May Favourites, updates and wishlist

ARTDECO Eyeshadows

I went through most of my eyeshadow stash, trying to see which are the best, since my high end stash is so old and I mostly have drugstore ones. These are one of the more new ones I bought and they are the best quality eyeshadows I have. They are noticeably more smooth and easy to blend, most are also nicely pigmented. Colourpop's are great too, but I find the shimmery ones from the Coconut palette can crease by the end of the day and one in That's Taupe are so-so (mattes are seriously good though and I actually just ordered Stone Cold Fox and Bare Necessities, since they were 30% off). Artdeco has a system where you make your own palette, so this collection was very expensive, but I got to pick eyeshadows that suit my taste most. I'm still missing some types of colour (I use Colourpop So Taupe as the natural matte addition), but these are the shades I like to wear most. 

MISSHA M Perfect Cover BB Cream RX SPF 42 PA+++ 

 I talked about It Cosmetics CC in my last favourites, but this is my favourite foundation/BB. It has everything I want - a medium, natural looking coverage, it suits my normal-dry skin, but it's not too glowy, it has a brilliant list of ingredients (even better than It Cosmetics in my opinion) and shade #17 is a perfect match for me. It's often out of stock, so I keep it more for special occasions fearing it will run out and wear the somewhat mismatched It Cosmetics instead because of the SPF (which is also great and has even higher coverage), but if I had to pick one "life foundation", right now I'd pick this (though you'll still have to pry Healthy Mix and Fit Me Matte + Poreless out of my dead hands). It's like Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation with an SPF.  

EBELIN Puder und Make-up Blender

I love using this dry for applying foundation. I've never been a fan of these types of sponges which you have to wet and I don't like the finish they leave on my skin, but this one is soft enough even when dry and it blends foundation seamlessly. The flat bottom part is great for the job and I use the rounded side of the top for under the eyes. I occasionally use the felt tip for applying powder, though it's more time consuming than a brush because of the smaller size. It of course works great wet as well and it's a really nice sponge for the price. 

AVON Mark. Gel Shine Nail Enamel Rain Washed 

It's been a while since I wore this, but it's one of my favourite shades. It's a gorgeous pastel, more of an off-white light blue, since it's so light and the formula is nicely smooth. I have no idea if this shade still exists, but formula is nice. 

NIVEA SUN Dark Spot Control Luminous 630 SPF 50

Anti-Pigmentflecken Sonnenschutz Luminous 630 LFS 50

I had this on my wishlist, but the price is a bit high for drugstore, so I only got it because I had enough points in DM to get it for free. It turned out a great buy, as I really like this sunscreen. It's not greasy, it has a "Korean sunscreen level" of shine that looks more like healthy glow (I have normal-dry skin with very little natural oil coming through over the day), it feels like a regular moisturiser and not a sunscreen. It doesn't even have the Nivea Sun scent, which I miss, but this one is ok too (I think it's the same or at least similar scent that's in Nivea's Q10 pearl serum). It might be strong to some, but it doesn't bother me at all. So far it hasn't irritated my eyes, which is a big plus and it protected well in strong sun. It's been a couple of years since I have Nivea's mattifying sunscreen, but I think this is very similar. This contains Isobutylamido Thiazolyl Resorcinol (Thiamidol), which fades pigmentation (I have an Eucerin hand cream with it too). Makeup goes over it ok.

MIXA Oil-in-Stick

A nice lip balm and I'm kind of fussy about those, since I like only soft, creamy formulas. I got this because of the name, as I thought it might be something different or at least less waxy than an average lip balm. It indeed feels less like just a thick vaseline coat on the lips and it nourishes well. So now I found three lip balms I like - Palmer's Swivel stick, Bee Natural lip balms and this. Mixa's is the only one without a scent.  

SVR Blur Sun Secure Mousse Cream SPF 50

(I only have samples, but full size is in a tube) This stuff is so good! It’s like Benefit Porefessional with SPF. Texture is like a silicone primer, so quite thick and balmy, but it smooths the skin and fills in the pores. I was quite amazed how well it works and even without foundation, the skin looks just better. It’s brilliant under makeup, my foundation applied so smooth and looked much nicer with this on. Among my collection of primers this is one of the best ones. It protected well, but due to texture you can't apply a lot of this. Finish is more on the matte side, but it still has some glow. 

SHISEIDO Urban Environment Age Defense SPF 30

Another sunscreen I liked immediately when I tried it. It’s light and watery, very similar to Garnier Ambre Solaire Fluid, but somehow feels silkier on the skin, so it’s even nicer. It has a slight tint to it, but in pale shade and it doesn’t have coverage. It looks and feels great on the skin, with a skin-like finish and just a touch of glow (not that typical sunscreen glow). Skin looks smoother with this and pores look somewhat diminished too. It’s dry to the touch quickly and it didn’t irritate my eyes. Great stuff.  

Favourite sunscreens so far: 

GARNIER Ambre Solaire Ultra-Light Sensitive Face Fluid SPF50+ (lightest)

FILORGA UV-Bronze Face Anti-ageing Sun Fluid SPF 50

SVR Blur Sun Secure Mousse Cream SPF 50

NIVEA SUN Dark Spot Control Luminous 630 SPF 50

NIVEA Sun UV Face Shine Control Cream SPF50 

A'PIEU Pure Block Natural Sun Cream SPF45/PA+++

SHISEIDO Urban Environment Age Defense SPF 30 (second lightest)

AFRODITA COSMETICS Skin Specialist Protective Serum SPF 30

I want to mention BIORE Aqua Rich Essence, but they change their formulation frequently and I have no idea what it's like now. Most matte sunscreen I've tried is ETUDE HOUSE Sunprise Mild Airy Finish SPF50+ PA+++ , but it was a while ago and I don't know if formula is the same. It was too dry for my skin.  

AFRODITA PROFESSIONAL Summer Affair Perfect Tan Prep Premium Body Scrub 5 in 1

I got this with the accompanying self tanner and shimmer oil, but this impressed me most from the Summer Affair line. It's a pink scrub with 5 different kinds of abrasives and it instantly became my favourite scrub, beating the long-time favourite Soap & Glory Flake Away (which I still love and am currently using, but it's got less particles, meaning it's weaker). I can't feel the 5 different kinds of abrasives, mostly I think it's just salt and some larger black ones, but the density of particles is perfect. It's one of harsher scrubs, so the way I like it, but it doesn't feel too abrasive, especially considering it's a dense salt scrub. It also washes off completely, leaving no residue behind (unlike the old Gold version from Afrodita). It's almost perfect, except for the price and the fact it's not in drugstores, which I know will make me possibly not repurchase it because I'm just weird that way - but why is the scrub more expensive than the self tanner anyway?  The whole Summer Affair line has the same scent, which is described as cherry blossom and coconut water. It smells so familiar to me, but I can't place it. It's a lovely fresh-sweet vanillary, almost kind of bubble-gum scent (I think like those pink one is tape form, but I was kid last time I bought one).

NIVEA Body Souffle 

Cherry Blossom & Jojoba Oil

I've tried quite a lot of body moisturisers in my time, but I rarely repurchase them, exceptions being The Body Shop Body Butters, Bath & Body Works Ultra Shea and this. Before I had the coconut tiare version that I bought because I hoped it has a tropical scent, but didn't impress me, regardless I ended up loving the texture and its nourishing effect. Cherry Blossom doesn't have my favourite scent either, but the formula makes up for it. It's a thick cream with jojoba oil beads. It sinks in fast, leaving a silky feeling behind and nourishes dry skin well. It has a nice long-term effect on dry skin and can deal with dry, rough skin. Nivea's Q10 with vitamin C milk is even better, but this one has a nicer texture. 

LAZARTIGUE Nourish High Nutrition Mask Shea Butter 

One of my all-time favourite hair masks. I have quite a collection of conditioners & treatments and I don't wash my hair that often, so it takes some time for things to get their turn (not to mention I obsessively save the good stash), but I recently tested this new hair care line that made my hair so frizzy I haven't seen in a long time and I brought out the "big guns" for the next wash, which among this mask included L'Oreal Professional Liss Unlimited Smoothing Cream and Moroccanoil Smooth Blow-dry Concentrate. This mask is absolutely brilliant. I have no idea how Lazartigue managed to make a silicone-free mask that feels like Kerastase, but this is excellent at everything - hydrating and nourishing very dry, bleached, thick hair and effect lasts. It also tames the hair so well. The conditioner from this line, which I currently testing, is also very good and smoothing and I love the oil, which I use a lot.

L'OREAL Elnett Hair Spray

I've been using Nivea's Curl Forming spray as a hair spray for some time now, but I haven't had an actually regular hair spray in a while. I switched to Nivea from Lee Stafford's coconut one because it's less drying and not a typical hair spray, though I don't use it as directed. I used to have Elnett, but a different version (dark blue, I think. Extra Strong) and I don't remember it being so good. This one is so light, not at all sticky or stiff. I really like it. Only thing that's annoying is the strong scent (I think L'Oreal has a version without it, but I wanted a mini), so Nivea's is much kinder to my lungs. There's a version with argan oil that I've seen on Müller's website and I'm interested in trying it.  

PALMER'S Cocoa Butter Tummy Butter for Pregnancy Stretch Marks

This will be a weird one, but I recently cut my fringe again, which I was fully aware will go haywire 80's big hair style. I use this to tame my fringe. It's a balm, so quite thick and oily, but I like it more than a hair wax, because the latter make the hair sticky and kind of dirty feeling fast, while this just nourishes very dry, thick hair and tames it, without building up on my hair. This means I need to do the whole thing all over again ever morning, but it's the best thing I've found do far. I, of course, use it on the body as well, and it's the richest thing I have in my drawers. It turns into an oil, but it's still quite thick. I use it on very dry skin and it works well. I don't know if it helps with stretch marks, but ingredients are really nice.  

UPDATES

I got a ton of samples and some full size products from Beauty Pharmacy online shop and Shiseido. From Beauty Pharmacy I mostly got SVR samples, but also some Uriage, Filorga and Sebamed. I've gone through most of the products just testing the texture (stupid to try so many new things in such a short time frame, I know, but I usually try new stuff all at once, then go back to my routine and gradually test one-by-one more long term). So far, I'm very impressed. On the first day when I used just the new product, I woke up with lovely, soft skin. 

URIAGE Bariéderm-Cica Daily Serum - a product for sensitive and damaged skin with panthenol, hyaluronic acid, dipeptide and centella asiatica. It's a light serum that instantly feels so soothing. I didn't even know my skin was tight until I applied this and felt instant relief. Petra from Adjusting Beauty praises it for a reason. 

SVR [B3] Ampoule Hydra - a product with 5% of niacinamide and 3 kinds of hyaluronic acid for sensitive, dehydrated skin. It's a light serum that absorbs quickly and is nice for layering. It doesn't really stand out that much among myriad of niacinamide serums, but it's nice.  

SVR [C] Ampoule Anti-Ox - a product with 20% stabilised vitamin C (3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid), Evodia fruit extract, aminoacid serine, hyaluronic acid and urea, but it also has alcohol high on the list, which I can't smell. It's light, but slightly oily on the skin and easy to layer. 

SEBAMED PRO! Hydro Serum - with the active ingredient Meiritage ™, inspired by the medicinal herbal effects of traditional Chinese medicine. It contains niacinamide and a probiotic Lactococcus Ferment Lysate. It's a light, hydrating serum-lotion.  

FILORGA Neocica Moisturising Repairing Care - a repairing cream. This has a ton of nice ingredients and is suitable also for use after treatments (laser, peels, injections). I picked it because I wanted something to use as the last step in my night routine after all the sun exposure. Texture is not as thick as I imagined, it's not a balm, but a typical cream and it's not greasy.

SVR Cicavit+ Crème - a repairing cream with Erasyal and antibacterial Teflose. It promises to help the skin heal 7-times faster (compared to not using anything). It's a similar consistency to Bepanthen, so thick, yet kind of refreshing. 

SVR [A] Ampoule Lift - a kind of all-in-one anti-ageing product. It contains 0,3% retinol (0,1 pure retinol and 0,2% encapsulated), squalane, vitamin C (3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid), a few peptides, vitamin E, grape seed oil, shea butter and soybean oil. It's very gentle on my skin, though I felt it for a few minutes. Formula is a light lotion-serum.  

SVR [Cera] Biotic Regenerating Filling Cream - a rich moisturiser that takes quite some time to absorb. It's meant for dry skin that's experiencing appearance of lines and loss of firmness. It contains babassu oil, vitamin C in my preferred Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate form, ceramides, a pasteurised probiotic and hyaluronic acid

SVR [C20] Biotic Regenerating Radiance Cream - a rich moisturiser that takes time to absorb (I can still feel it an hour after application). It's not that thick in terms of texture, but it feels almost balmy on the face. It's designed for lifeless, dull and uneven skin with wrinkles. It contains 2 kinds of vitamin C, Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate and 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, together in a 20% concentration. It also has orange beads with vitamin E and there's added probiotic, shea butter and hyaluronic acid. This has a gentle creamy scent.  

SVR [Pepti] Biotic Regenerating Smoothing Matt Gel - a product with squlane, vitamin C in Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate form, amino acid Lauroyl Lysine, almond oil, a probiotic, a peptide and hyaluronic acid. I love this. It remind me of L'Occitane's matte lotions, but here it's a less dry formula. It almost feels like a primer because it's thick and feel silky on the skin, proving a good base. 

SVR [Hyalu] Biotic Regenerating Plumping Gel - a light-ish gel cream for dehydrated, tight skin with wrinkles. It contains vitamin C in Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate form, hyaluronic acid and a probiotic. From SVR cream samples, this one is most light an refreshing.

SVR Sensifine Double Cleansing Balm and ORIFLAME Waunt Level Up Butter Cleanser

These two are basically the same to me and both are good. They are creamy balm cleansers that turn to oil and then a milky emulsion when you add water. I tested both with my most long-lasting makeup, including a waterproof mascara on one eye and a resilient regular mascara on the other. Both removed pretty much everything (only a small trace of waterproof mascara remained at SVR and regular mascara at Oriflame). Both wash off completely on me, though I always follow with a mousse cleanser. The main differences are SVR is specifically designed for sensitive skin and fragrance free, while you get 50 ml more product at Oriflame. 

SUBRINA Colour Refresh Mask

Warm Brown, Orange and Red

I wanted to try how I'd look as a ginger or strawberry blonde, since it's not easy to bleach my hair well and sometimes I end up with too much orange tones that purple shampoos and masks don't cover well (except for Moroccanoil Depositing Mask in Lilac), so it'd be easier to just go with the flow and colour my hair more reddish blonde. I was able to create such a colour by mixing three Subrina shades with a lot of conditioner (orange alone is quite yellow and red too bright. Adding Warm Brown made it a more natural looking shade). At first it was too bright for me, but once I washed it once, I got the perfect colour. I don't know if really suits me, but it was nice to change this up a bit for a while and it's so easy with these masks. It washed off completely like always and now I'm back to my cool toned medium blonde. 

WISHLIST

BENEFIT Wanderful World Blushes Powder Blusher - these are new, or at least I've never seen them before. I have an ancient Coralista, which used to be one of my most used blushes and now I might want to buy a replacement, since in my experience their blush formula is great. Minis are available too. 

STILA One Step Correct Skin Tone Changing & Brightening serum - I remember this from when I first started exploring makeup brands that weren't/still aren't available in Slovenia as a teen, but aside from admiring its unique product look, I never gave it much thought. Considering it's existed so long, it should be nice. It contains different colour correcting pigments that make the skin tone more even. 

MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Skin Undetectable Foundation - I guess I missed the beloved original HD foundation, which was always in the back of my mind to try. This new one has as expected a lot of reviews from people who loved that foundation and aren't happy with the change, but I hear the new one doesn't emphasize lines, so I'm interested. Though I worry, it may be too dry or matte for my skin.

SOL DE JANEIRO Brazilian Joia Conditioner - I hear it's thick and rich. It might be good for my dry hair. 

SVR Sun Secure Blur SPF 50 - I praised this above and I still have several samples of this, but when they run out, I'm seriously considering getting a full size. 

APIVITA Aqua Beelicious Refreshing Hydrating Booster - I didn't know about this brand until I saw a post on Müller's FB and I'm still not sure it's in my local one because I haven't been in drugstores in a while, but their stuff looks so interesting, especially since they often include propolis, which is one of ingredients that really agrees with my skin. This has honey & propolis high on the list of ingredients, plus it also has hyaluronic acid, aloe vera, allantoin and several extracts & oils. They have quite a few products with propolis high on the list, but this one appears to perhaps be lightest and it's cheapest. 

APIVITA Bee Sun Safe Dry Touch Invisible Fluid SPF 50 - an SPF with propolis, though in a small amount. It also has panthenol, bisabolol, hyaluronic acid and aloe vera. Apivita says it has a dry touch powdery finish and ultra light texture. 

COLOR WOW Dream Coat Supernatural Spray - this has been on my mind for so long and I keep going back and forth whether to get it because I kind of don't like it makes the hair waterproof and I worry it might be difficult to get off completely, but there are so many great reviews that it's hard to resist not falling for the hype. It's an anti-frizz, taming and smoothing liquid that on some I've seen can create that glass hair effect, but I doubt it will work as well on mine. I actually have a good anti-frizz routine, but I can't help not being curious. I already bought this once, but Look Fantastic informed me it was out of stock and gave me my money back.  

COLOR WOW Dream Cocktail Coconut Infused - this is highly praised for very dry hair. I love my Moroccanoil All-in-One leave-in conditioner, but I'm still curious about this one.  

COLOR WOW Travel One Minute Transformation - this is an anti-frizz taming leave-in that you apply on dry hair. I'm interested if it really works as in videos and if it does, it may be a replacement for my beloved, discontinued Dove Quench serum.

LA CROA Argan Repair Conditioner - I love the mask from this brand and line, but they still haven't added a full size in Müllers. I might try the conditioner to see if it's similar. Mask is one of the richest, thickest, almost balm-like textures that's great for my dry hair. 

L'OREAL Paris Elnett Satin Extra-Caring Argan Oil Hairspray - Name says it all. I hope I find it and that it's as good or better than the normal hold one. 

Posted in: Skincare