Chanel Les 4 Ombes in Mystic Eyes

Last year for my birthday two of my lovely friends got me some Chanel makeup as a present (see my birthday presents post here). All my friends know me well enough to know that with a gift like beautiful makeup they pretty much can't go wrong ;)

The Chanel eye palette they got me was the Les 4 Ombres Palette in Mystic Eyes and it's been one of my favourite quads ever since! I never got round to reviewing it on the blog so only about a year late (woops) here is a recent face of the day using this versatile and gorgeous eyeshadow palette!

Now let's look at the palette a little more up close shall we?

As to be expected from the luxury brand Chanel; the packaging is gorgeous, compact and easy to use.

The palette comes with four eyeshadow shades in a smudge-proof formula, that can be applied dry for subtle shading, or dampened for more intense colour. 

Colours clockwise from L-R:

♥ Neutral deep chocolate brown with tiny gold flecks

♥ Light shimmery vanilla pink 

♥ Silvery shimmery grey taupe

♥ Warm shimmery light gold brown 

The pink and silver shades are a bit more sheer but the light brown and dark brown shades are both very pigmented. The whole quad is quite shimmery with the pink and silver being the most shimmery of the bunch. And as with all Chanel eyeshadows (I also have their Les Ombes Enigma Quad) the staying power is superb, and the colour payoff is excellent.

I love how you can play with these seemingly neutral colours to create a natural or dramatic smokey look. The shimmer in this quad just seems to make my eyes sparkle that little bit more! Here a slightly closer look at my neutral 'Mystic eyes' face of the day:

Products used:

Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation (review here)

Stilla brighten and correct concealer (link)

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder (review here)

Estee Lauder Goddess Sea Star Bronzing Blush (as seen here)

Chanel 14 Mystic Eyes - Silver shade applied to tearduct and inner 1/3 of eyelid

Chanel 14 Mystic Eyes - Light brown shade applied to outer 2/3 of lid and in the crease

Chanel 14 Mystic Eyes - Pink shade applied to the brow bone as a highlight

Chanel 14 Mystic Eyes - Dark brown applied along lower lashline

Blink + Go Mascara (as seen here)

On my lips I am wearing the other Chanel present the girls got me last year...

Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Imaginaire (56) 

Imaginaire is a semi-sheer, milky medium pink colour with a hint of coral and some tiny tiny gold sparkles. This is one of my favourite lip glosses. The colour pay off is very pigmented and rich on my lips whilst still showing a hint of my natural lip tone. And the formula is smooth and glossy, without being tacky or sticky - just how I like it! When I wear this gloss I always feel girly and sophisticated :)

I absolutely love both these Chanel items so am very grateful to my friends for buying these for me! What do you think of the Mystic Eyes palette or the Imaginaire lip gloss? xoxo

Spoiled Birthday Girl >

So it was my (27th) Birthday last week and I have to say, I was one spoiled Birthday Girl ♥
I had a lovely evening out with my friends on my actual birthday (birthday FOTD post and pictures to follow) plus had birthday celebrations continuing throughout the weekend with friends visiting from overseas! Wanted to share some of the amazing gifts I got for my birthday :) 

A gorgeous teal Longchamp bag! My sweet flatmates got this for me from Nice (France) and told me the bright blue colour was the colour of the season there! Which is fab because I love bright colours anyway - think this bag will come in very very handy! Plus now that I am the owner of a Longchamp bag I feel properly British ;)

Check out the super funny and creative card my work friends made me! 'The Dutchess' Magazine :)

LOL it just cracked me up so much!

Two of my besties from New Zealand (currently in London woop woop) got me some beautiful goodies from Chanel - they know me SO well ;) A lovely pink lipgloss and a Les 4 Ombres Palette in Mystic Eyes.
Of course a review and swatches post of these items will follow!

Plus also in this picture is a scarf I got from one of my friends. As you know, I am a big fan of stripes so this scarf is perfect for me and the mix of beige, pinks, purples and coral is just to die for.

My dear friend Lulu (who's featured quite a bit on this blog) came from Holland to London especially for my Birthday weekend, awwww ♥! She got me these funky stud crystal earrings from Swarovski. Such a cool black/granite/grey colour - gives them a cool edgy look while still pretty and sparkly. Love them :)

And last but not least - my annual Tiffany & Co present! You may remember that last year I also got some earrings from T&C (read the post here) and so this year I had already chosen which item I wanted from my (ever growing) lust list from my favourite shop in the world ;) My parents got me these beautiful silver ball earrings which I just adore. They come in 8mm and 10mm diameter and I chose the bigger version because think it makes them pop a little more! Thanks mum & dad :)

So that was a selection of my birthday gifts; am I a lucky girl or what!?
Thanks to all my wonderful peeps for the presents and birthday wishes! :) xoxo

Keira Knightly - Chanel Coco Mademoiselle >

After months of teaser clips and campaign stills, the full commercial for Keira Knightley's latest Coco Mademoiselle fragrance commercial is finally here! The new mini-movie was directed by Joe Wright (known for Atonement & Pride Prejudice). The vid features a sultry Knightley in a beige catsuit riding through the streets of Paris before heading to a photo shoot with a hunky photographer.

Joe says the ad is begins as a "story about the male gaze, but becomes about the female gaze. The idea is the artifice of projected sexuality." As for what makes the British actress so appealing to film, he added: "It's like being asked why you love your wife, and it's rather bland to say she's talented and beautiful and bold, because it's such a subjective thing. On a purely superficial level, she just gets more beautiful - which is very fair on the rest of us as we all get to admire her." Check out the video below:
Song: It's a Man's Man's Man's World by Joss Stone
Coco Mademoiselle is definitely one of my favourite perfumes (check out a post about that here). I think the ad is cute, sexy and love the choice of song. What do think of the new Chanel commercial??

I am back in London again after my overnight stay at the lovely Country Club Hanbury Manor this week. It was really nice being out in the country, but then again didn't see that much of it because was pretty much stuck in a Boardroom for about 11 hours of the day...Here some quick pictures I took on my iPhone while at the hotel.

Am so happy it's Friday - it's been a long week! Bring on the weekend. Hope you all have something either fun or relaxing planned? xoxo

FOTN: Smokey Eye with a POP of Gold $

Last weekend I went out with my girls for a fun-filled night out in Clapham, London. We had a delicious italian dinner (accompanied by quite a few glasses of wine) and then explored some of the bars! We had such a fun time :) Sharing with you my Face of the Night; I decided to go for a grey smokey eye with a POP of gold for some added fun 'sparkle'! 

♥ Face:

MAC Studio Fix Fluid - NC20

MAC Studio Fix Powder - NC20

GOSH concealer (2)

Rimmel Bronzer (contour)

MAC Blush in Well Dressed

MAC Vanilla Pigment (applied lightly on upper cheekbones as highlighter)

♥ Eyes:

MAC Paintpot in Blackground (over lid as base)

Grey/Mauve eye shadow from Chanel Enigma Quad (all over lid)

Urban Decay Naked e/s (crease, to blend out grey)

MAC Vanilla Pigment (brow highlight)

MAC Pure Show gold liquid eyeliner (lower lashline)

MAC Smolder (waterline)

Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner pen (upper lashline)

Makeup Forever - Fiber Lash

L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara

♥ Lips:

MAC Dazzleglass in Sugarrimmed

♥ Other:

Jewellery: My stunning new Gold Multi Bauble Drop Earrings earrings by Talullah Tu

Talullah Tu is amazing jewellery collection by the wonderful Tanya Burr - Love her stuff! :)
Dress: Got this new dress recently while out shopping with my parents. Black Jersey Lace Dress from Reiss, buy it online here - it's so comfortable, classic and beautiful!

I got the Pure Show eyeliner earlier this year as part of the MAC Fabulous Felines collection - Leopard Luxe! It's a true gold liquid liner. Applies smoothly, is super bright and amazingly stayed put all night (it was even still there in the morning...LOL) The look was semi inspired by some looks I saw floating around at the time when the Leopard Luxe collection came out (summer 2010) and have to say LOVED it! What do you think? xoxo

Want to look fresh & awake?

Most of you are probably familiar with the concept of wearing white eyeliner on the waterline of your lower lashline to help brighten and widen the eye. And if you didn't know this, well, then you've learned something new today! :p  Even though some people swear by this look, I have to admit that most of the time I tend line my waterline with darker eyeliners or leave it au naturel, because I find that the white liner look can looked a little harsh on me...

Then, recently I read in a fashion magazine about the latest nude eyeliner from Chanel's 2010 Fall line and was instantly intrigued. Their Chanel Intense Le Crayon Khol - Clair (#69) is a nude/flesh toned liner, with no hit of shimmer - which makes it ideal for opening up the eyes, enhancing a wide eye look without the stark feeling that a white liner can sometimes give.  Keen to try out this product; I went to the Chanel counter and got this limited edition eyeliner. 

I love how it brightens my eye in a soft way, blends, looks natural and makes my eyes look bigger without a noticeable white line.  I also adore that Chanel supplies a sharpener with their eyeliners.

Great product to use on those days where you look like you could have done with a few extra hours in bed ;) Plus it can also be used as a nude lipliner!

Only one small negative: I wish the pencil was a little softer, more kohl-like. It's quite hard and therefore you have to go over it a few times to get the proper effect. But overall I think this is a great buy for people that want to brighten their eyes and look FRESH and awake! 

Ps: I have also read a lot about Benefit's Eye Bright Liner...

What do YOU use to brighten your eyes, any recommendations? xoxo

Chanel - Enigma

For fall, Les Contrastes de Chanel collection is all about sultry, smokey eyes. It's dark, sophisticated and consists of grays, purple and olive hues.  When I spotted the Chanel # 19 Quad "Enigma" it was love at first sight! 

Enigma (noun): a person, thing or situation that is mysterious, puzzling or ambiguous.

Chanel Enigma Quad: My first ever Chanel Quad ♥ and it's a stunning mix of four luxurious creamy eyeshadow powders in shimmering peach, olive toned/chocolate grey, silver/mauve grey and deep plum.

This quad is definitely all about the smokey-eye which is right up my alley :) There are many looks you can create with this quad; from a soft pink lid with darker colours in the crease or really smoking it up using the dark colours all over the lid.

The pigmentation of these shadows is very rich. They are super soft and silky and may come across as powdery but are actually very easy to work with and allow you to build intensity of colour. All the shades can be intensified a notch or two by using them wet, rather than dry. I also love using the dark plum shade (applied wet) as an eyeliner! 

Below a quick picture of the "Face of the Day" I created with the Enigma Quad a few days ago:

♥ Eyes:

Chanel - shimmering peach colour (all over lid)

Chanel - silver/mauve grey (crease & lower lash line)

MAC Smolder (waterline)

MAC Fluidline in blacktrack (upper lash line)

Chanel Inimitable Intense Mascara

I can't wait to experiment some more and try out different looks; especially a dark smokey look! Please note that if you like/want this quad, that it is limited edition, part of their Fall 2010 collection. However if you love grey taupe/purple smokey eyes, I would definitely recommend this product. Great quality and amazing colours for autumn and winter.

FREE Chanel Mascara:)

It's GLAMOUR magazine 5th Birthday in The Netherlands and they celebrated this with a BIG Birthday issue. I couldn't resist picking it up because of the FREE Chanel Mascara it came with! C'mon we all love free goodies right? :)

The BIG Birthday Glamour Issue with a cute little Chanel Notebook

And TADA hidden inside the little notebook is the FREE Mascara! 

Ok when I opened it I was a teeny bit disappointed with the size of the product, because it is incredibly small, but hey free is free right and you can't look a gift horse in the mouth ;)

Chanel inimitable intense

What is promises: "This technologically advanced formula builds on the success of the original mascara, delivering dramatic effects with a unique brush. The result is a more intense lash look, with the same easy application. Lashes appear longer, thicker and more curled, yet each lash, even the finest, is still precisely separated – without clumping, spiking or flaking." (as per Chanel website)

I had never tried a Chanel Mascara before so was very keen to see if this lived up to its expectations. I was truly impressed with the brush applicator. It really separates your lashes while making them thicker & longer. There was no flaking and the mascara lasted the whole day. Great product but pretty pricey at £29/€34! What do you ladies think of Chanel mascara, worth the money? 

A little late but WORTH the wait!

Yes, I finally finally got my hands on Chanel Particulière! 

When I was in NZ it had sold out everywhere and they were waiting on new stock. Then since arriving & traveling around Europe I had been checking so many stores to look for this much wanted nail polish but with no luck. I had pretty much given up all hope! Then all of a sudden last week, I was in de Bijenkorf (a high end Dutch department store) and was casually strolling around the beauty department, as you do, and there in the corner of my eye...IT WAS! Just sitting there....I couldn't believe my luck, so I just had to get it. Ok it costs €21.50, which is not exactly cheap. But hey it's worth it & I am now officially part of the cool crowd LOL

The stunning mushroom-hued colour is so gorgeous & sophisticated and the polish applies like a dream. Thank you Chanel! Also, I am already secretly admiring the new nail Les Khakis De Chanel collection which is due to come out September 10 at New York Fasion week! 
Shown below from left to right, the collection includes: Khaki Rose, Khaki Vert and Khaki Brun.

I am going to take a wild guess here but I have a strong feeling that Khaki Vert is going to be the new “it” shade!

It's on my lust list for sure :) xoxo