Makeup Revolution ICONIC PRO lipsticks

It will probably come as no surprise to most of you that I am quite partial to Licila.si when it comes to make-up shopping. And they are often lovely and spoil me with a thoughtful gifts when they receive new products. One of such packages arrived yesterday and inside was one of the new Makeup Revolution Iconic Pro lipstick in the shade Game of mystery matte. 

I took it out, applied it and a couple of hours later I was in love. So normally, I went and ordered a few more, because why not, right? You can now buy Makeup Revolution products on a brand new site  and until end of June 2015, you can use the code BLOG17 to get 17 % off your purchase (on the products not yet on sale). 

I now own not one, not two, not three, but four of the Iconic Pro lipsticks. In all, there are twenty different lipsticks in the collection.  

They come in either a satin or matte finish, so you could basically choose the same shade in two finishes, but this is not true for all of the shades in the range.

Sephora (and MAC) haul

I know that some of you take offense when I’m writing about things that are not easy/next to impossible to get in Slovenia (or, to be honest, in Europe), but still I got some positive feedback from others, saying that you like such posts, since they make you either have them shipped/buy them on your travels/order them from friends that are traveling etc. 

Well, I do realize that writing about products that you cannot just go out and buy isn’t exactly productive, but just keep in mind this one thing – if you dream it, you dreams can come true. And please, don’t only apply it to make-up shopping :)

Anyway, my Sephora basket wasn’t as extensive as it was about a year ago, but my wishes have gotten much, much more specific. 

First of all, I was on the hunt for a full coverage foundation. This Kat Von D Lock it tattoo foundation does seem dark for me in the bottle (shade 54 – medium), but for some reason it’s the perfect shade – if I were to buy it over the internet, I would go much lighter and completely miss the target. 

One year of blogging recap + birthday giveaway

My dear low/high maintenance beauties. About a year ago, I wrote my first post and setup a Blogger account. I didn't think much about how it's going to go, what I was going to write about or if anyone will ever read my ramblings. And now, a year later, I'm looking back at everything and feel very thankful for each experience and every single one of you who read my posts, like, click, share and comment. You make my day – every day. 

I've also had some bad experience, but most of it was related to specific people behind specific brands. I still stand by the fact that I will not write a BS positive review, no matter what you offer me – be it products, money or something else. You can send me a product, yes, but I offer no guarantee that I'll be writing anything about. Some people were not happy about my position on this – I say it's their loss. It does make me sad, however, when I see some other bloggers posting over-excited reviews for such brands. But to each his own. I believe that with greater power comes greater responsibility – I wouldn't want people I trust deceiving me, so it's not my intention to be deceiving to you. 

What surprises me the most is how far even such a small blog like mine can reach and how many doors it can open. Not every single discussion came to a positive conclusion, but still, they were priceless in my eyes because of the experience they offered. 

I said that I'll evaluate what I'm doing after a year and do a self-review of a sort. I think that I've improved on the writing and the precision of thought, the photos have gotten somewhat better (let's all take a moment to admire the first ever photo I published - below) and I'm also a bit more consistent at posting new contents. 

LOL at the composition, background, focus.

I do however need to work more on providing better swatches and really do some make-up looks as well. Also, I need to concentrate a bit less on make-up and start doing more posts in other areas as well. Possibly start translating everything into Slovenian as well? What do you think? Is there anything I need to put on my list of things to improve?

Anyway, enough ranting, let's get to the fun stuff, right? Again, I have to prizes for two lucky ladies (or gents). Each includes some must-haves, some of my favorites and some things that will help you be on point with the spring-summer trends that I talked about in my previous post. 

1. ICONIC PACKAGE

• Makeup Revolution Redemption Iconic 1 palette
• Makeup Revolution Redemption Iconic 2 palette
• Makeup Revolution Redemption Iconic 3 palette
• (yes, all three of them)
• Makeup Revolution Focus & Fix eye primer
• Essence Longlasting eye pencil (Tu-Tu Touquoise)
• Essence XXXL Nude lipgloss (Just nude)

2. FLAWLESS PACKAGE

• Makeup Revolution Flawless Matte palette
• BH Cosmetics 12-brush set (Berry)
• Makeup Revolution Focus & Fix eye primer
•  Essence Longlasting eye pencil (Tu-Tu Touquoise)
•  Essence XXXL Nude lipgloss (Taste the Sweets)

You can enter through several possibilities, all listed below in the Rafflecopter. I wish you good luck in the giveaway - thank you for celebrating with me!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bring out the sun! My guide to SPRING/SUMMER 2015 TRENDS and MUST-HAVES for the season

I am so excited for summer to finally roll around the corner – being a summer baby, I am also a summer babe and sun fuels me up like nothing else. But it's not only about the hot days, beach and cocktails; it's also about looking the part. Here are the biggest spring and summer trends for hair and make-up we'll be seeing and wearing in the next few months. 

SKIN

1. Healthy and fresh skin. For the season, forget tons of make-up and make sure that your complexion is happy and healthy on its own. If you have issues, rethink your routine and push it up a notch – I think it's worth it, because having a beautiful skin will always be in trend.

Must have: Magnitone Lucid for a daily clean that will not only clean and wake up your skin, but also leave it looking gorgeous, soft and fresh! Get it here (for a fraction of the cost you pay to your cosmetologist every year).

Too many open mascaras...

After a long night of dreaming about Nepal (and a quite dashing young gentleman (see my Instagram for more details on that one) - and not really getting much sleep, doing a post that requires close-up photos of my eyes probably isn't  the best idea, but still, here it goes. As you may already know, I have quite a hoarding problem when it comes to mascaras and I've gone through my pile to see what I need to talk about and discard and what I can keep using for a few more months.

This is what I came up with – six mascaras in total. Don’t judge.

Needless to say, not all of them are great, so let’s do it the same way we did the other time – from worst to best. By the way, all photos of lashes are one coat without any curling. 

I generally adore Maybelline mascaras, but the Great Lash mascara did absolutely nothing for me at all.

Maybelline Great Lash

It won several Allure’s “best of” titles and I was so sure that this really was the holy grail mascara I picked it up the second I saw it. Well, I wish that I would have checked the wand before I did that, because now that I know what to look for, it seems obvious that the bristles are set so far apart that they will each hug a bunch of lashes at the same time and just create these thick spidery lashes.

Now, some of you may enjoy this effect, but I really hate it. It’s also a very wet mascara which transfers like crazy on my eyelids and under my waterline. I would not recommend it, not at all. 

Last e.l.f. haul for a while...

If you follow me on Instagram (you don’t? Go now – it’s @low_maintenance_beauty) you might have noticed my posts about the shutdown of e.l.f. (Eyes Lips Face) UK online store. Apparently, it will make a comeback in a couple of months, but I still stocked up on some things I like and afforded a bit more, since everything was on massive sale. 

By the way, the sale is still going on – there’s not a lot of stuff left but you can still check it out if something catches your eye.

Anyway, this is what I got. 

 

 

Yes - those are three identical Mineral Eyeshadow Primers back in the corner. These primers are absolutely best value for money (with the exception of Wet’n’Wild Fergie primer which I can’t find anywhere in Europe). They have a soft yellow tint to them which is just enough to cover the veins and spots on the eyelids even if you’re not wearing any eyeshadow. So I stocked up.

April Favorites

Another month rolled by and I almost can’t believe that it’s almost been a year since I started writing this blog :) Anyway, April brought some new, wonderful discoveries for me, and I also found some of my old friends lurking in the back of that closet that I keep mentioning all the time. 

Quite a few were already mentioned in my other posts, so let’s start with those. First is the Lord&Berry liner that I received in the LookFantastic beauty box about a month ago. It’s been well loved but I’m determined to use the very last inch of it. You can read more about it here – and thank me later when you go and buy it ;)

Essence Longlasting Lip Liner in Yummy Berry

Another favorite that I only recently became acquainted with is the Essence Longlasting lip liner. I love quite a few colors, but as I already mentioned in this post, the Yummy Berry is my favorite. I need to go out and buy a few back-up’s in case it makes a disappearing act from the shelves.