Best Buys 2016: Part 1
ponedeljek, december 26, 2016
BASE
I'm not a fan of the traditional mattifying powders because they make my face into this fake-looking cakey mess that I hate (I want my skin to look like actual skin) and this is one of those radiance powders, though I can't say it gives any type of glow to the face, but it looks very light on the skin, like there is nothing on. It takes away shine, but not all and doesn't look powdery matte (those with oily skin avoid this. It's more for those who merely need to set the makeup, including for moderately dry skin because it doesn't catch on the dry patches). Another star of this product is the packaging which is so adorable and handy because of the big mirror in the back. It's my upgrade of the Bourjois Java powder, only in a more convenient compact form.
Bourjois launched their best concealer so far this year and it became an instant favourite of mine. I love this concealer because it looks so natural. It's no where near full coverage, however, it doesn't look heavy and cakey on my skin, a problem that tends to happen to me a lot for some reason. It has a natural "no-makeup makeup" finish, it offers about a medium coverage and the formula is very lightweight.
I also loved:
EYES
I'm still loving I <3 Extreme Waterproof from Essence, but this is a waterproof mascara that managed to impress me this year. It doesn't create massive lashes, instead it's makes your lashes look naturally pretty and perfect because it catches every one, it defines them, fans them out and gives enough length, but doesn't coat them with a ton of product. I tend to use it as a base coat, so my lashes are defined before I apply Essence's mascara.
2016 was the year when I found regular mascaras that don't suck on my lashes. This one creates massive lashes, but doesn't coat them with a ton of product, so they are still defined and it even holds my lashes curled at least half way. BeYu's is similarly amazing, but the reason I choose this one for the post is because I had it longer and it's the first regular mascara I've repurchased in many years.
I've tried so many liners this year, from the overpriced Stila one, which disappointed me, to the inexpensive Wet n Wild's, but the one that impressed me the most is Superstar. It's been months since I got it and it still works so well - this is what I expect from a liner. The applicator, thought it looks gimmicky, is great for drawing flicks quickly, however, it is quite big, so it's not the best for thin lines. The liner lasts well, it doesn't smudge and it's nicely black.
Who would have thought that Essence would make the best cream eyeshadows? They seriously nailed it. Unlike 99 % of stick cream eyeshadows, these have a satin finish with much smaller shimmer, so they are a lot better to use as a base. The formula is firmer than most, but it glides on the lids with ease and these blend out with a finger in a matter of seconds. Staying power is outstanding as well and it's not uncommon that they last all day on my normal lids. She's Got The Mauve is probably my favourite creamy eyeshadow so far because it has that something unique and such shades look really good with my colouring.
I knew the moment I tried this in January that this will land in my Best Buys. It was so worth spending a fortune on this because it became my first choice when doing makeup. It's such a wonderful palette for fans of neutral looks because the colour range is more versatile than in any of my other palettes since it has a lot of medium "lid" shades and I use pretty much every shade in it apart from that purple and pink. The pigmentation of this palette is outstanding and the eyeshadows apply and blend so nicely.
I also loved:
LIPS
I just got this in December, but I'm so in love with both of the shades. This was a year of matte liquid lipsticks for me, they are my favourite makeup item and these are supposedly many people's favourite. While I think TheBalm's are better, these are another ones with a perfect matte finish and an excellent pigmentation, only staying power isn't quite as good as at others, but the both of the shades are fantastic. Strawberry Pink is a stunning warm pinky red, while Marvellous Mauve is a medium pinky-mauve shade that's so far my favourite such shade because it's neither too brown, nor too grey or purple on me.
Last year I fell in love with shade Rose from the Ultra HD lipstick range, which I called the most comfortable lip product I found. Well, these are an upgrade of those. While I'm miffed about the name, since they aren't matte and it bothers just about everyone, I can't deny the formula is still so lovely. These have the benefits of a proper matte lipsticks, meaning excellent pigmentation and great staying power, they just aren't matte (at least for the first few hours), but they are very comfortable on the lips. I have a medium warm pinky shade called Devotion and I reach for it a lot, plus it smells the same as Ultra HD, so like Planica ice cream (vanilla-chocolate-strawberry).
I've tried many liquid lipsticks this year and these are my favourite. I started with one and then bought two more after being impressed with the formula and I wouldn't mind if my collection expanded. The formula is creamy, super pigmented, applies evenly with no sheer patches, smells like After Eight and dries to a velvet matte finish after a few minutes. It lasts so well on the lips and wears off nicely too. I have three shades and I love all, but Committed is the one I reach for most because it's such a stunning, everyday muted peachy-pinky nude shade. Charming, a muted rosy-brown, is my autumn shade, while Adoring is a rich burgundy and even though such shades tend to be very uneven, this one applies so lovely and lasts great.
Surprise another matte liquid lipstick. I just love them. This one sets to a perfect a matte finish in a minute or so, making it not the best for dry lips, but if you're looking for the Instagram matte finish, these are great. Formula is creamy at application and very pigmented, the only thing is that is sets to a uniform layer and it can fade in patches, but it's on rare occasions. I have the shade Gorgeous, a magenta-purple shade and it was my favourite until I discovered More Better from Colourpop, but it still very much deserves its place here.
While I won't say that the formula of these is comfortable, their pigmentation is fantastic and staying power definitely wins, but I had to put these here primarily because of the shades. Sollow and More Better completely caught my heart, I ordered several shades but these are so much better than I expected. Sollow is a light muted peachy pink shade, a hundred times prettier than in the tube, while More Better is just my shade, a good enough approximate for my all-time favourite Mac's D for Danger, so a rich deep berry shade that's just a bit more purple than Mac's offering.
The moment I put this on, I was completely in love. Even as I was applying this, I was thinking to myself: "These are so amazing, I love it!". The formula is so light on the lips, but it's intensely pigmented and the finish is just out of this world gorgeous for a lipstick and closest to a liquid lipstick I found, better than Milani's Matte. The colour became an instant favourite of mine as well. It's similar to theBalm's Charming, but lighter because it doesn't oxidise on the lips and less warm, more neutral rosy. I love it. I hope I'll get to try more of these in a Matte finish.
I also loved:
BRUSHES
Setting my obvious obsession with matte liquid lipsticks aside, apart from the Too Faced chocolate palette, this was by far the most useful set of products I bought. I've been fighting taking the plunge for a long time because these are so crazy expensive and I still think that if I knew which brushes are 110% worth it, I could save a few euros, but it was a fantastic investment. It true what they say, until you don't have a good set of brushes, your makeup will never look just right. All the brushes are fantastic quality, they feel well-made, they wash nicely with no shedding and just feel premium. Zoeva blending brushes just changed my routine. I'm really impressed with 231 Luxe Petite Crease, 228 Luxe Crease, 235 Contour Shader and 227 Luxe Soft Definer. Now I understand why these are hailed as some of the best brushes out there, but I wish they were cheaper.
Before I tried this, I didn't truly believe in these spray-and-swipe brush cleaners (Essence's didn't quite meet my expectations), but I was proven wrong. It actually does a very decent clean up, the brushes feel fresh, like they were just washed and it takes off about 80% of the colour that was used with the brush, but for something that doesn't use water, it's really good. I also feel that the brushes are dry faster with this than with Essence's. It is heavily fragranced (which I love) and it smells like chamomile, plus the scent lingers for quite a while.
When I first saw oval brushes, I believe Mac was the first, I thought to myself: "What useless gimmick is this?" and honestly, I would never buy them myself because I thought they looked so stupid. I was wrong, so wrong. While I remain unconvinced about the use of these for any type of eye makeup, for foundation I've never tried anything better. I got this set about two-three months ago and I haven't used any other foundation brush or sponge since. It's so quick and it blends perfectly with no streaks or visible edges. Granted Real Techniques brush will leave you with the same finish, but this is faster. I don't find it absorbs that much foundation, only that they don't ever look as good as new once they are washed, but they still work the same. I was so impressed that I ordered two more cheap ones for my friends because I wanted to share these with them.
I'll post the second part with nail polishes, skin care and hair care in the following days. You can read lasts years Best Buys here, here and here is the under 5 € version. For all years I have a link list on this page.
Have a great day!
I'll post the second part with nail polishes, skin care and hair care in the following days. You can read lasts years Best Buys here, here and here is the under 5 € version. For all years I have a link list on this page.
Have a great day!
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4 comments
Kako to, da te je Stila liner razočaral? :) Meni je najboljši, samo upam, da bo dolgo zdržal, zaenkrat ga imam skoraj 2 meseca in je še vedno kot nov, ga pa uporabljam skoraj vsak dan. Superstar mi je drugače tudi kul, samo se mi žal zelo hitro razmaže v kotičkih, pa tudi drugače ni tako obstojen in črn kot Stila.
OdgovoriIzbrišiDrugače pa sami super izdelki, Bourjois concealer je tudi moj najljubši, pa Too Faced paletka, jaz imam Bon Bon in je tudi krasna. TheBalm Meet Matte Commited je res vse <3, imam pa še Sincere in mi je tudi zelo všeč :)
Že od začetka mi ni bila všeč konica, vsaj na mojem, ampak je preveč gibljiva, ni bila gladka v pravo špico in nisem mogla z njo naredit natančne črte. Pa čisto prehitro se je posušil. Jaz od eyelinerja pričakujem da je pol leta v odličnem stanju, ta se je začel sušiti pa po parih mesecih. Superstar se je veliko bolje obnesel. Ni popoln, ampak mi je bil letos od novih najbolj všeč.
IzbrišiZa Bon Bon sem ti mega jealous in Sincere imam tudi na wishlisti :)
Revlon Ultra HD je še vedno na moji wish listi. Ne vem kdaj končno dobimo Revlon v MS. Prav tako si me navdušila za maskaro in Max Factorjevo. Čeprav me zdaj tudi tista Beyu mika, ko sem videla kako lepo ti jih zaviha. Jaz kar nočem stran od Maybelline Lash Sensational :).
OdgovoriIzbrišiColourpop senčili bosta tudi v mojih letnih favoritih. Končno neke znamke, ki so nam zdaj celo dostopne. Lippie Stix se slišijo super. Moram še malo pregledat, če najdem kaj zase :).
Meni sta MF in BeYu maskari čisto primerljivi tudi po tem kako mi zavihata trepalnice, tako da katerkoli vzameš bo kul :). BeYu je malo cenejša se mi zdi. Sensational imam samo vododporno, pa mi podobna po efektu tema dvema, samo kar bolj drži zavihane trepalnice. Moja se je drugače že čisto posušila.
IzbrišiJoj, me matraš s temi ColourPop senčili. Mi jih priporočajo tudi drugi, samo kar se večinoma paletk držim, ker je pač lažje. Stixe pa tudi jaz raziskujem kateri odtenek bi še :)