They come with a flattened, sharp-edged doe-foot applicator, which does an amazing job at applying the product quickly but precisely, and the formula is not bad for a drugstore product either. It's mousse-like, but sets very fast into a non-sticky velvety matte finish, and the pigmentation is very good as well, although I do like to apply two coats. What impressed me the most, though, is how long long lasting they are - they don't transfer, they survive meals and are hard to get off without a waterproof makeup remover.

Njihov aplikator je sploščen z ošiljeno konico, ki omogoča hiter in natančen nanos, razočarala pa me ni niti formula, ki po teksturi spominja na mousse, vendar se hitro posuši v nelepljiv, žametno mat finiš. Pigmentacija je zelo dobra, čeprav sama raje nanesem dva sloja, obstojnost pa je tista, ki me je najbolj prepričala. Šminka se namreč ne prenese na dotik, preživi obrok in zahteva vodoodporen odstranjevalec za ličila. 

The only thing that bugs me is the fact they're slightly drying and therefore not the most comfortable to wear all day long, and the five darker shades I was excited for the most are unfortunately mega streaky, so avoid, avoid, avoid. If I were you, I would stick to the lighter from the range. My favourite is 'Be My Baby'.

Na žalost pa ni vse rožnato, saj sta me pri šminkah zmotili dve stvari. Niso dovolj vlažilne, tako da mi zelo hitro osušijo ustnice, poleg tega pa je nanos temnejših petih šmink iz kolekcije, ki sem se jih najbolj veselila, prava nočna mora, saj je zelo neenakomeren. Pri svetlejših odtenkih tega problema na srečo ni, tako da bi vam priporočila slednje. Moj najljubši je 'Be My Baby'. 

Today I will be talking about one of the most hyped up products in the beauty blogosphere - Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer. Everyone and their mother published a review of these babies, but of course, I have to share my opinion as well. Especially because I've noticed that it is different from most other people. I honestly don't think I've read a single negative review before I decided to make the purchase a few months ago when I was visiting London, which is why I picked up two shades (Celestial & Nova). No, scratch that, that's a lie. I did read one negative review written by Jessica talking about how the red shade didn't set and got all over her face, but the 'you HAVE to try it out, everyone did' voice in my head convinced me to buy them anyways. And since I did go for lighter shades, I thought I wouldn't experience the same problems. Well, I am happy to inform you that I indeed didn't have problems with the smearing situation, but there are some other things that bother me about these lip lacquers. If you want to know which, keep on reading!

First of all, the smell. Or the taste. I don't even know. Probably both. You first have to know that I am usually not really bothered by strange or strong scents, but this one just doesn't float my boat. It smells artificially weird (yes, this is the best I can give you) and the scent lingers for ages, so I can constantly feel the product in my throat. I can't even say that it's strong or anything like that to be honest, but the taste I get in my mouth when I wear these is not pleasant. 

Moving on, another major disappointment is the lasting power. After reading dozens of posts on how these products last for hours on your lips and even make it through meals, you can't blame me for expecting great things, but the truth is that these lip lacquers are no better than any other lip gloss. I can't even imagine them lasting me through a meal, because they disappear from my lips in less than an hour. I gave them a second, a third, a fifth chance to prove me wrong, but the magic never happened.

And now the last thing I have a bit of a problem with is the doe foot applicator. I love it, but I also hate it. Let me explain. As you can see in the photo above, there's some kind of a hole in the middle of the the applicator in which the product gets stored. Aparently, the idea behind this invention was to make the application easier and quicker, since you don't have to dip the applicator into a tube several times to get more product out. I do have to say that the applicator does exactly what it promises, but I also have to tell you that things can look messy before you get the hang of it. When I was applying the product for the first couple of times, I had a lot of problems with uneven application. There seemed to be too much product on the applicator and I always ended up with more product around my mouth instead of in the center of my lips. After several applications, I did learn how to work with it and I no longer have to wipe the excess product off the wand before I apply it, but this is the product I definitely won't be (re)applying on the go, without a mirror. Never ever. 

Now that I got the negative feelings off my chest, let's move on to the positive characteristics. There are two things I really like about this product - the packaging and the pigmentation. Let's start with the packaging. For a drugstore product, I think it is very well made. It looks sleek, I love how you can see the shade of the lip lacquer without having to search for a label or opening it up, and I also really like the closure. You can hear the satisfying click when you close the product and there is no leaking, which is something that I've previously experienced with a lot of drugstore lip glosses. 

The second pro, as mentioned, is color payoff. It is flippin' amazing. Both shades that I own are completely opaque and true to colour with only one swipe. If only they lasted for a longer period of time on my lips...

Moving on, I have a couple more things to discuss. Let's begin with the finish. I feel creamy would be the right word to describe it. It's a mix between a gloss and a lipstick, but even though it looks quite glossy on the lips, it definitely doesn't feel like a lip gloss. It is not sticky (thank god), and it feels drier and heavier. It is definitely not hydrating, yet I haven't noticed it drying out my lips either. 

That would be it for today's review of the Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers. I know that I started off the post very negative, but you have to know that these are by no means BAD products. I just don't think they deserve the hype they've been getting, that's all. What are your thoughts? I'm sure a lot of you have tried them out by now, so I would love to hear what you think.

*******************************************************************************************************

Please check out my lovely sponsor DressLoop.co.uk for amazing party, prom, wedding and bridesmaid dresses.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation is probably the most raved about foundation of this summer. Every review that I have read was positive, and when I noticed that people describe it as dewy and great for dry skin, I knew that I had to try it.

The foundation comes in a sturdy glass packaging with a pump, which is definitely welcoming. I still don't know why some companies keep coming out with foundations without pumps. It makes the application extremely messy and the amount of product that gets poured out is ridiculous.

My favourite thing about the Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation is that it feels extremely light on my skin, but still offers a decent amount of coverage, which I would describe as medium and buildable. When you observe the foundation in the bottle, you can see that it contains tiny shimmers, but once you apply it, the shimmers are not visible at all. Your face does look quite dewy, though, so I think this is where the invisible shimmers do their magic. In terms of durability, the foundation stays on my dry skin all day long. However, I do have to powder my T-zone if I'm going out in the sun, because the foundations starts to melt off there once my skin gets oily. And now one last thing - dry patches. Dry patches are definitely my main skin problem and I cannot seem to find a foundation that wouldn't cling to them. This one is no different. But I did figure out what I need to do to minimize this problem. I need to stay away from brushes and apply my foundation with a wet sponge.

Just to give you an idea how the foundation looks on my skin, I decided to show you the before and after photos. On the left, you can see my makeupless face, and on the right, you can see me wearing the Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation. All in all, I think that this is the best foundation I've tried so far. It is very similar to the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, which I was using before, but slightly better. Unfortunatelly, the shade selection is rather poor and on a darker side. I have mine in 'Ivory', which I think is the lightest shade. Right now it is perfect for my yellow toned and slightly tanned skin, but once my tan starts to fade off, I don't think I'll be able to wear it anymore...

1) Crest 3D White Whitestrips Professional Effects: I've been hearing about the Crest whitestrips for ages and have always wanted to try them out, but I never knew which ones to get. I remember people saying that some of them are really harsh and make your teeth hurt, and since these whitestrips are not the cheapest, I really didn't want to risk buying the wrong ones. Last week, though, there were two girls on youtube praising the Professional Effects ones, so I'll take this as a sign and order some! 

2) Rimmel London Wake Me Up Foundation: I just ran out of my foundation, so I need to get a new one as soon as possible. A lot of bloggers and youtubers have been talking about the Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation recently and they all seem to agree that it is amazing and great for dry skin. I'm seriously thinking about buying it. The only problem is that I don't know which shade to get, as I can only get it online. Do any of you maybe own the Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation as well as the Bourjois Healthy Mix one in Vanilla or Light Vanilla? The shade comparison would really help me out... 

3) TonCase Phone Case: I've started thinking about changing up my phone case as soon as the winter was over, because my current one doesn't look particulary summery. It's cute and everything, but I'm looking forward to putting it aside until next winter. Now, I am one of those people who don't own an iPhone, so you can imagine how hard it is for me to find a pretty phone case. It's mission impossible, I'm telling you! The ones that I've found on ebay are either very similar to my current one or just plain boring. However, I did remember to check Etsy after months of browsing through ebay, and guess what? They have SO many cute ones on there! And not just for iPhones, woohoo! The one that you can see in the photo is a personal favourite of mine. It's just so me!

4) Persun Geometric Matching Shoulder Bag: Maaan, why couldn't I see that bag before buying this one to have it as my LA carry-on bag?! The one that I got looks like a beach bag and I'm really not loving it. This one, however, seems very chic and it is also big enough. I don't want to spend $50 on it now that I already have a bag, but it's so much prettier! What should I do?

5) Diorskin Nude BB Creme: I am desperate to try this one out! I promised to myself that I won't be spending a lot of money on foundations, because there are some great drugstore ones out there, but when it comes to BB creams, the story is completely different. I just can't find a cheaper one that would work for me. I'm not saying that I am sure this Dior one would be perfect for me, but since a lot of people with similar dry-to-combination skin type have been loving it, I would love to give it a try myself. I now just have to figure out if there's any way for me to get a tester or something at one of our drugstores. There's no way I'm buying such an expensive BB cream without making sure that it really does work for me first. 

6) Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum: I've been using the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation (review here) for a really long time now, but I've recently heard that the serum version is even better for dry skin. I'll definitely be getting it before or after I try out the Wake Me Up Foundation. Has anyone maybe tried both? Which one do you prefer?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Don't forget to check out my current advertiser, http://www.thebestmakeupproducts.com/, a website with articles about make-up tips and other beauty related subjects.

When I stumbled across a Rimmel stand while I was in France, I knew that I had to pick up at least a few items! We don't have Rimmel in my country and I always keep hearing about their fabulous stuff. I myself only have one of their products - the Scandaleyes Eyeliner in Nude that I got in London - and I really love it, so I couldn't wait to try out the mascara I ended up buying.

When I saw the Scandaleyes Mascara up there in front of me, I remembered that I'd read a few reviews on it, but I couldn't remember if the reviews were positive or negative. I didn't want to risk leaving an amazing mascara behind me, so I ended up taking it home with me. As soon as I came home, though, I looked up the reviews and found out that most people hate this mascara. Well, crap. But you know what? I don't think that it deserves such bad reviews. There is definitely some room for improvement, but it is not THAT bad.

Now the first thing that might bother some of you is a humongous brush. I've had quite a few mascaras with big brushes, but this one is really, really big. I'm used to huge brushes by now, so I know how to make it work, but if you're not used to them, this one might cause you a few problems. Mascara can easily get all over your lid and it is quite hard to reach the smaller, inner lashes. Another minus for me is that it dries very quickly, so you need to work fast if you want to apply several coats. Once it dries, the additional layering will give you spider lashes, which I hate. 

Now on to the good stuff. I like it because it doesn't clump my lashes (unless it dries up before I manage to put on extra coats), it adds decent length, and doesn't smudge under my eyes even though I use it on my bottom lashes as well. I think it gives me that great 'doll eyes' look! The volume could be better, especially because the brush is SO big. I really expected this mascara to give me a lot of volume after seeing the brush, but it turns out to be quite average. Despite its few annoying features, I'll keep wearing this mascara because I figured out how to make it work for me, but I would love to hear your thoughs. Have you tried it yourself? How do you feel about it?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't forget to check out my current advertiser, Poppy Loves, a lifestyle blog celebrating food, fashion, home, beauty and much more.