Favourite Products of 2013 - Skin

It is time for part two of my 2013 favourites. The first post I did was favourite lipproducts, you can check it out if you haven't. And today, we're moving on to skin. Yes, it's a really vast category, and I've had other faves aide from these ones such as the Bioderma and L'Óreal Micallar waters, for example. But these are the products that I have used literally all year long and that have served me best. My babbling aside, let's rock and roll.

So, Holy Grail alert!! It is the Vichy Normaderm Tri-Activ. It hydreates, gets rid of imperfections, makes your skin look glowy and fresh - pretty much the whole shebang. I love the whole Normaderm range, and I've used it in combination with other Vichy products, but I find that it works great on its own. It's the only thing that helps wehnever my skin is really angry. I put it on in the evening, wake up and the imperfections have dissapeared, if not completely. I'd recommend this any time.

Next, it is a product that has been a bit hyped up. BB creams are a big thing, high-end brands have put out BB creams, but my heart lies with the Garnier BB cream Miracle Skin Perfector. I've been crazy about this all sumer, it has an SPF of 15, is super lightweight, doesn't clog your pores, evens out redness, and for me, is the perfect amount of coverage. What's more, it feels extremely hydrating on the skin. But what really converted me were the "Wow, your skin looks so fresh and glowy" compliments I got.

And last, but definitely not least it's the Bourjois Flower Perfection powder. If you've tried the Java Rice Powder, you're gonna love this. It's extremely similar to it in terms that it smells A-mazing, is really finely milled and the packaging on the inside is basically the exact same. If you're looking for an alternative to the Java rice poweder that doesn't have highlighting properties (in other words - doesn't sparke) then this is it! It sits beautifully on your skinn, sets all your make up in place and doesn't work powdery at all.

So these have been my trustworthy companions throughtout 2013. Have you tried any of them? What are your skin faves of 2013?

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?

O.P.I. Oy-Another Polish Joke - the perfect glittery polish!

So, it's Christmas time. And what's more perfect for a Christmas dinner or a New year's Eve party than glitter? Yes. Glitter is all around us in December, so I decided to go with it and bought an O.P.I glittery nail polish in the colur "Oy-Another Polish Joke" (wierd name, I know). It's my first golden glittery nailpolish/topcoat, as I'm not a fan of gold - it can be too tacky at times.

BUT. I must say this is the most amazing nailpolish I've ever bought. It was on sale, so I got it on 30% off - for 7$ it's a total bargain.

The colour ispurely gorgeous, a shimmering gold, with metalic notes. In some lights it looks slightly yellowish, but in a good way. If you do just one coat of it, it is just a slight shimmer and will work great as a top coat.

If you generously apply two coats, it looks opaque but still it's extremely sparkly. Perfect to spice up an outfit for New Year's Eve. It would look great combined with a little black dress - very classy, and not too out there.

Now to mention how awesome the brush is. It applies evenly, it's big enough but not too big, so it works great even on my smallish nails. Here it is, beware of the sparkle!

This nailpolish lasts for ages. And when I say ages, I mean it. Nothing lasts well on my nails, because I'm one of those people who bite their nails a bit when they're nervous. I have a huge problem with that, but this O.P.I polish lasted for a whole week straight. I must say I am SO impressed with this.

Overall, this is by far my holy grail nailpolish - it can be used as a top coat, as a regular polish, lasts forever and on half-price it's just a total win. I'm wearing it on Christmas and New year's eve - so that's saying something. My adivice - buy this! It's the best investment I've made for years haha.

What's your favourite O.P.I. nailpolish? Have you used this one?

Zara Floral EDT - a great Flora by Gucci dupe?

This week I went autumn/winter shopping. I got loads of things, but the jewel in my crown seems to be the Zara Floral perfume. I'm a huge fan of Zara - their products have always lived up to my expectations, and sometimes you can stumble upon some quite affordable items. But I'll stop rambling on about how great Zara is - I believe we all agree on that. Now on to the point - the Zara Floral perfume, in my opinion, is a great Flora by Gucci dupe!

If you're a fan of Flora, I'd totally recommend this, as the smells are almost identical - floraly and fresh with notes of citrus. You get a 100ml spray bottle (the packaging totally appealed to me - minimalistic and expencive-looking), it's an "Eau De Toilette", which means that it's quite light and refreshing and won't last as long as an "Eau De Parfume". This, however, makes it great for daily use, and as it's a really compact bottle, that you can easily carry around in your bag.

The best part, I think, is that I  got an almost identical Flora dupe for $17. It's such a reasonable price, I just couldn't resist! I like changing my perfumes quite often, and this is a great alternative to more expencive pefumes, especially if you're on a budget. It's a great find, and next time you stop by a Zara store, make sure you check their perfume section, as their other fragrances are great too, I loved the Apple Juice one. Everyone seems to be raving about it, but I prefer floral scents for winter (I think that's just me).

Overall I'm in love with Zara Floral - it's the perfect scent for me, especially for autumn and winter, as it makes me feel energized (we're all a bit weary in winter, right?) and it's quite the bargain for $17! It also comes in a travel-size bottle, which is great if you're planning a winter vacation.

Have you tried any perfumes from Zara? Which one is your fave, and what do you think of Flora if you've used it?