[Review] Nivea BB Cream (Light)

Hello everyone!!

I am here today with a review about Nivea BB Cream. I was actually gifted this cream on Christmas and although I do not like Nivea products, I was more than willing to give it a try.

The tube holds 50ml (unfortunately I have no idea how much this BB cream costs in Greece cause it was a gift and I never bothered to look up for it). It has a slightly mousse type concistency, it's quite thick and it smells nice. It doesn't blend very easily with fingers, but I find that it blends quite ok with a brush, preferably a stipling/flat end kabuki one.

 It claims to be a 5 in 1 product, with mineral elements, SPF 10 , provitamin B5 and light coverage. It's nice that it has an SPF factor, but I don't think it's enough after I have tried korean BB creams which tend to have SPF 30+.

 Nonetheless, I was excited to try it and I was thankful that my aunt had purchased the "light" skin tone one. Oh what a disappointment it was for me when I opened the tube. The colour was soooo dark, I almost cried. The camera flash washes out the colour, but I swear guys, this is really dark, almost tannish.(I am also testing this on my hand so the color difference can't show very well). I was like "omg if that's the light one, imagine how the dark version will be". I have been mad with cosmetics companies since forever, because none of them seemed to care about fair/ pale skins. It was like "we: didn't exist. All shades where either too dark, or too yellow and that's why I switched to using korean BB creams instead.

I am not saying that those are completely better, on the other side they are super white with no hint of undertone at all, so you end up looking pasty sometimes. That is why I figured I should use this BB cream in combination with my korean BB's for the best result possible. I noticed that the Nivea BB cream had a pinky undertone which pleased me a lil bit, because my skin has pinky undertone as well. I have to say, that combining the two BB's together gave me the best result possible. I simply used them in ratio 2:1, because the Nivea one is really too dark to be used in 1:1 ratio.

As far as the wearing is concerned, I have no idea how Nivea BB cream is on the skin alone, since I don't use it alone. From the experience I had wearing it in combo with my korean BB's, it seems to be ok. It gives a semi matte finish, it gets a lil oily throughout the day but not anything extreme and it holds ok. The only good it did for me is that it solved my "undertone" color problem. Other than that, I wouldn't recommend this BB cream to anyone. The dark-pinky colour is a difficult combo anyways, I don't even think anyone can have such skin tone to be honest. If you need any color correction for your existing foundation/BB then it will work just fine. Better take some time and investigate the market, see if you can find something that matches your skin perfectly and then buy it. 

Nivea should really do something about it's products. I am really wondering how this company can still sell stuff, I am not pleased with any of them, but this is of course my personal opinion.I hope this review was helpful. If you have any questions or thoughts, don't hesitate to leave a comment below ^__^

[Extended Review] Essence "I Love Extreme" Mascara (+ Essence product overview)

Hello beauties!

I am here today with a review on a product that I have been using for a long time, the "I love extreme" mascara from Essence. I will also talk about the entire cosmetic brand, because in my opinion it is really underrated although it shouldn't.

As I have mentioned in an older post, my lashes are long, but they grow straight and they are not really thick. This mascara was actually a recommendation from my sister. At that time I was using another mascara from Essence, and I was really happy with it, but she insisted that this one would give me false lashes. Who doesn't want that? So I used hers to try it out. Guess what, the next day I went and bought a tube for myself :P Yeah it's really that great.

                                    

The tube is quite big, contains 12ml which is a lot for a mascara. And the big surprise is, it costs only 3,45E (~5$). I know a lot of people get paranoid when they hear about the price and they think that this is gonna give them allergies because it's cheap. I'll give you a tip girls, when you pay a lot, you actually pay for the company's logo and reputation sometimes. I do not say that more expensive products aren't superior in many factors, but I cannot stand hearing things like "it's cheaper, so it's worse". Of cource, it won't work for anyone the same, we are all different after all.

Now back to my point: Its concistency is thick and it definitelly worths the name of  "volume mascara" which is written on the tube. It makes your lashes big and flirty. They definitely look like falsies. I found that it holds the curve I give my lashes with the curler quite good (for a non waterproof mascara at least). I really love this product and I would definitelly recommend it to everyone!! The only downside is that the wand is HUGE. I mean, really huge. My eyes are big, but damn this wand is really big so you definitelly need to be careful when you apply mascara, otherwise you are gonna get smuged all over :D

I suggest you give it a shot and see for yourself, I do not tend to rave about products often, but this one worths every euro. And even if you happen not to like it, c'mon, it's only 3,45E you won't have wasted a fortune.

Essence is a cosmetic brand based in Germany. It makes quality cosmetics and face/body care products and it provides a really big range of options and products. It has branches in 63 countries (if I am not mistaken) and it doesn't test on animals. It provides quality cosmetics in really low prices, and that's mainly cause of the lack of advertisments.

So far I have hit pan on many blushers from this line,I have been using its setting powder till now and it's amazing, I have bought countless mascaras and eyeliners as well as eye pencils. Not even once did I have a reaction, and I have a lot of friends and relatives who are really happy with Essence both because of the quality and the affordable prices.

Essence has a really big variety of products: lipsticks, lipglosses, mascaras, blushers, setting powders, bronzers, face cleansers, perfumes, feet care line and many many more! It always comes up with something new and exciting and range of colours is quite good. The only disadvantage of this line, is probably the fact they tend to discontinue products really often. They have said that they do this in order to make space for the new upcoming ones, which to me is not really a big issue. It does annoy me though when I really love a product that gets discontinue so I have to go and buy as many as I can. It doesn't happen often though, and the brand always lets people know which products are going away through their facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/essence.cosmetic).

In the picture are the products I use currently from Essence. I used to have many more, but you know, I like to experiment with new brands and discover new products. So far the blusher and the mascara are my holy grail products. I am pretty sure you can find an Essence stand at your local cosmetic mall or something like that. In Greece you can find Essence in Hondos Center and some random local shops here and there.

I hope I have covered anything, for ideas, questions and recommendations do not hesitate to leave a comment below ^_^

[Quick Review] Baviphat Sugar Girl All Skin Collagen Pimer

Hello beauties!

I am here today with a quick review about my new primer. I have been using this for 1 month or so and it's time to review it. Primer is very important, because it prepares the skin for foundation and it keeps your make up intact for more time, so that you need less touch-ups.

I bought it on Ebay for 5E (~6.50$) and it contains 30ml. It's gonna last me a long time since I concluded that you need really just a pea size amount for your whole face. I has a gel/mousse concistency, glides easily on the skin and it smells like roses, really nice. Unfortunately it doesn't contain any SPF which I don't find really bad, since most BB creams/foundations contain SPF and the suncream you will use will provide you with enough proctection :)

After using it a lot of times, I can definitely say the following: it glides easily on the skin and it leaves it smooth and nicely prepped. Unfortunately for me, it didn't seem to hide my pores (which is essentially what I am looking in a primer) but it didn't accentuate them either like the Avon one, on which I have a review. It is really moisturizing, yet not greasy at all, it has a strange power to make my face look fresh and it definitely makes my skin feel awesome. It allows my makeup stay put for approximatelly 5 hours (haven't tested if this can go on for longer, 5h for me is more than enough) and for me that's a huge deal considering that I get sweaty easily and my body heats up randomly throughout the day. I didn't notice any kind of melting or breaking.

All in all, I would recommend this product to you, it's definitelly really affordable and overall a nice primer. I would say it's better for those with no SPF concerns (or for afternoon application) and those with "smaller" pores. I will keep searching for a primer that has Baviphat's effects + pore bluring which is important for me.

If you know any good affordable primers or you have any questions, feel free to comment below ^_^