FINISHED! October Edition

This October was really productive. The stars have aligned and I have managed to spend several make-up full sizes, including a mascara. I’m really happy for it because I got a bunch of skincare this month too, so this balances it out. I’m also waiting an Oriflame order, so this will mean a bunch of new stuff, too.

As I have mentioned several times, this year I’m planning on getting a decent camera around Christmas. I’m currently taking photos with a 12 year old digital camera and I really need an upgrade. I really hope that I’d be able to get a decent DSLR for under $1000.

I’m also saving to get the driver’s licence in spring. As far as I know, getting the licence in Croatia costs around $1500 (if you don’t fail). I had no need for it because there is a good system of public transportation where I live, plus I hate driving, but many jobs require having a licence, so I think it is a high time I get one as soon as possible.

These are the reasons why I probably won’t buy much in December – I’m considering getting either Chanel or Guerlain holiday eyeshadow quad, maybe Guerlain Liu palette and some MAC product if I go to Vienna or Budapest (where the closest stores are).

But, no more talking about purchases – let’s see the items I’m saying „Goodbye“ to.

MAKEUP:

Oriflame Wonder Lash Intense Mascara. This is a nice mascara that separates the lashes well, but doesn’t do much for the volume. I won’t repurchase it.

Oriflame Visions Fresh Face Foundation in Lindsay and Lucy (sample). This foundation was discontinued a long time ago, but I have found the samples and I couldn’t resist to try it. It smells awkward. The coverage is medium, but the foundation is not longwearing. It blends nicely into the skin.

Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Santal. Well, it was about time to say „Goodbye“ to Rouge Allure Laque. This lipstick is very pigmented – only one thin coat is enough for a complete opacity. Santal is my perfect nude shade.

Sisley Instant Perfect Primer (sample). A lovely primer. I already have the full-size.

Oriflame Studio Artist Foundation. For the price, this was a very good foundation. The coverage is light to medium and it gives a healthy skin glow effect.

Guerlain Kiss Kiss Baby in Rosy Nude. One of the best tinted lip balms ever. A shame that they are discontiuned.

Benefit High Beam (GWP). At first I admit that I wasn’t a fan of High Beam, but when I started using it more intensely, I liked it a lot. Since Benefit is no longer available in Croatia, I’ll have to find something similar.

 ————-

SKINCARE:

Sisley Eye Contour Mask (sample). An excelent mask – a saviour for the dehydrated eye-area.

Sisley Soapless Facial Cleansing Bar. It took me almost a year and a half to spend one bar, by using it once per day, plus once per week as a brush cleanser. I love it – it cleanses skin (although it doens’t remove make-up) without drying it out.  I’m already using a back-up.

Decleor Aroma Solutions Nutri Smooth Lipstick. A nice lip balm, but I think I’m ready for a change.

Sisley Floral Toning Lotion (GWP). Excellent toner.

Bioderma Sensibio Eye Cream. A very nice starter eye cream, but I feel that I need more moisture than Bioderma offers.

Sisley Lyslait (GWP). Excellent cleanser.

Sisley Tropical Resins Complex (sample). A nice mattifying moisturizer – leaves me matte without being too drying on my skin during summer. In fall, it becomes slightly too drying.

Sisley Hydraglobal (sample). A nice summer moisturizer. It is not moisturizing enough for drier skin types.

Sisley Global Perfect Pore Minimizer (sample). Works good as a primer underneath the make-up, but it is nothing special on its own.

Declaré Hydro-energy Cream. A nice moisturizer. Possible repurchase.

——-

 BODYCARE, HAIR, FRAGRANCE:

 

Oriflame Perfect Body Anti-Cellulite Scrub. The worst scrub ever. This, in fact, is a salt mixed with mineral oil and some fragrance. Whenever I’d use it, my skin would be irritated by the salt and the bath-tub would be completely greasy. I’m really not in the mood for scrubing the bath-tub every time I use it.

Moschino I Love Love EdT (sample). Unremarkable.

Yves Rocher Jardins du Monde Fleur de Tiare Shower Gel. A nice, moisturizing shower gel.

Nivea Long Repair Shampoo (GWP). A decent shampoo but I probably won’t repurchase.

I’ve also thrown out three nail polishes: Catrice limited edition in En Vogue, Carla Cosmetics and Rimmel Grape Sorbet. Catrice is a horribly thick and quickly chipping mess, Carla Cosmetics is super sheer and gritty and Rimmel is dried out.

What products have you spent recently? Please share in the comments.

Thank you for reading.

P.S. My 500th post

SISLEY and CHANEL Shopping

Hello everybody.

Since I’ve named this week Sisley week, it should only be appropriate to post another shopping. Other than Retinol and Glycolic acid creams + mascara and other products I have no back-up of (and maybe Chanel or Guerlain holiday quad), I think I’m done for this year. Some people really shouldn’t be allowed to manage money or credit cards, lol. Although, I wonder who could miss such a bargain.

Anyway, one of the perfumery chain had a 20% off of everything and they also offered a GWP with Sisley skincare purchase (and I’m a sucker for both Sisley and their GWPs). I got 4 GWPs in total (all four had the same products) – 3 for buying the products and 1 when I exchanged my points.

Well, I got the following products.

- Sisley Eau Efficace Gentle Make-Up Remover (I got is for $90, full-price is $120). I’m close to finising Bioderma Micelle Solution, and from the product description, Eau Efficace seemed like a Sisley version of Micelle water so it was a logical choice. Another thing that talked me to purchase it is how the water is dispensed (I’ll describe it more in my review).

- Sisley Ecological Compound Discovery set (I got it for $105, the full price is $145 ).

I’ve already used one bottle which I liked enough to buy another one. I’ll review Ecological compound during the next month because I want to remind myself why I liked it so much.

Basically, this set is worth almost double its full price if you count the value of the deluxe samples you get with it (10 ml of All Day All Year, 15 ml of Express Flower Gel and 5 ml of Eye and Lip Contour Balm).

- Phyto Lip Gloss in #3 Rose ($40, the full price $50). This is the new, fall launch and this beautiful pink with a hint of coral was on my wishlist ever since I’ve seen it.

- Hydrating Longlasting Lipstick in L9 ($44, the full price $55). The lipstick was on a whim purchase. It is another warm pink with a hint of coral shade which reminds me of my YSL Rouge Pur Couture in Pink Dahlia.

The GWPs contained the following products:

30 ml of Floral Toner

30 ml of Lyslait

10 ml of All Day All Year

10 ml of Black Rose mask

8 ml of Soir de Lune Body Lotion (I wonder if they’d ever stop giving this)

3 ml of Sisleya Radiance Concentrate

5 ml of Instant Perfect Primer

2 ml of Skinleya foundation

 

This shopping was a total bargain. For the total of approximately $280 I have spent on Sisley, I got additional over $1000 worth products, out of which 80% are my favourites and the rest are the products I’ve wanted to try for ages.

However, this means that besides the essentials, I shouldn’t purchase much more.

I have barely put my collection back under control and this has set me back for several months.

—-

The last purchase is from Chanel. Even though I’m disappointed with how long (or better, how short) the Illusion d’Ombre eyeshadow lasts, I got another one. Currently my days are very busy and I appreciate every second of sleep, so my make-up routine is minimized. For that reason I got the shade Emerveille (pearly pink), so that I can only slap it on the lids, without bothering with primers and zillion other shadows.

Since it was suggested to me that I stored Mirifique in a wrong way, I’m storing Emerveille on the lid from the beigning. After six months I’ll update if this has taken any effect.

As for Mirifique – I put a drop of Duraline in it every time I use it and it works that way, although the shade is not as dymensional – there is no silvery sparkle.

–

Thank you for reading

You can share your recent purchases in the comments.

CHANEL Vitalumiere Aqua Compact Swatches

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Compact foundation replaces the old Teint Innocence compact foundation. It is a cream foundation which promises fresh, moisturized skin. The foundation is intended for those with normal or dry skin. It contains Vitamin E, antioxidants and SPF 15.

It comes in a 12 grams refillable compact. The full price of the compact is 48,90 euros, while the refill costs 36,90 euros.

Several months ago I have swatched all the shades of Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Compact foundation available in Croatia.

Since I don’t think I’ll ever try the foundation, here are only the swatches. I haven’t even tried the foundation on the face at the counter, I can’t say much about its properties. It seems very creamy, blendable, but the coverage appears light.

The foundation is swatched from the darkest (left) to the lightest shade (right). You can click on the picture to englarge it. These are the shades available in Croatia. Depending on the country, the shade selection may vary.

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Compact in 50 Beige –dark, neutral to yellow undertone

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Compact in 42 Beige Rose – medium dark, strong pink undertone

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Compact in 40 Beige – medium dark, neutral to yellow undertone

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Compact in 30 Beige – light/medium, neutral to yellow undertone

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Compact in 22 Beige Rose – light medium, pink undertone

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Compact in 10 Beige – light, neutral to yellow undertone.

If I had to pick one, I’d go with the shade 10 Beige, although even this one would be a match only during summer, when I get a bit of tan.

My NAIL POLISH Collection

 

I have been away for several days, so to make it up, I have decided to show you my steadily growing nail polish collection (which should have been posted with my make-up collection a couple of months ago).

As I’ve caught myself many times wanting the polishes which are practically dupe of some other polish I have, I found some time and took photos of the polishes in my collection which I have sorted according to colour.

I can already see the benefits, as I have slowly composed the list of the shades I need to have.

I wanted to add the links to the polishes I’ve already swatches, but the computer I’m currently using is incredibly slow (and it is adsl). I can’t believe that my blog logs faster on dial-up connection.

 

So, here’s the collection (names are from left to right):

 

The first picture in the post contain some of my pinks:

Chanel Morning Rose, Inglot 343, Chanel Marilyn, Catrice Raspberry Fields Forever, YSL 19, Catrice Big Spender Wanted, YSL Rose Lunaire

 

 

White and berry

Inglot 202, Rimmel French Ivory, YSL 12; Catrice Let’s Talk About Barrie, YSL Rose Pourpre

 

Light Pink

Catrice Just Married, Sephora Pink Agate, YSL Perle Rose, Catrice Miss Piggy Reloaded, Bourjois 14, Chanel Rose Cache, Bourjois Beige Glamour

 

Oranges, Coral, Red

Catrice Salmon & Garfunkel, Catrice Pimp My Shrimp, Max Factor Diva Coral, Catrice Bloody Mary To Go, Golden Rose Classics (I don’t know the shade number)

 

Reds

Catrice Marilyn & Me, L.A. Girl Garnet, Catrice Caught on the Red Carpet, Max Factor Ruby Fruit

 

Purple

Catrice Let’s Mauve On, Catrice Plum Play With Me, Max Factor Fantasy Fire, Carla Cosmetics (I don’t know the shade name), Catrice Iron Mermaiden

 

Taupe and Black

Max Factor Cappuccino, Catrice Clay-Ton My Hero, Catrice Lost in Mud, Catrice Captain Sparrow’s Boat

 

Gold and Silver

Max Factor Ivory, Chanel Gold Shimmer, Catrice In The Bronx, Inglot 207, Look by Bipa Metallic Hologram, Golden Rose 69

 

Green

Catrice Sold Out Forever, Look by Bipa Green Changer, Catrice After Eight

 

Blue

Illamasqua Rain Drops, Deborah 56, Sephora Bleu Sapphire, Catrice (from one L.E, l don’t know the shade name).

—–

 

The following shades are on my wishlist:

dark blue (something like Chanel Blue Satin)

crème turquoise (like Chanel Riva or one of Max Factor minis)

non opaque jelly pastel yellow

black

medium dark grey

purple – like Chanel Paradoxal (or Rimmel dupe)

medium dark forrest green

bright orange (like that from Dior 2011 summer collection – I think it was named Aloha)

orange red (like Catrice Fred Said Red)

dark chocolate brown

lilac pink (like Chanel Lilac Sky or Rodeo Drive)

berry pink (like Chanel Gondola)

Thank you for reading

 

 

CHANEL Illusion d’Ombre in Abstraction and Vision Swatch

Here is the last part of Chanel’s Les Expressions de Chanel collection swatches.

You can find the swatches of the quads by clicking on the name of the each quad: Eclosion, Intuition, Variation.

Abstraction is a rich pomegranate red with a metallic sheen.

Vision is shimmery gold.

Out of these two shades I prefer abstraction – it is pigmented and can be applied in even, thin layers. If Vision is applied a thin layer, it becomes almost tranparent and all you get is gold shimmer.

Also, Abstraction feels more creamier and smoother.

Now, onto the bad (even thought this might not be the issue with these, but I feel that I should mention it).

As you know, I have Illusion d’Ombre in Mirifique (shimmery black) and not even a year later, it is almost completely dry. I really take care for my make-up and I have never left it sit open. Whenever I use it, I dip the brush in and firmly close the jar. I keep it in cold and dry place. However, It is practically dry. I can get a bit of usage if I really dig the brush in, but even then, the majority of the product simply falls off the brush when I try to apply it. Currently, I’m using it with Inglot Duraline, which facilitates the application, but I don’t think that Chanel product should last for less than a year.

This is just my experience with Illusion d’Ombre. I have bought it the moment they came out and maybe they have changed the formulation, so the new one won’t have that problem.

I, however, am weary of purchasing any more Illusion d’Ombre eyeshadows.

CHANEL Les 4 Ombres #37 Variation Eyeshadow Palette Swatch

 

 

 

Chanel has recently launced a sort of collection with three quads and two new shades of Illusion d’Ombre.

 

I admit that I’m not a fan of Chanel eyeshadows – the packaging is gorgeous and the shade selection amazing, but every time I swatch it, they are powdery nad not very pigmented. I have never been even tempted to purchase it (an I’m an eyeshadow freak). This palette has just firmed up my opinion.

 

I have swatched the European version of the quad (the one with only 1,2 grams of eyeshadow) which is baked. Such palette can be used both wet or dry. If used wet, the eyeshadows are supposed to be better pigmented.

 

At first, the Variation quad seemed the best of the bunch, but at closer look it’s very far from it. My opinion might modified because of the fact that I like this colour scheme the best, plus this is the only palette which contains the perfectly pigmented eyeshadow. However, other shades in this palette doesn’t measure.

 

The top left shade is a shimmery white with pearly base. It has more pigmentation than the top right shade in the Eclosion quad, but less than the top right shade in the Intuition quad.

 

The top right shade is shimmering lavender grey. Quality wise, it is the same as the top left shade.

 

The bottom left shade is supposed to be the medium dark lavender. However, it is the shade with the worst pigmentation overall. It has no pigment at all (I have applied around 5 to 6 layers) and it applies unevenly.

 

The bottom right shade is perfection. I don’t understand why they couldn’t make all the shades this way. It is smooth, rich aubergine. I have swatched this one with just a light swipe over the eyeshadow.

 

The shadows are swatched on NC20 skin.

 

CHANEL Les 4 Ombres #36 Intuition Eyeshadow Palette Swatch

 

Chanel has recently launced a sort of collection with three quads and two new shades of Illusion d’Ombre.

I admit that I’m not a fan of Chanel eyeshadows – the packaging is gorgeous and the shade selection amazing, but every time I swatch it, they are powdery nad not very pigmented. I have never been even tempted to purchase it (an I’m an eyeshadow freak). This palette has just firmed up my opinion.

I have swatched the European version of the quad (the one with only 1,2 grams of eyeshadow) which is baked. Such palette can be used both wet or dry. If used wet, the eyeshadows are supposed to be better pigmented.

Intuition is much, much better than Eclosion, even though eith this palette I also had to apply multiple coats to get a decent payoff. If you are pale, you might like it as the soft neutral palette, but if you are darker, I don’t think you’ll be happy with it.

The top left shade is a pearly champagne. Its pigemntation is ok, although I applied two coats, because it is too similar to my skin.

The top right is shimmering gold. This time, even with all the shimmer, there is enough golden base to give some color payoff.

The bottom left shade applies unevenly and I had to use several layers to get it to show up.

The bottom right is a warm brown with decent pigmentation.

The shadows are swatched on NC20 skin.

If I had to buy one palette from this collection, I’d pick this one.

CHANEL Les 4 Ombres #34 Eclosion Eyeshadow Palette Swatch

 

Chanel has recently launced a sort of collection with three quads and two new shades of Illusion d’Ombre.

I admit that I’m not a fan of Chanel eyeshadows – the packaging is gorgeous and the shade selection amazing, but every time I swatch it, they are powdery nad not very pigmented. I have never been even tempted to purchase it (an I’m an eyeshadow freak). This palette has just firmed up my opinion.

I have swatched the European version of the quad (the one with only 1,2 grams of eyeshadow) which is baked. Such palette can be used both wet or dry. If used wet, the eyeshadows are supposed to be better pigmented.

Eclosion is the worst of the bunch. Extremely powdery and not pigmented. I had to really dig into the eyeshadow to even get a resemblance of colour on the swatch.

The top right shade is extremmely shimmery – it is basically pure shimmer with no colour at all.

The top left shade is very sheer, pearly.

The two bottom shades offer some colour pay-off, but the bottom right (th last one swatched) applies unevenly.

The only decent shade is the bottom left (third one on thte swatch).

The shadows are swatched on NC20 skin.

FINISHED! June Edition

The last month has been really productive. I’ve sorted out all of the products which are close to finishing and I’ve been almost exclusively using them for the last month. Some products still aren’t finished, but many are.

CHANEL Soleil Tan de Chanel Moisturizing Bronzing Powder Swatches

While I was swatching the bronzers from summer 2012 collection, I’ve decided to swatch the regular bronzers.
Soleil Tan de Chanel retails for $50 and it has 15 grams (if I’m not mistaken). It comes in a compact – one half of the compact is bronzer and the other half is for the brush.

The bronzer has a wavy dune desing.

I comes in four shades:

61 Desert Corail – matte dark beige with orange undertones. It will work only for very light skin.

62 Terre Epice – matte medium bronze

63 Terre Ambre – matte brownish bronze

64 Desert Bronze – matter dark brownish bronze with orange undertones.

While Desert Corail is probably one of the lightest bronzers available, none of the shades really work for me (a bit too orange). The bronzer is very pigmented (the swatches are made with just a light swipe of finger) and I prefer them to be on the sheer side.

The bronzers are swatched in this order:

Top row: 61 Desert Corail swatch, 62 Terre Epice swatch.

Bottom row: 63 Terre Ambre swatch, 64 Desert Bronze swatch

CHANEL Glossimers in Calypso and Sirocco Swatches (Summer 2012)

These are a quick swatches of Chanel Levres Scintillantes lip gloss for summer 2012. I haven’t purchased any as I’m not a fan of glossimer formula, but Calypso was certainly tempting.

The summer 2012 collection lipglosses come in two shades:

Sirocco – goldish-beige in the bottle, but completely transparent on the lips. (absolutely not worth the money, imho)

Calypso – red with orange undertones and excellent pigmentation.

CHANEL Soleil Tan de Chanel Luminous Bronzing Powder in#907 Sable Beige and #917 Sable Rose Swatch

 

This is the most amazing product and if I already didn’t have any bronzer, I’d get both of them. It is so beautiful that I secretly hope that someone would steal or ruin my other bronzers so that I can have the excuse to buy both of them lol:)

The bronzer comes in a compact which contains 15 grams of product and it retails for 50 euros. The compact contains the brush.

The bronzer consists of 7 narrow stripes in different colours. You can use eacy stripe individually, but you’ll need a very narrow brush to get the right colour.

#907 Sable Beige is a bronze with slightly orange undertones. It doesn’t look orange on skin, but compared to the other shade it is more on the orange side. The stripes vary from different shades of bronze to beige.

#917 Sable Rose is a bronze with reddish undertones. It contains bronze stripes mixed with purplish pink.

Although Sable Beige is supposed to be for darker and Sable Rose for lighter skin, I think that both would work on any skin colour.

I wouldn’t call this a bronzer – it is more a mixture of bronzer and hightlighter. It goes very sheer on the skin – a hint of colour and glow. I wouldn’t use this all over the face like you might use regular bronzer – I’d use it as a bronze highlighter to put the glow on the skin. As it is relatively sheer, it won’t look over the top even on lighter skin and it will look amazing on the darker skin – especially used on the cheeks.

I fell in love with this the first time I swatched it in the store. However, I have more than half of my YSL Poudre de Soleil bronzer and barely touched Guerlain Terracota Blondes Halees (which is very similar to these two bronzers, but a bit more pigmented) and I’m trying to minimize my stash to essentials (Good luck with that, lol) and I don’t want to hoard.

 

CHANEL Roses Ultimes de Chanel Glossimers Swatches

Roses Ultimes de Chanel collection has been available for some time. The collection includes 4 shades of nailpolish and 6 shades of glossimers.

In this post I’ll show you the swatches of Levres Scintillantes lip gloss.

The glossimers come in following shades:

162 Surprise. Very pale shimmery pinkish beige in the bottle, but completely transparent on the skin. The only thing that shows a bit is shimmer.

164 Plaisir. Pale pink in the bottle (no shimmer), with a hint of pink when swatched on the skin. You might get some colour if your lips are really, really light coloured, but it doesn’t show up on my lips.

165 Volupte. Medium dark peachy pink without shimmer. Much better payoff, but it still doesn’t show well on my lips.

166 Amour. Medium dark pink with a hint of coral and lots of shimmer. It swatches more like pink on the skin. Decent colour payoff on the skin, but it still doesn’t show well on my lips.

168 Desir. Intense medium dark pink with lots of shimmer. Decent colour payoff on the skin, but not so good on my lips.

169 Jalousie. The only colour that shows well on me. The colour is intense fuchsia without shimmer. It is well pigmented and the colour shows on my lips.

I’m not a fan of Glossimers formula – I find them too sticky and too goopy and very often, not so well pigmented, even though there are the colours I might like to try.

Overall Recommendations:

Instead of #162 and #164 you can simply use a transparent lip-gloss. You will like #165, #166 and #168 if the colour of your natural lips is pale, but it might not show up if your natural lip colour leans towards dark pink or red. #169 will show on all lip colour, but some might find the colour of this gloss a bit too bright.

FINISHED! May Edition

Although I haven’t planned it, I’ve decided to make this FINISHED! posts a monthly feature. At least this way I won’t feel so much like a hoarder. Plus, I’m becoming obsessed with minimalism, so it will feel good to spend some things without bringing in new things.

The products I have finished in May are:

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Chance. The formula is good and maybe in some far future I’ll purchase one (currently I have too much lipsticks), but I’ won’t get this colour. It doesn’t look so good on my complexion.

Dior Dior Waterproof Khol in Noir Trinidad. It has taken me several years (I think 3 or 4), but I have finaly spent an eye pencil. I love it and I’ll definitely repurchase.

Bioderma Photoderm AKN Mat SPF30 sunscreen sample. I have spent the sample and I’m already using the full-size.

Sisley Instant Perfect sample. I have spent the sample and I like it very much. I have already purchased the full-size, but first I have to spend YSL primer.

Sisley Express Flower Gel GWP. I love it and I have several GWPs in backup. I don’t even want to imagine the day I’ll spend it all and have to purchase the full-size.

48 Protective Hand Cream. I’m not so happy about this. I liked it during winter, because the cream creates some sort of a coat on the skin, so the skin is protected from environmental influence, but it doesn’t moisturizer.

L’Occitane Shea Butter Body Cream. Love it and I’ll get the full size

I believe that’s all. 7 products – not so bad. I have several more items that I’ll spend during the next month or two – one of which is a foundation – yay! I also hope to spend several more lipsticks and/or lipglosses.

I’m considering adding a FINISHED box in my make-up storage in which I’d put the packaging of all the items I have finished during the current month, so that in the end I can be sure that all the items are accounted for.

Did you finish any cosmetic product?

 

Friday FAVOURITES 03.02.2012

I’ve been busy with exams this week, so I dodn’t have much time to maintain the blog. As for the make-up, I’ve been testing a new foundation this week: Oriflame Studio Artist Foundation. I’ll review it soon, as soon as I get some time to take swatch pictures.

My favourite products were:

Guerlain Meteorites Teint Dore

Guerlain Meteorites Perles d’Or

Oriflame Studio Artist Foundation

Sisley Phyto Kohl Perfect in Ebony

Guerlain Kiss Kiss Baby in Rose Sunset

Chanel Ombres Perlees de Chanel

NOTD Chanel Rose Cache + Golden Rose #68

I have bought this beautiful Golden Rose nail polish just recently – at first it seemed like an ugly silver glitter, but then I have noticed that there are flecks of red, green and blue glitter. I couldn’t wait to try it, so I put it over my current nail polish: Chanel Le Vernis in Rose Cache.

The ingredients:

2 coats of Chanel Le Vernis Rose Cache

2 coats of Golden Rose #69

I wanted to put the glitter in gradients – so that there is less glitter close to the nail beds and a lot on the tips of the nails. I put one really thin layer of Golden Rose #69 polish over the nail. After it has dried, I’ve put a large drop of Golden Rose #69 polish on the tip of the nail. I’ve waited for 15 seconds and then spread the drop with the light swipe towards the nail bed. This way, the biggest concentration of glitter was on the nail tip.

CHANEL Perfection Lumiere Review and Swatch

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Chanel’s new foundation Perfection Lumiere boasts with seamless blendability that gives a naturally flawless effect. They claim it is suitable for all skin types and comes in a diverse range of shades.

The foundation comes in a 30ml pump bottle which retails for $55 .

TEXTURE AND COVERAGE

The texture is very light. Since it is replacing Pro Lumiere (I have heard that this was a heavy coverage foundation) I have expected something heavier. Perfection Lumiere is very liquid, light and you don’t feel it on the skin.

The coverage is medium, but it is possible to build up to the fuller coverage. One layer of the foundation definitely gives a lesser and more natural coverage than one layer of Clarins Everlasting. It seems that Perfection Lumiere is not as filled with pigments as Everlasting.

One coat of Perfection Lumiere will cover even major redness or discolouration.

REVIEW

My Clarins Everlasting foundation is coming to its end (I have less than 5ml in the bottle) and I’m looking for another foundation (Everlasting is amazing, but I like to experiment). I have found myself looking for something lighter perhaps.

I’ve wanted to test Perfection Lumiere ever since I have heard of it. What intrigued me most was the fact that for the first time, Chanel will release some lighter shades in my country (usually the lightest shade was 20, which was way too dark for me).

My skin is flaky, dehydrated and oily at the same time. I don’t even have to mention huge expanded pores (you can see the “quality” of my skin well on the close-up photos). I have a breakout here and there, but I have no serious acne issues. What I require of the foundation is to unify the appearance of the skin and minimize the appearance of the pores without emphasizing flakes. A definite plus is if the foundation keeps me matte, but this is not the condition. I have very light skin – I’d say around NC15.

I’ve been testing Perfection Lumiere for several weeks, trying to love it, but I’m not impressed.

First, the colour doesn’t stay true. I have gotten a sample of the lightest, yellow toned colour: 10 Beige. In the bottle, it looks perfect, almost custom made for me. On the face, it is a completely different story. It darkens considerably – at least for one shade, therefore ending up being too dark for me.

Another problem is that it emphasizes flakes. I have tried applying it with a moisturizer underneath, but it didn’t help. Flaky skin was still visible. I have hoped that maybe with time, since my skin will get oilier as the day goes, the foundation will “melt” and “blend” in with flakes. This was not the case. The flakes were visible even after 10 hours of wear.

The next problem is settling into pores. Instead of visually diminishing their appearance, Perfection Lumiere managed to emphasize the pores by settling even into the tinier pore.

Those were the bad sided, but there are some good sides too.

I’m very satisfied with the degree of the coverage. It covers the discolourations, but without leaving my skin looking too perfect (this was the case with Everlasting).

Over the primer (Guerlain Meteorites), it looks considerably better: the flakes are not visible, it doesn’t emphasize pores. Perfection Lumiere over Guerlain Meteorites primer doesn’t oxidize as much as it does on the pure skin. The foundation darkens, but only slightly. On the pure skin, the foundation darkens for one to two shades.

The foundation wears on pretty well – even after 10 hours it looked just like at the beginning. It also mattifies a skin to a degree (if you are super oily, you cannot expect perfect, non-oily skin for the whole day) and it doesn’t make me breakout. I stayes shine-free for 5 hours, but then I needed to touch-up with a loose powder.

I’d recommend this foundation to the girls/boys with normal-combination to oily skin without the dehydration issues or expanded pores. I recommend the foundation to be tested, as it oxidizes quite a bit.

As I’ve mentioned, I have tried to love it, but it just isn’t for me.

Friday FAVOURITES 20.01.2012

The exams are approaching, so I don’t have much time for make-up – I mostly sleep and/or study.

For this reason, I’ve decided to go with natural make-up.

I have used the most the following items:

cK Loose Powder

Dior Diorblush Strawberry Sorbet

Guerlain Ombre 4 Eclats in Perles des Mers (minus the turquoise shade)

Essence quad in Ciao Bella

Sisley Phyto Ombre in Sorbet

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Chance

Rouge G in Gaby

Chanel Illusion d’Ombre in Mirifique

MAKE-UP STASH INVENTORY (January 2012)

I think it’s high time for me to start to control my impulsive purchases and redirect the money I spend on cosmetics I don’t need on something else. I’ve had much more self-control before I started to get involved in beauty community. Before, I’d purchase something only when I would need it, but now I’ve been buying things only because they seem pretty or I think that I simply must have it (even though I’ll probably use it several times before the product is lost in my stash.

I don’t like feeling overwhelmed every morning when I’m doing my make-up with all of the products which I have. Sometimes it takes me literary 10 minutes only to decide which eyeshadow I should use. I’ve tried the concept of creating “looks” which would include several products and then wearing the look for the next week. It is a good concept, but this means that 90% of my stash sits there unused while I’m wearing the “look”.

I do not plan to use up all of my make-up. I’ll use eyeshadows only until I hit the pan (especially if it is a discontinued or LE product). The same goes with lipsticks. I always leave a millimetre or two of the lipstick in case I ever need to find a dupe. After that, I put the product in the original packaging and put it in my “finished products” drawer. I know this sounds a bit ridiculous, to keep the boxes after you have spent the product, but I have paid a lot for these products and I cannot imagine throwing the compact of, let’s say, Guerlain eyeshadow away.

I have taken a photo of all the items in my stash, for my reference (I’ll do the same the next year). Compared to the previous stash pictures, you can see that I have spent some items (yay! for me) and hit the pan on many others.

Fleurissante’s Favourites 2011

Happy New Year!!!

I wish you all the best in the next 2012. May it be much, much better than the previous one.

Fleurissante’s Favourites lists my favourites products in the last year. It doesn’t matter if they were freshly released or something available for a long time, which I have discovered the last year – the only thing that matters is that this are the products which have come closely to the Holy Grail status.