Alverde is cosmetic brand which belongs to the DM drugstore and I must admit the fact that it is a brand which promises sustainable thinking, is cruelty free and uses only top end natural ingredients makes this a brand worth looking at. They have a wide range of products, but I love looking and trying out their make up.
I absolutely love their baked eye shadows and it is so disappointing that they have only 3 colors to chose from. Although they have only 3 colors they are absolutely beautiful nude tones which can be used in almost any makeup look and the light shimmery texture makes them easy to work with and a must have. The texture is so light and velvety that when you swatch it you feel like you have to press into the product because you can’t feel it on your fingers, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The product is enriched with jojoba and sunflower oil and comes in a little 4 g pot. All of their eyeshadows are amazing and finely milled, that you feel like you are buying something luxurious for an affordable price. My favorite shade is #09 Rose Nude and my every day eye look has been reduced to applying it all over the lid and a bit of brown winged out eyeliner.
The color is almost flesh toned, highly reflective and simply stunning. Although I love the product, I have to warn you that the drawback with it is, it seems to fade away somewhat and you really have to use a primer to help it stay in place. If you want to check out the product I recommend going to a DM drugstore and not going by the swatches they have on their website because they are way off.
I have one other product to share with you, and I think now would be high time because just recently when I wanted to restock, I only found it in the area for products which are on sale and they are slowly getting rid of. The girl at the counter wasn’t able to tell if it was being repackaged or discontinued. It is a lipstick, which comes in a handy sleek green tube. It might not be fair to call it a lipstick because in my mind it has a consistency much more similar to a balm, but it is awesome and I used it everyday throughout the winter. The moisturizing properties and awesome colors make it a product I keep returning to. I was only able to find 3 shades left and grabbed them all because I have a feeling I might not find something similar to replace the product if it really is being discontinued.
Lately, I have been really into beauty products and just trying out different items. There is just so much out there, and I am thinking about reviewing the things I try and perhaps even making videos 
. There is one new product that caught my eye and it is the Soufflé Touch Blush by Essence. On their website it is described as a subtle water-based blush, which blends into the skin for a natural, fresh complexion. It is available in 3 shades and I chose the shade #020 frozen strawberry, which was a nice natural pink with gold undertones.
The consistency of the product is very strange and you can tell that it is a water based product. It feels light and is a mix of a foam and creamy consistency. To this day I am not quite sure how it is meant to be applied, so I play it safe and use my fingers. Essence must think that they have made something awesome because they already have a limited edition called “Fruity” out and most of their products(the eye shadows and blushes) are made using the same airy soufflé texture.
I personally am not impressed with the product. Although I did not expect much, it was something new and the consistency was so different from anything I have ever seen or used, it had me intrigued to the point where I had to try it out and see for myself what it was all about.
I’ll give you an idea of the issues I had when using the product:
- The product dries fast and makes it hard to work with, you have to work fast.
- You are left with a lot of dry residue on your fingers, so it is better to apply it in small amounts and try layering although when you do it tends to look patchy.
- Since it is water based it washes away some of the makeup it is meant to go on top of.
- The lasting power is ok, but even if it did not look patchy in the beginning, after being applied it will fade away in some places and leave you with an uneven looking application.
- After a couple of hours I found that the product settled in my pores (I am not a person who has noticeable pores, well at least not on cheeks… I have no idea how it managed to do that)
As you can guess, I would definitely not recommend buying this product and I even regret spending the little money it cost, but I had to see what all the buzz was about. I really wanted to like the product and now I am all the more disappointed. If the products in the Fruity collection are anything like this blush I think I will stay away from them as well. Hope you found the review helpful .
Catrice is a cosmetic brand that was introduced last year to the Slovak market and the first thing I noticed was their nail polish. What a selection of beautiful colors! I never bought anything up till now. I noticed really sleek metal packaging and was intrigued as to what it was. It turned out to be the Perfect Adapt Concealer, an under eye concelaer and quite frankly I was impressed! Mostly by the packaging, but after trying their fairest shade, Beige, and seeing that it matched my skin tone well, I was sold and popped it into the basket.
Still impressed by the packaging, I took a good look at their other products and I was drawn to the Infinite Matt foundation ( where is the “e” in matte, Catrice?) also because of its packaging. It is beautifully packaged in a matte glass container with a pump. After swatching their lightest shade I decided it was worth a try. The concealer turned out to be half off so I got it for €2,57 and the foundation sold for €6,97, those are very reasonable prices and never have I seen something retail for that much and have packaging that elegant and pretty.
The concealer is a bit pink toned which is perfect for covering up under eye circles. It has a little brush applicator which applies a very thin layer of the product. The product itself feels very light, has a watery consistency, sets a long time, but blends in well and leaves you with a natural look. It does have a slight sheen to it, does not settle into fine lines and has not left my already dry and sensitive skin under my eyes with any dry patches, which is a big deal because a lot of other products tend to irritate my eyes or the skin around them. There are 3 shades to choose from, but it claims to have perfect adapt properties to suit more skin tones. The bottom line is there definitely are better under eye concealers out there, but I quite like this one. I don’t know if I will repurchase the product again. I personally like it because it feels in no way drying nor does it look caky.
As for the make up…. It feels nice, is oil free and has a clean scent which disappears almost immediately after being applied. The make up has a thick consistency and the coverage is medium and buildable. I would never reach for a Matte foundation due to the fact that I already have dry skin which tends to look dull, but for some reason the lightest shade of the Matte foundation was lighter than the lightest shade from their other lines. I figured I could use a illuminating base and it would look nice. I will say that I once ran out wearing it without a base and it was drying to the point that my skin felt itchy. It wasn’t a good choice for me due to my dry skin and it makes the product hard to judge, but I can only suppose that it would be good for people with oilier skin. Over all you are left with a good quality, reasonably priced foundation in great packaging. It does stay on for a long time (definitely not 18h, like promised, but who wears makeup for that long in a day?), but the staying power will probably be reduced if you have oily skin.I have no problem with it when wearing it the whole day. The main drawback I see is like with most drugstore brands the color range is limited, as there are only 4 shades to choose from. Be warned that it does go darker after a couple of minutes and recently I have started mixing it with other products to suit me better.
Have you tried any of the mentioned products? Let me know what you think.
I have reached a point when I can’t seem to find anything I like in my closet. I feel like a painter who has been given only a couple of colors to paint with… Ever feel like you want to toss out everything in your closet? Just a silly phase, but I seriously can’t wait for a change in the weather or I need to go shopping and get some new things 
This outfit in my mind is a tribute to the nautical trend (although vertical stripes don’t exactly scream nautical). I love stripes! Easily over half of my tops have stripes on them. I feel like the nautical look is timeless, there is nothing you can spoil with stripes, but polka dots on the other hand are tricky. I was rather disappointed that polka dots are the new big thing. They just aren’t as aesthetically pleasing to the eye, or my eye, and must be used sparingly. The combination of the two trends was the inspiration behind the outfit, I paired my beloved stripes with a red polka dot bandanna and went a bit for the famous “We Can Do It!” poster look.
On the lips I am wearing Miss Sporty lipstick, 054 Read My Lips, which I really enjoy. I am baffled by the fact that it is a beautiful red on the lips, but when swatched it looks like the perfect coral shade for spring. Either way the lipstick is great and I have already gone out and gotten some other shades suited better for everyday wear.
I am a huge fan of lip products! Seriously, if I could I would have a huge collection of lipstick and own all the wearable and unbearable lipstick shades ever made. That being said, lately I have been really into bold colors, which I typically would overlook, but now I feel drawn to them. I spent quite some time in the drugstore browsing through all the lipstick different brands had and surprisingly I ended up looking at the Miss Sporty selection. This is a brand I usually ignore because they make it pretty clear that their target group is teenage girls. However, lately I purchased some nail polish I enjoyed and decided to give them a second chance. I was impressed! Not only did they have something around 20 shades they must have also changed the formula and packaging.
I already once bought a lipstick from Miss Sporty and I was rather disappointed. It was a color I knew I would wear only occasionally and did not want to spend a lot of money on. At home I found the lipstick very dry, with a rather unappealing scent, and when I tried applying a balm underneath to minimize the feeling I could actually feel the lipstick slipping off my lips. Swatches of their new lipstick looked much more promising. The lipstick is not nearly as dry as before, has a nice creamy texture and is very pigmented.
Once on the lips, I can say that it has a nice feel to it. It feels rich without feeling sticky and the color is very vibrant. With around 20 shades there is plenty to choose from. I feel like they have it all; beautiful nude shades, fun party shades and then the more sophisticated evening shades. The thing I really appreciate about the lipstick is that only a small amount of their shades have shimmer in them (I hate lipstick with shimmer in it). You could go without applying balm beforehand as the lipstick definitely has a moisturizing ingredient in it. The staying power is average for a drugstore lipstick and you will have to reapply or try going the old fashioned route with a lip pencil and powder. The lipstick comes in a sleek slightly hourglass shaped container with a sweet bubblegum scent (it disappears rather quickly). Most of all the price is very appealing and at €1.99 it can perhaps only be compared to N.Y.C.’s lipstick range (at least on the Slovak and Czech market) and Miss Sporty lipstick is by far the winner. Overall I would say if you want to experiment with some unique lipstick shades without spending a lot this is a good place to start. The lipstick in my mind only proves that something inexpensive can look great and is definitely worth at least taking a look at.
I only grabbed a couple shades to start off with and love them! I am especially fond of Read My Lips, a beautiful coral color, the perfect lipstick for spring. Have you tried the Miss Sporty lipstick? Let me know your thoughts or if you have suggestions for some other shades or lip products .
