Archives for April 2016

The natural origin, no mineral oil Caudalie Make-Up Removing Cleansing Oil works, but just not for my skin

April 29, 2016 Paris B 2 Comments

If there’s one thing we should have learned by now, it’s this – A cleansing oil is not necessarily only for removing makeup, but it serves as a first cleanse in the evening to remove the grime of the day. At least, that’s what I learned about cleansing oils back when I was using it judiciously.

It puzzled me a little therefore, when the Caudalie Make-up Removing Cleansing Oil landed on my desk with its very specific product name. Well, pay it no heed – use it as you will any other cleansing oil, whether you use it to remove makeup, or as your first evening cleanse, even if you do not wear makeup. You’d be surprised at how much better your skin feels at the end of a day, after a thorough cleanse!

Caudalie says that this is a cleansing oil that is 100% of natural origin and contains no mineral oil, silicones nor preservatives. This will please anyone who might subscribe to this school of thought. The very popular Shu Uemura cleansing oil, for example, contains mineral oil which is known to be a pore-clogging ingredient. I can’t use the Shu oils, but I don’t think it’s due to just mineral oil. But that’s another story.

For Caudalie, their oils are a combination of sunflower seed oil and castor oil, grape-seed oil and sweet almond oil to dissolve and remove makeup from skin and nourish skin with antioxidant properties. I have to say that it did everything that it says on the box. Yet, I ran head-first into a problem.

Some Tips to calm irritated skin : When Skin is acting up, K.I.S.S it better!

April 27, 2016 Paris B 26 Comments

I’ve always described myself as a bit of a mad scientist when it comes to my skin – I pretty much like to try anything and everything, although I’m a lot more careful and discerning these days. Over the years, I’ve learned what works, and what doesn’t so major disasters have been kept to a minimum.

But disasters do happen, and about a month or so back, I experienced a bout of inexplicable breakouts, and eventual roughening of my skin, that had me getting worried, and stressed. While I sometimes get breakouts around my chin, it was unusual to find that the skin all over my face, from my cheeks up to my forehead, were covered with little bumps. Not pimples, but bumps, that made my skin feel rough and bumpy, like a reptile. It felt hard, like a layer of thickened skin, and dry and uncomfortable and left my skin looking dull.

The more stressed I got about the condition of my skin, the worse it got. The more I tried to calm my skin down, the worse it got. Until one day, I told myself to get a grip.

And then, I took all the skincare I was using, stuck them in a corner, and decided to K.I.S.S my skin better.

K.I.S.S = Keep It Simple, Stupid! 😀

Oh yes, I needed that reminder indeed! 2 weeks of a very pared down, simple routine had my skin regaining its normal smooth, soft state, and I thought I’d quickly share some tips to calm irritated skin with you so you know how to react, when your skin decides to throw a tantrum 🙂

For French Kiss-es in the boudoir, be a Coquette and try the Laura Mercier Velour Lovers Lip Color

April 25, 2016 Paris B 6 Comments

Makeup trends, as with most trends, tend to have a cyclical nature and if there’s one thing I’ve noticed recently, is the rise of matte lipstick. Personally, I’m not that much of a fan of matte lips. I like a bit of shine to the lips – I feel it’s more flattering. But this is a personal thing of course. I know of people who’d wear nothing but matte lipstick and hey, that’s fine too!

But coming on this trend of creamy, semi-matte lipstick is the Laura Mercier Velour Lovers Lip Color lipstick that’s been available since the beginning of the year. I haven’t seen a lot of press on this, but if you love wearing intense coloured lipsticks with vibrant colours then you might want to take a look at this range.

The packaging is sleek and compact, with a matte exterior to reflect the texture of the lipstick. The quirky side of me happens to enjoy the names of the lipsticks, which are all named with risqué names, as befitting the range – Velour Lovers. Unlike the nameplay of Nars, these have a slightly more nuanced naming convention. The bright pink you see above is French Kiss, for example. The other I’ll show you is Coquette, and others I’ve seen are Boudoir, Sensual, Infatuation and Fore Play, just to name a few.

For someone who doesn’t like rose perfumes the Acqua di Parma Acqua Nobile Rosa comes up roses

April 22, 2016 Paris B 9 Comments

When it comes to perfumes, I’m often vocal in my dislike for floral scents. Show me a rose infused fragrance and watch me wrinkle my nose in disdain. My nose doesn’t like roses in general.

Yet, you know what they say about Murphy’s Law. I never thought the day would come when I’d wax lyrical about a rose perfume!

The surprising scent is the Acqua Nobile Rosa by Italian perfume house, Acqua di Parma. I actually picked this up sight unseen, and unsmelled. It’s a very risky thing to do, and not something I’d recommend. I’ve picked up duds this way too! 😛

For some reason, I picked this up, despite the floral name and knowing that it would come up smelling of roses, and it turned out that I was pleasantly surprised 🙂

Archives for April 2016

The fun and previews happen on Instagram @parisbmws