Make Up Bowl, Week 2

The concept of this is pretty simple: every once in a while, I put a few new products I need to test out or old products I haven't been using in a big red bowl, and I force myself to use them that week. Sort of a 'shop your collection' type of thing. Quick reviews and first opinions only!

Catrice, Feathers and Pearls Limited Edition, Eye Palette: This palette looks so pretty, yet it's almost unusable for me. The texture of the eyeshadows is too rough, and this is really not an everyday palette. It's special occasion looks only, which is not what I need. I like the dry/wet eyeliner. I use it wet, and it's super easy to work with. All in all, the palette looks good, but I don't really need it. I will not be reaching for it too often. REVIEW HERE

Essence Quattro eyeshadow, 01 Ciao Bella: These are so much prettier to me than the new Quattro palettes where the eyeshadows are so close to each other and the pots have weird shapes. I can never throw this away, the packaging is too cute. I expected bad things, but this is perfect for everyday. The shades are great for a natural look. Pigmentation is not good, but I don't care. I need to use this more often, it's great for when I'm in a hurry. The packaging is not good though, it's wobbly.

Avon Eyeshadow Base, Light Beige: I got this because everyone's been raving about it. I do not see a difference between this and your essence/Catrice eyeshadow base. It does what every base does - intensifies color, and eyeshadow lasts longer. I do not like the packaging, it's not convenient. It's an ok little product, but it's the same as any other in its price range. I wear it everyday even when I do not wear eyeshadow, so I do not have greasy eyelids. It's ok, it's just not THAT MUCH BETTER than other cheap eyeshadow bases. For special occasion looks, the best I can get out of this is 6 hours, then the eyeshadow collects in the crease. 

Catrice Defining Blush, 060 Rosewood Forest: This is why I love this Make up Bowl project. I thought this blush was wrong for me, and I discovered I love it. It gives a very natural look, and it lasts a long time. I got confused with the dark shade of the product, but once I apply it, it suits me perfectly. I'm glad I re-discovered this product. It's currently my favorite blush. REVIEW HERE

Essence, silky touch blush, 60 Life's A Cherry: Ugh, all the blushes from this range are horrible, but this one might be the worst. The color is too intense, so you can't help but apply too much. And it contains an insane amount of glitter. Stay away from these, try Catrice blushes instead.

Maybelline Colorama Blush, 201: Horrible shade, too much sparkle. Wrote a review of it yesterday, so I won't get into too much detail. REVIEW HERE

Labello Lip Butter, Raspberry Rose: Too sweet for me. No wonder I do not pick it up more often. It's good quality, I just don't enjoy the scent. REVIEW HERE

Make up Factory Lipstick, 150: This is supposed to be Muller's own HE brand. This shade is very dark, something Lorde would wear, but it's not worth the price (100 kn). It spills over the edges, it's difficult to apply evenly, has zero durability. I have 4 other shades from this brand, but I prefer their nudes.

Essence, Stay Matt Lip Cream, 01 velvet rose: Still too light for me, but the texture is good. These products are still available but in a new bottle design. REVIEW HERE

Essence, Stay Matt Lip Cream, 03 soft nude: At first I did not like it because I thought it was too dark, now I'm starting to give it a chance. It's the kind of shade Kylie Jenner can be spotted wearing. I'd only recommend this to people with big luscious lips, because if you have tiny lips, it will visually shrink them. REVIEW HERE

Look by Bipa, lipliner, 11 Peach: Not liking it, it has a weird texture to it, this shade is very drying, and I can never wear it by itself (which I can do with some other lipliners). It has a pearl-like shine to it. Not for me. Good for a Kylie Jenner look.

Avon Solutions, Very Important Perfector: The only reason I gave this product a try was because my Avon Lady gave me a ton of samples, so I thought that maybe she thinks this product would be good for me. It's not for oily skin, I think it would make anyone look oily. It's white, but has tiny yellow spots in it that tint the cream as you apply it. Doesn't hide any flaws. This is maybe for those people with flawless skin. Not for me.

Avon, Ideal flawless, 3in1 cream-to-powder foundation, Ivory: I do not think I'll ever buy any Avon foundation product again. The thing is, it's so important to try the shade on your face and you just can't do that looking through a catalogue. This is super yellow, not for me. I guess I could make it work, if the shade matched me in any way. The product feels nice on the skin, but I'm telling you, finding the shade that works for you is very difficult.

That's it for this edition of Make Up Bowl. Some finds, a little more tosses this week. Any products here that you have and love/hate? Let me know, and thanks for stopping by.


love, Jelena

Make Up Bowl, Week 1

Happy weekend! Let me explain the concept of 'Make Up Bowl': every three weeks or so, I will put some of my rarely-used or brand-new make up items in a bowl, and I will use them more frequently. I want to use the products in my stash more often, and also I will show you the products that I'm currently testing out, and give you a quick and fast review. This is a fun project for me, I'm finding some lost treasures. Anyways, you may have seen this on my INSTAGRAM, where I will post the make-up bowl before I write the actual post. So let's get started!

Balea Juicy Orange Lip Balm: I've been neglecting all my lip balms ever since I've discovered Carmex. This one does a good job, I just hate the time I have to wait for the smell to disappear. Review HERE.

Labello Lip Butter: This is a fun product, I shouldn't have been neglecting it. I wear it when I'm running errands, and the smell is gorgeous. Review HERE.

Catrice 'Yellow Submagreen' and 'Mud Spencer & Coralle Hill': I got these two little palettes during the last Catrice sale. The one with the yellow eyeshadow is pretty useless to me - I do not enjoy any of these colors, and they do not match my skin tone. I will only use the fourth shade in some smokey eyes looks. But the second palette is amazing - I am enjoying all the shades, the coral one compliments me amazingly, the second shade is great for under the brow; all in all, I will use this one often - this was a great purchase. I have already reviewed these products HERE.

Essence Blush up! (heat wave): This product is great - if you use a soft brush, but do not use it with a brush that picks up a lot of product - you will look like a clown. Honestly, this blush just has too much orange in it. I use the pink side of the blush only. The final result is ok, but the product is so dusty (I never noticed that before). Make sure to not wear white when applying this LOL. Review HERE

Maybelline Colorama Blush 501: this is my new favorite blush. Review coming soon. I won this on Taya's blog, and I am so happy. It looks so natural on me. Highly recommended.

Essence soft touch mousse make-up: I bought this so long ago (I think they've even changed the packaging since), and I've never worn it. I expected to hate it, but it turned out great. The shade is a little off for me (that's the reason why I haven't been using it), but the texture is great. You have to be careful not to apply too much. It just makes my skin so soft. This is not for those with dry skin because it will make you look horrible. But works on my skin. It's just the shade - it's a bad match.

S-he stylezone mineral loose powder: I have only been using Rimmel's powder lately, so I've been neglecting all my other ones. I'm not feeling this product. The finish on my skin is not natural, and I feel like it makes my skin look dry (even when it's not). I don't think I would recommend this - there are better products out there. Also the packaging is tricky to work with.

Catrice Camouflage cream: I got this one (I have 2 shades) as soon as they got out, and I never wrote a review - the reason being - I don't see why everyone likes them. While I feel that they're great at hiding color problems (they are very pigmented), they emphasize the bad parts of my skin texture. Like, I placed it one time under my eyes, and when I looked in the mirror, I saw that I had huge creases - the product settles where my skin folds and mades me look horrible. I just don't see this as a product that I might enjoy in the future. Only on some parts of my face, but not a versatile product (for me). More in the review (coming soon, I promise).

Catrice LE Translucent Mattifying Powder: I use this product when I'm not wearing foundation underneath. It has a very soft silky texture and it's easy to apply. It's not the best product I have, but it does a good job. I should use it more often. This is for every-day when I'm not wearing heavy make-up.

Look by Bipa lipliner: I have 4 shades, they are all amazing, I highly recommend these products, they are a dream. Review and swatch coming soon.

Essence stay with me lipgloss: I am not a person who enjoys lipgloss, but this is a great product if you're in a hurry - it takes a second to apply, and the shade is very natural. Do not use it when it's windy because your hair will get caught in it LOL. It's an ok product, but the brush is a nightmare - it's got a very weird shape - it almost works against you. These are no longer available.

Catrice LE Meet Rosy Lipstick: I wrote a not-so-happy review HERE. I tried giving it a chance but somehow I'm not feeling it. It's too dry. When I do use it, I dab it on my lips with my finger, and make sure to check my lips every once in a while (because all the product curls up in one line, especially if I do a lot of talking). The shade is lovely, but the texture is my enemy. 

Wet'n'wild Lipsticks:  what I can say in short is: amazing texture, color, pigmentation, but very bad packaging. And the shape of the lipstick is bad; so for me, application is very complicated. If these came in Catrice packaging and Catrice shape, I would buy a lifelong supply. The shades are gorgeous, I just have to take extra time to apply them, that's all. ;) Reviews coming soon. 

L'Oreal Contour Khol eye pencil: This is one of those random products that I can't remember if I've ever used, and then I try using it and I remember why. The color is bad for me (it's a dirty mix of blue and green), and makes me look super weird. It's not easy to apply - this one is not being used for a reason. 

What do you think about the idea of a make-up bowl? Do you have products that you hardly ever use? I am loving this, and am forcing myself to go through my stash. I'm also trying out fun new looks, instead of always wearing the same products. This will become a permanent thing for me. Anyways, thanks for stopping by, see you soon, and don't forget to follow me (links are on the right).

xoxo, Jelena.