2016 |Skin care - Body care - Hair care| Favourites

After telling you all about my makeup favourites from the past year (in case you missed the post, click here) it is time to take a look at skin care, hair care and body care products that impressed me the most.

2016 Make-Up Favourites

Yearly favourites are one of my favourite content, as they perfectly round up everything new or worth mentioning from the past year, they are a great source for makeup inspiration and recommendations and something that I look forward to at the end of the year. So today, I'll be talking about my absolute favourite makeup products from 2016.

Festive Lush Christmas Collection Haul 2016

It's the most wonderful time of the year… the time when Lush brings out the Christmas limited edition collection and regular baths and pamper sessions become a permanent part of my daily routine.

Movember : 5 steps to a great moustache and beard

Months are flying by and we are already well into November, a month dedicated to raising awarenes about mens health. Throught the idea of »moveber«, when men let their facial hair grow in the month of November to raise awareness, the cause has become quite widely known throughout the years and I'm sure you must have heard about it by now. 

If you decided (or will after reading this post –it's never to late to join) to support the cause by letting your facial hair grow, here are some tips on keeping your moustache and beard well maintained and looking its best.

Update your routine for FALL

Autumn is officially here. It's getting colder, the leaves are changing and all this is calling for a bit of a change in my everyday routine. I'm whipping up the dark lipsticks, rusty colored everything and doing everything I can to feel as cosy and snug as possible.

If you are looking for way to bring some autumnal vibes in to your look, here are some of my tips:

No makeup is complete without a proper base, and in the colder days I start reaching for foundations with higher coverage and longevity. Milani's Conceal+Perfect has been with me since the late summer, and it's been doing wonders for my makeup. For something that covers almost all imperfections and evens my skin tone, this is an extremely lightweight and at the same time very longwearing foundation. Pigmented enough that I don't really need a concealer for everyday use, this is the perfect foundation for those cold autumn mornings when you don't want to get out of you warm bed and end up putting your makeup on in a hurry.

These days I tend to skip on the bronzer and rather use some contouring powder to gently sculpt up the cheeks and add a bit of a very natural toned blush for some colour. The ArtDeco Contouring powder (mine is in the shade 21 dark chocolate) is just the right colour for sculpting the face and blends perfectly.

 Somewhere between a blush and a bronzer, the Matte Mania Blush from Misslyn's Beauty in Boots collection is ideal for adding some natural colour to the cheeks.

When it comes to eye makeup in the autumn, I start obsessing over the rusty orange-red shades that complete the look perfectly. If you already have a set of base eyeshadow that you like to use often, try finding a single eyeshadow or a mini palette of autumnal shades, that you can incorporate into your daily routine. The Perfect Match Eyeshadow trio in Gaucho Girl by Misslyn offers the most amazing orange-rust shade, a beautiful yellow-gold and a lovely chocolate brown shade. 

With colder days comes the smoky makeup look and I feel like it's the easiest to achieve that with a good eye pencil. For an affordable option, Essences Easy Glide & Waterproof in 01 blacklove and Longlasting Eye Pencil in 02 Hot Chocolate are my favourite go-to eye pencils. If you are more of a cat-eye liner look, the Sleek Dip-It eyeliner in 262 is longwearing and really easy to work with.

Brows are something I pay more attention to when it gets colder, as I like them to look a bit bolder and bushier. A while ago, I discovered the Sleek Eyebrow Stylist in Dark and it made doing my brows so much easier.

Long and defined lashes are a must for me throughout the year, but the ArtDeco Long Lashes mascara deserves a special autumnal shout out as it works magic on my lashes and looks gorgeous in my stash with it's rose gold packaging. Also, let's not forget a good set of eyelash curlers that make sure your lashes are looking their very best (and fit great into the whole rose-gold theme.)

Red, berry and dark bold lips are the items that take the centre stage in the autumn. For everyday use I still rely on my trusty nude shades, but for special occasions, you can't go wrong with a statement lip. 

Some of my favourites are: Sleek Matte Me in 1041 Vino Tinto with an incredible longwearing formula, Makeup Factory Mat Lip Fluid in 36 Wild Berry in a glorious shade, Catrice Ultimate Stay in 160 Don't Worry Be Berry in a classical lipstick form and lovely smooth formula, and Wet'n'Wild in Ravin Rasin for a fabulous budget option. 

For the nails, I always stick to berry shades or metallics. There are many amazing options at the drugstores, like Essence (52 Amazed by you) and Catrice (38 Vino Tinto, 94 It's A Very Berry Bash) and you can't really go wrong with Essie's Bahama Mama.

Autumn scent can be quite tricky as we are moving from warm sunny days to cold, darker winter months, but this year Avon collaborated with a renowned designer Kenzo Takada, to create Avon Life fragrance. Top notes are citruses, white tea, water lily and red apple; middle notes are violet, peony and Japanese cherry blossom; base notes are iris, patchouli and ambrette. A wonderful harmony of scents creates a sophisticated scent that works great in the crisp autumn air. The bottle design is absolutely gorgeous, and also do not forget to check out the version for men as well as it is absolutely wonderful.

At the end of a long, cold autumn day, there is nothing better than an evening of pampering. To remove even the toughest of matte lipsticks, liners or mascara, Garnier's Biphase Micellar Cleansing Water in oil is a great solution. It gets rid of any makeup and leaves my skin feeling clean but not stripped. 

A cozy, warm bath is always a highlight of my day and this years Lush Halloween collection smells glorious. One of my favourite scents are Pumpkin and Autumn Leaf bath bombs. 

As a final step at the end of the day is currently my obsession, the Sleepy body lotion by Lush. With notes of lavender and tonka, this light but moisturizing lotions gets me ready for sleep in no time. 

P.S. It's been a long while since I last posted anything. There were a lot of thing going on in my life that I do not wish to get into, but this year hasn't really been the best. Hopefully, I can at least end it on a positive note. However, I am back, excited for fall, excited for tomorrow's 2. beauty bloggers conference in Ljubljana and most of all excited to be blogging again! 

See you in my next post!

Rawr,

your Beautysaur 

New in my beauty stash #16: Spring Picks

 Spring is not only a beginning of a new year, but also a time when all the makeup brand come up with new exciting releases and what else could a beauty blogger do than try at least a few of them? 

Quick Review: Montagne Jeunesse Green Mint and Tea Tree Oil mask

It seems like sheet masks are all the rage again and I am loving it. With an expanding selection of different brands and choices appearing in the drugstore, it is really easy to find that will work the best for you.

Afrodita "Secret Garden" collection

 Spring to me is all about flowers, any kind of flower will do, but if I had to choose, I would always go for peonies and magnolias. There is just something about the gorgeous floral aroma of the blossoms that makes me feel so incredibly happy in the spring.

In their new line of shower gels called »Secret Garden«, Afrodita are transporting us to a magical garden full of fragrant blossoms. 

*Review: Neo Dry Mist Intensive Antiperspirants by Garnier

A good deodorant is an essential in every woman's life, but often we do not pay much attention to it. As for me, I usually stick to anything that proves to work well on me.

 However, when these arrived on my doorstep, I couldn't wait to try them out. The new line of intensive antiperspirants by Garnier called Neo Dry Mist is bound to catch your attention with an innovative diffuser and their performance:

*Review: Algea -dietary supplement-

The first quarter of the year is more or less over and most of the new year’s resolutions are already forgotten. However, being quite stubborn this year, I am still trying to stick to at least some of them. 

As a main part of my resolutions was to eat healthier and try to transition (at least partially) to a plant based diet. For that reason, I was quite excited when I was offered a chance to test Algea, an algae supplement that is supposed to have all sorts of health benefits. I have given it a proper try and here is what I think about it:

Maybelline Lash Sensational Lash Multiplying Mascara Waterproof

I've always had a thing for mascara, and to hold back as long as I did, from buying a mascara that everybody was raving about, is quite an accomplishment in my book. 

The Lash Sensational by Maybelline must surely by now be known to any beauty lover as it has been talked about again and again by so many people. One day I simply found it on Salma.si website and immediately put it in my basket, I simply couldn't resist it any more.

On the hunt for the best hair treatment

The other day I had a few errands in the vicinity of Ilirija drugstore (online known as Click2Chic) and of course couldn't resist popping into the store. Even though I am supposed to be on a spending ban, I simply could not pass the amazing deals they had on some of the haircare pieces:

Schwartzkopf Gliss Hair Repair Million Gloss Crystal Oil

(shimmering shine & millionized light-reflexions)

I've been using the shampoo and conditioner from this line for a while now and really enjoying them, therefore it was easy for me to decide to give this one a go as well.

Even though my hair tends to get greasy very quickly, I've always looked for something to give my hair a bit of that healthy shine. This one works lovely, doesn't weigh my hair down, doesn't make it look or feel oily, but instead helps to tame any fly-aways and makes the hair feel and look shiny and healthy.

Pantene Pro-V Intensive Repair

The mask promises to hydrate and protect the hair from any styling damage and that was enough to convince me to buy it. It has a lovely fruity scent and makes the hair feel incredibly soft and smooth. After trying it for the first time, my hair was softer, sleeker and the effect were noticeable for almost a week after use. It worked great on my normal-to-greasy hair and when I got my mum (who has quite dry and coloured hair) to try it as well, she was just as impressed.  

Garnier Ultra Doux Argan oil and Cranberry Nourishing and Repairing Mask

The Ultra Doux line from Garnier has always been a favourite of mine and that is why I decided to give this one a go as well. Even though my hair isn't coloured, I think the argan oil could provide a lovely treatment for my hair. This one I have yet to try and will report back once I do so.

Syoss Repair-Care Treatment

(without silicones, parabens and paraffines)

I'm always struggling with growing my hair really long as the ends tend to look really bad after a while and need to be trimmed regularly. That is why I thought a repairing mask like this one could come in handy.

I already gave this a go and while the mask felt nice on my hair, the product apparently caused a strange allergic reaction on my skin. I'm not quite sure what might have caused it and will give this one another chance, but I am not really impressed with it.

L'Oreal Paris Elseve Fibralogy Thickness Enhancer

Even though I was blessed with lots of thick hair, I feel that my hair could always use a bit of that extra oomph. This mask promises to do just that and I am really excited to give it a try. I might include my mum as well, because she has really thin and week hair and will report back, comparing the effects.

What kind of treatments do you use on your hair? 

Rawr,

your Beautysaur

Le Couvent des Minimes: Serenity Collection

When beautiful scents of lavender and mandarine are combined in a fresh and invigorating collection the results are quite enchanting. Yesterday I attended a wonderful even held by Le Couvent des Minimes who introduced their new line called Sereine/ or Serenity. Designed to relax and pamper, the collection is filled with products to make you feel tranquil and collected.

Haul: A few pieces from Essence SS'16

Every year Essence come out with some new pieces to add to their permanent collection and each year there are a few bits that I can't pass. This year I managed to restrain myself to just a few that really caught my eye and here are the ones that I chose:

February Favorites 2016

February is over, and even though it was over quite quickly, I couldn't wait for it to be over as I am completely sick of winter and am eagerly looking forward to spring, sun and fresh flowers. However, before I completely say goodbye to this past month, let me tell you about the product I've been enjoying lately:

Battling cold with AlpStories Ginkgo Bath Salts

Weather here seems to be unable to makeup it's mind. One day it's super warm, spring-like and I'm running around in my sweater and another day I'm freezing in a thick coat in the snow. With all these quick changes, one is almost sure to catch a cold.

Whenever I felt that I was getting sick over the course of winter, I did my best to prevent it from fully developing. One thing that I find has helped a lot, were the bath salts from AlpStories.

Review: Paul Mitchell Ultimate Color Repair Tripple Rescue

My hair has always been put on the side-track when it comes to using different products, somewhat due to the fact that I focus most of my attention to makeup and skincare and partially due to the fact that it has always been kind of easy to maintain and didn't really require much work.

Lately I realized that I could bring my hair »to the next level« if I actually gave it a little bit more attention and care. I started paying more attention to what I use on my hair and what results it gives me, which means that now I will be able to write about some recommendation from the hair department as well.

Empties of 2015

 Post about the products I used up are not something I write often, partially because I more or less talk about the products I like on the blog anyways and partially because I keep forgetting to actually keep the packaging once the product runs out. However, during last year, I actually managed to accumulate a few of the ones that I actually wanted to talk about and here they are:

Guilt-Free Indulgence with RAWR Chocolate

Valentine's Day Pamper with Avon

Before the weekend, I was surprised by a package, sent by the Avon team, especially for Valentine's Day. While I had no special plans for the weekend, I decided that a bit of a pamper was in order.