Lipstick Swatchout Series

Hi All!

   So after falling off the face of the Earth for a while, I'm back! Kinda… I'm trying here! If you follow my youtube channel, I've been trying to work my way through my makeup and really bring it down to a level where I don't feel panicked about it. One of the most difficult parts of having a makeup collection in a dresser drawer is that you don't really know what colors you get/ have so the old "out of sight, out of mind" saying rings true.  In a time where my living area/ conditions only stretch as far as 10 months, I know I don't want to try to lug boxes of makeup on a plane (or lotions, or body scrubs, or or or or) so working my way through to the real basics and loving what I have seems to be the answer.

   I've also noticed, as I've been going through my makeup, it has spread to other parts of my life where I want to get rid of the "junky" stuff and really keep a simpler living style. (except for shoes…you never have enough shoes, or handbags)

   To help organize I've opted to go through my lipstick and lip gloss collection and swatch ALL of them, to help myself remember which colors I have (and why I really shouldn't have bought those colors). Hence the new series, I thought about doing a 30in30, but with many of my lip colors, they are a tad too bold or none seasonally appropriate (or frankly even a very conservative work/ school appropriate) or let's face it… I look dead in a few shades.

  I hope this next series helps others out when it comes to figuring out colors, pigments and swatches vs. on the lips! Please let me know what you think! :)
 

Lipstick Series: NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Istanbul

I remember purchasing this particular product right after all the hype of the lip creams came through town…erm… youtube. The packaging is supposed to reflect the actual color of the lip cream, and while it does come out similar, the swatch on my hand leans more toward a cool toned bright baby pink. 

                                   

On my lips, however, this color warms up and reflects more closely to the color on the packaging.  The formula on this product in this particular color is a little streaky, so two coats are my suggestion. (although you can build it up rather comfortably) This formulation does highlight any lines in your lips, so I'd probably top this off with a clear gloss.  

The formula does seem to remain a little tacky on my lips, not fully annoying but not the biggest gripe there is (and I'm sure with a light gloss, it'll feel better).  I wouldn't call this a "your lips but better shade" as this is lighter on me, but I'd classify this color more as a "nude" shade as true nudes make me look quite dead. By the end of the day my lips did feel dehydrated because it IS matte, so a little TLC was needed. 

Because these colors are opaque and creamy, I don't know if I would actually purchase any more shades, to be very honest when I went back to look at the selection, I still was very happy with my choice in this one (plus a little sentiment is in this as I spent some time in Istanbul back in May)

NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams run at $6.  

**I will warn though that the swatches on the website aren't true to color. Istanbul on the website looks more mid toned/ neutral pink with a little dustiness in it. **

Empties! (Traveler edition!)

Hi All!
    Hope that this summer break is treating you well! I am really excited to bring you guys another batch of empties (no I did not pack empties from my home to take with me for this post) This is strictly a post of what I have finished on this trip so that I don't have to carry back to the USA a large bag full of empty plastic containers (I think TSA would find that kinda crazy too!)

So what have I finished?

Yes to Cucumbers Soothing Facial Towels:
These were okay towelettes, I bought the sample pack before my trip yet I
found that I didn't use them as much.  These just didn't feel like they actually
got all my makeup off.  Plus these stung my eyes. 

Make-up Remover Facial Wipes:

These I got from the Dollar Store, and didn't really like these for my face. They were small, and not very saturated.
I actually used these to spot treat my makeup brushes.

 Neutrogena Oil- Free Acne Wash:

This was another product I picked up in a previous haul
just so that I could try out some other facial products.  This was a pretty good face wash I might go back and purchase it in the future.

L'Occitane Shower Gel Mini (x3):
I had a whole bunch of mini L'Occitane products from my hotel and I really
like the way this smelled.  It had Rosemary and Mint and just felt so
refreshing! Would I purchase this on it's own...probably not because it is pretty pricy. 

Asira Body Wash:

This was from a hotel I stayed in YEARS ago (yep I hoarded mini bath products)
Anyways, I found that this wash dried my skin out, and anyways I can't purchase this any
place....so I'm just glad I have less crap hanging around my room.

L'Occitane Shampoo (x3):
Yep, I told ya I had a bunch of these minis! The shampoo was pretty good,
but it doesn't work better than drugstore shampoos like Garnier or Herbal Essences. 

L'Oreal EverSleek Reparative Smoothing Conditioner:
So this conditioner worked pretty well for my hair.  I think I actually like the conditioner
more than I like the shampoo (the shampoo always left my hair feeling greasy).
Would I repurchase it? I don't think so, because I like so many other conditioners. 

L'Occitane Conditioner:

ANOTHER conditioner (do we see a theme here?) Anyways this was also nice stuff
but I just can't justify purchasing the full bottle at that price when so many
other conditioners work just as well for much cheaper.  I think I'll
just enjoy it in the hotel sample bottle form.

Jade Hand & Body Lotion (x2)

FINALLY! This is like the last of many minis I had in my dresser drawer (but let's
not talk about the big vase full of minis that my mother has that I need to start working through). I
liked the scent of this lotion though, it had a light and fresh rose fragrance.  Yet, it was
also a hotel sample so I have no idea where to buy it.

Dove gofresh Cool Mini Deodorant:

This was a life saver while I was here in Poland the first few days.  I was still running around
trying to get all my little items and kept forgetting to grab deodorant (oye!)
I liked this for the few days that I used it, but I had the full size in the past
and got really sick of the scent after a while.  So I might repurchase a mini to keep on hand, but not the full size.

ELF Exact Lash Mascara in Black:

So after the big hoopla about lower lash tiny brush mascaras, I went out and bought
this thinking "AWESOME! It's cheap and I can really use it." First off, I don't usually wear
mascara on my bottom lashes, and Second...this sucked.  The brush handle was too short so that caused a mess, the formula was barely there, and at times it looks like it was dried out because no color would come off.  This was just a waste and I'm glad I used what I could (which was not much anyways). NOT repurchasing.

NYC Lipstick in 319 Violet Shine:
This is a beautiful lipstick color that has some shimmer in it.  This is very much a "my lips but
better" color, it's not very purply as the name suggests, it's more of a pinky with hint of purple.
I wore this a lot this year so it was going to finish out sooner or later.
I would purchase it again, but I have a lot of similar colors to this.
PS I was NOT going to dig out the color from the tube...not worth all the extra fuss. 

Julep Nail Color in Grace:
This is a perfect "clean nail" polish.  When I wore this it just left my hands looking so fresh.
It did take about 4 coats to make it opaque (but it was still not fully opaque), and this polish
went very quickly because of that.  I don't know if I'm going to purchase this again
because of the price of the polish (14 bucks).  I have many similar colors
so I think I'll work on finishing out those colors.

NYC Loose Finishing Powder in Natural Veil:
Well, I can already say that I'm shocked that I finished this product out so fast.
I'm not a fan of loose finishing powders, and this one did not help keep my face shine free as long as I would have liked neither did it help my makeup from breaking down as quickly,
but hey it was a product I really wanted gone and done!

There was a sifter, but I popped it out and lost it. Oops

LaSource Relaxing Body Lotion from Crabtree & Evelyn:
I love Crabtree & Evelyn products but I just could not get behind this scent.  It was a spa scent but it
was also sickly sweet on me.  It's just not a fragrance I would have chosen
for myself.  I'd rather look towards the thick lavender or rose creme.

Vitamin C Tablets on Left, On Right LaSource

Vitalsss Plus Witamina C Tablets:
So these are just effervescent Vitamin C tablets that I took while my stay at the dormitory.
We have had 3 rounds of heavy sicknesses in our dorm and I took these as preventive measures.
Boy was I happy to have done that because I didn't even cough during my stay here!
Anytime I travel I always take a pack of these because it helps my immune system
battle and airplane bugs and transition to the climate colds.

Carea Cotton Rounds:
These are just generic cotton rounds that worked really well for taking off makeup.  There are 120
rounds and they cost less than a buck, so it's a win win situation for me.

TREsemme Freshstart Dry Shampoo:
So the first few times I used it, it was ok.  Then the second half of the bottle felt like I was spraying
liquid onto my scalp.  I've heard from quite a few people that they
also have this problem the with this particular dry shampoo.  I have to say, I'm not on the whole
dry shampoo band wagon though, I still feel gross when my hair isn't washed.
I might give this another go another day, but for now...eh.

NIVEA Stress Protect Anti-Perspirant:
So I have to say, I was a little skeptical when I first bought this antiperspirant, because it is
milky and not a heavy duty men's product.  But even on the 100 plus
degree days, this worked really well.  I wish the US carried this product (or
at least it was more readily available).

Timotei With Jericho Rose 2 in 1 Shampoo & Conditioner
I really liked this shampoo, I found that it kept my hair feeling REALLY soft despite the hard water here in Poland. I still did follow up with conditioner, but this lathered well and smelled really nice.  Sadly this is a product I've only seen here in Poland, so I probably won't see it in the US.  Oh well.

L'Occitane Body Lotion
This was another one of my tons of minis I had with me.  But this was probably my most disappointing products form L'Occitane that I've used.  The lotion was very thin and watery and did not soak into the skin.  The scent was ok, it strong resembles goat milk products, which I personally do not mind.

L'Occitane Conditioner (x2)
 Yep, I know...didn't I already post earlier about finishing one of these...well I finished two more and the way I've been writing about these products is as I go through them.  So you, my readers, will have to deal with a double on the list. I liked the conditioner...but still feel there are much more and better products for much lower prices.

St. Ives Apricot Scrub (Fresh Skin)
Um... someone care to remind me why I stopped using this product? (Erm...guilty I had too many face washes and couldn't justify going out and buying so much more until I finished a few...oops) I found that the scrub was nice and gritty and very useful for opening up the skin for another cleanser so that it could get in real deep.  When I get back home, I'll be purchasing a large bottle of this!

Clean & Clear Deep Action Cream Cleanser
This stuff makes my face tingle! But in a really refreshing and clean way.  Did it perform miracles when it came to my breakouts? Not really, and this surprised me.  I have a few other products that work a lot better and faster.  


Needless to say...it's been a busy summer of empties!
What have you finished?

Birthday Haulage!

Hi All,
    So my birthday was on the 29th of July and of course...I went out and did a little retail therapy shopping/ birthday shopping. There are many similar brand as the USA but I had my eye on Inglot makeup for such a long time! I know I can order it online, but there's something about going to the Polish makeup store and purchasing it there.  I also picked up a few other things which I'll also include on this haul.  (I will review the products individually, including prices,so keep a look out!)

First stop? 

INGLOT! 

(Okay so I went there on three separate trips *addicted*)

 My first trip was really just to explore (plus the fact that I didn't have my money

exchanged stopped me from purchasing). 

My second trip, I walked away with a few items! 

I purchased the newest style case from Inglot (has a big mirror and the magnetic spaces. 

It just looks so sleek, and it very easy to open up. 

I'm already in love with my colors and review them individually soon!

Colors from left to right are: 142, 107, 154

My THIRD trip to Inglot, I also walked away with a few shadows.

Instead of the large square pans, I opted for the circles

so that I could pop them into an ELF palette and easily carry them around.

The Colors in top right from l-r: 111, 393, 102, 142

Second Store?

DOUGLAS

This is like an Ulta where you have really high end (Chanel) and then low brands

like Essence all in the same space.  I don't have easy access to an Ulta or Essence 

beauty products so I picked them up here.  I had heard so much about the mascara

and the gel-tint just looked like fun!

Third Store?

ROSSMAN

This is a proper drug store with plenty of makeup and as my face powder was getting a little

dangerously low, I opted to pick one up from a European brand.  Miss Sporty is a UK brand, 

and runs along the same price range as NYC (perhaps a few cents more) but they happened 

to have a bunch of interesting looking products.  I picked up the So Matte Pressed Powder (claimed to have 10 hour wear), Ohh! Blushed Again... blusher, and two bright lipsticks.

I did also receive as a gift from my Aunt an Inglot nail polish in a beautiful mint color 

(I've never tried their polishes). 

Previously, I did also purchase the Garnier BB Cream (it was only 5 bucks here!)

I had heard a lot about it and my drugstore is always sold out, so I figured out why not? 

I look forward to testing these out in the following weeks and letting you know about them!

Have you tried anything from these brands?

xoxo,

Emi

My Little Discovery!

So I was sitting in my room looking at my new supply of lipsticks (haul post coming soon!) when I noticed something so funny! I bought two Revlon ColorStay lipsticks in Mauve and Peach, and I also had my ELF Seductive standing beside them. It hit me that if Mauve and Peach had a baby, it would be ELF Seductive! They all have almost the exact same finish, and I just had a good chuckle about it!

I will try to post a picture of it soon, because my sister lost my box of electronic cords -.-

Happy Shoppin!

Ema