Three Shades of Red, Three Looks

Red is such a classic shade that never goes out of style. You can be bold, glamorous or even a rebel with reds on your lips and nails. I'm a huge fan of reds and because I have a neutral skin tone, I feel like I'm not restricted to wearing just warm or cool toned reds. I prepared a selection of three shades of red worn on the lips and nails so it's a bit matchy-matchy and created three different looks. I included alternatives to all these shades as well, so you'll be seeing a lot of red.

The Bold One

Orange reds are such fun shades and they make me instantly think of summer. I feel as if every time June comes around so many bloggers dig out their Lady Danger lipstick and wear it with pride. I have a little dinky sample of Lady Danger, but for this look I chose to wear Essence's Lip Cream Floral Glam, which is essentially an almost the same shade, but it was unfortunately a LE (Guerrila Gardening). On my nails I'm wearing Depend's nail polish in 036, which matches the lip colour very well. For a lip liner I chose Essence Lipliner in Femme Fatale, which admittedly isn't the best shade for this category, but it's the closest I have to an orange toned liner. 

As I said the quintessential orange red is the super popular Lady Danger, but I find a newer Mac's shade called Dangerous a little bit prettier. For those who don't want to commit to a bold pout, Bourjois' Rouge Edition Shine in 21 Rouge Making Of is a nice sheer option. The most budget choice would be MUA's lipstick in 13 that'll cost you a quid and for those who want a warm red that doesn't have such a strong orange tone try Catrice's Ultimate Colour Lipstick in MATTador. For nail polish option I also have Essence's Juicy Love in my stash, but Essence has been messing with their formulas, so I'm not sure it's the same. I also found you some alternatives/dupes for Lady Danger: Milani Matte Lipstick in Passion, Nyx Matte Indie Flick, Wet n' Wild Megalast Purty Persimmon, Maybelline Craving Coral, ...

The Glamorous One

Nothing screams glamour more than a classic blue toned red lipstick. These types of lip colour also make you teeth look more white, so it's no wonder they are so popular. My absolute favourite is L'Oreal's Colour Riche in Blake which is a part of the Collection Exclusives. The colour is stunning and the finish is matte, plus the formula is the absolute best I've tried - it's way better than the more popular Mac's lipsticks. I paired it with Catrice's Ultimate Nail Colour in Bloody Mary to go, which is a type of shade everyone should have in their collection. For a lip liner I used Catrice's Longlasting Lip Pencil in 040 …and a Cherry on the Top and I also added Ardell's Demi Wispies to bump up the glam.  

Though I stand firm that Blake is by far the best choice here, I have some alternatives. The most obvious choices are from MAC - the good old Ruby Woo, Russian Red and MAC Red. For cheaper options I have Makeup Revolution's Pro Iconic lipstick in Propoganda, Salvation Intense Lacquer in A Love Like That and Freedom Makeup's Pro Red 108 Expression, but you might know already that I'm just not feeling these three, well at least you'll still hear that soon about the last one, but they are very budget friendly. The other closest other nail polish I have is Essie's Really Red, but it's a neutral shade, so almost doesn't fit here any more.

The Vampy One

Not everyone can muster up the courage to go so dark and yet I find such shades of red the easiest to wear, especially in colder months. Classic reds look too classy for everyday and orange reds look super punchy, but with burgundies I feel much more at ease. There was a time when I wore Rimmel's Matte Lipstick in 107 every day, but I have to say that the days of that lipstick came to an end the moment I found L'Oreal's Colour Riche in Laetitia. It is everything I dreamed of a burgundy lipstick to be. It's from the same collection as Blake and it has that same gorgeous matte formula. I paired it with Essence's Colour & Go in Do You Speak Love on the nails, which Essence discontinued in this formula, but I believe the shade is still the same or possibly very similar in the new Gel Nails line. The perfect lip liner to pair up with such shades is Catrice's Longlasting Lip Pencil in Berryson Ford.

I have no shortage of burgundies in my collection, it is after all my favourite colour for autumn. For lip colour alternatives I already mentioned Rimmel's 107, others include Bourjois's Rouge Edition Velvet in 08 Grand Cru and for those who don't want to go matte, Rimmel's Apocalips in Eclipse. Nice nail polish options are OPI's Malaga Wine, Revlon's Parfumerie in Bordeaux and for those who want to amp the vamp factor go for Essie's Sole Mate.

So what's your favourite red? I hope you enjoyed this post and have a great day!

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Catrice Ultimate Colour 350 MATTador

Have I been neglecting this lipstick pretty much since I got it. It was released at the same time as MATTraction, which is one of my favourite shades ever, so it was easy to sort of forget this one. I talked about it in one of my New In posts and in one of my Season Inspired posts where I also included some swatches, but I've been wearing for the past couple of weeks and decided that it definitely deserves a proper review.

MATTador is a warm red with a creamy-matte finish. It's a much tamer version of orange red shades such as Lady Danger, but it's still has that bright, summery quality to it. This would be a nice choice for those with warm skin tones.

The formula is similar to MATTraction's, but I think it's not quite as good because this one seems a bit lighter, creamier and therefore not quite as long-lasting, though they are similar and probably the best matte lipsticks you can get for under 5 €. Catrice's matte lipsticks are so creamy, they just glide on the lips without tugging and the finish isn't completely matte, so they don't end up being super drying on the lips. 

Staying power is nice and you'll get several hours of wear from this one. It does have a scent, but I don't know how to describe it other than it's a classic Catrice lipstick scent. The packaging looks and feels so much more expensive that what you're paying for.

Catrice Ultimate Colour lipsticks cost 4.29 € and they are sold in almost every drugstore here in Slovenia. These are my favourite budget lipsticks, so if you have a chance give at least one a go.

Have a great day!

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Catrice Chocolate Nudes Eyeshadow Palette

When I first saw the preview for the new things that were launching in autumn, this was the thing I was most excited about. I've been craving a nice chocolate palette for a while and have both I <3 Makeup Naked Chocolate and Too Faced Chocolate Palette on my wishlist, but never got round to buying them. I'm a fan of these Catrice palettes and including this one, I currently have four, however, as absolutely gorgeous as the shades in this palette are, in terms of quality this disappointed me. It's of course not a total fail, but it's not what I'm used to when it comes to Catrice. 

I love the selection of shades - it's a half-half mix of matte and shimmery colours and it contains all the colours you need, from a matte skin tone base to a deep shade for outer corners. Surprisingly for Catrice, this time it's the matte shades that lack in pigmentation and quality, especially the third shade just isn't what I'm used to when it comes Catrice's eyeshadows.

First shade is a shimmery light champagne gold that I tend to use as an inner corner highlighter, but it looks lovely on the lid as well. This is one of the better performing ones as it's nicely pigmented. Second shade is a matte yellow-beige skin tone colour that serves as a base colour. It's more on the chalky side, but since it's a light base colour, this doesn't matter so much. But the next colour is very disappointing. It's dry, chalky and very difficult to build up as well as make it look even and blend. Otherwise the shade colour is lovely -  a matte, medium brown, but how this passed the tests to be included in this palette, eludes me. Shade four is a shimmery version of the previous medium brown shade and it's much, much better in terms of quality. Fifth shade is a gorgeous coppery-bronze shade that was just made to make blue eyes pop. It's the most buttery shade in the palette and it reminds me of some shimmery shades in the Makeup Revolution palettes. It still needs a lot of building up the colour, but I love the final effect. The last shade is a warm deep brown with a matte finish and it's the best matte colour in the palette, however, it still leaves something to be desired. For one I wish it were darker because now it doesn't add enough depth to the outer corners.

These perform better with a primer, but still several layers are needed for a decent look. The eyeshadow that you see on my look is that coppery one, even though I used all shades in the palette. the outer corners just can't be deepened enough with that last shade, so it all looks more like one eyeshadow. Staying power on the other hand, isn't' bad and these also don't crease on me. 

I expected so much more. Compared to other such palettes from Catrice, this just is not the same quality. I absolutely love the colours, so I'm gutted that the pigmentation isn't the best and I'm planning on getting a similar palette from a different brand. Absolute Matte is still my number one recommendation, closely followed by Absolute Nude. Absolute Rose lacks variety, but it's a lovely palette nonetheless. 

I got my palette in Tuš Drogerija for 5.29 €

Have a great day!

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Catrice Prime and Fine Professional Contouring Palette 010 Ashy Radiance

High five to Catrice for finally taking the plunge and take on the contouring trend. I think that aside from Sleeks version, which is only available online here, the pickings when it comes to a taupe-ish contour shade are very, very slim with actual eyeshadows being probably our best option. So I'm delighted to see this in a permanent range and Essence will have their versions as well. The palette comes in two shades: this cool toned brown with a champagne-peachy highlight designed for pale individuals like me, while the other is darker and with a gold highlight.

The highlighter is more on the sheer side, which I actually like since I'm more of an subtle highlight girl, but it can be built-up to a stronger glow, though it takes several layers. The actual tone of the highlighter is lovely. It's a warm champagne, slightly peachy shade that doesn't end up looking too white on the skin, unlike like their newest Highlighting Powder in 010 Stardust. It reminds me of my favourite Jemma Kid Iced Gold in terms of shade, but not in texture, since this is a powder and that one a much glowier cream.

The bronzer/contouring side is nicely pigmented as far as my light skin tone is concerned and I pick up only a bit of the product at at time and build up slowly to avoid a random strip of colour on my face, but people with darker skin tones have said to me that this is too light for them. It's warmer and less taupe than NYX's Taupe as well as much more pigmented, but it still manages to fake shadows well. Ana Ina compared it to the Sleek palette in light and it shows how much more taupe-ish it is. The powder is quite silky, but it does dust/flake off, nonetheless it blends ok and doesn't look patchy on the skin. 

Staying power is nice as per usual when it comes to cheek products by Catrice.

I know I'll get this question: NYX Taupe or Catrice? I'd still go with Taupe for my skin tone, well at least in the winter when my skin matches the colour of snow. But I have a neutral undertone, so I can go either way. If you skin tone is pink, go for Taupe and if it's warm go for Catrice. Also pick the latter one if you're not as pale as me because Taupe is quite sheer compared to this one (by the way, my Taupe blush is quite old and I hear they have been messing with the shade since then. Petra recommends Essence I Heart Nude eyeshadow in 05 My Favorite Tauping instead).

I built-up both powders a lot for this picture, so my camera would pick it up. Normally I'm quite shy when it comes to contouring. 

This was a hit for me in the latest Catrice update. They managed to create a lovely taupe-cool brown "faking shadows" shade for super pale people like me, which is incredibly rare among the drugstore brands. The highlighter is more on the subtle side, which some will like and others not, but the tone of it is very pretty. In general it's a great budget buy. 

I bought it in Müller for 4.69 € and as far as I know, this is only available on the 3 m stands. 

What is your favourite contouring powder and highlighter? Have a great day!

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New In #33

CATRICE Chocolate Nudes Eyeshadow Palette

010 Choc'Let It Be

This is such a gorgeous palette, I truly love every colour in it, however, the pigmentation is disappointing. I was so looking forward to this palette, but I think this time Catrice focused just on how it looks and forgot about the quality as this just isn't what I'm used to from their previous palettes. All shades need a lot of layering for a decent colour pay-off and even now that I've proper swatched it for the review, which took off the top layer, they are not much better. The third shade is particularly disappointing, while the fourth is the most creamy one and thankfully the pretties one as well. I so want to love this, but as much as I love the colours, I wish the quality was better. I had several people tell me that they are disappointed too, so I'm not the only one. I did a look with this palette here (I used a primer).

Tuš Drogerija, 5.29 €

CATRICE Eye'Matic Eyepowder Pen

050 Al Cappuccino

This was on my original wishlist I posted a while ago, but I then changed my mind when I saw swatches of these after German bloggers had the event. However, when I saw them in person, I just loved these. They are stick powder eyeshadows, with the colour in the lid and a sponge applicator. I got the shade that I predicted in my wishlist I'll like the most, Al Cappuccino, which is a shimmery taupe-brown that is just a classic everyday colour. They are sheer, giving you more of a nice shimmery wash of colour, but they are super handy to keep in your makeup bag.  

Müller, 4.29 €

CATRICE Prime and Fine Professional Contouring Palette

010 Ashy Radiance

Finally a drugstore brand that is available in Slovenia launched such a product. I was very intrigued by this ever since I've seen the press release, but at the same time I was concerned that I'll be too orange as it often happens to drugstore brands. I have to say I'm impressed. It's more brown than my old favourite NYX's Taupe, but its sculpting abilities are really good nonetheless. The highlighter is subtle, which some might not like, however, it's a nice champagne tone. I'm wearing both shades here. 

Müller, 4.69 €

CATRICE Lumination LE Powder Blush 

C01 Flushed-Fiction

I loooove this so much. This is what I wanted Max Factor's Creme Puff in Lavish Mauve to be. It's similar to Catrice's I'm Nuts About You and Rose Royce, but it has that actually glow on the cheeks. This needs to be added to the regular line. I did a review of it here.

Müller, 4.29 €

*MAX FACTOR Velvet Volume False Lash Effect Mascara

Max Factor launched a new volumising mascara that promises not to weigh down lashes even if you like to apply tons of coats. The packaging and the brush is very similar to the classic False Lash Effect, so it's a big plastic brush that defines every lash. It doesn't give much volume though. I'm waiting for the formula to thicken a bit, but for now it gives a very natural, defined effect. As far as weighing down the lashes goes, my lashes don't hold a curl for a minute with this mascara. This is definitely a mascara for those who prefer a very defined look and want more of a natural effect.

14.35 €

There is also a new eyeliner in this collection, but I haven't got a chance to try it. I am very intrigued though and I'll definitely buy it one day, though the price is a bit steep.

 10.55 €

*MAX FACTOR Smokey Eye Drama Kit 

02 Lavish Onyx

Also new on Max Factor stands are these eyeshadows quads. Mine contains a shimmery champagne shade, a shimmery rosy-taupe, shimmery dark grey with navy tones and a matte cool dark brown. I love this, well at least the quality, the colours are a bit of a half-half. These are sooo pigmented and  I did not expect to like this as much as I do, but that shimmery medium brown is gorgeous and I also like the darkest shade in the palette, though when blending, a lot of the colour disappears at this shade, so it needs layering.

I saw a nice bronze-coppery quad on the stands and I'm very interested in it.

12.99 €

ESSENCE Matt Touch Blush

10 peach me up! and 20 berry me up!

These two were a part of the preview collection and I grabbed both. I'm not a massive fan of Essence blushes, but these are matte, so I just wanted to check them out. I really like these. The quality is much better than at Silky Touch blushes because they are more finely milled, the apply nicer and have plenty of pigment, for my pale skin at least. These are quite hard blushes and unlike their Silky Touch blushes they don't dust/flake when you swivel your brush in them. Peach me up is a classic peach shade that brightens up the skin and Berry me up is a darker pink shade that gives a rosy-pink I-just-came-from-the-cold-flush.

Müller, 2.79 €

COLLECTION Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner

I just became that person that buys liners all the time. But actually, I love trying out felt tip eyeliners, even though I've already found my favourite. This one has such good reviews on Boots international and it was very reasonably priced, so I had to try it. However, I'm not blown away by it. It's similar to the Essence one, but not as black and the nib is thicker, consequently a bit clumsier. The formula seems more watery or at least not saturated enough, so it feels cheaper to what I'm used to, but on the eyes it's hard to tell that it's less black than others. It's not a bad liner, it still does its job very well, but there are so many better ones.

Boots International, £2.99

CATRICE CC Care & Conceal Nail Polish

04 Apricot Skin-Fit

This caught my eye on the Innen & Aussen blog (respect to Karin for swatching everything) and I liked it straight away because it's an interesting nude. On me it's more of a pastel apricot than a nude, but of course the darker your skin tone, the less apparent that apricot tone will be. Formula is a thick pastel one that requires two, sometimes three coats.  

Müller, 2.89 €

ESSIE Nail Lacquer

Fiji

My cousin got this colour, but found it too light for her skin tone so she gave it to me (thank you!). It's a very pale pink shade with that annoying pastel nail polish formula that Mint Candy Apple has.

DM, 9.90 €

BARRY M Speedy Quick Dry Nail Paint

Road Rage

I know what you're thinking - mint green Mateja, how original. Well, I just can't help myself. It's greener version of Mint Candy Apple and brighter that Kiko's Jade Green, but the formula is about as annoying as the previously mentioned Fiji's.

I have a few other colours from this range on my wishlist because they all look drop dead gorgeous. I couldn't manage to get shade Navy from the regular range because it was out of stock and that makes me a bit sad.

Boots International, £3.99

L'OREAL Elvive Smooth Intense Anti-Frizz Shampoo

Boots had a two for three offer and I found that they still have this shampoo that disappeared from our shelves just as I found it and fell in love with it. This is hands down the best drugstore shampoo ever (though basically the new Extraordinaire one is exactly the same) and similar to my all-time favourite Kérastase Oleo-Relax, but for a fraction of the price. I wanted to stock up on these, but either the site was glitchy or this was the last one(I seriously hate how problematic and difficult to navigate Boots International site is). At least I got the 400 ml bottle.

Boots International, £3.99

L'OREAL Elvive Smooth Intense Anti-Frizz Conditioner

I didn't even know this existed, but in the shopping basket it went straight away as I spotted it. I've used it a couple of times so far and I'm not blown away by it. It's a bit light for my hair, despite hearing it's very thick. I washed my hair and it looked nice for a short time, but my ends got dry by the morning. As far as frizz control goes, it works halfway. With a hair dryer the hair is noticeable sleeker, but the frizz pops back up fast. It's not a bad conditioner, just not enough for my super dry hair, but if your hair isn't like that and isn't as thick, give it a try if you can find it. It contains argan oil quite high on the list, plus it claims it contains heat protection.

Boots International, £3.99

L'OREAL Elvive Extraordinary Oil Oil-in-Cream
Dry, Rough Hair

I swear when I see this kind of new hair products my eyes glow like a Christmas tree. I saw this presented as PR samples on a few blogs and I straight away loved the idea as I was actually searching for something similar for a while (I had Kérastase and L'Oreal Professional's versions on my wishlist). It's basically a cream leave-in conditioner, but's it's not one of those that makes your hair all limp and weird with bits of unmelted cream lingering in your hair, rather it feels like there is more oil inside, but it doesn't make your hair greasy and it also doesn't leave that silicone felling on the hair. It has coconut oil on the second place among ingredients, which is pretty amazing considering we are talking about L'Oreal here. There are also some other extracts, but they are after the sixth ingredient, so there are probably minute amounts of them inside. My ends were so dry in this year's summer heat, plus I've been using mostly drugstore conditioners because I'm saving the good stuff too much (classic me *rolls eyes*) and this hydrated them so well as well as made them feel silky. Best of all, I can use this on dry and wet hair. It smells like the rest of the Extraordinary line, so a bit like cinnamon. I am liking this a lot.

By the way, there is also a version for normal hair, but neither are sold in Slovenia.

Boots International, £6.99

DOVE Style + Care Dry Shampoo 

I'll again say that my hair never gets greasy because it's so dry, so I can't properly assess how well this works on greasy hair, but even I feel like that the hair isn't truly refreshed like at for example Batiste. This of course doesn't matter to me because I use these just to quickly refresh my hair, but there is a reason why this has such polarising reviews. But the most important thing to me is the scent and this smells so good. It's kind of sweet, but a typically Dove clean scent. 

Boots International, regular price £4.59

CHARLES WORTHINGTON Volume & Bounce Texturising Spray

I actually have a ton left in my old bottle, but since I was already making a purchase on Boots plus there was an offer, I got a backup. I seriously love this, which might be obvious since I'm already bought another one, but I use this every time I curl my hair. It makes the curls look a bit better, it adds some extra volume, hold and it smells nice. It's very similar to VO5 as I've said before, but somehow there is so much more product in the can, which must be one of the greatest mysteries of the world, since VO5 claims there is 50 ml more product than CW.

Boots International, £6.99

THE LIBRARY OF FRAGRANCE Sunshine 

This was on my wishlist for a while, but I got it purely because I love the word sunshine. This brand is called Demeter Fragrances in its native USA. I'm not sure why the name change was necessary, but they have an impressive collection of interesting scents, ranging from one note fragrances like Peach, Green Tea and Lime to some very unique scents like Baby's Head, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Storm and even Pizza - their creativity appears to have no limits. Sunshine smells like much its name, believe it or not. Imagine yourself hanging the laundry on a warm sunny day. It's a warm and clean scent that I think nobody would be bothered by. The staying power is much better than I expected, but it's still not amazing, which is not that odd considering the notes and that it's a cologne spray.

Boots International, £15

BALEA Beauty Effect Eye & Lip Serum

I got so vain. A year ago I just woke up one day and noticed these two smile lines staring back at me in the mirror, so that's the reason I got this. I know it won't erase them, but I'd at least like them to stop deepening. It's a light gel that you apply on areas around the eyes and lips and if you rub it in, it kind of emulsifies a bit. It sinks in fast and hydrates the area, but I still need to apply a moisturiser over it. It has a gentle, classic moisturiser scent and the packaging has a handy pump, which I really appreciate. The main ingredient in this is hyaluronic acid and the ingredients of this in general  look really good. But does it work? I don't know yet as it's more of a long term investment product in my skin, however, I like using it.

Ingredients here.

DM, 4.29 €

BALEA Soft & Clear Anti-Mitesser Nosestrips

These are just classic blackhead removing nose strips and I notice no major difference between these are the Cadea Vera ones, except that in one pack of those, you get more strips. They are simple to use and they do remove some of the black heads, but not all of them. These have a strong, sort of chemical scent, but I don't dislike it.

Ingredients here.

DM, 1.99 €

L'OREAL Elvital Total Repair 5 Reparatur-Maske

To my horror someone nicked this mask and completely emptied it (I know who it was, since their hair was suspicious shiny and healthy looking that day), so I basically ran the next day to get a new one. I really like this (obviously), especially since I've seen what an effect it has also on other people's hair (seriously the shine was amazing). It's a great drugstore buy for dry hair and It's no wonder it's one of the most popular budget hair products.

Müller, 6.39 €

ESSENCE Rock Style Hair Dye Powder

01 pink punk and 03 bright blue

I got these after being seriously impressed with the hair chalk from the Arriba! TE and these were going to be discontinued anyway, so they were super cheap. I don't like the packaging of these, they are so much harder to use that that one from the Arriba TE. The colour pay-off is a little bit poorer, but I again use a sticky, wet hairspray as a base and it works great.

Müller, 0.99 €

ESSENCE Smokey Eyes Brush

These next couple of brushes were bribery for getting me to go on a quick trip and honestly I chose them because they are mint green. The size and shape is perfect for my hooded eyes and it works well with very soft and pigmented eyeshadows, but it's more of a brush that deposits a strong line of colour, rather than a brush that would also blend. It shows that it's very cheap, but it's not useless. I have a couple of smokey eye brushes from before, the "old" version that is (I think they still sell them) and they are softer, not so dense, therefore in my eyes better.

Müller 1.39 €

ESSENCE Make Me Pretty TE Precise Eye-shadow Brush 

01 eye to eye

Again it's mint green. And it has polka dots. I mean come on, did someone read my mind or something? It's another very dense brush, too dense in fact. You get an intense line of colour with this, but it's not designed to create softer looks or blend at least a little. I feel about the same about it as about the Smokey Eyes Brush.

Müller, 1.99 € 

ESSENCE Make Me Pretty TE Liquid Brush Cleanser

Against all my expectations, this works better than expected, but it doesn't make the brushes sparkling clean. You spray it on the brush, leave it for a minutes or two and then wipe it in a tissue or a cloth. It cleans well enough and disinfects the brushes, which is handy if you really need a decently clean brush fast. I wish the bottle was larger because 50 ml is such a small amount. Maybe Essence will include this in the next permanent line update, I'd certainly love to see that. 

Taya did a much more comprehensive review of this TE, including this brush cleansers, so have a look at what she thinks about it here.

Müller, 2.79 €

Have a great day!

* - PR products.

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