pink – Le Beauty Journal

Thoughts on highlighters

This morning as I was finishing my makeup I noticed something was missing. Something that I wasn’t even aware of a few years ago. Something that I now think about as the finishing touch that I would not miss, really. Highlighter.

So many questions popped in my head when I realized that. Why ? Since when ? Why ? Did I mention why ?

Yet, I want more glow.

I’ve always been a huge fan of cream blushers, and let me tell you, they give a good amount of glow. But at the time of discovering cream blush, I was not even that into the whole glow thing. I just found it easy to apply, I liked the finish, there was no real intention apart from trying to find makeup that would make me look better, and most importantly, creating a “natural” makeup look. I still use cream blush, though I also love powder ones, and ok, I’m getting older, but my skin’s not dry, or especially lifeless you know. Yet, I want more glow.

Of course endlessly scrolling through Instagram and Youtube seem to have created a need. I guess also, that natural makeup look means fresh healthy looking skin. So yeah, I now use highlighter almost everyday. I don’t put it on the tip of my nose like I’ve seen so many people do on Instagram, because why the hell would I want to to that!

But I do apply it on the bridge of my nose, on the cheekbone, and on the brow bone. The one I use is Glossier Haloscope in Quartz which is the perfect subtle item to add a touch of shine, without glitters which I highly appreciate. It’s in a very handy stick and a little goes a long way. I even sometimes apply it on eyelids when I’m feeling extra fancy. Though again, dewy eyelids ? Why ? I don’t know but I love it.

Do you use highlighters ? Which ones ? I might want to add a few items to my super small collection…

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 ?

A story about le pink blush

I believe it was Christmas. I got a Sephora Gift Card. And even if it should be quite cool (big important problems I know), it felt like I had to really think through what I would buy. Let me explain : I could either just buy my regular serum and be wise in a way. OR I could just get myself THE THING(SSSS) I’d never usually buy with my own money because I’m quite cautious like that.

Because it was Christmas I thought « I would love to own a lovely Chanel something ».

Because I have to say, in terms of luxury and super chic packaging, Chanel is an inspiration.

And, I love blusher. Blusher would be THE thing I take away with me if I only have to use one product for the rest of my life.

My tip is that I always put a touch of blush in the center of my face, down my nose, to make it look like I’ve been running or something. Which is, of course, something I would actually never do.

I had watched Sali Hughes in the Bathroom with Mary Greenwell which to me is basically the best series on makeup on youtube. It definitely made me fall in love with beauty. I remember Mary Greenwell saying with her fabulous voice « Chanel of course, my darling Chanel. I love Chanel Blushers, they’re so good ! »

I knew it was what I should get.

I love pink blusher. It somehow seems to be less popular online that apricot, coral, peachy colored blush. But to me pink is a classic. I would be the girl with a gorgeous Chanel Pink Blush in her handbag. Tellement chic.

After I don’t know how many Chanel swatches online and in real life, I decided to get the Joues Contrastes in the color 72, Rose Initial. To be honest, the name really helped me to choose… It’s a true pink with the softest golden sheen. Nothing like Nars Orgasm. It’s very subtle and looks natural. The brush which comes with it actually does a decent job.

I put it quite high on the cheeks and on the apples. Also, my tip is that I always put a touch of blush in the center down my nose, to make it look like I’ve been running or something. Which is, of course, something I would actually never do. Run ? NON.

It simply gives the loveliest glow to the cheeks.

Oh and also it smells like actual roses.

And the packaging itself is a little work of art.

Ok I’m gonna stop now. It’s parfait.

The blush I used to hate…

Blush is the one beauty product I enjoy using the most I think. But more on why in a upcoming article. Today, I’d like to talk to you about how I bought a super hyped up product because of its cult aspect, why I regretted it and why I’d do it again.

I got it and tried it a few times, and hated it.

I bought Nars Orgasm because, when I first discovered the brand, so many people recommended it. Nars is such a cult brand, and they have so many products, blush seemed like the perfect entry point to discover what Nars is all about. After benchmarking like crazy, I decided to go with the one that might be the most talked about : Orgasm.

Potentially the one Sarah Jessica Parker wore when she was playing Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and The City which is a show I still love. Also THE blush that is supposed to make you look like you’ve just had an orgasm hence the name. I mean, who has shimmery cheeks after sex ? Anyways, the hype worked, I decided to buy it.

I swatched it in a shop and realized it was full of shimmer. But like glittery shimmers. And to be honest I hate that. I don’t want to look like a disco ball, I love the no makeup makeup kind of look. But it was at the beginning of my love of beauty, and I really really wanted to give it a try, to have it on my bathroom shelf.

I got it and tried it a few times, and hated it.

A few weeks ago, as I was clearing out my beauty products, I could not help but wonder why I was not able to get rid of this blush. It somehow had developed a sentimental value. I guess because it’s one of the first expensive, cult, cool makeup item I got.

So I forced myself to try it again. I used the Real Techniques Powder Blue Soft Finishing Brush, which is extremely soft, but also diffuses the powder pigments in the best way.

And I loved it. I mean, LOVED it.

Its lasting power is insane, probably the best out of all the blushers I own. It’s easy to apply, blendable, and it creates the most gorgeous sheen on the cheek bone.

It’s still really shimmery don’t get me wrong, but it’s basically a highlighter and blusher all in one which is great.

The color is so pretty, it’s a reddish pink with a golden hue which maybe does not sound appealing but with this dull winter light, it gives life to my tired face. I would not wear it in spring or summer because of the shimmers that would probably end up all over my sweaty face, but at this time of year it is exactly what I want.

Mine as you’ll be able to see is shattered – because it fell on the floor numerous times – but it’s now well loved which is all that matters.