rimmel stay matte pressed powder review & demo

Hello beauties!

In this post I'm reviewing one of the cult make up products, and one of the must- haves in my beauty bag!

Rimmel London
Stay Matte
Pressed Powder
# 001 Transparent

Rimmel London Stay Matte pressed powder is such a beloved product by many, and the reason for that is quite simple: It's very affordable price wise, yet very high quality!

This product never failed me down: It sets my make up without altering the colour/texture of my foundation, and it matifies my face in a perfect day (with the exceptional lasting power!)

It contains natural minerals which help minimise the appearance of pores.

The container holds 14 g (0.48 oz); I've been using it on a daily basis, as a last step in my make up routine, and I've had it for months now! As you can tell from the pic above, I hit the pan on it and I'll soon need to repurchase it, but it did last me quite a while.

I bought it at my local supermarket in Italy, but I won't be making this mistake again! Thanks to my subscribers, I found out that in Italy, this product retails twice the price it has in other european countries!

In fact, on my recent trip to Croatia, I poped in one of the local beauty stores and discovered it retails at cca 38 kn (cca 5€), whereas in Italy I bought it for cca 10€.

That's quite absurd and I can't seem to figure out why is that so!

I like to apply this powder with my Sephora mineral powder brush #45

Rimmel Stay Matte is a very light texture powder, it's suitable for all skin types, but it's perfect for oily/combination skin.

I apply it only on my T-zone, where I know I risk to develop shine in a course of the day. I find that I don't even need to touch up my make up when I set it with this powder, even when I'm working long hours!

You can use it as a setting powder, on top of your foundation, or alone (I use it as a setting powder and that's why I went for the shade 001 transparent. If you use it alone, I suggest you pick it out in a shade that's the most similar to your skin tone, that way you'll have a better coverage.)

I've made a review video where I'm talking more about this pressed powder and I also did a little demo where I showed you how I apply it on my face so you can see the results and the finish.

(To watch my review, just click on the play button above on the thumbnail!)

Did you find this review useful? Leave me your comments!

Kiss from Italy,

Review: Dior Rosy Glow (Healthy Glow Awakening Blush)

Hello beauties!

Today I'd like to talk more about one product that absolutely won me over recently!

It's Dior Rosy Glow Healthy Glow Awakening Blush (001) and I got it a couple of weeks ago at my local Sephora.

Dior Rosy Glow comes in a posh velvet pouch :)

The colour is really pretty!

Want to hear more about this product?

Check out my video review here:

What makes this blush so special?

This is kind of a "magical" product, it's Dior's first blush that enhances your unique cheek colour for an ultra-natural and customized healthy glow effect.

The colour of the blush, once put on your cheeks, actually adjusts to your skin tone and skin type!

Rosy Glow adjusts to the moisture of each skin to make the cheeks blush in a very natural way, as if touched by a breath of fresh air!

Dior Rosy glow has got an ultra-fine powder texture and delicate rose fragrance.
The application of it is a moment of pure indulgence! :)

Dior Rosy Glow Swatch
Upon application, Rosy Glow reveals fresh and luminous colour that develops a rosy radiance to match each skin tone for an all-day ultra-natural, customized and healthy glow effect.

How to apply it?

Sweep the powder brush over the product a single time to take just the right amount of product, then apply delicately to the top of cheekbones.

The colour gradually intensifies as if by magic!

The result is ultra-natural, "customized" rosy glow.

If you want to accentuate the makeup result, sweep the powder over the cheekbones with the brush a second time (for a more vibrant colour result!)

I got this blush at my local Sephora, the product retails at 38€ (but I did have a 10%OFF coupon, luckily!)

It is an expensive product, but definitely worth it, if you're about to pamper yourself and treat yourself with a pure indulgence makeup :)

Every once in a while, we deserve it!

I do recommend it, I'm just sad it's so expensive, but this is what you can expect from a high end product...it always comes with a high price too :(

I hope this review was helpful!

If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me & I'll be happy to answer :)

On the other subject...just a quick, little update...

I mentioned yesterday, that I'm going to see my dr. about my thumb that I hurt a few weeks ago at work, and recently it got infected, it hurt bad and it was swollen...

Luckily, it's getting better, it doesn't hurt anymore, my doctor treated it, but it's still kind of weird feeling & swollen.

I guess that's the normal recovery process...

I should have been more careful and I should have taken the proper care of it as soon as I got injured! But it was such a tiny little cut that I overlooked it, I never thought this would be the result :(

Thank you all so much for keeping your fingers crossed for me! It meant a lot, as I do tend to freak out in these moments!

I'll talk to you soon, thanks for stopping by!

Kisss from Italy,

xoxo, S.

REQUESTED: Drugstore Make- up Starter Kit (Sonja Recommends)

It was requested for me to do this video, to talk about make up products (easily available at drugstores) that I believe everyone should have in their starter kit!

I do like drugstore make up and I believe most of the drugstore brands can stand side by side to most of the high end make up!

Why should we spend lots of money on a high end make up, when we can look fabulous even with (in most cases, great quality) drugstore brands!

I didn't always have a possibility to shop at Sephora for a high end make up& cosmetics!

Especially when I was a student, unemployed or between jobs!

I had to be very careful about where& how do I spend my money and I only had make up essentials in my, then non existing, collection.

Based on my personal experience, here is what I recommend:

;)

Don't forget to click on the link bellow and watch my video- recommendations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5Pg64QJYpk

My drugstore make up starter kit:

1.) Liquid Foundation

My favourite liquid foundations have always been the ones from Maybelline.

Currently I'm using the "Dream Satin Liquid" (shade 30 Sand)

2.) Compact Powder

I'm quite impressed with the Essence Mosaic powder and Catrice Multi Colour Compact powder.

Both of these brands are very affordable price-wise, yet such a good quality!

3.) Mascara

I always go back to L'oreal mascaras!

Also, loving the Rimmel's The Max Volume Flash mascara.

My first mascara ever: Max Factor (I used to love the "2000 Calorie")

4.) Blush

If you decide to purchase one of many beautiful shades of Bourjois blushes, you won't be sorry!

Take my word on that!

:)

5.) Lipstick & Lip gloss

Rimmel again, when talking about lipsticks :)

Bourjois leads when it comes to lip glosses!

Anyways, I'm a lip gloss type of girl! I can live without a lipstick, but not without a lip gloss! lol

;)

How about you?

6.) Bronzer

These are a bit harder to find, but I had to mention them!

If you're looking for an inexpensive, but good quality mat bronzer, N.Y.C. is the one!

I know it can't be find in every drugstore (I don't even know if it's available in Europe), this was a gift from my dear friend Liz from LizYArtur youtube channel, she bought it in the US.

Bronzingold by Deliplus is exclusive to Deliplus drugstores (I believe it's then available only in Spain, correct me if I'm wrong...)

Bronzingold has got some very delicate shimmer, but nothing too dramatic, nothing that would stop me from using this bronzer on a daily basis.

Again, thanx Liz xx

Un besito!

7.) Eyeshadow

Whenever I'm travelling, I want to make sure that I'm bringing with me some basic eye shadows; the qualities that I'm looking for are: a good colour pay off & long lasting finish.

I don't want  to constantly have to re-touch my eyeshadows throughout the day!

I need the colours that are perfect for pulling off a day look & also a night, smokey eye look, easily& effortlessly.

8.) Eye pencil, Eye shadow base/primer, All Over Highlighter

Girls, I don't know how many of you have tried the Manhattan make up & whether it's available worldwide (uhmmm..probably not :( It's a german brand), but they have the best highlighters ever!!!

I have the limited edition one, "Pearls of Tahiti", but every now & then they come up with a similar highlighter.

Every time I see a new highlighter by Manhattan, I wish to buy it! Even though I don't need another one, lol

So these are all the products from my starter kit!

I hope you find this helpful :)

Let me know, what was in your drugstore starter kit?

Any product that you'd like to recommend as your personal favourite& a must-have?

xoxo,

Sonja

REQUESTED Review: Bourjois Make Up

Hello girls!

One of the requests that I got recently was to do a review on Bourjois make up!

I do have a few products from Bourjois in my collection currently& I really do like this brand, so I was happy to do this review for you!

You can watch my video/review here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYhzEPhNqbg

I usually buy Bourjois make up in a drugstores in Croatia because here in Italy I just can't seem to find this brand anywhere...(??)

It's a french brand of make up, and I've heard it's actually  Chanel's little sister :)

It really is an awesome quality brand& the prices are just a slightly higher than other drugstore brands, but definitely still in the affordable range.

If you haven't tried anything from Bourjois yet, but you're thinking about buying something, my recommendation is go for lip glosses and blushes!

These are my absolut favourites!!!

The selection of different shades is amazing, the colours are just gorgeous, one prettier than another!

The colour pay off is amazing too.

Bourjois lip glosses are my favourite lip glosses ever. I really like the "Effet 3D" line, and "Les nudes".

As I've said, the blushes will leave you speachless: The colours are just so pretty, it's hard to describe it with words lol! Plus, they will last you a long time so don't be discouraged by the tiny confection (2,5 g of the product).

Pics taken: 1.)  in the natural daylight/ 2.) with a flash

I just recently finished off the compact powder by Bourjois.

I was very pleased with how matifying it was, awesome for oily/combination skin.

Also, a great make up to use if you have some breakouts because it actually helps drying out the blemishes and it won't clogg your pores and cause additional problems on your skin.

It really helps you stay shine free throughout the whole day!

My one mistake was that I got it in a wrong shade, not as flattering for my skin tone/undertone.

I didn't like the pink undertone it had :( I should have gotten the more natural, or even yellow undertone.

I got mine in a shade "Sable Rose", but now I think the "Beige Clair" would have worked better for me.

I'll keep this in mind when repurchasing this product!

This is a very good quality compact powder, great for setting your
foundation.

Thanx to another blogger& a friend of mine, Tali from the Gloss Goss, I had a chance to try out two of Bourjois eye pencils.

(Thank you Tali for sending these to me! xx)

I've had them in my collection for a while now, and I'm using them religiously whenever I want a pop of a green colour on my eyes (I find that green really accentuates the colour of my haazel eyes).

These are very soft& very long-lasting, especially the "Khol & Contour" one, which really lasts up to 16h!

In the past I've tried the Bourjois eye shadows, currently I don't own them, just because I wasn't very thrilled with them. For the price they're sold at, I think you can definitely find better eye shadows.

So this is my quick review on the Bourjois make up, definitely a thumbs up for the majority of their products!

If you live in Italy and know where to find this brand, please let me know, you can leave me a comment :)

In Croatia I don't have any difficulties in getting it, practically any drugstore holds it, and I usually buy it at DM (drogerie markt), Bipa or Kozmo drugstores.

xoxo,

Sonja

My Everyday Face Using Catrice Make-up!

Hello girls!

Are you familiar with the Catrice cosmetics?

If you live in Europe, you probably are, but I'm not sure whether this brand is available outside of the EU...probably not! :(

It's a german brand, I usually buy it in Croatia at Kozmo drugstores.

I really like the quality of this brand& it's also very convenient price wise :)

Recently I was sent a few of Catrice make-up items as a gift from the crew of neseser.hr (the website where I write my croatian blog), and past summer I got some items in a swap with Cookiemix67.

Even before all that, I bought some eyeshadows when I was in a drugstore in Croatia...so, my Catrice collection suddenly became quite big!

I was looking at all the make up from Catrice that I have& I figured out I could pratically do my entire day time make up using only (or almost only) the Catrice make up that I have in my "collection" :)

Here is the look that I created:

Playing with my Catrice make-up!
:)

Make sure to check out my make-up tutorial
on my beauty channel!
The link will be in this blog post.

I believe it's a great every day look with a pop of colour (violet) just along my lower lash line.

It really flatters the hazel eyes & it accentuates the green in them!

The eye make-up.

Highlighter in the waterline& a few coats of my fave
mascara!

Face& Lips

As always, the "tools" are the key in creating
any kind of look!

You can see my video tutorial here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u46UDoqm2ok

I hope you like this look :)

Have you ever tried anything from Catrice make up?

If so, do you like this brand and which are your favourites?

Make-up yourself pretty every day :)

xoxo, 

Sonja

Make Up Chit Chat: Amazing Gifts! Thank You Ashwani, Reena, Neseser.hr

The best part of having my youtube channel and blog is to be able to share with you my passions for beauty& fashion! I never immagined I would meet so many wonderful people from all around the Globe!

Some of these girls that I met thanx to youtube, became my dear friends with whom I'm often in touch via facebook, e-mails, twitter...

I really am trully grateful for all their love, support& the sweet words!

:)

I <3 you girls!!!

In the past months I was so blessed with my subbies, dear Ashwani, Reena& the crew from neseser.hr decided to give me some awesome presents!

This was totally unexpected& it really made my day! I love playing with new make up, feature it in my videos& on my blog, do a review& tutorials on these goodies.

However, I always feel surprised when a subbie wants to send me something!

There is really no need for it, I don't want you to spend your money on me girls!!

Your support means so much to me& your sweet comments are already more than enough!!!

It's amazing, an incredible feeling, knowing that somebody who you never actually met in person, wishes to send you something because of my videos or my blog!

So, thank you again from the bottom of my heart, I'm really thankful for your beautiful gesture.

I never take things for granted& this presents mean so much to me!

I still look at them& can't quite believe they're all for me!

What have I done to deserve this? :)

So I'm dedicating this post to you my sweet friends, Ashwani, Reena & the crew from Neseser.hr

You can also check out my Thank You video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdf7n4_tubQ

Here are my presents ;)

Ashwani from the UK sent me these amazing goodies!

I love MUA make up!
The butterfly shaped brooch is super cute!

Ashwani sent me a beautiful green/golden scarf, the cutest cosmetic pouch& a butterfly shaped brooch (I just love butterflies!!!)
She also sent me lots of make up& I'll make sure to use these items in my tutorials& feature them in my reviews:

• MUA (Make Up Academy) Eye Dust Shade 3
• MUA Eye Dust Shade 2
• MUA Eye shadow # 11- pearl
• MUA Eye shadow #13- pearl
• MUA Eye shadow #7 - pearl
• MUA Lip gloss Shade 5
• MUA Nail varnish Shade 16
• The Little Red Tin by Superdrug

My friend Reena, all the way from Singapore, sent me these lovely items:

I love the thoughtful little note that Reena
enclosed with the package!

Wonderful jewellery handpicked by Reena!

I love the earrings& the gorgeous turqoise
necklace!

All the way from Singapore, Reena has sent to me some really beautiful& unique pieces of jewellery:

A gorgeous turqoise necklace, a pair of violet earrings, another pair of earrings (golden hoops that are perfect for the special occasions), and how cute is the cell phone accessorie in the shape of the cuttest little girl? ;)

I'll also be featuring in my vids the make up& skin care products that she sent me:

• Silky Girl Funky Eyelights Pencil #01 Olive Green
• Honey Dip Gloss Majorca Majolica
• NYX eyeshadow base w/pearl ESB 02
• Skin food since 1957. Carrot Gift Set

Reena has got hew own beauty blog:

http://beautycouture.onsugar.com/

I recommend checking it out, I love her reviews!

As some of you already know, I write my croatian blog for a website  http://www.neseser.hr/

It's a croatian website dedicated to make up& cosmetics.

I'm really happy to have this opportunity to blog for this website!

Here are the presents they sent me:

Something new to write about on my croatian blog ;)

Have you checked out my croatian blog yet?

These are the products I'll be blogging about:

• Catrice Multi Colour Compact Powder
• Catrice Absolute Eye Colour # 220 Violent Violet
• Catrice Lip Appeal Moisture& Shine smoothing lip gloss
• Essence XXXL nudes lipgloss #02 Light Candy
• Essence Sun Club 100% Splash Proof eyeliner pen (01 ultra black)
• Essence nail art nail piercing set
• Essence Studio Nails Nail fashion stickers # 01 Cool Cover!
• Essence Studio Nails Nail fashion stickers #07 All Or Nothing!
• Manhattan Magic Duo eyeshadow 82 D/89 T Green Intense
• Manhattan DIP eyeliner waterproof 69P Violett

You can check out my croatian blog here:

http://neseser.hr/blog/butterflyprincess/

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post as much as I enjoyed writing about these gifts ;)

If you'd like me to review, or use in my tutorials any of these items, feel free to tell me so in the comments section!

Much Love,

xoxo Sonja

Affordable Shopping Recommendation: www.bornprettystore.com

Hello girls!

Just as I've said in my video,
(click here to check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en2Su8J7JEA ),
 I was contacted by the "Born Pretty" company a few months ago.

They approached me with an e-mail telling me how they like my youtube channel& my blog and they asked me if I'd be willing to try out some of the products that they sell on their website, and, if I like them, possibly do a review on them.

I'm always honest with my viewers/ readers when it comes to these things, so I'll just start off by saying that YES I was sent these products for free, but however this is my honest opinion about the products& I'm NOT sponsored by the company to write about them in a positive way.

I wouldn't even be doing this review, if I didn't actually trully enjoy these products! 

Having said that, let me start with the actual review...

I was sent 8 different shades of loose eyeshadows/pigments, 2 gel eyeliners& a small make up brush kit.

Here are the pics of the pigments:

8 different shades of loose eyeshadows/pigments
from www.bornprettystore.com

The first row :)
I'm absolutely loving the hot pink& the gold!!!

Swatches

The second row :)
My favourite here is the second from the left, the gun metal
shade (which also comes off as a dark brown, purple or deep green,
depending on how the light hits it: A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!

Swatches

These pigments do not come by a name, they only come by a number.

I can say (and you can see that from the swatches), they're extremely pigmented, the colours are vivid& intense.

If you use an eyeshadow primer before applying these, they'll stay on your eyelids for all day long, without creasing or fading.

The containers are way smaller than, for example, MUA (Make Up Academy) loose eyeshadows, or MAC pigments, but, these are all very pigmented& you have to use them with light hand, so I don't see myself consuming them any time soon!

I took a close up pics of each single pigment:

Pearly white
# 10

Hot pink
# 23

"Old" gold
# 13

Shimmery green
# 31

Light blue
# 24

Gun metal
# 74

Intense blue
# 35

Black
# 44

They also sent me two eye-liner gels: The shimmery white & the black.

Both of these come with a retractable brush/applicator.

I love black the most, it's very good colour pay off, creamy but stays on for a long time, without fading away.

The eye-liner gels in their black packagings.

They both come with a retractable brushes/applicators.

Black is # 02.
Shimmery white is # 01.

Swatches

And last, but not least, I got a small brush kit.

The confection (the brush kit holder) is SO CUTE: silver, with butterflies& flowers print.

Let's have a look at it:

Small& very handy when travelling, or to just carry
it around in your purse.

Inside, you'll get 7 make up brushes.

They're obviously not the professional make up brushes that you'd take when doing make up on your clients,

but they're perfectly fine for everyday use, or for travellings (because they're so handy, they don't occupy a lot of space), as a basic make up brushes to have/use.

I'm actually very impressed with the quality.

When it comes to this small make up brush kits, I usually expect low quality& a lot of annoying shedding, weird synthetic fibres that don't even apply the make up properly...

With this kit, I was pleasantly surprised: They don't shed whatsoever& they're actually very pleasant to the touch.

The small blush brush is soft& I find it perfect for contouring, or applying the highlight on the upper part of my cheekbones.

Inside you'll also find: 

• a concealer brush/you can use it as an eyeshadow brush too
• an angled brush
• two lipstick brushes
• a sponge tip applicator
• an eyebrow/eyelash comb

Inside of the kit you'll find
seven basic make up brushes.

I also have only the positive things to say about their customer service: They were very pleasant& I felt they were really at my service :)

"Please", "Thank you" and "You're welcome", are the words they often use, and we all know how, it's rare these days, to find a company who is actually "human" and pays attention to their customers!

About the shipping:

I was expecting it to pass way more time than it did!

I actually got the package in less than 2 weeks(& it was travelling from abroad).

I live in Italy& the postal service here is not so great, sometimes I have to wait MONTHS to get a package if it's comming from the outside EU& often the customs will make me pay the italian tax, even on the things that were sent to me as a gift!

UGHHH....

This time, however, everything went smoothly :)

I didn't have to pay any additional fee, the package arrived in no-time& everything arrived in the perfect condition, nothing was damaged nor broken, because from "Born Pretty" they made sure to wrap everything up well :)

They also gave me a few coupon codes to share with my viewers/readers

(I'm not getting paid to give you these codes, guys!!!)

If you wish to shop at "Born Pretty" store, they're offering you a 10% discount on your purchase, just use the code:  SONJAK31

This code will be valid until the 31st. March, 2011.

Also, they have a giveaway currently going on their site, and anyone of my visitors can use the coupon code: BP299 to get a free Hello Kitty Nail Art Stamping Plate: 

http://www.bornprettystore.com/product_info.php?products_id=932, 

I hope you will take the advantage of some of these offers! ;)

Did I mention, they're extremely affordable, so this is one of the reasons I was even more eager to share this review with you!

On their website, you'll find tons of make up goodies& also very vast selection of nail art products.

The kit that I got, you'll find it here:

http://www.bornprettystore.com/product_info.php?products_id=467

I think this completes my review! :)

www.bornprettystore.com

definitely worth checking them out :)

If you have any additional questions, you can leave it to me as a comment under this blog post, or just contact the "Born Pretty" store directly through their website.

I'm glad I was able to share this review with you& I hope you found it interesting& helpful!

Stay pretty ;)

xoxo Sonja