Kiko Haul

I recently discovered that a Kiko store hap opened not too far away from where I live. So naturally I had to go there and make a few purchases to celebrate! Kiko is a brand that I had ordered from online a few times and I have always been pleasantly surprised by the quality of their products and by their reasonable prices. The store itself was pretty cool and it was nice to be able to swatch products as the color descriptions online are not always very accurate.

Here is what I picked up:

200 eyeshadow brush: a soft, fluffy blending brush. Quite similar to a MAC 217 but bigger.

Water eyeshadow in 202: a silvery mauve. I already owned one of these and their are great quality shadows that can be used wet or dry.

Long Lasting stick eyeshadow in 01: a shimmery white that will be perfect for inner corner highlights or all over the lid as a base.

3D Instant Volume lip gloss in 218: As mentioned in my last post, this is a beautiful rosy pink. The texture is quite thick and feels very cushiony and comfortable on the lips. 

Lip Set in 01 Distinct rose (from Luscious Punk collection): First of all, I just love the idea and the convenience of a matching liner/lipstick duo and I think more brands should sell them. Plus, I find this dusty rose color very pretty and universally flattering. Too bad it is limited edition.

Have you ever tried Kiko products? Do you have any favorites? 

Currently loving: Lip glosses

I've never been a lip gloss lover as I tend to find them too sticky or too slippery on the lips. I've always favored a matte lipstick over a lip lacquer when I want a blood lip and when I want a hint of color I usually go for a tinted lip balm or a sheer lipstick. But recently I've been getting more into glosses. They're a nice alternative for when I want to add a little something to my lips without going all out. Here are my most recent glossy purchases:

Kiko 3D instant volume lip gloss in 218: A gorgeous rosy pink, perfect for the colder months. I haven't tried it out so I can't say much about the formula, but I love the color.

Tanya Burr's lip glosses in Afternoon Tea, Aphrodite and Exotic Island: The first one is a pretty pinky nude. Aphrodite is a beautiful coral and Exotic Island is a bright berry pink. My first pick from the line was First Date which was too light for me. Now hat I've found these pretty shades I can't wait to pick a few others. 

Marc Jacobs Lust for lacquer in Kissability: I saw this on Sarah's blog an it instantly caught my eyes. A mauve pink with a golden shimmer that gives a fresh minty, slightly tingly, sensation on the lips. Great for everyday!

Next on my list is this Bare Minerals set. I've never tried this formula, but I've heard some pretty good reviews.

What are your favorite lip glosses? :-)

Autumn Views

Autumn is such a beautiful season. Although I hate when the night falls at five in the afternoon. It sometimes make me feel kind of depressed and lowers my motivation. But I still love all the gorgeous colors that this season has to offer.
So here is my two cents to the autumn appreciation ritual that I seem to see everywhere on the web lately.

Charlotte Tilbury The Fallen Angel Palette

Charlotte Tilbury is a brand that I've been eyeing for such a long time. I recently treated myself to one of her matte lipstick and I immediately knew I wouldn't stop there. The eyeshadow quads were next on my list, but I could decide myself for one. I really liked the Dolce Vita palette, but it seemed too warm for me. The Golden Goddess looked nice too, but I wasn't completely sold and, for the price, I wanted it to be four shades that I could all wear everyday. Then the Christmas collection launched and I saw something that REALLY tickled my fancy: The Fallen Angel Palette. It contains everything that I need to create my perfect everyday look: a nice champagne highlight, a taupe, a bronze (perfect for a quick, one-shadow smokey eyes) and a dark grey to use as a liner or add drama. Score! I've used the 3 lightest shades for the look below. It gave me a pretty wash of color, but next time I'll use them wet to get more intensity. And let's just give a shout out to the packaging. Not only the palette itself is absolutely gorgeous, but even the parcel is decorated with Charlotte's signature color and logo. Enough ramble, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Literary Discoveries: Jules Verne

Today, I thought I would do something a little bit different and non-beauty related and talk to you about one of my favorite authors: Jules Verne. My interest for this french 19th century novelist sprouted when my boyfriend followed a seminar on him at uni. He had read Journey to the Center of the Earth and came back home singing its praise. I had heard about Jules Verne since I was a kid. I remember watching the cartoon version of Michel Strogoff on TV, but I had never read anything from him. Before my boyfriend mentioned him I thought the stories he wrote were mainly intended for children, but boy I was wrong! Actually, I think that if I had read some of his works when I was a child, I wouldn't have had the maturity to enjoy them properly and would have found them boring.

I started by reading Twenty Leagues under the Sea last summer and, although it took me a while to get into it, I ended up enjoying it a lot! Warning: if you're looking for a very intense and intricate plot this might not be for you. The plot itself could be summarized in just a few lines. This novel is, in my opinion, more about atmospheres and the (mental) contemplation of landscapes, which is made easier by the beautiful drawings added to the story. Twenty Leagues under the Sea is actually more structured like a travel journal than like an adventure novel. If you are sometimes intrigued by unexplainable phenomenons I strongly recommend reading this book, as Jules Verne addresses many mysteries of the seas, skillfully mixing science and fantasy. 

Journey to the Center of the Earth is another novel in which Jules Verne amazed me by his talented association of scientific facts with epic adventures. A must read, in any language!

Lastly, Around the World in Eighty Days delighted me by being a very light and funny, but yet thrilling, novel. This one, I would say, is suitable for any audience of any age. I easily got carried away by the characters' journey that is full or twists and turns. This novel actually made me feel like I was travelling myself without leaving the comfort of my sofa. I virtually explored remote countries and leaned a few cultural fact on the way. A great source of distraction and education, which seemed to be Jules Verne's aim with most of his works: combining science with fiction to make the acquiring of knowledge more pleasant. 

Next on my reading list are: From the Earth to the Moon, Around the Moon and A Winter Amid the Ice.

Happy reading everyone!

The Matte Collection

Nouvelle Vogue on the left and La Vie En Rouge on the right. 

I don't tend to keep up with MAC's limited edition collections. I usually contemplate them from afar and when I fancy getting something, most of the time it's already sold out. But when MAC launched their Matte Collection a few weeks ago I did spot a few colors that I really liked and a splurge happened. 

Two shades made it to my basket:

Nouvelle Vogue which is a mauvy/rosy pink that is perfect for autumn (see last picture) and La Vie En Rouge, a bright pinky red that I haven't worn yet but that will certainly get used a lot come Christmas time.

Have a nice week, see you on Thursday for a new post!

Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick

I recently purchased my very first Charlotte Tilbury make up product after drooling over them online for so long. The product I picked up is from her new lipstick range called the Matte Revolution and I was extremely pleasantly surprised.  Fist of all the packaging: even though I only ordered one item, it arrived beautifully wrapped in a box, accompanied an by envelop which contained the order details. I  could already tell how much attention had been paid to detail. And I hadn't even opened the lipstick yet! The lipstick tube in itself is such a beautiful object. I love how light is reflected around it (see picture  5). The shade that I picked up is called Amazing Grace and it is right up my street! It is a rosy pink shade which is perfect for autumn. One thing that I noticed though, was that it has very subtle golden shimmers in it, which I wasn't expecting from a matte lipstick. However this doesn't bother me too much and I find the formula really comfortable to wear. I will definitely pick up other shades from this rang and maybe even an eyeshadow palette or a few eyeliners. Who knows...

A Small Blusher Haul

Blusher is a step in my make up routine that I often skip. I like wearing eyeshadows and lipstick (not necessarily a bold lip, just a bit of color) on a daily basis and I find that the combination of the three  can really look overdone.

My blusher collection is thus quite small compared to my lipstick or palette arsenal. A few weeks ago, however, I decided to add these two products to my stash. 

I bought The Balm "How 'bout them apples?" cheek and lip palette because I love the quality of their eyeshadows and because I wanted to try more from the brand. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't also drawn by the packaging (Sexy cowboys? Hell yeah!). The texture of the products surprised me by being quite light and oily (in a good, moisturizing way). I haven't tried them on the lips yet but they look beautiful on the cheek and are easy to blend.

The other product that I purchased is the infamous Luminoso blusher by Milani. Until them I had restricted myself to pink blushers, thinking that it would suit my skintone best. But this (very pigmented) peachy powder is just so beautifying, even on fair skins. I like to wear it quite intensely on the cheeks with minimal make up and it gives such a healthy flush to the face. I am in love. 

New toys

Palettes are one of my favorite make up item. I can't say no to a good neutral palette. The two above are my current favorites. Being a fan of the Naked 1 palette, I had to get my hands on Naked 3 (I do like Naked 2, but I find it less exiting, less interesting than the original). I am quite late to add my two cents to all the praise that has been given to it, but I have to mention it on my blog because I think that Urban Decay did an amazing job with Naked 3. They've really managed to make a palette which, although falling into the "neutral" category, does offer something different and attractive. It's the perfect neutral palette with a twist.

The Smashbox offering also brings its share of innovations. 7 matte shades which all have their corresponding shimmer/glitter shade (An alternative to the much raved about Lorac Pro palette?). I do wish that the top row was a little bit more on the shimmery side that on the glittery side, but, as a whole, this palette is brilliant! For people like myself, who are not the biggest matte eyeshadow fans, the fact that light and shimmer can be added at any time during the make up process is great (I recommend using your fingers to pack on the shimmer/glitter shades). Another genius thing about it is the equal mix between warm and cool shades. This palette has got you covered, no matter what your skin tone is or what your favorite texture of eyeshadow is. A must have in my opinion.

And special award to the Smashbox double-ended brush. It is the best brushes that I have ever seen accompanying any make up kit. Imagine getting a free 217 with a palette. Wouldn't that be heavenly? Well, Smashbox has made it real.

Next on my list: the Nars Narsissist palette (which I may have already ordered... oh well), the Marc Jacobs Lolita palette (freshly arrived in French Sephoras) and the Clinique Neutral Territory palette (nowhere is sight near Switzerland for the moment). 

Where it all began

I thought that, instead of talking about random new make up releases, I would start this blog by going back to where it all started. That is when the first installment of my make up collection was purchased. Even when I didn't have much interest in beauty, lipstick was something that attracted me, probably because I saw it more as a fashion accessory than as an additional step to a make up routine. Today, this  interest is still strong and my interest for make up has grown widely. So has my make up collection. There are, however, amidst my ever-expanding lipstick stash, a few oldies that have served me faithfully during my years as a make up rookie. Although they may not all be part of my current favorite shades or brands, these I have all used a lot in the past and, overall, by judging from their battered state, these are definitely my most used lipsticks of all time.

From left to right:

• Lancôme Rouge in Love in the shade 159B Rouge in Love: This sheer cherry red was my first high end red lipstick purchase and I still love it. Easy to apply, perfect for every day wear, it was my red of choice during my first year at uni. It has since been pushed back to the back of the drawer because of its tendency to bleed a little and the fact that it migrates on the lips a bit too much compared to other sheer reds that I have since discovered. But, all in all, its sheer but bold formula still has my heart and I happily crack out the invisible liner to sport this beauty every now and then!
• Maybelline Color Sensational in the shade 180 Crazy pink: This lipstick wins the trophy for being the oldest in my collection. I bought it during my last high-school year and, although I was never brave enough to sport this in class, I often wore it in the privacy of my room or, on days I was feeling particularly courageous, I wore it outside during weekends. Crazy pink is a blue-toned bright berry pink (not at all coral as in the picture). I haven't worn it in a while, but I definitely should wear it more, as it is such a beautiful shade.
• Rimmel Moisture Renew in the shade 500 Berry Rose: This one holds a special place in my collection as I bought it while in New York during summer 2011. This was my one and only time there so far and I can remember quickly applying this shimmery berry lipstick before rushing out of my hotel room to enjoy the city. The Moisture Renew range from Rimmel is far from being my favorite as I find that their overly creamy and slippery consistency never stays nice on my lips for more than 10 minutes. Nevertheless, the shade is pretty and reminds me of summer days in NY. What else can I ask for?
• YSL Rouge Pur Couture Golden Lustre in the shade 112 Rouge de Venise: Last but not least, this lipstick wins the award for being the lip product that I have carried around the most in my purse (hence the decayed state of the packaging). This burgundy red with subtle golden shimmers running through it is absolutely perfect for on the go applications as it is really sheer and low maintenance. There's nothing wrong to say about it and it is certainly part of my all-time favorites. Bonus: the smell is divine.

So these were my most used lipsticks. If you have stumbled across this post and have made it to the end of my ramble feel free to leave a comment telling me your most worn lipsticks. I am always curious about these things!