February Favourites and Disappointments

MILANI Conceal + Perfect 2-in-1 Foundation + Concealer

00A Porcelain

I've shared how impressed I was with this foundation in the review for the original lightest shade 01, which was actually my darkest foundation, but now I finally got the new palest shade, confusingly named 00A (because they already screwed up with 00) and it's a winner. I'm always delighted at the discovery of very pale shade and this one is a good one, roughly about NW10, but so far the closest shade to neutral I own (it's still a bit pink, though it's more peach, swatches in here). It fits me perfectly which for a medium coverage foundation is quite important. The formula is thick, it could almost be a cream foundation, so I apply it in sections, but it looks better on the skin than other medium coverage foundations I tried.

MAC Eyeshadow

Patina

I started using eyeshadows after quite a while, so I've been enjoying exploring my old favourites and Mac Patina just wins. I've had it for ages and I still haven't found a dupe that would look as good as this. It's a pale shade, so if your skin tone is above NC/W30 this might not show up well, but it's an antique gold shade with a satin finish, you can see it swatched here. I love combining it with gold-green shades like Gilded Ganache in Too Faced Chocolate Palette, since they just go together so well. I've never considered Mac eyeshadows to be some of the best despite their popularity because they aren't as soft and creamy and some others, but this is the shade I think everyone with a light skintone should own because it's so unique and so pretty.

THEBALM Girls Getaway Trio Long-Wearing Bronzer/Blush

I've wanted this for so long, though actually I wanted Balm Springs and Balm Beach in their individual forms, but in a palette it's even better. Balm Springs is the brightest here and different than you'd expect based on its muted pink appearance in the pan. It swatches peachy-orange, so it looks coral on the cheeks. Balm Beach is unexpectedly a lot more my colour and it's pinkier than Balm Springs, so it's a nice muted pinky-peach shade - so far it's my favourite in the palette. The last Balm Desert is a unique shade because it's like bronzer-meets-blush shade, since it's like you'd mix a bronzer with a rosy blush. I need to apply it with a light hand, but it works. I'm now checking into even more theBalm blushes, particularly their Instains.

THEBALM Meet Matt(e) Hughes

Sincere

My fourth Meet Matte Hughes - yup I'm still a big fan of these and they remain my favourites because they are perfectly matte and last well on the lips. Sincere is one of the shades that was released about a year ago and it's a less "bright" cousin of Committed. The latter is muted mix of peach and pink, while Sincere swatches almost brown and on the lips looks like a less peachy version of Committed, so a pinky brown. If I apply it really neatly, I feel like it makes my lips look a bit bigger, so I know I'll wear it a lot.

LANCÔME Matte Shaker liquid lipstick

Beige Vintage

This was one of my rare splurges, but I wanted to really treat myself for my birthday and I'm really happy with this one. While the concept is fun, I wasn't completely swayed by it and I bought this because I liked the shade, while I was a bit apprehensive about the whole shaking bit and the big applicator, but all together it works out great. This is quite a unique type of matte liquid lipstick because the formula is so smooth that you can use it as a stain which tints the lips and creates a very natural look, but if you decide to apply it in a more generous coat (you need to shake the bottle a bit more, so you get more product) you get a fully opaque, super smooth formula. But the best part is the gorgeous shade. I've been a fa of Nude-ist for years, but I've never found something similar, only more muted versions of the shade. This is one of those cute muted, but still vibrant enough peachy-pinks that lifts the complexion and creates a very fresh look. It was so worth it.

MAX FACTOR Honey Lacquer

Honey Nude

After several years it finally happened that I bought a lip gloss, though I had one of these before, but because it was sent to me I didn't get to pick the colour. I fell in love with the comfy, balm formula of these and I wanted a wearable shade that I'll love. Honey Nude is so pretty, very wearable and I'm sure it's a shade that would fit so many because its semi-opaque and it somehow enhances your natural lip colour. The packaging is so pretty too.

REVLON Ultra HD Matte Lipcolor

Embrace

My other comfortable lip product. I've had Devotion for a year or two and it's one of my most worn lip products, not just because of the comfortable formula, but also because it smells so nice (though this one has a slightly more cookie vanilla smell than the first shade I got). It's an opaque liquid lipstick with a creamy shine and it's doesn't really set matte, thought I noticed this one wears off to a less creamy version faster than Devotion. Embrace is a nude peachy shade with some pink and it's not my ideal shade, but it's closest to what I wanted from the shades they have and I'm sure I'll wear it tons.

LEE JIHAM DR.'s Care Vita-Propolis Ampoule

I found my replacement for Banilla Miss Flower Mr Honey Essence Oil. This is actually much lighter than the latter and also not sticky, so I think I like it even more. I'm still trialling things, but when I used this in combination with my basic skin care and Nuxe oil, my skin looked noticeably better than with other skin care, it was also clear and had a nice healthy glow. When I started using it with other products, it again produced the same results, so I'm quite happy with this. The only think that sucks is that it's only available in 15 ml bottles and it's going to run out fast, which isn't that great when I think how long it takes for stuff to come from Korea.

BATH AND BODY WORKS Bubble Bath

Champagne Apple & Honey

This scent just grew on me. I've never been much of an apple scent fan, but this smells so close to real apples, it's just a bit sweeter. I became a bit obsessed with the scent, so I checked our drugstores for something similar and we barely have anything with apples, and nothing is as nice as this. I've used it both as a shower gel and a bubble bath, and I really like it as the latter because it foams well, plus it made the whole house smell like apples. This was a limited edition, but it's still sold on eBay and Amazon and I think BBW has something similar, as I heard some good things about their country apple line.

BALEA Duschschaum

Hawaiian Dream

I've already used up the Fresh & Fruity version and this is another lovely one. It's got a nice sweet floral scent that's probably one of Balea's most simple fragrances and one you don't get tired of quickly. The foam is again lovely and based on my experience with the Fresh & Fruity, I know the can will last quite a while.

BATH & BODY WORKS Twilight Woods Body Mist

I've been spraying this every day, it's just such a wonderful scent for the season, as it's a warm and cosy fragrance like a warm fluffy cardigan. It's a woody, musky, a bit coconutty and vanillary fragrance that's not sugary sweet, but nicely creamy. I'm really loving this at the moment and I'm glad it exists in such a big bottle.

DISAPPONTMENT

THE FACE SHOP Rice Water Bright Rich Cleansing Oil

This was such a disappointment, though admittedly I expected a lot. I heard it's a powerful makeup remover, but this is so weak that it barely removes/dissolves any mascara and I end up with the worst panda eyes, so I need to use a separate remover (micellar) on top of already using a gel cleanser after oil. It also broke me out, but that's a problem specific to me. It might be nice if you don't wear makeup and you just need something to remove sunscreen at the end of the day, but I'm very disappointed with this. Also this is heavily scented with a baby powder scent - I like it, those sensitive to scents won't.