Empties #1

It was about time for a first empties post! Empties are the products you use up. Since you've used them all up, you know quite well if you like them, if they work like they're supposed to and if you'd repurchase them.

I've collected these empty items in the last months:

  

Let's start off simple. The first item I used up is this base coat from the Dutch drugstore Hema. It's cheap and it worked just fine. Since I've never used anything besides this, it's not relevant to compare this.

I also ran out of my MAC Oil control lotion, that I use as my daily moisturizer. I started using this about a year ago and it definately helps to control the oil in my skin. I always thought I had oily skin, but since I started using the MAC Oil control lotion, I know that actually I have a combination skin since only my T-zone gets oily. This is probably my second bottle of it, and I've already used a fair amount of my repurchased one. It's still going strong!

 This Maybelline the Falsies Volume Express Mascara has been gone for a while and I've had several tubes of it. It's the best mascara I've used so far, but I won't be repurchasing it for a while, since I'm testing out a lot of new ones. I do think I will eventually go back to this one.

My Vichy Normaderm exfoliating gel has gone too *snif snif*... I loved it, it left my skin pretty much spotless (which is extremely rare for me). I have a lot of samples and exfoliators I need to try out, but after that, I will definately be repurchasing this.

The Vichy solution micellaire is from the same Normaderm line as the exfoliator. I liked this, but tried out the Bioderma one afterwards and simply liked that better. I still have a second bottle of this have to use up though. 

So naturally, here is the small Bioderma Sensible H²0 Solution Micellaire bottle. I tried it out and loved it. On my trip to Paris I will be stocking up! This is the one for sensitive skin and it worked perfectly, but I know that there's also one for oily skin in this line. However, from the online reviews it seems to be less effective. Have you tried both? What do you think I should try?

I also finished this L'Oréal Elnett Satin Hair spray for extra volume. I love it and have been using it for a long time. It doesn't make my hair crunchy, it gives it that extra *Ooomph* that my hair needs in the morning. Will be repurchasing this.

And last but not least, I've used up this Urban Decay Naked skin foundation in color 3.0 a few months ago. I liked the light to medium coverage and easy application very much, but was disappointed by the staying power. This shouldn't be the case when you buy a more high-end foundation. I am very interested to see if the Revlon Nearly Naked (which is supposed to be the drugstore dupe) stays on longer? They don't seem to be selling it in Belgium, though. But I won't be repurchasing the Naked Skin foundation.

Have you used any of these products? Which ones did you like and dislike?

Xoxo,
Anine

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure 2013 collection

Recently, my eyes fell on a very interesting article that had found its way onto my computer screen. Sally Hansen is coming to Belgium! The polishes will be available at Planet Parfum. This higher-end nail polish brand is quite popular and so I couldn't wait to try them out.

I got my hands on these two colors. The first one is Jaded and this is a nice mint green color. The second color is Berry Important, which is (as you might guess) a nice, quite warm berry color.
 

Quality
I like these! They apply pretty easily and I prefer two coats, especially with the Jaded color. These polishes lasted me an entire week, which is the longest a nail polish has ever gone without chipping heavily or peeling off, I think.

Packaging
I love the packaging. You got a lot of product for your price and it's pretty to look at (you all know you like that too, just admit it!). I like that the brush is wider than your average nail polish brush. It makes application easier. However, the two brushes were kind of flared out (by accident I presume) which made it a bit harder for me to apply the polishes. It still was quite easy to use though.

Price
The polishes retail for 11.99 euros - 13.99 euros depending on where you buy them. I think that's a good price, considering you get a lot of product and they lasted me an entire week.

Selection
There are 10 polishes available for this Complete Salon Manicure collection. They're all beautiful colors, and you can also choose some darks.

Have you tried Sally Hansen polishes before?

xoxo,
Anine

First impression: Wet n Wild Eyeshadow palettes

The Wet n Wild Eyeshadow palettes are known very well in the online beauty community, since the quality and pigmentation of their eyeshadows are comparable to high end eyeshadows, but only cost a fraction of the price. And I'm not even exaggerating. Wet n Wild probably is the cheapest drugstore brand on the market.

Sadly, Wet n Wild is mostly sold in the US and it's pretty hard to get your hands on it outside the US. The ones you can get your hands on are usually six to nine times as expensive as they are in the States, which always was a reason for me not to buy anything from them. Finally I found a webshop that carried them at reasonable prices. I wanted to try Walking on Eggshells, since everyone raves about this neutral-colored palette. I also wanted Petal Pusher, because I've been wanting a palette with some purples for a long time. I had my eye on the Stila In The Moment Palette, but since the price of the Wet n Wild one is not even comparable to the Stila one, I finally gave in.

Walking on eggshells

Petal Pusher

Quality
The quality of these is great. The shadows are creamy, pigmented and easy to apply. I was scared they would be chalky but they're not at all! There's quite a lot of fall out from the colors, but I tap my brush a few times very well after dipping it in the pan and before applying it on my lid.

Packaging
The packaging is not comparable to a Chanel one -obviously- but for the price, it's surprisingly good. It could break, but for a drugstore brand that is thàt cheap, it does the same job when it comes to packaging as Maybelline.

Selection
I love the colors and am going to have to hold myself back to purchase more! The color selection varies from natural colors to bright ones, so there's something for everyone. They also come out with amazing limited edition ones during the holidays. You're probably only able to get those in the States though.

Price
You really can't complain about the prices. And it's not just the eyeshadow palettes that are great quality (for those few euros you need). Everything from Wet n Wild I found online that shipped to Belgium was below ten euros (which is an amazing price for make-up here).


I hope you enjoyed this small first impression! Have you already tried Wet n Wild products?
Xoxo

Obsessed: Nail polish

In the month of March, we barely saw any sun in Belgium. While the American bloggers were bathing in their precious sunlight, it was either snowing or raining here. I was dying to get some spring feels, and so I wore a lot of new pastel colors on my nails. It was the only way for me to get some color into my look, because knitted pastel sweaters and cute floral skirts looked ridiculous amidst the snow.

I actually wanted some of the polishes from the L'Oreal spring collection, but since they're not being sold in Belgium, I tried to find some dupes. Two I actually found in their own range of polishes.

L'Oreal Marie Antoinette

I love this nude pinky/peach color, since it's subtle and yet so perfect for spring and it really brightens my mood.

L'Oreal Jade de Perle

This color is the perfect mint! (Don't mind the awful application, it was all my fault - applying polish while cooking is never a good idea)

I also purchased this for some nail 'art':

Matte top coat

For example, I used it here:

The L'Oreal polishes apply very easily, two coats suffice for me and it doesn't chip on me at all. I actually even find them comparable to Essie polishes when it comes to 'chipproofness' (is that even a word).

Another polish I've been loving was this color from Hema (a Dutch drugstore): This color is a bit more 'in your face', without thinking "Woooow girl, whatcha got on your nails?!"

They're the cheapest out there, and recently they really have been stepping up their game and adding some really nice colors! Application goes well, but chips easily. I don't think they even have names, these polishes.

The last polish I got for you, is this one from Pieces in Peach. My mom bought this for her last summer and didn't like it, so she gave it to me. I tried it recently and damn, I don't think any nail polish has lasted so long on me like this one! The color is a vibrant, not-yet-neon-but-still bright pink.

What spring colors have you been rocking lately?

xoxo
Anine

Mascara Review: Benefit they're real

This mascara has got the Blogosphere gone mad. This mascara from benefit is more expensive than your regular drugstore one, so you could already classify this as a more high-end mascara. I received this as a sample when I got the Benefit Mr Bright gift set for my birthday last year. I finally finished it and so, here's me review of this sample size.

The one thing that makes the huge difference with this mascara, is the wand. It's plastic and at the beginning I disliked it a lot. I've been using make-up for years, but this wand apparently made it very easy for me to stab my eyes with. However, the result of the mascara was stunning.

This mascara separated my lashes like nobody's business and it lengthened them as well. It didn't give a lot of volume. When the mascara was still very wet (as they always are when they're brand new), I did only apply two coats. After a third coat, my lashes looked a bit too spiderlike. When it dried out a bit though, I didn't have that problem anymore.

Would I repurchase this? Probably not, since I have enough drugstore mascara's I like that are cheaper. But if you're in the market for a more high-end mascara that makes it look a bit as if you have false lashes on, this could be the mascara for you!

Xoxo
Anine

WISHLIST: What if I would do a beauty swap?

My Youtube addiction often makes me want stuff I really don't need. Lipsticks, foundations, hair products, ... Every month I freak out about a different product. This month it were the Maybelline Colorsensational Vivid Lipsticks. The one problem: The new Maybelline lipsticks aren't available in Belgium (and probably never will be) and except for eBay, there's no way to order them online and get them shipped to my home.

I wanted to beg my sister-in-law to buy it for me while she was in Chicago. But since I kinda already gave her an entire list of stuff she could bring me "if she wanted to", I didn't feel it was a decent thing to do if I asked her to go out again and buy me more stuff. (She bought me 3 items I've wanted for SO LONG so THANK YOU Iris!)

I wandered around hundreds of beauty webshops, but the ones that carried Maybelline didn't ship to Belgium. I became more and more desperate. Then all of a sudden, I thought to myself: "Why don't I have a friend that lives in the US who can do a beauty swap with me?" and I started imagining this List of Perfection in my head of beauty items that I would want to get from the US or UK, especially the ones that aren't available in Belgium.

I wanted to share this list, just because I think a lot of people from smaller countries will absolutely agree with me: All make-up brands and lines should be available everywhere! Sit back, relax and enjoy this heavenly view of my must-have US and UK products that I can't get in Belgium!

UNITED STATES

Wet n Wild Mega Last Matte lip color in 965 Cherry Picking

Youtuber and blogger FleurdeForce wore this lipstick shade in her New York City vlog and it looked stunning on her. Since she kind of has the same skin and hair color as me, I thought it might suit me too. I can get Wet n Wild through European webshops, but never these lipsticks. Wet n Wild would probably be thé brand I'd stock up on if I'd go to the US.

Maybelline 24h color tattoo in Inked In Pink

This cream eyeshadow has become wildly popular in the online beauty world. It's very hard for me to get my hands on it, and with shipping costs, it's about four times the price... I'm still deciding if it's worth it.


Bath & Body Works candles

There's nothing quite like the Bath & Body Works candles. Everybody acts like these candles came falling down from heaven and even though I have never ever been able to smell one, I somehow got convinced that I NEED these candles.


UNITED KINGDOM

You would think that I would've picked everything up that I wanted during my six-month stay in Southampton, England a few months ago, but sadly you couldn't be more wrong. I loved the wide array of make-up brands and boy, do I miss it! But I've somehow always failed to find or pick up most of the UK beauty must-haves.

Sleek Face Contour kit

I searched dozens of Superdrugs, but sadly, it was never in stock... *cry*

Barry M

How. Could I've been. So stupid. Not to pick up any Barry M nail polishes?! Wait, I actually bought one and I love it to death. But instead of realizing that I had to stock up, I stocked up on Essie polishes. Essie is available in Belgium since a few months, so it would've been a lot smarter to pick up the Barry M's instead.

These are the first products that come to mind. There's probably a lot more... Do you have products you desperately want but aren't available in your country?

xoxo
Anine