Micellar water - on the fence

I have seen beauty bloggers rave over micellar cleansing waters for a while now and I have been itching to try it. Firstly because I have dry, sensitive skin and micellar waters promise to restore moisture to your skin while cleansing and secondly because it removes make-up as well as cleanse and tone.

For some time now I have been using cleansing oils instead of foaming or gel cleansers and although I have had great results and no complaints with it, curiousity got the better of me and a week ago I got my hands on the Garnier micellar water.

This micellar cleansing water uses micellar technology to remove make-up and dirt from the skin. It is suitable for all skin types including sensitive skin and claims that no rubbing is necessary to remove impurities. You also don't need to wash the product off after cleansing so it is ideal for lazy nights which is every night for me.

My worst fear in trying this product was that my face would burn and become irritated and red upon application but it feels incredibly refreshing on my skin and it leaves my dry cheeks plump with moisture yet toned.

However, my make-up does heavy duty to last through a 16 hour day and the micellar water does not seem quite micellar enough to remove all of the layers setting products. (Micells are tiny oil molecules which attract dirt.) I have to wipe with more than 2ml of the solution more than once to remove everything while my waterproof mascara does not budge. To be fair, the mascara is designed to withstand water but this means that I have to use an additional cleanser anyway which kind of defeats the purpose.

This has left me wondering whether the vloggers and bloggers who loves it do not use waterproof mascara or are sponsored by Garnier. I would like to try other brands to see if I can find one I absolutely love but I do not have the budget for trial and error so please tell me what micellar waters I should try. If it is cruelty free, even better!

Liquid metallic effect

I rocked this look on Friday.

It was a bit bold for a day look and maybe not very wintery but I felt like taking my eyeshadow up a notch that morning so I skipped the winged eyeliner and lashes to make it more wearable. By 22h00 that evening, it was still vibrant and in place.

Here's how I got the colour to go on like a liquid metal and made it stick for over 12 hours.

First, eyeshadow primer. See my favourite eye primers here.


I followed that with my Kryolan black eyeliner pencil (cruelty-free) over my lid and not taking it higher than my crease. I evened it out and then dipped into my colour.

For an intense colour with minimal fallout, it is best to layer your eyeshadow with a flat, dense eyeshadow brush. I used my Clarins Ultraviolet shadow (discontinued) and a purple from an E.l.f. shadow duo (cruelty-free). I set the eye liner with the E.l.f. shadow and then wet a dense flat shadow brush with Smashbox Primer water and pressed it into my ultraviolet shadow. I covered my lid with the ultraviolet until I was satisfied with the intensity and then I pressed more dry ultraviolet shadow with my finger onto the lid while my lid was still damp.

I worked a peach and brown eyeshadow into the crease for a smooth transition into my nude brow bone colour, definition and depth and then sprayed my lids with the primer water again.

I finished the rest of my make-up, leaving my mascara for later and then set everything with my Avon make-up setting spray.  Once my face was dry, I applied my mascara.

I rubbed my eyes during the course of the day and even put some eye drops in but the colour stayed beautifully.

When I achieve long lasting colour like this, I'm always tempted to leave it on overnight to test whether it will transfer to my pillow and smudge or surprise me by waking up pretty in the morning but the threat of premature wrinkles always wins.

So, try this with any of your shimmery, metallic eyeshadows and pigments and let me know how it works for you.

Blue eye shadow, no primer - bad idea

If my previous post about priming your eye lids didn't convince you that applying your eye shadow to naked lids is a bad idea, maybe this one will. For the last two months I've been testing make-up products and experimenting with looks for my wedding day. I've tried glamorous, natural, smokey and long lasting looks - all in nudes and browns and so it was not surprising that after not wanting to wear any make-up for the first few days after the wedding, I grabbed for my bright, blue eye shadows to get into the holiday swing of things.

But, because I was on holiday and lazy I did not feel the need to use my eye shadow primer or foundation before going bananas with the eye make-up, and although it looked great and holiday-ish for the first two hours, it looked bananas thereafter. Pretty soon the shadow started to crease and while my eye crease colour became more concentrated and less blended, the lid colour became more sheer and sore looking.

As a contact lens wearer, I am someone who rubs her eye lids often and without my usual eye lid primer and setting sprays, my blue eye shadow transferred to my bottom lids to enhance my eye bags and smeared to where it created blue cheek bones. I saved what I could with the quick wipe of a tissue but for the most part, I went with it.

I messed up my hair and pulled my shirt over my one shoulder so I could look like I really do not care and pretended that I'm bringing blue, grungy make-up back. I don't know how convincing I was and although I wouldn't have, at that stage, thought that it was my biggest make-up blunder yet, when it came to winding down for bed and removing my make-up, I sincerely regretted not spending 30 seconds more with my eye shadow primer that morning.

After slipping, sliding and smearing all over my eyes during that day, upon using make-up remover that night the blue eye shadow would not budge. My blue eye shadow on my fresh, naked lids had stained my skin. I rubbed vigorously with my various different make-up removers but in the end I had to get into bed with blue lids.

Needless to say that I have learned a lesson but this whole situation made me think of the scene in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy asks the Emerald City beautician: "Can you even dye my eyes to match my gown?" I would recommend that Dorothy primes her eye lids first but if she asked me, my short answer would be: "Yes, Dorothy. Yes, I can."