What’s in my travel makeup bag

For my trip to Paris, I tried to pack very light on makeup. I thought of it as a way to make myself do a more minimal makeup application.

The products shown above from left to right:

MAC Studio Fix powder in C4

Labello lip balm

Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick in Coralberry

MAC Kohl eyepencil in Bluuz

Bourjois Brow pencil in 04 Blond Foncé

Maybelline Master Precise liquid eyeliner

Rimmel Scandaleyes mascara

Nars eye primer

Estée Lauder Double Wear concealer in 02 Light Medium

Maybelline Lumi Touch concealer in 01

Wet ‘n Wild eyeshadow palette in Walking on Eggshells

Chanel Le Volume de Chanel Mascara in 10 Black

Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector for oily skin in Light

E.L.F. Blush in Candid Coral

Last but not least, my brushes. I pretty much use all Bubbi Brushes and Real Techniques brushes, some Hema and some MAC.

What essentials do you always have with you in your travel makeup bag?

Xoxo,

Anine

Paris haul!

I picked up some goodies from my amazing trip in Paris! Look at the damage I did!

The first stop was Sephora. I picked up the Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer in Light. It’s supposed to be oil free and perfect for acne-prone or sensitive skin. It provides a smooth, matte finish. I specifically wanted to try it to make my makeup stay on longer.

I also wanted to pick up the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting spray. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in stock that day and I had to go to the big Sephora on the Champs-Elysées (which was INSANE). This setting spray should ‘keep your makeup looking gorgeously just applied for up to 16 hours, without melting, fading, or settling into fine lines.’ The result should be smoother-looking skin and of course makeup that lasts all day. That’s why I bought it.

I got this polish for free when I signed up for the Sephora membership card (which was free). I’ve already tried it and love it!

Then I went by the MAC store in the Quartier Latin. I exchanged my six back-to-mac products for a lipstick. Originally, I had other lipsticks on my list, but after three “Ce n’est pas en stock!” I decided to just go and look for lipsticks I liked, instead of looking for the names such as Patisserie or Cream Cup. I also picked up a blush.

I ended up with this lipsticks I would normally never go for: Chatterbox. Although I don’t usually like blue-toned pinks, this one just stole my heart and I’ve already worn it so much!

Then I also gave in and after almost a year of yearning for this blush, I purchased the MAC mineralize blush in Love Thing. It looks stunning in the pan and on the cheeks. The man at the counter said “Wouldn’t you like a pale pink better?” but I stubbornly wanted Love Thing.

how stunning is that!?

Then of course, last but not least, I got me some Bioderma. A lot of it. My boyfriend looked at me in doubt, but I explained how in the end, it would be a lot cheaper when stocking up in Paris. He understood and even helped me carry two damn litres of Bioderma. Now that’s true love.

Do you own any of these items yourself? How do you like them?

Xoxo,

Anine

Personal: Graduating, Paris and internship

 This is the first personal update I’ve done on this blog. But since I’ve really loved blogging and taking care of this page, I thought it was about time I shared some personal stories.

The last weeks have been very exciting and busy for me. Two weeks ago I graduated from my college in Belgium. I received my diploma, that tiny piece of paper that cost me three years of blood, sweat and tears and over three years of worrying, studying and taking extra classes before that in high school. To be able to say that I’ve graduated and am ready to go to work, feels better than ever. Especially since I’ve worked so hard to get here and I was always the kind of girl that was made to write as a living.

I’ve only had one job interview so far (for an extremely cool job in the beauty blogging industry), but after calling and e-mailing thousands of times, I’m pretty convinced they’re not interested. Apparently I’m still to young to even be considered? I was pretty bummed out about that.

As you might have noticed, I also went on a trip to Paris with Mr Boyfriend. The trip was amazing and everything we’d been dreaming of. I’ll share some pictures at the end of this post.

Then I went to the Belgian seaside for a week with my family and now, the third week of july, I’m starting my internship. “Wait, didn’t I just read that you’ve graduated already??” Yup, that’s right. I decided I wouldn’t spend my summer lying in bed or partying, since I’m the kind that can’t sit still for too long. I’m having the amazing opportunity to do an internship at a fashion magazine instead! I’m already getting nervous, what should I wear??

Anyways, this was my short personal update. It’ll be a busy summer, but I’m so ready for it! I hope I will be able to maintain this blog as much as I can, since I have no idea how busy I will be with the internship.

Last but not least, you can enjoy these pictures from my trip to Paris!

With much love,

Anine

Dôme des invalides

Dior Couture show

Les invalides

 La Grand Palais

Pont Alexandre III

We put our lovelock on the bridge!

Mr Boyfriend throwing the key into the Seine

Breakfast at La Tour Eiffel

L'Oréal headquarters

Dior Miss Chérie

Carrousel at Montmartre

Me in front of the Notre Dame

Chanel jewelry at Place Vendôme

 Dior jewelry at Place Vendôme

Sniffing around Jo Malone

Review: Bourjois Bronzing primer

Here is another review of a bronzing product from the Bourjois summer collection! The product I’m testing today is the Bronzing primer. From the beginning I was very intrigued by this product. Especially because I haven’t found any drugstore primers yet that I like, let alone stand a bronzing primer!

The consistency of this product alone left me so curious. It feels like chocolate mousse, and smells like a typical bronzing product which doesn’t bother me. It comes in one color, so if you’re very fair or have a darker skin, you might find it difficult to use this product.

The product claims to smooth, even out and matifie the skin. On the back it says you’re able to use it alone or under foundation or powder. On the packaging the perfume of the product is described as ‘addictive’ which I thought was a cute touch.

As you can see, blended out, this product looks very nice. I tried applying it very lightly on the skin, both with my clean fingertips or the Real Techniques Expert Face brush. Sadly, it didn’t work for me. It was too dark and pretty much looked like I had put chocolate sauce on my face. Which isn’t a look I like to go for.

Then I noticed blogger Alix from I Covet Thee used this product successfully as a mousse bronzer, not a primer. She said it was comparable to the Chanel Teint de Soleil, which is one of the most mysterious products of the blogosphere, since everyone seems to have a love-hate relationship with it.

I tried using it on my cheekbones, temples and the bridge of my nose for a bronzing effect and liked it a lot. However, I do feel like it’s easy to overdo it with this product. A very light hand is needed when applying. I feel like I still need more time to try out this product and make the application of it totally failproof.

The small jar is good for 18 ml/0.6 oz of product.

Have you tried this? How do you use it?

Xoxo,

Anine

Review: INGLOT Freedom System

As promised, I tried out this two-pan INGLOT Freedom System palette. Read my “INGLOT in Belgium?”-post to know more about the cosmetics brand INGLOT and its unique Freedom System!

These pans can be filled with full-size eyeshadows or with ‘rainbow’ shadows, which are three similar colors in one pan. I tried out two of the ‘rainbow’ pans. Here you can see the swatches.

I especially like the neutral colored one, since it can be used for a daytime or an evening look, and it’s so compact, handy and tiny! Perfect for travelling!

But what about the quality? INGLOT claims it’s up there with MAC cosmetics and so I was very eager to find out if that is true. I have to admit that my first impressions about these shadows are very positive. I will have to try them out more though to actually decide if they’re better than MAC!

They apply and blend very nice. The consistency is nice and buttery, but I don’t think it is as buttery as MAC. I haven’t been noticing any fallout though and I was able to very easily create this eye look:

The day after I created this more natural look:

In an eyeshadow palette with two eyeshadows you get 2.7 grams or 0.09 oz of product for €19. Overall, I really like these eyeshadows and am eager to try out some more!

Have you tried INGLOT products?

Xoxo,

Anine