What's in my travel make-up bag?

Mr P and I have packed our bags and we're off to the good ol' US of A tomorrow. I'm very nervous about the long flight, hence my carry-on bag is stuffed to the brim with mini lotions, sprays, painkillers and various inflatables to make travelling in cattle class that bit more bearable.


It'll be a good three weeks probably before I'm able to blog so I thought I'd just let you all know what I'm taking with me make-up wise since I've been a very good girl and scaled down my make-up bag ruthlessly for the purposes of travel.

Erborian BB Cream
Garnier Tinted Roll on for eyes
Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer
Nars Blush in Orgasm
Dior Summer Powder in Aurora
Lancome Hypnose mascara
Bourjois Easy Waterproof mascara
Bourjois Waterproof black eye pencil
MAC Brow Set
About 3 other eye pencils, in turquoise, black and brown (come on, they're tiny!)
MAC Surf USA eyeshadow
Benefit Creaseless Cream shadow in Birthday Suit
Clinique gel liner (for tightlining the eyes.... yes, I've finally found a use for it. Alleluia!)

I have a few brushes in a separate Ecotools brush roll and my lash curlers, and that's pretty much it. Looks a lot from the list, but believe me when I say that everything fits into a very small mesh bag.

I would take a photo but Mr P has already packed the camera away and I don't know for the life of me where it is.

So long for now my darlings and have a wonderful July!

Rodial Skinny Beach Sticks - Finally, the review!

Part 1: Skinny

So, I finished my pack of Rodial Skinny Beach sticks yesterday.
Today I measured myself.
No Change.

Am I slimmer? No

Am I less bloated? No

Am I tanned? Well, let's wait and see if at least they keep that part of the promise because they have failed miserably on all other accounts. Part 2 will come after I get back from my holiday in about 3 weeks.

At the moment all I can see that this is is a very, very,VERY expensive tropical squash drink. You shake it up with about 100 ml of water to make a pleasant tasting drink and that's it. You have to shake it because stirring it alone doesn't seem to dissolve the powder effectively.

I drank this every day for two weeks. I noticed from about the 3rd day that I was going to the loo a bit more than usual, so I thought 'great, it's working.... I'm de-bloating!' But apart from it's slight diuretic effect I didn't notice anything else.

Now, I didn't expect miracles at all. What I did expect is some small difference, at least half a centimetre less in my measurements, which, by the way I took the day I started the course and then once again today. For the amount of money these suckers cost it has to, in my opinion, deliver something. At least I didn't pay the whole hog, I got mine for £14.95 when they had a special offer going. I cringe when I think that I even spent that much on this stuff when I could have got a mega bottle Robinson's Fruit Squash for a tenth of the price and probably enjoyed it more.

So I'm sorry to say girls, do not waste your money. If you still want to give this, and any of their other fruit squash sticks a go, then make sure you take advantage of their occasional discount codes. £48 is just daylight robbery.

I'll let you know how part 2, the 'Beach' (tanning) part goes..... but don't hold your breath.

NOTD - Mavala 'Daring Pink'

I'll start by saying that my nails have been behaving abominably again. Nothing I do can seem to stop the peeling and flaking, and as a consequence they are so weak they just split and break right down to the nail bed. So at the moment they are much shorter than I'd like them to be.

I should probably be concentrating on applying nail treatments and nourishing oil, but they look so bad unvarnished that today I just caved and painted them.

Today's colour of choice was Daring Pink by Mavala, which I picked up the other day. I love Mavala minis, they're just so dinky and irresistable and come in a rainbow of glorious colours. At only €3.50 or thereabouts they don't break the bank either.

Daring Pink is a vibrant fuschia shade with a very very subtle violet microshimmer, in fact it's more visible in the bottle but in sunlight you can see it shoot through the pink on the nail. It doesn't really show in the photos but believe me when I say that it's not a flat cream shade, it does indeed have a hint of shimmer.

Mavala 'Daring Pink'

Mavala ' Daring Pink' (sunlit room)

I love this colour. It's bright without being too 'in your face', and the slight plummy tone means that it can also work well going into autumn. I can't wait to try it on my toes too. 

What do you think? Have you tried Mavala nail polishes?

Byzantium is back! - Chanel Byzance Collection

As a previous student of Byzantine history I have to say I got all hot under the collar when I saw the promo images for Chanel's Byzance collection for autumn.

I will tell you now that this will be a gratuitous picture post. No waffle from yours truly.... I'll let the images speak for themselves.

Both the fashion and the make-up are incredible....

This got me thinking back to the film Kingdom of Heaven, with Eva Green as the stupendously beautiful heroine. If anyone can pull off Byzantine chic she can.

Note the heavy use of black liner. If you want to channel this look next season then eye kohl is your new best friend. In the promo shots a red lip liner has also been used on the eyes....approach with caution - unless you have the whole Byzantine regalia to go with it, crown included. Faux conjunctivitis ain't a good look.

The Chanel Byzance make-up collection includes a palette of rich golds and browns, two blushers in red and gold, and a lipstick.

It's all oh-so decadent, don't you find? I suppose once we step into autumn and the weather starts going even more downhill we need a bit of luxury in our lives to perk us up a bit, even if it's just to look at.

What do you think of this trend? (if I can call it that)

I for one, will be searching ebay for a Byzantine crown to wear with my smouldering black kohl lined eyes..... would look great on the tram.

Not your typical Belgian sale....

So, the sales officially started today here in Belgium. This is not a particularly thrilling time as the discounts are not usually that significant and most of the greatly-reduced stock is generally tat. I generally pop out and have a bit of a nose around, but most of the time I come back very disheartened.

Today I went up to my local highstreet to run a few errands and I popped into Planet Parfum, the main competitor to Ici Paris, just to have a wander and see what sad discounts they were offering on products no-one would want...

Oh my.... do you hear that chewing noise? That's the sound of me EATING MY OWN WORDS.

There were two big boxes full of discounted make-up that EVERYONE would want. Lancome, Guerlain, Helena Rubinstein, Dior, etc..... beautiful, beautiful eyeshadow palettes, some of which were part of permanent collections and not just random unusable colours. Lancome Hypnose mascaras in black.....a classic staple that should be in every woman's make-up bag. Black, brown, blue eye pencils, gorgeous lipglosses and lipsticks, Guerlain Parure Gold foundations..... and all at 50% off!!! Incredible.... and almost unheard of.

I bought a Lancome Hypnose mascara for €15, which is the same price as a sodding drugstore mascara here, a gorgeous shimmering turquoise eye pencil by Helena Rubinstein for €9 (again same price as a Maybelline or Bourjois liner), and an amazingly stunning Guerlain palette in violet shades for my friend here in Brussels for her birthday. To say that she likes lilac and purple shades would be the understatement of the year, so she positively swooned when I presented her with this today!  I won't say for how much as she is one of my readers, but suffice to say that at 50% off Guerlain was suddenly affordable.

Right, no more purchases now until I get to California..... 6 days and counting.....

Any of my US readers want to give me some shopping tips? :)