Christmas Holidays Make Up

Happy holidays!!! :) It is really nice to relax a bit and do nothing and see my family again. :) Nevertheless, I wanted to share my Christmas make up and tell you about the products I used, so let's get started.

First I applied my moisturizer (La Roche Posay Effaclar Mat, ~14 €), then I waited 10 min before applying my liquid foundation (Bourjois Radiance Reveal Healthy Mix Foundation in Vanilla, ~17 €), followed by concealer (Catrice Camouflage Cream in 010 Ivory) application on any discolored parts of my face and light-reflecting concealer for covering under-eye darkness (Bourjois Healthy Mix Illuminating Brush Concealer, ~11 €). 

I set my foundation with Catrice All Matt Plus – Shine Control Powder in 010 Transparent (~4 €). I used Sleek Face Form Kit in Fair 372 (~13 €) for contouring, highlighting and I used the blush that comes inside (link to my post). 

On a photo below you can see my eye make-up, I wanted to play with golden/earthy tones and I absolutely adore eyeliners so I came up with a simple, subtle Christmas look. The products I used were:

• Urban Decay Naked 2 palette (~45 €), specifically the following shades: YDK, SUSPECT, HALF BAKED, CHOPPER
• L'Oreal Infallible Lacquer Liner 24H in BLACKEST BLACK (~12 €)
• Yves Rocher eyeliner in Gold (~4 €)
• Yves Rocher 3-in-1 Eye Pencil in 08 Blanc (~4 €)
• DIOR Diorshow Black Out Waterproof Mascara (~25 €)

I used lighter shades of UD palette all over the lid, the lightest in the inner corner of the eye, and darker ones in the crease. I applied the Yves Rocher 3-in-1 Eye Pencil in 08 Blanc on the waterline, the L'Oreal eyeliner in outer corner and Yves Rocher eyeliner in the inner upper corner of the eye. To form my eyebrows I used the Catrice Eye Brow Set in 010 (~4 €).

On my lips I had L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Collection Privée lipstick in J Lo's Nude (~12 €), which I would use during the day, and I would exchange it for a darker color for a night out.

I would also like to mention the Maybelline Color Show Brocades nail polish in Knitted Gold or Gilded Gold (it is called differently depending on a country). I really like the rich and thick texture consisting of tiny and big pink and rose glitter. Honestly, it is one of the most beautiful nail polishes I've ever seen and on top of that extremely cheap - only ~2 €.

I hope you're enjoying this time of the year, regardless of celebrating Christmas or not. I would like to know which make up products you are using during this time of the year and which ones you are planning to use for the New Years eve! :)

All the best,

~Anelei

Kiko Cosmetics

Today I feel very tired, it was a long day at work and I had to finish some things later on, so I finally have some time and energy to finish this post (and then I'm off to bed!). Couple of months ago I was visiting Lake Como in Italy and during the afternoon walk through the city I decided to get myself something "from Italy". Of course I ended buying make-up. :) I bought 3 eye shadows, mascara and a blending brush from and Italian brand Kiko. 

Kiko Make Up Milano is an Italian brand of cosmetics, make-up and skin care products. I am overall very pleased with the products I bought. They are very affordable and good-quality products. Kiko is available throughout different countries, but I will link the German website just for the sake of simplicity (if you go to www.kikocosmetics.com you can choose a country).

The brush (Eyes 200) I bought is my only blending brush at the moment. I am very happy with it - it definitely does the job. One thing I would point out is that you have to be very gentle and careful while using it, because it can poke your eyelid due to bristles being all over the place. Not something I am particularly bothered with, but it is good to know if you're thinking of buying it.

I also bought a Super Colour Mascara in 05 Plum. Again, I have green/grey eyes and this color should make them pop. The mascara is nice, gives both volume and length to the lashes. Unfortunately, the color vanishes as it dries - basically once it is completely dry on your lashes, it looks rather dark and blunt (the vivid burgundy color is not coming through).

Finally, I've purchased 3 eye shadows in 133 Pearly Hot Chocolate, 134 Pearly Cocoa and 137 Pearly Copper. Back then the autumn has just begun and the colors I picked were really autumny with brown, warm undertones. I have to say I am really happy with those: they go smoothly on the lid with little or no fallout and they are pigmented and rich as well. 

Overall, very affordable and good purchase I would say! I would definitely recommend it, having in mind that it is relatively cheap, but good quality. I am not the biggest fan of the mascara I have since it is not doing what it is essentially supposed to do, but then again it depends what you want from a given product.

Have a good night,

~Anelei

Sleek Make Up

Today is a productive day! I have purchased a lot of make-up products recently and since some of the products I got are from Sleek, I just decided to present all the Sleek products I own and give you my opinion about the brand in general.

A year ago I bought my first Sleek palette: iDivine Storm 578 - I was in London and I saw it in Superdrug and for £7.99 it seemed very cheap. I was immediately astonished by the pigmentation of one of the eye shadows and I couldn't resist buying it. In general, they are mineral based shadows; you get 12 of them, each containing 1.1g (0.03oz). Yes, it means that 1 eye shadow costs less than £1 or 1 €, which I was completely thrilled about. Anyway, I got really excited and with time I purchased more Sleek products. At the moment I have 2 eye shadow palettes, 1 blush, 1 lipstick and Face Form Kit (bronzer, highlighter and a blush combo).

First I want to mention my 1-year old iDivine Storm 578 palette - great color range, from light to dark colors. From 12 eye shadows, 9 are shimmery and 3 are matte (which is also visible from their names: Metallic vs. Matte). In general, color payoff is great, especially with shimmery eye shadows. Matte ones are not that pigmented, but I am not bothered with that at all. While applying them you can expect a bit of fallout, but I have the feeling that all highly pigmented eye shadows have the same problem. In my opinion, great palette to have, as you can do whole variety of looks - from everyday to strong smokey eyes, and what is most important it works well with different complexions and eye colors.

My other palette is iDivine Vintage Romance 141. Since Sleek products are not represented in German drugstores, I order them in Amazon. This palette was 9.99 € (without shipping expenses). Again, everything I said for the Storm palette is valid for this one too: great color payoff, nice range of colors - especially for autumn and winter. I have green/grey eyes and plum/rose/golden tones are perfect for me, so I really wanted to buy this palette and so far I haven't regret it. I also think the colors could work well with every eye color and complexion - it just depends on personal preferences. And the eye shadow names are so romantic! <3

Finally, I have swatches of Face Form Kit in Fair 372, Blush Antique 142 and Coral Reef 772 Lipstick. The Face Form Kit was 12.99 €, the lipstick was 5.99 € and the blush was 5.49 €. What can I say, I like everything! The lipstick has a great texture, not drying, not chalky, just great. The color I have is great for late spring and summer, I was wearing it quite a lot in the past warm months. The Face Form Kit is perfect, I adore Rose Gold blush, especially if combined with the already mantioned lipstick. Bronzer is not too dark, matte and overall very nice for contouring. Highlighter also does the job and it can be used as an eye shadow as well. The Blush Antique is very nice as well, very elegant and appropriate for autumn/winter. I like the "toned-down", antique finish it leaves.

Overall, I really like Sleek products and I will continue to buy them as they are inexpensive and reliable. I only own a few of them, but I can already say I trust the brand to perform - especially within the eye shadow and blush domain. A funny side note on the eye shadow palettes - they are exactly the same size as my mobile phone (Sony Xperia Z) and not once happened that I was answering my palette instead of my phone! :D Talking about "sleek" design! :)

Vintage Romance palette and Blush Antique I bough together a few days ago and I am just finishing the post with the photo of the original packaging they were shipped in.

And not to forget, today is the first Advent day for those celebrating Christmas. I enjoy Christmas very much, so I want to share my festive mood with the photos of my small Christmas decoration and gingerbread cookies I prepared last night!

Do you use anything from Sleek? Would you recommend it?

~Anelei

Primark Fashion Haul

Just a quick fashion post about the non make-up things I got in Primark. Winter is knocking on our doors, so I mainly got myself fluffy, warm clothes and accessories. As you see below, I bought 2 scarves and 2 hats. The fluffy red hat was 4 € and the pink one was 3.90 €. Tunnel grey scarf was 3.90 € and the pink one 4 €.

Below is the pajama I bought for Christmas - I always wanted to open my presents on the Christmas morning in a warm fluffy pajama and I fell in love with this one below. It was just 10 € and so cute! <3 It is made from fleece and even though I prefer cotton, I think it will keep me warm during the following months.

And finally, 2 very useful and inexpensive things: a jewelry "holder/organizer" and a mirror. The jewelry holder below was 2.50 € and the mirror just 1.50 €. I especially love the vintage design of the mirror and I couldn't believe how cheap it is.

Do you have Primark in your country? Do you ever shop there?

~Anelei