Back from Mars

Hi everybody, I just got back from Switzerland last night. How's everyone doing?

Lucerne was cold, about -5 °C (or under 30°F). It snowed pretty much on and off during my whole trip, though the second day was nice and dry enough to walk up the hills surrounding Lucerne. Beautiful scenery, powdery snow crunching under my feet. I'll be posting photos as soon as they're touched up!

I'm also starting to try out the makeup that mom sent me so reviews/looks are on their way. The Rimmel automatic lip pencil is really nice so far.

Today, I tested some Jane Iredale, the world's very first brand of mineral makeup. The liquid foundation and blush are both beautiful so I'm having those sent to me, hopefully within next week. See you soon!

Thanks Mom

This is not a haul; my mom sent me a package! Among the goodies are:

• Yogi organic ginger tea (can't live without this)
• Henry James' The Wing of the Dove (can't live without me books either)
• M.A.C. Crushed Bougainvillea cream colour base (this was before her boycott)
• Too Faced Lash Injection (haven't tried this yet)
• Rimmel "1000 Kisses" lipliner in Tiramisu, and "Exaggerate" in Eastend Snob (beautiful, neutral colours)

So, how about that list of safe cosmetics that I compiled for you?

Here are some highlights. The following items all have less than 5 on the toxicity index:

Facial Cleanser
The Body Shop, Aveda, Kinérase, Eucerin, Korres

Foundation
Tarte "Smooth Operator", Cargo "One Base", Lorac "Breakthrough", and surprisingly M.A.C. Studio Fix Powder Foundation

Eyeshadow
Guerlain, NARS, Tarte, Lorac, Too Faced

Mascara
Korres, Make Up For Ever (the lenghtening mascara in particular), Lancome

Lipstick
M.A.C., Boots No. 7 sheer, Smashbox Photo Finish

Noteworthy drugstore brand
Almay Pure Blends

Noteworthy high-end brand and overall winner
Jane Iredale


Have a great week!

Cheeky (cont'd)

Is everyone having a good weekend?

I spent a rather lazy Saturday morning at home, and enjoyed a Mendelssohn piano concerto at the theater in the afternoon :-)

The colours I used on my cheeks in the previous tutorial were Madina Milano eye shadows. Nic Nic told me she saw Madina in Japan so if you see Madina, please do let me know!

I love their pans because they are handy and the colour selection is endless. Their eyeshadows are pretty chalky, easy to control and blend. The colour doesn't crease so you can even apply them without a base.

Last weekend, my colleague was in London so I asked him to stop by Selfridges to pick up some Taer Icelandic for me. This is the organic cleanser I've been using:

Turned out Selfridges didn't stock that brand anymore. I was so upset!

The cleanser is available in Milan, fortunately. It just costs five euro more over here.

I feel tired, depressed and muddled these days. This will sound terrible, but I feel so sick of everyone around me. Every day I give 200% of myself, and people still want more. Enough! Basta! I'm getting away for a few days next week.

Cheeky

I'm back with another so-called tutorial, this time using two blushes, one lighter and one darker.

I've already applied base, loose powder, bronzer, eyeliner, everything except lip and cheek colour.

I started with an iridescent pink for the cheeks.

After having applied it across the cheeks (see photo above), I proceed to an iridescent purple. I applied it sparingly with an angled brush right under the pink and blended.

You don't need to have mad skills, as long as the colours you use are sheer enough to be foolproof.

So there you have it. You can see the contouring more on the right side, where the purple creates depth while the pink provides a bit of glow.

You can still play up the lip colour, but it might be better to leave the eyes natural.

Once More

In mid-November, Versace held a fashion show and charity gala in Beijing to benefit Jet Li's One Foundation. They are in a one-year-long partnership. Here are some highlights from the s/s09 collection:

The hair, the legs, the gold...very Donatella.

Over 900 of China and Asia’s top celebrities, socialites, officials, business and style leaders attended.