New Bits and Bobs from July – review


It’s that time of the month again. The day of verdict when I can tell you what I thought about the new products I bought or received in the month of July.

I must say that I really like the Biobaza make-up remover. I only need a single pump to remove the non waterproof make-up and another pump for the face. I also think this bottle will last me about a year, so the value is amazing.

The Verde Vera hand cream is nothing special, to be honest. It’s not very nourishing, it doesn’t smell that great – basically, it’s the kind of product you forget you own all the time.

I have used the Avon Sun Light Spray during the vacation, but as my hair is currently going through some kind of hormonal meltdown, I can hardly be an honest judge of it. I can say that it smells wonderfully, though.

I promised myself I would save this Victoria’s Secret Exotic Fragrance Lotion until next summer, but I cracked under pressure. It’s another great product, smells great, absorbs quickly and leaves my skin nice and soft. Not something I’d write home about, but a really good product nonetheless.

The same can be said for the Bath&Bodyworks PocketBac sanitizers. They are now evenly distributed throughout my purses and I’m set for at least one year. I am partial to the Cool Coconut colada, simply because… coconut!

Avon Nailwear Pro+ in Minty is one of my favorite nail polishes of all times – and I feel quite certain in saying that. It’s well pigmented, doesn’t chip very quickly and I’m absolutely in love with the shade. I can’t say the same for the Deborah Gel Effect polish which unfortunately doesn’t agree with my skin tone. I am also on the fence about the Kiss Vita base coat since it doesn’t seem to a) make my nails any stronger or b) prolong the lifespan of my manicure. I’ll have to find something better – if you have a good suggestion for a base coat, please let me know in the comments!


Now for make-up. First, there is the famous Benefit Cheekathon palette – you can read the review *here*.

I also wrote individual reviews about the Nabla bronzer in Cameo (*click here* to read it – it’s a great bronzer!), the Cover FX Custom Cover Drops (the review can be found *here* – it’s one of my all time favorite products) and the Golden Rose Longstay Liquid lipstick (the review is *here* – I wasn’t a fan). I also had a go at my Laura Mercier translucent powder which is quite OK, but the real test will come in the winter when the foundation and concealer get heavier and are more likely to crease. The Beautyblender is still waiting to be used, but I reviewed that so many times already that I probably won’t do it again. Last but not least is the Nabla lip liner which I totally missed the color – it’s much lighter than any of my nude lipsticks so I’m still thinking of ways to use it.

And that concludes the short reviews of the products I bought or received last month. If you want more information about any of the products, let me know in the comments below.

Until next time, stay beautiful!

Golden Rose Liquid Matte Lipstick review

I don’t normally do somewhat negative reviews of a single product but I’ve received so many questions about the new Golden Rose liquid matte lipsticks that I feel like I must put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard, to be more exact) and write my thoughts and opinions about it. 

A quick disclaimer: as you’ll see, I really don’t like this lipstick, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like the brand in general – they have some awesome products that I wrote about a bunch already. 

Anyway, this is my lipstick. It’s in the shade 11 – a nice warm brown color. The selection of colors is quite nice. The price is quite steep for Golden Rose brand – this one will set you back 5,60 € for 5,5 ml.

The lipstick promises to be ~ ultra long lasting, ~ with no transfer film ~ enriched with vitamin E. 

The packaging is pretty standard with all the ingredients on the back of the packaging.  The bullet is pretty simple. It’s nothing special compared to other brands, but in case of Golden Rose, you’re really paying that less because of it so it doesn’t bother me much.

I don’t like the applicator at all. I’m very used to the doe foot applicators and this one looks more like a straight spatula, making the application much more difficult, especially in places where more precision is needed. I can just get away with application of this shade, but I would definitely suggest using a precision lip brush for any bolder colors.

The next thing I don’t like but can’t really show on the photo is the smell. It’s a strong vanilla scent, but not the nice grandmabakedcookies vanilla, but rather the 2€/liter essence you’ll get in your supermarket. I can also smell it once it’s on the lips which is very off putting. 

But the thing that matters the most is the formula. It’s quite soft going on the lips, although somewhat patchy, but once it dries (which is quite quickly), it becomes sticky and settles into the lip lines. I tried prepping my lips with a scrub and it made no difference. Even when it’s dry it’s very stick and eventually starts to flake off. It will last longer than your average drugstore lipstick, but my lips are definitely not happy once I remove it. 

So there you have it. I would advise you against buying this particular lipstick, but if it’s a good matte lipstick in general you’re after, they have some great velvet matte lipsticks. Just look for a lovely fuchsia colored bullets once you visit their stand.

Until next time, stay beautiful.

My monthly make-up basket – July 2016

Originally, I was planning on doing two make-up baskets per month, but let’s face it, even I don’t have that much make-up to constantly swap items, so I am afraid that it would become rather boring. Instead, I’ll be doing this once a month and doing some additional reviews on the Monday I now have free to post whatever I like 🙂

So here are some of the products that I’ll be using and hopefully loving for the next few weeks.

Starting with the face, I’ll still be using the L’Oreal Infallible primer, but I actually bought the foundation to go along with it – the L’Oreal Infallible 24h-matte (in shade Sand). I hear that the combination works well together so I’m excited to give it a go. The shade of foundation is perhaps a tad too dark at the moment, but as I’m typing this from my seaside vacation, I’m sure that will probably change in a couple of days or so.

I’m going to give another go with the Freedom Pro Conceal and Correct palette. While the shade selection in this palette is really great, I find that the concealers are quite hard to blend and tend to crease on me. Perhaps a good primer will make a difference.

I’ll also be reaching for my Essence lights of the orient bronzer that has a hint of highlight in the middle. I fear this will be a bit too orange for me but we’ll see. To be on the safe side, I also brought my beloved Sleek palette (Fair) that includes a nice bronzer, a lovely coral blush and a decent highlighter.

I’ll also be trying out some new Ardeco goodies – a strobing fluid and contouring powders (lighter 12 – vanilla chocolate and darker 21 – dark chocolate). View Post

New Bits and Bobs from May – review

Two weeks ago, I published a post with all the new products I bought or received in May (*click* to view the original post). Now, it’s time for short and quick reviews of the products – if you want a more detailed review for any of the products, let me know in the comments!

The L’Oreal Make-up remover says it’s not greasy, but it definitely is. I don’t mind it as much as I thought I would. It removes my make up great, even the waterproof mascara, so I’ll continue using it.

I quickly realized that I really cannot and should not be using anti-perspirants, no matter how badly I want to be sweat free. I didn’t like the Garnier InvisiCalm since it made my skin really sticky and weird feeling, so I threw it away.

I’ve rambled on and on about Nivea Protect&Refresh line already and I am a big fan. I’ve been using this sunscreen on every sunny outing so far and I am a big fan of the cooling effect.

The Mirati face wash gets a big thumbs up as well – it is a soft cooling gel that makes my face squeaky clean. I haven’t had any bad reaction to it and my skin is looking pretty great, if I say so myself. I’ve noticed that I only need the smallest amount to make it work, so this tub will last me ages. View Post

New Bits and Bobs for May 2016

I’ve been shopping online quite a lot in the past few months, since I was basically tied to the couch for the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy and have not left the house for the first month much.

Basically what I’m trying to say is that the products you see above were not all bought in May, but I’ll try to keep up from now on with my monthly shopping report. I also completely forgot about my Lancome Juicy Shaker since it’s been in my purse ever since I’ve gotten it, but I think I’ll be writing a separate post about it very soon. I should also mention a present from Licila.si – the Freedom Brush Bath that I’ve already reviewed in a post you can read here.

Starting with skincare, I bought a new make-up remover from L’Oreal. It looks very oily in the bottle but promises to be “non greasy” so we’ll see about that. I also had to get a new deodorant and chose the Garnier mineral InvisiCalm antiperspirant. I am not a fan of antiperspirants in general but I’ll only be using this once in a blue moon for seriously sweaty situations so hopefully I won’t react badly to it.

Nivea was kind to send me a huge (and I mean huge) promotional package full of stuff for the summer, but the real star of the package is the new Nivea Sun Protect & Refresh sun lotion. You can expect more information about this bad boy in the Wednesday selection coming this week.

I also received a face wash from Mirati, a brand I didn’t know until very recently. I am happy to support local brands by giving my honest opinion and I’ll continue testing it until I’m ready to give a verdict.

I bought the Golden Rose Silky Touch Blush On (n. 207) about a week ago and so far, so good. I’m always impressed by the prices at GR counters and hopefully I’ll be impressed by the quality as well. View Post