The ugly truth

Hello everyone! :)

I'm sorry if you were expecting a beauty post, but right now, I just wanted to thank you guys, who visit me, leave comments, and generally make me want to post (every now and then, I know)!

I also wanted to make amends, because I know I always say I have a tutorial on its way, and I have actually filmed more than five, but the editing stage just makes me want to cry, and also, you might laugh about this... But I'm so obsessed about my accent being too funny for you guys!

Proof!

I know, right? I'm spanish, so I have to have an accent, but after attending a british school for my whole life, and reading books in english, watching TV series in english, and doing EVERYTHING in english, even blogging... I admit I haven't talked to someone in english for A LONG TIME (1 yr or so), so I'm losing the capacity of fluid speech, and I'm so embarrassed when I see my self blabbing to my computer camera (which isn't as good as HD cameras, I know, I'm sorry about that too!)

So... mainly I wanted to tell you more or less about these little issues I have encountered with the whole tutorial thingy. Hopefully, I will be able to overcome my embarrassment, and post a couple (of the ones I have already filmed) on YouTube, and if there's positive feedback, there'll be more!

(This embarrassment was not diminished when a friend of mine found my first video, and started laughing at me... You know guys, they don't know the first thing about lipstick, and they find it really funny. Poor guy.) Even so, I deleted the video, because I thought the quality was really poor, and I wanted to post nice videos from the start, so I'll re-do that video later on.

Hopefully you'll understand, and won't judge me for not keeping my promises at the moment.

Love,

Maria.

Healthy Mix Serum & Healthy Mix Concealer

Hello everyone! :)
I finally got my hands on Bourjois' Healthy Mix Serum, and I also bought the concealer, because I had run out of my NARS foundation and my YSL Touché Eclat, which I will surely repurchase, but I needed a quick fix.

So I'm going to tell you what my initial impressions are of both of these products!

HEALTHY MIX SERUM (FOUNDATION)


The first thing I must say about this foundation is that I was terribly disappointed about the range of colors available. There were literally FOUR colors available at my Bourjois counter. I am guessing they think all spanish people have the same coloring? The darkest wouldn't have suited my mother's skin, and the palest, which is the one I got, is a bit darker than my skin. This color will definitely suit me in summer, but not now, when my skin is very very pale still. But a good buffing will do the trick, and as it doesn't look too orangey, it looks quite nice and even.

The shade I picked up was 53 Light beige. 52 would have suited me way better.

It has a fruity scent, which doesn't bother me at all, but if you have sensitive skin, this might cause irritations, and break outs, but I really like it!

It didn't look very oily on me, and it definitely has some staying power, even if I didn't set it with any powder. It doesn't have the BEST coverage, and as I did have a couple of blemishes, this didn't cover them completely. On the other hand, it is very lightweight, so it doesn't feel cakey AT ALL, and I definitely love the texture, which they promote as gel-like, but I think it it like a normal liquid foundation (in my opinion, at least.)

I definitely like this product, for a day in which your skin hasn't too many blemishes and you don't want full coverage!

Healthy Mix concealer in shade 51; Healthy Mix Serum in 53

HEALTHY MIX CONCEALER

Even if it looks way too light in the swatches, this means that a little goes a long way, and a little blob will work for both my under-eyes, and will cover ANY blueness, or redness I have, making my eyes look very awake and bright. This has definitely been a discovery, and I'm in love.

THE VEREDICT:

I love both of these products. Even if the shades weren't the best, that's my own fault, but even then, I was able to work with both of them, achieving a bronzey glow (not orange, I assure you) and a soft brightness under the eyes (not white either).

Do take into account, however, if you're looking for a full coverage foundation, the H.M. Serum is NOT going to meet your expectations! 

I still have to test the staying power of the serum (foundation), but I will keep you posted tonight on that, as I am wearing it to a party, and this HAS to stay on (at least) a good 6-7 hour period for me to REALLY like it!




Love,
Maria.

New lip combo!

Hello everyone! :)
No luck with the YSL Glossy Stains, I'm afraid. I found a couple of them, but they didn't let me take any pictures of the swatches, and I didn't like any of the five colors that were shown on the YSL stand, but I'll try another day, I promise!

However, I have the most amazing discovery to show you guys. Actually, no. It's not a discovery at all, because I have created a lip combo with products I already owned, but despised and didn't use at all. As much as I love my NARS Lip Velvet Matte pencils, I own "Damned" and I'm afraid this color is too vampy to work on me, and made me look really dull and corpse-like. (It's way too brown for me, and I was about to give it to my mother!)

On the other hand, I have one of those Josie Maran's lip stains which has the appearance of a marker, and I find it doesn't work at all, because it doesn't apply evenly on my lips. Any kind of marker will do, but I really don't like this one because of it's crappy application, and I bought this product when I was in New York. It's a hot pink/red kind of color, and as much as I love the color, I can't bring myself to use this one at all.

I have heard that the Josie Maran apply well, on the internet. But I don't know if mine had already dried out before my purchase, or whatever, but it applies quite patchy on my lips. So if you find you really love this one, then, forget my mini-review on this product!

I think mine is the third starting from the right, if I'm not very mistaken.

The thing is, this morning, I wanted to look out for old products I don't use, and see if there's any way to use them up.

And this combo jumped out of nowhere. Since the "Damned" NARS pencil is quite dull, and the Josie Maran lip stain is bright but patchy, I decided to use first "Damned" on my lips, which looks quite brown-plum on my lips, but with the pink pop in the middle of my lips, and a little bit of vaseline on top (or clear gloss), this just looks like the MOST AMAZING burgundy red lips but still very bright, which is something I need to make my skin not look dead-like.

So, today's little tip is: guys, try to make any old dull lip color with a brighter one that matches it more or less, and see how the color DRASTICALLY improves and makes you look really lively and beautiful. Add the clear gloss/Vaseline to achieve that fruity and kissable look on your lips, or go matte if you are a matte-girl at heart.

Love,
Maria.

New on my wishlist: YSL Glossy Stain

Hello everyone! :)
If you've been browsing through the blogosphere, and reading different beauty blogs, you might've read something about the new YSL Glossy Stain products, which are a kind of mix between a gloss, a lipstick and a stain, according to the brand itself. As a stain lover, I couldn't skip the chance of trying it out, or wanting it desperately at least.

This afternoon, I'm heading to the YSL counter. I actually don't know if it has been released yet in Spain (very professional of me, but I really think it has, because of all of the ads everywhere), but I always love looking at pretty expensive and beautiful things, so I will go on my trip anyways!

Just in case you have been living under a rock for the past month, I will take some pictures for you guys this afternoon, and some swatches too! For now, I will show you a little sneak peek into the product itself:

If I actually purchase any of these, I will go for any of the brighter colors, in the middle or first column, probably. The thing with the YSL Glossy Stains is that they change over time, like the kind of oxidization process that occurs with some foundations, so the color changes and can become deeper. This is something to take into account before purchasing a really dark color, I think, because it can end up looking really vampy!

I have heard a lot about #11 Rouge Gauche, a true red, but I really wanted a hot pink or fuchsia, so I will swatch them all and decide if I buy a couple of them! (They are 25€, so I will have to pick really well!)

I hope you are as excited as I am, because I wouldn't spend 25€ on any other lip product, I assure you! They better be as exceptional as they sound like. I will tell you everything about them this same afternoon, I hope you have a great day! 

Love,

Maria

Nails Inc 'Baker Street': a love story

Hello everyone :)!

I remember telling you guys that I had finally ordered Nails Inc 'Baker Street' on BeautyBay. It arrived some days ago, but I wanted to try it out first to tell you how well it has performed and how much I like it (or not, I want to keep the mystery). 

This is my beautiful friend, 'Baker Street'. Now, I don't remember the street, from when I visited London, but the nail polish is definitely something to remember! 

This cobalt blue is a TRUE BLUE, dark but still very bright, intense but still very wearable, and I think this color will suit absolutely anybody, even if you're the palest (like me) or have the darkest skin! 

The tip wear has been minimal in 4 days of use, but I consider that no chipping after the 3rd day means that this polish is very good quality. The top and bottom coat (I use the same product for both: KIKO's Shine Top&Bottom Coat) is a very important step which helps maintain the quality of the color and shine, as well as the time of wear, but I think the product itself always has a say in it too.

The veredict?

I am in love. If you love blues, then why don't you have this already? If you don't normally wear bright colors but are tempted anyway, why don't you have this already? I can't stress enough how much I adore this nail polish, and I'm really glad I bought it! It looks good with ANY nude or black or white clothing (which is mostly what I like to wear), and it can be pulled off quite amazingly with bright colors too.

Are you trying to decide if you should buy it or not? Is it worth it or not?

IT IS, GO BUY IT! RIGHT NOW!

[I don't work for Nails Inc or anything, it's just an amazing color and I just want everybody to know about it! It's a hidden affair I want to make public!]

Love,
Maria.

The Big Issue: Foundations

Hello everyone :) !

As makeup addicts, we know there are many different brands of eyeshadows, liners, etc. that are pretty great, and even if sometimes we encounter bad quality eyeshadows, we know most do a decent job, even if its a cheap brand. Mascara-wise, I think most separate and lengthen a little bit the lashes, but few of them are really amazing and holy grail products, but even though, you can own hundreds of mascaras, and none will make your lashes look WORSE. 

The only product I think is more extreme is foundation. You can either LOVE a foundation, or downright HATE IT. I see no middle ground, even if you try some foundations you wouldn't normally use, you still love something about them. And I believe most of us want similar things from our foundations, even if some of us want matte or dewy finishes, full or light coverage, powder, liquid, mousse, gel texture...

But what you want is that the final result is natural, not cakey at all, beautiful and that makes your skin glow. And that it STAYS that way, so it doesn't oxidize or melt away.

I own three foundations (at the moment, I threw out previous ones I didn't use at all and didn't like either):

(L to R: BodyShop Extra Virgin Minerals Powder, BodyShop Oil Free Balancing Foundation, Nars Sheer Glow) 

(My foundations are pretty messed up, I'm sorry. But on-the-go,
it's quite difficult to put on foundation without messing them up a little, right?)

One of them is (was) my holy grail foundation: NARS Sheer Glow, in Montblanc. But lately, I decided that this sat too much on top of my skin and it wore off after a couple of hours, because of my oily skin, I didn't want that, even though I love the glow it gave to my skin. So if you're trying to look for some coverage, and you have combination skin, or dry skin, this foundation will work wonders for you. It doesn't cling on my dry patches, which is something I really appreciate from a foundation, and it just delivers GLOW. (And you guys know I love my glow.)

After that, I bought two BodyShop foundations, one was a mineral powder foundation (Extra Virgin Minerals with SPF 15, which was 20€) and a matte "liquid" foundation (Oil Free Balancing Foundation SPF 15). My initial idea was to use the liquid foundation and use the mineral powder as a finishing powder.

 (L to R: BodyShop Oil Free Balancing Foundation; Nars Sheer Glow; Real Techniques Stippling brush)

(I  apply them both with my RT Stippling)

I have ended up ditching any hope of using correctly the Oil Free Balancing Foundation, because it dries INSTANTLY, and it cakes A LOT on me. It's way too matte to look natural, so even if this stays for hours on my skin, I don't think it makes my skin look beautiful, fresh or anything. It just looks dull and matte. The shade range is not good at all, and the lightest color was still too orangey and dark for me. It accentuates any bump you might have on your skin, or any dry patch, so I wouldn't recommend this to acne prone skins, or dry skins. I actually wouldn't recommend this to anyone, if I'm honest.

I'm in shade 04.

You can practically see the mud-like, mask-like consistency of this when blended downwards,

which dries into a sort of waxy mask. [Sucks!]

Comparison between top (Nars Sheer Glow, lightly applied) and bottom (BS Oil Free Balancing, blended)

(You can definitely see the top foundation camouflages pores and lines, 

while the BodyShop one just makes them more obvious!)

On the other hand, my Extra Virgin Minerals Powder has worked wonders for me. The coverage is really light, and so you definitely need to use concealer under your eyes and on blemishes, but this gives the most amazing finish ever. I think my shade is also a little bit darker (nothing that you can really notice at all) so it also makes me look bronzed. I can't use it as a finishing powder, but it evens out your skin beautifully, it gives a really natural sheen to your face, it doesn't accentuate dry patches, and just looks NATURAL. It gives the effect of your skin being tanned and glowy, but not greasy at all. I just fell in love with this powder. It does absolutely everything I wanted it to, without full coverage, but when my skin is looking good, this is the foundation powder I use to make it look EVEN BETTER.

Tap some onto the lid, like the TINIEST amount possible, and then brush it softly with

a kabuki brush, such as mine. [Perfection!]

I'm in shade 205 rose vanilla,
a little bit darker than my skin, but doesn't look orangey at all, only beautifully and glowy tanned skin.

Right now, NARS Sheer Glow has too much coverage for my liking, so EVMP I think this will be a great alternative, specially for spring and summer! With a kabuki brush, you just put it on, and it's a breeze, there's no blending needed, just a little powdering and you're done! 

Bottom line
I love my NARS Sheer Glow as much as the next girl, and it has definitely been there when I was in need of some SERIOUS coverage, to look air brushed and beautiful. But my skin is better now, and packing it with foundation will only make matters worse, right? So I think that the mineral powder foundation will be an excellent alternative for me, so that my skin can breathe.

On the other hand, if you need coverage and a beautiful foundation, then I CAN'T stress enough: NARS Sheer Glow! NARS Sheer Glow! NARS Sheer Glow! NARS Sheer Glow!
MUFE HD Foundation I heard is also really good, but I haven't tried it on myself, and don't know anyone who wears it, so I can't recommend you something that I have not previously tried out on myself or at least, a friend. And there are many others you can try out, hopefully you'll find the perfect match for you!

I can go on and on about foundations, so I hope this post wasn't too long and boring, guys!


Do you own any REALLY AMAZING foundation? (Or would you rather keep it a secret?) Do you have any kind of oily, combination or dry skin and you find that there's this one product that solves all of your problems? 


Any question, ladies? Post a comment below!


Love,
Maria.

I took the plunge. I ordered Nails Inc 'Baker Street'.

So much for saving money!