MAKEUP

ESSENCE I <3 Extreme Volume Mascara Waterproof

This remains my favourite waterproof formula and a favourite mascara overall. I don't know which tube in a row this is so far, but there have been a few. It holds my lashes perfectly curled like I expect from a mascara, it gives a lot of volume and length, the only mini minus is that it could fan out and define a bit nicer, it's the closest to perfect and it's cheap. I'm glad this keeps dodging the discontinuing frenzies by Essence. 

Műller, 2.99 €

CATRICE Liquid Eyeliner

010 Dating Joe Black

My standard repurchase and I still use this formula every day. It's the best liner I've found so far because it's very black, dries matte, has a great applicator and it lasts all day. 

Müller, 3.79 €

PHYSICIANS FORMULA Shimmer Strips All-in-1 Custom Nude Palette 

Warm Nude 

I got this as a birthday gift from my cousin after it's been on my wishlist for years. There are two versions of these Shimmer Strips palette, mine is a warmer one, though both look warm to me (second is called Natural Nude). It's a combination of 12 shimmery-satin shades that can be used in many ways, but PH recommends these methods: 

1. All shades mixed together can be used all over the face for an all-over nude glow. 

2. First row as a highlighter.

3. As eyeshadows: 1th row highlights, 2nd as base 3rd as contour and 4th as eyeliner.

4. Nude contouring with 2nd row as blush and 3+4th row as bronzer. 

PH also added two brushes. A bigger thin brush is surprisingly good because it picks up just enough, the size fits stripes well and it blends ok, while a sponge applicator isn't all that helpful. On the back in a separate compartment is, as is usual for PH, a mirror. 

I've tried it all these ways and it does work as an all over veil if I avoid the bottom row, but it should be applied with a very fluffy brush. As eyeshadows it definitely works well for a warm nude look and gives you a nice level of versatility. As highlighter it's a nice one with a good level of glow. As a blush it's very subtle because only one square has any significant colour for a blush. As a bronzer it's very warm but it would work for warm light skin tones. 

Overall I'm happy with this. It is very close to a proper all-in-one product. I tend to use it as an eyeshadow palette, a highlighter and occasionally as a blush, but as I said it's too light for any significant flush. 

iHerb, $10.44

*BOURJOIS Rouge Fabuleux

07 Perlimpinpink

Bourjois launched a new range of lipsticks following their fantastic matte Rouge Velvet The Lipsticks. This is their newest creamy formula, which I don't know if they are replacing their Rouge Edition or not, but the formula is different. These drew me at the drugstore because the shade range looked so wearable and every day appropriate, and I wish their Velvet lipsticks had these shades. Formula feels exactly the same as Velvets at application, meaning it has that super slippery, buttery texture, however, it unlike Velvets has a creamy finish. Packaging is the same tube as Velvets except in black. 07 Perlimpinpink is a warm bubble gum pink.

12.99 €

 *DEBORAH MILANO Double Effect Volume & Length Mascara

My first mascara with a wand that can be transformed. On step 1 it's a plastic wand with bristles placed in parallel rows, but on step 2 it becomes shorter and pulls the bristles closer together creating a spiral pattern. I prefer the step 2 because step 1 doesn't create a nice fanned out effect as it starts to clump lashes together and doesn't separate them as nicely, but step two does it much better. In terms of volume it doesn't matter on which setting you have it, both do about the same. Formula is not my favourite. While it's nicely black and it doesn't smudge, it makes my lashes hard and it also doesn't keep them up, so the hit my glasses and with stiff lashes it's very obnoxious. But it creates quite large lashes because the formula is thick, it just doesn't hold my lashes up so that volume is barely visible on me. 

DM, 7.99 €

*RIMMEL Wonder'Swipe 2-in-1 Liner to Shadow

001 Slay

I think this is the right name of the shade because it's nowhere on the bottle, but it's a silver metallic eyeliner with quite a good colour pay-off for a colour liner, though at my shade most of the "colour" is densely packed shimmer. It applies nicely, like a good regular liner, so I have no problems with it skipping parts of not being able to draw a wing, but it could be more intense. The silver feels a bit underwhelming on my eyelids, maybe because there not enough contrast with my grey eyes, but in terms of quality, it's an ok eyeliner. As an eyeshadow, it sheers out a lot and what's left is a gentle haze of the grey base colour and you're left with a lot shimmer. It promises to be transfer proof, but some shimmer does end up in my create, though it doesn't smudge or move on the lids. The price is crazy high, over 8 € for which I expect exceptional quality and this could be better.  

DM, 8.79 €

*ORIFLAME The One Eyes Wide Open & Awake mascara

This has quite a unique shape of the brush, it's almost like a pear shaped. It's not making a difference compared to a regular brush, so it's a gimmick, but it doesn't clump the lashes and separates them adequately. The formula is much lighter than the Deborah one, so effect with one coat it more natural and it takes time to build this one up to proper volume. Still I prefer it to Deborah because it's lighter, it leaves my lashes soft and it's easier to remove. It doesn't hold my lashes up at all, so the effect is hardly visible on me, but I've been using it almost every day since I got it because I currently have nothing better in my stash. 

In the current catalogue the packaging is violet-pink with a price 12.90 € 

*ORIFLAME The One Eyebrow Kit 

I don't use eyebrow products so I'm skipping on trying this one, but it's a pretty nifty kit for on the go. You get an eyebrow wax, two shades of brow powder which look cool-ish to me, a mini mirror and in a compartment bellow you also get two mini brushes. 

Oriflame, 11.90€

*L.O.V. RoyalLASH Superior Strength & Volume Lash Primer

This promises to make your lashes 3x stronger and more voluminous after 30 days. I haven't seen improvement, but I haven't committed to using this daily. It's completely white on the lashes and applies nicely with no clumps. It doesn't make the mascara application any more difficult (unless it's quite dry) and in my before/after on the Instagram Stories you can see that this does add a good level of extra volume.

Ličila.si, 13.99 €

*L.O.V. EYEttraction Magnetic Loose Eyeshadow

N.510 METALfusion

I like this a lot and I've already included it in my last monthly favourites. I tried them a few times in the shop, but it's only now that I'm properly trying it out that I'm impressed. I think I like them more that all those Colourpop/Essence Melted Chrome/Catrice type of formulas. It's a drier, but similar version as those and I just find it sticks better to the lids and I get an intense metallic coat without having to build it up much. I apply it with fingers so I get a lot of colour on quickly and then blend the edges with a fluffy blush and I'm done. I enjoy the shade a lot, it's one of those classic taupes that I have tons of dupes for now, but the shimmer is much finer than the one is Colourpop or Essence eyeshadows so I prefer it. It's on my eyes on the pictures with the highlighting drops below. I give this formula two thumbs up. 

€ 6.99

 *L.O.V. LOVglow Highlighting Drops

020 Sunlight Glow

I think was a limited edition because I can't find it anywhere apart from on kosmetik4less.de website. It isn't the best highlighter because it ends up weak on the skin, instead it's a much better glowy primer. It's got that type of light formula that doesn't feel greasy and neither too matte, plus the shimmer is very fine in this, so it a good product to either apply on the skin under foundation or mixed in the foundation. The shade Sunlight Glow is a yellow gold that if it was more pigmented I wouldn't be able to wear, but since it's so translucent it's fine. The packaging bothers me at this and a pump would be better. It's got a pipette, but it's not easy picking up much product, maybe because the formula is too thick, I'm forced to scrape the product from the outside of the pipette. 

10.95 €

*L.O.V. LOVicious Caring Volume Gloss

N.100 Mystic Sand

I like the formula of this one, though it's not that special. It's a nice comfy formula with medium colour pay-off and a thicker formula than average lip gloss formula. Like most it's not sticky and I didn't notice it bleeding. The colour is a good wearable nude that would fit most. 

€ 5.99

*MAX FACTOR Colour Elixir Lip Gloss

25 Enchanting Coral

Love at first try, but that pretty much happens with all Max Factor glosses to me and I also already featured this in my monthly favourites. It's a less thick version of Honey Lacquer formula and also with a more sheer effect. Formula is like a comfortable cushion on the lips, so my lip balm substitute and they still have that lovely vanilla scent they had over a decade ago in their silly glosses. I wasn't thrilled when I saw this in my parcel because it's a coral and coral tend to look so orange and unwearable on me, but this one is very pretty, a nice pinky-peachy sheer shade. I've already wore this a lot.

*RIMMEL Provocalips 16HR Kiss Proff Lip Colour

710 Kiss-off

This is one of the most long-lasting lip products I've ever tried. It's so hard to get it off and I still had some on the next day. The colour layer is similar to matte liquid lipstick, but it dries slower, while the top coat is a clear gloss like product that eventually sets and pretty much cements the colour on the lips. Regardless of such a staying power, I didn't find this drying - not that I usually do when it comes to lipstick. It's a shame though that this shade is soo not me. It's an almost pastel, yet medium-toned orange, so I don't like myself with it. I've went to check other shades we have if I find something more wearable for me, but we only have three and I like none. I like lipsticks at which I don't have to care if it's still one and this one survived a Bacon Rosti which is probably the greasiest thing McDonalds sells, so it's a shame we don't have all the colours available.  

DM, 8.49 €

 ESSENCE The Gel Nail Polish

98 Pure Beauty, 56 You and me? And 21 A Whisper of Spring

These are being discontinued and replaced by ones in a much uglier and too me less practical packaging, as the new cap looks hard to hold compared to these old ones. Before they are gone I had to pick a backup of my favourite 98 Pure Beauty which I'm running low on as it's one of my most worn nail polishes and in the spur of the moment I grabbed two more shades. 56 You and me is one of the most popular shades I believe, but it always looked so ugly in the bottle (too cool for my skin tone) so I've been avoiding it for so long and now I genuinely regret not picking it earlier. This is one of the prettiest muted powder mauve-pinks I've ever seen and it's much warmer on the nails than the colour in the bottle indicates. I got 21 A Whisper of Spring because I have no pastel violet shades and this one actually ends ups in between a pastel pink and violet on me. I love all the shades and are so worth picking up now that they are about to go.

Müller, 0.99 €

ECOTOOLS Wonder Colour Finish Blush & Contour Brush

Another birthday gift and another product that has been on my wishlist for a while. It's a medium sized, very dense and soft brush that Ecotools recommends for blush and contour. It's nice for contouring because the size is just right and it stiff enough to blend, but for blush I find it's just a bit too stiff. Honestly I expected the bristles are a bit longer, so this would be more fluffy and due to being quite dense I find it's better for creamy textures, including foundations, which is what for I've been using for it instead. 

iHerb, $6.99

SKIN CARE 

 *THE BODY SHOP Drops of Youth Concentrate Sheet Mask

This peaked my interest when I saw it in the parcel. I always like to try an new sheet mask and this one looks intriguing because the ingredients are actually the same as the Youth Serum, at least the list is the same, but I don't know about the concentrations. It's a very expensive sheet mask so I did expect a lot, but I wasn't that blown away by it.

Sheet: Sadly TBS decided on a very thick and stiff material for the sheet, which absorbs a lot of the product (you get a massive 21 ml in this, but it feels much drier than most Asian sheet masks). It's not a very comfortable mask on the face due to that and it starts to dry fast, but the cut outs are well placed and it's not very big, which is more of a good news for those who are petite like me.

Essence: formula is light, like a classic clear serum and it leave some stickiness when it dries.

Scent: this is heavily fragranced, though that primary cosmetic chemical scent is pleasant to my nose. It's the heavy whiffs of alcohol that bother me, mainly because it makes me uneasy with how much of the stuff they packed in this mask. It's 2nd on the list after water and unfortunately on my currently dry skin this had an effect. 

Effect: Immediate effect was more evenly toned and fresher skin, but where the mask was creased, my skin was creased too, which from a mask that promises a youthful effect (by that I assume plumping) is not what I expected. By the morning my skin felt dry and I had a few dry flakes on my forehead and the rest of the effects weren't visible any more. This was my first time trying the Drops of Youth line and I don't think it's for me, but I love their Oils of Life oil, which is high on my wishlist.

Ingredients: here.

The Body Shop, 5.90 €

BODY

 *THE BODY SHOP Cactus Blossom

Shower gel, Exfoliating gel body scrub and body butter

Something new for this season from TBS. I've got to say Cactus Blossom is not a scent I ever expected from TBS, but it is very unique. It's fresh and just a bit floral-fruity sweet, but mostly it smells to me almost a bit herbal. It reminds me of L'Occitane's discontinued Angelica line. It's not my favourite TBS scent, but it's fine. The shower gel is a classic one, I actually only tried their creamy formula and I prefer them to this because it's more luxurious feeling, but this is just fine too. The body butter is a classic, again brilliant nourishing texture and well worth investing in. The Exfoliating Gel body scrub is a new thing to me. For a scrub this is very weak, even though the scrubby particles are not just the big visible bits, but there are also micro particles that are the ones actually doing the job. To me this is just another version of a shower gel.

Shower gel 6.50 € | Exfoliating gel body scrub 19.90 € | Body butter 17.50 €

AVON Bubble Bath

Bubble Gum

This smells just like you'd expect, like Bazooka bubble gum. I have yet to try it proper in a bath, but I couldn't wait to find time for it, so I used it as a shower gel so I could enjoy the scent. I had one of these before and I was very disappointed with the amount of bubbles. Maybe this one will be different.

Avon, regular price 7.90 €

AVEO Intensive Care Duschől

I've been using these for washing my hands since sometime last year. Less drying than regular liquid soap and it suits me better.

Müller, 1.95 €

SUBRINA Shower Gel

Cherry Blossom and Rose Garden

My by now standard repurchase. These are so cheap per ml when I buy them in Spar, they do their job, they come in such nice scent and one some of the rare ones that leave behind a fragrance for several hours. Of course the heavier fragrance is a not for everyone, especially those with sensitive skin, but scent is an important factor at beauty products for me. Cherry Blossom is a lovely powdery floral that is the favourite of many and Rose Garden, which I got instead of my usual Perfume Drops, is an amazing floral scent for those who hate granny rose fragrance because this is very different.

Interspar, 1.79 € (400 ml)

AVON Luck For Her Perfumed Deodorant Spray

Another birthday gift. I have the La Vie version of Luck which I love and this is the original version of the scent. It's much sweeter, less fresh version with the main notes of sweet red berries and sandalwood. Other notes include bergamot and white flowers, but this is overall a lot less complicated scent as La Vie, which is my favourite of the two. It's not a unique scent, but it's a nice simple, every day fragrance and thought the notes don't mention it, I get pure pineapple immediately after spraying it. I have the deodorant version, which sadly doesn't last long, less than an hour.   

Avon, regular price 14.50 €

HAIR

OLAPLEX n.3

I already talked a lot about this in my monthly favourites. I've recently bleached my hair and Olaplex or any other bond builder is a must if you want to keep your hair as healthy as you can. This only step 3 out of 5. First two are proper salon products, one is mixed with bleach and the other applied at rinsing which is almost the same as this number 3, except with a higher concentration of Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate. Number 3 is the one they sell as a maintainer and is meant for wider consumption, as are 4 and 5 which are a shampoo and conditioner. Olaplex's Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate fixes the disulfide bonds that get broken during bleaching. I still don't I believe this fixes any significant damage that's already happened and indeed of course this didn't fix my broken and spit ends from before, but I do think it maybe fixes minor crack that might get worse and more importantly protects the hair from further damage. I fully expected that this tiny bottle with only a 100 ml was going to last me two uses at most, but surprisingly I only used about a 1/5 of the bottle and I really went to town with it. The formula is so easy to spread, it's no problem coating all the hair with minimal amount of product. It also is completely unscented. I apply it on washed damp hair and put on a shower cap - they don't say to do this, but I have it on for a few hours and I want to prevent it from drying out because then it probably wouldn't work as well later on (recommended time is at least 10 minutes, but the longer it's on, the better results). This isn't a conditioner and you need to follow up with shampoo and a mask/conditioner after, so I expected that like at Joico K-Pack Reconstructor I won't even notice I used anything, but this left my hair with that silky feeling as I was rinsing it off. I used my usual L'Oréal Extraordinary Oil shampoo and L'Oréal Professionnel Absolut Repair Lipidum mask that contains Phyto-keratin (as well as lipids and ceramides) that strengthen the hair. Plus I also use Redken Anti-Snap for additional protein treatment. I've done several dyeing and bleaching sessions in the past months and my hair still feels the same as it did before all this experimenting, so I find Olaplex does what it promises. I will continue using it and if you lighten, bleach or colour you hair (to a lighter shade than natural colour) regularly it's not a bad idea to invest in one of these type of products, but if you don't, I don't see the point in getting this unless your hair is very damaged and you really want to try it. However, I'd first get a good protein treatment like Anti-Snap and a mask instead. 

Spletična, 21.50 €

 ICE CREAM No-Yellow Shampoo

I'm not a proper blonde yet, so getting this was a bit premature, but I do have some blonder bits on the bottom layers where my hair is thin and it was as expected quite yellow, so I grabbed this in DM to tone it. It's quite fun to use because this is like a dark violet ink when you squeeze it out. I accidentally stained my curtain with this when I turned my hair, so you need to be careful with it. It lathers well and it's easy to spread all over the hair. I leave it on while I shower, so a few minutes and it rinses off completely. Since most of my hair is dark blonde level 7 on the hair chart, I'd actually need a blue shampoo to tone the orange hues (I used L'Oreal's Preference 8.1 for that), so this only worked on those paler blonde hair I have as expected. I've used this on a strand of hair I bleached all the way to pale yellow and this toned the yellow tone a lot, so if you're a pale blonde, this is a nice formula to try, though I hear L'Oreal recently launched their violet shampoo and mask which might be cheaper. It's not terribly drying but neither moisturising, so I think it should work for all hair types. It smells a bit like grapes.

DM, 9.99 €

 SCHWARZKOPF Blond Me Premium Developer 6% and Bond Enforcing Premium Lightener 9+

I've also already talked a lot about this in my monthly favourites, but the gist is this: it's is a high quality bleach that left my hair with no damage. I did apply coconut oil prior and I only have a 6% developer because that's what Amazon had (I regret not getting a 9% or a 12% from another place as they would be a better choice for my thick, dark hair. I stupidly wanted to avoid more shipping costs). I picked Blondme after an extensive research because it has an added bond builder (something like Olaplex that prevents the bonds between keratin plates from being dissolved, therefore prevent significant damage) and because I read many reviews saying it got even those with very dark hair to platinum blonde in one try (like I said it works with a 12% on dark hair, while with a 6% it got me a few shades down). Aside from no damage, it didn't make my hair drier, it doesn't smell like bleach much (it actually has a floral scent) and it got on my skin numerous times and it felt like nothing, so this is definitely a bleach I'm very comfortable using. There's an added measuring spoon in the bleach powder packaging. By the way, despite the fact it's blue, you need to get a toner to use afterwards. I also do not recommend using this alone at home, unless you're really knowledgeable about bleaching, hair levels and underlying pigments. I did it myself only after several months of research and I really did the balayage myself, with a help of several mirrors, a camera and a smartphone. I'm happy with the results, even though it didn't got as light as I hoped due to a weaker developed, also no one said anything bad about my hair colour yet (you can see it in my monthly favourites).

Amazon, 23.38 € for bleach powder (400 g), 9.93 € for developer (1000 ml)

L'OREAL Récital Préférence 

8.1 Copenhague

I'm a big fan of Excellence (seriously, the more box dyes I try, the more I see how utterly brilliant it is), so I wanted to see how the slightly more expensive Preference fares. I got this shade to tone after bleaching because it's got ultra-cool tones and I've heard good things about this shade in particular. This is the strongest smelling colour I've tried. I'm really not sensitive to smells, but this knocked me down and made my eyes water, so it was this big minus from the start. Number two is that the colour part is a liquid and not a cream. While it doesn't drip, it's got a consistency similar to an egg when you mix it with the developer and the colour slides of the brush when I tried to pick it up (I always use a pot and a brush instead of these applicator bottles because it's a lot more precise). One colour also felt like it had less product that Excellence, but I managed to spread it enough using a comb and fingers. In terms of toning it did a fantastic job on the lightest hair which were medium yellow (level 8-9), but obviously it couldn't tone out the more orange parts, so I regret not taking 7.1, but it's fine. The well-toned parts are now nice very cool blonde, almost a bit silvery. It did not leave my hair feeling as fantastic as Excellence does, nor is the conditioner better than that one, so I'm definitely sticking to Excellence and I'm not going to buy this one again (they have the same shades in both lines anyway).

DM, 8.99 €

*WELLA Eimi Dry Me Dry Shampoo

You know what the deal is with me and dry shampoos - my hair is never greasy, it only gets drier the longer I don't wash it and dry shampoos something I use to merely refresh the hair and not absorb oil. Hence I can't tell you if this one is good. It didn't notice any white cast, but I didn't use a lot of it and it didn't leave a powdery feeling. The fragrance is nicely fruity. 

Have a great day!

MAKEUP

*ORIFLAME Giordani Gold MasterCreation Foundation SPF 18

Rose Porcelain Cool

Oriflame launched a few new Giordani Gold products and this foundation is their newest formula. The only Oriflame base I had was a tinted moisturiser about 10-15 years ago (it was my very first such product) and I remember it being very orange, so I was a bit concerned Oriflame's shade ranges run dark. Good news: they actually have shades for us Snow Whites. I was very happy to discover that and I believe this is the first PR foundation whose shade actually fits me. This formula is promises an anti-aging effect and a natural finish, it contains no alcohol. It feels light on the skin and it provides about light-medium coverage that can be built up. Finish is dewy-glowy, as you might expect for a foundation meant for mature skin and it's indeed as promised natural looking, so it's one of those foundations that it's hard to tell you're wearing anything, but your skin looks better. It's the type of foundation I like and in a shade that fits me, so I'm very pleased with this one. It's heavily scented, which doesn't bother me, but it could be a problem for those with more sensitive skin. 

 Oriflame, regular price 23.90 €, currently 13.99 €

*ORIFLAME Giordani Gold MasterCreation Lipstick

Delicate Pink

I just love the high-end look of the packaging on this one. I picked the shade myself based on the swatches in the catalogue and it's quite accurate. I went for a wearable natural pinky-peach shade, just something I know I'll use. This formula promises an anti-aging effect, it contains a peptide and has a SPF 20. It's a standard lipstick, so not my usual preferred matte finish, but I liked this straight away. It's not one of those overly creamy formulas like most non-matte formulas tend to be, instead it's almost semi-matte, or better said satin. Formula is more firm than what I'm used to, but not in a waxy way and it glides on the lips with no problems. I actually prefer it being less creamy, as it's easier to control the application. It feels comfortable on the lips, I didn't even feel it on when I was wearing it. Given it's not matte I didn't expect it to last long, but I was surprised to see it still going strong after several hours. 

Oriflame, regular price 14.90 €, currently 8.99 €

*ORIFLAME Giordani Gold Bronzing Pearls

Natural Radiance

I didn't expect this to be so strongly pigmented and I also thought the shade is going to be more pink, at least that's how the beads looked in the catalogue. It's actually a warm peachy shade and not really a bronzer, as it's definitely a blush shade (swatches are in a highlighted story on Instagram). There are four shades of pearls inside: a cool light pink, dark warm pink, light bronze/tan and a champagne colour. Pigmentation is so strong I need to use my fluffiest brush, so these are more meant for someone with a darker and warmer skin tone than mine. Staying power is impressive, but it's not surprising given how pigmented these are. The colour blends nicely on the skin with no patchiness.

Oriflame, regular price 20.90 €, currently 9.99 €

*ORIFLAME Miss Giordani Intense

For me this is almost purely a neroli fragrance. It reminds me of some L'Occitane neroli scent they have/had, which had that similar very bright, sweet floral scent that reminds me a bit of red berries. Though it's quite sweet from the start, this is a mature scent and musk seems to be the strongest base note, while woody notes are less intense. It's a very sweet floral scent on a base that reminds me of "old school" classic fragrances that were popular in the 90's, such as Poeme by Lancome. It’s a strong fragrance from the start, but it loses power quickly and becomes more of a skin scent, so this is not the most long-lasting fragrance or at least one you'd notice/smell on yourself for long. The bottle is beautiful with nice a classic design and a gold cap which holds very tight. 

Notes:

Top: peach, green notes

Heart: neroli, baby’s breath, velvety purple gardenia

Base: white woods, vanilla orchid, musk

Oriflame, regular price 32.90 €, currently 22.99 €

*DEBORAH 24 Ore Extra Cover 2 in 1 Foundation and Concealer

The newest foundation by Deborah which similarly to Milani's Conceal + Perfect claims it can be used both as a foundation and concealer, meaning it's a typical matte high coverage formula like for example Revlon's Colorstay. It's one the most matte formulas I've tried so far and it's way too much for my normal/combination skin that rarely has any shine, so this foundation makes my skin look flat and emphasises lines. However, though it doesn't fit me, I think those with very oily skin might really like this. It claims to have pore minimising capabilities, but I find it doesn't look good over my pores and I have better foundations for that in my collection. The main feature of the packaging is the big doe foot applicator, which I quite like (even though I know it's unhygienic) and another thing I like is the scent, which though it's heavy, smells like creamy almonds and it reminds me of L'Occitane's Almond body cream. I have three shades:

0 Fair Rose - a medium shade that is nowhere near being fair and it has an orange tinge to it. It's about a shade darker than Catrice HD Liquid Foundation 010.

01 Fair - a bit lighter than 0, but more importantly more neutral. It looks like a far better shade in general because the undertone isn't strong.

03 Sand - two shades darker than the other two and with a warm undertone.

DM, 14.99 €

 *MAX FACTOR Radiant Lift Foundation

75 Golden Honey and 79 Honey Beige

I got two of the darkest shades available here and no amount of TBS drops can properly lighten either of the shades, so I'm not sure if I'll review these because I can't wear them without looking utterly stupid. This formula is marketed as foundation for mature skin, meaning it promise a radiant finish. I must say that if this came in a shade for me (the lightest here is much too dark as well, I checked), I'd probably like it a lot because it creates a radiant finish without leaving having that sticky, never full dry to the touch finish. Coverage is medium or possibly medium-full, but I can't really say because the shades are too dark and I can't really tell for certain. This sets on the skin quickly, so it feels dry to the touch, but it has that healthy reflect/glow to it. If you check the bottle towards the light, there is gold shimmer visible in the formula, but it's not visible on the skin. Such a shame this is only sold in such dark shades here, I'd love to try it properly. 18 shades in total are available, we only have 5 or 6 I think, starting with 40 Light Ivory (3 precede this shade).

 Drugstores, 15 €

 ECOTOOLS Precision Blush Brush 

I've had the old Ecotools blush brush for years and it has served me well (still will because it's in great condition), so I trust this brand when it comes to brushes and I got another one. Unlike my previous one which is tapered, this one is more of a classic round design, while the sizes are the same. It's as usual for Ecotools very soft and this one pick up less product than my old one, the back of the box mentions it's meant for a medium application of blush. It applies and blends the blush as it should, so I'm happy with it and I'll probably get some more of these new ones at some point.

iHerb, €6.94

SKIN CARE

SKINFOOD Black Sugar Honey Mask Wash Off 

I loved this from the moment I opened it. I'm a fan of honey scents, but apart from L'Occitane who stupidly discontinued their entire line, there proper honey scents are so rare and most smell very bland. I've had this on my wishlist for ages, however, I read it smells like hot toddy, so a spicy version of honey and I delayed purchasing it. If only I'd know this is one of the best honey scents I've found, I'd buy it sooner. This is a version of the Black Sugar scrub which I also have and it's amazing as nothing makes my skin so soft and smooth as that, but it is a very harsh scrub and not for anyone with sensitive skin. This also contains sugar, but much less of it and honey almost works as a cushion, so this feels much less harsh. In fact, this is more of a nourishing mask than a proper scrub, though it'll still so some of the job. This leaves the skin moisturised and nourished, so it's great especially for dry skin, but it'll fit most skin types.

iHerb, €9.99

CEZANNE Skin Conditioner High Moist

I've had a very generous sample of this that my reader sent me and it lasted me a couple of months and in that time this has become one of my most treasured skin care products. It's hardly an exciting product that would make great changes quickly, but it's a fantastic hydrating product that contains ceramides, Job's Tears extract, 3 types of hyaluronic acid, collagen and amino acids. It comes in a massive 500 ml bottle, sadly unlike Kikumasamune it doesn't have a pump, but just a regular flip cap, but at least it's easy to control and you're not pouring too much of the stuff. My skin likes this a lot more than Kikumasamune (my skin is much clearer with it) and it's not scented, so it's also better for those with sensitive skin. 

eBay (japan-beauty-of-quality), $17.46

MY BEAUTY DIARY Sheet Masks

Natto (tightening) and Black Pearl (brightening)

I got a full pack of Black Pearl version which I've talked loads about before and I consider them some of my favourites. The formula of these evens out the skin and just makes the it look its very best. I also got one Natto version which promises a tightening effect and is one of their most sold versions of these classic sheet masks. I've already used natto and I liked it. It wasn't as impressive as Black Pearl, but it had a nice milky essence that absorbed fast and it left my skin feeling nourished and looking better, less bland. I didn't notice a massive tightening effect, but all the extra moisture filled my lines for a couple of hours.

Ingredients for Natto.

eBay (stitchy11), Natto $1.80, Black Pearl (8 masks) $15.97

MY BEAUTY DIARY Floral series Moisturising Sheet Masks

White Lilly (brightening)

Apart from Black Pearl I hear this is another of MBD great brightening formulas. I have yet to try it, but when I do I'll report back.

Ingredients.

eBay (stitchy11), $2.03

THE FACE SHOP The Solution Mask Sheet

Madecassoside (soothing)

A repurchase of one of my favourites. I already reviewed this here. It's great for healing, toning down inflammation and it's nourishing. I loved how my skin felt and looked after using this one, so I got more. I've tried all versions of The Solution masks and my favourites are this one, Pearl and Ceramide (Vitamin C is also nice, but soo sticky).

eBay (cosmeticmarket2012), 6 pcs for $10.50

ETUDE HOUSE 0.2 Therapy Air Sheet Mask

Madecassoside (soothing), Ceramide (moisturising) and Pearl (brightening)

I'm a fan of the thin sheets of these, while formulas differ. My favourite so far is Snail, but I wasn't happy with Hyaluronic Acid and Collagen. Madecassoside is a new addition to the line and I got it because I love the TFS version. Ceramides tend to work great for me too and Adjusting Beauty likes it too, so I got that version. Pearl is a brightening version and I tend to love all such formulas. I'll report back when I try them.

Ingredients for Ceramide, Madecassoside and Pearl.

eBay (coolpick), 0.99$

BODY

*THE BODY SHOP Body Butter
Fall for Pumpkin/Vanilla Pumpkin 
I've already included these in my Autumn Picks post, where I praised both the scent and the texture. This scent was first released last year and it was highly praised, so I'm glad I had a chance to try it myself. It's not much what I expected because there's no pumpkin and also no spices like cinnamon, instead it's similar to their old almond scent which is mixed with a heavy dose of cookie vanilla, hazelnuts and maple syrup. It ends up like a cross between baby cosmetics and gourmand vanilla, which in time becomes a yummy scent that reminds me of Monte white. It's a warm and cosy scent that is great for colder months. Texture of this version is like Satsuma's, meaning creamy, easy to spread and also very nourishing. What can I say - TBS really knows how to make great scents, I like almost all of them.

The Body Shop, 17.50 €

*THE BODY SHOP Shower Gel 
Fall for Pumpkin/Vanilla Pumpkin

This has the same delectable scent as the body butter and I love the texture of it too. It's so rich and creamy, just a joy to use. Despite being a thick formula it foams well and washes off completely.

The Body Shop, 6.50 €

BATH & BODY WORKS Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin Nourishing Hand Soap

I have one of BBW autumnal hand sanitizers so I know they know to make the best cinnamon scent and I expected the same from this version, but I missed in this blind purchase, though I can't say it's a bad scent. It's not a gourmand that I wanted, instead it's one of more "fruity" smelling scents with a strong emphasis on pumpkin and not much cinnamon. It's a bit like apple scented soaps we have here, but not quite (we don't have pumpkin stuff) and it has a touch of spice, just not cinnamon . Texture is a classic creamy soap and it foams well, but it's not nourishing and I need a moisturiser after as with most regular liquid soaps. 

eBay (laptorium), $11.67

DOVE Shower Gel Sensitive Skin Micellar Water 

Micellar water technology is spreading to shower gels and shampoos. I've been a fan of Dove shower gels which are not really gels, but rich creams for years and this is  one of their more gel-like formulas, but it's still quite a rich formula. Scent is creamy clean and bit fresher than their original scent. I thought I wouldn't like it at first, but under a shower it's quite nice. 

DM, 2.49 €

 BALEA Body Scrub

Coffee & Almond and Coffee & Coco

Did I just spend 2 € for small bags of salt mixed with coffee? Yes, I did. This is my first try at the coffee scrubs and I expected, well, more coffee particles, but here the primary scrubby bits is the salt. So as far as innovation goes, these are nothing much but scented packs of salt. There is some coffee mixed in it, which also turns the water brown and it gives it a strong coffee scent. The latter I unfortunately am not a fan of, but I thought I might just deal with it since these are something new. The coconut one has a very authentic scent of coffee with coconut, and that latter note is really so nice. The almond one, on the other hand, smells like a lemon-scented cleaner and coffee, so pretty much like an office early in the morning. I'd really suggest if you plan on trying these, even though it takes seconds to make them at home, you grab the coconut one because the scent is so much better.

Ingredients for coconut and almond.

DM 0.99 € each

BATH & BODY WORKS Fragrance Mist Champagne Apple Honey

I have a bath version from last year and I feel in love with the scent. It's by far the best apple scent I've smelled. It smells like proper apples and it's a great mix of tart and sweet notes, though I can't say I detect proper honey, but there's definitely some nice sweetness in it. I want the whole collection and it's definitely a scent that can be worn all year.

eBay (laptorium), $7.78

BATH & BODY WORKS Fragrance Mist Crisp Orchard Leaves 

This is a similar scent than Champagne apple Honey and another one I love. It's less sweet and fresher pear and apple scent with some musk, and it really reminds me of an orchard in autumn. It lasts surprisingly well for something fruity, though it's not exceptionally long-lasting.

eBay (laptorium), $7.78

BATH & BODY WORKS Fragrance Mist Marshmallow Pumpkin Latte

This is one of the most praised autumnal scents from BBW and though it says latter, I read in most reviews it's not a coffee smell. Well, my sensitive nose that hates coffee definitely notices the bitter coffee note from the start, but luckily this doesn't last long and what's left is a marshmallow scent that reminds me of how Pink Sugar smells after a while, but a much more toned down version of it. Actually this is the same scent as I'm sorry I'm latte hand sanitizer, but this fragrance has a noticeable coffee note. 

eBay (laptorium), $7.78

  

 GARNIER Olia in 7.0 Mittelblond/Dark Blonde 

I wanted just a little bit of a change of hair colour, a shade or two lighter, really nothing much, though my wish since forever is honey blond and lately a nice balayage. I've always believed the ancient old wisdom every hairdresser preaches that box dye can't lift colour, it just deposits colour and on me you can't do anything without bleaching. I'm not terribly keen on doing a double-bleaching and toning on my hair just so I can put a light-medium brown shade on it, so I stayed off colouring for almost a decade after a series of bad bleaching & colouring job (hairdresser didn't use a toner on me back then, so you can imagine intense brassy result I had to live with until I put dark brown over it. It was so orange. Here's the only picture that exist of that time). But then I saw how wonderfully Garnier Olia lifted the colour from my mom's hair, who went from dyeing her hair dark chocolate brown to a light warm golden brunette, so I wanted to try it myself, convinced by the great results I've seen. I got myself a different shade called dark blond because I read on reviews it made someone's dyed blond hair slightly green, which means this has green tones in and those are necessary to prevent that reddish hue dark hair gets when it's lightened (mom's shade is 8.3 Golden Bronze which looks very warm and I don't think warm would work on me). Olia's are capable of lifting the colour by two shades and the back of the box promises to work on dark brown hair (at least the German version, it says dunkelbrown, while the extra box I got in Leclerc says only brown). My hair was virgin, I used two boxes, so my hair was completely saturated with colour and when I washed it off, there was no visible difference, apart from on my temples where my hair is much thinner than my natural coarse texture. I got the two shades lighter result as promised - it actually looks like a pretty colour there. My mom's hair had layers of dark brown dye on it and another thing I always heard is that box dye never lightens dyed hair, regardless this worked on her, but my hair refused to be lightened by this. I hoped at least that the lightening still happened, but the colour deposit ended up too dark because that tends to happen with box dyes, so I washed my hair with a dandruff shampoo a couple of times and it washes it off a bit, but only the golden tone was revealed, while my hair is now only a half a shade lighter and just at the top. Also this is a very drying hair colour despite the oil. My hair felt hard and very dry, and the conditioner did not fix it at all, so I added another of my conditioners again, but still didn't achieve any softness. It kept absorbing Creatures the Monoi oil like a sponge every couple of hours and only Morroccanoil Intense Hydrating mask really fixed it. Even though it didn't lighten my hair, I also hoped that it'll at least make my colour more vibrant and glossy, but I also didn't get that shiny new hair effect, so I'm just not a fan of this formula. By the way this is an ammonia free colour.

before and after

I got two boxes from different places. The ones in Müller have the large 50 ml conditioner in a tube and a plastic bottle with a nozzle for applying the colour (useless, get the cheap dyeing kit with the pot and brushes instead. I got mine in Tedi for 2 € with three brushes), while the ones in DM and Leclerc have a small conditioner and no bottle.

Műller, 6.99 €

*THE BRAZILLIAN Frizz Control Spray

This smells so good - it's got this a great sweet, tropical scent and I just love it. It's a spray that is used on freshly washed, still damp hair before drying and it promises to tame the hair. I have very unruly hair when I blow dry it, so I already use a lot of stuff to make it sleeker, including using a big round brush, but I still get some flyaways. This has a bit of hold to it, so it makes the hair a bit stiff, like using a mousse or a styling lotion. It managed to make my hair a bit smoother, but it worked better in combination with the spray mentioned bellow.

Click2Chic.si, 8.95 €

*CREATURES DE MONOI Shine Spray

This was love at first spray. It's very similar to Orofluido Sahara that I loved and it was discontinued a while ago and I was looking for a replacement ever since. It's a shine spray without alcohol, which is very rare and instead it's more like a light silicone-oil in a spray. This makes it not only a regular shine spray, but it also tames my hair and nourishes it a bit so I'm really liking this a lot. It's got the typical Creatures de Monoi scent of Monoi oil, which is tiare flower soaked in coconut oil. 

Click2Chic.si, 8.99 €

BATH & BODY WORKS Room Spray

Leaves and Mahogany Teakwood

These are in one way a disappointing purchase and in a another a brilliant one. First why I love it - I heard these are some of the most potent rooms spray, especially Mahogany Teakwood, which I heard you only need a spray or two and it fill the room with a lasting fragrance. I can confirm they are indeed super strong and very long lasting. You spray these and they can last for hours. Especially if you keep the doors closed, mahogany teakwood will lasts several hour. So in this respect I find these excellent, they are so much better than regular sprays which last 15 minutes tops. Now for the reason I find them disappointing - the scents. I got two of the most popular ones. Mahogany Teakwood is the most recommended one, while Leaves is the famous autumn favourite. Leaves is incredibly basic. It's exactly the same as any Airwick, Glade or even DM or the cheapest candles with that basic apple cinnamon Christmas scent. I am not a fan of those, I find them so boring because in winter they are everywhere in every shop that sells Christmas stuff, so the famous Leaves is nothing special. Mahogany Teakwood is a scent everyone describes it as a nice smelling man, which is a good way of saying it. Except everyone that smelled this in the house said it smells terrible. It smells like some men's shaving foam that I smelled before, I don't know the brand. The name describes it well a woody fragrance, but it's not as smooth as I hoped. It's sharper and just in general smells like a strongly scented men's cosmetics.

The cans are very small, only 42.5 g per can, so I overpaid them a lot (they cost 7.5$ in BBW), but they've come in so handy and I really find myself use them a lot. I only wish I'd pick different scents, maybe Fresh Linen and Pumpkin Pecan Waffle.

Notes of Leaves: Crisp Red Apple, Golden Nectar, Warm Clove Spice

Notes of Mahogany Teakwood: Mahogany, Black Teakwood, Lavender

eBay (cegan1234), $14.38; Notino 13.50 €

BATH & BODY WORKS Three Wick Candle

Palo Santo

I had my eye on this one for a while, both because it's so pretty and would make a great decor item on my vanity, but I also likes the sound of the notes, since I've developed a liking for woodsy notes. Despite very deceptive cutesy look, unlit this smells like fresh pine woods with notes on incense, but there is a little bit of soothing amber that tones down the freshness. Palo Santo is a tree that's used for making burning sticks and incense. Though I'm not a massive fan of the scent when it's unlit, I like how the scent develops where the candle is burning. The incense note is barely noticeable and all that's left is a smooth woody-amber fragrance. The candle costs an arm and a leg, but knowing me, this will last me a while and I get a super pretty pot once it's gone.

Notes: Palo Santo Wood, Warm Amber, Soft Musk

Notino, 27.90 €

Have a great day!