And 2014 Begins Like This…

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. I’ve been away from my desk for a while, kind of slipped away for a bit of a break and now we’re right back into this busy year.

There have been a couple of things that I am loving this summer. Colour and shiny things. I am in love with the pair of Jeffrey Campbell Deetz Flats in Hologram. Shiny leather, hell yeah! I feel a little bit like a magpie collecting sparkly pieces these days.

This melted blend of pastels dress is also one of my favourite dresses this summer. It’s casual and can easily be dressed up or down depending on the shoes you pair it with. Love!

Michelle

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Wearing: Colour Melt Tank Dress & Jeffrey Campbell Deetz Flats in Hologram both from Nasty Gal.

Wearing: Karen Murrell Carnation Mist one of my favourite summer lip stick colours.

Beauty | Popping

I have been a wee bit quiet lately, I have been busy behind the scenes shooting weddings, getting amongst some awesome hair competitions which we are in the finals of (photos will be posted a little later).

Anyway, that’s all done and dusted for now.

I was given this popping bright lipstick recently. I love this gorgeous fushia pink. It has officially been my go to colour for a since I have had lighter hair. I am absolutely loving the pinks this summer, I have been wearing scarlet for a while over winter but I think it’s time to flick over to something a bit more daring and fun.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Karen Murrell lipsticks I have a full review of them here. In a nut shell, her lipsticks are all natural, great for the lips, nourishing and highly pigmented. I am hooked on to her lipsticks now and have hardly touched any others since.

Here’s a little look I did last week after going into see Brad at French Revolver Studio to get my new chocolate caramel colour which I adore.

Michelle

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Featuring: Karen Murrell Fushia Shock Lipstick

Lookbook | Lazy Weekend

Here’s the latest. Apologies for being so lazy in uploading the look books, I’m consistently drowning in work and other things, I haven’t been buying as much as I use to. My current wardrobe is still in a suitcase. I have yet to unpack any of my things from moving house about 2 months ago.

A couple of weeks back we had a short weekend trip to Sydney. I love this city, it’s a place that you can just go to for a day or two, find good food and  great shopping.

I managed to score some goodies from Alistair Trung, an Australian designer. I love his pieces. I’d describe it as being more on the androgynous spectrum yet full of flowing layers and easy to piece with anything. I throw these pants on with a tee or blouse depending on how I feel, so they have definitely become a staple piece. My other staple look for this summer is my Karen Murrell Scarlett Blaze lipstick. See my review of them here.

Michelle

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Zara Cardigan, Thrifted Tee, Alistair Trung Trousers, Ksubi Boots

Alistair Trung Layered Harem Pants

Review | Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation

With this Benefit hype going on in Auckland, I thought I would jump on the bandwagon with this one. I’m not usually much of a fan of over crowded Smith & Caughey beauty counters but since Benefit is such a big brand in Asia and Europe, I thought why not get in and try out one of their most renowned products. I’ve heard my family and cousins rave about Benefit products for years and years so from that I gather the brand is fairly reliable and good for Asian skin. I recently purchased their Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation. I am not an avid foundation user, I probably pop on foundation once every 2 weeks if even that. In saying that there are times where I do like to keep a foundation on hand. I have been a bit lazy with foundations in the past. Working in pharmacy often mean we often get off loaded an ample amount of testers and samples. I have had a backlog of Revlon and Dior stuff that I had been using. It wasn’t bad nor was it great but it did its job. Once that ran out I believe it was time for something better.  

Nitty Gritty:

This foundation is perfect for those of you who want a medium to light coverage. It does well in terms of hiding dark under eyes (though a concealer would do a better job), it seems to do a good job at evening skin tone as well. What I feel is the best is that you could go without topping up on powder wearing this foundation all day. It is oil free – so awesome for those with combination or oily skin. As said on the Benefit website, this foundation contains an Oxygen Wow Hydrating Complex to ensure adequate cellular respiration for a ‘plumping’ effect and to protect against day to day environmental stresses. It also contains very important anti-oxidants such as Vitamin C and E to help prevent signs of aging. It has a SPF 25, I am an advocate of having some sort of SPF in your day cream or foundation. It is one of the many ways you can protect your skin from aging. The foundation is also parabens free so great for those with relatively sensitive skin. The Flawless Oxygen Wow range have quite a few colours to suit different skin undertones. I decided to go a tone darker than what I am now with summer just around the corner but it is a good idea to purchase 2 foundations especially if you’re to wear them everyday, one for summer and one for winter. I got my foundation in Honey but my winter colour would be Champagne.

 Price Factor: 5/5

I got this at duty free for $57 NZD for a 30ml. I know this will last me for a good year so definitely an excellent buy for me.

In a nut shell: All in all an excellent buy I believe. I love its consistency and it doesn’t feel thick and oily at the end of a long day. It does a great job brightening the skin and evening out skin tone without the heavy feel and look.

Michelle

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Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Liquid Foundation

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Swatch

Review | Chanel Lotion Doceur

I have no idea why I haven’t reviewed this product yet, I have used it for almost 6 months now and I must have just thought I had already reviewed this product.

I would definitely suggest using a toner regardless of what type of skin you may have. It is an important step of any skin care regimen. See my article here

I purchased the lotion douceur probably about 6 months ago at a Chanel facial event. I was happily using the Chanel Beaute Initiale Nanolotion prior to that but unfortunately it was a discontinued product. Over the last year Chanel has been discontinuing a few of their first signs of aging products in the Beaute Initiale range. It’s disappointing as I feel that I fit into the category of first signs of aging and age prevention however in saying that if you take excellent all rounded care of your skin prevention should happen on its own.

From using the Lotion Douceur, I believe it is a great toner for those of you with normal to combination skin. It’s not drying or too moisturizing , it’s just right. Remembering to my first impression of it, the Lotion Douceur did feel lighter than the nanolotion and I felt like I did prefer the nanolotion more as it felt more moisturizing after application. However after using it daily, the Lotion Douceur has grown on me. As the beautician said to me, this lotion is perfect for normal skin, it balances the skin out meaning it won’t feel dry or oily. And it does just that.

Main Ingredients:

Tulip tree extract: The anti-polluting agent to remove impurities yet maintain the balance of the skin so that it’s not stripped away of its natural oils.

Bioglucane: Works in synergy with the tulip tree extract.

Price Factor: 5/5

I purchased this for $71 at Smith & Caugheys. It stands at 150ml. For a toner it is probably on the expensive side as with most Chanel products. I have been using this twice a day for 6 months and I still have just under half remaining so personally I don’t think it’s very expensive for the amount of use I can get out of it.

I am aware that Clinique, Lancome, Shiseido do larger bottles of toners and cleansers which is all well and dandy as long as you can get through them in a year. Most skincare products should be used within a year of opening. If you think you’re getting better value for money by getting big bottles but take 2 years to use them up , check the back of the bottle for the useby time to make sure you can really make the most of the product.

In a nutshell

Using a toner is essential as part of a good skincare regimen. Toners help freshen the skin, remove impurities that may not have been cleansed off and moistuises the skin. The Chanel Lotion Douceur is a great toner for normal to combination skin. It freshens while leaving the skin feeling reasonably moisturised. I would most definitely buy this product again next time round.

                          Chanel Lotion Douceur (image from chanel.com)

Lookbook | In White

These are my latest additions to my wardrobe. I purchased this cute dress from Neuw. I really like their designs it’s plain enough so you can accessorize it up to your liking. The other thing that I bought recently were these 80%20 haircalf boots from MyHabit which I was super disappointed with. When I got them they were perfectly fine, fitted well but I literally wore them out twice then the sole began to part with the shoe. Not what I expect when they are suppose to be a decent pair of boots. Lucky MyHabit were happy to refund my purchase and I didn’t even need to send the boots back. Effectively a free pair of boots which is great except it does need some repair work done. But I must commend MyHabit for the way they dealt with the situation.

For those of you who don’t know much about MyHabit, it’s similar to what we have here in NZ with NZsale except better by 100 + times. It is a branch off Amazon.com and they have new sales everyday including designer items at super discounted prices.Shipping is reasonable as well at $15 to NZ and takes about 2 weeks.

Also on another note, I have chopped all my hair off. Have decided to go pixie short for winter. Thanks to Brad @ French Revolver Studio who always does an amazing job on my hair. The team there Sky, Sally and Brad are awesome. They know what they are doing and what looks great. And to top that off they are doing an amazing deal on a cut & colour – check out this deal here.

Michelle

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Neuw Dress, 80%20, boots

Neuw, Dress

Neuw, Dress

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