Personal notes #1

I know that this blog should be focused on makeup, but maybe it won't hurt much if sometimes I will post something personal, right?

So, what was good so far?

1. I don't really believe in "New Year = New Me" stuff, but I this year I've decided to treat my skin/hair more than I did last year and bought a few things from Antipodes, Out Of Africa, Badger Company, Dr. Hauschka, Paul Mitchell and Avalon Organics. All brands are cruelty free with 100% vegan Out of Africa. I'm still waiting for packages to come and hopefully more reviews are coming to mymakeupiscrueltyfree.

2. I'm marathoning all movies nominated for Oscar Academy Awards 2015. Going to see Birdman today and Whiplash next week, so excited for them both. I also saw Unbroken - movie directed by Angelina Jolie about the life of USA Olympian and athlete Louis Zamperini. Despite bad comments on imdb, I did enjoy the movie and it made me think a lot of things about the Pacific War. You know, all my life I've been studying Japanese language/culture and I lived in Tokyo for one year, so everything Japan-related has my interest. Now I really want to read Eien no 0 ("The Eternal Zero") a novel by Naoki Hyakuta about Japanese soldier who volunteered for Kamikaze Attack.

3. I'm not all that in youtube videos, preferring to read blogs, but this lady has caught my attention recently. Laci Green talks about sex, body images, feminism, relationships and more. Her videos are funny, informative and short (which is important fact for me lol). Love her so much :)

4. The 5th season of my most favorite tv-show Shameless has started!! Oh, I've waiting for this moment for so long. It's so good to have your favorite characters back and I'm really excited to see what the Gallaghers will be going through this time. If you don't know, Shameless is Showtime tv-show revolving around an alcoholic man and his six children in the poorest part of Chicago.

5. Fall Out Boy will be releasing their new album "American Beauty/American Psycho" on the 19th of January, but you can listen their songs on their youtube channel. I don't know how it's even possible, but EVERY SONGS IS SO GOOD. I can't even pick the most favorite one. I saw them live in Russia two years ago and I really hope to see them again in the nearest future.

6. I can't stop watching reviews on new Too Faced Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar palette. I don't really need it in my in life, because I already own two neutral eye shadow palettes, but there's something very appealing about this one (so many matte shades, for example). Maybe one day, maybe one day.

How was your life recently?



Lush Honey Trap lip balm

I went to Lush store the other day to re-purchase my favorite Coalface cleanser and ended up buying Honey Trap lip balm too. As you know, I've promised myself to stop making impulsive buys, but sometimes you just need to treat yourself. And I'm glad that I did, because Honey Trap is the best lip balm ever. Combination of honey, shea butter, beewax, white chocolate and different oils makes your lips soft, very moisturized and protected from cold winter wind. I still love my lip balms from Hurraw! but apparently they don't give me enough of moisture :(

The package isn't hygienic because you have to dip your finger into tin in order to get product, however you get 8g of lip balm so no complains here. Honey Trap has very strong smell of honey and mint and if you don't like harsh scents I guess it's better to avoid this product. Personally I love how it smells and it doesn't bother me at all (I can feel it only when applying lip balm on the lips).

Ingredients: Fair Trade Shea Butter, Almond Oil, Beeswax, Honey, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, White Chocolate, Glycerine, Flavour, Organic Cold Pressed Wheatgerm Oil, Oatmeal, Peppermint Oil, Fair Trade Vanilla Absolute, Sweet Wild Orange Oil*, Limonene

You know, I was under impression that all Lush lip balms contained methylparaben in it. Despite Lush' claims that parabens are safe to use, you still don't want to have something that may lead to cancer in your products - especially in your lip balm, especially when there's a lot of cheaper alternatives that don't contain parabens in it. I googled a little and found out that not long time ago Honey Trap did contain methylparaben and that the tin was 10g. It's sad that now you get much less of product for the same price, but it's good news that Lush decided to change their formulas.

This lip balm isn't suitable for vegans since there's beewax in it (sorry, guys!) and price is quite high (7 euro anyone?), but still your lips will thank you if you treat them to Honey Trap. I'd totally recommend this product especially if you live in the Northern country like me.

Have you tried Lush lip balms?

Best of 2014

2014 was "make up" year for me. I bought a lot, tried a lot, watched tons of videos how to use all the stuff I own. The most used brand this year was Urban Decay for me. I expanded my eye shadow collection by buying their Naked 3 and Basics palettes, used their famous eye primer potion, loved their Revolution lipstick range. I know that a lot of cruelty free beauty bloggers don't buy their products, because UD is owned by L'Oreal, but still I choose to support them. High quality products, last for a long time, can be easily bought at almost every online beauty store, is certified by the Leaping Bunny... so yeah. I love it and will use it in the future.

For base I have found my holy grail - Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation SPF15 in Warm Peach*. To tell the truth, I don't use liquid/cream foundations because I had bad experience with them in the past (they made an emphasis on dry skin areas or big pores), so for a while mineral foundations have been my best friends. If you don't know, mineral foundation looks like loose powder, but has good coverage ability. Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation is affordable, evens out my skin tone, covers everything I need (I have combination skin with dry cheeks & oily T-zone, breakouts happen time to time). 

The best concealer this year was e.l.f. Maximum Coverage Concealer*, because it is so easy to blend + definitely gives very nice coverage. Best facial primer award goes to Too Faced Primed Poreless Skin Smoothing Primer* (no parabens, makes makeup stay in place all day long). For fixing eye brows - Anastasia Beverly Hills Beverly Hills Brow Fix and for filling - Urban Decay Faint eye shadow (Naked Basics palette).

For contouring I love using The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder in Medium 03 because it doesn't make my skin look orange and blends very easily. And it smells like honey, I can't get enough of it!

My most favorite blusher was Nars Orgasm, but I also love Too Faced Pink Leopard Bronzer which I bought at beautybay.com when they had Black Friday sale. Since it's too shimmery it can't be used for contouring, but it gives beautiful golden-pinky glow to the cheeks.

What about mascara? Pixi Large Lash Mascara is something I'd recommend to try if you need to add volume to your lashes. This mascara can be used by contact lenses wearers.

Next year I'm going to focus on skin/hair care products. Stay tuned!

What are yours 2014 beauty favorites?

Product marked with * are 100% vegan.

Happy New Year!

In 2014 I traveled to Spain, got sunburn while lying on Barcelona's beach, climbed Montserrat mountain, swam in the Mediterranean Sea when it was snowing back in my home country, experienced horse riding for the first time in my life, walked narrow streets in Amsterdam, was lifted into the sky by Tallinn Balloon, was photographed by professional photographer, lived in a tent for couple of days, got drunk with beautiful people, went to see Hurts and 30 Seconds to Mars gigs, made St. Valentines chocolate candies, bought maybe too much of makeup products...

Overall, it was a good year, but I hope that 2015 will be much, much better. I don't update this blog much, but I appreciate every comment and every follower. Thank you very much for being with me! I wish you a lot of happy moments in 2015 :)

How has my make up bag changed this year

Well, it has changed. A LOT. Make up was my biggest obsession this year. I've started reading a lot of beauty bloggers and wanted to try almost all famous products. Now I have three eye shadow palettes (I used to have only one), more than 6 blushes, uncountable amount of lipsticks and empty wallet. Did I need all these things? No. I believe every woman can survive with only two lipsticks in her bag. But every time I felt sad or stressed I wanted to treat myself. Unfortunately, illusion of happiness of having new thing doesn't last too long and you find yourself constantly looking for something another to buy. In the end this shopaholic mania left me feeling guilty about spending too much. Next year I want to learn how to control my expenses.

In order to do so, I'm going to follow simple rules:

• I'll buy new make up products only in case if I run out of something. I have plenty of products to play with already. Got tired of your usual eye shadow palette? Try to create looks with shades that you don't use on regular basis (and don't lie that you don't have such shades - everyone has one or two that they don't use at all). Experiment with things that you already own.
• Focus on skincare and hair products that are affordable (of course only cruelty free and possibly vegan). Brands worth checking out: Urtekram (shampoos & conditioners), Sukin Organics (skincare, hair care), Natio (skincare), natural oils like Macadamia Oil, Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, etc (for hair treatment).
• Avoid sales and impulsive buys. Ask yourself "Do I really need this?" all the time.
• Have budget for every month.
• Remember that not material things will make you happy, but people and interesting experiences.

The biggest step this year was learning about ugly side of beauty industry i.e. animal testing and trying to buy only from cruelty free companies. Next year I'll also try to cut my spending on brands that have non cruelty free parent companies, if 100% cruelty brands offer much better deals. In other words, next time my Urban Decay eye primer potion runs out, I'm buying shadow insurance primer from Too Faced, because hey, it's the same size as UD but much cheaper on beautybay.com (and beauty bloggers reviews tell me that quality doesn't differ much + Too Faced is 100% cruelty free).

Another big step was starting using sunscreens. Yeah, I know. I didn't used it even when I lived in Japan (and I tell you, Japanese sun is a killer for skin, especially during summer) :S Now I'm using it 365 days a year, because sun in the primary case of skin ageing and may lead to cancer.

What are yours beauty resolutions for next year?

November favorites

Nars Orgasm Blush is the most famous Nars blush and I don't believe there's anyone out there who hasn't heard about it once or twice. Early this year I followed the crowd and decided that I need "Orgasm" in my life too. After purchasing it I've been using it daily, but in summer I got Illamasqua Hussy to play with, so Orgasm was lost in the pile of cosmetics I own. But in November I got tired of bright makeup and wanted to create more natural looks, so here I am, loving Orgasm blush more than ever. In case you don't know, it's peachy pink with golden shimmer. It tends to look more pink than peachy on my skin. The pigmentation isn't very intense, so if you want the blush to show up on your cheeks you need to built the color up, but I don't see it as disadvantage, because one or two swipes will give you natural, healthy glow to your face (and I like to use it this way).

Urban Decay Naked Revolution Lipstick is a new acquisition to my makeup collection which I grabbed during sale on feelunique.com for €15. To tell the truth, I'm not fan of nude lipsticks, but I usually eat/drink a lot when I'm out with friends and bright lipsticks tend to leave marks on boyfriend's face + UD Revolution Lipstick in Naked was recommended as "perfect Autumn lipstick" by many bloggers on my bloglovin' feed, so I thought, why not to try something new? 

 Naked is warm pink nude color with opaque finish - it's like my own lip color, but better. It lasts about 4 hours and is very moisturizing which is a big plus during cold winter months. The package also looks very expensive and elegant - I love it! Urban Decay has always been like "eye shadow brand" for me, but I must admit they did quite a nice job on lipsticks too. Can't get enough of Naked ;)

Please note that both Nars and Urban Decay are cruelty free, but owned by parent companies who test on animals. Orgasm blush isn't suitable for vegans, since it contains lanolin, but Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick range is completely vegan. You can buy Nars blushes from here and UD lipsticks here.

What did you love in November?

Hurraw! Lip Balms in Chocolate & Vanilla Bean

Last week I got parcel from iherb.com with these two babies and I need to say that I'm totally in love! I have very dry, chapped lips which become only worse during cold weather (we have -12°C here at the moment, hello) and lip balm is essential tool for me to survive winter. 

Hurraw! lip balms are 100% cruelty free, vegan and made from "premium raw, organic and fair trade ingredients" (c). On each package you can also find the Leaping Bunny logo which confirms that no animals were harmed during production of these products. Speaking of the package, I like lip balms in tubes much more than in tins due to hygienic reasons. 

At iherb.com there are 21 different flavors to choose from - I bought classical Vanilla Bean and Chocolate lip balms. Both of them smell deliciously, especially Vanilla Bean one, it reminds me of vanilla ice-cream. But what most important that they provide really good moisture to my dry lips! I can stay without reapplying product for 2-3 hours - personally I find it as quite good result, because previously I used Badger Balm and it didn't help at all (my lips got dehydrated after 30 minutes).

Now I'm thinking about getting another flavors like Coconut, Chai spice and Tinted Black Cherry Balm, because hey, it's never enough of lip balms ;)

 

Have you ever tried Hurraw! lip balms? What do you think?