NOTD: ZOYA Sooki and chitchat

It's been a while I know... I've had a whole week off and I hardly did any blogging.  Shame on me?  Not really, I enjoy blogging but I also enjoy time off and that's exactly what I did.  Well, that and some chores around the house ... but it was a good week: a trip to Ikea, a trip to the zoo (I love the zoo) and a weekend to Brussels with the girls.  And then of corse there was the super blood moon Sunday night. I got up at 4 a.m, took my camera and took some great pictures (or at least they look great to me) and I remember thinking "I'm so going to regret doing this tomorrow" but I survived monday.  Today was a different story, Tuesday blues I call it ... my muscles are hurting and I feel like falling asleep no matter what I'm doing.  So I'm going to take a long hot shower and go to bed.  

Before I do that, here's a swatch of Zoya's Sooki.  I love this color, it's the perfect color for this time of year.  A slightly darker red, not too bright and not too dark.  

Where to buy:

You can buy Zoya at prettypolish.nl for 12,50.

MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus 2

Did I really need another red lipstick?  Of course not.  So the only way I can justify buying these is that I was supporting a good cause.  That, and the fact that a girl can never have too many red lipsticks, was enough reason for me to buy these.

I have to agree that the lipstick isn't really anything new, it's almost the same color as Lady Danger.  It's a gorgeous red (although Mac describes it as bright orange) matt lipstick.  Gorgeous but nothing new really ...

I'm not a lipgloss girl and this one hasn't been able to turn me into one.  I always reach for a lipstick and only on a very rare occasion do I put on gloss.  I just don't like the feeling of glosses, it's just always 'there' you know.  When wearing a good lipstick, I hardly feel like I have anything on my lips but when I put on gloss, I always feel it sitting on my lips and that irritates me so much.  I want make-up to been seen and no to be felt by me.

The combination of these two though ... it's just magic.  There are no other words for it.  I absolutely love them together.  I love them so much that I've been wearing them almost daily these past week, my week off work.  I wore them during our visit to Ikea, I wore them when I was going through my old clothes, I wore them to dinner with the man and I even wore them while I was vacuuming (just because I could) ...  I'm dreading going back to work and one of the reasons is that I won't be able to wear these.  Well, technically I guess I could but I can only imagine the reaction of my colleagues and clients.  But I will be wearing these to the zoo tomorrow, fingers crossed that I won't spook the monkeys ;-)

I know I look half asleep but it was the best one I could make, 

working had on the selfie game :-)

Where to buy:

You can buy the Viva Glam Miley Cyrus 2 Lipstick (€19,50) and Lipglass (€18,50) at a Mac Cosmetics store or online.

NOTD: Maybelline Color Show in Pink Boom (262)

Sometimes a girl just needs a pink nail polish.  It doesn't matter how old you are, pink is always the answer!  Now that fall is coming along,  I know it's time to bring out the darker shades but I admit to wearing a lot of bright pinks on my toenails during fall/winter.  Just because it just brings a little bit of a summer feeling to me whenever I look at my feet.

So meet Pink Boom, one that most definitely will be used a lot this upcoming winter.  A perfect bright pink, there's just no other way to describe it! 

Like I mentioned yesterday, the Maybelline Color Show polishes have a great brush.  The polishes are of a great quality and they apply really easy.  

I have to say that I've really (re)discovered the Maybelline Color Show polishes and now I'm waiting on a good promotion to expend my collection.  To me they are right up there with the Catrice polishes  except for the price difference,  Maybelline Color Show polishes are €3,99 for 7ml, Catrice polishes are €2,99 for 10ml.  But like I said, a good promotion can make all the difference.

Where to buy:

You can buy the Maybelline Color Show polishes at your local drugstore, in Belgium they cost €3,99.

Maybelline Color Show Suit Style nail polishes

Well, remember when I was complaining that brands were bringing out new lines of nude nail polish instead of fall collections with glam and glitter?  Turns out I was wrong (I am a big enough person to admit to being wrong now and then).  Maybelline came out with this Suit Style collection and these polishes are definitely made for the holidays.  There are 4 colors in this collection: Business Blouse (442), Suit and Sensibility (443), Red Reaction (444) and Style Network (445).

Suit and Sensibility (443) and Red Reaction (444) immediately sparked my interest.  I mean, look at them.  

Business Blouse (442)

Business Blouse (442) is a white polish and when I say white, I mean white!  It took me 3 coats to get  total coverage but the formula applied like a charm, not streaky at all.

Suit and Sensibility (443)

close up of Suit and Sensibility (443)

Suit and Sensibility (443) is definitely my favorite.  It's a textured formula which means it dries really fast.  I love this polish, the grey metallic texture just makes it look so rock 'n roll.  You need at least two coats to get enough texture in there.

Red Reaction (444)

close up of Red Reaction (444)

Red Reaction (444) is a sparkly red color, perfect for the holidays.  At first I thought this one would be textured as well but I'm glad it's not.  It did take 3 coats to get full coverage but it applied really easy.

Style Network (445)

Style Network (445) is a black nail polish.  Nothing special to this one, it's just a plain black polish.  I'm wearing two coats in the picture.

The Maybelline Color Show nail polishes are good quality polishes and have a great brush, not too small and not too wide.  While applying this one, I was wondering why I don't have more polishes from this range.  I'm pretty sure I will be buying more of them when there's a promotion of some sort going on.

The color range of this collection has left me with mixed feelings.  I love the 2 sparkling polishes but the white and black?  They are just white and black, nothing special to them really.  I suppose if you're in to nail art you can make a tuxedo/suit style nail with this but other than that they are just basics that everyone needs (or probably already has) in their collection.

Where to buy:

You can buy Mabelline at your local drugstore.  In Belgium they retail at €3,99.

NOTD: Essie Fiji and some chit chat

Well, I found out that posting something every day isn't realistic for me.  I realized this last weekend when I had 3 weeks of ironing to catch up on (I hate ironing and it's the first chore I tend to push aside but 3 weeks of ironing is a lot).  Since fall is creeping up on us and I take my pictures with natural daylight,  there aren't that many hours left to take pictures.  Considering I also have to work every other saturday morning, time is limited.  This blog is a hobby and I love it a lot but at this point I don't want to invest in fancy lighting so I have to make due with what nature gives me.  

That being said, I still have a lot to share with you.  I've been seeing the holiday collections and palettes that have been coming out and I'm getting really excited!! I have to remind myself that I'll never be able to use it all but I'm already sensing that rationality won't be able to claim total victory.  Already on the list: Tarte Light of the party makeup case (as seen here) and Too Faced Le Grand Palais (because look at it, it's just so cute).  

Things will calm down soon, very soon!  I have a week off next week.  At first we were planning on going on a citytrip (Berlin or Barcelona) but in the end we decided to just stay at home, do some chores and go on a few day trips.  I'm not usually one to stay at home when I have vacation (I am a wanderlust after all) but I have to admit that I'm kind of looking forward to it.  Just sleeping in everyday (well, I'm not a long sleeper but the fact that the alarm clock also has a week off is enough for me), taking pictures for the blog, going to Ikea (yes!!), clean out my closets and of corse playing around with makeup ... that somehow really sounds good to me.  Does this mean I'm getting old?

For now, I'll leave you with this NOTD: Essie's Fiji.  A classic that goes with every season and is definitely a must-have.

Anything you'd like to say?  Don't be shy, leave a comment!

Rimmel Londen Nude Collection by Kate Moss Nailpolishes

Nude colors are always a bit tricky.  The wrong shade of nude lipstick can make you look drained, the wrong shade of nude nail polish can make your hands look like those of a sick person.  So it's a process of trial and error to find the right shade of nude.  

Apparently nude polish is a thing right now, Rimmel London just came out with the new Nude Collection by Kate Moss and Maybelline just launched their Tone on tone nail polish collection.  I have to say that I was kind of disappointed seeing these collections come out.  Safe to say summer's over here in Belgium and we're heading towards more fall-like weather so I was looking forward to the collections that go with fall.  You know, dark bonzy sparkling colors.  But I guess for now, I'll just have to settle for the nudes.

The Rimmel Salon Pro nail polishes have a great brush (which is one of the most important features of nail polish to me) and an ok quality.  They really don't stand out to cheaper polishes like Catrice for me so to be honest, if it wasn't for this blog and the fact that I wanted to feature them here I probably wouldn't have bought them.

  

The Nude Collection by Kate Moss contains 4 polishes: 126 Bare Yourself, 127 Gentle Kiss, 128 Mistify Me, 129 Sensual Spice.

from left to right: 126 Bare Yourself, 127 Gentle Kiss

from left to right: 128 Mistify Me, 129 Sensual Spice

129 Sensual Spice has a bit of a shimmer in it as you can see in the picture below.  

Aside from 127 Gentle Kiss, I like all the colors from this collection, my favorite being Sensual Spice.  I suppose Gentle Kiss is the perfect 'nude' for me as it looks as if my skin has grown over my nails but to me, this effect makes my hands look sick.

Where to buy:

The Salon Pro polishes by Rimmel Londen retail at €6,99 but DI and Kruidvat both have a 2nd at half price promotion going on.  So if you are interested, now is the time to go out and buy them!

NOTD: OPI Dulce de Leche

I love it when thing I love get credited by make-up products.  I've already told you about this once and here it is again.

This time OPI pays tribute to one of the most delicious things out there: Dulce de Leche.  So easy to make, yet so heavenly.  So when I learned that OPI had a nail polish called Dulce de Leche, I just had to have it.  

I love the color, OPI describes it as a sweet creamy nude.  It is nude but not too nude for my skin tone.  There's pink in there but also some brown.  It's been a while since I've used one of my OPI polishes and somehow I got the idea in my head that they had a small brush (and I find that hard to work with) but they really don't.  The brush is smaller than an Essie or Catrice polish, but when you apply the slighted amount of pressure, it feathers out so perfectly that it makes painting your nails a piece of cake.

For me, it's one of those go to colors when I really can't decide what to wear.  And when I'm wearing it and I look at my nails, I can already taste the real dulce de leche in my mouth.

Where to buy:

In Belgium you can buy OPI at Planet Parfum for €14,90.

Sleek Makeup now available in Belgium at DI

Today started out as your average Tuesday which, let's face it, is not the most exciting day of the week.  During my lunchbreak I was strolling through the city of Leuven (Belgium) when I decided to take a look in the totally remodeled Di Makeup store (it used to be called Lookiss but they renamed it for some reason).  All of a sudden I noticed a display that I hadn't seen before. I started walking towards it and that's when it hit me: Sleek!!!  In Belgium!!  In a store!!  In the town I work in!!  I quickly took a picture of the display and left the store.  It was just too much excitement too sudden.  

I have to hand it to DI, they really have turned their stores around the last year(s).  In the past I used to identify them with a drugstore that didn't really stand out.  Just your average brands and a not so modern feeling to the interior.  But they must have a great HR department that hired a genius who decided to bring something different to the drugstore market in Belgium.  The Balm, Lollipops, Eyelure, Real Techniques and now Sleek ... all brands that were only available through the internet for us poor folks in Belgium.  The Netherlands were always ahead of us, we were always left behind. And not only do they bring us these brands, they also don't overprice them.

palettes partially shown:

oh so special

au naturel

storm

I don't think I have to tell you that I'll be bringing another visit to the DI store soon, when the excitement has toned down a bit and I'm able to stand before the display with some sort of rationality.  I can't even tell you what part of their products are or are not available because I was so overwhelmed.  But I can tell you this: Sleek has some great eyeshadow palettes and DI sells them for €10,99.  They are available at the Sleek website for €10,49 but they do charge shipping.  So great pricing for DI!

Sleek Pout Paint in Milkshake

When I came home I immediately got out my sleek palettes and my little tube of Pount Paint and I pushed the blogpost I had planned today forward because I just couldn't wait to share this.

Where to buy:

I saw this Sleek display at the DI makeupstore in de Diestsestraat in Leuven, Belgium but I'm sure there will be other DI stores selling Sleek too.

Perricone MD No Foundation Foundation Serum

I'm always curious about innovative products and I always considered Perricone MD No Foundation Foundation Serum to be just that.  I've read about it on several blogs and I really wanted to try it out but there was one teeny tiny problem: the price.  It's fair to say the Perricone MD products don't come cheap and I didn't want to waste a lot of money on something that might be good but could just as well be horrible.  Mixed reviews on the net made me even more hesitant.

And than I was shopping at Sephora and waiting in line at the cash register.  Sephora is a sneaky little bastard: they put little travel sizes right along the waiting cue.  Clever, smart ... whatever you want to call it: it certainly works.  The best part of this for me is that they aren't your usual shampoo/conditioner/bodywash/bodylotion travel sizes but they have a great variety of make up products in there too, which is great if you want to test something but don't want to buy a full size of it yet.  So I bought a small size of Perricone MD No Foundation Foundation Serum, part of their No Maekup Skincare Range.

I love the packaging, it looks very 'intelligent', but it gets a bit messy when using it.  The instructions say you have to dispence 3-4 drops into your palm and use you fingertips to apply it all over you face in circular motions.  Well, my dispenses just squirted some product out, there was absolute no sign of 'drops'.  Ok, I can deal with that.  But you handpalm is also left with residue which makes it all so messy.  

And than there's the result.  Apparently this serum comes in two tone: 1 fair to light and 2 light to medium.  There is no color indicated on the box but I blame that due to it being a travel size, when open in I read in the instructions that this one is number 2 Light To Medium.  

I was impressed when I put it on, it felt great on my skin, made my skin feel healthy.  It's no foundation but than again, it doesn't claim to be.  To me it's more like a bb cream, it evens out the skin and gives it a healthy glow.  The color was too dark for me, it was ok in middle of my face but you could definitely make out the edges of my face and the transition to my neck.  Me no want that!  But after giving it a little rest, the edges seemed to fade.  So it definitely needs time to 'sink' into the skin.  After wearing it all day, I felt like my skin looked great but no better than a good bb cream or colored day cream could make it look.

I'm happy I tried it but I would never buy the full size of this.  It's just way to expensive for what it does for me.  There are cheaper (and even better) alternatives according to me.  And this one will go into a drawer until next summer or until I go to a tropical island.  I have to have a bit more color in my face (if that's even possible with my skin) before I use it, but it would be great at night for that my skin but better effect.

Edit: after writing this I went to put this product away and started doubting.  I honestly don't think I'm going to use this much.  First of all because the color is a bit off and second of all because I'm just not wowed by it.  So I decided to give it away to one of my friends.  Maybe she'll have more use out of it.

Where to buy:

In Belgium you can buy Perricone MD at parfuma.com, they do sell the No Foundation Foundation but apparently not the serum.

Essie fall 2015 collection

It shouldn't come as a surprise but I generally love Essie polishes.  The quality of the polish, the range of colors but the most important one for me: the brush!  I love the wide brush, it applies polish so easily (even with my non-dominant hand)!  

Essie's permanent range has a great choice in colors and yet they always seem to able to come up with something special for their limited editions.  And now fall is here!  The good thing about fall polish wise is that the time is here for glitter!! Yess!! Probably one of the thing I love most about fall (aside from scented candles and my little couch blanket).

The fall collection exists of 6 colors (from left to right):  Color Binge, With The Band, In The Lobby, Leggy Legend, Bell-bottom Bells, Frock'n Roll.

Color Binge

Color Binge is described as an orange red and it is just that: a gorgeous color that applies easy.  In the picture I'm wearing 2 coats and you can tell it gives good coverage (which isn't usually the case with a color like this).

With The Band

With The Band is described as a toasted spice burgundy.  Personally I would describe it as a 'rusty' dark red.  But let the picture speak for itself.  Again 2 coats give great coverage.

In The Lobby

In The Lobby is described as an exotic cinnamon plum.  It is plum, not quite sure where the exotic an cinnamon come in though.  I applied 2 coats and as you can see, the result is quite 'patchy'.  I couldn't even it out in 2 coats but I'm pretty sure a third would've made the result a lot better.  Because of the 'patchiness' I don't think I'll be putting this one on a lot this fall, which is a shame really.

Leggy Legend

Leggy Legend is described as a 'glamourous alloyed bronze bombshell'.  It's a gorgeous bronze polish  but maybe a bit too orange for my skin tone.  I do love these kind of polishes.  2 coats are enough for great coverage and the formula isn't streaky at all.

Bell-bottom Bells

please excuse the awkward pinky pose ;-)

Bell-bottom Bells is described as a midnight indigo.  I'm not one to wear blue nails often, something about a bottle of blue polish just puts me off (no idea why really) but once I applied it, I was kind of fond of this one.  It will get a special place on top of my nail polish vanity so it's always in sight for fall.  I wonder how many times I'll grab it.

Frock'n Roll

close up of Frock'n Roll

And last but certainly not least: Fronck'n Roll.  Described as a lustrous shimmering rich expresso.  I was a bit surprised by this description since I only read it after I swatched it.  When you look at it closely there seems to be a bit of plum in there.  You can see it a bit on the close-up picture (which was initially taken to show you the shimmery part of the polish).  I love this color, I love these kind of shimmers in polishes and that's what fall is all about.  2 coats give perfect coverage and the polish has a great formula.  I already know I will be wearing this one a lot this fall.

top row: Color Binge, With The Band, In The Lobby

bottom row: Leggy Legend, Bell-bottom Blues, Frock'n Roll

Where to buy:

You can buy Essie in Belgium at DI and Kruidvat.  As of Tuesday sept 8, Kruidvat has a promotion where you get 20% off when you buy 1 Essie polish and 30% off when you buy 2.  Or you can order Essie at bol.com.