Product Review: VS Luminous Mineral Blush Duo

Victoria Secret Luminous Mineral Blush Duo in Pleasure (not pictured)

I bought this blush a while ago, in this Recent Purchase post. I've used it a ton and now I'm ready to review it!

Pros:
- Gorgeous colors, four available
- Shimmer is built in and noticeable
- The duo colors naturally contour and highlight your cheeks
- Blends easy
- Lasts several hours

Cons:
- Easy to put on too much, you have to be very light handed and build to the color you want
- Will last through your work shift, but not into happy hour
- Very shimmery, when paired with shimmer eyeshadow it can be too much


The color is so pretty and I am happy with the purchase, but this hasn't made it to my holy grail of blushes. I love the colors available and had a hard time choosing, I also love the shimmer, one less step to do. I plan on buying the hot pink shade, At Last. It's a beautiful pink shade, but I passed initially because I already have MAC Pink Swoon.

Overall, I give this blush a B. I think I might have been happier with the At Last color, but I do love the shimmer and the overall glow the product gives you.

Have you tried Victoria Secret make-up? What do you use and how did you like it?

Quick (first impressions) review - Garnier BB Cream

I applied Garnier's BB Cream (Miracle Skin Perfector) today for the first time instead of foundation. It is not sold here in Finland yet, it will be in stores in the beginning of the year,if I remember correctly. I did not make notes so I might be mistaken. I do not know if it is sold in the USA or Canada. Garnier is owned by L'Oreal.

It applied really well. It evens out my skin tone, but I can still see my skin underneath, which I consider a plus.  I have the Light-color, which might be too dark still for me. 

I am typing this right now because my boyfried just said my face looks better than before. Normally I would've waited until I had tried it at least a handful of times to write an in depth review.

The freckles on the top of my cheeks are more visible than with normal foundation, my forehead and cheeks look darker than before, these are the words my boyfriend used. That is why I think this BB cream is still too dark even though it is the lightest shade available. However, my skin still appears better-looking than before. It looks natural. (Again, those are my  boyfriends words.)

So after one use this Miracle Skin Perfector looks like my skin but better. I could use an extra-light shade though. ;)

PS. I have Samsung Galaxy S II. Sometimes I take photos with it and post them on my blog under the label "mobile updates". When I post them, the photo is tilted 90 degrees to the left. They are not straight. I go to the photo editor in my phone to turn them. I turn them 90 degrees to the right. I upload them again on the blogger app. They are now 180 degrees turned from how I turned them while editing, not 90. Is there any way for me to take pictures with my phone and upload them so that they are straight?!

I just published this post, downloaded the pics, edited them, and uploaded them again. I don't want to do that that much! My phone saves them in .png, but I always upload my pics in .jpg. I forgot to change them to .jpg now. Sorry.

Garnier's BB Cream was given to me in a goodie bag at the blog meet this past weekend.

Product Review: Maybelline Define-A-Brow Pencil

Maybelline Define-A-Brown Pencil

I've shaded in my eyebrows since I started using make-up. My eyebrows are naturally very thin (I only need to pluck a few rogue strands, and one brow has an inch scar that doesn't grow any hair) so they need some help beefing up. A more defined brow also helps to frame your eyes, helping them to really stand out.

There's a lot of different products out there for eyebrows, and I've tried them all. I used shadow for a long time, and I liked it well enough, but now I prefer pencil. I find it easier to shape my brows and can look more natural.

I'm so happy I bought this pencil on a whim. It's perfect and I haven't had a need/want to look at other products.

Pros:

- The ultra thin pencil, helps make shading look natural and is easier to control the amount of product you use

- The texture is the perfect amount of firm and creamy. Which means it's easy to apply (you don't have to press hard) and easy to blend

- No sharpening needed, the pencil twists up and because it's so narrow, you don't need a sharp point and because of it's texture it's a great blending tip

- Lasts all day and is waterproof

- Six colors are available

- Super affordable and easy to find

Cons:

- None. I thought about this for a while, but really couldn't think of anything.The comb on the side is mostly useless I guess.

I use the Light Brown color and it's been a staple in my makeup bag for a long time and I don't see myself changing products...ever.  Eyebrows are one thing I think many women look over, but they really can make a big difference. 

I would definitely recommend this product to everyone, at least to try. 

Do you define your brows? What products do you use?

*FTC I was not paid for this review, the product was bought on my own. All opinions are my own and 100% truthful*

Product Review and Giveaway!

I was so excited to be contacted by Beauty of a Site for a product review and giveaway. They're an amazing online website where you can buy all of your beauty goodies for a great price and fast delivery. They carry a large range of brands, such as OPI, Essie, Tigi, Phyto, and more.

One product I was so excited to review is Macadamia Deep Repair Masque which I've heard about in a ton of blogs and magazines. It's for dry, damaged hair and since I curl and dye my hair, this product was perfect for me. One word that comes to mind about this product is WOW. Hello moisture!! This conditioner works almost instantly. My hair is so soft and feels just like it was recently cut, you know that fresh feeling when all the dead ends have been cut off? That's what this gem feels like! I was worried that the masque might be too heavy for my thin hair and might weigh it down, but it worked like a miracle without any flatness. Now, the price isn't too bad, but more than I usually spend on hair care, but it's worth every penny. I will definitely be re-purchasing this product.

Are you ready for the giveaway? Beauty of a Site is giving away one Zoya Holiday 2011 Jewels Trio. Zoya is an amazing polish, and lasts chip-free for up to 10 days! I've reviewed it before, check it out here, and have been swearing by it since. These colors are gorgeous and perfect for the holiday season.

The set contains three gorgeous colors, Noel, Izzy, and Holly.

There's several ways to enter, but please leave a separate comment for each entry!

Head over to Beauty of a Site and tell me what your favorite product is

Subscribe to BOAS blog

Follow BOAS on Twitter

Like BOAS on FB

Good luck everyone, the giveaway ends Wednesday November 23 at midnight. 

*FTC I was sent the products for this review and giveaway from Beauty of a Site for an honest review. I am not being compensated for my opinion. All opinions are my own and 100% truthful*

Favorite of the Week Link Up

I'm so happy to be linking up with my BBFF Erin for her first ever link-up! She's just the best and I couldn't wait to participate in sharing my favorite of the week. What better way to start it off but with a goody I got from one of her giveaways?

Black topped with Sephora by OPI Only Gold for Me

This gold sparkle is my new favorite, just like I knew it would be from my Sephora F/F purchases (using the gift card I won from Erin). I love how it looks over black and can't wait to rock it over the holidays. 

Sigma's Tapered Blending E35

A month or two ago I received my first Sigma Beauty brush order. I ordered the tapered blending E35, which I am talking about in this post. Then I ordered the F80 flat top kabuki, and E05, eyeliner brush. When you order from Sigma, you get a gift brush and I got E25 mini. I'm assuming that's the gift brush in orders under 30$. 

I love the black handle, and the text on that is not just plain silver. To me it looks like a hologram surface. The cup where I store my brushes is somewhat tall, so I really the height of the handle. I can always spot this brush or any brush this size. This is why I always forget about the mini E25 because it's lost with all the brushes and the edges of the cup.

The bristles are incredibly soft. I really like to add the crease color with this. Sometimes I add the highlight color with this. I tend to use a different kind of a brush for blending. On second thought, everytime I apply any eyeshadow, I tend to blend at the same time with whatever brush I am using for applying the shadow, so often I don't do a separate blending step in the end. You know what I'm saying?

But if I do do a separate blending step, I don't use a brush like E35. Usually. I prefer a brush with shorter bristles, and one that is more dense, because I feel like the brushes are too long to blend out harsh edges, they just slide of the edge without blending it, I think it takes too much time. This can be a great brush for blending, I just use a different kind of a brush. In other words, I use this for applying color in the crease and browbone, and blend those, but not for separate blending.

The white bristles have experienced a little discoloration. This worries me, because I don't want my brushes to look dirty, when they're clean. That's why I have only used neutrals colors with this brush, so no hot pink, because I don't think I could get that off the brush. And I don't want to test it. I probably should, but I don't want to. That's why I want to order the E40, which I imagine to be the same brush, only with black bristles.

This brush costs 11$ at Sigma's webpage, and they ship internationally. The shipping costs go by weight, which has caused some problems for me. The customs limit is 45€ shipping included, so the order should stay under that. The shipping costs for these 3 brushes were 9$ about. I just ordered some brushes, but I was hesitant cause the shipping for those was 11$. I know there are and will be shipping costs whenever you order something from wherever, unless they have a free shipping in orders over xx $.  i just don't know what exactly is my limit. So far I do like the brushes, but are they really worth paying for high shipping costs? I don't know.

Have you tried Sigma's products? What is your view on shipping costs?

PS. Yay for 200th published post!!! 

Today's EoTD and Estee Lauder mascara review

I had to wake up super early today. I had a mandatory math exercise class this morning, and I knew I was coming home right after that ended. It was really cold, and I was really tired, but I still did my makeup. I did a very simple look, I wasn't even going to use any shadows, but I ended up using two from my NYX Rock'n'roll-trio.

Review of the mascara I used is in the end of this post.

I just applied foundation, eyebrow pencil and Estee Lauder lengthening mascara. 

Then I decided to add some brown from the NYX Rock'n'roll trio to my crease. I used a tapered blending brush for that. Then I used a pencil brush and applied the gray color from the NYX trio to the lash line, and blended the line up the lid, I didn't want anything sharp.

Review:

Estee Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara.

I tend to dislike mascaras during the first few days after opening it. That did not happen with this mascara.

I felt like this lengthened my lashes after a few coats. My boyfriend noticed it too. 

I did not get clumpy lashes when I combed through them after each coat. Even if I did not do that I did not get clumps that easily.

I feel like this does not shed. My eyes don't water very easily, so I don't know how this would work if your eyes water. 

I really like the size and shape of the wand. When I apply mascara on my lower lashes I always hold the wand vertically and use the tip to apply mascara. It works great.

This is rather easy to remove with eyemakeup remover. If I remove my makeup in the shower, the water causes the mascara to fall off in small pieces. It doesn't turn into black liquid like some mascaras.

Overall I think this is a good basic mascara. 

I got mine in a set with an eyecream and a eyemakeup remover. That set cost something like 24 euros or so, I don't know how much this costs on its own. The sticker on the bottom says the color, and that covers the text which says how much product there is. I think it says 0.22 fl oz, but I am not sure.

Everyone, You Can Stop...

looking for a red lipstick that lasts! I've done the dirty work and I've found one for you!

Sephora Collection Cream Lip Stain in Always Red

Remember my Sephora F/F purchases? Well that Always Red Lipstain is a diamond in the rough. This stain is no joke! I put it on at 830am and wore it through to 2am while only touching it up twice! The second time I didn't really need to touch it up, but did just out of habit.

Plus, it's the most perfect shade of red. It's warm and bright and I think the color would work for a variety of skin tones and hair colors.

I wore it to work and out that night, and I'm not kidding you, in two days time 12 people complimented me on it. 12! Twelve! Half of which were complete strangers.All I could think to myself is that I hit the red lip jackpot.

You might remember the first time I wore red lips (see the post here) and wearing red lips is seriously high maintenance. It wears off, it's obvious if it smears, the color can bleed, you have to constantly check for color on your teeth. It's a nightmare.

Not with this puppy. Oh no. This stuff lasts. I ate, drank, and talked all day/night and my lips were nearly perfect. You do have to do the usual blotting and you need to be careful about applying the color, but luckily it takes a few moments to set so you do have time to clean up any mistakes.

I've told you the good stuff, here's it's downfalls:

For one, this is the only shade of red the product comes in so if this shade doesn't work for you, you're outta luck. 

It's a bit drying, so you do need to wear a chapstick with it midday. 

It's hard to take off once it's set. I had to seriously scrub my lips to get it all off, and that's after using a makeup remover.
While the color stays on your lips, it does come off onto whatever you touch like a regular lipstick. It just stays on your lips without wearing off.

Another feature of the stain is that it's matte. Which I thought could be weird, but I loved the look! Plus, you can always top it with gloss so it's no big deal.

Overall, I seriously love this product! I'm so glad I took a chance and went for it. I'm wearing red lips all the time now and without the fuss. To apply, I use a liner first around my lips and then apply the stain, blot and clean any mistakes. Wala!  I couldn't be happier with this product!

Do you wear red lips? What product do you use?

Product Review: Mary Kay Nourishine Lip Gloss

Mary Kay Nourishine Lip Gloss ($13)

Some of my sorority sisters are Mary Kay beauty consultants and one of my advisors is the bomb.com at Mary Kay. Seriously, she's incredible, has had several of their pink cars, and always has fun activities and great products to try.

One item I've bought from a sister is the Mary Kay Nourishine Lip Gloss in Cream and Sugar. It's incredible. I've had it for a while and reach for it more and more every day. The gloss is so incredibly creamy and moisturizing, I've never tried anything like it before! It's more moisturizing and creamier than chapstick. I'm telling you girls, it's the best lip product I've had yet to try. It's like heaven on my lips.

The Cream and Sugar shade is a beautiful gold shimmer with just a tint of color and a ton of shine. They last for a while and don't leave any gross residue on your lips or balls of gloss in the creases. The shade has a strong tint, but is sheer enough to layer over lip colors. Another thing I love about these glosses are the smell, it has a hint of vanilla and nearly no taste. I can't stand to wear glosses that a bad smell or taste, I just won't ever wear them. 


From the site, the glosses are "formulated with enriching vitamins A and E.... soothes and softens lips, helping restore a youthful appearance while antioxidants fight against wrinkle-causing free radicals. The formula is saturated with over 80 percent of moisturizers and conditioners to instantly hydrate lips. Plus, it’s fortified with antioxidants that help protect lips from everyday environmental stress. It feels as great as it shines and looks fabulous". Oh, so that's why my lips are so banging right now. Thanks MK!

I seriously can't say enough good things about this gloss. It's my favorite. After this shade, I definitely plan on repurchasing and I can't wait to try more of the colors they offer. I've got my eyes set on Melon Sorbet and Pink Diamonds for my next purchases. Plus, 11 exciting new shades are coming out soon, Icicle, Mango Tango, Au Natural, Pink Parfait, Pink Sateen, Pink Luster, Berry Tart, Café Au Lait, Rich Spice, Rock 'n Red, and Red Passion. So I can't wait to check those out, I love nude-pink colors and with winter around the corner I'm looking for some rich shades as well.

If you want to check it out for yourself, here's my friends Mary Kay site and her Facebook page for more info or orders. 

Have you tried Mary Kay products before? What's your favorite lip gloss?

FTC: This product was bought on my own using my own funds. This post is not sponsored by any person or company. All reviews are 100% my own thoughts and experiences of the products.

The Body Shop - Blueberry Body Butter -review

Blueberry body butter is my favorite body butter of all time. It smells so delicious! I use it in the winter only, cause then my skin is that dry that it needs the extra moisturizing. In fact, they only sell Blueberry body butter in the winter anyways... 

This body butter is directed for dry skin. And I can vouch for that. 

This is very thick, 9 hours after application I can still feel it on my skin. It doesn't absorb right away, it takes its time. Which is why I use this on those days when I can stay at home and wear my pj's. I would never put jeans on after applying this. Sometimes I apply this right before bed, put on my pj's, and go to sleep, shower in the morning and then it's okay to dress. 

I don't use this daily, it would be way too much. I use this once or twice a week. Also I only put this on the bottom half of my body. The scent is there, but it isn't overpowering. Still, I don't want to be completely covered in Blueberry-scented body butter. 

I bought this last winter. I only opened it now. I heard that this would only be sold for one season, which apparently isn't true, but that freaked me out so I bought a couple, and had this one left for this winter. I stored it in a cool place, but not a cold place. I only opened it recently too. 

This body butter is really thick, so if I would want to use body butters daily, I'd use something less thick for most of the days, and then this one for dry skin I'd use once a week or so. But still, this is one of my all time favorites! 

What is your favorite Body Shop Body Butter scent?

PS. Don't forget to enter my first giveaway in Serafia's Makeup Drawer! It ends Oct 31 2011 at 8.00 pm GMT +2.00.

Urtekram Brown Sugar Shampoo

When I started typing this post I was excited I had found something I had been trying to find for years! That is a Sodium Laureth Sulfate free shampoo. I thought I found it. I was so sure. Once I started reading the INCI more closely at home and writing the end of this post I noticed my mistake. I must have been in a hurry in the store because I totally didn't see it before. And I am quite sure I read the whole INCI list completely. But I didn't register everything... So first I was very excited. Then hugely disappointed. The beginning of this blog post is written when I thought I found SLS free shampoo... the tone starts to change in the middle. I had written all this, and did not feel like changing the entire blog post. So there you go. From happiness to sadness. In one blog post.

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Years ago I heard the shampoos containing SLS, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, aren't good for you. I started searching those from normal stores. I wasn't too scared of SLS to completely stop using shampoos that contained it, so I wasn't ready to order them online or find special stores that sell them. That being said, did I find shampoos that would not contain SLS? No, I did not. 

It all changed last Sunday. I found it! 250 ml and it cost 4,70€ in Citymarket.

They had two, one was Aloe Vera, I think, I might be mistaken. The one that I got was Brown Sugar. I had recently bought hair conditioner so I didn't get that. The price is more than what I'd normally pay and my boyfriend said that eventhough it does cost quite much, but because it's Fairtrade, he's all for it.

Urtekram Brown Sugar Shampoo is a Fairtrade product, it's Ecocert certified and they do not test on animals. Those are the things that the package says. The company is registered in Denmark.

It has a lot of text in different languages. In English it says: 

"GB Shampoo with cane sugar. Nourishes your hair and gives it extra volume. 

Water, aloe vera*, cane sugar*¤ (28%), coconut and corn sugar soap, vegetable glycerine, levulinic acid, anisic acid, citric acid, essential lavender*, and eucalyptus* oil. Nothing else. *=Organic farming, ¤=Fairtrade certified. Best used before the end of: See imprint."

Best before was 09 2013

More English text... "100% of the total ingredients are from natural origin. 15% of the total ingredients are from Organic Farming. Natural and Organic Cosmetics certified by ECOCERT Greenlife according to ECOCERT Standard available at http://cosmetics.ecocert.com"

I have only used this a few times now. The smell is very nice. It's not a strong smell, and it doesn't stay in your hair, which I like kind of. I don't really like to smell like anything.. :D

It washes my hair well. I'm not sure if it creates a huge amount of foam, because I haven't opened my eyes in the shower yet while I've been using this. :D My boyfriend says it foams, but not as much as "normal" shampoo. 

My hair definitely needs hair conditioner afterwards, but that is nothing new. Right after rinsing my hair feels clean and my scalp feels clean too.

Okay, now as I was typing this, I noticed the INCI says Sodium coco-sulfate. Baaah I got excited too soon... I must have read the list too quickly in the store... How stupid! I got excited for nothing.

By googling Sodium Coco-sulfate I found plenty of texts. The main thing they were saying is that they're the one and same product. Both are derived from coconut oil, but the way they are purified is different. They are also saying that SCS is better than sodium laureth sulfate. It is added to create foam, which people believe makes the shampoo work as a hair cleaning product. In fact, once there is foam, your hair is already clean and ready to be rinsed. The foam does nothing.

INCI: Aqua, aloe barbadensis gel*, saccharum officinarum powder*¤, cocamidopropyl betaine, coco-glucoside, sodium coco-sulfate, glycerin, sodium cocoyl glutamate, levulinic acid, p-anisic acid, citric acid, lavandula angustifolia oil*, eucalyptus globulus oil*, geraniol^, limonene^, linalool^. (*= from Organic Farming, ^=essential oil, ¤= fairtrade certified)

Want a liner that stays for 9 hours?!

Gosh is your friend. 

I have had gruelling 9 hour work days where I've been dealing with 600+ customers a day. And had black liner on my lower water line.

I've used Gosh's Velvet Touch waterproof (I don't think they make Velvet Touch as non-waterproof) in Black Ink. It is just plain black.

Oh goodness it is difficult to take good and sharp pictures with good lighting of your waterline!!!

I know it has come of a little, but mostly only from the corners, and the color has faded a little but that's to be expected, isn't it? Pencil liners do that nearly everytime, even if I use them on my top lash line...

Both pictures are clickable if you want to see them in a bigger size.

I love this for the lower water line. Stays put just the amount that I want it to! These don't cost a fortune either!

Have you tried Gosh's Velvet touch liners, or any other Gosh liners?

Maybelline One By One Mascara review

I had a bad first experience with this mascara. I didn't like it one bit. The brush was too big, application was messy etc.

Look at this. (You can click on the pictures to see them in full size.)

The length!!! And volume too!!! 

Yes, one coat is not enough. No way. You need layers and layers and layers. Did I mention layers?

In the picture above, you can see how it keeps the curl. I took these pictures after a day of work. I curled my eyelashes before applying this mascara and the curl stays. From the first pictures you can see that I haven't really managed to curl the outermost lashes, and that's because I never do. My eyelash curler doesn't work really well for those. I need to invest in a smaller curler for those lashes. 

There's no shedding either.

(The eyeliner is Gosh's Funky Violet, and then I covered the purple with black, cause I wasn't feeling purple.)

Have you tried One By One?

Lumene eye makeup remover

I never really used eye makeup removers before. I always used a makeup remover that I could use for both eye makeup and face makeup.

I bought Lumene's Gentle Eye Makeup Remover from the sensitive touch line.

Maybe you can see from the photo that I haven't used it much. In fact, I've used it twice.

I put this on a cotton pad, put that over my eye and keep it there for a while. It removes eye shadow, but not eyeliner or non-waterproof mascara. Do I just use that much mascara that this cannot remove it?  

I finally get most of the eye makeup off, and I decide to remove the rest with a face wash. Okay.That's fine. 

I've washed my face completely and I go onto applying a toner. It burns!!! I don't know what it is, but the area around my eyes where the cotton pad with the eye makeup remover was burned a whole lot when I put the toner. It really didn't feel good. 

I'm not happy. 

I feel quite awful bashing Lumene twice within a few days. Well, I don't think I really bashed the cleansing emulsion I reviewed earlier. I just discovered the product wasn't for me. 

I'm sure this works for some! If you use less mascara than I, and don't use toner after.

Lumene cleansing emulsion

When we left for Rhodes, I had forgotten to take a face wash and  makeup remover with me. I bought a face wash from the airport before our flight left. 

I got Lumene's Cleansing Emulsion for sensitive skin. It's ultra-calming and fragrance free. Fragrance free it is, but I have issues with ultra-calming. Well, not really, I don't think it was very calming but it wasn't irritating either, it's a neutral feeling.

This washes well. It rinses off well. My skin does feel good after washing it. I did need to moisturize right away, like I always need to do. Maybe my skin felt the need of a moisturizer more quickly than with what I used normally.

This product is not for me, however. I want one product instead of two, or three. What I mean is, I want a product that removes all my makeup and cleans my face. I don't want to use two/three products, one/two to remove my makeup and another one to clean my face. I want a product that does both. I do wash my face twice, but with one product that does it all. I don't like using an eye makeup remover and a "normal" makeup remover separately, and then a facial wash, one product needs to do it all.

I do think this is a good facial wash nonetheless. You just can't use this to remove eye makeup because it should be kept away from the eyes. And yes, I know, this isn't a makeup remover, it's a facial wash, so it isn't for makeup removal as such. It's not suitable for eye makeup removing, but it does remove facial makeup though.

The product is not for me, but I can recommend it for someone who does not have sensitive or very dry skin, or for someone with dry skin on the surface. I think that even if this is marketed towards people with sensitive skin, this would be better for someone with normal skin.

Nail polish haul and review. Fruity smelling polishes.

I bought a few nailpolishes a while ago...

I got Rimmel London's new fruity smelling nailpolishes. I only found two of the four polishes - Apricot Punch and Cranberry Zest.

The nailpolish smells like nailpolish when it's wet, but when it's dry it's a very fruity scent. It's quite strong actually. On the first day it gave me a little headache, but the next day it was better, smelled less strongly. 

The two colors I have smell different, but not by much. I put one color in one hand and the other in my other hand, except I switched the polishes around for my ring fingers.

I don't like Apricot Punch, the peach one. It doesn't look good for my skin tone. I'm too pale. Cranberry Zest is way better. and it smells nice, though they smell very similar.

Under the color polishes I put this, which is also a new addition to my nailpolish collection. Until now, I've just put a layer of topcoat under a color polish, but now I purchased an actual base coat polish. It's "double duty", it is a base coat and strengthens and protects nails supposedly.

I bought a top coat to go with it. Also by Rimmel London. It's an ultra shine top coat. So far, I haven't thought of it to be more shiny than any other top coat... I've used this a lot after I bought it, but not on top of the fruit smelling nail polishes at all.

On another trip I bought two Models Own polishes, but I can't find the better, the gorgeous blue one. I think I must have forgotten it at my boyfriend's place, cause I had it there with me. 

Anyways, this green, Jade Stone, is gorgeous, but looks horrible on me! :(

Have you tried these? What do you think of them?

Lumene - Excellength

This mascara was definitely the weirdest I have used. Not because of the consistency, but because of the wand. It is tiny. From the tip to the end it is 1.5 cm. It's a round brush and the diameter is (bristle-to-bristle) is about 0.5 cm. It is tiny! I don't think it is a bad thing though! 7 ml (0.24 fl.oz) of product.

On the bottle it says "Excellength Mascara - with Natural Lash-Extenders" and "Smudge-free formula, precise plastic brush. Ultimate length and separation."

This is a lenghtening mascara and I do think it does a little what it promises. I think my lashes are a little longer. I never measured, but really I do think they seem a little longer. This does not create volume. The mascara does not smell. Because the wand is this small, I don't get much of it on my eyelid. And if I do, it's easy to remove even with a lot of eyeshadow and eyeliner on already.

I do like the color of the Blueberry Volume Mascara package more. It's so nice and purple. The metallic gray is great too, but the metallic purple is nicer.

Then some swatches. I almost always put 10 layers or so. Not 1 or 2 anyways. And so that's what I did now too. I don't see many clumps at all. No spider lashes. To create more volume, I add another mascara  on top of this before this has dried. But that's not in the picture. All in all a very nice mascara.

I don't have issues with transferring, removing it or anything. The mascara stays put.

Avon - Planet Spa review Part 1and EotD

My friend is an Avon sales representative person and about 2 (or 3) months ago I ordered some stuff from Avon. I got a face mask, the Planet Spa Mediterranean Olive Oil hydrating face mask (and two eye liners).

I'm horrible with facial scrubs and masks. I never remember to use them regularly. I keep up with a routine of using a face scrub and a mask once a week for about 2 weeks and then I forget about it. Months go by and then I start again, put on a mask once and then there's a months time when nothing happens. I just haven't gotten used to using scrubs and masks. I've never felt like I'd need to use them often, but I've also never used them often to notice a significant difference to the times I haven't been using them.

So without a further ado, let's start with the review Part 1. Part 1 is my first thoughts about the product, packaging, smell, products consistency and whatever I can think of at this point when I haven't used the product many times for a long time.

I've used this mask about 3-4 times now at very random times.

The package is a nice tube. I got nothing bad to say about it. 75 ml of product.

Product smells nice. Very fresh. It isn't very thick in a sense that it would be difficult to spread on my face.

When I've spread the mask on my face it doesn't itch or anything. It doens't fully dry in the 20 minutes that I have the mask on my face before rinsing it off. It doesn't dry, but it isn't terribly wet either. 

I'm going to go through the first ingredients individually. I'll add some comments from the rest of the ingredients then if I see something worth mentioning. Ingredients are listed according to their concentration in the product, and the first 10 or so are the meaningful ones.

Ingredients: Aqua, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate, Triethanolamine, Zea Mays Starch, Carbomer, PEG-20 Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate, Disodium EDTA, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Methylparaben, Parfum, Benzophenone-4, Dimethicone, Panthenol, Olea Europaea Oil, Olea Europaea Leaf Extract, Phosphoric Acid, Alcohol Denat. Lecithin, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Beta-Carotene, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Tocopherol, CI 19140, CI 15510, CI 42090, <1006617-001>

Aqua - water

Glycerin - probably more commonly known as glycerol, present in natural lipids. It is hydroscopic, meaning it is absorbs water very well, and "glycerin works because of its ability to attract water from the environment and from the lower layers of skin (dermis) increasing the amount of water in the surface layers of skin." [1]

Glyceryl Stearate is an emulsifier, thickening agent

Triethanolamine is a pH balancer. Skin is doing well if it's pH is good and the products are have similar pH values.

Zea Mays Starch - could not find it from the Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary. (see link at the bottom of this post)

Carbomer - thickening agent

PEG-20 Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate - can be used for many things, emulsifier or surfactant

Disodium EDTA - referred to only EDTA. It's a stabilizer, prevents particles from binding with others and other elements and so preventing "unwanted product changes to the texture, the odor, and the consistency." [2]

Imidiazolidinyl Urea - preservative

Hydroxyethylcellulose - thickening agent, usually used as a binding agent or an emulsifier

Methylparaben - parabens are preservatives. More about parabens here. There is a lot of knowledge about parabens available in this world, however, there is also a lot of unanswered questions about them.



All information about ingredients is from Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary.  Where text is copied directly, there is a [x] with a link to that article.

Today's EotD. My boyfriend and I went to play squash this morning. I ha.d to do my makeup in the car on the way from there to university and this is how it turned out. I decided to play it safe with the colors. They're  from the Wet&Wild Vanity Vanite palette. I'm using Avon's eyeliner in something Teal. The makeup is in my boyfriends car at the moment, so I can't tell you the exact name of it, but I'll edit this later.

Cleansing Wipes by Simple

I never really understood cleaning wipes. Not with makeup, and not with babies either. I just don't get it. Not in daily use anyway...

I have tried two types of wipes before, they failed me. They weren't up to my expectations, which were, that they'd remove my makeup. They just spread it over my face. Now I tried the wipes by Simple. 

These say they remove waterproof mascara. I don't use waterproof mascara. They did not remove nonwaterproof mascara hardly at all.  Not easily anyway. You have to press and scrub your face with these if you want your makeup off. 

I can't remember what these cost. They were something along the lines of 4-6 euros. There's 25 of them. 

I would not use these if I had even a tiny bit of water available. I wont buy facial wipes anymore cause they just aren't enough. They don't remove makeup! Which is the reason why I'd use them.

I just don't understand facial wipes. Why are they used? Daily? When there is water available that you could use a makeup remover gel/milk/foam/whatever instead?

Orly Cosmix FX - Lunar Eclipse

This is a gorgeous color!

Such a nice blue!

 

It's not Rocket Science

How I got my Orly Cosmic FX Collection

Your thoughts?