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.

REVIEW: Bourjois Little Round Pot Intense Eyeshadow 04, 05, & 08

Hello My Funky Readers,

Few weeks ago I won  a ticket to HPM Social event in London, and while there I had a chance to swatch some goodies from Bourjois. What's more, everyone who wanted could also put their name down for trying some of the products. I've requested to try three of their Bourjois Little Round Pot Intense Eyeshadows after having a swatching marathon by their stand.

Until now, I have never actually tried any of Bourjois Little Round Pot eyeshadows, mostly because I dislike buying individual eyeshadows and prefer the palettes. But I still remember, when I first walked in to Boots over two years ago, and saw them, and stayed glued to the stand swatching and swatching. I even bought one of them to send to a friend in the USA, but never bought one for myself. This year Bourjois updated the formula and the packaging, but they still had escaped my notice until couple of weeks ago at the event, and few days ago when they arrived at my doorstep.

REVIEW: GOSH Long Lasting Eye Liner Pens

Hello Everyone,

I've had GOSH Long Lasting Eye Liner Pens for at least 6 month now, and been using them regularly. I have three of them, Black, Turquoise, and Brown, and I can tell you that I'm extremely impressed with these little liners. If I had to pick, these would be my favorite ones and the ones I use the most out of all the eyeliners I have.

What they say: 

It dries very quickly and will not fade or smudge. The super skinny tip makes the application very easy. The ingredient combination of this product provides an intense shine an extreme long-lasting-wear. GOSH Long Lasting Eye Liner is now available in 8 fantastic colours.

The optimal drying time allows the product for blending.

What I say: 
Each of these costs £5.99 at Superdrug, but they are frequently on sale 3 for 2, and you get 1.8ml (0.1fl oz) of product. I wouldn't say the tip is super skinny, but it's small and flexible enough to draw a fine line, or a fuller line. This tip offers a pretty good control, so even if you're not great at using eyeliner, you should not have much trouble with these. You can see the tip in the photos below. 

002 Turquoise - is a nice blue-green, but I wouldn't call it turquoise if I didn't know the name. To me, turquoise is brighter than this shade, but even if I'm picky about the name, I still love it. See more photos here.

003 Brown - this is my favorite shade from the bunch. I love how it is sparkly but at the same time without any glitter. The shade works very well with my eyes, making the eye color pop. It is also the most opaque of the three. See more photos here. 

006 Black  - I have plenty of plain black eyeliners, but I picked this one up because it was an unusual black. It is black with fine gold shimmer, which you can see very well in the swatch above. Unfortunately it is the most runny of the three, so I have to paint over the line 2 or 3 times in order to get it as opaque as I like it. It is also my least favorite. More photos here. 

These eyeliners apply great and stay on for good 10-12 hours on me without smudging. They do take a little bit to dry, so I have to be careful about opening my eyes too wide or they will transfer to the top lid. But once they dry, they stay put. I haven't tried blending any of them, but I would imagine that it is possible since they take some time to dry. 


One minor gripe I have with these is that during makeup removal, they collect into these little black/brown/turquoise balls that get all over the place and sometimes into my eyes. Sometimes I feel like I can just pull the eyeliner off the same way I pull off fake eyelashes. But really, whatever happens during makeup removing process should stay there right? 


Overall, I love these and would recommend them to anyone looking to try some fun liquid eyeliner shades. Have you tried any of these? 


~ Lyuba

REVIEW: L'Oreal Absolute Eye and Lip Make-up Remover

Hello my Funky Readers,

As you all know, I wear a LOT of eye makeup, and as a result I need an eye makeup remover that works very well to remove everything I pile up on top of my poor eyelids. Also, as a result, I keep trying out all these eye makeup removers, and so today I have yet another one to review: L'Oreal Absolute Eye and Lip Make-up Remover.

What they say: 

L'Oreal Absolute Eye and Lip Make-up Remover has a cooling, refreshing texture to remove the most stubborn traces of long lasting eye and lip cosmetics. The formula effectively removes waterproof mascara and long lasting lipsticks and rinses off instantly to leave skin soft and thoroughly cleansed.

L'Oreal Absolute Eye and Lip Make-up Remover is a concentrated blue astringent designed to purify skin with a comfortable fresh sensation without leaving any sticky residue.

· Blue, astringent make up remover for long lasting eye and lip cosmetics
· Cooling, refreshing texture
· Soft, supple and perfectly cleansed skin

How to Use

Dispense L’Oreal De-maq Absolute Eye and Lip Make-up Remover onto a cotton wool pad and gently weep across eyes and lips to remove traces of make up, repeat if necessary.

What I say: 
I actually did not realize that the size of the bottle was 125ml, and kept thinking that it's only 100ml for some reason. For £4.99 you get 125ml of the product, but frequently it is on sale at either Boots or Superdrug. I got mine at Boots when they had some sale a while back, either 2 for £4 (great deal), or 2 for £5 (also good deal). As you can imagine, I got two of them and the bottle in the picture is my 2nd bottle. At the time of this review, both of them got used up and went to the eye makeup remover heaven. 


It works. It works just as well as the Bourjois Express Eye-Makeup Remover, and now had joined the ranks of my favorites. Although, Bourjois one gives a better deal for the same price (you get 200ml of product) and so if I had to pay a full price, I would choose Bourjois. Because I love a good bargain. Thankfully, both of those are on sale quite frequently, so you can pick and choose the better deal like I do ;P 


It is gentle on my eyes, does not sting or irritate them when I open my eyes during the makeup removing process, and I didn't even realize I did it until I got one eye makeup remover that DOES sting! I don't think it's that oily either, but as a general rule I like a little bit of oiliness left on my eyelids, because it makes the skin around my eyes so soft. But if any of you are extra sensitive to oil, try removing your eye makeup first, and only then removing the rest. You will wipe away all the oiliness from around your eyes while removing the rest of your makeup :) 

It removes even waterproof mascara, and has no problem with the tons of eyeshadow that I wear. I have to admit that I don't know how well it removes any of the lip products because I've never tried to do it. But let's be honest, how many times do we actually NEED the lip products removed? Most of the time they are gone on their own and we have to re-apply, re-apply, and re-apply. I treat this as eye makeup remover only, and I would recommend it to anyone as and eye makeup remover.

I will buy it again provided it's on sale ;P .

Have you tried this eye makeup remover?

~ Lyuba

REVIEW: the Balm Balms Away Eye Makeup Break-Up

Hello my Funky Readers,

My mom works at TJMaxx (US equivalent of TKMaxx) and she knows to be on lookout for interesting makeup for me (and hats, and scarves, and clothes, and pretty much everything and anything). The moment she mentioned that there was the Balm cosmetics for sale, I told her that I WANT IT and she set out to fight the crazy TJMaxx crowds in order to get me some.

One of the things that she sent me was this Balms Away Eye Makeup remover. I actually didn't know what's the heck it was when I first saw it, but I was still super excited about the tin container. I know, silly me.

What they say: 

Read the instructions on the back, there is no other info on the website either. 

What I say: 
It literally took me over 2 weeks to work up the courage to use this because it looked just like vaseline! And because I was afraid that it will get into my eyes. I'm funny like that about my eyes because I'm crazily afraid of anything getting into them.

So when I finally worked up the courage, I was pleasantly surprised that it actually works! It even works with the waterproof mascara (I tried it on Tarte Light, Camera, Splashes mascara), and I would even say it works better on mascara than other eye makeup removers I tried. Normally, I have a little bit of mascara left anyway, but Balms Away removes mascara like a champ.

I am not that impressed with the application method. It tells to apply a little to the closed eye and leave it for 30 seconds to work it's magic. Normally I wouldn't have a problem with these directions because I do the same with any other eye makeup remover, but unlike other eye makeup removers, this one stays on the eye! So I have to open my eyes even a little in order to get a cotton pad, and as I've mentioned before I'm afraid of getting anything into my eyes so I don't like opening my eyes with the coat of petroleum-jelly-substance-type-thing on them. Instead I do one eye at the time, which makes the eye makeup removing time double. And I hate makeup removing time to begin with, so making it double doesn't help with me liking a product.

I also don't really care for the mess it makes on my fingers, especially when I have lots of eye makeup on! Dirty fingers is another pet peeve of mine. Finally, it feels just a tad bit "dry" when I finally use cotton pads, but it could be because I'm used to using liquid eye makeup remover.

Of course the price is a big consideration too. For $20 you get 64g of product, but $20 is a lot of money (for me) to spend on the eye makeup remover! Thankfully it wasn't that much at TJMaxx, but who knows if it ever ends up there again?

Overall, it is a good product, just not for me. Because of my pet peeves I can't truly appreciate it's greatness, but if you're not afraid of dirty fingers and a little bit of product in your eyes, then try it! I think you will be impressed the same way I was.

~ Lyuba

REVIEW: Simple Regeneration Age Resisting Day Cream SPF 15

Hello Everyone,

I've promised forever and a day ago that I would review my other favorite day cream, so here it goes!

I talk about it all the time, so it should not come as a surprise that I love almost everything in the Simple skincare. Simple Regeneration Age Resisting Day Cream is another product that I absolutely love. And now that Simple is coming to the US, I'm even more excited! Because it means that when I'm back in US for good, I don't have to give up the skincare that I came to love! :)

What do they say: 

When your skin's happy and looking youthful, you feel healthier and happier too! Our Regeneration Age Resisting Day Cream is a special blend of active ingredients that protect and replenish your skin throughout the day. Perfect for even sensitive skin. 

simple goodnessSKIN LOVING NUTRIENTS
GREEN TEA EXTRACT fights premature ageing 
MUSHROOM EXTRACT refines skin tone and texture 
OAT-BETA GLUCAN reduces sensitivity 
ALLANTOIN actively soothes
VITAL VITAMINS
PRO VITAMIN B5 and VITAMIN E to soften, smooth, and improve skin condition
NO PERFUME, NO COLOURNO UNNECESSARY INGREDIENTS so it won't upset your skin 
Dermatologically Tested and Approved 


What I say: 

For £6.99 you get a 50ml of product. Wait a minute, 50ml? That sure sounds awfully familiar! Except the packaging makes it seem like there is so much more product than in the tube. No big deal, although it is chunkier than the tube, I like the pump too. The price is not bad, and it lasts a long time, and as always, Boots and Superdrug frequently run 3 for 2 sales on everything Simple. I like the higher SPF, I think it's great for UK's summers but maybe a little bit too much for winter. At least for me. So for winter, I'll get back to Simple Radiance Brightening Moisturizer which only has 10SPF. 

As you can see, it looks pretty standard. It does have that annoying sunblock quality, where it just feels thicker than creams without any SPF, but once applied it is not as noticeable. I love how it absorbs into my skin within minutes (which is something pretty important to me), without leaving much of that annoying sticky feeling. My skin is normal, so I get a tiny bit of sticky, but once I apply foundation and powder over it, the feeling is gone. I would imagine that those with dry skin won't get that feeling at all, and those with oily skin might get more of it. 


I also love that is has no smell whatsoever! I haven't had any negative effects from it, but I rarely get any reactions to anything. 


I would recommend this product to anyone who wants to try a moisturizer with SPF, and I will be buying it again once the sun will show it face again in the UK. For now, I'll stick with the Simple Brightening one. 


~ Lyuba 

REVIEW: Tarte Lights, Camera, Splashes! Mascara

Hello my Funky Readers,

I'm long overdue with this review, I think I had photos taken AND edited (let me hear you do a collective GASP now) for at least two weeks... but I have to admit that I find it very hard to write reviews. Because everyone is different, and what works for me wouldn't not work for you. That's why I rarely review makeup, and try to stick to stuff that either work... or don't. Like makeup removers and face creams. Oh wait, just talked myself into a corner, face creams could be different for anyone out there! Oh well... guess I'll have to start reviewing makeup items too now.

Today I give you Tarte's Lights, Camera, Splashes! mascara which I got in the gift set that my brother got me for Christmas. Sadly I don't know if Tarte is available in UK... so to all my UK readers, I'm sorry!!! This is a sample size by the way.

What they say: 

Lights, Camera, Splashes! Waterproof Mascara
What it is:
A waterproof lengthening, curling, volumizing, and conditioning mascara.

What it does:
Tarte Lights, Camera, Splashes! 4-In-1 Waterproof Mascara's waterproof formula gives you the bombshell lashes you love, and is guaranteed to stay put through rain, sweat or tears.

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Synthetic Dyes
- Petro-Chemicals
- Phthalates

What else you need to know:
This mascara contains Skinvigorating™ ingredients such as beeswax, a natural waterproofing agent, mineral pigments, known for their soothing and softening properties, and carnauba wax, an emollient wax that ensures smooth application.

Size: 0.24 oz

Black:
Isododecane, Aqua, Pentaerythriyl Hydrogenated Rosinate, Cyclopentasiloxane, PVP/Eicosene Copolymer, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Polybutene, Cera Alba, Cera Carnauba, Alcohol, Polyquaternium -10, Phenoxyethanol, Iron Oxides (CI 77499).

What I say: 
First of all, I would have never bought this mascara for two reasons: 1.  It's waterproof, and after years of wearing waterproof mascara I realized I don't care for them! Mascaras never run on me (even in high heat), I don't go swimming in them, I don't go to the gym in makeup, when I cry I don't care how I look  and I've heard that they also very bad for your lashes. So I'm using it because I got it as a gift in a gift set, which I had little control over. 2. The price, $19 is a little steep for me when I can get a nice mascara for under $10.

But the packaging, oh the packaging! I'm glad that I've never saw it in full size in person, otherwise my above "never" would have turned into maybe.  And now that I spy that Tarte has a regular version too.... but the packaging is not as cute :(

So aside from this mascara being waterproof I am actually very impressed with it! Although there is nothing special about the wand, I don't know what is this "patented dual-wand technology" they are talking about because by looking at it you won't see anything different from any other mascara wand on the market (that are not those silicone type wands I mean).

But when I apply it, this is where I can see the difference! The wand is actually pretty long and narrow, so it is able to coat almost the whole length of my lashes. Even the bottom ones are not as big of a problem, as I usually have with other mascaras, because this wand is narrow enough to coat them without messing up. I love natural but dark look to my lashes, so I only apply one coat of mascara (by one coat I mean I keep applying it while it still wet. Does that count as one coat? I always think that 2nd coat means applying mascara after 1st coat completely dried, and I rarely do that). This mascara doesn't clump (love, love, LOVE!!) and makes my lashes look oh so long, and dare I even say full? The thing is, I do have long lashes.... you just can't see them because they are so light, so I need something extra to help them show up. I wear glasses, and my eyelashes actually touch the glass!!!!! How cool is that? A little annoying that I have to wait until mascara is completely dry before putting glasses on, but I think it's a minor thing.

I think it's also decent with delivering a curl too, although I think my eyelashes are naturally curly so somebody with straight lashes will have to comment on that. As far as their conditioning claim goes, I don't know... by the time I'm done trying to remove it I bet all the conditioning properties are going out the door.

Please excuse my left eye (on your right), and what looks like mascara failing to deliver. It is not, it is Lyuba who is failing to apply the mascara just as well on the left eye. I always, always, always have trouble applying mascara to my left eye and I'm incredibly jealous of anyone who can! I resigned myself to forever have uneven eyelashes, but thankfully no one can see it from far away and those who do get close enough, generally don't care :P After all, I can always use fake eyelashes for a uniform look! Or I can just practice, practice, and practice till I get the left eye right too!

The wear is good too, if there was any fallout I didn't notice it. I usually wear makeup for 10+ hours, and when I was taking it off everything was still there. It does stay!

Overall I'm very pleased with this mascara, it delivers what it says it would (lengthening, volumizing, and even curling) at least for me. Sorry Tarte, but I still won't buy it on its own, but I wouldn't mind getting it in a gift set again. I would recommend it to anyone who has fair lashes like me and wants them to stand out, and who is not afraid of waterproof mascaras.

Available from Tarte and Sephora for $19.

Have any of you tried this mascara? What do you think? 

~ Lyuba

REVIEW: Garnier Skin Naturals Fresh Essentials Eye-Makeup Remover

Hello Ladies,

Remember not long ago I told you I was in LOVE with Garnier's Fresh Essential Cleansing Milk & Toner? Well because I loved those two products so much, I also picked up Garnier Skin Naturals Fresh Essentials Eye-Makeup Remover because I figured that if I liked 2 products from the range, I would like the other one too. Right? Well, wrong.

What they say: 

Eye make-up remover
Removes all eye make-up, even waterproof, and leaves skin feeling pleasantly soothed while respecting the delicate eye contour area.

They don't have a lot of info up huh? But fear not, I've taken a photo of the back label for you!

What I say: 
As always I can't find it on Boots website, but I promise you it is in the store. And it wasn't even that expensive, I believe under £4, plus Garnier products are frequently on sale anyways. 

As I said, I had pretty high hopes for it but sadly (for this product), it disappointed me. I actually didn't even see that they promised to remove waterproof makeup too, which makes me even more disappointed. It doesn't remove waterproof mascara. It has trouble with even regular mascara! It does a decent job with removing everything else, except you will have to saturate the cotton pad pretty well otherwise you'll be stuck rubbing your eyes like crazy. And we all know rubbing your eyes is a no-no. But then if you saturate the pad pretty well, you'll be risking for eye makeup remover getting in your eyes.... and trust me when I say it stings. 

Overall I'm not happy with this eye makeup remover, and won't be buying it again. It is not quick, it is not easy, and I don't think it is gentle. I'd rather pay a little more and buy Bourjois Express Eye-makeup Remover, which actually works.  

What do you think? Have you tried it before? 

~ Lyuba 

REVIEW: Simple Radiance Brightening Moisturiser SPF10

Hello my Funky Readers,

I'm back again with yet another Simple review. I simply can't help it, I love their range so much that I rarely even think of picking up any other brand for my skincare. This time I will be talking about Simple Radiance Brightening Moisturiser SPF10.

I hate wearing sunblock on my face. Let me repeat myself, I HATE it. But while it is a necessary evil, I simply can't stand how my face looks and feels all oily afterwards. And don't even get me started about trying to apply my makeup over it. So I figured I'll give a try to SPF moisturizers and see if that makes a difference with oiliness and makeup, and picked up Radiance Brightening Moisturiser from Simple.

What do they say: 

Radiance Brightening Moisturiser SPF10

Our Brightening Moisturiser SPF10 is a perfect blend of active ingredients and light reflecting particles to protect, condition and illuminate your skin throughout the day. Perfect for even sensitive skin.

simple goodness

SKIN LOVING NUTRIENTS
MANGO EXTRACT hydrates and refines skin tone
BISABOL soothes and calms
GLYCERIN hydrates and nourishes
VITAL VITAMINS
PRO-VITAMIN B5 actively restores, softens and smoothes
VITAMIN E moisturises to improve skin condition
VITAMIN C is an antioxidant to keep skin supple
NO PERFUME, NO COLOUR
NO UNNECESSARY INGREDIENTS so it won't upset your skin
Dermatologically Tested and Approved

Available in the following sizes:   50ml 

What do I say: 
For £6.99 you get 50ml of product, and it just looks so small. But fear not, it will last you a long time! I think I've been using it every day for past 2 month now and I'm just now getting to finally finishing the tube. Not bad I say, but still buy it when Superdrug or Boots have their 3 for 2 sale! 


When I used it for the first time, I was initially very turned off by how it felt. You know how sunblock just feels thicker and harder to blend than normal creams? That's how this moisturiser felt, but at the same time I wasn't that surprised considering it has SPF. So I gave it a go again and again until I simply fell in love. What at first seemed like super thick cream actually absorbed into my skin very fast, and didn't leave any excessive oiliness after it. There was just a tiny oily feel, but it was more "soft" than annoying? And it definitely didn't make any negative impact on my makeup! I can't feel it at all under makeup, it completely disappears on the skin. And that's a winner for me. 


I think the SPF 10 is a little low for me, I would have preferred SPF 15 but at the same time, for everyday wear (like going from house to car to work to back to car back to house) when you're not out much, I think it's ok. I would have been more concerned with higher SPF back in Florida, where it literally took me at least 30 minutes in my car to get to work, but here in UK I barely drive anywhere. Mostly I'm in the house doing schoolwork. 


I definitely would recommend this product to anyone who wants to try a moisturizer with SPF. Your skin will feel hydrated with the added protection of SPF, but without the nasty oily feeling. 


Have any of you tried this moisturizer? 


~ Lyuba

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 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