Caudalie - Huile Divine/Divine Oil

I would like to take the time and present you the "CAUDALIE - Divine Oil" for Body, Face and Hair.

Caudalie is a French company selling body and face care products. As far as I understood they are trying to use natural ingredients and do not do animal testing.

During the last winter when I had very dry skin I bought the "Divine Oil". What can I say? I absolutely fell in love with the Body Oil!

There are two different sizes available 50ml (17 Euro) and 100ml (26 Euro).

I bought the larger bottle right away as I heard many good things about the product in advance. As you can see above the Divine Oil comes in a luxurious glass bottle with a pump dispenser and a wooden cap (not sure its actual wood but its supposed to look like wood).

I have used the body oil about once a week during the last months which explains why my bottle is already half empty :-).
Thanks to the pump dispenser the product is easily applied all over the body. I do not need to use a lot of product as it is easily spread on the skin. The texture is very smooth and the oil dries down quickly without leaving a sticky layer (this is true as long as you do not over apply the product).
The scent is difficult to describe for me. I would say it is slightly floral. It is not a heavy but rather a light relaxing smell. I like it very much. The smell has a good lasting power on me but since I apply it during the evening before I go to sleep I can not exactly tell how many hours it lasts. For me this is also not critical because I purchased it for its moisturizing abilities.

Summing up:

Pros:

• Comfortable packaged with pump dispenser
• Dries down quickly
• Great moisturizing abilities
• Nice scent

Cons:

• Price!

Have you tried products from Caudalie?

This Weeks Manicure

Hi All, I am very sorry for not being in touch. I have been really busy lately and time has been passing so fast. I am so happy that spring has arrived to us now! The days are getting warmer with more and more sunshine everyday. I love this period of the year!

Today I would like to show you a manicure I was having last week.

I applied one coat of "ESSIE - Millionails" and then two coats of "Butter London - Bit Faker". As top coat I used my Butter London Top Coat.

The application was smooth and I got full coverage with two layers. For a glitter polish "Bit Faker" is very easy to work with. "Bit Faker" is a bronze/golden glitter polish which I immediately fell in love with. I like the warm color as it fits most of my cloths perfectly.

I need to warn you that the manicure did not last very long! After around two and a half days most of the color broke off. The rest of the removal was as difficult as usual with glitter polish.

In short "Bit Faker" is a very nice nail polish easy to work with and beautiful but its lasting power is very low. For the price (18 Euro) I would have expected better quality. It is the first Butter London where I experience this. Normally the lasting power of Butter London polishes is fantastic.

Happy Weekend!

Guerlain - Eye Shadow Rue de Passy

Today I would like to show you one of my favorite eye shadows. It is "Rue de Passy" from Guerlain.

When I purchased it I originally did not have the intention to buy any eye shadow but I was convinced by the SA after this was applied on me and I understood how versatile it is. You can get so many looks with the colors it is unbelievable!

It is on the pricey end for around 76 Euros but you get six lovely colors of eye shadow.

This is how it looks like. It comes in a little black velvet cover. As all Guerlain products it is having a very pretty packaging. Also very convenient is the included mirror. 

Here is a closer look at the colors.

On the upper left corner is a matte tan color. Underneath to the left is a rosy nude which is also having a matte finish. Right at the center is a light pink color which has a shiny/pearly finish. At the bottom is a satin chocolate brown. On top of it is a darker brown with a nice satin finish. All at the right is a matte black color.

All to the bottom of the palette is a nice little brush. It makes application very easy.

Applied on skin it looks like that:

I applied all colors heavily in order to show the differences. On skin you see that the two left nude/light brown colors are not too different. The light pink applies very pearly on skin that you almost do not see that it is pink. On my eyes it looks rather white. 

For me these colors are very useful. I use them for smoky eyes or for simple single application. For a simple look I can use the left rosy nude as eyebrow color and the black as eyeliner.

The lasting power of the eye shadow is good. In my opinion it could be longer for such an expensive product but I am still okay with it because I do not touch my face much during the day. When I know that I will have a very long day I apply eye shadow base underneath just to be on the safe side as I do not do any touch ups during the afternoon.

Summing up:

Pros:

• Beautiful Product
• Six useful colors for many different looks

Cons:

• Price!
• Lasting Power could be a little bit longer.

Have you tried any of the Guerlain eye shadows?

This Weeks Manicure

Another week has passed. Its time for another manicure post!

Today I would like to show "ESSIE- Hi-Maintenance" together with "OPI - Pink yet Lavender".

I applied two coats of "Essie Hi-Maintenance" and then one layer of "OPI Pink yet Lavender". On top of that I used my Butter London Topcoat. I used no base coat as I broke the bottle yesterday night when it fall out of my hands :-(.

The application of the light pink Essie polish was easy and smooth. The color does not offer full coverage on me - not even with two coats. It was not an issue for me as I put the OPI polish on top.

The application of the OPI glitter polish was without problems as well. I guess the removal will be a challenge as those polishes are always hard to remove.
I hope you like the look! I enjoy combining different nail polishes to create a unique look.

Madeleines

Madeleines are small traditional French cakes. They are sponge cakes in shape of shells. They are baked in a special form.

They came out so amazing that I highly recommend you to try! The baking time is only 10 minutes and the dough preparation is really not complicated!

So here is what you need:

• 100gr of flour
• 50gr of grounded almonds
• 3 Eggs
• 150gr sugar
• 100gr melted butter
• 1,5 teaspoons of baking powder
• 2 teaspoons of honey
• Tiny little bit of salt

1. Mix Eggs, Sugar and Honey in a bowl.
2. Add the flour, almonds, salt, baking powder and melted butter to the bowl as well.
3. Mix everything well.
4. Fill the dough into the forms. Do not fill each form more than three quarters! The Madeleine's need place to grow!
5. Bake at 150C for 10 minutes

My results:

Happy Tuesday!

Guerlain - Météorites Powder Pearls

After having shared with you my Primer and Foundation I would like to show you today my setting powder.

In my routine I am using the Perfecting Primer and then Lingerie de Peau. As finishing powder I am using the "Météorites Powder Pearls" in teint beige. I am using still the 'old' pearls and not the new version which was released as part of the Guerlain spring release 2014. I will speak about a few differences between the two versions a bit later.

I believe I paid around 45 Euros for the jar of powders pearls containing 30gr. of product.
This is how the jar looks like. It is made from metal (maybe tin or aluminum?). On top is a very nice floral decoration.

Opening the jar you find a white sponge which covers the pearls. I believe it is not intended for the application of the product, rather for protecting the sensible pearls when carrying around the jar.

Once you open the jar a sent of violets is set free. You either like the smell or not. I personally do not like the smell that much but I still manage to use the product as I do not feel the sent once the powder is applied. Also over time my pearls are not smelling as strong as in the first weeks, which is a plus for me.

The "Météorites Powder Pearls" are powder pearls in six different colors (Powder in different colors is pressed into pearls). This is how this looks:

I own color 02 teint beige which is the medium color.
The product is best applied with a brush and not a sponge, as a brush will take and distribute the powder better. I am using the "Météorites Powder Brush" but any other powder brush would probably do.

After my foundation is set I am applying this powder by turning my brush in the jar and then applying the powder over my foundation. I distribute the powder all over my face but not on the eye area as I found it to be drying my sensible skin around the eyes.

The effect of the powder is very difficult to be captured by camera as it does not actually add any color which one could observe. What the product does is that it adds a glow to the face which is the result of the different colored and textured pearls coming together. Some of the pearls are shimmering (in my case the white and golden ones) and they are making the skin look bright and glowing. Still the shimmer is very light and there is no effect which is comparable to a highlighter! So if you search for a highlighter this is not the product you are searching for. You may be disappointed.

The product is kind of invisible lightening the overall look.
I am using this as setting powder as it definitely makes my foundation stay longer. After application my skin is not shiny but also not looking matte. This was important to me as I do not like a full matte finish.
My skin is relatively dry and I do not need a touch up during the afternoon. If you have oily skin I do believe a touch up will be necessary as the powder is very light.

Summing up:

Pros:

• Beautiful Product
• Foundation stays longer
• Reflects light and creates great finish

Cons:

• Price!
• The sent might not be loved by all

Let me have a few words how this compared to the new Powder Pearls which have been released lately in 2014.
As far as I see there is no big differences on the color level. The names of the colors where slightly changed. There is old "Teint Rose" almost as "02 Clair", old "Teint Beige" almost as "03 Medium", and old "Teint d'ore" almost as "04 Dore".
The new jars are designed a bit different and contain only 25gr of product while the old jars contained 30gr at the same price level! The pearls are supposed to be softer to make it easier to take the powder with the brush and to apply it. I never had any application problems so for me it is not such a big plus.

In my eyes the differences are minimal and I do not see any reason to purchase the new powder pearls. I might splurge on a limited edition for a nice color.

Have you tried the "Météorites Powder Pearls"? What are your experiences? Please share your thoughts below.