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...

Kose Addiction cheekstick in Ibiza Sunset

Before summer I said "I'm not gonna..."

I was not going to buy another bronzing product...

However, summer came and I found myself reaching for my Givenchy Croisière Bronzer frequently. Being almost perfect, and the 'almost' made me curious for Addiction again.

It was also the launch of Charlotte Tilbury beachsticks in, so 'inspired', Ibiza themed names as well. I'd either wanted to buy her 'Ibiza' beachstick, or go for Addiction again. Addiction won by price, packaging, and I already know how I love the texture and handiness of it.

And I like sunsets....

 

I mentioned I had been fond about Givenchy Croisière Terre Exotique Poudre Bonne Mine Bronzer #2 Douce Croisière but I couldn't remember the full name...Tah, sorry about the dodginess but the names are killing of some beauty products. As if the beauty counters will give you a test that you can only buy it if you can remember the name, ánd pronounce it correctly.

Also, it might look like comparing apples with pears, but you might see the similarities in tone above.

[Ps:  ColourMeLoud has a nifty review and comparing swatches on Croisiere, if interested]

But let's talk about the differences first. 

I frequently discussed the handiness of Kose Addiction cheekstick in my earlier reviews (here, here, here). The fact that I repurchase these pricy babies also says something. Shortly,

•  The packaging is sturdy without compromising on minimalistic beauty
• They make one of the better hybrid cheek/lip & sometimes eye products
• Travel friendly 
• Also, oily skin friendly!!! 

I experienced this during smog-city skin-oiliness. I had to abandon most blush for looking 'dirty' on my skin (aka, shifting/ looking weird on confused pores). Addiction cheekstick in Rose Damask was the only one that agreed with my skin and makeup.

But let's look at the beauty of it:

These are age-friendly multiflecks! 

 ->

All that glitters so nicely when younger might have a different effect on 'maturing' skin. Addiction made this gorgeous formula that gives dimension to skin, without actually looking Ibiza-glitterbombed.

Swatches:

No flash, evening hour:

no flash, evening hour

 Here goes difference 1: Addiction is darker in tone. It also leans more to a neutral bronze whereas Givenchy Croisiere is a hint warmer.

Evening hour: Flash

 Now the similarity:

Glow factor: both Givenchy as Addiction bring out a subtle but gorgeous glow 

However, up close:

Addiction's multiflecks give the skin a higher glow compared to Givenchy's Croisiere.

Then I'll show you how both blend after being rested on skin for 2 minutes:

outersides blended (innersides unblended for colour ref)

Addiction Ibiza Sunset will blend like a dream without any tools! This is perfect for travelling: sometimes you do your makeup in poor light and later you find yourself being too heavily 'bronzed'. A bit of finger-blending will correct this. 

Givenchy Croisiere 2 needs planning: a good brush, good light, a good base. 

Verdict:

• Addiction Ibiza Sunset is more neutral, hence better for cool/neutral skin
• Addiction leans darker, however it blends into a lighter colour suitable for light to fair skin.
• Addiction is more fool-proof
• Givenchy has a gorgeous mirror & case (ok, had to sum up a positive)
• Glad I still bought Addiction Ibiza sunset and I should have gotten it earlier

Conclusion: 

Love, love, love this cheekstick! 

Es Paradis: Addiction by Ayako Cheekstick in Behind the Veil #16

A month ago I received this newbie from Addiction by Ayako (Kose):

And I've totally been lacking on my sharing and reviewing abilities. Not just because I felt lukewarm about this one (more about it later), but I've been living somewhere else with a tablet. I love my tablets when it comes to chocolate, but I seem to be incomprehensibly unmatched with computer tablets.

Back to my typetypetypetype laptop, my fingers are getting the workout again. 

I was really anticipating the launch of Addiction by Ayako Cheeksticks for their Summer '14 Es Paradis line. 

 

This is not the official promotion photo, but I love to show it from an angle as you can see the cheekbones, a better colour disposition of the eyeshadows with her eyes, and the cheekstick doing it's magic.

From the promo video, fingertapping is not just for laptops, for cheeks too

I basically picked the only colour not featured on the model: 

'More' looked too much like a terracotta orange that wouldn't match my cool undertones. 'Ibiza Sunset' like yet another bronzer shade. I was interested in Behind the Veil, a peachy shimmery type of colour.

At first sight, it does look like 'everything's peachy':

Unlike the previous cheeksticks, this one has flecks/shimmer inside.

Let's compare it to Rose Bar:

My first thought was: NARS multiple in Orgasm. I was intending to steal borrow a tiny chunk from the Sephora shop, but morality kicked in so you just have to take my word for it: they are almost dupes.

Swatches:

So before you will give me the "what's the deal-it's so pretty?" do have to agree upon that; it's pretty and shimmery and that NARS Orgasm kinda glow that is the most cultish colour ever.  

Then again...

Rosebar definitely looks more opaque than Behind the Veil. 

Also, it's a matter of personal taste. I've lived in a warmer, smog-infested city for a while which turned my skin into neo-teenage oiliness. Anything glimmerish that enhanced my pores has been a total no-go for that time being. So timing was a bit off with this cheekstick. 

I've also never been a fan of NARS Orgasm for similar reasons. I take my glitter quite sparingly and even though think one is subdued, it's still present when your pores do not resemble total tiny flawlessness.

Back to Holland, I have to try it again! The climate is starting to turn my skin into a slightly dryer and less oilier surface so I am quite sure it can work a bit better for me.

It looks gorgeous on lips too. Delightful velvety glow and the texture of the Addiction cheeksticks cannot be beaten for hybrid application (eyes too).

Conclusion: a sweet, sheer hybrid but take care if you are glimmer-shy

Kose Addiction Cheekpolish in Chic 01

Last time I announced I was "in love" with my latest Addiction Cheekpolish in Tadzio.

My infatuation led me into more promiscuity in the field of the cheek spectrum: In normal English "I liked it so much that I went for another colour"

 

I already announced my curiosity for Chic, a colour that I thought would be shader-like from the online swatch-chart of Kose Addiction ( 1st left):

You can understand my surprise was rather big when I saw it resembled something livery-orange.

 I had already seen the swatches from beautyblogger-maven DrivelaboutFrivol and her swatch of Fresh kinda scared me: no offence towards the perfect complexion & makeup-skilledness of ms. Drivol herself, but to me orange is something that reminds (most Dutch) of soccer matches and festivals.  I thought Chic would be really brownish compared to Fresh, and it a way it is, but still quite orangy imo.

However, blushes are often not what they appear to be: some look terribly boring and make a complexion speak a thousand cheekbones, and others are so fun and perky in the pan and look like carnival on me.

Addiction Chic: semi-blended, not completely

I had to think deep for a similar colour in my collection. I reached for Julie Hewett Natural:

 

Which was absolutely not a match at all. Anyhow, it does show how a dark shader-colour can look too unnatural when the skin gets paler:

(comparing swatch on 'tan' side of arm -NW 30)

When going pale in winter it is often difficult to find a good shader colour: most bronzers/shaders will become too stark and contrasting and I actually like a mixture of peach for more freshness.

Verdict:

• looks unappealingly liver but becomes soft peachy shader-colour on N15-25 skin
• formula is soft, velvet and without any hindering sparkles
• longlasting
• perfectly blendable, even for the clumsy & untooled
• mid-price range (Chanel) but more product
• perfect for under the cheekbones to define
• Mixing Tadzio & Chic makes a wonderful muted rose!

Conclusion:

It was love at first sight with Tadzio and Chic is more of a "friends first, longtime connection later". However, these type of relationships have more durability than the average crush and I have been reaching more for Chic lately than Tadzio. Chic really is a wonderful way to define the cheekbones without going too stark & shaderlike.

Kose Addiction Cheek Polish in Tadzio 06

Kose Addiction +  new cheek product + new colours = obsession

That is the simple math for today. I had to buy this new cheek Polish and the only debate was:

1. would I stick to one colour?

2. what colour(s)

I decided to keep it on the modest side and picked one, in a colour that looked like a muted rosy pink online: Tadzio 06

Though I was enticed by the shader-like colour of Chic or the softer pink hue of Swingin':

The idea was that I loved the colour-scheme on the Autumn '13 model/face, who, besides being stunning, wears the type of colours I really crave.

Did you know she can blink really sweet for it in the animated video (besides of the standard 'turned-on'-gaze)

always good marketing: 'extase' face on a pretty model

Anyway, the descriptions are not something I can deciper yet. Perhaps I will go on a Japanese course one day. I'd love to visit Tokyo, for sure:

However, 12 ml is a generous amount of product. Indeed, the bottle reminds me of a Rescue Beauty Nailpolish tube:

And if you'd show this to your hapless boyfriend (male friend/brother): he wouldn't think it was a blush either. Totally nailpolish brush:

Swatch [with flash]

 

 Initially, I thought the idea of the muted Rosy Pink was more of a bright Rosy pink.

Swatch, unblended (natural daylight):

 

Swatch: slightly unblended, flash:

The colour is indeed brighter than I anticipated for. On the other hand, it is a colour that I do not have yet and bridges the gap between a poppy pink and a muted rose. Also, the wonderful way to perk up morning (maturing) skin.

Close Up:

So I mentured 'maturing skin' (oh, how we love these euphinism for 'older', right?). The close up shows how wonderfully it blends over imperfect skin. I am absolutely no blending pro and this blending has not been done with sophisticated brushes, just hands.

Verdict:

• Novelty: wonderful new colours
• Packaging: matte glass bottle is gorgeous, just a bit unhandy
• Hygiene: I'd suggest putting it from the brush to a clean spatula to keep it hygienic
• Pigment-value: incredibly pigmented. Personally, I had to tone it down with a tad of highlighter but excellent for the people who like visible colour
• Blendablity: really good. Even for the fast or unprecise.
• Colour: perfect prep-up for tired skin with a neutral/cooler undertone. Also, for people not really liking poppy pinks but still like a dash of freshness.
• Uniqueness: I'm a blush-o-holic but I haven't thought of a good dupe yet, colour-wise. As for the formula, there are similar products but not that many.
• Price: mid-to-expensive. About similar price as those new Chanel Le Blush Crèmes, only more value (more product), more original colours & better pigmentation.

CONCLUSION:

I have to be dodgy to say "I'm in love". And if I wasn't, the blush I am wearing could have fooled you.