Tuesday 30 June 2015

Dupe this - the wonder of W7 - Make Up & Glow Bronzing Base and Absolute Lashes.

I’ve only recently discovered W7. Few products have caught my attention and I turned to Amazon to get my hands on them. 
Firstly Make Up & Glow Bronzing base. Does it reminds you of something, maybe it’s Chanel counterpart? Packaging is similar although plastic top just not in line with bit more luxurious Chanel. other that the lid there’s really little difference between those products. It’s a cream bronzing base with a slight warm tone to it. You will not be able to cream contour but it is not made for it. It’s perfect for adding a little natural glow to you complexion. I was able to test the Chanel sister for few weeks (thank you Boots and ability to ask for a little product to test before you buy) and let me tell you, the difference in consistency, and a very slight one at that, does nothing when we compare the two in their price range. 
You can save yourself a whooping £30 and this will last you forever !! It’s a large product and a little goes a long way. I now opened this product to use to my mom too because I will never be able to finish it off. It gives a beautiful glow to the skin and this coming from a totally matte product. It lasts great under or over the foundation granted that you set it with powder. I sometimes leave it on it’s own and it will still last around 5 hours which is incredible for a product that costs £7.99 (watch out for offers as I got mine half price). Huge thumbs up from me and my mom to W7 - job well done


I love Benefit mascaras. If you follow me on Instagram or know me in real life, you will know that I’m totally obsessed with They’re Real and hefty price tag does nothing to change my opinion of this product. It will give you false lash effect. It will last all day, no crumbling, no problems whatsoever. It will look as well as after application in 8-10 hours !! It’s amazing !! It will be a total b*** to take off :) It may not be waterproof in the proper sense of the word but man does it last !!!!
So when I've heard of a little dupe called Absolute Lashes from W7, I just had to give it a go. It costs so little you can buy 5 for a standard RPR of it’s Benefit mother :) I try to compare brushes to you and the difference is little to none. Formula… Ah. It is not the same. However does it work? I only wore it a couple times so it’s not a full on review. I hate mascara reviews anyway. What works for some, will not for others. It’s a fact so I won’t dwell too much on it. I think it’s a good mascara.


 It is not Benefit but it works. And if you just hate the idea of spending £20 on one mascara - go for this one. It will not hold the curl as Benefit or even last that well, in my opinion but it is a much cheaper option and it still works better that some more expensive drugstore alternatives. Is it a true dupe? In packaging maybe, but the effects are similar yet not dupe enough for me to truly call it such. I will still give it a thumbs up because for it’s price it is worth definitely more.


You can get W7 bronzing base here and Absolute Lashes mascara here

I wonder what do you think of this duo? Have you tried any of the above or their more expensive mother products? Let me know in the comments below.

Don’t want to miss another post? Don’t forget to follow me on Bloglovin’, Facebook and Instagram :)

Thanks for reading 

Love,
Dorota xxx

Tuesday 23 June 2015

New Brand alert - Freedom Makeup London #2 ‘’In your FACE :)’’

I started my huge makeup beauty haul few days ago with first impressions post about their lip products. Today I would like to introduce you to some more Freedom Makeup deliciousness. Let’s talk face then :)
 
From Left: Pro Glow Purr and Pro Glow Roar
Freedom Makeup Haul

I ordered few face products from Conceal & Correct palette through Pro Glow and blush and highlight.

Pro Conceal and Correct in Light
Freedom’s Pro Conceal & Correct in Light is a perfect dupe for MAC’s correctors palette. It offers 6 super blend-able cream shades to conceal and correct. It costs only £5 and let me tell you - it’s incredible !! It’s creamy at first but the consistency of these concealers is seriously high end. Their pigmentation is great and they seem to be winning my battle with dark circles :) I am very pleased with the colour range as well, as it is sometimes difficult to find great range of shades for a person as pale as I am. 



Top 3 shades have a definite pink undertones and bottom ones will be more fitting for warm/neauteral undertones. Or you can mix them as I do. I use a pink shade (top right) as a colour correct for under the eyes, then a little mix of top and bottom left shades to blend out with a tiny amount of bottom right to highlight. I am super pleased with this little gem and it’s worth every penny !! At this price you will not regret it, as quality will blow your mind !!


I must admit I mainly got Pro Glows because of it’s design. They are looking gorgeous. Packaging isn’t something I would have chosen for these though. Purr will work as a light bronzer for a very pale person or as a nice peachy toned blush. It has a little shimmer in it so I would not necessarily use it for more of a contour job. The formula is quite soft and blends easily. Roar is a little darker. The bronzer bit isn’t too warm so on it’s own you can use it to contour lightly. This is a semi matte shade. if swirled together colour warms up a bit and you can use it to bronze your face for summer. It has slight sheen to it so if you don’t like shimmery shades Pro Glows are probably not for you.

From left: Pro Blush in Rare, Pro Glow in Purr, Pro Glow in Roar
I also got one Blush shade in Rare. This is such a pretty coral pink shade. It is ideal for spring and summer and it has a little (tiny amount) of gold shimmer running through it. Formula is quite soft yet still powdery. Pigmentation is good making it so easy too blend. Gorgeous shade for £1 !! Can’t really go wrong.

Pro Highlighter in Brighten
If you’re looking for a silvery-pink highlighter - then Pro Highlight in Brighten is for you !! I personally prefer more champagne colour shades so this will have to find a loving home with one of my friends. Pigmentation is good, it’s very soft when you swatch it but it also seems to be lasting quite a while. It’s not as creamy as Mary-Lou, it has a definite more of a powder feel that that.

That it for my first impressions of some of the newly launched products from Freedom Makeup. The brand is definitely very affordable and some products are better than others. Today’s winner is a Conceal and Correct palette. It’s really incredible. It does what it’s supposed to do and it’s a great alternative to spending £35 in MAC. I will also be wearing blush in Rare on few occasions. It’s a really cute summer shade and I love the formula. 

So what do you think? Have you tried Freedom Makeup yet? I have few more products to review for you so watch out for parts 3 and 4 in which we will talk eyeshadows :)

Thanks for reading,
Love,


Dorota x

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Sunday 21 June 2015

Zoeva Cocoa Blend - first impressions review

We all know and love Zoeva for their incredible brushes. Me and Zoeva…. It was love at the first sight :)

I’ve been watching new releases of Zoeva makeup intently and was tempted to try one of their eyeshadow palettes. I couldn’t say no anymore as I saw glimpses of this chocolate heaven coming out. I must have been one of the firsts, ordering it from Beauty Bay on the day of the launch :) As per usual delivery was within 2 working days and I received it neatly packaged. Great service Beauty Bay :)




The newest release costs just £15.50 or €17.50 for all you Euro zone folks. It contains ten shades ranging from mattes through satin and shimmer to duo chrome. They are all incredibly pigmented except maybe for Sweeter End which I found a little too powdery & crumbly. 
From the left: Bitter Start, Sweeter End, Warm Notes, Subtle Blend
Bitter Start is a beautiful off white beige. It’s semi matte and perfect for highlight under the brow bone or to blend out other shades. Sweeter End is a shimmer. Very powdery formula and only one I am unsure off from this selection. Warm Notes is a great pomegranate shade. It will compliment blue/green and grey eyes. It’s just beautiful. Subtle Blend is another shimmer. Just look at it - it’s so pretty.
From The left: Pure Ganache, Substitute For Love, Freshly Toasted, Infusion
Pure Ganache is a pure pressed pigment. Pigmentation is insane. Colour will wow you !! My favourite from shimmers alongside Warm Notes. Substitute For Love is a beautiful, warm transition shade. Great for your crease. Shade is orange brown and can easily be diluted with Bitter Start. Freshly Toasted is another warm brown matte. It will work great for deepening your crease and in outer corners. Infusion is a Due Chrome. It will work beautifully on a white or black eyeshadow bases which should bring the colours in it !! Just gorgeous and unfortunately the swatches don’t show how amazing this due chrome shade is.
From top Beans are white, Delicate Acidity

Beans are white. This is not a pure black colour. It’s a very dark ashy brown. Nicely pigmented and easy to blend.Lastly, Delicate Acidity is a beautiful shimmer lilac. It will work beautiful for more advanced makeups to highlight inner corners or go crazy and mix it with Pure Ganache. Amazing shade.

All of the above are incredibly pigmented and just a joy to work with. They were made for bending and makeup playtimes. Colour pay off is great and colours won’t disappear when you start blending it. 
I adore this selection. It will work great with most skin tones as there’s a shade to compliment every eye colour. Shimmers are incredible and mattes are outstanding and all this for £1.55 per shade in this palette. 

I will recommend Cocoa Blend palette to anyone. Zoeva came out with another big hit and it’s surely not worth missing out on !! Go grab yours on their website here or in UK via Beauty Bay here (sold out at the moment).

Thanks for reading
Love,

Dorota x

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Wednesday 17 June 2015

New brand alert - Freedom Makeup London #1 LIP PARTY

Freedom Makeup London comes from the creators of Makeup Revolution. This is a newly established brand of professional makeup at affordable prices. What I love about it, it’s the opportunities it creates for amateurs to get better and professionals to update their kits at prices that everyone can actually afford. I truly believe that by going to real makeup artist, I pay for the skill, artistry and not only the brands she manages to pull out of her bag. Freedom is set to break rules as Revolution did last year. There will be makeup courses launching soon with House of Glam Dolls Find Out Here 
If you’re interested to know more about them, you can find them on their social media like Facebook here  & Instagram here.

Enough said that when I heard about this highly anticipated launch I was beyond excited. I love Makeup Revolution and have been a fan since they’re launched last year. I have waited patiently and once the website gone live, I spent hours trying to put my order through (it’s official we broke the internet that evening people lol). It finally arrived so I couldn’t wait much longer to take some photos for you. As this is quite a large order there will be 3 parts to this story.

Let’s start with lip products :) Yes, I know, I’m addicted. I am pretty pleased with myself as I managed to only buy 9 lip products in total :) I ordered 2x lip melts, 2x lip butters and 5x lipsticks :)

Pro Melts first. Up is a beautiful opaque pinky nude. Perfect for everyday but watch out as all these colours are highly pigmented. Wanted is a beautiful lilac colour. It will work well on those special nights out or for photo shoots. Let’s not forget these aim at professionals and with some of these it’s exactly what you get. It may not be an every day shade for all, but I can’t wait to rock it in the office one day :)Pro Butters formula is creamier than melts in my opinion but they do apply as a dream. I got one in a beautiful fuchsia called Sugar Fix. This is my shade. It’s just beautiful.  Cats whiskers (which I may have ordered for the name alone) is a beautiful warm pink colour which is just a perfect everyday lip for me. It will stand out but it’s also a little muted if you know what I mean. I must say I like it the best out of them all and I can see myself using it most days now.
From Left: Up,Cats Whiskers,Fugar Fix, Wanted (no flash)


From Left: Up,Cats Whiskers,Fugar Fix, Wanted (no flash)

They all cost £3 each and are available from manufacturers website (here) or from Beauty Crowd (here)


I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t want to try some of the stunning 20 plus shades collection of new Pro Listicks. They are just a steal at £1 each and formula is very creamy and comfortable. Not as pigmented as the melts/butters but much easier for an every day, quick application. They last 2-3 hours each although that’s totally dependable on you. I adore the colours I’ve received.
Make Me Crazy is a beautiful coral red. It’s a summer, ever day red in my opinion and it will compliment most skin tones. Candy Sweet comes in a deep fuchsia. It’s a very pretty colour. My everyday pink but it will be strong and flashy for some. I love it and I can’t wait to compare this shade to a certain MAC lipstick :) Pink Lust is what the name tells you. It’s gorgeous every day pink. It will look lovely on pale completions as well as working as a nude pink for darker tones. It’s a little barbie like but muted. I really like it. Whispers is a coral pink nude if this description even makes sense to you. It’s not just pink or coral but it’s also light enough to be considered as nude. Lovely for every day an I can see myself loving it for months to come. Lastly Wildflower is a very light pink shade. It may not suit everyone but i think it would be a lovely summer shade once I get some colour on me.
From Left: Make Me Crazy, Wildflower, Whispers, Pink Lust, Candy Sweet (flash)

From Left: Make Me Crazy, Wildflower, Whispers, Pink Lust, Candy Sweet (no flash)
That’s it for today. What do you guys think? I am very impressed so far. I will be able to report more once I get some use out of them all. I really like the packaging of the melts/butters collection. I think formula is thick and creamy which may not sit well with everyone but it will photograph really great. They are also very pigmented which should work well for intensity as well as wear time. Lipsticks may not have a great wear time but they are extremely comfortable to wear, no drying. I find lip colours like that best for every day as you can always top them up. 

Favourites of the bunch? Definitely Pro Butters Cats Whiskers and Pro Lipsticks in Pink Lust and Whispers.

Let me know your favourites. And see you soon for part 2 of my Freedom Makeup extravaganza haul :)

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for daily updates and to keep in touch on Facebook 

Thanks for reading
Love,
Dorota  

Sunday 7 June 2015

Summer is here with The Glamour Summer Edit beauty box.

Summer is here :) Really !! 23 degrees and sunny isn’t something we often get to experience in UK. So I thought we will talk summer and who better to introduce summer with, than Glamour and Latest in Beauty !! They came up with another little project called The Glamour Summer Edit and let me tell you: Stop what you’re doing, read this post and go buy it here before it sells out. Believe me you don’t want to miss this one !!

Who doesn’t love watermelons? This is a general team behind the super cute, ultra summer packaging of this box. I don’t normally love the packaging, however this one is a keeper (insert watermelon emoji here)
Glamour’s beauty director, Alex Steinherr is promising the best beauty edit yet? Is she right? She may actually be. You can follow her on Instagram here.

Box has a whooping value of £117.99 and it’s available for £17.99. You really can’t bit the price of this one. It is packed with exciting new and old brands so without further ado let’s get on with unboxing :) Ready? 
As usual I am more excited about trying new skincare. It’s a little crazy if you consider the amount of money I spend monthly on makeup (It’s not pretty and it is definitely not a minimalism I live by lol)



So what, except for watermelons, got me to purchase this box? The answer is simple - Pixi by Petra. I’ve heard so much about their Glow Tonic and wanted to try it for a really long time. When I saw that we get to sample it (15ml) with the box I had to have it. Sample is quite ok, 15 ml is not much but for a tonic it should last for two weeks so it’s definitely something I will be testing asap. I will report later with my opinion. Would this be something I purchase full size? Probably. Especially with £5 off voucher code included with the box. This is an exfoliating Toner with 5% Glycolic formula. It also has aloe vera & ginseng making it a great all rounder even for dry and sensitive skin. It’s alcohol free, however it comes with a caution that due to alpha hydroxy acid it may increase skin sensitivity to sun. I will be using it in the evenings and making sure I’m protected with a very high SPF.

Talking about SPF… Eucerin Mattyfying Sun Fluid is also included in the box. I’ve heard of the brand but never got to testing any of its products so this is something I will surely be using in the upcoming months. I’m a little unsure of it’s mattyfying formula as I have a dry skin and this one is for normal and combination but I will give it a go. This comes with SPF 50 and 4 stars superior UVA approved by EU. Nevertheless it is great to see a sun protection in this box as sun can have a very dangerous effect on our skin from health as well as beauty perspective so if there’s one product I strongly advise you to buy as soon as possible is a high sun filter. Worried it may flash in your photos? I’m on defence here. So what? As long as my skin is healthy and well protected I don’t mind playing a ghost in few photos :)

I only recently updated my skincare to oils. And what an update it has been. I use virgin, cold pressed coconut oil for, well everything these days. I’ve used few beauty brands facial oils and haven’t found a favourite so far. Nothing justifying spending £20-£50-£100 plus on an oil working as my trusty £6 jar of coconut oil from Sainsbury (check out here). However I heard of brand Caudalie for what seems like forever now. As it is a luxury brand with prices giving me a little meltdown I was really looking forward to testing some before committing to buying full size. I’m so happy to receive a 15 ml sample of their Divine Oil, which can be used on face, body and hair. Let me tell you - it smells amazing. If it wasn’t so damn expensive I would use it all over. I already tried it this morning on my face and it gives an amazing glow as well as it gives my skin a little extra moisture. I will test some more and report back later, maybe with a  skincare favourites post? Let me know, if it’s something you’d like to read :)

Balance Me has it’s representation this months as well. I generally like their products as their smell insane, the ingredient list is something I can live with (99% natural)and the price won’t break the bank, even if it’s little more I would normally spend on body products :) This time I will be testing Super Toning Body polish. This product comes free of: parabens, sulphates, petroleum, mineral oils, silicons, dea, pegs, colourings etc. Sample size is 50 ml which makes it a perfect travel size and you have to use it within 6 months from opening (no pegs generally mean that products must be used pretty quickly)

Lastly we get to try L’Occitane’s Shampoo and Conditioner with 5 essential oils. I love L’Occitane. Best hand creams I’ve ever tried :) However they do come with sulphates :( which is slightly disappointing. Nevertheless these 2x 35ml samples will surely be used and tested. For my very, very long hair this means one application probably so I don’t envision forming a proper opinion on them. 


Something in between skincare and make is Vita Liberata Trystal Minerals Luxury Tan Bronzer. I’m actually quite excited to try this product as it is promised to be the first ever self-tanning bronzer. i love bronzer. I love a little harmless, sunless tan so yeah I will be trying this one out. I have really high hopes. Let’s see what this baby can do :) It also comes with super soft bronzer brush which i may use as a contour brush and try using this product with a more round and larger brush. We’ll see :)

Many brands are now coming up with gel nail polishes where no UV lamp is required to cure them. Nails Inc has a representation in this box with its Gel Effect Nail Polish which I received in the most gorgeous pink nude colour in Uptown !!! They promise an ultra lasting effect and I am sure to test it out for you and maybe even do a little compare post about different no lamp gel polishes across many brands
Bourjois Color Boost in Fuchsia Libre is a beautiful pinky shade perfect for cool, undone summer look. It promises hydration and lasting effect up to 10 hrs. Ok, I don’t believe that in the slightest as I haven’t yet met a moisturising yet lasting lipstick but hey, I am open to testing this one out. I’m impressed as it comes with SPF15 which means your lips are also protected from the rays. Colour is definitely one which would suit many skin tones including my pasty one :)

Flash tattoos are everywhere. and with the festivals approaching very soon Seekers of the Sun came up with a limited edition design for Glamour Beauty Edit. I will be taking them with me on my hols to update my evening look :)

I love this box. One of the best boxes out there and it’s definitely worth the price. I will be testing out all of the products for sure. Some stand out more than others of course and my absolute favourites are Claudalie Divine Oil, Pixi Glow Tonic, Eucerin Sun Fluid and Vita Liberta Bronzer Brush :) I am excited to try them all and I will be including them in my beauty regime as soon as possible :)

What do you guys think? Are you as impressed or maybe disappointed with this box? Let me know in the comments below if there’s something you’d like me to fully review for you. 

That’s it for today. I am putting sunscreen on and going to chill in the garden. I feel like I’ve earned it somehow :)

Love,
Dorota




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