nail polish | vogueandmacarons

DECEMBER FAVORITES

Hello everyone and Happy New Year! I wish you all an amazing 2016, where your wildest dreams come true! It has been a bit crazy this past week due to all the celebrations and preparations, so I am a little late with my monthly favorites. December was a lovely month with all the presents and the festive spirit. I got the chance to try some new products that I absolutely loved and can’t wait to share with you guys.

Jo Malone Perfume – French Lime Blossom

Every time I go by Jo Malone’s stand I always feel the urge to smell the amazing perfumes and candles. This year is definitely Jo Malone’s year for me. Not only I got my first candle (see post) but also I got a couple of perfumes. From the beginning, I was in love with the French Lime Blossom perfume. It has a powdery scent and it reminds me of something clean and fresh, like soap. I know it doesn’t seem like much but I absolutely love that scent. It makes me feel peaceful, like I am in a fresh meadow on a spring day. I love it when I can associate a perfume to something so stress relieving. It is not overwhelming or too strong. I love the perfume so much, that I am considering getting the candle too at some point.

Charlotte Tilbury – Charlotte’s Magic Cream

I got this cream in Charlotte Tilbury holiday set “The gift of Goddess” (see review). Having heard so many amazing things about Charlotte Tilbury’s beauty and skin care products, I have wanted to try them for a while now. I got the cream in a small size and I tried it right away. It’s amazing; such a moisturizing cream with a nice thick texture. It smells lovely (like a rose), and it doesn’t make my face oily at all. You only need to apply a little bit, which means my small pot will last. I love how smooth and fresh my face feels afterwards, especially now in the winter where it gets quite dry.

Michael Kors Camille Small Leather Satchel in black

I was looking for a nice everyday bag for a couple of months now. Since I don’t have a light grey bag, I was after that color. I think it’s very neutral and I can wear it daily all year round. I never had a Michael Kors bag before, but I always liked his designs, as they are modern and sophisticated. However, I couldn’t find the style and size I wanted in light grey. I was really bumped, but then I came across the Camille satchel in black and I was in love. It is such a cute bag, with the perfect size for daily use. It has a strap, many compartments and the leather is so soft. It was simply perfect. My mom surprised me by getting it for me for Christmas! Black is the perfect color that matches with everything. It is not the color I wanted, but it is a basic, neutral color which is what I was going for bottom line. The size is just great; apart from daytime, I can get it for a dinner or a drink as well. It is not really small, and it can accommodate everything I carry with me daily plus an umbrella in case of rain. An absolutely ideal bag!

Klurskin cleanser with jojoba and coconut

As I have mentioned before, I am a skin care hoarder. I love skin care products and I am always looking for something new that will freshen up and improve my skin. Although I do like all the major cosmetics and skin care brands, lately I am interested more and more into smaller, indie skin care brands. They are local and use natural ingredients. Klurskin is a LA based brand that creates non-toxic products that nourish the skin. This cleanser is aloe based and 75% organic. It has coconut milk and jojoba oil. It is in a gel form and has a pleasant scent. It is very gentle and cleanses the skin well; however, I don’t use it when I have a lot of make up on my face because I feel I need something stronger. I love how much it actually hydrates my skin. It doesn’t only cleanse it and removes all the dirt, but it also hydrates it and makes it look fresher and calmer afterwards. Such a nice, organic cleanser!

Laura Mercier Ambre and Vanille body soufflé

I got Laura Mercier’s Sweet Temptations Ambre and Vanille holiday set because I was very excited to try the body products. Everybody is raving about how lovely they are, so when I saw the holiday set, I just had to get it. I am not going to mention the entire set, as there will be a review about it up soon, but I have to admit that the body lotion is my favorite product. I absolutely love it! It has an amazing scent that makes me feel like I am a vanilla cookie, and it deeply moisturizes my skin. It has a thick texture therefore, you don’t need a lot. Its scent lingers for a couple of days on my skin which is wonderful. This body soufflé is just perfect. From the scent to the feeling, it is amazing. I know for sure that once I finish it I will repurchase the full size.

Topshop Betty Star boots

I am not going to talk a lot about those boots because there will be a review of them up the blog soon. I got the Topshop Betty Star boots only recently but I am in love with them already. The heel height is perfect for me for every day and for a casual night out as well. I love how they are simple but the golden stars in the back add some spice to them. They are basic black ankle boots but with a twist. I have worn them twice so far and I love them! Stay tuned for a more thorough review J

H&M nail polish in Red Over Heels shade

You guys already know how much I love H&M’s new nail polishes. I have a whole review of them where I am raving about how fast they dry and how long the last (see review). For the holidays I wanted a true red color, so I can be a little festive myself. I went for the Red Over Heels shade, because it is a lovely deep, yet not too dark, red. It doesn’t have any orange undertone. I was so happy with my choice. They nail polish was lovely like all the H&M ones and it was perfect for the holiday season. I don’t usually go for red nails but I was so happy I did this year!

YSL Rouge pur Couture lipstick in the shade 201

I got this lipstick in a magazine, so I didn’t purchase it myself. I never had a YSL lipstick so I didn’t have an opinion about them. I was happy to find that the lipstick was in a bright red shade, because red is one of my favorite lip colors. The shade itself is quite lovely; bright red with orange undertone. Something I don’t really have. I tried it on and I was surprised at how lovely it looks. It’s creamy and moisturizing, which I really like, since my lips are quite dry. It is matte with a satin finish. It didn’t sit in my lip lines and it lasted for a quite a while. I really love this lipstick, as it is festive and the sample size of it is just too cute! I am very pleasantly surprised with this YSL lipstick, because I liked the texture, the color and the longevity. Also it has a rose scent. Highly recommend the YSL Rouge pur Couture lipstick!

I was so blessed to get my hands on some amazing things on December. I absolutely love each and every thing mentioned in this post. From the bag and the shoes to the lipstick and the body lotion, all these products are simply wonderful. They stole my heart on December and they earned their place in my monthly favorites list. I recommend them all. Don’t forget to pop over my Instagram (@blueberrylover) and Twitter (@vickyinlalaland) and say hello! With 2015 gone, I am very excited for what 2016 has in store! Happy New Year to everyone with lots of love!

Till next time take care dolls 😉 xxx

Vicky

H&M NEW NAIL POLISHES REVIEW

Top left to right: Paper Ash, Heliotrope, Chalky Pink Bottom left to right: Foil Blush, Kalahari, Fool Plum — **Top** left to right: Paper Ash, Heliotrope, Chalky Pink
**Bottom** left to right: Foil Blush, Kalahari, Fool Plum

Hello everyone! Since the weather in Greece is indecisive, I feel like I am stuck between autumn and winter. And I say stuck because it seems we won’t be getting out any time soon. One thing I hate when the weather is like this, is the daily outfit struggle. Which colors to wear? Should I go lighter or darker? Should I throw on a coat or will I die from a heat stroke? In the midst of all this, I decided to stop purchasing beauty products, as I got quite a few things on the Sephora VIB Rouge 20% off event. Therefore, the only beauty items I allowed myself to indulge until my package arrives, are nail polishes. They seem totally harmless right? I am a nail polish addict and I don’t care to hide it. My favorite brand is Erre Due. I absolutely love and have been loving this brand for the past 3 to 4 years, as it has good quality and most importantly, it is long-lasting. For me, a nail polish is long-lasting nail polish if it will make it through a week with just some minor chipping.

Once H&M launched their new beauty department, I decided to try out their brand new nail polishes. The reason was simple: the variety of colors was huge! Plus they are 1 euro cheaper than the Erre Due ones. At first I was a bit sceptical because I had tried a few H&M nail polishes in the past, and although they were very pretty, they completely chipped off after 2 or 3 days. Therefore, I didn’t have high expectations when I purchased the first nail polish. However, I was proved extremely wrong. First of all, the brush of the nail polish is short and wider (like a paddle brush) compared to everything else I have ever used, which helps applying the polish faster and with more precision. In 5 minutes I was done and I barely made a mess around my nails. Secondly, and most surprisingly, the polish dried fast. Like extremely fast. Like 5 minutes fast. This shocked me beyond words. As I was used to wait for at least 30 minutes for my nails to get properly dry, 5-10 minutes seemed surreal. In simply 20 minutes, the second coat was on and dried already. Usually it was taking me a full hour to apply the two coats and wait for them to dry decently. Now, it’s only about 20 minutes which is insane! Besides that, the color was so “pigmented” that I didn’t really need a second coat, and it was so shiny that I forgot to apply a top coat and didn’t realize until the next day. By that time I was already very excited and happy with the new nail polish, however, it had to pass one last test; the test of longevity. As I mentioned before, a good nail polish is the one that lasts for about a week with minimum chipping. Therefore, even though I was very happy with how things were turning out, I had to wait and see how my nails would look at the end of the week. Well, I am happy to inform you that the nails did last for one full week with minor chipping. As a matter of fact, at the end of the week I wanted to change my color but I couldnt bring myself to it, because the nails were pretty descent looking.

Overall the new H&M nail polishes are amazing! Good quality and at a reasonable price (just 5 euros). They are easy and fast to apply, they dry extremely quickly, are very so shiny that you don’t even need a top coat. Also they last at least for a week with only little chipping. I am in love with them. And because the first nail polish I applied was a darker color (Plum Fool), I tried a lighter color as well (Paper Ash) to see if it’s the same and it was! It needed one more coat as it was very light but it was not annoying at all. I am aware of some fairly negative reviews out there but I personally disagree. I am very happy with them, as they are a bit more affordable than my favorite brand and equally lovely. Plus they dry faster than any nail polish I have used. I wouldn’t bring my self to buy a 10 $ or more nail polish (that’s just me), as I prefer to spend more money on other beauty products instead. In a nail polish I look for something cheap and of good quality, because I like to have many shades. Right now I have over 50 nail polishes so It would be crazy if I had spent over 10 $ for each. So for their price, these nail polishes are amazing. I don’t know how they would compete to a OPI one so this is not what I am saying here. In total I definitely recommend those nail polishes if you don’t wish to spend a lot of money and you are looking for a quality-price combination. Let’s not forget that more expensive doesn’t always mean better. Have you guys tried out these nail polishes and if so, what do you think? Which one is your favorite shade? Comment down below and share! Also don’t forget to pop over Instagram (@blueberrylover) and Twitter (@vickyinlalaland) and say hello!

Till next time take care dolls 😉 xxx

Vicky