L'Oreal recently released a new line that contains foundation, concealer and a highlighting base. I got the latter, which I've only seen in Interspar supermarkets (here in Slovenia of course, I'm not sure about other countries) and not in our drugstores (a bit odd if you ask me). Anna from Vivianna Does Makeup describes it as a close dupe for Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector (click for her review). It's certainly a fantastic product, I'd go as far as saying that it's one of my favourite purchases this year. Highlighters are one of my favourite products, but I much prefer liquid/cream forms that powder ones. They just give a much more natural glow.

I'll draw a comparison with a cheaper version of a similar product mybase by Essence. First the price: Essence costs around 3€ for 20ml and Magic Lumi costs 10€ for the same amount. Lumi Magique is much more liquidy and has a golden sheen to it, while Essence feels more thick and is more pink (swatches don't really paint the real picture, Essence is much pinker in real life). On the skin, Lumi Magique gives a touch more shine and that's why I prefer it, also it lasts longer. Both give that amazing ''lit from within'' glow that I absolutely adore. The packaging of Lumi Magique is a lot better, more sleek and sturdy. Also the pump is great because unlike with the Essence, you don't waste any product as it's really easy to get just a tiny drop of product. I use it on the top of my cheekbones, cheeks and sometimes I put a bit on the cupid's bow. You can also use both products as a base underneath the foundation or mix it with foundation.

^These are my three favourite products right now. I've already written the review for Skin79 BB cream, I think mine's on it's last legs. When it runs out I'll get either the gold version or maybe I'll try the Missha M Signature one (I just want to try out some more of these Asian BB creams). Lumi Magique goes on my cheeks together with either Peach Dream Touch blush by Maybelline or Coralista. 

The last thing is a great concealer I recently found in Zagreb (yes, I've been cheating on my trusted Essence concealer and I'm not even sorry). It's Instant Anti-Age The Eraser Eye by Maybelline in Light (the second lightest shade, Fair is lighter). It has some peachy undertones, which are great for brightening under the eye. It even covers spots (as long as it's not a massive red one). The sponge is actually useful and applies and blends the product well. Another highly recommended product. I haven't seen it in Slovenian drugstores yet. What's the deal with that Maybelline?

The combination of these three products and some blush (Maybelline's Peach is my favourite for the moment) just make my skin look great plus even got me some compliments, which is always great. 

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Rouge Volupte Perle is special subline of the famous Rouge Volupte lipsticks (review of two of the shades can be found here). These have a "pearly finish" which basically just means they are frosty. 107 Impetuous Beige is a pale pinky-peachy shade, similar to Mac's Hue, but with a frost finish. I find that this one dries out my lips, despite being very creamy and the formula is again very slippery without the added bonus of being moisturising.

 

I finally caved. After all the raves in the make up community about BB creams, I couldn't resist ordering one for me. I decided to get Skin79's Pink Label version, because it's rated high on MUA and because it was quite cheap on eBay. Also I wanted something with a high SPF and this one has an SPF 25. I ordered it from this seller (based in South Korea) and I paid a bit over 10€ plus it came with a lot of samples. It took forever to arrive (a little over three weeks), but I blame our postal service (I think they lost my package from feelunique, because it's been over two weeks since I ordered it. I'm just livid right now).

The packaging is just brilliant. The colour is a bit bright, but it looks so cool. I got the smaller version (15g), because it took me years to use up my previous foundation. The bigger version (40g) is actually not that much more expensive, but I just don't need that much product also this one is much more travel friendly. The pump works great, you can easily get the amount of product you need.  

A lot of reviewers pointed out how grey it looks on the skin for the first 10 minutes, however, I find it adapts to my skintone (NC15 or NC20 if I'm self tanning) in seconds. The coverage is a bit more that an average tinted moisturiser, it's similar to Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, but the latter still has a touch more coverage. It looks incredibly natural on the skin, nobody will notice you're wearing anything. It has quite a matte finish, I find it perhaps a bit too matte for my liking (I'm a fan of much more dewy finishes, the likes that Healthy Mix serum gives), so I use highlighter where needed. I have combination skin, with normal/dry cheeks and normal/a bit oily T-zone and I find this BB cream controls oil very well, I don't need to use any powder with this BB cream. It lasts quite long on the skin, certainly longer than HM Serum.

Here is a comparison of HM Serum and Pink Label BB cream. HM foundations run quite yellow and as you can see BB cream looks quite grey, however, as I said before, it adapts very fast at least on my skin (I have neutral undertones). Also it matches my skintone perfectly and you can't actually tell that I'm wearing anything on my skin. The consistency is quite thick, a lot thicker than any foundation I ever owned. 

I received four samples with purchase: BB Cleanser which is just brilliant and I'm seriously considering buying it, a sample of White Reviving skin radiance solution (I haven't tried it yet), another sample of Pink Label BB cream and a  sample of Gold Label BB cream which is supposed to be more suited for drier skin. After trying the sample I didn't notice much difference between the two, Gold Label has just a touch more dewy finish, so next time I'll probably go for the Gold Label version instead of the Pink one.

I've made quite a few repurchases in the past couple of weeks and I just thought I might made a little post about it. These are either my favourite products (of the moment) or I just haven't find anything better yet. 

I managed to get one of the last bottles of LE Balea's Traum Geschöft shower gel and a small version of deodorant. I've been repurchasing it since it was released last summer as I simply adore the scent. It's such a lovely peach smell. Why does it have to LE? 

I got yet another bottle of L'Occitane's Amande shower oil. I've been repurchasing it since 2007, I stopped counting how many bottles I've actually gone through. Seriously the most awesome scent and product ever, too bad it's so expensive. I wish they made a fragrance with this exact scent.

My fourth bottle of Bioderma Sensibio H2O in a row. A great and gentle make up remover that literally feels like water. It doesn't perform that well, when it comes to waterproof mascara though. For that I'm using Maybelline's remover for waterproof make up (another repurchase, but it's not in the picture).

I got another SauBär lavender spray, so I have one at home and one in Ljubljana. I'm still so in love with this scent. I'm not sure if this was LE or not, as I got the last bottle in my nearest DM (I sure hope it's not!).

I've raved a lot about Alverde's hair oil and I bought one more bottle for my mum. I still love it and I use it everyday (I have very dry hair though). It tames the frizz and makes my hair so shiny like from a Pantene commercial.

As I've already wrote in my previous post, I got another Stay All Day concealer by Essence, but this one in the darker shade (20 Soft Beige). It's still quite light, but it matches my skin perfectly now that I'm self tanning. 

Essence is probably the most affordable make-up brand available in Slovenia. They have a nice range of products in general and quite a few trend edition collections per year. Now, I obviously haven't tried all of their products, but here are my favourites so far. I only chose products that are available right now, so no TE (apart from nail polishes) or discontinued items. Coloured text are links to the original review and swatches.

1. Stay with Me lipglosses

I'm not a massive fan of lipglosses. I just don't like the look of them on me, especially the ones that are super shiny and glittery, but these are probably my favourite glosses. For a very affordable price you get a fantastic  gloss that is not too sticky, nicely pigmented (especially darker shades) and smells really lovely (kinda sweet-fruity). The shade range is fantastic, in my opinion, with two lovely nude shade and a really nice coral. I like to blot 03 Candy Bar and wear it more as a kind of a stain, I just find it suits me better than applying it straight from the tube. The wand is kinda odd, but it doesn't make the application any harder.

2. Stay All Day concealer

It's a really nice concealer for the price. I find the coverage sufficient enough for dark circles and even some minor spots. It is actually quite pigmented for a drugstore concealer. It has a doe foot applicator, which honestly I like a lot as it makes the application really easy. Also it blends really nicely. The only problem is that it comes in only two shades (10 Natural Beige and 20 Soft Beige) and both run very light. I own both, 10 is suited for very pale skins (Healty mix 51) and has yellow undertones, while 20 is just a tad darker (Healthy mix 52) and has pinker undertones. 20 suits me perfectly now that I'm self tanning.

3. my base illuminating make up base

This is a new product, I think it became a part of their standard range just about a month or two ago. It's basically a liquid highlighter that you can use by itself, or under/mixed with foundation. I like that the shine is actually quite subtle, there are no massive shimmer particles in it, so the glow it gives is really pretty. I tend to use it on my cheeks under blusher and then add my Jemma Kidd highlighter just on the tops of the cheekbones. The packaging is nice, with a pump, but it's a bit hard to squeeze just a small amount of product (it's quickly too much). You get 20 ml of product for 3-4€. There is also a peachier version available.

4. Stay All Day long lasting eyeshadow

These are my absolute favourite cream eyeshadows and I've raved loads about them (here is another review and comparison to Catrice cream eyeshadows). They apply and blend nicely, don't crease and last really long on the lids. 

5. Gel eyeliner

I bought this eyeliner just a couple of weeks ago and I'm already impressed. Before I used Mac's gel eyeliner and this one performs just as good. It lasted the entire day without smudging or fading, which is very impressive, especially since it costs about 1/5 of the price of Mac's and honestly I see no difference between the two.

Again probably my favourite nail polishes. They have a nice colour range, they apply nicely and last really long without chipping especially if I use a good top coat. Fantastic quality for the price. My favourite is You Belong to Me, which is a dupe for Essie's Mint Candy Apple. 

From TE's my favourites are BBC Pink Heat (a coral red shade, very pigmented, it needs only one coat) and from one of more recent TE's 04 Bright Alert! (a bright coral pink, needs 3 coats).

So these are my favourites so far. Hope this was useful. Thanks for reading!

I've been skipping foundation (my trusted Healthy Mix serum) this month and just applied some concealer and Mac's MFS where needed. My current concealer of choice is Stay All Day by Essence (an old review and swatches here). It's a really nice concealer, especially for the price. The coverage is nice, it even covers some smaller spots. I really like that it has a doe foot applicator, it just makes the application that much faster and simpler.

I then applied My Base illuminating make-up base which is a new product by Essence (I'll post swatches and a more detailed review in the next post). It gives a nice subtle glow to the cheeks without looking too shimmery.

I finished my skin with Mac's MSF natural, which I got after reading Summers rave here (She's such a great blogger and such a nice girl. She always manages to brighten my day with her sweet comments. I also ordered Skin79 BB cream almost 3 weeks ago because of her recommendation, but it still hasn't arrived. This shipping from Korea has been taking really long, I'm a getting bit worried :/). Initially, I didn't get along well with this powder. It was just so hard to work with, none of the brushes could pick up any product, I was just really disappointed. But now that I'm through the harder layer of product, it's finally working for me. I find that the best brush for applying it is the E.l.f. powder brush as it blends the product nicely into the skin.

I've already raved enough about Dermalogica's gentle cream exfoliant (review here). I've also been loving Mineral lipstick in the shade Runway Pink by E.l.f., which is one of my all-time favourite lip colours.

I exclusively wore only two nail polishes: Mint Candy Apple (a gorgeous pastel mint green colour) by Essie and my newest polish from a TE by Essence called 04 Bright Alert. Although, the latter looks really bright pink-coral in the bottle, the formula is actually quite sheer and needs at least three layers to get the full on brightness of colour. Thanks to Seche Vite, even three layers of nail polish are dry within minutes.  

Orofluido is again in my favourites. The scent is divine and it makes my hair look so polished and shiny. Plus this bottle is lasting me ages, because you really need only a little amount. I completely forgot to put my Alverde hair oil in the picture (review here). A truly fantastic product (mine is currently in Ljubljana, and I use Orofluido when I'm at home), I've been using it literally everyday when I'm in Ljubljana. Because it's quite light, it doesn't weigh down the hair. It just makes it look shiny and gives moisture to my dry ends. Plus it's silicone free, so an amazing product for the price.

I've been enjoying Katy Perry's Purr more and more. I wasn't much of a fan the first couple of weeks when I bought it. But now I love it, it just grew on me. A great spring scent and the bottle is so cute. Review can be found here. 

Thanks for reading!

I first heard about this product in a video by Lisa Eldridge almost a year ago and it's been on my wishlist ever since. But the price of a full size product is really steep and I could never justify the purchase. However, in the past month my skin has been acting up and I was desperate for some ''magical'' product that would fix it. I finally decided to buy it, but I only purchased a travel size (22 ml), which I ordered on eBay from an UK based seller. I think I paid around 8€ together with shipping, which is still a lot especially for the amount you get, but boy is it worth it. 

I've used it a couple of times so far and I'm impressed. No other product had such fast results as this one. It contains 5% salicylic acid and 8% lactic acid which are great if you are suffering from acne breakouts. I had some active breakout on my forehead and around the nose (this is very unusual for me, I rarely get a spot, let alone break out) and this fixed 90% of them in only one use. Literately the next morning, when I woke up, most of it was just gone. The skin looks so much clearer and the pores look smaller. It leaves the skin seriously smooth, especially with the combination of my current skin care choices (I'll talk about them later). My skin is dry combination, my skin tends to get really dry especially in the winter months and I get dry patches especially on my forehead and on the top of the cheekbones. In summer it's normal with a slightly oilier T-zone, but nothing major. 

The product itself is a thicker, white mask with a slight chemical scent, which is ok, nothing special really. I apply it after my cleanser (I usually use some baby shower gel, currently it's SauBär 3in1 apricot one) on dry skin and leave it on for 10-15 minutes. I didn't experience any tingling, despite the high percentages of AHAs. It rinses off without any problems. Usually if I only use cleanser, my skin gets really tight and dry within minutes, but not after this. I then continue with my usually skin routine - Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum and Nuxe Multipurpose Dry Oil (I've been using it everyday from May last year, truly a brilliant product, review here). A couple times a week also I use the Clarins Liquid Bronze Self Tanning lotion.  

I will purchase the full size product, despite the price. You can get it on lookfantastic.com, fragrancedirect.com or try eBay for cheaper prices. Also, I believe Dermalogica is available at some beauty salons, but the prices are much higher.

List of ingredients:

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Diatomaceous Earth, Butylene Glycol, Isodecyl Salicylate, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Ppg-2 Isoceteth-20 Acetate, Papain, Bromelain, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Titanium Dioxide, Salicylic Acid (5%), Algin, Lactic Acid (8%), Sulfur, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Extracts Of: Centaurea Cyanus (Cornflower), Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Fruit, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Flower, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower, Silica, Ceteareth-20, Polysorbate 80, Tetrasodium Edta, Phenoxyethanol, Propylparaben, Methylparaben

Thanks for reading!