Spending the night



How to spend the night out and still be presentable on the morning ? That’s the question we all have asked ourselves once in a while.  I have become quite good at doing with what I have with me to still be able to go to work on the morning without looking like a zombie when I have spent the night at a friend’s house.

First of all, it is always useful to have with you some kind of make up kit. I have one (in a very cute Chanel make up bag I was offered once when I spent a ridiculous amount of money on lipstick) in which I always have the following items :

-          A sample size of the mascara Maxi Lash by Guerlain : it is always useful to keep the samples of the products you like, because you can carry it around.
-          A hand cream by l’Occitane : I love them, it is always useful to have a bunch. I have some at home, one on my desk at work and some in my hand bag. And when I haven’t been able to use my regular products, it is nice to have something familiar to rely on. And I can always use it as moisturiser if I can’t borrow one. And the Paris metro smells bad, so it is nice to have lovely rose-scented hands…
-          A Normaderm corrector pencil by Avene which I honestly never use, but I still keep with me “just in case” (of a pencil corrector emergency? Don’t ask…). I don’t have one at the moment, but I will add a concealer soon. I don’t use one generally, because I don’t like too much product on my skin, and I try to sleep rather that having to fake it, but I think it is typically the kind of product you need when you have spent the night elsewhere on a whim.
-          A travel size brush
-          A Nuxe lip gloss which is also quite nourishing. I have very sensitive lips, I always have to hydrate and protect them, so I have to have something with me at all time and it does the trick. I could have regular lip balm but I forgot to buy some more.
-          Pressed powder I bought at the pharmacy the other day.
-          Two Chanel “Rouge Coco” lipsticks. I use them quite often so I like to be able to apply them after eating during the day, but I find that if I don’t have all my products with me on the morning, it can add a nice touch of sophistication on a rather nude face.


I want to add some new items, like lenses solution (I can’t believe I don’t have that yet, that’s really stupid for someone so short-sighted as I am) and a lenses case.
I should also have a travel size moisturiser. I just bought the Alpha-H Clear Skin kit, so I have a little Hydrator Gel that I can have with me and keep the big one a home.
Maybe a little bottle of make-up remover, like Sephora makes.
But that’s all, I don’t think it should be a huge bag, because you don’t want to carry heavy stuff every day.



But for a while, I didn’t carry make-up with me, so I had to make the best of what I had with me. You can’t always borrow products.
The first thing to do is always remove your make-up. I would rather do it with a regular bar of soap (and I have) that go to bed with a maked-up skin. I have used soap, shower gel and even physiological saline once.
A very good trick to remove eye make-up is olive oil. It does the trick and it nourishes the fragile skin around the eyes.
It is a very good product, actually. If you don’t have oily skin, I guess you can use it as make-up remover for all your face but I wouldn’t push it too far… It is still olive oil.
You also can use it on your hair to condition it. My hair wouldn’t bear it, so if I had to nourish them with only olive oil, I would put it on them as a pre-shampoo, keep it there for a while, and then go wash them.



If you are a contact lenses wearer like me, you can always keep your lenses on a glass of water, and to lubricate them on the morning, put them in your mouth for a while. Saliva is a natural lubricant. But don’t do that every day or they won’t get sterilised. For an emergency, it works, though.

It is not that big a deal not to be able to use your products for a night, it is good to be impulsive and have fun, so spend the night!

xx

Mathilde

Hydreane BB Cream - Searching for the perfect BB Cream (1)



As everyone right now, I am using a BB cream. Actually, I’m trying a lot of them, and I haven’t quite found the perfect one yet.

I don’t really use foundation, because I don’t like it, I’m not that good at applying it, my skin can’t breathe and it generally triggers break out sooner or later. So BB creams really are the perfect solution for me.

I have tried a lot of them, I will review them one at a time.


Today, it is Hydreane BB Cream by La Roche Posay, which is a wonderful brand which I love and can’t do without, especially their cleansers and their skincare range. Really respectful of the skin, efficient, and for a very reasonable price.

Hydreane BB Cream. I use the lightest colour and it really blends well with my skin natural colour.


I was not, however, completely convinced with this BB Cream. It is very easy to apply, it hydrates really well and it covers little imperfections quite efficiently, but it makes my skin look really oily, and I have to powder it every time I use it (generally more than once during the day).
Moreover, it has a tendency to become quite pasty as the day goes by, which is one the reason I don’t use foundation, it always does that.

I guess it is an excellent BB cream for sensitive or normal skin types, but not for oily or combination ones, expect if you really bear powder well.

xx

Mathilde

The importance of cosmetics



Today is the International Women’s Day. It is a day to celebrate our accomplishments, but mostly to highlight our struggles, our pains and our difficulties to reach equality.

I have always been a feminist. The kind that believes, like Simone de Beauvoir or Judith Butler, that gender is, not an illusion, but a social construct ; that our place in this society is ruled by social norms that are presented as natural, when they are in fact oppressive, unfair and violent.

It can be seem paradoxical to love fashion and make up, and to devote quite a lot of time (and money) to them, when deploring at the same that we teach little girls that how they look is more important than how they think.
Make up and fashion are certainly tools in the construction and longevity of this “beauty myth”. They sell a dream, a dream of beauty and perfection. As time goes by, this perfection never looks the same - some day it is Kate, some other day Jennifer, and twenty years ago it was Cindy or Naomi. This beauty is unattainable, polymorphous, photoshoped and discriminatory.

Make up and fashion can be a prison if they become a mask under which we hide ourselves, when we just can’t do without it. They become instruments of self-hatred and they nurture it.


But I personally believe in the wonderful power of the unnecessary. Fashion and make up are completely superfluous, and this is their best quality. They colour our life, they polish it and make it fun. 

Young woman, by Berthe Morisot



The best make up is the one which still make us feel pretty when we remove it. And for this particular reason, it is very important. We all use make up, some of us because we feel we have to, some of us because we like it, some of us because we want to hide under it. But whatever the reason, we have to get interested by it, to know what we put on our skin, to know how it is produced and how it is sold. 
 

I want to buy products from brands that respect me as a woman and as a consumer, that respects my body without putting rubbish in their products and that respects its employees and the environment.

For that reason, cosmetics are so very important.
                                                                                                  
But most of all, it is for me a tiny way of bringing in my life beauty, creativity, fun and even silliness if I want to.

xx

Mathilde

Mascaras : a top five

I find it hard to find an ideal mascara. While it is a must-have in my make-up bag, I very rarely stay faithful to one brand or one type, because they rarely satisfy my criteria.

My eyelashes are quite small and fair, so I am always looking for a mascara which will make them gorgeous and natural : catch-22, really… I don’t like when they make my eyelashes look rigid and hard, I really aim for a natural but full look.

I tried loads and loads of mascaras, and here is my top-five pick.

Diorshow Maximiser, Guerlain Maxi Lash, Diorshow Extase, Smoky Lash by Make Up For Ever and Mage Plush Volum' Express by Gemey Maybelline

  1. Maxi Lash, by Guerlain

Called “Cils d’Enfer” in my native France, this mascara is just wonderful. Its packagind is really beautiful, first of all, which does not hurt.
It really stretch the eyelashes without covering them with material.


I love it, this is my new personal favourite, for a long time, I think.

  1. Diorshow Maximiser

While this is not strictly a mascara, I really cannot not include it. I have used this mascara serum base for a while now. You can use it under all types of mascaras, and it really makes a difference. It parts the eyelashes, it elongates them and it makes the mascara easier to apply. I find it essential now.

  1. Volum Express Mega Plus by Gemey Maybelline

I have it in brown, and I really like to use it when I want a softer look. I don’t need to use my Diorshow maximiser for it to have a very nice effect. It works really well, it stays all day and it isn’t pasty.
Gemey Maybelline is really a wonderful brand for mascaras, and they are quite cheap too. Definitely one of the best affordable brands.

     4. Smoky Lash by Make Up For Ever
I have to say, at first I was quite disappointed with this one, especially since I had heard so much praise about it. It is not the easiest mascara to apply, you have to be careful not to use to much material, because it can glue the eyelashes together if you do. But when you get the hang of it, it really is a great mascara for a glamourous look. I wouldn't use it every day, but definitely for an evening.

     5. Dior Show Extase
This is quite a good mascara for a "heavy" makeup, even during the day. It really creates a sophisticated eye make up, and I like the intense colour.

xx

Mathilde

Omorovicza Deep Cleansing Mask : a mask like no other

 I am not a big fan of masks. I like them, I like applying them but I have never really found them that efficient in the long run. I guess I am quite impatient and I really want results, and nothing I found convinced me that much.

Until… I found the Deep Cleansing Mask by Omorovicza. I waited a bit before buying it, because it is very expensive and can’t be found in France, where I live. But I finally gave up and I ordered it a month ago.

Omorovicza is a really luxurious Hungarian skincare range which uses the properties of thermal waters and Mineral Cosmetology, a patented system developed by the founders of the brand with the Nobel-prize winner Laboratory of Dermatology of the Albert St George University.  


I have been using the Deep Cleansing Mask once a week for a month now. It is presented in a heavy jar, with a nice simple white lid. The mask itself does look and feel very natural, almost muddy, but in a good way ; it is grey with little grains, but it is not abrasive.


Deep Cleansing Mask, by Omorovicza

The smell is really fresh, and the texture is not too pasty for a mask,  it is quite easy to apply


Applying it, you can really feel it working, because it tingles for a while. I leave it at least 15 minutes each time, more like 20 minutes, to really let it work on my skin, and then I take it off with warm water.

It really is cleansing, at the point that it can trigger a breakout. But after that, the skin really feel softer, cleaner and in better condition. It works even better if you can put your face over steaming water for ten minutes before (with drops of the essential oil of your choice, for instance). 

It definitely is The Mask of all masks ; of course, it comes at a price, but if you are looking for a really thorough way to purify your skin without cleaning it off, it is really worth the money.

You can find it here or on this site.

xx

Mathilde