September haul

Meanwhile while I find a nice new photo location for my hauls.

So, I am back with a haul again. They are all drugstore products, nothing over the top.
Every single item I picked up this time are on sale. Who doesn't love a great deal.

I picked up L'oreal Color Riche Lipstick in Mistinguette and Pink Fever, Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in Lavish Mauve, Rimmel Apocalips Matte in Atomic Rose and Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in Epic.

I have been eyeing on these blushes for some time since they are said to be the drugstore dupe of Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes but I couldn't justify myself to get it since the price is quite pricey for a drugstore blush in comparison with brands like Catrice, Essence, L'oreal or even Maybelline.
This month these blushes are on sale at the local beauty store. Definitely the best time to grab this blush to try it out.

Lavish Mauve is a light pink with mauve undertones. A subtle and feminine colour for a lady-like look.

It is really pretty in the pan. On the skin it provides colour and also a healthy glow which I love.
Now I am really tempted to run back to the beauty store to pick up few more shades before the offer ends.

I love the original Rimmel Apocalips. They are probably my favourite drugstore lip lacquer. They are so pigmented and they apply beautifully on the lips.
Rimmel came out with the matte version not too long ago but I didn't pick them up because I was waiting for them to go on sale and I need another Apocalips like a hole in my head. I probably have like 5-6 shades of the original Apocalips which could last me another 10 years.

These babies were on sale this month at Rive Gauche and I picked up the shade which looks like I would make use out of it. There were 3 shades available, the other 2 is too bold and strong for my liking. Lately, I lean more to the nudes and natural pinks. So, I picked up Atomic Rose

Call me blind but I can't see the rose in Atomic Rose. It is a light dusty peachy pink shade. Very natural and wearable for an everyday casual and formal look.

L'oreal Color Riche Lipsticks.
I like the Collection Privee Lipstick by L'oreal, it is really moisturizing and light on the lips and I thought I should try out their Color Riche line since it is on sale.
L'oreal lipsticks do not have the most pleasant scent but they do remind me of my mum's lipsticks. The scent is really strong but they do go off after application. Not everyone could bear the scent but I am fine with it. It is still bearable.

My camera does not even pick up the lipstick shade properly. I gave up trying to make my camera pick up the correct shades, it just refuses.

Left : Pink Fever
Right : Mistinguette

Mistinguette is a bright warm pink. It is very loud and bold.
Pink Fever is a beautiful medium pink. Very subtle and feminine. 

The Birthday Haul - Drugstore edition

Surprisingly I didn't pick up as much as I thought i would from the beauty supply store. There just haven't been exciting stuffs in the beauty supply store. I have been waiting for certain products to be launch over here but there aren't seem to be arriving.
There are some new products I have been eyeing from Catrice, Essence and Bourjois. Hopefully they arrive soon to Russian shores.

From the Catrice counter, I picked up two items.
Catrice Nude Illusion Make Up Foundation and Catrice Beautifying Lip Smoother in 03 Cake Pop.

Catrice have been launching new finishes for their foundation for Autum 2014. The Nude Illusion caught my eye because it promises a luminous matt finish. Luminous Matt is one of my favourite finishes besides Luminous. I like soft matte finish, it gives the skin a touch of photoshop feel in photos.
My colour is in 010 "Nude Ivory". The packaging for this foundation is nothing special but it is practical. It comes with a frosted glass bottle and a pump. Yay for pumps.
I haven't tried this foundation yet, I will leave a quick short first impression the next time I try this foundation.

Catrice Beautifying Lip Smoother just reminds me so much of the Clarins Lip Perfector. I do not own the Lip Perfector so I can't compare.
The lip smoother is a great lip balm and lipgloss hybrid. It is really creamy and buttery on the lips and the most important, it is not sticky at all, like really not sticky at all. The colour is sheer but still enough to give a hint of colour. Cake Pop is a warm pink tone.
Because the finish and texture, it doesn't last very long on the lips. It last about 3-4 hours on me which isn't too bad. It is a handy lip product to carry around and reapply.
Another dupe for the Clarins Lip Perfector is the Boots No7 BB Lips. We can't the BB Lips over here but when I do pay England a visit, I will drop by Boots to give them a try.

Max Factor Skin Luminizer Foundation.

My shade is 45 Warm Almond. The lighest shade available in Russia is 30 Porcelain which is a tad too light for me.
I didn't meant to get this foundation but as a birthday reward, Rive Gauche allows me to exchange my points into cash. So I was browsing in the shop wondering what I should get since I do not want the bonus to go into waste. In the end, I decided on this foundation and I paid half price for it. Such a steal.
I like the Max Factor Facefinity Foundation so I am quite excited to try this foundation. What's more it promises a luminous finish.

It isn't a big drugstore haul, so much smallet than expected but I am looking out for new November releases in the beauty store. 

Magic nude : Little haul

The L'oreal Nude Magique Eau de Teint has finally arrived in Moscow shores. I heard a lot of rave reviews about this foundation from the blogosphere and how much it compares to the Giorgio Armani Maestro Foundation.
Ofcourse, me being me, I couldn't not pick up this foundation. It would be almost sinful to not pick it up!
My shade is 100 Porcelain. I am not the fairest person on earth but I am in the lightest shade for this range for foundation. So girls who are lighter than me might not have a match in this range. By the way, I am a NC15-NC20 in my skintone.

The packaging for this foundation is very chic and classy with the frosted glass. It looks almost high end. The only downside about this foundation, there is no pump dispenser which increase the risk of spilling the foundation everywhere, making a great foundation mess.

Max Factor Color Elixir Lipsticks are on sale. I haven't tried Max Factor Lipsticks before, so I thought this is a good chance to try them out.

I got two colours from the range 735 Maroon Dust and 711 Midnight Mauve.
I found it really hard to get colours I like from this range as most finishes are either metallic or frosty. Metallic or Frosty finishes are my most hated finish for lipsticks, it makes me look as if I am stuck in the 80s or 90s. It doesn't look good on me at all.

After selecting for about an hour, I finally settled for these two colours.

Midnight Mauve is a purple-pink plum shade with slight shimmers. The shimmers do not bother me at all since upon application, the shimmers are barely visible.

Maroon Dust is one of the rare cream colour from the collection. It is a peachy nude with some orange tone.

The packaging is very expensive looking, it reminds me of Estee Lauder packagings because of the gold and the see through colour indicator at the bottom. 

Autumn Haul & Hello September

Hello September, summer has gone by just like that. It is time to welcome the chilly autumn breeze and soon we see the leaves turn yellow and we will be dressed with our knitted sweaters. 

September also marks a new school semester. Anyone excited? 

Back in Moscow, so back to crappy lighting. 

Wasn't suppose to haul anything in Moscow but Sally Hansen nail polishes were on sale and I brought back all my nail polishes back home during my summer vacation and I didn't bring any back over here.I am left with zero nail polishes so I thought I needed some.

I need to stop splurging. I spent too much during my summer vacation.
ps. A sephora + high end haul will come soon and you all will get the jazz about the splurging.

'Complete Salon Manicure' , the name just sounds so tempting. Who doesn't want salon nails from home, it saves the time visiting a nail parlour and also money. Money is what we are talking about.

I picked up three colours : Jaded, Shall We Dance? and Commander in Chic

Jaded is a mint green colour. I have lots of mint green and I shouldn't be getting anymore mint colours but this leans more green and muted with greyish tones. It is really soft and right up my alley!

Shall We Dance is a sheer pale light pink. A romantic colour and also an everyday nail colour on the go.

Commander in Chic is a taupe colour. Also one of my favourite colour in nail polishes. It just complements my skintone really well and it gives a very chic (just like its name) touch to daily looks.

The brush of the nail polish is flat and thick. This is how I like it, I find these type of brushes gives fast and easy application.

I have been a L'oreal mascara fan after trying the L'oreal Volumissime x5 Carbon Black. It gives me the most beautiful length and volume with no clumping but sadly it does smudge on me throughout the day, but for that length and volume I can't let go of it. So, I thought I would give another L'oreal mascara a go, hoping it performs like the L'oreal Volumissime Carbon Black without the smudging. The L'oreal Volume Million Lashes Noir and L'oreal Volumissime x4 Waterproof was on sale and I got it.
I like the packaging for L'oreal Volume Million Lashes, it is very chic and sleek. I am excited to try out this mascara.

Max Factor 2000 Calories Mascara. I heard lots about this mascara, since it is on sale, I thought I would give it a try. Have been loving the Max Factor False Lash Effect, hopefully this gives a somewhat same effect on my Asian lashes. 

Big fat collective haul #1

Well people, I do admit I have a shopping problem. It's pretty much overwhelming how much time I spend in the beauty stores of late. Guilty? Not guilty.

There is just something about the month of May, my mood has been so happy and I am just so into the mood of shopping, trying out new beauty stuffs. I blame the good weather and sunshine that we always lack in Moscow.

This is a collective haul. I didn't buy everything in one go. I probably have visited the stores about 10 times to collect enough items for this massive post.

I have so many items that I couldn't fit it all into one photo without looking too overbearing, so I have separated the items into groups.

This are the beauty stuffs.
There are a lot of deals and discounts going on in beauty stores and also hypermarkets. I couldn't help myself. I just went crazy and almost bought the whole store.
So here is the damage done.

I will go into detail with the products in a moment.

Nail polishes.

I have been on a nail polish frenzy! The photo explains it pretty much.

Lastly, the not so interesting items. Sunscreen and hair mousse.

Summer is coming around and the sun is scorching over here, it is like almost hitting 30 today, I can feel every cell on my skin sizzling.By the way there is no fan or air conditioning in my room, such pure torture.
So sunscreen is here for the rescue before I develop a tragic case of sunburn.
Looking like a lobster is not attractive at all.

Hair mousse, well, my hair has been pan flat especially at my scalp but the hairs at the ends or the grown bits (well, obviously I can't explain hair) are pretty much voluminous, so the shape of my hair is really weird. So I hope this mousse can help me with that problem.

Max Factor Facefinity All Day Flawless 3 in 1 Foundation.

I didn't mean to pick this up but it was like 50% off in the hypermarket which is totally a steal. This foundation retails quite steep in the beauty stores, they are one of the more expensive foundations. So when I came by this chance, I thought just grab it up.

I heard many rave reviews about the Covergirl 3 in 1 foundation. We don't get Covergirl outside of the USA, so we have to settle with the sister brand Max Factor. The concept is exactly the same and also it has many rave reviews too.

I picked up the shade in Warm Almond 45.

I get extremely nervous when I don't see the shade names start with a light or beige. Warm Almond sounds like a dark shade for me.
I sloppily swatched Warm Almond on my face and it seems like a good colour match. I didn't really take a good look in the colour match since the hypermarket was about to close. Oh yes, late night hypermarket journey.
It is lighest shade available there and the only shade on discount. So, take it or leave it.

I find the whole concept really interesting. A foundation, concealer and primer all in one.
I can't wait to try it out and see how it works.  If it works as it claims it is a great foundation since you don't need to spend extra bucks to buy a concealer and primer seperately.

The three Maybelline lipsticks I picked up.

Rive Gauche, a beauty chain over here is doing a 3 for 2 for L'oreal, Garnier and Maybelline. I couldn't resist this chance and I grabbed pretty much a whole lot of Maybelline and L'oreal items.

Let us take a moment and stare in awe at the beautiful nude chic packaging.

It has been a gruesome journey finding this lipstick from stores to stores. Now, my mission has finally accomplished.

Here comes the beautiful Maybelline lipstick in Tantalizing Taupe.

Tantalizing Taupe is a gorgeous pinky nude. It is one of those nudes that doesn't washes out.

I can see it becoming one of my favourite nudes from the drugstore.

Look at the holographic bands in the packaging.

Maybe not so obvious here.

Can see it now?

This is the Maybelline Watershine lipsticks. The watershine line just has too much glitter or frost going on but there's one colour that doesn't have any glitters or shimmers or anything crazy in it.

It is Juicy Bubblegum Pink.

Like its name it is a bubblegum pink. The formula is pretty much high shine so it is not very pigmented, it is more balmy like in texture.

The watershine line was on a deal at the beauty store near my store and I thought it would be rude not to pick this up since it is such a beautiful colour.

Here is a swatch of Juicy Bubblegum Pink and Tantalizing Taupe swatched on my hand.

The last Maybelline lipstick I picked up is Intense Pink.

This lipstick just does not match its name, it's pink but it is not intense at all.

It is a warm pink.

I also picked up two Maybelline Color Tattoos.

I picked up the two shades that I will definitely reach out for. Not into those crazy bright shades.

On and on bronze.

Likes its name, it is a beautiful bronze colour that will suit any occasion. It looks gorgeous by itself.
If you are only getting a shade from the Color Tattoo, get this one.

Pink Gold.

Pink Gold is such a gorgeous colour. The moment I swatched it I just knew I had to pick it up.
This colour reminds me of one of the colours in the Naked 3 Palette. It is super gorgeous.

This colour would look absolutely gorgeous on fair skin.

Here are the swatches on my hand.
From left : Maybelline Colorsensational lipstick in Intense Pink, Maybelline Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze.

I can't seem to capture the colour properly but this is Maybelline's Color Tattoo in Pink Gold.

and yes, I picked up another Lasting Finish by Kate Moss.

I picked up 08.

08 is a mauve shade with brown undertones. It is one of the great MLBB colour and also a flattering everyday colour.

and because my Rimmel purchase was above 399rubles. I got a Vinyl Gloss for free!
I got it in the shade 240 Fall in Love.

It is a pink with a lot of micro glitters.

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara

My current mascara is running low since this was on sale, i thought I did give it a try.

I have tried this mascara once, I don't know what I think about it yet, I think I was give it more tries before I know my conclusion about this mascara.

I picked up three of the L'oreal Extraordinaire Liquid Lipsticks.

The colours I got are 104 Dancing Rose, 102 Rose Finale and 101 Rose Melody.

I have been eyeing on these liquid lipsticks eversince they got released but I never really got into getting them because I was waiting for a deal on them.
So finally, I got them!

I haven't seen swatches on 102 Rose Finale on British or US  blogs, it might be a Europe only colour.

The liquid lipsticks come in a luxurious gold packaging that makes it feel very mature and high end.
The plastic at the side is coloured and it indicates the colour inside of the tube.

L'oreal Collection Privee by Julianne.

The Collection Privee lipsticks are nude lipsticks formulated based on their chosen ambassadors. The one I got is by Julianne Moore.
Everytime I step into the store, I will definitely swatch this lipstick up because the colour, is absolutely flattering on my skintone. I am by no means any close to Julianne's skintone but it is the most flattering amongst all the Collection Privee lipsticks I have swatched.

The lipstick is not exactly a nude like how we interpret nude coloured lipsticks. The nude here are my lips but better colour, nudes that bring out the complexion and brightens combining with factors like skintones, hair colour etc.

The lipstick packaging is luxurious with a matte black packaging ala NARS (Gets dirty easily!) and also gold printing of the lipstick and the ambassador herself.

Looks very high end and expensive. Well, the lipstick is expensive for a drugstore brand. I do find it quite steep in terms of pricing. Without a deal, I don't think I will pick it up.

Wait a second, or maybe I will because the shade is too gorgeous to resist.

Julianne's colour is Barely Peach. I would describe this colour as a mauve pink nude.

I think this colour is very flattering on almost everybody and anybody, no matter what skintone you are. It is a universal flattering colour.

 The swatches.
Top left : Collection Privee lipstick in Julianne's nude
Bottom left : 104 Dancing Rose
Right : 101 Rose Melody

Yves Rocher Summer 2014 Collection inspired by Mediterranean Sea Lipgloss in Copper Sun

The day when I was going to visit Yves Rocher. I stumbled upon a post on these on Musings on a Muse's website. She was talking about these glosses and how great it is for such a cheap pricetag.
When I was in the shop, I swatched these glosses and oh wow they feel very good and the price, I should say really afforable.

The colour that caught my eye the most amongst the three colours available is Copper Sun. I have never own a shade like this.
It is coppery bronze colour with gold flecks. It is a very bronzey summer tone that would look very flattering on a summer look.

The swatches of all three lipglosses.
From left : Bright Pink, Copper Sun and Golden Beige.

If you have a Yves Rocher around, do go to the store and check their summer collection out, you might never know what you might find.

The Rimmel by Rita Ora range has been launched not too long ago over here.
Her nail polish collection caught my attention especially the nudes and pastels. I went a little crazy and got 5 colours from the range.

From left : Loose your Lingerie, White Hot Love, Let's get Nude, Breakfast in Bed and Pillowtalk.

So far I have tried two colours from the range on my nails.
The formula is pretty thick and it takes about two coats to achieve a creamy sheen colour on the nails. The formula isn't as great as the normal 60 seconds nail polishes but the colours are to die for

Pillowtalk.

Pillowtalk is a pastel baby blue colour.
I really love this colour, it's so cute. I get compliments wearing this colour.
I took 2 coats to achieve this finish.

White Hot Love

White Hot Love is a pure white. In the bottle there's sight of shimmers but the shimmers are barely there after applying the on the nails.
I took 2 coats to achieve an opaque white nail.
My friend kept teasing me it looks like I have used Tip-ex to paint my nails but I like it so I don't care.
I have been trying to search for a white nail polish since one that doesn't apply streaky is hard to come by. This applies streaky at the first coat but at the 2nd coat, it is an opaque white, so I think I will settle with this white nail polish.
They are pretty long lasting. Usually these Rimmel nail polishes last me for a week before it chips.

 4 cheap nail polishes from the hypermarket and Essence Colour & Go in Chic Reloaded

The nail polishes from the hypermarket are dirt cheap and they come in nice colours but yesterday when I went to the hypermarket, they are all gone and they didn't restock it at all.

The periwinkle blue on my nails.

The colour is pretty but they chip after 2-3 days which I can't complain for such cheap nail polish. It is still great it can last 2 to 3 days since I do washing quite frequently.

That's all I got for my haul this time. Pretty huge isn't it?
Thanks for reading till the end.