Everyday powder foundation: Bourjois Bio Detox Organic Perfectioning Powder.

Since this product was launched, way back in spring this year, I have been developing quite an addiction to it.

What it is:
100% from natural origin. It has chlorofyll that brings oxygen and filters pollution, and linen powder for anti-shine.
Non-comedogenic, non-occlusive, non-drying.

Ingredients:
It contains corn starch to purify skin, moringa seeds to filter pollution, corn germ oil to help keep hydration levels of the skin, kaolin and linseed extract to help absorb oil and zinc which is a good oil absorber and has antibacterial properties.

When tested:
The texture is nice, fine and light. I use it with a big powder brush because I like the aerial barely-there-but-no-shines finish, however if you like more coverage you can use the sponge that comes in the case that has two sides, the classic rubbery side for heavy coverage and a more soft hairy side for a medium coverage.
The panoramic 360º mirror is a great plus! You can rotate it and close and have a big wide mirror for all your make-up retouches, this makes it perfect to carry around with you in your bag.
It claims 8 hrs matte and flawless result and skincare action: purer skin with each application. Well I have combination skin and on my forehead and nose it lasted for about 4 hrs matte. Its neither good or bad, its just average to all other powder foundations. The rest of the face was in pretty good shape for 7 hrs or more. The really good point of this powder foundation is that you can reapply as many times as you want and your face will not look cakey. I carry with me the Too Faced  retractable kabuki brush and I reapply every 4 hrs or so having the same aerial finish as the first time. Very comfortable to wear.
After a continued use I don't know about the purer skin action but it doesn't make your skin break out.
I am a Mac NC30 skin tone and 55 Beige Foncé or dark beige blends perfectly with my skin tone, it's neither too pink or too yellow, just perfect.

Overall, I love it!

Bourjois 10 Days Anti-Choc No Chips in shade 23 REVIEW

So this is the review to the new nail polish in the Bourjois "Paris Dehli Shanghai" Fall-Winter collection of this year.

This is my first nail polish of the 10 Days Anti-Choc No Chips range, so I tried it wearing only a base coat, two coats of nail polish and no top coat (just one drop of my drop dry stimulator), so I could check in a fair manner the duration of the formula.
Results: It didn't last more than 24 hrs without the first minor chip at the end of the nail!
I'm starting the review with the only negative point I found to the nail polish, simply because it comes with the name and after such poor results I did feel quite dissapointed.

Apart form that, all the rest is goody goody.

The formula is very pigmented and fluid. With just one thin coat you get all the intensity of the colour, applying the second coat gives you wonderful results. Since you just need to apply a thin coat, the drying times are short. The application I found a little tricky at first, because I wasn't used to the shape of the brush (angled) but the formula is very runny so that helped a bit making it easier to apply.

Talking about the angled brush... it is perfect for touch-ups, and since I needed touch-ups since day 2, it was very welcomed. After the experiment what I did was do all the touch-ups and finish with top coat to protect the polish, with that it lasted 4 more days in very good conditions.

The colour is a beautiful mixture of a faded shade of army green and grey. Altough it is kaki, it doesn't look "muddy" or dirty because it is very pale. It is pure laque with no shimmer. It looks great in hands and feet and it does match pretty good with my skin tone. So I'm liking this colour very, very much. Beautiful for fall and winter.

Strong points:
The colour
No shimmer
Fluid formula
Quick drying times
Touch-up brush

Not-so-strong  points:
The duration of the formula

Hope this was useful.

Favourite Summer Lippies by Nars!

My new two favourite summer lippies both signed by François Nars...

Pure Sheer SPF Lip Treatment in Angelique
Lipstick Satin in Niagara


For an everyday wear Nars Pure Sheer SPF Lip Treatment claims to nourish and hydrate chapped lips, while giving a sheer yet noticeable tint. Infused with SPF 15, the rich and creamy texture protects lips throughout the day.
I am lip balm addict, so in my purse I always carry lip balm that I use as a base before I put on lipstick. But this time around I didn't need to carry either lip balm or lipstick, since Pure Sheer Lip Treatment worked miracles as both. Out of the range the most noticeable shade, yet still very subtle, is Angelique, the darkest shade of the range, and it is sheer strawberry tint, very enhancing to my NC30 skin tone.

If I need a stronger punch of colour I resort to Nars Lipstick Satin in shade Niagara. Beautiful and summery pinkish coral. I don't consider myself a "pink supporter" therefore choosing this shade was a surprise. I was actually looking for a coral colour and shade Casablanca is the true classic shade of coral your mother probably has in her make-up bag since the 90's and that is probably why I didn't get it, shade Niagara in the other hand has pink undertones that give an instant fresh look. What I really like about this formula is that it is non-drying (although I still apply lip balm underneath for extra nourishing) and the creamy-but-still-translucent finish. Worn alone with eye liner and a coat of ultra black mascara on the top eyelashes and you are ready to go!

Both of them make great summer indispensables!

"Paris Delhi Shanghai" Autumn-Winter 2011 collection from Bourjois!

Ok guys, I now I'm vulnerable when it comes to the Bourjois brand, but I can't help it, the artistry of the brand goes so good with my personality... fun and arty!

So I saw the new trends for this Autumn-Winter 2011 and was happy to see beautiful colours for both lips and nails. This collection is inspired in these three cities (Paris, Dehli and Shanghai) and has a certain indie taste to it, more of a patchwork style rather than the usual cute parisienne. I personaly like this twist, since I'm going through an indie phase myself so I'm happy, happy to see the influence.

I love, love, love the nail polish 10 Jours Anti-Choc in shade 23 Kaki, it is a light shade of army green, very enhancing with my skin tone. Also, I fell in love at first sight with the lipstick Sweet Kiss in shade 80 Fuchsia cosmopolite. It brightens up any look instantly, plus they introduce a different way of putting on lipstick.


For beautiful luscious lips:
"Step 1: Apply the lipstick directly onto the inner part of your lips without taking it to the edges of your mouth. One stroke is enough.
Step 2: Using Bourjois’ professional double-tipped brush, smudge the lipstick from the centre of your lips outwards.
RESULT: A soft halo of colour in a fashionable and ultra wearable shade." - from the Bourjois site. I am going to try this for sure, to see if I can obtain a lovely blurred soft-edged lip... young, modern and sexy!

The rest of the collection includes two more lipstick shades 81 Rose folk and 82 Rose cashemire, a double-tipped brush for the application of the lipsticks, a ultra black longwear eyeliner and ultra black mascara. Overall I like the colour palette of greens and pinks, very flattering for the first autumn leaves!

I will soon post swatches with the lipstick and nail polish... Bisous!

Spring Favourite: Sephora Picnic in the Park

Bonjour a tout le monde!

I'm going to talk about my spring favourite nail colour of this year. It has been Sephora´s "picnic in the park" that I could describe as a saturated blue-green colour. I found this shade of green very original and it really enhanced my skin colour... which is obviously a plus! I have a thing with packaging design and I thought the bottles were cute, small and roundy, almost like candy.

When applied it had great coverage in just one coat, in the picture I only applied one coat, but the next time I wore it I applied two coats and the colour was even richer. I think this collection claims to only need one coat for full colour, and it's true, but I find nails seem to be more prone to damage with just one coat.

It lasted 4 days in good conditions, having on mind I apply a base coat, two coats of colour and a top coat. My longest lasting nail colours are Bourjois So Laque and they last from 5, or sometimes 6, days in good conditions, so this little round bottle worked pretty good.

Overall, I think it is a lovely colour to wear any time.

Au Revoir, Lovely Rouge 28 Prune Imperial...

I have to say good bye to one of my all time favourite lipstick from the Bourjois brand: Lovely Rouge 28 Prune imperial.

Believe me if I say I'm all teary, this lipstick has been with me to the most important acts, festivals, weddings, parties, etc... It has the perfect colour shade for my skin tone, a mid rose-plum colour. If you want your lips to have a distinguished elegant look, this is the shade. It has a beautiful satin shine.

Before, I used Chanel Rouge Allure in 01 Delicate, but it had been a total dissapointment: first of all, the push and take out system I never liked, having to press down hard enough for the click and then grabbing it by the 0.5 cm base left to pull out is uncomfortable; second point, the chanel lipstick broke, yes, the worst nightmare, having an almost brand new lipstick and after a month of usage... broken by the base! Then you are left with a new lippie dangling everytime you use it, getting lipstick all over the walls of the tube and not in your lips... (I tried heating it up and then putting it in the fridge to try and fix it, that is how determined I was... but still no good) a total disaster ending up in the rubbish bin!!

Then I found this lipstick, I never really liked pink, I have this irrational hate for all shades of pink. The Bourjois make-up artist was giving me a night-look make-up and showed me this colour, at first I was like: "Oh no! I can't wear pink, no ways." But she said it was subtle and that it would look good, so I gave in and.... voilá! I had just met my indispensable lippie.

It feels really comfortable, no dryness whilst wearing it. It is not a fully covering lipstick, but a bit transluscent making the colour look very natural. The down part is that the colour doesn't last long, you have to constantly reaply, a pain, really, but the packaging is very cute with a mirror at the top of the cap, very handy for carrying in the handbag.

I am sad since they have removed this lipstick and I can't find a substitute. I tried with Bourjois Sweet Kiss Naturel 08 Rose Délicat and Clinique Long Last Lipstick in Blushing Nude. Here you can see the differences between the three.

I think the winner is Clinique Long Last Lipstick in Blushing Nude, only having a shade more brown and some shine, whilst Bourjois Sweet Kiss Naturel 08 Rose Délicat is more in the pink side and slightly matte. In any case they are both more opaque than the Lovely Rouge 28 Prune Imperial, being more obvious that you are wearing lipstick.

Bourjois So Laque! Violine Chic 35 - Review

First of all let me tell you that since this shade came out, around Christmas time, it attracted my attention, but kept feeling I already have too many nail polishes and that I should stop buying more for some time.... (people have never known me with bare nails). So finally my excuse came by: last week I went to the mall and found a 25% discount... Perfect opportunity!

I love dark shades, and I have owned many different shades of purple, but they have always seemed too purplely for my taste, I was looking for a richer dark violet with warm undertones. I finally found this one, a beautiful dark aubergine colour (as I call it).

All Bourjois So Laque formulas are quite thick, which I like because they give a nice coverage and lasting, however I was surprised that this particular shade felt rather thin when applying it on the nails, after doing the first coat it was a bright warm purple colour, but it left many streaks that weren't fully covered by the second coat. You can see on the picture some uneven darker shading on the nails. Meaning you should use a fuller brush, meaning it will take longer to dry.

The nails do last up to 7 days, aplying a base coat, two coats of nail polish and finishing with a top coat for extra shine and lasting. I am not specially careful with my nails, but I don't do any hard labour hand work, I am talking about the usual typping, writting, washing the dishes king of thing.

Be sure to wait for the coats to dry before aplying the next one, or you will end up with gloopy nails that take ages to fully dry, meaning you are likely to  have them ruined before the first 24 hours. This, you should follow when applying any nail polish.

In my opinion, this formula takes a little too long to dry, the first coat takes around 10 min whilst the second coat takes 20 min approx. If you apply a top coat like I do, you need another extra 3 min or so for that to dry... I have tried my Drop Dry Stimulator from Deborah Nail Space to try and shorten the drying time, but I always find my nails to last less time than without using it. I try to wait one hour before I do work with my hands although I never last more than 30 min . So lets say I take an overall of one hour to do my nails. For me, painting my nails every week is kind of a relaxing therapy, so I don't have much of a lack of patience issue, however I wouldn't recommend painting your nails with this nail polish just before going to bed (like many of us do) because you may wake-up the next morning with a sheet print on your nails that truly ruins the mood for the rest of the day, in my case, after taking so much time to paint them and waiting for them to dry...

I do like the So Laque nail polishes from Bourjois mainly because I love their colour range and I love laquered nails with no shimmer or pearly shine, I like pure laquered nails, and I find this brand gives a really nice resulting lasting nails for an affordable price. I mean O.P.I. has a great formula but I really can't afford having the range of colours I would like to have. I paint my nails every week, and I choose different colours depending on my mood and the season we are in, so I am not the kind of person who stiks to one colour for the rest of their lifes.

Would I recommend this product? Yes, the colour is beautiful for autumn-winter. Only for people with patience with the drying time.

Hope this was useful.