Too faced goodies

Are you in need of ideias for Christmas gifts? Well, I can help.  These Too Faced miniature products can be the best present for a friend or for a secret santa gift (girls only, or not...). The products are a little bigger then sample size so you have the sufficient amount of product that allows you to really play with them.

I've wanted to try these Melted Lipsticks for a while but I didin't want to risk spending almost 30€ and not liking them, I'm always afraid of lip products that say "long wear" because that usually means that they will be very drying to my lips. When I saw they had a mini Melted Lipstick for just 10€, and it came with the cutest little "Polly Pocket-like" blush, I took the chance and it payed off, they are really good.

If you want to try out the "Better Than Sex" mascara they also have a mini version that comes with a mini matte "Chocolate Soleil" powder.

Oral obsession

Well Winter is coming (cough, cough) and I feel the need for lipstick. The cold months make me become addicted to lip products because my lips get so dry that is really uncomnfortable to not wear anything. 

These are some colours that I'm leaning towards for this season, I selected a few lipsticks and lip glosses with different finishes (matte, satin, glossy) so that you can achieve multiple looks with the same color. 

You can find some of these brands in Sephora and others online, you can check swatches from these colors online so that you know what you're getting.

\ Click on the names to find out where you can buy the brands that are not available in Portugal /

KIKO Ultra Glossy Stylo in  813 Apple Blossoms 

TOO FACED Melted Long Wear Lipstick in Melted Chihuahua

RIMMEL London London Lasting finish Lipstick by Kate in 08

ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS Liquid Lipstick in Pure Hollywood

MAC Lipstick Satin Finish in Rebel

ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS Liquid Lipstick in Vintage

KIKO Unlimited Stylo in pearly orchid

L´ÓREAL Rouge Caresse in 203 Rock n' Mauve

MAC Lipstick Matte Finish in Please Me

NIX Butter Gloss in Vanilla Cream Pie

TOO FACED Melted Long Wear Lipstick in Melted Peony

CHANEL Rouge Coco Ultra Hydrating lip Color in Catherine

RIMMEL London London Lasting finish Lipstick by Kate in 01

TOO FACED Melted Long Wear Lipstick in Melted Strawberry

YSL Rouge pur Couture Satin Radience lipstick in Le Rouge

MAC Lipstick Retro Matte Finish in Ruby Woo

 MARC JACOBS Beauty Kiss Pop in Pop

SEPHORA Cream Lip Stain in Blackberry Sorbet

CLINIQUE Pop Lip Colour in Berry Pop

KIKO Rebel Romantic Intensely Lavish Lipstick in 06 Melodious Wine

Getting older means...

Zoeva "Classic Brush Set"

You value functionality over beautiful rose golden things...

This is how you know you're getting older, when you decide to get the classic brush set because even though it's the dullest (black and silver ugh...) it's the one that has the best brushes from the brand and the ones that I actually need. This decision breaks my heart because I've dreamed about the rose golden brushes for a long time but that set has brushes that are completly useless to me and the world in general, I dare say.

The highlight from this set, for me, is the 105 Luxe Highlight Brush, it's so difficult to find a good brush that distributes your highlighter in the right place, they are either too big or too small and this brush has the perfect size to hit just the top of your cheeks but it's not so small that would create just a line of highlight. The other brushes are also really good and you will find that you won't need any other brushes for your daily make-up. 

 

 Face:

 
105 Luxe Highlight: Apply highlighter
125 Stippling: Airbrushed finish application of foundation
128 Cream Cheek: Apply and blend cream and powder blush
142 Concealer Buffer: Apply and blend concealer 

Eyes:

 
227 Luxe Soft Definer: Softly blend and smooth eyeshadow
228 Luxe Crease: Blending and shading eyeshadow in the crease
230 Luxe Pencil: Precise shading and smoothing edges
317 Wing Liner: Detailed eyeliner strokes and a perfect wing

O Porto

Gigi Hadid and Domhnall Gleeson photographed by Mario Testino in a special city - OPorto, for uS Vogue.

Do the math

I find myself returnig to one particular look every season and I think this will be my Formula Winter for this year. A knit sweater (skinny, chunky and everything in between), a cool belt and a great pair of jeans. Let the shoes, bag or silk scarf make the statement. I want to be dressed in five minutes and I want to be warm.

The death of artistry?

I picked up the December issue ofVogue Portugal and I was immediatly grabbed by the Editorial note from Paula Mateus, editor-in-chief. She talks about the latest news about the exodus of criative directors Albert Elbaz (Lanvin) and Raf Simmons (Christian Dior).
The motive for these unexpected exits? The fast fast pace of fashion nowadays. This made me think about the fast, fast pace of life in general, wich I'm absolutly feeling in the past six months, but let's return to fashion. What I felt was really ironic was the use of the expression "fast fashion" alongside the name of two of the most revered fashion houses and their respective designers.

Raf Simmons talked about this subject in a recent interview he gave System Magazine, before he anounced his departure from his two year job at Dior. Well, what Raf says is baffling, he talks about the difficult crative timings he has during the season, he says:

 "Tokyo was also done in three weeks. Actually everything is done in three weeks, maximum five. And when I think back to the first couture show for Dior, in July 2012, I was concerned because we only had eight weeks."

If you watched the amazing documentary "Dior and I" then you saw the struggle of developing ideas and concepts for a collection and producing the clothes in a such a tight schedule. Now Raf tell us that those 8 weeks were actually the longest he had to develop his ideas for Dior, we can see how this was a recipe for disaster.

This fast pace burns out criativity, destroyes the potential of these talented designers and it will eventually kill the soul of these fashion houses. We shouldn't strangle the potential of these brilliant minds, give them space, give them time and we'll have magic. This fleeting pace only works for true "fast fashion" brands where, most of the times, numbers surpasse the concern for originality, vision, and artistry. If the historic fashion houses are using the same method as these major fashion distribution groups, that are all about profits, then how can you preserve the artistry? I hope they find a way.

These are a few of my favorite things...

The definitive wishlist for this Christmas and for my Birthday! There seems to be a pink theme but it was totally random.

Dress and shoes    /    Zara

Book   /    Love X Style X Life by Garance Doré

Perfume    /    Valentino Donna

Bag    /    The Classics collection by Bimba Y Lola

Shoes    /    Nike Roshe One Knit Jacquard

Brushes    /    Rose Golen Luxury Set Brushes by Zoeva

Bag    /    Metropolis Caramello from Furla

Palette    /    Ambient Lighting Edit Palette from Hourglass