FALL-WINTER 2011/2012: NUDE NAIL POLISHES

OPI Samoan Sand, 3 coats, natural light

OPI Samoan Sand turns on instant chic in you.

It is a milky beige that does evoke the uncontaminated sand of a tropical beach. It is very sheer, so it needs 3 to 4 coats to appear on the nails like it is in the bottle. But it dries so incredibly fast that it’s really no bigger effort than applying the usual 2 coats.

It is not a new release, but it was all over the place at the New York Fashion Week last week. Lisa Eldridge lists it as an alternative to recreate the look in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jLTuizFjl8

OPI Sweet Heart, 2 coats, natural light

OPI Sweet Heart is the softest milky pink.

It makes your nails look effortlessly manicured and is a classic all year round every year. It is not totally opaque so you might want to add a 3rd coat if that’s the finish you’re going for. On me, it does show some streakiness issues on one nail that is more uneven itself.

This shade is often mentioned by Elle and Blair Fowler on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/AllThatGlitters21 and http://www.youtube.com/user/juicystar07) as one of their favourites.

Essie Lady Like, 2 coats, natural light

Essie Lady Like, 2 coats, with flash

Essie Lady Like, from their new Brand New Bag collection, is already one of my all-time favourites!

It is a very sophisticated dark dusty pink with a touch of lilac and taupe. To me it falls into the nude category, while being an intense colour at the same time.

In the natural light, it looks like a bright dusty pink, a lot brighter and pinker than it shows in the picture. Indoors with the flash, it appears to tend more towards the taupe.

I was also impressed by how shiny it is, it naturally looks as if you had applied a shine top coat on it.

Definitely a unique must have shade, and I would love to hear if somebody knows of similar colours from other brands!

If you would like to see my review of some plum nail polishes please go to Plum nail polishes :-)

Thank you for taking the time to read!

Love
MJ

NEW FRAGRANCE: VERA WANG LOVESTRUCK

I would lie if I didn’t say that the first thing of Lovestruck by Vera Wang that caught my eye is the bottle.

And gorgeous Leighton Meester from Gossip Girl as the face of the print and video campaign too!

The bottle has a basic square shape, while the oversized cap is a pure piece of art: it is a bouquet of deep berry glass-like flowers (stylized peonies I think?) figuratively tied together by two tulle ribbons in the same colour, with the slight sheen typical of this fabric.

The perfume itself has a very light pink tint to it.

It is one of those things you want to put on your nightstand and it makes you happy just to look at them!

With the scent, it was also love at first smell.

Vera Wang describes it as “Feminine. Modern. Romantic.”, a “sparkling addictive” mix of “pink guava and mandarin”, “tuberose and lotus blossom”, “precious wood and sheer musk”.

I found it definitely floral, fresh and elegant at the same time, intense and still delicate. It lasted nicely on the skin too.

I was mesmerized by the bottle to the point that I thought that maybe I was only liking the scent so much because my eyes had ordered my nose to!

So I decided not to purchase it there and then, and wait to see if it was only a temporary lust.

But when I went back to the store after a week, I already knew beyond doubt: I wanted Leighton’s and her flowers’ perfume to be my perfume too!

And that must have been my lucky day: the sales assistant told me that this fragrance came with a free gift, and handed me this beautiful huge tote bag by Vera Wang!

The bag actually features Princess, another Vera Wang fragrance, but it couldn’t have been prettier and it totally made my day! Thank you!!

And how bad is it to be jumping all over the place with joy because all the other customers behind you are asking for Lovestruck and the tote bag, and the sales assistant tells them that THAT was the last they had in stock, and YOU are the one who got it??? ^_^

Have a beautiful day ladies :-D

Love
MJ

NEW TREND: MATTE LIQUID LIPSTICKS

Hello everybody, this is my first blog post :-)

I saw Lisa Eldridge use a newly launched creamy matte lipstick in one of her make up tutorials on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/lisaeldridgedotcom#p/u/5/J4wJeJIWs58), so I decided to give this new texture a try.

The products I got are Kiko Ultra Light Mat Lipstick in shades 03, the timeless blue based cherry red, 04, a burgundy red, and 05, a very sophisticated dusty mauve, and Collection 2000 Cream Puff in shade Cotton Candy, an intense pink.

The Kiko lipsticks (5 ml / 0,16 oz. – 7,50€, not sure about the UK price) have an extremely intense pigmentation but are also very dry. When I wear them, I have to dab some lipbalm on top of them from time to time to keep my lips feeling soft, which will not affect the colour intensity anyway. Once you apply them, they will not go anywhere unless you rub them off with an oil based make up remover!

The Collection 2000 Cream Puff (5 ml - £2,99) is more creamy. I would not call it exactly moisturizing like the packaging says, but it does feel velvety.  It will easily go away with just water.

I heard that NYX has creamy matte lipsticks very similar to the Collection 2000 ones, but I have not tried them.

I realized that only matte lip colours that are the same colour as or darker than my natural lips look good on me.

With shinier and glossier textures, I can wear a much wider range of colours, from beigy nudes and light pinks to burgundy and dark plum. But matte peachy nudes or matte baby pinks only make me look like the corpse bride...without the bride part!!

Has anybody else noticed the same effect on themselves or does anybody have some advice on how to pull off very light matte lip colours?

Thank you for taking the time to read and welcome me into the blog world :-)

Love
MJ