New In ~ A Haul Post

Hey everyone! How are you doing? It is a beautiful day here in Ljubljana and I had a great family gathering for most of it, it was fun! And I am totally going jogging after I finish this post. :) 

These are the things I got in August. I am really happy with them, I finally got a few things from licila.si I really wanted to buy for a while ago, and a few surprises I bought on a whim.

Let's start with my licila.si orders, yes?

I made two orders there last month. First one because of the nice offers, I got Makeup Revolution Vivid Blush Lacquer in Desire, becuase I adore the Rush shade they send me for a review. From Makeup Revolution I also got nail polish in Are You Still Available?, because the swatch Nihrida made really stole my heart and I wanted to see if the brush is the same in every bottle. Alas it is. 

I Heart Make Up Wow Gloss No Need To Panic I bought on a whim, because I Heart Make Up lipstick really convinced me to buy more make up made by them. And it is a great lip gloss, more like a liquid lipstick (I generally dislike sheer glosses), I just wish it would be a tad bit less pink and more purple. Still, it is a great, really nice wearable colour. 

Barry M Liquid Eyeliner (shade is simply called 03) was my substitute purchase for Beauty UK Blue Lagoon that was out of stock ATM of choosing my items. It is a matte eyeliner, so I said I need it anyways. And it is utterly gorgeous. It does smudge easier, comparing to Beauty UK, but nevertheless. It is a matte cobalt blue eyeliner, that looks gorgeous on the eyes, I got tons of compliments wearing it. 

Konad Matte Topcoat was on sale and as my Essence matte TC is turning into a toothpaste, I decided to get it. Hopefully I will be able to stamp with it too.

Aaand then I got an email that Beauty UK Blue Lagoon was back in stock (the page has this option, that they notify you when the item you desire comes back in stock, quite neat). And I couldn't resist, even with Barry M eyeliner romance I was having at that moment. And I do no regret buying them both, not one bit. Blue Lagoon is more vibrant and it stays on the eyes just as permanently as its sisters. 

I decided on a whim to get the Beauty UK Posh Pout Sugar Plum Fairy tinted lip balm, because I am trying to get something for the lips that I could wear to work without too much correcting over the day. Still, I kind of felt like I just bought an overpriced lip balm. So it is quite ridiculous how much I love this product. It gives a bit of colour, actually more than I expected, it is moisturising, and insanely easy to apply and re-apply. The colour actually stays on for quite a while. Total love. I am discovering the usefulness and beauty of the subtle lip shade. 

And some swatches. Barry M and Beauty UK eyeliners are insanely inaccurate. All the gals that have H&M Blue My Mind nail polish shade, you know, the vibrant blue creme? Both are in that vein of blue, with Blue Lagoon being a bit more deeper blue, less pastel comparing to Barry M. The rest of swatches are accurate, that's why I am posting them.

I did a quick comparison for you of Makeup Revolution Liquid Blush in Rush and Desire, from top to bottom: Rush, Desire, Barry M Liquid Eyeliner (totally inaccurate!) and I heart Makeup Wow lipgloss in No Need to Panic.

Natural daylight:

Beauty UK Posh Pout in Sugar Plum Fairy and Beauty UK Blue Lagoon (again inaccurate, it is by far more deep and vibrant blue).

A shot of both Vivid Blush Lacquer. See how it looks like Desire (on the right) is more used than Rush? I already thought my bottle is a dud, because I pumped it for two days, every days for a couple of minutes, and nothing happened. Then all of the sudden it jumped to one quarter of the bottle and the product came out without a problem. As I do not use a lot of it (even with regular use, as you need just the tiniest blob of blush), I do not mind, but it did surprise me, like the bottle had air inside or something. Anyway. I adore Desire, it is less pink blush and a lot more wearable. I am buying a lot of blushers for someone who thinks two to three are more than enough for one person. :) But I love how good these are, they stay on the cheeks the entire day. Ever since I got my stippling brush to apply them they are pure magic.

I also got three sets of water decals and stickers from Born Pretty Store, I am already making some manis with them, swatches will follow.

I couldn't resist, I needed to buy the Balea Mango Mambo Bodylotion, even though I have waaaay too many body lotions at home. I adore mango and this lotion is actually really good, it smells divine. 

Radenska Naturelle is a water spray refreshener for the face, when I saw it in store I was so curious I needed to buy it, plus, I thought I will need it regularly, as I worked outside whole day and I expected a very hot August (ha ha. hahahaha. ha). It is actually a lovely thing, very refreshing. 

And that is it. If you want any special reviews, let me know in  the comments!

What is the favourite thing you got in August?

Thank you for reading and commenting, have a lovely start of the new week!

I heart Makeup - Brow Kit ~ Fairest of them all

Hey girls! How are you doing? Every time I write that I say that in my head with Joey's voice, hah, it cannot be unheard. :) Today I  have for you the Eyebrow set I <3 Makeup did, called Fairest of them all. Licila.si, slovene online makeup store kindly sent me the set and I have been using it every day since the day I got my hands on it. I do not think I will search for another one ever again, this baby is just perfect for me, I am really happy with it. 

I did a look a while ago, when I started testing the set, and took some pictures with it, to show you how it works on my brows. I have naturally strong brows, so I just fill them a bit, and then put the wax on and I really love how it sets the brows, they stayed this way whole day long, even when it was really hot. Usually when sweating the "browshadow" kind of disappears in couple of hours, but Fairest of them all stays put.

Package and what it contains

As you can see, there are three different shades in the set and a wax to fixate your brows. You get a small brush and small tweezers with it. The brush actually works very nicely. I tried tweezers just for fun, and they are not meant for a precise work, but if you missed a hair and it got longer, you will be able to pull it out with them. I think it is meant more for emergencies than anything else. I actually like the tiny mirror there as well, it works great for looking at your eyebrows only, but I do not really use it.

The package itself is sturdy, I move it twice a week with my luggage and the only thing that happened is, that the writing on the palette faded a bit. The eyeshadows do not break and the lid closes nicely, but not so hard you would need to struggle to open it. 

How it looks on me

I use the darker brown for my eyebrows and then I put the wax on them to fixate it. This is a look I did a while ago, I adore my blues. :)

Wow, sorry for the bitch-please eyebrow on my second photo, haha. :)

Comparison with other eyebrow sets

And then I decided to try to make a comparison with other eyebrows sets, so you can compare the shades. From left to right it is I <3 Make up Fairest of them all, Makeup Revolution Lock&Load palette, Essence  Eyebrow set (the one with horrible package) and on the top is the Catrice Eyebrow Pencil Date With Ash-ton.

As you can see, the two lighter shades in the set are indeed very light, comparing to the other shades in other sets. For me the brown one works perfectly, as it is a mixture between Ash-ton and dark Essence shade. Plus it is not as dusty as the ones in Makeup Revolution and Essence sets nor does it fade away as quickly as Date With Ash-ton. And none of them are shimmery, that's just my ArtDeco primer. 

 You can get I heart Makeup Brow Kit Fairest of them all at licila.si for 4,95€ or their official site for £3.99. I am really happy with it, I can only recommend it.

What do you use for your eyebrows? 

Thank you for reading and commenting!

NOTD: OPI Take The Stage and Zoya Myrta

Heya guys! Today I have for you a quick NOTD I am wearing right now. I already showed you I got O.P.I. Take the stage mini and it was about time I wore it as well. I wanted to do a simply accent mani, as I seriously lacked time to do something more innovative. I thought Zoya Myrta might be a cool bright accent, only to realise when putting it on, it is way to close to Take the Stage. Oh well. :)

I really like the sparkly Take the Stage. It is a part of O.P.I. Burlesque Collection for Winter 2010 (omg, really, I feel like it was released two years ago!!) and I remember everyone went mental for the collection and I didn't get why. Take the Stage is actually a gorgeous copper foil, I love it, so I am glad I got it. I takes 3 coats to be opaque on my really short nails, I imagine I would need to work for it to be opaque on longer nails.

Zoya Myrta is a part of Zoya Surf Collection for Summer 2012, full of bright foils and definitively one of my favourite collections out there. I adore Myrta as well, such a rich orange. Two coats and you are done. 

Yeah. The combo seems a bit pointless, but I love both nail polishes, so it is all good. :)

What's on your nails today?

Thank you for reading and commenting!

Spotlight on my favourites: Maybelline 24/7 Color Tattoo Eyeshadows

Hey everyone! Another Spotlight moment. I fell in love with Maybelline Color Tattoos when trying them as an eyeshadow base for eyeshadows. I bought first the black and the white one for that purpose, called Timeless Black and Infinite White and they worked absolutely fabulous. The eyeshadow colour is deeper, or brighter if you put it over white, it lasts forever and doesn't fade or crease. Naturally I started buying more shades when I saw how awesome they are. Next were the bronze and copper ones, called On and On Bronze and Metallic Pomegranate. The last two I bought were the purple Endless Purple and Mauve Crush.

The only thing that bothers me about these Tattoos is how inconsistent Maybelline is, with naming them and supplying them. If you go online, there are many shades we do not get and again some of the shades that we did get are renamed for some reason, or we have them in different colour but same colour group. Just ... what the hell, Maybelline, give us all the Tattoos and be done with it!

As mentioned before, I use them as secondary eyeshadow base, over a regular primer, to enhance the colour of eyeshadows. They work perfectly for that. The only shades I wear alone are Mauve Crush, On and on Bronze and Metallic Pomegranate and they work wonderfully like that as well.

As far as packaging goes, I like it, glass jars, big enough not to struggle with the application, whether you use your fingers or a brush. If you drop them on the tiles, they shan't break. I checked. :)

Timeless Black started to dry a bit in the jar, but it still gives great colour payoff. Mauve Crush is actually slightly duochromy, but my camera didn't capture that. It is why I bought it in the first place, the duochrome in it is yummy!

Swatches on the skin, in shade and on direct sunlight. All are done with two swipes, I used my fingers, although I like to use brush for them, especially when my nails grow longer.

From top to bottom:

Endless Purple: its pigmentation is the poorest, also application the hardest. I wouldn't wear that as an eyeshadow, simply because it applies patchy. It works well for under purple eyeshadow, though, it makes it pop out more. But don't buy it if you are looking for an eyeshadow in this shade, I wouldn't recommend it.

Infinite White: it is a very sparkly white base. I use it for under my brighter eyeshadows, to really make them stand out and it works wonderfully, no creasing, the application is easy, no problem. I actually wore it once as a combination with black eyeshadow, to make the big contrast, it worked great. A good sparkly white eyeshadow.

Mauve Crush: it is a cold cold icy blue, made of colourful shimmer, utterly gorgeous. I love this one, really. The only glitch in the Matrix with this one is, that it can crease a bit on a hot day, I wear it alone only in Fall and Winter. Works amazing with a black eyeliner. 

On and On Bronze: a gorgeous bronze colour, that is really popular. The shade is great for neutral make up, it looks subtle, applies like heaven and stays on the lid for hours. Not a problem child. I like to use it as secondary base for neutral shades too.

Metallic Pomegranate: utterly gorgeous reddish copper with golden flecks. My favourite secondary base for MAC Cranberry, they work great together, but as an eyeshadow it looks amazing too. It has the same problem as Mauve Crush on me, though, it can crease a bit.

Timeless Black: a classic black matte. Does wonders for black/vampy smokey eyes, it really deepens the colour, either black or some sort of vampy colour, dark purple shimmer or dark blue shimmer. On my swatch it looks like it has a poor payoff, but I do not do it justice, even if it started to dry up a bit, it still works great, especially with a brush.

As far as I remember, I paid around 5 euros for each. A steal, really, they last forever and they are dead useful. I love them, I hope we get more shades soon (or I find them in a drugstore somewhere, as i did with Mauve Crush :)).

Do you like Maybelline Color Tattoo, do you recommend any shade in particular?

Thank you for reading and commenting!

I Heart Makeup ~ I Heart My Lips ~ Racing Heart swatches and review

Heya darlings! How are you doing? Today I have for you my newest crush. Everybody in the world already knows about Makeup Revolution, right? If you don't, well, now you do! It is a very affordable makeup brand that is still of good quality, albeit the low prices. Well, the Makeup Revolution has a sub-brand called I Heart Makeup and ličila.si kindly sent us bloggers some items for tryouts. 

When I opened the I Heart Makeup Racing Heart lipstick I liked it immediately, even though I assumed it will be only for special occasions, being a very dark purple. When I put it on, it stole my heart (no pun intended). It is a gorgeous perfect shade of berry/purple that is actually quite wearable, on the bold side. I am totally in love with the shade and the quality of the lipstick. 

 

The packaging

As you can see on the photos, the lipstick is in the shape of a heart. I prefer the standard shape of the lipstick, but it is not too bothersome, you can apply the lipstick without any extra struggle. The outer part of the lipstick is matte and the inner heart is shimmery. On the lips it gets this gorgeous satin kind of creamy finish and it looks ah-mazing. 

On the bottom you have a cap with a lipstick, I assumed it is the same deal as with MUA lipsticks. But I struggled quite a bit to get it off and the lipstick in it is not as pigmented as the lipstick itself, so it got me wondering if it's maybe there just for the purpose of seeing the shade on the outside. 

Either way I think the packaging is OK, the shape is not my favourite, put it doesn't feel cheap and it is sturdy enough.

Swatches on the lips
 First just a flush of colour, with tapping the lipstick on the lips, for everyday wear, or if you think the colour is too bold for you:

And full colour, on direct sunlight:

And in the shade:

Seeing my lips on such a large picture is quite ridiculous. :) But I effing adore this colour! It is gorgeous! 

The test on the lips

I tested the lipstick with drinking coffee and was very happy to see it practically doesn't leave any trace on the cup at all. By the time I finished my coffee with water included it practically didn't fade from the lips, I didn't need to reapply it at all. It gets off the lips evenly when wearing it just as a sheer lipstick as well. Full colour lasts for hours. I'm sure I'll need to reapply it when eating, but that is normal, what I really love is that it survives drinking.

The lipstick feels a lot like a matte lipstick, meaning it is more on the dry side, but it doesn't sit uncomfortably on the lips, I do not mind the feeling of a matte lipstick, it means it will last long. :) There is no scent to speak of, if you really smell the lipstick itself it has a very soft sweetly-fruity scent, but you can't smell it on the lips at all.

Swatches on the hand
In shade, T to B: soft swipe, one swipe and two swipes

 Direct sunlight:

The I Heart My Lips line and where to get it

I was so impressed by the lipstick I went and check the other shades immediately. I Heart My Lips line comes in 6 shades, most of the others are too pink for me, and the red one is effing gorgeous, but Lord knows I do not need more red lipstick. I am very tempted to get the nude one, just because. And I really hope licila.si will get Lip Geek line as well!

You can get I Heart My Lips Racing Heart at licila.si for 3,95€, on Makeup Revolution official site for £2,49. For such an awesome lipstick this is a real bargain. 

Slovene summary

Ekipa ličila.si mi je poslala šminko iz linije I Heart Makeup v odtenku Racing Heart. Gre za čudovit temno vijoličen odtenek, ki je precej nosljiv, lahko se ga nosi samo kot sled barve ali pa v polni berry barvi. I Heart My Lips linija šmink je srčaste oblike, zunanji del srčka je mat, notranji del pa šimrast, skupaj ustvarita zelo lep kremen finiš šminke. 

Šminka je zelo obstojna, preživi pitje kave in vode brez popravljanja, zdrži nekaj ur. Tudi stain se enakomerno porazgubi z ustnic. Za samo 3,95€ jo lahko dobite na licila.si, za tako kvalitetno šminko je cena res ugodna. 

Did you try any other I Heart Makeup products? :)

Thank you for reading and commenting!

 *I got the products as a gift, unconditionally, from licila.si (even the post itself was not demanded).

NOTD: Myrza envies the lemondrops

Heya everyone! Can I get an extra point for making up a silly name for this mani? :) As I showed you yesterday, I got a lovely package of nail polish. And when I got them out, I couldn't decide which one to put on first. So I just combined three of them, although I wanted the fourth one there too - the Kiwi one. The three I combined were Barielle Myrza's Meadow and Lemondrops plus Color Club Glitter Envy.

First, Barielle Myrza's Meadow. It was my lemming for years and finally I got it. And I was so happy to see it didn't disappoint. It is on my nails right now and I still love it. The shade of jade green is perfect and the scattered holo glitter is fine and on the subtle side once on the nails, it is a wonderful combination. Needs only two coats too. It was part of Barielle Spring 2010 Wildflower Collection. Now I am on the hunt for June Bug from the same collection.

Barielle Lemondrops is a perfect bright yellow creme. I searched for something like this a while now. For a yellow polish it is very easy to work with. It needs two coats on most of my nails, on the longest a third, but on shorties two will be enough. I love the brightness! It was part of Barielle Summer 2009 Collection. Apparently there was a re-release in Summer 2013, but judging by my bottle, it is from the older collection. :)

Last, Color Club Glitter Envy is really bright neonish green with holographic glitter in it that is quite dense. It applies easily in two coats, and it is somewhat gritty, but nothing too extreme. What was my biggest disappointment with this nail polish was that it chipped in like two days. And I mean major chipping, up to one third of my nail. It looked even worse since both Barielles still looked perfect right next to it. I will wear it again for sure to test it again, but ATM it is not my favourite nail polish. It was a part of Color Club Summer 2011 Starry Temptress Collection, in this one I love Otherworldly as well. 

When Glitter Envy chipped so terribly I removed it and put Lemondrops on instead. I love this combo even more.

Barielle, man. I need more Barielle in my life. :) And I am already tempted to put water decals over Lemondrops.


What is on your nails today? Any particular Barielle shade you would recommend?


Thank you for reading and commenting!

New In ~ A Haul Post pt. 2

Heya darlings! I usually post New In posts in the end of the month or the very beginning of the second one, but July was a bit busy with all the packages. I already showed you what I bought and gotten here, but just after I left Ljubljana for about a week, three packages came into my mail box and for these I am super excited. If any of you already thought I forgot about nail polish - I sure as hell did not. It's just that I got a bit pickier. :)

Nail polish!! I did a swap with a lovely lady at Moj butik and well, killed some lemmings. Barielle Mryza's Meadow was on my WL now for about three years. One of the rare shades I wanted since the beginning of my nail polish obsession and until now. And now I finally have it and the best part is, it did not disappoint on the nails.

Second lemming killed - a good yellow creme, again Barielle, shade Lemondrops. I love it and it is perfect in two coats!

Color Club Glitter Envy is amazing neonish green with glitter, a unique neon I put on my WL the moment I saw it at Scrangie's. 

O.P.I. mini Take the Stage looks like a perfect reddish copper and Essence Fruity LE One Kiwi A Day is probably the only LE Essence I have on my WL, because I love the combo of greens and glitter and because I adore the name, with the Kiwi in it. 

Buying a topcoat was loooong overdue. Everything I had at home applied like a toothpaste, it was a nightmare. Invincible Dry Fast Top Coat is, so say the gals online, everything Seche Vite is without all the cons SV has - shrinkage, smell and fast drying in the bottle. We shall see. Right now I of course adore it, I swear my mani was dry under 2 minutes. And I mean stone dry! Awesomeness. We'll see how it goes when I'm down to half the bottle. 

Ah yes, another gorgeous package from ličila.si. I <3 Makeup is a sub-brand of Makeup Revolution and it appeals to me somewhat more, I don't know why. Maybe the effect of the two products I got, the Brows set in Fairest of Them All is really awesome, I already tried it. But the lipstick. Ah, the lipstick. I am ridiculously in love with the shade. I heart makeup, line I heart my lips, shade Racing Heart, a perfection. <3

And I almost forgot: free shipping until end of August at ličila.si! Skorajda sem pozabila, zastonj poštnina do konca avgusta za vse bralke! KODA: BLOG-POSTNINA


Finally, a small purchase:

Essence Eye Blender Brush. I found it in our local Müller. You can't have too many brushes anyway and this one was a bargain. And before that my outcome of Essence brushes was 50:50, let's see how this one will turn out.

These packages made my week, really, I love what I've gotten. Reviews will follow, if you have any extra wishes what should come first, as always, let me know in the comments.

What did you get in your mailbox lately?

Thank you for reading and commenting!

Blogger event in Ikona: The New Black nail polish

Hello everyone! How are you on this hot day? It is proper summer at last. Luckily for me I had the most yummy raspberry ice cream ever just now, so I am pleasantly cooled off. :) This post was in my head ever since in the beginning of July I got invitation to a blogger event in Ikona Ljubljana. It is a fashion store in centre of Ljubljana with brands that I never even heard of, so of course I was intrigued. The blogger event was about two labels, The Kardashian Beauty and The New Black. The New Black is a nail polish brand so I went there for it especially. 

The Kardashian Beauty didn't really catch my attention, but if I found anything I would like, I would of course try it. I know there is a big hype about the Kardashian sisters, but honestly, as I do not watch much TV or follow pop culture, it kind of goes pass me. I know there are three of them and thanks to the blogger event I know every one has a signature look, but that's about it. They said the cosmetics is of high quality and prices were quite reasonable, so if I ever read anything about any of the products on beauty blogs, I will keep in mind we have them in Ljubljana as well. I did check out the prices and they really are decent, so if the quality is as good as they say, they are actually affordable.

But anyhow. My attention went to The New Black. It looked lovely on the shelves. Tiny bottles, packed into sets of complementary colours and combinations.

There was a nice lady that welcomed us to try the polish, and as my mani was getting pretty tired, I said why not. Usually I do not really trust anyone else to polish my nails, but I really wanted to try a few shades. This is what we came up with.

The swatch is the way it is, I took it quickly in the Ikona so the conditions weren't ideal. :) I effing love the green shimmery one!! Gorgeous shade! Anyone knows which one comes close to it from more affordable brands?

And a few sets I took pictures of:

Basically, the system of The New Black is to put colours/toppers that look good together (either as a contrast or complementary colours) in one set. It can be from two bottles to eight, or a colour and a lipgloss in matching colours. They follow trends of lace mani, newspapers mani, matte/glossy combo and many others. All in all sounds like a good deal.

It abruptly stops for me at the ridiculous price tag. One bottle holds 4ml of nail polish. Not that I would be bothered by that, as in general I do not need big bottles of nail polish. But a set of two is the cheapest at, lo and behold, 13,95€. Bigger sets of 6 nail polish cost about 30 euros, The Party Rock set on the last photo is 44,95€. Most sets cost around 30 euro, some 25, and some lower or higher than that. I find the sets to be way, way too pricey. Yes, you get a nice set of complementary colours or a set for a trendy newspapers mani or lace mani or whatever. But you get 4ml bottles of colours that are not in general all that unique. I love the green shimmery one that I got to try, but it is in a set for 30 eur and the other four colours were far from being unique.

Before I saw the price list, I really wanted to buy this set:

Matte and shiny set, looks lovely. But it was just too costly for my wallet.

A quick (and shaky) photo of Kardashian Beauty nail polish, some of them at least. They cost 9.95€ (for 11ml), they have some nice colours, but nothing groundbreaking.

We also got very cute gifts at the event:

You already saw the nail polish on my nails here, we also got a tester of a perfume (not really for my nose, too orange-y), some bracelets and teas from Palais des Thés, they offered tea for us at the event, it was insanely good. We got to take home three different kinds of teas, and they are all so yummy. I love Palais des Thés teas, they are worth their money. Yum! Oh, and also we got a candy from Matcha tea, it was actually really good.

It was all in all a short but lovely event. I wish I met more bloggers there, by the time the event ended and I was finished with my manicure, most girls already left, so we didn't get chance to meet. I hope the bloggers event will stick in Slovenia too, I think they are a nice chance for us to meet and get to know new brands. Ikona staff was incredibly nice, so if you are strolling through Ljubljana, go and check Ikona out, they will be happy to help you. As for me, the price tag on The New Black nail polish is way to high, but if you like the idea, we have a place in Ljubljana that offers them and The Kardashian beauty as well. :)

Have you ever tried The Kardashian Beauty or The New Black brands? Any recommendations? Can you recall any dupe for the green shimmer on my mani in the post?

Thank you for reading and commenting!