Without further ado, here’re Astrid’s and my beauty favourites for the month of April! From old aquaintances to new loves, each of us identified our most used and most loved products, and we think you might like them, too. Have a peek!
Dorit’s faves
I’ll start by saying that I was without my extensive makeup and skincare stash for the last weeks. Of course I had packed some staples, some products that just work, and some perennial favourites. So that already made my selection of products quite small – well, small is of course a relative word! ; ) All in all I used mainly products that are really versatile for the whole month, and the following really stood out.
I also took some samples I wanted to use up, and the Lancome Hypnose Volume à Porter mascara was one of them. The wand has plastic bristles, and I’m usually not a fan of those. My lashes need all the volume they can get, being quite sparse, and plastic bristles usually don’t give me that. While they’re great for separating, I usually don’t need that either. But I found the Hypnose Volume à Porter did manage to find a good middle ground. The tapered wand made it easy for me to reach all my lashes, get a good volume going on, while separating individual lashes as well. The result was quite natural looking and neither flaky nor smudgy. I’d buy the full size for sure if I didn’t have numerous mascaras to use up.
The Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Bark is also a mini-size, making it a distinct possibility that I’ll finish this one – would be a first for me! Bark is a nice dark brown, neither especially warm or cool and has a nice texture as well. You can spread it all over the lid or use it as a liner or use it as a crease colour – it gives you ample time to blend, but when it sets, it sets. I love it for it versatility – I’ve used it as a base for powder eyeshadows, I’ve used it as a base for cream eyeshadows (extra tip: use it as a crease colour under lighter cream eyeshadows like the Armani Eye Tints. AWESOME!!!), and I’ve used it as a smudgey liner, and I’m full of love. I want a grey one next.
My next favourite was sadly limited edition. BUT! You can still find similar colours of the same product, so it’s all good. MAC came out with the Casual Color lip- and cheek colours for the first time a few years ago. I bought a few to split them with a friend, which is still a prudent way to buy cream products that go bad quicker than powders. That was the plan, anyway, but you can see from the little pot of ‘Have a lovely Day’ (HALD) that it hadn’t seen a lot of use – until recently. I started using it from time to time at the beginning of the year when I had no time for makeup but still wanted to look made up. For that, I used some BB or CC Cream, and a bit of cream blush. Tadaaa, big entrance of my little friend HALD. I was always a bit weary of cream blushes, but nothing could be easier to pop a bit of HALD on your cheeks and blend it with your fingers. It’ll never sink in completely, meaning it stays a bit tacky, but that also means that it’s a bit luminous and glowy on your face, something I especially like during the colder month. You can totally set it with powder, if that’s not your thing. You can also use HALD as a base for a neutral powder blush as well. I never use it on my lips though – it tastes and feels weird. There’re some awesome colours on MAC’s website of the Casual Colors as they’re permanent, and if you like a quick and easy product, do check them out!
Astrid’s faves
Caudalie Vino Perfect Radiance Serum
Even though I am over the “skin whitener”, I’m still quite obsessed with radiant skin. So when I got the samples of this at first, and read good reviews, I thought I should give it a try! I love the texture of the serum. It’s not oily, it gets absorbed nicely on my skin. To be honest, results of skin care are always a little bit hard to track for me because I might be biased and there’s no before/after proof of it. That being said, I do feel there are improvements on my skin, it feels smoother and looks more radiant. The big part of this serum’s success for me is that it’s such a joy to apply. It smells nice and gets quickly absorbed without the icky sticky feeling. I’m looking forward to see if this would work even better in warm summer months!
Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Peach Club
I read a lot of claims that this is the best kind of liquid matte lipsticks out there. While I’m still hoping that there will be a moisturizing liquid matte that doesn’t budge with natural ingredients and brilliant colors, this Rouge Edition Velvet is certainly one of the best (factor in the price, and it’s probably even closer). The color Peach Club is something that hits the sweet spot between a statement and pretty (as in the one you’d wear on honeymoon pretty). As a huge bonus, it’s kiss-safe.
Chanel Sunkiss Ribbon Blush Harmony
I can tell you this: if I have to pick only one blush to keep from my collection, this would be the one. I love how pretty this one looks with the multiple color ribbons! Chanel’s compact design isn’t too bad either. The color is also so easy to apply and to work with, plus it stays on the whole day. (Read the complete review here.)
Did you have some favourite products that you used more often than not during April?
