NOTD: L'Oréal Paris Color Riche Vernis à L'huile in Moka Chic (662)

These past few days there hasn't been any sign of spring or summer in Belgium.  The whole weekend was about dark cloudy skies and a bit of rain now and then (some parts of Belgium were flooded) so I wasn't really in the mood for a bright color on my fingernails.  Instead I chose this brown taupe color of the new Color Riche Vernis à L'huile range by L'Oréal.

This range of nail polishes promises to do a lot of things: strengthen your nails, give good coverage and smell like roses (or something).  I've tried polishes that smell like certain things before and I'm generally not a big fan of them.  I usually spent the majority of the day thinking "what is that smell?" and it always takes me a while to remember that it's my nailpolish.  The new Vernis à L'huile range doesn't smell that different while applying but they do smell different once the polish is dry.  I can't really say what it smells like but it doesn't smell like nail polish, it just smells neutral and it's not annoying at all.  Is it a bonus?  Only if you don't like the smell of freshly polishes nails but for me it's not something I get giddy over.

The polish goes on smoothly thanks to the great brush and you get full coverage with 2 thin coats.  I can't say if it does something to strengthen my nails since I tend to change up my polish twice a week changing brands and colors.  But the polish does feel nice on the nails (I know that sounds a bit strange) and the quality is really great.  I have a few more colors ready to swatch and I can't wait to see if they are up there with this one.

Where to buy:

You can buy the L'Oréal Paris Color Riche Vernis à L'huile nail polishes at the local drugstore.  In Belgium they cost €9,99 (but I'm sure you'll find a good promotion like I did if you look around or if you're patient)

LORAC Pro Palette

A girl can never have too many eyeshadowpalettes right?  If you're looking for a great everyday palette there are lots of choices out there, one of them is the Lorac Pro Palette for sure.  

As you know by now I have a bit of a weak spot for brands that you can't buy in European stores, I don't know why it is.  Maybe because I feel like there are so many descent makeup brands out there that are cheaper than what we can normally buy here and that are great quality.  I'm also an avid youtube watcher and blog reader and I feel like I get all the information on certain products but I'm just not able to buy them and that is pretty darn frustrating!

So when I discovered in 2014 that Nordtrom started shipping internationally (also for beauty products) and that they carry LORAC I treated myself to a few palettes, one of them being the original Pro Palette (the others being the Pro Palette 2 and the Unzipped palette, reviews will be on the blog in the future).  Ordering 3 at a time might seem a bit over the top but when you do the math with shipping and duties it's a lot cheaper to buy 3 than to buy just 1.  And who am I to defy science?

The LORAC Pro Palette contains 16 eyeshadows and 1 travel size Behind The Scenes Eye Primer (review on this is on the blog next week).  The quality of the eyeshadows is great, I really can't say anything bad about them.  The color pay off is great and they are so easy to blend.

Swatches top row

Swatches bottom row

So if you're living in Europe and you want to treat yourself or if you have a friend that's totally into make up and you want to buy a special present, this palette is worth looking in to.

Where to buy:

If you live in Europe you can get LORAC through Nordstrom.com, the palette costs €41,77 which is a really good price but you have to take in to account the shipping and duties that are charged at the end.  For Belgium that would be €20,35 shipping and €11,69 duties, making it a total of €73,81.

Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid Lipsticks

It took me a while to get on the liquid lipstick train but since they are everywhere I really didn't have a choice but to give in.  The problem with liquid lipsticks is that if the formula isn't good, it's just a waste of money.  I'd already read a few mixed reviews on the Vivid Matte Liquid Lipsticks from Maybelline but when I was in the drugstore and I saw Coral Courage I just couldn't resist.  I was just so drawn to that color.  Of course I couldn't just leave with one so Fuchsia Ecstasy also ended up in my shopping basket.

To be honest, I can totally understand the mixed reviews.  I put Coral Courage on after I had lunch (so around 14h) and the formula took ages to dry.  It actually felt like it never really totally dried up.  So I was a bit suspicious from that point on.  After a cup of coffee and a glass of water I could already see it getting patchy.  You could see my lips coming through in the center of my mouth.   After dinner it looked as if I had a thick line of lipliner on the edges of my lips and forgot to fill in the rest (not the most flattering look).  But when I removed it in the evening there was still some color coming off, it did leave a stain on my lips.

This picture is a bit darker but if I manipulate the lighting you won't see any difference between the colors.

In all fairness, after buying the Dose Of Colors liquid lipsticks my standards have risen.  So I was a bit disappointed in these.  I did test them without a lipliner underneath and without reapplying them (that's how I test all my lip products).  They probably have longer sustainability when you fill in your lips with a lip pencil first.  These aren't really matt either and the fact that they feel like they don't really dry up makes the product shift around somewhat when rubbing your lips together.  

I'm not the biggest fan of these and after testing them I'm a bit afraid to wear them in public because of the patchiness.  I think Maybelline could've done a much better job with the formula.

Where to buy:

I bought mine at DI but you can buy them at the drugstore.  They cost €6,99 each.

NOTD: H&M Beauty nailpolish in Peach Creamsicle

If you're still looking for a nice peachy nail polish now that summer is approaching than this is definitely worth taking a look at.  The H&M polishes are great quality, have great coverage and they have a wide range of colors.

H&M polishes have the perfect sized brushes for me.  Not too small and not too wide, just perfect!

Where to buy:

You can buy H&M beauty products at selected stores and online.  Unfortunately you can't buy the polishes online in Belgium so you have to search for a H&M store that sells the beauty range.  Their polishes cost €4,99 a piece.

The Body Shop Piñita Colada bath and body products

I love sweet fresh scents so when I walked by The Body Shop store in town and saw that they had a new range of body products called Piñita Colada I just had to go inside and sniff at the bottles.  And as we all know, once the product is in your hand it's already half bought.  

I was a bit sceptic thought, these scents are either a hit or a total miss.  But somehow The Body Shop totally made it work.  Piñita Colada is a well balanced scent, fresh, fruity, not too much coconut and not too much pineapple.  A smell that reminds me of summer, beaches, cocktails, days off ... the perfect way to start the day (until you realize that it's just another day at the office to look forward to).

I treated myself to the shower gel and body sorbet and they added a sample size body butter.  There's also a scrub in this range.

Where to buy:

You can buy these at The Body Shop, currently there's a promotion of 25% off when you buy 2 skincare or bath and body product.  The Showel Gel costs €7, the body sorbet costs €11.  With the discount I paid a total of €13,5 for both.

Catrice LE Zensibility Nailpolishes

I felt it in my bones, there was a new LE by Catrice in store any day now and sure enough when I walked in to Kruidvat on Saturday there it was, Zensibility by Catrice.  As usual I grabbed all of the nailpolishcolors and off I went.  The whole Zensibility LE is about being zen, focussing on what's really important in our lives and finding peace and harmony in our day to day life.  To embody this Catrice went for colors that radiate peace and strength.

The first thing I noticed was the design of the nail polish bottles.  Cute but not that practical.  I was a bit scared that the tops would break  off on my way home and I don't know how I'm going to stock these.  A drawer won't do for these as they are too long.  Not practical at all.  

I was wondering how I was going to paint my nails with these but that went remarkably well.  The long handle actually made it very easy and the Catrice brushes are always fun to work with.

C01 Greatly Greyish

C01 Greatly Greyish is described as a warm grey color and it is just that.  Nothing too exciting about this color but just a nice neutral grey.

C02 Sheer Silence

C02 Sheer Silence is a cold light pink color.  Nothing special either but a nice spring color that gives you hands a polished look.

C03 Zensible Rose

C03 Zensible Rose is a warm peachy pink color.  I love this color but one's again it's not a very special color.  Ideal for spring and summer when you want to tone it down a bit but nothing out of the ordinary.

C04 REDiant Energy

C04 REDiant Energy is described as a bright red but it is more of a muted raspberry red.  A nice color, not too bright and not too flat but again, nothing special.

C05 Turquoisensai

C05 Turquoisensai is described as a fresh light blue.  I really like this color and it is the only color of this LE that I find somewhat different.  Most turquoise colors are a lot warmer and the fact that this is cool toned makes it quite unique.  I don't think I own a similar color.  For me, it's not an everyday color but I do think it's a great color for spring.

I don't know what it is with this collection but this is the first time that 2 coats of Catrice polish don't give full coverage and not just with one color.  You can see my nails coming through with some of the swatches.  

This whole collection feels a bit uninspired by me as far as the nail polishes go.  Aside from the bottle design there's nothing really special about these colors.  A bit disappointed because I know Catrice can do better than this!   

Where to buy:

This LE is available at Kruidvat until the end of June, the polishes are €3,59 each.

Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser

I'm a big fan of primers that promise to erase pores.  I love Benefit Porefessional and Kiehl's Micro-Blur Skin Perfector, they just make my skin feel so smooth, blur out pores and provide a great base for applying makeup.  So when I saw Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser in the drugstore my curiosity was triggered.  To be honest, this one has been in my possession for over a year noyw, I bought it when in the USA (on one of my Walmart sprees) but hadn't gotten around to using it.  When I saw that it finally launched in Belgium I immediately opened it to try it out.

The packaging is basic but practical and the color of the tube fits perfect in the whole Babyskin/Babylips range that Maybelline has.  It's just cute.

The consistency immediately reminded me of Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer.  It's a see through gel type formula that feels very sillicony.  It felt very different to the Benefit and Kiehl's formulas but hey, different doesn't have to mean bad right?

First thing I noticed when I tried it out on my hand was that it 'rolled-up', you know it didn't really take to the skin but the more I tried to rub it in, the more it dissolved in little pieces of product that sat on my hand.  Maybe I just used too much while testing it out, with primers a little goes a long way usually.

So I tried it on my face, under my make up for a week.  I used a tiny bit on the area where needed and followed with my foundation as usual.  What surprised me was that it left a 'greasy' feeling whereas the other pore diffusing product usually dry up more matte.  I had to be very careful applying my foundation to avoid the product rolling up.  I'm usually very much into buffing foundation into my skin but this time I had to be really light handed while applying it.

I really had to force myself to use this a whole week, it just didn't work for me.  I already wanted to toss it after two days.  I even felt a bit of relieve when the week was over.  

I personally won't be using this again but my bestie asked if she could try it so it's getting a second chance with her.  

Where to buy:

You can buy Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser at you local drugstore.  In Belgium a tube costs €7,99 at Kruidvat.

This week on the blog

Coming up on the blog this week:

- Maybelline Baby Skin instant pore eraser

- Catrice LE Zensibility nailpolishes

- The Body Shop Piñita Colada body products

- H&M Beauty Peach Creamsicle nailpolish

- Maybelline Vivid Matte liquid lipstick

- LORAC Pro Palette

Lots of things to look forward to so stay tuned!

Urban Decay Alice In Wonderland Through The Looking Glass eyeshadow palette

YESSSSS!!! That was my initial reaction when I saw this palette appearing on the net the first time.  I got to know UD because of their gorgeous I love New York Palette and I feel like it's been ages since they brought out an eyeschadow palette with artistic packaging like that.  Don't get me wrong, I love their naked palettes.  These have all your everyday colors and are very convenient for traveling or if you're doing someone else's makeup.  But when it comes to packaging, they're just not that interesting.

So I was really excited when I saw that UD was 'going back tot their roots' in a matter of speaking and of course I just had to get this palette (or what did you expect?)!  I left my email on the notification list of Feelunique.com and waited.  Well, I'm lucky that I didn't wait until I got a mail because I never did!  I saw on instagram that the palette was in stock and ordered immediately, good thing I did because it sold out very fast.  And not only the palette but also the lipsticks of the Alice In Wonderland collection.  So that tells me that there are people out there that are even more into collecting makeup than I am because those lipsticks aren't the most wearable colors (which is why I didn't get them).

This palette is so gorgeous.  The packaging is a real work of art!!  I absolutely love it!!  Of course this isn't made for traveling and it's not the most handy palette but hey, all's fair in art right?

The eyeshadow collection is very colorful and great for experimenting.  I know UD shadows are great quality shadows but these shadows just blew me away.  The pigmentation is to die for and they go on so buttery and creamy.  

You get 20 all new shades in the palette and each column is dedicated to a character of the movie: Alice (left column), Mad Hatter (second column from the left), Mirana (third column), Iracebeth (fourth column) and Time (last column). You can recreate the look of your favorite character by using the colors in their column or you can just mix and max the colors and create your own looks.

I had so much fun swatching these.  I always do swatches before I start playing with the shadows and I already knew I was going to love putting these on my eyelids.  These shadows are so pigmented, I swiped once with my index finger on my arm to make the swatches and as you can see the pigmentation on these is just fabulous.

top row

second row

third row

bottom row

I know there are colors in there that I'll probably never use but to me this palette is more of a collectors item with the benefit of great shadows.  

Where to buy:

I bought mine at feelunique.com but unfortunately it's totally sold out.  I paid €56,76 for mine.

Dose Of Colors haul and review

My soft spot for hard to get products got the upper hand again.  Lately my instagram feed had been showing nothing but swatches of Stone by Dose Of Colors, or it could just've been my imagining.  Anyway, it just seemed like the color was everywhere I looked and of course that had an effect on me.  Unfortunately Stone is one of those colors that sells out super fast ant this color isn't available on Beautybay (where they sell a range of Dose Of Colors lip products).  But then Dose Of Colors announced that Stone would be restocked and I wanted to be prepared this time.

Dose Of Colors ships internationally and to Belgium shipping costs start at $12,83 which is a bit much when you want to buy an $18 lipstick but it's not that much when you buy 4! I really wanted to try the more neutral colors in the Liquid-Matte range so I went for Bare With Me, Stone and Truffle and just to make sure I'm ready for summer I threw in Play Date, one of their classic lipsticks.

I don't do much shopping on US websites anymore, I usually only shop on the sites that offer international shipping by Borderfree or something alike.  Sites like Nordstrom, Macy's ... all the big ones offer this now and you can calculate exactly how much shipping and duties will be and you can choose to pay duties up front, that way you know the absolute total of you order and there aren't any nasty surprises along the way.  Since Dose Of Colors is a much smaller company I can totally understand why they can't offer this (because those services usually aren't for free) and hey, what is the chance that customs will pick out my package right?  This one time I shop online in the US?  Well, as it turns out, Belgian customs love lipstick too ;-)  My package got picked out and opened.  It was definitely by a man because they only opened the box of one lipstick, if it was a woman she probably would've checked them all out ... and I can just see the man rolling his eyes "you stupid woman, buying lipstick in the US, I'll charge you the duties and another €15 formality cost because I had to look at lipstick".  That's right €15 formality cost for opening the package and calculating the duties.  I had to pay an extra €34,13 at the post office.  I always have bad luck when it comes to this, my packages always get intercepted by customs which is why I usually stay with European websites when shopping.  And the custom guy (because I really am convinced that it was a guy) ruined the packaging that Dose Of Colors used to send me my goodies.  It was a nice black envelope with their logo printed largely in front, a very nice packaging if it wasn't for the customs guy that taped a paper all the way over the front and that I couldn't get off without ruining the package.  Allright so far for my custom ranting, let's get to the lip products because that's what it's all about isn't it?

It's always tricky when a brand gets hyped up, expectations are high and disappointment is right around the corner.  But Dose Of Colors totally delivers in the quality department.

Let's start with the liquid-matte lipsticks.  I bought the three colors I liked the most: Bare With Me, Stone and Truffle.  I really was expecting Stone to be my favorite and it is beautiful but Bare With Me is just a bit more flattering on my skin tone.  The quality of these is phenomenal.  They don't tug on the lips, they don't dry out the lips and they stay put like forever.  To test them I put on the lipstick in the morning on a typical day to work, which means tons of coffee, fast lunches and no time to reapply every hour or so.  There was no need to reapply during the day and at night when I took my makeup off before going to bed, I even had to use makeup remover to get the lipstick off!  I couldn't believe there was still some left on my lips.  I even had a hard time removing the swatches from my arm, I had to turn to an oil to dissolve the color and even then it took a lot of rubbing to get the colors off.  I feel very confident wearing these when going out to dinner and I've been out to dinner with a matte lipstick before and ended up with an ugly line of lipstickresidue on my lip so I know the struggle.  With this formula, that struggle is in the past!

I also wanted to try out a classic lipstick of them.  Just because you can never have enough lipstick and with spring and summer around the corner I wanted something that screamed sunshine.  Hence Play Date.  I looked at swatches before buying it and I was expecting it to be bright but this is a real in your face peachy pink.  I have a light/fair complexion and the color is flattering on me but it is at its best when I'm bronzed up (since the sun doesn't help me in that department, it's up to Benefits Hoola to get me a bit of a bronze).  Once again I can't say anything bad about this lipstick.  

One thing I was surprised of was the smell.  They smell a bit like Mac lipsticks which is a very comforting smell to me.  The smell is not overwhelming, it's just there like with the MAC lipsticks.

Dose Of Colors doesn't only do lipsticks, they also have eyeshadows.  Not just any shadows but glitters!!  I definitely want to try out their Eyedeal Duo's but these are available at Beautybay so I'll be buying them there.

Where to buy:

If you live in Belgium and you want to buy Dose Of Colors lipsticks I would highly recommend checking out Beautybay.com first.  They carry all the different formulas but don't restock frequently so you have to be patient and check regularly.  You can't leave your email for notification in case a certain color is restocked which I think is a shame.  

If you want to buy these from the Dose Of Colors website directly like I did, here's what I paid for it:

Playdate was $16, the 3 matte lipsticks were $18 each and shipping was $12,83 making the total $82,83 which converted to €74,11, add the €34,13 duties and formalities and that's a total of €108,24!!  For 4 lipsticks!!! That's a total average of €27,06 a lipstick which is still cheaper than a Chanel lipstick but way more expensive than the initial $18.  If you buy a matte Dose Of Color lipstick at Beautybay you'll pay €18,40!  So if you can wait until Beautybay restocks, I strongly suggest you do so.