Hits & misses Jul-Dec 2013

Hi everyone!

Thank you for tuning back in and let me start off with wishing you all a great (and huge belated) 2014. I've been SO darn busy that I have neglected this blog like I never did before... Shame on me!
Anyway, a new year has begun, so this means turn a page and let those new, fun challenges begin!
If you have any resolutions, please share them in the comment bar below, I would like to know them! :)

Let's get back to business and kick off the year with a hits and misses of the passed couple of months. If you haven't read my former blog post on hits&misses, don't be shy to give it a read here.

Hits

Let's start of with za face. It may sound weird, but I have the feeling my skin has never been as oily as it has been the past year. I've used blotting sheets like crazy. And if I'm using them, sometimes I'll need 2 papers to get all the oils off! Whenever I'm in a beauty related store, I check out their mattifying sheets, because I like to try out a bunch of those papers. After using the Clean&Clear for a couple of years, I thought it would be fair to give other brands a try as well. Sasatinnie, Catrice, Suki, ... They've all lived in my make up bag. They've all done their job. Frankly, no matter which brand it says on its packaging, as long as it takes the oils off, I'm one happy lad!

I've used high end concealer, and yes, they're good, but I could not longer spend so much money on something while I've found a drugstore version that works just as well. I'm talking about the Catrice's camouflage cream. It's cheap, it has a high coverage and it works with my yellow undertone. What more can I ask from a concealer?

You know I love my lippies :) The passed year I have experimented with lip stuff like crazy and man oh man, have I fallen in love with it. I'm talking about the Bourjois Color Boost glossy finish lipsticks. They're in the form of a big fat crayon that you use to color in the lips. The pigmentation is great, they moisturize, have SPF and they're quite cheap for a lippy.

Another lip item I would like to mention are the Maybelline Baby Lips. These have been raved about for years and the company has finally decided to make its way to Europe as well. I have recommended them to my friends who aren't really into make up and they have fallen head over heels with it! Coincidence? I don't think so!

Misses

As for the face I couldn't stand the sunscreen by Avène. It has a SPF 50 and it's supposed to be for people with normal to combination skin, but somehow this leaves my face a little bit sticky and it makes me oily as an oil can! Luckily I received free samples, so I didn't spend any money on these sunscreens.

Occasionally, I like to put on eyeliner if I got out with my girls. Unfortunately this drugstore eyeliner hasn't done good to me eyes. This is by Essence and I bought it for 1€, I guess I can't complain then, huh? This didn't make my eye any red, but it did clog up the pores on my waterline. Yes, that's actually possible! It left me with a little reddish bump that hurt a little bit, but was more annoying than painful. I wasn't sure whether I did something different to my beauty routine, so I gave this a second try. I threw it away as soon as it happened again. Never again!


This was the very first blog post of the year 2014. Let's make it a wonderful year filled with make up and nail polishes! :)

Battle of the red tinted lip balms

Hi girls!
Remember my blog post on 'battle of the eyeliners'? If you haven't seen it yet, give it a reed here :) Well, since I've bought a gazillion tinted lip balms the past couple of months, I thought I'd do a comparison of all the red tinted lip balms I have.

I have 7 contestants who are ready to take on each other. Are y'all ready? GO!
Here's the overview of the lip balms. They're swatched according to the separate reviews down below. Just in case, here's the list with all the brand names:

On the left you'll see the original swatches and on the right they were all put to the test whether they'll last after swiping it away with saliva.

 

 

 

 

* NYC

* HEMA

* Korres

* Bourjois

* Maybelline

* Essence

* Canmake

 

 

 



 

Let's see how they perform: 

I didn't pay a lot for this lip balm, but I can tell you that you're definitely getting your money's worth. The color pay off is quite stunning and has a very sweet scent to it. The packaging is okay, it's clear that this is meant for teenage girls who like cute stuff. When it was it put up to the saliva test this was actually the only lip balm that didn't even smear a little bit. Next to the packaging and the pigmentation, it doesn't dry out the lips after wearing off. Yes, it wears off, after a 4 hours and after having a meal. Nonetheless, for a drugstore lip balm, this is not bad at all. 7,5/10


NYC Applelicious: Big Apple Red

HEMA is a Dutch drugstore and I've seen this lying on the shelves. I thought it was interesting in how the drugstore's version would work. This is a the crayon type of lip balm and I really like these types. It makes the application just that tad more fun. These are not as hydrating as I want them to be, but they'll be okay if you apply a clear lip balm underneath. They do have a some what vanilla scent to them. Unfortunately they do wear off after an hour or so, so don't expect to last for the entire night. Very affordable but worthy a 5/10

HEMA: red

Yes, I already admitted I'm a lip junkie. And no lip balm collection would be complete without ONE high end one. I splurged on a Korres lip balm because I heard such good things on it.
I used to love those little pots where you had to dig in with your finger to get product out. Until I learned about hygiene in the beauty department and I switched to stick forms very quickly. But that doesn't take away my love for those little pots. If the product is good, I'll try it. And man oh man, am I glad I purchased this. This is hydrating, lasts long and gives a great color pay off. They have a slight scent to them, but nothing too much. If only these came out in a stick form. You're probably going to say: Lily, you're not kept up to date well? They do exist. I know! BUT, they don't have the same formula :( They're simply not as good as the pot versions. If this would have some UV protection, this would have been my HG. A well deserved 9/10

Korres lip butter: Pomegranate

You know I love me some drugstore goodies. When the crayons by Bourjois came out, I had no clue how they performed. I got myself one and ended up buying 2 more. That says it all, right? I love the color pay off, they're very well pigmented but they're not lipstick va va voom. They have SPF, wear long on me, has a subtle sweet scent and are surprisingly very hydrating. You see in the saliva test that the Bourjois lip balm actually stained the back of my hand a little bit more than the others. Hands down, my favorite product by Bourjois this year. 9,5/10

 

Bourjois Color Boost: Red Sunrise

For all those Baby Lips fans out there, I got your back! They finally came to Europe and we've waited a long time for them! I do own some Asian Baby Lips as well, but they don't carry the pigmented versions...boo! Luckily Belgium got the opportunity to dispatch them as well and I'm sure a lot of European lips are smiling their teeth off :) These Baby Lips are worth the hype: hydrating, longwearing, good color pay off and are strongly sweet scented. The only thing I wish I could check off as well is a UV-protection. They're very affordable and I have these lying around my bed just in case my lips decide to chap. Good stuff! 9/10

Maybelline Baby Lips: Cherry Me

One of the most affordable lip balms I own are the ones by Essence. But don't judge a book by its cover! This lip balm makes sure your lips stay hydrated with the desired color on them.  No SPF and slightly sweet scented, but worth a 8,5/10

Essence Glow Tinted Lip Balm: 01 Light Up!

And last but not least, the Stay On Balm Rouge by Canmake. This moisturizing lip balm gives your lips the most natural red you have seen. I love color, but I still prefer natural looks over over-the-top looks. This lip balm has a great color pigmentation. As longevity, this actually stayed on my lips after eating. It wasn't until I wiped my lips that the color came off. And another plus? This actually has an SPF protection. So no worries, Canmake to the rescue! 9,5/10

Canmake Stay-On Balm Rouge

Drugstore or not, they're all quite good. For those who want to step out of their clear box but are afraid of bold lipsticks, try the tinted lip balms. I like how you can build up the color by applying a light coat or you can go over it 3 to 4 times to make it pop.

Top 3:

3. Korres lip butter
2. Bourjois Color Boost
1. Canmake Stay On Balm Rouge

And Canmake has won the battle! I know I gave both Canmake and Bourjois the same points, but the winner beat at the packaging department. This Korean brand is known for its cute packaging. Bourjois is stepping up their game with their latest beauty goodies, so hopefully they'll keep up the good work. And Korres can join the top 3. This lip butter goes on smoothly, but for hygienic reasons it didn't take the crown.

Hope you all enjoyed this article! But do tell me, what's your favorite tinted lip balm? :)

Favorite products of the month: September 2013

Another end of a month means another listing of my favorite products of the month!
Maybe you've noticed that I haven't been doing these king of post every month, that's because I usually use the same products for quite some while.

The products that do make it to the 'favorite products of the month-post' are or awesome products I use on a regularly basis or I've discovered them recently and I just want to share them with you.

Anyway, enough chit chat for now, let's jump right into it :)

My face has been very bad to me the last couple of weeks. I've been using my Benzac which contains 5% benzoylperoxide to treat the blemishes, I've been using my Clarisonic more often and I've rediscovered a scrub to get rid of the dead skin cells. You've probably heard of this scrub before, it's the St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot scrub. This scrub is the Allure readers' choice award winner and yes, it is quite good actually. It comes out as a pinkish white cream with orange beeds in it to exfoliate the skin. As the name gives it away it has a pleasant apricot scent which isn't too overwhelming. After using this scrub my skin feels very soft. A good alternative to my Nivea Visage Pure Effect Peel Soft which is more a mattifying scrub than it is an exfoliating scrub.

For facial make up products, the waterproof Jealousness gel eyeliner has been taking care of my smoky eye looks. These eyepencils go on very smoothly, no tucking, no going over the same place more than one time to darken it up, good pigmentation, ... By far, one of my favorite eye pencils! I got this pencil from an online Asian beauty shop, if you want to try it out as well, click here :)

Jealousness: waterproof gel eyeliner: black

I've been digging the Bourjois cream blushes. They're a cream to powder blush and the old spices color Sweet Cherry is a wonderful color for my complexion.

Although summer is coming to an end, the oils on my face haven't decided to call it a day. They've been excited to come out since summer has started. To solve this problem, mattifying papers have been my best friend. I've been using several ones, because I keep a certain brand in my purse and some in my make up bag. Catrice, Sasa, Clean and Clear, ... they all get the job done, so I don't really care what brand they're from.

I have been loving lip stuff lately, well actually always, but I've discovered some great lip goodies the last couple of months. Not just the regular lipbalms, but the tinted versions.
One of Korres' best selling products is the lip butter. These are little pots with a scented and tinted lip balm in it, but dang...they're good!

Korres lip butter: Pomegranate

I've done a blog post on the Bourjois Color Boost glossy lipsticks before. If you'd like to give it a read, click here. They have a good pigmentation, are quite cheap and they're cute looking. If you haven't seen them before, they're basically like a big fat crayon to color in your lips.

Bourjois Color Boost glossy finish lipsticks

These have been my fav's of the month. I'm still trying out a bunch of new products, time will tell whether they will make it to my next favorite products of the month! Until then, see you soon!

Colors of the Rainbow TAG

Hi everyone! I've seen this tag going around like a fruit fly smelling sweets :) So I decided to do this as well.

If you don't know what this tag is about, you should basically name a product you like according to the colors of the rainbow. In exception the last 'color' which is a multicolored item you can pick. Without further ado, let's jump right into this tag:

Red

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip top coat

For all those polish junkies out there, this shouldn't come as a surprise: Sally Hansen Insta Dri.

This top coat is hands down one of the best top coats I've ever used.
I like how this covers the mistake you've made with your polish. One coat of this and you'll have a flawless mani! Plus, this baby dries in just a few seconds.








                                                                                        Orange

Bourjois Color Boost: 03 Orange Punch

I would have to mention my Bourjois' crayon in Orange Punch. It's a fat stick that's a tinted lipbalm. It's smooth, gives a subtle color pigmentation and it's from the drugstore. It doesn't give a true orange tint to the lips, it's more of a coral color that leans to the orange side. This is probably one of my best buys of summer '13.






Yellow

Clarins Lotus Face treatment Oil

I haven't shared much about this product, but that's because I'm still trying this out before sharing my thoughts on it with you. This Clarins' oil is for treating the face to get it less oily. Sounds weird? If you'd like me to do a review on it, let me know in the comment bar below.





 




                                                                                                            Green

Macadamia Healing Oil Spray

I've purchased this healing oil about a year ago, but I've only been using this product consecutively for about a month.

I spritz this oil when my hair is damp. This makes it more easy for me to comb through. When my hair's dry I notice my hair's shinier and less dry.

It might be a detail to some of you, but I like it how this oil comes in a spray.







Blue

Clarisonic Mia

I kept thinking what product I could use for my something blue. Looked around my room, checked out of make up collection and then suddenly my little light bulb went on: my Clarisonic Mia is blue!

See it as a electronic toothbrush, only bigger and for the face, haha!

You can use this with your cleanser of choice and go over your face with the brush. It will get the impurities out leaving your face squeaky clean.






                                                                                                            Indigo

Britney Spears: Midnight Fantasy

I was hesitant to put this as my indigo item, because I only use this for special events during the winter.

Since I suck at describing scents, I looked it up:
In the top notes there are exotic framboise, black cherry and plum. Floral midnotes followed by warm vanilla base notes.
It's a quite heavy sweet fragrance, so be aware. But if you like the scent of blueberries and vanilla, this will be right up your alley :) 






Violet

MAC Girl Trouble

This is a silver based lilac with a metal finish.

If you look closely you'll see glitter in the bottle, but rest assured that the glitter is so densely packed that you won't even notice it on your nails when applied.

As most polishes with fine glitter, it isn't easy to take it off. But honestly, the color's so pretty that it's worth fussing about.

                                                                                                            Pink

Fairy Drops Platinum waterproof mascara

Fairy Drops! Fairy Drops! Fairy Drops! If I haven't stressed it enough on my blog, I LOVE this mascara!

This mascara has fibres which will elongate your lashes, and the thick wand has a curve to it too make your lashes curl better when applying mascara. If you want to check this baby out, click this link to get you some.








Multicolor

Batiste dry shampoo

Over the last years dry shampoo has become a staple in my beauty collection. I have very oily roots and dry ends, so I try to avoid washing my hair as least as possible. The last couple of weeks I've been experimenting by washing maximum 1 to 2 times a week and use dry shampoo for those greasy hair days.

Most cans of Batiste have more than just one color, so I decided to put this as my multicolored item.








Try to pick out one product for every color of the rainbow. So... *tick* You're it! Do this tag and share your answers with me! :)

top 10 drugstore products under 10 euro

Well hello there,

Are you like me and nosy to know what 10 products are good and affordable? Please, make yourself comfortable and let those eyeballs work! FYI: These products aren't in any particular order :)

As you may have seen, if I have to give you a list of goodies I like to work from the top down, so let's kick it into high gear shall we?

Maybelline 24h Color Tattoo - 9,99€
These babies are the B.O.M.B.! They come in a wide range of colors, they stay on for about 6 to 8 hours, don't crease (don't forget I have super oily eyelids y'all) and they're affordable. This was my go to product last year. Just keep in mind that depending on which country you live in the names of the Color Tattoos may vary.

top: 35 Tough as Taupe
left: 65 Pink Gold - right: 35 On and On Bronze

Essence STAYS No matter what waterproof eyepencil - 1€
I like to tightline (=lining your waterline). I don't like to line my eyes, because it doesn't give the appearance to having bigger eyes as good as I want it to be. It's a subtle line but it makes a huge difference to the eyes, if you ask me. I have trouble finding a good, affordable eyepencil, and I have found a Japanese eyepencil, but since they're not easy accessible I have to find ways to keep an eye out for pencils of which I can get a hold of easily. This waterproof eyepencil will wear out during the day, but for the first few hours this looks pretty darn good. The good thing is that this smudge just a teeny tiny tad, but it gives your eyes more of a sultry look than a panda look.

Essense STAYS no matter what: 01 Midnight Black

Essence coverstick - 1,99€
My cheapest concealer ever. I 'm not going to say that this is my best concealer I own, but it's in my to 3 for sure. It leaves a matte finish and the stick makes it easy to apply. The only negative point about this? It can melt quite easily due to the cheap packaging. Just leave it in a cooler place for a while and the concealer is good to go!

Essence coverstick: 05 matt beige

Rimmel Stay Matte long lasting pressed powder - 9,99€
Who of the oily faced girls doesn't like matte? This powder will leave you face matter than matte :) Plain packaging with the lid on top, although I do prefer a lid which is attached to the powder. Cheap packaging, but good face stuff!

Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder: warm beige

Bourjois Color Boost - 9,99€
I've posted a blog blabber on this product before, so you can click here to give it a read so I don't repeat myself. Long story short? I love this! Great colors, great pigmentation& affordable!

Top down:
01 Red Sunrise
03 Orange Punch
04 Peach on the Beach

NYC Applelicious Glossy lipbalm - 2,79€ (356 Big Apple Red)
Another tinted lip balm I've fallen in love with. This moisturizes your lips, gives it a lovely color and smells so goooood! The color is buildable and go on from a sheer red (one application) to a brighter red (3 or 4 applications). I like the sheer red because I've only recently learned to wear colored lip. This is my go to red for fancy occasions :)

NYC Applelicious Glossy lipbalm: 65 Big Apple Red

Nivea Pure Effect Peel Soft Mild Scrub - 5,99€
This leaves the face matte. The scrub contains little beeds that are very gentle for the skin and aren't abrasive at all. You'll need about a pea size amount for each wash. I've purchased mine about a year ago and I'm guessing I'll be able to use mine until the end of the year :)

Catrice nail polish - 2,99€
Catrice is one of my favorite drugstore brands for nail polishes, because they always have fun colors and their monthly collections are always fun to look at. One of my favorite polishes is from this brand: click here to check out a swatch. Some of their polishes do require 3 coats, but so do more expensive polish brands. I'd rather buy more Catrice polishes than 1 famous make up brand. Go Catrice!

Catrice: Walk On Air

HEMA nail polish - 2,95€
I'm not sure whether HEMA is known outside of Belgium and the Netherlands, but their polishes are good enough for me. They stay on for a good week, 5 days if you're a very busy (wo)man :) If you're wondering what it looks like on the nails, check out the swatches here! The wide variety of colors sucks me in every time, and the quality is just as good as some of the more expensive brands.

HEMA: 808

Garnier body calming gel L-bifidus Peach extract for dry&sensitive skin - 3,99€
You're probably wondering: gel for dry&sensitive skin? You? But you keep on whining on how oily your face is? Well, surprise surprise! My body has rather dry skin and after showering I need this baby to lock in some moisture before I become a dry banana!

Garnier Intensive calming gel

These were my 10 favorite products. I have always wanted to a blog post like this online because it just shows that great quality goodies can be found in drugstores as well!


Recently my fingers have been itching to set up a '5 products of each make up category'. So stay tuned for those blog posts! :)