In July we went on a short trip to the sea and my favorites reflect that. There is a lot of new skin and body care in my routine and much less makeup, because I only used my basics.

Catrice HD Liquid Coverage - 036 Hazelnut Beige

I got really tanned on my body this year and I have to match my face to the body. Shade 036 Hazelnut Beige is almost a spot on shade to match my body. It has that warm, yet almost a tint of olive undertone to it which matches my skin tone so well. I usually mix a drop of Revlon Colorstay 150 Buff in as well just to get a bit more coverage. In general this gives a velvet matte finish which isn't super sebum controlling, but it works ok with powder on top. I can get really oily in the summer and hot weather. But the shade is what I love the most, it's probably the best warm olive tone that I've seen in our drugstores. 

Catrice Liquid Camouflage High Coverage Concealer 020 Light Beige

This is a classic that never goes out of style. Some say it's high coverage, for me it's more of a medium, but it's nicely moisturizing and it's also one of the rare warmer shades that currently match my foundations. I use it under the eyes, around my nose and chin. Fortunately, I haven't had any major breakout, so this is just enough coverage for me. But the formula is just lovely and it works on so many different skin tones. I repurchase on of these every summer.

Viseart Paris Edit Eyeshadow Palette

Since getting the Warm Edit palette, I knew I like their formula and I also got Paris Edit, because it was also on sale. This is sort of a mauve neutral combination with hints of pink and it's a bit of a change in my collection, yet still very in my kind of tones. I seem to have bad luck with Viseart eyeshadows. Warm Edit arrived with one broken shade and Paris Edit I sort of knocked off a shelf and eyeshadows fell out. Some broke and I barely got half of it back and some survived. But obviously I was very sad to have ruined another new palette. This month I have been playing with these shades and the formula is lovely. Mattes are nicely pigmented and blend easily and shimmery pearly shades have intense pigment and payoff. For some reason I really liked St. Germain (grey shimmery shade) which I completely shattered and barely put together. Neutral brown is really nice and I love matte mauve shade which is one of the best mauves in terms of the shade. Shimmery shades are also really nice, some have more of pearl, some look more metallic.

Bronx Colors The Legendary Lipstick N°2 Nutmeg

I've fallen in love with this formulas as soon as I first applied it on. It's such a creamy lipstick that has a lot of pigment and stays on my dry lips well without feeling drying. Even the packaging looks really well made and I like the shape of lipstick which fits well onto your lips. Nutmeg is sort of a muted coral brown shade which is perfect for summer. It's one of those lipsticks that you throw on with a few swipes and pair it with simple bronze eye makeup.

Cerave SA Smoothing Cleanser

I've had COSRX Low pH Good Morning cleanser in the summer in the past and it worked great at cleaning out my pores. I have combination skin which can get very oily in the summer time and since I wear makeup, sometimes that equals clogged pores and blemishes. Products with BHAs usually help with that. Since COSRX is harder to get here I was so excited when I learned that Cerave also has a gel cleanser formulated with salicylic acid. It also contains glycerin, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a bunch of ceramides which are somewhat of a trademark of Cerave. It's fragrance free. Transparent gel foams well and it feel refreshing on the skin. I don't feel it leaving my skin tightened after I use it, but I definitely need to add moisture afterwards. It feel like a very gentle wash, but I don't use it every day. These type of products can dry out my skin, as I have noticed with COSRX as well, but they do add an additional layer to my skin routine that tends to prevent and manage blemishes better. This in combination with other products keeps my pores cleaner and so far I really like it.

Primark Alex Steinherr Maximum Moisture Moisture-Locking Everyday Moisturizer

It's a very basic moisturizer, but I like it. Texture is thicker, almost a bit like a balm. It reminds me a lot of Cerave Moisturizer. I always use hydrators under it and it glides well over that. In spite of looking thicker, it actually spreads out well and leaves sort of a velvet finish on the skin, not greasy at all. But it locks in moisture and feels gentle on the skin. Like I said, very basic, but good, if you want something fragrance free and fuss free to just put as the last step over your essences and serums.

DM Sundance Selbstbräuner Konzentrat

Because I always use high SPF on my face, I don't get tanned, but my body does and I always try to match it. This year I purchased this self tanning concentrate from DM house brand. It's self tanner for the face and neck. They advise you to use it by mixing it with your moisturizer. I used it after moisturizing essence and applied it with a brush. It's sort of like a serum consistency. Thicker than water, but still watery in a way. It definitely adds tan to your face. On me it didn't look orange, rather more yellow toned, but it matches my natural tan on the body very well. Definitely avoid hairline as I've noticed it can stick between the hairs and leave an oompa loompa line around it. Obviously, tan fades if you're using acids or strong actives, so you have to reapply it. 3 drops give you quite a lot of color, so I use it every other or third day to maintain the color. It looks fairly even, if you blend it out well around the edges.

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Anti-Imperfections Corrective Gel-Cream

Seems I buy La Roche-Posay face sunscreen every year I go on a holiday. It's just one of those brands that I trust with protection level as I have never got a sunburn from applying their products. If I am very nonchalant by my body protection from the sun, then I am much more serious about my face sun protection. I don't want any additional aging from the sun. This year I decided to change up my usual Shaka version for this one for anti-imperfections. It's chemical sunscreen with salicylic acid in it. I often got a lot of blemishes when using sunscreen on the sea, as I was reapplying it so often and it seemed to clogged my pores. I've noticed that with this one, blemishes were minimal. I got maybe one bigger blemish while still being on the sea and two more while I got home. But that was actually a really good result for me. It's a white cream with a medium consistency - not runny nor too thick and it gives you a bit of time to spread it around your face, but it sinks in fairly quick, however not as quick as their matte version with green line. It leaves sort of a velvet finish on the skin with a bit of sheen, but it's definitely not dewy or glowy. Depending on what your skin type is, this can look and feel more shiny or dry. On my skin tone it doesn't leave a white cast, but it will on anyone medium to dark skin tone. I think I might buy this one again as it turned out to be pretty nice. 

Cien Sun Sun Spray Sensitive SPF30

I was beyond excited to find such a cheap body sunscreen (4.99€) in Lidl and it promised to be fragrance free, suitable for sun allergy and eczema sufferers as well as water resistant. I always get SPF30 for my body, because 50 is just so hard so spread and I apply a lot of sunscreen while I'm on holiday by the sea - probably every two hours. It has chemical filters only and is definitely fragrance free. There is some natural scent to it, which isn't bad or good. It's liquid white milk which is easy to spread and absorbs well into skin leaving a bit of a shiny finish, but not feeling greasy, just well moisturized. I really like it. Because I apply sunscreen with my hands - which suffer from eczema -  this one did't further irritate them. Yes, it's not like putting ceramide moisturizing cream on them, but I can't imagine how worse scented body sunscreen would feel on them. It seemed to have protected me well, though you definitely have to reapply it after you come out of the water. I have got quite tanned this month - more than any year before - but that was partially my fault (deceiving windy cloudy weather and laziness resulted in my tan).

Balea Bodygel Aloe Vera

Balea is one of those affordable brands that offers some really nice products. It just depends on what you get. This body gel turned out to be really lovely. It's made of 90% of aloe vera paired with glycerin, panthenol and some fragrance. Fragrance is very subtle and it didn't bother my skin. It's a gel type of product which soaks into skin fast, leaves it feeling almost cooling and moisturizes in a non-greasy way. There is just a bit of stickiness left right after application, but it's not too bad. This is the perfect body moisturizer for anyone that hates heavy greasy feeling lotions. It's perfect for summer and I have been using it after every shower since I caught quite a lot of tan this year (despite applying sunscreen vigorously) and I don't want to star peeling or fading my color.  Plus it's so cheap for aloe vera gel - around 3€.


Holiday by the Sea

We went on a short holiday by the sea to Njivice in Croatia, as we try to take one every summer, because sea water is the best remedy for my eczema. My hands never look better than when I was on the sea. Because of the virus this year, we decided to rent mobile home. Usually we stayed at hotels, but since I also have a lot of diet restrictions right now, I prefer to cook my own food. Comfort of a mobile home right next to the beach was so nice. It's small, but just big enough and there is a nice terrace outside of it. I also loved the fact that I didn't even wear makeup, because I didn't have to make up to go to a dinner in a hotel. This was the most chill holiday and exactly what I needed this year.