Golden Rose Nail Polishes

At the end of November I had the chance to take a peek at Golden Rose stand in person. It was overwhelming to see so many colors at once. Safe to say, I went a bit crazy. I blame the cheap prices. All of the nail polishes seem very interesting and I really like the formulas of most of these. They are also pretty long lasting, which surprised me a bit.

From left to right: Wow! 65, Color Expert 102, Matte 16, Rich Color 112 and Wow! 55.

Golden Rose Vision Lipstick in 123

I only got one lipstick, because it was so darn hard for me to choose the shades. They have a huge selection of shades and formulas. At the time my lips were kind of dry, so I avoided matte ones, but everyone's raving about them, so I might go back. This one is a bit more creamy and feels nourishing. The shade is very peachy neutral.

Makeup Factory Mat Lip Fluid in 61 Velvet Rosewood

The most amazingly matte and long lasting formula in my collection. Shade is universally appealing medium mauve and it's completely matte. I already used it in my Silver Metallic Eyes With Mauve Lips makeup look. I got it in a giveaway on Sanja's blog.

My Hoin Ni Face Masks

This was also part of the price by Sanja and I admired these face masks in Müller a long time ago. I'll admit that the simplistic design attracted me the most. I haven't tried this out yet, but am looking forward to.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Stockholm

I've been wanting to get this for so long. When I saw that Feelunique got NYX Cosmetics I was determined to get it and it was one of the best decisions ever. It's the most lightweight matte formula I've ever tried. I find it great for anyone who's lips tend to be on the dry side. This never dries out my lips and the shade is the most perfect peach brown ever.

Kiko Temptress Lip Set in 04 Passionately Red and Kiko Nail Lacquer in 507 Blush

Kiko is one of my favorite brands. Believe it or not, I've never been to an actual Kiko store. I usually ask other people to get the products for me. Sad...I wish they would just come to our country. They had some amazing holiday sets and I went and bought their Temptress Lip Set. Mostly, because the shape of lipsticks really reminded me of Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks. The formula is very cream and pigmented. The shade is very classic cool toned red, almost a bit too classic for my taste. Somehow, I feel it's too basic for me. Maybe I'll get used to it. The lip liner compliments the lipstick shade, although it's very hard, almost a bit too hard.

Blush is another favorite nail polish shade by Kiko. It's the perfect baby peach nude shade for me. Sometimes nudes just look too skin like and peaches seem to look too warm or salmon like, but this one is the most amazing shade ever. I guess you can tell, I'm in love with it.

Nivea Cream

In December Nivea sent me this super pretty snow ball or Christmas tree ornament. It had little fake snow inside with a white bow on top. In the snow there was a mini size of Nivea Original Cream. It was one of the cutest gifts ever. Unique and very pretty. Thumbs up for Nivea. I still have it on display on one of my shelves.

Paula's Choice Testers

I've been eyeing Paula's Choice products for a while. Especially their BHA lotions. Before buying any of their products, I ordered some of their testers and I tried them all.

Skin Recovery Enriched Calming Toner and Resist Advanced Replenishing Toner were both non impressive. I didn't find them nearly enough moisturizing and I didn't felt like any of them did much. Yes, none of them irritated my skin, but that was about all.

Skin Perfection 2% BHA Liquid was pretty strong in my opinion. I felt the tingling sensation and it almost felt a bit too harsh for my sensitive skin. 2% BHA Lotion and 1% BHA Lotion were both better. They are more like a white liquid cream version and non of them really irritated me much. I did however see the immediate breakouts after using these BHAs, which was kind of surprising. They say that you're skin starts to cleanse the dirt out of your pores a few days after using the BHAs, but I got little bumps and pimples the second day after I started using them. It was weird, because my skin is usually pretty clear and smooth, but now all the pimples came out at once. I'm not sure if I like it, because I'm not sure if it will really clear out my skin or just keep it bumpy all the time. I also don't like the smell of lotions, it's weird and artificial, but I would probably get used to it, if I bought it.

Silver Metallic Eye Brushes

After I got the Real Techniques inspired metallic face brushes from Ebay, I also decided to purchase another whole set. With it also came eye brushes. They did not impress me as much. The quality is still nice and the bristles are very soft and dense enough, but they are just a bit too big. Especially the biggest all over shade brush. It's way too big for my eyes. Crease brush I like and it fits in the crease or could be great for smoky looks. I also like the eyeliner brush, because it's very short, which means you get more precision with it.

Avon Planet Spa Amazonian Treasures Hydrating Face Mask

Avon had some really nice deals on their Planet Spa Masks and I got myself two new ones. Amazonian Treasures is a really nice berry scented gel like mask, which hydrates the skin. I like it so far.

Avon Planet Spa Herbal Stem Bath Deep Cleansing Clay Face Mask

Herbal Stem Bath mask is a basic clay based mask. This one smells very herbal of cedar and it reminds me of men fragrances. It really cleans the pores and smoothes the skin, so it's another winner in my book.

Urban Decay Original Eyeshadow Primer Potion Tester

I got this offered to me by Nadja. She had two testers and decided to send one to me, after I commented on her post about it. So nice of her. I've tried it about three times now and surprisingly, I really like it. It's very liquid creamy and sheer in pigmentation. It definitely won't cover up your imperfections or even out skin tone. The texture feels almost silicon like to me. It's very smooth and the eyeshadows stay in place all day long. No creasing all through the day. The fact is that in winter eyeshadows stay on me well anyways, so I might give this a try in the warmer days.

Be Creative Make Up Eyeshadow

Lovely Astrid sent me a gift. In the envelope I found this eyeshadow, which she said was a really nice brand of makeup that they have in Belgium. I actually googled it and found it in Austria as well, so I'm surprised we don't have it. The eyeshadow is a very nice neutral peach based shimmery shade. I love it. I've already used it a few times and the pigmentation is great. I especially like to use it with a damp brush to give me a really sparkly effect. Promising brand.

The Body Shop Frosted Plum Hand Cream

It's her favorite scent and I can see why. It smells sweet of plums and the scent is actually pretty unique. You don't see plum scents in skin care too often. The texture is very smooth and it absorbs very quickly. Perfect for some smelly hands on the go.

Yves Rocher Malaysian Coconut Silky Lotion

I got all of the products on the photo as a birthday gift from Sabina. She definitely knows me and I think she got a good look at my Wish List board on Pinterest. This lotion is summer holiday in a bottle. I already have the fragrance and the lotion seemed like a good step forward to my coconut obsession. I was just telling her how many body lotions I have, but there is always a place for coconut. I have to keep this for the summer, it just smells so amazing. The scent fills the whole room after I use it. It's averagely nourishing and would be a nice addition to making the fragrance a bit more long lasting and sickening everyone around you with the coconut smell.

L'Occitane Gentle Toner Enriched With Shea

I've already started using this and I can safely say I love it. The pump is so practical for applying it on the cotton pad and I think one pump is just enough for the whole face. The smell is very subtle and it feels nourishing on the skin. It's also good for sensitive skin, because I didn't experience any irritations with it. Definitely a nice toner.

Yankee Candle Black Coconut Candle

How did I miss this one?! I didn't know Yanke Candles had coconut or black coconut candle. The smell is very unique and exotic. I already burnt it that's how much I like it.

Hanky Tissues

I had to include these. How cute are they? I call them Hanky Panky. Hanky, which is probably because of the handkerchief.

Golden Rose Dream Lips Lipliner in 01

A very nice creamy peachy brown shade. I always find it hard to find peach based brown nude lip liner in our drugstores. Most of them are actually more pink or brown tones. The texture is creamy and not too soft and I like that if you wear it on its own, it gives you a nice warm nude matte lip. 

Face Paint The Story of Makeup by Lisa Eldridge

Lisa Eldridge is my favorite makeup artist. As soon as I saw that she wrote a book about the history of makeup, I knew I'll get it. I didn't have to, because my boyfriend got it for me for my birthday. He hears me talk about Lisa all the time and knows how much I like her, so the book was a no brainer for him. I've read a half of it already and I really like it. History is not one of my favorite topics (in fact I hated it in high school), but I love everything about makeup. The chapters are divided into themes instead of being chronological, which is brilliant. There are sayings of famous people in each chapter and lots of pictures. It's written in a very nice easy way and there are so many interesting facts in it. I'll review the book in a separate post, when I read it.

Avon Mesmerize Black

Avon sent me these two fragrances by them. Avon Mesmerize Black was on my wish list. One of my blog readers actually sent me hers, because she didn't like the scent and now Avon sent me one too. I guess this will be my most used fragrance this year. I really like this sent. It's woody and almost a bit exotic. It's more of a stronger night time version. It has notes of mandarin, yasmine and sandalwood. This is the fragrance for those who like woody stronger exotic scents.

Avon Mesmerize

Black is older version and Mesmerize is the new version in a blue bottle. It's one of the best sweet fruity scents. It has notes of white peach, pink peony and sandalwood. I adore it, because I love sweet scents. White peach is very strong and mixed with sandalwood it makes it sophisticate fruity sweet. If the black one is night version this one is sweet day version. This one is also very long lasting.

Born Pretty Store Lipsticks, Lip Liner and False Eyelashes

I chose a few of Born Pretty Store products for review purposes. The lipsticks are all matte and in fact pretty impressive. I already swatched and tried a few of these. The brown one is very similar to MAC Velvet Teddy in texture and color. I also like the other two shades. Lip crayon seem average to me. I haven't tried the lip liner or false eyelashes yet. The eyelashes seem very soft and well made.

Avon True Colour Perfectly Matte Lipsticks

Avon surprised me with the whole range of their new matte lipsticks. Needles to say I was jumping up and down, when I opened the package. Also, if I try to buy another lipstick, someone please hit me in the head. The range has a huge variety of shades from nudes, trendy browns, lots of pink versionas, reds and even two darker red plumy shades. I actually couldn't wait and swatched them all today and I can say the formula is amazing. Not as matte as with liquid matte products, but definitely matte. It still gives of a very velvet feel and sheen. The formulas differ depending on the shade, but most of them are amazingly pigmented. In don't find them drying, but I'll report on that in a full review after I've tested them more.

Huge thanks to Avon!

Avon Ultra Glimmerstick Lip Liner

Avon also sent me their Glimmerstick lip liners, which look really nice. I like the very thin tip and no sharpening needed. The shades are pretty basic, which means a nice addition to all of your lipsticks for that perfectly lined lip.

The brushes have different prices. Powder brush is around 2.50€, blush brush 2.30€ and contour brush 2.40€. I bought it here.

Real Techniques brushes have weighted handles. I am not sure if they are also actually made out of metal or not. 

Ebay version has the same shades as originals. Powder brush is gold and contour and blush brush are rose gold. All of these look metallic, but are in fact plastic. They are heavier in the front, where there are bristles, so I am not sure if that means that they are weighted. It might just be the fact that at the end brush is thinner and therefor lighter there. 

The bristles are synthetic and white at the tips. Towards the handle bristles correspond handle colors. So rose gold brushes have pink bristles and gold brush has yellow bristles. The white bristles are suppose to make it easier for you to see how much product you have on.  

Bristles are all very soft. I would say that those are definitely one of the softest brushes that I own. The quality is mind blowing compared to the price.

Powder brush has a dome shape. Bristles are very soft and it's sort of a regular powder brush size. I think the size is just perfect for my face. You can also fit it under the eyes. It picks up the product nicely and feels super soft on the face. You can also use it as a bronzer brush.

Blush brush is fairly small, compared to some of my other blush brushes. It has tapered really soft bristles and they are fairly dense. A lot denser than powder brush. This means you can really pack on the brush. Because the bristles are soft, you can also create a softer look. This brush could also be used as a powder, highlighter or contour brush. It's small enough to be used in all smaller precise areas. 

Contour brush is very interesting. It has a flat shape of bristles. The bristles are definitely the most dense out of all other brushes. It's really packed. This way you can create some serious contour. You can also use it as a highlighter brush. It still helps to blend the line, if you use ti lightly, so you don't have a straight line on your cheeks. It's also small enough that it fits nicely under the cheek bone area. 

I think those are one of the best brushes that I ever bought on Ebay. It doesn't even matter if they tried to make dupes or not. The bristles are extremely soft and they don't shed, when I'm washing them. I think the handles are well made and super pretty with the shiny metallic finish. I can't say nothing bad about them and the price is ridiculous. If you're a makeup brush hoarder like me, you need to get these. I might even get some other eye brushes next. 

I have actually done this makeup on some basics makeup, which I did for reviewing purposes. I had firstly applied yellow gold cream eye shadow on the lid, up to the crease. Then I added rose eye shadow around the lower lash line and in the crease and pulled it a bit up. I then added matte bright pink makeup in the crease and a bit up.

To make look more wearable and deeper in the outer corner, I used red based brown and put it directly into the crease of the eye, concentrating more on the outer part. I also used it around the outer part of the lower lash line, to make it look a bit deeper. I used gold pink highlighter in the inner corner of the eye.

This is the part, where you add winged black liner - but since I already had it, I just intensified it and put on a bit more mascara.

Very simple look. That gold eye shadow pops out anytime you close your eyes. 

I decided to use one of my favorite lipsticks, which is a mixture of pink and peach. 

As for the rest of the face, I used gold rose highlighter on the higher points of my face, a bit of bronzer around the outer part of the face and dusty rose blush on the cheeks.

I have mentioned several times that I am not a fan of pink, but those sort of dusty rose shades really appeal to me. How about you? Do you like to incorporate pink in your makeup or not?

Products used

Eyes:

Maybeline Color Tattoo in 05 Eternal Gold

Catrice LE Eve in Bloom C02 Beauty Bouquet (lighter shade)

Sleek i-Divine Ultra Matts V1 shade Pucker

Essence Cookies & Cream eyeshadow in 03 Last Night a Cookie Saved My Life!

P2 Glow Up! highlighter eyes and cheeks in 021 High Beam

L'Oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim in Intense Black

L'Oreal  Volume Million Lashes in Extra-Black

Lips:

Mac Patisserie

Face:

Revlon Colorstay foundation in 150 Buff

Rimmel Stay Matte powder in Transluscent

Catrice Velvet Finish concealer in 030 Velvet Beige

P2 Glow Up! highlighter eyes and cheeks in 021 High Beam

ELF Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in St. Lucia

Catrice Illuminating Blush in 010 I'm Nuts About You