New in #87

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New in #87

Admin   January 11, 2020   Comment  

*MAX FACTOR Facefinity All Day Flawless 3 in 1 Primer Concealer Foundation SPF20

10 Fair Porcelain

Max Factor became the second brand to send me a foundation that's actually pale. In fact they sent me the lightest shade I've ever tried and I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's a bit too light even for me, which is a totally new experience. Facefinity All Day Flawless has an impressive shade range 40 shades, sadly we only get a portion here since our stands are so narrow, but luckily there are online shops. I'm not sure if any other affordable drugstore brand has such a pale shade, but it's lighter than Essence's #insta perfect 10 #cool porcelain which was previously lightest in my collection. The shade matches my neck, but my face is darker, so my best match is closer to Essence and Maybelline Dream Cover 095 if I don't want to look a bit odd, but this will come so handy to mix with darker foundations. If you're looking for something truly pale, Max Factor has got you covered and the shade is neutral. The formula appears nice too. It's my type of foundation, so a feather-light formula with light-medium coverage. Sadly I haven't been able to wear foundation in months now (sucks so much), so can't give it a proper test because everything I put on my face now looks flaky, cakey and just in general awful (Bourjois Healthy Mix fares best, still I'm having the worst skin days of my life so I don't wear anything on most days or just Maybelline Eraser concealer). I hope it passes soon as I'll get to test this properly, as it looks very promising. I had the primer in the same packaging and I remember it was thicker. It's been a while since I used up my bottle, but it was (possibly still is?) my favourite. Max Factor also generously provided me with samples of other shades that I think are sold here (shade 10 very likely isn't), so I could do comparison swatches.

  14.69 €

MAYBELLINE Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder

090 Translucent

Since I'm a fan of foundation with the same name and I like their Fit Me Loose powder, I wanted to try this too, thought it wasn't my first choice, as a version for dry skin exists too, it's just not sold in Slovenia (this is the only Maybelline powder we have). Reviews for this are fantastic and I was most intrigued by the promise of blurring pores. Like I said above I'm currently really struggling testing and wearing makeup because my skin is alternating between ok-ish and very dry with flakes + spots. When my skin is normal it looks like a great powder, smooth, a tiny bit blurring (but not as good as Fit Me Loose version) and velvety matte. On dry days it, of course, creates the appearance of a thousand dry patches like everything I put on, but I won't hold this against it because it looks like a nice powder when used on normal skin with an oily forehead. I think this one might be a bit more effective than Rimmel's Stay Mat when it comes to holding back oil, but it's hard to say for me in winter. We have four shades here, I got translucent since I so pale and it leaves no white cast. There is a sponge and a mirror in the bottom compartment. 

Müller, 5.89 €

CATRICE Prime & Fine Poreless Blur Primer Goodbye Pores

I got this despite the more dry looking texture of the tester compared to Revlon's Photoready 002, which I wanted more, but it's very expensive for drugstore. I actually got it a few days before my skin became mega dry - I just can't believe my luck - so I've only used a couple of times "normal" skin. It's a whipped balm type of texture, which doesn't make much sense, but it's a typical high silicone content primer like Clinique's Pore Minimizer and the likes. On good skin days it glides smoothly on the skin, though to prevent it piling and shifting too much during application I find it's best to tap this one in. The finish is completely matte. On bad days it flakes like crazy, so if your skin is dehydrated, flaky and/or dry, stay away from this one. It's not terribly effective when it comes to its primary task, so hiding/blurring pores, at least when looking close up, while it tends to look better in the pictures. Pores don't look much different after application and it's not as good a Revlon's which I tried a couple of times, plus foundation over it looks more cakey on some areas like the sides of my nose. I'm just not impressed by this one.

Picture can be enlarged like all in this post. 

Müller, 5.39 €

*CATRICE Glow & Care Primer

I've been checking this one out in the drugstores for a while because I liked it has glycerine so high on the list, so I hoped it's nice for dry skin and because the texture looked so smooth when blended. I didn't see much glow in the shop, but it definitely has it. It's got the same level of glow as Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter and to me they are so similar, I don't want to say dupes, but on my skin they look almost the same side by side. CT has a bit of coverage and Catrice has a faint peachy tint, the textures are different since CT is annoyingly thick and Catrice is an easy to blend liquid, but the biggest difference is that the shimmer in CT is all equally super fine, invisible, but in Catrice's there are some larger shimmer particles visible under strong light. To some this is a difference worth 32 € and to some it won't be, but they are definitely very similar. I prefer Catrice's version now when my skin is very dry, as it doesn't make the makeup over it cakey unlike CT, but again my skin is so weird right now, I feel it's pointless to even write about these products right now.

 5.39 €

L'OREAL Glow Mon Amour Highlighting Drops

01 Sparkling Love

This is one of the strongest liquid highlighters I've tried and it's the reason I wanted it. We have three shades here, this pale champagne one and a coral-rosy one, I'm not sure if there are more shades of these. The glow is pretty strong and wet looking, but not full metallic, so it's not going overboard. You only need a tiny dot of the product on the cheekbone, while applying more tends to not layer well, it just spreads the product on a larger area. It wish this were more dry to the touch, but it's more oily, which makes it easy to blend, but it also shifts on the skin. It's not perfect, but I like it because the glow is lovely, not glittery, instead it has a fine shimmer. I hate the packaging, though. It's got a dropper which is ok, but there's no stopper/scraper, so there's always so much product on the dropper and it's easy to get the bottle very messy. 

 Müller,  10.99 €

*WET N WILD Megaglo Hello Halo Liquid Highlighter

Halo, Goodbye

I got this sent after I bought L'Oreal and neither feel perfect to me. I prefer the champagne shade of L'Oreal, but the formula of this feels nicer. It's not as oily feeling, so it doesn't shift as much at application. The strength of the glow is comparable, yet L'Oreal's looks a bit better. Shimmer is fine, so it looks like a natural enough highlighter and the shade is somewhere between warm and cool, with a warm-ish base, but some cool looking particles among shimmer. It suits my skin tone just fine. The big applicator feels nice to use, but I don't like the packaging overall because it feels like tester and not a full size product.

 5.99 $

 

*CATRICE Glitterholic LE Eyeshadow Palette

C02 So Vain

There are two versions of these, both are a collection of different types of finishes, but the centre stage is the glitter. There's a few mattes and satin shimmers, all are more pigmented than is usual for Catrice and you can get a great colour payoff. The copper glitter shade is a cream texture with big shimmer particles suspended in a clear base. It swatches so intense, but it's very hard to apply it evenly and it does not stay put. It landed everywhere a couple of hours in, so it ended up looking absolutely abysmal both times I've worn it. The regular eyeshadows are nice, great even though the palette doesn't feel complete to me in terms of shades, but the glitter needs something to stick too and it's just very messy. 

Look with no glitter and the glitter look after a few hours. You can see it freshly applied in the L'Oreal Mon Amour picture above. On the left I'm also wearing Glitterholic LE Highlighter Palette, middle shade.

*CATRICE Glitterholic LE Highlighter Palette

By now I'm used to Catrice launching excellent highlighters. This is basically L.O.V. GLOWrious palette with the third shade that's actually useful. The first is a classic neutral-warm champagne shade, then the second is the rose gold and the last a peachy glow. All super wearable, all have fine shimmer and a good level of glow. Excellently done. I've been wearing this one instead of Colourpop Flexiterian, thought that one is still my all-time favourite.

BALEA Erfrishendes Waschgel

My standard gel cleanser that I've been using as a second cleanser for years. I took the last one and I haven't seen new stock in a while. I know there's a lot of complaints that this new version is way worse than before, which I disagree, but maybe they decided to bring those back? We'll see.

DM, 1.99 €

BALEA MED Ultra Sensitive Intensivcreme Urea

I recently read how underrated urea is for repairing the barrier and since I had none such products I got one from Balea to include in my routine which already features ceramides and other great things. 7% is maybe a bit high as urea in high concentrations also acts as an exfoliator and Balea has 5% version as well. It's nice moisturiser, I've been using it for the last month and though it's not as effective on dry skin as Mixa's 5% panthenol or Cerave Moisturising Cream, I appreciate that's it's not a thick balmy texture, instead it's a like a regular cream that sinks in eventually. 

DM, 3.95 €

YEAUTY Eye Pad Mask

Deep Hydration

There are two versions of these in my local Müller, aside from this one is a gold set of patches which I think are anti-ageing, but they were out of stock so I didn't check the ingredients. I got this because like liked it has glycerine, aloe vera, hyaluronic acid and vitamin E as the first ingredients after collagen. These are just like K-Beauty hydrogels. There's plenty of extra fluid that you can use all over the face and it smells faintly like cucumber. I can't say these did a miraculous job, but they feel nice under tired eyes.

Ingredients.

Müller, 0.99 €

 

PANTENE Hair Biology Grey & Glowing Illuminating Mask

This is my third out of three and I'll just say it - they are all exactly the same. Same texture, same scent and same effect. All of course brilliant for my dry hair, but no different than the cheaper Repair conditioner. Based on the description I expected a purple mask because it's meant for grey hair which tends to turn yellow, but this is a regular clear mask. So I just mixed some Subrina Colour Refresh Diamond Blonde and got the added toning effect. The last I have to try is the Reconstruct version, but I'm sure it won't be any different.

ARTIST Professional Colorcreme 

Yeeha Lila

My hate for this could not be deeper. Subrina Colour Refresh introduced me into the world of temporary colour, so I've been experimenting a lot in the last months which was so easy because those always washed off completely. Since Subrina sadly doesn't have a lavender shade, I picked up this one from a Müller brand. Had I known it's be such an obnoxious colour, I'd stay away from it, however, it has some good characteristics, it's just not what it claims to be - a temporary colour. It wasn't washing off, not even with my trusted & foolproof technique chelating, so I had to bleach it out (bleach bath with a mix of bleach 6% developer and shampoo) and it still didn't get it all out from a couple of strands, so if you're looking for temporary, this is not it, at least not on a bleached base. Now granted, maybe my hair is so porous that is took in the colour too well (a very likely explanation as I haven't done any protein treatments in a while before using this) and I suspect the result on natural blond hair would not be the same, but I'm still unhappy about it because so far I've only had great experience with temporary colours. If you're looking for something that won't wash off fast, which I think most people look for, this is it. Ironically when I first posted about it on IG, I got a message that the pink version of these washes off with one wash, so I guess it depends on the shade. Formula is not nice. It more liquid than regular colours and has no care capabilities at all. My hair was very dry after use and I had to use a lot of leave-ins + coconut oil to make it feel less coarse and dry, though I suppose most people won't have such problems, since my hair is just naturally so very dry. This stains like a MOFO. It immediately tints skin or furniture, so you have no time to wipe it off and get it off easy, instead I had to use bleach on my bathroom furniture (I had it protected with paper, but with this being such a messy product, I couldn't avoid smudges) and I could not get if off my skin for days. As expected the colour is a much darker purple than on the front of the box and to achieve that shade you have to mix it with a conditioner and the base hair colour should be much lighter than mine, however, it's also a lot warmer. It's not the cool purple shade I expected, instead it's a reddish purple, similar to Subrina's Violet, yet not quite as pink. I liked the overall result, even though I used it undiluted on my darkest parts and partly diluted on my ends. You can see it created a look of purple highlights, but also the rest of my hair got a mix of cool brown (it toned out some of the orange parts) and on some it just went more orange-red. The colour was pretty, even though I expected a much cooler result and also better coverage. This is supposed to be applied on dry hair, which makes the application less even and slower compared to Subrina, you also use more. I left it on for 15-20 minutes, I don't know exactly because I was freaking out about the staining of the bathroom and looking for a cleaning supply that would work, but it was around that time. Unlike Subrina's Colour Refresh which start washing off with water alone, this needs shampoo. Regardless of a lot of shampooing and chelating, like I said the colour just wasn't going off, which I actually kind of expected as soon as I saw the staining. This left me with a lot of work and fixing up. I'm sticking to Subrina.

Base colour was this one, so a medium-dark blonde. Obviously for a proper violet shade the hair need to be lighter, but I got much better colour result with red and magenta from Subrina and I used a weaker mix with conditioner. 

Müller, 3.49 €

L'OREAL Elseve Extraordinary Oil Nourishing Shampoo

My standard shampoo. It's not the only one I use, but this is my all-time favourite because it's the only one that leaves my hair like I just used some conditioner. It leaves that silicone smooth feeling that my tangy, dry hair really needs. It's only for thick, dry hair and not best on fine hair because it can weight it down (based on feedback I got from some), but I love it and have gone through many bottles. 

2-3 €

PANTENE PRO-V Intensive Repair Shampoo

A repurchase. It's doesn't leave my hair quite as smooth as L'Oreal, as it doesn't have silicones, but it's still very impressive and my second favourite in the drugstores.

2-3 €

SUBRINA Colour Refresh Mask

Diamond Blonde

My 4th tube. This is the most reliable quick, non-fussy toner (in a sense there's no need to mix it with a developer), so I use it a lot, even though it's not ideal for orange strands, but it's much stronger than Ice Cream No Yellow shampoo (which is already very strong as some pale blondes report) and Schwarzkopf Professional Blondme Tone Enhancing mask in Cool. On very pale blonde hair it can be tricky to use because it's very strong and it can quickly tint the hair blue-grey. I tend to use it straight from the tube on my darkest parts and mix it with a conditioner for my ends. 

Müller, 4.99 €

 AliExpress knock-off of Revlon One Step Style

Honestly this is nothing revolutionary, simply a non-rotating hair brush with a dryer inside the barrel - I don't know if I saw a non-rotating version from other brands around here, but as much as I'm intrigued by the rotating ones, they kind of scare me too. This basically just eliminates the need of having to hold a hair dryer and a round brush because it does the same thing. It makes it so much easier and faster, especially since the brush is big enough that you can work with large sections of hair at once, but it won't dry the hair close to your scalp, so it's best you let you hair air dry or use a hair drier before until it's 80-90% dry and then just add volume and straighten the hair with this. It's also light and it doesn't feel heavy even when you use it for a long time. It's worth the purchase if you're looking for something easy to used and quick, however, my Moroccanoil round brush 55 mm and ancient Remington hair dryer do a far better job of making the hair sleek than this. I just don't get the same effect that I've seen so many girls get on YouTube - Lucky me. Like I read in reviews low and high are exactly the same speed and medium is lowest, the difference is the heat. On medium it doesn't feel too hot and it's also not terribly loud, but it's comparable to a regular hair dryer. I got the EU plug and so far it works ok, but we'll see how long it last. The box it came in was torn to shreds, but the product was without a scratch or fault, so I guess it can survive a beating even though it feel so light. 

AliExpress, 17.20 $

 *REVOLUTION Feed Your Face Toffee Apple Face Mask 

This is a moisturising mask which interestingly has glycerine on the first place among ingredients, while water is way down. However, I still haven't used it because I see nothing special in it and even though I don't mind fragrance, it's third on the list which is not good. I'll see if I ever try it, reviews look good, so I might give it a go. It smells nice, like caramel. 

Ingredients.

Ličila.si, 10.99 €

*O.W.N. CANDLES Happy Holidays Vegan Wax Melts

This made the whole parcel smell like cinnamon and they are shaped like roses, so they are cute, but when I used one it smelled terrible, like plastic and nothing at all like when solid. The fragrance was strong and it filled the place.

Ličila.si, 3.99 €

*NOELLE Brush

A nice, medium thick and soft brush for foundation. It could be a bit denser, so it would blend faster without having to fix the streaks, but it's decent one and I know I'll use it often.

Ličila.si, I can't find this brush, but they have plenty others.

*GLOV On-The-Go Hydro Cleanser & Quick Treat

This is a glove for removing makeup with no cleanser, just water. I had a similar microfibre cloth many years ago, so it's nothing new, though the material of this one feels better and softer. Cleansing glove is said to contain "refined, star-shaped fibres up to 30 times thinner than a cotton pad, which boast superior electrostatic properties to absorb makeup, dirt and excess oil like a magnet."  In practice its ok, but no magic. It removes most of the makeup while damp, but it fails to completely remove mascara, at least I don't want to be too rough around that area and with this I have to rub quite hard to get everything off. It's not a faster way for me, especially since you have to clean it after every use, so after the first week, I now rarely use it. The Quick Treat is a mini finger version for quick fixes when doing makeup. I also got bunny ears for holding back hair while cleansing and applying skin care. 

I could have taken pictures of removing makeup from one half of the face, but I didn't feel like it, so I made this mess on the arm using all the usual makeup: foundation and concealer as a base and then on top cream eyeshadow + powder eyeshadow over it, eyeliners, mascara, blush, highlighter and lipstick. Mascara was waterproof (Essence I <3 Extremes) & lipstick is Deborah Fluid Velvet 02, so one of those tough-to-remove ones. This took a lot of rubbing, the same as on the face, so it's not like using a cotton pad + a micellar, but for a simple, natural makeup it's enough.

Ličila.si, just the Cleansing glove 12.99 €. I can't find the same set, but a similar one is 19.99 €.

*ORIFLAME Women's Collection Delicate Cherry Blossom Gift Set

This smells so similar to L'Occitane's cherry fragrances, which just about every women I know loves or at least likes a lot. It's the same lovely spring floral that's so easy to wear in any season and is appropriate for almost any occasion. Though it's similar to light body mist that tend to disappear fast, it actually manages to last several hours. It's a really nice one. The body lotion has a more creamy scent, but again like cherry blossoms. 

Oriflame, just the fragrance regular price 22.90 €.

CATRICE Kaviar Gauche Mini Lipstick Set & ESSENCE spread the magic! brush set

I think neither of these are still available as they were both a part of LE (unless there are some leftovers in DMs). The lipsticks are super cute small ones that are perfect to throw in the bag and the formula is as is usual for Catrice great. I got two brushes from a set that might still be sold in some places. I don't use the eyebrow one because I don't touch my brows, but the blush brush is a nice one. It's super soft, a good small-ish size for my face and it picks up colour well for an Essence brush. It's become my primary brush for applying brush and highlighter for those few times I managed to wear makeup in the lasts weeks. 

I'll talk about all those hair products you might have seen on Instagram in my next new in, since I haven't had a chance to use them all. Have a great day!

New in #86

A'Pieu Cerave Charlotte Tilbury Clinique Ecooking Etude House Hourglass It Cosmetics L'Oreal Laneige Laura Mercier Maybelline New In Oriflame Pixi Rimmel Skintegra The Ordinary Wet n Wild

New in #86

Admin   November 24, 2019   Comment  

 IT COSMETICS Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ 

Fair

Travel Size 12 ml

As hyped up as this is, I'm not 100% sold on it. I got the travel version because this has snail secretion filtrate high on the list of ingredients and as great as it is, products with it tend to break me out. It's a heavy, moisturiser-like formula with a medium-high coverage and on me a very shiny/dewy finish, which takes time to tone down. Despite thickness it blends well into the skin and looks good freshly applied apart from creasing under the eyes and on the lids, but after a half an hour I just don't like this one very much. It looks obvious and sits strangely in some places, though it doesn't emphasise pores. When it comes to lines it mostly emphasised them at the end of the day, but there were some days when it didn't. With time as it's wearing off it starts to look good again, so I'd wear this one only in small quantities, otherwise it's a bit much for me. I had a brief period when my skin was very dry and flaky (the previous part of review was done on normal skin), so I picked this CC to see if it works on such skin. It did a good job, I have nothing more appropriate for dry skin, but it couldn't hide all the flakies. Shade Fair is not very pale, so fellow Snow Whites, this very expensive and popular foundation/CC left us out, though I still wear it, since it's just a shade too dark. It's about the same as Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum 51 or probably Mac NC 15 without a strong yellow undertone. Luckily It Cosmetics has small sizes, so I didn't spend a ton on a foundation that's not my best match. It's worth it if you're looking for high coverage, extra layer of spf and great ingredients, but I actually prefer Clinique's foundation I'll mention bellow.

Cult Beauty, £13.00

CHARLOTTE TILBURY Hollywood Flawless Filter Primer & Highlighter Hybrid

1 Fair

I'm still confused what this actually is, on some days it feels like a highlighter, but on gloomy days it's a foundation - in small quantities that is. I generally avoid the Charlotte Tilbury hype, but I was looking for a fantastic out-of-this-world primer that would blur pores, lines and illuminate at the same time and this is described to be just such a product, plus this has such a high feedback everywhere I looked that I caved despite the insane price. It's a primer-highlighter-light coverage foundation hybrid, so you can use it either on its own, under foundation, mixed with the foundation or on top of foundation. I've had primer-highlighter hybrids before and was missing one in my collection since I used up L'Oreal Magic Lumi, but this adds the coverage part to the mix too. There are two reviews I can write about this. I used this first on a nice sunny day on its own and I looked like the shiniest creature on earth, but with that greasy shine, not the illuminated "glow from within" shine. I didn't set it with powder, which would help make it more wearable on its own. Flash forward on a cloudy, rainy days we have now and that extra shine helps my skin look more glowy and less drab. I set it with powder to tone down the shine because this is a lot on its own, but with a powder it works as a standalone product on the skin. Applied over foundation on the high points of the face it is a bit underwhelming for me, but I am used to the visible from space Colourpop's Flexiterian and this is a lot more subtle that proper highlighters. Coverage is actually better that I though it will be, it's a low level, but good enough to wear on its own with some extra concealer where needed, though it definitely won't satisfy those who love medium to high coverage foundations. As a primer under foundations, I'm not impressed. Despite reading reviews from numerous people who said it smooths the skin, hides pores and lines, I didn't notice that at all. Like I kind of suspected, since it's glowy it behaves the same as any other liquid highlighter, so it emphasises, not hides. It's not successful at hiding pores and it slips into lines after a couple of hours, so it's not as amazing as I hoped. It can also look so terrible with a foundation on top, like a mask of heavy foundation with flakes around the edges of application. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it yet, it feels a bit underwhelming for the price and I think you can get similar products for the price without the coverage part (which you can add with a separate foundation anyway). I hate the packaging with the big applicator so much because you get hardly any product with one swipe, especially since the formula is very thick. A pump would be so much better.

Cult Beauty, £32.00

CLINIQUE Even Better Refresh Hydrating and Repairing Makeup Full-Coverage Foundation

0.75 Custard

Big fan on this one. This was one of the five foundations I tried in my test that I posted on Instagram Stories and I like it a lot straight away, but I was using Olay Regenerist under it in that test, which prevented this foundation from setting because it's meant for drier skin tones and it felt heavy for my taste because of it. I had some sample left and I wore it an extra day, that time less, so the way I wear foundations and with a lighter base under it. It wore so good I went online straight away, found Look Fantastic has it so much cheaper than my local drugstore, plus -20% at the time and I just ordered it. It's a high coverage foundation with a satin finish that for such a level of coverage looks so much better than other foundations. It's still natural looking on the skin, it doesn't slip into pores or lines and it's a hydrating foundation with the best staying power I've found. Usually you get a good staying power only at matte formulas, but this one just hangs on for hours without migrating on the face (even at the first test when it was tacky all day, it did not wipe off). Look Fantastic has the lightest shade in stock 0.75 custard, which is a very pale yellow toned shade that fits me well. This is without a doubt my favourite high coverage foundation so far.

Look Fantastic, £24.00

 MAYBELLINE Dream Urban Cover Foundation SPF50 

095 Fair Porcelain

I'll just say it first - people, this is the furthest thing away from being a dupe for It Cosmetics. Same SPF does not indicate a dupe. This is a very lightweight, runny liquid formula instead of the heavy, creamy one of CC and it doesn't cover as much, instead it has a light-medium coverage that can be build up to a proper medium. It applies beautifully on the skin, it's got that non-makeup look to it, plus it doesn't sink into pores, nor does it emphasise lines. Finish right after application is natural with some radiance and it sets to an almost dry to the touch finish. Sadly in a couple of hours on its own it get that "sunscreen shine", where it almost looks oily, so a powder is needed with this foundation and oily skin types might struggle keeping it matte. But in other aspects it wears beautiful - despite the extra dewiness it doesn't emphasise or slip into pores, it doesn't even look terrible on my smile lines  as time passes, which is a big plus when it comes to what I'm looking for at foundations. I get no patches that someone mentioned to me on IG and warned me to not get this foundation, but I appreciate any extra opinion I can share here too. I like it, but I have to use a mattifying powder with it despite having normal skin. 095 Fair Porcelain is one of the lightest shades in my collection and it's just a smidge darker than Essence's #insta perfect 10. Undertone is neutral pink so it fits me perfectly. This foundation doesn't have the best UVA protection (it's only against UVA short-waves), but hopefully none of you think you can just wear this and be protected, as for the protection on the label you can too apply a lot of it, but I won't get into the sunscreen debate, there are plenty other sunscreen obsessed bloggers to tell you everything you're doing is wrong.    

Feel Unique, €10.56

 ETUDE HOUSE Face Blur SPF33 PA++ 

My primer collection consisted of a single product that I don't even like that much, so I've spend some time researching primers. I've had this one noted somewhere for ages and now that they revamped it by increasing the SPF to 33, I ordered myself a bottle. Reviews for this are great and it's described as a brightening/radiant primer plus it promises to hide pores - so very similar to Hollywood Filter claims. First that hits you is the strong rose + powder scent, which is not my favourite and if you have sensitive skin, this very likely won't work for you (Hollywood is unscented by the way). It's much lighter than I imagined, I expected something thick that will fill the pores. It's also not a strong radiant primer, at least it's not a typical light liquid highlighter product like L'Oreal's Magic Lumi I had and it doesn't have visible shimmer. For something called Face Blur it doesn't blur, at least when it comes to pores and lines, while it has a touch of off-white pink colour which makes the skin a bit paler, but on my skin tone it's not noticeable much. It looks greasy glowy even with a matte foundation on top, so this is truly only suited for normal-dry skin, though those with an oily skin might make it work with a lot of powder. I'm underwhelmed by this one, just like with Charlotte's Hollywood Primer. It doesn't hide pores, the illumination is weak, it's not blurring, it doesn't prevent my foundation from slipping into lines, but at least it has a decent SPF protection and it does make help the makeup apply more smoothly, so as a basic primer it's nice, it's just not as good on my skin as some report it's on their's. But I think I'll end up wearing it a lot due to spf.

eBay (cosmeticmarket2012), $10.51 

ETUDE HOUSE Proof 10 Eye Primer

I actually ordered this before getting Artdeco which was in my last New in, but I knew I'll have to wait a month for it to arrive, so I grabbed that one as well to have something in the mean time. This is highly rated online and I can see why. The texture is more liquid than any other primer I've tried before and it takes a minute to dry. I did a test with one eye primed and the other not, and I used Essence's Metal Chrome eyeshadow which I'm not as impressed by than most it appears (they are poorly pigmented and crease). There was a big difference in intensity and in time this prevent it from creasing. I've been using it daily since then and it has never failed me. For the price this is great. 

eBay (cosmeticmarket2012), $5.54

HOURGLASS Ambient Lighting Powder

Diffused Light

I'm a bit conflicted about this one because sometimes it's great and then on sometimes it does nothing much. I've been resisting the relentless hype for year, since this is insanely expensive for some makeup product, but I took my chance when Feel Unique had -20% of life brands. All over the face it's nothing special because it doesn't my blur pores nor does it make the makeup look smoother/more blended and there's no "ethereal elfish/Galandriel glow", at least I haven't noticed it yet and I need to learn to use it/find the right products that work with it. It mostly looks like nothing much on the skin, but at least it's so finely milled it doesn't look powdery and fake looking. There's some sparse small shimmer in it, but it's only visible up close under artificial light. However, as much as I don't get it when it comes to use all over the face, it does on most occasions keep the foundation and other makeup from creasing in my smile lines around my mouth. I've been looking for a foundation/primer/powder that wouldn't slip into my lines or make it worse during the day because when I'm not wearing makeup you can't even see them and this does just that. Not just right after I apply makeup, but also if I chose some other powder and after a few hours my makeup is creased in those line, it can almost erase those lines, blurring and filing them in, however, sometimes it does nothing and I have no idea yet what affects its performance. Some use this as a highlighter, but it's barely noticeable in a thick coat, like I said it's mostly just nothing and it doesn't hold back any oiliness, so a separate powder for that purpose it needed under it. Over a setting powder it works better and I find I get better results than when I just use it directly over a foundation. I had a hard time deciding which shade to get, since the popular Dim light is said to be too dark for pale skin and Illuminating Light is allegedly too shimmery, but I picked Diffused Light despite fearing it will be too yellow because I saw a Youtuber who uses the same shade of foundation of Lancome as me using this and it works, it's completely translucent. It was very expensive, but considering it's (at most times) capable of doing something other products can't, it was a good investment, but I'm not sure about it doing anything when I apply it all over the face. 

Feel Unique, €50.40

HOURGLASS Veil Translucent Setting Powder

I got the small size with the stingy 0.9 g of product, but it's actually not that little-looking though the price is so high for what you get (I got it -20 %). When I was researching for powders, this one interested me most because it's some said it's a powder for those who hate the look of powder and that it's supposed to be nice also on dry skin (my skin is currently shifting from normal to very dry). It's the finest powder in my small collection and it truly doesn't look like powder at all on the skin. It has a slight blurring effect on the skin, but nothing spectacular and it doesn't prevent foundation from slipping in my smile lines. I notice shine soon even when my skin is dry, so it's not just natural oil, but this sort of turns into something more glowy, so this is not for oily skin in my opinion. I still need to use it more, but so far while I like it's invisible and it doesn't get cakey in time, I don't think it's worth the price. Maybe I'll change my mind the more I use it.

Feel Unique, €19.20

WET N WILD Color Icon Bronzer SPF 15 

Reserve Your Cabana

While I was exploring Hourglass Ambient Powders I came across a claim that this is a dupe for them (or maybe just Diffused Light). So since I already ordered Hourglass, I had to buy this too because that makes sense in this crazy head of mine. Truthfully, I was just curious if the comparison stands because I'm allergic to people throwing the word dupe so freely. So is it? Well, it's indeed very close, but this looks more powdery on the skin compared to the more finely milled Ambient powder which on me in time becomes more like a creamy texture. This also means it doesn't layer as nicely over a setting powder as that one, but honestly from far away you wouldn't be able to tell the difference, though this one has more tiny shimmer and it's doesn't prevent foundation from creasing in my smile line as well as Hourglass. Both last the same amount of time on me too. This is marketed as a bronzer and though I have pale skin, this is translucent on me and it has a nice looking very, very subtle glow on the skin. Using it as a highlighter you have to be very heavy handed for some proper glow, but you can use it all over for a some subtle radiance, though it doesn't give you the same effect as a regular highlighter applied in a thin coat. Like Ambient Powder personally I don't see what the big deal is, as neither are life changing products and I really wanted to see that amazing lit from within glow, but at least it was affordable and hopefully in time I grow to love both products or finally find a way to make them work. 

Beauty Bay, €5.00

MAYBELLINE Fit Me Loose Finishing Powder

05 Fair

Now this impressed me more than the powders above. This is so highly rated and is compared to the more expensive powder, in particular the hyped up Laura Mercier. It's not a typical product I generally like, since it's not invisible on the face, but it is doing a lot more than other powders I tried. From the start it looks powdery, but it's also nicely mattifying, while not being too draining or clingy or emphasising patches, it fills out the lines quite well (not perfect, but from some angles they are invisible) and it does a semi-decent job on pores, but it's not like a pore filing primer. In some time it becomes less powdery looking, but it's still nicely matte, or better said it looks like velvet on the skin. It's not ideal over spots, but let's faces it everything looks awful over spots (either not covered or cakey), as at least I haven't found anything that wouldn't look worse with makeup than without. It's also not best under my eyes, since my skin is more on the dry side there currently and this can look uneven. It gives some extra coverage, but not much, still you have to be careful when picking a shade, so you don't get something too dark or too pale. The packaging is somewhat annoying, though it it just a regular powder packaging, but since I tried the Primark's version with a mesh, there classic ones are so cumbersome. You get a very generous amount of 20 g which should last me ages, especially since I don't bake. It's not as easy powder to find though, since sites like Notino, Feel Unique, Spletična and others that sell Maybelline in EU don't have it (they really should because it's great), so I had to order on Amazon from a US seller and you can get it from US sellers on eBay too.

Amazon.de, €11.01

PIXI Glow Mist

I got this mainly for the ingredients, since it has propolis and niacinamide which are two ingredients my skin loves. Based on the list I'd say the dark green part is olive oil, but I don't know if it's only that. The mist is very fine, so much better than Catrice's, but not as fine as aerosolised Artdeco. I can be wet on the face for a while (sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't), but that promised glow is not that apparent on my skin - that little that is, doesn't last. It could be because it's already colder and my skin is just absorbing anything in sight despite heavier layers of moisturiser. It melts the makeup best of all sprays I've tried so far and it helps the makeup last longer. The only mini minus for me is the natural/herbal scent, but I can get over it. I'm quite happy with this even if it's not glowy, I rate it high especially because of ingredients. 

Look Fantastic, £12.80

L'OREAL PARIS Makeup Lumi Shake & Glow Dew Mist

This has such a great atomizer. It's miles better than Catrice's and while it's not as amazingly fine as Artdeco's mist in a can, this has such a fine mist. Despite the glow in the name, just like at Pixi I don't notice much of it, but it helps get the powderiness away and it helps prolonging the makeup. It's nothing special overall, but it doesn't what it's supposed too and the mix is so fine, not that different that the aerosolised Artdeco.

Feel Unique, €11.99

PIXI Skintreats Retinol Tonic

I loved the look of the entire Pixi Retinol line, especially the retinol oil, but I only got this (so far) because it's highly praised. It feels like a regular moisturising toner that absorbs quickly leaving nothing behind except for a smooth feeling. It smells so nice like lavender, though it has no fragrance. Retinol is low on the list, but the whole list looks good. I have the small 100 ml size, while larger ones exist too: a 250 ml and 500 ml with a pump. I've been using for a month now and I use too many things to be able to single out if this does anything special on its own, but I like having it in my routine.

Look Fantastic, £8.00

LANEIGE Lip Sleeping Mask

Berry

My lips aren't dry, in fact I almost never apply a lip balm during the day and only when I remember at night (I've been using my trusted Palmer's Swivel Stick for years, the rest feels rubbish compared to it). Still I was so temped to try this because of an overwhelming amount of positive reviews. It's a smooth vaseline/petroleum jelly type of consistency and it's easy to scoop out with the silicone spatula you get with the pot. On the lips it feels exactly like the old L'Occitane lip gloss formulas (like their 12-year old honey version, not the new pitiful excuse for a gloss Terre de Lumiere, but maybe other versions are different). It's a rich lip gloss formula with a nice amount of shine and the best staying power I've even encountered. On most days I wake up with a layers of this lip balm still on the lips and I mean where I applied it, not smeared all over the face. I can't say how effective it is on very dry lips, but reviews are rating it high and my lips look nicely nourished with no dry patches in the morning. Also the amount you get is huge, it's 25% more than Nuxe's famous lip balm and 4-times more than an regular stick balm, but you tend to use more on average if you use a spatula. I love this as much as Palmer's even though it's not as fast to apply.

eBay ( younfamily_kc), $11.87

A'PIEU Pure Block Natural Daily Sun Cream SPF45 PA +++

I ordered this a month ago when I couldn't find Nivea's Mattifying version (I've since found it) and I got the Q10 version instead which is terribly greasy, runs in my eyes and never sets. This was the cheapest one on eBay, it was only 6 € and I've had a sample a couple of years ago, so I knew what I was getting. I hoped it'd arrive sooner, but like most of the time parcels from Korea take a month to arrive, so it was already too late, now it's so cold that I barely spend any time outside, so this tube is staying closed until next spring (I have Olay's Regenerist SPF 30 in my local drugstore for daily use until then). I can just say what I wrote in my original review two years ago: it's a thicker sunscreen than my beloved Biore (which I now regret not getting instead), more of a classic sunscreen type of texture, it's also has that typical almost white cast finish when you're applying it in a thick coat like I'm used to apply Biore, but it blends in without leaving any white traces. It's greasier from the start, but it sets to a slightly velvety finish in about 5 minutes. That's longer than Biore, but it's still acceptable and it's a lot nicer in terms of elegance than 99% of European sunscreens.

 eBay ( younfamily_kc), $6.60

 THE ORDINARY 1% Retinol in Squalane

A month ago I finished Artnaturals 2.5% Retinol Serum which was like I was using nothing, meaning it was very light, it didn't dry out my skin nor make any type of change. So I got this 1% Retinol which is TO's harshest retinol and I was sure that since I was using 2.5% this won't have any effect on my skin, but I wanted it because it's in squalene, one of my favourite ingredient. I use it every other day, so averagely 3x a week and after second use my skin got dry and flaky, which I did not expect at all. So I guess Artnaturals is lying about the retinol content or the form they used in that serum - I don't know, I don't want to accuse anyone anything, but it's the only conclusion I can draw based on my limited knowledge. My skin was very dry (I applied a thick coat of Mixa Cica cream and it was absorbed and dry in an hour, so I kept reapplying it. By the way that cream is gold), but it only lasted two days, so it was nothing terrible and it fixed itself fast overall. My cheeks are more dry than before, but it's very manageable, though I wouldn't say my skin looks better now, but neither worse. It's only been a couple of weeks and I don't expect to see result for a few months. I'll report back when I finish the bottle, hopefully I see something. It's an light oil that I use as the last step in my routine. Skin stays greasy for a while and as they suggest, it best to use it in the night routine.

Beauty Bay, €6.50

THE ORDINARY Matrixyl 10% + HA 

I've recently used up Argireline Solution 10 % that also targets dynamic folds and it did absolutely nothing despite religious use. That one is like water, so I was surprised to see this is much heavier. It's a thick serum that dries sticky and it's harder to layer over, so I use it as one of the last steps. So far I haven't seen anything and I have doubts I will, since so far from all TO products I've tried apart from 2% salicylic acid, I've not been impressed by anything, not even their highly praised 30% AHA mask that feels like nothing on my skin. Well, see how it turns out, it can't hurt, plus it has hyaluronic acid.

Beauty Bay, €11.50

THE ORDINARY 100% Plant-Derived Hemi-Squalane

I got this because it felt better to get something for 3 € rather than pay for shipping (Beauty Bay has free shipping above 25 €). It wasn't easy finding something on their website that's so cheap and interesting, but I got this because a lot of reviews mentioned it's the best product for taming frizz. It's a like a very light silicone serum without silicones. It's too light for my hair, though it temporarily tames it, but for thin hair that gets easily weighted down by silicones, this looks like a good solution - I need some extra oily richness. However, I love it as a part of my skin care routine. It's an oil, but so light I can use it in the morning. This is actually my favourite product from the three I got and I have been regularly including it in the routine.

Beauty Bay, €3.25

*RIMMEL Lasting Matte Full Coverage Mattifying Foundation

103 True Ivory

I tried this when my skin was normal and now when it's dry. When I first tried this on my hand I was fully prepared to hate because it looks like a thick, very matte formula that would surely be aging like Maybelline's Superstay and flaky on skin that isn't oily. I was partly right. It's very thick and hard to get out of the tube, but it's like a thick mousse consistency when you start blending it. You have to careful to blend out the edges well because it's not spreadable like liquid foundations, but surprisingly this looks nice on normal skin. It's nice, fresh matte finish that doesn't look heavy or cakey, though it looks terrible on lines, but it fills out the pores ok. I feared it might wear terribly, getting drier and patchier - luckily that was not the case. However, when my skin got drier, this was terrible. Patchy, it did not melt into the skin, it emphasised dry patches - I didn't ever try to wear it all day, I just took it off. So performance really depends on the skin type, it has the potential to look good and to look terrible. Coverage is not full, it's more medium, but I didn't wear a concealer with this and it's enough got me. I got the lightest shade here 103 True Ivory, which is the 5th darkest in the range, so obviously it's way too dark and considering it doesn't blend as nice as liquid foundations, you need a shade that matches you perfectly. 

DM, 7.50 €

*RIMMEL Stay Matte Liquid Lip Colour

600 Coral Sass

I have this in the shade 500 Fire Starter, review is here. I consider this formula one of the best in our drugstores. It's properly matte and thought it's not completely opaque with one coat, applying more doesn't make it crumbly. Coral Sass is a medium pinky coral shade, not my style (it'd prefer something more neutral like Blush), but pretty nonetheless.

*RIMMEL Stay Matte Powder

Translucent

This is such a staple, a cult favourite, I know several people who aren't even that much into makeup and have been using it for years. But me - well, I've never tried it. For the longest time we didn't have Rimmel and back when my skin was still oily-combination, I settled for the much more expensive Givenchy Matissime because the situation in our drugstores was dire (Essence was much poorer quality back then and no Catrice yet. Cheap powders were rare in general, let alone good ones). I was concerned using this, since my skin isn't very oily and I thought it could look flaky on me with time like a lot of powders, but this is very fine, it doesn't look too obvious (it's not completely invisible from close-up) and it keeps the skin matte all day. It's a golden standard for sure, at least when it comes to mattifying, but that's all it does and it doesn't help make the foundation less obvious or blend the edges any better like some powders do. It promises to blur pores, which it does a little bit, but it's not a big difference.

The brushes were added to my parcel, but I have no idea if they are sold on the stands. 

*ORIFLAME Giordani Gold Essenza Sensuale

Eau de parfum

This smells amazing! I've been wearing this every day since I got it, it's so good. Notes in the catalogue state gardenia, orange flower and bourbon vanilla, while there’s more notes on the Fragrantica site, including precious wood, sandalwood and tuberose. It’s similar to Elie Saab le parfum due to orange flower, but so much nicer because it doesn’t have that cloying jasmine note. It’s a great cosy, warm woody-vanilla white floral with a good staying power. I'm a big fan. It doesn’t have a classic spray, instead it has a applicator with which you dab the fragrance directly on the pulse points. 

Oriflame, regular price 24.90 €, currently 14.99 €

BATH & BODY WORKS Fine Fragrance Mist

My fellow blogger the lovely Sandra from Keep Calm, Wear Lipstick blog shares my love for Bath & Body Works mists, so we've been exchanging testers of our stashes every now and then. She again blew me away with her parcel, I didn't even know she has so many BBW mists and she got me generous skin care testers of products I was very interested in. Thanks again!
Beautiful Day

A day-dreamy blend of daisies, pink peonies & sun-kissed apples.

Such an airy floral-sweet apple fragrance. It's similar to Champagne, Apple & Honey scent, but less sweet. The daisy note also makes it similar to Avon's Luck La Vie. I like this one a lot.

Cashmere Glow

Cashmere Glow envelops you in the warmth of vanilla & golden peach layered with luxurious cashmere musk.

Sandra once send me a body peeling with this scent and I liked it. This is an even better version. It's a warm peachy sweet cosy scent. I think if you like Twilight Woods and Amber Love, this will be up your alley. I'm a fan.

Sugared Cranberry Cider

The name says it all, it's sweet cranberry scent, but the warm, fall-winter version. More suited to younger crowds, but likeable.

Sweater Weather

A cool, fall-perfect blend of sun crisp apple, autumn leaves & orchard woods.

This is crazy popular among BBW fans, but I don't get it. It's got some a nice apple note, but it's overshadowed by this musty note. It reminds me of cold autumn days, which are just about the worst for a summer girl like me, but I can see why it's so popular. It's fresh and crisp, but it lacks sweetness for me. This is a unisex scent.

Bright Autumn Blooms

The most grown up scent in the brunch and very up my street. I can't find the notes, but it's like a high-end fragrance. A delightful rich floral on a maybe sandalwood-precious wood-musk base (I can't say for sure, but leans more towards powdery, rather than classic vanilla). I love this one, it's one of BBW's best quality scents. Too bad it was a LE, they need to include this into their regular line up, or bring it back next autumn.

Winterberry wonder

A sweet snowfall of red frosted winterberry, sparkling cranberry & crystal vanilla.

A berry vanilla. Sweet, juicy and warm. Very likeable, but more suited for kids. I have this one full size from 2017 when it was also a LE.

SKINTEGRA Atomic Cleansing Oil

I wasn't familiar with this brand until recently, but it's Croatian brand and Sandra tells me this is the best oil she tried. It's 20 € for 200 ml, though it's nice, it won't replace Hada Labo which I got almost half cheaper and I really love, as when it comes to cleansers  price is a very important factor for me. Skintegra is the nicest cleansing oil I tried, I can see why it's so loved by some. It's got a nice thick texture, it's easy to massage in on dry skin and it emulsifies into a rich milky emulsion. It washes off completely and leaves nothing behind. I've been using it for the last two weeks and my skin loves it, however, it's not that much better than Hada Labo. 

CERAVE PM Facial Moisturising Lotion

This was on my wishlist due to the niacinamide high on the list, plus it has ceramides, hyaluronic acid and cholesterol, and it's a very praised product in reviews. It's a medium thick lotion and I used it when my skin was very dry, but this barely made a dent despite the thick coat. However, when my skin normalised it was a nice basic moisturiser that did it's job. It's a very likeable product. I still love my Beauty of Joseon more, but I'd consider getting this one day.

CERAVE Hydrating Cleanser

A simple, creamy cleanser that doesn't really foam, but it doesn't irritate my eyes and it washes of completely. I like this a lot as most similar cleanser either didn't completely wash off and left a filter or irritated my eyes. I can see why it's a cult favourite. I'd buy it occasionally, but I know I'd still be buying the much cheaper Balea Washgel instead which suits me just fine, though Cerave is definitely much better. 

ROC High Tolerance Comfort Fluid SPF50

This was ok, but nothing to rave about. It's not super light, but also not a heavy sunscreen. It white when you start applying it and I feared it might leave a cast, but it blended into the skin without any white patches. I took a while to sink in and the skin wasn't dry to the touch like Missha's version, so it didn't impress me that much. Also throughout the day my skin felt weird, almost like it's irritating it in some way, which is weird considering it's meant for sensitive skin. 

NEOSTRATA Targeted Treatment Sheer Physical Protection SPF50 

I don't know who started a hype for this (I can't keep up with stories on IG, just with posts), but for the price I'm not the target demographic (29 €), since you're supposed to apply a lot of sunscreen at once, one tube almost evaporates in a month or two, so I'm looking only for very affordable ones. It's tinted, which given that it's a mineral sunscreen is probably a must to avoid a white cast. I don't like it. Though it's light, it's so greasy - not heavy greasy, but slippery greasy and it's so shiny. It takes quite a while to set to something less shiny. The tint is ok even on my skin tone and it's not orange, like most lightly tinted products are, but this is not for me.

MISSHA Aqua Sun Gel SPF50

I liked this straight away. I didn't try to apply the actually recommended amount, since it would be a waste on a day I was barely outside, but I tried a thick enough coat. It's a light-medium consistency sunscreen with a nice orange scent and it dries completely to a velvet finish, so zero stickiness, tackiness or greasy feeling. It reminds me a lot of Biore. It has a sunscreen shine, but since the skin is dry to the touch, it's much more manageable. Now I regret buying A'Pieu even more, this is seriously good.

I got one more parcel packed with goodies, this one from the fab Ana from Antiage Anasan, who spoiled me with some great skin care and makeup. Thank you! 

LAURA MERCIER Translucent Loose Setting Powder

I was especially happy to see this powder, which I was seriously considering getting, but I picked a mini Hourglass' Veil and Fit Me instead, even though Ana almost convinced me to get this one when I was still deciding what to get. This is exactly the same as Maybelline's Fit me Loose powder - and I mean exactly the same on my skin. I wore them side by side, one on each side of the face, switching sides on the next day and I couldn't tell them apart. Both are wonderful powders that mattify and to a degree blur/smooth the skin, but this does have that makeup look, which at this product I don't mind. This one is translucent and Fit Me is tinted, but I didn't see a difference in coverage. Both Maybelline Fit Me and Laura Mercier powder are great products, whether you prefer to stick to high end or save pennies on drugstore variants. 

BELLAPIERRE Heat Wave Highlighting Palette

You get five light-medium "strength" highlighters in this palette, all warm toned, but all apart from the middle shade are wearable leaning more towards neutral/champagne side, so they are very wearable even for my pale skin tone. Shimmer is fine, it reminds me of that great Catrice first shade in the Luminice palette, so they are all natural looking highlighters. Surprisingly I like the last shade most because it's a rose gold that is most unique in this palette.

ECOOKING Peeling Mask

I don't expect much from this type of masks because I've tried a few and I get nothing from them. Applying The Ordinary's 30% AHA feels like a toner to me and though this has lactic acid as the top acid ingredient instead of gylcolic (which apparently doesn't do much for me, based on my experience), I assumed I won't get much from this. Imagine my surprise when this actually stung when I applied it on the face. Mind you it lasted about 30 seconds, but at least I had a feeling something is working. It's says right on the packaging that it can turn the skin red and indeed my skin did turn red - I'm still in shock I found an AHA product that has an effect on my skin, I thought I was a lost case for sure. I only needed the smallest amount, so even this generous sample pot should last me a while. Like I said my skin was red right after application and it had an intense "plastic glow" , I've never seen any product do anything like it. I kept on for 6 minutes, they recommend to slowly build your tolerance to 10-12 minutes. I'll keep using this once a week as suggested - hopefully I'll remember.    

SULWHASSO Clarifying Mask Ex

This is a peel off mask, so the name is a bit deceiving, as under a name clarifying I imagine a clay mask. I've tried two similar products in recent years: Elizaveca Miss Piggy and The Body Shop Tea Tree version, neither can hold a candle to this one. Those two felt like they didn't attach on the skin where it matters, so on the nose and pores on the sides of the cheeks, while at this one it was a lot more like a proper patch. It didn't get much from my pores though, but I never expect miracles at such products, since none ever worked as they should on me, despite having large pores especially on the sides of the nose. The texture is thick, like a glue, but despite that it's easy to spread. Instructions say to wait 20-30 minutes for it to dry, but it was drier faster on me. It didn't peel off in one piece and I struggled on the edges, but I got it all off eventually. It's got a strong herbal scent. If you're looking for a peel off product that actually feels like a peel off product, this is the only decent one I've tried so far, even if it didn't clear out my pores completely.

VERSO Super Eye Serum with Retinol 8

I haven't used this one, since I'm using TO's Retinol, but when I do, I'll update you. I've read some rave reviews about it, so I really look forward to try it, though I secretly hope I don't fall in love with this because it's soo expensive, but on the other hand I really want to see some results.  

THE INKEY LIST Q10 

This is so much nicer than Q10 products I had from Nivea. All of those were so thick and impossible to layer, but this is a medium thick lotion that needs some time to sink in, but not too long. I've only used it a few times so far, but I like it and it's so affordable.

IDUN Moisturising Face Mask

I used this when my skin was dry. It's a rich nourishing mask with great ingredients. I applied it in a thick coat as suggested and left it on overnight. In the morning a few dry patches I had on my nose and dryness around old spots were gone. 

Have a great day!