Showing posts with label Le Petit Marseiliais. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Le Petit Marseiliais. Show all posts

New In #34


ESSENCE I Love Extremes Volume Mascara Waterproof
I was very impressed by the Lash Mania waterproof mascara that I bought a couple of months ago, but just as I found my favourite drugstore mascara, Essence discontinued it. This one appears to be a sort of a replacement for that one and I just had to try it. I loved the volumising effect of the non-waterproof version, but my lashes do not hold a curl with a normal formula, so I'm delighted they came out with a waterproof version. I flipping love this mascara! It gives tons of volume, doesn't clump up the lashes even though it's new, it gives tons of length, holds the curl all day, doesn't flake or smudge - it's near perfect. 
DM, 2.99 €

CATRICE Nail Lacquer 
18 Bloody Mary To Go
I had an idea for a reds inspired post and I when I went through my stash for the products, I realised I don't even have the most classic, cool toned red nail polish. I never even had one. I have Essie's Really Red, but that one is already brighter and warmer. I compared a ton of nail polishes that looked almost the same, but I choose this one because that's what others picked from the ones I showed them and I'm quoting the reason :"Because that bottle looks the biggest". Classic. I had this nail polish on my wishlist eons ago, but for the longest time I was sure it was discontinued. I guess it's back on popular demand. It's a lovely classic red with a good formula. I'll can see myself wearing it loads. 
DM, 2.59 €


EBELINE Concealer Ei 
Concealer Eggs
These were so darn cute, so I really wanted to have them, but I did ask around before if they are any good. Even dry, these are very soft and bouncy, way more than any sponge I tried. I like the size of these because I just feel that all those big sponges are too much for my small face even if they have a pointy tip. They expand to about 30%, fit perfectly and blend well enough, but I've never been a huge fan of sponges anyway. They drink up some of the concealer and foundation, but it's not that bad. I like this for the finishing touches as it creates a much more natural look, which comes handy at high coverage stuff. They wash ok, I use regular bar soap as with everything, though it's hard to get them completely clean. 
DM, 2.95 €


MAC Lipstick Samples
Diva, Rebel, D is for Danger, All Fired Up and Patisserie
Boy have these become expensive! I have tons of them already, but I haven't ordered any new ones for a really long time. At first because they switched to pots instead of tubes and then because the prices grew. But they had 40 % off and the prices were finally a lot more reasonable. I got a deep vampy red Diva, the purple Rebel, the perfect red-purple D is for Danger, the warm pink All Fired Up and the classic "wedding" nude Patisserie. I really wanted Brave, but apparently they don't sell it. I was most looking forward to Rebel because I hoped it's the perfect warm purple, but as I suspected it's very violet purple on me, however D for Danger turned out to be all that I ever wanted. All Fired Up is amazing as well. I'll post a proper review post, but you can see swatches on my hand here with D for Danger on the lips and here are the two previous posts of these TBN samples: 1 & 2
The Body Needs, $4.99 in a tube


MAYBELLINE The Eraser Concealer
03 Fair
Thanks to Petra (Adjusting Beauty) I got a back-up of my favourite concealer. I just properly reviewed it a couple of weeks ago after nattering about it relentlessly for three or four years and this is actually my fourth or fifth tube. For those who haven't read any of my dozens of posts where I mentioned this - it's a medium coverage concealer that looks incredibly natural on the skin and has a sponge that does most of the blending for you already. 
DM Austria, 10.45 € (one of my readers tells me that it's a lot cheaper in Italy, where it's 8.5 €)

In the spirit of buying back-ups, I got another one of these, which I once described as my ultimate "über dry hair fixer". It's a very, very rich pre-wash treatment that transforms my dry mop into decent hair. Wonderful stuff. 
E.Leclerc, 6 €


AUSSIE 3 Miracle Oil Reconstructor
I saw this on some German girl's Instagram and I never dreamed this will be sold here. But it is! I'm still astonished. I didn't hesitate before putting it in my basket, especially since we ran out of our "household serum/oil", but I of course checked the ingredients first. It's a classic silicone serum with oils, just like Moroccaoil, Orofluido and others. First two ingredients are silicones, which are then followed by fragrance (not the best thing), jojoba, avocado and macadamia oil. It doesn't smell typically Aussie, but it's a sweet fragrance that it reminds me of a mix of vanilla and strawberry ice cream with a bit of bubble gum. The formula is light, similar to Kerastase Elixir Ultime, so it should work for most hair types, but don't expect extra special nourishment. It's pretty basic as far as serums go, but nice. I've used it on both dry and wet hair, and so far I like it. It's not Orofluido, but decent, especially for the price and I like it way more than Garnier's. The packaging has a handy pump, however, the cap won't stay on for some reason.
Műller, 8.99 € (100 ml)

NIVEA  3 in 1 Micellar Cleansing Water
I heard tons of good things about this, but also some bad, anyway it had a nice discount, so I decided to try it. I've tried a lot of drugstore micellar waters and this one didn't blow me away. It doesn't stand out in any way. It again feels like water, doesn't have a scent and it removes non-waterproof makeup ok enough, but mascaras seem to be an issue with this. Some say this is the best drugstore version micellar water they tried, but to me it's just one more on the market. It takes three cotton pads for my face to be clean of makeup and that's average. I kind regret not buying the Green Line one or just finally getting Bioderma again.
DM, 3.99 €


*FREEDOM MAKEUP Pro 32 Jewels and Riches Collection Eyeshadow Palette
When it comes to Makeup Revolution and MUA, I don't really follow current events, even though I follow them on all social media, so I missed this launch as usual. Freedom Makeup is apparently a sister brand to both of these and I have to say that my eyes nearly rolled out of my scull because, I mean come on, it looks exactly the same as MR. The quality is the same as is the packaging, so what is the point of creating yet another brand, but just calling it professional. Rant over, I know I'm a super grumpy annoying person, but this palette is basically any MR palette, which means that the quality of eyeshadows varies, but they are mostly nicely pigmented and soft, the matte eyeshadows can be a bit chalky, but I've tried far worse. The range of eyeshadows is good, though that's not so hard to do when you have 32 places to fill. You get some nice neutrals and some bold shades. For the price this is a pretty decent palette and I've been using it quite a lot, which I didn't expect to.
Ličila.si, 10.95 €

*FREEDOM MAKEUP Pro Blush Palette 
Pink and Baked
My first ever blush palette and the first time I've tried these "cheapy" blushes. Again the quality varies, but all in all, these are not bad at all. Some are very creamy and pigmented, like the bottom left (peachy-pink) and bottom two right ones (peach and plum-pink), but the second on the left (fuchsia) is the most disappointing as it's the lightest on the skin. The highlighter is waaaay too shiny and I think that even the most hard-core glow lovers will find this only appropriate for a sci-fi cosplay. I swatched all the shades here
Ličila.si, 8.95 €

*FREEDOM MAKEUP Pro Lipstick 
Pro Red 108 Expression
I'm still not impressed by these cheap lipsticks. This one swatches quite sheer and surprisingly pink, but on the lips is a cool toned red. It needs a few layers for full coverage, which is not a big deal and it's more on the glossy side. It's nice if you want to try a cheap red for the first time, but reds enthusiasts will find it's not the best. 
Ličila.si, 1.95 €
 

 *BORN PRETTY Bottom Eyelash Mascara
I wasn't planning on getting anything from BP, but when I saw this, I just so wanted to try it. Clinique's version is so expensive and I always manage to mess up my lower lashes with all those clumsy huge wands (is it just me, or are they getting bigger with each new launch), so I'm glad a cheaper version exists, though this one isn't super cheap if we're honest. The brush is indeed super tiny and it catches every lash. It doesn't deposit a lot of product, but it's more of a mascara that adds colour, so the lashes stand out more. It claims it's waterproof, but my test revealed otherwise. It wasn't running, but it also wasn't completely clean under the eyes. I've been using it daily, since I got it, but I don't consider it as an essential item. I adore the polka dot packaging, it's so cute.
Born Pretty, $7.15 (currently 4.99 $)


*SAPPHIRE 8 in 1 Complete Curling Wand
I never except anything so expensive for a review, let alone a product from outside of EU due to insane custom changes (I had to pay 40 €!), I've actually written so many rejection e-mails that I have a pre-written form, but I was sooo excited about this curling wand. It has eight different barrels, so it's super versatile and it's a huge step up from my old Remington curler. I've been using it for the past 3-4 weeks and I reached a point where I'm basically completely in love with it. I hate to say that about a product that is so flipping expensive, but I do and I feel stupid for not having something similar before, but to be fair you can't get anything like in Slovenia (I think). It shows in real time the wand is heating up (it can be set to both °F and °C) and it's so much lighter than my Remington, plus there is no annoying clamp (such a useless thing). The temperatures can be set as well, from 180° to 210°, I use 200° as always and my curls last for days (proof here, last day of these same curls is here). Even though it's an US product, it has dual voltage, so you can use it in the EU, but you'll either need an adapter or like I did, change the plug.
I've made a big deal out of the review, even going as far to show you the results of five barrels, so if you're interested make sure you don't miss it. As another preview, here I used the pearl and the 3.8 cm one and here are third day curls with the spiral one on the first look, but it isn't my favourite and again the 3.8 cm on the last look: 

Life Update
From September you can read me on another blog because I became a blogger for a Slovene online shop Click2Chic. I write in Slovene there, but you can still check out the pictures. I'll get a lot a products to swatch plus do a short basic review of, and it's a completely separate thing from my blog, so I'm not paid for posting here, but I'm allowed to post about them here if I choose to. I've been holding back this past months and didn't include anything from my job here, which was so hard as I actually love a few products, but I don't want it to look like I'm being sponsored by them and I want you to understand that they have zero influence over what I post here. I was thinking of doing these kinds of New Ins and posting reviews of only the things that I loved or just feel that you'd be interested in. But if you don't want me talking about those products here, I won't do it and reviews in Slovene will be on that blog anyway. Just please let me know what you think about this in the comments. It's important to me that we keep our trust. You can check what brands they have here, but they sell stuff like Milani, Physicians Formula, Revlon, BH Cosmetics, Models Own,…  so that's what you can expect from future reviews. These next things are all from C2C, but next time I don't plan to talk about every single thing I get. 
By the way, I don't post just reviews there, but also "Pinterest inspired" tips, such as this post about concealers, which I just so enjoyed making. However, not all posts there are mine. 


I actually already have one of these that I bought myself a while ago and I post it quite regularly where I want the picture to look pretty. I wasn't happy with the pigmentation from the start, but once the top layer is gone, it gets a lot better (you'll see it on my cheeks, how pigmented it is now). The flush it gives is a classic warm pink, so that I-just-came-from-the-cold one and gives you those cute cheeks. Apparently it has a: "Happy Boost Blend, featuring Happy Skin and Euphoryl, natural plant extracts which have been shown to promote a feeling of happiness by mimicking the effect of Endorphins and helping protect the skin from environmental stress." *rolls eyes*  I trust you're smart enough not to fall for this, though admittedly it does make me happy when I look at this gorgeous beauty. I remember it had a floral scent, but it's all gone now (I didn't open the new one). It has an added compartment under the blush that hides a handy mirror and a brush - You'll see this is a recurring thing in PH blushes and it's a brilliant idea, though the brushes aren't the best. My packaging is still broken and the blush part just flaps around, which is super annoying, but I saw on the Argan bronzer, which has the same type of packaging that there the closing mechanism works, so it must just be my Booster that’s broken. 
Click2Chic, 15.90 €

*PHYSICIANS FORMULA Super BB All-in-1 Cheek & Lip Beauty Balm
Berry Pink
They made an EOS inspired sphere blush in lip colour - not bad. Again this one promises all sorts of things apart from making you coffee in the morning, but all the exaggerating aside, it's medium neutral pink cream blush. I'm reluctant to call it a lipstick, not because it doesn't work, but as usually when they try to do both, as a lip colour it ends up a bit drying. The colour is pretty, girly and a light almost Barbie pink on the lips that is semi-transparent, but I'd use a chapstick under it. On the cheeks in performs better and creates those bubble gum pink cheeks. The sphere packaging is so cute and great for travelling. 
Click2Chic, 8.91 €

*PHYSICIANS FORMULA Nude Wear Glowing Nude Blush
Rose
Sweet Jesus lawd, this is so gorgeous in person! I was actually going to order something from Nude Wear myself just because those things are so pretty and then I got the news, I'll be testing this out, but I had no idea it's actually so well made. The packaging is beige faux leather in inside it's a pink satin, while on the other side it's again a nicely sized mirror and a brush. And the final touch - a rose gold bow. The definition of perfect packaging people. The blush itself is made out of fours shades, two are warm and two are cool, there is a silver overspray on the letters, but it goes away with one as and the letters disappears soon as well. The texture of this blush is medium soft, but I'm still at the top layer. The colours are all light and mixed together create a cool toned, almost violet-pink shade that's more on the sheer side, but shows up well on my porcelain complexion. If you like blushes like Essence's Adorable, which is more for people who are scared of wearing too much or are very pale, this will work for you. 
Click2Chic, 15.90 €


*PHYSICIANS FORMULA Argan Wear Ultra-Nourishing Argan Oil
This is 100 % argan oil and that's basically it. I've used argan oil before in my skincare and it saved my skin when I had the worst case of dryness in my life (my cheeks were rough like sandpaper). I also used it on my hair as a pre-wash treatment as it's great for really dry hair. Basically you can use it almost everywhere. The packaging has a dropper with which you can precisely administer the desired amount. I guess the selling point of this exact one would be that it's completely scent free, which is the first such oil I've tried, since argan oil does not have the most pleasant scent. 
Click2Chic, 19.90 €

*PHYSICIANS FORMULA Argan Wear Ultra-Nourishing Argan Oil Bronzer
Light Bronzer
A bronzer that's infused with argan oil and is just stunning to look at. It is a mix of three tan colours and the gold glitter bits are again just an overspray. It has a very strong oriental scent that I could smell even before I unwrapped it, but I really like it as I just love scented stuff, however, if you don't like scented makeup, this really isn't for you. It doesn't smell on the face, just in the packaging. The texture is a lot softer than at Happy Booster and Nude wear, I'd almost describe it as buttery, which also means that the pattern will be quickly worn off. I was really concerned about this one because it swatches golden yellow with a sheen and from the start with huge gold glitter particles due to the overspray. Yup, totally unexpected. But it actually works one me, well at least once the huge glitter chunks are gone. I don't know what kind of sorcery this is, but I think I really like it, not as much as my Estee Lauder one, but considering I hate most bronzers, liking this one is surprising. However, I have strong doubts this would work on many people because for one, it's very light for a bronzer, it's also shimmery-glowy and it's very yellow toned. Maybe people with darker skin tones could use it as a highlighter. 
Click2Chic, 17.90 €


 *PHYSICIANS FORMULA Sexy Booster Sexy Glow Blush
Rose
This looks a thousand times better in really life than in any picture I've seen. The packaging is on point - red satin covered with black fishnets, it's just perfect burlesque-inspired box. It never convinced me when I was looking online, but now that I've seen it in person, it'd be my first choice also because of the shade, not just the packaging as at Nude Wear. The blush is a mix of two shades - a shimmery pinky-peachy colour and a shimmery hot pink that is in the centre (it's not just an overspray). It's my favourite product in this Physicians bunch because it has the glow and I mean a proper one, not like Max Factor's Lavish Mauve, but the real deal, like Benefit's Coralista. It actually showed up on my pictures, which is unheard of. The fine shimmer in it is ice gold colour, so it doesn't end up looking too cool or too gold. It's lightly scented of vanilla and it again has a mirror plus a brush in the back. 
Click2Chic, 15.90 €

*PHYSICIANS FORMULA Sexy Booster Va Va Voom Volume Mascara
This is without a doubt the most gorgeous packaging of a mascara I've owned. It's similar to Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Sexy Blacks as both have lace details, but not in other respects. It has one of those big plastic brushes, like Max Factor's False Lash Effect and Cover Girl Lash Blast and surprisingly I like it more that the Instant Lash Extension kit below. It's not waterproof, so it doesn't hold a curl on me, but that's not important to you, however, it creates a lot of volume for such a mascara, especially considering it's new. The first coat is a bit shy, but the second and third give you nice voluminous lashes. If you like mascaras such a MF False Lash Effect (original), you'll like this as well.
Click2Chic, 14,90 €

*PHYSICIANS FORMULA Eye Booster Instant Lash Extension Kit
Hmm… this is a mascara that I feel needs a very long review with every aspect explained in detail because it's a bloody hard mascara to use. I've had fibre mascaras, but this is nothing like I've tried before. The fibres actually come separate and they are dry, so it is vital that you first apply a thick and wet coat of mascara, then quickly apply the fibres so they stick to the lashes and then seal them with another coat of mascara. Using this mascara has been a trial and error, I've got a horrendous result and I got a nice one, basically it's a mascara that you have to learn to use. I read reviews about it and they are very polarised, but it seems to me that mostly girls with short, stubbly lashes like this and I get why. To get the important question out of the way - does it work? Yes, it does, you get a lot of fibres on there, but if you're not very careful you'll get clumpy, spidery lashes. You are applying something a lot more substantial than just mascara, plus a very wet, thick mascara on which the fibres stick, so it can get messy. I’d also suggest you stick to just one coat of fibres, I did two once and it was just like spiders are crawling out of my eyes. So don't do that, I do stupid things like that, so you don't have to. The fibres go everywhere if they don't stick on a wet enough coat of mascara and they can get in the eye, which isn't terribly pleasant (contact wearers don't use this. I made this mistake just once in my life). But once you master the application, you get some nice results. The formula also promises to make your lashes longer and fuller in time. 
Click2Chic, 23.90 € 


 *ESSENCE Sheer & Shine Lipsticks
01 My First Love, 04 Hidden Secret and 07 Sparkling Miracle 
Essence discontinued their original line of lipsticks which have been around since the beginning and upgraded them to these. As the name suggests they are sheer and with a shiny finish, so they are those lip balm/lipstick-lip gloss hybrids and I think they are better than the one before, which didn't really set the bar that high. I got three shades: 01 is super nude when you build it up and I'm just not feeling it on me, concealer nude years are thankfully gone. 07 is the darkest and it's a cool toned fuchsia that I also don't dig on me, but 04 is such a flattering nude. It looks ugly brown in the tube and I'd never pick it up, but on the lips it looks pretty and a great office/school/everyday shade. They again don't last long on the lips. 
Click2Chic, 2.20 €

*ESSENCE Liquid Lipstick
04 Show Off!
Essence's version of those liquid lipstick-lipgloss hybrids. They are the thickest version I've tried, but luckily not sticky, they are very pigmented and have a high shine finish. The shade is a pretty bright coral-red. I don't like it as much as L'Oreal's because those are sooo comfortable to wear, but these definitely pack a punch and they are of course a third or fourth of the price, so go for it if you want.
Click2Chic, 2.79 €


*REVLON Matte Balm
255 Enchanting
I'm actually not supposed to talk about this yet, but it's coming soon on the virtual shelves of Click2Chic. I already have Unapologetic and I love the formula of these. This is one of the brand new shades for Fall 2015 and if you'd like I can post a review of it here once it's posted on the other blog. 
Click2Chic, 10.89 €

*REVLON Photoready Prime + Anti-Shine
You might have seen the adverts for this already, but it's a primer in form of a balm. They decided to put it in a compact, so it's easier to carry with you for any touch ups, which is not a bad idea, except that's you'll be applying it over existing makeup, but since it's clear it should be fine. It promises to reduce pores, combat shine and prolong makeup. It's very light and feels very silicone-y, so creates that velvety layer on the skin and it mattifies very well, that's a plus, but does only a half of the job of disguising pores (compared to Infallible foundation), though the foundation does look better over it. So far I like it, but I don't think it'll knock my trusted Max Factor off its throne, however, people with oily skin will probably prefer the Revlon one.
Click2Chic, 13.59 €

*REVLON Photoready Kajal
350 Matte Expresso
I'm really digging this pencil. It's soft, it transfers well on the waterline, it's not harsh at all when you're drawing with it on the eyes and can be easily smudged if you want to. The staying power is insane. I applied it at 11 am in the waterline and checked again at 11 pm and it was still there. You don't want to know when took my makeup off and I went to sleep, but it was still hanging in the waterline. I'd say less than a half was gone, but from far away the effect was still the same, so pretty damn good. The colour is a deep cool toned brown that is a great alternative to black. 
I think this is also new and not yet on the virtual shelves of Click2Chic.


*LIP SMACKER Disney Frozen
Elsa (Cool Vanilla Mint) and Sven (Berry Slush)
I actually had my eye on these for a while because they are so adorable and Elsa was the one I wanted most and the second was Olaf because it supposedly smells like Coconut Slushy, but I'm happy I got Sven nonetheless because Berry Slush sounded great as well. Elsa smells to me like coffee and there is not a trace of mint or vanilla (I really don't like coffee), while Sven smells fruity, like cherry-berry candy and it's mint green which makes me happy. The formula is classic for Lip Smackers, so soft and not as waxy as Labello/Nivea. I get why these are so popular in the USA.
Other scents/tastes: Elsa & Anna (Chilled Cranberry Grape), Anna (Strawberry Shake) and Kristoff (Ice Pop). You can get all in a box or individually.
Click2Chic, škatlica 9.99 €, posamezni (druge verzije) 2.49 €


*DEBORAH Smalto Gel Effect
49, 52, 54 and 58
These are new colours and you may remember how much I adore shade 01. It's the same gel formula that is just so nice to apply. I got four shades to swatch:
49 Peonia Pink is a pastel Barbie/bubble gum pink. Formula isn't as good as at the rest, but good enough considering it's a pastel.
52 Starlette Violet is a Milka chocolate violet. It's a one coater with a very smooth formula.
54 Amaranto is a muted red-vine colour with a retro feel. Needs two coats or even just one if you're lucky on some nails.
58 Cinnamon Suede is an olive green. Needs two coats. 
I don’t' have a single colour that would be similar to any of these. Essence's Forgive me comes kind of close to 49, but it's a warm pink.
Click2Chic, 5,75 €


*CREATEURS DE MONOI Face Cream
Some of you might know of my love for L'Occitane Angelica face cream, but my skin has been enjoying this one just as well. It contains monoi oil, which is basically just coconut oil that had monoi flowers soaking in it for a month, so if you find that coconut oil is blocking your pores, this won't be for you. But my skin loves coconut oil, I use it as makeup remover and it makes my skin look so good. This cream does the same thing. It's quite thick or maybe I should say medium consistency, it takes longer to sink it that L'Occitane's and it also doesn't have silicones as that one, but it still works well under foundation. It has this lovely, indescribable scent that reminds me of Yves Rocher skincare. Does it make my skin smooth? Well, I don't have any dry patches and no spots, so yeah my skin is smooth. I've been using it for over a month now and my skin is in a really nice state, so I kind of really like this.
It's made by the same company as Yummy, so some German company and I don't know where else you can get this. 
Click2Chic, 12 € 
Review (includes ingredients)


*THE SCENT MANUFACTURE Extra Nourishing Body Lotions
Vampire Saga, Cashmere Sensation, Madagascar's Treasure and In Love
These look way more expensive that they are, but they are scented body lotions. They're not lotions in a true sense of the word because they are thankfully thicker and remind me of body creams. Each has a different scent ranging from teenage-y sweet to oriental, so it's a very diverse mix.
Vampire Saga looks like it'll smell the strongest and deep, but surprisingly it smells like candy. Blueberry candy that is, so it ends up smelling similar to Britney Spears's Midnight Fantasy and Escada's Moon Sparkle. If you like Tigi's scents, you'll like this.
Cashmere Sensation is the strongest and deepest scent out of these. It smells like a mix of Sariko shops (oriental spicy) and a nice fabric softener. It's a lot more spicy from the bottle, but on the skin it smells more powdery. It really reminds me of Avon's Herve Leger Femme once it settles. It's so strong I can easily wear it as a fragrance.
Madagascar's Treasure smells like vanilla dessert and caramel sweets. It's good enough to eat.
In Love is the most generic smelling out of these, but still pretty. It smells floral and fresh, there is a hint of fruitiness as well. 
It's another brand made by CPEurope, that German company and I have no idea who else sells these.
Click2Chic, 4.99 € 


*THE BRAZILIAN ORIGINAL Conditioner
This promises to reduce frizz, but it's too light for my hair. My hair was screaming for moisture on the second day, so it's far better suited for hair that is less dry than mine or even greasy hair. It smells divine, tropically sweet like pineapple and coconut, but not in a pina colada way. They do have an oil in this line, which I think would work way better for me because it has jojoba oil on the second place among ingredients, but the conditioner wasn't enough for me.
Click2Chic, 8.95 € 


*BEAUTY & CHIC Hair Line
Colour, Repair and Hydro Shampoos and Conditioners
Beauty & Chic is a new Slovene brand created by Click2Chic. There are three lines: for Coloured hair (pink), Repair (orange) and Hydro (blue). I was trying the Repair version and I really like the shampoo because I doesn't leave my hair dry, but it actually already nourishes the hair a bit. The conditioner wasn't for me though, because it's too light, but it should work for those who want some nourishment, but without heavy care.
Click2Chic, 5.90 €

Have a great day!

Drugstore Recommendations for Dry Hair


PRE-WASH TREATMENTS

Coconut Oil
If your hair is really dry or at least your ends desperately need some extra care, oils are your best bet. Particularly coconut oil has proven to be excellent for hair because it's the only one that has the ability to penetrate into the cortex and also helps prevent protein loss. You simply apply it on dry hair before washing and leave it on as long you like, but the longer the better and leaving it overnight yields best results. Then you simply wash it off (you'll notice how much sleeker your hair is when rinsing off the shampoo) and continue with conditioner as well as the rest of the care. You can also heat the oil first in the microwave or use a hair dryer to warm it up as warm oil performs even better. People often ask me if putting a lot of oil on their hair will make it greasy - you'll wash it off. Unless you have a rubbish shampoo, all the oil simply washes off by shampooing twice. Coconut oil is sold in any bigger grocery store and drugstores (it's usually where the healthy food is), but beware of varying prices as I've seen some insane price tags and if you're paying over 10 €, it's too much.
Read more about coconut oil here on this genius blog, The Natural Haven Bloom, here and here

I found this quite randomly in E.Leclerc and though we have this brand just about everywhere here, for some reason I could only find this oil there. I think it's even better than coconut oil and it's my ultimate "über dry hair fixer". They decided to fit the bottle with a spray applicator, which was a bad move, since the oil is too thick and there is no way it could spray it into a mist, but you just spray it in the hands and apply it like that. I'm always very generous when applying it and I use it all over the hair since my entire length is dry, but you can easily just apply it on the ends if that is your only problematic area. I tend to leave it on overnight or all day if I'm at home and put my hair in a tight bun, then wash my hair in the morning or evening and let me tell you this oil has fantastic results. It deeply hydrates and nourishes the hair like nothing I've tried. My hair feels like it's transformed. But it doesn't work on dry hair after washing if you plan to use it as a leave-in as it is very greasy and heavy. 
E. Leclerc, 5-6 €

Other recommendations:
Macadamia Oil
Argan Oil
Jojoba Oil
Olive Oil

SHAMPOOS

I have tried many, many shampoos in my life, a large majority of them were from the drugstore and these two from L'Oreal win hands down. Performance-wise they are both about the same with the main difference being the scent. Extraordinary oil one has an oriental cinnamon-ish scent, while Glatt-Intense has a typical clean scent. The latter seems to have disappeared from our shelves, perhaps in order to be replaced by Extraordinary oil, but regardless, as I said they are so similar. The formula reminds me a lot of the much more expensive and utterly brilliant Oleo-Relax, so it's like a bit of conditioner was added to the shampoo, but it doesn't weight the hair down, just smooths it a bit. When I'm rinsing it off, there is none of that annoying squeaky clean, dry, my-hair-I'll-be-a-tangly-mess feeling and the hair can be combed a lot easier than at a lot of other shampoos. Best of all, these are on offer very often and you can get 400 ml at a bargain price of a few euros just about everywhere.

Other recommendations:

CONDITIONERS, MASKS AND TREATMENTS

Just as shampoos, I've tried my fair share of drugstore conditioners and though a large majority were disappointing (I just tried three new ones last month and all did not perform satisfactory), there are a few drugstore gems that I've been loyal to for years. They of course don't work as well as salon brands, especially when it comes to dry hair (I would suggest you still invest in one high-end one if your hair is really dry), but they still do their work admirably. Brilliant Brunette has been in my conditioners stash for so many years and when one runs out, a new one promptly takes its place. It feels quite light, yet it is moisturising enough for my dry hair and it leaves the hair feeling silky when I rinse it off, but there are two other things that it excels at and that is shine and scent. The scent is divine, it's like a mix of coconut and caramel in a more sophisticated way and this is the only conditioner/mask after which my hair smells nice for at least a day if not longer. I currently own a salon size 500 ml bottle, which comes with a very handy pump, while the regular sizes comes in a squeeze tube.
Price: 8.49 € for 250 ml in Müller and DM.

Things were shaky the first few weeks when I got my first Aussie Reconstructor, but it turned out to be one of my ultimate favourites. It's one of the rare conditioners that I consider being almost as good as some more expensive ones because the effects last a day or two longer on my hair, in particular when it comes to how long my hair stays moisturised. It has a gel-cream hybrid texture that is easy to apply on the hair and it smells just like Hubba-Bubba fruit fantasy bubble gum tape. I leave it on for longer than 3 minutes, usually about 20 minutes, but you can just leave for as long as you want to. It finally became available in Slovenia (can I get a hallelujah for that?), though it is quite pricey compared to the USA. 
Price: 8 € in Müller.

Elvital Total Repair 5 Intensiv Maske mit Reparatűr Serum 
Elvive Full Restore 5
This caught my eye when I saw it on Allure's list of best drugstore treatments, though it's has several different names and packaging, but I think mine is the right one. This is my first pot and though I liked it straight away, I'm more and more impressed by it with every use. Compared to most masks available on our market, this one performs really well on dry hair, it nourishes it and just does all the basic things I expect from a hair mask. The pudding-jelly cream consistency reminds me of Kérastase Nutritive Masquintense Epais-Thick, thought L'Oreal's version of course isn't as impressive as the Kérastase's, but it's certainly lovely for the price. I also tried the newest Extraordinary Oil version and it performs badly compared to this one, so I actually much prefer the combination of Extraordinary shampoo with Total Repair 5 mask. There is also another version of Total Repair in a violet packaging, but I haven't tried it yet. 
Müller, 6.39 €. I've seen only the violet version in DM.

Other recommendations:

HEAT PROTECTION

L'OREAL Studio Line Hot & Smooth Hot Straight Cream
Studio Line Hot&Glatt Thermo-Glättungs-Balm
I will be completely honest at this category and say that none of the drugstore heat protectors blew me away, also a lot of them contain alcohol, which is completely unnecessary for dry hair. However, I have been using L'Oreal's Studio Line Hot & Smooth (previously Silk & Gloss) for at least ten years, first on my hair and now on others. There are a few versions of heat protectors in this line - I have two, the lotion version and the aerosol one. I wouldn't recommend the latter for dry hair because it contains alcohol and it does feel a bit drying on the hair, however, the lotion is another story. It's a very basic, light heat protection that doesn't weight down the hair and does its job of protecting from heat. My bottle is very old and it has been repackaged, so I put the newest aerosol version next to it, which comes in the new design.
About 5 € in Műller.

Possibly interesting alternatives that I haven't tried yet, but heard good things about:

LEAVE-INS

I have exactly the same opinion about silicone oils as about heat protections - there aren't many that are actually good or comparable to salon brands ones. Yes, essentially they are all just good-old silicone serums with some oils. Big deal, right? However, most drugstore ones again have alcohol in it or even if they have nice ingredients, they don't work as well, mostly because they are too light (like for example the Garnier Fructis one). And since they are so light, dry hair just drinks them up in minutes and then it's like you didn't use anything, so you end up using so much oil for any effect. But Petra showed me one exception and it's brilliant. You can tell from the bottle, I've been loving this for the past months. The texture is comparable to salon brands "oils" in a sense that's it's thick, but it's not as thick as Orofluido or Macadamia Natural Oil's one, still it's much better than most drugstore oils. I don't tend to use it on damp hair, but rather after blow-drying to tame the frizz, give the hair a bit of nourishment and shine. It smells nice as well and the scent is like a mix of their "regular" green serum, which smells a bit like apples but in a hair salon way, plus some deep oriental note. I'm also a big fan of the pump, but I do mind that there is only 30 ml of it in the bottle because when you compare the prices per ml, Orofluido is not that more expensive if you know where to get the lowest price.
Avon, regular price 6.90€, but it's often on offer.


Öl-La-La Styling Öl-Spray 
This is basically just a very light silicone-oil in an aerosol form, which is wonderful for dry hair that needs a bit of a boots and even for those who find most liquid silicone-oils too heavy for their hair. It gives tons of shine, helps fight frizz and doesn't weight down the hair, which makes it a great choice to use when you wear your hair curly and you fear your curls will drop if you apply a proper hair oil. It's more of a styling/shine product, since the argan oil content is minimal and it doesn't actually nourish the hair much, however, it's much better than your average shine spray because most of those have a high content of alcohol. This spray is actually just cheating healthy, shiny hair in a can. I can spray a ton of it on my hair and it doesn't weigh it down one bit, build up or make it oily, however, my hair is dry and thick. 
I've seen Fructis does the same thing, but they obviously had to put alcohol in it, what else.
6.99 € in Müller.


I will sneakily add this leave-in as well because you can get it for as little as 12.70 € on Beauty Bay and one bottle lasts me well over a year. A good leave-in conditioner makes all the change when you have dry hair. It injects an additional boots of moisture, it helps the hair stay hydrated longer and this one also helps fight frizz. Using this, I can easily use a drugstore conditioner without having my hair dry by the end of second day after washing it. I don't even have to resort to using oil every day on my ends. It's hands down the best leave-in conditioner I've tried and if you're worried it's heavy, it's actually just a very light liquid.

Other recommendations:
JOHN FRIEDA Frizz Ease Daily Miracle Leave-In Conditioner - recommended by Živa from Nothin' Fancy. Really.

Have a great day!

Empties #14


MAKEUP

This is my favourite liquid eyeliner and the more liners I try, the more I stand by that claim. Due to a lovely formula, it glides on the eyes like a dream and flicks were super easy to do. It lasted all day without smudging or flaking, basically it was just perfect. The only thing that I can point out as a negative is that it dries out a lot quicker than L'Oreal's Super Slim and that the brush applicator frays in time.
Repurchase: Yes.

1 Fair
This is a very similar concealer to Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer, especially when it comes to coverage. I have the whole side by side comparison in my review, but I'll say again that I don't notice much difference between the two, except that Nars has a far better shade range for us Snow Whites. The coverage is pretty much full and it has excellent staying power. It can look cakey under the eyes after a while if you use tons, but it's better than anything we have in Slovene drugstores when it comes to full coverage.
Repurchase: Already did.

SKINCARE

I think that out of all the drugstore micellar waters I've tried, this one is the most effective one, especially now that I've used up most of them. However, the packaging is stupid. The screw cap is positively medieval and the design of the top part of the bottle prevents you from getting the last drop out. I would buy this again, but I would move it to another bottle. Unlike most micellar waters, this one is scented.
Repurchase: Probably.

EBELINE Ultra Sensitive 20 Feuchte Washlappen
I just used these for taking of swatches or fixing mistakes, but even so these didn't leave me with a lasting impression. They could be softer considering they are meant for sensitive skin.
Repurchase: Only if they are the cheapest option when I'll be buying a new pack.


Lavender Hydrolate
I originally got this because I hoped it would smell like lavender and I could use it as a fragrance mist, but it smells horrible, like lavender vinegar - yuck. I used it as a face mist and I think it worked well on my skin. The effects were nothing drastic, but my skin did look better when I used it. Lavender oil has anti-bacterial properties and it helps regulate sebum, so maybe that's why. 
Repurchase: I will get something similar.

BODY

One of my favourite shower gel because of the gorgeous peach bubble gum scent. I have a few in my stash.
Repurchase: Yes.

BALEA Totes Meer Salz Dusche Pfirsich - Mango
Though this is marketed as being for dry skin, I find it's just a classic Balea shower gel. They don't dry out my skin, but I know many dislike Balea shower gels because they are just too basic. To me this was a pleasant shower gel with a nice mango tropical scent (candy version), but not much peach.
Repurchase: It's likely.

BALEA Rasiergel
Summer Garden
A staple in my bathroom and I always have a spare because you never really now when exactly it will run out. This was by far my favourite limited edition version and it features a candy tropical scent.
Repurchase: Already did.


This is the most authentic gourmand vanilla scent. It literally smells like vanilla extract for baking. It's quite an intense scent and because it's a one note fragrance, it's nice for mixing with other scents.
Repurchase: I'm tired of vanilla scents at the moment, but someday I might.


Probably my favourite body skin care item ever. It smells AMAZING and I aspire to have the whole collection. The texture is really moisturising and thick, which is how I like my body butters.
Repurchase: I already have another and yes, I would.

I loved the smell of this as it smells like strawberry chocolate or strawberry yoghurt, though I did get tired of the scent after a while. The texture was nice, somewhere between a cream and body butter, so it was nice for everyday use, but wasn't quite enough for super dry skin on my soles and elbows. 
Repurchase: No or maybe in a different scent.

HAIR

My absolute favourite hair treatment in the world. This makes my coarse, dry mane feel like normal hair. Time and time again I'm astonished at how well this works for me. I use it primarily for special occasions because it's quite expensive, but so worth keeping in the stash.
Repurchase: Already did.

REDKEN All Soft Heavy Cream
I can't say I was impressed by this. It's good, but not 20 € per pot good. In fact it reminded me of the conditioner in the same line. It actually has the same effect on my hair and the conditioner is cheaper than the mask. It made my hair more nourished than an average drugstore treatment, but the margin was rather small. It was so unremarkable, I never even properly reviewed it, even though I had the pictures ready. It has quite a heavy sweet deep scent. This should probably work better on someone whose hair isn't as dry as mine.
Repurchase: I'm not sure, probably not.

While this was a very nourishing mask, I never felt like it does all it should for my hair. I mostly missed the silkiness that conditioners and masks usually leave, which is important if you have such coarse hair like me (it's silicone free). I ended up always mixing it with some other silicone based conditioner. The masks smells lovely, like honey. 
Repurchase: No.


This disappointed me from the start. I expected a smooth, nourishing cream-serum-oil, but it turned out to be like I'm applying an actual face moisturiser to my hair. I never felt like it really fixed my dry ends whether I used it on dry or wet hair, but what bothered me most was that it leaves white bits in the hair, like the cream never completely melts, which on my dark hair looked like dust and as if my hair was dirty. I ended up mixing it with Nuxe shimmery oil for a better effect.
Repurchase: No.

TIGI Bed Head Urban Anti-Dotes Conditioner 
Damage Level 2
A nice conditioner, but not ground-breaking. Most people with moderately dry and damaged hair will like it because it not heavy, yet it moisturises well. It smells typically Tigi-ish, tropically sweet, like a mix of pineapple juice with Kiki sweeties.
Repurchase: No.


This was a massive disappointment for the price. I expected a lot because of the ton of raving reviews and because it's supposedly a cult favourite, but this doesn't hold a candle to Kérastase Masquintense. It's a pre-wash treatment that you apply on damp hair and leave on for 20 minutes (or overnight if your hair is really damaged). Apart from the hair feeling silky when I was rinsing it off before shampooing, I noticed no particular effect on my hair. It wasn't more manageable, or shiny, it really didn't do anything special.
Repurchase: No.


My favourite hairspray by far. It's super light on the hair, not sticky or stiff, but it holds very well. The scent is annoying, but worth putting up with.
Repurchase: Already did.

I don't have any kind words about this apart from that it smells nicely clean. It didn't do squat for my hair and I ended up using it instead of a shaving gel.
Repurchase: No.


PHYTO Phytosquam Intense
Sample
A new dandruff treatment by Phyto that is quite unique as far as my experiences with anti-dandruff products go. I've tried all of Phyto treatments before and so far they were the best ones, however, didn't completely help me get rid of the problem, just alleviated it. This product is one that you apply on dry scalp, leave for 5-7 minutes, then add water to emulsify it and rinse off. Regular Phyto's shampoos are very runny, but this is closer to how average shampoos are like in terms of texture. It's a thick gel that I had a hard time distributing evenly on my hair, simply because I was working with a sample bag, but also because I have very thick, long hair, so it's not easy getting product on the scalp. The full size has a nozzle, so that should work a lot better. One bag had a lot of product inside, 12 ml, but I used up all and I still could have a few ml more to completely cover my scalp. When it was on my scalp, I didn't feel anything, so no tingling or anything similar. Once I added water it emulsified well, like a normal shampoo, which is surprising since Phyto's shampoos, don't foam well. Once I rinsed it off, my hair felt super squeaky clean, which is not something I'm terribly fond off, but that's just because I have dry hair. Where I managed to get on a thick coat of the treatment, it did remove most of the dandruff that is stuck on my scalp (about 85 %), while where I only had a light coat, a lot of the dandruff was still left, which leads me to believe this is a product that would be empty very fast. But results are promising. It removed the persistent layer of dandruff and let my scalp breathe a bit. The itching was still a problem, but for the first day there was significantly less of it. Impressed by the sample, I purchased a full size.
Purchase: I did a few days ago (Leposana 20.50 €).


Have a great day!