January Beauty Favorites 2013

As you can see, there's not too many beauty products this month for multiple reasons. First up, I've been sick pretty much throughout the entire month and the least thing I can be bothered with when feeling awful is makeup. Also school started again for me which means I take very little risk and tend to rely on the beauty bits that I know work for me. I feel an everyday makeup post coming soon...

Anyway, here's what made the cut this month:

The Lazy Eye Combination

So as summer is upon us and also the semester is coming to an end (I can't believe there actually is one), I have been kind of behind with fancy makeup. I get very little sleep at the moment and seriously, if there's anything I'm not in the mood for, it's getting up in the middle of the night just for the sake of blending and contouring. I've gotten back to the basics again, I only do what I need to make me feel comfortable and ready to go. This little (all inclusive) routine takes me 10 minutes in the morning which I happily invest because I actually have been very happy with the results.

I have also made a few purchases amongst my new favorite eyeshadow, Maybelline Color Tattoo in the color On and On Bronze (post on that coming soon). This in combination with my new mascara, L'Oréal Telescopic (which is BEYOND amazing!) have made me skip eyeliner completely. I find that this is quite an achievement since I haven't left the house without eyeliner on for... years?

This is the pretty simple combo I came up with:

I used my finger to put Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadow all over the lid and then used a synthetic brush to blend out the edges. After that, I curled my lashes and applied two coats of mascara.

Yes I do wear contacts :)

What else I've been wearing on my face:
• Bebe Tinted Moisturizer
• Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer
• Astor Anti Shine Powder
• Manhattan blush in Fresh Peach
• Maybelline Moisture Extreme in Pinky Beige

Please excuse the rambling in this post, I haven't blogged for ages (at least that's how it feels like), but I will try to post more often very soon!

Love,
Nathalie x

February Favorites: Makeup, TV, Apps and more!

My first monthly favorites post ever! Hope you all have been doing well this past month, I know I'm a little late with this post, but better late than never, haha. I didn't have too many beauty favorites as I usually follow my routine using the same products, but I thought I'd mention a few of them and try to incorporate other favorites that are not so much related with makeup or beauty.

MAKEUP

Starting with makeup, I'd love to mention these three products that I have been using a lot lately:

Rimmel Powder Blush Pink Sugar
I like to switch up my blushes so that I will make use of each of them and I recently digged this out of my container again and loved it! Gives me a nice flush with a bit of shimmer to it.

Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer Classic Beige
Brilliant for undereye circles, especially for the heavy ones I suffer from due to a lack of sleep (yep, school is hard). It covers them and also brightenes my undereye area and overall makes me look like I just slept for 12 hours!

Maybelline Moisture Extreme Pinky Beige
I've been raving about this and wearing it a zillion times (see my blogpost here). The perfect nude that doesn't wash you out and adds a bit of color to your lips. Love!

NAIL POLISHES

Whooops...

I've bought a couple of these essnce nail poilshes in Feb because the colors really appealed to me and for €1.29 you can't say know I guess! I even got the two left ones on sale for €0.99! The lasting power of these is nothing to rave about, but with a decent top coat, they survive a good 3-4 days.
Colors from top to bottom: Dress for a moment, No more drama (both discontinued), Walk on air

CELL PHONE

I don't wanna portrait my actual phone, but here you have the packaging, I think that should be enough. I got this 2 or 3 days ago ("Why the hell is she featuring this in her february favorites then?!"), but I absolutely love this, so I just have to feature it :)

APP

The picture is from here

Of course: WHAT'S APP! How can you not love that feeling of being with your friends all the time and being able to chat about silly things?! Not to mention the smileys! I'm officially addicted.

SHOES

I don't feel like wearing Converse all the time, and when it's getting warmer, I like to switch to ballet flats as they're a little more romantic and so comfy and light! I got these lavender flats in a german department store on sale last year (10 bucks, ain't that a bargain?) and now that they're a little worn, I wanna wear them all the time.

CLOTHING

I got this scarf at H&M at the end of January and nearly wore this every single day in February. I love that it's feeling so silky and flowy and plus, it makes the simple t-shirt, jeans and flats outfit look more polished and girly.

TV SHOW

The picture is from here

That has to be "The City" for this month, I watched both seasons during my 1-week holiday in the middle of February and I'm kinda sad that there isn't a third season actually! The mix of love, intrigues and fashion is so addictive!

What are your favorites this month? Leave them in the comments if you want to!

Love,
Nathalie xx

Sunday Shopping My Stash #1

Hey everyone!

So, I finally got around to posting my very first 'Sunday Shopping The Stash' post, inspired by the wonderful Adrienne (thesundaygirl.com). I rediscovered a few products and added a couple of new ones, so here we go:

Everything I need on a daily basis fits in this cute little plastic box.

Rimmel London Powder Blush in 101 Pink Sugar

I just bought this a few weeks ago and I have used it ever since. It's a gorgeous rosy pink color that looks so flattering on me, especially on my (very) pale winter skin. I don't like the brush, I just put it in the case to take the photos.

bebe young care goodbye makeup Tinted Moisturizer in light

I'm still on the hunt for a new foundation that suits my winter skin (drier, but still oily and very pale). Until I've found the perfect match, I will go with this tinted moisturizer. It's decent quality, but not the best one, I'm using it just for the sake of using it up.

Carmex Lip Balm

I need a least one jar of this every winter. This stuff is incredible, it heals my lips, protects them and makes them shine. Seriously, I cannot live without this.

NYX Concealer in a jar in CJ03 Light

This is the best concealer I've discovered so far. Creamy, easily blendable consistency and a decent lasting power. Plus, there are a lot of different shades to choose from. I love NYX!

 Catrice Eyebrow Set

I'm very picky when it comes to eyebrow stuff because my eyebrows basically do not exist. I bought this box because a lot of people recommended this and I thought I just give it a try. Now I love it! The light powder is probably good for blondes or redheads, so as the brunette that I am, I'm using the darker powder with an angled eyeliner brush. It works fantastic! Plus it's super easy to take with you (the box also contains mini tweezers and a mine angled brush).

Manhattan M&Buffalo Beige Ballerina

When I bought this eyeshadow box back in June this year, it drove me crazy. But as I'm terribly in need for a few good neutral e/s shades, this one has to work with a good eye primer.

e.l.f. Eyelid Primer

When I got this, I was disappointed with it because my eyeshadows creased super quickly. But now the primer and me are in a relationship, we really love each other. ;) Best primer I've used so far and the price is unbeatable!

L'Oréal Paris Super Liner (Lineur Intense) in Carbon Gloss

Millions of women love this liquid eyeliner for a reason (amongst me). Easy to apply, incredible staying power, deep black color. I will love this forever!

Max Factor False Lash Effect Fusion

I love this mascara a lot, it stretches my lashes and volumizes them and it doesn't smudge at all. I just wish it was a little more black...

Manhattan X-Treme Last & Shine Lipstick in 56D

This lipstick is really nice, it gives my lips a berry color with a satin finish without drying them out too much. And it lasts a long time!

P.S. Please excuse the bad picture quality, the rainy weather wasn't picture-friendly. ;)

Love,
Nathalie x

Two-In-One: e.l.f. haul + lip combination

Hey everyone!
I hope you're doing fine, and I apologize for not having blogged for about a week. I've been SO busy that I don't even know where to begin doing everything I have to.
So today I decided to do a Two-in-One Post because I can't seem to find the time to post a lot right now.

First up:  The lip combination I've been loving lately!

 I love lip glosses so much, but I just can't wear them alone in winter because if I do, it takes 5 minutes for my lips to crack and that's bad. So I figured to use a nude lipstick under it.

Lipstick: Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Nude Pink
This is actually not a nude pink in my opinion, it's more like an orangey coral, but with it lipgloss below, it actually looks pretty gorgeous!
Lipgloss: Catrice Lip Appeal in Bare Necessity
Favorite nude lipgloss ever. Full stop.

P.S. Thumbs up for weird mouths!

Second topic: My first e.l.f. haul!
If you follow me on twitter, you know I went crazy when the order arrived. I know you always have to be careful with e.l.f. stuff because some products are really awesome but some are just awful. After reading a bunch of reviews, I got this ( +quick reviews!):

• e.l.f. Stipple Brush

I love this brush a lot! It blends my foundation perfectly leaving my skin looking flawless and natural. I have been using this for 2-3 weeks now and I washed it a couple of times and the hair loss is slight. I recommend buying this!

• e.l.f. Eyelid Primer

Maybe it was a little blasphemic to believe that a very cheap eye primer could hold my makeup in place. My eye shadow creases super quickly (I have oily lids, BTW). Only use this if your lids are very dry.

• e.l.f. Smudge Brush

Lost a couple of hair, but this does a great job smudging eyeshadow on my lower lash line.

• e.l.f. Blending Eye Brush

This brush lost the most hair, but blends my eye shadows so well that I just fell in love with it.

Love,
Nathalie x