got 2 b straight on 4 days heat activated straightening spray review

This is the last time I've bought anything from Schwarzkopf got2b line. Our relationship is definitely over. There are millions of other amazing products out there, so what's the point of exploring the line further?

I do admit that two main reasons why I got this particular product was the packaking and the fact that I was on a budget, hoping to find a drugstore product that would protect my hair during heat styling and keep it straight during the day. It turns out that this product is a failure in both respects.

There's no denying that the electric purple bottle with orange dispenser looks really cute and looks fun on the bathroom shelf. Unfortunately, the dispenser produces such huge drops as if it was a shower. No matter how many times I spray, my hair turns instantly soaking wet, which is a disaster when I use a round brush, cause the drying process of such wet hair takes ages, the situation is even worse when I use this thing to protect my hair from the effects of using a flat iron.You're not supposed to iron wet hair, are you?

All right, the dispenser's crappy. But does this straightening spray work?

No.

It says on the packaging that this heat-activated product will keep your hair straight and smooth for four days (or till the next wash). It does not protect my hair from humidity of any kind. A drizzle or sweating at night turns my hair back to its curly nature and the spray does nothing to prevent that. 

What's more this stuff makes my freshly ironed hair look flat and sort of greasy directly after washing (my hair is dry, mind you), but that's clearly the result of lack of control over how much of the product is sprayed on my hair.

The product doesn't last for a long time. Spraying too much of the product at one go leads to its quick consumption. I managed to use up about half of the bottle in two weeks' time and I wash my hair every 2-3 days.

What I really liked is the fruity-floral smell of the product, which is strong and pleasant but disappears quickly and does not interfere with my perfume.

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.

Jo Malone London Peony & Blush Suede cologne review

Today I'd like to review a new member of my perfume collection, Peony & Blush Suede by Jo Malone. 

The brand is totally unheard of in Poland, but after hearing British bloggers and youtubbers rave about every single product by Jo Malone, I felt I needed to give it a go. I picked their newest release and I exploited my poor friend Ania again and induced her to bring his lovely bottle from London for me.

The cologne arrived in a lovely bag, lined with scented peony-print paper, with paper peony attached to the bag with a suede ribbon. The bottle itself rested in a classy box, which reminded me of the kind of boxes that luxury pens are packed in. I also loved the simplicity of the bottle, nothing fancy, just a clear glass bottle and a label with the name of the brand and scent.

The packaging is great. But what about the fragrance itself?

Well, my feelings towards Peony & Blush Suede are of love and hate nature.

First of all I must disagree with many reviewers who claimed that this cologne smells like peony in a bottle. I think they never actually smelled peonies. I grew up surrounded by the most gorgeous pink and burgundy coloured peonies from my grandma's garden. Only the pink ones have the beautiful smell and Jo Malone Peony & Blush Suede is nothing like them. The first notes, however, reminded me of another fake peony product, Sephora Body Lotion and Scrub.

Secondly, the fragrance doesn't seem to last long on my skin. I should have predicted this, knowing that colognes contain less perfume extract that EDTs and even less than EDPs. However, since every single reviewer mentioned its amazing performance, I was lead to believe it's one of these scents that fill the room you're in and linger on long time after you've left. This is definitely not the kind of fragrance that everyone within 5m radius can smell.

Now comes a surprise. I love this fragrance 'the day after'. I said it doesn't last on my skin at all, but it lasts for ever on my clothes. The perfume even survives washing! I don't know how this is possible, but it does! What's more, once the strong, artificial flowery scent evaporates, it gives way to a more powdery notes, which together with the remains of the floral scent make a really nice combination.

This is not a strong perfume, you need to stand rather close to the person wearing it to smell it. I generally prefer everyone to know that I'm wearing some nice fragrance, but there are some formal situations when you don't want to make others suffocate and that's when my Jo Malone comes in.

All in all, I'm in two minds about this scent. Picking perfume basing on reviews does not always have a happy end. I think my greatest disappointment is connected with the fact that I expected something different. 

This is by no means a bad choice. Peony & Blush Suede is a nice floral go to scent and I'm sure I'll use it up with pleasure. I also don't think that my relationship with Jo Malone is over. I'll just pick something other. 

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.

Schwarzkopf got 2 b chaotic modelling fibre gum review

I've had this Schwarzkopf got2b chaotic modelling fibre gum for quite a while now and my attitude to the product has changed together with my hair style.

When I wore my hair curly it tended to be and look much more dry than it does now. So I used this fibre gum to add texture to my hair, accentuate single strands and revive my curls 'the day after'. And it worked all right. I mean, it was never my Holy Grail or anything, but it seem to do its job while leaving my hair soft and moisturised, not crispy like many products do. However, although my hair was so dry that I could go on without washing it for weeks (I never did, though), when I used the got2b gum I knew I needed to wash it off at the end of the day cause after combing or brushing my hair the following morning it made my hair look as if I'd used brilliantine on it. 

Here we come to the point. I think you have already guessed what I'm going to say. These days I wear my hair straight, and straight hair has natural tendency to look flat, less full and bouncy than curly one, and consequently it seems more greasy. That's why you need to be extra careful choosing your hair styling products. Got2b fibre gum weighs my hair down and turns it into a kind of pathetic oil slick within seconds. And my hair isn't naturally oily at all. What's more it does nothing to texturise my hair nicely. It says 'chaotic' on the packaging. Nothing more misleading. This product doesn't set, does not help to create any out-of-bed styles. Even with my hubby's short hair it didn't do anything really. I believe the consistency is too soft to make hair perform as directed.

The only positive things about the product are the tin packaging, which exactly appeals to my taste, the pleasant smell, fresh but not too masculine, which can be used by people of both sexes and the amount of the product you get, considering that you need only a little bit of the product, using this little jar up can take well over a year. 

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.

Origins GinZing refreshing eye cream review

This post could be entitled Youtube or Blogger made me buy it. There's so much hype about GinZing eye cream by Origins that I felt I had to try it out without reading anything about it. If I had, I would have known this cream wasn't meant for me.

It says on the packaging that this wake-up cream visibly diminishes dark circles, bags and puffiness around the eyes, making you look more fresh and alive.

Well, neither of these concerns is my particular vice. All right, perhaps some bags when I'm tired. My main problem is dry undereye which wrinkles prematurely due to the dryness (and unhealthy lifestyle, which I stubbornly refuse to change, as well). Origing GinZing does nothing to alleviate this issue. It's very lightweight and it applies very smoothly and my eye area seems pretty well-moisturised at first. But once the cream is absorbed, my undereye feels dry and looks wrinkled.

What's more, it doesn't say anywhere on the box that this cream brightens and possibly diminishes dark circles by making the eye area glow due to the content of particles which look like mother-of-pearl or a liquid highlighter. It might work well for girls in their early twenties, (not sure of that, though) but for anybody older highlighting your eye area is not the best idea. This irridescent effect might be toned down if you use a matte concealer, but still I think there's too much glow.

The picture below shows a surprisingly long list of ingredients, which contains a large number of natural ones, which is of course very good. The scent of the product seems natural, yet not unpleasant.

I believe when buying this cream I made an uninformed purchase. I got a product which matched neither my age bracket nor my skin's needs. I'm not discouraged from expoloring the brand further, I just need to be more careful when picking products to buy.

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.

project empties #4

Here comes another empties post. I seem to have used up a lot of stuff recently, mostly skin and hair care.

1. The Body Shop Nutriganics Softening Cleansing Oil would be a nice alternative to cleansing oils if turning this cream to oil didn't involve some serious rubbing on my face. I'm not sure whether this does more good or bad as far as wrinkle prevention is concerned.

2. L'Oreal Ideal Soft Micellar Solution is an almost perfect replacement for Bioderma. It's cheap, effective and gentle. I'm going through the second bottle of this now. The only reservation I have about this product is that the opening is way too big and too much product flows out onto a cotton pad and as a result the product gets used up quicker than my Bioderma does.

3. Biore UV Aqua SPF50 is my favourite sunscreen, will definitely repurchase when summer is near. It's lightweight, non-greasy, non-white and smells lovely.

4. Wella SP Polished Waves cream is a very nice hair cream to revive wilted waves the day after.

5. Syoss Shine&Hold hairspray didn't satisfy me in any respect. I didn't notice any shine or hold. I didn't also like the smell. My very last purchase from Syoss as I didn't like anything from the brand so I don't feel like experimenting much further.

6. Marc Anthony Strictly Curls Anti Frizz Balm seemed too heavy for my ultra fine hair. I liked the smell, though.

7. I know I've written a bad review of a Batiste dry shampoo, but that was when I wore my hair curly. Now that I straighten it with hot tools it seems to lack volume the day after, and here's where my dry shampoos come in. Batiste is cheap, effective and available round the corner. What else do I need?

8. Flower by Kenzo is one of my all-time favourites. I don't remember how many times I have repurchased this gorgeous little bottle. Never figured out, though, what this poppy has to do with the fragrance. Everyone who's ever smelled a poppy knows that its scent is neither intense nor beautiful and has absolutely nothing to do with Kenzo Flower. 

9. Vitaquell organic coconut oil was my experiment with natural skincare. Put this thing to countless uses, but wasn't satisfied. Not gonna repurchase.

10. Pharmaceris Neoscope eye cream is an eye cream by a Polish pharmacy brand. Relatively inexpensive and quite effective at moisturising my dry eye area.

11. Urban Decay All Nighter Make-up Setting Spray.

12. YSL Vernis a Levres is my absolute favourite as far as lip products are concerned. Wore it all the time last summer so no wonder I scraped the last remains off the sides a couple of days ago .

Urban Decay Shattered Face Case review & swatches

I'm an eyeshadow palette hoarder and an Urban Decay fanatic, so how could I resist getting some of their new limited edition offerings? From their Holiday 2013 collection I picked two items: their Vice 2 (to be reviewed later) and Shattered Face palettes.

I was instantly drawn to the Shattered Face palette not only because the shade selection seemed just perfect to me, but also I liked the fact that this palette is a kind of variety box, which makes it possible to create an entire face-eye-lip look and gives the opportunity to try out a number of other UD products apart from their eyeshadows.

I quite liked the packaging, which represents a shattered mirror, I'm not sure what UD meant by that. Are UD customers so ugly that mirrors shatter?

Everything is conveniently packed within one little palette, the lip pencil can be reached for both from the upper and the bottom drawer. Both compartments contain a convenient, large, full-sized mirror. 

Unfortunately, opening the bottom compartment makes an impossible task. No matter how hard you try, this thing is locked so tight it will not budge. I figured out that to open this you need to open the upper part first, then grab the eyeshadow compartment from the side where the lip pencil is supposed to be and pull towards you. That should release the click mechanism and the bottom compartment will open without making you break your nails.

As far as quality of the eyeshadows is concerned, each single one is a winner in terms of pigmentation, smoothness, buttery texture, application, blendability and colour pay-off and staying power. However, like ALL Urban Decay eyeshadows, they produce tons of fall out, so always remember to do your eyes first, otherwise you'll spoil your make-up. 

The quality of the blushes is amazing, they blend really well and last all day long. I'm not a highlighter kind of person, but I've tried the one here and I like it a lot. 

As far as the Super-Saturated High-Gloss Lip Color is concerned, the shade is not my favourite, but the pencil offers highly pigmented lip colour and glossy shine. It's quite similar to those Chubby Sticks dupes every brand had in their offer right now, just in a pencil form. Wears decently long and feels lightweight and moisturising on my lips.

And the final component, the 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Zero is the one that is almost always attached to UD palettes and I've got quite a collection of. It's a high quality, soft and smooth medium black pencil that will not budge no matter what.

The eyeshadows are all new and unavailable elsewhere:

Shakedown is an interesting shade. It looks like a shimmery charcoal gray in the pan, but when swatched it reveals strong taupe undertones. At first glance it seemed to be a dupe of UD Mushroom, but when swatched side by side, Shakedown looked more browny, though both are definitely from the same shade family. Shimmer.

Remix is such a gorgeous autumnal purple. It has some taupe undertones as well and doesn't look red or bruised on the lids. It makes a perfect crease colour, which matches all the other shades from the palette exceptionally well. Shimmer.

Nameless is sort of similar to Shakedown, but it's lighter and even warmer and browner, but still within the cool-toned colour range. It makes a perfect all-over-the -lid colour. Shimmer.

Minor Sin is a gorgeous base or highlight colour. It's hard to describe the shade, I'd say it's a pinky champagne colour. And the finish is somewhere inbetween low shimmer and satin. Incredibly smooth and really, really pretty.

Bleach, unlike the name suggests, is not a stark white shade. It's a light, yellow-beige highlight colour with a matte finish. Incredibly smooth and non-chalky. Kinky is similar, but slightly less yellow, Habit is slightly darker, Foxy is slightly yellower and Anonymous is a bit pinker. All of these shades, however, are veryclose dupes, so if you ever consider getting any of these separately, there's absolutely no need to invest in more than one.

I've never used an UD blush before, so I was very excited to try these:

Overexposed is a gorgeous autumn colour. It's a muted rose peach shade, which I like to use on my cheekbones to give my face some shape and contour. It's not madly pigmented, so it's very easy to use. You may apply it lighthandedly for a sheer was of colour or build it up without the blush looking obvious or chalky.

Temper is a muted baby pink, again very wearable, but I'm so in love with overexposed that I'm putting using Temper off will winter. 

Glint is a champagne highlighter. I'm not a specialist in the area, I don't have many highlighters to compare this one with, but it seems to me that it applies very smoothly and looks so pretty. It's not chalky it glittery, it just gives this beautiful kind of sheen. 

The lip colour in Lovechild is a pastel shade of rosy coral. It's pigmented and feels like a lip balm on my lips. A nice and very wearable colour, I'm just not a fan of nudes and pinky shades. But I'm sure I'll make a good use of is, treating it as my go to colour.

And of course, the eyeliner in Zero is something that has been on the market for years, everyone's heard of it and most of my readers already own it. It's a great black eyeliner to create a pretty natural, not insanely dramatic kind of look.

To sum up, I must say that this is one of the most successful eyeshadow palettes in my posession. Not only is it packed with a variety of goodies, but also all shadows match one another and you can use them safely together without worrying if they will match or clash. This palette contains all you need for a well-coordinated look. There are eyeshadows to use as highlighters or in inner corners, base colours and  darker crease shades. The black eyeliner is not too dramatic and goes with the eyeshadows well. The two muted blushes are an extremely good  match for the eye looks and the lip colour is so neutral that it can be worn by everyone, everywhere and with everything.

This palette is all I need these days, I keep playing with it all the time. I think it'll also make my travel companion in the future. 

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.

Benefit Rockateur blush review

Benefit makes some of the best blushes in the world. They are beautifully packaged, smell lovely and above all are easy to apply, blend and wear.

No wonder that the new release by the brand caught my attention. 

When I went to see it in Sephora I was initially put off by the amount of shimmer I saw in the box. Swatched with a finger the blush seemed very sheer and resembled a highlight. So I let it go.

Then I read that that this gold sheen is just an overspray, which disappears to reveal a more pigmented and less shimmery blush, so I took advantage of 20% off  offer at Sephora and grabbed it! 

Rockateur quickly won my heart and turned out to be one of the two most often reached for blushes this autumn.

The shade of the blush is just perfect for the season. It's a kind of peach colour, but very calm and muted, almost on the verge of being a bronzer or a contour shade. Yes, this blush is shimmery, but does not make my cheeks look like metal plates. This blush is not madly pigmented, but it's not invisible on a pale complexion like mine. It gives me the control I want over the application.

I like to apply this blush on my cheekbones rather than on the apples of my cheeks as it both livens up my compexion and shapes and contours my face.

The beautiful packaging undeniably decides about the level of my satisfaction with the product. Fortunately Benefit is consistent with their blush packaging, making these cute little cardbord boxes their signature product. This time the box catches the eye with its pretty lace print. The blush comes with a brush, which with each new release gets more and more useful, and I found myself reaching for this brush surprisingly often.

Inside the blush looks like a glowing mosaic with the word 'rock' embossed in the middle.  

Like all Benefit blushes, Rockateur has a nice and distinct fragrance.  

There isn't much more to say. Thumbs up, Benefit!

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 Le Jour, La Nuit and Le Weekend creams review

I have recently had the opportunity to try out a set of samples of the new Chanel cream range. These creams present a slightly different approach to skincare, instead of dividing products according to skin type chanel decided to offer creams for day, night and weekend use.

Le Jour is the last one of the set I've tried out and I feel I liked it most out of the three. I liked the fact that this cream didn't feel greasy on my oily skin. I liked that it wore well under make-up. I liked how surprisingly lightweight it felt when applied, considering its thickish consistency. However, when you think of the brand, the design of the product, the price tag, you'd expect it to promise you something but it offers nothing but diminishing the appearance of pores, which any foundation primer will do for you. I wonder which age group this product is for. If it's for women in their early twenties, then the product is horribly overpriced for skin that has no special needs (apart from allergies, acne etc.). I really liked the sample, but apart from the immediate results like smoothing my skin and filling in pores and small wrinkles I expect some anti-wrinklke, lifting or smoothing properties.

La Nuit is pretty thick in consistency but it melted into my skin nicely and absorbed so quickly that a person with oily skin could consider using such cream under make-up. What I'm saying is that while I found it moisturising, for somebody with dry skin this could be a bit drying, especially that this is a night cream. The sample was too small to notice any long-term results, but I was surprised not to notice any immediate softnes or smoothness in the morning. A sample should encourage the buyer to get the product full-size and this one left me unconvinced. The thing I liked most about it was its Chanelesque fragrance, quite subtle, somewhat chypre, perfume-like.

Le weekend is balm-like, but not too thick. I found it extremely moisturising without being greasy. It absorbed surprisingly quickly and left a kind of film on my skin. It has very pleasant scent, not too strong but nice and distinct.
I tested this cream on my sore red nose after an infection and I noticed immediate improvement. The parched skin disappeared and the relief was evident. I can picture women with dry skin falling in love with this cream.

My interest in skincare is rising, and I would consider getting a full-sized version of the cream if I led a typical life of an employee of a corporation and could afford pampering sessions on Saturday or Sunday mornings. With my current lifestyle I see no place for such a product in my skincare routine.



Disclaimer: I received this product as a complimentary sample for my personal use and I'm not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my personal opinion.

Organix Brazillian Keratin Therapy Shampoo, Conditioner and Flatiron Spray review

When I changed my hair style from curly to straight my search for straightening hair products started. In my local drugstore I came across Organix Brazilian Keratin Therapy range, out of which I picked 3 products: shampoo, conditioner and flatiron spray. 

I must say I quite like the shampoo. I like the gorgeous coconut smell, I like the rich foam it produces and how soft my hair feels after using it. 

Unfortunately, I'm not as enthusiastic about the matching conditioner. First of all I found it really hard to squeeze out if its bottle. It's very thick and the bottle cannot be stored upside down for obvious reasons (see the shape of the bottle above). I ended up storing it upside down behind the tap.

It seems to me that because this conditioner is so thick, I used it up much too quickly.

This is one of the conditioners that really need to be kept on for the 3-5 minutes prescribed to make them work. Rinsed earlier it made my hair feel coarse and more tangled than before using the conditioner.

As far as the straightening properties of this duo are concerned, I'd describe them as pretty average. I'd say that proper styling does more to my hair than hair care.     

The same thing can be said about the Flatiron Spray. While I do appreciate the fact that it protects my hair from the damage caused by high temperatures and leaves my hair quite shiny, it's results don't last long. As long as there's no humidity around, it seems to be working fine. Come rain, my hair rather wavy will turn almost afro curly. Same thing will happen if I my head gets sweaty at night.

So, although I really like the visual side of the packaging, the smell and the fact that my hair feels soft after using these products, in my opinion they cannot be trusted as far as keeping your hair straight is concerned.

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.

Korean goodies: Etude House Nutrifull Eye Cream review

Etude House Nutrifull Eye Cream is made with organic shea butter and cloudberry extract to provide radiance and moisture to dry eye area. 

The product comes in a tubular container equipped with a pump, which is always good for hygienic reasons and also for the convenience of the user.

Before I go on, I need to say that, as is the case with most Korean eye treatments, this eye cream comes in a 30ml container, while all western counterparts never contain more than 15ml of product. For the $20 I paid for this cream I got twice the amount of any eye cream available here, which makes it a good value for money.

This consistency of this cream is pretty thick, as you can see in the picture below. However, it glides on effortlessly and leaves my eye area well moisturised. Due to the fact that the cream feels rather heavy, I used it only at night time, but I soon noticed that the cream absorbs pretty well and leaves my undreye nourished and moisturised, but not greasy at all. This cream does not break my make up, wears well under a concealer without making it crease and maintains the right level of moisture for hours, making my eye area look less dry and consequently less wrinkled.

This cream did not make my wrinkles disappear, but then it never promised to do so. Instead of that it keeps my eye area well moisturised and free from wrinkles that are related to dryness. It performs well both as a night cream and under make up. And it's really inexpensive, considering how much product you get.

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.

Benefit Stay Flawless 15-hour primer review

Benefit Stay Flawless !5-hour Primer is a new release which has taken the blogging world by storm. I love Benefit and I'm always on the lookout for a primer that would solve my complexion problems, so I thought I'd try this one out.  

As is the case with many Benefit products, the packaging is more than lovable. The primer comes in a stick form (I've never used a stick primer before) with a cute polka dot cap.

The product inside looks like a foundation more than a primer due to its peachy shade, but once applied it turns out to be sheer and imperceptible on the skin. You are supposed to glide this stick directly onto the skin and apply your foundation straight after to blend them together on your face.

Unlike other primers, Stay Flawless hardly promises anything. It isn't supposed to mattify or keep your oilies at bay, it's not meant to conceal pores or make your foundation apply more smoothly. The only thing it promises to do is make your foundation last. 

So, does it?

The thing is that I have oily skin and what makes my foundation break down is, quite obviously, my oilies, therefore my primary expectation about primers is keeping my face matte. This one doesn't. I must say that I've been using this primer religiously every day for a month or so and I haven't noticed any improvement in the performance of my foundations. My foundations are generally long-lasting and their performance depends mostly on how good they are at controlling oil production. If my primer doesn't do anything to reduce sebum production, my foundation will not last even a minute longer.

So, unfortunately, this is a miss for me.

I cannot say how this primer works on dry to normal skin. I think it might actually make foundation cling to your face better. 

For me it is uuseless.

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.

Essie Good To Go top coat review

Essie Good To Go is one of those top coats that substantially speed up the process of  nailpolish drying and adds unquestionable shine.

When I used Good To Go my nails were dry to touch within a minute or two, and completely dry within the next couple of minutes. My nails were also much shinier than without a top coat. 

However, when I compare it with other top coats I've used, it seems pretty average. It reminded me much of Sally Hansen InstaDri, but unfortunately it's more expensive. 

It's also not as shiny and quick-drying as Seche Vite, but it doesn't smell as disgusting as Seche Vite and it doesn't shrink nailpolish. I also need to order Seche Vite online while Essie is available in the drugstore next door, but Seche Vite ordered online is 50% cheaper. 

So, as you have already guessed, this is not my favourite top coat, but it's all right, it's effective and readily available round the corner.

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.

Cosmetic Skin Solutions Firming Eye Gel review

I was very happy to find this little sample of Cosmetic Skin Solutions Firming Eye Gel in one of my Glossyboxes, months ago. I'm always excited when I can try out some eye product, hoping to find a solution to my problems.

Firming Eye Gel is actually a yellow liquid that comes in a dark glass vial, equipped with a dripper.

One drop is more than enough to cover the area under both eyes, that's why the product is extremely efficient and I could use this 5ml sample twice daily for over a month.

This serum moisturises eye area immediately, but if not followed with an eye cream it dries out to a sticky finish, which looks shiny but feels too dry in the long run.

After using this product for a month I didn't notice any firming of the area under my eyes. I don't also think it moisturised the area enough. Combined with a good eye cream it was all right, but I definitely would never buy the full sized bottle for the sort of money it costs, especially that it doesn't work as well as I'd like it to. 

Figs & Rouge Coco Rose lip balm review

When I saw Figs & Rouge lip balm in my Glossybox, I welcomed it with pleasure. I'd had the opportunity to use another lip balm by the brand (also from the Glossybox) and I liked it a lot. 

This time the product turned out to be severely disappointing. 

First of all, this balm contains gritty glitter. Gritty glitter is never a good thing, but a glittery lip balm is even worse. I'm a lipstick girl and I don't wear lip balms when I go out. At home glitter is the last thing I need.

Secondly, the balm contains essential oils which irritate my throat and make me choke.

And worst of all, this balm doesn't work at all. It sort of sits on my lips and does nothing to moisturise them. I'd even say that it leaves my lips drier than before.

I'm a practical person and I hate throwing things out. I always try to put them into some use, but this time this lip balm landed in the bin. 

Autumn on my cheeks

I've been so busy recently that I couldn't get down to blogging and it surprised me how much I missed it! Since we've been enjoying a spell of nice sunny weather here in the north I thought it appropriate to return to my autumn make-up theme as it seems to reflect the aura outside.

The blushes I like to wear in autumn oscilliate around orangey-coral shades (see the selection below), but I also like to pair wine -coloured lips with mauve cheeks (even further down).

Left to right:

1. Bourjois Cream Blush 01 reflects my current fascination with cream blushes. I love it cause it's kind of nude, it also makes a nice departure from all those insanely pigmented cheek colours. Very flattering and easy to play with.

2. MAC Style is my all time favourite. Lovely peachy orange shade and even lovelier sheen.

3. MAC Mineralize blush in Warmth of Coral is a semi-matte blush I tend to reach for on warm sunny days. 

4. And a sample of BM mineral blush in Peachy Glow, which is sooo sheer that it makes a nice highlight to apply over a matte blush.

1. Benefit Hervana is a gorgeous mauve pink. It's quite sheer and matches my fair complexion incredibly well. And smells so nice!

2. I've had ELF cream blush in Tease for ages. I've shopped my stash and rediscovered this little beauty. It's the kind of autumnal mauve, subtle and muted.

3. MAC Mocha is such a pretty light mauve pink. I like it for its muted, matte shade. 

4. Kryolan for Glossybox blusher in Rosewood. The name is self-explanatory. A very pretty muted rosy shade with plum undertones.  

5. MAC Peachykeen is theoretically another peach shade, but it's much cooler than the orangey peaches in the picture above.

6. And finally, MAC Highlight Powder in Crew, which is orange and mauve and purple. When you blend all the shades together it looks quite similar to Benefit Hervana, but you can also apply each shade individually.  

Glossybox September 2013

I've just realised that I forgot to announce my September Glossybox contents, so here they go in order of my satisfaction level:

1. The Body Shop Honeymania Body Butter. I love TBS, I love honey so I welcomed the product with great pleasure.

2. Cosmetic Skin Solutions Firming Eye Gel. I've never heard about the brand, but I like testing all products for the eye area, hoping to find a solution to my problems. 

3. Yves Rocher Body Scrub.

4. Be a Bombshell Eye Liner in Onyx. This gave me the opportunity to see how these thick pen liners work and I loved it.

5. Just Cavalli perfume sample. This was a bit of a surprise to me. This is the first Cavalli fragrance I liked and it immediately landed on my wishlist.

6. Artego Daily Conditioner is the only disappointnemt within the box. I got a conditioner by the same brand a couple of months back, I didn't quite like it and here it comes again. It's a different one, of course, but I'm not interested in the brand at all. 

Burberry Velvet Foundation in Trench 203 review & swatches

I've had Burberry Velvet foundation for a while, but somehow I couldn't get round to writing this review. The thing is that I have very mixed feelings about this product.

The foundation comes in a gorgeous packaging, which is made of matte look-like-glass plastic and the charcoal- coloured cap bears the imprint of Burberry signature check. Unlike with other burberry products, there's no magnetic opening, the bottle clicks open and shut. The bottle comes with a pump, which distributes the right amount of product. I'm a big fan of beautiful objects, so I must say that one of the biggest pleasures of using this product is the possibility to handle something so pretty, however, I'd much prefer the materials used to be glass and metal, plastic seems a bit tacky to me. 

Now on to the product itself. Burberry Velvet Foundation is a matte foundation that is obviously meant for oily skin. Mine is fairly oily and the foundation feels very matte and dry on my face. The foundation sets almost immediately, so you need to work quickly, otherwise it'll be very hard to blend. If you aren't skilful enough or you use the wrong tools, it may look patchy. I like applying this foundation with a sponge, as you stipple it in one place and then move on to another, and moreover, you work in stippling motion, which is safer as blending may produce streaks, clots and smudges. 

I would describe the coverage you get as medium. Building it up results in the foundation looking very noticeable and most of the foundation ends up filling the pores.

I absolutely adore the matte finish, bit unfortunately it doesn't last very long. My oilies break through within two hours, and I'm not overly oily, mind you!  My face looks more oily than when I use non-matifying foundations like NARS Sheer Glow. 

What's worse, I find that this foundation is not long-lasting at all. I apply it over a primer at 7 am and by 11 it's completely gone from my nose and swims around my face in all directions. But it doesn't settle in the pores particularly much. The same thing happens each time I wear the foundation, no matter whether I set it with powder or not.

I've got this foundation in shade Trench 203, which when swatched looks like a pretty neutral beige with slight peachy undertones. on my face, however, it turns very yellow. While the colour worked somehow on my tanned face in the summer, it's too dark and too yellow for me now.

On the positive note, the foundation smells absolutely gorgeous. Burberry is consistent with adding this classy scent to their face products and thank them for that. I like scented products a lot!

To sum up, this foundation isn't foolproof. Learning how to use it may take some time.  

People with dry skin should stay away from this, and I'm not sure whether this does a good job for oily skin either.

But I find the packaging and the scent so irresistible, that I can't really hate this product.

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.

Autumn on my lips

Autumn has come. I won't deny that this is not my favourite season of the year. Beautiful as it is with all those shades of red and brown and spider nets hanging everywhere around, autumn heralds the imminent coming of winter, which in Poland lasts from November till April and hardly ever resembles the fairy tale image you get from Wham's Last Christmas.

This season I happily welcomed the new trend of berry lips for autumn. I'm not a big fan of nudes and naturals as I find them terribly boring and unimaginative. Unfortunately darks and burgundies are sort of outside my comfort zone, while they go well with my cool skin tone they are a poor match for my age, so instead of getting myself something new I shopped my stash and here's what I found:

1. Revlon Lip Butter in Red Velvet is not really a berry shade, but it's a dark burgundy red, which can be worn both sheer and built up to amazing intensity, considering that it's only a lip balm. Very comfortable on the lips too.

2. Calvin Klein lipstick in Fusion is somewhere inbetween berry shades and pinks with velvet, almost matte finish. Unfortunately this lipstick is quite drying.

3. Milani Color Statement lipstick in Chilled Brandy is rather dark, but when patted on the lips with a brush or finger gives a beautiful shimmery copper wine shade on the lips

4. Lancome Laque Fever in Bloody Cherry is a gorgeous lip gloss which I normally find too dark to wear. But since dark lips are so 'in' I find myself grabbing for it shamelessly often. It's the most beautiful wine red with shimmer and high shine. It's incredibly pigmented and wears fairly long as for a lip gloss. 

5. Chanel Levres Scintillantes in Savage Grace looks very dark in the tube, but in fact it's a much more wearable blackcurrant colour. A very pretty high shine gloss with microglitter.

6. Make Up for Ever Lab Shine Metal Collection gloss #M10 is a very pretty dark metallic red, very opaque, though not long-lasting.

The second autumn trend I always go for in the season is nude lip. Only when I put all my nude or neutral  lipsticks in a row, did I realise how dupeish they are. Have a look and judge for yourselves:

1. Milani Color Statement lipstick in Naturally Chic is a very neutral rosy beige. This lipstick is rich and creamy, wears very well in autumn weather.

2. Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet in La Raffinee is a rosy neutral with slightly mauve undertones and matte finish.

3. Rimmel Kate lipstick #19 is very similar to the Milani one, just a tiny little bit more mauve.

4. Lancome Rouge in Love lipstick in Rose Rendez-Vous #230M is an exact dupe of the Milani lipstick, the only difference is in the formula, which in case of the Lancome one is more lightweight and more moisturising.

5. Calvin Klein lipstick in Mulberry is the mauviest of them all and has a high amount of shimmer which makes it look frosty.

And finally, my favourite shades of the season are warm reds and browns plus beige-toned glosses I like to mix them with to achieve a nudy-beige lip colour.

1. Nars sheer Lipstick in Autumn Leaves is a shimmery muted orange leaning towards brown. The name is more than appropriate in the case of theis lipstick.

2. Nars Pure Matte Lipstick in Moscow is a brownish red with tiny golden shimer and matte finish.

3. ELF Matte Lip Color in Praline is milk chocolate colour and matte, it's too dark and too brown for me to wear on its own so I combine it with beige-toned glosses (no. 6 and 7) to make it more wearable.

4. Chanel Rouge Allure Laque #79 seems quite similar to Nars Moscow, but its formla is liquid lipstick and it's more opaque, that's why it looks darker on the lips. 

5. Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Emoi #58 is a lovely rosy red, which would suit the colour range above better. I put it here by mistake.

6. This is a no-name gloss I got from a friend of mine. To my surprise I like it a lot and I have nothing like it in my collection. It's a light milky beige with a fairly opaque colour and non-sticky formula. I use it on top of dark brown shades to make them less intimidating.

7. Model Co. gloss in Striptease is a very sheer beige which I use to brighten dark browns like the ELF matte lipstick or to apply over a brown lip pencil, eg. the Stila lip liner you can see at #8

8. Stila Lip Liner no.4 is raisin brown shade with shimmer. I apply it all over my lips and then top it up with a lighter-coloured gloss.

9. Make up For Ever Aqua Lip #2C is a neutral rosy beige which lasts on my lips for ever and makes a lovely base for glosses.