Nefertari's Sparkles

Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box: I fell in love again

2010-03-08T19:23:00.005Z

Hi everyone,

First of all, I really want to apologize for the very lack of posts. I have been very busy and I don't even read beauty blogs anymore. As a result, I am quite disconnected of the make-up world. It isn't that bad actually because I don't get too tempted lol!

Nevertheless, I have an EOTD for you that I did this week end. I was looking at the palettes that I don't use that often because I got new babies to play with so they get discarded at the bottom of the drawer. Saturday, I re-discovered Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box, one of my very first palette. Let me tell you, it was love at first sight all over again! I love love love this palette!!!

Here is the look:

Products used:

Primer: UDPP
Base: MAC Paintpot in Blackground
All over the lid and in the crease: UD Fishnet (Deluxe Shadow Box)
In the crease: a touch of UD ransom (Deluxe Shadow Box)
Blended with UD Scratch (Deluxe Shadow Box)
No eyeliner
Mascare: MaxFactor False Lash Effects

Very simple look but effective. This palette is so versatile! If you don't have it already, go and get it!

Have a nice evening and hopefully see you very soon!

IMATS Haul and Swatches

2010-02-21T18:40:00.017Z

Hello everyone,

Finally, finally I am posting my IMATS haul and swatches. I don't really wear make-up nowadays, just the everyday neutral look. It's a shame I know :-(

Onto the haul, pictures talk for themselves:

These are make-up brushes from Royal Brushes. They were around £3-5 pounds each. Very nice quality and for the price you can't really go wrong.

Some lip tars I wanted to try. Amazingly pigmented, like crazy! You need only a tiny tiny amount and even though the pink is too pigmented for me so I have to tone it down which isn't a problem because you can mix the colors without any problem.

Mehron palette in metallic to use as a base. I've wanted this palette for such a long time.

This is a Kryolan palette I regret buying. I came accross the Mehron palettes only after having bought this one. I wanted the Mehron Pastel palette as well but I didn't have money anymore but I will get it probably next month though. I will still try to use this Kryolan one.

Naked Cosmetics eye and lip primers. Really good primer, I was quite amazed.

Pigments haul with wet swatches:

Sierra Nevada

Ebony

Urban Rustic

Tropical Indulgence

I would highly recommend those pigments. Applied with a base and pat on the lid, they last the whole day and you don't get any fallouts. They are definitely the highlight of my IMATS haul to me. I would definitely repurchase some more :-)

Have a nice afternoon!

EOTD: Because I am fed up with Valentines' Pink

2010-02-14T21:23:00.006Z

Hi everyone,

Ok the title was a little too much maybe... Don't get me wrong, I loved watching all the Valentines' Youtube videos and all the blog posts about it and I love pink but I thought that I'd better show you something different.

Here is the question: How many of you spent a little fortune on MAC's Black Style Collection but hardly use it? That was I thought... I am not the only one in this case...

Here is the EOTD, just a smokey:

Products used:

MAC Gilt by Association E/S over MAC Blackground PaintPot, MUFE mascara and MAC Brule as highlight.

Easy, simple and at least I was using an E/S from Style Black! And I am wearing Baby Goth on my nails as well.

I hope you all had a perfect Valentines Day with the people you love: be your partner, friends or family.

Have a nice evening!

How to beat the Credit Crunch: Become UK

2010-02-10T13:25:00.003Z

Hi Everyone,

I hope that you are all doing fine. As you can notice, I am a bit busy at the moment and I have a list of post ideas sitting on my desk but no time to write them.... Anyway...

I was approached by the people from Become.co.uk to have a look at their Web site and see what I think. As I find it quite useful, I'd like to introduce it to you, you might find it good as well :-)

So what is it?

Become UK is a price comparison Web site for the savvy internet user. You can use the price comparison, online consumer reviews, detailed product specifications, buying guides and product ratings to help you with your online shopping. The most interesting thing for us is that they have a selection of cosmetics and fragrances that you can order online.

For example, through their Web site I discovered Cheap Smells where you can buy discounted make-up. I've never heard about it before.... Well I am totally broken at the moment so I won't even consider ordering but I am keeping it in my favorites because I have just notice some Bobbi Brown eyeshadows for £10...

I am personnally quite happy to see more and more of those Web sites because shopping is becoming like a real challenge sometimes for me: where to find the best products for less money? Moreover, it creates more competition between the brands. So big thumb up for comparison and review Web sites!

Have a look and tell me what you think. I know I am a little devil that is tempting you to buy more make-up but eh...I am here for that too :-)

Have a nice afternoon!

Project No Waiste: Episode 2

2010-02-03T21:10:00.003Z

Hey everyone,

Few weeks back I threw myself into a Project No Waiste for cosmetics. It's impossible for me to finish make-up items but I thought I could apply it on other items.

Here are the corpses of the battle I just won:

Clinique Face Soap: I totally recommend it! It's part of the 3 steps programm. I haven't repurchase it yet because I am testing a Kiehl's cleanser but otherwise I would.

Monoi oil: Smells amazing, reminds me of the beach, sun, sea and holidays. It nourrishes the skin but doesn't moisturizes it. I would repurchase it during this summer probably.

Lush Snow Fairy: No need to introduce this product. Smells like candy floss. A must-have!

The Body Shop Shimmery Coconut Butter: I like the Body Shop Butters. This one smells really good and gives a subtil shine to the skin. Really good.

Mary Cohr Light Moisturizing Cream: The perfect cream for oily skin because it moisturizes well but is so light. Was a bit expensive but if I have the money I would repurchase it. I used it for the night during summer and for the day during winter and it didn't clogg my pores.

Lush Lemon Flutter: Very very rich cream for the cuticles and the very dry area of the body like elbows and heels. Really good product! I would repurchase it but I want to try the one from Burt's and Bees first.

Clinique cream: Step 3 from the programm. Same as for the soap, I love it. I am trying a cream from Kiehl right now but I would repurchase it for sure. It's not my first tube.

Lush Yummy Yummy Yummy: Smells like strawberry! Amazing, I woul repurchase it for sure.

Maybelline Colossal Mascara: Not a bad mascara for a drugstore brand, I liked it but the problem is that after 2 months, it was smelling really bad so I had to throw it away...

Benefit Bad Gal (not pictured): I finished it this morning. After an extensive use, I am quite puzzled. I am actually not sure about the efficacy of face primers at all... To be honest, it didn't make any difference on me...

As you can see, a nice battle was won: 10 products finished!! I am quite proud of it! Now I have to concentrate on the Soap & Glory products from the hat box I purchased before Christmas...

Which face primer would you recommend?

Have a nice evening!

IMATS: I had my make-up done by Koren from EnKoreMakeup!

2010-01-31T14:27:00.007Z

Hey everyone,

Everything is in the title... I went to the IMATS yesterday and has an amazing time. I will do a separate post on my haul.

So, as I said, I met Koren and let me tell you he is SOOO nice! We started chatting and then he gave me a mini make over with naked pigments (I bought quite a lot of them...).

Sadly the pictures aren't as good as I'd like them to be (I think I need a new camera...) but still!

Here we go, just for you:

Make-up used:

Urban Rusty pigments from Naked Cosmetics:
Golden olive color all over the lid and inner highlight
Rusty color in the crease
Purple to darken the outer V and lower lid
Liner from Eve Pearl
For the lips, he mixed the mixed the Naked lip primer with a pink pigment from the Tropical Indulgence row and applied it all over the lips. Then, he took the same golden olive pigment he applied all over the lid and added it as a touch in the middle of the lips and blended outwards.

For the cheeks, he applied the same pink pigment of the lips on the apple of the cheeks and blended upwards while smiling.

A little tip he taught me: Always apply your lip color while smiling because you smile 90% of the time...

I will take pictures of the pigments and do swatches during this week so you can see exactly what colors he used. It's a shame my camera won't pick up the colors properly because it was gorgeous and I got a lot of compliments...

As for the whole experience, well, if you see him, don't hesitate to go and talk to him because he is fabulous and so simple, it was a really great moment for me... But before you meet him, go and subscribe to his channel here :-)

Have a nice sunday!

Fashion related: Mittens in Crochet

2010-01-29T20:16:00.003Z

Hi everyone,

I am so sorry that I haven't blooged for ages... I do have a good reason for that though: I am busy re-thinking my career plan and it takes all my energy... I have some exciting things coming up like the launch of the new Andrew Collinge Haircare line which is going to be my next post, hopefully this week end. Well, this is a busy week end as well because I am going to the IMATS! Big thumb up! I am really excited about it!

Enough rambling and into the subject of this post... I have a new obsession: knitting and crochet! It is so trendy in the US and you can see in the shops here all those big chunky handmade scarfs and hats. Even the celebrities knit.. Well I had some basics in knitting and I decided to knit while watching my favorite TV shows (yeah multi-tasking...!)

Here are my first handmade mittens:

Tada!! Not perfect but I am quite proud of the results for a beginning...

I hope you like it!

I wish you an excellent week end and an awsome IMATS for you UK girls!

Review: Victoria Jackson Make-Up

2010-01-23T15:00:00.007Z

Hi everyone,

Few weeks ago, I purchased this Victoria Jackson kit. I had time to try it and now I'd like to share my thoughts on it. This review is rather on the negative side I'm afraid.

Here is a picture of the products:

And now the products in details:

This is a 12 piece lip glosses case. They have peppermint inside which is supposed to plump your lips. I am not a big fan of peppermint in lip glosses because it doesn't do anything special and I am more a fan of sweet tastes. Those glosses are practical because small but maybe too small so it's difficult to pick up the product with the little sponge. They are nice but I wouldn't pay £20 for it...

This is a set of 6 brushes. The 2 brushes for the face are completely useless and I won't use them at all. The eyeshadow brush is interesting because it's pointy and useful to place precisely color in the crease. The 2 liner brushes are really good too and are my favorite of the moment. As for the lip brush, nothing special, it's just a lip brush and I don't use it too often.

This is a shimmer powder brush in the color bronze and I don't really know how I am going to use it. It's too shimmery for the face. The brush is too big for the eyes. So, the only way is to use it for the body like on the shoulders and chest to go out but I am quite fair so I don't even know if it will look good. The brush's quality is absolutely awful too.

These are swatches for the 3 sticks that you can use as eyeshadow bases. You have to use an eye primer underneath otherwise it will crease. They are nice for sure but I think that Gosh ones are better and so cheaper! I will use them though.

This kit is called Baby Doll Color Kit and contains a blush hidden behind the little sponge (sorry...), 2 neutral eyeshadows, 4 lipsticks/glosses and 2 mini brushes. The eyeshadows are nice for a neutral subtle look but I own already so many neutral eyeshadows that I don't find those ones unique. The blush is a rosy blush, nothing special. As for the lip products, I don't like this packaging because it gets messy very quickly. The colors are pigmented though.

As for the prices, it was £30 without the case and £45 with the case instead of more than £200 outside the offer. The lady told me that Victoria Jackson is a competitor to Bobbi Brown and MAC, blabla and that her products are so good and I couldn't miss this offer, blabla... Well, I wouldn't pay £200 for that and I even thin that £45 was way too much (but I wanted to review it for the blog). The products are ok but they can't compare to MAC or Bobbi Brown. Moreover, they are made in China (MAC: Canada; Bobbi Brown: USA). If you would really pay £200 for the kit, I wouldn't even imagine what the return would be (costs of production - price customers pay)....

As for the marketing and communication side, the marketing agency employs people that are paid only by commissions and so they are quite pushy and they lie to you in order to make you buy. Overall, I didn't like the experience at all.

Conclusion: The products are ok but nothing special or unique and they are really overpriced. I wouldn't recommend it or repurchase for the moment.

Have you tried them? Do you like this brand? Any recommendations?

Have a lovely week end!

Models Own Pigments and Nailpolishes: Swatches

2010-01-19T20:46:00.001Z

Hi everyone,

Today I want to show you some swatches of nailpolishes and pigments I purchased before Christmas from the Web site Models Own (www.modelsownit.com). I must say that I am really happy with the all experience. The Web site has a great choice of colors for naipolishes and pigments for an affordable price (£5 each) and the delivery was super duper quick!

Here are the pigments and their swatches:

Metallic Coral, Pink and Silver Sparkle, Navy and Gold Sparkle

Those eyeshadows are easy to blend, very pigmented and last all day with a base underneath. I will definitely order more of them in the future.

The nail polishes:

Lemon Meringue

Lilac Dream

Beth's Blue Nail Polish

Grey Day Nail Polish

Pink Explosion

Emerald City Nail Polish

Disco Mix Nail Polish

Raspberry Crush Nail

For the nail polishes, I would say that the quality depends on the color. I really love the cream finish ones because they are pigmented and go on very easily. However, I dislike the glittery ones because they don't apply easily, they look patchy.

Conclusion: I would definitely recommend you to try this brand and particularly the eyeshadows and the cream nailpolishes.

Have a nice evening!

Hair care routine

2010-01-15T20:45:00.004Z

Hi everyone,

A bit of hair care today. I never really talked about it before so let's start because this is a very interesting topic to me.

Here is a picture of my hair:

A year ago I wasn't really taking ultra care of my hair: shampoo - conditioner and then air drying.
But then I started styling it and then i realized that I needed to protect it better before torturing it with so much heat.
I researched a lot and watched a lot of hair care videos on Youtube and now I'd like to present you my hair care routine. It might change with time but right now I am quite happy with it.

Here are the products:

Shampoo Frederic Fekkai in Glossing and Clarifying: Both very nice shampoos for different purposes. What I do is that I use the clarifying shampoo at least once a week to get rid of all the styling products left in my hair. The glossing shampoo gives a nice glow but can be a bit too heavy for greasy hair.

Tommy Guns conditioner: I found this one in Waitrose, picked it up randomly. It smells amazing and you can rinse it very easily. It gives to my hair a smooth effect.

Bumble Bumble BB prep: A spray that I use on damp hair before my styling products. It's full of herbs and it's not greasy at all, you can even put it on your roots and then massage it to prepare your hair to receive all the styling products. Very nice!! I love it!

Chi Keratin Mist: Comes from the USA. Don't sure yet if it works or not... I put it only on the end of my hair. Nothing particular to mention yet but I will keep on using it.

Chi Silk Infusion: My favorite product for the hair ever! It smells like heaven. I apply it only on the end of the hair and it makes it so smooth, like silk. Really amazing product. The bottle is really small but you need only a tiny bit. Got it from the USA as well.

TRESemme heat defence: the best friend for styling's lovers. I didn't find any other better heat defence yet. I tried the Tony Guy and the Frieda's one but I prefer TRESemme. Tony Guy makes my hair greasy so it's a big no.

I also apply oil (olive, coconut or almond) about once every 2 weeks 1 hour before the shampoo. It really helps as well. If you have greasy hair, apply only at the end.

Chi, Frederic Fekkai and Bumble Bumble are my favorite brands of the moment for hair care. Very pricey though but worth it. I will probably try other products from their lines and keep you updated on the progress.

And you? What's your hair routine? Any favorite brand? Any recommendation?

Enjoy your week end!!!

No7 Palettes: Smokey Eyes & Jewelled Eyes

2010-01-12T20:47:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

Another late post that should have been posted before the holidays. This is about the limited edition palettes that No7 launched for Chritmas. Apparently, they are still available on Boots' Web site for £14. Uffff this post isn't that outdated then ;-)

These are the babies and their swatches:

Smoky Eyes Palette

Jewelled Eyes Palette

This is going to be a mixed review because as much as I like the Jewelled Eyes Palette, I dislike the Smokey Eyes one....

Smokey Eyes Palette: I bought it on a rush after seeing a good review on a blog somewhere but those colors don't suit me. They are non-shimmery neutral colors and I find that it makes me look sad and tired. I already have quite a lot of dark circles and those colors don't lift up my eyes but on the contrary make them look "uninteresting" if you see what I mean. However, I didn't try it with a base... Maybe it would look gorgeous smoked out over blackground paintpot... who knows? I have to try before I give it a big thumb down.

Jewelled Eyes Palette: At first I had no clue what I could do with this palette. The colors are gorgeous but I didn't know how to pair without looking like a parrot... On the contrary to the Smokey Eyes Palettes, the colors are bright and vibrant. They don't make me look sick nor sad.

I was still thinking what to do with them and then I thought about my saviour: MAC Blackground PaintPot! If you don't know what to do with an eyeshadow, layer it over this paintpot, smoke it out and you're good to go...

Tada!

Sorry for the messy eyebrows, it was taken the day before my waxing appointment.

Was this purchase really needed... for the Jewelled Eyes I would say yes. I am quite happy with it :-) I didn't have such a nice green and a nice gold in my collection. And the red is like red! Not cranberry, just red which is quite hard to find as well.

Has anyone try them? Like it or not?

Have a good afternon!

Disclaimer: Bought it with my money, not affiliated with the company, honest review.

Urban Decay Goodies

2010-01-10T20:43:00.001Z

Hi everyone,

I had some posts waiting to be edited and posted before the holidays but as I left a day before I didn't have the time to post them so I will try to catch up in the next days.

Here is what I purchased before Christmas. I was running out of Too Faced Shadow Insurance and wanted to repurchase Urban Decay Primer Potion because I still can't make my mind about which one I prefer.

I found this deal: A bigger primer potion size with some small size goodies:

We have the primer potion, a 24/7 liner in zero, skyscraper mascara, a pocket rocket lipgloss in Timothy and a lipstick in midnight cow boy.

A closer look:

Skyscraper mascara

Pocket Rocket in Timothy

Lipstick in Midnight Cowboy

Overall it was a really good deal and I was happy to be able to try out some stuffs. I really like Urban Decay brand. It's medium price but a good quality. I love the packaging and the creativity in the products.

Primer Potion: A must-have. Still don't know if I prefer it to TF Shadow Insurance but I like this primer for sure!

24/7 liners: A must-have as well. I am in the process of trying MAC Feline Kohl and MUFE Aqua Eyes so don't know which one is the best but 24/7 are really good pencils to line the upper lash line and the water line.

Pocket Rocket: It smells really good but can be too much if you are sensitive to smells. Timothy is a quite pigmented red lipgloss and allows you to wear a hint of red on your lips if you are unsure about bright red lipsticks.

Lipstick in Midnight Cowboy: Very sheer liptick. I would recommend wearing a lip eraser underneath to get more pigmentation out of the lipstick. However very nice subtil color if you want a hint of lipstick but not something too visible.

Skyscaper mascara: Not a bad mascara but nothing special. I would say that it does the job but nothing more. I wouldn't purchase the full size.

The small size goodies are perfect for travelling and testing new product. I might try some full size lipsticks and lipglosses now.

Have you tried those products? Do you like them?

Have a nice evening!

Disclaimer: I bought all the products with my own money. Not affiliated with any firms. Honest review.

Happy 2010! Back in the UK!

2010-01-09T22:47:00.003Z

Hey everyone,

First of all, a big THANK YOU for all your nice messages before I went to France. It helped me stay calm. The trip was a nightmare, I finally took a plane but it was chaos because of the snow so it took me 26 hrs to reach home instead of 6 hrs... Such a hassle lol... But I finally made it and I had an amazing time in France. I did some shopping in Sephora that I will show you soon ;-)

Secondly, I want to apologize for posting so late. I am back since last sunday but I had some problems to solve. When I came back, there was no light nor heating in my flat anymore and the landlord didn't want to repair. Let me tell you that I thought I was going to freeze! So I spent the whole week trying to get him to repair the boiler and electricity and now it's done! Yeah!

Now onto the real purpose of this post: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I wish to all of you all the best, all the happiness in the world! I hope that 2010 will bring you a good health and everything you need. I really hope that 2010 will be better than 2009. I wish that the economy will recover and that wars will stop (very cheesy I know...).

My resolutions for 2010:
- Focus on my career
- Finish the diet I started in 2009
- Post more on my blog

Tomorrow I will take the pictures of all I got recently and post it.

It's good to be back :-)

Have a nice evening.

Happy Holidays - Going back home hopefully

2009-12-21T21:01:00.002Z

Hi everyone,

I had some posts in mind before this one but nothing is going according to plan. I am supposed to go back to France to spend Christmas with my family but the transports aren't working properly because of the weather conditions.

So from tomorrow my main mission is to arrive home before Christmas Eve. If I reach there, I will stay until the 3rd of January and won't be able to post anything during this time.

So I want to wish you happy holidays, merry Christmas. Have a nice end of 2009 and see you in 2010.

Enjoy!

Project No Waiste: Episode 1

2009-12-18T20:00:00.006Z

Hi everyone,

I wanted to do this post for a long time but I first needed to finish some of the products I have. I've tried to join the 10 Pan wagon without success... I can't stop buying make-up...
So I decided to try another kind of 10 Pan project. The aim is to finish the products I have.

This week I finished those ones:

- Lancome Oscillation: I won't repurchase because it's too expensive for the result.
- Hemp Foot Protection: Already repurchased my second pot. I apply it before I go to bed and I am very happy with it.
- Natural High eye cream from Superdrug: Very good quality for the price, it does brighten the eye area. I use it in the morning only and another richer cream for the night. I would repurchase if I didn't have 2 other eye creams waiting for me.
- Seeweed Pore Perfector: There is nothing wrong with this product but it just doesn't really work well for me. I don't like this skincare range from The Body Shop, I prefer my Clinique products.

Hitting the pan gives me a really good feeling so I hope I will carry on like this! (Well know I have 11 products from Soap & Glory, it might get more difficult...)

Now onto the part 2 of this project: Rediscover the love.

This week I rediscovered the limited collection Hello Kitty from MAC. Remember all the fever and the fuss about it...Well it's all forgotten.... So I decided to take my Too Dolly Quad and make a look. For the nails, I used the "Something about pink" nail polish from the same collection.

Here is the look:

I love the nail polish color. But, let me tell you that the E/S are very difficult to work with... See the ridges. Fortunately, when my eyes were closed, it looked nice. Netherless, it made me think "why was I so crazy about??" Make-up fever.... (don't mind the eyebrows, I have an appointment on monday to have them done)

So this was my project no waist and hopefully this one will get a top priority on my 2010 list...

See you soon!

Soap & Glory: I got mine!

2009-12-18T18:21:00.007Z

Hi everyone,

8.00am I was already on the Boots website trying to order the box. All feverish. Was trying from different browsers: Mozilla, IE, Chrome... Nothing worked. I was very close several times but it didn't work. So after my job I just ran to Boots in Oxford Street and... yes they had plenty of boxes :-) And yes today I realized for the second time that I am such a crazy shopaholic... (The 1st time was for the Book of Shadows II)

Here are the pictures:

I've never tried this brand before so I hope it's worth all the fuss and the hard work...

While I was at Boots I got this palette from N°7:

The Smokey Palette was sold out but I will try to find it somewhere else. I don't know how I am going to wear those colors but will try them soon.

And today I lost 1 follower... I guess it's because of my lack of posts lately or maybe because of the mediocrity of them... Well being a better blogger is on my list for 2010... So please, don't give hope on me...

Have a wonderful evening, try not to get hurt while hunting the last christmas gifts, specially if you live in London...

NYX: Haul and Swatches

2009-12-13T18:39:00.020Z

Hi everyone,

For those of you who are in the USA, there isn't much excitement but for me in the UK, it's a big celebration that I finally received my first NYX Palettes ordered on Cherry Culture. NYX is finally available in Harrod's but it's so expensive that I don't really think it's worth it anymore. I like NYX and I think the quality is good but not good enough to pay £10 for a palette... So I will definitely buy more from Cherry Culture, even though I have to wait so long for the delivery.

Now onto the pictures and swatches:

Smokey Eyes:

The runway collection:

Mysterious brown eyes:

I dream of Antigua:

I dream of Barbados:

Aquamarine:

I am sorry for the quality of the swatches, not the best ever... The light is awful in my flat.

My general impression on those:
- Very good quality for the price in dollars
- Pigmented
- Good combination of colors
- A bit chalky
- Smells bad (you know this horrible smell of cheap E/S)

So i will definitely make another order from Cherry Culture. I love NYX palettes!

Now some lipsticks:

Femme, Indian Pink, Thalia, Rea

They are very nice, creamy, pigmented but doesn't last that long (well I didn't do the all pencil, tissue paper, powder process though). My favorite is Thalia. It makes my lips look very classy. NYX offers a huge range of different colors and they cost less than $2 so def. something to check if you want to try a color but you aren't sure it suits you.

Lastly, I got a Jumbo Eye Pencil in Gold:

This is the perfect base for a holiday gold look :-)

Overall, I really recommend this brand but at American prices. Harrod's is too expensive. The quality is nice for sure but it's obviously not like MAC. But, go and order from Cherry Culture. At least, you need to try.

I hope that it gives you some shopping ideas, even if the pics aren't great...

Disclaimer: Bought everything with my own money, not paid, not affiliated, honest review.

I love your blog award!

2009-12-13T12:56:00.005Z

Hey everyone,

A very very very late post... Few weeks ago I received an award from the lovely Nikki from Visual Aspect '87. She just had a gorgeous baby girl, check her blog and the pic of little Amber :-)

Here is the award:

And now I have to pass it on... I know some of those blogs already received this award but they deserve it so there is no harm on receiving another one ;-)

In no particular order:

Too much blush
Tales from a small town
Robert Smith's Mistress Makeup Wonderland
Peluxe
Lou Lou Land!
birds decorate branches
Ballet News
Affordable treats
Reflections of a rêve noir
Deez Nailz
Simply Suzy
Bookalicious
Witoxicity
Secret Diary of a Beauty Addict
Music and Make Up, my obsessions!

Don't forget to check them all!! :-) :-) And thanks again to Nikki!!

Have a nice sunday!

Review: Coastal Scents Creative Me Palette #1

2009-12-09T20:29:00.006Z

Hey everyone,

It's been a while now I have this palette and I wanted to use it properly before reviewing it.
I haven't done any swatches because you can find some good ones already anndI have more difficulties to provide good swatches because it's always dark when I am at home and my lighting is just not good at all.

So here is the palette:

Pros:
- Matte colors
- Bright colors
- Nice packaging
- Very pigmented
- Colors are exciting
- Covers almost all the need on the bright colors spectrum
- Cheap

Cons:
- Can't use it for everyday look but it's not the purpose
- The 2 greens are very similar
- Can be a bit difficult to blend but that's always the problem with matte colors

Conclusion: As you can see, a lot of pros for little cons. This palette is great for the price and of very good quality. It's not a palette I would reach for everyday though and I haven't really tested every color yet. Matte colors need more time to be blended and I don't have time in the morning. If you are like me and don't own any matte bright colors but don't want to spend too much money on high brands because you have only occasional use of them, go for it! You have almost every color you would need in a nice quality and nice packing. It could make a nice christmas gift as well...

Now I just need to search on Youtube some ideas how to make the most of this palette... :-)

Have a nice day!

Review: Coastal Scents Camo Quad

2009-12-07T20:20:00.008Z

Hey everyone,

I'd like to share some thoughts about Coastal Scents quads. I ordered the medium camo quad and the color corrector quad.

First, the color corrector quad:

As you can see, it contains blue, purple, yellow and green colors. I didn't try the blue because it is used to conteract orange if you get a fake-tan accident but I don't use fake tan.

Pros:
- Contains all the colors you need to counteract redness, dark circles, orange fake tan and dulness
- Creamy

Cons:
- Too pigmented for me: very difficult to blend properly
- Consistency is too thick which makes the blending even more difficult

Conclusion: I know that this quad received many good reviews but I don't like it. I find it too difficult to blend. The yellow is as well too thick to use for the under-eye area. It looks overall very cackey.

Then, the medium camo quad:

This quad contains a highlighter, a light, medium and dark brown. I am quite pale but I prefered ordering this quad than the light one because if I use too light colors on my dark circles, it looks weird and ashy.

Pros:
- Creamy
- Pigmented but not too much
- Not too thick
- Good choice of flesh tone colors

Cons:
- Highlighter useless for me (I have better ones) so I would have prefer a light yellow or a more peachy color to conteract the dark circles

Conclusion: I had a totally different experience with this quad. I really like it. Ok, it's not the St Graal, it doesn't cover completely my dark circles but I haven't found the solution yet. Nonetheless, I think it's a good quality for the price and I will happily carry on using it.

Overall, I recommend the flesh tone quads. For the color corrector quad, I will give it a try with a brush maybe but I think you can find better product.

Have a nice day!

Disclaimer: I bought those products with my own money, I am not affiliated with any companies and I am honest in my review.

Review: Beauty UK Palette

2009-12-06T18:17:00.005Z

Hi everyone,

I hope you had a great week end! Mine was really good and I hope I will be able to do some separate posts to talk about it as I did some interesting things...

But today, I want to write about the metallic palettes from Beauty UK. The palettes are available from Superdrug in different shades but the other ones were sold out....

Here is the palette called Eye Metallic Quad in number 1:

And here are the swatches:

They retail for less than £3.50 in Superdrug but you can find them for less than £4.00 on Ebay as well.

Pros:
- Well pigmented
- Metallic finish that I love
- Nice colors that go well together
- Cheap
- Last all day with a base
- Nice packaging
- Blends easily

Cons:
- Like almost all cheap E/S, the texture is a bit chalky so you need to be careful

Conclusion: I have different palettes already from Beauty UK from their "normal collection" and I was satisfied with the quality/price ratio but nothing really unique. Now I am very pleased with this palette, I really like the metallic finish and the shadows are easy to work with. My advice will be the same as for the ELF E/S, if you already have a lot of E/S from big brands like MAC or NARS, there is no point getting this palette but if you are on a budget and like a little treat before Christmas, go ahead!

Have a nice monday!

Review: E.L.F Eyeshadows

2009-12-02T21:50:00.011Z

Hi everyone,

I've already showed you my ELF haul and now I'd like to show you the eyeshadows more in details.

Here are they:

Raspberry Truffle, Amethyst, Mystic Moss
Charcoal, Coffee Bean

I really love the packaging, totally inspired from Nars but I don't mind. The packaging doesn't look cheap at all. The eyeshadows don't have this horrible smell that sometimes cheap ones have.

Here are the swatches:

With Flash

Without Flash

They make really good materials to darken the crease or by themselves for a smokey look.

Pros:
- Nice packaging
- Doesn't smell anything
- Pigmented
- Blend quite nicely
- Not too much sparkly, very nice finish

Cons:
- A bit chalky so don't forget to tap off the excess if you don't want fall-out
- Colors are almost only dark
- Color selection isn't wide but I guess it will improve
- Colors are not that unique

Conclusion: For £3.50, those E/S are totally worth it, the quality is good for the price. If you already have the whole collection of MAC, Urban Decay and Nars E/S, I would say that you can skip them as none of the colors are really unique. But, if you are on a budget and look for nice E/S to expand your collection, go for it!

Enjoy your friday, week end is almost there!

Disclaimer: I bought them with my own money, I am honest and not paid.

Saturday's look: Celebrating New Moon

2009-12-02T19:25:00.000Z

Hey everybody,

Saturday I went to see New Moon at the cinema and I wanted to create a cranberry look to celebrate it. My camera actually washed off the color, it was looking more vibrant than that. Annoying camera... Grrrrr

Here is the look I came up with:

Products used:
- Primer: UDPP
- Base: MAC Bat Black Cream Color Base
- Lid: MAC Cranberry
- Crease: MAC Buckwheat
- To blend the outer crease: MAC Expresso
- Highlight: MAC: Shroom
- Lower lashline: MAC Cranberry
- Upper lashline and waterline: UD 24/7 in oil stick
- Eyelash curler: Shue Uemura
- Mascara: MaxFactor False Lash Effect
- Dark circles concealer: Costal Scents Camo Quad

I know everyone has already been posting their thoughts about New Moon but I can't help it sorry :-) Before the movie, I was totally team Edward; after the movie I am totally team Jacob! It was sad when she says at the end that she loves him but chooses Edward... I was feeling so bad for me...

So totally team Jacob!! Yeah!!

Regarding the movie itself, it was fine but it's nothing compared to the books. Thoses movies aren't really the best advertisement ever for the books; they don't do justice to them. But I still enjoy the movie and I feel like going back to see it again... Shame on me loool!!

Now make-up wise... Well, I wasn't really paying much attention to make-up before transforming myself in a make-up junkie but now I do and it changes everything. The make-up of the vampires is horrible!! Edward lookes like he just finished eating spaghetti bolognese! The other Cullen, especially Alice look weird with their eye lenses. I don't like it... And...well... what the h**** was wrong with Jasper's hair??? It looked so ridiculous!! Poor him.... The only make-up I liked was actually Bella's one. Rest was so-so....

Nevermind, I am still a big fan ;-)

Have a nice day!

Disclaimer: I bought all the products by myself, wasn't paid for anything, those companies don't even know I exist... lol!

Primark haul: black necklaces

2009-11-30T21:16:00.005Z

Hi everyone,

Just a quick post to show you my cheap haul of this week end: necklaces. I like Primark to shop when I am a bit short of money. It's always possible to find something nice for £2 or £3.

Saturday, I found 3 cute necklaces for not more than £3 each.

Here are the babies:

They are a bit uncomfortable to wear the whole day, or maybe it's just me who doesn't like to have something on my neck too long. Lol... Obviously it remains Primark's quality so I don't know how long they will last...

I really like them, I think they can easily change your outfit from casual into something less boring.

Have you had a look at those in Primark?

Review: E.L.F Transformer Palette

2009-11-26T20:25:00.009Z

Hi everyone,

The reviews continue... I am being very good with my posting lately... I hope it will last lol....

The next palette I would like to review from ELF is the eyeshadow transformer palette:

It contains 4 shades: green, yellow, pink and blue.

You can use them alone, over a base or even over eyeshadows to transform them.

Here are some swatches over MAC paint pot in Blackground:

I don't know what you think but I find them really beautiful with a metallic finish. When I first saw the palette, I didn't expect such a result. The colors don't have a great pay-off by themselves and I wouldn't recommend using them alone or maybe just as a highlight and even though, they don't make the best highlights.

However, over dark shadows or dark bases like MAC paint pots or NYX Jumbo Eyepencil in Bean, they look stunning. For £3.50 for 4 shades, you can't go wrong at all. Moreover, you can use them to transform a failed smokey eye in a great look by softening the edges of your dark eyeshadows.

Pros:
- Look stunning over a dark base
- Can be used to change the color of an eyeshadow, allowing you to play more with your collection
- Can change a failed smokey look in something beautiful

Cons: - Texture a bit chalky so you need a good base - Can't be used alone

Conclusion: I didn't think much of this palette at first but it appears that I was wrong. As much as I dislike the concealer palette, I really like this palette.

I hope it was useful for you, have a nice sunday!!

Review: E.L.F Concealer Palette

2009-11-26T20:24:00.007Z

Hi,

Following my post about the collective haul, this is the first review.

Here is the concealer palette from ELF:

There are 4 shades: medium beige, green, pink, dark beige

Pros:
- Nice packaging
- Doesn't look cakey

Cons:
- Too sheer, doesn't cover anything
- Shades will suit someone only with medium skin tone

Conclusion: This concealer is too sheer and doesn't cover anything. Maybe I don't know how to use it properly but I've seen the same kind of review already...

So, ladies and gents, stay away from this product, it's not worth the money... I am so disappointed by this concealer that I don't have much more to say. I used it 3 times and everytime I had to grab another concealer to apply on top of it so it will cover my dark circles.... :-(

I think that ELF can do better, they should review the formulation of this palette and offer it in different shades of beige to suit every skin tone.

I hope this was helpful for you. If by any chance, you like this product, please leave a comment saying why and how you use it!

Enjoy your saturday, I am going to watch New Moon!! Yeah finally!!

PS: Now I am testing Coastal Scents Camo Quad ;-)

Collective Haul: E.L.F and Coastal Scents + ELF Offer

2009-11-26T20:20:00.012Z

Hi everyone,

I would like to show my last hauls: ELF and Coastal Scents. Reviews will follow soon....

I am always amazed at how quick is ELF to send the parcel. That's a real advantage to know that you don't have to wait too long for your goodies :-)
I don't think I need to introduce the brand to anyone, everybody knows it! My general impression on it is that some products are amazing and some are completely a waiste of money.

Here are my goodies:

I got:

- Concealer Palette
- Blush in Berry Merry
- Eyeshadows Transformer Palette
- E/S Amethyst
- E/S Coffee Bean
- E/S Charcoal
- E/S Raspberry Truffle
- E/S Mystic Moss
- E/S 2 in 1 Conditioning Gloss in Plumptastic
- Under Eye Concealer and Highlighter in Glow/Light
- Lip Stain in Bomshell

Expect some reviews and swatches coming very soon!

The second haul is coming from the USA from Coastal Scents. I know I am very late for this but the order took time to arrive because of the custom taxes (I had to pay £12 more for customs, so annoying!!)

I don't think I need to introduce Coastal Scents either. My own experience of it is pretty good. I never had any problems of parcels (cross the fingers) and they always send it very quickly (not their fault if the custom office kidnappes parcels from USA...).

Here is the haul:

I got:

- Creative Me Palette #1 (I did a post on it asking if I should buy it or not and with all the positive comments I did!)
- Camo Quad in Medium
- Color Corrector Quad

Again, expect some reviews and swatches end of next week so I have time to play around before giving any review.

Last but not least: Today ELF is celebrating its 2 years so it offers free shipping on order over £5 and a free super glossy lip shine with every order. Offers applies today only.

Have a nice friday, the week end is almost there!

Home-Made Lip Scrub: How to rock MAC Myth Lipstick!

2009-11-25T20:56:00.007Z

Hi everyone,

This another post about home-made cosmetics. There is really nothing new, I am sure that many of you know this already but it has just changed my make-up life so I though I'd share.

Here was the problem: MAC Myth, Gosh Darling, Barry M 100 and 101 were looking hideous on my lips which was sad because those colors are gorgeous and everybody is raving about them...

I didn't really understand why it was looking this way because I moisturize my lips a lot: I apply chapstick, balms, and creams at least 50 times a day on my lips!! But the problems was something else: the little dead skins....

After doing some research, I found some ideas of recipes for a home-made lip scrub and here is the baby:

The ingredients are:

- Olive oil
- Honey
- Sugar until the mixture is saturated

If you are on diet like me, it's a good way to use the honey, sugar, and oil that are remaining on your shelves ;-)

What you do: take a little bit of product and rubb it into lips. The oil is here to make sure you don't get hurt so it's quite gentle. Then, take a wet cotton pad and wash off any remaining sugar and finish with a good lip balm.

Depending on how hopeless is the shape of your lips, you can use it once, twice a week. I normally use it almost everyday or at least everytime I use matte lipsticks.

This is how my lips are before the scrub with MAC Myth on:

And after:

Conclusion: Easy, quick and cheap, this home-made scrub is now one my favourite product in my vanity, it allows me to wear MAC Myth like everyone else!

Have a nice afternoon, the sun is actually out in London, God knows for how long.... :-)

And... Happy Thanksgiving!!

NOTD: Shinny like a christmas tree with Sleek and Gosh

2009-11-24T18:12:00.006Z

Hi everyone,

Another nail of the day for you with 2 nail polishes that I got recently: Sleek in Oxford and Gosh Bright Passion.

Sleek Oxford is a deep blue but as deep as navy blue. The application is a bit thick but it was opaque in 1 coat so I didn't need a second one. I really like this color. Very nice for winter.

Gosh Bright Passion is a glittery nail polish very different from what we are used to see normally. The glitters are in fact long thin flakes that change color according to the light : blue, yellow, green, red but still stay relatively discret.

Here are the pictures without and with flash:

I hope you like it! No need to say that I recommend them both!

Have a nice evening :-)

Review: BareMinerals Brush Cleanser

2009-11-22T15:53:00.004Z

Hey everyone,

Today I'd like to write a review on the BareMinerals Brush Cleanser. I bought it when I was in my "No-MAC period" thinking that MAC was expensive and could be easily replaced by other brands. Let me tell you straight away that I came back running to MAC....

Ok, so I thought I could replace the brush cleanser of MAC by this one:

How wrong was I....

Pro:
-Smells good

Cons:
- The pump doesn't work really well and you have to keep on pressing it.
- Doesn't clean the brushes

Ahem...yeah this is the biggest "cons" ever for a brush cleanser... It just doesn't clean well the brushes. My MAC 217 looks horrible: a mixture of blues and greys. I kept on trying it, flowding the brush with cleanser but nothing!

Conclusion: Instead of saving few pounds, I lost them. I am not going to finish the bottle... I went to MAC and bought their cleanser again. I already tried the Sephora cleanser and it was the same catastrophe as the BareMinerals one.

Has anyone tried the ELF cleanser? I am quite scared now to try anything else than MAC for brush cleansing to be honest....

Have a nice evening! Thank God, Monday is almost over ;-)

NOTD: OPI Winter Wishes

2009-11-22T15:18:00.005Z

Hi everyone,

Today I'd like to show you my manucure inspired by Elle from Allthatglitters21 (check her video here).

I've ordered some nail polishes of the Winter Wishes collection of OPI and I must say that I really like this collection. This manucure combines 2 of the nail polishes: All Bordeaux The Sled as a base (2 coats) and Crimson Carol on top (1 coat).

I am sorry but there wasn't that much of sunshine today so my camera didn't pick up the glitters.

I love love love this combination, it gives a kind of burgundy red with shimmers, absolutely perfect for christmas. According ot the light, it can be more of a burgundy color or more of a red color. The shimmers are discret so it makes a really classy nailpolish to wear. If you have those 2 nailpolishes, I really recommend you try this.

Have a nice sunday evening!

EODT: MAC Blue and White

2009-11-21T19:49:00.007Z

Hi everyone,

It's saturday so it means that I have time for make-up and some light to take the picture ;-)

Here is my EODT: a white and blue MAC, sort of icy princess look:

Products used:

Primer: TF Shadow Insurance
Base: NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
All over the lid up to the brows: MAC Crystal Avalanche
Outer corner and the crease: MAC Deep Truth
Upper lash line: MAC liner in Navy Blue
Lower lash line: MAC in Freshwater
Waterline: Urban Decay 24/7 in Flipside
Eyelash curler: Shu Uemura
Mascara: Maybelline Colossal

To do this look, I was inspired by an article from Temptalia about different ideas to use Deep Truth.

I always stay in my confort zone: in the same color, I use the light shade on the lid and then the dark color in the crease (e.g. light pink and dark pink; light blue and dark blue, etc) so this look was a bit out of my confort zone. I am planning to try more creative looks because the confort zone is a really bad habit that can lead to boredom very easily. I know this look isn't really creative but it's quite a change for me.

Do you stay in your confort zone as well or do you go with more creative looks?

And the winner of my first contest is...

2009-11-20T12:33:00.004Z

Hi everyone,

First of all I'd like to thanks you all for participating to my first contest. I really had fun reading your answers so a huge thanks to all of you.

I put all the name in a virtual hat and the name that came up is.... ..... ..... Phoebe!!! Congrats Phoebe, you are the winner of the contest!! Check her blog Pelux here, she always has great reviews! Phoebe, I've already sent you an email ;-)

I must say that all your answers were very interesting so here is a summary that can help you if you look for a concealer or a mascara.

Best concealer:

Benefit Boi-ing
Elf concealer x2
Quick & Clean Blemish Balm from The Face Shop
lluminating Touch Concealer from Collection 2000 x2
GOSH Touch-Up concealer

Best mascara:

Max Factor false lash effect x2
Maybelline Colossal Mascara
Barry M's 3 in 1 Mascara
Rimmel sexy lash mascara waterproof
Rimmel Max Volume Flash
Maybelline Pulse Perfection + Maybelline Colossal Mascara combo
Benefit's Bad Gal
Collection 2000's Volume Sensation Mascara
Lancome Oscillation

This was really useful to me and I've got already some of your ideas on my shopping list :-)

Again, thanks everyone!!

Rimmel Stay Matte Review + Contest Reminder!!

2009-11-16T13:31:00.011Z

Hi everyone,

Last friday I purchased the Stay Matte foundation in Soft Beige because I wanted to try something new from MAC foundation or Colorstay and I must say that I am very disappointed...

Here is the foundation and a swatch:

Pros:
- Stays all day long
- Very good coverage
- Matifies

Cons:
- Makes my pores visible and huge
- Makes my fine lines visible
- Too matte, makes me look dull

I applied it with my beauty blender which works wonder with Revlon Colorstay so I don't think that's the reason of the problem.

Conclusion: I don't know what went wrong with this product but I won't use it anymore. It gave me cakey dull look and made me look older with huge pores. I am not sure if the problem is that it doesn't suit my skin type or this product just doesn't work at all... I wouldn't recommend it but maybe it works for other people...

Have you ever tried this foundation? Do you like it? Any trick maybe before I throw it away?

Have a lovely monday evening!

PS: Thanks for your entries to my contest! If you haven't entered yet and wish to do so, you still have time, click here !!!!!!!

50 Followers Thank You Contest : Collection 2000 & Sleek

2009-11-13T18:27:00.005Z

Hi everyone,

I've reached 52 followers and I am super excited! I never thought I would even have 5 so I wanted to thank you for following me and commenting on my posts.

I went to Superdrug and picked up some stuffs that I hope you will like.

The prizes are :

- Collection 2000 Poptastic palette
- Collection 2000 glitter eyeliner in rock chick
- Sleek blush in Flamingo
- Sleek nail polish in Oxford

What you have to do is:

- Be a follower
- Enter a comment telling me what is according to you the best dark circles concealer (and if you are lucky enough not to have dark circles, tell me about your favorite mascara)

And that's all you have to do... Easy no?

The contest is open internationnaly and will close on Wednesday the 18th of November at midnight GMT. I will choose randomly a name (computer or lucky hand, don't know yet) and I will annonce the winner probably next Friday or Saturday.

I really hope you like it and that you'll all participate!

Have a great friday evening!!

Bourjois Smokey Eyes Palettes

2009-11-08T17:06:00.009Z

Hi everyone,

I've got 3 palettes from Bourjois. I did some swatches for you. There are quite new and as I could see, they sell out quickly. Basically, the palettes are made of 3 complimentary baked mineral eyeshadows so you can create a look easily and quickly. I find those kind of palettes helpful in the morning when I am in a rush to go to work.

Mordoré chic, Violet romantic, Bleu rock

Mordoré chic swatches:

Violet romantic:

Bleu rock:

Pros:
- Stays all day with a base
- Pigmentation is decent
- Very useful to have ready-made palettes with highlight, lid and crease colors
- Cute packaging
- Cheap because drugstores palettes

Cons:
- Very fragile
- Texture is a bit chalky
- Colors are not original nor unique (although I did receive some compliments when I was wearing blue rock)

Conclusion: Those palettes are good I can't deny it but maybe they are more made for beginners or persons that are not make-up addict. If you are like me and already have so many eyeshadows, you won't find those colors unique and you don't really need them. However, I will still be using them as my go-to eyeshadows to go to work.

Have a happy sunday evening!

Face primer: Benefit That Gal vs. l'Oreal Studio Secrets

2009-11-04T17:21:00.010Z

Hi everyone,

I am back from France, I had an amazing time and ate so much! :-)

During my trip I used Benefit That Gal everyday so I can do a review on it. I was using l'Oreal Studio Secrets before so I can compare both.

Benefit That Gal:

Pros:
- Very light and refreshing
- Brightens the skin
- Smells really good
- Helps the foundation to stay on

Cons:
- Doesn't erase redness
- Doesn't erase fine lines

L'Oreal Studio Secrets:

Pros:
- Very smooth
- Erases fine lines
- Minimizes the pores
- Helps the foundation to stay on

Cons:
- Heavy on the skin

Conclusion: l'Oreal Studio Secrets is more effective but can be heavy to wear everyday or for summer. Benefit That Gal is lighter and better for summer or everyday use but doesn't prime the skin as well as the l'Oreal one. I will use Benefit That Gal on the week days and l'Oreal to go out or for special occasion. Then, it depends on your skin: if you need to reduce the fine lines, go for l'Oreal; if you don't need to cover a lot of imperfections and just want a primer that brightens your skin, go for Benefit.

Have a nice evening!

New Sleek Palettes

2009-10-28T20:36:00.007Z

Hi everyone,

A quick post to show you the new Sleek palettes.

Here is the Graphite one:

It's the perfect smokey eye palette with every nuances of grey from white to black and two purplish blues. As usual, the colors are very pigmented and so smooth that they go on very easily, almost creamy.

Here is the Sunset palette:

This palette is the warm tones with some brown, red, orange, yellow and pink (I don't really know why they included the blue, most certainely to represent the sky...). The colors are very pigmented and creamy, same quality as usual. I love this palette, I am so obsessed with reds nowadays. This is a really nice addition to my collection!!

And then I picked up the Acid palette, I thought it was limited edition but they had it today at my Superdrug, don't know why....

I am not a big fan of this one to be honest. I don't really like the mat finish and I really prefer the creamy texture of the usual eyeshadows. However, it's a good addition to my make-up collection because I don't own any neon color and that can add some color to smokey eyes. The 2 turquoises/blues are stunning as well so another good reason why I got it.

In conclusion, I am very pleased with those: nice colors and nice quality for a very inexpensive price (less than £5 for 12 eyeshadows). You can't really go wrong with Sleek palettes!
The graphite one is limited edition so run before it's too late! The good news is that the Sunset one is permanent!

Have a nice evening and thanks for taking the time to read my blog!! :-)

PS: I am going to visit my parents in France for a few days so see you when I come back!

Claire's haul: Make-Up & Hair

2009-10-27T20:51:00.010Z

Hi everyone,

I know what I am going to say is going to shock you: I've discovered Gossip Girl only recently... It's not that I've never heard about it before but I was already following so many TV shows + Youtube Gurus that I couldn't be bothered to watch it. But, 2 weeks ago I watched the first episode to see what the fuss was about and I loved it. I loved it because of the make-up, clothes. I loved it because I don't need my brain to watch it after a long day at work. And now I love it because I find some of the characters so interesting on a psychological point of view. So obviously on a fashion point of view, I am now obsessed with their make-up and hair. What is Blair using as gloss?? I did so many researches but didn't find any real answer... Why all this rambling? To explain why I went to Claire's today: to buy some headbands... Crazy I know! This is the Blair hair attitude lol.

So I went to Claire's and discovered they had some nice stuffs in their hair section and here is what I got:

I've got some headbands, combs for s and z and some styling tool like the bumpits.

Now I am going to look stupid again but I've never heard about bumpits before!! I was always wondering how to achieve the Cheryl Cole look and now I have the answer....
Have you ever tried this before?? I am now watching some Youtube tutorials and if it works I will post some pictures!!

I was never very skilled with hair styling so after watching Gossip Girl, it's time for a change!!

I couldn't go without a bit of make-up:

I've got a smokey warm palette, it seems to be pigmented. I am going to try it tomorrow.

Don't forget to check your Superdrug tomorrow for the new limited Sleek palette. I will go during my lunch break, this palette is going to be awesome for smokey looks. I bought the Acid and Sunset ones yesterday, waiting for the Graphite to do some swatches for you.

Have a nice evening!

PS: If you use bumpits, please leave me a comment with some tips and tell me if you like it or not... ;-) And... if you know what gloss Blair is wearing, please share... xoxo

Benefit and Lush haul

2009-10-25T18:03:00.010Z

Hi everyone,

I am sorry I haven't post anything since long time, I was sick. I am feeling better so I decided on saturday to go shopping and treat myself.

Here is my small lush haul:

Here we have:

Porridge soap: smells really good and is stuffed with real oats for an exfoliating scrub

Rock Star: my favorite ever, the perfect girly pink soap that smells like candy

Snow Fairy: smells like bubble gum

Yummy yummy yummy: smells like strawberry milkshake

I love love love lush, it smells amazing. After a tough day, take a shower with lush products and it really makes you feel better. I felt like spending my sunday under the shower to try them all...

The benefit items:

I went to the Benefit boutique and there was those 2 offers: If you buy 2 products, you get the powderflage for free and if you buy 3 products, you get a lipgloss free too. I couldn't resist. I remove the make-up shopping ban and got myself 3 products.

Lipgloss in "I'm with the band": a gorgeous golden pink shimmery gloss. I had nothing like this in my collection. Good pigmentation.

Powderflage: a powder concealer to use alone or above the concealer to make it last. It's a light-diffusing powder that camouflages fine lines and dark circles. When the MUA applied it on me, it looked great so I really hope it will work. I wanted to try for long time but found it expensive so this offer was a good opportunity.

That Gal: I needed a 3rd product and I didn't know what to get, the MUA suggested this one and that seemed amazing when she tried it on me. It's a brightening face primer that erases redness and the dullness of the skin.

Creaseless cream eyeshadow in "skinny jeans": I wanted to buy this one forever. Everybody is raving about it as an eyeshadow base. It's a kind of dark silver/pewter color, it will look amazing for smokey eyes or to give a bit of depth to my everyday looks.

Hoola bronzer: A mat bronzer. I love the packaging of the benefit blushes and bronzers. I already have Coralista and love it. I think I will increase my collection little by little. This bronzer is perfect to contour and give a tan.

Saturday evening, I had dinner at Masala Zone and that was really delicious....

I hope you all had a really good week end!

Silver konadicure

2009-10-15T22:10:00.008+01:00

Hi everyone,

It seems that the new trend is more than ever manucures done with Konad. I enjoy testing different combinations with different plates and colors.

Here is the latest one:

Franken nail polish + Konad princess special nail polish silver + m2 plate

Purple and silver is definitely a good combo, quite discret. I think I am going to order some more plates. I can't wait to try different manis.

The OUT of the day: I got a cold.... :-(

Hope you are all doing great!

Coastal Scents Creative Me : To buy or not to buy??

2009-10-15T13:00:00.004+01:00

Hi everyone,

Here is the dilemma of the day: Should I buy the Coastal Scents Creative Me #1 Makeup Palette or not?

Here is the palette:

The palette looks amazing and I guess it's a rather decent quality (I am satisfied with the 88 shimmer and the 88 warm palettes).
I love the blues, greens, pinks, and purples but I am not too sure about the 4 shades of yellows and oranges... I never wear yellow and orange and don't know how to integrate them into a decent daily look.
But the colors look so bold and everyone is raving about it so I don't know if I should go for this palette or just create my own with Hot Pots or not buy anything at all because I have plenty of eyeshadows at home that I've never even tried.... But it still looks like a great palette though...

Well, that was the dilemma of the day... or maybe of the week ;-)

See you later!

Grey Smokey Eye with Cinderfella

2009-10-12T17:27:00.006+01:00

MAC, MAC, MAC I love you so much since the Style Black Collection!

Here is a grey smokey look using Cinderfella:

The products that I used:

Base: MAC Greasepaint in Black
All over the lid and in the crease: MAC Cinderfella applied wet
To smoke out the crease: MAC Silverthorn
Higlight for the brow bone and the inner corner: MAC Crystal Avalanche
Under the lashline: MAC Greasepaint in Black + MAC Cinderfella
Upper lashline: UD liquid liner in perversion (great great liner by the way...)
Upper and lower waterlines: UD 24/7 pencil in Zero

And... I forgot to put on the mascara.... oups..... I didn't go out with this look, that was just to try the eyeshadows from the Style Black Collection otherwise Shu Uemura Curler + double coat of mascara for a great smokey look!

Have a nice evening!

MAC Style Black Blue Flame swatches with different bases

2009-10-09T21:56:00.010+01:00

Hi everyone,

I hauled massively at MAC for the style black collection so I wanted to show you but everyone has already done swatches of the collection. However, I had to do a post on it because I loved loved loved this collection! I think MAC did an amazing job with it. I tried to find an other way to talk about it. The main reason I like this collection is because it's so versatile and that's what I will try to show in this post by showing you different combos.

Tonight, I will be focusing on Blue flame and how to pair it with different bases to get different results.

First combo: Cream Colour Base and Grease Paint:

MAC Bat Black, Grease Paint B from Dsquared

This 2 different bases give 2 very different results. The Bat Black Cream Colour base gives a purple undertone to the blue shadow while the blue Grease Paint makes the blue pops more so it looks really blue and less black.

Second combo: MAC Paintpots:

MAC Blackground, MAC Delft

The MAC Paintpot in Blackground darkens the blue and makes the black pop out of the Blue Flame while the Delft Paintpot gives a greenish undertone to it but still keeps it pretty dark.

Third combo: NYX Jumbo Pencils:

NYX Jumbo Pencil Milk, NYX Jumbo Pencil Baby Blue

As you can see, the jumbo pencil in Milk enlights the blue and makes it look bolder while the Baby Blue pencil makes it looks a bit darker but not as dark as the different MAC bases above.

You can use the eyeshadows to create smokey eyes, to put in the crease or above eyeliner to give a hint of colour and glitters. Just remember to use them with a base or wet because dry by itself won't give any result.

Conclusion: I love this eyeshadow because it's very versatile and can be used to create very different looks. The only thing you need to do is to be creative and try odd combos, they might work very well!

Have a nice friday and if you have other combo ideas, please write them in the comments, it could give me inspiration :-)

Mini konadicure of the day: very discret

2009-10-06T19:07:00.004+01:00

Hi everyone,

A quick post to show you my mini konadicure of the day:

The nail color is Bourjois Beige Glamour and the Konad is the special nail polish in black with the plate m2.

The only problem is that I didn't wait long enough to apply the top coat so the black dribbled.... :-(

However, I like this konadicure because it's discret but still fun so it made me smile during the day. Yes....having funny manucure makes me smile every time I look at it!! :-) :-)

Have a great evening!

Tag - I Love Your Blog!

2009-10-05T19:03:00.014+01:00

Hello everyone!

The lovely Becky from Confessions of a Make Up Addict nominated me for the "I love your blog" award! Thank you so much Becky, I am so touched! Please go and check her blog and her Youtube Channel here, you won't be disappointed!

The rules are
1. Accept the award and post it on your blog
2. Pass the award on to others! :-)

I choose (that was very difficult by the way...):

- Affordable treats: Louise does really nice reviews on drugstore products and affordable cosmetics...

- Birds decorate branches: Emma creates stunning make-up looks and the pictures are just wonderful.

- Robert Smith's mistress: She's got some very different style and her own personnality, it's a fresh air to read!

- Do not refreeze: Leanne does very nice reviews and brilliant swatches.

Don't forget to check out those blogs!

Have a nice evening.

Skin care routine: Clinique

2009-10-01T21:06:00.012+01:00

Hello hello,

For today I have a not very original post: my skin care routine but it will maybe be interesting for some of you.

I used this skin care range for a long time and then I stopped because I wanted to try something else. I am always on the search for a better skin care: I would like to reach a natural flawless skin. Unfortunately, my skin got worse and worse so I had to use liquid foundation to cover the blemishes. And....the more I was using liquid foundation, the worse my skin got... Vicious circle!

So, I stopped using liquid foundation every day and I started using the old good skincare.

Here it is:

The famous Clinique 3 steps skin care

Before buying it the first time, I read all the comments on it from Ciao UK and Ciao France so I know it's either you love or you hate it. And I just love it!

Now into a quick description of the product, because I think that everyone knows this product.

First step: You clean your skin with the facial soap that comes in extra mild, mild and oily.
Second step: You use a toner that comes in mild, 1, 2, 3 and 4. Be careful to just pad it gently into your skin only once.
Third step: you moisturize your skin with the gel or the lotion.

You see that you have a massive choice according to your skin so you really need to go to a counter and ask the lady which number you are. You will ask you some questions about your skin and recommend the most suitable products. I think that could be the problem for the people that don't like this 3 step skincare, maybe they don't use the right products....

My skin is mixt so I am using mild liquid soap, toner 2 and the moisturizing lotion.

You are supposed to do that in the morning and in the evening but I do it only in the morning because I consider that you shouldn't be cleaning deeply your skin too much, otherwise you activate the production of sebum. So, evenings I just remove my make-up and apply a night cream (I might do a review on that cream as well).

After those 3 step I apply a primer serum from Clinique. I know that Clarins does one which is good too:

Clinique Pore Minimizer

This is a light non-greasy serum that helps your pores not to get bigger. You apply it after your moisturizer and before your foundation. I used this product for a couple of months now and I really like it. I noticed that my pores were less big than before.

I also apply an eye cream but I haven't found the Saint Graal right now. I use different brands, all are good but nothing really special.

Then, I am ready for my foundation routine....and by foundation I mean mineral or tinted moisturizer :-) I wear liquid foundation only for parties or special events.

Once a week I use an exfoliator:

Clinique thermal-active skin refiner

This is an exfoliator that becomes warm with water. Basically you massage it into your skin in order to remove dead skin and then you rinse it. Now, I am supposed to use it every week but I am a bit lazy for masks and exfoliators so I don't do it every week.... Very bad I know... But as you can see, I've used quite a lot already and I like it.

But....thursday I went to MAC and burned my credit card on the new collection.... I will post some pics next week... The result is that I am now on a make-up shopping ban until Christmas :-(.... Anyway, I got the Volcanic ashes exfoliator and mask so let's see if it's better than the Clinique Exfoliator!!

Conclusion to this rather long post:
Clinique 3 steps is the best skin care routine I have try so far so I have 2 recommendations to make :

- Use it every day of every week of every month! If you use it once upon a time, it won't help!
- Use the right products....If you take the toner for oily skin because you have a pimple every 2 weeks, it's going to burn your skin because it will be too intense! Equally, as your skin improves, don't forget to change your products for milder ones.

And the last little advice: the 3 step is great for clearing your skin but might not be enough to moisturize it so don't hesitate, especially in winter, to apply a more moisturizing cream after the Clinique Lotion.

Hope it was helpful, if you have any questions about this skin care, don't hesitate to ask me :-)

How to make your own make-up remover: cheap and easy!

2009-09-29T21:25:00.004+01:00

Hi everyone,

Few months back I had a new obsession and it was home made cosmetics. Since then, I've never bought a make-up remover and same for my mum. I have different versions of make-up remover, this one is oil based but my mum prefers floral water so I might do a post on this one at some point.

To remove make-up and especially mascara nothing is better than oil but oil by itself is very greasy! So I am doing a little mix, a very very simple one:

Here are the products used and the result:

Surgical spirit, Hazelnut oil, Lime Water, the result

Products used and where to buy:

Surgical spirit: drugstores
Oil: organic supermarkets or www.aroma-zone.com, better to choose it organic!!
Lime water: www.aroma-zone.com
Empty bottles: Superdrug

Now into the process itself:

1) Clean very carefully everything with surgical spirit and clean your hands. You don't want any bacterias!!

2) Fill in half of the bottle with lime water and half with oil.
PLEASE READ THIS: Used alone lime water IS VERY DANGEROUS so you want to protect your hands and eyes when handling this liquid. DO NOT smell it.
No worries, when it's mixed with oil there is no problem anymore. It is normally used to clean babies ;-)

3) Shake the bottle very well and before each use.

4) Enjoy and use it within a month! If you can, keep it the fridge.

Basically I use it on my eyes during summer and on my eyes and face during winter. It removes any dirt and mascara very easily and I've found that I was losing less eyelashes with this remover.

Now: How to choose the right oil for your skin:

For oily skin: Jojoba oil, Hazelnut oil, Olive oil

For dry skin: Argan oil (but expensive), Sweet Almond oil, Apricot oil, Avocado oil, Coconut oil, Jojoba oil

For every type: Macadomia oil, Hazelnut oil and Olive oil can be used by everyone as well.

I prefer using Hazelnut oil because it is suitable to every skin types but it also helps to balance the production of sebum. Morevover, it smells very good and you can get it in organic supermarkets in the kitchen oil area (cheaper than in the cosmetic area!)

In conclusion, this is very easy to make and now I've started using it, I would never buy another make-up remover for my eyes. For the summer, I prefer using floral water for my face rather than oil. However, for winter, this is perfect because it nourishes the skin at the same time and helps to clarify it and get rid of pimples and blackheads.

Hope you enjoy this little and very easy home made make-up remover!

Konadicure: Leopard print!

2009-09-27T21:17:00.004+01:00

Hi everyone,

To cheer me up because it's already the end of the week end, I played with my Konad kit. I have it for a while but didn't really touch it.... So this evening, I gave it a go more seriously and I came up with a leopard print using a franken nail polish (see my post on franken here).

So I used this bronzy color, the Konad special polish in black and the Konad image plate m24 and this is the result:

I didn't clean up the edges very nicely before taking the picture but it gives you an idea. What do you think? I personnaly really like it, it's my first full konadicure so I am happy with the result. It took me only 10 minutes to make it. I will probably be using my kit more often so be ready for more pictures in the future!

Enjoy the last last bit of the week end and if you want to have some fun, play with Konad!

Charles Fox Haul + EODT Smokey Blue

2009-09-27T14:46:00.016+01:00

Hi everyone,

I'd like to share my small Charles Fox haul. For those of you who don't live in London, Charles Fow is a shop located in Covent Garden. It sells make-up and accessorizes for theatre and professional artists. It's like an Ali Baba cavern and if you have the chance to come to London, have a look at it ;-)....

I got 2 things from Charles Fox:

First, a kryolan camouflage palette:

I have really bad dark circles, they are hereditary so I can't do anything at all except trying to cover them with concealer. I've tried everything but I am still a bit disappointed so I've decided to have a go at theatrical concealers. I've chosen this palette because it has every colors that I need (orange, yellow, and different skin color). This is definitely a good palette and would be perfect for someone with less dark circles than me but mine are still visible. Honestly, I don't think I will be able to cover them completely....

Then, I've got an aquacolor Kryolan palette to use as a base to make the eye shadows pop:

Look at how vibrant are those colors!! I've bought this because it has almost every basic color I need: blue, pink, purple, green and because it has red! I don't know I'm kind of red obsessed right now! They have a metallic palette as well and I will get it next month. One thing though, those bases aren't waterproof so I don't really know if it will last the whole day but I suppose that with a good primer and then you will work with eye shadows in powder over it so it should settle it.

I had to try it today so I came up with a blue smokey eye:

I think it's a nice look for brown eyes.

Here is what I used:

Face: Kryolan concealer, Nivea tinted moisturising day cream, MAC skinnfinish natural light/medium
Primer: Too Faced shadow insurance
Base: Kryolan blue
Lid: MAC Mutiny (so pretty pigment....)
Crease blended until the brow bone and lower lash line: The She Space Reap and Sew
Outer V: Barry M 98
Highlight and inner corner: MAC Crystal Avalanche
Water line: Bourjois Liner Stylo in black
Eyelash curler: Shu Uemura (my new love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) yes it does a difference!!!
Mascara: Maybelline Colossal, a good drugstore mascara

I hope you like this EOTD...

Enjoy the end of the week end...

Ben Hur Live at the O2 Arena

2009-09-25T17:01:00.004+01:00

Hi everyone,

Last sunday I went to see Ben Hur Live at the O2 Arena of London and I'd like to do a review about it. I don't really think someone out of London have heard about this show so it may not be interesting for you but many critics gave a bad review to it and I wanted to balance it because I really enjoyed it!

First of all, let's give a little background. This show was created from the novel published in 1880 by Lew Wallace and it describes the life of the jewish prince Judah Ben Hur in the first century AD.

Now the show itself is produced by Franz Abraham and the music is from Stewart Copeland (drummer of the group The Police and narrator of the show). Ben Hur is played by Sebastian Thrun, Messala (friend and then ennemy of Ben Hur) by Michael Knese and Esther (fiancée of Ben Hur) by Lili Gesler.

The cast counts 400 actors and crew and about 200 animals including the horses, the doves, vultures, eagles and a donkey.

Critics said:

- We couldn't understand because the actors were speaking in Latin and Aramaic: I absolutely enjoyed it! It gave such an exotic and historical touch to the show and I really applause the performance of the actors. I was really excited when I could pick up what they were saying (I studied Latin at the high school) and I thought it was a good exercice for me to try to understand. Moreover, I found the prononciation of the actors very clear and easy to pick up. And not to mention that the narrator was translating everything! So I would say, Mr. Critics and Journalists...go back to school and learn some Latin!

- Pirates in the buggies attacking the boat was an anachronism: So....you don't want the actors to talk in Latin but you don't want buggies as well...Make up your mind! I found it funny and very creative! Who would have thought about it! I am actually very disappointed that you talked about it before I went to the show, there was no surprise for me anymore...

- The chariot race lasts only a couple of minutes: Allright....Have you actually noticed the amazing performance of the actors?? One guy lost its wheel as part of the story and the other is dragged on the sand by the horses!! And then, you complain that it doesn't last long enough....

- The whow wasn't creative enough: Hello? Have you been sleeping? There is obviously nothing new in the story but the way the sets are done and the way they change them along the show. As the scene is a 360° scene, there is no backstage and the sets have to be changed by the actors themselves. To make it easier, they created sorts of frames that can be changed from houses to towers to barges. The galleys were made in such a way that they could be cut into pieces. So, as the show happens, actors have to change the sets and it's amazing the way everything was planned.

- Why was Jesus in the show, is this a kind of religious show: Right...so le'ts begin by the basics: the story of Ben Hur takes place at the same time of Jesus and in his book, Franz Abraham made Jesus and Ben Hur meet. This is the story of the book... If they didn't like the story, why bother coming to the show itself??

I think that critics are very mean...they are just bored, they see too many shows and they don't appreciate it anymore. Ok, I am not an expert, I am not paid to review shows but I know how to appreciate the work the staff put in this show! The sets are amazing, the animals beautiful, the dancers and acrobats wonderful and the actors just BRILLIANT!!! I don't really understand how they can write off 15 years of work just like that, in 10 lines of review....

For those of you who have seen this show, you will maybe not agree, everyone is entitled to his opinion but I thought the professional critics were too harsh. I had a lot of fun sunday at the O2 Arena, it made my week brighter and that's what counts! Thanks to the Ben Hur Live staff!

If you want to know more about this show, click here.

Enjoy your friday night, I will try to write some beauty related posts this week end :-)

Sleek Pout Polish SF15

2009-09-23T17:25:00.004+01:00

Hi everyone,

I am jumping in the wagon of Sleek Pout Polishes. I have them for 1 week now as I needed to use them before I could review them.

When I first heard about them, I was thinking "oh yeah another poor copy of vaseline for twice the price". Normally tinted lip conditionners are not pigmented at all and I prefer buying Vaseline Rose for a few pounds. But as everyone was raving about it, I decided to give it a try.

So I bought Perfect Plum and Pink Cadillac:

First of all, I love and hate the packaging at the same time: it's very cute but so messy because you have to put your fingers inside.

Then, the smell: it's gorgeous. To me, it smells like real caramel! Very surprising, I haven't really smell this in other lip products. It doesn't smell chemical or fake at all.

When you apply it, it goes on smoothly and it's not sticky at all. It's very moisturizing because it has shea butter, sweet almond oil and avocado oil. Your lips don't feel dry 2 minutes after like with some other products.

Speaking about the pigmentation, yes! it is very pigmented! I doesn't look like Vaseline at all but more like very pigmented glosses. Moreover, the color is buildable so you can choose to intensify it or not. So, you can use them on top of a lipstick or alone. I even prefer using it alone as the color can be so intense, specially with perfect plum.

Finally, it has a SPF 15 which is great because we always think about using SPF for our body or face but never for our lips but they do need it as well!

To summarize, this product is a lip conditionner, a lipstick, a gloss and a sun protection in one cute but messy packaging! I really like them!

Have a nice evening!

Another Franken nail polish!

2009-09-21T18:42:00.003+01:00

Hi everyone,

A quick post today to tell you that I really enjoy mixing nail polishes together!

Here is my creation of the day:

I used NYC Clear, ELF black, NYC Pink Promenade and it gives a nice jelly purple! It's a perfect color for fall...

Enjoy your evening!

First franken nail polishes!

2009-09-20T17:01:00.016+01:00

Hi everyone,

I hope you are having a great week end...sadly almost over though...
I spent my saturday evening watching movies and doing some franken nail polishes. They are my first ones so don't be too hard on me ;-)

For those of you who don't it, franken nailpolishes are custom made polishes. You take different colors and/or pigments and/or glitters and you mix them to create your personnal color.

Before I show you the nail polishes, I want to tell you that I was totally inspired by Amanda from Dr. Frankenpolish. Please have a look at her blog, she's got real talent and explains absolutely everything!

Here are what I did to begin with copying exactly what Amanda did on her blog, except the fact that hers are 10 times more pretty...:

I used ELF clear nail polish and the pigment travel to earth from TKB Trading. You can't real tell in this pic but there are some yellow reflects to it so it gives a really pretty white pearl nail polish with yellow reflects.

For this one, I used ELF clear nail polish with the pigment Travel to Mercury from TKB Trading. This gives a gorgeous bronzy, kind of baked bread color. I really adore it!

The only problem with pigments is that you have to shake the bottle very well because the pigments tend to go down. I don't know if it's because of the ELF nail polish or if it does it with every brand. But as long as you shake the bottle well before you use it, it's fine.

Another pigment based franken:

I used ELF white polish with the pigment Grape Pop from TKB Trading. By the way, this pigment is gorgeous!! I have to find some ideas to create an eyeshadow out of it! The color of this franken is a very nice purple! It could really look like an OPI nailpolish for less than half the price ;-)

The two next nail polishes are made of nail polishes only, no pigments:

I used clear nail polish from NYC, white nail polish from ELF, and Barry M in Cyan. It gives a nice shinny vibrant blue color.

For this one, I followed the same pattern as above but with some pink nail polish from NYC. It gives a shinny vibrant pink color. Very lovely!

My first impression on doing Franken nail polishes: It's great fun and very easy.!! It can be a bit messy at times but you really have to give it a go. What you need is empty nail polishe bottles and some cheap nail polishes that you can mix together. To start with, I would recommend using inexpensive brands like ELF, NYC or Barry M so if you mess up, it's fine. I started with pretty basic colors, but you can add some glitters to make them less boring!

I can't wait to do some more!!

Enjoy the end of the week end!

Prestige Mineral Make-Up Review

2009-09-17T20:41:00.005+01:00

Hi everyone!

For you tonight I have a quick review of Prestige Mineral Make-Up. When I went to Boots in Westfiel, I spotted that they supply the Prestige brands. I already knew this brand from France and I really liked their lipsticks.

I picked up two products to try: an eyeshadow quad and a bronzing powder. To be very honest, I bought them because of the packaging and because I am a sucker for baked products....

Here is the pic:

The quad is called backedshadow quad in color Bijou and the powder is sunbaked in Glam Tam.

Here are the swatches:

Top: Eyeshadows
Bottom: Powder

Let's start with the quad, it contains 4 neutral colors which work very well together. However, I am not that happy with that product. First of all, the packacing is super fragile so be careful when you pick it up from the shop because most of them were already broken. Then, the color pay-off, as you can see in the picture, is just horrible; it's just not pigmented at all. It's a shame because the colors themselves are gorgeous. So, I wouldn't recomment this product for someone who wants her make-up to stand out. However, it could be good for nude looks (you are wearing make-up but everyone thinks it's your natural beauty ;-)) and for beginners at make-up or teenagers who want a fresh and subtil school look. I will definitely use this product for my "make-up down days" like friday at work for example but I won't reach for it for parties. I am still in love with the packaging though... :-) I know they do other colors as well but I am not sure I would try them...

Then, the bronzing powder.... I've read some good reviews about it on the Internet but.... Well it's supposed to be a bronzing powder but the color is like a goldish bronze and it doesn't suit my skintone at all. The first time I used it I took a big brush and applied it like a bronzer on my cheeks, nose, chin and forehead like I do normally.. Oh my God, it was horrible!!! Because of the goldish tone, I shined like a gold coin that someone polishes everyday... So, I decided do use it as a highlighter and it does perfectly the job! For this product I would say be careful because it's quite shinny and goldish so it doesn't suit everyone's skintone but you always can recycle it as highlighter and maybe I was thinking as an eyeshadow ;-) !

Have you tried those products before, what do you think about them? Maybe I should try to use the eyeshadows wet, who knows...

Have a nice evening!

Accessorize haul

2009-09-10T19:46:00.009+01:00

Hi everyone,

Before I went on holidays I did a small shopping trip to Accessorize and this is what I got:

2 cute necklaces:
A cage with a bird and a pearl at the bottom. I got it mostly for the cute pearl...

A cup of tea with a spoon, one of the cuttest necklace ever!!!

The only problem with the necklaces is that the chain loses its color very quickly.

Then I got 2 rings:

A nice black and gold color which goes with everything.

This one is my favorite. It looks very chic and classy like an old ring but the butterfly gives it a touch of modernity. Love it!!!!!!!

That's all for tonight because I am struggling since i came back to catch up with everything...

See you soon!

PS: Tonight I created my first franken nail polishes, I will do a post on them very soon!!

Back from Holidays!!! French haul...

2009-09-10T19:28:00.020+01:00

Hi everyone and welcome to my new readers!

I am back from my holidays in France. It was so nice and the weather was just wonderful! I haven't really played with make-up during this time but I still bought some stuffs...

So first I purchased a lipstick from Prestige (you can find this one in Boots)

Prestige Lipstick in Lust

It's a nice glossy wearable beige lisptick.

Then, I bought 2 nail polishes from Mavala:

They look boring alone but very nice together!

I couldn't go away without buying some eyeshadows...

Here is one from Biguine in Purple Fashion:

I am actually more in ln love with the packaging than with the colors. The texture is a bit powdery but nice to work with.

And... a Deborah palette in Angel Wing:

Again love the packaging.... The colors are nice, especially the light blue which is sparkly (the pic doesn't reflect it).

What is nice with those trios is that you don't need to think too much in the morning. You take one palette and you get your lid color, your crease color and the highlight! Perfect if you are still asleep or late!

In Monoprix and Sephora I found those:

The "Huile Seche Intense" comes from Monoprix, this is a Monoi oil for the body and it smells like paradise. Imagine the beach, the turquoise sea and the sun.... Well it smells just like that! Even my mum fell in love with this product.

The "super hand srcub" is a scrub for hands as the name says. I haven't tried it yet but I've read about it in a new French magazine about nails and hands called "Mes Mains".

I found a daily brush cleanser for less than 7 euros... I wish we could have Sephora in the UK....

Finally, I went to Camaieu. This is a shop where you find clothings and accessorizes. I went there in order to buy a jean but I didn't find any so instead I bought those:

So I am happy about my holidays and my haul... It's a bit difficult to be back... Hopefully we'll have some nice weather here too....

Enjoy your friday!!

Holidays!

2009-08-28T07:53:00.002+01:00

Hi everyone,

I am going to my parents' place for some holidays until the 9th of September. They don't have high speed Internet so I won't be able to come too often. At least, it's going to be a real break from everything!

Coming after my holidays:

- ELF Review
- Prestige Cosmetics Review
- Accessorize rings & necklaces
- Skin care routine
- Some franken nailpolishes

I don't think I will be buying a lot of make-up in France but who knows!

Take care!

The Body Shop Autumn Trend Make-up

2009-08-26T18:22:00.017+01:00

Hi everyone,

Today I made some swatches about the new make-up collection of The Body Shop. I really love this collection, all in smokey and metallics shades.
I feel kind of excited by the autumn trend, I mean all those metallic finishes are just stunning. Well, no worries, summer is still here and officially will end only on the 23rd of September so rock you neon nails and your Barry M Pink Flamingo bottles until then!

So here are the eyeshadows:

Sundown Glow, Moonlight Lustre

And here the swatches

Sundown Glow

Moonlight Lustre

The color pay-off is great, the texture is easy to blend and I like the packaging so I am very happy with this collection.

For the blushes, they are 2 of them but I've picked only one for the moment for financial reasons. I choose the pink one for my fair skin, this is called Cool Dusk:

It gives nice fresh glowy cheeks like a natural rosy flush which is good because I am so pale that I look like a vampire... Colorless lol!

And finally, I read some posts about the fact that the brown eyeshadow is a dupe of MAC Satin Taupe but I don't know if I misread it or what happened but the colors are totally different so I took a picture with both so you can see the difference:

MAC Satin Taupe, TBS Sundown Glow darkest color

I hope you enjoyed that swatches. I encourage you to go and see the collection by yourself. Tell me if you like it or not.

Have a nice evening!

Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol 2

2009-08-25T21:11:00.009+01:00

Hi everyone,

Oh my god, purchasing this palette was a real mission! I went to Debenhams yesterday at 5pm and the girl was like "this is all sold out for today, come tomorrow because I don't have the key for the stock-room, I really don't understand why it's selling so quickly...try House of Fraser" and I was like "This is exclusive Debenhams" grrrr "Oh really!!" ... horrible... So today after my work I litterally ran to Debenhams and when I arrived I saw it... It was there on the table... I jumped on it before someone steals it from me! It was another girl today at the counter and she told me I was lucky to have one, everything is going to be sold out very soon! CRAZY! So this palette gave me some fever and made me run like a mad dog but it's finally here!!!! I also got a new set of glide-on pencils. I made some swatches for you but it was dark so I had to use the flash which washes off the color. They are more vibrant in reality!

Here is the palette:

And here the swatches:

Perversion, Gunmetal, Ecstasy, AC/DC
Nylon, Sellout, Mushroom, Sphynx

Half baked, Twice baked, Midnight CowBoy rides again, YDK
Jinx, Flipside, Homegrown, Misdemeanor

AC/DC, Nylon, Ecstasy, Mushroom, Sphynx, Jinx, Homegrown and Misdemeanor are only available in this palette which is great!!!!
You also get a sample of primer potion and 2 glide-on liners in zero and bourbon. You are also supposed to get a UD publication with some examples on make-up but mine wasn't there anymore... Very annoying but I am not going back there again!
I really love, love, love this palette! Great pigmentation and great colors. My favorite are Jinx, Homegrown and Misdemeanor, although I haven't had time yet to do any look with it! Tomorrow!!! There is one weird shadow though, it's Midnight Cowboy rides again, it's very glittery but very powdery at the same time so I guess you have to pack it on if you want to avoid fallouts...

Now the liners:

I guess everyone knows about those 24/7 pencils, they are waterproof, very creamy and perfect for waterline.

Here are the swatches:

Zero, Oil Stick
Corrupt, Eldorado
Graffiti, Binge
Ransom, Rockstar
Stash

These are great, I love the texture and the color but they are soooo small... I mean ok you get 9 pencils for £18 but they are more than small...Although it's going to be great for my purse ;-)

The conclusion is that I am in love with this palette, now I just need to try a look with it. If you plan on getting it, go now to Debenhams otherwise you will have to wait longer as it's going to be sold out quite quickly... Make-Up Fever I guess :-)

Have a nice night!

Inglot Nail Polish in Matte

2009-08-24T21:03:00.004+01:00

Hi everyone,

I went to the Inglot shop in Westfield for the first time and it was like the cavern of Ali Baba, so many nail polishes, eyeshadows, etc.

I picked up a bright baby pink in the matte collection (number 707)

Here is the swatch:

As you can see, it doesn't look as matte as other brand like Nubar, Zoya, and OPI but I quite like it. And the picture actually gives more glow to the nails, it looks much more matte in reality. It gives a different finish. The only problem is that it emphasizes all the imperfections of your nails so you need healthy and smooth nails otherwise it will look weird like my ring finger on the pic.

Here is a swatch with a top coat:

It wasn't taken the same day so the luminosity is different so you can't really see the difference between both pics.

The price is £7 per bottle and they have a choice of around 20 colors for matte and sooooo many for the normal polishes. I will definitely repurchase other colors, even if the matte finish is visible but not that much (maybe as well because baby pink isn't really a great shade for matte finishes). I think that matte is better for very bright and dark colors.

I've never heard about this brand before and I will probably try their eyeshadows as well. Have anyone tried their products before?

Have a nice night!

Getting to know you tag!!!

2009-08-24T08:36:00.002+01:00

Hi lovelies,

I was tagged by Tacky Blue Eyeshadow, please check her blog here!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6.30am

2.How do you like you like your steak? Medium-Well done

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Harry Potter and the half blood Prince

4. What is your favorite TV show? I love so many of them: Lost, Heroes, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Ghost Whisperer, Criminal Minds, True Blood, CSI Miami...

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Somewhere near the sea

6. What did you have for breakfast? I had 2 breads called muffins

7. What is your favorite cuisine? I love Chinese and Indian a lot but I always come back to French eventually

8. What foods do you dislike? I hate sprouts

9. Favorite place to eat? None, I like changing

10. Favorite dressing? Don't have any

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? Opel Corsa in France, nothing in UK

12. What are your favorite clothes? Jeans

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Egypt!!!!!!

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? It depends

15. Where would you want to retire? I have no idea

16. Favorite time of day? When I leave the office

17. Where were you born? France

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Dancing on ice

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? ?

20. Person you expect to tag you back first? ?

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? Everyones!

22. Bird watcher? No

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning

24. Do you have any pets? I have a dog but in France

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? Not for the moment

26. What did you want to be when you were little? An advocate

27. What is your best childhood memory? My holidays every year in south of France

28. Are you a cat or dog person? Both

29. Are you married? No

30. Always wear your seat belt? Yes

31. Been in a car accident? Yes 3 times!

32. Any pet peeves? I certainely have but can't think of anything right now

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Cheese!

34. Favorite Flower? Hmm I don't really know

35. Favorite ice cream? Fruits like rasberry, passion fruit, melon, lemon, etc

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? I don't really eat fast food

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? I didn't fail

38. From whom did you get your last email? Some spam

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? MAC

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? No not lately

41. Like your job? Yes

42. Broccoli? Ok but not a big fan

43. What was your favorite vacation? Malta!

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? A friend

45. What are you listening to right now? Nothing

46. What is your favorite color? Depends... for clothes it's black, otherwise I like blue and pink a lot

47. How many tattoos do you have? None

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? No one and everyone

49. What time did you finish this quiz? 9 am

50. Coffee drinker? No, it makes me sick....

I know this tag is around for long time so feel free to do it if you haven't, I tag everyone who wants to do it, just quote my name ;-)

Have a nice day!

Award!!!!

2009-08-21T21:22:00.005+01:00

Hi everyone,

I've just received an award from the lovely Paulina (check her blog here)! I am soo happy and excited about it! My first award! It means a lot to me, thanks a lot to you Paulina and to all of you of take the time to read my thoughts about cosmetics! Thanks as well for the nice comments, I've enjoyed reading all of them!

I am tagging now 12 blogs, choice is hard because I like them all but I had to choose so here we go:

Chrissy
Sirvinya
Robert Smith’s Mistress
Tacky Blue Eyeshadow
Emma
Lorla
Cheapchick
Leanne
Phoebe
Fern
Victoria Elizabeth
Elise

Please go and check them, they are all very different but all lovely!

Thanks so much for reading, commenting and becoming my follower, it really means a lot to me!

Have a great friday night!

MAC Love that Look

2009-08-19T21:18:00.005+01:00

Hi everyone,

I went to MAC lately to pick up some eyeshadows from the Love that Look Collection.

Here is what I got:

Smoke & Diamonds, Fashion, Style Snob, Buckwheater, Glamour Check
Lip Erase in Dim, Fly-by-Blu

Buckwheater is actually from the naked honey collection, a mistake from the lady in MAC but I've decided to keep it, it's a nice color for neutral looks.
I know everyone wrote about those starflash eyeshadows but I have to say it as well: they are absolutely AMAZING! Highly pigmented, creamy, easy to blend and the colors are so interesting, perfect for smokey looks. I am impressed and I hope that MAC will make them permanent!!
Now, the pearlglide eyeliner in fly-by-blu is really nice, perfect to give a twist to a boring neutral look. Love, love, love it!!
I got an erase lip as well, the MA at MAC told me to take in Dim but it doesn't do much on my lips so maybe next time I will try the fair one. A bit disappointed with that...

Here are some swatches in the same order as the picture above:

I am tempted to go back and buy some more.... I recommend them all!!!

Have a nice evening.

Some more nail polish swatches...

2009-08-17T19:47:00.018+01:00

Hi everyone,

I have some more swatches from my recent addition to my collection. I am obsessed with nail polishes right now. I change the colour almost everyday which makes my collegues go crazy :-P Don't pay attention to the bad application and my dry cuticles.

Color Club Front Row Diva:

Very pretty pearly white color.

OPI Birthday Babe:

A very pretty pearly grey/white color but the application can be tricky to get an even coat. OPI Birthday Babe is more on the grey side while Color Club Front Row Diva is more on the white side.

OPI Cant'you sea?:

Such a disappointment!! I applied at least 4 coats and the color is still sheer! It has nothing to do with the nice shimmery blue you see in the bottle...And it makes my nails look yellow! I don't know what to do with this one...I will try to pair it with another nail polish, maybe on top of a white one or a blue one to give some sparkles... Or maybe I could make some experiments with franken nail polishes... (Franken are nail polishes that you create by yourself by mixing up different colors and adding pigments).

Color Club Electro Candy:

A bright neon pink. An absolutely amazing color for summer and beach. The picture doesn't real translate the "neon-ness" of the picture!

Barry M Shocking Pink 272:

A great rasberry color with a nice application.

Color Club Pure Energy:

It's a bright blue perfect for the beach, the sun, the summer, the sea!!! I think I am in love with Color Club!

OPI Keys to karma:

A very simple and classical red. Maybe you will find it pretty boring but I love it because it's such a simple chic color and it was missing in my collection. The application is just fantastic!

Bourjois Beige glamour:

Such a pretty beige color infused with old pink. It looks kind of vintage. It's going to be perfect for fall and office.

Nails Inc. Jermyn Street:

Such a nice taupe color, another great nail polish for fall and office. I know a lot of bloggers have already written about this one and I understand why now!

Verdict: I love them all except OPI Can't You Sea?.

Have a nice evening!

I've been tagged by Michelle!!

2009-08-17T19:21:00.010+01:00

Hi,

I've been tagged by Michelle from Lipstick Rules (check her lovely blog here). This is my first tag and I am really happy about it, thanks Michelle!!!

So the rules are :
1. Open your first photo folder.
2. Scroll down to the tenth photo.
3. Post that photo on your blog and tell us the story behind it...
4. Tag 5 or more other people to do the same!

So here we are:

Ok.... that's a weird one... It was taken 2 weeks ago when I went to Kew Gardens in London. I don't know why but I have an obsession with plane. If I am visiting something and there is a plane in the air, I have to take a picture of it.... I told you very weird.....

By the way, if you have the occasion to visit Kew Gardens, I highly recommend it. It's a beautiful place...132 ha of trees, flowers, animals.... 132 ha of calm far away from everything but still in London!

Here are the real pictures of Kew Gardens and not some crazy plane:

Those ducks were so cute!!

Enjoy! And... I tag whoever wants to do this funny tag! ;-)

Collection 2000 nail polishes swatches

2009-08-15T18:08:00.016+01:00

Hi,

I am the happy owner of 8 Collection 2000 nail polishes and I spent my evening day before yesterday doing some swatches. Please don't mind the bad application, that was only for swatch purposes.

Here is my collection:

Button Moon:

I've already talked about this one in a previous post. This is a gorgeous mint green with some pastel blue undertone. Very pretty but the application is a bit tricky.

Big Hair:

This is a simple red. The application is fine, nice color but nothing special about it.

Hoola Hoop:

This a bright pink. The application is fine. Very nice color, I like it!

Dynasty:

I've already talked about it as well. This is an amazing pink color, one of my favorite nail polish ever! You should definitely try it!!

BMX Bandit:This one is a kind of purple-ish blue color, very difficult to capture on the pic. Here it appears very blue but in reality it depends on the light. It is blue on the sun but more on the purple side when it's dark. A must-have too!

Show off:

This one is a shinny blue color, amazing as well and applies very easily.

Intense: I am not a big fan of this one. It's a dark grey with some glitters. I don't find anything special in this one.

Wham:

This is a nice grey color. It's my very first grey nail polish. I can't compare with others so I don't know if there is anything special about it but I do like it a lot.

Verdict: I would recommend Dynasty, Button Moon, BMX Bandit and Show Off. The application depends on the different colors but in general it's fine. It's not as good as some higher brands but for £1.75 each, you can't really go wrong! I really think they are worth it!

Nivea Tinted Moisturizer

2009-08-14T17:45:00.007+01:00

Hi,

Today I will do a review on Nivea Tinted Moisturizer. I know it's a bit late because summer is at its end...well we still can have a nice september too... :-)

Here is the bottle and a swatch on my hand:

Let's start by setting up the background: Foundation cloggs my pores!!! It's a shame because foundation is the best way to get flawless skin but if I use it everyday my skin behaves badly... :-( I keep it only for special occasions and to go out. So I am using mineral powder which is very light but doesn't give full coverage although since I am using it, my skin looks better so I have less to cover...you see the circle...I still have some stubhorn blackheads but that's another story. I saw this tinted moisturizer reviewed somewhere so I wanted to try it.

I am wearing it since 2 days now. It's like a light liquid foundation, the color matches my light/medium skin perfectly and gives me a nice glow. I use MAC Powder on top so it sets on my skin. For the coverage, I would say that it covers a little more than mineral foundation (Bare Mineral) but less than liquid one. So far, I really like it for everyday use. It's light, gives a nice glow and moisturizes at the same time. Perfect for summer and maybe for all the year round for me. The thing that I like paricularly is that it doesn't make the skin feels dry like a mineral foundation. After applying it, your skin feels smooth and nice; it's very comfortable. Now the only challenge is...is it going to clogg my pores?! I will keep on using it for 1 month or 2 and see what happens. This could be a nice alternative to mineral powder.

Verdict: Great product for summer and for those of you who like light foundation. If you like full coverage, just forget about it....

Have a nice friday night!!

PS: I made an order on E.L.F Web site today and they took only 20mn to process it...I will receive it probably beginning of next week, can't wait for it!! It's the first time I am ordering from them, I took bronzers, blushes, brushes, nail polishes...Will post about it and review all the products next week!

Sleek Curious Palette

2009-08-13T18:01:00.005+01:00

Hi,

I bought this palette the day it was released (yeah I missed the Safari palette so didn't want to miss this one...) but I've waited to play with it before giving a proper review.

Here is the palette:

And here are the swatches in the same order as the palette:

So the palette is more in the blue and purple tons. They are very very pigmented and creamy which make them a dream to blend. Perfect for beginners in make-up. However, because of their pigmentation, you can get some fallouts. The tip is to pack the color on the lid and use a base so the pigments stick to it.
I really love all the colors except the yellow one. This one is less pigmented. I am not really used to yellow as eyeshadow neither so I don't really know what to do with this one. My favorite color is the turquoise, you have the impression you are applying the sea on your lids.
The only down side is that you are going to touch the pan very quickly I think but... for less than £5, it's a bargain really.

Verdict: Go, run, fly to buy it....and as you are already in Superdrug, buy the other non-limited palettes as well (Original and Storm...swatches to come soon...).

MAC Peppermint Patti vs Barry M 304 vs Collection 2000 Button Moon

2009-08-12T19:40:00.006+01:00

Hi,

I already had MAC Peppermint Patti and Barry M 304 for a little while, I knew they were quite similar. I picked up Collection 2000 Button Moon and when I applied it, I thought it was looking exactly like the 2 others.

MAC Peppermint Patti, Barry M 304, Collection 2000 Button Moon

First the application, no doubt my favorite one is Barry M, it goes on more smoothly than MAC and Collection 2000. For the lasting, I don't know because I never keep them long enough to judge.
Then, the most important part: the colour... Did I just bought the same color 3 times?

MAC Peppermint Patti, Barry M 304, Collection 2000 Button Moon (3 coats each)

I know, you can't really see anything in the picture, it's really difficult to capture... but MAC and Barry M are exactly the same color, you can't even tell the difference while Collection 2000 is different.

MAC Peppermint Patti, Barry M 304, Collection 2000 Button Moon

Maybe you can see better in this picture... Collection 2000 is more like a pastel blue green while MAC and Barry M are like a mint green. I think Collection 2000 is more wearable, more versatile than the others.

Verdict:
Application: Barry M is by far the best one!
Color: I prefer Collection 2000 because of its kind of blue undertone which is very difficult to explain...

Conclusion: I regret buying MAC Peppermint Patti but love the Barry M 304 and the Collection 2000 Button Moon. Sometimes expensive nail polishes aren't always the best ones...

Nail polishes haul

2009-08-11T18:13:00.005+01:00

Hi,

A couple of weeks ago I've ordered some nail polishes from Head2Toe Beauty. To give you an idea, an OPI nail polish costs around £10 in the UK while it costs only $4.75 on this Web site...crazy!! The only problem is that some of the colours I want are always out of order so I will probably end up buying them over here :-( I so want You don't know Jacques... (I know I am late...).

I picked up 6 nail polishes:

Top row from left to right:
OPI Keys to my Karma: a real red non shimmery colour, my very first one.
OPI Birthday Babe: a satiny white/silver, gorgeous but difficult to apply evenly.
OPI cant' you see: a shimmery sheer blue colour, I believe I will need to apply several coats to reach an even application.

Bottom rom from left to right:
Color Club Electro Candy: a bright neon pink...because even if the weather is horrible in UK, I am still hoping that summer isn't gone already!!
Color Club Pure Energy: a bright blue neon with microshimmer flashes in green, one of the most beautiful blue I've seen...so deep and bright...when I tell you that summer is still here!!! At least on my nails...
Color Club Front Row Diva: a light grey with a pearl finish...perfect for office.

I hope I will be able to do some swatches soon. I still have to swatch the Collection 2000 ones and so many others... I wish I could spend my lunch breaks painting my nails so I will be able to wear 2 different colours a day at least :-D

Have a nice evening.

PS: Apparently Head2Toe Beauty doesn't send China Glaze nail polishes to Europe anymore...what a shame!!! I haven't got a chance to get my hands on "For Audrey" yet :-(

NYX in Rust

2009-08-10T21:17:00.008+01:00

Hi,

As you all know, NYX isn't available in the UK which is a shame in those days of recession... The brand is known to be of good quality for less. So I've decided to order some products from the Make Up Geek Store in USA (very quick delivery). I've mainly bought Jumbo Eye Pencils but I also wanted to try their eyeshadow. I found a color I was looking for since long time: a kind of rusty red colour. Absolutely gorgeous!!

Here it is NYX Rusty
And this the look i came up with:

Primer: Two Faced Shadow Insurance
Base: MAC Painpot in Blackground
Eyeshadows: NYX Rust all over the lid + in the crease
MAC Carbon in the outer V to intensify it
Liner: Urban Decay in Perversion only in the outer half
Waterline: Urban Decay 24/7 in Zero for the outer half only
Mascara: Maybelline Colossal

I really love this colour, I am sure it would be nice in a smokey look with black all over the lid smoked out in the crease with this rusty colour. I will try next time and see the result. As for the quality of the eyeshadow, it has a really good payoff, it lasted all night (with the primer of course) and was really easy to blend. Love it!!

Have a nice night :-)

Wicked!!

2009-08-07T11:24:00.002+01:00

Hi,

Last friday I went to see Wicked. OMG!!! That was amazing!! I know it's been already 2 years the show is running in London but I've discovered it only recently and that's a brilliant show! The singers and dancers are so good! I had goose bump during the entire show! The sets and the lightings make it so lively and just wonderful! I really encourage you to go see this one!
The story is about the Wizard of Oz but focused on the Wicked Witch, it shows her side of the story. It's funny and so moving! There is love, friendship and hatred. all in one.

Make-up wise, I did some researches. It appears that the MUA used a wide Japanese brush and MAC Chromacake (water activated) in Landscape Green to make Elfie green. Then, he defined the cheekbones and the eyes with eyeliner, and purple and brown eyeshadows. Nice job, the result is just amazing! More info here.

For info, the theatre is just opposite Victoria Station. I paid my place £30 for a friday evening and was in the first rows but a bit on the side. The best is to call them to book your tickets.

Enjoy!!

Favorite 3 nail polishes

2009-08-06T20:04:00.000+01:00

Hi,

To start this blog I thought I could answer to a contest. This is the contest of Hele about our 3 favorite nail polishes ever. This is a difficult one because I change so often my nail polishes and there are so many I love. The first one is OPI Pompeii Purple. This is my favorite pedi ever, I use it every time. The colour is a pink with a kind of blue/purple undertone which makes it so original and not boring at all.

OPI Pompeii Purple

Pedi

The second one is from Collection 2000, it's called Dynasty. I have it only since few days but I am in love with it! Such a nice creamy pink. It's less boring than baby pink but enough boring so I can wear it at the office....although I kind of wear anything.... ;-)

Collection 2000 Dynasty

Mani

The third one is more like a Top Coat. It's from Gosh and it's called Rainbow. It's a fabulous shimmery top coat with large flakes which change colour according to the light. I tried it on top of black and it was gorgeous. Next time I will probably try on red nail polish (I'll take pictures and share with you).

Gosh Rainbow

Mani (Rimmel black + Gosh Rainbow on top)

That's my 3 favorite nail polishes ever...well for now because I still have so many waiting in my vanity that I haven't even open yet... And I keep on buying new ones all the time... Addiction, addiction...

Have a nice evening,

Nefertari.

PS: As it is my first post, I hope that the pics are ok...

Welcome

2009-08-05T19:57:00.000+01:00

Hi,

Today I am starting this new blog to post my thoughts about cosmetics, make-up, but also about books, movies, anything entertaining. I have been following bloggers and youtubers for a moment now and I really want to try to write my own blog although I am not sure that someone will actually read it... Let's give it a try :-)

Nefertari's Sparkles

Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box: I fell in love again

IMATS Haul and Swatches

EOTD: Because I am fed up with Valentines' Pink

How to beat the Credit Crunch: Become UK

Project No Waiste: Episode 2

IMATS: I had my make-up done by Koren from EnKoreMakeup!

Fashion related: Mittens in Crochet

Review: Victoria Jackson Make-Up

Models Own Pigments and Nailpolishes: Swatches

Hair care routine

No7 Palettes: Smokey Eyes & Jewelled Eyes

Urban Decay Goodies

Happy 2010! Back in the UK!

Happy Holidays - Going back home hopefully

Project No Waiste: Episode 1

Soap & Glory: I got mine!

NYX: Haul and Swatches

I love your blog award!

Review: Coastal Scents Creative Me Palette #1

Review: Coastal Scents Camo Quad

Review: Beauty UK Palette

Review: E.L.F Eyeshadows

Saturday's look: Celebrating New Moon

Primark haul: black necklaces

Review: E.L.F Transformer Palette

Review: E.L.F Concealer Palette

Collective Haul: E.L.F and Coastal Scents + ELF Offer

Home-Made Lip Scrub: How to rock MAC Myth Lipstick!

NOTD: Shinny like a christmas tree with Sleek and Gosh

Review: BareMinerals Brush Cleanser

NOTD: OPI Winter Wishes

EODT: MAC Blue and White

And the winner of my first contest is...

Rimmel Stay Matte Review + Contest Reminder!!

50 Followers Thank You Contest : Collection 2000 & Sleek

Bourjois Smokey Eyes Palettes

Face primer: Benefit That Gal vs. l'Oreal Studio Secrets

New Sleek Palettes

Claire's haul: Make-Up & Hair

Benefit and Lush haul

Silver konadicure

Coastal Scents Creative Me : To buy or not to buy??

Grey Smokey Eye with Cinderfella

MAC Style Black Blue Flame swatches with different bases

Mini konadicure of the day: very discret

**Tag - I Love Your Blog!**

Skin care routine: Clinique

How to make your own make-up remover: cheap and easy!

Konadicure: Leopard print!

Charles Fox Haul + EODT Smokey Blue

Ben Hur Live at the O2 Arena

Sleek Pout Polish SF15

Another Franken nail polish!

First franken nail polishes!

Prestige Mineral Make-Up Review

Accessorize haul

Back from Holidays!!! French haul...

Holidays!

The Body Shop Autumn Trend Make-up

Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol 2

Inglot Nail Polish in Matte

Getting to know you tag!!!

Award!!!!

MAC Love that Look

Some more nail polish swatches...

I've been tagged by Michelle!!

Collection 2000 nail polishes swatches

Nivea Tinted Moisturizer

Sleek Curious Palette

MAC Peppermint Patti vs Barry M 304 vs Collection 2000 Button Moon

Nail polishes haul

NYX in Rust

Wicked!!

Favorite 3 nail polishes

Welcome

Tag - I Love Your Blog!