OOTD

Please excuse the lighting. Finally an outfit post again. As I realised everything I am wearing here is from Mango. The jumper, the shoes and the bag were all from new collections, so should still be available. 

Everything is from Mango

OPI Gel Manicure

Recently I have decided to give the whole Gel manicure thing a go and tried the (not so) new OPI Gel colours. My choice was the classic OPI Big Apple Red and it looked beautiful. It lasted very well and was shiny and scratch-free for the whole time. People complimented me on the nails and the colour and it did not damage my nails in the slightest.

It is definitely pretty, long lasting and absolutely fuss free.

The only negative thing that I have to say about it is that after about 1,5 weeks it starts looking slightly weird as the nail is growing out and in my case nails grow fairly fast. Thus after 2 weeks I removed it. 

SeboCalm

Usually I like to stick to brand I know and products I have heard of, however SeboCalm is an Israeli brand that is quite popular amongst Israeli women. It was developed for sensitive skin and is hypoallergenic. I have acquired a little collection over time. 

My two favourite items are without a doubt these creams. The first is a moisturiser that soothes red and irritated skin. Since my skin is quite sensitive it reacts to a lot of environmental factors and this cream really does help. The second cream is a tinted moisturiser with SPF 20. I like to use it in the morning. It provides some coverage and both moisturisers are oil free. 

I also quite like the body butter. It feels quite light yet it contains shea butter and feels great on the skin. 

Estée Lauder Advance Night Repair

Well finally I caved and bought the Advance Night Repair serum by Estée Lauder. I have heard so many good things about it and decided to acquire it and loads of beauty bloggers have raved about it. Truthfully I decided to get it a long time ago after reading Anna's blog and watching her Youtube channel. Naturally I have very high hopes for this product. Apparently its main ingredient is hyaluronic acid, which is responsible for renewal of skin cells. I will give it a go and obviously review the product in the future. 

I actually had to hold myself back not to buy their Idealist Even Skin Tone Illuminator and decided to give that one a go next month. It brightens the face containing vitamin C, fades sun damage and hyper pigmentation. It is also supposed to help with breakouts and is used in the morning, thus a great combination with the night repair. 

New in ... part 2

So here is the second half to my "New in" post. And no, I did not buy everything in one go! I have been picking up bits and peaces here and there and now I can put everything into a nice and long post. 

You may or you may not know that I am a total silk freak, so as soon as I see a top made of silk my brain turns off because I have to have it. Thus with the 3 shirts below it was no different. My only excuse it that they were all on sale.

The first shirt is a lovely green high cut shirt with a little key hole in the back from Mango. I really always wanted to have a green silk top so now my foolish dream has come true and I can fantasise about a new clothing item.

The 2 tops below are from Zara. The first one has a little collar and it is of a sheer white colour. The collar turns to ribbons in the back and is tied into a little bow.

The second shirt is rather a jumper. It has a viscose metallic beige front and a silky back with a golden zipper. 

Somehow I seem to have gotten into metallic/silvery tops lately, thus I absolutely had to buy this linnen blazer with metallic fibers from H&M. I particularly like the neon orange fabric inside.

I was walking around this jumper from Mango really wanting to buy it and tried to convince myself that I absolutely do not need it. Technically this is a valid argument, however, when I found it on sale I just couldn't resist... It is quite silvery with low shoulders. It just looks stunning with dark skinny jeans and black or silver ballet slippers. 

To round up the collective haul, I present to you my new favourite perfume. It is Eau de Toilette from Chloé. I find it very elegant and feminine and it really does go well will all the silk shirts. I always have to think about the stunning silk Chloé always brings to the run ways and it makes me feel like one million $.

New in

Finally, I am back after a long hiatus and wanted to share a some of my new things with you. It will probably happen in 2 parts since this post would get too long.

I can never again enter ALDO because they just have stunning stunning shoes! I really cannot wait for the weather to get worse so that I can finally wear them since just the view makes me excited. However, it might still take a while...

After I purchased my 7 for all mankind jeans, I realised that there are no better jeans for me out there. So when there was again a 50% off offer I decided it is time for an addition to the closet. My old Miss Sixty jeans really could use a replacement and the colour is gorgeous. This is the high waste super skinny model.

I was doing so well and already on my way out of the shopping center and decided to peek into the MAC store. Why did I do that? No idea...

What they do have though is their annual brush set release which is more than 50% cheaper than buying their brushes individually. This year it was illustrated by Julie Verhoeven and contains the 187, 130, 282 and 286 brushes. Also for the first time I have ventured into cream bushes and so far I really like it. The shade that I got is "Brit Wit". 

OOTD

Zipper blouse Zara • Jeans 7 for all mankind • Flipflops Havaianas • Nails Essie Fiji 

New in

Here it is - the walk of shame. I have slipped today and shopped. I wandered into the MAC store. What a big mistake!

Although you all know how much I love my Helena Rubinstein mascara, I decided to try something new because I thought some volume would be great, so I bought the Zoom Lash mascara. I am not too sure about the volume but I am still trying it out. Also, I have decided to invest in better curlers so I got the full lash curler. I definitely thing it is way better than the one I had before.

As you can tell I concentrated on my eyes during this mini haul. I also purchased the technakohl liner in "Fancy Moves". It is stunning purply colour that shimmers slightly. I wanted a colour that brings out the green in my eyes and I really like it.

My probably most favourite purchase is the eau de toilette by Givenchy in "le bouquet absolu". It is an incredible scent. Very flowery, just like a garden. Unfortunately it is not very long lasting, so I take the bottle with me and reapply if needed.

Saturday Impressions and FOTD

I know I have been absent, however I was working a lot and since I put myself on a make-up shopping ban, the only thing I have been buying is nail polish.

Instead I decided to do another "Saturday impressions" post.

New in again!

I have done it again. I bought some make up. I don't understand myself especially because I wanted to get the Dior highlighter. However, they still did not have it and I got fed up waiting for it. 

When I was passing the Estée Lauder counter and bought their neutral eye shadow pallet it 07 and OMG do I love it! The colours are incredible. It is natural and can be used on a daily basis and you all know I am the worst when it comes to eye shadow. I usually just stick to mascara and sometimes a little eye liner. 

I wondered into the MAC store in order to buy Snob but when I tried it I just wasn't sold. I am just not into obvious pinks most of the time as opposed to nude pinks and reds (beige or peach are is not for me either). So after I wasn't too happy with the look of Snob I asked the lady to find a my-lips-but-better-colour and she came up with Syrup. Unfortunately I don't hear much about it in the beauty world but it is an absolutely gorgeous berry tones sheer lipstick. When I put it on I immediately look put together. In the picture below it is darker than it actually looks. 

So I am extremely happy with my purchases and will now look for shoppaholics anonymous to get some help.

FOTN

So I am trying my first face of the night makeup.

Face: Clarins Skin Illusion foundation, YSL Touche Éclat, MAC creamy concealer, L'Oreal indefectible concealer, MAC bronzer, MAC blushbaby

Eyes: Prestige liquid eyeliner in black, Maybelline master drama khole liner, MAC all that glitters, Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Feline Blacks

Lips: YSL Rouge Velupte in 01.

OOTD

Before I was heading out to celebrate one of my favourite days on the year, the Independence Day, I thought I will manage to quickly post my OOTD, however I did not and the post is only coming up now.

Kimono H&M • Turtle neck Primark •Jeans Mango • Flats Mango

Current makeup favourites

I realise that I have recently done a favourites post, but I have picked up a few bits and bobs thus the favourites have changed.

I do not use a primer on a daily basis. I just put the foundation on top of my moisturiser. I have really been loving Clarins Skin Illusion in 103 Ivory and applying it with a beauty blender. I just love the airbrushed finish it gives me. I then proceed with YSL Touche Eclat in 1,5. I don't have terribly bad under-eye circles, thus I just apply the brighter and it works for me. I then cover imperfections using MAC concealer in NW20 and L'Oreal indefectible concealer in 02 porcelain. I know I have just mentioned the MAC Matte Bronzer in my previous post, however I am already in love with it, and the application with the 109 brush works really great. After I used the bronzer as my contour I apply my blush in Blushbaby with my 129 brush. I have been really enjoying this combination as well. Moving on to my eyes, I line my top line with MAC Teddy and then apply my all time favourite Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Feline Blacks. Until 2 weeks ago I have been never filling in my brows because luckily I do not have many problems with my brows, so when I was in Germany on a business trip I bought the P2 eyebrow pencil in 030 brilliant brown, and it cost me around 2€. This pencil has a little brush on the other end so I don't use anything else except my clear mascara by essence to fix the brows. Last but not least is my YSL Rouge Velupte lipstick in 01. I don't really use lipsticks every day but this one is definitely my favourite and the smell is just amazing.

I am aware that most of the stuff is high end, however I really think the products are worth the money. At the end of the day I put them on my face and they really work well for me.

New in... Here we go again!

You might or might not remember, that I decided not to buy anything anymore, but today I needed some retail therapy. Now I am officially on a ban. Nonetheless, I can share today's purchases.

I am still on a quest for a good moisturiser. So today the lady at the Clarins counter managed to sell me some stuff. I might add that I just stopped there in search for a lipstick. However, there is hope! I have bought lotion, which will hopefully get rid of my dehydration. I was also in the market for a new peeling, since I cannot stand using my Clinique 7-day-scrub, since it really startet to irritate my skin. So I have purchased the Gentle Exfoliator. It contains some gentle acid and basically you apply it with a cotton pad on your face and leave it in for the night. It then dissolves the dead skin cells. 

I then wandered into MAC, since I couldn't find the Clarins lipstick. I was looking for a nice coral shade for spring. My problem is that I am very while and my skin is cool toned, thus anything remotely orange looks ridiculous! Lucky me that MAC's Costa Chic is a pink based coral, so patted in it looks great on the lips. I then decided to try contouring and bought a bronzer. (First one I have ever bought!) It is matte and does not look orange on me, which was my worst issue with bronzers, hence the very late purchase. I do not like shimmery stuff on my face and cheeks because I like keeping my make up as natural as possible. I also didn't have a brush to apply the bronzer so I also bought the 109 contouring brush to apply it with. 

The bronzer actually looks much lighter in life than in this picture. The lipstick on the other hand is true to form. The moisturiser looks huge because of the packaging, but it is 50 mL, which I believe is standard. 

Oh, what the lip...

So I have been having an absolute obsession with my YSL rouge volupte. And truth be told. I am not into lipsticks. I really am a balm girl and rather concentrate on my eyes. However, lipsticks seem to go through a whole revival phase and I sort of jumped that train. What started just a comparison of shades for me, ended up in a whole wish list. Swatches can be found here.

They are just sooo pretty! I love the texture and the smell. I already have shade #1, although it is really pink on my lips and not beige at all. 

Another big love, at least theoretically is MAC. I own just 2 of their lipsticks, Creme cup and ruby woo. Ruby woo is an absolutely incredible matte red lipstick, thus very drying on the lips. I always pair it with balm underneath. The second one is creme cup and it is a cremesheene finish. Supposedly they are moisturising on the lips but I have to admit that on me is feels very drying, so I am not particularly keen on that purchase.

I think you can see a pattern emerging. There are either reds or pale or milky pinks. But that is what I love.