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(NOT) Another Make-up Tutorial!!!

Nope, this is not a make-up tutorial as I know almost nothing on the subject… I do however want to share with you some amazing newly discovered make-up products as I feel that a bit of a review is always nice. As always, I am doing this review with only praise in mind as I hate the negative energy I get after writing a bad review. On that note… these are the best products I found this autumn! Naturally they are not all newly launched products as I am not a beauty blogger, but they are my most recent finds as I had to overhaul my make-up bag.

I always like to buy new stuff at the beginning of the season as I feel that both my skin colour and my texture tend to go through some changes – and I do not want to even start on the changes my skin went through during this pregnancy! This post comes after a long period of hits and misses in the make-up department simply because my skin is chaotic these days and finding something that works well with it is rather hard. Most of these products here were tried for at least two weeks just to be sure that they work well with my skin and, to be honest, not being the make-up expert that some people are, it always takes me a while to learn how to apply each one depending on the texture.

Here are this autumn’s heroes:

Giorgio Armani Maestro Fusion Make-up in shade 5.5
Giorgio Armani Liquid Sheer in shade 2
Chanel Eclat Lumiere in shade 20
Dior Diorblush Light & Contour in shade 002
Benefit They’re Real Mascara in Black
Chanel Rouge Allure Ink in shade 140 Amoureaux
My besties – BeautyBlender The Original and the Micro

How I apply them:

First, I would like to clear the air on one thing: I do not use any primer! Yes, I know that is a make-up felony, but I just hate the way most (or at leat the ones I’ve tried) of them feel on my skin. Therefore I just apply my foundation on bare moisturised skin. This Giorgio Armani fluid foundation was a bit tricky at first given that it has a very runny texture and it wasn’t tricky from a skin application point to view but rather because it took me a while to figure out how to get it onto my skin. In my opinion, the best way to go about it is to put small drops of the products on your fingers and pat it in key areas of the face. While I do love my BeutyBlender, this foundation works best for my skin when I apply it wth my fingers – no, a brush did not work as well either!

Then it is off to correcting whatever spots and dark areas I have on my face (mostly dark under-eyes). For this I use the Chanel Eclat Lumiere. I have used this product for a few years now and I love the way it seamlessly blend with any foundation. Yes, I know, it is about time to try the YSL Touche Eclat, but somehow I always end up buying this one.I just brush the product in the areas that I feel I need some extra coverage and pat it with my BeautyBlender Micro.

Now for a bit of contour. I must confess that mastering this step took me quite a while…And I always needed up looking like I had dark spots, but with the new Dior stick this has become quite easy. No, I am not yet a ‘strobing specialist’ and honestly I have no idea what that is. For this step I just put on my ‘war lines’ – as D calls them – and blend them really well with my BeautyBlender.

A bit of highlighting is always much needed after the contour step and I do not use the lighter part of my Dior stick simply because I feel that it contains a bit of glitter as opposed to the pearly texture that captures the light perfectly that I found in Giorgio Armani’s Fluid Sheer. I have tried applying this miracle worker both underneath my foundation as well as mixing it into the foundation, but I feel that it looks best when applied in key ares over the foundation. So I apply it on my upper cheekbones, my upper eyelids and on top of my upper lip.

What’s left? A generous layer of jet black mascara. I am currently using They’re Real from Benefit and I have to say that I am quite happy with it. I confess that it is not as good as the G by Guerlain but hey, it is less than half the price and it does the job nicely!

As for the newest favourite in my make-up bag, the Chanel Rouge Allure Ink, I only have great things to say! First of all, I am that annoying person that only wears nudes or very light pinks and hates matte lipsticks. I bought this because a good friend that actually nows make-up secrets at a way more advanced level than me recommended it and naturally I bought the lighter shade available (which is darker than what I normally wear). I love everything about it! Yes, even the colour as I feel it perfectly mimics my natural lip colour! The texture is to die for, you do not really feel like you are wearing a matte lip as your lips do not get dehydrated for one minute and it lasts for about 5-6 hours which is amazing! I seriously think this is the best beauty product of this autumn and I feel that it is rather hard to be topped by anyone else when it comes to matte lipsticks.

That’s it! That is my autumn no-make-up make-up routine! I hope it has been helpful, not from a make-up point of view necessarily, but rather from a review standpoint. Keep in mind that these are all products that work very well for my pregnant skin, but I have a feeling they are great for any skin. Again, I would like to add that all the products here are bought by me, so this is not a promotional post!

November 12, 2016

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From wrecks to riches!

As you’ve figured it out by now, I’m a massive Chanel Beauty fan. Mainly everything from cleansing products, to moisturisers to make-up. Everything except for fragrance! Every once in a while though, some other beauty company comes up with a product (or more) that jams up my perfectly assembled Chanel beauty bag. That’s what happened on my last trip to Sephora. I betrayed (yet again!) Chanel.

Even though one could say that I am biased in this department, I do try and stay as informed as possible with the latest releases from all the other brands as well. I’m being super vigilant when it comes to the summer make-up ranges especially since last summer I totally missed the Chanel bronzing powder as I was too busy to stay up to date with the new stuff. That’s how I stumbled upon Dior’s new collection, and left Sephora with a bag full of goodies and an almost empty bank account (but that’s a different matter entirely). This year they’ve got four new amazing (really!) bronzing powders, and they are amazing both in the colour department as in the texture department as well, a full new range of milky lip glosses that feel and look incredible on, and some nice new nail polish sets, but since I have my manicure done professionally, I didn’t really pay attention to those. I focused all my attention on the powders and the lip glosses and after about 20 minutes of testing and doing colour swatches, I ended up with an arm fully bronzed and glossed, but also with the final decision of getting the new Diorskin Nude Air Glow Powder in 001 – Fresh Tan and two Dior Addict Milky Tints in 126 – Milky Pure (which I’m using in today’s post) and 156 – Milky Pastel, but I have a strong feeling that I will be revisiting Dior for more goodies. In my book, where summer make-up lines are concerned, Dior is the clear winner this year.

Moving along to the first make-up post, which will also be probably my last one since everything I know about applying make-up is right here and to be honest, there’s not a really good chance of me learning new stuff, as it took me about 10 years to learn this much. This is actually my everyday, every occasion go-to make-up. As you’ve probably noticed from the featured image, there are only a few subtle changes and this is more one of those no-make-up make-up routines.

I recently discovered YSL Le Teint Encre de Peau and it’s simply stunning. I’ve not had a better foundation ever in my life, and D can confirm that I’ve had quite a few. It stays put for more than 12 hours, looks amazing in photos, feels like there’s nothing on and doesn’t clog the pores or dry the skin out. It’s perfection in a bottle. The only issues I have with it it’s that YSL only imports a few shades in Romania and I am already using their darkest shade, 60, and summer isn’t even here yet. I will however look for a darker shade for summer in the upcoming Madrid vacation. I normally use my fingers to spread the foundation on my face because for one, I don’t really have a lot of make-up gizmos (shocker!) except for my Beauty Blenders and two, because in my opinion fingertips give a more natural looking effect.

After the whole foundation phase, I use another miracle product which I’ve discovered last year. I’m talking about Chanel’s Soleil Tan Make-up base which is perfect for contouring my cheek-bones. I usually use my small Beauty Blender for this as it’s very precise and you can easily blend everything naturally. This product from Chanel is really amazing and a little goes a long way so you’ll be using this jar forever and ever. I also use Chanel’s Les Beiges Healthy Glow Blush in no 20. This one is best used with the big Beauty Blender and I just dab it on my cheeks, temples and nose for a bronzy, glowy look. From time to time, when I look really tired and I hear my alarm clock on time, I highlight my brow bone with Benefit’s High Brow pencil, but again this step is way too often skipped. I finish everything with a swipe of Dior’s Extase mascara, also a new addition to my make-up bag that in my opinion is not as good as any Chanel mascara, but it will have to do for the time being. I contour my lips (again, a step for those mornings when I actually have time) with Chanel’s Precision LipDefiner in shade 93 – Beige Innocent, because it’s neutral and goes with any lip colour I choose to use. Today I’ll be using Dior’s new Milky Pure gloss, because as stated earlier, I am so in love with their new range! This feels like nothing but a moisturising water on and it does have some lasting colour considering it’s a lip gloss and the shades are just perfect for summer.

It might seem like there are quite a lot of steps to follow, but really it only takes me about 5-7 minutes to be done in the morning and not look like a hot mess anymore. D seems to be quite happy that there are not a lot of products to carry around whenever we go on vacation , but that’s really due to the fact that my make-up skills are very limited. I do admit, however, that from time to time I do use a liquid eye liner to do a flick on my eyes, but that usually takes me way too much time and way too many tries. Otherwise, it’s just about the basics I’ve just exposed in this post.

Until I learn new and exciting make-up tricks, which will probably be in 5 to 10 years from now, this will most likely be the only make-up post on this blog. I will however review new products I discover.

April 25, 2016

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The mask!

Taking into consideration my stupid skin, of course I need two completely opposite face masks/treatments in order to keep my dryness and my oiliness under control (yayyy! More money spent on beauty products!). As a complimentary (quite the opposite, actually) product to my Glam Glow Moisturising mask, for the last few years I’ve been using CHANEL’s Purifying Cream Mask.

Yet again, a sample made me switch from my clay-powder and water combo which has been effective ever since I was 14. True, it was cheap, while this is actually far away from the term, but what made me do the switch was the texture and the way it left my skin afterwards. While the simple clay had a mattifying effect that lasted a few hours, this one lasts a few days and my pores are way less noticeable. It is a lot less drying and more comfortable as it doesn’t feel like a cast that cracks with every facial expression. However, although it feels less aggressive, this little mask does wonders for my adult pimples which I get from time to time and absorbs all excess oil. The biggest downside with this product, as with any CHANEL product is the price. However, it has a lot of lasting power as you only need to use a little bit. The tube I hold in the photos has been almost weekly used for the past year and a half and I’m nowhere near finishing it, or even reaching its half. So it will go a long way. Because of the price and the fact that it will stay on your bathroom shelf for a long period of time, you should start by requesting a sample just to be sure your skin is comfy with the treatment.

D always makes fun of me whenever he sees me with any type of visible mask on, but this one is way better than my previous muddy-green mix. But most importantly, he actually notices the result this one leaves behind, and if a man sees a difference in complexion after a treatment, that in my book that treatment is a winner. Don’t think that D is the type that never notices anything, as he’s quite the opposite, especially when it comes to changes I make, but still seeing complexion improvements, that’s something, CHANEL nailed it with this one. In his defence, I will admit that I’m not exactly a looker while wearing it, but it does help me be a looker after 10 minutes, though I think these photos will stay online for quite a while, helping me always remember that in order to look a certain way, one must risk public humiliation to tell others little black-capped double ‘c’ secrets.

Let’s talk a bit about my experience with the texture of this great product. It’s quite creamy on application and when it dries (10-15 mins later) it doesn’t have that cast feeling most clay masks have. It’s very easy to rinse off which makes the entire process a lot more pleasant as I dreaded the moment I had to rinse off any other similar product I’ve tried. Since it’s not as drying, I can use it on my currently-dry skin and it’s great for pimples and for making my pores less visible.

I use it once a week during the spring-summer season and once every two weeks during the colder months as I don’t want to push my luck moisture-wise. Basically I do masks twice a week nowadays, the Glam Glow Moisturising Treatment and this little CHANEL wonder and this combo helps keep my skin balanced.

In my opinion, it’s worth every penny and you won’t run out of it very soon plus, because being a tube package, you’ll be able to squeeze out every last drop of product without actually putting germs into it and therefore altering the product.

I’m not going to insist on what CHANEL says it does, as you can find all that info here, and all I wanted to do is share my personal experience with it.

April 18, 2016

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The three musketeers!

First thing’s first, as I’ve stated in my previous post (here), I’m not a fashion junkie, but BOOOY am I the biggest beauty product junkie ever?! I must have tried, throughout the years, almost every cream/serum/lotion I could get my hands on and deemed age and skin-appropriate for me on the market. Do not, under any circumstances, get me wrong, whenever I say beauty product I DO NOT mean make-up products, as I am still in the ‘baby-steps’ phase where that is concerned (foundation, bronzer and mascara is all I use). But, like I said, when it comes to skincare I’ve tried almost everything out there. That being said, it’s unnatural for me to stick to a beauty routine for more than three months (that’s as long as I’ll spend on a product until I decide if it’s working or not), but when it comes to these three serums fro CHANEL, I’ve been using them for almost three years now (two and a half to be more precise). Here’s my review after extensive and religious use…

What CHANEL claims they do?

Virtually miracles if you listen to them here, which for any beauty-junkie like myself, seems utopic to say the least.

What these three musketeers actually do?

Everything that CHANEL claims, and more…

To start with, I’d like to admit that my skin is literally stupid. And by stupid I mean the type of skin that is either on the oily side (with zits and a very shiny finish) or on the extremely dry side (with flakes, but not missing any zit opportunities), an NO, I do not have combination skin. When I started using this trio, I was going through a phase of idiotic adult acne, and I do not mean the kind where your face is filled with red pustules that you can extract, no, I mean the kind with some under-the-skin-annoying-AF zits that just won’t come out. True, they were hard to spot with the right foundation and they were located solely on my chin and apparently, as my dermatologist told me back then, it’s not unnatural for someone my age that is under a lot of stress (I was finishing my masters degree back) to develop this type of acne. But natural as it was, I still hated it. I mean, come on, being 27, getting that first wrinkle and also getting this idiotic type of acne is totally unacceptable. After reading hundreds (literally) of reviews on these serums I decided to splurge on them (they are under no circumstances on the ‘happy-bank-account’ side, just like any other CHANEL product) even though I didn’t want to get my hopes up based on the internet’s to-good-to-be-true reviews.

After a few weeks, was I glad my bank account was crying!!! My skin almost completely cleared, and right now, my face resembles a baby’s ass, and not only because of my fatty cheeks! I am so hooked on them to the point that I always have a spare set in the house just in case CHANEL decides to discontinue them, which would be stupid of them if they don’t develop a better product (a very hard task).

I am currently topping Le Jour and La Nuit with Le Lift cream for normal skin types, but the pre-30s version of myself used to top them with the less expensive Hydra Beauty. Since Le Jour and La Nuit are serums you really need some sort of age/skin-type appropriate moisturizer on top of them.

Le Weekend is the only one you should use by itself, no make-up as well, and I’m currently using it one day per week because this winter my skin has been a bigger bitch than usual and turned extremely dry, and this third miracle works as a gentle peeling.

I’m not going to write about any scientific facts here, as you can find them on CHANEL‘s official site.

Thanks to this magic trio, I’m not a skincare-junkie anymore, but rather a CHANEL beauty-junkie. As detailed in the pics, everything that touches my face is CHANEL, because, to be honest, I’ve spent too much time looking for something as good as this miracle they created, and I’m not going to switch products anymore.

If you don’t want to spend the entire amount of cash on this trio yet, you can always buy the travel-sized version which is a fraction of the price.

There you go! My first beauty review-CHECK!