MASCARA REVIEW: Chanel Le Volume de Chanel

Hey all, here I am with another mascara review. This time I tried out a more high end mascara, the Chanel Le Volume de Chanel mascara in 10 Noir. Read on to find out more!

Quality:

This mascara separates and lengthens my lashes like nobodies business, but be careful because after a few coats, my lashes got a bit spidery. I'm still missing more volume and more curling strength in a mascara, and for the price of a high end mascara, it doesn't really seem worth it.

Packaging:

The wand of this Chanel Mascara reminds me of the Benefit They're Real mascara wand. It's not as easy as the Benefit one to poke my eyes out, but I'd still be cautious with this one, you eye pokers out there.  

Conclusion:

I find this mascara very similar to the Benefit They're Real mascara, both in wand and in effect on the lashes. It seperates and lengthens very nice, but I'm missing some volumizing purposes that I look for in The Ideal Mascara. Not really worth the high end price, I believe, so I'm sticking to drugstore ones for now!

What high end mascara's have you tried? 

Xoxo,

Anine   

Personal: where have I been?

Where have I been? That's an excellent question y'all. Well, I have to admit: I have been cheating on blogging with working. That's right, I started working at a bridal dress producer two weeks ago and it's been so busy that keeping track of blogging was just too much.

However, I hope to combine writing and working as much as I can, both professionally (please hire me for some freelance work, Vogue Magazine?) and in my free time (this blog).

Will I promise to post twice every week like I've been doing the last months? No. But will I try and bust my ass off to keep you guys informed on my beauty habits, likes, loves and hates. Yes! And that's the best news of all, no?

Lots of love,
Anine

PRODUCT BATTLE: hair oils

Today I will be reviewing and comparing two hair oils. I'm talking about the L'Oréal Professionel Mythic Oil milk and the L'Oréal Elsève Extraordinary Oil for fine hair. The first thing you should know is that I have very thin hair, and so hair oils were one of these 'dangerous' products for me. I would want to use a hair oil to nutrition my hair ends, not to make my hair greasy or too shiny. Impossible?

My hair dresser convinced me to try the Mythic Oil, but I also wanted to try a drugstore hair oil so I picked up the Elsève one. Keep on reading for my review! 

Claims:

- Mythic oil:

"A reinforcing milky mist for all hair types: formulated with royal jelly and passion fruit seed oil. Immediately absorbs, leaves your hair looking texturized and feeling reinforced and bodified to the touch, without weighing it own. Paraben-free formula. Depending on hair tupe, spray 4 to 5 pumps onto dry or damp hair and style as usual."

- Elsève oil:

"Spray on dry or wet hair. Use before brushing your hair to protect the hair fiber and to give a supple, silky smooth texture. Use as finishing touch for a deep shine and unique suppleness.

Extra light oil texture - micro spray - quickly absorbed"

Consistency:

The consistency of the products is quite different. The Mythic oil is a watery milk solution, while the Elsève oil feels more like a dry oil solution.  

Use: 

First I spray the oil in my hand, then I rub in between my hands and then I gently apply the product on my (very) dry hair ends, massaging it in.

Effect:

The Mythic oil left the end of my hair more nutritioned and less dry. The difference was subtle, but noticeable. My hair did not get more shiny or healthy looking, it just felt more healthy on the ends. 

The Elsève oil makes my hair feel softer and shinier. However, it did make my hair faster greasy and the dry ends felt less nutritioned. I also felt like it weighed down my hair a bit. 

Price:

I purchased the Mythic Oil for €20 while the Elsève Extraordinary oil costs about €10. Yeah, indeed, half the price of the Mythic Oil.

Packaging:

The pumps on both the bottles are nice. I find the packaging for the Elsève Extraordinary oil prettier, but since it is a glass bottle, it is also breakable. I already succeeded in dropping it a few times or swiping it off the bathroom counter whilst blowdrying my hair. Luckily, it didn't break. But if you're as clumsy as me, you might want to be extra careful with it. Hair oil all over the bathroom floor? That could get ugly. 

Conclusion:
The L'Oréal Professional Mythic Oil milk did what I wanted it to do: make my hair ends a lot less dry. It pretty expensive however and the L'Oréal Elsève Extraordinary oil made my hair ends a bit less dry as well. I think I would go for the more expensive option, since the Elsève oil made my hair feel quite heavy and made it just too shiny. Or I might continue my search and look for a cheaper, but still good non-greasy hair oil.

What hair oil do you use? What's your favorite hair care brand?

Xoxo,
Anine

PERFUME REVIEW: Jo Malone Nutmeg & Ginger

Every beauty obsessed creature on our planet has probably already heard of Jo Malone. The UK based fragrance company has taken over with its delicate scents, luxury feel and gorgeous packaging. I've wanted to try one of these scents for such a long time, but never had. Luckily, that changed! Thanks to Mr. Boyfriend, I am able to tell you more about a scent today.

As mentioned before, Jo Malone is famous for its beautiful packaging. The cream colored box, the black details such as the bow, and the beautiful glass bottle and classy label make this perfume bottle the eyecatcher of your dressing table, beauty stand or nightstand.

Now, time for a perfume lesson. What is the difference between a cologne, an eau de toilette and an eau de parfum? A cologne fragrance doesn't stay scented on your skin for very long, lasting up to 2 hours. Eau de toilette lasts between 2 to 4 hours and eau de parfum lasts up to 6 hours. 

The Jo Malone perfumes are colognes, but I feel like they do last a long time, for a cologne! 

I opted for the scent Nutmeg & Ginger. This spicy scent is like nothing I have in my perfume stash. That is also the reason why I chose Nutmeg & Ginger and not Orange Blossom, which was another scent I really loved. Nutmeg & Ginger was that perfect fall/autumn scent I never had. It was the start of a love affair.

I told myself I had to use up my summer scents first and had to wait until it would be fall/autumn before I was allowed to use Nutmeg & Ginger. But I just can't, I even secretly sniff the perfume bottle daily like a drug addict.

Because I'm not very good at describing scents, I will describe what jomalone.com says Nutmeg & Ginger smells like.

"Our first fragrance. Sandalwood and cedarwood seasoned with nutmeg and vibrant ginger. Unexpected and addictive."

Well, what better way to start trying out a new perfume brand than by purchasing their first fragrance. Totally meant to be. 

The scent is definitely very spicy, but not heavy at all. I used to think that spicy scents were always pretty heavy or just way too spicy. But this one is perfect. I'm starting to think spicy scents are the way to go for me, thanks to Nutmeg & Ginger.

This 30ml bottle costs £39/€44, which I think might sound more expensive than usual perfumes, but I do feel like these ones are so much more wearable, more unique and more scent-adapting to your skin.

I am still in the market for a second Jo Malone perfume to combine with Nutmeg & Ginger, since that is what Jo Malone is known for: combinable perfumes. Any recommendations?

I also would love to try out their bath oils and especially their candles! Have you tried any Jo Malone products? What did you think of them?

Xoxo,
Anine

NAILS: OPI Get Your Number - liquid sand

Hey everyone, today I'm showing you the OPI Get Your Number liquid sand nail polish from the Mariah Carey collection. I got my hands on this polish and was just in love with the dazzling color in the bottle. 

However, I hadn't really tried any liquid sand polishes yet and thus was a bit cynical. I never really liked the caviar nail trend and thought this was comparable. Well, I was wrong!

The color in the bottle had me bewitched, but it came out quite different on the nails. However I immediately loved the color and the finish.

Use:
I applied two coats and no top coat, since it says so on the bottle. At first it didn't look like anything special, but when dried the polish looked amazing on the nails. Very glam, but still quite subtle and wearable, especially for a blue color.

Quality:
It stayed on my nails for about four to five days, which I really can't complain about. It didn't really chip but just started peeling off. Of course, as predicted this polish was a pain to get off my nails.

Conclusion:
I couldn't stop staring at my nails, that's how amazing I find this polish. Also, it almost looks like very nice nail art or like you very patiently took your time creating this naillook, while it's so easy. I am in LOVE with this polish, which I hadn't suspected at all!


Have you tried any liquid sand polishes? Did you like them?

Xoxo,
Anine

REVIEW: L'Oreal Sublime Bronze bronzing wipes

Last month, my mom recommended me the L'Oreal Bronzing wipes. Curious about the results, I tried them, expecting not much of an effect. They were just wipes, right?

They come in a pack of two wipes, so we both tried one. You can use the wipes on your face or your body. The wipes felt really nice and refreshing on the skin, and softly smelled like sun screen.

After using the bronzing wipes, my mom left to do errands and I had work to finish. 

A few hours later she arrived back home and when she passed my room, I mistook her for a beach babe! She looked incredibly tan, even after a few hours. I couldn’t believe it! Did a simple wipe do that? 

It didn't take long for me to notice that I looked just as tan. We were both amazed by the effect of the wipes.

After a closer look, however, we did find out that the color had streaked out on our skin. We had some white stripes on our shoulders and arms, probably from quickly wiping the bronzing wipes on our skin, not expecting it would do anything. 

After two days, the miracle was starting to fade from my skin and it went back to normal. This wipe would be perfect if you want to tan up for a special event.

Here you can clearly see the the color difference between untanned and tanned skin.

Conclusion:
You definitely get a bronzing effect, there's no doubt about that. I only wish it lasted a bit longer than just 3-4 days. But they're so inexpensive, that it doesn't matter that much.

Have you ever tried bronzing your skin with wipes? What other weird bronzing products have you encountered?

Xoxo,
Anine

REVIEW: Bourjois Shine edition lipstick

Bourjois has come out with the Shine Edition lipsticks for some time now. They come in 8 colors and I was able to try out 4 of them! 

The four colors I tried out were '20 1, 2, 3 soleil', '21 Rouge making of', '22 Famous fuchsia' and '27 Oh my doll'. 

From left to right: Oh my doll, 1, 2, 3 soleil, Famous fuchsia and Rouge making of.

From left to right: Oh my doll, 1, 2, 3 soleil, Famous fuchsia and Rouge making of.

As you can tell, the lipsticks leave a very shiny, glossy finish but are extremely pigmented. I love how you can create an effortless colored lip without it looking like you're wearing a lot of makeup. These lipsticks are perfect for that!

Quality:

They feel very soft, buttery and not sticky at all. They also stay on for a pretty long time. The Shine Edition lipsticks usually last up to three hours, naturally if you don't eat or drink anything.

You do need to make sure your lips aren't chapped or dry, since the color of these lipsticks does tend to settle into the lines of your lips when your lips are very dry. To keep the lipsticks looking nice, you do have to reapply. 

Packaging: 

I do very much like the packaging of these. It is even possible to use the shiny tubes as a mirror if you're on the go. The only thing I kind of dislike (but this is just a minor teeny tiny OCD issue of mine) is that not all of the tubes have the color of the lipsticks on them. 

'1, 2, 3 soleil' and 'Rouge making of' do have the right lipstick colors on the packaging, but the other two colors have green and yellow color details, which I find a bit annoying if you want to store these lipsticks. Of course, that doesn't take away from the quality of these products.   

21 Rouge making of: perfect for a red shiny, effortless looking lip in summertime! LOVE!

22 Famous fuchsia: As the name clearly reveals: this is a shiny bright pink/fuchsia color. It is a bit too purple for my liking, but still is a very nice color.

20 1, 2, 3 soleil: My favorite color out of the bunch. Perfect for a light orange daily look with a pop of color on the lips. Couldn't live without this one anymore!

27 Oh my doll: I like this color the least, just because the pink is a bit too pale for me. However, I gave it to my mother and she loves it as a daily lipstick for a subtle pink lip!

Conclusion: 
- a nice color range
- a nice shiny, non-sticky consistency
- perfect for throwing into your purse
- pigmented


Have you tried any of the Bourjois Shine edition lipsticks? What was your favorite lip color this summer?

Xoxo,
Anine