I’ll quickly start off with two of my new favourite additions from H&M! A leather-look tassel bag, which holds a lot more than my boyfriend expected it to has quickly become my default bag for any day out – provided I don’t have a load of files to carry to uni. The blue crochet ballet pumps were also an unexpected Godsend, for €12,95/£9.99, they are just so comfortable! I’m actually seriously considering getting them in black and white as well. They’re perfect when the day is warm, because they’re so much cooler than my rubber shoes or chunky boots.
My new makeup! I… didn’t intend to buy all of this, I swear. /sob. From Max Factor, I bought their Miracle Touch Liquid Feel Foundation in Warm Almond, mostly because I was really impressed with how well it blended into my skin when I swatched it in store. I wasn’t expecting that, because my skin tone usually ends up being between-shades. The Two lipsticks are English Rose (pink) and Orange Shine (no prizes for guessing). I also bought a coral blush from Rimmel, because a) I’m on the coral/orange blush train since I tried the orange blush from Art Deco, and b) because I wanted a less intense blush and it fitted. Lastly, I bought an eyeshadow palette from Rimmel as well. It’s a very light, natural looking palette- cream, pale pink and a brown/purple (I didn’t realise it was purple until I swatched it today!)
Finally! My PinkyParadise order was ready to pick up at customs. I had such trouble getting it, but I don’t want to bore you with the details. Suffice to say, I’m just glad it’s over.
From left to right: Candy Doll Lipgloss in Milk Tea Beige, My Beauty Diary Phalaenopsis Facial Mask, and Skin79’s Super BB Triple Functions (Hot Pink).
Now, onto the swatches!
All the lip products I have in Germany (excluding lip balm): L→R
Candy Doll Lipgloss (Milk Tea Beige); Max Factor Lipstick (English Rose); Max Factor Lipstick (Orange Shine); M.A.C Viva Glam (Lady Gaga #2); M.A.C Viva Glam (Cyndi Lauper); Dior Addict (Miss Dior); Art Deco Lipgloss (#56)
Swatches are in the same order.
I have to say, I was surprised by how pigmented the Candy Doll Lipgloss was. Unfortunately, because it’s so pigmented and shiny, it is really sticky and thick. I dislike lipglosses for exactly this reason, but I will prevail over it, because it’s just so pretty!
Lip Swatch
And I swear the Gaga #2 and Miss Dior are there. They’re both very pale (Gaga) or natural looking (Dior) lipsticks, so they’re hard to see with the crappy lighting quality in my room.
Yes, I only own three blushers (at least, that I took to Germany). Models Own (Cheeky Pink), Art Deco (#11) and Rimmel (Coral).
Coral → #11 → Cheeky Pink
As you can see, Coral’s the palest. My favourite is Cheeky Pink, despite my current Coral/Orange blush love. Pink works better with my skintone, and of the three, I think it’s best for building up, so I can control the amount better.
Foundations and Powders!
Clockwise from top left: Skin79 Super BB Triple Functions; Max Factor Liquid Feel (Warm Almond), Rimmel Clear Complexion Powder (Translucent); Shu Uemura Face Architect (#564).
Shu Uemura → Max Factor → Rimmel → Skin79
They all look different shades. It’s very strange. I’ve used Shu Uemura the longest, but the pump tends to stick now and well, that’s annoying. Max Factor’s is nice and cooling, but it has a weird, powdery scent when applied that makes me sneeze. I’m not sure if it’s the foundation or the sponge.
Eyeshadows: BeneFit Big Beautiful Eyes; Rimmel Glam Eyes (#720, Dreamy); M.A.C Custom Palette (The only shades I remember the names of are Cranberry and Black Tie…)
I don’t have much to say about these, other than I accidentally managed to pick up exactly the right “recommended” palette for my eyes when I bought the Rimmel eyeshadow. (Also, they provide recommendations for how to complete the look and style your eyeshadow, which is awesome.)
Onto the Review!
I’ll just do the product reviews for the BB cream and the mask, since I essentially covered the lipgloss in the swatch.
My Beauty Diary Phalaenopsis Facial Mask: 3/5
While the product smelled lovely and made my skin feel softer, I don’t think it lived up to the promises it made about whitening my skin (evening out my skin tone), which was disappointing. I also found it fiddly to work with, as it wasn’t a typical clay mask, instead it was a soft papery mask soaked in the formula. Because of this, it dripped and moved about quite a lot. I also found that the mouth hole in particular didn’t match up to my face. I’m not sure if this is because the mask was originally developed for the Asian market or not.
Overall, I certainly wouldn’t buy this product alone, since I would have to pay for shipping on top of the £1.69. But at the same time, it hasn’t completely spoiled my experiences of these types of facial masks, so I would say it was an average product.
Skin79 Super BB Triple Functions (Hot Pink): 4/5
This BB Cream promises Whitening, UV Protection (25+++) and Anti-Aging capabilities. What I found was a product that’s managed to solidify my interest in BB creams. I haven’t noticed anything for the UV protection, but it’s been quite dull here since I bought the cream, so I haven’t had a chance to find out. (As for the anti-aging, I think I’m a bit young to tell!)
Otherwise, I love this product. It does even out my skin tone, and makes me feel more confident when wearing more natural make up. My only problem with it is that it leaves my skin a little shiny, so I need to go over it with powder quickly, but that’s not a big problem. It blends into my skin tone well, I think, which was a relief, as I’ve heard a lot about BB Creams not suiting western skin tones.
It does have a strange texture though. I can only really compare it to a clay mask, which makes it a bit awkward to blend, but I’m getting used to it.
Just the BB Cream on. (Ignore my hair dear loooord.)
With added mascara, powder and lipgloss. So much less than what I used to wear!
I’m attempting to wear less make-up on a daily basis, mostly because I feel horrendously out of place in Germany, where lots of make-up isn’t common even when you’re going out. (Neither are heels or bothering to change into something more dressy; it’s kind of my idea of Hell, really.) Also, wear less make-up = spend less money = don’t be horrendously broke. Of course, it being better for your skin and taking less time is another advantage.
Next Entry: Me Trying To Curb Spending Habits. This will be fun.
Nicoco
Urban Fantasies 