Throw in the Towel

Oh yea, it's Thursday tomorrow. I'm so sick of this week I want it to be over. Sorry for this negativity...

On a brighter note, I got a haircut after work today to cheer myself up. It felt good to see my hair glow afterwards. I usually get a cut every 3, 4 months, and have quite a few inches trimmed off every time. My hairdresser knows exactly what I want! I'd just go in, sit down and he does the magic.

Today, I used the new La Roche-Posay sunscreen as a base, and Giorgio Armani compact powder. I really liked the result. The makeup stayed fresh all day without getting too oily. The coverage was light but it looked sophisticated. Yay!

Note to self: this sunscreen has to be applied 15-20 minutes before makeup because it takes time to absorb.

Sunny Days

Here I am finally. It's been an eventful week. Besides working almost 10 hours every day at the office, I've been spending more time with friends. During weekends, I'm determined to enjoy my free time.

So last time I mentioned the Giorgio Armani Lip Wax. Here it is in shade #1.

On the lips, it's a completely matte colour that takes away the pink tone of my natural colour. I wear it over chapstick.

To my surprise, there are only six shades available. The darkest one (a deep red) was sold out, and I got the last one of the #1 shade in the store.

I did get a couple more things yesterday: a Phyto shampoo called phytopanama+ and La Roche-Posay Anthelios W with SPF 40 with PPD 19, UVA ultra protection.

I used the Phyto shampoo just now. It's for frequent use for normal to oily hair, which sounds like just the thing for me. My hair feels clean, weightless and happy :-)

This is the first time I purchase a La Roche-Posay sunscreen. It's been very sunny in Milan, and I am freaking out my Shu Uemura UV Base (SPA 17, PA++) might not be enough. I do wear big sunglasses, but a little more help doesn't hurt.

This Anthelios product comes out from the tube like a cream, but spreads on like a gel. It contains photo-stable Mexoryl SX and Mexoryl XL.

It's waterproof, sweatproof, fragrance-free and preservatives-free!

A little seems to go a long way. I squeezed out a couple of drops and it feels enough. It's not as lightweight as the Shu Uemura foam, and I do need to give it time to get absorbed before applying makeup.

Both the sunscreen (17€) and the shampoo (11€) were on sale at the pharmacy so with just 23€ I got two excellent products. What more can I ask for? :-)

So this is a long overdue photo of the Lunasol palette that birkinbagbeauty sent me in January. Love it.

(Look how nerdy I am with the jade disk pendant. Old-school!)

The palette's EX04 Soft Silver Lighting. Here it is, with my second attempt of getting the shot right for the lip wax.

Ketchup (edited)

Oh, I have so much catching up to do with my blog read :-P You guys post so often I am having a hard time staying up-to-date!

I just got the Giorgio Armani lip wax last weekend, and am loving it. Photos next time.

It's a matte lip colour that comes in a mini compact with a mirror inside. I picked the 01 shade, which is an earthy, warm beige. The colour stays on well, but since it is matte, it's rather dry. Your lips have to be moisturised before applying the lip wax.

I just apply it with my finger, because the compact doesn't come with a little brush. Too bad, but I believe the texture of the colour is kind of intended to be applied with your finger.

For someone like me who doesn't like lipglosses, this is a god-send. But if you're a lipstick freak, you will not like this at all...

Poudre? Oui!

Vichy has come out with its very first mineral loose powder foundation, Aera Teint. Today I checked it out.

The major ingredients are zinc, copper, kaolin, magnesium, and listed under "may contain" are silicon, mica and bismuth oxychoride. The foundation is available in only four shades. 25€.

The pot contains 5 grams of product, and it comes with a kabuki brush. It is a bit stiff though. The lighting was not great so I could not see the coverage very well, but the foundation felt imperceptible. I might just give this a try when the weather gets hot and humid.

Another novelty that's coming up is Lancome's Tropiques Minerale collection.

With 90% of natural ingredients, Lancome claims to be offering a brand new generation of bronzer. The above is the Poudre Libre de Soleil Minérale Lissante. It has a perlized finish for a more luminous look. 43€.

There is also the compact bronzer with SPF10, featuring a nomad design.

You can use this with the kabuki brush. 36€.

Apparently, the mineral makeup trend is just starting in Italy!

Sound Foundation

I am back! I got what I thought was food poisoning last Sunday, until I realised that there were people getting sick the same way I did - a stomach virus. It's just that mine was severe. Thanks for all your messages!

Meanwhile, my consolation was a free Jane Iredale Liquid Minerals in the mail, thanks to a distributor in Pavia. "Natural" turned out to be an almost perfect match so here it is.

It has hyaluronic acid, Q10 enzyme, vitamin C, chamomile extract, sweet almond seed extract, aloe extract, etc. The only drawback is there's no SPF, but my Shu Uemura UV Base has that.

It comes in a 30ml (1 fl. oz) pump. $46 on janeiredaledirect.com, but the markup is much higher in Italy.

Just to show you the colour match without concealer, without contouring or anything.

The first few pumps are not the colour, just the aloe vera gel that you can use on your hands or discard.

After a few pumps, a mix of colour and clear gel comes out. The trick is to work the product with your finger first. Then, apply with a foundation brush.

A word of caution: it does smell like aloe vera, but it disappears.

I've been using this for a week and it feels amazing: fresh, weightless. It feels so good knowing I'm doing something nice for my skin!

One day I had it on from 8am until 10pm, and the colour stayed true all the way. I could really, really feel the difference from regular foundations.

I've ordered a mascara and concealer so we'll see.

The truth is I've never been a big fan of liquid foundations. I've only used it for a few years in my life. In the very beginning, I used Lancome Teint Idole for a year, then I switched to Shu Uemura compact foundations for a few years, before switching to loose powder completely.

Before there was Teint Idole "Ultra", it was simply "Teint Idole".

Try this on Poladroid :-P

Bite Your Lips

Thanks to everyone for your messages! I had my first meal today in two days. Thank god for miso soup and cucumber rolls!

Lancome is coming out with a collection called "Bitten Lips". Far from being bitten-red, it's a series of beautiful beige variations. Sorry for the small images, but that's all I have for now.

The Bitten Lips Gloss range
Here's the tube by itself

I don't like lipglosses so I think I will be leaning towards the Colour Fever lipstick range.

Very simple packaging

This is the Laque Fever range

Expected to be in stores by March in Europe...

:-(

You won't believe this, but I got food poisoning yesterday, literally when I just recovered from my cold/flu. Today I couldn't even get myself to work. Missing work on a Monday doesn't look good. Milan is still really cold and humid, yuck... When will this winter be over?