Wonder Gaze Look with Rimmel London

The eyes are the window to the soul and thanks to Rimmel London, everyone can now achieve a wondrous gaze worthy of a stare or two! I was lucky enough to be sent some newly launched products from the brand and needless to say, I was curious to see how they performed right away!

Rimmel London is a staple brand in many makeup collections because despite their affordable price tag, the brand doesn't compromise on the quality of the products. Speaking of great quality products, did you know that 'rimmel' translates to 'mascara' in many a Mediterranean language thanks to the brand's highly successful mascara created by the founder Eugene Rimmel himself?

I guess great Rimmel mascaras have stood the test of time and one of the latest to join the family is the Wonder'FULLY Real keratin and argan oil mascara. I love this mascara and it is my current go-to one. It is very black which is always a plus and it doesn't smudge or flake off. The only issue I have with it is that it is a very wet mascara and the wand picks up a lot of product so I have to remove the excess before applying it; but other than that, I would recommend this mascara especially because it lengthens lashes like there's no tomorrow!

Next we have the Wonder Wing eyeliner. This is something like I have never seen before - it's got a stamp applicator which helps you achieve the perfect cat eye in no time while the pointed tip helps to line the rest of your eyes to perfection. I was most curious about this eyeliner from the products I received so I had to try it right away. I'm not going to lie - it is one of the easiest products to use! I swear by gel eyeliner and it's still my favourite but whenever I am in a hurry, I'll just grab this Wonder Wing Eyeliner and I'm good to go!

I still struggle with brows. Fact. But, The Rimmel London Brow This Way Pencil Pomade Fix & Fill makes things sooooo much easier! I have given up using pot pomades to fill my brows and just use this instead - in just one step my brows are filled and fixed so it's a great time saver. I got the shade Dark which suits my natural brow colour perfectly and I like that you can sharpen the tip to ensure a precise application every time. The pencil pomade stays on all day without fading or smudging.

Lastly, I got the Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in 003 Brown. This couldn't have been a better choice, for brown complements my eye colour and it's a great alternative to black especially for daytime looks. I am not new to Scandal Eyes as I have some other colours from the range which I reach for very often. Staying power is great though you may need to reapply throughout the day.

Thank you Rimmel London Malta for giving me the opportunity to try out these fabulous products! Find them yourselves at various outlets across Malta & Gozo.

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Event | Catrice Cosmetics Autumn / Winter 2017 New Products Launch

I never get tired of saying this and even more so, I never get tired of looking at it - The Grand Harbour is the best view we have all around the island so you can imagine my delight when I was invited for the launch of the fall collection from Catrice Cosmetics at the Panorama Lounge in Valletta overlooking the said Grand Harbour!

Catrice Cosmetics is a German makeup brand under the Cosnova portfolio and has been around since 2004. I have regarded the brand as a special one ever since it was launched locally by Pharma.MT for it was one of the first brands to work with us bloggers along with sister brand Essence.

Catrice is all about innovation and they produce over 1400 products which come in both classic and trendy colour variations. The brand is heavily inspired by catwalk and fashion trends and in fact, it has ongoing collaborations with German fashion houses Kaviar Gauche and Lala Berlin. So what will the brand bring our way in autumn 2017?

For starters, they are embracing the concept of individuality with the launch of their Art Couleurs Palette for eyeshadows which is supplied empty and you can fill it with up to 4 of your favourite Art Couleurs eyeshadow shades. The eyeshadows come in matt and shimmer finishes and bear the new, cleaner and more sophisticated looking logo. I think it's cool that the base is fully transparent and hollow for the eyeshadows to fit in and still show the shade name and number! Struggling to find the right shade of foundation? Catrice has now got you covered with the Prime and Fine Makeup Transformer Drops!

Other new products include the Liquid Metal Cream Eyeshadows and the Glam & Doll Waterproof False Lashes mascara to complement the already successful range of Glam & Doll Mascaras as well a the Ultimate Chrome palette which is just breathtaking!

As for lips, there are the new Lip Dressers and the Liquid Lip Powder which dry to a matte metallic finish as well some new shades for the exiting lip product ranges. For the face, it is all about a bright luminous complexion and colour correction. My favourites are the Re-Touch Concealers and the Professional Makeup Techniques Face Palette.

Ultimately, they have launched a new nail polish range, ICONails, comprising 36 colours and a gel top coat. I am currently wearing shade 10 Rosywood Hills which Stephanie from Lacquer Nail Bar in Naxxar applied on my nails during the event. The nail polish is supposed to last for 7 days without top coat which can be extended to 10 days with the ICONails Gel Top Coat. I'll put it to the test and share the results in a separate blog post :) For those favouring a matte look on their nails, there is the new Silk Matte Top Coat too. Oh and how gorgeous do the Brown Collection nail polishes look with those rose gold caps?!

Catrice is really breaking the rules with their innovative, quality products at a very affordable price range which are appealing to a lot of women of different ages don't you think?

I wanted to share the excitement with you guys and at the same thank you for your ongoing support so, to celebrate the launch of the Autumn collection, I will be giving away some newly launched products to one lucky reader! Head over to my Facbeook page to discover how you can be in the chance of winning this bundle!

Lastly, thank you Catrice and Pharma.MT for having me, I look forward to test run all these new products!

Discovering Estee Lauder Skin Care at Franks

Skin care is my favourite part of a beauty routine - having a nice, smooth canvas makes for easier makeup application and better results. I joined the Estee Lauder VIP Session held at Franks The Plaza on Friday the 29th of September to discover more about this luxury brand and what it has to offer.

The Estee Lauder brand saw it's inception in the year 1946 when Mrs. Lauder wanted something new to offer to women in terms of skin care back when only a couple of products were available on the market. The first shop was opened in Sachs, New York and Estee Lauder products were deemed expensive by customers, hence, to boost sales, 'samples' of the products were given out so that clients can try before they commit to buying the full sized product. As a matter of fact, the term 'sample' was coined by Estee Lauder. They even offered gifts with purchase to make the client feel more special.

Following a run-through of all the products offered by the brand, one could easily deduce that it is all about creating innovative formulas that deliver the promised results. Their skin care ranges target all skin concerns and most of the products are even multi-purpose. For example the cleansers have ingredients that pertain to both a conventional cleanser as well as a makeup remover. They come in different formulas to suit everyone's needs and of course, there is a complementing range of products for an all round caring experience.

Estee Lauder is mostly renowned for it's serums and it is in fact considered a serum brand. Their best seller has to be the Advanced Night Repair which can be used by anyone as it is considered as a preventive product. It acts onto the deeper layers of the skin and contains Hyaluronic Acid to plump the skin. Apart from the Advanced Night Repair, the Estee Lauder brand carries serums for other skin concerns such as dehydration, oily skin and pigmentation.

There are even the more luxurious brands for mature skin types, which promise to aid in restoring youthfulness to the skin thanks to a higher concentration of Hyaluronic Acid. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this session and look forward to attending more of them to discover more luxurious brands Franks has to offer. If you'd like to join, do follow the Frank's Facebook page to know when the next session will be held.

3INA The Bestsellers

Ever since 3INA opened their doors in Malta, the brand has fast become a firm favourite with women of all ages. Like every other makeup brand, there are products that are favoured over others by customers, so this time round, 3INA are promoting their best selling products of the moment as a collection aptly entitled, The Bestsellers.

The 'collection' has a vast number of products from across all 3INA product ranges. To me, a best-selling product must have excellent staying power and pigmentation, a good formula to work with and value for money. Read on to see if the products I have from The Bestsellers collection fulfil these criteria. I have The Longwear Lipstick 500 (€7.95), The Highlighter 201 (€10.95) and The Cream Eyeshadow 313 (€8.95).

All of these products are right up my alley in terms of colour and I am already familiar with the formulation of the lipstick and the cream eyeshadow as I already own a couple of other shades of each. Nevertheless, I am still excited to try these shades out. 3INA always come up with different propositions for makeup looks with every collection they come out with and this was no exception. Moreover, they came up with different combinations of best-sellers to create various looks! I opted for a halo effect eyeshadow look and red lips - a look that's perfect for summer nights out.

Back to the products I was sent, my favourite product out of them, is The Cream Eyeshadow. The colour is a sort of bronzy-gold and the mousse like texture makes for easy application and buildable colour intensity. I like that no primer is needed with this eyeshadow and that once it dries, it just doesn't budge or crease.

Next up is the lipstick. Red is one of my favourite lipstick shades - it is a classic shade that is always in fashion and has a somewhat classy aura; in fact, I am a firm believer in the mantra that red lipstick gives you a confidence boost. One word of warning though, be sure to scrub your lips before applying this lipstick as it can go on a little patchy. I wore this lipstick to a birthday party I was invited to and it stayed on all night amid all the drinking, eating and conversing. It definitely gets the thumbs up from me.

The Highlighter is a new product for me from 3INA. I expected the texture to be similar to that of the blushers but it's not. I found this to be less powdery and more creamy and overall it is a joy to work it. It can be built up or toned down depending on the look you're going for. Again, truly a must-have product!

PR Samples

Flormar Tropical Splash Limited Edition Collection

Summer is all about bright colours and Flormar is definitely on the right track with the brand's summer collection proposition for 2017 - Tropical Splash.

The collection boasts a vast array of products: 4 nail enamels, 6 lipsticks and 6 matching lip glosses, 8 eyeshadows, a mascara, 2 highlighters, 4 bronzers, 2 perfumes and 4 body mists - that's a mouthful isn't it?!

With all the bright colours available in this collection and the super stunning packaging, I was already taking note of which products to get from this collection when, much to my delight, I arrived home after a long day at work to a lovely surprise - I was sent some products from this collection to try out. I took them with me to a weekend getaway in Gozo to try them out and haven't let go of them since!

The packaging has summer written all over it with the ombre boxes reminding me of the perfect summer landscape - clear skies, cool blue waters and warm golden sands! The same ombre effect is translated onto some of the products too such as the lipsticks, whereas other products such as the mascara and bronzer have a monochromatic packaging.

Tropical Sun Bronzing Powder BR01 Maldives | Dramatic Volume Mascara Black
Tropical Lipstick 04 Orange Sunrise | Summer Metallics Eyeshadow 07 Emerald

Of course the product that caught my eyes first was the lipstick. I was sent the shade 04 Orange Sunrise which is an orange-based red. I have to admit that I am not particularly drawn to such shades because I am quite pale, however, I was surprised at how much this shade suited me! I like the buttery-soft formula on this lipstick, not to mention the awesome pigmentation and a smell that reminds me of watermelons - it can't get more summery than that!. I put this lipstick to the test for dinner and I am happy to say that it lasted all throughout. Naturally, it did fade away a little but for a regular lipstick that doesn't have a matte finish, I honestly didn't expect it to last that long!

As much as I prefer to wear bright colours on my lips, I just had to somehow incorporate this gorgeous emerald shade for a dinner date with my better half as it happened to match the dress I was going to wear. I used the eyeshadow to line my bottom lashes for a hint of colour though I wouldn't rule out the possibility to wear it as a full colour on my lids. Pigmentation is ok - not too strong but just enough for the colour to show up nicely. Green is one of my favourite colours and I think it complements my eye colour; even my boyfriend commented on how good it looked on so that's a big plus ;)

Next, I have one of the best mascaras I have ever owned. I have a couple more Flormar mascaras which I find to be of very good quality and they really give my lashes a nice, fanned out look but this Dramatic Volume Mascara outdid them all hands down! The wow factor lacking in the packaging is made up for with the exceptional performance of this mascara - it has the perfect brush to achieve a full fanned-out look which gives the illusion of wearing false lashes. It has a nice, deep black colour which coats the lashes in an even, non-clumpy manner. The only 'issue' I have with this mascara is that I would have liked it better to be waterproof since we are talking about a summer makeup collection but other than that, this gets a 10/10 from me.

Lastly, I have the ubiquitous product in every summer collection - bronzer. Compact bronzers are my favourite as you can build up the colour to your preferred intensity. I am really enjoying this one at the moment as it has a matte sort of finish that makes the product very versatile - you can use it for contouring, instead of a blush, or even to give you an overall tanned appearance. The compact even comes with a mirror inside and the bronze packaging had me in awe as soon as I took it out of the box, this is most definitely a go-to product! Moreover, the colour, BR01 Maldives is the perfect match for my light complexion.

Overall, I think you got the gist that I really like this collection, so thank you Flormar for sending these products over! Flormar has stores in Paola and St. Julian's which are worth checking out for some fabulous products at very affordable prices!

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