New in #103
petek, januar 22, 2021ROHTO MENTHOLATUM HADA LABO Super Hyaluronic Acid Cleansing Oil
I got the refill, you can see the bottle and read the original review here. This is so far my favourite cleansing oil. It's thick, it emulsifies nicely, I don't use up a lot at once and it doesn't make my vision foggy nor irritate my eyes.
eBay, 12$
BIOBAZA Bee Balm
Ginger & Honey
My lips are drier than usual and since I only had Palmer's Swivel stick and Laneige Sleeping mask (both are not sold here, which sucks when they run out), I explored our drugstores for some good enough options (aside from Sun Dance's SPF 50 version, I haven't bought a lip balm here in a very long time). I got this because of ingredients, as it has shea butter high enough on the list and it overall looked good, but it just reminded why I haven't bought a lip balm here in ages. It' precisely the type of formula I don't like, meaning that typical hard, waxy formula that doesn't get soft even after I broke through the top layer - basically like most lip balms in a stick, which won't annoy any of you, but it does me. Palmer's is so much softer and to me feels more nourishing, while this feels like it's just protecting the lips from drying out, since it's just a layer of waxy-feeling product on the skin. It still fixes dryness, but compared to Palmer's this isn't an instant relief to me. If you love the classic blue Labello (Nivea), you'll love this too and it smells great with one of the best honey scents I've tried (I smell no ginger). This ended up in a coat pocket where I'll likely never use it.
Müller, 1.95 €
BLISTEX Conditioning Lip Serum
Now this, which I got at the same time as Biobaza, I really like. It's actually surprisingly good and comparable to Laneige Sleeping mask on my lips. Now mine are not super, super dry, I get some dry flakes and rarely my lips crack at the corners, so it's possible Laneige is more effective on chapped, so-cracked-they-bleed lips, but I wake up with the same non-flaky, smooth and soft lips as with Laneige. It comes in a pump packaging, which I've never seen at lip balms before, but I like it. You'd never expect it to be an intense treatment given that the texture is quite light for a lip balm, it's close to a lotion, but it works. I apply a rich coat of product, which is white like a face moisturiser has been applied on the lips, but it becomes clear in time. It stays on the lips ok, but not as Biobaza, which due to thickness sticks for many hours. There not much shine, certainly not like at Laneige Sleeping mask, which is like a gloss. Scent is faintly pepperminty, but it's very mild, it doesn't last long and there's zero tingling. I like this, a lot and I've been using it every day since I got it almost a month ago.
Műller, 3.50 €
BALEA Cremeduche
Magic Wonderland
This merely ok. It doesn't say what it smells like and I didn't test it in the shop, but it I think what I smell is a combination of either roses or peonies with raspberries and possibly some citrus. It's a fresh, somewhat sweet floral scent. Nothing to write home about.
DM, 0.99 €
BALEA Cremedusche
White Gloss
I got two more of these. Like I said some time before this finally a great scent Balea/DM has done. Usually I use their limited editions and never think about them again, but this one stands out. To me it smells like a powdery white chocolate with coconut.
DM, 0.99 €
AVEO MED Sensitiv Shampoo
A repurchase, well at least I think it's the same one I've bought last time. The packaging is different, but it's pH 5,0 and it says it has sea minerals, there were no other similar ones. I featured this in my Best finds in 2020 post, I really like this for my dry hair because despite the fact it doesn't have silicones, it leaves my hair with a similar silky feeling as L'Oreal Extraordinary oil. If I had to pick one product for hair, body and face (for travelling for example), this would be it.
Müller, 1 €
GOT2B Mein Color Shampoo
Lila
This is a coloured shampoo that is meant for refreshing violet hair (for example if you're using Schwarzkopf Got2B Farb Artist hair colour in Blueberry Lila) or creating a pastel effect on blonde hair. Don't expect a very vibrant colour, but I got a nice pastel on my lightest blonde hair, on darker parts it was already not deep enough to cover it. I applied a lot, first lathering it up so it covered all the hair, then I just applied without lathering like I would a conditioner and left it on for 5 minutes. I used for the second shampooing, so it would lather up easier, first was done with Aveo. It leaves the hair with that nice silky feeling, like I just used a conditioner which is very good. It's not nearly as intense as Colour Refresh, but faster to use if you want just a light pastel. However, there is a problem that is starting to concern me - I've washed my hair three times already and the colour isn't coming off. I fear it permanently tinted my lightest hair, but it says it should last 8-10 washes, so we'll see if I can get it off in more washes. This also exists in pink and silver.
Müller, 4.99 €
L'OREAL PARIS Elvital Deep Purple Maske
I'm a big fan of the shampoo from this line, so I got the mask to try as well, especially after I've seen a picture of how intense it is (most I tried were pale lavender). This makes my level 8-9 blonde (so not the lightest) into a steel grey-blonde, so super ashy, kind of one of those modern ultra-cool shades. On my roots where my hair is slightly darker with stronger warm tones it's passable, but it doesn't cool it down completely. I leave this on the suggested 5 minutes, as I fear due the strength of the pigment it may leave my hair overly cool or purple. This can tint the skin, especially on the scalp can you miss a purple patch that is then visible on the parting. It doesn't leave that silky smooth feeling when I'm rinsing it off, though the formula is thick and it feels rich, so in terms of nourishment it's not my favourite. In terms of toning effect It's good, very comparable with Subrina Diamond Blonde, though that one is even stronger, but this is available worldwide. Ingredients-wise it's not the most impressive of L'Oreal's masks, as, I miss arganine, proteins and ceramides they have in a lot of their other formulas.
Müller, 4.99 €
BALEA Styling Finishing Stick
So Balea blatantly copied got2b and created their own frizz eliminating "magic mascaras" that just like got2b does what it promises. You simply comb down the little flyaways and this smooths down the hair and keeps it in place. I have harsh standards when it comes to calling something a dupe and this isn't it, but for those who aren't that bothered will see it as the same product. There are differences between got2B and Balea. Number 1: the brush. Got2B has a plastic one that I find nicer than the classic one from Balea. It combs the hair neatly easier, but more importantly it doesn't deposit too much product at once like it can happen at Balea. Number 2: ingredients. Balea's has alcohol high on the list. Not super happy about it, but I got it anyway. If I had none and I weren't a curious beauty blogger, I'd get got2b because of that, as my hair is very dry. Number 3: amount. Balea's has 10 ml and got2B 16 ml, but Balea's is still cheaper per ml. Also got2b has a lovely peachy scent, while Balea has nothing (special). In terms of performance they work very similar, both smooth down the flyaways like nothing else and keep them down, but got2b's truly feels like nothing on my hair (I don't know how it works on thin hair that gets greasy fast), while at Balea you can tell there is a thin coat of hair gel on. The latter is more connected with the brush, as like I said Balea's applies more product, so you need to be careful not to end up with a part where it looks like you applied a heavy coat of gel, so wipe the wand off a bit before application and it should be fine. But again, this is another great product that would can carry in your bag or even pocket and fix those flyaway situations us with naturally wavy, curly hair know all too well, especially on rainy days.
DM, 2.99 €
LA RIVE Miss Dream Set
This is hailed as a dupe for Carolina Herrera Good Girl, which as you can see I also have, but checking the notes on Fragrantica revealed one crucial difference - Miss Dream doesn't have patchouli, so I got this in the hopes that I'll like it more than GG, to see how it compares and if I happen to not like it, I'll at least have a spare gift set for when the occasion arises. I compared these side by side, one of each arm and I'll say that yes, Miss Dream certainly has those Good Girl vibes. Spraying this you definitely say "yup it's the same thing", as it instantly fills the room with the Good Girl trademark spicy sharp + warm tonka bean fragrance, but it's at close inspection that this somewhat fails. Close to the skin is where the difference lies between these, as Good Girl is notably richer, very likely due to patchouli, while La Rive ends up a watered down version of it, more fruity-vanilla than a kind of a spicy fabric softener that GG develops into and as time passes the differences starts to grow. Good Girl lasts longer than La Rive, it stays more spicy warm, while Miss Dream ends up this basic scent that doesn't stand out. So obviously I don't consider this as 100% dupe, how could it be when it's missing patchouli (also the reason I got it in the first place), but for 10 € you get something very close at least for the first hour and at such a low price, who cares if it doesn't last quite as long, you simply spray it again (it's a 100 ml). This is also sold individually without the deodorant.
Leclerc, 9 €
EBELIN Mitesserentferener
Blackhead extractor
I never had one of these and I've never tried any such extractors. I'm not sure what the common consensus is about these, but I've always had it in the back of my mind that you shouldn't use them or whatever people are screaming on social media at the moment, but I got myself one anyway because no face mask, BHA products, AHA products or anything at all has made a difference and though I suspect this will neither, I'm giving it a try (and failing so far). I use blackhead patches very rarely and while they pull stuff out from the pores, they just don't look any different. I haven't used this much, to be fair I don't really know how too as when I try it, not a lot comes from the pores and I don't want to be rough. I haven't tried to use it on white spots as I tend to leave those alone and wait for them to dry or use a corsx patch. I can say that this feels well-made and it wasn't too expensive.
DM, 2.99 €
*NYX Worth the Hype Mascara
I didn't open this, but I went to check reviews if it's worth trying it out. It's a regular mascara and you know I'm generally not fond of them, but I see reviews are positive. It has a 4.3 stars on Ultra and for a mascara that's high. Well see if I'll give it ago. Honestly I just know it's not going to hold a curl and I just don't like trying such formulas even if they have a very voluminous effect.
Ličila.si, 8.99 €
*BRONX COSMETICS #nofilterneeded Camouflage Concealer
Porcelain
I'm a fan of Boosting Hydrating concealer as well as of the Masterclass foundation (based on a sample), so I was happy to see this, especially, since Porcelain looked my shade.
Texture: This is a typical formula for a concealer in a pot, meaning thick and very high coverage. Formula needs some warmth to melt, but you get enough pigment on the finger quickly. It's a creamy, thick formula that if I just got straight to applying it without thinking about a proper base, it's flaky on me. I find that only if I use my thickest moisturiser, which is Balea's Vital night cream, this works for me. With Balea cream and a careful slow application where I tap the concealer on the skin and avoid any swiping I can get it to look ok, but this is just not a concealer for my dry skin. I think this would suit oily skin best. I used to have theBalm's concealer and they are about the same.
Staying power: Luckily this concealer starts to look better in time, provided of course I have my heavy cream under it. It lasts ok under the eyes, while it rubbed off my spots in a some hours, but I didn't set it with powder and like I said I wore a heavy moisturiser under it.
Shade: Porcelain is the lightest shade I've ever tried and it's a bit too light even for me, so if you're looking for something ultra pale, this is it. I dug out my ancient Nars Radiant concealer in Chantilly to compare, but mine was too dried out and possibly oxidised, so it's not a good comparison.
*WET N WILD Mega Last Matte Lip Color
Wine Room
These were repackaged. I had several in the previous tubes and have all the swatches and comparisons on the blog, but it looks like several of those shades aren't available anymore, which is a shame because they had some great dupes for famous Mac shades. Formula is exactly the same. It's a thick, hard matte formula that doesn't glide evenly on the lips, so you have to go over a couple of times to fill all the gaps. Finish is properly matte and these will feel drying to a lot of people, though I find them fine, but these really are that remnant of the past, the matte formula that most companies moved away from and are making more comfortable ones. Wine Room surprised me, as I expected a deep reed similar to Cherry Bomb, but it's actually a type of colour I haven't had before, a medium rosy-red, a red that's not very bright and has some pink in it. One of my complaints about these when I got the old tubes was the packaging and though they made them much prettier now with the metal lips, they feel similarly cheap. Again the lipstick doesn't wind all the way down and the closing mechanism is so tight, it's very easy to damage the lipsticks and lose a portion of it.
Ličila.si, 3.99 €
*WET N WILD Mega Last High-Shine Lip Color
Mad for Mauve
I liked this immediately, everything the shade and the formula. It's a complete opposite of the matte mega last - soft, creamy, very easy to apply and comfortable on the lips. It may not last as long, but I firmly believe most would pick this formula instead of the hard, matte one of the black tubes. Shade is super pretty, a very natural looking lip colour for me. Big fan of this one.
Beauty World, 3,99 €
*WET N WILD Color Icon Lip Liner
Berry Red and Willow
This is one long lipliner, but actually it's the same size as Diego Dalla Palma one, so I've seen such a lipliner before, but here you really get a deal because these are so cheap. Formula is a bit on the dry side, but can be applied all over the lips and it's still one of those that you need to sharpen often because it's not super hard. At Berry Red the shade is completely different than you might expect from the colour of the back part, as it's a purple-red berry shade. Willow is a medium peachy-brown shade. Not a good nude shade for me, but it would likely fit darker skin tones better.
Ličila.si 1.99 €, Beauty World, 1,99 €
*CATRICE More than Glow Highlighter
I already had this and there is a review together with swatches on the blog. I just don't like this recent Catrice's formulation. It's too tightly packed creamy, so the brush doesn't pick it up and while you can apply it with fingers, I find it a bit harder to blend. I mean it's ok, there's nothing horrendously wrong with it and it's an decent enough drugstore buy, but Maybelline's is simply so much nicer that I just can't be bothered with this one and all of those creamy powdery formulas.
Ličila.si, 4.19 €
*WIBO Million Dollar Glow Bouncy Highlighter
This gets points for looking kinda cool or at least interesting, but immediately when I saw the deep golden shade, I decided I'll probably keep this one for someone with a darker skin tone than mine. Sorry if you were interested in a review. Wibo is a new brand to me, but it's a Polish brand that is sold on Ličila.si or Pink Panda as it's known in some other European countries.
Ličila.si, 10.99 €
*HAIR WONDER Hair Repair Serum
You know I'm a little bit fickle when it comes to ingredients and I did not like the look of fragrance right after the first two silicones and that alcohol high on the list, but it does have a good amount of proteins and actually the texture is very thick, which I always like at a serum. I only had two capsules and one was not enough for my hair, but I used it once on damp hair before blow-drying and once on dry hair. I didn't notice any smoothing effect when I was blow-drying my hair, but like I said one was so small and I use about three times the amount, on dry hair it did what other serums do, so it smoothed down flyaways gave shine and made the hair more pulled together. Reviews on Amazon praise, so it's well liked and it's available in box with 14 capsules.
Beauty World, 8,99 €
*IKOO INFUSIONS Thermal Treatment Wrap Color Protect & Repair Mask
So far I've only tried one of these wraps and it was from Balea, which was profoundly disappointing and I had low expectations for this one, which turned out to be right. For one I had the same problem as at Balea and that is that due to the length of my hair, the product didn't coat much of my hair no matter how much I tried to massage it in, most of it ended on the top of the head. 35 g should be enough for my hair, but it just gets lost in the cap, maybe it's be better if it had some product in a separate compartment, so us with long hair could apply it on the ends before putting on the cap. There was no self-heating effect either just like a Balea, but the cap was better quality and the sticker held well. Since I wouldn't get it all over the hair, only my top part got the max conditioning effect and it was okay for the first day, my hair felt light and silky, but then it got very dry and I had to apply a lot of oil. I actually had to wash my hair again after only two days to get some moisture back in (usually I wash my hair once a week). It's too expensive for the effect I got, but my hair is so very dry that I'm a bad reviewer as far as an average person is concerned. Maybe on shorter, less dry hair than mine, it's nice, reviews are mostly glowing after all.
Ličila.si, 5.99 €
*REVOLUTION Scented Candle
Finding Balance
Revolution has a selection of candles as well as diffusers. Finding Balance is said to smell like ginger and lily, at which I smell more lilies than ginger, but the latter gives it a fresh, uplifting kick. These are said to burn 40 hours.
Ličila.si, 13.99 €
*GLOV Moon Pad Reusable Makeup Remover Pad
I already have the glove and mini makeup fixer finger pad, which come in handy at times when I do my makeup, but for a full face removal with just water as the manufacturer suggests, these are not effective enough. I haven't opened this one yet, since I think it's the same as the other two and I'll keep it in is packaging until those two fall apart. I use mine when I apply too much blush or more often to clean up the mess under the eyes when I do my makeup as they are nicer to use then cotton pads. Material is a fluffy microfibre, so very soft and even with washing in the machine it doesn't get ruined much, but I mostly just clean these with water, which generally removes all makeup from it quickly.
3 comments
i love your article from usa. thanks you publish good info article
OdgovoriIzbrišiWow!! Great blog and Thanks for sharing it!!
OdgovoriIzbrišiWhen you use that Blackhead remover you have to remember about proper hygiene, otherwise you can spread bacteria all around your face and just make it worst.
OdgovoriIzbrišiIf you really want to do it at home try to maybe keep your face above the steam to first open the pores(just be careful) you will avoid bid scares with that. At the end, when the job with Blackhead remover is done you should use mask which will be antibacterial and also will close the pores.
For more advice I would like to invite you to my blog and DM me any time
www.estheticiansnotes.blogspot.com