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! :)

NOTW: Devotee

This is my very first Illamasqua polish and it was gifted to me.

Illamasqua - Devotee

Before I start rambling about this polish, my friend was inspired by the books 50 Shades of Grey to buy me this polish. And since I was totally into pink those months, this polishwas right up my alley... I thought!

It's a neon matte pink that's very in-your-face and would make a great color to put on during summer. It reminds me of a Barbie pink, which is just a bit too pink for my liking. 
In spite of nearing the coldest months of the year, this fun color can brighten up everyoutfit.


The formula is like a gel, which makes it look like you have fake nails on. That's how good it looks on your nails! When you apply this on your nails you'll understand why they call it the Rubber Finish Nail Varnish.
The matte finish is something that makes this polish special. Although I'm not a huge matte fan, it did muted the color a bit down.

I didn't expect to apply so many coats, but I had to use 3 coats to make it picture perfect.

As the brush, it's a standard size brush. I think it's somewhat too small, I prefer a little bit bigger brushes, but that's just my preference.

Devotee has opened the Illamasqua world to me, but I don't think I'll be trying out other polishes from this brand.

Review L'Oréal Triple Active Fresh gel cream

Well hello y'all!

In this blog post I'll be talking about a moisturizer, yes another moisturizer. I've been experimenting with all different kinds of moisturizers and although they all work and still don't fulfill all of my wishes, I haven't found my HG yet.

When I saw this lying on the shelf I didn't have too high hopes for it. The thing that caught my eye was that this is a gel.
As soon as I opened it, I immediately thought of Biotherm's Aqua Source which is a light gel like texture. Whenever I applied it to my face it actually felt like putting Aqua Source's brother on my face: it's a little bit heavier than Biotherm's moisturizer. Aqua Soure is a very light gel cream, which is fresh and gets absorbed into the skin like water. This is a tad thicker, feels fresh on the skin as well and absorbs easily too but not as quick as the Biotherm one.

L'Oréal Triple Active Fresh super hydrating gel cream

I've included this moisturizer in my beauty regime. I cleanse my skin and put some of this on before I go to bed. It hydrates my skin without being too greasy.

The only thing that put me off was when I was reading the ingredients. This contains parabens. These are chemicals being put in cosmetics to preserve them. I try to use as less silicons and parabens as much as possible. Although this feels great on my skin and I'll be finishing this product, I won't be repurchasing this.

YesStyle haul

Since I didn't do a lot of summer sale shopping, I justified it by shopping online (don't act like you don't do it!)

I didn't buy a lot of YesStyle, just a few things, but thought I wanted to share it with you anyway.
If you haven't heard of YesStyle, basically it's an Asian online shop where you can buy make up, clothing, health stuff, and so on from a wide variety of brands. I like it that they're all Korean, Japanese or Chinese findings, so the chance of having my European fellow habitants wearing the same thing will be a lot slimmer. Who doesn't like to feel unique? :)

Their shipping to Europe may take an eternity, but I like their website. It makes it all worth while :) Mostly it takes about a month time to ship a package without any costs.

But enough chit chat, let's jump right into it!

I only got 4 items, because I have another beauty haul coming up soon :)
Let's get started with the clothing:



YesStyle

If anyone would describe my clothing style, it would definitely be casual. I'm the kind of girl who likes to put on a white T, some shorts, sneakers and off I am. But, it's not because I like simple tees that they the image on it can't be special. This is a short sleeved white T-shirt with a cute little man on it who's wearing headphones. It's simple, but cute :)


My second clothing item is a playsuit (or a short jumpsuit). It's cobalt blue with a drawstring to synch in the waist to give it that feminine look to it. I think this look sophisticated, yet it'll be comfy enough to do whatever you want.





Then on to make up!

YesStyle

Whenever I'm buying online at an Asian store I have to look whether they carry my favorite eyeliner pencil. If you haven't seen my review/swatch on it, click here. This is by the brand Jealousness and is aaaaah-mazing!
I thought I'd buy a back up of this eyeliner so I'm sure I wouldn't run without it whenever I'm in the mood for a sultry look.


Last but not least, I've heard good stuff about the Canmake's stay on lip balms. And as a lip balm junkie, I just had to get this and give it a go. I really like it so far, but I don't want to give too many information since I'm planning to do a review on it. So keep your eyes peeled for it!


That was my haul from YesStyle! It was a very short one, but thought I would want to share it with you all, so ... hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned for more! :)

Review: Clinique dramatically different moisturizing gel

Hi there!

Thanks for stopping by and give your eyeballs a treat by reading this review.
I'm sure you've heard of the Clinique dramatically different moisturizing gel. If you haven't, you're probably a beauty newb who's trying to find decent moisturizer.

Before I start of rambling about this product, let me tell you something a little bit more about my skin.
As I hit puberty I had horrible skin (acne which left my face filled with acne scars..boooooo!). After having the worst skin period ever, my skin started too clear up with occasional break outs during that time of the month!
Nowadays I have a combination skin, meaning oily T-zone with normal cheeks but with dry patches here and there. If that's not a combination skin, then I'm absolutely clueless!

When buying a moisturizer, I mostly lean towards using a gel. Not only gives it a more cooling effect, gel is the only form of moisturizer that can handle my oily skin.

Let's go back to the product, shall we?

After using up myAquasource Moisturizing Skin Care Gel cream by Biotherm, I wanted something new since my skin got used to the Biotherm.

I've read so many reviews on the Clinique moisturizing gel, so I thought I'd give this one a go.

Clinique dramatically different moiturizing gel

• 125 ml (4.2 fl.oz.)
• combination oily to oily skin
• comes with a pump
• fragrance free

When I first started using this, I didn't really like it. It was kind of harsh on my skin, didn't moisturize enough having me to re-apply a second coat after 5 minutes, ...

I will use this bottle up, but I won't be repurchasing it.
I'm not sure whether this moisturizer is a bit too rough on my skin, but I do know my skin didn't really appreciate this Clinique product.

I'm already eying another moisturizer and cannot wait for it to give that one a try!
If you're interested in knowing which one I'm going to use, please leave a comment :)

Have a wonderful day you beauty lovers!

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!

Favorites of the month: May 2012

Oh May, May, where are thou May? We're already June and that means: monthly favorites...yaaay!

I discovered some things that will last for quite a while in my beauty/skin care routine! Some of you may know that I recently purchased a Clarisonic, I'm liking it so far, but since I haven't been using it for a long period of time, it'll probably pop up in my next fav's. Anyway, less chit chat, more make up!

I'll start off with the eye make up: recently I bought Urban Decay's Naked 2 palette. I finally splurged on a must have according to a lot of beauty guru's.

Urban Decay Naked 2 palette

I've written a review on this, so feel free to check this out :) It's a neutral cool eyeshadow palette which contains matte to shimmery shades...LOVE-LY!

Recently I've been experimenting more with make up, but it's been a pain in the but to take the make up off before going to bed. But thanks to the invention of make up wipes, it made the job much easier! I've been using the Yes to cucumbers make up wipes to take everything off my face. These soothing facial towelettes cleanses, removes make up and nourishes the skin...all in one swipe! They remove all of my make up (actually, the remove all of my concealer and setting powder since that's pretty much all I wear). It's so much easier than actually cleansing it with a proper make up remover cleanser. Yes, I am lazy, now you all know :)

Yes To Cucumbers facial towelettes

Let's stick to face, shall we?
I've been using the Nivea Pure effect scrub a couple of times a week. It's a very light scrub with micro beeds in it which makes it less harsh for the skin. Something that got me over the fence of getting this is the matte effect it gives after washing your face, and my face LOVES matte effects :)

Nivea Pure Effect peel soft mild scrub

I have a combination skin (oily on the T-zone and dry cheeks). The scrub is perfect for my oily T-zone but the dry cheeks do require a moisturizer, enter Nivea Pure effect Control Shine mattifying gel. I like using a gel during the warmer months of the year so it's less rich on the face. And you've probably figured out I like using this because it gives me a matte finish. It says on the bottle it doesn't contain any oils, but ocean minerals (but I'll leave that up to you whether that's true). I've been using this gel on a daily base and I thought it deserved its place in my monthly favs :)

Nivea Pure Effect control shine mattifying gel

 
Pretty happy nails for this month! My friend borrowed me her Play Day from Mac, and boy oh boy, did I fall in love with this nail polish! It's a gorgeous coral/salmon color which is bright but not neon-bright. It's the perfect color for summer if you ask me. Only downside to this is that this polish is a LE, booooooo! Unfortunately these were sold out in the first week they came out on the market. MAC, if you read this, please put this one in the permanent line? *puppy eyes*

Mac Play Day

And we're nearing the end of this article...boo!
But not to worry, I'll be posting again soon and before you know it, another month has passed and I'll be writing my FOTM for June! :)