My February 2016. Favourites!

February was an odd month for me. Since I had a cold, I had a feeling that there will be no favourites to tell you about but for the time when I was feeling OK, I apparently played with makeup quite a lot. On the other hand and surprisingly for me, there aren't many beauty care products this time. That is partly because of my decision to finish up some travel size products that I have in stock. I didn't travel that much, bought too many beauty boxes and decided to deal with them this year. :)

Since beauty care products are in minority...well, there is only one, I will start with it.

I found a new love in Olival's Immortelle Golden Face Oil. Apart from its main active ingredient - Immortelle essential oil, this oil contains seven natural oils (jojoba, argan, marigold, olive, almond, rose and apricot seed oil) and promises to deeply moisturize and nourish the skin. It is recommended for normal, dry and/or sensitive skin types, but in my opinion, every skin will love it. I have combination skin with oily t-zone and sometimes dry top layer and love it!

I also have to say a few words about the brand. Olival is a Croatian natural cosmetics brand which I highly recommend to try if you get a chance. It is available in all the major drugstores in Croatia (DM, Kozmo, BIPA..), so if you come and visit our country definitely try something from their range. This oil would be a good start but I would also recommend their immortelle toner. I am not connected with this company in any way, only enjoy their products, their idea to create natural products and the fact that they don't test their products on animals.

And then there is makeup... I am starting from the base - foundation. I tried many foundations in my life and am always in a search for someting new and improved. I mainly use liquid foundations in my everyday routine and since I like to experiment I tested many foundations from different brands, both drugstore and high-end. But this one really is a gem. L'oreal True Match liquid foundation is great for my oily parts, it doesn't get shiny early in the day, it doesn't oxidize on me, provides medium coverage, which means it covers nicely but doesn't look fake, it is longlasting, I found a great shade and will most definitely buy it again!

My next favourite also helps your skin and complexion to look their best! With my oily t-zone, I always hesitated to apply highlighters. There was enough shine on my face already. But then the whole highlighter era started and I received Chantecaille's Liquid Lumiere Anti-Aging Face Illuminator in the shade Sheen in my Net-a-Porter Holiday Kit.

At first I put it aside but then I decided to be brave and put it on my face. Honestly, it looks beautiful, doesn't make my face too shiny, it adds healthy glow and I love it!

Complexion is very important to look "flawless" but the part of my face that also gets a lot of loving are my eyes.

If I wear makeup I must put on at least a little bit of mascara. Last month I played again with my Nyx shadows. I wrote about these here but I forgot how good these shadows are.

I used Root Beer and Red Bean Pie by themselves and with my Chanel Diapason shadow. They looked amazing either way and if you haven't, you really should try Nyx shadows.

Eyes are the mirror of our souls but brows are certainly the frame for it and that is why I always pay attention to them. In my January Favourites (here) I already mentioned my love to Anastasia Beverly Hills products. I swear by their Brow Wiz in taupe so I decided to try out other products from their range and that is how these two ended up in my bathroom. I bought Dipbrow Pomade in the shade Taupe and a dual ended brow brush to apply it with. The brush is very precise and perfect for defining the brows and its spooley is very soft but efficient. I highly recommend it! Usually, I am not crazy about dual ended brushes because they aren't always convenient for storing, but this duo actually is really handy.

I already told you that ABH Brow Wiz is my all time favourite brow product and I've gone through many of them. But...this month, for the first time, my Wiz broke on the spooley side. That never happened to me before and I wasn't rough with it at all but I needed to mention that. Have any of you experienced something similar?

So... We came to the end of my lasth month's favourites. What do you say? Do you like some of them as well or completely the opposite?

Tell me...

Love, beautyandbrains007

For Croatian version of this post click here

Clinique Moisture Surge Eye Masks (pads)

My dearest readers... I am sorry that my today's post will be a review of a product that is no longer easily available but I promised one of my readers that I'll tell her a little bit more about these Clinique Moisture Surge eye masks.

These masks are from a Moisture Surge Clinique line which is still available, but the pads themselves are by my knowledge discontinuied. And to be honest, I haven't seen them in a while in our stores. Before, every more high-end store carried them and a box of 10 little envelopes with two pads (one for each eye) costed 290 kunas (about 42$/38 Euros/30 GBP), which wasn't a bad price and I bought mine on sale. If you are a Clinique lover, you can still find these on the internet (ebay has them), or if you really like the concept behind this product, you can try something similar from other brands. Lately, I have been seeing products like this from many brands (high-end and drugstore).

These particular pads promise rapid hydration in this refreshing oil-free eye masks. Pre-moistened pads replenish thirsty eye-area skin and plump up fine dry lines. With special aloe-activated water, they instantly soothe and diminsh the look of puffiness, leaving under-eye skin soft, smooth and intensly hydrated. Because of that, they are suitable for all skin types.

As for my experience, I must say that my under-eye area isn't very dry but... There is no mercy when I don't get enough sleep or am working hard and am under more stress. My 30+ skin then shows that I am not a little girl anymore, some puffiness may appear, my under-eye dark circles become visible (I don't always struggle with them), and my fine lines are more pronounced. Then I use these pads and to be honest they really do provide instant moisture to that delicate area, the skin looks smoother, fine lines are less visible and my whole face gets back some freshness and glow! So, my answer is that I really do like this product! I like the fact that it doesn't have any smell and that the consistency of this pre-moistened pads isn't oily. That way you really get moisture. If you are reading this, chances are that you use eye creams in your everyday routine anyway, so this is just a bonus for the days when you need something extra to pick you up, or just allow yourself some at home spa feeling and moments.

As I already said, these little pads are packed individually (two per pack) and the box has total of 10 packages. In my opinion that is great because every pair will stay fresh until you decide to use it. They recommend to use this pads once or twice a week but I use them when needed.

Pads are situated in plastic dividers and you apply them to clean uder-eye skin, leave them for about ten minutes or a bit more, then remove and discard them, and massage residual treatment into skin.

Personally, I like both these pads and the concept behind them, and that is why I am not thrilled that this particular ones are hard to get now. On the other hand, their absence will make me try similar products from other brands.

What do you say? Do you like this concept? Have you ever tried these kind of eye masks?

Tell me...

Love, beautyandbrains007

For Croatian version of this post click here

New in...

I love when beauty junkies with blogs buy new things. Then you can see beautiful photos of that little beauty tresures and imagine that one day you will have them lined up like that as well. But the reality in my case is a little bit different. This is how I put them together!

If you are wondering, there isn't a particular order but they were all bought or were given to me last year, hence the Birthday edition of Lookfantastic Beauty Box from September.

The last one that I ordered from them. This year I decided that I will only order them if most of the products are something I am really interested in. Sure, beautiful special edition boxes got me interested but the truth is that thier content, for the most part, wasn't for me.

You can find Balea products in probably every New in of mine. Their In Shower Body Milk with Vanilla is a must for me (can you tell?) and this nipple cream was a recommendation from a friend to tackle really dry areas of the skin that can appear on our faces during winter months. It is good but I am not thrilled.

I bought and used up some Byphasse products as well. They are OK, micellar water and face gel cleanser were quite nice but I hated this Eye make up remover. It wasn't efficient and has overpowering floral scent... Didn't like it one bit!

I make sure that my everyday products are always in stock, so here you can see a bottle of my favourite kind of Batiste Dry Shampoo (Strength & Shine) and a roll on (not my beloved Powder Touch, which is still my favourite).

I tried some new products and they wowed me... I LOVE this Afrodita Chamomile Sensitive Care eye cream. It is amazing and incredibly affordable!

I always buy a few new products when in drugstores as you can see. This L'Oreal True Match foundation is incredible and I can't believe that I forgot to mention it in my January Favourites?!

I also wanted to get some Essence stuff, so I did. Don't you hate it when people mess with products and don't buy them in the end? Well, I didn't realize that in the store, but someone left their dirty fingerprints on my palette, so, I will throw it away as soon as I swatch it. Can't imagine to put that on my face!

If you aren't in Croatia but will visit Croatia one day, you must try something from Olival. It is a Croatian brand and I love their immortelle line. Toner is amazing, micellar water as well, and now I discovered  their Immortelle Golden Face Oil. True love...

Do you guys do catalogue shopping? I usally browse through Avon's catalogues but my friend now sells Oriflame so I made some new purchases there as well.

There was a big sale at Douglas last year and I got myself some new Chanel products. I like Chanel, especially for a good deal.

I also recieved Chanel Fauve eyeshadow as a gift. Isn't it beautiful? Like a powdery version of my beloved Illusoire?!

At the end of the year there were free shipping moments at Net-a-Porter and Outnet, so, I made some purchases there, too.

My Significant other brought me some Body Shop goodies from his trip. Chamomile cleansing oil was what I wanted and other products are his choices. He did GOOD.

That is it for last year's choices. I didn't really do much beauty shopping in 2016. and you can see why?! I am very well equiped!

How do you like my new toys?

Tell me...

Love, beautyandbrains007

For Croatian version of this post click here

My January 2016. Favourites!

Hello fellow beauty lovers!

I wish you a happy Valentine's Day! Recently I was talking to my colleagues at work and somehow I ended up telling them about my dogs. Then they all agreed that my face gets a certain glow when I talk about them. My response was that I do love them very much and that I am aware of the fact that many people can't understand my love towards animals. Then an older colleague of mine said that I am wrong, that love is love, beautiful and special no matter where it comes from. I have been blessed with a wonderful life full of special people but what I wanted to say is that we should all celebrate love all the time with our family members, friends, partners or pets. I hope that you all have love in your life, no matter of its origin.

And now to the Favourites. I didn't think that I will have this many of them because I had a cold last month and wasn't exactly my usual self, but when I gathered them it wasn't a bad bunch at all.

My skin deals with all kinds of different issues during the year and every season brings in something new. Well, this winter my usually combination skin with oily t-zone had problems with drier top layer. I really am careful about my skin care, and try to satisfy both oiliness and dryness, and since I did find some great products for that, I have to tell you about them.

I found a dynamic duo for winter care of my eye area. 

First Aid Beauty Eye Duty Triple Remedy eye cream was perfect for daytime. It is very light, salmon coloured and comes with a metal part on top which leaves your eye area nice and cool. It hydrates nicely and its colouring kind of evens out your skin but it isn't a substitute for concealer. Because of its light texture it sinks into the skin quickly and is a great base for make up since it is not greasy. Although it is a great product, in my opinion, especially if you suffer from dryness on your undereye area, you should combine it with something more thick and greasy for the night. I combined it with Afrodita Chamomile Sensitive Care eye cream. 

Also an amazing product for an amazing price (15 ml cream costs about 35 kunas/4.50 Euros). If you didn't try it, you really have to.

And for the rest of my face I am all into balms and face oils. Last year I bought Net a Porter's Holiday kit (but in early spring) where I received Earth tu Face face balm with immortelle and rose extract. It says that it both hydrates and repairs the skin and I agree. It is amazing... It has a very natural and mild scent of immortelle and has a very good list of ingredients.

 It doesnt contain any synthetic ingredients. Thicker in texture, almost like a salve but less greasy. I put it on a damp face, leave it for ten minutes and then follow with  a cream. You can use it on your whole face or on dry parts every day or when needed. I aplly it twice or three times a week, and other days I use Olival's face oils with immortelle.

I only have one body care Favourite - Oriflame Feminelle intimate cleansing gel with natural lactic acid and aloe vera. It has a natural pH and doesn't contain soap. Because of the nature of this product I will only say that I like it a lot!

And then there is make up, mostly eye make up.

Currently, brows are in and I follow that trend. My routine seems to be all about Anastasia Beverly Hills. My favourite brow product of the year 2015. was definitely their Brow Wiz in the shade Taupe. This is an incredible product which is so well thought of and made that you can't go wrong with it. Its formula prevents you to make harsh lines and the end result is great. The Wiz has two sides, one is the pencil part and the other side is a small brow comb, and they both perform perfect!

I paired it with Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow gel, also an impeccable product which will tame your brows all day without making them look or feel crispy. So, if you are interested in any of these, go for it!

When you are a member of the oily lids club as me, you learn to appreciate a good eyeshadow base. I tried a few (including Urban Decay Primer Potion) and my favourite is Too Faced Shadow Insurance. It makes a HUGE difference in both vibrancy and longevity of your shadows, and even this small tube will last you a long time.

And talking about eyeshadows and bases, we came to the next Favourite of mine - Chanel Illusion d'Ombre creamy eyeshadow in the shade Diapason. My love to Illusoire has been mentioned lots of times before (here) and it lead to trying other shades from the range. Diapason is a wonderful shade which is both lilac/lavender and maroon, with tiny shiny but sophisticated particles. I love these shadows but I must admit that they aren't the most durable ones on oily lids and that without a base they tend to crease on me. With TF Shadow Insurance that problem is solved and I can enjoy their beauty the whole day.

After a long period of being faithful to eye pencils, now I am more into liquid eyeliners. In my Selfridges Summer Beauty Box (link) I received EYEKO Fat Liquid Eyeliner (black). Although it looks intimidating, this bad boy turned out to be very sweet and will actually allow you to make quite thin lines, if used properly. I love it! It is highly pigmented, longlasting, doesn't smudge and because of that I feel confident to recommend it. If you think that liquid liners aren't appropriate for daytime, I disagree. If you go over it with any darker shadow, the line will be more softer and I think you will love it, too.

My last make up favourite is a result of shopping my stash. I haven't used it for a while which made me forget just how good it was. I am talking about Lancome La Rose Deco blush in the shade- 01Rosy Glow.  I don't think it's available anymore but after using it the whole month I just had to mention it. In the photos it looks a bit coral but in real life it has a difused rosy colour which looks very nice and natural on my face, almost just like a flush. During the day it fades a bit but leaves a very nice tint.

And slowly but surely we came to an end of this post... How do you like my picks? What were your January Favourites?

Tell me...

Love, beautyandbrains007


For Croatian version of this post click here