REVIEW: YSL Touche Eclat Foundation

Yes, I've kind of been on an Yves Saint Laurent kick lately. I purchased the Touche Eclat foundation a while back, but it took me some weeks to find out exactly how to apply it best and before I was able to test its wear time. 

Here you can see a *beautiful* before and after photo, don't mind bare-faced me. 

The Touche Eclat foundation is an extent of the Touche Eclat pen, which has been one of YSL's bestsellers for years. 'Touche Eclat' literally means 'shining touch' or 'illuminating touch'. YSL claims the foundation should give you a glowing, healthy complexion.

Packaging: no complaints here. The product comes in a beautiful glass bottle with golden details. The pomp works perfectly and the see-through packaging ables you to see how much product is left in the bottle.

Shade range: I was able to choose between a wide range of 16 shades. Unfortunately the sales person first recommended me to pick up shade BR40, which is way too dark for me, even when my skin is tan. Since I couldn't return the bottle, I then had to purchase shade B10 so I could mix the shades. I really wasn't happy about this, since the foundation is already expensive enough without having to buy a second shade to match the color to your skin.

Left: shade B10 

Right: shade BR40

Application: 

1. Here I have no product on my face. Enjoy the nakedness of my skin. Oh, and I have acne-prone, combination skin with an oily T-zone, redness and dark circles. 

2. Here I applied the Touche Eclat foundation with my Real Techniques complexion sponge. The coverage is medium to high coverage, it's quite buildable. The sales assistant at Ici Paris XL told me this product wasn't very glowy or shiny, but I strongly disagree. It leaves a very glowy finish on my skin, so I definitely need to powder after the application of the foundation. It does hold up quite well during the day, which I didn't expect.

Without a primer, but with a light powder, it would probably last me around 8 hours. I'd have to powder the T-zone after about 3 to 4 hours though.

3. Then I applied some concealer.

4. Then I powdered and finished off the look with blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara and lipstick.

PRO's

+ Looks quite skinlike but flawless at the same time

+ Sits nicely on the skin

+ Holds up well during the day

+ Many shades in the range

CON's

- Mixing shades: I hate that I had to purchase a second shade to match because the sales assistant didn't pick the right foundation shade. But this of course doesn't affect the quality of the problem.

- Price: it's definitely pricy, you'll pay around the €42 mark at Ici Paris XL

- The finish is a bit too glowy for me

Conclusion: I'll definitely keep wearing this foundation and enjoy it, but probably won't repurchase it. I like my foundations to be a bit more matte, and with a lighter coverage. It's not a bad product at all though!

Have you tried the Touche Eclat foundation? What's your favorite makeup base at the moment?

xX Anine

REVIEW: Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte

When I was a little girl, I really wasn't all that much into makeup. The only item that could spark my interest, when my mom went to beauty counters were the shiny, golden lipstick tubes from Yves Saint Laurent (YSL). When I started to earn some money as a teenager, I would take a look at these lipsticks every time I went to a beauty counter. 

I had a hard time finding the perfect shade for me, but when I took a look at the four YSL Rouge Volupté spring/summer 2014 shades a few weeks ago, I was completely smitten. I picked up two colors on the spot: the YSL Rouge Volupté in 31 Fuchsia Tourbillon/Fuchsia Storm and 32 Corail Jalouse/Jealous Coral. Read on to find out what I think of these hyped-up, legendary high-end lipsticks.

USE: When applying, the lipsticks feel extremely soft, buttery and comfortable on the lips. They are very creamy, and so don't stain the lips very much (the pink shade stains the lips lightly) and you'll definitely have to reapply after having a drink, eating or kissing.

Then why splurge on these babies? They're definitely a luxury item and you pay the price for the beautiful packaging and amazingly creamy texture that is unique. The shade range is also stunning. But keep in mind that you don't get a lot of staining or staying power out of them.

+ Extremely creamy and buttery
+ Beautiful shade range (especially the newer ones)
+ The more vibrant and newer shades stain lightly
+ Luxurious and beautiful gold packaging

- The price tag: about €30
- Wear time is around 3 hours, don't expect amazing staying power here

CONCLUSION: I feel like every beauty addict should have one of these in their collection. They are definitely expensive, and you don't get a good staying power in return. But they are stunning on the lips, feel very smooth and comfortable and simply make you feel chic and very ladylike. A feeling every woman has to experience once in a while.


Have you tried these YSL lipsticks?

xX Anine

REVIEW: YSL cream blush

One of those high end items I've always wanted was a YSL cream blush. They always looked so luxurious and perfect and ever since I was a little girl, the golden packaging seemed to promise me eternal happiness. 

In the meantime I've realized that nothing of the sorts is true, but it can give you the necessary high feeling every beauty addict experiences when shopping at make-up counters they usually avoid because of the high price range.

I finally got my hands on this beauty, in colour number 2, and have to admit that I like it, but don't plan to spend my money on this blush product again. Read on to find out why!

Packaging: What can we say about this? It is gorgeous. It looks great on your vanity or dressing table. It attracts attention and makes you believe you are a princess.

Quality: It applies nicely on the cheeks, is easy to blend out and stays on a lot longer than most cream blushes I've tried. No complaints here whatsoever. 

Price: $38 - €36 The priciest blush I've ever purchased!

Conclusion: Then why wouldn't I repurchase this? For some reason, I don't seem to use this as much as I should, considering the price point of this product. The natural English rose blush look from Keira Knightley as Elisabeth in Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice is perfectly achieved with this blush. However, it takes more time than using my beloved powder blushes, and the effect is just so-so. I am not as much in love with it as it has already been the case with previous blushes. Sorry YSL, but I'm a little disappointed! However, it is still a nice product.

Have you used this product before? Do you prefer cream or powder blushes?

Xoxo,
Anine

Conceal away babe!

Concealers are the big secret of every beauty addict. With just a swipe of the product, your face becomes brighter. Concealing your dark under-eye circles hides the previous long night you had, whether you were working or partying. Concealing your blemishes hides the fact that you’ve been eating way too much chocolate. And applying concealer on the high points of your face can wake your face up as if you just had a very natural looking facelift. It helps the face in amazing ways. I discovered the power of concealer a few months ago, when I purchased the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting concealer.

I knew from all the Youtube channels and blogs I followed, that this was supposed to be a dupe for the Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) Touche Eclat. This cult item has been cherished in the beauty world for many years, but also very misunderstood. The not so addicted beauty users are not aware of the fact that the YSL Touche Eclat isn’t a concealer; it’s a highlighting pen. This product is not used to hide blemishes, but the colour the high points of your face in a lighter shade with the famous Kim Kardashian-effect as result.



I’ve been dreaming about owning the YSL Touche Eclat for years and when I heard that the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting concealer was supposed to be a dupe, I HAD to try it. The effect is amazing. I don’t think I’ll ever end up buying the real thing, because the Maybelline version has changed my make-up routing in amazing ways. I’ve run out of it about a week ago, and never imagined I would miss it that much. I said to myself “I’m not gonna go and buy another one, I have way too much concealers to use up!” I couldn’t justify repurchasing it, but can’t wait until I can! Now I try using other concealers in the same way, but the result is not nearly as flawless as the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch. I LOVE THIS THING!

Other concealers I have been trying out are the Benefit Erase Paste and The Collection (2000) Lasting Perfection. But more about that later. The Estée Lauder Double Wear has been my basic every-day concealer for years. I once tried it as a teenager when I found it in my mom’s make-up bag. Ever since I’ve been using it. It gives amazing coverage over dark circles and I believe it is highly underestimated in the blogging community. I love it, but it’s not cheap enough to repurchase. I would repurchase the Maybelline Dream Lumi touch, but that isn’t supposed to cover your dark circles or bad blemishes.

The old and new packaging of the Estee Lauder Double Wear

I decided I had to try another drugstore concealer to replace my high-end Estée Lauder Double Wear for under-eye purposes. I had heard a lot of good things about the Maybelline FIT ME concealer, and so I have purchased that to give it a try.

As another cheap alternative for under-eye treatment, I tried the Collection (2000) Lasting Perfection. I liked it and stocked up on it when I was studying in the UK and since it’s not available in Belgium. It does the job, which is amazing if you take a look at the price tag. You pay about five/six pounds for it in the UK. The only thing I don’t like about it, is the smell. It’s not a very pleasant smell, but I can look (or smell) past that if it works properly.

The last concealer I will be talking about is the Benefit Erase Paste. I haven’t been trying it out to the maximum but it seems to be okay. The consistency is totally different to the previous concealers I talked about. This concealer is creamier and it’s orange-coloured to counteract the blue- and purpleness of the under-eye area. It’s pretty hard to find a decent powder to set it though, since it’s that thick and creamy. That means it can crease pretty bad during the day, so watch out for that!

I hope this concealer post was helpful to you!