Today.. It was all about YOU at UPR (and actually today’s also about every other woman on this whole planet). It was so much fun & very informative! Check out the pictures & judge for yourself. 

I got all creative at ProNails using nail art markers, moon stickers & polishes. Their new collection is all about London, and what do you know? I’m also all about London. And since I miss the city loads I decided to make an I Heart London nail. And one with the flag, just because it’s much too obvious not to make it. I adore the nail art markers! It makes special nail art designs so much more easy. 

Watch my friend Tiffany (from the Flair website!) get all artsy at Swatch. I absolutely love the bright colours in this collection! My favorite is the Pink Lacquered Watch. Just because girls just have got to love pink! 

This display is just amazing! DKNY has once again come up with another version of the DKNY Delicious perfume. I immediately fell in love with this colorful display. And look at the gorgeous cupcakes! Right up my alley, indeed. The new line comes in three different variations: Pink Macaroon, Tart Key Lime & Creamy Lemon Meringue. The scents are very sweet (and that I adore!). In Belgium these’ll be exclusively available at Ici Paris XL.

Loved getting all crafty at Swarovski while sipping some pink bubbles. And check out these bright colored tights! Veritas is launching their own (budget!) line SOXI. Don’t you just love that bright yellow?

Coffee is for the soul. So when the friendly guy at Illy asked me to personalize a can of delicious illy espresso ground coffee, I knew exactly what to do. And the hearts? Well, without coffee there’d be no Isabelle. I love coffee. LOVE LOVE LOVE coffee.

Check out MAC Cosmetics heaven. All together now: Oh My God. By the way, check back  tomorrow for another MAC limited edition update. Can you say V E R A?

Thanks for the lovely iced tea (with loads of ginger!), which I enjoyed during the RITUALS session about their new fragrances (forgot to take a picture, so sorry!). They’ve got some very strong wood (I was going to say Woody, but then I’d need to drag in Buzz as well) scents, as well as a couple of very sweet scents. My favorite is fragrance No. 04, Violet + White Lily. 

And thank you for the lovely presents that warm my heart. 

This week at the office I was surprised by a lovely shiny black goodiebag with pink ribbons. Inside were a bunch of nail/hand goodies from Ici Paris XL! 

Ici Paris XL has their own nail polish line since a few months, with 22 standard colors, 3 nail care polishes and then on top of that for each season there’ll be 5 seasonal polishes. I received all five of the summer colors and I absolutely love them! The colors are so vibrant and the finish is highly glossy. 

From left to right: Pink Kiss, Wasabi, Acid Love, Banana Split and Miss Bikini.

Don’t mind the messy touch.. I had just removed a highly pigmented blue color that kind of got stuck on my fingers.. I’m wearing two coats, no top coat. From left to right: Wasabi, Miss Bikini, Banana Split, Acid Love & Pink Kiss. My favorite colors are Acid Love & Pink Kiss.. I just can’t choose between the two!

Polishes sell for the budget price of €4.95. But, good news! Right now there’s an introduction special: 3 for €9.95. Quickly head out to your local Ici Paris XL to get some of this summer goodness! 

Stay tuned for a chance to win a complete DIY manicure package with Nubar’s top & basecoat, and one of these lovely Only You! summer colors!

Ever since Leandra from The Man Repeller starred in one of P’Trique’s videos and asked Charlotte where she left her Chubby Stick, I knew I wanted one. I really like Clinique (their facial soap for oily skin is the single best face wash ever), so I was pretty sure that these sticks were going to be worth it. I got a pink one called Mighty Mimosa and later received a brown one called Bountiful Blush. 

The moisturizing lipsticks are shaped as a pencil & come in a wide variety of colors. Recently, 8 new colors were added to their basic range of 6 colors. Yes, that makes fourteen different Chubbies to choose from. These lip balms contain mango and shea butter, so they’re nourishing as well as pretty. I’m not a big lipstick person (my favorite lipstick is a glossy nude Chanel lipstick), but I’m not a lipgloss fan either (so so so sticky.) This seems like the perfect option in-between. I use chapsticks daily anyway, so why not add a pop of color?

As you can see, these have been used. I can’t constrain myself until I can take pictures before using products, so now you’ve got an idea of what your Chubbies will look like after a few weeks of usage. These feel great on your lips and add instant color to your face - a colleague noticed ‘something different about me’ right away, so this is perfect for natural day looks. The colors do look somewhat opaque on my hand, but when applied are quite sheer. You can build up the color to a certain extent, but don’t expect the same effect as a dense lipstick. 

Left: Bountiful Blush. Right: Mighty Mimosa.

Both these lip balms are very natural, but add a different tone to your lips. Bountiful Blush is a gorgeous warm color that’ll make your lips look like their natural self but fuller and better. Mighty Mimosa is natural as well, but will add a colder, pink hue to your lips. I’d recommend pairing them to your make-up look for an overal match. So think Bountiful Blush with warm looks and Mighty Mimosa with cold looks. 

Chubby Sticks retail for €19.40 and are available at a Clinique counter near you, or on the website. While you’re on the website, check out these Holiday sets. There’s a Chubby Stick in this Makeup Value Set, but check out those other value sets as well as this is the time of the year to get a good deal! 

I know we’re all talking about Dior’s gorgeous Chérie Bow collection (tell me, how badly do I need that palette?), but I still want to talk about the following..
It’s here, it’s mine & already sold out pretty much everywhere (I got the last one at the local Dior counter!): the Marilyn Diorific Vernis from the Grand Bal collection. I am beyond happy I got my hands on this one! It’s been with me since the week the collection launched and I’ve worn it quite a lot since. It’s a long lasting beautiful red color & the bottle is just divinely pretty. I didn’t really own any pretty reds - I don’t seem to wear reds on my nails that often. But that has changed now, obvs. Also, this is one of the few reds that leaves no residue on your fingers when you take it off with polish remover. Extra grades for that feature, as staining lacquers really put me off. 

As you can see I shamelessly used my fauxsheep skin rug to create some sort of winterish magic feeling. Looks like it totally paid off, or maybe it’s just this gorgeous bottle working all the magic. I’m hoping some more limited collections will be made in these types of bottles, or even different kinds of vintage bottles! I sense a future collection coming up..

I applied the polish here in two coats without any top coat added. As you can see the finish is very shiny and I mentioned it before but I want to say this again: this is one of the few (or even the only one I’ve ever come across) red polishes that does not stain upon removal! So if you’re lucky enough to spot it somewhere and you’re craving some red.. You know what to do.

Check out the Chérie Bow collection here. I hope to provide you some gorgeous pictures of one of the pieces, but I can’t promise as I’m too much of a shopaholic these days!

I had been dying to try something NARS for a while now, but I like to test new products before I buy them so I was going to wait it out until my trip to NYC (which isn’t even booked or planned yet, so that could take a while..) as I thought it wasn’t that readily available anywhere near me. But I was strolling around Liberty during my latest weekend in London and I spotted the NARS counter. I was quite shocked to see it - had I been blind before? I asked the sales lady & she informed me that they’ve been there for a year and a half. I’ve been back in Belgium for two years now so it makes sense that I didn’t recall. 

Anyway, I didn’t really need anything and I promised myself not to buy too much make-up, so I got a concealer. The lady knew immediately which shade I had to try and it was a perfect match! The NARS Stick Concealer in Custard is now mine. The pricing was quite alright - I expected it to be more expensive - at £17.50. And the packaging.. I think it’s just beautiful. I love the matte black outside packaging and the simple and recognizable white logo. You all know how much I absolutely adore pretty packaging!

Custard is a light/medium concealer with a yellow undertone. The formula is quite interesting - it’s creamy when you first apply it (make sure to warm the product up!) and then turns into a semi-matte finish when applied. It’s very easy to work with and this particular texture allows you to build up the coverage as you wish. The sales lady told me this one is made especially to conceal under-eye circles because it also illuminates. I would say that it doesn’t really illuminate that much, but it does conceal like a boss! I usually apply a second layer of product on the darkest part of my under-eye circles, but overall the coverage is alright and very natural-looking. It’s not cakey and because of the great color-range you’ll almost certainly be able to find a match with your skin tone. 

The concealer is still there after a long day of work - which does deserve an applause if you ask me! It does crease a little as I have some pretty stubborn fine lines under my eyes, but you can easily get rid of them brushing it through with your finger. This has been such a great NARS introduction! I need more! The sales lady told me I should get a bronzer as well as they’re well known for being very true to shade. I swatched the Orgasm blush in store and it didn’t impress me all too much, so I ended up not buying it. I don’t like too much shimmer in my blushes!

Let me know what your favorite NARS product is and if there is anything you’d recommend me!

BB’s & I, it hasn’t been a perfect love story yet. I’m still on the hunt for that 100% perfect BB cream, so I’ve got another exploration to show & share with you. I love La Roche-Posay in terms of skin care: when it comes to decent products, it seems like you almost can’t go wrong with French pharmacy brands. I was browsing the LRP section at my local pharmacy when I came across their new BB cream, which hasn’t launched that long ago if I’m not mistaken. There was no tester for the lighter version, but priced at €12 and very eager to try a new BB cream (again), I tossed it in my basket and smiled at the cashier counter. 

The La Roche-Posay Hydreane BB cream comes in two shades (light & medium) and has an SPF20. It’s paraben-free and does not contain a huge amount of alcohol, although it is there. The product promises a unified and evened look, and I should say that this is true. This makes you look a bit more awake in the mornings and leaves a dewy finish. However, do not expect full coverage here. You will need concealer wherever you’ve got blemishes, and try to double up the dosage on red areas. The texture is quite thick but not overly greasy and spreads out very nicely. I do get oily really quickly when using this BB cream, so it’s not really suited for mixed or oily skin types if you ask me. If you’ve got oily skin & you bought this BB already (like I did) and you’d like to get some use out of it, I’d suggest pairing it with a primer made for oil-control. I received the Black-Up Perfect Matifying Primer during an IPXL event a while ago and I’ve been using it on my T-zone whenever I know I’ll get oily & have been loving the effect. You can apply these primers with your fingers or with a flat foundation brush, which is a nice and easy way of application. 

The shade is a tiny bit too light for me, so I’m sure a lot of people will need to try out the medium shade. Make sure to use some pressed powder afterwards to set the BB cream, I use my favorite powder by Estée Lauder. Overall this BB cream is alright, but not my favorite. I’ve tried BB’s that were a better match with my skin type & color, but I’m sure that you’ll really love this one if you’ve got a dry skin type. I guess I’ll need to stick to skin care when it comes to LRP.. Unless they create a BB with denser coverage.. Pretty please? 

A while ago I received a BB Cream by Erborian which I absolutely LOVED; but it made me look a bit ill since it was just a tad too light for me. I gave it a couple of tries, but when a colleague asked me if I was feeling well; I decided to accept the fact that I had to let it go. I gave it to one of my best friends who swears by this BB and is a shade lighter than me. I thought that was the end to my BB experiment with Erborian, because I hate being in between two shades and having to find some sort of perfect mix formula using two products. Fortunately, I was wrong! I got to test the Erborian BB Cream for Eyes, which is exactly the shade I need. Which is a bit funny, since it only comes in one shade.  I guess you really just always have to try everything out beforehand. Not that I mind ;)

This BB is made especially for the eye contour (you can also use it on your lids!) and promises a “baby skin” effect. Now we all know baby skin isn’t going to happen anymore for us adult ladies, but whatever. The formula is very light weight and does not cake at all. In fact, I’m not sure you could ever really make this cake up, since the formula is very light and super comfortable! It’s perfect as a primer on your lids as well, it holds eye-shadows very well and does not crease on me. 

Next to being a great concealer, this is (as the term BB kinda implies) a treatment and an eye cream as well. Now I wouldn’t really skip my eye cream when using this, so I wouldn’t be able to comment on how that worked. It does contain an SPF25 though, which is a great addition other concealers mostly don’t have.  I usually don’t apply regular BB creams without my oil-free lotion moisturizer either, so I guess it’s just a habit or whatever you feel most comfortable with. 

The coverage with this BB for eyes is quite sheer, but still provides some coverage. I’ve seen worse BB’s, believe me. It’s just a bit buildable (I dab on a bit extra on the darkest parts), but doesn’t cake up. You only need a tiny bit as it spreads out well, so be careful not to use too much! All in all I really like this one: it’s a perfect color match and it conceals just enough for regular days. I just wouldn’t really replace my eye cream or eye serum for this. The price point is around €29.00 & in Belgium it’s sold only in Ici Paris XL. You can find the brand in Sephora in France & Space NK in the UK. 

So far my two experiences with Erborian have been really good, except for the shade mismatch in their regular BB cream. I’ve been a bit curious about their BB Night Mask too. Let me know which other Erborian products you’d recommend me & what your experience was with them!

I spotted the intense Chubbies some time ago and I was really excited for them - but had to wait some time before they were going to arrive here (that’s how it is with some American brands, things arrive a month or two later in Belgium.. sob sob) Now they’re finally here and already there’s another new Chubby product I am patiently waiting for: the Chubby Sticks for Eyes! I can’t wait to try out the nude shades.. But since those eye chubbies are still a bit of a wait for us, I’d like to present to you with loads of excitement: the Grandest Grape Intense Chubby Stick. 

So what’s new, Chubby? The intensity is! The formula is still as moisturizing as the regular chubbies and contains mango & shea butters and jojoba oil. It won’t replace a super moisturizing lip butter you need when your lips are chapped, but these intense ones are a great replacement for lipstick as they’re less drying and look just as beautiful. 

These new babies have arrived in eight colors & I got ‘Grandest Grape’ to try out. It’s not a purple color as some people seem to think judging by the packaging & name; it’s a beautiful berry plum color which looks very sensual. 

I’ve been experimenting with my close-up pictures & now have much better lighting to show you new products on my lips. As you can see the color is a beautiful berry color which builds up to an intense berry plum color. Notice how my lips look quite moisturized and shiny? I really like how the formula has maintained, even with all this extra color intensity. Now I wouldn’t just slap these on like I would with the regular chubbies, so tuck this in your handbag with a little mirror to ensure you’re coloring inside the lines. 

So thanks again Leandra Medine for getting me hooked on chubbies, because it’s the year of the Chubby and I’m already excited for the eye version too. Chubby Stick Intense retails for €19.45. 

Givenchy is turning super bold these days featuring leather packaging with stud details. I really love the new look as I love anything rock chic. Givenchy Le Rouge & Le Vernis have been out since end of January, but don’t fear: these have been added to the permanent line! 

What’s great about these two lines is that some colors are both featured in a lipstick & a nail polish; such as Carmin Escarpin which is a gorgeous warm & classy red. Let’s kick off with the nail polish!

The packaging of the nail polishes has changed - now there’s a whopping double the amount of product in the new bottles. I’m a huge fan of the new and easy bottles - I hope more brands will finally figure out how easy the smaller handles are to work with. The detail on them is great too - I love the Givenchy imprint on the top. 

And not only the look has changed.. But the brush has too. It’s now wider, which ensures a way easier application. 

This here was just one coat; add one extra coat for a deeper look. Givenchy Le Vernis Carmin Escarpin is a beautiful warm red & looks quite sophisticated. It’s a bit more orange-y than Dior’s Marilyn, if you’d like to compare. 

The new Le Rouge lipsticks have a gorgeous leather product packaging with a stud detail. It’s the most beautiful lipstick I’ve ever seen - I’m not even kidding. The detail is again remarkably luxurious, notice the imprint in the lipstick itself and on top of the cap. 

As you can see in the swatch above Givenchy Le Rouge Carmin Escarpin is not highly glossy, but not super matte either. It’s not overly drying as other mattes tend to be & has a great color pay off. The texture is quite creamy and easy to apply. I think the color looks almost exactly as the nail polish, so it’s quite fun wearing both at the same time. Color coordinated nails and lips, anyone?

Overall there isn’t anything bad I can say about these two products; except for perhaps the price tag which is of course in the higher ranges because this is a luxury brand. The nail polish goes for €21 (you know how I’m a fan of luxury nail polishes as they’re the perfect budget designer treat that’ll last you a long time) and the lipsticks retail for €34.50. Available only at Ici Paris XL in Belgium. 

I really love surprises (hinting at everybody needing to be hinted at!) and last week was full of them! Some were off blog limits, but this one here I obviously had to share. I had seen the Estée Lauder Pretty Naughty collection pass by and had been gushing over the beautiful blush and the nail polishes & now the collection (& one nail varnish from another collection!) found its way to me. 

Pictured above are: the Five Color Eyeshadow Palette, the Intense Kajal Eyeliner Duo & the Sheer Matte Lipstick in Demure. And also these two Nail Laquers: a purple/lavender/grey one called Insatiable, belonging to the Pretty Naughty collection & a pink one called Narcissist, belonging to new Heavy Petals collection. 

A closer look at the gorgeous Pretty Naughty eyeshadow palette. The five colors are very bold and not my usual pick (except for the neutral colors of course): a soft pink, a pale baby blue, a beautiful shimmery bron, a purple and a dark shimmery charcoal. The packaging is the usual iconic gold compact with the EL initials engraved; beautiful to look at and the perfect fit for that beauty display or vanity table of yours. And also important: not too bulky & thick, so it’s easily stackable and does not take up a lot of valued space. I don’t have a vanity table or excess cabinet space in the bathroom, so these things I notice!

The matte lipstick is quite gorgeous in color - very vibrant & full on, it’s a real statement. I’m not too sure about the packaging though: I would love to see these in something a little bit more sophisticated (a touch of Estée Lauder gold perhaps?) The duo eye pencil is great: I love having two colors in one pencil. And the gold detail in the middle is perfect to glam it up. 

Et voila, the customary swatches! As you can see the pigmentation on the eye shadow palette is really good; the brown is a color I plan on using a lot more in daily looks as well: it’s beautiful & very warm. There’s not a lot of fall out, so nothing to be worried about there. Be careful though not to blend these too harshly as they tend to ‘overblend’ quite easily. Careful with that 217!  The pencils’ formula is quite amazing, the black is the most beautiful and dense black & the baby blue is just captivating. This really is a must to use when you’re going bold with the eye shadow palette. On my arm, the matte lipstick looks gorgeous: not too matte and full of pigmentation. However, on the lips this one got really drying for me.. Especially since my lips aren’t in the best state these wintery days, it doesn’t look all to ‘fresh’ when wearing this. It’s such a shame, as the rest of the collection really hits the spot. 

For this eye look I used all colors in the palette except for the pink, as well as both sides of the eye crayon. This is a look I would probably never have done before owning this palette (not only because I just didn’t own any baby blues), but there’s a first for everything, right? I packed the blue eyeshadow on the inner corner of the eye & swept the purple over the middle. Blended blue & purple, but didn’t overdo it in order not to lose the color intensity. Added accent to the crease with the light brown (it’ll blend in perfectly with the bolder colors) & smudged the outer corner with the charcoal. Careful for some light fall-out here. And then came the liner: I used the baby blue liner in the inner corner & then gradually switched over to the black eyeliner for a stronger look.  And since we’re being pretty naughty, I added three layers of mascara (Givenchy’s Noir Couture) here. A tad bit clumpy, but sometimes it’s totally permitted!

When I finally am home at a time it’s still decently lit outside I’ll get to the nail polishes and shoot these for you. I already wore Insatiable this week and got some positive comments on it as it’s such a beautiful color that in some lights looks more like a grey, but in other lights clearly hints at lavender. 

The Pretty Naughty collection is to be found in stores now & is limited edition.