Showing posts with label Sweet Gold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sweet Gold. Show all posts

Empties #4

A lot of empties accumulated in my bags in the past couple of months (two bags of them to be exact). In fact, there are so many of them that I'll do two separate posts about them, otherwise this would be way too long. So if you see a product in the first picture and you can find it here, fret not, it'll be in the second part. The blue text are links to the original reviews or first impressions if you want to know more about the products.

I haven't used it up yet as I still have some left, it's just in a spray bottle because the original packaging is 
rubbish. I like this as a spray toner since it doesn't feel like your applying nothing, rather it feels sufficiently moisturising and it also contains vitamin C. The scent is among the stronger ones and it's difficult to describe in any other way than chemical, but I like it. If I apply this with a cotton pad around the eyes, it burns a bit, but this is not the case when I use it as a spray. In short, it's a decent toner and very affordable.
Repurchase: I might, it's not bad at all.

(a.k.a. Hydra Active 3 Mizellen-Technologie Reinigungsfluid in German speaking world)
A decent micelar water, though I don't like it nearly as much as Bioderma. Since I realised it's basically the same thing as the Garnier one, only in worse packaging and more expensive per ml, I won't buy it again.
Repurchase: No.

This is very different from other B5 (panthenol) healing treatments such as Avene Cicalfate or Bepanthenol, in a sense that it feels like a primer and it leaves a matte, silicone-dry finish. I used this on areas where my skin needed healing/repairing, mostly on spots and my legs. I like how smoothly it applies, especially compared to the much thicker Cicalfate for example. It's quite lovely.
Repurchase: Probably.

An excellent oil for mega dry, patchy skin. If I got dry patches, this healed them super fast. But since my skin got loads better in this year, I've been using it mostly for hair. Aside from the usual treatment for dry ends, I used this on my scalp (I suffer from dry scalp and therefore flaky, itchy scalp with dandruff) and since this has a dropper, it's easier to get it right into the roots. I also added it into my pre-wash mix which contains coconut oil and a few drops of tea tree oil (as well as Phytopolléine universal elixir while I still had it). I like it, but the amount is so small for the price. I actually saw 0.75 l for about 15€ in E.Leclerc in the cooking section. 
Repurchase: I don't know. It's within the realm of possibilities.

This is my favourite drugstore mascara and I bought several of them over the years, but honestly, it can't compare to high-end waterproof mascaras. It gives about the same amount of volume and length as the more expensive versions, but it is not really waterproof and therefore, can't hold the curl well. It also doesn't survive super hot days (hello panda eyes). I would still repurchase it if high-end mascaras would be out of  my reach at that time. The packaging is hideous, though.
Repurchase: Probably.

I don't know why I kept this so long as I never used it. I'm not a fan of stains since they get stuck on dry patches while the rest of the colour fades and this one is exactly like that. The colour doesn't even last an hour. On the plus side, it didn't dry out yet, but I'm still tossing it.
Repurchase: No.

A very creamy, medium to full coverage concealer and one of my all-time favourites. It's supposed to be illuminating, but I don't find it so. It can easily be used to cover spots as well, not just circles and it covers both well. The packaging is not ideal, especially when it's about to run out, since the fact that the product must come through the brush wastes product. A more simple nozzle would be ideal. The shade is quite light and yellow toned, however, not as light as their lightest foundation in the same range (010 Light Porcelain). I also noticed that it oxidises well before the expiration date, which made it too dark for me, while from the start the shade was ideal. If you buy it, make sure you use it in a year, but otherwise it's a great concealer for the price.
Repurchase: Yes. It's really good and much better than anything I can just grab in our drugstores.

A full coverage concealer in a nice really fair, yellow toned shade, however, this needs to be either warmed up or kept some place warmer to get a useful creamy consistency otherwise it's too dry and streaky. It's nice, but hard to work with and I can't be bothered. This is definitely not for dry skin.
Repurchase: No.

Givenchy Matissime Absolute Matte Finish Powder Foundation SPF 20
A matiffying powder foundation that lasted me half a decade. I can't find this on the Givenchy website any more, which leads me to believe it might have been discontinued, but there are still some left in different online shops. It is very smooth and provides light additional coverage (so picking the right shade is important!). In terms of mattifying this was the most effective powder I tried, but it still managed not to look flat on the skin as it also gave the skin a very subtle luminosity, though this is not the most natural looking powder.
Repurchase: It's not available any more, I believe. But even so, I'd like something with no coverage and a bit lighter.  Recs?


I really liked this oil. It has the same scent as my beloved shower oil and feels so luxurious. I used it very sparingly so it lasted me quite a while, after all, it's not every day you spend so much on a beauty product. It is a thick dry oil, which means it doesn't leave you super greasy, but it also takes a bit longer to sink in compared to Nuxe or Garnier dry oil. It's one of the most moisturising products I've used and it even helped me once with the dry patches on my forehead. This is the quintessential pamper product.
Repurchase: Yes.

 Balea Sweet Wonderland Deospray
While I love the scent of the shower gel from this LE, which is no longer available, I'm not too keen on this deospray. The scent is an odd chocolate chemical one and it didn't exactly brighten my mornings when I sprayed it. I still have the travel size.
Repurchase: No.

SunDance Transparent Selftanning spray
I loved this before I discovered XenTan and St. Tropez. Compared to those two, this is more of a gradual tanner. The tan it gives looks natural, but lasts only a few days and one application will only give you a faint tan. The spray application is even, though cold as Superman's ice breath and therefore uncomfortable. It has a floral scent and there isn't much of the tanner scent after one application, probably because of the smaller amount of DHA, however, when you're building up the tan for several days, there is a very strong selftan scent present that lasts almost until the tan washes off. One can of product also doesn't last long - two, maybe three full body applications; more if you tan only the legs, of course. It dries super fast, so I apply one layer and after a minute a second and even a third one. 
Repurchase: No, not really.

Balea Antibacterial Wipes
(a.k.a. Hygiene Reinigungstűcher)
These have that typical hospital scent, and are quite thick and wet. I much prefer the Preven ones because they smell and feel better.
Repurchase: Though it's possible, I prefer the Preven ones.

Balea Deo Roll-On Zucker Schnitte
First let's all laugh at the 48 hour claim - not even in the wildest dreams. Anyway, it's a very average deodorant and maybe I'd even like it a bit if the scent weren't so lame. I think this isn't even available any more.
Repurchase: Nope.

Dove Maximum Protection deodorant original clean
This has an interesting mousse-like texture. It's supposed to be one of those super-strength antiperspirant, but I don't notice any difference between this and the regular ones. It smells nice, typically Dove creamy clean. I do have a few gripes: one is that it leaves white marks and second that there is so little product in it. I used it up in a third of time of any other deodorant, though this does mean it didn't have time to stop working on me. It's nice, though nothing special and expensive.
Repurchase: Not sure. I never repurchase the same deodorant because they all stop working on me.

CadeaVera Fussbalsam
This is a pretty basic mineral oil based moisturiser with avocado oil, lavender, peppermint oil and some other stuff. I find it way too light for my feet. It smells like peppermint.
Purchase: No.

Utterly useless. I gave this sugaring paste another chance and this is impossible to work with.
Repurchase: When a purple unicorn bakes me some cupcakes, I might start considering it (that's a no in case you missed it). 

Have a great day!

New In #9

I got more Mac lipstick samples since they released some new shades that I really wanted to try. I got Peach Blossom, Sunny Seoul, Full Speed, Relentlessly Red and Dangerous. I'll post swatches in the next post.
I also got samples of Prep + Prime BB cream in Extra Light and Face&Body Foundation in N1. Neither really impressed me, but more about them in full review.
They also included a generous sample of their Pink Lemonade Lip Lustre, which I swatched bellow.
Lipsticks samples were 3.79$, Face & Body 2.99$ and Prep + Prime BB 2.79$.

Sample of The Body Needs Pink Lemonade Lip Lustre
Pink Lemonade looks like a lovely bright pink-coral in the pan, but on the lips it barely shows up. I tried to get the intensity going, but the most I got was a gentle blush of colour and multicoloured shimmer. It feels like those lipstick/lip balm/lip gloss hybrids which means it's nicely hydrating and has a lovely glossy shine (I must admit that the shimmer in it is nice). It smells like cherry candy which I love. They have a massive selection of shades and I hope their darker shades are more pigmented because judging from this shade the formula and the scent are nice.

I'll start with venting my frustration at the discovery that some hateful imbecile opened my parcel and took off the top part of the pump. Why would anyone do that?! Luckily, I keep some old empty bottles for such occasions and I just replaced the pump with one from a L'Occitane serum.
I ordered it because I heard it is one of the lightest foundations. Honestly, this shade is nothing new in my collection as it is virtually identical to Dior's BB cream. I hoped it'd be lighter, something like Missha's BB #13. I've only worn it a few times and it's nice, but I don't really love it (yet?). There will be a full review after I test it properly.
It was 6.07 € with a discount on Asos.

I wanted a dupe for Essence's Deep Blue Sea and this is not it. It looks close enough in the bottle with a similar shimmer/frost effect and it is a pretty colour, but that frost doesn't show on the nails, plus it has greyish hue. The quality is nice, though. I'll post a swatch one day.
It was 2.49 € in Müller.

This is brilliant! I never owned a Catrice blush before, but after trying this one I will get more. It's super pigmented, soft, matte and actually lasts on my skin (which is unheard of). And the colour is adorable. Great product! I'll do a proper review and a swatch.
These cost 3.79 € in Műller.
Such an absolutely wonderful fragrance, but it lasts less than an hour despite being a strong scent. It'll appeal to anyone who loves La Vie est Belle, Can Can and Fantasy. I'll do an in depth review.
I paid 23.49 € for 100 ml on All Beauty.

I expected a lot and so far I'm disappointed. It has a great texture and it's hydrating, yet I see no positive long term results whatsoever. In fact, my skin got worse since I started using it. It's certainly less smooth and even spotty. I'll give it more time and then write a review.
 15.99 € in Müller.

 got2b Sprüh Kleber a.k.a Freeze Haispray
I expected great hold and this proved too weak. You know those lovely no-heat curls I make that I say last about an hour (picture here)? Well, I wanted something really strong to hold them in place. This unfortunately didn't and I used tons of it. It does leave the hair stiff, yet not particularly sticky, however, I did notice that it dried out my hair. It's not bad, but since it does about the same as the Lee Stafford one, which should obviously have a lighter hold (and feels weightless plus is just overall fantastic), I obviously prefer that one. This one smells lovely sweet fruity-candy-ish and the scent really lingers in my hair.
It was 5.59€ in Müller

Essie Nail Polishes: 
Turquoise & Caicos, Really Red and After School Boy Blazer
I had a 50% off coupon, what more can I say. I've only tried T&C so far, which I heard it's supposed to have an awful formula, but I was pleasantly surprised. All will be swatched here at some point. ASBB may look similar to the Colorama polish that's higher up, but in the bottles they don't look dupes. I'll try to do a comparison.
Sample of LCN Marry me Berry Hand & Body Cream
The texture is somewhere in the middle and feels like it has a lot of silicones in it. It takes about 2-3 minutes to sink in and moisturises ok. The scent is artificial berry yoghurt like. It's nice, but I won't be buying a full size as I rarely use hand creams.
I got this in that new pharmacy in E.Leclerc (Ljubljana). Have you seen than awesome place?! It's like a proper Frech pharmacy brimming with all the pharmacy brands and even samples. Paradise.

Cien Shower Cream with Almond Oil & Apricot
I just grabbed this in Lidl and discovered at home that it is actually good. For about the same price as Balea's shower gels, 0.85€, you get a very decent creamy shower gel. It smells pretty generic, but it feels like poor man's Dove shower gel which is good enough for me.

 Sweet Gold Sugar Hair Removing Paste
It's one of those sugaring pastes that some people make at home and I hate this thing. Profoundly. First you have to scoop it out from the pot where it isn't much product to begin with, then form a sort of a strip on the skin and pull it off. The problem is that as soon as it gets a bit warmer because of the body temperature (which is in like a minute or two), it get ridiculously sticky and sticks to everything. It's impossible to work with from that point on and the paste is ruined. In that one take you do get, it doesn't take all the hair off rather it only removes about a half. At least it washes of easily, but I just don't like it.
It was 6.49 € in Müller.
 Nair Cire Divine Monoi de Iles a.k.a Divine Wax
This is a hair removing wax that requires no strips, rather when applied to the skin it hardens and then you just pull it off. It comes with several A4 pages of detailed instruction and warnings (Slovene version, of course), which would scare off quite a few people, however, I find them grossly over exaggerating. It's actually relatively easy to use. It says to put in the microwave for 2 minutes, but I find that is not enough and it needs another minute. You get only one wooden spatula, which is not enough, with which you need to stir the wax to get a honey like consistency. It says that it can be messy, but I don't find it so, you just get a lot of strings. You apply the warm wax on the skin, which dries/hardens really quickly in about 20-30 seconds and then I pull it off. I find it super easy to take off, but removes only 1/3-1/2 of the hair. It's pretty much painless for me, but I have a really high threshold for pain that surprised even my doctor. It says not to use it in the same place twice, but I find that's just an another exaggeration. I went several times over the same spots, but it was never hair free. I used about a half of pot, but then gave up because it would take forever. I had no irritations, redness or anything and I didn't even need to use the towelettes that are included as all the wax easily comes off.
I'd love it if it were more effective, but I won't repurchase.
I got in in E. Leclerc for about 8 € (don't quote me on that price).

 Ebeline Thermal Ceramic Round Brush Small
I got another Ebeline brush, this time a smaller one for my fringe. I use the big one all the time. The orange strip turns yellow when exposed to temperatures that are damaging to the hair.
 8.45 € in DM.

L'Occitane Samples
I got tons of L'Occitane samples which I'm really looking forward to using as I have very rarely been disappointed by this brand. I'll do short reviews in my next empties post.

Have a great day!