March 2016 Favorites

Hey Beauties!

In March I've been testing a lot of new products and a lot of those ended up in my monthly favorites. It's been a very spring inspired month in terms of products and I hope it gets warmer soon. For some reason it's still not as warm as it should be and I'm getting impatient.


Innisfree Smart Foundation Perfect Cover - 13 Light Beige

This is in my favorites purely because of the shade. It's very light, actually the lightest foundation shade that I own and since I'm even paler now than I am in summer, this almost matches me perfectly. I always use too dark foundations and have to blend them down my neck, because non of them in the drugstores are light enough. This one is actually light enough, although I am not crazy about the coverage. I expected it to be full coverage, but it's very light medium. It's also a bit obvious on the skin. I'll talk more about it in a separate review.


theBalm Nude'tude Nude Eyeshadow Palette

I've been testing this and I already have my favorite shades. Review of this will be up soon, but until then I'll tell you that my absolute favorite shade is Seductive - very warm almost yellow toned light brown. I also really like Sultry - perfect warm matte brown for the crease and Sexy - matte purple burgundy shade. Eye shadows are really pigmented and they blend with ease. I'm not sure that they are as long lasting as Zoeva Cocoa Blend shades, but I'll have to test it a bit more to make up my mind completely. It's not my usual shade selection, because there is a lot of cooler shades, but the ones that I like are really pretty. 


Ebelin Precision Eye Brush

This is a very dense pointed brush with great precision. I use this around my lower lash line to darken it a bit. I like that I can apply it very closely to the lash line and no where else. It's also perfect for blending out pencils.

Essence Smokey Eye Brush

Another great brush for smoking out the eye shadow or pencils. It's a lot winder but almost shaped like a ball. It creates a soft haze around the lower lash line and I like that it pulls it a bit down. I've been really enjoying this.

Avon Supershock Gel Eyeliner - Black

I don't believe I've mentioned this before, but this is my favorite liner in a pencil form. It's super soft and it almost melts onto the skin, that's why it's called gel eyeliner. I love to use this when I want a softer line. I apply it straight from the pen and then just blend it with the brush. It's very easy to blend and once it sets it doesn't move. If you have very oily lids, you'll need to set it with an eye shadow. 

Essence Make Me Brow Eyebrow Gel Mascara - 01 blondy brows

My brows have been getting bald spots, which they always do in spring and fall for some reason. So I need all the help I can get. I started using this brow gel mascara to make them look fuller. I use this first, then apply brow pencil and then go back in with this to shape them and set them. It's a great base, because it makes pencil stick on better. I also like the super mini brush, although it does have too much product on, so I always wipe it off a bit.


Essence Eyeshadow 15 hazle me not!

While I was browsing through new Essence products I also got a look at their matte eye shadows in hope of finding another great contouring shade. I've been loving this 15 hazle me not! to contour my face with. It's a lot lighter than Essence I Heart Nude in 05 My Favorite Tauping. This is for someone very fair and I am pretty fair in this time of year. It means I don't have to think about it, I can just apply it and really can't overdue it. It's a great grey based shade, although it has a tiny bit of sheen to it. I've been loving this, since I went lighter with my foundation. It gives me the most natural unnoticeable contour. I'll have a separate review. 


H&M Pure Radiance Powder Blusher - Brown Sugar

I can't say how much I love this blush. It's the most neutral matte blush that I own. It's brownish peach and I've been pairing it with my usual neutral brownish makeup. I love this, because it's not flat out matte, but still has some sheen. 

theBalm Hot Mama Blush/Shadow

Since I've been experimenting with bold bright lipsticks this month, I've also been loving this blush. It's coral, has a pink base with a very gold sheen and looks so pretty bright paired with bright lipsticks. It's my go to for glowy cheeks and  colorful lips. I'll post a review of it soon. 


Avon True Colour Perfectly Matte Lipsticks (Marvelous Mocha and Ideal Lilac)

Whole matte range by Avon is just amazing. I've finally tested it a bit more since my lips have been in better shape this month. I've already mentioned my favorite shades in my review, but the two shades that have been outstanding this month are Marvelous Mocha, which is a lovely warm medium brown and Ideal Lilac, which is a crazy bright fuchsia shade. One is for my neutral looks and one for when I want something bold and colorful. 


Maybelline Color Show The Blushed Nudes - 447 Dusty Rose

Boy am I in love with this shade. Every time I paint my nails, I want to use this one. It's just such a pretty pastel lavender pink shade and perfect for the spring. It also lasts on me well. I have a review here



L'Occitane Folie Florale Petal-Soft Body Milk

I've already reviewed this. It's a lightly moisturizing body milk with a unique sweet fruity floral scent. I love the gentle spring scent of it and shea butter moisturizing layer that it creates on the skin. This is definitely a spring treat and I'm actually saving it for some warmer days so that I can smell it on me while wearing t-shirts. 


Avon Mesmerize Eau de Toilette

My absolute favorite scent of this month. It hasn't been as warm as I would have liked it, so I think I was gravitating more towards sweet fruity scents like this one. I adore the peach scent of it and later long lasting effect of sandalwood. It's the perfect sweet spring scent. I also love the bottle, because it's so easy to carry around. You'll find a review of it here


Review: Diamond Beauty Puff 03 Aurora Face Whitening Loose Powder

Hey Beauties!

Powders are one of those products that I can't do my makeup without and that I'm not really fussy about. I know glowy strobbed skin is in, but I have oily T-zone, so I always powder that area. Today's review is of a loose powder that should have whitening effect on your skin. It's by brand Diamond Beauty and it's called Puff 03 Aurora Face Whitening Loose Powder.


It comes in a white simple paper box. The product itself is in a transparent plastic pot with plastic black shiny lid. The lid has Diamond Beauty written on it and on the i it's a little rhinestone to represent the diamond. I find that super pretty. 



The packaging is huge, it contains 30 grams of powder and costs around 18€. You can buy it here


The packaging comes sealed with sticker. It has powder puff with which you can pat the product on your face. It also has small holes on the top lid through which you can shake the product out. Powder goes through the holes with ease.




Powder is very finely milled and has pale yellow toned shade. If you look up close, you'll see small shimmer particles in it. This is because I chose the shade 03 Aurora Face, which is supposed to be whitening powder.

Let me just firstly say, that I didn't know the product will contain shimmer. I went for this one, because I thought it must be the lightest shade, because it says whitening. You can also choose among two others which are 01 Princess Face (semi-matte) and 02 Dolly Face (matte)



It has a bit of wet consistency, which blends well into the skin. It definitely mattifies any shine and on me the shade turns into nothing. It's lighter than my skin tone, but because I put light layer on the face, it doesn't seem too light. I find the finish matte. The shimmery particles in powder should brighter and whiten your face. 

It has no smell




I can't say how efficient it is in actually brightening the face, but since it is so light, it does create a bit of a lighter base where I use it as opposed to where I don't. 

Now onto the shimmer, which is my biggest problem with this powder. You almost can't detect it in natural lighting unless you come very close to the skin. I also tried to apply it all over my face and took a photo with flash. You'll see all these comparisons on a photo down below. I don't see much difference. Obviously with flash my skin looks a bit more radiant and less flat, which could be because of the shimmery particles in the powder. 

Shimmer is a problem for me in the sun. It pops out and it's definitely seen under harsh sunlight, which means I wouldn't wear this on a sunny day or at least not all over the face. If you look at my skin on the sun, you still won't see it as shimmery, because again from a safe distance it doesn't really show up. 

You can click on the photo to see it in full size. From left to right: skin with foundation and concealer, but no powder; powder all over my face in natural lighting (shade); skin with powder under a flash and skin with powder in the harsh sunlight. 


The shimmer just seems to bother me too much to actually wear it all over my face. I like to use it under my eyes, because I have a feeling that it reflects a bit of light and it lifts the shadows

On the left side is my skin without the powder and on the right one is with the powder. 


Here you can also see how it looks like up close. Shimmer in natural light and on sunlight. 


The powder definitely leaves a powdery finish on the skin, especially if you apply it with the puff. I did that as it was just so enjoyable to pat that puff all over my face - you know like in old school movies. With puff you get a much stronger payoff and it looks powdery, while with fluffy brush you can apply it lightly and make it less obvious. It doesn't look cakey, because it is finely milled. It lasts well on my skin, I would say for about half a day. Later the oil will show through. Keep in mind that I have combination skin and I only get oily on my T-zone. 

This is a good powder. It's finely milled, it mattifies, looks a bit powdery, but doesn't get cakey. Shimmer particles do reflect a bit of light on the face therefore lifting the shades, but the effect is very slight. It's more because the shade of powder is light that makes it looks whitening on the skin. My only problem with it is the shimmer in it, which stops me from using it all over my face. This is obviously my fault, because I didn't research the product well enough before I selected it. I would say, if you're like me and you hate shimmery powders, go for the other two. You get a huge amount for the price and a very nicely milled powder. 

I already reviewed Diamond Beauty Eyeliner in 01 Forever Black, which is one of my favorite eyeliners now. I was really impressed with it. Both products are from online store Japan Skin, which has a lot of famous Japanese makeup brands at an affordable prices. Check them out, if you've always wanted to try some Asian makeup products. Also leave me some suggestions of other online shops that sell Asian makeup, I am in this stage of obsessing over Asian skin care and makeup. 

*Product was sent to me for review purposes. 

All Brown Matte Makeup

Hey Beauties!

If someone would say to me choose one makeup color to wear for the rest of your life, I would choose brown. It's the most versatile color in my opinion and it literally suits everyone, you just have to choose the right shade of brown. It's the best neutral shade for my eye shadow and since the 90's lip has been back, it's also really popular as a lipstick shade. 


For my eye makeup I used matte beige shade all over the lid to set eye primer. Then I applied light matte brown all over the lid and into the crease. I used medium matte brown in the outer third of the eye. Then I took dark matte brown and applied it just in the outer v corner and along the lash line to darken it a bit. For eyeliner I used gel eyeliner in a pen form and smoked it out to a wing. This will create a softer hazy line that really compliments this look. In the inner corner I used matte beige shade to brighten it up. 


Last step is to apply some black mascara for volume and definition. 




On my lips I used medium matte warm brown shade of lipstick that really warms up the whole makeup look and matches my skin tone. If you have cool skin tone go for something cooler more taupe like. 


On the rest of my face I used medium coverage foundation, concealer and powder. I contoured lightly with a very light taupe shade and applied satin champagne highlighter. Nothing too shiny, because the whole look is more on the matte side. For my blush I mixed brownish peach and a peach to create a bit of brighter color on the cheeks.

I love this kind of makeup look and wear it often. It's the most neutral, but still statement makeup in my opinion.






Products used

Face:
Innisfree Smart Foundation Perfect Cover 13
Catrice Liquid Camouflage High Coverage Concealer 005 Light Natural
E.l.f. HD Powder
Essence Eyeshadow 15 Hazle me not! - contour
Essence I Heart Nude Eyeshadow 03 Creme Brulee
MAC Pinch Me Blush
H&M Pure Radiance Powder Blusher Brown Sugar

Eyes:
Avon Ideal Flawless Eye Primer
Avon True Colour Matte Eyeshadow Quad Au Naturale
Avon Super Shock Gel Eyeliner Black
Avon Big and Multiplied Volume Mascara

Lips:
Avon True Colour Perfectly Matte Lipstick Marvelous Mocha

DIY Fluffy Bunny

Hey Beauties!

Today I'll show you a tutorial for a fluffy bunny that you can make yourself with the things that you probably already have at home. I've seen these bunnies all over Pinterest and they were just so darn cute that I had to try to make them. By no means is this my idea. I used what I found in my house, so it's not the same materials that were used in most Pinterest tutorials. I also did it a bit fluffier than they made it on Pinterest. Hope I'll inspire you for a last minute Easter DIY or just kill you with cuteness. 


For this DIY you'll need some sort of yarn, foam, pink marker or pen, black beads,cotton, thread and hot glue gun. You can use whatever colors you'd like to use or that you have at home. No need to go buy new ones. 


I started by wrapping yarn around my palm. I then knotted it in the middle. Then you take the scissors and cut it so that you get these fluffy pom poms. The pom poms will be a bit too long, so you have to cut them down in a round shape. It will make the bunny fur seem more dense. This is also the most fun part of doing this, you get to play a hairdresser. 



You repeat this process, but wrap the yarn only around two fingers. This way you'll get a smaller pom pom for the head.

When you have both of these you just glue them together with a glue gun. 

Then you take a thread and scrunch it in your hand until you get the shape that looks a bit like nose. I also cut two threads and tied them in the middle for the whiskers. I applied a bit of hot glue where I wanted my nose to be and glued on the whiskers first and then the nose. Then you can trim the whiskers so that they're not too long and that they stand up.


I also took two of black jewelry beads and glued them on to represent the eyes.


For the ears I used the foam that usually comes in packages. Especially when you get something from China, they always have this soft thin foam to protect the products. I cut out ear shapes and painted the pink part with a paint marker. You can also use permanent markers. Just something that won't go off the foam. Obviously you'll also glue these on with a hot glue gun.


The last step is to take a bit of cotton and form it into a ball and glue it on the back to represent bunny's tail. Voila, you're finished. It's easier than it sounds. 







I was so excited after I made my first one that I just had to make a few more. I'll probably gift them to my friends and relatives. Aren't they cute?



Review: Essence LE Wake up, spring! Eyeliner Pens (01 happy first day of spring, 02 let's the spring begin, 03 spring a-ling a-ling)

Hey Beauties!

When I saw promo photos of Essence Limited Edition Wake Up, Spring! I immediately noticed pastel eyeliners. The shades looked so pretty. It's really hard to get a hold of colorful eyeliners in our drugstores, even more so to find a white one. Obviously I couldn't just take one shade, so I got all three.


Eyeliners come in a pen like shape. They all have colored packaging that corresponds the shade inside. Each costs 2.19€ and in it is 1 ml of product.


It has a foam tip applicator, which is the first problem. I have all three shades and the tip on all of those just doesn't get saturated enough. White one gets saturated the most, while lavender the least. You can see that there is still product in the pen, but it doesn't want to come down to the tip. I actually had such a hard time working with lavender shade that I bent the tip to almost break it and at that point the product was coming out from that point of breaking it. I then applied it on my hand and with a tip on my eyes. Since then I store them down wards and they work a bit better.


Eyeliners come in three shades 01 happy first day of spring is cool lavender shade, 02 let's the spring begin is white and 03 spring a-ling a-ling is retro minty green. All the shades are fairy light pastels. 


The formula of these is like a milky cream which needs a bit of time to dry down completely. It doesn't move once it sets, but if it gets in contact with water, it will come off. I also find them a bit sticky, so you definitely need to use some sort of eye primer, if you're eyelids are a bit droopy. 


The pigmentation is also not as good as I would expect. It depends from shade to shade. I find that white and lavender are more pigmented, while I always struggle to build up intensity with minty green. You need to go over the line multiple times to get the full color payoff. If you press the tip down too much you also get an uneven application. For some reason this eyeliner just doesn't work when I apply it over eye shadows. It's like the tip gets dirty with the eye shadow and doesn't want to perform. I really dislike this. It's obvious that I'm gonna apply it over eye shadow. 


I also applied all three shades with different eye makeup to show you how they look like on me. 

01 happy first day of spring

Pastel lavender shade is my favorite of all three, but it performs the worst. When I tried it at home it almost seemed like it was already a bit dried up. I might have picked the wrong one up in the shop. The tip doesn't want to get saturated. It took some real effort to make it look like it's OK. When I used it for the second time it worked better, because I had it stored down.




02 let's the spring begin

White performs the best. It's the only shade that the tip actually gets saturated, although it's less pigmented, because it's the lightest. White is great for creating double wings, 60's inspired makeup or just adding the light on your eyes.




03 spring a-ling a-ling

This retro minty green also doesn't get saturated enough, but performs a tad better than lavender, although it's less pigmented. I am a bit on the fence when it comes to the shade. It's unique, but I would almost like it to be a bit brighter. 

Obviously you can wear these as an eyeliner on its own - even though they are very light, but my eyes just look very tired without some kind of dark color around the lash line, since my eye color is pretty dark. But you can also use it as I did, just slightly above the black liner. It almost creates colorful shade.




Here I also used all three of them together. It's a bit difficult to go over them with black liner, because the texture gets pretty thick. But you can definitely make it work with patience and precision. 



I am disappointed by these eyeliner pens. The shades are unique and I love the milky finish, but it seems like Essence didn't put much effort into the performance. The tip doesn't get saturated enough and it's really hard to work with on top of eye shadows. If this was maybe in a gel form or liquid with a brush, I'm sure it would work better. I wouldn't recommend these. But if you'd still like to get these colorful eyeliners for whatever reason, I would say store them downwards and check in the store that they haven't been opened yet.