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.

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.

Splurge vs Steal: Deborah Lippmann Rockin’Robin vs NYC Nolita’s Lolita

Sometimes I can just smack myself in the head for buying high end, more expensive nail polish.  And this is one of those times.

A few years ago I bought Deborah Lippmann’s Rockin’Robin when it just came out and I paid €22 for at (at Parfuma in Antwerp).  I loved the polish, it’s a a minty blue with black speckles in.  It reminded me of the chocolate easter eggs Hema brings out every year.  I loved the color, wore it plenty during the spring/summer and then forgot about it.  

Last week during my lunch break I was strolling through the local drugstore (because what else is there to do during lunch break right?) and passing the NYC display I noticed this polish called Fancy Dotty in Nolita’s Lolita.  Immediately I thought of Rockin’Robin and I just had to buy it so I could compare the two.  

That’s right, I bought it so I could compare it to something that’s quite possibly the same and that I already have.  Sounds crazy?  Maybe a bit but hey, I bought it so I might as well compare them.

I paid €2,49 for the NYC polish and to be honest I love it more than I do the Deborah Lippmann polish.  The biggest reason for this is the brush. I love nail polish brushes that are a bit wider and the Deborah Lippmann one’s are quite small.

There really isn’t a big difference between the polishes quality wise, the color is a bit different though.  Nolita’s Lolita is a light blue polish were as Rockin’Robin has a bit of mint in it.  It’s not really minty green, more minty blue if you get what I mean.

from top to bottom:

DL Rockin'Robin, NYC Nolita's Lolita, DL Rockin'Robin, NYC Nolita's Lolita

Even though I hardly ever buy nail polish that costs more than 10€ (which is already expensive enough I think), I am willing to pay more if it is something special*.  I will buy Deborah Lippmann glitter polishes because those are just a-ma-zing!!  But for a ‚normal’ polish that doesn’t have a special effect of finish to it, I just don’t see any reason any more.  Drugstore polishes have come a long way and are great quality wise.  

So comparing application, quality and prices there is no doubt in my mind that you should go for NYC Nolita’s Lolita (you do realize that for the price difference you can buy 7 more different NYC polishes right?)

*one exception to this: Marc Jacobs beauty nail polishes, just because it’s Marc Jacobs :-)

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).

Review: Bourjois La Laque nail polish

I only have 3 Bourjois nail polishes. Somehow they never convinced me to buy more.  The colors I have are pastels and they apply so streaky that I wasn’t keen on trying other polishes.  But sometimes you just have to give a brand another try.  I love Bourjois lipsticks, eye pencils, foundations … so why wouldn’t I love their polishes?  When I saw they brought out a new line called La Laque I decided to just go for it and buy 2 colors: Beach Violet and Chair et tender   

from left to right: Beach violet, Chair et tendre

I had high hopes and I tried to keep an open mind but unfortunately I was disappointed again by the formula.  This time not because the colors are streaky in any way but the consistency of the polish is just too liquidy (I know, spelling check already warned me that this isn’t a real word).  It’s just like water and it acts like that.  It runs right into the edges and it is a pain to clean up.  Especially the darker Beach Violet.  It took me so long to clean it up halfway descent but you can still see stains on my cuticles.

The colors are beautiful I’ll give them that but for €8,99 you can find better quality nail polishes.  Sorry to say it Bourjois but in my opinion, nail polishes aren’t your forte.

Where to buy:

You can buy Bourjois at you local drugstore and supermarket or online.

Maybelline New York the palettes part 2: The Smokes

A few months ago I was strolling through boots.com , I was all out of Indeed Labs Hydraluron sheet masks and since there was a promotion going on I decided to order some.  Of course, there is no such thing as just ordering what you need and while I was looking around I came across a 3 for 2 promo on eyeshadow palettes.  So I ordered 2 (and a third one for my bestie, you always have to share the good promo’s with your bestie) and one of them was the The Smokes palette by Maybelline.  I don’t remember reading about it before I saw it on Boots but decided to get it (ok so maybe there was this voice going „Maybelline is bringing out a whole collection, get them all!”).

It is available in Belgium, I’ve seen it at DI and I think it will be available in more stores since there’s a blank space next to the The Nudes palette in the Maybelline Display.  It retails for €15,99.

The packaging is the same as the The Nudes palette.  A clean black case with a see through portion.  And when you open it, guess who’s in there: it’s the THINGY again!  Maybe I should write a whole piece about the thingy, it is after all a classic.  

The back is also the same as the first palette, there’s a breakdown of 13 different looks.  

As I expected, the color pay off is much better.  Since most of the colors are darker that wasn’t a surprise to me. There are only 3 nudish colors in there and though they aren’t very pigmented they are good for some highlighting or to wear as a base before you put other colors on your lid.  

For the pricing you can’t go wrong with this palette if you are in need of some darker colors.  You can even make a more nude eye with this one so for me this palette is a better deal than the The Nudes one.  But that’s just my opinion.

Where to buy:

- I’ve seen it in the DI store for €15,99.

Maybelline New York the palettes part 1: The Nudes

Honestly?  I really don’t understand what took the mainstream drugstore brands so long.  After the ginormous succes of the Urban Decay Naked Palettes you’d think it would be clear that there was a market for palettes with neutral colors but apparently not.  I think NYX was one of the exceptions here but since NYX isn’t that easy to get in Europe we were left with … well, almost nothing to be honest.  But over the last month or 2 all that has changed with Maybelline and L’Oreal both launching there palettes.  

The first one to launch: Maybelline The Nudes palette.  It launched in the US in july 2014 I think so it took almost a year to cross the ocean.  I put this palette on my ‚to buy’ list (because there always is a ‚wishlist’ and a ‚to buy’ list - I never ever second doubt the ‚to buy’ list) when I went to New York in October 2014 and let me say this, it wasn’t easy to find.  Luckily my friends know what I’m about by now so she knew what to expect when I said I had to have this.  Aside from the normal drugstore shopping we entered almost every Duane Reade, Walgreens and CVS we passed just to make a quick run to the Maybelline section and look for it.  It took forever but we found it and even my ever so cool absolutely not interested in makeup friend couldn’t hide her excitement.  

And now it has launched in Europe, in Belgium it retails for €15,99.  

I like the packaging.  It’s a simple clean black case with a see through portion.  You get 12 neutral colors with different finishes and a nice color range AND you get the inevitable thingy, that’s right THE THINGY!  I don’t know what it’s proper name is but I wonder who still uses it.  They should put a ban on it and include it in the Kyoto policy. It doesn’t work and it has to be bad for the environment, just ban it already!

On the back you get a break down of how to create 13 different looks.  I like it when brands do this, it makes things a lot easier if you’re not in a creative mood.

Bear with me for the swatches, it’s my first time so please be nice.  They were all made with my finer and one swipe of color.

The color payoff is of the lighter colors is quite disappointing to me and the matte ones are quite dry and chunky.  You can give the shadows a bit of help by putting on NYX jumbo eye pencil in milk on the eyelid as a base and I would definitely recommend putting on an eyeshadow primer.

The top row is the worst, I was only impressed with one color (the 4th one from the right).  The bottom row was a lot better except from the lightest color.  I’ve read people complaining about the colors not blending that well, I can’t really deny that but I always put some neutral face powder on my eyelids (over my primer) before I put on my shadows as I find this makes blending a lot easier.

If you are looking for a neutral palette than this is a nice one to start with but keep in mind that it does need a bit of help here and there. I don’t think I’ll be using this on a daily base simply because it needs that much help and I just don’t have the time for that in my daily routine.  But I do think I would take it with me for traveling.

Where to buy:

In Belgium you can find it at Kruidvat, Di and Lookis for €15,99.  I’ve been around them a lot the past week and there’s always a few available so you can consider waiting until they have a nice Maybelline promotion going on.

Review: Bourjois Soin Miraculeux

Do you remember a few years ago when Sephora came with the Instant Nail Polish Remover?  It was the answer to all of our problems, hallelujah!!!  We all went crazy of the simplicity and geniusness of this product.  You just dip you finger in, twist it around an begone nail polish!!!  I got sucked in the hype just like the rest of us, loving my little bottle of easiness, being sure there would be nothing that could make me turn away from it.  And then there was the day that I put my finger in there and it came out all reddish.  Granted, the nail polish was gone but leftover of red nail polish (from the time before maybe) stayed on my finger.  Putting my finger back in was no option, washing my hands didn’t solve anything so it was down to my all time classic bottle of remover to solve the problem.  Slowly my love faded away and once again it seemed that ‚the good old way’ was the best way.  

Memories of the Instant Nail Polish Remover came to me when I saw this little cutie by Bourjois.  Soin Miraculeux, the same concept but this time to nourish your nails an cuticles.  I looked at it again and again and decided to get it.  I could say I rationalized buying it (and I did to a point because the red stains on my fingers wouldn’t be happening here and aside from that it was very handy) but the truth is that it was just too cute to resist.  I mean, just look at it!!  Wouldn’t you want that sitting on your makeup table?  It’s just perfect: cute and handy, what more could a girl want?

But by now I know that there’s no such thing as ‚perfect’ and Soin Miraculeux only confirmed that.  It is easy, you just dip your nail in there for a second and let the jojoba oil do its work.  Sound good right?  There’s just one problem: there’s a finger behind the nail!  The whole tip of you finger gets covered in oil. NOT HANDY!!  We as women, we are usually multitasking.  Putting on cuticle oil and letting it sit there a few minutes while we buy that one pair of shoes that we absolutely need online (or whatever else you like to do) but when you have oil covering your whole fingertip instead of just your cuticles/nails there really isn’t much you can do aside from just sitting there making sure you don’t touch anything.  And after you massaged the oil in, you need to go clean all of your fingers.

Needless to say I was disappointed.  The product does its work and it smells good but the whole concept just doesn’t work for me.  If you don’t mind sitting there without touching anything than by all means, go ahead and buy it.  If not, just walk along when you hear the cuteness calling.

You can get Bourjois Soin Miraculeux at any drugstore, I paid €8,99 for it at Lookiss.