Essence Vampire's Love LE - a true gem found! [Pic & text heavy]

Again, an Essence post. Sorry! I want to make up for posting so rarely thus I try to put as much product as possible into one post. I'm so shallow! =D

Anyway, you might not care about Essence (it's hard to get outside of Europe anyway), but I promise you, this collection has a true gem no other LEs had before. I'm a bitch and won't reveal which one it is, also, I won't even tell where you'll find it......in the middle, or in the end? Maybe it's the first  product coming up? Who knows~

You'll have to read it through! =]

Good luck!  

Yet another vampire themed collection...maybe the third? Surely, there were two of the vamps already...if not more. But! This time it's Vampire Diaries themed, not Twilight....I'm so sad...loathing VD as I do, I happed to find this edition a tiny bit better than the Twilight themed ones. >.< 

 I have to confess, this Limited Edition is not freshly out, probably the new one is already out on the shelves, don't know, since I can't find this brand in Georgia (like a gazillion other things I can't either.....>_>). I had to make my Mom buy these for me while I spent this Xmas & New Year in Hungary and in bed because of my fractured knee. Oh, I know how to live, right? Flying back home to almost break my leg....go Me!

I only have the things seen above, not the entire collection as I planned, coz my Mom is picky and called me when she was in the drug store and the "which-one-to-buy-I'm-paying-with-your-card-anyway" mechanism sounded somewhat like this:

[insert me in front of the PC checking out the Essence homepage]

Is it pretty?  - No. - It should be pretty! What color is it? - grey - it should be yellow. aren't there any yellows? - no - and white? - everything is ugly grey - it looks totally different on the internet - what does it feel like? (e/s) scratchy? buttery? - uhm - easy to apply? - ugh o.O - pigmentation? - err O_O" good? I suppose. 

As part of the collection there was a bottle of eau de toilette too, and smelled good. I trust my Mom's taste and if she said it smelled good then it smelled good. However, only the tester was left, not one f@cking piece was left in the store =( 

I really-really wanted it....*sniff*

Onto the products....

Picnik is closing....what a shame! But it remains pigheaded and will not keep my pics rotated. Cropping and touch-ups are ok, but rotating....

You have to bear with them, sorry!

First of all, the Shimmer Powder. Color is 01 lil' vampire.

Every single one of the collections has a shimmer powder! So frustrating! And the most frustrating part is that all of them are the same! Some are obviously shimmery, make you look like a glitterball, some are more subtle with a nice sheen or invisible glow, perfect for highlighting, but the color is always the same. Even their fragrance is the same. Damn guys alternate the mixture of the very same ingredients a tiny bit every time and put the stuff into a little bit different casings......and I'm a huge Sucker (with capital 's') to buy them again and again! XDDD 10 people's lifetime wouldn't be enough to use up all the highlighters I've acquired so far.

It's like the disease the lipstick or blush hoarders have. Only difference is they make sense: there are so many colors one can get, while highlighters are.....ahem.....not that colorful! =D

But, back to the products, right? 

I tried to capture the tiny bit, finely milled shimmers the powder had, and this is the best shot I could make, sorry.

As for the swatches, on the right side it's a fingertip swatch, so you can see something, if anything at all. On the left side it's blended out. It's so soft that you can hardly see it. 

There's an eyeshadow palette  (color is 01 love at first bite) with 6 shadows and a double-ended applicator (sponge and brush) which is totally tossable. Oh, and why is it so spacious for the applicator? There's enough room for two of them too! I bet this palette is/was made for another collection and they reused it! HAHA It would be soooo like Essence!

From the very beginning I was head over heels for that dark, yellowish black or rather blackish yellow on the top right. I wanted this palette only for this one color...even tho I stay away from yellows. Figures.

It just looks so pretty and interesting.

In the pan.

As you can see on the swatches(top left color), it's not that interesting or pretty anymore....only...blah. T_T 

What a let-down!!!!!

Actually, the silver-gray duo in the middle fares better.

The pink and purple shadows are also disappointing. 

Don't expect any of the colors to walk off proudly your eyes due to the overwhelming pigmentation hehehehehehe

 Next contestant is a nail polish. A purple one at that. Color is 03 True Love.

 I suck at painting my short and gnawed nails so no sample, you have to believe me when I say that one coat is uneven and streaky, while a second coat makes it even and pretty on the nails. Like in the bottle.

Aaaaaand a typical Essence move: Blush gelee (color is 01 Bloody Mary....Now, are we talking about vamps or ghosts?)

It's a nice little pump bottle which doesn't remind me of anything.....least something called Make Up For Ever's HD Blush for example....not at all! =D

Only, Essence's bottle is cheaper, cheaper looking and cheaper feeling, and the product inside is gel textured, not cream. Oh, and comes in only one color.

See? It's such a pretty blood red gel! *.* Like a drop of rich blood. Totally vampy =)

Blended halfway....

Blended out almost completely...I didn't blend it more since I wanted to show you some color, but you can go even more sheer. And working on it some more, with more product one could make lovely makeup for dressup times. Sporting a vampire queen look would be fun! ^.^ 

For now don't pay attention to those two dots (red and purple). They are there for......uhm......color comparison! hehehe

There's still more to come, this one is the Volumizing Lash Powder.

I had no idea what this was until I opened the jar. I expected powder, as the name suggests but what I found was pure FIBRE!!!!!

For God's sake! They packed a jar full of 1,8g of pure fibre! Bwahahahaha Can you believe it? Copying other brands twice in the same collection and one knock-off is soo exaggerated that its collness is unbelievable! *___* 

It comes with a clean mascara wand which is not good for anything else but applying fibres onto lashes.

Let's see the official description, it's worth a read: "do you want stunning lashes that will make even the strongest vampire go weak at the knees? the volume lash powder conjures-up a seductive look with extra length and extra volume in seconds. simply apply mascara as usual, sprinkle the powder on your lashes with the practical brush applicator and then apply a second coat of mascara – done! a must-have for those who love a bit of drama! available in 01 eye need you."

Sprinkle? Sprinkling would be such a waste, and just who would apply anything on the up side of their lashes anyway? You only have to tap it onto your mascara covered lashes, while the mascara is still wet. If you wait for it to dry then much less fibre will stuck to your lashes and you'll end up with lots of fall-out. Add another layer of mascara to color and coat the fibres. You will experience fall-out anyway, since the fibres and mascara are not mixed together like in the famous Japanese fibre mascaras. With practice it gets better, but minor fall-out will occur. Good news that the fall-out is easy to swipe away ;)

It really adds volume and length and you can build it endlessly since it doesn't make your lashes spidery! wow 

So far the most layers I've done was 5....afterward I got tired of adding more and more layers. The result was stunning, however, the difference became obvious only after the second layer of fibres. I didn't get meter long lashes (sadly hehe) but I kept on looking at the mirror and checking the fan of lashes from below. Oh, this sounds sick @_@ 

I know, you won't believe unless I show proof, right? But all the photos I took came out blurry thus not doing justice for the lashes. You know how mascara comparisons only make sense if done in macro and the lashes are detailed and clear. *sigh* I just suck big time at making clear photos of my own eyes....If nothing else, an FOTD will have to do. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well, if anyone has read so far without cheating then 1) Congratulations to You, 2) I just made a record with this terribly long post so Congratulations to Me, 3) you found the true gem item of the Vampire's Love collection! *grin*

Lipstain

Available only in 01 bloody mary (purple) and 02 true love (red)

It's a miracle I even own these lipstains since I don't wear reds and the purple one is just too purple to wear on the street or for the office. But I said "Toss them in maybe they're gonna be good for something!"

Well, turns out these are pretty good, true lipstains, would beat any other high end stains for the fraction of the price. 

Both colors are cool toned so they aren't for everyone, unless you wear them for a special occasion, like Halloween and manage to pair with a good full coverage foundation not colored like honey, ok? 

The purple is ok, does not look that opaque like the red one in the pics, but serves well on lips and turns a nice mauvy cool toned purple. I can totally imagine it in photoshoots, no need for touchups!

The red, oh my God! The red! It's the most beautiful cool toned (blue!) red I've ever seen! Such a true red. No stupid orange or yellow or brown, rose or any other hint in it. If you click for enlarged pics you'll see that around the edges it's almost purple due to the blue in it.

On the lips however you'll only see that pretty red in the middle.

The staying power? Incredible! It will not come off unless you use a hardass industrial makeup remover. It really is a pain in the butt, but the next day you'll have a beautyful rosy pout without any lip products. After application you'd better wait 1-2 minutes before starting a kissing battle as it needs that time to dry. Until then it's sticky, but when dried it feels like there were nothing on lips. The finish is opaque, no streaking or bleeding. 

Exactly because of its full coverage I wouldn't call this a lipstain. In my mind a stain is supposed to be a stronger liptint which won't wear off in an instant- But when it does, it does so evenly.

And this product does fade evenly. Slowly but evenly. No double lip effect like some longwear lipsticks produce, you know, when the product disappears from the place where your lips touch, leaving a screaming line n the middle of your lips horizontally. Eating and drinking helps to speed up the fading, but you have to eat all day long to make it disappear entirely.

IMHO both colors are gorgeous, but sadly none of them matches my skintone T_T

I'm in love with them, but cannot wear them.

Pros:

-they wear off beautifully, like true lipstains,

-coverage is full and even,

-long-wearing,

-beautiful colors,

-cheap

Cons:

-comes only in 2 colors,

-LE, so unavailable unless some drugstores have it in their stockclearing sales,

-impatient ones will hate it for it's really hard to remove

Pricewise...I have no idea how much these products cost, I don't have the receipt, but judging by the usual prices LEs have: 

lippies should be 7-8 USD

highlighter should be 9 USD

eyeshadow palette around 13 USD

nailpolish 5-6 USD

blush gelee 5 USD

lash powder...?

FOTD

Since I owe the lovely Jacqueline of My Beauty Hoard an EOTD and an FOTD already, and I have enough willpower left to write this short post, here it is, an "half" FOTD featuring the Chic Palette by Scott Barnes and other new purchases made during my mindless Xmas-New Year shopping spree. (I haven't even dared to count the exact amount of the fortune I've spent so far. Those who follow my Twitter might have catched one of the babies I've bought recently.)  

Not the greatest quality  (sheered out and not sharp enough) as I have no proper natural light in the morning, but this was the closest photo to reality I was able to make.

My hair was a totall mess, so I had to crop a bit heavily =D

I said "half" FOTD becoz, well, only half of my face was presentable hehehehe, quality of the photo is below average and I only used the bronzey gold color from the 3 colors of Chic Platte. Drawn as a line to the hollows of cheeks and blended up and forward to make a kind of 3D effect. I don't like bold blushes on myself, I keep them sheer, focusing only on the "darker line". No highlight was used.

Products used:

Face:

Kanebo Sensai - Fluid Finish Foundation (FF202 Soft Beige) [ only 3 words: OH MY GOD!!!]

pixi - neutralizing coverup kit

Scott Barnes - Pressed Powder (in Petal for setting foundation on T-zone & under the eyes)

Cheeks:

Scott Barnes - Chic Palette (in Brandywine, used the golden shade)

Eyes:

Make Up For Ever - Waterproof Eyebrow Corrector (shade is 0......named blonde or whatever...beats me)

NYX - 10 colors Smokey Eyes palette (neutral brown smudged close to upper&lower lashline....eyeshadows has no individual names)

Holika Holika - Magic Waterproof Deep Eye Eyelinder (black, for tight-lining)

Make Up For Ever - Aqua Smoky Lash mascara 

Essence - Volumizing Lash Powder (Vampire's Love LE, pure fibre)

"mister mascara" - eyelash curler

Lips:

bare lips at the time of taking the photo   

Essence @Holografics.com Collection

Since I'm moving to Georgia I need to think over carefully what makeup I'm bringing along...I can't just pack  everything I own, right? First, becoz I'd easily surpass the allowed  weight I'm allowed to take and two, I hardly use many of the Essence stuffs. You know, Essence makeup is either a winner or a total crap, but anyway it's not pro enough to use on others. Well, I'm not packing crap, thus tons of them have to stay and since I haven't reviewed most of them, I'll try to post them in bunches (if poosible).

So, this Holografics collection came out late summer-early fall this year (2011) and was so-so IMHO. The most interesting thing was the body oil, but I didn't buy it coz the amount was too much if I found it useless...@_@  I screwed up big time with the refreshing spray from the You Rock collection, but that's another post...  

These are the things I bought: 

I can't find the nail polish anymore....wonder where it went....>_< Well, it wasn't good anyway...Dunno its name without the actual product, but if you ever find this in a left-over sale somewhere only buy it if you need a top coat that gives your basic nail polish a nice twist by the holographic sheen it creates. Click on the photo to see it in better quality.

The 2 eyeshadows I choose are 01 Gagalectric (blue) and 02 Lilac. Yes, you see it right, Gagalectric XDDD

Their texture is like mousse, buttery. I'd say applying with finger is preferred as brushes and these creams are not the best friends I'd seen. However, this way don't expect precise, detailed application.

Pigmentation is low to medium. No matter how hard you pack on you won't get a perfect coverage. From some angles you'll still 'see through' the shadow. They are wearable colors...until you go out onto the direct summer sunlight. Then you realise these are for either winter (but then these colors for winter?) or hot summer night parties!

But not without a strong primer! That is a must for these to stay in place.^^ 

The lipgloss is 02 Holoberry. Why berry? There's nothing berry colored in this!? Anyway, it's not sticky, sweet-smelling (but you won't feel it on your lips), the pink base color is sheer and the holographic particles produce a very interesting effect when light hits them. The pink, green and blue paricles make a kind of silver-foiled look. You have to see it in real life to understand what I mean.

Finally the Holographic Eyeliners. The blue one is 01 Blue Ray and the white one is 02 Prism@tic white.

My favourite of the two is Blue Ray. It's not too sparkling so I can wear it anytime and it gives a little ooomph to my eye-look. Pigmentation is better than medium, still, you might want to go over the blue line a second time.

They are surprisingly good! I expected them to smear all around my face but they didn't! They held up well in hot weather too! :) 

Okay, don't rub them and use e/s primer, but they are still keepers!^_^ 

MAC Wonder Woman Lustre lipstick & Essence Fairy Tale Eyeliner Pencil

I'm not sure if MAC stores still carry the Wonder woman collection, but about 2 weeks ago or so the store nearest to me still had it. However, I wonder what was left of it by then.....imagine, the week, when the new Lady Gaga lippies came out I went to pick up the lipstick (not because I need one more, but it's just such a pretty color...duh)....and it was sold out already! 4 days! All it took the bitches, 4 days! Argh...they only had the lipgloss, which was pretty and all, but I wanted the lipstick T_T

Anway, back to Wonder Woman. The only item I found worth of my money was this liplustre: Marquise'D.

(BTW the shadow quads were utter crap)

As for the packaging, to me it looks like a child's play.

The color could be a nice neutral beige if not leaning into warm thanks to the golden flecks you can see below.

Texture is creamy and non-drying....it's lustre, right :)

Overall, I like it a lot, even tho it costed me ~25.50 USD

Since I have billions of items to write a review on, I'm featuring 2 things in one post. The following product is from an inexpensive drugstore brand I'm obsessed with.

Yes, Essence! Again....I think I'm sick. I really should say no whenever a new trend editions comes out. They re-use the leftover from previous collections, sometimes hardly altering them, except for the packaging. And just who wants to have doubles, triples, etc. in different cases? Not me. Yet I keep on buying them. >_>;

So, below is the only eyepencil from the late collection: Fairytale. (It was quite a pretty edition, I tell you!^^)

Is it sparkly like the rest of the collection? No. It's a mere black eyeliner pencil! Sporting the LE design. Cheating! 

In the picture: one line (bottom) and 2 or 3 lines layered (top).

Nothing spectacular, not even a decent colored black eyeliner, not to mention its smudging. It will not stay in place even for a half hour.

Not worth the 3.50 or 4 USD I paid for it. (forgot its price)

Essence - Blossoms etc trend edition

Beginning of April means new Essence collection! YEY This year it's called Blossoms etc.
Of course I ran to the nearest drug store to try and buy the new stuffs! =D

Blossoms etc trend edition should contain the following: (note the word "should")

• eyeshadow duos (3 color combinations: 01 hint of mint, 02 bloom-a-loom 03 forget me not)
• eyeliner pencils (2 colors: 01 bloom-a-loom, 02 I like)
• lipgloss (2 colors: 01 flowerkissed, 02 naive)
• multi color powder (01 Flower Power)
• liquid blush (01 flowerkissed)
• nail polish (5 colors: 02 I like, 03 my yellow fellow, 04 bloom-a-loom, 05 forget-me-not)
• eau de toilette

So, the Blossoms etc edition, how I saw it:


Nail polishes: same colors they use every spring. I got the bloom-a-loom lilac color. Nicely opaque, very little stripe effect, started chipping the next day.
In stead of 5 colors they had only 3: yellow, lilac and one of the greens.
Eyeshadow duo: again bloom-a-loom lilac what I bought. Hardly any difference between the two sides. sheer and matte color, but as one it has good coverage. one side is the matte, the other is the blue "shimmer", however that's an exaggeration....no bristle brush can pick it up, better try with a sponge applicator.
01 hint of a mint was simply ugly.
02 bloom-a-loom is a nice lilac. I was afraid of it being too warm for my skintone, but it's not pigmented enough, thus it's more like a neutral color.
03 forget me not is a mixture of grey and lilac. Should be good as part of smoky eyes.
Too bad the counter didn't have testers...seems like it's the new "trend"!
 
Eyeliner pencils: we din't get them at all. Maybe it depends on the stores, but it's quite frustrating to see what should be there and isn't.
 
Lipgloss: got 02 naive since it promises perfect coverage, and I, being naive chose the least intense color XD Essence never produced glosses that showed any decent colors on your lips. Well, this is no exception either, but that little color it has at least gives even "coverage".
 
Multi color powder: nice conception, nice to look at, but not gorgeous. Has no green part in it. I wanted this to be a super cheap (and crappy) dupe for the famous Guerlain Meteorites, but it's no match for that. Just too shimmery and since the colors are not the same it won't add anything special to your skintone. I mixes up into an even shimmery cast. I dare say the same effect as any other shimmer powder Essence sold in their last 5-6 collections.
 
Eau de toilette: strong and harsh, too dominating IMHO. At leat for teens....
 
Liquid blush: Not available in Hungary! WTF!? I was ready to fight teen chicks in front of the counters to put my hands on this and we won't get it at all!??!?!??!? f @ck you Essence!!!!!


As soon as I get the photos I took of the thing I bought on my computer I'll post them.

Christmas giveaway

Yes, this time I really am holding a giveaway! Since my Bday is on 26th December, and it's Xmas and all, I'm planning on finish this fast, so the package may get to the winner in time!^^

Let's see the prizes:

Click to enlarge.

Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer (waterproof, works 10+hours and just awesome, review to come)

Max Factor 2000 Calorie mascara (yes, the famous 2000 calorie, I've been using it for ages)

Oriflame Beauty Gloss Cocoon (Pink Sugar)

Essence Surfer Babe Refreshing Lipgloss (review)

Essence Metallics quatro eyeshadow and gel eyeliner palette (01 Nothing else metals. Inexpensive alternate for Lunasol Lighting for eyes 05 Khaki palette. Realized I haven't posted the review for Lunasol, but will)

Essence Metallics Magnetic Nail Polishes (02 Copper Rulez, 04 Nothing Else Metals)

Essence Metallics Nail Polish Magnet

L'Occitane aprés-shampooing conditioner with 5 essential oils for dry and damaged hair

and

sweeeeeeets =D

Isn't it a bit Essence overloaded? HAHA This latest, Metallics edition is really cool, and these are the best products from the collection. If you wonder what the nailpolish magnet is for....it works with the magnetic nail polishes, moves the metallic particles in the nail polish to create stripes as you want. Fun to play with.

I will ship internationally.

The rules:

• Leave a comment with a mail address I can reach you in case you're the winner
• You don't have to be a follower, but if you are (through Google Friend Connect on the left side) you get an extra entry
• If you post, tweet, mention on Facebook about this giveaway, you get another entry for each way. Don't forget to include a link here in a comment so I can check it out!
• Entries must be made before 12pm 12th December (Sunday) time zone: GMT+1
• Winner will be choosen randomly
• I'm gonna publish and contact the winner the next day, 13th (Monday)
• Winner must reply within 3 days or I have to choose another person. 

To sum up the ways you may gain points:

• comment with e-mail
• be a follower (+1)
• post, tweet, FB (+1 for each method)

Thank you and good luck!

And please, let me have at least 10 contestants, okay? =D

Essence - Surfer Babe Refreshing Lipglosses

Okay, if you were to see my unpublished posts along with the posted ones, you would definitely think 'Is she an Essence fan?'

But I am not one of them, just love the fact that their makeup is very reasonably priced and some products are indeed good quality. Thus I keep accumulating mountains of their products :)

I should have done this review a long ago (like many other reviews.....sorry) but now that I have some free time after work (and before going to an appointment) I thought I'd get over this fast.

So, here it is, Surfer Babe Refreshing Lipgloss from the summer collection:

I think there were only 4 colors, and because I fell in love with it after trying it, I purchased all of them XD

Colors are (L to R): 04 The world's coolest, 03 Rider, 02 Loose, 01 Surferama

Close up:

Description: "when the beach gets too hot, cool down and reenergize with the refreshing lipgloss from essence. the pleasant cooling effect works with the creamy formula to give your lips a gorgeous gentle shimmer."

They are nicely shimmery from up-close (YAY for multicolored shimmer!) but on the lips they give more of a glossy, sparkly finish. Rather glossy.

Color payoff? They are sheer, give a subtle, yet buildable tint to lips.

Are they indeed cooling? Yes! I wore them every day this summer! When going to work and going home, or just stepping out....at least there was a tiny bit of skin on my body that didn't melt from the heat! =D

During the winter? It's funny! You get a tingling feeling, and that's all. Personally, I quite like it, because of the tingling I know my lips aren't frozen, but I can only imagine what will happen in the -15˙C.....liquid and such low temperature haha

BTW, do you wear glosses during winter? I don't. I only use lipbalms or lipsticks, but not glosses. This year, I'm gonna try wearing them. =D Total failure XD

Another close-up of the swatches, like always, click on the photo to enlarge^^

04 The world's coolest has the most finely milled shimmer out of the four, yet the least lovely fragrance. All 4 glosses have a bit of fruity scent, all different, but don't expect me to tell which one is what fruit. My nose sucks HAHA 

The world's coolest is just not that sweet and strong.

Surfer Babe Refreshing lipgloss is my  HG gloss for summer and I'd stock up better if I could still find any!^^

Essence Eyebrow Styling Kit for the perfect brows!

Again Essence, and this time from the permanent line: Eyebrow Stylist Set.

Even though Essence is cheap they do have some awesome stuff, and this is one of them. It's perfect for novices and pros too, who don't want to shell out $$$.

The clear plastic case contains two shadows, a small brush, 3 templates and a how-to guide.

(click on the photo to enlarge)

There's only this one color combination, but these two are natural enough to fit anyone's skintone and you can use it lightly or pack on more, combine the two shades and use the lighter on the inner part, the darker one on the outer part of your brows.

Personally I prefer the lighter shade as I can create defined brows with quite dark color, but I find the darker shade too much for my fair skin and blond hair.

The templates give three styles to achieve the "perfect brows" sticking to the rules of measures, angles, etc. Just place the plastic to your brows (don't forget the inner starting point should be in line with the inner corner of your eyes) and draw, draw, draw....and voilá your brows are filled and groomed. You can top the hairs with gel or any other fixers you want to make them stay in place.

Of course it's not a must to use the templates if you're lucky and have "perfectly" shaped eyebrows, but most aren't so lucky and this might be a big help for them! 

Choosing the template fitting best your brows' shape, draw them, then pluck the hairs not covered by the shadow and you're one step closer to perfection =)

Above, I used tissue paper to draw the three shapes provided by the styling set =D

The brush is quite good, however, after a half year of usage (or more >.<) the strands started to bend to  backward thanks to swiping the same way every day.

Staying power is excellent, but keep in mind this isn't waterproof...I wish it was >.<

It seems the shadows would last a lifetime of usage and for its price it's awesome!

Ulta carries it for USD2.79! wow In Europe it costs about the same.

Essence blush & nail polish

Another Essence post....yeah. Gotta post about other brands too, right?
Again some hard to find stuffs:

First a great blush from the Surfer Babe collection which was available this summer. Lately all Essence shelves are wiped clear in 3 or 4 days after release. Sometimes it's a torture to find a drugstore that still has the item you want.

I tend to think the only thing Essence cannot fail producing is blush. Most of their shimmer/face powder stuffs are good and many of the nail polishes too.
The lipglosses are usually crap (except some HG).
Do not ever use their eyeshadows though! Crapload....
The (mineral) foundations aren't that good either.

But back to the blush I'm going to review....Surfer Babe Powder Blush 01.

Nice, clear plastic case, summery feeling. Too bad there was none left when I went to buy one back when it was released...

I could only find one leftover, a broken one...

See? The lid is a bit broken, so when you close the case, the powder still gets air, which is not good, so now I'm trying to figure out a good solution. Maybe a powder puff would be best, but I couldn't find a fitting one yet.

Yes, I know, never buy any broken cosmetics but I just couldn't leave it. This was the only one left! ˇ.ˇ

Couldn't resist using it before getting good lighting for photos...

Lightweight pink color:

(with flash)

(and without flash)

It gives a nice pinkish flush to the cheeks without overdoing it. Just the right amount and shade for the healthy complexion.

Another old collection, Creamylicious.

I have only one nail polish from this release, Chocolate shake. I think the name fits well with the actual color.

You can see tiny little pink shimmers too if you look closely. I also love how the bottle is different from other nail polishes

Wasn't able to catch the color perfectly and the himmers are washed out too on this nail-swatch. Sorry for the unkept cuticles.



Essence Moonlight Collection Shimmer Powder

Those in Europe must know the inexpensive and cute makeup brand Essence. Some American girls too coz as far as I know one store carries the brand.

Well, I splurged a while ago when I found a drugstore having stuff from previous collections. Couldn't miss the chance and bought a looooooot of stuffs. Do not be surprised if I blog about Essence only. >.<

The Moonlight collection (inspired by Twilight - New Moon) was available in November - December in 2009. So if you happen to see this somewhere jump on it!^^

Shimmer huh? Cullenesque shiny skin? No way~

And no, no shiny diamonds like on Edward hehe

It gives a true shimmer without tiny glitters showing. It's like moonlight shone upon the cheeks.

Simple but pretty, isn't it?

The packaging is tight and safe, not heavy nor light, just the right weight.

Direct swatch from the pan.

And on-hand swatch by brush. Click on it to see in better quality.

So fine particles!^^

It's definitely not for the whole face. Who would like to look like a shiny head....it might make you look like you had oily skin if you used it overly or on improper places.

This powder is for highlighting and as one it works great!

In some cases it sits in and enlarges pores on cheeks, but not always. I found it doesn't like watery and/or creamy foundations. Works best on dry bases. Right now I'm using RMK liquid foundation and it's like the shimmer is mixed with the foundation and isn't "sitting" on it. Don't know if you get what I mean. >.<

It's not that bad, just that it disturbes me when someone gets up-close to me and I think "OMG she must see the pores". From normal distance it can't be seen. And it's not everywhere, just the inner side of my cheeks nearing the nose.

An inexpensive must-have basic tool for everyone!