trap

First warm evening this summer. I feel trapped here. I should be drinking beer at the sea discussing nonsense. And what am I doing? Dashing about on my chain, grrrrowling at anybody within 1m radius, biting (my lips not to show my son how frustrated and furious I am) and restraining a tremendous howl "let me out! i want to be free". The summer will soon be over and I'll have spent it stuck with my life here.

Sisley phyto-lip star in Tourmaline (no.3) - swatches

Sisley phyto-lip star in Tourmaline

This is a lovely lip day gloss for the summer if you're into a lot of shimmer. The colour is a sort of pink coral, not sheer at all, but not as opaque as liquid lipsticks, definitely the colour is visible on the lips. Very shiny, sparkly, glossy, but if glitter is not your thing, don't get it, cause you can feel chunks of glitter on your lips ( I'm not a fan either, but it looks so sweet...). The texture is non-sticky, the lasting power decent for a gloss.  The applicator is a small brush, quite convenient for re-applications even without a mirror.


a swatch in daylight





on my lips

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Clinique 3 steps: liquid facial soap mild

Clinique 3 steps: liquid facial soap mild

I guess it's really hard to review a face wash. What can I say, hmmm, I like it cause it's mild, does its job properly without drying my skin. The skin looks fresh, breakouts occur really rarely, there are no allergic reactions or skin irritation. I also highly appreciate a bottle with a pump.

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Sari d'eau (44) - review + swatches

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Sari d'eau

This is one of my favourite lipsticks this summer. I meant it to be an experiment with orangey-coral colour and this one was a hit. I love it cause it's so bright and yet so wearable. Coco Rouge Shine lipsticks are on the shearer side than the regular Coco Rouge, less creamy, more watery and shiny, though the colour payoff is still pretty good. They are excellent for experiments with bold colours you're normally scared of wearing. 

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Sari d'eau



With the lack of real summer this year this shade cheers me up on dark, rainy days and makes me even more happy on the sunny ones. I'm not sure if I find this colour appropriate in the autumn, it seems so natural now, might look ridiculous in November rain. I might not actually have that problem, cause most probably I'll have used it up by that time. 



Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Sari d'eau



Just one last comment about the product. On Chanel website this colour is classified as one of their beiges, well, I see nothing close to beige in this lipstick. But then I ALWAYS have this problem with Chanel website

 

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

How we welcomed the summer

We managed to get away from it all this prolonged weekend. This year Corpus Christi coincided with Saint John's Eve. I don't mention that cause I'm religious in any sense, Corpus Christi simply gave us Thursday off. Saint John's, on the other hand, has deeply rooted pagan tradition and I love the fact that we still celebrate it with fire and water here in Pomerania. It seems to me I can't open my summer without going wild on that particular night.

To stimulate good, festive mood we got ourselves some beer, this time we chose non-pasteurised Amber, a cheap, yet good quality beverage produced locally. We needed a lot of warm up, cause the weather suited the coming of spring more than June. Yet the beauty of the surrounding and the being surrounded by a bunch of my closest friends was so heart and body warming that I even has a swim in cold water of the lake, which didn't seem that cold at that time. In fact I needed a splash of cold water to sober up a bit and proceed with the evening celebrations. I guess everyone was a bit tired, the rain forced us to stay inside and enjoy ourselves by the fireplace.

For the first time I enjoyed collective cooking. I normally treat my kitchen as my sanctuary where I like to be left alone, but this time I experienced a sense of togetherness when preparing common meals. We lived like a commune of 8 for a few days. Our culinary experience started with English breakfast (with some ingredients replaced with their Polish counterparts i.e. sausage and bacon). This made a very good start for another cold, rainy day.

Then we remembered that we're a nation of  natural goods pickers so we went to the meadow to get some sorrel for the fantastic sorrel soup. This season this soup is an absolute hit in my kitchen, but so far I've been using plantation-grown sorrel. Wild sorrel soup was equally good and matched our communion-with-nature summer mood.

It cleared towards the evening and we finally could set out on a nice walk along the fields. Bitten almost to death by hungry mosquitoes we struggled through the greenness into the unknown. Found some more goodies of the earth like blueberries and wild strawberries. Yummy! I felt so free of worries, almost as free as before.

The walk was highly inspiring. The vagabonds returned to their lair to pick their instruments and give the first live performance (jam session) of their newly formed psychedelic jazz/funk/blues/ rock/folk/indie band called Lame Lime. They even did a cover version of The Neverhood sountrack hit "Klaymen's Theme". What a night! What a performance! 

And then, like artists after a good gig, we had an afterparty, namely 70's/80's and early 90's disco.  

Next day we had to fetch our kids, we had to rescue the grandmothers half dead with exhaustion. What's more our friend came to visit us with her two so we had a nice little pack of screeching, running, deatroying the house, moaning, chattering brats. Uhm.... it wasn't so bad I suppose. We survived, they survived and that's what matters.

Last night was definitely fire-centred. We got involved in a fiery discussion in front of a fire which we made of some maple branches and an old sofa. And then moved towards the fireplace , where we baked the most delicious tortillas ( bought earlier from Lidl heh) which we filled with ratatouille of my own spontaneous recipe. 

Sadly, we had to go back the next day. I must say this was too short for me to rest. We returned with heaps of dirty laundry to the flat with an empty fridge and wished we could go back to the greenness, the larks singing, the mosquitoes biting, friends playing the guitar and zither. Well, nothing lasts for ever. Good thing is that summer is not over yet!

Shiseido Hydro-Powder eyeshadow in Glistening Sand (H9) review + swatch

Shiseido Hydro Powder in Glistening Sand (H9)


This is the second Shiseido cream eyeshadow I've bought (after Violet Visions). I use these shadows as bases for powder eyeshadows, which make the shadows stay longer and intensify the colour. In this respect Glistening Sand works best with neutrals, beiges in particular. I actually hoped it would make a nice, neutral base for all kinds of colours (like UDPP for example), but it does change the hue of the top coat, so you've got to be careful which shades you combine.
As far as the product itself is concerned it is a kind of shimmering beige with no visible glitter, it's rather pearly in finish. It applies wonderfully, the coat can be both very sheer and quite thick, it takes no effort to blend out. When used alone lasts for a decent amount of time, although it tends to fade in time. When used with powder shadows it lasts ages with no fading or creasing.
I've said it in my previous review (Violet Visions) and I'll say it again I would like to get more of these, but the colour range is poor. Most shades are nude neutrals with either pinkish or yellowish undertones and various amounts of glitter. So for me the wishlist is exhausted.

a swatch in daylight



a swatch in flashlight

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Liner in 6 and 7

Make Up For Ever Aqua Liner in 6 and 7 (purple and blue)



Make Up For Ever Aqua Liner in 6 and 7

PROS:

- lovely vibrant colours, very summery
- quite opaque, glossy and sparkling
- absolutely waterproof (when dry they resemble oil paint)
- stays on your lids until YOU decide to remove it
- fairly easy to draw a straight line
- much easier to remove than I thought ( it doesn't get dissolved, it just comes unstuck and flakes off)



CONS:

- I'm not a big fan of felt tip applicators. On the one hand it's easy to draw a line, on the other hand the line is often shearer in the middle part and thicker on the edges.
- it dries instantly, there's no time for any corrections, also no chance of removing any smudges, unwanted lines with a cotton bud



blue liner over eyeshadow

 

one more view ;)



Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Make Up For Ever: Sens'eyes

If I were to describe it in just one word it would be: perfect! The best waterproof make-up remover I've used. Pity this sample bottle is so small and the full size is so expensive. If I continue using waterproof mascara I think it would be wise to invest in Sens'eyes, though.

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

TiGi Curlesque: Curls Rock Amplifier

I got TiGi products after reading enthusiastic reviews of their stuff, unfortunately I was highly disappointed. All the Curlesque products were far below my expectations, the price was too high for such mediocre products, and the effects too poor. I'm not gonna review all of them, I'll just focus on the one that disappointed me most.
Curls Rock Amplifier is supposed to boost withered curls, add life to natural and permed curls or waves. It turned out to be a sticky gooey substance with this disgusting smell which instead of creating nice curls made my hair sticky and greasy-wet, no matter whether applied on wet or dry hair. The only positive thing I can say about the product is fairly nice packaging, the bottle distributes a very small amount of product, which is right in this case. If this was a good product I would also appreciate the fact that it would go a really long way, this is a large bottle and you need to use only a drop or two. My hair is really thin and delicate so it needs products which do not weigh it down. I suppose Curls Rock Amplifier could work for someone with Afro-like hair, dry with well-defined strong curls. For me it simply straightens and flattens my hair.

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Flip- flop fiasco

Buying nice sandals this summer turned to catastrophy. I got myself decent Bata denim flip-flops and they broke within a month of purchase (imagine my fury when I had to return home half barefoot from my stroll with a stroller). I returned them the same day, still waiting for my refund. Then I decided to go for something cheaper, and I got myself something for less than half price (compared to Bata) at Polish shoe retailer CCC, the decorative silver discs came off on the day of purchase. I'm returning these tomorrow and wondering what to do next. It's so much easier to find decent high heels, unfortunately I can't take my kids out wearng a pair of stilettos, can I? 

Products I regret buying

These are mostly products which are poor quality or they don't do what they promise to. But I'll start with a product which is good, but simply too messy and time consuming.

1) POWDER MINERAL FOUNDATIONS

Don't get me wrong. I love mineral make-up and mineral foundations especially in the summer and I use them a lot (I've had The Body Shop, MAC, ELF). What I find troublesome is the manner of application: tip, work it, swirl,  and again, tip, work it, swirl, . MAC is supposed to be applied with this weird sponge, so it even doesn't have a lid where you could deposit some of the product. It takes time and the coverage I get is always very discreet, I don't see much difference between a mineral foundation and a mineral setting powder. Both are very light and sheer. I prefer my mineral make-up in the form of pressed powder. Dior Nude for example works wonderfully and takes seconds to apply with a good kabuki brush.

2) SMASHBOX PHOTO FINISH TARGETED PORE AND LINE PRIMER

In my humble opinion this simply doesn't do anything except clogging my pores.

3) INGLOT CREAM CONCEALER in GREEN

The consistency is like melted chalk, this thing not only doesn't work, but also leaves white patches.

4)INGLOT LIP LINER 

I thought this would work for my lips as eyeshadow base for the lids, I couldn't have been more wrong. The lasting power of a lipstick stays the same, but the colour changes into most unexpected and weird hues. Not very flattering actually. What's more it broke in half after few months of not- using it.

5) ELF MINERAL CONCEALER

Again, a product which doesn't work at all. What's more, contrary to other ELF mineral products, it's not finely milled and it's hard to get the product out of the sifter. Good - it's not messy, bad - it's simply stuck inside the jar.

 

6) ELF DUO CREAM EYESHADOW

I no longer have this product, it landed in the bin straight after trying it out. This is a greasy cream of different pigmantation (from very sheer to rather opaque) with no staying power, which sinks into fine lines and disappears from the lid . Setting it with powder eyeshadow doesn't change anything. Awful stuff, stay away from it!

 

7) NARS BLUSH in SEX APPEAL



<>

heh, find a swatch game: believe or not this is the heaviest swatch I could get, it's about 10 layers of the product or more



I probably wouldn't list this product here if it hadn't been so expensive. But for the price I expected something better. This is one of the worst blushes that I've got. Pigmentation is non-existent, you need to layer it on and on and it looks like you've plenty of powder on your cheeks. What's more the blush is really chalky, therefore awfully messy. Makes a nice setting powder for MAC Cremeblend blushes, though.

8) DIOR "5" no. 104

 I'm really reluctant to say this, as a devoted fan of dior cosmetics, but this eyeshadow 'cinq' is very bad quality. I mean, the colours are gorgeous, that's why I bought them, but they are more chalky, hard to blend and messy (plenty of fallout) than many low market brands. Pity.


9) FRED FARRUGIA EYESHADOWS

These eyeshadows would be lovely if it hadn't been for the fallout, it's heaps of glitter under my eyes!

10) MAC SHADESTICK IN SHARKSKIN

I bought it because it was supposed to be like a cream eyeshadow, but it was a hard, thick eye pencil.

Aviators my love

Last year I fell in love with aviator glasses and the obsession continues. Here are my new acquisitions: plain silver ones by H&M and the fancy flowery ones by New Look. Aren't they cute? 

Farouk Olive Spritz

This is the weirdest hair spray I've ever used. It's supposed to be conditioning my hair, since it's olive based. However, I did not notice any particular conditioning effect. This leaves my hair sticky and stiff, but the hold it offers is rather good. The smell is herbal, can't evaluate it really, depends on your personal likes, it's not bad, not terribly pleasant either. The container is small and made of plastic, very convenient for travelling. In spite of this advantage this is a product I'm highly disappointed with and definitely not going to repurchase.



Disclaimer: I bought the products myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Nivea Sun: Invisible protection transparent spray

Wow, this is what I wanted! High protection sunscreen (SPF50) in a spray form, oily, yet non greasy, easy to apply and reapply, handy plastic bottle, convenient for travelling. What more could I ask for? Looks like I'm going to spend my holidays with Nivea!

Nivea Sun Kids: pure and sensitive lotion SPF 50+

This is a great lotion for my kids! It's a thin liquid, which is easy to apply and smear ( doesn't irritate my children like some thicker substances) and so far hasn't caused any allergic reactions, even on the sensitive face of my allergy prone son Adam (aged just over 1 year). And of course the sunscreen factor is impressive - SPF 50 +. Although none of us sunbathes I feel we're well protected against the harmful rays of the sun.

Chanel Ombre Essentielle no. 50 Jungle (review + swatches)

Chanel Ombre Essentielle no. 50 Jungle

Chanel Ombre Essentielle no. 50 Jungle (flashlight)

a swatch (daylight)

a swatch (flashlight)

Gorgeous eyeshadow, lovely colour. It's deep, dark green with a bit of shimmer, which looks almost matt on the eyelids. This is the second Chanel single eyeshadow I've got and it's much sheerer than Magic Night. It seems that all of them have different finishes and pigmentation. Nonetheless this is a good quality eyeshadow, very creamy, blendable, with no fallout. I like to pair it with Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes eyeliner no. 20L, which is a kind of peacocky tone, which could match both greens and blues. I really see no cons of this shadow, but if I were to buy a green eyeshadow again, I would choose Estee Lauder single(don't remember the name), which somehow escaped my attention.

EDIT: I've noticed a weird thing, the colour payoff differs substantially depending on a brush you use. It seems highly pigmented when applied with a round contour brush. When applied with a flat eyeshadow brush ( and these brushes are my favourite for applying most of my shadows) the colour is so poor, it's almost non-existent. So if you're having trouble with this shadow, try a number of different brushes to see which one gives the results you expect.
Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Chanel Ombre d'eau no. 70 rivage (review + swatches)

Chanel Ombre d'eau no. 70 rivage

Chanel Ombre d'eau no. 70 rivage

blended out and heavy swatch (daylight)

blended out and heavy swatch ( flashlight)

Well, another product which proves my obsession with liquid/cream eyeshadows. Chanel Ombre d'eau is the first liquid eyeshadow I've bought, and so far the only one I've got, which does not mean I don't like it.
To the point: this eyeshadow is a very nice holiday option. It's water based (you need to give it a really good shake before you use it), it's really light and leaves a cooling sensation on the lids (but does not produce any allergic reactions in my case). The colour is pure shimmery silver, which can be applied heavily, giving a thick layer of silver or blended out, leaving sheer silver glow. I prefer the latter. What I like about the shadow most is how lovely it works as a base for powder eyeshadows. Combined with silvers and grays it makes the colour stronger and more vibrant. Adds discreet shimmer to matt eyeshadows. Together with blues it makes beautiful, less obvious combinations. No matter what you pair it with, Chanel ombre d'eau prolongs the performance of powder eyeshadows, makes them stay for ever without creasing or fading.  I absolutely love it!  

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.