FAVOURITES

MAYBELLINE Lash Sensational Mascara

At first I didn't think much about this mascara. It was merely ok, mostly just defining, but applying anything more than two coats resulted in several lashes sticking together, so it looked like I have less than I do, but as weeks passed, this got better and better, so now I actually really like it. It's both defining and volumizing, giving a great big lashes effect. In terms of keeping the curl, it's still not the best, but at least it doesn't make the lashes drop completely. I have the new (possibly LE) metallic packaging which is quite eye catching.

THE SAEM Natural Skin Fit Mask

Grapefruit - moisturising

This was such a pleasant experience and it quickly became one of my favourite sheet masks ever, even though it's not a brightening version that I tend to prefer. The sheet fits ok and the essence so incredibly comfy, like the most luxurious milky lotion - I just felt so pampered with this on. The grapefruit scent is so refreshing and lovely, it's definitely one of my favourites at sheet masks. Mine is a special Disney edition, but they have this in a regular pack and these are reasonably priced for a sheet mask on some sites, I got mine for 60 cents on Cosmetic Love. I already ordered more of these and got the lemon brightening version too.

GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS

*BOURJOIS Rouge Velvet

I'm not a fan of the shade as I'd prefer something more natural, regardless I need to praise the formula because this is one of the closest classic lipstick I've tried that has that liquid matte lipstick finish when it sets (Colourpop Matte X is still better, but this is easier to get in Slovenia and has a nice shade range). It even transfers only in traces and the formula is surprisingly very light, actually this feels as if it has no wax, so it just glides on the lips with no skipping. It lasts well, though after several hours it doesn't really fade the nicest, but if I had a more nude shade it wouldn't be that noticeable as with a magenta. Maybe I'll splurge on a shade 03, but 14 € for a lipstick isn't exactly change, so it won't happen soon. The shade on the picture is 09 Fuchsia Botté, a warm hot pink shade.

MISSHA Geum Sul Vitalizing Tension Pact SPF30 PA++

01 Bright Light

While I admit this drew me in mostly for the packaging, Geum Sul line is actually quite praised and it contains ginseng, which is very treasured in K-Beauty. This has a good amount of coverage, though you can only get a small amount on the puff at once, so you can choose to build it up if you wish. I apply a thin coat with a puff for light-medium coverage and then use a brush or a clean finger to apply what would be a regular amount for most under the eyes instead of concealer and it's covers everything I need. Finish is dewy from the start, but unlike my other Tony Moly cushion, this sets to a satin finish (but don't quote me on that because my skin is currently drier than in the summer, so it might be more satin due to that). Why I like this is because it doesn't slip into pores or make them more obvious, it also doesn't emphasize my smiles lines any more than they are. However, the shade is a disappointing thing about this. I expected it's light because Missha's 13 is one of the palest I know, but this is somewhere in the NC15-20 ballpark with a warm undertone. The packaging is of course stunning and the lace pattern on the fabric is an extra plus.

DISAPPOINTMENTS

MEDIHEAL LINE FRIENDS Ampoule Mask Sheet Pack

E.G.T Timetox Ampoule - anti-age. 

This was the first time I didn't like the effect of a sheet mask. Normally I either love it, find it average or completely ineffective, but this sort of reversed the state on my skin back to pre K-Beauty era. Mediheal masks are highly praised and this contains some fancy peptides that recover elasticity and firm the skin, but as I took it off my skin just looked blah. I thought it might be better in the morning, but my pores were larger and more prominent, also my foundation didn't apply as nicely. It doesn't have just minuses because it was nicely moisturising and it has a cute cartoon on the sheet, but still, I wasn't happy with this.

UPDATES

SKIN CARE

VPROVE Snail Essential Mask Sheet Gold Expert

I didn't know if I should include this because I can't find this version anywhere, but Vprove has another snail mask in a different packaging that I found of Koreadepart.com. I tried snail products before and though they had a nice enough effect (best thing for sunburns ever. They disappear overnight), I thought they break me out, because I use Tony Moly Prestige cream just on my smile lines since it temporarily plumps up the area and that's where then usually tiny spots form if I use it daily. However, this turned out to be such a lovely mask, it's simply very moisturising and plumping, so it helped temporarily diminish those two smile lines by my mouth, but it wasn't miraculous. My skin felt and looked really nice in the morning, so I was impressed by it and decided to give snail products another chance, since I still have quite a few samples.

COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence and Advanced Snail All-in-one Cream

I bought packs of 10 a while ago, but only used a couple because I felt other products were doing more and I thought this might be causing minor breakouts. After about two weeks of use and almost all samples gone I still think my original assessment of these two was correct, though they might not break me out, but they aren't keeping my skin as clear as other products (I've gone two months without a single spot up until these two). Both are hydrating, somewhat plumping and smoothing, but neither are a miracle worker as some describe it and my skin isn't as nice as it was two weeks ago. But for promoting healing this is still great. 

MIZON Collagen Power Lifting Cream

Banila's Honey Essence Oil's first ingredient is collagen, so I was excited when I got this sample because I'd love to try more K-Beauty products with this ingredient. It's got a light texture, but it's one of those moisturisers that don't sink in fast and I wanted to like this, but I just wasn't that impressed by it. I saw no increase of elasticity or bounciness, so Banila is just better for me. 

BANILA CO. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Essence Oil 

I realised my new bottle is a lot more empty than I originally thought, if you recall I told you that it arrived with the cap unscrewed and the box completely wet, so I think it must have been 80-90% of product that leaked out, which is just my luck. Since this is my favourite face product I rushed to order a new one and to my horror discovered it's been discontinued with only a couple of overpriced bottles remaining on the internet. Right now I'm looking for a replacement, so I ordered some samples you'll see bellow (Shark Sauce, Missha Time Revolution) and a full size of LJH Propolis Ampoule.

NAILS

ESSIE Bahama Mama

A deep pink purple shade that has been on my nails for most of the month, though I wore Spin the Bottle for a while at the beginning of November.

MY CANADIAN SWAP 

I was approached with a request to do a swap by one of my followers from Canada who really wanted to try products we have here. We agreed on a surprise package, though admittedly I'm mostly a wishlist kind of girl, but I really have no idea what exactly is available in Canadian drugstores and I don't even have products that are impossible to get on my wishlist (because why torture myself, right), so I agreed to let her treat me with her favourites, but of course we both detailed our preferences beforehand. Since my parcel already arrived in Canada (it took 11 days, but it cost an arm and a leg plus my unborn child) and she's already exploring my picks, I decided to share the selection I made of the products that are not sold overseas and I think are a must-try, either based on my experiences or picked with the help of other people's recommendations (mostly for skin care because I use K-Beauty). The limit was about 70 € and I managed to fit quite a few affordable and great quality products in that budget (with some discounts of course). I made a whole science of my process of choices with lists and tables before actually buying anything because I wanted to get her something from each category and obviously because I have a degree in making thing more complicated than they are. The parcel meant for me from Canada hasn't arrived yet, but I will share what I got when it reaches Slovenia.

CATRICE Travellight Story LE Eyeshadow Palette // CATRICE Art Couleurs Eyeshadow 080 Mademoiselle Chic (fell in love with these super cream new ones, though the last ones were great already) // CATRICE Glam & Doll False Lashes Mascara Waterproof // TREND IT UP Powder Blush 050 // MISSLYN Bronzing & Contouring Powder Beach Please // ESSENCE hello happiness TE contouring brush // ESSENCE Soft Contouring Lipliner 06 under my skin // CATRICE Ultimate Colour Lipstick In A Rose Garden // ESSENCE the Gel Nail Polish 55 be awesome tonight! // L.O.V LOVINITY long lasting nail lacquer 250 

CADEAVERA Anti-Wrinkle Q10 Eye Cream (Anti-Falten Q10 Augencreme) // Balea Aqua Hydrating Serum (Aqua Feuchtigkeits Serum) // AVEO Lip Balm Strawberry & Frozen Yogurt (Lippenpflege Erdberre & Frozen Yogurt) // GREEN LINE Clear Active Refreshing Toner // ALVERDE Rosehip Day Cream (Tagescreme Wildrose) // CADEAVERA Anti-Wrinkle Q10 Day Cream // AFRODITA Hydra Patch Creme for Normal to Combination Skin (new on the market) // BALEA Refreshing Cleansing Gel (Erfrishendes Waschgel) // CADEAVERA Antioxidant Mask // AFRODITA Why Mask Extreme Hydration and Fresh & Well-Rested Look

SUBRINA Clean & Fresh Shampoo // BALEA Shaving Gel // BALEA Shower Foam Hawaiian Dream // AFRODITA Hand & Nail Cream 2 in 1 Argan // AFRODITA Secret Garden Cream Shower Gel Romantic Peony // AFRODITA Red Grapes Moisturing Body Milk (everyone and their grandmothers loves this) // BALEA Universal Cream Take Care of you // BALEA Hand Foam Raspberry Party // FA Yoghurt Shower Gel Vanilla & Honey Scent // ALVERDE Body Cream Macadamia

ORDERED

From eBay: COSRX Galactomyces 95 Whitening Power Essence (finally) // HADA LABO Gokujun Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion (small 30 ml bottle to try first) // MISSHA Time Revolution The First Treatment Essence & Time Revolution Night Repair Borabit Ampoule Samples / MISSHA Geum Sul Giyun Eye Cream Samples // 

From HOLY SNAILS - Sauce du Mois a.k.a. Shark Sauce Samples, Honey and Hanbang versions

From Sweet Corea - LJH Vita-Propolis Serum Ampoule // TONY MOLY Panda's Dream Sleeping Pack (repurchase, I love this) // BENTON Snail Bee High Content Essence Samples // ETUDE HOUSE  Moistfull Collagen Sample Pack // ETUDE HOUSE Honey Cera Body Sample Pack

From Cosmetic Love: THE FACE SHOP Rice Cleansing Oil Light // THE SAEM Cover Perfection Tip Concealer (under 3$ and everyone says it's nice) // A'PIEU Chocolate Milk One Pack Mask // THE SAEM Natural Skin-fit Mask Sheet Grapefruit // THE SAEM Natural Skin-fit Mask Sheet Lemon (brightening version) // TONY MOLY Pureness 100 Red Ginseng Mask Sheet // THE FACE SHOP Real Nature Masks Red Ginseng // ETUDE HOUSE 0.2 mm Therapy Air Masks Snail

WISHLIST

SCINIC Honey All in One Ampoule (comes in a big 250 ml jar) // PHYSICIANS FORMULA Butter Highlighter Pearl // TERRA NATURI Body & Face Shimmer Powder Golden Highlight (this looked so pretty when I swatched it) // CATRICE Art Couleurs Eyeshadows (several shades so I can build a palette) // BOURJOIS Rouge Velvet the Lipstick 03 and 05 // THE BODY SHOP Shea Body Butter (TBS Slovenia is officially open) // BALEA Body Perfektion Mousse-to-oil Bodyschaum // SKINFOOD Royal Honey Propolis Essence // Shoes with a metal heel decor from AliExpress (satin version/suede version).

This november I also posted my 1000th post: My top 10 favourite lipsticks

Have a great day!

Essence's previous version of classic lipliners were some of the most liked lip pencils in the drugstore and praised for their softness, so it came as quite a surprise that they discontinued them. Some shades were probably part of the line for probably the longest out of all their products (impressive considering they usually last no more than a year) and they switched the entire line with these called Soft Contouring. I haven't seen many reviews about these, so I'm not sure how fans of these reacted, but I disliked the previous version and find these a big improvement.

Texture: The first version of their lipliners was very creamy and smudgy, so getting a crisp line was impossible, however, they were a nice substitute for a lipstick because you could fill in the entire lips without that drying, chalky feeling. The new soft contouring ones are still creamy and easy to apply, but now they are a lot more waxy, so they don't move or smudge and you don't need to constantly sharpen them either. You can still colour the entire lips and it feels fine, so I'm pretty happy with the change because now they remember my favourite Bourjois formula, except these are much cheaper.

06 under my skin

06 under my skin is a mid toned peachy-pink shade. Like always imagine this shade lighter on yourself if you're darker than NC/W10, but it's a deeper version of Catrice's I got You Babel. I really like this shade for my colouring on its own and it combines well with the shades I wear.

 05 melt your heart

05 melt your heart is a red that's got some rusty vibe and it's not a vibrant version of the shade. 

Staying power: Just like the previous versions, these don't have a great staying power. I don't want to do an estimate in hours, but I can say that they don't last thought eating, survive drinking relatively ok and it's very easy to wipe off. But that's their only minus and if you didn't mind that at the old version, you won't mind it at this either.

Price and availability: These cost 1.19 € in drugstores, I bought mine in Müller.

Overall I'm happy with the new version of Essence lipliner and will probably get a shade or two, though most of the colour aren't that pretty. 

For the third time in a row, Catrice joined forces with the couture bridal designer Caviar Gauche and created a limited edition collection. The previous two were no doubt beautiful (last year's eyeshadow quad is stunning), but this one takes the cake. It's a gorgeous combination of gold with the creamy beige leather that looks so lavish, especially for a drugstore brand, though it's not completely original since Physicians Formula already has a similar line called Nude Wear, except there it's a combination of leather with rose gold and the prices are higher. Collection is already available in shops (in Slovenia) and it contains an eyeshadow palette, a massive highlighter, makeup brushes and a brush bag.

Eye Shadow Palette 

C01 Sand Souci

This caught my attention first because the whole design and the colours look stunning. I've always been a neutral girl at heart and this contains four wearable, everyday shades in different finishes. It's what you'd expect from a bridal designer, so universally flattering, enhancing natural beauty with soft hues and also not super pigmented, but more in a way what Burberry does with their eyeshadows, something you need to apply gradually, therefore avoid overdoing it - well that's the way I like to see it, but what I mean is that you need a few layers for an intense look. One strange thing I noticed at these that I never encountered before is that these swatch better with an eyeshadow brush than fingers. They eyeshadows are on the dry side, so maybe that's why and the eyeshadow brush that's in this collection works best, possibly because it's stiff and synthetic.

There are four shades in the palette:

An iridescent light pink shade that acts as a highlight.

A light gold brown which gives the lids a gentle wash of colour with shine.

A light taupe brown shade that despite looking much darker than that gold brown one is actually similar on the lids. Both are quite light and simple lid colours, so applying this one in the crease doesn't work that well.

A matte cool brown is the most pigmented in the bunch and as you might expect the defining colour due to being both matte and darkest in the palette.

All shades blend well and create nice transitions as I hope you can see on my swatches. Staying power is impressive I must say. Honestly I didn't expect that much mostly because the pigmentation is on the light side except of the darkest shade, but these lasted perfectly applied on my normal lids for 9 hours before I washed it off. There was no creasing and very little fading. 

Overall is it worth it? It's very pretty, that much is sure, but Catrice does have better quality eyeshadows in their singles Art Couleurs formula. They are more buttery and more pigmented, but KG palette contains decent neutrals with a good staying power.

Palette costs € 5.99.

Highlighter 

C01 Éclat D'Or

I think you need to see it in person, but trust me when I say this is a massive highlighter. You get a generous 35.7 g of product (for reference Catrice's High Glow Mineral highlighter has 8 g and TheBalm's Mary-Lou has 8.5 g, so you get about five times as much) and the whole pan is almost the size of my face. It's a regular powder highlighter and though it looks beige-pink in the pan, it's got warm gold shimmer, so it ends up a classic warm champagne highlighter. It's meant for face and body, hence the size, so it's a type of highlighter that's more on the subtle side, but the glow is nicely visible and the shimmer is so fine, you don't see any glitter, just a great glowy effect. The packaging isn't as special as are the other products and it's also feels more fragile, so don't plan to throw it in your bag, as it very likely won't survive. It's got an embossed pattern in the powder, but with a few uses I already erased one of the letters and part of a flower. Staying power is again surprisingly very impressive. Just like the quad, it was still on my face after 9h.

Worth it? It's a great value for money and the tone of the highlighter is gorgeous, however, if you're a fan of strong, very visible highlighters, you might find its glow underwhelming (it's applied heavily on my picture).

Highlighter costs € 5.99

Brushes

Brushes come in two kinds here - individually and in a set. I got the set that contains a powder brush (exclusive for the set), a blush & contour brush and an eye lid brush, plus the makeup bag. I also got an highlighter brush which is only sold individually. All are synthetic. The handles are beautifully made with gold ferules and ends, while the middle is dressed in faux leather. 

Powder Brush

The biggest in the bunch as well as the one that's most dense. It's fluffy and soft, yet due to being dense expect a heavier application of powder. For that same reason it works also for blushes and cream products, including foundations.

Blush & Contour Brush 

Cut at an angle to fit the contours of the face, it can be used for blush, contouring and highlighting, especially since it's not that big. It's soft and picks up colour well, but I wish the bristles were just a bit shorter because I prefer very dense blush brushes that get the job done faster, while this one is more for gradual applications. It blends well and works well with blushes.

Worth it? I like that it's small which fits my small face, but due to longer bristles it applies the blush in a gentler layer than my faithful Ecotools Blush brush. Overall if you really want it, yes, it's worth it.

Price when sold individually: € 5.59

Highlighter Brush

My first fan brush. It's a soft and thin fan brush with thick enough bristles that is picks up highlighter ok and it's also quite precise if you want. It deposits a gentle veil of product, so it's nice for strong highlighters, but I've actually started using it for powder too, especially under the eyes.

Worth it? I never owned a similar brush, so I can't compare, but I like it and it works ok for me.

Eye Lid Brush

A classic shader brush, so the one you use to apply colour on your lid area. Since it's synthetic and a bit stiffer than those with natural bristles, it works better with cream formulas, but it's not problematic with powder eyeshadows too. 

Worth it? Honestly this is the one brush I'd skip. It's just a bit too stiff for my liking and I prefer my other brushes (which are more expensive).

Price when sold individually: € 3.99

Price of the set is 17.49 €.

Brush Bag

Another eye candy in the collection. The faux leather is soft and looks nice quality, overall the whole collection feels and look much more expensive than it is. There is space for five brushes in bag with the slots varying in sizes, so all brushes in this collection fit in here. The closing mechanism works great, so all I can say is that is really such a lovely bag.

Price: € 5.99

Did you pick up anything from this collection? Have a great day!

The last time I made one of these posts I was just starting blogging and I was still deep in the late 00's corpsy nude trend, though even then I had some nice pink favourites and a red. I've since jumped more on the modern 90's revival, I rarely wear anything very nude because with my colouring I feel I need something to define the lips, so it makes me look more alive as well as pulled together. I've attempted to do this post several times, versions of pictures have been taken four times in the last two years, but every time I had other things to review, so my choices became outdated because I'm constantly finding new favourites. Last year especially I found so many great new shades, so I narrowed it down to 10 and swatched everything again since I have a proper camera now. Just about every shade here is matte because that's my favourite finish - shine and especially metallics are not my thing at all. This is also my 1000th post on the blog, so enjoy.

I'll do it in a sort of an order from lightest to darkest because I like being organised, but if you're wondering what order of my favourites would be, it would start with Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Nude-ist, theBalm Meet Matt(e) Hughes in Committed, Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cannes and Maybelline Superstay Matte Ink in Pioneer.

JORDANA Matte Lipstick 
47 Nude

As I said in the intro nudes are no longer my thing, but this one is so pretty and wearable, so it's one of my rare exceptions. It's similar to both Mac's Patisserie and Peach Blossom except that it has a satin matte finish that never looks dry. It's a is a beautiful neutral nude with an equal amount of pink and peachy tones, it's just the best of all worlds and a nude that doesn't wash me out. As cheap and useless as the packaging of Jordana's lipsticks looks, these are seriously so good, pigmented, non-drying and all wear nicely - for a few euros you really get a great lipstick.

THEBALM Meet Matt(e) Hughes 
Committed

Those who read my posts regularly might already know that Meet Matt(e)s are my favourite liquid lipsticks and Committed is my favourite shade. It's the one I wear most often along with Nude-ist, Cannes and Cami, so it's a part of my "just grab it and don't think about it selection of shades". Committed is a difficult colour to describe, theBalm says it's a pinky nude, but it's so much more than that on me, as it definitely has a bit of peachiness to it, so it's a bit like throwing pink and peach plus a bit of mauve in a blender, but keeping the shades very muted. The formula is very pigmented, dries in a few minutes to a perfect matte finish, but it's not uncomfortable, it's long-lasting, doesn't transfer or smudge and fades nicely.

BOURJOIS Rouge Edition Velvet 
07 Nude-ist

I've called this my favourite shade ever for the past two years and though Committed is a tough contender, I still think I like this one more. It's obvious from my bottle it gets a lot of wear as it's the only one you can see how empty it's getting. It looks quite different on me than on most, I've seen it look very bright on some, but on me it's a muted warm rosy shade that has enough pinky tones to lift the complexion, but still looks natural enough on the lips. The formula is a mousse that isn't as pigmented as theBalm's, but this is still the best of Velvets and it takes some time for it to set to a matte finish.

NYX Matte Lip Cream 
Cannes 

This became my most worn shade in the last few month, but before, I admit, I neglected it because it's not the best liquid matte lipstick formula when it comes to staying power. But this is my perfect my-lips-but-better shade and great for every day wear. My tube is now over a year old and as these age, the thinner the formula gets, so now with one coat I get something that's more similar to a stain, but because it's a lip cream, it's more even than those actual stain products which tend to stick to the central dry parts of the lips and look terrible. This one has this semi-translucent texture that looks like you natural lips are tinted with this shade. My natural lips are quite pale, so this just gives them some life. It's a comfortable formula to me, I never noticed any dryness, it takes longer than at others for it to set to a matte finish and the staying power isn't the best, but since it's such a natural colour, it's not that obvious, the central part has wiped off. 

COLOURPOP Lippie Stix 
Cami

I knew the moment I tried this one that it's my new all-time favourite classic lipstick formula. It's so light on the lips, but intensely pigmented and the finish is just out of this world gorgeous for a lipstick and closest to a liquid lipstick I found, apart from the newest Bourjois lipstick Rouge Velvet. 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 it's less warm, so more neutral rosy. 

COLOURPOP Ultra Matte Lip 
Sollow

Sollow became an unexpected favourite of mine. I ordered so many Colourpop shades and I risked it with this one because I thought it might look orange on me, but this one truly stands out because it's the peachy pink that's almost impossible to find for pale skin tones. It looks completely different in the tube, it even applies peachy, but in minutes it starts to oxidise to a light muted peachy pink shade. Formula definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea because it's very matte and can be very drying, but it lasts great on the lips.

REVLON Ultra HD Matte Lipcolour 
600 Devotion

  

This is a complete underdog - in my sea of matte lip colours finally something shiny. Well, sort of. Don't let the name fool you, it's not really matte, actually not even kind of matte at application, instead it behaves more like a lacquer. It's so comfortable and it smells amazing, but you also get fantastic pigmentation and staying power is surprisingly good for something with a creamy-glossy finish. Devotion is a medium warm muted pink, but it's still too pink that'd call it a natural shade for me, but when I'm at home, I always just reach for it because I love applying it. I wish they had something like Nude-ist or Committed in their range

MAYBELLINE Super Stay Matte Ink 

Pioneer

I have a considerable collection of deep burgundy shades and this one is my favourite (Laetitia is a bit lighter, more berry and my first love, but it's not sold anymore). Adoring is a rich burgundy shade that leans more to cool tones, but it's more neutral. Finding a liquid lipstick formula of a vampy shade is a challenge since most leave sheer patches, but this one is perfect - opaque in one coat and it applies evenly. It takes longer for it to turn matte than the other two shades I own, but otherwise the formula is the same and it smells like After Eight which is always a plus.

COLOURPOP Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick 

More Better

This is a shade that just makes me gasp at the sight of its beauty. It's my perfect deep shade, a rich deep berry shade, an excellent mix of burgundy with purple. Mac's D for Danger which is also one of my favourites is more red compared to this. The formula is like at Sollow Ultra Matte, but I feel it's less drying, still if you have dry lips, you won't like it, but for me the colour makes it all worth it.