My Brush Collection: ~ Wipe Wipe Away ~

My dears,

the time has finally come: I made time to publish a long scheduled blog post!! I am terribly sorry for my prolonged absence but believe me, please, my life is crazy busy and if I have to decide between reading your posts or writing a post - I surely decide for your updates most of the time!!

Tonight, I'd like to share my brush collection with you. They are my go-to helpers for every day use but they feel extremely decadent as well :-) The nicest thing is that I own most of those brushes for a long time and can ensure you that they last almost forever!

Alima Pure:

Maybe my mostly used tool of all times: the #25 foundation brush - a wonderfully reliable part of my morning routine which helps me to get an easy (and environmentally-friendly) start to the day :) I can't wait to get more products by this brand. What I know so far is sensational! The company uses only the best natural ingredients that work wonders on my skin and they never test on animals. I am indeed grateful for their truly considerate approach which is so rare these days...

Rouge Bunny Rouge:

If you ever read my blog you know that I am all over this brand!! The brushes are no exception: those little fairy helpers come in beautiful arty zip bags and look as good as new no matter how often I use them. They are expensive but well worth the extra costs as they are the most beautiful tools I've seen and I never go look for replacements :) My darlings are called: large shader 003, face contour 012, eye liner 008, crease 011.

Benefit:

Benefit brushes really do the trick and are pretty all-rounders. You can tell from how many I've got! Even though their range is not as bis as Mac, for example, I think they picked the best shapes for most occasions. This concepts works well for me at least... My choices: concealer brush, fantail brush, foundation brush, fluff shadow brush (awesome!), shadow liner brush, slant powder brush. 

Bare Escentuals:

A word of warning! The angled liner shadow brush hurts on the sensitive lash line! The soft focus shadow brush is divine, though, and the funky rock'n roll brush is too hot to be true - love it :-)

Dianne Brill:

this brand is not very widely-known but it is a high-quality company that I like a lot. Dianne's style is awesome and a little kinky, too ;) I've got the eye-liner/lip brush (which I use for lips only - I love it as it is bigger than most other lip pencils which can make my lip line look too harsh), the small foundation precision brush, as well as the smoky eye liner brush.

MAC:

I am not the biggest MAC fan as they use harsh chemicals in their products (even though they work extremely well because of that - that's why I still got plenty of MAC products for special occasions, like going out etc..). The brushes are insanely good, though! I happen to use those two the most often and think that they never got copied quite as well by other brands: the 219 pencil brush and the 214 short shader brush.

I store my brushes in a washable case with a lid to protect my brushes from dust. How do you store your make-up utensils?

All the best to you,
I love you all!
ur Sam xx

Vacation Time GIVEAWAY!! Get Joop, Benefit, & Rouge Bunny Rouge Goodies - CLOSED!

Hello my dears,

I am preparing for the wedding party on Saturday and 2 days after I am taking off to a roadtrip with my dear lady friend through France!! My friend is going to move to Vancouver, so we wanna relax, chat, and see new things for a fortnight before we won't see each other much.We bought a matt golden Opel, so if you live in France and see us, talk to us!! Would make me happy to meet you :-)

For the time I am on my way I am holding a sweet little GiveAWay for your own sunny vacation:

(sorry for the silly basket but I initially prepared this gift for Easter but actually thought that it would be a better idea to present the collection during my travels)

There're travel-sized shower gel and body lotion by Joop in the package as well as
Benefit's Pocket Pal (contains the cheek & lip stain Benetint and a sheer lip gloss in one convenient wand), a mini version of the B-Spot fragrance, and sample of the Depuffing Action Eye-Gel that worked great for my friend who I am going on vacation with (she received the full-sized package from me as a present a while ago and she loved it very much - or so she said to me, ha ha!).
Last but not least I enclosed a brand new Rouge Bunny Rouge eyeshadow When Birds Are Singing for you to try as I am presenting this brand so often. I chose a sheer natural shade called gracious arasari that everyone can wear, no matter what skin, eye, or hair colour.

So, with these 6 items I hope you're gonna be all packed up for your own wonderful journey!

How to participate:
First of all, everyone from all parts of the world is welcome to join!!
Just follow my blog via google friend connect and leave me a comment saying that you would like to take part in my giveway.
I hope you tell me also which topics you would like to have covered in the future or what else you would like to find on my blog.
Enter preferably until the 5th of June, although it may take a little longer for me to return home.

What are your vacation must-haves? Which items always make it into your travel bags?

Happy participating and please tell your friends on facebook, twitter, etc... about this!
I hope to find many entries when I come back!!

Much love,
blk_gypsy Sam xx

Silk Aether Long-Lasting Cream Eye Shadows by Rouge Bunny Rouge & Benefit Creaseless Cream Eye-Shadows/Liners

Dear readers,

how are you doing today? I am soaking up every sunray that touches my skin and in my opinion this season could last forever!

This week-end I received an enchanted package by Nadin who promotes my favorite high-end make-up brand Rouge Bunny Rouge. She kindly sent me two shades, namely atlas swallowtail (no. 56) and brocade skipper (no. 57), of the new Silk Aether long-lasting cream eye shadows to try along with a beautiful letter regarding the latest beauty news: RBR is going to launch a new look next month!

btw: My neat b&w agenda on the right helps to open up the letter in style ;-)

Needless to say, I wore these cream eye-shadows for the last couple of days and this is how they look like:

on the left side: atlas swallowtail (no. 56) is described on the webpage as: "Satin wash of nude taupe with pewter reflections; buildable to darker, more opaque and metallic greyish hue of the same colour" which also is a very precise statement. I tried how buildable the colours were by putting on a small layer first and after drying "topping it up" for a slightly more dramatic look. The layers melted together despite the time that elapsed between the applications.

on the left side: brocade skipper (no. 57) is described on the webpage as: "Satin wash of blush champagne cream; buildable to darker, more opaque and metallic hue of the same colour" which I would totally agree upon. It gives the eye-lid a subtle note and can be used as a base shadow or for women that prefer a very natural "just there" look for an enhanced glowing effect.

my thoughts:
The cream-eye shadows are really smooth and fool-proof to apply. These shades are excellent for women who are aiming at putting emphasis on their appearance and radiance rather than conspicuous make-up colours and looks. I think this is a motto that runs through the entire RBR range. You can't overdo(se) on any shade as they act as a natural enhancement of the female moods and shapes as opposed to wearing a mask. This is what I love about this brand beside not being an organic brand which is the only wish I still have that comes into my mind. My skin is coping with every single product extremely well, though, and the formula contains many rare natural goodies as well.

If, however, you are looking for more colourful options I am recommending the nostalgic-looking Benefit creaseless cream shadows/liners. You can have a quick look at them in this post, too. My favourites are skinny jeans, strut, stiletto, and birthday suit. The cream eye-shadows work very well when you put them on with the talent brush by Benefit but you gotta be careful to close the lit very carefully after each use or they dry out for good... this is not an organic brand, too, of course. So, I think I would switch completely to RBR if they released equivalent shades in their Silk Aether section.

Please stay tuned for my next post this week as I am holding a GiveAWay just for you, guys, while I am AWay doing a trip through ever-beautiful France :-)

Do you prefer cream eye-shadows or powder eye-shadows? Please tell me as I am curious to know!!

Much love,
ur Sam xx

Benefit - Bathina Gettin' Steamy Shower Gel & Touch Me Then Try To Leave... Cream

Happy New Year 2011 to all of you!!

I wish you the best for the new year and I am looking forward to getting to know you further! I am so sorry for not writing posts as often as I would like but I am in an extremely busy and challenging phase of my life. I have a couple of exams to go before I'm fully finished with university. What AM I gonna be once I'm not a student anymore?! This thought makes me go nuts...

I was with my family on Christmas and I cooked and baked a lot in my family's kitchen and I was staying in my old rooms (I had 2). Gee, it's been so long since I have moved out - 7 years!! This year's gonna be a new turning point in my life!

When I opened some shelves of my old cupboards I found wonderful long forgotten Benefit items - the Bathina Gettin' Steamy shower gel and the Touch Me Then Try To Leave... body cream. Both smell divine, they're a very sensual experience, wow!! I must've placed them there at some point when I paid my family a visit. What a great gift to myself this turned out to be :)
My skin felt very soft and had an awesome scent both after the shower and after applying the lotion. Putting on either one of them is enough, actually. No other fragrance needed! I love the retro pin-up design, too! The shower gel is also ideal to wash your lingerie with :-) Your delicate clothes will soak in the soft scent... I highly recommed the entire Bathina collection! I have more, take a look at my previous post here.



I also show you the bread I was baking at home... yumm*

How do you like the Bathina collection by Benefit? What are your plans for the new year? Are you hitting a milestone, too?!

All my love,
ur Sam xx

My Benefit Collection - Sneak In!

Hello fellow bloggers,

I am so glad to meet you here! I have been talking to some of you lately and I am super excited about getting to know you through comments and twitter!! I also created a facebook profile, if you prefer to add me there :)
I am just giving you a quick overview on my somewhat large Benefit collection. I have no idea where to start reviewing, so please let me know what your requests are!!
Please note that some of the items have been special editions (like the ever gorgeous Dallas Palette) or were discontinued (such as the excellent Fantasy Mint Wash), so I loaded up on these products before they disappeared from the market! I am happy to hear what catches your interest!

From left to right:
Bum Deal, Fantasy Mint Wash, Honey... Snap Out of It!, She Laq, Bathina-Body So Fine, EyeCon, Bathina powder perfume, Some Kinda Gorgeous, Lipsciption, Dr. Feelgood


From left to right:
Sharpener, Benetint lip balm, Benetint (regular & small-sized), Pocket Pal, Bad Gal Gear, Shimmer Powder (rooby-doo), Creaseless Cream Eye-Shadow/Liner (skinny jeans, strut, birthday suit, stiletto), Silky Finish Lip Stick (skinny dip, rocket pop), Lying Eyes, High Brow, Ooh La Lift, EyeBright, Bad Gal (brown, plum, lash), Bad Gal (kohl, waterproof), The Gloss (kiss me), Her Glossiness (life on the A list, who are you wearing?)


From left to right:
Make-Up Bag (fickle one, a misfit like me), The Weather Girl palette, Hopelessly Devoted to Pink palette, Dallas palette, Blush (dallas, georgia), Realness of Concealness, Big Beautiful Eyes, Ford Fusion (my meter's running, nice ride, curve hugger), Brushes (fantail brush, fluff brush, the talent brush, foundation brush, concealer brush, slant powder brush)

What are your favorite Benefit products and how do you use them?!

Love,
Sam xxx

official web page: http://www.benefitcosmetics.com

From Sophisticated to Bohemian... in no time!

Dear readers,

as much as I love to talk about make-up, fashion, and all things beautiful - sometimes I can't be bothered to spend all that much time doing my make-up routine. I remember one day in particular, when I had 2 hrs to have pictures taken in an old building looking as neat as possible and immediately after dancing on a roof top during sunset appearing all free and watching the world go by... I had no time to redo my make-up whatsoever, so I had a little thought beforehand on which cosmetic products might be working for both settings. Once applied, I could forget about "my face" and just focus on everything else...

So, which make-up style has a jolie and a gypsy in common?! I came up with this idea:


I used the Clarins Truly Matte Foundation (shade 02- pale ivory) and the Express Compact Foundation (shade 02- porcelain beige) and dotted some liquid blush from the Rouge Bunny Rouge Decadent Duo (color: enredo) on my cheeks. The gloss of the duo (color: samba) went on my lips, of course. For my eyes, I put on the gorgeous shimmering mauve mineral Overshadow by The Balm (shade: If you're rich, I'm single) all over the lid and into the crease. I lined and smudged my eyes with my favorite Benefit kohl pencil (color: sable). I knew that it was supposed to be a hot day and this kohl pencil could smear up in humid weather, so I let the liner dry a little and then put it on a second time before smudging it with the sponge tip. Please note that this pencil is discontinued. They got exchanged with the Benefit automatic liner duo pencils. I tested them when they first came out and I thought they were awful! They did not go evenly on my lash line and when I tried to smudge them they were gone immediately because their texture was way too creamy! So, I stocked up on the older ones before they disappeared :) To finish my look I put on 2 coats of the Benefit Bad Gal Lash mascara (in black). Et voilà!

This is kinda what it looked like in the end...

The clothes you see:
gyspy couture - Chacok (skirt/dress), Aubade (top)
jolie couture - Aubade (top), H&M (jacket), leggings- no idea which brand!


I had a fun day thanks to the awesome photographer Andrea Lavezzaro!

Are you surprised sometimes by how easy it is to change your outward appearance? What tells you more about a person? Their dress-code, or their behavior?
I have the feeling that everyone ultimately judges others by their words and actions but it takes a little while until we get a clear picture... in the meanwhile, we have no choice other than to "look" at each other... in the internet world this might be particularly hard but I'm eager to make a contribution to keep it a personal and fun place to hang out.
your gypsy xxx