Beauty ponders

By now you should already know that I'm a big fan of hard-to-get brands and this particular one today is such a brand, especially here in Europe. I first heard about Shu Uemura on a fashion forum where people were raving about their products, after some looking into it I noticed there was one store available in my country... So far I haven't been able to pay a visit, but on my citytrip to London I luckily ran into a lot of Shu counters and I admit, I love Shu...

Shu Uemura offers skin care, make-up and hair care. In their skin care regime, the cleansing oils are quite popular - as seen above. I have yet to try a skin care item of theirs so I can't really comment on that part... They also offer a primer, UV mousse that has a lot of popularity, as always it's on my list.





I also have their brush cleaner, on which I already did a review so check that one for my thoughts on it.

And lastly, probably their most popular item, the eyelash curler. Everyone in make-upland knows about Shu curlers, they are referred to as the best and YES it's true. I bought mine a year ago and it curls them the way a curler should. I often had the problem that most curlers don't curl enough or don't curl all my lashes or the curl would fade away quickly. This is not the case with this one, it curls all my lashes the way I like them and it does so quickly. Afterwards you have enough time to apply mascara, your lashes will stay this way. I really recommend this curler, if you want your eyes to look awake and if you have some euros to spend, this is an item to consider. It will last you a long time.

Overall, I like most Shu items I have even though I don't have many. This will surely change once I visit the Shu store and have a chance to look at/feel all their items and colors... Let me know what your faves about this brand are!

I've already talked about skin care and make-up brands I use but not yet about polishes. I hardly think this will come as a surprise but OPI is most present in my stash of polishes. You've already seen some of them featured in NOTD but I owe more than just those ones. Come to think of it, I don't know why I have so many OPI and so few others. When I began growing my nails -I used to be a stubborn biter- I guess I mostly ran into OPI on blogs and only looked at these polishes. As of recently I've also started purchasing Essie and China Glaze - I must say that Essie is growing on me and I already have a list compiled of their colours for my next orders, they offer great nudes.

Apart from my early love for OPI I also like their brushes, which are wider than others, especially the prowide brushes. They make it so much easier to apply polish perfectly. Essie on the other hand has really small brushes and can be quite tricky to apply. The bottle of OPI is ok, nothing special - I like Essie bottles more but it's not that important since you're not tossing around the bottle on your nails ;)

I have 2 shimmers: Pearls night out, Give me the moon - both can be applied alone or over another polish. In the middle is Chip Skip, which is supposed to prevent your nails from chipping and I also have their natural base coat, along with the top coat.

I first heard about this luxurious brand 2 years ago on an English fashion forum where people were raving about her products and the fact that she has an entire skin care line based on roses... Well, you might have noticed but I love roses and after some research I realised there was an ICI Paris counter that carried By Terry very close to me, lucky me! By Terry offers skin care and make-up.

Journalists have dubbed her "The genius of make-up, the guru of color..." Women from all walks of life can't live without her advice, her products, and her revolutions. The mother of 4 children, TERRY applies her talents and imagination in the world of luxury products. After refining her ingenuity, creative spirit and expertise for 20 years in collaboration with the greatest names in fashion and beauty, in 1998, TERRY launched the passionate adventure of her own signature label, BY TERRY.

If you say By Terry you're speaking about absolute luxe. Her line is expensive but some products are worth it. If you want to indulge in luxury, check her out. Before she dedicated herself to her line, she worked close with YSL and it is in fact her who invented the touch pens, also available in her line. Other products that people rave about are:

• the lip balm with SPF
• the rose liquid blush
• touch veloutee / touch expert
  

I only have a few products from her but more of them are on my wishlist to get, take a look:

One of her foundations, the Lumière Veloutée in colours 3 summer and 2 winter - love the packaging milk glass bottle and golden top -. I wore this a lot last year (practically every day) and it is one of the best foundations I've used when I had normal skin as this gives you the most beautifull finish - your skin looks perfect. But sadly enough my skin has become a lot drier and this isn't a good foundation for dry skin because of its powdery finish. I still have 1/3 in each bottle (30ml) left and occasionally try it to see if my skin can pull it off. Bummer, I loved this even though it had a heavy price tag of 60-70euros, I didn't need much to cover my face.

Then two of her 'star' products, the well known pens: the light expert in 2 and the touche veloutee in 2. The light expert is intended as a foundation brush or a highlighter and the touche veloutee is a concealer as well as a highlighter. Both products cost between 30 and 40 euros.

And lastly one of her skin care items from the roses line, the first product I bought from her, the Radiance Renewing Mask. It comes in a gorgeous pink packaging and when opening it up the best roses scent ever enters your nose. Costed 50euros.

Products are available in certain Ici Paris shops, SpaceNK and on her website as well. If you like to splurge on luxurious brands, this is one line to look into. If you like an in depth review from one of these, let me know...

For my first article on this one I chose a French brand, I love French pharmaceutical brands - my bathroom is inhibited by them you know-. This one is called "Nuxe" and I came across it a bit more than a year ago while I was shopping and browsing around a new pharmaceutical store. During this period I've already tried a lot of their products. In the video underneath you can find some information and have a glance at the products.

It all started in 1957, when a Paris pharmacist with a fascination for phytotherapy and aromatherapy founded NUXE. In 1989, Aliza Jabès took over the brand and did her best to revive a pioneering cosmetological concept combining nature, health and beauty. Aliza Jabès’ unchallenged passion for plants combined with a gifted anticipation of women needs allowed NUXE to become a unique brand, with strong beliefs in its roots and authenticity.The numerous awards received by NUXE over the years are here to tell the tale of a brand integrity praised by both professionals and consumers. NUXE is a subtle combination between Nature and Luxe (Luxury).

Let's have a look at my products:
Moisturizers: Creme etincelante, Creme fraiche, Creme nirvanesque, Nirvanesque eye cream

Cleansing: Eau de mousse micellaire 3 roses, Masque frais hydratant, Lait demaquillant 3 roses, Lotion Tonique 3 roses

Others: Huile Prodigieuse (their most famous product), Lip balm - see my review-, Baume Prodigieuse SPF 15

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Do you know this brand? Do you have any products of it?
Is there something you'd like to try out?

PS: I'm going to include a Nuxe product in my goodiebag giveaway once we're at 20!