Thursday, June 27, 2013

Maybelline The Rocket Mascara Review

I promised you that I would review every single mascara that I'd try, it took me a while to write this review but I'm finally doing it now. I've been using Maybelline's The Rocket Mascara for three months and here are my thoughts about it.


Brush - Texture
The Rocket mascara comes with a plastic brush, and as you may already know I prefer my mascaras not to have plastic brushes, but since I'm addicted to anything new, I always like to try different mascaras even the ones with a plastic brush.  The brush is not bendable like the L'oreal's Volume Million Lashes Excess one, which I reviewed here a few months back, it reminds me a lot of the Max Factor's False Lash Effect brush, it's short, thick and not bendable, with lots of tiny-short spikes.


The texture of the mascara is wet, it allows you to brush your lashes quite a few times before it dries out, but it's not as wet as other Maybelline mascaras that I've tried, like the Falsies which I find it to be too wet for my taste. But after this mascara dries out, it really makes my eyelashes super hard like a waterproof mascara does, and I don't like that. I have very sensitive eyes and I can't stand my lashes being hard, after a few hours I want to take it off  because it hurts my eyes and they become very watery.


Application
This mascara definitely gives volume to my lashes, which for me is rare for a mascara with a plastic brush, but the tiny and short spikes do not help with the definition, I have to brush my lashes many times in order to achieve a good definition. Also the short brush does not help catch all my lashes at once, so I have to brush them back and forth, many times.  Here are two pictures so you can see the difference, the first one is my lashes with no mascara on and the second picture is with one coat of The Rocket mascara.


As you can see in the first picture, my lashes with no mascara on are pretty much non-existent! At the second picture my lashes are definitely longer, super black and with more volume, but not as curled as I wanted them to be. My lashes may look curled in the picture, but that's because I took the picture right after I applied it, they fell down a bit after 20 minutes or so, wet mascaras tend to weight down my lashes even after I curled them with an eyelash curler. It doesn't smudge throught the day at all, and that's very good for summertime, you can have it on for hours. Something that is worth mentioned is that it's very hard for me to remove this mascara, even with a double-phase eye make up remover. I don't know why but it's like I'm trying to remove a waterproof mascara, it takes about 3 small cotton pads to remove it for each eye, which is crazy, and sometimes there's still some left on my eyelashes!


Price
The Rocket mascara in Greece retails for 15 euros, but you can always find it with a promo of 2 or 3 euros off. You can find it at super markets, Hondos Center stores, Sephora etc.
I got mine from Feelunique for only 8 euros!


Pros
-It adds volume and length, makes lashes super black.

-It doesn't smudge throught the day.

-Affordable drugstore/high street mascara, especially if you buy it online.


Cons
Not good for sensitive eyes. It makes my lashes very hard, after a few hours my eyes hurt and become watery.

-It's very hard to remove it, even with an eye make up remover that is made for waterproof mascaras.

-It doesn't hold the curl.



Rating: 7/10
I really like the results that this mascara gives on my lashes, it makes them really noticable, but the formula is just not for me. I have sensitive eyes and I want my mascaras to leave them light and soft.
But if you don't have that problem, and you like mascaras that makes your lashes voluminous and noticable I think that this is a really good mascara for you.



If you've tried The Rocket mascara from Maybelline let me know what you think about it, I wanna know!









Sunday, June 23, 2013

Collective Drugstore Haul ( L'oreal, Korres, La Roche Posay, Avene, Sunsilk)

 I've been hauling a few drugstore beauty stuff for the past three weeks and I wanted to share a haul post with you. Some of them are skincare essentials, and I also got a few other things for my hair and make up. So let's start!

Avene Cleanance Gel Cleanser
Well this gel cleanser needs no introduction, you all know that's the only gel cleanser I've been using for many years, and I keep repurchasing it every 4 months or so. It's perfect for oily and acne prone skins. But right now I'm using this along with another foaming cleanser I've been testing out from Garnier and I have to say that I'm really impressed by it, but I'm going to mention it in another post.

La Roche Posay Physiological Micellar Solution
When I first bought this micellar lotion I got it in the small 200 ml bottle because I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, but I ended up loving it and now that my small bottle finished I had to repurchase it in the big 400 ml bottle. In my opinion it's the best micellar lotion for oily skintypes from all the ones that I've tried.


Korres Sunscreen Face Cream Yoghurt SPF30 for sensitive skin 
Buying a face sunscreen was an absolute necessity for me, because the summer in Greece is always super hot and sunny and also it can be very dangerous if you don't protect your skin from the sun. I have a really bad relantionship with face sunscreens, because every single one I try it always ends up breaking me out. Last year I mentioned that my HG was the Korres Sunscreen Face Cream SPF50, because it was the only one out of the 4 face susncreens that I've bought that it didn't break me out, but it was kind of oily, and not very suitable to use it underneath any face make up. But this year Korres came up with a face sunscreen with liquid texture from the same Yoghurt line so I knew that I had to get it, and it's so good! It has a very liquidy- milky texture, it reminds me of asian sunscreens like the ones from Shiseido Anessa, but these ones end up drying out my skin. The Korres one, once you apply it onto the skin at frst it feels a little sticky and then it dries out matte, but it gives a refreshing/cooling feeling on my cheeks, I guess it must be the yoghurt because the SPF50 cream one also did the same thing. That was a first impression of this sunscreen for you, and the good part is that it hasn't broke me out yet.


L'oreal Mega Volume Collagene 24H mascara
It was about time to change my mascara, the one I'm using right now is Maybelline's The Rocket, and I'm going to do a review really soon about it, but I didn't want to repurchase the Rocket one again, so I got for my trusty L'oreal Mega Volume Collagene 24H one. It's one of the best mascara's I've ever tried in my whole life, not only better than other drugstore mascaras but also from high end ones. It gives amazing volume and length, it never clumps, it separates really well and it's so lightweight like a mousse, it never irritates my sensitive eyes. No matter what other mascaras I'll try in the future, this is the one that I will always come back to.


L'oreal Glam Shine Balmy Gloss in 910 Bite The Maracuja
L'oreal just released these new lip crayons, and when I saw in the store that they had an orange one I knew I had to get it, oh well the 2.5 euros off coupon also helped! It's not a lip stain like the Revlon Kissable stains are, it's exactly as the name says, a balmy gloss. Bite The Maracuja is a corally orange shade, which is very flattering on my skintone, it reminds me a lot of an old Stila Lip Glaze, the Orange, which was discontinued years ago. It has some small gold glitter particles but they don't bother me at all, they're not gritty glitters. Here's a swatch for you:


I love it so much that it's the only lip product I've been wearing since I got it. It's very hydrating also, and if you have dry lips like me, it doesn't make the dry parts visible at all.


L'oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil for Coloured Hair
Since I dyed my hair a month ago, it transformed from oily to dry in a few days, and all the hair care products I have weren't enough to make it softer and more managable, not even the Moroccan oil. I had a few samples of the original L'oreal Extraordinary hair oil, and it was very  good, it made my hair really soft and healthy so I decided to purchase the full bottle, but I got the one that is specifically for died hair. It gives almost the same results on my hair with the original one, but not quite as good as the original one so that was a bummer, but it's still pretty good, better than the Moroccan Oil for sure which worth twice the money for only 25 ml of product!

Sunsilk Nourishing Oil Spray with Moroccan, Argan and Almond Oils
Yes I know, another hair oil, but when I see a new released product with 40% off I just can't resist!
This is a new line from Sunsilk here in Greece, it's made specifically for dry to very dry hair, the line includes a shampoo, conditioner and this nourishing oil spray. The neon yellow packaging caught my eye immediately, it's so pretty and summery, I think Sunsilk did a really good job with the packaging. I've used this hair oil spray four times so far, and I know you may think it's too early to say that, but OMG this product is what I've been looking for years! I'm so amazed by how good it is, and the result it gives on my hair is so good that I can't put into words. It was such a random purchase, I actually bought it because I wanted a leave in product in a spray bottle to use it for when I'm in the beach to detangle my hair, I never thought that it would be that good!
It's a duo-phase product, the top milky part is a liquid conditioner and the transparent low one is oil, and you have to shake it up really well before you spray it on your hair. I spray it about 4 to 5 times, all over my hair, then I comb my hair and I blow dry it. Literally the result is very, very good, it helps straighten my hair even better than my beloved Sunsilk leave in cream that I've mentioned in previous posts that it has been my HG blow drying product , but this hair spray oil tops that for sure! The best part is that it leaves my hair ridiculously soft, actually I've never felt my hair that soft before. It seems that the random purchases are the best, Sunsilk never fails to amaze me when it comes to condinioners and leave in products! Please try it if you can, you won't regret it!




OK that's it for my drugstore haul for this month. Please let me know if you've tried any of these products and if you like them. And if any of you tried the Sunsilk Nourishing Oil Spray, let me know if you like it as much as I do!





Monday, June 17, 2013

The Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream Review

I think it was about time to review one of my HG face moisturizers, the Seaweed Mattifying Day cream from The Body Shop, it took me a while do it so I want to apollogize for the delay. It's funny because I took the pictures months ago, and now this jar is empty because I used it all, but for some reason I totally forgot to write this post. So let's start!


Packaging
As most of the Body Shop's moisturizers, it comes in a plastic jar, which is super lightweight and it's very travel friendly.

Price
In Greece it retails for 14 euros, I think the price is quite reasonable, it's only a few euros more expensive than a drugstore moisturizer.


Texture
It's a gel moisturizer, which absorbs very quickly into the skin. It's perfect for oily skintypes, and it's also great under any type of foundation, liquid and powder, I've tried it with both and it works amazingly good. It never broke me out, and it's very rare for me to find a moisturizer that doesn't break me out, the fact that I've purchased this one twice so far it says a lot! For a moisturizer that is targeted for oily skintypes I didn't expect that it would help with my dry areas around my cheekbones, but it does, not very well though, but it does help and I can tell that because when I'm wearing a long wearing foundation, it doesn't make my dry areas visible at all.  But when my skin acts weird, I like to alternate between this one at daytime for under foundation and a more thick moisturizer for the nightime. Something that I have to mention is the smell, I understand why some people may feel nauseous, it must be the seaweed extract, personally it doesn't bother me, but when I first used it I found the smell to be very off putting.


Pros
-Very lightweight and absorbs quickly into the skin.

-Perfect for under foundation and powder.

-It doesn't make my skin oily throught the day.

-Very good for acne prone skins, never broke me out.

-Reasonable price.


Cons
-The scent may be a little too much for some people.




Rating: 9/10
I'd give this moisturizer a 10/10 rating but because the smell can be off putting for some people, I decided to go with a 9, but overall this moisturizer is amazing! If you have oily/acne prone skin you have to try it!



Have you try the Body Shop's Seaweed Mattifying Day cream, did you like it?
Let me know!






Sunday, June 9, 2013

May Favorites.

I know I'm a little late this time with my monthly favorites, but better late than never right?
Some of these products were the ones that I wore all the time while I was in London, and some I started using them for the first time when I came back and I'm very impressed with them!


Garnier Moisture Match moisturizer for dry to normal skin
In May I received from Garnier their new Moisture Match moisturizers to try them out. When I came back from my trip I run out of my beloved mositurizer, the Body Shop's Seaweed Day Cream and since I had all 4 of these new Moisture Match moisturizers, I decided to try one of these out instead of repurchasing a new one from the Body Shop. My skin was acting very strange these days, it's still oily but my cheeks and chin are dry so I decided to try the one that is for normal skins, and I loved it! I don't usually mention skincare products in my monthly favorites that I've tried less than a month but this one made a huge difference on my skin so I had to mention it. It hasn't broke me out, it makes my skin very moisturized and my cheeks look plumpy. Yes it can be heavy, because I have oily skin, I like to use it mostly at nighttime and not under my foundation. I'm pretty sure I'm going to use this moisturizer a lot when the weather gets colder, and I'm definitely going to try the one for oily skins really soon.


Clinique Blended Face Powder in 03 Transparency
For some weird reason I've never mentioned this powder before but it's been my HG for over 7 years, this jar is actually the second one I've bought and let me tell you, finishing a jar of this powder is an accomplishment, since it's 35 grams! In the winter I do not always use a loose powder after my foundation to set it, because the foundation by itself it's quite matte, I only use a blotting powder for touch ups. But when the weather gets hotter I like to use a setting powder after, and this one is one of the best! It never looks cakey and it's very lightweight, it's not 100% trasparent but you can barely see any color on the skin.


Mac Studio Finish Concealer in NW25
I've used this concealer a lot this month, because it's very practical and easy to use, I don't need a brush to apply it, just my fingers. Also from all the concealers I own right now, besides my Seventeen Ideal Cover, it's the only one that doesn't make me look like a dead person. All the others are very light and they don't look good with my skintone now that is summer. Also it has SPF 25 which is always a plus!

Mac Brule Eyeshadow
I've mentioned before that my HG browbone eyeshadow is Heaven by Too Faced but I got Brule in a pot because it's very practical when I have to travel,  and using only this one for a whole month I noticed how much more natural it looks than Heaven. Yes Heaven brightens up the browbone more but Brule melts with my natural skintone and it looks way more natural. I definitel prefer this one for the summer, because it doesn't look so white.


Sephora Waterproof Jumbo Liner in 06 Copper
Being so lazy with my eye make up these days, I was only using this jumbo liner all over my main lids with Brule on my browbone and just mascara, and that was it, the perfect lazy summer eye look! If you haven't try these Jumbo Liners I suggest you to do it, they have an amazing staying power, I don't have to use an eye primer underneath these babies and they stay on for hours!


 Dior Addict Lipstick in 433 Delice
I got this lipstick a few days before I left for London and I didn't have the chance to show it to you guys in a haul post. Dior released a Dior Addict collection in April with the same shades of lipsticks, lipglosses and nail varnishes, Delice was the one that really caught my eye. At first when I went to buy it they were out of stock, the second time I was finally lucky enough to grab one! I love Dior Addict's formula, they're super soft and buttery without being over glossy, in my opinion they are way better than the Revlon Lip Butters. Delice is a peachy coral shade, more on the peachy-orangey side, it's the perfect summer color. If you can still find it and you love these kind of colors, you have to get it! Here's a swatch for you:



Korres LipButter Gloss in Peach
One more lip product that I bought in May but I didn't show it to you in a haul post is one of the new Korres LipButter Glosses, and of course I had to get it in Peach. These butter-glosses have a different texture than the original Korres lip butters, the original ones are waxier. thicker and stay on the lips longer, the gloss ones are more like plain lip glosses, with a watery texture that you have to re-apply more often. I was using Peach quite often in May as a lip gloss because it's very practical. The shade is identical to Mango from the original lip butters, very pigmented and more on the orange side, it's up to you if you prefer it to be more waxy or glossy. Here's a swatch:



Maybelline Express Remover
For some reason I wasn't into this type of nail varnish remover, I know Bourjois and Sephora have similar ones but I found it kind of weird. In a Maybelline event that I attended back in April they gave us this new Express Remover to try it out, this was the first time I've tried something like this and it completely changed my mind, I absolutely adore it! It makes the whole nail varnish removing process so easy and quick, that made me addicted to it.



Non Beauty Favorites


Even though this is my only non beauty related favorite I really had to mention it! Daft Punk's new album "Random Access Memories" finally released in May, and as a Daft Punk fan since the 90's and after waiting for 8 whole years to release a new album, this was something I was really looking forward to happen! It may not be their best album, definitely not better than Discovery which in my opinion is their best one so far, but Random Access Memories has a totally different sound which I quite like. All the songs are influenced by the 70s Disco era, the ones that I love the most are of course "Get Lucky", also "Lose Yourself To Dance" and "Beyond".



So these were my favorites for the month of May. Let me know what were your favorites, and if you've tried any of the products I mentioned. I really want to know!





Sunday, June 2, 2013

London Haul Part 2

This is the second part of my London haul, there are all the make up and nail stuff that I got while I was there. I bought mainly face products, I wish I had gotten more, but some of the things that I wanted were sold out from every single Boots store I visited.


Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation and Pressed Powder
I was lemming these two products since they were first released and I knew that I had to buy them while I was in the UK. They cost only 7 pounds each, comparable to Revlon's prices here that's a steal.

 I've tried them both together, twice, and I have to say that I'm seriously impressed! The foundation is very lightweight, and it provides a light to medium coverage. I got the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum because I thought it would be the same type of foundation but actually it's not. It gives more coverage than the Revlon one and it becomes more oily throught the day. Nearly Naked in my opinion is the perfect summer foundation, it lets your skin breath but at the same time it gives you a better coverage than a tinted moisturizer or a BB cream that most of us like to use at summertime. My only wish right now, is for the foundation not to break me out, because I'll be very dissapointed. I got the shade 130 Shell and it's the perfect match for my NC20-25 skintone.
The powder is very fine milled and it doesn't give that really matte look, it has more of a satin texture and I can still see a soft dewiness on my skin, especially on my cheeks. I got the shade 020 Light, but as you can see it's a little dark, darker than the color of the foundation, it's not very visible on my skin, but I'll have to wear it on its own to see if it gives any color at all.


Natural Collection blush in Peach Melba
I read so many good reviews about this blush and I was very curious to try it, since it's very cheap. It's actually a warm pink shade, I can't see any peach in it.The texture is so soft and velvety, when I apply it on my cheeks it's like it melts on my skin, it is also quite pigmented. I think it's the most versalite neutral blush, that everyone can wear with anything.  

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent
This powder is on of Rimmel's most famous products, and I had to try it! The pressed powder I love using is Mac's Blot, but I recently hit pan so it was a good opportunity to try this one from Rimmel and see if it's comparable to Mac's powder. I've only tried it once and I still can't tell if I like it or not, I noticed that it made my skin a little cakey, and I don't have that problem with my Blot powder. But I have to test it a few more times to be certain.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light
This concealer is so famous in the UK and also very cheap, and to be honest the price was the main reason that made me buy it because I already have too many concealers in my collection. I've tried it once so far, and I noticed that it's very drying, I have to use an eye cream before I use it under my eyes for sure, but it's very longlasting. I haven't tested it on pimples and scars yet, but I'm very curious to see if it works for them since it's very hard for me to find a concealer that will actually last a long time, most of them dissapear within a few hours.

Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Khol Pencil in Nude
I was looking for a nude khol eye pencil for a long time, I only knew Topaz Kajal from Stila but I didn't want to pay 15 euros for an eye pencil, and when Rimmel released these new eye khols I noticed that they released a nude one, I thought it was a good oppurtunity to try one without paying all that money. Until now I've been using my Korres white eye khol for my waterline, and it works really good. I quite often have eye allergies and my eyes turn red, that makes my eye make up look terrible everytime, so the Korres white khol really saved me. Trying a nude colored pencil was a little strange for me since I didn't know if it's going to help with my problem, I've tried it 3 times and so far and I'm really impressed! It doesn't brighten as good as the white one but it looks way more natural, and I noticed that it stays on for many hours. So far it's a winner!


Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat
I got a back up of my HG fast drying top coat, because I can't get it from Feelunique anymore so I bought a bottle while I was in the UK to last me a few months. It's the best fast drying top coat I've tried so far, way better than my previous favorite, Poshe, and the Seche Vite, because it's not as thick as they are, and it doesn't shrink my nail polish, which was a major problem I had with the Poshe one.

Model's Own Pink Punch
While I was in Boots at the Model's Own stand I notice a new collection with 4 new neon shades, and if you don't already know it, I'm a huge fan of neon nails polishes! Pink Punch was the one that I liked the most from all the shades, it's a such a gorgeous neon pink coral shade, perfect for the summer!

Rimmel I love Lasting Finish nail polish in Orange Your Life
Rimmel has such a great variety of nail polish shades, but I told to myself that I was going to buy only one, and it was so hard for me to choose only one, but this color was the first one I noticed from all their shades, and I trust my instinct. If you're familiar with OPI's Cajun Shrimp, Orange Your Life is very similar to it, a little more on the orange side but still on the coral red family. I really really love it, I wear it on my nails right now and i can't stop staring at it!



I hope you liked the make up stuff that I got from London, I know they're not much because I tried to limit myself, but I really like everything that I got and I'm very happy with them. 

As for my Greek ladies, stay tuned because I've planned a small giveaway with some UK goodies just for you.