THEBALM Nude'Dude Eyeshadow Palette
My birthday gift. I tried this one time on their stand in Ljubljana and fell in love with it immediately. My friends of course picked up on all my hinting and got it for me (thank you). I have Nude'Tude from before and this is its more coppery-purple sister, a lot of the shades here are definitely less traditional neutrals, but it's again a very wearable neutral palette. Admittedly this one feels a bit less pigmented than Nude'Tude, a discovery that was a massive surprise to me, since the one I tested in the shop had amazing pigmentation and the eyeshadows were so incredibly creamy. Maybe I need to dig though the top layer at this one, I don't know. The shades are again very smooth and blend beautifully, they also last the longest out of all eyeshadows I've tried so far and fade the nicest.
Salma, 30.55 €
THEBALM Meet Matt(e) Hughes
Adoring
I wanted these so much and I'm so happy my friends got it for me. I love matte liquid lipsticks and these are some of the latest to come on market, in spite being new, they already received an overwhelming positive feedback. Trying this shade, I can definitely see why. My shade, Adoring, is a deep burgundy shade and if you check other liquid lipsticks in such dark shades, they mostly seem to be a bit patchy/uneven, but this one is perfect in one coat. The formula is a liquid cream that isn't too oily, nor too thick and it takes about five-ten minutes to set to a velvet matte finish. It still transfers a bit, but it's definitely one of the most comfortable matte liquid lipsticks I've tried. It also smells amazing, like After Eight. I'd like to get more shades of these. I already featured this shade in my monthly favourites.
Salma, 15.59 €
PHYSICIANS FORMULA Nude Wear Glowing Nude Powder
Light
Last year I fell in love with Physicians Formula. They have some amazing products that come in the cutest packaging, so I wanted to try some more of their products. I watched a review about the entire Nude Wear line as well as checked other reviews online and this powder has a very positive feedback, so it was at the top of my wishlist. It's a radiance boosting powder, something along the lines of Hourglass Ambient powders and Bourjois' Java powder, but it's multi-coloured, so it should also enhance natural skin tone, at least that's what they say. It's a mix of four warm shades and the shimmery writing is just an overspray. I've only worn it a couple of times, but so far I really like it. I hate powders because, even though they look nice when applied, when the makeup starts wearing off, it looks cakey. This one looks very light on the skin, like there is nothing on, but it reduces the oily shine and gives a bit of radiance back, so it's not flat looking. For now it has some larger chunks of shimmer, but it's just from the overspray. I need to test it with more foundations to see how well it performs and then I'll do a review when I make my mind about it, but so far I like it. The packaging is the same as at the blush, which I reviewed a while ago, so a faux leather design with a rose gold bow, which is just super adorable.
iHerb, $13.63
I ordered this a few weeks before my birthday and I even paid more for shipping so that it will arrive on time. Of course it took five weeks, not two. A bit miffed at iHerb to me honest.
BOURJOIS Radiance Reveal Concealer
01 Ivory
The very sudden launch of Bourjois City Radiance foundation and this concealer caused quite a buzz in Slovene beauty community. I think it's safe to say most of us like at least one of their foundations and a lot, including me, might say that Bourjois does some of the best foundations in the drugstores. They nailed it with Healthy Mix and subsequent Serum version in all aspects including the shades, but I was deeply disappointed with the colour range in their latest release. The foundation shades are way, way too dark for me and the concealer looked no better when I swatched it first. But I heard so many very positive reviews that I went back I got it despite my shade related concerns. The concealer does look a bit too peachy-orange when I apply it on the skin, but it blends out very well and matches me just fine. I freaking love this concealer! I think I love it as much as Maybelline's the Eraser. I've been wearing almost every day for about three weeks and because it's so beautiful on the skin, I started using it as a foundation. I think it looks better than all the foundations I currently own. It's quite a light consistency, most similar to Maybelline's Fit Me and it looks so natural on the skin, it just sort of melts in. It covers about medium with one coat, I do two on more problematic areas and it covers it well enough, not like Collections', but decently. I like any concealer that looks like skin, so this one gets two thumbs up from me. I would love to try the foundation too, but those darn dark shades!
Müller, 8.69 €
REVLON Colorstay Concealer
2 Light
I actually am still hooked on Bourjois Radiance Reveal, but Revlon had a 25% discount last week on all products and I've been thinking about trying this concealer because I really love the foundation (I think I might love it more than Sheer Glow). I got the lightest shade on our stand, 2 Light, which looked ok in the shop. I swatched it next to Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum 51 in the shop and it looked light enough for me so I took it. And it all looked fine, I mean it looked a bit more yellow than my other concealers, but when I was editing pictures for my before/after, half of my face looks like a bloody Simpson. This is crazy yellow for me. But I'll make it work, I'll just use it under foundation, maybe it will neutralize redness. It's quite thick, the texture is similar to Collection's, but almost like it's a bit more gel like (more silicones maybe) and the coverage is medium-full. The finish is more on the dewy side on me and it needs time to set. I like it, but I'm not a fan of the shade.
Müller, 8.59 €
*L'OREAL False Lash Superstar Mascara
L'Oréal launched yet another mascara, I'm sure you're seen the heavy advertisement with J.Lo. It's nothing new actually, it's the same double mascara design they've had for at least a decade, but I've never had a mascara with a primer before. There is the white primer coat that gives volume and a black fibre mascara on the other side. I pretty much hated this the first couple of weeks. Not just that it's a regular formula, which never works for me, but it also made my lashes messy looking, not clumpy, but undefined. It definitely improved a lot since then. The white primer part gives a ton of volume and in combination with the black side, my lashes are huge. Mind you, they are completely straight, so no one can see them looking straight at me, but it's one of the best volumising mascaras I've tried. The lashes aren't as unruly as before, but it's still not the best at separating and defining the lashes. I do have a massive pet peeve at this mascara - since my lashes are straight and long they always hit my glasses and this mascara is almost like it's a bit oily because I need to clean my glasses constantly. I'm sure I'm the only one with this problem. Also it's a fibre mascara and they did fall into my eyes a couple of times which was uncomfortable.
15.65 €
*L'OREAL Superstar Super Slim Eyeliner
The eyeliner is a completely different story than the mascara. I've tried a lot of felt tip eyeliners, I have four at the moment (two I bought, two I got) but this one has definitely the most unique tip out of all I tried. It's like a spade or spear design and it's one of the largest of the slim ones I've seen. The clipped base makes the nib bendy, so it feels more comfortable to use than a regular stiff felt tip applicator. The line I get with this is thicker than I usually wear, but it's still fine. In terms of formula, it's the same as their Super Liner Perfect Slim, which remains one of my favourites. It's black, smooth and lasts nicely on my normal lids. It's a bit expensive, but this is the eyeliner I would pick in our drugstores, which has quite a limited selection of decent liners.
10.19 €
ESSENCE The Gel Nail Polish
37 Serendipity
I've had this on my wishlist for the longest time, which is just ridiculous considering it costs so little and I don't have anything like it. It's a mix of pastel violet and grey, but leaning more to violet on me. It's a gel formula that is quite thick and needs one-two coats for an even finish. On my nails here.
Müller, 1.69€
ESSENCE Thermo Nail Polish
05 The Ice Is Melting
This is another nail polish I wanted for ages, not for the colour changing thermo effect, but for the shade. It's a medium, slightly taupe grey and it's supposed to change colour to a darker or lighter shade of grey depending on the temperature. I tried it with cold and hot water, and surprise, surprise it doesn't work, but I don't care. Formula is thin, so at least three coats are needed for fully opaque finish, but I actually love this one more than Serendipity.
Müller, 1.49 €
ESSENCE French Manicure Tip Guides
I got these just in case. I needed to do a french manicure recently and it's very hard to do when the only thing you have is sticky tape. There are 30 stickers in a pack.
Müller, 1.19 €
ESSECE Nail Art Duo Stylist
I wanted to create a polka dot design for a really long time and I could just do the whole pencil-plus-pin-hack, but I just decided to get a proper tool, since it might come in handy in the future. It has two sides: a rounder, larger dot maker and a thin, more precise side with which you can draw lines. I tried the polka dot thing and I still need more practice, but it makes nice dots.
Müller, 2.29 €
ESSENCE Studio Nails Nail Polish Corrector Pen
I used to have one of these when they first appeared in the Essence standard line-up almost ten years ago, but I wasn't too impressed since the tip gets dirty really fast. I do so many embarrassing messy nail polish swatches and cotton buds are just too large for me that I just decide to get it again. It does a really good job, they must have improved it and it comes with spare tips. It also smells like cherry candy. The price threw me off a bit, though.
Müller, 2.99 €
L'OREAL Elvital Tonerde Absolue Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
I don't even really know why I bought this, but it was partly because it was mint green and that's just a horrible reason to get a shampoo. My dandruff issues continue to plague me and I don't have any other anti-dandruff shampoo, so I thought, why not try something new, though to be fair, I had little faith it will work. This one is actually for oily hair with dry ends and I got it on purpose because I hoped it would work a bit more aggressively and at least for a short time rid me of that persistent layer of dandruff that sticks to my scalp like nobody's business. This performs like a really good shampoo for dry hair. I'm not kidding. There is none of the squeaky clean feeling, I am able to comb my hair with no problem and there aren't many tangles. My hair feels clean and light, but not dry. It removed dandruff like any other regular shampoo, so only a small portion and it did not help prevent it from forming again. It's not a fail, but it's not an anti-dandruff shampoo nor do I think it's nice for oily hair. I actually like it, L'Oréal does some pretty good shampoos.
Müller, 2.69 €
I've tried the following anti-dandruff shampoos and treatments:
- KÉRASTASE Specifique Bain Exfoliant Hydratant Anti-Dandruff Moisturising Shampoo
- FRUCTIS Anti-dandruff shampoo Sensitiv
- LA ROCHE POSAY Kerium for dry hair
- PHYTO Phytosquam Intense
- PHYTO Phytheol Intense
- VICHY Dercos Anti-Dandruff Sensitive Treatment Shampoo
- MA PROVENCE Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
- VICHY Dercos for dry dandruff
- LAVERA Cornflower
- ORONAZOL healing shampoo
- FITOVAL Dandruff and itchy scalp shampoo
- DUCRAY Selegel for dry dandruff
- PHILIP KINGSLEY Exfoliating Scalp Mask
- HEAD & SHOULDERS Classic Clean, Extra Volume and Ocean Lift
- Baking soda
- Coconut oil
So far nothing helped apart from Vichy, but only the first bottle and a combination of Phytheol Intense with Phytopolleine gave me a temporary relief. I've done the whole no sulphate &, silicones things too for a couple of years and it only got worse. I've been to the dermatologist and she didn't want to give me anything. If you have any recommendations for something that works, please let me know.
SAUBÄR Bubble Bath Honey and Almond
Schaumbad Honig und Mandeln
I loved the scent of this in the shop. I'm a nutter for proper honey scents and this one seemed so promising, but unfortunately outside the bottle it does not wow me. It not warm and sweet enough, it's just very generic. Texture is the same as at all of these SauBär bubble bath, which is very liquid and bare, but gentle. I only used it as a shower gel and it's very thin, so it doesn't foam all that well, but I have yet to try it in a bath and I don't know how much foam it produces.
DM, 1.99 €
*URIAGE Thermal Micellar Water Combination/Oily Skin
Termalna micelarna voda za čiščenje mešane do mastne kože
Uriage is a French pharmacy brand and as you know they take their skin care seriously, so you're bound to get a high quality product, but I've never actually tried anything from this brand yet, so these are my first pair of products that were selected for me to try by the Slovene online shop Mediforma. This is a micellar water for combination/oily skin, they have a version for sensitive as well, and it a standard feels-like-water texture. It takes me two, sometimes three cotton pads to remove all the makeup, but I wore regular mascara on those days, it of course won't touch waterproof one just like all micellar waters (only oil removes waterproof mascara). This one is scented with a lovely floral fragrance. The bottle is quite hard, which makes it harder to squeeze, but it does drip out fast.
Ingredients.
Mediforma, 5.20 € (100 ml)
*URIAGE Hyséac R Restructruing Skin-Care
Obnavljajoča in pomirjevalna emulzija
This is a moisturiser that was designed for skin that has undergone a medication treatment for acne (such as Accutane/ Roaccuane for example). I have a family member that was on Roaccutane for a while and I can say it's pretty brutal on the skin. It dries up like crazy and these effect do linger in a milder form for years, but you truly are left with completely clear skin. I wish this existed back then because we had the hardest time finding a suitable moisturiser (oil was the first choice). Cerasterol -2F helps rebuild and reinforce the cutaneous barrier, while TLR2-Regul acts on blemishes and reinforces the skin's protective barrier function. It's quite nourishing, but it doesn't sit on the skin, instead it sinks in very fast. It can be used under makeup because of that. I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and it's ok. I hoped it might help heal some of those pesky blemish marks that seem to last forever, but I haven't seen much improvement. It's a nice daily moisturiser.
Ingredients.
Mediforma, 13.75 € (40 ml)
*PHYTO Phytovolume Volumising Shampoo
This is pretty much the exact opposite formula of what my hair needs, but I gave it a shot anyway. My hair is very dry and I don't need much help in the volume department, but I need a lot of nourishment, which this shampoo doesn't provide. As a volumising shampoo, it's of course very light, focusing mostly on getting the hair as clean as it can get and making it light and airy. Just as the rest of Phyto shampoos, it's very liquid, though it still foams decently on my hair, especially for a sulphate free shampoo, but the metal packaging with a big gaping hole as the dispenser mechanism, isn't the best. It left my hair stripped and feeling dry, so I wasn't a fan of it to be honest, but I do have good experience with their anti-dandruff shampoos. If your hair is thin and oily, you might like this.
Ingredients.
Mediforma, 15.00 € (200 ml)
*PHYTO Phytovolume Actif Volumising Spray
Another volumising product. Phytovolume Actif supposedly envelops the hair with keratin and in this way expands the circumference of each hair. It's a very light spray with quite a lot of alcohol, which is noticeable at application. I used it on damp hair before hair drying and it worked like a classic volusing products by giving the hair texture, which on my hair means frizz and unmanageability, but I can see it working on fine hair. My hair also felt a bit sticky (could be from the shampoo), which I wasn't thrilled about, but I did get some extra volume, just not a manageable one, so this unfortunately wasn't a product for my type of hair. It has mixed reviews on Makeup Alley and Sephora, but I believe these was some sort of a hype about this.
Ingredients.
Mediforma, 20.00 € (125 ml); Set with 50 ml shampoo, 50 ml Phytobaume Volume mask and 50 ml spray, 14.18 €
*PHYTO PhytoBaume Reparateur Express Conditioner
Sample
I had only a sample that contained 12 ml and since my hair is thick, not to mention very long, I use almost three times as much, hence why I can't give a valid review about this. I tried it, it's somewhat medium consistency and smells so lovely (creamy floral), but as I expected it felt like I haven't used anything because it was just not enough product for my hair. It doesn't contain any silicones. Reviews on Sephora here.
Ingredients.
Mediforma, 20 € (150 ml)
*PHYTO Phyto 7
Hydrating Day Cream for Dry Hair
Sample
I had Phyto 9, which I'm sorry to say was not my favourite hair product, but this is its lighter sister. It's more liquid, less face-moisturiser like and I prefer it to Phyto 9. It doesn't feel greasy, but it does make your hair look wet at application, though it dries soon and it just smooths the hair similarly to silicone serums or oils. It's silicone free and like 9, it smells like hay. This has rave reviews on Makeup Alley and Sephora.
Ingredients.
Mediforma, 19.00 €
*WET'N WILD Max Volume Plus Mascara
A regular formula mascara with a plastic wand that has a tapered design similar to L'Oreal's Intenza mascara. The formula is thin and at first use it only tinted my lashes, so I left it open for a few hours to speed up the thickening process, it then performed much better, giving me a defined, voluminous lashes with three coats. It doesn't keep my lashes curled.
Click2Chic, 5.49 €
*WET'N WILD Cover All Concealer Palette
A palette that contains three colour correcting shades and a highlighter. The warm pink shade is for brightening, green for neutralizing redness, peachy-orange skin tone shade is for counteracting blue and violet circles, while the highlighter has a strong white-ish silver pearly sheen. The colour shades are creamy, but waxy, so thick like concealers in such forms usually are. The highlighter has more silicones, so it's smoother, but with an almost cream-to-powder effect. The brightening shade is actually already a concealer for me, since it's only slightly pinkish, but very light. The green has quite a bit of pigmentation as does the peachy orange skin tones shade, but the latter is so dark, it doesn't work on fair skin tones. I have a Slovene review with swatches on the other blog I write.
Click2Chic, 4.99 €
*WET'N WILD Eyeshadow Palette
Comfort Zone
Megalast lipsticks and this palette are top recommendations when it comes to this brand on all review sites or blogs and I totally get why. Comfort Zone contains eight eyeshadows, so you get a lot for your money and they split into two colour schemes: a neutral brown one and a green one. I'm so blown away by the pigmentation of these. The eyeshadows are so smooth and blend nicely, I'm a huge eyeshadow snob and mostly use just my high-end palettes because I have little patience building up the colour, but these are comparable to Urban Decay, TheBalm and Too Faced. They are a bit more crumbly when you place the brush on the eyeshadows, but I haven't experienced any fall out. The shade range is more neutral that green, since the two shades on the right are only deceptively green. The green looking one at the bottom right is a dupe for MAC's Club, which is a duo chrome eyeshadow, so it actually blends out reddish brown and the top one is a classic highlight shade with zero green tones. I have a Slovene review with swatches on the other blog I write.
Click2Chic, 5.99 €
*WET'N WILD Eyeshadow Trio
Silent Treatment
This trio has a selection of shades that I reach for most. It's a pretty simple colour combination: a classic shimmery pale peachy-pink base shade, a gorgeous taupe shade with a satin finish and a dark shade that looks reddish brown in the pan, but it's almost smoky black on the skin. The quality is not quite as good as at Comfort Zone, but very, very close. The difference is only that this one isn't as creamy, but the pigmentation is nonetheless very impressive.
I have a Slovene review with swatches on the other blog I write.
Click2Chic, 3.99 €
*WET'N WILD Megalast Lipsticks
Bare it All, Just Peachy, Purty Persimmon, Sugar Plum Fairy, Ravin' Rasin and Cherry Bomb
Megalast lipsticks are some of the most popular budget lip products and have been for many years now. I heard some find them dry and impossible to apply nicely, but I've had zero problems with these, in fact they apply evenly in one swipe, especially the lighter two shades. Maybe it's because they are stored in a warm room, I don't know, but they work perfectly for me. They are thick and have that slightly sticky texture on the lips, so you can feel them, but they wear off nicely, especially Sugar Plum Fairy wears off into such a gorgeous, even stain. The packaging is very cheap and I'm constantly afraid that I'll break them, since the cap is so tight and I have to use considerable force to open them and they get messy fast. The packaging get a minus from me. So on to shades:
Bare it All is a beige nude shade that is a supposed dupe for Mac's Velvet Teddy. Very wearable and even I can pull it off, despite the brown tones. Comparison swatch with Velvet Teddy here
Just Peachy is a beautiful peachy pink shade. I was very worried about this one looking orange, but it's seriously so pretty. It's not too white based looking on me and it's my favourite in the bunch.
Purty Persimmon is an orange red and a very similar shade to Mac's Lady Danger. The pigmentation is a bit sheerer than at others and it has a more shiny finish, but it's easy to get a fully opaque coat of colour. I have a side by side comparison with Lady Danger in my review on the other blog.
Ravin' Rasin is a medium cool greyish purple shade. I'm not feeling this one on me, it's simply too purple, but I can see it looking more mauve on medium skin tones.
Sugar Plum Fairy is a dark purple pink and similar to Mac's Rebel (side by side here). This one stains the lips, but in a very nice even way.
Cherry Bomb is a dark vampy burgundy red and very similar to Mac's Diva, only even a bit darker. Side by side is here.
I'll have a review here as well including full face pics.
Click2Chic, 2.99 €
Have a great day!
*products were sent to me. Wet n Wild products are for my Click2Chic reviews and I'm not required to post them here as well.