Nails of the Week #3 : a touch of gold

Hello everyone !

Here we are for the new nails of the week ! With something a bit different this time, I wanted to go with a dark shade for this week. Dark shades like greys and browns and purples are timeless and make you look somehow very classy and chic - at least I think so.

I've decided to wear my Chanel n°509, it's called "Paradoxal". It is a very dark purple colour, with the tiniest purple sparkles, you can't see them when the nail polish is on your nails.

As you can see, I added some glitter to do an accent nail. I thought the gold looked nice with the purple :)

And it is a nail polish by H&M, it is the "Stay Golden". 

They look great together, the gold makes the more "boring" purple pop instantly. 

I have to say, Chanel nail polishes aren't the best in terms of lasting finish ! Their colours are often great, but for the price you pay, maybe they should try and make them last longer on the nails... because when I wear it I have to apply some polish on the tips every other day, if I want to keep it for the week. 

So just a tip : if you want to try and buy a Chanel nail polish, maybe wait until you have a voucher or something, don't pay it full price, it is kinda not worth it in the end.

See ya !

Julia xx

Review : Sugarlicious Kit by Benefit

I got the Sugarlicious kit by Benefit for Christmas, and I've been using it quite a few times since. It was about time for me to make a review !

The box contains four small size products and a tiny blush brush :

On the left you have two of Benefit's best sellers, High Beam and Benetint.

High Beam is a liquid highlighter, which can be applied with the little brush inside of it. It is a very light pink colour with sparkles in it, and it looks sooo pretty. You can apply it on your cheekbones, under your eyebrows, or anywhere you want to make your face brighter.

I always apply it under my eyebrows, and sometimes on my cheekbones. I catches the light and gives a pretty glow to your face, without too much sparkle. I was afraid of shining too much with this because I have an oily skin, but it doesn't make it worse at all ! I would even probably consider buying this in full size. Also, you use a very small amount of product each time so it will last you so long !

Benetint is a lip/cheek red stain. It is very liquid and you also apply it by using the little brush inside. Everybody loves this product, but I must say I'm not so much into it. It is very sheer and liquid so not very handy to use when you're in a hurry, in my opinion. As it is very sheer, you have to be careful when you apply it if you want the colour to stand out. It is supposed to give a very natural look, both on the cheeks and on the lips, so if you're in for a deep rosy cheek this won't satisfy you. 

And I don't know if it's just me, but when I apply it on my lips it always gives the strangest result - some parts of my lips are more coloured than others, especially the middle of my lower lip. I can't seem to have an even colour and I always struggle to put it so that it looks right. That's why I don't use it anymore, I don't know what I'm going to do with it honestly ! I was slightly disappointed with it, since so much people raved about it everywhere.

Anyways, let's get on to the main product of the kit : the blush, Sugarbomb.

(The colour is very light but looks better in real life on the face, unfortunately I couldn't get a better swatch)

As you can see, the blush is divided into four little sections : an orange, a coral, a light pink and a mauve one. You can use them separately (which can be a bit difficult as this is the small-sized version of the blush) or you can blend them together. I mostly use them blended, but sometimes I try to pick the coral and the pink shades only, when I want more of a pink cheek.

The colours are amazing, and they have a gold shimmer in it which, when you apply the product, makes it look almost like a bronze colour. I love it, and I recommend it especially if you skin is naturally tanned, as mine is.

The little brush is quite cute and very soft, I usually use it to apply the blush just because it's already in the box and I'm too lazy to stretch my arm and take another brush haha. It's not the most practical (round brushes are generally better to apply blush), but I find it still okay to use.

The last product is the Sugarbomb lipgloss. It is a pinky nude colour with gold sparkles in it.

Although it looks very pigmented in the packaging, it is in fact very sheer and when you apply it without anything underneath, you can barely see the actual colour, it just gives a nice shimmer and glossy effect to your lips. It would be best to use it on top of a nude lipstick to give more dimension to the lips.

***

That's it for the Sugarbomb kit !

It has proved me that Benefit actually make great products, of a very good quality, although I've been disappointed by the Benetint. Anyway I don't regret getting this because I use the High Beam highlighter all the time and I know I will use the blush as much when the weather will get warmer and I'll want this nice bronzy look on my face.

I can't wait to try other Benefit blushes now, this is my new goal for this year haha !

Julia xx

Nails of the week #2 : In Stitches by Essie

Well, it seems like everytime I speak about how sunny the weather is, it suddenly gets worse in the following days... ? I'll stop mentioning the weather from now on I guess, if it always brings us rain and clouds !

As a consequence of this brutal change in weather, I'm not in the mood for wearing pastel colours on my nails for the week. Instead I've chosen a lovely dusty pink, which goes with everything I wear. 

It is the "In Stitches" by Essie.

As you probably know, Essie is a very good brand. They have a lot of shades and every collection they make is amazing. The only thing is, as for OPI, the price, unfortunately ! Although Essie nail polishes are a bit cheaper than the OPI ones.

I only have three Essie polishes, and they are all pinks ! I have a fushia pink (which I'll probably wear in the summer only), this dusty pink and a very light nude pink. They're all so good, I love wearing them ! Easy to apply, quick to dry...

I've noticed this one doesn't stay on very long, it goes off quite quickly on the ends of the nails, even with three coats on. That bugs me a little because I hate when you can see the white of the nail on the tip of the finger, but it's not overly important either, it won't stop me from buying other Essie nail polishes in the future !

Julia xx

Nails of the week #1 : I don't give a Rotterdam by OPI

Hello !

Now that spring is coming and the sun is there more often, I've been more excited about painting my nails. I always paint my nails and never go without nail polish, but I don't know why, these days I've been super happy to do it ! That's so strange. But I truly feel like buying new colours, bringing back my pastel polishes, etc. 

So I thought I could do "nails of the week" posts sometimes ! Just to show you a few of my favourite colours and brands.

This morning I've applied the nail polish that I'm going to wear this week. It is the I don't give a Rotterdam by OPI, from the Holland collection. I remember when I first saw this shade, I fell in love with it and knew I had to buy it.

(Sorry, I just noticed that I have applied the nail polish very badly and I haven't taken off the excess. Oops !)

It is a light blue shade, almost greyish at time, and it has tiny silver sparkles - or speckles, you can't really tell. It is a very good colour for spring and as it is an OPI nail polish it does stay on a long time (but of course you should always wear a top coat on it). The only thing is that the colour is very sheer so you have to apply quite a few coats to get a good coverage. I've applied four coats here (!), but luckily it dries very quickly so it doesn't take hours to do your manucure anyway.

I do hope that the weather this week will be nice enough for me to wear springy clothes to match this nail polish !

Julia xx

Review : Full Cover concealer, by Make Up For Ever

I've had the Full Cover concealer by Make Up For Ever for a while now, and it's about time I speak about it on here because it is definitely worth a try !

The product looks like this :

Mine is in the shade 8. It is a bit too dark for me unfortunately - I hate the lights in these beauty shops, they always make the colour of the products appear different than what they actually are in daylight. But luckily for me you can't really tell the difference once it's applied on my skin, so that's okay.

The texture is quite thick (well same as any other concealer I guess). The lady in the store told me it could cover scars and tatoos, so I thought it was really good and it would be enough to cover my blemishes ! To give you an idea of the coverage, here is a sort of swatch on my hand :

The coverage is actually very good. You can cover the little scars you have once your blemishes and spots are gone (y'all know these little scars which seem to never disappear ? argh !), your rednesses, your dark circles even (I use the Full Cover as a concealer too), and in the end your face looks really good already !

In my daily routine I don't even put liquid foundation on anymore, I just put the Full Cover, then a bit of mineral powder, then transluscent power to set everything on, and that's enough ! If your skin isn't too damaged or if you don't have severe acne, you could definitely just put this concealer to hide what's to be hidden, instead of going for full foundation every day.

For the lasting effects, I haven't been disappointed either : it stays on all day long, but of course you have to use a long lasting foundation/powder on top, otherwise it'll probably mess everything up.

The only negative aspect of the Full Cover is its price - 26,50€ is a lot, but all Make Up Forever products are more on the expensive side... I guess if you want the best quality you have to pay more (or get it for birthdays or Christmases, hehe !).

If you can afford it and are in need of a good concealer then you should spend your pennies on the Full Cover, that's the only advice I can give you ! ;)

Julia xx