LANCÔME Teint Idole Ultra 24h Wear & Comfort SPF 15 Foundation

008 Beige Opale

I already said a lot about this foundation in my latest new in and I have a quick review highlighted on my Instagram profile. I recently bought several foundations because I ran out of a few bottles of my lightest shades and I gave away all of my too dark foundations (my collection shrunk by 9 in total). This was the first one that I bought after being very impressed by a tester I took in the shop. I got shade 008 Beige Opale which is one of the lightest shades in our drugstores, but it's not as pale as Essence #insta foundation 10 (swatches are in new in). It's a neutral to slightly pinky very fair shade and it fits me well. It's a satin-matte formula with a medium coverage and the reason why I'm impressed by it is how long it lasts and how well it wears. It doesn't emphasise texture, pores or lines nor does it make them worse with time. While it's more on the matte side, when I wear my Olay Regenerist spf 30 moisturiser under it, it has a nice natural healthy glow to it. 

COLOURPOP Super Shock Cheek

Flexiterian

I haven't put this one down since I got it in late 2018. I've tested a couple other highlighters, which I liked a lot (Catrice and L.O.V. palettes), but this one beats all in my collection. The shimmer is very fine, so it doesn't look like glitter on the face, instead it looks more natural, well if natural meant you got super glowy cheeks, but I hope you get what I mean. I love the cream to powder texture and I always apply it with fingers. It's one of the stronger highlighters and it lasts well on my cheeks, though sometimes it ends all over it. There's only two Colourpop products I've been truly impressed so far, matte X Lippie Stixs and this.

L.O.V. BLUSHment Blurring Blush 

n.30 beautiful minds empower other & n.50 yes she can

I can say the same thing as for Flexiterian - I've been using these almost every day since I got them in April, with one pause when I was using Catrice's Blush Box Glow + Multicolour in 020 It's Wine O'Clock. These are the best blushes I've ever found. They are nicely pigmented, super smooth and especially the shade 50 has the most amazing glow. I have one more bright coral shade 60, but I wear these two the most. 

CATRICE Dewy-ful Lips Conditioning Lip Butter 

060 Don't Dream it, DEW it!

These are the most comfortable, balmy lip glosses with a good level of shine and a light-medium pigmentation. I've had the pale pink shade 010 for about a year now, which I never wore in public because it's a bit corpsy, so I've been planning to get a better shade since I got that one. 060 is the perfect every day wearable shade, a nice rosy colour that goes with everything. 

CATRICE Demi Matt Lipstick

100 Nude Crush Everyday

I've said in New in post that these are the best lipsticks Catrice made so far, even though the staying power isn't amazing. The formula is so smooth, it just glides over dry patches, makes the texture of the lips look much nicer than it really is and has a nice semi-matte look to it. They are lightweight, not drying and don't feel like you have a lipstick on. I particularly like this shade because it's a neutral medium nude which is not easy to find. This is currently my go-to lip colour.

ARTDECO Anti Pollution Spray

I got this after trying the "spritzy" Catrice spray, which made me go through a ton of reviews where I found Morphe as one of the most praised ones. That one is an aerosol and as soon as I saw this Artdeco one in Műller, I just grabbed it. I tried to find some reviews while in the shop on my phone like I usually do, but there were none, so it was a risk taking this especially since it's not cheap. The mist is just amazing. It's so fine, it barely feels wet at all. I was concerned that I paid a lot of money for a refreshing spray, but it actually delivers when it comes to prolonging makeup and it helps make it less "makeup looking". When I'm applying my foundation and I feel it looks too obvious I just spray a bit of this and it fixes it. I also use it as the last step in my makeup routine and anytime during the day when my makeup starts looking not so fresh. Ingredients are nothing special and it's very expensive considering what's inside, but the mist just makes it worth it because this is dry so fast. 

PANTENE Hair Biology Full & Vibrant Mask, De-Frizz & Illuminate Reconstructing Mask and PRO-V 3 Minute Miracle Intensive Repair Conditioner

All three of these are amazing like I'm already used to at Pantene. All work great for my very dry, coarse, many-times bleached & coloured hair. They leave it nourished and a bit softer, though I still need to apply leave-ins to finish my style and keep my hair from drying out fast. I'd say the Repair mask in a pot is the most nourishing one of all, but these three are very similar to Pro-V Repair conditioner, so I'll be buying what's cheapest per ml. 

JOICO K-Pack Deep Penetrating Reconstructor and Intense Hydrator

These are magic for bleached hair. Period. It's been a couple of months since I last bleached my hair and it got to a point when my hair started to feel stiff, it wasn't responding to oil treatments as well, it got dry very fast after washing despite a lot of leave-ins and even an Olaplex treatment didn't do much, so I dug out these two out of my emergency stash. One use and my hair feels like it was never bleached. These two are just the most amazing products for making the hair feel renewed even if you abused it to oblivion. I prefer to use these two together, though both Reconstructor and Hydrator can be used on their own, but Reconstructor which is an intense protein treatment leaves the hair kind of hard to the touch which is true for protein treatments in general, so you have to use something moisturising after to give the hair back that pliability and Hydrator works best with this, though I could use another hydrating conditioner or mask. I've used Hydrator on its own for years before I coloured my hair and since it's one of the best treatments I've found for very dry hair.

UPDATES

CATRICE Primer and Fine Multitalent Fixing Spray

This would be up among the favourites of the month, but I don't give it a proper thumbs up because of the spray. This does the job it promises to do. It can be used before or after applying makeup (I tried it both ways) and it truly prolongs the staying power and keeps things in place. However, that damned spray just ruins it for me. While the mist can be fine if you press the atomiser just right, mostly I manage a spritzy mist that makes my face wet and I have to wait 5 minutes for it to fully dry. It's nice and affordable, though actually not the best deal for the amount you get.

THE BODY SHOP Tea Tree Anti-Imperfection Peel-off Mask

I promised you an update on this mask. I already posted a review on it on Instagram stories where I showed you a video how this peels off - it was not in one piece. Instructions say to mix all the powder at once which was a massive waste, as I could get 2-3 or maybe even more uses out of it. The remains in the pot solidify just as fast as on the face, so you can't use for more applications. It applied with no problems on the skin, I did quite a thick coat because I had so much. It took about 7 minutes to solidify, I left it on for 10 and then proceeded to try to get it off. The edges were hard to grab and despite a thick application, it came off in pieces and it was still sticking on the edges of the face where I had to scrape it off. Mostly it was very easy to pull off, it didn't even stick on the skin much apart from on the edges where I have hair. It didn't remove anything from my pores, but my skin did feel smoother to the touch after use. It didn't feel tight and didn't scream for a moisturiser, so it's not a drying mask despite being for oily skin. For some reason two days after use I got spots on my chin. I don't think this was the cause, but I would expect from such a mask to prevent breakouts from happening. Overall I wasn't terribly impressed by this one.

SUBRINA Colour Refresh Mask

Violet

So I coloured my hair purple-ish - well temporarily (I hope). You might know that I manage social media for Subrina and there was a message asking if we have any pictures of how these colour masks perform on the hair. Moroccanoil versions of colour mask recently launched on Click2Chic (whose social media I also manage) and I saw how well their presentation of shades was done, so since I only had my rubbish quick strand test pictures, I decided to "sacrifice" my hair and use one of these to do some decent pictures how they look. I'm still very concerned I ruined my toning work, but the colour is so washed out by now that I had so much orange showing anyway, so hiding it with a colourful shade sounded like a fun idea, especially since I've had dark hair for 10 years and you can do squat with it when it comes to experimenting with temporary colour. My hair isn't an ideal shade for presenting the colours because it's not the lightest and these would look fantastic on ice blonde hair (I really wish my hair were much lighter because yellow tones I could deal with). I tried this shade on a few strands before doing my whole head and it washed out nicely - hopefully this happens for the whole head of hair. I remember when L'Oreal's Colorista launched there was a lot of complaints that some of the shades don't wash out and turn green, particularly their violet shade, but this one is a lot more red based and it washed off to a pale pinkish colour on those strands. It's super simple to use, you just use it like a regular hair mask, but make sure you get it all over the hair in a thick enough coat. I should have use more purple than I did, I mixed it with a conditioner for a more pastel look, but I did a bit too weak of a mix for my colour, even though this violet purple on its own is super pigmented and you get the colour on the box if you use it on its own. With my mix where I used about a 1/5 of the bottle plus a ton of conditioner it didn't tint the darker parts best, well at least not purple, but it is very intense on the lightest hair, still I quite like ombre iced orange-purple mix, it makes me feel like a sugar fairy. I only left it on for 10-15 minutes, but I could have left it longer for a more intense result. These are coloured hair masks, so you can leave them on for as long as you want and they don't damage the hair, instead the actually nourish it. On its own these are not enough for my hair, so I used Pantene with it, but (I assume) this also means that those with oily hair can use these, since they might not be too heavy from them (mix it with the shade Clear). If this washes off nicely, I'll be trying other shades, maybe Magenta. I only used this on Monday, so I'll have to get back to you how quick it will wash off, I wash my hair once a week, since it's so dry.
I had the hardest time taking a picture of the colour I got. Pictures taken with my phone show the colour more intense, while my Olympus camera didn't show how well the colours blended and they are not as intense. Still I decided post Olympus pictures, but you can see the Huawei pictures here. The colour irl is somewhere in between.

A part of my purchases I made online in the past weeks. For once I've actually done some more high-end purchases after I've been mostly a drugstore girl for many years. You'll see the products in a new in post when I have the time to test all of them. Right now I haven't had the chance to play with them much yet, so it's probably going to take me a while to do all the posts and my beauty updates stories on Instagram, but keep your eyes peeled if you're interested in any of these. Missing on the picture is MAYBELLINE Fit Me Loose Finishing Powder.

I have a few things ordered that I'm still waiting on: ETUDE HOUSE Face Blur SPF33 PA++ , ETUDE HOUSE Proof 10 Eye Primer, LANEIGE Lip Sleeping Mask Berry and A'PIEU Pure Block Natural Daily Sun Cream SPF45 PA +++. 

WISHLIST

FOUNDATIONS - I obviously won't be buying these any time soon, since I'm currently occupied with testing what I got recently, but I found some interesting foundations with very pale shades that interest me: REVOLUTION Conceal & Hydrate Foundation in F0.2, COLOURPOP No Filter Foundation Fair 05, THE ORDINARY Serum Foundation with SPF 15 1N and NYX Professional Makeup Total Control Drop Foundation Pale or Porcelain. I had the last one in my shopping bag on Feel Unique, but then I saw it's 13 bloody millilitres for 16 €, which is insane. Still their shade range looks great. They have other formulas, but I'm not sure which one would work for me best.

MAYBELLINE Fit Me Matte & Poreless Powder 090 Translucent - I gave up on getting the Set + Smooth Pressed Powder, since I'd have to get it on eBay with shipping, so I focused my attention to this one which is sold here. I adore Matte + Poreless foundation, it's my favourite formula and it makes sense I try the powder as well, especially since it's so praised online. I hear it blurs pores and that it mattifies, yet has a sort of a glowy finish. The foundation blurs pores to a degree on me, so I have high hopes for this. I just received Rimmel Stay Matte powder yesterday as a part of a PR package, which I know many love, so I'll be testing it in the next weeks.

PRIMER - currently I have one primer in my collection, which I'm not the biggest fan off, so I'd love to find something new and possibly amazing that I'll love to use because it will make a visible difference. I've been mostly focusing my research on primers that hide pores. I took a sample of REVLON PhotoReady Pore Reducing Primer which did a good job and it felt nice on the skin, so when there's a decent discount I might get it (my pictures of before/after Revlon primer here). I heard a lot of great things about RIMMEL Fix & Perfect Pro Face Primer (which I sadly discovered is not sold on the stands in Slovenia), NYX Angel Veil Skin Perfecting Primer is hailed as a dupe for Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer, I also heard their Pore Reducing Primer hides pores well. I've been checking out CATRICE Prime And Fine Poreless Blur Primer in our drugstores and I'm still on the fence about it. It looks ok, but it blended a bit strange when I tried it on my hand because it pilled on the edges of application. E.L.F. Cosmetics Poreless Putty Primer is sold out everywhere since it's hailed as a dupe for the much more expensive Tacha The Silk Canvas Protective Primer. ARITAUM Pore Master Sebum Control Primer is another supposed dupe, this one for the famous Benefit POREfessional. HEIMISH Artless Glow Base SPF 50+ PA+++ is a primer I want mostly for the sun protection. If you have any recommendations, let me know.

ETUDE HOUSE Lash Serum - I found this while researching primers. It's got a very high feedback and it apparently works despite the low price. It might be worth checking out.

REVLON One Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer - I really want this. Drying frizzy hair like mine is a struggle and this makes it look easy, even though I know that huge handle will not fit my child-size hands. I'm still deciding whether I'll get the original (provided I find a reputable seller on Amazon.de because I need one with a EU plug) or just buy one of the many cheap knock-off on Amazon or eBay or AliExpress, which are also very praised, but I have concerns about the settings and how long they'll actually work.

SKIN DROP Renew Advanced Retinol Complex - I found this on a blog that tests different retinol products and this is highest rated. I won't be getting this one anytime soon because it's very expensive and it ships from the US, which means shipping + taxes, but it's on the list for someday.

Have a great day!

 LANCÔME Teint Idole Ultra 24h Wear & Comfort SPF 15 Foundation

008 Beige Opale

Before I got this I took a sample in Müller along with four other foundations and this impressed me so much I went to buy it as soon as I was finished testing all five (I actually got one more from that test, but later, after I gave it a second try). I posted before/after, close-up and extended wear time pictures on my IG stories, along with first impressions and it's still highlighted if you're interested. It's definitely one of the most beautiful foundations I've tried. It's got good medium coverage without looking heavy. It doesn't emphasise texture, pores or lines, though it doesn't hide them - that's what I do actually miss at this foundation, since it was expensive, but the shade makes this foundation worth it for me. It sets to a satin-matte finish and one with a healthy look to it. Staying power is also very impressive and it's holding so well though the day, it doesn't go cakey, or slip into pores or lines, plus it lasts longer than my cheaper foundations and even when I don't use any powder or a setting spray. I can see why it's been so popular for many years. When I started getting into makeup this was all the rage on forums, but I couldn't find a match for me (008 is one of the more new shades), so I ended up getting the discontinued Color Ideal instead which I loved anyway. I was going to order this online since my local Müler has shade 005 as the lightest one, but as luck had it I ended up going to Ljubljana and discovered with that Müller Rudnik has 008 and 006. The first is a fair shade with a neutral to slightly pink undertone and 006 is the yellow version of it. With the help of a lovely sales assistant I picked shade 008 as the best match for me, which is the one I also predicted would fit me with the help of followers on IG (thank you!). Müller just happened to also have a -25% on one product that week and I ended up paying 37 €, which is cheaper than in online shops. 

Müller, regular price 49.79 €, about 10 € less online.

CATRICE Dewy-ful Lips Conditioning Lip Butter 

060 Don't Dream it, DEW it!

I have this in one of the original colours, 010 Yes, I DEW, which is super pale and makes me look dead, but I've always loved the formula. It only took me a year to get a wearable shade, but Catrice finally make me part from those 4 €. Formula of these is so comfy, it's pretty much the same as their old Beautifying Cushion lip glosses or the more well-known Clarins Instant Lip Perfectors. I use it instead of a lip balm. Shade 060 is a sheer medium rosy shade, super wearable and I know I'll use it all the time. These are really worth having if you haven't tried them yet and you should be quick about it if you want them because I heard they'll be discontinued.

Müller, 4.39 €

CATRICE Demi Matt Lipstick

100 Nude Crush Everyday

The initial launch of these completely passed me by, I mean I was aware of them, but you know how Catrice discontinues everything, so most of the time I just don't find it worth trying their stuff because it's gone so fast. However, one of my IG followers asked me if I tried these yet and when I swatched them in the shop I liked the look of this shade. This is so far Catrice's best formula they made in terms of comfort, pigmentation and how smooth it looks on the lips, gliding over dry patches, but it doesn't shine in the staying power department like their Ultimate Colour did. Formula is very lightweight and comfortable, while the finish is the promised demi matte. It's somewhat similar to Bourjois Rouge Velvet The Lipstick, but not properly matte. I like the packaging, it looks more interesting than their previous tubes. 100 Nude Crush Everyday is such a lovely nude shade, neither warm not cool, it just sits perfectly in the middle and it's also not too pale. Catrice likes to repeat themselves when it comes to shades, but I've not seen one like this one before. 

Műller, 4.39 €

CATRICE Lip Coconut Balm

010 Coconut Kiss

I was going to take the pot version, which has some good reviews online, but the last second I changed my mind and got this one I've read zero reviews about. Yeah, maybe I shouldn't do that, though this one isn't terrible. I like super soft lip balms like Palmer's Swivel Stick which is the only other lip balm I own and is one I've been using for many years, but this Catrice one is more like a very basic lip balm, so more on the waxy side, though not at all too hard to apply. The main minus is that this is white, so you get those lovely corpsy white lips with this and it's not a lip balm you'd carry around to apply in public, which is why I bought it because I have the huge "kid's stick glue like" Palmer's at home. As a plus I can say that it last nicely on the lips, it does nourish as it should and it smells lovely like coconut.   

Müller, 4.39 €

 ARTDECO Eyeshadow Base

I watched this Youtube video how to prevent foundation from slipping into smile lines, since so many foundations make mine look so much worse than they are without makeup and the main things used were an eyeshadow primer, a loose powder and a setting spray. Me being a beauty blogger, I of course had nothing in stock that would be younger than 3 years, so it was high time to renew my stash. Just like Lancome foundation this eyeshadow base was THE base to get back then alongside with the cult Urban Decay. Then I opted to buy the latter and it was great, but this time I wanted something easily accessible. I realised we still have basically nothing here apart from (judging by reviews) mediocre Essence and Catrice, so I got this one. It comes in a pot which is not ideal, but we'll see how long it will last before drying out. Artdeco has a sample in the shop and texture surprised me because it's not some thick formula, instead it's pleasantly creamy. This is much more balmy than I expected, I thought it's going to set to a matte finish and feel more silicone-y. Regardless, eyeshadows go over it nicely and nothing gets stuck on wet/sticky patches. With this my eye makeup lasts intact all day. I don't normally have much problems with my makeup on my eyes lasting well, but with this it truly was like freshly applied and blended 8-9 h later. I wanted to use it on my smile lines and I have a few times, but sadly I discovered this has shimmer. None of the reviews mentioned it and I didn't spot in in the shop because it's quite subtle.

Müller, 6.99 €

CATRICE Prime & Fine Multitalent Fixing Spray

I've gone through many setting sprays reviews and apparently Morphe is "the" stuff at the moment, but from brands we have in our drugstores, this was highest rated. The bottle is so small with only 50 ml and after three days of use about 2 cm were already gone, which I was not happy about. First few sprays shocked me how awful the mist is because it didn't resemble anything fine and I got big drops unevenly on my face. The second use was better, still I'm not completely sold on the atomiser, it should be better - I actually got three mists after this one and those have incomparably better sprays (I'll talk about two more in next New in). You really have to press it hard all the way and quickly, otherwise you get this useless spritzy fake mist. This is very wet for my taste and it takes long to dry, it actually smudged my mascara once. When it dries it sets to an invisible/natural finish and it's not matte at any point, nor is it glowy. While there's a lot I don't like at this spray, I'm impressed with its performance. My highlighter and blush were like freshly applied 7 hours later, though it was worn off on the side where I constantly touch my face. It's not outstanding, I'm guessing the high rating is more connected to the price than quality and I particularly bothered by the mist, but it really prolongs the staying power of makeup. 

Müller, 4.69 €

PRIMARK My Perfect Colour Bake it Setting Powder

Nude

I got this on a whim because it was the cheapest and easily accessible powder I could find in Slovenia. I think I only saw this shade, which is a pale vanilla colour, but the might be more colours. I love the packaging of this, it's the best one for a powder because there's no need for shaking the product though a few holes that most powders have, instead it has one of those tension meshes, where you dip the brush into the pot and the elastic mesh helps you get the product out - this is kind of worth it for the packaging alone because it's an experience using a packaging you don't have to shake to get the powder out. Powder is very fine and it blurs pores as well as helps a bit with lines (it's no magic though), but when used it for baking it becomes cakey especially under the eyes. Applied just with a fluffy brush it performs much better, but any more than that it looks heavy and obvious. In terms of holding back oil - it's not super matte, it doesn't leave my skin looking flat and it isn't drying on me, however, after a few hours my forehead is shiny, so I don't think this is for oily skin. Shade is pretty much transparent, but it oxidises in a thick coat under my eyes and gets an a yellow hue.

Primark, 3.50 €

ARTDECO Anti Pollution Spray

I planned on getting Morphe's version, mostly because the mist is very praised for being fine and then I saw this in Müller. It's somewhat similar because it's got water + glycerine as the first two ingredients, but this one is much more bare in terms of nourishing ingredients and I'd still say go for Morphe instead if you have the chance. This promises to hydrate, protect and fix makeup in place. The mist is so unbelievably fine. I've had water sprays before, but this is so much finer. It's like a delicate cloud of fine moisture - Artdeco has a tester in the shops, so you can try it for yourself to see what I mean. I had doubts about this actually doing something for prolonging makeup since ingredients are nothing special and I was sure it's going to be just a basic refreshing mist, but it helps the makeup melt in better as well as stay fresh a lot longer. Just like at Catrice's spray my blush and highlighter, which are usually the first gone were still vibrant 6h later (I didn't check any more after that). My makeup also didn't slip into lines, but it it wipe off on the sides of my nose. Spray is scented, so not ideal for sensitive skin, but it's a nice, subtle scent that disappears quickly. 

Müller, 12.99 €

GARNIER Ambre Solaire Sensitive Advanced Protecting and Hydrating Face Mist SPF50

I got this to top up my sunscreen protection, but I don't trust it 100% that's it's enough on its own. My experience with spray sunscreens has not been the best as those couple I had were very greasy, while this more lightweight. There's some wet feeling when you spray it on and I noticed this has powdery particles that catch on peach fuzz making it very apparent (before I tried this spray, I had no idea I even had that much of it), so this is not something to just spray on the face and be done with it, as you have to a least press it lightly with hands to blend in those powdery particles. It's got sunscreen shine, so a powder or matte foundation is needed and it's probably going to look bad on oily skin, though the feeling is very light and it doesn't feel very greasy to the touch. I apply two coats and it still feels light plus the makeup applies over it ok. It's also good over the makeup, but like I said you just have to press it into the skin a bit to get rid of the powdery particles caught on fuzz. It's got a sunscreen scent and it's not easy on the lungs when you apply it. So far I like this, though I have doubts it will last long. Maybe the body version is about the same that I could buy that one instead. 

Müller, 6.99 €

LVLY Skin Toner

This toner has a glycolic acid second on the ingredients list, so it's one of still rare affordable AHA products in our drugstores, however, for some reason it's not stated neither on the front of the bottle, nor in the description. Why not shout it from the rooftops, since I'm fairly certain this would gain more attention with disclosed AHA content on the front instead of manuka honey, I have no idea. But it has caused small problem, as the reviews on meindm are very mixed with people reporting thing burns their skin, which is to be expected from an AHA product, though the actual percentage of glycolic acid is not stated. It shouldn't be used as a regular toner. There really should be a label explaining what this product is because not everyone reads the ingredients list. It's a regular liquid toner that doesn't leave any residue behind and it's not sticky, it smells clean like soap or shampoo. I've said many times that I don't even feel a 30% content of AHA's on my skin, why I don't know, so it's no wonder this feels like regular toner to me and I can use it as much as I want everywhere I want. I've had reports on my IG that it's a brilliant formula for problematic skin, but I actually broke out on my cheek while using this (not because of this), so it's not keeping my skin clear, though those spots healed to only a mark within a day or two (it wasn't the only thing I used of course). Straight after application when this dries, my skin feels soft almost like I used a velvet primer. I'll keep using this so I have my chemical exfoliation/AHA use covered in my skincare routine. 

DM, 2.99 €

CADEA VERA Vital Day Q10 Anti-Falten Crème LFS20

Mini 5 ml

I got this because it's got SPF 20, ias n 99% of SPF day creams here there's an SPF 15 and this is the cheapest with a bit more. Nivea and Olay have expensive formulas with SPF 30. I don't like this. It's not super thick, but it's not a lightweight formula. It absorbs quickly, but leaves this annoying suffocating filter on the skin. I also felt my skin wasn't moisturised enough. But hey, I got a useful sample pot for 70 cents that will come handy.

Műller, 0.69 €

PANTENE Hair Biology 

Full & Vibrant Rejuvenating Mask

Hair Biology is a new line by Pantene that's was apparently designed for mature women, which made me chuckle. They have this brochure next to it and apparently I'm not old enough yet to be using these masks and I should be using Cleanse & Reconstruct because every young person has oily roots and dry ends. Anyway, I don't buy into this age-appropriate hair care and got two hair masks, but they also have accompanying shampoos and conditioners. Full & Vibrant is designed for thin and coloured hair. The thin part has me worried that it might be too light, but I bought it because it might prevent the colour from fading fast, as mine is (I so wish I achieved a lighter shade of blonde that I'd actually be able to maintain with regular toners). They have a more appropriate one for me, one for grey hair, which I assume contains violet pigments to fight yellow tones. Even though this is meant for thin hair, in my opinion this is much better suited for hair like mine - thick, dry, coarse and coloured because the formula is thick and it might weigh down thin hair. It's another amazing Pantene hair mask, it did everything I need - intensely nourish, leave my hair somewhat softer and tamed. 

De-Frizz & Illuminate Reconstructing Mask

This version is designed for dry hair damaged by colouring. I can't really tell a difference between this and their Repair mask or conditioner. It's a similar thick consistency, but the scent is different, it smells close to Fructis Hair Food Banana. It's another fantastic quality mask in our drugstores, just more expensive per ml (you only get 160 ml here) and in a prettier packaging. Both Hair Biology masks worked equally fantastically on me.  

DM, 6.49 € for each

PANTENE PRO-V 3 Minute Miracle Intensive Repair Conditioner

The more of these Repair line products I buy, the more I'm impressed, yet I don't see much of a difference between them. While the mask is indeed more nourishing and might be too heavy for some compared to the regular Repair conditioner, this 3 Minute version conditioner feels the same to me. Again it's a wonderful product for my very dry, coarse, many-times bleached & coloured hair. Any one of the products from the Repair line you get, it's great, this one is 50 cents more expensive than the conditioner in the same 200 ml version.

Interspar, 3.49 €

L'OREAL Excellence Crème 

8.1 Light Ash Blonde & 9.1 Natural Light Ash Blonde

Interspar had a discount on these, like they do about every two months I noticed and I stocked up on these two shades that I've used up many boxes of. I use them for toning, so I mix them with a different, weaker 3% developer to avoid excess damage. They work better for me than regular purple toners because my hair is still too dark to be toned with those and blue-green ones don't really exist. 

Interspar, 5.09 €

AUSSIE 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor

Mini 75 ml

This was a GWP when I got Pantene, a bit random, but the size is a good one. I've already used up several of these and I currently have the Colour version, which I haven't actually touched since I discovered Pantene. But before Pantene this was my favourite drugstore hair treatment. It smells like bubble gums and it's enough to nourish even my hair.   

YVES SAINT LAURENT Touche Eclat Le Teint

I've always wondered what this foundation is like. I got a shade that's much too dark for me, B30, so I had to try it with TBS Adjusting Drops and even with those it wasn't light enough to wear in public. I think the original lightest shade B10 is an equivalent of Mac's NC15, which is too dark for me, while the new BR05 shade looks more promising, but it's not accessible to me at the moment. This is one of the most beautiful foundations when freshly applied I've tried. It's got the dewy characteristics, but a dry-to-the-touch formula, which is what I look for. It's got a radiant finish without glitter, shimmer or greasiness. It can look a bit greasy towards the end of the day (I didn't wear powder or anything else with) and it creases, but it doesn't slip into pores. I think that with powder it would perform well. Coverage was hard to determine to me because the shade was so dark, but I'd say light-medium as it didn't cover spots on its own at all and I double-layered there. It lasted well on my skin, much better than I expected for a glowy foundation, as 6-7h after application it was still on my face, except it completely wiped off a spot I had and the sides of the nose.

YSL Touche Eclat B30 mixed with The Body Shop Adjusting Drops, which in my experience don't mess with the original formula of foundation.

BIOTHERM Skin Oxygen Cooling Gel

This has alcohol very high on the list, which I'd sort of expect in something that's called a cooling gel (alcohol or peppermint or both). I find that unacceptable for such an expensive moisturiser and for such a price I only expect the best things, which this has barely any of. There's a drop of hyaluronic acid and that's pretty much it. It's a basic moisturising gel-cream formula. It absorbed fast, left a silky finish, but it wasn't cooling as promised. It's scented with a typical fresh fragrance.

Have a great day!

Some time ago Max Factor released matte classic lipsticks, a sort of a sister line to their Color Elixirs, which got a new packaging at about the same time. We have six shades here out of seven, the one missing is a pink called Blush. I got the shade Flame, which will appeal to fans of coral shades.

Texture: Unfortunately these aren't matte, at least this shade, instead it's a creamy-satin formula with some moderate shine and a very comfortable feeling on the lips. They don't differ that much from their Colour Elixirs and it's still a nice formula, but I was expecting something matte like the amazing Bourjois Rouge Velvets or Colourpop Lippie Stix Matte X. Pigmentation is medium-full, it's not intensely pigmented, not that I miss any more pigment myself.

Shade: 15 Flame is a bright reddish coral. It's a classic summer shade that will look great on those with a warm undertone. When I was checking the shades in the drugstore, I liked Nude most, as it seems such a lovely universally flattering light-medium rosy brown shade, but also their shade Love is one of the prettiest looking cool toned reds I've seen.

Staying power: Considering it's not a fully opaque matte lipstick and more like a regular creamy lipstick, staying power isn't mind blowing. I get an average wear time with this, depending on what I'm doing during the day and it survives eating terribly forming a ring on the edges of the lips, plus some patches in the middle. You definitely need to reapply this one after eating or take it off completely.

I can't say I'm impressed by these, as when I hear matte, I expect a fully matte finish. This is a classic creamy-satin lipstick that's comfortable to wear and that's about it at this formula. The shade range is pretty and I think shade Nude would fit many people, but considering these are Max Factor's range completely without any frosty shades, they really should expand the range with some more natural shades. 

Have a great day!

*PR product.

This isn't the first time I'm seeing a very thin brush with no bristles, but it's the first such mascara and metal brush I've tried. Oriflame took an innovative approach to mascara wands, however, this isn't a brush for everyone, in fact, it's the exact opposite of what my lashes need, as the brush only has small grooves that are supposed to comb the lashes, however, in practice this proved to be far from ideal on my messy lashes, but that might not be the case for many of you.

Brush: A metal brush has only shallow grooves, but otherwise it's a thin stick and the most bare wand I've seen. Applying mascara with this feels like applying product with a stick, so you actually get a lot of product on fast, but there is no definition with this brush, so if you have messy lashes like me, you have to resort to a separate comb or and old mascara wand to comb out the excess and break apart lashes that stuck together. Those who have naturally nicely arranged lashes might find it performs better for them.

Formula: Freshly opened this is among more wet mascaras, of course that means it completely drops my lashes. It's a classic black formula that doesn't stand out from the rest and more of a volumising one rather than lengthening, though to be fair I can't assess that last bit best since my eyelashes drop with this one and I can't see much length. One minus that ruined my first experience with this mascara: since it deposits a lot of product at the base of the lashes, it can get into the eyes and it stings. My eyes were watering like crazy at my first try, but I was a lot more careful on later tries and it was completely fine. 

It's fairly ok on my left eye, but it's not impressive on my right eye where I have naturally very messy lashes. 

I experienced no running, crumbling or smudging with this one, but I in general rarely have such issues with mascaras. Since it's a regular formula, it's fairly easy to remove.  

I had my predictions about this mascara when I first saw it on Instagram and they turned out 100% true. Unfortunately I'm possibly the worst person they could have send this mascara too, as this type of a bare brush is meant for volume and doesn't do anything else, while my lashes definitely need a brush that's capable of definition and fanning out the lashes, plus this is a wet regular formula which is my lashes' kryptonite. If you much more nicely arranged lashes and lack volume, this might be worth a try, but I can't be certain how it would perform on such lashes. I much prefer their newest The One Tremendous Volume Mascara which quickly became one of my favourite regular mascaras. 

Catrice sadly discontinued their fantastic glitter peel off nail polishes and these are now on the stands in their place. 8 shades are available, I have the one called Fascinating Grace. 

20 Fascinating Grace is a light rosy gold shade, this might not be the best description, but it ranges between pink and nude-peachy metal shade. The formula is densely packed mini glitter, all the same size and on the nails it barely has that gritty texture.

One coat.

Three coats.

Removal is difficult, but not verging on impossible like at glitter formulas with large particles.

These cost 4.79 €