I've been a fan of Max Factor's lip glosses since trying Silky Gloss as a kid. I remember it being so much better than other formulas, so pleasantly balmy. Since then they had other formulas, among them Honey Lacquer and Colour Elixir Cushion, which I liked too and these Lip Glazes are similar.

It's another super comfortable, balmy formula that feels great on the lips. The only difference that I can see is that they are either thicker or the big applicator allows for a thicker application, in any case you end up with more product on the lips. They last well for lip glosses, though not like Catrice's Lip Oils (those set the bar quite high). I got 9 shades that are sold here.

000 Melting Ice is a clear gloss with silver and some multicolour shimmer. I wish they added more of this shimmer, which would make it stand out more and now it just like a classic clear formula.

005 Honey Crème is a clear gloss with golden shimmer. It reminds me of a shade of Clarins' Lip Oils.

010 Cotton Candy is an essentially clear gloss, though it looks light pink-peach in the tube. It has a cream finish.

050 Guava Flair is a light peachy-pink with more peach tones - the colour in the tube is deceptive at this one when my skin tone is concerned. This one is close to fully opaque. Cream finish.

075 Pink Fizz is a coral with gold shimmer. Sort of opaque.

085 Floral Crème is an opaque medium pink-mauve. My favourite.

105 Berry Sorbet is the deepest shade, a pink-purple/berry shade. For full opacity it needs to be applied in a thick coat, but it's hard to make it even. Cream finish.

150 Caramel Swirl is a medium brown with a cream finish. This one likely looks less warm-peachy on deeper and warmer skin tones.

170 Nectar Punch is a brown orange with gold shimmer.

These have a lovely vanilla scent that's typical of Max Factor glosses.

The doe foot applicator is big and the indentation holds a lot of product. I open these carefully because gloss can drop from the applicator.

Price is 9,69 €.

*PR products.

Such a great formula. The shade is one my best matches and this foundation always looks good on the skin. It's got a light-medium coverage, a light, hydrating formula and it blends seamlessly into the skin. Finish can be very glowy on me in the summer, but as the weather gets colder, it looks more satin.

I already put these in my last favourites, but since then I discovered how well they work as liquid blushes. They are thinner, more fast drying than classic liquid blushes, but regardless they blend ok and look even on the cheeks with diffused edges. What wowed me is how well they last on the cheeks, since cream blushes tend to disappear quicker than classic powder ones, but since this is a long lasting matte lipstick, it's really not that surprising it has a great staying power on the skin. I've also started blending shades, so I have plenty of shade options. My favourite combination is 002 Poster Child with 005 Strut, which creates a similar shade to Suede Ink 001 Gut Instinct.

I've been in the mood for only red nails for the whole month and this is my favourite red. It's an elegant cool-neutral red with an easy-to-work-with formula, plus it has the added benefit of smelling like perfume for the first 1-2 days - this one has a rich floral-patchouli scent similar to Armani Si Passione.

I didn't expect this to be any better than the already great Repair and Superfood versions, but especially the conditioner works great for my very dry, difficult hair. The shampoo foams well on the first wash already and it doesn't leave the hair with that squeaky clean, overly-stripped feeling that I need to avoid. Pantene conditioners and masks are my favourite drugstore formulas and this conditioner is another winner, though I'm miffed this tube has only 150 ml. It has yellow beads in the formula and instructions say to rub the formula in the palms of the hands to make them burst before application. Together with the shampoo these two make my hair feel so nice, essentially high-end level care. My hair is properly nourished, it feels silky and the ends feel better. Both smell exactly like the (discontinued?) Herbal Essences Hello Hydration line, a sweet tropical scent mixed with a type of creamy coconut scent - it's not the best description, but it's a great fragrance.

HAUTSACHE (von fraubeauty & DM) Reinigunöl - I spotted a new line of DM products online. I haven't had much luck with similar cheap cleansing oils so far, as most break me out, but I'll likely give this one a try. It has 7% of squalane

Vitamin C Serum - this has 15% of ascorbic acid and mixed reviews. I expect this develops a strong, metallic scent that I find hard to bear at acorbic acid products, but it's so nice to see something affordable in the drugstore. I might give it a go, we'll see.

Nachtcreme - a moisturiser with 3% Matrixyl 3000 and 1% Panthenol. It also has shea butter, resveratrol, hyaluronic acid and zink. Reviews are mostly very positive.

BALEA Beauty Expert Peptide Serum - I think a cream exists already or at least it was very similar. This has 0,1% Copperpeptides, 5% glycerine and hyaluronic acid.

SKINCYCLOPEDIA 20% Vitamin C Face Serum - this has 20% sodium ascorbyl phosphate and that's about it. It's a stable vitamin C, which isn't as effective as ascorbic acid, but I prefer the stable versions of vitamin C, as acorbic acid scent is not pleasant to me.

10% Matrixyl 3000 Face Serum - the name says all, it's a simple peptide serum.

1% Retinol / Squalane Face Serum - this brand has quite simple formulas, this based on ingredients looks like an oily product with retinol. The amount of retinol is high, so not for beginners.

MAX FACTOR Miracle Pure Skin Reset 2 in 1 Serum foundation - it took them a while, but MF released their version of a serum foundation. This boasts with a 2% niacinamide content. While I love their Facefinity foundation, I'm not that impressed by their Miracle Pure foundation (in a tube), so I'm not that drawn to try this. None of these Serum foundations worked well for me so far.

MAX FACTOR Miracle Pure Golden Glow Bronzer - after the blushes, they launched liquid bronzers as well. There are two shades. I'd be more interested in highlighters if they ever plan to launch one, though their blush has a lovely glow on its own.

TREND IT UP Smooth Glow Fluid Filter - another brand that copied the tinted highlighter primer, but they added the SPF 30. Given how empty their stand is, I almost doubt I'll ever see this in person, but I don't need it anyway.

TREND IT UP Dewy Cream Blush and Matte Blush Cream - two cream blushes, both exist in more shades. They already launched the bronzer and highlighter in the tube version, but I didn't like the bronzer/sculpting shade in person, as I felt pigmentation was poor.

I was looking for a new (cheap) liquid highlighter in local drugstores and this was the only thing I could found at the time, since I'm not a fan of the Catrice All Over Glow Tint (situation regarding liquid highlighters improved a lot since I got this. The new L'Oreal Glotion looks good). I found this in Müller and it didn't have a tester, but I still took a risk. I wish I hadn't. I general avoid liquid products from natural brands since their main ingredient is in most cases alcohol and they often have a scent I dislike. This sadly turned out to be the case here and the formula isn't as nice as from non-natural brands.

The first thing that hit me when I opened the bottle is a unlikeable scent of maybe rancid oil. It's so strong and I think smelled this scent at other natural brands, possibly Alverde. Formula is greasy and sometimes it sets, sometimes it doesn't. My skin is dry, so probably on oilier skin who knows how that works. However, the glow is ok. The shimmer is fine and glow sufficiently strong without being too much.

 

 

Formula is creamy when swiped on the skin and has enough slip that it blends nicely when applied in a one swipe amount. The thing is this is a very pigmented formula and one swipe on my skin ends in clown cheeks. I can only apply a small dot of product and due to that blending isn't as easy. I've tried to mix it with a concealer and it was still too much, so I don't find this formula easy to work with, but when done properly it has nice results. Despite the small amount, it blends into the skin with diffused edges.

This can hold on surprisingly well considering it's a liquid formula. I wore Primark blush and Rare Beauty one side by side, one of each cheek and at the end of the day I found the Primark side looked more intense. Both still looked good.

Packaging is hexagonal with the rose gold cap. The doe foot applicator is large and holds a lot of product.

This was 4,5 €

My second shade, as I already got and reviewed shade 010 Pink Feelings. This one is a more unique colour. It appeared to me inspired by the famous Black Honey shade by Clinique, but given that Nivea's Blackberry Shine lip balm is the alleged dupe, Catrice's shade is quite different. 

It’s a cool deep plum colour that blends out into a shade that's somewhere between a cool purple and a pink - someone on my IG said the shade reminds her of a bruise, which I agree due to the coolness, but blended out it looks better. I only need the tinniest amount because this is a deep shade that also has a lot of pigmentation. The result on my cheeks kind of makes me look like I either came from an extreme cold or am already suffering from hypothermia, as that cool undertone make you look like you're very cold. Nivea's Blackberry Shine lip balm that I use as a blush on occasions ends up warmer.

I already reviewed shade 60 Lovely Lilac before and then I got four more shades, most recently 50 Pink Pop, which is pictured separately. Formulas differ in this line, with 40 Strawberry Flush being noticeably drier and less pigmented than the rest, but overall these are great for the price. Essence's blushes are usually good quality, no matter how many times they change their names and packaging.

10 Caramel Latte has such a lovely glow on the skin. It's not my shade because it's too warm and ends up yellow/orange on my skin, but if you have a deeper warm skin tone, this should look great on you.

Shade 20 Deep Rose is much less pink one me that's I've seen it look on others - not surprising to be honest. It's a deep, muted peach. Compared to the discontinued Befitting, which was the most popular shade, it's less pink and I don't think it's as universally flattering as that one was.

40 Strawberry Flush is my favourite in the bunch or sharing it's spot with 50 Pink Pop. I could call it a typical peachy-pink with golden shimmer a.k.a. the Nars Orgasm dupe (in a loose sense. We all know how many alleged "dupes" exist), but this one has the perfect balance between pink and peachy (orange) tones that really make someone with my skin tone look so fresh. Great shade. Pigmentation is medium and needs to be build up, but it has the same lovely glow as shade 10.

50 Pink Pop is a baby doll pink with the most intense glow out of my selection. The fine shimmer it has is silver, unlike in shades 10 and 40, which have gold. It has a creamy, nicely pigmented formula that's better quality than shade 40.

A couple of years ago I had this in the shade 401 Mauve-ment and I reviewed the formula then. It's not as good as Catrice's matte lipsticks (and nowhere near Revlon's), but for the price good enough. Pigmentation is rich and I don't find it drying, but I don't find many formulas drying anyway. Staying power is average, as these are more of a creamy matte formulas than proper dry-to-the-touch matte.

Shade 404 Virtu-Rose is the darker of the two, a medium pink shade that leans to red. 

411 Rock 'n' Rose is cooler on my lips that I imagined when I saw it in the tube. It's a about the natural depth of my lips, so quite light, pink and leans to cool.

I expected too much from these, mainly because I love Catrice's Glossin' Glows and Essence's Cranberry Lip Oil, but I think I'm more bothered by the applicator than the formula. The annoyingly small applicator applies so little at a time on the lips, so this feels nothing like my favourite, rich lip gloss formulas. But even so, this doesn't feel like a lip oil, it's still a classic gloss. It's not that much different from the tubes. If you want a proper lip oil, try either Catrice's version, since as great as Essence's Cranberry oil was, the discontinued it already - which is honestly so typical of Essence, am I right?

The scent of Strawberry Star is like those soft strawberry candy, very sweet. Several versions exist.

I reviewed shade 301 Romantic most recently, which is a concealer nude shade and that one is quite dry. There are the classic Soft & Precise formulas, so creamy, yet not overly soft like Essence's first lipliners were. Staying power is not the best.

202 My Mind is very close to my natural lip colour and a nice shade for a kind of no makeup makeup look and so shaping the lips. Compared to my lip colour it's a touch deeper and is pink based.

203 My Advice is about the same depth as 202, except it leans to peach.

204 My Way is the deepest of the four, sort of a flesh colour.

303 Delicate is a peach shade with some fine shimmer or frost, unusual for a lipliner.

I got this based on some recommendation and because I think it was heavily inspired by the Glow Recipe Niacinamide Drops. I've had this for a while and I find it quite a bland product. It's no different than any other hydrating gel moisturiser. It leaves the same glow as a cream or SPF and just like with those the shine eventually disappears from my dry skin. There's no shimmer than I can see in this and as far as being a good base for foundation goes, I find it's the same as most moisturisers. As a plus I can say it has niacinamide high on the list and it has a stable version of vitamin C. The scent is a very chemical watermelon one. I think products like Neutrogena's Bright Boost Serum and Body Boom Superstar Hydrating and Illuminating Face and Eye Cream are more impressive, since they have tiny shimmer.

I don't do anything to my eyebrows and I only got this so I have something in my stash to use on others. I got this shade because Adjusting Beauty says it's good. Formula is hard, there is light-medium colour pay-off, so great for a gradual application. Shade is cool, though not as cool as my eyebrows, but there's no reddish tone.

This formula is much creamier than Catrice's and the colour pay-off is medium. It glides easily on the skin and the micro tip is meant for drawing tiny strokes, so eyebrow hair. Shade is warmer than Catrice's 020 Date With Ash-ton. Compared to Revlon's Colorstay Micro brow pencil, Essence is creamier and because of that you have less control over the intensity of application than at Revlon.