My skin got dry like every winter and though I have more moisturising foundations that really suit me at the moment, this one looks best on the skin. I must sound like a broken record by now saying the exactly the same thing when it comes to this foundation, but it's the most natural looking formula and it never looks obviously that you're wearing something. Coverage is only light-medium so concealer is needed for more prominent imperfections, but I really don't care. It's a foundation that doesn't emphasise uneven texture, regardless of the condition of the skin for example dry patches, big pores or lines. It never makes the skin look bad, it just evens it out and creates a healthy looking finish.

I can say pretty much the same thing here as for HM foundation - again it's a formula that looks very natural on the skin, it's never heavy or cakey. Coverage isn't outstanding, but I was never one for a super high coverage obvious make up look and this does a good enough job under the eyes or hiding some extra redness. Too bad that after all this time Bourjois still hasn't expanded the shade range because the lightest one is a bit too dark for me. 

In my New in post I wasn't terribly kind to this, but I've since identified the problem why it didn't work for me and it actually became my favourite highlighter. I need to make sure I'm wearing a moisturising foundation for it to work for me (due to dry skin at the moment) and I apply it with fingers because a brush doesn't pick it up. It has an unique type of formula that's a mix between a powder and a cream, but it's closer to a powder. The glow from this is amazingly beautiful. It's a light champagne shade with very fine shimmer, so it looks very close to natural radiance and it's very intense, so the glow you get is strong. However, there are some minuses and the biggest one is that mine fell out of the pan and when I tried to pick it up, it broke apart into so many pieces, so I spent quite some time getting it back and now it looks battered.

I feature this in my favourites every now and then because it so deserves the attention. It's still my favourite mascara and it makes such a difference compared to all regular mascaras I'm usually testing. The main difference is that it holds up my lashes, which regular formulas can't. It also creates a lot of volume and length, plus since the formula is more on the dry side, it's never messy nor does it clump my lashes together. It's waterproof so I don't use it every day because it's too harsh on the lashes to remove such a heavy duty formula every day, but I always have one in stock and use it when I want to look extra nice.

This was such a pleasant surprise. I have been regularly checking these out when we still had a stand here, but I never bought any because L.O.V. isn't the cheapest brand. I like this way more than those Colourpop Super Shock/Essence Melted Chrome/Catrice Metal Sensation type of formulas. It's a drier, but similar version to those and I just find it sticks better to the lids, so I get an intense metallic coat without having to build it up much. I've always been a sucker for very pigmented formulas that don't take ages to layer for a good level of intensity. It's also got much finer shimmer than those more creamy formulas, so it's more every day appropriate. METALfusion is a very classic taupe shade and a type of colour I wear a lot on a daily basis, so I'm really happy with this and I regret missing them when we still had them in our drugstores.

This was love at first try, but that pretty much happens with all Max Factor glosses to me. They just make the best, most cushiony comfortable formulas ever. It's very similar to Honey Lacquer, just less thick because it's a more sheer finish and the shade I have is a wearable pinky-peachy colour that I've been wearing a lot since I got it.

This is one of my favourite shades ever, Essence just nailed that medium mauve-rosy colour that isn't too brown or too cool - it's just perfect. And the formula is not conventionally crappy Essence lip stuff, as it lasts pretty decently on the lips. It's not like more expensive lip colours, but it's much improved from regular Essence lipsticks. It also dries perfectly matte without feeling drying on the lips. This definitely won me over. 

This is an old favourite like that Essence mascara above, which means I've been using it all the time for years now, but I don't mention it often here because I'd be repeating myself way too much. It's the best shampoo ever for my super dry hair. It doesn't leave that nasty squeaky clean feeling where I'm just hoping my hair mask will fix the dryness situation I caused by stripping the hair too much, instead it feels like I already use some conditioner, so my hair feels silky when I'm rinsing this off and it's not tangled. It's a drugstore godsend for very dry, coarse hair that needs a lot of care - but I must warn you that I've had some people say that it's too much for them, so unless your hair is very dry, this might not be for you. 

Just like the shampoo this is my standard hair mask that as you can see I have a massive pot of and it usually lasts me about a year (I use some other stuff too, but mostly this). It's the cheapest salon quality hair mask per millilitre and one of the rare ones that's enough for my super dry hair. It's a very thick formula which is an instant sign it's going to work for me because I need a lot of nourishment and nothing weighs down my hair. It's also got some proteins so it's good for hair that's prone to damage. 

I've been doing some colour experiments in the last two months and I'm one of those people who obsessively prepares before any changes, so to keep my hair really nourished before and after colouring, I've been applying this oil every day. My hair can handle and actually needs a lot, so I can apply such regular, non-silicone oils without my hair turning into a greasy mess and this has that excellent consistency where it's not too thick (like regular macadamia oil which is much heavier) and my hair completely absorbs it. It contains a combination of jojoba and coconut oil, both fantastic for hair care. This oil also smells great and strong, something I always like, but it's not a coconut type of scent, it's very floral. 

I mentioned above I've been doing colour experiments, which is the biggest change I've made in 10 years (I already had highlights when I was very young and I was a redhead for a few years). I've done it all myself because I want to, I want to learn how to do it, know how my hair deals with bleach and I don't want to go to the hairdressers for various reasons (I even cut my own hair). I don't care if I screw up badly. Schwarzkopf Color Expert got me to an expected orange level 6-7 stage, so after a lot of research I picked Schwarzkopf Blondme line because it has an added bond builder (something like Olaplex that prevents significant damage) and because I read many reviews saying it got even those with very dark hair to platinum blonde in one try. I used it on a strand of hair I cut off before using it on my hair and left it on for the longest recommended time 45 minutes. Sadly it only got my hair to a golden stage (level 8) with one session, which I suspected might happen. I re-dyed that strand again and left it on for over 45 minutes and it got to a medium yellow shade, which is level 9. It's my fault because I only took a 6% developer, since it was the only thing on Amazon. Regardless I dyed my hair with 6% developer and hoped for the best. I used coconut oil overnight before bleaching (I did a kind of a balayage, but more extensive) and I have to praise these two Blondme products because I got no visible damage. Also this barely has a bleach scent and it got on my skin a lot, but I got zero irritations. Two thumbs up for the quality. Btw I have all Subrina's developers at home, so even the strongest 12% (40 vol.) which I again tried on a strand, but the texture is liquid compared to the creamy Schwarzkopf and it's a strange mix, though it did work getting to a pale shade of yellow in one go. I think I'll order a stronger Blondme developer for next time instead of doing it twice, but not anytime soon. For now I'll do oil treatments and Olaplex for a while before coloring again because I really want to minimise damage.

 Since my hair was as expected orange-yellow as lightening dark hair is a long process and there are no toners for hair that isn't ultra-bleached in our drugstores, I used L'Oreal Preference 8.1. It did an ok job, it definitely cooled the lightest parts, but some more reddish bits obviously weren't covered, regardless my hair colour right now is pretty nice. Too warm for my taste, but so far everyone's like it. Preference, though, did not impress me at all. This is the strongest smelling colour I've tried. I'm really not sensitive to smells, but this knocked me down and made my eyes water, so it was this big minus from the start. Number two is that the colour part is a liquid and not a cream. While it doesn't drip, it's got a consistency similar to an egg when you mix it with the developer and the colour slides of the brush when I tried to pick it up (I always use a pot and a brush instead of these applicator bottles because it's a lot more precise). One box also felt like it had less product that Excellence, but I managed to spread it enough using a comb and fingers. It didn't make my hair feel as nice as Excellence and the hair conditioner isn't better, so I'm sticking to the cheaper Excellence which is such a brilliant colour. 

This is a very hyped up product, but I never considered really getting it until I bleached my hair and while exploring how to go about the bleaching process everyone said that Olaplex is a must. It fixes the broken bonds that happen during bleaching or colouring as well as at heat styling. I used to have Joico K-Pack Reconstructor for the job, but this I believe goes one a step further, at least so its claimed. I didn't really believe in those before/after pictures nor do I believe this fixes any significant damage that's already happened, but I do think it maybe fixes minor damage that might get worse and more importantly protects the hair from further damage. I fully expected that this tiny bottle with only a 100 ml was going to last me two uses at most still I decided to get it anyway, but surprisingly I only used about a 1/5 of the bottle and I really went to town with it. I've used it three times by now and I have a bit under a half left. The formula is so easy to spread and it's no problem coating all the hair with minimal amount of product. I leave it on for a couple of hours and wear a shower cap, so it doesn't dry out (a minimum of 10 minutes is recommended). This isn't a conditioner and you need to follow up with shampoo and a mask/conditioner after, so I expected that like at Joico K-Pack Reconstructor I won't even notice I used anything, but this leaves my hair with that silky feeling as I'm rinsing it off. I use my usual L'Oréal Extraordinary Oil shampoo and L'Oréal Professionnel Absolut Repair Lipidum mask that contains Phyto-keratin (as well as lipids and ceramides) that strengthen the hair, plus I also use Redken Anti-Snap for additional protein treatment. In terms of visible results - the main thing is that my hair hasn't changed even after all of this colouring. It isn't more damaged or more dry, it's not brittle or weak, so this must be doing its job. I will continue using it and if you lighten, bleach or colour your hair regularly it's not a bad idea to invest in one of these type of products, otherwise I don't see the point in getting this. Olaplex is the most famous one, but there are a few dupes already.

A change after quite a while in my skin care routine. My Tony Moly Panda cream ran out and I didn't order anything to replace it yet, so I riffled though my stash and found a pot of Createurs de Monoi moisturiser. I've used up a pot of this a couple of years back and I liked it, but it's just a moisturiser it doesn't have any particularly impressive ingredients and I want more from a cream. However, since it's thicker than Panda, it really suits my dry skin at the moment, so I'm enjoying it. The smell is nice too, which is also a big plus for me.

I have to mention this because it's been on my nails pretty much all the time since I got it in December or end of November. I love pale pastel blue shades and this one is perfect. 

MAYBELLINE Lash Sensational or BEYU Beauty Queen Volume mascara - best regular mascaras I know and I want at least one back in my stash. // SCHWARZKOPF Blondme Blonde Toning in Steel Blue - it neutralises orange-golden tones on lightened hair. Their Ice shade is meant for paler yellow  tones. // AVON Reversalist Infinite Effects Night Treatment Cream - disappointed by The Ordinary's retinoids, I'd like to try this instead. Adjusting Beauty has a full review here. // BATH & BODY WORKS Fine Fragrance Mist in Almond Blossom and Bright Autumn Blooms (LE) - of course I want more of these. Almond Blossom is described as a warm & cozy mix of sweet almond oil blended with vanilla orchid & cashmere musk, and BAB as a fall bouquet of warm marigold petals, sandalwood, sparkling bergamot & cedar leaf. // BEAUTY OF JOSEON Dynasty Cream - I really just need to order this. I loved the sample and I want a full size for my regular moisturiser. 

Have a great day!

I'm a big fan of light pastel blue nail polishes, especially those that are a little bit muted rather than a pure version of the shade and they are surprisingly hard to find. This shade is exactly what I wanted and it's been on my wishlist for ages, so I was very happy when Petra from Adjusting Beauty sent it to me.

Rain washed is a pale blue that leans to grey. It's more grey-ish and less bright than my beloved L'Oreal 858 Ocean Porcelain, which has been discontinued.

Formula is a gel one, but it's pretty much a classic pastel. Formula is averagely thick formula and it needs two, sometimes, three coats for full opacity. Never in history have I been able to apply any nail polish neatly, so I can't create miracles with this formula either, but it's ok. As long as it's nothing like Essie's Fiji, I'm happy. Brush is not particularly wide, which doesn't bother me, as I actually prefer smaller brushes due to my narrow nails. For a gel nail polish I don't notice any extra shine, but I use a top coat anyway. I've worn it so many times since I got it and one thing is becoming apparent to me - it chips fast, which is weird considering how nail polishes last on me. It still lasts a week or so, but usually nail polishes last forever on my hard nails and I take them off because I get bored.

 Regular price is 6.50€ in Avon, but it's often on offer.

Out of all the (Makeup) Revolution products I've tried, highlighters are the ones that impressed me the most, especially the Unicorn Heart and the Ingot one. This highlighter quad exists in two versions, a gold and rose gold, I have the latter. The level of glow is inconsistent in the palette, but all shades are warm.

Texture: Powders feel creamy and soft, but they are chalky when you swatch them in a thick coat, so they aren't the smoothest nor finely milled, but once applied on the face, they look ok. Shimmer is mostly fine, but there are some medium sized particles and those end up all over the cheeks at the end of the day. A super fluffy brush does not apply the lightest shade well, which is the creamiest, pigmented and mostly chalky formula - this shade in particular could have been done much better, while the rest are fine. 

Shades:

Top left: A very intense pearly white - by far strongest shade.

Top right: A champagne gold - best normal level of glow and the nicest shade overall in this palette.

Bottom left: A rose gold with a pink, slightly purplish reflect. It's one of the nicest looking shades in terms of hue, but sadly it's the weakest shade in the palette. If only it was as pigmented as the champagne gold,

Bottom right: A light copper which is too dark and orange for me. Formula is similar as the champagne gold above it.

Top left pearly white shade. 

Top right champagne gold shade. 

Bottom left rose gold shade.

Staying power: Shimmer ends up everywhere, like I said before and it hasn't got the most impressive staying power. I got 4-5 hours, but it depends on the base too.

Packaging: highlighters are housed in a cardboard packaging with a magnetic closing system. They could have added a nicely sized mirror, but that would have probably made it more expensive.

Price and availability: it's sold on ličila.si for 11.99 €.

Another very likeable collection of highlighters from the (Makeup) Revolution. The shades are wearable (well apart from the copper shade one very pale skin tones like mine) and you can pick the level of glow you want. It's a shame that Rose Gold is least pigmented because it's the prettiest shade, though you still get enough if you build it up. The shimmer could be finer and that's the main thing this falls behind highlighters such as Colourpop Flexiterian. 

Have a great day !

*PR product.

This is my favourite mascara with a regular, meaning non-waterproof, formula and I already miss it so much. Every mascara I get to try disappoints me in some or other way, but mostly because they don't keep my lashes at least a little bit curled. This one does everything I want - gives volume, definition and keeps my lashes lifted enough so I don't look like I have no lashes looking straight on. It can't compare to a proper waterproof mascara, but it does enough and it's easy to remove. The price is the thing that keeps me from buying it all the time, but every time a new disappointment lands in my mailbox, I regret not having this in my collection.  

Such a boring mascara, though not a useless one. It's so light and probably the most natural looking mascara I've tried. I had hoped this would thicken in time and start producing more volume, but that never happened. It doesn't give much volume, but it excels at definition and has a great multiplying effect, since it catches every lash, combs them very neatly and fans them out. The main feature is the a wand that bends, but that turned out to be a major disadvantage because it didn't allow much product to be deposited on the lashes at once, so a lot of layers are needed for a good effect. From Maybelline mascaras Lash Sensational is a big winner for me, but this one not so much.

This was such a major mess when it was new. It was one of the wettest formulas I've tried, so application was clumpy, it weighed my lashes down and it took long to dry, so it was prone to smudging. I hoped that in a few weeks of use this will thicken and dry a bit, and start producing a better result, but against all expectations this became a very tame mascara that stopped creating a lot of volume, instead it was more about definition and just tinting the lashes. It's still not dry, but it became very natural looking on the lashes. 

I'm a fan of Max Factor mascaras (apart from the super messy 2000 calorie) and this one had an almost the same effect as one of my favourite mascaras ever, Voluptious False Lash. However, unlike that one it didn't hold my lashes curled, so that was always an issue for me. If you don't have a problem with stubborn lashes, it's a nice drugstore buy, but I'd get Voluptious instead.

I never considered this a unique formula, as even as I got it I noticed that Collection's Lasting Perfection acts exactly the same on me, and now I have plenty of other similar formulas, but the main appeal of this concealer is the shade. It's the lightest product I've ever found, almost an off-white with a neutral undertone and it was almost too pale for me. Now I prefer Look By Bipa's concealer in 010 because the shade is less pale and suits me better. The cap broke at one point which did not make me terribly happy, but otherwise this is a nice formula, it's just that I can get cheaper products that look, cover and last the same.

This is just the bunch I used up last year and I think there should be more hiding in my drawers, but this is my favourite eyeliner formula that I use every day and I always have a spare in stock. It's super black, dries matte, has a great applicator that is easy to use and it lasts all day on my lids. I'm always scared Catrice will discontinue this and I really hope this evades their discontinuing frenzies for years to come. 

My favourite micellar water that just does the job of removing makeup, it doesn't leave any layer behind and it's not drying. It has no scent, it feels like water and it's got a skin friendly pH. I've used Bioderma before and this works the same for me for less money.

One of my favourite micellars. It's one of the strongest I tried, as the extra oil makes it some kind of an hybrid between a regular micellar and a waterproof makeup remover, though it's not quite strong enough to get off a waterproof mascara. I prefer Mixa's version, but this is a close second.

One of many tubes I've gone through. This is the old one before they changed the formula a bit and I actually like the new one more because it doesn't have a strong scent. This is my second cleanser after oil and it does its job well without being drying.

My standard cleansing oil, I've been through quite a few of these so far. It's not the best oil, but it's half cheaper than L'Occitane's Immortelle. It's rubbish at removing mascara and liner, but it removes all the rest and it works well with my skin, which is something that doesn't happen with most oils. I want to find something cheaper and better, but I'm reluctant to experiment for now. 

This was in my stash for quite a while, mostly neglected and I think it got bad because at the end it just wasn't removing much and I tossed it away (not that it was a top performer to begin with, but averagely ok). However, I kept the bottle because this is the best packaging for micellar waters due to the pump and I now use it for Mixa Micellar water. 

I was not a big fan on this. It's gel with sparse scrub particles which turns into oil when rubbed into skin and emulsifies in contact with water. It just didn't fit into my routine - it's too weak for a scrub, I couldn't use it as a stand-alone cleanser because of the oil because it needs a second cleanse and even though it was an oil, it didn't work as a makeup remover (though it doesn't claim to do that any way). I was glad to see this gone.

This was my morning cleanser for years before I started just using water to avoid messing with pH too much. But I used this can as a shower mousse and it was lovely. The formula of this is very fluffy and the mousse is nicely thick, plus I liked the simple scent. I'm not sure if it's still sold, but I used to buy these in Leclerc.

I love this stuff. It's nothing special and texture is similar to regular gel-cream moisturisers, except it stays on the skin longer when a thick coat is applied (as a sleeping pack). I mostly used it in the morning under a foundation and it always worked great, while for night routine it was not quite enough in these winter months, but for most of the year it was fine (I'm currently using Creatures de Monoi moisturiser, which fits my dry skin better). It works with my skin and it never lets me down, but it's just a moisturiser and I'd like to upgrade to Beauty of Joseon cream because I really liked the sample I got.

Palmer's makes the best lip balms, I'm especially a big fan of their Swivel Stick which apart from this Flip Balm is the only lip balm I use. They are the only brand I found that doesn't make such a waxy formula that sits like an annoying layer on the lips, instead it feels more creamy and smooth. This one actually dried to an useless state, which is no wonder since it was both quite old and I almost never have dry lips, so I very rarely apply a lip balm - sometimes I forget them all together for months. Regardless I really liked this one, not just the formula, but also the fruity-cocoa butter scent and the great packaging.  

These were very flip-floppy. They never worked as effectively as Biore's, but sometimes they were quite decent, yet sometimes they did nothing. They just didn't impress me much.

I loved this. It's a light moisturiser that I used in the morning under makeup and it worked under all foundations. I also loved the grapefruit scent which is so uplifting. The toner and cream from this line are also great.

My least favourite product from this line. It just didn't do much apart from light moisturising, which other products did better anyway. 

This little bottle lasted me so long, though I had some long pauses to test other products, and I loved it a lot. Every time I used it my skin was in such great condition - clear, soft and very radiant. It's a dry oil, so there's very little of that greasy feeling, even less than at Nuxe, so that's a step up in my books, except for the scent which is somewhat nutty-herbal. Nuxe is still brilliant, though, and way cheaper, especially per ml, but I'm very tempted to buy a full size of TBS. 

One of my favourite moisturising masks. It's got such a pleasant, comfy lotion formula and it feels like heaven on the face, plus the grapefruit scent is so nice. I highly recommend this one, but in this formula. I've tried lemon from this line and it's different. By the way, this is a LE packaging and the regular one has a picture of grapefruits.

My favourite sheet mask formula by far because it does everything I want, which is nourish, even out the skin and noticeably brighten. It also smells like honey which is an extra plus. It's one of the more expensive mask formulas, but it's worth it.

Alongside with Pearl, Madecassoside is my favourite formula of these. It's nourishing, calming and tones down any redness. It also promises to promote healing, though I never used it when I had spots. Etude House's version is very similar and the only difference is the sheet, which is marginally better at The Face Shop (mostly in terms of fit for me), so it doesn't matter which one you get.

A simple moisturising mask, which wasn't as impressive as Black Pearl, but it had a nice milky essence that absorbed fast and it left my skin feeling nourished and looking better, less bland. I didn't notice a massive tightening effect, but all the extra moisture filled my lines for a couple of hours.

I expected this to be a better version of Black Pearl based on what I heard about it, but it wasn't as brightening. It was a nice moisturising mask, but are more impressive ones.

All of these had a similar very comfy, nourishing formula and all are great formulas I'd like to use more. Especially Snail and Madecassoside are my favourite because the tone down any redness or irritation. All have the same chemical creamy scent, which is fine, but I expected a honey scent at Manuka Honey and I was a bit let down, though the formula makes up for it. 

These has such a nice fluffy formula, but that not the main plus for me. It's the fact they last so much longer than shower gels. Too bad we don't have these here in Slovenia, but Balea's are the same anyway. This scent was very sweet and fruity, the description mentions the scent of strawberry jelly in donuts and it's indeed something similar.

This smelled like Vademecum kid's pink tooth paste with the crocodile, so like berries with mint. It was much thicker than Balea's other gels, which did not work out that well, but it's already gone from our DM's anyway.

This was one of my favourite editions so far because it has such a nice peach scent. I hope they make a similar one soon as this is already gone.

I got this in Leclerc and it has to be the most useless depilatory cream ever. Most such creams don't work on me anyway, but even a very thick coat of this did not make my skin smooth. Waste of time and my bathroom had the depilatory cream smell for two days.

I didn't see this anymore in our DM, but it's on meindm.at which I guess it means they brought it back after being a LE. It works exactly the same as Korean versions, which I'm very pleased about. It's a high percentage mix of lactic and glycolic acid which come in plastic socks that you're supposed to wear for about an hour. You can't really walk in them (far), so be ready to be off your feet for that time, thought you can put other socks over them. I didn't feel any tingling, but it does have a strong scent of green tea. The peeling began on day 6 and it continued for almost week. The first to go is the thick skin on the soles and the last the thin layer at the top of the feet. They look pretty bad for those days and they are very flaky, so it's not something to use when you plan to wear any open shoes. They didn't make my feet super soft, but neither did K-Beauty ones and that's because I have very hard skin on my feet that even proper files can't get remove. But it's nice because it removes the dead skin from places you can't normally reach with a file. I hope I find these again in our DMs.

I loved the discontinued scalp scrub from this line, so I got the shampoo too, but in terms of anti-dandruff effect this did nothing for me. As a shampoo it was fine, one of the thick ones, it foamed well and didn't leave my hair dry. 

I've been through a few bottles of this. It's a liquid that I use when my scalp feels itchy and this alleviates it. It smells awful, though, like you soaked your hair in schnapps.

Repurchase: Yes, but I found something better - Subrina's Recept Intensive Balancing does the same thing, doesn't smell as terrible, has a way better packaging and it's cheaper.

I adore the crème serum from this line, so I thought this might be equally impressive. However, it's a pretty standard moisturising mask that was ok for my hair, but not amazing and its effects didn't last more than a day or two. Still, it's one of the better drugstore masks.

This is almost exactly the same as my HG hair product Dove Quench Serum, but neither are sold here anymore. It's a true miracle leave-in conditioner that leaves my hair smooth, it tames frizz and just makes it look better. I wish either of these two were still sold here.

I got two of these to do a balayage and it got me from a coloured level 4 (medium brown) to a level 6-7 (dark blonde) and in some places level 8 (medium blonde) which on dark hair means an orange and in some places golden tone, so right now I'm kind of ginger, though I already toned it to a more neutral shade (If you're not familiar with bleaching levels, you can see them here). It did what I expected and I was aware it's going to take several sessions on my hair to go lighter and it did so with pretty much zero additional damage. It's got a special Omegaplex serum inside the box which I think it's about the same bond builder as Olaplex and it helps prevent any major damage or breakage. So it that respect this is a great formula, though not quite as nice as L'Oreal's Excellence, but considering this is bleach, it's definitely one of the more gentle options. They have a stronger version called L9, but it's not sold everywhere and this one is more common. However, as good as the bleach is, Schwarzkopf is mental for putting the tinniest packets of violet toner and conditioner. I used two boxes, so I had 22 ml + 22 ml available and enough for maybe a third of my hair. Plus the toner is crappy, as the tint is quite sheer (I got a far more intensely tinted purple shampoo in the drugstore called Ice Cream No-Yellow shampoo), so I really recommend you get a separate purple shampoo or a toner - either Wella Color Charm T18 or T14 everyone raves about (sold in the US) or here in Slovenia Subrina Spectra demi-permanent colour 8/10. But you need to get to a level 9-10 first, so very pale banana blonde for them to work. I didn't get to that level, so I used L'Oreal's Excellence 9.1 which I had in stock and it's ashy, so it counteracts orange tones (I'd be better if I had 8.1 though).

TL;DR version: It's a great quality drugstore bleach for light brown hair at most, but get a separate purple shampoo or a toner unless you have very short hair.

Repurchase: Maybe L9 if I can find it, but I ordered Schwarzkopf Blondme bleach and developer for the next session because it's got fantastic reviews for being strong and having an added bond builder.

I've talked about this a lot and posted pictures of results, so it's no news I love this. I recently did my roots plus toned orange hair with it and it did a decent job, better on the roots, while it's still a bit more gingery on the lengths. It did a remarkable good job on the pieces that were golden blonde. Again I have to praise the formula because this is such an amazing one that makes my hair feel like the best conditioner ever. I'd really like to try L'Oreal's Preference version because I hear it's great as well and I want to see what's the main difference for those 2 or 3 €. Also I need to praise L'Oreal for being one of rare ones with a nice selection of ashy shades that are great for toning if you're lightening dark hair. 

I've also already talked in depth about this one and posted results. L'Oreal's is just miles better and stronger, so it lightens even dark hair. However, I've mentioned before that a shade my mother uses, 8.3 lightens her hair just fine.. The formula is the thing I have major gripes with because this is so drying and it's just not a very good one compared to some of its competition. I'd pick L'Oreal Excellent over it any time. 

I did not have faith that Essence is capable of doing such a great liquid lipstick, so when these launched I didn't even properly look at them. To be fair their Colour Boost Vinlyliscious glosses that were released in the previous update did not impress me and these come in the same packaging, plus our Müller still doesn't have testers for these, so they were easy to ignore. But then I saw that they are actually matte on a swatch Lana made and before I had a chance to buy one, I was lucky enough to receive one in a shade I planned to buy. It quickly became a favourite for both the formula and the shade.

Texture and finish: Formula is one of the thinnest such liquid lipsticks, but it's fully opaque with one coat and it sets properly matte in a minute, becoming completely transfer proof. It remind me Sleek Matte Me in terms of formula and the finish is also similar to Colourpop Ultra Mattes. It's less comfortable formula than for example Deborah Fluid Velvet Mat formula or Rimmel Stay All Day, but I can deal with it just fine, I'm merely warning the rest of you.

Shade: 05 Dangerously yours is a medium muted pink. It's pinker and darker than Deborah Fluid Velvet 02 and warmer than Maybelline 15 Lover. It's one of my favourite new shades, I just like how it works with my colouring because it's neither too cool like Maybelline and it's a good balance of warm tones. It's the type of shade that works a lot better when I want to shape my lips than similar such shades.

Staying power: This is where it shows we're still dealing with Essence. It's one of the rare matte lip creams that doesn't last amazingly well on me. It hardly survives eating, though drinking is mostly fine. Still compared to most Essence lip products the staying power is significantly better.

Scent: It's got a sweet candy-vanilla scent that's not too strong.

Packaging: It comes in a matte paint-like squeeze tube with a doe foot applicator. It's the same packaging as of Colour Boosts that have a vinyl finish. The applicator has a subtle hourglass shape and I'd maybe prefer something with a less rounded edge for more precision, but it's not a big deal. 

Price and availability: These are sold in drugstores for 2.99 €

This was a pleasant surprise. I love the perfectly matte, opaque formula and this shade is so pretty, but I need to knock off one point for the typical Essence poorer staying power. Due to a thinner formula, it dries a bit tighter on the lips that some other such formulas, but if you can deal with for example Sleek, these are just fine. 

Have a great day!

*PR product