New In #37

ESSENCE All About Nude Palette and All About Bronze

I never thought much of Essence eyeshadows. The ones I tried were rubbish, so I avoided buying more, but I heard some good things about these palettes and after swatching them in the shop, I put them on my wishlist. To be fair, since I got theBalm Nude'Tude palette I didn't plan on getting any more cheap eyeshadows, but I bought these because I need them for my work and they were the only ones I could just go and buy in the drugstore - stupid reason, but whatever. When I first tried these, they got a double "hmm" from me. That's the sound I make when I'm feeling underwhelmed by the product, basically it's not a good sign when I do this. They are nice... ish. Well nice for drugstore eyeshadows, but based on those swatches I made in the shop I expected a lot more pigment. They are just sheerer than I expected, though the bronze shades are nice. I don't know.. .they're not bad, but  theBalm palette is miles better ( and 8-times more expensive). It could just be the top layer and I do have a feeling they are improving the more I use them. 

You can find a few looks I did with them here. My fellow bloggers already wrote a review about these, you can find them here: Adjusting Beauty and Chunky Cheeks.

Müller, 4.39 €

 GOLDEN ROSE Velvet Matte Lipstick

12

I got my first products from this brand. I've heard about it, but they only recently came to Slovenia. They remind me of Kiko in some ways, with the large selection of products and shades as well as very affordable prices. I was highly recommended to try Velvet Matte Lipsticks and I decided on shade 12 after checking Instagram pics and saw a comparison with Mac's Mehr (they're not dupes just to be clear). I like this. It's a nice matte lipstick, quite creamy once you get through the top slightly harder layer and it reminds me a bit of Maybelline's Matte lipstick. Shade 12 is a medium muted rose, a natural shade, but darker than my lips. It's like a darker Nude-ist and I'm quite liking it at the moment. I did a swatch on the lips bellow, but I hate winter for taking swatches, so it's not completely spot on, but close enough.

Golden Rose, 3.90 €

GOLDEN Rose Matte Lipstick Crayon

02, 03 and 05

Another product I was recommended to try and heard raves about. I get quite a few e-mails and messages from readers and friends about really dark, plumy shades and the darkest shade I own is Mac's Diva, so I wanted to explore some more affordable and ever darker options. I choose two very deep shades, 02 and 03. The first is a deep red that is similar to Diva and 03 is a deep brownish plum, which I'm not so sure about, it's not terribly pretty, but it very close to some pictures I got sent (from Pinterest obviously, which are all so clearly photoshopped). My cousin also lend me shade 05 which is a deep red. The formula is a bit creamier than of Velvets and it's not that easy to get very precise edges with it, so a lip liner is still a must at such dark shades. I noticed that some shades in the Velvet Matte range and Matte Crayon are basically the same, 02 is 23 in Velvet, 03 is 29 and 07 is 12 (Ajda is wearing Velvet 23 here). These need to be sharpened which I'm not a fan of. 

Not the best swatches, but I wanted to post them now, since I have a feeling it will take me some time to do proper reviews.

 Golden Rose, 3.90 €

GOLDEN ROSE Extreme Sparkle Eyeliner

103

I wanted a gold eyeliner for my holiday look and when I was checking the Golden Rose website before going to the actual shop, I chose Metallic Eyeliner in 02, but when I swatched them, this one looked more special, so I chose glitter over metallic. It looked a bit thin when I swatched it at home again and indeed it is a product that requires two layers, but I love the effect of it. It sparkles so nicely on the eyes, which looks so glamorous. The colour is a very yellow gold, which isn't the best, but I'm pleased with this and would love to get the silver version as well. You'll see it in action in my holiday inspired post (still working on it).

 Golden Rose, 4.50 €

 GOLDEN ROSE Eyeshadow Crayon

14

Since I discovered Kiko's Eyeshadow Sticks, I've been loving these type of creamy products as bases because they make even the cheap eyeshadows work perfectly, not to mention how quick they are to apply. I got the shade 14 which is  a warm hazelnut brown shade with a metallic finish. It's not as good as Kiko's, by that I mean it's not as intensely pigmented, it just means that the products need to be layered and when it comes to eyeshadows that's not the best thing as thick layers are prone to creasing, however, I do really like this. It blends nicely and works well as a base. The one thing I'm not a fan of is that it needs to be sharpened, which is a hassle and you essentially throw away some of product when you do it. 

Golden Rose, 3.30 €

 GOLDEN ROSE Jolly Jewels Nail Lacquer

103

Golden Rose has the most impressive nail polish collection I've ever seen. They truly have an astonishing range of colours and finishes. I wanted a dense gold glitter nail polish, which I actually searched for all over my home town. This one isn't quite it, but it caught my eye because it has an interesting combination of small gold glitter with large copper hexagons. It's not fully opaque even with several coats, instead it's more of a top coat. It sparkles under the artificial light, though when you look at it closely, it's a bit strange, since the base is warm gold and then the hexagonal flakes are copper. The removal process is understandably a nightmare, those copper hexagons stick to the nails so fast you need some ungodly power to get them off. Picture of it on my nails here.

Golden Rose, 3.10 €

 ESSENCE The Gel Nail Polish 

50 i feel good

I got this purely to do some nail art, which failed so miserably. I never owned a green nail polish, frankly it's a weird colour to wear on the nails to me (and the comments I got were hilarious). This one is a dark forest green. The formula is lovely, it's one of those gel formula ones, so it's excellent.  

Müeller, 1.69 €

 eBay Metallic Rose Gold Brushes

Blush brush and contour brush

These are beyond amazing for the price! I got then immediately after seeing them of Petra's Instagram and got only two to try, but I'm getting the whole set for sure or at least the powder one and another set of these two. These look expensive, though the handle is plastic, which is actually much better to me as I would hate to have a heavy brush to handle. The bristles are amazingly soft and these just feel well made. 

 

 The blush brush fits my cheeks well, some might find it a bit small, but I prefer more precise blush brushes. It's the type of brush I would use with more pigmented blushes as it's not very dense. By the way, the bristles are synthetic. 

The contour brush is dense, just the way I like it and it can work as a great foundation brush. I tried contouring with it which ended up very well. Great brush.

 Petra already wrote an awesome and comprehensive review, so I probably won't write any more than in this New In.

eBay, blusher brush (contour) £1.70, facial brush (blush) £1.66

YVES ROCHER Exfoliating Bubble for Bath 

Spicy Vanilla

Last year I won a shower gel in Yves Rocher's Christmas/December giveaway and I loved it. It was really good, so this year I decided to give their holiday collection a go. These bubbles looked the coolest and when I saw they have three version, all of which mention cinnamon in one way or another, I really wanted one. I checked all of them in the shop, the Orange-Cinnamon version, the Orange-Almond one and this one, Spicy Vanilla, and to be completely honest they all smelled the same, just like Jaffa Cakes. I'm not a fan of the latter, I mean jam with chocolate, where is this world going, but it's kind of a nice scent for Christmas I guess. The gel is thick, which I like and the exfoliating particles aren't just for show, though it's not a proper scrub. The one thing I hate about this bubble is that there is no proper "delivering system", it's just a gaping hole when you open it and it's hard to control the amount you want. Nice, but the packaging needs an update.

Yves Rocher, 5.90 €

YVES ROCHER Perfumed Bath Oil

Spicy Vanilla

This has an even more unfortunate packaging than the Bubble for Bath. It's seriously so stupid. There is a tiny hole through which the product should be delivered, but unless you shake this vigorously, nothing comes out. So you spend a better part of the shower shaking this like a moron for a few drops of the oil. The scent is more vanillary that the Exfoliating bubble, but it's still all about the Jaffa biscuits. It's light oil compared to L'Occitane's, but it emulsified to a thin foam and doesn't dry out the skin. The ingredients are cheap, main is mineral oil, then there is some maze oil plus fragrance. It's nice, but I need to figure out how to fix the packaging problem. It's also a very pretty decoration on the shelf. 

Yves Rocher, 7.5 €

MILANI Powder Blush 

01 Romantic Rose (borrowed)

This isn't mine, but I sure wish it was. These have been on my wishlist for absolutely ages and when my cousin came round enthusiastically waving the new Milani lipstick in Darling she got because of me, she also showed me this and asked me if I'd like to review it. I adore this. It's so good, like HG material. The shade is so lovely, a natural brownish-muted pink-mauve, complicated to describe but something along the lines of Catrice's I'm Nuts About You. It's very pigmented, blends nicely and looks superb on the cheeks. And the design is sooooo pretty! You shall hear a lot of gushing about it here in the future. Basically I want all of these, well the natural shades, I'm not sure I can pull off Coral Cove, it looks very intense.

Milani EU 9.16 €; Milani USA $7.99; Beauty Crowd, £7.20; Moja Drogerija, 14.41 €; Click2Chic, 10.46 €

YANKEE CANDLE Cranberry Pear

When it comes to Yankee Candle, I'm one of those that is mainly unimpressed, but constantly tempted especially at Christmas. I fell in love with this scent instantly. I won't write this poetic description of the scent, I'll just say what it actually smells like and that is wild strawberries and a bit of pine, which actually ends up smelling like picking strawberries in the forest (something I do every year and I just love that smell). I've actually never found any scent that would mimic wild berries, they smells so much nicer that garden ones and taste far better too, so I'm delighted to have found this. The scent it very intense and even unlit/melted it fills the room. But basically it doesn't smell like neither pear nor cranberry. 

Yankee Candle, 1.99 €

YANKEE CANDLE Season of Peace

This one reminds me of my late grandmother, or at least the smell of her house. It's somewhat like Soft Blanket, so a clean and warm scent. It's like a fabric softener, I'm sure my grandma had a laundry detergent or a fabric softener with this scent, so it must be something that was sold here 15 years ago, but I haven't a clue which one she used (maybe Silan. I think I saw a bottle of it in her house). 

Yankee Candle, 2.60 €

YANKEE CANDLE Shea Butter

Another gorgeous scent. Shea butter doesn't smell as nice as this, but I can smell it mixed in the scent. It's warm, creamy and clean. It like a generic body cream in the scent that everyone likes. Love this. 

Yankee Candle, 2.60 €

YANKEE CANDLE Snowflake Cookie

This is pretty much the same as their Christmas Cookie. There's loads of gourmand vanilla and this baked note. It sounds strange I know, but when you bake cookies and you just take them out of the oven, there is this smell of baked. It's kind of a classic candle that you burn when you want to make it appear like you baked something, but were too lazy to do it and you just sneakily bought them in the supermarket.

Yankee Candle, 2.60 €

L'OREAL Elnett Heat Protect Spray - Straight 

Elnett Hitze Styling Sprays 3 Tage Glatt 

A couple of weeks ago I met the lovely Petra from Adjusting Beauty blog, whom I mention a lot on my blog and we even did my first (an only) collaboration a while ago. She surprised me with a set of samples when we were saying goodbye (thanks again <3) and this was among it. This has been on my wishlist for quite a while, but I always have other products to finish, so I'm been putting off purchasing it. It's a very basic heat protectant that is light and simple, so it fits many hair types and I've been enjoying using it precisely because of that. Actually it's no different to me from the Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Heat UV Protective Primer, which is a lot more expensive. If you're looking for something similar, but for a lot cheaper, this is it. I will buy a full size one day. It has a simple, hair care scent.   

I think it's about 7 €

AVON Advance Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Argan Oil Mask

I have this prejudice that Avon't stuff isn't all that impressive when it comes to dealing with very dry hair. I always imagine they have some diluted, super liquid hair masks, but his one is thick and feels like it will do something. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't quite enough for my hair, however, I could see it working for moderately dry hair. Full size looks like this (also a pic of shampoo)

Avon, regular price 5.70 €

AVON Advanced Techniques Supreme Oils Shampoo

This was a pleasant surprise to me. It didn't leave my hair stripped and that is a sign of a good shampoo to me. If you have dry hair, this is worth trying out. 

Avon, regular price 4.60 €

AVON Planet Spa Sleepy Serenity Pillow Mist

Petra raved about this a while ago and remember being intrigued as I love such scents. It smells very calming, they describe it as a mix of lavender and camomile, but the latter is much more dominant. From the start this is a dead ringer for the Kamagel's scent to me (camomile based ointment made by Slovene pharmaceutical company Krka), but it then switches to a more lavender based scent. Very calming and very lovely. I can't find this in the catalogue, so I don't know how much it costs or if it still exists. Petra's review here. 

EBELINE Nagellack Entferner

Nail polish remover

I got this one because of the packaging. It's one of those where you press the cotton pad at the top and it pumps the product up, soaking the cotton pad. One pump delivers pretty much the perfect amount of product for me, others might be used to more, but it can start spraying/dripping if you're too greedy for the product. It's nothing special when it comes to removing. It's not particularly strong, so I probably won't repurchase.  

DM, 1.39 €

 ESSENCE Quick and easy Sponge Nail Polish Remover

This one is more expensive than the Ebeline one I usually buy, but that one gets dirty so fast, so I'm looking for something better (Bourjois' is excellent, but too expensive. Ombia's is total crap). So far I've only used it with light nail polishes because I don't want to ruin it straight away, but it's ok. It does the job.

Interspar, 2.99 €

ESSENCE Holo Stripes Nail Stickers

I got these to do that design that is on the nail wheel next to Golden Rose 103 above. It kind of failed which isn't a surprise. Anyway, there are three thin strips in the set: a silver one, a dark silver one and violet-pink one all with a metallic look, not really holographic. My picture isn't the best, but it's hard to photograph these with a camera phone. They tend to fall off fast without a good layer of top coat. 

 Interspar, 1.39 €

YUMMY Wild Things Shower Gels

Happy Boost and Sexy Boost 

There are new Yummy shower gels called Wild Things which all feature animal prints. I got the zebra Happy Boosts and the snake Sexy Boost, but there are more: the giraffe Classy Boost, leopard Energy Boost, tiger Power Boost, and peacock Vanity Boost. These are pretty basic shower gels that smell nice. They foam well, clean well and that's it. Happy Boost will appeal to many, at least that my experience when I gave these two to people to sniff. It's a classic girly scent, but a bit more sophisticated. It's candy-vanilla sweet, but a bit floral and woody, so it's gourmand without being properly gourmand.

Sexy Boost won't be for everybody though, at least not for those who like simpler scents. It's a proper unisex scent, almost more masculine than feminine. The best way that I can describe it is if I compare it to Axe (Lynx) scents, not the super douchey Dark Temptation, but those green ones. It smells a lot more masculine in the bottle, but in the shower it's more tame. The base is citrusy, I get lime, though its described as earthy. The sharper note that gives the scent defining character is spice, cardamom in particular. I actually like this scent a bit more than the Happy Boost and I'm not a girl for unisex scents. 

Click2Chic, 4.95 €

Have a great day!

Posted in: Skincare