November Empties

"And so we're finished"

(but we might meet again...)

 

 I haven't been that empty-tastic like last month, but I did my share.

Clockwise:

• Aurelia Revitalise Glow Serum is a repeat serum I crack open before winter starts: it's potent enough with anti-agers but soothes for skin-that-doesn't-like-cold. I've repeated before, and will repurchase next transition.
• Ciate Amazing Gracy has been from the 2013 Advent set and it started to thicken up. I wanted to buy this year's set but I had the most craptastic saleslady so I passed at the counter. :( Perhaps I'll get it online anyway.
• SWELL Volumizing condition travel size has been such a gorgeous organic conditioner that doesn't compromize on smoothness nor volume. I need the full size but I still have tons of other conditioners to use.
• I've been liking this Keep Calm & Spray On ThemeFragance perfume since 2009 and it still smells as good as then, but it's almost finished. They don't have this lable anymore so I'll keep the bottle!
• (leftcorner) This Kose Fasio Smart Curl Mascara curl has been a lovely mascara holding up my curl and giving a nice amount of volume. I won't repurchase as I'm adoring my Kate Base + MakeupForever mascara combo so much. 

• I'd ranted about Revitalash stinging my eyes but I guess it had been something else. Fact is, it has given me a wonderful grow and some dainty lashes. 
• Becca Resurfacing Primer has been a GWP but has begon to smell wiffy. It's slightly silicony.
• Koh nailpolishes are from a Dutch company with a Japanese aesthetic. Their nailproducts are brilliant, but expensive. I gotten this colour in the Bijenkorf beautybox from last year's GWP.
• This Bourjois Docteur Glamour lippy had been in my collection for too long. It still smells fresh but I had to make some space. This gorgeous colour is 15 Fuschia o Boho.
• Similar with this NYX Pumpkin Pie: I'm not that fond of nude lipsticks anyway.

 

•  Odacite Ac + R (Acai & Rose Youthful Glow) Oil has been the most gorgeous & glowifying serum on my holidays: a perfect after-sun antioxidant & moisturizing blend. Alas, it's only 5 ml so the price per use holds me back.
• I've already bought & used Bella Freud J'Adore Jane candle and I was curious for Ginsberg is God. I prefer Jane as I'm not too fond of fig as a home-fragance. It's still really nice, though.
• I guess everyone knows about Manuka honey so I won't elaborate on it.
• Normally I go French with my anti-cellulite but L'Oreal (I consider it American instead of French) had a BOGO. It's nice, but I prefer my French for celllutite blasting.
• Tatcha Indigo Bodycream (travelsize) will gets its own feature on the blog: it's THAT good and I already purchased full-size.

 

• Rotho Lychee eyedrops are a staple of mine. I'll repurchase for sure.
• The black tube next to it is Kjaer Weiss Mascara refill. Nice, but so far the chemicals and chemical primers have given me a better result.
• The sample next to it is Tammy Fender Intensive Repair cream. I like it, I use to have full-size, and it's rather expensive.
• The Caudalie Polyphenol C15 eye & lip serum is also nice. I always use the excess of eyecream for the contour of my lips as well but I like the marketing of including both.
• Clean Fresh is like its name, and Frederic Malle's Fleur the Cassis is almost it's florally heady opposite. I like both but not enough for going full-size.
• Suki Balancing Day Lotion has been better than I expected. It's thin but moisturizing enough and it kept my blemishes at bay. Potential repurchase.
• Tatcha Luminious Deep Hydration Firming Serum feels quite neutral and soothing on. I might upgrade to the 10ml travel size.
• Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint is a wonderful hybrid between a tinted daycream and a luminizer: on some days you just need a bit of extra [faux] glow.
• The 2 Ole Hendrikson's are from Sephora's 7 day 'transforming' set. Ugh, the more they come with 'transforming'/'flawless' terms, the more wary I get (they never work for me!). The Truth Serum is a mild Vitamin C based serum: I used to like this one but I feel there are more diverse serums around these days. Similar with the Moisturizer: nicely bland but I'd pick the Suki one over it.
  
  
  In general, my November was not so spectacular on a social level, but I found some really effective products. I'm gonna discuss some of the likes of #Team-anti-irritation soon. And I'm so delighted that my Tom Ford Lipstick & Boys arrived minutes ago. Thus, I'll be getting lippy and report soon ;).

Becca Beachtint Raspberry/Opal in Vine

Sometimes moving images say more than the still ones.

So I would like to Vine-review Becca Beachtint in Raspberry/Opal I gotten in July (here). It started out as a cushiony dream but I have some reserves I will share later. Let's Vine first:

<

 Pros: 

• love the colour-payoff: cannot get enough ofa  berry-ish glowy cheek
• blends easily on my skin 
• Fits my Adesign Pointed Foundation brush like a dream

Cons:

• dents easily: I've only used it about 10 times to get this dent!
• Not really fingerproof: this one needs a proper brush for applying

I'm slightly dissapointed to have this effect when I only had it for 3 months. The result is pretty but the Cons make it a blush I do not reach easily for it. Also, It looks I only have 50% left after only 10 uses, which makes it quite pricy per use.

unlike the bird, the early pan doesn't get the worm

I really love Becca as a brand. I prefer their matte eyeshadows over Rouge Bunny Rouge's, I love their illuminators and they have some awesome blushers. This formula is neither fish nor fowl.

It also dissapears faster than my other blushes.

Conclusion: Love at first sight can be deceptive if the substance looked more than it eventually is

Show me your Marbles...

A week ago I received my 1st Sephora haul...Ofcourse, L.O.V.E...Some highly unaccessible brands like Tarte are finally within my reach.

I also added the Becca Beachtint in Raspberry, which got me into looking at my other marbles (=marbled blushes).

Somehow, like primary school, it feels like showing your marbles before playing a game.

1. Clio ArtBlusher in Light Brown 3: I purchased some of these minerals in 2009 and forgot about these.

2. New Cid Cosmetic Glow Mini in Sirocco

I received 2 of these Mini's as a GWP. In fact, they're both gorgeous colours, longlasting and travel friendly

3. Terra Del Sol No 4:

Once hunted these down at the German Douglas based on rave reviews. Sometimes the chase is better than the catch because I cannot remember using this one

4. Banila Co de la Couture Face blusher:

Korean know how to do BB balms but they also had a good selection of marbled blushers going on.

5. My other New Cid Cosmetic Glow mini: in Coral Crush

6. Prorance Finish Water glow in M16:

Korean & from Gmarket

7. Stila Cheek Duo in Pink Glow

8. YES, my newbie Becca Beachtint Souffle in Watermelon that spurred on the marble-post.

9. My other Clio Artblush in 2 Pink

10. Lioelle Marbling Blusher: Guess from which country? Yes??

11. SkinFood All over Muffin Cake Finish: The Koreans probably think that girls wanna smear cakemix over their face...but it makes a sweet glow for sure.

And, unlike the glassy marbtles of our youth, we can swatch these:

 

1. Clio ArtBlusher in Light Brown 3: Sometimes Marbles are Matte! And this colour looks like the perfect matte bronzer/shader.

 2. New Cid Cosmetic Glow Mini in Sirocco: A glowy highlighter with peach undertones

 3. Terra Del Sol No 4: Sweet, I

 4. Banila Co de la Couture Face blusher: A golden peach

 5. New Cid Cosmetic Glow mini: Sort of NARS Deep Throat dupe without the glitter

 6. Prorance Finish Water glow in M16: This colour has a slightly frosty finish in a warmer pink (peachy) glow

 7. Stila Cheek Duo in Pink Glow: Both shades are more traditional blush than mineralized finish. In both cases, they hint towards coolness with the top shade slightly bubblegum & the bottom Raspberry

 8. Becca Beachtint Souffle in Raspberry is both longlasting, well-blending and in that perfect shade of fruity pink that hints towards berry-ness.

 9.  Clio Artblush in 2 Pink: WOWZA, how did I forget about this one. A deeper pink-berry.

10. Lioelle Marbling Blusher: The funny thing about Marbled blush is that you cannot always forsee the outcome being swached. This one is highlighter whitish pink with a slight frost.

 11. SkinFood All over Muffin Cake Finish: Slightly warmer/peachier highlighter hue than Lioelle and probably a lovely blush on N 15-20 skin.

It's good to know that I had no dupe for my new Becca Beachtint Souffle (no 8). I'm also happy to rediscovered some old new vintage marbles around.

More detailed review of:Clio ARTblusher in 03 Brown

So what have you been rediscovering lately?

Cheek/lip hybrids: the battle

When I received my Edward Bess lip/cheek in Island Rose, I tested it ofcourse and the first thing that I thought was "Darn, my Kose Addiction is still the grand no. 1 compared to this one".

But to get things really precise I dug out all of my hybrid cheek/lip products, which turned out to be a lot, and tested them based on texture and hybridity. I only tested the products that directly marketed as being a hybrid lip/cheek: there are other products that work brilliantly for both and are still marketed as only blush or only lipstick, but I won't review those.

And even though I already gave out the outcome which is my fave no. 1 (Addiction), I still discuss them all for other no. 1s on other fields.
 

sorry for the NARS multiple looking so grubby: I cleaned it a lot but, it's reality: NARS stuff really gets a yucky packaging after a while

Ok, let the battle begin:

1. Julie Hewett Cheekie:

One of my first and still a good favourite of mine
Lip performance: it brings out a medium colour on the lips that spreads easily. It has a glowy texture, which is flattering. It feels a tiny bit waxy, but quite like a MAC lipstick so not really unusually un-lipstick
Cheek performance: A glowy colour with a medium coverage. It glides easily over imperfect skin (I have a tiny scar from a laser treatment that still has to heal) and doesn't sit in the pores. It last for approximately 5 hours before it diminishes in colour. The fading is natural and non-blodgy.

2. Etude House Angel Kiss Lip and Cheek

It's a light-pink colour and really the unusual one in my collection
Lip performance: For a light pink colour that normally wouldn't look good on my or would sit in the folds of my lip, it is quite dewy and glides over the lips and makes them appear smoother. The colour pay-off is medium to high cover. It feels somewhat waxy, but not too hindering. It lasts for approximately 2 hours.
Cheek performance: It dissapeared on my cheeks after a couple of minutes and I first thought that must be the colour, however, I saw it when I applied it at first. It is dewy enough to glide over that tiny scar I mentioned before.

3.  Etude House Sugar Pink Lip & Cheek

I like Etude House, obviously, and they have lots of hybrid performers
Lip performance: it felt grainy and waxy on my lips. The colour didn't spread equally and settled in the lines so it needed high grade of blending and a pre-lip product first: not something that you want from a easy-to-carry hybrid product.
Cheek performance: that part was a lot better! It spreads quite equally over cheeks and the colour payoff is light to medium. It lasted for about 3 hours before fading.

4. Lotree

My ultimate fave Korean brand for a while, and then it suddenly was really hard to get on gmarket, darn.
Lip performance: smooth and glowy on the lips with light to medium colour-payoff.
Cheek performance: one of my favourite blushes for a while and I was glad I reviewed it for this post because I will wear it again. I love it! It glides over the skin, last for 4 hours with equal fading and has the perfect neutral colour (oh, sorry, I wouldn't discuss colour over here but it's so lovely)

5. Edward Bess lip/cheek Island Rose

The newbie in my collection of last weekends haul!
Lip performance: Quite light! I saw it on Sabrina from beautylookbook who branded this item as her ultimate date saver but it might be that her lips are lighter because I don't see as much colour payoff as the others I reviewed. The scent is lovely, a fig-type and it feels really balmy and smooth. But it's more a lipbalm on me.
Cheek performance: Also quite light. I also found it settling in that scar after a while which made that darn thing more obvious. I think this one will go up for swap on makeupalley.

6. Bobbi Brown Lip/cheek in Cabo Coral

Probably the best known one! I bought it for the colour that is a coral/tan shade and perfect on (fake) tanned skin.
Lip performance: Probably discussed endlessly on other beautyblogs and reviews but it's quite light (to light medium) and dissapears after 1 hour. The plus side is that it is so lovely for smoothing out lips and it doesn't sink in any beginning lines around the mouth.
Cheek performance: Vivid and creamy. It needs good blending but if you do that it will look lovely on. It last for 4 hours and even through a dance workout!

7. Becca creme blush in Hyacint

I'm not even sure it markets as a hybrid but its quite lovely so I put it up.
Lip performance: light to medium. It looks like a glowy lipbalm/lipstick colour and last for 2 hours tops.
Cheek performance: Hyacint is one of the sheerer colours, compared to the imfamous Turkish Rose. It still needs some blending to get it natural but it will last about 4 hours. Not my favourite for cheek colour. Turkish Rose has a medium coverage and Hyacint light-to-medium.

8. Becca Beach Tint Lip and Cheek

In contrast to the Becca above, this one is really long-lasting for both lips and cheek. Then again, it markets itself as a hybrid beach products that would suit surfer babes and swimming queens so that makes sense.
Lip performance: It is a gel-texture and feels a bit dryer when applied. However, it turns into a matte to velvet stain (I have Watermelon) that really last in a water-setting for a while. The coverage is medium but still quite natural. It smells really nice like a candied watermelon.
Cheek performance: This gel-like product spreads on light but can stills settle in a pore or scar so blending is needed. After that, it stays rather put and has a light to medium coverage without any shimmer. It looks quite natural. It market as a Beach product and they made quite the reasonable product for it.

9. Vapour Organic cheek/lip in Courtisan

Another newbie I will review in detail soon. Shortly:
Lip performance: Medium to medium/high coverage. It feels like a dryer lipstick (eg MAC or NARS) but that makes it quite longlasting. I do find, just like the other dryer lipstick types, that I need a smoother under this lipstick to make it appear more equal.
Cheek performance: high coverage and needs good blending due to the dryer texture. It stays on for about 5 hours before fading.

10. Kose Addiction in Revenge

My most expensive, but my ULTIMATE lip/cheek hybrid!
Lip performance: BRILLIANT! It is one of those velvety mattes that actually look good on me. Chanel makes a velvety matte lipstick as well, the Allure Velvet, but this one is even better in smoothing out the un-plumpness of the lips. The colour payoff is excellent: it lasted a vigourous excercise class and my lips were as corally pink afterwards.
Cheek performance: Just as amazing! The velvet texture that smooths out lips works brilliantly on cheeks as well and even without all the priming/foundation I can wear it without setting into that scar. And that is often what I like when wearing cream-cheek products, when I don't have tons of makeup on! It wears for 5 to 6 hours.

11. NARS Multiple (Beverly Hills)

The limited edition one: it's not as vibrant in colour as the other multiples but doesn't have that pesky glitter/shimmer thing going on either. I will discuss the texture of the Orgasm Multiple as well for review's sake
Lip performance: Beverly Hills is really sheer and smells somewhat alcoholy and gel-like. It dissapears in 5 minutes? Orgasm (or Copacabana) stays for about an hour or 2, but as discussed in tons of blogs: it's not a real lip-product and feels somewhat dry and doesn't plump up lips.
Cheek performance: Beverly Hills is sheerer and more gel-like than the regular Multiples, but I love the sheerness on cheeks for giving that supernatural but still visible change in colour. Similar as the gel-like texture of Becca's Beachtint, although this one glides better over the skin. The beachtint, in contrast, last longer.

Conclusion:
I already told you that the Kose Addiction in my favourite and I wish they came in tons of colours and half the price cheaper.  However, in the end I like them all for different reasons. Sometimes colour plays a great role too but I haven't discussed it today. Women like hybrid products for times we don't want to carry a lot of products a round or sometimes we want to colour-coordinate our lips to our cheeks. I don't think a hybrid lip/cheek product should be a hassle or too-much-an-effort to apply because I prefer my creamy blushers on a tinted moisturizer face or at least not too primed and powdery, otherwise I would have picked a powder blusher. So it has to have some ingredient inside that makes it easy to apply, but still longlasting and looking equal on both face an lips. That is a lot of things to demand and that's why I believe Kose Addiction did an excellent job: it's so travel-handy too.

Nars Laguna illuminator & Becca Topaz-> bronze battles

A bit late to have a review/comparing battle in Autumn, I know. Still, I have readers around the world living in perinially summery countries, or living in the Southern hemisphere delightfully having their spring now, or just people like me who sometimes feel a bit too pasty...

So here it goes...I will size up two liquid bronzers: my Becca Topaz Shimmer Perfector SPF 25 and the NARS illuminator in Laguna.

NARS illuminator Laguna & Becca skin perfector Topaz

I bought them in the beginning of June this year. I was planning to go for Fraxel CO2 laser treatment for the first time. I also noticed that I wouldn't be allowed to have a tan or even a fake tan for 2 months, so I had to sample in some seriously good products that would avoid me getting 'are you ill?" remarks.

Eventually, my dermatologist disadvised me against Fraxel before summer. I wanted to explain to her that I shun the sun like a superpale redhead wearing floppy heads when needed and safeguarding my skin with Japanese skincare but she thought I would be better of doing in Autumn. That's a different story, but I still have my bronzers that come in handy when I don't want to fake-tan and I still look too ghosty for Dutch aesthetics in winter.

So Becca Topaz and NARS illuminator Laguna:

This time I am not going to say they look like twins. They don't even look related looking at the bottle. Becca is a bronze cooler shade whereas NARS has some orange tones.

This difference is even more noticable when looking at the blobs of product:

No doubt about the fact they differ when applied thickly or by blobs.

left: Becca Topaz - Right: NARS Laguna

Strangely, sometimes really different products have the tendency to go somewhat similar on the skin.

Haven't you noticed that before with some cosmetics products, e.g. BB creams or foundations?

In this case, these two liquid bronzers kind of have a similar effect on my skin, even though they look totally different on first sight.

When you spread them out a little, they already become this morphy bronze.

(sorry for this picture: I always find half-unblended bronzers look a bit dirty on the skin but I wanted to show you 1. the difference that starts to dissapear 2. ALWAYS blend blend blend your liquid bronzer)



left: Becca Topaz - Right: NARS Laguna

 And in totally blended form they look alike:

click on picture for better view of flecks/sparkles/hues

I intentionally skipped some skin underneath to show you I used liquid bronzer on my pasty skin.

Conclusion:

• They are convincing bronzers that look like real bronzy skin. Both NARS and Becca.
• Both NARS and Becca contain some flecks or sparkles. Becca is the least sparkly and most natural
• They are effective in faking a temporary bit of a tan that you can wash of when you want to, HOWEVER, both have some flecks that are noticable in stark sunlight, so they are not super-natural looking like a (fake) tan can do on itself
• Becca has SPF 25 in it, being a bit better against sun-rays
• NARS illuminator is created for body and skin, still they have similar coverage
• Amazing how two totally different shades look so similar in effect
• Becca has a pump-bottle and NARS a flip-open tube. I prefer Becca for it's pump bottle.
• Becca is more expensive but has more in the bottle as well.

Availability/Price:

Becca Topaz is available on the BECCA website <here>  for 50ml/1.7 fl oz $41.00.
NARS illuminator is widely available, eg on HQhair <here> 30 ml/ 1.0 fl oz  for £21.50 or KissandmakeupNY <here> for $29.00 or various Sephoras throughout the world (not the Netherlands, yet)

Becca Illuminate Wash in Moonlit

Another member in my Becca family: a illuminator, or highlighter this time.

This one was the promised freebie from Zuneta if you decided to purchase the Lost Weekend Palette I blogged about a couple of days ago. I am familiar with Becca's powdered highlighters/colour embellishers and I also have a liquid bronzer in my collection (that one I review later).

As for this one, I consider most of Becca's highlighters that I already have to be incredibly natural looking, so I was curious how this one would live up to the liquid highlighters I already have.

The first thing that I saw is that the size was not the biggest one. I sized the tube (middle) up against the quintessential MAC lipstick (left) and the Dior Serumdrape lipstick:

Ok, it is a freebie so I shouldn't complain, and I often find Becca products to be really economic in usage.

 Opening the tube displays a brush-like wand. You can use it like that, but for hygienic reasons I suggest a tiny drop from the tube itself, because you do not want to affect the highlighter with germs that come from your skin.

Sorry for the quality of the photos: my newer camera is not living up to its expectations right now.

The ingredients: feel free to click on the image for a gigantic photo:

I decided to compare the Becca Illuminator with my other liquid highlighters. I picked the most familiar ones, and skipped the Body Shop, for instance.

I left out my powder highlighters in this comparing post, because the idea behind a liquid highlighter is different from a powdered highlighter. Also, I want to keep it focused on one type of product.

So, from left to right is the Becca one, the MAC lustre drops in Pink Rebel, and the Benefit High Beam freebie I received with the British Glamour some time ago:

Same order: unblended: (again, click on the picture for a closer view)

The photos are still not brilliant, but they really represent the lustre or metallicness of the products really well.

1. Becca is in my opinion the most natural looking one. It has a dash of shimmer, but doesn't really veer to the metallic side. I use this one when I want a really true highlighter that will look natural and not made-up in full sunlight.

2. MAC Pink Rebel has been my favourite highlighter from last year. It is rather gold compared with the others. It is actually a rose gold, and has more metallicness in it than Becca. still, it is not that silvery/metallic as the Benefit High Beam.
You can see it is makeup if you take a mirror in front of you and see yourself in direct sunlight, so others close to you with a sharp view will see it as well. I love this one for an evening glow, and to bring out highlights when on photos, because then it just looks natural.

3. Benefit High Beam: I understand that this was a revolutonary product when launched in the 90s (??) and it probably looks delightful in nightlight and photos, but I honestly wouldn't purchase a whole bottle for myself with the better and natural looking hightlighters available these days. It plainly looks quite white, metallic and somewhat silver. I think it only limits itself to a small amount of skintones, being the cooler, lighter types or the ones for a dramatic sculpting effect (for pictures or night-life).

To justify my point I show you the products sheered out:

 

1. Becca: The side on the left isn't the most focused one, true. However, I think the Becca has the ability to give out a glow instead of a sort of metallic sheen. So it renders itself perfectly for daylight, sunlight and closer enounters when still want to look as a non-madeup girl (or boy). 

2. MAC Pink Rebel: That one is already more visible as being makeup and has that slight gold sheen on the light complexion of my arm. I still think it is lovely when I want to look glowy and slightly made-up, because it does give out a bit more shimmer/glow than Becca's Illuminator

3. Benefit High Beam: I already made my point clear why I am not a fan of High Beam and this picture justifies my point. I have a neutral to slightly cool (NW 20-ish) skintone and even then it looks quite silver and slightly glittery on my skin. I don't think it flatters me.

 Conclusion:

I am really delighted with my new Becca Illuminator freebie. It might be small but it spreads out easily and gives out that incredibly natural dew that can stand the test of direct sunlight. I think this one will be a repurchase when finished, but although small, I think I can get quite some use out of it because it is an economic product.
 I also think that it is an incredibly universal glow that can be applied to almost every skintone/deepness without looking fake. It simply gives out a glow
My MAC lustre drops are still my favourite for a tad more shimmer/definition, but for a natural look I would absolutely veer to the Becca Illuminator.

You can buy this one from Zuneta or the Becca site for $23, and probably some more places :D. If you buy from Zuneta, it might be handy to visit the beautybible site first for 10% discount, or the code is ZBEAUTYBIBLE

Becca The Lost Weekend Palette

Some time ago I blogged about my latest haul from Becca's Autumn line. I haven't featured the palette, and I think there are some people out there that might be interested in it, so here goes my two cents.

I always like the simplicity and originality of the Becca box. Ok, it's not super-original because NARS has a matte exterior as well, but in contrast to NARS this one stays rather clean: NARS matte exterior boxes turn really groggy if you carry your little palette around, and I never had experienced that with Becca.

The descriptions of the colours: two mattes and one sparkly one:

Here is the first image of the colours:

You might be surprised or underwhelmed by the colour palette of this palette. So why did I buy this one?

Well, Last year I purchased Becca's Prairie Moon palette: a set of 3 eyeshadows, 1 eyeliner and a lipgloss. The eyecolours were in a similar formula of muted mattes, only in a cooler colour composition. I have been really surprised the amount I reached for these colours when I wanted to fake real beauty.

So it is the idea of faking real beauty instead of being beautifully made up that made me go for a similar palette again:

Let's take a better look at the colours:

Moleskin is a light brown colour with a slight mauve undertone. It looks really flattering as a base colour on the moving eyelids. It brings out a different colour in hazel eyes and green eyes as well. For brown eyes it can give it a different dimension as well, but that depends on the type of brown eyes you have (that differences for each person). It is a matte colour.

Chino is a milk-chocolate brown that is a neutral to somewhat cool. So, if you normally shy away from warmer colours because they don't flatter your complexion, do not shy away from this palette because it is not really a warm palette, even though it features brown shades. These browns I can typefy as neutral to even somewhat cool.

I believe Becca makes the best mattes, even better than MAC. It stays on quite long without a base, longer with a base, and the fading is not crepey or hindering, just a soft fading.

Normally, I am not a fan of everything glittery, but I always trust BECCA for not making it over the top, so here is the only sparkly one of the 'Lost Weekend': Moiré

Moiré is one of the  most interesting colours I have in my stash. I don't really know how to describe it as a muted pink, a pinked mauve or a dusty rose. Perhaps it is all of that. But what it does is that it gives such a cute sparkle to my eyes that is so flattering. I apply this number in the middle of my moving eyelid and it almost brings out the light in my eyes.

To see some of the colours for yourself I have made some swatches:

[Swatches made without base]

A. the first picture is made in cool, natural daylight:

Moleskin somewhat dissappears on that pale arm of mine. I do have some pigmentation on my eyelids, so it actually is brighter than the skin on my eyelids, which fakes my eyes to be a bit younger...haha, bonus.

Chino, as earlier described, is a cool chocolate-milk. In this picture it looks slightly mauve.

Moiré, the cutest colour of all is not glittery but a fun sparkle.

A. Picture 2 in warmer light, direct sunlight:

Moleskin still dissapears against the colouring of my arms.

Chino looks slightly warmer in this shade. It is still on the neutral/cool side of the colour spectrum.

Moiré hardly seems to have any shimmer in this picture but a wash of colour.

The final verdict is that I like the palette. I should be because Becca's Lost Weekend might be lost but it isn't cheap, :D

If it is going to be a hit like the Prairie Palette? Not sure yet. I like the fact that three colours are set up together and work well with eachother. I can use Chino with a light hand as a shader, perhaps. I haven't used it like that.

As far for Moiré-> adore that colour and I think I might use that one every now and then.

I've bought my palette at Zuneta and I am quite happy about their service. Becca is available at other places as well.

Becca Mineral Blush in Sweet Pea (Autumn 2011 Lost Weekend Collection)

After this elaborate title to tell you what this post is about, I kind of forgot to mention that it is a review with swatches. Well, I hope this first sentence made that clear ;D

I am a huge sucker for natural-looking blushes. If you think that puts me into a danger zone, than you are partly right, because I have a huge collection of natural looking blush-colours. On the other hand, there are so many colours around with obvious glitter specks (cough NARS orgasm) that sets me on a slighter safer ground for sure.

And, I kind of realise that I have a lot of colours so I rarely buy any blush these days. Also, thanks to the gorgeous girls on other blogs posting elaborate reviews/pictures/comparisions that makes me wanna say "ok, I have such a (similar) colour in my collection too, so I don't need this one".

I have a weak spot for Becca. Because when it comes to natural colours and well-made textures this Australian brand seldom dissapoints.

In their latest collection called "the lost weekend" I expected the colours to be even more natural than usual, as Becca refers to the naturalness of the 'Australian Rite of passage'.

Wow, looking at the models and their perfectly tawny made-up skin I had the right idea about the 'Lost Weekend'. The model on the right actually looks like she has some mixed Asian heritage, but these days almost everyone is from mixed heritage. At least they both have enviously beautiful skin and features...Lucky gene-pole!

Before seeing this collection I was looking for a sort of neutral brown blush with a hint of rosiness in it to look convincingly natural. Brown on my skin alones simply looks flat. I have been having a close eye to Autumns fashion collections, and the 60s seem to be coming back. Only, when reading makeup instructions with 60s-faces they always say 'NO BLUSH'. Ehm, sorry but foundation with no blush means a one-dimensional face to me! I need some blush to make it more-dimensional! So I've been looking for the most natural kind there is.

Sweet Pea is described as a Rosy plum nude. So is that true?

In the pan Sweet Pea looks like a soft nude brown with a hint of red and rose. Still, it is mostly a nude colour:

Close Up:

With flash you can see the specks quite clear. Don't worry too much about this: Becca is often quite subtle about the spects and they only function to make your skin look more glowy and alive, and not a semi-disco ball.

On my tiny stippling brush:

The first picture is the blush applied UNBLENDED:

It is already quite subtle against my skintone. I cannot see so much rosiness into it. I would qualify it more as a nude/brown with reddish undertones. The specks translate themselves into a lovely glow.

This picture is deliberately not sharp to see how the colour looks from a distance...it is still unblended:

As I said before, it looks like a reddish brown from that perspective.


How does it look when blended?

When blended, and Becca blush are so perfect for blending as they become so subtle! It becomes a barely noticable glow and a slightly deepening of my skintone that makes it look fresh and natural.

I think it makes it perfect for the purpose I bought it in the first place: for creating dimension/glow/a hint of colour in that oftenly stark 1960s look. After all the interpretation of a previous era should stay an interpretation and let the real models go for the theatresque looks, right?

Becca's lastablity is really good. The blush stays put on foundation for the whole day.

Even without foundation it stays put for at least 5 a 6 hours.

The Becca mineral blush doesn't come cheap for $32.00 or 25 euros.

I bought mine during a promotion on Zuneta, which actually was more about the Lost Weekend Palette I will review soon (buy the palette and get an illuminator for free, but that promotion is gone now).  Zuneta offers excellent service and all the time I've ordered from them they delivered within 4 or 5 days from the UK to the Netherlands. But you can buy them from the Becca site as well or other sites too.

Becca newbies

Birkie has some new Becca goodies to play with:

It's still a teaser post, but I was so happy to see such a gorgeous box filled with delightfully chic purple paper and new pretties in their Becca boxes.

So far for the last teaser picture:

Stay tuned for reviews soon!

Becca Beach Tint in Raspberry & Shimmer Powder in Princess

Last week was a nice week in internet hauls arriving at my doorstep. One of the hauls I was looking forward to was my Becca (and Harlotte) haul from adorebeauty.com. I was pleasantly suprised when it arrived in beautiful gold packaging, and I was too willing to try my new goodies.
The total of my order is Becca Pressed Shimmer Powder in Princess, Becca Beach tint in Raspberry, the latest tint in their collection, and a Harlotte lipstick. I will stick to Becca today (also, I was not too thrilled about Harlotte).


I will start of with the Shimmer Powder in Princess. It is not that I have a lack of shimmery powders, however, I was so pleasantly surprised after swatching Princess in a store. I absolutely wanted it. I opted for ordering online, as the prices are much cheaper at adorebeauty. Becca is an Australian brand (although funnily, they are made in the UK), so it is cheaper to buy it from Australia.

What I love about the compact case is that it looks very space-UFO like. Flying sources are the best way to give you a unearthy glow, LOL.


I love the mauvy rose shade inside. I have a weakness for mauvy rose shades, as they are lovely on my strange skintone. The colour in the pan looks more like a blush than a highlighting powder, but it is definitely more of a highlighter than a blush.

The next picture is made in natural (cloudy) light. It can be used as a blush for very light skintones (NC/W 15), however, I find this to be more of a glow on my skin.

The next picture, made with flash, shows the glowiness of the powder. I find it weird that my skin looks so much paler with flashlight. Anyway, I adore the glowiness of the powder. It is not glittery, shimmery, garish, full of flecks...it is a glow and that is what I want....

Overall, I am so happy with my new glowing powder. The texture is excellent and it stays on for hours and hours, even when I have to cycle around in dodgy weather...The glow is still on untill I take it off at the end of the day. (poor boyfriend thinks I am sick in the evening...ehm no...the makeup just comes off).

My next Becca! I was really curious to see what the new colour of the Beach Tint would be like. It had not been listed on the official Becca website at the moment I purchased it on Adorebeauty. Quite funny, actually, shouldn't the official website be the first?

I liked the product quality of the other Beach Tint colours, but I did not like the colours in Watermelon or Peach. I know this product has a big following on makeupalley, but somehow I could not make Watermelon or Peach work for me.

Curiosity was stronger than my strained-out credit card, so I bought this together with the shimmer powder.

If you are interested in the ingredients, be my guest and click on the picture below.

Oil-free, Water-proof and Streak-free....the ideal frolick-in-the-summer product! Australia has lauched this product just in time, as the Aussies are having summer right now (ack, so jealous of anyone who is in nice summer weather).

I love the tube, only I do not like the cheap, plasticy cap.

There is a 'window' to see what the product is like. That is the actual colour.

You see! a pinky rose gel-like colour.

The last picture is a small swatch. Sorry for the wrinkled pulses, I definitely need anti aging products for my whole body. It has been blended out a bit. I could not make more pictures yet to show the accuracy of the colour.

Moreover, I still need to test it on my face to actually see if I like this colour. I do believe it can make a gorgeous lipstain....however, would I use it on my cheeks and look natural as well? I don't know (yet)...it still needs some more road testing.

I promise you to do a proper review when I have experienced it in the full glory...he he...I should go on a Caribbean vacation for you guys to test this product as it should be: in the sea and sand and sun. Wouldn't that be nice if I would do that?