Bright lips on a rainy day..

Earlier today I posted this picture on Instagram and Facebook. Since a lot of you seemed to like it, I thought it would be a good idea to share what products I used to achieve this look.

It's a really quick and easy look actually. I was late for a meeting, but I didn't want to leave my house with a bare face, so I very quickly threw this make-up on.

As a base I used the L'Oréal True Match foundation. I always seem to reach for it whenever I'm going for the natural but flawless look. 
I skipped concealer as I don't really have any spots except for a tiny little one on my chin. I used a little extra foundation on it as well as on my dark circles (which aren't that bad to begin with).
I then set everything in place with my Clinique stay matte sheer-pressed powder which I use all the time. I don't really use any other powder. 

I didn't use any contour or bronzer for this look as I wanted to keep it really simple. I did use some blush to put some color back into my face. The one I used is Mocha from MAC. I often forget about this one, but everytime I use it I get reminded of why I love it so much. 

At this point I was already late and needed to get my ass out of the door, so instead of filling in my brows I ran the Maybelline Browdrama through them to give them a little definition. 

Now there is no way that I'm leaving my house without a little mascara on. Today I opted for Benefit's They're real mascara. I know I said I wouldn't splurge on the full size in an earlier post, but man this is one great mascara. Who knows, maybe I might when I run out of mascara one day (that's not bound to happen any time soon). 

When I was preparing for a MAC lipstick collection post, I was reminded of my Impassioned lipstick. It's one of the very first lipstick purchases I made and I haven't really worn it much since then. Since I kept the rest of my make-up so simple I figured a bright lip wouldn't be too much. Especially on this miserable rainy day. 

What make-up are you wearing today? Please let me know in the comments below or find me on twitter @_MakeUpDiary_

Xoxo Nathalie

PS. Don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin'

December favorites

So, obviously I suck at doing Blogmas. I'm really sorry you guys. I really wanted to make it work, but with it being the holidays I've been really busy. But it's a new year now and I'm ready to start up my normal routine again.

So let's start of this year with talking about my favorites from last year. I discovered a whole bunch of new products in december and I'm excited to share them with you.

1. Lancôme Dreamtone 
If you read my November favorites then you'll know that I absolutely adore the MAC prep+prime moisture infusion serum. Sadly, I ran out of it. Instead of going out and buying a new one, I decided to use up what I had and that's how I discovered the Lancôme dreamtone serum. I bought this a while ago as it promised to reduce dark spots and acne scarring. But once I started using my MAC serum this one kinda dissapeared to the back of my mind. It's a shame really, because it really is a great product. It's really pricey. I think I paid about €76 for it, but I would buy it again. I'm noticing such a difference in my skin. 

Haul

Benefit 2014 advent calender

MAC Prep+Prime CC primer in 'Neutralize'

MAC lippencil in 'Soar'

Thelma and Louise DVD

The Vow DVD

Rimmel ScandalEyes Kate<3 Volume+Lift mascara

Rimmel ScandalEyes waterproof kohl kajal in '005Nude' and '001Black'

Rimmel Fix&Perfect Pro Primer

L'Oréal True Match foundation in 'Golden Beige'

Clarisonic Luxe Cashmere Cleanse brush head 

Do you want to see a review on any of these products? Let me know on twitter @_MakeUpDiary_ or in the comments below

Xoxo Nathalie

PS. Don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin'

Make-up starter kit

When you're just starting out with make-up, you might be a little overwhelmed. That's okay, I was too. There are so many products to choose from and so many finishes, that you might not know what's best for you. I didn't know all these things when I first started out, but I'm here to help you.

First off let me say that you don't need to buy all of this make-up. You can just pick and choose what you like. The first make-up item I bought was a clear lipgloss. So I recommend just picking 1 or 2 products and just slowly build your collection from there. You don't want to be spending all of your money on make-up that you don't actually NEED. If you decide to start wearing make-up, be sure you wear it for you and not to fit in somewhere. 

My favorite mascaras

1. Dior Diorshow Iconic
Dior mascaras are by far my favorite, drugstore or high end. I got this one in a combo set with one of my other favorites 'extase'.
I like this one because it's a great everyday mascara. It lenghtens your lashes without giving too much volume. So if you're into natural looking lashes then this is the one for you. 

2. Dior Diorshow Extase
Again, this is an amazing mascara. This one is not really lenghtening, but it gives your lashes tons of volume without clumping them together. In combination with Dior Iconic it makes for one amazing mascara.

L'Oréal Studio Line - Volume texturizing spray

If you read my last post then you know that I'm not a big fan of the studio line wave creating spray, so it might surprise you that I really do like this product.

Compared to the wave creating spray, this product actually works and it doesn't smell *Bonus points*.

The packaging of this is the same as the other one. They both come in an orange-brown can. I think it looks really simple but nice. 
Just as it promises, it delivers tons of volume in your hair, whilst still looking and feeling natural. 
The instructions say to spray it on dry hair and massage it in. It gives you instant results. What I love about this, is that it doesn't make your hair sticky and it doesn't weigh it down. This truly is an amazing product and I definitely recommend it. 

Before

After

Have you tried out any of the studio line products? Let me know what you think about them in the comments below or find me on twitter @_MakeUpDiary_

Xoxo Nathalie

PS. Don't forget to follow me on bloglovin'

Salt sprays - Worth the hype?

Hey guys,

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of months, you've definitly heard all about salt sprays.
For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, salt sprays are basically texturizing sprays you put in your hair to give you that messy beachy wave look.

When I found out about this I was actually pretty excited, because I love to rock the 'messy hair' look. Unfortunatly for me, as with everything beauty-related in Belgium, salt sprays were nowhere to be found. 
About three weeks ago, I stumbled across 2 different of these sprays and I decided to buy them both so that I could test them. 

The first is the Got2Be beach babe. I was especially excited about this one, because it's the same brand as the Got2Be guardian angel heat protection spray and I love that stuff.
The second one is from the L'Oréal Studio Line. I hadn't used this brand before, so I didn't know what to expect. This product also doesn't market itself as a salt sprays but it works just the same.

The instructions for both say to use it on damp hair and to either blowdry it or let the wind take care of it.
I tried it out, expecting amazing beach waves... Nothing happened. 
I continued to try it several times over the next few days, but I got no results out of it. I tried everything possible. Wet hair, damp hair, dry hair. Nothing! I used a blowdryer, I left it like it was. Nothing!

Also, I'd like to point out that the L'Oréal one doesn't have a nice smell, which is another reason why I won't use it anymore. Who wants to have smelly hair?
The Got2Be one did have a nice smell however and out of the both of them, it's the one that gave me the most result (however tiny it was). 

In my opinion they are NOT worth the hype.

What do you think about salt sprays? Please let me know in the comments below or find me on twitter @_MakeUpDiary_

Xoxo Nathalie

PS. Don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin'

Where to buy

L'Oréal Wave Creating Spray

Got2Be Beach Babe