Spring makeup look

The thing about winter that really weighs on my mind is not so much the cold as the dullness and lack of color outside (especially in cities). When Spring comes it always amazes me how a bit of green on the trees can transform the streets and my mood. So, in celebration of this beautiful season, here is a little makeup look I created around soft pastel tones.

Products used:

Lancôme La Rose palette

Maybelline Turquoise color tattoo

Red Cherry DS 04 lashes

Lancôme Sparkling framboise cushion blush

Essence Rainbow highlighter

Dior Première lipstick

Since the mint shade in the Lancôme palette is a bit sheer, I used a turquoise cream base to make it pop. I then used the (divine) taupe shade in the inner and outer corners as well as lightly swept in the crease. I further defined my crease with a tiny bit of he dark grey shadow. Lastly I applied the pastel pink above the crease (with a very light hand) and the lighter pink in the inner corner. I finished the eyes with a bit of black eyeliner that I smudged with the dark grey. The falsies are Red Cherry DS 04 (I am in love!!!!)

On my cheeks I used the Lancôme cushion blush in Sparkling framboise and the blue and purple stripes of the Essence highlighter, which I also dabbed on top of the Dior Première lipstick. 

There you go you are now a shiny unicorn all glamed up and ready to gallop across rainbows!

Candy floss dreams and DIY fails

Introducing my latest DIY, the Ada skirt by Wear Lemonade, sewn in a dreamy candy floss denim.
For the first time, I'm somewhat satisfied with a sewing DIY. Usually there's always something that puts me off wearing an item: the fabric isn't right for the pattern (like using a thick burgundy velvet for a wrap dress, making it look like a medieval gown), or my limited sewing skills mean that some stitch lines aren't straight and makes the garment look wonky or ill-fitted, and the list goes on...
However, for once, I feel like I actually want to wear that skirt. I might shorten the hem a bit and put on belt loops so I can wear it slightly higher and accentuate my waist with a belt, but, overall, I think Ada and I are going to be best friends this summer.

Are you working on a DIY project at the moment? What do you do when you DIY doesn't live up to your expectations?

Outfit details:

Jacket - Mango

Skirt (DIY) - Ada pattern from Wear Lemonade

Sneakers - Zalando

Lips - Charlotte Tilbury Lost Cherry

Urban Fairy Tales

Things I'm loving right now:

1) Taking outfit pictures with my boyfriend. I took these pictures on my own and I think you can really see the different in terms of quality (hence the sparkly effects), but also regarding my posture and facial expression. I'm not always at ease even when he's behind the camera, but at least he manages to make me smile and laugh, which is always better than the tensed face I make when I'm worried I'm going to be "caught" in the middle of a self-portrait operation with a tripod and remote. So here's to more collaboration with the BF... hopefully...

2) Fairy tales. I enjoyed reading them as a kid, I now love studying them. Recent collections I've read are Emma Donoghue's Kissing the Witch, Angela  Carter's The Bloody Chamber and Francesca Lia Block's The Rose and the Beast. I've also read the two first volumes of The Lunar Chronicles by Marisa Meyer which have a futuristic setting (genius!). I've just started Beast by Brie Spangler...

3) Tulle skirts. Might be linked with my previous favorite. I just love a nice tulle skirt that makes me feel like a princess/ballerina/walking marshmallow. I just got a mint green one from H&M's Spring collection. Navy is next on my list.

4) Teen Wolf. Surprise! Another fairy tales related favorite. I keep telling myself that I'm way too old to watch this show, but man do I love a good werewolf story. Throw in some teenage drama and I'm hooked! 

5) Cool t-shirts. I love a nice comfy t-shirt with a fun logo or a catchy phrase. This one is from Stay Home Club, but I also love Luella and I'm eyeing a few from Teesandtankyou.

 Outfit details:

Jacket - Dorothy Perkins
T-shirt- Stay home club
Necklace - Mango
Skirt - H&M
Boots - Dosenbach/Deichman

The 90s and some career thoughts

I'm so happy that it's finally Spring (although it's the first time in my life that I feel like Winter went by fast) and I'm so happy with my new Studio DIY clutch. This clutch actually perfectly reflects my current interests and thoughts. First of all I've really been on a 90s kick lately, listening to the Spice Girls and rewatching Friends episodes that I've already seen a million times. I love this show so much. I think it's one of the first series that I watched as a kid and even though I know it every season (almost) by heart I still enjoy every second and can relate to so many things that happen to them, which I guess is the beauty of Friends. Wasn't there a Facebook group called "there is a scene in Friends for every moment in life"? I'll have to check...

Lately I've also been thinking a lot about careers and jobs since my latest employment has come to an end and I am currently looking for another student job to keep me afloat throughout the last months of my master's degree. Thinking about work made me realize how our conception of it has changed. For my parents generation, it seems to me that work was a way to make a living and not much else. It didn't necessarily have to be pleasant or interesting as long as it payed the bills and work life was clearly separated from private life. 

Whereas we, millennials, are a lot more concerned with happiness and with filling our lives with things that matter to us. And it is reflected in the way we envision work. We want to get more from work than money to pay the rent. I know want to do something that I feel passionate about, that will allow me to bloom and thrive and improve myself. And if being a girl boss is what it takes then that's what (I think) I'll do (gold star if this reminded you of a certain Bon Jovi song).

I've had several interviews lately and in the past two or three years and I'm really starting to be tired of feeling like a circus animal jumping through a ring of fire to please an audience who doesn't care and tired of feeling like I have to apply for jobs I have a thousand times the potential to do just because my bachelor is pretty much worthless if not accompanied by a master. When I look at the job market, I get such a feeling of hostility from it. It is like the popular clique at high school that everybody is trying to join, but only a few privileged people can get in. It seems like such an oppressive mold that only people with the "right personality" or the "right mindset" can enter. I know I definitely don't fit in. And I don't think I want to...

Outfit details:

Coat - H&M (old)

T-shirt - Target

Jeans - La Redoute

Boots - Isabel Marant (second hand)

Clutch - Studio DIY

Lipstick - Charlotte Tilbury in Electric Poppy

Lancôme La Rose Collection

Since Lisa Eldridge became creative director of Lancôme I have been pretty much obsessed with everything the brand came up with. I went nuts for the Sonia Rykiel collection (proof) and I am now officially in love with the rose-themed Spring collection. Plus, being in a phase where all I think about is pink, whether it's soft bush tones, like those of the collection, or full-on bright hot pink, I am LIVING for these candy tones.

La rose à poudrer: The star of the show. The product that is on everybody's lips. I did hesitate for a while before purchasing it and I have to say that I bought it more for it's novelty than for the highlight itself, and I guess I'm not the only one. Appart from the stunning packaging, the product itself is nice. The sheen it gives is not super intense but can be built up. My only concern with it is that I struggled to find the right tool to apply it. A fan brush didn't pick up enough product, so did a regular blush brush. I finally found that a large eyeshadow blending blush worked best to get between the petals and pick up enough powder. Overall, a nice buy if you like testing new products or enjoy spectacular packaging, but a pass if you're looking for a potent, see-it-from-the-moon highlight.

Cushion blush subtil in Sparkling framboise: Let me start by saying that there is nothing subtil about this blush. It is bright pink and super pigmented, so a light hand is a must if you do not want to look like a clown. It also does stain the skin a little bit (maybe not an issue if you do not have super pale skin) so you have to work fast and maybe not use the same tool to apply and blend, which kind of defeats the point of the cushion all-in-one-travel-friendly product. However I do really like how it looks on the skin and I am using regularly.

Cushion blush subtil highlighter: This is a really nice highlighter that looks super glowy on its own, but also works great as a base for a powder highlight if you want to go all out. My only concern is that it has a slight orange tint that can look a bit odd on fait skin if too much product is applied. Other than that, I would totally recommend it.

La palette La Rose: Beside the dreamy packaging (hello rosegold metallic heaven) and the gorgeous color selection (writing this I actually think I was more excited by this item than by the rose highlighter), I have mixed feeling about it. The neutral shadows are fine, but the pastels, which are what attracted me to it, really lack pigmentation and intensity, even when mixed with fix +. The silver glitter works nicely as a top coat over the other shades. Concerning the lip trio, I have yet to try the lip base, but I was very pleasantly surprised to see that the pink shade is matte, something that I had never seen before in such a palette. The coral, on the other hand, is a bit too glossy, although the shade is quite flattering. Update: I'm seriously in love with this palette. The mauve-taupe shade is stunning on its own, but looks even more amazing with a bit of the mint green and silver glitter dabbed on the center of the lid!!!