Avon Makeup Setting Spray

I bathed myself in this. It was super hot in August and my face got glowy in the matter of minutes, so I needed this. Setting spray actually feels kind of refreshing and it definitely prolongs the wear of my makeup. It also sets powders nicely so that you don't look too matte. I have a review here. 

Catrice HD Liquid Coverage Foundation 010 Light Beige

Catrice novelties came out and this foundation was the first on my wish list. I have to say I really like it. It's very lightweight on the skin, has a semi-matte finish and is very long lasting. I got the lightest shade which is too light for me now that I got some tan, but would also be almost too dark for winter. I find shades more on the neutral side. There is no obvious yellow undertones. Some even have a bit more prominent pink undertone.

Kiko Radiant Fusion Baked Powder 01

It's very lightweight, finely milled baked powder that looks very natural on the skin. It reminded me a bit of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders (by the looks of it). Finish is somewhat satin and it doesn't make you look matte or dead like. It also doesn't prevent oils to come through. I like it for the under eye area and I'm sure I'll love it for all over the face in the winter time, when my skin tends to look a bit dull.

Kiko Flawless Fusion Bronzer Powder 01

I loved the packaging of powder so much (btw it's magnetic - so lush!) that I went back and also got me one of those bronzers. Bronzer has the same satin finish which looks very natural and skin like. I got the lightest shade and it's pretty light. For now it's a bit too light, but it'll be perfect for colder month. It also has a very neutral undertone, more red than orange.

Terra Naturi Shimmer Powder 01 Golden Highlight

This is my favorite highlighter for the summer when I get some tan. It's golden and has very small shimmer. This is not as in your face as Mary-Lou, but it still makes your face glowy and sunkissed. I absolutely adore it. You can find review here. 

Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar

I bought this on my trip in Strasbourg (imagine my excitement going into Sephora for the first time) and ever since, I have been using it pretty much every day. Some warm matte shades are incredible, as well as shimmery warm shades. I still haven't tried all of them, I am gonna be a downer here and say that I am pretty sure that this is not as good as my other two Zoeva palettes. The pigmentation with Zoeva eyeshadows seems to be a lot more pigmented and I love the almost creamy texture better. Still have to test it out a bit more to completely make up my mind. I have to mention the smell of this palette, it smells like vanilla cookies. I love that whenever I open it, it just smells so good.

Catrice Lash Dresser Comb Mascara Colume & Length

This was also one of the new Catrice products that I decided to get and I am loving it. It has a comb like brush that gives my lashes lovely definition. You can build up volume by applying more coats, although don't put on too much, because it can look clumpy. I love how well it separates the lashes and it's perfect for those no eye makeup days, because it looks so well on its own. 

Avon Liquid Chrome Eye Liner Electric Blue

One of the best blue shades of liquid liner. It has a very bright blue shade and metallic or chrome finish to it. Perfect shade for summer and everyone seems to love it. The formula dries quickly and it stays on for the whole day. I don't love the sponge applicator as much, because it's a bit harder to work with. In my opinion brush applicator would work better.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Original

I already had tester of it and when I saw mini size in Sephora, I knew I had to get it. This makes eyeshadow stay on the eyes all day long. It's almost transparent and won't cover discoloration or veins, but it just works so well. 

Zoeva 228 Luxe Crease

My new favorite crease brush. Before I used Zoeva 231 Petite Crease to define my crease, but 228 is just bigger and even fluffier. I love that because it gives me wider and softer defined crease. It just works so well on my eyes. 

Avon Shine Burst Stick Grapefruit

After a long hot day of salty water and sun, my lips crave some moisture and this is by far the best product for that. I've pretty much only been using those sticks on my holidays and Grapefruit is a definite color winner. It's lovely redish pink that just goes with every type of my warm kind of makeup. I have a review here. 

Kiko Nail Lacquer - 372 Nude and 338 Light Lavender

My two new favorite shades in general. Nude is lovely dusty pink. It's one of those rare nude shades that doesn't disappear on my nails. Light Lavender is gorgeous mix of purple and blue and it looks so pretty on the nails. One of those rare unique blues that you can't always find. 

Yves Rocher Malaysian Coconut Eau de Toilette and Silky Lotion

I already wrote a review of the Eau de Toilette here. For my birthday I also got the silky lotion and summer was perfect time to use this. In combination, this gives you the best coconut scent ever. It's a true coconut scent, not like some of those artificial sweet scents. The lotion is very light and soaks into skin quickly. One of those light summer lotions. 

Avon Advance Texhniques Sun-Light Spray

It's basically a sun protector. It contains UV filter and it should protect your hair from sun damage. I used this on the beach and I loved it. It's lightweight and it doesn't stick the hair, but it also doesn't hydrate. I love the scent of it, which is very much salon like. This is perfect for all of you who like smelly hair products, because I love to use it just to refresh my hair. On the beach it also turned out as a fairly good protection. Usually I come back from vacation blond, but not this year. I still got lighter hair color, but not as much as usually, so I think I have this spray to thank for.

Amour Perfumes 162 Manifesto

Slovenian's probably know of Refan and in Prekmurje we also have Amour. They both do inspired perfumes by high end brands and 162 is inspired by Yves Saint Laurent Manifesto. I've been using this on holiday, because I don't like to carry full size perfume bottles with me. It's one of my favorite high end scents that I wish I would have a full size version. Lovely powdery, slightly sweet and very elegant scent. 

Strasbourg (France)

This definitely deserves a place in my favorites. We've been to Strasbourg and I loved this city. They have Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg and it's in the middle of the center. I love the Gothic style and intricate details of it. You see it as a huge building standing out among other smaller new style building. It's also really pretty on the inside. 

Strasbourg is surrounded with rivers and it almost looks a bit like Venice. The architecture somewhow reminds me a bit of German style and then other bits look like what I expect France to look like. It's a mix and match of both worlds, because Strasbourg is very close to German boarder and you can definitely feel the influence. I loved walking around these streets. 

Obviously they also have a lot of stores and I had to do some shopping, because I couldn't miss an opportunity like that. You'll see what I got in my New In post. I was most excited to visit Sephora and I went to three, because I really wanted to get my hands on Too Faced Sweat Peach palette, but it was apparently sold out in all of France. 

France is well know for their food and we were lucky enough to go on some fancy dinners. You can see my dessert on the right side. It was so good that I tried to recreate something similar and you can see how it turned out on my Instagram here. I am pretty proud of it. It tasted nice as well. 

I also find out that one of the shopping centers sells Pierre Herme macaroons. I first heard of Pierre Herme, when I got L'Occitane last year's December collection. I read that he is supposedly "the Picasso of Pastry" and since I've also attempted making macaroons a few times, I was curious to try his. I can report his are amazing. They are not nearly as sweet as all make them and Pierre Herme has some wicked flavor combinations. 

All in all it was a lovely short vacation and I would definitely want to go back. 

Sea Vacation

I'm pretty sure, I was born in a wrong place, because I belong on the sea. Ever since I've been little, we always went to the sea and it was also a really good treatment for my skin allergies. I still practice that. This year it was Poreč (Croatia). I am always really looking forward to going to the sea, because it's just one of the most relaxing places I can think of. I love the sound of waves crashing on the sore, birds playing in the sky and the smell of salty water. It's the most care free time of the year and this year it was as well.

I've actually broken my toe nail (which still hurts), got mild sunburn, took some underwater photos and ate too much sweets.  I'll leave you with some of my favorite photos from there. 

It comes in a plastic white tube. Design of it is really simplistic as with all other COSRX products. They put more emphasis on the quality of product rather than the design. In it is 150 ml of product and the price is 9.35€ (I bought it on Jolse).

It has a pop up lid with small hole. My problem with the packaging is that it doesn't closes properly and then it leaks out making a mess on my table. I'm not sure if this happened just with mine or if it's the problem of all in general. 

It's supposed to be used as a morning gel cleanser. It's mildly acidic, but should provide fairly natural pH lever for skin - 5.0 to 6.0. This can also be used on sensitive skin. One of the main ingredients is tea tree oil which controls oil and tightens pores. It also contains natural BHA which will exfoliate the skin of any dead skin cells that have formed though the night.

COSRX says that they have formulated soft gel which has low irritation risk. The gel is a bit runny. Once it gets in contact with water, it produces light foam. Foam has almost a bit of spa like effect, since it creates small bubbles that lightly massages your skin.

After the rinse, skin is left cleaned and not stripped down. It didn't dry out my skin in hot summer months, but it might not be the best for dry skin. I also used it at times when I had slightly direr skin and I felt like using it every morning and night made my skin slightly drier. This is probably best for combination or even better for oily skin. 

It doesn't irritate my skin at all and I definitely have a sensitive type. It feels a bit refreshing because of the tea tree oil and it almost gives a cooling effect. I experienced no tightening, but it's also not particularly moisturizing. 

It has a pretty strong tea tree scent, but not as strong as COSRX Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol. You might need to get used to the smell, if you've never smelled tea tree oil.

For me personally it was a bit too strong for my morning cleanse. I prefer to use it as a second cleanse in the evening. Especially in summer days when I have more oily skin and when I have problems with clogged pores or pimples. It actually gets rid of any last trace of makeup and slightly exfoliates the skin. I love refreshing feel of it as the last step in my cleansing routine.

As you may see on my photos below, this got rid of all my makeup. With really hard core long lasting liquid lipsticks and waterproof eyeliner I had to put a bit more effort in it, but in the end it cleaned everything off.

I think this is a good basic gel cleanser for all of those with combination or oily skin. It's also good for all of your with sensitive skin. Gel texture produces light foam and it feels very refreshing and cooling. It has noticeable tea tree scent. I don't use it as a morning cleanser, because it can be a bit drying for my combination skin, but I prefer to use it as a second evening cleanse. It gets rid of leftover makeup bits and slightly exfoliates the skin and preps it for evening skin care routine. 

I filled in the middle part of the lid with golden green shade to give some colored dimension, which still makes it look very golden and subtle. Then I added some dark chocolate brown in the very outer corner of the eye. Star of this eye makeup is this gorgeous ocean blue eyeliner that I winged out a bit, but still kept it fairly thin.

Around my lower lash line I used the same muddy brown as a base. Then I added golden metallic eyeliner in the inner half and smudged it, so that it looks like an eye shadow. On the outer part I used a bit more coppery golden eyeliner. This really makes the eyes look brighter. 

I finished the look with lengthening and volumizing mascara. For me this look is better without false lashes, because those would hide most of that gorgeous blue. 

On the rest of my face I used foundation, concealer and powder. Then I also added some shimmery golden shade as a bronzer and highlight in one. For my powder highlighter I used very golden shade. I also added some shimmery bronzer on top of the matte one to make this look super glowy. My blush was shimmery as well. It is a coral colored blush with golden shimmer. 

I intended to do this look with a really glossy nude lip. Unfortunately, it doesn't translate as pretty on photos, as it does in real life. I used a warm nude brown shade of lip liner as a base and went over it with a nude lip gloss with silver shimmer. 

You can also add some color to the lips and make this look even more summer appropriate. Here I used orange red lipstick in the center of the lips and then went over with coral lip gloss. This way I created almost ombre look, but the lips are still very gloss and it compliments the whole glowy look on the face.

Blue eyeliner is perfect for summery makeup looks. It looks especially pretty against very dark eye colors. In the summer I love to embrace glowy look, since it's really hard to battle natural sebum production in those hot days. Glossy lips in the summer are great because of two reasons. One, lips looks juicy and sexy and two, glossy products make my lips a lot more moisturized through the summer heat. 

Maybelline Colour Tattoos have been my obsession for a while. I never liked their pot concept, because it always got messy. Especially if I applied them with fingers. Kiko's Long Lasting Sticks are a bit more long lasting, don't crease and come in a convenient stick form. I love these on their own for when I'm in a rush. 36 Golden Mauve is lovely mauve shade with gold sheen that can be worn for any occasion, but would probably look best paired with other shades. At least that's how I would wear it. 

L'Oreal Elseve Fibralogy Thickening Shampoo and Conditioner

I've been avoiding drugstore hair products, because I was under the impression that they just don't work. Well, I was wrong. These are supposedly meant for hair that's lacking thickness (yep, me!). This technology, called Filloxane, should penetrate in your hair and make them look thicker. All I know is that these two actually add some volume to my hair and even make them look thicker, even though they can't permanently change my hair, obviously. 

Both have blue plastic packaging with a pop up pink top. It's classic and works fine. In each is 250 ml of product and they cost around 3€.

Shampoo has creamy and runny texture. It's an off white shade and it leathers well. Conditioner is like a thicker cream. It coats the hair well and makes them soft and nourished, but not silky and slippery. They both have that hair salon scent, which I can't explain, but I really like it. 

Since I have dry ends, I love to use shampoos and conditioner for dry hair. Those make my hair silky soft and flat. These two also nourish my hair and make them smooth, but they also look thicker. They're not flat and there's definitely some added volume, which I assume is the same as with someone who has naturally thicker hair. Even if I just use these two products instead of regular shampoo and conditioner, I still get a bit more volumised and thicker looking hair. It's just not as flat as it's normally. 

got2b Volumania Volumising Spray Mousse

I saw Mateja mentioning this product and when I saw it in the store, I decided to get it. I've had a hate relationship with hair foams for a while. When I was in my teenage years I used them a lot, but stopped, because they made my hair greasy. All foam hair products still make my hair greasy, if I apply them directly on the scalp. 

Mousse comes in a metal can with a funny dispenser on top. It reminds me of cats and dogs that get those plastic things put on to avoid chewing their sick paws and such. It's pink colored. In it is 250 ml of product and the price s something around 6€. I am not sure if these are still sold in Slovenia, becuse I couldn't find them in physical stores. 

It produces foam that actually vanishes, if you hold it in the hands for too long. I think this is supposed to be used sprayed directly on the roots of hair, but I always spray it in hands. That way I can control where I want to apply it. 

It has almost sickly sweet raspberry scent and it also feels like sugar in hair. This makes my hair slightly sticky and I try to apply small amount, avoiding the scalp. Sometimes I also apply it along the hair legth to give some extra volume. For me this works as a root lifter. It gives slight volume on the roots, making hair look a bit more puffy and not flat on top. 

When I blow dry my hair with this product, I like to comb my hair with hands and hold the hair up, away from roots. This way I get optimal root lift. Not to say that this holds for hours, because it doesn't. You may not even notice the difference, but I definitely see it, which is more than nothing. 

Toni&Guy Casual Rough Texturiser

I also wanted some kind of texturiser to give my hair some texture to hold curls and such. Volume can vanish in matter of minutes, but some texture in the hair, should prevent this. I heard some good things about this one from Toni&Guy and because it was on sale, I gave it a go.

It's silver blue matte can spray. In ti is 200 ml of product and costs around 7€. It promises root lift and backcombed effect for casual, dishevelled volume with a matt finish.

Comes out slightly wet and then gets matte and almost dry. It looks like a mix of regular hair spray and tiny bit of dry shampoo. I wouldn't agree that this gives root lift, because on my hair it doesn't. It only adds texture to the hair, which means you can style them and scrunch them and they won't look as flat as usual. This is definitely one of those bed hair or after sex hair looks. My hair feels and looks thicker. It also  holds more volume. I m not as impressed as I thought I would be. My toughts were that this is going to hold my volume like crazy, but it doesn't. I have to dishevel my hair again and again, in order to give back that texture and volume.

I like to apply lots of it and it seems like the product is vaishing from the can really fast. So I have a feeling this won't last me a long time. 

Here is demonstration of how the product works on my hair. First photo is of shampoo, conditioner and mousse. These three together make my hair look thicker, add some volume and some root lift.

In the process of adding texturiser my hair can look crazy volumised. I like to scrunch my hair while spraying texturiser in. 

And here is how it looks like after I tame that. So basically on the bottom photo is my hair with all four products together. I find that these all together give my fine and flat hair some slight change in thickness, a bit more volume, slight root lift and some added texture that stays in the hair. If you fluff them here and there, it can almost last through the day. 

This is curled hair, before I applied any texturiser. 

As you can see the texturiser gives me some added volume and texture, but again, it doesn't really last on my hair.

With combination of these product I can make my hair looks lightly more volumising and add some texture. I have naturally fine and flat hair and have come to realization that I'll just never have those hair commercial hair. That's why I often times just don't bother with all the hassle. If someone wants to prove to me that my hair can have some volume, I am up for a challenge. Name the place and time and I'll be there.