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

june favourites

Due to exams and studying, this post is a little late. But better late, than never.

Every few weeks I go through my make up bag and add and exchange products to make sure I use everything in my stash. This month, I have been using many products that had previously been neglected.

skincare:

origins a perfect world & drink up intensive, bioderma h20 sensibio, bio oil

Origins A Perfect World - This is my current everyday moisturizer. It works well and supposedly has anti oxident properties. I haven't noticed anything major other than having nice moisturized skin. I also like the fruity scent.

Origins Drink Up Intensive - This has probably been my favourite skin care item this month. I discovered this in my little makeup bag that holds all my samples. This mask is a treatment that is supposed to be used overnight. It absolutely smells divine and moisturizes the skin well without leaving an oily residue. Will definitely purchase the full size once I run out.


Bioderma Sensibio H20 Micelle Solution - I continued loving this little gem! Still a favourite and definitely HG material.

Bio Oil - I purchased this sometime last year but hardly used it, since the main ingredient is a mineral oil. This product is basically like a fancier and liquid form of vaseline. BUT, my skin reacted to something again last month and was bumpy and extremely dry for a week. Nothing worked until I decided to give this a try. I managed to get the dryness under control by using the oil in the evenings.

makeup:

MAC pro longwear, bourjois healthy mix, estee lauder double wear light, garnier roller, bobbi brown corrector

MAC Pro longwear - On really hot and humid days I used this foundation. It's not my favourite as I find it too trying, but it will last all day. I use this in NC30.

Bourjois Healthy Mix - This is my favourite drugstore foundation. It's lightweight and gives a beautiful finish. My shade is 53.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light - I got this big sample quite some time ago and decided to give it a go. It's a light-medium foundation. I will be reviewing it soon. I use it in shade Intensity 3.

Garnier Anti Dark Circle Eye Roller - I love this drugstore concealer. It's got light to medium coverage but is perfect for the undereye area. My shade is light-medium.

Bobbi Brown Corrector - I am still unsure about this product but I'm trying to finish it up. It's heavy duty and will work wonders on really dark circles. I use this in Peach.

cheek products:

Nars Deep Throat - This has become my everyday peachy-pink blush of choice. It's got a gorgeous sheen and looks beautiful with my skin slightly tanned.

Benefit Coralista - Not sure how I feel about this blush, but I use it anyway. It's a warm peach with shimmer to it. Again, perfect colour for spring and summer.

MAC Superduper-Natural - This is an LE mineralize blush from ages ago. I only started using it now. It's a bronzy peach with a sheen. It bronzes up the skin nicely without having to use a bronzer. I don't think this blush would work in winter time during my paler months.

Nars Laguna Bronzer - This bronzer has been in my collection for a while and I generally rotate my bronzers. It's a gorgeous light warm brown shade with a slight sheen. I can see why it's HG for so many people as it will work for anyone from nc15/nw15 to nc/nw 40.

eyes:

This month was all about my Nars taupes, as they had been collecting dust. I decided to choose a few of my Nars eyeshadows and use them. And I am so glad I did. Nars eyeshadows have generally great pigmentation and apply smoothly.

Nars Earth Angel - The shade that I used in this duo is the warm taupy brown. It has a slight purple undertone to it.

Nars Rajasthan - The taupy shade is a little more golden and reminds me of MAC's Patina. Gorgeous.

Nars Cairo - This is a beautiful warm peachy taupe colour. Very neutral and perfect for a simple daytime look.

Alverde Shimmery Taupe - This taupy eyeshadow is by a German organic drugstore brand. The colour is a shimmery taupe as the name suggests. It's medium taupy brown that's very similar to MAC's Patina.

As far as lip products, I will upload a separate post about my favourite summer lip products.

What did you love in June?

Love,
Maya

May favourites

May was all about trying to shop my stash and give neglected items some extra TLC. My skin also acted up and I needed to really look after it and found a routine that seems to work for me. It was quite easy to pick my favourites for this month and I am really happy with all of the products.

As you will see, it's really not that much. Let's get started.

Skincare:

Bioderma Sensibio H20 Micelle Solution:
It's heaven sent! I no longer bother with baby wipes or cleansing milks. This is my new best friend when removing make-up. I will post a more detailed review/comparison of this product in the near future.

Avene Thermal Water:
I use this spray after I cleanse my skin or to spritz my face to get rid of the powdery look on days when I use powder. It's been a staple in my collection for over a year now.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair:
This is such a staple in so many people's night time routine. I use this serum most nights after I cleanse and before I use moisturizer. Not sure what it does exactly, but my skin likes it.

Caudalie Beauty Water:
There is such a hype surrounding this product and I totally caved in as well. I use it as a toner and love the herbal scent. Be warned tho, some people can't stand the scent.

Rival de Loop Regeneration rich eye cream: 
This is a German drugstore eye cream. It's very basic but works to moisturize my under eye area.

Origins A Perfect World Moisturizer:
This is the moisturizer I got on Earth day. I really like it. It's light weight and doesn't clog my pores. I also like that it's not filled with chemicals and parabens.

Make-up:

Bourjouis Healthy Mix Foundation:
This has become such a favourite. It's light-weight, smells delicious and looks nice and glowy. I use this in 53. 

MAC Dainty Mineralize blush:
This is my all time favourite blush. I always come back to this! It's a gorgeous peachy pink mineralize blush with a bit of sheen.

Milani Luminous blush: 
Love the golgen sheen in this peachy blush. It's perfect for when I get a bit more tan.

MAC Bone Beige/Emphasize Sculpt and Shape powder:
This was part of the Dsquared collection a few years back. It had been sitting in my make-up collection unloved. I use the contour shade to contour below my cheek bones. I love it! You can get these seperately from the pro-store.

Catrice eye brow pencil in Brow-n eyed peas:
I use this ashy brown colour every day for my eye brows. Sometimes I even smudge it around my lower lash line. This is a great steal! It's cheap and cheerful!

Essence I love Extreme Mascara:
This is my mascara of choice. It gives me big, long and voluminious lashes. It can clump a little, but I don't mind that. Plus, the price is right!

Estee Lauder LE eyeshadow palette:
I love the shades Mocha Cup, Cinnamon, Roseberry Duo (brown) for the lid and Mink to smoke out the look or for the lower lash line. I believe they are all in the permanent line.

What did you love in May?

March Favourites

Hey guys!

For some reason I tend to be quite boring and stick to a similar look with neutral eye shadows and the same cheek combo. Also, for the 2nd half of March I was in Germany and only took a limited amount of make up with me. Without further ado, here are my favourites for the month of March!

On my face I have been wearing MAC's SFF in NC25 mixed with Nars Sheer Glow in Punjab for a more dewy look. This combo allows me to have a semi-matte finish with a glow that will last for most of my workday. MAC's dainty has been my favourite blush this month - again. On some days, I skipped the blush tho and only used MAC's bronzer in refined golden.



As far as eye shadows go I pretty much wore a light shimmery neutral all over the lid (MAC prance or naked lunch) and a darker shade in the outer corner and crease (MAC satin taupe or mulch). Sometimes I would also use one of the darker shades on my bottom lash line for a more sultry look. Even tho the cooler toned eyeshadows prance and satin taupe look gorgeous together, I must say that the combination of prance and mulch brings out the cooler brown tones in mulch. If you own both eyeshadows, you must try this!

On days with minimal makeup I generally just slapped on MAC's bare study (which I am trying to finish) and tons of L'Oreal's Voluminous Mascara.



What were your favourites last month?

Love,
Maya

Late February Faves

As recently mentioned, I am trying to finish some of my products which means that I generally only reach for a few products. I may switch up an eyeshadow, but that's about it. Without further ado, these are the products I have been reaching for on a daily basis:

Mac Studio Fix Fluid
There's not much to say about this foundation. To me it's a solid foundation that doesn't fail me during a work day. I use this in NC25 during the winter months and it's a perfect match. It covers my redness and any discoloration and has a natural matte-satin finish. The MUA matched me to NC30 but that one oxidizes badly and makes me look way too orange during the paler months of the year.

MAC Bare Study Paint Pot
It's a nice champagny colour with a nice sheen that will stay put for about 6 hours on my oily eyelids. It does last a little longer when I add an additional eyeshadow on top. I generally like using Naked Lunch, all that glitters or the taupy colour from Nars' earth angel duo. I have had this paint pot for a while and need to make sure to use it before it goes off.

MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder
This is a gorgoeus pinky peach blush with a golden sheen to it. I apply it with my mini 187. Perfect go-to shade that's not too over the top for a day in the office.

Chanel Ultra Correction Line Repair
Nice smelling serum. I love how it smells and feels. Not sure if it did anything miraculous for my skin. Honestly speaking, I most probably won't be forking out a fortune to buy a full size of it.



Honorable mentions:

Moroccan Oil hair products - I have been using these for the last few months. Thanks to the oil, I have been able to grow my hair. So yes, Moroccan Oil = Love.

Yes to Carrots Day Cream - I love the smell of this and how moisturizing, yet easily absorbed it is.

What products have you been loving in February?

March Favourites

Hi all!

This is my first monthly favourites post ever! Woohoo!

This month has been all about neutral eye makeup and flawless looking skin.
Let's get started, shall we.

Skincare:
I have been using the Yes to Tomatoes facial wash a few times a week. It really clears my skin, but dries it out if I use it daily. I have also been using MAC's Volcanic Ash Thermal mask that came out with the style black collection. I just love how it warms up on my skin. Perfect weekend treat!




Foundation:
(All MAC)
Remember that review I did on the Moisturelush eye cream? Well, I found a new use for it. I have been using it as an all over moisturizer rather than an eye cream. And I love it. It makes my foundation look less matte and nice and glowly.
On top of that I have been using SFF in NC25, Moisture cover concealer in NW25 mixed with Select Coverup Concealer NW20 for my under eye area. I have been setting my foundation with the Mineralize Skinfinish in Natural Medium-Plus or Medium. On good skin days, I went with just concealer and Mineralize Skinfinish Natural.





Cheeks:
Nars Laguna as a contour! HG for now.
I love MAC's mineralize blush in Dainty for natural pinky peachy glowing cheeks! This is seriously my go-to blush.




Eyes:
I have been going for rather neutral eye looks in March.
MAC's Brule is my favorite matte high-light for my brow bone. I have been mixing all that glitters and shroom to achieve a gorgeous champagny colour as an all over lid colour. For that extra pop of colour on the lower lashline, I have been using the plummy colour from the play on plums mineralize duo .
For "smokey" days I simply used Smut as an all over lid colour and blended it out really well.
My favourite eyeliner has been L'Oreal's Carbon Black Lineur Intense.




Which products have you been enjoying this month?

Love,
Maya