B's Wishlist #5

So, this wishlist business is definitely starting to become a (both pricey and really enjoyable) habit on this blog! Sadly (or luckily for her) Kym is still on her American road trip adventure, so this week there might only be one wishlist, unless she manages to have a little quick one at a Starbucks somewhere! Anyway, without further ado, here my bi-monthly wishlist for the next couple of weeks:

Make Up Bag | Knitted Turban | High Waisted Jeans | Pore Minimizer | Camo Beanie |

 Eyebrow Pencil | Concealer Wand | Solid Perfume Stick | Liquid Foundation 

As I think I mentioned, Kym is so kind as to bring me quite a couple of make-up bits from the US, since they're much cheaper there than in most places in Europe. I'm deeeeead excited, so to honor my new little beauties, I'd love to get this Ted Baker Make Up bag - I have tons of other ones, but this gorgeous snake-skin one is just too good. It's on sale right now, too, and I've been wanting a Ted Baker one forever to replace my much less exciting H&M ones.
I mentioned in my last wishlist that I was seriously in love with knitted headband/turbans, and that hasn't changed. This one in black, white and orange looks classy but the pop of color makes it really stand out, which is great for accessorizing an outfit. So sad about the 70€ price tag!
Another thing I mentioned last time is the amount of jeans I have, so this really shouldn't feature on my wishlist. I have skinny jeans, I have acid washed jeans, I have blue jeans, and yet I still really want these. They're from Boohoo so they're definitely affordable, and anyone who knows me knows I just live in high waisted denim all year round.
Despite being a very regular and long time Body Shop customer, I have only very recently started to look beyond their body butters, shower gels and fruity lip balms. Lately I've gotten really interested in their skin care, particularly face care. Their face masks (especially Tea Tree and Dead Sea) are brilliant, so I've decided to pop in sometime in the next days to buy their Pore Minimizer with tea tree extract. I have slightly enlarged pores on my t-zone and would love it if this product worked, but I trust the Body Shop and look forward to using this.
Did I mention that summer is over, it has been raining non-stop and autumn has definitely arrived? I do miss summer already, but I'm beyond excited to get to wear hats, beanies, scarves, gloves, etc. This cute camo beanie by Monki matches my recent camo crop-top purchase... from Monki, too ;)
Even though I'm really quite happy with how my Catrice Cosmetics eyebrow pencil works, I am still keen to try out new eyebrow products to find out what works best for me and gives the most natural look. As I wrote in a previous article, I'm a big fan of thick, defined and quite dark eyebrows, so the quality of the pencil is essential. I've heard a lot of good about the Inglot pencils, so that might just be my next brow product purchase!
The next one is a product that Kym might bring me back from the US, if she finds it: the reviews on the NYX website are great, and I'm always on the look for a good concealer, so this might be worth a try.
While I do have my own favorite scents, I've been looking for a small, travel-friendly alternative perfume to easily carry around with me. I'm not usually that big a fan of Lush products because I tend to find the soapy smell a little overwhelming, but these small solid perfume sticks - perfect size to toss into your handbag - seem like a great, affordable idea to me. This scent, Karma, is described as "a powerful, spicy and unique patchouli and citrus perfume" which sounds pretty nice, especially for autumn.
Last but not least: the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation. The only reason I don't own this already is that NARS products are really pretty expensive, especially face products. But this has been raved about so much in the beauty world that I just can't resist it much longer and am starting to save up for it. 

Catrice Cosmetics Appreciation

I have actually sworn to myself not to buy anything before my trip to the United States since clothes and beauty products are much cheaper there, but I have a really good excuse: Catrice Cosmetics are not sold in the US and I grew really fond of them lately! Plus they are really cheap compared to other brands like Maybelline, L'Oréal or even MAC Cosmetics. In the past few weeks I acquired their foundation, pressed powder, camouflage cream, two primers, eyebrow set and the three mascaras shown in the picture, and I use all of them on an everyday basis.

I will start to talk about their face make-up. On the top left, you can see the Photo Finish 18h Liquid Foundation (I am using the shade 020 Rosy Beige). I get really unsure when it comes to picking a new foundation. My Maybelline Super Stay 24h Make-Up has been a total disappointment especially for the price, so I decided to search for a new one. I immediately thought about Catrice, so I have spent one evening scrolling through hundreds of reviews of this product (yes, I do have that much spare time lately) and then decided to go for it. I have to say it was one of the best decision I made about make-up, it has a medium coverage and makes my skin look soft and smooth with an oil-free solution. When it comes to the Camouflage Cream (bottom left), I might have bought a too dark shade (030 Rosy Beige) because I went after the name and not the number. Nevermind that, it covers up perfectly while blending with my skin tone and is also works fine as concealer. Bianca has recommended using primers to me so I totally went for it and chose the Prime and Fine Eyeshadow Base and the Prime and Fine Smoothing Refiner for invisible pores and lines. I am impressed by how long my eyeshadow stays in places without wandering to the crease with this product! As you can see I have used the facial primer already but I haven't seen any results worth talking about yet. My latest acquisition is the All Matt Plus Shine Control Powder I haven't used much yet because unfortunately I am too tanned. I will let you know about how it works.

As you can see the eyeshadows palettes on the left and on the right side are a bit older and used up. The left one isn't even sold anymore and the right one, the Absolute Nude Eyeshadow Palette, is my absolute favorite combination of colors of all time, I actually wear it every day. In the middle there is the Eye Brow Set, and the colors in my picture are much closer to reality than the ones on the website! I am totally happy about the small tweezer and the small brush and comb combination, they work really fine and the darker color merges with the one of my eyebrows.

This pictures shows perfectly that I am a fan of big brushes. I am certain that the bigger the brush the bigger the volume and I have not been proven wrong yet. The Better Than False Lashes Mascara in ultra black on the left reminds me a lot of my Maybelline Volum' Express Colossal Mascara, that I entirely used up some days ago, but this one is a much cheaper version. So is The Giant Extreme Volume Mascara, although the brush itself is too big to get to the outer corner and color the tinier hair, which is a bit of a disappointment. The Glamour Doll Volume Mascara on the right has been in my make-up treasure for a while now and I use it to define and brush my lashes.

Last but not least: Catrice nail polishes. I don't own many but the colors are beautiful and quick-drying, f.l.t.r: 07 Genius in a Bottle, 090 Karl Says Très Chic, 03 Papa Don't Peach, 810 ACid/DC and 620 Captain Sparrow's Boat. The peach and yellow-green-ish one were gifts from Bianca. I recommend applying a base coat for all of them, especially for ACid/DC. I love shadowy-color-changing effect of the first one from the left and the shimmery metallic look of the two ones on the right. I am not that much into orange but I cannot deny that it is a perfect color for summer, but what I am is a fan of pink/red tones so the Ultimate Nude pink shade is  totally my type. It says "new brush" but this is a really old version of this nail polish so now it's the normal Catrice nail polish brush.

I am aware that this post is quite long but I wanted to share with you the love I have for this brand. I can recommend any product they have. Day after day I fall in love with the items I own even more and I use most of them daily. Do you have any brand you canot go without?

B's ''What's in my Make-up Bag''

Hi everyone!

I am leaving for Finland early on tuesday morning, and because I need a little time off, won't be taking my macbook with me. Tomorrow is my boyfriend's little brother's birthday, and because we're really good friends, I have spent the last two days shopping for presents and making a huuuuuge pass-the-parcel! I also bought a gorgeous pair of black and white tribal print hareem trousers with cuffed ankles which are so great for relaxing and perfect for the last days of hot weather because of the light and floaty material. Since I'm leaving on tuesday, I thought I would try to squeeze in one or two more posts before being MIA for a week, so I decided to do a little "what's in my make-up bag" post. Relevant, since that will be the bare necessities I will take with me to Finland because I want to travel super light.

Here are my bare essentials:
Short blusher brush: I use this for contouring, to apply bronzer, to buff foundation in case I need to reapply during the day an to blend my blush or apply highlighter to my cheekbones.

Benefit "Sugarbomb" Lipgloss: I usually really dislike lipglosses, as I nearly always find them incredibly sticky, get my hair caught in it, and find it drying on my lips. This one, however, blows my mind. It has a subtle sparkle and the color is very "your lips but better" kind of dark-pink nude. Lovely to just throw on and go, and it definitely adds a little glamorous sheen to your lips. Plus it smells de-li-cious.

MAC "Creme In Your Coffee": my favorite lipstick by MAC. I have naturally very light lips, so this is an essential for me to look alive haha! It's a dark red/pink-ish nude and because it is a cremesheen, it's incredibly moisturizing. This has been in my make-up bag non-stop, so I need to re-buy this soon.

MAC "Creme Cup": This is a recent acquisition of mine, and since it's a cremesheen as well, it's super moisturizing too. The color is more a light-pink kind of nude, very girly and gorgeous in summer. 

Maybelline Great Lash Separating Mascara: I use this in combination with another mascara for length and volume, because I'm typically not too fond of plastic wands. This however is pretty great because it separates my lashes like nothing else I've ever tried, and with a topcoat my lashes look great!

Maybelline Fit Me Powder: I love this powder. It adapts to your skintone, gives a nice matte finish and stays in place all day long. Definitely recommend (and as you can see, I need to buy it again really soon.)

Chanel Pencil Sharpener: self explanatory. I use this for my brow pencil, my kohl, and my white eye-liner which I use in my waterline for a bigger-eye effect.

Chanel "Allure" Eau de Toilette Sample: I like to always  have a small sample of one of my favorite perfumes in my make-up bag, so I can retouch during the day without having to carry the full size in my handbag. This one is sweet and summery and absolutely lovely.

Benefit "High Beam" Highlighter: again, I like to carry smaller or sample sizes of my favorite products to make my make-up bag lighter. This is one of my absolute favorite ever products. It's creamy and gives the most gorgeous dewy look. I use it on the back of my nose, my brow bones and my cheeks.

Maybelline LumiTouch Highlighting Concealer: did I mention I am pretty fond of Maybelline products? This is great because it conceals my dark circles under my eyes as well as uneven pigment spots really well, and gives a nice "awake" effect in photographs. Staple piece in my make-up bag.

Maybelline Matte Mousse Foundation in "Ivory": I have been loving this product, because I can use it without any primer (it glides on really well), I don't even need to use a brush because it's very easy to apply evenly, and I don't need to use any setting powder as it has a great matte finish. All in one!

MAC Blusher brush: I use this for contour powder, blush and highlighting powder.

MAC "Expensive Pink" Eyeshadow: Lovely when you want a light but slightly sparkly eye to wear with a more dominant (for ex. purple or red) lipstick for a gorgeous evening look.

MAC "Brulé" Eyeshadow: my favorite MAC eyeshadow. Gorgeous slightly matte, slightly satin-y finish, light creamy/nude-y color. Great for a neutral-nude eye and a more bold lip.

MAC "Bronze" Eyeshadow: bronze-y brown eyeshadow, which is great for a brown smokey eye or to use in the crease for every day wear.

Hema Eyebrow Gel in Brown: this is just a supermarket product, but it's actually a great brow gel, with a slight tint. It's super easy to use and you can just pop it on and go without too much of a fuss.