INGLOT in Belgium?

That's right, INGLOT Cosmetics is coming to Belgium! Can we pleaaase do a little happy dance? 

Image from MaisonPR

If you're reading this and you don't know INGLOT Cosmetics yet, you're definitely in for a treat. This beauty brand is right up there with brands like MAC, both in quality and price. 

The thing INGLOT is known for, is their Freedom System. With this system, you're entirely free to create your own eyeshadow, blush, powder, concealer or lipstick palettes. Also, the freedom palettes are magnetized and the lid of the palettes is matte but see-through. This makes it easy to know what product you're reaching for.

INGLOT was doing very well in the Netherlands and I was eagerly convincing my Dutch friends that we had to plan a trip to Amsterdam so I could take a look at the INGLOT store there. Luckily, a Belgian store will be opening in Antwerp, so the INGLOT store will be "just around the corner"!

It is still unknown when the store will be opened, but I can say that I'm VERY excited! If you won't be living close to the future Belgian store, you can find your way to the Benelux webshop that will be launched this summer!

The color pay-off of INGLOT products is exquisite and their color range is very extensive. I've finally got my hands on some INGLOT eyeshadows and I will definitely keep you up to date on how I'm experiencing the products. I'm also very curious about their blushes!

Have you ever tried products from INGLOT?

Xoxo,
Anine

PURPLE MASCARA: Bourjois Purple Mania

Brightly colored mascara's have been trending in the beauty world for a while now, but I had never tried one. With my sparse lashes, it somehow didn't seem like a trend that I would enjoy or be brave enough for to try.

However, the Bourjois Volume Glamour MAX Holidays in Purple Mania made me rethink that idea. I tried it and really loved the rather subtle pop of color. Also, it's less harsh than a black mascara, which is perfect for a summer look.

Bourjois claims the mascara should do the following things:

"Trendy colors and a maximal volume in a pocketsize, it's the new Bourjois Mascara for your holiday! Your lashes will stay perfect during the entire summer thanks to the waterproof formula, which makes it 10x as voluminous for 24 hours."

The mascara separates very nicely, but it doesn't thicken the lashes a lot. Again, this mascara is better for a more nude look with not too much going on, on the lids. I do like the application, the mascara doesn't clump on my lashes. It does look a bit spidery after more than two coats. The color isn't *WOW* bright, but if you'd be having a conversation with someone, they should notice your mascara is purple. The purple color really is very noticeable in natural (sun)light. The brush is nice, thick and easy to use.

The mascara comes in four different colors: Ultra Black, Electric Blue, Green Lagoon and Purple Mania. They retail for €7.99 in the Belgian drugstores.

SJP's own shoe collection?

Lots of us fashion lovers have been following Carrie in Sex & the city from the very beginning. Lots of us were very disappointed when it all ended after the second movie. The Carrie Diaries just wasn't the same as Sex & the city and so we were hungry for more Sarah Jessica Parker.

Good news then, for all the SJP-lovers: Sarah Jessica Parker is launching her own shoe line! That's right, you will be able to buy shoes made by the shoe addict that played Carrie in Sex & The City. Vogue announced that the actress will be working together with George Malkemus, the CEO of... Mahnolo Blahnik (!) to create her line. The line will be called "SJP" and will contain shoes, bags and some trenches and will be sold exclusively at Nordstrom in early 2014. The prices of the shoes will vary from $200 to $300.

Sarah Jessica Parker told Vogue:

“Because I got to play that role, I wore a lot of shoes, and by default I learned an enormous amount. It’s hard to”—no pun intended—“walk away from that.”

I'm so excited to see what Sarah Jessica will be creating. If I start saving for a pair right now, I might be able to buy a pair? ;)

xoxo,
Anine

Obsessed: Lipsticks

Okay, I can already hear you think it: "She's obsessed again. How can someone be obsessed about something else every single month?" Well, I often ask myself the same question. They're just phases of wanting stuff that I sometimes give in to and sometimes I don't. Let's just say... I gave in to this one. I gave in big time. A little disclaimer - of course I didn't buy all of these at the same time :)

It all began with the Maybelline Colorsensational Vivids. The one color that especially caught my eye, was the Shocking Coral one. It was all over the beauty blogs and damn, did I want this baby. All the lipsticks I bought are pretty neutral, except for one, so I thought, it wouldn't be harmful if I bought one bright lipstick, right? Right.

I LOVE this lipstick so much. It feels creamy and it's so nicely pigmented. It's pretty bright (colorsensational vivids, duh!) and it stays on for quite a long time because it stains the lips quite a bit. It has a very lipstick-y smell, but it doesn't bother me. It could be bothering if you are sensitive to strong scents. This color is perfect for summer.



Phase two of the obsession: The Wet n Wild matte lipsticks, featured on FleurdeForce's vlog channel in the color Cherry Picking. After checking out the colors I decided Cherry Picking wouldn't look good on me at all and instead I opted for Rosebud and Just peachy, two amazingly pretty colors. 

 This first color, Just peachy, is the perfect nude. It's the first nude color that I've loved, since I'm more of a pink lip-girl.

Rosebud is a dusty rose color. This is more a lipstick for fall/autumn.

Both the matte lipsticks are quite drying, but they do stay on quite long. Because the packaging is kind of cheap, I almost broke one of the tubes, but I was able to fix it.

Knowing that I've never been able to try Milani and that I'd heard these lipsticks were amazing, I threw in a Color statement lipstick in Plumrose. It was just so pretty! I saw Emily Noel do a very positive review about them on her blog and damn, was I sold!

 

Plumrose is the perfect darker fall/autumn color. It's perfect for the vampy lip trend, only it's not that out there as most of these vampy lip colors. It applies creamy on the lips, but isn't a very long lasting color.


Then, last but not least, there's the Revlon Lustre lipstick in Coral Berry my sister-in-law bought me in the States. 

This lipstick is creamy and very nice on the lips. It doesn't stay on very long though. I do love the color, it's (as the name kind of implies) a Coral/orange color. 



Here are some swatches: 

From left to right: Wet n Wild Rosebud, Wet n Wild Just Peachy, Milani Plumrose, Revlon Coral Berry and Maybelline Vivid Shocking Coral.

From left to right: Wet n Wild Rosebud, Wet n Wild Just Peachy, Milani Plumrose, Revlon Coral Berry and Maybelline Vivid Shocking Coral.

FIVE new lipsticks. My lipstick collection has suddenly doubled in colors! But I spent so little money in comparison to European prices, that it's not a very bad thing for my bank account.

Would you like to see a review of one of these lipsticks?
xoxo
Anine

Mascara review: Maybelline the Falsies

Here's another mascara review for you today! This mascara, the Maybelline the Falsies Volume Express, is probably my favorite mascara ever. Read on if you'd like to know why!

One of the main reasons why I love this mascara, is that it's so amazingly volumizing! Also, it doesn't clump, it holds a nice curl (even though I have pretty curly lashes anyway) and lengthens. It stays on all day and easy to take off at night. So in other words, this mascara does everything I want a mascara to do. Also, it's a drugstore one, which is always nice for our wallets. Am I not right, ladies and gents?

The mascara wand is just perfect to give me a nice curl! I believe it retails for €13.99 in Belgium. After I finish up my other mascaras, I will be repurchasing this one!

What mascara are you currently using?
Xoxo,
Anine

Empties #1

It was about time for a first empties post! Empties are the products you use up. Since you've used them all up, you know quite well if you like them, if they work like they're supposed to and if you'd repurchase them.

I've collected these empty items in the last months:

  

Let's start off simple. The first item I used up is this base coat from the Dutch drugstore Hema. It's cheap and it worked just fine. Since I've never used anything besides this, it's not relevant to compare this.

I also ran out of my MAC Oil control lotion, that I use as my daily moisturizer. I started using this about a year ago and it definately helps to control the oil in my skin. I always thought I had oily skin, but since I started using the MAC Oil control lotion, I know that actually I have a combination skin since only my T-zone gets oily. This is probably my second bottle of it, and I've already used a fair amount of my repurchased one. It's still going strong!

 This Maybelline the Falsies Volume Express Mascara has been gone for a while and I've had several tubes of it. It's the best mascara I've used so far, but I won't be repurchasing it for a while, since I'm testing out a lot of new ones. I do think I will eventually go back to this one.

My Vichy Normaderm exfoliating gel has gone too *snif snif*... I loved it, it left my skin pretty much spotless (which is extremely rare for me). I have a lot of samples and exfoliators I need to try out, but after that, I will definately be repurchasing this.

The Vichy solution micellaire is from the same Normaderm line as the exfoliator. I liked this, but tried out the Bioderma one afterwards and simply liked that better. I still have a second bottle of this have to use up though. 

So naturally, here is the small Bioderma Sensible H²0 Solution Micellaire bottle. I tried it out and loved it. On my trip to Paris I will be stocking up! This is the one for sensitive skin and it worked perfectly, but I know that there's also one for oily skin in this line. However, from the online reviews it seems to be less effective. Have you tried both? What do you think I should try?

I also finished this L'Oréal Elnett Satin Hair spray for extra volume. I love it and have been using it for a long time. It doesn't make my hair crunchy, it gives it that extra *Ooomph* that my hair needs in the morning. Will be repurchasing this.

And last but not least, I've used up this Urban Decay Naked skin foundation in color 3.0 a few months ago. I liked the light to medium coverage and easy application very much, but was disappointed by the staying power. This shouldn't be the case when you buy a more high-end foundation. I am very interested to see if the Revlon Nearly Naked (which is supposed to be the drugstore dupe) stays on longer? They don't seem to be selling it in Belgium, though. But I won't be repurchasing the Naked Skin foundation.

Have you used any of these products? Which ones did you like and dislike?

Xoxo,
Anine

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure 2013 collection

Recently, my eyes fell on a very interesting article that had found its way onto my computer screen. Sally Hansen is coming to Belgium! The polishes will be available at Planet Parfum. This higher-end nail polish brand is quite popular and so I couldn't wait to try them out.

I got my hands on these two colors. The first one is Jaded and this is a nice mint green color. The second color is Berry Important, which is (as you might guess) a nice, quite warm berry color.
 

Quality
I like these! They apply pretty easily and I prefer two coats, especially with the Jaded color. These polishes lasted me an entire week, which is the longest a nail polish has ever gone without chipping heavily or peeling off, I think.

Packaging
I love the packaging. You got a lot of product for your price and it's pretty to look at (you all know you like that too, just admit it!). I like that the brush is wider than your average nail polish brush. It makes application easier. However, the two brushes were kind of flared out (by accident I presume) which made it a bit harder for me to apply the polishes. It still was quite easy to use though.

Price
The polishes retail for 11.99 euros - 13.99 euros depending on where you buy them. I think that's a good price, considering you get a lot of product and they lasted me an entire week.

Selection
There are 10 polishes available for this Complete Salon Manicure collection. They're all beautiful colors, and you can also choose some darks.

Have you tried Sally Hansen polishes before?

xoxo,
Anine