My Thoughts Corner

It’s been quite a while since my last “Disappointing Products’ blog post. And since lot of you (including myself) seem to enjoy this kind of posts, here I come with a new list of products that let ME down. This isn’t to slander the brand in any of the ways, I simply I didn’t get along with these products, which could be a star product for you.

Let me start with the Clinique EvenBetter Dark Spot Corrector for which I really had high hopes. To be frank, I have had experiences with Clinique products and I was nothing but impressed. This, clinically proven serum, is comparable to a leading prescription in fading the dark spot and acne scars. It is made of a more stable form of Vitamin C for brightening effects along with mulberry extract and other exfoliating agents for better product penetration. I have used up 2 or 3 bottles of it already and let me tell you this is so bloody expensive! Nevertheless, I haven’t seen any improvement in my pigmentation or in my acne scars. I’ve got to say that it’s just an average skin lightening product despite its great ingredients.

I don’t use a lot of Max Factor products, though one of my favorite primer is the Face Finity All Day Primer, reviewed here, and that was one good reason to make me curious and try the MaxFactor all-day flawless 3-in-1 foundation. It’s has a matte finish, which I’m all right with, but it tends every single time to make my skin look extremely parched and the foundation clogs each one of my pores and sits in my dry areas. Another con on this foundation is the formula that’s very difficult to spread which made this product a total no go for me.

I love Essence brand and I love how affordable their products are however I hate the feeling of sticky glossy lipstick on my lips and that’s exactly what you get with the Essence LiquidLipsticks. The formula is certainly not of a liquid lipstick but more of a tick gloss that’s quite difficult to apply which results to a patchy finish.

Another lip products that I will include in this post is the Sleek Power Plump Lip Pencils. In fairness to these products, the color and pigmentation are stunning, the application is also just like a dream. However, these pencils are designed with a light tingle to plump up the lips which was quite interesting when I first read it but once the tingling started, the intensity unbearable. It was supposed to end after a minute or so but it was present for almost an hour which was very uncomfortable for me to the level I felt my lips literally burning.

This is it for today. Stay tuned and until next time :)

Hello Beauties,

For the last couple of months I had the chance to try different products from different brands which some I never heard of and after testing them I wish I had known about sooner. Here is a list of 10 makeup brands, I tried and loved, that offer an amazing quality but won’t break the bank with no specific order and you can find them either in stores or online.

1. Makeup Revolution

I believe that Makeup Revolution is the fastest booming makeup company on earth. It doesn’t take too long for this brand to come up with new products. I just can’t seem to follow. Their main products are their eye shadow palettes which are the exact dupes of several high end ones. The color payoff is nevertheless incredible. Honestly I own many of their palettes and I can never seem to have enough. 

2. Wet’N’Wild

Known for their buttery and pigmented Color Icon Eyeshadow Collection, Wet’N’Wild is one of the great drugstore makeup brands in terms of price and quality. The MegaLast Lip Colors are one of my favorite lipsticks. The colors are simply incredible and the lasting power is just amazing. The Coverall foundation and primer are again one of “forever purchased”, and you can find my complete review about them here. And finally I cannot forget the Color Icon blushes, those are literally awesome and you guys definitely have to try them.

3. E.L.F

e.l.f is certainly one of the most known drugstore brands thanks to its inexpensive prices. The quality though of the products is outstanding.. Too good to be true?? Not with e.l.f as that’s exactly what you get. Their makeup brushes are very famous along with a huge list of items.

4. Essence

Known for its extremely cheap prices, Essence cosmetics is a European brand that provides high quality makeup products. My favorite products are: the eye shadow primer, the liquid and longlasting lipsticks and the lip liners.

5. Catrice

It is one of the newest brands I came to try. I own a lot of their concealers/highlighting pens and I’m so in love with their bronzers and blush artist shading palettes. The products are super soft and pigmented with a reasonable variety of colors. It’s definitely a brand to give a space in your collection.

6. Rimmel London

Let me say that I’m a huge lover of Rimmel London. It’s not only affordable but the qualtiy is outstanding just as good as most of high end brands. The Stay Matte pressed powder for instance is one of the most loved powders among the bloggers community. Their foundations, mascaras (reviewed here & here), lipsticks (reviewed here) and concealers (reviewed here) are no less quality.

7. NYX

This is a one goes hand in hand with many high end brands. NYX has a lot to offer not only reasonable pricing but also professional quality. I’ve been using a lot from their matte lip creams, HD concealers, brow powder, mascaras, blushes, contour palette … and I still have a lot more to try. It’s with no doubt one of my favorite drugstore brands. It is absolutely gorgeous!!

8.  Makeup Geek

Makeup Geek shadows are one of the best eye shadows out there. They are very pigmented, buttery with a very large variety of colors. The idea of choosing my own shades and putting them all together in one customized z palette is enjoyable.

9. L.A Girl

Their Pro concealers are one of the best concealers of all time which many celebrities swear by and they are super cheap.

10. Milani

Milani Cosmetics offers the most affordable brand with high quality products. The brand is unfortunately not available in UAE and doesn’t accept international payments.. I’ve read and heard tons of great stuff about their baked blushes and lipsticks. I managed though to get one baked blush in Fantastico Mauve and I’m dying to get my hands on the others. The only one I own is simply great in colour, quality and lasting power. I’m amazed.