I am not one for buying expensive lipsticks, as I have found so many great formulas in much more affordable ranges. But I actually won this Yves Saint Laurent Tatouage Couture Liquid Matte Lip Stain in a giveaway and thought it would be nice to write a review of it on my blog. Surprisingly, this is very good.

You might have noticed a new brand in our drugstores. Actually, it's not that new anymore. It's called L.O.V. and it's a more luxury brand sister of Essence and Catrice. I haven't tried anything from them so far, but I got a few brushes to test out. The brand offers a variety of makeup products for all parts of the face and in May they also added makeup brushes to their range. They also have some Limited Edition seasonal products, although not as often as Essence and Catrice. 

I got their LIPlure Lip Brush, HIGHLYconfidential Concealer Brush and EVENelegance Foundation Brush. The names are quite fun to read. All of these come in a black boxes with gold details and a transparent plastic corner that let's you see what's inside. 

The brushes have a black handle and gold (with a hint of rose) design that is simplistic. I like it. The bristles on all brushes are black, synthetic and in general quite soft.

L.O.V. EVENelegance Foundation Brush

This is a basic straight cut buffing brush for your foundation. It's actually my favorite type of brush for foundation. I love short bristles, which are usually denser and you can really buff the foundation in or thin it out.

It reminds me a lot of Essence LE Bloom Me Up! blush brush which was my favorite for a while (and has started to fall apart). I bought a fake Zoeva 104 Buffer Rose Golden Vol.2 which also has a similar shape. But the difference with both is that these all have longer hairs and less density.

The bristles in this foundation brush are black, short and quite dense which makes it good for really buffing the foundation into the skin. By tapping it you can get a fuller coverage, but in general it's great for sheering out the coverage by really buffing it into the skin in circular motion.

It can leave stripes on your face, if you don't make sure to blend it out well. I usually buff it in and then use a tapping motion to go over those areas that can look a bit undone. 

L.O.V. HIGHLYconfidential Concealer Brush

I will say that I am not too keen on concealer brushes in general. For some reason I feel like I can blend concealer better with sponge or just my fingers under the eyes.

This one has a short round cut bristles that are a bit denser, but can still blend the product fairly well. I love to use it with cream concealers. I usually apply my Catrice Camouflage Cream in Wake Up Effect with it, because it picks up just enough of that creamy product and it sheers it out under my eyes, so I don't have a thick base under my usual concealer.

For blending out liquid concealers this can look a bit unblended. I find that the bristles move the product around, but don't actually make it blend into the skin. The bristles may be a bit too stiff for blending. I like to apply concealer with it and spread it, but I blend it in with my fingers. 

It's small enough that it fits well into smaller parts of the face like inner corners of the eyes, around the nose and such. I like that I can apply light layer of concealer in my very inner corner of the eye, which is usually dark and harder to reach with finger or sponge.

L.O.V. LIPlure Lip Brush

This brush looks pointed on that first photo. The bristles were a bit stuck together, because they were new. On the bottom photo you can see that it actually has rounded tip of the bristles. It's quite short, but just long enough to glide around the edges of the lip. The bristles are densely packed together which gives you a good coverage.

I actually love the shape of it. Usually, I've had straight cut lip brushes which were harder to apply lipstick on the actual cupid's bow. Some brushes have round tips as well, but they are too thin. This one is just wide enough for you to get a really nice rounded out edge. 

It doesn't give you full on coverage at first. You have to go over it with a brush a few times. I love the fact that you can really sheer the lipstick out with it, especially on the edges. I don't really use a lip liner with most of my lipsticks. The slightly sheered out effect on the edges of the lips, makes the application look a lot more modern and effortless. 

It costs 6.99€. 

Here you can see how my face looked like after I applied most of my products with these brushes.

I've cleaned all the brushes a few times and didn't experience any fallout of the bristles, except one that was sticking out of foundation brush. But it might just be a faulty one. In general, if you dry them upside down and make sure to not keep them on hot surfaces, all brushes should keep their bristles. Unless the glue is really crappy.

I also got this lovely promotional gift and it was L.O.V. fragrance which is sadly not for sale. It comes in a transparent glass bottle with black and red details. A good size to travel with.

It has a very soft floral scent to it and it reminds me of some perfume that I must have already smelled, but I can't figured out which one. Unfortunately, I am of no use at figuring out the notes by myself. But it's very subtle, gentle and kind of smells floral. 

To be honest, I didn't expect these brushes to be any good. For some reason I think black brush bristles are tough and scratchy. Don't ask me where I got that idea - maybe because cheaper brands had these kind of brushes a very long time ago. But these L.O.V. brushes are quite nice. I am loving foundation brush and recommend it to those that like to sheer out the coverage of thicker foundations or just want something that applies makeup really quickly. The concealer brush was a bit meh. I like it, there's nothing that much wrong with it, but I just use it more with cream concealers, as it blends those out better. For liquids I still prefer fingers or sponge. I also really liked lip brush. In my opinion it has that perfect shape that makes applying lipstick on the edges so much easier.

In Slovenia you can buy L.O.V. products in Müller. In Germany you can get products online here. 

*PR products. 

Hey Beauties!

This year I decided to do gift guide post. Unfortunately, something came up and I'm just posting these now. I know it's a bit at the last minute, but I hope to give you some ideas, if you're like most people and you buy your gifts at the last minute. Of course, all these gifts apply through the year, not just now. It's a few themes for different type of products. I hope to give you some ideas and introduce you to some of my favorite products that I've had the chance to try this year. This is part 1 and I'll also do part 2, because it would be too long in just one post. 

EYES TO MESMERIZE

This is for all of those, who love playing up their eyes. Some people just love creating on their eyes and always wear colorful looks paired with neutral lips. I found a few products that will compliment their eye product collection and satisfy with its quality. 

1 Avon Always On Point Eyeliner

Those are the new shades. I had their previous Always On Point eyeliners and I loved their super easy to sharpen system. I like these new shades: Molten Pewter, Molten Sky and Molten Rose, because they are all very metallic and have lots of shimmer. Perfect gift for anyone who loves metallic sparkly products. These are great to sparkle up any makeup look. You can just add a bit on the lower lash line and bam.

2 Makeup Revolution Flawless Palette

One of those palettes that has a mix of cooler and warmer shades. There is a lot of neutral, but also little pops of color. It will probably suit a lot of different eye colors. I think the shades are of good quality. You can choose among some great matte shades for definition and some very sparkly and shimmery shades. 

3 Moon Princess Fashion Lashes 3D

Those are some extremely powerful statement lashes. It's one of those false slashes for those who like to go all out. They're super soft and very well made. The bend is a bit thicker, but you can make them work. Those will make a statement with any makeup look. 

4 Sleek I-Divine Palettes

Sleek makes one of the most pigmented and affordable eye shadow palettes. They have a huge range of different color combinations, so there's really something for everyone. The brand made shades that would show up on darker skin tones, that's why the pigmentation is amazing. I currently own just two Mattes V1 and V2, but am planning on getting some more, since they always come out with new ones. 

5 Fairy Girl Powder Eyebrow and Nose Shadow

My favorite brow powder so far. I really like this, because the packaging is super cute and already gift ready. The powder in it are matte, but very pigmented. They are also very long lasting and I love that you can mix and match shade according to your need. The brush that comes with it is very useful and I apply it with it every day.