Recently I had the opportunity to check out the upcoming Jo Malone London launch called Peony & Blush Suede. I don’t yet own a Jo Malone scent, so this was a very pleasant introduction to the world of Jo Malone and scent pairing. Peonies are gorgeous flowers and brighten up any room. They might even be my favorite pretty flowers, even though you can’t just pick them up anywhere. As always the Jo Malone bottle is very sleek and incredibly luxurious; I can imagine that any girl would love to get a Jo Malone scent as a gift. The gift wrappings are always beautiful, and so are the perfumes. Of course there are scents for everyone’s liking, and being a bit fussy with perfumes I’m very glad that I actually really like Peony & Blush Suede! 

This perfume showcases peonies in full boom with top notes of red apple, a heart of peonies and a suede base. Also to be smelled in this: jasmine, rose and gilly flower. The scent is not only sold as a cologne (€37 for 30ml, €92 for 100ml), but also comes in a body & hand wash (€42 for 250ml), a body cream (€62 for 175ml) and a home candle (€52 for 200g).

Keeping in mind that Jo Malone is famous for their scent pairing, which basically means you can pair complimentary scents to your liking, I was introduced to two delicious combinations that speak to different people. Paired with English Pear & Freesia, the scent becomes delicate and soft, and very sensual. I love it so much, I had it applied and couldn’t help smelling myself. This is definitely a scent I want to own in the future, preferably along with Peony & Blush Suede ;-). Moving onto a bit of a heavier combination, we can pair Peony & Blush Suede with the Saffron Cologne Intense. This is way more than I can take, but I know there are some heavy perfume fiends out there and you’d love it! Peony & Blush Suede adds a delicate side to the intense peppered intense cologne. 

The Peony & Blush Suede collection is available from September on, so that’s still quite a wait. It’ll be sold exclusively in Senteurs d’Ailleurs in Belgium, a gorgeous luxury store that I’m writing up a post on later this month. Even though it is a bit of a wait, I think it’ll be worth it! And in the meanwhile, I’m putting that English Pear & Freesia on my birthday wishlist. Just a little over a month until my 26th birthday.. Oh dear, it seems like I was sixteen just yesterday!

The perfect mascara… It’s probably every girl’s quest. And when you’ve finally found it, there’s almost always that quiet little voice in your head that keeps telling you that you must go and explore other brands and new releases. Time and time again. So obviously I have the same little issue. I keep wanting to try new mascaras.. My mother in law let me pick out a Clinique value set as a gift last december (read the haul post here) and I got one with the High Lengths Mascara in it because I had read some good things about it. Clinique sets during the festive season are always super great value, and even now there are several budget sets available online!

Sorry for the icky packaging in the above pictures.. I have to learn to take pictures before using certain types of products ;-) Anyway.. I kept the box for over six months! That’s an accomplishment here! I didn’t start using this mascara straight away since I hate wasting product. Having five or six mascaras in use at a time is pure waste since these things can be kept three months tops anyway. I have this one in use since a week or three and have been very pleased with it. It took some getting used to the applicator and the dosage, but once you get how to work this baby it’s a pleasure to own!

The wand is quite special: it’s slightly bended and features three rows of tiny plastic hard bristles. This ensures you can reach the very start of your lashes without poking the whole wand in your eye and ruining your whole look. Been there, done that. Another plus is with how much ease you can now evenly coat your bottom lashes with just one coat and one movement.  I find two coats for my top lashes to look the very best. More will look clumpy quickly as some hairs will just start clinging together. You really don’t need more than two coats though. It’s amazing how lengthy my lashes look with this mascara! There’s less curl than with some other curly mascaras, but I don’t care when you get so much length in return. This opens up my eyes like a charm!

This mascara retails for €22.55 in the Clinique webshop and is often put into value sets, so keep an eye out for those. It also comes in brown if you’re going for a softer look, but I prefer black mostly. I haven’t actually  tried any other Clinique mascaras, so I’m not sure whether they are always this high in quality.. I’d definitely recommend you to check the range out!

Other products used in this picture: Bobbi Brown Concealer Kit + BE Creative Eyeshadow Quad. 

I’m not a huge false lash fanatic, mostly because those things weigh tons and I can’t be bothered messing around with them before going out. I will wear them on special occasions though, and am a big fan of the single lashes as they allow you to put some emphasis on certain areas and let you go naturally enhanced or super bold with the same product. A while ago I got sent Shimmer Twins lashes by the webshop Sorbet Seams, and I love how bold these look without being overly cheap. With overly cheap I’m thinking silver confetti strings. With bold I’m thinking red hearts! Shimmer Twins is a brand by makeup artist Holly Silius, who’s from London and got inspired to make these bold sets of lashes during her nights out in Dalston. 

I had a bit of an issue getting these to fit properly on my eyes.. The key is not to be afraid of bending them a little. They don’t seem to break easily so you should be fine doing so. Apply some very strong glue, leave the glue sit for 30 seconds and then apply the lashes. They’re quite heavy, so it’s recommended to give the glue a base to stick to: a coat of eyeliner or eyeshadow will be fine. The red one is pretty sturdy and didn’t really budge, but the blue one did shed a few of the glitters.. I tried photographing my eye with these on, which was a bit of a hassle and I gave up. I might do fun look with these in the future (I’m thinking carnival!), so I’m keeping these safe between my other lashes for the moment.

The reason I’m already doing a little post about these is a giveaway the webshop is holding on their Facebook. It’s still running until tomorrow evening! You can win one pair of Shimmer Twins lashes. If you happen to win, be sure to send me a picture of you wearing the lashes! Show me how it’s done ;-)

Eve Lom’s cleanser is an iconic product that is raved about loads, but has also gotten some pretty bad reviews. I visited Senteurs d’Ailleurs in Brussels a few weeks ago (more about that visit later!) and got a generous sample and a muslin cloth to give it a go. I felt quite attracted to the brand, especially when I was explained how their salon facials work (very deep cleansing with extractions).. It seemed like the brand for me! The idea of the cleanser is quite simple: it’s everything in one, so it acts as a make-up remover, cleanser & toner. Eve Lom claims you don’t need anything else, as long as you use the product properly. To use it properly you’ll just need two things: a clean muslin cloth & hot water. The ingreds are not what you’d think they would be.. I was a bit surprised to find Paraffinum Liquidum as the first one, although it’s not the only cleanser in its kind to have that one as one of the main ingredients. 

The full list of ingredients: Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral Oil), Peg-30 Lanolin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Aluminum Stearate, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Peg-75 Lanolin, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Oil, Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Leaf Oil, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Cone Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Bht, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Isobutylparaben.

So here’s how you’ll go about this cleanser:
♥ Massage about a euro coin size worth of product onto your dry skin. Massage it in real good. You’ll feel all the make-up & dirt loosen. If you’re wearing eye makeup, wait to do your eyes until last. You’ll look like a funny panda bear when you’re done.
♥ Now prepare a bowl with hot water. Soak your muslin cloth and squeeze out excess water. Now quickly hold the cloth over your face for a second or five. You should feel the heat sort of penetrate your skin and open up your pores. I’m in doubt whether pores actually open up this fast, so I’ll leave it up to you whether you believe this part. 
♥ Repeat the previous step another two times!
♥ After the third time, use the cloth to remove make-up and bits of cleanser in circular movements. This’ll exfoliate as well as get that blood circulation going. 
♥ As a last step, rinse the cloth in cold water and hold over face and neck for five second again. This supposedly closes your pores. I get that your pores can ‘close’ with cold water in a flash, so this step we’ll go on believing. 

My personal opinion? It smells like noodles. And although it makes my skin feel super soft, and I think I saw immediate skin improvement (I swear!), I would never be able to use this as my only cleansing product for both mornings and evenings. The process is a bit of a hassle, I’d probably need to stock up on 10 muslin cloths to have in rotation and wash them by hand to prevent detergent chemicals to affect them .. and it just doesn’t make me feel ‘fresh’ and clean. I didn’t hate this, I even liked it on the whole, but I wouldn’t purchase it. Sorry Eve!

(I’m yet to test out the rescue mask, I’ll keep you posted as always!)

I seem to have series of infatuation with certain types of products. I was buying heaps of BB creams before, then developed an unhealthy brush spending habit, and now it seems like I’ve been collecting under-eye concealers. For what reason? Not too sure. I’m just obsessed with trying out new ones, experimenting with different brands and textures and just.. satisfying that “I want to try something new!”-craving. One of my best friends had a Bobbi Brown make-over done last season and was raving about the creamy correctors and concealers - she claimed that nothing has ever worked like those products did. Now don’t ever be that raving about a product in front of me, because the thought of getting it will nest into my mind and will not leave until I buy it. So then came Lisha’s article about the Creamy Concealer Kit and I was smitten again. I needed it. I wanted it. And then I found it -almost unused- on a blogsale for just €20. And then, finally, I bought it. 

You know that I’m a packaging nut, so it won’t come as a surprise that I secretly just love how sleek and luxurious this little compact looks. It holds two products: a very creamy and thick concealer, and a light setting powder. The yellow powder does a great job at concealing some extra darkness and does a great job at making the look a bit more natural. I got the compact in ‘Beige’, which I thought at first was an odd match for me, but once again the Bobbi counter girl was right. I’m totally Beige. Beige comes with a pale yellow powder, as almost all other shades. Only the lightest shade comes with a white powder. Applying this product is easy enough - you’ll just need two brushes with this. A synthetic and flat concealer brush to dab on product, and a fluffy but not too big natural bristles brush to gently add the powder. The key is not to use to much product. It’s extremely pigmented and a little goes a long way. This is not your average liquid kind of concealer which you can use heaps of!

This is done in under three minutes on both eyes. The key is to follow these steps religiously and to never ever rub the concealer in. Just apply anywhere you need it with the brush & then ‘push’ or ‘dab’ it into your skin with your finger. Gently tap until it looks quite natural. I find that adding the powder really helps to soften it all out - so I wouldn’t buy the concealer on its own. I know a lot of people swear by this one as the only concealer that will not get into those fine lines or crease.. But I hate to break it to you: if you have fine lines under your eyes, it’ll always crease a little. This one of course doesn’t crease nearly as bad as some other concealers I’ve tried, but it’s not free of blame either. Lastly, when you’re done concealing like a boss, you’ll need to re-add some depth to your eyes as it really is a pretty blank canvas now. Don’t recreate the shadows and darkness we just erased, but add some of the eyeshadow you’re about to use to your lower lash line. It’ll work wonders! 

Overall, I am very happy with the purchase and I must say that the raving reviews are quite true. This is a concealer with industrial strength that does not look cakey at all and will stay put all day long. It will get into those fine lines a little, but it’s not disturbing or “OMG YOUR EYES”-esque. Given the fact that you don’t need a lot with each use, it’s quite economical (well, it’s still a Bobbi price point of course) too. 

This kit retails for $33 in the US, £24 in the UK or €32.50 in Belgium. Retail points in Belgium are Cosmeticary in Brussels & online on their new webshop, or Parfuma in Antwerp. 

Clinique has been treating us the past few months with loads of delicious new releases of very high quality (the intense chubbies for lips, the chubbies for eyes, the divine CC cream, ..) And now they’re back again with something completely new for them! Now also competing with most of the other mid range brands, Clinique has made their own nail polish, called A Different Nail Enamel For Sensitive Skins. But this one is a bit different than others, because it’s made for sensitive skin. Now why sensitive skin? Shouldn’t that be sensitive nails? Well, Clinique claims that we touch our eyes more than 200 times a day (make that 500 times for me, I always get things stuck in my eye) and some nail polishes can trigger allergic reactions when you do. Theirs obviously doesn’t. 

Although the brush is not revolutionary (I forgot to take a picture of it, sorry), it does an okay job. It’s not wide, but not overly thin either. It applies pretty precisely and is easy enough to work with. The formula of this one called “Summer In The City” is quite pigmented: one coat could absolutely be enough, but I had some time and went for two. It’s not streaky at all, applies smoothly evenly and the biggest wonder of this one is that it dries so amazingly fast! I’ve heard that some people have this polish last 7 days without chipping, but sadly again my nails are much too brittle.. As with almost all other nail polish brands, I had chips and tipwear on the second day already. I also gave my feet a pedicure with this polish, and it has been going strong for two weeks now. 

The formula isn’t spiked with all sorts of nasties and is 5-free, which means it does not contain formaldehyde, DBP, Camphor, Formaldehyde Resin or Toluene. This isn’t to be found anywhere on the press release or on their website, I just found out through some bloggers. I’m not sure why, since it’s such a strong selling point! You’re probably wondering what on earth 5-free is now.. It’s basically the same as 3-free, but doesn’t contain any formaldehyde Resin (similar to formaldehyde, known skin allergen) or Camphor (toxic through inhalation) either. This is a nice addition, but I think 3-free is already a long way and I wouldn’t go out of my way to obtain 5-free, for now. Other 5-free brands are Zoya & Deborah Lippmann. It’s nice to see Clinique is also going the extra mile with their nail polishes!

So are all my comments super positive now? Well, concerning the nail polish, the color range and the formula: yes. There’s nothing negative to say. There’s just one thing.. One tiny little thing that a packaging nut like me notices.. The bottle isn’t pretty at all. 

Clinique’s nail polishes are available in stores already and come in 12 permanent shades & 4 online exclusive shades at the moment. They retail for €16.50 suggested retail price, which is slightly higher than mid range brands like OPI or Models Own, but still quite a lot cheaper than luxury brands such as Deborah Lippmann, Dior, Chanel and so on. As always, don’t forget to deduct member card discounts. I’m so excited to see which other shades are coming out, and I’m quite curious to see whether Clinique would try to tackle fashion nail polishes with glitters and textures. And I’m just very excited to see whatever else Clinique is going to release in 2013, because they’re building a pretty strong “hotness in beauty land” case this year..

I’ve been totally smitten with Korean brands, just because they’re so darn cute and you can’t get them anywhere here. Just knowing that something is kind of hard to get a hold of, makes it even more desirable, right? I used to be a heavy eBayer way back, when eBay was used more regularly by individuals, whereas now it just seems to be a market place full of professional salespeople. I’ve been buying some Asian skin care on eBay from various sellers off and on in the past couple of years & have never really been disappointed. The price is mostly very low, shipping is free and even though they say it can take up to 30 working days to arrive, I always receive my parcels within ten. You mostly also get some nifty samples & free sheet masks, so the service is quite amazing too.

This time I bought from two sellers: ideaseller_kr (he gave me a free sheet mask because I chose combined shipping!) & rubyruby76. The products are honestly such a steal: I paid just €4.73 for all five Collagen Eye Patches by Etude House, for example.

I also got this super cute Lovely Cookie Blusher by Etude House in #06 Grape Fruit Jelly. I still need to test it thoroughly, but isn’t it just so CUTE? I’m honestly disappointed that we don’t have these cute kinds of cosmetics here. I can imagine it would make my bathroom routine a lot more fun.

Last up is this super cute Petit Bunny Lip Gloss by Tonymoly. I got this one in the color #5 Juicy Peach. It’s a beautiful sheer color & the gloss tastes like sweets. And it’s a smiling bunny! A SMILING BUNNY! I need more smiling bunnies in my life.

And because I think that you need some smiling bunnies and pink fluffiness in your life as well, I bought a couple of extra goodies for you! I really want to thank all of you for reading me, for supporting me & for getting me and my blog this far. I’m really enjoying the blog ride and I hope you & me can continue this journey for another long while! I bought for you: an Etude House Lovely Cookie Blusher in #07 Rose Sugar Macaron, a Tonymoly Petit Bunny Lip Gloss in #5 Juicy Peach and one sachet of Etude House Collagen Eye Patches! I’m using Rafflecopter for this one, so just follow the steps below and fingers crossed :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

UPDATE: Just to be fair, a quick notificaton: I added two extra winning options 7 hours after starting the giveaway, because I forgot them when I set the giveaway up when probably being too sleepy.. ^_^ You can now also share on Facebook & follow me on Instagram. Good luck everyone!

I’ve been complaining about my recent outbursts of hormonal acne and have already documented some really awesome products here that have helped me tackle it along the way. I’m working towards a post that’ll sum it all up, but I want to be able to link back to thorough explanations & reviews on the products, so that’s why I’m featuring them all separately here. I’ve been a fan of La Roche-Posay for a while now, they’re one of my absolute favorite pharmacy brands and the quality is just top notch for such a decent price. They have a whole line of targeted skin care for oily skin called Effaclar, with a bunch of products that tackle acne in different gradations. Effaclar Duo is especially made for the severest acne conditions, focusing on unclogging pores and removing severe impurities and imperfections. It’s been such a savior for my skin, so let me explain how it works!

Effaclar Duo has four main active ingredients: Niacinamide & Piroctone Olamine to kill bacteria & remove impurities, and LHA and Linoleic Acid to free up those pores by removing dead skin cells. Quite a potent combination, and one of the best ones I’ve tried when it comes to fighting acne. I’ve been documenting the outbursts for myself and can’t really bring myself to post the pictures here, but I can tell you how it’s improved since I’ve started using Effaclar Duo. I’ve had some semi-clear days even, which is such a big improvement! The acne hasn’t disappeared completely of course, since these things take time & some causes of acne are just bigger than any lotion in a tube. I use this lotion only on my affected acne area in the morning & in the evening, and don’t use any other moisturizer on top. I don’t really find it too drying, I haven’t experienced any dry patches or flaky bits at all. If you do experience some dryness, you can use the Effaclar H moisturizer which is designed especially for weakened skin due to anti-acne treatments. I’m also planning to buy Effaclar A.I., which is a targeted corrector for the deepest impurities, to use during the day on the worst clusters. I can treat whiteheads during the night with my Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, but for obvious reasons I need something else to work the same charm during the day when I’m actually forced to show myself to the world. 

Keep in mind that there are two different versions of this Duo gem: the US one & the European one. In the US it’s still legal to use Benzoyl Peroxide, an extremely agressive component that is used in a lot of American anti-acne skincare. The US version will probably give results way quicker, but it’s much more damaging for your skin. In Europe Benzoyl Peroxide has been completely banned because of a clear link with skin cancer. I wouldn’t personally use Benzoyl Peroxide, but perhaps that is because we have a different attitude towards those components in Europe. In the US, it’s a very well known and regularly used anti-acne treatment which is not too expensive to produce & buy. 

Stay tuned for that final posts on my complete acne routine which’ll sum everything up.. We’re almost there! :)

Finally, the weekend is here! I had some unplanned busy days, so apologies for not having posted any extensive blogposts the last few days. Luckily I’ve got something very, very exciting to share with you today! A few days ago I received this gorgeous Diorblush Cheek Creme in Bikini, which is part of the Summer Mix collection. As you know I’ve been all about creamy textures lately (dewy fresh looks, how could I not be crazy about creamy textures?), so this product is right up my alley. I’m also a fan of color coordinating different parts of your make-up, like Guerlain matching lipstick & lipgloss and Givenchy matching lipstick & nail polish. Dior is taking it one step further by allowing to match your blush with your nail polish. A very subtle match, but a stellar idea. 

You can pair this blush with the nail varnish Créoles for the Cannes look from this collection. This color is supposedly an apricot color, but I think it’s got too much pink/red in there to be apricot! My pictures are quite true to real color (which can be hard with these hot colors!), so I’m sure that some other people will even find this to look even different. The texture of this one is quite different, it’s not as creamy as some other cream blushes I’ve tried.. It’s much more mousse like, but not as moussey that would make you too much product when dipping your finger in. It almost looks a bit bouncy, but it’s not. It’s near impossible to describe, I can only advise you that it’s extremely nice to work with. This would be a great cream blush for first-timers when it comes to cream textures on your cheeks. 

I was a bit scared at first because it’s to BRIGHT, but it doesn’t fail to deliver as a natural flush when applied. Take some product on your finger and blend it out on the back of your hand. Then, pat some on the apples of your cheeks and blend in with two clean fingers. Add some more color if needed, and continue to work it in until it’s perfect. You can go ultra daring with this one and go very bright, or just go natural and tackle that dewy summery look. The amount of product you get in this little pot will keep you going until next summer even, or just the whole year through if you’re lucky enough to live in Maui or any other place where’s it’s summer all of the time (can I move in with you?).

And this is a first.. A picture of me! I wanted to show you how natural this blush can look, but it just doesn’t show with an arm swatch, right? So here you go. I love the natural flush it gives me in this picture.. It gives such a healthy look! And the best thing? I’m not even wearing too much product here! I used Bourjois Healthy Mix for foundation, Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit under the eyes & I’m not sure which mascara. Perfect and easy breezy for Spring or Summer.

Dior Summer Mix will be in stores (in Belgium, check local counters for your local street date) from June 19th on and will feature four products: nail varnish at €24.89, Diorblush Cheek Cream at €33.02, Poudre de Soleil at €51.01 and Poudre Couleur et Eclat at €55.16. 

High end is great, but budget totally is too! And your bank account probably loves those budget items way more. So let’s do a comparison! Kenzoki’s Sensual Body Cream is luxury body cream that’s meant to be used when you’re ready to pamper yourself and want your skin to feel super soft and sensual afterwards. The main active ingredient is Rice Plant Water, which was specially cultivated for Kenzo in Zheijiang. This water cranks up those moisture levels in the cream with its natural mineral salts & essential oils. Second active ingredient is Cupuacu Butter from the Amazon forest, a butter that adds some fatty acids to the cream that make your skin look healthy. And as an extra special treat in this one.. Kenzo added Belle De Nuit, an extract derived from the Peruvian plant that is known for its aphrodisiac properties. Oh la la. The texture is super silky and soft & doesn’t take long sinking into your skin.. Afterwards, your skin feels extremely smooth and also smells heavenly! The perfume is quite heavy and indulgent and lasts a few hours. 

Dove’s Silky Body Cream is a budget body cream that Dove thinks should be used daily, as pampered skin shouldn’t be kept for special occasions. And right they are! I want my skin to be soft every day. So what are the ingredients? A DeepCare Complex (ehr, what?) with essential oils. It’s quite thick, but is still absorbed quite easily into the skin. The smell is great (I really love the typical Dove scents!), but isn’t  luxurious or sensual. The ingredients aren’t as nice or special as the body cream by Kenzo (there are more preservatives in this one too), but it still feels great and does an awesome job moisturizing. My skin feels soft and hydrated, so it’s job well done.

While ideally you’d want to feel all sensual and smell like luxurious powder every day, a €45 body cream is just not the right fit for that kind of use. I might have to confess that I did use it like this though, oops. I felt like a princess for weeks in a row! So you will be seeing this one in my coming ‘Empties’ post. Dove is an excellent daily replacement for this at just €7, with a nice and silky body cream that leaves my skin feeling very moisturized. So alright, the ingredients aren’t that spiffy, but I think I might repurchase this one, so that means a lot!