Review: Avon Vixen Lipstick

Hi! Today I bring you a review/swatch post of a lipstick I am very fond of.

I ordered this lipstick because it looked like such a beautiful color and, surprisingly, it turned out to be very similar to what they had in the little magazine thingy.

I've had bad experiences with ordering lipsticks from Avon and Oriflame and Yves Rocher and such because they looked like something in the paper and turned out to be much lighter or much brighter in real life. But this time I sort of took the risk cause it looked so beautiful in the picture, I had to have it.

This lipstick is from the Hollywood collection, which I believe is limited edition, and its name is Vixen.

The shade Vixen appears to be a deep dark red in the tube but transfers as a deep reddish purple color rather.

It has a very glossy finish and that leads it to transfer a bit less opaque than I would like. 

It has no shimmer to it and you can achieve a good pigmentation by layering it over a lip pencil or by applying multiple layers of the lipstick itself.

After about an hour on the lips, it starts to lose it's glossiness probably because the lips absorb the moisture in it.

This lipstick is, overall, a good lipstick if you're going to do a vampy look or just want to do some autumn makeup, it's perfect for that.

It definitely stands out in a simple makeup, just a wing of eyeliner, mascara and this lipstick will give you a glamorous look just like that.

If you have the patience to work with it to build up a smooth opaque finish, I would totally recommend it.

If you're more into those lipsticks that give you an opaque coverage with one layer, you should forget about this one, it's not at all for you.

I would also not recommend this if you have naturally chapped lips. It would emphasize that and make it look very unattractive. 

I think that this lipstick would be a close match to MAC's Lingering Kiss but, again, I don't have that lipstick, so this is just a guess.

That's it for this week's post, I hope you have enjoyed it.

I hope to do a look next week but I'm not sure who I should inspire it in. I think it's a bit too soon to start doing christmas looks already, so an inspired look it shall be.

Love,

Anna

Review: Rimmel Terracotta Powder Blush

For today's post, I've decided to review one of my favorite products of 2014. I hope you enjoy!

Before anything else I have to say that this blush was a complete bargain: €1,99. Rimmel's products are usually cheap but a still a little more expensive than other drugstore brands so I consider it a great find!

I never was a great fan of blushers, yet I decided somewhere in the Summer that I needed to be a bit more adventurous with makeup so my quest to find such products began. Even thought I prefer warmer, neutral, colors on my cheeks rather than bright ones, my first purchase was a bright red blush, ,which I've mentioned on previous posts. Then, I found this one on a local cosmetic store that was closing doors.

129 Terracotta is a perfect color for my skin. I'm very fair, as you've probably noticed at this point and it doesn't look too brown on me, what sadly happens with most products that are similar to this. But I think it would look gorgeous on any skin tone. The shade's name is pretty self-explainatory, also it has the tinest bit of sheen without making it too overboard. It applies really smoothly, leaving no trace of patches on my cheeks. It's super blendable, creating a soft glow, making people easily question if you have any blush on. 

The packaging is pretty simple. It came with a little brush but I prefer to use my own blush brush since it's more precise. This product can easly fit any makeup bag or just a smaller zipped section on a regular bag.

I'd most definitly recommend it to anyone who's looking for a nude, warm blush. This product has made me much more available to wear other blushes. 

LOTS OF LOVE,

Tânia

Beyoncé Inspired Makeup Look

Hi! I'm back and today I bring you a look. A look that I am very excited about!
I'm not a crazy fan of Beyoncé, I have, in fact, loved her more in the past than I do now, but I just came across some photos of this beautiful eye makeup she wore for that thingy for the song Mine and I had to do it.
I thought I would just do it for fun on a tuesday afternoon but then I loved it so much, why not make a post on it?
So here it is and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do (I really love it).

This makeup look looks fairly simple but it's quite hard to achieve if you don't have the right products.

The look is constituted by a strong blue eye, a subtle glossy lip and simple skin.

In the video, Beyoncé has this vibrant blue eye makeup that is deepened in the corners of the eye.

The center of the eye has a vibrant almost turquoise shade, fading to a deep dark blue both in the inner and the outer corners. This technique gives the illusion of a rounder and bigger eye, which is perfect for Beyoncé herself because she has almond shaped eyes.

If, like me, you don't have a turquoise eyeshadow that is pigmented enough to stand out in the middle of the dark blues, my advice is to use a white cream shadow or a white creamy pencil in the center of the lid. This technique applies to all bright eyeshadows that you want to enhance. To deepen the eyeshadows you do the opposite, use a black creamy pencil or shadow, which is what I did to darken the outer corner.

After applying the creamy bases, choose a metallic turquoise blue eyeshadow or pigment. Eyeshadows that will do the work perfectly are Mermaid by Makeup Geek and Candy Crush from Sugarpill's Sparkle Baby palette. 

By the photos I saw, I am led to believe that Beyoncé's makeup artist used a pigment and for that I would suggest MAC's Rain Drop metallic pigment. 

On the corners of the eyes I used a matte dark blue eyeshadow, which I blended into the vibrant blue.

To blend the dark blue, I used a dark purple and a bright pink, making the perfect transition from cold tones to warm tones.

On the lower lid I used green in the inner half of the lid, just like Beyoncé, and on the outer half I used the dark blue again. I blended it out with two eyeshadows a slight bit lighter to smoke up the bottom lid.

This look doesn't require eyeliner but if you want, you can totally add it. I used a black eyeshadow very close to the roots of my top and bottom lashes to darken them a bit.

The waterline was brightened with a pinky beige pencil to further open up the eye. Use your favourite mascara on the lashes.

False lashes are totally optional since Beyoncé herself didn't have that big of a lash action going on, but I decided to use a very subtle pair, you can barely notice them.

My skin always looks ghostly white in photos, so, to mimic Beyoncé's skin is perfectly impossible. 

Her skin is obviously darker and also much warmer than mine but in order to get those gorgeous cheekbones of hers, I contoured my cheeks and temples with a shade much warmer than my natural complexion.

The key to all of Beyoncé's looks, I think, is to highlight. It is obviously easier to do on darker skin tones, it looks just the loveliest, but, if like me you have a lighter complexion, you will want to contour more and use more bronzer to sculpt the face. You can obviously use a highlighter on the high points of the face, as I also did.

She had little to no blush, so I skipped that.

On the lips, and with such a strong eye makeup, you have to go nude. She had a very light nude with a bit of a gloss on it, so that's what I tried to mimic by using a nude lipstick on the center of the lips and a golden pink gloss on top.

And that's it, you're done! 

This look is perfect for a night out or for fun parties.

Here's a bonus photo of an unprepared me while "dancing" to the sound of Love On Top. 

This is it for this week's post, I hope you enjoyed it. I loved doing it, it's such a fun look! 

Love,

Anna

Tânia's Skin Care Routine

Hello! Today I bring you my own skin care routine. I've been using these products for more than a year and they do wonders on my oily, blemish prone skin. In this post I'll try to cover as many aspects of the products in my routine as I can. Hope you enjoy it!

MORNING

The first thing I do in the morning is going to the kitchen to leave my kettle heating up so I can have my matutinal tea, then I go to the bathroom and that's when this routine starts.

First I wash my face with a gel wash. I use Garnier's Pure Active Fruit Energy Daily Energising Gel Wash. It has extracts of grapefruit and pomegranate which are commonly included in products for oily skin.

After my skin is completly dry I use a micellar water. This type of product usualy serves as a cleanser but I tend to use it as a toner. It's not the strongest toner but since I have fairly sensitive skin it works for me. I use Garnier's Micellar Cleansing Water.

This last step depends if I'm going to wear foundation or BB Cream that day. I don't like moisturizers. During the Summer I only use them at night before bed because they're an important part of your skin care no matter what's your skin type.  But, in the Winter, the story changes and I use it if I'm not going to wear anything else on my face. My all time favorite moisturizer is Garnier's Hydra Adapt for Combination to Oily skins. It has a sorbet like texture and feels uncannily fresh.

NIGHT

My nightime routine changes if I've worn any makeup during the day.
If I have, my first step is to clean my face combining makeup wipes and micellar water. These two products get the job done but sometimes, if I've worn something very, very longlasting I use a makeup remover with a cream consistency.
After that I use a exfoliating cream. Garnier's Pure Active 3 in 1 Wash, Scrub & Mask is a product that me and Anna use. I also use Garnier's Pure Active Fruit Energy Daily Energising Gel Scrub, it's softer and gentler that the 3 in 1 and my sensitive skin sometimes deserves a little bit of that gentleness.
Then I finish the day with, once more my micellar water and my moisturizer.

EXTRAS

I decided that I'd talk about some more products that nourish the skin on other parts of my body or help me maintain my face during the day.

FULL BODY

As I've mentioned in my last video, I love bathtime. Yet, it's important to take care of all your skin, principally if you wash yourself in really hot water like I do. After showering or bathing I use sweet almond oil all over my body while I'm not fully dry. This kind of oil is commonly used during pregnancy to avoid stretch marks and it's, in fact, what my mother used when pregnant and during her whole life. I use it to keep my skin smooth and deeply moisturized. As I said before, it helps with strech marks, which I have in a generous amount, but it only prevents you from getting more, the oil won't fade the ones you already have. I use regular body lotion on the laziest days. The lotion I have been using is Sephora's Blackberry Red Currant and it's very liquid and thin on your skin I've used the same lotion in the scent Lemon Meringue. Body butters  are also a favorite item of mine. I Love... Cosmetics' Nourishing Body Butter in Rasperry & Blackberry is my all time favorite.

HANDS + LIPS + FACE

My hands are usually quite dry. I always have some hand cream on my bag and I've been using one from OBoticário that has almonds and vanilla.
For my lips I've been using the same chapsticks since I can remember. My aunt has been selling Yves Rocher's products since I can remember and I've been using chapsticks with shea butter or almond butter.
Finally I couldn't forget to include my (in)famous spray bottle of rose water that helps me keeping my skin fresh trough the day.

Once again, I hope you really enjoyed this post! And I'm sorry that I didn't post on Thursday like I usually do.

LOTS OF LOVE,

Tânia

Anna's Christmas Wishlist

Hi! This is an improvised post that I didn't plan on doing but as I was doing a Christmas wishlist on twitter I thought why not do a post about it!
I've had people ask me what I want for Christmas so why not.

Real Techniques brushes by Samantha and Nicola Chapman

http://realtechniques.com/

LimeCrime Venus Palette 

http://limecrime.com/

LimeCrime Velvetines

 in Utopia, Wicked, Black Velvet and Salem

http://limecrime.com/

Urban Decay Naked 1,2 and 3

http://www.urbandecay.com/

Melt Lipsticks

 in By Starlight, Space Cake, Blow, Bane, DGAF, 6six6 and Dark Room

http://www.meltcosmetics.com/

VPFashion Hair Extentions 

in 613A# White Blonde 

http://www.vpfashion.com/

Epica Discography 

(except The Quantum Enigma)

phttp://epica.nl/

Delain Discography

http://www.delain.nl/

Xandria Neverworld's End 

http://xandria.de/

Opalite Pendulum

http://www.ebay.com/

Annie On My Mind

I don't know if you can still buy this

Lies My Girlfriend Told Me

I'm pretty sure this is not printed anymore

I believe that that is all???

With all those new holiday season palettes I may have to update this, we'll see.

Love,

Anna

Birthday Haul

After all the issues I had with my software, I realised that it reduced the video quality from 720p to 360p. I need to fix this before I do another video. Once again, it features my awkward self and my broken English.

Nevertheless, I hope you like it.

I Love... Cosmetics

Cruelty Free and Vegan info, here.

MAC Dupes available at KIKO:

609 Cherry Red - Diva

914 Amaranth - Rebel

LOTS OF LOVE,

Tânia

Inspiration No.1

Hello! Long time no see, but I'm excited to be back. This is going to be a slightly long intro, so I think I should apologize in advance, but please, read it.

Since my birthday was last week, I was planning on posting a Birthday Haul video. I did film it this afternoon, but when I was trying to edit it, the editing software that I usually use kept shuting my computer down. I've managed to find another program but even if I finished editing the video today, it wouldn't be up until tomorrow. The solution me and Anna found was that I was going to make a post today and post the video on Saturday; as Anna's going through some personal issues that wouldn't let her post on Saturday so it's in fact a better arrangement for the both of us.

For this post, I've decided to let you in my little inspiration pictures for this late Autumn. The coming of Winter makes my mind wander into the 50s for some reason, so I guess you'll be seeing a bit of that here.


I've been really in the mood for some red lipstick. Also, this reminds me that I should clean the little compact that I own, which resembles these lipsticks, and start using it. I've too been in the mood for nice underwear and loungewear, too bad I can't find anything that really fits me.


There's a place quite where I live that resembles this. I've found myself going there when I feel the need for some fresh air.


I've been thinking about changing a few bits of my room. Maybe preparing a vanity area or just adding a few decorational pieces.
Finally, here's a little update on something. This is the main image on my inspiration board for the month of November. I've been participating on NaNoWriMo and Neil Gaiman, one of my favorite authors, has said some of the most motivating things.
All the pictures presented on this post were taken from my tumblr page and their rights belong to the respective owners. I hope you've enjoyed this small post. As I said before I'm going to post my Birthday Haul video on Saturday, until then I hope you have a wonderful Friday.

LOTS OF LOVE,

Tânia

Room Tour: Anna's Room

Hello! First of all, I want to apologize for not posting on Saturday but in order to do this post, I needed my dad to put up a new shelf I bought and only an hour ago did I get him to do it.
I also want to apologize in advance if some of the photos do not have such good quality, I forgot the camera I usually use in my girlfriend's house, so I had to use one of my old ones.

This is my room, so here it goes.

These are the three walls of my room I will be showing. I won't be showing the other one cause the only thing it has is my wardrobe which occupies the whole wall so it's irrelevant.

The desk wall

In this wall I have my desk that is just a very standard desk in a light shade of wood.
This is usually the messier part of my room. I put everything on top of this desk, everything.
In the two "boxes" above the desk I keep, in one, my perfumes and ,in the other, my books that are written in Portuguese and my CDs and some DVDs.

On top of my desk I have, on the right side, my Lady Gaga x Terry Richardson book and my limited edition full size English Vogue magazines. In the middle I keep my other Lady Gaga books and some more books that are written in English.

I also have some photos of me when I was a baby, a couple of glitter jars and Mr. Creeple, the skeleton.

In this wall I also have a mirror I personalized for my taste in which I may do a post soon.

If you know me, you know that writing on wall is my thing, so, since I had so much free space above my desk I wrote the quote "Nothing can shine left in the dark." from Tarja's song In For A Kill. 

In the space between the "table part" of my desk and those two top "boxes" I have a board that has some of my drawings, a drawing that a friend did for me and some photos.

The aquarium wall

This is the wall where I have my tv, my aquariums and posters.

I have a tall shelf on the right and another shelf that is the same as the one standing, but, so that it could support the weight of the big aquarium, it is on it's side. In these shelves I have all of my school books, jewelry in boxes, more CDs, shoes, nail polishes in boxes, some boxes with makeup and all the materials to maintain the aquarium.

On the right side of this wall I have an Epica poster that I got in Vagos Open Air and on the left side of the wall I have a Lady Gaga post I bought a long time ago in Fnac. 

Again, I decided to write in the walls and this time it was a John Green quote, "My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations" that I have to do a little alteration to because I forgot to put one L.

In this wall I also have a board where I put concert tickets, museum tickets, photos and I also have there the tickets of when I went to the Eiffel tower and Disneyland.

The bed wall

My room is fairly small, as you can see, so having the bed against a wall is a great way to save space and it also makes for a good improvised sofa. 

On the wall that I have my bed I have loads of paper sheets with a big image printed in black and white. It's actually made by dots in many shades and sizes to create this image of a city inside of a birdcage. 

On the left side I have my bedside table and a shelf. In this shelf I have my lamp. I put in this shelf the books that I'm currently reading as well as a candle and I also have there my mineral collection. I love stones so this collection is always growing. Some of these stones I bough in medieval fairs, some I got from mineral collections, some were given to me and some bought in shops that sell all sorts of healing stones.

A little bit above this shelf I have yet another quote, a very important one. Hopefully this Christmas I will have this quote tattooed on me and it says "One day we won't feel this pain anymore.". This is an Evanescence quote from the song Lost in Paradise. This is, to me, that one sentence that gets me through, so it's very special and it was the first thing I wrote ever in my walls. My parents got really mad but the second time they didn't even ask what it meant.

I couldn't get a good photo of my window but my window in sort of inside of an "arc" where I have a big old wood box that my godmother made me. I have transformed that wood box into a little sofa where I put some pillows to make it more comfortable, sort of to create a little chilled area. On my window I only have my cactus inside mason jars cause I'm hipster like that and seashells that my dad found in the beach when I was still very young. 

So this is it! This is what my tiny room looks like. It's small but it is very comfortable because of that exactly.
You may have noticed a bit of contrast between me and my room since I only wear black and my room is mostly in pastel colors. That is because, since it is such a small room, light colors make it appear bigger by reflecting the light. I also like to believe that I am fairy or some sort of magical delicate creature that lives in the clouds or something so yeah.

This post became a bit too long and I apologize for that as well.

I hope you have enjoyed, see you in a week!

Love,

Anna