Benefit's The BRONZE of the CHAMPIONS

Hello and welcome once again to my blog! Today I want to show you a Benefit cosmetics set that I bought a few months ago (around the beginning of January).

It's called "The BRONZE of CHAMPIONS" and you can already understand from the name that it contains bronze colored itemes. The set is closed in a small carton box that has a pinup lady and the title of the set while the back of the box shows what items the set contains.

Inside there is the main container of the set that like most of the Benefit sets looks like a book.

The front of this "book" container is similar to the front of the carton box, while the side and the back are decorated like the set is something edible with "nutrition values", silly and cute.

Inside, there is a guide on how to use the products, attached on the container as well as a mirror.

And now let's see the products. Shall we?

1. Crease-less Cream Eyeshadow in "Bikini-Tini"

It's very creamy, pretty champagne shimmery color (swatch will be posted lower). It can be used alone or topped with a powder shadow. Doesn't crease, blends nicely, definitely a hit!

2. Hoola - Bronzing powder.

Who doesn't know about Hoola? One of the best bronzers out there fore light to medium skin tones. Soft, blends lovely. Obviously a hit.

3. Watt's Up - Soft focus highlighter for face

Great product, neutral color, leaves a nice glow. 

4. They're Real! Mascara

Great mascara, gives really good volume. There are definitely lots and lots of more affordable mascaras that do an amazing job but this one is definitely one of the best.

5. Hoola Ultra Plush - shimmering golden nude lip gloss

Lovely lip gloss, shiny, smells nicely without being too much.

6.  Longwear powder eyeshadow - "Thanks a latte", golden brown.

Very nice versatile color, can be used on the whole lid or the corner to darken up the look or even on the crease or smoked out on the lower lash-line. 

Here are the swatches, upper one without flash in natural sunlight and the lower one taken with flash.

Overall, this set is great if you wanna try a bunch of benefit products since they are pretty expensive. The downside is that in some countries Benefit products (full size and sets like this) are sold even more expensive than in other countries but hey, it's high end, that's life.

I am pretty pleased with all of the items, they are great and high quality if I could afford I would definitely get most of these items in full size, possibly except the lip gloss since I am not a lip gloss girl that much, I prefer lipsticks, but to get to the point what's there not to like? The cream eyeshadow is a dream, it really doesn't crease, I would definitely love to try more colors of it. The hoola bronzer is known to everyone i don't even have to speak for it. The eyeshadow is really beautiful and long lasting, I would love to try more colors. The Watt's up is amazing, rich without being too disco ball, would definitely like to try it again. The lip gloss is lovely too, I actually have 2 of them (as well as the bronzer) from the other set that I got as a gift from my friend this Christmas. I love it, as I said I don't use lip gloss that often mostly because my teeth have an outwards direction from my mouth and since lip gloss is not as steady as lipstick I end up with lip gloss on my teeth so I avoid it but this is a color that I reach for quite a lot, it's quite steady for a lip gloss and it doesn't get just all over the place so I am glad I have 2 since I am using them up.

To wrap this presentation/tiny review. I do recommend this set if you wanna try out some stuff or even better if you can afford get the full sized items, they are definitely worth it, I really cannot pick a favorite item out of all of them because they were ALL GREAT!

A+++

Ps. The pictures with my blog's link are from my portfolio while the rest are print-screens from www.benefitcosmetics.com

Take care!

xo Heliana xo

Avon's Ultra Color Lipsticks (NEW FORMULA) swatches and mini review!

It's amazing how much Avon's products changed over the years. Some of their products are REALLY awesome! One of them is their lipsticks. I LOVE Avon lipsticks. They are rich, creamy, not drying on the lips, they smell good and they are affordable.

So, Avon has a lipstick line called "Ultra Color". Lately they changed the packaging and formula (i guess) and also the color palette. Since I had a nice big price reduction (as a representative), I ordered a few because... well, just like that :P  I got 6 colors and here they are:

They come in a square plastic tube with the known metallic part that writes Avon on it. As usual, the name is stated at the bottom of the tube. I got the colors Carnation, Pout, Latte, Hot Pink, Red 2000 and Sparkling Nude. I'll show you separately swatches on my lips (btw at some of the photos my mouth is red because of the constant rubbing to take the colors off while doing the swatches. I tried so many times that my lips got numb at a point- haha). So let me show you:

CARNATION

Carnation is a creamy nude pink that it's almost the exact color of my natural lip color. It's very pretty and it has a lovely texture. Perfect for an everyday lip color, it's one of those colors that would look good pretty much on every one.

POUT

Pout (or Pout Cream) is the perfect nude with a teeny tiny hint of pink and it's my absolutely favorite color from the whole collection (and I will let you know why in another post soon, hihi). Carnation and Pout are just a tiny bit similar but Pout is less pink and it has a glossy finish whereas Carnation has a cream one.

LATTE

Latte is clearly a beige nude color with no hints whatsoever of pink or peach or anything like that. Another color that looks good on every skin color and tone. It has a cream finish to it and I forgot to mention that all 2, carnation, pout and latte don't have sparkles/shimmer/glitter in them.

HOT PINK

Hot pink is a medium bright fuchsia, again, no shimmer or glitter. It has more of a matte/creamy finish. It is a more bold lip color, not everyone's cup of tea but I really like it.

RED 2000

First of all, excuse the sloppy application, anyway I just applied it to show you the color. Red 2000 is a neutral (i know it shows pinky on the photo with the flash but it's a true neutral red). It's pretty for an elegant everyday look or a more glamorous appearance. It has a matte/creamy finish. One more color that I think it looks good on everyone.

SPARKLING NUDE

The only one from the colors I picked that - as the name states- is glittery and sparkly. It's a nude color, on the beige side and it has fine silvery sparkles. Naturally, being a sparkly color, it is a bit more sheer.

Overall I like A LOT these lipsticks. Even though they are very affordable they are not cheap (if you know what I mean). They apply really well and they are not drying. The specific line - Ultra Color - has a very big range of colors (my only complain is that that they have the most wearable shades of pink, coral, nudes, reds, oranges etc but not some more special shades like shades of purple etc.) Other than that I love them and I totally recommend them! 

★★★★★: 5/5

Summer (and Fall, as it seems) Shopping Mania Vol.3 and final: Various Brands

This will be the last post from my summer and early fall beauty purchases. I spent a LOT of money (shhhh don't tell) but I had a hard year (my first year at a university in another country) and I went through a LOT of stress which lead to causing me a lot of health problems throughout the year so I did deserve this shopping therapy (not that i need to have an explanation lol).

Anyway, let me show you the products -from various companies- i will not mini review them as I did at my other 2 posts because I want to make a separate normal review for a few of them. :)

1: Accessories, Camera earrings (around 2 euro)

2: Essence "Smokey Eyes" brush (1.99 euro)

3: Seventeen "Long Lasting Makeup" nr. 02 (around 8 euro)

4: Essence "Nail Color3" Left color "Walk in the park", right color "Stop for ice cream" (gift with purchases"

5 Toyoko Foundation brush (got 2 of them lol) (around 9 euro).

I am a huge lip balm junkie especially because my lips are always dry and I hate if I put a lipstick and cracks will show up on my lips, gross. So i always apply lip balm before i do my makeup.

The lip gloss of the picture is from Deborah Milano company "24 ore Euphoric Shine: nr.4 (gift with other purchace)

In the tin: Nivea Lip Butter: Vanilla & Macadamia (3 euro)

1: Balea young in "Sweet Wonderland" (around 1-2 euro)

2: Dalon Sport: Chocolate (2-3 euro)

3: Dalon Sport: Cherry ( <<)

4: Nivea's Vitamin Shake : Acai & Wild Apple

5: Alverde's Lip Balsam: Vanilla Mandarin 

I also made some swaches for the lip gloss and the balms just to see how they look like. Here is the lip gloss:

And here are the lip balm swatches (in the same order that were displaced in the previous photo):

As you can see the Balea (1) and Alverde (5) don't give any color which is nice.

Dalon's chocolate (2) has a brown color which can look weird if you apply it too much while the cherry (3) one gives a very cute pink color like you just had a popsicle and your lips got tainted :)

The Nivea (4) one has a very subtle color that you don't even observe on the lips. :)

They ALL smell gorgeous!

Last but most certainly NOT least 2 of my favorite purchases. I was very excited to get both of these items and I for sure will make separate reviews for them.

Maybelline's 24 Hour Color Tattoo: nr. 35 On and on Bronze (5 euro)

Such a pretty color!!!

Aaaaaaaand............. 

MARY-LOU MANIZER, highlighter from theBalm cosmetics (sooooooo excited to try this!!!) (around 16 euro)

Doesn't it have the cutest packaging EVER????

And swatch:

nr. 1 is more blended and nr. 2 is swatched with the finger.

So this post wraps up my HUUUUUUUGE summer haul. I am pretty sure that I forgot a few things (hihi) and I also didn't include hair and skin care products or clothing :P

Have you tried any of these products???

Take care!!!

Heliana

Avon Luxe Lipstick Swatches

Helloooo! Long time no see, right? I just wanted to make a short post with swatches from Avon's Luxe lipsticks. We all know that Avon's lipsticks in general are amazing, pigmented and with a very nice texture but especially this line is AWESOME!

They are creamy, moisturizing and the name justifies them totally since they feel so luxurious! They come in a golden tube which is nice but the only small problem with shiny tubes like that is that they get all blurry from the fingerprints. I can't say that they have the best staying power but that makes total sense since they are very creamy and glossy. I totally RECOMMEND them!

1 - Nude Slip: My absolutely favorite shade from this line. As I mentioned in another post I don't like nude lipsticks because they make me look like a corpse but this is a very flattering nude color that is not grey or beige or brown or anything like that and it's in the list of my top 10 fave lipsticks.

2 - Lustering Nude: Also very flattering nude shade but this one has a shimmer in it and just a hint of pinky undertone maybe. My second favorite

3 - Rose Silk: Pinky to coral shade

4 - Polished Rose: Pink shimmery shade

5 - Provocative Pink: My third favorite from the line it's a soft glossy pink so pretty <3

6 - Pink Ruffles: Not sure why this has the word "pink" in it's name since its really a reddish color like a strawberry or watermelon red.

7 - Red Haute: It is a deep (not exactly wine) red.

8 - Glam Poppy: Orange shimmery color, not really my taste but still has a pretty texture.

9 - Stiletto Red: Pretty shimmery red color.

10 - Designer Red: Probably the best red color in the collection it is a true vibrant red that feels absolutely amazing on the lips.

Have you tried any of these lipsticks? Would you like me to take pictures of them on lips instead of my hand? Let me know!
I will start a point system from now on, like a grade from 0 to 5 to show my liking for the product I got this idea from my friend Usi's blogspot :)
So, the filled hearts will reprezent points and the blank hearts will just fill up till the five

So my grade for this product is a total 5 out of 5:
❤❤❤❤❤

Take care,
Heliana

Photo Credits:
1st photo through google from www.neseser.hr
2nd photo from my own personal portfolio.

Avon Ultra Color Rich Lipstick Swatches and a few words.

As most of the Avon lipsticks, the lipstick of this line are very creamy and they glide easily on the lips. They don't have the greatest staying power ever but they sure look great on the lips.
Here are the swatches with flash and without:

From left to right: Latte, Cappuccino, Carnation Cream, Country Rose, Iced Coffee, Instant Mocha, Sparkling Warm Rose, Sparkling Blush and Frostiest Mauve. 

All of them except the Sparkling Warm Rose (3rd from the right) are very rich in color in-deed, this one, I had to apply it a few times so it can show but it's still a gorgeous color.

My favorites are Frostiest Mauve, Sparkling Warm Rose and Carnation Cream. I also love the Pout Cream from this line but I have to buy it again cause it's gone, hihi. 

I absolutely love and recommend these lipsticks, you cannot go wrong with an Avon lipstick.

Do you own any of these lipsticks? What's your opinion about them?

Heliana. 

PS: I had to moderate the comments because I get daily spam messages so sorry about that :) 

Avon Perfect Kiss Lipsticks (Swatches of more colors)

Some time ago I showed 4 colors from that line, you can read about it here. These lipsticks are really nice, moisturizing some of them are very bright some more sheer and they smell amazing. But a problem with these lipsticks is that the colors on the brochure have NOTHING to do with how the colors are in real life. So I thought of showing some more colors of this line with the hope that it will help you to get the color that you will enjoy :).

Kiss Me Pink:

"Kiss Me Pink" is a sheer shimmery pink color.

 Make Out Red:

It's a red color - quite pigmented more on the pink side of the red

 Berry Smooth:

Is a deep plum color with a small hint of pink, very vibrant.

Smitten Red:

Is more of dark true red.

Lacy Mauve:

I really have no idea why the name of this lipstick contains the word Mauve which means purple as it has no purple in it whatsoever. This color is an every day red shade

Loving Lilac:

This is my favorite of all of them. It's actually more vibrant in real life than in the picture. The rest of the colors look brighter in the pictures but I can't really catch the real color of them. This is a pink lilac color with a bit of shimmer. Perfect!

Chic Nude:

Pretty much the name says everything. It's a pretty nude color with a small amount of shimmer, very nice for every day looks. My second favorite :)

Generally:

The lipsticks are very nice but I have to say that the colors are kinda repetitive. The reds are very similar to each other as well as the pinks. In my opinion they shouldn't make a ton of shades that are very close to each other but few and different. Other than that you can read my previous review for them :)

Take care! 

XO, Heliana