buckle up because this is a long one!
I’ve been collecting a few bits and pieces of affordable makeup brands (supermarket, drugstore, pharmacy, high street), and I decided to do a video where I try several of those products on my face and get to see how they behave throughout the day.
you can find most of the products at your local drugstore/pharmacy, but Feelunique, Look Fantastic and Boots International are always great international references for these kinds of brands (except Essence, Kiko, H&M and Makeup Revolution).
Makeup Revolution Eyeshadow in Purple Heaven — I couldn’t, for the life of me, find an online store that looked reliable, so check your local drugstore or pharmacy to see if they carry the brand.
So, here are the claims: “(…) a flawless, full coverage base that lasts up to 24 hours. The zero compromise, camouflage formula covers everything from blemishes, redness and tattoos without the overload, while the matte finish leaves you with an even, shine-free base. No compromise. No transfer. No overload”
This sounds perfect for my hyper pigmentation and my blemish and all-over un-evenness.
You can trust me to shove my face on your screen to show you how it all went down, warts and all…
You can find this foundation in your local drugstores, and online at Feelunique. The shade range varies depending on the country/shop you buy it from.
I walked past a shelf of these on the supermarket and I could NOT leave them there. I had to bring them home and try them.
Yes, probably this is more fitted for young girls, but I’m a young girl at heart and these colours were not available when I was growing up and trying to be the rebel with the golden heart I was.
Here’s my test-drive of this novelty product. Let me know: would you wear it?
I think it’s fun and a good way to play with colour on one’s hair without the commitment and huge expense of having it done correctly in a salon, bleaching the hair and having to go there every fortnight to redo the roots.
The Colorista line comes with three types of products: the spray-on one day colour, the 1 to 2 weeks tint, and a permanent colour line.
As you can see on their ads, the brighter colours are meant for blond and bleached hair, or else they won’t show up. L’Oréal, of course, offer a bleach within the line, but to be honest, if you’re going that route, I’d strongly advise you to get it done by a professional. Have you heard of burnt scalp? Yes, it’s a thing.
I found these products on the supermarket, so if you’re not in Portugal, you’ll probably find these at your local drugstores that sell L’Oréal hair products.
on a great day out with friends, went to the NYX store and got some goodies. want to know what I’m thinking of the products?
let me know what are *your* NYX go-tos and the new releases I should get my hands on!
some things are just lame, one of them being, with so many cool things available, that my country didn’t have access to any actually cool and worthwhile subscription services for beauty boxes.
enter Look Fantastic, an online store I’d heard about but had never shopped through, opening a Portuguese version of their website. being drawn by keywords like NARS (eheh), I browsed through a bit until I realised they had a beauty box subscription and that they shipped to my country. happy times.
I decided to take the plunge and subscribe to the box, and, one week after placing the order, it arrived my house.
for those of you who may be wondering, a beauty box subscription is a service in which you pay a monthly fee and they send you a box with curated deluxe sample sizes (and even some full sized products) for you to try. I’ve heard there is a world of subscription-box services available (like seeds, vegan food, gadgets, games, etc.), but this being a beauty box one can expect the obvious: makeup, skincare and haircare products.
it´s a fun and affordable way to discover and try out new products, and it even makes a great gift for a beauty-addicted friend.
how much is it?
this subscription service has several options, and you can also purchase one box individually, if you so desire. of course, the longer the “commitment”, the more you save.
current month’s box — 18,95€
past months’ boxes — 20€ each
you can find out what each box contains on the website, and order older boxes if the products really interest you, or if you want to take a little sneak peak of how it goes before committing to the whole subscription, which I find quite interesting.
note that, since their goal is to make you buy the full sized products, it is in the company’s best interest to send you good stuff to try out, so…
despite having samples inside the box, they guarantee it is always worth over 50€, so you are always saving some money while staying in touch with what’s new.
the shipping fee is included in the box. weee!
what’s in it, this month?
along with the products, there’s a little magazine/brochure with the description of the products and some cute articles about other products they sell, and (I don’t know if this is a “first time” perk), an Elle magazine — September issue — was included. nice touch, there.
this month’s theme was #bestofbritish, so all of the products were from niche brands from Great Britain.
BALANCE ME Congested Skin Serum
. 7ml sample, 8,73€ . full size 15ml – 16£*
BEE GOOD Vanilla and Honey Lip Balm
. full size – 5,95€
overall, the value of this month’s box was 53,13€, so I “saved” 37,63€.
*I couldn’t find these products on the Look Fantastic website, so I had to resource to other sellers for price references.
is it worth it?
I’m the worst person to ask that… I mean, I’m addicted to all things beauty — I have a precarious job, I don’t have a lot of free time, I have the perfect looks for radio, and I’m old enough to know better, but I still managed to create TWO blogs and a YouTube channel about this shiz, digging deep into it as if I were 18, had rich parents, an agency and connections in the industry!
AND I’m the biggest enabler you can find: you say “a little pamper”, I say “what spa should we book?”
but… if you’re into beauty stuff like I am, you like to try out new things, you’re in the mood to spoil yourself and 15,50€ per month don’t make a crater in your budget… totally go for it!
now, I ask YOU
would you like me to do an unboxing video like this every month? — I’ll be receiving this beauty box monthly for the next 11 months.
is there any specific product you’d like me to update you about?
do you know any subscription service that ships to this Beauty-Gods-forsaken country that I HAVE to try?
after a long wait (and a lot of trees killed in the process)this ps with customs, I finally dug deep into my little package from the other side of the world, getting to know a bit more about Korean drugstore beauty and skincare.
I was away in Amsterdam this past weekend, but I took with me the waterproof version of my favourite mascara to give it a proper test run, through sweating, dancing and crying.
