October Favourites, Disappointments, Wishlist & Everyday Heroes
A different type of format for the end-of-the-month post. I only had three favourites that I haven't mentioned in a while because I've been mostly sticking to the same products for the past few months and most have been in last favourites posts already. I share my favourites every month, but you don't get to see a general overview of products I use every day, my current skin care routine, body care and also what caught my interest or disappointed me in a span of a month. So this will be a mix of everything and I hope you don't find it too much at once.
FAVOURITES
I won't say I'm a big fan of the formula, especially when comfort is concerned because these are thick and super sticky in the first half an hour after application. However staying power of these is outstanding and Pioneer quickly became my perfect red. I've spend a couple of my visits to the drugstores trying to find something similar to L'Oreal's Blake (which to the best of my knowledge is discontinued), preferably in a matte liquid lipstick form and I realised we have very little cool toned red shades, at least as pretty as this one by Maybelline. It's such a beautiful cool red with a pink-cherry base that has a timeless feel. I'll call this a perfect Snow White shade.
I've been avoiding peach blushes for a while now because I felt they look a bit too warm/unnatural on my pale skin and I prefer using mauve-rosy blushes for a more subtle, defined look. But I grabbed this at random, since when it comes to blushes I have phases when I dig out those I haven't used in a while and it reminded me how great this blush is. Applied with a light hand it gives me a very believable flush and the sheen in this is amazing - it's just like you'd apply Mary-Lou Manizer over a blush. TheBalm blushes are my favourite in terms of quality because they last so well on my cheeks, but all were in the peachy-pink or plum family before this year, however, now they finally released two blushes that are so much colours: Balm Dessert and Balm Beach.
PALMER's Swivel Stick
This is still the only lip balm I use and the only one I ever truly loved, but this month I found its new super power. In the last months I've suffered a few minor injuries. First I fell and twisted my ankle, scrapped my knee pretty bad and it took about a month to heal (I couldn't bend my knee for almost two weeks). I still have visible cuts and I suspect I'll have a permanent scar there. And second I got a long thin burn going from the knee to my foot on one leg. Both injuries have been healing slowly, despite using panthenol and other creams, until I decided to use this. It started to heal so much faster, it erased 60 % of that burn in a week or so, before it just looked the same for a month. The scrape on the knee is a bigger challenge because it was a deeper wound, but I've seen some improvements as well. I need to buy some extra products from Palmer's, these really are effective.
BRILLIANT FIRST IMPRESSIONS
/Če vas novica še ni dosegla, The Body Shop končno prihaja tudi v Slovenijo. Sicer bo le spletna trgovina, ampak bo vseeno veliko lažje priti do izdelkov. Kdaj bodo odprli svoja virtualna vrata še ni popolnoma znano, pravijo, da zagotovo pred decembrom, ustvarjene pa že imajo profile na socialnih omrežjih Facebooku in Instagramu/
*THE BODY SHOP Oils of Life Intensely Revitalising Facial Oil
I think I'm in love with this, at least its effect on my skin which is right now in such great condition. It's clear, soft and very radiant and this is the only thing I've been using. It's a dry oil, so there's very little of that greasy feeling, even less than at Nuxe, so that's a step up in my books, except for the scent which is somewhat nutty-herbal. Nuxe is still brilliant, though, and way cheaper, especially per ml, but I'm tempted to buy a full size of TBS.
*THE BODY SHOP Almond Milk & Honey Shower Cream
I loved this immediately when I tried it. The scent is divine, like a honey with sweets type of scent, but also with notes of comforting almond. I love it way more than Honeymania, their other honey scent which they promised will smell like the real deal, but it ended up smelling floral. Almond Milk line is designed for sensitive, dry skin and this shower cream feels like a lovely product, so I'd like to explore this line more.
*THE BODY SHOP British Rose Fresh Plumping Mask
This is a typical moisturising masks that I'm sure you can leave on overnight, though they recommend you wash it off after 10 minutes, which I did because it's a sticky thick gel. The effect of this were impressive. Not only was my skin nicely hydrated, but it was also super smooth, soft and it looked so good, in fact good enough for a no foundation day next morning - both time I used it. Its effect reminds me a lot of some Asian sheet masks, like TFS Solutions or Snow White, Papa Recipe and MBD Black Pearl. I also need to mention the scent, which is fantastic. I hate that granny rose scent that's in every rose scented product - this is far from it, in fact it's the most authentic proper rose scent I've encountered. It genuinely smells like roses that are planted by the house.
*L.O.V. LOVtreat Color & Care Nail Lacquers
640 Soft Sensuality
You just can't go wrong with a L.O.V. nail polish. Each one I've tried I loved, this one included. It's a sheer nude formula, so at least three coats are needed if you want that milky effect, but it applies nicely, lasts well and it apparently even has some nourishing ingredients - we'll see how that pans out. I'm loving the packaging to death, all of their nail polishes should have a rose gold cap.
DISAPPOINTMENTS
In the last month I've been exploring locally accessible sheet masks, checking out what we even have in Slovenia and Balea's are some of the very rare ones, also the cheapest along with the a CadeaVera one (hydrating with pomegranate. They have one more, but it's a hydrogel that costs 3 €). I tried four versions in total (Vital, Aqua, mit Aktivkhole and Born to be Lazy), three recently and these have to be some of the least impressive sheet masks out there. I recall Vital being okay-ish, but the other three were a waste of my time. Vital, Aqua and Born to be Lazy have the thickest and least saturated sheet I've tried, so they aren't comfortable, neither super dupe moisturising like Asian masks are, though effects of Born to be Lazy and Aqua weren't completely bad, they just weren't as impressive as other masks I've tried. The black Coal one has a lovely material, truly the sheet is so comfortable and nice, but it left my skin feeling tight, uncomfortable and with no visible effect. I won't be buying these anymore.
EVERY DAY HEROES AND OTHER PRODUCTS I'VE BEEN USING
MAKEUP
I'm still using CATRICE COSMETICS Liquid Liner in 010 Dating Joe Black every day, while for mascara I've been using three: ESSENCE Volume Stylist Curl & Hold Mascara (my fave, but it's starting to go dry), MAYBELLINE Lash Sensational Mascara in the new super pretty metal packaging (it could be more volumising and fan out the lashes a bit more. Not completely impressed by it to be honest) and most recently L.O.V. LASHseduction Instant Volume Mascara (super volumizing, but very wet for now and super messy).
I've been mixing it up with foundations, so I don't always use my favourite MAYBELLINE's Fit Me and neglect others, but none is as good, so I won't mention them. In the last week I've been trying to test the new L.O.V. EXTRAordinary Perfecting Fluid Foundation that I was sent, but I need to mix the lightest shade with THE BODY SHOP Adjust Drops to be able to pull it off. Overall it's CATRICE Nude Illusion formula in an innovative packaging - a thick, creamy texture with a medium coverage that can be build-up to close to full and it has a satin finish. For powder I've been using BOURJOIS Java Powder all month and as concealer BOURJOIS Radiance Reveal on good days (running kind of low now), while COLLECTION Lasting Perfection Concealer was my choice for days with spots + noticeable circles, switched from CATRICE Camouflage concealer because it looks too unnatural on me.
I've already talked about THEBALM blush under favourites, but for some extra highlight I'm still using the super-duper-shiny-it should-probably-be-illegal Unicorn Highlight by MAKEUP REVOLUTION (what is happening to me? I need something new).
For lips I've been wearing mostly MAYBELLINE Super Stay Matte Inks because I was testing them, but after that review was posted I returned to lighter formulas to give my lips a break, at the end of the month I settled back on my old trusted favourite NYX Cannes. I got a Catrice's lipstick in Lucy's Red from the Dawid Tomaszewski LE this month, you can find swatches of it and the highlighter stick here.
On my nails were only two nail polishes. In the first part of the month it was ESSENCE the Gel Nail Polish in 98 pure beauty and in the second L.O.V. nail polish mentioned above. I've been having a nude stage for months now. My top coat is as always SECHE VITE.
SKIN CARE
Day routine:
- Just water or if I have panda eyes I'll use MIXA Micellar Water Anti-Dryness
- TONYMOLY Panda's Dream White Sleeping Pack or when I get scared Panda will run out, GREEN LINE HydroMineral moisturiser which they recently discontinued (Basic for normal/combination skin is the same, anyway)
- BIORE UV Aqua Rich Watery Gel SPF50+ PA++++ (2015 version)
Night Routine:
- BIOBAZA Face Cleansing Micellar Oil (liking it less and less because it doesn't remove mascara well)
- COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid (every time I stop using this for too long my skin gets worse. Staple for stable skin) or THE ORDINARY Advanced Retinoid 2%. I never use these at the same time.
- SECRET KEY Starting Treatment Essence (Rose Edition)
- SULWHASOO Capsulized Ginseng Fortifying Serum (occasionally)
- NUXE Huile Prodigieuse Oil
In the last week I've been using THE BODY SHOP Oil instead of Banila, Nuxe and Sulwhaso, so I can properly test it without interference with other products.
BODY CARE
From shower products I've been most enjoying using BILOU Shower Foam, though BALEA's is exactly the same, it just doesn't smell as nice. I've actually used BALEA far more because typically for me I'm saving BILOU since it's "the good stuff". For a body moisturiser I've been using SOAP & GLORY Smoothie Star Body Buttercream. It's the body butter whose scent I like the least and I want to use it up quickly, so I can buy something from THE BODY SHOP (Shea and Satsuma are at the top of my list for a long time now, but the new Pumpkin Vanilla is so praised I can't ignore it). I actually got the Christmas version of the later, Frosted Berries, which smells like yogurt with forest fruit and it's to me a spring/summer scent. Soap & Glory is working great for dry skin and I don't mind at all it needs some time to sink in.
I gave up completely of MITCHUM's Deodorant and I'm also not impressed that much by LADY SPEED STICK, so went back to REXONA to see if it works again, but unfortunately it's failed me a few times, so I'll have to find something new. NIVEA's Pearl &Beauty in spray is still great, but the roll on version did not impress me.
I still use only L'OCCITANE 20 % Shea Butter as my hand cream (Original and Vanilla) and PALMER's Swivel Stick as my lip balm.
HAIR CARE
Still using NEUTROGENA T/Gel, but it's not working that well for me anymore. L'OREAL Extraordinary is still my most used shampoo and L'OREAL Professional hair mask the only one I use. I've recently started making my own scalp scrub using sugar, baking soda, a bit of olive oil and some MATRIX Shampoo (I don't feel bad about wasting this one). Leave-in conditioner is still from SEXY HEALTHY HAIR and as always I use DOVE Quench Creme Serum. As a heat protectant I always use BALEA Wunder Serum. I still adore GOT2B Oil-licious Weightless Dry Oil Mist - the best fast fixer, healthy super shiny hair faker.
My hair styling routine has been the same for years now. I use REMINGTON Pro Soft Curls curler which has a 2.5 cm wide barrel, I brush my hair with a TANGLE TEEZER so I get more polished waves instead of spiral curls and then I get them into shape that lasts using GOT2B Rise 'n Shine Soufflé and finish with LEE STAFFORD hair spray. I forgot to take a picture of my hair dryer, but it doesn't matter, since it's discontinued for years now. I use a cheap Remington one and I also use the nozzle plus EBELIN's Round brush.
ORDERED
MISSHA MISA Geum Sul Vitalizing Tension Pact SPF30 PA++ #1 // Gold-Pink Cat Eye Sunglasses from AliExpress. These are for kids because I'm petite, but a large size exists // PAPA RECIPE Bombee Whitening Honey Mask Pack of 10, MEDIHEAL Line Friends Ampoule Mask Sheet Pack. All four kinds: E.G.T. TimeTox (firming, anti-wrinkle), I.P.I Lightmax (brightening), P.D.F AC-Dressing (for problematic, oily skin) and N.M.F Aquaring (hydrating) // THE FACE SHOP The Solution Mask Sheets 10 kinds: Peptides - Wrinkle care, Vitamin C - radiance, Hyaluronic Acid - hydrating, Propolis - nourishing, Pearl - brightening, Tannins - pore care, Beta hydroxy acid - smoothing, Madecassoside - soothing, Collagen - firming, Ceramide - moisturising
ADDED TO THE WISHLIST
MAYBELLINE Gigi Hadid Collaboration - just a more expensive spin on their products in a pretty packaging. Unclear if it will be available in Slovenia // THE FACE SHOP Rice Cleansing Oil // THE ORDINARY Buffet // TREND IT UP Highlightening Eyeshadow Cream Waterproof & the new CATRICE single eyeshadows because they are crazy buttery// ETUDE HOUSE Honey Cera Firming Body Cream (allegedly smells just like honey) // Tarte Cosmetics Tartelette In Bloom // Chloe - Love, Chloe fragrance (powdery - clean with floral notes) // CATRICE Kaviar Gauche holiday collection 2017.
Have a great day!
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