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

Benefit - Finding Mr. Bright

Finding Mr. Bright is a brightening face kit by Benefit Cosmetics, which contains the following products:

• Girl Meets Pearl (7.5ml)
• Posie Tint (4 ml)
• High Beam (2.5 ml)
• Erase Paste in No. 2 (3.2 g)

Girl Meets Pearl is a golden/pearly face primer which smells like bubble gum. It's ok under foundation, but I love it as a highlighter, it is so unique! So golden and lovely... it's really just liquid gold... but prettier!

Posie Tint is not something I would recommend, sadly, and I am glad that I didn't get a full-sized version of it. This is a pink lip and cheek stain, but there has to be something better out there. I know it is called a stain, but you should still be able to blend it, right? This one is very hard to blend onto your cheeks and leaves pink spots (stains) wherever it goes on. It also offers very little colour on your lips, I could just as well pinch my cheeks and bite my lips... it would be a whole lot prettier, easier and more affordable. Cute packaging though.

High Beam is a liquid highlighter, a milky pink one with loads of shimmer. I actually already had the full-sized one, and I do really like this, but a little goes a very long way. The one from this kit will last you for ages!

Erase Paste is a very creamy concealer, and I already had the full-sized one in No. 1. This small one is in No. 2 which is their medium shade. It is a bit too dark but I can still get some use out of it. This concealer is something I use almost every day under my eyes, and I can definitely recommend it.

As always with Benefit, you get cute packaging. This little kit comes in bright pink (or magenta) with all kinds of "men" on it... amongst others, I've spotted "the heart-breaker" and "the alcoholic", as well as of course "Mr. Bright!

The box has a magnetic closure, and a very nice mirror inside. What I really love about this packaging, is that you can pop out the paper insert which holds the products, and then you can use the box itself as a really chic way to carry your every day makeup! It is small enough to fit into any medium sized purse, yet big enough to hold my essentials. So cute!

I love how they capitalize the first three letters in "manual" into "MANual". Benefit always gets it right with cute packaging and ideas like this!

I really like Erase Paste, but the colour (no. 2) is a little too dark for me, although I can actually use it under my eyes if I blend it really well. And the small pot is so adorable... it's a baby concealer!

L-R: High Beam, Girl Meets Pearl, Posie Tint, Erase Paste in No. 2

L-R: High Beam, Girl Meets Pearl, Posie Tint, Erase Paste.

Those second swatches are smoothed out a bit, so that you can see the shimmer in the High Beam and the Girl Meets Pearl. You can also see the smoothed-out Posie Tint swatch right next to the original Posie Tint swatch.

Overall, I think this kit is rather well put together. Of course, whether or not you like this kit can come down to so many factors, since it holds four products. And also, if you can use the Erase Paste (if it isn't too dark or too light for you) then you will get more use out of it than the rest of us. Personally, I liked the products except for the Posie Tint (which can be used in emergencies, though), so I do rather like this kit, for example for travelling. I also really like that you can buy a kit like this with smaller sized products, figure out what you love and then buy that and skimp on the others - it can save you a whole lot of money.

 

Product (65%) - 8/10

Value (10%) - 7.5/10

Would I repurchase? (15%) - 6.5/10 (I would rather buy individual products, now that I know what I like)

Packaging (10%) - 9.5/10

Overall - 8/10

 

Miss Diorista

 

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. - Maya Angelou

Dior - Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Sculpting Powder Makeup SPF10

That has to be the longest product name in history... (if you know a longer one, though, let me know!)
I have talked about this product to you before, and it is a powder foundation - that is, a powder, which covers like a light foundation. If you read my blog on a regular basis, you probably know that I love powder foundations. However, there are a few "extras" about this one, which made me fall completely head over heals:

• The compact itself is beautiful, can be carried around easily, and has a special place for a small brush/sponge.
• You not only get powder foundation, but also blush and highlighter, in the same compact!
• When you're done with the powder, you can buy a filling, instead of having to buy a whole new compact. Environmentally friendly :)

 Now on to the product itself.

 

 This is what the product looks like (mine is in shade 020, called Beige Praline).

It comes with an accompanying brush, which is actually usable if you want very sheer coverage, but I don't use it so I couldn't find it... sorry :S

You can see I've already hit pan on the foundation part, which is the lowest one. The middle part is a beautiful peachy blush with some shimmer to it, and the top part is a matte highlighter. Let me tell you, I'm in love with this highlighter! Nothing makes my nose look slimmer than this ;) All the powders are very smooth and easy to work with (I like using a sponge for all of them).

The foundation gives me even coverage, it is definitely buildable, but covers light to medium. The average wear-time is about four hours (maybe five) before I have to touch it up. This product can also be used as a setting powder, over liquid foundation. I even think my foundation looks slightly more natural with this powder than without it. However, most of the time I wear this product by itself.

I tried swatching those for you, but my camera was giving me a hard time with the lighting and all... but as I said, the blush is a light, fresh peach with shimmer, and the highlighter is a soft, slightly pinkish white/beige.

The only obvious downside I can see to this product, is that you go through the foundation part so much quicker than the blusher and the highlighter, since you alternate those more. This can be a problem when you want to buy a new filling for the compact, but still have more than enough of blush and highlighter. However, I don't mind this problem, since I really love the foundation.

Product (65%) - 9/10

Value (10%) - 8.5/10

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

Packaging (10%) - 9.5/10

Overall - 9/10

Love,

Miss Diorista

Small Nivea Haul

If you read my blog regularly, you will know that I am a blush-a-holic. I will never have too many, and I keep buying them... and I love all of them. However, some get used more than others, of course, and one blush which I really love is Nivea's Stay Real Blush by Chantal Thomass. I had the one in Secret Rose, and I loved it, but it got stolen. So I went and tried to buy another one, but since that shade was sold out, I got the other one instead, which is Fever Pink (a few days later, I came across Secret Rose in another store! So now I have it again). I also picked up one other item.
Here you can see the two products. The blush is Stay Real Blush by Chantal Thomass, in Fever Pink (which is a more pink shade than Secret Rose, which is... more rosy :). It is really pretty, has a satin tone to it, like the Secret Rose. I still like Secret Rose a bit better, though.

The other product is Loose Powder in Pure Diamond, which is basically a highlighter, to be used on your cheekbones, your eyes, or anywhere else where you want a brightening efect. It supposedly has pure diamond powder in it... It is quite glittery, but not overly so, and I would therefore only use it for special and very "glamourous" occasions. I do imagine that it would make a good e/s, especially when used wet (think Fix + or something like that).

Some swatches for you. I swatched the Diamond Powder twice... just felt like it ;)

Tag: Top 10 Summer Products!

I found this tag on YouTube a few weeks ago, and obviously, I'm a little late with it since half of July has already flown by, but still! I have eleven products, actually, but they're still ten... ok?
So let's get this thing started!Starting from the left:

1) Summer foundation. Mine is by The Body Shop (my nice nice aunt gave it to me - thanks!). It is a powder foundation, has very sheer coverage, feels light and gives my skin a healthy glow. You need the kabuki to apply it. Mine is shade 03.

2) Mattifying powder. This is possibly one of the most important things for summer, especially if you have the tendency to "shine"! My powder is by Dior, it is their Dior Diorskin Poudre Compacte, and mine is shade 001. It is sheer, but still gives me a bit of coverage as well as acting as a mattifyer. A standard in my purse!

3) Illuminator. When I'm out in the sun, I want my skin to literally glow, especially my cheeks and cheekbones. You can get powder, liquid or cream illuminators, but personally I prefer powders... No matter what you pick, though, be sure not to pick a glittery one, buy one which gives you that nice glow/sheen/slight shimmer. And remember that less is more, you don't want to look like a disco ball! My favourite illuminator this summer has been MAC's Beauty Powder in Shell Pearl. It was LE and came out with the Liberty of London collection.

4) Natural-Looking Eyeliner. In summer, I don't wanna do the whole dramatic thing with my eye makeup. I save the attention for my bright lips! So my favourite thing for 'a summer night out', is to wear a teeny tiny bit of brown eyeliner, instead of black. You can pick a matte one or one that has glitter/shimmer. I recently bought the Maybelline Line Definer in Brown Bronze Gleam. It is a dark brown with bronzy tones and a bit of shimmer.

5) Tinted Moisturizer. IMO, this is a must for summer! Preferably, pick one with SPF. I don't feel like wearing heavy foundation when it's hot outside, so I wear my tinted moisturizer. Now, you have to realize that I am letting you in on a secret, here... the tinted moisturizer you see above is absolutely... amazing! A dream... It is by Dior (surprise, surprise!) and is from their HydraLife skincare range. It is called Dior Pro-Youth Skin Tint. Mine is in shade 1, and it has SPF 20, which I love! This gives me the perfect coverage, evens out my skintone, gives me a glowy look, and is extremely moisturizing. Ok... I'll stop obsessing about it now... did I mention that I love it? And that applying makeup on top is easy peasy?! Ok... I know, I said I'd stop... I'll write a review on it soon!
1) Makeup Remover Wipes. A must-have when you're on vacation or just don't have time to do the whole thing. In summer, I want to spend most of my time having fun, not removing my makeup! So I love those, they are from Preven's Paris. Of course, washing your face with wipes every night is not a good idea, since it doesn't, IMO, do quite the same thing as a cleanser would. But two or three nights a week, three months a year, is no biggie!

2) Light-Catching Lipgloss in a Light Colour. I want my lips to look like precious jewels in the sun... lol! Well, maybe that was a bit too poetic for a beauty blog, but you get the idea! Mine is L'Oréal's 6H Glam Shine, in Forever Nude. I love it, feels nice, lasts decently, can be worn over lipstick, or alone.

3) Bright Lipgloss. I love bright and bold lips for summer. Why not make a statement? This summer´s pick was The Body Shop's Love gloss in shade 18, called Tropical Pink. It is not pink. That is simple! It is a bright coral colour, almost orange... but very wearable, yet bright. It is has shimmer (you have probably picked up on it by now, that I love shimmer!). If you look at the swatch on TBS website, then know that the gloss is way brighter in real life than it seems there!

4) Bright Lipstick. Yes. I love bright lips, so bright lipstick are love... My favourite for this summer is L'Oréal's Glam Shine Crema in Hot Lilac (check out my review!). It is a bright, glittery lilac colour.

5) Light-Catching Lipstick in a Light Colour. Light-catching, meaning shimmery and pretty... Mine is MAC´s Lipstick in Beachbound, LE from the To The Beach Collection. It looks like a simple nude indoors, but in the sun, it. is. beyond. beautiful. Period.

6) Nailpolish in a not-tradiational-summer-colour... long, and hard to figure out? No. Not at all! Just pick a colour that seems fun to you, but is not the summery pink/coral/red. My fave these days is the OPI Chicago Champagne Toast. It is very pretty and yes, has a sheen/shimmer to it!

So that is all. Please tell me your must-haves for summer, do this tag and let me know in the comments below! Or do you want a review on any of the products? Comment and tell me!

Yours,
Miss Diorista