Seasonal Favourites – Winter 2014-2015

Tags

Burberry, candle, Charlotte Tilbury, dior, Elemis, Escentric Molecules, eyeshadows, favourites, Laura Mercier, Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist, Penhaligon's Malabah, red lipstick, Smiling Shoes, stiletto shoes, tea, Tom Ford

Since I can finally say that I can see major signs of Spring after such a long Winter, I thought I’d do a Favourites post!

Now, I’m not the one to do these kind of posts on a regular basis, mainly because once I discover a product that I really love and I know it works for me, I totally stick to it for the longest time. So a monthly makeup favourites, or skincare favourites would be kind of repetitive and unnecessary. Plus to form a decent opinion on a new product, especially with skincare, it might take a lot more than one month.

But this past couple of months I’ve tested a good few new products that instantly stole my heart and made it to my Favourites…

Here you have my absolute Seasonal Favourites for the Winter of 2014-2015:

– festive red listick was THE thing for me this winter. I particularly loved these Tom Ford shades – Crimson Noir ( permanent ) and Alejandro, from the Lips&Boys Collection. I also loved the iconic Dior Rouge 999, the orange-reds Estée Lauder Pure Colour Envy in shade Impassioned and Wild Ginger also from the Tom Ford permanent line and the Burberry Lip Cover in #18 Ruby. Later on I’ve discovered the new, reformulated Chanel Rouge Coco in Arthur, which made me dig out it’s matte correspondent, the Tom Ford ( again! ) Flame.

– Tom Ford Lips&Boys Alejandro – Burberry Ruby – Chanel Arthur– Tom Ford Crimson Noir– Dior Rouge 999

– for skincare, I don’t change it too much, I’m only adjusting it to the needs of my sensitive skin. But the products I loved the most were the Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm Anti-Ageing, the Elemis Gentle Rose Exfoliator, the First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser which I like to use combined with the Diptyque Radiance Boosting Powder for a deeper cleanse, my holy grail mask – the Oskia Rainessance Nutri-Active Brightening & Resurfacing Mask and the new addition, the Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel Mask and of course, my beloved Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist. Mostly cleansing products now that I take a closer look! No wonder though! because I firmly believe that a clean skin is a good, healthy skin. And a flawless “canvas” also means an easier makeup application, with less products! I also have to mention my hands and lips saviours this Winter: the By Terry Baume de Rose and the Laura Mercier delicious gourmet hand creams.

– my favourite Winter home scent for the past two years has been this Byredo Bibliothèque Fragranced Candle. I can’t even tell you how much I love this candle and how many I have burnt down. This year I went for something different, something more smokey and warm, with comforting notes of patchouli, birch tar and guaiac wood – the Burberry Smokey Embers Fragranced Candle. It’s the perfect candle to “recreate the mood of an English fireside afternoon”, as they say on their website. Definitely give this one a sniff if you’re in a Burberry store.

– for fashion items I absolutely lived in my Smiling Shoes heels! You might think that I went bananas, especially if you know what winters are like in Continental Excessive Climates, but stay assured I still had boots on for walking outside, in the snow. But for work and going out, and winter parties these shoes never left my feet!

– for random favourites, I really got into tea which I think it warmed my body as well as my soul. I particularly loved the combination of strong, aromatic tea ( mostly from the Teapigs company ) and coconut milk.

Also my love for clementines went to another level of obsession, and I always found myself munching on them and these Milka cookies…

And I totally hated 50 Shades of Grey – simply because I can’t get excited about someone else’s sexual fantasies… No offense!

I hope you enjoyed my favourite things for the Winter months and please be kind and share yours!

Also, should I make this Seasonal Favourites a regular entry on my blog? What do you think?

See you soon, beautiful!

xx, Annie

What is in my travel makeup bag…

Tags

By Terry, chanel, Charlotte TIlbury the Sophisticate, clarins, dior, Escentric Molecules, Hakuhodo, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, makeup bag, Tom Ford, travel

This post will be obvious, simple, informative, and quite long…

When it comes to traveling, I try to limit myself and bring with me only the essential makeup products, the ones that are going to help me create multiple looks, without taking too much space in my suitcase.

So this little Zara Home pouch I took with me is great for that. It is a compact little thing but also big enough to hold all my makeup, and my brushes.

Here is what I filled my Zara pouch with…

First, BASE products:

– primer Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch. I took this particular one because it has this compact container and although it is silicone based, when I use it my makeup stays on all day.

– foundation Chanel Vitalumière Aqua Skin Perfecting Makeup SPF 15, #30 Beige. You know that this is the foundation I always reach for because it is easy to apply, stays on all day and I also love the finish it gives. I already wrote a complete review about it, link here.

– to correct any dark circles or spots I took this Bourjois Healthy Mix Radiance and Anti-Fatigue Correcting Concealer because it is compact, does the job well and I have to finish it.

– my powder of choice was the By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra Powder. What were you thinking by taking a loose product while traveling?! You might ask… I absolutely adore this powder! It was between that and the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Palette and I decided to go for the By Terry one because I wanted a matte finish on my complexion, since I think it is more work appropriate. For a full review and ways I use this powder click here.

– the last base product I took with me is a bronzing powder – the Guerlain Terracotta Light Sheer Bronzing Powder, in #04 Sun Blondes. Even if I bought it several months ago, I took it directly from its box. It was absolutely new! I simply swatched it a few times to see how it looks… And it was the best choice I could have made. I used this bronzer for contouring, all-over my face for a healthy look and as a… blush! If you are familiar with the Guerlain Terracotta bronzers you know that they look like a kaleidoscope of colours. This particular shade has a melange of pinks, bronzing shades and darker browns. Well, the pink in the palette was my blush shade… Not for long though, because I really did some shopping makeup-wise while I was in Milan… Oh! This is the makeup bag I took with me to Milan, last month! And it would have been a shame not to!

The EYE makeup:

– a neutral, matte palette is an absolute must for me when I travel, especially if it is a work related trip. This Charlotte Tilbury The Sophisticate Luxury Palette Colour Coded Eye Shadows landed on my door step the day before my departure. And I have to say that I was pretty impressed with the quality of these eye shadow palette. The eye shadows are soft, finely mild, very pigmented and easy to blend. Loved it!

– then my absolute favourite eye product at the moment, the By Terry Ombre Blackstar Colour-Fix Cream Eye Shadow, in #5 Misty Rock. I love it all-over the lid by itself for a soft day look and also combined with other eye shadows for a night out with the girls, in Milan.

– to accentuate my eyes I took the Clarins Eye Pencil, in #02 Brown.

– as for mascara I went for this samples of Dior Diorshow New Look Mascara, in #090 Black and my holly grail mascara the Chanel Le Volume de Chanel Mascara, in #10 Black. I love the two combined or applied by themselves.

LIPS. Yeah lip products are my weakness! I said I allow myself to take only three. I ended up with six! And bought a few more while I was there!

So:

– the Dior Lip Glow Colour Reviver Balm – I can not leave the house without

– the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector, in #06. I love how hydrating this is and not sticky at all. I previously featured it in a post, here.

– my go-to, easy-to-wear lipstick the Chanel Rouge Coco Shine, in #48 Évasion, reviewed here.

– another nude my Tom Ford Lip Colour #13 Blush Nude – simply because

– and finally THE red, you never know when you will need a red lipstick right?! – my Dior Rouge Dior #999 Red, paired with my favourite lip liner the Dior Universal Lipliner Pencil.

Went BRUSHES crazy too! So I took with me my old, trusty Samurai Army: my Tom Ford #14 Smokey Eye Brush and the #02 Cream Foundation Brush, and my Hakuhodo brushes: the J210, J5522 for powdering contour and blush, the J5533 an excellent brush to blend eye shadow, the J5529 and G5513 great for precise makeup application. And of course my Shu Uemura S-Curler, my go-to eyelash curler.

The last items in my makeup bag were the ones I used to freshen up – the Chanel Blotting Sheets and a small bottle of Travalo filled with the Caudalie Beauty Elixir.

The other two Travalo‘s were filled with my favourite perfumes: the Escentric Molecule 01 ( reviewed here ) and Maison Francis Kurkdjian‘s Amyris. You can also read more about the Travalo’s by clicking here.

So this much makeup I take with me when I travel. In my defense I have to say that it was a almost two weeks trip!

I hope you enjoy reading this post!

See you soon, Beautiful!

xx, Annie

 

 

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ESCENTRIC MOLECULES – MOLECULE 01, fatal attraction – the pheromonal perfumes

Tags

Beautik Haute Parfumerie, Escentric Molecules, luxury, Molecule 01, perfume, pheromones, unique

Me and the ESCENTRIC MOLECULES – MOLECULE 01 had the pleasure of being together for almost four years. I was lucky enough to be in London when the perfume was launched. It happened in 2010 at Harvey Nichols. Ever since, the brand has been on an ascensive lane, and the popularity of this unique perfume can be easily observed all-over the Internet world.

 

I bought it blindly being intrigued only by the innovative concept of it. It is a one ingredient perfume which reacts with the PH of your body releasing a pheromone specific to the person who wears it. How intriguing is that!?

The perfume is described as woody but in reaction with my skin it pulls out a bit vanillary, which I was really hoping to happen. The one ingredient in it is called ISO E SUPER – an ingredient which is supposed to have a magnetic olfactory impact on people around you close to the effect of pheromones. And it might actually work because I always get compliments when I wear it… from men and women, both!

It is known as the most sexy perfume in the world and stars like Kate Moss, Elton John and Dita Von Teese chose to be irresistible by using it.

The packaging of the product comes to complete the impact of the perfume visually, and to realize a “seductive contrast between lights and reflections”.

I use it a lot by itself and I always make sure I have my Travalo perfume atomizer filled with it, somewhere inside my purse. I also like to layer it under softer, floral perfumes to give them some deepness and body.

It is currently available online on Cult Beauty, at Barneys NY, Beautik Haute Parfumerie in two more different scents: a MOLECULE 02 and a MOLECULE 03, one fresher and one earthier scented.

What is your favourite perfume?

See you soon, beautiful!

xx, Annie