Make Up For Ever Aqua Matic

Make Up For Ever is fast becoming my favourite brand, everything I have tried to date has been such good quality and generally makes my make up routine pleasurable. I love the packaging, I love the products- The only thing missing is colour names! It does't take long, or even much imagination to come up with with something clever, cute or quirky. I recently bought the Make Up For Ever Aqua Matic Waterproof Eye Shadow in 60. 60! Even calling it tree trunk would have been preferable. 

At €20, it is not a bargain eyeshadow but this is the first waterproof eyeshadow I have come across and was dying to give it a go. I chose this colour because my fail safe look is a brown smokey eye. I figured it would pair well with the eyeshadows I already own and complements the Naked Palette nicely. 

I persistently oversleep in the mornings, which leaves me less than 5 minutes to do my make up for the day. Eyeliner requires a steady hand and can be a pain to clean up if you make a mistake, I've been using the Aqua Matic instead, just a quick swipe across my lash line and i'm good to go. It's not as dramatic as a cat flick, but it certainly beats wonky kohl. 

I found it slightly harder to get to grips with using it as an eyeshadow. It dries very quickly, and once it's dry it won't budge unless you use make up remover. No amount of furious scrubbing with a blending brush it going to shift it, which is great if you're happy with the look but not so good if you are slowly building a multi-shadow smokey eye. I found that if i worked quickly enough I was able to create a satisfactory base colour to then build on. I'd be very interested in trying some of the other colours that are available but I'm never sure where my eyeshadow is supposed to end, if that makes sense? I'm sure i'd end up with a half moon shape on one eye and look like i'd been punched in the other. 

It's a twist up pencil, which is great and comes with a built-in sharpener in the base which is idea for sharpening the pencil to a point for creating precision lines. It applies very smoothly, and didn't need to be smeared on the way some stick eyeshadows do. It's available from Sephora for €20. 

xo

Bioderma Créaline Lait

I am a die-hard fan of Bioderma Créaline Micellaire Water and have used it devoutly for coming up to three years. I spotted this treasure a few months back and made a mental note to pick it up next time I popped into a pharmacy. Prices can vary to a crazy degree here in Paris and I didn't want to overpay. This meant that it was a while before I found a bottle for a 'normal' price as the areas where I live & work, and therefore frequent the most, are very popular with tourists- sadly the prices tend to reflect that. I managed to find this at a pharmacy down a back street near Saint-Paul, it was €11.90 for a 250ml bottle. 

The Bioderma Créaline Lait is a no-rinse eye, and face make up remover and cleanser. My first impressions were a little odd as I wasn't expecting such a thick consistency. It works in much the same way as the original Micellar water and dissolves make up very quickly. I have very sensitive eyes which felt a little 'cloudy' after using this. I don't know if that's just me and my loyal-to-the-water-version eyes or if perhaps this formula isn't as gentle. 

It was very effective at removing my make up and would be very well suited to someone who prefers something creamier to cleanse with. I like it, but i'll be staying faithful to my one true make up removing love. 

xo

Body Shop Body Mist

There are few things I love more than a good bargain, especially when it's a cosmetic or toiletry deal! In The Body Shop here, all body mists were 50% off, making them only €5.50 each which is cheaper than the UK where they are currently available for £7.50 each . I was just going to treat myself to one but my husband decided that I needed the Satsuma scent as well as the Brazil nut, and I wasn't going to argue! 

The Brazil Nut Body Mist is very sweet, but not overwhelmingly so and it is quite deep & feminine. I was a bit worried about the Satsuma Body Mist because I had an allergic reaction as a child to the satsuma shower gel but I have had no ill effects this time! It really reminds me of the Marc Jacobs Kumquat perfume I have, but it feels much lighter. Body mists are a nice alternative to perfume if you fancy changing things up a little bit and they are also handy for going on holiday if you don't want to be wasting pricy Chanel perfume if you are in and out of the pool every hour.   xo

Recent Purchases

I've picked up a few bits and pieces here in Paris including some things I needed for my holiday. I also just got back from a spending a week with my family near London meaning a trip to Boots!  I fount the Ciaté feathered manicure kit in Sephora for only €6, reduced from €22. This kit includes the first Ciaté polish I have ever tried and I hadn't wanted to splurge on a product I was unsure of. I'm really impressed with the formula and the kit itself is really well thought out.  The Nesti Dante soap was something I had wanted for ages, but felt ridiculous spending nearly €8 on  it so had resisted. I couldn't find anyone online that would ship it to France or the UK so I finally bought it from Bath Bazaar. The SA informed me their chain has a tiny concession in Harrods so it may be worth looking there if i'm desperate to replace it. It is possibly the best smelling thing I have ever bought and is a huge bar. Its supposed to be orchid and tiare, but is more like Lychee. 

I rarely buy anything from Collection, except for concealer but when I saw that selected items were 2 for £5 I thought it was a cheap way to explore more of the brand. This nail polish is the perfect neutral dusky pink for me and is called Antique Rose. I was really impressed with the brush and with a top coat can last days. I did have to put the bottle in the fridge for a while though because the formula was just too clumpy to apply in the summer heat. 

I'm a huge fan of chubby stick-esque lip products and have yet to give any of the Work The Colour Lip Butters a try. The colour, Perfect Plum, really caught my eye. The product is a bit sheer for my liking but is buildable. The staying power isn't great, but at such a low price I didn't have high expectations. 

I popped into Muji on saturday just to take advantage of the air conditioning and took the opportunity to browse the sale items. I chose this really cute striped travel make up bag as it was only €4 or so and has a pocket suitable for brushes. Whenever I travel I just shove my brushes into a ziploc bag and they deserve better than that! I also picked up a few travel bottles, I find the Muji ones such good quality and I have been meaning to pick up the foam pump bottle for ages. They are not cheap, each totalling over €2 I think, but I hope they will last me a while. 

xo

Lierac HydraChrono+ Baume Levres

Lierac really is a brand that doesn't get enough time in the spotlight, the make some real skincare gems and my wish list is a long as my arm! I have had my eye on this lip balm since I was stuck in Zurich airport for 4 hours alone last year and spent the entire time in the pharmacy browsing. I prioritised the Nuxe reve de miel balm as I'd wanted that for longer and I couldn't justify buying more than one considering the horrific exchange rate to swiss francs.  This beauty retails for around €12 which is pretty steep for a lip balm that hasn't got much of a reputation.

I was dithering over to buy it and just the next day saw that it came free with Votre Beauté, which solved that problem nicely. The magazine was less than a third of the price so I was very pleased to have spotted it. It is as lovely as i'd hoped it would be and is absorbed quickly, leaving my lips very soft. It's available in the untinted and also a slightly pink version.  The packaging looks very fancy, but doesn't feel very luxurious because it is just plastic. It still beats chapstick though!

If you want to read about my favourite Lierac cream, I wrote about it here. Have you tried any Lierac products?

xo

Haircut Inspiration & dying disasters

.Val. Hilary. Jessica. Lily. Selena. Margot.  

I'm hoping to get my hair cut whilst I'm in the UK, I actually can't even wear it down with confidence anymore because it just looks so bad.  As you may know, a few months back I decided to ruin dye my hair. I only really wanted it a medium/caramel brown but because I had dyed my hair black 7 months before I had really dark hair to lift plus darkish brown long roots. I researched how to do it properly myself at home and epically failed, all the websites that say go to a salon are correct and I had to learn that the hard way.  I console myself with the fact that most professionals would have refused to lift my hair colour as much as I wanted, but really I was a complete fool. My first mistake was trying to bleach my whole head at once, obviously I should have left the 'virgin' roots alone! The results meant that I spent weeks trying to get the colour even to no avail. I ended up with yellow/white straw that would snap off mid-length just when I ran my hands through it. I believe this is called a chemical haircut.  I thought my hair was in bad condition before, but boy, was I wrong! A centimetre of dodgy ends is nothing in comparison to over-bleached hair that feels like strands of elastic when wet. Even after weeks and weeks of deep conditioning treatments it's still difficult to comb it. I had about 3-4 inches off the length last time I was in the UK and I avoided getting layers because that usually means more damage for my hair.  That was another mistake, because due to my hair type, I now have a pyramid head. The top half of my hair literally sticks out horizontally unless I straighten it to death which is only making the damage worse. I know I need to have at least another 15cm off the length which will make it the shortest style i've had in over 10 years. The worst of it is that I had decided to grow my hair super long last year and obviously I just completely self-sabotaged.  I want a mid-length, light style that's easy to maintain and fix every morning. I don't want my hair to be any shorter than my collarbone because I will look like more of a potato than usual! Hopefully I will end up with something similar to the ladies in the pictures above.   xo

Sephora Masque

I've been a little bit obsessed with face masks recently, which is probably to try and make up for my lazy attitude towards daily skincare! When I saw these in Sephora I knew I had to try them. 

I went for the Pearl & Green tea varieties but there were so many to choose from, i'm sure i'll end up buying a few more before I leave France for good. 

Rather than a cream or gel that you apply to the face, these are fibre masks. You know the kind that make you look like Hannibal a little bit? I would say my face is fairly normal shaped but the mask was really big, which meant there was loads of it flapping about saturating my hair which wasn't ideal.

There's no need to rinse afterwards, I just rubbed any excess product into my skin. I have tried the green tea mask so far, and it really perked me up. Afterwards my skin felt really revitalised and fresh and my under eye area was looking significantly brighter. At only €3.95, these are well worth the investment. 

What's your favourite face mask?

xo

Pegasus LIVE 2014 | Beauty Showcase

It sure has been a while since I've been able to blog and hopefully I can get back into the swing of things now I have a little more time on my hands and LOADS of products to blog about (so stay tuned!)

Pegasus was so lovely as to invite Kirsty and myself to their Product showcase last week, and I could not wait to share my experience with you all. There was a little delay on getting the photos from my personal photographer as her laptop had broken, but I finally have them and low and behold.. PegasusLIVE!
Excited by the concept of seeing and trying products before they're launched, I could not wait to get in the door, arriving in Central London early to make sure I found the Hotel.
The event was held in a lovely hotel called The Westbury in Mayfair, just a 2 minute walk from Oxford Circus (that road is a serious threat to my bank balance). On my way I stopped by Benefit to pick up their new They're Real! Gel Liner.. but more on that another time.. 
Arriving at the hotel, myself and my photographer Lucy Hammill, were gleefully greeted by Pegasus staff and directed to the floor where the event was being held. I wasn't sure what to expect as I hadn't attended one of these events before (I dressed quite smart!)
Presented with a beverage and a personal tour guide for the event, we were first taken to the Bio-Oil stand where a lovely lady greeted us and introduced us to what Bio-Oil is all about. Having used the product before, I shared my praises. She went on to explain about their new #myskinstory, which gave an inspirational insight into people's insecurities and how with the help of Bio-Oil, they have come to accept their scars for what they are; life stories. It was heartwarming to learn of some of the stories people have and how they have taken scars and disfigurements in their stride and accept that no matter what anyone may say, they are still beautiful and scars are just a fact of life. Everyone has them. Some are just more visible than others. However, with the daily use of Bio-Oil, they are able to visibly reduce their scars.
I won't go into too much detail about the individual products in this post, as there simply is not enough time or space on a page to fit it into one. So I will follow this up everyday with a new post about a review of one or two products I discovered and sampled at the event. So KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED!

On next to the Lloyds Pharmacy stand where another smiley lady (they were all so friendly!!) greeted us and explained what they had to showcase.
They explained that across the UK, Lloyds Pharmacy's offer a free skin analysis test in-store. Many women are unaware of their true skin status. I used to think my skin was oily, however found out it was actually quite normal! Knowing what skin type you are is crucial to finding out what skincare products to use. Their space-age looking machine tests a wide variety of things, from discovering your 'skin age' to testing your skins' levels of dehydration and knowing what SPF sun cream you need to wear. According to their statistics, 42% of people don't use the right products for their skin type.. That's loads! After your skin analysis is complete, they are able to give a non-bias recommendation on what products to use to suit your skin type and your skin needs.

Next to this was the Avène stall. Having recently bought a face cream in France just the other week (keep an eye out for the review) I know a little about the products, having had to try and translate all the bottles and tubes to know what I was buying. Essentially, Avène uses thermal spring water with low mineral content and rich in silica. This has been proven to have naturally soothing and anti-irritatant properties. pH balanced and extremely soft on the skin, their products can be used on any skin type and are even recommended for babies and those with skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis.

With the same parent company, A-DERMA , instead of being water based, is in fact oat based. Taking the oat from the ground as a bud, they are able to grow and harvest the richest minerals. A-DERMA is a 'dermo-cosmetic' plant-based active ingredients that, like Avène, soothe the skin and is recommended for delicate, damaged skin. However is best suited to dry and very dry skin. 

The main stall that caught my eye was ChapStick with their make-up pick'n'mix with not only yummy sweeties up for grabs, but a whole array of fun scented lip salves.. Heaven. On display was their shimmer range, their Lip Kits and their Original, Medicated and Flavoured ChapSticks. I wanted them all! They all just smell so sweet and make my lips so so smooth. 

Alongside, with equally fruity scents and flavours was Cuticura with a pop-up smoothie bar, giving us the opportunity to experience their product's ingredients in smoothie form. With flavours such as Aloe Soother and Supreme Clean, the smoothies weren't just flavoursome but healthy as well! As hand experts, Cuticura are best known for their anti-bacterial hand gel that come in a variety of fruity scents, but also have a range of hand creams and facial creams, wipes, moisturisers etc! Their new range caters for Sensitive, Combination & Oily and Dry skin, each with a different almost-edible scent.

  I won't talk too much about this product as I am yet to find out actually what it is when it is launched.. but I can say it was a very odd experience! #shinemeup was shrouded in white curtains, this area of the showcase was very alluring and called to my inner detective. The first to actually enquire about the cornered-off area (well,  I did arrive early), they seemed very excited for me to be their first guinea pig.  As I had gel nail polish on, and the product was to be used on bare nails, I almost wasn't able to participate. However another nail stall came to our rescue with some pure acetone to soak off the gels. A million hours later, it was finally all off and the 'presentation' had to be set up. I then found out I was going to be filmed throughout my experience (cringe, I hate my voice) but agreed anyway. As they were trying to keep this product a sworn secret until launch day, I had to be blindfolded and led into the curtained area. Once I had edged into my chair, and then almost fell out, I placed my hands on the table for what I thought would be a new base-coat, colour, top-coat all-in-one product. But no.  Something started whirring and I was like agh they're going to kill me. 
 However, I needn't have worried, It was what felt like an electronic nail buffer system that had multiple stages to buff the nails. I must say, despite being damaged from having gel nails quickly removed, they were very shiny! I can't wait for it to launch to try it out again!

Anndddd after getting my nails lovely and buffed, I bee-lined straight for the nail bar to try out a new at-home gels kit called Rokit from HoMedics. Not yet on the shelves so was very lucky to get to try it out. I went for the cappuccino colour :) all it took was a quick wipe down of the nails with the primer and then two coats of the UV drying Gel nail polish.  Unfortunately, within minutes of having them done, I smudged them so I had to re-do them when I got home, but I can't wait to be able to try them out. They seem so much simpler and less time consuming than doing a base coat, 2 colour coats (dependant on colour) and then a top coat and all that faff when it could all be done with one pot of polish! And yes.. I am staring at that plate of food whilst I'm typing this.. soooo hungry! I also did spend an unhealthy amount of time on the HoMedics back massage chairs that were also there. I wanted to take it on the train back home with me!
As for the rest of the showcase brands, you'll have to check back! 
Did you attend PegasusLIVE? What do you think of the brands I came across?


P.S. I had many compliments on my jacket whilst I was there.. so incase you were wondering, its actually from Tesco, which unfortunately they don't sell online anymore, but I picked it up whilst on sale at around £20 down from £40! Keep an eye out at your local Tesco Extra, they might have one in the F&F sale section!
Photos by Lucy Hammill using a Sony a200 DSLR

YSL Rouge Volupté Shine in 16 Orange Impertinent

I am a big, big, big YSL Lipstick fan and with packaging like this, how can anyone not be? I bought a different shade over a year ago and fell head over heels in love with it. It was starting to bug me in my make up storage, this lonely little gold tube with no companion. I did the only thing I could, and purchased it a sister. I am much bolder now in my choices of lip colour and was unafraid to go for a very orange pink. I'm tanned at the moment so I feel like it looks better now than it perhaps will during the colder seasons.

I chose number 16, Orange Impertinent, which happened to be featured in their spring/summer look recommendations at the counter in Sephora. I had scoped out the colours online beforehand because I always get a little bit funny at make up counters so it's best for me to have a good idea of what I will end up going home with before I even arrive. It looked like a good, vibrant shade that wouldn't be too out there, nor too boring. I was very happy withe the colour in real life and i'm very glad that they are not very opaque colours.

It balances just the right amount of pigment with shine, leaving my lips looking colourful and healthy. I've been wearing this lipstick nearly non-stop and suits both day and night wear. 

I'm almost sure i'd feel the same about the lipstick if the tube wasn't so luxe but it really looks so beautiful on my vanity desk. 

You can get your hands on your own for £27 from Selfridges. I was lucky enough to have 20% in Sephora for nearly the whole month of June which made this luxurious beauty just a little more affordable. 

I hope to one day own a whole flock of these, because they really are a delight. I am usually a matte lipstick kind of girl but I get along with these so well. 

Which Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupté Shine shade is your favourite?

xo

The Reading Habits TAG

Source

When I saw this TAG over at Water Painted Dreams, I knew i'd have to do it too. I have loved reading and collecting books for as long as I can remember and always have at least one book on the go. Nearly all of my books are in storage in the UK but when they were on shelves I arranged them by colour, and then alphabetical order and got pretty stressed out when somebody messed them up. 

1. Do you have a certain place for reading at home? My bed usually, it's the most comfortable spot!
2. Bookmark or random piece of paper? My cute little magnetic bookmark with a flamingo on it, if I can't find that then any paper to hand will do. *shock-horror* I even bend the corner of the page down if i'm desperate. 
3. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter or a certain number of pages? It depends on the book, how tired I am etc. Usually, if i'm really into the story I'll have to force myself to close the book after 30 or 50 pages but often i'll just stay awake until i've reached a satisfactory part of the story or the end of a book. 
4. Do you eat or drink when reading? It's really tricky to eat whilst reading, especially if i'm lying down already. A glass of wine with a good book always goes down well though. 

5. Do you watch TV or listen to music whilst reading?

Not if I can help it, it's not that it's too distracting but I end up trying to concentrate on both which never really works. 

6. One book at a time or several at once?

Sometimes I'll just have one, but often i'll have different books dotted around at home in different places. At the moment I have 2 books that i've read the opening chapters of and a few on my kindle app/iBooks too. 

7. Reading at home or everywhere?

Absolutely anywhere, standing up on a train is not my favourite though. Ideal place would have to be in a cosy book shop in Winter and sat on the grass at the park in Summer.

8. Reading out loud or silently in your head?

Silently in my head!

9. Do you ever read ahead or skip pages?

I am guilty of doing this, if i'm dying to know the outcome and I cannot bear the suspense then I will flick ahead or read the last couple of pages of the book. I ruin things for myself but I really cannot deal with surprises so I'd rather just know. 

10. Breaking the spine or keeping it new?

I'm not really that bothered, it's hard to read a book if you're worried about bending the pages too much. I buy a lot of books second hand, and then just take them back to the charity shop when i've finished reading them so the books aren't in the best condition. Obviously books look nicer when they are pristine but they are not there to look nice. 

11. Do you write in your books?

When I was younger I used to correct spellings (bit geeky, I know) - There are surprising number of mistakes in the Harry Potter books actually! If i'm reading a book in French there will be loads of stuff I have to underline or highlight to check the meaning of, or to remind myself to learn the conjugation.

 I think notes at the beginning of books given as presents are really sweet, so if I give a book, i'll try and write something thoughtful. 

12. What are you currently reading?
I think i've got the third Game of Thrones book on Kindle on the go, The Altar of Bones and i'm re-reading The Great Gatsby. 

If you love reading & books, I tag you! xo

Ebay finds: Skin79 BB Cream Set

I love scouring eBay for a good beauty deal and when I heard about these through another lady's blog I was quick to have a search. I adore Korean beauty products, and have never been disappointed so far. BB creams originated in the region, so it seems logical that they would produce the best. 

In summer, i'm reluctant to wear foundation as it feels a bit cloying on my skin so I much prefer to wear something a little lighter like a tinted moisturiser or a BB cream. 

I bought the Skin79 BB Miniature Set from this seller for 8USD with free shipping. They were kind enough to also include 2 little sample sachets of the same product.

This set contained 4 different creams for me to try; Diamond Collection Pearl Luminous Beblesh Balm, Diamond Collection The Prestige BB Cream, Super Triple Function Beblesh Balm and the VIP Gold Collection Super Beblesh Balm.

I'm not sure if BB cream originally stood for Beblesh Balm rather than Beauty Balm? Maybe somebody more informed can enlighten me!

I haven't gotten around to trying all of them yet but I have so far been impressed with the VIP Gold Collection cream, it was very even and matched my tanned skin well. The Pearl Luminous cream was a bit of a fail because I applied it far too liberally and it was very shiny/shimmery which is not a look I suit well. 

The tubes are generous for miniatures and will be great for travel. I'll be putting the rest of them to the test soon and I have high hopes. My main criteria are that it blends well, lasts all day and minimises shine which these Skin79 products seem to do well. 

What are your Korean Beauty recommendations?

xo

Nailmatic: The Nail Polish Vending Machine

I remember reading about the Nailmatic Nail Polish vending machines way before I moved to Paris and immediately added it to my France Bucket List. It took me nearly 6 months to find one and during that time the price had risen from €5 to €6, not a huge hike, but disappointing nevertheless. 

I think the concept is absolutely fantastic and I wish it was possible to buy more beauty goodies from a machine. The one I used was in the BHV le Marais, which is the huge orange-coloured department store at Hotel de Ville. It's only 5 minutes walk from home but i'd never really taken the time to wander around and I had thought that the machine was in a different store, elsewhere in Paris. 

I was a bit overwhelmed by the choices and obviously wanted all of them. Unluckily for me, I only had €10 cash on me so I was restricted to just one purchase. 

The machine itself is very swish and felt a bit more high-tech than the usual kit kit and quavers dispenser. The design of the packaging is very cute, and the bottles are identifiable but not too in-your-face. There were so many different colours to choose from, a veritable rainbow, as well as a base and top coat. I went for a pale, chalky blue called Kiko that I thought would be perfect for Spring/Summer in Paris. 

The formula isn't perfect but after 2 coats, I was good to go. I used the Seche Vite topcoat to add some shine and was very pleased with the results. For the price, I would have expected it to last a little longer and I think the colour was at fault for the lack of immediate opaque-ness. I'm looking forward to trying other shades to see how they measure up.

It would be great if Nailmatic could find its' way to the UK, or at least branch out a bit more and have a vending machine somewhere other than inside a store. For me, the point of a vending machine is that I can buy something at my convenience, usually outside of store opening hours. I'd love to see one in a metro station, or even just outside the store entrance. 

What do you think about Nailmatics?

xo