November favourites, updates and wishlist

 I realised this doesn’t just look great on lips, but also as a blush. For the lips this is such a lovely comfortable, balmy formula that still feels more like a lipstick than a lip gloss and the shade is a wearable natural mauve-pink shade. As a blush it’s a similar natural pink shade as Revlon’s blush, but it needs building up. It’s a great product to carry in the bag for a quick makeup look and it works as a lip balm when my lips are dry. 

This looks a deep brownish-berry in the tube, but since it’s sheer it just gives the lips a bit of colour, kind of make your natural lip shade deeper – this lip balm by some referred as a kind of dupe for the famous Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey, but I never tried the latter. I wish I had a lip liner that matched it because since it’s a lip balm, it’s not brilliant at being precise or creating a defined shape and a liner would make the whole look even better. It’s nicely moisturising and has a sweet-sour berry scent, but as expected the colour doesn’t last long on the lips, though at that price I don’t mind reapplying. 

SOL DE JANEIRO Brazilian Crush Cheirosa 62

This scent really grew on me and I’ve been using it so much all month. I still think that the cream’s fragrance is better, but this is a great scent for colder days. It’s mostly nutty, but the base is vanilla. It’s a gourmand scent that reminds me most of The Body Shop’s Pumpkin Vanilla (they aren’t dupes, just in the same fragrance category). The mist is strong like a perfume, but I wish it lasted a bit longer on the skin, though it lasts well on clothes. 

UPDATES

INSTAGRAM

My account (@matejasbeautyblog) was disabled for an unknown reason. I’m certain I did nothing wrong – you know what I post and it’s hardly controversial or fraudulent – so it must have been a mistake (or someone reported me for I don’t know why). I appealed, but from what I read online, it’s likely no one will ever process my request and getting the account back is apparently a long nightmare I don’t know I want to deal with. I don’t know what I’ll do. For now I’m waiting for a reply and if it doesn’t happen, then I might try to rebuild it, start with a new account, since luckily I backed it up a few months ago and I have most of the data, but I know it’s going to be so much work and given that interest in my profile was already declining, I wonder if it’s worth the bother. It’s saddening, seeing your work disappear in a second for no reason, but I’m hardly the only one this happed too. Heed my advice and back up your profile just in case. It’s easily done through settings and you get all the data on your e-mail, from posts, followers list and messages. 

For now (or forever if I lose my motivation) I clearly won’t be posting my usual story reviews, as I have nowhere to post them that I would have any kind of decent reach, but then we’ll see how I decide. 

You know what the funny part is? My blog content and IG posts have been stolen so many times and then I’m the one that gets blocked (at one point I counted 17 duplicates of my blog. Some still exist, though I managed to remove most of them). 

Since I can’t post on IG, this is what I would feature there:

REVLON Colorstay Satin Ink Crown Jewels

Crown Jewel shades: 031 Pink Duchess (pearl), 032 Lady Topaz (pearls), 034 Regal Ruby, 037 Majestic Rose and 038 Citrine Queen

AFRODITA PROFESSIONAL Next Generation Retinol Shot and AFRODITA PROFESSIONAL Bakuchiol Phyto Retinol Shot

BALEA MED Ultra Sensitive Anti-Pickel Gesichtspflege Cica

This caught my attention because it has madecassoside, since I ran out of Geek & Gorgeous Stress Less serum. It’s new and Balea suggests it as an anti-spot moisturiser, since it has zink, but it’s a calming formula with pantenol and allantoin. Formula is thin, more of a lotion than a moisturiser and it sits right in the middle of what I prefer, as it’s neither a liquid that would be easy to layer nor a rich moisturiser to use as a last step for my dry skin. I’m not sold on this texture, but affordable products in local drugstores that have madecassoside are not that common. Just like G & G Stress Less this is working well with Afrodita’s retinol. 

AQUA, GLYCERIN, DIPROPYLHEPTYL CARBONATE, CETYL ALCOHOL, DICAPRYLYL ETHER, GLUCOMANNAN, PANTHENOL, HYDROXYACETOPHENONE, SODIUM STEAROYL GLUTAMATE, DISTARCH PHOSPHATE, ALLANTOIN, DIPOTASSIUM GLYCYRRHIZATE, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, ZINC PCA, TOCOPHEROL, CHONDRUS CRISPUS POWDER, MADECASSOSIDE, LACTIC ACID.

*ORIGINS Ginzing Into the Glow Brightening Serum

Origins says on their website this is a best-seller. It’s a brightening serum with 5% “retexturing complex” made from a green coffee seed and a mix of AHA +BHA. It also has ginseng extract, salicylic acid, pyruvic acid (peeling effect, apparently effective on spots), caffeine, squalane, hyaluronic acid and vitamin C in Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate form. It’s a light lotion that doesn’t really absorb quickly and is not that easy to layer over. I got some tingling the first time I used it, which surprised me since it should be weak. It hasn’t been long enough to see if it’s brightening.

Ingredients: Water\Aqua\Eau, Butylene Glycol, C9-12 Alkane, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Tartaric Acid, Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Lactic Acid, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil*, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil*, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil*, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Leaf Oil*, Citral, Linalool, Limonene, Panax Ginseng (Ginseng) Root Extract, Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Seed Extract, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Pyruvic Acid, Salicylic Acid, Caffeine, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Trehalose, Squalane, Glycerin, Algae Extract, Menthol, Lecithin, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Xanthan Gum, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Polysorbate 20, Polysorbate 60, Ppg-5-Ceteth-20, Plankton Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Bht, Phenoxyethanol, Orange 4 (Ci 15510) 

* Essential Oil

*ORIGINS Ginzing Energizing Gel Cream with Caffeine + Niacinamide

A cream with niacinamide, ginseng, caffeine, vitamin C in a stable 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid form, hyaluronic acid, ceramides, aminoacid, and ginger extract. I like this ingredients list, so I’m using this as the last step in my night routine, though it may not be for sensitive skin because of citrus and spearmint. It’s a light gel texture that feels refreshing and stays on the skin for a while in a light tacky layer. It can peel when I apply makeup over it, so I prefer this one in the night routine. It’s got an orange scent.

Water\Aqua\Eau, Butylene Glycol, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Niacinamide, Glycerin, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Lactobacillus/Panax Ginseng Root Ferment Filtrate, Caffeine, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Yeast Extract\Faex\Extrait De Levure, Sodium Hyaluronate, Laminaria Saccharina Extract, Sodium Pca, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Sterols, Ceramide Np, Glucosamine Hcl, Oryzanol, Sucrose, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract, Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Hydrolyzed Algin, Sorbitol, Tocopherol, Hydroxyethyl Urea, Tocopheryl Acetate, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Carbomer, Caprylyl Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer, Sodium Phytate, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil*, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil*, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil*, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Leaf Oil*, Limonene, Linalool, Citral.

*ORIGINS Ginzing Glow-Boosting Mask

A leave-on overnight mask with olive oil, vitamin C in a -O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid and Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate forms, ginseng, caffeine, salicylic acid, hyaluronic acid, betaine, aminoacid and again citrus & spearmint extracts, but those are at the end of the list. It’s closer to a typical moisturiser than the Energizing Gel Cream, it’s richer and has beads in it that burst when you rub the product on the skin. It’s better suited for use under makeup that the gel, so I’ve been using it in the mornings as the last step. It leaves quite a glow on the skin that lasts a long time – it’s that classic skincare glow. 

Ingredients: Water\Aqua\Eau, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Steareth-21, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Caffeine, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Salicylic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Betaine, Sucrose, Glycine, Mannitol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Triethyl Citrate, Xanthan Gum, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Sodium Hydroxide, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Lecithin, Tin Oxide, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Caprylyl Glycol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Steareth-2, Acrylates/Ammonium Methacrylate Copolymer, Sodium Phytate, Phenoxyethanol, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil*, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil*, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil*, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Leaf Oil*, Limonene, Linalool, Citral, Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491), Iron Oxides (CI 77492), Yellow 5 (CI 19140), Yellow 6 (CI 15985).

WISHLIST

I talked about some of these in my wishlists already, but I’m trying to be super obvious to some people what I wouldn’t mind getting in the upcoming month. That’s why most of these products are sold in local drugstores. I might post a similar wishlist in January too, because being subtle never pays off.