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Finish six by summer Project pan – finale!

Finish six by summer project pan

For the past three months, Sandra from Keep Calm and Wear Lipstick and I shed sweat and tears over six products we wanted to finish by the first day of summer. Well… it wasn’t that bad, to be honest, but it makes for a more interesting read, right? Well, today I wanted to show you all the products I used up and the ones that gave me a hard time. If you want to read the introduction to this project pan, you can find it *here*.

Finish six by summer #1: The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Body Mist

Finish six by summer project pan The body Shop grapefruit mist

I had no trouble getting through almost a whole bottle of this body spray and I’ll definitely repurchase on of these The Body Shop sprays in the future. They are a nice refresher – I most often used it in the afternoon when I slipped into something more comfortable after work, took off my make-up, redid my hair and so forth. That way the scent followed me around all afternoon.

Finish six by summer #2: Illamasqua Gel Sculpt (Silhouette)

Finish six by summer project pan Illamasqua gel sculpt

Another product I didn’t have any major troubles with is the Illamasqua Gel sculpt. It’s a cream bronzer with a cooling effect. I used it up to the edge of the plastic rim. I could probably get more out with a brush, but I decided to call it done. My biggest problem with cream products is that I usually apply the finishing powder right after liquid foundation and completely forget about cream products. After that, it’s too late. That’s the main reason why I wouldn’t repurchase this particular item again.

Finish six by summer #3: Marc Jacobs lip liner (deluxe sample)

Finish six by summer project pan Marc Jacobs lip liner

If you’re looking for a lip liner that won’t budge for hours, this is the right one for you. I used it all the way and quite quickly, I might add. This means that the price for a full size liner would be quite hefty. The formula is very drying and it’s not too pleasant to use, but that’s the price you pay for a really long-lasting liner. I wouldn’t repurchase it though, partly because of the price and partly because of the uncomfortable wear.

Finish six by summer #4: Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector

Finish six by summer project pan Clarins lip Perfector

This tube still has a couple of uses in it, but I think I did great. I’m really bad at using lip products since I completely forget to apply them if I’m not going to a meeting, out with my girls or something along those lines. I took this lip gloss to work, placed it right next to my mouse pad and consequently remembered to use it two or three times a day. I have two more tubes of it since I bought in a set, but I wouldn’t repurchase it. It’s really not that special for the price tag.

Finish six by summer #5: Essence Hip Girls Wear Blue Jeans illuminating face gel

Finish six by summer project pan Essence illuminator

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful illuminating face gel was gone in less then a month. I usually applied the gel all over the face. With liquid foundation over it, it gave my face a great, fresh finish. I’m really sorry to see it gone and I’m already looking for something to replace it as it was a limited edition item.

Finish six by summer #6: Essie nail polish

Finish six by summer project pan Essie Double Breasted Jacket

Even in advance, I felt like this was the one item in my project pan I was bound to fail at. I like testing new products as it is and having one nail color all the time bothers me even more then using the same palette, for instance. Essie Doublle-Breasted Jacket also isn’t the most appropriate color for a busines environment. But with that said, I used it about ten times and it looks like the line went down a little bit. The formula is quite thick making it more difficult to use but I’m used to this from other Essie polishes. All in all: this Essie is about to get trashed.

So how did I do? I completely used up five out of six products, giving me a total of about 73 € that were not thrown out the window in the shape of expired make-up. As I often said, I’m constantly facing a much too large make-up collection and I try to use those that I really like and enjoy. Often, it’s difficult to get them in with all the new products I’m testing, but I’m doing quite well on my 2018 project pan as well. Just how well, we’re yet to see in December.

Don’t forget to check out Sandra’s progress over *here*. I can also tell you I’m just starting a new project pan which you’ll hear about very soon! Until next time, stay beautiful!

My make-up collection: why I never have and never will show it to you?

make-up collection

Every once in a while, I get the urge to write a post that’s only indirectly connected to beauty and make-up. Today’s one of those days. I often get requests by my readers through different social media to show my make-up collection and my answer is always the same: thank you, but no thank you. Why?

Let’s take a look at the photo above for a moment. This is a photo from my latest blog post about new products I bought or received in the past month. Mostly, the ratio between the products I get in PR and products I buy stands at about 80 % – 20 %. When I started blogging, I bought most, if not all, products myself. I didn’t mind it – and I still don’t – since I love blogging because of my passion for everything pretty and not just to hoard products. I have enough to last me a lifetime.

If we stop to further observe the photo, I can tell you that I did my best to sum up the approximate value of the products above. Without special promotions, the products are worth about 570 €. Let’s say it together, slowly – 570 €, half of the average Slovenian monthly salary. If we multiply this by 12 months, we get the number of 6.800 € – so six average Slovenian monthly salaries. Do you think that purchasing this many products is something you should strive for?

I don’t either.

And let’s get things straight – there are many bloggers in Slovenia that receive so much PR they could come to a much, much higher figure. Personally, I’ve started being more rational recently. When I get the option to choose PR products myself, I only include those that I know I will more likely use. I think that one swatch of a black lipstick isn’t worth the fact that this lipstick will later die a lonely death somewhere in the bottom of my drawers since neither I nor my friends will want it anymore. It takes a lot of work to write a post about a single product – there is no way that I could write about all the products I get sent on a monthly basis.

make-up collection

As a beauty blogger, I’m very lucky to get the chance to work with different comapnies, try out new products and discover new trends. We get products sent without charge and sometimes even earn money from blogging. I’m happy when companies think of me and even happier for my beauty blogging colleagues who earn a living by blogging. That was never my goal and still isn’t  – but that’s a topic for another time and place. But let’s get to the point – the fact that some of us have 200 lipsticks, 30 foundations and 100 nail polishes absolutely doesn’t mean you need them too. Here are a few reasons why.

1) I’m sure that at least occasionally, you have a rushed morning and want to put on make-up as quickly as possible. Can you imagine wanting to put on that “perfect red” listick and then spend the next 10 minutes looking for it in your drawers? If I want to wear a certain listick, I need to prepare it a day in advance – like a school girl laying out clothes.

Trust me, you don’t need that stress.

2) In my posts, I often compare different shades. Sometimes I can find similar dupes for a certain lipstick with three other brands. This will help you choose the best formula and price range for yourself. But for me, that means that I have four practically identical lipsticks.

I have them for a reason – but you don’t need them.

make-up collection

3) Make-up has an expiration date. Yes, like yoghurt or cheese, make-up tends to go bad (dries up, starts crumbling, changes consistency) and can even become dangerous (you can most easily identify that if they change the color or the scent). On every product, you can find a small label at the bottom, telling you how long you have after opening the product to use it up. After that, it’s your gamble. The problem is that with a piece of cheese, you can clearly see when it’s gone bad and it has to be trashed – but what about with lipstick? Are you sure that the make-up you’re applying is safe? For that reason, I swatch most of the old make-up on hands only. I have old make-up in my collection that I really cannot use anymore and only takes up space so I can do comparisons.

You don’t need old and expired make-up.

make-up collection

This year, I set myself two very clear goals to see how much make-up and cosmetics in general I use up in a year. This will also be the topic of this years Blogmas (that’s stil faaar away at the moment). As a true geek, I set up some projects and hypothesis so I believe there will be more then enough topics to cover in December. In the mean time, you can read about my Project pan for 2018 *here*. I’m also starting a new project with a fellow blogger in a week or so.

To sum up – please, don’t make it your goal in life to have a large make-up collection. Don’t forget that the large collections you see on blogs and YouTube are mostly PR and that women wouldn’t spend their own money to build such collections. You don’t have to, either. Let bloggers test 30 different concealer shades and test 10 almost identical moisturizers for you. Then choose the ones you think will work for you and only buy those. Buy products that you fall in love with and not products you think you need just because everyone else has them already. Believe me that you’ll appreciate your decisions on the long run. Personally, I feel that by posting my own make-up collection, I’d contribute to the problem, so that’s why I’ll never do it.

Do you agree with me? I’ll be happy to read your opinion below. Until next time, stay beautiful!

Project pan 2018: Products I want to use up in 2018

Project pan 2018

Here’s the story. I tried project pan last year and failed miserably. Why? Because I chose products I mostly hate. Nobody wants to apply such products to their face every single day, right? So this year, I’m doing it differently. I chose 10 products that I like but which have been in my collection way too long. I’m not including any mascaras, because I have never used up a mascara in my life – I only toss them once they dry out or don’t work properly anymore, which is usually around the six months mark.

Project pan 2018 SHELF LIFE

These days, when every beauty vlogger on YouTube is boasting their huge collections, it’s important to remind ourselves that make-up actually expires and we have to use it up while it’s still good. Expired products can give you skin issues or even cause bigger complications, especially those which are used on the eyes or the mouth.

Five of these will be a piece of cake. Five of these will not. But I will try my best. I’ll update you here after six months and every month or so on Instagram – don’t forget to follow me there. So without further ado, here are my 10 products that I’ll try to use up in 2018. I’ll start with the easiest one and work my way up according to how difficult I feel each product will be.

Project pan 2018 #1: Essence Fresh&Fit primer

Project pan 2018 Essence primer

I use primer on a daily basis and I really like this one, especially for spring and summer as it gives me some extra glow. I normally use up quite a few bottles of primer each year so this one should be a piece of cake.

Project pan 2018 #2: Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation

Project pan 2018 Chanel Vitalumiere aqua foundation

This foundation has been in my drawer longer than I care to admit. It’s a lightweight foundation with light coverage so I’ll probably wear it around the weekend. I usually prefer medium coverage for workdays. It’s hard to tell from the bottle, but I think there are about three quarters left in there. Goal for the product: use it up completely.

Project pan 2018 #3: Collection contour kit

Project pan 2018 collection contour kit

I bought the The Collection contour kit in Ireland over two years and it’s getting a bit tired. I don’t care for the highlight, but the contour color is really good because it’s dark and neutral. Goal for this product: use up the entire contour pan. I don’t think it’ll be that hard, to be honest

Project pan 2018 #4: Trend It Up Contour & Glide lip liner  – 400

Project pan 2018 trend it up lip liner

This is one of my go-to lip liners for many of the lipsticks I wear on everyday basis. It’s a great nude color with the tiniest hint of pink undertone. This Trend It Up lip liner doesn’t have the best staying power, but I like to wear it with lippies or alone combined with a lip gloss. I don’t think it will be a problem to use it up entirely in 2018 since it’s quite soft and consequently goes down much quicker then a regular pencil liner.

Project pan 2018 #5: Lancome Juicy Shaker – Mangoes Wild

Project pan 2018 Lancome Juicy Shaker

This juicy shaker is another product I’ve been carrying around for a while now. I feel like I’ve used it quite a bit, but when looking at the level in the bottle, I’ve actually used only about a tenth. Consequently, I’m not buying the matte shaker until I’ve used this one up. And I really want the matte Juicy Shaker, so that’s the deal I’m making with myself. Goal: use the entire bottle. View Post

Empties #8 – skin care & make-up

empties skincare

As mentioned on Monday, I split these empties into two parts so they are more manageable. You can read the first part about hair care and body care *here*, if you’re interested. Today, let’s start with the cleansers. I used up a whole bunch of cleansers. I can’t believe that used up the Biobaza 3in1 make-up removal and hydration cream – more than half a liter! It did a good job at removing my make-up. I would not purchase it again, because I prefer to try more different products (it took me more than 6 months to use this up!), but it’s really good value for money! I didn’t like the Neutrogena Hydro boost micellar water. It really burned my eyes and wasn’t all that successful at removing make-up. I talked about the Ole Henriksen African red tea foaming cleanser before *here* – it’s rich in antioxidants, smells amazing and leaves me feeling rejuvenated. A product I’d definitely repurchase. Last but not least, I tried the Real Chemistry Luminous 3 minute peel. Normally, I would try it on my face, but I tried it on my hand and it started peeling so terribly that I didn’t dare put it on my face. I don’t think I’d get this because it would scare me to death.

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Empties #8 (hair & body care)

It’s been almost six months since my last empties. The results are tragic – a full bag of empty product, so many that I cannot possibly fit them into one post. Today, you can read all about my hair and body care products. This post will be followed by skincare and make-up empties in the following week. Let’s jump right into it.

Empties: hair care

empties shampoo loreal elseve

I haven’t been very good when it comes to shampoos because I’ve been loving the L’Oreal Elseve Extraodinary Clay&Purifying shampoo and conditioner so much. Again and again, I’m amazed how clean, shiny and fresh my hair feels after use. I especially like the fact that it prolongs the time during washes for a day, if not more. I’m now on my fourth pack of these. On the other hand, I wasn’t too impressed with Precious Argan shampoo and conditioner. I didn’t like the scent and my hair got greasy very quick. Wouldn’t repurchase either of them.

empties shampoo nivea pantene briogeo

I was also relatively pleased with the Nivea Care & targeted care shampoo and conditioner for dry hair. My hair was soft and more manageable, but products for dry hair really shouldn’t be used by those of us who have problems with greasy scalp. I should have paid more attention to that. I also used up two samples of Briogeo Don’t despair, repair hair mask and didn’t find them to be revolutionary. In fact, they didn’t do anything that a regular conditioner can’t do. Last but not least, I also used up the Pantene Aqua Light shampoo which was good for my hair but made my scalp itchy and dry.

Empties: body care

empties shower gel nivea afrodita just

I generally forget to save up shower gels, but I really wanted to show you these two – Nivea Waterlily & Oil and Afrodita Sweet almond oil gel. They are similar in the sense that they both lather up nicely and have a wonderful smell. I would repurchase those but I need to get through my stock of Afrodita shower gels before that. I also used up what is probably my tenth bottle of Just Intimate Gel. It’s not irritable and I think that’s extremely important when it comes to personal hygiene.

empties deodorants nivea le couvent des minimes dolce gabbana

Last but not least – deodorants. All three have been lying in my empties bag for months, since I’m now a religious user of Mirta deodorant (you can read all about it *here*). I cannot many nice words about the Nivea Pure&Natural deodorant except for the fact it doesn’t contain aluminium salts. It didn’t fare well when it comes to body odor. I could probably say the same about the Dolce&Gabbana Light blue deodorant, but I only used this on special occasions and didn’t put it through as many paces. On the other hand, I have only nice words for the Le Couvent Des Minimes deodorant with essential oils. It did the job and I personally think it’s worth the money, since it took months to use it up.

If you used any of the product above, I’d love to hear your opinion about them. Until next time, stay beautiful!