Instalife #24

I have had such a great week. The spring weather is definitely very much up my alley. Pastel nails, bright lips, cherry blossom trees everywhere, wearing open toes sandals and feeling the mild breeze when you're going out in the morning....Yeah, I can definitely get used to that! 

Easter is just around the corner so I have been eating a LOT of easter bunnies chocolate (I blame Milka) and I have gained weight so I'll try to go for a run - or two -  and exercise this week, the bikini bod is not so far away now! I dream of that Lucy Meck transformation, although she went from perfect to absolutely flawless, but still! I dream of having that curvy yet firm, with flat stomach and tiny waist body...But I love food too much so it's not that easy!

 I also got to play with my new baby, my Nikon D5100! I have been reading the manual thoroughly as I want to learn everything about it. My goal now is to learn how to do that whole depth-of-field that fashion bloggers do a lot when everything is blurred in the background except them! 

I hope you all had a wonderful week filled with pastel nails too! 

XO,MARILOU

Nivea ⎥New sensitive range ♥

I couldn't happier about the fact that Nivea has released a new sensitive range full of products with no fragrance, no paraben, no colouring and especially made for sensitive skin. Everyone can have a sensitive skin, whether you have a dry skin or an oily skin. I had no idea that skin sensitivity was due to stress, hormornes but also pollution, make-up etc. To be honest I thought that only dry skin could suffer from high sensitivity. Skin care I'm always very cautious as a tiny fragrance will make my skin break out big time, that's why I'm always using brands like Avène or La Roche Posay. They're a bit on the expensive side but so worth it in my opinion. I remember trying a day cream in my younger years and my skin felt so itchy and even more dry than before hence my cautiousness. When I read about the new Nivea sensitive skin range I was really yet a bit apprehensive.

I have been really really pleased with this range so far. The sensitive day cream  is really good, I love the 'no scent' scent - if that even makes sense - and it really moisturizes my skin all day long and for 6,49€ you can't really go wrong. The night cream is a bit more thick and feels very soothing. I'm also obsessed with the new Nivea sensitive make-up remover wipes. I have been using them non-stop as they're fragrance free as well and remove my make-up in a sec. My favourite product from this new release is the 3in1 Sensitive Micellar Water ((4,95€). I'm a  huge fan of micellar water so I was really keen to try this one out. It's as good as the Garnier one!

Cherry on the cake, the new In-Shower Body Milk from Nivea (4,60€). You know those body shower that you apply under the shower that moisturize your skin instantly. Yes! They have release two new scents, honey and cocoa butter. I'm so obsessed with these two especially the cocoa butter one because it is super effective and really help moisturizing my skin!

I have rekindled my love for Nivea with this new sensitive range! I really recommend you to try this range if you like french pharmacy brands like Avène. For the price, it provides such a good, effective result.

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Hello les filles. Je suis tellement contente que Nivea sorte une nouvelle gamme de produits pour peaux sensibles sans parfums, sans paraben et sans colorants. Bien que j'aime beaucoup les produits Nivea pour la douche, je n'ai jamais utilisé leur gamme de soins pour la peau car j'avais gardé un mauvais souvenir de mon adolescence. J'avais testé une crème de jour Nivea et j'avais eu une réaction allergique, mes yeux pleuraient, ma peau me grattait et surtout la sensation de sècheresse ne partait pas. Depuis, je m'étais tournée vers les marques vendues en pharmacies telles que Avène, La Roche Posay ou encore Bioderma en bannissant à tout jamais les produits pour la peau 'drugstore' comme Nivea ou Garnier.

Dernièrement j'ai reçu toute la gamme Sensitive de Nivea qui a retenu mon attention de par sa composition et surtout le fait qu'il n'y a pas de parfum! J'ai été vraiment agréablement surprise par la gamme et tout particulièrement par les crèmes de jour et nuit. La crème de jour est bien hydratante comme il le faut, ne laisse pas un filme gras quant à la crème de nuit elle est un poil plus épaisse et apaise vraiment la peau. Tout ça pour un prix mini (6,49€) Niveau démaquillage, Nivea ne nous a pas  oublié. Des nouvelles lingettes démaquillantes Sensitive (4,59€) ultra efficaces et toujours sans parfum, parfaites pour un usage au quotidien.  Nivea a également sorti son eau micellaire, et étant une grande amatrice des eaux micellaires, je me suis empressée de la tester et j'en suis ravie. Elle démaquille super bien et me fait vraiment penser à l'eau micellaire de Garnier! (Prix : 4,59€) 

Enfin, cerise sur le gâteau, Nivea a sorti deux nouveaux Body Milk Sous La Douche. Un au miel - qui est juste génial et sent super bon - ainsi qu'un autre au beurre de cacao qui est mon préféré car ultra hydratant et aide vraiment à me passer de l'étape hydratation après la douche le matin! (Prix 4,69€)

Je suis ravie de cette gamme et je vous conseille vivement de la tester surtout si vous avez une peau sensible! 
Petits prix pour de très bon résultats! 

XO,MARILOU

The lipstick tag

1. How many lipsticks do you own?

I own around 100 lipsticks - which sounds crazy - but all of them are so unique and worth the buy.

Whether it is lipglosses, lip creams or plain lipsticks I just have a new and growing obsession with anything lip related. I didn't the know the power of lipstick before a good year ago. I was more into nail polishes - hence the name of this blog - and this obsession has faded away a little bit and now all I can think about is lipstick. It's pretty simple, I want them all : every colours, every finish, every brands and collection.

2. What was the first lipstick you owned?

The lipstick lipstick I owned was probably Myth by Mac. A true nude. It was my first pick because a nude is so easy to wear and it really made my eye colour pop a lot. For years I have been wearing this lipstick every single day - when I say years I really mean probably around 4 years  - although I had many other Mac lipsticks like Angel or Hue I always seemed to come back to this one.

3. What is your favourite lipstick brand?

My favourite lipstick brand has to be Catrice. This brand is such an amazing lipstick maker - see the picture below - I own pretty much all of their lipsticks. Their texture is incredible, they're long lasting and very pigmented without drying your lips. The price also is one of the best part of these lipsticks (3,99 €)

4. What is your most worn lipstick?

As aforementioned, Myth by Mac was my go to lipstick for many years so I guess it's my most worn lipstick as I have repurcharsed it many many times. I think I'm at my 20th - no jokes! I would also add the Maybelline Stay 14h range to the mix as I have been wearing all of these bad boys like crazy. I love they're finish and they're super long lasting.

5. What is your favourite finish?

My favourite finish has to be the satin finish as it's the perfect combination of matte and shiny.

I do love a good matte finish when it comes to red lipsticks though as I find it much more easy to wear and less 'over the top'

6. What was the last lipstick you bought?

The last lipstick I bought was the Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in the shade
Unapologetic which is the most gorgeous matte coral shade ever. I was surprised by
the minty feeling/taste but the texture is really long lasting and comfortable to wear.
As you can see belowI'm having a coral obsession at the moment especially lipstick wise,  I can't seem to get enough of them!

7. How many lip product do you currently have in your bag?

I always have a bunch of lipsticks in my bags especially nude lip glosses because they always come in handyand just in case I always some bright lipsticks. You never know! At the end of the week I end up with a good 10 lipsticks in my bag from the week.

8. What is your favourite red lip colour?

My favourite red lip colour has to be my Maybelline 14H Stay all day in Non-Stop Red.
It is such a bright gorgeous red with a matte finish and super long lasting. 

9. How do you store your lipstick?

I use my clear storage from Trafic (a belgian store) which are super affordable
and super handy to store all of my lipsticks.  I love the fact that it's clear so I can see through and know

where everything is without having to open every drawer. 

10. Which lipsticks are you currently lusting after?

I really want to try the new Maybelline The Buff nude range and some Kiko lipsticks are I've heard they're amazing! Next on my list is also the Topshop lip crayon in the shade Koi which is a gorgeous peachy-coral shade.

I hope you enjoyed this tag, feel free to do it yourself and share it with me in the comments!

XO,MARILOU

Spring nails

This year has been a blessing weather wise, can you believe that spring has finally sprung and we're in early April? I know that it's the way it is supposed to be but those previous years spring was a little bit late - dare I say absent sometimes. It feels so great to be able to enjoy the birds chipping, the beautiful blue sky and spring clothes/nails. My spring haul clothes video will be up next week but until then this is my spring nail post! I have been really enjoying wearing pastel nails again. Don't talk to me about burgundy or khaki nails - although dark purple nails will be always acceptable - all I crave at the moment are baby pink, mint, light purple or baby blue nails. 

Some of my favourite colors pictured above are some of the most well known colours from Essie - who really does the best pastel colours - like Lapis of Luxury, Haute As Hello, Romper Room, Mint Candy Apple, Van D'Go but also some other brands like China Glaze - Light As Air or High Hopes, Orly - Gumdrop and Opi - Hot and Spicy! 

When I say Julie World Of Beeauty's insta pic  of her spring nails I just couldn't resist copy cat-ying her right away. I love all those shades of pastel reunited of one hand! It looks too gorgeous.

XO,MARILOU

Clarisonic ARIA

Hi girlies! Today is going to be such a beautiful, hot day here in Belgium. I'm so excited about that but not only. I've received the new Clarisonic Aria in my mail box last month. I was SO surprised and in shock when I opened the huge Ici Paris XL box sitting on my bed. Thank you so much Ici Paris XL for such a sweet gift.  I have been dreaming of trying this Clarisonic for ages but I was a bit reticent only because I have heard it can break out your skin big time before getting to that 'perfect skin' stage. I'm being very cautious and using it twice a week so far. I'll do a proper review on it once I see how my skin reacts and most important...the results! 

For those of you that don't know what Clarisonic is, it is basically an advanced brush face cleanser that cleanse thoroughly the skin. Gentle as it the brush doesn't rotate yet powerful with the Sonic Method that remove the impurities. It says to leave you with a smoother, softer, healthier looking skin which is right up my alley.

If you live in Belgium you can get the Clarisonic Aria in Ici Paris XL stores or on their website (here)

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Hello les filles. Je suis fière de vous annoncer que je suis désormais l'heureuse propriétaire d'une Clarisonic Aria. Oh my god!!!! J'ai eu l'énorme surprise de recevoir ce petit bijou le mois passé de la part de Ici Paris XL. Je vous laisse deviner le choc lorsque j'ai ouvert mon colis. Je ne m'y attendais pas du tout et j'ai poussé un énorme cri de beauty addict (sous le regard dubitatif de mon copain qui se demandait pourquoi une 'énorme brosse à dent' me faisait cet effet) J'ai toujours rêvé de tester cette Clarisonic dont j'ai tellement entendu de bien car étant une skin care addict (et une fille tout court) mon  rêve est d'avoir une plus belle peau à l'aspect glowy et radiant. J'étais un peu réticente de l'acheter car apparemment elle s'avère un peu 'trop' assèchante pour les peaux sèches (moi!) mais il suffirait d'espacer son utilisation pour éviter toute catastrophe. J'ai commencer à l'utiliser à raison de deux fois par semaine 60 secondes par séance comme recommandé...reste à voir comment ma peau va réagir! J'ai hâte de vous faire une revue plus complète à ce sujet. 

Pour celles d'entre vous qui ne savent pas ce qu'est une Clarisonic, c'est une brosse de nettoyage sonique avancée qui permet de nettoyer la peau en profondeur (6x mieux qu'avec nos mains) afin de se débarasser de toutes les impuretés qui nous hantent. (mmmmmmmh) Le nettoyage en profondeur va également permettre une meilleure absortion des soins appliqués par la suite (double mmmmmmh). La brosse ne vibre pas mais utilise la méthode sonique pour une nettoyage doux ET en profondeur. Ca vend du rêve tout ça n'est-ce pas? 

Si vous vivez en Belgique vous pouvez acheter la Clarisonic Aria en exclusivité dans les magasins Ici Paris XL ou sur leur site online (ici)

XO,Marilou

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvelt Pink Pong / Nude-ist (*)

A bit late to the bandwagon but I have been sent two of the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet last month and - oh boy - I am hooked! I'm a sucker for matte lip creams so these are no disappointment. The application is super smooth and easy. I love the applicator and the colors are so vivid. My favourite is obviously Pink Pong as you can see as it is the most gorgeous bright pink (dare I say neon?) that I'll be wearing all summer long for sure! The lasting is quite good considering these are quite creamy and really affordable (around 13€ in DI and Kruidvat drugstores). Bourjois has been my favourite drugstore brand by far last year with some amazing releases and apparently this year will be no different! 

Have you tried these? Which one is your favorite? 

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Un peu après tout le monde...moi aussi je vais vous parler des nouveaux lipstick Rouge Edition Velvet de Bourjois.  J'ai reçu deux teintes le mois passé et - oh my god - je suis tombée sous le charme! Je suis déjà fan des produits matte pour les lèvres à la base mais là c'est le pompon! Non seulement le packaging est über cute - digne de Bourjois - mais les couleurs sont magnifiques et parfaites pour la saison. J'ai reçu la teinte nude-ist, un magnifique nude soutenu et un poil plus foncé que les nude que j'ai l'habitude de porter mais je trouve qu'il me va plutôt bien - sans vouloir me jeter des fleurs - et j'ai également reçu LA teinte de cet été Pink Pong. LE rose fuschia qui vire sur le fluo tellement il est flash. Je l'aime d'amour celui là, il est vraiment parfait si vous voulez apporter une touche girly et pop à votre maquillage. Au niveau de la tenue, c'est raisonnablement bon en tenant compte du fait que ce sont des produits assez crémeux (bien que mattes) et qui n'assèche pas les lèvres. Le prix lui est vraiment très raisonnable compte tenue de la beauté du lipstick (aux environs de 13 euros chez DI et Kruidvat).

Alors les filles vous avez craqué pour lequel?

XO,MARILOU