Bonjour Chanel

Help, I am a bag addict.
I got another handbag. Another Chanel.

Officially a wallet, not a bag (and this is why they would NOT give us one of those useful dustbags! How stingy is that!). But it's too big to be a wallet, really. And if we're honest, it's way too small to be an everyday bag.

It's still charming. It's really the perfect clutch. I adore it.

I was actually looking for a beige clutch. And I ended up buying... uh, red.

My mother got one in black! Hers is from the newest collection (whereas mine is a 'classic' - there are just different colours every season/year, not sure exactly). 

Speaking of Chanel, I picked up their new nail colour in Quartz. This needs at least two coats to look nice (I only applied one coat last night - I didn't have the patience to do more! - and I'm looking at my nails as I type... and they look blahhhh.). But when it's done right, it's a really pretty shade. 

Long live Chanel. 

Butter London rave and Aston swatch

I have started a collection of Butter London nail colours. I must say, I really like these: they are non-toxic, all 3 Free ("no formaldehyde, no toluene, no DBP colour, not carcinogens").

Bumster, Blagger, Victoriana, Aston, All Hail the Queen

They are easy to store. I will not buy OPI anymore because their round bottles take up too much space!

They come in a range of fantastic colours. 

Aston on thumb, then L to R: All Hail the Queen, Blagger, Bumster, Victoriana

And they really stay put. 

I had Chanel's Black Pearl on my nails the other day. Gorgeous colour but no staying power! Within 24 hours they had all chipped. So as tempted as I am to buy Chanel's limited edition shades that come out every season, the clever thing to do would be to stick to Butter London. 

I've never paid much attention to base/top coats. I've tried most of OPI's but they're all just... okay. But I was blown away with Butter London's Nail Foundation. It's called a Flawless Basecoat and flawless it is! It's matte and if you are after a "my nails but better" product, this is it! 

So you could definitely use the nail foundation on its own but I had to try out some new shades so I went ahead with Aston. It's such a pretty nude taupe-pink. Butter London describes it as: "No self-respecting heiress would be caught without it. A sultry toffee colour that looks like a million quid."

Aston

Did I mention that they have a sense of humour, too? There is a Butter London dictionary and here are the definitions for some of the colours I have shown here:

Aston: As in Aston Martin, the British super car made famous by James in the 1964 film Goldfinger.
All Hail the Queen: All Hail is used as an acclamation or welcome, as in "All Hail this gorgeous lacquer".
Bumster: British reference to ones booty or butt.
Victoriana: Things reminiscent of the Victorian era, such as corsets, top hats and Syphilis.

Butter London Victoriana swatch here.

Chanel summer make-up 2011

Oh how I do like summer collections. And especially if Chanel comes out with a product called Mimosa! (Bellini next year?) Here's what I got:

I was desperate to get my hands on the nail colours - but to be honest, they're not worth the hype. Mimosa is a tremendously happy colour but it's difficult to apply, hence the rather sloppy manicure. Morning Rose is cute, it makes me think of candy, but I prefer Chanel's Pêche Nacrée from the spring collection (see pictures below to compare). And Beige Pétale is nothing special - so far I've used it once, applying just one coat to the nails (and no base/top coat) for a barely-there look when I didn't have the time to do a colourful manicure.

Summer collection: Beige Pétale, Morning Rose, Mimosa

Mimosa (summer), Morning Rose (summer), Pêche Nacrée (spring collection)

The blush-bronzers are really pretty and my favourite of the collection. I originally picked up the pink one, but then went back for the coral one. These give a soft glow to the cheeks and are perfect for summer.

Bronze Rose, Bronze Corail

Officially, I'm not into lip glosses anymore and especially not Chanel glosses because the two I had about six years ago leaked and I had to throw them out. But there was one gloss in this collection that I kept on picking up and admiring - always the same one - so I finally gave in. Glossimer 277 (Pensée) is non-glittery, it only has tiny gold sparkles (none of the outrageous blue, red, silver glitter). It is so pretty...  

Butter London Victoriana

This is my first Butter London nail varnish. Great quality! Two coats (easy to apply) + top coat and my nails were still looking nice (as in, not much chipping) when I took the polish off - rather reluctantly - five days later. Staying power, yes!  

The rectangular bottles are so much more practical than eg OPI's round ones. They take up less space! 

Most of all, it's the colour that I adore, though. 

Daily make-up

Before the move, I put a few make-up essentials in a bag and packed everything else away. My make-up drawers don't have a proper home yet (they are in my wardrobe!) and I'm too tired these days to be that creative... so I've just been using these products... for an entire month (I'm shocked, this never happens)!

Face:

NARS Sheer Glow foundation in Stromboli

NARS Laguna bronzer

NARS Penny Lane cream blush - Very pleased with this! Adds a subtle flush. But doesn't always last all day.

NARS Orgasm blush - I sometimes apply this over the cream blush.

Eyes:

NARS Rajasthan eyeshadow duo - I still love this! Good thing I got a back-up! 
MAC Technakohl liner in Graphblack or
Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof in black - Fantastic eyeliner, doesn't budge, I have multiple back-ups of this!
MAC Zoom Lash mascara in black or
Chanel Inimitable Intense mascara in black

Lips:

MAC Patisserie (lustre lipstick) with
MAC Love Nectar (lustreglass lipgloss) - Peachy pink with some golden shimmer. Comes with a brush wand, which I like best. My favourite combination of MAC lip products.

L to R: Patisserie, Love Nectar, both together

Nails:
Chanel Rose Confidentiel (491) - I knew I wasn't going to have the time to look after my nails during the move so I stuck to a neutral dusty rose colour. 

Chanel fall collection 2010: Enigma, Inimitable Intense, Paradoxal

I finally went to pick up my reserved goodies... and I must say, I'm rather pleased with my latest Chanel purchases.

I picked up the Enigma (19) eyeshadow quad without even swatching it, which (thinking about it now) is usually a silly thing to do but I wanted it. That's a good enough reason, right?

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I also got the new Inimitable Intense mascara, this simply being the technologically more advanced, more intense version of the already existing Inimitable. It holds the curl all day and gives my lashes a dramatic boost. Yes, I really like it! (and how gorgeous is/are the model(s)? Not sure if it's the same person?)

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And I picked up Paradoxal (509), obviously. It's usually more purple than grey but it depends on the light. I applied two coats. (On the right: with a ham, cheese and mushroom crepe.)

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I got some samples of the Beauté Initiale skincare. Has anyone tried it?

Cheap and cheerful

My mother is always urging me to start investing in classic, expensive, designer clothes. I'm trying but it's not easy...

Once in a while I like to have a "quick look" around shops like

... and find some random items that are not classic. A t-shirt (from afar it looks like you're wearing long pearl necklaces) and a yellow dress with white polka dots (I've never bought yellow before! But it was cheaper than any lipstick I normally buy so I was willing to take the risk... I thought I could wear this in the south of France).

What I don't like about these shops is that the queues are usually really long. I get so bored. (The 'good' thing about shopping in boutiques is that they'll take the money before you can change your mind.)

So I picked up a nail varnish (that just happened to be right by the queue). It's called Bella's Choice. And I am seriously impressed with this. Not only is it cheap and a really fun colour that's perfect for summer, it provides all that turquoise goodness in just one single coat! (not like Chanel's Miami Peach...)

By the way, I had this colour on my toes first and what do you think my son called them?
Alien toes!

Chanel's Miami Peach

Believe it or not, this is my first Chanel nail varnish.

Miami Peach (203) is a pink-peach tone with some subtle gold shimmer. It is quite sheer so I had to apply three coats to match the colour in the bottle. I hate having to apply so many times (with base coat and top coat, that's a ridiculous total of five!) but it was worth the long wait: it is very pretty!

(In the photo on the right I am holding some delicious green tea ice cream.)

I think this might be the beginning of a new collection...
What other Chanel colours can you recommend?

Affordable Armani

I am really into bright nails this summer. I recently picked up these two colours from Armani. The one on the left is pink (#45), the one on the right is coral (#46).  

I wanted to wear both colours, so starting from the top: coral, pink, coral, pink... I felt rather immature but cool doing this :-) It's not very noticeable, though (unfortunately?).

Still, I'm happy to own two "Armanis" now and the quality is good: not streaky and nicely pigmented (could perhaps get away with just one coat; I applied two). And I got some samples... yay!

As you've seen, I don't have nice nails. For over a year I went to a nail salon every 2-3 weeks for gel nails. But my own nails became paper thin and started to hurt so I had to stop. Have you ever had this experience?

A free Essie on 8 July

If you are in the UK on 8 July, you might want to pick up a copy (or several) of Tatler: there will be a free Essie nail polish with every Tatler magazine!

There will be six colours to choose from:
Yes we can pink, Mint candy apple, Lollipop, Flower girl, Rock the croc, Rock candy

I saw this in the current issue of Tatler, which also came with another freebie: sunglasses!

Which colour nail polish will you get?

MAC's To the Beach: Haul and Review

I never thought I would say this... but I am a bit disappointed with this collection. It's mainly because of one product not living up to my high expectations: Marine Life highlight powder.

Here are the three powders that I got. I photographed the swatches in different lighting to give a better idea of the colours. Hipness is quite a bright pink blush with only a hint of shimmer (even though it's a Frost). It's pretty, it's girly. I was surprised with Get-Away Bronze blush; it also has a frost finish (but it's more visible) and I immediately adored the colour. I applied these over MAC's NC30 Studio Sculpt foundation.

L to R: Hipness, Get-Away Bronze, Marine Life

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Marine Life is really quite pink. I've tested it as a blush, this on one cheek and Hipness on the other. At first I couldn't tell much of a difference - they're similar - but when I took my mirror outside and looked again, I noticed that Marine Life is more pink and more pigmented. Hipness is smoother, more of a coral tone and suits my skintone better. I don't think you will need to get both. Also, if you're looking for a pink blush, there are better ones out there.

Here are more swatches (of Marine Life only): I dipped my brush in the light pink (left in picture), then the darker pink (middle), and finally all together (right). These swatches are not as golden-shimmery as the first one above, do you see? It's because...

... the gold on the seahorse is only on the surface! It disappears very quickly, leaving only the two pink tones. I find that it loses all its charm and I am so disappointed (sigh). I got a back-up of Marine Life because it looked so gorgeous untouched; I can tell you now that I will never touch it - it must stay perfect! (what for? don't ask - I'm a bit of a collector.)

Before and after

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The nail lacquer in Scorcher is probably my favourite product (of the haul). I'm not sure how to describe the colour - sort of light red/orange meets pink?? Does that make coral? Anyway, it's cheerful. I applied two coats and it's more pink than it looks in the photo.

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To conclude... I thought this was going to be a fabulous collection (I do like the green packaging) and I had high hopes for Marine Life... but I'm disappointed. Pret-a-Papier turned out to be so much better - maybe because I wasn't expecting it to be that great?

Will you still get Marine Life?

P.S. If you haven't voted on my Mini yet, please do so - every opinion counts! I'm still undecided!

The great big MAC Pret-a-Papier haul and review

This is one of those times when I think, "It's a good thing my husband doesn't read my blog!"... because I ended up getting quite a few things from MAC (and not just what's in the photo!). Here is the Pret-a-Papier collection.

Let's start.
I adore blush. Especially in pink, coral and sometimes also bronze (but not plum, for example). So no surprise here that I had to get both Instant Chic (a pink coral sheertone) and Light over Dark, which is a two-toned mineralize blush. Light over Dark could be used as eyeshadow, too, by the way.

In the swatch, Instant Chic is on the left. It swatched nicely but it's quite sheer when applied to the cheeks with a brush (as you will see in a different swatch). It's a pretty colour. Quite matte.

Then we have Light over Dark. In the middle, the light colour on top, the darker colour on the bottom, and swirled together is the colour on the right. You need to apply this with a light hand because it is well pigmented. I like the colour - perfect for those sunny summer days - and the shimmer that you always get with the mineralize blushes.

Here is another swatch, this time applied with a brush (131) over Studio Sculpt foundation in NC30. In the photo below, Instant Chic looks plum. The colour in the photo above is more accurate.

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I got two (lustre) lipsticks, both perfect for spring/summer. Dressmaker, Dressmaker is a beautiful, soft pink coral that blends in nicely with the rest of the face and make-up (if you know what I mean); I love it. Made to Order is a deeper coral. It's absolutely wearable. They're both incredibly pretty.

Made to Order (L) and Dressmaker, Dressmaker (R)

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I only got one eyeshadow, Tissueweight (frost). It is a... pink beige, perhaps? It would make a good highlighter, depending on your skintone. It is not as pink as it looks in this photo.

I swatched Tissueweight with some like colours (all from MAC). It's like a pinkier version of Shroom.

L to R: Tissueweight, Jest, Naked Lunch, Shroom

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I also got the Paint Pot in coral crepe. This is brighter than I thought. I tried sheering it out but this is about as sheer as it will get (without using anything to dilute it or anything).

Here it is again (referring to the swatches below). The lighting is different.

Top picture: swatched on its own again. It actually makes a pretty blush!

Middle: combined with Tissueweight eyeshadow. Not really a combination I like.

Bottom: combined with Mythology eyeshadow. Now this is pretty! First I swatched Mythology on its own. It's hardly visible but to be fair, it's without a base. Below it, I applied it over coral crepe and look how nice that is. It goes well with Smut, for example.

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I decided to get the chromagraphic pencil after I read it was safe for the waterline. It's very soft and easy to blend. I tried NW15/NW20 but for me it was too light on the waterline and obvious - just like those white pencils that have always been on the market. I got NW25/NC30 and it looks more natural.

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The nail lacquer, Originality, is a frosty gold. When I first saw it, I got excited because I thought it was similar to Mercenary (Style Warriors collection). But Mercenary is a deeper bronze, which - to be honest - I prefer to the much more golden Originality.

I did not get the other nail lacquer from this collection - I thought it was just a blah brown, rather ugly.

Top row: Originality.
Bottom row: Originality and Mercenary. (Thumb: Mercenary)

And that's it!

Sorry this was such a long post but I hope that was useful. Do let me know what you plan on getting and then how you like them when you get them!