I'm calling it - this palette was the best money I spent in the past years (make-up-wise, to avoid sounding too shallow). I'm so happy I took the plunge and got it. You know, when it first launched, I looked at it condescendingly "oh, look who decided to copy Urban Decay again". Boy was I wrong. I enjoy this palette a million times more than I ever did the original Naked palette. The colour range is more versatile, mainly because there are more useful lid shades for my skin tone and eye colour, and I love every single shade. The pigmentation of this palette is outstanding, they apply and blend so nicely, and every time you open the palette, you're greeted by the sweet cocoa/chocolate scent. It's expensive, but so worth it.
I wasn't blown away by this blush when I got it last summer. I think it was just so hyped up that I expected way too much from it and it led me wanting more. But I've worn it pretty much every day this month. I've been doing a lot of lip swatching and this blush is one of those that gives you a nice, natural flush of colour, but it doesn't overtake the entire look. It's a gentle pink-mauve shade and the reason I wasn't too keen on it from the start is that is has finely milled violet shimmer, which makes it cooler, but to be fair it's hardly noticeable and though it doesn't give the best glowy finish, it's not a big deal since I have Mary-Lou Manizer anyway.
The Reign of Matte Lip Creams
This was the month of the matte lip creams for me. They are by far my favourite beauty products and I dream of having a big collection, but a lot are hard to come by, especially those most popular. I expanded my collection as a birthday present to me and I love all of them.
Actually my fourth shade from this range, but the others are five years old, so not exactly good to be used any more (I did re-swatch them in Cannes' review). Cannes is my first such colour and it's a medium peachy-rosy-brown shade that will probably look more rosy on medium skin tones, but it's a nice neutral shade with a twist on me. The formula is the lightest matte lip cream I've tried, it's practically weightless, but it's not as luxuriously pigmented as the others and it also isn't as long lasting. It takes about 10 minutes, but it dries to a lovely matte finish that isn't drying on my lips.
Another experimental shade for me, since it's a shade I've only seen working on medium skin tones, but I like it on me as well. This a lip cream for those who love matte finishes and don't mind paying the price. This one has the most perfect matte "Instagram-like" finish, but it dries to a uniform layer that to a majority will feel tight and uncomfortable at least for a while. My lips don't get dry, so it's fine to me and even if it's tight, I don't mind such things, but I do adore that matte finish. The texture at application is very oily and the clumsy, big applicator doesn't make it easy to apply it nicely, but after about 2-3 minutes, it sets to a matte finish. The shade is a light rosy-mauve-beige slightly brown shade, very wearable and very trendy. Big like.
I'm a massive fan of these and boast with a nice collection. This is actually one of the newest shades Bourjois released and it's definitely a "me" type of shade. It's a deep magenta-purple shade that is like a mix between D for Danger and Rebel, but I don't have a real dupe for this one. These take the longest to set to a matte finish, so I speed it up by blotting and due to the mousse texture, they need two layers for full opacity, but they are some of the most comfortable ones to wear. I'm so glad Bourjois added this shade, it's stunning.
MILANI Amore Matte Lip Creme
Gorgeous
I was so excited when I was given a chance to try these. I picked the shade myself, so it's obviously a totally "me" colour and I gasped when I actually saw it in person. The colour is so stunning, similarly to Plum Plum Girl it's a deep magenta-purple shade, but much more pink-red, than that one and also brighter. The texture reminds me so much of the discontinued Essence Stay Matte at application, it is very creamy, super pigmented and smells the same vanilla-fruity, but the formula sets to a fantastic matte finish in 2-3 minutes. It's similar to Sleeks Matte Me, but a more velvety finish. Again it's a type of product that creates that uniform layer of product and thought it's comfortable to me, my friend said it's terribly drying on her (she likes Bourjois' though). I already posted swatches on the other blog I write, but I will have an English review here soon.
THEBALM Meet Matt(e) Hughes
Adoring
My latest addition and the only matte lip cream I haven't talked about yet, apart from on Instagram. I got it as a birthday gift and they chose the darkest shade in the bunch, Adoring, the perfect deep burgundy shade. So far these are my favourite, it really shows you're paying a bit extra on these. The formula is creamy, super pigmented, applies evenly with no sheer patches and considering it's a dark shade that's very impressive. It also smells lovely like After Eight. It does have mint inside, like in a sense of plumping effect, so it tingles at application. It takes about 10 minutes to dry to a velvet matte finish and isn't at all drying to me, it's most similar to NYX' version in a sense there is none of that uniform layer of product, so I think it's work for those who have dry lips too. I'd love to get more shades of these.
This is the nails polish colour that brings a smile to my face every time I see it. It's a white base with a touch of sky blue in it and it has that tiny bit of greyness to it, which makes it so special. The formula is quite sheer and light for a pastel nail polish, so I need two-three coats for an even opaque finish, but it depends on the thickness of the application. I'm not a massive fan of the formula, so I'd love to find a gel version of this shade, but the colour makes it all worth it.
Aside from matte lip creams, February was a month of scrubs for me and two stood out. This has the same scent as the Mist Me Madly mist which I adore. Other two scrubs I've tried from Soap & Glory were balmy, but this one is more soft and creamy, so it feels so amazing to use. The scrubby particles aren't super dense and they feel less harsh, which is not something I prefer, but it still does the job decently. I only have the small size, but I think I'll get the big one at my next Boots order.
This is my favourite scrub so far because it basically ticks all the boxes - it's thick and balmy, it's sugar based so one of those more harsh scrubs that I like, it nourishes the skin, so no need for an extra moisturiser, but the winner for me is the scent. It is utterly divine! It smells more like a flowery version of honey, but that flowery note is the same as in my favourite fragrance by L'Occitane Vanilla, which they discontinued years ago, I think it's orchid, but definitely a darker floral scent. I've seen this on L'Occitane websites, so it might just be the only permanent item from the Melting Honey collection or they just might have some pieces left.
Lavish Mauve by Max Factor isn't the only redeemer in these favourites. I gave this Blow out spray a second chance and it appealed to me a lot more than in the first uses. I don't quite know what's changed because I actually used exactly the same combination of products as the first time, but this time it worked fine. I used it one day and noticed that my curls looked a bit better, but more importantly they lasted longer. I didn't know if this was the real reason, so I used it again and got the same result. I only have the mini size, but it's a heat protection spray with UV filters and the reason it managed to prolong the curliness of my hair, is because it adds a bit of texture, but this time it didn't feel like I have anything in my hair, just that I used a very light heat protectant. It's not outstanding, but lovely and it's not terribly expensive for a salon brand product.
Words cannot describe how much I love this scent. It was a blind buy, but so spot on. I have nothing like it and it very different from my usually modern fruity-floral-vanillas. To me it has a vintage high-end fragrance vibe and it just reminds me of classic perfumes before it was all about heavy vanilla in everything. It smells so nice, classy, vintage-y, floral-clean (citrusy). Staying power on the skin is weak, so I prefer to spray this on clothes and hair to make it last longer. Notes list bergamot, blackcurrant, magnolia, freesia, vanilla and musk.
I gushed about the blush and contour brushes in my last favourites. I've since got the whole set of seven brushes and I'm hooked on those too. The powder brush is incredibly fluffy and soft, so perfect for the job of depositing a thin veil of powder on the skin. I didn't really expected a lot from the eyeshadow brushes because they seemed big for my small eyes, but I like them a lot. The big blending brush is dense and blends the harsh edges well, but it can also apply the colour on the lids. It works for blending concealer under the eyes too. The crease brush is a big, dome shaped brush that is out course far too large for my basically non-existent crease, but it's again a dense brush that picks up colour well, so it can be used to apply colour and blending.
Honestly I had even more favourites (I always do), but since they're still quite new and I haven't talked about them, and I have so many products already in this posts, I'll just give them a quick mention for now:
THEBALM Nude'Dude palette - I got this for my birthday and I simply adore the combination of two shades that are actually totally not me: Flirty and Friendly. I still haven't done fully exploring this palette, but it'll surely land in the next favourites.
BOURJOIS Radiance Reveal Concealer - the shade is scary orange at first, but it blends in so well and I've actually been using this all over the face instead of a foundation. It has such a spectacular natural "of course I'm not wearing any makeup" finish. Great stuff. I'll talk about it in my next New in. Coverage is medium and it's most similar to Maybelline Fit Me in terms of texture.
ESSENCE Thermo Nail Polish 05 The Ice Is Melting - such a spectacular grey shade. I love this against my skin tone. The thermo effect is a gimmick though, but I don't mind at all. If you wish I can post a picture of it on my nails on Instagram before it's in New in.
SOAP & GLORY Hand Maid Antibacterial Hand Cleansing Gel - I felt this doesn't need any special description, but it's by far the best anti-bacterial gel I've tried. It leaves the skin completely residue free and smells so amazing, like 505 s crtom sweets.
Have a great day!
