Review - MAC Studio Waterweight Foundation

Hi lovelies,
How are you? Long time no see.
For a while now I haven't been inspired to blog and kind of gave up on it but inspiration struck today when I was doing my make-up. I have developed very strong feelings about my current foundation so I'm sharing those today.

Skintype

First I shall describe my skin so you'll have an idea if my review can be useful for you. I have very dry skin especially round my nose, around my eyes, middle of my forehead and cheeks. Recently I've noticed little bumps on my skin that aren't pimples but more texture, if you will. Lastly my undereyes are almost transparent and plain purple so difficult to cover up.

I have been using the MAC Studio Waterweight foundation on and off for a year. I use the shade NC20. From the couple foundations that I own that is the one that's closest to my shade so I'm currently back to using it. Initially, a year ago, I was really happy with this foundation. I'm not sure what changed but lately I'm really disappointed by it. The last few weeks that I've been using the foundation it has looked shitty on my skin. I don't wear foundation everyday so I kept on trying to use it but I gave up on it today. Here are my thoughts and concerns.

Review

The MAC Studio Waterweight foundation clings to my dry patches like no other but the absolutely worst part is how it bunches up around my nose/nostril area where it just looks crusty, yes that's a disgusting way to describe it but it's true and nobody want to look crusty, okay?! It also emphasizes my texture.
It has a medium coverage which is fine but it does absolutely nothing for my undereyes. It needs concealer to help with the situation but for some reason the concealer doesn't look good on top of it. Besides that it's streaky when you use a buffing brush so you'd think a beautyblender-type sponge will help but no! that soaks up so much product because the formula is so watery because it's a waterbased foundation (it does blend better though!!!) so I have a lot of issues putting it on properly. I can also say you'll go through a bottle really fast comparing to my other foundations! On the skin it leaves not really a tacky feeling but a greasy feeling. Lately it has also not been my perfect colour so I'm just done with it.

I'm sure this is a lovely foundation when you have a more normal skintype but for my dry skin it does nothing. My skin looks better without it but also note that not many foundations look good on me at the moment.

If you have any foundation recommendations for dry-skinned-gals, PLEASE let me know.

Goodbyeeeee

- Nikki

Good things come in a Chanel package

It was my birthday !

Last month was my birthday. I turned twenty-three the first of September. Today I'm showing you what Anais got me for my birthday. We got to this pretty late because I couldn't decide what I wanted for my birthday. We have a tradition where each party can pick their own birthday present and the other party gets it for them. That way everyone gets something they really wanted. Besides I really don't like surprises nor am I easy to buy for considering I buy everything I want instantly which means nothing stays in my wishlist for long. 

This year I wanted the Chanel Les 4 Ombres eyeshadow quad in 268 Candeur Et Experience which came out in the Rouge Allure Ink line that features Kristen Stewart. She is an inspiration in every way. She's so pretty and absolutely rocks the look of red eyeshadow which inevitably made me want it even more. 

On the hunt.

Of course by the time I've decided I wanted this eyeshadow palette it's sold out everywhere. I must have done over five stores in two cities before I turned to the Internet to make my order. This is also the point where I couldn't contain myself and decided I'd rather spend over 100 EUR than spending 10 EUR on shipping. I fundamentally refuse to pay for shipping. There is always something on the site that I want and at least I have something for that amount money where paying for shipping is just money thrown out the window. The fun thing though about shopping online is the official (and totally cute) packaging which shows the great marketing that goes into luxury brands. 

Added in a cute Happy Birthday Note <3

Luxury make-up is worth it, let me tell you why.

You get a beautiful box and an envelope containing your receipt, info to send items back,... Let me just tell you even those trivial things feel luxurious and expensive. The paper is better quality, the envelope is embossed, your purchases are packaged in tissuepaper and sealed with the official Chanel stamp. You get the most beautiful samples. I even got an extra tiny Chanel 5 léau due to great timing on my part as they just launched it. Beside the obviously great quality of the product itself, opening these kind of packages makes you feel special which makes the money even more worth it. Great marketing Chanel, great marketing.

Besides Les 4 Ombres eyeshadow quad in shade 268 which is this beautiful all matte eyeshadow quad with all neutral shades and one red shade I've also ordered a Le Volume De Chanel mascara in Noir and a eyeshadowstick in the shade 187 Brun Chatain. I haven't tried them on my face yet but both the stickeyeshadow as the powder shadows are sooo soft and creamy, absolutely beautiful.

Goodbyeeeee

- Nikki

Harley Quinn make-up look

Hi babes,
A few weeks ago I went to see Suicide Squad with my friends and absolutely loved it. I loved the movie, the special effects, the characters, the story but most of all I loved Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. I've never been interested in comics but the more superhero movies (or in this case villains) I see the more it sparks my interest to read the comics and know more about the characters. I loved how they'd portrayed the relationship between Harley and the Joker. So intense yet destructive, very intruiging. If I got my way there should be a book about their story instead of so many seperate comics or to go along with the comics because I'm personnaly more comfortable reading books, that's what I know best.

That being said the movie was a rollercoaster of emotions I laughed, I got mad, I cried (many times) which is always a sign of a good movie. Continue reading if you'd like to see my version of a Harley Quinn make-up look and which products I used.

Products : 

Face : NYC mousse foundation // Catrice prime and fine contouring palette // Catrice sunglow bronzer

Red eye : Kiko matte eyeshadowprimer // Essence red blush lipliner as a base // red and pink shades from L'oreal la palette nude // corrupt shadow Makeupgeek // Maybelline gel liner // MAC extended play gigablack mascara // Essence quarter lashes

Blue eye : Kiko matte eyeshadowprimer // discontinued lóreal blue eyeliner as a base // blue eyeshadows- L'oreal la palette glam and Zoeva retro future palette // corrupt shadow from Makeupgeek // Maybelline gel liner // 2BE blue mascara // MAC extended play gigablack mascara // Essence quarter lashes

Lips : Estee Lauder pure colour envy liquid lip potion in strange bloom

I hope you liked it, have you seen the movie?

Goodbyeeee

- Nikki

Lóreal - La Palette Glam REVIEW

Hi babes,
Today I'm going to review La Palette Glam by Lóreal Paris. The reason I bought this is because I wanted to do a Harley Quinn make-up look. I didn't have a bright red or blue eyeshadow so drugstore-make-up-hunting I went. Let me say one thing the drugstore has no bright eyeshadows. Everything is nude!!! Luckily I found one eyeshadowpalette that had bright colours so I picked it up without even thinking about it.

First of all for being drugstore this was quite expensive at 21 EUR. Clearly Lóreal makes a unique product for the drugstore market which the price represents if you ask me. There is literally NO competition for this kind of product. So good job L'oreal for coming up with this palette.

First the positives : This palette is the only one of it's kind so it's special. The packaging is gorgeous, There's a decent amount of shades. At first glance the shades are beautiful with both mattes and shimmer finishes.

Sadly that's where the positives end for me. I was so disappointed in this product. One of my shadows arrived broken but that's not the worst part. The shadows have nearly no colour pay-off. The shadows kick up a lot of powder when you dip your brush in the palette. Which means you''ll have to deal with lots of fall-out under your eyes. There are a few eyeshadows that show up decently on the eye when used with a wet brush like the pink, brown and the red one but all the others are pretty poor quality. The purple shadow is just a disgrace in itself and doesn't show up at all.

To round this review up; I'm disappointed, the shadows are definitely not worth the money.
It's quite sad when a review turns out this bad but at least you don't have to waste your money on it :(
If this product did work out for you let me know!

Goodbyeeee

- Nikki

Review - MakeupGeek Eyeshadows

Hi babes,
By now you'd probably all have heard about Make-upGeek. She has a Youtube-channel and her own make-up line. It has been out for a while but it isn't all that easily available here in Belgium. I finally (praise the lord) managed to find a website that ships to Belgium so I've made an order quite awhile ago to try some of the MakeupGeek eyeshadows. I've heard a lot of good things about them and was very excited to try them out. I've started out by buying my first Z palette and 8 basic shadows of my liking.

Purchases 
- Peach Smoothie
- Frappe
- Cocoa Bear
- Grand stand (foiled shadow)
- Dirty Martini
- Enchanted Forest
- Burlesque'
- Corrupt

Review
Well to be quite honest, I am completely amazed. These shadows are one by one exquisite. The only 'bad' thing I can say about this is that the foiled shadow came broken. When I turned it upside down the shadow all fell out of the tin even though everything looked fine. There is obviously nothing MakeupGeek could have done about this is was packaged with care but shadow tends to be fragile. Luckily I could press the shadow back into the tin without any real trouble.

I especially wanted to buy a few warm shades because I tend to buy cooler shades because of the pink undertones of my skin but I was becoming so sick of those. After watching nearly every Jaclyn Hill tutorial she got me excited to wear colour and more warm tones so I watched every one of her MakeupGeek recommendation videos and made my pick.

I went for shades I definitely lacked in my collection and some basics to try the brand for the first time. I went for a few warm transition shades like 'Peach Smoothie' and 'Frappe'. I got 'Cocoa bear' because who doesn't need a warm brown to put in the outer corner. I got 'Grandstand' which is an amazing glittery shade that is warm and bronze. After searching high and low for a great khaki shade I've settled for 'Dirty Martini' and 'Enchanted Forest' to finish that look off. Both are amazing and don't swatch as great as they are in person. I've never liked green eyeshadow more. I also love a good shimmery burgundy which I found in 'Burlesque'. To finish things off I got a great black shadow which is more pigmented than I've ever seen in a black eyeshadow.

After trying these shadows over and over I'm swept of my feet and will buy many more as soon as I can. Maybe some blues or turquoise? A darker brown? other fun colours? I honestly just want them all.

Overall
Not all these pictures are true to colour. Especially 'Cocoa Bear' doesn't seem quite right. The shadows are amazing. Definitely worth recommending. The shadows are as you probably know pretty cheap at 6.20 euros per pan. I ordered them from beautybay. I didn't have to pay any customs but that could be a coincidence.

From top to bottom, left to right these are the same as listed above. They are listed light to dark.

Have you tried the MakeupGeek brand before? Do you have any recommendations? 

Goodbyeeeee

- Nikki 

Haul and review - Lush

Hi babes, 

How are you guys doing? 

I mentioned in my last blogpost that I went on another Lush shoppingspree and today I'm here to spill the beans. Lush is easily one of my favorite shops and I love to try new things from there now and again. This hauls contains a few repurchases because they're just that good yet also a few things I've never bought before. 

Purchases 

- Soak and float shampoo bar

- Seanik shampoo bar

- Sexbomb bathbomb

- Big bang bubble bar 

- Superbalm

Review

As for a quick review the soak and float shampoobar is great for the peeps out there with a sensitive scalp. I have a lot of trouble with mine and this shampoo really helps. It smells like a spa and fireplaces at the same time which is great and also gives a decent amount of volume. The seanik shampoobar is also a repurchase that gives lots of volume. Lastly I forgot to photograph my last repurchase the 'superbalm'. This one really didn't stole it's name. It's a treatment for more severe scalp issues. I get lots of flakes, itchiness, redness,... and superbalm does wonders for my scalp so if there's anything I'd recommend it's this product. 

Goodbyeeeee

- Nikki

Review - Zoeva Retrofuture Eyeshadowpalette

Hi babes,
It's been awhile since I did anything beautywise; Let's switch things up I still absolutely love anything beauty especially make-up so let's do a review. Today I'm talking about the Retrofuture eyeshadow palette by Zoeva.

I've been loving this palette for over a year or maybe two now so I feel like I can give a good review by now. It's a palette with very bright colours that aren't really everyday shadows for the most part so it takes awhile to get the know this palette considering I use it so sparingly. I've did blogposts using this palette before here, here and here. I've did swatches below but they aren't as vibrant as they are in reality, these are made with only one swipe of product.

I mostly use the bottom row but my absolute favorite shade is the orange copper shade in the top row. That one can be worn daily as a grungy shade allover the lid and a brown in the crease. Amazing. The light brown next to that is also a very nice everyday shade. The rest of the shadows pack a serious punch. All the shadows are soft and buttery in texture, blend easily and are very vibrant which can be intensified if you use a wet brush. Most shades are shimmery except the white, blue and lavender shade. If you see yourself wear colourful eyeshadow this palette really is a good one. You won't find one equally as good in the Belgian drugstores that features such beautiful colours.

The palette is for sale on the Zoeva website but also on the douglas website for 17.50EUR.

 Goodbyeeeee

- Nikki

Valentines Day - Recommended Items

Hi babes,
Considering it's Valentines Day tomorrow I moved my usual Monday post to today so i could do something for Valentines Day. I'm not sure what my plans will be for Valentines Day but I've assembled some things to give you some inspiration. Red is definitely the colour of choice for this holiday so I've chosen red lingerie, red lipsticks and a beautiful perfume that's light yet sensual and feminine.

Products
- Bra and panties from Hunkemoller in style Fancy
- Chanel blush in Inspiration
- MAC lipstick in Russian Red
- Estee Lauder pure color envy liquid lip potion in Strange Bloom
- Bourjois Twist Up The Volume mascara
- Jo Malone cologne in Peony and Blush Suede

Happy Valentines Day
Goodbyeeee

- Nikki

#happysinglesawarenessday

A current Lush collection

Hi babes, 

Let's be honest here, I've had a bag full of Lush goodies standing in a corner in my room, just waiting around until I was done procrastinating. By now it's way to late to call it a haul. So I'll call it a collection. These aren't all the lush goodies I have laying around but the shampoo bars I use on the daily are too used to be photographed. If you're lucky you may still find these buys in the January sales or the current collection. I bought these in November from the Halloween and Christmas collection.

I haven't used any of these items before so there is not a lot I can tell you. I mainly made this blogpost because I love taking pictures of Lush products. They're just so pretty. Besides who doesn't love a good flatlay.

From the bottom to the top 

- The Magic Of Christmas bubble bar

- Peeping Santa bubble bar

- Lord Of Misrule bath ballistic

- Frozen bathbomb

- Dragon Egg bathbomb

- The Experimenter

- Samples of the Comforter and Snow Fairy showergel

Goodbyeee 

- Nikki

DUPES - MAC edge to edge lipliner vs Catrice that's what rose wood do lipliner

Hi babes,

How are you doing? Everytime I make a blogpost promising to blog more often life gets in the way and I end up not blogging at all. So here we are it's been another month but let's try this again. I case I need to re-introduce myself; 'Hi I'm Nikki-The-One-That-Makes-Promises-She-Can't-Keep. Nice to meet you.' 

Today I'm doing something I haven't ever done before and that's write about dupes. I've never come across a very good dupe in my collection but I while  ago I found a great one, one that I haven't heard anyone talking about.

I'm comparing MAC Edge to edge lipliner to Catrice That's what rose wood do longlasting lipliner. (let's ignore I wrote the name wrong in the photo's, very professional I know). The colour can best be described as a pink with a slight mauve undertone. Depending on the light it can come across a bit more pink/peach but there definitely can be a mauve undertone. It's that wonderful kind of nude that doesn't wash you out. It still gives a bit of colour instead of looking like concealer lips.

When you compare them you'll see they're the same in colour but the Catrice lipliner is a bit softer in texture, that's why writing with this one came out so much thicker. They are both pretty longlasting but once you've eaten they're gone, sadly. 

On the swatches below you can see there's barely any difference. I reach for both products which makes me conclude I can't feel much difference.  MAC is the left picture and Catrice on the right.

The MAC one is a bit longer so it contains more product but that still doesn't mean it's worth its 15€ pricetag compared to the 1,99€ pricetag of an equally good product. 

If you've found any other drugstore dupes please let me know in the comments below.

Goodbyeeee

-Nikki

Working with natural light turned out a bit harder than usual today, the colour doesn't seem to be the same in any of the pictures but the colour on the lipswatches is the most accurate.

Empties round up #6

Hi babes,

There is this thing that's only acceptable amongst beautybloggers. Already guessed what it is? Yes you're right. We're discussing my empties. In case you're still like 'huh? What does she mean?!' I've kept my empty beautyproducts to review for you. YES YOU. The things I do for you... (My mother still asks on a weekly basis if she can please throw it away) Today I'll tell which of these products I would repurchase and why. Let's get started!

The rules

1. We start of with the name of the products of course.

2. We discuss it's status : Repurchase Right Away / Maybe Someday / Nope Nope Nope

3. Reasoning

4. This is a rule for you. Grab a cup of coffee or any other drink because this is going to be a long one.

Bourjois Wake Me Up shower gel - Maybe Someday 

Why? It smells really nice, fresh and fruity. It really does wake you up.

Bourjois Undress Me shower gel - Maybe Someday

Why? I have loved this one for years and will repurchase it someday but I want to explore different scents. This shower gel smells sexy and lingers.

L'oreal #TXT07 texturising spray - Maybe Someday

Why? It smells nice, adds lots of volume but my hair doesn't stay voluminous for long. I'm trying a new one right now but I think I'll repurchase this after this new one, try it again and hairspray it afterwards.

Batiste XXL volume dryshampoo - Repurchase Right Away

Why? It cleanses the hair, smells nice, does not make feel like I can't breath after spraying and it keeps the hair voluminous for long. It does sometimes make your hair sticky and tacky if you spray it from too close or too much.

Got2Be Beach Babe seasalt spray - Repurchase Right Away

Why? It's a great and cheap seasalt spray.

Kruidvat volume lift dryshampoo - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It doesn't do much for my hair and it takes my breath away in the bad way. After spraying I felt like suffocating and needed to run out of the room to breath.

Dove Wintercare showercream - Maybe Someday

Why? It smells delicious and moisturised my skin but it's a limited edition from 2 winters ago.

Hema Mild Nailpolish Remover - Repurchase Right Away

Why? It takes of your nailpolish and smells like cherries instead of that bad nailpolish remover scent.

Rexona Maximum Protection (purple, pink and green) - Repurchase Right Away

Why? It's a great deodorant but I've used it for so long that I've associated the pink and purple scent with my sweaty smell so now I'll only repurchase the green one or other ones I haven't tried yet.

Nivea micellair water - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It's not as good as the other drugstore micellair waters, it's a smaller bottle and it's more expensive. I prefer the Garnier one.

La Roche Posay micellair water - Repurchase Right Away

Why? This one has a permanent place at my girlfriends home. The packaging is small so it doesn't take up much space in her toiletry bag. The product is great and for some reason I just love it.

Corine de Farme Micellair water - Maybe Someday

Why? Let's just say I love the pump. This is my favorite after the Garnier one. The bottle is massive, it lasts forever and has a great pricepoint.

Shiseido benefiance Balancing Softener - Nope Nope Nope

Why? I was just using it up because nobody else in my home did. I don't even know what it does or saw a massive difference in my skin. I didn't purchase it in the first place and wouldn't buy it again.

Kruidvat cleansing pads - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It didn't take my make up off, hurted my eyes and sadly it just wasn't any good. Lazy me is very disappointed. 

Garnier Hydra-adapt normal to combination skin - Nope Nope Nope

Why? As you can read here I have dry skin and this just wouldn't be right for my skin. I liked the texture and smell though.

The Bodyshop vitamine E Aqua Boost Sorbet - Repurchase Right Away

Why? I love how cooling and fresh it feels on my skin. It sinks in quickly and does feel really moisturising.

Clarins Superrestorative daycream - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It didn't wow me and would be a little bit too expensive.

The Bodyshop seaweed mattifying daycream - Nope Nope Nope

Why? I loved this, it mattifies and sinks in quickly but in the long run it wouldn't benefit my dry skin considering this is from the combination skinline from The Bodyshop.

The Bodyshop seaweed clarifying night treatment - Nope Nope Nope

Why? Same reason, it wouldn't benefit my dry skin.

Physicians Formula Organic Wear mascara - Maybe Someday

Why? It was so voluminising but dried out really quickly. For right now I'm loving the L'oreal Miss Manga mascara.

Hema Volume mascara - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It really didn't do anything for my lashes.

Kiehls Marvelous Mineral mascara - Nope Nope Nope

Why? I found an old back up of this mascara. I loved it. It was my favorite mascara in high school but unfortunately it's discontinued.

Essence Get Big Lashes mascara - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It didn't do anything, was flaky and smudged.

Catrice light reflecting concealer - Maybe Someday

Why? I liked the product but I'm trying a different concealer right now.

Essence Superfine Eyeliner - Nope Nope Nope

Why? This liner stained my eyelid blue, it's just to scary to keep using. I don't want to have a blue line around my eyes forever!!!

Essence I love Punk jumbo liner - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It was more grey than black and I need my eyeliner to be black!!

Primark felt tip eyeliner - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It just wasn't great, not really black, not really longwearing.

There weren't so many absolute great products in this empties roundup but I try to use my products up anyways. I mean I did pay for them so I should use them up, otherwise my mother would be right when she says I throw my money away and we can't have that ;)

As a disclaimer I also want to say that just because I don't like it or it just doesn't work for me doesn't mean that it won't work for you. My fails could possibly be your holy grail product. Do your research and if you think you'll like it, try it for yourself.

Goodbyeeee

- Nikki