NOTW: You Don't Know Jacques!

For those OPI lovers out there, this is a staple to have in your polish collection. (or you probably already own it)

OPI - You Don't Know Jacques!

This is a brown color with taupe hints to it.
Like most OPI polishes, they apply with maximum 2 coats.

It's a HG from many beauty guru's, but since I'm not really into brown polishes, I rather pass on this.

It was in 'The Culture of Color' collection by OPI. This contains 4 mini OPI's and this polish was the main reason why bought it. In all honesty, I've never finished a big bottle of polish, so I thought these mini varnishes were a great buy for me to try out.

Review Canmake Stay-On Balm Rouge

I'm sure you've all heard of the Revlon lip butters :) Apparently the Koreans have found a dupe for these. I'm talking about Canmake Stay On Balm Rouge.

Canmake Stay On Balm Rouge

Before I get into the product, let's just enjoy the moment and look at the cute little tube of lip balm. Canmake is known for its cute packaging and I have to say that they didn't fail on that department this time. The simple flower background is a subtle way to make it look more appealing to customers. Sneaky marketeers, those Asians!

As the product itself, I have to say that I freak-ing love this lip balm!
Not only has it a good color pay off, but it moisturizes my lips as well. And I have to say that the color stays on for about 4 hours, which isn't bad at all! I had a meal with this lip balm and it didn't come off until I wipes my lips with a tissue. You don't feel like you have anything on, hence the lip balm, but this one is there to stay.

Another thing worth mentioning: SPF protection. This has a UV shield. It doesn't say how much, but just knowing it has one, makes it more easy for me to reach for this one than for a lip balm that doesn't have SPF protection at all.

The little tube is handy to throw in your purse for touch ups during the day. And frankly, it's one of mine cutest lip balms ever.

Here's a swatch of the balm:

I've swatched this twice on my hand so you could see that the color is actually buildable.
On the top I've swatched it only once, but on the bottom you'll see a deeper color because I went over it for about 4 times.
I don't have the balls to wear a bold lip, but these tinted lip balms are a great try out. They're not translucent but the color isn't as in-your-face as lipsticks.
You can easily wear it sheer during daytime, but when the lights go out...BAM, that's when you and your Canmake Stay On come in and make every head turn your way, haha!

I think it's a great lip balm. I've used the Revlon lip butter before, but you have to admit:
Asians rock at packaging. That little effort convinced me on sticking with Canmake lip balms.

What do you prefer: Revlon or Canmake?

Colors of the Rainbow TAG

Hi everyone! I've seen this tag going around like a fruit fly smelling sweets :) So I decided to do this as well.

If you don't know what this tag is about, you should basically name a product you like according to the colors of the rainbow. In exception the last 'color' which is a multicolored item you can pick. Without further ado, let's jump right into this tag:

Red

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip top coat

For all those polish junkies out there, this shouldn't come as a surprise: Sally Hansen Insta Dri.

This top coat is hands down one of the best top coats I've ever used.
I like how this covers the mistake you've made with your polish. One coat of this and you'll have a flawless mani! Plus, this baby dries in just a few seconds.








                                                                                        Orange

Bourjois Color Boost: 03 Orange Punch

I would have to mention my Bourjois' crayon in Orange Punch. It's a fat stick that's a tinted lipbalm. It's smooth, gives a subtle color pigmentation and it's from the drugstore. It doesn't give a true orange tint to the lips, it's more of a coral color that leans to the orange side. This is probably one of my best buys of summer '13.






Yellow

Clarins Lotus Face treatment Oil

I haven't shared much about this product, but that's because I'm still trying this out before sharing my thoughts on it with you. This Clarins' oil is for treating the face to get it less oily. Sounds weird? If you'd like me to do a review on it, let me know in the comment bar below.





 




                                                                                                            Green

Macadamia Healing Oil Spray

I've purchased this healing oil about a year ago, but I've only been using this product consecutively for about a month.

I spritz this oil when my hair is damp. This makes it more easy for me to comb through. When my hair's dry I notice my hair's shinier and less dry.

It might be a detail to some of you, but I like it how this oil comes in a spray.







Blue

Clarisonic Mia

I kept thinking what product I could use for my something blue. Looked around my room, checked out of make up collection and then suddenly my little light bulb went on: my Clarisonic Mia is blue!

See it as a electronic toothbrush, only bigger and for the face, haha!

You can use this with your cleanser of choice and go over your face with the brush. It will get the impurities out leaving your face squeaky clean.






                                                                                                            Indigo

Britney Spears: Midnight Fantasy

I was hesitant to put this as my indigo item, because I only use this for special events during the winter.

Since I suck at describing scents, I looked it up:
In the top notes there are exotic framboise, black cherry and plum. Floral midnotes followed by warm vanilla base notes.
It's a quite heavy sweet fragrance, so be aware. But if you like the scent of blueberries and vanilla, this will be right up your alley :) 






Violet

MAC Girl Trouble

This is a silver based lilac with a metal finish.

If you look closely you'll see glitter in the bottle, but rest assured that the glitter is so densely packed that you won't even notice it on your nails when applied.

As most polishes with fine glitter, it isn't easy to take it off. But honestly, the color's so pretty that it's worth fussing about.

                                                                                                            Pink

Fairy Drops Platinum waterproof mascara

Fairy Drops! Fairy Drops! Fairy Drops! If I haven't stressed it enough on my blog, I LOVE this mascara!

This mascara has fibres which will elongate your lashes, and the thick wand has a curve to it too make your lashes curl better when applying mascara. If you want to check this baby out, click this link to get you some.








Multicolor

Batiste dry shampoo

Over the last years dry shampoo has become a staple in my beauty collection. I have very oily roots and dry ends, so I try to avoid washing my hair as least as possible. The last couple of weeks I've been experimenting by washing maximum 1 to 2 times a week and use dry shampoo for those greasy hair days.

Most cans of Batiste have more than just one color, so I decided to put this as my multicolored item.








Try to pick out one product for every color of the rainbow. So... *tick* You're it! Do this tag and share your answers with me! :)

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 :)

Micro drugstore haul

Hey everyone!

I recently did some shopping because I wanted to try out some things, so let's get right into it shall we :)

Maybelline Illegal Length mascara - Rimmel Scandaleyes eye pencil - L'Oréal Color Riche: 207 Babydoll - L'Oréal Color Riche nail stickers

Maybelline Illegal Length Fibre Extensions Mascara:
As you might know I have the typical short, stick straight asian lashes. They can use all the volume and length it can get! After reading some reviews on this mascara, I decided to give this one a go. I usually buy asian mascara's, because in my head I'm thinking 'Well, if asians make it, they must be good for me because they understand what my lashes need' :D Might sound ridiculous, but I've been sticking to that theory for years. I tried to step out of the box, and give this Western mascara a go, haha!

It claims to give the lashes an instant extension effect, without any flakes thanks to the fibre-fix brush. It supposedly to give your lashes an extra length of 4 mm!!

I admit, this mascara is ok, but it still doesn't match up to the asian mascara's I have, for real. They hold my curl a little bit, but some lashes do droop down. Lengthwise, they do lengthen a bit, but definitely no 4 mm!
What I do like about this mascara is the formula: although it's a non-waterproof one, it doesn't smudge on me as bad as other mascara's do.

Tip: Don't let this mascara dry when putting several coats, otherwise it will clump.

Conlusion: I do prefer this mascara over other Maybelline mascara's, but they're not even close to being as good as asian mascara's.


Rimmel Scandaleyes waterproof eye pencil:
Apparently this eye pencil gets compared to the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Pencil. If you know that by buying 1 Urban Decay pencil you can buy 3 Rimmel pencils, you will be quite astonished :)

The staying power of this kajal pencil is darn good. And not just for a drugstore, but in general. The only thing I wish there could do, is release a pure black one. I bought the 002 sparkling black, because this was the only black they had. Do you girls might know whether there's a black one?

I'll keep this one short: I LIKE this pencil very much! :)


L'Oréal Color Riche nail polish in 207 Babydoll:
Most of you know by now that I love L'Oréal Color Riche's nail polishes. They're cheap, have a good variety of colors and they last quite a long time.

This shimmering pink recently caught my eye. It's a pretty pink that will girlify every outfit instantly. The only thing I'm scared of, is that this may look cheap on the nails. Guess you'll have to stay tuned for another NOTW to find out! :)


L'Oréal Color Riche nail stickers: 
I've put a blog post on these stickers, so feel free to check it out.
Long story short, I like the stickers as long as they're not too 'in your face'. Only downside to these are probably the pulling it off-part. This can dry/ruin your top layer of your nail. Besides that, they look pretty darn good!

So that was a haul for this time. If you girls have any recommendations for me you think I should try or I might like, don't be shy to leave a comment and fill me in. Have a good one everyone!

NOTW: L'Oréal nail stickers

Hi there girls!

It's been a while since I've written a blog post, I've just been very busy lately... Sorry for neglecting you! But, no worries, I'm back with another NOTW! :)

I'm usually not the type to buy polishes that are in trend. But, I have to admit, these were too cute to pass by.

L'Oréal Color Riche Le Nail Art

They're the L'Oréal Color Riche Le Nail Art:

These are nail stickers that you can stick to your nails, it's that simple!

They have the flower pattern, but unfortunately I can't seem to find the name of this pattern on the packaging.
Unless I accidentally threw it away when opening the packaging...

Anyways, I've put a yellow base so the flowers could pop out more, but my nails would still be not in your face. I preferred to keep it simple with a pastel yellow :)




You get 18 stickers with every packaging.

Now how to apply these babies on your nails:

1. Apply the nail sticker at the base of your nail and always work from the cuticles towards the end of the nail
2. Fold it over the nail
3. File your nails to remove the excessive sticker
4. Et voilà, you're done!

What it claims to do:

• 10 days of wear: I didn't test this out, since I change my nail polish color every week
• 0 mistakes: true, since the flowers are on a random order, there's not much room for mistake
• 0 dry time: since stickers don't need any drying time I agree with this one.
• 0 remover: true, BUT when removing (read: peeling) the stickers off, this wasn't doing anything good to my nails. Sometimes it peeled off the top layer of my nails, which makes it brittle and dry. It's a good thing you don't need a remover to take it off, but thanks to current nail polish remover which are hydrating, I rather use a polish remover.

 I do have to admit, I do like the 18 stickers. My finger nails are so tiny that I got to use every nail sticker for 2 fingers, yay!

If there are any cute nail stickers out there, I will be repurchasing them, as long as they're quite subtle such as the flower ones.

Overall, I like them, but the question is 'Do you like them?'

Nail polish routine

Hi beauties!

I've seen this subject going around beauty world and I thought I'd tag along and write a post about it.

My nail polish routine has improved so much in comparison to a few years ago.
My obsession for polished was always there, but it really came out of the closet for just 2 years ago. I've been hoarding polishes like crazy for the past few years, and yes, my name is Lily and I'm addicted to polish...

Anyways, back to the actual routine. I actually have a very simple routine. I don't do anything special to really take care of my nails (I should be ashamed, I know, but I just don't find the time to do everything what a lot of polish ppl do!)

Sally Hansen polish remover

1. Polish remover

I use the Sally Hansen fast& gentle polish remover with Vitamin E & Aloe (moisturizing for dry, brittle nails)

I've found that most drugstore polishes dry up my nails like hell! Hence my "splurge" on this goodie!

And yes, I do like it. If takes off most of my polishes (glittery polishes are still a pain in the *ss to take off though) and it moisturizes my nails without leaving any oily film on them.

777

2. Nail clipper

My nail clipper is called 777. It's a Korean brand but I bought mine in Hong Kong. This is probably one of the best clippers out there. It's not like I have very hard (ieuw) nails which are hard to clip away, but I have quite strong nails (yay!). Apparently not any clipper can handle my nails, mwoehahaha!







3. Base Coat

Chanel base coat

I've always used drugstore base coats (HEMA, Revlon, ...) and I don't think it really matters what base coat you use as long as you use one.

My other drugstore ones have become gloppy, so I couldn't use them anymore. My friend bought me this one a while ago, and I do like it, but I notice anything better whilst using this base coat. A base coat is a base coat to me.




4. Color




Then I go in with a polish of choice, depending on my mood and season :)

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri anti-chip top coat

5. Top coat


Final step is putting on my top coat: I LOVE the Sally Hansen top coat!

It prevents chipping, dries in an instant and it's just super duper awesome! Definitely a recommendation and I'll be repurchasing it for ever and ever!




There you have my nail care routine:
Yes, this is all I do and no, I don't soak my nails and I don't file them.
Actually this routine has already elongated in comparison to the past. In the past I just scratched off my old polish, clipped and apply color directly, haha! That's def the routine on how NOT to do your nails :)

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?

Blush away!

Hi everyone!

I don't know about you guys, but during fall and winter time I just love using my blushes!
Recently I bought myself a NYX blush, and I must say: this one's goooorgeous!

I try to do some research on a certain product before I go out and buy it. If there's about 1/3 negative reviews on it, I won't buy it.

I've probably read a ton of reviews and seen youtubers reviewing and raving about this blush over and over again.

And yes, I gave in.

Here's Pinched by NYX:

Great thing about this?
It's affordable and you get 5,2g in a little pot. Hold it! You're probably thinking: 5,2g (0,18 oz)? That's nothing! Believe you me that you only need the smallest amount of blush, because it's very pigmented :)

NYX: Pinched

 

This is a a rosy-corally blush with a pretty sheen to it.

My most used blushes are:

Melba, Pinched and Coralista :)

MAC: Melba - NYX: Pinched

MAC's Melba is a light pink orangy color, which is more of a summer blush for me. Tap it lightly with your brush and that'll be more than enough to put on the (hollow of the) cheeks.

NYX: Pinched - Benefit: Coralista

Benefit's Coralista is like an all year round blush. No matter what season it is, I think this blush looks good.

It's a very light blush that you can easily build up for a more heavily made up look. I prefer to use a light hand on this, so it looks more natural like you just ran out the door.

A side note: it's just one of those colors that would look great on every skin tone.

Here's a swatch of every blush mentioned above:

Benefit - NYX - MAC

From left to right:

Coralista by Benefit: a baby pink with microshimmers (good to know: I've had my Coralista for a few years now, and I haven't hit pan yet! Score!)

Pinched by NYX: a coral shimmery color

Melba by MAC: a mat pink/orange color

I have some other blushes put away in my beauty case, because I just keep on reaching for one of these blushes.

I always wanted to try out Deep Throat by NARS, because NARS is the queen in blushes :) But I've put myself up to the task to use an entire blush before I go out and splurge money on a NARS blush. Beam me up! 

Maybe I'll do a blog post on my entire blush collection :)

Would that be interesting?

And what is your favorite blush by the way?

BB VS CC

You've probably already heard of BB cream, or also known as blemish balm cream. It's something between a tinted moisturizer and a foundation. Some well known asian BB creams are:
            

But I've recently heard there'll be new creams coming up: CC creams!
CC creams stands for color control creams. What that means? An improved BB cream! I haven't got the chance to try it out yet, but I'm not sure I want to to be quite honest... Some examples of the CC creams are:
                                 


The CC creams have everything a BB cream has, only it's more moisturizing, gives more sun protection and has a lighter texture. Biggest advantage of CC creams? They have an oil-free formula which sounds quite appealing to that greasy face of mine :)

 I'm sure looking forward to trying it! Are you?