Tuesday 29 September 2015

Essie ~ Bahama Mama, a perfect fall shade

Hello everyone! How is it going? Here in Ljubljana we are just good 4 days away from the 3rd Sci-fi and Fantasy convention Na meji nevidnega and I am super excited about it!! I have a new costume, and I think it is just going to rock, I cannot wait! If you will be in Ljubljana, come visit us at Tabor! :) 


Another Essie, and by far my favourite one. Such a gorgeous deep purple, a bit jelly-like. Absolutely adore it. As you will notice on the photos, my fingernail on the middle finger broke horribly  about a  week before I shot the swatches. And even on these it looks ugly as hell, imagine how it looked like a week or so beforehand. And it hurts like a little bitch when it breaks like this. But anyway. Bahama mama, perfect shade for Autumn days, I think.




This was three coats, again with a bit wonky brush. But it was manageable and as the colour built, my love for the colour washed all the frustration for the brush away. ;) I do not think I will ever get sick of a good dark crelly, that doesn't look black in everyday light. That's why the three pictures look so different - I took a shot in different lights, so you will see it actually is purple in every light. FTW! Bahama Mama is on my "must have Essie" list, together with Bobbing for Baubles and School of Hard Rocks. Oh, and Angora Cardi, of course. Man, I need to wear these soon again.


Which Essie is on your "must have Essie" list?


Thank you for reading and commenting!


Have a good week!

~ Ulmiel

*I got the Essie from L'Oreal Slovenija as a gift.

Sunday 13 September 2015

New in ~ A haul post

A haul post in the middle of the month? Why not. Lately I have been buying and already testing some things and I want to point them out. This is going to be a bit random, or, rather connected with the stores where I bought or got the items.

Let's start with Ilirija and Click2Chic. As the latter is their web store I always connect them.



In Ilirija (it is a drug store we have in Slovenia, and it is also a brand that does cosmetic lines, such as Subrina, hair, body and face products and I really like them) I found two LE by Essence and Catrice and I grabbed two brushes by Essence, since I have good experience with them, plus I am always short on brushes. I haven't even tried them yet, will do so this week.

Catrice Transparent Mattifying powder from Sense of simplicity LE I bought on a whim, because my Bourjois "to go" powder got crushed right before I finished it off. I am really happy that I bought it because it is fantastic powder, it really mattefies the skin and yet you do not look half dead. Wonderful product for really affordable price (I think it was around 4 euros, not sure anymore). The smell is gentle and really pleasant and it lasts on the skin. I do recommend it. 



Sabrina Juicy Jasmine shower gel
I also got it in Ilirija, it is a new smell and although I usually do not put shower gels in my blogposts, I need to tell you that this smell is simply fantastic. If you have a chance, and you are a fan of jasmine and white peach, just get three bottles, this stuff is fantastic. I am a freak for jasmine smell, so I gave it a go, but what they did is mix the white peach smell with it and it just rocks my world. Great, great stuff. 

Darling Granny Gentle Touch Body lotion with chamomile oil
I got this one on Click2Chic, it had a good price and I love chamomile smell, plus I always like to try new brands - I have never heard of Darling Granny before. When I first tried it I actually thought the smell was a bit too gentle, but what is great about it, is, that it lingers. It is not artificial at all and is quite soothing. And I haven't had skin so soft in ages, not with The Body Shop, not with the Afrodita. I am getting it in lavender scent as well, they convinced me with chamomile, I think lavender will be just as natural and subtle, yet with a decent silage.

Sleek Dip-it  Eyeliner in Pink
Those of you who know me know also that pink is really not my colour. :) And yet, eyeshadow combinations and general eye make up with pink and black I always find beyond awesome. So when Click2Chic had the pink eyeliner on sale, I said I will risk the 3+ EUR for it, as I know that Sleek has kick ass make up quality. When I opened it, I unfortunately say it wasn't closed well and some of the product got out. I sent the photos to Click2Chic and they immediately replied with a solution. As this was the last eyeliner they had, they wanted to give me the money back and asked me to send the product back on their expenses. I was very pleasantly surprised at how quickly they reacted, kudos to Click2Chic. Since I had my fiasco with najlonke.si, I am a bit on the fence with the service of online stores when there is a problem, but with Click2Chic I had no troubles whatsoever. I decided to keep the eyeliner, I got it for a really good price and I love its quality, it lasts for ages. 

Let's continue to licila.si surprise package I got a while ago:



There is a new brand in town, called Freedom Makeup. I have not heard of it in my life, so naturally I am curious about it. Honestly, it reminds me so much of Makeup Revolution it feels as if they just changed the name and the logo. The blush is called Banish and although I haven't tried it yet, it looks like the perfect wearable shade for me, and I am keeping my fingers crossed it is as good as the Make up Revolution blushers are, as I am running out of a similar shade that I adore. The eyeshadow is called Nude 208 and when swatched looks like a very lovely milk chocolate shimmer. It is also very pigmented. I will try to get a decent swatch ASAP. 

The liquid lipstick Freedom Make up Pro Melts liquid lipstick in shade Jammy Dodger I had to try immediately and, oh dear lord of the Rings, is the colour just perfect. Blue toned red, bold and beautiful. Really nicely pigmented, albeit a bit sticky, but that means it also sticks to your lips! :) It leaves trails like crazy, on the glass and cups, but try to wear it as a stain, it looks fantastic that way. I adore it. 


Me and my Mum are huge fans of Derma E cosmetics. I usually order it via iHerb, but lately I was trying to find another solution, because the customs are a bitch. Luckily BB Natura had a lot of Derma E products on sale, so I got two toners and a creme for my mother. Derma E is not exactly the cheapest, but their ingredients are really awesome. If you have a troublesome skin or you are just looking for a better quality in your skincare, I recommend you check their lines up, they have quite a few, to cover the many types of skin we have.


That leaves us with my dear Leposana of E.Leclerc. I already ran out of my Bourjois make up remover I bought in France and since it was the thing for my mascara and heavier make up, I wanted to give another one a chance (and we do not have the Bourjois make up remover in Slovenia, sadly). Uriage Waterproof Eye Make-up Remover  seemed like a brand that would actually meet the expectation of these two-phase MU removers not to be too oily. We'll see how it goes, but for that price (over 11 EUR for 100 ml) I want it to work.


A long post! I hope you find anything useful and if you want a more detailed post on any of the products, just let me know!

Have a lovely start of the week tomorrow!

~Ulmiel

Wednesday 9 September 2015

Essie Mezmerised with Bourjois accent nail

Hey everyone! How is it going? It seems it is going to be a beautiful Autumn here in Slovenia. Other than that my schedule has not found any sanity yet and I am starting to think about cloning being a really good and legit work, if that means that my consciousness will take it all to the mother source - me. That, or a crash course at Hogwarts to get a wand and start mutitasking wizard-mode. 


I am still playing with my Essies that L'Oreal Slovenia so nicely provided for me. Next was Mezmerised, I combined it with Bourjois Turquoise Block beauty. 






I absolutely adore the colour. Rich blue creme. And the turquoise colour of Bourjois fits so perfect with it. However, Mezmerised has less than good brush as its fault. I actually took a photo of both brushes, because, in theory, they are practically the same. Both a bit too wide for my nail, and both quite thick as well. But, the Bourjois bristles seem less yielding, and thus the brush is a lot more manageable, while Essie has such a soft brush it is very difficult to control it. I was really surprised by that, considering that Essie always had pretty good brushes.


Both colours were two coats, plus topcoat. They lasted forever on my nails, so no complaints there. I love the combo, I just wish the brush on Mezmerised would be better.


Did you have the same experience with the Essie brushes, is this a new thing?


Thank you for reading and commenting!