Liiv Botanicals products review.

This review will probably seem outdated. (I bought these products back in 2010 and have had them for months, and the Liiv line has since been discontinued in several countries.) However, I'm still posting this because this is, after all, a personal blog and I can write about anything I want. Who knows, this might still be useful.

*Liiv Botanicals Face Cream Cleanser

I know that you can tell that I love this product just by the state of it XD. I do :).

This cream cleanser is creamy and gentle but cleanses well, while being effective at removing face make-up. After using it, my skin looked clean, refreshed and soft, and there was a pore minimising effect too.

The one thing that bothered me about it was the smell. All Liiv products have a cucumber scent, but this one combines that with something yogurt-like. It's not strong enough to be repulsive, and if you don't mind dairy products this won't bother you at all, but that's the one detail that disqualifies this product from being perfect in my eyes.

Still, if you love products like Clinique's Comforting Cream Cleanser, but wouldn't mind trying a cheaper and/or more natural alternative, you'll probably like this :).

Recommended: Yes ^_^.

*Liiv Botanicals Revitalising Face Mask

Note that the packaging instructs one to apply a generous amount, but from personal experience I have concluded that (on me, anyway) with most gel masks, a little goes a long way.

After using this product, my skin looks like I've applied a matte tinted moisturiser. (I know that's a bit of an oxymoron, but it's the best description I can come up with.) It's smooth and fairly matte but there's a bit of a brightening effect too.

Recommended: Try it if your skin likes gel masks ;).

*Liiv Botanicals Vital Day Cream SPF 20

This is really light so it goes well under make-up.

SPF 20 is not really enough though :(. SPF 30 would be much better. Still, I do wear actual sunscreen on sunny days, and this is an effective product for cloudier times ;).

Note: Don't use this on irritated or freshly scrubbed skin as it may be too harsh.

Recommended: If the climate in your area allows you to use this often, then yes. Obviously, if you live in a place with very cold or constantly sunny weather, you'd probably need a heavier or higher SPF product respectively.

*Liiv Botanicals Vital Night Moisturiser

Check this out:

My first thought was, "This looks just like shampoo that's gone bad :-/." Upon closer inspection, I was really put off by the pink glowy particles in this...

(They're even more in your face in real life. The flash washed the colours out.)

Why use shimmer in a product clearly designated for nighttime use? That's when the skin rests & regenerates, after all. The only reason I can think of is to fool people into thinking they have glowing, healthier skin when they actually don't. So to be honest, I was worried about using this, but I had paid for it and the other products were effective. I started using this & hoped for the best.

Well - at least I was right,
This product irritates my skin, gives me spots and dries my face out. I made sure that this reaction was caused by this product by undoing any other changes in my routine except this, and I can safely claim that for me, this was terrible.

Recommended: Hell no.

*Liiv Botanicals Vitalising Eye Cream SPF 15

This has an eye shadow base-like formula, so it's lovely under eye make-up. On the other hand, if you prefer thicker eye creams, you may be put off as this is very light. The packaging is nice & practical, and it makes the eye area look smoother. But most importantly...
It has SPF :D. This is an effective & affordable eye product that has SPF. If you haven't found your staple eye cream, try this one out.

Recommended: Yes, this is brilliant :).

Thanks for reading :).

MAC Fashion Mews review and look & Adorable Blog award ^_^.

(Requested by Chomsiri :). But I'm sure many people wouldn't mind a review of this XD.)

Review: MAC Hello Kitty lipstick in Fashion Mews.

[It has a kitty stamped onto it, how cute ^_^!]

MAC info: Sheer pale lavender [Glaze].

MAC's Hello Kitty collection included 6 lipsticks, of which I own three. Fashion Mews is a light, creamy pinkish lavender colour. It's not as lavender in real life as this though...

Which I would have been disappointed about, had the real life colour not been this beautiful :). It's lovely, and looks a lot like a nude shade, except it's well, not nude or peach. See my pic for reference ;).

The packaging is adorable ^_^, the name sounds good (unlike Big Bow for example >:-D), the staying power is very good (lasted through eating for me, although I was careful ;D) like all MAC lipsticks :), and I love that soft lovely smell ^_^. I personally had no dryness issues - but I rarely do, so I think that'd depend on one's lips' normal state. Can't speak for everyone on this ;).

So, is there anything bad about this? No :). The only minor trouble with this is that it's Limited Edition, so it may be hard to get hold of if you haven't already ;). I won't factor the price as a negative aspect because overpriced though 18,50 Euros may be, it's still not as much as, say, a Dior or Laura Mercier lip colour ;D. I won't even mention how fine by Euro standards the US price of 14 $ is - a L'Oreal lipstick is selling for more than that here >:-D.

Would I recommend this? Yes :). Definitely. Especially if you're a fan of Hello Kitty and lovely statement nudes ^_^.

Here's the look I did with it ;)...

(See what I mean about it being a pinkish lavender shade with a nude look & effect? I'm afraid my description's a bit confusing, so I hope the pic helps XD.)

Pout Love Glow, no mascara or liner, Oriflame Aqua Vibes Cool Eye Shadow stick in Hawaii as a base & Lumiere eye shadow in Cafe Latte over it, for a minimalist, gleaming look :). This is how I'd wear this - but I'm totally open to suggestions, just leave a comment ;D.

By the way, the moment I saw Cafe Latte, I thought, "This is the shade for Fashion Mews :D!" ;). Does this happen to anyone else? Knowing what to wear a product with before actually trying it...It often does to me, anyway.

Here's another bizarre not-quite-smiling pic. Photographer's block won't lay off :-P. I'm never photogenic >:-) but I usually can manage to look presentable, and in the past few days, it isn't happening >:-/.

& I've received this from Thiamere :). Thank you ^_^!!!

This is so cute XD ^_^.

*Include the award logo in your blog or post.
*Nominate as many blogs which you like.
*Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
*Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
*Share the l♥ve and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

*Jess
*Nic Nic
*Ji
*Fuz
*Ning Star
*Nikki

& I don't know who else hasn't received this, so if you haven't received this yet and have an adorable blog, I award you :-P :).

Thanks for reading ^_^!

P.S. If you'd like to request a review, go ahead ;).

Avon quad review (and look), thoughts on some of my new stuff, and my current nail look.

[This will be my first review ever :).]

I had the time to play with some of my new stuff :D, and naturally I'm very excited about the products I've tried and would love to share my thoughts with you :). So I will do this :-P ;).

Review: Avon True Colo[u]r Eye Shadow Quad in Smoky Eyes [Q801].

This is what it looks like:

The round shadows look very similar to Lancome or Euro Chanel quads (random note: I hate the US square ones - US people, I pity you a little :-P, but you can't have all the good stuff ^_^), and quite a few of you commented about that on my previous post ;).

But while US Chanel quads are ugly, US Avon ones look good. This is what a European Avon quad looks like:

I hate these. They are so ugly :-/. I don't care how nice the colours are, I will never buy such a stupid-looking quad. If anyone from Avon reads this, perhaps you should rethink some of the junk you toss onto the European market >:-).

Moving on ;). This quad has AVON written on it (not very appealing to be honest, but I can stand it), and the box has some very basic advice on how one should use the shadows.

The quad has an OK-sized mirror and a sponge applicator (one skinny end for lining and one usual teardrop shaped one for shading) included. The shade names are listed on the back. They are White Pearl, Privately Pink, Moonlight and Steel.

White Pearl: I LOVE this :D.
It's maybe the best white I've come across, and certainly one of the best. It can be used sheer, or built up to a lovely matte white. Even when intensified, it's not dead-looking matte, but rather subtly iridescent and very pretty :).

Privately Pink: I HATE this >:-/ :(.
I'm very persistent, so I tried everything. I used my fingers, the sponge applicator and a brush. I tried using it wet. I scraped off the top layer. I scraped off some more and tried using that as colour.
This thing just does not work at all. You'd have better pigmentation from coloured chalk. I'm not kidding - this is so terrible that I'm hoping it's a defective one. Such a shame too because the shade looks so pretty :(! But this is supposed to be eye shadow - and it doesn't do that. At all. Sorry. I'm thinking of smashing this up and using it as loose blusher, but it will probably not even work for that >:-).

Moonlight: Well, first of all I have to mention that as soon as I touched it, the top layer broke off :-P >:-).
Aside from that (which isn't supposed to happen), the colour is lovely :). It's a nice grey that has a subtle glow to it, and yet it's grey, not silver. It's nice and soft too, and pigmented enough. I'm very happy with this :).

Steel: The dark smokey shade of this quad. It's indeed reminiscent of steel, or perhaps graphite. On fair skin, this dark grey colour gives a nicer smoke effect than classic black would. And I love it as a liner ;).

Swatches:

Left to right: White Pearl, Privately Pink, Moonight, Steel. The pink one is barely visible, and that's after multiple layers - and getting this swatch was a pain. I told you the pink was beyond awful.

And here's a simple look using the working >:-D shades from this, which also happens to be my first ever look of the day that isn't for a contest ;D.

I used Moonlight and Steel to line (Steel on top & Moonlight on the bottom), and White Pearl on the lid & all the way up to the brow.

Naked lashes, fair & powdered skin (using my usual skin lot), the lightest shade of my IsaDora Diamond Glow to lightly highlight cheeks, and my new liner from The Body Shop on my mouth. I haven't tried it as an eye liner yet, but I love it as a lip liner :). It turns my natural lip colour into a soft nude shade, and after swapping my L'Oreal nude lipsticks away, I needed that ;).

I look tired :-/...Oh well. You know I'm not photogenic at all.

Here's a rather strange eye close-up:

I am not wearing mascara here. Bless my lashes :).

Here's my usual product pic ;D.

[Lol at me in the mirror. I confess that I did that on purpose :-P.]

Staying power: After 4 hours, no fading or creasing. (I don't use base, only some foundation to even out my lid colour.) I'm satisfied :).

Would I recommend this?

To be honest, I can't :(. The three working shades are lovely, but I can't recommend a product that doesn't at least work - all of it, that is >:-D. If you can find a quad where all colours work though (maybe there was something wrong with mine in particular), this is a lovely smokey eyes quad :). And the packaging looks nice too :-P.

Thanks for reading ^_^!

P.S. Nails of the moment...

[I can't photograph nails well >:-).]

Index finger: Estee Lauder White Beige. The rest: OPI Russian Navy. Everything's been topped off with Oriflame Visions Serial Blogger (love the name, of course XD), I love that glittery lacquer as a top coat on almost everything ;D ^_^.