30 November 2014

Maybelline Go Extreme Mascara

brush size compared to Maybelline Mega Plush (left)
brush size compared to Chanel Inimitable Mascara (left)
left with mascara, right without
left with mascara, right without
left with mascara, right without
left with mascara, right without
If you've been following my blog for some time you will perhaps have noticed that I only every use two brands of mascara; Maybelline and Chanel. Both amazing yet quite different in price obviously, which is why I tend to use Maybelline more than Chanel.
After my Mega Plush mascara started to dry up and run out, I decided it was time for a change (and Mega Plush isn't available in Luxembourg for some weird unknown reason). I saw an advert on our German TV for the new Maybelline Go Extreme Mascara in Leather Black and I was sucked in by the black tube and the big brush. Plus if it's on German TV, it's far more likely to be available here in Luxembourg. I went to the nearest Cactus and sure enough they had it in stock so I bought it a week later (the power of advertising eh?). 
The brush isn't just big, it's HUGE, so huge it deserves all caps. Look at it! It's basically the size of a bumble bee. The mascara wand has two curves on it which supposedly add extra volume. I may be missing something here but I don't quite understand how that works and haven't really found an explanation anywhere. But it seems to do the job because my lashes look longer and fuller after using it. They also hold the curl rather nicely too. 
In my experience with Maybelline mascaras, you have to use them a couple of times before they dry a little and stop clumping. I didn't notice too much clumping with this one, although the formula is quite wet and the first try was a little messy. But after that it has worked perfectly every time. I've had no difficulty removing it either, despite the fact that once the lashes are dry it doesn't smudge at all.
All in all, I'm quite impressed with this mascara. Another thumbs up for Maybelline. 
What are your go to mascara brands?

29 November 2014

Wedge Trainers

fail photo of the day
Coat - Primark
Cardigan - Primark
Vest - H&M
Leggings - Next
Wedges - New Look
Bracelet -  Stradivarius 

Hi everyone, 
Like most people, I love cosy and comfortable clothes. Anything that makes me feel like I'm still tucked up in bed with my duvet and a multitude of blankets wrapped around me basically. So in order to jazz up a standard outfit that consists of leggings and a cosy jumper or cardigan, I like to make an effort with my shoes. Since it was one of those cold but dry days, I decided to wear my lovely wedge trainers from New Look. I love these shoes so much but I'm always scared of getting them dirty so it was the perfect day to wear them. Trust me when I say they are so comfortable. My favourite type of shoes are slippers, so the fact that I find these comfortable is saying something. 
When I first saw wedge trainers my initial reaction was something along the lines of 'what the hell, why would anyone want to wear them' and most of the ones I have seen here in Luxembourg look extremely tacky. But when I spotted these on the New Look website back in July, I just had to have them. Some people may find the gold parts tacky, but I actually love all of the gold details. And like I said, they are so comfy. They make you taller and are comfortable! Who knew that could exist? 
As for the rest of the outfit, I kept it pretty simple. I love the chunky waterfall cardigan from Primark, it kept me warm all day, in fact I ended up ditching the coat after a while. Since the shoes have a lot going on, I kept my jewellery quite simple and just added a gold bracelet.
I got this coat from Primark last year and it's almost perfect. Almost because the belt hoops are far too low and it looks quite unflattering having the belt around my hips, so I put it on at the waist instead. 
Have a great Saturday!

28 November 2014

Soap & Glory Brow Pencil

left normal, right smudged with the brush
left with pencil, right natural
left with pencil, right natural
I'll be the first to admit that I'm quite lazy when it comes to brows. I've never had them properly seen to and the only brow maintenance that I do myself is pluck any stray hairs every now and then. I fill them in occasionally with eyeshadow, but sometimes I just don't bother. It's not that I think my brows look fine as they are in their natural state, I can see that they are sparse and look sort of grey (??why??), I've just never found a product that makes them look the way I want them too. Until today that is! Well actually a month ago, but that sounded far more dramatic. 
I've always wanted a brow pencil with a spooly brush attached that didn't cost a ridiculous amount of money and Soap & Glory have delivered in every aspect. I got mine from Boots where it cost £8, which when compared to other similar products is really reasonable. 
They have two colours, Blondeshell and Hot Chocolate. Now I'm not delusional, I clearly do not have blonde or light brown hair, but for some reason light browns like Blondeshell look nicer and more natural on my brows as opposed to darker browns. My hair is naturally very dark brown/soft black so you would think dark brown would work nicely, but I just find that my brows look too strong. So choosing the colour depends on how you like your brows to look, strong and dark or soft and light. 
The pencil part is very thin which makes it really easy to fill in the brows with precise strokes to imitate brow hairs. The brush is quite stiff and blends the pencil out really nicely to create a more natural effect. The pencil itself is extremely thin and light, which makes it great for popping in your travel makeup bag without weighing it down and taking up too much space. Overall I love how natural this product makes my brows look. I can't find any faults! It also makes doing my brows so much easier than messing them up with a darker colour and having to redo them all over again (yes that has happened), using multiple products or just adding a bit of eyeshadow and hoping for the best. 
I actually enjoy filling in my brows now! Who would have thought! 

27 November 2014

Plum Gold

This look features two of my new favourite makeup products (the brow pencil and the mascara) that I will be reviewing soon! I bought both of them almost a month ago and have been using them almost every day. I have rekindled my love for Woodwinked eyeshadow. I've been sticking to browns and bronzes recently and decided to change it up a bit. It's such a gorgeous gold colour and it blends out into a burnt orange/gold colour, so you basically only need to use one eyeshadow for this look. I also opted for brown liner instead of my usual black liner because I thought it looked less harsh with the eyeshadow. For my lips I used one of my favourite lipsticks for this time of the year. I feel that this look is versatile because despite being quite feastive and great for parties, it would still look nice during the day, since the eye makeup isn't too heavy.

Face:
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Cool Medium 2:
on blemishes
Manhattan Soft Compact Powder in 0 Transparent:
to set the concealer

Eyes & Eyebrows:
Soap & Glory Archery Brow Pencil in Blondeshell:
to shape and fill in my brows
MAC eyeshadow in Charcoal Brown:
 to fill in my brows
NARS Pro Prime Eyeshadow Base:
all over my eye lid and crease
MAC eyeshadow in Woodwinked:
 all over the lid, blended through the crease and on the lower lashline
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Demolition:
top and lower lashline
Maybelline Go Extreme Mascara in Leather Black 

Lips: 
MAC Hot Gossip lipstick

26 November 2014

The Winter Coat | Part 1

Coat - C&A
Top - H&M
Trousers - H&M
Bag - C&A
Boots -  Siemes Schuhcenter

It keeps getting colder which means I get to break out all of my winter coats, old and new. This is one of my new coats that I got in C&A last month. They were having a sale on all of the coats and I spotted this one and instantly fell in love. I really like the black detailing, especially the pleather on the arms and I feel like the beige colour makes it look quite chic. It's really snugly too! I paired it with an all black outfit, consisting of thick leggings/trousers that I got from H&M last year, a black top with cream polka dots, also from H&M, and my boots from Siemes Schuhcenter. My C&A bag that I got back in March has been my go to bag this autumn and the gold hardware matches the gold on the boots too. Can't beat a bit of matching details!
Have a great week!

10 November 2014

Favourite A/W Perfumes

Hi everyone,
I realised that I haven't blogged about perfumes in ages and what with Christmas being just around the corner (how is it already November?), everyone will be looking for present ideas. So I decided to put together a small list of my favourite seasonal perfumes, as it might inspire you to buy them for someone or even to add them to your own wishlist. 
I would say I have a reasonably sized perfume collection, although I'm sure other people would consider it small when comparing to someone else's collection. I definitely have certain perfumes that I tend to use more often during this time of the year. I would describe them as heavier scents, more intense than the ones I reach for during the summer. I'm not particularly good at describing scents, so I did a bit of research (google) in order to be able to write more than "it just smells soooo good!". And yes, I am the kind of person who keeps perfume boxes. Don't judge me!
I can't find another name of this perfume, either it doesn't have one or it is just called Zara Femme (which, as I'm sure everyone knows, means woman). I bought this back in July while in Lisbon. I wasn't able to test it first, as they didn't have a tester version of every perfume and I will admit that I only bought it because the box had rose gold on it. Which is obviously not the recommended way to choose a perfume, but it worked out for the best because I adore the scent! I would describe it as sweet, spicy and slightly musky, but after looking it a up I found out that this website (which is really helpful!) describes it as a "chypre, floral fragrance" and that the top note is bergamot which is a bitter, citrusy, inedible fruit (I had to look it up as I had never heard of it before!). The middle notes are peony and vanilla which explain the sweetness and freshness of the perfume. The base notes are patchouli and musk.
I know from experience that reading about the scent still doesn't really help all that much and I would usually advise going and giving it a sniff, but as I said before they might not have a tester. I would say if you are a fan of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, you will probably like this one too, although it's a bit more musky. It obviously doesn't last all day, as it is an eau de toilette, but it's worth it for the price!

This is my second bottle of the Jimmy Choo perfume, that's how much I adore it. My boyfriend bought me a gift set a couple of years ago for Christmas and it quickly became my favourite go to perfume. I especially love it during the winter, as it reminds me of Christmas. It's a very sweet scent but it's also quite fresh, fruity and once again slightly spicy which cuts through the sweetness nicely. It is described as a modern chypre, fruity scent and the top notes are mandarin orange and pear. The middle note is orchid and the base notes are patchouli and toffee, which is funny because I really don't like eating toffee but apparently I don't mind smelling like it! It lasts a really long time and the scent gets even better throughout the day. 

My boyfriend got me this perfume for Christmas last year and it has become another firm favourite of mine. The bottle is really lovely and the perfume itself seems to last forever, as I've used it so often and it still looks reasonably full. It's another really sweet scent and it reminds me of sweets and caramel! It's a mix of fruity and floral but a little less citrusy than the Jimmy Choo perfume. 
The top notes are black current and pear, which explain the fruity smell. The middle notes are iris, jasmine and orange blossom and the base notes are patchouli, tonka bean, praline and vanilla.
It lasts an incredibly long time and I always use it on my scarves so that they smell great all day. 

This is the most expensive perfume I have ever bought! However, I've had it for two years now and it's still going strong. The bottle is absolutely gorgeous in a very simple way. The scent is quite sweet, in a fruity and floral way. Out of all of the perfumes, I find this one the hardest to describe and after looking at the website I can see why. There are so many different components to this perfume. The top notes are orange, mandarin orange, orange blossom and bergamot so quite orangey then! The middle notes are mimosa, jasmine, turkish rose and ylang-ylang and the base notes are tonka bean, patchouli, opoponax, vanilla, vetiver and white musk. I'm not going to lie, I had no idea what half of these things were so I had to look a few of them up. Fragrantica has explanations of all of them though, so if you are curious about what they are, go check it out. 
Personally I don't think this one lasts as long as the Jimmy Choo perfume or the Lancôme perfume and I do have to top it up throughout the day. 

3 November 2014

Pretty Pink Lips

Hi everyone,
I've been sticking to one eye look these past few weeks, as it's easy to do and I really like how it looks. But to mix it up a bit I've been pairing it with different lips looks, ranging from really dark mauve tones to light and bright pink. I used my lip liner to line the lips and fill them in to create a base, then applied my lipstick over the top. Since the lipstick is matte I decided to add some gloss over the top. I love the NARS Super Orgasm lipgloss, despite the weird smell. It added the perfect amount of gloss and shimmer. 
Hope you've all had a great weekend!

Face:
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Cool Medium 2:
on blemishes
Manhattan Soft Compact Powder in 0 Transparent:
to set the concealer

Eyes & Eyebrows:
MAC eyeshadow in Charcoal Brown:
 to fill in my brows
NARS Pro Prime Eyeshadow Base:
all over my eye lid and crease
MAC eyeshadow in Charcoal Brown & Dark Brown:
 blended through the crease
MAC eyeshadow in Patina:
all over the lid and lower lash line
Hema Liquid Liner:
on the top lash line
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Zero:
to line the top waterline
Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara

Lips: 
Bourjois 15 Rose Précieux lip liner
MAC Pink Plaid lipstick
NARS Super Orgasm lipgloss