CATRICE Stylo Eyeshadow Pen
020 G'Old Mc Donald and 040 Brown to Earth
Before buying anything from the newest Essence/Catrice update, I swatched all the Catrice and Essence cream eyeshadow pens, compared them with my other ones I have at home (Kiko's, Golden Rose) and though they aren't as intense as Kiko's, I was very impressed by the staying power. I decided on two shades that I knew I'll use a lot, since I use such cream eyeshadow all the time as bases. I grabbed a simple beige gold G'Old Mc Donald and a bronze Brown to Earth, which is a cooler version of Kiko's Golden Bronze. These are lovely, especially Brown to Earth and work great as eyeshadow bases. I've worn them on their own once and they get slightly patchy with time due to a shimmery and creamy texture, but last all day with some creasing after several hours.
Müller, 4.29 €
ESSENCE 2 in 1 Eye Shadow & Liner
03 light me up and 06 she's got the mauve
Essence has a better shade range of cream eyeshadow than Catrice for my taste, but I picked up only two in colours I didn't have yet. Light me up is a light beige shade with a satin, slightly shimmery finish and She's got the Mauve is a taupe-violet shade with a satin finish. I find these better than Catrice's if you plan to wear them on their own (as a base both work fab). They are waxier and look smoother on the eyelids due to less shimmer. They also wear nicer, but can get a bit patchy with time. Like Catrice they crease at the end of the day when worn on their own, but are still there. Out of all the shades, so including Catrice's, She's got the Mauve lasts the longest. I'm really impressed by both versions of pen/stick cream eyeshadows and they are my favourite purchase out of the new Essence/Catrice things.
Müller, 2.99 €
ESSENCE Stay All Day Translucent Fixing Powder
I've heard a lot of good things about the previous version of Essence loose powder and went to buy it a couple of years ago only to discover it had been discontinued. They finally released a new version and I bought it immediately because I have nothing like it. I'm not a fan of powders, so far I only like two (Bourjois Java and Physicians Formula Glowing Nude) and I have conflicting feelings about this one. It applies really nice, doesn't look too powdery, but mattifies, however, as at most powders, it's how it wears off, or maybe I should say how it affects the rest of the makeup to wear off that doesn't please me, but it's different with every foundation. At some it looks ok and at some it's awful. Still, I am glad I bought it because it'll come in handy.
4.39 €, Müller
CATRICE Illuminating Blush
040 La Vie En Rose
I'm still a huge fan of I'm Nuts About You, which is one of the original shades, though they've gone through a design revamp and I have to express my concerns that the shade doesn't look the same to me in the pan. La Vie En Rose is a new shade and it looked like a warmer version of Nuts to me in the shop, kind of a muted peachy shade with some mauve-brown parts. It is in fact the lightest out of all illuminating shades and it's almost like a mix between Nuts and Coral Me Maybe. On the cheeks it's muted peachy shade, I'd say it's a warmer peachier version of Nuts About You and a shade that will combine well with any look on warm skin tones. Unlike the other two I own, this one has a soft illuminating effect.
Müller, 4.29 €
ESSENCE Velvet Stick
02 Peony Star
I've seen swatches of these from German bloggers, who attended their event and this shade didn't really intrigue me because it looked too grey on everyone. However, when I saw it in person, I thought it looked a lot warmer and pinker (they don't have testers for these). It swatches lovely, a nice pinky-mauve shade, but on my lips it's different. Actually almost the exact shade of my lips, but cooler and greyish. The texture is waxy, not truly matte and not particularly long-lasting. I'm not sure about this one yet.
Müller, 2.19 €
ESSENCE Longlasting Lipliner
02 Sweetheart, 06 A Girl's Dream, 07 Plum Cake and 10 Berry on my Mind
I love these liners and I have two from before, Lovely Frappuccino and Yummy Berry. I've been saying that I'll buy more of these someday and that day finally arrived. I got the newest shade 10 Berry on my Mind, which I imagined being a lot darker based on the press release pictures, but it's a medium, muted plum shade. I also got the old shades: a medium warm Barbie pink 02 Sweetheart, a muted red 06 A Girl's Dream and medium greyish mauve shade 07 Plum Cake, which is another too grey and draining shade on me. I love A Girls Dream because it's great for pairing up with Golden Rose Velvet Matte in 12 and all other similar shades.
1.59 €, Müller
ESSENCE The Gel Nail Polish
63 itsy bitsy blue bikini
A pastel blue shade in a gel formula, but for a gel one it is outstandingly annoying. It's the same pastel "regular"-like formula that I've grown to hate over the years. It's a brighter blue than Ocean Porcelain by L'Oreal.
Müller, 1.69 €
ESSENCE Jewellery Nail Stickers
I didn't even see these on the press release, but they immediately caught my eye on the stand. They are definitely too large for my nails and I have zero talent for nail art, but I'm hoping for the best with these.
Müller, 1.39 €
*ESSENCE Soft Touch Mousse Concealer
10 Soft Beige
I was checking this one out several times in the shop, but the lightest shade looked so dark and then I read a very bad review about it, so I decided to stay away from it completely, but I was sent this one a few days ago. Actually, the match really isn't that bad. It just kind of works for my skin tone, so I was very happy to discover that. It's a mousse product, so soft and fluffy to the touch, but very matte on the skin and it hides pores like L'Oreal's Infallible Matte foundation. The coverage surprised me too, it's actually not that bad, about medium-full. This one should be great on oily skins, but on driers ones (including mine) it'll emphasize and possibly cause flakes. I expected a bad product based on reviews, but it's actually quite decent, just don't get it if you have flaky skin.
3.29 €
*CATRICE HD Multi Talent Powder + Makeup
020 Natural Beige
The irony that when I buy two new face powders, I get another send. This one promises more coverage than a usual powder. You can use it as a light dusting with a fluffy blush to set the makeup and mattify or apply it with a sponge (not included) for adding more coverage. 020 looks very light, it feels smooth when I swatch it and mattifies well. I tried it with a sponge and it does add a touch more coverage, but this power really emphasizes flakes on my skin. I like that is has a big handy mirror, though. I'll hold back on reviewing this until the summer when my skin less dry.
5.29 €
5.29 €
*CATRICE Supreme Fusion Lipcolour + Care
070 Remarry Berry
Whenever I hear dark berry plus moisturising in one sentence I get nervous and images of lipstick smudged all over the face flash before my eyes. But you know what - it's not nearly as soft as I imagined it to be. It still has shine, but you need to build it up and there is enough wax in it to stop it from migrating too much. At the same time, I don't think it's as moisturising as for example Revlon's Ultra HD. The shade is very much to my taste, a cute dark berry shade with a medium-full pay-off. I can easily apply it as a stain or build it up to a semi-opaque layer. 5.29 €
*ESSENCE Silky Touch Blush
100 Indian Summer
I had no idea Essence even had this shade. Often products look so different on their press releases, I completely miss things, but I would pick up such a shade myself. It reminds me a lot of the old ,quite popular shade for us Snow Whites by Lancôme called Miel Glace, so it's sort of a very muted peachy shade. On me it's almost too peachy, but still nice. It's surprisingly nicely pigmented for such a shade, well at least as far as my pale skin tone is concerned and looks nice on the cheeks, however, staying power is very poor.
2.79 €
REVLON Parfumerie Nail Polish
Ginger Melon
I wanted this shade for such a long time and I finally snatched it because it was 50% off. It's from a collection of scented nail polishes, which actually intrigued me because of the gorgeous bottle design. I have Bordeaux from before, which doesn't have much of a scent, but the colour is beautiful. Ginger Melon is a bright coral-pink shade, the closest similar shade I have is Essie's Cute as a Button, but that one less pink. The scent at this one is a lot more intense than at Bordeaux and even as you're applying it, it smells like melon candy. The scent is strong and very noticeable for about a half a day, but by the next day it's almost gone.
Müller, 3.50 €
*MAX FACTOR Voluptuous False lash Effect Mascara
Max Factor's False Lash Effect range of mascaras is known for their oversized brushes, but this one takes the cake. It is humongous and I seriously cannot imagine it fitting short lashes. The design is unique with a mix sort of plastic plates and normal bristles all twisted into a spiral shape and a spiky dome design on the top designed to reach small lashes. The design definitely works for achieving definition and depositing enough product on each lash, but I wish it were smaller. It's a mascara that surprisingly performs well from the start, which is uncommon for a mascara with a plastic wand and it manages to create a nice amount of volume. I think it's far better in that respect than their previous launch, Velvet Volume, but I again find the brush too harsh on my eyes. It of course doesn't hold a curl, since it's a regular formula.
DM, 14.29 €
JOHN FRIEDA Frizz Ease Secret Agent Perfecting Creme
Just like Dove's Quench Absolute Serum (which is now nowhere to be found in any drugstore) and got this purely because it was half off. I didn't read any reviews before buying it, but I trust John Frieda, so I gave it a shot. It's a cream that you use on dry hair and it contains avocado oil quite high on the list. It promises to tame frizz, hydrate the hair and hide split ends, so all the usual things. It's a proper cream texture, but smooth due to silicones and it applies nicely without leaving wet parts. I've had it for well over a month and I'm sure about it. It does smooth the hair and gives shine, but the problem is that the effects don't last. Maybe I'm too spoiled by Dove, but I expected more - more shine, more hydration and a stronger anti-frizz effect. It should suit well normal or slightly dry hair that requires some frizz taming. I think this may be in the process of discontinuing or repackaging as the rest of JF line, hence the discount.
Ingredients.
Ingredients.
4.99 €, Müller
NEUTROGENA T/Gel Total Shampooing
I asked in my previous New in for dandruff remedy recommendations and an anonymous reader recommended me this (thank you so much!). I ordered it the next day on Salma as I didn't feel like checking if we even have it here. I don't think I've seen it, but I'm not sure. It's an intensive anti-dandruff treatment, so it's only available in 125 ml bottle. I used it the same day it arrived and for the first time in years, since I've used the last drop of Phytopolleine, my scalp was finally pretty much completely clear of any dandruff build-up. It smells like burnt rubber (the same as PyhtoSquam) and foams well, it also isn't as drying as some other dandruff shampoos, but it also isn't nourishing. My scalp does still itch, I assume because of dryness and not dandruff, so I've been using oil to moisturise my scalp (Phytopolleine would come so handy now) and dandruff still reappears after a few days, but I'm very impressed by this and so happy it at least removed the dandruff, for the first time after so many fail product. I truly hope it lasts.
Salma, 8.20 €
MATRIX Biolage ScalpSync Exfoliating Treatment
I had a severe dandruff build up on my scalp and I had no idea such products even existed, but I didn't hesitate to order it. Basically this is an scalp exfoliator that contains two doses of product, so the whole bottle should last you only two treatments. I used up about a quarter, then I thought it was already too much. You are supposed to apply it on damp scalp, really massage it in and then rinse off, following with an anti-dandruff shampoo. It worked. It rid me of that dandruff layer, which is a minor miracle in my books. It's hard to squeeze the bottle, even though it's soft, but because the product is so thick, it's not that easy to work with. It has a very handy nozzle design with which you can apply it on the scalp. It's expensive for the suggested amount you should use at once, but I really like it.
Salma, 8.90 €
L'OREAL PROFESIONNEL Série Expert Absolut Repair Lipidium
I've had this mask on my wishlist for years and it's really not that expensive, despite being only 200 ml. It's very thick, so just the way I like it and has a very strong, kind of strange clean scent, but it's a type of scent a lot of people will like. It nourished my hair nicely, it's not as good as Joico's Hydrator, but I like it. This one goes on my recommendations for dry hair list.
Salma, 10.40 €
ORIFLAME Volare
Eau de Parfum
I've wanted this for ages, but mostly due to the bottle, since it's just stunningly gorgeous and everyone stops to take a look at it when they see it. It was a limited edition bottle for Valentine's two years ago, but I think they made it permanent, the fragrance itself is old. The scent is also often described as a dupe for Lancome's Tresor, which supposedly smells peachy and I love peaches. Well, this one doesn't and it's the most grandma-ish fragrance I've ever smelled. It's not a 90's or 80's like fragrance, it's just so old smelling with intense notes of roses and powder. There is some sweetness to it from the pralines and I get the more masculine cedar undertone, but roses are the dominant part of this fragrance. The bottle is actually hard to open due to such a design, but I don't really care. More reviews on Fragrantica.
Notes:
Top: violet leaves, juicy pear and galbanum
Heart: peony, gardenia and rose petals
Base: praline, leather and cedar
Salma, 15.30 €
*BOMB COSMETICS Baths
I got a ton of these bath bombs and melts (cocoa butter based) to try out and take pictures how they look for Click2Chic. I haven't tried all yet, but so far my favourites are Diva Fever (has blue holographic shimmer) and All That Glitters (with purple shimmer).
All That Glitters
As the name suggest it's a bath bomb that contains glitter. It smells sweet, warm and fruity, like berry and cherry candy, also like there is a hint of vanilla in it too. It fizzes like all bath bombs and turns the water into a cute pink shade. The core is white and together with the three balls on the top it represent the the moisturising butter part, which feels so creamy and fluffy to the touch. The oil disperses into small drops that glitter on the water and among them are scattered bigger chunks of magenta glitter (that bottom left picture is take with flash, so you can see oil, but the glitter chucks are more visible in person). The latter sticks to the skin because of the oil and it's a very nourishing bath so great for dry skin.
Diva Fever Bath
Another bath with glitter which it's not visible on the exterior, but it actually has very cool blue holographic flakes plus shimmer scattered in the bath water and though my camera didn't manage to capture them, they were the most dazzling of all bath effects. It turns the water pink, much like All that Glitters and the heart is almost like paper, but it's not really and it's the last to dissolve. It's a classic bath, with no butter or oiliness, so it's easy to clean the tub. It smells really lovely, nothing that I can point out, it just smells like a fancy body lotion. Notes describe ylang ylang and sandalwood, so it's floral and woodsy. The scent lingers on the skin and in the bathroom. It was my favourite so far.
Urban Princess
Another glittery bath bomb, but least fascinating one. It's a standard bath bomb, so no added butter inside and it doesn't add any colour to the water, nor any foam, it just fizzes for a few minutes. Those gold glitters on the top are the only special effect in the bath, but they aren't that visible since the water is clear. The rainbow on the top doesn't melt, it quickly falls off in the water and the water doesn't affect it. It smells a bit coconuty, in a clean sense, so like a cosmetic product with a coconut scent - just a simple coconuty, creamy, softly clean scent.
Miss Fancypants
A cupcake shaped bath mallow or melt with a polka dot heart, which is just the cutest and it has the best scent out of all - a nice berry fragrance. I haven't used it yet, but I assume it's a simple milky white oily bath with cocoa butter that melt slowly, so great for dry skin. I'll have pictures of how it looks on the other blog.
Top Cat
This is seriously the most adorable bath ever! I just love the cat design and I think that the head part doesn't melt, so you can keep it. It's another mallow, so an cocoa butter based bath, but I haven't used it yet. It has a gentle sweet-floral scent of with neroli and sweet orange essential oils.
Click2Chic, 2.99 € each
*BOMB COSMETICS Three Little Birds Gift
I also got one of the gift packaging that has five products inside:
Apple & Raspberry Swirl Blaster - looks like a green-white ice cream scoop with hot pink cream and sprinkles. It smells like Šumi apple candy and turns the water spring green with green sprinkles. The hot pink cocoa butter part forms an moisturising oily layer on top and smells like Hubba Bubba Cherry bubble gums, but doesn't affect the colour of the water.
Pink Rhubarb Encounted Mallow - a hot pink cupcake design with white cream. It's a cocoa butter based bath that doesn't fizz, just slowly dissolves, turns the water milky white and is very moisturising. It has a love it-hate it scent of rhubarb that is the strongest out of all scents, but sweet-bitter refreshing.
Flutterby Butterfly Blaster - a green bath bomb with the butterfly. I haven't used it yet, but it smells like green apples.
Springtime Fantasy Soap - this one has a strong, very fresh green scent of grass and to me it smells just like when you're harvesting grapes and throwing them in the grape crusher - that green scent that fills the room (those with vineyards will know that I'm talking about). It foams like a regular soap and it's not as drying, though it still leaves that squeaky clean feeling. I've been using it for about a month and there is still 90% of it left.
Daisy Daisy Buttercup - the cutest pink cupcake design. It's another mallow, so an oily bath and leaves no colour (just milky white). It smells like soap with roses.
Click2Chic, 14.99 €
*GARNIER Neo Deodorants Intensive Antiperspirant
Garnier released a new addition to their pre-existing Neo line. They finally added aerosol versions, but this time played with the distribution system. The call it the soft flow circular diffuser which looks very futuristic and it's a bit gimmicky (not sure what's wrong with the regular system), but fun to use. These could not have come at a better time, since there seems to be an all-around drought of deodorants at this time among my friends and family (mine actually broke), meaning I had also other people testing these and reporting the results to me. I picked Fresh Blossom, the men picked Light Freshness, Shower Clean and Pure Cotton, so the unisex, clean scents and Floral Touch went to another female "participant". I'm not much of a sweater, I've never been and this one works fine for me, it doesn't stop sweating, but it smells nice. Male "participants" had very harsh words about this. It doesn't stop sweating one bit despite the anti-perspirant claim of 48h efficiency (they take the writing on the can a bit more seriously than me), so this was a big fail in their book. At least they smell nice, but don't get it if you need a proper anti-perpirant.
Shower Clean (teal) - just as the name says, it smells like clean skin and bathroom after a shower. Great scent and unisex.
Pure Cotton (blue) - a classic clean laundry scent. Powdery and fresh. Again a unisex scent.
Light Freshness (light blue) - a light sweet powdery scent, clean inspired by ocean breeze. Love this one.
Floral Touch (purple) - a stronger floral scent with note of peony, roses and freesia. Very feminine and quite perfumey.
Fresh Blossom (peach) - the sweetest in the bunch. Lightly citrusy fruity-floral, sweet and uplifting. Most my type of scent and very girly.
*ESCADA Agua del Sol
Eau de Toilette
Sample
Escada has a new summer fragrance like every year and I've been a fan of these for so long, as they are so my style of fragrances. This is one of my absolute favourites so far. They usually have a fruity note that sticks out, but here it's such a nice blend of tropical fruits, and there is none of that usual fresh base, instead it's more warm. I wasn't that impressed with the ones they did in the last few years (from the Cherry one onwards), but this is worthy of a purchase. Interestingly Escada described the scent as icy, but I find it too warm for such a description. Reviews on Fragrantica.
Notes:
Top: mandarin, Asian pear ice cream, frozen raspberry sorbet, Italian citrus peel and pink pepper.
Heart: rose petals, apricot and a fruity cocktail.
Warm base: tonka bean, sandalwood and white musk.
I got the bag as well and I assume they'll have it as a part of promotion. It's one of those cooling bags, which makes it stylish and useful.
Fragrance Samples
Hillary Duff with Love
A very spicy scent. I knew it was spicy, but I didn't expect it to be so sharply spicy. The base is very warm and vanillary, but the spices take the spotlight. I notice very little of that mango that is described in the notes and it only provides the initial freshness. I think this fragrance is already discontinued, but there might be a few bottles left in some places. I wouldn't purchase it for myself. Reviews on Fragrantica.
Demeter Ocean
Too masculine for my taste. It pretty much smells like a fresh, but slightly woodsy mens cologne. It's aquatic, citrusy and with pine notes. I don't think it smells like the ocean, at least from the start. It then mellows into a more salty scent. Again something I wouldn't buy. Reviews on Fragrantica. By the way Demeter = Library of Fragrance.
Demeter Chocolate Mint
Burnt cookies and toothpaste. That's what I get at first. The chocolate note gets a lot better in a few minutes and gets more authentic, It's close to the After Eight scent that for example TheBalm Meet Matte Hughes copies so well, but I'm missing a stronger chocolate note. Reviews on Fragrantica.
Victoria's Secret Sexy Little Things Noir Tease
As far as I'm concerned this is a dupe for Viva La Juicy. They smell so similar. It's a lovely sweet scent, a basic gourmand vanilla in the best possible way. Very likeable. Reviews on Fragrantica.
YANKEE CANDLE Wedding Day Tart
I was actually just wondering how this smells. We don't have many Yankee Candles where I live, but I'd love to at least have more tarts, so I ordered it online. Wedding day is a simple soapy rose scent. Not that awful granny-ish rose scent like in their Fresh cut Roses, but a lot more toned down and more clean. It's nothing special, but nice.
Salma, 2.24 €
Have a great day!
