An Update #2

001.Seeing as my last update has been over a month ago, I thought I would write another one just because I felt like sharing some personal things with all of my lovely readers (I appreciate every single one of you!). As you might have noticed I haven’t been blogging much at all-in April, and my last blog post has been over a week ago, which is a little bit shocking. I haven’t been into blogging at all, because a lot has been going on this past month. I’ve been really busy, had a lot to deal with RE: my personal life and I just didn’t have much inspiration to blog. I also didn’t want to blog just for the sake of it, because I want my heart to be in it, and I want to share my passion for writing and beauty with all of you. I don’t know if I’m the only one who feels like this?! I hope the month of May will bring me more inspiration and give me my passion back.

002. A little bit on my personal life; me and my boyfriend of almost 2.5 years broke up in the beginning of April. I don’t want to share too much about the situation, but as much as it hurts, I am now starting to think that we’re both better of this way. I’m not really feeling my blog at the moment though; it’s like my tastes in beauty and style are constantly changing and I don’t even know who I am anymore. I’m constantly trying to be another person because I’m not comfortable with myself, the way I look, the way my personality is and the way I’m living my life at the moment and the chaos I’m in. I really need to start sorting my life out and I think since we’re getting into the beginning of May, it’s the perfect time for a new start, starting off with a nice spring clean. My social life has also been non-existent, so I’m also planning on changing that. Beware- a new Charlotte is coming your way!

003. Time for some positivity; I’ve also been really busy with driving lessons. My driving exam is on the 14th of May, and I’m already so nervous for it I feel sick. I’m going tos crew it up just because I’m nervous like that. My beautician course is also going really well and I feel like if I can get my beautician license this summer I have a legit reason tob e really proud of myself since it will be my first ‘real’ achievement (after getting my driving license, of course). I’m still doubting about what I’m going to study at uni this coming September. I used to be so certain about going to study Journalism sicne it was what I’ve always wanted, but my beautician course has made me feel unsure about what I want to do with my life, which is one of the many reasons I’ve been feeling really down lately. I love writing, but there are so many things I want to do in life. Ah well.

004. I’m currently readin A Casual Vacancy as I’m still struggling with reading Lolita, which requires a lot of concentration. I really like A Casual Vacancy though, it’s a really easy read. The only downside to it is that there are A LOT of characters and I sometimes struggle with remembering who is who, but it’s a really easy read and I’m happy I picked it up. It’s nice to read something else from J.K. Rowling, even though it’s a little bit weird to read something else than Harry Potter. I love the way she describes things though and she has a really authentic feel to all of her books.

005. I also had a haircut last week, which I'm still not sure about- they were supposed to dye it back to my natural colour since I'm planning on growing my hair out, but they dyed it way too dark. They then had to put some sort of lightening product on it, which worked but I now have some blonde bits  shining through. They also cut in a straight fringe, but they cut it way too short and not that straight. I also find that my hair gets greasy so much quicker than normal, which makes me feel gross and just urghh. This has also been contributing to my current bad mood.

I’m sorry for this enormous post about me (it feels a little bit narcistic, writing that much about yourself), but I’m really glad I wrote my feelings down; it feels kind of relieving. I feel like I’ve got much more control over my thoughts now, and it feels really really good to finally be able to see through the chaos that is my life. As I said, May is for new beginnings and a fresh start. I’m starting my spring clean tomorrow, starting with clothes, and I’ve already got qutie a few new blog posts lining up. Here’s to hoping I’ll finally find my own style in May, and I really hope I will finally find out what I want in life this month.

Chanel Les Beiges

I’ve got to be honest with you; I didn’t buy this beautiful power myself. My mom bought it when she went to Paris, but after a few uses she told me she just couldn’t get on with it and said that I could have it. Being the beauty addict I am, I had (of course) been lusting over these new Chanel powders for weeks and weeks, but never picked one up since they’re so expensive and I’m very happy with the powder I’m currently using. With a huge sparkle in my eyes I took my mom’s offer (well duh) and I’ve been using it every day since.

Let’s start by getting the facts right. The name: Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder. The shade: 40. The promise: setting your make up whilst still keeping the skin looking healthy and natural, without looking too shimmery or matte. The extras: an SPF of 15 PA ++ and its antioxidant ingredients, protecting the skin and calming down even the most sensitive skins. The packaging: b-e-autiful. Beige instead of black, the packaging of the Les Beiges powders is Gabrielle Chanel’s much loved beige.

I’m going to state the obvious; no. 40 is waaaaay too dark for me. My ‘real’ colour in this would be no. 20, the lightest one. I use this as a bronzer and to contour my face, and tbe effect is just lovely. It doesn’t look too orange or too muddy, it’s not shimmery at all and the powder does really melt into the skin, making it look super natural and not overdone at all. Just a light swipe with my MAC 187 brush does the trick. Even though I don’t use it as a normal face powder, I think the effect would be just as lovely; it makes your make up last all day long without making it look too cakey, which is the reason I stopped using face powders a little while ago. I’ve been fully converted to the dewy, glowy look that everyone’s been sporting lately and this powder is perfect if you don’t want your make up to slip off your face during the day, but also don’t want to lose that glow. I’m fully converted to this new generation of face powders.

Have you tried Les Beiges by Chanel? What do you think of the new generation powders?

The Splurge-Worthy Basics

If you’re just starting out with make up, it may be a little bit hard to distinguish the basics from all of the additional products you see in stores, magazines and beauty blogs. There are some basics that I think everyone who’s interested in make up should have; products that are expensive, but do everything they claim to do and more and never let you down. I think it’s worth investing in make up; quality over quantity, definitely. In most cases, you usually get what you pay for in a product, but of course there are a few exceptions (but that’s what beauty blogs are for, right?). These products are the core of your make up routine, so read on for my rundown on those basic products that are worth investing in….

First things first; you want a good base. Your face is your canvas, and you need to have a good base if you want your make up look to succeed. Diorskin Nude, Dior’s latest foundation offering for glowy skin, is one of my favourite foundations ever. It’s quite expensive, but in this case you really do get what you pay for; a second-skin effect with a nice radiant but not dewy finish. It can be quite hard to find what you want in a foundation, be it the colour or the finish, so I would recommend going to Lisa Eldridge’s YouTube channel as she has recently done a marvellous series on foundations.

You also want to invest in a good concealer. A concealer that has full coverage, but doesn’t look too cakey and is really easy to blend out should be in everyone’s make up bag. My philosophy with make up is that you should only use a foundation to even out your skintone and not for hiding imperfections, you should use a concealer for that. Estée Lauder’s Double Wear concealer is my absolute favourite, and I’ve already raved about it numerous times on my blog.

For the cheeks, I think you could never go wrong with a subtle contour. My favourite of the bunch is the Clarins Bronzing Duo in dark; it doesn’t look either too orange or too muddy and it’s really pigmented. A nice contour looks good on everyone and is hard to go wrong with, unlike some blushers that can look either too pink or too peachy or someone.

For the eyes, Clinique’s High Impact Extreme Volume is the one. It lengthens, separates and gives lots and lots of volume to your lashes. Depending on how short or long, how curly or volumized your lashes are, there are lots of drugstore mascara offerings that also work really well, but this Clinique mascara only costs a little bit more than most l’Oréal or Maybelline ones and is just that tiny bit better.

To finish this back-to-basics look, a nice lipgloss is needed. The Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors are often claimed to be ‘the best lipglosses ever!’ by many a beauty bloggers, and I would say that this is one of those products that are really worth the hype. They’re non-sticky, not too thick and really moisturising on the lips, and with Clarins bringing out three more shades of these this spring, the colour range is really beautiful and I think there’s something there for everyone.

Brush-wise, I think it’s wise to spend a little bit more on face brushes, since they guarantee a flawless application. The MAC 187 stippling brush is an absolute lifesaver for me; it applies foundation beautifully and makes it look really natural, but you can also use it to apply blusher or bronzer.

Stripping make up to the core, these are my picks for splurge-worthy beauty products. I think it’s smart to invest a little bit more in those basic products, and then, just like with clothes, you can save money on the little extras. Combine these products to look fabulous all day, everyday. You can thank me later… 

The Spring Make-Up

When I was reading the beauty sections in different magazines last week, I stumbled across a trend for spring/summer that I immediately loved; a thin, jet-black line of winged liquid eyeliner paired with bright fuchsia lips and natural skin. Obviously, being the beauty addict that I am, I decided to recreate this look on myself.

For base, I used my newest foundation love; YSL’s Le Teint Touche Eclat. I have wanted this foundation for absolute AGES, and I’m so glad I bought it because it’s everything I wanted and more. Natural coverage yet perfecting, bringing a touch of glow to the skin without being dewy. YSL promises a ‘natural, unique luminescence’, and they couldn’t be more right. Gawd, this one’s a keeper.

To bring even more dimension to the face, I used an old favourite of mine; the Bourjois Délice de poudre Bronzing Powder. This does not only smell amazing, but it also sculpts your cheeks whilst giving just a tiny little hint of shimmer to them, to create even more dimension. This can be a little bit orange however, so keep that in mind.

To define the eyes, I used the new L’Oréal Super Liner Perfect Slim. This is also a recent addition to my collection, and I think it’s already become one of my favourite liquid eyeliners, ever. The thin felt tip makes application easier than ever, the colour is a really opaque black and stays on all day. The little applicator makes it easy to just slick on the tiniest line of liquid eyeliner, or you can make it as thick as you possibly want it to be; the choice is yours. I’ll report back on this later.

For mascara, I used the Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume mascara. I ran out of my usual mascara and the other one I still had dried up, so I picked this up and absolutely adore it (also, can you see I did some beauty shopping?!). This makes my lashes super super long, whilst also giving lots and lots of volume, which results in the most beautiful Bambi lashes you’ll have ever sported. Larvely.

Last, but certainly not least, it’s time to put those lips in the spotlight. I used the absolutely gorgeous Estée Lauder Pure Colour Crème Long Lasting Lipstick (… and breathe) in the shade Fuchsia Fever. This is (quite a big) sample I got when I purchased two Estée Lauder products in my local department store, so the actual packaging of these lipsticks is totally different (and much more beautiful…sigh). The product itself is a beautiful, cool toned fuchsia colour which applies beautifully and lasts all day long. The colour reminds me a little bit of MAC Show Orchid, although I don’t own that one- might take a look at it though…

So you may know by now that I’m a bright lipstick lover. Pinks, reds, oranges, corals,… bring it on. They make me happy. What’s your favourite fuchsia lipstick? What do you think of this look?

NARS 'And God Created the Woman' Eye Kit

Beauty confession: I didn’t actually own a single NARS product before this. I’ve always wanted to try their blushes and lipsticks, but they don’t sell NARS here and I’m not that into ordering make up online. When my parents went to Paris last week, they were super super kind and got me the ‘And God Created the Woman’ eye kit, something which they knew I’d been lusting over for absolute ages (one month, to be exact). They picked it up at Sephora, and my mom told me they had a huuuuuge stock if just this palette. When they got home, I naturally couldn’t wait to start using it, and so I did. Yes, I broke the blogger code of ‘not touching a product before photographing it’ and I’m not even sorry.

The ‘And God Created the Woman’ eye kit consists out of the NARS Pro-Prime Smidge Proof Eyeshadow Base, their eye shader brush in no. 3 and, of course, a beautiful eye palette. The palette itself consists out of six absolutely gorgeous shades. I didn’t know the names of the shades, but apparently they’re on the back of the box. ‘Alhambra’ is a shimmery champagne colour, perfect to use as a base for a subtle smokey eye or just on its own to make your eyes pop that little bit more. ‘Bellissima’ is a taupe, ‘Kalahari’ is a warm, shimmery taupe-champagney colour, ‘Galapagos’ is a delicious shimmery dark brown colour, ‘Coconut Grove’ is a dark, sultry chocolate matte brown and ‘Night Clubbing’ is a deep black loaded with lots of golden shimmers. The colours are absolutely beautiful, just like the formula of the eyeshadows; they’re really pigmented and extremely long lasting.

The Eyeshadow Base is also really good. The light consistency makes it really nice to wear on the eyes and it makes your eyeshadow last all day long. The brush is also really good; you can use this both for packing on the product on your eyelids or also for blending the eyeshadows.

I am absolutely in love with this kit; everything is amazing and of really good quality. The only downside is that I’m a little bit afraid of using it, since the eyeshadows are a little bit small and this is a limited edition. Some of these shades are, however, available in NARS’ permanent collection, so that may be worth checking out as well. The packaging is also really beautiful, but does tend to get dirty really quickly!

Do you own this kit? What do you think of it?