Hello Kitty Eyes&Lips Giveaway

Did you miss my monthly giveaways? Well, they're back :D One lucky winner will get this little Hello Kitty make-up set!

OPEN WORLDWIDE. CLOSES ON JULY 23RD 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

H&M Hibiscus & Get Into The Party

Have you ever tried H&M's cosmetics? Although sometimes attracted by their bright packaging and low prices, I have always been a bit reluctant to try them. I know, lots of brands sell good make-up ingredients-wise for cheap, but I don't think that's the case with H&M. I own quite a few of their nail polishes and they are ok - for some reason using cheap products on my nails doesn't scare me so much as using them on my face, probably because my skin has so many issues. I would never, ever use one of their foundations or powders or eyeshadows. 

Last time I went to my local shopping center looking for a Summer lipgloss, though, I decided to skip the Kiko (affordable prices for acceptable quality) counter and give H&M's beauty section a try. I chose two lip products from their Summer collection. 

Hibiscus comes in the ugliest, most unpractical cardboard packaging. I got this for less than €4 (can't  remember the actual price) just because I wanted to see what it looked like. I found out that it's a pretty intense red with a creamy consistency and a satin finish. It applied very easily as well. If only it came in a less cheap looking tube, it would have been a very very nice product for its price!

The other item I purchased was a lipgloss in Get Into The Party. I was attracted by the packaging first of all: it almost looks expensive, haha! It reminded me of Majolica Majorca, I don't know why.  Get Into The Party is a richly glittered fuschia lipgloss. It's not very pigmented, but it manages to give a hint of colour on the lips. Another thing about this lipgloss is that it has a heavy Watermelon scent that could not everyone's cup of tea. It's almost sickening in fact.

I like how both products look on their own, but I think the best way to wear them is together!

I wouldn't certainly recommend these to someone who's looking for red lip products, especially if they have more than €5 to spend. But if you have never tried a red lip and you just want to see how it looks on you, maybe getting Hibiscus is a good start.

(click here to see the swatches)

My first Essie polishes: Clambake & Sand Tropez

Sand Tropez, Clambake

Ever since I joined the make-up online community months ago, one of the brands that I had always wanted to try but that wasn't available where I live was Essie. Luckily someone heard my prayers and magically made a Essie stand appear in my local shopping centre!

As my first Essie polish I wanted to get a staple shade, something that I knew I'd use without a doubt. Sand Tropez was my choice: as the name suggests, it's a sandy beige with grey undertones. I used to wear H&M Nerd all the time before this. I like my nails not to be overly flashy because their shape is not so nice!

Sand Tropez only needed 2 coats to achieve perfect opacity and even clumsy people like me have no troubles applying it.

The second Essie nail varnish I bought a week later than the first one and it's Clambake. I was looking for an orange corally red and I believe this shade is perfect for summer! Unfortunately, not even three coats will make this look opaque; the white bit of my nails will still show and that is so annoying. I haven't worn it since I discovered this, but next time I will probably wear a nude shade under it as a base. While I was happy with my first purchase, I wasn't so pleased with my second one. Spending €11,95 for a nail polish is something that I'm willing to do only if I'm sure it's worth it, but I know formulas can vary from nail polish to nail polish, so next time I'll do some more research before spending my money!

(click here to see the swatches)

L'Oréal Rouge Caresse in Rebel Red

Ever since I tried the Revlon Lip Butters I've been looking for similar products that are easier to get in my country and possibly cheaper. I had heard lots about the Rouge Caresses by L'Oreal being compared to the Lip Butters, so I decided to test out one as soon as I could (I even broke my lip products shopping ban, sigh)

The Rouge Caresses are on the same price range as the Lip Butters, that means about 7-8€. But I got my Lip Butters in a swap from the UK. If I bought them here in Italy, I would have paid about 14€ for them! Revlon is not so "drugstore" here! Plus, it's much harder to get than L'Oréal. I only know of one shop that sells Revlon, and it's 30min away from my town. Strange, no?

Packaging wise, I think the Lip Butters are one of the prettiest make-up items I've ever seen, so the Rouge Caresses don't compare. The gold detail in the center is nice, but the bullet is just too plasticky. It's not unpractical or anything, just not that pretty.

For my first Rouge Caresse I chose the shade Rebel Red, that is a bright corally red. It feels just like a lipbalm when you apply it, and it's just as moisturizing. Although having a sheer finish, it's quite pigmented and it shows vividly on my pigmented lips. I love the fact that it hasn't got any glitter in it, unlike most of the Lip Butters I own! It makes it much more natural. Being basically a lipbalm, it doesn't have the best staying power; you might want to reapply it every two hours or so.

I am very pleased with this product! I think it's perfect for summer. I'm definitely going to get more shades :)

(click here to see the swatches)

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)