Best of Deauty boxes

Hi everyone!
Glad to have you back there to pay my blog a visit :)

As you've read the title you're probably interested in this Deauty box. If you're not sure what it is exactly, please find here the link to my blog post to have some more information on it.

About a half year ago I discovered the Deauty box and ever since, I've been addicted to these little boxes that I decided to get a subscription on it.

I'm not going to review each and every product in each box, no. What I would like to do is share my favorite products of all 9 boxes I've received so far (although Deauty's success kicked off at September 2012, I only started Deautying in October 2012).

If you're interested in what's in every box, here's a sneak peek to all the products they've sent to their Deauties. I do have to say that they don't send out ALL the products that are being displayed on the picture. Depending on your beauty profile you have filled in, they'll send you products which will correspond to your needs the most. So don't think that they've ripped you off by giving you less products than displayed on their website. They're just showing you the collection of products they've chosen from to send over to your house.

Anyways, let's get this started, shall we?

Shu Uemura Art of Hair - Essence Absolue Nourishing Protective Oil - 30ml

I think Shu Uemura is known for their 2 best selling products: their eye lash curler and their hair oil. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this little bottle in my first Deauty box!

I apply some of the oil on the ends of my hair after washing it, and nourishes the ends and gives a lovely shine to it. 

Make sure you don't apply too much to keep it light. For those with oily scalps, don't apply it near your roots.

Full size: 150ml - 49,00€

 Kiehl's lip balm #1 - 15ml

This lip balm put Kiehl's on the map. It's a lovely translucent lip balm that will moisturize and give your lips a pretty gloss look. I've been using it ever since I received it, and if I keep on using a certain product, it's a definitely must have product!

Full Size : 15 ml - 8 €

Catrice Ultimate Color Lipstick 260 It's A Matte World

As Gwyneth Paltrow said: “Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick.”

I never dared to buy a red lipstick. I'm still on the fence if I'm wearing my rather sheer red tinted lip balm, haha!

It has a very creamy texture which doesn't dry out the lips. I love that this is a matte lipstick, because honestly, you can make anything glossy if you want to, but not the other way around.

Although this is a drugstore product, I have to admit this is a great product to have received in my Deauty box!

Full Size: 3,8 gr - 3,99€ (FYI: I was given a full size product)

There were many more products in the Deauty boxes, but I haven't had the opportunity to use all the products because it was just too many too try out :D

It's worth the spent money, because you get more valued products than you actually pay.
I'm really glad that I discovered this box. Hopefully many many years to come Deauty! :)

Discover your beauty, that's their duty after all :)

Review Yes To Cucumbers wipes

Hello my beloved readers!

Time to review some wipes I've been using for quite some time now... They're the Yes To Cucumbers soothing natural glow facial towelettes!

I think most of you beauty fans have heard of the Yes To line before. If you haven't, let me introduce you to a natural skin&hair care line :)

There are 5 different collections on the market and every line is named after a vegetable, which is towards a certain skin type:

• normal to dry skin: Yes To Carrots line
• sensitive skin: Yes To Cucumbers line
• oily or acne prone skin: Yes To Tomatoes line
• fine lines and wrinkles: Yes To Blueberries line
• uneven skin: Yes To Grapefruit line

Belgian drugstores have carried the Yes To Carrots, Cucumbers and Tomatoes line for a while, and since I've heard so many good things on the Cucumbers' towelettes I decided to give these wipes a try.

Yes To Cucumbers towelettes

I've been trying them for over half a year and I have to admit I really liked them in the beginning. Now it leaved a tingling feeling on my face which I prefer not to have.
It does sooth my skin and it does takes off my make up or cleanses my skin, but I don't think I'll be repurchasing them anymore.

I would like to try out the towelettes from the Yes To Tomatoes line since that skin care line is towards oily skin, and since you can fry some french fries on my forehead I think the Tomatoes will do my skin good :)

Have you given any products of the Yes To line a shot before? If so, which one?

NOTW Babydoll

Hi beautiful!

I haven't done a NOTW in a while. Not because I haven't done my nails lately, but because I've been going back and forth with my old polishes of which I have already shared my NOTW.

But, today I decided to put on a new color on my nails!

Everyone, say hello to L'Oréal's Babydoll:

L'Oréal - Babydoll (207)

This baby doll is from the L'Oréal Paris Color Riche Nails line. It's a baby pink color with a pretty sheen to it. 
I've applied 2 coats on the picture. One coat was way too sheer, 2 coats was okay and I'm sure that 3 coats will be awesome, but laziness took over before I got to coat 3...

This line has a great range of colors for you to choose from. You may have noticed I already tried out some of that of collection. If you haven't, check out this minty and this plummy color on my blog :)

The bottle only contains 5 ml, but it's a great deal seen the price you pay. Maybe you're thinking: 5 ml? Really? Is that all? But you have to admit, when have you actually finished a bottle of nail polish? I think it's good to give that little in a bottle. It gives the consumer the opportunity to try out various colors for almost no money. And don't forget that this little bottle of joy can be taken with you anywhere since it almost takes up no space!

They're gel based polishes and supposedly to stay on for 10 days. I'm not sure whether to believe that, but even with a top coat I think I should be happy if it would stay on for a whole week. We'll see :)

Review Kérastase Resistance Ciment Thermique by L'Oréal Paris

Or you're a Kéristance noob and would like to get to know the hair care line of Kérastase.
Or you've been a Kéristance user for ages and are wondering what else new information you can find on this blog post that you don't already know.

Anyway, welcome you!

I've been using the Kéristance Resstance Ciment Thermique for a few months now. I always like to use a product for some time before posting my opinion on the net for the entire world to read :)

Kérastase Resistance Ciment Thermique

I have an oily scalp with dry ends, so I can use all the conditioning is can get, BUT I cannot use too much otherwise my hair can get quite oily after 1 day.

This product has a milky consistency and is supposed to treat damaged hair. It says it's a heat-activated reconstructing milk. So the moment you put heat on your hair the product will start to work.

I put a pea size amount into my hands and put it ears downwards, concentrating on the end. Since you only need a little amount of the product, the bottle will last you for quite some time. Luckily, because the price isn't that cheap... After blow drying or heat styling your hair you're not supposed to rinse your hair, hence why it says leave in :D

I must admit, I'm not easily impressed by hair products, but this one has left my ends in a better conditions than they were before.
I'll continue to use this and I would repurchase this goodie.

Overall, good product, healthy hair, happy me :)

Review CoverGirl LashBlastVolume mascara (waterproof)

Well hello there y'all :)

I recently FINALLY found a CG Lashblast Volume mascara in a store in Belgium, whoot whoot!
I've been looking for this mascara for about 2 years, as I refused to buy it online. I also purchased the CoverGirl Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner, on which a review (and in comparison to other eyeliners!) can be found here.

Anyways, back to the very well known orange tube of the make up world which has received an award for Best of Beauty 2012.

CoverGirl lashblastvolume waterproof mascara

First off: packaging is quite plain. It's a giant plastic orange tube with blue writing on it.

If you look at it closely, you'll notice a quite big brush. This will help you coat every lash on your eyelid and that's what we like, uhu!

You'll notice that the tube comes separately. You have to discard the bottle cap and replace that with the brush.
Simplistic, but I do appreciate the separate tube.
It gives me the feeling it's more hygienic (although it's probably not more hygienic than otherwise).





I have this mascara in 825 very black and it claims to give a lot of volume. And guess what? It actually does what it claims to do! This made my lashes look very natural, yet full enough.

I also like that this is suitable for contact lens wearers. I have quite sensitive eyes, and when wearing most drugstore mascara's the white in my eye turns red rather fast. I haven't had that problem with the LashBlastVolume.

As most of you know, unless you're a new reader of my blog (wherefore thanks for passing by), I have rather oily eyelids and unless the raccoon look becomes trendy, I'll stick to waterproof mascara's :) Waterproof make up is a must have with me!
Every waterproof mascara that can make it through the smudge test is a good mascara to me! And this CG mascara is a good mascara!

I'm not sure whether it's just my LashBlast, but do all CG LashBlasts apply a bit dry?
Wet mascara's smudge on me and some dry mascara's leave my lashes a "crunchy" feeling. This somewhat drier mascara holds up my curl, is soft to the touch and stays on for several hours. Overall, this baby is right up my alley and I cannot not recommend this! It's simply easy, breezy, beautiful, CoverGirl :)

Battle of the eyeliners

Hi blog readers :)

I've had my share of eyeliners, but unfortunately my oily eyelids, my sensitive and water-very-easily eyes don't appreciate eyeliners as much I'd like to.

I have typical Asian eyelashes. You know, stubborn, stick straight pointing down and very scarce in quantity. Yes, those kind of lashes.

Meanwhile I've gotten to know the magical make up tool which calls an eyelash curler. Ever since I've used it, my lashes can become curly. In spite of not having lots of them, I don't like wearing false eyelashes, I've found out that you can fake the look of having more eyelashes than you actually have by putting eyeliner on your upper waterline, mwoehahaha! And here's when the eyeliners swoop in!

I've used pencils, liquid, gel eyeliners. Quick conclusion? I love gel, like liquid and usually hate pencils eyeliners.

Pencils cause my eyes to water and the white in my eyes becomes red. Also, these can smudge quite easy on my eyes.
Liquids are not very easy to work with, and smudge or rub off eventually.
Gels stay on me the longest.

Today, I'll be comparing not 1, not 2, but 15 kind of eyeliners, including my all time favorite, so stay tuned!

Here's an overview of all the eyeliners. I've swatched them accordingly to the separate reviews down below. Just in case, here's the list with all the brand names:

I've swatched all eyeliners on my hand.
On the right picture I've tested these with saliva to test whether they're really as waterproof (=WP) as they claim to be. I swiped over the liners 3 times with my finger. As you can see, there are a bunch of them which did not succeed the water test.

* Mac technakohl

* Déjà vu Lasting fine

* Maybelline Master drama

* Mulensa

* Rimmel Scandaleyes (WP)

* Dolly Wink

* Benefit BAD gal (WP)

* Cover girl perfect point plus

* Cosmagic lock on liner

* Almay

* Maybelline Eyeliner-matic

* L'Oréal Color Riche Le Smoky

* Catrice (WP)

* Prestige (WP)

Those who survived, were put up to round 2: the waterline.

This eyeliner is probably one of my most expensive eye pencil. No offense, but big brands must promise something good, right? I'm afraid this pencil disappointed me so bad. It smudged, it didn't endure the water test (not that it said waterproof, but still) and it's pricey. No, I won't repurchase this. 4/10

Mac technakohl liner eye liner kajal in graphblack

This is an Asian eye pencil, which I bought in Hong Kong. I heard so much about this brand, I thought I'd give the eye liner a shot. Unfortunately I didn't like this. Perhaps it stayed on me for about an hour, but that's it. In spite of putting it on my waterline, I'd like a pencil to stay put longer than 60 minutes, don't you? A poor 2/10

Déjàvu Lasting fine in black

Maybe it's Maybelline. It sure is Maybelline :) I didn't expect much from this pencil to be quite honest. I bought this at the local drugstore and I thought it would smudge on me like no other, as most drugstore eyeliners do, but I have to admit that this has surprised me, in a good way. This stayed on my waterline after a few hours, barely smudged and the price is right. This deserves a proper 8/10

Maybelline Master drama khol liner in charcoal grey

My friend bought me a khol pencil in France. Mulensa. I never heard of it, but gave it a try anyway. I've put this on my waterline a while back and it stayed put, but I don't know why it smudges immediately after testing it for this blog post. It failed badly at the water test, so another flunk: 1/10

Mulensa khol pencil in black

I bought this drugstore eyeliner after hearing that this is the drugstore version of the Urban Decay 24/7 glide on pencils. LIAR!! It's a shame that this isn't able in a solely black pencil. The pencil I have contains little chunks of glitter causing my sensitive eyes to become red and watery. It didn't take long for this eyeliner to smudge and to even cause a little bit of pain. Thanks a lot glitter... 0/10

Rimmel Scandaleyes kohl liner in 002 sparkling black (waterproof)

For the Asian beauty fans out there, who doesn't know Dolly Wink? The liquid eyeliner has reached an incredible fame, but I've never heard anyone talked about the pencil. On the hand, it's ok, but it's not good at all to put on the waterline. You'd think: well, then just put it on your eyelid. I can't. My oily eyelids makes this eye pencil smudge as hell and I'll look like a panda in no time. Too bad, but nice try, I'll stay with the liquid Dolly Wink: 4/10

Dolly Wink liner in black

We've all heard about the Benefit bad gal liner. I like the pigmentation and the lasting power is ... okay. I don't love this liner, but I can put it if I only have to go out for an hour or 2. I told you so, it's not the best liner. Again, you pay a price for the brand. Luckily this performs a little bit better than some others... 6/10

Benefit BAD gal liner in charcoal, comes with smudger (waterproof)

I don't even know why I wanted to buy this eyeliner. I always heard so many good things on the brand Covergirl, so how bad could it be? Well, let me tell you one thing: this pencil eyeliner should be called smudgetown, haha! No, it didn't leave my eyes watery, but dang...I looked straight up like a panda after 15 minutes, for real! Definitely not worth your money people: 1/10

Cover girl perfect point plus in 205 charcoal, comes with smudger

An Asian eyeliner that didn't do the job properly. Smudged on me after a half an hour, although it didn't cause any more sensitivity, hence my 3/10

Cosmagic lock on liner in black, comes with smudger

After reading so many good reviews on this eyeliner, I just had to give this pencil a try. This did stay put on my waterline at first, but unfortunately this did smudge eventually. Ok, but not good enough. 7/10

Almay eyeliner in 205 black, comes with sharpener

After seeing the results on the swatch picture, you'd think this would perform great. Well, I'm here to tell you this is not a great pencil, but it does the job. It doesn't last as long as other good eye pencils on the waterline, since it's not waterproof. But in spite it's not waterproof, it's aight :) 7/10

Maybelline Eyeliner-matic in intense black, comes with sharpener

  

First off: dang, that pencil is sharp! It actually hurt putting this liner onto my waterline. But back to the purpose of this review: no, it did not last on my waterline. Since it says 'Le Smoky' and there's a smudger with it, I can't blame them for not staying put on my waterline. 3/10

L'Oréal Color Riche Le Smoky eyeliner in 201 black velour, comes with smudger

Catrice, a brand which is often neglected for no understandable reasons. I'm not sure whether the States have access to this brand, but I'm pretty sure some countries in Europe do. Anyway, for a drugstore pencil, this is a good eye pencil. It stays on my waterline for quite some time, I like the twistable pencil and I appreciate the sharpener that comes with. Overall, I like this one: 8/10

Catrice longlasting eye pencil in 010 new kids on the black, comes with sharpener (waterproof)

I've always compared Catrice with Prestige (don't ask me why). Now, I've had this pencil longer than I had the Catrice one. Twist up, waterproof, black eyeliner... It has all I need in an eye pencil. But no... It's no good. It doesn't stay put for too long and my eyes become very red after putting this eyeliner, so a 4/10.

Prestige eyeliner in 01 black (waterproof)

And last but not least, ma favorite pencil. No, I didn't swatch this on the overview of pencils, because I wanted to save this one as a surprise :) This is a gel pencil. When putting this on my waterline, this dried immediately so it stayed put on my waterline. Can I just mention that this didn't budge at all! By far, this is the best eyeliner I have ever used! Definitely worth a 9/10. I couldn't give this full points, because it did smudge a bit on my hand after testing with water (look below)

Jealousness in black (waterproof)

Now I've put all eyeliners to the test, I'm glad to announce the top 3:
Here's another swatch picture of my winners. You'll see that the right side is a bit blurry, that's because I, again, put them to the water test.

*drumroll*

Top down: Maybelline Masterdrama - Jealousness - Catrice

 Results:

3. Catrice
2. Maybelline Masterdrama
1. Jealousness




The thing I like the most about all 3 eye liners is that they're all drugstore products. So they're affordable liners with a great staying power. I can't do anything but recommend these babies!

 

After testing these goodies, I'm still on the hunt for good eyeliners (yes, I'm obsessed, but so are you!) But tell me, do you know any good eyeliners that you happen to love? :)

Review: Love Therapy Labello

To labello or not to labello? That's the question!

If you've read my blog for some time now, you probably know I have a slight lip balm addiction (as in I'd inject myself some lip balm to have baby smooth lips...just kidding!)

Up: Rasperry Dream - Down: Diabolo Dream

Recently I received 2 limited editions on the Love Therapy collection from Labello (thank you my lovelies).

They're the Diabolo Mint and the Raspberry Dream.

Top: Raspberry Dream - Below: Diabolo Dream

Raspberry dream:

• a nice raspberry scent which is not too overpowering
• pretty sheen (this gives a slight pink sheen)

Diabolo mint:

• a minty scent which can gives your lips a tingly feeling
• very light sheen (barely noticeable)

Conclusion, I prefer the raspberry version.
I'm the kind of girl who prefers sweet scents, especially over minty products, unless when it comes down to my teeth hygiene.

I like shiny lip balms, especially if they have a sweet scent and a very subtle pink sheen to them.

Next to how they perform, let me mention the packaging.
As you can see on the first picture, there's a little dwarf drawn on each labello which makes it very loveable and cute to carry around.

I can't hide my love for Labello's, they'll forever be my first love when it comes to lip balms. Labello, wo ai ni :)

My daily make up routine

Hi make up lovers!
Today I wanted to share my everyday make up routine. Just for your information, in spite of my obsession for make up and beauty tools, I actually don't wear make up that often, or at least not tons of make up.

I have a preference for the natural look, but I have experimented with some more for evening outings.

I mostly wear make make up when I have to work, or when I go out with friends. During the weekends I'm going au naturel to let my skin breath :)

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

I like to work from the top down:

1. eyebrows
   

   

   Lioele auto eyebrow pencil - gray black

   
   

• I used to neglect my eyebrows. Frankly, I didn't care!
  Until beauty gurus started to tell more about eyebrows, I started to pluck my eyebrows in the shape I prefer and started to fill them in where needed.
• The Lioele auto eyebrow pencil has a gray black pencil on one side and a spooley on the other side.
2. lashes
   

   

   Shu Uemura eye lash curler

   
   

• Shu Uemura eye lash curler. Do I need to say more if I tell you I have typical asian eye lashes? They're short and stick straight. I NEED my eye lash curler to give that umph to my lashes.
  

  

  Fairy Drops Platinum waterproof mascara
  Maybelline Illegal Length non-waterproof mascara

  
  

• Afterwards I go over with some black mascara. Some of you know my HG is the Fairy Drops Platinum waterproof mascara. But I do like to experiment with non-waterproof mascara's as well. I have to admit, there not a lot of non-waterproof mascara's I like, but I have found one that is ... ok. It doesn't smudge too easily (but still does, especially I've been wearing it the entire day), and keep my lashes curled after putting on a coat of mascara. I present to you the Maybelline Illegal Length Fibre Extensions mascara. 
• The tube looks quite feminine. A slightly curved, long mascara with pink writing on it. 
• The thing which sold me? The fibres. I noticed there are fibres in it, but it doesn't contain as much fibres as the Fairy Drops does. 
• I have noticed that this mascara is rather wet. And although I prefer drier mascara's, this one is ... ok :)
3. concealer
   

   

   Essence coverstick - 05 matt beige

• I'm like any other young woman who has their occasional rush of hormones, and yes, I have break outs as well. I used to have a lot of acne, but never to the point that I had to see a dermatologist. No, I just dealt with it, because I know there are people with severe acne problems. I was lucky enough to not have that problem.
• Back then I never heard of the existence of concealer or foundation. Although I still don't wear foundation, concealer has become my best friend :)
• I've used high end concealers and drugstore concealers. I do have my favorites in high end and drugstore, but in the end, I'm not rich and I don't have sponsors who are kind enough to send me products. No, I'm not affiliated with any company and I buy everything with my own money. 
• I'm currently using a drugstore concealer, namely a coverstick from a drugstore brand Essence in 05 matt beige.
• On the little box it says the formula contains allantoin. For those who don't know what allantoin is, it's moisturizing, causes keratin to soften the skin and it heals the skin more quickly.
• It covers up my redness and blemishes, it turns out matt (great for my oily skin!) and I paid around 2€...SCORE!
4. lip balm
   

   

   Kiehl's lip balm

   
   

• If you know me, you'd know I'm super duper, over the top, totally ob-sessed with lip balms. I have tons of lip balms lying around in every room of the house. I cannot live without them...
• I like to slap on some of my Kiehl's lip balm #1, which I got with my Deauty box. Is it really that good as people claim it to be? I guess it's ok. Would I repurchase it? No. Why? Because it doesn't do miracles to my lips. Yes, it leaves it moisturized for the first hour I've put it on, but in the end I'm reaching for my other lip balms during the day anyway. I'm just trying to use it up.
• The biggest downside to this lip balm is probably that this does contain parabens. No thank you :)

Here it was, my daily make up routine!
Leave a comment if you liked this post and tell me what your essentials of the day are.

Have a wonderful day beauties!

Review Nivea deodorant

Hello there!

I'm back with another review...

As you've read the title (otherwise you probably you won't even have clicked on this blog post, hehe), I like to share my opinion with you on a Nivea deodorant.

Nivea extra whitening deodorant

I'm not really sure whether this is being sold in the States, but I'm pretty sure this is not sold in Europe. I bought this in Hong Kong.
Europe has the pearl&beauty version. (for those who speak Dutch, check this link out)

You've probably noticed the 'extra whitening' writing. As most of you know, Asians just ADORE any products which can make your skin whiter. The paler, the better, is pretty much their motto! :)

What does it says on the bottle?

• whitening & smoothens skin
• tightens pores
• anti-perspirant protection
• 48 hours reliable
• quick and long lasting dry feeling

This 50ml roll on deodorant has a see through plastic cover and you can see a milky liquid in it. I've used a lot of deodorants and I have to admit that this does NOT work any better than other deodorants. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad deodorant, it's just ... not better. The big question on this product is: does this really whitens as it claims? No, I don't think so.

As I like to smell good, I'll definitely use this all up, but I probably won't be repurchasing this as I prefer spray deodorants.

What do you prefer: sprays or roll ons?

Review Vichy Aqualia Thermal

Hi beautifoes! :)

I'll be doing a short review on a moisturizer today. I've been using this moisturizer for the past couple of months and since the summer's just a few weeks ahead of us, I thought it would be appropriate to review this baby.

I'd like a few minutes of your time to tell you something about the following moisturizer:

Vichy Aqualia Thermal moisturizer

It says that this is for those with sensitive skin among us. It will hydrate your skin for about 48 hours and it's paraben-free. I've chosen this because it's for normal to combination skin.

Does this measure up to what it claims?

Yes, it moisturizes my skin. Whether it lasts for 48 hours, is quite difficult to say since I do wash my skin every morning and evening... I guess I'll never be able to properly review the 48 hours hydration.
I have to admit that it does feel quite light, I don't feel anything heavy laying on top of my skin and your skin does sucks up all the moisturizer it can :) Next to that, it doesn't leave any grease on my skin, which is always nice since I have a super oily skin.

A good thing about this is that you don't need a lot to moisturize your face. Always good to have your money's worth, since the tube contains 40ml. 

Overall, I do prefer something which leaves my skin matte, so as I do like using this and I will use this all up, I will not be repurchasing this goodie.

Maybe this is good for those who are looking for a typical moisturizer without any specials needs?