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!