lip gloss

Your lips but better : Dior Lip Glow

I truly did not know I’d be writing about this item one day. It was a gift to myself. I’ve always been curious about Dior Lip Glow. First, the packaging, though not necessarily what I’m usually into, really grabbed my attention. It looks like a super chic beauty weapon. So one day, I felt like treating myself and thought, it’d be really cool to have the Dior Lip Glow as a fancy lip balm of choice in my bag. I was kinda picturing myself pulling it out of my bag on the train or something, and instantly improve my day basically. You know what I mean? ANYWAY. I wasn’t that into it at first…

It smells minty which I don’t like, and when I first got it, I found that it really did nothing for my lips. I did not like the quite thick texture, it would clink to the dry patches on my lips, and the shade was too pink for my liking. I believe the original shade (01 Pink) gets deeper or lighter depending on the PH of the lips. But, recently, Dior launched lots of new Lip Glow colors. It was all over the internet, and made me want to try mine again.

One morning, after doing a simple base, and a bit of pink blush, I felt like something was missing, applied two layers of Dior Lip Glow, and utterly fell in love with it. I now love the balmy texture.It gives the loveliest glow to the lips. The shade is a sheer flamboyant pink with a good lasting power. It definitely plumps up the lips as well. The only thing to keep in mind is that it leaves a light stain on the lips, so do make sure they are exfoliated and hydrated beforehand, otherwise the stain might be uneven.

My tip : I have used a cotton bud to dig into the actual lipstick tube and really use this thing up, because when the you think it’s finished, there’s actually loads left in it. It’s quite a pricy item, and it’s gorgeous so give it a go, it’ll be worth it!

I would for sure repurchase it. Honestly one of the best lip balm/tinted gloss I’ve ever tried. Have you ever tried it ? I might purchase a new one soon! They’ve also released a matte version of the Lip Glow, oh my…

Makeup trends : the ones I love and the ones I’m ready to say goodbye to

I would not say I follow trends, but they often make me react. They either inspire me or annoy me so I thought I’d tell you a little bit more about the trends I love that I seem to have been witnessing online & on Instagram and the ones I’m ready to say goodbye to.

Blusher around the eyes – The Igari Look

Today, I decided to push my pink blusher up to the brown bone and into the crease. How editorial of me, right ? You must be aware by now of my addiction to blusher, especially super pink ones, so when I first saw this new way of applying blusher I instantly fell in love with the idea. It apparently comes from Korea, and is called the Igari look. The idea here is to mimic the way your cheeks flush when you’re a bit tipsy, it’s also called the hangover makeup (not in my world it’s not, I’d love to look like I have a pink glow when I’m hangover…), and consist in applying blusher from the cheeks up to under the eyes almost. An other version that I love, is what I tried to do this morning – my own subtle adaptation I should say – is blooming blusher around the eyes. Joyful, fun, and a good way to give your face some colors, without having to try too hard.

Super matte brown/dark pink liquid lipsticks

You’ve seen them everywhere for the past few years, you might have tried it, or thought it was a cool revival of the 90’s… I did too, though I was never super into this look on me. I loved it on some girls, but with my features and dark hair, I find it was aging. I believe it all began with Kylie Jenner’s lipstick range, who I simply did not know of when the trend started. Now I do, don’t worry ! Anyway, at first I looked at this trend and thought it was awful… Then, I don’t know if it’s because I’d seen it everywhere, I started to be fascinated by matte brown-ish colors, and by how easy you could cheat the shape and size of your lips. As a result, I did get the cult lipstick Mac Mehr inspired by the lovely Lily Pebbles. She pretty much made me want to buy it right away when I saw her wearing it. The matte liquid lipstick felt a bit too much, but this look was right up my street. Mehr is a dark matte pink with sort of brown-y undertones. Applied on top of Mac Soar Lip Liner, a pinkish brown as they say on the website, it creates a gorgeous deep pinky-nude, and gives the lips a full, plumped effect, Kylie Jenner-esque. Undeniably an interesting trend although I’m glad to see it slowly going away !

Instagram brows vs More natural brushed up brows

I mean, I don’t even know what to say. I hate Instagram brows. You know when they look extremely defined, almost geometrically perfect with concealer on top/underneath to make them pop, and a tale that’s super long… Let’s face it, basically drawn on. NO. Not my jam. I feel like I’ve seen a lot of brushed up brows, super natural, quite full but not with a lot of product. I’m no expert when it comes to trends, however I have witnessed this look online a lot over the past few months. The first time I encountered the brushed up brows was on Glossier’s website, all the models wearing Boy Brow were using the spoolie to really push up the hair. They actually say on the shop, to use Boy Brow with “upward strokes to fluff and shape brows into place”. I’ve been doing that : game changer. Brows look fuller, fluffier for sure and it brings life to the face.

Cushion technology & Glass skin

These have changed the landscape of foundation. Like BB creams and CC creams, Korea came first cushion-wise, and it’s now everywhere, which makes me really happy. I love the dewy finish it gives, how compact it is if you fancy carrying around your foundation, how easy it is to apply, and over-all how you can never look cakey with a cushion foundation because of how light and buildable the textures are. I’d love to see more blushers and bronzers in cushion form ! This to me, goes hand in hand with the glass skin trend : dewy almost out-of-the-shower wet looking skin. I find it interesting though I think too much glow kills the glow if you know what I mean. Still, something to look out for !

Bare Nails & sophisticated designs

Do you remember when new nail polish shades would excite you ? I don’t. Because all I’ve seen recently are bare nails. Clean, short, no nail polish nails. Or, on the opposite, super sophisticated, multiple shades in one design. All or nothing right ? I like both !

Metallic lipstick & lip gloss

Fenti Beauty’s lip gloss is all the rage these days. A metallic rose gold, which sounds weird, but actually looks great on the lips. The Makeup Artist Violette recently posted a photo on her instagram of metallic lips which really inspired me. I would not necessarily replicate that in real life, but I love how it looks. I also feel like lip glosses are coming back and I’m not mad about it. Juicy everything seems to be a thing !

Do you follow trends ? Or could you not care less ?

What’s in my handbag : the makeup edition

I don’t walk around with a ton of makeup in my bag, but I do have a few items that I’m always glad to find when I’m out and about ! My take on this is : I only need products that would help me touch up, that’s it. Therefore, being “radiant skin” obsessed, here’s what I carry around with me.

First of, I have to tell you… I don’t have a red lipstick, because I’m not one of those people who say they always need a red in their handbag because they just slap it on if they have to go out for a dinner or something that was not planned. What I do is blusher. Correction : what I need is blusher.

BLUSH My blusher of choice is Chanel Joues Contrastes in the color 72, Rose Initial. The powder is baked and the color itself is simply the perfect rose shade. It’s not crazy pigmented, it simply has the right amount so it works well to touch up, and stays on really well. The brush in the blush case is actually good which does not happen often enough to be honest. It diffuses the product nicely thanks to its natural bristles, which makes it extremely easy to use.

CONCEALER Rimmel Wake me Up in the shade Ivory is simply my best friend in a on-the-go situation. Cheap, not drying, good coverage, good for dark circles and spots, which is just exactly what you need in your handbag, isn’t it ?

LIP STUFF I only ever wear nude lipsticks, so I carry around my favorite lipgloss by Clarins in the shade 07 because it hydrates the lips and almost, temporarily may I add, erases fine lines and simply makes them look juicy. I also have the amazing – and as you can see in the pictures almost finished – Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in the shade Boy. It’s a sheer nude shade with tiny shimmers which make the lips look fuller, plumped : the perfect color for me. Though it’s a lipstick, because of how sheer and smooth it is, it’s super easy to apply and wears off beautifully which, to me, is one of the most important thing in a lipstick. That way, you don’t have to bother. Just apply it straight from the bullet and you’re done !

BROWS I take this item in my bag because I believe it has the best spoolie I’ve ever tried. It is the Catrice Slim‘Matic Ultra Precise Brow Pencil Waterproof in the shade dark. Now, I never use it at home – I should really – because the packaging is really handy for a handbag item and the spoolie is the best to brush the brows, either if you’ve applied too much product in the morning and need to rectify that, or if you simply want to brush the hair up to put them back in place ! The color’s good, I’ve seen better, but the tip is extremely precise and the consistency is lovely. Also, did I mention it costs around 3 euros ? Now, we need more shades of this !

There you have it ! Do you carry makeup around with you ?

Lip Liner Darling!

Lip liners are a thing now. They’re not brown lines around your lips anymore, they’re changing the game. As it happens, the makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury is changing the game with her lip liners. And, I think it’s fair to say, one of them has changed my life a little bit.

I’ll tell you why in a sec… Now, even though I have been lusting over Charlotte Tilbury’s products for quite some time now, I’ve only ever bought one product. Firstly because, it’s not easy to get hold of in France, and also because, it’s quite pricey, and when I invest money into makeup, I always have an other product in mind that I’m dying to try out which I can easily buy in my town. That said, I totally get the price : the products have gorgeous packaging and have some serious reputation. So, I’m planning on getting a few other items, because I feel like Charlotte Tilbury has so many cool products now, I have to try more ! Also, she’s an extremely inspiring woman, I highly recommend you watch this series she did with Sali Hughes, fascinating ! Now, the product !

When Charlotte Tilbury released lip liners, my attention was immediately drawn to it because she came out with quite a few nude shades. As you may now know, I’m really into nude lipsticks. My issue with them is that I don’t tend to wear matte lipsticks, I like a satin, balmy finish which looks great but does mean that the application is not as precise. Therefore, I always feel like I need a bit more definition around the lips. That’s exactly what Pillow Talk, one of CT’s bestsellers, does. It’s a browny-pink-nude, perfect for overlining the lips, making them look fuller, perkier and simply very defined. To me, it’s a very sexy product because it gives me the ability to perfect the shape of my lips without it being too noticeable.

It’s matte, but I always apply something else on top : I really use it like a base. The range is called Lip Cheats, I could not have said it better myself.

Pillow Talk + Dior Lip Glow

fullsizeoutput_26a5 — Pillow Talk + Chanel Adrienne

fullsizeoutput_26b1 — Pillow Talk on its own

Here are my three favorite combinations :

Pillow Talk + Dior Lip Glow
Pillow Talk + Chanel Adrienne
Pillow Talk + Clarins Instant Lip Perfector in shade 7

It’s the only lip liner I own, and though I’m tempted to get other shades in the same range, I’d be happy to only have this product with me forever ! It’s that good.

The Only Lipgloss you’ll ever need

Let’s talk about lipgloss for a second. I’m pretty sure this product is a lot of people’s first step into the beauty world. Why though ? When I was a teen, and I could not stress this enough, things have definitely changed for the best… But back then, wasn’t it the most useless product ever ? My hair would get stuck in it, the product itself would disapear after a few minutes, it almost always was kind of transparent, pink-ish or glittery. A confusing item if you ask me, and until NYX brought out the Butter Gloss, which are really pigmented, buttery and smell incredibly nice, I had never tried a lipgloss I was even remotely keen on. But like I said, things have definitely changed. And the lipgloss which have won my heart, is the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector.

This thing amazes me. I have to say first, I bloody love Clarins. I have never really tried anything from the brand I did not like. No exception with the Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector. I love it because…

It smoothes the lips and make them plumper without actually being one of those lip plumpers that tingles
It coats the lips in a creamy but not sticky, balmy layer
The colors are lovely
There’s a subtle yet definitive smell of vanilla but in a nice not too overpowering way
The application could not be easier. It has this doe-foot applicator where product comes out, which allows you to distribute the product evenly AND to smoothe the lips thanks to the texture of the applicator
You don’t have to have a mirror to apply it, honestly, slap it on, bam, instant glow !

My favorite is n°7 which is a mauvy-nude. It may sound horrendous but it’s actually the best color for me to pretend like I naturally have full, juicy lips. It’s quite close to my natural lip color, so it simply enhances them beautifully and adds definition. I also love the n°5, which is the perfect pink. And as you can see in the picture, after finishing the n°5 – I mean, that’s how much I love it, I’ve finished an entire tube -, I got the shade n°3, called nude shimmer. Extremely subte shimmers though, packed in a lovely pale peach balm.

A hint of color, gorgeous full lips, and a divine smell : I specifically remember one day this winter, walking down the streets, feeling cold and wishing for spring… I applied Clarins Lip Perfector, a whiff of the very distinct smell warmed me up, and I just felt more put together, though I had not really done much. Here you go, that’s what it does.