Resurrection REVIEW: Simple Spotless Skin Blackhead Eliminating Face Scrub

I know-I know.. like a new post? On this blog?! Who knew this place even existed, right? Not giving any promises here, but I’ll try my best to entertain you people. So here goes nothing!

The other day (like 2 weeks ago) I made a quick trip to my local Rosalind to replace my dear old liquid liner, but obviously I couldn’t leave the store with just  ONE product, right? That would have been insanely boring. So there I was, wondering around between the counters when I stumbled on a bunch of Simple skincare products. I’ve seen a lot of US and UK beauty gurus talking about this brand so I naturally didn’t even think I could get my hands on it in Estonia. BUT GUESS WHAT? Good old faithful Rosalind still manages to suprise me. After careful consideration I decided for starters to bring home this lil baby:

So what the backside of the tube claims:

• results from day 1;
• perfect blend of spot fighting ingredients and natural antibacterial goodness;
• removes dead skin cells, dirt and impurities;
• suitable for sensitive skin.

So what exactly makes this face scrub a Simple Goodness that is supposed to give results from day 1? Zinc PCA absorbs excess oils, chamomile acts as a skin soothing anti-irritant, witch hazel tones and tightens pores and phytosphingosine (the natural antibacterial) helps fight spots and blackheads. And to conclude the list it is said that the product has no perfume or colour.

So what are my thoughts so far? First of all, it retails for 7.50€ or so (at least in Rosalind). And as the tube is only 75ml it kind of made me squint, but okay whatever. Now the ‘results from day 1’ is usually a hoax and wasn’t really the reason for my purchase, but I ain’t even mad. I have combination skin with blackheads mainly on my nose and chin area and other blemishes occasionally roaming around my face as they wish. So I’m always interested in blackhead removing products as they just don’t seem to leave my skin alone. *sigh*

Spoiler alert: after using this face scrub for about 2 weeks, I still have blackheads. No miracles. At least not yet.
BUT nevertheless it is a really good product! I find myself using it pretty much every day after removing my make-up. It does have a light scent that I’m not a huge fan of (but doesn’t really bother me either), kind of planty/leafy scent (probably chamomile) and contains really fine grains so it actually is very gentle on your skin.

I love how it leaves my skin soft and feeling really-really clean, but not dry. Although my blackheads are still present, I feel like the scrub has kind of calmed them down along with the other blemishes and I seem to have a bit more control over the condition of my skin.

So the verdict: no miracles, but you get a reasonably lovely product that does what a face scrub is supposed to do while being gentle on your skin and maintaining the overall blemish-situation you might have going on. And we’ll see – maybe even the stubborn blackheads will eventually start disappearing.

Overall score? I’ll give it a decent 4/5. Will I be repurchasing? Maybe. I have a decent amount of product left, so in case I don’t find a new blackhead removing product, I might reach for this again.

I’m extremely open to all suggestions regarding blackhead removal, so feel free to hit me up in the comments!

Best,

Andra

Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner 24h Review

Gosh, product names keep getting longer and longer, aren’t they? Just ridiculous.

Well, the product isn’t ridiculous. It’s bloody fabulous and as soon as I saw it on Estonian beauty counters in September (again ridiculous, they had it in UK like a year ago. WTF, Estonian counters, WTF????).

Time to highlight the perks:

• Staying power is really good.
• Doesn’t smudge, budge, flake or bleed unless you poke your eyes or work underwater or something. I mean some of that stuff is inevitable for a long period of time, but this one keeps it real for long.
• Brush is included and unlike most brushes that come with product, this one is actually really nice!
• Well worth your 9-ish Euros.
• Application is smooth and it is intensely black.
• Dries quite fast. Not really a perk if you want to smudge it out, but at least it doesn’t bloody transfer onto my lid and ruin my eye shadow!

I think that’s it. It hasn’t dried out on me during the 2 months I have had it so fingers crossed!

So, I wore it here.

And here as well…

Yes, I’m a hairy beast and today, as you can see above, I rocked a bright lip gloss outside the house! People looked at me for longer then they usually do, but they didn’t make me feel like a freak at all so everything went better than expected and I dare YOU to rock a bold lip when you are out and about as well.

Now, as a side note I would also like to rant on the fact that we don’t have the Maybelline cream eye shadows here yet. I NEED Permanent Taupe in my life and well, I cannot see myself getting it from Estonia just yet.

So, let’s recap.

1. Get the gel eye liner, it’s badass and worth every cent.
2. Get bold with them lippies if you haven’t yet!

So, that’s it for now. Not sure where or when I’m going to make my next post, cause I’m going to have the time of my bloody life real soon.

With love, as always,

Janne.

MaxFactor False Lash Effect 24 hours review

Hello-hello, my lovely readers! Lets get reviewing, eh?

I really love it, and I’ll show you why!

First picture being my wee little lashes with no curl, second pictures with curl and the third is with a glorious one coating of the False Lash Effect 24 hours.

I have tried the regular False Lash Effect and loved it, I also liked the False lash Effect Fusion, but this is very different from them. 24 hours is waterproof and really lasts like until you take it off, it holds curl exactly the same time as well. I mean I can curl my eyelashes up to my brows and they will stay there until my 13-hour shift as a waitress has ended. Definitely a mascara to try if you tend to find that you end up like a panda by the end of the day, because it doesn’t smidge or flake around your eyes. Really waterproof as a boiling hot shower with plenty of gentle cleansing foam couldn’t make it budge.

It really is a 5 out of 5 from me, only make sure you have a waterproof make up remover good enough to remove it!

Have you ever tried any MaxFaxtor mascaras? Which are your favourite?

Love,

Janne

L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Nail Polish

I won 4  L'Oreal new nail polishes during the summer and I guess it’s time to tell you how I felt about them. I should tell you in advance that I usually wear nudes, classic reds or murky colours, but I just wanted to test these and give you an overall review.

207 Babydoll

Babydoll is a pearlescent baby pink. Not really a colour I’d wear normally,m which is why I used it on my toes. Someone commented that my toes were “glowing”, which was a bit weird.

303 Lush Tangerine

Lush Tangerine is a really bright orange. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did, the quirky brightness really grew on me!

213 Sassy Pink

Sassy Pink is a bright fuchsia. Again, I was not sold on this, nor am I now, but it seemed a bit more complex to me than the usual fuchsia, having a little more blue in it.

205 Rose Bagatelle

Rose Bagatelle, a nude dusty pink, was right up my alley. Perfect for work without being overly boring.

Overview

I think that the new L'Oreal polishes are pretty nice – they have a great variety of colours, quite nice to apply. Most are opaque in 2 layers and they wear around 3 days without chipping, which is quite usual on me. The only downside I see is that they cost quite a bit for the amount you get. The bottles contain 5ml of product, which is great for a shade you think you won’t wear every day, but I suggest you finding another brand for your ultimate favourite polish if you mind buying a new bottle every 6-7 applications or so.

With love,

Janne

Bourjois Flower Perfection Foundation review

Hi guys!

Bourjois came up with a new base make up line Flower Perfection a few months ago. The line consists of foundation, smoothing base, loose translucent powder and a powder brush.

 

What it claims to do: It’s a Youth Extension foundation with Wild Azalea, which is supposed to be a cell youth protector. SPF 15, Smooth, beautified complexion for 16 hours. Matte finish.

To read my opinion of the product click Read more.

SUQQU Balancing Eyebrow and Eyebrow Liquid Pen and a tip for sparse brows

Hi guys! I thought I’d show you the fabulous SUQQU eyebrow products which I use daily.

Balancing Eyebrow 01 Moss Green

The packaging is as fabulous, sleek and minimalistic as always. Has a great mirror and enclosed are 2 soft and fabulous brushes. As you can see there are 3 colours to mix and match to make your perfect shade. You can achieve a really natural look that lasts all day with this.

Eyebrow Liquid Pen in 02 Brown

I don’t use this regularly, because usually brow powder is more than enough, but when I opt for a more defined brow, I use this with the powder. Lisa Eldridge recommends this for people who have really sparse eyebrows. You can achieve a pretty natural look if you use very feathery strokes, a technique that is not the easiest to master but makes a huge difference.

And here’s a picture of me with rather defined eyebrows

I over plucked in my early teens as did many of my friends and now I’ve been having quite a tough time growing them back. I still try to pluck as little as possible and not over trim them with scissors etc. to maintain quite a natural look.

Castor Oil

A good and very cheap product to help grow those brows back is castor oil. Castor oil is found in pharmacies and costs around 2 Euros in Estonia. It is used as a natural laxative, but works wonders on sparse eyebrows and eyelashes. Just make sure to apply a very thin layer with a Q-tip overnight because it will get into your eye and make it sting very bad. Also remove any trace of the oil in the morning if you plan to use mascara, otherwise it might make the mascara flake.

And of course I have to give credit to the person, who really inspired me to leave my brows alone, so here is Lisa’s brow routine.

Hope it was of any help.

Love,

Janne.

SUQQU foundation review and foundation routine

 

Products used:

• SUQQU Foundation Base Creamy
• SUQQU Foundation Creamy
• Bobby Brown Creamy Concealer Kit in Ivory
• RMK Ingenious Jelly Cheeks cream blusher in Cherry
• SUQQU Nuancing Loose Powder Natural
• Samantha Chapman Real Techniques angled foundation brush
• SUQQU Face Brush

Since the camera didn’t capture the RMK blush very well, I decided to include a swatch for you.

Hope everyone’s well.

With love,

Janne.

Concealer comparisons

Hey y’all!

Okay, today I’ll show you around the 3 concealers I received as a part of Lisa Eldridge’s giveaway.

Le me without any concealer

I have a pretty bad problem with dark circles and it’s a genetics thing and it can get even worst when I am sleep-deprived or really stressed. I don’t think the pictures are doing enough justice, the circles are pretty gruesome in real life in my opinion.

But here are my current saviours..

Bobby Brown Creamy concealer kit in Ivory

On the left is the concealer (oh, really??) and on the right is yellowish setting powder.

So, left side is concealed, right one isn’t as you can probably tell.

The first time I mentioned this I was not impressed. Mostly, I think it was because I used it with the powder that’s in the box and that just makes it look light and pasty. Once I use it with my SUQQU Loose Nuancing powder, which is much more finely milled, it looks a lot better.

So this has become my most used under eye concealer because it has the best coverage, stays on nicely and well that’s just it I guess.

Once you apply it, it seems to look a bit dewy, I think, but add a little powder and you are good to go. Currently I apply it with both, fingers and a domed eye shadow brush to buff it out.

In my opinion the powder in the right is a bit off. And I have two good reasons to call it “a bit off”- firstly, it is a pressed powder and looks a bit cakey and secondly, it’s even lighter than the concealer so maybe if you get the concealer exactly the shade of your skin, it will look ok. But aren’t you supposed to buy the under eye concealer a shade lighter?

In that dilemma I will move on..

Vichy Dermablend Foundation Stick in 12 Opal

Don’t know if you can make the subtle difference, but to me Bobby Brown conceals a bit better. I don’t use it that much, as it’s a bit too light. Otherwise I’d try to cover up my 2 zit scars with this.

I mean Lisa Eldridge did her Acne covering video with Vichy Dermablend, so you can really see for yourself that it is a brilliant foundation/concealer.

Some people have said that it doesn’t stay on for too long, but I have not really noticed it on my under eyes.

Lierac Diopti Cerne

This one has the lightest coverage and I use it on more relaxed days or after my fitness classes when I just fill in my brows a bit and cover a bit of dark circles.

It’s supposed to be an eye cream as well, I think. But you really cannot apply this on dry under eyes, you have to use primer or moisturiser beforehand, otherwise it will end up patchy.

Doesn’t have any problems with staying power. It just dries up on your under eyes,  melts into your skin and looks and feels just like a regular eye cream.

I ran a bit late with this review as I.L.U has 20% off of these in November as well as all other Lierac products since they were just introduced to the market.

And if you want to learn more about dark circles or under eye puffiness just click on the links I added and you will see Lisa Eldridge’s videos.

Tell me if it annoys you when I add her videos. She’s pretty much the only make-up artist I trust on YouTube and I have really studied her videos so I always have one to recommend : D. And she’s just brilliant and her knowledge of make-up will leave you in awe if you haven’t checked her out already.

I really appreciate it if you reached until the end : D and I hope it was somewhat helpful. If you have any questions or comments be sure to let me know.

With love,

Janne

SUQQU color blend eyeshadow review

Hello, dear readers! It’s about time I reviewed the amazing eyeshadows I received from Lisa Eldridge’s giveaway which was sponsored by SUQQU.

I received 3 eyeshadow quads.

So this is what the packaging looks like, I loved that the package had a velvet pouch to protect it. I like the sleek and minimalistic packaging, the only con being that it gets ugly fingerprints on it.

Now the palettes from left to right:

1. Kokedama 02
2. Matsukasa 03
3. Komorebi 07

The shadows are sheer at first but very easy to built up. The matte ones are a bit more pigmented actually. And they wear so well, even without a primer. Once I just did make up on one of my eyes to try the shadows out, then got into the shower and forgot to wash my face with a cleanser. Then I came out of the shower and I still had the eyeshadow on and it still looked decent.

I have also been to my fitness classes with these shadows on and they have been great!

Now I also have to mention that the brushes included are amazing. They are incredibly soft and nice and they would have been better than any of my other brushes if they were any longer. But they are very usable, so if you are on a trip and don’t want to take any brushes with you, you are good to go!

I’ll just show you a couple of looks I have made with the palettes.

Used Kokedama 02

A look with Matsukasa 03 above

And a little something with Komorebi 07

I apologise for the pictures not being the best, I really should have done some looks especially to show you the shadows, but these are just a bit random.

In conclusion, I would like to say that these eyeshadows are brilliant! Easy to build up and blend, last very long and nice brushes are included in the package.

Hope you are well.

With love,

Janne.

Review: Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman foundation brush

So I went to Tallinn during school holidays and I hot this brush from I.L.U at Rocca al Mare shopping centre. This set me back 9,90 Euros, not bad for at all for quite a high-quality synthetic brush.

It’s quite a dense brush as you can see and it really hasn’t shed a hair yet. I quite like that it is slanted a bit, makes it slightly easier to work with. I also like that it doesn’t apply too much product, it also feels nice in my hands, though the rubbery part is sort of too high for my small hands so it doesn’t provide any special comfort but just adds to the design.

Basically I don’t have any bad things to say about this and would recommend it if you are looking for an affordable foundation brush.

And more proof that the Real Techniques brushes really are in Estonia. Behold, Tallinna Kaubamaja Ilumaailm.

They only had sets there that cost around 20 Euros, so I would really recommend checking them out if you are looking for new brushes.

They are advertised to be super easy to use since they have video tutorials explaining how to use them, so pretty brilliant for beginners.

Sorry if this seems to be a little too short for a review, I guess my brain isn’t at it’s prime at 2AM. You can always ask me in the comments if you need more clarification.

Janne x

First e.l.f Haul

So I received my first e.l.f haul before September and without further ado I present to you the products.

e.l.f Studio Blush in Berry

I use this basically every day. It’s quite long-lasting and has some shimmer in it, which I don’t really like.

e.l.f Natural Radiance Blusher in Coy

I don’t really like it because it is so sheer that it’s basically a pink shimmer. Might work for some, but I like my blush to have more pigmentation.

e.l.f Natural Radiance Blusher in Glow

Same thing with this one, except this is an orange shimmer.

e.l.f Studio Cream Eyeliner in Black

I’m not in love with this one either, the colour starts to bleed a bit for me and is definitely not waterproof or long-lasting. Brush can be worked with, but is not very precise.

e.l.f Eye Brights eye shadow quad in Luxe

The colours are swatched upon a primer and are pretty good, the lightest shade is the most problematic in terms of pigmentation. The shadow is just so tightly pressed and solid, I had a lot of problem getting any colour on my finger, basically I just scraped the product from the palette. And the design of the palette is just ridiculous, I mean tiny triangles????? Stupid.

e.l.f nail polish in Desert Haze and Light Red

So I should really warn those people, who have not ordered e.l.f nail polishes online. The pictures shown on the homepage are NOTHING like in real life. Light Red seemed like a white based reddish coral from their online shop and as you can see, it’s nothing like the product I was expecting. So definitely google swatches, there are loads of swatches from every colour they offer.

Now for the actual product- they wear quite well, I love Desert Haze on my toes and it would be great to do newspaper manicure with it. And Light Red is just a red, as if I didn’t had one like that before so I was really disappointed in their homepage swatches.

e.l.f Studio Flat Top Powder Brush

Now the brush is quite decent, synthetic bristles, very dense and at least mine hasn’t shed a hair.

And I made a look using the quad, I didn’t incorporate the red one because I think it would have been ‘too much’. I have another way for using the red one and I’m sure I will show it to you some day.

And people, who don’t know it, the brown spot on my nose is a mole not a black booger.

Hope you liked it.

With love,

Janne.

Review: Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express Cat Eyes mascara

I have been using this mascara for about three weeks now and I decided that it’s time to be useful.

                                                  leopard print, wowowowo

Let’s get one thing straight. This is now officially one of my favourite mascaras.. despite the fact that they don’t make it in waterproof (why oh why?). And that says a lot.
It’s a beautiful black mascara, the formula is quite wet (not too much) therefore it’s quite easy to apply. The wand is curved and soft so it doesn’t poke your eyes. And not too big. It lengthens, holds the curl, adds volume. Purrrrfect.

Now as you can see, the end of the brush is a bit smaller so you can easily catch outer corner lashes with that and create the “cat eyes” look.
The brush is similar to The Falsies, but smaller. I usually start with the other side of the wand (not the rounded one) to catch the roots and give a nice base to start building the length with the rounded side.

At first, I was a bit sceptical since I didn’t like The Falsies at all, because it made my lashes glumpy and the wand made everything so messy which annoyed me like hell. But I have now realised that Cat Eyes is SO much better.

                    two coats, no curling                                                   one coat, no curling

Now the only downside is that.. IT FLAKES. I mean like, WHY would you do something like this to me? Why?! A great mascara and I have to constantly check if I’m not starting to resemble to a panda. arghhh

                after about six hours

All in all, it’s a great mascara and I just have to suck it up and ignore the flaking.

Also I really-really want to start blogging again and this time properly. Oh, Andra, do not give promises you cannot keep. But we’ll see.

With all the best,
Andra

Review: theBalm timeBalm anti-wrinkle concealer

 

Firstly, I purchased this product because Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog had raved about this. I mean, I have pretty darn vicious dark circles under my eyes and when I saw it being her Holy Grail concealer I was sold.

But alas! the concealer failed to stay put. So after having fiddled with it for weeks I discovered how to make it last by a lucky accident.

Click read more to read the full review and some blabbering.

FOTD 7/08/12

Products used:

Face:

• TheBalm BalmShelter tinted moisturizer in Light/Medium
• TheBalm BalmShelter anti-wrinkle concealer in Light/Medium
• BeYu blusher in 115
• Grimas Fixing Powder

Eyes:

• GOSH waterproof eye shadow primer
• BYS eye shadow palette in Smokey Chic #10
• Pierre Rene black liquid eye liner
• MaxFactor Masterpiece Max mascara in Black
• Manhattan eyebrow pencil in 99W

Lips:

• L’oreal Glam Shine 6h Volumizer in 003 Pure Addict

Expand to see BYS eye shadow swatches and read about my freaky dream.