I hope you all had a joyful and cozy holidays and a beautiful start of 2018 spent with your loved ones. We celebrated Christmas eve with both our families and I always thoroughly enjoy these traditional get-togethers. On Christmas Day eve we left on holiday to Japan, so I spent new years eve in Tokyo with the love of my life. Since I haven't posted a beauty look in a while, and since I always like to wear a special makeup look for Christmas eve, I thought I'd share what I created this year. I was originally intending to publish this post before we left for Japan, but life "got in the way" and instead of editing this post in Japan, I decided to relax and leave my social media and blog untouched. I was lucky enough to receive the spectacular 5 Couleurs Precious Rocks makeup palette by Dior, which is the best palette they've done in years (that I tried). I also added a few other exciting items that I've been loving the past half year - it's not because I'm posting less these days that I'm any less excited about good beauty products.

For foundation I used my good old trusted NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation in Mont Blanc. This foundation is so thin it is nearly undetectable on my skin, high coverage enough to even out my complexion and cover up acne pigmentation marks and the perfect colour match for my skin tone. I'm on my third or fourth bottle now, and I don't see myself straying anytime soon. For concealing underneath my eyes I've been using the Maybelline Age Rewind Eraser in Light, applied simultaneously with the Maybelline Age Rewind Eraser Brightener on my cheekbones and bridge of my nose. I blend both into my skin at the same time with a fluffy medium sized synthetic brush. To set my foundation and concealer I have been using Charlotte Tilbury's Airbrush Flawless Finish in Fair which I bought because I wanted to see whether it lives up to its online buzz.. And it does! The finish is nearly undetectable and works really well underneath the eyes too.

To warm up my skin and give it back its definition (and then some!), I used Urban Decay's Shapeshifter palette in Light Medium Shift. This palette packs a whole bunch of product: both cream and powder highlighters and contour powders, but also two cream correctors to use under the eyes. I used the lightest contour powder Medium Contour, as well as the highlighter Pearl Highlighter. For blush I've been smitten with By Terry's Compact Expert Dual Powder in the shade Apricot Glow. Apricot Glow pretty much works like a very luminous blush (so pretty!), while other shades can work like finishing powders or bronzers. I mostly use the heart of the powder on the apples of my cheeks and the outer ring of the powder as a highlighter, although you could use both powders at once too.


On my eyes I used the beautiful 5 Couleurs Precious Rocks palette in 857 Ruby by Dior. I feel a little guilty blogging about this now, while the Christmas collection is already sold out. However if this palette is anything to go by to judge future releases, I must say that Dior has really amped up its eyeshadow formula and taken the quality up a few notches. The pigmentation of the powders are amazing, and they blend beautifully without losing vibrancy or smudging. What a beautiful palette! On my lashes I'm wearing Shiseido's Full Lash Volume Mascara in Waterproof Black. A decent mascara that does not smudge, although the effect is more on the natural volume side than the vavavoom volume side. On my eyebrows I'm wearing the NYX Precision Brow Pencil in Ash Brown, a formula that is super easy to use and a shade that is perfect for my skin tone and hair color. I hate brow products that ask for precision and patience, so what I like most about this pencil is that it's super quick and easy to apply.

On my lips I start off using the Erborian Nude Infusion Lip Oil. I usually apply this before I start applying makeup so it can take its time to "sink in". It nourishes and preps my lips, without adding any colour. Afterwards I applied the Clarins Lipliner Pencil in Roseberry. The formula of this lip pencil is very creamy and easy to apply: a great base to lengthen the longevity of your lipstick. On top I added Urban Decay's Lipstick in Backtalk, since I thought Roseberry felt a little too warm against my eye look and I wanted to neutralise that warmth. Finally I wore Jo Malone's delicious English Oak & Redcurrant cologne, a fruity and juicy playful perfume. I've been happily discovering more Jo Malone fragrances lately - I'm now at three in my collection and I will happily add more in the future! I'll post on the latest addition to my collection soon; it was a lovely Christmas present from my mother in law and also the fragrance I wore everyday in Japan.

In the meanwhile, when I'm not posting as much as I used to, don't forget to check in with me on Instagram! I'm more active there, if you'd like regular updates on what I've been up to.