions that it is difficult to get the amount right in a sense that too much makes your hair sticky. I really dislike it when I have to be careful how much product I use. With my hair texture it is very rare that I would over apply a product because my hair can handle just about anything. With this mousse two pumps are already too much and make my hair sticky, while one has no effect at all. I used way too much the first time (I used the same amount as I would with the Balea one) and it made my hair so sticky and dirty feeling, I had to wash my hair the next day.

The texture is a light foam that doesn't weigh down the hair. I apply most of the product on the roots and what's left to the rest of the hair. I then blow-dry my hair down as usual. I don't notice any added volume on top one I have naturally, nor does my hair stay volumised longer even after using velcro rollers (I notice the difference when using Balea Power Volume). It doesn't hold the curls as well either.

As I already said before I'm not loving the scent as much as other reviewers. They say it smells like lemon squares, but to me it smells like home-made doughnuts. I don't find it too strong, nor does it last more than a few minutes on my hair (but nothing really does anyway).

I'm not liking this product as much as I hoped. Actually I prefer a much cheaper mousse by Balea even though it was average. It might be the fact that my hair is too long and it works better or shorter hair, nonetheless I consider this a miss purchase (but I might try it to get it to work for me from time to time). 

Have a great day!

Products of the Month - June 2013

Missha Signature Real Complete BB Cream 

I must admit the heat made it almost impossible to wear anything on my face, but I did wear this BB primarily because it has an SPF. Similarly to Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, it has light to medium coverage and looks very natural on the skin, however, like most BB's it leaves my skin tacky and sticky, which presented a big problem for me in the heat so I needed to powder it. I'm not a fan of anything that leaves my skin tacky that's why I use Healthy Mix Serum, but I made compromises for the sake of good sun protection and it worked just nicely.

Mattifying powders - Givenchy Matissime & Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Natural

I honestly dislike wearing powders, because they make any foundation look obvious on me plus the flakies appear when I use them in colder months, however, I can't avoid using them in hot weather. BB's that I use in the Summer because they have SPF, all have a dewy finish, which looks fantastic in colder months, but not now. Both of these don't leave a flat matte finish, but they still leave a bit of a glow. I prefer to apply them with a puff, however, I do use a brush from time to time.

Bourjois 10 Days in 25

I love this shade because it is the perfect coral for my pale complexion and even though I'm not a fan of the formula nor the brush, it was on my nails for most of the month.

Lush Silky Underwear Dusting Powder 
I whip out this dusting powder every Summer when the temperatures reach 30°C or more. It's a part of my morning routine and I apply it all over the body, sort of "blend" it in with my hands and get dressed. I find it helps my skin stay drier in the heat and it gives it a gorgeous, subtle jasmine fragrance. It can make your clothes white, however, I wore black dresses and it didn't cause problems, you just have to make sure you really "blend" it well so there are no white patches of powder left.
.

L'Oreal's Color Infallible eyeshadow in 012 Endless Chocolate

I wrote odes on my love for Color Infallibles before and Endless Chocolate is the one that made me fell in love with them in the first place. It's a gorgeous chocolate-bronze shade which I wore this month instead of the black that I normally use on the top lashline as a liner. It seriously lasts all day and is such a great quality eyeshadow.

Maybelline Colour Whisper Coral Ambition

Normally I wear quite bright colours on my lips, but I've been really enjoying wearing this lipstick recently. It's a lovely light peach shade with pink tones that works great with my pale complexion. My only gripe is the weak staying power.

Mac Impassioned

A watermelon-fuschia shade with one of the loveliest formulas I've ever tried. I loved wearing it this month and it is such a beautiful Summery shade.

Essence Guerilla Gardening TE Floral Glam lip cream

I wore this orange red on most days in the last part of the month. I love the texture and the excellent staying power of these lip creams plus they don't dry out my lips despite the matte finish. 

Oh, and I ordered Dior's BB cream from Feel Unique yesterday. Currently they have an offer for 15% off   everything so I paid 31€ for it. (code SUMMER15, valid until tomorrow (Sunday) midnight. By the way, it's 38.99€ in Müller). I had a few difficulties with their packages recently (the last one took 3 weeks to arrive and the one before never arrived at all), so I'll keep my fingers crossed that everything will go smoothly this time.

Have a great day!