MAKEUP
My standard repurchase. For the hundredth time: I use this every day because it's the best liquid eyeliner I've found. It's super black, matte, long-lasting and has never let me down.
Müller, 3.79 €
MAYBELLINE Tattoo Liner Gel Pencil
Deep Onyx
I got this after Gemma said "It’s the best eyeliner pencil full stop" and I can confirm she is 100% right. I got this to wear in my waterline as I don't wear such pencils on my lash line and use liquid liner instead. It's very similar to Avon's Supershock in terms of formula - intense black, very pigmented, soft and transfers with ease into the waterline. This lasted 14 hours on my waterline - not smudged between the lashes like all liners like to end up after an hour or two, but on the actual waterline. It's seriously good and easily available, which is an extra plus. I've tried it on the top lash line too and it transferred a bit, though it wasn't too bad on my normal eyelids, but it might not work on oily ones.
Müller, 5.89 €
*ESSENCE Eyeshadow
11 Rich Beach
Over a decade ago I bought my first Essence eyeshadow called Teddy and trying this (I don't know which version of) updated single eyeshadow it's so great to see just how much Essence's quality has improved. Mine is a metallic shade which I've seen Cosnova make a good quality before and they again managed to create a pretty much foiled, very pigmented shade. It's better quality than their Metal Chrome formula, as it's more pigmented and has smaller shimmer particles. I find this is the only metallic eyeshadow that works better with brushes than fingers. It blends ok, but not as effortlessly as Milani's. I wore if for 14 hour as a test and it creased, but a lot of the colour was still on (I didn't use a primer). For the price is a good buy and Essence has come a long way, but there's still room for improvement.
2.29 €
*ESSENCE The Eyebrow Pen
01 Blonde
I never wear any eyebrow products, in fact I don't ever tweeze my brows because I just don't care about that, but recently I've accidentally bleached a part of my eyebrow on my right side (and a bit of my lashes too), so I was glad to see this in my PR parcel. My eyebrows are very cool, almost dark grey medium taupe colour and this is just too warm for me, though it's not too light by much. It's a semi-permanent formula that promises to tint the skin and last a while. I can report that some of the colour does indeed remain for a couple of days, but a reapplication is needed for restoring intensity. It's in a form of a sharpie and the ridged design is a nice idea, except unfortunately the tips dry very fast, so it's better to apply the colour with the wide part. Colour is semi-opaque, and the blonde shade is as is often the case for cheap brow products, a pale reddish brown once it oxidises. It tints my eyebrows into a much warmer shade than it's naturally and I think a lot of blondes will not love this colour. It's a nice idea with the semi-permanent formula, but it needs some more work to get it perfect.
2.79 €
*ESSENCE This is Me Lipstick
01 Freaky and 04 Crazy
Essence created an big collection of nude shades for all skin tones which includes lipsticks and matching nail polish shades. I'm not sure if I've ever said this about an Essence classic lipstick, but I'm quite impressed by the quality of these two. They are very smooth and creamy at application with a semi-matte finish and a non-drying texture. Staying power is improved based on my experience with Essence lipsticks, though I won't claim it's incredible. I really like the colour of both of these, surprisingly 01 Freaky, the nude peachy-pink is my favourite of the two and based on the colour of the tube I expected this to look a pale orange shade, but I'm very glad that's not the case. It's a very pretty nude that I've been wearing a lot. 04 Crazy is also more muted and paler than it appears in the tube, it reminds me of their discontinued Mat Mat Mat! 04 Wow Effect, which is a similar muted berry. Sometimes it looks cool on me and sometimes neutral-warm, it's kind of a strange shade in that respect. They have that sweet fruity vanilla scent that's common in a lot of their lipsticks and it's quite strong. I love they with a rose gold tube, but the white cap was a big miss because it gets dirty very fast.
2.59 €
*ESSENCE This is Me Gel Nail Polish
01 Freaky and 04 Crazy
Essence knows how to make a great nail polish formula and these are no exception. Both are one coaters, so very pigmented and also so much smoother than regular nail polishes. They lack in the shine department, so I need Seche Vite on top. 01 Freaky is a muted peachy nude with a slight rose touch and 05 is a medium-dark muted rosy-mauve. Both are darker than both of their lipstick equivalents.
1.69 €
*L'ORÉAL Volume Million Lashes Mascara
I've had this many years ago when I was in my first years of blogging and I was raving about it, but I've found better favourites since then and now that I'm giving it a second try, I'm not sure why I liked it so much. It definitely wins in the length department because it creates very long lashes, however, I've been using it for a week or two now and freshly opened that million lashes it promises turned more into 20 lashes when I started to layer it. It's getting better, but still it's not fanning out the lashes like my current favourite mascaras. I remember liking this one because it was able to catch every lash, creating that "multiplying effect" and now I'm not getting that. Maybe it needs to be opened for longer to thicken or dry a bit, but so far I'm just not feeling this one. It drops my lashes like a stone -big minus, but I used to have the waterproof version and I remember it being quite good, however, you know Essence is cheaper and I love I <3 Extremes so much, so I never got it again.
13.99 €
L'ORÉAL Infallible More Than Concealer
326 Vanilla
This caught my attention in the drugstores a couple of months ago, but since I have five other full coverage concealers, I wasn't even in the market for a new one, but I'm glad I got this, so I can test it and let you know if it's worth it. The applicator is huge, similar to the applicator on a Deborah foundation and I was excited to try it, but I'm not loving it. Small applicators are just easier to use and also at this one I never get the formula all over the applicator, instead it collects on the tip. Formula is one of the thickest I've tried and I think it's also most high-covering one, though it might share it's place with The Saem. It's not easy to blend and it needs extra effort, also it feels and looks heavy on the skin. Sometimes it looks ok, then sometimes it's too much for me and though it usually looks ok on the skin, on pictures it almost always ends up looking so heavy and cakey. It creases under my eyes and it emphasises lines, but covers really well. The shade vanilla is light enough for me, it's just a touch too yellow for my neutral skin tone. It's not my favourite, but I'll keep on giving it a try and report back.
10.99 €
L'ORÉAL Rouge Signature Matte Liquid Lipstick
114 Represent
Deceptively red in the tube, this is a bright magenta and one of those annoying staining ones that you just can't get rid off your skin (though that's how I feel about such products, while some will adore them precisely because of that). This is almost exactly the same as some discontinued Catrice liquid stain lipstick called Made to stay Smoothing Lip Polish. It's not a proper matte liquid lipstick, it's closer to a stain type of product and it's semi-sheer in one coat. It's not matte from the start, instead it's glossy and as it's wearing off it becomes a matte stain. It outlasts everything and you can only get the magenta stain off with vigorous scrubbing and an oil remover. I always get annoyed by that magenta tint, but it's what makes the shade last so long. I've went to check other shades and I'm not feeling the selection. Most are bright shades and the two neutrals are too brown and one is a cool mauve that leaves exactly the same stain as this magenta shade. The packaging is very nice with the matte finish and a heart shaped applicator. I love matte liquid lipsticks, but this isn't for me.
13.49 €
OPI Nail Lacquers Lisbon Spring/Summer Collection
Lisbon wants moor OPI, Closer than you might Belém and Sun, sea and sand in my pants
These are classic nail polishes, though these shades are also available in the gel version. I'm no longer impressed by regular formulas, though OPI always delivers quality, but compared to gel formulas these are more fickle to apply and less shiny. Lisbon wants moor OPI is a very pale off-white violet-pink. It's a pastel, but one that's not overly difficult to work with. It needs two to three coats and it reminds of a much better version of Essie's Fiji (my nightmare shade). It's been on my nails since I got these. Closer than you might Belém is a turquoise shade that again reminds me of a worse performing Essie called Turquoise & Caicos. It's the best performing of the three and needs two coats. Sun, sea and sand in my pants is a bright yellow with orange tones. It needs two, occasionally three coats.
12.99 €
A repurchase. This is my favourite scrub, though it is very harsh, but it's the only one that makes my skin feel super smooth, as no amount or strength of AHA product can do that for me. They recommend to use it as a mask, but I never have the time to leave it on for 10 minutes, since I always use it in the shower. It's not something I'd recommend for sensitive skin, but I love it.
eBay, $9.36
COSRX Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence
Another repurchase, previously named Galactomyces 95 Whitening Power Essence. I've been using this every day for over a year now and it has improved the texture of my skin. One of the differences I notice is that my makeup applies so much more smoothly since I started using this and my pores look less severe.
eBay, $14.40
And another repurchase. These are the only spot treatment that do something. Sometimes they heal the blemish completely and sometimes they just reduce it and help it heal faster. These are different sizes in the packaging, but I wish they were all the large size, as the mini ones tend to be too small.
Jolse, $4
TIAM My Signature C Source
Since I didn't get much effect from the Rohto Melano CC Intensive Anti-Spot Essence, I got this instead due to overwhelmingly positive reviews. It's a lot more fickle to use because you have to keep it in the fridge, it's sticky and makes it harder to apply skin care on top, so I'm not sure about it yet. I want to see some proper results before I say how much I like it, but so far it's been a month and I don't see anything, so I'm a bit frustrated with this one. I apply it after cleansing and let it absorb for at least 15 minutes before applying anything else, otherwise you're just wasting vitamin C products. It's got 20% Ascorbic Acid and a lot of alcohol, and when it dropped on my arm once, I noticed in a hour that it dried to a yellow powder. It's a liquid gel that starts to feel very sticky and thick as it's drying on the skin, but after 15 minutes, it's absorbed enough to apply other products. When I started using it, it tingled after application, but now I'm completely used to it. One big minus is that my hands always smell like a self tanner when I use this and the smell doesn't go away which it annoys the hell out of me. In terms of effect, like I said, I can't report back about amazing brightening results, not even on dark circles where I expected to see a bit of improvement. Also old blemish marks aren't fading any faster, but I'm giving it time like I'm supposed to and at least it might be providing something extra to sun protection.
Jolse, $11.89
I finally ordered this after I had a generous sample sometime last year. I got this as my night moisturizer because it's not the lightest, though it's a gel cream that's very easy to apply. It takes time to sink in, so I prefer to use it at night, but it can be used under makeup with no problems on my normal-dry skin. It has great ingredients, niacinamide is 4th on the list and it also has hyaluronic acid, adenosine and plenty of extracts. When I was using a sample morning and night for a couple of weeks, my skin really loved it. I'm not sure if niacinamide had any effect, but my skin just looked a picture of health - it had that lovely healthy radiance, zero spots or other pore problems and it felt comfortable. It instantly became my favourite moisturiser and I hope I get the same effects second time round. The scent strangely floral musky and it's strong , but you get used to it.
eBay, $17.48
I got this after I had a generous sample and it worked well with my skin. I use it in my morning routine because it sinks in quickly and I can easily apply sunscreen and makeup over it. It contains ceramides which strengthen the skin's barrier and it's a product that's designed for sensitive skin. It's a lotion type of product that still needs some time to absorb, but it's light and nicely moisturising. The packaging is very big with a generous 130 ml, so it should last me a while.
eBay, $13.68
BALEA Erfrischendes Wasch Gel
A repurchase. I really like this new formulation and I think it's better than the one before, though it's almost exactly the same apart from the scent. I read reviews on meindm.at which are surprisingly very bad for this reformulation and I don't get why, but I hope this version stays. It's a simple gel cleanser that doesn't foam much, and I use it after cleansing with an oil cleanser.
DM, 1.99 €
BODY
*MIXA Cica-Cream
Mixa made their own Cica formula with glycerine and 5% panthenol which is designed for assisting regeneration and repairing of targeted areas. They recommend using to treat areas where the skin is very dry and rough, as well as for bug bites or to treat any irritated areas. Formula is thick and needs a lot of time to absorb, similar to Bepanthen creams, but at this one you notice the silicones which make the application smoother. I've immediately put it to the test on one of my elbows (for some reason my skin is extremely dry and rough just on one) and after one use there was some improvement in the morning. It wasn't a miraculous transformation, but with prolonged use I might get somewhere with this (my other thick creams like BBW Ultra Sheas and TBS Body Butters couldn't cut it). I've also started using in on my very dry soles, but since my skin is so thick there, I've yet to see anything truly impressive. I'm going to include this into my regular routine for those two areas and you'll probably hear how it fared long term in an empties post, but so far I like it. By the way, it's not exactly the same as Bepanthen as it can't be used on fresh cuts. One thing that bothers me is the packaging. I'd prefer a metal tube because now I feel like a half is empty and it's not easy to squeeze out a small amount.
5.59 €
NIVEA Anti-Perspirant Pearl & Beauty
My usual repurchase. I haven't bought any other spray deodorant in years. I'm a fan of the feminine powdery scent and it's got this powdery particles that I find work in keeping me dry longer. They changed the packaging recently and I quite like it.
Leclerc, 2.94 €
BALEA Fersen Schutz
Gel heel protectors
These are not nearly as soft as Scholls, but because they are half cheaper I like to keep a pair just in case or when I have a shoes that are too big for me (36 in Slovenia is a size bigger and much wider than in the UK), I put two layers of gel pads with the cheap on as a "base" and the soft Scholl ones on top.
DM, 2.49 €
BALEA Reinigendes Handgel
Hawaiian Beach
Anti-bacterial cleansing hand gel
I'm so spoiled by the Bath & Body Works gels that this feels like a big downgrade. The scent is so bland with mostly a hibiscus fragrance that's a lot more gentle than BBWs. But it's easy to find and Balea is at least trying with some scents. I don't get the rubbery casing, but you can't get it without it. It's meant to be attached to the school bag and I guess you could use it on your keys, but it's so big compared to the more conveniently size BBWs.
DM, 1.99 €
I will have a separate New in post dedicated only to hair care in a few days.
Have a great day!
I will have a separate New in post dedicated only to hair care in a few days.
Have a great day!
