Fun Friday - Office Staples

There are not many things I need in my office to keep me happy throughout the day. Actually, there are just 6 staples that are always, always somewhere around when I need them. 

1) A glass of water in a cute mug because I forget to drink when I'm busy and therefore need a constant reminder. 
2) A handcream - currently the Yummy coconut hand cream which I just ordered from Click2chic. It has a beautiful summery smell to it and although it takes some time to absorb I really feel like it's doing the work. 
3) Guarana Natural energy vials by Medex - these give me a kick when I'm feeling under the weather/have not slept enough/am burnt out. These vials are just a natural burst of energy and very convenient to use as well. Otherwise, Medex is one of my favorite Slovenian brands of all times - they have so many great natural products in different categories, which include many cosmetic products.
4) Tissues. Any tissues will do, but I prefer Kleenex because I find them the softest. 
5) Antibacterial gel because let's be honest - our office space isn't exactly the most hygienic around. The keyboard, computer mouse and telephone themselves carry so many nasties that I find it absolutely imperative to use this gel several times a day. Right now, I'm using the Bath & Bodyworks gel in vanilla - berry sorbet, but normally I have the *24 gel which is easily available in Slovenia. 
6) A lipbalm. I am in love with my eos lipbalms. They are so easy to carry around since they won't open and get any filth in them. The flavors are fantastic and they really keep my otherwise very chapped lips under hydrated. 

Which are your beauty products in your office/workspace/study?

Until next time, stay beautiful, stay awesome!

Wet n Wild – Comfort Zone Palette

This is one of the many reviews that were promised so long ago when I first went through the USA haul. I picked up several palettes overseas and this is one of them – the first one that I actually started to use during the trip. It was also the least expensive of all the palettes that I bought  – I picked it up for about $5 at Walgreens. 

The palette consists of 8 colors in earth tones. Again, it's a palette for dummies because every shade has an inscription where it should be used – browbone, eyelid, crease and definer. Generally this means that they should/could be used in quads, but of course every other combination is also possible. 

The packaging is nothing special which can be expected for this price, but it is sturdy enough to survive any travel. I also dropped it once already and it survived the experience unharmed.

The left side is the one I have used much more so far, especially since it's a bit lighter and in my opinion somewhat more appropriate for summer. 

Maybelline The Nudes Palette

Although I spent the weekend working on a lovely post, my camera is still acting up and the photos are not good enough to be allowed into the world. Instead, I opted for a review of the new palette by Maybelline – The Nudes Palette. 

I purchased this in the States a couple of months back and haven't used it much until my last vacation. It's the perfect travel size and offers many different shades to create different looks. The back of the palette also includes a possibility of combinations in which to use the shadows (in duos, trios or quads, which is a nice touch for such lame make-up users like me). All of these are the reasons why I thought I don't really need to bring anything else as far as eyeshadows go to my holiday. Was I sorry? Read on…

So basically the palette includes a mix of matte, shimmer and velvety/satin colors.

Chocolate bar palette

So while I'm enjoying my vacation you guys get to read about my oh-so-pretty and oh-sooo-expensive palette which I picked up while in USA. It's the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette ($49 in Sephora online store, not available in Slovenia of course). The shades are made with cocoa powder which makes them smell heavenly. I am not joking either - every time I open up this palette I stand there for a good 10 second just smelling it. Weird? Don't judge - you would do it as well, take my word for it. I could probably get away with eating this palette - the shadows are formulated without parabens, sulfates phthalates and all that other icky stuff. 

You can see it's being well loved, even though it IS a little bit dirty

I was really hesitant to spend this much money on a single product but when I swatched the eyeshadows in Sephora I knew this babe was coming home with me. While the packaging leaves me quite cold (I would prefer a sleek palette with better closing patent, not a juvenile chocolate-bar looking packaging), it's what's on the inside that counts. I can also mentioned that I dropped this palette twice now from about 1,5m high and there were absolutely no consequences to the shadows or to the packaging, so the quality is obviously there (but I still need to work on being less clumsy). 

Slovenian online make-up shopping - Licila.si

As promised, here is a recap of my second shopping experience in Slovenian online stores, specifically Licila.si. Just to remind you of the frame, these two packages were ordered on the same day 10 minutes apart. 

Generally Licila.si is just as nice, but just a tiny bit more unorganized in my opinion. Also, I am not crazy about them not using proper Slovene language – in the end, it’s not an online community or social media, but a shop – if you want me to trust you with my money, please use normal language. 

One additional minus: the page is not very well optimized for tablets, which is my gadget of choice for most online shopping (done in secret without my hubby looking over the shoulder). So as said, Licila.si also offered next day delivery. Here’s what I got: 

-        BH Cosmetics brush set (12pc in Berry)

-        Real Techniques Complexion Sponge

-        Uma Cosmetics Automatic Lipliner (Diva Red)

-        Uma Cosmetics Automatic Lipliner (Smooth Beige)

-        MakeUp Revolution pallete (Run Boy Run)

-        MakeUp Revolution liquid concealer (Fair)

  

Again, I will be including all the prices in €/$ in Slovenia/$ abroad in the description boxes. But first let’s take a look at the delivery. Fact: the package didn’t arrive on Saturday, but rather on Monday. When I told this to the customer department I was told that they were sorry but that Saturdays were the exception and sometimes the post doesn’t deliver large parcels on Saturdays. Well, Licila.si, I’m sorry to inform you that it turned out your package was just as large as the one from Mojadrogerija.si and that theirs arrived and yours didn’t. Which means that they win, and you don’t. 
 

Also something that I was not too thrilled about is that they included a leaflet with a discount code, only valid for July. I ordered the products on 25^th, they should have been delivered on 26^th, but as a consequence of everything above I could only pick them up on the 28^th (which I did not, I picked it up on the 1^st of August). So I would have 3 days total to make another purchase with the offered discount. Licila.si, if you are reading this – I would suggest that you include a promo code for the next month for all purchases made in the last week of the month. Otherwise, I will sure as hell not be using it.

But where the Licila.si definitely wins is in the packaging itself. The products were delivered (or rather picked up, to be exact) in the most BEAUTIFUL pink box with small lip prints all over it. Beautiful :) Also, the products inside were well protected, so no complaints there.

Five product face

Although I would have never chosen this tag for myself at this because I am currently in the "more is more" mode when it comes to make-up, simply because I have sooo many new items to try. But as luck would have it, I got tagged to do it by Mateja from Fancy and schmancy. This really got me thinking back to the times when I could literally get really in 5 minutes and I still thought I looked all right. Would I use the same products now as I have before?

Probably not. Before, I would have gone for heavy foundation, big eyes and lips. Today however, the story has changed. So here are the five products I would wear on a minimal make-up day. Disclaimer: camera still down, mobile photos awful, so here are some generic photos for you, sorry for that... :(

So I still haven't got the face that would need no concealer, to be sure. But I'd prefer to go for a lighter coverage just in the areas where I need it with my Maybelline Instant Age Rewind eraser. 

It's just the right shade for covering all the spots that need coverage (which is especially true for my under eye circles) and at the same time light enough to do some very basic contouring. The formula is super smooth and I love the feeling of having that little on my face. I also often apply it on my chin and it's the one thing that doesn't seem to brake me out. Super happy I picked this one up, but at the moment it's not available in Slovenia as far as I'm aware of. Surely, this will change by the time I use it up?

40 beauty questions TAG

Since my camera is still not cooperating and I'm unable to take the photos of my second online shopping haul results (and everything else I bought since then as well), I decided this would be a good opportunity to go through a new beauty tag that recently caught my eye. It's going to be a long, long post so by the time you are done with this, my camera will be working for sure. So here we go!

How many times do you wash your face daily?

- Normally 3 times - in the morning, when I get home from work and take my make-up off and in the evening.

What skin type do you have?

- A mixture of dry and oily - oily cheeks and chin, dry nose and forehead.

What is your current facial wash?

- Neutrogena Natural Purifying Pore Scrub. Read about that one in my July favorites

Do you exfoliate?

- I think I do? Everyday?

Update: In the last month or so I learned that if it sounds too simple, it probably is. So I found an article about the difference between scrubs and exfoliators. And no, I don't exfoliate. I learn something new every day...

July Favorites

The first real month of blogging went by in a flash. So it's now time for my first favorites. This month, they are mostly connected to the the recent shopping activities. 

First favorite definitely has to be the Bath & Bodyworks cande in mango coconut scent. I've really been looking for a candle that would have a summery scent and would make my evening routine even more pleasurable. This candle does all that and more, but is of course not available over here so I'll soon be on the search for a new one. Until recently I was a real fan of Yankee Candles, but when comparing those to this particular candle they fail in comparison - this candle really gives away so much scent it's ridiculous. 

Slovenian online make-up shopping - Mojadrogerija.si

After returning from our trip to the States, I realized that while my make-up “collection” was looking quite good, I was still missing some things I haven’t been able (or I forgot) to pick up when abroad. So after visiting two drugstores (Muller and DM) and coming home practically empty-handed (except I found Neutrogena in Muller which I am super excited to try and report back to you), I decided to look into the offer of our online stores. 

As far as online make-up (cosmetics) stores go, we have quite many of them, but for this particular venture, I decided on two of them. First of all I liked what they had to offer and secondly because they both offered next-day shipping. Since it was Friday, I was intrigued to see if they would be true to their word and my packages would get delivered the next day. To make things fair, I actually filled the baskets and sent out the order 10 minutes apart, around 15:00 on Friday. Without further ado, the results for the first store (I am totally doing them in random order) were as following.

Click to visit the store - Moja drogerija

This store was quite a find for me. They offer some of the brands you cannot get in Slovenian drugstores (Barry M, Milani, Real Techniques, NYX, Zoeva etc.) so I was really excited. Also, the page is nicely done, searching for the products is super easy and the photo quality is great. Still, I decided to keep my head on straight and not order everything my heart desired. In the end, I ordered the following: 

-          NYX Butter Lip Gloss (06 Peach Cobbler)

-          NYX Powder Blush (25 Pinched)

-          NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder  (06 Blonde)

-          NYX Born to glow liquid illuminator (Sunbeam)

-          NYX Round lipstick (619 Flower)

-          NYX Round lipstick (616 Watermelon)

(Low) Maintenance Beauty Massive Haul - part 2 (make-up)

This is the second part of the haul which I think will be quite a long one, so brace yourselves. You should probably get something to drink, go to the toilet etc. so you can properly enjoy it in one piece afterwards.

So, as mentioned in my previous post, the shopping was a bit out of control. If you are not into this kind of posts, please click out and return another day when I will be discussing my thoughts on other subjects. Because this is a shopping haul post and it is what it is.

And just a simple disclaimer about the order - this is the exact same order I would use the products in, which makes the most sense for me.

PRIMERS

Primers were bought in large quantities, but this doesn't mean I deviated from what I think is the best price-quality product. So I stuck to the Maybelline Baby Skin pore eraser and just went for it. I actually had to go to three different drugstores to get my hands on four of these babies. But they are mine now.

These are by far the best primers I have tried in my life so far. They are soft, but not too soft, they stick to the skin but don't make it stick and they definitely work the way they are supposed to. I see that my make-up goes on much more smoothly and actually stays in place. So well done, Maybelline. These guys are pretty inexpensive, I think they cost about $6 each. I can't get them in Slovenia so I really stocked up, obviously.