Maychiri's Thoughts

Ziaja Microbiome Face Mask For Oily Skin Review

September 14, 2024

Here's one face mask for those of us who have way too oily and acne-prone skin! This is the Ziaja Microbiome Face Mask For Oily Skin!

So, the primary reason why I bought this face mask in the first place was because it was advertised as being specifically made for oily skin. That, and it was super affordable! I really liked how it has a bunch of balancing ingredients, including inulin and a mineral blend ferment. It definitely sounded like it could help my skin be more balanced, perhaps even reduce how inflamed my pimples are! And even if it isn’t good in the end, I don’t care too much because it is very affordable. But I am really hoping it is good, and that it will help and be gentle enough for my sensitive skin! Now, let’s see what it’s like!

Packaging: a plastic sachet, like most masks. This one is very hard to tear open, though. I almost always have to use a razor to cut it open. In terms of design, it is quite basic, featuring just a model that looks like she is feeling really relaxed from using this mask. The text is aqua, and black; both are easy to read. The text in the back is black, so that you can read it easily. Like I said, pretty simple, but I like it!

Ingredients: glycerine, zinc, inulin, copper, magnesium, iron, silicon, hyaluronic acid, urea for nourishment. Also, thermal (sea) water! Unfortunately, there are parabens here, methylparaben and propylparaben. That sucks. But the rest of the ingredients list has barely any ingredients that aren’t serving a purpose, so it’s overall incredibly rich in active ingredients. It’s also fat-free; indeed, I cannot see any fats in the ingredients list. Now, just having thermal water and HA would already be awesome, but it’s also enriched with a cocktail of fermented minerals (Zn, Cu, Mg, Fe, Si) that should balance the skin’s microbiome. Awesome! This looks so promising! The scent is very intense, though. Too intense, actually. It smells very perfumey and aromatic. It reminds me of men’s perfumes or aftershaves, it’s salty and herbal and kinda summery. Fortunately, it’s not that intense when you spread the mask on your face. The expiration date is listed along one side of the sachet. I have no idea how long this mask should be left on; the instructions only say to “leave it until absorbed”, but that could be 10, 20, or 30 minutes, all depending on the skin type or how thickly you apply it. I usually leave it for 20-25 minutes, but it’s still not absorbed by then. How hard was it to just write “leave for 30 minutes”, just to make it safe? This is quite annoying, and can lead to not enough serum absorbing.

The serum is very thick, but it’s gelly. It literally feels (and looks) like a gel. It’s colourless and clear. It’s also quite greasy once you start spreading it across the skin. It’s a bit too heavy for me, even though it doesn’t feel too occlusive or heavy while it’s absorbing. Although, how does it feel so greasy if it is fat-free? Anyways, the mask is wonderfully easy to spread across the face because of the greasy, gelly formula. Oh, and there’s sooo much serum inside!

Like, if I try to use it all in one go, it will never absorb or dry, so I have to, effectively, throw away half of the mask... this feels wasteful to me, but that’s what comes with having a small face.

Oh my! Immediately, this feels super refreshing and cooling – and that’s achieved without using menthol! The coldness feels so relaxing and soothing! It also feels quite hydrating, like my skin is really going to be hydrated after using this mask! There’s also a definite balancing feeling, like it’s balancing the skin’s microbiome. The one thing I dislike, though, is how heavy it is, but, paradoxically, it also, somehow, feels light?? Oh, also, after about 20 minutes, the cooling sensation is replaced to some degree with a warming one, this is interesting. However, this is not a sign of irritation, as my skin still looks happy under the mask.

The formula is definitely good for sensitive skin, although it is triggering a bit of a reaction on my neck, where I have started to get severe itching and redness from adapalene. But everywhere else, it feels soothing and hydrating, which is just wonderful!

Okay, so... this mask should be left on until it completely absorbs. Thing is, with how much serum there is inside, it never fully absorbs on my face because there is just too much of it. And believe me, I have left it on for long enough! I left it for up to 20-25 minutes and it still isn’t absorbed. So I usually just take a moist cotton pad and wipe off the excess; I have found that this is good enough for me, to prevent messes and my skin becoming irritated from being suffocated by such a thick layer of mask on it.

Anyways, if you leave it on, it will be extremely tacky, and will likely prevent moisturisers from properly absorbing. This is one more reason why I think you should just wipe off the excess, instead. Now, after removing the excess, my skin looks pretty happy! After just one use, my skin looks more balanced and even, and it reduced how red acne look! My skin feels balanced and happy, too! It feels moderately hydrated, not as much as I’d hoped, but as long as it feels calm and content I am happy, too! Honestly, I never expected it to work quite this well, to be able to actually reduce the amount of acne and make them less inflamed – plus, it doesn’t irritate my already very irritated skin! It says that it can be used daily and I’d be inclined to believe that, it is definitely gentle enough while showing genuinely great results!

My skin still looks balanced and even the next day. Pimples are less red and inflamed, and there is no itching or any kind of irritation. Yay! It seems that my skin really likes this mask, even if it is way too gelly for my liking.

All in all, a wonderful and very affordable mask that is gentle enough to be used every day! I find it to be quite interesting; its formula is extremely gelly but it spreads easily like a cream. You’d think that such a gelly formula wouldn’t apply quite so easily, but here we are. I really like how it feels while it is absorbing; it feels like it is balancing the skin from within, I think I can even feel the zinc drying out acne from inside out! It feels refreshing and calming and cool, interestingly enough! But it doesn’t have menthol, so this is not irritating. And the results are amazing, as well! It visibly reduces how red acne is, and it calms down irritations. It also makes the skin look and feel balanced and even, and that’s all from just 1 use! Amazing! The biggest thing that I dislike is how I don’t know how long it should be left on and whether you should rinse it or not; on Ziaja’s website it says that the mask should be rinsed out, but then, on the sachet it doesn’t say that. So, which is it, then?? I just gently remove the excess serum with a moist cotton pad, I think this is a good middle ground between the two. Because, if I were to leave it on, I feel like it would suffocate my skin and not let any moisturiser through it. It’s really thick, and tacky after it dries. But, since the results are so visible and great, I can deal with these negatives. Yay! What a great little mask! I will highly recommend it to people with oily, acne-prone skin!

Rating: 7/10

Would buy again? YES

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Essence

New Stuff - Part 44

September 14, 2024

Hello!

A bit late this week but I truly have been busy, trying to sort out everything for the new job that I got. But I still wanted to share some interesting things with y'all!

As you can see, this is a predominantly skincare-focused selection of products. This is because I love some of these products so much that they are a staple of my skincare routine, so I keep repurchasing them as I use them up. Notably, the Eucerin and La Roche-Posay moisturisers are some such products, although I stopped repurchasing the Effaclar Duo (+) some time ago. This is a bit of a spoiler, but this also isn't the last time you'll see the Ziaja face masks... 😉

The entire Vege Lip Care range

Now, not everything is skincare, as you can see there's also an eyeshadow primer and... oh? A lip scrub! Lip scrubs are a necessity for me because my lips tend to become chapped extremely easily, so I need to exfoliate them regularly. But, thing is, finding a good lip scrub that doesn't feel like rubbing literal sanding paper on my lips is surprisingly difficult! So many lip scrubs use sugar crystals that are far too large and, as a result, end up damaging the lips instead of just gently exfoliating the top layer. I found this brand on Notino, apparently it's a Polish brand, I wouldn't know, it was brand new to me. But what I did know is that it was affordable, so I truly had nothing to lose even if this one ends up being just as scratchy. Choosing which one of the Vege Lip Care scrubs to buy was the easiest decision ever because... flamingooo!

The entire Pumpkins Pretty Please! LE
Source: www.essence.eu

And lastly, the very-out-of-my-comfort-zone kind of green nail polish! Hey - autumn has already come with these cold, cold temperatures, so I felt it was appropriate to showcase this perfectly autumnal nail polish. This is the only product that is not available anymore, as it was part of the Essence Pumpkins Pretty Please! LE, which was launched in autumn 2022. This whole LE just speaks to me so much! Autumn is my favourite season, so to have a whole LE inspired by just that? Perfection! This might not have been a huge LE, but it had many items I ~~wanted~~ needed, such as the nail polish! It's all themed around pumpkins, a true symbol of autumn... but that also means that most of the items were too orange for my skintone, sadly. But you know what isn't orange? A pumpkin leaf green nail polish, so that's what I got!

Now, presenting the varied bunch of products, some new and some already reviewed (I'll still link them here):

PS: don't mind the floss, it's another favourite of mine, literally the best floss out there, so I needed to buy it as I had run out of it.

See you soon!

Maja

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Aqua

NYX Candy Slick Glowy Lip Color [CSGLC12 - Extra Mints] Review

September 05, 2024

The second – and way wilder – of the two liquid lipsticks today! This one is the NYX Candy Slick Glowy Lip Color, in the shade CSGLC12/Extra Mints!

There was a time when NYX had physical stores in Croatia. ‘Twas a wonderful time. But they had to close up shop (at least in the physical sense), which meant that everything had to go, even if it meant slashing the price 70%. This range of liquid lipsticks was only 30% off, but that didn’t matter to me – I was stunned by all the gorgeous colours they had available! Back then, I wasn’t into neutrals, I wanted colours that I couldn’t find anywhere else! And would you look at that – there’s a literally light blue colour! It would be insanity to buy – and wear – a blue lip product... fortunately, I am bold enough to do so! So I went straight for it! Pretty sure that was a shock to the cashier haha! So... if you ever wondered what a blue liquid lipstick looks like, you’ll see now!

Packaging: super bright and colourful! The colour of the plastic tube matches the lipstick almost perfectly! I love the gold accents and text, it’s a fantastic colour next to the bright blue! But since it’s metallic gold, it isn’t very easy to read. The cap closes very tightly; too tightly, even, because it broke! I went to close it one time and it just started crumbling! From then on I tried to keep it as air-tight as possible using sellotape, but that’s not a replacement for a proper cap. And that, of course, lead to the liquid lipstick going bad sooner than it should have. Really bad QA, NYX... I expected better.

Ingredients: glycerine for nourishment. No parabens. The scent is very intense; it smells extremely sweet, like candy. Or indeed, jelly beans! Definitely too saccharine for me, but it fits the theme. The expiration date is 12 months after opening.

Applicator: this liquid lipstick has a small flat applicator. It’s super soft, almost like plush, which feels just amazing on lips. It picks up a ton of pigment, but the stopper makes sure you don’t have a huge mess once you pull out the applicator. The applicator applies pigment very richly and as evenly as the formula allows (you’ll see that this is a problem in a bit). I would usually prefer a doe-foot applicator, but this flat one is surprisingly precise! If you want to apply colour across the lips easily, just use the wide flat side, and if you want to line the lips, use the thin side. It’s so precise that even lining the cupid’s bow was no problem at all! Honestly, much better than it has any right to be!

Worn with the NYX Suède Matte Lip Liner [SMLL16/Little Denim Dress]

Damn, this is such an awesome colour! NYX describe it as an “aqua teal”, but honestly there’s nothing teal about it. It’s pretty much sky blue: a very intense, vibrant light blue with basically no green pigments in it. It’s crazy vibrant, especially on pale skin! Like, you’ll definitely be seen with this colour on your lips! Oh yeah, it takes a lot of courage to wear this because you will be stared at – I know from personal experience! But sometimes you just feel blue, right? Anyways, it looks exactly like a blue jelly bean!

Wearing just this liquid lipstick

Man, it’s insanely pigmented, although, as you’ll see, the formula is a bit tricky to use, which makes it seem less pigmented at first. One coat is already very pigmented, but to get to 100% pigmentation you’ll need 2-3 layers. Then it’s as bright as a clear day in summer! I don’t mind having to apply more layers as it’s quite comfortable to wear.

Wearing just this liquid lipstick

The formula is thick, like, creamy thick. But it’s also slick, and well, not greasy per se, but slippery. Also, kinda watery despite being so thick? But not runny. It really feels luxurious, especially once it dries – oh man, it’s such a good formula then! But, because it is this thick, it has some issues with being uneven. This is why you’ll need a few layers to get to maximum pigmentation, because one coat will be pretty uneven and won’t look good. This formula doesn’t clump up throughout the day, but it may feel slightly stringy sometimes.

Extremely uneven when worn solo with one layer...

So, as mentioned, this is definitely a liquid lipstick that you’ll want to wear on top of lip liners. It’s just too uneven on it’s own, so it benefits greatly from having a light blue pencil under it. Yes, that may be difficult to find, but it’s a huge improvement if you layer it under this! Or you could apply a few layers of this lipstick and have pretty much opaque colour, but it may also be harder to remove then. The texture is, as advertised, slick and glowy. It looks wet and reflective, and very juicy! Fantastic finish that makes it look even brighter and more vivid!

Worn with the NYX Suède Matte Lip Liner [SMLL16/Little Denim Dress]

The formula may be a bit weird, but applying this lipstick is a breeze! The unevenness aside, it applies smoothly across lips, with no tugging or pulling at all. And it is easy to line the lips as well because the formula isn’t runny, and the thin applicator makes sure you get precise, clean lines with it. It’s mostly just swipe-and-go, even on the cupid’s bow!

Wearing just this liquid lipstick

Wait, why does it feel tingly while it’s drying? Hmm, I don’t really like this, it feels like it’s drawing out moisture from my lips. After a few minutes this subsides, and is replaced by a wonderful feeling of luxurious creaminess! It feels like a rich balm on the lips, velvety soft and super creamy! It also stops being tacky, because it does feel slightly tacky while it’s drying. However, since it dries pretty fast, it’s not a huge problem. Throughout the day it stays quite comfortable to wear, and doesn’t become tacky at any point. True, it does become drier with time, but it still remains creamy and velvety soft. Also, while it may feel slightly dry on the lower lip, it does not seem to actually dry out my lips after a day of wearing it, despite that weird tingly feeling at first.

Longevity is, frankly, very poor. It lasts for maybe an hour or two before it starts to visibly fade. It fades mostly uniformly across the lips, which is better than if it were patchy, but it just fades way too much way too soon. And that’s without eating/drinking! It’s like it cannot handle saliva getting on it, like it dissolves in saliva as soon as it gets into contact with it. So this definitely isn’t waterproof one bit. Not if it cannot tolerate saliva! As you can imagine, food and drinks destroy it. It doesn’t even have to be any kind of greasy food, just the act of eating or drinking will lead to it fading so much that there’s just a sheer tint left. Great...

I was kinda dreading removing this liquid lipstick because, c’mon, look at the colour! These ‘crazy’ colours have been known to be very stubborn when it comes to removing them. However, this colour usually comes off relatively easily. Usually. However, if you apply more layers (as you likely will), it will be so much more difficult to remove. And it does leave stains. Sickly blue stains. Since I applied 3 layers I had a rough time removing it, and the stain was pretty noticeable. But, thankfully, it is easy enough to remove! You don’t need to scrub for ages to remove the stain. But I would highly suggest using some sort of gel or oil-based makeup remover, because it’s just... not fun to remove it with micellar water.

All in all, such a shame that it has numerous issues because this is truly a kickass colour. It’s extremely vibrant and intensely pigmented. You’ll have lips as blue as the clear blue sky! How awesome is this?? You really have to have a ton of self-confidence to wear this in public without caring about others staring! I do – I dgaf about others looking, because I love this colour! So what if it’s a bit... out there? Sometimes I want to stand out and this lipstick does just that – how couldn’t it when it’s so blindingly bright blue?? The only negative thing about this colour is that it seems to make my teeth look much more yellow than they are, really. Anyways, the formula is odd; it’s thick and super creamy, but it’s also kinda watery and very slippery, for lack of a better term. Like, it feels literally slippery, not greasy, not oily, it’s literally slick. But that’s actually a good thing because it prevents the lipstick from being tacky! Alright, it is a bit tacky at first, while it dries (and also weirdly tingly???), but after it dries it becomes this luscious, velvety soft formula that is oh so comfortable. It’s not very heavy and feels so soft! It’s super easy to apply, both due to the creamy formula and due to the fantastic applicator that makes it easy to line and fill in lips! Such a shame, then, that it’s got rubbish durability. Because it starts to fade a lot within two hours. 2 hours! That’s miserable. And that’s without eating anything, just with normal mouth movements (talking, licking the lips occasionally... etc)! Don’t even try to eat or drink with this on because it will fade completely! Oh also, it isn’t very even so you need 2-3 layers at minimum to get it to look decent and/or opaque. This wouldn’t be a problem usually, but it is here because the more layers you apply the harder it is to remove! Once you do remove it, you’ll find that it has left a sickly blue stain... luckily, this is easily removed. Thank god! Sadly, this is not the end of troubles. See, it seems that NYX did not do a good job with the level of quality they build these lipsticks because the cap on mine literally crumbled overnight! I closed it normally but when I went to open it, it started crumbling in my hand. Like, I have never had plastic crumble like this for no apparent reason; I did not close it too tightly, I did not freeze it... idk what the hell happened. But it’s a major problem because ever since that happened this lipstick has been left exposed to air, which accelerated its demise. I just don’t feel like it’s safe to be used when it’s been left exposed to air the whole summer, autumn, winter and spring. Great job manufacturing it, NYX... goddamn it. Well, it was awesome the few times I was able to wear it, at least the colour was. As you can see, everything else is good but has flaws. So an average liquid lipstick, all things considered. Pity, but the kickass colour cannot save it. Nope, no recommendation – and this is mostly because of the bad quality of manufacturing. Shame that this happened to the cooler of the two shades...

Rating? 5/10

Would buy again? NO (although it is wicked cool!)

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Candy Slick Glowy Lip Color

NYX Candy Slick Glowy Lip Color [CSGLC05 - Jelly Bean Dream] Review

September 05, 2024

Arguably the more “normal” of the two liquid lipsticks today; this is the NYX Candy Slick Glowy Lip Color, shade CSGLC05/Jelly Bean Dream!

I could not resist picking up a few of these liquid lipsticks at the NYX store! So many of the shades are wicked bright and vivid – just what I wanted! See, I was in a bit of a bright magenta and weird colour phase back when I bought these, so when I saw a basically Barbie pink colour, I knew I had to have it! I had no idea what to expect, these were among the very first NYX products I ever owned, so I went in blind, hoping that the higher price would reflect the quality. Also, the names are soooo cute! Jelly Bean Dream?? I’ve never dreamt of jelly beans, but it sounds like it would be a nice dream... might wake up hungry, though! But what to expect out of a lip colour? I have no clue, I’ll just treat it like a liquid lipstick, I guess! Now, let’s finally sink our teeth into these vibrant magenta jelly beans, and see how good this lip colour really is!

Packaging: okay, this is very cute! It comes in a plastic tube, but it is the same colour as the lipstick inside. This allows you to judge what it would look like on you without opening it. However, it is not just a vivid, bright fuchsia, it also has reflective rose gold details and text. I feel like this is a good colour to use with the fuchsia, but, because the text is reflective, it is very hard to read. I like the rose gold details on the cap, though! Overall, it looks very cute, very candy-like. Which fits with the theme! The cap closes extremely tightly, but it has the same issues the blue shade had, although to a slightly lesser degree; it tends to start cracking if you close it tightly. And, once it starts to break like this, it will be impossible to close it properly... which then leads to the lipstick drying out sooner than it should.

I have no idea why this happens, I thought that the blue one was a fluke, but, now that this one, too, is showing the same issues, it seems like this is just bad manufacturing. Low quality, which isn’t typical for NYX. And honestly, it makes me sad because this whole range has such awesome colours...

Source: www.nyxcosmetics.com

Ingredients: glycerine for nourishment. No parabens. The scent is so amazing! It smells very, very sweet and a bit plasticy, but that’s just the way gummi candy smells like. And this does indeed smells like jelly beans! I am not usually a fan of such extremely saccharine scents, but this is hitting the right spot for some reason. The expiration date is 12 months after opening.

Wow, this is an uncommon type of applicator for a liquid lipstick. This is a small flat applicator, which has its pros and cons. What’s good about it? Well, it picks up a metric ton of product, to ensure that the first layer is thick, opaque and even. It also spreads the lipstick so evenly that I don’t have to spend much time perfecting it! And, because of its shape, you can choose whether to apply lipstick across a large or small area. I prefer to use the wider, flat side, to apply the lipstick across both the lower and upper lips, it’s just swipe and go! And then, to perfect the shape, I turn it sideways, which allows the applicator to be quite precise. It is so easy to line the lips precisely, even the cupid’s bow! And I didn’t struggle to draw sharp lines, either.

Of course, a doe foot applicator would be more precise, but this one is surprisingly good! Definitely better than I anticipated! And it is sooo super soft! It feels plush and luxurious on my lips!

Worn with the NYX Slim Lip Pencil [SPL816/Fuchsia]

Colour: NYX say that this is a hot pink. I would agree. Not quite a Barbie pink, it is a bit too red, but it is still a gorgeous extremely vibrant magenta pink. It is perhaps closest to a Mexican pink... or, you know what? It is almost identical to the T-Mobile magenta! In any case, this is a colour that you cannot ignore – it is so intense and vibrant that you will stand out in a crowd with it on! It looks so spectacularly bright on pale skin, but it will surely look good on many other skin tones as well. I just love how incredible it is on my pale skin, but then, almost all magenta colours do look great on me. So it’s not a surprise. It’s a very fun colour, perfect for spring or summer.

Wearing just this liquid lipstick

This is seriously pigmented! It’s actually extreme! And, since it is even and opaque with one layer, it reaches 100% pigmentation with just one layer. Of course, if you want it to be slightly more extremely pigmented, you can apply two layers. But it really looks amazing with just one layer, so incredibly bright and vivid and just perfect!

Oh, this formula is actually really nice! It is creamy and thick, but it doesn’t feel occlusive. It feels distinctly wet, like, it’s really moist, which is a bit odd to me. The formula is definitely slippery, kind of oily, but definitely not greasy. Although it is quite wet – and it does feel watery – it is not at all runny, thank god! It really feels like a rich, luxe lip mask, I love it! And unlike Extra Mints, this one doesn’t become stringy after a while. Good, because that was quite irritating! However, do note that it is prone to getting inside the mouth, so check your teeth after applying this lipstick! This liquid lipstick dries quite fast; about a minute and it should have already dried. However, it is not at all transfer-proof, even after it dries!

Wearing just this liquid lipstick

This shade is completely even with one layer, unlike Extra Mints. Of course, it looks better with two layers because that will make the vibrant magenta colour pop much more, but it still looks fantastic with just one layer. Not an uneven patch in sight, it’s all perfectly even and smooth! So, unlike Extra Mints, you don’t need to apply a lip liner underneath for it to look great.

Wearing just this liquid lipstick

The texture is, at first, very glossy and wet-looking. It really does look slick! It is less reflective than Extra Mints, but it looks juicier. This fades with time, and after an hour or two, it changes into a totally matte finish. Then, it no longer looks like a glossy liquid lipstick, but more like a lip stain. I prefer the glossy, juicy finish, of course, but it still looks nice once it turns into, more-or-less, a lip stain. It looks velvety and matte, which is nice. Still, I wish it stayed glossy longer...

Wearing just this liquid lipstick

The creamy, yet wet, formula is definitely odd, but applying this lipstick is quite easy! This is partly thanks to the applicator, but also partly thanks to the formula not being runny. It applies smoothly across the lips, with one swipe, and without any tugging at the lips, so it is super easy to fill in your lips with this bright colour. It’s also not particularly difficult to line the lips because the applicator can apply the lipstick very precisely. Even lining the cupid’s bow wasn’t any hassle! It’s pretty much swipe and go! Don’t you just love it when liquid lipsticks are this easy to use? I know I do!

Worn with the NYX Slim Lip Pencil [SPL816/Fuchsia]

Hmm, this feels weird on my lips. It doesn’t feel quite as tingly as Extra Mints, but there still is a distinct feeling of like, it drawing moisture out of my lips? Not exactly drying them out, just like there’s something happening moisture-related. Unfortunately, this stays for quite a long time, although it does become much better after an hour or two. But what I adore is just how super soft and creamy and just luxurious this feels on my lips! It feels like a super nourishing lip mask more than a liquid lipstick! Aaah, and it’s sooo velvety! And not at all tacky at any point! How amazing!

Wearing just this liquid lipstick

Another thing I like is how comfortable this liquid lipstick is to wear. It is most comfortable in the first 30 min – 1 hour, when it is still wet and velvety; it feels so lightweight and so nourishing and nice! After that, however, it starts to dry down to a more dry velvety feeling. It is still creamy and velvety, but it is noticeably drier. Still, it’s super comfortable, and it doesn’t feel like it is drying my lips out a lot. A little bit, definitely, but not a lot. It does feel a bit drier on my lower lip, on the centre, but it isn’t a very dry crust, so it’s fine.

Longevity is, for the most part, pretty good. It doesn’t fade throughout the day on its own, which is good. Although, it does feather and smudge around the edges, especially if it gets wet (from say, rain or a shower). It is not at all waterproof, nor water-resistant, for that matter! But, you know, it does look good as a lip stain... until you go eat something. It is, sadly, not very food resistant at all, and it doesn’t take greasy food for it to fade. It looks like a half-destroyed lip stain after any decent meal... just great. So it will need to be reapplied post-meal, which isn’t very ideal, you’ll soon see why. And it doesn’t fade completely uniformly after meals, it leaves a noticeable crust on my lower lip. Sigh... it seems that none of the Candy Slicks have good longevity, do they?

I, naively, thought that a more natural colour would be easier to remove than the bright blue... but it isn’t. What I forgot to take into account is that red and purple pigments tend to stain the skin the most – and guess which pigments are dominant here! While the initial layer isn’t too hard to remove, it leaves a nasty stain on the lips. Especially if you applied more than one layer, like I always do. Prepare to scrub your lips to hell and back if you want to completely remove the stain! Fortunately, the stain looks natural, as it is a subtly magenta-ish colour, but I still hate it. I suggest using makeup removing gels or such products because removing it with just micellar water is no fun at all. My poor lips... it isn’t the liquid lipstick itself that dries them out so much as it’s the process of removing it. I really need a lip balm now...

All in all, oh... it’s not at all as good as I hoped it would be. It seems that the Candy Slicks range is, sadly, not a good one. Look, the colour is brilliant; it is extremely bright and vibrant, perfect for when you want your lips to stand out. I adore this colour, it is literally he perfect magenta! Literally T-Mobile magenta, but also very, very close to being a Barbie pink! And everything that is Barbie-pink-adjacent is awesome in my book! I just love magenta and hot pink and just pink in general! And don’t blame me – look how intense and gorgeous it looks on pale skin! It really pops the way it should! But enough gushing about the colour, there is more to this lipstick than just the awesome colour. Like the formula, which feels supple and soft, almost like a mousse on my lips. It feels so luxurious! Like a great lip balm! And it is so juicy and slick-looking, so wonderful! Although, that said, the formula is weirdly slick and oily, but it applies perfectly evenly with one coat and it isn’t runny, so applying it is a cakewalk! The flat applicator, while it is an uncommon shape for liquid lipsticks, makes the application even easier. It picks up a ton of pigment (the stopper prevents it from being a messy huge amount), and it applies the pigment very precisely and perfectly evenly. I could line my lips – cupid’s bow included – with ease, although, he edges aren’t s sharp as I would like them. This isn’t the applicator’s fault, the lipstick has major issues with longevity, you see. You didn’t think everything would be amazing, did you? I decided to start with the good, and now that we have seen what’s good, let’s move on to the bad. There is quite a bit of it, sadly. Most importantly, it doesn’t last a long time at all; an hour later and it already loses its glorious juicy sheen. It changes from something that looks more like a lip gloss, to a more lip stain-like finish. Indeed, it is completely matte and velvety, just like lip stains. While I don’t hate this (and it certainly looks much more natural when it changes to this than Extra Mints), I would very much prefer it to keep the gloss for longer. I am not too keen on reapplying it to get the gloss back, but I have to if I plan to eat anything because it is not at all food resistant. It fades noticeably, and leaves a crust on my lower lip. The crust forms earlier, but it isn’t as dry or uncomfortable as some other lip products cause. But the most annoying thing for sure is that it leaves a massive stain. Even though this is a more ‘natural’ colour, it is full of red/purple pigments, and boy does it show that once you try to remove it. Try, being the key word, because it requires so much rubbing to fully remove it! I usually stop trying at some point because I don’t want my lips to feel like sandpaper. Sigh, so fricking annoying. Oh, and, I cannot ignore the fact that the cap of the tube of the lipstick shatters for no reason! Try to close the cap properly and you will likely smash the bottom part up into a bunch of small pieces. Good luck trying to properly close the lipstick after this! If it isn’t properly closed, it will, naturally, dry out prematurely. Just fantastic QA... I was honestly really full of glee and joy when I saw it in the NYX store, and when I saw it on my lips, I thought it was marvellous! But then all the excitement sank as the reality set in, and showed me that this lipstick is full of flaws. Quite sad for such a spectacular colour... why?? It saddens me to say that, no, I won’t be recommending this, it’s more trouble than it’s worth. There are much better liquid lipsticks... the Jelly Bean Dream has sadly poofed out of existence... deflated, gone. Ah well...

Rating: 5.5/10

Would buy again? Probably NO (I am really torn tbh)

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Candy Slick Glowy Lip Color

Reviews From the Past - Part 55

September 05, 2024

Hello 'ello!

Oooh - what's this? My, these liquid lipsticks sure are vibrant! And these are among the very first NYX products I ever bought!

Of course I would immediately go towards the brightest, most vibrant colours they had! And, since I was in a phase of wanting to wear only the most extremely vibrant and/or weird colours on my lips, I decided that it would be a good idea to buy a hot pink and... bright aqua (???) lipstick. Sure... why not! I know people would look at me weird, but I didn't care, because it was just too damn awesome to have bright blue lips! And when was I going to find such a colour again? So, in the cart it went! Plus, since the physical NYX stores in Croatia were closing, they had everything at up to 70% off; these lipsticks (lip colors?) were 30% off - still a great deal!

Source: www.amazon.com [Edited by me]

Now, you might notice that both lipsticks are from the same range: Candy Slick Glowy Lip Color. These liquid lipsticks came in a wide variety of colours, from light nudes, to vivid pinks and oranges, to darker reds and even a bright aqua! It's a very nice range of colours, for most skintones. But why such a bright orange or blinding pink and especially, why a bright aqua colour? Well, notice the name - these colours are inspired by candy, jelly beans, specifically (it seems). And you know how bright jelly beans are usually! Now, were I to buy these today (I cannot because NYX has discontinued them a while ago), I would definitely choose one of the lightest nude shades, so that I can actually incorporate it into various everyday makeup looks... but it's fun to challenge yourself to use such extreme colours from time to time as well. These are called 'lip colors'; it's something in between a lip gloss and a liquid lipstick, but it seems to be closer to a liquid lipstick so I will classify it as such. Also, note that the aqua lipstick is broken - I will elaborate on this in the reviews proper.

Description of the range
Source: www.walmart.com

Now, the two extremely bright candy-themed products today:

See you soon!

Maja

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Ziaja Microbiome Face Mask For Oily Skin Review

New Stuff - Part 44

NYX Candy Slick Glowy Lip Color [CSGLC12 - Extra Mints] Review

NYX Candy Slick Glowy Lip Color [CSGLC05 - Jelly Bean Dream] Review

Reviews From the Past - Part 55

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Maja Sekulić

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