Favorite products of the month: February 2014

Hey hey! Welcome back to my blog and today I would like to share my top products of the month. Since I was on holiday for half October and half November, this will combine my fav from both months :)

I've been loving my L'Oreal Triple Active Fresh moisturizer for combination skin. If you haven't read my review on it, please click here to give it a read. It's a gel-cream formula that will moisturize the face. Since the weather has been cold since October in Belgium my skin couldn't go through the days with a light gel formula. It clearly needed something heavier. I even dare to say that I like to compare this to the Biotherm AquaSource gel for combination skin. L'Oreal, you surprised me with this one! Very good!

L'Oreal Triple Active Fresh gel cream

Another face product I've been loving is the Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil for combination or oily skin. This is an oil that you put on your face to treat the oils on your face. Yes, you got it right. Use oil to fight oils. This has worked against my blemishes and I have to say that this keeps my oils at bay. I always wanted to try out a Clarins product and when I saw this was on sale I was excited to try it out, not knowing whether it was a good product or not. I did some quick research on the spot before buying it and it turned out for the best for me.

Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil

I've been on the look out for a gently cleanser. I've done a lot of research and the products of which people say it doesn't dry out the skin, it does with me. Until I came across this Kiehl's cleanser. It's a gel formula and foams up as soon as it comes into contact with water. This actually does cleanse my face without stripping the oils of the face. I can actually walk another 5 minutes around without having that feeling that my skin is getting tight. I got this goodie in my Deauty box, and I'll planning on purchasing this as soon as I'm finished with this sample.

*Kiehl's*

I can't have a favorite-product-of-the-month-post without including any lip balm. This month the crown goes to Maybelline Baby Lips (the American version). I've been liking all 3 I bought: Hydrate (blue), Intensive care (yellow) and Cherry Me (orange). Hydrate is on my desk to apply during the day, Intensive care is on my night stand to apply before going to bed and Cherry Me is in my purse to rock that subtle red color on my lips. They're affordable, cute, hydrating and have a lovely scent to them. Baby Lips, I welcome you in my heart :)

Maybelline Baby Lips

Well, I guess this is it y'all. Go ahead and share some of your favorite goodies with me in the comment bar below. Until next time! :)

Favorite products of the month: September 2013

Another end of a month means another listing of my favorite products of the month!
Maybe you've noticed that I haven't been doing these king of post every month, that's because I usually use the same products for quite some while.

The products that do make it to the 'favorite products of the month-post' are or awesome products I use on a regularly basis or I've discovered them recently and I just want to share them with you.

Anyway, enough chit chat for now, let's jump right into it :)

My face has been very bad to me the last couple of weeks. I've been using my Benzac which contains 5% benzoylperoxide to treat the blemishes, I've been using my Clarisonic more often and I've rediscovered a scrub to get rid of the dead skin cells. You've probably heard of this scrub before, it's the St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot scrub. This scrub is the Allure readers' choice award winner and yes, it is quite good actually. It comes out as a pinkish white cream with orange beeds in it to exfoliate the skin. As the name gives it away it has a pleasant apricot scent which isn't too overwhelming. After using this scrub my skin feels very soft. A good alternative to my Nivea Visage Pure Effect Peel Soft which is more a mattifying scrub than it is an exfoliating scrub.

For facial make up products, the waterproof Jealousness gel eyeliner has been taking care of my smoky eye looks. These eyepencils go on very smoothly, no tucking, no going over the same place more than one time to darken it up, good pigmentation, ... By far, one of my favorite eye pencils! I got this pencil from an online Asian beauty shop, if you want to try it out as well, click here :)

Jealousness: waterproof gel eyeliner: black

I've been digging the Bourjois cream blushes. They're a cream to powder blush and the old spices color Sweet Cherry is a wonderful color for my complexion.

Although summer is coming to an end, the oils on my face haven't decided to call it a day. They've been excited to come out since summer has started. To solve this problem, mattifying papers have been my best friend. I've been using several ones, because I keep a certain brand in my purse and some in my make up bag. Catrice, Sasa, Clean and Clear, ... they all get the job done, so I don't really care what brand they're from.

I have been loving lip stuff lately, well actually always, but I've discovered some great lip goodies the last couple of months. Not just the regular lipbalms, but the tinted versions.
One of Korres' best selling products is the lip butter. These are little pots with a scented and tinted lip balm in it, but dang...they're good!

Korres lip butter: Pomegranate

I've done a blog post on the Bourjois Color Boost glossy lipsticks before. If you'd like to give it a read, click here. They have a good pigmentation, are quite cheap and they're cute looking. If you haven't seen them before, they're basically like a big fat crayon to color in your lips.

Bourjois Color Boost glossy finish lipsticks

These have been my fav's of the month. I'm still trying out a bunch of new products, time will tell whether they will make it to my next favorite products of the month! Until then, see you soon!

Favorite products of the month: July 2013

So, how did we already pass half summer? Time literally flies by!
But you know what the end of a month means, right? Yup, another listing of my favorite products of the passed month! :)

The month July hasn't been very nice to my skin at all. I had breakouts and I needed treatment, not just for the face, but for the entire body. It's been a while since my body was in such a bad condition...

Let's work from the top down and start with facial products:
Lately the oils in my skin have been going out like crazy. I know during summer my skin has the tendency to go all nuts, but I've been on the look out for good mattifying products to keep my oils at bay.
The Bioderma and the Shu Uemura Pureness mattifying moisturizer have been good to my skin, because they're very light moisturizers but they've been keeping my skin fairly matte.

Left:Bioderma Sébium moisturising mattifying fluid
Right: Shiseido Pureness mattifying moisturiser

Besides that, pimples had several parties on my face. Costume parties. As in, they were everywhere and in all forms. Whenever I'm need of a good zit killer, I take out the big guns: my Benzac Gel. This hydrogel contains 5% of benzoylperoxide. If you haven't heard of this chemical, it mainly dries out the zit causing it for it to DIE, mwoehahaha! Honestly, it's THE bomb diggity to get rid of any breakouts.

Benzac Gel

This passed month I had to go to the dentist, and I had to sit there for about 2 hours with my mouth open. This caused the sides of my mouth crack, and believe you me... it hurts like hell afterwards! I've done some research and I found out that Sudocrem appears to be a very good treatment for healing cracks. After walking around with those cracks for weeks, it healed after applying Sudocrem for just 1 day! Holy moly guacemole, right?
It's known to be a do-it-all for several things, such as soothing a baby's nappy rash, treat dry, cracked feet, get rid of red spots from acne, ... A big plus? It's hypoallergenic, so this will be fighting against those annoying allergic reactions!

Sudocrem

This month I've discovered my epilator and my tweezers again, because you know how we girls be, huh? :) I like to get rid of any excess hair that bothers me, and I have my Tweezerman to thank for. I used to use cheap tweezers and I must admit, nothing beats a Tweezerman. They're so sharp that they can get every hair out, yet they're not as sharp they can cut you. Great stuff!

Tweezerman

If you haven't read the recent last blog posts yet, I've been going on and on about how important SPF is. Recently I've discovered a sunscreen that can keep my face matte, and it has a high SPF factor. It's the Eucerin SPF 50. I'm not going into it too deep anymore, if you would like some more information on it, go ahead and give this one a read.

Eucerin sun fluid SPF 50

As for make up, since this is still a beauty blog, I have 2 drugstore eyeliners, and they're both from the brand Essence.
On the top you'll see the waterproof eye pencil that claims to be: waterproof, partyproof, lifeproof, lasts up to 16 hours and it's sharpenable. It's supposed to stay on NO MATTER WHAT. I must say that this does stay for quite some time.
The second eye pencil is a longlasting one. It's a supersoft eye pencil which is good for precise application.
They're both very good drugstore eye liners that's definitely worth the money! They're cheap (I only paid 1€ for each pencil), they're long lasting, they have a good pigmentation, they're easily accessible (drugstore). Worth giving a shot!

Top: Essence stays no matter what waterproof eye pencil: 01 midnight black
Down: Essence Longlasting eye pencil: 01 black fever

During the summer sales, I often have a peek through the sales boxes and this year I found a YSL cream blush. It's pretty pinkish color that will leave your skin dewy. You don't need too much of this: one or two swipes and hello healthy glow! I'm really glad I found this because I've been on the hunt for a good cream blush and I think I found my blush of the summer.

Yves Saint Laurent cream blush no6

As for lips, I have discovered Bourjois' Color Boost Peach on the Beach. It's a coral lipstick in a crayon form. A great color to wear for those who have been wearing lip balm forever and just started to wear lipstick :) A review of this goodie will be coming up soon!

Bourjois Color Boost: 04 Peach on the Beach

I like bright nail polish colors during the summer, especially for my toes! I've been rocking NYX's hot pink for the entire month of July. It's a fun color that will make your feet look more tanned than they're already are, 2 in 1, yeah baby!

NYX - Dance in Havana

Last but not least, I've been using an oil spray to tame those fly aways down and to make my hair more shiny. I spritz this oil in my damp hair and this makes my hair softer and gives it some shine which my hair has been lacking of. I'm not a fan of the scent, although a lot of those beauty bloggers love the Macadamia scent, but I'll keep on using this because it does the job.

Macadamia - Healing Oil Spray

These were my favorite goodies of the month. Mind sharing yours with me?

I ♥ Summer TAG

Hi everrrybody!

I saw the fun tag and decided to do a Q&A, so let's jump right into it :)

1. Favorite bronzer?
Well, I'm getting off with a good start since I don't use bronzer! It's just one of those makeup steps that doesn't excite me.
2. Favorite summer drink?
I like drinking a safe sex on the beach mocktail, since I don't enjoy drinking alcohol.
3. Favorite summer lip product?
That would probably be my Rosebudsalve. Whatever lip balm I use (and I have A LOT), I always go back to this baby!
4. Pool or beach?
I prefer the beach. You have sand, sun and sea! What more can you ask for? I don't go swimming in the sea that often anymore, but it's just more fun than going to the plain ol' pool.
5. Summer = crazy hair! What's your must-have styling product?
Wella Professionals Lifetex sun vitamin shake preps my hair before getting those UV-rays on my hair.
6. Sun bathing or fake tan?
I should be ashamed of answering this, but sun bathing... I've tried the fake tan before, but I'm not a huge fan of having a tanned skin. I happen to have skin that gets tanned quite easily. I just like sun bathing because I think it's relaxing to lie on the beach with my friends, doing nothing.
7. Favorite summer nail polish?
NYX's in 241 Dance in Havana is a hot pink color that just screams summer.
8. Any summer traditions?
I don't have a true summer tradition, but I think I do get together with my friends more often to catch up on everything.
9. Favorite summer scent?
I especially like the scent of my Dove Go Fresh in pomegranate.
10. Favorite BBQ food?
Sausages covered with honey!
11. Favorite summer-proof product?
I'd go with blotting sheets. They're my friends for the entire year, but during summer they become my bff for a while, haha!
12. Summer vacation plans?
I've postponed my summer vacation plans to October-November. I'll be going to Thailand with a friend of mine. I'm really looking forward to it and can't wait for my true summer vacation to begin :)

That was it for the day! I enjoyed doing this tag. You're tagged if you read this, and don't be shy to put your URL in the comments down below. Have fun! :)

Best of 2012 TAG

Goodbye 2012 and hello 2013!

I've seen beauty guru's doing this tag and I thought: "Why not? Let's start this year's blog with a tag called 'Best of 2012'. 
And oh, I tag everyone to do this tag! If you do, don't be shy to share the link to your fav's of the year. Let's jump right into it, shall we? :)

My Favorite....

BEAUTY
1. Face product

Nivea Ideal Finish Mattifying powder: 04 sand

A drugstore mattifying powder. No matter how much you put on, this doesn't get cakey. I usually powder my face lightly after applying some concealer and leaves it mat for about 4 hours.








2. Cheek product

Benefit Coralista blush

I'm most of you have already heard of this blush, if not you already own this one!
I LOVE this blush!

It's a gorgeous corally color with some light shimmer to it. As soon as you apply some of it on your cheeks, it gives your face a certain glow (a nice glow, not the greasy looking glow!). And yes, you can build this color up to get some vavavoom on your cheeks!

This blush will suit a wide range of skin colors, so you can't go wrong with Benefit's Coralista!




 3. Eye product

Fairy Drops mascara

This mascara has become my holy grail. It gives volume, it lengthens and yet, it makes it look natural as the eye lashes are your own. I'm loving the waterproof version as well. A must have in my beauty kit!






4. Lip Product

Maybelline Baby Lips

As most of you already are familiar with Maybelline's Baby Lips, these Baby Lips came out in Asia. They're not exactly the same though.

The Asian ones aren't tinted lip balms, they just hydrate the lips like hell :)

Unfortunately I haven't got the chance to try out the US versions...








5. Skincare Product

Bioderma Sensibio H2O

This toner has gotten a lot of hype on the internet. It's a toner which I use to remove my make up with, or if I'm not wearing any make up, I'll still use this to freshen up my face. In spite of my combination skin, I 'm using the one for sensitive skin (which I have as well). I have just read a lot of good things about the red bottle (sensitive skin) compared to the green bottle (combination skin).







6. Nail Polish

Sasatinnie - Rose

I bought this polish when I was in Hong Kong. Unfortunately I can't seem to find this on the Sasa website. It was 'buy 1, get 1 50% off'.

It's a gorgeous corally, pink color that's great during spring and summer.

You know I LOVE my polishes, but if I can only choose one for the year 2012, it has to be Rose.








7. Hair product

Biosilk Silk Therapy

This hair serum should be applied on towel dried hair and makes your hair freakishly soft! :D I like the scent because it's non-chemical and not overpowering. A must try!






8. Body product/Perfume

Christian Dior perfume: Addict To Life

I'm very bad at describing fragrances, but this smells sooooo good! I had to cheat and look up some words to describe the scent: rose, floral, slightly woody, fruity, musky and sweet. I have definitely fallen in love with this perfume and am considering of buying another bottle (which I have never done :O)
Only downside? This is quite expensive...






FASHION
9. Clothing piece

H&M skinny jeans

Man, have I lived in this pants during 2012 :D
They're a skinny low waist jeans, but do stretch which makes it comfortable to wear this pair. Often when I wear skinny jeans, it can get quite uncomfortable because it's just too tight. Thanks to the 2% elastane, it makes it wonderful comfy! They do have some distressed details, which makes it more "edgy" ;)












10. Accessory

ASOS glasses ring

 



 I got my pair from an asian website, but apparently these can be found on ASOS as well. You can easily bend this ring bigger and let it fit appropriately to your finger. There's quite a wide range of colors you can choose from: red, black, blue, white, even gold!
A cute accessory, for almost no money, and which will give that umpf to your outfit!








11. Pair of shoes

New Look boots

I have a pair in camel color, but unfortunately (after wearing them a gazillion time), they're worn off. Thanks to a friend, who was still a college student at that time, I used her discount card...mwoehahaha! You can easily style these boots with pretty much anything: with skirts, dresses, skinny jeans, ... Loved these!



RANDOM
12. TV Show/Movie

Dexter

This is without a doubt Dexter. For those who don't know the show, it's about a loveable blood spatter analyst who works for the Miami police department. During his secret life his dark passenger (himself) kills criminals who got away by the legal system. A quite addictive show that knows how to keep the tension!








13. Book

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

For those who don't know me very well since I only talk about beauty stuff, I'm a huge sucker for books :)
I have always loved reading (except when it was obliged at school, haha!). But this year, I accidentally picked up the first book of 50 shades, and didn't know what to expect at all. After finishing the book and liking the story, I suddenly noticed a lot of hype around this book. My friends asked me whether I've heard of this book, seeing a lot of commercial in the book stores, ... Then I found out the 1st book I bought was part of a trilogy. I bought no2 and no3. By then this book became viral, all my friends kept talking about this book, people talking about this on television, ... It became HUGE! I loved the books. I read them in Dutch the first time, but I read the books a 2nd time in English, just to compare, because books are never translated exactly the same.
E.L.James, I'm sure you didn't know what was coming at ya girl!







14. Food

sushi

 I learned how to make sushi early 2012, and I've made sushi whenever I was in the mood for some raw fish :)









15. Beverage

SPA water

I had to taught myself to drink water, since I used to be a soda junkie.
I have to admit: I like drinking water and only drink soda whenever I need some sugar. I can't imagine going through a day without drinking any water. Only downside? I only drink SPA water (Belgian brand)... Water all the way!







16. Song

Emeli Sandé - Our Version of Events

The first time I heard Read All About It, I fell in love with Emeli's voice. I started to get into her and looked up some songs. Around the beginning of April, a friend of mine invited me to go to her concert. I didn't hesitate for one second, and man oh man, it was the greatest concert I have ever attended! I've already bought another concert ticket for 2013 and I'm soooo looking forward to it! :)








That's it beauties, wish you all a happy new year! May 2013 be even better than 2012! :)

Favorites of the month: June 2012

Hi there! It's that time of the month again! No, I'm not talking about PMS, it's monthly favorites...YAAAAY!! So, let's jump right into it, shall we? :)

As some of you may know I bought a Clarisonic a while back, and I decided to try it out before I wanted to review it. Well...I tried and fell in love :)

Clarisonic - sensitive brush

I've been using it every other day, other days I may do a light scrub or just go over with it with some toner, about which I'll talk more in just a second. I've been using the Philosophy Purity Cleanser or the Bioré Acne Gentle Care - Oil control facial foam.

Philosophy Purity Cleanser

                                                                   





The Philosophy is a bit more drying to my skin, but since I do want to use up the entire bottle, I'll moisturize my skin immediately after towel drying my face.

Bioré Acne Gentle Care Oil Control Facial Foam

As Bioré's name says so, it's a foam. It's not as drying as the Purity cleanser. I definitely will be repurchasing this one as soon as I'm out of cleansers.









I use the brush for sensitive skin and I have to say, I finally understand what the fuss in the beauty world was about the Clarisonic! My skin has gotten a natural glow to it, without being oily and my impurities have significantly disappeared. I'm really loving it, parapapapa!

I've been using my Biotherm toner for a very long time, and I had to switch up toners because I think my skin got used to it. And since acne was popping up on occasions I couldn't afford to have them, I started using a Clinique' toner.

Clinique anti-blemish solutions toner

Most people use the 3 step skin care line, but since I'm not most people I just wanted to try out this clarifying lotion. If you look at the bottle you see there's a powder at the bottom, which is acne medication. You just shake up the bottle so the powder can disperse in the liquid and I just a put a little bit on a cotton ball and go over my face with it.

I always learned that it's better to use a serum before putting on your moisturizer. Well, since my skin has been so good to me, I wanted to pamper my skin as well. I tried the Estee Lauder Idealist Skin Refinisher serum.

Estee Lauder Idealist Skin Refinisher serum

After using this, I barely notice dry spots on my face. Take that combination skin!

Summer's up (yes, Belgium has summers as well!) and my skin gets quite dry during warm temperatures. *enters Garnier moisturising gel* :)

Garnier gel-cream

It's a very moisturizing gel-cream for the body for those with dry-sensitive skin. It says it contains L-Bifidus** (which is inspired on pro biotica in most yoghurts to keep your skin moisturized) and peach extract. It has a slights peach scent to it, but it's not an overpowering scent that will bother those who don't like scented goodies. I prefer gels to lotions because those just make my skin glows like I've put shimmer all over body. Gels just work better for me and I'm really loving this product.


I've been a huge fan of the Shu Uemura pro concealer for years, but since they're discontinued, I had to start looking for a replacer (not a dupe, because I'm afraid I'll never find something as good as my SU pro concealer).

Maybelline Pure Mineral Concealer: shade 1

I bought Maybelline Pure mineral concealer when I was back in Hong Kong, and I finally gave it a try. Since my skin has been approving, I need less concealer and the Maybelline covers up just fine actually. When I do need a little bit more coverage, I'll go back to my Shu Uemura, but Maybelline's liquid concealer is not doing a bad job at all.
Perhaps that this will be my go to concealer from now on. Maybe it's Maybelline?

A monthly favorite ain't a favorite without mentioning my nail polishes :)
I've really been digging my Essie Tart Deco.

Essie Tart Deco

It's a bright coral, slightly orangy, and I just love this baby! It's bright enough to give my outfits a pop of color, but it's not too bright that screams heeeeeeeeeeey, look at me! :D

Well beauties, this is it for this month. Stay tuned for more make up loving!