NOTD: OPI Center of the You-niverse

I used to be really into OPI.  I loved their polishes and always knew exactly what colors I wanted when they came out with a new collection.  But this past year or so I feel like OPI has lost its mojo a bit.  The Fifty Shades of Grey collection, the Hawai collection, the Venice collection ... I looked at them and didn't really feel anything.  Partly because of the pricing I think.  €14,90 is a lot of money to spend on a polish, well maybe not if you don't buy that many polishes but a person like me, a person who likes a lot of polishes, I just can't spend €14,90 on a polish that doesn't wow me.  Especially since there's never a sale or promotion on OPI polishes so you almost always have to pay full price.  Almost always.  Because last month I spend some money at Planet Parfum and because of their loyalty program I got a €7 discount I could use without restriction.  

The great thing about fall?  The sparkles are back!  And I just happen to be a sparkling loving girl.  So when I saw the OPI Starlight collection, I just knew there would be something in there for me.  Turns out there's more than one thing in there for me but I managed to restrain myself and just buy one and so I brought home Center of the You-niverse.  It's a black polish with a silver sparkle in there.  

It's a great quality polish and I was surprised that it came off so easy (which isn't always the case with sparkling polishes.  I already know I will be wearing this one a lot this fall/winter.  

I think OPI did really well on this collection and it's been a long time since I've had a OPI wish list but No more Mr. Nice Sky and Ce-less-tial have made it on there.  

Where to buy:

In Belgium you can buy OPI at Planet Parfum for €14,90.  I haven't been able to find the Starlight collection on feelunique.com, hq.com or lookfantastic.com but I'm sure it will be available there soon. 

The product that changed everything for me: Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

I was a real girly girl when I was little.  When my mom didn't look I would walk around in her heels, wear her pearly necklaces and use her lipstick.  As I got older that changed.  Puberty was hard on me, I was really self-conscious of my body and wore XXL clothing all the time (looking back I was probably a size small or medium at the maximum).  But puberty ended and I found my place in the world.  I started wearing normal sizes, started going out and putting on make up.  And I loved it!!  I didn't have that much make up but I loved experimenting with it.  The only thing I hated was the creasing of my eye makeup.  After a few hours a lot of my eyeshadow had transformed into a thick line in my crease, what a pretty sight! But since I didn't wear make up everyday, only when I was going out, it wasn't that big of a problem.  All that changed when I ruptured my Achilles tendon and I had to keep still for 6 weeks.  Yes, 6 weeks where all I could do was sit in the couch and get on everyones nerves I can imagine.  My only friend was my laptop and the internet.  That's when I discovered the world of blogging, beauty blogging in particular and when I learned about eyeshadow primer.  I had never heard of such a thing before but to me it was such an eyeopener.  I read about it and read about it and read about it and finally decided I had to get this!!

Those who know me will find this next part hard to believe but I was afraid of buying this online so when I was mobile again, I went to every drugstore and perfume store in town and asked for an eyeshadow primer.  This was the year 2010 and the looks I got were looks of disbelief.  Eyeshadow primer?  Not available for the normal public it seemed.  And than in one store they gave me this Sensai eyelid base.  I don't remember how much it costed but I was so happy to have found it that I just bought it.  And it didn't do anything for me!  Absolutely nothing!  It felt like an eye cream, it applied like an eye cream and stayed 'wet' like an eye cream.  I was so disappointed!!  

But all the bloggers couldn't be wrong, right?  So I got all my courage together and bought the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion online (at Boozyshop.nl but they don't carry UD anymore).  I had never heard of Urban Decay before and online shopping was totally new for me.  What a difference with today!!! I buy so much online these days and I roll my eyes at everyone that has never heard of UD.  My purchase didn't let me down, it did exactly what it promised and ever since then I've used this base every time I put eyeshadow on (which is almost everyday really).    And that was the beginning of the end ... from that moment on I bought makeup like there was nothing else and the little girl inside me that stole her mothers lipstick came to live again!

I don't know how many Eyeshadow Primer Potions I've used since then but I always come back to the UD eyeshadow primer.  I've tried the painterly paint pot by mac but that didn't work for me, my eyeshadow stille creased.  The samen goes for the color tattoo's by Maybelline.  They work fine when I put UD Eyeshadow Primer Potion underneath them.

The same goes for Nyx Jumbo eyeshadow pencil in Milk.  I agree that it's a great base and it brings out the color of your eyeshadow a lot more but I have to apply it on top of my UD eyeshadow primer.

But now my UD Eyeshadow Primer Potion is getting empty and I'm torn.  Do I just buy another one or do I try something else?  Like Too Faced Shadow insurance or The Balm's put a lid on it.  I hear so much good of those that I want to try them but somehow it feels like cheating.  UD Eyeshadow Primer Potion has done so much for me that it will always hold a special place in my heart.  I think I'll try my Lorac sample sizes first and maybe I'll give the Sensai one another go (after all, I am another person now, one that has a lot more experience when it comes to eyeshadow primers)  That way I can buy some time before I have to decide what to do.

Do you have one product that changed everything?  Let me know in the comments!!

Note:

Yes, you read it right: I will try the Sensai eyelid base again even though it's like 5 years old.  It's been closed ever since, still looks fresh and doesn't smell bad.  Reading up on it, there aren't many positive reviews on it so chances are it's still as bad as I remember and will find its way to the waste bin very fast.

And yes, my painterly paint pot has dried out so I had to get rid of that one too.  There was just no way to work with it anymore. Such a shame!

Emptied and replaced in September

I know, we're already halfway October but I still wanted to share this with you because I feel so proud of myself.  At the beginning of September I made a promise to myself to try to use as many samples and as many almost empty products as I could and I think I did well.  I had a moment of shame when I was going through my things, there's just so much and everywhere I looked I found something that I had already forgotten I had bought at some point.  So I introduced a no-buy for skincare, face care, primers ... mostly all liquid products that aren't nail polish.  And here's the result, a picture of everything I emptied and what I replaced it with:

Facial care:

I emptied out my favorite facial cleanser: the pore refining daily cleanser bij Neutrogena but luckily I still had a spare one, the last back up so I think it's time to start planning a new trip to the States ;-)

Body care:

I used up my Oahu Coconut Sunset bodylotion by Bath and body works, a Lady speedstick in wild freesia and a shower foam by Rituals and replaced them by  Love Sunshine bodylotion, Lady speestick in spring blossom and a random body wash.

Hair care:

My Take The Heat leave in conditioner went in the bin and was replaced by a Miracle moist leave in conditioner (both by Aussie) and my Phyto 7 hydrating hair day cream was replaced by Paul Mitchell Smoothing Super Skinny Serum (which I got in a Deauty box a long time ago).

Makeup:

I used up 2 (yes 2!) facial primers, both very loved ... Mac Prep+Prime Natural Radiance and Porefessional by Benefit, I'm currently using a sample size of  the Smashbox foto finish foundation primer.  One of my all time favorite foundations, Neutrogena Healthy Skin in the color Buff had only 3 uses left so that one was easy and my Mac eyebrow pencil in Fling was replaced by a combination of Mac Fling and Anastasia Beverly Hills brow powder duo in blonde.

Nail care:

This bottle of nail polish remover didn't make it through the month either and I emptied out these 3 packages of remover pads. They weren't new, I had already opened them and I know that when I'm going on vacation I'll just buy a new package instead of taking one of these so I decided to just use them.  I don't really like these, they just have a 'greasy' feel to them but I do prefer taking these while traveling instead of a bottle of nail polish remover.

Perfume:

My Victoria's Secret Angels Only perfume was replaced by Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream perfume.  I'm not the type of woman who has a lot of perfume, I usually buy a bottle and when it's empty I replace it by something else.  I find perfume to be one of the hardest things to buy, it's just so personal and sometimes I smell something on someone that I like and when I put it on it's just sickening.  Marc Jacobs never lets me down though, especially not his Daisy range.  And I think that Victoria's Secret Bombshell in Bloom will be mine next time I visit a VS store (another reason to start planning a US trip!).

Samples/travel sizes/individuals:

This was definitely the most satisfying of all.  Look at all those empties!!  I always kept sample sizes "for when I'm traveling" but when I travel I just want the products I know and like.  So I used it them all with an exception for Kiehl's samples, I kept those for when I'm going on a citytrip for a few days.  The Nivea travel sized shampoos I emptied and cleaned them out so I can fill them with my own product when I'm traveling. No need to buy travel sized bottles when you can reuses these.

The biggest fan of all of this has to be my man!!  The space he gets for putting his things in the bathroom is very limited and he loved seeing all these bottles disappearing.  October has been good so far also, I think I'm on a roll here so you'll probably get another post like this at the end of October.  It's just so satisfying and feels a bit relieving somehow.  I think I'm on a roll here! 

H&M Beauty Dead Sea Minerals mask

I'm a mask lover.  Coming home from work, making dinner cleaning up ... when all that's done it's time to take of my makeup, clean my face, put on a mask and make myself comfortable on the couch.    A mask to me is the synonym to downtime.  

I tend to bring some variation into my masks, one day it'll be hydrating, next day it might be cleansing and this time it was time for a reviving mask.

I have normal to dry skin, mostly dry on my cheeks and normal on my chin and forehead and sometimes my skin looks a bit dull so I was very curious to test out this mask.  It is described as 'a reviving mask with bergamot oil and focus seaweed for tired skin.  This natural, clay mask with stimulating dead sea minerals and seaweed extract works to revive tired skin.'

I was really surprised when I opened the package.  Dead sea, clay, seaweed ... I was expecting a grey clay mask but no, it is bright blue just like the sea.  The smell was ... well, let's say when I first opened it I thought it smelled fresh, when I was applying it to my face I changed my mind from fresh to toilet freshener.  Thankfully the smell fades away once it's on your face.

I applied a royal amount to my face after I cleaned and dried it and left it on for 10 - 15 minutes as instructed.  It's one of those masks that hardens so you'll know when you have to take it off.  Afterwards my skin was soft and looked good though it was a bit dry so I did have to hydrate it immediately.  

For the price of €2,99 you get 10ml of product.  Enough to pamper yourself at least twice.  Aside from the smell I did like this mask.  I don't know if I'll be buying this one again but I now am very curious to learn more about the other masks.  Especially the Coconut Water mask, that combination just screams tropical escape to me.

Where to buy:

You can buy the H&M beauty range at selected stores or online at HM.com.

Catrice LE FALL-osophy nailpolishes

It's that time again: Catrice released their new limited edition.  And FALL-osophy is a very appropriate name for this range.  As usual I focused on the nail polishes and had time this morning (and some good lighting) to swatch them for you.

C01 Mystic Moss took me a bit by surprise.  The first layer made my nails look sick, there was hardly any coverage just a see through sheen of a blueish polish.  Three thin layers later and you see the result in the picture above.  I still don't know why it's called moss because to me it has a very blue tone in there, something I don't see growing in my garden (and since I'm not a garden person, there is a lot of moss growing there). This one has a pearly finish.

C02 Mauving Leaves is a gorgeous mauve color.  I love these kind of mauves, they are so much warmer than for example a grey polish and perfect for fall.  Not too dark, not too light, just a great everyday color.

C03 Berrytale is a very dark berry color.  Great if you want something warmer than black but still something quite dark.  This one also has a pearly like finish to it.

C04 Fabulous Fox-ia, definitely THE fall color of the year.  Nothing else to say about this one really.  Great color, great coverage and applies like a charm.

C05 Morning Dew, now this one I don't understand at all.  After my first layer I thought it was a topcoat but the Catrice website states that this is a real polish. A pearly nude they call it.  To me these kind of polishes are just a waste of money.  Not special enough to be a topcoat but not a nice nude because of the glitter.  In the picture I'm wearing 3 coats of it.

The quality of the polishes is great just as you would expect from Catrice.  For the swatches I applied three thin layers.  Mystic Moss isn't a color I would normally buy and I think it would take some getting used to but I kinda like it.  Morning Dew is a disappointment to me and I don't even feel like it has a place in this collection.

Where to buy:

You can find Catrice at Kruidvat and cost €2,89.

Giorgio Armani Eye Tint in number 10

I'm not one to buy really expensive make up on a regular basis but every now and then a girl's got to spoil herself.  When I was in Brussels the other weekend the one store I wanted to visit was Inno.  Inno is a Belgian Department store (well, not so Belgian anymore because they were taken over by Canadian department store Hudson's Bay) and I think it's the only real department store we have.  But the most important thing: the store in Brussels sells Giorgio Armani make up and I really wanted to make a stop by their counter.

I've read so many good things about their make up line, especially about their foundation and about the eye tints.  Since I had a few unopened foundations waiting for me at home, I decided to go for the eye tint and took home number 10.

The great reviews are true, this is amazing stuff.  I'm always a bit critical reading reviews of new product because a lot of time people get sent these things for free and aren't always honest because they don't want to get on the PR companies' bad side.  But being an independent woman and all, I buy all my stuff and am honest about thing.

So back to the eye tint.  I love the color, it's a dark taupe brown, perfect for fall and winter.  The saleslady told me to wear a base underneath but since I do that every time I wear eye makeup that was a given.  And this color stays put like it was cemented on there.  I wore it all day long, went grocery shopping with it, walked in the rain, I even too a nap in it ... and it didn't move an inch.  

The only downside I find to it, is that it doesn't blend that easy.  I wore it as a single color all over the eyelid and in the crease and blended it out with my Real Techniques base shadow brush but I had a hard time with that. So now I'm trying out some lighter taupe eyeshadows to combine this with.  You know, put the eyeshadow in the crease and blend it out and then put the eye tint on the lid to insert some shimmer and shine.  

But if you don't need blending out, if you're going for a not so neat and blended out look, or if you just want to slap a bit of color on your lid than this is great!

You can build up the color as you go along.  I used a brush for my first layer but put some extra on the lid using my ring finger and that worked great as well.  One thin layer will give you a nice wash of color, three layers will be smoking it out to the max because the pigmentation is great. So use a little at a time if you want to build up, especially with this color because it's a darker brown.

At €33,65 this isn't a cheap eye makeup product but I'm really impressed and next time I'm in Brussels I will be stopping by the Giorgio Armani counter again I'm sure.

Where to buy:

You can buy Giorgio Armani beauty online in Europe at Parfuma.com (among others) or you can just search online for a store in your country.

NOTD: H&M nailpolish in Liquid Bronze (501)

H&M launched their new beauty range a few weeks ago and I have to say I was really impressed with their product range.  They seem to have it all: makeup, skincare, brushes, nail polish, hair products (and the not so obvious ones too like BB cream for the hair).  I was very curious to test some of their stuff so last weekend when I was visiting a H&M store in Brussels I went to the beauty section.  It turned out to be a big disappointment.  The displays were dirty, the testers were misplaced ... overall it was just one big mess.  But I managed to push myself into buying 1 polish and a face mask (that will be on the blog later).

I'm usually not a big fan of clothing brands launching their own polish.  I think you should stick to what you're good at and everyone launching their own polishes or makeup lines sometimes feels like an offense to all those makeup brands that try so hard to come with something new, be it new formulas, new colors, new packaging or overall a totally new product.

The first test for me when buying nail polish is opening the bottle and looking at the brush.  I don't know what I was expecting when opening my little bottle of Liquid Bronze but the brush turned out to be pure perfection!  A wide brush, just the way I like them.  The formula is great (we all know that this type of polish can be hard to make formula wise), it applied without streaking and I only needed two thin layers to get great coverage.

Truth be told, I'm very excited about the H&M polishes and I wish I would've bought more colors as they aren't available online in Belgium and not every store sells them.  This one made me very enthusiastic about the rest of the range so I think that next time I order something online, a lipstick may accidentally end up in my shopping basket. 

Where to buy:

You can buy the H&M nail polishes in selected stores, they are currently not for sale online in Belgium but they are in other countries.  The price is €4,99.