My Make Up Storage

3/31/2016


Yes, this is happening. I am finally going to talk about my Vanity and how I store my products. 
I'll start by doing the usual disclaimer everyone does : I am in no way bragging about how many lipsticks or blushes I own. I am ver concious that I own more than the average person - I have friends that own just 3 or 4 lipsticks and are happy about it. I never counted how many I own but I know that they are a lot and that I still want a few more. I mean, make up is something that I like - pretty much as I like to paint and art supplies ( which is also another large collection...specially in the copic and watercolour department). This is something I have accumulating during years and years. I wear all of what you see here and whenever I feel I am not wearing something or not giving it enough love I just pass it on to a friend that will love it more than me. I also own a few collection items - like that YSL quad or the Etude House Dream Swan compact. Those things I'll never let go. 
My Skin Care Stash - although I won't mention it too much - is also considered overwhelming to some people. But again - it's something I like to take care of. I always had many skin issues and ever since I started to take of it I saw many changes. I don't have breakouts (except one or two during that time of the month) and I've ve been taking care of spots and old scaring as well. 
Could I only own a small bag of items like many I know do? Maybe. But I like having multiple choices and trying out new things from time to time. 
Before anyone asks, my Vanity is from a local shop call " Loja do Gato Preto" - which is also available in Spain and France - and I got it because I wanted something with a more old look and not something super straight like the IKEA malm for example. I'm really happy with it and after more than a year I have no issues with it.
As you can see, my skin care stash is hosted inside an acrylic container. I really like it but I'm thinking about getting something else to store it. I feel like I can something prettier and with more carisma. My face brushes all stored inside IKEA candle holders and my eye brushes are stored inside a container a friend gave me when she came back from her Erasmus semester at Delft in the Netherlands. You can also see a small mirror, my three favourite perfumes, and another bits and bobs like my Naked 3 palette ( which is out, along side my wild peach cosmetics palette in order for me to wear what's inside of it). There's also a little pink Faerie which I got from one of my trips to Caldas da Rainha and I really like it. I'm considering getting another two or three because it's too cute. Lastly, the candle holder you see is from Ikea (although the candle that it's inside of it isn't). 


On the left side of my drawer I have my powder, my bb cushion and a variety of eye products. 
all the little compartments you see here are from MUJI and I really like them because of slim they are. I really want to get more compartments like these. 
The one you see on the left is divided in two sections. The first contains all of my cream eyeshadows and pigments ( and a random sample from benefit) and the second one contains all of my eye primers, my make up sponge from Real Techniques and my lip concealer. The other major compartment on the right contains all of my eyeliners, shadow sticks and brow pencils. You can also see my two MAC eyshadows standing there and my mascaras on the back next to my powders.  
I'm not 100% happy with this because I wish my powders would be stored in a different way and I might depot the MAC eyeshadows latter. But so far this has been the best solution and the easiest way of fitting things. It is busy, but not overcrowded. 



I have to admit that this is probably my favourite drawer. As you can see here I house my blushes, bronzer, highlighters and some lipsticks. 
My Etude House Lipsticks are housed here because of their creamy texture, I don't want them to melt because of the sunlight so I just usually house them in that part of my Muji box. Next to it I have my Bourjois Cream blushes and miniatures from benefit, alongside with some The Body Shop blushes - which are okay but nothing too special. Sadly. 
On the back I have my bronzer and a Rice Powder from Bourjois. I'm not a bronze kind of 'gal, mostly because I don't need too much to define my face. Because of that I only own those two and Laguna from the Nars Orgasm-Laguna duo. Next to it I have all of my liquid Lipsticks from Sephora and Nyx. I don't really know how to store them so I usually just fit them into that compartment.
The big compartment on the right side houses all of my blushes. It's a bit overcrowded so I might need to get another box in the future...
Lastly but not least, you also see some random eyeshadows and lipsticks. The Etude House Liquid Lipsticks are still housed in their box mostly because I don't want to take out the box before I review them...and because I really don't have any other please to house them. Maybe I should consider getting a Muji acrylic drawer in the future...



On top of my Antique Drawer set I have this acrylic with my lipsticks and daily face products. It's easier for me to come her and get my primer, concealer and foundations that just have them inside the big drawer of my vanity. I also have her all of my lip pencils and lip liners - If I see them, I don't forget about them. 
I really like this because I get to have all of the things I use the most in one place without any struggles in the morning. If I end up getting the Muji Acrylic Drawer I mentioned before, I place it under this little guy. I need to blame Alix from I Covet Thee for this one - because of her Vanity video from two years ago I feel in love with the idea of having a specific corner for the make up I use more often. 
Next to it I have my cotton pads and some jewellery - specially tinny rings - on my bird container. I used not to like stuff like it but because of Kate from Kate la Vie I ended up falling in love with it. And too much instagram decor also. 

And to finish up, I needed to mention how I store my Essie nail polish. I use one of the small drawers from my vanity to do it. There are also two nail polishes from H&M and some random pots for travelling purposes. I might do a Esse collection post later - I mean, are you guys interested on that?
I tend to gravitate toward either super pastel-feel shades or towards the more dark and metallic shades. I know...it's the 8 and 80 in the same drawer.

And so here it's my storage ( and some kind-off make up collection).
The only I totally forgot to show was my palette drawer. But that means I can do an entire post about it and my palette collection later on as well...
Thank you very much for reading and if you happen to have storage advices to give, be sure to! I would love to read them.
Take care, have a nice day! 


The Etude House Dear My Wish Lips-Talk Lipsticks | Review

3/25/2016




I believe I don't have to explain how much I love Etude House as a brand. It's for sure one of my favourite Korean brands , not only because of their packaging but also because of their quality. Oh and the price range! they are also quite wallet-friendly as well. 
Etude House owns many collections and types of lip products - from tints, liquid lipsticks to lipsticks like the ones I present here. The Etude House Dear My Wish Lips-Talk are so far my favourite lipsticks - only overthrown by the Too Face La Créme Lipstick - not only because of their super cute packaging ( like...LOOK AT THE BOWS!!) but also because their quality is top notch. These lipsticks are hipper pigmented, comfortable and stain your lips for hours, You only need to be careful with the fact that they are extremely creamy - they can melt easily if in contact with heat, which is why I keep them inside my drawer without catching the sun light - and that you might need a lip pencil prior to the application of the darker shades,
They all dry eventually to a matte finish but you won't find it dry or to emphasise any patches or dryness of your lips. They easily come out with micelar water or any cleansing oil. And believe me, if you apply them in the morning, you'll sill have stain and colour on your lips by the night time.
I own 6 shades of this range - still crying and thinking about getting the two nude shades from the collection - and they have pinks, nudes, corals, oranges and reds. They only shades I can't really wear are the oranges since they don't suit my complexion. The first I own were gifted by the lovely Shayne from Queen of All You See. I seriously can't thank her enough!!!



( from left to right : OR202 ; PK001 ;PK002)
Starting with the lightest shades, OR202 is more peach-looking than what it is shown here. It's the only orange-based shade I can wear peach it looks more coral than orange. It's a gorgeous shade to wear during the Spring and Summer. PK001 is the lightest pink of the range and it's another shade I love to wear during the warmer days - it's super bright and neon-ish. On the other hand, PK002 has a more tint of red in it, making it perfect for any time of the year. It is a statement pink that I enjoy to wear along side with more a neutral eye look or just a simple winged eyeliner.
All of these shades eventually dry matte and can also be worn on the centre of the lips and be blended out to make a gradient lip. I've done it before, specially with OR202 and it is a really amazing effect since this will stain like a lip tint but it will be more bright and less dry since you might not need to add a lip gloss on top of it. 





( from left to right : PK003 ; RD301 ; RD302)
Next, here are the more bright and dark shades of the range. PK03 is for sure my favourite shade from the group - it isn't either a pink or a red, it's something bright and fun that stays in between and I just love that. It's a shade that makes me feel confident about myself and everything I have to face during the day - not all shades can do that to a person I think. RD301 is what we can call a bright and open red. Kind-of a cherry shade that reminds me of Red Ridding Hood and Snow White. I like to wear this shade whenever I have an important event or a family meet where I need to look polished. And lastly but not least at all the RD302 was my companion during the winter whenever I wanted a statement lip or something more deep on my lips. I looks really purple on the tube but it is more red-ish in reality.  I was quite surprised for Etude House realising this shade, since it's not usual for them to release something so dark.

Overall, I really love these lipsticks and I want to get my hands on BE101 and BE102 which are the nudes of the collection. I've been growing my collection of nudes and brownish shades for a while and these look just perfect for that. I also want to get more shades of their liquid lipsticks - which have one of the best applicator I have encountered.
You can find the Etude House Dear my Wish Lips-Talk lipsticks at shops like Jolse.com , Beautynetkorea.com, roseroseshop.com and the official EtudeHouse.com website.

I hope you enjoyed this post and if you have recommendations of more Korean lipsticks, please share them!

Picking 5 Pink Products

3/21/2016


Spring is finally here. With that in mind I though " why not share a few items that to me scream spring?" - because pink and spring to me are kind of the same. Or at least I tend to use more pink during the Spring - alongside with corals as well, although I leave them for when the time is warmer. It just makes me more positive and helps me see life in a brighter perspective - except when we get to part where all my allergies decide to apear and I get super sick. Or when the Weather has a bipolar disorder and changes 15 times during a single day - making me sick again because of it. ( But let's pretend that does not happen, shall we?)
I decided to select five items in pink - I might do a similar post but with other shades...what do you think? would you be interested? I went for pink this time but I could have chosen red or blue... - from different brands, price ranges and utilities. 

This was something I can say it was an unexpected purchase. I got the O Boticário Floratta perfume on Valentines day for myself - because that's what single people do on Valentines day, they buy perfumes for themselves... The original idea was to repurchase my body scrub or get a new one since the one I had was finished. I ended up getting a new body scrub and the bad boy came along. I always had a good relationship with more floral scents, specially when those are inspired by cherry blossoms - I always had a love for those, specially because of a certain anime called Card Captor Sakura - this perfume is heave for all of that. I believe this can be a little difficult to get your hands on the brand ( I believe they ship to Europe from the European website and they do own counters in Brazil, Portugal and Spain. Not sure if they have more counters in other countries...) but if you can please check it out. Specially this perfume. 
By this time I believe I don't need to introduce you to the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. It's probably the most pinkish palette I know and own and it's perfect for the Spring - which is when I tend to take it out of my drawer and use it. I've been using it during this days and I'll keep do it during the rest of the season. It is probably my favourite Naked palette from the whole collection.

The NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Milan won a soft spot in my heart. I'll be doing a more detailed review of this shade and the other 3 I own later  but I had to share my love for this shade. It's one of those bright open pinks that aren't neon-ish and look amazing at any occasion. 
One of the advantages of having a mother that lives overseas is that I get to ask for products that don't exist here on my birthday and Christmas. That's when I asked for the Clinique Cheek Pop Blush in Berry Pop , which is more pink than berry. I need to dedicate a sole post to this bad boy since it rivals with my Nars Blushes and Benefit Blushes in terms of high quality. Still, this shade just screams Spring too since it leaves a lovely pink blush on my cheeks. 
Lastly but not least at all, I need to mention the Soap&Glory Love at First Blush since it's one of those product that can be worn in multiple ways. I tend to use it as highlighter but on certain days I wear it as blush and the glow it give is just gorgeous and healthy-looking. If you are looking for a good and wallet-friendly version of the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks, check this one and their brothers - there is also a bronze version and a peach version ( which I also own) 

What are your Top 5 pink products? Do you just wear pink during the Spring and Summer or do you do it during the rest of the year? 

Zoeva Rose Gold Luxury collection | Review

3/12/2016


Zoeva is one of those brands that I actually saw going from unknown to a hit around Europe and the rest of world. I still remember when I first got myself a little vegan eye-set ( which was later discontinued and replaced with another one with better quality) and pretty much no one new about the brand. Today - mostly because of this set - everyone knows what Zoeva is, their products and is waiting for their releases. I've spoken about my love for their foundation brush ( included in this set) and about their eyeshadow palettes in Rose Golden and Cocoa Blend here on the blog before. But today I decided it was time for me to finally talk about one of their major hits and one of the best purchases I ever made.
Ever since I started to care about make up, I understood that a good set of brushes would be one of the most important purchases to make. I'm still from the time where Sigma was the hit around all corners of the bloggling word. The problem started when their prices got higher and higher and shipping from the US got insane - not even counting the nightmare that it would be with customs and everything. I was able to get some Real Techniques - which have a really nice quality and I really recommend to those that are starting to play with make up - but I still wanted something nice and elegant to play with.
It didn't took long until I finally made my decision and decided to get myself the Zoeva Rose Gold Luxury Set , with rose gold details and a nice make up bad. It was indeed a good choice. This set contains 8 brushes - 4 for the face make up and another 4 for the eye make up, making it perfect for travel for example - has a combination of both synthetic and real hair bristles.


102 Silk Finish - I've spoken about my love for this brush before. It has the perfect shape and the right amount of density to work any foundation without making it look awful or with stripes. I have yet to remove that awful spot of foundation from the bristles ( I'm about to get myself one of the beauty blender solid cleanser, which will probably help) but I need to mention that getting a brush egg will help you keep this bad boy clean and ready for action faster. 
106 Powder - Usually we would expect a powder brush with natural bristles but for some reason, Zoeva decided to do theirs with Synthetic instead. Nothing against it since I tend to like those over natural hair. I believe this brush does it's job quite effectively - it's big enough to swipe powder all over the face without too much fuzz. My only note goes to the actual shade of the brush. I would rather have a brush with a bigger handle and shorter bristles than we get here. Or at least have something similar to the Real Techniques Blush Brush ( witch I use for Powder) or their Multi-tasking brush ( which is on my wishlist forever)  . Nonetheless, it is indeed a really amazing brush. 
127 Luxe Sheer Cheek - A lovely surprise I have to say. The bristles of this brush are super soft , something I wasn't really expecting to be honest - my idea of natural bristles was that they weren't as soft as synthetic due to previous experiences. I believe it's a lovely brush to apply any blush that you wish - except cream blush. Some people would be tempted to use this as a Contour/bronzer brush but personally I wouldn't since it's too fluffy for a precise contour. As for application of bronzer, during the summer time I would consider it. But Overall I think this is a lovely blush brush that made me think about getting more brushes with this type of bristles. 
110 Face Shape - Probably the most interesting and multi-taking brush from the collection. I tend to use this brush for concealer, foundation and contour ( not at the same time obviously). It has the right shape for a precise contour - with the plus that due to it's synthetic bristles it can be used with cream contours. It's also nice to apply concealer under my eyes and buff it in any other areas. And on lazy days it can also be used as a foundation brush - although it might take a tiny longer since it's a small brush. 


142 Concealer Buffer - As the name states, this brush is meant to buff the concealer on your under eye area and any other where you apply it. It can almost mimic my fingers without any issue and I tend to notice that whenever I use this my concealer looks more polished and creases less. It can so be used to apply cream eyeshadows on your eye lid without any fuss - specially if they are placed in super tiny containers where even my pinky finger barely fits...
227 Luxe Soft Definer  - This is probably "the brush". Ever since I started to watch youtube beauty videos everyone and their mother would mention the MAC 217 brush and how life changing it was. Spending 30€ on a brush wasn't on plans at the time so I got curious about this little guy since it's pretty much the same. If it is better or worse than MAC's I cannot tell you, but it works beautifully. It doesn't scratch my eyes and works beautifully to apply a wash of colour around my lids or to blend a crease colour. I have another of these because I got myself the eye set but I wish Zoeva would release this bad boy in Rose Gold as a individual so that I could purchase another one or two because they are indeed eye changing.
231 Luxe Petit Crease - I don't even know how to express myself about this brush. Previews to this, the only crease brush I had owned was from Essence and wasn't a nice option. This one is super soft and allows me to pack colour precisely to where I want it. It has allowed me to perform a different number of looks over the time without any fuzz. 
317 Wing Liner - What can I say about this? Previous to this one, most of my eyeliner brushes would be too thick long to apply proper eyeliner. The shape this one has allows me to do winged eyeliners without any fuzz or issues and it can probably also be used on the brows to apply brow powder as well. 


Here's in detail how the some of the brushes look. Overall I believe they are worth every penny and I don't regret at any second this purchase. Again, I wish they would make more brushes with this finish. 
In therms of taking care of them, I usually wash at every-use ( specially the foundation brush) and I tend to be careful with not wetting the joint between the metal and the handler because of the glue. I also use brush guards to maintain it's shade and as you can see, they good as new. The Blush brush even looks fluffier and they haven't shed a single hair. 

After this, I really wish ( again, and again) that they would release some of their other brushes with this finish - like their new powder brushes. I'll probably end up getting them with the pink handlers ( in case you haven't noticed, I like to have match all my brushes with the same finish...kinda OCD-ish I know...), which is also another option for those who want to try Zoeva Brushes. 
I got mine for 65€ from Maquillalia with free shipping ( since I live in Portugal) but you also get it from Zoeva's Website and other retailers. 
Have you tried Zoeva before? What are your thoughts? 

Thank you for reading and take care! 


Sephora Lip Cream Stain | Review

3/05/2016



I'll be honest. I've been quite cucu-crazy in terms of liquid lipsticks. Like, I could probably do a whole post discussing liquid lipsticks, their types shades what the best and the worst. Wait, I probably should do that in the future.
I remember when the liquid-lipstick craze started, these were the one of the first affordable options to apear. I really appreciated it, since Sephora is quite affordable here and they often do promotions and discounts on their own brand. That's how I actually got most of these colours : with promotions or coupon discounts. But, can I be blamed? We all look forward to spend less money whenever we can.
Money issues aside, I can say that I really like these. I've been obsessed with matte lips during this entire season and these are true beauties. They are really opaque and really easy to apply and they don't turn into those really uncomfortable lipsticks that you can't use for too long because they just hurt your lips. You just need to be careful - your lips need to be moisturised and exfoliated, other wise those dry patches will be shown ( and that's not really pretty).


( from left to right : 02 Classic Beige ; 13 Marvelous Mauve ; 09 Forever Fuchsia ; 03 Strawberry Kissed ; 01 Always Red )

I wasn't able to wait for these to dry out completely and I apologise for that. Either way, it is possible to see the power and pigmentation of these lipsticks.
Classic Beige is a really gorgeous matte Brown, which kinda reminds me of really polished and posh looks with pink shades and cranberry shades. I don't know, there's just something classy about it. I used to be super afraid of using it since it looked too much - yes, I thought this guy was too much. Me, the girl who uses bright pinks and everything all the time. Eventually I understood that it was quite okay to were this on a daily basics. All I needed to do was to pair it with the right outfit and make up and everything would set into place.
Marvelous Mauve is a probably my favourite shade from all of these. I don't know, I like how it's a nude shade with a touch of pink in it, plus a little hint of lilac as well. When I don't know what to wear, I often end up using this one for college days whenever I want something soft and polished and yet with a edgy feel. And to think I almost didn't get this one!
Forever Fuchsia is probably the brightest shade from the group and it screams Spring like no other. I also almost didn't got it at the time, but...I kinda changed my taste and now that I find myself using more bright shades everyday. I'll be using it during the Spring and Summer for sure. This is probably the only shade that it isn't completely matte - it does have a hint of sparkles but nothing major.

Strawberry Kissed is a lovely Candy-Apple Red that reminds me of Snow White that looks lovely with any type of look, specially if you pretend a more polished look but you don't want a true red. 
Always Red is a true red that reminds me of classic ladies and Red Riding Hood's story ( it would be a lovely option of a Halloween look for example). With this bad boy I would probably only do a simple eye look, add eyeliner and let all the attention go to it. 

Seriously, if you can be sure to give these guys a try. You won't regret it - specially if you like in the USA where the shade range is bigger than the one we have in Europe. 

Thank you for reading, take care! 

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