After a sting of merely okay-ish mascaras that I was trying in the past months I repurchased this one despite the high price for drugstore and I'm so glad I did because this is such an amazing mascara. It creates exactly the type of lashes I like, so with a nice amount of volume and with every lash separated, plus it keeps them lifted. It's definitely one of my favourite mascaras ever, especially out of those with a non-waterproof formula.
THEBALM Instain Blush
Houndstooth
I bought this recently, but it's not my first TheBalm blush, so I know they always deliver when it comes to quality. This is another excellent one with a smooth, easy-to-blend formula that's got a good pigmentation, but not too strong that I would need to be careful with it. Staying power is one of the best I've seen and it stays like freshly applied for a really long time. I got Houndstooth because it looked like such a unique shade in the pan, a muted mauve pink that I've never seen in drugstore ranges where I usually pick my blushes, but on my skin it ends up looking a simple wearable warm pink and I'm fine with it.
I'm become very boring with my lip choices as I've been sticking to the same shades for months now (Revlon Ultra HD Embrace, Max Factor Honey Lacquer Nude Honey, TheBalm Meet Matte Hughes Sincere and Lancome Matte Shaker Vintage Rose), but I dug out my Lippie Stix stash and started wearing Cami again. The formula of these is so smooth and so pigmented, they are similar to Bourjois Rouge Velvet the Lipsticks, but even better because they are a bit thicker. Cami is a rosy-brown shade that's a bit darker than my usual summer choices, but it just looks so nice on the lips.
I've been neglecting my mint green shades in favour of my typical nudes (mostly Essence Pure Beauty) and reds (always Catrice Bloody Mary to go), but this month I've worn Jade Green for most of the time. Pastel mint Green shades tend to be annoying to apply, but this one has one of the easiest formulas and it's a slightly more muted shade, which makes it a bit more modern.
Do you have a shower gel that just puts you into a better mood? Well this is mine. I never talk about this mostly because I forget due to the volume of other shower products I'm always trying, but it's one of my absolutely favourite shower gels and has been a constant in my bathroom for three years now. It's not the formula that's impressive because it's pretty basic in that respect, but I adore the scent of it. It's so fresh and sweet, plus a little bit bitter, so it smells like a refreshing bitter-sweet orange fizzy drink. I don't recall any similar scent, though shower gels with lemongrass have that bitter freshness. I recently repurchased two bottles, which are 500 ml, so it should last me a while.
Honestly I fully expected to hate this. It's drugstore, which is mostly never enough for my hair and it's a random brand and I could think of a hundred other reasons (like the fact Precious Argan made by the same company does nothing for my hair), but damn it, it's actually very decent for the price. Especially the combination of hair mask and oil make my hair smooth and shiny when I'm blow-drying it, which is something that hasn't happened ever since some stupid shampoo completely wrecked my hair and it's in worst condition that ever (seriously, I'm suffering here). Unfortunately my hair still ends up dry within a day or two, which is normal when it comes to drugstore hair care and my hair, but still these two are much better than 90% of drugstore stuff I've tried. Considering how dry and thick my hair is, it's possible the mask could be too heavy for most (they have a lighter conditioner), but if you need something thick and smoothing, this is nice. The scent of the mask is not amazing as it's a somewhat sour coconut, but the oil is has a decent coconut scent.
UPDATES
The lovely Sandra from Keep Calm and Wear Lipstick blog knocked my socks off when she sent me a ton samples of a brand I'm currently very eager to explore - Bath & Body Works. I'm rather envious of her collection and I'm so grateful she gave me a chance to see what the scents are like and what I'd consider purchasing. She also remembered I was interested in a couple of The Ordinary products which she also included a samples of in her parcel. Thanks again, Sandra.
BATH & BODY WORKS Body Mist Bali Blue Surf
I had this on my wishlist in the last monthly favourites and though initially I wasn't sure about it, I kept reaching for it in the past week and now I just love it. It's such a fab summery fresh scent. There's very little of coconut, in fact I can only detect it in the seconds after I spray it, while later it's this fresh salty scent. It's the scent of seawater breeze and the smell of a beach without any trace of sunscreen scent that most such mists have. If you'd like something that smells a bit like the ocean, this is a great non-masculine smelling option.
BATH & BODY WORKS Body Mist At the Beach
I'm less enthusiastic about this one. It's mostly frangipani, so a warm floral scent that to me smells boring. The coconut here is creamy and somewhat artificial, though not plastic and the rest of the base has that laundry detergent clean quality. I find it's boring compared to Oahu Coconut Sunset and Bali Blue Surf.
BATH & BODY WORKS Body Lotion Sensual Amber
A deep sultry scent with berries and patchouli, while amber only forms a barely noticeable smooth base. It's a scent I've smelled a hundred times as everything from Paco Rabanne Black XS, Gucci Guilty Absolut and James Bond 007 for women smell so similar, mostly due to the spicy patchouli note. So if you're looking for something that smells high-end and is long-lasting for a cheap price, this is worth it, but I was bored just opening the sample. It was on my list to try, so I'm glad I got a sample first.
BATH & BODY WORKS Body Lotion Wild Madagascar Vanilla
A sweet spicy vanilla scent that's very strong and definitely something for colder months. Fruity notes here are pear and apple, but I don't detect any freshness or that crispy character, instead it's smells more like sweet berries were mixed in it. It's another mist that I'm sure would work as a perfume because of the strong notes.
BATH & BODY WORKS Body lotion Winter Candy Apple
If you ever owned Tigi After Party you'll recognise the scent because it's exactly the same. It's not an obvious apple scent, instead it's more artificially fruity, but regardless of that it's nice. It's my favourite lotion from the samples, but I'd still pick Country Apple instead of it. I suspect the lotion must smell different from the mist, as the notes of that mention apple in combination with cinnamon, neither of which I detect here.
BATH & BODY WORKS Vanilla Bean Noel
A smooth and creamy cookie vanilla. If you want to smell like a cupcake, this is it, but it's nothing particularly special.
All lotions have the same light, yet nourishing texture, but if you're buying stuff from BBW I highly recommend you take the Ultra Shea versions of body moisturisers instead because those are amazing.
BATH & BODY WORKS Golden Sugar Scrub Cashmere Glow
The texture of this is exactly the type of scrubs I like, meaning one of those harsh sugar ones like Soap & Glory makes. The scent is nothing like I expected, as it's mostly fruity with a strong very sweet peach note on a warm base of vanilla, sugar, sandalwood and musk.
BATH & BODY WORKS Shea & Sparkle Scrub Sugar Plum Swirl
This is not impressive as a scrub because the scrubby bits are small and there's not enough of them for my taste. The scent at this is so complex. At first it just smells like a simple sweet-tart plum, but then it follow by this wave of warm and sultry notes.
THE ORDINARY 2% Salicylic Acid
Almost a gel type of product that I have been applying on my spots (came at the just right time because I got spots after several months). I think it helped cure them a lot faster making this so far the most impressive TO product I've tried.
THE ORDINARY Azelaic Acid 10%
I did not expect the texture of this to be so thick. It's difficult to include it in the routine because it's like a rich moisturizer. It's supposed to help make the skin more even and reduce spots, though I'll have to see how it works with further use. Despite the high percentage of acid I didn't feel tingling.
USING UP/USED UP
I dedicated this month to using up this foundation and I still hate it, so I'm very glad it's gone. I have the old bottle, but this still exists in a glass bottle with a white cap. It's exactly the same as Rimmel's Match Perfection down to a T. It's got light-medium coverage and it never sets on my skin, so it stays consistently tacky and gross. I did not enjoy it at all, but the shade was pale and fit me fine.
Next on my list to use up. Mine is again an old bottle, as now it finally has a pump. I don't think I like this anymore to be honest. After trying Milani Conceal + Perfect I find it a far superior medium-high coverage foundation, while this one just seem so fake and heavy on the face. It might just be because mine is a few years old. The shade is a nice one for me, a very pale cool toned shade.
BALEA Fuss Butter Lovely
I don't know why I'm including this here, it's not sold anymore and now there's a tea version, but mine changed scent, though the texture appears fine, so I'm trying to use it up as quickly as I can and I'm using every day. It used to have this amazing minty orange scent that is perfect for summer (now they have miny melon). Texture might be similar to the current one - a thick texture that needs extra time to sink in.
WISHLIST
I finally manged to visit The Body Shop in Ljubljana and I have to say I'm very impressed at how well it looks. I only had minutes to explore a bit and of course I fell in love with two scents. I already had Pink Grapefruit about 10 years ago and I forgot how amazingly refreshing it smells. It's better than Satsuma, so I really should pick up either a body butter or a mist. I don't remember liking Moringa the first time I tried it years ago, but now I find it an amazing smooth floral scent. I think I now pretty much love every scent from TBS. I also loved the Shea Butter mist, it smells better than the body butter, as it's smoother and less masculine.
Have a great day!
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