New Vanities

I complained about not having my beauty-Mojo a couple of posts ago.

FaceQ Hello Kitty Sheet-Masks on a happy plate

 In the meanwhile I bought some new vanities:

This Works has a new line going on named "In Transit": aimed for the frequent Travellers. I am still looking for my perfect primer and 'Camera Closeup' has the right name & raves (see here & here) to get me curious. My review will be there soon after I have tried it for a while

I have gotten in a neo-teenager period, facewise, which means I had to buy a good pimple buster: Skin Doctor 'Zit Zapper' also has the right name & reviews . I hope it will make my skin behave because combatting the wrinkles is a task high enough for my vanities right now : ).

Rouge Bunny Rouge is having an awesome sale (hurry, still a couple of days left). Some eyeshadows that I was already curious about went from €24.00 to €14.40. The teal top one is Mysterious Tinamou and the bottom Periwinkle Cardinal. I also bought the peachy Tantalising Lovebird. The lipstick was the only colour on sale: Perfume of his Gaze. It has been reviewed as too sheer & neutral (here) but since it has been discounted from €24.00 to €9.60 and I love a sheer with a sparkle in a pretty tube I though "oh well".

Product availability:

The Hello Kitty FaceQ sheetmasks were bought from ebayseller whitecat3845724: I gotten 2 free masks when buying 5. The This Works & Skin Doctors are from lookfantastic.com: they give out a free Macademia Haircare kit worth £45 when you spend more than £50: code THGMAC.

Using Used Gonna Use

I've been seeing so many tanning people on the beach lately that I positioned my bottles and empties in a similar horizontal position: (ps: not advocating tanning: wear sunscreen & hat!)

Eh ok, like people you do not see the labels (or who they are) so easily when they lie on their bellies, so: 

Used:               I have been using up a couple of skincare items.

a. The Omorovzica Gold Serum has been finished for more than a month ago: I started using it (see here), replaced it for Aurelia serum for a while (which I finished), and emptied this one too. I have to give the word like to it but it isn't love. I feel it firms my skin a bit, but for its price I consider it to be not the miracle product I think it should be. 

b. Bioderma Micellar Water: I gotten this baby size on one of my trips to Paris. Bioderma has a great cult following and I can see  and notice the easiness of this water. Nevertheless, since organic and natural varieties have stepped up the scene I think I prefer them instead. See also the bottle of my gonna use.

c. Akin Refreshing and Soothing Toner with Orange Blossoms: a lot of people suggest that the use of toners is completely unnecessary in skincare.  I believe in the ritual and aromatic powers of a skincare regime. Also, I love the feeling of removing the last trace of creamy or oily cleanser and preparing the skin in an aromatic way for the next step. This is my 2nd bottle being emptied and I love the orange flower in this baby.

Using: 

Armani Cosmetics Eyes to Kill in 04 Pulp Fiction: It has been my first Dutch Armani purchase. Not the one from the brick-'n-mortar store I discussed in the previous post, but an online purchase. I've gotten a velvety Rouge d'Armani 400 as a GWP. It's a longlasting red and I haven't been using it a lot: I am not a vivid red lip wearer but it is lovely to have a smaller size of this colour for if I ever want to splash out on a red lip. Or perhaps my friend who loves these type of lipstick is gonna convince me giving it to her (or steal it).

Pulp Fiction is a cult classic and I do not have to discuss why I bought and like it : )

Gonna Use:

My favourite (organic) micellar water from Melvita: Eau Fraiche Micellair. This is my 2nd bottle and I love how it agrees on my 'delightfully'  choosy skin. I could not buy it from my 1st provider because they suddenly did not want to ship it from the UK but I found another webshop who does. (not mentioning names cough, no really not gonna do).

Rouge d'Armani Sheers: some swatches

Pjew, I am trying to get into the beauty-blogger mode again.

Sometimes I have a beauty-strike when I notice that little helps and people say things like "oh, you are probably low-maintenance on beauty". I'd love to show them my Cosmetic Room that has +200 nailpolishes, at least 150 lipsticks in YLBB shades (not to mention the other hues) and the plethora of sheetmasks I still harbour like Rihanna must harbour her best friend (I love she has the same best friend, Melissa, since highschool).

 And then the moment arrives that I start to miss my groomed eyebrows (even though Clara Devigne-brows are quite the thing now) and I want to groom for myself again. And it's nice when other people notice my like for vanity too: I got this Rouge d'Armani Sheers lipstick sample from the new Armani Counter in Holland. I blogged about it here but only bought something online. However, curiosity and new-groomlike vigour led me to the real counter and I finally bought a blush I have been lusting about for 2 or 3 years (no 6 = ♥)

I got a couple of Armani Sheers to 'try out' and I have been liking its dewy and sheer colours a lot.

Close up: the Pink 500 has that gorgeous magneta tone with a splendid multiflecked quality:

Swatches:

My personal fave is Plum 600. I adore my lips in a wine-stained colour that is on a sheer and glossy side. Plum 600 seems to have all these qualities & feels moisturizing, comfortable and longlasting on my pout.
Pink 500 is a happy, vivid summer colour. Unfortunately, or fortunately if you are not in big chunky glitters, the multiflecked quality is only visible from really close.
Coral 300 is more of an orange, but with my cool reddish undertone of my mouth it turns into a more corally hue.

Ok, so this hasn't been the most review-y or swatch-accurate post in my blogger-history ever, but I am trying to start again and find my enthousiasm again! :-) Right now I love these colours and consistency and I probably will get myself a full-size of the Plum 600.

blogging & numbers

Vanity - Auguste Toulmouche

I was stalling posting anything for the blog for superstitious reasons...I have posted quite some here, so I ended up with a not-so fantastic number.

So, a gorgeous piece of art to get me going again and a image that most of us would love to have: being happy with your mirror-reflection. Though she's quite happy with it...see also Madonna's video Forbidden Love:

So that has been a while since I posted a video on this blog...

&

What is Madonna doing these days, btw, besides having toddler boyfriends?

Fave Summer Oils: Face, Hair & Body

I think oils are often limited to winter...

Such a waste because the best oils can be superb for the warmer summer period:

So I am going to discuss a couple of my fave summer oils!

FACE: Aesop Fabulous Face oil

half-way on the Aesop Fabulous!

Perhaps this one is a tad too heavy for the summer period. Some might like a lighter oil, something I will discuss soon.

For me the reason I picked up on a slightly heavier oil is the unsteady skin I had for a while: I gotten more eczematic, dry spots because of the change of weather and a weaker diet. Balming up with a heavy oil on the dry spots makes my skin look smoother in the morning.

I have been discussing the psychological effect of scent in various posts (eg here) and this one really agrees with me. Night-time oils should feel like a harmonizing and comforting blend, and perhaps not everyone's is into lavender so it's often still personal. Aesop Fabulous Face oil has Ylang Ylang as it main (scentual) proponent and I love the sensual and drowsy effect of this essential oil, which makes it easier to relax and drop off to sleep.

HAIR: Leonor Greyl Palm Oil

This oil has a weird consistency in that certain temperature between solid (hard) & liquid (melting) that I just have to show here below ----->:

When it is solid it is perfect for travelling on hand-luggage only (lots of European discount airlines) because it will not count as a part of the poor 100ml anti-vanity strategics the airports maintain these days.

I kind of like this oil for it's moisturizing properties too, and it's divine scent that I can detect as something Tiara-esque. However, for a better review I will guide you to Pink Sith, which connected her fantastical mind to a fairytale of hairness to it (here).

One warning: it does take a clarifying shampoo to take off the pre-oiled tresses and not ending up in a post-shampood-but-still-oily-mess! Which is slightly the downside to this oil: Sometimes I like a plain macademia/argan oil often just as much, but those perennial liquids count as a part of the 100 ml impecunious-ness the vain & often beautiful have to compromise on when travelling by handluggage only. So for that sake, and the perfect scented concoction, I take this beauty along.

BODY: Caudalie Huile Divine (divine oil)

I placed this multitasker under body because I still needed to fill this category.

Besides, body includes face & hair anyway, and this one does as well.

Defined as a grape oil,  It's also a dry oil and therefore penetrates quickly after applying.

It has a floral fragance with I'll define as tropical paradise (ofcouse, scentual preference is always subjective). However, it's quite heady so I personally would not plunge it on my face that fast due to my sensitive complexion.

Besides smelling & feeling divine (though not completely natural nor organic), it's quite friendly to the environment too:

I only have this sample (perfect for the hand-luggage vanities) but I will get a larger bottle soon.

That sums up my fave 3 summer oils for 2013 at this time being...

Always curious for more vanity adventures, I might add more until the end of summer is near and will blend into autumn...