NOTD: Catrice Peach Club (89)

89 Peach Club

As usual, I'm really looking forward to the new products that Catrice will be releasing soon.  But for now, this one will have to do.  A gorgeous peach color that's easy to apply.

Where to buy:

You can buy Catrice Ultimate nail lacquers at Kruidvat for €2,99.

Galeries Lafayette nail polishes review and swatches

Nowadays everyone seems to come out with their own nail polishes. GAP, Superdry, Essentiel (Belgium) … they all brought out their own nail polish range at some point.  I tend to stay away from them, I really can’t say why but somehow they never sparked my interest.  Until I was in Galaries Lafayette in Lille last saturday and I saw they had their own nail polishes range.  And what a range it is!  Not just a few colors but around 83 different colors! Yes, 83!  At €3,90 a bottle it wasn’t like I was taking a huge financial risk so I brought home 3 different colors.

Choosing 3 colors was hard.  It’s in the middle of summer (though if you look out the window it looks more like fall at the moment) so I immediately reached for the pink and coral colors but I forced myself to grab something totally different.

from left to right: 

Felix N°15, Hubert N°63, Germain N°12

The polishes have french men’s names, it reminded me of the Tom Ford lipstick range that came out a while ago.  I think it’s funny: „hey, what are you wearing?  Today, I’m wearing Felix but I might switch to Hubert tomorrow.’  Lame, I know, but still funny …

The polishes have a nice brush, dense but wide enough (I’m not a fan of small brushes).  They apply easy and the substance of the polishes is perfect.  Not too thick but not too liquid either.  Definitely worth checking these out when you are in a Galaries Lafayette department store.  I know I’ll be bringing home some more when I get the chance!

Shop log Lille, France

Rule one of friendship: make time for one another.  Easier said than done most of the time.  Working full-time, having a household, a man that needs his attention … everyday life is just filled with time-consuming "must do’s".  But making time for friends is a top priority for me and combining girlfriend time with a day of shopping, well that’s just the perfect day.  Time to wander around, talk a lot, eat and drink, do some shopping … what more does a girl need really?  So yesterday I went to Lille, France with a friend to do just that, enjoy some much needed quality time.  

Now, some of my friends accuse me of encouraging them to buy things and coming home empty-handed myself.  That’s not entirely true.  I like to shop but I work in Leuven, a lot of things I want or need I can get there and I’m out in the city every lunch break (I need my fresh air).  A lot of my friends don’t work in the center of a city, they go on a shopping "day-trip" once every two months or so and come home with bags filled with clothes and things.  I don’t, simply because I come home with a (little) bag at least once a week.  So when I go on a shopping trip, I usually only buy the things I can’t get in Leuven.

Back to yesterday and our day in Lille.  I wasn’t the one suggesting Lille but I immediately jumped at the idea because Lille to me equals Sephora and cheaper Pharmacies (the beauty beast in me awakened in a sec).

long lasting stick (8 hour no-transfer eyeshadow) in 06 €6,90

power pro nail lacquer in 82 €4,90

purifying pads (66 pcs) €7,90

First stop: Kiko Milano.  For those of you that aren’t familiar with the brand.  Kiko is an affordable Italian makeup and beauty brand.  I got the purifying pads (because I love my acids and the ingredient list on this suggested that it’s packed with acids - the good kind), a nail polish (duh) and a long lasting eyeshadow pencil.  I’m really excited about the eyeshadow pencil, I swatched a few colors on my hand and several bathroom stops later (and I’m a good girl so I wash my hands after every bathroom visit) they were still on there, they hadn’t even fade a bit.  So big hopes for this one!

Galeries Lafayette nail polish from left to right: Hubert n°63, Felix n°15, Germain n°12 €3,90 

Wallet €9,59

Next stop: Galleries Lafayette.  Strolling around their beauty department I noticed that they had their own nail polish range.  Lots and lots of colors to choose from and all of them have French men names.  I took home 3 colors and a much needed wallet.  I really needed a new wallet to replace my old travel-to-the-USA wallet.

That’s right, I have a special wallet for when I go to the USA and as you can see it’s only hanging together by a thread. There are some left over dollars in there along with my Sephora VIB card.  Next time I’m going to apply for more fidelity cards, my address might be in Europe but I don’t want to miss any deals while I’m over there.  Since I only use this one for traveling I didn’t want to pay a lot for it.  Original price for this one was €29,99 but it was on sale for €9,59, good deal huh?

Benefit They're real in brown €25,50

Sephora nailfiles €3,50

Too Faced Chocolate bar palette €44,00

Formula X nail polish in Ignite €12,90

And then it was off to Sephora!!  There are 2 Sephora stores in Lille, one on the Place du Gal de Gaulle and one in the shopping center Euralille. The one in the city center is very small, so I only picked up 2 Benefit They’re Real Mascara’s in brown.  One for me and one for the bestie.  I did look for Marc Jacobs nude lipstick in Understudy but it was sold out.  

On our way back tot the train station we stopped at Euralille and did some more Sephora shopping.  I finally, finally, finally caved in and bought the Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette by Too Faced.  It’s one of those palettes that I always want when I see it on the net but for some reason never buy it when it’s in front of me.  This time was no different, I started to think (always a bad idea when you’re in Sephora) but when I saw there was only one left I told myself to get it.  Understudy was sold out here as well, but I got Sephora Formula X nail polish in Ignite as a comfort present instead (not quite the same thing but oh well).

Bioderma photoderm bronze spf 50 & 30 €15,39 (vs. €18,09 on newpharma.be, €20,10 on IU.be)

Klorane eyeshadow remover 200ml €6,96 (vs. €8,99 on newpharma.be, €9,10 on IU.be)

Bioderma Sensibio H2O solution micellaire 100ml €3,04 (vs. €7,64 on newpharma.be, €5,4 on IU.be)

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo 40ml €9,29 (vs. 14,31 on newpharma.be, €14,45 on IU.be)

La Roche-Posay Redermic Yeux R 15ml €22,79 (vs. €21,78 on newpharma.be, not for sale on IU.be)

Last stop for me was Pharmacy De La Déesse (26 rue Esquermoise).  This isn’t the most comfortable pharmacy to shop in, it’s very small and since it’s one of (if not the) cheapest pharmacies in Lille there’s always a crowd in there.  But you have to get over that, the prices make it really worth your while.  I got 2 travel size bottles of Bioderma Créaline Micellair water (I still have plenty of back ups of the big size at home but this is so easy for traveling), my favorite eyeshadow remover from Klorane, some sunscreen products (wasn’t planning on this but the 2nd one was 50% off) and then 2 La Roche Posay products: Effaclar Duo (holy grail to many on the internet) and Redermic eye cream.  The La Roche Possay products were in the 50 best beauty buys under £20 list by Sally Hughes so I just had to bring them home (you can find the list here).

I compared the prices with 2 big pharmacy online shops in Belgium, usually they have lower prices than in pharmacy stores so retail prices in store should be higher.  I was surprised to find that La-Roche Poasy Redemic Yeus R was more expensive in France than on newpharma.be but overall you can tell prices are so much lower in France.

And that was it.  I think I kept it pretty decent.  I kept back a bit because I have another quality day time in Antwerp planned with my bestie (you can visit her Dutch blog here) in August and unfortunately, money can only be spend once …

NOTD: Maybelline Color Show in Urban Coral (110)

Feeling fierce ?  Than this is the color for you, a beautiful red orangy coral.  Applies easily and an overall good quality polish.

Where to buy:

You can buy Maybelline Color Show polishes at almost any drugstore.  Retails at €3,99.

Exchange rate worries …

Those of you that have been reading my blog know by now that I’m a big USA fan.  I love traveling to the US.  I love the county, the nature and of course the shopping!  When I first went to the US I bought almost everything I could get my hands on simply because it was so much cheaper that in Europe.  Many thanks to the EUR/USD rate that until a few months ago was an extra reason to buy as much as my credit card limit would allow*.  But at this moment the EUR/USD rate isn’t what it used to be and many theories see it going to a 1/1 rate.  Boohoohoo … me no want that!  I already noticed it on my last trip that especially hotel stays were a lot more expensive than the year before (when converting them to EUR).

Aussie shampoo: 

+/- $3 for 400ml (walmart.com) or €7,49 for 300ml (bol.com)

So, with the exchange rates doing what they are doing, is it still worth it to shop in the USA?  Hell yeah!!  Just look at the pictures included! Even with a 1/1 rate you’ll still get more value for your money in the USA.  Just try to focus on American brands and leave European brands alone, you won’t get a lot of advantage when you buy those in the USA.   

L'Oreal nailpolish:

+/- $4,5 for 11,7ml (walmart.com) or €5,99 for 5ml (bol.com)

But when it comes to online shopping in the USA, I’m afraid that’s a big no-no for me these days.  When you take into account the shipping costs and taxes, it’s just too expensive.  Now, if sephora.com started shipping to Belgium I might make an exception but for now I’m just waiting for when the tide shifts on the exchange rate market.

* this may be exaggerated for dramatic purposes ;-)

In honor of national Ice Cream Month: Easy coffee ice cream (recipe by Nigella Lawson)

Did you know July is national Ice Cream month in the USA?  No, well neither did I … until last sunday.  Because sunday July 19th 2015 was national Ice Cream day and it was all over instagram. 

whisk the cream until thick

All day long all I could think was: "how did I not know this?” followed by "why don’t we have a national Ice Cream month?  it’s just genius”.

Ice cream has always been a weak spot for me, you can wake me up in the middle of the night for it and I’ll kiss you (knowing I’m not a morning person that says a lot).   I’ve never made ice cream myself, I don’t have an ice cream maker and I’ve never found a recipe that could convince me to try other methods.  Until now.This is a recipe from Nigella Lawson (Nigelissima) and it’s called No Churn Coffee Ice Cream.  

add the sweetened condensed milk

Aaaah, Nigella Lawson, you can always count on her to come up with a recipe that is so decadent that when just reading it, it will add 10 pounds on the hips.  I remember watching one of her shows where she made a batter, put a Bounty candy bar through it and then fried it.  I was absolutely shocked, I really didn’t know what to think: was she a crazy lady or sheer genius?  

add the coffee powder

I have to say that the upside of making this ice cream myself is that I don’t eat as much of it as I would store bought ice cream.  Simply because I know what’s in it and let’s just say, it’s no light version … but moderation is everything so a little bit now and then really won’t harm you.

pour in a container and freeze for at least 6 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
• 300 ml (around 10 oz) of full fat cream
• instant coffee powder

Whisk the cream until thick (not standing in peaks but more like clotted cream), add the can of sweetened condensed milk and the instant coffee powder.  Pour the mixture into a container, close it and freeze it for at least 6 hours.  Before serving it let it soften a bit.

let it soften

And there you have it: the perfect no hassle coffee ice cream. 

and enjoy!!

I will be making this recipe again but maybe without coffee  and with dulce de leche instead of normal sweetened condensed milk.  I can’t wait for that one because hey, it’s Dulce De Leche Ice Cream.  Pretty sure the world is all good after having a bowl of that …

NOTD: Catrice The pinky and the brain (27)

No matter how old you get, the little girl inside of you demands you wear bright pink nail polish from time to time.  The pinky and the brain by Catrice is exactly that: bright pink and perfect for summer.

Where to buy:

You can buy Catrice at Kruidvat for €2,99

Travel tricks: transporting liquids

I love to travel but one moment that always used to worry me was opening my suitcase upon arrival.  I was afraid a product might have leaked during the trip, leaving a giant mess in my suitcase.  Fortunately it has only happened once, I think it was a bottle of shower gel, and the damage was limited because it was wrapped in a plastic bag.  These days, I don't worry as much anymore simply because I think I have the necessary methods to prevent something like that from happening.  

So here's how I do it:  you'll need plastic toilet bags, snack size ziplock bags, plastic foil, tape and plastic bags.  I know it sounds like much but it really isn't, trust me.  I usually buy my plastic toilet bags at H&M, they don't cost much and are cute.  Since they're entirely made of plastic, no harm's done if something were to spill.  You can wash it out easily and the plastic is like a barrier, unlike toilet bags made of cotton.

When I'm traveling to the US I know I'll be buying nail polish but even when I'm going elsewhere I usually bring nail care or a polish with me.  

First thing I do is put the nail polish in a snack size ziplock bag and close it.  And then I just put them in a plastic toilet bag.  Some polishes are wrapped in plastic like the Formula X by sephora one's but most of them aren't.  Can you imagine opening you suitcase only to find nail polish all over everything?  The horror!!  It's never happened to me.

Now, tubes are another thing.  I have this image in my head of the tube getting crushed by something (when they're throwing the suitcases in the plane for instance) and just exploding in my suitcase.  

I put tape on the lids so they can't open (well, the still can but it's a lot harder this way), I always pack tape that you can rip (instead of needing scissors 'cause we all know you never find scissors when you need them).  Then I'll put the tubes in a plastic toilet bag.  This toilet bag holds exactly 3 tubes of lotion and I'm pretty mad at myself for buying only one.  I'm still hoping that H&M will bring these back.

The most risky liquids are the really watery one's, like face toners, shower gels, shampoos ... but there's an easy trick for them.  

You just open up the cap, put some plastic foil over the opening and close the bottle again.  Just to be sure I still wrap them in a plastic bag and put some tape around that so it's completely wrapped in plastic.  

Sunday Treats: Roasted Chickpeas

These have been going around on the internet like crazy and yet I'd never made them before today.  I really can't say why that is,  I love to snack and I try to stay away from potato chips as much as I can but when my man opens up a bag I go all out.  Roasted chickpeas are said to be a great substitute for potato chips.  You can flavor it anyway you want, I used paprika and chili powder.  You can also make a sweet version with honey and cinnamon.  The options are endless here so let your creativity go!

Open a can of chickpeas, rinse them and let them dry.

Mix them with one tablespoon of olive oil and the spices of your choice.  Spread them out on a baking tin, covered in baking paper.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).  Bake them for 15 minutes, toss them around and bake again for 10-15 minutes and your done.  These are very crispy when hot but soften when they cool down.  You can eat them as a snack or mix them in with your salad.

NOTD: Zoya Dovima

A matte black polish that applies like a charm.  Maybe not the most obvious choice for summer but definitely one to have in you collection.  Zoya polishes are usually of good quality and this one is no different.  Too bad the brand is hard to find in Europe (even impossible to find in store).  I always buy some when I'm in the USA, either at Ulta or at Gideon Pharmacy in New York.

Where to buy:

In Europe you can buy Zoya online at prettypolish.nl and nailpolishdirect.co.uk 

NARS The Narsissist dual intensity eyeshadow palette

A gorgeous eyeshadow palette from a high quality brand that's limited?  Yes please!  As usual I read about it on Temptalia.com and couldn't get it out of my head.  I mean, look at all the prettiness ... And then it became available on narscosmetics.eu and the reasonable side of me started to talk again so I decided to wait a day or two before I ordered it.  Of course it was sold out by then, I looked around and it was available on other sites but they all charged shipping or were more expensive and they sold out pretty fast too.  But then, just as I was started to overcome my disappointment, I received an email from Nars that it was back in stock.  No hesitations this time, just 3 clicks and it was mine.

  

I have another Nars eyeshadowpalette but I mostly knew Nars from the gorgeous orgasm blush.  You can't buy Nars in store in Belgium so I try to look at it as much as I can when I'm in the USA or in a Sephora in Europe.  

I really love Nars, they are just good quality.  Their packaging is clean cut, mostly a rubbery black case with a Nars logo on it but the names they give their colors (especially the blushes) show that they are by no means a boring brand (naughty, naughty).

The packaging on this palette is very un-Nars like.  It has a mirror front with the Narssist logo printed on it.  Even though you'll get your fingerprints all over the mirror in a second, the packaging is so much better than the rubbery cases.  This one you can clean, you just wipe it with a cloth and it's brand new.  The rubbery cases, well once they get dirty, they stay dirty.

The palette contains 8 colors that can be used dry and wet for a more dramatic look.  The quality is just superb.  All the swatches are one swipe with my finger and it felt more like I was swatching a cream eyeshadow instead of a powder shadow.  No chunkiness, just smooth eyeshadows with great pigmentation.

And no useless eyeshadow thingy in there but a real eyeshadow brush!!!

top row: Europe, Himalia, Ursa Major, Subra

bottom row: Andromeda, Lysithea, Giove, Sycorax

Where to buy:

Even though it's limited it is still available on Narscosmetics.eu for €50 (free shipping on orders over €50).

NOTD: L'Oreal USA smell the roses (330)

I've had a busy but fun week.  Well, except from those 30 minutes I had to spend doing my taxes (which of course I only did a few hours before deadline).  A quality time kind of week filled with friends and laughter.  So I haven't had much time to write for the blog.  But I promise to make up for it, I've been working hard taking pictures today and will spend most of tomorrow doing the same.  Tuesday is a national holiday in Belgium so I'm going to try to write ahead.  

A quick NOTD will have to do for now.  Here's L'Oreal USA Smell the roses (330),  it's like an old rose color with a brown tone in it.  A very wearable color, perfect for everyday!

Catrice Luxury Nudes collection

When Catrcice did an update of their range earlier this year, they brought in the Luxury Nudes.  It was a pain getting the whole collection together because some colors took forever to hit the store.  But eventually I managed to get them all and today you can find all 8 polishes in Kruidvat.  The polishes all have a soft matt or satin shine finish.  I’m no fan of satin shine or satin matt finishes simply because unlike matt nail polishes, they don’t dry fast and you can’t put a quick drying topcoat on them because that would ruin the finish.

The 8 polishes consist of 1 topcoat, 5 soft matt finishes and 2 satin shine finishes. 

The top row of swatches is without the topcoat 03 Way too beautiful, the bottom row are the same colors with the topcoat.

from left to right: 01 White & bright, 02 French love affair, 04 Your french appri-coat, 05 To the nude mood

The topcoat doesn’t really do anything for me, I really don’t understand why they brought that one in.

from left to right: 06 Magical nude, 07 Delight to pure light, 08 Little dose of rose

The quality is great, the colors are all natural/nude except for 04 Your french appri-coat.  

2 polishes will be leaving the range when they bring in the fall/winter range: 03 Way too beautiful (the topcoat) and 05 To the nude mood.  

Where to buy:

You can buy Catrice at Kruidvat, the luxury nudes range retails at €2,89 and this week there is a promotion on Catrice polishes: buy 2 for €5.

You can find all the products that are leaving here: http://www.catrice.eu/en/inspiration/leaving-soon.html