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?

Carroussel of Newbies...

I've been a bit quiet on the blog this week, but my wallet hasn't been...

Dutch cosmeticsstore IciParis has 40% on its lipglosses and lipsticks, and those YSL Gloss Voluptes finally arrived! -> I kept it modest with *just three* but I want Guerlain Girly so much! I also included my Net-a-Porter free shipping haul: I skipped fashion and went for beauty alone :). Plus my skin-sensitive period led me to another foundation: is it good, better, best? Read on.

So those new YSL Gloss Voluptes first: I picked *modelcolour* 49 Terriblement Fuchsia, the one Lindsay is wearing so poutily in this add:

I am slightly influenced by Japanese brands who often mention that the lipstick is the *modelcolour* or the one worn in the advertisement. I'd never would think my lips go near the poutiness of Lindsay without any filler-help, and I wouldn't want them that way unless they wear natural. I just adore fuschia: is such a popping colour without getting too sensual like red, it's fun with a dash of sensual! And so nice on making your teeth looking extra white. 

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I also picked a safer calmer YSL Rose Satine 102 for that perfect peachy pink with that deliriously blueish microshimmer. They are extremely fruitily scented: this line...I have fierce Lancome Juicy Tube memories of the early noughties.

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I'm still the biggest fan of their Rouge Pur Couture Vernis a Levres and I'd finally picked up Cara-modelled selection of the Rebel Nudes: this one is not so nude as it's the Violine out of Control 108.

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The sweetest Italian drugstore SA recommended Bionike Defence Tolerance for my sensitive skin: this is the travelsize of the micellar water

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I picked up another Charlotte Tilbury quad from net-a-porter: Uptown girl...Chants that song right now...

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More of the Italian recommended Bionike line: it's the Defense Xage Skinergy Perfecting Concentrate: a lot of words for a serum so I hope it works as good as the title.

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Again, a new foundation. My sensitivities spurred me on to look further. RBR has too much fragance for me right now, and mineral makeup doesn't give my pores a good cover. Kjaer Weis Foundation in Paper Thin is organic, but also difficult to work with (like quite some reviews mention). Then again, my face feels so relaxed and unirritated under this foundation and it gives the most skin-but-better finish. I just put some good work into it by blending it well with my Hakuhodo Mizubake. And some really good moisturizing before...

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So I skipped the extraorbitant fashion of Net-a-Porter but finally satisfied my curiosity after the frequently reviewed Hourglass Ambient blush line: I picked Radiant Magenta and I think it's really brilliant. It stays on me all day, unlike some mixed reviews I read on this blush. It matches my YSL Fuschia Terriblement so well!

And some more:

 I bought the Urban Decay Naked Basics on the airplane: Some more mattes to 'date' with my Rouge Bunny Rouge Mattes.

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The Models Inc Lip Enhancer is a GWP with a British glossy (have to check which one again)

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And I've been reading heaps of Murakami books for the last couple of years: this is the latest one I'll dive into.

Have a gorgeous weekend :)

Last Week's Cosmetics

Let me share some of last week purchases, samples and re-finds:

Clockwise:

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The Essence nailpolish is one those sparkly multicoloured glitters in purple hues: perhaps that's why it is called "Only Purple Matters".

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Mac Dainty Mineralize blush has been last week's rediscovery.

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I bought Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick 'In Love with Ginger' after testing various orangy reds, ranging from Givenchy Le Rouge Carmin Escarpin, L'Oreal Perfect red and Chanel Rouge Coco. My actual favourite has been the Givenchy but pricewise I think I'd rather save on a colour that is not a staple of mine.

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The Kanebo Sensai Cleansing Essence has been a free sample: I haven't used Kanebo for a while and I hope that my organically infused skin is up to the more chemical concoctions of Kanebo.

Etude House My Blooming Cheeks in OR 202: Shy Coral Pink

I have the serious case of overcrowded beauty drawer. Perhaps I should make that beauty drawers because I couldn't imagine the size of the drawer if I had to store all my makeup in one. It must equal the size listed in the Guiness book of Records.

Somehow, of all beauty products, I always seem to make room for blush. I think blush is one products that makes a difference between looking alive and blah.

Etude House released the My Blooming Cheeks a couple of weeks ago. The packaging is always the cute variety with lots of pink & hearts and this time it the same cuteness.
 

I knew from the promotion pictures that it would be a baking blush. Baking blushers are often more metalic and slightly shimmier than the average blush.

Instructions according to Etude House:

I think it's a personal case of trial & error to see if these tips will work for you. With makeup it is easy to remove it when it isn't really the most flattering option.

As for the colour I wanted to go for a poppier variety than I normally do. NARS had been launching their cool pink Gaiety so I was looking for a cool pink colour as well without breaking the bank. On the other hand I wanted an innocent peach shade as well because it suits my complexion.

Basically, the OR 202 combined the two colours with the option of creating a third when mixing them.

Verdict:

A pigmented pair that you can layer without it getting caky. You can see it has slightly obvious glitterflecks in the pan but it doesn't really show on the skin.

The colour on the left really is that generic NARS Orgasm kind of shade without the original's glitter. I think it layers wonderfully and I am surprised how unmetallic and natural it looks on the cheeks. It's almost a matte.

The poppy pink on the right actually looks a lot more metallic (and more what you expect from a baked blush) than the left side. Colourwise, I do not have many cool bubblegum pinks in my stash for a reason that it doesn't really become me, but with a small amount I can use it for a different look.

I really like the mix of the two. The almost-matte consistency of the left colour is lifted in a slightly glowier variety thanks to the shimmier right, and together it becomes the peachy-pink glow that I like.

There are different ways to use it, as shown on the box earlier, but I prefer to use the left colour on the apples of my cheeks and the mix a bit higher.

Conclusion:

A wonderful and cheap blush that has a variety of options. It is certainly not Rouge Bunny Rouge or Burberry quality but it's a fun and useful product for it's price.

I bought it over here/gmarket for $8.60 but you can also find it on ebay if you find that more convienient for $ 15, although the seller I found doesn't have the best rating.