Hi all! We got back from Vienna earlier this week and I wanted to share with you my beauty and fashion haul! We were there for 2 days and 2 nights so I had plenty of time to scope out the drugstore/beauty scene. I had some brands in mind I wanted to try so we trekked around the city hoping to stumble upon something neat.
There were 3 main drugstores that I noticed - dm, Müller and BIPA (below). There are dm's a plenty in Prague so I wasn't particularly itching to go in (but I did, just because I'm a weirdo who's obsessed with drugstores). If Sephora and CVS had a lovechild, it would be called Müller. Müller has both drugstore and high end products but even the drugstore brands were significantly overpriced ($18 for a Maybelline mascara?! You've got to be shitting me). So naturally, I was drawn to BIPA - and how could you not be considering the store is BRIGHT PINK?! I simultaneously wanted to spend the rest of my life here and leave immediately since it was crowded and hot and it was likely I was going to die.
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| This is the BIPA on Mariahilferstraße. I took this using a setting on my camera that extracts dramatic colors but it's actually pretty true to color. |
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| This store had a "styling lounge"! Cool! |
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| The brand deBBY. Never heard of this before! |
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| This is BIPA's store brand - LOOK. Sorry for the crappy picture, like I mentioned, it was really crowded. |
Now for what I got! Please excuse the inconsistency between picture backgrounds and lighting. The first few were taken in Vienna and the last few in Prague. I wanted them all to be taken in Vienna, but perhaps you can tell that it was raining and the sun had gone down and my feet hurt. Well, you probably can't tell that last part just from the photos, but I assure you, they did :)
In Vienna, I took these photos overlooking the Vienna Opera House which I've heard is one of the best opera houses in the world. The pictures in Prague were taken by the church in Jiřího z Poděbrad Square, about 3 blocks from the Prague TV Tower.
I should also add that I can't give full reviews of these products as I've only used them a few times. I will let you know first impressions though.
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deBBY matSOLUTION Foundation in 102 Natural (€7.99).
This was kind of an impulse buy and I'm still undecided if that's a good or a bad thing. The shade is a bit too yellow for me (I'm about an NW30 if we're speaking MAC-ese) but it blends in really nicely and doesn't have a strong smell. After some googling, I learned that deBBY is owned by Deborah Group, an Italian cosmetics and beauty brand. The website leads me to believe that deBBY products are only found in Italy and unless I'm wildly mistaken, I was in Austria when I found this. I will update when I learn more about how it performs.
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| I've been so obsessed with these lavender grey-ish nail polish shades lately. I think this is a beautiful Autumn transition color and would go with a variety of different looks. As for the actual polish application, it was just so-so. Nothing spectacular, but not awful either. It does dry quickly but I managed to smudge it anyway. This is with 2 coats and a clear top coat. Please excuse my T-Rex hands ;) |
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Manhattan Colour Splash Liquid Lip Tint in 54L So Paris! (€3.99).
This is kind of an interesting lip product. It's unlike anything I have - not quite a gloss, not quite a lipstick. I'd say it's similar in consistency to YSL's Glossy Stains. It's not touted as a stain, but it definitely leaves behind a staining effect. It has a pretty potent berry-ish scent that disappears shortly after applying. It isn't something that I would ever wear on its own as it leaves a kind of "film" on my lips that I don't appreciate but all is well once I top it with a gloss or balm. This isn't holy grail material by any means, but I enjoy it and the color is nice for Fall. The Manhattan website leads me to believe that you can buy their products in Germany, Austria, Spain and Switzerland.
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LOOK by BIPA Catwalk Duo Mascara and Eyeliner (€3.99).
As you can probably tell, I had the hardest time getting a good picture of this product; the fuchsia packaging did not want to photograph properly. Anyway, this has a black liquid eyeliner on one end and a mascara on the other. I was drawn to this product because of its multi-purpose use and I thought it would be an easy way to pack lighter on my trips. (Because everyone knows the answer to packing less stuff is to buy more stuff, right?) I've only used the mascara side of it and I wasn't impressed. It's a very wet formula which caused my lashes to bind together and look like I have about 4 really thick lashes - ew. The eyeliner side swatched very black and matte and I had a hard time washing it off even though it doesn't claim to be waterproof. I am shit at applying liquid liner but I thought this would be a good way to practice!
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LOOK by BIPA Baked Eye Shadow Mono in #15 Vintage (€2.99).
For the life of me, I cannot think of an apt way to describe this eyeshadow color. I guess that's a good thing because that means there's nothing like it in my eyeshadow collection. If I had to try, I'd say it's a rosy pink with gold and silver and blue shimmer. That probably just made you more confused so let's just say it has all the colors! Pictures don't do it justice. It reminds me of the Hard Candy baked eyeshadow duos in the way it swatches and applies. I wore it today for the first time and it was VERY pigmented and shimmery. Just my kind of shade! LOVE! ♥
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b.pretty Baked Eyeshadow in 15 Earth - (€2.49).
Look at this little guy! If this isn't just the cutest, tiniest eyeshadow you've ever seen, then I don't know what is! Now that I'm realizing the price in comparison to the size, it's kind of a rip off but it's cuteness makes me not care. I have a ton of neutral bronzey shades similar to this but it swatched nicely in the store and I thought it would be fun to try a new eyeshadow brand. I used it today for the first time and it's beautiful! Very shimmery and opaque and I think it could be a pretty one eyeshadow look. Though its size is convenient for traveling, I don't think it's something I'd take with me on a trip because the packaging is obviously cheap and baked eyeshadows are notorious for shattering. Happy to add it to my collection though!
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| Top to Bottom: Manhattan Lip Tint, b.pretty Baked eyeshadow, LOOK by BIPA Baked eyeshadow (all swatched once in natural light, no primer) |
Of course, I couldn't resist stopping in Forever 21 while we were in Vienna. There isn't one in Prague and I needed a new pair of sunglasses and some inexpensive basic pieces for Fall. Despite being a 5 story store, I wasn't very impressed with the selection. There were about 7 pairs of sunglasses to choose from and I hated all of them. The jewelry section left something to be desired as well. Oh well, I guess that's better for my wallet. Here's what I got:
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Left: Silver Wishbone Earrings (€1.90). Right: Abstract Zigzag Boyfriend Sweater (€23.75).
I love funky jewelry so these wishbone earrings were right up my Ali (get it? my name's Ali). I really liked this oversized chunky sweater and I think that you could wear it with jeans, jeggings or tights of any color. It's super comfortable and warm and I was impressed with the quality. What a weird face I'm making... I blame it on the sun.
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And that's everything! Hope you enjoyed reading! :)
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