make-up Archives – Maša M blog

translucent powders

At least once a month I get asked a question regarding translucent powders that are intended as the finishing touch over your entire make-up. These powders are supposed to mattify the skin and prolong the wear of your make-up while giving the skin a softer and flawless appearance. There are countless translucent powders in the market and the quality varies so I decided to write a short post about my personal favorite translucent powders which might come in handy.

translucent powders

Personally, I like the translucent powder to be very finely mild, mattify the skin and at the same time live up to the name translucent. Some (like the Trend It Up powder) leave a white cast over the face which can make you look unhealthy, even slightly gray. I try to stay away as far as possible from powders like that.

RCMA NO-COLOR POWDER (14€, 85g)

translucent powders RCMA No-color powder

I waited a long time to finally get my hands on the RCMA No-color powder. The texture of this powder is incredibly soft so it’s very easy to blend out and completely translucent when applied correctly. It gives the skin a nice appearance, blurs the fine lines and mattifies well. The price is great considering you’re gettting a hefty 85g of product. RCMA is the only powder in my collection that can compete with Laura Mercier translucent powder when it comes to setting the under-eye area. The only negative is the packaging – as you can see I’ve already broken the lid off mine meaning I can no longer travel with it.

LAURA MERCIER TRANSLUCENT LOOSE SETTING POWDER (33€, 29g)

translucent powders Laura Mercier translucent loose setting powder

This is a really expensive translucent powder, but worth every cent in my opinion. Because of its price, I only use it over the eyes (except for special occasions). With every use, I can be 100 % sure that the concealer won’t settle into my fine lines which is what I expect from this powder. It has a slight yellow undertone so it can slightly darken up any illuminating concealer, but the difference is negligible. If you’re looking to invest into a good translucent powder, this would be my recommendation. The packaging is simple – I turn the closed jar upside down, shake it once or twice, turn over again and open. There is just enough powder on the sifter for both under-eye area with that particular method of use.

PAESE COSMETICS RICE POWDER (18€, 15g)

translucent powders paese cosmetics rice powder

Paese cosmetics Rice Powder is the first rice powder I ever used so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The formula is dry and a bit crumbly, so it’s a bit more difficult to apply as the RCMA and Laura Mercier that are both more compact. Regardless, it gives the skin a nice finish and is easy to blend out. The sifter is a bit different than in other packagings – you can turn it around and literally close the entire jar, for example before traveling. That way, you can make sure you won’t find the entire 15g on the top of the sifter once you open it again. I would recommend this powder for normal or dry skin, but I have a feeling it could potentially bunch up on really oily skin.

AVON MARK HD FINISHING POWDER (5€, 9g)

translucent powders Avon Mark

Avon set a new high with the Mark line and their HD finishing powder is no exception to this rule. I use this powder daily for my under-eye area, but I normally don’t use it all over the face because it’s a bit more difficult to blend it out and can leave a slight white cast. The packaging is OK – it has the same sifter as Laura Mercier or Paese – just close it, turn it around, shake a couple of times, turn again and open. The powder should be waiting for you on top of the sifter. I prefer this way of getting it out as opposed to sifting it directly into my hand. I feel that would use up more product and create a big old mess.

translucent powders

If I had to use only one translucent powder for the rest of my life (and someone else would pay for it), I would choose the Laura Mercier translucent loose setting powder, but to be honest, each of the powders above will work almost as great. The best price-performance ratio goes to RCMA which you can get through Beauty Bay. Of course, there are probably other great translucent powders out there I don’t know about yet – do you have any suggestions? Until next time, stay beautiful!

I try not to be overly judgmental when it comes to make-up. I know many of you are very conscious and only buy white-list products, vegan products, those that are not tested on animals an so forth. When I’m choosing between two almost identical products, I’ll take such factors into consideration as well, but sometimes when I really want something I’ll buy it regardless. I do however have a whole list of brands that I’ll never, never buy anthying from (again) for a bunch of different reasons, most of them being that they are completely in conflict with my values.

Pri lepotnih izdelkih glede sestavin nisem preveč natančna, verjetno bi lahko celo rekla, da sem premalo natančna. Vem, da veliko potrošnic preveri, da je izdelek na beli list, veganski, ni testiran na živalih in podobno. Kadar se odločam med dvema praktično enakima izdelkoma, tudi sama preverim te stvari, vendar pa priznam – če si izdelek res želim, ga bom kupila ne glede na to, kakšne so na primer njegove sestavine. Po drugi strani pa obstaja cela vrsta znamk, od katerih nikoli (več) ne bom kupila ničesar, večinoma zato, ker so njihova dejanja popolnoma v nasprotju z mojimi vrednotami.

On the very top of the list you’ll find JEFFREE STAR COSMETICS. I have so many problems with this brand that I don’t even know where to start, but let’s try to name a few. I won’t buy their products because of the YouTube Guru and brand owner, Jeffree. I refuse to buy products from a racist who finds it appropriate to use the N word and threatens to spill acid over people. I won’t give a single cent of my money to a person who will overflow the market with gimmicky products (black highlighter?) just to get more money from his fans. I won’t buy anything from a person who reacts to criticism by sending his army of loyal fans to attack the critic. And don’t even get me started on all the stories about horrible customer service of the company. WILL NOT BUY. BYE.

Čisto na vrhu mojega seznama se nahaja znamka JEFFREE STAR COSMETICS. S to znamko imam toliko problemov, da sploh ne vem, kje naj začnem, zato jih bom naštela le nekaj. Njihovih izdelkov ne bom kupila zaradi vedenja lastnika, YouTube zvezdnika Jeffree-ja Stara. Ne bom kupovala izdelkov, za katerimi stoji rasist, ki se mu zdi primerna uporaba besede na N in ljudem grozi, da jih bo polil s kislino. Niti centa svojega denarja ne dam osebi, ki na trg pošilja neuporabne izdelke (črn osvetljevalec?!) le zato, da od svojih privržencev dobi še kakšen dolar. Ne bom podpirala osebe, ki se na kritike odzove tako, da nad kritika pošlje svojo vojsko oboževalcev, ki ga potem nadlegujejo in mu grozijo. Vseh slabih izkušenj strank s podjetjem pa tu sploh ne bom naštevala. NE BOM KUPILA. ČAO!

Next, let’s talk about KYLIE COSMETICS. I despise the Kardashian trend as it is, but what I despise even more is that one of them can put their name on a product they probably didn’t even have much to do with before it launched. Just by doing this the price tag increases incredibly and sells out in matter of minutes. Like, c’mon, really? And excluding a few extra ingredients in the Colourpop liquid lipsticks (6$), the formula of Kylie’s Liquid Lipsticks (17$) is identical – because both are produced by Spatz Labs. Customers have received lipsticks with destroyed applicators, lipsticks that were leaking and even empty boxes. And Kylie is laughing all the way to the bank. WILL NOT BUY. BYE.

Naslednja znamka na seznamu je KYLIE COSMETICS. Že v osnovi preziram Kardashian trend, kar pa mi je še bolj grozno je, da lahko njegovi člani svoje ime prilepijo na karkoli, pri čemer pa verjetno sploh kaj dosti ne sodelujejo pri nastajanju izdelkov. Samo s tem, da je na izdelku napisano njihovo ime, se cena izjemno poveča in se izdelek razproda v nekaj minutah. Resno? Če primerjamo Colourpop formulo tekoče šminke (6$) in Kylie Cosmetics tekoče šminke (17$), lahko ugotovimo, da je v Colourpop formuli nekaj sestavin več, sicer pa sta formuli praktično identični. Ne gre za naključje – obe namreč proizvaja Spatz Labs. Stranke so prejele šminke z uničenimi aplikatorji, šminke, ki so puščale in celo prazne škatle. Kylie pa se smeje cel čas na poti do banke. NE BOM KUPILA. ČAO!

LIMECRIME is not that popular in Slovenia but nevertheless I see young women lusting over their liquid lipsticks like they’re the best thing on Earth. Well, it just so happens that Limecrime has a very shady history. We can talk about how they repackaged wholesale products into their tubes and sold them forward. We can talk about when they had a breach of security in their internet payment protocol (which resulted in people’s credit cards being charged 1000’s of dollars) and thought Instagram was the best way to let their customers know about this. Or, we can discuss the time when their founder dressed up like Hitler for Halloween. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. WILL NOT BUY. BYE.

LIMECRIME znamka v Sloveniji sicer ni tako popularna, še vedno pa jo občasno zasledim na seznamu želja kakšne deklice, ki meni, da so njihovi izdelki nekaj najboljšega na svetu. Na žalost ima znamka zelo temno preteklost. Kakšno besedo lahko spregovorim o tem, kako so formule iz veleprodaje le prepakirali v svoje embalaže in jih prodali dalje. Lahko govorimo o tem, kako so po vdoru v plačilni sistem na njihovi spletni strani (ki je določene stranke stal tudi več tisočev dolarjev v zlorabi kartice) svoje stranke o tem obvestili le na Instagramu. Ali pa se lahko ozremo v čas, ko se je ustanoviteljici znamke zdelo primerno, da se za Halloween obleče v kostum Hitlerja. Vse to je le vrh ledene gore. NE BOM KUPILA. ČAO!

A brand that’s all the rage right now all over YouTube and in beauty community is MORPHE. I have nothing against brand advertising with both ATL and BTL methods as long as the advertiser is being open and honest about it. But you see so many Youtubers rave about Morphe palettes and then never once mention them in their Favorites videos. I had the chance to swatch them and I’d say that the palettes are nothing special. But the thing that I really dislike is that the brand is really just doing private labeling – the use the same formulas being sold by other (cheaper!) brands, repackage them, change the names and sell them with profit. So basically anyone could do that. WILL NOT BUY. BYE.

Znamka, ki je v zadnjem letu preplavila YouTube in lepotno skupnost je MORPHE. Nič nimam z oglaševanjem na ATL in BTL kanalih, dokler je takšno oglaševanje transparentno in oseba, ki oglaševanje izvaja, to tudi prizna. Vendar pa sem naveličana tega, da od različnih YouTuberjev poslušam, kako neverjetna in čudovita je ta Morphe paleta in da jo enostavno moram imeti, hkrati pa te iste palete nikoli več ne vidim niti na njihovem kanalu, niti ni omenjena v njihovih mesečnih najbolj priljubljenih izdelkih. Sama sem imela možnost eno od mnogih palet preizkusiti in rečem lahko, da res ni nič posebnega. Kar pa me pri znamki najbolj moti, je da v resnici tudi oni uporabljajo formulo, ki se proizvaja za več znamk, jo samo prepakirajo, dodajo svoje ime in jo prodajo z visokim dobičkom. Na ta način bi lahko imel znamko praktično kdorkoli. NE BOM KUPILA. ČAO!

Last but not least I want to say a few words about a brand that I actually own quite a few products from, MAKE-UP REVOLUTION. I’ve written quite a few blog posts about their products already but now I can say that I won’t be buying their products anymore because they are nothing short of thieves, even if they’re »just« stealing intellectual property. They see a new product by a high-end brand come out, take it, slightly change the name (like when they copied Kat Von D’s Shade&Light Eye Contour Palette and named it Ultra Eye Contour Shade&Light), copy everything else and sell it as »their« own product. If you’re curious about their practice, just Google it – they’ve ripped off Charlotte Tilbury, Laura Mercier, Smashbox, Stila, Tarte, Hourglass, Real Techniques, Soap and Glory, Ben Nye and many others. And to top it all off, they are proud and call themselves »kings of dupes«. Well, they can keep their dupes. WILL NOT BUY. BYE.

Nenazadnje še nekaj besed o znamki, o kateri sem na blogu že pisala, pred časom pa sem se odločila, da so presegli mejo dobrega okusa. Ta znamka je MAKE-UP REVOLUTION. V mojih očeh so postali lopovi, pa čeprav kradejo »samo« intelektualno lastnino. Ko na trg pride popularen izdelek dražje in popularne blagovne znamke, ga vzamejo, malo spremenijo ime (kopiji Kat Von D palete Shade&Light Eye Contour Palette so nadeli kar ime Ultra Eye Contour Shade&Light), skopirajo vse podobnosti in izdelek prodajo kot lasten izum. Če te zanima več o njihovih praksah, si lahko več poiščeš na internetu – kopirali so že izdelke mnogih blagovnih znamk, na primer Charlotte Tilbury, Laura Mercier, Smashbox, Stila, Tarte, Hourglass, Real Techniques, Soap and Glory, Ben Nye in drugih. Da pa je mera polna, so na to svojo dejavnost ponosni in se dejansko imenujejo »kralji ponaredkov«. No, svoje ponaredke lahko obdržijo. NE BOM (VEČ) KUPILA. ČAO!

These are just a couple of brands that I have a very negative opinion on and wanted to share it with you. Do you have any brand in mind that you’d never buy from? Let me know in the comments. Until next time, stay beautiful!

To je le nekaj znamk, o katerih imam negativno mnenje in sem ga želela deliti s tabo. Obstaja tudi kakšna znamka, ki je ti ne kupuješ iz principa? Zakaj? Povej mi v komentarjih, do naslednjič pa ostani čudovita!

*Photos in the post by: Thou Shalt Not Covet (Jeffree Star), Curvyliciousme (Morphe), Teen Vogue (Kylie Cosmetics), KVD (KVD-Make-up Revolution) and Peppermayo (Limecrime)*

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

First empties in 2017! I’ve been stacking up the empty products in a closet and only yesterday I realized that the little bag was overflowing. I know I promised the Maybelline Cushion Foundation review for this week – but we’ll need a bit of sun in this gloomy Ljubljana so I can take some good photos. Until then, enjoy these empties to tie you over!

Prva objava o porabljenih izdelkih v letu 2017! Vse izdelke sem hranila v omari in šele včeraj sem ugotovila, da je vrečka že čisto polna. Vem, da sem za ta teden obljubila tudi oceno Maybelline Cushion Foundation, ampak za dobre fotografije bo moralo v Ljubljani posijati vsaj malo sonca. Zato upam, da boš lažje počakala med tem, ko prebiraš ocene mojih “lepotnih smeti”.

I’ve been really good with my skincare lately – so good in fact, that I’ve used up quite a few of my favorite products. The Caudalie Micellar Cleansing water (organic grape water and chamomile) isn’t strong enough to remove all my make-up so I used it for second cleaning after removing most of the make-up from my face already. I really enjoyed the dispenser and the nice, soft smell. Caudalie is a natural, eco friendly brand that I really appreciate. I would buy it again. Next up is one of my favorite cleansing milks ever – La Bri floral cleansing milk. I already did a review so read more about it *here* – but I can honestly say that it’s one of the best skin products I’ve ever used in my life. The same goes for Bocassy Clean&Tone tonic (with aloe vera, green tea and marigold – read a full review *here*). This tonic has a funny smell and color, but I felt like it really hydrated and replenished my skin. Another product I’d definitely repurchase. Last but not least, I used up the Ombia hyaluron activator. I must say that I’ve noticed a definite improvement in my skin after a couple of weeks – there was definitely fewer dry patches than before. I’ve now switched to hyaluronic gel from Ombia and I’ll report on that soon.

Zadnje čase se res trudim za svojo kožo in posledično tudi izdelke porabljam veliko hitreje. Caudalie Micelarna čistilna vodica (z organsko grozdno vodo in kamilico) sicer ni bila dovolj močna, da bi odstranila ves moj make-up, zato sem jo uporabljala kot drugi korak po odstranitvi večine ličil. Všeč mi je priročno pakiranje in nežen, blag vonj. Caudalie je naravna, okolju prijazna znamka in to cenim, zato bi izdelek spet kupila. La Bri cvetilno čistilno mleko je eden mojih najljubših izdelkov za nego kože vseh časov. Kratko oceno sem že napisala in jo lahko prebereš *tukaj*, na kratko pa lahko rečem, da gre res za odličen izdelek. Enako velja za Bocassy Clean&Tone tonik (z aloe vero, zelenim čajem in ognjičem – celotna ocena te čaka *tukaj*). Ta tonik ima nekoliko hecno barvo in vonj, vendar pa se mi je zdelo, da je res lepo nahranil in obnovil mojo kožo. Tudi to je izdelek, ki ga bom ponovno kupila. Nenazadnje se je med porabljenimi znašel tudi Ombia aktivator hialuronske kisline. Že po nekaj tednih uporabe sem opazila očitno razliko, saj je bilo na moji koži manj suhih predelov kot običajno. Sedaj sem ga zamenjala za Ombia hialuronski gel, o katerem bom več napisala ob drugi priložnosti.

I’ve really been into foaming shower gels recently and I used up two of them in the past months – Ritual Zensation and Artdeco Senses Asian Spa. I like them because I need a really tiny amount and they do all the work for me, dispensing soft foam directly into my hands. I would have liked the Senses Spa gel even more if I could get all of the product out of it (especially regarding the price!) – I think there’s at least fifth remaining in there but pressing it doesn’t work anymore. Both of these gels smelled fantastic, but I’ll probably look for something new to try out. Stenders Salt Scrub (Rose) was a semi-gentle salt peel with pieces of rose in it. I liked using it a lot but I must say that it left a right mess in the bath tub every time – it’s very oily and the pieces of roses stuck everywhere. I also used it way past its expiration date which is only 3 months after opening – this makes me think that it really is a natural product. I didn’t have the same issues with Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Body scrub-gelee which is very soft, but more importantly, smells like a freshly squeezed grapefruit. If I ever find it again, I’ll definitely repurchase it. I wrote a bit about Just intimate gel *here* already, but I’ll repeat myself – it’s the only gel for intimate care I’ll ever use because it’s gentle and doesn’t have any weird chemicals in it. I definitely won’t repurchase the Stenders Melon shower gel which was OK as far as shower gels go, but the fruity smell was way to overpowering for me.

Peneči geli za prhanje bodo očitno postali moja šibkost, saj sem v zadnjih dveh mesecih porabila kar dva –Rituals Zensation in Senses Asian Spa znamke Artdeco. Všeč mi je, ker potrebujem res majhno količino, hkrati pa se mi ni treba truditi, ampak mi kar embalaža sama postreže s peno. Po drugi strani bi mi bilo predvsem pri Senses gelu všeč, če bi ven dobila vse, kar je v steklenički – občutek imam namreč, da je notri ostala kakšna petina izdelka. Oba gela sta imela prijeten vonj, vendar pa bom verjetno sedaj poiskala še kakšen drug peneči gel za prhanje. Stenders Salt Scrub (Vrtnica) je srednje nežen solni piling s koščki vrtnice, ki sem ga z veseljem uporabljala, moram pa reči, da je v tušu pustil za sabo pravo razdejanje, saj je zelo masten in koščki so bili prilepljeni povsod. Vsekakor sem ga uporabljala veliko predolgo, saj je njegov rok po odprtju samo tri mesece, kar mi da misliti, da gre res za dober, naraven proizvod. Po drugi strani te težave nisem imela s Pink Grapefruit body scrub-gelee znamke Body Shop. Sam piling s tem izdelkom je bil res nežen, ampak mislim, da vonj ne bi pustil ravnodušne nobene ženske, saj diši ravno tako, kot sveže prerezana grenivka. Če ga bom še kje zasledila, ga bom z veseljem kupila. O intimnem gelu Just sem že pisala *tu* – je edini, ki ga uporabljam, saj se mi zdi res nežen in primeren za intimno nego, zato ga bom še kupila. Vsekakor pa ne bom ponovila nakupa Stenders Melon gela za prhanje, ki je bil sicer kot gel za tuširanje čisto uporaben, vendar mi je bil njegov vonj veliko presladek, tudi v poletnih dneh, kaj šele zdaj pozimi. View Post

I’ll admit that my make-up collection isn’t exactly tiny. And also, I don’t really like thinking about it as a collection. I have more make-up than the average woman so I can compare products when I review them, but I really don’t want to hoard my make-up to the point where I no longer have anywhere to put it. Consequently, I decided that for the first time I’ll try to use up some of the products in the upcoming year.

Priznam – moja zbirka ličil ni ravno majhna. In o njej nerada razmišljam kot o zbirki. Seveda imam več ličil kot povprečna ženska, predvsem zato, da jih lahko med seboj primerjam, ko jih ocenjujem, vendar pa si v resnici ne želim toliko ličil, da ne bi vedela, kam z njimi. Posledično sem se letos prvič odločila, da bom nekaj izdelkov namensko skušala porabiti do konca tekom leta 2017.

The first product is the Catrice Chocolate Nudes Palette – you can find the review and more photos *here*. The biggest issue I have with small palettes is there is always something missing – a light matte shade for under the browbone, a shimmery shade for the inner corner or a good neutral crease color. This palette has it all so I can use it alone, but I simply don’t remember about it often enough. Hopefully, I’ll be able to use up the whole thing since all the shades are lovely and well pigmented.

Prvi izdelek je Catrice Chocolate Nudes paletka – oceno in več slik lahko najdeš *tu*. Problem manjših paletk je, da jim vedno nekaj manjka – bodisi svetla mat senčka za pod obrvi, bodisi svetlikajoč odtenek za v kotiček očesa, bodisi dobra nevtralna barva za v pregib očesa. Ta paletka ima prav vse to, zato jo lahko uporabljam tudi samostojno, vendar se premalokrat spomnim nanjo. Upam, da mi jo bo uspelo porabiti v celoti, saj so prav vsi odtenki zelo lepi in dobro pigmentirani.

View Post

The year is coming to an end and among other things, a post about my favorite make-up products in 2016 is an absolute necessity. I reviewed quite a few of these products during the year. Where such post already exists, I’m including a link so you can read about the product in detail.

Eden od letnih zaključkov, ki je vsekakor nujen, je takšna objava o mojih naljubših ličilih, s katerimi sem se srečala v letu 2016. Mnogo teh izdelkov sem tekom leta že ocenila – kjer takšna ocena obstaja, bom vedno dodala povezavo, da si lahko prebereš še moje podrobno mnenje.

I tried to choose one product in each category but had to leave some categories out (like bronzer) because I simply didn’t find a product that would amaze me in 2016. Since there are still a bunch of products I want to talk about, let’s get started!

V vsaki kategoriji sem poizkusila izbrati en izdelek, pri čemer pa sem morala nekaj kategorij izpustiti (na primer bronzer), ker enostavno letos nisem našla izdelka, ki bi me tako očaral, da bi ga danes želela deliti s tabo. Ker pa je ličil vseeno veliko, predlagam, da kar začneva.

Let’s start at the base. My favorite primer of the year is L’Oreal Infallible Mattifying base. It’s a silicone primer that was put on hold during the warm summer months, but in normal weather this primer creates a lovely base on my face, fills the pores and prepares the skin for the liquid foundation. In that category, I really enjoyed the Catrice HD Liquid Coverage which is a mattifying foundation. Dropper made sure that the application was simple and besides being mattifying, this foundation also excelled in coverage. I also have to mention the Cover FX Custom Cover Drops (review *here*) that truly amazed me this year. I mixed them with primer, day cream, BB creams and other liquid foundation. They always blended nicely and made my skin look nice and fresh. Last but not least I want to mention the Maybelline Affinitone concealer that is creamy and thick (more than I can say for most concealers I own) so I mainly use it to cover imperfections and not for highlighting under my eyes. It’s too heavy and creamy for that in my opinion.

Začniva pri osnovah. Moj najljubši primer leta je L’Oreal Infallible Mattifying base. Gre za silikonski primer, ki je v največji vročini sicer počival v predalu, vendar pa mi v normalnih temperaturah ustvari lepo podlago na koži, zapolni pore in kožo s tem pripravi na tekočo podlago. Med temi sem letos uživala predvsem v uporabi Catrice HD Liquid Coverage, ki je mat tekoča podlaga. Kapalka poskrbi za enostaven nanos, poleg matiranja pa se ta podlaga lahko pohvali tudi z dobro prekrivnostjo. Poleg te podlage dodajam še Cover FX Custom Cover Drops (ocena *tu*), kapljice, ki so me letos poleti resnično navdušile. Dodajala sem jih primerjem, dnevni kremi, BB kremam in drugim tekočim podlagam, s katerimi so se odlično zmešale in ustvarile lep, svež videz moje kože. Nenazadnje je tu še Maybelline Affinitone korektor, ki je bolj kremast in gost, kot je to značilno za večino korektorjev v moji last, zato ga uporabljam predvsem za prekrivanje nepravilnosti na koži, ne pa toliko za osvetlitev predela pod očmi, saj je za to po mojem mnenju pretežak in pregost. View Post

Best translucent powders (review & swatches)

Beauty brands I’m boycotting

Empties ***** Porabljeni izdelki

Products I want to use up in 2017 ***** Izdelki, ki jih želim porabiti v letu 2017

BLOGMAS #6: BEST OF 2016 – MAKEUP ***** NAJBOLJŠI IZDELKI LETA 2016 – LIČILA