TOO FACED Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette

I'm calling it - this palette was the best money I spent  in the past years (make-up-wise, to avoid sounding too shallow). I'm so happy I took the plunge and got it. You know, when it first launched, I looked at it condescendingly "oh, look who decided to copy Urban Decay again". Boy was I wrong. I enjoy this palette a million times more than I ever did the original Naked palette. The colour range is more versatile, mainly because there are more useful lid shades for my skin tone and eye colour, and I love every single shade. The pigmentation of this palette is outstanding, they apply and blend so nicely, and every time you open the palette, you're greeted by the sweet cocoa/chocolate scent. It's expensive, but so worth it.

MAX FACTOR Creme Puff Blush 

20 Lavish Mauve

I wasn't blown away by this blush when I got it last summer. I think it was just so hyped up that I expected way too much from it and it led me wanting more. But I've worn it pretty much every day this month. I've been doing a lot of lip swatching and this blush is one of those that gives you a nice, natural flush of colour, but it doesn't overtake the entire look. It's a gentle pink-mauve shade and the reason I wasn't too keen on it from the start is that is has finely milled violet shimmer, which makes it cooler, but to be fair it's hardly noticeable and though it doesn't give the best glowy finish, it's not a big deal since I have Mary-Lou Manizer anyway. 

The Reign of Matte Lip Creams

This was the month of the matte lip creams for me. They are by far my favourite beauty products and I dream of having a big collection, but a lot are hard to come by, especially those most popular. I expanded my collection as a birthday present to me and I love all of them.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream

Cannes

Actually my fourth shade from this range, but the others are five years old, so not exactly good to be used any more (I did re-swatch them in Cannes' review). Cannes is my first such colour and it's a medium peachy-rosy-brown shade that will probably look more rosy on medium skin tones, but it's a nice neutral shade with a twist on me. The formula is the lightest matte lip cream I've tried, it's practically weightless, but it's not as luxuriously pigmented as the others and it also isn't as long lasting. It takes about 10 minutes, but it dries to a lovely matte finish that isn't drying on my lips.

SLEEK Matte Me Lip Cream

Birthday Suit

Another experimental shade for me, since it's a shade I've only seen working on medium skin tones, but I like it on me as well. This a lip cream for those who love matte finishes and don't mind paying the price. This one has the most perfect matte "Instagram-like" finish, but it dries to a uniform layer that to a majority will feel tight and uncomfortable at least for a while. My lips don't get dry, so it's fine to me and even if it's tight, I don't mind such things, but I do adore that matte finish. The texture at application is very oily and the clumsy, big applicator doesn't make it easy to apply it nicely, but after about 2-3 minutes, it sets to a matte finish. The shade is a light rosy-mauve-beige slightly brown shade, very wearable and very trendy. Big like.

BOURJOIS Rouge Edition Velvet 

Plum Plum Girl

I'm a massive fan of these and boast with a nice collection. This is actually one of the newest shades Bourjois released and it's definitely a "me" type of shade. It's a deep magenta-purple shade that is like a mix between D for Danger and Rebel, but I don't have a real dupe for this one. These take the longest to set to a matte finish, so I speed it up by blotting and due to the mousse texture, they need two layers for full opacity, but they are some of the most comfortable ones to wear. I'm so glad Bourjois added this shade, it's stunning.

MILANI Amore Matte Lip Creme 

Gorgeous

I was so excited when I was given a chance to try these. I picked the shade myself, so it's obviously a totally "me" colour and I gasped when I actually saw it in person. The colour is so stunning, similarly to Plum Plum Girl it's a deep magenta-purple shade, but much more pink-red, than that one and also brighter. The texture reminds me so much of the discontinued Essence Stay Matte at application, it is very creamy, super pigmented and smells the same vanilla-fruity, but the formula sets to a fantastic matte finish in 2-3 minutes. It's similar to Sleeks Matte Me, but a more velvety finish. Again it's a type of product that creates that uniform layer of product and thought it's comfortable to me, my friend said it's terribly drying on her (she likes Bourjois' though). I already posted swatches on the other blog I write, but I will have an English review here soon. 

THEBALM Meet Matt(e) Hughes 

Adoring

My latest addition and the only matte lip cream I haven't talked about yet, apart from on Instagram. I got it as a birthday gift and they chose the darkest shade in the bunch, Adoring, the perfect deep burgundy shade. So far these are my favourite, it really shows you're paying a bit extra on these. The formula is creamy, super pigmented, applies evenly with no sheer patches and considering it's a dark shade that's very impressive. It also smells lovely like After Eight. It does have mint inside, like in a sense of plumping effect, so it tingles at application. It takes about 10 minutes to dry to a velvet matte finish and isn't at all drying to me, it's most similar to NYX' version in a sense there is none of that uniform layer of product, so I think it's work for those who have dry lips too. I'd love to get more shades of these.  

L'OREAL Les Blancs Color Riche Nail Polish

858 Ocean Porcelain

This is the nails polish colour that brings a smile to my face every time I see it. It's a white base with a touch of sky blue in it and it has that tiny bit of greyness to it, which makes it so special. The formula is quite sheer and light for a pastel nail polish, so I need two-three coats for an even opaque finish, but it depends on the thickness of the application. I'm not a massive fan of the formula, so I'd love to find a gel version of this shade, but the colour makes it all worth it.

SOAP & GLORY Scrub 'Em Leave' Em Body Buff

Aside from matte lip creams, February was a month of scrubs for me and two stood out. This has the same scent as the Mist Me Madly mist which I adore. Other two scrubs I've tried from Soap & Glory were balmy, but this one is more soft and creamy, so it feels so amazing to use. The scrubby particles aren't super dense and they feel less harsh, which is not something I prefer, but it still does the job decently. I only have the small size, but I think I'll get the big one at my next Boots order.

L'OCCITANE Melting Honey Exfoliating Sugars

This is my favourite scrub so far because it basically ticks all the boxes - it's thick and balmy, it's sugar based so one of those more harsh scrubs that I like, it nourishes the skin, so no need for an extra moisturiser, but the winner for me is the scent. It is utterly divine! It smells more like a flowery version of honey, but that flowery note is the same as in my favourite fragrance by L'Occitane Vanilla, which they discontinued years ago, I think it's orchid, but definitely a darker floral scent. I've seen this on L'Occitane websites, so it might just be the only permanent item from the Melting Honey collection or they just might have some pieces left. 

LABEL.M Blow Out Spray

Lavish Mauve by Max Factor isn't the only redeemer in these favourites. I gave this Blow out spray a second chance and it appealed to me a lot more than in the first uses. I don't quite know what's changed because I actually used exactly the same combination of products as the first time, but this time it worked fine. I used it one day and noticed that my curls looked a bit better, but more importantly they lasted longer. I didn't know if this was the real reason, so I used it again and got the same result. I only have the mini size, but it's a heat protection spray with UV filters and the reason it managed to prolong the curliness of my hair, is because it adds a bit of texture, but this time it didn't feel like I have anything in my hair, just that I used a very light heat protectant. It's not outstanding, but lovely and it's not terribly expensive for a salon brand product. 

SOAP & GLORY Mist you Madly Body Spray

Words cannot describe how much I love this scent. It was a blind buy, but so spot on. I have nothing like it and it very different from my usually modern fruity-floral-vanillas. To me it has a vintage high-end fragrance vibe and it just reminds me of classic perfumes before it was all about heavy vanilla in everything. It smells so nice, classy, vintage-y, floral-clean (citrusy). Staying power on the skin is weak, so I prefer to spray this on clothes and hair to make it last longer. Notes list bergamot, blackcurrant, magnolia, freesia, vanilla and musk.

eBay Metallic Brushes

I gushed about the blush and contour brushes in my last favourites. I've since got the whole set of seven brushes and I'm hooked on those too. The powder brush is incredibly fluffy and soft, so perfect for the job of depositing a thin veil of powder on the skin. I didn't really expected a lot from the eyeshadow brushes because they seemed big for my small eyes, but I like them a lot. The big blending brush is dense and blends the harsh edges well, but it can also apply the colour on the lids. It works for blending concealer under the eyes too. The crease brush is a big, dome shaped brush that is out course far too large for my basically non-existent crease, but it's again a dense brush that picks up colour well, so it can be used to apply colour and blending. 

Honestly I had even more favourites (I always do), but since they're still quite new and I haven't talked about them, and I have so many products already in this posts, I'll just give them a quick mention for now:

THEBALM Nude'Dude palette - I got this for my birthday and I simply adore the combination of two shades that are actually totally not me: Flirty and Friendly. I still haven't done fully exploring this palette, but it'll surely land in the next favourites.

BOURJOIS Radiance Reveal Concealer - the shade is scary orange at first, but it blends in so well and I've actually been using this all over the face instead of a foundation. It has such a spectacular natural "of course I'm not wearing any makeup" finish. Great stuff. I'll talk about it in my next New in. Coverage is medium and it's most similar to Maybelline Fit Me in terms of texture.

ESSENCE Thermo Nail Polish 05 The Ice Is Melting - such a spectacular grey shade. I love this against my skin tone. The thermo effect is a gimmick though, but I don't mind at all. If you wish I can post a picture of it on my nails on Instagram before it's in New in.

SOAP & GLORY Hand Maid Antibacterial Hand Cleansing Gel - I felt this doesn't need any special description, but it's by far the best anti-bacterial gel I've tried. It leaves the skin completely residue free and smells so amazing, like 505 s crtom sweets.

Have a great day!

Though it's not exactly new on the market, Birthday Suit is one of those shades that has gained in popularity mostly in the last years, ever since it's all about the 90's inspired mauve-brown nude shades and it has been on my mind for quite a while because I adore matte finishes, but I was vary of actually trying it, since these type of shades look vastly different on a pasty little Snow White like me than on someone with a medium skin tone. Still, I decided to take risk and get it despite my concerns. It ended up looking far better on me than I expected and I've been reaching for it very often.

Texture: The formula is strange and different from what I'm used to. It starts as a very light oily liquid and I was kind of concerned about how smudgy this will be because it moves a lot from the start, but after about 3-5 minutes it's completely set to a perfect, "Instagram-matte" finish. This probably has the best proper matte finish I've tried. However, it does feel like a film on the lips from the start and it can feel tight, so avoid this if you have dry lips because it will feel very uncomfortable to you, as it is the driest such lipstick I've tried, but to me it's perfectly fine. Once it set it doesn't transfer or it transfers only in mirror traces.

 Right after application above and after it sets bellow:

Colour: Birthday Suit is a medium nude shade or a rosy-mauve-beige slightly brown shade. I was really concerned it will look beige-brown on me, but it turned out to be so much better than expected and close to what I've seen on Pinterest images. The thing about this shade is that it changes to much as it wears, it's beige at application and with time it oxidises into a more rosy, darker shade. I sometimes feel it's different every hour, but I'm sure it has a lot to do with the light as well, sometimes it looks more beige, sometimes more rosy, basically I think that any swatch I can make will always be just an approximation.

Too Faced Chocolate Bar on the eyes (Hazelnut, Hot Chocolate and Marzipan), Max Factor Lavish Mauve on the cheeks.

Staying power: It manages to stay well, especially for a light shade, but most matte lip creams last well anyway. Oil will break it down, so be aware of that when you eat, but it tends to survive drinking well. It wears of nicely because it's a light shade and you can't see unevenness, also it doesn't crack all weird.

Packaging: The applicator is clumsy and too big for my liking, and I don't exactly have the smallest lips. They should have made it either more curved or smaller, something like NYX or Bourjois have. 

Reviews of Kiko Velvet Matte 612 Strawberry Pink, NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cannes, Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in 07 Nude-ist and Golden Rose Velvet Matte 12.

Scent: The scent isn't detectable on the lips nor upon application, but if I smell it on the applicator it smells like church. Yup, I'm being weird again, but that's how it smells, like a cold stone building.

Price and availability: I got mine on Boots International for £4.99. Some Slovene online shops have it, but it's rarely actually in stock.

If you ever searched for a liquid lipstick with the most perfect matte finish, this one will fit the bill quite nicely. However, it's a lip product for those of us, who don't really ever experience dry lips and don't find matte lip products uncomfortable, but if you're one who needs a lip balm often and has in general quite dry lips, this is probably the worst product for you. I actually really enjoy wearing it and I love the proper matte finish of it. I wish the applicator were better designed, but otherwise, I'm a fan of this lip cream.

Have a great day!

I've actually been eyeing this shade, so I'm happy I got it in February's Beauty Box. It looks like a mix of red and purple, but on the nails it's unfortunately a lot more red. It's basically a typical burgundy shade and a very similar (if not the same) shade as Revlon's Parfumerie nail polish in Bordeaux. 

Formula is quite thick for a red and it wasn't the easiest to apply nicely, but I managed it. The brush is thin, just like at Parfumerie line. I like the brush and dislike it at the same time. The application is much more precise and I don't make a mess on my cuticles, but it takes twice as long to apply the nail polish. The bottle hasn't changed one bit, since I got my first Revlon nail polish in 1997, I guess we can call it retro now, so it's cool again. I lasted well on my nails just as all other nail polishes.

Have a great day!

I talked about the January box just this month and that one was not one of my favourites, but they certainly stepped up the game with this one. In honour of the Valentine's Day month, they created a box with seductive reds and pinks along with romantic scents of roses. This box again contains five products: a full size lip gloss by Tanya Burr in Vampire Kiss, a full size nail polish by Revlon in Bewitching, a sample size of Weleda's Wild Rose Creamy Body Wash, a travel size Batiste Dry Shampoo in Cherry and CMD Naturarkosmetik Rose Exclusive Pflegemaske. 

Shades of Tanya's lip glosses in boxes differ as do of Revlon's nail polishes and versions of Batiste dry shampoo. Lip glosses in the boxes are Daydream, Enchanted Forest, Berry Picking, Exotic Island and Vampire Kiss. Shades of Revlon nail polishes are Pink Nude, Bewitching, Vixen and Plum Seduction. Batiste dry shampoos come in different versions too, I've seen Blush in one of them, but the picture also shows Original and Tropic.

The box costs 12 € + shipping here.

TANYA BURR Lip Gloss

Vampire Kiss

I think this is actually already discontinued and the whole brand went through an overhaul, so won't do my usual proper review because it's a waste of my time. I checked Feel Unique and this shade definitely isn't sold there any more, though some of the new lip glosses still have the same names. I actually already bought two of these a couple of years ago, but they weren't for me, regardless I think my friend didn't like them very much. I'm not a fan of lip glosses in general, but these are really not my cup of tea.

The texture is incredibly thick, though not sticky, and the thickness does help in the longevity department, however, it bleeds. The latter shouldn't be a biggie at light shades. The finish is glossy, but not completely like a mirror shine as at for example Dior's Fluid Sticks. These glosses smell like Fru Fru sweets, the strawberry version in particular. The packaging is nothing special, very basic as is the applicator, which is a flat medium-sized doe foot. They aren't bad, but I'm not blown away by it.

Vampire Kiss is a deeper more cool red, a very simple shade that isn't quite opaque, but close.

REVLON Nail Polish

620 Bewitching

A deep cool red shade with a hint of purple. I've done a separated review about it here.

BATISTE Dry Shampoo

Cherry

I'm a fan of Batiste, but I don't actually care how well dry shampoos perform in terms of absorbing oil, since my hair is never greasy. All I care about is the fragrance and volume. This one smells like cherry blossoms, which surprised me greatly. I always assumed it smells like sickly sweet like cherry candy, but this one's scent is a floral version. Maybe they should call it cherry blossom instead. It's fresh, floral and feminine - I like it! It my favourite Batiste so far. It is one of those shampoos that feels most powdery, hence why I assume it's probably the best choice for sorting out oily hair. It's not too white on my dark hair and whatever is there, I simply brush it out. 

I have the Wild version as well and that scent is very heavy oriental, more appropriate for cold months. I also used to have the Tropical version, which smells like coconut.

WELEDA Wilrosen Verwőhn-Cremedusche

I'll start by saying that I absolutely abhor rose scent. Those granny rose ones that is, not the real scent of roses that grow in the garden, but I've never found a product that would smell like the real deal. This creamy shower gel had the awful granny version when I opened it, so naturally I had a hard time convincing myself to use it, but I did nonetheless. Under a shower it a different, less rosy scent and it reminds me a lot of a face wash I used as a teenager, it was Dr. Scheller Zitronenmelisse Waschgel if anyone remembers it. Basically it's a more citrusy herbal scent. The texture is like a lotion, thick, but runny and it doesn't foam much, but it does feel nice for dry skin. 

Ingredients.

CMD Naturarkosmetik Rose Exclusive Pflegemaske

Yet another product with the awful rose scent. I've never heard of this brand, nor do I know where to buy it, but it's a nourishing face mask for dry skin that you apply instead of a moisturiser in a thick layer and you can go to bed with it. The ingredients are lovely, it's clearly a very nourishing blend of almond, avocado, olive and rosehip seed oil, as well as shea butter. It's a medium consistency, so not terribly thick and it's easy to apply. My skin isn't dry this winter, but it felt nice on my skin. I don't have any dry patches, so I could see if this heals them, but I assume it would. It's 100% vegan.

Ingredients.

Have a great day!

My love for Rouge Edition Velvets is well documented on this blog, particularly of the shade Nude-ist, which is one of my absolute favourite shades and formulas. From all the shades available I own six: 02 Frambourjois, 05 Olé Flamingo, 07 Nude-ist, 08 Grand Gru and the latest two are 09 Happy Nude Year and 14 Plum Plum Girl. These vary greatly in terms of quality of the formula from shade to shade. Grand Gru is a very difficult shade to work with, especially when it's old and Nude-ist is one of the most perfect matte lip creams I've ever tried. But they are all long-wearing, matte and to me comfortable on the lips.

Texture: These have a mousse type of formula that greatly varies from shade to shade. At some shades like Nude-ist, you get a fully opaque layer of colour in one swipe, but at shades like Grand Cru a great deal of layering and waiting for the layers to dry is required. Both Happy Nude Year and Plum Plum Girl are one of those that require two layers, but since Plum Plum is darker, it's a bit more difficult to work with than the other. But once they set, you get a great, long wearing matte lip colour and that's why I love these. They also don't set into this uniform, tight layer as some such products I've tried. Plum Plum girl doesn't transfer once it sets. By the way, I do this type of method of application of these: one layer of product, blot and then add another. Works like a charm.

09 Happy Nude Year

Freshly applied above and after it sets bellow.

Happy Nude Year is a peachy shade with only hints of pink on me. On my friend who is about two shades darker, it's the most stunningly gorgeous peachy-pink ever. I should have known I'm not so lucky. Get this one if you have a medium skin tone or just like peachy shades. It's not bad, just not what I hoped for. 

 On the eyes it's Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette (Hazelnut, Haute Chocolate and Marzipan). Blush is Max Factor Creme Puff 20 Lavish Mauve.

 14 Plum Plum Girl

 Freshly applied above and after it sets bellow.

Plum Plum Girl is a stunning shade though. It's my type of shade, since it's one of those red-pink-purple mixes I love so much. It's a deep magenta-purple shade that is like a mix between D for Danger and Rebel, but I don't have a real dupe for this one. It dries to a great matte finish.

Comparison with other shades: the discontinued Essence Stay Matte Lip Cream in Berry Smoothie, Milani Amore Lip Creme in Gorgeous, MAC D for Danger and MAC Rebel. It's closest to D for Danger, but not as red and not as bright.

Staying power: These hang on for a really long time. Depending on what you're doing it can look decently even at the end of the day, but then sometimes you're left only with a cracked see-through stain. When I want a long wearing lip colour that will last me though drinking and eating, I tend to reach for these, especially Nude-ist as that one wears the nicest.

Packaging: The packaging is a square tube, standard at Bourjois lip products and it has a doe foot applicator that is one of the simplest to use.

All of my Rouge Editions Velvet: 02 Frambourjoise (a rose-red shade), 05 Olé Flamingo (warm hot pink, basically a warm version of 06 Pink Pong), 07 Nude-ist (muted medium rosy nude shade), 08 Grand Cru (deep red), 09 Happy Nude Year and 14 Plum Plum Girl.

Since the first four shades aren't exactly new (Grand Cru will be two years old soon), they don't perform as well any more. Frambourjoise lost its intensity and became more oily and Grand Cru is now an absolute nightmare to work with. Nude-ist is still perfect, but it's less than a year old. 

If you spend any time watching Youtube tutorials, praises of this mascara may not have escaped your notice, but it's not just individuals singing it praises, it also has a very high rating on Makeup Alley where is very uncommon for a mascara to have a rating above 4.0. I'm not one for regular formulas, I say that so often that I have a feeling someone will write it on my tombstone one day, but I wanted to test this one because I thought some might be interested in it. 

Wand: It has the most basic, old school wand that really doesn't look like anything special. But to me, these are some of the best ones (like at Lancome Hypnose). It's not the best at defining, it's more for volume, as is usual for such brushes.

Formula: This is the type of mascara that performs well from the moment you open it. It's among the wetter formulas and it gives a lot of volume and length, but gets even better as it thickens with time. This is a mascara for those who love massive lashes.  Because it's so wet from the start, there is bound to be some mess, so application should be done with a bit more care and very importantly with patience to avoid any clumped bits. Pieces don't fall off during the day, it doesn't flake nor smudge (after it dries on the eyelashes), but don't cry with it. In general it stays on well. It doesn't manage to keep my lashes curled, though I heard some reviews say it's good at these thing, but my lashes drop almost immediately with this one, as I expected considering it's a regular formula and a very wet one at that. The best regular formula mascara I found that isn't a complete disappointment when it comes to holding lashes is Physician's Formula Va Va Voom.

I get the hype of this mascara. It's a volume bomb, just like some Essence mascaras and its very affordable abroad. It's very basic looking, but it delivers. Since it a regular formula it's also easy to remove. After over a month it's still quite wet, meaning it will probably last a very long time, however, it is still a bit messy, so not a mascara I would put on in a hurry.