Un petit moulin {fotn}

One of my favourite bloggers is holding a fabulous competition whereby you could win, thanks to Vaseline a trip to Paris with £500 of spending money to go with it.

My chances of winning are very slim for mainly 2 reasons: 1) I am a French native speaker and although I spent all my life in Mauritius, I doubt the folks at Vaseline are going to choose me 2) My entry is a little bit predictable to say the least. But if you don't try, you'll never win, non?


Without further delving into my pessimistic introduction, this is my entry to Lipglossiping's 'Beautiful Paris' Competition sponsored by Vaseline. If you haven't already guessed by the title of this post, my inspiration is 'Le Moulin Rouge' cabaret, one of the most iconic night time establishments of the French capital, spiritual birth place of the Can Can dance.






  



There are many things I would have liked to tweak to this makeup look to try make it more interesting: more dimension to the faux-head gear lace pattern, more feathers, more drama all around basically but I quite like the way the eyes have turned out and I could see myself wearing this look in real life. The lace pattern is surprisingly quite long lasting and the only change would be to use ben nye liquiset to activate the red mehron face paint that I used for the red eyeliner. I had also planned to wear more extravagant lashes for this look but they didn't arrive in time. Boo

  






Other things I have used: stargazer red eyeshadow (ebay)
the fabulous 'All for Eve' red lipstick
estee lauder double wear maximum foundation
hd brows palette in 'foxy' for eyeshadow and eyebrows
mac vanilla eyeshadow

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Elf's response to Nanoblur?

I was very excited to hear about the brand new release from Elf Studio Line earlier on today. Elf has launched 'Wrinkle Refiner' claiming to instantly smooth, soften and virtually fill in laugh lines, crow’s feet and wrinkles for a flawless finish. What's in it? It says it contains a rich blend of Wheat Protein, Horse Chestnut, Caffeine, Edelweiss, Chamomile, Shea, Mango and Vitamins A & E designed to retexturise skin. The caffeine ingredient reminds me a lot of the record selling Garnier caffeine roll on device. At £3.50, it would be a crime not to try, no? What do you think?





If the free shipping coupon hadn't expired this morning, this is what I would have indulged on today, to make it up to £10 and get free postage and packing on my order:






1. ELF Studio Blush Brush (£3.50)
I don’t usually do blush nor contouring usually but it’s a skill I would love to try. I have a Ruby and Millie blush brush at home, bought on a whim where you could use your no.7 vouchers but I am sorry to say that I don’t like using it. I find it scratchy, and therefore I have not been practising at trying to learn how to learn to contour your face and bring life to your cheeks. But since Lipglossiping.com said it was soft as a kitten’s paw, and since it’s only £3.50, I really would love to try.


2. ELF Studio Cream eyeliner in black (£3.50)
My usual Revlon color liner is running low and I need to invest in a new eyeliner. I think it’s time for me to make the leap to trying on a cream eyeliner. Funny enough, I do have a sleek cream eyeliner in Dominatrix somewhere which I don’t even remember having used but I can’t remember for the life of me where the heck I have put it.


3. Studio Angled eyeliner Brush (£3.50)
I know that the cream eyeliner above comes with a free brush but I have always fancied trying an angled brush. Everytime there has been an offer, it was out of stock. Today, there is no offer but it’s definitely on stock. Just my luck!


4. And last but not least, I really fancy the High Definition Powder from Elf (£6.00) which is really bizarre as I don’t usually use powder ever. A few days ago, I was having my face matched for foundation colour and I came home with the most amazing looking foundation on my face, but which left a horrible wet feeling onto my skin. I don’t if every foundation for dry skins is meant to feel slightly damp and tacky, but it made me want to powder my face and see if I could improve the feeling of the foundation. Unfortunately, the only powder I had was some remnants of an old-from-5years-ago-at-least Rimmel Matte Compact powder. And then I remember the rave Lipglossiping (I am not obsessed, honest) had around this powder, which is hailed by many as the Makeup For Ever HD powder for the poor.


Total of the damage if I had indulged? £20.
My bank would be happy.


What do you think of my Elf lust list?
Do you already own any of the above?
Are you tempted by the Elf Wrinkle Reducer?

I leave you with the video which made me want to rediscover Elf.
The one, the only, enabler in chief, Charlotte from Lipglossiping.com.
I know she wouldn't mind me embedding this video, she's particularly fond of the thumbnail youtube chose for her :)

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Lashes of the Day (reviewed) for Beauty Bargains Week - BloggaPowa at BuyaPowa.

Once upon a time, there was a monkey who started to scour the internet to provide beauty products for beauty obsessed enthusiasts people like me to purchase at a bargain price. Buyapowa or the wonderful world of co-buying was born. People like you and me have been able to get our hands on beauty products at competitive prices. I am talking The YSL Touche Eclat at £13 (£24.50 RRP), the new repackaged Urban Decay Primer Potion at £9 (RRP £14.50) to name but a few.


 



** Update 29 February 20:35 GMT **
     The co-buy is live

Buyapowa enables people to come together and buy products at slashed down prices. The more people buy one item, the cheaper this item gets. Once you buy an item of your choice, you are given a referral link to share, and the more people you bring in, the lower the items gets for everyone. And if you bring more people into the co-buy than anyone else, you'll receive yours for free! The catch? There's none but the early bird catches the worm. Some co-buys are very popular, (100 units of The Urban Decay Naked 2 palette were available for £26 and sold in less than 45 minutes) and you have to be very quick at times!

Not a day goes without me checking the Buyapowa website for bargains to be made. I don't know how Buyapowa does it and how it came about but in my little French head, it feels like it was created with Beauty Enthusiasts in mind, to enable to get us beauty products for cheaper. Being a massive fan of Buyapowa, and holder of a big gob, Buyapowa got in touch with me to see if I wanted to be part of Buyapowa Bloggers Week and choose a product to be made available for the public to buy on Buyapowa. **

False Lashes being my ultimate favourite thing about the world of makeup, I stayed true to my roots and chose the divine 'Smoky Layers' False Lashes from Shu Uemura. I had been lusting over these lashes for as long as I can remember until one day, the lashes were finally available to buy on Buyapowa and I got them for half price. Jennifer Love Hewitt, Eva Longoria swear by them and I have been dying to try them on myself but not for their retail full price of £20, and feel a little bit like a celebrity myself .

What's so special about the Smoky Layers from Shu Uemura? The superposition of soft fluffy feather layers enhancing your lashes in an unique, in almost a 3D way. I have tried many times to find similar lashes for cheaper, only to be disappointed. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so maybe these pictures will show you how divine and exquisite these lashes are.

The lashes come in an elegant sturdy plastic case, which slides open at the side.




Excuse for I am a little bit excited to show you what they look like on the eye. *weeeeeeee*






Application will take a little bit longer than your average mono-layer lashes. The smoky layers lashline has to be thicker to be able to hold the drama of the superposition of feathery layers. But once they are on, they are on and you will feel like a million dollars.



  



Want to buy them at discounted price too? The Smokey Layers will be available for purchase on buyapowa.com sometime this week. Make sure to visit http://www.buyapowa.com/cobuys to be able to see the selection of gorgeous items the Beauty Bloggers chose for you. Below a sneak peek on what's on this week.







Liloo from Le Petit Jardin de Liloo: Shu Uemura Smoky Layers false lashes
Charlotte from Lipglossiping: Tom Ford Lipstick (Scarlet Rouge)
Charlotte from Charlotte’s Obsessions: Benefit Porefessional
Nic from Strawberry Blonde Beauty: Chanel Blush Horizon de Chanel
Yinka from Vex in the City: NARS Gina Blush
Kim from Dottie K: Illamasqua Pigments Trio (Ore, Furore, Android)
Sarah from I Heart Cosmetics: YSL Faux Cils mascara
Jen from A Little Bird Told Me: Chanel le Vernis (Paradoxal)
Amrita from The 6 Inch Stilettos: Benefit They’re Real mascara
Lily from LLYMLRS: Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner (Black)
Bettina from Beauty Swot: Benefit Watt’s Up Highlighter
Jennie from Sailboat: Illamasqua Cream Blush (Promise)
Claire form The Beauty Scoop: YSL Rouge Volupte (#13 Peach Passion)
Khila from Miss Budget Beauty: Benefit Hervana Blush
Zoe from The London Lipgloss: NARS Multiple (Orgasm)
Charli from Charli…: NARS Laguna Bronzer
Lucy from Lucy’s Stash: OPI Holland mini collection
Milly from Pearls and Poodles: Benefit Coralista Blush
Emma from Milkteef: Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh EDT
Stephanie from May Loves Makeup: Pureology Pure Volume Shampoo
Kate from gh0stparties: Smashbox Softbox eyeshadow palette
Charlie from Lady of the Lane: Too Faced Natural Radiance face palette
Karris from Karrisx: Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Palette
Jen from Beauty Junkie London: St Tropez Bronzing Mousse







This isn't a sponsored post, I'm not being paid for this post, or compensated in any way for taking part in BloggaPowa Buyapowa Bloggers week, I am just addicted to BuyaPowa, I just love the concept and am beyond thrilled that little old me got invited to take part. Oh and I have just totally pinched this disclosure text from Charlie, Lady of the Lane. It’s so well written ^_^
** I didn't know I could choose whatever product I wanted, I thought it had something I had already tried. Otherwise I would have chosen the Babyliss Big Hair which I am absolutely obsessed about.

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False Eye Lashes: 8 reasons why you still can’t wear them..

Today, I am guest blogging on Lipglossiping.com and we're talking false lashes: how to deal with the little blighters and reasons why you still can't wear them. Click here to read my post.

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My favourite reads

I've always considered myself more as blog reader than an actual blogger. Blog reading is a big deal to me, and checking for new content for my 300+ blogs subscriptions have become part of my daily routine. More than 300 blogs is a lot and I follow each one of them for a unique reason.


There's probably no one quite like Jangsara to blow me away with her make up skills, MakeupbyKaty for her eyebrow transformations, You've got Nail for her amazing photographs and reviews of nails polishes and I could go and on and on.

 

But if I had to narrow it down to just 2 beauty blogs which wow me on every aspect, without the shadow of a doubt, I would say that LIPGLOSSIPING and COSMETIC-CANDY are my ultimate favourite beauty blogs. As if blogging every day was not impressive enough, their posts have an unique style of writing: witty, friendly, humourous, and with a little bit of sarcasm. Their humour is not forced , they are just naturally funny people and it makes it more even more captivating to follow their beauty adventures. And to top it all, they have amazing photography skills.



Outside their blogs, they are a joy to follow on twitter and keep me entertained. I will never forget the day when I first posted about nail polish (I was so shy, I only painted my thumbnail then) and when Lipglossiping.com supported me and commented on my blog. I wanted to frame that comment as the encouragement and boost it gave me has been truly uplifting. I am beyond grateful to the time they spend blogging: it makes me happy.


Outside the realm of beauty blogging, I've been following LUVANDHAT has me in hysteric fits of laughter pretty much every time they post. Luv(e) and Hat(e) follows a very simple yet genius concept. It is a hilarious match of opinions on everyday topics between (mostly) Stuart and Robyn. I am not quite sure when they find the time to blog outside their busy jobs but I am so glad they do as they keep entertained from daily humdrum. If you're new to Luv and Hat, oh boy you're in for a treat. You could start by reading their post on the 'Post Office' and 'Google +'.


For its second year running, Cosmopolitan Magazine wants to celebrate the best of British Blogs and are running their Blog Awards. They are inviting blog readers to nominate their favourite blogs. If you had a minute, I would be so grateful if you could help me support my favourite reads and nominate them to the Cosmo Blog Awards 2011. To do so, it's very easy, go to: http://bit.ly/cosmopoliblog and paste their blog address:

Cosmetic-Candy: http://www.cosmetic-candy.com/ (Established Beauty Blog Category)
Lipglossiping: http://www.lipglossiping.com/ (Established Beauty Blog Category)
LuvandHat:  http://luvandhat.tumblr.com/ (Lifestyle Category)



 

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Been a busy bee…

Woah, it feels like such  a long time I have not blogged. Yes, I have been a busy bee but I think it’s fairer to say that I’ve not been making the most productive use of my spare time. Meanwhile on the YouTube scene, one of my favourite makeup guru, sharksbiteoflife has invited me to be one of her judges for her latest makeup contest. I was so happy  to have been invited that I could not resist making a little mock entry makeup look for it. The theme for the contest? To create a makeup look based on ‘Saturday Morning Makeup Cartoons’.


I chose to create my look around a French cartoon I used to love love love so much as a kid. The cartoon is called ‘Maya l’abeille’ (Maya the bee) and tells the adventures of a little but mischievous bee. She goes through a lot, she cries a lot, but she is a fighting little beast lol.


 



 





To create this look, I used pretty much all highstreet/drugstore makeup. My trusted nyx palette for the white and black, then my lipglossiping shu uemura eyeliner in yellow as a base for my ‘mellow yellow’ eyeshadow from nyx. Looking back, the look could have benefited from black or yellow rhinestones to emulate the ends of a bee’s antenna. Never mind.





If you have a minute, have a look at my youtube video, and see a little extract of the actual cartoon & leave me a comment :) Brownie Points if you can recognise the tune to the other childhood cartoon I used to love watch too. Plenty of clues were posted on twitter tonight haha.




Man, I’ve had so much fun doing this look and reminiscing the happy times of my childhood. Excuse the lame pun, but what would  your favourite childhood cartoon bee? :) Let me know, I’d love to hear.
liloo/@tsunimee

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How not to do a 60’s Twiggy Makeup Look

My pain in the bum friend, Charlotte from Lipglossiping.com has been invited to a cool party tomorrow. The theme is ‘Aussome 60’s’ and she wanted to do a makeup look inspired from the 60’s. One thing led to another, I was bribed started to look for 60’s makeup look tutorials on YouTube and somehow, ended up practising on myself. My hooded eyelids by nature going against me, I ended up with this drag version of Twiggy with a crease so high, it could mistaken for another pair of brows. I thought I’d post it for fun.

Charlotte: This is how NOT to do a Twiggy Look.












To thank you for having stayed with me so far, on this post, and make your time on here not totally wasted, here are 3 of my favourite 60’s makeup tutorials on YouTube. 

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Charlotte, the Sanguine Empress

This is going to be the quickest and most excited blog post I've ever written. I am not going to proof read this, so you'll have to contend with even more mistakes than usual. 'What, what, what, will you say?'

Oh my, I wanted to do a retweet of this but I can't cos I am too excited and there are too many words which are coming swirling in my head. Since the release of the Sleek Makeup Bohemian Palette, there is this one look created by Charlotte from Lipglossiping which I have been trying to recreate and failed miserably. Now Charlotte was kind enough to recreate this look and made a picture tutorial for it. She had to go and get nappies from Spar with this outrageously bright but utterly gorgeous look. Please click on the picture below to enlarge, and forgive my botched watermarking.

Just look at the flamboyance of this and how it flatters her green eyes. Ladies and gentlemen, it is great honour, that I introduce to the 'Sanguine Emperor'. Why this name? Well to understand, you'll need to go over to her blog and get acquainted with the shades names, cos yeah baby, she found names for all the shades and Sleek Makeup loved them so much that they're going to adopt them. (click here to see her post)

 Now if you can count to 10 in French you should be able to do this :P
¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!   Yay   ¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!
Day is made.
Thank you chica :)

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Coffret aux Trésors* from 'The Makeup Fairy'

Thank you letter to an unexpected present from 'Makeup Fairy'

As if receiving my swapping makeup products yesterday had not been amazing enough, this happened to me today: Imagine the most amazing beauty blogger in the world one of the beauty bloggers you respect the most in this world (ok, ok... miss cosmetic_candy would be of course of equal recognition) decided out of pure generosity and out of the yel… blue to send you a gorgeous makeup item they would not use, you would be pretty chuffed, wouldn’t you?

Well, imagine you opened the door to a parcel full to the brim of unwanted goodies on top of this item. You’d be pretty much stunned, wouldn’t you? This is me, trying to take it all in and trying to say thank you…

**************************************************************************************

Dear Makeup Fairy,

“Pleased? PLEASED?” I am gobsmacked, moved, happy, flabbergasted (I knew that learning this word would come in handy one day) chuffed, in shock, ecstatic, jubilant, excited, squealing, thrilled, euphoric and feeling ever so special, privileged and absolutely over the blooming moon. I expected a ‘neon sunshine’ in an envelope, instead I got a rainbow of goodies.

I just can't believe it. Got home, door was heavier than usual, saw the parcel.
First impressions: I instantly recognised who it was coming from. Lifted the parcel and thought 'What did Shu Uemura did their jar of eyeliner with? Lead or something? 'Was it a family size pot'? Plunged my hand in what instantly became a bottomless coffret aux trésors* And then started an unstoppable flow of 'oh my god'.

“I hope you don't mind me adding some unwanted acquisitions” wrote the delicate & neat handwriting of ‘Makeup Fairy'. Are you kidding me?. Of course I don't mind: The unloved acquisitions of one fussy beauty and makeup lover/writer are my welcomed treasures!!! :)

Second impressions: Feeling even more and more overwhelmed. Did not know where to put myself. Feeling a wave of warmth coming my way. You're very naughty makeup fairy! This was not part of the deal.

I guess all I've been trying to say for the past 2 hours is thank you so much for your lovely and TOTALLY unexpected parcel!

As promised, expect to see a look featuring Citrine from Shu Uemura but there might well be some other looks showcasing your goodies**(see notes below) that I might want to show you.

A massive thank you from one of your no.1 fans and blog reader. xx

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* Coffret aux trésors: French for a ‘mall of treasures’
** I was not sure if I could take pictures of all the other items. I mean, imagine if some of them were purchased in a blogsale run by a family of cats, or offered as a Christmas gift?

P.S Want to know the identity of the ‘makeup fairy’? Click here if you have not already guessed. If this is your first time on her beauty blog, you might just as well unplug the phone for the rest of the evening, because you are going to be busy. Expect a refreshingly funny, witty, sometimes sarcastic style of writing reviewing beauty products with the most amazing photos of products. (and I mean a-ma-zing or my money back) No wonder Urban Decay chose this very person, and just exclusively this person to unveil the limited edition Alice in Wonderland Box of Shadows to the British Beauty Blogging Community!

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