YSL Rouge Volupté No. 8 // Review & Swatches

Hi dolls!

I hope your christmas was amazing and you found some time to relax over the holidays.

Today I want to show you the new member of my pink lipstick parade, the Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupté No. 8 "Fetish Pink" (what a daring name!).

The color itself is fantastic. It has everything a great pink lippie needs. 

It is pretty bright, so maybe a spring to summer color but who cares. No one said you can't wear those pinks in winter. Especially on Wednesdays, just go ahead!

 

This lipstick is, like most of the YSL I tried, very moisturizing. I usually like to wear some lip balm or the MAC prep and prime for lips underneath, but it's really not necessary with this one.

It has a great opaque finish and looks beautiful and glossy on the lips but (yep, we don't only have positive sides here) it doesn't last long. It doesn't even last medium-long. I needed a touch-up after about an hour or two and that's not funny. Lipsticks should last - remember that, YSL! This one doesn't. I tried other lippies from that brand and made the same experience so I wasn't too shocked. But still.

 

So, if you're searching for a bright pink Summer lippie - this one is great. But personally I think, lasting time is super important, so this lippie is maybe a bit pricey.

 

Stay beautiful! xx

Love,

Alina

Houndstooth Nails // Black, White & Pink

Hi dolls!

Since I finally found some time to do nail art again, I had to share it with you.

I was inspired by my new houndstooth patterned cape to do a matching manicure. Yep, I got a cape. It's cool, I feel like Superman. Or Catwoman. Maybe more like Catwoman because cats are super cool. Even if Catwoman doesn't have a cape. Oh well.

Back to the mani, as I love pastel pink more than anything else in life, that color has to jump in as well. That happens pretty often, when I look back, there are about 98% pink manicures I did.

 

The nail polishes I used are Essie "Romper Room" (pink) which was limited, "Licorice" (black), OPI "Alpine Snow" (white) and Essie "Good To Go" as my top coat.

I'll be so happy when I have my HK Girl Top Coat back, the Essie smudged the houndstooth design and it was a pain to save it!

 

To be honest, this wasn't easy. I did it free hand and it took Ages! I wasn't in the mood of doing it on my right hand as well, so I did a simple dotticure there. Yay for polka dots! There always there for you if you need something easy and pretty.

I draw the houndstooth pattern with a thin brush and the dots with a dotting tool, you'll find these items on eBay here and here.

I hope you liked that mani as much as I do!

 

Much love and merry Christmas,

Alina

The Benefits Of Coconut Oil

Hi dolls!

Many many girls are raving about coconut oil and today I want to tell you what I love about it.

I got my pot of coconut oil a few month ago and fell in love immediately. 

By now, it's my holy grail beauty product and I can't imagine a life without it.

It has a firm consistency but when it's getting warm (if you put it on your skin, rub it between your hands) it melts! Magic.

Of course you can use coconut oil for cooking and baking, you'll find bunches of great recipes online, but I want to focus on the beauty related benefits of it and the ways I love to use it.

• Hair Treatment - Take a good bit of coconut oil and massage it in your hair, mostly in the lengths and tips. Leave it there for as long as possible, I recommend to leave it over night. You can pull your hair up and lay a towl over your pillow while you sleep, otherwise you'll have it everywhere. But well, if this is what you want, just go ahead. Just my little advice here. Wash your hair as you always do. When you leave the house with the oil still in your hair, you may earn weird looks from other people. If it's washed out, your hair will feel super soft and look amazingly shiny in a healthy and natural way! Especially in the colder days, my scalp is really itchy and dry, so I put it there as well. But it can easily be too much and make your hair oily even when it's completely washed out, so be super careful with this!

• Make Up Removing - The most amazing thing about coconut oil, I discovered just a few days ago.  Hold your breath. Coconut oil is amazing for make up removing! Seriously!  My skin is super sensitive and I hate all these chemical make up removers so I tried it the other day and stand in my bathroom for about ten minutes looking at my cleaned face. I could not believe that. It is such a great, refreshing and soft feeling! Well, if you use waterproof mascara and/ or eyeliner, you should use a "real" make up remover for that, but for foundation, powder, blush and contour stuff, this is amaaazing! 

• Face Balm - After I removed all my make up and washed my face, I take a bit of coconut oil and put it all over my face, like I would normally do it with a night cream. It's the best feeling in the world when the coconut oil is melting directly on your face, it's like heaven. Massage it in very gently and go to sleep. You'll wake up with beautiful and soft skin. I guess that why they call it beauty sleep. It even removes blemishes and I don't break out that much any more. Amazing. Did I say that before? I don't know. It's just so amazing.

• Body Moisturizer - Before or while you take a shower, cover your whole body with a thin layer of the coconut oil and let it soak in for a few minutes. Wash it off with clear water and maybe rub it in with a soft sponge. Your skin will feel amazing! Favorite word today. Your skin won't soak it in completely in that little amount of time so you really should wash it off to not get weird oil spots all over your clothes.

Make sure the coconut oil you get is 100% natural!

You get it for little money and it will change your life - trust me.

Love,

Alina

Bobbi Brown Brow Kit // First Impression

Hi dolls!

Since the world finally has discovered how amazing brows are, it was time for me to jump on the bandwagon.
Well, I did my brows before, of course. I used the More Brows browgel from ModelCo but I feel like gel is just great to color your actual brows and not to fill them. So it was time for something new.

Yesterday I went to the city to get the MAC Fix+ spray but it was out of stock so I suddenly found myself sitting on the chair at the Bobbi Brown counter. Weird how that always happens.
The lady there tried different brow products on me and we both though, the kit, which contains two different brow powders, would be the best choice for me. Of course it was the most expensive product. Yay. But I got a gift card, so I told myself it's basically for free.

Let's start with the packaging. I just love Bobbi Brown's packagings, they look so classy!
It's not too big and closes very well - great for taking it in your handbag without ruining the kit and everything else you carry with you! Nobody wants brow powder anywhere else than on the brows. Obviously.

 

And tadaa! Here it is in all it's beauty.
I chose the color "Cement" what's a more cool toned one and matches my natural brow color the most.
As you see, there's a lighter shade on the left and a darker one at the right. I love using the lighter one on the outer half of my brow. I mean, I loved it when I tried it at the counter and today at home. As this is a first impression post, I haven't used it more often yet. But I guess I'll stick to it. I really love it.

 

The kit also comes with a mirror, a tiny brush and a little tweezer. Please, how amazing is this?! To be honest, this was one of the main reasons I got this kit. When I first saw it I was like "Oh yay! And they're so cute!". Yep, sometimes it's easy to impress me. Mostly when it comes to mini sized stuff. But seriously, how adorable is this mini brush? And the mini tweezer?! I'm sure they'll become best friends with my mini nail polishes.
The brush is not only adorable though. It's pretty hard and amazing for really getting the product into your brows and getting them in shape at the same time.
The tweezer is the best one I've tried so far. It was so easy to remove even the tiniest little hair with it!

 

Quick swatch of both shades!
The colors are definitely buildable but I wouldn't really recommend it if you have super thin or light brows. My brows are pretty dark and full all by themselves so this one works great on me, but you really should try it before you buy it (crazy rhyme) mostly because it's this expensive. For my fellow German girls and guys: I got it at Douglas for 50,95€.
I know, this is much. It is awesome though but honestly... not everyone of us owns a pot of gold, Bobbi! Well, this is why they call it high end make up. But as Christmas is just around the corner, maybe it's somthing you could remember when you're writing down your wish list. It's really worth having it, as I can say so far. Not only because of the mini brush. Really, the brow kit is amazing. Love at first sight.


What are your favorite brow products? I'd love to know!


Love,

Alina