New in #145 – Mateja’s Beauty Blog

January 15, 2026

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REVLON Illuminance Serum Tint SPF 15

This isn’t that new, but it started being sold in to Slovenia and Croatia recently. Revlon has a foundation and a liquid blush in this range too, but the only opted for this tinted moisturiser. It’s more of a foundation in terms of coverage, as it’s got light or maybe even light-medium level of coverage, however, it’s Revlon’s lowest coverage product I’ve tried, since their more famous ColorStay range has medium-full coverage formulas. Serum Tint is also their most suitable foundation for my dry skin and it has a glow that on me lasts for hours. Formula is lightweight, similar to formulas like Maybelline Fit Me and I find it’s best to blend it with a sponge as with fingers it didn’t look that great on me. It doesn’t really set, so for most powder will be needed – I powder it now in the summer, otherwise only in some parts. It tends to slip into lines, which is my only real minus at this formula, but I just put some powder over those areas and keeps it in place better. I’ve never been much of a fan of Revlon’s base formulas because what we have here is all matte, but this is finally something I can get along with. It looks fresh and radiant, plus it looks more natural than their ColorStay formulas on my dry skin. It’s a shame they didn’t opt for an SPF 50 in this formula, that would make it brilliant. We have 8 shades. By the way I read in some reviews this looks matte and paste-y on them, but my experience it quite different.

L’OREAL PARIS True Match Radiant Serum Concealer

A (supposedly) hydrating concealer with hyaluronic acid and caffeine. I’ve been eyeing this for a while and I tested it a few times in the shop, but I was still surprised when I tried it on my face at home how it’s very different than what I thought it is. It’s not a particularly hydrating formula, instead it’s a pretty basic matte concealer on me, very similar to Catrice’s Liquid Camouflage. As soon as I start blending this, it’s not as smooth as more hydrating formulas are on me. I’m disappointed, but such matte concealers tend to be popular – to be fair this probably doesn’t look as matte on others than on me and it’s less dry-looking than their Infallible More than Concealer. Coverage is medium to full. The applicator is a nice shape to use under the eyes and it reminds me of Revlon Candid concealer.

No powder vs. with powder

CATRICE Loose Powder Bright & Blur

010 Soft Pink

I’ve already reviewed the Essence triple shade loose powder Flawless Skin Trio, while this one is just pink and it also promises to blur and brighten. It’s basic loose powder – ok for the price, but it doesn’t brighten or look any different on me than most other powders. If I apply it too thick the rose tint is visible and it doesn’t look well since it’s darker than my skin, so this likely looks more brightening on deeper skin tones. It mattifies medium well, a subtle glow from my glowy foundations and SPFs is still visible.

ESSENCE Quick Wing! Stamp Eyeliner

01 black

I thought this will be just a gimmick, but that wing stamp is actually useful. It doesn’t always stamp the sharpest tip, but the general shape is good and you can easily make it sharper with the tip one the other side. The tip is quite large, I wish they used the one from their 24 Ever Ink Liner, but I can line my eyes ok with this one too. The liner is intensely black and for now saturated with colour, but it’s not as fluid as their 24 Ever Ink. My main complaint about this one is the staying power isn’t that great. Essence has made better liners, but this one often fades before the end of the day. I tend to combine this one with Catrice’s liquid eyeliner, meaning I use this one as a guide, so I get an even flick on both sides and then finish the line with Catrice on the top lash line.

TREND !T UP Shine & Click Gloss in a Stick

030 Light Pink

This is very similar to Essence’s Juicy Bomb Glossy Butter Balm. It’s got a very glossy look on the lips and it feels so pleasantly moisturising. It has a bit of a tingly feeling, which I always find unnecessary in lip products since it has no plumping effect, but it’s very mild at this one. I has a fruity scent. 030

Light Pink is a very wearable warm pink shade.

ALVERDE NATURKOSMETIK Creamy eyeshadow and highlighter 2-in-1

10 Champagner

This didn’t end up as good as I saw on swatches and Tik Tok. Texture is creamy-greasy, instead of the more common silicone creamy eyeshadow, so this isn’t a great formula to use on the eyes, but I didn’t get it for that anyway, I got it as a highlighter. It’s much weaker than I expected. I can’t really see it on top of my foundations – I wear glowy, moisturising formulas, so this is quite a natural highlighter. It likely looks better on top of matte foundations, but it’s still more like using a thin coat of vaseline or a lip balm as a highlighter instead of having a proper glow with fine shimmer.

LABELLO Caring Beauty Lip & Cheek 3-in-1 SPF 30

Rose

I have the red version, which is quite intensely tinted and I bought pink version before that as well, so I’ve actually been preferring the more subtle Snow White version. This colour is more suitable for daily makeup and it works great on the lips and cheeks, plus it has an SPF. It’s similar to Melem’s Dreamy Rose shade, but it’s less peachy and I like it more. It’s light warm pink, on the lips it needs a few swipes for a medium opaque look while on the cheeks it’s a soft pink that doesn’t need much building on my pale complexion. Since it’s has SPF the taste can at times be bitter. It’s a nice product to carry in the bag for a quick makeup.

ESSENCE Juicy Bomb Glossy Butter Balm

06 – Wake Me Up Before You Coco

I have this in shade Pitaya, a cool pink, which is bright for my taste, but I like the soft, buttery and moisturising texture, so I got the clear version, since all the rest of the shades don’t appeal to me (green, lavender, orange-watermelon and brown). These have a nice glossy shine and tend to stick on the lips quite well, so I use this as a regular lip balm. These aren’t retractable, so you only have to twist up as much amount as you think you’ll need. This scent isn’t my favourite, it’s coconuty, but I’d prefer it a bit sweeter, though I got used to it and barely notice it now

LABELLO Lip Balm

Cherry Apple Snow White

There’s a bunch of these Disney princess versions of these fruity scented lip balms, among them Moana and Belle. Snow White doesn’t really smell like cherry or apple, it’s just sort of odd fruity. It’s not their best scent, to be honest. The tint is much weaker than it their other lip balms I’ve tried. It needs a lot of building up to get the colour going, but it gives a nice gentle reddish hue to the lips. I’ve been wearing this one a lot, as the shade is flattering on my pale skin.

ESSENCE Extreme Gel Top Coat

Someone recommended me this as a good fast drying top coat. I like it. It’s as good as Catrice’s Quick Dry Top coat and a very decent, much cheaper replacement for my long-time favourite Seche Vite.

CATRICE Caffeine Kick Under Eye Serum

An eye serum with ferments, caffeine, niacinamide, avocado oil, apricot oil, squlane and hyaluronic acid. Instead of the classic one metal ball, it has three small one and there is no difference in the feeling. It’s a gel texture that pleasantly cooling under the eyes.

SUN DANCE Invisible Protect Sun Spray SPF 50

This is feather-light – it’s so light I’m not even sure where I applied it. Because of that I don’t feel too comfortable using this on its own because I have no idea how much I applied it. On bare skin, it leaves a bit of shine on the skin and it feels almost dry to the touch, however, over makeup the shine is stronger. Admittedly my makeup is mostly SPF + glowy foundation with SPF + some powder, so the base is somewhat glowy to begin with, but this does have a gentle oily feeling (usual for SPFs). Also just like at Garnier one I had before, it makes the lashes greasy, so my glasses are constantly smudgy, though
admittedly at Sundance it’s more bearable. It has a chemical scent.

NIVEA SUN Protect & Moisture Invisible Finish SPF 50+

I want a light body sunscreen because the stickiness is making me not wear them as much as I should. I went with this one and it’s not as light as I hoped, but decent. Compared to my usual Sun Dance milk that I use for body this is less sticky and less greasy, but it’s not ultra light. I’ve been using this one pretty regularly on my face as well and it’s got a medium level of glow, so it needs powder or a mineral foundation over it, but I’ve been going without too. It doesn’t irritate my eyes, it can peel (but that’s more because I wear layers of skin care), it doesn’t feel greasy to the touch, just a bit tacky and it has the Nivea scent. I had no problems reapplying this on the body. I wish it were more “invisible”, but as far as body
sunscreens go, it’s ok, least greasy-feeling so far.

SUN DANCE Clear Skin+ Sonnenschutzserum SPF 50+

I buy this almost every year. It’s an affordable gold standard, a basic “beach SPF”, though not maybe not the most comfortable formula, but their spray version, which I wanted this year instead, became expensive. It protects well, it needs some more intense blending to avoid a white cast and it has the lovely Sun Dance scent.

SUN DANCE Sun Lotion SPF 50+

I got this as a cheap spare and I keep it by the sink, so anyone can use it. This is shockingly the shiniest SPF I have tried in years. It stays shiny all day, however, it is dry to the touch. Texture is very light, a liquid lotion and you can apply a lot of it, that’s why it’s even more surprising it looks so shiny without feeling greasy. It doesn’t irritate my eyes and it’s scent free, but this is not a formula I’ll ever repurchase. It has 5% Niacinamide and 2% Inulin.

ALVERDE Hair Serum Scalp Balance

Haarserum Kopfhaut Balance

A moisturising, calming product for the scalp. It’s meant to be washed off, but I don’t see a point in that, I plan to just apply it as often as I can remember and wash my hair when needed. It has aloe vera high on the list and unlike a lot of scalp products no alcohol. The texture is heavier than similar such products, it’s the lack of alcohol – it’s similar to Garnier’s Grow Strong serum, so not very light and more like a creamy lotion-serum. I apply it on freshly washed hair and it significantly lengthens the drying time with a hair dryer, but otherwise doesn’t feel like anything is on my scalp or hair. My hair and scalp are dry and never greasy, so I can’t say if it’s the same on oilier scalps – probably not given the richer texture. I think my scalp is less itchy when I use it, but I still get loads of dry dandruff. It has no significant scent.

BALEA PROFESSIONAL Oil Repair Intensiv Haarmaske

The pink Keratin version turned out to be quite decent, so I picked up this Oil Repair version too. It’s also quite nice. Thick and rich, just like I like hair masks. It’s nourishing enough and my hair isn’t left tangled.

BALEA PROFESSIONAL Glossy Braun Spülung

Since I tried Keratin and Oil Repair masks and they didn’t end up terrible on my hair, I got this cheap conditioner as well. It’s tinted brown, similar to John Frieda Brilliant Brunette conditioner I used many years ago (and now realised I completely forgot about it despite going through several tubes – to be fair I was blonde for several years). It’s another silicone free formula, but it worked ok on my hair. It’s not as nourishing as the masks, but decent enough on my very dry hair. It didn’t tint my bleached ends as the tint is very weak. It has has panthenol, hydrolised keratin and a small amount of cocoa butter.

MIXA BABY Soothing Cleansing Oil

A repurchase. They recently changed the packaging, but the product is the same. This is a very gentle, but effective formula that I use daily as a face cleanser. It doesn’t irritate my eyes and had no scent. The pump is also a plus.

SCHAEBENS Retinol Sheet Mask

I was more interested in the collagen and ceramide version, but I guess they didn’t decide to sell them in Slovene Mullers though they are on German website. It doesn’t have retinol, it has retinly palmitate, so the name is deceptive if you’re expecting that, I’m not bothered. I just wanted something with nice basic hydrating ingredients. It has rosehip oil third on the list, jojoba oil, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and zinc. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ll report back.

BALEA Duschgel

Coconut Cancun

Balea had this scent before, they just called it Cocos & Nectarine. It was one of my favourites and when I saw coconut + peach combination written on the tube, I had a feeling they reused the scent. It’s most similar to Haribo peach gummies, a sweet candy peach scent with no notes of coconut. Formula is nothing special, just a basic gel that foam well, but is not great for dry skin. I already repurchased this.

SUBRINA Shower Gel Cherry Kiss

A new scent version, which are released almost every year. This one smells like those Hubba Bubba red cherry bubble gums we used to chew as kids, but in the shower it smells more like those hard cheery sweets grandparents always had in their pockets in black wrappers (next to the strawberry ones) and I can’t find them in any shop anymore. Anyway a great scent for those who love candy and cherry scents.

CIEN Brazilian Breeze Shower Gel, Body Cream and Body Mist

Lidl’s answer to Sol De Janeiro Bum Bum /Cheirosa 62 scent. The shower gel is not as good of a dupe as Treacklemoon, but still has quite a similar vanilla-pistachio-salted caramel scent. Formula is nothing special, quite thin, but it foams decently. The cream has a bit more pistachio/nutty notes as Treacklemoon’s dupe Brazilian Love and the texture is richer, so I like it more. The mist is very decent for the price (I think these were 3-4 € per piece) and I can smell it for hours on clothes. It also last ok for a body mist on the skin. Overall a good offering if you can find it.

MELEM Cold Cream Nourishing Hand Cream

Melem has three hand creams, the other two are Cica and Vitamin, though I only saw this one when I was picking up something for my dry hands. I expected a richer texture, but this is more on the light side. It’s moisturising enough, I just prefer creams like Cerave’s or L’Occitane. It absorbs in about a minute or two, it’s not the quickest and it has an intense “Melem scent”, which is a creamy scent in the same family like Nivea, Dove and Solea.

BALEA Callus Removing Socks

Fuss Hornhaut Entfernersocken

I had these before and similar ones from other brands. They aren’t magical on me, since the skin on my soles is hard, but I got them again anyway. These have a high percentage of AHA and you soak your feet in that solution for 30-60 minutes, washing your feet well afterwards. After you use these there’s no visible difference except the skin looks glossy. Within about a week the skin slowly starts to peel off, it really takes a long time and it looks very unappealing, but a lot of the dead skin is removed – except where you need it most, on the roughest parts where the skin is thickest.

BALEA Maximum Protection Anti-Perspirant

A new stick deodorant on the market. These types are my favourite, but we only have three or four brands that sell them here. This one promises a 96 h protection, which is overly ambitious. I gave it fair test in a hot car and it left me with annoyingly wet underarms, which is especially lovely when you enter a cooler room later. And I don’t even sweat a lot in general. But it did work as a deodorant well and prevented bad scents developing. Formula is oddly crumbling compared to others and due to that even more white, so I’m not impressed.

PROFISSIMO Raumduft Sundance

I’ve been hoping for a Sundance sunscreen scented body mist for years, but at least someone had the sense make a room fragrance with that scent. I don’t know if this is limited edition or not, but I haven’t seen these anymore on the shelves. I was ok when it was freshly opened. With two sticks it smelled decently strong, but the liquid has since become cloudy and even with four sticks I don’t smell much, but an occasional whiff.