Estee Lauder Double Wear Maximum Cover

I've wanted this foundation for ages, but it wasn't available in Slovenia. The shop assistant told me it was because it was repackaged and also renamed. I found mine in Müller in BTC Ljubljana and I shelled out some serious cash for it. 

This is some major heavy duty stuff. I much prefer lighter coverage foundations and my skin is far from being in need of full coverage, however I wanted a high coverage foundation for several reasons. I mainly wanted it as a concealer. Also high coverage foundations can be sheered out with a moisturiser, therefore one tube lasts you ages. I've never owned anything with a high level of coverage. When some nasty spot appeared in need of heavy duty covering I just used my under eye concealer, which of course didn't do the job very well. I also have some redness under my eyes and I wanted something that would really cover it (I've had it since I was a child).

I picked the shade called 11 very light, which is quite neutral toned. It matches me very well, in fact better than Healthy Mix foundation which is a tiny bit too yellow and dark for me at the moment. It's quite a strange foundation when it comes to shade, namely it oxidizes really fast when I put it on my hand, but this doesn't translate on my face. See the difference in these two images. The first was taken moments after I squeezed it out of the tube and the second was taken a few minutes later. It turns darker than Healthy Mix, but still looks light on the face. You can see that on later pictures how it matches my neck.

The texture is very thick and quite difficult to blend, especially without anything underneath. I tried several moisturisers and came to a conclusion that Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse works best for me. Other nice options are La Roche Posay Cicaplast and the original Nivea. It is very, very pigmented. Seriously. That dot of product in the upper picture is enough for the entire face, you literally need the smallest amount. It also sets very fast, so I apply it in segments. I do a small dot on my cheek and blend fast, then continue with the other cheek, forehead, nose and chin. Of course, I rarely wear it all over the face, I tend to use it as a concealer for spots and under the eyes.

I like it best applied with fingers, however I have tried several brushes for application. I like the Real Techniques Expert brush the most, but again you have to work fast and in segments. For under the eyes I like to use E.l.f. Flawless concealer brush and for pinpoint concealing the Real Techniques detailer brush. It's a heavy foundation with a matte finish, so you need to use blush and bronzer to get some more dimension in the face. I also like to use L'Oreal's Lumi Magique primer under it to keep it from looking too matte and flat. It's also quite dry and does settle in lines and emphasises them without a heavy moisturiser underneath. It is smudgeproof and waterproof, it stays put all day. I find that it starts to look odd and uneven on my cheeks, which are the driest part on my face.

Packaging is a dark dark blue tube with a gold lid. It has a small opening which enables you to squeeze out the precise amount needed. It's a very expensive foundation. I paid 40.96€ for it in Müller. I've had mine since November and I can already see it will last me forever.

As you can see here it covers very well. It covers my circles, redness, imperfections and most of my freckles.

Here is a close up where you can see how well it covers under the eyes. You can also see that it looks odd on the sides of my nose. I kept he images quite big, click on them to see them larger if you wish to.

I think this is best suited for someone with oily skin, however it's a good investment for those who want a high coverage concealer. Just make sure you use a heavy moisturiser before application. For a cheaper alternative try Vichy's Dermablend. It's the only high coverage foundation I know of that is available in Slovenia. Unfortunately, the shade range is limited and the lightest one is too dark for me. 

Thanks for reading.

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Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soft Mat Bronzer

And here it is - one of the best bronzers for fair skins. I've been looking for a good bronzer that would suit my very pale complexion for a long time, but most bronzers I swatched just looked very orange on my skin. Estee Lauder's one has some red tones in it, which apparently works great on lighter skin tones. Although it's called matte bronzer it does have some golden shimmer in the pan, but it doesn't show up on my skin. It actually mattifies quite well. I apply it on my cheeks, a bit on the sides of my forehead and sweep a touch through the center of my face. It just looks like your natural tan, it's not orange and it doesn't look fake at all. I tried using it as a contour, but I don't find it that good for it. For me the best contouring shade I own is Mac's Wedge eyeshadow or eyeshadow called Naked from UD Naked palette. The bronzer is massive, I doubt I'll ever use it up, which sort of justifies the price (36 € in Müller). The packaging is nice, has a big mirror that is really useful. The brush it comes with is also useful and very soft.

In končno ocena še za Estee Lauderjin Bronzer, ki je odličen za zelo svetlo kožo. Kar nekaj časa sem iskala dober bronzer za mojo svetlo kožo, ampak skoraj vsi, ki sem jih swatchala so izgledali oranžno. Esteejin ima nekaj rdečih tonov, zaradi česa očitno izgleda super na svetlejši koži. Čeprav naj bi bil mat bronzer ima nekakšne zlate bleščice, vendar na koži niso vidne. Pravzaprav kar dobro matira. Nanašam ga na lička, ob strani čela in malenkost ga nanesem še po sredini obraza. Dejansko izgleda kot naravna zagorelost in ni nič oranžen. Za senčenje obraza ni ravno najboljši, meni je bolj všeč Macova Wedge senčka ali Naked senčka iz UD-jeve Naked palete. Bronzer je ogromen, dvomim, da mi ga bo kdaj uspelo porabiti, mogoče to dejstvo malo upravičuje ceno (36 € v Müllerju). Embalaža je lepa in priročna z velikim ogledalom in čopičem, ki je tudi uporaben.

And here is a comparison to my ancient Essence Sun Club bronzer, which I really dislike. It just doesn't pack any pigment, it hardly shows up even of my porcelain skin. It does smell lovely however, like sunscreen and exactly like Estee Lauder's Bronze Goddess body oil (the one in the square bottle with gold sparkles).

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Big Haul and Swaps

I accumulated a lot of new stuff in the last two weeks. Mostly because I won't be in Ljubljana that much in the next weeks and also because I had a horrible week and I presume that the next couple of weeks will be even more stupid.

I ordered a package from Studioma. I bought the Orofluido shampoo, conditioner and shine spray (they currently have an offer, you receive the shine spray for free). I hadn't tried them yet, but review will follow sometime in the next weeks (I won't be at home as much unfortunately). The scent of all the products is the same as of the serum, that oriental blend of vanilla and amber.

I finally caved and bought Nuxe oil (and since I used up that wild rose oil that I talked about in one of the previous posts, I was in need of a replacement). The scent is gorgeous. If you ever had their tinted moisturizer, this smells the same. It a very sweet a bit almondy scent, I just love it. Review with all the pictures will follow.

And the last from the upper picture is Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soft Mat bronzer. After months of searching for a good bronzer, swatching and reading reviews I ended up buying this one. I love the colour because unlike most (or more like all) other bronzers I swatched, this one doesn't look orange on me at all. It almost has a slightly reddish tone to it. Again review and swatches will be posted as soon as I find some time.

Essence Sun Club Bondi Beach TE nail polish in BBC Pink Heat. When I saw Taya's swatch I feel in love with this colour. On me it's doesn't even look pink, but a very bright red. Fantastic colour for summer. The formula is amazing, I got full coverage with only one coat.

I bought a 250 ml bottle of Bioderma Sensibio make up remover which is my favourite one. In our pharmacies it costs 11 €.

 

And here are products I got in swaps (I swapped with two great girls from ARS Cosmetica forum. Thanks to both of you!). I got Benefit Girl Meets Pearl highlighter (swatches and comparison with High Beam will be posted shortly) and BarryM blusher (I think it's 2 Rose), nail polish in Limited Pink and lipstick 145.

Review and swatches will follow. Hopefully soon. Thanks for watching!

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Estee Lauder & Michael Kors: Very Hollywood Lipgloss in Starlet Rose

 I didn't really plan to buy this gloss, but since it was only 15 € with a discount, I decided to spurge a little and get it. Well I sort of regret this decision, I expected it to be more pigmented, however it's really sheer. You really need to build it up, for the colour to show up. It's not sticky, it has a fruity-caramel scent, staying power is poor. It has a doe foot applicator.

Tega glosa sploh nisem nameravala kupiti, ampak ker je bil ravno znižan na 15 €, sem si ga kar privoščila. Vseeno mi je kar malo žal. Pričakovala sem da bo bolj pigmentiran, v resnici pa je praktično prozoren. Nanesti ga moram veliko, da se ustnice kaj obarvajo. Ni lepljiv, diši sadno-karamelno, obstojnost je kot pri cenejših glosih. Ima običajen aplikator na gobico.

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