Picnic with the fairies

Spring must be in the middle of some kind of existential crisis at the moment. He's only in his early days but already likes to believe he's summer. And I'm not here to complain ! The 30 dregrees and bright blue sky allowed me to wear the light dresses and shorts I've filled my wardrobe up with. And what better place to embrace the beautiful weather (and to show the world my dress) than a lake coming right out out a fairytail ? My family and I went for a lovely picnic and badmington game in Busserolles (ho, you don't know the place ? What a looser ! I'm joking, obviously), the lighting and scenery were so nice I couldn't resist taking a few shots. Sorry, my outfit is far from exeptionnal, I'm just wearing an H&M dress from last year (although they have a similar one out every year), an extremely flowy kimono from Sheinside and a pair of white Pimkie ballerinas (when I'm actually wearing shoes...what?!).

I kept my makeup light and basic, exept for the bright blue liner on my bottom lash line (If Lily Pepples can do it, why couldn't I ?). I had on my good old Dreampure BB cream by Maybelline, topped up with powder and concealer, Sleek's blush inrose gold, Kiko'seyeshadow stick in n° 38, and Tanya Burr's lipgloss in Picnic in the park (Pinic in the lake ? No ? Ok.).

I hope you enjoyed this post and its pictures, please tell me in which way you've taken advantage of the sun (or of the rain if you're unlucky).

See you next time,

Maddy

Minimalist face

We all have those days where we have nothing planned other than staying at home and studying/working. On most of these days, I go makeup free, to let my skin breathe (is that a myth?) as well as to avoid the hassle that is taking my makeup off at night. But some days, when I don't feel like getting out of my PJ's, I just need something to get my head out of my arse, and in front of my computer. I've found that getting dressed and putting on a little bit of makeup helps a lot with productivity (she says whilst watching « Girls », all day), and who knows, mabye I'll actually see someone at some point in the day ? (mmmmm no way). But anyways, here's the look I've been going for latey when I needed to feel like I looked decent but couldn't be bothered.

I started by applying my « Maybelline dream pure BB» BB cream, which is the only BB/CC/DD cream/tinted moisturizer (wow, marketing, you're going too far!) I use, and it does the job. It's very light weight (as you would expect from a BB cream), slightly moisturizing, but not shiny. It also says it has anti-blemish properties (not sure about that, but it doesn't break me out). The dowsides to this product are 1 : that you really have to work it into your skin, or it can look streaky and 2 : that it only comes in three shades (hey for 11,50€, it couldn't be perfect). I followed up with a tiny bit of Rimmel's « Wake me up » concealer under my eyes, on my veiny eyelids and on any blemishes that might have popped up on that day, to avoid looking like a zombie. And (I know I shouldn't start sentence with « and » but hey, grammar!) I topped it all off with a light dusting of my trusty (and budget friendly ) Rimmel « Stay Matte » translucent powder on my T-zone.

Since looking like a ghost wasn't my goal, I added a touch of Maybelline's « Dream Soft » blush in peach on my cheeks to give them a healthy peachy glow. If you have been traumatized by the evil « Dream matte mousse »  foundation (I will NOT link it!), know that the cream blushers from the same line are actually quite nice to use and apply smoothly.

I kept the eye look extremely basic, by just doing a cat-flick using my all time favorite and nearly dried out «Super Liner Perfect Slim » by L'Oréal, before adding a couple coats of the brands « Miss Manga » mascara, which is nice, but far behind my « They're Real ». I highlited my inner-corner and brow bone using a sparkly white shadow (mine is from « The Balm's Nude Tude » but any should work).

Speaking of eyebrows, I used my Soap and Glory « Archery brow pencil » to frame my face in two minutes. This stuff is the bomb ! It's super quick and easy to use, has the right amout of pigmentation, is from the drugstore... anything you might want, basically !

Since my lips were suffering from the changing season, I added a touch of my Nivea « Raspberry Rosé » lip balm, as a final touch. It smells divine and moisturizes without being uncomfortable or sticky.

That's it! I Hope you enjoyed this minimalistic makeup look and please tell me, which products do you reach for when you're not feeling makeup creative or you are just staying at home ?

See you soon,

Maddy

How much's my face worth: worst case scenario

Hello and welcome to the second installement of my « how much's my face worth ? » series. Series in which I make myself (depressed) realise how much money I cake up on my face on a daily basis. Today's look will be a dewy-spring inspired look, whith a light base and shimmery eyes. Let's see how it goes (shivers...).

Base

Chanel Vitalumière aqua foundation -mmm... Got it in the sale?- (41,50€)

Rimmel « Wake me Up » concealer (7,80€)

Make Up Forever HD loose setting powder -travel size- (14,50€)

Benefit Hoola Bronzer -again, sorry- (34,50€)

Benefit Rockateur blush (34,50€)

The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer Highliter (24,70€)

Eyes/Eyebrows

Nars smudgeproof eyeshadow base (26€)

The balm « Nude Tude » palette (42,30€)
Urban Decay "Naked Basics" Palette (27,50€)

Maybelline studio gel liner in black (11,95€)

Rimmel khôl kajal in 001 black (4€)

Rimmel waterproof khôl kajal in nude (5,50€)

Yves-Rochers mascara -was a gift, I swear- (23,80€)

Benefit « brow zings » eyebrow kit (34,50€)

Lips

L'Oréal color riche lipstick in "Leila's nude" -limited edition- (13,50€)

Total : 346,55€

Well, I guess we can say that spring is expensive. I'm now going to make a pathetic attempt at justifying myself by saying that I used all of the most expensive products of my collection for this look. I thinks it's one of the « most expensive faces » I ever wear, but still, I recognize this is exessive.

I would love to hear your opinion on this makeup look. If you also did a « how much's my face worth ? », feel free to link it down below and you can be sure that I'll check it out.

Have a lovely day,

Maddy

10 Beauty things I suck at

I've been interested in everything fashion-beauty related for the past few years, and with that came the desire to avoid looking like a hot mess. Even though on a daily basis I'm doing my best to not scare people away as soon as they see my face, there still are many beauty (and lifestyle, but lets stick to beauty for today shall we?) related things I am absolute crap at ! But you know what ? It's ok to suck ! Oh, you suck too ? Let's all suck together then !

Beauty things I just... can't/don't do :

1-My hair : Pinterest tutorials ? Tried. Failed. Youtube ? Same. I can't even dry my mane properly !

2- My nails : For some reason, my left hands feels handicaped as soon as it touches a nail polish. Plus who manages to wait patiently for their nails to dry ? I mean...no peeing, no face scratching, no eating, no moving (?) for at least five whole minutes !

3- Moisturizing my body : Can't be arsed. I rarely feel like waiting fifteen minutes naked in my bathroom for my body to dry.

4-Contouring : The only thing I'll ever give Kim K credit for. I just can't do contouring whithout looking like a muddy mess. My skin is so pale I need to be very light handed with bronzer, and I'm not that kind of delicate, careful girl.

5-Throwing out expired products : I'm willing to admit that this one is a little dodgy, but to me if a products still smells/looks good even after its expiring date, that means it's still usable.

6-Lining my lips : I have to invest in a few lip liners, I still don't own any. It's a struggle to pull of a good looking red lip when your lipstick desperatly tries to escape your mouth's edges, believe me.

7-Khôl eyeliner : I just don't do khôl (exept in my waterline). It either thugs onto my eyelids, lumps up, looks inequal, smudges, doesn't smuge as I want it... Liquid liner ! Liquid liner is good.

8-Keeping my jewellery : The reason I don't buy expensive jewellery (other than the fact that I don't have the money for it, obviously) is that I know I'll loose it. Whether it's at a friend's, in the changing rooms while trying clothes on, in my bedroom (in my vacuum cleaner)... You can be sure these beautiful earring will end up disappearing !

9-Haircair: I currently have dry ass straw hair, with extremely split ends. Why ? Because I don't take care of it properly. I just shampoo every two days, slap on some 1min conditionner before blowdrying it fully (ain't anybody got time for cold blowdrying!) whithout using any heat protecter. I do realise how stupid it is, I just prefer spending money on makeup than on haircair...thanks fucked up priorities !

10- Buying what I need : this point has a link whith the precedent one. If I need a white blouse, I'll go shopping for it and come back with a blue bag. If I'm on the look out for a new foundation/lip liner/eyelash curler, you'll see me come back from my shopping trip with an eyeshadow palette. I'm too much of an impuls buyer, who has to think more about what she needs and will use rather than what she wants on a given moment.

So there you go, that was a tiny sample of the numerous things I'm awful at ! In which domain do you suck ?

See you next time,

Maddy

My one True match

 

I caved in. I bought the uber-hyped, very well loved, « True match » foundation by l'Oréal. I'm the last person to belive in astrolgy/signs/god/fate and all the rest, but I'm going to defend myself by telling you it was meant to be. I saw my shade (the lightest, obviously) available in store for the first time, the same day I started to realise I was running out of my beloved « match perfection » foundation by rimmel. This used to be my staple « Not risky, not dewy, not matt, medium coverage, last a good amount of time foundation . Let me tell you it has been dethroned.

First of all, l'Oréal true match's packaging is flawless. Not beautiful, not luxurious, but practical (thanks to the pump) and sturdy . The foudation has a medium but buildable coverage, and one pump tends to be enough for me to cover my entire face, hiding everything that needs hiding, whithout giving a cakey finish at all. The product is quite liquidy, which makes it very light-weight and comfortable on the skin. But what surprised me the most was the drugstore gem's lasting power : I wore it for over fifteen hours the other day (yeah, I know, not good) , and at the end of that, it still looked pretty damn decent ; not fresh (come on, which foundation would look fresh after all that sweaty time?), but not all over the place either. Bear in mind that I have normal skin though, I don't know what it would look like on an oilier skin-type.

Now I believe this foundation comes in 13 shades in France, R1-C1  « rose Ivory » being the lightest and my perfect color match (pink toned, super fair) and retails for 15,50€ here (but I actually found it a lot cheaper in store). It's worth every single penny, as I think the quality of this product lives up to many high end foundations.

I'm still open for any good foundation subjection though, feel free to leave some in the comments.

See you soon,

Maddy

Because I'm hatty!

Ladies and gents, let me introduce you to the only structured hat that I can wear without looking like Michael Jackson. No, seriously I am in love with this fedora hat from H&M (similar here), even though it's very out of my confort zone, I find it instantly turns a plain/boring outfit into one that could come out of a film. It's a little Breakfast at Tiffany-esq but not as dramatic, don't you think ?

Ho, and it doubles up as an umbrella, and god knows I need one in my rainy Charente.

Makeup:

Base: Chanel Vitalumière aqua, Rimmel wake me up concealer, Make Up Forever HD powder and full cover concealer, Benefit Hoola and dandelion boxed blushes, The balm Mary-lou manizer.

Eyes/brows: Benefit brow zing, The Balm nude tude, Beneit they're real, Rimmel khols in nude and black.

Lips: Bourjois rouge edition in 36 « Pourpre Jazzy »

Have a lovely day,
Maddy

Glowing bargain

When I started doing my makeup a couple of years ago, I used to dislike glowing skin. The reason for that was that my skin was pretty oily at the time, and I couldn't wear dewy foundation or highliter, as I would look like an greasy disco ball. Now, don't ask me why but my skin type recently changed, it became normal/nearly dry. I now have fewer spots and with that comes the possibility to indulge in some extremely dewy/light coverage foudations (again, Rimmel « Wake Me Up » is one of my favourites), as well as in some highliters.

In my hunt for the perfect touch of shimmer, I stumbled upon the H&M cosmetics highliter when I was sale shopping on their website without having many expectations. Needless to say I was wrong.

This baby gives a gorgeous shimmery glow, very much on the pink side. The texture is slightly powdery (for 5€, what did you expect ?) but totally « workable ». It has the perfect amout of pigmentation, far from being invisible, but not so pigmented you go overboard with it. I think it would look gorgeous on light/normal skintones, as it might be too pink for olive skins, and too light for black skin . 

I tend to reach over for it when I want a more subtil glow than the one given by the Mary-Lou Manizer, I amittedly don't like it as much, but for a quater of the price, it's absolutely worth the shot.

If you ever stumble upon this bargain buy, I recommend you to give it a go, you can't go wrong. If you did so, please tell me what your thoughs are about it.

See you next time ,

Maddy

How much's my face worth?

Hi,

I came across, this post by Keep Dreaming, really enjoyed it and decided I would shamelessly steel her idea and make myself very depressed too. I decided to start it slow though, with this primarely drugstore makeup look:

Base

Maybelline dream pure BB cream (9,80€)

Rimmel wake me up concealer (7,80€)

Rimmel stay matte powder (5,50€)

Benefit Hoola bronzer (33,50 €)

Bourjois blush in healthy mix (12,60€)

H&M highliter (5€)

Eyes/Eyebrows

Maybelline color tatoo in On and On bronze (9,40€)

Naked 1 Palette (49,90 €)

L'oréal SuperLiner Perfect Slim (14€)

Rimmel khôl kajal in 001 black (4€)

Rimmel waterproof khôl kajal in nude (5,50€)

Maybelline The falsies mascara (10€)

Soap and Glory archery brow pencil (9,36€)

Lips

Rimmel kate Moss lipstick in n°19 (8€)

Total : 184,36€

Ouch...and I didn't even count the brushes/tools. This is absolutely insane! I guess I can't complain about being broke anymore... I would love to make the « how much is my face worth » into a series, please tell me if it interests you.

See you next time,

Maddy

Drugstore face

Hello,

As a broke student, all I can say is that I'm very thankful for the existence of drugstore makeup. Although I love trying out high-end brands that stupidly tend to make me feel « classy » with their luxurious packagings, I have to admit that I'm glad there is the possibility to make my face look decent for a low price tag (about the same price as an eyeshadow palette and a powder in sephora). Here's an « all drugstore » make up look that you should be able to slap on in a minimal amout of time. Now let me warn you: there's nothing original about my choice of products, most of them are big 'hits' that you probably have already seen on youtube/blogs, I'm just going to build another layer of love and hype around them. If you're still in after that, let's get started !

Base

Rimmel Wake me up foudation (11€) and concealer (7,50€) : I'm quite lucky in the way that, even as a teen, I don't have an oily or problematic skin (yet ?..) but a "normal" one. Which means I can wear about any foundation I want as long as its range contains a fair shade. The shade « ivory » (in both the foundation and concealer) is on the limit of being too dark, but doesn't overstep the mark. I've been in love with the dewy look given by this foundation for over a year, but I do think the matching concealer lacks a bit of coverage.

Rimmel stay matte pressed powder (5,50€) : Now what did I say about classics? This budget friendly, finely milled powder is a must have in your makeup collection. The transparent shade has been a staple of mine for years, please excuse the look of it, it comes everywhere with me and the crappy packaging (which is the only bad thing about this product) isn't in the best of shapes.

The body shop honey bronzer (19,50€) : This one is on the higher end of the drugstore, but too inexpensive to be classed as high-end. It's the first bronzer I have ever owned, and I absolutely love it! It's matte and comes in 4 shades, I have it in « light » (duh) and it's so pale you can't really go wrong, perfect for beginners (or not).

Bourjois little roundpot blush in 54 - rose frisson (12,60€): A very sheer pinky blush, for a natural "walk in the cold" flush that doesn't clash with my red lips.

Sleek makeup highliter (from the face form in light, 13€) : This contour kit is perfect for travelling, it's handy, very thin (I won't say sleek, I won't say sleek...) and all of the three colours are gorgeous. The pearl highliter itself isn't so pigmented you end up looking like a greaseball, but it still gives you a nice glow. I only used a tiny bit of it, since my foundation is already very dewy.

Eyes

Maybelline color tatoo in on and on bronze (6,80€): Yet another cult product. One swipe on your lid (swipe, which, by the way, will last all day) and you're good to go !

Sleek eyeshadows (from the au natural palette, 10€) : I used the shimmery gold shade from the palette in the inner corners of my eyes, as well as the lightest shade on my tear duct and browbone, as a matte highlight.

Rimmel scandaleyes eyeliner in jet black (4€) and  waterproof eyeliner in nude (5,50€): Your basic, cheap eyeliners, I always put the black one on my tight line, to give the illusion of fuller lashes, and the nude one on my waterline, for bigger looking eyes. On me, these never last all day, but they stay disciplined for a good 5/6 hours and never give me panda eyes.

Maybelline the falsies mascara (11€) : Not bad stuff at all, it doesn't measure up to my Benefit "they're real" mascara (nothing does, really) but this product still gives my lashes a satisfying amount of length and volume when it's applied in a couple of coats.

Brows

Soap and Glory archery pencil (13,50€) : I only use the pencil side of this double ended magic wand because the felt tips always ends up streaky when it's paired whith my clumsieness. The archey pencil is, to my taste, the best brow product you can find in the drugstore, as it allows you to create natural looking brows in a minimal amount of time.

Lips

Rimmel Mate Moss Matte lipstick in 107 (7,50€): Another cult classic, simply because it's the perfect deep red matte lipstick, and that's not even reflected by the price tag!

Final look

Hope you enjoyed seeing my drugstore face

Have a lovely day,

Maddy

Beautifully unaffordable products

I think you can all agree with me on the fact that january is depressing. You're broke after the sales, it rains/freezes (damn you californians) and you realize you are never going to stick to your resolutions (being more positive in my case... oops) . In my grey day boredom, I made a list of beautiful makeup products I desperately want but know I'll never own because they're extremely expensive/not available in France. And again, I'm so broke (thanks to my makeup haul) that I think I'll need to wait until my next birthday (4^th of november) before I can buy anything ! You can either take this post as an « unaffordable products » or a « beautiful products » one, depending on your mood, hope you enjoy though !

Base makeup :

1: Nars sheer glow (in Deauville) 

2: Nars radiant creamy concealer (in chantilly)

3: Gorgio Armani Luminous Silk (in 3 Ivory)

4: Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer broad spectrum (in porcelain)

5: Jouer matte moisture tint (in porcelain)

6: Make Up For Ever HD powder

Contour/highlight/blush:

1: BECCA shimmering skin perfector (in white pearl)

2: YSL Touche éclat highlighter (in n°01)

3: Clinique Cheek pop (in Berry pop)

4: Tarte amazonian clay 12h blush (all of them!!!)

5: Nars Orgasm/Laguna duo

6: Tarte park avenue princess,

7: Nars Virtual domination cheek palette (limited edition)

8: Hourglass Ambiant lighting palette

Eyebrows:

1: Anastasia brow powder duo (no idea of the shade)
2: Burberry effortless eyebrow definer (in sepia)

3: Benefit gimme brow (in light/medium)

Eyes:

1: Bobbi Brown warm glow palette
2: Burberry eyeshadow in Pale barley

3: Charlotte Tilbury luxury palette (the glamour muse)
4: Nars the NARSissiste eyeshadow palette,

5: Stila eyeshadow in kitten
6: Kat Von D Tatoo liner,

7: Marc Jacob « the night owl »eyeshadow palette
8: Tarte lights, camera, lashes mascara

9: Too faced better than sex mascara

Lips:

1: NARS Audacious lipstick (in Raquel)

2: Tom Ford lip color (in crimson noir)

3: Charlotte Tilbury matte revolution lipstick (in glastonberry)

4: Buxom full on lip cream (any of them)

5: Mac lipstick (in velvet teddy, please me or cyber)

6: Bite beauty high pigment pencil (in rhubarb)

That's it! Obviously, everything I said in the intro of this blogpost isn't to be taken litterally. Makeup is far from being the most important thing in my life, it doesn't actually makes me depressed to know  I won't be able to afford these expensive powders and pretty packagings. 

Have a lovely day,

Maddy