makeup

Glossier versus Nars concealer

Claire2 Comments

I am no professional makeup artist, far from it! I mentioned it before but I use about 6 products in my routine and rely solely on concealer to make my face look decent. A quick makeup routine with little products means that I have no time to lose applying and reapplying throughout the day, everything I use needs to do the job easily, quickly and last most of the day. When it comes to concealer my whole face relies on it, so as much as I love to try new products there are only a very few that make the final cut.

Today I am talking about the two most famous and popular concealers of the past year or so – Nars Soft Matte concealer and Glossier Stretch concealer. All the bloggers and beauty editors talked about them when they came out. You know me, I like to thoroughly test products before giving my opinion and I have been using Nars Soft Matte concealer and Glossier Stretch concealer for months now, and here is my verdict.

Packaging

Nars Soft Matte concealer and Glossier Stretch concealer packaging

Both Nars Soft Matte concealer and Glossier Stretch concealer are pot concealers so the shapes and sizes of the packaging are pretty much identical. Glossier’s pot is made of glass which makes it a bit more fragile but better to recycle when finished. Nars’ pot is in plastic making it lighter to travel with.

Nars Soft Matte concealer and Glossier Stretch concealer packaging

The pots may be the exact same size but the quantity they contain isn’t! Nars has 6.2g of product whereas Glossier only has 4.8g. An almost 2 grammes difference which, when the product is under 10g, is pretty significant.

Nars Soft Matte concealer and Glossier Stretch concealer packaging

Winner: Nars with more product and a travel-friendly packaging.

Price

Nars Soft Matte concealer is priced at £24 so £3.8 per gramme. Glossier Stretch concealer costs £15 which is £3.1 per gramme. Glossier is therefore cheaper even with the quantity difference.

Winner: Glossier which is simply cheaper.

Colours

Nars Soft Matte concealer and Glossier Stretch concealer colours

For this post, I compared Nars Vanilla to Glossier Light, as you can see on the picture Nars come out a bit pinkier than Glossier which looks more neutral.

Glossier Stretch concealer exists in 5 shades whereas Nars Soft Matte concealer has 16 shades which makes it a lot friendlier for all skin tones.

Winner: It’s a tie! I like Glossier more neutral tint but Nars is the only one catering for all skin colours.

Textures

Nars Soft Matte concealer and Glossier Stretch concealer texture

Just looking at the pots you quickly notice that Glossier Stretch concealer is much sheerer and dewier than Nars Soft Matte concealer which looks very matte. Once on the skin, Glossier remains very dewy which for a combination skin like mine can eventually turn into a rather oily effect. Nars looks matte on the skin but not drying or cakey at all. It melts into the skin very nicely and gave a soft-focus finish.

Winner: Nars. Its soft matte texture makes it look natural without any shine. Glossier may suit better dryer foreheads but not my mildly-oily one.

Lasting power

Nars Soft Matte concealer and Glossier Stretch concealer

I carried multiple tests to evaluate the lasting power of both products and give them a fair chance, including months of wear. For this post, I challenged the products even more by wiping them gently with my finger. At that point, the products had been on my hand for a good few minutes and had time to set.

Nars Soft Matte concealer and Glossier Stretch concealer

As you can see on the picture above, Nars Soft Matte concealer did not move at all whereas Glossier Stretch concealer was wiped away (middle section of the swatch). You can also see that both original textures remained with Nars staying on the matte side and Glossier retaining its dewiness.

Nars Soft Matte concealer and Glossier Stretch concealer

I took the following picture about thirty minutes later. I also added Nars in Custard on my hand. Glossier retained its neutral colour and dewiness, however, it started to fade and crease (lower section of the swatch). Nars concealers stayed put and retained their matte finish without creasing, however, the colours definitely oxidated both turning a bit orange and pink.

Winner: Nars! I am typing this about three hours after I took the initial pictures and while Glossier is long gone, Nars is still firmly on my hand. Even though Nars oxidise a lot more, with 16 shades to pick from you should be able to find one that suits you well even oxidised.

***

You have probably guessed that my favourite is definitely Nars which I have in two shades to fit the different areas of my face. I have already re-purchased both Custard and Vanilla multiple times. I also know that some people swear by Glossier and I understand why! It has a dewy finish which dry skins may really benefit from and the colours are perfectly neutral. I think my skin is just a bit too oily for it.

I hope this detailed review will help you make an informed decision when purchasing either Nars Soft Matte concealer or Glossier Stretch concealer or even both!

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What’s in a French girl’s makeup bag?

Claire2 Comments

French women are famous for their natural beauty. There seems to be a myth where people assume that we just roll out of bed looking fresh and polished.

What is true is that less is always more when it comes to beauty in France. Extreme contour, thick foundation, glittery eyeshadows or sophisticated nail art design are just not really a thing in France. Our ultimate objective when it comes to beauty is to look like the best version of ourselves.

The reality, however, is that it takes a lot of work to look naturally healthy, mainly with the use of efficient skin care products. We like our fancy French pharmacy cosmetics. This is also why French women can then get away with less makeup. We invest in a good canvas so we can use less paint.

So what makeup will you find in most French girls’ bag?

Longchamp French makeup bag
Longchamp makeup bag

A concealer

Forget about foundation, it’s just too much work! Commonly us french girls will only cover what needs to be hidden. A pimple, redness, dark circles, etc. Whatever doesn’t need to be hidden, we don’t cover it! If your skin is good why bothering spending time applying a cream of the exact same colour on top of it?

I personally even go as far as using my concealer as a foundation if I have an event that requires having a full face of makeup. In 30 plus years, I have never ever bought a foundation.

Nars Soft Matte Complete concealer

My favourite concealer at the moment is Nars Soft Matte Complete concealer. It gives good coverage and doesn’t crease. I have it both in Vanilla and Custard so I can tailor the colour to the different areas of my face.

Nars Soft Matte Complete concealer in Vanilla and Custard

A bronzer

That’s how we get the glow! A good bronzer is the secret for the healthy ‘I just woke up like this’ look. A lot of my French friends (including me) use bronzer only and don’t even bother with blush.

My favourite is the Guerlain Terracotta! I have been using it for years. Unfortunately, it slipped off my hand the other day and crashed to the ground in tiny pieces. So at the moment I am using The Body Shop Honey Bronze powder, which is good as it is completely matte.

The Body Shop Honey Bronze powder

A powder

This one is only used by the women who, like me, are on the shinier side. If you are French and have beautiful matte skin, chances are you don’t even have one of these. Unfortunately, my forehead easily goes from dewy to greasy so a powder is a must in my bag!

My favourite at the moment is the Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot powder. It does the job without any powdery white cast.

Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot powder

An eyeliner

French women like classic looks when it comes to makeup, a small eyeliner wing, a bit of red lipstick, boom! Done! That’s why most of us go-to look involve a good eyeliner.

Being lazy with make-up, I need an eyeliner that will last all day as I will very rarely bother to reapply anything. I love MAC Liquidlast liner, once set it is like a tattoo on your eyelid and will not smudge. It is a little difficult to apply though and takes a bit of practice. The other eyeliner I absolutely love is a gem I found in Japan. Koji Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner is a little bit easier to apply and will stay put until the evening.

MAC Liquidlast liner and Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner

Neutral eyeshadows

As I mentioned earlier, the less is more look is the ultimate goal, therefore a few natural toned eyeshadows are all a French woman need. Shades of browns and greys are usually our go-to. And forget about blending colours, the easier the better! That is why I love the Kiko Long Lasting stick eyeshadow, they require minimum work and last all day.

Kiko Long Lasting stick eyeshadow

A mascara

Not too volumising or thickening, a good mascara needs to simply lengthen and separate lashes. Ironically, my favourite mascara cannot even be found in France! Maybelline Full ‘N Soft mascara is simple, lengthening, black and doesn’t smudge (when will it be sold in Europe Maybelline????).

Maybelline Full 'N Soft mascara

A lip balm

Most days a lip balm is all I wear on my lips. I cannot really be bothered with applying lipstick. It’s too much work! So once my makeup is on and my teeth are brushed, I swipe a bit of Dior Addict Lip Glow, it is very hydrating and gives a subtle rosy glow.

Dior Addict Lip Glow

A natural lipstick

When I need to look a little bit more put together, for a work meeting or date, my go-to lip product is an almost nude colour. In my case ‘nudy’ nudes just don’t flatter my skin tone at all, so my favourite shades are usually very subtle pink or mauve lipsticks. My all-time favourite is Revlon ColourBurst Balm Stain in Honey, it’s a cool shade of mauvy pink and is super simple to apply.

Revlon ColourBurst Balm Stain in Honey

A red lipstick

Last but not least, the main and only statement makeup item most French women have is a red lipstick. Some of my friends wear it every day, some keep it for special occasions, all have one. I usually use the Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Always Red as it doesn’t move once set. You can eat and drink with it and be confident that your face won’t look like Pennywise the Clown by the end of the meal.

Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Always Red

As you can see below, it only takes 6 products to go from the ‘I woke up like this’ to natural French beauty. All I applied was concealer, bronzer, powder, eyeliner, mascara, and a bit of lip balm.

Before
After

All in all my makeup routine using these products takes about 10 minutes. This is why French women can just roll out of bed and be ready a cup of coffee later.

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Skincare & Cosmetics – 11 Japanese Must-Buys

Claire2 Comments

Asia is known to have some of the best skincare and cosmetic products. Japan, in particular, is renowned among beauty-lovers (yours, truly) for it’s very high-quality, yet affordable, cosmetics. For a beauty product addict like me, the Land of the Rising Sun was heaven! I visited the drugstores there about 4 times. The first 2 times I found it really intimidating and rushed out. With mountains of products, Japanese drugstores are overwhelming if you don’t know what you are looking for. A few moons later and after watching about 10 YouTube videos and reading a plethora of articles, I had a list and I was ready! Japanese drugstores here I come!

Once in and armed with a list and a credit card, I faced another issue – packaging! Bloggers and vloggers will talk a lot about Asian beauty products but they will often show you the actual product, not the box which contains it, and sometimes the difference is huge.

So in this post, you will find a list of skincare and cosmetic products I recommend buying in Japan, with a picture of the packaging when needed. I also tried to find a link to the products when I could find it.

Japanese skincare and cosmetics

Another tip, you can buy all cosmetics tax-free as long as you don’t open the bag before leaving the country. Great way to spend more… I mean save more!

1 – Sunscreens, sunscreens, sunscreens

Japanese women look ridiculously young, I know it is mainly thanks to genetics but they do wear sunscreen religiously. The minimum SPF available is 50+ in most shops!

I myself wear sunscreen as a day cream every day, so I thought I would try some that are not available in Europe. I went for the Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence which is a bestseller there and came highly recommended by Gothamista, who I adore. I also got a couple of the Biore mists which will be useful to have at my desk for lunch breaks this summer. My future self will thank me in 20 years.

Japanese Biore sunscreens
Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF50+/PA++++

2 – Eye-makeup

One thing Japanese are good at is eye makeup. Japanese love a very thin eyeliner and very long lashes, a look right up my street!

I have hooded eyelids which means my makeup constantly crease or smudge, and with the promise of smudge-proof everything I had to get a few products. I went for the Dolly Wink eyeliner which is SO GOOD that I bought a second one on my last day in Japan. I also got an Avance eyelashes serum (because who doesn’t like long lashes?) and a Shiseido eyelash curler (Shiseido is a lot cheaper in Japan).

Japanese eyeliner, lash serum and lash curler
Koji Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner Deep Black New
Avance EyeLash Renewal Re growth Serum EX 7ml
Shiseido Eyelash Curler + Refill Set

3 – Masks

An obvious one! Like in South Korea, Japan has a lot of sheet-masks on offer. I got the pink LuLuLun ones which have excellent reviews and are a bestseller. I also got some Kose ones with the ‘top 1 bestseller’ logo.

Finally, I saw the Black GelPack Materic mask and had to have it! It’s black, sticky and promises to leave your pores squeaky clean.

Japanese face masks
Lululun JAPAN NEW face mask Rururun 7 pieces (balance moisture type)
Kose Clear Turn Vitamin C Whitening Mask—5pc

4 – Nail clippers

Wait, did she just said nail clippers? Yep!

For some reason, nail clippers are excellent quality in Japan so I bought a few. I have to say, they feel very sturdy and the blades are really sharp, they don’t break the nails instead of cutting them.

Japanese nail clippers
Takuminowaza High Quality Nail Clippers L Size

5 – Eye drops

If it’s good enough for Lily Aldridge it’s good enough for me! I heard about the notorious ‘minty’ Japanese eye drops. People describe the feeling they give as a third-degree burn followed by the clearest vision.

I can attest that the third-degree burn feeling is a massive exaggeration. Yes it feels very cooling, yes you will tear-up for 30 seconds, but it really isn’t that painful. I got two types, a normal one and a contact lenses friendly one (did I tell you that I am completely blind?). After the first 30 seconds, the relief feeling kicks off and it is amazing! Your eyes feel fresh and moist, and they look whiter than usual. My new best friend to deal with a sleepless night!

Japanese eye drops

6 – AHA

AHA is great to gently exfoliate the skin. As an alternative to an aggressive physical scrub, I bought the BC AHA soap and the Rosette AHA face mask/scrub. They should be perfect to peel off my winter skin!

Japanese AHA skincare
B C Cleansing Research Bar Soap with AHA – 100 g
ROSETTE GOMMAGE Gel 120g (japan import) [Badartikel]

7 – Kose Medicated Sekkisei

I heard very good things about the Kose serum, a best seller in Japan. With summer around the corner, I thought I could do with a light serum/moisturiser which is supposed to make me look flawless.

Kose Medicated Sekkisei
Medicated Sekkisei 200ml/6.7oz

8 – Lip stains

A big trend in Japan is the ‘lollipop lip stain’ effect. Young women have a little hint of colour on their lips just like after sucking on a lollipop. It’s cute (‘kawaii’) and natural looking, I liked it and I bought one of the million lip stains on the shelf of the drugstore!

Japanese Visee lip stain
Visee Richer Lip & Cheek Cream – PK-2 (Green Tea Set)

9 – Camellia oil

A best seller in Japan and Camellia oil is supposed to be great for hair. I hope it will tame my frizzy hair.

Japanese Camellia oil
Oshima Tsubaki Oil 60ml

10 – Oily skin little helpers

Combination skin means mid-day greasy shine, a problem Japanese people are familiar with. To help tame my mid-day ‘glow’ I bought some Shiseido blotting papers (once again, MUCH cheaper there) and a nose primer, you read that right, a primer dedicated to the nose area.

Japanese blotting papers and oily skin products
Shiseido Pureness Oil Control Blotting Paper Sheets – Pack of 100

11 – Very random things

Japanese drugstores are full of very random surprises! You can find detox masks for the bottom of your feet for instance (yep). My feet being fine, I went for warming lavender eye masks, because why not?

Japanese lavender eye mask
Kao Megurhythm Steam Hot Eye Mask 5 Sheet – Lavender

I wanted to buy many more things but my bank account didn’t let me, so for now, here are my 11 Japanese must-buys! Until next time Japan!

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