Maybelline Forever Strong Pro

Even though I don't wear nail polish too often (my nails suck and I just don't know how to make them look better), I'm always buying new nail polishes. I have tried quite a few brands, but I think I have only recently found the best ones for me! The Maybelline Forever Strong Pros were pretty new to me until a few weeks ago. I was looking for a light pastel lilac nail varnish, I swatched a few from different brands and I ended up picking Lilac Charm. It cost me only €3,90 because it was on sale and it was the exact shade I was looking for! When I tried it on at home and found out that not only it was perfectly opaque with two coats and it dried pretty quickly but also that it lasted about a week, I was in heaven. I text a lot and type on my computer every single day so the ends of my nails usually get chipped after two seconds. That wasn't the case with the Maybelline nail polish, and I was so pleased with it that I decided to get two more colours: Ceramic Blue and Divine Wine (its French name is Orchidée, which I like so much better).

I would definitely recommend these if you don't like to change your nail polish often, without fearing of going around with chipped nails!

(click here to see the swatches)

Revlon Lip Butters

As always, I'm late on the bandwagon. The Revlon Lipbutters have been out since forever, but I've only had the opportunity to get them lately because they're not out in Italy yet - and God knows when they will! The lovely Adrienne from The Sunday Girl and I did a swap and I received my end consisting of 4 Lipbutters on April 23rd. I normally wouldn't buy 4 lipstick at once, but I feel that LipButters are supposed to be collected rather than just purchased like every other lipstick, if that makes sense! I definitely did the right thing because I love all the four of them, but now I promised myself not to buy lip products for a while.. I own too many and I never get to use them because most of them are bold colours, so for I'll try to keep myself from buying more.

Anyway, the LipButters I chose are Berry Smoothie, Peach Parfait, Macaroon and Raspberry Pie. When I opened the package, I was afraid I'd bought shades too similar to each other because the caps looked all the same! Luckily, I was wrong; they're all different from each other :)

I decided to get Peach Parfait this mainly because of the name - if you've been following this blog for a while, you probably know that I love peaches! Anyway, this lipstick doesn't show up much on my pigmented lips at first, but after applying 2 or 3 layers it looks peachy pink and packed with golden glitters. Perfect for this time of the year!

Raspberry Pie is the most beautiful of all four colour-wise. It's a sheer burgundy colour and unlike the others, it doesnt have glitters in it. I already own a lipstick similar to this in the shade but a bit more matte in the finish, and I think I'll get to use the Lip Butter more because of its sheerness.

Berry Smoothie is not as glittered as Peach Parfait or Macaroon, so it looks much more natural. On my lips it looks a bit more pink than on the bullet; it's the perfect colour for an effortless, natural but not boring look. I've been using it all May just to go out and I've been loving it! It needs quite frequent reapplication (every 3-4 hours, depending on what you do of course), but I don't mind because it's like reapplying a lipbalm: I enjoy it :)

The last one is Macaroon. I got this partly because of the name (I love macarons) and partly because it's only sold in the UK. And of course because I liked the shade! It's a bit darker than Berry Smoothie, and tending on a brownish shade.

One of the things I love the most about LipButters is their packaging, it's so sweet!

Yes, I got these because everyone was talking about them. But I trust the internet and people and I thought that if hundreds of girls like these, there must be a reason. And in this case, there are several: first of all the many lovely shades the LipButters come in; second, the moisturizing effect they give; the nice, handy packaging; and lastly, the affordable price. Would I purchase these again? Yes, I would. And I will as soon as my no lipstick-buy period is over!

(click here to see the swatches)

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in San Paulo

I got my very first NYX product in a swap with a girl from the US in April! I was really interested in trying the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams because I'd watched some reviews on Youtube so I decided to get one in the shade San Paulo.

The packaging is very pretty - love the font and the fact that the cap looks 'matte' just like the lip cream. Now, this product is really strange in my opinion. When you apply it with the doe-foot applicator, it feels just like a lipstick, and looks like it too. It's just that I've never owned a lipstick or lipgloss that bleeds as much as this! It's so difficult to apply this properly without using a lip pencil under it, it just won't stay in the corners of my lips! Once you've managed to put this though, it looks very pretty. It looks nice also if you just pat it on your lips to give them a bit of colour, but it's a bit drying if you do so. This lip cream is not the best product for those who don't have moisturized lips. Anyway for its price is a good alternative to a regular matte lipstick! I like the concept of this very much!

(click here to see the swatches)

ELF Lipstick in Sociable

Hello everyone! I am so sorry for not posting for such a long time, but school has been killing me lately. I have been insanely busy, so please forgive me! 

So, today I wanted to tell you about a product from my little ELF haul I did last month. It's a lipstick from the $1 range -or should I say, the €1.70 range- in the shade Sociable. Now, I wasn't expecting much from such a cheap lipstick, but this disappointed me a bit. 

The packaging is very, very simple. Nothing unpractical though! I really like the little 'window' that shows the colour of the lipstick. The label on the back is so small though, you can barely read the name there.

When I tried this for the first time, I thought it was made out of plastic. No joke. It felt like one of those fake lipsticks I used to have when I was a little girl. I have to say that after a few coats it actually started to slide on easily. It isn't creamy at the slightest and I bet it has no staying power.

Another thing that didn't make me happy was the shade - it looked so different from the swatch on the website, and it had sparkles in it as well! Even cheaper looking. It's not bad or anything, it's just not the one I wanted. I knew that it's a bit of a hit or miss with ELF, and I paid basically nothing for this product, so it's not much of a big deal. 

I wouldn't recommend this exact lipstick, but I guess you could try for yourself and see if you like it. You get it for such a small price and maybe the other shades have a better formulation. If however you want a nicer lipstick from about the same price, I suggest you try the Mineral lipsticks, which I've liked so much better. 

Candy Magic Big Size Blue

Quite a long time ago (I'm sorry Eyecandy Lens for making you wait so long!!) I received a pair of Candy Magic Big Size Blue lenses to try. Prepare to read a negative review :(

Eyecandy Lens is an online marketer of cosmetics products, which focuses on cosmetic color circle lenses. They have FREE international shipping with registered air mail! How cool is that?