April's Empties

This month has been a normal empties month:

• Pai daycream in Macademia & Rose has not been finished yet, but it reached the expiry date. I quite like the neutral texture but I opened it too late 

•  De Mamiel Spring oil is nice, but I'm not too fond of it's lemony, home-cleansing scent. I added some neroli & geranium to perk it up: that worked 

•  Nourish Revital-eye made it to my Best of 2013 List. I've emptied my 2nd tube & keep on loving its effect on my eyes.

• Avene eau Thermale had been on my wishlist for a while. I got the samplesize and like it, but I cannot really distinguish between this one and La Roche Posay: I just like both types.
•  Ren Evercalm cleanser is lovely, but these days I'm more partial to either cleansing oils or micellar waters. But it's nice to try
• Kris dAmour makes some lovely oils. The soothing faceoil, is everything it promises, delightfully soo
• Estelle & Child lifting Eyecream was a bit of a miss for me. It gave me an irritation: the saleswoman told me it was because the eyec  re am contained too many actives but I don, t have yhis promblem with either Pai Echium nor Nourish Revital-Eyes. It's just not working for me.

Both of my pot eyeliners dried out.  

I really liked RMS Unpowder which explained why I finished in 4 months

• Nexxus Emergencee changed into Polymedic: the formula is still similarly brilliant and givesmhair a good dose of protein.
• Trilogy Refresh and Shine is an excellent, organic conditioner with light but effective detangling properties
• Less is MORE Lindengloss shampoo smells amazing and cleanses light but effectively. I want themfull size now!
• Ila Nourish body lotion is light and has that hwrbal scent. Lovely, but the full size would be a tad too pricy for me
• Last but not least has been Timothy Dunn Mille Fleurs candle: so good that it should become a perfume.

Newbies Time...

 Newbies I've gotten this month:

 

The Eyeko eyelash curler is a freebie with Instyle UK of this month

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The Givenchy ActiMine Primer in Mango: I had been eyeing this one up for a while but I hesitated between this slightly older primer or the latest Clarins Eclat Minute Base Illuminatrice de Teint in Rose. I think the opacity of this one is higher and I love the colour-correcting properties of the mango-orangy colour: it's perfect to mask some darker undereye circles and it gives a lovely boost to lacklustre skin. Thus, it's a CC before everyone was all about calling everything a CC.

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I bought a new Bobbi Brown Eyeliner because my older one had become half-empty and slightly dry

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A cute rose-gold necklace from etsyseller DelikatNY

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Finally, the NARS Gaiety. I hesitated for almost a year but have it now. It's wonderful as a highlighter without shimmer but a lot of freshness

Blush-Crush: Michael Kors bronzer in Flush

What does it take to become my latest blush-crush?

Glamour 

Size 

velvet 

softness 
performance

niche 

perfect colour 
the right kind of glow

Glamour:

 

 Michael Kors as a brand stands for Uptown New York glamour so its makeup is on par with the fashion aura of the brand. A white packaging and golden letters, and inside a golden grande compact that could easily been mistaken as a small palette.

Size: 

I was secretly thinking 'how American' to have the blush/bronzer being supersized to this generous compact. My British Burberry is laying on top (still in dominating mode, who said size matters?) but the idea is clear.

All of this gotten me slightly cynic about its performance. I loved the latest launches of Fashionbrands going makeup (waves to Burberry and a nod to uncle Ford) but Michael Kors has never really appealed to my clothing aesthetic. And then the grandeur of it all.

 Thus: colour, performance & velvety texture:

Flush was my colour of choice after hearing it being described as a sister of NARS Deep Throat. Honestly, they are more distant cousins but I liked the few swatches online enough to indulge.

I picked up some other bl-onzers (blush/bronzers) that could have been siblings:

I omitted Bobbi Brown Antigua (too pink) & Maquillage (too much mixing) from the next swatches. I also mixed the 2 shimmery shades of the Le Metier de Beaute Kaleidoscope & the two topshades of NARS Soulshine.

Swatch winter-daylight (3 pm)

 

 At first glance:

•  No twins out there.
• Banila Co Copacabana is the closest match, only slightly paler & a bit more mauve
• Michael Kors has the most delightful & complicated shimmer of them all
• NARS Soulshine & Le Metier de Beaute have a pinkish hue when mixed
• Sofina Aube & Armani Sheer bronzer 2 are reddish compared to MK
• NARS Soulshine & Le Metier de Beaute are quite similar when mixing them in the right amount.

And now for the shimmer time: *FLASH*:

• my blush-crush is totally justified: look at the delicacy of the glow of Michael Kors...is it cool? Is it warm? Not sure, but it is gloooowy
• Le Metier de Beaute Kaleidoscope also flashes up in a complicated glowiness
• Banila Co. Copacabana has been a favourite for a long time, and for a good reason
• I sure love bl-onzers a lot!

Conclusion: Can you justify a crush? Yes, I just did...

Indian Summer Pinks

Sorry for the lack of updates. The state of Limbo between late summer and pre-fall has left me somewhat uninspired on the beauty front. Skincare-wise I noticed my skin is getting lazier, so I had the clarity of mind to use absolutely nothing for nightcare for a couple of days, and tadaah, when I used my potions again it did a better job: (some) result.

I'm just going to review the pinks (corals) from the Summer-Faves list in more detail.

Introducting in clockwise rotation:

• NARS Deep Throat:
• Bobbi Brown Pale Pink: as said, not really pale at all.
• Shu Uemura Pulse: a limited edition from, I think 2009 (?). Get it returned, Shu!

On superficial inspection you can see Shu Pulse and NARS DT are quite similar. Namewise both  should leave pulses racing, sorry for the lame joke. Both having a powder finish, some golden flecks but really tiny and both between coral pink & pinky coral.

On closer inspection I find Shu Uemura's Pulse to be slightly darker and less poppy: more muted. It has a hint more coral in it, thus the pinky-factor is less obvious.
That's a good thing for me because I give away/swap most pinky blushes for being too pretent-young on my face. I don't like the only-bronze  look either because that can actually age, but too much pink is too dolly for me.

Conclusion: I reach for Shu Uemura Pulse more often, but I like NARS DT on nights out for a more obvious flush.

Bobbi Brown Pale Pink looks like the odd one out being so much more pinkier compared to those two, but it leans towards a cooler rosier hue. I just have to compare it with other swatches soon. I prefer creams on days I have little going on makeupwise. It's an easy all-tasker too for creating a monomatic lip/cheek combination that makes the face look balanced but not too made up.

I will be reaching for my muted rosy tones soon: a review of the Kose Addiction Rose Bar is coming up.