Update on the lashes-week 2 and some rambling...

I've been conscientiously applying vaseline on my lashes every night now, for about two weeks and a half. The results, as i mentioned before, are not visible in the form of a shocking difference but there's definitely something going on. This week's lashes:

With copious layers of mascara but still longer than 10 days ago

As you can see, the vaseline + Borage oil technique seems to work well. I'm pleased with the results because, though i still want huge lashes (Lilash...!!!) that can curl up to the eyebrows, i'd rather have healthy lashes first of all. No kidding. I read Laura's post about her problems with RapidLash and those images were terrifying...add that up to a YouTube user's account of her tragic eyelash extension experience and you got yourself a very scared me. I mean i am definitely going to try Lilash...some day. For the moment i'm sticking with my vaseline stuff. Because the Makeup Store's Treatment Mascara is currently unavailable-they've pulled the product off for some 'reformulation' of the original version...which i am sure it won't be as efficient as the first one. Here's an image of a lovely Swedish blogger, faithful Treatment Mascara user:

Image from Kenzas.se

As you can see the effect is almost identical to the Lilash one-i'd say the lashes are a little less bushy but longer. I wanted to try this at first, then got caught up in the whole Shiseido mascara base frenzy and forgot about it. Now i have to wait for the new formula to hit the stand and who knows what's gonna be like (reformulated products are usually rubbish). Oh well.

Now, about some things i got yesterday.

I finally purchased the Garnier 2-in-1 Caffeine Anti- dark Circles Tinted Eye Roll-on and so far i am pretty darn impressed with it. Most reviews on Makeupalley rave about this product and consider it the concealer of the century since it's 'natural', thin and light, and it's a treatment as well, so there you have the 2-in-1-ness.

The first time i spotted this (a few weeks ago) i didn't actually want to purchase it. The color looked nice when swatched on the back of the hand, a light illuminating beige, very thin and wearable. I just had that thought in the back of my mind, what is this, a concealer or a treatment? It looks too light to cover anything, i'm going to end up with a glittery yellow halo under my eyes and the pigments are going to dry my eye area, not allowing the 'treatment' part do its job. I just didn't know how to take this.

But yesterday it was on sale so well...i did what i usually do. Grabbed it and never looked back...which i seriously think is what i am going to keep doing for a while. It is a little too early to write a review but this product is really surprising. I never expected Garnier (i don't like their products at all, except for their hair colors...and treatments) to do such a great job. The product works and it's so sheer yet delivers great coverage. Truly surprised. 

The second item of the ramble- a lip gloss from H&M, apparently very popular- the double H&M gloss in Queen of Peach (it's even on Makeupalley):

Given that i am currently in a coral lip phase i couldn't help at falling in love with this. The only problem- it doesn't look exactly like that on the lips, which is something that never happens with H&M glosses, despite their low-end-ness. Upcoming post on this one, soon.

I also got an eyebrow palette (got tired of the H&M one and just wanted to stray a little...), two face masks, a mud one and a revitalising one, a new mascara, actually two (Max Factor is 20% off this week), an eye cream and Silica hair supplements. Not a very big haul but definitely things i needed and wanted or had to try out :)

Favorite Drugstore Bronzers

Some of the best bronzers i've tried are drugstore products. I must admit i don't own the so-called 'cult' bronzers out there- NARS Casino and Laguna, MAC MSFs, Stila etc. But i have had Too Faced palettes in the past (Beach Bunny and Aqua Bunny), for example, or Guerlain, Estee Lauder, etc. and wasn't too happy with those.

Guerlain Terracotta

Too Faced Aqua Bunny (cream-based bronzer)

 Don't get me wrong- 80% of what's available in terms of drugstore makeup (bronzers i mean) is orange, one. Two, has a weird consistency. Three, it isn't worth the $ even in low prices products (why spend €10 and get a crappy product when you can shell out €20 and get something you'll love?); four, you're gonna end up feeling you've completely wasted your money when you could have saved and gotten something ten times the quality. 

However, it doesn't always happen this way. I have been repeatedly disappointed in high-end bronzers as i've been when it came to cheaper alternatives. Just because a product is expensive doesn't mean is going to perform well. And when it comes to bronzers, go big or go home and that's that. You might be able to 'cheat' with a drugstore lipstick/lipgloss/blush, but you can't trick yourself nor the others with a wrongfully chosen bronzing powder. I guess it's because of the omnipresent orange undertone that's so hard to avoid. Or due to the chalky consistency that makes 99% of the bronzers on the market just dissolve in a wave of dust at the simplest brush touch. Then it means you also have to invest in an expensive brush, and if you're more on the student budget team like i am, that's not good news at all.

I don't think this blog post brings up anything new except for the handful of finds i thought about mentioning here. I have noticed that Isadora is, for example, a cheap drugstore brand that's not so popular in other countries other than Sweden. Or that many beauty addicts prefer high resonance brands regardless of the quality/price relation. Well. The novelty of my point resides in trying to talk about several cheap bronzers that are of very good quality, less-than-popular brands that perform better than high-end stuff. 

A couple of words about several disappointments (thus stuff i don't like)- i will never again purchase something (bronzer i mean) from Guerlain or Smashbox. I have owned the Guerlain Teracotta in the past and it ended up in the trash can (that was before i discovered swapping on makeupalley...boo hoo!) simply because nobody else wanted it and was appalled by the orange tones. It was a terrible product and even today, when i see rave reviews for their highlighters/bronzers, i tend to cringe a little. No, no and no. I personally dislike their bronzing powders and would never use one again; but that's my take only.

Another product i dislike is a bronzer from Smashbox, Bronze Lights (Matte). I'll speak about it in a couple of seconds.

Let's begin with my favorites :)

1. Isadora Bronzing Powder in 45 Highlight Tan

This cheapster is probably my go-to everyday bronzer and a favorite of several Swedish makeup artists and beauty bloggers. It's a dark powder with copper undertones and the tiniest amount of shimmer (not chunky glitter). It's dark enough for olive skintones but natural enough for pale complexions as well. Comes in a pretty 10 g ( .35 fl. oz.) compact with mirror and will last a very long time. It's not always true that 'darker is better', but when it comes to bronzers, especially drugstore, i noticed the darker the color, the better the result (natural and not orange). I really recommend this stuff, it's cheap enough to give it a try.

2. Isadora Bronzing Powder in 87 Golden Tan

Just reviewed in a previous post. Apart from the incredibly natural tan it gives, i love the quantity- you can't beat a huge compact suitable for body bronzing as well. 

3. The Make Up Store Wonder Powder in Gobi

This stuff is genius. It's a mineral powder meant to be used as a foundation or bronzer, 2-in-1, because it covers and adds sheen (not sparkes) to the skin without looking like a discoball. It's a big jar with tons of product in it; i have the darkest shade because i meant using it as a bronzer or face powder during summer, but the lighter shades are beautiful, give fantastic coverage and a natural, glowy finish (a better version of Smashbox's Halo at half the price and double the quantity).

4. Isadora Blush & Glow in 26 Shimmering Tea Rose

Another fantastic product from Isadora. This is the best contouring powder i have ever tried. The name is suggestive- it's a chocolate brown (reminds of brownies-the cookies) with pink undertones. Half bronzer, half highlighter, a delicate pink with no frosting effect but a natutal glow; it barely looks visible on the skin (thus no glittery effect) but manages to create a glowy sheen on the cheeks and upper lids. It's relatively cheap and comes in a 10 g compact as well. 

5. Viva La Diva Bronzing Powder in 40 Bronze Glow

This stuff is DARK. No orange, chocolate undertones only. 13.5 grams of product in a less glamorous compact (it looks a tad cheap and the golden writing on the lid wears off quite quickly), but looks fantastic on the cheekbones. It's perfect for tanned skins or darker complexions. I have to be light handed with this otherwise i can end up looking muddy; creamy texture, very silky. It's the cheapest of them all, probably €4 at the drugstore, but it's a great find.

These are the swatches:

Left to right: Isadora Highlight Bronze, Viva La Diva, Smashbox Suntan Matte, Wonder Powder in Gobi, Isadora Tea Rose

Now, the bronzer i didn't like....

Smashbox Bronze Lights in Suntan Matte

This is an expensive product (€23-25) that disappointed me. I know i sound like a cosmetic socialist now, praising cheapos and railing against higher end stuff. But this bronzer isn't worth it.

When i first tried it i loved it. It looked natural, demure, a tad darker than my skintone, and went perfectly with whatever blush shade i was wearing. Looked like i had finally found the perfect bronzer that wouldn't look like one yet gave a natural tan. Wrong. Two weeks after i realized it was orange. I don't know how i couldn't see it from the beginning, perhaps always putting it on after my darker foundation (i was in my 'tanzilla' phase back then) somehow neutralized the orange undertones and made it look cocoa-ish. It just looks bad at a closer look. What i especially hate about this bronzer is the consistency- it doesn't allow for building it up. It looks terribly layered on the face if you apply it twice, not to mention any touch ups. I remember i was out with a friend and we went to the ladies' to freshen up. She had recently returned from holiday and was naturally tanned, thus way darker than me. It made her look jaundiced and emphasized her pores; on my face it looked like an intense, dark orange concrete layer that settled in my pores and creases. I just got scared when i saw myself in natural light. 

It took me a while to get rid of the urge of using this stuff because it's quite 'high end'; i've tried and tried, as it's visible judging by the dent in the pan. However, i don't recommend it unless you have very good skin with no large pores whatsoever and your face is already tanned. It can mean disaster otherwise. Also, keep in mind it's not buildable at all.

So ultimately, it's about deciding what best suits your skintone. If you're a cosmetic aficionado and a tad snobbish that's great, most high-end bronzers are great products, obviously. But sometimes you can go wrong. And if you don't want to spend a ton of $, the uppercase options are my strongest recommendations for a glowy faux tan look.

Product rave: The Make Up Store Wonder Powder

This is something i've been wanting to purchase for a long time and finally dropped 40 euros on..sigh. It is truly an amazing product and i'm surprised that Makeupalley.com doesn't even have this brand listed when they're more or less present in every major country. The Make Up Store is a highly popular Swedish makeup brand founded in 1996 which is currently taking over large chunks of the market. I am one of the ones that have been recently 'converted', not necessarily to the entire range of products but surely to a few ones. This mineral powder's name completely does it justice- it is an amazing, wonderful product. It works and looks like a combination of powder, illuminator and foundation. It comes in four shades and i am currently using the darkest one which is much lighter than any bronzer i own; i purchased the darkest tone because of the summer that is going to come soon- the quantity in the jar lasts for quite a while (19 grams or 0.67 fluid ounces).



I heard about this product while reading one of Sweden's most popular beauty blogs; the author swore by it and i had been indeed inquiring about the 'glow from within' complexion so many Swedish girls are sporting. It is not glitter, it is not pearly white sheen, it is something amazing that i could never find, no matter how many illuminators i have tried. I remember my most favorite was the Revlon Skin Lights Face Illuminator, i had both the powder and the liquid version but it still wasn't the same. First of all, there was the glitter inside. I didn't even know what i was looking for but it was definitely not something with too much glitter or shimmer. Second, the limited choice of colors and use- the Revlon illuminator was just an illuminator that became hard to work with, mix with the foundation or apply afterwards. It did not blend in properly and i remember i ended up throwing the tube with the liquid. I kept the powder though for summer nights bronzed goddess look.

However. When i read about this product, as i mentioned in the beginning of this post, i couldn't help at going straight to the store the next day and trying all shades. This is what mine looks like, in Gobi. First picture with flash:



And without flash (lamp light, it's already dark outside but i couldn't wait any longer to blog about this):



aaaaand this is a sort of depiction of what it looks like on my skin (wrist). Unfortunately the artificial light doesn't bring out the entire effect of the powder. Without flash:



with flash:



I love the incredibly delicate finish that indeed looks like the skin is glowing from the inside. The application is a bit tricky. When the SA tried to show me how to apply it i thought she was taking me for an idiot and that i most certainly didn't need how to 'learn' swirling some powder on. Big mistake- it is indeed a tricky product. To get the best of it you need the smallest quantity, because it is very buildable; it doesn't show any skin pores or fine lines either, which is great. The SA recommended a synthetic kabuki or powder brush, because soft natural bristles would pick too much product. The key of a successful application is picking up the tiniest amount of product and really working it into the skin. The swirling and gentle rubbing help the powder release the glow; i thought she was kidding and when i got home i washed my face to apply new makeup for a night out; swirled it across my cheekbones and nothing. The effect was that of a simple powder-bronzer, nothing close to the beautiful glow the powder gave me when the SA applied it. And i took her advice and boom. Instant glamazon in the mirror. I love it and couldn't live without it. I actually wonder if this stuff was some well kept secret or something...i should have heard of it by now.

The other shades it comes in are Sahara, the lightest, almost 100% pure illuminator, Kalahari, which perfectly mimics the naturally pale Scandinavian complexion, so it can be used as foundation by someone with a light skin tone or illuminator if you're wearing a darker foundation or have a naturally darker complexion, Gobi, the one that i have, a tad darker than my natural skintone but amazingly pigmented and not orange or terracotta-like at all, no redness, just a deep rich dark beige with champagne undertones, and Sinai, the darkest of them all, which was not available at the store where i made my purchase. The Gobi shade is perfect for light complexions when slightly tanned or even darker complexions. It is a rather chameleonic shade, fitting every skintone.

I find that it works best if i let the moisturizer completely sink in, especially if i am using it as foundation only, without anything underneath. it covers really well and gives the skin a healthy, summery glow that doesn't look fake at all, but i have to be attentive, as i said, to leave my moisturizer sink in otherwise it can look a little patchy. With this stuff you MUST have a very light hand and slowly build it up, just like with any other mineral powder/foundation. It contains titanium dioxide so it provides a mild SPF which is another plus for me.
I think i am going to purchase the Kalahari shade as well, to use it separately or mix it with other powders and bronzers i have. I am completely in love.

ps Tomorrow morning i am posting pics with the Wonder Powder on! Yay!