New in #122 – Mateja’s Beauty Blog

TOO FACED Born This Way Foundation 

Swan

I never looked at this foundation closely because I wrongly assumed it’s a matte high-coverage foundation, so the type my skin isn’t fond off (they did release a matte version after this one), but it caught my eye when I was watching Youtube videos for a recommendation for a good high-end foundation in a pale shade (I started out by researching the new Nars Light Reflecting foundation, Charlotte Tilbury’s Beautiful Skin and renewed Makeup Forever HD, but due to lack of available pale shades and swatches, ended up buying this). Swan is one of the shades that I believe was added latter and Cloud is even lighter, but I thought the latter may already be too light for me, since it looks almost off-white on swatches. Swan is a tiny bit darker than my skin tone, so it’s not ideal, but blends in ok. I’ve only worn it with my summertime skin care (which is glowy + SPF), but so far I find the name fits this foundation. It’s got a good amount of coverage, about medium, so I only need a tiny bit of concealer under my eyes and on an old blemish mark, but despite the higher coverage, it looks like skin, it’s smooth and very natural. It wears nicely through the day without flaking or making my lines very obvious. It also looks beautiful on pictures. Finish is glowy in a very nice way and it doesn’t feel heavy or greasy. It feels like a high-quality foundation and it fits my normal-dry skin. 

COLOURPOP Shadow Palette

Stone Cold Fox

I got it when it was 30% off, but it’s about 30 €.

COLOURPOP Shadow Palette

Bare Necessities

I didn’t plan to get this one, unlike the Stone Cold Fox, which was on my shortlist for a new neutral palette, but Colourpop has free shipping over 60 $, so I added it to the cart, since it’s was 30% off and still looks very wearable from my stand point. It’s a warm counterpart to Stone Cold Fox, though there are many neutral shades in it and I can create the type of look like, so not too warm, but even when shades look almost the same in the palette as in SCF, on my skin they look warmer. I was most drawn to that bronze looking shade Genie, but my skin tone makes it an orange toned, which is what happens with 99% of gold shades on me. Quality of eyeshadows is the same and SFC, all blend lovely, have a good colour payoff and last well. I’m happy with both palettes and the packaging has the same nice feel as SCF.

COLOURPOP Pretty Fresh Tinted Moisturizer

Fair 1 N

This has a lot of good reviews and I was drawn to it because it’s supposed to be very hydrating, which my skin needs. Colourpop has a lot of shades and I wasn’t sure if their lightest one might be too light for me. Apparently everyone has stopped normal blogging and there’s few comparison swatches between different brands of shades that would help the poor woman trying to buy a foundation online, but I picked the lightest nonetheless, hoping for the best. It ended up being ok, but actually since it’s a tinted moisturiser and the coverage low, it doesn’t matter that much if you miss the shade. Fair 1N is a very pale colour with a neutral undertone, it’s one of the lightest in my collection. Coverage is as I said low, though buildable, but it doesn’t look like a proper foundation and it just evens out the skin. Due to that it looks natural, an actually no-makeup makeup look. Having said that, mine has these white beads in it. I don’t know what they are, either the product isn’t good quality or the formula wasn’t blended well, but they are noticeable when I apply this to the face. Strangely enough in time they disappear, almost like they melt. It’s a mystery, but it makes the whole product off to me. Finish is glowy and this is indeed a hydrating formula. Honestly, I could live without this in my collection. I thought I’ll like the low coverage, but strangely for me I wish it had a bit more. 

COLOURPOP Blush Stix

More is More

I realised a few months ago that there are almost no cream blushes in drugstores among cheap brands here. I used to love Bourjois ones, but it looks like they were discontinued a while ago. There are several shades of these available, but Colourpop has no swatches, so I had to rely on bloggers and it was hard to pick which might work well for me. I thought this one is a standard peachy pink, which is usually universally flattering, but it’s a bright warm pink with gold shimmer. It’s quite pigmented and I don’t need much for my cheeks. Usually I swipe it on the back of the hand and slowly build it up on the cheeks with fingers. 

BENEFIT Wanderful World Blushes Powder Blusher 

Shellie (mini) and Willa

These are new and Benefit quite unusually for them released a whole collection, instead of just one blush at a time like the used to do. I own an absolutely ancient Coralista, which used to be my favourite and most used blush, but it’s too old now to use. It looks like they discontinued it along with all other blushes, except for Dandelion, which is a part of this line too. Coralista was excellent quality and after a string last year & this year’s drugstore stuff I bought and got, I decided it’s time for some high end purchases, which I hoped would impress me more and they did. I picked Shellie which looks closest to Coralista and Willa, which is the type of muted pink I wear most often. They have two sizes available, travel and regular, but not all shades are available in travel size (Willa isn’t). I actually ended up with two Willas because the first came completely smashed in the post (Cult Beauty quickly sent a replacement with no fuss). I ended up fixing the first broken one with alcohol and it completely changed the colour of it into deeper pink, while the Willa that came whole is a muted pink shade that ends up more warm on my cheeks. Odd, but both are good quality in terms of pigmentation and staying power, they are just a different shade now. These are insanely pigmented. I only need to touch them with my fluffy blush brush and it’s enough for me, though I am very pale, so most blushes show up easily on me. Formula is smooth and blends ok, though like I said these are very pigmented and I need to apply a very small amount, so it’s not like blending a less pigmented blush that I apply gradually. Willa is a muted pink shade with some glow, but since I apply so little, the glow isn’t strong on me. Shellie is very similar to Coralista on my cheeks, a coral that on me leans more to orange than I want, but it’s still a peachy-pink shade that brightens up the face. I’m very interested in getting a shade or two more of these, my first choices are Dandelion and Pom Pom. Since these are so pigmented, a mini will last me forever and the opening isn’t too small so brushes fit ok into the packaging. Both shades have a fragrance that is the same as Coralista had, a sort of a fruity floral. 

NARS Mini Orgasm Blusher

This was actually my first even blush. Obviously in a full size, this is just a gift with purchase I got on Look Fantastic. When I was buying my first makeup product, there wasn’t a lot of them in our drugstores, certainly very little good drugstore ones, so my first blush was the most sold and recommended blush at that time that I got online and it’s still on the best-selling lists, so that should tell something. It’s a peachy-pink with gold shimmer, very often duped by other brands, but to be honest I don’t think many come super close to it, especially when it comes to quality and staying power as well as the golden shimmer that adds a glow. I also had Deep Throat, which is similar, but more pigmented, so I used it to do makeup on those with a deeper skin tone than mine. This one is less pigmented than I remember, maybe it’s just the top layer, but I need a dense mini brush and a few layers, but it’s creates a beautiful peachy-pink flush with a gold glow. 

URBAN DECAY All Nighter Setting Spray Travel Size

URBAN DECAY Eyeshadow Primer Potion Travel Size

LA ROCHE-POSAY Anthelios UVMune 400 Invisible Fluid SPF50+ Sun Cream

A repurchase. I love this a lot more than the no.5 conditioner even though it’s thinner, but it has superior results on my very dry hair. But the packaging is shamefully small and unlike no.3 a small amount can’t be applied to a large area, so one bottle doesn’t last many uses. I keep it for emergencies when my hair desperately needs some repairing care, while I mostly use the n.5 conditioner.  

A repurchase. It’s a creamy leave-in with hair repairing bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate. I love the texture of this, which I can use on both dry and damp hair. On damp hair is helps my hair dry smoother with a hair dryer, while on dry hair it smooths down flyaways. The recently changed the bottle to include a pump like on the n.8 mask, but since I got this in a 3 for 2 offer, I guess they were getting rid of the old stock. But I really don’t like the old packaging.

OLAPLEX No.9 Bond Protector Nourishing Hair Serum

THE INKEY LIST Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Scalp Scrub 

COLOR WOW Travel Dream Coat Supernatural Spray

This was my second time buying it, but the first time Look Fantastic realised they don’t actually have it in stock after I already paid for it and they gave me my money back. Then a year passed before I decided to finally give it a go. I wasn’t sure if I really want to risk to try it because I kind of don’t like it makes the hair waterproof and I worry it might be difficult to get off completely and it may block conditioner from hydrating, but there are so many great reviews that it’s hard to resist not falling for the hype. It’s an anti-frizz, taming and smoothing liquid that on some I’ve seen can create that glass hair effect, but I doubt it will work as well on mine. I actually have a good anti-frizz routine, but I can’t help not being curious. I quickly encountered a problem with this – it can’t be used with silicones or oils, so the cornerstone of my routine. Colour Wow offers its own shampoo and conditioner duo that is free of those things and works with this product, but I just have a gnawing feeling they would leave my hair too dry and breaking due to that. So I used it with my regular routine and I indeed didn’t get my hair that smooth, though it did dry more straight (comparable to my anti-frizz routine). Effect should last 4 washes, but my hair got puffy already on the second day. At least I didn’t notice it being difficult to wash off. I might try their mini shampoo and conditioner to see  how it goes, but with my silicone and oil rich routine, this product doesn’t show its full potential. I was told you need a lot of product, basically soak the hair with this and I was generous. Spray is really good and helps it get to as much hair as it can quickly .