My monthly make-up basket - July 2016

Originally, I was planning on doing two make-up baskets per month, but let’s face it, even I don’t have that much make-up to constantly swap items, so I am afraid that it would become rather boring. Instead, I’ll be doing this once a month and doing some additional reviews on the Monday I now have free to post whatever I like :)

So here are some of the products that I’ll be using and hopefully loving for the next few weeks.

Starting with the face, I’ll still be using the L’Oreal Infallible primer, but I actually bought the foundation to go along with it – the L’Oreal Infallible 24h-matte (in shade Sand). I hear that the combination works well together so I’m excited to give it a go.  The shade of foundation is perhaps a tad too dark at the moment, but as I’m typing this from my seaside vacation, I’m sure that will probably change in a couple of days or so.

1st day of Christmas Giveaways!

Dear Beauties,

as promised, here is the first of five gifts I have to give away this December  - a lovely Sleek highlighting palette, Golden Rose Ultra Volume x4 mascara and Essence liquid lipstick in the shade Show off!

If you like this gift package, don't forget to participate by answering the following question in the comments: 

What is the best gift you ever received for Christmas?

Don't forget about the rules that apply to this giveaway which you can read below. I would be very grateful if you also share this post among your friends!With that being said, I wish you the best of luck!

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1. Every day, I will post a photo of the gift for the day on my Facebook (Low Maintenance Beauty Blog) and on my Instagram profile (@low_maintenance_beauty)

2. This giveaway is open to my subscribers only, so make sure you are subscribed to me on both of the channels mentioned (Facebook and Instagram)

3. Every day, I will ask you a question - all you need to do is answer it and I will pick the most original answer that will receive the gift of the day. 

4. You can only answer in the 24 hours until the next gift is posted! After that, your answers will no longer be taken into account. 

5. Each person can only win once. I think that's fair enough.

6. I will be very happy if you share the giveaway with your friends or tag them in the post, so they have a chance of winning as well (but this is not a condition).

7. If you win, don't forget to send me an e-mail to lowmaintenancebeautyblog[at]gmail.com, so I can send you the gift

7. All the gifts will be shipped out on Wednesday, 9th of December 2015.

8. All the giveaways are only open to my EU subscribers and subscribers from other countries in Europe.

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Pink October: Pretty in Pink

Most of you probably know that October stands for the breast cancer awareness month. Along with fellow Slovenian bloggers, we decided to join together and dedicate one of our posts to this issue. 

As with many other illnesses, prevention and early detection is the key factor. Remember to do regular check-ups and remind your loved ones to do that as well. If you need additional information, talk to your doctor or visit the website of Europa Donna which is a great foundation that fights breast cancer. 

For my post, I went through my products and selected those that I really love in the color pink, which is the official color of breast cancer awareness month. 

I love the Sleek blush trio in Pink lemonade which includes two powders (left and right) and one cream blush (middle). For highlighter, I can't go wrong with The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer. Both of these are available from Licila.si. 

The powder blushes are quite intense, so I usually tap away the excess from my brush before applying it. I particularly love the far right shade called Icing sugar for the autumn and winter months – it's a nice coral shade which I think would look great on any skin tone. 

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!

 

No make-up shopping until 2015?

I tried my best with this resolution dating back to October, I really did. But with all the sales and great deals, I was destined to fail before I even really attempted to succeed and not buy any make-up until 2015. So over the course of the last month, I picked up (or was sent) quite a few of the products and I am only showing you the ones I already have an opinion on or I am really excited about. I hope you won't mind the pictures terribly - it's obvious now that since I will never be home in time to shoot the pics in daylight, I will need to do something about my camera, but for now, we are stuck with what we have. 

Let's start with face products. This Chanel Vita Lumiere foundation (in beige) is my first ever Chanel foundation. I will have to give it a few more tries but so far I am less than impressed. It's quite sheer and tends to stick to the dry areas of my face although I am using a primer. For the price, I was really hoping that it would be a full coverage foundation that would still somehow make it look like I am wearing nothing on my face. That is what I was promised and I must say, that not only does the product not deliver on the promises; it fades in comparison to some of the drugstore foundations. I will try it with another primer, but I am disappointed so far. 

 I can only say completely the opposite about the Sleek blush palette (in Pink lemonade). This was sent to me by Licila.si and I absolutely love it. The packaging itself is beautiful (although I'll admit it's a bit hard to open with long nails) and the palette contains two powder blushes (Pink mint on far left and Icing sugar on far right – both have a very slight shimmer to them) and one cream blush (macaroon in the middle). Until this palette, I was sure that the only blush that would look good on me is light, almost neutral, pink, but I have been getting compliments from left and right wearing the darker Icing sugar. All three blushes are highly pigmented so they should last you forever. 

The only brush I recently picked up is the bhcosmetics duo fibre stippling brush. I was excited to try a new brush but the best I can say about this one is that it is very pretty. For me, the fibres are too long and it's difficult to get into every nook with them and besides that, it's already shedding on me after two weeks. Not impressed. 

Next, we have two palettes – one high end and one more reasonably priced. 

I've been wanting the Lorac palette probably since the first day I decided that I will learn to do make-up properly and I've finally picked it up. So far, I am pretty impressed. It's very pigmented and has a beautiful range of shimmery and matte shadows. The only downfall is the kick out, but that is perhaps also due to the brushes I use. 

I Hear Makeup – I Heart Passion palette I received a while back from Licila.si but at the first glance I immediately decided to keep it safe until the holiday season. I mean, just look at all these beautiful strong glitters. I am sure I will be creating many looks with this palette come December. And display the packaging proudly because it is absolutely stunning. Would you like a review of this palette? Comment below! By the way: is anyone else under the impression that the people at the branding department of I heart makeup did not think things through when naming the brand? I mean, the graphics with the heart are beautiful, but the name just seems wrong to me :)

Moving right along we again have two products that are priced very differently. I have heard so many bloggers rave about the Benefit They're real! push-up liner, how perfect and easy it's supposed to be and immediately decided I need it in my life. Well, I was in for a disappointment. I mean, it is easier to do a nice line that with a regular liquid liner, but it's far from easy and I still recorded some massive failures with this liner. For this price, it should jump out of the box and make a perfect winged line which would magically disappear at the end of the day by itself. Not impressed at all. 

The same goes for the I Heart Makeup lip combo named Yesterday's favourite. Well, it might have been someone’s favourite, but it's never been mine. On one side, we have a matte lipstick in a gorgeous red colour but it's so drying that I cannot wear it without  a gloss. The perfect solution would be the gloss on the other side, but it has so much shimmer in it that I was literally glowing like a Christmas tree. So the product was quite disappointing in my opinion. 

Last but not least, the nail polishes. I have quite recently cleaned out my polish collection and of course I needed to stock up on what I felt was missing from it. 

I have already talked about Zoya nail polishes and how much I love them. Yes, they are expensive, probably one of the most expensive brands out there (besides Chanel, Dior and all those premium brands), but I feel you really get a lot for your money. I picked up two colours – Noel, which is a sparkly blue colour and will be perfect for the holidays, and Yuna that is a silvery colour with glitter from their Fall Ignite collection. 

From Make-up Revolution line, I picked up the coppery No Good Waiting and the golden green Make Me. Both of these are fabulous colours and really inexpensive, but for some reason the glitter inside has already started to condense (I cannot find another word to describe it) and the chunks of glitter just sit on top of your nails, making the surface uneven. I am not sure of the reason why this is happening, does any of you have similar experiences with these polishes?

Last up, I knew I was in trouble yesterday when I spotted the Essence Christmas line in Müller. I managed to contain my excitement and only pick up one item, although it's technically three (but they are really small though) :) It's the Essence Come to Town (01 – Naughty or Nice?) polish collection. The polishes themselves don't have any names which I don't really like, but we have two regular polishes - one in red with bright pink undertones and the second one in a lovely plum shade which is a perfect dupe for the Essie Bahama Mama that I love. The set also contains one topper with smaller and larger pieces of gold glitter. I have not tested them out yet but I am expecting them to be reasonably good considering my past experience. Would anyone like to see them on my nails in all the combinations?

I hope you enjoyed reading this. Don't forget – my holiday giveaway is still up and running, so enter, if you haven’t yet!

Until next time, stay beautiful, stay awesome!