Too Faced Hangover Primer

I'm all about that base and I'm always looking for that something to give me that perfect base to apply my makeup on.  I love pore minimizing primers but sometimes you just need something else.  Needless to say when I came across the Hanover Primer by Too Faced, I just had to try it (and I also admit that the name got me hooked).

So what does this Hangover Primer do exactly?  It's a hydrating primer that gives your skin an extra oomph when you need it.  The substance is very light and really sinks into the skin, giving it an overall healthy look.  Perfect for those dull skin days.

The primer comes in a tube with a pump, which I love.  It's clean and one pump will get you enough product for the whole face (but I admit that some days I just need that extra pump).

I really like this primer but I'm not sure I'll re-buy it.  There are just so many primers out there to try and even though I really like this one, I'm sure there are plenty others out there that do the same.

Where to buy:

You can buy Too Faced Hangover Primer at Sephora.fr, a tube of 40ml costs 31€ (I do have to mention that since you don't need much this will last you a long time).

A little ZOEVA order

Can you believe I'd never tried ZOEVA brushes?  I've read about them and I even told some friends that wanted to buy brushes to order there but I never got around to ordering there myself.  Mostly because I wasn't really in need of new brushes.  A few weeks ago I decided to go ahead and order a few brushes and I wasn't disappointed!

127 Luxe Sheer Cheek

I admit, this one was a case of 'brush envy'.  My bestie has this one and when I saw it I had to have it.  I didn't really own a brush like this and this is perfect for a bit of contouring, bronzing or to apply blush.  

142 Concealer Buffer

I got this one because of the brush that came with my Bye Bye Under Eye concealer by IT Cosmectics.  I never used to buff in my concealer but now I can't really imagine applying it any other way, I'm wondering if using a buffing brush could be the answer to all my concealer prayers.  So far I've only used it once and I like it a bit more than the IT cosmetics brush.  It's a bit 'firmer' but no hard for the under eye area.

223 Petit Eye Blender

This is my favorite one!  I absolutely adore this one.  If you have hooded eyes like I do, creating a crease is a pain in the ass.  You have to create it with your eyes open and if the brush you use for that is too big the effect can be a mess.  This one is just perfect for that job!  I already know I'll be ordering a second one of this for sure!

227 Luxe Soft Definer

In case you didn't know already, this is a perfect dupe for the MAC 217 brush which is one of my all time favorite brushes (and one of the first MAC brushes I bought).  It was time I got a second one for those days when you're just too lazy to wash your brushes but you need a clean blending brush.

I already know there will be more Zoeva brushes in the near future for me, if you're looking for some affordable quality brushes you should go check out zoeva.de 

NOTD Maybelline Color Show in Coral Craze (342)

I'm not making the best impression am I.  Being all excited on the first birthday of the blog and than immediately start slacking on the posting.  I wish I had a good excuse but the truth is that I've just been so tired this week I haven't gotten around to it.  Good times are coming though because starting this weekend I have a two week vacation.  I'm going to do some traveling (don't ask me where to because we haven't booked yet), do some work around the house and just relax.  And I promise to squeeze in blogging too ;-)

For now you'll just have to do with this swatch of the Maybelline Color Show nail polish in Coral Craze.  Maybelline is starting with an update of the Color Show nail polish packaging and Di had a promotion going on because of it.  Normally you would pay €4,19 for one, right now you pay €5 for two!  So of course I had to grab 4 :-) but this one immediately caught my eye.  It's the perfect color for summer.

The Color Show polishes are great quality, have a nice brush that makes application easy and you get full coverage in two coats.

Where to buy:

You can buy the Maybelline Color Show nail polishes at your local drugstore.  Like I said Di in Belgium is have a great deal on these right now so grab some asap!

1 year already

I started this blog exactly 1 year ago today and I want to thank each and every one of you for stopping by my little place on the web.

Starting this was a big step for me, I'd been thinking about it for so long and I remember being on vacation and talking about it with my man who's simple reply was "just do it".  And he was right so instead of thinking about it I just did it.  It was a bit confronting at first because even though I'm sure most of my friends and colleagues are well aware of my nail polish/makeup and overall beauty addiction, showing it to the whole world and giving everyone a look inside my 'collection' makes it all very real.  But everyone has been very supportive and when I'm slacking there's always the one person that tells me "hey, I was reading the blog and you haven't posted in a while, when will the next post be up?" ... 

It's been very exciting to see the statistics of the blog.  An international 'audience', the number of readers going up ... it's very humbling and I always wonder who you are.  Because even though I see you are all reading, nobody has left a comment (except for my bestie in the beginning).  So I'm anxiously waiting for that to happen.

This first year for me was all about discovering blogging.  Do I like it?  Am I any good at writing and am I any good at writing in English?  Do I have enough to write about? Will I be able to take good pictures and edit them?  I can answer yes to a few of these questions, some of them are for you to answer but since I see the number going up, I can't be that bad can I?

The one thing I'm not good in is creating a nice layout.  I just don't have the patience to start fumbling around and so I decided that I would treat the blog to a new bought layout.  I searched the net and decided on a layout from Pipdig. My requirements weren't that big: not too expensive, modern looking and easy to install.  And it took me longer to decide what template to buy than to install it.  I'm not done yet with the whole layout, there are different pages in the works and I will be linking my social media accounts to the page.  But that's not for today since the ironing is waiting for me (and I've already neglected it last week so I really have to get it done today).

So what does the future hold?  I have no idea, the thing I'm struggling the most with is the frequency of posts.  I've tried posting every day for two weeks but it's not realistic and it's just so much pressure that it's not really fun.  So I'm thinking 3 posts a week on regular days and than when I have more time or something really exciting to write about I can just add an extra post.  I'll be experimenting with this for the next weeks and I'll let you know what I come up with.

If you have any suggestions on how to make the blog better or if there are specific things you'd like to see more (or less about), please let me know in the comments ;-)

Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to stop by.  Hope to see you again soon!

XoXo

An

IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye concealer

I'm definitely not a concealer person, in fact I hardly ever use one.  Why, you ask?  Because I have lines under my eyes (I'm trying not to use the word wrinkles anymore, lines sounds so much more gentle) and most concealers get in there before I even have time to set it with powder.  It's just so much hassle when you're getting a bit older and you have lines around your eyes.  Since I don't really have dark circles under my eyes, I feel comfortable skipping this step.  But since I'm constantly thriving to step up my makeup game I've been trying to convince myself of the use of under eye concealers with not much succes until now.

If you haven't heard of the Bye Bye Under Eye concealer of It Cosmetics you definitely haven't been watching youtube makeup tutorials in the last year or so.  This concealer was everywhere,  got positive reviews all around the web and if you look at the It Cosmetics website this stuff is everything you ever needed and more.  The only problem: It Cosmetics wasn't available in Europe.  You could only buy it at Ulta (and I recently found out you can also buy it at Beautylish.com but since I'm not the best of buddies with Belgian customs I didn't want to use that option) until now.  Recently QVCUK started selling a small selection of It Cosmetics products including the Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer.  So as soon as it hit their website I ordered the Bye Bye Under Eye concealer in the shade light and with a duel ended concealer brush as an introductory offer.

I always try out new makeup out on a Sunday because sometimes things don't work out the way you want them to so a stay inside Sunday is the perfect day to try something on the first time.  It was two weeks ago on a Sunday morning I put the concealer on for the very first time.  First impression?  It's a very 'sturdy' formule, it doesn't come out of the tube that easily.  You really have to squeeze hard (almost to the point that I was afraid the end of the tube would explode).  I tried it out on the back of my hand and wasn't all that impressed to be honest, still couldn't see what the fuss was all about.  So I went on and put it under my eyes.  Now, I don't have the excessive dark circle thing going on under my eyes but since I have quite light skin you can definitely see THE vain.  You know, that blue vain that is under your eye and goes all the way to the inside of your eye, THE vain could use some covering up.  I left the concealer on without setting it with powder for the rest of the day.  

The first one I share exciting makeup stuff with is my bestie (no offense to you my dearest reader), if it's bad, good, not worth the hype, so worth the hype ... she's the first one to know how I feel about a certain thing so she got a text at night "this concealer doesn't crease!  It does not crease! And I didn't even set it with powder!" .  

I apply the Bye Bye Under Eye using the flat side of the brush first.  I apply it all the way up to my under eye lashes and in a slightly triangular shape.  Then I continue to buff it in with the other side of the brush and I set it with a little Laura Mercier Translucent powder.   Thats's the method that works best for me.  And the best thing: you only need a tiny amount of product, the size of the pinhead, so a tube will last you a very long time.

I've been using this one for two weeks straight now, every day and I feel naked not using it.  The other day I was running late and for a second I thought "oh, I could just skip concealer, I've been fine without it for so long and will save time" but I immediately banished those evil thoughts of my mind.

Yes, my lovely reader, I think I'm officially hooked on this concealer.  This has never happened before (well, not with a concealer anyway).   If you're looking for a new under eye concealer and you have some money to spend (no drugstore price here) than I highly recommend this one.  Looking for the right color can be a bit tricky.  I have a light skin tone and sometimes I feel the light color is too light for me (but my bestie tells me that's not the case and bestie always knows best) and I am thinking about ordering the medium toned one too (to mix with the light one in summertime).

I'm waiting for QVCUK to start selling their CC cream, I really can't wait to get my hands on more products of It Cosmetics.

Where to buy:

I bought mine at qvcuk.com and paid £23,64 for the concealer with the brush, handling and shipping was £3,97 so in total I paid £27,61 or €35,51.  Not cheap but since it came with a good brush this is a good deal.  You have to hurry though because this sells out like crazy (esp the medium color).  They do restock regularly so you have to visit the site from time to time.