Beauty
Mateja’s Beauty Blog: July Favourites, updates and wishlist
August 1, 2022

Mateja’s Beauty Blog: July Favourites, updates and wishlist

Though the new shade 50,5 didn’t really end up as light as I hoped (it’s just pinky-beige instead of peachy like shade 50, but both are the same depth), this is still one of the best foundations I ever tried. It’s so natural on the skin, it doesn’t emphasizes pores or lines and has about medium coverage. I just love wearing this. 

These are so nice. The formula is very smooth, blends with ease and looks great on the skin. Both shades suit me (110 and 115), which is unexpected, though they are both not very pigmented and need building up, but that’s a good thing at pale skin (I’m not sure how dark the third shade is). 110 is a bit lighter and more peachy-beige bronze, while 115 is a classic, slightly reddish bronze. They kind of have a subtle glow to it without having any shimmer. I wonder if SkinLights highlighters have this same smooth formula, I’d love to try them now. These are look so cool with the embossed pattern. 

My collection of mint green nail polishes isn’t small, but they are all non-gel formulas, since it’s so old. I was really spoiled by the new (pastel) formulas that always apply so smoothly, but from my mint collection, this is the only one I can work with. I gave the Essie Mint Green Apple a try, which is a prettier shade, but it’s just so bad, impossible to apply evenly. This one is much smoother and I get a good result with 3 coats. It’s a pastel mint that’s less bright and more green than mint candy apple. I have no idea if this shades still exists.  

This is from an old collection called Lisbon, but I think it’s still available. It’s like a better version of Essie’s Fiji (which has a terrible formula based on my experience). It’s a very pale, off-white pink with a pastel formula that’s not overly difficult to work with. It needs two to three coats, depending on how careful you are at application. 

MOROCCANOIL Dry Body Oil

I’ve been using this every day, though not for the body, but for my hair. I need to apply something nourishing on my ends that get dry fast every day and this is light enough to not weigh down my hair, but still nourishing enough. It tames flyaways and makes the hair more polished, basically the same as the silicone-oil does, except this is silicone free, so I find it’s a proper caring product and less a styling one. This has the typical Moroccanoil scent that’s so nice and it’s very strong, so it lasts a while. I’ve had this one bottle for a very long time, since a little goes a long way. 

SUBRINA Charm Super Cool Demi-permanent Toner

I coloured my hair lighter this time and I like the results. I finally managed to bleach my hair very light, so I could use Subrina Charm toner, which is a demi-permanent shade, so more gentle than regular, permanent colour (though I switch the developer at those. Here you also get a 3% developer). It’s the same shade as the discontinued Spectra toner that I showed once in the past. It turned out a beautiful blonde shade and my hair looks glossier than with my usual darker colour. However, I was surprised that two boxes almost wasn’t enough for my hair. It’s a 100 ml of product, so not any less than for example Garnier’s Color Naturals that I normally use, but the formula is thicker. I’d love to keep this colour, but we’ll see how well I manage to bleach next time. This toner can make the hair look ultra cool, ice blonde if you have even lighter blonde hair than mine (either achieved by bleaching or regular colouring). 

OLAPLEX No. 4P Blonde Enhancer Toning Shampoo

Since my hair is lighter now, this shampoo cools the colour more effectively and to a pretty shade of cool blonde. It’s not as thick and rich as the original Olaplex shampoo, but it’s intensely purple, still lathers well and has the repairing Olaplex ingredients. 

OLAPLEX No.8 Bond Intense Moisture Mask

This mask is so amazing, it makes my hair feel like new and it has superior results on my very dry hair than n.3 treatment (alone, without extra n.0) and n.5 conditioner. My hair feels better and looks better, plus it’s smoother. This with the leave-in n.9 are an excellent combination. It still makes me angry that they only sell 100 ml bottles for such a high price, because at this one I need to use a lot at once. 

GUERLAIN Terracotta Le Parfum

Guerlain’s version of the beachy perfume, so one with lots of tiare flower. It’s not exactly what I would classify as a summertime exclusive fragrance, since it’s not a fresh, light scent, but it’s rich and suitable for summer evenings, kind of a French Riviera fancy version of a beachy perfume with tons of floral notes. It’s somewhere in between Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess, Yves Rocher Monoi de Tahiti, Nuxe’s Prodigieux Le Parfum and Paco Rabanne Olympea, but it’s closest to Yves Rocher’s version. Both are very floral with strong notes of tiare and at Guerlain also tons of jasmine with a little bit of orange blossom and ylang-ylang. Unlike Yves Rocher, Terracotta has some citrus freshness from bergamot, but it quickly becomes a more creamy floral, though with still strong jasmine. I still miss coconut, but it’s a lovely scent for when I want something fancy.

UPDATES

While in terms of cleansing this doesn’t bring much new to the table compared to Luna Mini 2 I own too, this is proving to be super handy for monitoring my skin’s hydration levels. It has double 24K gold-plated sensors in the back that analyse percentage of moisture levels for four zones of the face and its type. It then optimises the cleansing process by adjusting time and intensity of T-Sonic vibrations, but I also use that data to pick the skin care products after cleansing. I don’t like it’s not rechargeable and that it’s smaller than Mini 2, but the sensors kinds make up for it.  

I just got these products a few days ago and since I know my next new in post is likely not going to be up this summer, I’m posting about them here. I don’t use such products, since I don’t tan, so this will be more general information about them.

Izdelki so na voljo v DM-u (samo marmelada) in Müllerju. 

*PUPA Multifuction Tanning Unguent

This is called a marmalade in Slovene, so it’s a tanning jam, but this one is without SPF unlike the Afrodita Professional’s one (not that SPF 10 means anything to me). It contains Melastim Tech, which stimulates melanin and ensures a fast and long-lasting tan. It’s mostly mineral oil, but it also has almond oil and shea butter. This is a balm that turns to oil, so it leaves a nice sheen on the skin, but it’s not very greasy feeling. It’s heavily scented with a scent that reminds me of L’Occitane Vanilla & Orchid solid fragrance I’ve had for ages (it’s discontinued), so a vanilla floral. Pupa says this can be used on the hair after sunbathing, as a pre-wash treatment to neutralize harmful effects of salt water – I’ve been using it for hair myself, as it reminds me of that Palmer’s balm I’ve showed you in one of the favourites that I use it for taming the hair – Pupa’s smells nicer. Don’t expect me to report if it works as a tan booster because I don’t tan, but reviews on Amazon look good.  

*PUPA 3 in 1 Multifunction Tan Activator

I think this is another tanning jam, but it says it works even when there no sun (it’s not a self-tanner, as it’s DHA free). It says “when applied daily in the period before sun exposure, it prepares the skin for tanning, evening the complexion. When applied under sunscreen, it accelerates and intensifies melanin production, for an even and intense colour in less time. When applied daily after sun exposure, it maintains the melanin, fixing and prolonging the tan.” It’s got a classic creamy texture that absorbs fast enough and has an orange scent. 

*PUPA Multifunction After Sun Milk

A fast absorbing face cream for after sunbathing. It’s cooling and refreshing at application, though not in a tingly way (it has no peppermint or similar ingredients). It’s leaves a nice silky feeling on the skin and it’s nicely hydrating. It contains an active ingredient Sun Optimizer that ensures that the tan stays longer.

WISHLIST

REVLON SkinLights Prismatic Highlighter – now that I’ve tried the bronzers, I really want to try one of the highlighters in the hopes it has that same texture. It’s a shame they don’t have such blushes too. 

ANNY Nail Polish 372 Paint it Mint, Max Factor Miracle Pure Nail Polish 840 Moonstone Blue and OPI Nail Lacquer Mexico City Move-mint – I’d like a new mint green nail polish, since all mine are old and formulas don’t perform all that well (Mint Candy Apple is just useless now). There’s not that many of them anymore in the drugstores. 

REVLON PhotoReady Rose Glow Mist – I love Revlon’s new Colorstay Lock Mist, it’s just a bit drying for my skin, so I’d love to try this more hydrating  and glowy mist. 

ESSENCE Gel Nail Colour – I guess there is a new version of the formula now because I saw a lot of new shades online. I haven’t been to the drugstores to see if we have them, but from online pics I like 25 Powder room party, 10 Did you mist me? and 39 Lucky to have blue. There are some pretty bad reviews of the formula though, but I’m hoping they are just about certain shades. 

NARS Liquid Blush Orgasm – There’s a stick and a liquid version of the beloved shade. I’d love to have either, but I’m more drawn to the liquid version.

THE BODY SHOP Body Butter Shea – I really need to repurchase this already. It’s a thick, very rich moisturiser that I like to use on very dry parts of the body. Plus it smells nice. 

BALEA Vital+ Ceramid Serum  – I don’t need this, so it’s just to show what’s new in DM. They revamped their Vital serum and added ceramides.

Carolyne Adams
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