COSMETICS COUNTER June 30th 2011

Hey dear readers,
This is my second episode of the COSMETICS COUNTER. I'm gonna do that every half a year, on June 30th and December 31th, like I already explained in this post back in December. *Click* here to read what I wrote back then.
Feel free to do the COSMETICS COUNTER on your blog as well! Just copy the categories and fill them in!

Eyes:
pressed eyeshadows (monos, duos, trios and quads): 26 - stayed the same!
cream eyeshadows: 4 - stayed the same!
pigments: 6 (+ 24 sample sizes) - stayed the same!
gel eyeliners: 4 - increased!
pencil eyeliners (+ jumbo eyepencils): 16 - stayed the same!
liquid eyeliners: 5 - decreased! 
bases: 1 - stayed the same!
eyeshadow palettes (all that contain 5 or more different eyeshadows, only eyeshadows!): 3 - stayed the same!
eyebrow pencils: 2 - stayed the same!
mascaras: 2 - decreased!

Lips:
lipglosses (+plumpers): 22 - increased!
lipsticks: 11 (+ 4 sample sizes) - increased!
lipliners: 3 - stayed the same!
lipbalms: 11 - stayed the same!

Face:
pressed and loose powders: 3 - stayed the same!
foundations: 2 - stayed the same!
concealer: 5 - stayed the same!
blushes (pressed, gel, cream & sticks): 11 - increased!
bronzer: 2 - stayed the same!
highlighter: 2 - stayed the same!

Nails:
colored nail polishes: 131 - increased!
base & top coats: 4 - stayed the same!
extra nail stuff: 3 - decreased!

Else:
random kits/palettes: 5 - stayed the same!
brushes: 25 - increased!

So that's how many cosmetics I own at the middle of 2011. How much do you? I'm amazed by how much stuff this is...But an addict just can't stop buying ;) Let's hope that at least Use-It-Up! makes some progress in the future ;) And I actually didn't even get that much new stuff, and I also threw out some things I didn't need anymore!
Let me know how many you do :)
xoxo, Misch

Review: Maybelline Great Lash Mascara

Hi there!
Today I finally have the review for the Maybelline Great Lash Mascara for you, after I've already been mentioning it in EOTD posts :)

Here you go:

Information:

• in the shade Blackest Black which is exactly what the name says
• has a fun colorful retro packaging (pink and green!)
• you should use it up within 6 months as the packaging claims
• it contains 12,5 ml 
• costs 3,75 Euros
• is available at most drugstores, although I noticed that in my area only stores with a big Maybelline counter had this one
• the wand has a normal size, not extraordinary 

Positives:

• price
• design (I like it)
• color - yeah, I know, it's just black, but at least it's a true black
• easy to control
• drying time is okay

Negatives:

• the formula is way too wet for my liking
• the wand is too small for my preference
• no amazing effect on the eyes: not extreme volume, not extreme lengthening
• it tends to clump and stick your lashes together, especially after 2 coats 

Wand comparison:

I compared the wand to the other mascaras I had laying around, as you can see on the pictures. It's shorter and thinner than Maybelline's Colossal Volum' Express, thicker and shorter than RdLY's Diamond Wish Mascara, and thinner and shorter than MaxFactor's False Lash Effect.

Lash Swatches:

And here you have swatches on my lashes. I hope you can excuse the puffiness of my eyes, I took these pics in the morning and was still a little tired ;) Here *click* you can see the mascara on my lashes in a EOTD post.

As you can tell, this mascara is not the best one I ever tried. The wand is nothing special, and that's visible on the eye as well. Especially right after I got it, the formula is extremely wet which causes a lot of clumping and sticking. Now, after about 2 weeks, the formula is better than in the beginning, but still not perfect. It adds a little like a wet look to the lashes. It's nothing special, and if you're looking for a basic mascara, you could give this a try. But there are definitely better mascaras out there, especially from Maybelline! I definitely will be using this one up, but I know already that I won't repurchase it.

Did anyone try this, too?

Until next time,

xoxo, Misch

NOTD June 28st: Essence - Choose Me!

Hi you guys,
today I only quickly want to show you some pictures of a nail polish I already reviewed: Choose Me! from Essence. *Click* here for the first post on it!

Here I just want to show you some better pictures, although even this camera won't do this polish justice. It's even more gorgeous in real life, because it has a green duo-chrome that my camera just wouldn't pick up.

The pictures were taken after 3 days of wearing it, with 3 coats of polish, no top coat.

Does anyone own it, too?

xoxo, Misch

Blogging-Techniques: How I Prioritize My Posts

Hey guys!
Today's episode of Blogging-Techniques will be about how I prioritize my posts. I already told you how I find inspirations for my posts here *click*. But after knowing what to blog about, you need to know when!
I have a kind of system I use, and it works for me. This is not the way you have to do it, but it's a possibility.
On either Sunday or Monday of each week, I take some time and sit down to plan a little ahead of time for my blog. I think of whatever post comes to my mind, and then look at the following criteria:

• what type of post it is (review, EOTD, etc.)
• how often I did a post of this type in the past 2 weeks
• if the pictures for the post are already taken
• if there's a lot of pictures to edit & cut 
• how much I'd have to write for this post
• if the posts about something from a LE, so it has to be done soon
• whether the post's something that has to be posted at a certain date

Then I take about 5 to 7 seven posts that come to my mind, and write a new post for each of them. But all I do is write the title, and then safe it in drafts. This doesn't take a lot of time, but then there's a lot already done. 

Now I have to think about when I have time to blog. There might be a night were nothing's planned, and then one where I won't find time. According to that, I schedule the rather long posts for free days, and the shorter ones for more busy days. 

For the order of the posts, I think about change and variation. I try not to post more than one post of a type a week, and also to switch up the topics. If today's post is about an eyeshadow, then the next two won't be. 

When I have the date for each post set in my mind, I go to each post and schedule it for that day. That way Blogger will arrange the posts in the "Edit Posts" section the way they are supposed show up. 

This way I have about a week planned, and I can write the posts when I have time to. There will be a lot of variation in the posts, important things will come up first and longer posts when I have time for them.

I hope this helped you out! 

In the next episode I'll tell you how I go on, because I'll be talking about how I find time for writing the posts we just scheduled. 

How do you prioritize you blog posts?

Until next time,

xoxo, Misch

120 Palette Swatching Series: Upper Half, 2nd Row

Hey there!
We're going on with the swatching series today! It's time for the 2nd row of the upper half of the palette, which contains blue shades. Here you go:

1 This is very light, violet-toned blue with shimmer.

2 Here we have a light violet with a slight pearl.

3 This blue is purple-toned, and has a light shimmer in it.

4 Now we have another blue with a violet hue in it, but it's lighter than number 3 and darker that number 1.

5 This shade is very similar to number 3, it's another shimmery purple-based blue.

6 This is a shimmery purplish blue again, a tad darker than what we had so far in this row.

7 Here we have a matte, and it's more blue than the ones we had so far, but it still has that purple hue.

8 This is a light to medium shimmery blue, this time without the violet hue.

9 This darker, almost royal blue is with more chunky shimmer and therefore looks a little crumbly on the swatch. But it's more even when you apply it to the eye :)

10 This las shade is a turquoise and violet splatter mix, and it turns out like a shimmery turquoise when you pick it up.

Swatches:

in the shade

in the sun

in the shade

in the sun

in the sun

 That's it for this part of the swatching series! As you might be able to tell, it's not too easy to describe all of the colors, because they are all kinda similar. So you better have a look at the photos!
The next episode will be about greens :)
I'll see you soon!
xoxo, Misch

Review: Tchibo Face Massager

Hi guys!
Today I have a review about a tool that I've been using for about 2 weeks now. It's the Face Massager from Tchibo!

Here's what I think about it:
Information:

• costs 6,99 Euros
• is available at most Tchibo stores (don't know for how long, though!) and here *click* online 
• is a massager with three interchangeable "heads": a brush, a sponge and a massager
• comes with batteries, instructions and a little pouch to store it
• you can use it in 2 different speeds
• it's PINK! :D

For the interested people: Instructions for use:

I thought for those of you who are really interested in this, it'd be better to take photos of the instructions. That way I don't forget anything, and you have it as detailed as in real life ;) Just click on them to enlarge them so you can read it better :)

Positives:

• price
• you have a lot of variety with it
• has a nice feeling on this skin --> a little like a home spa :)
• the sponge is really great for cleansing the skin
• the massaging tool is nice to help the moisturizer sink in
• I love the color :D
• when you buy it, you get really everything you need so it works
• is whole thing & idea is really convenient

Negatives:

• availability (I believe it's only available for a few weeks)
• the brush tool is too harsh for my skin
• there's no huge effect to it
• it makes a pretty loud noise
• you could discuss whether there's a real "need" to it
• could be too harsh for sensitive skin

Over all, I like this tool :) I especially use the sponge tool every second to third night, and it's great. But there's, like I mentioned above, no real effect visible, and it's not really a needed thing.

So it's nice, it's fun, but you don't have to have it. If you always wanted to get a version of the famous Clearsonic, you could give this a try, because it's not too expensive. But for very sensitive skin it's nothing.

Does anyone own this, too?

I'll see you later!
xoxo, Misch

EOTD June 24th: Fun Summer Look

Hi dear readers!
Today I have an EOTD for you that I like to wear when it's warm outside. It's really cool for summer in my opinion!

 

I kept it simple for the eyeshadows, and just added 602A, a shimmery frost brown to my crease. The main focus is on the colored eyeliner, and for that I first applied just a normal line of RdLY's liquid eyeliner in 04 Silver Star. Then I added the teal/turquoise shimmer color on top, and for that I used an eyeshadow from the Manhattan MyBox series called 89B. To apply it, I used an angled brush, the one by Essence that I reviewed here *click*.

For mascara I used Maybelline's Great Lash Mascara.

What you have to be careful about is the silver eyeliner. The one I used tends to get onto my lashes which just doesn't look good. Keep an eye on that!

Do you wear these type of looks, too?
I'll see you later!
xoxo, Misch