Beauty ponders

Mascara is one of those make-up items that's a must for me. Without it, my eyes feel very naked. If I could choose one make-up item to wear, this would be the one. The last couple of months I've been using this Enchant mascara by Avon, which they released half a year ago or something like that and I must admit, I'm really loving it.
The packaging is sleek, black, with purplepink letters on it. Nothing too fancy, just the way I like it. The bristles have an odd curved shape to deliver a good curl at the outside of your lashes. The mascara doesn't look smudgy.

Here you can see a little before & after. The mascara definitely delivers curl, a bit of length and a bit of volume. It doesn't give you spider leges and it looks natural enough for me. It's easy in usage & doesn't smudge. I only find it a bit impractical for the lower lashes due to the curved shape. Depending how you use the bristles you get a more curled or more volumenized effect. Underneath more pictures with mascara & eyeshadow, where the volume is a bit more visible.
I have been able to use this mascara for about/more than 3 months without smudging and that's quite something. It also has a lovely price, around 7euros and is definitely amongst my favourite ones ever - well done Avon for delivering such a lovely mascara. I will surely repurchase this one, so, don't discontinue it :).

A couple of months ago there was an interesting deal in an Avon brochure featuring a mascara, sunglasses and an eyecream for only 10euros. I got the deal mostly because of the sunglasses, the goodies that came along with it were a nice little extra. This eye cream was the one in it. Now I must say that I wouldn't have purchased this eyecream on its own because of its jar packaging and price - it's mostly priced around 20euros when in promotion. I've been using it for the last couple of months and am ready to share my PRO thoughts on it ;)

The packaging is sleek and looks very luxurious, this "Anew" line from Avon is also their more expensive line aimed at anti-aging and is mostly priced around midrange brands such as Clinique. It's just a shame that it's a jar packaging, I prefer a tube or pump anyday because of the preservation of ingredients. The jar is divided into two part: one creamy part for the lower eye area and one gel part for the upper eye area.
When opening it, you immediately smell a bloomy scent, very pleasant but it's not necessary for me. I prefer my creams without perfume, although these two never irrritated my eye area at any time. The cream is white and has a pleasant texture, very soft. The gel is very sticky and not to my likings. Both of them sink in fast. Off course the cream is much richer than the gel. Both creams provided moisture to my eye area and were ok in usage but far from special (also basic ingredient list) - I didn't notice any of the promised lifting and shadow reducing.
The goods: cream has a nice texture, good basic moisturizer for the eye area, doesn't irritate, pleasant scent, sinks in fast

The bads: jar packaging (!!!), gel isn't pleasant in usage/is sticky, contains fragrance, overclaimed, overpriced

In the end I finished using this jar, currently I only have a bit of gelpart left, because it isn't a bad product. It's just a shame that it's wrongfully packed. Personally I'm not a fan of 2 different creams together, you will always like one more than the other. I won't repurchase this and I wouldn't recommend it either, but if you get it for free - you might just well use it as it's not horrible :).

And so the Sigma saga continues with another one of their shading brushes, actually the last one, these brushes definitely fall into the "I-like"-category. I've talked about the large and the short one, both to my likings and this one is no exception to that rule.
It contains natural bristles, like the other shading brushes and is very soft and dense. It's easy in usage, I mostly use it for crease and outer corner application but it also works nice to use for highlighters on the browbone (although I prefer a short shader for this job). It's a round angled brush -a bit fluffy- and to me a perfect size: not too big and not too small. However if you have small eyes this one may be to big to use for your corner/crease. I've been using it for half a year or so and the bristles hold up nicely. Here's the comparison:

I can't really say much than the fact that I like this brush and enjoy using it on a daily basis. These shader brushes are the better eye brushes of Sigma and I recommend them, their other eye brushes don't have the same density and softness in my opinion - it's best to leave them be. But off course there are likewise brushes from other brands that are of the same quality as these shader brushes!

GOSH is one of those brands which I'm not keen on & never will be... A lot of their products are rubbish and just don't work the way they should like their eyeshadow, primers, brushes... But however they do have a few good products with one of them being their eyeliner - it surely deserves a review as I enjoy using it a lot!
This eyeliner is available in a great range of colours, which is enjoyable for a drugstore brand and are priced between 6-7euros. I opted for the colour "Truly Brown" as I'm a big fan of brown liners. Black often looks too harsh on me, whereas brown can be subtle and more suitable for romantic daytime looks. The liner comes with a dop, easy to take off - just make sure you don't lose it!
The pen is indeed very smooth and applies easily, like a dream. After one stroke you already have a good coverage and an intense colour. Personally I love this colour, it's not your typical brown... Most brown pens have a red undertone in them, this one does not - it's very neutral (I used the pen in this EOTD). GOSH claims this pen is 100% waterproof but it is not, sure - you'll be fine in the rain for minutes but I wouldn't go swimming with it... The colour can be spread out or left as a line, that's personal preference. A tiny disadvantage is that because of its softness, then pen needs regular sharpening which means you'll be going through the product a bit faster. At the end of the day the liner is still there and hasn't been smudged, just the way I want it to be! And in case you're wondering it didn't irritate my eyes at all.

The goods: lovely colour & a wide range of colours, stays put, good price, doesn't smudge, doesn't irritate, soft pen, smooth easy application

The bads: is not 100% waterproof, needs regular sharpening

To sum it up, I consider this to be one of GOSH's star products... There are a few minor discomforts with this eyeliner but nothing too serious. I regularly use mine & will definitely repurchase a few more colours in the future - most likely when they hit sale! If you're looking for a good soft smooth liner, look into this one and you won't be disappointed!

Not too long ago I did a look with my new quad from Avon called Cocoa Dreams. I bought this quad as all the colours appeared great neutrals to me and would make a nice addition to my quad stash. This quad was newly released from the beginning of 2011, let's see if it was worth purchasing...

The packaging is very sleek and reminds me most of Chanel as I stated before: the black box, the circle eyeshadows... it's a lot alike. The paper box is very simple and shows you how to use each colour - check the picture at the top right. The black box looks very shiny and indeed it is, fingerprint alert - it's impossible to keep this box looking neat from the outside - even the lightest touch becomes visible... The inside has the same shiny structure. The pans are big enough for me and are solid, they don't come loose.

There are 2 lighter and 2 darker colours in this quad. Starting from the left top we have a purpleish colour, a nude colour, a golden khaki colour and a brown colour. All the eyeshadows have a satin finish and therefor show a mild shimmer. The lighter colours aren't that pigmented but manageable, the golden colour is of good pigment and the brown one is very pigmented. All of them apply and blend easily. With a good eyeshadow base they last a regular working day, as most eyeshadows do. This quad is normally priced at 12euros but can often be found in promotion at 5-6euros, which I got it for.

 The goods: price, lovely neutral colours, 2 of the colours are good pigmented, apply & blend easily, sleek packaging

 The bads: packaging stains easily, 2 of the colours aren't that pigmented

This quad is colourwise totally my cup of tea and it's of an ok quality. I enjoy using it & will probably purchase more of these quads in the future when I see one to my likings. Nevertheless, it doesn't mean that because this quad offers pigmented colours their others will do as well, I surely hope it! Have you tried any Avon quads and what were your thoughts on it?

Most brands offer a seperate line for sensitive skin -mostly without fragrance- and so does Estée Lauder. Their sensitive line is called Vérité and contains a cleanser, cream, fluid and eye cream. My skin is sensitive - not in a hyperway but enough to be irritated from time to time - and because I wear contacts I have to be carefull in regards to eyecreams. At first this Vérité line wasn't available in Europe, but as of a few months ago you can also get it - stores like IciParis, Douglas etc stock it...



Estée Lauder and luxurious packaging are inseperate. It's a white/beige tube with a golden dop, very hygienic and good to preserve the ingredients. The tube contains 15ml and is priced around 30euros. The ingredients list is very short, it's water-based with antioxidants & such, and doesn't contain perfume, as stated. It can be used 6months after opening, this short term can be explained as it doesn't contain parabens which are used for a better/longer preservation.


Distributing the product goes easily, just squeeze the tube gently. The product doesn't have a scent and feels really light. It has the texture of a gel, can easily be spread and sinks into the skin fast. The dot you can see underneath is what I normally use for one eye, it's not as rich/hydrating as I expected it to be - therefore the 15ml doesn't last me that long, I think I did about 5months with it applying it only at night. It hasn't irritated my eyes at any time and feels refreshing when applying. As far as the line/wrinkle reducing goes, their claim is false - no product can do this. It lightens the eye area a bit and so it may seem that fine lines are diminishing. I don't have dark circles or puffiness so I can't comment on that part.


The goods: non-irritating, good ingredients, sinks in fast, lightens eye area, good packaging

The bads: not that hydrating, price in comparison to amount

Overall I consider this to be a good eye cream, non-irritating and with a decent ingredient list. It also has the correct packaging to preserve its ingredients. The only downside is the pricing and the amount that you get in return - this is what keeps me from repurchasing it, good product but overpriced. Nevertheless, if you want to splurge and are irritated by almost anything, this could be your HG, just keep the price tag in mind :).

More than just sun protection - a technologically advanced sun product designed for the eye contour area that doesn't burn, sting, irritate or bring you to tears. Formulated with a revolutionary plant-based complex that helps prevent lines, wrinkles and premature aging.

This product is available in various shops and also online, for 20ml you pay around 25euros. A decent price but not too much. The packaging is typically sunscreenlike with the orange top and the little sun on it. The top is flat so you can put it up straight if that's what you prefer. The fact that it's a tube makes me love the packaging even more. It's really easy to dispense the right amount of product you need. The product itself is white and quite runny. A point of negative is the scent, which is very strong and typically sunscreenscent because of the great amount of titanium dioxide in it. On the other hand I'm glad they didn't put in a whole bunch of fragrance to cover this up so I can live with the sunscreenscent - the product is fragrance-free.