MAX FACTOR Max Effect Nail Polish in Ivory Swatch and Review

Max Factor Max Effect Nail polish comes in a small 6ml bottle and it retails for around $5.

It seems that this shade is quite popular, as I can think of several shades from the same family that were launched this summer.

The shade Ivory looks more golden-like. It is pale warm champagne with metallic shimmer. It reminds me of Illamasqua Swinger, Chanel Diwali or Revlon Gold Coin. Max Factor Ivory is the warmest of the bunch and not streaky at all.

The polish is not completely opaque, although it is possible to get away with only one coat. The consistency is slightly runny, but I can work with it.

I don’t comment on how long the nail polish wears since without the base and top coat on my nails every polish lasts for a day or two. Naturally, top and base coat can prolong the wear up to 5 days.

My NAIL POLISH Collection

 

I have been away for several days, so to make it up, I have decided to show you my steadily growing nail polish collection (which should have been posted with my make-up collection a couple of months ago).

As I’ve caught myself many times wanting the polishes which are practically dupe of some other polish I have, I found some time and took photos of the polishes in my collection which I have sorted according to colour.

I can already see the benefits, as I have slowly composed the list of the shades I need to have.

I wanted to add the links to the polishes I’ve already swatches, but the computer I’m currently using is incredibly slow (and it is adsl). I can’t believe that my blog logs faster on dial-up connection.

 

So, here’s the collection (names are from left to right):

 

The first picture in the post contain some of my pinks:

Chanel Morning Rose, Inglot 343, Chanel Marilyn, Catrice Raspberry Fields Forever, YSL 19, Catrice Big Spender Wanted, YSL Rose Lunaire

 

 

White and berry

Inglot 202, Rimmel French Ivory, YSL 12; Catrice Let’s Talk About Barrie, YSL Rose Pourpre

 

Light Pink

Catrice Just Married, Sephora Pink Agate, YSL Perle Rose, Catrice Miss Piggy Reloaded, Bourjois 14, Chanel Rose Cache, Bourjois Beige Glamour

 

Oranges, Coral, Red

Catrice Salmon & Garfunkel, Catrice Pimp My Shrimp, Max Factor Diva Coral, Catrice Bloody Mary To Go, Golden Rose Classics (I don’t know the shade number)

 

Reds

Catrice Marilyn & Me, L.A. Girl Garnet, Catrice Caught on the Red Carpet, Max Factor Ruby Fruit

 

Purple

Catrice Let’s Mauve On, Catrice Plum Play With Me, Max Factor Fantasy Fire, Carla Cosmetics (I don’t know the shade name), Catrice Iron Mermaiden

 

Taupe and Black

Max Factor Cappuccino, Catrice Clay-Ton My Hero, Catrice Lost in Mud, Catrice Captain Sparrow’s Boat

 

Gold and Silver

Max Factor Ivory, Chanel Gold Shimmer, Catrice In The Bronx, Inglot 207, Look by Bipa Metallic Hologram, Golden Rose 69

 

Green

Catrice Sold Out Forever, Look by Bipa Green Changer, Catrice After Eight

 

Blue

Illamasqua Rain Drops, Deborah 56, Sephora Bleu Sapphire, Catrice (from one L.E, l don’t know the shade name).

—–

 

The following shades are on my wishlist:

dark blue (something like Chanel Blue Satin)

crème turquoise (like Chanel Riva or one of Max Factor minis)

non opaque jelly pastel yellow

black

medium dark grey

purple – like Chanel Paradoxal (or Rimmel dupe)

medium dark forrest green

bright orange (like that from Dior 2011 summer collection – I think it was named Aloha)

orange red (like Catrice Fred Said Red)

dark chocolate brown

lilac pink (like Chanel Lilac Sky or Rodeo Drive)

berry pink (like Chanel Gondola)

Thank you for reading

 

 

MAX FACTOR Max Effect Mini Nail Polish in Cappuccino Swatch and Review

Max Factor Max Effect Mini nail polish retail for around $5 (I got it on sale for $4). The bottle doesn’t say how much of the product there is, but I suppose it contains around 6 ml.

Cappuccino is a light creamy  taupe shade which has a bit of lavender in it. To me it looks like a mixture of Chanel Le Vernis in Frenzy, although Frenzy is a bit less purple and ; and Chanel Le Vernis in Particuliere (the polish that started the taupe craze, a bit darker than Cappuccino and more brown).

The polish has a good coverage, but I prefer to use two coats, just to be on the safe side.

The polish isn’t streaky.

I do not comment on the wear, since all nail polishes last for a day or two on my nails without the top coat.

BOURJOIS, DECLARE, EVELINE and MAX FACTOR Haul

Another bunch of items . Of course, nail polishes were not necessary, but I couldn’t resist them since they were on sale.

Sisley Foaming Exfoliator reminded me to another amazing product: Eveline Anti Cellulite Body Scrub/Shower Gel. I have used it a couple of years ago and I don’t realize why I have stopped it.

I also got myself a cellulose bathing spoonge. Currently I’m using a natural spoonge from the sea, but I have wanted something a bit harsher for a light exfoliation.

The nail polishes (from l to r):

Max Factor Max Effect Mini nail polish Fantasy Fire

Max Factor Max Effect Mini nail polish Cappuccino

Max Factor Max Effect Mini nail polish Ivory

Max Factor Max Effect Mini nail polish Diva Coral

Bourjois So Laque in Beige Glamour.

Oh, and I have almost forgotten Declaré moisturizer (not on the photo). This brand has been available in Croatia for quite some time, but I have always ignored the counter. Several days ago I saw the package of one cream which reminded me of Sisley Sisleya creams. That was enogut for me to stop and study the brand a bit more. Basically, they are formulated for sensitive skin, not too expensive (the majority of the prices vary from $25-$50, although there are some more expensive products). I already have goten my eyes set on a pore minimizing serum (don’t remember the exact name)

Anyway, I caught the sight of several travel size moisturizers which come in small 15ml jars. This amount will be more than enough for me to test it.

For a start I have bought a travel size of Hydro Energy cream (costs around $8).The ingredients seem ok and I can’t wait to spend Bioderma to try this one instead.

Thank you for reading.

Project 10 Pans and Sample Challenge Update #4

It’s been ages from my last update. I can’t believe it took me so long to finally spend all of these products. However, I haven’t been as disciplined when it comes to the new purchases. I’ve got several nailpolishes and a primer. I’m also planning on a foundation purchase (even thought I have half a bottle of Clarins Everlasting and half a bottle of Dior Airflash) if the foundation I’m currently testing proves it is worth it.

Here are the original posts: Project 10 Pans, Sample Challenge

My Stash: Nail Polish

Voila the final part of my stash: the nail polishes. I wasn’t a great nail polish lover, but being involved in beauty community has certainly opened my eyes.

My Stash: Eyeshadows, Mascaras and Eyeliners

We have finally arrived to my favourite part: eyeshadows. I think that if I’d stop to buy eyeshadows today, I’d still have enough to last me a lifetime.

As for the eyeliners, I’m not a great collector. I prefer black, but here and there I use colour eyeliners.

My Stash: Foundations and Powders

When it comes to the foundations and powders, I’m still having control over it. I have three foundations, plus several 5ml samples, and 4 powders. Although I’d be happy if I could only have one of each, I don’t believe this is over the top.

Foundation Swatches

(click on the picture to enlarge it)

I’ve been a bit bored today so I’ve decided to swatch most of the foundations I have. For reference, the skin of my arm is currently NC20.

The swatches are (from left to right):

GIVENCHY Photo’Perfexion Light in shade #4 – you can see that the foundation oxidizes and turns into darker orange shade as it dries

LANCOME Effacernes concealer in Beige Pastel (yes, I know that this isn’t a foundation, but it is here because of the colour reference as this shade is the exact shade as my face is)

MAX FACTOR Second Skin Foundation in #70 – it is scary how pink it looks

LANCOME Teint Miracle #03

CLARINS Everlasting Foundation #103

GIVENCHY Photo’Perfexion #4

GIVENCHY Photo Perfexion #6

Project 10 Pans: Update #1

As most of you probably know, not long ago I’ve started my Project 10 pans, which will help me to finally spend some of the items that I’ve been keeping half-spent in my stash for years (I think that the oldest item is Guerlain Kiss Kiss Maxi Shine lipstick, which is over 5 years old, and surprisingly, even now it is the same as it was the day I bought it – it didn’t changed the texture or the smell).

The list of all the items I’m planning to spend can be found here:

Make-up

Skincare

Bodycare

Today, I reporting on my first two weeks of the project.

Project 10 Pans: Part 1 – Make-Up

I’m sure that many of you have heard for Project 10 Pans. It is a less radical version of no-buy, where you are not allowed to purchase anything new until you have spent 10 products from your stash.

Yesterday, I’ve been organizing my stash and found tons of items that are almost finished and which are only wasting space. I’ve decided that it is a high time for me to get rid of those items, so I’ve started my own Project 10 Pans (or in my version Project 42 Pans) in which I’m hoping to finally spend all of these products (and to save some money, of course, because I’ve got my eye on Dior Summer collection).

In the past, I’ve been starting such a project, but soon I would cave in and the project would fail. This time I’ve decided to post about the project on-line, hoping that it will force me to stick with it.

I’ve formed these rules:

    – I’m allowed to buy only essential items at any time (such as a moisturizer, a foundation, a cleanser or a mascara)

    – after I spend first 8 products, I’m allowed to purchase only one thing, as a reward for myself (luckily for me, many of the products are sample of GWP size, so it shouldn’t be too hard)

Plus several additional rules:

    – I’ll stop carrying all my credit cards with me

    – the amount of cash I’m carrying with me must not be enough to get any make-up item

This post features the first part of my project which concerns make-up. I’ve only put one eyeshadow palette in this project, as it would be impossible to spend even half of mine eyeshadows.

I’m including links for:

Part 2 – skincare

Part 3 – hair and bodycare

MAX FACTOR Kohl Pencil #020 Black Review and Swatch

I’ve received a mini size of Max Factor Kohl pencil with a mascara. My Dior eyeliner is almost finished, so I’ve decided to test the pencil hoping to find the same quality for much less (especially after I have read the article on Beauty and the Bullshit blog).

The colour of this pencil is not very intense black (it looks more like a really dark brown), but it is good for a day-time look. The pencil stays on for the whole day. On the upper lash line the pencil doesn’t smudge easily, but I don’t know how it would work on the waterline (I only wear pencils on the upper lash line).

What I hate about this pencil is that it is very hard and I prefer them soft. I need to press the pencil in order to get a decent amount of colour and it often irritates my eyes.

Even though this pencil didn’t impress me enough to purchase the full-size, it is still a decent eyeliner, especially if you prefer harder pencils.

Overall:

MAX FACTOR Masterpiece Mascara Review

I haven’t tried many silicone brush mascaras. Before Masterpiece, I’ve tried Oriflame Wonderlash mascara (excellent) and Max Factor False Lash Effect (horrible). I’ve picked Masterpiece because the brush is very similar to Chanel Inimitable and I wanted to see how such brush works on my lashes before shelling out $40 for Chanel.

I have the black colour, which is a regular black – it is not very deep, but neither greyish. Mascara never smudges and it doesn’t flakes. There is very little of product in the tube- only 4,5 ml, which makes it pretty expensive for a drugstore mascara (it retails around 12 euros).

Masterpiece brush has a lot of silicone bristles, which are excellent in defining lashes. This means that mascara doesn’t clumps and if I apply Masterpiece, I never have to comb the lashes.

It is also great for the lengthening – my lashes seem much longer if I use this mascara.

However, do not expect a lot of volume. The swatches are made with only one coat of mascara, but even putting three coats didn’t help much in the volume department.

As for the curling, my lashes have a natural curl, so I don’t curl them. This mascara didn’t weight down the natural curl.

What I really hate with this mascara, and I’ve had the same problem with False Lashes Effect, is that the mascara formula feels heavy on the lashes. It seems that something in the formula of their newer mascaras bothers me, because I don’t have that problem with 2000 Calorie mascara. It is very uncomfortable, especially if I wear the mascara for the whole day, because my lashes seem very heavy (and there is only one coat of mascara on). Whenever I wear it, I cannot wait to remove it. This makes me not wanting to purchase it and I’d rather take Chanel next time (by the way, Chanel seems to have a new mascara: Sublime de Chanel)

Summary: Excellent lengthening and defining mascara, but not so good in volumizing.

Overall:

MAX FACTOR Vibrant Curve Effect Lipgloss #14 Majeste Review

I’ve got a mini size of this in Max Factor set. The mini size has 4,5 ml,but the full size packaging is bigger.

The gloss has melon scent. I don’t mind it, but it might bother some persons. The texture is surprisingly good, the lipgloss isn’t sticky, although it feels a little heavy on the lips.

I especially like the applicator which has a slightly concave shape, so it really fits the shape of the lips.

The shade #14 Majeste is bronze with tiny glitter. Unfortunately, this shade isn’t pigmented at all. I have pigmented lips, so this might be a part of the problem, but when I put it on, it seems as if I’ve put on just some clear lipgloss. I don’t have a problem with that, as the effect is very nice – it is not very glossy (don’t expect water shine effect), but it gives a subtle natural shine; but if you think you’re going to get the shade in the tube, you’re wrong.

The lipgloss isn’t very longlasting – it lasts for half an hour max.

In general, I’m disappointed with this gloss. for a gloss which promises glossiness and pigmentation, it certainly fails to deliver on both counts.

Overall impression:

MAX FACTOR Haul

 

This is my recent haul from Max Factor.

The set contains:

Masterpiece mascara in Black (full size)

Vibrant Curve Effect lip-gloss in #14 Majeste (mini size)

Nailfinity nail polish in #900 Ruby Fruit (mini size)

Second Skin Foundation in #70 Natural (mini size)

Kohl Pencil in Black (mini size)

———-

I’m planning to purchase Chanel Inimitable mascara, but I’m not willing to shell out $30, since I’ve never used mascaras with such a  brush. I’ve noticed that many compare Max Factor Masterpiece mascara with Chanel’s, so I’ve decided to check a cheaper version.