Superfacialist by Una Brennan Face Scrub

Hey there, remember me? I used to actually blog here from time to time. But then I didn't for some odd reason. When uni started I got so overwhelmed with it, couldn't find a decent spot to take pictures in in my small dorm room... And the list of excuses goes on and on. BUT. Since it has literally been ages since my last post I've decided to actually get back into blogging for a change. So, here's a tiny little comeback post from me to you.

And it is about the Superfacialist by Una Brennan Purify and Refresh Face Scrub. So let's get started.

For reference, my skin is combination - oily in the T-zone, with dry patches around the cheeks. Blackheads are a pain in the butt for me - I have them on my nose and chin. Otherwise, I get the odd blemish here and there, but that's become a rare occurance these days. My hopes for this scrub were to sort of reduce the blackheads and balance the oiliness around the T-zone. Which it actually does. But don't get your hopes up - it's not one of these Ï saw great results from the first try"products - you have to stick with this one. Now for the scrub itself:

Ingredients: The Una Brennan Purify and Refresh Face Scrub is a salicylic acid scrub. As we all know salicylic acid works great for blemish-prone skin, targeting black and white heads and improving the skin's condition overall. It's also known for having anti-irritating and soothing properties - so great if you have any redness. At first I thought this would be super stripping, being an anti-blemish acid-based scrub but it is enriched with Grapeseed Oil, Shea butter and Raspberry seed oil (yey me for reading the ingredients first), so it actually isn't stripping at all.

How I use it: That's not to say however that this is suitable for daily use. I only use it onece or twice a week depending on the condition of my skin. It's not stripping, although it might be a bit too much for those with dry skin, although I did read a few reviews saying it's ok. Anyway, what I do is cleanse my face as I would normally do and apply a small amount on my skin, targeting the problematic areas (and avoiding the dry patches if needed). The texture is rather gritty because it does have microbeads in, but it's not too harsh on my skin. Afterwards I just rinse off with warm water.
Results: At first I didn't see much of a change to my skin, except that it was left feeling baby soft and squaky clean. However, with continued use I definitely began to notice that my blackheads had significantly reduced, especially around my nose where they were the worst. So, I would say stick with this for a bit and you will see an improvement in your skin. At least that's the case for me.

Overall I'm happy with the Una Brennan Purify and Refresh Face Scrub and hint hint - it's on offer right now for £5.99 (when it was Was £8.99 before) so get your hands on it, it's a bargain. Have you tried other products from the Una Brennan range? What would you recommend?

Soap and Glory Super Tonic Fragrance Review

You know what one of the best things about moving to England is? Yep, it's the overwhelming amount of beauty brands you can choose from. I've been reading blog posts on Soap and Glory products for ages, and of course I've been drooling over them for the last two years. And now that I finally got my hands on some Soap and Glory stuff, I can tell you for sure the rumors are true. They are just as good as everyone says. The first two things I got were the the Super Tonic Fragrance, and the Sugarcrush body scrub, and I'll go into more detail about the scrub later this month. Now, about the Super Tonic fragrance..

Packaging and price: The standard, quirky S&G packaging and a cheeky product name. What's not to like? The packaging matches the orange theme of the product (duuuh) which is super cute. You get 100ml in an easy to carry around bottle and considering S&G products are almost always on offer, £12.00 is a pretty reasonable price.

Scent and lasting power: The fragrance itself is as you might expect really citrusy, zesty and fresh. Except for the obvious orange notes, there are notes of cool mint and Sicilian lemon. I didn't expect the scent to have very much depth to it, but it actually does and you can smell the different notes as it wears throughout the day. The only thing that bothers me, though, is that it doesn't last that well and I have to carry it around in my bag to freshen it up. Which means it won't last very long, unfortunately and I've already used up quite a lot considering I've been using it for just a week. Other than that however, it's one of my favourite fruity scents as it's not so overpoweringly fruity, and it works for both summer and winter.

Overall verdict: Yes, I would repurchase, and yes, I probably will (as I'll run out of it in a few months at the rate I'm going..). It's a great, light, awakening everyday scent, it's not overly pricy and it's cutesy and quirky, just like every other Soap & Glory product. I'll say it again - what's not to like?! If you're searching for a nice fruity fragrance to remind you of summer, I would definitely suggest getting this. Do it. 

Have you tried the Orangeasm range? What's your favourite product from it?

Beauty hacks and quick fix tips

Today's post is inspired by The Lovecats inc.'s beauty tips and tricks post, which I was featured in *happy dancing*. I'll be talking about my favouite time/money-saving tips and tricks and I really hope you find them helpful. Some of them I've read in Cosmo years ago, some of them I've learned "the hard way" myself, but they've all made my life so much easier and I can't wait to share them with you!

Tip 1: Store skincare in the fridge. I like to store my Avene Thermal Spring Water in the fridge and spray it on my shaved legs for a cooling sensation. Works with eyecream and micellar water as well.

Tip 2: Use hair conditioner as shaving gel. It’s a great alternative to shaving gel as it does help moisturize your skin and the shaver glides effortlessly against your skin.

Tip 3: Double lipstick as a blusher. Especially with berry shades, as it helps brighten your face and preverns you from looking washed out. I've shown you the Bourjois Rouge Edition in Brune Boheme, which I used as a blusher on my prom night, and it looked natural, yet brightened up my face a lot.

Tip 4: (It's super weird, but I promise, it works) If you smudge your nailpolish while it’s still not completely dry, lick one of your fingers and and gently smooth the smudge out.

Tip 5: Before you apply your moisturiser on your shaved legs, spray some Avene Thermal Water (if you don't have it, La Roche Possay and Vichy have their own thermal water sprays a well)  on your skin to minimize irritation, redness and to help lock in the moisture from your lotion/body butter.

Tip 6: Cotton buds are your best friend when it comes to applying liquid eyeliner. Instead of soaking a whole cotton pad in makeup remover, fix any mistakes with a cotton bud, dabbed in cleansing milk (I find it's easier to use than micellar water).

Tip 7: Use a spoolie and hairspray to keep your brows in place if you run out of clear brow gel. Use a light hairspray, otherwise your brows might end up crunchy-looking. Spray directly on your brows, or on the spoolie, and then brush them out in the desired shape.

Hope you enjoyed this post and found these tips helpful. What are your best beauty tips and tricks?

Budget Beauty: Eyeshadows

It seems to me that sometimes in the blogging world expensive and sometimes overpriced products get super hyped up, and you can see them on every, and I mean every single blog out there. And other equally as good, but not as expensive products get neglected. And I love an underdog, so that's why I decided to start a Budget Beauty series and talk about the underdogs of the beauty world, so to speak.

The first category is eyeshadow, and I know there are tons of great options out in the drugstore, but these are some that I use quite frequently and am quite happy with. They are amongst the cheapest options out these, so they're great if you're on a super tight budget, or you're just getting into make up!

Beauty uk eyeshadow palette no. 4 - earth child

Beauty uk eyeshadow palette no. 4 - earth child: The first budget item is a palette. It's quite neutral, but it still has a wide variety of colors and tones - blacks, highlight colors, purply-beige-ish colors, and two greens. Most of the shadows are shimmery, some with a slight shimmer to them, others quite glittery. You can get this lovely palette in Superdrug for just £3.99, and if that's not a bargain, I don't know what is! The color pay off of some shades isn't that great, but the brighter colors have pretty decent pay off. You can see I've made quite the huge dent on the purply-browny color (middle one, top row). Most of the colors are pretty wearable, everyday shades, but can be elevated to a smoky, night-time look. Overall, you get quite a lot for your mony, as some signle shadows cost as much as this palette. You get 10 pretty decent shades and an almost endless variety of looks you can do. Well done, Beauty uk, you have captured my attention!

Essence Smokey eye set

 

Essence Smokey Eye set: The essence smokey eye set consists of a glittery dark grey eyeshadow and a black cream eyeshadow that's supposed to serve the purpose of an eyeliner. It's quite the handy little set if you're in a hurry and can't be bothered to use a copule of different eyeshadows. The color pay off is not the most amazing with the cream shadow, but it works well enough to line the eyes. And it's such a bargain for just £2.50. It's so tiny and compact, perfect for carrying around in your handbag. Essence have come up with some pretty great products, so happy that they've finaly launched in the UK!

Honorable mention - Maybelline single eyeshadows: I'm sure everyone has owned one (or ten) of these in their lifetime. I mean they are a cult classic. You get quite the sizable single eyeshadow, highly pigmented and wearable, and a tiny-winy brush for £4.09 at Superdrug or any other drugstore, really. The range of colors is amazingly huge, but what I've showed you here is a purple with slight shimmer going through it. I wore this on new year's eve last year and I must say it lasted pretty well. I have about fove or six more of these Maybelline singles lying around and I'll definitely start using them again!

Hope you liked my bugget beauty picks. What are your favourite budget eyeshadows or palletes?

(Cute) Travel-sized Beauty

I haven't been fortunate enough to travel a lot this year, but as I am moving to England in about a month I thought it was time to stock up on some travel-sized beauty products for the first few days of my arrival.

I was lucky enough to get this travel-trio by Yves Rocher as a gift from a friend, and I must say I'm impressed. I got a Strawberry Eau de Toilette, a Yellow Peach Shower Gel and a nailpolish in the colour Rose. I mut admit they've got me hooked and I can't wait to get my hands on the large sizes.

Strawberry Eau de Toilette: It's a super fesh fruity scent as the name would suggest. I'm a fan of sweet, fruity scents this summer and this one is not too overpowering and you don't end up smelling like a walking strawberry. It's not a super complex scent, but I can definitely smell notes of vanilla and something else I can't really put my finger on. 

Yellow Peach Shower Gel: Oh. My. God. The smeel of this is simply addictive. It's peachy but not too sweet and it's quite a strong scent. I wouldn't recommend it to people with sensitive skin, as it might irritate or dry out the skin. However for my normal skin I think this would work well, I can't wait to use it in the morning as it smells so refreshing and awakening!

Nail polish in Rose: I've saved the best for last! I mean look how CUTE this is. It's so tiny-winy. And the colour is so beautiful. If essie's Mademoisselle and Ballet slippers had a nailpolish baby, that would be it. It's the perfect mixture of light baby pink and dusty rose. The brush is a bit smaller than the average but it works pretty well. Application-wise, it's a bit tricky to apply but it's almost a gel-like consistency and it lastst a really long time. Overall this is my favourite product of the three as the formula is to die for and the color is great on both pale and tanned skin.

Have you tried anything by Yves Rocher? Have you tried any of these three products?

Avene Thermal Spring Water Spray Review

Recently, my skin has been SO agry. I'm talking spots, tiny little dry patches and redness everywhere. Something had to be done about this. Avene's Thermal Water to the rescue! It was recommended to me by the lovely Molly from Lyon Notes (thanks, hun) and it has since become a very important part in my skincare routine.

At first I though "Come on, this is probably just tap water that shall cost me £6.50", but after all the positive reviews and the recomendation I decided to give it a go. As with most hyped up products, it was totally worth it. Let's get review this thing up, shall we.

Price & size: The price seems pretty reasonable to me, now that I've tested out the product. You get a 150ml bottle for £6.50 and if you get it on discount it's even better. It lasts forever as you only lightly mist your face/legs and it dispenses such a fine mist that I think it would last me a lifetime. Besides, there are 3 sizes - a tiny-winy 50ml one, the 150ml one which you can see up there and a HUGE and I mean huge 300 ml one. So, if you'd just like to try it out I'd recommend getting the smallest one.

Application & quality: "Avene Thermal Spring Water contains a unique active ingredient, renowned by dermatologists for its soothing properties. This facial spray is great in hot weather or for soothing irritated skin or sunburn", as promised by Avene. And it is all true (I haven't had the chance to test it out in hot weather yet, as it's freezing now, sorry). My skin has been horrendous the past few weeks. I had severe redness on my cheeks and I noticed great improvement with the first few uses. Which is like, incredible. My skin feels hydrated, the redness has almost disappeared and is not as visible now. Oh, ad my pores are less visible (I might be imagining this one, don't know).

I also tested it out after shaving my legs and I must say - Holy Grail material right there. My legs have that silky smooth vibe going on, no red bumps. no dry patches. It's all smoth, I tell ya.

Overall verdict: This is NOT tap water, contrary to what I seemed to believe. It's a great product if you have sensitive skin. Anlo it's supposed to help treatment if you havepsoriasis, dermatitis or eczema, which is great! I really couldn't say enough about this product - if you have sensitive skin, problems with shaving, redness etc. it's a must-have. Or, you know, if you'd just like to freshen up.

Have you tried this handy little product? What do you think? 

Nuxe Reve de Miel Baume Levres Review

It's wintertime - my least fovourite time of the year. A partial reason for that (except for the cold weather) are chapped lips. Chapped lips became a problem for me quite recently, so I hadn't really used many high-quality lipbalms before. 

Enter: Reve de Miel Baume Levres (or as I would translate it with my bad French - Dreams of Honey). It is an all-natural lipbalm from a French brand called NUXE. This seems to be the holy grail product for every beauty blogger and their dog, so I had to see what all the fuss was about. Ladies and gentlemen, it IS as good as thay say. Let's get crackin with the review!

Price & Packaging: Aaah. This pretty much speaks for the packaging. It's gorgeous frosted glass pot with a white cap and looks so luxurious I can't even  it (but you can obviously see for yourselves, duh). It's £9.50, which I must admit, for a lipbalm is a bit crazy, but I simply couldn't resist. The plus side is that you get a 15ml pot, and your average lipbalm is about 6 to 10 ml. 

Quality & Scent: Firts, I have to say this smells good enough to eat, but it's far too expensive for me to eat it which is a pity, really. It smells like oranges and lemon peels and it is bloody fantastic. It's a matte, thick, moisturising balm, sits really naturally on the lips and doesn't add any color whatsoever. I used it as a night treatment and in the morning it was still there, doing its magic. Honestly, I've never tried anything better.

Overall verdict: I want more of this. It works wonders for damaged lips, and as a lipbalm in general, even if you don't suffer from the horrid chapped lip. It's so luxurious, that for me, it seems to be a great value for money. CONFESSION: I spent £9.50 on a lipbalm and I am not even sorry! I would definitely suggest you do the same and become a member of the crazy balm-o-holic club.


Have you tried it? Do you think it's worth the money?

Catrice nailpolishes - worth a try

Since Catrice and Essence were recently introduced to the UK (and they've been in Eastern European drugstores for ages), I decided to treat you guys to e little post featuring my favourite Catrice nailplish colors.

The first one is a gorgeous mint color called I Sea You. I love creative, cheeky names, so this one caught my eye. The colour is gorgeous, it has a bit of a greenish hue to it, so it's more greeny than minty. It stays put for about 5 days, which is quite a lot for a drugstore nailpolish. I'd say it's a great value for money, and at 2.50$, I can wish for nothing more.

The second one is by far my favourite red nailpolsh. It is called Robert's Red Ford which just cranks me up every time. It's a gorgeous deep blue-based red. It also stays put for ages whithout chipping, which is great since chipped red polish looks just hideous. The only problem I have with it is that it stains my nails a little bit if I don't use a base coat. But that's not that big of a deal, as I almost always do.

Overall I'm SO satisfied with the quality of Catrice products, their nailpolishes in particular are such a great bargain, as they are affordable, yet pigmented and long-lasting.

Have you tried Catrice nailpolishes? What do you think? How about other Catrice products?

Favourite Products of 2013 - Lips

It is finally time for *drumroll please* 2013 beauty favourites! It will be a 3-post series, including Lips, Face and Eyes, so keep your eyes open for the next ones. I've included some underrated ones, as well as some really hyped up products. So let's get cracking.

First under the spotlight is an amazing lip product, and a dupe for the YSL Glossy Stains. Hint - it's the L'Óreal Colour Caresse Wet Shine Stain (quite a mouthful). It's basically a liquid lipstick, combining the "power of a lip stain with lip-gloss luster." as it says in the description. And it really does. It's quite shiny, quite glossy, but still very pigmented. It's not sticky at all and is very buildable, so you can get that fully opaque red colour out of it. But more on that later in my full review of it.

Moving on to another hyped up product. As I said in my review, everyone and their brother has been talking about this, and it's the Bourjois Color Boost. Mine is in the color Plum Russian, a gorgeous plummy, berry-ish color, that can be biult up for a dramatic look. I won't get into that much, as I've recently reviewed it - check it out!

Everybody loves an underdog. The Avon ColorTrend in the color Bliss is quite the underdog. I've never heard anyone rave about it, and they should. It's a great, affordable lipstick with reasonable pigmentation, really cool packaging and is quite similar in color to the L'Óreal color caresse. It lasts a lifetime, and the formula is really good. The one thing I would change about it is that it dries out my lips a tiny bit, but I always apply lip balm under it, so that's no problem for me.

And speaking fo lip balm. The only thing that saves my chapped lips in wintertime is the Eucerin Lip Repair lip balm. Oh. My. God. It is divine. It's rich, sort of siky, and the texture is great. It's packed full of goodies suck as Vitamine A+E, Dexpanthenol and the whole shebang. Truly an amazing product if you have extremely chapped and dry lips. I put it on at night sometimes (in extreme cases) and in the morning it has worked its magic and I can even still feel it on my lips. Lovely, lovely thing.

Hope you liked this tiny little faves of 2013 post as much as I enjoyed writing it. Have you treid any of these products and what are your 2013 faves? Link me up with some posts!

Bourjois Color Boost - worth the hype!

 I am a bit late on the bandwagon with this one, but here it is - the Bourjois Color Boost in the colour Plum Russian. Everyone and their brother's dog has raved about this baby, and it was about time I laid my hands on it. The color Plum Russian was just released in my country, so I just couldn't resist the temptation.

... And it is as amazing as they say. Let's get crackin on the review.

Excuse the tiny scar on my lip :D

Packaging & price tag: The packaging isn't something extremely luxurious or innovative, but it is amazingly appealing. The colors are so vibrant and they caught my eye right away. I got this on sale (yes, lucky me) and it was about 6$, which is a total bargain.

Colour & how long it lasts: The colour is a-mazing. I must admit, I never wear plums or anything darker than a rosy nude, so this was a bit of a venture for me. It totaly paid out. The color is a gorgeous almost sheer plum, but it can be built up for a more dramatic effect. But here, see for yourselves.

I can't say it last very long, as it has a gossy texture. They promise 10 hours, but come on - who can live up to that. Still it lasts reasonably long for what it is.

I must say, my favourite thing about it is the smell. It smells like violets, but it's a very sweet, almost candy-like smell. Amazing.

Overall verdict: I am in love. The glossy finish, the colour, the smell, and the price tag are all satisfactory, and the more expencive equivalents like the Clinique Chubby Sticks.. well, I don't think they're worth it. This is perfect not just if you're on a budget, as it has that "expencive product" feel.

I know most of you have tried this, but still I can't help but recommend it. I'll be getting another color soon, hope it's as good as this one!

What d you guys think of this product, have you tried it (I'm sure you have, but still), and would you buy it again?

Sensitive eyes?! Which make up removers prevent redness & itchyness

A while back I used to wear contact lenses. That was a huge problem for me as I would rarely apply any eye make up on, as my micellar water used to sting my eyes, and, it's also a danger to the lense itself.

I stopped wearing lenses, but yet another problem appeared - the skin just at the outer corners of my eyes was red and itchy whenever I decided to use a harsher make up remover for waterproof eyeliner/mascara. So, my suffery had to come to an end. I found a great make up removal regime which I'll share with you guys today. Plus, the perfect type of make up remover for sensitive eyes!

Eye make up removal regime & the perfect eye make up remover:

First, I take off the bulk of my make up (if any) with any micellar water at hand. Right now I'm using my L'Oreal Skin Perfection Micellar Solution. I leave the hardest part - the eyes - for last. 

I've come to the conclusion that cleansing milks are THE stuff when it comes to itchyness, redness and overall irritation around the eyes. My favourite cleansing milk is by far the L'Oreal Tripple active. I bought mine 2-3 months ago, that's why it's in the old packaging, but they've changed it now, and it's extremely similar to the micellar water.

Back to the point. I use a cotton pad and gently tap around the eyelid with it. This dissolves the make up without irritating the eye, because of the cleansing milk's consistency. Micellar waters are a bit rougher on the eye as there is more friction between the pad and the skin.

Then, I take a clean cotton pad, put the tiniest amount of cleansing milk on it and wipe the make up off. Repeat if needed

I then splash my face with some cool water, and I'm good to go. No irritation around my eyes whatsoever. 

This might seem really simple, but before I discovered that cleansing milks are perfect for sensitive eyes, I struggled with numerous micellar waters, specialised eye makeup removers, but nothing worked for me. To sum up - micellar water for my face, cleansing milk for my eyes!

This regime works for me, I hope it will work for you too! What's your holy grail eye make up remover?

L'Oreal Micellar Solution - The Bioderma alternative

So, I'm a bit late on the bandwagon with this, but, I, like everybody else feel the need to rave about the L'Oreal Micellar Solution. Having used the Bioderma Micellar water, I felt like no drugstore brand would be able to replace it. However, as I recently ran out of it, an awesome friend of mine bought me the L'Oreal Micellar Solution for my birthday. And it has lived up to every promice. It's my go-to cleanser at the moment, being way better whan my ROC cleansing foam.

It does pretty much as good a job as Bioderma, and as it's way cheaper than any high-end product it's great when you're on a budget. For £3.33, it's the perfect Bioderma drugstore dupe - removes even waterproof mascara after a few scrubs, leaves my skin feeling squaky clean, and is also hypo-allergenic. I wear contact lenses (and even when I don't my eyes are extremely easily irritated) and this does a pretty decent job for me, as it's quite gentle, yet effective. 

This is a great product if you're in a rush in the morning and don't have time for your cleansing routine. Fast, fast, fast. You just take a cotton pad, pat it all over your face, and you're good to go. And in the evening, it does a great job removing your make up. A far beter job than any cleansing wipes in my opinion, and just as quick and easy. If you're a micellar solution person, go for this, as it's no doubt the best drugstore one.

And now the one thing that I don't like. When I'm wearing too much make up - eyeliner, eyeshadow and mascara for example (I rarely do that, but still), it sort of irritates my eyes, leaving them a bit itchy, BUT I think this is not just the solution itself - it's me rubbing a bit too hard on my eyes. However, this is just me perhaps, as my eyes are reaaally a pain.

Overall, I'm in love with this product. It's a great purchase when you-re on a spending ban and you want to sneak something useful. It's the best alternative to Bioderma, it might just be the new holy grail of drugstore cleansers. When I have the money, I will buy Bioderma again, as I think switching between cleansers is alwas a good thing. But I'll be repurchasing this one over and over, too!

Which is your go-to micellar water right now? What do you think of the L'Oreal Micellar Solution? 

Catrice Pure Shine Colour Lip Balm Review

Lip crayons are a huge thing. Pretty much every other brand has one. And for me, the fuss began with the Bourjois Colour Boost. But today, our focus is on the Catrice Pure Shine Colour Lip Balm. It's reasonably priced, comes in great packaging, and its color range is amazing. What a lovely friend of mine gave me for my birthday is the shade 070 - I Don't Red It, and that's what I'm reviewing today!

Like any other lip crayon, it doesn't need sharpening. You just twist its back part and the crayon comes out. Like so: 

Twist mechanism

1. Color,  fragrance and how long it lasts: The color is fantastic, really sheer, but still noticeable. Great if you're going for a more subtle effect. After all, it's a lip balm, so I didn't expect it to be extra pigmented anyway. It's extremely moisturising and feels sort of velvety on your lips, which is really nice. And this feeling lasts for about two hours if you apply it generously, which I think is a very reasonable amout of time! I forgot to mention the smell.. vanilla. It smells so delicious I'm tempted to try and eat it every time!

2. Price: Oh. So. Reasonable. For about 5$ (depending on your local store) you get a really great product. I presonally prefer it to the Bourjois Color Boost, for example, as the Bourjous one is sooo pigmented and doesn't compliment my skin tone at all. What's more, almost all the other lip crayons out there are overpriced, unlike the Catrice Pure Shine Colour Lip Balm.

3. Verdict: If you haven't treid a lip crayon before (which I doubt, but still) and you're afraid to go for a more pricy one like a Revlon or Bourjois one, go for this! Great quality, great colour, fantastic range of shades, suitable for every skin tone - from brighter reds like mine to more autumnish plum and rose colours. 

Overall I'm really satisifed with this lip crayon, and will purchase some of the other colours! 

Which is your favourite lip crayon, and have you tried this one?

Maybelline Colorama Polka Dots vs. L'Oreal Top Coat Confetti

So, it's been hard for me to keep up with blogging these days, and I've been telling you this in every single post this month. But I'm back, and I've got some really good stuff coming up for you guys, includinga birthday presents post, and some reviews - let's start with this one!

Who doesn't love their polka dot top coat these days? So many brands have made these in every colour possible, wither glittery or non-glittlery. My personal faves, however are the black and white ones, as I am quite a sucker for minimalistic things. I find that this sort of nail polish goes well with almost any matte color, or just worn by itself. But, as so many brands have introduced their version of this it's really hard to find the best and most reasonable one price-wise. So, I've decided to make this little post to help sort things out - I'll try and compare the two polishes most raved about - the Maybelline Colorama Polka Dots amd L'Oreal Top Coat Confetti.

1. Application and consistency: When it comes to brushes, I prefer a flat, wide one, simply because it's so darn easy to work with. Especially for this sort of nailpolishes, as the little particles are rather hard to spread evely, and a normal brush makes it even harder. So for me, the winner here is the L'Oreal Top Coat Confetti. But see for yourselves!

Maybelline Colorama Polka Dots

The Maybelline aplicator is long and thin, which makes it a litle bit harder to apply the little dots evely onto your nails.

 L'Oreal Top Coat Confetti

The L'Oreal one's applicator is wider and the cap is smaller which is better, I think, as it gives you more control of what your doing, if for example you want to da a French manicure and you have to be really precise.

 

2. How long does it last? Actually, they both last pretty long, I haven't really noticed any difference, they don't chip, just the occasional little dot falls off sometimes. But what makes me sad is how fast the L'Oreal Confetti dried out.. I've had it for just like 2-3 months, I've been using in quite regularly, and yet, it's almost dried out and unusable now... The Maybelline one seems to be more watery somehow and it seens like it's going to last longer than that. So far it hasn't dried out one bit, so the winner is.. wait for it... Maybelline!

3. Price: Well, I think it's obvious that the Maybelline one is quite cheaper - for 2,99$ you get 7ml of great quality nail polish, whereas for the L'Oreal one you give 6$ and get a 5ml bottle. Quite unfair I think. 

4. Verdict: For me, the Maybelline Colorama Polka Dots is much more reasonable - it's bigger in size, much cheaper (yes, don't judge me, those 3$ matter!) and I think it dries out much slower. I'd purchase it again, and I'll definitely try the other colours, they look fabulous!

I hope you liked it, and I really really hope I helped you choose a polka dotted polish. Which one is your favourite?

Bourjois Twist Up the Volume Mascara

So, it has been a long time since I last did a beauty post (or any post at all for that matter) and I figured a great product to review would be a Bourjois mascara. I'm a huge fan of Bourjois, and frankly, they are my favourite drugstore brand (don't judge me much). So, here it is, my new Twist Me Up mascara.

1. Application: This mascara comes with a pretty unusual applicator. As we all know, Bourjois are quite fond of nifty applicators (Volume Fast&Perfect mascara with the rotating motorizd brush) This brush however is controlled manually, haha. It has a twist mechanism installed in the cap and two brush positions. Here they are.

Step 1

Position number one separates your lashes, and gives you defined legth (as promised in the description).

Step 2

Position number two gives you oversized volume (also, as promised in the description).

2. Clumping, definition, and how long it lasted: I was so pleased with my lashes after applying this mascara. I honestly never thought they could look so long. But what I'm most satisfied with is how long it lasts. Most drugstore brands promise 12-24h. and a waterproof effect, and well, correct me if I'm wrong but that's just a load of poo (and I'm really trying to sugar-coat it here..). The Bourjois Twist Up the Volume Mascara made no such promises and nevertheless lasted me the whole day, no smuges or anything. I made a little experiment and splashed some water over my eyes - it didn't run all over my face. So overall I'm so pleased with it.

Verdict: I'll be buying it again. And again. And then hm, I hope I don't get bored of it, but still. It's absolutely worth every penny. For the price of 9 pounds it's an absolute bargain! I'd definitely recommend this if you're looking for a drugstore mascara. It's definitely better than the Maybelline one I had, and also, I like the pretty packaging. I'll be uploading a picture in a few hours, for you to see how it works :)