Minimize them pores!

I never had too much trouble covering HUGE pores which are staring blankly at you... Luckily no :) But I did find something to cover those little ones.
I found the POREfessional by Benefit.

Benefit - the POREfessional

It's says it's a PRO balm to minimize the appearance of pores.
Claims to be the following:

• oil-free
• lightweight
• translucent
• silky

It's supposed to minimize the appearance of pores and fine lines for smooher-than-smooth skin.

Good thing about this is that you can use this under or over your makeup.


It's a light tinted gel which goes on translucent. It doesn't leave any grease film on your skin.
And something I like on top of this: this doesn't make me oily after wearing it for a couple of hours, yay!

Benefit - 22ml

I've put my moisturizer and then I've applied a dab (the tiniest amount does the job!) of POREfessional. My make has stayed put the entire day and it has really made my skin softer than a baby's butt!
I barely notice the pores on my face and it makes my BB cream go on even smoother!
 
The only downside to this that this is not cheap. This comes down to 23EUR (or 30$). I'm not used to paying so much money for 1 product, but I have to admit ... I will be repurchasing this goodie, in spite of the price...THAT is how much I like this! :)

Now I truly understand why this product is called one of Benefit's best sellers!

NOTW: Addictive Plum

Don't you love dark plum/oxblood reds too during the winter time?
I do! I tend to those dark colors during those cold days!

Here's my NOTW:

L'Oréal: Addictive Plum

This looks darker than it really s (I blame my stupid camera on my cell!).
It is a dark color, but it's more a plummy as it is an oxblood color.

It's opaque after only 1 layer! I'm really loving the l'Oréal Rolor Riche range, but I already have a good collection of polishes. I'm actually keeping myself strong not to buy anymore colors I already have... (Yeah good luck with that girl!)

What plummy/oxblood polishes do you beauties have?

Eyelash curlers: to have or to have not?

If there's one beauty item I can't live without, it would be eyelash curler!
It's an item that can totally change the way you look!

For all those beauty newbies out there, buy yourself an eye lash curler! Trust me! It opens you look in an instant and if you look around in drugstores, you CAN get yourself a cheaper but a good one!

I have pretty stubborn eye lashes, they're the typical Asian eyelashes which are short, stick straight and pointing down. In other words, they're one of the suckiest lashes out there :D

An eyelash curler was my first beauty buy when I just started getting interested in beauty related thingies. I used a ridiculous cheap curler and my eye lashes punished me by falling and breaking off... I guess I learned to appreciate those short eye lashes over having no lashes at all, hahaha!

I started to do some research and found out the Shu Uemura was a holy grail for a lot of Asian people out there. I decided to invest in a Shu curler, and man oh man, did I fall in love with it!

Shu Uemura

It has a comfortable handle, it curls well (which makes my lashes !!long!!) and it can be used for several years. This curler is an HG!

After using it for a few years, I decided to keep an eye open for cheaper versions but have the same curve and I came across with this...

Cyber Colors

I must say I'm pretty impressed by this.
This is the Cyber Colors eye lash curler that I got at Sasa, an Asian drugstore (as in Target, Ulta, Walmart, ... in the States).  I even dare to say that it can be compared to the Shu Uemura one, except ... this is WAY cheaper!

Here's a picture of both eyelash curlers next to each other.

Shu Uemura - Cyber Colors

As you can see, the Shu Uemura has a more curving wand and I was kind of hesitant to use this, because I've used cheaper ones before and they eventually pulled my eyelashes out (not a pretty sight if you already don't have a lot of them!). But, it has the same curling effect, the handle is comfortable to use. The only (maybe) downside is that the CC's cushion doesn't last as long as the one from Shu, but hey...you're paying almost no money for this curler!

For the moment, I'm loving both and can alternate between them both. Since I didn't pay much for the CC, I'm more comfortable carrying this one around in my beauty case without being scared of dropping, losing (though I hope I don't!), breaking it. As to the Shu, I prefer leaving that one at home where my beauty case stays put and doesn't need to be carried out and about :)

NOTW: Rose

Let's go pink, baby pink!

I decided to slap on some pink on my nails:

Nivea - Pastel Rose

This polish contains sea extracts that can strengthen the nails, but I must admit that I haven't notice a big difference when rocking out this polish.

Diorlisse 500 Pink Petal

It's a pastel pink, that actually reminds me of Dior's Diorlisse 500 Pink Petal. (I'll try to put up a NOTW when I'm wearing Pink Petal)

The formula is quite alike, gets opaque in about 2 to 3 coats. The only difference is the price, and I'm sure you know which polish was more affordable than the other...

Diorlisse 00 - Pink Petal

 
 They're both great colors for weddings or other fancy occasions. It's just a subtle color you can't go wrong with.

To be quite honest, I'd rather recommend the Nivea's polish as to the Diorlisse one. I'm more likely to repurchase Nivea's polishes, because I can buy about 2 polishes for the price of one Dior.

Nevertheless, I love seeing a little Dior bottle in my polish collection :)

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! :)