My Clarins Love

Hello Butterflies!
Today it's time for my first beauty post! The honor is given to two beauty products from Clarins. One skin care and one make up, for a balance :)
I must admit that I'm a big fan of this brand. I find their products in most cases working really well and the price of these luxury products is in the lower range.

So, starting with the right order let's talk about skin care first! You know the rule - first take care of your face then improve with make up :)

Clarins Santal and Blue Orchid Face Oils

I just bought a bottle of the Santal Oil a few weeks ago This one is made for dry skin. I picked this for a change to the Blue Orchid oil I had before and I'm not disappointed at all! I've got my Blue Orchid (which is designed for dehydrated skin, there is also Lotus Oil for oily skin type) a couple years ago. I was happy with the product and it convinced me to facial oils. Later I tried others oils, usually cheaper ones but with good ingredients, even organic but the quality was questionable and definitely usage wasn't a pleasure. So what's special about these oils?

After using Clarins oils my face the next morning is very soft and smooth. Sometimes I find it also brighter.  I didn't experienced this with other oils I tried plus Clarins oils don't leave oily, greasy skin which actually looks more dull and tired!

How do I use them?

Let's say if first - we all have different skin and needs so one product cannot satisfy everyone. But! The way you apply a facial oil might totally change your satisfaction from it. Most of us want creams to adsorb quickly so we can put face on the pillow or simply we just don't like feeling of fat covering our face ;) Facial oil brings immediately an image of fat leaking from your face but wait, there is a way!
First important thing is to apply oil on a damp face. I do it after shower almost skipping drying my face with a towel or (even better) way I spray my face with kind of toner. It can be rose water, moisturizing toner or micellar water (somehow I got many of them as gratis and this is one of not so many uses I could find for them because taking off make up is the last thing they can do!). Second hack is to mix a few drops of the oil with hyaluronic acid or a serum based on it. Why? Hyaluronic acid works as an emulsifier and helps the oil to be adsorbed into the skin. And the last, also important step is to massage it into your face. Yes, I know it takes time but you will  thank yourself in 20 years :) Plus it's actually a pleasure of taking care of yourself and honestly, we should learn more about skin cake from Asian culture! They practice face massage almost like religion! However I'm far from going nuts with it ;)
With the right application I found this oils to be even suitable under make up! Just don't use too much and let it adsorb well before applying foundation :)

Pros & Cons

Pros is definitely the effect it gives on the skin. The bottle also lasts for long time since you need a few drops for each application. As a person which pays attention to details I like the bottle itself too, it looks good on a shelf :)
Smell can be a plus or minus depending on a person. It has very specific, strong herbal smell which might be unpleasant. Personally, I didn't like it at the beginning but I got used to it and in Santal I even recognize lavender :) But surely you should try before you invest money into this product.
The biggest minus would be price I guess. Even in the luxury range it is not expensive however it's still a bit pricey.

Skin Illusion Natural Radiance Foundation

This one is my the most loved foundation so far. I'm coming to the end of the third bottle and I like to always have it in my cosmetic stock :) What I love about it? Again, (obviously) the effect it gives! It gives radiance to the skin and makes it look fresh and young. I use sheer setting powder on top of it to not take away the glow I get from the foundation. I find it looking great on photos too!

More technical details - it supposed to be for all skin types and has medium coverage. I'm not sure how it would behave on oily skin during a hot day. I wouldn't probably use it for such an occasion. But for cold days with translucent, mattifying powder I guess it might be working well too. The coverage isn't full so don't expect Estee Lauder Double Wear effect. However it's not a sheer one either. I have a feeling that the mica particles work well reflecting light so we actually see an illusion of perfect skin.
I recommend to give a try to this foundation. Don't expect it to be the longest lasting and most covering foundation you have tried but for regular days might turn to be perfect. Personally I enjoy glam and radiance my face gets when I wear it.

If I think about minuses of it I would say smell, I don't like it but it's not too strong. Another bigger disadvantage is that the lightest color available in practice - 105 Nude (in theory there is at least one lighter but I haven't found it reality) seems to be a bit to dark or too yellowish for me but I'm very pale person. Another minus could be the price.

My face with both products in day light

That would be all I want to say about these two products. I don't think it's a proper review rather my impressions from using them for some time. I think they are worth attention but rather overlooked in the internet beauty world ;)

Thank you for stopping here! I would be happy to hear your opinion about the products and/or about the blog :)

xoxo
Natalia

Do you need to be stylish everyday???

I took my time to select the name of my blog (actually my channel) and at the end I came up with Be stylish everyday - why?  there is a  few reasons for that. The first is quite simple - I wanted to share my everyday outfits. But when I thought about it deeper there is more than just my everyday styles. Why to bother to make yourself stylish everyday? Can't you just put on whatever? Of course you can ;) but being stylish is way more than just vain and narcissistic dressing up!
Would you believe if I tell you that dressing up can change your life?!
How? Let's list it :)
First and the foremost, the most important thing that I can't stress  enough is that the way you look affect the way you feel. It might sound silly but it has a big power! I bet that every girl (a man probably too!) feels great when going out for a special event, wearing nicely with proper make up completing the look (ok, in case of  guys skip make up and shave instead). So why not do it on everyday basics? Sure we are not going to wear this sexy party dress for work ;) But it doesn't mean that you can't be smiling to your image in the mirror before you leave for work! Important is to make sure that the way you dress is actually your style not a hard approach to look stylish. You won't be feeling good in something that you don't like or aren't convinced to. Being stylish dosen't also mean blindly following of the latest trends. You can stick to classic elegance maybe broken with a bit of casual style. The result? Good looking, pulled together you. Trust me, once you think about yourself in positive way your day is going to be better because you started it in a positive way. By feeling good about yourself you are automatically happier and more confident. And confidence, as we all know is a treasure which can change your life. It can help you to get your dream job, make friends or even meet the love of our life! And here we come to the second reason why dressing up is necessary. No matter how much someone wants to deny, people still will judge by appearance - meaning clothes and emotions on your face. If you want to be at a certain place in your career you should dress appropriate to the business you are aiming for. It's a tiny thing which reveal your professionalism and seriousness about your life goals. Basically it speaks how much you care! And it also speaks how mature you are. If you are a student you don't need to place yourself into jeans and whatever t-shirt and stay this way until life force you to change. In terms of career I would say that being well, professionally dressed is a first step to the future promotion.

The reason is simple, the more professional you look the more trust people will give you. The most obvious example would be a rocker with tattoos sitting in a bank and convincing you to invest your money into something. Have ever thought why people in banks don't look like a hippie?? (personally I have nothing against them!). We, humans like to categorize things around us including people. It's just a mechanism which makes our brain less busy in processing information and give kind of safety feeling when something is categorized as "safe", "good" or "watch out". That's why white lab coat is used by specialist even they don't need it. Like people selling glasses or pharmacists giving you painkillers. There is no point in wearing protective clothing for them but it give respect as they are specialists ;) I could talk about it endless but I assume that if someone reached to the end of the post,  you've already got my point.

At the end I would like to cite a fashion quote of unknown author:
"Life's too short to wear boring clothes" - so make sure you get the most out of yours! :)

xoxo
Natalia