April Favourites 2013

Benefit Coralista

The perfect coral blush with gold shimmer that makes your cheeks look glowy. It's my most worn blush not just because I love the colour, but also because it lasts long on my cheeks. An old swatch here

Nyx Taupe blush

I use it every day for contouring. It's a great shade for pale skin as it doesn't have any orange or warm tones in it, but it's a cool brown-grey shade that imitates a natural shadow. I did a review with a picture where I'm wearing it here.

Essie Mint Candy Apple

A beautiful mint nail polish that is perfect for Spring. Admittedly, I have many dupes, but this month I wore mostly this one. Wearing it here. (Btw, a very good dupe is Depend 245)

Refan version of Burberry Body

Normally, I dislike rose scents with passion and I wasn't really loving this scent from the beginning. I guess my taste has changed (at least temporarily) this month and I have been wearing this fragrance on most days. It smells like roses, but not like a grandma type of rose. There are other notes that temper the rose scent, which makes it smell more fresh and powdery. It's a clean skin scent, floral and woody. There is supposed to be peach in it, but I don't smell any fruity notes at all. Oh, and if you're wondering, yes it smells like the original. I checked. And it lasts as long as the original, about 5-6 hours. 

Rimmel Apocalips Stellar

A super bright pink-red-coral liquid lipstick. I wore it every day in the beginning of the month. Review and swatches here.  

Catrice Ultimate Colour 250 Matt About Pink

I found my new every day shade that I wear everywhere. It's a bright peachy pink colour with a matte finish. Review and swatches here.

Mac Lady Danger (matte) 

A vivid orange red. I have a sample size, but I would love to have a full size lipstick. Swatch here.

L'Oreal Colour Infallible in 24 Bronze Goddess

My love for Infallible eyeshadows has not waned. I still think these are some of the best eyeshadows out there. Bronze Goddess is one of my favourites, it an olive shade with gold shimmer. Review and a rubbish swatch here.

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Stash

One my favourites liners ever. UD liners are so soft and pigmented plus they really last on the lid. I have a few colours, but Stash is my favourite. It's a dark olive colour with gold shimmer that I wear often in the waterline and smudged on the lower lashline. Swatch here.

Balea Bodycreme Sunny Peach  

A really nice moisturiser with a peach scent (my kryptonite) that is affordable and comes in a huge pot (available only in DM's). Review here.

Thanks for reading!

Tropical

I have a great weakness for tropical scents. My heart trembles when I see a new product with words like passion fruit or mango on them. Anything that smells like a fruity cocktail is right up my alley. Strangely enough no one around me loves tropical scents as much as I do (or at all) and I've received a lot of eye-rolling when I dragged something new home from the drugstore. I have a lot of tropical scented products and I put them all in this post to share with fellow exotic scents enthusiasts. I'll focus on the scents rather than reviewing products because I've already done that for most products.

Tigi Bed Head Masterpiece - I've been using this hairspray for many years and if you're familiar with Tigi products, they rarely disappoint with their scents. This one smells like pineapple and the (old) Dumb Blonde line had a similar scent.

Batiste Tropical dry shampoo - It smells like sweet coconut, but it's quite a faint scent. Review here.

Balea Hawaii deospray (2012/13 LE)  - A candy papaya and frangipani scent. Balea recently released two new tropical inspired deodorants, Brazil Mango and Cocos & Nectarine (more here), obviously, I'd love to have both.

Victoria's Secret Love Spell body spray - A tropical fruit mix. The scent is described as cherry blossom and peach, but to me it smells very tropical, sweet but still fresh. I already compared it to the discontinued blue Bibita (a fizzy drink), but US based reviewers compare it to Hawaiian Punch. Review here.

Garnier Fructis Fruity Passion shampoo - this has my favourite passion fruit scent in any product. It's the perfect mix of sweetness and fruityness. More here.

Balea Brazil Mango shower gel (2013 LE) - smells like tropical candy. I'll be very specific - the white Haribo gummy bear in the gold packaging (I always eat those first, I believe it's pineapple flavour). Balea has a great tropical inspired LE that is available right now in DM's. I wrote a bit about it here.

Balea Hawaii Pineapple shower gel (2013 LE) - smells exactly like Pina Colada, so a mix of pineapple and coconut.

Victoria's Secret Love Spell body butter - The same tropical scent as in body spray. Review here.

Herbal Essences Hello Hydration hair mask - A heavenly tropical paradise scent. It's a fruity, coconuty candy scent that lasts for a really long time on the hair. Review here.

Benefit Coralista - The prettiest blush ever and one of the rare ones that actually lasts on the skin. It has a tropical scent that I can't define, but I really like it. It not as intense as it was from the beginning though. More pictures here.

Yves Rocher Noix de coco - A straight up coconut scent. It's very affordable, not too sweet or artficial smelling and has great staying power. More here

Yves Rocher mango passion fruit edt (2012/13 LE) - It was last year's LE, but I read somewhere it will also be available this year. It's a simple refreshing mango scent. More here.

I can't do a proper post on tropical scents without including yearly Escada's LEs. They are the definition of tropical, cocktail, summery scents! There have been so many over the years and in the spirit of a true fan girl, I can boast with a nice, albeit small collection of them. Most are mini 4 ml travel bottles that I got on eBay and I own a 30 ml size of Taj Sunset and 50 ml bottle of Marine Groove. Their only weakness is the weak staying power. The notes (in italic) are copied from Fragrantica, check the reviews there if you want to learn more.

• Taj Sunset (2011 LE) - A warm, sweet and sunny mango fragrance. It's the most long-lasting and sweetest of the Escada's.  Top notes are Alphonso mango, nectarine and blood orange. The heart features aquatic flowers with raspberry and pomarosa or Malay apple. The base consists of coconut, sandalwood and musk.
• Marine Groove (2009 LE) - a musky passion fruit scent. Notes: passionfruit, peony, jasmine and musk
• Rockin' Rio (2005 & 2011 LE) - One of my favourites. A warm, sugary tropical mix. Top notes: pineapple, fresh and sweet mandarin and passionate papaya. The heart is wrapped with juicy peach and sugar candy. The base is dominated by gourmet, warm coconut milk, sandalwood and musk.
• Pacific Paradise (2006 LE) - a more fresh fruity mix, a bit similar to YR mango passion fruit. Notes include banana, apple, coconut, lime, sugar, sandalwood, amber, and musk.
• Sunset Heat (2007 LE) A mango-melon scent. It's my least favourite because of the melon. The top notes create an exotic cocktail: lemon, papaya with pineapple mousse, mango sorbet and refreshing water melon accords. Sandalwood, coconut and hibiscus with its powdery floral notes end the composition.
• Moon Sparkle (2007 LE) A sweet-sour berry scent that is similar to Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy. It opens with notes of strawberry, black currant, citruses and red fruits. Middle notes reveal sweet pea, freesia, jasmine and rose, and this fragrant floral bouquet is followed by raspberry, musk, sandalwood and amber in the base.
• Ocean Lounge (2008 LE) - A sweet strawberry jam scent. Top notes: litchi, plum, pear nectar accord and strawberry meringe accord; middle notes are violet petal sorbet aromas, mimose blossom and jasmine; base notes are amber, sheer vanilla and teak wood.

Do you have any favourite tropical scented products? Have a great day!

Just In

I stumbled upon an offer that I couldn't let pass. Kérastase products have been on my wishlist for at least a year and since they are not the cheapest hair products in the world, I patiently waited for an offer that would finally convince me to jump the Kérastase bandwagon. And it finally landed in my inbox. I got a discount for 15% off plus a full size Elixir Ultime (125 ml) for free if I bought three products. Elixir Ultime retails for about 35€ - you have to admit that getting it for free is quite generous. Salon brands in general are much, much cheaper online than in hair salons and I buy them regularly.
I checked if the offer still stands and lookfantastic offers a free 50 ml oil and 15% off if you buy two Kérastase products and HqHair has the same offer minus the discount. Both have free shipping.

I just got the package with Kérastase products today, so I haven't tried anything yet, but there will be detailed reviews sometime in the future. 

I also had a code for 15% off and I decided to get the Bed Head Totally Baked Volumizing & Preping Hair Meringue and a pair of Ardell's Demi Wispies.

I've already tried Totally Baked, however, I have difficulties with the proper amount, because the first time it made my hair too sticky and the second time I used too little. I'm not loving the scent as much as other reviewers. They say it smells like lemon squares, but to me it smells like home-made slightly over-baked doughnuts.

Ardell Demi Wispies are so beautiful, but I haven't tried them yet. They look like individual lashes on a clear strip and flare towards the outer edge.

I had a long wishlist of Kerastase products and I decided to try Bain Oleo-Relax shampoo (supposedly great for taming frizz according to reviews), Masquintense Épais (for thick hair) and Nectar Thermique (leave-in for dry hair with heat protection). All are targeted for dry hair and have really good reviews on MUA. I hope they're really as awesome as some describe it.

As I said I got the Elixir Ultime for free, this one is a limited edition packaging designed by Jade Jagger and features a lip print, both on the box and the product. I reviewed the Elixir Ultime in my hair oils series here (also here) and I still have my 50ml version, which I carry in my bag. As I said in my original review, it's too light for my hair as a treatment not to mention too expensive, but I did get it for free. I love using it as a quick and light defrizzer, because it doesn't weight the hair down at all due to it's lightness. It's become a part of my morning routine. I just adore the scent of it and in my book scent is one of the most important things in a product (am I the only one?). It's one of the best product scents ever, a high-end floral-coconut scent and I wish they made a fragrance with such a scent.  

Have you tried any Kérastase product? I'm interested in what's your opinion on them. Please share in the comments. Have a great day!

Product of the Week #9

Something different for the product of the week today, a simple homemade face mask that I've been using not just this week, but for a while. It requires three ingredients which I'm sure most have at home: 

• a lemon 
• honey  
• baking soda

I just eyeball the amount needed, there really is no rule. It's simple, add some freshly squeezed lemon juice to the baking soda. It will fizz for a while and when that is over, I add a bit of honey and apply it on your face.  I mix all on my hand, so I can just apply it straight away and there is no extra mess with other pots or containers.

Because of the lemon juice, it does tingle from the start and for that reason I wouldn't recommend it to someone with very sensitive skin, because it could be too uncomfortable for them. I leave it on for 20 minutes and then rinse it off. Of course, you can leave it on for less time, again there is no rule, however, I wouldn't leave it longer. 

Lemon juice makes your skin look brighter and fades marks, while baking soda exfoliates the skin. Honey is antibacterial and contains loads of nutrients, minerals and vitamins, leaving your skin moisturised and supple. It can be a bit drying without the honey, but you can skip any ingredient if you don't have it at hand. 

I started using this mask, when some blackheads appeared out of nowhere on my nose (I've never had them before in my life!) and this worked brilliantly. It removed them in the first go. It's an easy mask that anyone can whip out at home and works for every skin tone (except perhaps on very sensitive one). I did a post on other homemade recipes I'm using here.

Thanks for reading!

Batiste Dry Shampoo Tropical

Batiste are probably the most popular dry shampoos. I was highly recommended to try it by my readers in the comments of several posts. They are not sold in our country, but several brands launched their versions that are sold here in the recent years. I tried two so far, Syoss Volume Lift which is my favourite and Balea trocken shampoo, which is rubbish. As much as I love Syoss dry shampoo, I got tired of the scent and I wanted something sweeter, less fabric softener like. Aerosols can't be shipped via air mail, however, I learned Asos does ship Batiste dry shampoos to some countries. I ordered the 400 ml can of the tropical version. 

My hair almost never gets greasy, so I don't use dry shampoo for that purpose, however, I still use it every other day to freshen up my hair and to give it volume. I like Batiste shampoo as much as the Syoss one. It sort of revives the hair, freshens it up and gives volume. I love how it makes my hair feel more light and airy. I like the scent of Batiste more than the Syoss' one. It's a basic coconut scent and I love coconut scents, however, I find it too faint and I really wish it was stronger (I prefer stronger scents in general). I'm a dark brunette and it doesn't leave my hair white/gray like the Balea one does (I spray it as the instructions say, about 30 cm from the hair).

The can I got is huge, but not too big to use. It's slightly bigger than Tigi's Masterpiece hair spray and Spoil me. Mine is a 400 ml version, but there are two smaller sizes - the 200 ml can and a 50 ml travel size. The nozzle works great, so far it hasn't clogged and sprays an even amount.

There is a big selection of scents and even colours of Batiste dry shampoos, so I will probably try some other versions. I paid 6.55€ for a 400 ml can on Asos.

I think it is a brilliant dry shampoo and compared to the Syoss one, they are neck to neck in terms of effectiveness, but I prefer the scent of Batiste one. Highly recommended.

Catrice Matt About Pink

Let me introduce you to my new every day lipstick. I'm in love with the colour. Matt About Pink is one of the three new matte lipsticks that joined the Ultimate Colour permanent range this Spring. I liked all three, but decided to get only this one. I actually had this shade on my wishlist from the moment I saw the promo pictures, but after seeing swatches of other bloggers I changed my mind. Honestly, it doesn't look that amazingly pretty in the tube or swatched on the back of the hand, but I was amazed at how great it looks on me.

The formula could be better. Matte is my favourite finish, however, I prefer matte lip creams to the formula of this lipstick. It's not at all drying and it applies really nicely, but the formula is not smooth enough and the application can look uneven which becomes more evident later (I have a similar problem with Shiseido's Perfect Rouge glowing matte in PK224). Staying power is average, it lasts about 5 hours, but then I feel the need to reapply it to make it more even and crisp looking. It doesn't survive eating or drinking too well.

Formula aside, it is one of my absolute favourite shades ever. Matt About Pink looks like a perfect peachy pink on me. It's what I call a pink coral, a mix of pink with orange, but with pink being much more dominant. It is somewhat bright, however, I think it's still appropriate as an every day shade if you're not afraid of wearing a bit of colour. It would probably look more toned down on someone who's not as pale as me. I've been wearing it every day and everywhere since I got it.

Catrice lipsticks cost about 4€, I got mine in Müller.
Thanks for reading!

Why Waste Perfectly Good Pictures

I take a lot of pictures and some never make it into a post. Because it takes a lot of time to edit them, I don't want them to go to waste, so here they are.

The first is a nail polish by Catrice from the Neonaturals LE and it's called Mrs. Brightside. It's one of my favourite colours, but I always forget to take a picture of it when it's on my nails. It's kind of pointless anyway because it was LE, but it's a bright pink with some coral and just stunning in person.

Essence Colour & Go 109 Off to Miami is an orange-coral shade, which I wore only once. I don't really like how orange it looks on me, I expected something more coral. I'm wearing it here in the first picture where I'm holding the lipsticks. I'm looking for a colour that would look exactly like this on me, but most corals turn out to be too orange on me. Any recommendations, apart from Essie Cute as a Button, which is on the picture? 

Real Techniques Core Collection - I use the buffing brush and contour brush everyday. I did a review here.

I got Catrice Prime and Fine Smoothing Refiner a while ago, but I really don't like it. It's feels too greasy and doesn't leave a smooth enough finish. As far as primers go, my favourite so far was Clinique's Pore Minimizer Instant Perfector, which works great on oily/combination skin.

Dove Hair Therapy Oil Care Nährpflege 1 Minute Kur-Spűllung or Nourishing Oil Care Express Treatment Conditioner, it depends on the country how it's called, is my favourite drugstore hair treatment and I've used up at least a dozen tubes of it (review here and here). However, I bought the version that comes in a pot a couple of months ago and it's not as good. I'm almost done with the pot and I won't repurchase it, the tube version is much more moisturising. 

I already talked about my experience with Mavala Double-Lash here, but here are more pictures of it that I was keeping for a review. Since I wasn't impressed by it, I won't review it in detail. The applicator is a mascara wand, which isn't particularly handy when you're trying to get the product to the root of the lashes, so I used an eyeliner brush.

I got the Cherry Culture lip balm in Chocolate for free as a gift with purchase. You can pick your own scent/flavour at the checkout. It smells like coffee and I really dislike anything that smells like coffee, so I gave it to someone else. 

Nyx Black Label lipstick in India was a gift for my cousin, but I did snap a few photos of it (she agreed of course). It's a peachy nude shade that is very similar to MUA's lipstick in 15 Juicy.

Thanks for looking.

Milani Liquif'eye Metalic Eye Liner Pencil 03 Gold

This is basically the best gold eyeliner I ever found. It's incredibly soft and very pigmented, a slight touch is enough to get some colour. It transfers well to the waterline and manages to last there quite long, while it lasts for over 8 hours on the top lashline and the entire day between the lower lashes. The colour is just perfect, a proper old gold. It's easy to blend for the first 30 seconds, then it sets and doesn't budge. The texture is very similar to Avon's Supershock eyeliners.

I've been wearing it on my waterline instead of my fleshtoned Max Factor Khol, because I think it brings out my eye colour and makes it more blue. It's also great as an eyeshadow base for gold shades, I use it with E.l.f.'s Studio pigment eyeshadow in Golden Goddess. Because it's so soft, I have to sharpen it very often, but that's my only negative. If you're on a hunt for a great gold eyeliner, look no further.

I got it from Cherryculture.com and it was 6.99$ (or currently about 5.3€).

Nyx Blush Taupe

It's difficult to find a contouring shade for pale skin. Bronzers look too orange or muddy and plainly just unnatural as a contour. Nyx Taupe is a cool taupe shade, so a brown with grey tones. It imitates the natural skin colour in the shade and is therefore perfect for us pale Snow Whites (NC 15-20 or paler). It's more suited for those with cool or neutral skin tone, but plenty people of different skin tones say they love it. There is no warmth in this shade, it's definitely not a bronzer type of shade and it won't make you look more tan. I also tried it when I was much tanner (I wore Bourjois BB cream in 21) and it looked too cool in a sense that it was a bit too grey and draining, because my skin tone was much warmer than normal due to self tanning.

The texture is averagely soft and it's finely milled. Pigmentation is medium, however, it's better if you apply it gradually, slowly building it up, otherwise it can look too obvious, but you can really build it up. Finish is completely matte, making it perfect for contouring. It a really nice colour as a neutral eyeshadow.

Honestly, I not really convinced about contouring yet. I have been wearing Taupe every day for the past month and I'm not sure it contributes much to my look (or, you can tell me, based on the last picture). Granted, contouring can look amazing, however, I think it looks much better on darker skin tones, because you can really play with the light vs. dark to shape the face.

There are so many tutorials, but there are rare ones that focus on individual face shapes. I do contouring, highlighting and blush according to this picture I found on Pinterest, which is one of the rare ones that shows how to contour based on your face shape rather than just some general contouring instructions.

Source: http://data1.whicdn.com/images/117146246/original.jpg

My face shape is the second in the top row. I use Taupe to contour my cheeks bones, a bit under the jaw and on my forehead to make my face look less long. I don't contour my nose, because it makes it look really weird. I use the Real Techniques Contour brush which is perfect for such a task. I do a subtle contouring, so it looks like a natural shadow and you can see it more as you're moving and from different angles, rather than just have a dark streak on my face. I applied a lot in the following pictures for the purposes of this post, because I had such a hard time showing it up in the pictures, I do it much more subtle normally. This was my third attempt at trying to get a good picture where is would show up, so forgive the a bit fed up look.

How do you feel about contouring? Do you use contouring to shape your face? Thanks for stopping by.

Edit: I just wanted to share a review of my fellow Slovene blogger Petra (Adjusting Beauty), who has a warm (yellow) undertone and she's also fair. Nyx Taupe looks very brown on her and she can't wear it as a contour. This confirms my assumption that this is a shade best suited for those with cool or neutral undertone.

NYX Rouge Cream Blush Natural

Nyx cream blushes receive much love on MUA and a few reviewers describe them as close to Mac blushecremes and the shade Natural as a dupe for Mac's Ladyblush. I don't know about the dupe part, but I get why these are so popular. The texture is very creamy and soft. If I compare them with Maybelline's Dream blushes, Nyx version feels greasier and not as siliconey. Don't be fooled by the demure look of Natural in the pan, because it is very, very pigmented. I need the smallest amount, even less that is on my finger in one of the pictures, because it can be too much very quickly, especially since I'm so pale. It blends ok, but it is missing that silicone slip that the Maybelline's one have. I like to use fingers or Real Techniques stippling brush to apply it. The finish is satin and very natural, however, it's not as glowy as I expected it would be (maybe because I have to apply so little and blend it well due to strong pigmentation). 

Natural is a warm light pink. It gives a nice, almost baby doll pink flush with exception that it's warm rather than cool toned. The colour is very similar to E.l.f.'s mineral lipstick in Runway Pink and Mac's Creme Cup, especially on the lips. I am wearing Natural on my cheeks and lips in the last picture.

I am the worst person to comment about the staying power, because every blush apart from cheek stains and Coralista disappear from my cheeks in an hour or two. Even if I pile Natural on, it lasts only two hours on my cheeks.

I got mine on Cherryculture for 4.90$ (currently about 3.7€).

New In April

Just a quick post, focused more on pictures because I intend to do full reviews for most of the products.

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Permanent Taupe  

Maybelline finally started selling these in Slovenia. I got only one but I have On and on bronze on my wishlist (it's much more stunning in person than on swatches). I'll post a full review on Permanent Taupe soon. 

Catrice Ultimate Color Matt About Pink 

A stunning peachy pink lipstick. I already have the pictures and I'll post a review probably sometime next week.

Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Plus

My first Japanese mascara. I got it because I heard that it holds curl well. I got it two days ago and I can say the claims are true, but I need some time to get used to the brush. I'm not sure when I'll post a review, I want to test it thoroughly first.

Essence Frame 4 Fame lash glue 

The cheapest lash glue I could find. I don't wear false lashes often, but I have Misslyn's individual lashes and I just ordered Ardell's Demi Wispies from lookfantastic, both don't have the lash adhesive included. I could splurge for Duo, but for now this is ok. It's too liquidy and I can't get much of product on the false lashes, but it holds very well. I've only tried it with individual lashes so far and none fell off before I took my make up off. Edit: I tried it with Ardell's Demi Wispies and it held well for about 8 hours, but then the lashes started to pop up on both corners, however it held in the middle until I took my make up off. So in short, it ok for individual lashes, but I would get something else for strip eyelashes.

Balea Young Zucker Schnute Deo Roll-on

 I needed a new deodorant and this one was the cheapest, so I just put it in my basket. I really don't like it. Considering it has sugar in the name, the sugary part of the scent is very faint. It smells like a generic deodorant scent with a hint of lemon sweets. It works though.

Balea Hawai Pineapple shower gel

Smells like pina colada and fresh pineapple. Review here.

Balea Mango Brazil Shower gel 

Smells like the white Haribo gummy bear. Review here.

Batiste Tropical dry shampoo 

I got the absolutely huge can (400 ml) from Asos. Review soon.

This is an old picture of my purchase from Cheeryculture, but I didn't want it to go to waste. Reviews for Nyx blushes and Milani eyeliner will be published first so keep your eyes peeled.

• Milani Liquif'eye eyeliner in Gold 
• Nyx Black Label lipstick India - I got it for my cousin, but I did take a few pictures and a quick swatch. Pictures will be in an upcoming post.
• Nyx Rouge Cream blush Natural 
• Nyx blush Taupe
• Cherry Culture lip balm chocolate - smells like coffee and I hate the smell of coffee. I got it for free as a gift with purchase.

Garnier Ultra Doux Heritage Provence Apricot and Almond shampoo 

I got it for my family and of course, I tested it myself. It's great for my dry hair as it doesn't dry it out at all. It smells like ice tea (Ledeni čaj brusnica od Sole) and bubble gum. One of the best drugstore shampoos for dry hair. It's paraben and silicone free, you can see the ingredients here.

Fructis Fruity Passion shampoo

Another shampoo I got for my family. The scent is absolutely brilliant, a proper sweet passion fruit scent, I adore it. It did dry my hair out, but I will be using it as a shower gel occasionally, because I love the scent. Ingredients here.

Garnier Ultimate Beauty oil 

Review here.

John Frieda Brilliant brunette moisturising conditioner 

A drugstore conditioner that I repurchased numerous times. This is the only conditioner/mask after which my hair smell nice for days, because normally my hair never retains the scent of the conditioner or shampoo I use. It smells amazing, like a mix of coconut and caramel. It's one of the best drugstore conditioners for dry hair. Picture of the ingredients here.

Some more pictures because too much work goes into them to waste them. Click on them to see a larger view: