Catrice Cosmetics Waterproof Liquid Liner in #010 'Don't Leave Me!' [Review]

This Catrice Waterproof Liquid Waterproof eyeliner is the latest to join my liquid liner brigade. I only bought it by coincidence-they didn't have my beloved Essence Cosmetic Liquid Ink in stock and I though that I would give this one a try until the other one was restocked.

It really is cheap, less than €5.00 for sure [or even less than €4.00].

Has it won my heart? Read on!

Similarly to the Essence Liquid Ink, the packaging of this one is also light blue and black. I love black packaging on eyeliners because most of the time I really manage to mess them up.

This one has a kind of sponge-y, pointy applicator (much like a felt tip) which is rather bendable - but obviously not as bendable as a brush liner would be, but also stiff. Really precise too!

It is a really deep black and one swipe is enough for maximum opacity.

It dries really quickly, so extra points for that!

It stays on all day long [especially if you have non oily eyelids] however on me it does fade a little bit around the corners/winged part - but I'm sure that's because my eyelids are oily.

Re: waterproof claim. This does stand water, it doesn't fade or anything, but it will smear/smudge a bit if you rub it while it's wet. So not exactly 100% waterproof. However, since it does not really fade [unless I've been crying] I don't really mind.

It is really easy to draw both thin and thicker lines with this.

Even flicks are really easy to create with this Catrice eyeliner. At first I couldn't get the hang of it since I am used to the brush type liners, but now I realise that with this one I am quicker at winging my liner. Yay!

Oh and I forgot to mention that this one is a repurchase - yes I love it so much that I re-bought this one instead of the Essence Liquid Ink eyeliner.

Two thumbs up.

Love,

Lola

xoxo

Look Fantastic December Beauty Box [Unboxing]

I had been meaning to get my hands on the Look Fantastic beauty box for quite a while now - but I'm always either too late, or else they have problems processing my payment.

I've always wanted to try out a beauty | subscription box, but they rarely [ever] ship to Malta, my country. Or when they do, you have to pay for shipping too!

But finally I managed to buy the December edition, which arrived today, just in time for Christmas!

This one cost me €19.35  | £15.00 inc. shipping.

If you're not familiar with subscription boxes - basically you pay a small fee and you get sent a mixture of beauty products which cost a hell a lot more than what you pay for. You also wouldn't know what you're getting so it's a surprise every time :)

Usually you can subscribe to these boxes and pay twice a year for them, but Look Fantastic refuse to do this for some sort of reason, and so you have to buy this box every single month. And yes, they get sold out almost immediately.

So in December's box we got sent 7 different items - some are full sized, others are deluxe samples.

I thought that all the boxes are generic, but while I got the Bourjois single shadow and the Lord&Berry pencil, the majority got a 3-eyeshadow palette by Bourjois [I was so jelly!!] and a Lord&Berry lipgloss.

Let's see what's in this box:

Pure Gold Collagen

Basically this is a liquid food supplement [so you drink this - p.s. it tastes of peaches and passion fruit] it states that it improves your skin's appearance from within, since it penetrates to the deeper levels of our skin. It is enriched with hydrolysed collagen, vitamins and minerals.

So this costs €45.70 for 10 bottles, and you have to drink 1 per day. It is best used for not less than 4 weeks. So pretty expensive eh? Here we only got 1 bottle, which costs €4.57.

Murad Essential C-Cleanser

I was really excited to see this Murad cleanser because I've been wanting to try them out for the longest while ever. This states that it 'cleanses environmentally damaged skin by removing impurities and potential irritants, restoring moisture and preparing skin for repair.' Will be testing this baby out today!

At the moment there is an offer going on - 360ml €44.45. This one is 45ml so costs €5.55.

Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel [Anti-Ageing]

Also really intrigued to find this peel. So this is an award winning formula which should brighten, smooth and repair the skin's surface. Quite a lot of promises. Will see how this works. Intrigued.

Sold for €37.46 50ml. This one is 15ml so €11.23

Ole Henriksen Pure Truth Youth Activating Oil

So I've never heard of this brand, but after a quick Google search I realised that it is quite popular - and quite pricey. This tells me that: 'This powerful 100% concentrated rose hip oil activates skin's natural reparative ability with potent antioxidants and essential fatty acids to reveal skin's youthful state - bright, resilient and radiant.' I've never used face oils and really dying to testing this one out.

Sold for €59.69 30ml. I got a very generous 15ml which costs €29.84

Macadamia Healing Oil Infused Comb

Apparently this is the first 'tool' found in a Look Fantastic beauty box. At first I thought it was a normal comb, afterwhich I realised that this was infused with healing oil, which should detangle and nourish hair. How very intriguing. It should also add shine and smoothness [plus it provides an even distribution of healing oil - what sorcery is this?!]

Costs €7.62

Lord & Berry Travel Size Silk Kajal [Black]

I've never tried any Lord&Berry products. I got the pencil while the majority seems to have gotten a lip gloss. Upon first swatching it doesn't seem that pigmented, but will give it a try and let you know how this works. 

€12.70 for full size [my version probably costs around €5.00]

Bourjois Paris Intense Extrait 05 Eyeshadow

So while the majority got a cute 3pan palette, I got this Christmas tree green coloured eyeshadow. Apparently this hold for up to 16 hours of wear, how crazy is this? Never tried these eyeshadows before, but all I can say for now is that this is crazy pigmented.

Costs €8.38

Swatches of Bourjois eyeshadow [left] and Lord&Berry pencil [right]

So to sum everything up:

I got 7 products which cost me €19.35 but which have a retail value of €72.19!!

Do I recommend this Look Fantastic beauty box? Hell yes!

Will I buy it again? Of course!

Hope you enjoyed this post, and may you all have a very merry Christmas!

Love & hugs,

Lola

xoxo

MAC 'Pinch Me' Blush [Review + Swatches]

Ladies and gentlemen, may I please announce my most used blusher of this month [and the past couple ones too!]

It's this MAC 'Pinch Me' sheertone blush.

This blush is part of the permanent line and MAC describe this shade as a 'medium dirty rose coral.'

In the pan it tends to look more brown than rose, but it does look rose-y when applied. In fact, it looks far better when applied than in the packaging!

It is matte.

As the finish implies, this blush is quite sheer and with just one dip of the brush all you get is a really light wash of colour which gives you a really natural look. It is quite pigmented for a sheertone though. You can also build the colour up - but be careful because it can look rather muddy [especially if you're fair skinned] if you apply too much of this. 

This is my daily [mostly used in mornings/ afternoons] blush - since it gives a really natural look, PLUS it fades away gradually and lasts for more than 6 hours.

Perfect for people who are blush or makeup newbies or for those who don't really dig in-your-face blushers. 

Also perfect for tanned or medium/ darker skinned beauties.

Love,

Lola

xoxo

Skindinavia No More Shine Makeup Finish Spray | Oily Skin Formula [Review]

A couple of months ago I was introduced to Skindinavia by one of my blog readers [who also happens to be an old acquaintance]. Not only that - but she was also kind enough to send me one of her own [new] fixing sprays. Now these fixers don't run cheap so it was a very nice gesture. Thanks [you know who you are]!

The one I have is the Oily Skin Formula [you can also get a primer spray, and also different versions such as a bridal formula].

It is oil-free, lightweight, hypoallergenic, contains no parabens - i.e. you won't get no breakouts with this [or clogged pores for that matter]

How does it work?

It works by cooling the skin down.

Our normal skin temperature is 32 degrees celcius [90 degrees] - which causes our skin to quickly loose moisture [and you'll get oiliness, dry makeup and colour loss]. 

Now, Skindinavia state that their spray works like a sort of web which is slowly released over 16 hours. This means that your face will retain moisture for a longer period, which also means that you will need less touchups! And less shine too! And you'll get up to 16 hours of perfect looking makeup.

The one I have can be applied before and after makeup [I sometimes just use it before like a sort of primer but beware if you have dry skin I would suggest that you use this after you apply your makeup]

To use you shake the bottle really well and spray in an X or T formation. 

It dries really quickly [so you won't get that caked up feel on your face] and you get a sort of an in between matte and dewy look  [certainly natural looking]

This, my dear readers, is the BEST fixing spray I have ever used. 

My face stays completely matte, and my makeup looks fresh throughout the day. Impressive.

I have never ever used a product which controls my shiny t-zone as well as this one. And I'm not kidding.

You have to try this one out [really handy when you live in a really hot and humid country!]

It is quite pricey [$29 exc shipping - and I think I paid about $10 shipping - you see I love this so much that I bought one for my friend as a birthday gift] but it is seriously worth every last cent. My friend loves it as much as I do!

They've also revamped their packaging - the smaller ones are the newer bottles.

Of course I have never worn makeup for 16 hours straight so I can't vouch for the 16 hour promise, but what I do know is that this keep the shiny-ness at bay. 

This Skindinavia makeup spray is magical. Thoroughly impressive. Wow. 

Will keep on re-purchasing this for sure. 

P.s. When I sometimes forget to spray this [when I'm in a rush] I get panic attacks.

Let me know if you try it out! OR which is your holy grail of fixing sprays.

Love

Lola

xoxo

Dr Organic Moroccan Argan Oil Restorative Treatment Conditioner [Review | First Impressions]

Earlier in November I was invited to the first Dr. Organic bloggers event [check out my post by clicking HERE] where we were introduced to a number of products from their extensive range [of course they couldn't talk about all of the products because we would have pulled an all nighter - so extensive is their range]

I was kindly offered to take 3 products of my choosing home with me to test out, one of which was this Dr. Organic Moroccan Argan Oil Restorative Treatment Conditioner.

This costs €8.46* [what a bargain!] for 200ml and you can get yours from a number of local supermarkets and selected outlets. 

Of course, like the majority of their products, this one is made from the purest of ingredients.  [and also natural!] 

It is free from parabens, artificial colours, fragrances, SLS and harsh preservatives.

Although they have a number of hair products and treatments, this one caught my eye since it is meant for use on dry, dull, fly away and damaged hair. And heck, after ombre-ing my hair early in Summer, my hair was [Alas!] suffering from most of these problems.

Packaging wise - what I really love about this is that it has a flip-cap as opposed to a screw on lid i.e. your slippery hands will open/close this quicker.

This Dr. Organic treatment is quite thick, but not as thick as 'normal' treatments - but it is definitely thicker than a normal conditioner.

Also, unlike 'normal' treatments, you apply this BEFORE you shampoo and conditioner your hair. You use this on damp hair, concentrating on your ends, and leave on for 5 minutes - then lather with shampoo / condition as you would normally.

Even though it is advised that you use the shampoo/conditioner from the same range, I find that this treatment works just as well with other shampoo/conditioner brands.

It leaves my hair feeling nourished and soft, and it is also less prone to tangling. Split ends look less obvious too, so I believe that this kind of smooths them out.

It might not be as effective as some other [far!] more expensive treatments that I have tried [so don't think that your hair will change from day to night], but for the price this works quite well.

I use this once a week [although I do sometimes use it twice a week]

Love,

Lola

xoxo