My Favorite Lipstick for Fall: L'Oreal Project Runway Charming Cockatoo's Pout

Hello Everyone,

I have to admit that I'm not much into lipsticks. Sure, I own them, but I rarely use any, instead preferring to use some lipbalm. But I am also a firm believer that one day a lipstick will come your way that will take your breath away. This happened to me a few weeks ago, and the lipstick in question is  L'Oreal Project Runway Charming Cockatoo's Pout.

As anyone who reads my blog regularly knows, I"m an American living in UK, meaning that I have access to some US brands. What it usually means in reality though, is that our store carries some brands from US from their permanent collection, the stock is always low and we rarely get any LE collections. Now, imagine my surprise when I walk in to see a whole display dedicated to L'Oreal's new limited edition collection inspired by Project Runway! Of course I had to get something for myself, and this lipstick caught my eye instantly because lately I've been trying to be more adventurous with my lip color.

(I have to apologize in advance for being a filthy makeup tease, because I realize that this collection might not be available in other countries.)

I am always on lookout for that perfect flapper lip color, because I love flapper style anything, so when I saw the color in the tube I thought it would be perfect. I have to say, it is pretty a little intimidating looking in the tube, but as it turn out it is quite a wearable color.

In reality, it turned out to be more purple looking! Who would have thought?

This is how it applies on the lips, without any pencil or priming. As you can see, it is a gorgeous wine/berry red with some purple tones. In other words, I was in LOVE! For the past few weeks, I wore this color to a wedding, Britain and Ireland Next Top Model Live event, and just any day I felt like it. I think this color is perfect for fall, or for a night out. Here you can see just how wearable it is, and not intimidating at all (ok, maybe still a little): here, here and here.

In fact, one of my friends at the wedding admitted to me (after I've shown her the color in the tube) that she would have probably never bought it on the tube alone, but after seeing it on my lips she was in love too.

The staying power is decent, with lip pencil it lasts me couple of hours, but it doesn't survive eating or Starbucks and I have to reapply. Without eating or drinking, this lipstick lasts much longer on my lips. This is not that big of a deal for me, as long as I actually re-apply! I use a lip blush to apply this lipstick, otherwise it's pretty difficult (for me) to stay inside the lip line, and this lipstick does not forgive any mistakes because they will be visible.

I don't know if this lipstick is still available, couple of days ago I saw it on Ulta's website, but today it is gone. I do believe that it's worth keeping an eye out for, what if some stores still have it?

Would you wear this lipstick if you could get a hold of it?

~ Lyuba

P.S. I found that the best color lip liner to use with this lipstick is Rimmel Lasting Finish 1000 Kisses Stay On lip contouring pencil in 071 Cherry Kiss.

New Favorites: Garnier Fresh Essential Cleansing Milk & Toner

Hello Ladies,

Since I ran out of my faithful Simple facial toner not to long ago, I was on the search for a new one. And since I was pretty unhappy with Simple Kind to Skin Purifying Cleansing Lotion, I was on the search for a new makeup remover too. And I found both in Garnier Skin Naturals Fresh Essentials Invigorating Toner and Complete Cleansing Milk. (That's a mouthful for sure)

What they say:

Garnier Fresh Essentials Grape Water Complete Cleansing Milk contains cleansing micro-oils and fruit extract to freshen skin while gently cleansing.

Garnier Fresh Essentials Grape Water Complete Cleansing Milk removes make-up and lets the skin breathe easily. It removes even long-lasting face and eye make-up in just one step. Garnier Fresh Essentials Grape Water Complete Cleansing Milk is enriched with cleansing micro-oils and fruit extract, It leaves your skin feeling cleansed and refreshed, with make-up and impurities removed. The light formula leaves no greasy feel.

Apply Garnier Fresh Essentials Grape Water Complete Cleansing Milk all over the face, massage gently to dissolve make-up and then remove using cotton wool pads, starting with the eyes and lips.

Garnier Fresh Essentials

An irresistible partner for normal to combination skin.

Invigorating toner, vitamin enriched
Alcohol-free and enriched with grape extract, water and pro-vitamin B5, the formula removes any remaining impurities that can cause and uneven complexion, whilst preparing skin for your moisturizer.

What I say: 
I promise you, I am not crazy and you CAN buy both of these from Boots... however I can't find them on their website so I can't link them :(  Could it be that these used to be called Clean & Fresh and Garnier just renamed them? Either way, I got these from Boots in Cambridge and they were on sale at the time for 2 for £4. That said, I don't remember how much they cost individually... I remember thinking that it was on par with Simple toners, so around £3 or so. 

 Lets just say I love these. My main problem with Simple Purifying Cleansing Lotion was that it wasn't liquid enough, and it was a major pain in the behind to use. Try smoothing something on your face when that something is almost solid and you'll know what I mean. It also left my skin feeling pretty sticky at the end, not a good result for a product that supposes to cleanse right? I don't have this problem with Garnier Complete Cleansing Milk. It is liquidy enough to glide on my skin, and once I wipe it off with cotton pads my skin feels nice, smooth and most importantly clean. No sticky feeling here! 


Then I follow up with the toner to get the last bits of makeup off. Actually, this toner and Simple's toner are pretty much the same in my eyes with one major (or minor) difference. The scent. I know that for some people not having any smell is very important because they either don't like it, or get irritated by the smell but for me it is of no concern. I love Simple range because I like to think of it as a more affordable alternative to Clinique, but at the same time there is one thing that I slightly don't like in both of these ranges.... no scent. Silly right? So I love Simple for what they do, and for what they don't add to their products but sometimes I just get an urge to put something on my face with a slight scent to it. 


And I've always liked the scent of Garnier products. And I simply love the scent of Garnier Fresh Essential Toner and Cleansing Milk! I'm not good with describing scents, but to me it smells fresh and not imposing, softly lingering in the background and adding to the experience. I love it! I'm sorry to say Simple, but Garnier toner wins for me.... especially since both of you are around the same price. 

According to Garnier you can use the Cleansing Milk to remove eye makeup too, but I haven't tried it and I probably will not. I have a thing about putting anything like cream near my eyes, meaning I don't want it near them. So I can't comment on how well it removes the eye makeup, but I can say that it removes facial makeup as a charm.  


I would recommend this to anyone with normal or combination skin like mine. It is a great value, and you get 200ml of product in each bottle. It does exactly what it promises to do on the bottle, and it won't make you go broke. :) I can only hope that these products are sold in USA for when I get back.


Let me know if you decide to try Garnier Fresh Essential range , or if you already tried these! 


~ Lyuba


P.S. Please check out my giveaway (ends on June 15th) and my first ever blog sale!

My Two Absolute Favorite Makeup Brushes

Hello Ladies,

I'm on the roll after I discovered the greatness of scheduled posting on Blogger. Now I can write several posts when I feel inspired and schedule them instead of forcing myself to write every day. And I'm a bad writer because I don't like to write.

I am not sure if I said that before, but I am absolutely in LOVE with EcoTools brushes. At this point I think I have almost all of the ones they released, save some individual ones. Having said that, there are two brushes that I can't live without now and use them every time I apply makeup. Unfortunately these two brushes are not yet available in UK, and on the whole UK selection looks really sad compared to US selection. 

Both of these brushes came from different sets. I have to confess that I bought EcoTools Alicia 5 Piece Brush set only for the duo fibre brush, because I've never seen it anywhere else and I WANTED it. I have no idea who Alicia Silverstone is, nor do I really care, (although her face seems familiar) and I haven't even touched the rest of the brushes in this set. Or the bag for that matter, although it is pretty nice bag.

EcoTools 5-Piece Mineral Brush set gets a little big more love from me because I use the whole 2 brushes from there! I use the Baby Kabuki brush as my primary blush brush, and Mineral Powder brush to apply primer.

Both sets are amazing value for the money, especially if you don't have many brushes. Alicia Silverstone one is $15.99 (but I believe it is a limited edition, and the only place I was able find it online is Amazon.com so get it while you can!!!) and the Mineral 5-Piece set is$12.99 at Ulta.com or $10.49 currently on Amazon. Both sets are probably readily available in stores in US, but I don't live there right now so can't comment on that.

Duo Fibre brush: 
I have two other brushes in this type, one by Sigma and another by e.l.f. I can't comment on the e.l.f. Stipple Brush because I just got in the mail, but I have been using Sigma Duo Fibre F50 for several weeks now so I can tell the difference between them. I think I will do a comparison post between all 3 of them once I get some use from e.l.f. Stipple Brush.

As I said, I've been using Sigma's Duo Firbre brush for several weeks now and it worked well. Or so I thought, because I never used a brush like that and simply didn't know better. Then I got the EcoTools one and immediately can tell that it works better for me.  It almost seems like I have to use less foundation with it too, and it blends so WELL. My nose is my problem area when it comes to foundation, because I can never get it to look natural there. With this brush I can. I used this brush to apply the foundation in this post, and I love how my skin looks. Natural but smooth and flawless.

Mineral Powder brush: 
Originally I used this brush to apply my foundation because it is just dense enough to blend very well, but after I started using Duo Fibre brush I designated it to being my primer brush.  I dip this brush in the primer (like with Maybelline The Smoother) or deposit a little primer on my hand and blend from there (like with any tube or pump primers). It's a breeze to blend foundation or primer with it, and I feel it gives me an even coverage all over my face.

Another thing that I like about these brushes is how small they are. I apply makeup in my bathroom, standing in front of the mirror so longer brushes usually get in the way as I like to get up close and personal with my mirror. I would probably have less trouble with longer brushes if I used an actual makeup mirror (which I have), but I have no space for it right now. So shorter brushes work much better for me.

See how small they are compared to my hand? Obviously this is not a good measurement since none of you know how big my hands are, but you just have to trust me when I say I don't have large hands. :)

Overall, I can't live without these two brushes now. What are your favorite face brushes?

~ Lyuba

My Favorite Products from 2010

Hello everyone,

This post is a little late, but I have a (very poor) excuse - I absolutely hate taking and then editing photos haha. Not a good thing for a beauty blogger don't you think?

For me, 2010 was a year of discoveries. Not necessary of products that were released in 2010, but of beauty products in general. Up until few month ago, I wasn't even THAT into makeup and everything related. Sure I applied make up, but it was always the same boring thing. I also did not realize the importance of good skin care regime, but at least now I'm proud to say that I pay attention to my skin at lot more.

You might also notice that my favorite products are sort of random, and I'm missing some things (like lipstick and shampoos/conditioners, etc..) but that's because I just started looking and still have to find THAT one great thing. I am pretty sure that 2011 post will be a lot longer and more organized. :)  

Here is the list (in no particular order):

The Body Shop Lip Scrub
Up until couple month ago I didn't even know that lip scrubs existed!! Then I read couple of blogs recommending this and I had to get it for myself.  I love how moisturizing it is, even if it's a scrub, and after every use my lips feel oh so nice :) I also love that this is put in a lipstick tube, as I absolutely hate lip products that require me to use my fingers (like balms). That's the reason I haven't tried any other lip scrubs.

Simple Skincare Range
Yes, I love the WHOLE range! I discovered the Light Moisturizer and the Soothing Toner earlier this year, but after starting to pay attention more to my skin I branched out and tried other stuff. And so far I love everything I tried. I recommend this range to all my American friends here in UK, as well as sending some stuff as gifts to my friends back in US.

Vichi Purete Thermale 3 in 1 One Step Cleanser
I decided to try this range after reading some great reviews and was hooked instantly. Now my skin is by no means sensitive, but I love how gentle and soothing this cleanser it. After using it, my skin feels so soft and smooth. Another brand I recommend to anyone willing to listen to me. ;P

Aussie Take the Heat Leave-in Spray
I had a pretty mediocre experience with Aussie in US when I tried their shampoo and conditioner. Not sure if the stuff in US are different, who knows. I like this leave-in spray because of its smell and of course for protection reasons. I don't straighten my hair often, only after I wash it so spraying this nice smelling stuff feels like a treat. Because I like it so much, I bought 2 more as backups (on offer in Boots right now), and I think I will try more stuff from the range in the future.

EcoTools brushes
It is more of a re-discovery than discovery for me because I first bought them in 2008 or 2009, but I didn't know how to properly use brushes at the time so I was not too impressed. When I picked them up again this year, I was in LOVE. The brushes pictured about are the ones I use every day, but they all came from 3 different sets as well as individual one that I got as a gift. The three smaller brushes came from 2 sets I ordered online from ULTA.com. I've never seen them in any stores in UK, so I don't think they are available here. :( I use tiny kabuki brush for my blush, travel powder brush for foundation, travel 'blush' (I think) brush for setting my concealer. The rest I think are pretty self explanatory. And yes, that is my kitty trying to steal one of the brushes. She even succeeded for a whole 3 seconds!

Sleek palettes
I only pictures two of them, STORM and SUNSET, because those are the ones I use right now. But I love Sleek makeup and wish I would have found out about it earlier, then I would have gotten some of limited edition palettes that came out before November lol. So far I have Storm, Sunset, Circus, Good/Bad Girl, Sparkle, Original, and Acid. My friends in US got some of those as Christmas gifts this year. :)

No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara
I don't like mascaras, to me they are a necessary evil to make my eyes look good. I still don't like them even after discovering this one, and I double I'll ever like mascaras. However this one is just great! It gives me volume and definition without clumping, just a perfect natural-but-better look that I love. I will be buying another one this weekend because I got one of those vouchers from Boots.

Collection 2000 Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liners
Ever since I tried these, I can't go back to using pencil liners. Actually not entirely true haha, because I've rarely used pencil liners because I could never get them to work for me. With these lining my eyes became fool proof, and I can do any kind of lines with ease. So far I've got every color and back ups for them.

NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Auburn/Red
I really don't know how I EVER lived without this. If I had to pick one product as my number 1 most important discovery, it would be this. My eyebrows are so light that you can barely see them so I have to draw them on/fill them in to make my face look "normal", especially with my love for red hair. Before discovering this I used an eyebrow pencil to fill them in, and although it did a decent job I wasn't really happy with the look. Enter the NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Auburn/Red. Not only my eyebrow drawing skills significantly improved after using this, but the colors are so perfect for me that I've got lots of people give me big eyes and say they thought my eyebrows were natural. Score bit time!

Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder in Transparent
Yup, until few month ago I never set my foundation and concealer with powder, but everything changed after I got this. It works wonders for me, especially since my skin is normal (I think, gotta go and do one of those fancy skin analysis things sometimes to make sure lol) and doesn't get that oily. After applying this powder, I don't even have to do any touch ups. Or I could of course, but working at the post office makes me not care as much haha.

What are your 2010 favorites or new discoveries?

~ Lyuba

November favorites

Although November is not over yet, these are the items I keep using over and over again. And I am pretty sure that I will keep using them until the end of this month.

• Sleek STORM palette - my very first Sleek palette that I got after reading all the reviews of Sleek makeup. I love this palette, especially two pink shades. They are my favorite, and I find myself reaching for them almost on autopilot. 
• NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Auburn/Red - I only received it a couple of days ago, but I don't know how I lived without it before! I was a little intimidated by the powder, but turned out that applying powder to eye brows in not as hard as I thought. 
• No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara in brown - it's all about the brush I'm telling you! 
• Ecotools blush brush - although I use it for powder. Can you believe that this poor little brush sat unused for almost 2 years? Shame on me!
• COLLECTION 2000 Illuminating Touch Light diffusing concealer in 2 Natural - that stuff just rules! I brought it with me to US for vacation, and ended up using it on my friend for her cosplay. Look at her skin tone, now look at mine, works wonders for both!  And she normally suffers from serious case of black under her eyes, but do you see it in the picture? I ended up giving it to her and just buying myself another once I got back to UK. 
• Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss in 09 Currant - I got it as a sample in one of the magazines, and I bought the magazine just for the sample lol. I don't haven any Clinique glosses but I really wanted to try one, so I figured why not? Been using it almost every day since. 
• COLLECTION 2000 Extreme 24 hour felt tip liner in Teal - every since I swatched those in Boots, I wanted the Teal one. Now I have it and I've been wearing it 2 days straight and I think tomorrow will be another Teal day.

What are your favorites for November?