Review: P2 Color Star Lip Cream

As you might have already noticed I own high end make up AND drugstore make up, both have advantages and disadvantages, the clear drugstore advantage being that it’svery cheap. Now of course when it comes to trying out new products without reading reviews and generally experimenting I prefer drugstore make up, and that’s how I came to buy this:

The P2 Color Star Lip Cream in 071 Liz Taylor. Yes you read correct Lip CREAM. I thought this sounded interesting so I tried it. never did I imagine it being so messy… Lip Cream is very very opaque compared to Lip Gloss and at the same time just as sticky and messy as Gloss, which makes it actually very dangerous to use, like sticky oil paint or something.

It looks great on the lips as a color, very strong and it is reasonably easy to apply, but after that it’s horrible. Very bad staying power and it just get’s everything red surrounding me, I just have to brush against clothes and there will be a red oily stain…And it's really hard to get off, too. It’s an interesting idea to combine the opacity of lipsticks with the liquid consistence of a lipgloss, but it ultimately fails. Good thing it was only 3€ but disappointing nevertheless.

Review: Clinique Chubby Stick VS Isadora Twist Up Gloss Stick

Clinique’s chubby sticks are being reviewed and praised constantly right now. I wanted to find out if they are really worth the price of 20 € (you can get them cheaper though online). I bought the shade 02 whole lotta honey, which is again a somewhat light brownish and slightly mauve shade. While buying I discovered that Isadora had chubby-sticks-like “Gloss Sticks” and they where 12 €, 8 € cheaper, so I bought 03 Sugar Shock, a light pink shade, as a comparison. Of course the shades are different and therefore more difficult to compare, but I mainly compare their moisturizing andlongevity aspects.

They look basically the same, pencil like with a twistable bottom. The scent (yes this is important to me, lip-products are so close to my nose they have to have an acceptable scent) of the Isadora Gloss Stick is very nice, super sweet almost vanilla! The Chubby Stick on the other hand has a typical lipstick smell, which i don’t particularly love. Here is a swatch of both:

Both are quite sheer in opacity, which i like because I prefer balm-like lipsticks or even tinted lipbalms! The color of the Gloss Stick is super cute pink. The Chubby Stick is as I said a brownish shade! Here are the most important pics, actually wearing them, but be warned, because of the sheerness of both the difference is not too big:

I like the shade of the Clinique Cubby Stick on me more than the Isadora one, it doesn’t look as flaky but the Isadora color is more fun. In terms of longevity both are the same, I have to reapply within an hour, other reviewers stated they didn’t have to reapply after several hours but I guess I am very different when it comes to that. Both are moisturizing, I might admit that the Chubby Stick is just slightly better.

The bigger problem with Isadora Gloss Sticks is that there are only 4 shades in Germany right now. Chubby Sticks have a larger variety. I found a second alternative for Chubby Sticks though, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Stains, they are cheaper than the other both and not as sheer (although Clinique has a more opaque version of the sheer Chubby Sticks, too!). I’ll try those out in 2 shades. I’m pretty sure this will be my only Clinique Chubby Stick, just because there are enough similar alternatives that are cheaper on the market! Otherwise I love the whole concept behind Chubby Sticks!

Make up Look of the day

Well technically it’s already evening here, hence the not so good lighting. I did it to try out some new products I got! I wanted to go for a really light and soft look so i didn’t use any eyeliner (which is normally part of my routine), here goes:

Because of the lighting the blush is not as visible but it’s actually a very nice shade, not intense or anything (I was lucky to find a super cheap blush that I actually liked after the MAC-fiasco). Here is what I used:

1. First I applied the Catrice BB Allround Foundation  in 010 Light Beige

2. Afterwards I used my brand new Clinique Almost Powder Makeup in 02 Neutral fair.  I was actually worried that the shade would be too dark because of many reviews stating the shades usually are to dark for most but it fit me perfectly. Another good point about this powder is that it has SPF 15, which I don’t need but nevertheless is good to know. I used the cheap Essence Powder Brush (the purple one) to apply it!

3. After that I applied my new Catrice Multi Colour Blush in 070 Iced Caramel Macchiato (I just love this name!!) which is a great shade and a breeze to apply! I used the pink Essence Blush Brush!

4. Then I coated my eyelashes with one layer of Essence I love Extreme Volume Mascara (omg just one layer was enough for me??).

5. I used the I love strawberries & milkshake lip balm as a lip base (I hate the smell, it smells nothing like their lotions and shower gels!! nothing like strawberry, but fortunately the horrid smell fades after 2 minutes and the glossiness and moisture make up for it).

6. And last I used my new Isadora Twist up Gloss Stick in 03 Sugar Crush (which is essentially the same as the Clinique chubby sticks, Isadora has less shades but they are cheaper, 12 €, and just as moisturizing, might do a comparison).

That’s all!

Review: MAC Powder Blush Mocha Matte

I’ll just start with the conclusion: it’s the worst blush I ever had. And I paid about 20 € for this. I feel so disappointed, maybe I got an old blush and that’s why? I’ll tell you why I hate it:

Packaging is nothing special as always. I picked the Mocha Matte color because usually shades like that suit me, a little bit colder than others and darker. I still think that my theory is correct and just particular blush didn’t work.

I just realized when swatching that it doesn’t seem to be as easy to get as much color as I would like out of it. I used different methods, brushes and puffs, everything. This swatch was created after I layered the color with my finger (my last resort):

See how little color I get out of it? But that would still be ok if it was at least easy to layer.It is not. I never had a blush that turned out THIS patchy on my skin. It’s horrific. Either I put too much color on or none at all. Here’s my pic wearing the blush:

I can’t see any blush on me at all here. I will stick to other blushes that are either cheaper or even better quality wise or both. I will never buy this again…..

Review: GHD V-gold professional styler classic

Now I’ve been using straighteners and curling irons since forever, I had Babybliss, Remington and Braun, I manly use them to curl my straight hair. Those were never really satisfying because they kept burning and damaging my hair. No need to mention that I always followed the reviews concerning ghd products, I couldn’t believe that it really worked that well.  Last month I went to a hair salon to get my hair cut, and at the end as an extra they even curled it by using the ghd straightening iron. I didn’t expect much, but my hair suddenly felt even better than before, my curls were so bouncy and soft! And the biggest surprise: without even using hair spray the curls stayed with me till the next dayand looked wonderful! That’s when I decided to finally invest 130 € and buy this ghd baby from amazon:

It’s really classy and high quality in its design. I fell in love with it instantly. Best part is that it only needs about 10 seconds to reach the highest temperature that I need and even notifies me with a beep about it:

The little ghd light is sooo cute! The gold ceramic plates are responsible for the shinyness at the end. And here is finally a picture of me before and after using the iron (mind you I have super straight hair and it looks like it does on the picture just after washing and blow drying):

I love that it gives me those wavy locks and not super small ones, furthermore I like my hair only curled from the middle of the length on. I am very satisfied with the iron and I think the money is really really well invested, my hair just doesn’t feel as damaged and broken as it does when using regular curling irons. And they stay like that no matter what! Real professional styler.

Review: Maxfactor Lipstick Burnt Caramel

Maxfactor is a brand that I never pay attention to, once bought a horrible concealer and after that nothing more. I stumbled upon this lipstick while shopping and tried it out because the color was named “burnt caramel” (yeah names lure me in…) and I thought it suited me surprisingly well! I’m not that much into lipstick, simply because texture and color of most lipsticks don’t work well on me. This lipstick was about 5 €, very reasonable price!

So usually what is important to me is how long i can wear the lipstick without having to re-apply and texture, which for me means it has to be somehow moisturizing because of my dry lips.

The design of the lipstick is nothing special, can’t expect anything for that price I guess (or maybe Maxfactor is just not very exciting as a brand). Here are my pics of wearing it:

I think the color is a bit difficult to describe, it hase some mauve tones in it, which I usually pick, yet a slight brownish shade to it! This kind of shade probably looks good on everybody! I like that it doesn’t have a matt but rather shiny and moist finish.The longevity is ok with this one, I usually reapply after two or three hours! Maybe I’ll try out the other Maxfactor products, too, cause I am very happy with this buy!

OOTD

Not much of an outfit to see because of my down coat, it’s end of march and still freezing cold…

down coat: Hallhuber

shirt: Only

leggings: H&M

ankle boots: Hotwind (China)

bag: Guess (on milksugar . com)

headphones: Skullcandy Aviator

necklace (that is nowhere to be seen): Sheinside

Please just let the winter go by fast finally. My Mango Trenchcoat has been waiting for such a long time in the closet, it’s way to cold to wear it outside. I feel that my wardrobe generally has only spring and summer clothes, maybe even autumn, but nothing really for winter. I just dislike sweaters.

Review: Tangle Teezer Compact Styler

I am well aware that almost everybody has the the Tangle Teezer by now, I made the effort to buy it on Asos for 16 € without knowing that DM in Germany has it now, too. At least they don’t have this design haha

I bought it here!

I guess everybody knows what the Tangle Teezer does but I’ll just recap: it detangles your hair. That’s all. But that’s actually a tough job, at least with my hair, that appears to be easy to deal with but is actually a pain in the ass, every brush and comb I use just tears out my hair. Therefore I hate brushing my hair even though it’s essential.

But not anymore with the Tangle Teezer! It glides through my hair like butter! Just amazing and well worth the money!

The compact styler comes with an extra lid to put on so it doesn’t get all dirty in your purse. I have it with me everyday because it’s actually small for a brush and just essential for me! Definitely an HG product for me. And germans can now easily buy it in DM, too!

I look unhappy but it’s actually the opposite haha I’m just concentrating on the magic the Tangle Teezer does with my hair! And the inner Russian in me loves the leopard pattern…

Small DM haul…AGAIN

Ok I know I just posted the Douglas haul but I couldn’t resist to buy some small stuff in DM that I’ve been looking at for weeks.

I bought:

Balea Sweet Wonderland Lip Balm, was about 1 €, smells chocolaty but nothing special.

The Catrice Candy Shock Lip Balm Stick in Sugar Shock, about 2 €, I’ve seen previews for the new Catrice LE and this was the only product that caught my interest:

I like how the colored part is surrounded by this balm. But the actual color seems to be almost nude like on me…

The Maxfactor Lip Stick in 745 Burnt Caramel, tried it out and fell in love! Exactly my color. Will definitely review!

Treaclemoon’s My coconut Island has been around for some time in DM, it was about 5 € I think for 500 ml, I bought it because of the very very sweet coconut smell. It’s even a mix with cotton candy to me, better than most coconut scents!

The Balea Bodycream Zuckerschnute wasn’t a must buy, was about 3 €, it smells like meringues and I liked the other products from this line (waiting for my body lotion and the lip balm from this line, I bought them on ebay)! 

And last is the Got 2b Öl-la-la Oil styling spray. It’s with real argan oil essence! Got it for controlling my frizzy hair!

Find of the Day: H&M Nail Polish

Just one quick look at what you can find for just 1€ if you look really hard, super cute nail polish from H&M in a strong red with red and gold glitter particles, reminds me of christmas! The color is called “Je t’aime”

I only applied ONE layer and they already look like that, opacity is really nice. Can’t say anything about it being long-lasting because I just applied it right now..

Small DM and Douglas Haul

I went shopping yesterday and it ended as I expected…with lots of new stuff! I originally planned to go to Douglas to buy perfume, either the Little Black Dress by Guerlain or Cherry in the air by Escada. But somehow this turned out not to be my perfume day, Guerlain smelled so boring on me (although I tried it out before and it was great) and Escada was way too faint as a smell. Anyways here are my actual buys:

(from left to right)

P2 Color Star Lip Cream in 017 Liz Taylor (how cool is that), was about 2 €, I was intrigued by it not being Lip Gloss but cream, the color is intense, will review later.

P2 Push up your lips Lip Serum, also 2 €, I bought that AFTER I already got the expensive Soap&Glory one…just for comparison.

P2 Prepare your lips Lip Base, again about 2 €, very curious if this works to prolong the wearing time of lipstick. 

P2 24hours perfect eye shadow cream in 010 love me, about 4 €, seen it in a review and wanted a different color although I am usually not into eyeshadow at all (I know, strange).

The Soap&Glory Mother Pucker Extreme Lip Plumping, was 10 €, will definitely review later.

NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil in 720 Honey Nectar, it was 5 €, already tried it out and love the color!

This one’s for fun: I Love Vanilla & Ice cream Lip Gloss, was 4 €, just because I couldn’t find the strawberry milkshake one…

This one’s my pride: Dior Diorskin Nude BB creme in the 001 shade, was a whoppin’42 € (you can get it cheaper online), will receive an extensive review!

And last: Soap&Glory Face Soap Clarity, 20 €, I actually wanted a peeling but opted for the daily face soap with peeling included!

So happy with what I got, I have enough perfume coming my way anyways...

Review: Benefit “They’re Real!” Mascara

I got this mascara in the small sample size (30 g) together with a sample sized Hello Flawless Foundation (might review later) for about 10 € on ebay. 

As for mascara I am a “layerer“, I don’t like to use just one mascara, I layer several mascaras to get a intense look out of it. There are some mascaras that I have that are NOT good for layering, e.g. the Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes or the Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Sexy Blacks, both not HG material for me. I’m always on the hunt for the perfect mascara that I might even use as a stand-alone:

I heard good things about the mascara but didn’t want to read to many reviews because most people look for different things in a mascara, my number one criteria is that it is layerable. This one’s strong points are, according to advertising, volume & length AND lift/curl ( lift and curl were distinguished from one another but for me it’s basically the same).

It is a plastic brush, the one with plastic fibres… I don’t like those actually because I have too many and I find they are a little bit harder to handle but they do the trick. The brush is really thick in my opinion and even long, it’s probably the biggest mascara brush i have ever seen!

Here’s me layering “They’re Real!”:

And with make up done:

It is not my HG product but I use it frequently now because it does not crumble or dry out, the results really are long-wearing! Will use till I find something better. (Especially since the full size runs at something about 30 €, which for the effect it gives is a little bit over the top.)

Perfume Review: Pink Sugar by Aquolina and Egeo Choc by O Boticario

I have a weakness for sweet stuff, meaning sweets, cute make up AND perfume that smells sickly sweet. Most people think it’s too much to have a perfume that smells like cotton candy, but it’s exactly right for me, I’m always on the lookout for that kind of fragrances, gourmand fragrances! Since I joined the site "fragrantica . com" I discovered many perfumes that could suit my endless craving for sweet stuff, that’s how I came to buy the next two:

The Aquolina Pink Sugar Fragrance, that was 25 € total (with shipping) for 100 ml on amazon, which I find is a good price for what you get out of it. To explain the scent of Pink Sugar well, here’s a Perfume Pyramid that I took from fragrantica.com :

Top Notes

   

Middle Notes
   

Base Notes
  

The note that is most intense is the cotton candy and toffee for me. When I first sprayed this on I didn’t like it at all, it had an almost liquorice like smell to me because the musk came out to strong together with the cotton candy. But after half an hour or even less it turned into the sickly sweet yet somehow mature fragrance I hoped for! The longevity varies daily, sometimes half a day, other times only 2 hours. Still, I am very pleased with this buy. I was thinking of getting Aquolinas Chocolovers fragrance also, but it’s nowhere to be found…

Btw, the packaging is so cute and playful, it looks like something out of a Dr Seuss childrens’ book!

The second one is Egeo Choc by O Boticario, which I ordered directly from the website of O Boticario because they restocked on the limited perfume right now! How fortuitous! It was a bit more than I wished to pay, about 35 € with shipping.

I ordered here.

Now the notes for the Egeo Choc from O Boticario are as follows:

Top Notes
   

Middle Notes
  

Base Notes
    

And unfortunately I dont smell that much chocolate, which is what I hoped for…I mean it’s called Egeo CHOC. The chocolate smell is so weak in my opinion. Nevertheless it is a very rounded fragrance, quite mature again, and it lasts very long on me always! Won’t buy again though.