November favourites, updates and wishlist

REVLON Photoready Candid Anti-Pollution Concealer

005 Fair

Since I got it last year, I've been mostly using Clinique's Even Better All-Over Concealer + Eraser, which I'm a fan of especially because of its ingredients list, but it also has good coverage and it isn't drying matte. Revlon's Candid formula was its predecessor in my collection, which I also bought because of its ingredients - Clinique's just has even more anti-ageing stuff, so I switched to it. However, after I picked this up again, I came to a conclusion like it more because the formula is somewhat nicer, the applicator is so great - best I ever tried at a concealer - and coverage is about the same as at Clinique. It'll still probably use the latter more because it's more impressive skin care-wise, but Revlon's wins for me when it comes to how nice the formula is. It has a bit of niacinamide, vitamin C (Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate), aloe vera, green tea extract and some caffeine.

REVLON Powder Blush 

004 Rosy Rendezvous

I've been wearing this blush all month. It's beautiful matte muted pink with some peachy-brown tones that make it that "nude" shade that goes with everything, including with more vibrant and red lips. Revlon's blushes are some of the best I found, especially from the drugstore. Pigmentation is great, formula smooth and they last well. Packaging is admittedly boring and I'd love to see Revlon use their Skin Lights bronzer formula in blush shades, but this classic formula is already great.

MAYBELLINE Master Chrome Extreme Highlighting Powder

200 Diamond

Since I got Catrice's Glow Lovely Oil-Infused Highlighter, I've been almost exclusively using that highlighter, mainly because it creates a very natural looking glow that works well in sunny days because it doesn't look obviously shimmery. But with autumn/winter weather I went with something stronger and this is very glowy. It rivals Colourpop's Flexiterian and a swirl or two with a brush creates an intense glow on the skin. Shade is similar to Flexiterian, so a champagne shade and great for pale skin, while for deeper skin tones they have 3 other shades. Normally it has a pattern, but mine was shattered when it came in the mail and I fixed it. 

ORIFLAME The One Irresistible Touch High Shine Lipstick

Luscious Taupe

 I realised this doesn't just look great on lips, but also as a blush. For the lips this is such a lovely comfortable, balmy formula that still feels more like a lipstick than a lip gloss and the shade is a wearable natural mauve-pink shade. As a blush it's a similar natural pink shade as Revlon's blush, but it needs building up. It's a great product to carry in the bag for a quick makeup look and it works as a lip balm when my lips are dry. 

LABELLO Blackberry Shine

This looks a deep brownish-berry in the tube, but since it's sheer it just gives the lips a bit of colour, kind of make your natural lip shade deeper - this lip balm by some referred as a kind of dupe for the famous Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey, but I never tried the latter. I wish I had a lip liner that matched it because since it's a lip balm, it's not brilliant at being precise or creating a defined shape and a liner would make the whole look even better. It's nicely moisturising and has a sweet-sour berry scent, but as expected the colour doesn't last long on the lips, though at that price I don't mind reapplying. 

SOL DE JANEIRO Brazilian Crush Cheirosa 62

This scent really grew on me and I've been using it so much all month. I still think that the cream's fragrance is better, but this is a great scent for colder days. It's mostly nutty, but the base is vanilla. It's a gourmand scent that reminds me most of The Body Shop's Pumpkin Vanilla (they aren't dupes, just in the same fragrance category). The mist is strong like a perfume, but I wish it lasted a bit longer on the skin, though it lasts well on clothes. 

UPDATES

INSTAGRAM

My account (@matejasbeautyblog) was disabled for an unknown reason. I'm certain I did nothing wrong - you know what I post and it's hardly controversial or fraudulent - so it must have been a mistake (or someone reported me for I don't know why). I appealed, but from what I read online, it's likely no one will ever process my request and getting the account back is apparently a long nightmare I don't know I want to deal with. I don't know what I'll do. For now I'm waiting for a reply and if it doesn't happen, then I might try to rebuild it, start with a new account, since luckily I backed it up a few months ago and I have most of the data, but I know it's going to be so much work and given that interest in my profile was already declining, I wonder if it's worth the bother. It's saddening, seeing your work disappear in a second for no reason, but I'm hardly the only one this happed too. Heed my advice and back up your profile just in case. It's easily done through settings and you get all the data on your e-mail, from posts, followers list and messages. 

For now (or forever if I lose my motivation) I clearly won't be posting my usual story reviews, as I have nowhere to post them that I would have any kind of decent reach, but then we'll see how I decide. 

You know what the funny part is? My blog content and IG posts have been stolen so many times and then I'm the one that gets blocked (at one point I counted 17 duplicates of my blog. Some still exist, though I managed to remove most of them). 

Since I can't post on IG, this is what I would feature there:

(I also bought several products on Black Friday weekend, you can see what I ordered on Pinterest. I might post on FB if I don't deal with the IG situation)

REVLON Colorstay Satin Ink Crown Jewels

New shades that were added. I have five, but there are a couple more (I think two deep ones). Unlike the original line up, Crown Jewels collection contains two shades that have shimmer, while the rest have a creamy finish. I reviewed this formula already and these new ones are the same. They start of shiny, but slowly set to a more matte finish. Staying power is great on me, also thanks to the fact these stain the lips pink (even some beige shades). They feel comfortable on the lips. New shades are 031 Pink Duchess (a medium warm pink with gold shimmer), 032 Lady Topaz (a warm brown with gold shimmer), 034 Regal Ruby (a deep berry-burgundy), 037 Majestic Rose (medium peachy-beige shade) and 038 Citrine Queen (a caramel brown)    

Crown Jewel shades: 031 Pink Duchess (pearl), 032 Lady Topaz (pearls), 034 Regal Ruby, 037 Majestic Rose and 038 Citrine Queen

Novi odtenki so že v Müllerju, v Tuš Drogeriji, drogeriji Ilirija in na click2chic.si.

AFRODITA PROFESSIONAL Next Generation Retinol Shot and AFRODITA PROFESSIONAL Bakuchiol Phyto Retinol Shot

I've been using these for over a month, so as suggested I started using Bakuchiol together with Retinol Shot. I don't have anything really to report in terms of results, just that my skin is behaving ok. I did have rough dryness appearing on my cheeks when I ran out of Geek & Gorgeous Stress Less serum with madecassoside and beta-glucan, so that proved to me how amazing that product in combination with retinols and how well it keeps problems at bay. I then fixed the dryness with Foreo's UFO + masks and bought Balea's Cica cream which has madecassoside, so that took place of Stress Less (because that one is not in stock where I normally buy it, but also because I'm kinda more tempted by the Apie'u version due to size. I mention it in the wishlist). So Afrodita's Retinol Shot is not as gentle as Geek & Gorgeous A-Game 5 or 10 (retinals), but using madecassoside with it, helps the skin from becoming dry. Bakuchiol is a nice rich serum-lotion product that I've been able to include easily into my routine - it's so far the nicest such product I've tried, though there've been only 3 bakuchiol serums I've tried. Only thing that bothers me is that the formula is too thick for a dropper packaging and a pump would be better. Retinol shot has  0.1 % HPR Retinoid, Urea, Panthenol, Squalane, Ceramides, Cholesterol, Beta-Glucan, amino acid Glycine, Lactic Acid and Niacinamide. Bakuchiol has similar ingredients as Retinol Shot: Panthenol, Squalane, Beta-Glucan, Ceramides, Cholesterol, Urea, Niacinamide,… In DM I spotted Afrodita made a cheaper version of a combination of these two shots, but with lesser concentrations - I love seeing that Afrodita has more affordable options to their Professional line. 

BALEA MED Ultra Sensitive Anti-Pickel Gesichtspflege Cica

This caught my attention because it has madecassoside, since I ran out of Geek & Gorgeous Stress Less serum. It's new and Balea suggests it as an anti-spot moisturiser, since it has zink, but it's a calming formula with pantenol and allantoin. Formula is thin, more of a lotion than a moisturiser and it sits right in the middle of what I prefer, as it's neither a liquid that would be easy to layer nor a rich moisturiser to use as a last step for my dry skin. I'm not sold on this texture, but affordable products in local drugstores that have madecassoside are not that common. Just like G & G Stress Less this is working well with Afrodita's retinol. 

AQUA, GLYCERIN, DIPROPYLHEPTYL CARBONATE, CETYL ALCOHOL, DICAPRYLYL ETHER, GLUCOMANNAN, PANTHENOL, HYDROXYACETOPHENONE, SODIUM STEAROYL GLUTAMATE, DISTARCH PHOSPHATE, ALLANTOIN, DIPOTASSIUM GLYCYRRHIZATE, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, ZINC PCA, TOCOPHEROL, CHONDRUS CRISPUS POWDER, MADECASSOSIDE, LACTIC ACID.

I was sent this line and I like the ingredients list of both the creams, so I started using Ginzing Energizing Gel Cream in my night routine and the Glow-Boosting mask in my morning routine. Gel Cream tends to peel when I apply makeup over it, so it's in the night routine, while Glow-Boosting mask leaves quite the (skin care) glow on the skin all day if I don't apply foundation + powder over it. The Brightening serum I'm struggling to include into my routine, but I'll try to give it a proper go. (Izdelki so na voljo na Douglas.si)

*ORIGINS Ginzing Into the Glow Brightening Serum

Origins says on their website this is a best-seller. It's a brightening serum with 5% "retexturing complex" made from a green coffee seed and a mix of AHA +BHA. It also has ginseng extract, salicylic acid, pyruvic acid (peeling effect, apparently effective on spots), caffeine, squalane, hyaluronic acid and vitamin C in Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate form. It's a light lotion that doesn't really absorb quickly and is not that easy to layer over. I got some tingling the first time I used it, which surprised me since it should be weak. It hasn't been long enough to see if it's brightening.

Ingredients: Water\Aqua\Eau, Butylene Glycol, C9-12 Alkane, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Tartaric Acid, Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Lactic Acid, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil*, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil*, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil*, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Leaf Oil*, Citral, Linalool, Limonene, Panax Ginseng (Ginseng) Root Extract, Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Seed Extract, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Pyruvic Acid, Salicylic Acid, Caffeine, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Trehalose, Squalane, Glycerin, Algae Extract, Menthol, Lecithin, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Xanthan Gum, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Polysorbate 20, Polysorbate 60, Ppg-5-Ceteth-20, Plankton Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Bht, Phenoxyethanol, Orange 4 (Ci 15510) 

* Essential Oil

*ORIGINS Ginzing Energizing Gel Cream with Caffeine + Niacinamide

A cream with niacinamide, ginseng, caffeine, vitamin C in a stable 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid form, hyaluronic acid, ceramides, aminoacid, and ginger extract. I like this ingredients list, so I'm using this as the last step in my night routine, though it may not be for sensitive skin because of citrus and spearmint. It's a light gel texture that feels refreshing and stays on the skin for a while in a light tacky layer. It can peel when I apply makeup over it, so I prefer this one in the night routine. It's got an orange scent.

Water\Aqua\Eau, Butylene Glycol, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Niacinamide, Glycerin, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Lactobacillus/Panax Ginseng Root Ferment Filtrate, Caffeine, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Yeast Extract\Faex\Extrait De Levure, Sodium Hyaluronate, Laminaria Saccharina Extract, Sodium Pca, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Sterols, Ceramide Np, Glucosamine Hcl, Oryzanol, Sucrose, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract, Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Hydrolyzed Algin, Sorbitol, Tocopherol, Hydroxyethyl Urea, Tocopheryl Acetate, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Carbomer, Caprylyl Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer, Sodium Phytate, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil*, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil*, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil*, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Leaf Oil*, Limonene, Linalool, Citral.

*ORIGINS Ginzing Glow-Boosting Mask

A leave-on overnight mask with olive oil, vitamin C in a -O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid and Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate forms, ginseng, caffeine, salicylic acid, hyaluronic acid, betaine, aminoacid and again citrus & spearmint extracts, but those are at the end of the list. It's closer to a typical moisturiser than the Energizing Gel Cream, it's richer and has beads in it that burst when you rub the product on the skin. It's better suited for use under makeup that the gel, so I've been using it in the mornings as the last step. It leaves quite a glow on the skin that lasts a long time - it's that classic skincare glow. 

Ingredients: Water\Aqua\Eau, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Steareth-21, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Caffeine, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Salicylic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Betaine, Sucrose, Glycine, Mannitol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Triethyl Citrate, Xanthan Gum, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Sodium Hydroxide, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Lecithin, Tin Oxide, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Caprylyl Glycol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Steareth-2, Acrylates/Ammonium Methacrylate Copolymer, Sodium Phytate, Phenoxyethanol, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil*, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil*, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil*, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Leaf Oil*, Limonene, Linalool, Citral, Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491), Iron Oxides (CI 77492), Yellow 5 (CI 19140), Yellow 6 (CI 15985).

I used to be big into The Body Shop and always had at least one body butter in my collection, but I've been delaying with repurchasing it mainly because it's so expensive and because I have to order online (we have shops, but they are far). They had great Black Friday offers, so I repurchased Shea Body Butter, which was so far my favourite since they discontinued the amazing Vineyard Peach (I also love Almond Milk version, but I had it in the previous packaging and the formula was so thin compared to other body butters. I want to repurchase it, but want a richer texture). Shea has a creamy-clean type of unisex scent, somewhat similar to L'Occitane's Shea. I've been planning on repurchasing Grapefruit version of bb, but then I got the mist instead, since I'd end up with too much body moisturisers to use up and I regret taking it. It's got this plastic note from the start and lasts mere minutes. I should have at least taken the mini body butter, which is so uplifting and perfect for hot summer months. This is the first time trying new scents of body butter, Argan and Avocado. First has a perfumey warm, exotic comforting scent - very nice. I haven't opened the Avocado tester, since I just got it today, but it's supposed to smell refreshing, green and creamy. White Musk Lover perfume caught my attention after reading on Fragrantica it's similar to the famous Glossier Your fragrance. I don't know how the latter smells, but TBS has nice reviews and it was cheap. It has notes of spicy pink pepper, powdery orris woody ambrette and musk. I just sprayed it and it's ok, but doesn't wow me. I smell mostly pepper and musk, so it's spicy and clean smelling. It's supposed to be similar to Bath & Body Works Kaleidoscope, but they are completely different on my skin. 

This month's selection of makeup that I've been using. I don't keep it in a makeup bag, but it's in a place I can reach fastest. I considered Eveline's Satin Matt foundation kind of unreliable or not consistently good, but lately it's been behaving well - it has medium coverage, a natural finish (not really matte) and the shade is light enough. Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless powder is more for use just around the eyes set the foundation before applying eyeshadow and because I wear glasses. It's one of my favourite powders and I like it's compact, but I prefer Physician's Formula Rose All Day and Revlon's Blot powder more when I apply something all over because they do that little extra. The rest of the products I haven't mentioned above already: Deborah Milano 24 Ore Waterproof Eye Pencil 5 Golden Green, Essence Inner Eye Brightening Pen, Oriflame The One High Impact Eye Pencil Pitch Black,  Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara,  Catrice Liquid Liner 010 Dating Joe Black, Essence 8h Matte comfort lipliner 03 Soft Beige, Trend It Up Sensitive Lipliner 120 (discontinued) and Colourpop That's Taupe palette. I use Catrice's brushes from a LE for blush & highlight, Zoeva Rose Golden Eye Set Vol.2 brushes for eyes, Shiseido eyelash curler and Ebelin sponge for foundation. That Variete lip cream from Eveline is new in my collection - it dries matte, feels somewhat tight on the lips and it can survive drinking, but not eating.  

Eveline Cosmetics Variété Satin Matt Lip Liquid 02 Raspberry Cream

WISHLIST

I talked about some of these in my wishlists already, but I'm trying to be super obvious to some people what I wouldn't mind getting in the upcoming month. That's why most of these products are sold in local drugstores. I might post a similar wishlist in January too, because being subtle never pays off. 

ESSIE Expressie Crop Top & Roll - I annoy myself never putting this in my shopping basket, though it's been on my list for a long time. It's a nude shade, the type I wear most and  based on swatches it may look similar to Essie's Spin the Bottle, which I have an ancient bottle of (that shade it's still sold, but not in my local DM).

CLARINS Lip Comfort Oil - on my wishlist for so long they actually changed the bottle (and scents) by now. I haven't tested the new version, but I liked how rich the old formula was. 

LABELLO / NIVEA Lip Oil Rosé - Another lip oil. I don't know what to expect at this one, but it's intriguing. 

URBAN DECAY Naked Foxy Mini Eyeshadow Palette - a palette with greeny-gold shades + basic taupes? This looks like it completely suits my taste. Finally a palette with such colours. 

ESSENCE Algae Lip Oil - I have the Cranberry one, which changes shade according to your pH and I've never been a true fan of such products because the tint looks too bright magenta on me, but I think this is the classic version (they have a ginger one too, but that one tingles). I was impressed by the lovely comfortable formula of the Cranberry one and I hope this is the same. I don't like how it looks in the bottle, though I know it's clear. 

BOURJOIS Rouge Velvet Ink - I was sent this once in a red-orange shade I never wear, but it's on my vanity as decoration because of the pretty packaging. I've been planning on getting a wearable shade for me for ages. I don't know which shade appealed to me most, I think it may be 01, but I want something nude-pink and not too dark. 

A'PIEU Madecassoside Fluid 2x - I'm more and more looking at this for a replacement for the 50 ml bottles of Stress Less. It's 300 ml with centella asiatica, madecassoside, ceramide, panthenol, beta-glucan and some extracts.  

PUPA Vamp! Lipstick - I just love the packaging of these. I already have the perfumes and nail polishes, everything is great and now I spotted they have these cute lipsticks too. Again I'd like a wearable pink-nude light shade.

BETTY BARCLAY Woman n.2 Eau de Toilette -  This is so cheap and it never lands in my shopping basket even though I really like it. It's a lovely powdery scent that lasts well on my wrist when I spray it. 

LA RIVE In Flames - La Rive sort of dupes expensive popular fragrances, though their results are not exact twins in my opinion. This one is said to be similar to  Paco Rabanne Olympea, which I ran out of a while ago. I'm also interested in Solare, which is a dupe for Nivea Sun fragrance, though it didn't last very long when I tested it.   

L'OCCITANE Almond and Shea Shower Oil - I used to buy Almond version all the time, but it's a luxury item so I obsessively saved it, even though the rich, creamy texture is perfect for dry skin. I'd love to have a new bottle again, or one of the two other ones I haven't tried yet, Shea Butter and Almond Amber.

CERAVE Reparative Hand Cream - formula with ceramides for dry, rough skin. I should have this for emergencies. 

THE BODY SHOP Jamaican Black Castor Oil Intense Moisture Mask - this is something new and if it were in stock, I'd buy it already since I just ordered on TBS. I use their Shea mask, which I ended up really liking even though it's silicone free. This is made for 3A to 4C waves, curls & coils and such products tend to be intensely nourishing, which is what my dry hair needs. 

L'OCCITANE Mini Hand Cream Set - These are only 10 ml each and I'd prefer they were larger, but it's the only set that lets you test new scents and get my favourite original as well. I'm interested what Shea Golden Latte and Green Chestnut smell like, though to be fair I'd also love to have the full size of the original formula again. 

VICTORIA'S SECRET Fragrance Mist Velvet Petals - a body mist with notes of florals and pralines. I'm also interested in Amber Romance. 

Posted in: Skincare