Using...used...gonna use..

I've been hitting the plateau of beauty frugality lately. First, it was being compensated by fashion exuberance in spending, then it was both, and now both seem to tone down.

Still, I have been using some things, swapping on makeupalley and want to revise some earlier opinions as well.

Using...Used....Gonna use...

Used: (and up for repurchase) Shu Uemura Full Shimmer Conditioner

Actually almost used: I bought this massively niche and expensive conditioner from Shu Uemura I'd discussed over here. This conditioners has actually been quite good: to be precisely...good in the form I have to discard my beauty-frugality soon to repurchase.
The thing is that my hair-quality have gotten slightly better by Kerastase Elixir Ultime Moringa and some haircuts too, so on healthy hair this makes it even more delightfully shimmery.

Using: Sunday Riley Starting Over eyecream

I really wanted to post about this one because today the retailer of this, cultbeauty, has a sale going on giving discount for a whopping 25 % with code FLASH25 (link)

It seems expensive and it actually is, but I have been using it since may this year, and you can see I haven't even used half of it. It is not the eyemiracle I have been hoping for, however, I cannot stop the complete ageing process and it actually makes my eyes appear more lifted and hydrated in the morning after I slept the night with the heater on (always turn off the heat at night, unless you live in Antartica). It is creamy enough for nighttime, yet fluffy and fast penetrating enough for hasty mornings.

To be used: Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill

I received this gem during a swap and I'm dying to use it soon. However, I always seem to be distracted by the virginity of unused makeup and end up staring at it's sparkles and the way the logo still seem to be looking like freshly stamped in...

So swapping on makeupalley?

I've been swapping some beauties in the form of Burberry blush for my latest high end cosmetic crush Giorgio Armani. I looooove blush, but going to winter and seeing my skin going more wintery as well, I find myself into clowncheek dillema that looks fashionable on fashiongirls but basically clowncheek on me (seriously, I think it sometimes looks clowncheek on them too and I almost want to chase them with a stipping brush and blend*blend*blend that colour into something less russian-doll)
I know, and admire pale porceline princesses such as the stunning DrivellerKate flaunting a huge aray of blushes and making themselves even more ridiculously beautiful, but I'm slightly older with less perfect complection so I had to revise some of my stash to see if they would work if

• I'm in a hurry and cannot spend ages on blending/mixing with other colours
• smell ok (Burberry seems to get slightly sickening on me lately with it's hyper-rose scent)
• have a primer-esque quality without actually having primer (hence, not pore enhancing but smoothing)

FYI, the sale of cultbeauty.co.uk is still going on until today at midnight GMT and they have some delightful brands beside Sunday Riley. Again, the code is FLASH25 and international shipping is free after spending £100 (before discount, so after the discount I still got my free shipping even though it was under the £ 100).

Wishlist: Tom Ford Tainted Love

Once I ran to you

Now I'll run from you

This tainted love you've given

I give you all a boy could give you 

Take my tears and that's not nearly all
Oh...tainted love
Tainted love

For a song that has been sung by the original band (Soft Cell) and later dubbed by more dubious bands like Marilyn Manson and the Pussycat Dolls, their only similarity probably being into heavy black eyeliner, I have to tell you Tom Ford got me tantalised by this

YES, a HYBRID Cheek/lip product

 (and it's called Tainted Love..)

Now I know I had to fork out plenty of coins to get a lipstick from him, being the beautiful Violet Fatale...I know this one is the same price-range, plus I have to get it from Harrods so the shipping will be beautifully expensive as wel.

Thus...has anyone seen some swatches of this one online?

gorgeous product-porn and the most gorgeous model luring me into the lipstick/cheekstick hybrid

So I basically want this for the

• Name
• Hybridity cheek/lip
• curiosity 

 But it looks like a deep red: I am not quite certain this would be the most flattering colour for my cheeks on my lighter complexion. And if I'd only wear it like a red lipstick?...mmm, I already have too much...

I'm basically going to hesitate for a while until I see (or get links from my sweet commenters) on good online swatches!

(N)artsy continued...

I got more active in being (Nail)artsy and found a new blog and excellent tutorial recreating a probably most definitely expensive dress of style-Guru Miroslava Duma on nails...

So, with the help of missladyfinger's tutorial and some sponges I actually got this result: Sunset nails!

mobile cam blurry Artsy app

MissLadyfinger has some really fun and fashion-collection inspired tutorials. Because we all like to afford the dress but something it's not that reasonable, so the nails can be lots of fun too.

Beauty to carry the Beauty: Miu Miu Matelasse

I talked about wanting a beautiful cosmetic purse half a year ago.

It took me some deliberating for buying the Miu Miu Matelasse purse in peach. I think the reviews of the miumiu.com website on shipping weren't optimal, but I got my beautiful purse in a week.

It's not cheap, but I reason that beauty should be carried around in beauty.

Thumb(s) up...

I wouldn't post a link to a tutorial without trying it myself. I used the colours featured in my previous post and added Nails Inc Basil street for a dash of nude1

Ehm Military? I think it's more Safari right now, so my nail should be dashing around spying up lions and antilopes, that suits me better than being in the army anyway.

Basically I'm not that good with nailart anyway but it looks fun from a distance. And I guess practice makes perfect?

1.Actually Nude is a disciminating name because it only suggests that nude comes in the pale (Caucasian) colours whereas the Caucasians are really in the minority with their colour), but let's not get too political and keep it Shakespearean that "A rose is just a rose, by any other name it would smell as sweet". So Nude for a paled out brown?

Autumn nails: what's new?

Most beautybloggers have an eye on fashion as well. I'm no exception and I was quite curious what I would be going on for face makeup...

But somewhat easier, how to accessorise my nails?

courtesy Vogue Fr

I went to Vogue Fr. and they showed some returns of the classics: (link)

• Red nails- quite big during Fall. No extras with nailart-caviar, etc...just classic reds.

As for the returns of previous seasons:

• Khaki, blacks and taupes: ah great, not that much investments.

I did buy the latest Chanel in Vertigo:

I couldn't resist, even though I probably have a dupe. I love the reference to the film with Kim Novak building up the tension in true Alfred Hitchcock style. Will his films ever date?

I really like the trend they called 'outsider', but basically quite logical with the so-called 'winter-pastels'...a sweet candy pinkish lavendel: 

As I said, there is not that much nail-art featured. Somehow I was surprised about that, because I have seen a lot of Military clothing in the shops. I personally wouldn't like to dress up like someone who has to defend the country against possible enemies, but I thought it would be fab for nails and so I googled and found this blogger doing this tutorial: CrazeGlaze

Wow, supercool: I brought up my other murky greens that I can pair op with my latest Chanel Vertigo:

left: Brazilian brand Ludurana in L001, Essence 68 High Spirits, Illamasqua Hectic, Creative Nail Design in 340 Okey Dokey Artichokie

Swatches in similar order: Ludurana in L001, Essence 68 High Spirits, Illamasqua Hectic, Creative Nail Design in 340 Okey Dokey Artichokie.

 In general, I think that Illamasqua Hectic will qualify as the most military based. It will look awesome on it's own but I really want to try to do my nails in somewhat similar way as Crazeglaze.

So, what beauty-actions are you going to apply in order to go with trends, or perhaps go against trends?

Chanel Rouge Allure Luminious Intense in 98 Coromandel

Finally, after seeing so many bloggers showing their picks from the new Autumn collections I was finally to go shopping and swatch some new colours myself.

Chanel has been launching an abundance of reds this autumn. From the six colours I swatched I picked the one that struck me as least-likely to like: Coromandel. It has a slight hint of brown in it's neutral red tone and I normally steer away from browns in lipshades. However, it actually looked the most polished of the six: and when wearing reds I want to be assured of having a high-maintainance look.

You see, trying it on can pay off :-D

Kerastase Elixir Ultime Rose Millenaire

After this summer I might even have better quality of hair than before.

How come?

I think one of the reasons that kept my hair at bay (at the bay too) and even lessened the fluffy factor, has been the Kerastase Elixir Moringa Immortelle.

I wrote about testing it here and after 2 months I can only say:

1. "Wow" 
2. At least something expensive and new helps!

 So why new Kerastase? Well, I questioned my readers earlier this August "why not stick to the familiar?"

In this case I felt my hair cured a bit from the heavier Kerastase Moringa Immortelle oil that I could downsize to a lighter oil. Thus tadaaaah:

My first impressions:

• a lot lighter in texture than the Moringa Immortelle

• also lighter in texture compared to the original (gold bottle) Kerastase Elixir Ultime
• thus, better when aiming for a hair-look that involves lots of volume.
• Scent: a light rose scent, lingering between a luxury rose scent and a more drugstore rose scent. 
• Scent: dissapears in 3 minutes.
• Smoothing: slightly less than the Moringa Immortelle but more suitable for finer hairtypes 
• Suitable for hairtypes from normal to dry

Basically, hair/hairstyles with healthy texture, wanting extra gloss/care without comprimising on volume, nor that it would hinder their other volumizing products.

Overall, I like it, but for my dryer ends I feel that it's too light. I prefer to use the green Kerastase Moringa Immortelle on the dryer ends and the Rose Millenaire on top.