Seasonal Favourites Summer 2015

Tags

#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

My HAKUHODO Eyeshadow Brush Collection

Tags

eye blending brushes, eyeshadow brushes, G5513, Hakuhodo, J142, J146, J5522, J5523, J5524, J5529, J5533, luxury makeup brushes, review

Over the past few months I’ve only been talking about my Tom Ford makeup brushes! But in many of my Instagram posts and in some of my blog posts as well, you saw a couple of my beloved Hakuhodo‘s too! So it was only fair to give them the same treatment! But if you want to delight yourself with some amazing makeup brushes first, read all about my Tom Ford ones here and here! 

First, a couple more words to get to know the manufacturer!*

Hakuhodo started as a family business established on August 9, 1974 in Kumano, about 20 km east of Hiroshima. Kumano is renowned for having manufactured Japanese calligraphy brushes for about 200 years. There are more than 100 brush companies in Kumano, producing 80%  of the brushes made in Japan.

My Hakuhodo “samurai army” of eyeshadow brushes is made of 8 “soldiers“, who help me do my makeup basically everyday.

Most of my favourites are from the J Series for several reasons: they are some of the cheapest and the quality is definitely amazing ( natural white hairs that are beyond soft and which clean effortlessly, sturdy but light classy black wooden handle adorned with a nickel brass in silver and with the same silver embossing of the brand, and lately with the brush model/number ).

The brushes in the J Series are made with carefully selected materials and designs for the brush shapes. The natural hair used in this range has not been dyed so keeps its original color. This means the bristles will not lose any color. The bristles in this brush range provide moderate resilience and produce great coloring and the bristle shapes available serve any need.

Here you have my tapered blending brushes! 

J5522 Eyeshadow Brush Tapered

A. Full Length: 156.0㎜ B. Hair Length: 21.0㎜
C. Thickness: 7.3㎜

This is a slightly larger brush than the MAC 224 and the Tom Ford #13 Blending Brush ( review here ). This brush is made with white, resilient yet soft goat hairs. Its hair length and shape enables you to achieve soft and natural coloring by placing your colour into the socket, but I find it is best suited to blending out crease shades – for this it works beautifully. It also can be used with all types of products – liquid or cream based makeup, and even powders.

J142 Eyeshadow Brush Round

A. Full Length: 153.0㎜ B. Hair Length: 18.0㎜
C. Thickness: 6.0㎜

This one is pretty similar to the J5523 and the MAC 217, but it’s slightly less dense – a smaller, baby version of those and building colour with it’s infinitely easier than buffing out over application, especially when using very pigmented eyeshadows or very dark, deep colours.

As with all my Hakuhodo brushes you’ll read about in this post the bristles are infinitely soft and never drag on the skin, creating perfectly diffused gradients of colour, no matter what your eye makeup choice is.

J146 Eyeshadow Brush Round

A. Full Length: 156.0㎜ B. Hair Length: 16.0㎜
C. Thickness: 5.0㎜

This is the perfect brush for precise crease work, for adding a dark shade to the outer v, deepening the socket. Despite a slender frame it provides a comfortable amount of resistance because of the bristles which are made from resilient yet soft goat that can produce great coloring. Smudging and blending colours can be easily achieved.

Also ideal for highlighting, which I’m mainly using it for.

J5529 Eyeshadow Brush Tapered

A. Full Length: 153.0㎜ B. Hair Length: 13.0㎜
C. Thickness: 5.0㎜

This is a tiny, thin brush with a rounded, very lightly tapered, edge. The baby version of all the tapered brushes I shown you before. It’s a shorter, narrower crease brush perfect for detailing and for smaller eyes with “difficult” characteristics, for those who normally find crease brushes to be too large for them. It also works well for softening colour along the lower lash line.

J5533 Eyeshadow Brush Tapered

A. Full Length: 153.0㎜ B. Hair Length: 18.0㎜
C. Thickness: 6.0㎜

This is a particular brush! It’s not tapered but it’s not flat either! Its a very fluffy brush with a round-ish head. The hair length and shape enables you to achieve soft and natural colouring because of its extremely soft and flexible bristles. With this eye shadow brush, you can naturally smudge and blend eye shadow. Since it’s not pointy you will have less precision and will cover more surface but I particularly like to use this slightly tapered brush to apply and blend out cream and mousse eyeshadows like my Chanel Illusion D’Ombres and my By Terry Ombre Blackstars.

The fibers are soft to the touch and feel nice against the skin, but that’s redundant now!

Now my round and flat eyeshadow brushes!

J5523 Eyeshadow Brush Round & Flat

A. Full Length: 151.0㎜ B. Hair Length: 16.0㎜
C. Thickness: 4.5㎜

This is the brush that is the closest to MAC‘s infamous 217, just a tiny bit smaller which I personally prefer, 1) because I have small eyes and 2) because it offers a more precise application. It’s a round but flattened headed brush, made from goat hairs that feel so soft on your skin and provide moderate resilience. This brush can be used for the upper eyelid area and produces great colouring, and also can be used with all types of products – liquid or cream-based makeup and even powder.

If you ask me, the Hakuhodo J5523 excels MAC’s 217 in every aspect: it’s definitely way, way, WAY softer, retains shape even after multiple washes, never frays, doesn’t shed… And it’s also cheaper than the 217. Costs 19$ on www.hakuhodousa.com.

J242G Eyeshadow Brush Round & Flat

A. Full Length: 146.0㎜ B. Hair Length: 11.0㎜
C. Thickness: 3.0㎜

This is a small yet very versatile, flat eyeshadow brush with a slightly tapered edge. The bristles, made from a mix of goat and synthetic fiber, provide moderate resilience and does a great job at packing and patting on eyeshadow on the inner portion of the lid, or for more precise colour application if you’re applying more than two shades on the eyelid and want them to be more distinct, and also for for adding colour along the lower lash line using the edge. This brush can be used with all types of products – liquid or cream-based makeup, and even powder.

G5513 Eyeshadow Brush Round Flat

A. Full Length: 147㎜  B. Hair Length:7.0㎜
C. Thickness: 2.5㎜

This last eyeshadow brush I have for you is from the Hakuhodo G Series.

The G5513BkSL Eyeshadow Round Flat Brush is a small, flatter eyeshadow brush with domed edge. It’s not the smallest brush I own though and I find that this brush is somewhat similar to my Tom Ford # 15 Eyeliner & Definer Brush. The bristles on this brush are a bit longer than those on my Tom Ford brush, which makes them not as stiff or as firm. Maybe because they’re made from horse hair too! Nevertheless, they are elastic, durable and produce great color. The hair length is relatively short, which provides good control and creates great colouring.

 – here you have a better view of the actual shape and form of the brushes

 – my little “samurai army” ready to assist me in the mornings, when I do my makeup

Next post I intent to write is a “how I clean my brushes” type of post. So what do you think? Would you like to see how I keep my brushes clean? Please let me know in the comments below!

See you soon, beautiful!

xx, Annie

 

 

*INTERSTING FACTS:

• Hakuhodo is one of the leading makeup brush manufacturers in Kumano, producing 500,000 brushes monthly. It also has been producing and providing high quality makeup brushes for many leading cosmetic companies and makeup artist brands worldwide as an OEM (Original Equipment Manufaturer) supplier.

• they produce: – makeup brushes 95%

• traditional brushes (calligraphy, menso, nihonga, etc.) 2%
• painting brushes (oil painting, design, etc.) 2%

• industrial brushes 1%

• a few highlights of their history : 1974 Hakuhodo was incorporated as a private limited company. 1982 Kazuo Takamoto became president of Hakuhodo and started to develop Hakuhodo ‘s original brand. 1993 Awarded an Order of Friendship by Mongolia for offering expertise in brush making. 1995 Founded an affiliate factory in Shenzhen, China. After starting an OEM deal with M.A.C., a Canadian cosmetic company (under the umbrella of Estee Lauder at present) in 1995, Hakuhodo began making direct OEM agreements with many world-famous cosmetics companies. 2003 Awarded Japan Culture Design Award. 2005 Selected Top Companies Using IT Management President Kazuo Takamoto, won the Prime Minister’s Prize of Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Award in the field of the Application of Traditional Technology. 2006 Selected as one of the 300 Japan’s Dynamic Monozukuri SEMs from Ministry of Economy,Trade and Industry.

TRENDING A/W 2014: Molten Metallics. Runway inspired look with Serene from imserenel

Tags

Burberry, chanel, Charlotte Tilbury, dior, fotd, Giorgio Armani, guerlain, Hakuhodo, Hourglass, Make Up For Ever, MOTD, Shu Uemura, Tom Ford

Everything started with this gorgeous picture VogueUK published on their website, of the gorgeous metallic trend which took over the runways this season!

One word shared on Twitter with my lovely and talented blogger friend Serene, from imserenel and a few tweets later a new collab was born.

Her task was to recreate the trending Molten Metallic look with affordable makeup products and I got the “ingrate” mission ( obviously not! ) to recreate the look you see in the picture using high end/luxury products.

Here is the final look and the products I used:

COMPLEXION:

was the easiest to do! A luminous, yet not glowy, not even dewey base I easily achieved thanks to my trusty Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation ( my shade is #4 ), set with a bit of Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Incandescent on the forehead, down the bridge of my nose, cupid bow and a bit on the chin. I did the slightest contour to sculpt my cheeks a bit more, using a bronzer – the Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons in #04 Sheer Brunettes blended up, towards the temples. And added a flush of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure on the apples of my cheek. NO highlighter on the cheeks!

Then, with a clean face brush I made sure everything was well, and uniformly blended.

Base one! Next step…

EYES:

I have to admit that the complexity of this eye look scared me and put me on the fence a bit! I’m the one for a “lazy” eye makeup! Neutral creamy base, deeper neutral in the crease for some definition and to finish, guess what?!… You’re right, another neutral on the waterline to calibrate the look!

This was a whole other story! Layers and layers of colours and a lot of blending involved…

I used colours from both Charlotte Tilbury Eyeshadow Palettes in The Dolce Vita and The Sophisticate, the Burberry Complete Eye Palette in #10 Rose and #12 Nude Blush, the Burberry Sheer Eyeshadow in #10 Antique Rose. I discreetly lined my eyes with a brown liquid liner from Dior and did nothing to my eyelashes but curling them with my Shu Uemura’s S Lash Curler.

What do you think about the NO-mascara look the big fashion houses came up with for their runway presentations? I already blogged this trend here and here, if you want to read/see more about that!

BROWS:

Since my brows are nowhere close to the “bushy” feast that’s going on in the picture, I had to put some serious effort into making them look as close as possible to the originals.

So, to define my brows I used my new brow addiction – the Burberry Effortless Eyebrow Definer in #02 Sepia; full review here. And to warm them up a bit I went in with some MAC Wedge and Espresso.

LIPS:

THE Lips were another challenge! But check out how gloriously gorgeous they are!?! The dark, deep, burnished-red colour, with the most beautiful metallic sheen/glitter on top… Just fabulous!

I used: the Chanel Precision Lip Liner in #03 Roux-Sienna to contour my lips and to fill them up a bit. Then I went in with my Dior Addict Fluid Stick in #975 Minuit. I might do a review on this lip combination if you want; in the meanwhile check out my post about my other gorgeous Dior Fluid Sticks, here.

And here comes the fun part… On top of that, I added two amazing Dior Diorshow Mono Wet&Dry Backstage Eyeshadows in #006 Swan, a silver-white metallic eyeshadow with pink glitter particles and #616 Sequins, a gorgeous golden eyeshadow. And since it wasn’t enough “sparkle” for how I pictured everything in my head, I also added a bit of MUFE Glitter in N4 White Violet.

TOOLS:

LOTS of blending brushes from my Hakuhodo samurai army and some of my other trusty samurai, my usual Tom Ford brushes. Plus the Shu Uemura S Lash Curler.

… Which translates into A LOT of brush cleaning to do!

So, what do you think about the finished look? Do you like it?

Thank you once more my lovely Serene for this exciting collaboration!

See you soon, beautiful!

xx, Annie

FOTD! My go-to makeup November 2014 Edition!

Tags

Burberry, chanel, dior, Estee Lauder, fotd, Giorgio Armani, guerlain, Hakuhodo, November, Tom Ford

The look I’m going to show you next is basically the look I wore on my face for the last couple of weeks, almost daily…

Everything started with rediscovering the Illusion d’Ombre in colour #95 Mirage, a summer release from Chanel ( read full review here ). Thank you Divya for making me like it so much!

My base was something like that:

– primer: Omorovicza Complexion Corrector SPF 20, a product that you’ll find on my face wether I have to wear makeup or not

– base: Dior Diorskin Star Fluid Foundation SPF 30, in shade #010 Ivory –  But when my skin was really acting out, I turned to my old faithful Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, #4

– as a bronzer and contour I used the Guerlain Terracotta Light Sheer Bronzing Powder #04 Sun Blondes, definitely doesn’t match my skin tone but I personally like the blush-bronzed effect against my skin tone

– because of the bronzer I often skipped blush, but when I used it I went for my Burberry Light Glow #06 Tangerine

Base done, it’s time to concentrate on the eye:

– Chanel Illusion d’Ombre #95 Mirage all-over the lid

– blended out in the crease with a bit of Burberry Sheer Eye Shadows #22 Pale Barley and #06 Almond 

– eyes subtle lined with the Dior IT-Liner #099 It-Black, just to accentuate the lash line and a small flick 

– and lots of Burberry Bold Lash Mascara #01 Ebony, over the Curve Lash Mascara #01 Ebony, my new favourite mascara combo and a new launch from Burberry ( review here )

– for brows I used another new release from Burberry, the Effortless Eyebrow Definer in #02 Sepia ( read full review here ). 

– the final look using the Burberry Lip Cover #24 Romantic Rose and the Burberry Lip Gloss #09 Nude Beige on the lips. This is also my daytime/work makeup.

I paired this eye look with multiple lip shades starting with my favourite nude combo at the moment, all from Burberry but also with a dark, bold, vampy, burgundy-red lip. My favourite lipsticks were from Estée Lauder, Burberry and Giorgio Armani ( read more about my favourite bold lipsticks here ). I LOVE the effect a bold lip has with this relatively simple eye look!

 -the final look using the Estée Lauder Pure Colour Envy #450 Insolent Plum on the lips

 – the final look using the Giorgio Armani Rouge Ecstasy #403 Downtown on the lips

 – the final look using the Burberry Lip Cover #33 Oxblood on the lips

The Tools I used were my usual Tom Ford and Hakuhodo brushes and the Shu Uemura S Eye Lash Curler.

I hope you like this look as much as I do!

See you soon, Beautiful!

xx, Annie

 

 

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The starting over TAG

Tags

Burberry, chanel, dior, Giorgio Armani, guerlain, Hakuhodo, Hourglass, Omorovicza, Oskia, Starting Over Tag, tag, Tom Ford

I was tagged at the beginning of September to do the Starting over TAG by the lovely Brianna, the girl behind the amazing Cruelty Free Me Blog. As the name of this blog suggests, Brianna is a girl passionate about beauty made with natural, organic ingredients, eco friendly and cruelty free. Cruelty Free Me is one of the blogs on this platform I enjoy reading, because when I need a good dose of “healthy” everything, she can fix me at any time.

For as much as I love the idea of this tag I completely forgot about it! It all starts with the hypothesis that all your makeup and skincare suddenly disappears – God forbid! Knock on wood! Jinx! etc. …

After the recovery from your initial heart attack, panic attack and being a human again and not a vengeance hairy beast, what would be the 16 products you would purchase?

Why 16?! I have no idea!…

So here are mine:

1) FACE MISTS… LOAD OF face mists, starting with my beloved Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Face Mist

2) my FOREO LUNA MINI ( review coming soon ) or in the normal size. This amazing device helps you deep cleanse your skin witout irritating it. I got amazing results from it in just a matter of days, things that I can’t say about the Clarisonic which was total fail and made my skin worse.

3) moisturizer for day and night. Depending on the season the “calamity” happens, let’s say it’s autumn/winter time I will go for Oskia Nutri-active Day Cream and for nighttime I will buy the Omorovicza Rejuvenating Night Cream.

4) what I discovered to work extremely well with the Foreo Luna is the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel, the best cleanser I have ever used

5) foundation I would buy first: Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, but that’s no surprise since you had enough of me raving about it. Definitely my holy grail foundation!

6) I like to apply this foundation with my beauty blender so I will have one of those too.

7) for eyeshadows I will go and get myself Trench, Almond and Pale Barley Sheer Eye Shadows from Burberry for a simple, everyday eye look.

8) I find that these creamy, buttery soft eye shadows are applied best with the Hakuhodo blending brushes from the J Series ( review here ) so I will definitely get me some of those.

9) my mascara will be Chanel’s Le Volume the best mascara I have ever had.

10) and the Shu Uemura S Lash Curler. I have this thing I can’t go out without curling my lashes. I’m not the biggest wearer of eyeshadow that’s why I think that curling your eye lashes adds a bit of something else to the eyes. Besides that, curling your lashes makes your eyes look more opened and awake.

11) the Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer to bring some life to my usually pale skin and to go along with it my beloved.

12) Tom Ford Bronzer Brush already reviewed here.

13) my next logical purchase would be blush. And here is where I will have a real problem! I love all my blushes and I use them quite a lot! Maybe the first ones I will be will be those in the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette. I think it will be a good deal! I would have multiple options! But my second purchase will definitely be my Burberry #06 Tangerine, then my Tom Ford #02 Frantic Pink.

14) on my lips I will definitely wear Dior’s Lip Maximizer as I love how plumped and delicious makes my lips look, then I will purchase a bold colour because I can’t live without wearing a bold lip.

15) I can’t go out or to work without having clean, well cured nails so I will also buy a cuticle oil and a nail polish which will probably be in a nude colour, like Dior’s #108 Muguet.

16) and raw honey, coconut oil and tea tree oil will be my last purchases. I use them for almost anything… Face masks, hair masks ( maybe I should have thrown in some hair products too, like shampoo and conditioner…), body scrubs, to clean and disinfect my brushes… Love them all!

So! Here you have my picks! What would be yours?

I will also tag some of my lovely girls/friends here on WordPress, but everyone is welcomed to join the fun and do this Tag! So Divya, Jackie, Serene, Andreea, V, and the lovely Talker Blogger.

Thank you for your constant support, beautiful !

See you in November!

xx, Annie!

 

 

Dior Inspired Bronzed Summer Look From Day To Night

Tags

bronzed look, clarins, dior, guerlain, Hakuhodo, Hourglass, summer 2014, Tom Ford, YSL

Because it is still summer ( not for long though! ), I decided to recreate this look for you, beautiful. It is a Dior Nude inspired look, created by the amazing Peter Phillips – Creative and Image Director of Dior Makeup, for the launch of the new Dior Nude Tan Natural Radiance Bronzing Powder, re-launched a while ago.

It is also the look I went for most of the time during these past months, because it is so effortless and so summer appropriate, being fresh, bronzed with an amazing healthy glow to it!

Makeup used to create this look:

1) Dior Nude Glow Skin-Perfecting BB Cream, in #001

2) Dior Skinflash Corrector, in #002 Ivory Glow

3) Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Tailor-Made Bronzing Powder, in #03 Natural Brunettes

4) Dior Fusion Mono Long-Wear Eyeshadow, in #001 Lune and #661 Météore ( review here )

5) YSL Eye Pencil Waterproof, in #1 Black

6) Dior Diorliner Precision Eyeliner, in #798 Brun

7) Dior Diorshow New Look Mascara, in #090 Black

8) Dior Rosy Glow Healthy Glow Awakening Blush, #001 Petal ( review here )

9) Dior Universal Lipliner Pencil ( review here ) 

10) Dior Addict Lipstick, in #535 Tailleur Bar

11) Dior Vernis, in #219 Safari Beige ( my first ever blog post, hehe! )

Brushes:

1) Tom Ford #02 Cream Foundation Brush

2) Tom Ford #03 Concealer and Eyeshadow Brush

3) Tom Ford #05 Bronzer Brush

4) Tom Ford #15 Eyeliner and Definer Brush

5) Hakuhodo J210 Blush Brush Round

6) Hakuhodo J5533 Eyeshadow Brush Tapered

7) Shu Uemura S Curler Eyelash Curler

– daytime look

And to make it suitable for a night walk on the beach, or a dinner with friends on a beautiful terrace I added a bit of brown liquid liner creating a small wing – because I wanted everything to look soft yet chic, then I added my favourite Dior Addict Fluid Stick in #239 Frisson ( read the full review here ) for a bold, glossy colour on my lips and changed the classic nude of the Safari Beige for a more daring, vampy Nuit 1947 on my nails.

– night look

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Thank you for reading and see you soon, Beautiful!

xx, Annie

 

 

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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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Sunday FOTD using Chanel products only

Tags

chanel, Chanel Mica Glossimer, Hakuhodo, Le Blanc de Chanel, Le Volume de Chanel, Les Beiges, Perfection Lumière Velvet

If you follow my blog, you already know that this week I was writing exclusively about my latest Chanel additions to my makeup collection: the Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Multi-Colour Powder, the Chanel Perfection Lumière Velvet Smooth Effect Makeup SPF 15 and the Chanel Le Blanc de Chanel Sheer Illuminating Base.

Today I wanted to put together this FOTD using exclusively Chanel products. My main intention was to show you in action the products I reviewed this week.

I started by applying a thin layer of Chanel Le Blanc de Chanel as a primer, which gave me a subtle glow and toned down a bit the redness on my cheeks. I went in with the foundation and what I used was again, my foundation of choice for the last couple of weeks, the Chanel Perfection Lumière Velvet in #B10. Both primer and foundation I applied with my fingers.

To set everything in place I used the Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Multi-Colour Powder #01. I used the same product for contouring and also as a blush, and highlight.

For the eyes I used the same multi-coloured Les Beiges powder palette but this time I took my Hakuhodo BJ142 tapered blending brush and I applied the the palest colour – the highlighter, all-over the lid up to my brow bone. On a smaller Hakuhodo brush, the J146, I applied the peachy-pink colour on the mobile lid. To add more definition to the eye I took the darkest bronzing colour in the pan and placed it into the crease. Then I blended everything so that there weren’t any harsh edges. Then I added a bit of that illuminating base on the brow bone for a highlighted effect.

On my lashes I used my holy grail mascara: the Chanel Le Volume de Chanel, in #10 Black – just one coat (!!!).

I went for simple, low-maintenance lips and I used the Chanel Glossimer in #131, Mica.

And this is the final result! A simple makeup for an easy-breezy Sunday to spend with family and friends!

I hope you’ll enjoy this look as much as I enjoyed creating it!

See you soon, beautiful!

xx, Annie

 

 

Zoeva – 105 Luxe Highlight and 221 Luxe Soft Crease brushes

Tags

blending brushes, eye makeup blending brushes, Hakuhodo, MAC 217 blending brush, makeup, review, Zoeva, Zoeva 105 Luxe Highlight, Zoeva 221 Luxe Soft Crease

I finally bit the bullet and purchased two Zoeva brushes; mainly because I am a brush fanatic, although I do not have the ultimate skill to use them like a pro. I’m trying… I promise!

Then, everyone on the beauty internet community ( …and their mothers ) seem to have at least one Zoeva brush, and some even came out with with “atrocious” statements like: “The Zoeva blending brush is better than MAC’s 217!” *insert choir of voices in awe*. I know, I know!… Mixed opinions, gotta respect each and every one…

So I kinda HAD to have one of those amazing brushes! So I went on the Zoeva website and oredered… not one, but two of their best sellers. You know, to test them and see if they are as good as everyone ( …and their mothers, of course! ) rave about.

And with all the ramble above, I even forgot to tell you what I bought…

I initially wanted to buy the Rose Gold Luxury Set, but it was out of stock. So, my second best choice was the 105 Luxe Highlight described as a luxurious highlighter brush with a natural-synthetic hair blend, free of dye ( +points from me there ). It is a soft and silky, yet sturdy brush, which comes with a flame-shaped head to instantly create light-reflecting results, with a minimal effort. Translation: for lazy, non professionals like myself to apply highlighters with only two swipes. Be careful with how much highlighter you pack on your brush! It will all go on your face! Not brush’s fault though! Remember! A little goes a long way!

Then it was THE brush! MAC’s rival! The one and only 221 Luxe Soft Crease. It is described as a superior blending brush with a curved head made of the finest natural-synthetic hair mix and, again, free of dye. This tool blends your eyeshadow to pefection, to create ombre effects for your eyes.

zoeva-shop.de is an Europe based online shop so the shipping was fast, but beside that the service was also impeccable. Beautifully packaged items, each in its own pouch, sleek black wrapping paper… 

All in all, I am very pleased with my purchase. I really can see the hype around the brand! A pretty new addition to my brush collection.

– some of my favourite blending brushes at the moment: the Zoeva 221… aaand part of the avant-garde of my samurai army – my Hakuhodo ( review here ) brushes

Do you have any Zoeva brushes? Do you like them?

See you soon, beautiful!

xx, Annie