Last 2016 empties ~ porabljeni izdelki!

 

So here we are. December is almost upon us and it was time to do a proper clean out of my bathroom cabinets before the packages from Black Friday start rolling in. This is going to be a long post so without further ado, let’s jump straight into it!

Pa smo tu! December je tik pred vrati in resnično je bil čas, da pospravim svoje omarice, preden prispejo paketi z vsem, kar sem kupila na Črni petek. Ker bo objava dolga, predlagam, da kar začneva!

Let’s start with a very random set of products that have nothing in common. I used up the Nivea anti-persprirant Double Effect which was OK and did the job well. However, I don’t think I’ll repurchase because I have recently discovered Borotalco and like it a lot! Next, we have a random complexion sponge I bought off eBay and let me tell you – it’s rock solid. I feel like I’m punching myself in the face using it so normally it has to go. Last, we have a product by my lovely Ole Henriksen – the Walnut complexion scrub. This was a deluxe sample and it lasted me about a year because I did use it sparingly. It is quite rough so I used it with my Olay brush because I was too harsh with my fingers. I would repurchase this again in a minute – I love it!

Za začetek bi spregovorila nekaj besed o izdelkih, ki sicer nimajo nič skupnega. Nivea Anti-perspirant Double Effect je bil OK in svoje delo dobro opravil, vendar pa sem pred meseci odkrila Borotalco deodorante, ki so mi bolj všeč. Gobico zraven sem kupila na eBayu in resnično je trda kot kamen! Počutim se, kot bi se udarjala po obrazu, ko jo uporabljam, tako da mora seveda v smeti. Nenazadnje sem porabila tudi moj ljubi Ole Henriksen Walnut Complexion Scrub. Ta vzorec sem uporabljala sem in tja celo leto, večinoma s svojo Olay ščetko, saj sem bila s prsti pregroba. Ta piling bi takoj spet kupila, ker ga naravnost obožujem!

Next, here are the EOS lip balms – I think these are Sweet mint, Pomegranate and Honeysuckle. I think that these were good for about 6 months and even then they were a bit too waxy for my taste. They left a film on my lips and I couldn’t really apply a lipstick over it. However, the smell changed in the past few months so although they are 3/4 full, they are still going in the trash.

Naslednji so EOS balzami, o katerih se veliko govori (še posebej zadnje čase, ko so dostopni na veliko prodajnih mestih v Sloveniji) – na sliki so Sweet Mint, Pomegranate in Honeysuckle. Prvih šest mesecev so bili še kar ok, čeprav so bili za moj okus preveč voskasti. Na ustnicah so mi pustili film in preko njega nisem mogla nanesti šminke. V zadnjih par mesecih pa se je njihov vonj spremenil in čeprav je vsak še na tričetrt poln, morajo v smeti.

Next, we have another category of empties that technically aren’t empties at all. I had this Max Factor Weightless Foundation stored up for god knows how long and it separated completely. I don’t want to use it because it looks funny, but otherwise this is a really good foundation that gives medium coverage but really feels like second skin, so I’ll definitely repurchase. The ELF Makeup Mist&Set is also a nice product, although it cannot really compare to Urban Decay or Mac Fix + setting sprays. I mainly used it to wet my brush before applying eye shadow for certain looks. However, it now smells just like alcohol so I’m pretty sure it’s gone bad. Last but not least is the Eucerin Hyaluron Filler CC cream. I love the way this looks on my skin and how much coverage it gives me while at the same time being really moisturizing, but unfortunately it breaks me out every time I use it. I’ll pass it along to a friend because I’d be really sad to throw it away.

Naslednja kategorija so porabljeni izdelki, ki pa to v resnici niso. Max Factor Weightless Foundation sem imela že ne vem kako dolgo na zalogi in barva se je popolnoma ločila od olja. Ker vse skupaj izgleda sumljivo, ga ne bom uporabila, vendar pa moram reči, da je to sicer res dobra podlaga s srednjo prekrivnostjo, ki mi ne daje občutka, kot da imam kaj na obrazu. Vsekakor jo bom še kupila. ELF Makeup Mist&Set je dober izdelek, vendar ni primerljiv z Urban Decay ali MAC Fix + zaključnimi spreji. Večinoma sem ga uporabljala, da sem za določene videze zmočila čopič, preden sem nanesla senčilo. Sedaj smrdi po alkoholu, zato sem precej prepričana, da se je pokvaril. Zadnja v tej kategoriji je Eucerin Hyaluron Filler CC krema, pri kateri mi je izredno všeč videz, ki ga ustvari na moji koži, saj dobro prekrije in je hkrati super vlažilna. Na žalost mi povzroča izbruhe mozoljev, zato jo bom raje podarila prijateljici – res bi bila namreč nesrečna, če bi morala v smeti.

 

 

Staying with make-up, I’ve used and abused my Tarte Amazonian Clay bronzer for almost two years and now we’re at the point that I think would just ruin my brush if I continue using it. It’s probably my favorite spring and autumn bronzer since it’s not too dark but still create a really nice shadow. It’s a real bronzer though, I don’t think that anyone could use this for contour since it’s really warm toned. I’m also done with two mascaras and I didn’t enjoy any of them. First is the Manhattan Long&Swing mascara that curled my lashes but didn’t give them any volume and the second a Clarins Wonder Waterproof Mascara that clumped my eyelashes despite the brush being a really promising shape. I will not repurchase either of them.

Če še za sekundo ostanem pri make-upu, sem porabila tudi moj Tarte Amazonian Clay bronzer, ki sem ga uporabljala skoraj dve leti, zdaj pa ga ne morem več, saj mi rob že uničuje čopiče. Verjetno je to moj najljubši bronzer za pomlad in poletje, saj ni pretemen, ampak ustvari res lepo senčenje. Vsekakor je to pravi bronzer, ki se ga ne more uporabljati za konturo, saj je preveč tople barve. Svojo kariero zaključujeta tudi dve maskari, od katerih mi nobena ni bila preveč všeč. Prva je Manhattan Long&Swing maskara, ki je lepo privihala trepalnice, vendar pa jim ni dala praktično nič volumna. Druga je Clarins Wonder Waterproof Mascara, ki je na mojih trepalnicah naredila ogromno grudic kljub dejstvu, da mi je krtačka izgledala zelo obetavno. Nobene od njih ne bom ponovno kupila. 

I finally finished my Joico Moisture Recovery Conditioner – about 3 months after I was done with the shampoo. It’s a nice high-end conditioner but I didn’t feel that it gave my hair that silky effect that I get from more nourishing conditioners so I will not repurchase it. I also finished two Garnier micellar cleansing waters. The pink one (which is regular) Garnier Micellar water was OK but as I’ve heard from other beauty bloggers it contains some ingredients that we should all avoid so I will not repurchase. On the other hand, I really liked the Biphase Micellar Cleansing water in oil. It removed my make-up perfectly and although it’s oily while the packaging says it isn’t, I’ll let that slide (see what I did there? Ha!). Each bottle lasted me for about 3 months which is a good deal in my opinion.

Končno sem porabila tudi svoj Joico Moisture Recovery balzam – približno tri mesece po tem, ko sem porabila šampon. Je dober balzam, nekoliko dražji, vendar pa moji lasje niso bili tako svileni, kot so po uporabi nekaterih hranilnih balzamov, zato ga ne bom ponovno kupila. Porabila sem tudi dve Garnier micelarni vodici. Pink, originalna vodica, mi je bila všeč, vendar pa blogerke, ki se spoznajo na sestavine, pravijo, da vsebuje nevarne sestavine, zaradi katerih se je moramo izogibati, zato je ne bom ponovno kupila. Na drugi strani mi je bila res všeč bifazna micelarna vodica (zlata). Moj make-up je super odstranila in čeprav je bila nekoliko bolj oljna, kot bi si sama želela, mi je bila vseeno zelo všeč. Vsako stekleničko sem uporabljala približno tri mesece.

Last but not least I also used up a bunch of small perfumes because I received quite a few in the past months and wanted to make room. I won’t go into detail on the D&G Light Blue perfume which is my favorite perfume of all times and I didn’t care much for the Victoria’s Secret Secret Escape Mini. But I would encourage you to one try the My Spirit perfumes – they are really good value, smell exactly like the originals and on my skin, they last for an entire day. I really like them and I continue to buy more for myself.

Čisto na koncu še o parfumih, ki sem jih porabila kar nekaj, saj sem v preteklih mesecih prejela kar nekaj novih in sem želela narediti prostor. D&G Light Blue ne bom podrobno opisovala, saj gre za moj najljubši parfum. Prav tako me ni navdušil Victoria’s Secret Secret Escape mini parfumček. Vsekakor pa bi ti priporočila, da vsaj enkrat preizkusiš My Spirit parfume – dobiš jih po res dobri ceni, po mojem mnenju je vonj identičen originalom in na moji koži se obdržijo cel dan. Meni osebno so res všeč, zato jih bom kupovala še naprej.

 

I also used up a bunch of samples but hey – that’s a whole other post right there, coming soon. Did you try any of these products? What is your opinion about them?

Porabila sem tudi cel kup testerčkov, vendar mislim, da je to že tema za naslednjo objavo. Si že kdaj preizkusila kakšnega od izdelkov, o katerih pišem? Kakšno je tvoje mnenje o njih?

Until next time, stay beautiful! ***** Do naslednjič, ostani čudovita!

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My top 10 make-up brushes

I often get asked which brushes are my favorites – do I prefer drugstore brands or is it worth investing into more expensive brushes. I also get asked about fake brushes that you can purchase from various websites – if you want to know about my experience with those, let me know in the comments below!

Anyway, I own both drugstore and high-end brushes – too many of both, to be quite honest with you, since I love buying and trying new ones. As you will see, my favorites consist of both. These are the brushes I use on a regular day when doing my go to make-up look. I listed some prices below, but to find the best deal, check out *this post* I wrote about my favorite online stores and their offers!

Let’s start with the bigger brushes I use for my face.

I always apply foundation with a blending sponge and practically never use a brush. Then, I use the ELF Powder Brush to apply face powder and/or setting powder. I like this brush since the bristles are quite tightly packed and pick up the product really well. I bought this from iHerb for about 7 $ about two years ago and although I use it every day, it’s still in great shape.
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Disappointing make-up of 2015

The last installment in the recap of 2015 takes us over to the disappointing make-up products section. Luckily, there haven’t been many of them last year but two of them were quite expensive so the year could have gone better. Let me just say that although the product didn’t work for me that doesn’t necessarily mean they wouldn’t work for you. Also, I do like these brands and many other products from them, so the items mentioned below were just unlucky coincidences.


Let’s start with the biggest disappointment – the Anastasia Beverly Hills contour kit. It cost me 40$ as I bought it in the US, but in Slovenia you would pay a whopping 75 € for it! I wrote an entire rant about the palette which you can read here (swatches!) but to recap – I didn’t like the packaging, the pigmentation or the shades so I wouldn’t encourage you to buy it. Instead, consider a cheaper alternative, like the Makeup Revolution contour palettes or another high-end one (I love my Kat von D Shade&Light palette). View Post

Last e.l.f. haul for a while…

If you follow me on Instagram (you don’t? Go now – it’s @low_maintenance_beauty) you might have noticed my posts about the shutdown of e.l.f. (Eyes Lips Face) UK online store. Apparently, it will make a comeback in a couple of months, but I still stocked up on some things I like and afforded a bit more, since everything was on massive sale.

By the way, the sale is still going on – there’s not a lot of stuff left but you can still check it out if something catches your eye.

Anyway, this is what I got.

Yes – those are three identical Mineral Eyeshadow Primers back in the corner. These primers are absolutely best value for money (with the exception of Wet’n’Wild Fergie primer which I can’t find anywhere in Europe). They have a soft yellow tint to them which is just enough to cover the veins and spots on the eyelids even if you’re not wearing any eyeshadow. So I stocked up.

e.l.f. Smudge Pot – Hit the town
Keeping with the eye theme, I got another one of the Smudge pots in color Hit the town. I bought one of these (Gotta glow – a nice light gold shade) a few months back and I like to use it as an accent for the middle of my eyelid when going for a bolder look. Since they are wet (kind of similar to Maybelline Color Tattoo’s, but in reality more appropriate for base), they have a bit more staying power than a normal eyeshadow. Hit the town is a blue-gray shadow that looks absolutely beautiful and I will definitely use it as a base for creating a smokey eye. View Post

Product empties

I was under the impression that while hubby was away for two weeks, I would have plenty of time and would post something new every day. Well… that turned out well, now didn’t it? I’m sorry to have gone MIA for 20 days, but now I’m back and let’s get this party started!

I actually wanted to write some other posts before this one, but as it turns out, cleaning out your closets really makes the empties pile up – I found quite a few products that had only a tiny bit left and that’s now gone.

Pantene Aqua Light, Garnier Fructis Repair and shine 3, Moroccanoil, Goldwell Golden Spray
I used up the Garnier Fructis Repair & Shine shampoo and conditioner. Both contain three nutritive fruit oils: olive, avocado and shea oil. I liked them well enough, especially the fruity scent, but they did nothing really special for my hair. I would not repurchase them.

I also used up the Pantene Aqua Light shampoo (which went a bit faster since hubby was stealing it all the time). This served as a shampoo to get rid of build up in my hair – it really gave them a good wash and they got that squeaky feeling to them – do you know what I’m talking about? I would repurchase this, since it’s inexpensive and works really well. As you can see, I also had some samples of this conditioner lying around so those went as well.

Keeping up with the hair theme, I finished the Moroccanoil treatment. For some reason, this went really fast – I expected it to last much longer, but to be honest, I was using it twice per days just because it made my hair incredibly silky and healthy looking. I still think that this would last much longer if it was used with a pump, since I sometimes got much more out of the bottle than needed. So I will purchase the full size (after I use up my Keraste oil), but probably keep the pump bottle from Keraste and put it in there.

I got the Goldwell Golden Spray from my hair stylist as a new year present. I liked it well enough – it didn’t make my hair sticky and was easy to brush out at the end of the day. It used to be hard to find a good hairspray, but right now, there are so many good ones out there that I probably will not purchase this, but instead try something new. View Post