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!

TheBalm Autobalm California Face Palette

When it comes to theBalm, their packaging is either a win or a total fail to me. This one is such a winner in my book. I think that the driving license design is really clever, especially for a palette that is meant to be above all travel friendly. I  think these were released last year, but I'm unsure whether they are LE or permanent, however, they are certainly sold here in Slovenia as well as on Feel Unique. I already put this in my November favourites, which proves how much it appealed to me. My version is the California licence and the other version is a Hawaii one.

There are four powder products inside the palette: 

• A matte bright peachy-pink blush/shadow

• A champagne highlight/shadow

• A medium matte brown eyeshadow and brow powder

• A deep reddish brown with shimmer that works as an eyeshadow and eyeliner.

It's a basic collection of shades, but definitely ones I wear a lot. These are the colours I use for a simple everyday makeup and I was using different products in bulkier packaging, however, here I have them in a small travel friendly compact, which makes it a lot easier.

The blush is one of those peachy-pink brightening shades that makes your skin look more healthy. It's matte which was a good decision considering they added a highlighter already. I own two other blushes from theBalm, Hot Mama and Frat Boy, and I have to say this isn't quite that same awesome quality, though still nice, it just takes a bit more effort to blend, otherwise it's a nicely pigmented, lovely blush. It's a bit small for proper blush brushes and I think this may be the reason why I feel it could blend a bit better. It's similar to Frat Boy, but less pink and deeper.  

TheBalms eyeshadows are amazing, probably the best I tried so far (or it's tied with Urban Decay's and L'Oreal's L'Ombre Pures) and these inside this palette are no exceptions. They are super smooth, pigmented and blend so nicely. 

The highlighter shade isn't as strong as for example their Mary-Lou, but this still packs a punch and looks super pretty both as highlighter and as eyeshadow. Compared to Stand-Offish from the Nude'Tude Palette it's a bit pinker. 

The eyeshadow/brow shade is a matte medium neutral brown and another great matte eyeshadow by theBalm. Compared to Sultry from Nude'Tude it's a bit lighter. I do wish it were a bit cooler, especially considering it's a brow product.

The last shade is the deepest  and similar to Nude'Tudes Silly, which is not the best quality and though this one also isn't as opaque as their other similar shades, it performs much better than Silly and works for deepening the outer corners.

The packaging is cardboard as most of theBalm palettes and it contains a mirror. As I said it the intro, it's designed to look like a driving licence and around the mirror there is a map design as well, which appeals the geographer side of me.

It costs about 19 € in Müller. It's not the cheapest, but it is very versatile and very travel friendly. 

Have a great day!

Kiko Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow 06 Golden Brown

After being seriously impressed with the shade 38, I really wanted to get my hands on more of these. I planned on getting more colours, I still do, but settled on one more shade for now - 06 Golden Brown. These are the most amazing cream eyeshadows I tried and some of the quickest to use, which is something that always appeals to me.

06 Golden Warm is a bronze shade that is actually very similar to Maybellline's On and on Bronze, but it's a bit darker and cooler. Thankfully, this one does not have the chunky shimmer like shade 38, it's just a simple metallic bronze. Despite being so similar to On and on Bronze, both in terms of colour and texture, I prefer Kiko's version because it's so much easier to use. It's almost as a thick eyeliner that you apply it over the lid and blend with a fluffy brush. It takes seconds and you're done. 

The texture of these is so creamy and even now that the 38 is a bit older, it hasn't dried up so much that is would start tugging on the lids. These just glide on the skin and leave a fully opaque streak of colour. This shade is very pigmented, but of course as you blend the intensity diminishes, so you have to build up the colour if you want a nicely blended look with the intense colour on the lid. It blends so well and with any blending brush I've tried, from the classic MAC's 217 to the inexpensive synthetic eBay one. 

Once it sets it won't budge. The colour is still on the lids late at night, it may be a bit creased if you didn't set it with a powder eyeshadow, but most of the colour is still there. These are really the most long lasting eyeshadows I've tried. 

I got mine is a Kiko shop in Palmanova for 4.90 €. I paid 6.90 € for the first one online.

These are so worth it and if you happen to go to Kiko or order online, these are my top recommendation, even above their nail polishes. I use them as a base a lot, but also individually and they perform so well. I really need to buy more of these.

Have a great day! 

TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer

This is probably one of most hyped up highlighters in recent years and it actually didn't interest me much when the hype started because I was not into highlighters, at least not strong ones. But so many people raved about this that it kind of automatically landed on my wishlist. This is actually my second powder highlighter that own and my only gold toned, so yeah, my stash of highlighters isn't the most extensive one, but I'm still using Jemma Kidd's one (cream) and L'Oreal's Magic Lumi Primer (liquid) which are both my favourite (but my absolute favourite is actually Mac Vanilla pigment of which I only have a sample).

Mary-Lou Manizer is a gold toned highlighter with an intense shine. The reason why I avoided buying this was because I was concerned it would look too gold on my pale skin tone. I've heard conflicting reviews about how it works on pale skin, so I didn't want to risk it, however, I can report that it's fine, just don't overdo it. I'm currently at my palest, so Nars Siberia/Revlon Colorstay Ivory/Rimmel Light Porcelain 010 plus I have a neutral undertone and this does look a bit golden on me, but as long as I don't go to really to town with it, it's fine. I applied a lot of it on my picture because I camera phone doesn't pick up highlighters well, so it looks gold. I would normally apply less.

At first I did not get this highlighter, it seemed like a nice average one, but the more I use and dig though the top layer, the softer it gets and now it's giving me a very intense glow. This is a highlighter for glow lovers, but most might end up saving it for a special occasions. Currently I'm in a phase where I crave for anything glowy, that's why I love Physicians Formula Sexy Booster blush so much, however, suspect I won't be using this in the summer as I feel the intense sunlight will make it very shimmery looking (it happens with most highlighters anyway), but will see. So far, I'm really enjoying using this. It even landed in my latest month favourites and I would love to give Cindy-Lou a try as well.

The packaging is well made, a plastic case with a handy big mirror and the typical comic retro design (check the charges on the board).

Mary-Lou is for those who adore the glow. There is nothing subtle about it and I can see why it's so highly regarded in the beauty community. Is it the glowiest highlighter I tried? No. But that's a good thing as I think any more glow would look terribly tacky. It would look fantastic on warm and medium skin tones, so if you're looking for something truly glamorous looking, check this one out, but even if you're very fair, don't be afraid to try it. 

Available in Müller for 23.99 €.

Have a great day!

Holiday Inspired Beauty

Continuing my tradition of season inspired mega posts, the time is right for a holiday inspired one and I set out to do it a bit differently this time. I did a collection of four looks that actually didn't quite pan out the way I wanted to (damn the weather - the curse of the beauty blogger), nonetheless I hope you'll find some inspiration for your holiday makeup or at least feast your eyes on tons of pretty makeup (some of my favourite bits actually).

MAKEUP

Red Lips and Sparkly Eyeliner

Holiday season and particularly New Year's Eve give us an excuse to dust off our glitter products and go to town with them. I've been seeing glitter and metallic eyeliners everywhere in the past weeks, which inspired me to do something similar, but I discovered all of my glitter liners are actually completely dried up (considering I bought them years ago, not so shocking), so got a new one - Golden Rose Extreme Sparkle Eyeliner 103. It's quite a yellow gold and it needs two layers for an intense effect, but it's soo pretty and sparkly under the lights (way prettier in real life than on my pictures). The other star of the look is a red lipstick. I used my all-time favourite L'Oreal's Blake again because it's awesome and so richly pigmented (seriously the more lipsticks I try, the more I realize how brilliant this one is), but I also included a very budget option - Jordana's Modern Matte in 12 Matte Style. I did a similar post on the other blog I write on. It's more of a classic glam look and I used that one instead of Blake. On my cheeks is my new love Milani Powder Blush in 01 Romantic Rose, which unfortunately you can't see well because my camera phone does not like the weird weather we're having, but it's perfect to pair up with red lips. Unfortunately you can't see the highlighter theBalm's Mary-Lou Manizer either, so you'll have to take my word and just image that is was indeed super glowy.

All of the makeup 

Base: my princess foundation NARS Sheer Glow Foundation, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer and Bourjois Poudre de Riz Java, which is still my favourite powder (the new navy blue one isn't the same. It's way more glittery). 

Cheeks: the super glowy theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer and Milani Powder Blush in 01 Romantic Rose.

Eyes: theBalm Put a Lid on It eyeshadow primer, Urban Decay Naked2 Basics palette just for a bit of definition, Artdeco High Precision Liquid Liner, Essence Big Bright Eyes eyeliner like in 99 % of my looks,  Lancome Hypnose waterproof mascara and Golden Rose Extreme Sparkle Eyeliner 103.

Lips: Catrice Longlasting Lip Pencil in 040 …and a Cherry on the Top and L'Oreal's Color Riche Pure Reds in Blake.

You'll see the manicure I intended to pair up with this look below the looks, but I used the deep red Revlon's Parfumerie in Bordeaux and my favourite glitter nail polish Rimmel's Star Dust in Aurora. For my fragrance I chose La Rive Moon which is essentially an excellent 10 € rip-off of Hugo Boss Nuit pour Femme.

Statement Lips

Of course I had to include one of my favourite lip colours ever and the one I think I'll wear a lot this festive season - Mac's D for Danger. As a cheaper version chose Catrice's Ultimate Colour in 360 Mattraction, which is different, but still incredibly gorgeous. The eyes are simple, a very neutral look with big lashes using theBalm Nude'Tude palette's shades Selfish and Sophisticated and the super awesome Essence's I love Extreme waterproof mascara. Revlon's Colorstay and Collection concealer took its place as the base duo this time, a contrast to the previous high-end set, yet both pairs provide a high coverage, satin-matte look. Part of the look was Mary-Lou again (to be fair it's my only proper highlighter) and the cutesy pink Physicians Formula Nude Wear blush in Rose on the cheeks.

All of the makeup

Base: Revlon Colorstay foundation for normal/dry skin,  L'Oreal Lumi Magique Primer (under foundation for some extra glow), Bourjois Poudre de Riz Java and Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer.

Cheeks: Physicians Formula Nude Wear blush in Rose and theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer.

Eyes: theBalm Nude'Tude palette, Collection Extreme Eyeliner, Essence Big Bright Eyes Eyeliner and Essence I Love Extreme waterproof mascara.

Lips: Mac D is for Danger (retro matte) and to neat up the edges I grabbed Kiko's Smart Pencil in 709 Magenta.

Other products on the pictures: Yves Rocher Perfumed Bath Oil Spicy Vanilla (smells like vanilla and Jaffa cakes), Aqualina Pink Sugar fragrance, Yankee Candle Season of Peace (smells like clean sheets) and eBay rose gold blush brush, which is all kinds of awesome.

Smoky eye and neutral lips

I'm not the best at smoky eyes, at least on me and my camera didn't even pick it up well, but to be fair all it really takes is a black eyeliner and tons of mascara. I used Kiko's Eyeshadow Stick in 06 as a base because it intensifies the looks and keeps everything in place for ages, the good old classic Urban Decay Naked palette (shades Sin, Smog and Darkhorse) and Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Zero in the waterline. I had two options for the lips, even took two sets of pictures, but the weather was so awful that I chose not to include the version with L'Oreal's L'Extraordinaire in 101 Rose Melody, so I'm only showing you the version with Kiko's Rebel Romantic Lavish Lipstick in 01 Lusty Peony, which I wear a lot, but it is unfortunately a limited edition. However, it would be a travesty not to include it here as it the most glamorous lipstick I own (yes, prettier than YSL's Rouge Volupte). For the base I went for something a lot lighter as well as more appropriate for dehydrated skin, the combination of my old favourite Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum and 123 Perfect CC cream, both look incredibly natural on the skin.

All of the makeup

Base: Max Factor Facefinity All Day Primer (works great as an eyeshadow primer too), Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, Bourjois 123 CC  Perfect CC Eye Cream and Bourjois Poudre de Riz Java

Cheeks: the universally loved theBalm Frat Boy which really perks up the cheek and theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer.

Eyes: Kiko's Eyeshadow stick in 06 Golden Bronze as a base, Urban Decay Naked palette, Urban decay 24/7 Eyeliner Zero and Maybelline the Sensational Waterproof mascara.

Lips: Kiko's Rebel Romantic Lavish Lipstick in 01 Lusty Peony

Rest of the products on the picture: Kiko Nail Lacquer 375 Bois de Rose , Yankee Candle Snowflake Cookie, eBay metallic brush for blush, owl lip balm from H&M and Hugo Boss Ma Vie fragrance.

Dark lips

If you though I'll use Laetitia again, you were wrong. I got several new vampy shades in the lasts month which inspired me to add this look as well. I bought Golden Rose's Matte Lipstick Crayons in 02 and 03, both excellent vampy choices. 02 is very close to Mac's Diva, so it's a more classic, glam option and that's what I chose. If you want a slightly lighter option, 05 is a great choice. For the eyes I busted out two of my old favourites - Mac's Patina and L'Oreal Infallible 024 Bronze Goddess. Both have that antiqued gold look, but not in bronzy way, rather they are more green. Rose Royce was the blush of choice here, a shade I highly recommend to anyone, but the emphasis was on Catrice's Contour Palette as such a strong lip needs some sculpting of the face if you don't want to look completely washed out. Two more of my favourites for the base: the matte L'Oreal's Infallible foundation, which hides pores better than any primer I tried and my HG concealer Maybelline the Eraser.  

Rest of the makeup

Base: L'Oreal Infallible 24h Matte, Maybelline the Eraser concealer, Bourjois Poudre the Riz Java and Urban Decay Setting Spray.

Cheeks: Catrice Prime and Fine Professional Contour Kit, Catrice Defining Blush in Rose Royce and theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer.

Eyes: Mac Patina, L'Oreal Infallible 024 Golden Goddess, Artdeco High Precision Liquid Eyeliner and Essence I Love Extreme waterproof mascara (Physicians Formula Va Va Voom on the picture. It's great, I just needed waterproof for the pictures)

Lips: Golden Rose Matte Lipstick Crayon 02

Other products on the picture: Essie nail polish Sole Matte, Essence Merry Berry TE nail polish 03 Pink and Perfect, the warm and cuddly Taylor Swift Wonderstuck Enchanted, Yankee Candle Shea Butter (smells creamy and warm, better than the real deal), eBay metallic contour brush, metal hair pony tail clip (which is too small for my thick hair. It's from a Chinese shop) and crystal gold cat ears headband from eBay.

NAILS

You may have already seen all of these manicures, but this was my experimenting phase in the last month. I wanted very simple manicures because I'm not good as these things, but some of these turned out rather well considering I've never done them before. The rings are from H&M.

Black matte base and shimmery triangles

All you need is sticky tape to do this one. I used the latex finish Essence Effect nail polish in 32 The Black Cat as base and then Rimmel's Star Dust nail polish in Aurora for the triangles. Use the regular clear sticky tape because it's the thinnest and it works best. This one was pretty simple and even if the triangles don't look the same size, it doesn't really matter much. Everyone loved this one. Picture tutorial here.

Ice Queen Manicure

I used Maybelline's Colorama Party Blue as a base (discontinued, it just has to be light blue) and silver glitter Catrice Luxury Lacquers Million brilliance in 01 It's Showtime. The ombre thing was causing me some issues, but I think I got a hang of it now. Just get all the excess base fluid off the brush using a tissue and slowly build up the shimmer. Patience is greatly rewarded at this look. 

Pink and Gold

Again a very similar design as at the previous one, except that it's inverted and the shimmer is at the tips of the nails. I used Essence the Gel Nail Polish in 13 Forgive Me as a base and Alessandro Nail polish 297 for the shimmer.

Sparkly Christmas Tree

This one was a hard one and took me several tries. It's similar to the first one, so again it's all about the sticky tape. Use a dense glitter nail polish, one that you know will stick well, I used Rimmel's Aurora. The sticky tape design will take you some time, you can assemble it before sticking on the nails if you wish. Wait for the nail polish to dry completely and then remove the tape by pulling it sideways. It was truly a trial an error for me and this is the way I find I got proper results. I used Revlon Parfumerie in Bordeaux as a base, but I waited a whole day before doing the design. Picture tutorial here.

GOLDEN ROSE Jolly Jewels Nail Lacquer

103

My most recent addition - a very festive shade with interesting combination of small gold glitter with large copper hexagons. It's not fully opaque even with several coats, instead it's more of a top coat, so you could combine it with a different colour, but here I used it on its own. 

You may have noticed that I'm incapable of taking just a few pictures and be done with it, so this post ended up crazy long (*coughs*…1.84 GB big folder…*coughs*). I still didn't want to waste it, so this last part is like a continuation of getting ready with me and includes the products that I would/will use for special occasions, but no extra descriptions of products, you have links to reviews anyway.

HAIR

Pulling out the big guns for my hair routine 

Care:

L'OREAL's Elseve Extraordinaire Oil Nourishing Shampoo

KÉRASTASE Nutritive Masquitense Épais - Thick

KÉRASTASE Nutritive Nectar Thermique

OROFLUIDO Beauty Elixir

Styling:

SAPPHIRE 8 in 1 Complete Curling Wand (I tend to use the 2.5 mm barrel)

CHARLES WORTHINGTON Volume & Bounce Texturising Spray

LEE STAFFORD Hold Tight hairspray

SKINCARE

YVES ROCHER Exfoliating Bubble for Bath and Parfumed Bath Oil in Spicy Vanilla (both smell like Jaffa Cakes)

L'OCCITANE Jasmin-Immortelle-Neroli Body Lotion

NEUTROGENA Visibly Clear Wash mask 2 in 1

BALANCE ME Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm

NUXE Huile Prodigieuse Multi-Purpose Dry Oil 

CREATEURS DE MONOI Face Cream

I hope you enjoyed this post and have a great day!

New In #37

ESSENCE All About Nude and All About Bronze Palettes

I never thought much of Essence eyeshadows. The ones I tried were rubbish, so I avoided buying more, but I heard some good things about these palettes and after swatching them in the shop, I put them on my wishlist. To be fair, since I got theBalm Nude'Tude palette I didn't plan on getting any more cheap eyeshadows, but I bought these because I need them for my work and they were the only ones I could just go and buy in the drugstore - stupid reason, but whatever. When I first tried these, they got a double "hmm" from me. That's the sound I make when I'm feeling underwhelmed by the product, basically it's not a good sign when I do this. They are nice... ish. Well nice for drugstore eyeshadows, but based on those swatches I made in the shop I expected a lot more pigment. They are just sheerer than I expected, though the bronze shades are nice. I don't know.. .they're not bad, but  theBalm palette is miles better ( and 8-times more expensive). It could just be the top layer and I do have a feeling they are improving the more I use them. 

You can find a few looks I did with them here. My fellow bloggers already wrote a review about these, you can find them here: Adjusting Beauty and Chunky Cheeks.

Müller, 4.39 €

 GOLDEN ROSE Velvet Matte Lipstick

12

I got my first products from this brand. I've heard about it, but they only recently came to Slovenia. They remind me of Kiko in some ways, with the large selection of products and shades as well as very affordable prices. I was highly recommended to try Velvet Matte Lipsticks and I decided on shade 12 after checking Instagram pics and saw a comparison with Mac's Mehr (they're not dupes just to be clear). I like this. It's a nice matte lipstick, quite creamy once you get through the top slightly harder layer and it reminds me a bit of Maybelline's Matte lipstick. Shade 12 is a medium muted rose, a natural shade, but darker than my lips. It's like a darker Nude-ist and I'm quite liking it at the moment. I did a swatch on the lips bellow, but I hate winter for taking swatches, so it's not completely spot on, but close enough.

Golden Rose, 3.90 €

GOLDEN ROSE Matte Lipstick Crayon

02, 03 and 05

Another product I was recommended to try and heard raves about. I get quite a few e-mails and messages from readers and friends about really dark, plumy shades and the darkest shade I own is Mac's Diva, so I wanted to explore some more affordable and ever darker options. I choose two very deep shades, 02 and 03. The first is a deep red that is similar to Diva and 03 is a deep brownish plum, which I'm not so sure about, it's not terribly pretty, but it very close to some pictures I got sent (from Pinterest obviously, which are all so clearly photoshopped). My cousin also lend me shade 05 which is a deep red. The formula is a bit creamier than of Velvets and it's not that easy to get very precise edges with it, so a lip liner is still a must at such dark shades. I noticed that some shades in the Velvet Matte range and Matte Crayon are basically the same, 02 is 23 in Velvet, 03 is 29 and 07 is 12 (Ajda is wearing Velvet 23 here). These need to be sharpened which I'm not a fan of. 

Not the best swatches, but I wanted to post them now, since I have a feeling it will take me some time to do proper reviews.

 Golden Rose, 3.90 €

GOLDEN ROSE Extreme Sparkle Eyeliner

103

I wanted a gold eyeliner for my holiday look and when I was checking the Golden Rose website before going to the actual shop, I chose Metallic Eyeliner in 02, but when I swatched them, this one looked more special, so I chose glitter over metallic. It looked a bit thin when I swatched it at home again and indeed it is a product that requires two layers, but I love the effect of it. It sparkles so nicely on the eyes, which looks so glamorous. The colour is a very yellow gold, which isn't the best, but I'm pleased with this and would love to get the silver version as well. You'll see it in action in my holiday inspired post (still working on it).

 Golden Rose, 4.50 €

 GOLDEN ROSE Eyeshadow Crayon

14

Since I discovered Kiko's Eyeshadow Sticks, I've been loving these type of creamy products as bases because they make even the cheap eyeshadows work perfectly, not to mention how quick they are to apply. I got the shade 14 which is  a warm hazelnut brown shade with a metallic finish. It's not as good as Kiko's, by that I mean it's not as intensely pigmented, it just means that the products need to be layered and when it comes to eyeshadows that's not the best thing as thick layers are prone to creasing, however, I do really like this. It blends nicely and works well as a base. The one thing I'm not a fan of is that it needs to be sharpened, which is a hassle and you essentially throw away some of product when you do it. 

Golden Rose, 3.30 €

 GOLDEN ROSE Jolly Jewels Nail Lacquer

103

Golden Rose has the most impressive nail polish collection I've ever seen. They truly have an astonishing range of colours and finishes. I wanted a dense gold glitter nail polish, which I actually searched for all over my home town. This one isn't quite it, but it caught my eye because it has an interesting combination of small gold glitter with large copper hexagons. It's not fully opaque even with several coats, instead it's more of a top coat. It sparkles under the artificial light, though when you look at it closely, it's a bit strange, since the base is warm gold and then the hexagonal flakes are copper. The removal process is understandably a nightmare, those copper hexagons stick to the nails so fast you need some ungodly power to get them off. Picture of it on my nails here.

Golden Rose, 3.10 €

 ESSENCE The Gel Nail Polish 

50 i feel good

I got this purely to do some nail art, which failed so miserably. I never owned a green nail polish, frankly it's a weird colour to wear on the nails to me (and the comments I got were hilarious). This one is a dark forest green. The formula is lovely, it's one of those gel formula ones, so it's excellent.  

Müeller, 1.69 €

 eBay Metallic Rose Gold Brushes

Blush brush and contour brush

These are beyond amazing for the price! I got then immediately after seeing them of Petra's Instagram and got only two to try, but I'm getting the whole set for sure or at least the powder one and another set of these two. These look expensive, though the handle is plastic, which is actually much better to me as I would hate to have a heavy brush to handle. The bristles are amazingly soft and these just feel well made. 

 The blush brush fits my cheeks well, some might find it a bit small, but I prefer more precise blush brushes. It's the type of brush I would use with more pigmented blushes as it's not very dense. By the way, the bristles are synthetic. 

The contour brush is dense, just the way I like it and it can work as a great foundation brush. I tried contouring with it which ended up very well. Great brush.

 Petra already wrote an awesome and comprehensive review, so I probably won't write any more than in this New In.

eBay, blusher brush (contour) £1.70, facial brush (blush) £1.66

YVES ROCHER Exfoliating Bubble for Bath 

Spicy Vanilla

Last year I won a shower gel in Yves Rocher's Christmas/December giveaway and I loved it. It was really good, so this year I decided to give their holiday collection a go. These bubbles looked the coolest and when I saw they have three version, all of which mention cinnamon in one way or another, I really wanted one. I checked all of them in the shop, the Orange-Cinnamon version, the Orange-Almond one and this one, Spicy Vanilla, and to be completely honest they all smelled the same, just like Jaffa Cakes. I'm not a fan of the latter, I mean jam with chocolate, where is this world going, but it's kind of a nice scent for Christmas I guess. The gel is thick, which I like and the exfoliating particles aren't just for show, though it's not a proper scrub. The one thing I hate about this bubble is that there is no proper "delivering system", it's just a gaping hole when you open it and it's hard to control the amount you want. Nice, but the packaging needs an update.

Yves Rocher, 5.90 €

YVES ROCHER Perfumed Bath Oil

Spicy Vanilla

This has an even more unfortunate packaging than the Bubble for Bath. It's seriously so stupid. There is a tiny hole through which the product should be delivered, but unless you shake this vigorously, nothing comes out. So you spend a better part of the shower shaking this like a moron for a few drops of the oil. The scent is more vanillary that the Exfoliating bubble, but it's still all about the Jaffa biscuits. It's light oil compared to L'Occitane's, but it emulsified to a thin foam and doesn't dry out the skin. The ingredients are cheap, main is mineral oil, then there is some maze oil plus fragrance. It's nice, but I need to figure out how to fix the packaging problem. It's also a very pretty decoration on the shelf. 

Yves Rocher, 7.5 €

MILANI Powder Blush 

01 Romantic Rose (borrowed)

This isn't mine, but I sure wish it was. These have been on my wishlist for absolutely ages and when my cousin came round enthusiastically waving the new Milani lipstick in Darling she got because of me, she also showed me this and asked me if I'd like to review it. I adore this. It's so good, like HG material. The shade is so lovely, a natural brownish-muted pink-mauve, complicated to describe but something along the lines of Catrice's I'm Nuts About You. It's very pigmented, blends nicely and looks superb on the cheeks. And the design is sooooo pretty! You shall hear a lot of gushing about it here in the future. Basically I want all of these, well the natural shades, I'm not sure I can pull off Coral Cove, it looks very intense.

Milani EU 9.16 €; Milani USA $7.99; Beauty Crowd, £7.20; Moja Drogerija, 14.41 €; Click2Chic, 10.46 €

YANKEE CANDLE Cranberry Pear

When it comes to Yankee Candle, I'm one of those that is mainly unimpressed, but constantly tempted especially at Christmas. I fell in love with this scent instantly. I won't write this poetic description of the scent, I'll just say what it actually smells like and that is wild strawberries and a bit of pine, which actually ends up smelling like picking strawberries in the forest (something I do every year and I just love that smell). I've actually never found any scent that would mimic wild berries, they smells so much nicer that garden ones and taste far better too, so I'm delighted to have found this. The scent it very intense and even unlit/melted it fills the room. But basically it doesn't smell like neither pear nor cranberry. 

Yankee Candle, 1.99 €

YANKEE CANDLE Season of Peace

This one reminds me of my late grandmother, or at least the smell of her house. It's somewhat like Soft Blanket, so a clean and warm scent. It's like a fabric softener, I'm sure my grandma had a laundry detergent or a fabric softener with this scent, so it must be something that was sold here 15 years ago, but I haven't a clue which one she used (maybe Silan. I think I saw a bottle of it in her house). 

Yankee Candle, 2.60 €

YANKEE CANDLE Shea Butter

Another gorgeous scent. Shea butter doesn't smell as nice as this, but I can smell it mixed in the scent. It's warm, creamy and clean. It like a generic body cream in the scent that everyone likes. Love this. 

Yankee Candle, 2.60 €

YANKEE CANDLE Snowflake Cookie

This is pretty much the same as their Christmas Cookie. There's loads of gourmand vanilla and this baked note. It sounds strange I know, but when you bake cookies and you just take them out of the oven, there is this smell of baked. It's kind of a classic candle that you burn when you want to make it appear like you baked something, but were too lazy to do it and you just sneakily bought them in the supermarket.

Yankee Candle, 2.60 €

L'OREAL Elnett Heat Protect Spray - Straight 

Elnett Hitze Styling Sprays 3 Tage Glatt 

A couple of weeks ago I met the lovely Petra from Adjusting Beauty blog, whom I mention a lot on my blog and we even did my first (an only) collaboration a while ago. She surprised me with a set of samples when we were saying goodbye (thanks again <3) and this was among it. This has been on my wishlist for quite a while, but I always have other products to finish, so I'm been putting off purchasing it. It's a very basic heat protectant that is light and simple, so it fits many hair types and I've been enjoying using it precisely because of that. Actually it's no different to me from the Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Heat UV Protective Primer, which is a lot more expensive. If you're looking for something similar, but for a lot cheaper, this is it. I will buy a full size one day. It has a simple, hair care scent.   

I think it's about 7 €

AVON Advance Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Argan Oil Mask

I have this prejudice that Avon't stuff isn't all that impressive when it comes to dealing with very dry hair. I always imagine they have some diluted, super liquid hair masks, but his one is thick and feels like it will do something. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't quite enough for my hair, however, I could see it working for moderately dry hair. Full size looks like this (also a pic of shampoo)

Avon, regular price 5.70 €

AVON Advanced Techniques Supreme Oils Shampoo

This was a pleasant surprise to me. It didn't leave my hair stripped and that is a sign of a good shampoo to me. If you have dry hair, this is worth trying out. 

Avon, regular price 4.60 €

AVON Planet Spa Sleepy Serenity Pillow Mist

Petra raved about this a while ago and remember being intrigued as I love such scents. It smells very calming, they describe it as a mix of lavender and camomile, but the latter is much more dominant. From the start this is a dead ringer for the Kamagel's scent to me (camomile based ointment made by Slovene pharmaceutical company Krka), but it then switches to a more lavender based scent. Very calming and very lovely. I can't find this in the catalogue, so I don't know how much it costs or if it still exists. Petra's review here. 

EBELINE Nagellack Entferner

Nail polish remover

I got this one because of the packaging. It's one of those where you press the cotton pad at the top and it pumps the product up, soaking the cotton pad. One pump delivers pretty much the perfect amount of product for me, others might be used to more, but it can start spraying/dripping if you're too greedy for the product. It's nothing special when it comes to removing. It's not particularly strong, so I probably won't repurchase.  

DM, 1.39 €

 ESSENCE Quick and easy Sponge Nail Polish Remover

This one is more expensive than the Ebeline one I usually buy, but that one gets dirty so fast, so I'm looking for something better (Bourjois' is excellent, but too expensive. Ombia's is total crap). So far I've only used it with light nail polishes because I don't want to ruin it straight away, but it's ok. It does the job.

Interspar, 2.99 €

ESSENCE Holo Stripes Nail Stickers

I got these to do that design that is on the nail wheel next to Golden Rose 103 above. It kind of failed which isn't a surprise. Anyway, there are three thin strips in the set: a silver one, a dark silver one and violet-pink one all with a metallic look, not really holographic. My picture isn't the best, but it's hard to photograph these with a camera phone. They tend to fall off fast without a good layer of top coat. 

 Interspar, 1.39 €

YUMMY Wild Things Shower Gels

Happy Boost and Sexy Boost 

There are new Yummy shower gels called Wild Things which all feature animal prints. I got the zebra Happy Boosts and the snake Sexy Boost, but there are more: the giraffe Classy Boost, leopard Energy Boost, tiger Power Boost, and peacock Vanity Boost. These are pretty basic shower gels that smell nice. They foam well, clean well and that's it. Happy Boost will appeal to many, at least that my experience when I gave these two to people to sniff. It's a classic girly scent, but a bit more sophisticated. It's candy-vanilla sweet, but a bit floral and woody, so it's gourmand without being properly gourmand.

Sexy Boost won't be for everybody though, at least not for those who like simpler scents. It's a proper unisex scent, almost more masculine than feminine. The best way that I can describe it is if I compare it to Axe (Lynx) scents, not the super douchey Dark Temptation, but those green ones. It smells a lot more masculine in the bottle, but in the shower it's more tame. The base is citrusy, I get lime, though its described as earthy. The sharper note that gives the scent defining character is spice, cardamom in particular. I actually like this scent a bit more than the Happy Boost and I'm not a girl for unisex scents. 

Click2Chic, 4.95 €

Have a great day!