Stamped Hearts

Happy Thor's Day! I'm wearing: two coats of Eveline MiniMax, shade 801. These polishes look great in the store, but I have not been enjoying them, their texture is very thick and they take a long time to dry. The stamping plate I used is by essence. This would be a nice look, but since I haven't been stamping for a while I forgot that you're supposed to wait a while before putting a top coat on. So that's the reason why my stamping is smudged. I don't think this would have happened had I waited longer.
Lately whenever I'd do stamping I would be so disappointed. Either the whole picture wouldn't transfer well, or I'd mess up and I wouldn't place the stamping on the same location on each nail so it would look lopsided. So in my opinion, stamping is difficult to work with IF you want or expect perfection. I see why there is a huge market for water decals. Those seem so much easier to work with. All in all I didn't enjoy this look - it doesn't match my personality. What are your experiences with stamping? Are you a stamping n00b too? ;)

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Talking About Beauty Products, Volume 1

Hello all! I'd like to talk about a few beauty products I've been using lately. I'll get right to it since it will be a long post.

CATRICE Defining blush, 070 Pinkerbell

This product is a must have. It's a beautiful shade of pink; bright, but not hot pink. Application is a dream. I love Catrice blush and eyeshadow packaging - very sturdy, simple, classic. These 5g of product are just what every girl needs. It's the perfect pink blush and I'm so happy this product is available.

 

ALVERDE Naturkosmetik Schminkpalette, 10
Here is 5,4g of product that sucks. This was intended, I believe, to be used for children's Halloween face paint. The packaging is adorable and the shades looked so pigmented (they are not) that I decided to buy it. At least I can be happy I bought it on sale and not for the full price (not worth it). I guess you could use it as kid's face paint (beware, it will give them a sticky face and will get on everything) but not anything else. I would not repurchase, but it is pretty to look at. 

CATRICE ABSOLUTE NUDE EYESHADOW PALETTE 010 All Nude
This palette contains shimmer and metallic shades. It would be worth so much more if the darker shades were matte. Hopefully Catrice will have more palettes in the future (because the eyeshadows are nice quality), but this palette is not for me. I've only been using the first shade as hightlighter under my brow, the other shades just don't suit me. The packaging is good, but if you're looking for an every day non-shimmery neutral palette, it's not for you. If you like neutral shades with a shimmer or metallic finish, then this would be a good purchase. I might use this when doing a glam-neutral look, but it's not what I was looking for to use every day. It's still a great product. The brush that came with it, I took out, I've got good brushes so I won't use it. I love eyeshadow palettes so I still like this product, but I'm being honest, I don't use the middle shades. At all.

ESSENCE LIPSTICK, 08 COLOUR CRUSH
When I saw this new line online before it came out, I was really excited. The new packaging was amazing, and the shades looked great. My mistake was that I thought the shades would be matte - they are NOT. I bought this one because I thought I still might like it even though it's not matte. I guess in the future I'll stick to matte. Essence has some other matte products that I enjoy very much. Overall, this is not for me, mostly because of the shade, which is not a good choice for me, but the great thing about this product is that the application is a dream. The more I have it, the more I use it. ;) I guess this one won me over slowly. Maybe I'll pick one more up from this line.....

BIPA IQ COSMETICS LIPSTICK 31matt, STAR
What an AMAZING product - matte, super pigmented, just flawless. I am a bit sad that the other shades from this line don't appeal to me. The shade is kind of a crazy pink, so you have to decide if it's something you would wear. The only downside - these lipsticks can fall out of the case into the cap if you store them upside-down (so beware, and check them in the store). This is my favorite lipstick of the year - I LOVE IT!

GOLDEN ROSE LIPSTICK, 113
I've been hearing great things about this brand, and I understand what everyone is talking about. They've got a lot of fun shades available, and the pigmentation is great. I've been enjoying this shade a lot. Seriously, these lipsticks are great quality for a very low price. I plan on going back for more shades.

GOLDEN ROSE LIPSTICK, 108
A friend gave me this shade and it's so not for me. It's a cold, very bright shade with a shimmery-metalic finish. Not my cup of tea. The quality is still great, but out of all the shades they have, this isn't something I should be wearing. It visually shrinks my lips. Some women could pull this shade off, but I'm not one of them. I need more pinks and purples from this brand, not pearl-pink shades. I would not buy this shade for myself.

LA ROCHE-POSAY NOVALIP DUO LIPSTICK
I've been using this shade so much that the number of the shade has worn off (I think it's 185). I just wanted to say how much I've been enjoying this lipstick. Such great quality (but you will need to re-apply after food or drink), and it feels so light when it's on my lips. I've been enjoying their nail polishes, and now I've discovered their lipsticks work great for me.  

CATRICE ULTIMATE COLOUR LIPSTICK, 190 The Nuder The Better
Would not repurchase. Doesn't have good pigmentation, it seems almost watery. This shade is quite darker than what it might appear at first. Haven't been using it at all, whenever I put it on, I just take it off straight away. I guess this shade is just a bad match for me.

Let me know what you think about these products. And have a great weekend ;)

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Coastal Scents 252 Ultimate Palette

Happy Wednesday! I wanted to talk about one of my favorite beauty purchases EVER. So I present to you the Coastal Scents 252 Ultimate Eyeshadow Palette. It is an amazing thing - 252 eyeshadows - gorgeous colors, mattes and shimmers inside. Let me just say - there is nothing bad that I can say about this palette - I can only say positive things. I bought this during one of their many sales, so I got the product for 14USD, but shipping ended up costing more than the product (but that does happen sometimes when sending things to Croatia), so I payed 200kn (35USD) for this product.

I couldn't be happier with this product. The pigmentation is awesome - there's a little swatch in this post (no primer, dry use)...it's impossible to swatch them all. When I was purchasing it, my main concern was what if some of the eyeshadows crack or break during the transport - but nothing of the sort happened. Before I bought this product, I did read many reviews online, and in some of them they were saying that the eyeshadows are really tiny. When it arrived and I saw it for the first time, the eyeshadows did appear very small, but now when I look at it, I just don't see them as small at all. I mean, I don't think I could ever spend one of these eyeshadows, so...In retrospect, it does make sense that the eyeshadows are smaller because you have to fit 252 of them in there. ;)

Inside the palette there are 3 different plates: the first one contains yellows, oranges, reds, browns, and some really great shimmery gold and bronze ones(this is my favorite plate of the three).

 
The second plate contains greens and blues and some brown shades.

 And the third plate contains just a variety of things - here I use mostly browns and blacks.

The main reason I purchased this palette was that I wanted to have ''every color'' that I might ever need or want (so I can buy less eyeshadow). However, since purchasing this product, I have fallen in love with eyeshadows and I keep buying more of them (It's a trap! LOL). Seriously, I'd love to own every single palette that Coastal Scents has available. I know, I've got a problem ;)

Here you can read more about this product: HERE - here you can find much better photos and read other user reviews.
And HERE you can see some other eyeshadow palettes that they have available (so gorgeous, right?)

Do you own any eyeshadow palettes? Are you happy with them? Let me know what you think.

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Sunset Ombre With Dots

This is an update to a look I posted yesterday. Link to that post is HERE, where you can find all the info on the products used. The dotting is done by essence's Stampy polish in black.

I do a lot of dotted looks, especially dotted ombre. I just enjoy them so much. What do you think about them ? Would you wear them?

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Sunset Ombre

My original plan was to do an ombre look with dotting on it (that post is coming tomorrow). I thought I might do black dots on these nails and then paint the thumb black with dots of these four colors. Well I did that - and it looked horrible. Yikes! So I present to you this ombre, the infamous thumb excluded. ;)

The red shade is by Maybelline, no.75. Awesome texture, the new COLORAMA line is amazing! 

Ring finger is by essence, from the old collection. Just a classic carrot shade.

Middle finger is by Deborah Milano, Pret A Porter, 19 Sombrero Tan. Great quality polishes.

The yellow is by Maybelline but it's from the old mini colorama collection - I'm so grateful that they've changed the formula, the old collection was not good. Not good at all. Strange bottles as well.

Come back tomorrow to check out the dotted version ;)

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Hand Products I've Been Using

 Happy Sunday! I thought I might write a quick post about some products I've been using on my hands.

• essence studio nails nail cuticle softener pen - I've been using this for quite some time now and I just adore it. I put it on my cuticles before I got to bed and also during the day. Really hydrates my skin and absorbs quickly, leaving it soft. It's really helped me with dry skin around the nails. This is one of the cheapest and best products I've ever bought. I think essence is coming out with a new nail cuticle softener pen soon, so I'll be sure to check that one out as well, I hope it's as brilliant as this one.  
• Olival olovka za jačanje noktiju - This is a croatian product I've been trying out and the reason I haven't been painting my nails so often. It's a nail hardening pen. Does it work? Yes. Is it a hassle? Yes. It leaves a very shiny layer on your nails that doesn't absorb quickly. It has a scent that doesn't appeal to me, and despite what it says on the box, it is quite oily. However, I cannot deny that my nails are CRAZY STRONG right now. I just wish this product would absorb quicker.

• dr.organic Organic Vitamin E Super Hydrating Cream - Amongst other things, this product can be used on very dry skin. For some reason my hands were very dry a few months ago, and this baby saved me. I LOVE the scent, it absorbs so quickly, and you see results straight away. A LIFE SAVER. If you've got very dry skin, I totally recommend this. Here's a link to their SITE where you can read more about this line.
• Balea Melkfett Ringelblume - This is an ointment made from the flower Marigold ('Neven' in croatian). I dont like this flower because I dont like the smell of it, but that is a matter of personal taste, since most people I know do love this smell. I've been using this before I go to bed (because it's too oily to be used during the day). I put it all over my hands, massage it well, then put on my cotton gloves and go to bed. When I wake up, my skin is soft, moisturized and looks so healthy. Really great product, and cheap too, but you cant really use it during the day if you plan on using your hands, so it's best as an over-night moisturizer.

• Hipp Zartcreme - I was in a shop at the register and this young mother was in front of me and I saw this cute cream she was purchasing, so naturally I went to the baby part of the store and got one for myself. I really didn't expect to use it, I bought it because of the cute packaging (I know, I'm weak haha) and it was less than 1 euro. But this turned out to be such a great product. The smell is so amazing (all baby products smell great, right?). I use it during the day when my hands feel very dry and I am working so I need something that isn't oily. This will absorb in a matter of seconds, and I feel like I've injected water under my skin. Brilliant.

So, have you tried any of these products? Did you like them? Anything you might recommend me ? :)

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Red And Bronze For Elegance

Happy Tuesday! Here is a look I feel is perfect to wear with a little black dress, when you want a little splash of color. The shades are:  Maybelline COLORAMA, shade no. 75 (red). This shade is just gorgeous. This is the first Maybelline polish from the new collection that I've tried out - they're on sale now, so I suppose I'll stock up! The formula is great, it's fast drying, and the color is really vibrant. This baby is a favorite of mine! The golden shade (well, I used to call it 'gold', but now I see it's more of a copper or bronze) is by Catrice, shade no. 460 'In The Bronx'. I have this polish for a year, this is the first time I wore it, but it won me over, it looks gorgeous in direct sunlight. What do you girls have on your nails when you're wearing a little black dress? I usually always end up wearing red nails for a formal occasion...

Until next time, have a great summer ! ;)

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