Nic's Little World

Last night I went to see Mad Max: Fury Road, and it was amazing!

It took me a while (first five minutes) to get used to sped up frames but in the end I loved it. I wholeheartedly recommend it (if you like post apocalyptic movies, that is). I won't spoil anything, but the only thing I will say is that if Furiosa gets her own spin-off movie/franchise/TV-series/anything, I will go and see it, and see it again, and buy it on blu-ray.

I loved her when i first saw the trailer, and last night I wanted to recreate this black grease markings at least a bit.

Source

As the lighting was terrible, I made myself up again this morning, and decided to pair the look with three different lip colours.

Eyes:

MAC paint pot Painterly
Lorac Pro palette - matte black eyeshadow
Catrice 010 Vanillaty Fair eyeshadow (just a dab on the middle of eyelid)
L'Oreal Gel Intenza Eyeliner 01 Pure Black
L'Oreal False lash wings mascara
Catrice Starlight expresso and a bit of black matte Lorac eyeshadow (eyebrows)

Face:

Bourjois Healthy mix serum 51 light vanilla
Eveline art scenic concealer 2in1 04 Light
Chanel Notorious
MAC The Perfect Cheek

Lips:

Powdered with Healthy mix serum
Burberry Lip Glow 25 Lavender lipgloss
L'Oreal Pure Red lipstick Laetitia mixed with a leftover Burberry lipgloss

How do you like it? :)
I had a little flashback to high school, because back then I abused black eyepencil and constantly applied to my waterline.
I didn't think this black eyeshadow all over my eye will turn out good, but I'm pretty satisfied with it.

Love,
Nic

Even though I have a pretty decent make-up stash, last Summer I felt a need for a blue eyeliner.

I googled my eyes off, and the only things I could find were frosty/shimmery/glitter liquid eyeliners, and I'm a gel eyeliner kind of girl. Only blue gel eyeliners I stumbled upon were dark blue, and I wanted cobalt blue.

Luckily, there were some photos on the Internet that showed MAC makeup artists using just the kind of eyeliner I dreamed of on a model.

I waited and waited and it turned out that it will be a part of MAC Philip Treacy collection. As soon as the collection arrived at MAC Store in Zagreb, I went in and snatched my eyeliner.

At 160kn (24$; 3g/0.10oz) MAC Fluidline Royal Wink is the most expensive gel eyeliner I own, but I didn't care, because this blue is sooo pretty.

I went home, took gazillion of photos of untouched product and tried it on my eye without any eyeshadow or base and was extremely disappointed when I saw that it sucked. My first thought was: "OMG, I paid that much money for a jar of this sheer flaking crap?! Well, but at least the colour is pretty..."

The problem with it was that it went on really sheer and when I tried to add a second layer, the brush would pull the first layer and the line would be really patchy. When I tried to rub it off, it flaked really bad and it would fell off in patches.

A few days later, I was getting ready for work and I felt like the blue eyeliner would be perfect as a finishing touch. I was so relieved once I saw that when Royal Wink is applied on top of eyeshadow base and eyeshadow, it just glides on like any other eyeliner I own, which was amazing. Next thing I need to do is to pair it with blue mascara and see if I can handle the double blue awesomeness.

MAC Fluidline Royal Wink; one layer (left and middle), two layers (right)

I instantly fell in love with it and the only regret I have now is that I didn't get another one when it was in stock, as this is really unique gel liner.

My final verdict:

MAC Royal Wink is an amazing gel liner. It may not have the perfect formula, but if applied with the right brush it will provide a perfectly crisp matte cobalt blue winged line. I'm using a really fine nail art brush that allows me to create a perfectly thin line and gives me completely control over gel liner application.

For this post I wanted to use as many MAC products as I owned, so I chose MAC paint pot Painterly as eyeshadow base, and used Catrice Starlight expresso and Vanillaty Fair eyeshadow with L'Oreal False lash wings mascara. As always, I used Catrice Starlight expresso on my eyebrows. I also used Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum 51 as my foundation and Avon concealer for under-eye area. My current blush obsession is MAC The Perfect Cheek, and this look couldn't really go without it.

I wasn't really sure if I wanted the bright red, or deep, wine red for my lips, but I felt this was a job for MAC Diva, and Ruby Woo was left for some other time.

Here are my favourite brushes that I use for on everyday basis, and that I used for this look:

Left to right: Sigma F40 (blush), Sigma F80 (foundation), Ecotools angled brush (eyebrows), MAC 217 (eyeshadow), thin nail art brush (gel liner) and essence spooley brush (eyebrows).

The final look:

I wanted to snap a pic of me actually smiling and I felt so silly. It may seem that all of these photos were snapped effortlessly: click and it's there, but just imagine me kneeling near my bed, trying to catch the best lighting possible, while looking sideways to Ikea mirror on my bed, so I can see if the camera I'm holding in my left arm is actually focusing on my face and not my shoulder or the nightstand or something else around me. And I don't even want to start on my across the street neighbours who have the front row to crazy-lady-show (that means me as the crazy lady) who is spending half an hour with camera lens three centimetres from her eyeball (and if you check my instagram in a few hours, I will post a pic on how that actually looks like for me).

Ah, woes of the beauty blogger... *dramaticNicisdramatic*

Of course, I'm intentionally overreacting :D

I really like taking photos for blog, but I seriously need to invest in some kind of lighting rig, because this daylight is just not enough.

Lets get back to the topic of this post!

Do you like non-black gel eyeliners? Or do you prefer liquid ones?

Did you get anything form MAC Philip Treacy collection?

Please, tell me in comments :)

Love,

Nic

I think this is my first review of something that is not a make-up product, so I hope it won't suck.

This winter caught me a bit off guard. I used my Autumn face skincare routine, and by the end of December I noticed my skin got severely dry/dehydrated.

I switched my routine and started using Ole Henriksen pure truth youth activating oil that I got in LookFantastic beauty box, and I needed to find a good and nourishing face cream to compliment it.

I remembered that all the blogs were raving about Dr. Stribor Rose&Argan cream, especially Babushka, who I trust completely, so I decided to try it.

Dr. Stribor is a Croatian brand, established by dr. Stribor Marković, and they have loads of great products, among which is Rose and Argan cream.

Rose and Argan cream (82.94 kn; 50ml) is a nourishing cream filled with natural ingredients and high quality oils, such as rose essential oil, argan oil, apricot kernel oil, sea buckthorn oil, with vitamin E and panthenol.

It comes in white plastic 50 ml jar with black printed letters on it, and this print is a terrible thing, but more of it later.

It is deep orange and to me it has a really pleasant scent, you can smell the musky rose scent with a hint of argan. Argan by itself has a intensive scent that reminds me of goats, but I don't hate it because it reminds me of childhood (or maybe goats smelled of argan?). If you've never smelled pure argan oil, than you would feel only intensive rose scent with a hint of nuts.

The cream itself has gel-like texture and sinks in the skin without leaving greasy residue. After a few weeks using both Ole Henriksen oil and Dr.Stribor Rose&Argan cream, my skin got a bit better, even though I felt like I needed additional hydration. After a month I ran out of Ole H. oil and I bought OleoTherapy cold pressed pure rosehip oil that I used instead of serum, before Dr.Stribor cream.

Thankfully, weather soon got a bit better, and my skin calmed down so rosehip oil and Rose&Argan cream were a perfect bedtime and morning regime. I would clean my face and apply generous amount of rosehip oil that I would massage in my face, after which I would apply Rose&Argan cream.

My skin is dryish and I would wake up in the morning without that tight skin feeling, so I would say it does a great job of nourishing my skin.

In the morning I would clean my skin with Bioderma micellar water, and apply rosehip oil, Rose&Argan cream, and generous amount of face cream with sunblock.

Final verdict:
I don't really think it is nourishing enough for the dry skin in winter, but if you have normal skin this is a great face cream.

Please beware that if you have skin that is prone to clogged pores to be careful with it, as this moisturizer has a potential to be comedogenic.

And now onto one thing that I hate about this cream, and because of this I was hesitant to buy another jar, after I finished the first one.

Remember the black printed letters on the jar?
If you touch the jar with oily hands (and after applying the rosehip oil as a serum, my hands would be really oily) the letters melt off and stain your fingers.

It took me a few days to realize that the jar is the culprit of my dirty fingers (please note that I would be barely awake at the evening and in the morning, when I would use this cream).

You can see here the comparison of the new and the old Dr.Stribor jar.

Even though when I realized this, I made sure that my fingers were not oily, the print was still leaving stains.

With the second, new jar I was much more careful, and even if my fingertips were oily, I managed to open the jar without touching the print. I made a gif to show you how (I know it's really a no-brainer, but I wanted to make a gif from video, and I needed an excuse).

Am I going to buy it again, once I finish off the second jar?
Probably not right now, as I have Biobaza parsley fluid and Avon moisturizer that I got at Avon Beauty blog Day 2015 event, but if it turns out they are not working for my skin, I'll definitely go back to Dr.Stribor Rose&Argan oil.

EDIT:
Aaaaand, I bought another jar of this creamy perfection!
Why?
Because it amazingly compliments Biobaza Parsley fluid, which I use instead of serum.
Also, Avon cream has only SPF20, and in Croatia the summer is on. I tan really fast, but I want to delay it as much as possible, so I started using Avene SPF50 fluid.
At the moment, my morning routine is Biobaza parsley fluid, Dr.Stribor Rose and Argan cream, and Avene SPF50 fluid. Once it starts getting really hot, I will probably be skipping Dr.Stribor and leave it until Autumn.

Have you tried Dr.Stribor products?
What is your favorite skin moisturizer (and your skin type)?

P.S. - Do you like the new blog design? :)

Love,
Nic

By now you must know that we all had a great time at Avon Beauty Blog Day Croatia 2015.
I won't be writing about it since I believe everything is covered by a lot of other bloggers, and I can't add anything to it, other that I had a great time, and finally had met Žana (Nail crazy) and Petra (The Brush Stash).

Please go to Beauty Blog Day's official facebook page and there you can find all the posts covering BBD at one place (make sure to check them out).

I love this event as it brings the beauty blogger community closer together, makes us (well, at least me) rethink out approach to blogging, and it's a great opportunity to present to all of us the new products of BBD's sponsors.

I feel obligated to mention (because I fell in love with it) Foreo Luna, the only skincare gadget that I'm sure I'll be buying as soon as I save a bit of money. I really can't wait to get it, and not even it's high price (around 1300kn) is not bringing down my enthusiasm.

I'm also really excited about Biobaza's Hydraradiance skincare range with parsley and Avon's Nutra effects Radiance daily face cream.

If you are interested in my photos, there are uploaded to album at Nic's Little World facebook page.

So much for not writing about BBD2015 :)

Today, I will show you one of my favorite manicures, a really simple but extremely eye-catching combination of two beautiful nail polishes.

I wore this to Avon Beauty Blog Day, and if you follow me on Instagram, you had already seen it.

Chanel Vendetta is my favourite nail polish, and if you had to choose and get only one Chanel nail polish, I would wholeheartedly recommend you Vendetta. It's a perfect midnight blue with a hint of purple (blurple?) nail polish. It's a one coater and it dries instantly. therefore, it's perfect for layering under glitters and flakies.

Essence Party in a Bottle is a glitterbomb filled with teal and green hexagonal glitter particles of different size.

Together, Vendetta and Party in a Bottle are a perfect combination.

Pictured here are also my favourite nail polish base (essence studio nails ultra strong nail hardener), and the best top coat in the world (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat).

Seriously, look at that sparkle!

Look..at...IT!

It's also super long lasting, as it stayed without a chip for a whole week.

Do you like dark-nail polish/glitter top coat combo?
What is your favourite pair?

Up until a few weeks ago, my favorite blush in the world was Illamasqua Zygomatic, a creamy perfection of a color which complimented perfectly my NC15 skintone. Alas, Zygomatc had one flaw: it was a bit comedogenic, and as I had started to have a few breakouts, I traded it for Illamasqua Naked Rose, a pinkier powder dusty rose blusher. As all obsessions go, I tried to find a perfect dupe for Zygomatic, but in powder form. I googled my eyes off, but the only blushes that got close enough were Cargo Tonga or MAC The Perfect Cheek. Cargo Tonga was almost impossible to get, but my luck changed when I got MAC The Perfect Cheek.

MAC The Perfect Cheek is neutral, dusty rose, matte blush. It's not completely matte though, like Illamasqua Naked Rose, but it has a barely-there sheen, as you can see from the photos.

It's sheer, but buildable, and I think it would compliment all the skintones equally, from lightest to darker.

The only, and sadly the biggest, flaw it has it's availability. TPC was first released in 2009, but was reintroduced in 2012 MAC Marilyn Monroe limited collection.

TPC Marilyn Monroe edition comes in sturdy black glossy cardboard box, with Marilyn's black and white photo on it.

The blusher is set in standard MAC plastic packaging, but it's not satiny-grey as it would normally be, but it is made out of glossy pure black plastic, which looks kind of cheapish, but it does not detracts from the perfection inside.

On the photo below you can see the back of the packaging and the ingredients list:

On the left you can see a light swatch, in the middle is the really heavy one, an on the right you can barely notice a really light, one brushstroke, swatch of The Perfect Cheek.

I wanted to do a side-by-side comparison of TPC and Illamasqua Zygomatic and Naked rose. These are really heavy swatches so the base color gets through. Even though Illamasqua blushers are suitably for paler skin, they really pack a punch and can be very pigmented. The Perfect Cheek is more sheer than these two and it's not as matte as Naked rose.

I also wanted to do a side-by-side comparison of light-hand swatches, so you can see the differences as if the blush is applied on the cheeks.

Now you can really see that Zygomatic has a brownish, and Naked rose a pinkish undertone, while The Perfect Cheek is the right mixture of both.

In my opinion, it would suit every face, and every makeup, and if you can somehow get it, than you must.

Unfortunately, you can only get it on eBay as it is limited edition, and there it costs up to 50$.

The second choice is Cargo Tonga, which seems the perfect dupe for TPC.

What is your perfect blush?

Do you prefer cream or powder blushers?

Love,

Nic

I seem to have skipped an entire season without a single post. If you followed my Facebook page, you will know that I would sometimes surface with a status update or the photo, but still with nothing huge like a review or a post.

The main reason was for it was that I actually spent months not wearing makeup, not buying anything new, and not even playing with make-up at home. Then, in a small amount of time, I rekindled my love for little things that make life more interesting and updated my stash a bit. Still, I hadn't really felt like a beauty blogger that has something to add to the community (that is to say, I hadn't considered myself a beauty blogger at all), and planned to let my blog fade into oblivion.

Main turning point was Breath of Color's simple yet amazing tutorial on photography that got me intrigued once more. I have all the equipment I need to satisfy my inner perfectionist that thinks that nothing on this blog is nearly as adequate enough to be called a blogpost, and just need to let go and start posting again. I now also have my own beauty corner that is not cluttered with computer or books or anything, and is near the window, so hopefully my photos will be a lot better.

For starters, here are some of my awful-quality front-camera selfies, as a cross-section of my LOTDs during these past few months (just so to make this post something more than just a block of whiny text).

Good night and happy Valentine's Day

(and by that I mean: happy Saturday, just like any other)

Lots of love,

Nic

P.S. - Happy 150th post to me =^.^=