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!

FOTD with My Darling Naked Palette

Hello Ladies,

I love UD Naked Palette so much that sometimes it is hard to go back to the bright world of colors. And yet I succumb to its charms day after day, without even missing my darling Sleek palettes. Today is no exception. 

 I'm a little unhappy with my lips, but I think it is because of the flash. In real life the lip liner wasn't as visible. Maybe it is really ok, and I'm just making a fuss over nothing but I really don't like the look of lip liner being different from lipstick (even if they are in similar colors).

 I think this eyebrow shade looks much better than here (I used the lightest one) but I am still not entirely happy with it.  I don't know why really, since it's not like I am a natural redhead anyways... I think I want the shade to be in between NYX brow powder and this... but if I mix them together, it would be too dark.

Face:

• Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless Serum Primer.
• Covergirl NatureLuze Foundation in 310 Flax.
• Maybelline FitMe Concealer in 15 Fair.
• Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder in Transparent.
• GOSH Brow Kit - used Light because I'm trying all the colors.
• Collection 2000 Shimmer & Shade as blush.

Eyes:

• URBAN DECAY Primer Potion in Eden.
• UD Naked Palette - used Sin on the brow bone, Sidecar on the lid and Hustle on the crease.
• Covergirl LashBlast Fusion Mascara in Black.

Lips:

• Maybelline Moisture Extreme lipstick in Berry Sorbet.

What do you think? Are you as obsessed with Naked Palette as I am? 

~ Lyuba

P.S. Please check out my first ever giveaway and blog sale! :) 

My Current Obsessiong: Tarte Rise & Shine Lip Gloss and Stain in Nude

Hello Ladies,

For the past few days I've been obsessing over one product that I neglected since Christmas... and that would be Tarte Rise & Shine Lip Gloss and Stain in Nude. I actually got it as a gift from my brother, and it was part of Sephora's special Tarte gift set. It is not for sale there anymore unfortunately, because I think it was truly a great value. If you want to see the photos of this gift set, check out my holiday haul post. :)

Well I have to admit that I neglected this gloss/stain duo for the longest time because of how brown it looked. I never used brown lip anything before, and I was a little scared to try it! All I can say is that I should have tried it earlier.

Here is what they say:

Tarte's Rise & Shine Lip Gloss and Stain gel-based tint gives lips a long-lasting glow that stays all day coupled with a lip-enhancing gloss that gives the appearance of fuller lips naturally. The result is a pout that's pretty and polished. Even after gloss wears away the lip tint remains. Perfect for women who are frustrated with lip products that don't last, Tarte's Rise & Shine's natural lip tint stays on all day, and since its alcohol free it is completely non-drying! The smooth lip gloss adds a lustrous finish that give the appearance of fuller lips, naturally. Skinvigorating ingredients: Tarte's T5 Super Fruit Complex: a proprietary blend of the five most active super fruits (goji, acai, maracuja, acerola and pomegranate) loaded with naturally occurring, antioxidant rich nutrients and vitamins that have been known to deliver refining, anti-aging and skin-restorative benefits with each application.

Paraben free

Phthalate free

Sodium lauryl sulfate free

Petrolatum free

Synthetic fragrance free

Synthetic dye free

No Animal testing

Directions

Put on Lip Tint the same way you would gloss staying within your natural lipline. Wait about 15 seconds for it to set, and then apply gloss. Reapply gloss throughout the day as needed. 

Here is what I say: 
OMG that thing costs $21 by itself!!!!! I knew Tarte was expensive, but I honestly didn't expect for Rise&Shine Lip Gloss and Stain to cost almost, if not half the price of the whole gift set (I believe the gift set was either $44 or $49). This is not a product I would routinely purchase and for me it is firmly in the luxury category. And the thing is, what I got with the set IS a full size product, I checked. That said, I'm very happy that my brother got this for me as a gift because otherwise I would have (probably) never bought it myself.

As I said before, I avoided trying this because of how brown the stain looked, but recently I've been using a lot of lip stains so I decided to give it a go. And I love it. I never imagined that brown would look so good on me, being all pale and stuff, but it sure did. Maybe it is because the brown is not THAT brown, and looks more natural? Who knows, but one thing for sure is that now I want to try more brown lip products.

On one side is the stain, on the other is the gloss, so this part is pretty standard. Apply lip stain, wait for it to dry then apply lip gloss. Also pretty standard. Both are called Nude, but don't be fooled by how dark the stain looks. It goes on very natural, enhancing your natural lip color with a slight brown tint.

The downside of the stain is that it is very liquidy, so the color goes on patchy and hard to layer. And don't even think about commuting the ultimate lip stain sin, aka forgetting to exfoliate your lips (like I did here). This stain will pick it up in a heart beat and expose all the dry bits on your lips. While it's at it, it will also dry out your lips pretty bad, and that's where the gloss comes in to cover up the dryness and give your lips some OOOOMPH!

See how much better it looks? Outside in the sunlight it is even shinier. Oh, and I had no idea but apparently this lip gloss is plumping too? Because I felt a slight tingling on my lips, and some of the reviewers commented on that too.

Here are my lips after reapplying the lip tint & gloss once, and then wearing them for couple of hours. If you zoom in, you could see some nasty patches of ickiness on my top lip, which I'm assuming are tint/gloss leftovers from the first application. But I think from a reasonable distance it is not as noticeable, and lets face it, how many people will get in our faces to examine our lip gloss? Regardless, it is still disappointing that there is some residue left, since it's not like we can quickly exfoliate our lips before applying lip stain again.

Which brings me to another point, the staying power. It is OK, nothing special. The first time I wore this duo, I felt like it stayed on for a long time but every time I wore it afterwards the staying power was mediocre. Couple of hours max maybe, although it survived light eating and drinking. The gloss stays on much longer, and does give my lips a nice finish but since the gloss in itself is pretty transparent I want some color too. Hence reapplying the lip tint, and having to deal with 'residue'. (I did try to wipe off as much of old gloss as I could, short of crazily rubbing my lips)

Lip Tint, together, Lip Gloss

Here you can see very well how the lip tint applies, and this is exactly the way it goes on my lips. Thankfully lip gloss is there to fix things.

So overall I am pretty happy with this product, even if I have to call total BS on the non-drying lips part. The lip stain dried my lips out like crazy, it almost felt like they were stretched. Pretty uncomfortable feeling I gotta say. The reason why I am happy, and why I'm obsessing over it right not is because of the end result which I think is simply gorgeous. And because this product proved to me that I too could wear brown lip products, and opened the door to explore new stuff.

I am happy that I got it, but I can't bring myself to recommend it to anyone at a full price. If you have been wanting to try Tarte products for a while, and you see a set that has this Rise & Shine duo in it, by all means get it. I think that would be the best value for your money, plus you'll be getting other stuff to try too.

What do you think? Have you tried any Tarte products?

Just for fun, here are my EOTD.  Just a simple look, this is what I usually do when I don't want to bother with fancy eye makeup. The eyeliner is Urban Decay, don't remember the name but I got it at TKMaxx when they had lots of UD for sale.

I love how eyeliner color matches my glasses! That particular shade of red is one of my favorite colors :)

~ Lyuba

REVIEW: GOSH Brow Kit

I've been hunting this baby for the past couple of month. Ok, not entirely true. I wanted to buy it when I first saw the ad for it in my local Superdrug, but it appears they don't sell this kit. Not like they sold out, but as in we-didn't-make-enough-space-for-it-on-our-display way. Then last week I saw it in Norwich and I simply had to get it.

Here is what they say: 

The ultimate brow kit containing three brow powder shades that are easy to blend and match, a wax cream to fix and shape, an applicator and brush and a built in mirror to make it easy to use anywhere.

Here is what I say: 
I was so excited when I got it that I even took photos right away. I know that it's the thing to do, and many bloggers do it already but I opt for not using the product instead of taking photos... I know it's sad lol. Now that I've used it every day for over a week, I have some mixed feelings about this kit.

For £7.49 you will get three brow powder shades, a wax cream and an applicator/brush (although right now it is on offer at Superdrug for £6.49, as well as 3 for 2) which I think is a pretty good deal.

 
I like that GOSH Brow Kit has three shades instead of two like I've been used to with NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder. Three shades offer more choice to pick from, however it will not work for everyone since there is only one kit available and there is no other choices. I feel that the shades are rather cool, and I would say this kit will work for a lot of people. I found that the lightest shade worked the best for me, although it turned out to be surprisingly darker once applied than what it appears in the pot. I'm no expert, but I think it might be too dark for some blondes. I haven't used the darkest shade because it is plainly too dark for me, and you can see medium shade here.

From the left: Light, Medium, Dark

As you can see, the shades are rather cool toned, which brings me to my one (big) problem with this kit. I don't think it works for redheads! Maybe I am completely wrong, but I think I need something a little warmer.. maybe even slightly auburn. Sadly this kit doesn't offer that.

Other than that, the powder applies great, stays great and doesn't budge. My eyebrows are very well behaved, so most of the time I don't even bother with the wax, but if I have to use it I only apply the tiniest amount. Can you tell I'm so upset with this kit that I can't even find words to type? I want to love it, but I can't because of the shade choices. If GOSH ever comes out with a version for red/auburn hair I would snatch it up right away and probably love it to death... but who knows if that will ever happen?  

As it stands right now, I will not re-purchase, but I will recommend it to anyone who is looking for a nice brow kit and who is lucky enough to match it. I definitely will not recommend it to redheads or to very light blondes (unless you like the look of light hair and dark eyebrows).

So what do you think ladies? Have any of you tried this kit? Am I too harsh on my eyebrows color?

~ Lyuba

P.S. Please enter my giveaway and check out my blog sale!

Silent Treatment FOTD

Hello Ladies, 


For the past few days I've been in love with Wet n Wild Silent Treatment ColorIcon palette, and here is FOTD using it. I have to say something about photos, since they look different to my usual photos. My husband took these, outside using no flash. So although the colors don't look quite so bright, I think this is a pretty good representation of how it looks in 'real  life'. 

Face:

• Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless Serum Primer.
• Covergirl NatureLuze Foundation in 310 Flax.
• Maybelline FitMe Concealer in 15 Fair.
• Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder in Transparent.
• GOSH Brow Kit - used Medium because I'm trying all the colors.
• Collection 2000 Shimmer & Shade as blush.

Eyes:

• URBAN DECAY Primer Potion in Eden.
• Wet n Wild ColorIcon palette Silent Treatment.
• Covergirl LashBlast Fusion Mascara in Black.

Lips: 

• Maybelline Moisture Extreme lipstick in Sweet Ginger.
 

I'm in a serious need of hair cut and new color. For some reason my hairdresser is refusing to cut my hair as short as I want, I think I need a new hairdresser lol.

I actually followed the instruction on palette (for once) and used all 3 colors as instructed. My eyebrows are too dark, but that's because I'm trying out different colors from GOSH Brow Kit.

I didn't wear any eyeliner but I rather like the look because it is not my usual style. :)

What do you think?  Have you tried any of the Wet n Wild ColorIcon palettes?

~ Lyuba

P.S. Don't forget to enter my 50 Followers Giveaway and check out my first ever blog sale!