A new player in town: Golden Rose Slovenia

A week ago, I was kindly invited by Golden Rose Slovenia to join them in opening their first ever store in Slovenia. As some of you who follow me on Instagram know, I mentioned I could live in that store  - it’s absolutely packed with wonderful products and my hands started itching the moment I got there.  The store I visited is in BTC Ljubljana in Hala A, but they opened another one today in Mercator Center in Šmartinska, which by the photos looks just as great and I can’t wait to visit it as well. 

Golden Rose is a Turkish brand and this is their first appearance in Slovenia. Even though their selection is already huge, they will be adding BB creams and primers (among other products) to it in the following few weeks. I got a sneaky peek at both of them and I can’t wait to get my hands on the BB cream – it was smooth as butter and really gave good coverage as well.

Anyway, the lovely ladies at the store were very kind and helpful and since I was allowed to pick out a few products to try out, I let them do the choosing. Honestly, I couldn’t be more satisfied with their choices. I also really like the fact that all the products displayed are only testers and the new products are given to you from the back – that way, you’ll always know you’re really getting a new, sealed product that hasn’t been opened yet.

I really think that there is something for everybody in this store – but beware, if you’re a nail polish junkie, you might want to take a day off. All of the products are really inexpensive and what’s even better, the price – quality ratio is absolutely wonderful.  

Look Fantastic Beauty Box – August 2015

After some months, I finally used up most of the products from my previous Look Fantastic boxes and decided it was time to see what they have up their sleeve this time. 

 

Look Fantastic Beauty Box is a subscription service box (in which case you save a bit of money), but it can also be bought individually for 20,85 €. Generally, one or two out of 5 products in the box already bring the worth to the 21 € mark, but that doesn't really mean anything if you don't like the products, now does it? This is what I found inside the August box. 

I must say that I really like the pick, since I haven't used any of these brands except for Rimmel before. I think that this is a real advantage of subscription boxes as well – being able to use samples or deluxe samples (and sometimes even full size products) of brands I would otherwise probably never reach for or even think about, really.  

Freedom Makeup London - review & swatches

A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to receive a couple of Freedom Makeup products from the online store Licila.si. In the package, I found the following three products. 

I was most excited about the bronzing trio, since I'm always on the hunt for the perfect bronzer/contour. This is the Bronzed professional Pro in Shimmer lights (you can get it here for 5,95 €). 

The packaging doesn't seem the sturdiest, but for the price, a bit of saving on that front can be expected. I am also not particularly happy about the fact that there is no mirror on the compact.  The three colors can be used mixed together in a shimmery bronzer or used separately, which is how I use them. I normally prefer the colors to be physically separated in the compact, but each of the shades is big enough for my brushes so I don't pick up the shades I don't want to. 

The swatches on hand don't do complete justice to the product, since the brush picks it up a bit better, but this is more to give you an idea about the colors and shades. I really like the pink shade of the blush and the warmth of highlighter, but the actual bronzer has very poor pigmentation. 

The next item I received is the Pro Conceal Palette in Light/Medium (get it here for 6,95 €). 

Again, the packaging is nothing special, but I like the variety of the shades in this palette a lot, since I don't own anything like this at all. 

From the entire palette, I've been using the right two shades the most so far – the beige for actual spots and imperfections and the yellow toned shade as an under-eye concealer. The consistency of these concealers is quite soft, so I would definitely suggest putting a setting powder on top if you want them to remain in place for the entire day. Still, I think that regarding the amount of product you get in one palette, this is really good value for money. 

The last surprise gift was the Pro Lipstick in 109 – Red Wine (available here for 1,95 € along with numerous other lovely shades).

This lipstick is right up my alley since I'm trying to step out of my comfort zone a bit with some bolder colors. It swatches quite lighter than it appears in the packaging, so it's not a dark red, but rather a light red with a bit of fuchsia undertone. I love this lipstick and I'll probably get some darker shades for the upcoming winter months. 

I would like to see your reviews or opinions on the Freedom products as well, so leave them below!

Until next time, stay beautiful.

New products – August 2015

I tried to be reasonable with my shopping in the past month, since I've got quite some business and personal trips coming up in the near future and I intend to purchase some products that are not easily available to me in Slovenia (or not at all). That being said, I still slipped on some occasions and I also received some Freedom Make-Up from Licila.si to try out, but I will review those in a separate post.

First off, I took advantage of a nice Yves Rocher offer where one could choose three products for 12,50 € (the promotion is still valid). 

Since I've never tried Yves Rocher products before, this seemed like a nice opportunity. I bought the Replumping serum foundation, Blackberries sparkling body powder and Hair Repair Oil. The company also sent me some extra samples to try out and a shopping bag which comes in handy for my everyday grocery purchases. 

I haven't tried all of the products yet, but can I just point out how beautiful this packaging from the sparkling body powder is? I absolutely love the little puff and the smell of it as well – it really does smell like blackberries!

It was love at first sight for me and the Kaviar Gauche for Catrice face powder (about 2,5 € on sale). This one comes in shape of little balls which can easily be gently swirled around with a smaller face brush and give away just enough product. I personally use them as highlights on my cheekbones, since they are a bit too shiny for the entire face. I give Catrice ***** on the packaging alone – it could have easily been a Chanel or Dior product as well. 

I also purchased two Bourjois products from Look Fantastic website – the Silk Edition Compact powder (12,75 €) which I've used before and absolutely love, and another shade of Bourjois Rouge Edition 12 Hour Lipstick in Rose Vanity (11,35 €). 

I really like the consistency of these lipsticks and although they don't exactly last for 12 hours, they are still reasonably long-lasting and not drying at all, which is something I normally associate with long-lasting lippies. 

I have not yet touched The Nuxe Melting Cleansing Gel with rose petals (17,75 €), but I have used up samples from the Rose line before and liked them quite a lot. 

I am also excited to use the Kera Care Silken Seal (10,65 €) – since reading the great reviews for this product on Look Fantastic website, this was the product I was most excited for to arrive. I will definitely report back on it.

And since I did spend quite a lot of money on the Look Fantastic website, I was gifted some extra goodies from them. I received the Origins Skin Saviour Set (worth 27 €) which includes a face wash, exfoliator and overnight mask. But as if they suspected that my skin is in quite rough shape at the moment, I also got the Elemis Absolute Spa Collection (worth 67 €) that includes a milk bath, Pro Collagen Marine Cream and Papaya Enzyme Peel. I am looking forward to treating my skin to these new products and see if any of them will work wonders. 

Stay tuned for the review of Freedom Make-up products coming up tomorrow! Until then, stay beautiful!

Autumn Wish List 2015

I love summer, but as far as colors go, I am more of an autumnal being by heart. Today, I wanted to share my wishlist for upcoming months, so we can review my successes and fails in the shopping department around Christmas time. 

I would love for any of you to share your wish lists with me as well – I can never have enough inspiration when it comes to shopping. Also, if you know of any good dupes for the listed products, they would also be more than welcome  (and my wallet will probably be eternally grateful to you as well). 

Because you know I'm all about that BASE, that base, ... I love the look of perfect skin and never get tired of buying new and new products in the search for that perfect combination. This autumn, my eyes are set on Estée Lauder Double Wear foundation. Apparently, it's a full coverage foundation but doesn't produce the appearance of a mask on the face. Same goes for Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer - it promises to really cover all the imperfections and dark circles, but doesn't look too heavy on the face.

Stick contour is something I’ve wanted to try since forever, but I really might take the plunge this fall. I’ve got my eyes set on the Smashbox Step-by-step Contour Trio. I’ve chosen this brand because the colors are apparently quite easy to blend out (which is my biggest concern) and also have good staying power. 

Last but not least – how could anyone not want at least one of these Real Techniques brushes from Bold Metals Collection? I love my RT brushes as is for their overall quality, but these are so gorgeous and luxurious that I absolutely need at least one in my life. 

Autumn collections bring some pretty strong and powerful lip colors, which I need to learn to love and appreciate on my lips as well, not only on other people. I’m eyeing the Catrice Shine Appeal in Marry Berry. First off, I’m a big fan of this packaging, since it’s different to anything else we’ve seen from Catrice so far. But more importantly, Catrice continues to amaze me with most of their products in terms of price: quality ratio and I’m positive that this lip gloss will be no exception to this rule. 

For lipsticks, I need some more MAC in my life and I really, really want this MAC Fixed on drama lipstick, a matte red with brown undertones. I don’t own anything in this color yet and somehow I feel like I’m missing out. 

This NARS High Shine Lip Gloss in Pink Grapefruit is more of a phantasy, really, since I’ll probably never spend that much money on a gloss. But it is a really nice color for days when I just can’t be forced to make a real effort. 

Last, we can’t finish this lip section without the EOS in Sweet Mint. This is my favorite flavor of EOS in general and since it is coming to its inevitable end, I’m probably going to repurchase it. 

In the random category, I've been wanting another beige nail polish - I really love my OPI Don't pretzel my buttons, but I’ve never tried Ciate polishes before and I’m curious. This one is in Cookies and Cream. To spice things up, I’m going to try to find this Berry M polish in Bright Purple – this much color I can handle even in fall months. 

Last but not least, I need to tackle the eyebrows issue. I’ve been using the same NYX Cake Powder for the last year and not only am I running out, I’m quite bored with it to be honest. Since everyone and their mother raves about Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade, I might as well cave in and buy myself one. Hopefully, it will be better than the contour palette. 

So that’s my wish list  - naturally, I’m not going to buy everything on it, but if I do, I’m certainly going to share it with you. 

Until next time, stay beautiful!