Personal + Sephora prijzencircus at V&D

Last Thursday, my friend T and me went for a quick shopping trip to one of my favorite cities, Maastricht. I said quick, because the one big reason why we went is for the Prijzencircus V&D has every now and then. Prijzencircus, that's right. I'm not even going to try and make a *¨% of myself trying to translate that word in English! For Sephora, it basically means you get to choose 3 random products and pay 10 euros for it. I got some stuff for me and my mom, normal price was 107 euros, and I paid 30. Now that's a steal! I forgot the face primer on the picture, woops. We also stopped at Lush (ofcourse..) and at MAC, because I'm running out of the brush cleanser I love so much.

I also got to choose some items as a birthday gift from my friend, so sweet! Jup, it has been my birthday. Boo, I hate growing older (or growing up?). Anyway, something I have been super exited about is a gig I went to the night before my birthday. I saw The Kills live at Trix Antwerp, it was amaaaaazing. O, and I got this super cool shirt. And I'm making a dumb face in the picture, but I don't really care. Duckfaaace.

Tomorrow I'm going on a school trip to Cologne. I'm also planning on doing some shopping if we get the time off for it. Even though it's not that far from home, I'm really exited to be going there again. They have Dunkin' Donuts! Ö nomnom.

Until next time!
Michelle xo

Winter favorites

I know I'm long due to this post! Spring has started almost a week ago, but here's a post about some products that I've loved (and am still loving) during the icy winter months.

First some make-up products. I've used the Naked Palette from Urban Decay almost every day since I got it, but I already mentioned that one in my fall favorites post. However, I'm totally hooked on the 24/7 eye pencil in zero. It stays on way longer than any other pencil I've used in the past. I hit pan on the Courtly eyeshadow from the Pedigreed Palace palette from the Fabulous Felines collection that came out around September. I looove this colour! It's great to put all over the lid and then some darker colour in the crease. I haven't used the fluidline in Dark Diversion as an eyeliner that much, but more as a purple base and I love how it looks. And then there's the Rosebud Salve, which I love in spite that it wears off that quickly.



Some months ago I bought a Give me liberty of London polish, in Blue India on a blogsale. I've been wearing it so much, it really goes with anything and looks great against my pale hands. London's Weather Forecast from Catrice and Evening Seduction from China Glaze are some older polishes I have, but they served me well in the Winter months.

The one thing that is so important to have in Winter (and well, basically every season) is a good moisturizing body lotion. Way back in Summer I won some Body Icing from Me!Bath in Vanilla Purity, and it is an amazing product. It is so rich and moisturizing, I don't think I ever used anything other like it. It makes my skin feel the softest ever and it smells divine. I'm almost running out of it, but I think I will buy this eventually. Yes, even if it's 22 euros. It is that good. O and of course, my good friend the Snow Fairy from Lush. It really is one of my favorite shower gels, it makes my bathroom smell like a candy store. I can't wait until next year to buy me the largest bottle there is, I'm so hooked on this but I'm afraid to use it. The day I run out of this will be a very sad day!



Sorry for the craptastic pictures, my camera was doing all weird kind of stuff. I'm kind of glad Winter is over now, I'm totally ready for Spring. But o how I hate Summer.. Can't I just skip it? Anyway, hope you liked my favorites (and maybe found some of yours in these as well). Time to hop in the shower with my Snow Fairy!


xo,
Michelle

Spring Nails by H&M

Quick post about some polishes I picked up last weekend. I've been really busy with school and well, partying. So that's why I haven't been able to post as much as I want to. Lalala, excuses! On to the lacquers!

At H&M I found this cute little set of spring nail polishes. I just loved the colors too much not to pick it up. I paid about 4 euros for it, which is a good deal for 4 mini lacquers I think. It holds 4 colors: white, beige, brown and blue. Boring names, H&M! I just swatched these very quickly for you guys. All one coat, except for white and blue (which have 2). They were a bit watery, but almost completely opaque with one coat. I luuurve the brown one, it's almost a perfect camel for me.



I'm becoming a real polish addict. I think I might have to try one of those no-buy months.. ruh roh.

Michelle

Review: The Beauty Bakery - Raspberry Bath Butter Bomb

Last Friday I was feeling a bit off, so I needed a long, hot bath. In went the Raspberry bath bomb from The Beauty Bakery! My expectations were high, this is a big bomb that weighs about 200 grams and contains lots of oils and shea butter, or so the website says.

I think the bomb was a bit powdery on the outside, not the most solid bomb I've tried so far. It smelled okay, but also very strong. It wasn't bad, but I thought it would smell more sweet instead of strong perfumed raspberry. There were chunks of shea butter in it, so that's always a plus in a bath bomb. My skin felt pretty amazing afterwards. The scent was definitely still on my skin, but it wasn't overpowering.

Would I buy it again? Aside from the shea butter, it wasn't my favorite bath bomb I tried so far. I think the scent just wasn't my thing, which is weird because I always love a good berry scent. I might try a different one from the range with a next order in the future.

Until next time,
Michelle

Review: Smith's Rosebud Salve

I picked this up right before it started to get icy cold outside to protect my lips from cracking all winter long. I got mine at Ici Paris XL and there were about 10 other variations to pick from, but I chose the basic one, just to try out. Here's my thoughts on it.

I love the packaging! It's looks very retro and it's a big tin. I paid about 10 euros for it and you get 22 grams for it, so that's quite a lot. I also still opens just as fast as it did at the beginning, I find that metal tins tend to get harder to open after some time. I also like the smell, even though I do not like the smell of roses. This is a very subtle scent. The substance is very vaseline like, it glides on very smoothly.

It does moisturize my lips, but I feel like I need to reapply it every 20 minutes. When it wears off my lips, the inner rims of my lips are the first to go and it feels really dry, I really don't like this feeling and I never got it with any other lip balms. But as long as it's on my lips, it's great for protecting them from the cold and dry air.

I have been sick A LOT this winter, so the skin around my nose looked horrible. I put this on it when I went to bed and it really helped my skin to recover. I think it's also great to apply to your cuticles or other dry areas on the body, but I still have to try those things out more.

+ packaging
+ price
+ substance
+ protects and moisturizes

- wears off quickly
- tin is less hygienic than a tube


I'm still not sure if I would repurchase this. I have had better lipbalms in the past. Maybe when I ever finish this tin and start to miss it, I might rebuy it again!

Hope that helped,
Michelle

some NOTD's + inspiration

Here's a quick post of some mani's I did recently. Nothing too special really. I'm more into subtle stuff. I've been experimenting with the black shatter polish from OPI, but I'll show them later in another post.

And some mani's I really like, but they're mostly too bold or too difficult for me. Enjoy!

The Beauty Bakery order

Yay, my very first order from The Beauty Bakery has arrived! It's an online only shop so I didn't knew what to expect. Here's what I got:

- serious booty buffer sweet rice
- giant bath cake chamomile & honey
- bath butter bomb raspberry

I immediately hopped in the shower with the serious booty buffer and it's amazing! I'm definitely getting one of these again. My friend K., who ordered with me, got the patchoulli facial purity bar, the bubblegum beauty bar and the pheromone sex bomb pure spa bar (even though it says 'passion fire' on the packaging..). What's up with the long names, Beauty Bakery? It all smells amazing though, especially the pheromone sex bomb =^x^=.

O, and these shoes came with the mail as well. Love love looove them!


meow,
Michelle

NOTD: OPI - My Private Jet

Last week I went to Planet Parfum to pick up the OPI Black Shatter polish from the Katy Perry collection (blurk, Katy Perry..), but it was still not available. Sigh. So I picked up this one, My Private Jet. Apparently, it has been discontinued before and then came back, but without the holo? Now why would you do that, OPI? Anyway, I love it without the holographic too. It's a weird bronwnish (sometimes copper?) color with micro glitters in it, very special. I tried it with a matte topcoat too and it reminded me a lot of some sort of granite. Yup, granite. School has officially taken over my life.

I'm wearing 2 coats with a (matte) topcoat. The only downside was that it chipped pretty quickly, like on the same day I applied it. Not too happy about that.

Enjoy your lazy Sunday,
Michelle

M.A.C - Pro Longwear foundation

I've been using this foundation for a couple of months now, so I think I can give an honest review about it. I always wanted to try a M.A.C foundation, but there's so much different kinds I didn't knew which one was right for me. I've heard too many stories of girls that went to a make up counter to ask for help to pick out a foundation, went home and still weren't satisfied with their purchase. So I decided to do some research before and found this very helpful guide from Dustin Hunter. Check it out, it really helped me.

I like the packaging. I've had foundations with a pump before, but they always clogged up. Next time I used it, I got a big chunk of dried up foundation on my face. Who wants that? I don't really have this problem with this packaging, sometimes just a little bit. Wiping off the little excess on the pump after use really prevents it.

I just apply it with my fingers, one pump is enough to cover my face for daily wear. On the website it says it's sheer to medium coverage and I mostly agree with it. It's a buildable foundation, making it cover up red zones like around the nose or mouth very easy. I do find that when I use a green corrector on red zones underneath my foundation, it gives perfect coverage. If you check out Dustin Hunter's in depth review about the Pro Longwear foundation, he says you don't need any powder to set it. When I bought this foundation, the MUA tried it on me first and he did set it with a powder. It did look good for several hours, but at night you could see it get a bit cakey. So no powder for me. It does last all day for me, but when I go out at night I just put another thin layer on my red zones, to be safe ;).

There's only one little downside for me. I have combination skin, so I have some dry zones on my face, like in between my eyebrows. After I applied foundation, it can look a bit flakey. I have to pick out the little bits of dry skin with a tweezer and take a damp cotton pad to even out the foundation. The best part is, the cotton pad will have 0,0 foundation on it. You rub as hard as you want, only a good make up remover will get this foundation off your face.

+ lasts all day long
+ no setting powder needed
+ water resistant
+ transfer resistant

- not the best option for dry skin

If you're looking for a medium coverage foundation that'll last you all day, I think this is a good way to go. If you're looking for a good M.A.C foundation, I recommend watching the video and /or go to your local M.A.C store or counter to ask for some help.

I hope this helped,

Michelle

FOTD: Dark Diversion

A while ago, I picked up a new fluid line from the Stylishly Yours collection at MAC. I've been using Black Track since August, so I wanted something different. I have blue eyes, so I thought purple was the way to go. I almost went for Macroviolet, but I'm more into burgundy colors lately so I picked up Dark Diversion.

This is a simple look I came up with, using MAC and Urban Decay eye shadows. I think it's a nice neutral look to wear to school or when you just don't feel like wearing a lot of make up. I wore this on Valentine's day to hang out with my friend K. Watching Sex and the City beats having awkward Valentine dinners, haha.

Here's what I have on:

Face:
Sephora - smoothing primer
MAC - Pro Longwear foundation in NC 20
MUFE - camouflage cream palette n° 1
MAC - Fleur Power blush

Eyes:
MAC - Painterly Paint Pot (base)
MAC - Mylar (permanent), Courtly (Palace Pedigreed palette)
Urban Decay - Virgin, Hustle (both Naked Palette)
MAC - Dark Diversion fluid line
Urban Decay - Big Fatty Mascara

Brows:
MAC - Corduroy (permanent)
Hema - eyebrow gel

Lips:
Smith's - Rosebud salve

You might still find Dark Diversion at a MAC store or counter, but it's no longer available online. My skin wasn't in the best condition in these pictures, I'm getting sick a lot lately and it shows on my skin. Oh, how do you like my necklace? I got it for Christmas ;)!

xox,
Michelle

Lush Valentine - Magic Mushroom

To be honest, I don't really care about holidays like Valentines Day. However, I do love Lush, so when they came out with some Valentine products, I just couldn't resist. I loved the ideas behind the Ex-Factor and The Frog Prince bath bombs, but I was on a budget so I only took the Magic Mushroom bubble bar with me.

I love the fragrance. It's a mixture of vanilla and strawberry, making it a deliciously creamy scent that fills up your bathroom. I got a ton of creamy, soft foam with this bubble bar, much more than with any other I tried so far. It also turned the water a light reddish colour. My skin felt so soft, and the scent lingered for quite some time. I still got a big chunk left, I think you could get about 3 baths out of it. I really regret not buying another one! I really like this one.

If you're lucky, you still might find one of these at your local Lush shop. But if you're not, you'll have to wait until next year, just like me. Boo!


xo,
Michelle

La Fille d'Elle

Great news! In this month's issue of Elle there's a code that gets you 50% off on some La Fille d'O goodies!

You can get the bra 'Little bit' for 45 euro's instead of 90, or the bottom 'I am muffin' for 40 euro's instead of 80. Or both ofcourse, haha. I already have the bra, but it's too big for me now since I lost a few pounds so I needed a new one anyway. I just placed my order, can't wait for it to get here! Want these babies too? Order here.

xo,
Michelle

I'm back!

I can't believe it's February. Seriously, I haven't blogged for so long this actually feels a bit weird. I've just been too busy with the holidays, school, work, and well, playing Pokemon. Haha. I've also been sick for over a week, that sucked big time. The holidays were super busy, but also very relaxing for once. My exams went great and the teachers really liked my design. I'm exited for my report card for a change, haha. O well, enough blabbing about myself.

Here's what to expect in the near future! I still have to put up a review about the Pro Longwear foundation from MAC, and I got a new fluid line that I love to pieces. I'm also going to write something about what products I use for my hair, and how to keep up with red hair. I also got a lot of pictures from some mani's I did during the holidays. And maybe something about weight loss, since I lost quite some weight recently. I'm also thinking about posting some outfits. I'm not sure yet, but I've been buying a ton of clothes recently and I thought some of you might appreciate some OOTD's. O, right. I went to Lush a couple of times too, oops.

yay, reddish hair! sorry I look so dead =^x^=

So yeah, I'm really exited to get blogging again. Stay tuned!

xo,
Michelle

the new haircut

As promised, some more pictures of my new haircut. Well, it's not new for me anymore. I'm really considering shaving it all the way down to behind my ears, but I'm still not sure yet. And I'm going to dye it a brighter red next time, my friend recommended me some great hair dye (majirouge by l'oréal) so I'm going to try that. Anyway, enjoy. Or not, haha.

Lush - my face routine

I bought these products early September and I have been using them ever since, so I think I can give you an honest review about them. I have combination skin, meaning that my T-zone is oily and the rest of my face is normal to dry. I'm also very pale and have red zones on my face. I have had eczema in the past that likes to pop up again from time to time. It was quite a challenge to find a routine that works!
Oh, and sorry about the quality of the pictures. I took most of these a while back when lighting wasn't all too good. Making new ones isn't really an option because the products get a bit messy when in use, haha. O well, here we go.


At night, I remove my makeup with Ultra Bland. It's a pasty substance, but also very oily . I take about a fingertip out of the jar and rub it over my face. I leave my eyes for last, or the eyeliner and mascara turn my face totally black. Then take a washcloth or some cotton pads and soak it with warm water. Remove the oil from your face and you're done! I also like to use Baby Face to make sure I removed all of my eye makeup, mascara can be so stubborn sometimes.

After removing my makeup, I like to cleanse my face some more to be sure it's 100% clean. For this I use Angels on Bare Skin cleanser. It's a clay based cleanser with lavender oil. It also holds ground almonds, so it's a gentle scrub as well. You take about a pea size out of the jar and mix it with some water into the palm of your hand and apply it to your damp skin and rinse off.

Then it's toner time! I use Eau Roma Water for this. It's a mixture of lavender and rose water, very soothing. Just spray it 3 to 4 times on a cotton pad and rub it over your face. There shouldn't be anymore dirt on the pad now, or you didn't do a good job on the previous two steps!

Don't let the toner completely dry, apply moisturizer when it's still damp. I use Imperialis, a herbal mixture in a cute pinky colour. It holds lavender, orange blossom, tiger lily and St Johns wort. This is the first moisturizer I tried and it was perfect from the beginning. I tried a couple more after I bought this, just out of curiosity but this is the only one that works.

The last step is applying eye cream. I use Enchanted Eye cream, but sadly they're discontinuing it. I don't really see why because it does help to combat under eye redness. Don't apply your eye cream directly underneath the eye, but tap it onto your cheekbones. I've been told that the thin skin under your eyes work like sponges and they'll soak up the right amount of cream it needs. When you apply too much eye cream directly underneath the eye, it can cause under eye redness and puffyness instead of helping it.

So yup, that's the routine I do every night. It looks a lot but it only takes me about 5 minutes. I know I'm coming across as a total Lush-loony, but I can't help it. I really believe in their products and they work for me. Have you tried any of their face products yet, or do you just like their soaps and fragrances?


Michelle xo