current loves #2 \\ the beauty edition

This post is basically what I have been wearing on my face lately but it's also things that I have been loving using so we're hitting two birds with one stone here!

I have fallen back in love with my Skin 79 BB Cream again and after getting past the watery stage of it, it's gone back to its usual consistency. I love wearing it on the days where I don't want to wear foundation but still want a little bit of coverage on my ghoulish face. 

I'm sure I've mentioned the Benefit Dallas Blush in my last post too but I think it warrants another mention. This is the only boxed powder I own from Benefit and it is still my favourite. I feel like a country girl when I'm wearing this because it gives such a lovely glow and flush of colour.

This will most likely be the third time I've mentioned the Rimmel London Eyeliner, I can't help it. I think it's great. I've been doing the simple eyeliner (with no flick) and mascara look lately and I'm loving it. Looks like I've made an effort but not really. If you get what I'm saying. 

I may have mentioned this product in passing but not featured it too greatly here on Parisian Orchid and it's the Maybelline Dream Lumi Concealer. I wasn't much of a concealer fan before but this has literally changed my life. It's such a light highlighting concealer akin to the YSL Touche Eclat but waaaaay cheaper. It's not quite heavy coverage so if you like a heavy coverage concealer then stay clear of this. It gives me just enough to conceal and highlight at the same time. Definitely a re-purchase on the cards with this one.

Can you believe I'm still on the hunt for the perfect mascara? I've been using the Maybelline Rocket Volume Express mascara lately and although I like it enough to keep using it, it's not quite high up in the list as an absolute favourite yet. 

What are your current beauty loves?

Vanessa

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current loves #1 | the beauty edition

It occurred to me that I don't buy enough products each month to justify doing a monthly favourite but I do love sharing what I have been enjoying using lately. This is the beauty edition and I will be soon sharing my non-beauty favourites which is always an exciting time. 

I have been trying to grow my hair out lately and I suddenly decided that I don't like to straighten my hair anymore so I bought this Toni & Guy Casual Sea Salt Texturising Spray to give my hair some movement. I didn't get on too well with the Bumble and Bumble sea salt spray but I have been loving using this Toni & Guy one and it smells pretty good too! I won't talk about it too much as I will have a review post dedicated to this soon.

Digging through my blush collection, I re-discovered the Benefit Dallas Boxed Powder which was one of the first makeup products I had ever bought. This is the perfect glowy, radiant and the 'I have just been out in the fields picking daisies' look. I'm slowly moving back into powder blushes after my very long stint with cream blushes and this is just perfect for that.

I used to use the MAC Lustre Drops all the time last year then for some reason I stopped. But lately I've been picking it up and dotting it along the top of my cheekbones before blending to give me a beautiful glow. The shade I have is Pink Rebel and is perfect for an effortless radiant look.

If you told me a month ago that I'd start wearing nude eyeliner, I would probably laugh in your face. It was a pretty foreign concept to me and something I didn't understand. I impulsively bought the Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner in nude as they had a buy one get one half price offer and I have really loved using it on my lower waterline. Having Asian eyes is a bit of nuisance but the nude eyeliner really opens up my eyes and makes them bigger *thumbs up*. 

What have you been loving lately?

Vanessa

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Benefit Blogger Event

I was recently invited to attend a Benefit Blogger Event organised by the lovely Laura at Lipparazzi and I also nervously met some other lovely North East Bloggers. It was held at the newly refurbished Debenhams Beauty Hall in Aberdeen at the Benefit counter. Our hosts for the evening were Jo and Claire who were without a doubt, the liveliest, the funniest and friendliest ladies I have ever met.

The evening was a masterclass of the latest Benefit products presented by Claire and the lovely Jo modelled the finished makeup look. Wanna see...?

During the masterclass, we learnt about some of the products on offer and some new ones that had been launched. I definitely have my eye on the Cha Cha Tint and the Fake Up Concealer. Oh purse, please don't hate me! The night was fuelled with drinks and cute cakes and sweets to keep us going.

After the masterclass, we got a chance to play around with the products, take photographs and just generally chat the rest of the night away. A competition was launched soon after the event begun and it was to come up with a hashtag for Twitter for all Benefit events in Aberdeen. I thought mine was pretty good but 3 lovely bloggers ended up coming up with the same hashtag and won £50 worth of Benefit products. The winning hashtag was...#Benedeen! Pretty cool huh?

We were let away with a goody bag full of Benefit samples and a chance to come back to the Benefit Brow Bar and get a free wax and tint. How very generous of the ladies! I went home a pretty happy blogger!

As this was my first event, I was nervous to meet the other bloggers but they were so nice and friendly. I won't be so nervous next time!

Check out #Benedeen for more snippets of the evening and meet some other North East Bloggers!

Vanessa

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review: benefit the POREfessional

I like to think that I keep my blog a 'bad review' free place but there comes a time in a blogger's life where there is a 'not my kind of product' post. This is mine.

I got a small sample of the POREfessional when Glamour magazine were doing their summer freebies. Like every other girl on the planet, I jumped at the chance to try this out as I had heard so many good things about it. The POREfessional is a balm that you apply as a primer to your face that is meant to minimise the appearance of your pores. Sounds pretty good huh?

 The first time I tried this, I wasn't too over the moon with it and it has quite a greasy consistency as it was a flesh coloured putty and I wasn't quite sure how I was going to apply it onto my skin. I persevered but I didn't notice a big difference on my skin once I applied my foundation over it. 

Skip forward a few months and I made a mental commitment to really test this out before forming an opinion. Yeah...it's really not for me. I made a big effort to use it properly after reading some more reviews and once I applied my foundation over it, I found that it highlighted severe dry and flaky areas of my skin. I cleanse, tone and moisturise EVERY single night/day and I'm always really meticulous so I have no idea how POREfessional managed to bring out the dryness in my skin.

 When swatching a little of this on a piece of paper for the purposes of this post, I noticed that a gradual layer of oil or grease started forming around it. Is that what I have been putting onto my face? That just does not look appealing.

(Sorry for the scary face!)

I managed to capture the area of severe flaky skin after I took my makeup off. It was quite prominent between my eyes and it put me in a blind panic that I ended up using my Origins Overnight Intensive Mask in an effort to put the moisture back into my skin. How scary?

It pains me to write this because I LOVE Benefit's products and I find that you do get a great quality product for what you pay for. But this really did not fare well with me. 

I'm sorry Benefit, still love you, just not your POREfesional!

Vanessa

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What's in my make-up bag?: Travel Edition

This week, I will be leaving the land of Scots and travelling down to London for the weekend to visit my friend. I thought it would be a good idea to show you the contents of my make-up bag that I'm taking with me!

The make-up bag is from John Lewis that I got ages ago. I think this was my first ever make-up bag and every single piece of make-up actually fit in here! How things change...! Grab a hot beverage of your choice, relax and let's get going!

Super + BB Cream

So I don't have to take a foundation brush with me, I'm sticking with BB Cream that can be applied with my fingers.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural

Powder. Standard.

MAC Eyeshadow Quad

Contents include: Nylon, Satin Taupe, Naked Lunch and Quarry.

Vivo Baked Blush in 'Peaches & Cream'

Was debating between two but I think this one will come with me!

HD Brows Kit

For lovely eyebrow goodness.

Revlon Lip Butter in 'Sweet Tart'

I really like this shade and great for day and night!

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

Eye base/primer

Benefit Porefessional

I've tried this and I'm not a big fan. Makes my face feel slick *shudders*. I'm willing to give this another try before disposing of it!

MAC Lustre Drops in 'Pink Rebel'

Favourite liquid highlighter! Love mixing a little of this in with my BB Cream.

Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil 

Seems pointless to bring this as well as the HD Brows Kit but this actually matches my eyebrow colour better.

17 Peep Show Mascara

Love this mascara! So inexpensive as well!

Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stain in 'Honey'

I have been loving the balm stains! So wearable and easy to apply as well, no need for a mirror really!

Majolica Majorca Cream Eye Pencil

It's so mini you can barely see it in the photo! MummyOrchid is going to HK in November so she's going to pick me up a full sized one!

Garnier Tinted Eye Roll On

For the mornings after the night before where I might have consumed a bit too much wine!

That's it! A bit excessive? I think so but I'm trying to use up as much make-up as I can before buying any more so it's well justified! 

What are your key essential make-up items when you go travelling?

Vanessa

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Palette Series: Benefit's Big Beautiful Eyes

Wooo! I have another series for you lovely readers! This is my palette series where we will be looking at a variety of palettes for (hopefully) every occasion! I love palettes, they're so versatile and ideal for travelling! Usually the colours contained in palettes ultimately compliment each other so there isn't really much thinking involved trying to match the colours together to create your look!

Today, we're looking at Benefit's Big Beautiful Eyes kit.

As you can see it comes with three really lovely colours and a concealer. Underneath the palette, it comes with a guide as to how to use each shadow which I found quite useful when I was first starting out with this palette.


The three colours are so wearable for a lovely daytime look and the darker brown shade is perfect if you find a black eyeliner is too harsh. The shimmery pink is very similar to MAC's Naked Lunch or UD's Sin. The darker pink is akin to UD's Toasted but very much on the lighter side. 


The brushes are really useful as well...they're actually one of the only brushes I have tolerated keeping! One brush is double ended for contouring and lining, the other for use with the concealer. The only bad thing I have to say about this kit is the concealer. Whilst I don't doubt the quality of the concealer, I just found it really misplaced to put it in the same palette with eyeshadows. With more use of the palette, I found the excess eyeshadow fall-out landed in the concealer making it beyond useful. 


The signature quirky packaging from Benefit makes this palette even more wonderful and the mirror inside certainly does have its uses. One of my first eyeshadow palettes I've owned, and I still treasure it! 


It's slightly on the pricey side currently at £24.50 (I think when I bought it it was slightly cheaper than that, the effects on inflation eh?). If you're looking for really good quality eyeshadows and the peace of mind that Benefit always churn out brilliant products then it is a worthy cause to part with your hard earned cash!


What do you think? Do you own any other Benefit eyeshadow products?

Vanessa

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Blush Series: Benefit's Dallas Boxed Powder

Aren't we just whizzing through these blushes?

When I was just getting into makeup...I was always instantly drawn to the Benefit counter. There was just something about their quirky packaging and unique product names that appealed to the magpie in me! Dallas was one of the first make-up items I ever bought and it has stayed faithful to me ever since!

Definitely one of my favourite blushes ever and it doesn't even look like I've made a tiny dent in it! I used this throughout the entire Winter time because it just gave off that perfect 'oh look, I've just been galloping in the country air with my horse' kind of look. It is a slightly dark muted plum shade that leaves an oh so fresh glow across your cheeks. When I was swatching this powder for this post, I suddenly noticed how soft it was and made me fall in love with it even more!

It is a little pricey at £23.50 (as with all the Benefit's boxed powders) but I feel that it is really worth it. It lasts such a long time and it is such a quality powder. Next on my hit list is Benefit's Hervana and I was so close to buying it when Debenhams had 10% off all beauty items. So I shall settle for a lustful sigh whenever I walk past the Benefit counter.

What do you think of Benefit's boxed powders in general?

Vanessa

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TAG: 7 Deadly Sins of Beauty

I LOVE reading these posts and watching this tag on YouTube so I thought I would give this a go on blog form. 

Source 1: here
Source 2: here

1. GREED: What is your most inexpensive and expensive beauty product?
My most inexpensive would be No.7 lipgloss in Smile which I got for free! Can't get any more inexpensive than that! I don't use it as often as I should but it's the most inexpensive beauty product I own.

My most expensive beauty product is a toss-up between the Urban Decay Naked Palette or my MUFE HD Foundation. I still think the Naked Palette is well worth the money and the HD Foundation really is fantastic!

2. WRATH: What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? What has been the hardest to find?
I have a love/hate relationship with gel eyeliner! Sometimes it looks really nice on me and then my monolids/(one eyes bigger than the other issue) get in the way and I just look downright silly!

The MUA Heaven & Earth Palette has been most difficult to find. Although there are 2 Superdrugs in my city, neither of them stock the pro range so I gave in and had to order it online.

3. GLUTTONY: What is your most delicious beauty product?
It has to be Palmer's Dark Chocolate and Peppermint Lip Butter. Tastes like the Peppermint Hot Chocolate from Starbucks at Christmas time!

4. SLOTH: What beauty product do you neglect due to laziness?
Definitely my eyebrows. Need to make more of an effort!

5. PRIDE: What beauty product gives you the most confidence?
Foundation. Can always rely on a quick application of foundation to give me that extra boost I need!

6. LUST: What attributes do you find most attractive in the opposite sex?
Humour. If a guy can make me smile or laugh then he is definitely worth my time.

7. ENVY: What item would you most like to receive as a gift?
Benefit's Hervana Blush. I'm currently on the lookout for a new blush and this looks so pretty! I love the fact that you can just swirl your brush in the product to get such a beautiful colour! May be worth an investment soon!

I tag everyone who reads this to do it! Link me to your post so I can read it as well!

Vanessa

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