THE BODY SHOP Shade Adjusting Drops

Lightening

Thanks to my lovely reader and fellow blogger Oana from Not Just Makeup I finally got my hands on these. I first got the Catrice drops which I actually did end up using every day this month out of necessity, but they aren't enough as they are basically a very light tinted moisturiser. Now these are already much better. They lighten significantly more, I can even make Milani's foundation work (better at least). The trick of these is that they aren't actually white, but a pale pastel pink which neutralises yellow and that is exactly what I need, not just lightening, but also neutralising. The texture of these is similar to Catrice's once blended, meaning they are not as light as for example Catrice's HD foundation even though these are still drops, but they also have a greasier feeling once blended. I've only had them for three days, so I can't tell you much about how or if they change the foundation - so far they seem fine and they don't affect the staying power. The packaging is remarkably stupid. The dropper doesn't really work and it doesn't suck up the product, so you just need to find a different way to make it work. I was recommended to shake the bottle a lot. 

The Body Shop, 14 €

*CATRICE Prime & Fine Make Up Transformer Drops

Lightening

Hopes were high for this, probably not just mine, as it's one of the very rare such products in our drugstores. It's about the same shade as Nars' concealer in Chantilly and it's tinted yellow, so it's only a shade or two too light for me, but since it's sheer, I could even wear it on its own. The texture appears very light when squeezed from the tube, but once you start rubbing it in, it's more greasy feeling. I've tried it with all my dark foundations and the only combination I like is with L'Oreal Infallible Matte. That one is pink, so the yellowness of the drops neutralises it, while the rest of my foundations are too yellow, so this isn't the best product for them. My darkest shades which are Milani Conceal + Perfect 01 and BeYu Nutri Foundation 15 are still way too dark with this. This can make it a shade lighter, two at most, but you need to use a lot (1:1 mix) and it also messes with the foundation's texture as well as staying power. 

3.49 €

CATRICE Liquid Camouflage Concealer

005

I got this for my birthday from Petra who just nailed the timing because I just used up my other concealers a couple of days before. I heard tons of positive reviews about this and I'm spoiled by both Collection's and Nars' concealer, so I hoped this was similar enough. The colour I got is 005, which was added later and I'm so glad it was. It's a yellow version of Collection's 1 Fair, so it's fits my NC10 skin tone once blended, though at times it looks a bit too yellow. In terms of coverage, it doesn't cover as much my two favourites, but still has a good medium-full coverage. However, it looks better under the eyes because it's less matte and it feels lighter. For spots I need two layers, but two layers of this concealer look heavy for my taste and I still couldn't cover stronger redness from spots.

3.79€

*CATRICE Lip Dresser Shine Stylo 

060 Surf and Turf in Grapetown

I will sheepishly admit I didn't know this was one of the new products until I got it. I checked what's new, but these just didn't caught my eye, probably because it's got shine in the name. I'm not loving the packaging because it has a clicker button which pushes the product out, but that also means you can't push it back. I find traditional winding mechanisms more useful. My shade is a deep red colour with semi-opaque pigmentation and a creamy finish that in time sets into a stain, so staying power is actually nice.

4.99 €

*L'OREAL False Lash Superstar X-Fibre

 I've had the original Superstar before and the difference between the two is that this one has both sides black and the fibres look very obvious on the wand. I'm not a fan of fibres, they always fall in my eye and it's so painful (happened with this one too). It's a mascara that's more for volume, though you get a nice amount of length too, but the original was better. The first coat or side is a nice mascara in itself, so I skip the fibre side on me, but if you add fibres you get more volume, though you're sacrificing some definition. It's a mascara that makes the lashes hard, so it manages to hold the curl ok, also in part because this is actually quite a dry formula even when freshly opened.

15.49 € (I can't believe mascara costs more than a set of 5 blushes)

*L'OREAL Infallible Blush Paint

Pinks and Ambers

A collection of five powder blushes which range in finishes from matte to very glowy. In Pinks version you get two matte pastel pinks, a glowy light peach, a matte fuchsia and a shimmery peachy pink. In general the matte formulas feel drier, but the shimmery ones are amazing.
Ambers has all shimmery shades, so it's actually a better quality in total and I highly recommend this one, though both are a great buy. In Ambers you get a light peach, a light peachy pink, a medium peachy pink with gold shimmer, a warm muted pinky mauve kind of shade and an amber. The last two shades are so creamy and pigmented, seriously some of the best quality I've seen in the drugstore. The middle one swatches weak, but looks good on the cheeks and the other two are nice quality.
What most impressed me is the staying power because these last so well on my cheeks, while most drugstore blushes don't. I'm impressed.

13.49 €

*L'OREAL Lip Paint Matte

201 Hollywood beige, 204 Red actually and 207 Wuthering purple

These have a mousse type of texture that's even fluffier than Bourjois's Velvets and all are semi-opaque with one coat and can be build up. They set to a semi-matte finish, similar to Beyu's Cashmere, however it takes a long time to set, so you don't get that tight, matte layer feeling, but you also don't get a no-transfer long-lasting formula. Hollywood beige is a nude pinkish peachy beige shade, Red actually is a pinkish bright red which similarly to Jordana's Cherry Cobbler looks pink with one coat and red when you build it up. Wuthering Purple is a cool-toned violet shade. 

7.99 €

*L'OREAL Lip Paint Lacquer

101 Gone with the nude, 102 Darling pink and 107 Dark river

Surprisingly I like these more than mattes. They remind me of Revlon's Ultra HD Mattes because they are very pigmented, apply evenly and have a similar, comfortable glossy-creamy finish. Gone with the nude is a beige brown shade, darling pink is a dirty pink-rose, my favourite, and Dark river is a super dark purple, almost black. 

7.99 €

*ESSENCE Instant Matt foundation

10 Matt Ivory

A foundation that promises to be long-lasting, waterproof and full coverage. I only got it yesterday and I wore it on one side of the face (I had Beyu Nutri on the other because I was testing TBS drops), but as far as I can tell, the promises are pretty close, however, at a cost. I got the lightest shade, as usual for Essence, only appropriate for Oompa Loompas (swatch below), so I had to use TBS drops, but it behaved the same on the back of my hand, so I'll count it as a proper first impression. It's a very thick, almost paste like foundation that I had difficulties blending around the edges. It's got medium-full coverage, so I didn't use concealer on that side of the face. It a very obvious foundation, for my taste too cakey, but you do get coverage and it lasts at least 10 hours one the skin (there was a ton of foundation on the cotton pad very latte at night). It doesn't stay matte for more than a few hours and I'm not a fan of how it looks on the skin. When I swatched it on my hand, a makeup wipe could not remove it well and I had to scrub a lot, so it is waterproof.

4.39 €

*ESSENCE Blush Play Sculpting Blush Palette 

10 Play it Peach

A collection of three different shades in various finishes, which you can use together for a sculpted look or individually, since all work well as blushes. The first "highlight" shade is a pale pinkish peach shade with a glowy finish. The second "sculpt" shade is a somewhat muted medium peachy pink with a matte-satin finish. The last "define" shade is a bright peachy pink with a glowy-satin finish and a super creamy formula. All are nicely pigmented and apply with no problems. Surprisingly good for Essence.

4.39 €

*ESSENCE Prismatic Rainbow Glow Highlighter

10 Be a Unicorn

I really don't like the trend of rainbow highlighters, I'm not even sorry. Not only was (as far as I know the idea) stolen from an indie brand, but also why would I wear that on my face. My personal opinions aside, as scary as this looks, mixed together you get a very normal looking highlighter. Swatched individually you get a scary bright blue, a good looking gold, a completely normal peach and a terrifying red. As you can see on my swatches, they really are almost like eyeshadows, with a damp brush they are eyeshadows, but mixed together you get an off-white champagne highlighter with an nice glow, but maybe the shimmer could be just a little bit more fine. For a proper rainbow effect I find that the strips and the packaging are too big, but also you'd get a strong blue and red, while the middle two colours would look too similarly boring.

3.79 €

*ESSENCE Shine Shine Shine Lip Gloss 

12 Runway, your Way

This is a shade I associate with my fellow blogger Goga, she loves these types of colours, I, on the other hand, am not as big of a fan of purples on me and this is a proper purple with a glossy finish. It's semi-opaque, not sticky and it quickly settles down to a more sheer version of the shade. It's just a gloss.

2.19 €

*ESSENCE Fade your Shade Lipstick 

02 ombré parfait

As soon as I read the name I thought: "Oh, gawd what is Essence trying to achieve now". As strange as the name is, this shade is actually just a very deep plum burgundy shade, well almost black and that's it. The trick is that you probably need to get the other shade 01 too, which I assume is white and you then create an ombre effect. But this is pretty on its own, just not unique. It's a very pigmented formula with a matte finish and if you're looking for a very dark vampy shade, this is a good affordable option.

2.99 €

*ESSENCE Little Beauty Angels TE Colour Correcting Anti-Redness Primer Stick 

02 on my anti-redness mission 

A very simple green concealer/balm product that neutralises redness. It's creamy, but like most such products it looks heavy for my taste, especially if you plan to apply a concealer over it. A liquid version would be more impressive, though this is fine in a pinch too. I'm not sold on the colour correcting thing yet, but those with redness in their skin might like it. This is a part of a large colour correcting collection which will include cream and powder product in various shades.

2.79 €

*CATRICE Marina Hoermanseder LE 

Highlighting Pearls 

These are again a part of a special collection that's one of Catrice's more luxurious looking ones. The pearls are a mix of pale gold and pearly pink which on the skin have a strong white glow with a pink reflect, so it's more appropriate for cool skin tones. The shimmer is similar than in Essence Rainbow highlighter, so it could be more fine.

4.29 €

Highlighter Brush

I already have a brush like this from Beauty & Chic. This one is a bit more plastic feeling, but it's another very soft brush. It picks up the colour well and applies it is a line, so this is a blush also for contouring and for blush when you want a sculpting effect.

4.69 €

AVON Gel Shine 

Marvelous

Another product I got from Petra. She swatched it as a part of her marathon Avon nail polish post if you're interested in how it looks on her nails because on me it looks different. It's a dark muted mauve-violet shade and I get less of that rosy-pinky warmth than Petra. The formula doesn't behave like a gel. Like regular nail polishes, the first coat is semi sheer, so two are needed for an opaque finish. 

Regular price 5.9 €, often much cheaper

EBELIN Puder Pinsel

I could not track this down anywhere, so again Petra came to the rescue. It looks very fluffy and it is, it's just also somewhat plastic feeling. You know that classic, cheaper quality that for example Essence has. Nonetheless, it's a usefully brush, I like it for blush (for more pigmented ones because it's very soft and picks up less than Ecotools blush brush) and for applying powder.

DM, 4.95 €

L'OCCITANE Fleur D'Or & Acacia

Eau de toilette

This is one of those fragrances that was love at first sniff, but I waited over a year to get it. Actually it was in the process of being discontinued when my mother took pity on me and got it for my birthday. It's a new fragrance that shows how much my taste has changed in last years and it gives me somewhat Mediterranean, but vintage vibes. It's a bright fragrance, but sweet without vanilla or amber. It's got sweet flowery notes, like you're just walking under a blossoming bush basking in the sun, which is tempered with a bit of freshness from citruses and the base is formed by a nice woodsy note. It's typically L'Occitane - rich, non-generic and Mediterranean. Unfortunately it's sold out in Slovenia already.

39.90 €

L'OCCITANE Hand Creams

Vanilla, Peony and Roses de Reignes

I guess people know how much I love L'Occitane, since for my birthday I ended up with three more hand creams. I already have the peony in a small 10 ml format and it's one L'Occitane lighter creams with a fresh, bright floral scent (like real roses). The Roses de Reignes is another one of the light ones and it has the old L'Occitane scent of roses, which admittedly isn't my favourite, I prefer Peony. The Vanilla one is surprising my new favourite. It features my beloved old L'Occitane vanilla scent from a fragrance that has been discontinued years ago. It's not that basic, synthetic vanilla, but more floral and much more grown up. The texture is that of the original shea cream, so thick and fantastic for dry skin. I love it.

8.1€ each

AVON Mesmerize Black

I already spoke about this in three posts already, but I only had samples. I got my bottle in a swap with my fellow beauty blogger Nina from bunnyechoes, who saw I had it on my wishlist. It's such a wonderful scent and I just feel in love with it. It's basically pure sandalwood, so a warm and cosy fragrance, but without the overused vanilla or amber.

Full price 26 €, often a lot cheaper in Avon catalogue. Salma, 8.9 €

MATRIX Biolage Anti-Dandruf  Scalp Synch Shampoo

I got this as a gift from my cousins and I already have a scalp scrub from this line, which amazing. The shampoo is not as effective on its own and not like Neutrogena's T/Gel Total. It's a nice shampoo to use, it foams well and isn't too drying.

Salma, 8.7 €

FARMONA Tutti Fruity Mango Peach Scrub

I got this as a gift for my birthday and I quite like it. It's more of less just mineral oil and sugar with a mango bubble gum scent, but I like that it's a rough scrub and it completely washes off without leaving a filter behind. It's one of the better ones I've tried so far.

Salma, 6.9 €

LEE STAFFORD Treatment for Hair that Never Grows Past a Certain Length

One of my fellow bloggers and reader Andrea from Beauty by Aiden told me in the comments she likes this as much as L'Oreal's Professionnel hair mask and though it's about the same price as those, I just got it. I don't like the stupid name, it makes it sound like a miracle cure that's going to make your hair grow faster and it's just a lie (you don't apply such masks on the scalp anyway). At a majority of people the hair grows at the same rate and the reason you feel it's not growing is because your ends are too damaged and the snap, therefore making it appear your hair length stays the same. All you need is proteins and keratin and this has plenty of both. Usually protein heavy masks don't make your hair soft, rather the opposite and that's not what I need (my hair is so thick and coarse). It's a got a pudding-like consistency and is easy to apply, I leave it on for the usual 20 minutes. When I rinse it off, I don't get as much of that silky feeling that L'Oreal leaves, as I said not surprising given it's a protein treatment, but my hair felt nice when dry. Even as I was drying it, it felt good. I like it, though it's about the same price as L'Oreal Professionnel in online shop. It smells like Angel perfume, strong of chocolate-vanilla-patchouli-honey, it's just a bomb of heavy notes.

Müller, 9.5 €

BALEA Vital Sheet Mask

Vital Tuchmaske

I actually had this since early December, but I only now found the time to use it and I have to admit I quite like it. It's saturated with a milky white serum/essence and it sticks well on the face. I left it on for about twenty minutes or more, then I felt it started to get dry, so I got the most out of it. There was a slightly sticky layer on the skin left which was still there in the morning, at least some of it, in the morning, so this really nourishes and hydrates the skin, but in terms of any other effects that would make my skin looking amazing, this didn't do anything. It's a bit big for my face and I felt the fit was especially off by the lips, also around the nose I thought it was too much space. The eyes aren't completely cut, so if you're brave you can cover them as well. Nice buy for about a euro if you have dehydrated and dry skin.

DM, about 1 €

*BIOBAZA Beauty Micellar Water Mix

Chamomile and cucumber

I have read a ton of really bad reviews about this and I have to say I don't really get them. Though a majority of complaints was about it being harsh and that it burns, however, my skin isn't sensitive at all, so maybe that's saving me, but it's really not a bad product to me. I love the pump on this, it's so handy. In terms of texture, it's a regular micellar water that feels like normal water, so there is no residue, but it's not the strongest and I use two pads for removing makeup. I prefer Green Line's in terms of effectiveness, but this really isn't as bad as the reviews make it out to be. The scent is not my favourite, it's just strange floral-cucumber-ish, but still bearable.

Click2Chic, 6.47 €

*BIOBAZA Men Face & Shave Charcoal Soap for Face and Shave

Something completely new to me, though I had a black soap before. It's meant for unclear skin and it's very creamy with water, but it doesn't really form the same type of foam as shaving gels. It works ok, but you end up looking like a chimney sweeper, though I have a feeling it'll last much longer than gels, plus there is less packaging. I gave this to men to try and it wasn't the most liked product, however, I heard some positive things online. The scent is so strong, I can smell it from a meter away as it's packed in its box. It's a strange scent to describe, somewhat charcoal-like.

Click2Chic, 2.57 €

*BIOBAZA Natural Deo 

Green Spirit (Rosemary & Verbena)

Considering that so little deodorants actually work on me, this is surprisingly good. It's a standard roll-on deodorant, but free of aluminium salts and alcohol (still so rare among more natural brands). I'm digging the scent because it reminds me of my teenage years. It smells exactly like Scheller cleansing gel with lemon balm (been discontinued for years), so it's a fresh citrusy rosemary scent that even I like despite disliking herbal scents. I heard a lot of positive feedback about these.

Click2Chic, 3.10 €

*BIOBAZA Bee Balm 

Shea Butter & Avocado

Just a regular waxier lip balm. It stick really well on the lips and doesn't came off straight away when drinking. This one has a gentle vanilla scent and it reminds me of Scheller lip balm with marigold that every one used about 10 years ago.

Click2Chic, 1.93 €

*BIOBAZA Dental CinaFresh 

Mint and Cinnamon

I'm a firm traditionalist when it comes to toothpaste and I've been buying the same one for ten years, so these different, natural ones are hard for me to adjust. This one tastes like I'm washing my teeth with an apple strudel. It's pure cinnamon from the start and it's very strange if you're used to only minty flavours, but it cleans like a normal toothpaste and I hear cinnamon works mildly antibacterial.

Click2Chic, 3.88 €

AVON Anew Clinical Hydra Recovery Overnight Mask - This was interesting to me the moment I opened the pot. It has these white beads in it and those burst when you rub it in. The base is a hydrating gel, while the beads appear to contain shea butter. I liked it and it fits my dry skin at the moment. Petra has the full size pot and the texture of the product pictured here. Full price, 23 €

JOICO K-Pack Liquid Reconstructor - One of Petra's all-time favourites, this is a protein treatment that helps the hair get stronger and therefore less prone to breaking. I've used it a few times and I like it. It works well with my hair, though I use Dove all the time and I don't know if this makes such big of a difference as Soy Three Wheat Leave-in, but it doesn't make my hair into a mess. Protein products results show in a longer time period, but this is basically something like Redken's Anti-Snap. Full price, €15.95

BOURJOIS Healthy Mix Serum

51 Light Vanilla

I didn't even notice my bottle was almost empty because the bottle looked so perfect, but as soon as I did, I was running to repurchase this. Till this day, it's the only foundation I can rely on looking good on my skin. Everything else I own currently looks so weird, but this is my knight in shining armour. It's a light-medium coverage foundation with a natural looking finish that doesn't emphasise the uneven texture of the skin, nor pores and neither lines. I have a full review about it here.
But I have to address the rising prices because it's getting ridiculous. I think that both Bourjois and L'Occitane are going bonkers and apparently assume we are too stupid to notice a bump in prices. When I started buying these in 2011, they costed just shy of 15 €. Luckily, it costs less online.

Müller, 16.49 €

AVON True Colour Perfectly Matte Lipstick

Ravishing Rose

The moment this touched my lips, I thought - Milani Moisturising Matte. They have the same type of texture that is somewhat silicone creamy and features a great matte finish. I've been wanting to try these for a while, actually ever since Petra made that amazing review of these and she actually gifted me this one because she knew I'd love to have this shade (thank you!). It's a pinky-red type of magenta shade, a summery shade and a great shade for brunettes. Sara, who also made a fantastic review of these, compared this shade to All Fired Up by Mac, which I like but only have a sample of and they are indeed almost the same. Another dupe I found in my stash is Kiko's Smart lip pencil in Magenta.

Avon, regular price 8.50 €, but it's often much cheaper.

KIKO Smart Nail Lacquer 

129

Another thing Petra gave me and she nailed it on the shade. I can't believe myself that I missed this when I was in Kiko, maybe I should just send Petra to buy things instead of me since I'm clearly useless. It's a beautiful pastel nude mauve shade, similar to my beloved Deborah Gel Effect in 01. I wasn't too thrilled with the formula when I was applying it because it ended up streaky/see-through on patches with two thick coats, but since it's a light shade, it wasn't that visible and Seche Vite helped a bit too. I wears nice though and after several days, I got no chips.

Kiko, 2.50 €

WET N WILD 1 Step Wonder Gel

Stay Classy

This is a very my type of nude colour, though it is darker than my other such shades and maybe a bit too cool toned. It's a darker muted rosy nude with a gel formula. Like most gel nail polishes it's very smooth and very pigmented, so a dream to apply. It's meaningless for me to mention the staying power because everything lasts more than a week on my nails, however, this one lasted so well and even when I removed it after a week and a half because I was bored, the only noticeable wear was on the tips, but I did of course use Seche Vite.

Click2chic, 2.99 €

L'OCCITANE Pivoine Sublime 2 in 1 Perfecting Scrub

I've had this on my wishlist, since its launch because I adore the scent of the moisturiser from the same line. I don't think I'd ever truly treat myself to it since it's expensive and Immortelle oil would have the priority, so I'm overjoyed I got it as a gift from my cousin. I wasn't sure quite what to expect, though I read very positive reviews, but it's similar to Clarins Melting gel cleanser except it's also a scrub. It's an oil with scrubby bits, but it's actually not that greasy. You apply it on dry skin, rub it in and add water. It doesn't emulsify much, but what I didn't expect and it pleasantly surprised me is that it actually removes makeup decently,while I expected it'll just smear the makeup like gel cleansers. The only thing that is slightly disappointing to me is that the scent is so weak and it's not much like the moisturiser, but it's a great product. 

L'Occitane, 25.40 €

L'OCCITANE Neroli Orchidee Hand Cream

I fell in love with this when I tried it at my cousin. Obviously it's the scent that got me, which is somewhat a typical L'Occitane scent that just always smell amazing. The name says it all really, the warm, bright neroli and the softer orchid scent - oh, just go smell it. It's one of L'Occitane's lightest creams and it sinks in in under a minute, which is exactly what I need.

L'Occitane, 8.10 €

L'OCCITANE Almond Shower Oil 

This is just a sample, but I have the full size as well, I've actually haven't been without one is almost ten years, though it's been a while since I bought one (I buy those refills) and I keep the last bits only for pamper days because it's so expensive. The price rose a lot in ten years (about 20%), so I think I'll stop buying it because of it, even though I still adore it. Anyway, it smells divine and it's such a pleasant oil to use. I use it when my skin is visibly dry and it always helps.

L'Occitane, full size 18.80 €

LIP SMACKER Frozen Ice Cube Lip Balm

Olaf (Peach Flavour)

It's very rare that I buy a lip balm, but this looked so cute in the shop and it said it smells like peach, so I couldn't resist. I like Lip Smacker lip balms, I think they are some of the best, especially for very dry lips because they are less waxy as well as greasier than most and actually now that I think about it, every one I have is Frozen. It's not even that good of a cartoon. The scent was a disappointment, it's the most artificial boring peach ever. However, I love the quality of it. It's nicely moisturising and it sticks on the lips for quite a long time. I also really love the shape of it, not only is it interesting and cute, but I also like how it applies. It looks so small that I sure you get a half of a normal lip balm, but it's actually about the same, 4,2 g.

E.Leclerc, 3.5 €

DOVE Purely Pampering Nourishing Shower gel

Coconut Milk

I adore this shower gel, it's probably my favourite ever but I completely forgot it existed until it magically materialised in the bathroom. It's probably from those gift sets everyone is giving and I forgot about it, since I've been buried in Yummy Shower gels for the past year, but up until now I never bought any of these myself, I've just been taking them for granted. So to make sure I have enough of these, I bought my first one, plus I found a hand soap to go with it. These pampering shower gels, which frankly should be called creams, are very thick and excellent for dry skin. The soap are in my opinion the only hard soaps worth buying because they don't leave that awful squeaky clean feeling. I can't properly describe the scent to you, but it's definitely not coconut at all. It's a warm creamy clean scent and I just love it.

E.Leclerc, 2 €

BALEA Regenbogen Dusche

I fell for it. I admit. But come on, how can I resist such an adorable packaging? It was all over social media, taunting me and even though I knew the scent will be boring (come on, it's Balea), I just wanted it. They describe the scent in the most fairytale like fashion - apparently it smells like stars and clouds. Well, I didn't know stars and clouds smell of boring vanilla. You know the one in car fresheners. Oh, so very heavenly. I'm not saying it's a bad scent, but it could be more exciting, not just recycling Balea old ones. It smells better straight from the bottle (kind of like marshmallows and vanilla) than in the shower. It terms of texture is just a classic Balea shower gel, again nothing exciting.

DM, 0.99 € 

GARNIER Olia After Colour Care

Petra says this is the best conditioner ever and I think it's pretty good as well. Actually it's very nice for a drugstore product and comparable in terms of effect to some salon brands. It's a conditioner that you get in Olia hair colours, but they also sell these mini tubes for when you want to refresh your colour, which is brilliant. It nourished my currently very dry hair and that's quite an achievement. It doesn't feel very heavy, so it should be fine on less dry hair than mine. 

Sold in Müller, price on Boots about 2 €

I already have reviews for REVLON Ultra HD Matte Lipcolour 600 Devotion and BEAUTY & CHIC Contouring Brush. 

BIOBAZA Face Cleansing Micellar Oil

Finally a new cleansing oil in the drugstores and so far, it's my favourite ever. It's not the cheapest, but almost half the price of L'Occitane and it find it better. This is another one of those oils that you apply on dry skin, massage it in, add water so it emulsifiers and remove it with a cloth. This emulsifies into such a gorgeous thick emulsion - if you ever used L'Occitane Almond Shower oil, it's the same thing. It removes makeup really well, there is a bit of mascara left mostly because I don't want to be too harsh with a flannel around the eyes, but the rest of the makeup is completely gone. I only had a sample, but it lasted me so long because you don't need to use much and it didn't cause me any additional spots, though my skin isn't completely clear, but usually with oils my skin goes haywire. I will get a full size for sure. It smells nicely floral. By the way, it claims it's suitable for sensitive skin.

Click2chic, full size 12.94 €

MOROCCANOIL Moisture Repair Shampoo

I expected this to be good and I wasn't disappointed. It's an excellent shampoo for very dry hair, it cleans well, but doesn't leave that dreadful squeaky clean feeling us with dry hair despise, but at the same time it's not heavy and the hair still feels light when washed. However, to me L'Oreal Extraordinaire shampoo does the same thing for a fraction of the price, but if you love Moroccanoil and have the budget, this is a great shampoo.

Full size 20 €

BOMB COSMETICS Night Out

I've tried many Bomb Cosmetics bath bombs and they are just as good as Lush, though they don't tend to have multicolour effects, but some do have great glitters. This one smells strongly of baby powder and I'm really enjoying the scent, so I kind of don't want to use it yet, but I think it should turn the water violet.

Click2chic, other bath bombs 2.99 €

LADY SPEED STICK invisible

My trusted ally for many years Rexona sticks stopped working on me. We had a good run, but I knew it was going to happen. So I started a search for a replacement, a proper anti-perspirant, none of that useless natural or whatever stuff is popular now, so at the bottom of the shelves in DM, I found my very first favourite deodorant that I wore in primary school. It's a gel, so it's truly invisible, but you have to wait for it to dry. So far it's working, but we'll see how long it lasts. It smells like a man's cologne though, but one of those clean skin ones, so it's not so bad, but I swear I had something floral smelling all those years ago.

NIVEA Deodorant Protect & Care

I actually deliberately tracked this down after seeing it on social media. I've always loved the "boring" classic Nivea scent, so I'm glad they are expanding their collection of products. However, I was so sure this was an anti-perspirant and only at home discovered it's just a deodorant (I had like 5 minutes in the shop and a long list), which I've never been a fan of because they do nothing. This one again doesn't manage to keep me fresh long and yes, of course I know it won't stop sweating, but I mean in a sense than it doesn't keep me smelling fresh long. The scent is nothing special, just clean and not as nice as the lotion. How ironic that the last thing I bought in 2016 was another disappointment too.

Müller, 2.89 €

NIVEA Anti-Perspirant Pearl & Beauty

Holy cow did I have a hard time finding this! I've been faithful to it for many year and now I had to go to several shops to find them. Please don't tell me they are being discontinued, I don't want to start experimenting with deodorants again. 90% of them suck. I love the smell of this one, it's so feminine, but my favourite bit is that is actually works the way it should. I combine it with a stick deodorant for best effect.

DM, 2.99€

 AVEO Nail Polish Removers Professional

With a sponge and with a pump

I just got these because they were cheapest  and I was in Müller. I know I should explore removers more since most dry my nails, so if you have any suggestions for something good and cheap, go ahead. I have the pump version from Ebeline and these pumps, though they are still somewhat clumsy (accidental spritzing and stuff) have a plus in the fact you use a lot less product. This one is effective enough, it doesn't need a ton of rubbing, but it's not the strongest. Actually it's exactly the same as Ebelins, it just smells better, like a floral fragrance. 

I used a lot of versions with a sponge and I still find the original Bourjois' the best ever, but unreasonably pricey, so I buy the cheap ones. The sponge of this one is one of the softest and the remover is the same as in the other packaging, so it's again the same as Ebelines.

Müller, 1.99-2.99 €

EBELIN Polishing File
Polierfeile

I've bought a few of these polishing files so far. They're cheap and do their job. I use them for both polishing the nail enamel and for finishing the tips. It has three types of surfaces, none are rough and you can get quite a nice glossy polish with it.

DM, 2 €

EBELIN Glassfile
Glasfeile

I've never had a glass file before so I got one of the cheap ones. This one works just fine. It's neither super rough and neither too gentle. It doesn't leave strange, rough edges so I quite like it.

EBELIN Microfibre Glove

Mikrofaser Reinigungs Handschuh
This is one of those cloths that promises to remove the makeup with no additional use of any remover or water. I've had one of these before many years ago and it's the same material than in Emma Hardie cloths, so super soft and comfy, plus they last much better though washing than regular towels. In terms of the original claim of removing makeup I find it's not the most effective thing. It won't do much about mascara and there's still foundation left, plus I get flakes if I use it dry. But anyway I didn't buy it for that reason, I got it because it feels like Emma Hardie's one and I use it the same way, I wet it with warm water and remove balm/oil with it. I like that it's shaped as a glove, though it's small.

DM, 2.99 €

AVON Mesmerize and Mesmerize Black

I only have samples that Petra kindly sent me, but the bottles for both of these are beautiful. Mesmerize Black is more to my taste and it's basically almost pure sandalwood, so warm and woody with no cheap vanilla, which I'm so fed up with. There's a little bit of jasmine, but barely noticeable. I actually love it so much that I'm really lemming a bottle.

I actually had high hopes for Mesmerize because of the peach note. While it is the most obvious note, it's not the juicy version we get in TBS Vineyard Peach or even Hugo Boss the Scent. Instead it's artificial, very sweet peach and to me very reminiscent to the smell of S Budget peach yogurt, which I suggest you don't buy because it tastes like a perfumed yogurt believe it or not (terrible, terrible thing). Mesmerize is basically artificial peach and aldehydes.

AVON Foot Works Intensive Callus and Corn Cream with AHA Acids

I completely forgot this existed, but it's exactly what I need and I actually think there's no such products in drugstores. I have quite thick skin on my soles, so I need to have frequent at home pedicures, which are just such a chore. AHA's should help with some exfoliation (I noticed some minor peeling so far), plus this cream is actually quite greasy, so good for my dryness, but by the morning it's completely gone. It smells strongly of peppermint.

Have a great day!

ESSENCE All About Nude and All About Bronze Palettes

I never thought much of Essence eyeshadows. The ones I tried were rubbish, so I avoided buying more, but I heard some good things about these palettes and after swatching them in the shop, I put them on my wishlist. To be fair, since I got theBalm Nude'Tude palette I didn't plan on getting any more cheap eyeshadows, but I bought these because I need them for my work and they were the only ones I could just go and buy in the drugstore - stupid reason, but whatever. When I first tried these, they got a double "hmm" from me. That's the sound I make when I'm feeling underwhelmed by the product, basically it's not a good sign when I do this. They are nice... ish. Well nice for drugstore eyeshadows, but based on those swatches I made in the shop I expected a lot more pigment. They are just sheerer than I expected, though the bronze shades are nice. I don't know.. .they're not bad, but  theBalm palette is miles better ( and 8-times more expensive). It could just be the top layer and I do have a feeling they are improving the more I use them. 

You can find a few looks I did with them here. My fellow bloggers already wrote a review about these, you can find them here: Adjusting Beauty and Chunky Cheeks.

Müller, 4.39 €

 GOLDEN ROSE Velvet Matte Lipstick

12

I got my first products from this brand. I've heard about it, but they only recently came to Slovenia. They remind me of Kiko in some ways, with the large selection of products and shades as well as very affordable prices. I was highly recommended to try Velvet Matte Lipsticks and I decided on shade 12 after checking Instagram pics and saw a comparison with Mac's Mehr (they're not dupes just to be clear). I like this. It's a nice matte lipstick, quite creamy once you get through the top slightly harder layer and it reminds me a bit of Maybelline's Matte lipstick. Shade 12 is a medium muted rose, a natural shade, but darker than my lips. It's like a darker Nude-ist and I'm quite liking it at the moment. I did a swatch on the lips bellow, but I hate winter for taking swatches, so it's not completely spot on, but close enough.

Golden Rose, 3.90 €

GOLDEN ROSE Matte Lipstick Crayon

02, 03 and 05

Another product I was recommended to try and heard raves about. I get quite a few e-mails and messages from readers and friends about really dark, plumy shades and the darkest shade I own is Mac's Diva, so I wanted to explore some more affordable and ever darker options. I choose two very deep shades, 02 and 03. The first is a deep red that is similar to Diva and 03 is a deep brownish plum, which I'm not so sure about, it's not terribly pretty, but it very close to some pictures I got sent (from Pinterest obviously, which are all so clearly photoshopped). My cousin also lend me shade 05 which is a deep red. The formula is a bit creamier than of Velvets and it's not that easy to get very precise edges with it, so a lip liner is still a must at such dark shades. I noticed that some shades in the Velvet Matte range and Matte Crayon are basically the same, 02 is 23 in Velvet, 03 is 29 and 07 is 12 (Ajda is wearing Velvet 23 here). These need to be sharpened which I'm not a fan of. 

Not the best swatches, but I wanted to post them now, since I have a feeling it will take me some time to do proper reviews.

 Golden Rose, 3.90 €

GOLDEN ROSE Extreme Sparkle Eyeliner

103

I wanted a gold eyeliner for my holiday look and when I was checking the Golden Rose website before going to the actual shop, I chose Metallic Eyeliner in 02, but when I swatched them, this one looked more special, so I chose glitter over metallic. It looked a bit thin when I swatched it at home again and indeed it is a product that requires two layers, but I love the effect of it. It sparkles so nicely on the eyes, which looks so glamorous. The colour is a very yellow gold, which isn't the best, but I'm pleased with this and would love to get the silver version as well. You'll see it in action in my holiday inspired post (still working on it).

 Golden Rose, 4.50 €

 GOLDEN ROSE Eyeshadow Crayon

14

Since I discovered Kiko's Eyeshadow Sticks, I've been loving these type of creamy products as bases because they make even the cheap eyeshadows work perfectly, not to mention how quick they are to apply. I got the shade 14 which is  a warm hazelnut brown shade with a metallic finish. It's not as good as Kiko's, by that I mean it's not as intensely pigmented, it just means that the products need to be layered and when it comes to eyeshadows that's not the best thing as thick layers are prone to creasing, however, I do really like this. It blends nicely and works well as a base. The one thing I'm not a fan of is that it needs to be sharpened, which is a hassle and you essentially throw away some of product when you do it. 

Golden Rose, 3.30 €

 GOLDEN ROSE Jolly Jewels Nail Lacquer

103

Golden Rose has the most impressive nail polish collection I've ever seen. They truly have an astonishing range of colours and finishes. I wanted a dense gold glitter nail polish, which I actually searched for all over my home town. This one isn't quite it, but it caught my eye because it has an interesting combination of small gold glitter with large copper hexagons. It's not fully opaque even with several coats, instead it's more of a top coat. It sparkles under the artificial light, though when you look at it closely, it's a bit strange, since the base is warm gold and then the hexagonal flakes are copper. The removal process is understandably a nightmare, those copper hexagons stick to the nails so fast you need some ungodly power to get them off. Picture of it on my nails here.

Golden Rose, 3.10 €

 ESSENCE The Gel Nail Polish 

50 i feel good

I got this purely to do some nail art, which failed so miserably. I never owned a green nail polish, frankly it's a weird colour to wear on the nails to me (and the comments I got were hilarious). This one is a dark forest green. The formula is lovely, it's one of those gel formula ones, so it's excellent.  

Müeller, 1.69 €

 eBay Metallic Rose Gold Brushes

Blush brush and contour brush

These are beyond amazing for the price! I got then immediately after seeing them of Petra's Instagram and got only two to try, but I'm getting the whole set for sure or at least the powder one and another set of these two. These look expensive, though the handle is plastic, which is actually much better to me as I would hate to have a heavy brush to handle. The bristles are amazingly soft and these just feel well made. 

 The blush brush fits my cheeks well, some might find it a bit small, but I prefer more precise blush brushes. It's the type of brush I would use with more pigmented blushes as it's not very dense. By the way, the bristles are synthetic. 

 Petra already wrote an awesome and comprehensive review, so I probably won't write any more than in this New In.

eBay, blusher brush (contour) £1.70, facial brush (blush) £1.66

YVES ROCHER Exfoliating Bubble for Bath 

Spicy Vanilla

Last year I won a shower gel in Yves Rocher's Christmas/December giveaway and I loved it. It was really good, so this year I decided to give their holiday collection a go. These bubbles looked the coolest and when I saw they have three version, all of which mention cinnamon in one way or another, I really wanted one. I checked all of them in the shop, the Orange-Cinnamon version, the Orange-Almond one and this one, Spicy Vanilla, and to be completely honest they all smelled the same, just like Jaffa Cakes. I'm not a fan of the latter, I mean jam with chocolate, where is this world going, but it's kind of a nice scent for Christmas I guess. The gel is thick, which I like and the exfoliating particles aren't just for show, though it's not a proper scrub. The one thing I hate about this bubble is that there is no proper "delivering system", it's just a gaping hole when you open it and it's hard to control the amount you want. Nice, but the packaging needs an update.

Yves Rocher, 5.90 €

YVES ROCHER Perfumed Bath Oil

Spicy Vanilla

This has an even more unfortunate packaging than the Bubble for Bath. It's seriously so stupid. There is a tiny hole through which the product should be delivered, but unless you shake this vigorously, nothing comes out. So you spend a better part of the shower shaking this like a moron for a few drops of the oil. The scent is more vanillary that the Exfoliating bubble, but it's still all about the Jaffa biscuits. It's light oil compared to L'Occitane's, but it emulsified to a thin foam and doesn't dry out the skin. The ingredients are cheap, main is mineral oil, then there is some maze oil plus fragrance. It's nice, but I need to figure out how to fix the packaging problem. It's also a very pretty decoration on the shelf. 

Yves Rocher, 7.5 €

MILANI Powder Blush 

01 Romantic Rose (borrowed)

This isn't mine, but I sure wish it was. These have been on my wishlist for absolutely ages and when my cousin came round enthusiastically waving the new Milani lipstick in Darling she got because of me, she also showed me this and asked me if I'd like to review it. I adore this. It's so good, like HG material. The shade is so lovely, a natural brownish-muted pink-mauve, complicated to describe but something along the lines of Catrice's I'm Nuts About You. It's very pigmented, blends nicely and looks superb on the cheeks. And the design is sooooo pretty! You shall hear a lot of gushing about it here in the future. Basically I want all of these, well the natural shades, I'm not sure I can pull off Coral Cove, it looks very intense.

Milani EU 9.16 €; Milani USA $7.99; Beauty Crowd, £7.20; Moja Drogerija, 14.41 €; Click2Chic, 10.46 €

YANKEE CANDLE Cranberry Pear

When it comes to Yankee Candle, I'm one of those that is mainly unimpressed, but constantly tempted especially at Christmas. I fell in love with this scent instantly. I won't write this poetic description of the scent, I'll just say what it actually smells like and that is wild strawberries and a bit of pine, which actually ends up smelling like picking strawberries in the forest (something I do every year and I just love that smell). I've actually never found any scent that would mimic wild berries, they smells so much nicer that garden ones and taste far better too, so I'm delighted to have found this. The scent it very intense and even unlit/melted it fills the room. But basically it doesn't smell like neither pear nor cranberry. 

Yankee Candle, 1.99 €

YANKEE CANDLE Season of Peace

This one reminds me of my late grandmother, or at least the smell of her house. It's somewhat like Soft Blanket, so a clean and warm scent. It's like a fabric softener, I'm sure my grandma had a laundry detergent or a fabric softener with this scent, so it must be something that was sold here 15 years ago, but I haven't a clue which one she used (maybe Silan. I think I saw a bottle of it in her house). 

Yankee Candle, 2.60 €

YANKEE CANDLE Shea Butter

Another gorgeous scent. Shea butter doesn't smell as nice as this, but I can smell it mixed in the scent. It's warm, creamy and clean. It like a generic body cream in the scent that everyone likes. Love this. 

Yankee Candle, 2.60 €

YANKEE CANDLE Snowflake Cookie

This is pretty much the same as their Christmas Cookie. There's loads of gourmand vanilla and this baked note. It sounds strange I know, but when you bake cookies and you just take them out of the oven, there is this smell of baked. It's kind of a classic candle that you burn when you want to make it appear like you baked something, but were too lazy to do it and you just sneakily bought them in the supermarket.

Yankee Candle, 2.60 €

L'OREAL Elnett Heat Protect Spray - Straight 

Elnett Hitze Styling Sprays 3 Tage Glatt 

A couple of weeks ago I met the lovely Petra from Adjusting Beauty blog, whom I mention a lot on my blog and we even did my first (an only) collaboration a while ago. She surprised me with a set of samples when we were saying goodbye (thanks again <3) and this was among it. This has been on my wishlist for quite a while, but I always have other products to finish, so I'm been putting off purchasing it. It's a very basic heat protectant that is light and simple, so it fits many hair types and I've been enjoying using it precisely because of that. Actually it's no different to me from the Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Heat UV Protective Primer, which is a lot more expensive. If you're looking for something similar, but for a lot cheaper, this is it. I will buy a full size one day. It has a simple, hair care scent.   

I think it's about 7 €

AVON Advance Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Argan Oil Mask

I have this prejudice that Avon't stuff isn't all that impressive when it comes to dealing with very dry hair. I always imagine they have some diluted, super liquid hair masks, but his one is thick and feels like it will do something. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't quite enough for my hair, however, I could see it working for moderately dry hair. Full size looks like this (also a pic of shampoo)

Avon, regular price 5.70 €

AVON Advanced Techniques Supreme Oils Shampoo

This was a pleasant surprise to me. It didn't leave my hair stripped and that is a sign of a good shampoo to me. If you have dry hair, this is worth trying out. 

Avon, regular price 4.60 €

AVON Planet Spa Sleepy Serenity Pillow Mist

Petra raved about this a while ago and remember being intrigued as I love such scents. It smells very calming, they describe it as a mix of lavender and camomile, but the latter is much more dominant. From the start this is a dead ringer for the Kamagel's scent to me (camomile based ointment made by Slovene pharmaceutical company Krka), but it then switches to a more lavender based scent. Very calming and very lovely. I can't find this in the catalogue, so I don't know how much it costs or if it still exists. Petra's review here. 

 ESSENCE Quick and easy Sponge Nail Polish Remover

This one is more expensive than the Ebeline one I usually buy, but that one gets dirty so fast, so I'm looking for something better (Bourjois' is excellent, but too expensive. Ombia's is total crap). So far I've only used it with light nail polishes because I don't want to ruin it straight away, but it's ok. It does the job.

Interspar, 2.99 €

ESSENCE Holo Stripes Nail Stickers

I got these to do that design that is on the nail wheel next to Golden Rose 103 above. It kind of failed which isn't a surprise. Anyway, there are three thin strips in the set: a silver one, a dark silver one and violet-pink one all with a metallic look, not really holographic. My picture isn't the best, but it's hard to photograph these with a camera phone. They tend to fall off fast without a good layer of top coat. 

 Interspar, 1.39 €

YUMMY Wild Things Shower Gels

Happy Boost and Sexy Boost 

There are new Yummy shower gels called Wild Things which all feature animal prints. I got the zebra Happy Boosts and the snake Sexy Boost, but there are more: the giraffe Classy Boost, leopard Energy Boost, tiger Power Boost, and peacock Vanity Boost. These are pretty basic shower gels that smell nice. They foam well, clean well and that's it. Happy Boost will appeal to many, at least that my experience when I gave these two to people to sniff. It's a classic girly scent, but a bit more sophisticated. It's candy-vanilla sweet, but a bit floral and woody, so it's gourmand without being properly gourmand.

Sexy Boost won't be for everybody though, at least not for those who like simpler scents. It's a proper unisex scent, almost more masculine than feminine. The best way that I can describe it is if I compare it to Axe (Lynx) scents, not the super douchey Dark Temptation, but those green ones. It smells a lot more masculine in the bottle, but in the shower it's more tame. The base is citrusy, I get lime, though its described as earthy. The sharper note that gives the scent defining character is spice, cardamom in particular. I actually like this scent a bit more than the Happy Boost and I'm not a girl for unisex scents. 

Click2Chic, 4.95 €

Have a great day!