June favourites updates and wishlist

MAYBELLINE Matte Lipstick

927 Rose Spell

Another shade I found that's similar enough to Mac's Please Me and the discontinued Jordana Matte lipstick in Pink Passion. Formula is (as is usual for Maybelline) pigmented, smooth and glides easily on the lips. The finish is semi-matte with a slight creamy sheen from the start. It's as good as their Ink Crayons except this one is much cheaper at only 4 € and it's better than the Eveline's lipstick I got last month, though the colour isn't as good of a dupe for Pink Passion. It's a slightly darker, more muted light pink and another easy to wear shade for my skin tone.

MELEM lip & Cheek

Dreamy Rose

Such a convenient product. It's pigmented like a classic moisturising lipstick, but the formula feels like a lip balm and it smells so nicely creamy, similar to Nivea. It's great for when I do my makeup in a hurry or on the way. It's a shade that works on the lips and on the cheeks - Dreamy Rose is coral pink on the cheeks and on the lips it's a pale warm peach that's leaning to pink. Pigmentation is good (my skin is pale) and I need one or two big swipes on the cheeks and colour shows up on the lips fast too. I'm tempted to get the darker Magnolia shade too. 

REVLON Colorstay Satin Ink 

 007 Partner in Crime

Satin Inks are my choice when I need a lip colour that will survive almost everything and won't need reapplication. It's perhaps surprisingly not a liquid matte lip colour, as usually those are the ones that outlast everything, but this one is more comfortable as it starts off shiny and then settles into a satin and eventually a matte finish. Pigmentation is fully opaque with one swipe and it wears off nicely without creating flakes, peeling off or making the lips dry. I have a lot of shades of these, but this is my favourite. 

REVLON Colorstay Overtime Lipcolor 

Unlimited Mulberry 

Another lip colour I can rely on surviving everything. It's a two-step product with a semi-opaque liquid lipstick that by itself lasts a long time. The second sealer part adds shine and locks the lipstick in place. Despite the great staying power and the fact it eventually turns matte, the glossy sealer makes sure that it doesn't feel dry.  

DIEGO DALLA PALMA Lip Pencil 

80 Antique Pink 

I've been wearing this one so much, not just in the last month. It's a shade I use to shape my lips. It's not a perfect match like the discontinued Essence's Big Proposal, but it's good a natural defining shade too. The pencil is nicely soft, pigmented and precise since the tip doesn't get blunt fast. The pencil is longer that most liners, so you get a lot of product, but it's not cheap. Antique pink is a medium pinky-mauve.

ESSENCE Gel Nail Colour 

Lucky to have Blue

This looks less pretty in the bottle than how it ends up on the nails. That stormy pale grey is a light blue/mint green shade on my nails - given how I like anything mint green it's obvious this was going to  be featured in this post. The formula is a nice smooth one that's pigmented with one coat. 

REVLON ColorStay Grip Matte Primer, Blot Matte Setting Powder and Lock Setting Mist

I use Blot a lot, since it's one of my favourite powders, but I tend to keep the other two in my drawer since these are matte and my skin is dry. But with hot weather these can get their chance and they are impressive. Grip primer creates a nice smooth base for the makeup to stick too. Blot is an excellent loose powder that doesn't make my foundation look obvious, is super fine and mattifies without making the skin look flat. Lock mist is another of my favourite - I prefer it to the famous Urban Decay and Milani mists because it makes the foundation and makeup look a bit better. The combination of all three kept my makeup like freshly applied for over 12h on a day with 33°C. 

BIORÉ Aqua Rich UV SPF 50

I found this in a local Müller, which is pretty much a miracle. I used to order these from Japan, but since we got much better and light-as-Asian-formulas sunscreens here too, I haven't repurchased in many years. It used to be hailed as the lightest sunscreen formula and I remember it as quite watery with a dry-to-the-touch velvet matte finish. Biore changes their formulas often, so this is not the same anymore, but it's still one of the lightest formulas. This one is creamier than in the past. It still has that dry-to-the-touch smooth primer finish, but not in a two finger amount. In that way it stays a bit tacky on the skin and has a pretty, non-greasy glow. It has a lemony scent like in the past. 

SUBRINA Oil Shower Gel Good Vibes

A new scent in the already massive family (14 by now). I like a great majority of scents, only Moroccan Treasure isn't my favourite and this new version comes at the top with Cherry Blossom, Rose Garden, Fresh Elder and Perfume Drops. It starts with a note of pineapple, but it's what comes after I love even more -  a brilliant powdery scent, similar to the Cherry Blossom and very familiar to me, but I can't put my finger on it (something like Yankee Candle Soft Blanket). Scent lingers on the skin for hours like a perfume. 

GLISS 7 Sec Express Repair Treatment Split Ends Miracle

The third version I've tried and I love it too. These are amazing - truly one of the best things I've discovered for my very dry, easy to tangle hair. Normally I have to leave a conditioner on for 20 minutes on my thick hair to have a proper effect, but these actually work in the shower in seconds. I also use them as a type of co-washing, so when my hair is dry I just use these without shampoo. Split Ends Miracle works the same as the black Repair and yellow Oil Nutritive versions, so it doesn't matter which you pick up. These are liquid and transform into a rich emulsion when massaged on wet hair. They are silicone-free, yet make my hair feel like I used Pantene, meaning silky smooth. 

UPDATES

WELLA Color Fresh Mask 

Chocolate Touch

The darkest temporary brown I’ve tried so far, so it’s the closest match for my roots, though warmer. It lasts longer than Subrina Colour Refresh and I have a feeling this one won’t be easy to wash out - by now it doesn’t matter anyway and if you’re a brunette, that’s actually good news for you. After a second wash it was still dark enough, but I definitely needed a touch-up. It surprisingly washes off towards a muted purple (on blonde hair). Just like at Subrina’s Cold Brown shade, I find this a very flat colour with no shine - it’s because it’s designed to revive brown colour, not to be used on blonde (meaning it lacks warmth/red-orange tones that are removed from brown hair when it's bleached). I don’t like the formula that much because it’s not nourishing enough for my very dry hair and it’s silicone free. Even with Pantene on top, my hair feels stiff and I just don't like the feeling (Colour Refresh is similar, but Pantene fixes it). I thought the tube is going to last me a while, but after two uses I don't think I have enough left for another. I'm not a huge fan due to the formula and how flat it looks, but it's my closest match to my natural colour (though mine is cool brown with a silver reflect and this has a touch of gold), so I guess I’ll keep using it. 

BOURJOIS Healthy Mix Foundation

I got send the new Healthy Mix foundation and initially I though they only changed the bottle, but when I tried it, it didn't feel like the foundation I've loved for years. I've tried the old vs. new, one on each side of the face and the new formula has clearly been tweaked. The side with the old formula had that lovely perfect level of natural dewy glow, while the new one is more shiny, verging on too much. It is currently hot here and SPFs don't help, but the difference between the two in the same conditions was obvious. Formula is thicker now, but still blends invisibly into the skin. The scent also stayed the same, though I think the coverage has improved, but I still need a concealer under the eyes. I don't mind the change that much because my skin is dry and it's only going to be drier in cooler months, so this will suit me, however, this change won't please those that have oilier skins and this was their winter formula. I've already seen their French website littered with complaints, so clearly this change bothers people. I saw there is a new shade called 49,5N (on the French website), which could be lighter than 50C and N, but even 50C blends ok into my skin, even though it looks like it will be off when I start applying it. Price skyrocketed to 19 € - I remember being annoyed in 2015 when the prices went up to 15 € and I think the original price was around 13 €. Ridiculous, especially since they made it less nice this time. 

WISHLIST AND WHAT'S NEW AT THE DRUGSTORES

SCHOLL Velvet Smooth PRO Electric Callus Remover - I have the old version of Balea's electric foot file and it's terrible, practically useless. I've been exploring what else I could buy instead and this is one of the most frequently recommended ones. For some reason it's sold out in most places, though I remember this being in most shops not long ago. If you have any other recommendation let me know, I need something that's won't practically stop when it touches the skin like Balea's. 

CADEA VERA 10% Niacinamid Serum - Műller's skin care brand finally came out with their own niacinamide serum. It also has zinc, so it's suited for spotty skin. 

CADEA VERA Hyaluron Power Eye Cream Roll-on - a new under eye roll on, these can be wonderfully cooling. It's not as good in terms of ingredients as Balea's Men version, but decent. 

MELEM Nourishing Shower & Bath Gel - I enjoy the scent of the Melem lip balm and I assume this has the same creamy scent. Melem is a Croatian brand and I think it came into our DM's recently, or at least they added several new products.

MAC Lash Dry Shampoo Mascara Refresher - This was in one of the PR e-mails I got this month. A dry shampoo for the lashes - an odd idea to be honest. I never refresh my mascara during the day, once it's on it's on, so I'm not interested, but it's something new and different. It's a top coat that's meant to be applied at any time over an existing mascara coat to make it look like it's been freshly applied. It gives the lashes shape and increases the volume without clumping. It's not meant to be applied over a waterproof formula. 

S-He Stylezone Silk Matt Liquid Lipstick and Perfect Creamy Matt - Looks like S-he went through some updates. They added new products, including these matte lip products, which I may try if I see a nice shade. I don't have the best experience with the brand, except the nail polishes. 

CADEA VERA Micro-Needling Anti Spot Patches - new blemish patches by CV. These contain salicylic acid, tea tree oil and madecassoside, so they look interesting. I rarely get spots, so I'm not the best to try them, but these could be similar to COSRX ones, which are the most effective ones I've tried. 

L'OREAl Elvital Hydra Hyaluronic Overnight Cream - another overnight treatment for dry hair, similar to the Gliss Elixir one I recently bought and the Kerastase one I've had for a while. These are light leave-ins that absorb overnight and don't need to be washed out.  

NIVEA Repair & Care 12 % Glycerin + Vitamin E and 10%  Glycerin + Panthenol - new body moisturisers by Nivea. The second one is not scented. I trust Nivea most when it comes to body moisturisers because their formulas actually have a lasting effect when you use them regularly. 

WOMEN' SECRET Rouge Seduction - a new budget fragrance (sort of, it's 30 € for 100 ml). I have the Gold and Rose version, both are similar to currently popular fragrances (Gold is kind of like Black Opium and Rose like La Vie Est Belle). Not sure what this one is like based on the notes, the description says it's a fruity floral with black currant, pear, peony, jasmine, caramel, vanilla and patchouli.  

MOROCCANOIL Color Depositing Mask Clear - a new "shade" of Colour Deposit masks. It's like a hair gloss, I think, so a clear shade that adds shine, similar to what you get at a hairdresser. Since I started using brown tinted masks on my bleached blonde hair to hide massive roots, I find my colour is so flat and lacklustre. I'm not sure this would help or not, but I'd like to give it a go. This can also be used with other Color Depositing shades to create a pastel.   

Posted in: Skincare