Midsummer Newbies

Summer is still blooming around...perhaps it is more drying to skin than you anticipated. Or, when going city-tripping you can find your pores going congested like nothing else.

• For the occasional bout of dryness I gotten myself this cute Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin pill mask. I've been sheetmasking before K-beauty gotten mainstream and it's fun they have gotten easier available. 
• I've already gotten the Boscia Detoxing Black Cleanser in a sample size, and absolutely loved the warming effect on the skin. I love this liquid form of charcoal cleansing and I noticed it really helped getting to those pesky blackheads. Something not many products are effective off with my skin.

I also went on the bandwagon with Son & Park's Beauty water...

Ohh, I really love how the air in the water is looking in the bottle.

I had to decorate it with my Luxdivine (etsy) armband and the scarf is D&G summer collection.

I rediscovered cheeks with NARS Nars-issist Dual intensity blush palette.

 It is certainly a fantastic blending blush texture...I'm smitten. My cheeks glowwwww...

I have been upping up my foundation game with an oldie and a newbie:

• Mac Face & Body is and oldie but still high in the ranks of makeupartists. I've picked a darker colour for my body as I have some white spots that I need to even out.
• Nars Velvet Matte Skin tint is new on the market. I was not enterely sure as the colours tend to look a bit too yellow for my colouring, but they look velvety and real on (self-)tan skin. I still think the gap between Cusco and Annapurna is too large in colour dept.

One of the Sephora Beauty reward boxes contained Alterna. I love their Caviar Protein line but feel (and can see) that my hair might be healthy enough to alternate with moisture. So bring on the moisture with the CaviarAnti Ageing Replenishing Moisture line.

Ok, I say I'm team Alterna but I also have team Christophe Robin and I've been enjoying some other shampoos lately as well. But in the end Alterna would be my desert island brand!

Last but not least, nails. Since everybody and their grandma have been into nailart, gellnails everything etc, I have been neglecting my mani with a simple coat of strenghtener. Very sheer, kinda blah.

• I thought some Chanel could bring back my colour game: Turban looks bright enough for summer and classic enough for always.

• Another pretty one is the Damask Rose from & Other Stories. It looks so foiled on nails, incredible.

These have been some of my midsummer hauls. I'm already eyeing up some of the Autumn lines. Kose Addiction by Ayako has released these amazing new eyeshadows with names like Dancer in the Dark, Hazy Night, Volcano & Modern Nostalgia. The colours are as awesome to boot with their names and instagram is not holding too many secrets when recently renewed (just browse on the Japanese names). 

As for skincare, I think I will hold on on some new finds that I will review soon for it. I'm kinda behind my reviews: being stuck into the instagram picturing mode makes me kind of lazy on the writing front...It does make me attempt to make prettier photos : )

Three Wonderlust Wave Cheeky Chic Blush in 5 Feeling the Flow

I got myself a new blushie!

Oh, it had been a while since I had gone cheeky and I had kept it fairly affordable. Since I've been hearing such raves about Three Cosmetics, I was absolutely all about trying out their newest range: Cheeky Chic blush:

I went for their darkest colours in the most pretty wine-infused rose colour: 05 Feeling the Flow.

For their spring line they picked a Wanderlust Wave theme and they had this refreshingly Cool girl theme. 

The semi-spiritual names of the blushes are a bit see-through, but I still loved it enough to cave in my first Three blush buy! 

Three Cosmetics has a minimalistic approach to their packaging:

 

It is probably the antidote of Jill Stuart princesy and shimmery exterior. But it is also a bit bleak compared to other minimalist Addiction by Kose. Addiction has a microflecked black case and looks slightly more glam.

 

  

So yeh, I was slightly underwhelmed by the dark grey plastic case. But I was more curious about Three's inside so let's go on.

At first glance, it looks like a matte burnished deep rose that could also been mistaken as a light wine colour:

When looking closer, you can see tiny microshimmers in the pan:

So now it was the brush-test. How would the pigment 'grab' on the brush?

 I used a Rae Morris Mini Kabuki: it is not the softest out there (thinking Chikuhodo Z series) but it is also not your scratchy brush. I just wanted the pigment to behave with a mid-quality type of brush instead of 'being spoiled' with the best one out there.

I had to swirl around a couple of times to get even pigmentation on the brush. I first thought it would be my technique. And, perhaps visible, it lacks some blush at some spots.

Swatches (post-holiday skin and yes, I tanned a bit so it's probably NC 35):

Top: 1 application |  bottom: 2 applications

First, I love the colour and how it looks on NC 35 skin. I recon it would look fab on lighter skins, giving it a snow-white or icy wind effect.

The microshimmer is just right from keeping the blush fall too flat. It is still, in my opinion, more of a matte blush.

I am underwhelmed by the way it blended on my skin. I tried it with makeup under it first, but I could not seem to blend in well. I am spoiled with Surratt Artistique blush (see here) and some other fab high and mid-end versions, but hey! 

I'm supposed to buy one of the top-league blushes out there (review here, here & here). Which makes me wonder, this is a new formula: did it change from the older Color Veils one?

Perhaps I gotten a dud, however, I'm not sure how the people who raved about their earlier Color Veils are going to feel about this. I never tried the old one so I cannot compare.

In general, I still love how this colour is different from the rest of my blush-wardrobe. It is a perfect shade if you want your cheeks to pop a bit more and I am all about cooler hues these days. It does take some work to blend and that is not the type of work I expect from that pricerange. 

So as I said, underwhelmed...

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...

The Blush of my dreams & other newbies I'd been eager to get...

Holy purchasy October...

I've finally caved on a couple of items that were very wishlist for a while. 

It has been a yes/no/yes/not-yet debate, resulting into visiting certain sites frequently, making a cart, leaving the cart behind, getting reminders from websites I have a cart (I KNOW, it's so hard to forget), pretending I don't want it, visiting the same reviews over-and-over again to decide I still want it...

I've scored the most perfect blush I have encountered in a while: Meet my Surratt La Vie en Rose.

After falling in love with the neutral Grisalle shader (here) I upgraded towards colour. I picked a colour most closely to my own flushed cheeks (after working out/being embarrased/in love, ect): a rosy flush. 

Picking a colour like this is like adding youth to your face. It's my effortless colour, though I need a softer brush for application (think NARS Mie Kabuki) as it is delightfully pigmented. 

I have been wearing this blush 7 days in a row: a record! Then I decided my other ones felt neglected and I went for some peachy pink again: sometimes I like to look made-up dolly instead of natural :).

The other haul: my 1st Suqqu & Chanel brush.

After debating for more than 1 year I've finally have my 1st Suqqu blend palette in the most neutral no. 10 Kochueza. As for elegance sake, I added the Chanel brush No. 19 for eyes that is supposed to be quite the catch (review here & here)

I'm glad I caved to see what's the deal about Suqqu blend, but I'm also slighty underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong: Suqqu's texture is simply amazing, but the colours are too neutral for me. It's a "maybe in 3 years"-type of palette.

And finally that horribly pricy Tom Ford brush no. 2: foundation-time.

Tom Ford's brush no 2 feels slightly too limp. Oh gosh, I could imagine telling mr. Ford that his brush it too limp, and then I couldn't. Perhaps I'm too used to Real Technique's expert face brush firmer bristles. Temptalia reviewed this one as the most flawless foundation-brush ever and I'm probably not that used to it yet....

*Practice-makes-perfect?*

And sorry, I don't have any reviews or swatches going on yet. It's been busy and if it wasn't, it was just too cloudy for photos outside. I might take it slower on this blog as I'm slightly too obsessive/high maintainance on beauty lately: think full-face makeup to the gym whereas the other girls go bravely barefaced (or mascara only). Just a bit easier on being pretty on the outside to focus more on my inner beauty, or such... :). Well, we'll see...

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

Shades of Shader: Surrat Blush artistique in Grisaille 10

Let's talk working horses today...

I've gotten myself a new shader after shading happily for 2 years with Burberry Earthy. It happened in the field of "It's not you, it's me" and "I want to try out new things".

I had been tempted for a while by Surratt's makeup-line. I've seen several reviews of the gorgeously neutral Grisaille online. Perhaps neutral shader's are not the most exiting part of makeup but for me they are one of the more essential parts:

•  I consider myself quite vain
• my nose is not so small
• However, I don't like the idea of plastic surgery involving hacking into bones

 -> good ol' makeuptrick: the shader!

 

I only had 2 types yet (older review here): Burberry Earthy & Illamasqua Disobey. I liked both but only went for Burberry Earthy later as it is glowier. The only thing about Burberry blush is the strong rose fragance. There are de-scenting methods by using charcoal (see DrivelbyFrivol about it) but I haven't been bothered. I'd rather try something new, especially after the superenabling GWP that Liberty had on.

I'm still going to compare the three of them.

Gathering of the pans:

At first sight I can seee Burberry being the warmest one leaning towards brown. Illamastqua looks ashier and slightly deeper. Surrat looks the most neutral and even slightly cool.

Swatches: (3 swipes of blush over Lunasol Cream foundation OC20)

Oh, what a difference! In the first place I notice Illamasqua having a weird grey cast I have not noticed before. It seems it oxidises quickly: perhaps it"s expired.

Burberry & Surrat both have a gorgeous soft glow that mimics healthy skin. I consider the microglow particles to be similar (for closeup, click photos).

Burberry is a tad warmer than Surratt. I think it still qualifies as a blush and it looks stunning on redheads (see here). In that case I think someone should be really cool-toned to make Surrat Grisaille look like a blush. Surratt Grisaille is a real shader colour in terms of neutral undertone. Is it a real taupe? I think so. One coat is light enough for the lightest skintones: it builds up to a good deeper tone that will shade up to N 35 skin.

Best of all: Surratt is scentless! The texture reminds of of the luxurious Japanese brands like Three and (from memory swatching) Suqqu blush:

 

I mean, look at the picture above. It's so smooth and the shimmer is so delicate and neutral (a platinum colour? not sure).

It stays on for 8 hours & more on prepped (primer/foundation) skin and does not oxidise. It fades evenly after 10 hours.

Conclusion: one of the better purchases of the last months and a classic in the making.

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?

Colour Coordinating Corals

Summertime! Coral-time!

There is something about corals looking better in summer: they have this uncomplicated air that goes as light as your summerdress.

Still there's something about summer that gets me into a complicated mode: the ingenious structure of coordinating layering will fall away (like the layers); thus, I colour-coralinate!

 

So let's do the clique-ing...Summer also means more cliques in groups of friends, etc. I've been grouping up my corals based on compatibility...It's almost like the tables of a summerwedding:

Group 1: the Flushed Corals

The conversation starter is my precious Jadilla J My Ball Cubical Face blusher in Shinny Peach 2 -> and no, these spelling errors don't come from  Rosé-inspired blogwriting but they are adorable Koreanglish. So why do I have to giggle with 'my ball'? This Cheeky fellow is NOBB [NARS Orgasm but Better]. There is the perfect mixture of peach & pink, but the glitterfest has been left out. (original review here). 

I hope I've nailed the setting by adding Essie Plaza Sweet to this group. It's slightly a deeper pink than Jadilla but they have the glowy gold sparkle into them.

An eye for detail, MeowCosmetics is a mineral makeup company who're easy to sample: Paddle Pink absolutely matches. I hope it won't be too boring with so much compatibility!

Group 2: the Everything's Peachy's

 I want to keep it dusky by starting with MeowCosmetics Clawset Case: it's the mysterious one...Essie Anniversary Gala is the equivalent of the bubbly girl: She is perfect on her own but will add a sparkle to another. My latest rediscovery has been Lunasol Creamy cheeks in ex 4 Tender Pink Glow. It's like a cheekbone filler & glow-i-fying peel in a bottle, with the right hint of tender pink (review here).

Group 3: Dusky Corals

I like to think of this group as the mature ones: but not the mature in the Ikea-kind-of-way...These ones have travelled the world and had a couple of drinks too many. They are a sultry bunch and prefer to spend their money on another holiday than botox...They have stories to tell.

 

I love the way they look, but I like to have a special mention towards Julie Hewett's Thandi lipstick.  It's named after Thandi Newton and has a similar subdued beauty & intelligence over it: the right amount of coral without getting too ditzy & a good amount of burning terracotta without venturing on the middle age territory. The Radiance blush is a highlighter, but I love this one when lips and nails get more sultry

4. The Young-n-Beautiful Sheers

I have Lana Del Rey in mind...the young & beautiful crowd. Untarnished, hopeful and sheer.

Group 5: The Happy Oranges

There's something comic about orange. Perhaps not for the ones who watch 'Orange is the new Black' or my fellow comrades from Holland who saw the championship Soccer gone right through their fingers...awwww. Burberry Lipglow in Coral 22 is a colour I got last year (see here) and it returned for summer again. The Bourjois is older...no idea how old. But it makes a perfect match for Burberry. As for Tongue in Cheek, how to resist such a name and such a rusty glow to fake flaunt a bit of sunburn on a summer night?

And to conclude, these two resisted the cliques and made their own little togetherness:

Coral pants gets the girls on the fence

Cuteee!

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

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 :)

Jill Stuart Mix Blush Compact '14 Spring in Tulip Fields 08

I could write a whole story about why I bought this blush or I could show your the photo:

Or, ooooh Spring or It's purrrty!

But I'm not that superficial and it gotten a bit of nationality mixed in as well: Tulip Fields!

Nothing more quintessentially Dutch as a good dose of Tulips!

Still there has been a lot more that made me buy my second Jill Stuart Blush. I like my first and for some reason I haven't made a repetition buy until this one. Reason: price, and perhaps the bit of OTT on cuteness. I do not trust too cute & too pretty too much, or call me superficial on the superficial [get it?].

And there's often a good dose of innocent-talk when buying Jill Stuart. However, I've been getting used to this with Rouge Bunny Rouge. Even a mature/sleek brand like Laura Mercier has been talking about 'innocence' for Spring '14 so there must be something in the air that longs to the pre-twerking/booty-instagram era...Perhaps Tulips?

In Jill Stuart case, there's the Fairytale:

And the fairytale princess Abby Lee Kershaw as 'zee face'

Often a model who is a face is not that often used for body-modelling, but in Abby's case she's been a Victoria's Secret model too: Well, you definitely need a body to walk those shows so talk about lucky genes.

So I'd been discussing "inner beauty" as a resolution but the inside of the box is also decorated with cute flowers:

Which brings me to the palette:

 

I like that brush on a leash: it makes the innocence of the blush a bit more cheeky...

Close:

 

& Closer:

And the swatches:

I have been really surprised about the colour payoff and the glowiness. The closest match I can think of is the Le Metier de Beaute Kaleidoscope blush. I got to compare both of them. And I have to make better photos when there's some real light again but *people* it's January and I was too eager to swatch/discuss/review/blag about it today!

I was slightly worried because I've been reading Driveller's Kate review on the way she fell for pretty with Paul & Joe, and gotten "pretty [useless] balls" (my quotation, btw). Also, I was worried about too much 'orangy' tones but I love how the mix works out. Also, the 'red' colour is not as frightingly red as I imagined: it's a pinkish red that I love.

This will make a versatile palette when travelling: the yellow makes a slightly shimmery/speckly highlighter and the rest have enough versatility to use on it's own, and make the most 'universally peachy' combination when mixed.

Or,  a Fairytale come true! Now only the 'return of innocence' again...