OCTOBER FAVOURITES + MAC ALTERNATIVE!

October favourites

Hello girls,
here are my favourite products from last month!

Mac Nightmoth lip pencil - this is a very popular product I had always heard about, and I always knew I would eventually get it.
It is the most decadent blackened red/plum shade. Even if it is so dark, it is so perfect with that perfect balance between red, plum and black, that it always looks beautiful and sophisticated.

Here I am wearing it with another favourite from last month, Mac Smoked Purple lipstick.

Mac Nightmoth lip pencil, Mac Smoked Purple lipstick

Mac Smoked Purple lipstick is a blackened purply plum. Compared to Nightmoth it has more purple to it, while Nightmoth has more red.

Mac Nightmoth lip pencil, Mac Smoked Purple lipstick

Kiko Exquisite Jasper Green eyeshadow - a wonder-in-a-pot shimmery antique gold with a touch of olive, in a mousse texture, from the brand new Kiko eyeshadow line <3
You can see swatches and full review here Kiko Luxurious Collection: The Eyeshadows

Essence Jacob's Protection nail polish - this is my top favourite glitter nail polish, a beautiful midnight blue with light blue glitter - basically my life. Unfortunately it was a limited edition from their Twilight collection a couple of years ago.
Like all my nail polishes from Essence, with this one too I have the issue that it starts chipping within a few hours from application - but then again, we have to consider the upside and how inexpensive these nail polishes are. And I just love it too much.

Mac Everything That Glitters nail polish - this is another limited edition from the Holiday Collection 2012, and is a very opaque black with bright multicolor glitter.

As soon as I saw Exciting Dark Brown from Kiko, it reminded me of it.
This one from Kiko is not brown like the name suggests, nor black like Everything That Glitters - its base is a charcoal grey. And it has a textured finish, while the one from Mac has a smoother finish.
But if you missed out on the Mac one and you like dark glitter nail polishes, I am sure you will love the one from Kiko too.
If you don't like the textured finish, you can apply a gel top coat over it and make it shiny :)
You can see it on my nails here Kiko Haute Punk collection (Holidays 2014)

I hope you enjoyed these favourites of mine as much as I have.
Now I'll be catching up with your monthly favourites on your blogs and YouTube channels!!
Thank you for reading,

Love
MJ

Mac Everything That Glitters nail polish - Kiko Exciting Dark Brown nail polish

ESSENCE WAVE GODDESS COLLECTION (SUMMER 2014)

Essence Wave Goddess collection

Girls I could ask you if you have ever seen more beautiful colours, but it would be a pointless question, because we all know that none of us has ever seen more beautiful colours than Wave Goddess, the new summer collection from Essence.

An entire collection where the main shade is my favourite colour turquoise is a dream come true, so thank you Essence for this!!

I had a first exclusive preview of this collection in my amazing friend Stella's picture on Instagram (@make_up_moshpit) and I had to catch my breath.
I couldn't wait to see it live, and I was desperately hoping to find it before it sold out!!

And today I found it, woohoo!!
So here's what I picked up. I got all 4 eyeshadows:

• 01 Have A Break - bright turquoise
• 02 Crush On Blue - bright electric blue
• 03 Stand Up And Paddle - icy blue
• 04 Life Is Better When You Surf - coraly pink

They have a mousse texture and look like a sheer glittery paradise.
Just look at those blues, they are so beautiful it hurts!!!

I also got the 2 tinted lipbalms:

• 01 Loose (or lose??) Your Heart On The Board - fuchsia
• 02 Life Is Better When You Surf - yellow toned pink

Now, I am against wearing make up on the beach, but these two lipbalms are something I will wear on the beach!! ;-)

The powder highlighter 01 Sparkling Goddess looked divine and was literally one of the highlights of this collection.
It is white with pink opalescent glitter particles.
But due to the wild use I make of highlighter all over my face, I thought the glitter, although very small, would not work for me, so I sadly passed on it :-(

If you want to see more pictures - highlighter included, and eyeliners and nail polish too - please check out Stella's blogpost with her review of the collection!! http://makeupmoshpit.blogspot.com/2014/07/essence-trend-edition-wave-goddess.html

Let me know if you found this collection and what products you picked up :-)))
I hope you are enjoying your weekend, thank you for reading <3

Love
MJ

Essence Wave Goddess collection swatches

THE DRUGSTORE DIVA TAG

Hahahaha girls I just came up with this, I'm actually laughing as I'm typing!!!

The other day I did The Princess Tag about my favourite high-end / luxury products here The Princess Tag, and now I really want to do its drugstore / high-street version!

Ok all kinds of tags about drugstore products have been going around for ever, but instead of searching for past tags I just thought I'd create my own, The Drugstore Diva!!! Should I trade-mark it??? hahaha :-D

And hey, no princess ain't got nothin on The Drugstore Diva hahahaha!!!! :-D

So yeah, same categories, let's get back into it!!

FOUNDATION

My one and only L'Oreal Lumi Magique - True Match Lumi in the US. I use it in the shade W3/D3 Gold Linen, both a little darker and more yellow-toned than my natural skin, which gives me exactly the final result I'm going for.

I fake tan my face all the time anyway - except for when I am sick in bed with flu for a week or something! -, and Gold Linen perfectly matches my fake tanned skin.

And it's not a drugstore product, but I my holy grail self tanner is Dior Bronze Auto-Bronzant in Natural Glow.

First one ever tried years ago, loved it, never wished to look for alternatives.

CONCEALER

I really like the Garnier BB Cream Eye Roll On. And please note that for my undereye area I am so picky that this is the ONLY drugstore concealer I have.

POWDER

Like I already said in the Princess Tag, I never powder my face.

I really don't need it because I have dry skin, and I don't like how it looks on me anyway.

BRONZER

Summer Eclipse Bronzing and Shimmery Powder in shade Moonlight / Light Bronzer. I just really love this shade.
And I don't know about the other shades because I haven't tried them, but this one is sure not shimmery at all. Matter of fact, I also use it for contouring, and it gives my skin the most beautiful satin finish.
I was wearing it in this look Mac All Fired Up lipstick

BLUSH

Kiko blushes in the baked formula, because I love my cheeks to have a satin finish.
My all-time favourite is beautiful Celebrity Rose, a mauvy pink with golden veins *_*
It is unfortunately a limited edition from an old collection :'-(

HIGHLIGHTER

L'Oreal Color Infallible Eyeshadow in 002 Hourglass Beige (called 888 Iced Latte in the US), a beautiful true champagne shade.

Yes it is an eyeshadow, but I use it as the travel version of Mac Soft and Gentle :-)

Like all L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows it comes is a small sturdy pot, so it's perfect to fit into your make up bag, and dare I say, pretty much unbreakable.

In this look In The Sky With Glitter - Victoria's Secret inspired I am wearing it both as highlighter and eyeshadow :-)

EYESHADOW

Kiko Colour Sphere eyeshadows, a beautiful line of eyeshadows in the baked formula.
Shade 26 - shimmering grey infused with multicolour microglitter - was my first purchase ever from Kiko many years ago, and is still to this day my all-time favourite eyeshadow <3

Kiko Color Sphere Eyeshadow 26

Their baked eyeshadow quads, which they release / repromote from time to time, are my second top favourite eyeshadows.
My favourite quad is Unexpected Rosy Taupe eyeshadow palette.
This is like my guardian angel, it is with me in my handbag AT ALL TIMES. Even when I'm not wearing any make up at all, or when I am wearing totally different shades, I will take this quad with me as mirror.
It is currently in store in the Bad Girl collection and it's called Color Fever eyeshadow palette 100.

I used this quad for New Year's Eve in one of my favourite looks and most special to me My New Year's Eve make up

Really, I couldn't love Kiko eyeshadows more.

EYELINER
Essence I Love Rock Gloss eye pencil. It is a very intense black, very pigmented, almost too creamy, it smudges very easily, and easily bleeds from the waterline - and it is ridiculously inexpensive.

Now for me, all of this gives me EXACTLY the look I'm going for, because I love the kind of smudgy smokey eyes like Kate Moss or Brigitte Bardot.
But for the same exact reasons, this might not be the right product for everyone.

MASCARA

All L'Oreal mascaras. My very first mascara was their Voluminous X4 :-) <3
Then over the years I must have tried all of them. You name it, I have it / have had it.

Ok, all except one, and as irrational as it sounds it must have been because I don't like the celebrity who was the first "face" of that mascara.
So when L'Oreal ads offered me the opportunity to achieve even only the look of her lashes I was like "Hmm, no thanks" hahahaha!!!! ^_^

And a special mention goes to Multi Action mascara from Essence.
It was given to me as a gift with a purchase, and I really had no expectations when even the actual retail price is around 3 euros, so I left it in the back of my drawer for a while.
Then one day I tried it and :-OOOOO Really black, volumizing, it separates your lashes, the brush has the perfect size to fit both your upper and lower lashes, honestly just WOW!!
An amazingly performing ridiculously inexpensive product, I don't know how Essence did it!!!

LIPSTICK

I really really had to think a lot about this one. I mean, looking for your favourite lipstick in a drugstore is worse than looking for a needle in a haystack!!
But in the end I made my decision, and I choose 2 lipsticks.
This choice is based both on the product AND on the surprise factor of the brand, because they're two small little known brands, where you wouldn't really expect to find an all-time favourite product.

So the first is a lipstick called Belle, from the Mirror Shine line of brand 17 or SEVENTEEN, available in Boots, UK.
It is a gorgeous intense dusty pink, but the intensity of the colour is toned down by the sheer and glossy formula. Result: your lips but juicier and poutier.
So GORGEOUS, such a great find! :-D

The other one is lipstick R05 from Flormar, from their Revolution Lipstick line.
This is an intense deep pink, very pigmented, very opaque, with an almost matte finish.
I would describe it like - Brigitte Bardot and Lana Del Rey wear more apricot tones, but if they wore pink, they would wear this pink.

LIP LINER
I don't use lip pencils that often, unless there's a specific look I am going for, or unless I am wearing a very opaque matte lipstick and the lip contour has to be flawless.
My favourite lip pencils are by Catrice, shades 030 Lost In The Rose Wood (intense but very natural dusty pink) and 010 Choc'aholic (pale beige).
See in this look what I mean when I put a lipliner on hahaha Mac Reflects Antique Gold - New Year's Eve

LIPGLOSS

L'Oreal Glam Shine line. I love their formula that feels thick and soft.  

BROW PRODUCT

Like I said in the Princess Tag, I'm not a big fan of brows. I would say I only fill them in and reshape them a little when I'm creating a dramatic-borderlining-theatrical look like in Neon Glam make up look, hahaha if you know what I mean!
And in that look I used my favourite eyebrow product I was going to mention: Collection (formerly Collection 2000) Eyebrow Definer in shade 3 Blonde, very cold and ashy, even with a touch of olive.

NAIL POLISH

Essie. They're creamy, super shiny and crazy longlasting.
Their pastels are divine, they make you happy just by looking at them!!

My favourite shades are Lady Like (mauvy pink, you can see it here Nude nail polishes), Liquorice (black), Marshmallow (sheer white), Madison Ave Hue (fuchsia with shimmer), Smokin' Hot (grey-ish brown), and I am broken hearted I missed out on Bond With Whomever (pinky lilac) :'-((((

And OPI. Top quality too, and they have an incredible selection of reds.
My favourite shades are Lincoln Park After Dark (blackened plum, you can see it here Plum nail polishes) and Big Hair Big Nails (a sorbet watermelon red)

So ladies, this was my Drugstore Diva tag! :-D
And now I am going to tag my lovely girls

BeautyAddict29

Annika

Anoushka

Emily

Rachel (YouTube video Not Two Normal - Drugstore Diva Tag)

Marta (Nowoczesna Dama - The Drugstore Diva Tag)

Lottie Mayy (Lottie Mayy Loves - The Drugstore Diva Tag!)

to do my tag too, so please go check out their blogs to see their answers and have a look at their other posts!!

Everybody else who's reading this is invited to join in!
So please if you do this tag leave me the link to your blog post or video in a comment, and I'll be sure to come see you ^_^

Take care xx

Love

MJ

MY NEW YEAR'S EVE MAKE UP

My New Year's Eve make up

Hello girls!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope you had a great New Year's Eve night!!

I would like to share my look from last night!
I have to say it was particularly dramatic, as I realized when I caught the sight of my own face from one inch away in the elevator mirror :-O

But you know, photography takes away a lot of intensity, so sometimes you have to face the choice whether to look good in real life for a few hours, or in a picture that will stay forever.

I had already fake-tanned darker than usual, so for my base I used my everyday foundation L'Oreal Lumi Magique (True Match Lumi) in a darker shade, DW5 Gold Sand.
After applying it with my with my Real Techniques stippling brush as always, I did the extra step of blending it in with my fingers to maximize the seamless final result.

I used Mac Pro Longwear concealer in NC30 on my face where needed, and Pupa Magic Concealer in shade 12 - light and brightening, with very good coverage while not drying - on my undereye area.
I applied the brightening Pupa concealer under my eyes in an area wider than usual, and also down my nose, on the lower centre of my forehead and on my Cupid's bow, as a first step of the dramatic Kim-Kardashian-worthy face contouring I meant to achieve.

I created a very intense and elongated black eye with Kiko Colour Sphere eyeshadow 28, a beautiful glittery black.
I also applied Essence Black Mania eye pencil on my waterline, and finished off with Helena Rubinstein Spider Eyes mascara base + Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Black mascara.

I filled in my eyebrows with Catrice Eyebrow Stylist pencil in shade 020 Date With Ash-ton, a step I otherwise skip on a daily basis.

As a bronzer I chose my Laura Mercier Golden Bronze.
It is a very warm bronzer with a golden shimmer. It's usually too dark and too orange for my complexion, but this time it was just what I needed to complement my tropical (fake-)tanned skin!!!
I first applied the bronzer with circular motions on my cheeks, my temples and the top of my forehead - the areas that sunlight would naturally hit first -, and along my jawline to give my face more dimension.

Then with straight brush strokes I emphasized the hollows of my cheeks, to create the illusion of sunken in cheeks which would by contrast bring out the cheekbones.

It's always best to use matte shades for contouring, as contouring gives dimension by creating shadows, and the presence of shimmer in the product used would counteract the shadows.
In my case this bronzer still served the purpose supremely because being so dark for my skin tone it still created shadows :-)

I highlighted the top of my cheekbones with Mac Soft and Gentle Mineralize Skinfinish, my favourite powder highlighter.

Now that the rest of my face was complete, fully contoured and highlighted, I went back to the eyes to reasses their intensity.
I picked up my top favourite eyeshadow palette Kiko Color Fever Shadow Palette in Unexpected Rosy Taupe and used its darkest shade, a very pigmented blackened plum with red and violet microscopical glitter, to darken along the top and bottom lashline the glittery black eyeshadow I had previously applied.

On top of this, I smoked it all out to ultimate lethal effect by blending the Laura Mercier Golden Bronze into and above my crease and below the lower lashline.

Last but not least I contoured my lips with Pupa True Lips lip pencil 13, a deep mauve shade, and filled them in with gorgeous pinky nude Mac Syrup lipstick.

Phew this was a long post!! We almost made it to Easter haha!!! :-D
What was your look last night girls?
Please tag me in your Instagram pictures @mjintheskywithglitter or write me here in a comment the link to your blog post!!

If you would like to see other New Year's Eve themed looks you can check out Mac Reflects Antique Gold - New Year's Eve and Winter Angel make up look :-)

Happy New Year once more,

stay beautiful

<3 MJ :-*

NIGHT DRIVE IN MOSCOW make up look

Night Drive In Moscow

This look was inspired by the song Night Drive In Moscow by 5 Reasons feat. Patrick Baker [Satin Jackets Remix] (https://soundcloud.com/shinydiscoclub/night-drive-in-moscow-satin-jackets). I love this song, I can listen to it in a loop for hours!

For the base I used L'Oreal Lumi Magique (True Match Lumi) foundation in W3/D3 Gold Linen, applied with my Real Techniques stippling brush, and Mac Pro Longwear concealer in NC30 where needed.
I brightened up my inner eye and undereye area with Diorskin Sculpt concealer, and I highlighted my cheekbones with Nars Orgasm Illuminator.

On my eyes I went for the flattest pitchest blackest smokey look ever possible with Blackout eyeshadow (matte carbon black) from the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette and Blackmania eye pencil from Essence into my upper and lower lashline and on my waterline.

Then I applied a thick coat of Helena Rubinstein Spider Eyes mascara base + Dior Diorshow Black Out mascara.

For bronzer I used Nars Laguna from my Nars Blush/Bronzer Trio, one of the most luxurious and pricey pieces of my makeup collection!!
And then I let my gorgeous brand new Nars Orgasm Multiple paint my cheeks with its beautiful goddess-like rosy glow.

I overdrew my lips slightly with Lost in the Rose Wood lip pencil from Catrice, and I filled them in with Choco Cream (715) lipstick from Maybelline, a creamy beige nude.

The stunning hairband I am wearing is from Accessorize.
It's called Autumn Leaf Metal Bando and is a chain of gold leaves with an elastic band in the back, something like flower child meets beauty queen. I love it!! *_*

I hope you guys liked this look! Please leave me a comment if you did!

And this is another look I created with a hairband Halloween Queen :-)

Thank you so much for reading and for your lovely comments <3

Love

MJ



THE MIDNIGHT HOUR make up look

I got inspired for this look at around midnight ^_^

For my base I used my magical trio L'Oreal Lumi Magique (True Match Lumi) foundation in W3/D3 Gold Linen (applied with my magical Real Techniques stippling brush) + Mac Pro Longwear Concealer in NC30 on my face + Clinique Line Smoothing Concealer in 02 Light under my eyes.

For my eyes I used my Urban Decay Naked 2 palette.
I applied Blackout (matte black) all over my eyelid up to my crease, and on my lower lashline.
Then I blended it with Busted (sligtly purply brown with a burgundy and golden sheen) in the crease, and with Pistol (a frosty grey brown) below my lower lashline.

I lined my waterline with Essence I Love Rock gloss eye pencil, and I finished off my eyes with Helena Rubinstein Spider Eyes mascara base + Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Black mascara.

I contoured my face and my cheekbones with Mac Harmony blush (matte taupe) and I blended into it just a touch of Mac Star Wonder Mineralize Skinfinish (mauvy pink with golden shimmer) on my cheekbones.
I instinctively reached for Star Wonder as a blush because its shade of pink is the same I wanted to use on my lips, and its golden shimmer would go perfectly with the gold undertone of the eyeshadows I had on.

Not that I think that the make up shades we use for a look have to "match" or be immediately connected to each other. I find contrasting shades a lot more interesting.
Just in this case I thought this whole eyes-cheeks-lips combination would bring the entire look together beautifully.

On my lips I used Lala lipstick by NYX (again, a mauvy pink). I just dabbed it on lightly because I wanted it to enhance my natural lip colour, not to let the lips be completely overshadowed by such strong eyes while still looking naturally rosy.

We need to come up with more looks for other times of the day and night, it sounds like it would be fun!!! :-D

Thanks for sharing here with me a part of your own hour, whichever it might be :-)

Love
MJ

HALLOWEEN QUEEN make up look

This is what I came up with today during a pretty bad thunderstorm, which inspired me a vampy witchy look ;-)

My base is L'Oreal Lumi Magique (True Match Lumi) foundation in DW3 Gold Linen applied with my Real Techniques stippling brush + Mac Pro Longwear concealer in NC30 + Clinique Line Smoothing concealer in 02 Light on my undereye area.

My Kim Kardashian-style cheekbone contouring is courtesy of beautiful The Balm Bahama Mama bronzer ;-)

On my eyes I am wearing Kiko Eyeshadow 175 - a dark ashy brown shade  -, Pupa True Kohl eyepencil 01 - black - and Helena Rubinstein Spider Eyes mascara base + Essence Multi Action mascara.
A basic smokey eye always leaves every possible door open for everything else that's about to happen on your face.

On my lips I am wearing Mac Currant lip pencil, a dark burgundy colour, and Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss Flash in 992 Black Lame.
I was immediately fascinated by this Dior gloss because of how dark - basically black - it looked in the tube.
In fact, it is a blackened burgundy with the infallible Dior mirror shine, full of multicoloured microglitter - fuchsia, yellow, blue, green!! They are clearly visible in the picture, love it!!

I just have to say that the consistency of this lipgloss is not the easiest to work with. It tends to apply a little uneven and has to be worked on a little, meaning it's not for a quick touch up on the run. Once it's on, it's as stunning as it can get.

On my head I put on a beaded necklace by Accessorize from a few years ago. It was long and I doubled it up so that it would fit my head. Like it??? :-D
If you like hairbands you might also like this other look Night Drive In Moscow make up look :-)

Kisses xx

Love
MJ

Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss Flash 992 Black Lame

TOPSHOP SUSPECT LIP CRAYON

Topshop Suspect Lip Crayon

Topshop has recently had an uber cool show during London Fashion Week, with Cara Delevingne walking down the catwalk and Kate Moss sitting on the front row.

And my way of joining the celebrations was getting something for fall from their makeup line! :D
Even if it's not a new shade, I picked up their Lip Crayon in Suspect, a beautiful very intense berry colour.

Topshop Suspect Lip Crayon

This one brings the concepts of pigmentation, longevity and stain to a whole new level.
Like everything King Midas touched turned into gold, everything Suspect touches becomes red!
So make sure you apply it nicely on your lips, otherwise smudges will be hard to clean up :)
Such a potent texture has to be a little dry, still the application is very smooth and creamy.

For me, it didn't need any touch ups for the entire day.
I love it, this will be my signature lip shade for this fall :)

This is the look I created with it.

I paired it with a pitch black cat eye made with a matte black eyeshadow and black mascara.
My base was L'Oreal Lumi Magique (True Match Lumi) foundation in DW3 Gold Linen applied with my Real Techniques stippling brush, and Mac Pro Longwear concealer in NC30.

I heavily lined my eyes with Essence I Rock Gloss eye pencil and I smudged the pencil with Kiko Color Sphere eyeshadow 42 - a satin carbon black.
I applied Helena Rubinstein Spider Eyes mascara base and Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Black mascara, and I brushed my eyebrows with Kiko Eyebrow Designer brow gel, a clear brow gel.

I finished off by contouring my cheekbones and my eyes with Bourjois Delice de Poudre bronzing powder in 51 (fair skin) - a matte non orange bronzer.

And I rocked this look from morning till late night ;)

I hope you enjoyed it :-)
xx

Love
MJ

MAC JUST A BITE LIPSTICK

Mac Just A Bite lipstick

The products I used to create this look are:

L'Oreal Lumi Magique (True Match Lumi) foundation in DW3 Gold Linen applied with my Real Techniques stippling brush

Mac Pro Longwear concealer in NC30

Clinique Line Smoothing concealer in 02 Light on my undereye area

Dior Style Liner in 094 Black for a sleek, luminous finish

Le Rose de Versailles eyeliner from Creer Beaute, a Japanese brand, to perfect the inner corner and the outer cat-eye flick with its ultra thin and precise brush

Pupa True Kohl eyepencil 01 (black) in my waterline

Helena Rubinstein Spider Eyes mascara base

Essence Multi Action mascara

Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara for maximum definition on top and bottom lashes

Kiko Eyebrow Designer brow gel, a clear brow gel

Rimmel Natural Bronzer in 021 Sun Light on my cheeks, on my eyelids and crease, and under my lower lashline

Mac Cherry lip pencil

Mac Just A Bite lipstick

I hope you liked this look :-)

You can also see swatches and review of Just a Bite here Mac Indulge Collection Fall 2013 :-)

Thank you for taking the time to look at my blog x

Love
MJ

GOLDEN SAPPHIRE make up look

PRODUCTS USED

L'Oreal Lumi Magique foundation in W3/D3 Gold Linen - this is my perfect holy grail all time favourite foundation in my all time favourite shade. This shade is slightly darker and warmer than my natural skin tone, so it improves my complexion while still looking completely natural.
I always apply it with my Real Techniques stippling brush, my all-time favourite foundation brush :-)

Mac Pro Longwear concealer in NC30 - again, my perfect holy grail all time favourite concealer for the face, and again, slightly darker and warmer than my natural skin tone. It matches perfectly my L'Oreal foundation

Diorskin Sculpt concealer in 001 - on the undereye area

Mac Pure Creation paintpot - a surefire eyeshadow base in the perfect shade for the eyeshadow I was going to put on top of it

Pupa Luminys Extra Pearl eyeshadow in 04 - one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, I could spend hours just looking at it. Sadly, it was part of the limited edition Sunset Glam collection in 2010 :-(

Catrice Starlight Expresso (350) eyeshadow - it is a little powdery, but it is so inexpensive that for the purpose of blending other colours into the crease it works just right

Essence Black Mania glossy eye pencil - a little too creamy and with a tendency to bleed, but very intensely pigmented, and again, very inexpensive

Helena Rubinstein Spider Eyes mascara base - a MUST for me before wearing any other mascara

Dior Diorshow Black Out mascara on my top lashes

Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara on my bottom lashes - I find its skinny stiff brush ideal for the bottom lashes

Kiko Eyebrow Designer brow gel - it's a clear brow gel and I have had it for a few years, the top of the cap has come off and made it even more make-up-bag-friendly!

Bourjois Delice de Poudre bronzing powder in 51 (fair skin) - matte non orange bronzer I used both for bronzing and contouring

Mac Definitely Defined Extra Dimension Skinfinish highlighter - the next best thing after Mac Soft and Gentle.
Soft and Gentle is more gold and is in the uber-popular Mac Mineralize Skinfinish formula. Definitely Defined is more pink, it has a creamier texture and a more metallic finish.
Here I chose to use Definitely Defined because I felt like a pink highlighter would sculpt more the cheekbones by contrast with the overall golden complexion

L'Oreal Shine Caresse lipgloss in 101 Lolita - I have to say I was at first a little skeptical about this new texture in between stain and gloss, to the point that I didn't even care to try them for a long time. But when I finally did, after seeing my Beyonce-lookalike best friend rocking the mauve shade, I immediately fell in love with them.
The moment you put them on, they feel strangely liquidy and wet, but if you rub your lips they somehow become soft and creamy. And they are longlasting too.
It is really an innovative product, I didn't have anything like this in my make up collection!
Also, I know you shouldn't judge a product by its packaging but seriously, this is the most beautiful packaging I have ever seen!

I hope you liked this look, thank you for taking the time to check out my blog :-)

Love
MJ