Friday 31 August 2012

Nuxe Nutri-Protecting Lip Care...





Nuxe Nutri-Protecting Lip Care in 01 Natural Crystal...




Nuxe Nutri-Protecting Lip Care in 
01 Natural Crystal, 02 Legendaire Pink, 04 Charismatic Red...




Nuxe Nutri-Protecting Lip Care is the most beautifying lip product... It looks like a lip gloss but works like a treatment lip care... In the pictures I'm wearing the nude colour, it's a very pretty shimmery [as are all the other colours] nude that enhances your own lips and gives your complexion an overall super natural radiance... The pink and the red are beautifully pigmented... In fact the lip gloss is very flattering, especially the red, it just makes you look fresh and gives you a cute as a button lip... This Lip Care is like a pigmented balm with a glossy finish... Mango Butter, Shea Butter, Sunflower Oil, Sweet Almond Oil and Vitamin E help to hydrate, nourish and give your lips replenishing effect... It also has SPF 15 to protect your lips! I have been addicted since trying it, the light formula makes it very pleasant to wear... And omg the scent is just so delicious, and every colour smells different!


LOVE

Thursday 30 August 2012

China Glaze in Sun-Kissed...







I got inspired by a fashion mag I was flicking through the other day... It had a summery bright Ibiza theme going on... With the usual miserable British weather it was truly uplifting and inspiring! So I pulled out my craziest neon nail polish - China Glaze in Sun-Kissed... It's from the Neons Summer 2012 Collection... I have featured it in my Top 10 Bright Summer Nail Polishes! blog post... It's not your every day kind of colour, I give you that, but it's super fun for a holiday... Ibiza or no Ibiza, if you are planning a vacation somewhere sunny I would really recommend this colour... It's a metallic true yellow highlighter neon, which dries almost matte... But I prefer a glossy finish, so I applied a dry fast topcoat...


LOVE

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Plum Fall 2012 Beauty Trend...









from the top: 
N7 Eyeshadow Palette 
[it was a limited edition gift with a purchase around Christmas time couple of years ago],
MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork,
YSL Long-Lasting Eye Pencil in Amber Brown,
YSL Golden Gloss in Golden Pebble,
Guerlain Terracotta Light in Sun Brunettes


swatches from the top:
YSL Golden Gloss in Golden Pebble [a beautiful plum with multi coloured glitter],
YSL Long-Lasting Eye Pencil in Amber Brown [a reddish brown],
MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork [a satin soft brown],
N7 Eyeshadow Palette [satin plum and taupe]


I decided to go for one-tonal make-up, creating a warm fall trend inspired look... Plummy shades are flattering both on brunettes and blondes... It's a nice way to use colour on your face but still keeping it within the natural colour scheme... For a flush of plum on the lips I used the YSL Golden Gloss in Golden Pebble from the Summer 2012 Collection... I kept it light-handed as I didn't want to cancel out the strong plum eye make-up... 

For the eyes I found this N7 palette I had for ages... Even though it came free with a purchase the texture of the eyeshadows is beautifully velvet with a satin finish... I find brown and plum eyeshadows come out best on MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork... I have stayed away from a black eyeliner for a change to keep it all warm... The YSL Long-Lasting Eye Pencil in Amber Brown beautifully brings out the blue in blue eyes as it had a hue of red in it... And to warm up my complexion I used Guerlain Terracotta Light in Sun Brunettes, which has been my most used bronzer for the past few weeks...

LOVE

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Dior 3 Couleurs Glow in Nude Glow...













This Dior eyeshadow palette is from the Golden Jungle Fall 2012 Collection... First of all I love the design, the palette slides open and a mirror pops up, very chic! This palette comes in four different shades, a blue, pink, ivory, and this beautiful nude that I was instantly attracted to... When I swatched the eyeshadows at the counter they felt very smooth and satin... And since I haven't used any recent Dior eyeshadows I decided to give it a go and see how they work... The look I had in mind when I got the palette is the one I created, a black and brown smoky eye...

I should probably start by saying that this palette is sold as Luminous Graphic Eye Palette Eyeshadow, Highlighter & Liner... So the idea is that you apply the nude eyeshadow all over the lid, then add the glittery eyeshadow on top for extra glamour and to finish of use the black eyeshadow as a liner... So not quite the look I was going for but you don't necessarily need to do it the way it's suggested... Use your imagination when it comes to beauty, and just go with it... 

When I started applying the eyeshadows I felt the black was very hard to work with, it didn't feel smooth to blend... I had to really work hard to make this look come together, lots and lots of blending, and I ended up applying three of my other MAC eyeshadows to lift the look and give it some depth... I didn't want sparkles and glitter in this look and only used the black and the nude from the Dior palette, but I felt they washed me out so I ended up adding Cork, Texture, Swiss Chocolate [all MAC]... 

I have not tried the Dior look that is recommended for this palette, if I will I will let you know what I think... But sofar although working with this eyeshadows wasn't the easiest job compared to my other favourite eyeshadows I still quite like the palette... The eyeshadows lasted really long... And if you have good brushes to work with and plenty of time and patience you could enjoy this palette... 


LOVE

Monday 27 August 2012

Clarins Autumn 2012 Picks...



 Clarins Blush Prodige, Illuminating Cheek Colour in 04 Sunset Coral
 

 Clarins Ombre Minerale, 
Mineral Eyeshadow Smoothing & Long-Lasting in 13 Dark Chocolate


 Clarins Rouge Prodige, True-Hold Colour & Shine Lipstick in 
L - 127 Redwood and R - 113 Mystic Plum


swatches: T - 113 Mystic Plum  and B - 127 Redwood


Autumn is almost there... With the change of the season comes the change of the colours... Warm toned make-up is incredibly flattering when you start wrapping in thick oversized jumpers and scarves... Clarins Blush Prodige, Illuminating Cheek Colour in 04 Sunset Coral is a beautiful warm blush with goldy peach and brown.. You can use the brown to also contour your face... Clarins Rouge Prodige, True-Hold Colour & Shine Lipstick is great for those who don't like full coverage lipsticks... It's a sheer light lipstick... 

Actually my favourite nude lipstick is Clarins Rouge Prodige in 122 Nude [if you love nude lipsticks - I highly recommend it!]... This lipstick comes in a wide range of colours, from naturals, to brights, and darks... Talking of which I have chosen these two dark beautiful shades for the autumn... Although they look almost identical in the bullet, swatching them they are two completely different colours as you can see... 113 Mystic Plum is a plummy cherry colour and 127 Redwood is a natural brown... 

Clarins Ombre Minerale, Mineral Eyeshadow Smoothing & Long-Lasting is the new eyeshadow that came out in the Clarins Autumn 2012 Collection... This eyeshadow can be used wet or dry, and it comes in 16 colours and three different textures: matte, satin, shimmer... I really like the texture, it's smooth and highly pigmented... The one I like most is the colour 13 Dark Chocolate, which is a shimmer finish...


LOVE

Sunday 26 August 2012

Paul & Joe Rouge Lips...





 Paul & Joe Lipstick (Refill) in 304 Rouge
Paul & Joe Lipstick Case P in 003






If you are a cat lover like I am you will love this lipstick! This lipstick is from Paul & Joe 2012 Autumn Creation and it comes in 20 new shades... There are three different textures: Sheer, Natural, and Full Coverage... The one I have is the Full Coverage lipstick in Rouge... It's a blue tone red, which is great for making your teeth look white... This lipstick also has Limited Edition Cases, one luxurious looking minty green and gold metal and five paper cases... When I first saw it, it reminded me on a lipstick my grandmother used to have when I was little... Hence why I went for the retro look... The lipstick bullet is thinner and more delicate looking then all the other lipsticks I own, and it has a stunning P&J print on it... It's very pretty to look at, and if you are a lover of all things beautiful or like to collect fabulous make-up then this would be a great addition to your collection...


LOVE

Saturday 25 August 2012

Avon Alesha Dixon Limited Edition Shades...









Inspired by the Olympics and being proud to be British Alesha Dixon, British singer and Avon's Beauty and Empowerment Ambassador, created these beautiful shades... I haven't worn the Red Reveal yet but it looks like a gorgeous cherry red with a cream finish... Will do a separate post on it... Inky Blue however I have tried, wearing it right now, as I type... It is awesome!! It's been a very long time since I got so excited about a deep blue nail polish... At night it looks almost black, depending on light... And in the day light it has this incredibly intense blue shimmer... A gorgeous metallic comes through with bright light... It's very flattering, and makes my fingers look thin, which they aren't normally... Very very chic colour!

LOVE

Friday 24 August 2012

Chanel Fall 2012 Dark Lip Combo...












The much anticipated Chanel Fall 2012 Make-up Collection is finally available in the stores, from today! I chose Chanel Rouge Allure, Lip Gloss in 68 Troublant and Chanel Le Crayon Levres, Precision Lip Definer in 54 Amarante to create this beautiful dark plummy autumn lip... Intense, almost gothy, dark lips are one of the beauty trends this autumn... There are two version to choose from, the velvet/matte finish and the glossy finish... 

To start off with, make sure your lips are moisturised but not greasy as the products will slide off... You definitely don't want to have crackled dry lips on any occasion but especially when you are doing a bright or a dark lip... Then begin shaping your lips, line them first then fill in the entire lip with the lipliner, use the brush to really work in the product, that will stain your lips and keep the dark lip looking good for longer... To create dimension after you have filled in the lip just line the edge again to intensify it...

You can leave it at that for a chic velvet finish, but you may find your lips feeling slightly dry after a while... If you need to wear a dark lip for a good few hours you can go for the glossy version and apply the lipgloss over it... It will keep your lips moisturised but it won't be smudge proof... With bright or dark lips you always need to touch up and keep an eye on... But such is life... Full of lipstick and drama...


LOVE


Thursday 23 August 2012

Tips & Tricks For Combination/Oily Skin Types...

Illustration by Meme Infashionlove...


These are the tricks I picked up over the years... Having the same skin type, learning how to keep your foundation in place and how to make your eyeshadow look vivid and last long, along with many other things was groundbreaking...

1. The most significant point to start off with is that you have to understand that your skin type is more likely to be sensitive towards certain products, or specifically certain ingredients that will unfortunately make your skin go psycho bitch and give you a rather nasty break-out... This all is super frustrating... So my first advice is stop changing your skin care products all the time, don't try too many new facial creams, serums, face masks, what not... Try to simplify your skin care routine... And keep it for a good month and see how it goes... Very often you are likely to drop using a product after you have a break out, then you go and splurge on yet another over-priced skin care product in hope it will help... But it can make things worse because you keep throwing products on your face dis-balancing it more and more... You skin starts over producing oil, blocking pores, and it just goes down hill from here...

The thing is, when you break out not necessarily is it from the product you are using, sometimes it could be stress, diet, or hormones related... So instead of jumping from one product to another try to keep using one and see if your skin will calm down, sometimes it can start working... You need to monitor how your skin is reacting over a period of time... Also usually for a skincare product to start working you have to use it for a good few weeks, your skin needs to adjust and get used to the ingredients... So don't give up too fast on something, unless you are 100% sure it's bad for your skin... Vitamins A, C, D, and E are particularly important for skin... Things like Avocado, Cranberries, Kale, Oranges and Strawberries are great detoxifiers and help keeping your skin looking healthy... And of course drink plenty of water...

2. Exfoliation - to keep oily skin as clear as possible and have the break-out situation under control you need to exfoliate frequently... Having said that, make sure the exfoliators are gentle! Because if they are not, they will only make your skin over produce oil and we are right back to square one... The two exfoliators I use in rotation is Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser and bareMinerals Exfoliating Treatment Cleanser... If it's that time of the month, or I get stressed and things go a little crazy on my face I start religiously using these two for a few days, one night I use Hot Cloth Cleanser, next Exfoliating Treatment Cleanser [I have done a review on it], then Hot Cloth Cleanser and so on until my skin clears out, usually takes 3-4 days for me... 

Also with this skin type as soon as you get a clear looking skin you can't get lazy with your routine and drop out of it for too long as your pores will start getting blocked again... Of course once in a while you will still get a blemish, but once you find the right skincare products for your skin you will be in control and those nasty undesired break-outs won't reappear... And those couple of spots will quickly clear up... You'll see a big and super pleasant change to your skin... 

3. Moisturising - now this is the toughest one I find... It's really difficult to find a moisturiser that is not to greasy yet will work for oily skin... Also because you exfoliate a lot, naturally you need to moisturise otherwise skin starts to feel a little tight, and usually over night it over produces oil, and you wake up looking rather greasy... So what I do is, after I use the Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser I spay the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer couple of times over my face and neck... It feel very soothing and refreshing, and I love the scent of both products, very herbal and natural... Then before going to bed I apply Avene Cleanance Lotion, which is an anti-shine regulating, just on my oily bits: forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin - that keeps me from feeling dry, personally accept for my eye area I don't need any full-on moisturisers, my skin develops enough oil as it is... During the day I use Avene Cleanace Cream-gel, which is both exfoliating and hydrating... It's a great primer, and while you are wearing make-up it does its job! But during the winter I sometimes can get dry patches, in which case I like to use the Liz Earle Skin Repair Light Moisturiser, it's specifically for combination/oily skin, it's very light and gentle and sinks in to your skin without leaving a greasy filter...

4. Treatment - I'm cleansing my face in the morning and evening... In the morning I usually use Vichy Normaderm Deep Cleansing Purifying Gel and then I use Vichy Normaderm Purifying Pore-Tightening Lotion... This I find really keeps things under control... Also when you have a blemish that is clearing up it will make it peel away... But it's a good thing, you need your old skin cells to be replaced to have a new revitalised clear looking skin... If I have a blemish coming or happening I will use Avene TriAcneal Skin Care, just on the blemish... Or the area that is affected by a few blemishes if they are all close together having a party... In the morning I would cleanse my face with Avene Cleanance Gel Soapless Cleanser, which helps to reduce excess oil...

5. And last but not least, to keep your make up looking good for longer here are a few tips and tricks! First of all when it comes to eye make-up I literally don't remember last time I haven't used some sort of primer on my eyelids... I used to be so frustrated with so many eyeshadows because they just looked so washed out on me and hardly had any pigmentation, and would crease after two hours, and wouldn't last much longer after that... A primer takes care of all these dilemmas, and transforms your eye make-up into sultry, intense, beautifully smooth make-up artist creation... The ones that I constantly use are MAC Paint Pots... They are cream eyeshadows and are fantastic as primers too... I love them because when you are in a hurry you can just leave it as it is... The Paint Pots I use the most are in Nubile and Groundwork...

Secondly, choose the right foundation... Some slide right of your skin no matter how you try to keep in in place... Stay away from luminizing foundations, as they tend to be those that will make you look like a greaseball... As well as be careful where you put highlighters, and shimmery bronzers, they will emphasise uneven skin and make your pores look huge... 

Finally, another revelation to me was the mineralised foundation! Two that I really love and would recommend for oily skin is Laura Mercier Mineral Powder SPF 15, and bareMinerals SPF 15 Foundation... Those lucky ones with perfect skin can use it on its own... But for us it's a fantastic way to create an air-brushed flawless finish and set the liquid foundation in place, I feel naked without it! And if you need to touch up your oily zone during the day I suggest something like YSL Matt and Radiant Pressed Powder, or bareMinerals Original Mineral Veil... They are weightless so you can use them trough out the day without ending up looking too powdery...

***

These are all the products I use consistently, most of them for over a year now... I highly recommend them for combination/oily skin types... And I hope some of my tips will help you combat bad skin and make you look even more beautiful!


LOVE

OPI Deutsch You Want Me Baby?







When I saw the new OPI Germany Collection I decided to pay homage to the country that has the best sausages in the world and where I had the Vergnügen to finished school before moving to London like over a decade ago... As I have said many, many, many times before I am a total nail polish addict! And whenever I see an interesting colour that I don't have in my extended collection I have to have it... It's been a while since I purchased OPI nail polish, but this one did it for me... Deutsch You Want Me Baby? - Uh I just love quirky nail polish names! It's a beautiful metallic burnished orange, it's super intense...

What are your favourite OPI colours, let me know in the comment box! x


LOVE

Wednesday 22 August 2012

Chanel Beauty Fall 2012 Collection...






 Chanel Ombre Essentielle in 94 Eclaire
Chanel Le Vernis in 563 Vertigo
Chanel Le Crayon Levres in 54 Amarante
Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof in 88 Noir Intense
Chanel Rouge Allure in 68 Troublant






 Chanel Ombre Essentielle, Soft Touch Eyeshadow in 94 Eclaire...
[a beautiful metallic gold]


 Chanel Le Vernis, Nail Colour in 563 Vertigo
[a cool toned chic grey with light fuchsia shimmer]


 Chanel Rouge Allure, Lip Gloss Levres in 68 Troublant
[a sensual plummy brown with gold shimmer]


Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof, Long-Lasting Eyeliner in 88 Noir Intense
[an intense black, it's a twist-up eyeliner with a tiny sharpener attached at the other end] 


 Chanel Le Crayon Levres, Precision Lip Definer in 54 Amarante
[a gorgeous violet-plum, and incredibly long lasting for a lipliner with a brush, comes with a separate sharpener]


swatches from the top:

Chanel Le Crayon Levres in 54 Amarante
Chanel Rouge Allure in 68 Troublant
Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof in 88 Noir Intense

***

As the Chanel Beauty Fall 2012 Collection Les Essentiels de Chanel is about to hit the stores in UK I thought to share my picks from this collection... It's coming out on the 24th August, so just a few days left now! This collection concentrates on the eyes... The star of the collection is the mono eyeshadow that Peter Philips, Creative Director of Chanel Make-up, created to be strong and intense... Ombre Essentielle, the monochrome eyeshadow come out in new five shades: a peach, gold, grey, silver, and black... The eyeshadows are incredibly smooth... The one I chose is the 94 Eclaire, a gold shade, incredibly intense and luminous, this colour was created to highlight the eyes... Looks wearing these and nail polish swatches are coming soon!  

LOVE