A very OLD Make-up Haul & Mini Reviews

So the thing is, my clients obviously ganged up and tried to see how much I can take before I crack under pressure. I'm still alive, though, so they've been doing a poor job so far. But the thing is that I spent every free second of my days sleeping and recovering and wasn't really up to blogging. It also explains why this post was originally supposed to be just a haul, but now it's going to be a haul with reviews, which is just as well or even better I guess. 

Because, let me be tell you one thing. I can be dead tired, but my make-up will be great nevertheless. Just so we're clear on that front. 

Anyway, this is what I picked up since end of December until the middle of January. 

As you can see, we've got a little bit of everything. Let's start with face and eyes, shall we? I picked up two Real Techniques sponges - one for me and one for my friend (and one of the very few people in my life who know about this blog). I've had the last sponge for about 6 months and it was really time to get rid of it. This costs about 8 € on Licila.si, but they always have special deals you can take advantage of. 

Next, I really, really needed a new foundation. This L'Oreal Infallible was on sale in DM for about 9 €, so I picked it up since I remembered using a similar one from L'Oreal before and being satisfied with it. But, alas, I completely missed the mark on the shade - I got True Beige when I should have gotten Natural beige, a couple of shades darker. So now I basically look half dead before I apply my setting powder. It's an OK foundation, nothing special. What I really want to know, though, is about the primer from the same line - have any of you beauties tried it yet? What do you think about it?

Last thing in this package is the NYX Powder Blush in Taupe. Now I've been obsessing over my bronzers for the past few months ever since I hit pan on my beloved Tarte blush (which I'm now saving for special occasions - is this something you do as well with your beloved products?). I learned that this is supposedly a perfect contour color, since it's not too dark and not too brown and has grey undertones. As I understand, the bronzer used for contour is not supposed to be brown but rather grey-ish, since that's the color that the shade on your face produces. 

Now it's a nice color, but I'm slightly bothered at how unpigmented this thing is. I have to swirl my brush in the pan about 10 times before I can get enough product for one side of my face - and no, I don't contour that heavily. It seems like the whole pan has a thin layer of something over the top which prevents the brush to really get into the product. Perhaps it will wear out in time. 

Continuing with the other swatch in the photo above, it's from my first ELF Smudge pot in the shade Gotta Glow. I got this to wear around New Year as a base for other colors and I must say it works like a dream. I doubled this with some shades from my I heart makeup palette and it created an absolutely beautiful look that stayed in place all night long. It literally costs pennies, so I would recommend this highly.

I had to open some new mascaras since the old ones dried on me. Disclaimer: the word "had" is really not appropriate for this sentence. I actually COULD NOT WAIT to open some new mascaras. 

 
Above is my very first Essence mascara - Get big! lashes Triple Black mascara. This mascara felt kind of funny going on, since it was quite dry despite being brand new. But I've learned the trick - I let it sit for about a week and it became considerably more wet after that. I cannot phantom why this happens but I don't care. I must say I'm quite impressed, especially for the price. It gives a lot of length and a lot of definition to my lashes. The only thing is that it really does not hold the curl very well, so I usually have to touch up during the day. 

The other mascara I opened was the Clarins Wonder Waterproof Mascara. I tried it only once and then ran out of my good make-up remover, so I dare not put in on my lashes until I purchase a new one. I'll probably do a separate review for this one.

Nails... ah, this will require a story of its own, I believe. Let's just say that I had clip-on nails in this picture below. But the color starring on them is the Essie in Double Breasted jacket, which for some reason seems a wildly inappropriate name for this color. But I absolutely love it, it's the perfect color to brighten up the gloomy winter days.

And then lipsticks, or better said, one lipsticks and  three beautiful, fantastic lipglosses. 

I added another NYX Round Lipgloss to my collection, this time in Frozen Frosted Plum. I absolutely love the darker red or plum colors for winter and this one has a slight shimmer to it which makes it even more special. On lips, it's similar to Alverde Lipgloss Maximize Effect in Forest berry, but as said, the Alverde doesn't have the gold sparkles and is a bit less intense as well. I'll put it like this - I would dare to put the Alverde on without mirror, but I can't say the same for NYX gloss. 

I also picked up the Becca Glossy Lip Tint in shade Frisco a while back from eBay. I love this as a substitute for a regular lip balm as it gives me just a minimal amount of shimmer to look like I've made an effort. 

Last up was an attempted bravery on my part - I bought a Sleek lipstick in Raisin Razzle. Now... I got the package at work and put it on in my car while I was driving home. My hubby never, never notices anything about my make-up (except the sheer quantity of products in the bathroom), but he laughed so hard at me when I walked through the front door that I was just... OK, let's just say that I think I'm going to keep it for Haloween only. I know the swatch below doesn't do it justice but it's way too dark for my skin tone and I just look like a girl playing with her mom's make-up. 

Now, I think that I'll be able to actually get two more posts up this weekend - one of them my new empties since I've got nowhere else to put the empty packages and bottles. Keep your eyes open. 

Until next time, stay beautful, stay awesome!

Best of 2014 - #1 Make-up

The end of the year is always the best time to look back at all the good and the bad that happened and the same goes for our beauty world. It's taken me ages to go through everything and really gather my thoughts, but I've picked out the best of the best and I'm ready to share them with you. To stay organized, I've picked only one product from each general category (well, I cheated in a couple of them, but I really TRIED, so don't hate me). Let's start with make-up. And let me just say in advance that I've tried to keep it short, so the reviews are really minor. If you want to read more about these products, check out my monthly favorites and the reviews by categories I've done in the past months.

First up are the basic tools. I've accumulated a bunch of new brushes and applicators this year (obviously, since I did not own any before) and I must say that considering my inexperience in the field, I've done quite well. 

A couple of my favorites are to be found on the picture above. We have the Real Techniques blush brush – an amazingly soft brush which is just large enough to hit the apples of my cheeks perfectly. I included two of my Ecotools blushes – the powder brush which I actually use for bronzing but is a great all-around brush, and the Ecotools large eye brush which I use for simple application all over the lid and is just big enough to make my job a lot quicker in the morning. I was considering including my Sigma e40 as a blending brush, but to be honest, this Essence blender does the job just as well – I just can't seem to find them anywhere anymore. Let me know if you know where I could get my hands on some more of these!

For face products, I've picked some I've loved recently as well as those I could not live without during the summer months. I won't go into a long rant about the face primer – I've talked about the Maybelline Baby Skin instant pore eraser so much already that if you've been reading my blog, you know that I absolutely adore it. For foundation, I'm going to go with the Rimmel Match Perfection which is not a heavy duty foundation but not exactly lightweight, either. It covers up most of the blemishes but does not look unnatural. 

For pressed powder, I was debating between two and ended up deciding for the Bourjois Silk Edition compact. It's a lightweight powder which offers reasonable amount of product for the price and I mainly love it because it matches my current skin tone perfectly. It does not cake on the dry spots which is another bonus. The choice for concealer was an easy one – my absolute favorite has to be the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser. Not only is it super easy to apply, it blends wonderfully and you will get a ton of product for your money's worth. I also included the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge which is perfect for applying foundation and concealer. I just ordered a new one because this one is seriously dirty already.

Continuing on the face theme, I HAD to include my Sleek blush palette (left) which I have only owned for about 2 months now but I must say that it’s possibly not only my favorite in the blush category, but my favorite overall this year. Two powder blushes and one cream blush offer amazing pigmentation; they blend really well and come in an absolutely beautiful sleek palette.

The e.l.f. blush/bronzer palette above is the St. Lucia – apparently, the blush is a dupe for the NARS Orgasm and the bronzer a dupe for the the NARS Laguna. I don’t care much for the blush but the bronzer is a.ma.zing. It’s absolutely my new favorite, although by now I have hit pan on my Tarte bronzer that I bought in July. That one will be getting some well-deserved rest now since I have a new love in my life. The bronzer is not orange at all so it doesn’t leave you looking dirty, it blends like a dream and is also just dark enough for some minor contouring. 

Last but not least, we have my absolute favorite highlighter – the Mary Lou-manizer from The Balm. It’s lightweight, it’s pretty but not too in-your-face and although it’s a bit pricier, you will probably be using this product for years. 

The Urban Decay De-slick Make-up setting spray is probably my biggest regret also, but only because I’m wondering why, oh why I only bought a travel size. I am dreading the day when I run out of this and have to pay the EU price for another one. This product will keep your make-up in place like nothing you’ve ever seen before. I’ve given mine many different challenges and expected it to fail numerous times, but it never did. I. LOVE. IT. 

Now for the eyes. My favorite palette for this year shouldn't come as a surprise to those who follow my blog – it's the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette which I absolutely adore. I've had it since July and I'm just about to hit pan on two of my favorite shades in the palette. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who just wants to own one single palette for (almost) every look imaginable. 

 I can’t possibly imagine leaving my house now without doing my eyebrows – it’s silly what a year of dabbling into make-up will do to a girl. A year ago I didn’t even give a second thought to my eyebrows other than just plucking them when I felt like it. Anyhow, my go-to product for brows is my well-loved and very dirty NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in blonde. It also comes with a way which makes it perfect for easy traveling. 

I won’t go to much into mascaras. The Maybelline Colossal Volum’ Express – The Colossal Cat Eyes is my absolute favorite and that is saying something, since I’ve gone through about 15 different mascaras ranging from 2 € to 30 € this year. This mascara gives length, volume and definition and will not clump up until it is completely dried up. 

I had a hard time deciding between liners but in the end I think that the Maybelline Master Precise was the least disappointing one. I was not wowed by any of the liners very much, though. 

The lipstick always comes last in my beauty routine and I must say that I’m only slowly getting a bit braver when it comes to them. I still tend to stick to the nudes and light shades, though. 

 It was not particularly difficult to choose my favorite lipstick. It is L’Oreal Color Sensational in 740 – Sunset diamonds. These Color sensational lipsticks are super creamy and hydrating and I’m also partial to the packaging. The color itself is a bit darker than my natural lip color and it also has a tiny bit of shimmer in it. It’s been a statement lip until now but well... I will probably try to use this up and go for something bolder in 2015. 

For gloss, I have loved the NYX gloss in Apricot. It’s the your-lips-but-shinier almost nude color which is perfect when I just want to pop something on the lips and walk out the door. It’s so nude I also dare to apply it without mirror, which is a plus for a girl on the go. 

For lip liner, I haven’t had much luck with my purchases this year, but this UMA Automatic Lip Liner really stands out from the crowd. It’s a simple nude which I use when I don’t want any lipsticks to bleed over the edges. It really matches my lip color perfectly so I can get away with using it with all neutral or pink shades. 

I’ve also included the e.l.f. Lip Exfoliatior in my favorites, since this is the second one I’m using right now. It does a great job at keeping my lips looking decent – it’s a bit harsh compared to some others I tried, but it does the job and smells and tastes great as well. And I've included one of my e.o.s. balms, but I love all of them equally and have them distributed around the house, in my purses and office.

Last up, the nail polishes. I’ll do this really quickly since most of these products have already been included in my favorites during the year. Essie Mint Candy was on my nails and toes throughout the summer – it’s a perfect mint color and I absolutely love this particular Essie formula (yes, as I’ve already mentioned, I don’t think all Essie formulas are the same). The OPI in True Red has similarly replaced the Essie polish once it got a bit colder outside. It is the truest red color I own and I absolutely love it. 

I had a massive rant about Essie Good To Go top coat a couple of times already, so I won’t repeat myself. Let’s just say that you really will be good to go in about a minute after applying this. And last but not least, we have the Barry M 3-1 Base coat, nail haredner and top coat which is quite a recent addition but I must say it really makes a difference to my routine. Just make sure to shake it up well before using it – take my word for it. 

I would love to hear about your favorites! Let me know below or leave me a link to your blog post about the TOP 2014 make-up or other beauty products! Oh, and stay tuned for the biggest flops of 2014 as well. 

Until next time, stay beautiful, stay awesome!

 

Holiday nails

I had a great weekend which ended with a little manicure. I just received the nail art pen from Licila.si a couple of days ago and let's just say that I just had to try it out right away :)

  

Anyway, I started with a base coat of Barry M 3-1 (basecoat, topcoat and nail hardener all in one) which has been my recent favorite. I do have a feeling that it makes my nails a bit stronger. I followed up with Zoya Noel, which is a real wintery color, as the name alone suggests. 

I did two accent nails with the Beauty UK nail polish in 09 – Frozen kingdom. I must admit that I was a bit disappointed with the formula, but after 2 quite massive coats (and after chipping it right away on the first try) it finally did the job. The color is just right, though. 

Next, I really got a lot of use from the nail art pen, doing different patterns on both hands. I even managed a relatively nice snowflake on one of the nails while this little chocolate dude was controlling my work.  

Regarding the Konad nail art pen, I must say that I am quite a fan. It comes with a dotter (which needs to be squeezed to produce more or less nail polish) and a thin pointed brush, which are both placed on each side. The brush is really, really fine and you'll be able to do really nice patterns with this. My only complaint would be that the base (so the tube holding the actual nail polish) does not stand on its own when the brush is removed, so you either have to lean it against something or find another way to set it upright. It's currently on sale on Licila.si. 

So to recap, I only really used 5 different product counting the base coat and my long time favorite Essie Good to go top coat to finish the look. 

 Have a great pre-christmas week and, as always – until next time, stay beautiful, stay awesome!

Nail Polish Graveyard - a very looong post!

Today, I went into DM and bought some new nail polishes. But while doing that, I honestly could not remember if I owned some particular colors already which was quite worrying. So when I came home I immediately went and opened the drawer with nail stuff. This is what I was looking at. 

No wonder I didn’t know what colors I owned and I was using three of the nail polishes around the clock, not really paying attention to any others. Anyhow, I dragged everything out in the open. 

I then organized them by color and split them into three basic groups – keep, give (to friends or my mum) or throw away. Let’s start with the first group – the white or pearl polishes.  Descriptions are always from left to right. If you are not a fan of nail polishes, this is the time to click out of this post because I can tell it’s going to be a really, really long one. Like, super long. Think War and Peace long. 

First up is the Catrice – The peach boys. This I got quite recently and love it – it’s a pearl color with a bit of a shimmer but still basic enough to make for a neutral nail. Keep. Next, the Maybelline Colorama – number 51. It’s a very milky white which looks almost translucent. I use this polish as a base for stronger colors – it tends to really bring out the color of the polish I put over it. Keep. Then we have Nivea Sea Extracts Manicure in Vanilla. This I have had for ages, it separated and looked gross. Throw away. Last up, the Maybelline Mini Colorama (51 French white). I use this for French manicure. It’s a bit old but until I find another good white polish for the tips, it will have to do. Keep.

 I was under the impression that I had a ton of pink polishes, but obviously that is not true. First, we have the Alessandro shimmer (I guess Alessandro polishes don’t have names?). It’s very soft pink with a lot of shimmer so it’s a bit too bright to look very natural. At the same time, it’s not too out there that I would not be able to wear it to work. A great polish and definitely a keeper. That is not true for the Maybelline Colorama in soft pink. This is such a bland color that I have no use for it. Donate. Last up, there’s the most recent addition to this color group – the Essie Muchi Muchi. It’s the perfect baby pink with minimal shimmer, but unfortunately it’s so translucent it requires three layers for me to be happy with the color. Still, it will remain with me until something better comes along. Keep. 

 On the other hand, I have more purple polishes than I thought I had. First one is the Essie Sittin’ pretty – it’s a beautiful autumn color and I will be wearing this a lot. Since it’s a pastel, you could rock this the entire year. Most Essie polishes also have great brushes that make your manicure super easy and fast. Keep. I am donating the Essence Color&Go in Purple Sugar – it’s much too bright and I never, ever reach for it. I have a particular friend in mind who will love it. Although I am not crazy about the color or the brush (very big and difficult to control), I am also keeping the Essence Colour&Go in Prom Berry. It’s a color I would not wear in everyday life because it’s too dark for me, but I would reach for it for some special occasion or nail art. It’s probably in the same category with the Maybelline white one – the “until a better one comes along” category, that is. Last up, there is my newest addition – the Essence Rock Out in Best Female which I picked up today. I thought it was a dark purple with shimmer but after trying it out I realized it’s more of a shimmer topcoat. Still loving it – I will get a lot of use out of it. Obviously, keeping that one. 

 This next category is kind of random, but still. There is the Alessandro mini in Bubble gum. Again, not a color I would wear every day but it would be nice for special occasion or nail art. Until it separates, I am keeping it. I am donating the Sally Hansen Insta-dri in Expresso. This color looked great to me in the bottle but looks like something from my cat’s litter box on my nails. I doubt that any of my friends will even want it, to be honest. I am keeping the Avon (Racy) – it’s nothing special, but I like the dark berry red with pink undertones – it’s quite unique and I’ve only had this for a couple of months. Also a keeper is my quite recent addition of Essie Bahama mama – I think that it was also featured in my October favorites. It’s a great autumn color and I will be rocking it this fall :)

 I love my reds. I really, really love my reds. If I was living in USA, I would probably be a republican only to justify wearing only red nail polish all the time. But jokes aside, these five polishes are all keepers  that I don’t even give a second thought to getting rid of. The Chanel Marilyn is absolutely flawless red with pink undertones and shimmer. I wear this throughout the year on my fingers and toes. In my opinion, Chanel polishes have the best brushes out there, followed closely by OPI. This particular OPI is the true red that every woman should own. It only has a tiny bit of shimmer and as said a great brush. It’s definitely one of my favorites. The Bourjois Anti-choc (again, no name?) is also a great red color, but on nails it has a slight orange undertone. Very unique and definitely worth buying. The brush is funny – shaped kind of like a brow brush so you can “fix the polish” more easily in those 10 days it promises to last. Next polish, the Alessandro on the far right, has been with me for quite some time now so we will soon have to part ways. But it’s a darker red with a touch of glitter, totally appropriate for work and my long-lasting love. For some reason, it chips more than other Alessandro polishes I own, but this could be due to its age. And finally the Maybelline Colorama (n. 75) which is a nice red, close to OPI, but demands more coats. Still very good value for money. 

 Than we have this last completely random category of various colors. The Essie Mint Candy has been with me since this summer and was also featured in my Favorites. A great color for spring and summer, not so much for colder months. The texture of this polish is for some reason the best out of all Essie polishes I own. Keep. Next, the Rimmel Rita Ora collection polish in Orgasm. I am a bit late jumping on the orange bandwagon, so this polish will have to wait its turn until the warmer months come again. I am not sure it will fit my complexion, but that remains to be seen. It’s a very new addition along with the Catrice Golden Plum from their most recent collection. It’s probably the most gorgeous packaging I’ve ever seen on a Catrice product and the color is an amazing brown/gray/brown shimmery mixture that I can’t wait to try out right now. Last in this miscellaneous group is the Alessandro black polish that is actually part of the Croco effect nails. I should probably do a post using these but it’s many times such a mess that I can’t bring myself to do it. Then again, I probably will and throw it away afterwards. 

 Shimmers make me happy when I’m putting them on but very unhappy when I’m removing them from my nails which is probably the reason I don’t use them all that often. I am keeping all of these since they are very different. Essence (Time for Romance) has larger pieces of shimmer which look great on the nails. The only downside is that they are a bit difficult to distribute evenly across all the nails. Zoya Pixie dust has much smaller specks and is easier to apply and remove as well. I have had this for some time now but it still seems completely full so I’ll probably never run out of it. Like, ever. Keeping it. The Alessandro silver shimmer is from the Croco effect nails as well – it’s a bit more pigmented so it could also be used individually but I will keep this either way because when used with a light hand, it gives a glow to a matte polish if you have something like that in mind. Also, great for nail art. Last but not least in this category is Mavala Sparkling bronze. I have used this again and again over the years, especially in the holiday season. Just a coat of this over a pearl polish creates the most simple festive nails which I will be recreating this year as well. 

 I have no idea where I got this Kiss Base and Top coat Multi-tasker. I’ve had it forever and got really got use out of it, but unfortunately, it is so old that I will be throwing it away. Two Essie Good-to-go top coats that I raved about in my summer favorites as well – I have no idea why I have two open bottles but I use this so much that it will not go to waste.  The only polish that I have ever found that really dries the nails in about a minute. Priceless in my book. The Sally Hansen Double Duty was raved about by several bloggers but I’m not too keen about it. Maybe it’s only this bottle that has gone bad in a couple of months, but it has some small particles inside that make my nails uneven and sticky instead of giving me a nice base coat to work with. I am throwing it away as soon as I but a new one. I am keeping the Essence pro white effect nail polish for clubbing (it shines in the dark which is probably tacky to the young generation but I get a kick out of it), but I am giving away this small Alessandro top coat which I never use anyway. 

In the care department, I am probably a bit malnourished, for a lack of a better word. I am throwing away this Essence love your nails! cuticle oil, simply because I’ve had it forever. It did its job very well, so I would probably repurchase it. But for now, I will continue using the LCN Nail Moisturizer – it can be used on the nails as well but I mainly use it for my cuticles. It makes any nail care much easier and makes sure that I can push back the cuticles painlessly. It is quite pricey though so there are surely better alternatives out there. This Beautytime Ridge Filler made my brains go ??? when I took it out of the container. I have no memory of buying it or ever using it, to be honest. In the trash it goes. Same is true for the Alessandro Express Nail Hardner. I have a vague recollection of buying this but I know I will never go through all the paces of actually giving it an honest go. So again, trash, along with my Artdeco nail care stick. There was nothing wrong with this product, but it has dried up completely. I am keeping the Essence Nail Cuticle Softner Pencil. It’s a great and inexpensive product which moisturizes the cuticles and the area around the nails to perfection. The cap is shaped perfectly to give yourself a quick manicure even if you are lacking the proper tools. 

Don’t get upset, I told you that it’s going to be long :) What I really want to know is which nail polish you would choose out of all my polishes, if you could? Is there one that you would never wear? Let me know in the comments (also – hint – the Christmas giveaway is coming up and I’d love to know what to include in the goody bag). 

Until next time, stay beautiful, stay awesome!