Makeup Test with The Crypt / I'M BACK!

Hi everyone!

I don't even want to have a look how long it's been since my last post. Yes, I know. I've been neglecting my blog and also my youtube channel. A LOT of things were going on in my personal life but I hope I'm back and I'll be posting more often because I miss it.

Yesterday I had a very interesting evening. Me and the Czech darkwave band The Crypt did a makeup test for their upcoming photoshoot. It was very exciting for me because I haven't played around with makeup like that for a while now.

The Crypt consists of Domenico "Amon" - the singer, Pavel "Ice" - the bass guitar player and Zuzka - the keyboard player. Domenico just recently joined the band so they want to take some new promotional photos and they asked me for help with the makeup. So we sort of did a test run. Everything is going to be more polished and finished on the photoshoot.

Pavel's nickname is Ice so he wanted blue makeup inspired by Siouxie.=) But we're contemplating whether we should leave the lips blue or do black lips. What do you think?

Zuzka's going to wear her hair like on the pictures, all big and crazy so I went for a sort of death rock inspired cut crease with a big cat eye shape and a few wings. She's also going to wear a dark purple lipstick on the photoshoot =)

Domenico wanted sort of a simple black smokey eye. He's also going to wear black lipstick in the shape inspired by Lacrimosa's singer.

I can't wait for the photoshoot! ^_^ It's going to be a lot of fun. Follow me on my facebook fan page for more info =)

Alright, so that's it for today's post, thanks for reading =) Go show The Crypt some love on their facebook fan page - http://www.facebook.com/bandthecrypt ^_^
Have a lovely evening,
Lena

REVIEW: Catrice Multi Color Blush in Strawberry Frappucino

Hey everyone,

and welcome to another review! =)
This time I'd like to take a moment and talk about a blush by catrice cosmetics. I've fallen in love with their makeup products recently and so I decided to tell you about some of my new finds, starting with this one =)

I've never owned a multi colored blush before so I was really curious to try this one out!

WHAT DOES THE PRODUCTS SAY:
Before I get into what's written on the packaging, I'd like to say just how pretty catrite's packaging is. For a brand that has comparable prices with essence cosmetics, it looks way more "expensive" because it's so sleek and nice.
So. On the back, it says: "Soft blush in harmonious colours - for the exceptional glow and a radiant finish."

HOW MUCH DO YOU GET?
You get 8 g / 0.28 oz for around 105 CZK, which is around $5.20, which is an awesome price.

PERFORMANCE:
My initial worry was that the product would be too pigmented. I tried catrice's Defining Blush and it is very nicely pigmented! With multi colored blush, you have to swirl your brush around in it so I was worried it would pick up too much color and I'll end up looking like a clown. This one is less pigmented but that's good in this case!
Since you get 4 colors, you can actually get a contour, blush and a highlight out of it. If you only mix the two darkest colors, you can contour your face with it ... There are so many ways how you can use this product. You don't just have to mix them all together. But for me, that's what I do most of the times. But it's a very subtle pinky/strawberry color and since it's not too pigmented so it's hard to overdo it. Big thumbs up for this beautiful little product by catrice! ^_^ Also, this doesn't really have any shimmer in it. I personally prefer that. It has some sheen to it, so it's not going to make you look flat or anything.
The blush blends very well into the skin and since it's not so super pigmented, if you're new to blush, you'll find working with this product very easy.
My camera washes out colors so you can't even see it there :/ But it shows up very nice in real life.

SO TO SUM IT UP:
+ affordable, drugstore product
+ good color payoff but it's not too pigmented that you would overdo it
+ you can use it as a highlighter, blush, contour prouduct
+ easy to work with
+ suitable even for beginners
+ very nice packaging (as all catrice products have)
+ no shimmer (I personally find it as a plus, because finding a non shimmery blush in the drugstore can be hard sometimes)

Okay so that's it for this review, I hope you found it helpful! ^_^ Have you tried this blush? Or any other products by catrice? Tell me in the comments =)
Have a good night,
Lena

REVIEW: Essence Big Bright Eyes Highlight It ... Nude

Hi everyone!

Long time no read, right? :D Sorry I've been so MIA. A looot of things were happening in my life but I have a few reviews for you in the near future =)

I want to dedicate this blogpost to an awesome little product by essence. It's been a while since I was impressed with a product by this brand. I use their liquid ink eyeliner all the time and I swear by it but I've been into other drugstore products so I was curious to try this because I heard some good things about it and (good) highlighting products, in general, are hard to find in drugstores.

So let me get my microscope and let's see what this product is about =) I have it in the shade 01 Highlight it Nude. There are 3 shades altogether.

WHAT DOES THE PRODUCT SAY:
So. Essence Big Bright Eyes Highlight it ... nude is a thicker jumbo pencil and on it, it says: "creamy and easy blendable highlighter texture". It also says it contains carmine. In case you don't know what that is, it's a red pigment that you can get from smashing females of some kinds of insects (they also add this to food - ketchup, red-colored yogurts and stuff). So if you're conscious about stuff like this, maybe you want to stay away from this one :D

HOW MUCH DO YOU GET:
You get 1.4 g / 0.049 oz. I think it cost less than 100 CZK, which is less than $5. And that's a good bargain =)

PERFORMANCE:
I wanted to use it for my waterline because white eyeliner can be too harsh for everyday or some looks. I was shocked by how easy it was to apply it! I usually have troubles getting something into my waterline and if I do, my eyes start to get watery. The only thing I love in my waterline is a gel liner. Easy to apply and stays in there. That's I was so shocked when this got so easily onto my waterline and actually stayed there and looked awesome :D Since it is a creamier product, it doesn't have like the best staying power but it's not that bad. Even after it wears off, the waterline looks brighter.
Also, I think this product is very versatile. You can highlight any area on your face with it. You can even use it on your cheekbones for a nice highlight, or under the eyebrow, in your inner eye corner, on your cupid's bow or down your nose. Just remember to blend it out =)

HOW DOES IT FEEL:

My eyes did not get watery at all. With all the other eyeliners, they always do. So if you're sensitive in this way, maybe this product will work for you too! =)

SO TO SUM IT UP:

+ affordable drugstore product

+ easy, smooth application, visible highlight

+ doesn't irritate the eye

+ multiple ways to use it - in the waterline, under the eyebrow, in the inner corner, cheekbones, cupid's bow,...

- contains carmine (if it bothers you)

- doesn't have the best staying power in the waterline (but as I mentioned earlier, it's not that bad, it stays still bright and you can always reapply =) )

WOULD I REPURCHASE IT AGAIN?

Yes! =) I think I'd like to try the other shades as well but I feel like this one suits my skin tone the best and is exactly what I was looking for.

Okay so this is it for this review. Have you tried this product? What other highlighting pencils do you like and would recommend? Comment down below ^_^

Have a great day,

Lena

Gothic makeup pre začiatočníkov / Gothic Makeup For Beginners

(SCROLL DOWN FOR ENGLISH)

Ahojte!

Asi sa stal zázrak, že som zvládla urobiť video po slovensky! :D Sanctuary ma oslovilo, či by som pre nich nespravila nejaký článok o makeupe a samozrejme, že som nadšene súhlasila. Dohodli sme sa, že z toho spravíme nejakú sériu goth lookov, pretože gothických štýlov je strašne veľa a tak si každý môže prísť na svoje.

Ako prvý look som sa rozhodla spraviť niečo univerzálne a "neutrálne", čo by sa mohlo hodiť so správnym oblečením a doplnkami v podstate akémukoľvek štýlu.

ZOZNAM POUŽITÝCH PRODUKTOV

podkladová báza od Dermacolu

Maybelline Color Tattoo - Timeless Black

čieny tieň, biely (ako highlight), fialové z palety of Sleek - Ultra Mattes V2

essence liquid ink tekutá linka

L'Oreal Gel Intenza gelová linka

červené pery:

fialové pery: Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate číslo 04

"jemné pery" Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balmstain vo farbe Honey

umelé riasy - eBay

Dúfam, že sa vám video páčilo!

Teším sa na vás v ďalšom dieli goth lookov :)

Lena

__________________________________________________________

ENGLISH:

Hey everyone! =)

I managed to do a video in Slovak language! :D Sanctuary asked me to do an article about makeup for their site and I was very eager to say yes. We decided to do sort of a series of gothic makeup looks because there are so many gothic styles and like this, everyone can find something they like.

For the first look, I decided to do something universal and "neutral", something that could go with any style, with the right clothes and accessories.

THE LIST OF PRODUCTS:

Dermacol eyeshadow base

Maybelline Color Tattoo - Timeless Black

black, white, purple eyeshadows from Sleek Ultra Mattes V2 palette

essence liquid ink eyeliner

L'Oreal Gel Intenza gel liner

red lips:

purple lips: Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate in 04

"soft lips" Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balmstain in Honey

false lashes - eBay

Hope you liked the video  ^_^

See you in the next video!

Lena

DRUGSTORE Colorful / Party Makeup Tutorial

Hi everyone! =)

Some of you commented on my previous drugstore makeup tutorial that you'd like to see more of these! I know makeup can get super expensive so finding good deals at the drugstore is like finding gold! :D There definitely are tons of awesome products that are very affordable and you can create countless looks with them. You don't need to spend a fortune on makeup =) You just have to find the right products.

Watch my first drugstore makeup tutorial here:

In this tutorial I'm trying to show you something different than my first drugstore tutorial. I did a very colorful look and I'll try to go for something different in the next drugstore tutorial so you can see how drugstore products can be versatile and that you can create ANY look with them =)
Watch here:

THE LIST OF PRODUCTS:

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Endless Purple

s.he stylezone eyeshadows in: 005 (white), 015 (pink), 030 (turquoise), 025 (purple)

essence all about matt fixing compact powder

black eyeshadw (I think I used one from a Sleek palette)

essence liquid ink eyeliner

L'Oreal Gel Intenza gel liner (you can do the wing with your liquid eyeliner, I just find it easier to do it with gel)

Catrice lip liner in Very Berry
Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in Electric Plum

I included the s.he eyeshadows in my February favorites, so you can check out more about them >>here<<
I also did a first impressions / review post about the essence all about matt fixing powder, >>read here<<.

Hope you enjoyed this =)

I'll be definitely doing more drugstore tutorials in the future so stay tuned! =)

Have an awesome day,

Lena

MY HAIR DIARIES: My New Hair Routine

Hi everyone! =)

I'd like to share with you my "purple hair" routine. =) Ever since I got purple hair and bangs, I changed what I do with my hair a lot. I described how and with what I wash my hair in my last "MY HAIR DIARIES" blog post. Read HERE.

In this article, I'm going to show you how I style my hair after I wash it.
Watch here:

PRODUCTS MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO:

Wella wellaflex long lasting flexible hold 2-days-volume Strong Hold mousse

L'Oreal Studio Hot Straight Thermo-Straightening Cream

Remington S-3500 hair straightener

L'Oreal Studio Nouveau Volum' Max hair spray number 6

I'm thinking of doing a separate video just about my fringe or a video where I'll check in every day and show you how my hair looks and how I work with it during the whole week, since I only wash it once a week and I think it could be interesting to show you how I make sure the hair doesn't look gross after 5 or so days (which sometimes happens :D)

Hope you enjoyed this! For my next "MY HAIR DIARIES", I think I'm going to film a very simple hair style that is perfect for those days when you want to hide the fact that your hair is not so fresh and nice :D
Have a lovely evening!
Lena

FIRST IMPRESSIONS / REVIEW: L'Oreal Elnett Satin Extra Strong Hold UV Hair Spray

Hey everyone!

It seems like first impressions / review posts are all I do on my blog lately :D But I myself always look up reviews all the time so I feel like it's time to give something back! :D
This time, I'm going to tell you about my first experience with a hair spray by L'Oreal. It's the Elnett Satin Extra Hold UV hair spray. I've seen this all over youtube, everyone seems to like it and so I decided to give it a try. I've heard that you can brush it out very easily, and I thought it could be good for my hair since I add hairspray to my hair almost everyday and wash it only once a week.
At the moment, I'm running out of my current hairspray so I decided to get something different to try out something new.
So let's have a look:

WHAT DOES THE PRODUCT SAY:
It says it's a hair spray for color treated hair with UV filter and it's a strong hold hair spray. It's supposed to protect your color from the UV rays and humidity and preserves your color and shine. Also, it shouldn't stick the hair and disappears with a stroke of a brush - this confuses me a bit. Does it mean that if you brush your hair you remove it or that it looks like you have no hair spray in your hair?

HOW MUCH DO YOU GET:
You get 300 ml of product. When I was googling this product I found that it's $15 in Ulta! Oh my god, does it really cost that much in the US? I got it for 99 CZK which is $5. So it's pretty much good value (but you can still get cheaper hairsprays in the drugstore). It's in a slim, tall can and they also have travel size ones, so that's always handy.

PERFORMANCE:
I used it when I was teasing my hair at the crown and also to keep my fringe in place after I styled it after washing. I didn't mind the smell, for me it was sort of an nontraditional smell for a hairspray but I think it's quite nice. Right after washing, I use a lot of hair spray. I was going out so I had to keep my fringe in one place and also to hold the tease. So obviously, it did stick my hair together. But I guess when you use a lot of it, that's just what happens. But it gave my hair a very artificial shine, which made my purple hair, at the crown, look like a wig :D I was mad a little and tried to brush it out a bit, to get rid of that stupid shine but it still looked very artificial but oh well. That's when I thought - okay, this is not going to be my favorite one. But then I discovered its awesome property. When I arrived at my friend's place in the evening, when I touched it, it was like a rock! :D The fringe wasn't moving. It wasn't probably very pleasant to the touch but it didn't look like I had tons of hairspray in my hair. Then when I was going back home, it was pretty windy and even after probably 13-14 hours, my fringe did not move AT ALL. I mean, wow. Also, I always sleep on my side so my fringe tends to fall onto my side and then I have to straighten a part of it in the morning. But this time...I woke up with a straight fringe! AH-mazing.
As far as the teased section went, since I tried to brush out the shininess I obviously brushed out those teased parts so my hair doesn't look as voluminous as yesterday but I don't really mind, it's still not flat so it's alright I guess.

HOW DOES IT FEEL:
When you touch the hair it feels weird, but it's not obvious at all when you only look at it. Which is still alright with me because I can't expect to have natural feel on my hair when I hair sprayed the hell out of it.

SO, TO SUM UP:
+ truly holds the hair in one place for a long time
+ nice smell
+ convenient to get, price (drugstore)
- gives a lot of extra shine, which for me personally is a bad thing because I don't want my hair to look like a cheap wig from eBay! :D
- sticks the hair together (I think more than the one I used before)

WOULD I REPURCHASE IT?
I'm not sure yet. If I figure out how to solve that shine problem, I think it would be an awesome hairspray for me. If you have a fringe you know how annoying it is when it's windy and your fringe gets all over the place. This one holds it like hell!

Alright, so that's all for this first impressions / review post! Have you tried this hair spray? Do you like it? What other hair sprays do you like or recommend? I never used hair sprays before I got a fringe so I'm still trying to explore what's out there =)
Thanks for reading!
Lena

FIRST IMPRESSIONS / REVIEW: Dove Hair Therapy REFRESH+care Dry Shampoo Review

Hey everyone =)

I'm here again with another first impressions / review post, and yea, again, about a dry shampoo =) In my last dry shampoo first impressions post I told you I was running out of my current favorite one, by Lee Stafford, and I am looking for a substitute while I still have at least a bit of it left so if I find a cheaper alternative, I don't have to spend too much money again on a dry shampoo. The Lee Stafford is around 11 euros and I've had it a little over a month so if I can find something more affordable it would be awesome.

So let's have a look at this one by Dove that I recently found in the drugstore for not much over 100 CZK (125 CZK = cca 4 EUR / $6):

WHAT DOES THE PRODUCT SAY:
It says that it "Absorbs oil and leaves hair refreshed and volumised between washes." "Refresh and revive without water". There are also instructions - 1st step is to shake it, and spray 20-30 cm away from your hair. Then you should massage it into your scalp and then brush out. I never brush out the dry shampoo because I think brushing your hair only makes it more oily so what's the point? :D

HOW MUCH DO YOU GET:
For $6 you get 200 ml, which is PERFECT. The Lee Stafford is 150 ml and costs $15. So it's a great value, let's see if it's worth it:

PERFORMANCE:
Okay so I used it on my 6th day (used it on Wednesday, washed my hair last Friday), which is still not too awful/oily for me. I was surprised by the smell. It was AWESOME. Very different from all the other dry shampoos. I have a cold at the moment so I can't distinguish smells perfectly but it seemed like it was a flower-y smell :D Also, it smells "fresh". I'm not a fan of the citrus smell other dry shampoos have, and I always link it with dirty hair so it's more like a "dirty" smell for me.
The last dry shampoo I reviewed was one by Schauma and I didn't like it at all, my problem was mostly the thing that even when I tried to do small sprays, it always released a lot of product which led to completely white hair, the Dove one felt like a dry shampoo and not like a white spray. It released the product very well, almost like a mist I didn't see.

HOW DOES IT FEEL:
I felt like it gave me exactly what I needed. No white cast, good smell, making my hair look a lot fresher. HUGE thumbs up, Dove!

SO TO SUM UP:
+ price: very affordable, very convenient to get. All of the cheap drugstore dry shampoos are around 100 CZK so when you compare the performance, this is probably the best value you can get in the drugstore.
+ smell: very nice flower-y smell, I won't mind my hair smelling like this, it doesn't remind me of that "dirty" citrus-y smell the other dry shampoos have
+ the amount of product you get: I use dry shampoo almost all the time and I think this one will last me for maybe even two months.
- the packaging: it's not very convenient to throw into a smaller purse, if you need to touch up during the day. I don't take my dry shampoos with me for the day but I travel a lot so the smaller packaging the better, but it's definitely not a deal breaker for me, I just wanted to mention it =)

WOULD I REPURCHASE IT?
Definitely! =)

Alright, that's all. Have you tried this dry shampoo? What other dry shampoos do you use?
Have a lovely day ^_^
Lena

COUGAR TOWN: Laurie Keller's Makeup Season 2

Hey everyone =)

I can't imagine my life without TV shows. There are some, that I have to rewatch every year or so because I miss them. Yes, it's that bad :D Today I'm going to tell you a bit more about one particular show that keeps me interested because of makeup, too =)
I've been hooked on Cougar Town for probably a year now. I've seen all 4 seasons probably 3 times now :D I obviously discovered it through Couteney Cox or Monica on Friends. Friends is my ultimate favorite TV show so I had to look up what Courteney came up with! Yes, it's not that awesome as Friends or other TV shows that I watch but still, I like to go back to it from time to time =) When I finished Desperate Housewives season 5 (for like the quadrillionth time) I didn't have season 6 in my laptop so while I got that, I started watching Cougar Town again. I'm already at the end of 3rd season and I can't wait to watch a few episodes from the 5th season that is currently on TV! =)

Ever since I got more into makeup, whenever I watch anything, I perceive the makeup the actors wear a lot more. So I had to dedicate some space on my blog to Laurie Keller (played by Busy Philipps). The Queen of Loud Lips. I LOVE how they matched her personality with her makeup. She always wears these awesome, funky, "in-your-face" lip colors and I just LOVE it =)
Usually, characters in TV shows wear the same makeup all the time and usually it's very neutral. I love that with every new episode, Laurie has a new look, usually a different lip color. <3 =)

In this blogpost, I'll show you her what different lipsticks/makeup looks she had on in season 2 =)

Ep. 3

Ep. 4

Ep. 5

Ep. 6

Ep. 7

Ep. 8

Ep. 9

This season also includes a Thanksgiving episode (s02e09) where Laurie decided to beat Katy Perry because she wore 12 different outfits at the MTV Music Awards. She did 8 outfits and the reason why she stopped changing was because she "ran out of boob tape" :D Classic Laurie. Here they are!

Let's continue with the other episodes:

Ep. 10

Ep. 11

Ep. 12

Ep. 14

Ep. 15

Ep. 16

Ep. 17

Ep. 18

Ep. 19

Ep. 20

Ep. 21-22

Doesn't she look awesome with (almost) no makeup too?

Okay so these are all my screen shots from Laurie's makeup in season 2. Next week, get ready for pics from season 3 ^_^

Do yo you watch Cougar Town? What other TV shows do you watch? Tell me in the comments =)
Have a great day,
Lena