Happy New Year

ENG: Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve with your friends or family and made a wish at midnight! If your wish was really strong, it will come true this year without a doubt. In Russia we have a saying, "The way you welcome the New Year dictates the way you'll spend it," so everyone tries to dress up and celebrate the new year in a fun atmosphere, to ensure own luck in the next 12 months. As for me, I spent New Year's Eve at home with my love. I honestly could have just worn my pajamas, but I wanted to follow the tradition and chose a more festive outfit. So hopefully, 2014 will be kind to me and will bring me luck! Let's see what I wore that night:

RUS: Всем привет! Надеюсь вы отлично встретили Новый Год в кругу близких или друзей и загадали заветное желание в полночь. Если ваше желание было очень сильным и искренним, оно обязательно исполнится в новом году! Следуя традиции "Как встретишь Новый Год, так его и проведешь," я нарядилась и провела вечер с любимым в уютной домашней атмосфере у камина, поэтому надеюсь, что новый год будет таким же приятным и принесет мне только удачу! Давайте посмотрим, что было на мне в тот день:

Top - Victoria's Secret // Skirt - Tobi // Bracelet - J.Crew

For my makeup, I chose a warm color palette to match the golden tones of the skirt and added some definition to the eyes with a burgundy eyeshadow.

В макияже я использовала теплую гамму, для гармонии с золотыми акцентами на юбке. Чтобы выделить глаза, я добавила немного бордовых теней в складку века.

Eyes - Urban Decay Naked palette // Cheeks - Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer + Chanel Blush in #84 Accent // Lips - Mac Peach Blossom // Face - Mac Matchmaster

What did you wear on New Year's Eve?
А что было на вас в новогоднюю ночь?

New In. Part I

ENG: This part is about beauty products that I got from Sephora, Chanel, Sigma, Glossybox, and Hautelook on or around Black Friday. I'd been wanting to try some of these products for a long time, so I'm glad I finally got the opportunity. I enjoy using all of them, so I've decided to share my joy with you guys. The pictures are pretty self-explanatory, but if you have any questions, I'm glad to answer them in the comment section below.

RUS: Эта часть посвящается косметическим продуктам, которые я приобрела в Sephora, Chanel, Sigma, Glossybox и Hautelook в день Черной Пятницы или близко к этому дню. Некоторые из этих продуктов я хотела попробовать очень давно, и я рада что мне наконец-то предоставилась такая возможность. Мне очень нравится использовать их, поэтому я решила поделиться о них с вами. Я думаю, фотографии не требуют объяснения, но если у вас все-же возникнут какие-то вопросы, то я буду рада ответить на них в комментариях внизу.

 

Have you tried any of these products? Do you like them?
А вы пробовали какие-то из этих продуктов? Вам они понравились?

New from MAC and FOTD + Outfit Preview

MAC has always been one of my favorite brands not only because it's quite affordable, but also because it has a wide range of colors and textures. I already own some of their products and I'm pleased with the quality, so I had been wanting to get some more items for a long time. When I got an opportunity to shop there, I decided on four things, three of which I'm going to show you today. They were out of the fourth item, a lipstick, so they had to order it for me. I'll update the post or something when I get it.

I hear a lot of good things about MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural powder, so I decided to give it a try. The color match is perfect - I have it in Light Plus, and I really like its buttery texture and the amount of coverage it gives without feeling heavy on the skin. I was also impressed by its staying power - I've had it since 1 pm today, and it's almost 11 pm right now, and it still looks nice and satiny, not oily at all!

The second thing I got was Mineralize Blush in Gentle. It's very pigmented, so if you are as pale as I am, I'd recommend applying it very carefully. It's a pretty berry color with gold shimmer, which transforms to a lovely sheen on the skin. I love the color in the pan, but I feel like it's too dark for me and also brings out the redness in my face, so I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it. What do you guys think?

And finally, my favorite product has to be this Cremesheen Lipstick in Peach Blossom from the Cremesheen + Pearl collection for Fall 2012. It's a rosy nude color, and I don't see any cool or warm undertones in it, so I'd guess it would suit anyone. It's a perfect everyday color as it goes well with just everything. It also has multicolor shimmer, which is not visible on the lips; however, it gives a nice sheen. By the way, I like the Cremesheen formula in MAC lipsticks the best as it's creamy, shiny, and moisturizing. And what's your favorite formula?

light swatch on the left, heavy swatch on the right

So here are some FOTD pictures using these products. I don't have any foundation on, just the Mineralize Skinfinsh Natural and a little bit of concealer dotted on some areas. As you can see, the coverage is just right without looking thick or cakey.

You can also see a tiny bit of the top part of my outfit I wore today, so the next post is going to be about the full OOTD.

What are your favorite products from MAC or products you'd like to try?

My Travel Makeup/Skincare Bag + Reviews

We've just returned from our one-week vacation (we went to visit Mike's parents), and I wanted to share with you guys what makeup and skincare products I took with me.
Starting off with makeup, I want to say that I don't really like heavy/complicated makeup in general, and especially when I'm out of town. That's why I took only basic things with me, most of which I use regularly.

Here we have Jane Iredale Purepressed Base SPF 20 (mineral compact foundation). I've never been a fan of loose forms, that's why I love this powder - it's compact and not messy at all, provides very good coverage (although it's sheer, it can be built up and at the same time look thin and very natural), the color is just right for me, and I like the golden compact! But the most amazing thing about it is that it creates a soft-focus effect, making your skin look poreless and smooth.The brush I use for it is also by Jane Iredale. It's called the Handi Brush. It performs very well; however, the bristles can feel scratchy at times as it's made of goat hairs, but maybe it's just me who is used to extremely soft synthetic brushes like Sigmax ones.
I also took my favorite matte bronzer with me -Too Faced Chocolate Soleil. It's great for contouring or just adding warmth to you face, and it looks very natural - not orange at all! It smells amazing too, just like hot chocolate!I'm going to do a review and comparison on all the bronzers I have as there are a couple more that I also like.
I don't like blushes in general, but there are two in my collection that I find look good on me. One of them is Mac Mineralize blush in Warm Soul.It's hard to describe what color it really is because depending on the lighting it can go from beige to peach to bronzed pink. I really like the effect it gives my face.
The brushes I use for applying blush and bronzer are from Mrs Bunny travel set by Sigma.
My cat has recently stolen my favorite concealer, and I couldn't find it, so I took my Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch concealer instead, which is more of a highlighter than a concealer, but it still has some coverage.
The only eyeshadow palette I took with me was NYX Triple Eyeshadow palette in Rock&Roll. It has a highlighting color, a pinky-nude color, and  a darker blueish-silver color. I like the colors, and the palette itself is very versatile.

NYX Triple Eyeshadow Palette in Rock&Roll and Revlon Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake

The brown eyeliner by Stila is called Smudge Stick in Lion Fish. I got it in my Birchbox a couple months ago and really like it! For my eyelashes I used Dior Extase mascara (Birchbox again, lol), and for my brows - Mac transparent brow gel. I also took a neutral lipliner and two lip products - Revlon Super Lustrous lipgloss in Pink Pop and Revlon Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake. The latter is used in the above pictures.

Ok, next to my skincare.

High SPF was my priority. I like that Neutrogena's Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock is truly dry-touch, and doesn't feel greasy on the skin as most creams with high SPF do.
My day cream is A Perfect World SPF 25 by Origins. It's a little too thick for my liking, but if I wait half an hour before I put on my makeup, it soaks in and feels soft and moisturizing rather than greasy.
 My night cream and toner are from the same line, Vitamin E, by The Body Shop. The are both very moisturizing and smell like baby powder, which I like, surprisingly. I can say that these two products were the first ones that truly helped my skin to get rid of the extreme dryness that I had not so long ago.
The eye cream that I use is by the Grapeseed Company and is called "Vine Eyes". It's organic and is supposed to be anti-aging. I'm not sure about the anti-aging effect, but the cream itself is very moisturizing. My under-eye area is very dry, but when I put this cream on at night, I wake up with very soft and supple skin.
 I used Gold Bond Ultimate Softening Shea Butter Lotion as my hand cream. I'm not sure if I like it or not, just because it's not as rich and thick as I would like it to be. I mean it's thick when you put it on, but when you rub it in, it becomes dry, and your hands feel just bare. The cream still works, but I don't like the initial effect. I guess I'm just used to greasier types of hand creams.
I also took a hair spray that I got in my Birchbox this month and Dove soap to use in the shower.

Alright, that was a really long review, but I hope it wasn't too boring! I'll try to be more concise in my future posts though.
Thanks for reading!