12th January, 2012
I always buy my nail polish remover at Kruidvat. I usually get a big bottle of their non-acetone formula for nail tips and a regular bottle with acetone for normal use. When it was time to buy some new bottles I saw this bottle of remover with a pump. I bought an almost identical bottle a while ago but it was really flimsy and the pump leaked so it ended up at the back of my Helmer drawer. I was really sad it didn’t work any more because, while it did work, I was absolutely in love with it! I decided to give this one a go as well, I really didn’t want to give up on remover pump bottles!
This pump definitely seems a lot better in quality than the previous one I tried. It feels a lot less flimsy and the cap closes properly unlike the other one I have. I’ve tried it several times and it works really great! You simply grab a cotton pad and push down on the pump which then releases the perfect amount of polish remover onto your pad. Easy!
However, the non-acetone remover that’s inside the bottle is very heavily scented with what I can only describe as headache-in-a-bottle 
. It’s a really strong perfume that is just really not my cup of tea. The formula itself I have no issues with, it removes polish like other non-acetone remover I tried but it left my nails reeking of perfume for hours. Even after washing my hands and generously smearing lotion on them. I really cannot use it… What a waste!
When I let my mum smell my fingers she absolutely loved the perfume! What?! Just goes to show how personal tastes are. I like my remover to have a subtle scent that isn’t too overpowering which I think this is. I’m going to pour the remover in a different bottle for my mum to use, wash it out and refill with something I do like. Saved by my mother!
The bottle is quite pricey compared to their other removers since you mainly pay for packaging. It was €2,99 I believe for a bottle of 175ml.
What sort of remover do you like to use? Do you get acetone or non-acetone formula? Do you go for the cheapest remover you can find or don’t you mind paying a bit more? Let me know!
14th October, 2011
I hauled these polishes a few weeks ago but never got around to posting them. Most of them are part of the new core range of Essence and Catrice.
From left to right and top to bottom:
- Essence Nail Art Cracking Top Coat in Crack Me Blue
- Essence Colour & Go in Be Optimistic
- Essence Colour & Go in Make It Golden
- Essence Colour & Go in Blue Addicted
- Catrice in After Eight
- Catrice in Marilyn & Me
- Catrice in Rusty But Sexy
- Catrice in Bye, Bye Birdy
- Catrice in Jade Is Not My Name
- Catrice in It’s Rambo No.5
From left to right: Marilyn & me, Be Optimistic, Rusty But Sexy, Make It Golden, Bye Bye Birdy, It’s Rambo No.5, Jade Is Not My Name, After Eight, Blue Addicted and Crack Me Blue over Gosh Lavender Love.
I love the combination of Gosh Lavender Love and the Essence Crack Me Blue crackle. Even though I’m not hugely excited by crackle polishes I really like how these two look together. Essence Blue Addicted is really nice as well, it’s a close dupe of Deborah Lippmann Across The Universe. I accidentally bought two very similar colours, the rusty oranges. Neither of them look good on me so they were definitely a fail! I think Catrice Marilyn & Me might be based on China Glaze Ruby Pumps, I’m not sure it’s a dupe but in the bottle it looked similar. Overall really nice colours, I love Catrice Jade Is Not My Name but I wish they wouldn’t have replaced it with my all time favourite, Sold Out For Ever. Sad times! 
Did you buy anything from the new colours? Let me know in the comments below!
15th August, 2011
It’s been a while since I posted a haul. Mainly since I don’t haul a lot any more. I already have most of the stuff I need, definitely where nail polish is concerned anyway. That’s why I tend to not go wild in the nail polish isle anymore. Though lately there’s been a few interesting limited editions going on and a lot of Essence’s and Catrice’s products are being removed from the core line at 50% off so I saw my chance to grab some items!
I don’t remember the exact prices of all the items, most of them were between €0,90 and €3,45.
Essence Studio Nails remover – Kruidvat Nail Polish Remover – Essence 6 in 1 buffer file – Essence Dotting Tool – Catrice Crystal Clear Glossy Stick in Bird of Paradise (from the Papagena LE)
How awesome is that lipstick! It’s actually a lipbalm in the shape of a lipstick, it looks really pretty so I couldn’t pass it up.
Essence Studio Nails Base Sealer – Essence Studio Nails Top Sealer – Essence Grand-Plié in Black (from the Ballerina Backstage LE) – Essence Do A Floating Pirouette (from the Ballerina Backstage LE) – Essence Magic Wand – Essence Hex Hex
I highly recommend the Essence studio nails top sealer. It’s similar to Seche Vite since it also eliminates bumps and gives a glossy shine. It’s not exactly the same but definitely one of the best drugstore topcoats I have tried.
The Essence Ballerina Backstage polishes were so cute! The black has orange shimmer in it which is really unique, the raspberry shade is less unique but I just loved the lace print bottles. I also got the lace hair band but forgot to include it in my pictures.
Essence Spicy – Essence Absolutely Stylish – Catrice Welcome To The Jungle (from the Papagena LE) – Catrice Enter The Undergrowth (from the Papagena LE) – Catrice Sold Out Forever
They are removing Sold Out Forever from the core line! I’m very disappointed since it’s my favourite Catrice shade. It seems that it really WILL be sold out forever. Sad times! Spicy and Absolutely Stylish are very similar which I only saw when I got home. Oops! Though Absolutely Stylish does have some hidden turquoise shimmer which is very pretty.
The Catrice Papagena LE was very nice I thought. I loved the blush sticks as well but colour pay-off was very bad so I decided to leave them. The new Modern Muse collection isn’t my cup of tea at all so I didn’t get any of that.
Gosh Lavender Love – Essence Blue Ray (from the Holografics LE) – Essence Cool And The Gang – Essence Mystic Mermaid – Essence White Crackle
I usually don’t buy Gosh since I find them way too pricey (€6,99) but this one was 50% off. I really hate the “special edition” lettering at the front but the cap is gorgeous. The Essence Holografics collection was a bit of a joke since the polishes were all duochrome and not holographic at all. The shade I picked up was the only one worth the while, it looks quite pretty in the bottle but is somewhat unremarkable on the nails. I also managed to find the white crackle which I was very excited about.
These are four Essence S.O.S. Nail Glue bottles I found in the discount basket. I already bought a back-up of this in Rotterdam but since I won’t ever be able to buy this again I stocked up and grabbed all the ones I could find. It’s my favourite glue for just about anything. It’s primary use is fixing broken nails and I have to say it does that incredibly well. It’s also great for sticking on rhinestones, glitter and beads.
Did you get any of the clearance items or items from the new limited editions? Let me know in the comments below!
7th March, 2011
As I mentioned yesterday on my twitter I have exciting news for Belgian (and Dutch) Budget Beauty lovers! Kruidvat stores will be gaining a new brand, fresh from the United States of America called N.Y.C., short for New York Color! It should be arriving VERY soon, either this month or next! I have read that only the major stores will be stocking it for now and I’m not 100% certain Belgian Kruidvat stores will be getting N.Y.C. too, but I am hopeful we will. Fingers crossed everyone!
And more exciting news! Our favourite budget brand Catrice is changing their permanent line! About 10-15 of their regular Ultimate Nail Lacquers will be disappearing and lots of exciting brand new colours will be added! And don’t worry, the colours that will be disappearing are (to my opinion at least) the less interesting ones. Primarily a few of the ones that didn’t have such a great formula such as Don’t Feed The Birds which was very sheer and some of the pinks and reds won’t make the cut either. Take a look at what Catrice has in store for us:
Raspberryfields Forever – Just Berried! – Forget-Me-Not – Purplelized
Dirty Berry – Pool Party At Night – Blue Cara Ciao – Sir! Yes, Sir!
Miss Piggy Reloaded – Snow Motion! – Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy! – Bye, Bye Birdy!
Apropos Apricot – Up In The Air – Am I Blue Or Green? – Iron Mermaiden (holographic? duochrome?)
Sand Francisco – In The Bronx – I Wear My Sunglasses At Night
Catrice Quick Dry & High Shine topcoat – Catrice Prismatic Effects topcoat
They will also be adding 6 nudes to the core collection, they will have a white cap instead of a black one and will be called Ultimate Nudes. All Ultimate Nail Lacquers, Topcoats and Ultimate Nudes will retail for €2,49. Great quality at amazing prices! I for one can’t wait to see all these colours, especially the pastels, blues and greens. And we don’t have to wait around for very long to see them either, my sources tell me that we might see these new colours in Kruidvat stores this week!!!
Also, how cute are the new names! I really love it when brands take the time to come up with interesting and fun names for their products. Who remembers numbers? No one… We remember the quirky & cute names! My favourite names are: Apropos Apricot and Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy!
Catrice does it again!
10th October, 2010
I made a quick hop into Etos, Kruidvat and H&M for a nail polish fix! I have to feed my addiction, obviously…
I read on misslipgloss that Etos’ eyeshadowbase is very comparable to Urban Decay Primer Potion (which I’ve been wanting for ages but haven’t got round to buying; there’s no Sephora in Belgium you see…) so I decided to pick it up as it was only €3,50. I’ll be posting a review once I’ve played around with it enough. I have tried it once so far but didn’t seem very impressed but I’ll do some more thorough testing soon. I’ll let you girls know if it’s any good!
I also went to Kruidvat to look for the colour In the Jungle, an Essence “Show Your Feet” polish but I didn’t seem to find it unfortunately. However whilst I was there I saw that they were having a buy 2 get 1 free action so I decided to pick up a few other polishes instead. I’ve never been a huge fan of Essence I have to admit, their polishes stain so bad! Anyway, I decided to give them another go and picked up a matte top coat, despite not being a fan of matte polish I thought it might come in handy for nail art. I also picked up a lime green called Lime Up! for my mum as it’s her favourite colour, and a teal called Trendsetter.
The other two are from H&M. I went shopping in Antwerp with the boys, i.e. my boyfriend and his brother. I desperately need a new winter coat but didn’t find one I liked so I picked up some nail polish. I couldn’t help myself! I’ve been wanting that blue for ages, it’s called Blue My mind. Of course I had to buy some more “old rose” colours like that one from Guerlain I loved so much, this one is called Get a Rose 4 Me.
Does anyone know why H&M has like 5 different shapes of nail polish bottles? I really don’t get why they keep changing them!
Here are my swatches! From left to right: Essence Lime Up!, Essence Trendsetter, H&M Blue My Mind, Essence Matte topcoat over H&M Blue My Mind and H&M Get a Rose 4 Me.
Get a Rose 4 Me. *adore*
However BEWARE. I’ve never come across a worse formula in my life, these are soooo incredibly thick and gloopy and don’t dry quickly at all, it’s almost as if they’re a few years old. They are a nightmare honestly, it makes me so sad because they always have amazing colours. The brush isn’t worth much either. Adding polish thinner to these is the only way you can make them work.
Blue My Mind. It’s such a vibrant electric blue! It’s amazing. Same story with this one though, I’ve never had such a hard time painting my nails, I felt like crying. I’m kinda torn apart by these polishes, on one hand I love the colours but the formula is plain bad. They were €3,95 which isn’t a lot of money but I’d expect a decent quality for it, seeing as Catrice polishes are so amazing for €1,50 less.
8th May, 2010
Here it is, my first nail look of the Catrice bunch, my favourite from the collection: Sold Out Forever.
It’s a famous Chanel Jade dupe, dupe meaning duplicate. Last season all of the girls on the Chanel runways wore this amazing mint green colour on their nails. Since then lots of brands have come out with a duplicate of that colour, lots of famous american brands that are hard to get in Belgium, not much use to us unfortunately! I have seen no drugstore alternative since this one so I was really excited when I found out about it.
I really love the coverage, after just two coats it looks flawless. So far we’re day two and no chips to be found, for just €2,50 it really is a must-buy. I’m hooked!
Chanel Jade
4th May, 2010
“Tonight I’m not taking no calls cause I’ll be dancing!”
It’s been out for a few weeks now, the new Lady Gaga video, Telephone. I’ve been madly in love with it ever since I first saw it, it’s a piece of art. Lady Gaga is my one weakness, I just love her catchy songs and her over the top wardrobe. It’s a breath of fresh air to finally see something else than skimpy booty-shaking bimbos on the telly. I hated her on her first Friday Night with Jonathan Ross appearance, she is a bit full of herself but I just can’t help dancing to her tunes.
One of the things that immediately caught my eye in the telephone video (besides the obvious) was Beyoncé’s make-up in the petrol station scene. It looks absolutely stunning!
This morning I felt like recreating it myself. One of the reasons it looks so stunning is because of Beyoncé’s chocolate brown skin, sadly I don’t have a dark skin like hers otherwise I’d have looked even better!
I added a few false lashes to dramatize the look even more, (I found them in a discount basket at Kruidvat) though they’re a bit too dramatic for a day look, I’d really love some more natural looking lashes though haven’t got the budget to spend, if anyone knows some great inexpensive lashes let me know!
I used a liquid liner pencil by Manhattan and the yellow eyeshadow in my 88 palette. A fun tip to make your colours more vibrant, try to wet your brushes first! It helps a little bit. You can also use mixing medium, I believe MAC has this but you can also make some yourself, I’d love to try it but you need cosmetic glycerine, I’ve no idea where to find some, should look around in Holland at a chemist’s maybe. I’ll let you know if I find any and if it works.
4th March, 2010
Went to the small town of Hulst in the Netherlands today, it’s only a five minute drive away from my house, as you know I live right on the border of Belgium and the Netherlands. Hulst is a small town but it’s got a busy shopping street, it’s open on Sunday so a lot of Belgians go there on Sunday, it’s always very busy then. There’s only a small range of shops there, so I don’t see why it attracts so much people, but it’s a very nice town and quite idyllic really.
I went to Kruidvat and Hema cause I needed a few things, amongst which I wanted a moisturiser or a daycream for young skin, but I didn’t want do spend €50 for a cream so wanted to find a drugstore alternative. I read somewhere that Hema has a few good daycreams, I thought I’d go and take a look. I was amazed at the range of products they had, there’s a huge range of day and night creams, for wrinkles, dry skin, sensitive skin, combination or oily skin. I only wanted to buy one if it had SPF factor, cause protecting yourself from the sun is very important for your skin. I eventually bought a soothing sensitive skin day cream with SPF 6, it smells really fresh and it makes my skin feel really soft.
Matte plastic packaging, it looks okay I think, I like the minty green. At €4,95, it’s really cheap, but I’m loving the texture, smell and overall how it makes my face feel, and it’s got SPF factor, what more can you ask for?
I also bought this GOSH lipstick, my never-ending frustration is the fact that whatever I do, I just don’t look good in red lipstick. Now I figured, I’ll just find a nice nude lipstick, cause I love the way nude lips look and it’s the only colour I can pull off without looking like a clown. This is the much raved about GOSH 134 Darling lipstick, it’s the best drugstore nude lipstick out there, it retails for €7,99 at Kruidvat.
Okay so here comes a lipswatch, I don’t like lipswatches at all, they always look a bit weird. Anyway, I wanted to show you so here’s Gosh Darling, the top image is without any lipstick on, the bottom is with lipstick.
It’s very subtle, a nice light pink tone. It’s a very creamy lipstick but it feels soft on your lips and not sticky at all. Thumbs up!
17th January, 2010
I used image plate M57 and a wonderful deep blue nail polish by Essence for this look, I can really recommend it to anyone, it’s specifically designed for your feet as it’s antibacterial but it works perfect for your nails too. I have the colours 02 Deep blue sea (used here), 06 Juicy Orange, 01 Caribbean Sea and 03 Purple Magic. The current collection only has 8 colours, but they’re all bright and lovely! It’s my favourite cheap nail polish at the moment, it stays on for quite some time and it’s got great coverage. You can buy it at Kruidvat shops.
