What's in my bag...

Bag: Dior (remember I showed you that big Dior box? This is what was in it.)
Wallet: Chanel
Cosmetics bag: Accessorize
Key case: Louis Vuitton
Hand cream: L'Occitane
Pen and case: Mont Blanc
Car key: Mini
iPhone: not pictured but always in my bag!

The Dior box

I just rediscovered a little treasure I'd hidden away safely in my wardrobe...

It's a huge Dior box. Just so you know how big, I put a lipstick (Chanel; sorry I don't have any Dior lipsticks!) next to it.

I bought a Dior bag last year and they gift-wrapped it up for me. This is the box that it came in and whenever I look at it, I am reminded of that Christmas-like moment when I unwrapped my own present. I was squeaking with excitement and had the biggest grin on my face!

I should use it for something nice but don't know what yet. Any ideas?

I'm Ready-To-Glow with Dior

My most recent purchase is this limited edition iridescent eyeshadow palette from Dior: #649 Ready-To Glow.

I took it with me on my recent trip and it turned out to be a useful all-in-one palette: apart from doing the obvious and using all the colours as eyeshadow, I used the dark colours as eyeliner, the pink and coral as a highlighter and the brown to fill in the eyebrows.

The colours - apart from the brown in the middle - are all very sheer and shimmery. I have to mix the colours together (usually with the brown), otherwise I only have a hint of almost colourless, frosty shimmer on the eyelids. I'm especially disappointed with the 'taupe' (top right hand corner); stronger pigmentation would have been nice.

Also, I'm just not impressed with the CD hologram on the case. Chanel's simple black case with the wonderful logo has so much more "oohh-ahhh" impact than this hi-tech blue.

FYI: this came with it.

How important is packaging to you? 

To collect or not to collect

Perfume bottles are so romantic! Take the pink Miss Dior Chérie bottle with the ribbon detail, for instance (at the top). I adore the bottle - it's feminine, pretty, and hey, it's Dior. The problem is that I can't stand the smell of it... but I would still love to own the bottle. Imagine a row of beautiful perfume bottles in the guest bathroom!

Should I start collecting?

Or will guests help themselves to a squirt and make me gag in my own house? 

All images from the internet.

Mascara trial and error

Do you buy department store or drugstore products? I tend to only buy higher end stuff but when it comes to mascaras I do like to try different things. Years ago as a student I loved 2000 Calorie mascara by Max Factor. At the moment I love False Lash Effect. I think their mascaras are still some of the best.

I also used to have a favourite from Rimmel that had a comb brush (I can't remember what it was called, though). I've also quite liked Bourjois. 

I've hated all the Maybelline mascaras, though, including the famous Great Lash. I've tried a lot of the L'Oréal ones, too, but when I discovered that they really sting when they get in the eyes (I cried wearing one), I chucked them all out. 

Here are the mascaras I currently have in my drawer - only two are drugstore at the moment.

From left to right:

Max Factor False Lash Effect

L'Oréal Voluminous

Estée Lauder TurboLash

Chanel Exceptionnel

MAC Prep and Prime

MAC Pro Lash

MAC Zoom Lash

MAC Studio Fix Lash

MAC Dazzle Lash

MAC Fibre Rich Lash

Diorshow Black Out

Bobbi Brown Everything / Lash Glamour

Bobbi Brown Party

Max Factor's False Lash Effect has a plastic brush that I like. It lengthens and defines very well, with absolutely no clumping. I prefer it to L'Oréal's Voluminous, which I find clumpy. I had to try it, though, because a friend of mine swears by this.

Estée Lauder's Turbolash is battery operated so it kept on moving around as I photographed this! It's EL's best mascara but it's only okaaaay (because the others are all crap). The vibrating wand doesn't do anything a normal wand wouldn't do. If I had to buy another vibrating mascara I would go for Lancôme, as they generally do much better mascaras.

Exceptionnel de Chanel has an 'innovative six-sided application brush' that is part plastic comb and part normal brush. This means you have to rotate the brush as you apply it and this can be a bit tricky. I wasn't impressed at first but the more I use it, the more I like it. Here is a close up of the brush:

Of the MAC mascaras:
Prep and Prime doesn't really count because it's only a primer and a crap one, too (hate the corkscrew wand), but to be fair I'm not a fan of primers (you can always still see the white).
Pro Lash defines and separates. It's nothing special but good, if that makes sense. The brush is an odd shape, though.
Zoom Lash really combs your lashes, it feels a lot harder than most other brushes, and it's quick - it's not a mascara that you can re-apply and layer. I like it.
Studio Fix Lash is one of the newer ones from MAC. I like it because it has a plastic brush, which usually works well on me. It's a lot like the Max Factor False Lash Effect.
Dazzle Lash has a brush that is way too small, I find, so I only use it on my lower lashes.
Fibre Rich Lash is my least favourite.

Diorshow Blackout has a huge brush and it's for volume, volume, volume. A bit too much for my liking.

The two-in-one from Bobbi Brown was a limited edition from ages ago (yeah I still have it and it's still fine!) but they are sold separately in their permanent line.
Everything is quite good, it's supposed to do everything (volume, length, definition), hence the name, but as with anything Bobbi, it's understated. You'll never get the same kind of volume as with the Dior one.
Lash Glamour is waterproof and has a corkscrew brush that I don't like at all.
Party mascara is their newest one and it's supposed to add incredible volume... but still not like the Dior one. I don't really see a huge difference between this and Everything but maybe that's just me.

Today I used Exceptionnel de Chanel, added Max Factor's False Lash Effect over it, and applied MAC's Dazzle Lash to the lower lashes.

Mascara is one of those things that you just have to try yourself. What one person likes could be the worst mascara you've ever tried...

What's your favourite?

Wishlist: Dior summer collection 2010

It has been over 10 years since I last bought a Dior eyeshadow. Can you believe it? I still remember, it was a palette of five green eyeshadows. I had only just started dabbling in make-up and the interest was absolutely there but the know-how was absolutely not. I'm sure I looked like a clown, trying to put all five colours on my eyelids (but where...?), and I think that put me off Dior make-up (unfair, yes).

Now that I'm older and wiser, I am ready to face Dior again. An eyeshadow palette from their summer collection has caught my eye.

Crush glow eyeshadow palette. But 649 or 659? I can't make up my mind but I have a slight preference for 649 (with the dark eyeshadow in the middle).

See pictures here:

What do you think?

Favourite hand creams

I have only recently become interested in higher end hand creams. At least, I never used to fuss over them. I used Neutrogena a lot and mainly stuck to the cheaper products. Not anymore.

1. My current favourite is by L'Occitane. I like the small tubes (30ml) and keep them in my handbag. It doesn't take up much space and it's really light; but what's better is that with use, it flattens out and takes up even less space. (Some tubes are one-size only and keep their shape, even when there's nothing left inside. They then become too bulky and I get rid of them as soon as possible.)

I suppose if I had to find something I didn't like about these, it would have to be the screw-on caps. They are so small that I often drop them and that can be annoying.

L'Occitane often does limited edition hand creams so look out for those.

2. Another favourite is the Mani Pedi by Estée Lauder. This is to use at home because you get quite a lot (200ml) for your money. The packaging is nowhere near as nice and the product itself is not as creamy as the L'Occitane stuff so it doesn't feel ultra moisturising. But it's fine for during the day, when you're going to be washing your hands soon afterwards again anyway. I prefer that to having greasy hands. It's also scent free.

3. Another good one that I've tried is Dior's HydrAction hand creme. It comes in a sleek packaging (75ml) that's good for keeping in the handbag and whipping out in front of others (it's Dior, after all). I remember it had a nice fragrance and it was moisturising but not greasy. The thing I mentioned before about certain tubes not shrinking... well, this is an example of that. The Dior packaging stays as it is all the way through to the end. But I would repurchase. In fact, I like it better than EL's Mani Pedi; only the cost factor, in comparison, is a slight issue.

Others:

Estée Lauder's Re-Nutriv Intensive Lifting hand cream - this is way too pricey. It's supposed to work magic, like reduce dark spots, but seeing as I don't have any yet, it's a waste of money.

Biotherm - you can also get this in a travel-friendly size. I would say that it's good and smells nice. But it wasn't anything special. I won't be getting this again.

Molton Brown - I'm not counting this as a favourite, I only wanted to mention it because I've use it. You can get a matching hand wash (for your guest bathroom), which is a nice touch. But the hand cream is only so-so. It's definitely not greasy but it could be creamier, for my liking. Make sure you get the one you like the smell of because it can be overpowering.