I got BeneFit's Girl Meets Pearl highlighter in a swap from one of the girls from ARS Cosmetica forum. She bought it in London, but you can get it online (ASOS, feelunique, hqhair, lookfantastic, eBay,...). I already wrote a post on my other highlighters (click here) and I said there that I prefer liquid/creme highlighters. I've been using GMP for a couple of weeks now and I love how easy it is to apply. Unlike High Beam that comes in a nail polish like container, GMP has a lot more practical packaging. It is a nice sleek tube, you twist the bottom and the product comes through the holes. Also the packaging is sooo pretty. I apply it with fingers or a brush, either way it's ok. The glow it gives is very similar to High Beam's, one of the best in my opinion. Compared to High Beam it's a much more golden shade (HB is pink), but the shimmer is the same (multicolour particles). GMP is scented, it's some sort of a fruity scent, but it's not offensive or too strong. If I had to choose between HB and GMP, I'd choose Girl Meets Pearl, simply because of the packaging.

I accumulated a lot of new stuff in the last two weeks. Mostly because I won't be in Ljubljana that much in the next weeks and also because I had a horrible week and I presume that the next couple of weeks will be even more stupid.

I ordered a package from Studioma. I bought the Orofluido shampoo, conditioner and shine spray (they currently have an offer, you receive the shine spray for free). I hadn't tried them yet, but review will follow sometime in the next weeks (I won't be at home as much unfortunately). The scent of all the products is the same as of the serum, that oriental blend of vanilla and amber.

I finally caved and bought Nuxe oil (and since I used up that wild rose oil that I talked about in one of the previous posts, I was in need of a replacement). The scent is gorgeous. If you ever had their tinted moisturizer, this smells the same. It a very sweet a bit almondy scent, I just love it. Review with all the pictures will follow.

And the last from the upper picture is Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soft Mat bronzer. After months of searching for a good bronzer, swatching and reading reviews I ended up buying this one. I love the colour because unlike most (or more like all) other bronzers I swatched, this one doesn't look orange on me at all. It almost has a slightly reddish tone to it. Again review and swatches will be posted as soon as I find some time.

Essence Sun Club Bondi Beach TE nail polish in BBC Pink Heat. When I saw Taya's swatch I feel in love with this colour. On me it's doesn't even look pink, but a very bright red. Fantastic colour for summer. The formula is amazing, I got full coverage with only one coat.

I bought a 250 ml bottle of Bioderma Sensibio make up remover which is my favourite one. In our pharmacies it costs 11 €.

And here are products I got in swaps (I swapped with two great girls from ARS Cosmetica forum. Thanks to both of you!). I got Benefit Girl Meets Pearl highlighter (swatches and comparison with High Beam will be posted shortly) and BarryM blusher (I think it's 2 Rose), nail polish in Limited Pink and lipstick 145.

Review and swatches will follow. Hopefully soon. Thanks for watching!

A couple of days ago I received a Liebster Blog Award from the lovely Serbian blogger hermetic from Hermetic's polish blog. She has great nail polish swatches (Recently she did a comparison of coral shades and I think I'm getting What do you think? from Essence. It looks gorgeous.), so check her blog out.

Edit: I later received the same award from Maja (Čudoviti Svet Kozmetike). She has a lovely blog, so  check it out.

.Sparkle* - A fellow Slovenian blogger, whose post range from outfits, make up, nail polishes to FOTD's. I'm in love with this Zara dress she bought (I love dresses. I have loads of them myself, but I rarely wear them).

Taya - Another fellow Slovenian blogger. She mostly posts nail polish swatches. She does such creative and cute manicures.

Makeup&More - I love, love, love this blog. A Serbian blogger with great make up and nail polish swatches, reviews,... One of my favourite blogs, check it out! 

I already said in my April favorites post that I've fallen in love with Chanel Rouge Coco Shine lipstick in Chance. I haven't bought it yet because first I want to use up some of my lipsticks/lip balms (I already used up 3 and I'm halfway through L'Oreal's lippie, yay!). I read some reviews about this shade and one blogger said that Aventure is similar just more warm. Well on my skin tone they aren't really that much alike, Chance is much lighter. So I'm staying with my choice. First pic is taken in cloudy weather, second in the sun. I tried a sample in the shop (sanitized it first of course) and omg the formula is amazing. I can't even describe it, it's just fabulous. The only thing that concerns me is that the pigmentation is a bit poor, but the shine is amazing. So I patiently wait for the day when I finish my lippies and get this one. Prices here in Slovenia range from 27-28€ (ouch it's expensive! But hopefully worth it)

Highlighters are one of my favourite make up product. A touch of highlighter on the top of the cheekbones, (also down the nose and on the cupid's bow) just gives that final touch to your make up. But you have to be careful when applying it, because you don't want to make it look to obvious. You don't want to have a very visible shimmery stripe on your cheekbones that just screams ''I'm wearing to much highlighter'' (unless that's what you're going for), you just want it to look like your skin is healthy and dewy. The key is to blend your highlighter with your foundation. I've learned this trick from Lisa Eldridge, who is one of my favourite make up guru's on Youtube (I'll post the video at the end of the post). What you want to do is to apply your (in this case liquid or cream) highlighter after you applied your foundation (rather than only after blush) and really blend it into your skin. Than apply blush and blend a bit of highlighter again on your cheekbones and blending it with your blush. It's a great trick and it makes your skin look amazing.

Highlighterji oz.osvetljevalci so eni izmed mojih najljubših izdelkov. Malo osvetljevalca na vrhu ličnic da tisti svetleč in zdrav videz, ter poveže celotni make up. Ampak z njim je treba biti previden, namreč nihče ne želi imeti očitne svetleče črte na obrazu, ki kar kriči ''imam preveč osvetljevalca'' (razen če si tak videz pač želite). Ključno je da zabrišete osvetljevalec v samo podlago, tako da ni vidnih prehodov. Ta trik sem se naučila od Lise Eldridge, ki je ena izmed mojih naljubših make up gurujev na Youtubu (ta posnetek bom dodala na konec te objave). Osvetljevalec (v tem primeru najboljše tekoči ali kremni) nanesite zatem ko ste nanesle podlago (torej pred nanosom blusha) in zabrišite vse prehode. Nato nanesite blush in spet zabrišite malenkost highligterja na ličnice in ga zabrišite še malo v sam blush.

 1. Essence Moonlight Collection LE Shimmer Powder - a very light highlighter, not particularity pigmented. Because it's so subtle I actually prefer to use it on my cheeks or on top of blush to give it that extra luminosity./ je bolj malo pigmentiran in zato, ker ni tako očiten, ga raje uporabljam za lička in čez blush da dodam tak zdrav sijaj. Podoben osvetljevalec, ki mi je zelo všeč pa ga nimam sama, je iz Blossom etc. LE.

2. E.l.f. Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder - It's to light to be a bronzer, but it's a great cheap highlighter with golden tones. It's very pigmented and soft, price-wise it's a bargain (1,7€), but the packaging is really cheap looking (then who cares considering the price). Again, it works very well alone on the cheeks or on top of blush. It's a great colour for summer, when you have a bit of colour./ Naj vas ime ne zavede ni bronzer, ker je presvetel, ampak je super in poceni osvetljevalec z zlatimi toni. Je precej pigmentiran in mehek, je izjemno poceni (1,7€), ter embalaža je izjemno slabo narejena (ampak za 1,7 € kaj boljšega ne moreš pričakovat). Je super za poletje ko imaš že nekaj barve. Kot Essencovega ga rada uporabljam na ličkih samih in čez blush.

3. High Beam by Benefit - Expensive (around 20€), but you get a massive amount. You only need a little amount so it will last you ages. The packaging is like an oversized Essence nail polish. It has a nail polish type applicator. This one is my current choice of highlighter (apart from Jemma Kidd's one). Because it's liquid, you can get the most natural result, but you can really go heavy on this one. / Je zelo drag (okrog 20€), ampak dobiš ogromno količino. Potrebuješ ga nanesti res majhno količino, zato dvomim da mi ga bo kdaj uspelo porabit (rok trajanja je le 6 mesecev, kar mi je čudno). Embalaža je kot malo večji lak za nohte od Essence, dejansko je čopič kot od laka. Trenutno največ uporabljam ta osvetljevalce, poleg Ice Gold od Jemme Kidd. Ker je tekoč se z njim dobi zelo naraven sijaj, ker se ga da lepo zabrisat, ampak ni ga težko nanesti tudi preveč.

4. Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow Radiance Creme in Ice Gold - one of my two favourite highlighters ever (the other one being Mac Vanilla pigment). It's so easy to use (I use fingers), simply because it's a cream. The packaging is great with a big mirror. I always have it in my make up bag, it's easy to touch it up whenever you need or want. It gives the most natural, dewy result / Eden izmed dveh mojih najljubših osvetljevalcev (drugi je Macov pigment Vanilla). Je zelo enostaven za uporabo, jaz ga nanašam kar s prsti, se lepo zblenda in zabriše, da res naraven sijoč videz, skratka super. Embalaža je primerna za potovanja, ima veliko ogledalo tako da lahko kadarkoli popraviš make up.

But don't feel limited by the description of the product. You can use an shimmery eyeshadow as highlighter. I found quite a few shimmery eyeshadows in my collection. So look through your stash, you might find something useful. / Ni vam pa seveda treba steči v drogerijo po osvetljevalec, uporabite lahko tudi navadno svetleče senčilo. Sama imam kar nekaj takih senčil v svoji zbirki, tako da preglejte kaj imate v svoji, morda najdete kar uporabnega.

 1. Vanilla pigment by Mac - A fantastic highlighter. It just looks so great on the skin, I know it doesn't look that great on the picture, but in real life it's just gorgeous/ Odličen osvetljevalec, enostavno izgleda čudovito na koži. Čeprav na moji sliki izgleda bolj bogo je v živo krasen)

2. Alverde Baked eyeshadow in Elegant Beige - Mine's all broken and messed up, sorry about that. A very shimmery highlighter, be careful not to apply to much, but it's a great highlighter/eyeshadow./ Moj je ves razbit, ker so tale senčila precej krhka. Precej bleščičašt osvetljevalec/senčilo, ki ga lahko najdete v vsakem DM-u. Samo bodite previdni pri nanosu, kaj kmalu ga lahko nanesete preveč.

3. Essence eyeshadow from More Than a Fairy Tale palette (Secrets of the Past LE) - A very subtle highlighter, great for those who don't want a lot of shimmer. It just gives a bit of luminosity./ Zelo primeren osvetljevalec za tiste ki ne marate bleščič. Če imate to paletko slučajno v kakšnem predalu, preizkusite to senčilo kot osvetljevalec, da tisti sijoč videz brez da bi bil preveč bleščeč.

4. 2nd eyeshadow from top row in Sleek's Storm Palette - A very shimmery one, use a light hand when applying it.

5. Urban Decay Virgin eyeshadow from the Naked Palette - another more demure shade, but it does contain some shimmer

6. Urban Decay Sin eyeshadow - very shimmery, I use it in the inner corners of my eyes. It's better suited for darker skintone if you intend to use it as a highlighter.

And here is a video from Lisa Eldridge on how to apply liquid and cream highlighter. I highly recommend watching her videos, I learned so much from them.

In tukaj je še posnetek od Lise Eldridge kako nanesti tekoči in kremen osvetljevalec. Vam priporočam da pogledate vsaj nekaj njenih posnetkov, jaz sem se naučila ogromno iz njih.

I decided to make a comparison of mascaras in different price ranges - from cheap drugstore (Essence), to a bit more expensive drugstore (L'Oreal), to ''omg it's expensive'' HE mascara (Helena Rubinstein).

And here are all of my mascaras: Essence Multi Action, L'Oreal Million Lashes Extra-Black and my recent addition Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Feline Black Waterproof mascara.

First of a pic of my lashes with no mascara:

Starting with the cheapest in the bunch - Essence Multi Action mascara. For only about 3€ you actually get a very decent volumizing mascara. Sure it needs a few coats, but it doesn't clump. That's because the formula is not thick (and it doesn't thicken over the months of use). It does give some decent volume, but it's the definition where it fails. As you can see from the picture it's definition properties are very poor. It also doesn't hold the curl well. The brush is classic, very slim with thick bristles, the handle is very long. A great mascara if you're on a budget.

Next up is L'Oreal Million Lashes, which is one of my favourite mascaras ever. This one is around 12€ and it comes in normal, extra-black and waterproof version. It has a big, plastic brush which needs some getting used to. When I first used it, I poked myself in the eye quite bad (then again I am ridiculously clumsy). Its strong point is definition and length rather than volume, but a couple of coats takes care of volume too. It doesn't clump even though the formula is thicker than the Essence one's, but it's the brush that prevents it from getting clumpy. As you can see on the picture, two coats give you volume, length and definition:

And finally HR Lash Queen Feline Black wp mascara. This one has a very heavy price tag, it costs an obscene 30 €. Out of the three it gives the most length, definition and volume, even though it might not seem that different from Million Lashes on the pictures, but in person there is a difference. HR gives me almost fake lashes look. With two coats they look insanely long and thick. The brush is classic and slim, very easy to use. No matter how many coats you put on your lashes it never clumps, lashes always look defined. I tested it's waterproof ability under a shower and it doesn't run but it does flake. Maybe it was the running water that caused it to flake, I don't know, but it wasn't that bad anyway. It holds the curl very well (obviously since it's a waterproof mascara) and it's a pain to remove (Bioderma Sensibio works very well actually). I guess a lot of women love the packaging, to me it looks a bit tacky - it's a gold metal tube with a leopard print. One brilliant trait of this mascara is that it looks exactly the same as when applied 12+ hours later. You really get your money's worth with this mascara, but if you aren't ready to spurge on HR try Million Lashes instead, it works just fine for half the price.

And here are my April favorites:

And here is I my ''I need to use them up'' box. Most products are practically empty like that CadeaVera moisturizer and Clinique Pore Minimizer for example. I need to finish that ancient bottle of Lancome Ideal (review can be found here), some lipsticks and tinted balms (because I fell in love in Chanel Coco Shine Chance so I want to use up some of my stash before I buy it) and some other products that have been laying around for a while.
 

There's one product that just frustrates me and that is Clinique's Pore Minimizer Instant Perfector. It has the potential of making your skin look fantastic, almost retouched. It erases pores, leaves your skin mat and flawless, but only if your skin is hydrated and has no dry patches. It clings to every dry spot and patch and emphasizes it, therefore making your skin look horrible. So I suppose it's better suited for oily skins, it works fine on my cheeks and nose, but not my forehead. Also once, when I applied it, it initially looked great, but in a matter of hours several dry patches appeared around my mouth. However it's a great mattifier, one of the best I ever tried.