Avon shopping haul

This is a story about changing the perspective, or better said, perception of a brand. Until recently I always thought of Avon as a brand for older ladies who prefer to buy make-up and cosmetics out of the comfort of their own home. But then I stumbled upon their leave-in conditioner a couple of years back when I went on vacation without any and borrowed it from a friend. And guess what? I absolutely loved it! And a couple of weeks later I learned another piece of information – my mother-in-law is actually an “Avon lady”.

And yes, I started using a number of hair and body products from Avon but remained hesitant when it came to make-up. But again – I dove right in and this is the mini Avon haul from last week.

First up, I picked up a scented body spritz called Vibrant (orchid and blueberry). It has a very distinctive smell of alcohol when you first apply it but turns into a nice flowery smell afterwards. Being a body mist, it doesn’t last that long, so make sure you apply it right before you want to be smelling good. I found it especially refreshing during the last few warmer days when I needed to freshen up.

The story is similar with the Sparkly Citrus Eau de toilette. It has a verystrong citrusy smell in the beginning but it fades out quickly – on my skin, it only lasts about 2-3 hours. It would be a nice purse bottle if it only came with a cap. But it doesn’t so it’s impossible to carry around. This is also a negative from the aesthetical point of view – it doesn’t look very nice next to my other perfume bottles, so I will not be making a repeat purchase. I will be trying the Parisian Chic Eau de Perfume though, because the tester they sent me smells absolutely beautiful – it’s more of a flowery smell (to me, it smells like raspberries and roses), but I still think this could be my fall/winter smell for when I’m feeling a bit down. Do you have a pick-me-up scent?

(Low) Maintenance Beauty Massive Haul – part 2 (make-up)

This is the second part of the haul which I think will be quite a long one, so brace yourselves. You should probably get something to drink, go to the toilet etc. so you can properly enjoy it in one piece afterwards.


So, as mentioned in my previous post, the shopping was a bit out of control. If you are not into this kind of posts, please click out and return another day when I will be discussing my thoughts on other subjects. Because this is a shopping haul post and it is what it is.


And just a simple disclaimer about the order – this is the exact same order I would use the products in, which makes the most sense for me.


PRIMERS

Primers were bought in large quantities, but this doesn’t mean I deviated from what I think is the best price-quality product. So I stuck to the Maybelline Baby Skin pore eraser and just went for it. I actually had to go to three different drugstores to get my hands on four of these babies. But they are mine now.



These are by far the best primers I have tried in my life so far. They are soft, but not too soft, they stick to the skin but don’t make it stick and they definitely work the way they are supposed to. I see that my make-up goes on much more smoothly and actually stays in place. So well done, Maybelline. These guys are pretty inexpensive, I think they cost about $6 each. I can’t get them in Slovenia so I really stocked up, obviously.




For eye primers, which are virtually impossible to get in Slovenia, I really really wanted to get the Urban Decay potion, but that stuff is so expensive I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the price. So instead I opted for two drugstore products – Wet n’ wild Fergie eye primer which was about $5 and the E.L.F Studio eye primer & liner sealer which I think was $3. None of these I can get in Slovenia so I cannot compare the price. I also got another mini primer in Sephora but we’ll get to that later.


First opinion – I love the WW primer and I’m NOT loving the E.L.F one which I think has to do with the texture, not the results for my eye make-up. The Wet n’ wild one is liquid and the E.L.F. is stick, so it’s much more difficult to apply. But I’ll have to test them more to give my final verdict on these puppies. View Post

(Low) Maintenance Beauty Massive Haul – part 1 (face & body care, perfumes)

This post could have also been addressed – I flew, I bought, I conquered. And I am sorry that I’ve been gone this long, but workload before holidays was insane and I barely had the chance to pull it off before we flew to US.


Obviously, shopping wasn’t the sole purpose of the trip, but in the end me and my hubby bought way more stuff than we even thought possible. We flew to San Francisco with 28 lb of luggage between us (2 suitcases) and flew back with 148 lb + all the stuff that we packed in our carry-on bags. So yes, quite insane.


But the thing here is that you guys that live in the States probably have no idea how lucky you all are. The clothes from the brands we like (Banana Republic, GAP, Levi’s, VS, Abercrombie etc.) were so inexpensive that we bought enough clothes to last us at least a year. How lucky you are that you probably all live across the street from Bath & Bodyworks. I spent 2 hours in there and my only though now when I’m trying all the products out is that I should have bought another suitcase. And make-up…yes… but this is the story that we’ll get into a bit more in-depth.


I bought both drugstore and high-end make-up. Some I got because it was so ridiculously cheap compared to prices here in Slovenia (I will try to compare prices where I can). And some I bought because I wanted to try all the new, pretty, shiny brands that were attacking me from every corner. I will try to go over the purchases in the same order I would use them. So without further ado, here is THE haul.


FACE


I must say, that I am a bit skeptical about all these gadgets that supposedly make your face feel like newborns. So I didn’t go for the Clairsonic but instead opted for the less expensive version – the Olay Pro X. So far I must admit that I’m very impressed so this might just be a step towards actually getting the Clairsonic. But I can tell that I’m breaking out less and that’s what’s most important.


ProX also came with a pore scrub of some kind which I haven’t tried out yet. I also purchased a Neutrogena purifying pore scrub. First impression – not too crazy about it. It seems kind of difficult to wash off. But it’s early days still.


ProX cost about $30 , I’m not sure if you can get it in Slovenia. I did try to look for the Neutrogena scrub and couldn’t find it in my local drugstore.




Next up was Clinique dramatically different moisturizing gel. This was a Sephora purchase and since it was so inexpensive, I actually bought 3 instead of just 1.


Just to give you an idea – this puppy cost $26 in Sephora. In Slovenia, I would have paid $64 for the same amount. So basically, I could say that I almost bough 3 for the price of one.

BTW, I don’t know why the prices of Clinique in Slovenia are so sky high. I must look into that. View Post