When besties win ... featuring the entire Benefit They're Real range

I think it was around the 10th of february when my attention was drawn to a Benefit post on Facebook.  "Send a Valentines card to your bestie and have a chance to win the whole Benefit They're Real range."  Now, I never win with these things so I din't give much notice to the last part of the sentence but sending a Benefit Valentines card to my bestie?  I loved that idea!!  She replied with her own Benefit Valentines card and that was it, or so I thought ...  Last week she came by my desk at work (yes, we work together) looking a bit mischievous so I immediately knew something was up.  And than she said something in the line of "if I tell you this, you're gonna owe me forever ... and you have to promise to never make fun of me again", alarm bells went off in my head because, you know, never make fun of my bestie again?? No way I can promise that!!!  But she didn't leave me hanging for long ... "remember those Benefit valentines cards we sent each other?  well, I just got an email that I've won and so we both get the whole Benefit They're Real range"  Say that again?  Overexcited doesn't even begin to describe what we felt but the real thrill was when the package came.  I mean look at it!!  Where to begin?

I've always been a big fan of Benefit.  I've been using their They're Real mascara for a few years now, and I still remember when and where the Sephora sales lady got me hooked on this mascara.  It was in Madrid to be exact and I was there on a girls only weekend.  The They're Real mascara just launched in Europe and one coat on my lashes was enough to get me hooked.  Sure I've tried other mascaras since but I always go back to this one.  I was so happy when they brought out the brown version.  Other Benefit favorites are the Porefessional primer and the Hello Flawless foundation and powder.  It's not just the products that are great but with Benefit it really is the whole experience.  The look and feel of the brand is just so appealing.  Cute but not too cute with a bit of a retro feel to it. 

Benefit, you already owned a piece of my heart and this just made it bigger.  Thank you so much for this, I'm really going to enjoy trying everything out!

Where to buy:

In Belgium you can buy Benefit at selected Galeria Inno stores or online at inno.be, currently there is a 20% off promotion when you buy 2 items at the beauty department.

Pharmacy must have: Homeoplasmine

I've been obsessed with pharmacy brands lately.  I recently had to purchase a new cleanser and day cream and my search started and ended at the pharmacy.  Truth be told, their products are usually just as good if not even better than the big cosmetic brand products and they have something for every problem you may have with your skin.  And most of the time you pay only a fraction of the price then you would buying at a beauty store.  One of the products that's been with me for a few years now and that I totally swear by is Homeoplasmine (by Boiron).

I carried this with me at my MUFE course and one of my model friends had really dry lips, they weren't really split but she did have some dead skin on there.  Before I started applying makeup I put some Homeoplasmine on them and by the time I had to put on lipstick her lips were as soft as a baby's bottom.  And last week I went to dinner with a friend who had really cracked lips, I mean really cracked to the point it hurts.  She already tried everything and anything so I suggested trying Homeoplasmine and a few days later she texted me that the cracks had almost completely gone.  

Homeoplasmine is a treatment for irritated skin.  It works when you have that red flaky nose we all get when we have a cold, it works for dry spots on your face and it works wonders for lips.  I mainly use it for my lips but sometimes I get dry spots near my eyebrows, I just put some on at night and the dryness is gone by the time I wake up.  

It has a very thick and tacky substancy so it's not something you just put on your face or lips during the day so I do recommend using it at night.  It's also not meant to be used all day every day but more as a treatment when you have local dry spots.

And the best part?  The price!  One tube costs €6,66 (price at newpharma.be) and you get 40ml of products.  So imagine Elisabeth Ardens Eight Hour cream (which costs €35,50 for 50ml at Sephora.fr) without the smell, maybe even better working and at a fraction of the price and you know what Homeoplasmine does.  A real must have in any makeup kit or skincare collection if you ask me.

Make Up For Ever HD pressed powder

Let's talk powder.  I have dry to combination skin, I'm almost 40 (not quite yet but slowly getting there) and I want that youthful shine on my face (you know, the one I had about 20 years ago and that just came naturally).  So I have to be careful when using powder.  I have drier skin on my cheeks but normal skin on my T-zone and since I have some signs of aging (read: rimples) on my forehead I have to use a light hand when applying powder to fixate my foundation.

I can't use mattifying powder but I can't use 'glowing' powder around my 'rimpled' area either because that would just draw the attention to where I don't want it to be.  A lot of powders I tried in the past just lay on my skin like they were to heavy and you could just see it sitting there.  And I do tend to use powder over my whole face, just so my powder blush has a base to stick to (you know, powder on powder, creams on creams) so it was hard to find the right powder.  Maybe that's why I never took an interest in it.  Usually I use a face powder until it's empty and than I'll go and look for another one.

During my week at the Make Up Forever Academy I got to test all of the MUFE products (which is like heaven for someone like me).  I didn't really buy much at the time but I went back a few weeks later to get the Ultra HD foundation (post on this will be on the blog soon) and the HD Pressed Powder for myself.  I bought the pressed one instead of the loose one just because it's less of a mess (and when I'm doing my makeup in the morning I usually haven't had a cup of coffee yet so you can imagine the damage I could do with a loose powder).

Of course I'd read about this powder before and almost every review was good but I was really scared of the 'ghost effect' on flash camera you can get with this if applied excessively.  That was enough for me to stay away from it. But I when I started using it during my course I loved the feeling of it on my skin.  It doesn't shine, it doesn't mattify, it doesn't look powdery and it doesn't sit on my skin.  And I don't know what your day to day life is like but mine doesn't involve flash cameras so I am now using this powder on a daily base and loving it!  I can honestly say that I never knew powder coul feel like this.

I do apply this with a light hand and a black bristled powder brush so I can see how much product is on there.  And I will be using this when doing someone else's makeup.  Like my teacher said "a little goes a long way" and you have to really cake it on to get that ghost effect (and you can always take a picture of yourself with a flash to make sure you didn't go too far with it).  Personally I know I use less when I use a compact instead of a loose powder so that's also a reason why I bought the compact.  And compacts are just easier to carry around, be it in you purse or when traveling.

The downside to all of this?  All of a sudden I have developed a profound interest in facial powders, I even have one on my wish list (I'm going shopping in Antwerp in a few weeks, Antwerp is like beauty heaven to me) so I guess there is a 'to be continued' to the face powder saga ...

Where to buy:

If you live in Belgium you can buy the HD powder at the Make Up Forever webshop makeup forever.be or in one of there 2 stores in Brussels.  The HD powder costs €31,12.

I Heart Makeup Naked Chocolate Palette at Kruidvat Belgium

I'm not a big fan of companies that make exact copies of a product.  Maybe it's because I studied marketing and I know how strategies are made and how much effort and creativity goes into launching a product line or theme.  So when I first read about I Heart Makeup I really wasn't impressed with the company.  Their I Heart Chocolate palette is an exact copy of the Too Faced Chocolate Palette and when I say exact, I mean exact.  The packaging is slightly different (cheaper looking and feeling) but the colors and the theme are exactly the same.  But curiosity got the best of me and when I saw the I Heart Makeup palettes in a Kruidvat promotion I couldn't help myself and I decided to take a closer look at them.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the quality, especially for the price you pay.  Kruidvat had a tester of every palette so I could swatch them before buying.  This shouldn't come as a surprise but I decided to buy one.  Since I already have the Too Faced palette I decided to go for The Naked Chocolate one.  Natural everyday colors, you just can't have enough of those right? (please say yes as my bestie already called me out on this and banned me from buying other palettes like this, I think her exact words were "buy neon the next time, I'm sure you don't have that already")

First thing I did when I came home and opened the palette?  I smelled it and I mean I really inhaled the scent of it (I could just hear my man thinking "she's lost it completely now") ... A little word of advice?  Don't do that!!  I was expecting a sweet chocolate scent but instead I got a cheap makeup scent.  It threw me back in time to when I was 16 and buying eyeshadow for the first time in the supermarket.

The packaging feels cheap but hey, it is a cheap palette so that really doesn't bother me and the quality and amount of the eyeshadows makes up for the cheap packaging. 

top row swatches: Smoothy, Divine, Mocha Lover, Dipped, Choc-fest

It's interesting because I read this article recently about how we pay too much for makeup and this palette proves that we do.  Especially these days when drugstore brands often are as good a quality as some high end products are. That being said, I'm pretty sure we are all aware that we pay a lot for marketing or the brand name when buying makeup.  Or maybe we just want to go along with the hype.  I know I do.  Which is exactly why I believe in mixing high end and budget products.  

middle row swatches: Adorable, Buttons, Frosted Choc, Delight, Sweet Shop, Sugar

My swatches were made with one swipe of my finger rubbed over the eyeshadow.  They were taken by daylight and I did no editing where the light was concerned to keep the result as real as possible.  

Some of the more matt colors are a bit chalky (which they often are) but the shimmers are just so buttery and soft!!  

bottom row swatches: Double Dip, Tob-le-rone, Wonka, Milky, Way

If you're looking for a nice natural palette that isn't expensive and gives you a lot of product than this is definitely one to look at!

Where to buy:
The I Heart Makeup promotion at Kruidvat Belgium runs until the end of this week and all the palettes are €9,99.  If you can't find them at Kruidvat you can always order them online at www.makeuprevolution.com .

Kiehl's Micro-Blur Skin Perfector

Since I emptied my Smashbox photo finish face primer sample last month, it was time to try out a new one.  Enter Kiehl's Micro-Blur Skin Perfector.  I bought it a few months ago when I was in Antwerp with my bestie and we made our usual pitstop at Kiehl's.  There are a few reasons why I love to go to a Kiehl's shop.  One, they always make time for you.  Two, you always get good advice. And three, you get so many samples so you can try what they recommend before actually purchasing it.  

Aside from Kiehl's I also love pore minimizing products (like Benefit's the Porefessional face primer) so when I saw this Micro-Blur Skin Perfector, I just had to try it.

The Micro-blur Skin Perfector is described as a 'lightweight skin smoother to instantly refine skin texture and minimize the appearance of pores while improving skin's quality over time'.  A mouthful to say the least.

The first time I used this I knew I was hooked.  You only need a pea size amount to cover your whole face and the effect is instant.  But it's the feeling of the product on my face that surprised.  It feels light, you hardly feel it's there, and it somehow feels 'refreshing'.  It's the perfect primer to use under your foundation but it's also great to use just over your moisturizer without using anything else (for that my skin but way better look).

I've always been a big Porefessional by Benefit fan but if I have to choose between the two I really feel like Kiehl's would be the winner.  

Since I've only been using this for two weeks I can't say anything about the promise of 'improving skin's quality over time' but so far my skin feels great!

And just in case you're wondering: the pictures are totally real.  The only thing that I adjusted was the light since they were both a bit too dark.  No other special effects were added.  So you be the judge!

Where to buy:

You can buy Kiehl's Micro-Blur Skin Perfector at your Kiehl's store/counter or online.  For Belgium and The Netherlands that would be Kiehls.nl and a tube of 30ml costs 28€.

Emptied and replaced in October

October went by fast and I have a feeling November is even going to go by faster.  Just 3 more weeks of work and then I'm off to somewhere sunny for 10 days.  Much deserved, even if I say so myself ;-)

Anyway, I was on a roll in September, emptying a lot of products and I'm forcing myself to continue this process.  So here's what I emptied out in October and what I replaced it with:

Facial care:

I used up my Neutrogena Alcohol Free Toner and replaced it with Body Shop Vitamine E face mist.  Technically not really a toner but it works the same to me and since I had half a bottle left I decided to use it and not buy a new toner until the face mist is empty.  Also my much beloved Neutrogena Raphid Wrinkle repair moisturizer has been emptied.  I'm so bummed by this, it's not available in Europe and I love this one so much (I do need to put a hydrating serum under this).  Yet another reason to plan a trip to the US soon.  I replaced it by Vichy Normaderm Tri-Activ Anti-Imperfection Hydrating care that I found laying around, I think it was in a Deauty box at some point.

Body care:

Bath and Body works time!!  I finished the Beautiful Day hand cream and got started on my tube of Crisp Morning Air Handcream.  The Maui Mango Surf body cream replaced my Love & Sunchine body cream.  I also found this Clinique Water Therapy foot smoothing cream somewhere in the back of a closet, it was almost empty, I only got 3 more uses out of it and I replaced it by the Body Shop's Spa wisdom honey & beeswax hand and foot butter that I found in the back of the same closet.  I remember I was hooked on this stuff at one point and then they stopped selling it.  So I'm kind of hoping I don't get hooked again since it's no longer for sale.

Makeup:

My sample size Photo finish primer by Smashbox lasted until the end of the first week of October and I replaced it by 2 primers.  Kiehl's Micro Blur Skin Perfection (which I love by the way, you can find a review of this on the blog real soon) and Too Faced Hangover replenishing face primer.  I intended to alternate between both but I'm loving the Kiehl's one so much that I haven't tried the Too Faced primer yet.  When it gets colder I probably will start alternating more because the Too Faced one is more hydrating and that's what my skin needs in winter.  And than there's my Guerlain Lingerie de Peau bb beauty booster ... this one got me through 2 summers.  It's so lightweight it feels like a bb cream but gives a foundation like coverage.  I'm happy this one is now empty.  As much as I loved it, I was so sick of it by the end, I really wanted to try something new and the damn tube kept producing product. I'm now using the Cover Girl Ready Set Gorgeous foundation in the color 110 as my everyday foundation, especially for workdays.  It's very lightweight and gives you that pretty healthy finish.  Another Neutrogena favorite is their Healthy Skin foundation (shown here in 110 Classis Ivory), since the formula is a bit heavier I  currently only use this one on special days or if I'm going out at night. And last but not least one of my all-time favorite Mac eyeshadows: Satin Taupe, that one got replaced by itself.

Nail care:

There they go, my two favorite nail care products of all time, in the bin: trend nail balsam and nail repair.  Trind products are definitely among the best nail products on the market and I already have backups of them at home but I decided to go with Sally Hanssen Vitamin E Nail & cuticle oil and nail hardener and I'm liking them so far.

Miscellaneous:

I've been a very good girl lately cleaning my makeup brushes every sunday.  I usually use the same colors every day when I'm working so it wasn't really necessary color-wise to clean them often but of course it's more hygienic to clean them regularly.  So on sunday I clean brushes!  I emptied my Mac brush cleanser and replaced it by a new bottle.

And that's it!  I'm liking this process a lot: empty out one thing before opening another.  It's working well for most products but in case you're wondering; I'm not even going to try to implement this in my nail polish and eyeshadow collection because I'd never be able to write a post like this if I did that ;-)

A little Sephora.fr haul and Sunday chit chat

It's been a bit quiet on the blog I know.  So what happened?  Just life I guess.  I feel like life is just rushing by and I'm nog able to keep up.  Of course the fact that it's dark when you leave for work and it's dark again when you come home isn't helping.  I am in desperate need of some sunlight let me tell you.  And let's not forget my trip to the dentist that costed me enough to go into a no-buy modus for the rest of the month.  I kept telling myself that I don't need anything new makeup wise and that the latest editions coming out aren't worth splurging on ... did I believe it?  Deep down I didn't but it worked for a week or two ;-)

I failed on the no-buy thing though ... but in my defense, I had to!  You see, my bestie has a birthday coming up and I already knew what I wanted to get her so when I got a 20% off mail from Sephora.fr I just had to go for it (and get some things for myself while I was at it).

The thing with Sephora.fr?  First of all there are shipping costs and as you may know by now, I'm allergic to shipping costs, especially within Europe.  These days there are so many sites that offer free shipping that I try to avoid site that do charge shipping.  But the thing with Sephora is that they have a few brands that are hard to find elsewhere and with the discount I more than made up for the costs.

The second thing is that Sephora.fr is always a bit disappointing to me.  I've been in the States at least once a year for the past five years or so and the French Sephora hasn't got all the brands you can get in the States.  No Kat Von D, no Hourglass, no Becca ... But I'm keeping my fingers crossed because Sephora US started shipping to Germany, The Netherlands and a few other European countries so I'm hoping Belgium will soon be joining the ranks.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by Sephora.fr.  I ordered on a tuesday evening and my package arrived friday noon even though the website stated 2 to 5 days and I always assume the worse.  

So what was in there you ask?  I treated myself to Marc Jacobs Style Eye-con no.7 plush eyeshadow palette in The Dreamer, Marc Jacobs New Nudes lipstick in Understudy and Sephora express nail remover wipes.  You can expect swatches of these on the blog soon.  I got the Sephora Rouge Infusion lipgloss in Pink Essence (33) for a friend and than there was a present for the birthday girl that isn't in the pictures because it's a surprise and I know she's reading.  You have a few more weeks of waiting to do!!!

Another great thing: you get to choose your samples. I went for By Terry moisturizing cc cream, Make Up Forever HD foundation and Benefit Air patrol eyelid primer.  I can't wait to try these!!

I will definitely be buying Sephora.fr again when I have a discount code!! But for now there are other things to buy ... like Zoya nail polish, the winter collection of Essie, the holiday editions that are launching, the Urban Decay palette in collaboration with Gwen Stefani ...  too much prettiness, not enough money!! 

Enjoy your week and I promise to update more regular from now on.  I have some articles that are almost done and I'm planning them for this week.  

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.

Maybelline New York the palettes part 3: The Blushes Nudes

Well, this one was quite a surprise.  I remember making my Walmart wish list for our trip to the States and all of a sudden I saw it.  So, of course, I put it on my list.  I didn’t have to look hard for it, the first day and our first Walmart and I already had it.  Which was quite a difference compared to the other palettes.

I haven’t seen it around Europe yet, not even on the Boots website so I don’t know if or when it will be available.

The packaging is the same as the other 2 palettes, only this time it’s in an old rosy color.  Quite a nice color that matches the idea of this palette.  And when you open it up there’s a big surprise in there, not one but TWO THINGIES!!! That’s right, two!!! I’m sure I would be thrilled if I used them.  By now I know the right term is ‚sponge applicator’ but I still prefer thingy … 

The back is also the same with a breakdown of 13 different looks on there.

I didn’t really know what to expect from this palette color-quality wise.  The colors aren’t really light which I felt were the most 'problematic’ colors in the previous palettes.  

The 3 left top colors are really light and the same goes for the left one on the bottom.  But the other colors are quite nice actually.  The color-pay off is really good (remember, all swatches are made with one swipe of color with my finger).

Out of the three palettes this one is definitely my favorite.  It’s the most versatile, you can make both neutral and smokey looks with this one.  So if you’re looking to buy only one of the three I would go for this one.  Unfortunately I have absolutely no idea when it will be available in Europe.

Where to buy:

I don't think it's available in Europe but in the USA you can get at the local pharmacy/drugstore for $9,99.

NOTD: Push The Limits by Formula X by Sephora

When I'm in the States I always bring back a few (because one just won't do) nail polishes from Formula X by Sephora.  So far none of them have disappointed me. I love the formula and the brush, it's just good quality nail polish.  Last time I brought back the color Push The Limits.  I mean look at it: a beautiful vibrant red color, how could I resist?  Described as Tomato red on the Sephora website and that it definitely is.  It did take me 3 coats to get full coverage but I find a lot of reddish nail polishes need 3 coats.  

If you're in Sephora it's definitely worth checking this one out!

Where to buy:

Europe: Sephora.fr €12,90 (+ €9,95 shipping if you order online and live in Belgium)

USA: Sephora.com $10,50