Rose des Nymphes

After reading this review from Lena and this instagram picture from Me, I knew I had to give Lancôme Lip Lover a try. I was not really a fan of the brand as it always reminds me of 'old fashioned' brand and the mascara irritates my eyes. But since the lip lover is reasonably priced, I just had to get it.

I picked up the shade number #333 - Rose des Nymphes. My choice based 100% on Me's pict on instagram. The color looks so beautiful on her and it looks like a very nice-everyday kind of shade. As the weather is getting warmer and warmer, I tend to stay away from bold shades and gravitate towards lighter - softer shades.

First on the packaging, I really like the opening button, it functions very well and I find it very shopisticated and modern. A good step from Lancôme!

Rose des Nymphes is a warm medium pink , the pigmentation is good because the lip lover range is infused with lipstick pigments. It is very glossy and shiny but not greasy. The finish is so beautiful yet natural. 

The formula of these lip glosses is a winner! It feels lightweight on the lips but has a decent color pay off. It applies smoothly and doesn't feel sticky. Of course it is slightly sticky because it IS a lip gloss, but nothing uncomfortable. It is not drying at all and very hydrating I must say! It stays on longer as other lip glosses that I have but the shine fades gradually after 1-2 hours. 
Lancome claims the formula to be color-shine and care in 1 product which I can confirm!

Bottom line : I am happy with the Lip Lover and will definitely look at the other shades. I also appreciate that Lancome didn't price it ridiculously expensive ( yes, Dior fluid stick, I am looking at you! :p ). The lip lover retails for €21,95 / 4,5ml.

Love,
Pam

Rose Dentelle

I had 15 minutes left from my break at work few weeks ago so I decided to go to the beauty department at the ground floor and have a look, which led me to spend more money than what I earned that day..

After my joyful encounter with Givenchy here, I gathered more interest in the brand.. The counter is having a big display of this new cream eye shadow so I did some swatch and fell in love in this particular shade..

The BA gave me this small sample to try out other shades

Rose Dentelle topped with the glitter topcoat

Rose Dentelle & Nooner from Urban Decay Naked3

They have 9 shades available varying from matte, shimmery and 1 glitter top coat. The other shades were not really my thing, but when I swatched Rose Dentelle, I was struck! 

Rose Dentelle is a matte rosey-taupe shade, reminded me directly of Nooner from the Urban Decay Naked 3 which is one of my fave shade on the palette. The consistency of the eyeshadow convinced me from the 1st swatch. They're creamy but not greasy or slippery. They don't set into powdery finish though which I like because it makes them perfect as base. In comparison to Maybelline Color Tattoo, I must say the Givenchy is less 'creamy / greasy' but in no means dry. It applies smoothly on the lids, no tugging whatsoever. 

I swatched Rose Dentelle side by side with Nooner at home, and as you can see, Rose Dentelle is more rosy and not as taupe as Nooner. They matched perfectly though when applied together.. The texture is creamy-matte. It is not slippery and applies beautifully on the lids. It applies a bit sheer, but the intensity is build able. Being a matte shade, rose dentelle is a versatile base for a lot of powder eye shadows. It lengthens the wear of powder eye shadow and wears long on its own. I can't say whether it stays for 16 hours like its claim, but it is definitely long wearing. It doesn't crease as well ! Rose Dentelle is a perfect eye shadow to apply on low key days or days when you don't have much time. It is very work or school appropriate as the color is subtle and natural and the finish is matte. 

The cream eyeshadow comes in a tiny pot, with Givenchy logo on the lid. The packaging is well made, luxurious yet functional and practical. They're also surprisingly not expensive for Givenchy at 23€ / 4gr of product. Overall, I am head over heels with this cream eye shadow from Givenchy. I hope they will launch more shades in the future!

Love,

Pam

Maybelline Bold Matte Lipsticks

It is not easy to find a good matte lipstick that is not too drying on the lips. My favorite so far is the  ones from Kate Moss-Rimmel London with the red bullets. Then my sister told me she found a matte lipstick from Maybelline that she really likes, and since the range is not available in Germany, I asked my mom to get me some and send them to me together with some goodies from home.

MAT2

MAT 6

My mom got me shade number 2 and 6. #2 is a very bright orange ( way brighter than it appears in picture! It actually looks similar to the shirt I am wearing in this pict.. ) and #6 is a deep classic red - a shade that every woman should have in their collection in my opinion! 

The lipsticks are housed in a square edged bullet with matte closure? lid? cap? ( sorry guys, I just don't know how it's called! xD ). The packaging is actually very nice for a drugstore lipstick. 

The texture is creamy and not drying at all. The finish is not completely matte though! Matte lipsticks from MAC for example are truly matte. These one are more on the velvet side I'd say! This bold matte lipsticks are highly pigmented. One swipe is enough to get opaque and I love that it doesn't feather and bleed so the application is easy peasy and no lip liner needed. 

Unlike most matte lipsticks, these don't stay very long on the lips. Because of the creamy texture, they are not transfer resistant and they get easily removed if you drink or eat. They will stain your cup / glass as well. 

Overall, they feel comfortable on the lips and not at all drying, instead they feel quite hydrating. I don't find them accentuating the lip lines but they don't help blurring flakiness if you have some. 

I have been enjoying them so far and I do think they're a good product especially for the price. They retail around USD$ 5 each. I will have a look at other shades on my trip to Asia in 2 weeks! woohoo!

Have you seen this range on your local drugstore?

Love,

Pam

Canmake Cream Cheek

I have heard a lot of good things about the Canmake cream cheek, but I was mostly sold after I saw this post from Kate from the drivellersfrivol.

I have been having a lovely honeymoon time with my Stila convertible color and it proved me wrong that cream blushes that don't have cream to powder finish are too greasy for my cheeks.

I did a second swap with Sharlynn from Theblackmentosbeautybox and she included these 2 Canmake cream cheek in the package. Thank you Sharlynn! ( I posted on my instagram here, what she got me. She really spoiled me! )

Sharlynn picked up 2 shades for me, the CL 01 - clear red heart and CL 03 - clear sunset. CL 01 is a bright strawberry red and CL 03 is a lovely coral - orangey shade. Both shades don't have shimmer which is very good and they have beautiful jelly-creamy finish.

The blushes come in a lightweight plastic case, not the prettiest packaging , but very convenient for traveling and they don't need a lot of space to store. They have a creamy-gel consistency and even though some people say that they have cream to powder finish, I don't really agree, as for me, they're truly cream blushes . Unlike the NYX cream blushes that are too greasy and slippery for my liking, these blushes from canmake are not greasy at all. They melt and blend effortlessly onto the skin and provide a very nice and natural flush on the cheeks.

They are very good in pigmentation but because they blend easily, they are still foolproof to apply. I usually apply 3 stripes on the cheeks and blend it using real technique stippling brush, but finger application works very well too!

I was sceptical at the beginning because I remembered I swatched them before but I disliked the consistency.. But since Kate raved about them and they looked amazing on her ( well, what doesn't look amazing on her? ) , I asked Sharlynn to get them for me. And I am glad I did because they're amazing!

I mostly love the finish they give to my cheeks, glowy and so naturally flushed. And to make it better, they perform undoubtedly well on the lips!! They're literally the 1st cream blushes that work well on my lips. They're even quite hydrating imo! The small and lightweight packaging makes them portable on the go and since they work as blush and lipstick,  they are perfect for my smaller bags.

The staying power is also amazing. I got 8 hours wear before feeling the need to touch up. Since it is now early spring in Germany, the temperature is still cold , so it makes the job easier for them. I am curious to see how they work on warmer temperature on my combination skin ( that turns oily once the temperature is higher than 25'c ).

Overall, these cream blushes are absolute recommended!

Have you tried any of canmake blushes?

Love,

Pam

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light



As a foundation junkie, I was so happy when a friend of mine gave this foundation for me because she got is as GWP and it is not her right shade. As a gift with purchase, this foundation comes in a special size, 15ml instead of the original size of 30ml.

without - with

I have tried a deluxe sample of the Estee Lauder Double Wear original foundation and I liked it but I didn't love it that much that made me want to fork out €40 for the full size. While the original double wear is famous for being full coverage, the light version is indeed lighter.

My shade is no.2 Intensity. It is a tad darker than my skin tone but it can be fixed with lighter powder. It has a distinct beige undertone, quite neutral which is good if you have problem with foundation being too yellow or too pink. 

The texture is creamy and thick , but it glides on smoothly into the skin. I find Real Technique buffing brush works the best with this foundation, but beauty blender performs good as well if you desire sheerer coverage. The foundation needs to be blended carefully otherwise it might look a bit blotchy and cakey.

It gives a light-medium coverage which is enough to even out the complexion and cover some imperfections / rednesses. But concealer is needed for blemishes or  heavy under eye area. It feels lightweight on the skin and my skin feels breathable under it. The finish is semi matte, definitely not dewy or glowy, good for people with oily skin, but it might be too 'matte' for other skin types. The oil control in other hand is rather average. The foundation sets into a semi matte finish right after application but I feel my Tzone needs to be blotted within 3 hours.

This is all around a good foundation but I am not awed by it. I think it is because of the finish. It provides my skin a decent coverage but the finish is rather dull looking.

I find it difficult for me to like foundation with semi-matte or matte finish as they mostly make my skin looking 'flat' and dull. Otherwise, I can imagine it working well for oily skin or if you desire a matte finish.

Have you tried the Estee Lauder Double Wear face base line?

Oh and Have a good Easter Weekend!

Love,

Pam

YSL Baby Doll Kiss and Blush

This newly launched lips and cheeks product from YSL has been around the blogsphere lately , so of course as expected, I couldn't resist the temptation once they were available in Germany..

The shade I picked up was #06 - Rouge Libertine. It is a bright chili red with no shimmer. I actually wanted to get pink-nude shade but when I tried them on the counter, they looked extremely pale on the lips, so I decided to go with the red one.

The Kiss&Blush Babydoll comes in a 'nail polish looking' packaging. It is housed in a square glass tube with a unique doe foot applicator. The packaging is very well made, luxurious yet functional.

The formula is nothing like I expected. I thought it was going to be similar to the famous glossy stain, but I was wrong as it felt very matte and powdery! Have you tried any matte lip cream before? because the formula and consistency feel almost identical to the matte lip creams I have tried from Essence or Manhattan for example. I was not very sold on the counter to be honest as I found them wearing patchy and too powdery especially on the lips. But the SA was a little bit pushy so I thought I would just get it and give it another try at home. I was mostly curious about it because so many people love the range.

The consistency is lightweight and creamy with a very strong powdery feeling. The staying power is great on the lips as well as on the cheeks. It is also lightly scented with YSL signature 'watermelon' scent. If you have tried the glossy stain, yes they smell the same. It feels nice on the lips and but it takes more blending on the cheeks because it is extremely pigmented. I feel like it applies a bit blotchy on the cheeks and most of the time I get the feeling that this is actually just a matte lip-cream that they marketed as cheeks product as well just to boost up the sales. I meant, it is not a secret that lipsticks can perform well as blushes too, right? That's why I think this one is actually a matte lip cream which is double marketed as blush for more gimmick. After some days trying this product, I must say it is not a bad product but the marketing strategy is a bit misleading. 

The Kiss&Blush retails for €34,99 / 10ml which is hell expensive and based on my personal judgment, I must say it is not really worth the money and the hype.

Have you tried this product from YSL?

Love,

Pam

Beige Gallery

I was fortunate to be given this nail polish from a friend of mine on my birthday last month. I have not tried any YSL nail polish before so I was really happy to finally be able to give it a try.



My friend really knows my kind of shade because she picked up a grey color for me. I love grey as I find that almost anything grey always looks shopisticated and elegant .

Beige Gallery ( I don't know why they named a grey shade - beige ?! ) is a light taupe-y grey shade with creamy finish. I applied one top of Dior gel topcoat on the picture ( I really like the Dior topcoat btw! ).

The texture is such a pleasant to apply. It is not too thin or too thick, and it applies beautifully without being gloopy or streaky. The formula convinced me why it is more expensive than the ones from the drugstore.  I need 2 coats to get opaque with this shade but you can definitely go away with 1 coat, it is only my habit to always apply 2 coats. The staying power-together with the Dior gel coat is excellent! It lasted me 8 days before I felt the need to re-do my manicure!

The color is perfect for any occasion as it is 'neutral' enough for work yet shopisticated enough for a night out when I get bored of red.  

I am very satisfied and happy with this nail polish and will definitely get another shades :-)

Have you tried YSL nail polish or another high end brand nail polish? How did you like it?

Have a nice weekend!

Love,

Pam