Preview: Lavshuca Girly Whip Cheek PK 2 & Visee Mineral Cheek PK 800

I finally received my adambeauty haul for today and was able to make a couple of swatches of the cream/gel blush formulas I ordered I was waiting for
 

From the three of these I actually mistaken in thinking that the Kanebo Kate in the bottom was a cheek-product as well: it's actually a lipgloss.

Oh well, still two to swatch:

All right, the difference is already obvious by the unblended swatches.

The Lavshuca Girly Whip is indeed a foam-esque consistency and quite on the pale side. I consider it more of a highlighter. Also a bit of a con: glittery parts.

The Visee Mineral Liquid is, in contrast, hyperpigmented! I am like: is this a lipstain or something because it is really strong on cheeks and has this massive colour payoff.

somewhat warmer lightning: swatches are quite accurate to real life

I have to make some better swatches and test it for a longer period to write a proper review on these two. For the moment I hope these swatches help to show you how different these two are, productwise.

Winter Switch

Winter suddenly arrived over here so that means it's time for a switch in products:

1. Perfume
Perhaps you remember talking about the By Killian Beyond Love over here, and I haven't used it that much during the summer, but I think it's time to reach for a headier perfume with some warmer floral notes. I also like the muskier L'artisan Parfumeur  L'été en Douce even though the name suggest that it's a summer perfume only. I actually think that it's muskier component is perfect for wearing it on its own for the autumn/winter season, or layer it with other perfumes for more musky sensuality.

2. Hands
 People with colder seasons know how awful it feels like when your hands get cracks or little tears in it, especially with the cuticles. I love this Kose Happy Bath Day hand essence for the sheer reason that it is quite thin and I can take it on travel and to work without being afraid I will grease up everything I touch afterwards. Thicker and more emolient creams are wonderful too, but more as a treatment at night or to wear with gloves when at home. My only gripe is that they don't sell it anymore: why? So I'll be looking for a serum-like alternative for the time this one runs out.
 
3. Lips
 Perhaps something for all seasons but a switch in coldness means something that is more balmy than your fluffier summer balms. The Nuxe Reve de Miel (english for 'dream of honey') is a staple among makeupartist for the reason it moisturizes, has that perfect thickness & is matte enough for a base for lipsticks afterwards.

Pursued and a cheeky wait

After I haven't dared to put any makeup in the Miu Miu purse I bought a while ago in case I would smudge it's daintiness, I decided to buy something more playproof:

And if my lack of swatches and review has left you slightly dissapointed in me, I have some cheekies somewhere between Hong Kong and the Netherlands that are waiting eagerly to be swatched:

Goodie: I have quite some blush, mostly powder and some cream.

However, I have little in gel-form, only the Pixi and a Rouge Bunny Rouge from the Decadent Duo side (Tango-Argentino). I love these consistencies so I get three of them at the same time!

Looking forward to it and hopefully you too :}

Makeup Mosaic

♥ A couple of looks I would like to try ♥

(for Halloween or other parties)

Brighteners & hair-improvers

Sorry for my lack of updates: I've been a bit too busy for blogging. I have been happily testing the rest of my latest Armanis, and I have to say that I'm impressed by the concealer.

I still like blogging so I'll give a short update on something new, something tried & something repeated.

Brighteners:

I am about to finish up the Kieh's Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution and I have to say that I have not been impressed by it's lightening quality. This summer I used lots of sunblock, however, I sometimes was a bit late reapplying it after a swim, so I had/ve to battle some pigmentation again.

 I went for Kiehl's because, simply

• I was curious
• it was featured in the magazines
• it's easily available in Holland in a brick-and-mortar shop

However, it isn't as effective as my previous lightener love Jurlique Purely Bright Night Moisturizer. So in the picture above I paired them up, but will be glad if I finished the Kiehl's and get started with my 3rd (!) tube of Jurlique Purely Bright. Jurlique is not on sale over here, but with a bit of patience I get my sweet package from the UK and have the opening-the-box pleasure.

Hair:

• Oribe Mask for Beautiful Color (sale)
• Oribe Royal Blowout Spray

I ran out of most of my L'oreal Professionel masks I featured a couple of times on the blog (here) and saw that Oribe was on sale. Well, professional goddesses such as Jennifer Lopez, Giselle Bunchen & Jennifer Aniston seem to be liking these products, and these women have awesome hair so I wonder if it works on the mortals as well.

The Royal Blowout spray got a massive rave on makeupalley (here) so I added it to my cart to get free shipping, and ofcourse for some smoothing after ironing my hair: one of MUA's reviewers said that it's for ironing too and not just for blowouts, which is a good thing as I hardly do those; too much fumbling with brushes and the hairdryer at the same time: that's something for the pros at the saloon or people being really good multitaskers. So the Royal spray for straightening my hair: curious about that too.

Seasonal changes often make my hair slightly lacklustre so hopefully with these potions my good hairdays are here to come...

Armani Rouge 'd Armani Sheers in Bitten (Plums 600)

The time before the last time I encountered a Armani Cosmetics counter in Barcelona and I decided to stick with the thing that I couldn't buy online and I decided was my absolute summer essential: The bronzer in no. 1. It's basically the first blush or bronzer EVER to hit pan, so I had to back up. It's not online with the webshop that sells Armani online, and  I thought it would be the last time I would see a Armani counter in a long time (I didn't because Lissabon has them in Corte Ingles as well).

However, I got swatchy and sheerly fell in love with the sheers. My favourites among them the Purples and Plums: moody, slightly sexy but not too sexy like reds prefer to be, and an excellent match for my green/turquoise eyes.

Bitten translates on my lips as literary, a bitten stain with an equal and lustrious finish. Also a colour after drinking too much wine and having kissed with a delightful handsome man, deciding not to spend the night with him but looking at yourself in the mirror in you apartment and staring to you lips thinking: "they should make lipstick like that".
(Basically, vanity often wins it from sensuality with me...hehehe, but if you can combine both...)

Rouge D'Armani Bitten (600 Plum)

We do not have this scenario close to us all the time (basically, sometimes never) but I have this lipstick now and it kinda replicates this...without the wine and the snogging, nor with the idea that the handsome man calls you too much afterwards and seems to have a really weird voice you didn't notice when you had too much wine on and he practically didn't talk... etc etc...You know, everything has it's plusses and it's minusses.

One last time to admire the bullet it it's virgin state!

Now let's get that stain on again for autumn. Mhwah...

Armani-fied

I have been abandoning a part of my beauty-frugalism for the exceptional quality of Armani's Cosmetics.

I am eager to try their even-more exceptional new concealer: the Maestro Erasor in 4 (I really like their older one). A simple, but according to the raves really exceptional, eyepencil in black, and their delicious Rouge d' Armani Sheer in Bitten 600.

I received these samples and I've been wearing the Giorgio Armani Prive in Cuir Noir today: it's slightly masculine but also quite sexy: like coming into a warm cabin after skiing and finding a terrifically gorgeous and slightly muscular man waiting for you with some warm cocoa before the fireplace.

(I got my haul from parfuma.com and have no affiliations with them, just an eagerness for Armani cosmetics these days. I also have an eagerness for skiing since wearing the Armani Privee in Cuir Noir, but that's a whole different story (see above))