Top Picks, Latest Updates, and Desired Items

Recently purchased Missha BB as a replacement for my favorite RX version. #MisshaBB #ProductReview

The coverage of Perfect Blanc is less compared to RX and it doesn’t look as natural in some areas. #PerfectBlanc #Coverage

Surprisingly, shade #19 Rosy in Missha BB is lighter than RX’s #17. #ShadeComparison

However, I find that #19 Rosy is a bit too light for me, which rarely happens. #TooLight #NotMyShade

To achieve the perfect match, I mix the super pale pink toned #19 with It Cosmetics CC in Fair Ivory, which is a shade too dark for me and more yellow toned. #MixAndMatch #PerfectMatch

CC also has higher coverage and improves Missha’s performance. The finish of the two together is nicely dewy and both have SPF 50. #ItCosmeticsCC #ImprovesPerformance

NAJ OLEARI Lovely Cheek Blush 02 Petal Pink doesn’t stand out initially, but it offers good pigmentation and lasts well on the skin. #BlushReview #PetalPink

The packaging of the blush is gorgeous and comes with a velvet pouch and a brush. #GorgeousPackaging #HighEndLook

EVELINE Velvet Matt Lipstick 510 is a dupe for Mac’s Please Me. It has a pale warm pink shade and a creamy formula. #EvelineLipstick #DupeAlert

The lipstick has a nicely matte finish and a light formula that moves with the lips. However, the applicator shape could be improved. #MatteLipstick #NiceFinish

Though not my favorite mascara, it keeps my lashes curled all day. It has a dry formula, making it more natural-looking. #CurlingMascara #NaturalFormula

PANTENE PRO-V Conditioners and Masks Superfood and Repair are reliable haircare products. They leave my hair smooth and silky. #PanteneProV #HaircareProducts

UPDATES: My favorite sunscreens at the moment. #FavoriteSunscreens #SunProtection

NIVEA SUN Dark Spot Control Luminous 630 SPF 50 is my favorite sunscreen as it’s not greasy and has a healthy glow finish. It also fades pigmentation. #NiveaSunscreen #DarkSpotControl

SHISEIDO Urban Environment Age Defense SPF 30 is a lovely sunscreen that has a skin-like finish and makes my skin look smoother. #ShiseidoSunscreen #SkinLikeFinish

AFRODITA COSMETICS Skin Specialist Protective Serum SPF 30 is a light and elegant sunscreen that sinks into the skin quickly and leaves no greasy feeling. #AproditaSunscreen #LightFormula

BALEA Niacinamide Day Cream SPF 30 combines niacinamide with high SPF, providing hydration and protection. It’s great under makeup and doesn’t irritate my eyes. #BaleaNiacinamide #DayCream

SUBRINA Colour Refresh Warm Brown is my current choice for refreshing my colored brown hair. It’s easy to remove when I decide to bleach again. #SubrinaColorRefresh #HairColor

Update: Next, I will try using Warm Brown on its own. #HairCareUpdate #WarmBrown

I recently bought Missha’s BB because I haven’t been able to find my favourite RX version anywhere to repurchase and I wanted to see if this one is a good replacement. Perfect Blanc has less coverage, doesn’t look as natural in some parts as the RX, but the biggest surprise is that shade #19 Rosy is lighter than RX’s #17. In fact I find it’s a bit too light for me, which very rarely happens. So I’ve been mixing the super pale pink toned #19 with It Cosmetics CC in Fair Ivory, which is about a shade too dark for me and more yellow toned. I get a perfect match when I mix the two. CC also has much higher coverage and it improves Missha’s performance. Finish of the two together is nicely dewy and both have an SPF 50, plus a bunch of nice ingredients.

NAJ OLEARI Lovely Cheek Blush

02 Petal Pink

Initially this one didn’t stand out to me in a big haul of blushes I got in April (Alverde’s Swirly blush distracted me), but you definitely get what you pay for at this one. Formula is super smooth, it looks great on the cheeks, pigmentation is good and it lasts well on the skin. The shade is a pretty basic peachy pink, but these types of shades are universal and suit so many skin tones, perking the skin up. It has a slight glow to it with tiny shimmer, but not like Alverde’s blush. The packaging is gorgeous, a high-end looking rose gold and it comes with a velvet pouch and a brush.

EVELINE Velvet Matt Lipstick

510

My Jordana Matte Lipstick in 48 Pink Passion, which is a dupe for Mac’s Please Me is quite old by now (though actually still ok and useful), so I went to DM in search of a dupe or a similar shade. This is the shade I found. It’s a pale warm pink, just a simple wearable every day shade for my pale skin. All three formulas (Mac, Jordana and this) are matte, but Eveline’s is the creamiest of the three.

This is such a beautiful red shade and I like the finish of it – it’s nicely matte and formula is light, so it moves with the lips and there’s no fear it will peel off on some parts. I don’t find it drying nor tight, which goes for most matte liquid lipsticks at me anyway, but this one feels lighter than most. I have two complaints: I’d like to see a better shape of the applicator, so the edges wouldn’t have to be fixed with a lip liner, but it’s not that big of a deal and the staying power isn’t as great as at other similar formulas.

It’s not my favourite mascara, but every time I find something that can keep my lashes curled, it has to go to the favourites post. It’s a very dry formula, which I like, but because of that it’s more of a natural mascara as you can’t apply a ton of heavy coats. It’s truly waterproof, I tested it several times in the shower, but that also means it needs a good waterproof remover. It keeps my lashes curled all day.

I neglected this one because when my hair is not in good condition I reach for the K-Pak Reconstructor and Intense Hydrator instead. So I didn’t appreciate how good this is and how it can also transform super dry hair into something more normal. I need to trim my ends and I keep forgetting to do that and this makes them so much softer and in better condition.

PANTENE PRO-V Conditioners and Masks Superfood and Repair

Conditioners and masks I can rely on. Usually I use Repair, but I found a tube of Superfood conditioner in my cupboard and it’s just as amazing. Formula is very nourishing, it leaves my hair smooth and feeling silky. Currently I’m using these in combination with Subrina Colour Refresh masks. After CR has been on my hair for about 5 minutes, I apply this over it, as CR on its own isn’t nourishing enough and it’s silicone free, so my hair is so difficult to comb. This works fast and makes sure my hair is hydrated and detangled.

UPDATES

My selection of favourite sunscreens at the moment.

NIVEA SUN Dark Spot Control Luminous 630 SPF 50 – This one is probably my favourite, though Shiseido would have that honour if it had an SPF 50. It’s not greasy, it has a “Korean sunscreen level” of shine that looks more like healthy glow (I have normal-dry skin with very little natural oil coming through over the day), it feels like a regular moisturiser and not a sunscreen. It’s scented with a floral fragrance which I like, it’s alcohol free and contains Isobutylamido Thiazolyl Resorcinol (Thiamidol), which fades pigmentation.

SHISEIDO Urban Environment Age Defense SPF 30 – this one is so lovely. It’s light and watery, again very similar to Garnier Ambre Solaire Fluid, but somehow feels silkier on the skin. It looks and feels great, it has a skin-like finish and just a touch of glow (not that typical sunscreen glow). Skin looks smoother with this and pores look somewhat diminished too. It’s dry to the touch quickly and it doesn’t irritate my eyes. It has a slight tint to it, but in pale shade and it doesn’t have coverage. The only thing I wish is that it was SPF 50 (and that it was a lot cheaper).

AFRODITA COSMETICS Skin Specialist Protective Serum SPF 30 – A light and elegant SPF. It doesn’t feel at all like a sunscreen, it’s like a typical lotion-cream for oily-combination skin. It sinks in fast on my skin, there’s not white cast in and no greasy feeling. It leaves some sunscreen shine, but it’s not the greasy type, since it’s almost dry to the touch. It’s scented, but I never mind that.

BALEA Niacinamide Day Cream SPF 30 – This combines two things I want in my skin care – 10% of niacinamide and the added bonus of an SPF, which is quite high. I either use it on its own or under an extra SPF 50, but when I’ve worn it alone, it never failed to protect me. It’s kind of a typical cream that sits on the skin for a while, but it’s not a heavy, rich moisturiser, nor does it feel “sunscreen greasy”. It’s nicely hydrating, I can wear it under makeup, it doesn’t peel and it doesn’t irritate my eyes. For some reason I haven’t seen this in DM for over a half a year and I hope we get some new stock soon (they changed the packaging some Balea skin care. I think this included).

SUBRINA Colour Refresh

Warm Brown

I’m not using Cold Brown anymore because it washes off grey and on some strands blue on my bleached blonde hair (these are designed for refreshing coloured brown hair and despite what I’m doing, I don’t recommend you do the same as me on blonde hair, so you won’t be mad at me if something goes wrong). I made a switch to Warm brown which is reddish. I mentioned before I don’t want to bleach my massive dark roots, but I also don’t want to use a damaging peroxide based colour on my blonde hair, plus I want the colour to be easy to remove when I decide to bleach again – I know I’m weird. Every time I wash my hair, a lot of colour comes off, so I have to use these at every wash, which sounds exhausting and stupid, but I wash my hair once a week and these need to be on for 10-15 minutes, so it’s not that difficult. So far I’ve mixed Warm Brown with Cold Brown and it still washed off grey. Then I mixed it with shade Violet and I got a beautiful deep red shade with some hints of purple. But my favourite combination so far is Warm Brown with Orange as I got a gorgeous deep ginger shade. Sadly it makes my roots clearly visible since they are dark brown and very cool and CRs don’t cover natural dark hair, but this colour is making me think I should become a redhead. I’m using just Warm Brown next and we’ll see how it goes as far as my roots are concerned, then I’m trying the Wella Color Fresh mask I bought recently.

1 tube of Warm Brown with 1/4 tube of Violet

1 tube of Warm Brown with 1/4 tube of Orange.

WISHLIST AND WHAT’S NEW AT THE DRUGSTORE

TOO FACED Born This Way Healthy Glow SPF 30 Skin Tint Foundation – I’m a fan of the original foundation and they just released a lighter version with an SPF. Looks interesting.

MAYBELLINE Super Stay 24h Skin Tint – I saw this on German DM’s website and I haven’t found it here yet. Given that Maybelline usually has good pale shades and I often like their formulas, I’d love to try this.

BOURJOIS Velvet The Pencil – I don’t know if this is new or a repromote. Maybe they just changed the packaging a bit. I found them in DM and I like all five shades we have.

TOO FACED Born This Way Ethereal Light Illuminating Smoothing Concealer – There are two BTW concealers and the other is matte, which I assume my skin won’t like. I saw this one recently and it looks like a better choice for me, plus it has illuminating in the name.

BALEA Festes Duschpeeling Pfirsich & Amaranth (solid shower peeling) – Lush has had something like this for ages and it’s nice to see something like it in a drugstore. I didn’t see it DM today and I was looking for it.

BALEA Teint Perfection Pflegender Concealer – this is very new and I’ve only seen it as an ad on IG and on German DM site. I doubt the shade would fit me, but anyway, I’m disappointed with the ingredients list, as it has nothing of note, yet they call it a caring concealer. This is a LE.

BALEA MED Ultra Sensitive Bodycrème Cica – I hope this has a thick texture and not one of those watery ones Balea usually has. It basically just has Centella Asiatica Leaf Extract from the more interesting ingredients and I think it’s a missed opportunity they didn’t add stuff like ceramides, panthenol, cholesterol, urea and niacinamide

DEBORAH Gel Effect Nail Polish – I used to have several of these and I loved this one shade that I think my mom nicked years ago, so I never saw it again. They probably just changed the packaging, but I saw these today and they look great, especially shade 50.

GARNIER Vitamin C Glow Booster Night Serum and Eye Care – finally something that looks decent from Garnier. Their other vitamin C serum is full of alcohol and with only 3,5% of 3-O ethyl ascorbic acid. This one has 10% of ascorbic acid and is alcohol free, plus it has adenosine, the compulsory hyaluronic acid and a hint of salicylic acid. The eye cream is less impressive vitamin C-wise (it has ascorbly glucoside), but it has niacinamide, caffeine, adenosine and a bunch of extracts.

BALEA Kopfhaut-Balance Pflege Serum 5% Panthenol – This caught my eye a while ago on IG and it certainly sounds like something I need. However I read the texture is heavy and it’s better as a pre-wash scalp treatment.

BALEA PROFESSIONAL Plex Care 2 in 1 Hair Mask – As much as the fact they are clearly trying to give an impression this is an Olaplex equivalent (dupe) pisses me off (it’s definitely not, as it doesn’t have bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate, the bond building ingredient), ingredients-wise this isn’t bad. But it is just a basic keratin + aminoacid repairing treatment, something that has been on the market for decades in various forms. For non-difficult/mildly dry & damaged hair, it should be nice, but I have poor experience with Balea’s hair care, so I’ll likely skip it.

BALEA Silber Glanz All-in-one Sprűhpflege – they really tried to make this a super versatile product. It’s a hydrating leave-in with proteins plus hair protection and if I understand this correctly, purple tones to neutralise yellow on blonde hair. My experience with purple leave-ins has not been the best (shampoos, masks and conditioners are the best way to distribute the product evenly), but maybe this one is better.

BALEA Haar Parfűm Honolulu Vibes – A summery hair perfume. It just says tropical scent, so I wonder if by that they mean the classic coconut with tiare or something else.

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