New In #39

SOAP & GLORY Greatest Scrub Of All

Boots finally started shipping Soap & Glory to Slovenia and I didn't hesitate to order a few bits. I haven't had a proper manual face scrub in at least five years if not more and this one has such a high rating on Makeup Alley that I had to include it in my order. It smells like laundry detergent - strange for Soap & Glory to have such a bland scent, but I don't mind. It's a mix of large and very small dense beads that polish the skin rather well, but I wouldn't say my skin is completely smooth. Well, the cheeks definitely are super smooth after use, but it still have some problem areas around the nose, on the chin and in the corner of my eyes (I'm sure you can see that in my mascara pictures). Still, with more frequent use I'm hoping I'll finally get smooth skin again. I'll do a proper review about this in time, but so far I like it more than any manual scrub I've used.   

Boots International, £9.00

SOAP & GLORY Mist You Madly Body Spray 

250 ml

This also has a high rating on Makeup Alley and though I never smelled it in person, I took a risk and ordered it, besides they had a 3 for 2 so it was free. Kind of. I really like the scent. It smells so nice, classy, vintage-y, floral-clean (citrusy) and it has a high-end fragrance vibe. Staying power on the skin is weak, so I prefer to spray this on clothes and hair to make it last longer. The packaging is great because it sprays a very fine mist.

Notes: Bergamot, Blackcurrant, Magnolia, Freesia, Vanilla and Musk.

Boots International, £6.50

SOAP & GLORY Smoothie Star Breakfast Scrub 

300 ml

I love Soap & Glory scrubs, they are seriously so good and Flake Away is my all-time favourite, but I got this one because I wanted to try more of them and I read this one is supposedly the harshest. I'm not loving the scent of this. Is smells like maple syrup, in fact very close to the real deal, but as a European I don't find maple syrup all that amazing and the only thing that is acceptable on pancakes is a mix of Nesquick chocolate syrup and coconut cream. For those who haven't tried maple syrup yet, the scent it closest to toffee candy or if you ever tried those McGriddles they used to have in McDonalds. It's not as harsh as Flake Away, but it's still very, very good and it's so creamy/balmy. This one actually washes off completely and doesn't leave an oily filter behind like Flake Away. I love that the pot is so huge and hopefully I won't save this one till eternity because I really need to use scrubs more.

Boots International, £8.00

SOAP & GLORY Mini Scrub Em And Leave Em Body Buff 

50ml

Breakfast scrub wasn't my favourite in terms of scent, but this one is amazing. The scent is the same as at Mist you Madly spray, so a great one. The scrubby bits again aren't as harsh as at Flake Away, but the formula is so soft and creamy. I should get this one in full size.

Boots International, £2.50

SOAP & GLORY Hand Maid Antibacterial Hand Cleansing Gel

50 ml

Love this! I only had those pharmacy smelling antibacterial gels, but this one smells gorgeous like fruity sweets. I think it smells like 505 s crtom hard candy or it could be some other candy from my childhood. It dries very fast and leaves none of that film or stickiness behind, also it says it's contains some moisturising ingredient, but I don't have dry hands often, so I don't notice a difference.

Boots International, £2.50

BALEA Golden Glamour Verwöhnpeeling

Golden Glamour is the vanilla-patchouli sister of Red Love "spa" line in DM. At the beginning of the year I realized that I really need to stock up on more scrubs so I'll essentially force myself to use them more often and I grabbed this one because it was cheapest, plus I had high hopes that it's rough since it's a sugar scrub. It has such a strange texture that's difficult to describe. It's like a hard jelly with sugar. Closest I can compare it to is those Lush weird jelly shower products that are slippery as hell, but this is easier to grab, though some bits might still fall out of your hands. The sugar particles are quite densely packed, but it's not abrasive. It's a stronger scrub than Garnier's Ultimate Beauty Oil Beauty Scrub, but a lot weaker than my favourite Soap & Glory Flake Away Scrub. I think people with sensitive skin will find it harsh, but most others will love it, while I'd like it a bit harsher. It foams in contact with water and nourishes the skin a touch, though it doesn't leave an oily filter like Soap & Glory's. The scent is a synthetic vanilla that's in car fragrances and home sprays - it's fine, but Red Love is much better (my friend says it smells like cookies, though). I like it, it's not bad and I would repurchase if I needed something quick and inexpensive, but Soap & Glory's are much better. 

Ingredients.

DM, 3.49 €

DOVE Advanced Hair Series Quench Absolute Supreme Crème Serum

In German : Locken Haarpflege Supreme Creme Serum

I already talked a lot about this in my monthly favourites, so I won't repeat myself much. I grabbed this purely because it was 50 % off, but it turned out to be probably the best drugstore hair product I've ever tried. It's a simple creamy serum (with silicones) that you can use on dry and wet hair - it works very well in both ways. I love this on dry hair because it makes the hair so polished, shiny and eliminates frizz. I'm really very happy with this product. 

Ingredients.

Müller, I paid 3.99 €, but I think regular price was around 7 €. I can't remember because it was over a month ago and I haven't been in Müller since.

ESSENCE Studio Nails All in One Complete Care

I'm a simple girl. I see all-in-one on the label of a nail polish and that's all I need to hear. Actually I've been base coat-less for a few months now and I decided it might be time to buy a new one. I didn't check any reviews, it's not a product I would care much about, so I grabbed the cheapest and most multi-tasting one I could find. It promises to act as a ridge-filler (don't have those), base coat, high shine top coat and a colour refresher (that last one is a bit weird. They were probably getting so desperate at how to oversell me a clear nail polish). I don't like this. It's thick and takes forever to dry, especially if you use it as a top coat and it actually doesn't dry completely even after eight hours. I should have paid a euro more for that gel one in the white packaging, now I'm stuck with this one. This is a big miss for me. 

Müller, 1.99 €

CARRÉ HOMME Baume Aprés-rasage

I though I'll let this pass me by, but I heard one too many good thing about Nivea's Aftershave Balm as a primer to ignore it. I'm not the biggest fan of how Nikkie (Nikkie Tutorials) applies her makeup. She's talented all right, but it's all just a little bit too much for me and no one will ever convince me that that much foundation (and highlighter) looks nice in person, and life is not all Instagram and bright studio lights. I've known about the whole glycerine thing for a long time. It's in Mac's Fix+ and a million other products (hand creams have a high content usually), so it not a newly discovered miracle by a long shot, but maybe in this balm form it works. To be fair, I think it has a lot to do with all the silicones in it too. I checked all the shops for Nivea's balm and I could not find it under 7 €, which is frankly way too much for something I may not even like (I swear it was half the price 10 years ago), so me being me, I went to Leclerc and got a 1.5 € alternative. I checked the ingredients side by side and the both have almost the same ones, just a bit mixed up, but glycerine is on the second place as is Cyclopentasiloxane too, so not all that different. I've been using it for over a month, testing with all foundations I have and I can say that yes, with some foundations it works brilliantly. Especially foundations that I don't get along with such as Rimmel's Lasting Finish Nude and Manhattan's Easy Match (by the way, it's being discontinued) which with this balm look pretty much perfect. It definitely helps the foundation to wear off much nicer. So yes, I do like it and it cheap as chips, but I suspect it may be breaking me out a bit as my skin hasn't been completely clear once in this month and that never happens to me. It also smells like a bus driver that's trying too much, so not my favourite scent to be fair. By the way, it's like a light lotion-gel texture and I rub it in until it's slightly sticky, so the foundations sticks on better. 

Ingredients.

E.Leclerc, 1.50 € (I'm sure DM and Müller have their own "dupes" of Nivea's balm too) 

eBay Metallic Brushes

My full set of metallic brushes finally arrived after over a month. I have the contour and blush ones from before and I use them daily, the contour one for foundation because it's dense and blends so well, and the blush one for, well, blush as well as highlighter. The whole set contains seven brushes:

Triangle foundation brush - my least favourite. It's a bit stiff and plastic-feeling, also I don't get the shape, it really isn't the best, but it did apply the foundation well. This one smells very chemical, while the rest don't.

Big fluffy powder blush - such a soft brush that is great for applying a thin veil of powder on the skin. Great brush.

Blush brush - I have two of these. It's a more precise blush brush and very soft, so it performs better with more pigmented blushes, while with others I need to layer the colour, but I've been using it all the time since I bought it back in December.

Contour brush - Also have two of these. I original used this for contouring at which it performs so well, but since I don't contour daily, I started using it as a foundation brush and it's perfect. I love that it's flat, but dense because I can blend around the eyes and nose a lot easier than with other brushes. Great brush.

Eyeshadow blending brush - quite big, but great at blending harsh edges. It's among denser such brushes and also nice for blending concealer.

Dome Crease brush - too big for the crease, but I like it for applying colour on the lid. I thought since it's synthetic it won't pick up colour well, but it works so great with Chocolate Bar palette and blends well too.

Liner brush - pretty standard, but perhaps a bit too thick for a gel eyeliner. I use it for applying colour under the lower lashes and darkening the upper lash line.

eBay, €9.32

 *MILANI Amore Matte Lip Creme 

Gorgeous

I just got this yesterday, so I haven't had much time to play with. These were on my wishlist for quite some time, so when I heard I'll get one to test, I was so excited. These don't come in the shades that were originally launched, that was actually a limited edition, but the permanent ones, which also underwent a formula update, come in a very similar selection of shades. I loved this the moment I opened the package and even more when I applied it. I selected the colour, so it's totally a "me" shade - a magenta red shade that I wholeheartedly adore. The formula is reminiscent of my old, sadly already discontinued favourites, Essence Stay Matte Lip Creams, but so much better. It smells the same (vanilla-fruity), applies the same and it's opaque with one coat, but it dries much faster to a perfect matte finish. 

Click2Chic, 9.96 €

*MILANI Eye Tech Extreme Liquid Eye Liner

01 Blackest Black

I was hoping I'll get a chance to try this one day. I love liquid eyeliners and it will be a great help in making future "job posts". The shape of the nib is very similar to L'Oreal's Perfect Slim. It's a long, felt tip, but precise and well saturated with product. I got it yesterday, so I need some time to properly test it out, but I'm wearing it today and it is indeed very similar to L'Oreal's one, which is still one of my favourites.

Click2Chic, 7.23 €

*BALMI Super Cube Lip Balm

Coconut

Balmi's were also on my wishlist for a while and purely because they look so cute. I got the coconut version, though they sell so many others including a mint green one and rose gold with a berry scent. It smells exactly like Yves Rocher Malayan Coconut Eau de toilette so pretty good. It's not a super sugary version of coconut scent, but fresher, less candy like. It's a creamy type of lip balm, so luckily not waxy (don't like those) and it nourished my lips well, but I need to get used to the application as I've never used such unique forms of lip balm before.

Click2Chic, 6.49 €

*ESSENCE Wake Up, Spring TE March-April 2016

I got a few bits from Essence's spring collection to swatch for Click2Chic. You can see the preview of the whole collection on Polona's blog here.

Eyeliner pen 01 happy first day of spring - a white felt tip eyeliner. It needs to be layered because it's on the sheer side, but lasts very well. It can transfer, so I would set it with an eyeshadow. //2.19 €

Blush 01 hello sunshine! - I adore the packaging of this because it's like those from Physicians Formula as it has and additional compartment underneath and a mirror. 01 hello sunshine! is a classic peach blush with a highlighter-y finish (finely milled pink shimmer that is only visible under direct light). It's on the sheer side, but with layering you can build up the colour just fine.  //3.59 €

Lipstick pen 02 bye-bye winter! - some seriously good quality lipstick in a pen form. Nicely opaque with a creamy finish, but contains a lot of wax and it completely survived meals and drinking. Impressed. The shade is a basic light-medium neutral pink. //2.49 €

*REVLON Ultra Volume Mascara Waterproof

So Revlon did something unprecedented and discontinued ALL of their mascaras. Pretty crazy, right? Kinda glad I didn't have a favourite among them because I know I'd be devastated. So they decided to completely revamped their system of mascaras. The flashy names and tubes are gone, and what rose on their ashes is a collection of simplified mascaras that don't confuse you with elaborate titles. Not sure how this change will bode with their loyal customers, but I like this step back and taking it all on a more simple level. I got the Ultra Volume one to test, waterproof of course, but regular one exists as well with the same brush and packaging. The brush is that evergreen classic, the good old-school brush that is bigger and comparable to Essence's I <3 Extreme. The formula is thin and as usual for waterproof mascaras it's on the dry side. It defines so well, the brush literally catches every lash and it almost gives an effect like your natural lashes looks so great and you're not wearing tons of mascara. It holds the curl all day. I've been enjoying using this in the last couple of weeks, I usually go for big, fake-looking lashes and this one gives me a more natural effect. Reviews and swatches for the products starting from here are already on the Click2Chic blog.

Click2Chic, 10.49 €

*JORDANA Matte Lipstick

47 Nude

I already have four of these and I praised the formula, not just in the review, but also in my Best Buys under 5 € post. These are wonderful matte lipsticks, way better than you would expect considering the price and their packaging, and they rival much more expensive lipsticks with their smooth and very pigmented formula. When I was picking these, I carefully avoided Nude because I was so sure it's an ugly brown shade. I have never been so wrong in my life. It is stunning. Quite possibly the prettiest nude shade in my collection because it's a mix of my favourite Mac's Peach Blossom and Patisserie, but it's closer to the first and it's matte and not at all in that horrible chalky, dry way. Basically it's a light peachy-pink-beige shade. You can find me wearing it here.

Click2Chic, 2.60 €

*MODELS OWN Chrome Nail Polishes

Chrome Copper and Chrome Grey

I'm not into metallic effects, but I do admit these look cool on the nails, the grey one is actually much better looking for my taste. These are like frosty nail polishes, so those that leave streaks and are not the easiest to apply nicely, but they are very pigmented, one coat is enough, though they recommend two-three. I tried applying more than one, but it kind of got messed up and too thick, so I did one coat and it looked really good. These are supposedly excellent for stamping if you're into such things. I only have an old Essence stamping kit, but it worked well. There are several shades of these including silver and gold, but I only have two: Copper with is a rose gold copper shade, so a bit pinker version of copper. It's lighter than the bottle and I wish it were a bit more intense. Chrome grey is beautiful, it has this gun metal effect since it's medium silver-grey. 

Click2Chic, 5.95 €

*MODELS OWN Hypergel Nail Polishes

Cashmere Rose and Robin Red

I got another shade from this line, the beautiful Midsummer Mauve and the formula is no different. These are the two new shades released recently. Cashmere Rose is a light pink shade with a warm undertone that is similar to Essence's Forgive Me nail polish, while Robin Red is an interesting warm red with a retro feel as it's a bit desaturated, almost like you put an picture ageing filter on red. The formula is thick even for a gel inspired formula and it applies smoothly, plus any bumps even themselves out fast after application. The finish is very glossy as at basically all such formulas. 

Click2Chic, 5.95 €

*REVLON Brow Fantasy

Brunette

It may not have escaped your notice that I never speak about brow product and there is a simple reason behind that - I don't do anything to my eyebrows. I don't pluck them, shape them, fill them, draw them or whatever the hell kids are doing these days. I'm not saying my eyebrows are perfect, far from it, but they are fine and I think it's such a silly thing to devote your time to, besides, I never notice anyone's eyebrows anyway. But that's just my opinion. Anyway I got this to review/swatch for Click2Chic and I gave it a try. I found the pencil hard like most such products, but it gives more of an effect of a crayon, so it's a pretty soft type of look. The brow gel is tinted, but the tint doesn't show on my eyebrows. The wand is not the smallest, but works fine, it brushes and tames the hairs nicely without a crunchy feeling. Combination of the pencil and gel held all day. The shade I have brunette is completely wrong for my eyebrows, we decided not to post the before/after because of it, as the shade is too light and too warm for me, which gave me reddish eyebrows and mine are actually very cool brown-black. As I said I don't use brow products, so I gave this to someone else to try who's more into these thing and I thought that the pencil is quite hard, but she says it's softer than most and the wand has a bit too much product on it, but the gel is great because it holds the eyebrows in place really well. Basically she liked it, though the pencil could be a bit harder. The shade fit her very well, she's got medium brown hair with a warm undertone. Brow Fantasy has in general an excellent feedback in most reviews I read, check Makeup Alley for more opinions about it.

Shades Dark Blonde and Dark Brunette also exist.

Click2Chic, 10.96 €

Have a great day!

Best Buys Under 5 € in 2015

At the end of each year I make an overview of all the best product that I got to try that year. I do my monthly favourites where all products are included regardless when I got them and you may have spotted a special page called All Time Favourites, which I regularly update with my absolute favourite product, but these posts are only about new discoveries of the year (links to these yearly posts are at the end of my All Time Favourites page). First up is all the goodies that fit tight budgets and despite their low cost, are truly impressive. 

ESSENCE Matt Touch Blushes

I don't consider Essence being particularly good when it comes to powder products, but they totally nailed these. In the year of illuminating blushes,  Essence decided to go matte against all expectations and did very well. These are so smooth, it's almost like they are not even powder blushes because there is none of that tell-tale powdery finish on the cheeks  so it looks like your cheeks are naturally such colour and staying power is impressive as well. They only made two shades, which is a bummer, since neither of these shades are what I usually wear (I think I'll always be a Catrice I'm Nuts About You kind of girl), but they are the classic peach and pink shades that should suit so many people. 

2.79 €

CATRICE Prime and Fine Professional Contouring Palette

010 Ashy Radiance

We witnessed a miracle in 2015 - we can now walk into a drugstore and pick up a decent contour powder here in Slovenia. Well, at least one that fits us super pale girls. The shade of the contour powder is a nice taupe brown that manages to fake a shadow well, while the highlighter is a subtle champagne shade. I've heard very conflicting opinions about these palettes. Some absolutely hate it, however, I think they are the ones that picked shade 020, but I'm not sure if that is the case for all. I have a review that includes a look with it where you can see how well it shows up on my face, but I also use this on others when I do their makeup and it works just fine.  

4.69 €

ESSENCE I <3 Extreme Waterproof Mascara

I think I just love this mascara more and more. It gives me big lashes with a ton of volume, it doesn't smudge or flake and most importantly it keeps my lashes curled all day. I really love this mascara and just hope that Essence never discontinues it because I plan to repurchase it for eternity. 

2.99 €

JORDANA Matte Lipsticks

Do not be turned off by the cheap looking packaging because the product inside is amazing, especially considering how much you're paying for this lipstick. These are all fully opaque creamy matte lipsticks that are not that different from Mac's Matte finish lipsticks. There is a huge variety of shades available, so they are excellent also for experimenting with colours. 

$1.49 - 2.60 €

GOLDEN ROSE Velvet Matte Lipstick

Golden Rose products are my latest addition on this list, they don't even have their individual reviews yet, but I wanted to include them because I can already say that they are really impressive. Just like Jordana's, these are beautiful matte lipsticks with a lovely creamy formula, though these are slightly harder the first few uses. I tested them on their stall and they have a lot of wearable shades, but I only grabbed shade 12 to try which is a medium muted rose that I've been truly enjoying wearing recently. 

3.90 €

GOLDEN ROSE Matte Lipstick Crayon

Another matte lip product by Golden Rose, but in a different form. I find these are slightly creamier than the lipstick form and they are again another great set of lip products by this brand. I only own the darkest shades in this range - 02 and 03 (05 on the pic isn't mine), but I actually noticed that a lot of the shades are the same as in the Velvet Matte range, so you can pick in which version would you prefer to have your lip colour. These are not as precise as you would expect them to be (unless you intend to sharpen them constantly), but if you prefer the pen design, you may like these more than Velvet Mattes, though both are great.

3.90 €

ESSENCE Longlasting Lipliners

05 Lovely Frappuccino and 03 Yummy Berry

Essence added another line of lip liners, this time retractable ones and with a different formula than their originals. Considering their lip products usually don't wow me, I think they did a great job. The formula is creamy, but still firm enough to be precise and thankfully isn't nearly as fragile as Catrice's retractable lip liners. These can easily be worn on their own or used for lining. I have two shades for now: the stunning cool pink-purple 03 Yummy Berry and the perfect 90's shade for me 05 Lovely Frappuccino. 

1.59 €

KIKO Smart Lip Pencil 

709 Magenta

This was the year when I finally got to try Kiko's products and I ended up being pretty impressed with the brand on a whole. Smart Lip Pencil in Magenta is a stunning bright pink-red shade that is similar to Catrice's lipstick in MATTraction, so a type of shade  I adore. The formula reminds me of a mix between the original Essence and revamped Bourjois pencils, meaning it combines good qualities of both.

2.50 €

KIKO Nail Lacquer 

345 Jade Green

Told you Kiko is an impressive brand. They have a massive selection of nail polish shades and among them I found my favourite mint green shade. Obviously I have a lot of similar mint shades from before, but the reason I love this one is because it has by far the best formula of such a shade. If you ever tried Essie's Mint Green Candy (or Fiji), especially the one with the old formula and thin brush, then I'm so sorry you had to go through that, believe me I feel your pain and I can tell you that this one is miles better. It's so much smoother and needs just two coats for a nice, even finish. Jade Green is a slightly greener, more muted shade of mint green than Mint Candy Apple and I actually find it prettier. 

3.90 €

CATRICE Nail Lacquer 

18 Bloody Mary To Go

I've been wearing nail polish since I was ten, possibly even younger, yet I only got the classic red one this year. A travesty, I know. Bloody Mary to Go is a medium blue toned red that is a type of shade that everyone should own. Since Catrice finally changed the shape of their brushes, their nail polishes are so much easier to use, so they are finally worth buying.

2.59 €

SUN DANCE Selbst Bräunungs Tonik

Self-tanning Toner

Might not be the best idea to include this here because I'm not sure whether is a limited edition or not, though I hope they will release it again next summer and some DM's may have some of these left. Finding a good self-tanning product for the face is incredibly hard, but finding one that is also very budget friendly is impossible. At least it was until Sun Dance made this one. This might be my all-time favourite such product and I find no fault in it. It's like a regular toner that you apply with a cotton pad, it's almost immediately dry to the touch, it's not sticky and I love that its effect is gradual because that means you easily get a very even tan (before and after is in my original New In post). 

However, I have heard from a few people that this burns on their skin. My skin isn't sensitive at all and I find this toner to be very gentle, but if your skin is sensitive or you ever had some sort of a reaction to skin care, this might not work for you. 

3.49 €

BALEA Beauty Effect Power Maske

If your skin is anything like mine and gets dehydrated as well as a bit drier in the colder months, this is a fantastic mask to treat these problems. It's similar to for example Origin's Drink Up intensive - in my humble opinion they work exactly the same, except that this is a lot cheaper. You apply a thick coat of it after cleansing and leave it overnight. By the morning the skin feels so much better. It also has hyaluronic acid in it, which is always a plus. 

about 3.50 €

BALEA Bodybutter Nuss

I've tried a lot of Balea's body butters but this one is by far the best. It has the best texture so far, but it's still very thick and takes a long time to sink it, however, that makes it excellent for really dry skin. The scent of it is amazing, it's exactly like Monte dessert, so a rich chocolate hazelnut scent that just makes you want to eat it. I've seen a few of these in small DM's but I think they are slowly disappearing from the shelves.

2.99 €

BELLES SAISONS Eau de Cologne Lavande

The gods of irony must be laughing that one of the cheapest things on this list is actually a fragrance. Ok, it's a cologne that's actually for men, but it still counts. I discovered it whilst exploring E.Leclerc's beauty section which is a real treasure trove of products that aren't sold anywhere else in Slovenia. I always wanted a lavender fragrance and this one smells so good. It's a eau de cologne, so it won't last all day, but the bottle is truly massive, so you can completely drench yourself in it. I added a spray pump, just to make it easier to use, otherwise it's like any other men cologne just with an opening.

E.Leclerc, 1.51 € (250 ml) 

eBay Metallic Rose Gold Brushes

Blush brush and contour brush

Oh eBay. Sometimes you just blow me away. These brushes are beyond amazing for the price! I only have two so far, but I'll sure be buying some more. They look expensive, though the handle is plastic, which is actually much better to me and the bristles are amazingly soft. The blush brush a classic rounded, but flat design and it's among the smaller such brushes, but I love more precise brushes for blush and it's quite soft, so well suited for very pigmented blushes. The contour blush is very dense, wide on one side and flatter on the other. It's a great brush also for foundation due to the density of the bristles and it of course works well for its original purpose, contouring, as it fits into the hollows of the cheeks perfectly.  

1.66 - £1.70

So that is my selection for best under 5 € this year. Other products will follow in the next days.

Have a great day!

Empties #17

I posted the first part of empties yesterday and here is all the rest.

PRINZESSIN STERNENZAUBER Märchenhaftes 2 in 1 Shampoo + Spülung

2 in 1 Shampoo and Conditioner

This fails as a shampoo and conditioner for me because I feel it doesn't clean well, but it's great as a shower gel. It smells like peach sweets so I loved it.

Repurchase: Yes

YVES ROCHER Pear Caramel Shower Cream

I actually won this in a giveaway hosted by YR - the first time I won anything in a proper giveaway. I loved this. It was so creamy and it foamed well plus it smelled so good, like real pears. Yummy! The only thing I didn't like was that the is no nozzle or a pump on this, so it ran out way too quickly. The cap also broke very quickly.

Repurchase: It was a LE, but if it's released again during Christmas time, then I would.

THE BODY SHOP Honeymania Body Butter

One of the best body butters I've tried, even among TBS ones. The texture was just perfect, thick, but not too much and it was very moisturising. The scent didn't really resemble honey, it was more like wild flowers, but I still liked it.

Repurchase: Yes, in a different scent. Maybe Shea Butter or Satsuma.

BALEA Pflegecreme

50's Forever

I actually used two of these, but I already repurposed the tin, so the other, the Golden Twenties version, is missing from the picture. I adore these and I currently have four others. I use them as hand creams because they are super moisturising, but sink in quickly (I really hate greasy hands). They don't have this version any more, but it smelled like cherry candy. The Golden Twenties one smelled creamy with notes of lavender and honey. I love the packaging of these, it's so cute.

Repurchase: I have four, including one back-up of this version

HAIR

L'OREAL Elvital Glatt-Intense

By far my favourite drugstore shampoo. It's perfect for my dry hair because it nourishes it, not just cleans it. By the way the Extraordinary version is pretty much the same, except for the scent (I think it serves as a replacement for this one). It's like a bit of conditioner was added to the shampoo, but it doesn't weight my hair down, just smooths it a bit. When I'm rinsing it off, there is none of that annoying squeaky clean, dry, my-hair-I'll-be-a-tangly-mess feeling and the hair can be combed a lot easier than at a lot of other shampoos. If you have really dry hair like me, give it a go, it's very affordable anyway, but if your hair tends to get greasy fast, there may be a chance it'll build-up on your hair (it doesn't on mine, but bear in mind this was made for dry hair). 

Repurchase: I have a 400 ml bottle in my stash, but yes.

KÉRASTASE Nutritive Bain Satin 1 Shampoo

This grew on me. Initially I wasn't that impressed because even though it's meant for dry hair, it felt too light for me. But when I started using it regularly, my hair got better. It's a product that shows its effect with long-term use and I think people whose hair tends to get greasy fast, but have dry ends, might like this a lot (though I again can't assess if it builds up on the hair.) It's expensive, but if your hair is dry and you like the squeaky clean feeling, this might work well for you.

Repurchase: I still prefer Oleo-Relax, though this one is nice too.

PHYTO Phytosquam Intense

I like the concept of this, but unfortunately it did not help me with my dandruff. This is like a pre-wash treatment and shampoo in one. You apply it on dry scalp, leave it on for 7 minutes, then emulsify the product under water and it behaves like a normal shampoo, so it lathers well and cleans the hair. It left my hair feeling a bit striped, but I didn't mind that and it smells like burnt rubber, though it wasn't terrible. The packaging leaked, so I had to use a cap that I got from another product and by the end it was hard to get the last bits out because the tube is metal.  

Repurchase: No.

SEXY HEALTHY HAIR Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner

This is my absolute favourite leave-in conditioner. It nourishes my hair, keeps it hydrated noticeably longer, reduces frizz and it has made my hair a lot more healthy since I started using it. I use it after every wash on damp hair and one bottle lasts me about a year. Because it's light, I think that a majority of people can use this with no problems. I can't be without it.

Repurchase: Already did.

L'OREAL Total Repair 5 Hair Mask

A great drugstore treatment for dry hair. I don't often find treatments that are nourishing enough for my hair and this one is. I've seen the effect of it on other people (because they nicked mine) and the result was amazingly shiny, less frizzy hair. 

Repurchase: I repurchased it immediately when the pot was empty. 

FRAGRANCE

ESCADA Marine Groove edt

A limited edition from 2009, this was the only absolute love at first smell out of all my fragrances. I got it for my birthday and treasured it dearly, of course in my typical manner saved it like crazy, so it's actually gone off (I am laughable). This was my favourite Escada's LE. It smelled fresh and sweet like passionfruit. I think they have this version in Refan as a dupe and there are probably still bottles of this sold in some online shops.

Repurchase: It's was a LE, but I might get the Refan's dupe version

ESCADA Taj Sunset edt

Another ancient limited edition, actually only a year younger than Marine Groove. It smelled like super sweet mango and had typical short lasting power of these LE Escada's. It's another one that I had for way too long and it's gone off, but that's a standard for me. This one may also sold be in Refan and in some online shops.

Repurchase: It's was a LE, but no.

BEYONCE Pulse

Another fragrance that I felt was about to go off, so I dedicated myself to use it up. It had a lovely orange candy scent that later turns into a more powdery-floral one. I absolutely loved the modern bottle, but as it turns out, even though it's supposed to be kept upside-down, this appears to have broken the pump, so it leaked and sprayed in weird directions.

Repurchase: Yes, but not straight away.

REFAN fragrances

You may know I used to have tons of these. I think they are really good, they smell and behave just as the originals, but for a fraction of the price. The only thing is that they do go off in about two years, so if you suspect you won't use them often, get the smallest 15 ml size.

N.034  (Imitation of Lancôme La Vie Est Belle)

A super sweet, gourmand scent. This one smells to me like an expensive box of pralines with a fruity filling (black currant and pear), but not completely gourmand because of the floral notes (iris, orange blossom, jasmine) and patchouli. Staying power was great.

N.001 Miss Dior Cherie 

A super girly scent, but in a very sophisticated way. The sweet fruity notes of strawberry and cherry are mixed with sticky caramel and cotton candy which are then rounded by patchouli to give it a more grown up feel. This is the only fragrance I notice the difference from the original and even that only in silage. The Refan version is fainter, however, I owned Dior Cherie years ago and swapped it due to it being absolutely too strong (it felt so suffocating to me at the time), so I actually prefer this one. 

N.177 Burberry Body

It smells like roses, but not like a grandma type of rose. Normally I dislike rose scents with passion, but not in this composition. There are other notes that temper the rose scent, which makes it smell more fresh, creamy and powdery. Basically, it's a clean skin scent. There is supposed to be peach in it, but I don't smell any fruity notes at all.

Repurchase: Not these scents, but definitely yes.

TRIBUTES8 01 Molecule 01 Iso E Super

This was such a waste of money. You know that fragrance Molecule One from Escentic Molecules that so many bloggers rave about? Well that famous molecule is called Iso E Super and it's not spectacularly rare or so exceptional that it might justify a hefty price tag. There are a lot of these Molecule 01 dupes on eBay, which are just a dilution of Iso E Super in perfumer's alcohol. I didn't quite know what to expect as it's a fragrance that's supposed to smell different on each individual and you yourself can't smell it, but it should smells nice to other people. Except that is doesn't. Well, it doesn't smell of anything to be honest. It's such a weak scent that smells like water, earth and wood, like walking in a forest or similar to the oris root note in Britney Spears' The Naughty Remix, but super gentle and it lasts just a few seconds. It's just lame. It just felt like I was spraying water on me. I tried mixing it with other scents to maybe give them something extra, but this did nothing.

Repurchase: No. 

Empties #16

I have 32 empties and that's just too much to cram into one post, so there will be two. I should have done this sooner, but I always had a product that was just about to run out, in fact I have many such products right now, but enough is enough, so here is the first 16. 

MAKEUP

L'OREAL False Lash Wings Intenza

A classic plastic brush mascara that excels mostly in definition. Once it thickened a bit it was also nicely volumising. I liked the effect of it and I think it's a great mascara, but because it's a regular formula, it didn't hold my lashes curled at all. However, my cousin did really like this mascara when I gave it to her to try, that was at least until she heard how much it costs.

Repurchase: No, the main reason being the price.

ESSENCE Lash Princess Volume Mascara

The volume this mascara creates is insane. You seriously get the biggest lashes with this, it's just full on glam. Unfortunately, it's a very wet formula and my lashes drop in a microsecond. Having said that, I would repurchase this because I don't want to remove waterproof mascara every day and I do actually use regular formulas at times, even though uncurled lashes isn't the best look for me. This is a mascara I recommend to everyone who asks me for a very volumising formula. It's cheap, easily accessible and just brilliant if your lashes hold a curl well.

Repurchase: Yes.

BORN PRETTY Smooth Liquid Eye Liner with a Panda Design

I loved this. It's one of my absolute favourite eyeliners so far and I never expected it from something that looks like a kids toy. It's very black with a super smooth formula and that brush-like bendy applicator. It also lasted a really long time. Great stuff.

Repurchase: Yes. 

L'OREAL Super Liner So Couture

Either I'm incredibly unlucky or this just sucks so bad. I've never tried a worse liner than this. I thought I got a bad one because it was all dried up when I tried it at home, so I went to exchange it and that one performed exactly the same. Still pissed I wasted 10 € on this. However, I love their Super Liner Perfect Slim version.

Repurchase: Absolutely not. 

ESSENCE Eyeliner Pen Waterproof 

This is really good for the price. It's a classic felt tip liner, so the tip isn't as bendy as at that Panda liner, but the formula is very black and lasts very well. I liked it and it's the most affordable decent liner, so I'm sure I'll buy it again sometime. 

Repurchase: Yes. 

NAILS

LADY LYA Bionature 3 in 1 Nail Polish

Base Coat - Top Coat - Nail Polish

This was one of the first PR products I got and I ended up using it with every nail polish as a base for years. It takes too long to dry to be used as a top coat, but as a base coat I think it worked great. It protected the nails from being stained and it might have even contributed to every nail polish lasting eons on my nails, but the latter part might just be the because of how strong my nails are. 

Repurchase: I would if it were at least half cheaper.

SKINCARE - FACE

THE BODY SHOP Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil

I liked this in terms of how well it removed makeup, especially waterproof mascara, but I had to be very careful not to use it too often because it made my skin unclear. It's a bummer for me, but I still recommend this, since it probably won't do the same on you and it's very affordable. The packaging started leaking, which I wasn't terribly pleased about. 

Repurchase: No, I prefer L'Occitane's.

EMMA HARDIE Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm

I liked this and I didn't like it. Complicated I know. I loved the texture of this, it is sublime, so amazing to use and it removes all makeup with ease. But the general effect on my skin was not worth 50 € (mine is the small size, though). My skin even developed some patches at one point meaning that this was not enough for my skin. Also it just wasn't as clear like at Balance Me's version or Good Thing Manuka Honey version. The packaging is incredibly rubbish for the price. The lid cracked almost instantly, then it fell apart and the pot even leaked. Just terrible. Nonetheless I'm happy I tried it out.

Repurchase: No, I got the Balance Me one again.

BALEA Enzym Peeling

I didn't like this. I actually haven't used it up, but I'm throwing it away because it separated (I bought it in May). It's an enzyme peeling, so it contains AHA, however, it's so gentle, it actually doesn't do anything at all on my skin. It does smell nice though, like papaya, but warmer.

Repurchase: No.

BOCASSY Serum

A serum that is more reminiscent of a light lotion, so in warm months I could even use it on its own. I liked the effect of this, it made my skin look healthier, but I had to use a larger quantity than I'm used to at once. It has a nice scent of apples plus some warm base, it sinks into the skin very quickly and it has nice ingredients (even some vitamin A). The pump broke when it was nearing its end which wasn't cool. If I feel that my skin will worsen without this, I'll buy it again, but I'm in general not a fan of additional steps in my skin care (I'm a cleanser + Nuxe oil girl all the way).

Repurchase: I don't know yet. I like it, but it's expensive. 

REN Resurfacing AHA Concentrate

I will sorely miss this. I could buy a new one, but it's so expensive. I had this way past its expiration date, but I'm a crazy woman who obsessively saves the good things, instead of actually using it (I really, really need to stop doing this), so it actually got a bit bad at the end (the scent became more acidic). I truly relied on this when my skin was acting up. This and Queen Helene's mask was my power combination. I'm sure you've gathered from the name that it's a serum (or concentrate. Same thing) with fruity acids (glycolic lactic, tartaric and citric acid), so it's a chemical exfoliator. I don't want to write another novel about it here, so just read my review if you want to know more, but I loved this.

Repurchase: I would, but it's sooo expensive.

PALMER'S Swivel Stick

My favourite lip balm and basically the only one I use (I have Labello's Peach version, but that's not exactly the most nourishing lip balm). It's not a proper lip balm, it's actually a multi-purpose stick made out of cocoa butter (plus some extra stuff). I think that after years of using this my lips have improved so much that I never need to use a lip balm during the day because my lips are never dry. Even if I forget to use this before going to bed, my lips are still fine. It's very different from regular lip balms because it's not waxy, so it's not just a coat of stuff on your lips that prevents the moisture disappearing, but this actually nourishes the lips. It looks ridiculous when you're applying it because it looks like a giant glue stick, but I love this. 

Repurchase: Already did. 

EMMA HARDIE Amazing Face Age Support Cream

Such a rich and thick moisturiser that reminds of universal creams like Nivea or Solea. I found it a bit much for my skin, but it would work fantastically on really dry skin. Tt has a strong floral scent, so it's different from the cleansing balm. 

Purchase: No.

SKINCARE - BODY

BALEA Rasier Gel

Just an essential that I always have in stock. It's a great quality shaving gel that does its job and is very affordable. This one has a floral powdery scent.

Repurchase: Already did.

NIVEA Pearl & Beauty Anti-perspirant

Another essential that I always have a can of. I love this anti-perspirant despite being in a spray. It smells so lady-like and it contains some powder that absorbs moisture. 

Repurchase: Already did.

REXONA Clear Pure Crystal Dry Deo Stick

You must be tired of seeing this in my empties, but this is my standard deodorant for maybe two years now. I just like it because it's the only one so far that hasn't stopped working on me before I had a chance to use it up. I don't even know which one in a row this is, but it's probably 5th or 6th.

Repurchase: Already done.

The next 16 products are coming soon. It's some more body products, hair care and fragrances.

Have a great day!