New In #38

TOO FACED Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette

I never do anything as stupid as spending a load of money just because I feel like it in the moment, but I wanted to treat myself for my birthday and I decided to order this quite out of the blue one week before. I'm so glad I did because this is an awesome palette. I'm still exploring the colours, so every day I feel like a kid in a candy store. The colour selection in this palette is fantastic and believe it or not, I don't actually think have dupes for these, at least for a great majority of the colours. The pigmentation is superb at most shades, mattes included, though there are a few less pigmented exceptions, but luckily they are my least favourite colours. They do crease at the end of the day if I don't use a primer and I think that's because they are so buttery and creamy. The first couple of days I could not smell any chocolate, but now I do. It truly does smell faintly like chocolate and cocoa. Really, really glad I bought this. 

Beauty Bay, 54.70 € (£41.75)

STILA Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner 

Intense Black

 This has been on my wishlist for such a long time and I kept avoiding buying it because it so expensive. It's a classic felt tip eyeliner with a precise nib with which it's easy to draw very thin lines, but the tip feels almost like it's a bit old, as the end is a bit flimsy. The formula was very liquid and wet from the start, but now it's already much better. Once this sets on the skin, it's rub-proof. You can rub it as hard as you can and it won't come off. It's not completely waterproof though, but it doesn't smudge during the day. Actually at the end of the day, it's still perfect and that's including the flicks. So far, I'm impressed, but I'm really interested if it will last longer than the rest I've tried.  

Beauty Bay, 18.30 € (£14.04)

BEAUTY BLENDER Premier Blendercleanser Solid 

15 g

This was a gift with purchase and it's quite small, but the full size is only 28 g. It's meant to clean beauty blenders and other sponges as well as brushes. Honestly, I don't think it's worth it. I had to wash my foundation brush four times and it still wasn't spotless. It did clean eyeshadow brushes very effectively, though. It works like any other bar soap I've had on hand, from Fa to Palmolive and other cheap ones. It smells like lavender, but in a soapy way. I need to use it more to see if it impresses me in the future, but 18 € for a small bar soap - they must be joking.

Beauty Bay, €18.20 (£13.97; 28 g)

SLEEK Matte Me Lip Gloss

Birthday Suit

Birthday Suit was a shade I was always dubious about. I've seen it only on girls with a medium skin tone and on them such shades look amazing, but on a pale girl like me, there is always a risk it'll look ugly brown. But in the spirit of birthday splurging, I took a chance and just got it. It's turned out better than I expected. It's a brownish-pink shade which has enough of those rosy tones that it looks good on me. Considering how concerned I was, I truly am enjoying this shade. The formula is strange, different from what I'm used to. It start almost as an oil, a very light one at that, but after about 3-5 minutes it starts drying and it dries to a perfect, "Instagram-matte" finish. This probably has the best proper matte finish I've tried. However, it does feel like a film on the lips and it can feel a bit tight, so avoid this if you have dry lips. 

Boots International, £4.99

BOURJOIS Rouge Edition Velvet lipstick

Happy Nude Year and Plum Plum Girl

My collection of Velvets is growing. I got two shades that as far as I know aren't sold here, Happy Nude Year and Plum Plum Girl, the latter was released recently along with two other shades. I've done reviews of four shades already (Grand Cru, Nude-ist, Frambourjoise and Olé Flamingo) and it's no secret how much I love these. Happy Nude Year is not what I imagined it to be and looks so much different than on my friend. On me HNY is a very peachy shade with very little pink. Plum Plum Girl is a great shade though. It's a deeper magenta-purple shade, a bit like mixing Mac's D for Danger and Rebel together. I have Plum Plum girl on my lips here. 

Boots International, £8.99

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream

Cannes

It's been many years since I bought one of these. I have Tokyo, Istanbul and Addis Ababa, now I got one of the newer shades Cannes, though I was thinking about buying more of these, at least Copenhagen, but also Transylvania, Prague, Zurich and Ibiza. I remember when I first got these, I realized they are exact dupes for Manhattan's Soft Mat Lipcreams (now sadly discontinued) and loved them. Istanbul was actually my most worn shade in my first couple of years at university. But now I don't actually think these are the best liquid lipsticks. They are good, but there are better ones. They start off as very light, slightly greasy creams and it takes long for them to dry to a matte finish, maybe 10-15 minutes. The pigmentation isn't as intense as at the competition either, but in general these are still nice and very comfortable to wear considering they are matte. Cannes is a shade I would never expect I'd like. It's the type of shade that looks amazing on medium skin tones and brown on light ones, but I actually like this one on me. It again has enough rosy-peachy tones that I can pull it off, but it's a very 90's inspired shade.  

Boots International, £5.50

BOURJOIS ColorBoost Lip Crayon

Plum Russian

I got this is as gift with purchase and I didn't get to pick the shade nor did I know before putting it in the shopping cart what the gift actually is. I have Peach on a Beach, or had it, I can't find it anywhere. Anyway, I was not a fan of that one, but I'm really digging this one, especially when I wear it in combination with a chocolate smoky eye. Plum Russian is a sheer deep red-plum shade that's glossy and I'm not a massive fan of such finishes, but I can always just blot it. The pigmentation of these is the best out of all such products I've tried and it's closest to full opacity, though it's still see-through. 

Boots International, £7.99

SANCTUARY mini Foaming Bath Soak 

75ml

Boots had a 3 for 2 and since I had two items already in the cart, I just chucked this in (I'll show the rest of the Boots purchases in the next new in). It's a bubble bath that smells of nothing special, just a clean type of scent with a hint of citrus like a lot of 1l cheap baths. It foam well and the scent is noticeable when in the bath, also my skin wasn't dry after. It's ok, but I would prefer a more exciting, luxurious scent.

Boots International, £2.50

YANQUINA Waterproof Eyeliner 

I really needed a new eyeliner at the beginning of the year, so I "splurged" for an 80 cents one from AliExpress, which I actually mainly got because of its cute polka dot design. It caught my attention on one of Beautysaur's pictures and she later spoke about it here, it was her who actually gave me a link to it. I expected nothing for this price, but it's very decent. In the first few days it performs like a brilliant eyeliner that is super black, well saturated with product and very precise. However, it takes some time for the nib to get saturated with product again, so if you use it often, it gets dry. I would suggest getting two at once, they are cheap as chips anyway, and then swap them each day, keeping the other one stored upside down. The nib is stiffer than Sweet Pink panda shaped one's, actually it's more similar to Collection's and Essence's nibs, but smaller and therefore more precise. It's nice considering it's so cheap, but the Sweet Pink one and a majority of others are a lot more reliable. 

AliExpress,  $0.76

ESSENCE Big Bright Eyes Eyeliner

01 …Highlight it Nude

So Essence is breaking my heart again, they are experts at that. They decided to discontinue these amazing drugstore gems. If you check my Instagram, then you've probably seen this eyeliner a gazillion times, since it's the liner I use almost every day and it's on my waterline in pretty much all of my pictures on this blog. Naturally I stocked up before it's are gone, it's so cheap anyway. It's the perfect nude slightly pink eyeliner that makes my eyes look more awake and bigger. The formula is so creamy and it easily transfers to the waterline, but also manages to hang on quite well. I just can't believe they are discontinuing these.

Müller, 2.20 €

L'OCCITANE Shea Cleansing Oil 

I nearly finished the Immortelle version which is so far by far my favourite oil cleanser mostly because it keeps my skin in check, while other oils tend to make it less clear if I use them too long. The reason I got this one instead is not just because it's a bit cheaper, but also because Immortelle one doesn't smell the best to me, as it has a wildflower/hay scent. I gave it a try before I finished Immortelle, which I normally don't do, but I was curious. I like it more. It does the same job of removing makeup plus waterproof mascara and cleans the skin, but it smells nicer and it feels better, a bit more "soft" or comfortable. I haven't tried an oil like it and I've tried quite a few. It's my new favourite oil, although I should wait before I say that with confidence, as it could break me out and in that case I'll go back to Immortelle, but I'm also interested in Balea's one. 

L'Occitane, 19.30 €

L'OCCITANE Melting Honey Exfoliating Sugars

I think I just found my new all-time favourite scrub. I was sure I missed the entire Melting Honey collection due to my avoiding going to the shop (I'm a person who likes to be left alone and I need to mentally prepare myself before I got to such shops), but I was so delighted to find this scrub, as it was the item I most wanted to get my hands on. A few bloggers told me that this collection didn't smell like the old honey one, but this scrub smells very close to the original honey scent they had in 2006. The SA just opened the pot and I immediately knew it has to go home with me. It's a sugar based scrub that is closest to my old favourite Soap & Glory Flake Away, but it's much thicker and smells utterly divine. It does smell 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. Anyway it creates the most amazing scent and they should really think about creating a fragrance like it. As I said the texture is very thick, like a balm and it's not just sugar particles, but something dark as well (ground pits maybe), so it's an intense scrub, just the way I like it. It leaves a balmy-oil layer behind, so no lotion is needed afterwards. I really love this.

Ingredients.

L'Occitane, 23.40 €

*My Beauty Box Slovenia January

I was send another surprise Beauty Box, this time for January-February. It has five products inside: 

RIMMEL I <3 Lasting Finish Nail Polish in 170 Lively Lilac - a pastel violet shade. Needs three coats for full opacity.

KNEIPP Herbal Bath Pure Bliss Red Poppy and Hemp - A small size bath oil that looks like blood because of the thickness and colour. It's really strange pouring it in the bath, but it turns the water into a nice shade of pink-red. It smells nothing special, relaxingly floral, but it's not strong enough for me. There is not need for a lotion after this bath.

LAVERA Bio Almond and Bio Macadamia Oil Natural Shine Intensive Care - Haven't tried this yet and I doubt it'll be enough product for my hair, but I don't have the best experience with hair products from this brand, so I'm hoping for the best. 

LAVERA Basis Sensitiv Lip Balm - A classic lip balm that claims is for sensitive skin. It's waxy, but nourishing, pretty standard to be honest. I don't like the flour scent though. 

TEAPIGS. Tea Skinny Dessert and Bolly Good - the first is a rooibos tea with caramel pieces and Bolly Good is an assam tea with spices and cinnamon flavour.

My Beauty Box Slovenia, 15 € + shipping.

YANKEE CANDLE Tarts 

Soft Blanket, Vanilla Cupcake, Clean Cotton and Pink Sands

I realized Yankee Candles don't smell strong enough for my liking, but their tarts are great. So I picked up four that I liked most in our Müller. We don't have a big selection, but I got my old favourite Soft Blanket, which is a fantastic cosy-clean scent, Vanilla Cupcake, which is outstanding and smells like vanilla pudding, also it's the strongest in the bunch, Clean Cotton which smells like fabric softener and clean laundry (this one starts smelling like burnt wax after a while) and Pink Sands, which is a nice tropical fruity scent. I hate that I can't get my hands on my favourite Cranberry Pear here where I live, but I'm not paying for their shipping and I'm not going to the centre of Ljubljana just for that.

Müller, 1.79 €

I split the New in in two parts. I'll post the rest tomorrow or sometime soon.

Have a great day!

Unboxing: My Beauty Box (December)

No, I didn't make a mistake in the title, even though December is gone, but I got this a couple of days before Christmas, so have an excuse why I'm showing you last month's box only now. My Beauty Box Slovenia surprised me with a Christmas gift, which is very kind of them (actually my only Christmas gift last year, apart from the Milani blush) and they even customized it a bit, so it would be more to my taste and now I have an opportunity to show you a product from a brand that is joining their selection soon. I already talked about the whole box system in Slovene in my previous post about them, but it's the same deal again, you pay a monthly subscription and you receive a combination of five samples and full sizes each month. The price of the December box was 15 € plus shipping.

I felt the previous box was missing that little bit extra and I think I got it in this one. Mine included three full size products: Weleda Buckhorn hand cream, Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick and Essie's nail polish, along with a sample/votive size Yankee Candle and a sample of Ginvera BB cream. Included was also a chocolate Lint Santa, which didn't survive long after I took the pictures. I was completely overjoyed about the nail polish because it's exactly what I've been looking for, but more about it in individual reviews. The box is the same as the first one, so a nice quality violet box that you'll want to keep for organizing your collection or anything else.

ESSIE Nail Polish 

Summit of Style

I already included this nail polish in my favourite products of 2015. You may find me rash for including it in my selection, but it truly was love at first sight and I've worn it for Christmas over a navy nail polish (picture below). Summit of Style is a part of the Luxeffects line and it's a bronze shimmer that is a mix of small glitter particles and larger hexagons. It's more of a top coat with medium dense shimmer, however, you can built it up, though making a perfect fully opaque layer is time consuming as well as difficult because you end up with too much of that clear base. It can be done, but some bald patches are bound to happen. The effect of it is stunning, it's way better in real life than in my pictures, so go check Pinterest for manicures with it for a better idea of how it looks. Of course, it is the type of nail polish that is excruciatingly hard to remove, as those hexagons stick to the nails like glue even if you use one of those pot removers, but I think it's worth.

Left picture: One or maybe two coats of  summit of Style on my middle finger and trying to get full opacity on my ring finger. The base nail polish is Deborah Gel Effect 01. On the right is my glitter ombre Christmas manicure with Misslyn Nail Polish 610 Night Club as a base. The original picture is twice the size, so just click on it if you want to see it closer.

RIMMEL Moisture Renew Lipstick

330 Sloane's Plum

I was told I'm the only one who got this lipstick, so I had the chance to test it before they official add the brand to their website. Rimmel is a lovely drugstore brand that someone appears to be hell-bent on it not to be sold in Slovenia (any more. We used to have it over 15 year ago), but My Beauty Box is bringing it on our market. I've decided to a separate review about this lipstick, which you can find in my next post, but just a quick recap: Sloane's Plum is a vampy plum shade with a very moisturising formula and good pigmentation.

GINVERA Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream

I already received this BB in my previous box and I said I liked it, though the shade is quite dark. I'll save it for the summer, when I'll start self-tanning again. I just copied the review from my previous post:

I remember a British blogger raving about this, about how it's her HG base, but I don't know who it was. The box contains an 8 g sample, which is a decent size, however, the tube is not full - still it lasts quite a few applications. It comes in only one shade, which is just lazy, how could you possibly expect that it will fit everyone? It's quite a dark shade from my perspective. It's darker than my darkest foundation Catrice's Nude Illusion in 010, but at least it's a neutral shade and it didn't end up looking too off on me also because of the coverage. The latter is light, with additional layers it can be built up to light-medium, but you'll definitely need concealer for under the eyes, redness and spots. The texture is very light, it blends beautifully and sets fast, in fact it reminds me of a less greasy version of Missha's Signature BB Cream. It looks very natural on the skin, it just sort of melts into the skin and it has that Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum effect, where it's not obvious you're wearing anything. I really like how it looks on the skin, only it sometimes looks a bit weird on my pores, but I think this has to do with my skin condition and not this BB. It has a strong, but pleasant scent of green tea.

WELEDA Sanddorn Handcreme

Sea Buckthorn Hand Cream

I was never a fan of hand creams because I hate that greasy feeling and I so rarely use them. I expected this is be such a greasy, heavy cream because natural brands like Weleda tend to have such products, but even though it is a thick, intensely moisturising cream, this magically just sinks in under a minute. I don't think I've ever tried anything like it. I'm able to be behind the keyboard again in less than a minute. It leaves a sort of a film on the hands, but not a greasy one, rather almost powdery. It sound strange, I know, but it's nice. The second thing I was concerned about was the scent, since I really dislike the "natural/organic/bio stuff" as they mostly smell herbal or just strange, but this one surprised me with a pleasant scent of oranges, though there is that familiar herbal note in the background. The packaging is a metal tube. Uncommon words for me, but I quite like it, despite the fact it's a hand cream and a natural one. 

YANKEE CANDLE Red Apple Wreath

I already burned this for New Year's Eve. It had the most typical Christmas scent of apples with cinnamon, but mixed in was also a strong bubble-gum note. It filled the room(s) nicely and people kept asking what the lovely smell was. 

Stran My Beauty Box in Instagram My Beauty Box Slovenije. 

So what do you think about this box? Have a great day!

*Box was sent to me.

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick 330 Sloane's Plum

If you read the post about My Beauty Box unboxing first, then you know this lipsticks was in it. Since they plan to include Rimmel in their selection, people at My Beauty Box included it in my December box. Moisture Renew is actually an old line of lipsticks by Rimmel, but it was revamped about two years ago. As the name suggest these are supposed to be moisturising and judging from this shade, I agree. Check Fleur's post for swatches of these lipsticks.

Texture: The lipstick is richly pigmented, lightweight, very balmy and comfortable to wear. The finish is almost glossy, which at such a dark shade is not my preference as it can get messy (still a matte girl), but if you're looking for a moisturising vampy shade, this was made for you. I have a feeling these may have a lot less wax in them than lipsticks usually contain, as it reminds me of Revlon's Ultra HD lipstick. So basically it's another type of lipstick that you can wear as a substitute for a lip balm, however, I have read some reviews of these and I think the lighter shades might not be as moisturising as darker ones.  

Colour: The name pretty much says it all - it's a plum shade. It's like a deep burgundy with strong violet tones and a great vampy shade for the colder months. The closest shade I found is Maybelline's color Drama Lipstick in Berry Much. Due to the type of the texture, it's a very simple shade to wear as a stain. 

Staying Power: Here we have a combination of a dark shade with a very creamy formula, which means both of these features kind of cancel each other out and you get an average wear. It won't last all day, but it also won't disappear in an hour, proving of course that you don't eat or drink as this transfers a lot. As I said before if can get messy, especially at such dark shades, as this is a very creamy formula that has a lot of slip.  

Scent: It has quite a strong scent of Nivea cream. I find it pleasant.

Packaging: Reminiscent of Maybelline's lipsticks, so a plastic silver tube and a semi-clear violet cap. It's not the most high-and looking, but for the price it's ok.

Price and availability: These aren't yet available on My Beauty Box, but it'll probably happen soon. All of those who don't live in Slovenia can probably just walk into the nearest drugstore and get it. Feel Unique also sells these for about 9 €.

I think the formula of these will be a winner for all of those who always suffer from dry lips. I would stick to lighter shades, just because the more creamy the lipstick, the more chance of a mess it is. But if you like glossy, vampy shades this one is worth a try. I was thinking once about getting the shade Vintage Pink, which is the type of colour that is very in now, so that 90's like muted rose.

Have a great day!