Wednesday, October 31, 2012

quick update

As you may have noticed, there have not been any posts lately. My modem has given up on me and I had to order a new one. Happy to report that it has arrived and my internet should be back up within the next couple of days! So expect a new exciting blog post next weekend.

Thanks for all the new followers and comments!

Love,
Maya

Friday, October 19, 2012

Favourites | My Favourite Fall/Winter Nail Polishes

As soon as the weather starts to get slightly colder and the sky a bit greyer, it's time for me to get out those neutral and darker nail colours. These are my current picks for fall/winter. Honestly speaking, I would probably like to wear some of these shades all year round, but try to stick to a bit of colour during the warmer seasons.

Neutrals & Taupes

Chanel Frenzy, OPI Wooden Shoe Like To Know, Essie Don't Sweater It, Chanel Particuliere
 
Chanel Frenzy - Beautiful creamy light taupe with hints of warmth that looks great with my olive skin tone. This was released as part of the Chanel Fall 2012 collection. It seems like Chanel have improved their formula. This nail polish will last a good 6 days with no chipping (with a top coat!).

OPI Wooden Shoe Like To Know - This shade was released with the Holland collection for spring/summer. My sister picked up this gorgeous nail polish in Copenhagen. I honestly think that this beautiful brown shade with gold shimmer is a great warm toned alternative for fall/winter and would not be my pick for spring or summer.

Essie Don't Sweater It - This shade was released with the latest Stylenomics Collection. Even though it's limited edition, this beautiful dark taupe is quite dupable. OPI's You don't know Jacques is a very close dupe. Don't let the colour in the bottle fool you, on the nails it applies quite dark.

Chanel Particuliere - This shade is slightly lighter on the nails than Essie's Don't sweater it, but has been a staple since I bought it a couple of years ago. It's the perfect mid-tone taupe, that I dare to wear all year round!

Deep Colours

Sephora Amethyst Stiletto, Orly Androgynie, Catrice Caught on the red carpet

Sephora Amethyst Stiletto - This is another shade that my sister picked up at Sephora in Copenhagen. It's a pretty shimmery purple colour, that's perfect for the season.

Orly Androgynie - Galaxy nails anyone? Androgynie was released with last year's holiday collection. I picked up this shade during my travels and can't wait to wear it around holiday season or as an accent nail. I don't own anything similar to this in my collection. It is a black nail polish with beautiful multi coloured glitters and particals of different sizes in it.

Catrice Caught on the red carpet - Fall/Winter must have No 1? A classy rich red nail polish! This one is by Catrice, but many brands have similar shades. On the nails this particular colour applies darker and slightly cooler.

What are your favourite nail polish picks for the colder seasons?

Love,
Maya

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

New In | Clarins skincare & make up

As you can see, I have really turned somewhat skincare obsessed. This is partially due to my skin getting more sensitive and prone to dryness.

I had been eyeing Clarins skincare products for a while and during my travels, I came across this amazing deal where you spent a certain amount and were able to buy a Clarins beauty box containing a whole lot of products at a fraction of the value.

Since I had been wanting to try several of the products, this indeed was the perfect opportunity to justify a little splurge.

I purchased the Gentle Foaming Cleanser and the Lotus Face Treatment Oil. The rest of the products were in the beautiful black cosmetics box/bag. 

I am very excited about the Gentle Foaming Cleanser, since most cleansers have been too drying on my combination skin. This one is specifically tailored for dry skin and contains Shea Butter.

Another product I am very eager to start using is the Lotus Face Treatment Oil. This oil has had quite a bit of a buzz around it and several beauty bloggers seem to love it.

The Beauty Flash Balm (as well as the rest of the products) came with the beauty box and had been on my wishlist for ages and now I finally have the opportunity to try it. Will it make my skin look glowing? We shall see.

Gentle Foaming Cleanser, One-Step Facial Cleanser
Lotus Face Treatment Oil, Beauty Flash Balm
Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch



Eye Quartet Mineral Palette 05 violet
HydraQuench Cream, Multi-Active Night
Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector 01, Gloss Papaya 08

Joli Rouge 733 fig
Intense Black Mascara, Instant Light Brush-On Perfector 01

Overall, I am very happy with the products I got and they will probably last me a good while.

Which of these Clarins products have you tried? Which ones are you curious about?

Love, 
Maya

Monday, October 8, 2012

Initial Review | Mac Pro Sculpting Cream in Coffee Walnut

MAC recently came out with the Pro Sculpting Creams, that are meant to be used for shaping and sculpting. I wasn't really on the hunt for a contour shade, but after reading and hearing about them I just had to check them out in person. Coffee Walnut in particular has been getting quite a bit of attention in the beauty community.

Coffee Walnut  may very well be the perfect contour shade. It's a mid-tone brown that slightly leans olive. Compared to swatches of Chanel's Bronze Universal below, you can see that it is more ashy and has no orange to it. When blended out though, it looks like a very natural shadow. There's quite a lot of pigment to the product, but it can also be sheered out.

The formula seems quite solid, but is very soft to the touch. It applies smoothly and dries down to a powder finish. After almost 10 hours, the swatch from this morning has hardly faded.

The shade and consistency of the product make it versatile enough to be used from light to dark skin tones. Coffee Walnut will most likely look most flattering and natural on warmer skin tones ranging from an NC25 - NC42.Cooler skin tones may be able to pull it off, however it would be advisable to first try it in store.


The product comes in 6 shades. You get 5 grams of product for 20 USD/23.50 EUR/17.50 GBP.

 
MAC Coffee Walnut & Chanel Bronze Universal
Top: Chanel Bronze Universal; Bottom MAC Coffee Walnut


Have you checked out any of the Sculpting Creams? What are your thought?

Love,
Maya

Friday, October 5, 2012

New In | Boots haul

Before travelling to Dublin I had made myself a little Boots list with all the products that I wanted to check out. There's quite some stuff that I can't buy in store here, so I was very excited to have the opportunity to buy these products while in Dublin.

I got two Vaseline Lip Therapies, one with cocoa butter and one with rose & almond oil. I had heard about these so much and used to see them all the time while living in London, but never got around trying them. 

One of the purchases I was most excited about where the Real Techniques brushes. I checked out all the ones in stock, but decided to go for the stippling brush only for now.

I also picked up a Lasting Perfection concealer by Collection and Peach Melba by Natural Collection. Unfortunately the Boots I went to only had the lightest shade for the concealer. 

 

As far as skincare, I was only really interested in trying the Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm by Boots Botanics. I had heard great things about the original formula and have never tried a cleansing balm before. I really like the idea of using a balm and love using oils on my face as a treatment or to remove make-up.


I also picked up my two favourite hair products! The Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor is one of my favourite deep conditioners of all time! Unfortunately I only realize now that it has parabens in it. So this was the last time that I bought it. 

I find dry shampoos to be essential to my hair care & regimen, especially once uni starts again. The Batiste Dry Shampoos are definetely the best I have tried. So I just had to get another back up. I decided to go for the coconut & exotic tropical scent.

 

Have you tried any of the products? Do you have any product recommendations?

Love, 
Maya

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Product Review | Estee Lauder Double Wear Light

Being the foundation junkie that I am, I am always on the lookout for the perfect base. With most products I can usually tell pretty quickly whether or not they work for me.

This however wasn't the case with Estee Lauder's Double Wear Light Stay-in-place-make-up SPF 10.

After several months of testing, I feel that I can finally give you a well-rounded review.

This is what it claims: 

Claims to be sheer to medium coverage, lightweight and transfer-resistant with a natural finish. It also promises to stay in place for 15 hours.

Price Tag:

Around 28 GBP/ 40 EUR/ 35 USD.

Shade:

Estee Lauder has only 6 shades in this foundation. One of the issues I had with this foundation is that the shade doesn't match me during my paler months. I was matched to shade intensity 3.0. As a NC25 I found it too neutral and too dark, almost orange, to be worn during winter/spring. Only now, when I am around NC30-35 can I wear this foundation.

Consistency, scent and application:

The foundation is not too watery and not too thick and has almost no scent to it. It applies and blends easily into the skin. I found that a pea size amount is sufficient for a layer of sheer coverage. It covers the redness on my cheeks and some scarring. It is buildable without looking cakey.

When my skin is normal - slightly oily, Double Wear Light feels comfortable and lightweight. I found that this foundation was too drying during the winter months and I could only wear it comfortably during the summer months. It holds up for a full day and only requires minimal blotting around my t-zone after about 4-5 hours. This is pretty good, as my t-zone tends to get very oily after a few hours.

It gives a natural semi-matte finish.


Pros:
- light medium coverage
- blends in easily and feels lightweight
- natural semi-matte finish
- keeps oils at bay and is long wearing

Cons:
- may not be suitable for dry skins
- not fully transfer resistant
- may be difficult to find colour match

Final thoughts:
Double Wear Light is a decent high end foundation for every day wear. It's best suited for girls that don't need or want high coverage. I would not recommend this foundation to anyone with dry or oily skin.

Will I repurchase?
Probably not, as I do need a foundation that I can wear when my skin gets drier too.

 


top: Estee Lauder Double Wear Light 3; bottom: MAC SFF NC30

top: Estee Lauder Double Wear Light 3; bottom: MAC SFF NC30 - blended

Hope the review was helpful. Have you tried Double Wear light? What are your thought?

Love, 
Maya

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