Pots & a Pan

Spring is in the air, so what's cooking?

 Let me show you my new pots. And my domestic virtue is still slightly underscored by my love for makeup, but I still have a cute pan thrown in it as well. I mean, beauty and health also comes from the inside, right?

•  Top: Gressa blush/lipstick Radiant: I've gotten on the organic Gressa bandwagen and got both this blush/lipstick as the foundation.
• Right: RMS Illusive blush: I'm trying to get as organic as possible lately and I did not have a colour like this yet in the organic range.
• Bottom: NARS eye Paint in Ubangi: I know, not organic but still pretty & pot-like to feature.
• Left: Tata Harper Volumizing lip & Cheek tint in Very Sweet: Oh my, this is the perfect organic hybrid between liptint and cheektint. It has a highlighting quality without compromising on colour.
• Left Top: RMS lipgloss in Bloom: a GPW from cultbeauty and a sister of Tata Harper very sweet. This one is a true lipgloss instead of a hybrid.
• Middle: Stella-Marie-Maris Pure Shea Butter: I got this one for my flare-up skin as it is the most neutral of butters. It takes some work to get it working for you, though.

As for swatches [unblended], I'll spare you the NARS as it has been featured a-plenty. Let's go for my latest organic ones:

1. Gressa Radiant is one of the most pigmented and poppiest colours in my organic section. It is almost too pigmented for my liking. On young-n-pretty skins it would look like this (See Brittany). I'm slightly hindered by some earthy note of fragance: it's not my favourite scent.
2. RMS Illusive: I needed a perfect Mauve-nudish blush in my collection and RMS Illusive seemed to be qualified. I think it's slightly muddier in real life. I was hoping for the cream version of Surratt La Vie en Rose. It still translates as a neutral-slightly cooler blush on my skin but I think the formula is sorta hard during colder weather.
3. RMS Bloom: I've been most delighted by this GWP. It's a true lipgloss compared with Tata Harper's clingier formula, but you could still use it as a short-term cheekgloss.
4. Tata Harper Lip & Cheek Volumizer in Very Sweet: Tata Harper makes brilliant organic products and seeing her doing makeup makes my heart sing for joy. I think this balm bring out a volumizing quality on cheeks (& lips) without feeling heavy. Very Sweet has been a gorgeous peachy highlighter-esque colour and I hope she'll make more of them. Hint: in dusky rose?

I have not added any blended swatches yet. I will do and compare them later: for this post I just wanted to show you the difference in texture.

I've said this a couple of times, but *organic* is not some kind of magic word. As for my latest pots, there is a new love that could replace anything chemical [Tata Harper] and there is the one that probably is more difficult than I'd expected from the raves [Gressa]. In any case, beauty reviews are highly subjective and based on so many things: weather, hormones, age, fragance memory and I could go on.

Basically, just my 2 cents or that bit of herb in the cooking...

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 :)

Gosh Lip Laquer in Funky Lips, Dangerous lips and Forever Eyeshadow in Green

This week I blogged about some newbie Gosh. Today I'll show some swatches:

Eventually I bought one, but this week they were discounted to 5 euro so I added another one:

Funky Lips (006) & Dangerous Lips (008)

It is a 'quite nailpolish'-like bottle. Pure marketing strategy: Gosh claims it to be "Manicure for lips"...

 

Opening the bottle is a diffent story: meet the standard lipwand for applying lipgloss: 

The selection has been limited to a modest amount of eight colours: that is normal from Gosh as they do that with almost all of their lipcolours, However, they haven't picked out the most 'universally flattering' hues: the first numbers are quite a pasty bunch.

I picked out 6 and 8 as they were quite opaque and had the right mixture of red and pink enbedded. 7 is suprisingly sheer compared to the other formulas.

I'll start of showing 006: Funky Lips

brrr, goosebumps for early spring weather

 The formula is a dense & glossy reddish pink that covers the lips quite well.

The formula is quite reminiscent to YSL Laque:

I basically added Essence Stay with Me longlasting lipgloss as another drugstore 'longlasting' one, but noticably it doesn't compare to either YSL as Gosh, neither texture nor longevity. 

Hence, I zoomed in on the two comparable ones:

They are absolutely no sisters or twins, colourwise. More like nieces. The texture does compare: both opaque and they adher nicely to the skin. YSL 13 Rose Tempura has shimmer embedded and Gosh 08 Dangerous lips has no shimmer.

Instead of Essence I added Gosh 006 in Funky lips. YSL Rose Tempura is in the midde (cooler and shimmery) and Gosh 008 Dangerous lips is the deepest corally pink:

The feel is somewhat different: YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis a Levres has that certain sticky feeling that I learned to love. Gosh Lip Laquer feels like a total balm on the lips: almost absent.

Gosh fragance is a different story: it is quite a present chemical fruity one that you either tolerate or not. Or perhaps it might dig up some nostalgic teen memories out there. It will dissapear within 10 minutes.

Gosh longevity is quite potent: I had a full testing session and it stayed on quite beautifully after being stuck in a turtleneck shirt. Sometimes my lipglosses will take refuge in my beginning vertical liplines (or worse, da face). It stayed on quite strong for 4 hours and faded into something equally stained. It has been wonderful topping up as I didn't get pigment differences layering it over the older layer. It is not a waterproof/stainproof formula but the thickness really adhers to the lips.

Also new in the display are the Forever Eyeshadows:

The pencil itself:

I picked the Green one as I felt attracted to green that day. Today I made some more swatches of the other colours of my fancy:

Plum is my ultimate next want...It reminds me of my last Addiction Eyeshadow from the Eivissa range (Meeting at Dome). This picture only shows it from one angle but it sparkles around like the Mad Hatter on tea-overload...

I also like blue as it tends to be more purple.

Grey has light blue sparkles and some greens too...interesting.

They are really resistent to water and rubbing as well. Hence, you can use them as an eyeshadow, but be sure to blend them in within a minute otherwise it will stay like a waterproof eyeliner.

They retail for about € 9 which is not that cheap for a drugstore range.

The Gosh Liplaquers are on sale for € 5 right now.

 My cat approves on that price, and those flowers too...Or, it almost seems like Spring!!

Using, Used, Gonna Use...

A week of current favourites, used up product & something to try out for the next week:

Using 1:
My current winter complexion loves the colour of my Koh Gen Do Maifanshi moisture foundation in 123. I love it's unscented texture and the totally light way it feels on my skin. It covers most of the 'tokens of sensitivity' and still looks like 'good natural skin'. 
Funny is that last summer I questioned myself: "I wonder how it will perform when my skin needs more help" when I my skin actually was pretty good:

Answer: Quite good! The eternal winter of 2013 and stress took is toll on my complexion. After Maishanshi, I just need a bit of concealer to fake healthy skin, ok, and blush...duh. (review here)

Using 2:
 I got a hold of Edward Bess Illuminating Eyeshadow base in Suede. Actually, Suede is a tad too dark for my eyelids but it works wonders in keeping eyeshadow put. I never liked eyeshadow bases like Urban Decay because they looked like cement and kept that unnatural (matt-ish) look after putting eyeshadow over it. This one is different by keeping the eyeshadows lustrous and alive.

Used:
It's time to bin my Dejavu Lash Knockout. I discussed it here and like it, but mascaras have a limited date of use and I have it since November (see here)...so, bye bye. 

Gonna Use:
Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm in Rosy Red
This lipster came in a set when I was curious for a Pixi Endless eye pencil (overview here)I found a set on Asos.com (gone now, sorry). Some girls are wearing it here, and it looks different on each complexion sooo...

The Palette Swatching project: Julie Hewett Boudoir

I have been lacking on the colour-front lately. Somewhat I feel saturated with the heaps of stuff that I hardly can store around. So I decided to swatch the things that I have, starting with ♥palettes♥.

What I love about palettes...

• Often colour-coordinated (not always, and sometimes they add the funniest colours aside)
• smaller sizes to try out (I cannot remember once that I finished one eyeshadow completely, this is perfect for the fickle and experimental amoung the makeupsquad)
• travel-friendly (most of them)

• the treat-factor: so nice to give to other people, but most to yourself when you were good (or you were bad and you try to make yourself feel better about it)
• Sometimes eyes only, sometimes blush and lip, sometimes lip...what's next?
• "Hurray, a new limited edition!" Want Want Want (for no particular reason, makes me go to that Rolling Stones song again, "you can't always get what you want...you get what you neeeeeed"      

Julie Hewett palettes are made of cardboard and keep looking sleek and glossy even after being toted around by me:

They have 4 colours inside:

 

• one specifically for lip (Vampie) 
• Cleo is a overal highlighter but pigmented enough for eyes
• Natural is their Cheekie blush: I have this in full-size and it makes an awesome shader
• Goldie is  a frosty gold and more a highlighter 

However, all have a cream-formula so they are multiple-applicable for the total face.

SWATCHES (natural, cool light & 1 layer )

Visuals:

• Vampie applies beautifully on the lips: both as a flush stain, or more sophisticaded as a burgundy lipstick
• Cleo's lasting power is long and works even longer over a primer (UDPP)
• Natural has already been a favourite blush of mine (read here comparing hybrid blush)
• Goldie looks wonderfully layered over other eyeshadows or fantastic in the inner corner of eyes making them larger

CONCLUSION:
I enjoy this palette for the excellent Julie Hewitt quality inside, the versatility of the different colours, the naturalness of the total colour-scheme without going too safe (by keeping the lipshade sensually deep).   Also the thin-ness of the palette is like a little notebook easy for carrying around. It also carries the minimum of colours that it doesn't complicate people not being into a multitude of products, and the cream-formula is easy on the makeup-minimalists too. The exterior cardboard isn't perhaps the most luxury one but that also means it doesn't break either. As for hygiene? When you take out clean brushes this wouldn't be the largest problem. At least, it doesn't get (too) messy because all formulas are creams, whereas some palettes mixing creams with powders can get messy with powders ending up in the creams.

Availability:
Gosh, I've just wrote this whole review seeing it has been discontinued...Darn, still keeping it up as her other palettes have a similar quality/value (see some sold here and here).

Catrice Neo Geisha lipbrush; or the art of neo-NARS-ing

I really like Catrice: it's easily available in this part of Europe and has decent quality for the price.

My eye did spot something familiar in their latest Neo-Geisha range:

Wow, a totally gorgeous lipbrush with that bonding on the stick. However, haven't I seen it before (let's say, last week)?

It's not the first time Catrice has done something that looks-a-lot-like-something-else (see here)

According to the webpage:

The Neo-Geisha limited Collection is a beautiful range, but I found the lip/cheekcolours to be lacking any intensity to make a beautiful colour on either lips or cheeks. Also, their eyeshadows felt slightly gritty and didn't swatch beautifully: I might bring my smaller UDPP next time so see how it looks on a layer of eyeprimer.

So, I only bought the lipbrush to add a sister for my NARS Yachiyo I dearly love.

There is a larger range of the collection, see their webpage here

Enabled-sunday: Le Metier de Beaute lip Creme

Hurray, I have been wilfully enabled by the organised Messywands in her love for Metier de Beaute lipcremes...

I went for the Purple Haze based on it's neutrality and the swatches on Messywands impressively accumulated stash of the lipcremes (here).  I'm often curious why someone loves one product so much to buy every colour of it, and for this lipcreme I have to say "it's quite good". There is a bit of a plasticy undertone in it's vanilla-based scent, but that wisps away soon.

The "Purple Haze" colour  is a bit of a lilac/greyish nude on on my lips, which sounds incredibly weird but in real life it's the kind of hue that makes my lips look plumper: the lilac makes the green in my eyes stand out more and it's nude-eque tone actually doesn't need to compete with a stronger eye (makeup), but still present enough to prettify my skinnier pout.

It's my most expensive lipgloss/cream to date, and got a bit of discount during beautybay.com's advent calender that made me take the plunge. I think my Shiseido Maquillage lipsticks are my most expensive ones afterwards *edited: that's pricy Tom Ford instead*. However, those are lipsticks and I'm not a true lipgloss person so I never shell out on them

Ps1: exception, a Burberry lipgloss of €25 and I don't like it as much. 

Ps2: the lipcreme's are not real lipglosses but lipbalm/gloss/stick hybrids, me likey

So, after Zuneta there is is Beautybay that sell these too :-)

Burberry haul incl. Beauty Glow

"Once upon a time there was a makeup-fan who liked to look like a natural beauty...
[insert story-line/plot/obstruction/handsome Prince...] 
She went to the Burberry counter again". 

Ok, so my storyline of the modern damsel needs some more tweeking and perhaps you guys can give me some suggestions of

1. what the handsome prince should look like
2. how long the Cinderella-effect of the makeup will be
3. If she will get free Burberry makeup for life?

But I can still talk about that beautiful GWP I got...

Official Haul: my 1st Burberry lipgloss, Blush & thát GWP

I kind of have been ranting about the cheapskate anthics of the makeup counter SA's lately. The Guerlain lipstick retailed officially for a whopping €30 and I got nothing (not mentioning the store *Cough -IciParis *)  and another one gave me a Estee Lauder moisturizer. Nice, but most of my readers know my skin needs something more than Estee to feel content.

this is what we call a GWP

 But this SA is a true gem, and gave me a gem-like box as well:

Officially I had to purchase over 75 but she gave me the choice of this or a mini-lipstick at 60 ♥♥♥. I already got the mini 04 Cameo Pink and gave it away for being too light on me, so this one was totally tickling all my cosmetic senses.

• rosy colour!
• Hybrid!
• sophisticated packaging
• tiny/travel size packaging
• thát box
• Burberry
• reaaally hard-to-get

This is actually the colour I like having for a blush. I talked in my Summer Faves about reaching for the generic Corals (corally pinks) when in summer. However,  in Autumn/Winter/(Spring) I prefer to look like a healthier version of me instead of having sweet Barbie cheeks: hence, the Rosy pinks come in again!

 I always want to keep the virgin state of my newest makeup items the longest as possible, so I really suffered while making this swatch for you readers (*be thankful*): Ok, I actually have an excuse to use it now because I swatched it ;D

I will recap on it when I have used it some more, but for the moment:

• semi-hybrid: perhaps more suitable for lips than cheeks but still good for cheeks. Somewhat like Julie Hewitt Cheekies.
• Glossy (see swatch)
• Neutral to cool pinky Rose (hurray)
• matches lipgloss in Blush 04 (also see swatch)
• Cinderella effect? I will report back later on how long it lasts

Kose Addiction Cheek stick Revenge

It's time for another Addiction. Curiosity and the marvelous review of DrivellerKate got the best of me, and I'm glad that it did.

I bought this one a month ago. I hadn't been reviewing it yet because I hadn't edited the pictures. My fave site for it, picnik.com, is closing soon so I had to go through some of my files and edit them before I have to get used to another photo-ed site.

Why Revenge? Because it looks sweet...hahaha. Actually because it was rated really high as a good lipproduct as well, and we all know the hybrid products sometimes are not so hybrid (dualuse friendly) at all, I really wanted to see if a bright coral would be a good lip product.

Also because Amazing looked too cool pink for my complexion and Rose Bar (here) was a bit too familiar in my cream-cheek stash. Kate also featured Suspicious in this post, but that one is more Autumny to me right now.

The colour is a vivid coral. It actually is not corresponding with the outside of the packaging. See how the holder is a rosy pink and the lipstick/cheekstick is actually a coral?

Close up of the lipstick:

The colour is a glowy but non-glittery/shimmery/flecksy pinky coral that is bright!

 

Verdict:

• This is indeed a true hybrid product: both suitable as a good and flattering lipstick as a beautiful and easy-to-spread cheekcolour
• it might not be a superoriginal pinky coral, but it has a superior texture. 
• And incredibly travel friendly.
• It's expensive for  €38.55 (current rate at ichibankao)
• And it's small: at 3.8 gr a true lipstick size
• But it delivers better as a dual product such as the NARS multiples, Bobbi Brown Creampots,etc.
• The colour is really perfect for my complexion: both as cheek & lip product.
• I believe this one is quite universal: it has both enough cool & warm tones and is pigmented for darker complexions

Conclusion:

I absolutely love it. It's mighty expensive but I will probably buy the one in Romantic (not Romantic because it looks too shimmery in this swatch, but prob Rose Bar) in the future.

Burberry Lip Definer in Rosewood 07

I am quite happy with the Burberry beauty products being available in Holland. I remember scheduling my whole London trip on the mere premises of visiting Harrods, which was mainly for the Burberry counter.

The beauty addict in me now has fewer miles to travel for it, or can even let it deliver at home.

My latest acquisition is not that exiting, but still exiting to me: the Burberry lip pencil in Rosewood 07.

 Lip-pencils are the working horses of the makeup-spectrum. They should make your lips look more perfect (slightly bigger/smaller/symmetrical) without being obvious-unless you aspire to have the mid-90 look (eg looking at some Baywatch 'actors').

Moreover, it is easy to get it wrong when going for a lip-pencil. One that is too soft will have the tendency to fade/get blotchy or dissapear into the (beginning) finer lines of the mouth...ouch. One too hard cannot position the colour right, or worse, the pulling around the mouth just creates new lines.

Burberry Definer: pencil sharpener included

And then there is the issue of colour. Often we are told to match it with your lipstick but is that really necessary? It is, according to MAC latest Tour De Fabulous Collection , but basically you can work with a pencil that comes close to your own lipcolour to correct what you want to correct; The lipstick will take care of the colour you would like to have.

I had two colours that matches me closely in Burberry: 03 Sepia (with some shimmer) and 07 Rosewood. In the store I went they didn't have Sepia anymore, so I picked Rosewood instead.

My habit of sizing up:

Burberry Lip Definer vs Chanel Precision Lip Definer

 Burberry pencils are rather large. I put it next to my Chanel Precision Lip Definer in Naturel. Burberry is quite bigger, but Chanel has a handy lipbrush extended.

Because I have Chanel already included, I will show you swatches of them both. However, (you'll see), Chanel Naturel will come in handy  later.

Swatch: Chanel Precision LL in Naturel & Burberry LL in Rosewood

Because Burberry has quite some colours in their spectrum with the name Rosewood, I will show you why a rose(wood) isn't always the same, even though they share the same name.

My lipstick in Rosewood:

Swatches of the 2 pencils and the Rosewood lipstick:

Exactly, doesn't the Chanel lip definer in Naturel look like a better and closer match than the Burberry lip definer in Rosewood?

The Rosewood lip-liner is also quite matte and a lot cooler-toned (mauve spectrum of the Rose). I do not mind this for matching the natural colour of the mouth, but it doesn't seem too consistent of Burberry to make the colours among the same name quite different in colour.

For the rest I believe Burberry lippencils are a close to perfect in quality. They are not too hard but neither too soft. Moreover, they hardly fade and if they do after quite some time (6-7 hours) it does not appear to go blotchy.

Overal, an semi-expensive working horse (€ 18) but quite worth it.