make-up Archive | Berries in the Snow

Review: Catrice Aqua Ink Lip Liner & Aqua Ink-In-Gloss

6. November 2017

// MAKE UP / BEAUTY / LIPS //

Earlier this year there have been several product launches from Catrice Cosmetics that were quite appalling to me because their inspirations came from asian beauty products. I talked about the Catrice Lip Cushion before and today I will show you the Catrice Aqua Ink Lip Liner and Catrice Aqua Ink-In-Gloss:

Catrice therefore called out for the term “asianification”, which means the creation of products that are inspired by the technology and ingredients used in the asian beauty industry. Some inspirations come from the very popular cushion products, but also lip tints which are super popular in Korea. I own two Catrice Aqua Ink Lip Liners and a Gloss from their Aqua Ink collection, and I will share the swatches and my impression on these products with you today.

Catrice Aqua Ink Lip Liner

The Catrice Aqua Ink Lip Liners are lip liners with a felt-type ball-shaped applicator. These lip liners are creating a semi-permanent tint effect and are water-based according to their description. The lip liners are available in 6 shades and are vegan, too.

I have shade 050 ” Don’t Copy My Poppy” and 060 “I Feel InspiRED Today”, the two boldest shades from the collection. The Catrice Aqua Ink Lip Liners come in a pencil shape in a sleek black design with adjusted colors for the cap and bottom of the pen. They feel smoother than a regular felt pen upon application, but swatch very vibrant. Once applied the color is rub proof and doesn’t budge. But if you do not fade them out right after application, they will start to bleed out while freshly applied. Once dry they do not bleed out any longer but stay at place.

The difference between the colors of the two shades is not very huge once I apply them on my lips. Below you can see the two colors applied to my lips. On the right side I applied 050 and on the left side I applied 060. The finish of the lip liner is matte and it gives a very long-lasting stain on your lips. It will fade after eating and drinking all day long, but the hint of color will still be visible on your lips.

Catrice Aqua Ink-In-Gloss

The second lip product is the Catrice Aqua Ink-In-Gloss, and as you can tell from the name already, it is a gloss which gives a semi-permanent stain to the lips. Similar to the Lip Liners this product is water-based and vegan. It comes in 4 different shades. Moreover, it has a lightweight finish and contains Glycerin and feels moist on the lips and doesn’t dry them out.

This here is the shade 020 “Jump Into The Red River”, a classic red shade again. Typically for a gloss it comes with a angled sponge applicator. Surprisingly, the swatched product is super vibrant in color and not what you expect a gloss to be. Unlike the lip liners this product doesn’t dry down matte but stays glossy and moist on the lips. Also this stain is very long-lasting and despite fading out throughout the day by drinking and eating it will still leave a hint of color on your lips.

Below you can see some pictures of the two products on my lips again. The upper one is the Catrice Aqua Ink Lip Liner in shade 060. What you can see in this picture is, that this dark red shade is quite tricky upon application, because it tends to appear patchy if not applied with a lightweight hand. The second point is, that you have to be careful on the borders of your lips in order to avoid feathering. I start to use it inside out when I’m using it on my whole lips. I wouldn’t use it only to frame my lips though. The lower picture shows the Catrice Aqua Ink-In-Gloss. Apart from having a very good pigmentation for a glossy product this gloss might accentuate dry areas of your lips. For a best result it would be important to exfoliate your lips before applying (which is generally a good rule to follow, and shame on me because I always end up to forget it).

The Catrice Aqua Ink lip products might not be perfect, but they are generally a very affordable and long-lasting choice. Both products have really great staining properties, but need some time to get the perfect way of applying them without patches or feathering…but, once you know how to deal with these minor points they are a great choice for every day, especially if you are not the type of person who runs to the toilet to reapply lipstick every 2 hours.

The Catrice Auqa Ink Lip Liner retails for 2,99€.

The Catrice Auqa Ink-In-Gloss retails for 3,49€.

Did you try any of these products?

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beauty PR Sample review Rossmann

Review: Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lipcolor

14. October 2017

// PR SAMPLE / MAKE UP / LIPS //

A while ago I received an amazing package containing all 15 colors of the new Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lipcolor by the German drugstore Rossmann. I want to share my impression and the swatches of all 15 shades with you today:

I remember years ago that the brand Revlon was available in German drugstores. Then, suddenly, the brand was taken off the German market. Many people who loved that brand had to get the products from this brand during vacation in other countries or order from abroad. This year the German drugstore Rossmann announced the relaunch of Revlon in Germany. Welcome back, Revlon!

As the name says, the Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lipcolor is a gel formula lipstick containing hyaluronic acid for moisturizing the lips. They glide on very smoothly and don’t feel drying on the lips, rather they feel very lightweight on the lips. Furthermore, they have a nice shine that they leave on the lips and yet have a good pigmentation. If you are scent sensitive I have to tell you though, that these lipsticks have a fruity and noticeable scent (mango nd whipped vanilla according to the description).

I will start with the nude colors of the available shades from top to bottom:

700 “Sand”: a light beige shade and the nudest color of the lipsticks

705 “Dawn”: a dusty rose color

710 “Desert”: a pink-brown shade

715 “Arabica”: a brownish, rusty shade

720 “Pink Cloud”: a light girly pink color

Despite being the nude colors from the range all colors show up nicely and look different from one another. My favourite here is Arabica since it fits perfectly for the autumn season.

The next shades are in the bright reds and pinks from top to bottom:

725 “Sunset”: a dark coral shade with great pigmentation

730 “Tropical”: A vibrant ad bright pink

735 “Garden”: a darker, pigmented pink

740 “Coral”: a bright and vibrant coral shade

745 “Rhubarb”: a pigmented cherry red

From these colors “Sunset” and “Rhubarb” are my favourite colors.

The last 5 swatches are the darker berry shades from top to bottom:

750 “Lava”: a classy and beautiful red shade

755 “Adobe”: a dark red shade

760 “Vineyard”: a mauve color

765 “Blossom”: a vibrant purple shade

770 “Twilight”: a dark purple shade

This is the color range I love the most shades from. Favourites are “Lava”, “Adobe”, and “Vineyard”.

As you can see there is so much versatility in the shades and despite the shiny and lightweight formula the color pay-off of all the shades is visible and shows up nicely. My personal favourites are from the darker shades, simply because pale pink colors don’t suit me much and the lighter shades don’t show up nicely because of my natural lip color. I really love the feeling when applying the lipsticks because they glide so nicely and leave a pretty sheen on the lips as well. They do not last forever though, but at least fade away nicely. The Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lipcolor comes in a slim pen-size and retails for 10.99€.

What do you think about the color selection? Which is your favourite color?

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Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://www.rossmann.de/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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asian cosmetics beauty PR Sample review Stylekorean

Review: Heimish Dailism Serum Rouge Lipsticks

1. November 2016

I’m honestly super excited to share about this review of the Heimish Dailism Serum Rouge Lipsticks, which were sent to me by StyleKorean. Heimish is recently one of the most anticipated Korean brands and has been mentioned in many big magazines like Allure. I also read a couple of other reviews by fellow bloggers and it seems that they have quite some quality products worth a try. I’m happy to introduce three colors of the Heimish Dailism Serum Rouge Lipsticks to you today:

Heimish is a Korean cosmetics brand which just launched this year in March. It gained a lot of attention through the easy and modern style of their products and the use of every day colors in their makeup range. They have not only makeup like eyeshadow palettes, lip products and makeup, but also cleansers. The first time I heard about the brand the cleansing balm (I linked the lovely review by “the point of vu” here) got my attention.

The Heimish Dailism Serum Rouge are the moisturizing lipstick range from Heimish. There are a total of 8 shades available from which I will show you the shades “All Night”, “Morning Glow” and “Early Bright”. The creamy type lipsticks containing vegetable oils are supposed to apply smoothly and provide a high fit with a visible color pigmentation.

The lipsticks are packed in cardboard boxes with a pretty and soft design in pink and geometric pattern on the sides. Each of the sleek lipsticks has a purple metal packaging with a magnetic locking mechanism which helps to close the cap tightly and prevents from going loose in your handbag for example. Love this mechanism of closing the cap! The lipstick bullets are 3 g each.

The Heimish Dailism Serum Rouge Lipsticks contain sunflower seed oil extract, brazil nut oil extract, rosehip oil extract and chinese oil extract. These oils help to moisturize your lips while wearing lipstick and prevent them from drying. When applying the lipsticks you will see that they glide super softly over the lips. It has a perfect creamy lipstick formulation and doesn’t feel drying on the lips.

The colors look slightly different from the colors of the advertorial pictures. I chose one dark and two nude lipstick colors. “All Night” is a vibrant fuchsia pink color and the darkest red-ish shade from the Heimish Dailism Serum Rouge. “Morning Glow” and “Early Bright” appeared like nude/beige colors in the advertorial image but turns out that “Early Bright” is a pale rose color and “Morning Glow” a peachy coral shade.

The color pigmentation upon applying is good and the colors are clearly visible, even the light ones show up on my lips. Of course, the staying power is not good as it is with matte lipsticks or stains, since creamy lipsticks tend to transfer and be removed easily from the lips as soon as you drink or eat something, but still in winter and for every day use these are perfect to hydrate and care for your lips despite having some color on them at the same time. Unfortunately, due to my darker natural lip color, “Morning Glow” and “Early Bright” only show slight differences when applied. In the swatches on my hand the colors show their differences. If you want to show the differences of these two shades it is better to use a lip concealer before applying the lipstick.

I really like these lipsticks. I love the packaging and the closing mechanism of the cap and I love the creamy soft texture of the lipstick itself. Perfect lipstick for dry seasons and therefore I can recommend it. Especially if you like every day colors and more sheen lipsticks these will be totally yours. I wished they had more red shades though and that the advertorial pictures would show the right colors for the swatches. It would it make much more easy to select a color. The lipsticks are available from Stylekorean for 10.46 US$.

Did you try any products from this new Korean brand already?

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Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by https://www.stylekorean.com/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Pony Effect Staying Matte Fit Lip Colour

27. October 2016

// AFFILIATE LINKS / LIPS / KBEAUTY //

When MeMeBox launched their first cooperation with Pony I was so excited. I loved (and still love) watching her tutorials on YouTube. I had to order the Pony x MeMeBox Eyeshadow Palette right away and I’m still in love with it and use it super often, and more than other eyeshadow palettes I bought. When Pony launched her own makeup brand called Pony Effect, I was super excited, but the fact that they were not so easy to order (MeMeBox wasn’t shipping to Germany any longer) and also quite expensive made me stay away from buying. After a while W2Beauty started to carry the products from MeMeBox and things got more easy for me, too, but I was still not sure what to buy. Especially when you have more than enough from anything and try to reduce the amount of cosmetics by finally using it up…Nevertheless, I couldn’t resist buying the Pony Effect Staying Matte Fit Lip Colours when they released…Shame on me!

“Discover a more beautiful You, discover your beauty potential” is the leading statement and motivation by makeup artist Pony for her brand Pony Effect. The products from the brand are focusing on make-up mainly, although I spotted some sheet masks recently, too. The design of her products is modern and trendy, so also for the Pony Effect Staying Matte Fit Lip Colour. The key color I associate with Pony Effect is rosegold. You will spot that her products either have a rosegold colored cap or the logo is imprinted in rosegold color.

The Pony Effect Staying Matte Fit Lip Colour has a matte liquid lipstick formula, which promises to dry into an opaque and matte finish without drying out the lips like other matte lipsticks. There are 10 different shades available, from which I chose 2. It turned out that I selected shades “Magnificent” and “Flawless”.

Magnificent is a nude/rose-colored shade whereas Flawless is a tomato red one. Ir was really hard to decide since I have so many red lipsticks already. But nevertheless, I had simply to take one red shade because it is the color I wear most often. The lipsticks come packed in cardboard boxes in black and rosegold color, very simple and neat and yet modern. The lipsticks themselves come in typical lip gloss bottles with rosegolden caps, You can see the color of your shade through the bottle.

The directions for using these liquid lipsticks is pretty easy, but since it is a matte product I can only advise you to exfoliate your lips. It will look so much better on smooth lips than on dry and chapped lips. Then apply one thin layer of the product.

The Pony Effect Staying Matte Fit Lip Colour have an included applicator attached to the cap, like most liquid lip products. The applicator has an angled brush, which works nicely for applying the product. If you do not want an opaque layer you can also just dab a few dots on your lips and blend it in quickly.

The liquid formula dries down after a few seconds to a matte finish and leaves really a good stain. Even after showering and washing my arms I could still see the marks of the swatches on my skin. Maybe it is not advised to use your fingers for blending in the products, but use a cotton swab instead. Mostly I was worried about two things: I didn’t want the same experience as I had with the Clio Lipnicure, which started to peel of in flakes after a while. Second, I was worried that the brighter color “Magnificent” would settle into the lines of lips, making it look ugly and strange. Non of my worries happened. The lipstick doesn’t peel of but fades nicely when eating a lot of fatty food. still the stain is visible for a long time. The bright color does not settle either into the lines but looks perfectly fine. Of course due to the shades “Magnificent” doesn’t leave such a strong stain as “Flawless” does, but for a nude lipstick the stain is still pretty great. Of course, since they have a matte formulation they won’t be as moisturizing as lip balms, but they are not drying as some other matte lipsticks either. Below you can see the two shades swatched and applied.

I do not regret buying these two Pony Effect Staying Matte Fit Lip Colour shades. I love the colors, I love the finish and the texture and I love their performance. I can definitely say that these are great. Of course, since people tend to have different natural lip colors, the swatches may turn out slightly different on you, but still I heard that these shades worked great on most people who tried them before. I’m totally happy and I can give my thumbs up for these!

I bought mine from W2Beauty but you can check elsewhere to find it, too. Some stores were you can buy the Pony Effect Staying Matte Fit Lip Colours are:

W2Beauty for 24.26 US$

MeMeBox US for 18.50 US$

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beauty Catrice review

Review: Catrice Bold Softness Collection

2. March 2016

Spring season is the time for light and colorful makeup and the new Catrice Bold Softness Collection brings exactly these attributes to us. I received some products from this limited edition for reviewing purpose, and moreover few products from the new regular launches from Catrice. Here is my impression:

‘Pastel Passion. Spring 2016 welcomes a mixture of voluminous lightness and greyish pastels. High-tech materials such as light neoprene are combined with summery fabrics. Loose cuts with partially androgynous shapes take over from the styles of the winter season and offer inspiration with their soft, chalky colour worlds. The Limited Edition “Bold Softness” by CATRICE is also heading into the spring season with soft sorbet nuances in March 2016. Subtle colour graduation in mint and mauve create feminine make-up looks and offer an exciting contrast to the popular genderless-trend. Soft Spring – by CATRICE.’

That said, the description brings me into a spring mood already! Catrice is a drugstore beauty brand available in many countries. Their products are inspired by the Fashion trends of the world’s capitals and have a good quality despite the affordable price. The brand is against animal testing for their cosmetics products, too. The spring collection they release this month is called Bold Softness and consists of 5 different products, all in soft pastel shades, which fit perfectly to the season. The Catrice Bold Softness Collection consists of Duo Eye Shadows, Voluminous Lip Colours, a Colour Correcting Powder, Satin Matt Nail Lacquers, and a Perfume Stick. Below are the four products I received from this collection:

Catrice Bold Softness Duo Eye Shadow ‘VoluMINTous’

‘Wash-off Pastels. Three powder eye shadows present three different colour duos. Each with one lighter and one darker nuance, they conjure-up contrasting shades and effects on the eyelids. Available in a choice of mint, rosé pink and mauve, these eye shadows offer a convincing high pay-off and create soft, feminine eye make-up styles.’

I received the Duo Eye Shadow in the shade ‘VoluMINTous’ and as the name says this is a mint colored powder eye shadow. It comes in a lighter shade in the middle of the pan and an outer ring of a darker mint color around. The eye shadow contains 2 g. The colors are easy to apply and have a good pigmentation, even when applied with fingers. They do not create much fall-off either. There is a light pearly/shimmery effects, but without containing visible shimmer particles. Usually I’m more into the brown or mauve shades and if I would have selected any of the three available colors, it would have been ‘Mauve Medley’. The third shade is called ‘Soft PINKmentation’. Nevertheless, I’m curious to try out the mint color and I think it will be a good choice once we have some more sunshine and the temperatures are rising.

Catrice Bold Softness Voluminous Lip Colour NeopRED

‘Break in Style. An elegant contrast to the delicate pastel shades in this edition: the two Voluminous Lip Colours – available in a soft pink or an intensive red – ensure medium coverage and a shiny finish for a conscious touch of colour on the lips. The creamy texture feels wonderfully soft and pleasant.’

The Catrice Bold Softness Voluminous Lip Colour is available in two shades, called ‘NeopRED’ and ‘Bold Pinkmentation’. I received the red shade and I’m more than happy, since it is such a lovely shade! The lipstick applies very creamy and lightly pigmented and therefore can be applied in a natural tone, but adding more layers darkens the shade and makes it more visible. It is a red/mauve shade which is neither too bright, nor to nude- perfect for every day use.

The lipstick has a glossy finish as you can see below on my lips. I applied more than one layer and I’m totally in love with this color. It is not long-lasting since it is sheer, but fades naturally, It doesn’t dry the lips because of the creamy texture.

Catrice Bold Softness Satin Matt Nail Lacquer ‘Bold PINKmentation’

Smooth Neoprene. Four nail polishes in the colours of the season – mint, mauve and soft as well as bold pink. The formula of the Satin Matt Nail Lacquers stands out for professional coverage, long durability and unique neoprene effects. All polishes have a fashionable semi-matt finish. In addition, the mint and soft pink versions have a light shimmer.

There are four shades of the Satin Matt Nail Lacquer called VoluMINTous, Mauve Medley, Soft PINKmentation, Bold PINKmentation. I received Bold PINKmentation, a bright pink shade. The nail polish bottle contains 10 ml and comes with a think applicator brush.

The nail polish has a thick consistency and therefore it is quite hard to apply, especially if you want a seamless layer. It has a semi-matte finish and dries quickly. Since it is fast drying it makes it even more difficult to apply easily, unless you work quickly. I used two coats below, which are enough to create an opaque layer. The color is very pretty and is perfect for people who love pink shades.

Catrice Bold Softness Perfume Stick ‘Walk On Air’

Scented & Solid. A stick with the benefits of a perfume. The pleasant, fresh and tangy fragrance invites you to head into the spring season. Thanks to the practical pen-shape and the solid texture, the Perfume Stick is an ideal alternative to perfume to carry around in a handbag as it won’t leak and can be applied anytime and any place.

The second product from the Catrice Bold Softness Collection which I really love. This perfume stick is so easy to use and perfect for on the way. It has a sweet, flowery scent. The bullet of the pen melts slightly when it gets into contact with the skin and lives the light scent. I wished all perfumes would make such a perfume stick pen. I’d love to have my favourite scents with me all time :D

In addition to the new spring limited edition Catrice also has some new additions to their regular collection. I received the Catrice Lash Boost Lash Growth Overnight Serum, Eye Brow Stylist, and Volumizing Lip Booster from their new releases.

Catrice Lash Boost Lash Growth Overnight Serum

‘The transparent serum contains active ingredients that encourage long-term lash growth. The confirmed test results: 18% lash growth after just four weeks of daily application*. Wow! Apply the serum with the fine brush applicator onto the lid like an eyeliner and let it work overnight. For fabulous XXL lashes during sleep. *Effectiveness test with 20 women for 1 month’

I never tried any Lash Growth Serum so I’m really curious whether this will work. You have to apply this transparent serum on the lash line for one month. 18 % lash growth is not really much though, so it will be a minimal effect probably. It comes with a fine brush, similar to liquid eyeliner and can be applied easily by using it.

Catrice Eye Brow Stylist ‘Date With Ash-ton’ and ‘Don’t Let Me Brow’n’

‘Spot on: center stage for the eye brows – the Eye Brow Stylist comes in a practical pen-shape and convinces with its simple yet accurate application. It creates perfect eye brows thanks to the professional brush, which helps to apply the powdery texture on the eyebrows for a natural finish. Never go without again!’

These two eye brow pencils out of three available shades come with spoolie brush on one end and a pencil side on the other. The pencils have to be sharpened using a sharpener, which is not included.

The texture of the pencil is solid and you are able to draw fine lines with it. Also, the pigmentation is powdery and soft and the color looks natural. I think the two shades look really similar, although ‘Date With Ash-ton’ (left swatch below) is supposed to be the lighter shade. It goes towards a reddish-brown, whereas ‘Don’t Let Me Brown’n’ is more towards a brown-gray shade. Both colors go well with dark brows.

Catrice Volumizing Lip Booster ‘Volume To Go’

‘The Volumizing Lip Booster gives your lips a wonderful volume effect thanks to its menthol ingredients and also hides fine lines on your lips. The results: feminine lips with a shiny rosé finish. With jojoba and almond oil.’

Is a light pink – almost clear– lip gloss, which makes the lips look pumper. It contains jojoba and almond oil to smoothen the lips and make them hydrated. The menthol ingredient makes the lips tingle slightly and acts cooling, which produces the volume effect and makes the lines and dryness disappear. The lip booster comes with an angled applicator.

All in all there are some product with I really like. My favourite products from the Catrice Bold Softness Collection are the Catrice Bold Softness Voluminous Lip Colour in NeopRED and the Perfume Stick. And I also do like the Catrice Eye Brow Stylist Pencils. If you have a local drugstore carrying Catrice products you might want to check them out. The products are really affordable and usually only cost a few euros. Did you try any products from the ones above? Do you know Catrice? And if yes, do you have a favourite product?

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Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://www.catrice.eu/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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asian cosmetics beauty PR Sample q-depot review

Review: NoTS Silk Glow Stick Foundation

16. October 2015

I hardly use foundation despite on special occasions like weddings for example. Nevertheless, I was super curious to try a stick foundation for quite some time, which made me select the NoTS Silk Glow Stick Foundation when Qdepot asked me whether I wanted to try a product from the Korean brand NoTS.

Unlike brands like Etude House or Tonymoly the Korean high-end brand NoTS is yet not widely known among people outside Korea. NoTS stands for ‘noble through skin’ and was founded in 2011. It is supposed to be natural functional cosmetics with eco-friendly ingredients. Since it is a high-end brand the products are more expansive than drugstore brands like Etude House or Tonymoly. The NoTS Silk Glow Stick Foundation is part of their make-up range. It comes in two shades (21 and 23) and has SPF 30 PA++, which makes it a UV block functional cosmetics. The foundation comes in a mostly silver cardboard box of good quality. The description on the outside of that packaging contains English descriptions and ingredient list. Inside the cardboard box you will find the Korean description.

The NoTS Silky Glow Stick Foundation has a 5-free formula (free from artificial fragrance, mineral oil, tar, benzophenone-3, isopropyl alcohol) and is suited to all skin-types according to its description. It contains a couple of plant extract (6 plant oils and 7 flower extracts), too. The ingredients list is quite long though and you should check out whether you react on any of the ingredients. The lid of the cardboard box has a dark red color, the same color as the NoTS Silk Glow Stick Foundation container. The container looks really pretty and luxurious, although I imagined it to be larger. The size of the foundation stick fits nicely into a hand and therefore is quite travel-friendly. The cap of the stick has the same burgundy color as we found on the cardboard box. The rest of the container has a silver color. So a very sleek and elegant packaging, which also reminds of Tom Ford’s Stick Foundation.

These kind of foundation sticks are similar to a lipstick bullet, where you can wind up the product. The NoTS Silk Glow Stick Foundation only contains 12 g of product, which is not much, especially considering the fact that the price is rather high, since it is a high-end product.

Unlike liquid foundations you will have a solid bullet of foundation which you can stroke over your skin. It feels silky upon application and gives a nice coverage. The formula reminds a bit of concealer formula, but much lighter. It also says, that the stick can also be used as a concealer.

Shade 23 matches my skin-tone quite nicely and as you can see from the swatch on my hand, the color can be blended in in order to match even better. I used my fingers here to blend it in.

For applying it on my face I used various strokes around my face and blended them with a sponge like a beauty blender. I found it a bit hard to blend it in seamless using a sponge. Also, although the product name says that the foundation has a glowy finish the finish on my skin looks matte. The coverage is medium, but can be build up to high coverage. It is not sticky though, but could be not moisturizing enough for people with dry skin. I’m not sure whether a sponge is the best way to apply this foundation. Maybe a damp sponge delivers a nicer result after all.

I’m really happy I had the chance to try this new brand NoTS, but considering the price of the NoTS Silky Glow Stick Foundation and the low content (12 g) I think it is too expansive to repurchase it. The NoTS Silky Glow Stick Foundation is available in two shades from Q-depot and retails for 36.26 US$ at the moment. The formula of the product feels nice and I like the way it is not sticky and feels soft on the skin, but I miss the glowing aspect in this product. Also the fact that it is not easy to use on the first try, but that you have to try out which way of application is the best was a con for me. Probably, this foundation is better suited for people with oily skin-types.

If you are curious about NoTS and their products you can check them out on Q-depot, an online retailer for Korean beauty products. They have a already quite a variety of the most popular Korean brands and they keep adding products frequently. The site is easy to navigate, too. And they offer free samples for each order and free shipping for orders above US$69. What I like especially, that they have an extra section for cruelty-free products, which contains brands like Iope, Innisfree, Etude House, etc. I didn’t see that before for most of the online stores, so that’s something really innovative and nice. Also, they are committed to contributing 3% of their group’s net profit for social causes in different countries. So you can shop for your favorite Korean products and do something good, too. Also, Q-depot is having a promotion were you can get 5 US$ coupon upon signing up. The coupon is useable for a minimum purchase of 69 US$. By the way, Q-depot is having a “The Face Shop” sale with OFF 15% on all items. The promotion will end on 18 Oct 2015 (GMT+8 Time 00:00).

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beauty fashion guestpost

Guestpost: Make-up Talks – From Daywear to Evening Wear

12. August 2015

Today I have another guestpost for you. This post about Make-up Talks describes how to transform your daywear to evening wear and has been written by Peter Minkoff, style editor at High Style Life. Enjoy the read!

Make-up Talks – From Daywear to Evening Wear

For all girls who work crazy hours and are professionals at our workplace, but still want to keep our social life going, it’s important we learn how to manage work and fun, all in the same day! And while it seems impossible to look amazing after a 10 hour work day, it all comes down to a few beauty and outfit tricks you need to master.

Assuming your workplace requires casual smart dress code (as most offices do), it won’t be too difficult to manage it all.

As a stylist, I’ve picked up some amazing tricks of the trade that will surely help! Follow this guide I’ve put together and learn some incredible stuff that will keep the glam queen in you ready to rule the dance floor after she’s been leading the team at her workplace the entire day!

Where do I start?

Well, it’s all about the plan. If you know you’ll be going out after work, then dress in such a way that you’ll be able to manipulate your outfit before you go out. Instead of putting on a pencil skirt, opt for super skinny jeans and a jacket over it. Jeans works perfectly and is easy to combine with virtually anything!

The shirt under should be in a neutral color such as nude, beige, white, black to look professional at work and be easy for accessorizing later. Bring statement jewelry with you, you’ll later accessorize this seemingly plain shirt with later. When you leave work, just fold the jacket and put it in your bag. You’ll let the clever jean-shirt-necklace-outfit speak for itself!

What if I was dressed smart and it happens I need to go out later?

In these cases, letting your hair down (literary) and going through it with your fingers, giving it that wild, messy vibe will do the trick. You want to erase that corporate stench off of you and nothing says “cool” better than your flowy locks falling loosely on your shoulders. Also, mind the makeup! Assuming you were in nude tones in your workplace, all it takes is to put a bold lipstick shade on, add a bit of concealer and blush, a fresh coat of mascara and you are ready to go! This is why I always advise girls I style to have their makeup emergency kit with them at all times – blush, concealer, mascara and lipstick in bold color.

If you were in a jacket and shirt, loose the jacket and unbutton the shirt a bit. It’s all it takes!

I usually wear flats to work. What do I do?

If you have the option, and this goes for all situations, keep one pair of pumps in nude or black in your office drawer so you can put them on when you want to go out after work. Heels are pretty uncomfortable to spend eight hours in. You want to look chic, sure, but you want to be comfortable, too. No need to cause yourself pain. Replace your flats with a cool heel, and you are already half way there.

If, however, you can’t keep shoes in your workplace, bring them with you to work in case you are going out afterwards. Just don’t put them in a plastic, see-through bag, they’ll draw attention.

What about hygiene?

Eight to ten hours in a workplace can be pretty stressful and cause a lot of sweating, maybe even some unpleasant smells. You obviously can’t have your hygiene kit with you at all times BUT what you can do is always have a pack of paper tissues, lip balm, wet wipes and a pack of gums with you. Freshen up with wet wipes, and leave it dry for a second and you’re good to go. If you’ll be going to a party later, don’t forget to carry a decent bag to pack all those hygiene accessories for later. Also, check if there’s anything behind your teeth, then take a gum to freshen up your breath and you are ready to go!

See? It’s all as easy as I’ve promised!

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