April Favourites

My April favourites post isn't particularly long, as I simply don't get through an awful lot of beauty products, nevermind products that I instantly fall in love with. Nevertheless, I thought I'd share with you a few things I've been loving in April.

Mein April Favourites Post ist nicht besonders lang, da ich jetzt nicht eine Unmenge von Kosmetikartikeln vernichte und vor allem nicht solche, in die ich mich sofort verliebe. Trotzdem dachte ich mir, dass ich mit euch ein paar Sachen teile, die mir im April gefielen.

Clinique All About Eyes

Clinique seems to split a lot of beauty fans into two camps. I'm fortunate enough not to get any nasty reactions to their products (though I do admit that a lot of them are very harsh) and I simply love this eye cream. I swear this is the only thing in the world (apart from water and plenty of sleep) that eases my dark undereye circles. A review of this will be up soon.

Clinique scheint viele Beauty-Fans in zwei zu teilen. Ich habe Glück in dem Sinne, dass ich keine fiesen allergischen Reaktionen auf Clinique Produkte bekomme (obwohl ich zugeben muss, dass Viele recht aggressiv sind) und ich liebe diese Augencreme einfach. Ich schwöre, dass dies das einzige auf der Welt ist (außer Wasser und viel Schlaf), das meinen dunklen Augenringen entgegenwirkt. Bald lade ich eine separate Review zu dieser Creme hoch.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream

I've been having dry lips and hands lately and this is my miracle worker for pretty much every nagging skin concern. The only thing that annoys me is the strong medicinal smell, but Elizabeth Arden have now released a fragrance free version of this cream, which will be next on my shopping list - as soon as I get through the two back-up tubes I have of this, that is.

In letzter Zeit hatte ich etwas Probleme mit trockenen Lippen und Händen und dies ist meine Geheimwaffe für jegliche Hautprobleme. Das einzige, was mich an dieser Creme stört ist der starke medizinische Geruch, aber Elizabeth Arden haben nun eine unparfümierte Version dieses Produkts herausgebracht, welche es auch gleich auf meine Einkaufsliste geschafft hat - sobald die anderen zwei Tuben, die ich hiervon gehordet habe leer sind, versteht sich.

Essence Lipstick in All About Cupcake

At the beginning of the year I posted about my dedicated search for the perfect nude lipstick. I discovered a pretty good, but not-quite-there-yet one in my stash recently, which I'll post about soon, but apart from that I'd pretty much given up on finding that elusive shade. Until I won this in a giveaway and I'm happy to report that this is indeed it. It's the perfect "my lips but better" shade, feels lovely and creamy on the lips and I can easily apply this on the go even without a mirror.

Am Anfang des Jahres schrieb ich von meiner Suche nach dem perfekten nude Lippenstift. In meiner Sammlung fand ich neulich einen recht guten, aber so richtig DAS war es noch nicht. Eigentlich hatte ich mit meiner Suche schon aufgegeben, bis ich bei einem Blog Giveaway diesen hier bekam und ich kann glücklich behaupten: Das ist er! Es ist die perfekte "meine Lippen aber besser"-Farbe, fühlt sich auf den Lippen wunderbar cremig an und ich kann ihn auch unterwegs ohne Spiegel problemlos auftragen.

Topshop Cream Blush in Pinch

Granted, this looks terrifying in the pan: a bright luminous fuchsia. However, when I apply this with a stippling brush it gives the most gorgeous, natural flush to the cheeks which makes me look so healthy I even skip the powder. It dries to a powdery finish, so you need to work fast, but once it's on it will stay put pretty much all day. This shade is unfortunately no longer available, but I'm dying to try some other Topshop blushers, maybe Neon Rose?

Ich geb's ja zu, dies sieht in der Verpackung furchterregend aus: ein leuchtend grelles Fuchsia. Aber, mit einem Stippling Brush aufgetragen gibt mir dieses Rouge eine herrliche, natürliche Röte, die so gesund aussieht, dass ich sogar auf Puder verzichten kann. Es trocknet zu einem pudrigen Finish, also muss man schnell arbeiten, aber ist es einmal auf dem Gesicht, hält es fast den ganzen Tag. Leider ist diese Farbe nicht mehr erhältlich, aber ich würde unheimlich gerne andere Topshop Blusher ausprobieren, vielleicht Neon Rose?


What are your favourites of the month?

Was sind eure Favoriten des Monats?

Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Lover Review

You know those times when you're looking for something for ages and as soon as you find it it seems to pop up everywhere? This is one of those times. I was looking for a matte apricot blush and found it in this beautiful offering by Illamasqua. As soon as I bought it I seemed to spot them everywhere, but I guess that's just life.

Kennt Ihr auch diese Vorfälle, wo man ewig nach etwas sucht und sobald man es findet taucht es plötzlich überall auf? Darum geht es hier. Ich habe ein mattes, Apricot-farbenes Rouge gesucht und in diesem wunderschönen Produkt von Illamasqua gefunden. Sobald ich es gekauft hatte, sah ich plötzlich überall ähnliche Produkte, aber so ist manchmal das Leben.

A word on the packaging first: The blush is housed in a sturdy black plastic case with a transparent window which will make it easy to find the shade you're looking for if you're in a hurry. Some people may prefer a mirror in the lid, though for me that's not an issue. The pointy corners make for a unique design which certainly isn't going to get lost in your stash, though I found it often difficult to open and if you have weak finger nails like me, beware, as you may lose one or two in the process.

Erst einmal zur Verpackung: Das Rouge sitzt in einem stablien schwarzen Plastikgehäuse mit einem durchsichtigen Fenster, welches es ganz einfach macht, die richtige Farbe zu finden, sollte man es einmal eilig haben. Manche Leute bevorzugen einen Spiegel in der Verpackung, aber für mich spielt das keine Rolle. Die spitzen Ecken sorgen für ein individuelles Design, das in euren Sammlungen mit Sicherheit hervorsticht, doch leider fand ich es oft schwierig, das Gehäuse zu öffnen. Wenn ihr auch so dünne Fingernägel habt wie ich, dann seid vorsichtig, denn ihr könnet leicht einen oder zwei bei einem Öffnungsversuch verlieren.

The compact houses 4.5g of product which is generous and will last for a long time.

Innen drin befinden sich 4.5g vom Produkt. Für ein Rouge ist das großzügig und wird lange reichen.

The blush itself is a warm apricot which leans orange in some lights. The texture is buttery soft and very pigmented, so you'll need to use a light hand when applying this! On the skin it has a velvety finish and can be layered up without caking or settling into pores or lines.

Der Blusher selbst ist warm und aprikosig und hat bei mancher Beleuchtung einen Orange-Stich. Von der Konsistenz her ist er butterweich und sehr pigmentiert, muss also leichthändig aufgetragen werden! Auf der Haut liefert er ein samtiges Finish und kann ganz leicht aufgebaut werden, ohne dass Flecken entstehen oder dass etwas sich in Poren oder Fältchen einnistet.

This colour would look stunning with a tan or on naturally darker or warmer skin tones. Of course there's no reason paler skins couldn't wear this either, though I personally found that it really emphasised my freckles, so I'll be laying this off until I get a bit of a tan in the summer months!

Diese Farbe würde bezaubernd aussehen auf gebräunter oder von Natur aus dunkler Haut. Natürlich gibt es keinen Grund, warum auch hellere Hauttypen dieses Rouge nicht tragen könnten. Für mich persönlich hat sich herausgestellt, dass es meine Sommersprossen sehr stark betont hat, also lasse ich es lieber bis zu den Sommermonaten liegen!

Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Lover - swatched in natural light

Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Lover - swatched with flash

This blusher retails for £16.50 and for the formula and pigmentation I definitely recommend it. It's just a shame that after so much searching for this particular shade it ended up not suiting me after all!

Dieses Rouge kostet 19.73€ und für die Konsistenz und Pigmentation würde ich es auf jeden Fall weiterempfehlen. Schade nur, dass sich nach all dem Suchen nach dieser besonderen Farbe herausgestellt hat, dass sie mir überhaupt nicht steht!

Available online from Illamasqua.com here.

Important Changes to Beautiful Smudges

I feel like I'm constantly telling you about my personal life catching up and interfering with blogging, so I'm really sorry if you're tired of hearing about it already!

However, there's been some important changes in my life which are undoubtedly going to reflect on my blog as well. As a result of all those changes I have now moved back to Germany, which is where I grew up. It all happened very fast and none of it was planned, so I'll probably take some time to decide what I'm going to do with my life.

This blog is going to stay. I love it way too much to just stop writing, but be aware that I will from now on be blogging in two languages: German and English. Furthermore, I will only be reviewing products that are available over here! That means no amazing drugstore brands like Sleek, Collection (2000) or MUA, but in return there are other new brands that I get to explore, some of which were impossible to get in the UK!

You may have noticed that my display name has changed. "Chrissy" was a nickname derived from my middle name, which I no longer feel comfortable using, so I'll be going with my first name, "Ewa" (pronounced like "Eva") instead. I'm still the same person, mind you!

I just wanted to thank you for reading, thank you for putting up with all my personal interruptions and I hope you keep enjoying this little piece of the internet!

Soap & Glory Pulp Friction Review

I love a good scrub and though I've been faithful to the lemon scrub by the Body Shop for a while, that one has one major problem and that's the packaging. For normal use the tub is completely fine, but try and take it travelling and the oily contents will get everywhere. I was tempted to try S&G's much raved about Breakfast Scrub, but that one also comes in a pot with a screw top and I just didn't trust it.
Hence, my new choice, Soap & Glory's Pulp Friction!

I love it when a brand makes an effort with fun product naming - nothing wrong with packaging that makes you a little bit happy inside every time you look at it!
As already mentioned, this comes in a squeezy tube and I can happily report that there was absolutely no spillage in my suitcase when I took this along with me. You get 250ml of product which will last a fairly long amount of time and is quite generous in my opinion.

I must say the ingredients advertised at the front of the tube did make me raise my eyebrows quite a bit. Orange waterjuice and vitaminballs, anyone? And what on earth is Lemonade Tree Liquid? Is there such a thing as a lemonade tree???
Anyway, the scent of this is to die for. Think fruity, zesty citrus fruit, but in no way reminiscent of cleaning liquids as some other citrus scented products are. The smell is strong enough to give a pleasurable experience while scrubbing away under the shower, but it doesn't stay on the skin - which is actually a bit of a shame, in my opinion!

The instructions say you should apply this on damp skin, which will cause some of the product to foam up. Now, I don't really see the point in this. It has a lovely, gritty texture which does a great job of sloughing away dead skin, but the foaming actually counteracts this a little bit.
What tends to happen is that I put a blob on, say, my leg, scrub away happily for a few seconds, but by the time I get to my knee it's foamed up and become slippy, losing some of its grit. As a result I end up using quite a lot of product to get the same scrubbing sensation all over my body.

Swatched dry

Swatched wet and spread out

It's not an oily product (it does contain some oil, but only a little bit), it won't leave any residue on your skin after rinsing off. I know that's a big plus point for most, but I actually like a bit of oiliness from my exfoliator. It's not a major put off though, as I guess that's where body moisturiser/butter/oil comes into play anyway.

Would I repurchase this? As it stands, no. It's a great exfoliator that really does its job, but the foaming annoys me a little bit. However, I will use up my tube very happily and if you're after a good, hard-working body scrub this might just be what you need in your life. I wouldn't recommend it for sensitive types, as it really is very abrasive.

Pulp Friction is available from Boots and online for £8.00.

Catch up post - I'm back! :D

At the end of my last post I explained that I'd be away for a while which then turned into two months. I really missed blogging, so I'm super excited that I can get back into it. There's a huge list of things I've got planned to review and show you, but for now let's just keep it nice and simple with a picture heavy catch up post. :)

New Haircut

Bigos being tired

Pumba and Mr Walrus (Yes, I'm still a child at heart!)

After surgery - Ouch!

Easter treats!

Entertainment

Sunset outside

New trainers

March Glossybox waiting for me when I got back

Just before I left I found out that I'd won 2 blog giveaways, which I was completely over the moon about! Here's me, little miss boo-hoo-I-never-win-anything being the winner of 2 in the space of a week! Unfortunately I've had to wait all this time to get my hands on my prizes and this is long, long overdue, but I just wanted to say thank you to the two lovely ladies who sent these goodies my way!

First up, an OPI nail polish in Teenage Dream (sooo exciting!) an Essence shimmer powder in 01 Prettylicious, an Essence lipstick in 53 All About Cupcake and a lovely note from Rachel over at A Pretty Obsession.

I also received a Revlon Lip Butter in 015 Tutti Frutti from Beauty Geek UK. She was actually amazing enough to send me this before the official launch date in the UK, but I've had to wait all this time to use it! (Annoying or what???)

Thank you to both for the fantastic prizes!

Blogging business is hereby resuming to usual and I'll be back tomorrow with some more beauty related content. I hope you enjoyed this little catch up post in the mean time!