Estée Lauder & Derek Lam F/W 2011

Mister Tom Pecheux, you make me wish for fall 2011!
Estée Lauder's Creative Make-up Director never fails to excite me (remember the Blue Dahlia-line?) and so when I saw his latest creation for Derek Lam's show my heart practically skipped a beat. I'm crazy for metallics, especially when it comes to eye shadows, so how could I not love this sleek look called Pure Color. It has this glamour, party make-up feel to it, but is still very sophicticated and classy.

I can't wait to get my hands on it and try for myself. Only a few month to go, right?

Makeup: Tom Pecheux for Estée Lauder

Estée Lauder Nederland

Just a quick shout-out to Shark Attack's Dutch readers to join the brand new Estée Lauder Nederland-fanpage! If you're looking for an interactive platform to discover and communicate with this first-class beauty brand, this facebook-site will be the place to be.

Estée Lauder Idealist

Every friday evening I leave my life in Brussels/Leuven behind me and I head back to my hometown to spend some quality time with my family. So it is only normal that I have many of my favorite beauty products twice -one for home and one for my home away from home- and loads of back-up products in case of emergency, right?

This tactic proved itself quite useful the past few days that I spent in my hometown for the holidays. I had ran out of Clinique Pore Minimizer Refining Lotion but luckily had a valuable alternative nearby. I gave Estée Lauder's Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher a go and was very much surprised. First of all by its lovely scent. Even though I'm no fan of perfumes in my beauty products, the lemon'y scent is subtle enough for me to love. And although the texture of the Idealist is thicker than Clinique's Pore Minimizer, which is more like a serum, it still feels incredibly light on my skin and has a silky finish to it. And it leaves my skin very smooth, which I love. So I'm thinking I'm going to get a new Pore Minimizer but I will keep using Idealist faithfully every weekend.

Next on my beauty wish list: Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex.

October

Breast Cancer Awareness-month

Estée Lauder

As mentioned before, I'm crazy for Clinique's All About Eyes. I can't last a day without the treatment and apply it faithfully every day and night. But last week, I got my hands on Estée Lauder's new Advanced Night Repair Eye and honestly, this superrich gel is fantastic. Since it's so creamy, it's perfect as a night treatment. 

I think All About Eyes and Advanced Night Repair Eye will make a lovely pair. And with all those anti-aging creams I've been applying, I better look like I'm still a twenty year old ten years from now, damn-it! ;)

Bobbi Brown

Bobbi Brown has the cutest samples;
just look at that tiny anti-age serum-bottle. I know some say that 24 is far too young to be using anti-age products but you have to start protecting your skin against fine lines and all, before the damage is done. Anywho, this serum feels incredibly light and soft on my skin, which is always a great plus. I hate greasy, thick products.

Last night I tried Bobbi Brown's make-up remover as well, and this product wears perfectly too! Last night, for a late dinner with my family, I wore a lot of sparkly eyeshadow by M*A*C (green smoke -lustre) and some eyeliner too, which can be a hassle to remove. But I had no difficulties doing that, thanks to this Bobbi Brown-product. Plus, it was gentle enough for me, as a contact lens wearer.

Bobbi Brown's

Instant Long-Wear Makeup Remover

Extreme Party Mascara

Intensive Skin Supplement

Rich Color Gloss - Pink Buff

Today I'm wearing a liquid blush on my cheekbones, called Highlighter Pen by Bobbi Brown. What's so great about this blush, is that the sparkling elements are so tiny and subtle, that 'now you see it and now you don't', which is perfect for daily use. It actually is so sublte that I couldn't even capture the effect on camera, so I just had to photograph the container instead. This one is going into my handbag permanently.

By the way, if you're a fan of Bobbi Brown and love to get weekly tips on how to apply make-up, make sure to visit the brand's Facebook page regularly! 

Aveda Favorite

It's been a month now since I started working at Aveda, a premium hair and spa brand and part of the Estée Lauder family.

Ever since our NYC-trip, where we found Aveda-hair and body products in our hotel room, I've been a fan of its Shampure shampoo (amazing scent!) and the Smooth Infusion-line. And no need to say that the products are top quality and the great thing is that -by using Aveda- I'm actually contributing to a greener and nicer planet.

The past few weeks I got the opportunity to get a full Aveda-training, both hair as skinwise, and discovered even more amazing products. I'm currently using the Enbrightenment collection for my skin, to even my skin tone and I'm giving other hair products a go. And yes, I've got a new favorite!

I have really stubborn hair; always fluffy and wild. And during the Aveda Perfomance Hair-class I mentioned that I rarely use styling products because I don't like the feeling of greasy products in my hair. But then the Aveda-educator suggested that I should try the Light Elements Smoothing Fluid. Back home I give it a try and my hair immediately was smoother and had a healthy shine, without looking greasy. Throughout the whole evening it successfully protected my hair against frizz. The next day, again, I added only one drop of the serum-like fluid and once again my hair looked and more importantly felt great! I'm thrilled! I'm always the one who says that I hate my hair, but I've got a feeling that's about to change...

Currently I'm coloring my hair too, with Aveda and I love it's natural color and shine ... And to keep the color as nice as the first days after the coloring, I've tried the Clove Color Conditioner, which is a brown conditioner, and it gave my hair a nice warm glow. Fan! Fan! Fan!

Bobbi Brown

Every spring, my boyfriend's family spends a weekend abroad and this year we all visited Den Haag, the political capital of The Netherlands. And like every year, my boyfriend and I fill one whole day with shopping. One department store I always visit when I'm in The Netherlands is De Bijenkorf, which has an amazing beauty department.

I finally got the chance to discover another great Estée Lauder Cosmetics' brand, Bobbi Brown. Since I needed a new foundation, I tried Bobbi Brown's Natural Finish Long Lasting Foundation SPF 15. And I must say I'm thrilled! Not only does it come in fairly pale shades, which suit my skin tone perfectly, immediately when you put it on your skin, the fresh and smooth feeling of the foundation gets through. Plus it protects my skin against the harmful rays of the sun, which came in handy the rest of the weekend.

I walked out with the '0 - Porcelain' shade and I can't stop bragging about the product. It's a keeper.

Chanel Le Vernis

My daily beauty routine consists of using about 7 different Clinique-products, and this excludes the make-up. Did I ever mention that Clinique skin care products are the very best and that it is the only brand I trust when it comes to skin treatment? Since I've been using this Estée Lauder-brand, my skin looks better than ever. And the coolest thing is that I got the opportunity to be an intern at their Benelux-headquarters in Brussels the last two summers. It really was an amazing experience ... (I really should do a review post about the brand and share my thoughts!)

But since nail polish apparently can't be totally allergy-proof, Clinique doesn't produce any. Too bad, because I'm sure it would be some nice colors and shades. And so, I have to turn to Chanel Le Vernis. A good friend of mine, a very cool fashion photographer, spotted the brand's newest summer collection (Les Pop-up) and was so nice to share the images with me. He told me he was getting his girlfriend all three colors. I too fell in love with these shades and decided to, just like him, already head towards the store and pre-order the nail polish for me and my sister. I'm getting these two colors in a couple of weeks. Can't wait.