Seasonal Favourites Summer 2015

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#narsissist, Annick Goutal, By Terry, chanel, Charlotte Tilbury, Estee Lauder, favourites, H&M, Hakuhodo, Kevyn Aucoin, Musette, NARS, Summer 2015 Favourites, Sunday Riley, Tom Ford

Summer 2015 is gone now so here you have the items that made it memorable!

I want to keep it short and sweet and I will stick to “what” those were and “why” I loved them.

Beauty:

• natural lipsticks with a bit of an oomph: the easiest to wear lip product ever the Tom Ford Seer in Smitten, plus Skinnydip and Rose Soleil from the Tom Ford 2015 Summer Collection, because Tom Ford makeup should be called “art” – period, Charlotte Tilbury Coachella Coral lipstick paired with the most amazing lip liner in Pink Venus or the infamous Pillow Talk for a more neutral look
• bold lips made possible with a gorgeous NARS Audacious “girl” named Michiyo
• and the ultimate fiery-red, bold, gloriously sexy and my latest obsession in terms of red lips: the Kendall Jenner X Estée Lauder Pure Colour Envy Matte, in Restless ( yes, that little treasure came in my possession… But more about that story soon, my lovelies! )
• cream eyeshadows ruled my mornings and again, Tom Ford stole the show with this gorgeous Golden Peach shade, and a glorious come back of my favourite cream eyeshadow sticks – the By Terry Ombre Blackstars in 3 golden-brown variations: Blond Opal, Golden Brown and Brown Perfection ( I need to write a decent review on these as well, don’t you think my lovelies? )

• sticking up to the “cream products” theme, they definitely were the main attraction of this Summer for me. From amazing blushers – like this gorgeous Tom Ford Pink Sand ( a Limited Edition item unfortunately! ), to cream highlighters and easy-to-use contours like the Kevyn Aucoin Creamy Glow Duo, everything worked its magic to achieve my perfect bronzed and glowy / healthy-looking Summer skin.

Skincare:

• the one product that gave me amazing skin unconditionally was the Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil… And of course, sunscreen with the highest protection factor. You did wore your sunscreen as well Beautiful, didn’t you!?

Perfume this year was the easiest of choices for me

• if the new Tom Ford Shimmering Body Oil came into my life with its sensual, sexy summer scent I hardly wore my other perfumes
• but when I did, I revisited two old favourites: my Annick Goutal Eau d’Hadrien – the fragrance that brings me on an imaginary olfactorial trip to the Southern Italy every time I wear it
• and one of my old time favourites: my Chanel No. 5 Eau Première

Tools I couldn’t put down, beside my regular Tom Ford and Hakuhodo army of brushes… the NARS Yachyio Kabuki Brush one item that had waited on the top of my wish list for way too long! Still available on the NARS European website! 

Fashion favourites:

• Musette Nude Laila Flats currently on sale, international shipping available
  
• Musette Evergreen Ivoire Purse currently on sale, international shipping available
• H&M Flowy Midi Skirt you’ll definitely see in a blog post soon.

Here they are, my fantastic collection of Summer 2015 Favourites! 

Now please, share yours!

See you soon, Beautiful!

xx, Annie

Autumn report: My 2015 Must-Haves

Tags

Annick Goutal, Burberry, chanel, Charlotte Tilbury, Daniel Wellington, dior, Estee Lauder, Givenchy, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Ray Ban, Tom Ford, Zara

Even if I’m beyond happy that we’re having a long Summer here in Romania, I can’t help myself but wearing those gorgeous Autumn colours… Deep browns, burnt oranges and all the reds of the spectrum have already replaced the bronzy, golden shades of this past Summer.

Here you have some of my Autumn 2015 must-haves!

Of course the first change you’ll notice will be my lipstick choice! From bold, neon-y Summer reds or glossy pinks and oranges, my picks will gravitate towards brown-ish nudes, deep reds and earthy oranges. Some of my picks are: my Tom Ford Lip Colour Shine in #05 Bare – the perfect transitional shade since it is a brown nude shade with some sparkles, the Burberry Lip Glow Nude Beige No.9 – can you tell I don’t want to let go Summer yet?!, an old favourite of mine the Givenchy Le Rouge in #103 Brun Createur, the Charlotte Tilbury Walk of Shame a gorgeous Autumn colour with one the most comfortable matte formulation I have ever tried, another Burberry option – the Lip Cover Ruby No.18 because I can’t live without my reds, the Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy in #450 Insolent Plum another favourite from last year and a new discovery thanks to my lovely Janet, who was kind enough to send it over from across the Ocean – the Bite Beauty High Pigment Pencil in Sable.

Deeper and darker nail polish colours are must-haves for Autumn. My two favourites are Dior Nuit 1947 ( #970 ) and Mirage (#338 ), previously reviewed here.

Another must have is perfume. I’ll transition from fresh, zesty, floral perfumes like my Annick Goutal Eau d’Hadrien and my Chanel No.5 Eau Première to the deeper, dusty floral oriental notes of the Diptyque 34 BVLD Saint-Germain or the Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Vitae Forte.

This Autumn I have a thing with hats! I love this Zara Narrow Brim Wool Hat that goes with everything and makes every outfit look classy and chic. More options here.

I won’t let go my favourite sunnies just yet, so I will always have with me my Ray Ban Aviators. A cult favourite piece.

Another must-have is a classic, timeless watch and my choice is my Daniel Wellington Classy Sheffield watch, which you can get for yourself with a 15% off, just by entering anniesbeautyblog discount code before check out! Available until 30 September 2015 – so hurry up! More details here!

Another fashion must-have is funky shoes! Whenever I have the chance, I give up on my heels gladly just to wear this Lust of Creation crazy orange coloured oxfords, that are extremely comfortable and unique.

These are a few things I will definitely wear a lot this season! What are your must-haves, my lovelies?

See you soon, Beautiful!

xx, Annie

 

 

 

PS: Thank you so much for the warmest welcome back! Thank you for sticking with me until now! Thank you for being the most amazing friends one can ask for! Thank you for your constant support and nicest words! You are my strength, my rock and my source of energy! And I’m grateful for that and to have met each and every one of you here on WordPress!

 

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Summer 2014 Favourites

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Annick Goutal, Burberry, Caudalie, dior, favourites, guerlain, Hourglass, L'Occitane, Melvita, Omorovicza, summer 2014, Uriage

For us here, in Europe, the end of August sadly marks the end of Summer. But it also means that it is time for me to talk you through all my favourite summer products – both old and new amazing discoveries.

This is how you will see my favourites – in seasonal posts. I do not like forcing a favourites post every month, just for the sake of writing something! I have lots of ideas! And the Beauty World has so much to offer!…

This being said, here you have my most loved beauty products of Summer 2014!

My first ones are the Dior Addict Fluid Sticks which along with the Burberry Fresh Glow B.B. Cream were this year’s new releases. It was a real pleasure to be able to test them and discover them, because they are amazing! I already reviewed them ( Dior , Burberry ) so this is as much as I will tell you here!

As you may ( or may not ) know, for me the Summer of 2014 was all about bronzed, healthy and glowing skin. In fact, the whole month of July is a mini-series of related posts. So among my favourites I had to include my well-loved bronzers and highlighters: a new buy the Guerlain Terracotta Sun Celebration Bronzing Powder and Blush 30th Anniversary Edition the Star Sun Powder ( longest name ever! ) and another favourite the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Palette, both reviewed here and here.

My skin never felt more pampered than when I used an old favourite of mine – the Caudalie Divine Scrub. The name describes it perfectly: divine natural oils blend, divine scent, divine results after usage. Read full review here.

During summer, my go-to fragrances change from mysterious, grown-up scents to more fresh and floral ones. Last year I was loving Chanel No 5 Eau Prèmiere, but this year was a truly amazing rediscovery: the Annick Goutal L’Eau d’Hadrien. I reviewed this one at the beginning of this month, in a oh! such a poetic post.

My last favourites were face mists. Omorovicza, L’Occitane, Melvita, Caudalie, Uriage thermal… They are so easy to use and versatile: you can use them to moisturize your face, as a setting spray, on your beauty blender to apply your makeup, while traveling on the plane, or to refresh yourself in your car when you wait in the heat for the green light. Face mists/floral infused waters, especially Rosa Damacena infused ones, became a very important step in my skincare routine, replacing my toners – which I always find a bit drying and harsh on my sensitive complexion. More on my most used face mists, here.

These were my favourite products this summer. Which were yours?

See you in Autumn, beautiful!

xx, Annie

 

Annick Goutal Eau d’Hadrien – My favourite fragrance for the Summer of 2014

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Annick Goutal, Eau d'Hadrien, fresh, perfume, review, summer 2014

 Nature and all her wonders guide me… Emotions find expression in fragrance. Fragrance is the music of my dreams. Fragrance is my inspiration.

                                                                                                                                       Annick Goutal

Eau d’Hadrien is the fragrance the Belgian parfumeur Annick Goutal created in 1981, after a magnific trip to Southern Italy.

It is a fresh and sparkly blend also inspired by Marguerite Yourcenar’s novel “The Memoirs of Hadrian“, a historical novel with philosophical accents. This perfume captures the emotions of the Emperor Hadrian while he meditates on military triumphs, love of poetry and music, philosophy, and his passion for his lover Antinous.

This is Annick Goutal’s best selling fragrance. It combines essences of Sicilian lemon and grapefruit, with the subtle notes of the delicate citron, green mandarine and ylang-ylang. Then the woody and camphorated notes of the Tuscany cypress give body to this amazing perfume.

Without knowing it, it takes you to a walk through a garden of fruit ripened in the Italian Sun and everywhere you turn your head you will sense the freshness of citrus fruits in the shade of a lemon tree.

 Luxury is in the details

Annick Goutal

… and the luxury details are the first to please your eye. The sleek, feminine bottle, which has a retro vibe to it, the bow of golden thread, delicately knotted around the collar symbolizes the traditional nature of Annick Goutal Perfumes and comes straight out from Annick’s childhood and the happy times she spent helping her father in his confectionery shop.

Every time I wear this perfume, the citrus notes leave on my skin a light and discreet trail, especially with the Eau the Toilette. Evey time I discover new notes which make me fall in love again and again with this universal, energetic and fresh fragrance.

 

 

INTERESTING FACTS:

– by the late 5th Century, Babylon was the main market for the perfume trade.

– the Babylonians used to create their fragrances mainly cedar of Lebanon, cypress, pine, fir resin, myrtle, calamus and juniper.

– by that time all the fragrances came in the form of an oil, but when the Jews returned from captivity back to Babylon, they brought with them a heightened appreciation of fragrance, especially in the form of incense.