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beauty Catrice PR Sample

Review: Catrice ICONails Gel Lacquers

19. September 2017

/ PR SAMPLE / NAILS / BEAUTY /

Since May Catrice released their new range of nail polishes: the Catrice ICONails Gel Lacquers! These newly formulated nail polishes come in 45 colours and promise to be staying up to 7 days without a top coat. I guess so far I never had a nail polish that really lasted for 7 days, so of course this calls for me to try my luck here:

Catrice ICONails Gel Lacquers

The Catrice ICONails are formulated with Acai Oil and give your nails a Gel Shine Finish and a long-lasting finish. The square bottles have a modern design with an edgy vibe. Below the main cap there is a second round cap with a brush attached. The length of the brush is very easy to handle and makes it easy to apply the nail polish in few strokes.

Catrice ICONails Gel Lacquers

I received 4 different and versatile colours from Catrice Cosmetics to try and test for their long-livity within the frame of their #ICONailsChallenge . Plus the one that I already had it makes 5 different colours from this line. Below you can see from left to right the following shades: #16 “Cloud Nine”, a light grey-blue, #05 “It’s All About That Red”, a classic red shade, #34 “The Berry First Time!”, a berry-pink shade, #11 “Go For Gold!”, a gold-metalic shade, and #21 “Want To Be My Bridesmaid?”, a white nail polish.

Catrice ICONails Gel Lacquers

For my test, I decided for the colour called “For The Berry First Time”, since I was on vacation during the test and pink was the perfect colour for the Caribbean vibes and beach.

Catrice ICONails Gel Lacquers

I applied only one layer of the nail polish and I was already amazed by the pigmentation of the colour. One coat is totally enough for this shade to look perfectly shiny and nice. I would say the colour looks exactly like out of the bottle. For the test I also didn’t use any top coat, since the nail polish is supposed to be long-lasting even without top coat. Below you can see an image of my nails on the first day:

Catrice ICONails Gel Lacquers

During the time I tested the nail polish I was in Mexico. This means I was wearing it through 30° C day and night, while I was at the beach, swimming, snorkeling, bicycling…etc. I really put this nail polish to its limits. And yet, below you can see the image after 5 days. Yes, there are some marks on the shiny coat of the nail polish, but still, altogether it looks still neat and has no chips. Starting from day 6 the heat and sand slowly started to make the polish fade after all. 

Catrice ICONails Gel Lacquers

Despite the fact that the Catrice ICONails Gel Lacquer started fading starting from day 6 I’m really amazed. My experience with nail polish and beach and sand is usually that it fades after 1-2 days. This nail polish lasted for 5 days perfectly neat and shiny on my nails without a top coat. Every other nail polish I own would have been melted away by that time. Also the pigmentation of the nail polish is really great for the pink colour I selected for the test. One layer of the nail polish was enough to make it look like a proper gel manicure.

The Catrice ICONails Gel Lacquers retail for 2.99€. For this affordable price I can only recommend you to grab the one or the other colour. Have you tried the ICONails already?

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Catrice ICONails Gel Lacquers

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 www.cosnova.com which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.
asian cosmetics beauty Born Pretty Store NOTD PR Sample review

Nail Art with Crack Holographic Nail Foil

3. July 2016

Holographic Nail Foil has been quite of a trend in the past few months and I was curious about this Nail Art Technique. Despite being not really a genious or talent considering Nail Art I gave it a try by testing out the Crack Holographic Nail Foil from Born Pretty Store

Holographic Nail Foil

Born Pretty Store is an asian based online store selling very affordable products, reaching from accessories to make-up and beauty products. They have a super huge amount of all kinds of nail art products and tools. They also have a super large amount of stamping plates and tools needed for stamping nail art, like I showed in my previous nail art post which was quite a long time ago :D.

Holographic Nail Foil

The holographic nail foils from Born Pretty Store come each packed in a tiny plastic tube, which is really a great way to protect and store the foil. The foil is 1 m long and 4 cm in its width, which lasts for a really long time, since you do not need a lot for your nails. This Crack Holographic Nail Foil has a golden crackling appearance. It can be used on regular Nail Polish and UV nail polish, too. Since it is a fine golden motif it looks best on darker nail polish shades, because it will be more visible then.

Holographic Nail Foil

In order to use these kinds of foils you have to go through these steps:

1. Prepare your nail bed by shaping, pushing cuticles back and removing all oils (do this using professional nail prep or nail polish remover).
2. Apply a base coat, and wait until dry.
3. Apply nail polish (dark color is better), wait until dry, and apply the polish again. Wait until dry again, but this time the nail polish should not be totally dry, but a gentle fingerprint should be left on the nails when you press your finger on the nail.
4. Press the foil shiny side up onto the nail and rub over it using your finger, or for a better more precise application, use a rubber hoof stick. Different colors of foils can mixed on the nails.
5. Remove the foil and the foil pattern should be stuck to your nail. If a bit is missing, just apply the top coat to the part not taken and repeat step.4
6. Once completely dry, apply a coat to protect the foil.

Holographic Nail Foil

I needed a couple of tries until it works out, but usually my nail art is limited to a simple red nail polish. I discovered that it is more difficult to use on jelly-type nailpolishes and best to use on those nail polishes which do not stay soft for a long time. You’ll have the risk to remove your second nail polish layer otherwise, instead of transferring the motif from the foil. I used a simple black polish from a cheap drug store brand here. I think black polish or red one gives a nice contrast to the golden color, but also dark green or blue would look nice I guess.

Holographic Nail Foil

How do you like the effect of the crack holographic nail foil? It really took me a long time until I found which nail polish works with the foil and how to do it the best way, but still it is some fun way to try new nail art. Another thing which I really like is that it is super affordable and even if it doesn’t work for you you didn’t spend a lot of money on it either. Each of the nail foil tubes plates retails for 1.39 US$ at Born Pretty StoreYou can also use the promotional code KBX31 for 10 % discount on your order. They do offer free international shipping by the way!

Did you try Holographic Nail Foil? What are your experiences? 

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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.bornprettystore.com/, which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

 

beauty Cosnova review

Review: Essence Juice It Edition

6. June 2016

// PR SAMPLE / BEAUTY / MAKE-UP //

Since midths of May a new limited edition by Essence is available: the Essence Juice It Edition. The makeup products from this line are dedicated to summer and fruits and therefore come along with colorful and fruity packaging design. Until middle of June you will be able to get the products from this edition from your local drugstores. When I saw the press release I was already eyeing some of these products, but luckily, on the same day I wanted to go to the drugstore and take a closer look, I received a package containing a total of 8 products from this edition! I was utterly happy in that moment :D

Essence Juice It Edition

Essence is a european drug store brand, which is easily available here in Germany, but also in many other countries around the world. Their brand philosophy is against animal testing and their products are really affordable, providing a reasonable quality. The colors of the Essence Juice It Edition are described as a “reminiscent of a mixed peach, watermelon and cherry fruit basket, and the gel-like, partially scented textures conjure-up spring colour effects on the lips and nails”. Sounds perfect for summer to me! But let’s take a look at the products I received:

Essence Juice It Edition

First of all, and probably the key item of this collection, are the Essence Juice It Jelly Nail Polishes. There are a total of four colors of these semi-transparent jelly nail polishes available and I received 3 of them called Jelly Orange, Jelly Water Melon and Jelly Cherry. Additionally there are some Essence Juice It Scented Nail Stickers which you can use to spice up your nail art.

Essence Juice It Edition

The nail polishes have a short application brush, which made it a bit difficult for me to paint my nails. With one layer the colors are not opaque and you will see the white of your nails through the polish. Two layers, or even three layers are really pretty nice and give a nice jelly effect, aswell. The glossy jelly finish also stays for a long time and is not disappearing after 1 or two days, but the surface of the dried nail polish is prone to fine scratches. the staying power of the nail polish was nice though, depending on how much work you do with your hands of course.

Essence Juice It Edition

The scented nail stickers have a nice fruity scent and there are quite some different motives on the sticker sheet, reaching from fruits to flamingos. You just have to press them onto your nails and you are done. I didn’t use the stickers yet, but I think I will definitely go for it during the upcoming summer weather.

Essence Juice It Edition

The item I wanted to buy anyways from this collection was the Essence Juice It Detangle Brush! I fell in love with the watermelon inspired design at first sight. The brush is similar to a tangle teezer, but smaller. The brushes feel a bit stiffer than the ones of the Tangle Teezer, but still it is so cute and has the perfect size for carrying it around! My favorite item from this collection!

Essence Juice It Edition

A makeup line without any lip products is not a real makeup line :D So here are two lip products from this collection, the Essene Juice It Jelly Tint Lipstick and the Essence Juice It Glossy Lipliner. The Jelly Tint Lipstick in shade “01 Cherry Cherry Lady” reminds me of the Holika Holika Aqua Petit Jelly Tint. It doesn’t show any tint though on my skin, but seems it has a very subtle pink stain. It is not visible on my lips and has more a feeling of a balm than a tint or lipstick. The Glossy Lipliner in shade “02 You Are One In A Melon” has a light pink color and a creamy texture. It spreads nicely across the skin, but unfortunately is barely visible on my lips, too.

Essence Juice It Edition

The last product I want to share with you from this edition is the Essence Juice It Cherry Eau De Toilette. This light perfume has a nice fruity scent and luckily does not have any overpowering artificial cherry scent. It will be liked by people who love fruity perfumes. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last too long and fades too quickly.

Essence Juice It Edition

All in all the theme of the Essence Juice It Edition fits perfectly to the summer season and the colors are nicely selected and make me crave for fresh and colorful fruits. I really like the Jelly Nail Polishes and the Detangle Brush and also the scented Nail Stickers are such an adorable idea. Since Essence is a drugstore brand the products will be available at an affordable price, too, so if you like any of the items it is worth to grab them as long as they are still available.

What is your impression of the Essence Juice It Edition?

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Essence Juice It Edition

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.essence.eu/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.
beauty Catrice PR Sample review

Review: Catrice Denim Divine Limited Edition

1. May 2016

Summer and Spring are usually the seasons when denim returns to our focus in fashion. Therefore, Catrice released a new limited edition makeup collection called Catrice Denim Divine. I received some of their products for reviewing purpose and I wanted to share these products with you today.

Catrice Denim Divine

“Jeans – a living fashion legend. From the robust worker’s trousers of the 19th century to today’s universal look. Jeans have consistently adapted to the contemporary movements over the past 50 years and have therefore become one of the social must-haves. No other fabric is as versatile and is used by designers as often as denim. The runway pictures of the summer collections confirm that jumpsuits, tight-fitting denim dresses combined with blue jeans are the trends of the season. The new Limited Edition “Denim Divine” by CATRICE completes the look with matching beauty products from mid April to mid May 2016. Denim Love – by CATRICE.”

Reading the description of this collection by Catrice already brings many fashion wishlists into my mind containing different jeans clothing. 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.

Catrice Denim Divine

The Catrice Denim Divine Collection is a Limited Edition. I don’t know how long the products will be available, but if you like them it is good to check out your local drugstore quickly. The collection consists of 6 different products and apart from the products I’m showing here there is also an eyeshadow palette and liquid eyeliner available.

Catrice Denim Divine

Catrice Denim Divine Nail Lacquers

I will start with the nail polishes from this collection:

“Five Pockets. Five Colours. Five nail polishes are waiting to complement the perfect jeans outfit: deep midnight blue, fresh coral, bright red, subtle almond brown and soft nude. The formula of the nail lacquers stands for extraordinary coverage, long durability and a beautiful finish with or without effects. The professional brush allows a particularly simple and smooth application. The square packaging is also a true highlight with its authentic jeans embossment on the lid.”

There are 5 different colors available C01 Dark Denim Blue, C02 Fabricot, C03 Women’s Cut, C04 Comfort Fit, and C05 Gold Miners. I didn’t receive the red nail polish C03 (unfortunately), but you can see the other colors below. I really like Gold Miners and Dark Denim Blue and I guess they fit together pretty nicely. The brush applicator is a short one, but still the nail polish can be applied easily. I still prferr the longer brushes though. Also, you have to be careful not to have too much of the polish on the brush to have an even coat. The nail polishes are pretty opaque already with one stroke, as you can see in the images.

Catrice Denim Divine

Catrice Denim Divine Luminous Lip Gloss Comfort Fit

“For all Shapes. Smooth, glossy results are always a good thing. The semi-transparent, light texture provides the lips with a slight shimmer in a choice of fresh coral or subtle nude – ideal for a summery bronze look.”

There are two lip glosses available in the Catrice Denim Divine Collection, a coral and a nude shade (C01 Women’s Cut and C02 Comfort Fit). I received the nude one. It comes with the typical angled applicator and has a golden7nude shimmer.

Catrice Denim Divine

Catrice Denim Divine Powder Blush Stone Blushed and Bronzer Hot TANts

“Icon meets Colour. Create a summer complexion with this powder blush in a fresh peach tone. Easy to apply and blend, it emphasizes the cheekbones beautifully. The natural-looking finish is silky matt. A fabulous eye-catcher: the attractive jeans embossment on the surface of the texture.”

The blush from this collection is a very pretty pink shaded blush. It says that it is peach, but I would call it rather pinkish. It has a matte finish and a good pigmentation, too! Also, I really like the packaging here, although it is really simple. Same for the Bronzer:

“Sand Washed. Fine bronzing powder with a matt finish for a naturally tanned look. Can also be used for contouring the facial features. Thanks to the unique jeans embossment and rosé-golden packaging, this bronzer is a true must-have that shouldn’t be missing in any beauty bag.”

A perfect bronzer for spring and summer with a nice glow and reddish brown shade. It fits nicely to blue colors and jeans. Also here, the pigmentation is really nice and I like the shade of this bronzer a lot.

Catrice Denim Divine

All together, the Catrice Denim Divine Collection represents nicely the denim vibes and delivers a matching color range of makeup products. If you like any of the colors from the swatches I showed I can advice you to take a look at the collection in real, if this limited edition is available in your country. And since Catrice is really affordable in terms of prices (few Euros here), why not give them a try?! My favoites from these products are the blush and the bronzer and I’ve been using them in the past days frequently. You can take a look at the the Catrice Denim Divine Collection >>here<<.

What do you think about this new collection from Catrice? Is there any products you would like to try?

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Catrice Denim Divine

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.
beauty Born Pretty Store NOTD PR Sample review

Stamping Nail Art from Born Pretty Store

19. January 2016

I’m totally a noob when it comes to more elaborate nail art. Nail stickers are easy to apply and I already reviewed a bunch of them, but I’ve always been eyeing the Stamping Nail Art! Finally, after a long time of thinking I selected a Stamping Nail Art Stamper and Scraper and two different Image Stamping Plates from Born Pretty Store

Stamping Nail Art

Born Pretty Store is an asian based online store selling very affordable products, reaching from accessories to make-up and beauty products. They have a super huge amount of all kinds of nail art products and tools. They also have a super large amount of stamping plates and tools needed for stamping nail art.

Stamping Nail Art

I was super surprised to see how cute the packaging of the Image Stamping Plates is and that each of the plates comes in its own paper sachet. The two designs I selected are the Rose Queen Image Plate and the Banana Tree Image Plate. Both round shaped plates contain different patterns which you can either combine or you can use only one of the images.

Stamping Nail Art

The stamper and the scraper I chose were forming a 2 piece kit and are quite simple. They are made of black plastic and the stamping part of the stamper is made of rubber and it can be replaced. The scraper is also made from black plastic with a metal blade part for scraping the excess nail polish from the image plates.

Stamping Nail Art

The theory of Nail Stamping Art is easy: First you coat your nails with the desired background color. Then you select a second nail polish color which is opaque and visible on the background color and you apply the nail polish on the image of the chosen plate you would like to stamp. Then, by using the scraper in 45° angle you scrape away the excess nail polish from the image. The stamper has to be pressed on the image plate now quickly, so that the motif is transferred to the rubber. Usually, you roll the rubber part over the image to pick it up. Then you roll the stamper over your nail and transfer the image on your nail. Afterwards, you can use a topcoat to fix everything. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?!

Stamping Nail Art

But it gave me a hard time nevertheless!!! First of all: not all nail polishes work. Opaque nail polishes which are not too fluid worked best for me. Second: I couldn’t achieve a single pretty stamping image when I rolled the stamp on my nails. I tried so many times and I almost gave up, when I finally tried to not roll it on my nail but instead to press my nail inside the rubber part of the stamper! Voilá, it worked finally!!!

Stamping Nail Art

I was so happy after I found out what way worked for my stamper and my nails that I’m now so super fond of my stamping nail art kit. I even used it two times this week, which is amazing considering the fact of me being lazy to do any nail art at all!

Stamping Nail Art

How do you like my nails? If you are a noob with nail art like me, but you still would like to give Stamping Nail Art a try I can recommend you the tools from Born Pretty Store. They are super affordable and even if it doesn’t work it is not much of a pain. Yes, it will take some practice units at first, but if it works it looks really, really pretty…and so versatile depending to the images on the plates you choose. I got so many compliments for my nails in the last days, that makes me really happy! The stamper and the scraper retail for 3.84 US$. Each of the image pattern plates retail for 2.09 US$ at Born Pretty StoreYou can also use the promotional code KBX31 for 10 % discount on your order. They do offer free international shipping by the way!

Did you try Stamping Nail Art already? What are your experiences? 

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.bornprettystore.com/, which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.
asian cosmetics beauty Born Pretty Store NOTD PR Sample review

Camellia Flower 3D Nail Art Stickers from Born Pretty Store

8. January 2016

It has been a while again since I posted any nail or nail art related products, but since the busy time around Christmas is over I had some patience to do some nail art again using Camellia Flower 3D Nail Art Stickers from Born Pretty Store

Camellia Flower 3D Nail Art Stickers from Born Pretty Store

I tried some other nail decals and stuff from Born Pretty Store before and usually their nail products are affordable and have a good quality, too. Born Pretty Store is an asian based online store selling very affordable products, reaching from accessories to make-up and beauty products. They have a super huge amount of all kinds of nail art products and tools. The Camellia Flower 3D Nail Art Stickers I used are available in different variation. I chose the red colored flowers with the golden lining, but they are also available with silver lining or with black, pink or white color.  Each sheet contains 34 stickers: larger flowers, smaller flowers and half flowers.

Camellia Flower 3D Nail Art Stickers from Born Pretty Store

The backside of the water decals shows the description on how to use them. Basically it is very easy: each sticker has an adhesive backside. You have to peel off the sticker (best use tweezers to not touch the glue too much) and press the sticker on the desire spot on your nails.

Camellia Flower 3D Nail Art Stickers from Born Pretty Store

Seal the stickers by using a top-coat on top of your created nail art. Since these stickers are not transparent you can use any color of nail polish you like as background on your nails.

Camellia Flower 3D Nail Art Stickers from Born Pretty Store

How do you like the result? I’m super happy with it, especially because I could use any nail polish color I wanted and the sticker still shows up. I also like the golden lining of the flowers. It really has a bit of a 3D effect without being too harsh like pearls (I’m always afraid of breaking up or loosing studs or pearls on my nails). You can get these Camellia Flower 3D Nail Art Stickers for 1.09 US$ per sheet from Born Pretty Store. I think it is super affordable! You can also use the promotional code KBX31 for 10 % discount on your order. They do offer free international shipping by the way and they have so many different styles and designs of nail stickers available at BornPrettyStore!

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.bornprettystore.com/, which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.
beauty Cosnova PR Sample

Review: Essence Winter? Wonderful! Collection

17. December 2015

// PR SAMPLE / BEAUTY / MAKE-UP //

Another post to bring you into the winter and Christmas moods! After yesterday’s Etude House Snowy Dessert Collection today it is all about the latest Christmas/Winter collection by Essence called “Winter? Wonderful!”, which was kindly sent to me for reviewing purpose.

Essence Winter? Wonderful! Collection

Essence is a european drug store brand, which is easily available here in Germany, but also in many other countries around the world. Their brand philosophy is against animal testing and their products are really affordable, providing a reasonable quality. The new Essence Trend Edition “Winter? Wonderful!” is available from mid of December until January 2016 and will be perfect for those of you who love winter-themed products. The color range of these products reaches from white, grey and iceblue to warmer, nude shades like light pink and apricot. The key piece of the Essence Winter? Wonderful! Collection is definitely the eyeshadow palette, but also the four nail polishes from this collection have each different effects like “frosted”, “crystallized” or “iced”. 

Essence Winter? Wonderful! Collection

Let’s start off with two of the lip products from the Essence Winter? Wonderful! Collection: the Essence Winter? Wonderful! Tint & Oil No. 01 “if kisses were snowflakes” and the Essence Winter? Wonderful! Lip Balm! The Lip Balm comes in a clear plastic container, so you can see the bullet inside. The bullet looks like ice, since it is a clear balm with shimmering particles. It gives a soft, shimmery finish to the lips. The moisturizing property of the lip balm is okay, but not overwhelming. Nevertheless, if you are looking for a simple lip balm with shimmer particles this product might suit you. The Lip Balm retails for 1.99€. The Essence Winter? Wonderful! Tint & Oil caught my attention because recently oil tints are gaining more popularity. I was hoping for a tint similar to the Tonymoly Shaking tint Delight. No.01 is a light pink color, almost clear with a strawberry scent. It comes in a silver container with an included applicator. Compared to the Tonymoly Oil tint the Essence Tint & Oil is much more similar to a gloss, which means it is kind of sticky and not watery/oily. Unfortunately, I’m not a friend of sticky lip products, especially not during cold and windy seasons, so this one is not my cup of tea. The Tint & Oil is also available in another pink shade called “02 …I’d send you a blizzard”. They retail for 2.99 € each.

Essence Winter? Wonderful! Collection

The Essence Winter? Wonderful! Eye & Inner Rim Pencil comes in two shades aswell: 01 cold as eyes and 02 eye candy. I will show you shade 01, a white highlighting pencil, which you can use under your eyes, in the inner corner of your eyes, or in the water-line. The pencil has a harder texture, which means it is good for precise lines, but not suited to be used for eyeshadow, since it is not creamy enough. The color payoff is nice and visible. It doesn’t come with an included sharpener, so make sure to have one at hands. The Essence Winter? Wonderful! Eye & Inner Rim Pencils retail for 1.99 €.

Essence Winter? Wonderful! Collection

The last face makeup product I will show you is the Essence Winter? Wonderful! Eyeshadow Palette in “All Ice On Me!”. This palette comes with five different shades: white, grey, light pink, light brown and darker brown. The grey and the light brown color contain shimmer particles, whereas the other shades are matte. The packaging design of this eyeshadow palette is eye-catching, too, since it is illustrated with snow crystals all over. I really love the design of this palette!

Essence Winter? Wonderful! Collection

The backside of the palette contains some description and how to use the eyeshadow palette. The palette doesn’t come with any applicator or brush. The color payoff of the colors is not very pigmented. Even with a primer the colors are very soft. The palette also creates some fall-off, when I’m using my brushes. I would say the colors are more suited for a very natural and soft eye makeup. It will be hard to create any bold makeup though. Also the shimmers are very soft and almost not visible when swatched. The palette retails for 3.79 €. Below you will find the swatches for all the face makeup products:

Essence Winter? Wonderful! Collection
The Essence Winter? Wonderful! Nail Polishes are available in 4 different shades, plus one Top Coat. The nail polishes are available in 01 the frosted, 02 the semi matt, 03 the iced and 04 the crystallized. The top coat is an ice-topping called 01 a winter’s tale. Below, I used No.01 and No. 03 on my hands. 01 “the frosted” is a white matte nail polish which, which looks like sugar icing. With two coats of that nail polish you can achieve a nice opaque layer on your nails. It dries very quickly, so it is also super easy to apply in several layers. 03 “the iced” is a shimmery, rough effect nail polish. I used it on top of the white nail polish, but it can be used on its own, too. This one needs a bit longer to dry than the frosted nail polish, but they look both very pretty and winter-y on the nails. The nail polishes retail for 1.79 €. The top coat which I didn’t show retails for 1.99 €.

Essence Winter? Wonderful! Collection

And in order to have nicely hydrated hands the Essence Winter? Wonderful! Hand Balm is ideal! The packaging of the tube is beautiful and fits perfect to the season. The balm feels nourishing but not too heavy. It absorbs fast into the skin and has a nice scent, too! It retails for 1.99 €. Last, but not least, the collection also includes two hair ties with an attached fake fur pompom! I bet it looks super cute on a ponytail. The hair tie is available in white and in pink/apricot and retails for 1.49 €.

Essence Winter? Wonderful! Collection

How do you like the Essence Winter? Wonderful! Collection? What is your impression, or did you try any of the products already? My favourite is the frosted nail polish and the hand balm. But I also like the eyeshadow palette despite the natural pigmentation. The design of the collection is really pretty in my eyes, too!

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.essence.eu/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

Fell free to join my giveaway with Japan Candy Box, too! Did you see it already?

Japan Candy Box

beauty empties

Graveyard: May – October Empties 2015

7. November 2015

I realized my last product empties post was for March & April! I always took the pictures for the empties posts but never made one, so here is a massive May – October Empties 2015 post! As usual, I didn’t include any sheet mask sachets or sample sachets, because it would simply be to messy. But as far as posible I tried to document the products I used up in the past months.

Graveyard: May - October Empties 2015

  1. Stylenanda’s 3CE Water Wrapping Facial Mask – I reviewed these before and I absolutelly love how soft the cotton of these sheet masks is and how soft and nice the essence hydrates the skin. One of my favourite moisturizing sheet masks so far. Click for the review >>here<<. Repurchase? Yes!
  2. Innisfree Jeju Bija Anti Trouble BB Cream – This was past expiration date and had to be tossed. I used it mostly mixed with other BB creams because it was to drying for dry skintypes. Click for my review >>here<<. Repurchase? No.
  3. Heart Face Ultra Pore Care Sleeping Pack I was super Excited to try this Sleeping Pack since it smelled so amazingly of Rose Water. Unfortunatelly, my skin didn’t like one of the ingredients, so I ended up using it on my dry body parts like knees and elbows. Worked fine for them, a pitty though that I couln’t use it as sleeping mask. Repurchase? No.
  4. Innisfree Eco Safety Perfect Waterproof Sunblock – This was a lovely sun cream after all. I would think about buying the fullsize or one of the other versions of it. Click for my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Maybe.
  5. Skin House Face Calming Galactomyces Cream – I loved this cream! It absorbed nicely and made the skin feel bouncy. I used it up so quicly after all. click for my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Yes.
  6. Forencos Selene Project Silk Mask Series – I liked some of the sheet masks from this series and I also made a second in depth review on this set of sheet masks. I didn’t like the ampoule which was included for each sheet mask though. Click for my reviews >>here<< and >>here<<. Repurchase? Probably not.
  7. Merz Special Beauty Talent – This cream was a complete dissapointment. I didn’t like the scent and it didn’t do anything for making my skin less dry, bumpy or anything it was promised to do. Repurchase? No!
  8. It’s Skin Have A Pomegranate Cleansing Foam – Unfortuantelly, this Foam Cleanser was too drying for my skin. Click for my review >>here<<. Repurchase? No!
  9. CosRX AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid – I did like this, although I do not have any Whiteheads to begin with. But for a AHA product this one is great. I can recommend you to check out the COSRX products in general because they do a nice job. Click for my reviews on the other COSRX products >>here<<. Repurchase? Maybe.
  10. Skin79 BB Cream Miniatures – This were past expiration date, too. I used all of them from time to time, but I cannot say that one of these was my HG BB cream. click for my review >>here<<. Repurchase? No.
  11. Etre belle Liplift Peel Exfoliator – Pretty much an average lip scrub. I like the tube it comes in. Repurchase? No.
  12. Skinfood Rose Shake Point Make-Up Remover – I love this Point Make-Up Remover from Skinfood. It also comes in a Milk version which I want to try next. Click for my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Yes!
  13. Rituals Sakura Scrub – Another product which I absolutely love! It smells so great and I cannot stop smelling my own skin after using this scrub. Same for the complete Cherry Blossom Line from Rituals! Repurchase? Yes!
  14. Alverde Body Butter Vintage Rose – Guess what, I bought this body butter for the pretty design! It had a nice scent, too, but not as rosy as I had hoped. Nevertheless, a good product and also natural cosmetics! Repurchase? Maybe. Graveyard: May - October Empties 2015
  15. Benton Honest Cleansing Foam – This cleansing foam was surprisingly mild and not drying like other cleansing foams. I really enjoyed using this one, although I was really wary, because I had a negative experience with the Benton Snail Bee Steam Cream. Click for my review >>here<<Repurchase? Maybe, if I have used up all my cleansers :D
  16. Bioré UV Aqua Rich Watery Gel – So far my favourite suncream I used. Absorbs fast, doesn’t leave the skin sticky or oily, feels hydrating enough for dry skin. Click for my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Yes!
  17. Rituals Cherry Blossom Body Milk – Also here: I love the scent of this line! Definitively want to rurchase it!
  18. Dermasel Shower Gel Pomegranade – Just a regular showe gel. Had a nice scent, too, but it was not so lingering as the Rituals scents. Repurchase? No.
  19. Johnson and Johnson (Bebe) Beautifying Eye Cream – I like the illuminating eye cream from Lavera much better than this one. This one didn’T absorb completelly and always left kind of a film underneath your eyes. Repurchase? No.
  20. Meishoku DET Clear Bright & Peel Peeling Gel – Another product which I love! I can recommend you to try the MEishoku DET Clear Pelling Gels. They are perfect for using in the shower, too! I’m so sad this one is empty. Click for my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Yes!
  21. Xaivita+ Goat Milk Whitening Cream – This cream is super great! I used it up quickly. It absorbs super fast and leaves the skin nourished. I still have a facial soap from this line and I want to make a review of both products together., so please be patient for more details. I can imagine to repurchase it! Repurchase? Yes.
  22. Banila Co Clean It Zero – This mini jars of Banila Co Clean It Zero cleansing balm are great for travel! I already used the first of them, but I still have a couple more of these. There will be a review about these, too. Repurchase? Yes.
  23. O.S.T C21.5 Vitamin C Serum – I like both vitamin C serums from O.S.T. and I can recommend you again and again to try a vitamin C serum for yourself. These are affordable and effective, too. At the moment I’m using a Vitamin C serum by MapleHolistics, but the bottle slipped out of my hand some days ago, so I will be out of vitamin C serum again…Probably I’m going for O.S.T again. Click for my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Yes!
  24. Coreana SHO EGFactor Eye Cream – One of the best eye cream tubes I’ve had so far. The seringe shape was super convenient and you could close and open it easily. The cream was nice, too. I still have one of these at my bf’s house. See my review >>here<<. Repurchase? No, too expensive.
  25. Shara Shara Fairy’s Synergy Sun Cream – Despite the creepy doll packaging and the defect pump this was not such a bad product. Nevertheless, the packaging puts me off. Repurchase? No.
  26. Schwarzkopf Gliss Kur Ultimate Oil Elixir – I like these large jars of hair packs and treatments. This one smells of cacao. Liked it. Repurchase? Maybe.
  27. Etude House Help My Finger Quick Drop Dry – I love these Quick Dry Drops for Nail polish. I ususally don’t have enough patience to wait ad ruin my nails almost immediatelly. These are great to prevent some of that damage. I bought a similar quick dry drop from Essence this time. Click for my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Yes.
  28. Confume Argan Hair Treatment Ampoule – The Confume Argan Oil is one of my favourite hair oils at the moment. These treatment ampoules are great for a more intense treatment after washing your hair. I like them a lot. The review is still in progress though! Repurchase? Yes.
  29. Dear by Eprani Believe in a Bottle Moistfull Booskin – One of the best Korean Toners (Skin) I tried so far! Lovely scent, makes the skin feel great and definitively worth a try! Repurchase? Yes!
  30. Shiseido Hada Senka Hoshitsu Lotion – This Japanese Toner (Lotion) is great for homemade sheet masks or soaked cotton pads. Definitively worth a try, too. Click for my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Maybe.
  31. Nelafantasia One day Whitener Magical Whitening Lotion – This was also past expiration date. This whitening cream contains titanium dioxide and makes the skin appear brighter. The packaging is lovely, but I didn’t use it often after all. Repurchase? No. Graveyard: May - October Empties 2015
  32. Alverde Repair Hair Butter – I didn’t like that at all. It was too rich to be used on dry or freshly washed hair and too hard to wash out when using as a pack before washing the hair. The scent was not to my liking either. Repurchase? No.
  33. Schwarzkopf Essence Ultime Omega Repair Hair Mask – Another Hair Pack. I liked the version from above more, though. Repurchase? No.
  34. Ingobeau Perfect Deep Clean One-Step Cleansing Water – My first cleansing water and now I’m eager to try more. I loved this so much and it was super effective in removing all kinds of makeup. It has a nice pH, too. There will be a review, soon. Repurchase? Yes.
  35. Nivea Care face and body cream – This was not as heavy and rich as the regular Nivea Cold Cream, but lighter. If you like Nivea you might like it. Repuchase? MAybe.
  36. John Frida Frizz Ease Dream Curls – I like this conditioning spray from Fritt Ease. This makes my curls look more defined and nice. I bought it in the past and I can imagine to repurchase it in future again. Repurchase? Yes.
  37. Beautiful A.M. Moisturizer and P.M. Revitalizer – A pitty these are empty know, since it starts to get colder here in Germany. Facial oils are great for my dry skin in these times. These were light oils which absorbed fast and were not heavy. Click for my review >>here<<. Repurchase? I want to try other facial oils.
  38. O’SUM’s Aloe Vera Soothing Mist – I do not use up many mists, but here I am with one. I tried to make use of the benefits of mists more often this summer. click for my review >>here<<. Repurchase? I want to try other mists, too.

Graveyard: May - October Empties 2015

That was quite a lot! I hope it’s useful for some of you nevertheless. Sorry, for the long and boring post! :’D

Do you know any of these and did you try them yourself? What is your opinion on these products I showed above? I’d be happy about your comments ♥



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Berries in the Snow 2nd Bloganniversary Giveaway

10. June 2015

Honestly speaking, this giveaway is 2 month delayed! I was going to celebrate Berries in the Snow’s 2nd Bloganniversary in March or April and now we have June already…time is passing quickly :’D When I started BitS I never thought about having it for any specific time, but seeing now that I’m still enjoying my reviews and other posts I’m kind of proud of myself. I never thought that people will enjoy reading my posts, but seeing that I have so many regular readers and blogger friends really makes me happy.

Berries in the Snow 2nd Bloganniversary Giveaway

When I’m looking back to the first posts I made I feel a bit ashamed, too. Naturally, I didn’t know much about blogging (and I still know too few), and my posts were not the best ones. Sorry, for that! I’m also a bit sad that I didn’t have time to fix all the pictures from the old post since I transferred my blog from Blogspot to WordPress. I hope I will be able to change the blurry images soon. I started to overdo some of the reviews, but it is so time-consuming and sometimes it is simply more exciting to write reviews about the new products instead of taking care of the old posts :’D

Berries in the Snow 2nd Bloganniversary Giveaway

Nevertheless, I want to thank all you wonderful people who kept reading my blog from long time ago, and I want to welcome my new readers. And there is no better way to say “thank you” than with a giveaway! I picked a couple of items, some of them I reviewed already, some I will review in the future. Berries in the Snow’s 2nd Anniversary Giveaway is open for all my readers living all around the world and these are the items that one of you can win:

Berries in the Snow 2nd Bloganniversary Giveaway

Innisfree Skin Solution Mask Moisturizing

Innisfree Skin Solution Mask Total Care

Tonymoly Floria Whitening Mask Sheet

Tansan Kakumei Carbonate Revolution

Benton Snail Bee High Content Steam Cream

Etude House XOXO Minnie in the Nail Glitter #01 Minnie in White

Etude House Sweet Reciepe Candy Stick

Hope Girl Tinted Lip Balm #02 Love Peach

Essence Cinderella Highlighter Powder #01 The Glass Slipper

ÜNT Nail Lacquer x Hello Kitty

Banila co. Clean it Zero Cleansing Balm (sample size)

Missha Super Aqua Marine Stem Cell Active Toner (sample size)

I hope you like the selected items and I hope the lucky winner will have good use for them. I will pack up all the items in a small and secure box for the delivery!

Berries in the Snow 2nd Bloganniversary Giveaway

Here are the rules for taking part into this giveaway:

1. The giveaway is open internationally.

2. You can take part through the Rafflecopter form below.

3. I will look through the entries and delete any wrong entries, so cheating won’t do you any good.

4. Please, be fair and do not like my blog, and unlike it after the giveaway has ended. This is my way to thank these people who like to read my blog.

5. The chosen winner has 3 days to anwer my Email and send me his/her address.

6. The giveaway ends on July 15th, 2015.

7. I’m not responsible for any damages/ lost items through postal services. I will pack everything safe and soundly and do my best to prevent these cases, of course.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks again to all of you for reading my blog! If you have any recommendations on how to improve Berries in the Snow feel free to write a comment or Email me. If you want to make a guestpost here, you’re welcome to (related topics to asian beauty/fashion of course)! Good luck to everybody! ♥

asian cosmetics beauty Born Pretty Store PR Sample

Review: Flower Water Transfer Nail Stickers from Born Pretty Store

9. June 2015

// PR SAMPLE / FASHION / AFFILIATE LINKS //

I wanted to post this Flower Water Transfer Nail Sticker from Born Pretty Store together with the Peackock Feather Water Decall showed previously, but this one gave me a hard time to get nice pictures to be honest :’D

Flower Water Transfer Nail Stickers from Born Pretty Store

As mentioned above, I received this set of double-ended dotting pens from Born Pretty Store. Born Pretty Store is an asian based online store selling very affordable products, reaching from accessoires to make-up and beauty products. They have a super huge amount of all kinds of nailart products and tools. This Water Transfer Nail Sticker is available in different patterns. This sheet contains various stickers: There are 13 transparant flowers, 15 black flowers and 6 Rolling Stones Symbols. I decided for these decalls because of the flowers in first place, especially the black flowers.

Flower Water Transfer Nail Stickers from Born Pretty Store

The backside of the water decalls shows the description on how to use them. Basically it is very easy: You have to soak the stickers in water first, then adjust them on your nail, remove the excess water, wait until it is dry, add clear nail polish on top, wait until it is dry, remove excess water decal by simply peeling it off (as soon as you put the clear nail polish on top of the water decal the uncoated water decal can be easily peeled off). Also, the instruction on the back of the package says, that you should blow dry the water decals. I didn’t do this…actually, I only dried the nails after the application of the stickers with help of a tissue and continued with the top coat directly. And it worked super well.

Flower Water Transfer Nail Stickers from Born Pretty Store

Since I was so excited about the black flowers I painted my nails black and started to put the flowers on top when I realized that they are not visible on black nailpolish. It seem the black flowers should be used as whole nail sticker, but there aren’t any shapes indicated and the area is too small to make 10 whole nail stickers of the black area. That was my first dissapointment. I continued with the transparent flowers. Since I knew from my previous experience with the peacock feather decalls that the decalls won’t show up on red nail polish I tried pink polish first. But the pink polish was to dark aswell :'(. After lots of tests and trials I finally used two coats of Etude House Look At My Nails Maple Syrup, which is probably the sheerest nail polish I own :D. Afterwards, I added the remaining decalls on some nails and sealed it with a top coat. Here is the result:

Flower Water Transfer Nail Stickers from Born Pretty Store

How do you like it? I love how pretty the flowers are, but like with the peacock feather decalls they don’t show off nicely on darker nail polish shades. I would advice you to use sheer nail polish, although I would have loved to see the design on darker shades, too. You can get this Flower Feather Nail Art Water Decals Transfer Stickers for 0.99 US$ per sheet from Born Pretty Store. I think it is super affordable! You can also use the promotional code KBX31 for 10 % discount on your order. They do offer free international shipping by the way. If youi use sheer and light nailpolish often the flower decalls are worth a try, they are cheap, long lasting and they have a lot of different styles available at BornPrettyStore. I will check out more in future for sure!


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.bornprettystore.com/, which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.