New in Store

© Dominica Ceuleers

Happy Monday everyone ! Time to present the latest perfume in the Byredo series.

This extraordinary scent of dry wood is the most recent perfume of the Swedish perfume house ; cedar is without a doubt one of the scents that our nose recognizes most easily.

Reminiscent of pencil shavings, it evokes a sense of nostalgia for school days and simpler times.

Evocative of log cabins and Scandinavian furniture, cedar adds warmth the overtly modern.

In the perfumer's palette, it has the power to inject energy and lend verticality to a fragrance.

Super Cedar has notes of rose petals - Virginian cedar wood, silk musk and Haitian vetiver.

Available at Parfuma Antwerp or stay in and order from your couch ! 

Something about eye lashes ; a video update on Talika eyelash boost

Hi you guys,

I've decided to launch a video for the very first time, so sorry if it seems very small-time, but just wanted to share this experience of the Talika product I'm using online.

Am very happy with the product itself, it's super easy to use and doesn't sting at all !
{was very worried about that}
So I'm 3 weeks into using it and hopefully it will improve even more and leave me with some healthy full natural lashes again in a couple of weeks time.

Hope you all enjoy this little vid and wishing you a nice weekend !
Stay tuned !

#sand_tropez

Time to ditch the black and dark grey tones ; Summer season is finally here and I think I found the perfect color for it !

Sand_Tropez is a greige nude tone that will match any Summery outfit just fine. 

I don't want to wear mints or pinks at this point (at least, not yet) and like to keep my nails clean, short and elegant at the same time. My trick here, what would Grace Kelly do ?

As it happens, Saint Tropez is not that far from Monaco and I'm pretty sure Grace would approve totally if this color would have been presented to her.

My nail regime is pretty simple. I like a clean look: try and find a professional manicurist. This person must know what he or she is doing ; cutting cuticles is a precise job and if not done in the right fashion, dangerous and painful. Filing nails, soft scrubbing and a handmassage must be included in your manicurist's handling. If not, go find yourself a new therapist. 

If the job is done right, treat yourself to a monthly appointment. 

In between sessions, you can scrub your hands twice a week and rub them with the best of the best hand creme every day ! 

When I use nailpolish I always make sure to use a base coat : your nails will love this little seal of protection and won't get this ugly yellowish haze.

Especially women using red nail polish must keep this in mind ! 

My favourite brands are Kiehl's * Essie * Essence * 

Don't you just love this extra detail ?

Any girl hearts a bit of Chanel, right ?

I applied Chanel's nr 219 Black Satin nail polish after my base coat {darlings, always use a base coat, specially when applying dark colors or reds}

I did 2 layers and let these dry thoroughly. 

Once you did the trick {press one nail lightly against your lips} and you feel they are ready for the next step, you can start adding these lovely nail accessories. Apply as mentioned and finish off with a nice and shiny topcoat ! 

Have fun girls ! 

Beauty at 40

At 40, you need to take your beauty regime to a higher level. I'd like to share my personal favourites with you. These are as far as I am concerned basics every woman should start to hoard once the big 4 is in sight.

As your skin changes and dry spots appear, it's key to hydrate and soften your complexion. I discovered Bio Oil (1) at my local iU store and it's in my vanity case all the time. I never leave the country without it. Perfect for your body, face and hands. It's not over greasy and smells divine. 

As your skin changes and pores become more prominent, you might need to fill them up with Sothys (2) pore refiner. You need to use it underneath your tinted day cream. My daily wear is (4) Estée Lauder's Sheer tint release ; it actually adapts to your own skin tone. It's light, does not matten your appearance (which makes you look older anyway) and stays good all day through. 

My hands suffer the most, especially in Winter. I like to scrub them with the OPI mani scrub and treat them with (5) OPI Avoplex handcare. Hands denounce your age - might as well treat them with lots of respect. Make an appointment for a mani once and a while. Ask for good labels and indulge in a nice colour like Chanel's Black Satin (6) - love that extra shine and it's ever so chic! 

Don't overdo make up - this only works for models and 19 year old beauties. The older you get the less is more rule becomes more apparent at all times. You can of course emphasize on your best feature. My case, my lips are the ones to take the spotlight. MAC cosmetics has a super soft and creamy lip liner - pro long wear (3). Easy to use and by far, stays all day long (only 1 touch up a day .. how cool is that ?) 

My favourite red is High Energy ; you might remember this blogpost. 

AN ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE GREAT POWERFUL OZ: I thought it over and green is dead 'Till I change my mind, the color is red !

The most difficult lip colour is definitely red ! How many times have we girls made an utter fool of ourselves with half covered lips only leaving the edges slightly visible with run out red ?
God knows how much I've spent on expensive, cheap, promising and deceiving brands. Until now.
Already satisfied by their oak coloured lip pencil , I wondered if MAC had any red ones too.
And they did ; the sales assistant said she had an even better lip pencil to offer me. The pro long wear
lip liner feels smoother and actually does the job.
I applied it this morning and to my surprise it was still intact when I checked my lips after lunchtime !!
I'm eager to run to the MAC store again and buy all colours available in this crayon. So happy with it.

I'm wearing High Energy in the pictures above