LANCÔME IDÔLE - Perfume Review

Lancome Idole 75ml Eau De Parfum RRP £85

This perfume came out in late August of 2019, I was received it as a gift a few days ago. I knew this was going to be a favourite as soon as I smelled it for the first time, it was love at first sniff! I have always adored Lancome perfumes (my first love being La Vie Est Belle - one of the few perfumes I loved from the first time I tried it) and I am so happy to own this one too!

The bottle itself is beautiful in my opinion (I think its supposed to be one of the thinnest bottle designs!)  It looks super sleek and it is supposed to lay flat as the bottle does not stand up properly.

The official description of this perfume is:

"Here’s to the women who dare to dream. The women who defy expectations. Here’s to the leaders and innovators of tomorrow. Strong. Outspoken. Empowered. The women who look to themselves for the inspiration they need to shape the future. Here’s to a new generation of icons. 
Your time is now. 

Be your own Idôle."

Notes include Rose, Jasmin and Chypre Accord.

It smells floral but not too overpowering ( I dislike strong floral scents normally), I love the rosey jasmine scent. its very fresh but feminine at the same time.

This would make a great gift for anyone, the smell is not too strong so I doubt many people would find it offensive. I think it would make a fantastic work/office fragrance but can also work as an evening fragrance,  its definitely suitable for all ages but especially people over 20.

The very first time (and so far the only time) I wore it out I received compliments on it. The sillage of this perfume is at least medium to good and the lasting power is great (6+ hours) especially when considering perfumes don't really last too well on my skin.

I would give this fragrance a solid 5/5 for the wonderful scent, bottle design and lasting power. The only con I can think of is the price, its not the most affordable perfume however it is reasonably priced for the brand and in comparison to other similar level brand perfumes.

Favourite Fall/Autumn/Winter Perfumes

I feel like this post should have been a bit earlier, but better late than never! These perfumes are my most used during this time of the year. I absolutely love perfumes and this was something I wanted to write about for a long time now. I really don't know why I haven't done one sooner. 

I'm not going to mention them in any particular order, all of these perfumes are great and I don't think I can just pick one! 

First up is the Narciso Rodriquez for her, this one was actually one of my first high end perfumes that I got as a gift for my birthday 2 years ago. 

The scent of this so different to anything else, its unique yet still quite feminine. Since this is the Eau De Toilette (EDT) it doesn't last as long as the Eau De Parfum (EDP) would, but it's not too bad, it will last a good 5 hours before you need to spray again.

Top notes

water flowers and lily of the valley

Heart notes

heart of musc

Base notes

patchouli, amberlyn

These are the notes in this EDT, I got this from The Perfume Shop.

This is such an amazing scent, it's similar to Lancome La Vie Est Belle and Giorgio Armani Si, both of which I absolutely LOVE. This is Black Opium by YSL, its my favourite kind of scent, sweet yet sophisticated and a perfect night time/fall/winter scent. I received this as a gift for my birthday this year. 

The lasting power of this is similar to the Narsico Rodriquez one as this is also an EDT, I would say this lasts about 4/5 hours. 

Top notes

Ultra-Luminous Green Coffee Accord

Heart notes

Jasmine Tea

Base notes

Patchouli, White Woods and Musk

Prada Candy is probably the sweetest perfume I own, it smells just like caramel/toffee. I sprayed it on my wrist when it was first released/popular and I immediately fell in love with it. This is an EDP so it lasts very long on my skin. I only wear this during Autumn/winter or as a night time scent. 

Top notes

Musks Cocktail

Heart notes

Benzoin Overdose

Base notes

Caramel Explosion

The original Lovestruck by Vera Wang is another favourite of mine for the daytime during literally all of the seasons, no matter what time of the year it is. This is a light floral scent that isn' too overpowering at all. I normally dislike strong florals, but this is very light and feminine. I don't think anyone will find this offensive which makes it perfect for everyday use at work/school/uni etc. I actually finished a 100ml of this already (at the back of the picture!) and this one I got for my mum who loves it just as much as me! 

This is an EDP and the lasting power of this is very good, the sillage of this is quite good too! 

This is probably the most affordable one in this list as you can get if from fragrance direct for around £25, although the retail price is £70! At £25 for the 100ml this is a bargain and it will last you so long. 

Top Notes            luscious pink guava, heavenly angelica flower, lush mandarin. 

Middle notes       Indian jasmin sambac, delicate tuberose buds, watery blue lotus blossom. 

Base notes          sheer musk, precious woods, addictive vanilla.

I absolutely adore Vera Wang fragrances, I also own Princess from her range and I love that too! You can get her fragrances for discounted prices or on sale. If you haven't tried anything from Vera Wang, next time you are in a fragrance department/store try it out! 

Thank you for reading! Let me know what your favourite perfumes are and what you will recommend to anyone!! xx 

NYX Cosmetics first impressions

If you guys haven't already heard, Boots is now stocking NYX cosmetics products! I went to the boots in bluewater where I saw the new NYX stand and I immediately began picking things up. I wanted to get their lip pencils and their HD pressed powder in banana but they were out of stock unfortunately, I checked online afterwards and to my dismay they were out of stock there too. 

I wanted to try a few things out first so I didn't buy too many things. NYX products are very affordable and the quality for the price is fantastic, NYX has a huge range of products that a lot of people have been raving about for years and I cannot wait to try more. 

Above are the swatches of the NYX lip lingerie in the shade exotic (top) and beauty mark (bottom), they are like a creamy formula when you first apply them but dry matte. They last a very long time (4-6 hours) however they do tend to rub off near the center of your lips if you eat/drink. Overall these liquid lipsticks are very good for their price- £6.50 each, I was also impressed by their lasting power and pigmentation. I had to mention the applicator, it's a long doe foot applicator that makes putting on the lipstick very easy and quick. 

I got the darkest shade in the NYX tinted brow gel, it's a very dark brown tone and looks natural. I like using this on days where I don't have much time do to my makeup (or when I'm feeling a bit lazy). This product is priced at a very reasonable £5.50.

I picked up a makeup setting spray- £7, there were two different types - one for mattifying and the dewy finish one. I decided to get the dewy finish spray as I have dry skin and was afraid the mattifying one would dry my skin out, also I prefer a dewier luminous looking finish. This spray actually contains alcohol in its ingredients so it's probably not going to help my dry skin, it also smells a bit strong, nonetheless, I don't think its a bad product as it did leave my face looking dewier, so I don't regret buying it plus it was quite inexpensive.

So far my first impression with NYX has been very good and I'm already planning on buying more. I really want to see more brands that are not available in the UK to be stocked here soon, like ColourPop, Tarte, Kat Von D etc, it will take me a whole day to list them all.

As always, thank you for reading! xx

Body Shop Lightening/Darkening Shade Adjusting Drops

I've wanted to try these shade adjusting drops ever since they came out, I finally managed to try these out recently and I am not disappointed.

They were both £10 each from the body shop, I have never tried out any of the makeup products from the body shop before although I love love love their skincare products.

I like using the darkening drops as a contouring product the most, I just put a drop on the back of my hands and apply a tiny bit on my cheeks where my natural contour is and I blend it out using a beautyblender. It looks very natural and works very well for this purpose and is my go-to method of contouring right now.

The lightening drops work very well to lighten any dark foundations or even concealers. If you have any foundation you got in the summer when you were more tanned etc just add a drop or two (as much as you need) to lighten it up and make it match your current skin tone better.

The lightening drops look white in photos but it actually has a very very pale pink undertone to it.

This is the applicator, I don't really like it a lot, but it's not bad and gets the job done.

Here I have added a drop of the darkening shade to my foundation.

I've mixed the darkening drop and my foundation and as you can see it has made the foundation darker (also it makes the foundation cooler, but I prefer warmer/more yellow tones foundations).

I added another drop of the darkening shade and mixed, as you can see it keeps making the foundation darker.

Here I have added a large drop of the lightening drop to my foundation.

This last image shows the lightened foundation swatch (top) and the darkened one (bottom). The swatch in the middle is the just the foundation alone without any darkening or lightening drops, just so you can compare the differences. 

I think these products are really handy to have, I prefer using the darker one to contour with like I mentioned before, and the lighter one to lighten up foundations and concealers. 

The consistency of these shade adjusting drops is liquidy but very pigmented. I'd say add a tiny bit by bit to get the shade you want instead of just going in with a lot right away. I have really dry skin and I feel these products do not dry out my face, I'm not sure if it would work on oily skin, but as you are only using small amounts to mix it shouldn't be too bad. I have seen people with oily skin use these. 

Thank you for reading! Please let me know what else you'd like to see on my blog. xx 

The ethnicity TAG

Q1: What is your ethnicity? 

A: I'm Sri-Lankan Tamil.

Q2: When was the last time you visited your country?

A: It has been years since I was last in Srilanka, can't wait to go back there again!

Q3: Name one ethnic food you enjoy the most?

A: It's so hard to pick just one, right now I feel like its appam. 

Q4: Name one household item that best represents your culture.

A: I would say it's mainly religious and also cultural, probably all the posters and idols of different Hindu Gods around the house. 

Q5: What part of your country are you from?

A: I'm from Kilinochchi.

Q6: Can you speak the language of your ethnicity? 

A: Yes, fluently. I can also read (really slowly) and write (with many huge spelling mistakes here and there).