July Favourites 2011

It just can't already be the end of July. Just can't. Summer has whirled and twirled by in a sunny haze, and I've loved every minute of it! That being said, I've been getting a little bit lazy with my makeup... read on to find out what I've been wearing this month!

L-R:

• Depend Cosmetics's False Lashes in No. 4 - the most amazing (and cheap!) false lashes. They look so natural, like my own lashes, just longer, denser, thicker!
• Sigma's Large Powder Brush F30 - Love this brush for applying powder. It's quick, and the brush is so big and dense and soft.
• The Body Shop's Honey Bronze - This is a liquid bronzer, which give me a natural glow and contour when I use it with a stippling brush. Perfect for summer.
• L'Oréal's Volume Million Lashes - This mascara tends to clump my upper lashes slightly, but it's perfect for my lower lashes, because it separates them so beautifully.
• Chanel's Soleil Tan De Chanel in Bronze Corail - You already know I love this one!
• MAC's Beauty Powder in Alpha Girl - A really pretty blush, and the print makes it so summery.
• Dior's Diorskin Poudre Compacte in "Transparent Light" - As the shade name describes, this one is almost sheer. I use Sigma's F30 brush for dusting this all over my face, just for mattifying purposes. This month, my skin has been so good, that I can easily just wear under-eye concealer, this powder and a little bronzer for contouring! It hasn't been this good for over a year, I'm so happy!
• And of course, Make Up Store's Tri Brow Color seems to be an endless favourite of mine, especially during summer when I've been highlighting my brows. They have really turned into one of my favourite facial features lately.

Don't those lashes look lush? I've already used them twice, and they're still holding up pretty well!

What have been your favourites? Did you write a faves post this month? Share!

Love,

Miss Diorista

Chanel Bronzer - Soleil Tan De Chanel in 537, Bronze Corail

 Since we've already started discussing bronzers today, I want to show you a product that I'm currently loving and using every day - it's from Chanel's summer collection, and it's 4 products in 1. This is a true, high-end product - it's as much fun to look at it as it is to actually wear it.

I use an angled contour brush (I don't like the one that comes with the compacte) which is too big to fit into the "stripes" really - but that's actually what I like, since it gives me more than one colour at a time, which makes everything look more natural.

 

 As always with Chanel, the packaging is stylish, classy, luxurious.

The compacte comes in a little velvet pouch, perfect for protecting it if you throw it in your purse for touch-ups, or are travelling with it (what a great travel companion!).

 Here you have the four colours - on top is a light brown bronzer, then there's a highlighter, followed by a dark bronzer and finally a coral blush. All colours are slightly shimmery.
I actually chose this compacte because of the dark bronzer - I figured it would look gorgeous as a contour colour. Which is does, but I was amazed to see how well the colours work together as well.

I use the dark bronzer for contouring cheekbones, the lighter one for my temples and jawline. The highlighter goes on top of my cheekbones, and the blush on the apples of my cheeks, blended up.

The swatches! If you enlarge the picture, you should be able to see the absolutely stunning shimmer in the colours - it's not enough to make you look like a disco ball (far from it), but enough to bring life and dimension to your face.

L-R: Light brown bronzer, highlighter, dark bronzer, blush.

xox,
Miss Diorista

Bronzing with The Body Shop

I've been searching for the perfect bronzer for about a year now, and during summer, my quest for the perfect colour, the perfect texture and so on, has had no end!

As a part of this quest of mine, I recently visited The Body Shop, which has launched a whole new collection of bronzy products. Two things particularly caught my attention - the fact that they have a liquid bronzer (those things aren't lying around these days...) and how fair and almost grey-looking their powder bronzers were. As a result, I bought the liquid bronzer, called Honey Bronze (they only have one shade) and Bronzing Powder in No. 02, Fair Matte.

I love how soft and smooth the powder is. It's definitely buildable, but you can also wear it really lightly.

L-R: Sheered out liquid bronzer, heavily swatched liquid bronzer, bronzing powder in No. 02. The liquid bronzer is light, but buildable like the powder, and extremely natural looking.

 Here you can see how fair the bronzing powder is. On the left is Benefit's Hoola, which seems really dark and muddy compared to The Body Shop's bronzing powder.

L-R: Hoola, Bronzing Powder in No. 02. You can barely see the latter compared to Hoola!

I'm extremely happy with those two products, especially the liquid bronzer, which looks so natural and glowy (it has small sparkles in it - nothing too obvious but it really makes you glow!).

Love,

Miss Diorista

Dior Lipstick - Giveaway Reminder

I've decided to extend the giveaway until the 6th of August, just in case some of you didn't know about the giveaway. I'm giving away a Dior Addict Lipstick in Diorkiss, click here to enter (Please note: You can not enter by commenting on this post. Comment on the original post).

Have fun and good luck! I can't wait to give one of you lucky girls a Dior lipstick!

xox,
Miss Diorista

Weekly Gratitude - Skylight Confessions and Fresh Apples

• Thank you to Mary Hoffman, for writing the touching book Skylight Confessions. I'm currently reading it (just about halfway through) and it is truly amazing.
• Thank you for travelling season! So many people are travelling the world now, experiencing new things, seeing new places and meeting new people. It doesn't only bring a load of fun, but also maturity and understanding.
• Thank you for the kilo of fresh apples we have sitting around in our kitchen. I can't wait to do something with it! Apple pie with ice cream sounds nice enough to me :)
• Thank you to the doctor whom my uncle visited, for he is now well - he had an awful cold, in the middle of summer, and couldn't go outside.
• Thank you to my aunt, for helping out the other day - we can't be without your laughter!
• Thank you to polish companies, for bringing very interesting fall collections. Although I'm still enjoying summer, I'm really excited for fall as well, not least because of the fall polish :)
• Thank you to my friend Maja, for trying out my pudding cookie recipe :) (Psst! She loved them, maybe you will too... only one way to find out!)

Love,
Miss Diorista

Sally Hansen - Insta-Dri in Mint Sprint

On the hunt for a perfect minty polish, I picked this up. Fell in love with it the moment I put it on, but heavens, that's not minty! Or is it? Do you think this is minty? I don't. To me, this is the most perfect "sea-blue" creme I've ever seen. It is a little more green and minty in real life than in my photographs, but it's still not minty. Not by far.

This is the third Insta-Dri I've bought, and it's my favourite of the three. They all have great application, dry in a matter of minutes. The weartime of this one was about 4 days, and removing it was average. It only needed two coats to be completely opaque.

This polish looks even better with nice rings - here I'm sporting the ring from my Summer Trend post on big, bold rings.

Product (65%) - 9/10

Value (10%) - 9/10
Would I repurchase? (15%) - 8/10
Packaging (10%) - 8/10

Overall - 9/10

Love,

Miss Diorista

P.S. Any nice minty polishes out there that I should try out? Please spill the juice on the mint :D

Summer Trend - Bright Polish!

Don't let anyone tell you that summer is coming to an end - half the fun is still left!

Bright polish is a classic summer trend - it pops up every single summer. It so happens, that I love bright and fun nail polish, so I have a few to choose from. Above are some of my favourites, all by OPI. It's been a while since I took the picture, but let's hope I still got the names right!

L-R: Y'all Come Back Ya Hear?, Holy Pink Pagoda!, Big Hair... Big Nails, Too Hot Pink To Hold'em, Do You Think I'm Tex-y? and Houston We Have A Purple.

And of course, have fun with your polish! You can do accent manis, ombre manis... the options are endless!

Love,

Miss Diorista

OPI - Aceton-Free Polish Remover

The past year or so, I've been wearing nail polish almost every day, every week, every month... which definitely takes a toll on your nails. In an attempt to help them cope, I've been using aceton-free nail polish remover, since aceton really dries out your nails and just isn't good for them at all.



OPI's Aceton-Free Polish Remover is quite a nice nail polish remover - it has a nicer and not-so-strong scent as regular removers (although I don't recommend smelling it the whole day long, not at all!) and it also leaves a nice rose scent on my nails after removal of nail polish. As for the actual removing, it does a decent job. It maybe isn't quite as effective as an aceton-remover, but I think spending two minutes or so more on removing my polish is worth it, as opposed to having dry and brittle nails.

And yes, I do notice a difference in my nails since I stopped using aceton loaded polish removers - they feel more moisturized, less brittle and thicker. I will continue using aceton-free removing substances.

Product (65%) - 8/10

Value (10%) - 8/10

Would I repurchase? (15%) - 9/10
Packaging (10%) - 6/10 (it has a screw-cap, and it's easy to get way too much product)

Overall - 8/10

Love,

Miss Diorista

The Body Shop - Coconut Body Scrub

Coconutty goodness! I just want to eat this scrub, it looks and smells so good.
I love this scrub, mostly because how moisturizing it is - it feels like body butter with exfoliating grains, rather than an actual scrub - yet it exfoliates so nicely. Because of the moisturizing aspects to this scrub, I don't feel the need for a body lotion or body butter after I come of the shower, and as yet another plus, the scrub leaves a lingering coconut scent on my skin. Lovely!

A closer look at the granules - the scrub has more than one size of grains, which helps exfoliating, without feeling harsh.

I don't know what more to say about this amazing scrub, other than I love it and use it every week!

Product (65%) - 9.5/10

Value (10%) - 8/10

Would I repurchase? (15%) - 10/10
Packaging (10%) - 7.5/10 (can be slightly difficult to screw when you're in the shower!)
Overall - 9/10

xox,

Miss Diorista

OPI - Lucky Lucky Lavender

I rarely wear polishes two times in a row. I have a rather large nail polish collection and like to try as many polishes as I can, and change things up, but this nail polish had me a bit bananas, so to speak, and I wore it two, if not three times in a row :)
It is a lovely lavender cream, but it gave me troubles when photographing. It's not so warm as on the top picture, and not so cool as on the lower picture. I guess it's somewhere in between, but the pictures give you a pretty good idea.

Pretty, right? The application is dreamy, the wear time is about 4 to 5 days, and removing is easy. You do need about 3 coats (I'm only sporting 2 in the pictures), but it's worth it in my opinion.

Product (65%) - 9/10

Value (10%) - 8/10

Would I repurchase? (15%) - 9.5/10
Packaging (10%) - 8/10
Overall - 9/10

Love,

Miss Diorista

Sophisticated Chocolate Cake

Now this cake has class, don't you think?  :) I had promised my aunt to bring a cake to a dinner party she was planning, but my day turned out to be more hectic than I had expected, so I turned to something nice and easy - a simple, old fashioned chocolate cake.

The dough was a basic, one tier chocolate cake, with chocolate buttercream on top, but to spruce things up a little, I put a bit of mint into the cream, which really came through nicely. And last but not least, some quick and simple decorating can make a regular chocolate cake look a bit more glam - I melted some dark chocolate, spread it out on parchment paper, then drizzled a bit of melted white chocolate over it and let it set in the freezer. When it was completely set (I could use the time to get ready :) I just broke the chocolate into irregular pieces and stuck it on top of the chocolate mint buttercream.

The finished cake, half a minute before we ate it! I was really pleased with the results, since I put so little time into it.

Have you been baking anything recently? I've been experimenting with buckwheat... I'll let you know if I come up with something good!

xox,

Miss Diorista

OPI - Italian Love Affair

Italian Love Affair is a beautiful milky pink polish with shimmer. It takes a bit for me to love a light polish shade like this one, but this particular shade has that extra factor that made me fall for it - not to mention that I would probably wear it even though I didn't like the shade, just because of the name! I wore this for just a little less than a week, and every time I met someone who showed interest in my polish, I would ask: "Wanna guess the name?"  :) Nobody got it right, and people loved hearing the cute shade name (the name sounds even more "out there" in Icelandic!).



You can click on the pictures to enlarge them if you want to see the beautiful shimmer.

The application was nice, but since this is on the sheerer side, I used three coats. Weartime was about five days before chipping, which has to be considered quite nice.

So, if you're looking for a nice light shade, I say go for an Italian Love Affair!

Product (65%) - 9/10

Value (10%) - 8/10
Would I repurchase? (15%) - 8.5/10
Packaging (10%) - 8/10

Overall - 8.5/10

Love,

Miss Diorista

Haul - OPI, Nicole by OPI and Ole Henriksen!

I told you I had another haul post for ya! I love this haul, to be honest... well, lots of polish and (hopefully) great skincare - what's there not to love?!?

L-R:

• OPI Femme De Cirque minis - this set of four minis has gorgeous light hues - pinks and nudes, as well as a really special "glitter" topcoat. Can't wait to try them out.
• Ole Henriksen Starter Kit for Normal/Combination Skin - I had been saving up for this one, since it's high-end skincare and on the pricier side, and I'm so happy to finally have it. I have heard great things about Ole Henriksen's skincare line, and I thought this kit was a great way to get to know his products. You get 2 months supply of complete skincare, and the six products include cleanser, face tonic, day creme and night creme, a walnut scrub and a firming mask. I'll do an in-depth review when I've used these for a while!
• OPI Nice Stems! minis - Another set of four mini OPI shades, but those are quite the opposite of the other one - these are bright summer colours! Sounds like me!
• I had to get at least one pirate shade! I only picked one since I was already buying quite a lot that day, and the one I chose was Stranger Tides by OPI, which was the one that seemed most unique to me. It is a greyish green, really pretty in a strange way. Arrr!
• And finally, we all need some glitter! I'm not really a Justin Bieber fan, but when I saw that his Nicole by OPI collection was out here, I had to pick one shade We've never had Nicole by OPI in Iceland before and my heart started beating so fast when I saw the stand - yes, I know. I´m a polish junkie, proud to be :) I chose Step to the Beat of my Heart, which is a clear polish with purple glitter and purple hearts floating around! This will be so pretty for layering over other shades, particularly for accent manis!

So, like my haul? I have to say that I'm in love with all my new polish!

xox,

Miss Diorista

Weekly Gratitude - Old Pictures, New Followers and Nice Neighbours

• Thank you to my uncle's dogs - for giving us the opportunity to hug and kiss them, they're so cute!
• Thank you to my mom for finding old pictures that I loved looking at.
• Thank you to my aunt for giving me the most amazing leather purse. Oh my, it's beautiful. I'll maybe blog about it soon!
• Thank you to my new followers, for liking what they see :) Welcome!
• Thank you to my neighbour, for cleaning the whole street! We are all so grateful, and our street is so clean.
• Thank you for today being Saturday - it means cozy night tonight :)
• Thank you to God, for being with the grieving nation and families of Norway. Please pray for the people who lost their loved ones yesterday in this terrible tragedy.

Love,
Miss Diorista

Summer Trend - Bold Brows!

You have probably already noticed this trend, which has been popular since spring, when leading fashion designers incorporated big, bold eyebrows into their models' looks on the runways.

Personally, I've always liked my brows bold, but this season, I make them extra bold (maybe not quite as bold as in the picture, but still bold!).

What can you do to stay on trend here? Below are the steps I'm following this summer, but experiment to find out what you like and suits you!

1. Tweeze less (and avoid making your brows look thin).
2. With a brow powder, I make my brows slightly thicker.
3. With a brow powder, I make my brows slightly darker.
4. Stay natural and true to your brows, just go one further with your brows, not fifty :) Overdoing your brows is not the same as going bold!

My favourite product for my brows is Make Up Store's Tri Brow Color, which is an amazingly versatile product with three shades of brow powder. You can mix and match to find your perfect shade, and go lighter or darker according to your needs and wishes.

If you would like to read my post on how I do my brows when I really want to make them look good, click here. However, when I'm in a hurry, just brushing the powder into my brows in the usual way works fine as well.

Do you like this trend? How do you like your brows?

Love,
Miss Diorista

P.S. The beautiful picture is from http://krisandmakeup.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/page/4/. It is not mine in any way.

Sally Hansen - Complete Salon Manicure in Naked Ambition, 210

Ugh. Not a success. I initially bought this bottle of polish for French manis, but now I think it's a little too peachy for that. However, I fell for the unique peachy nude colour with the silver sparkle flecks, and though it would be a gorgeous nude polish.

Nope. How wrong I was. The application was horrible (as you can see from my pictures), the colour was just "blah" and don't even get me started on removing this! The silver flecks where a nightmare to remove, I still haven't got some of them away.

This is 3 coats. The only "not-so-horrible" thing about this polish was the weartime, which was approx. average. As you can probably imagine, I won't be wearing this again anytime soon. Even though the polish was gorgeous (which it isn't), I doubt I would put my nails through the removing process again.

Product (65%) - 3.5/10

Value (10%) - 7/10
Would I repurchase? (15%) - 2/10
Packaging (10%) - 7.5/10 (I don't like the look of the rubber ring...)

Overall - 4/10

xox,

Miss Diorista



Skin- and Haircare Haul

I went shopping for some summer skincare! I decided that I wanted to self-tan, since baking yourself in the sun isn't healthy (nor do I have the time). Therefore, I needed a good body scrub to use before tanning, a shaver, and of course the actual self-tanner. Me being me, I picked up a few other goodies as well... let's have a look!

L-R:

•  I completely fell for The Body Shop's latest idea, which is Duo Body Butters! Say you have dry elbows and knees, but every other spot on your body is normal? Instead of having to buy two kind of lotions of cremes, you can now buy just one jar, which is divided into two departments, and has one creme for dry skin and another for normal skin! My Duo Body Butter is in Vanilla.
• The Body Shop's Coconut Body Scrub - I wanted something that would nourish my skin while exfoliating. I believe this one will do the trick, at least it smells amazing!
• EGF BIOeffect Serum is an Icelandic serum that is now very hyped, and being marketed in other countries as well. It's supposed to hydrate, eliminate dry spots, improve the complexion and give radiance. I've been looking to try this for quite some time now.
• I bought two Art Liners by Depend Cosmetics, one in Black and the other in Gold. These are basically nail polishes with super-fine brushes, for drawing detailed nail-art on your nails.
• Party Feet by Scholl are a must-have if you like high heels! They are soft cushions made of some kind of gel substance, that you stick inside your shoes. It makes everything so comfy, and they can be washed and re-used. Since summer is high heel-season for me, I really needed those.
• I feel like I buy makeup sponges every single time I buy makeup, but I just like to change them out every few weeks. I usually just buy the cheapest ones I can find, these are by EuroStyle I believe.
• John Frieda's Root Awakening Strength Boosting Leave-In Spray is a leave-in conditioner for your hair, with thermo protectant. Smells like menthol, kind of nice, but a bit strong.
• And finally, the self-tanner. I picked Hawaiian Tropic Self Tan Créme, since I wanted something moisturizing and slightly buildable (so I wouldn't end up orange :).
• Instead of buying a new shaver (my old one was getting a bit tired after a lifetime of loyal service), I decided to try this Hair Removal Mousse by Beauty Formulas. It has almond oil, aloe and vitamin E, which sounded good... I'll give it a try. Any favourites in this area that you can recommend?

That's it! I do have another haul coming up though, with lots of OPI polish and a high-end skincare kit that I can't wait to try, so stay tuned!

Have you tried any of those products? What is your favourite self-tanner? Share your secrets in the comments below!

Love,

Miss Diorista

P.S. Sorry about the picture being so high up in this post, Blogger wouldn't let me change it :S

MAC - Fashion Flower

First of all, a warm welcome to all my new followers! I just reached 40 followers, which to me is utterly amazing, and I appreciate each and everyone of you. Thank you for following my blog, and I really hope that you will find some fun reads here on Miss Diorista!

That being said, I'm so excited about this most recent MAC purchase of mine! Isn't that beauty powder pretty?!?

The Fashion Flower collection landed in Iceland last week, and by pure coincidence, I spotted it early enough to grab two of my favourite products from the beautiful collection: Alpha Girl beauty powder, and Ever Hip lipstick. As you can see from the picture, they even aren't all that different in colour :)

Aren't they so pretty? Ever Hip lip colour just screams "summer"!

And how adorable is that flower imprint?!? I've been using this as my blush the past few days, and every time I use it, I take special care not to ruin the pattern :)

Swatches! Those are in direct sunlight, the beauty powder is the upper swatch, the lippie is the lower one.

Different lighting, same swatches. Ever Hip lipstick to the left, Alpha Girl beauty powder to the right. As you can see, Alpha Girl is rather light and I don't think I'd really recommend it for darker skintones (it could turn out a bit ashy or powdery), but it is beautiful on my skin (I'm fair, but a little tan these days :)

So, did you get anything from this collection? Even though you didn't, what where your favourite items? Share in the comments!

Love,

Miss Diorista

P.S. From our recent poll about polish posts, it turns out that most of you like "How I Wore It" posts, but many also like "Reviews + swatches", polish hauls, comparisons and dupes. Thank you to everyone who voted, and I will do my best in the future to write those kind of posts! I've never done a "How I Wore It" post (in fact, you haven't even seen me yet...) so that might be an interesting adventure to take on!



Weekly Gratitude - The Sunset, the Moon and Red Polish...

• Thank you for the sunset I saw last Thursday. I was picking my aunt up from the airport, and saw it when I was on my way. So pretty, to see the moon rising and the sun setting at the same moment. I love this time of year!
• Thank you to the lady who did my pedicure a few days ago :) She was really great, and my feet feel amazing...
• and look amazing, so thank you for red nail polish :)
• Thank you to my friend for meeting up the other day - so much fun!
• Thank you for the fresh cherries I located on Saturday - the shop has them flown in from New York almost every day, so they're very fresh and so yummy!
• And on a similar note, thank you to my friend who told me where you can buy fresh, organic vegetables straight from the farmer - not only cheaper than the store-bought ones, but also better tasting and healthier!
• Finally, thank you to God for giving water to the thirsty - sometimes, coffee just doesn't do it :)

Love,
Miss Diorista

Summer Trend - Bright Heels!

Oh my! Have you ever seen such a pretty shoe like the one above? I might quite possibly be in love.

Bright heels can add a pop of colour to any outfit, and I love them for summer. Those particular ones I bought in January for a stage performance (you know how the story goes, I looked at my shoe collection and felt like I didn't have anything at all :) and then kind of forgot about them until the past few weeks... maybe because they aren't really great for the snow we had during winter.

But it's not snowing now! The shoes are made out of a bright coral/orange fabric, but what really adds the perfect summer zing to them in my opinion is the bow on the heel! Love!

I wore them to a concert last Saturday at the new music and conference hall in Reykjavík, Harpa, and I definitely caught a few ladies checking them out :)

So, how about you? Are you more of a flats person or do you wear heals frequently? Any recent purchases or lemmings? Share!

Love,

Miss Diorista

NYX haul!

A few weeks ago (I know, this haul is coming late!) I had the chance to buy some NYX products! Those are not easy to find here in Iceland, which explains why I was so excited. Unfortunately, they didn't have any blushes or lipsticks, so I chose one gloss, one eyeshadow and one jumbo eye pencil. Enjoy!

•  Yup, you're right. I only chose a Mega Shine Lip Gloss because of the pretty little bow they have on the top of the lid :) But that's not a crime, is it? Mine is in the shade Ice Princess (154), and wow, not only is this a super sparkly pink, but it also smells amazing!
• The eyeshadow I got, Sparkle Cedar, was really the only one that really caught my eye (the store didn't have a very large selection). It is a greyish/brown/bronze/gold colour with shimmer and sparkles. Looks pretty, I hope there won't be a lot of fallout from the glitter...
• And of course, I had to get a Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk. This is probably the most-spoken-of NYX product, and I can't believe I finally got my hands on it! I was also tempted by the shade called "Cottage Cheese" (or I think that's what it was called...) but I resisted the temptation :)

 That's it! Please tell me what your favourite NYX products are! Any special ones I should try the next time I have a chance to visit the store?

Love,

Miss Diorista

P.S. So many posts are coming up now that I'll be blogging day and night! Be prepared! :D



OPI - Don't Mess With OPI

OPI Don't Mess With OPI is a strange shade of green creme that came out with the Texas Collection (2011). When I say "strange", I mean "I can't find a word to describe the colour"... it's not moss green, not bright green, not dark green... I guess the closest match would be gray green, but with a hint of grass green... Photographing this colour was not easy, let me tell you! For example, the colour below is way too dark.

The formula was the usual with OPI, pretty nice. Weartime was about four days and drying time was average. However, I didn't really fall in love with the shade. Maybe I just have to try it again in fall/winter, since this kind of green doesn't really shout "summer".

Here you can see the gray green to it...

...and there is the grass green.

So, do you like strange colours like this? Did you try this polish? Share!

Product (65%) - 8.5/10

Value (10%) - 8/10
Would I repurchase? (15%) - 5.5/10
Packaging (10%) - 8/10

Overall - 8/10

xox,
Miss Diorista

P.S. Don't you just love OPI shade names?!?

June Favourites 2011

I know, I know, it's already the 11th of July, and I haven't posted my June faves yet! Sorry how long that took, I guess kind of forgot myself (and the passing of time) spending my summer days outside when I'm not working. That being said, let's dive right into it!

This favourites post is a little bit different than most posts I've done. It looks the same or similar, but all my previous favourites posts have been featuring products I really loved and used during the month, but I maybe didn't use them every single day. This time, the sad (well, kind of sad for a makeup junkie at least) truth is, that I pretty much only wore one look the whole month! I've been working every day and have to get ready in the morning in just five or six minutes, so experimenting with makeup hasn't been an option for me. Therefore, all of those products have been used every day, they are very work-appropriate I find, easy to use and easy to throw in my purse for some mid-day touch-ups.

The look I was going for this month was beautiful skin, bronzed, well-defined cheeks, lush lashes and bright lips. Not to forget bright nails! Since my skin has been getting better the past few weeks (due to new skincare paired with better eating and more exercising, I think) I got away with just wearing powder foundation. I also love how it gives me a little bit less coverage, so my skin doesn't lose its glow. Enjoy!

L-R:

• Benefit's 10 is a great highlighting/bronzing duo, that contours and highights in just one step. This is perfect when you're running low on time.
• Benefit's Hello Flawless in Gee I´m swell, SHELL. Yup, still love this little doll!
• MAC's Studio Careblend/Pressed powder in Gold-Go-Lightly. I like layering this under my powder foundation, which gives a more natural contoured look than putting it over the foundation.
• Dior's Dior Addict Lipstick in Diorkiss is a love for me, as you already know since I chose it for my blog-birthday giveaway. Enter here to win a brand new Dior lipstick!
• Dior's Diorshow 360 is a mascara that spins! I have been really loving it this month, and the spinning motion is lovely.
• OPI's My Chihuahua Bites! is a lovely bright shade for summer. Looks great on tan skin!

What are your faves right now? Share with us!

xox,

Miss Diorista



Weekly Gratitude - Fresh Spinach, Nicole by OPI and Lazy Days!

• Thank you for fresh spinach... so good!
• Thank you for the great weather - an evening walk in the sunshine is so wonderful.
• Thank you for my summer vacation being just around the corner! I can't wait for some lazy days :)
• Thank you to shop owners for bringing Nicole by OPI to Iceland! Yay! I've been looking at great shades from them for so long, lemming them, and finally, they are here!
• Thank you for a great weekend - just relaxing, taking long walks and meeting family and friends.
• Thank you for zucchini - yum! (And yes, I know, about half of all my weekly gratitude posts are about food... that's just me :)
• Thank you to God, for bringing the people into our lives who make our loved ones happy when no one else can.

Love,
Miss Diorista

OPI - Austin-Tatious Turquoise

Austin-Tatious Turquiose came out with the Texas collection (2011), and it is a rather-super glittery teal polish... like my description?  :)

It looks so pretty in the bottle, but sadly, something about it didn't make me smile... the formula was sheer, but I could have put up with that... it was simply the colour itself that I didn't like. As I said, I love it in the bottle, and I really wanted to love it on my nails too, but it just doesn't match my skintone in the right way.

That being said, the drying time was alright and the weartime too. What do you think about this polish? Or just glittery polishes altogether? Like'em? I usually do, I don't know what's wrong with me when it comes to this particular colour!

Product (65%) - 8/10 (so sheer...)

Value (10%) - 8/10
Would I repurchase? (15%) - 4.5/10
Packaging (10%) - 8/10


Overall - 7.5/10

xox,
Miss Diorista

Make Up Store - Tri Brow Color

You've heard me rave about this product so many times, and I always promise to write a review "soon", but today I'm actually going to write it :)

This brow powder is my absolute favourite for filling in my brows, and has been for about two years now. Everything about it is as close to perfection as possible - from the consistency of the powders to the lasting power and the slightly greyish undertone that helps make everything look natural.

I also love the fact that you get three colours. So many brow powders only come with one or two colours, but this allows you to blend your perfect colour. Not to mention that this product is multi-functional - the powders are some of my favourite eyeshadows as well! With the lightest colour on my lid, the middle one in the crease and just a dab of the darkest one in the outer corner... it is great for everyday eye-contouring, especially if your skin is light/fair (the colours might show up ashy on darker complexions). The darkest colour is also good for smudging into your lashlines (upper and lower), instead of liner.

The packaging is your classic Make Up Store packaging, with the big "M" and the imprint. Very classy.

Swatches, from the darkest colour to the left (almost black), to the middle colour (a light brown, greyish colour) to the lightest colour to the right (a beige grey).

Product (65%) - 9/10

Value (10%) - 8/10
Would I repurchase? (15%) - 10/10
Packaging (10%) - 8.5/10 (the lid sometimes comes off, but putting it back on is easy)

Overall - 9/10

Love,
Miss Diorista