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! :)

Favorite products of the month: July 2013

So, how did we already pass half summer? Time literally flies by!
But you know what the end of a month means, right? Yup, another listing of my favorite products of the passed month! :)

The month July hasn't been very nice to my skin at all. I had breakouts and I needed treatment, not just for the face, but for the entire body. It's been a while since my body was in such a bad condition...

Let's work from the top down and start with facial products:
Lately the oils in my skin have been going out like crazy. I know during summer my skin has the tendency to go all nuts, but I've been on the look out for good mattifying products to keep my oils at bay.
The Bioderma and the Shu Uemura Pureness mattifying moisturizer have been good to my skin, because they're very light moisturizers but they've been keeping my skin fairly matte.

Left:Bioderma Sébium moisturising mattifying fluid
Right: Shiseido Pureness mattifying moisturiser

Besides that, pimples had several parties on my face. Costume parties. As in, they were everywhere and in all forms. Whenever I'm need of a good zit killer, I take out the big guns: my Benzac Gel. This hydrogel contains 5% of benzoylperoxide. If you haven't heard of this chemical, it mainly dries out the zit causing it for it to DIE, mwoehahaha! Honestly, it's THE bomb diggity to get rid of any breakouts.

Benzac Gel

This passed month I had to go to the dentist, and I had to sit there for about 2 hours with my mouth open. This caused the sides of my mouth crack, and believe you me... it hurts like hell afterwards! I've done some research and I found out that Sudocrem appears to be a very good treatment for healing cracks. After walking around with those cracks for weeks, it healed after applying Sudocrem for just 1 day! Holy moly guacemole, right?
It's known to be a do-it-all for several things, such as soothing a baby's nappy rash, treat dry, cracked feet, get rid of red spots from acne, ... A big plus? It's hypoallergenic, so this will be fighting against those annoying allergic reactions!

Sudocrem

This month I've discovered my epilator and my tweezers again, because you know how we girls be, huh? :) I like to get rid of any excess hair that bothers me, and I have my Tweezerman to thank for. I used to use cheap tweezers and I must admit, nothing beats a Tweezerman. They're so sharp that they can get every hair out, yet they're not as sharp they can cut you. Great stuff!

Tweezerman

If you haven't read the recent last blog posts yet, I've been going on and on about how important SPF is. Recently I've discovered a sunscreen that can keep my face matte, and it has a high SPF factor. It's the Eucerin SPF 50. I'm not going into it too deep anymore, if you would like some more information on it, go ahead and give this one a read.

Eucerin sun fluid SPF 50

As for make up, since this is still a beauty blog, I have 2 drugstore eyeliners, and they're both from the brand Essence.
On the top you'll see the waterproof eye pencil that claims to be: waterproof, partyproof, lifeproof, lasts up to 16 hours and it's sharpenable. It's supposed to stay on NO MATTER WHAT. I must say that this does stay for quite some time.
The second eye pencil is a longlasting one. It's a supersoft eye pencil which is good for precise application.
They're both very good drugstore eye liners that's definitely worth the money! They're cheap (I only paid 1€ for each pencil), they're long lasting, they have a good pigmentation, they're easily accessible (drugstore). Worth giving a shot!

Top: Essence stays no matter what waterproof eye pencil: 01 midnight black
Down: Essence Longlasting eye pencil: 01 black fever

During the summer sales, I often have a peek through the sales boxes and this year I found a YSL cream blush. It's pretty pinkish color that will leave your skin dewy. You don't need too much of this: one or two swipes and hello healthy glow! I'm really glad I found this because I've been on the hunt for a good cream blush and I think I found my blush of the summer.

Yves Saint Laurent cream blush no6

As for lips, I have discovered Bourjois' Color Boost Peach on the Beach. It's a coral lipstick in a crayon form. A great color to wear for those who have been wearing lip balm forever and just started to wear lipstick :) A review of this goodie will be coming up soon!

Bourjois Color Boost: 04 Peach on the Beach

I like bright nail polish colors during the summer, especially for my toes! I've been rocking NYX's hot pink for the entire month of July. It's a fun color that will make your feet look more tanned than they're already are, 2 in 1, yeah baby!

NYX - Dance in Havana

Last but not least, I've been using an oil spray to tame those fly aways down and to make my hair more shiny. I spritz this oil in my damp hair and this makes my hair softer and gives it some shine which my hair has been lacking of. I'm not a fan of the scent, although a lot of those beauty bloggers love the Macadamia scent, but I'll keep on using this because it does the job.

Macadamia - Healing Oil Spray

These were my favorite goodies of the month. Mind sharing yours with me?