Thursday, September 27, 2012

Violets, Purples, Lilac...

Hey there! Today I'll show you all of my purpl-ish, violet-ish eyeshadows :)

Here's a group photo of them :)

Here's a list of products:
- Terra Naturi cream shadow 02 Pearly Lilac
- Essence Wild Craft TE, 03 Mystic Lilac
- Alverde, mono eyeshadow 10 Dark Aubergine
-  Avon Precision glimmer in Plum
- Manhattan, multi effect mono eyeshadow ( the number is erased from the back, so I don't know which one is it)
- Catrice Absolute Eye Colour, 570 Play Up The Jam
- Lily Lolo, Mineral eye colour, Deep purple
On this one from top to bottom you can see swatches of Manhattan eyeshadow, Avon eyeshadow and last one is the creamy one by Terra Naturi. Out of these three I like mostly the Avon one. The Manhattan one is simply too bright, too vibrant for my taste, actually I really never used it in my make up, so probably this one I'll give away to someone who will find more use for it. The second one, Plum, is a nice shade, also very light. I find it hard to layer it more. It comes with such a sponge thingy at the end, so I always must apply it first, otherwise I will smudge other colours on to that. Useful more as a daily look or just to add that bit of colour, otherwise I don't use it much. The last one  is by Terra Naturi. It's nice shade, suitable for work or for a more classy silvery- lavander look, but the texture of the cream is terrible. It dries and goes into crease like in about an hour... it is impossible to layer it more.. really too bad it never looks so nice as when I test it on my hands. I tried with or without base, there's no difference. It never stays put and I can always feel it making my eyelids sticky.


These four are all awesome in their own way :) From top to bottom LilyLolo Deep purple, Play Up The Jam, Alverde Dark Aubergine and Essence Mystic Lilac. The first shade is really nice, again abit more electric and vibrant, so I prefer to mix it in with the rest of the colours. The second use is a really nice warm shade, has a nice shimmer to it and is also very good for daily make up. Alverde is a really gentle colour, I was hoping for a bit more of a colour pay off, the same goes for the Catrice one. Really light shades, and very hard to layer them more... Last one is simply amazing, a total win and I'm really happy I got it. A very dark shade, not here on the photo but in reality it's pretty strong and dark, very pigmented. A colour I would defenitely choose for going out. :)

Here are also two of my purplish - violetish kajal penicls. The first one is by Revlon, named Aubergine. It's a nice colour, warm toned, but I don't like how it is when applied. Not enough colour payoff, it sinks into nothing too soon, on the eyes it really looks like I have nothing on, not longlasting at all.. I kept it just because it looks so nice and because I'm trying to combine the colour with the rest of the make up. I really don't want to give it away.

The second one is by Alverde, Dark Violet, very strong colour, quite longlasting too. Here the performance of the product is great, but I don't like the colour half as much as the Revlon one. Really too bad, the product is really nie otherwise, but to me it has too much of bluish shades to it. here on the photo i is not as visible as with my bare eyes, probably also because of the light.

P.S. All the swatches are without any base, just on the bare skin :) Haven't found my perfect eye base yet, so I don't even won't to make shots with the one I have.

Hope this was useful to you :)
Thanks for reading!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Preview - Catrice - Big City Life LE

Catrice strikes again with a new limited edition collection Big City Life. This one will come out in October and November. It consist of three eyeshadow pallets and corresponding nail polishes. All three are a combination of eyeshadows and blushes, they have a little applicator in it and also a small kajal pencil.


Paris



Paris collection is in shades of pink and grey, some nude tones.


San Francisco



San Francisco has one colour that really stands out, a teal blue one, the rest are more neutral .

Shanghai
Shanghai consist of gold shade, some light browns and a bit darker browns.

Here are the corresponding nail polishes:

Catrice launched a similar collection last year, but with different cities and different shades. I was too late to get any of the pallets, so I hope this year I manage to at least try them out in store.


Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Revlon Lip Butter - review and swatches


Hey there!  Finally I got to try out the famous Lip Butters by Revlon :) I got them both as a gift,yaaay!!! They are still not available in Slovenia. The lighter shade is number 025  Peach Parfait and the more red one is  070 Cherry Tart.


This product is unique in a way since it is not a classic lipstick and was never meant to look or feel like some heavy, longlasting, strong lipstick.

The name already indicates it's a lip butter, and I can say it's really nice to wear this two :) The texture is really smooth, creamy, but light, I would dare to say on my lips it's quite hydrating in comparison with other Revlon lipsticks that I have. It has a bit of sugary smell, but it's very light, so I don't think it would bother even those that need all products fragrance free.

The texture is not very long lasting, after eating you definitely need to reapply it. On me it did not move for about three hours, that's also my specialty to eat all my lipstick off, so I also did not expect it to last any longer.
The colour payoff is not very strong - again this is  not as other Revlon lipsticks, it will never be like the Matte collection. Some may not like that, but to me it's perfect. I see this Colorburst Lip Butter collection as a very wearable daily lipstick collection, for any skin type or shape of lips, the variation of colours is also pretty good.


Swatch:
And how it looks on my lips:

Peach Parfait

Cherry Tart
Peach Parfait is very light, daily shade, it also has some shimmer in it, but it is not very visible so it makes a nice shine. Cherry Tart is a nice red, very light one and very suitable for daily make up. Usually most of us don't wear red lipstick for everyday, for work and school, but this one is perfect. :) I think Peach Parfait is light enough to suit any skin tone, but Cherry Tart seems more suitable for warm tones.

What's your favourite Lip Butter? Have you tried it yet?

I hope this was useful to you and thanks for reading! :)

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Essence - Hand Protection Balm - Hot Winter Drinks LE




Autumn is really starting to kick in, days are growing colder and darker and here's Essence new limited edition of hand balms :)


Essence team says:
"Do you prefer hot chocolate, chai latte or punch? With the new essence trend edition “24h hand protection balm – Hot Winter Drinks”, the cold winter months are sure to turn into a real pampering experience in October until December 2012. Softly fragranced combinations of aromatic hot drinks and wintertime delicacies such as caramel, gingerbread and cinnamon create the flair of cozy coffee shop visits with your best friend – you’ll soon forget the cold, wet weather outside!"

International Launch Date – from October until November 2012 in Spain, Italy, Australia, Ireland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania essence, Latvia, Ukraine, Bosnia, Egypt, Qatar, Tunisia, Kuwait, Uruguay

24 h Hand Protection Balm Caramel Hot Chocolate - Limited Edition 
Chocoholics take note – here comes a special highlight: enriched with a touch of caramel, this subtle hot chocolate version is a real treat for your senses! But its pampering effect doesn’t fall short, either. The tried and tested 24 hour repair formula with Shea butter and coconut oil gives dry, chapped hands lots of moisture to keep them soft and ideally protected no matter how cold it is outside.




24 h Hand Protective Balm Gingerbread Chai Latte – Limited Edition 
Simply irresistible! The aromatic, exotic scent of chai latte combined with Christmassy gingerbread perfectly rounds off this pampering experience for your hands and is sure to get you in the mood for wintertime! Rich Shea butter and valuable coconut oil ingredients provide stressed, dry winter skin with plenty of moisture for a perfectly protected feeling that lasts for 24 hours.

24 h Hand Protective Balm Apple Cinnamon Punch – Limited Edition
The scent of the spicy, fruity punch version with apple and cinnamon creates a real Christmas Market atmosphere. Guaranteed to be alcohol-free, this 24 hour hand protection balm pampers your senses and is this winter season’s ultimate must-have care product. Valuable ingredients such as coconut oil and Shea butter give your hands the care they need and provide plenty of moisture while the tried and tested 24 hour formula ensures continuous protection. With essence, rough, chapped hands are a thing of the past.

Last year they also launched  a trend edition consisting of three cream hand balms, that were also very popular and favourites. They all had a nice sweet smell of chocolate, apple pie and strawberries. I hope these ones will be also that good :)

Thanks for reading :)

Thursday, September 13, 2012

DIY Photo story - Gift Box for Jewelry :)




Today's post will show you how to make a gift box at home :) I will use these for jewelry, but can be also used for anything that fits in :) You can make one just for yourself, so it looks pretty on your desk or shelf :)

 You will need: a cardboard box in any size you wish, some water based glue for paper napkins technique, I used Hobby line Art Potch Servietten Technik, scissors, a brush, Acryl colour - HobbyArt by Rayher, a sponge and of yourse paper napkins. I used the ones that are sold in hobbyart shops, I don't know if the ones we use at the table would do, never tried it.
First step: You cut out of the napkin the shape and size you need. The napkin is usually made of three layers, so you need to peel awa the last one, the white one here on th photo, one white one and one printed must stay together.

On my midget sized nails - Essence English Rose :)

Second step: Cut out the motive you need, or just adapt the shape to the box.

Third step: Take the cardboard box, or just their cover, depends what you want to decorate and use waterbased glue all over the napkin. Be careful you place it nicely, because later you can not adjust it anymore. Once it gets wet from the glue you can not move it anymore, plus it is very likely that if you try, it will rip apart . While applying  the glue you must also take care it doesn't cluster together, you need to hold the napkin steady on one place, so the motive doesn't get too crushed. It will always be a bit, but still you need to make the motive nicely visible.

This is how it looks when it's glued on, but still wet. Careful how you hold it, you don't want it to stick to your fingers, and when you will try to get your fingers away from it you could by accident damage it.

On the sides I cut the napkin too short, so I had to repair it, and on some part doubled the layer of napkin and glue :)



Forth step: The lower part of the box can be decorated the same way with a napkin, or it can be coloured as you like. I decided to leave the happening and shapes on the top, and wanted to make a simple bottom. I used the sponge to help me, because it was easier to make the box look nicer. Usual brush sometimes leaves visible traces of where and how you applied the colour and that doesn't look that good, unless you want that effect. I had to apply the colour several times on the sponge, to get the whole box nicely and evenly covered with acryl colour. I chose acryl instead of anything else there is, because it is simple and it protects the box, it gives a nice shine ( you can also buy matte acryl colours), it's easy to use, it's not too expensive plus it lasts long. :) One thing you might not like is that sponge absorbs a lot of colour, so a lot of it goes to waste. I did not use any water, I just made the sponge a bit damp, but that was all.

 Don't forget to colour the inside edge of the box on the lower part, on the upper you can if you wish, but I left it covered with napkin. :)


 Both upper and lower part should be left on some old paper or old cloth you don't need to dry up. I can't remember how long it took to dry, but it was really fast, I guess in about half an hour both pieces were dry.

And this is the finished look :) You could also make the inside more interesting, add a colour, paper or any kind of textiles you want. :) I left the inside as it was. I think if you want to fill in with textile you should do that first and than decorate outside, just in case, so you can repair little smudges and glue and all that goes dirty with a decoration or colour. :)


Do you like this project? I had a lot of fun with it and it ended up looking pretty at first try :) I hope this was useful to you, I also made some more and those are updated on my Facebook page UniqaPoly :)

Thanks for reading :)

Unique Jewelry GIVEAWAY!

Hi there everyone!

This short post is meant to invate you to check out my Facebook page, UniqaPoly, where you can participate in a JEWELRY GIVEAWAY!







If you want to participate, you need to do the following things:
1. You need to like the page
2. You need to share page on your facebook wall
Simple and easy, not demanding at all, and you will be done in less than 30 seconds :)





Award: One of you, who will like page and also share it further, will choose his own award. Everything on the site is on the menu, you can choose any necklace you like, or any bracelet, any ring or earrings. The product you will really like will be yours for free :)




Here's a link to my page, otherwise you can also find the app on the top, right corner of my blog :)

http://www.facebook.com/UniqaPoly

Draw will be made and announced on Monday evening,  17. 09. 2012. I will post results here in a comment and also on FB :)

Hope you will decide to participate and good luck! :)

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

NEW- BALEA Limited Edition Showergels



 
Balea released two new shower gels for autumn - winter time :) One is a combination of cherry scents and almond scent and the other one is for real chocoholics like me - a combination of chocolate and fig scents. I already saw some comments about these two. The first one is said to smell very sweet, with cherry scent dominating. The other one doesn't smell so sweet, even thou the name would suggest it. 

Balea team says:
"The wonderfully sensuous fragrance [...] engages your senses and makes showering a real pleasure. Pamper yourself with pleasure with this sweet sin. The moisturizing formula keeps the moisture balance of your skin and protects it from drying"
A good news is also that both these are VEGAN! And you get 300 ml for about 0,85 euro :)










I hope this will arrive to Slovenia soon, I will definitely try both if they smell as I hope they do. I love cherries, they are one of my favourite fruits, almonds always smell gorgeous and I'm a total chocoholic, so these two products are perfect for me. I just hope they really do smell nicely. Previous limited edition was kiwi, raspberry and melon and all had a bit too sugary, plastic smell for me. I liked raspberry one, but I already had so many shower gels at home that I had to finish first.

I would comment the ingredients if I was good at it, but since I'm no expert I leave that to you, to decide whether this product will work for you or not. :)

P.S.: These two shower gels will also have their companions in a form of body lotion, also limited edition :)

Thanks for reading! :)

Monday, September 10, 2012

Sleek - i-Divine Au Naturel palette- review and swatches

Today's post is about one of the most famous eye shadow palettes - Sleek i-Divine Au Naturel. It consist of mineral baked eyeshadows in twelve different natural colours.





INGREDIENTS: Mica, Talc, Paraffinum liquidum, Magnesium Stearate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Dimethicone, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Pigment may contain (+/-): titanium dioxide (CI 77891), yellow iron oxide (CI 77492), red iron oxide (CI 77491), manganese violet (CI 77742).

The palette looks like a compact thin black box, it's easy to open but I don't think it would open during any kind of transport. Inside you have a big mirror and a double sided sponge applicator, which I have not used and I probably won't.

It is really nicely  pigmented it doesn't smell of anything, the amount of each shade is rather small, 12x 1.1g. 


And now the swatches: The first five shades are really bright so they are also barely visible on my hand. These swatches are made without any kind of base, I put them straight on my arm.

From bottom up: Nougat, Nubuck, Cappuccino, Honeycomb

From bottom up: Toast, Taupe, Conker Moss

From bottom up: Bark, Mineral Earth, Regal, Noir

One first photo you can see how first four shades are really gentle and are very good for brightening your eyes, also can be used as a highlighter.
Second photo I started with Toast, a warm, orangy shade - very useful in summer and fall make-up looks :) 
I love all the shimmery shades Taupe, Conker, Moss, Mineral Earth are all very lovely. A surprise was Regal. It looked like another brown until I applied it on my hand and saw it's actually purple. Also love the last shade, Noir. It is really intense exactly what I was looking for in a black eyeshadow.

All in all this eyeshadow palette has proved again that she truly is a must have! As for my personal taste, she combines all the shades I would normally use, I love they added at least one green shade and one purple one. I also love that with these shimmery shades I can make a really quick and gorgeous look ;)

Hope this was useful to you and thanks for reading! :)