Beauty Blogazons Weekly Roundup 6/29

Mama Fashionista On the on going quest to perfect her skin care routine, Mama Fashionista discovered a match made in heaven: LUSH's Angels on Bare Skin and the Clarisonic Mia!

My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog Laura reviewed and swatched the Romantic Eye Shadow Collection from Too Faced.

Ishah x Beauty What's on Ishah x Beauty's menu? A Glitter Sandwich! Lovely layers of shimmer, glitter and flakies.

Lucy's Stash Parrot nail art manicure - Scarlet Macaw in the jungle painted with acrylic colours

Liquor, Lube and Lipstick I See Rainbows Everywhere! - Would you go to work with bright eye makeup? I did!

Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom Milani browns are in the spotlight.

adore-a-polish A little Colorstay for your day with this Revlon Colorstay Top Coat review.

Captivating Claws A green sparkly Zoya gradient

Cosmetics Aficionado This Minnie Mouse Manicure is not only super cute and super easy, but it is short nail friendly!

Phyrra Phyrra is in love with the cult product inspired by beauty balm creams, Illamasqua Skin Base!

Dorothy's Little Wonderland What I brought with me during travel

Beauty Product Review Shiny face isn't pretty, check out what makeup product I used to get rid of shiny face!

Tolmu Rull tells all Have you ever bought anything big and been insanely happy about it? Tolmu Rull's biggest beauty buy ever comes from Poland and weighs 12,5 kgs!

Shades of Beauty, Inc. Klout Perk...Essie Mojito Madness

Emily Hudspeth, hair design and makeup artist BB Cream. I found my favorite one and I want to share!

The Stepford Witch Who doesn't love makeup that's meant to make our beauty routine simpler? Now let's see if Speed Brow is the right eyebrow product for the job!

The Polished Zombie No need to call a medic, It's Just A Flesh Wound.

The Beauty Delicacy Go Pastelle this Summer.

Beauty by Miss L Do you want to know what was in this month´s Estonian monthly subscription box called Glambox?

My biggest beauty buy ever. Hint: it's HUGE

As I hinted in the comments of my last post about beauty shopping abroad, I managed to take a little trip again. This time it was a roadtrip to Poland. In spite of the fact that it took place during European Football Championships 2012, I didn't go to Poland for football, but purely for fun and pleasure. And some shopping of course :P

One of the main advantages of a road trip is the opportunity to fit in loads and loads of luggage and boy, did I exploit that! I did a fair share of shopping, including my biggest beauty buy ever, not in terms of items bought but in terms of measures and kilograms.

Look, how small my huge cat looks compared to it!

Can you already guess, what it is?

It's three-storey PRO make-up artist's train case from Inglot! Inglot is a cosmetics company of Polish origin. It makes professional cosmetics & beauty accessories and as verified by many beauty bloggers, the quality is comparable to MAC or Make Up Store. (Of course I did a little Inglot make-up haul too, but I'll tell all about that in a separate post.)

A new family member perhaps?

When I first laid my eyes on the train case, I thought, wow, it's huge! I was just about to move on, when my hubby wondered about the price of it, as he knew I've had my eyes on a certain train case from Sephora for a while already.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I heard the price from the sales assistant. 353 PLN – that's roughly around 85 euros or 102 USD. A steal! Buy it, my husband said in a decisive voice. Buy it!

Nooooo, I said. It seemed simply obscene to buy it, because I'm not any MUA who does the faces of rich and famous people and needs to move sh.tloads of make-up items around. It seemed TOO big.

Backside with pull-out handle.

The male SA started seductively to open all the compartments and pulling out all the trays. It's only around 100 euros, he said. No, I said. No! So we left the store.

On wheels and all set for travel :P

Outside, my hubby became the voice of reason. Come on, I know you, he said. If you don't buy it, you'll gonna regret it later. And the rest of family will never hear the end of it. (Have I mentioned he in not a big fan of beauty buys, because he seems to think our home is badly contaminated with nail polish, make-up and all other things beauty already. In my humble opinion, it most certainly is not.)

I opened my wallet that had exactly 353 PLN in it. I took it as a sign from destiny and the biggest train case I've ever laid my eyes on became mine :)

The top part of the case.

I haven't regretted buying it since. In fact, I can still barely believe my luck. The pull-along case is made of made of sturdy plastic with metal edges and covered with synthetic leather-like material that is easy to clean inside. 

Famous Naked palette, a small part of my Polish haul and the keys inside the top part.

It divides into three separate parts. The upper part contains four trays, that can be pulled out and a middle compartment. It has to be lifted off to get to the middle section with two fold-out trays. The lower part has two roomy boxes in it. Upper and lower compartments can be locked so no one could steal your valuables.

With the top part off.

The case is roughly the size of an IKEA Helmer unit or airline hand baggage suitcase and I plan to use it as an organizer and beauty storage in my bedroom. It is most certainly the biggest (and heaviest, it weighs 12,5 kgs) beauty item I've ever bought and currently the one I'm most happy about. I bought it from Inglot boutique in Zlote Tarasy shopping centre in the heart of Warszawa, Poland.

Lower compartment and some of my Inglot haul. 

Do you like my new beauty storage solution? Wanna go to Poland too?

Yours Truly,

Tolmu Rull

Lihtsalt võrdluseks asetasin kohvrile mõned iluvidinad.

For my lovely Estonian ladies:

Naasin paar päeva tagasi just Poolast. Kuigi seal oli just jalgpalli-MM täies hoos, see mulle huvi ei pakkunud, aga Poola hiigelsuured ostukeskused küll. Nii sündiski minu suurim ja raskeim iluost: kolmekorruseline Ingloti kosmeetikakohver, mis maksis ainult 85 euro ringis. Loomulikult pole ma mingi maailma mööda ringi kärutav tippmodell või meigikunstnik, kel vaja kilode kaupa meigiasju kaasas kanda. Umbes lennuki käsipagasisse mahtuvast kohvrist saab minu magamistoas meigi, küünelakkide, pintslite ja muude ilutarvikute hoidja. Juba selle vaatamine teeb mind igal hommikul ärgates õnnelikuks ja ma loodan, et nii jääbki :)

Kuidas teile mu suurim (ja raskeim!) iluost meeldib?

Siiralt teie,

Tolmu Rull

Shopping abroad: little Drogas aka Latvian Superdrug haul & mini reviews

Doing my travel beauty products overview I discovered an old picture of a little haul from Riga.

In Latvia and Lithuania, there is a drugstore chain called Drogas, that is the Baltic version of UK's infamous Superdrug chain. As Superdrug, Drogas carries everything from lipsticks to underwear, only with slightly different brands and less discounts. (In some countries the store operates under the name Watson's, but all these stores belong to same international business group, budding business geniuses can find out more here.)

So I did a small haul there, and picked up Superdrug Cranberry and Pomegranate Shower Gel (1.49 LVL or 2.20 euros) & Body Butter (1.99 LVL or 2.85 euros). These smell divinely of pomegranate juice, are both quite moisturising and the body butter sinks into my skin much faster than The Body Shop body butters. The negative side is these contain SLS and paraffinum liquidum, but this does not bother me so much.

I also bought Watson's tweezers (0.99 LVL or 1.40 euros) that are OK, although I expected them to be sharper and double sharpener (0.89 LVL or 1.30 euros) that works super well. The pink crackle polish (1.79 LVL or 2.55 euros) was one I had missing from my Flormar crackle polishes line, review here.

My last purchase that time was InterVion natural fibre hair brush (2.59 LVL 3.70), that became my favourite fast. It detangles and smoothes hair in a second.

I also oggled Essence stand and might or might not gone back to make further aquantance with it :P

What can I say? Next time I'm in Latvia, I'll definitely drop by. As far as I know, the biggest and best Drogas store in Riga is in the Alfa shopping centre on Brivibas iela.

Have you been to Drogas? Do you have it (or Superdrug) at your country? Would you like to hear more about my beauty shopping abroad experiences?

Yours Truly,
Tolmu Rull

For my lovely Estonian ladies:

UK Superdrug'idest võime siin maailmanurgas vaid unistada, kuid Lätis ja Leedus on olemas Superdrug'iga samasse ärigruppi kuuluv poekett, mis kannab koledat baltipärast nime Drogas.

Ennevanasti oli Eestis sama (kosmeetika)pood Watson'si nime all, aga nüüd kahjuks enam mitte.

Muidugi ei müüda seal sama laia kaubavalikut, mis Superdrug'is, aga üht-teist põnevat siiski leiab. Näiteks on Läti Drogase poed Eestile lähim koht, kus müüakse blogimaailmas kuulsat Essence kosmeetikat. Mind paelusid ka Watsonsi kaubamärgi all pakutavad superodavad (ja täitsa kvaliteetsed!) ilutarvikud. Kindlasti lähen Drogas'e poodi veel.

Kas teie olete Drogas'esse sattunud? Huvitab teid üldse lugeda väljaspool Eestit shoppamisest?

Siiralt teie,
Tolmu Rull

Up In the Air. What's in my beauty bag while travelling?

This spring, I did quite lot of travelling. Nothing big and glamorous, just hopping here and there in Europe. 

I must say some days I really felt like George Clooney (or her female partner Vera Farmiga) from the movie Up In the Air: pack, go, return, say “Hi!” at home, unpack and do the laundry, pack, fly again … and so on. Not to mention catching up on my daily job inbetween.

Being on the travelling wavelength already and to make up for neglecting my blog, I thought I'll make a small overview what's in my go-to beauty bag. I know it's very hard to decide what to take and what to leave and EU Aviation Cabin Baggage Security Regulations make it even more complicated. Especially if you are a high-maintenance girl like me. I hope my tips will help somebody else to slide as flawlessy as I do through the security gates :P

These pictures were made in Riga a few weeks over 2 months ago. Wanted to post this from E-pad from Riga, but while you are having a great spring weekend at Riga with your beloved hubby, typing away at your computer is the last thing on your mind :) I know a lot of people love to do travel posts and updates on the spot, but I am a firm believer of living my interesting life while it's happening instead of blogging and bragging about it.

So, what do I take while travelling? I don't want to take anything much, because those nasty baggage limitations. This was the contents of my beauty bag this spring: 

• Alessandro see-through zippered bag. A funny one (whoever puts coins, cell phone and passport to the same bag with the cosmetics stash?), but useful, as it's transparent and accommodates about one litre as is required for air travel. Cuts the need for separate small plastic bags, you can whip it out from your purse in a second and approach the security.
• The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist. Works as a toner and a face hydrator – even if you have oily skin you need to moisturize it while air travelling, the cabin air makes skin to produce more oil if it's not hydrated enough. Should decant this to a smaller bottle too. A must have. 
• Aldo Vandini Step By Step foot gel 30 ml. Travelling = walking long distances = tired feet. Absolutely a must-have for me. 
• Rich Pure Luxury Rejuvenating Argan Oil Elixir. This is the honey-coloured spray bottle :P Decanted from it's original bottle, because the 70 ml glass bottle is just too big and heavy to carry. A must have too, because it conditions brittle hair, tames the nasty fly-aways and somehow helps hair to dry faster. See review here.
• Tigi Bed Head Superstar blow dry lotion decanted to Sephora spray bottle. A must have. 
• Lush Honey I Washed the Kids shampoo & shower gel decanted to old Yves Rocher Jardins du Monde shower gel bottle. I don't trust hotel freebies, so I'll always take my own shampoo & shower gel. This is one of the few that works well for body and hair both. 
• John Frieda Sheer Blonde hairspray 50 ml. Great light hold hair spray for lighter tones. 
• A body moisturiser from taken along from a random hotel.

• Nivea Invisible Roll On 50 ml. You do want to be fresh and stain free at all times! If it only came in some smaller and lighter form. I must switch to something smaller soon. 
• Toothbrush and paste. Goes unsaid. 
• Hair conditioner. Also decanted/depotted. It's L'Occitane Repair Conditioner for Dry and Damaged hair. It is not too heavy and does not make my hair too greasy. 
• Guinot Hydrazone Yeux Eye Cream sample. Nice and light eye cream to keep my smile lines hydrated. This is a sample size, which works perfectly for travelling, but at home I have one in regular size too. It's fairly expensive, but don't expect miracles from it, it's just an eye cream. 

• Biotherm Biosource facial cleanser and toner samples. Not really suitable for my skin (these are for dry skin), just wanted to use these up. They worked surprisingly well for me.
• Some Salvador Dali perfume sample. Nasty one, by the way, but small.
• Estee Lauder Advanced Night Cream sample bottle. A fancy night treatment I haven't been able to use much. I'm always too tired to bother with night creams while travelling :) It has been highly praised, but only time I have used it I found it too drying for my oily/combination skin. 
• Neal's Yard Remedies Rehydrating Rose Daily Moisture Face Cream. Uuh-ooh! This is a great one (I got this as a magazine freebie from UK)! Nicely moisturizing and mattifiyng for greasier skin types. Can work as night cream too, so another must have. 

• Just a bunch of samples (face creams, masks etc.) that are easy to carry and help out in all kinds of emergencies. 
• Some cotton pads, a haircomb, nail file, face wipes etc that are not pictured. They don't need to be kept in this plastic bag, as they don't classify as liquids. 

I keep my travel beauty bag packed all the time, replacing the items I've used up during travelling immediately after coming home. That way I don't need to waste time packing it again each time. I just grab the bag, add or take away something according to the destination (suncream, bigger/better perfume and so on) and am good to go.

I hope this post may be helpful for the summer trips to come. Would you love a travelling makeup post too?

Yours Truly,
Tolmu Rull

For my lovely Estonian ladies:

Ülalpool on üles loetud, mis oli minu kosmeetikakotis sellekevadistel reisidel. Päris palju asju, kuid kõik mahtusid käsipagasiga reisimisel nõuetekohasesse liitrisuurusesse läbipaistvasse kotikesse. Nagu näete, siis on mul lennujaama plastkottide asemel oma kena kotike, mille juba kodus valmis pakin, et turvakontrollist läbi libiseda kui nuga võist. Kaasa võtan võimalusel tootenäidised (loomulikult need, mille sobivuses olen veendunud!) või siis pakin lemmiktooted pisikestesse pudelitesse ümber. Soovitan neid nippe teilegi!

Siiralt teie,
Tolmu Rull