It took me about four months and hundreds of visits to the drugstore to find this product. Well, this shade to be exact. My housemate wore it all summer long, and apparently the rest of London did too, because it was sold out EVERYWHERE. In stores, online... you get the idea. I still can't believe I managed to finally score it a couple of weeks ago! But don't ask me where. I took the last one. Sorry! 

Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolors have been around for quite a while now, but me being on a bit of a spending ban these past two years, I tried not to pay attention to them or any other product for that matter. I actually forbade myself to buy new makeup unless I either run out of an essential or really, really like something. And that's what happened with this beautiful number. 

The shade I fell in love with and have been wearing non-stop for the past month is called Seduction. It's the perfect nude shade that goes with any makeup look. It's creamy, but dries matte, and is extremely comfortable to wear. It doesn't last all day, so re-applications are needed, but it lasts long enough and doesn't apply unevenly even if you put on several coats, which is a huge plus in my book. 

Lastly, I have to say a few words about the packaging. Isn't it gorgeous? A sleek, glass-looking tube you can see the shade through and a doe-foot applicator that is actually great. It really lets you be precise, which I guess is especially handy when it comes to darker shades. One thing to note if you have a sensitive nose, though. The product is quite strongly scented. Think vanilla and something else thrown into the mix...

It's been two months since I last wrote a beauty review here or my blog, so I thought it would be time to finally write another one! Today I'll be talking about essence's liquid lipsticks. Liquid lipsticks have been all the rage for about a year now, with Bourjois and Anastasia Beverly Hills taking the centre stage, but I just couldn't justify spending my precious money on them, knowing I probably wouldn't wear them very often. I only tested out the ones available in my online store (it's in the job description), but that doesn't mean I didn't or don't want to try more. I mean, I'm a makeup addict after all!

I got really excited when I saw that essence was coming out with what it looked like a budget version of Bourjois liquid lipsticks, and luckily, I got my hands on two lovely, bold shades - 04 show off! and 06 make a statement. But before you get too excited, I need to let you know that these are not proper liquid lipsticks. At least not in my book. They aren't long-lasting and don't stain your lips, which are the two main characteristics of liquid lipsticks, so I think pigmented thick glosses would be a more appropriate way to describe them. 

As mentioned, they are very pigmented. One swipe is more than enough. In fact, I would keep away from adding extra layers and rubbing your lips together too much, as the product doesn't really settle and tends to move around and gather in certain areas when there's too much of it on your lips.

The gloss isn't too sticky and has a comfortable waxy smooth finish, but as with all heavy lip formulas, it tends to wear off unevenly, with the product disappearing from the middle of your lips first and leaving a line inside the edges. I don't see it as a huge problem, though, because the fact that it doesn't stain your lips means that you can quickly touch it up. When it comes to staying power, I would say it's average, lasting a couple of hours before the gloss wears off. 

Packaging is not something I normally pay a lot of attention to, but I just have to mention it this time. I think it's freakin' amazing. Not only is it functional, showing through the actual shade of the product, but it's also inceredibly sleek for such a cheap product. Essence have really been stepping up their game recently when it comes to their lip products, don't you think so? 

It's safe to say that Etude House Dear My Milky Gloss in MPK002 gets my award for the most worn spring lip gloss of 2015. I just can't get enough of it. I swear I've been searching for a shade like this for years. I kept seeing it on people's lips, but could never find quite the exact match myself. The majority of natural-looking lip glosses are either full on pink, peach or nude, while this one is the perfect combination of the first two. 

The consistency reminds me of NYX Butter Glosses (review here). It's thick and creamy, but the effect is more 'juicy'. It doesn't contain any glitters, making the finish milky and jelly-like. I love how natural it looks on my lips and the fact that I can build it up. One layer makes my lips look plump without much of an added colour, while an extra layer provides a full coverage. 

The formula applies evenly, feels very smooth and comfortable on my lips, and has a staying power of a few hours unless you're having a meal. Overall, an amazing addition to my makeup collection that also smells lovely and doesn't have a yucky taste. Definitely a keeper!
You can purchase one for yourself here on Destination Pretty. There's a promo code going on exclusively for my readers right now, so make sure you enter 'PUZZLE' at the checkout to get 10% off of your whole purchase when you spend over 25€. The code will be working until Wednesday midnight. Have you tried any Etude House products yet? 

Today I'll be reviewing a very generous sample of bareMinerals' Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss that I received in my VidCon goodie bag. I got it in the shade 'Rebel', which I would describe as a pinky mauve, your-lips-but-better kind of colour. The lipgloss comes in a very sturdy and well-made packaging that doesn't look or feel cheap, which definitely lets you know that you're dealing with a high street product, and the applicator is just your regular doe foot one.


The texture of the lipgloss is quite thick, but it applies evenly and offers sheer-to-medium coverage. Unfortunatelly, it is a bit sticky, which definitely turns me off, because I'm not too fond of sticky lipglosses. And another few things that bother me are the peppermint scent and the mild stinging sensation, which are very typical of lipglosses with the plumping effect. I know that a lot of people love that kind of lipglosses, because they are supposed to make your lips look fuller, but I personally find them quite uncomfortable.

Deja recently tagged me to do the 20$ make-up challenge, which means that I had to do my full face make-up with products worth less than 20$ (=16.30€). And let me tell you, this was way more difficult than it sounds. First of all, make-up in my country is much more expensive than it is in the USA, so you don't have a large selection of cheap products. Essence is probably the only brand that has cheap products which are not horrible. Secondly, I discovered that most make-up products I use are pretty darn expensive, so they were out of the question. The only thing that I could do was go to the store and try to find cheap products for this challenge, but I didn't want to spend my money on products which I would never use again, so what I did was try to find the cheapest products in my sister's make-up storage (except for the concealer and the eyeshadow duo - those are mine). Oh, and lastly, the brushes are also included in the 20$ mark, so I couldn't use  them either. 

Anyway, here are the products I've used:

♥ Essence's Clear & Matt Foundation €2.50

♥ Collection 2000's Lasting Perfection Concealer €5.30 (avaliable here)

♥ Catrice's The Giant Mascara €5

♥ Essence's Stay With Me Lipgloss €2.5

♥ Elf's Duo Creme Eyeshadow €1.9

The sum up of the prices is 17,20 €, which is 1 euro above the price point, but considering the fact that I worked with the things I already have at home, I think that's good. Right?

First, I put on some Essence's foundation. With my hands. I really missed my Sigma stippling brush, but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with this foundation. It wasn't patchy and the coverage was comparable to the Garnier BB Cream. The next product was concealer. I could use a cheaper one, but the Collection 2000 one is the only one I've found that somewhat covers my terrible under under eye circles, so I just went with that one. 

For my eyes, I first used Elf's Cream Eyeshadow Duo that I ordered from the UK about a year ago I think, but I've never used it before this challenge. And I'll probably never use it again, because it sucks. Big time. Not only is it extremely sticky, but it is also unblendable, smudgy, and creases like hell. Now the mascara. I've used my sister's Catrice's mascara which she loves, but I didn't find it very good. It clumped my lashes and I got it all over my lid, which doesn't usually happen to me. I also really missed my eyelash curler. I got so used to using it and I would definitely recommend one to every single one of you if you don't own it yet. It's a miracle product! Oh, and I was also really bummed I couldn't fill in my eyebrows. That makes the biggest difference to my face. 

The last thing I used was Essence's lip gloss. I usually go for a lipstick instead of a lipgloss because I don't like my lips to be sticky, but this one was quite nice. I really liked the color too!

Here are the before and after photos, so that you can see the transformation. What do you think?