Monday, January 30, 2017

Russian Beauty Haul #1

If you don't like makeup or beauty I'm sorry, but today's post is not going to be for you. This isn't a typical post, and I honestly don't know how often I'll do something like this. It probably won't be too often, though, because make up and beauty products are expensive here. I had to buy some things, and my friend, Ariana did something similar so I thought maybe some people would be interested since it isn't something I normally do.



I wear make up, but I'm not an expert, at all. I usually stick to the same make up brands because it's easier, and I don't have to put much thought into what I buy. I decided I wanted to find a better concealer because my skin is really bad, and I have constant under eye bags. I honestly spent a few hours watching beauty vloggers to see what drug store products are good. Also, being in Russia is hard because all the women here are beautiful and they all know how to apply make up! I feel really trashy because I can't apply make up to save my life. Eyebrows are also really important here. Everyone has perfect eyebrows, so I decided I wanted to try something with mine because having good eyebrows actually does wonders to your face.

My friend, Emma, met me at the mall, and we went to Рив Гош. It's one of the few make up stores I know in Ufa. The thing with these stores is that I can watch all the beauty YouTubers I want but it's like playing the lottery when I go into the store because I don't know what they'll have. There are some brands in America that I can also find here, like Maybelline, L'Oreal, and Revlon, but there are some that aren't here, like Covergirl. Also, a lot of the products I wrote down weren't in stock at the store. It's not that big of a deal because I usually just end up buying what I usually buy, but this time my friend insisted we ask for help. She was doing the translating for me and we were running around trying to find the best products. We had trouble trying to find make up that matched my skin tone because they were all out of stock. With my knowledge of beauty products being so low it was really hard to explain exactly what I wanted and have it translated into Russian. Emma deserves an award for putting up with me.
Before I go into detail about what I bought, I'll just say I haven't tried anything yet. I also wanted to buy products that focused on my hair because it's a complete nightmare with the amount of heat I use on it. As always, please feel free to recommend products!

Lee Stafford Original Heat Protection Shine Mist - I have been using It's a 10 on a recommendation from my friend, who is a hair stylist, but I'm almost out, and so I needed something new. The thing about spray heat protection is that I feel like my hair needs super industrial protection, and sometimes I don't think these sprays do enough. The sales clerk said this was a good brand, so we'll have to take her word for it.

Maybelline Affinitone Foundation 02 - I wanted to try something new from what I usually buy.

Maybelline Affinitone Concealer  01 - You know, I never knew the difference between foundation and concealer until a little while ago. I always bought foundation in the hopes that it would cover everything. I watched a lot of videos to find the perfect concealer. Unfortunately, CoverGirl isn't sold here, so I went with Maybelline. I hope it works! Next time I go to Mega I'm going to buy NYX brand concealer.

Mades Repair Expert Hair Mask Restore Strength - I bought this on a whim. It's not exactly what I wanted (I wanted a deeper hair mask), but it was written in English so I figured I couldn't screw it up. Again, my hair needs extreme TLC.

L'Oreal Brow Artist Designer Pencil (303 Dark Brunette) - Only bought this because I'm in Russia and eyebrows are a huge deal. They didn't have the brand I wanted, so I just went with this. I already tried it and I must say it is much hard to fill in eyebrows than what the beauty YouTubers say. I'll master it one day!

Got2B Made 4 Mess (Art Хаос) - Believe it or not my hair is naturally curly. I always straighten it because it's a lot harder to maintain curly hair and I don't have a curler. I wanted to buy more products to keep it curly but, again, there weren't many options. Emma said this is supposed to help put some texture and waves in your hair.
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What are your must have beauty products?

13 comments

  1. It is exactly not my topic :)
    But I admire, sympathize and agree that woman's life really hard :)))

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    1. You're comment made me laugh! At least you are sympathetic to the struggle :)

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  2. I love this post! Thanks for the shoutout! <3 Are the brands like Maybelline and Loreal expensive there? They're on the pricier side in Korea. Btw for damaged hair have you tried organic virgin coconut oil and/or organic argan oil? They're both great hair and skin! :)

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    1. If you do the conversion they are almost about the same price as in the USA, but with the standard of living being so low they seem so much more expensive, but yeah, they are a little more expensive overall. I used coconut oil back in the USA but it always made my hair so greasy. I was also wearing a hat at work at the time so that's didn't help.

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  3. I love seeing what products are available in other countries. I have tried some mascaras when I was in Russia, but I agree that the prices are very high! It's shocking how much drugstore products are there. My favorite products are the NYX brow pencil (seriously amazing and only $7.99 USD), NARS Sheer Glow foundation (no idea if available in Russia, but great lighter shades), and Maybelline The Falsies mascara (I think this is available in Russia). I also use the Kat Von D or Stila liquid liners, which are both amazing.

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    1. I'll have to try those products. There's a NYX booth in a mall that's a little further away. I'll have to get the brow pencil while I'm there along with new liquid liner. I love Maybelline mascara. I think I loved every Maybelline mascara I've tried, even their cheapest regular mascara is great. Right now I'm using Lash Sensation by Maybelline and it's amazing. My only problem is that sometimes it puts too much mascara on your lash and it becomes lumpy.

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    2. Glad you like Maybelline mascaras too! I was using expensive mascaras and then woke up one day and thought "this is dumb...maybelline is cheap and amazing so i will never buy anything else" haha

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  4. Wow, I struggle to speak to people at beauty counters in English, let alone having it translated in Russian! I find that people will assume I want certain "flaws" on my face covered up when it's not necessarily something I want to hide. I also think eyebrows are important but I'm terrible at filling mine in! I don't like warm toned brow products so I'm using my black eyeliner at the moment which is terrible... do you know if any of those products are cruelty free? I'm interested to hear how you get on with them! xx

    Jessthetics

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    1. You know, I never really thought if they were cruelty free. That's horrible of me. Maybelline isn't (I just looked it up), but NYX is and although I didn't buy anything this time I've heard good things about their products. The rest of the products test on animals except Lee Stafford, and I couldn't find out anything about Mades Cosmetics. Thank you for bringing this up to me. I love Maybelline mascara, but I think I will have to shop differently next time.

      My hair isn't that dark, so I like the lighter shades of eyebrow. It's interesting that you use eyeliner!

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  5. There was a fancy beauty store in the небо shopping mall in Nizhny Novgorod. I can't remember what it was called :/ but they handed out hot tea and free samples to shoppers... soooo nice! They sold skin care and body products (Natura Siberica, etc.) Maybe there's a similar place in Ufa?

    In Ukraine I used to buy makeup through network marketing companies (Avon, etc). That way I had to use Russian on the phone for ordering, which was awesome practice.

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    1. Oh wow! I haven't heard of such a place in Ufa, but now I'm intrigued because I love free.

      I can barely use Russian in person, although I am improving. I can say basic phrases.

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    2. She talking about Organic Shop and it's presented in Ufa in Планета mall, but some few their products you can buy little bit cheaper in Okey (excepting in Июнь), Auchan in Mega, or must of them and much cheaper in wholesale (from 1.500 rubles and free delivery on next or 2nd day) company Brig+.
      I can also recommend to try something of professional haircare produts from shops like Kosa and Beauty Masters.

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