Make Up For Ever Black Tango & Aqua Shadow Swatches

One more store for beauty addicts to spend hours exploring in the heart of Brussels: the Make Up For Ever boutique!

Make Up For Ever has been in Belgium for several years, but the old store was only open to professionals. Aren’t we glad the sizable new boutique and even their academy that trains makeup artists are now located about 3 minutes away from the Central Station, AND it is open to the general public? I know I am!

If you want to see more pictures of the boutique and their regular line-up, please go to the Facebook album. The post today is all about their fall collection Black Tango! I also swatched all the Aqua Shadows for you, so let’s get the party started!

Come Shopping with Me! Edition Brussels. Focus Store: Senteurs d’Ailleurs Part 2: Haute Parfumerie

Hey everyone!

After last Sunday’s post about the Haute Cosmétique part of Senteurs d’Ailleurs, today you are about to see the Haute Parfumerie part.

The first thing you notice in this shop is the fact that most of the shelves are black (except for the Jo Malone corner). I think it’s a good call, as you are supposed to discover it with your nose and not your eyes!

Jo Malone is right at the entrance. Since everybody has been talking about it in the blogosphere, I decided to discover the brand a little.

Look at the range of body butters and candles they have! My favorite has to be Red Roses. The cool thing about Jo Malone is you can layer fragrances on top of each other. Red Roses for example, is supposed to work well with French Lime Blossom and Wild Fig & Cassis. I adore it as it is though. Rose scent is an acquired taste for me. I used to think it’s for older women. Perhaps I am older now!

This is their Tasting Bar. Customers are supposed to find out more about perfume compositions here.

Dyptique offers an amazing range of scented candles. I am certainly intrigued!

Cire Trudon has been producing scented candles since 1643 (!!!). The candles look grand. You are supposed to lift the bell jars and sniff them to get an idea of how the candles smell.

One of the best sellers is Abd el Kader. It smells like Moroccan mint tea, fresh and intoxicating. Needless to say, I sniffed at the bell jar like a druggie!

Tom Ford has very interesting scents on offer. I was won over by Grey Vetiver, and Oud Wood is definitely the most complicated eau de parfum I have ever had the opportunity to sample. With that said however, the private blend collection (in square black bottles) is something you have to be sure that you will absolutely love before you purchase. Everything is exquisite and unique, but it also comes with one of the heftiest price tags you are likely to see.

Last but not least, some really interesting-looking bottles:

If the Haute Cosmétique part of Senteurs d’Ailleurs is a wonderland for me, the Haute Parfumerie part is an exciting adventure. There are so many brands and scents to explore, the experience is very overwhelming! Again, if you’re interested in finding out what brands they carry, you can check out their site here.

Are you interested in niche perfumes? What would be a more unique scent that you own? Do you have a signature scent?

Sunny, your beauty culture translator xx

Again, special thanks go to Stijn, Tom, and everybody who was so kind and helpful! ♥

Come Shopping with Me! Edition Brussels. Focus Store: Senteurs d’Ailleurs Part 1: Haute Cosmétique

Hey everyone!

Happy Easter Sunday! Did you do anything to celebrate? I invited my family over for lunch. The cleaning and cooking was a lot of work (let’s safely assume I won’t roast another lamb shoulder till next Easter), but it was so nice to spend some time with them! I also received some chocolate eggs and a chocolate bunny, so hopefully the supply will last me for a while!

Earlier this week I went to Senteurs d’Ailleurs (the literal translation would be scents elsewhere) in Brussels. The store is divided into two parts, the Haute Cosmétique and Haute Parfumerie. In part 1, I will give you a virtual tour of the Haute Cosmétique part. In a couple of days’ time, you will get to visit the Haute Parfumerie. Sounds good? Let’s go!

Kiehl’s is one of the fastest-rising skincare brand in Belgium! I just started testing out their Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution to see if it could get rid of my pigmentation spots (I haven’t started regretting being too slack about sun protection, though I’m sure at some point I will). Of course I have taken a before picture, so that I can follow up and show you the after ones (fingers crossed it’ll work for me)!

Aesop is no stranger to me, but for the Belgians this Australian brand is a new kid on the block. I think I have mentioned that I use their animal cleanser for my brushes very often. I caved in and purchased their Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm that day, and within hours it grew on me! I will give you guys a detailed report soon, but it’s safe to say it has serious HG potential.

I really wanted to try Bumble and Bumble when I was at the Sephora last year, but I was a little afraid my luggage would be overweight. Fear not, however, as the brand is actually available here! Does anyone have any recommendations? I wonder if the Deep Treatment would work well for my long and chemically-treated hair.

Laura Mercier! The makeup artist gave me a little touch-up and recommended some products that will work for my skin tone/type. I will have to look into them soon!

For the life of me I can’t remember why I didn’t try on some Tom Ford lipsticks! I must have been SO distracted with everything that was going on around me! I will have to go back and do that soon!

Some La Mer, anyone? I really liked the tropical aquarium, though I didn’t manage to get one single picture in which the fish isn’t moving so fast that it’s blurry!

Dermalogica is another brand that I have heard so much about but never tried. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Molton Brown has an amazing line-up of bath products, lotions, and so on. I was urged to try some hand wash and lotion, and it was IMPOSSIBLE to pick one out!

Finally, I just had to take a photo of this bar of soap because it’s my cat’s namesake!

Are you familiar with any of these brands? Do you have any recommendations? Have you been to a shop like this? Back in Taiwan I might be able to find these brands in a department store, but the display wouldn’t be half as nice, and it certainly wouldn’t be so spacious!

Sunny, your beauty culture translator xx

PS: Senteurs d’Ailleurs is located at Place Stéphanie 1A, 1050 Brussels. Their website is under construction at the moment, but if you’re interested in finding out what other brands they carry, you can always take a look here.

Special thanks go to Stijn, Tom, and everybody who was so kind and helpful! ♥

Come Shopping with Me! Edition Brussels. Focus Store: Smets

Hey everyone,

How was your weekend? I hope you had a nice one! I’m here to brighten up your Monday with a new feature of the blog, called Come Shopping with Me!

As you might have read about already, I went to Brussels last Saturday to pick up Added Goodness from MAC (swatch & review coming up soon). Since I was in Brussels however, I decided to check Smets out.

Smets is a luxury store that started out in Luxembourg. They opened a premium store in Brussels last December. It’s funny because I used to live literally a 3-minute walk away from it, but since it didn’t open till I moved, I hadn’t got around to checking it out till Saturday.

Before I can ramble on again, check out the amazing stuff they have there!

A whole wall of designer shoes. Spot the Manolo Blahnik Something Blue Satin pumps Carrie Bradshaw sports in Sex and the City!

Look at that nude heel on the lower right corner. I’ve GOT to have something like that!

The beauty corner. They’ve got OPI, Bobbi Brown, Bumble & Bumble, By Terry, Dermologica among MANY others!

Funky gadgets!

Let’s go upstairs:

I’ve seen this chair at the Met’s in New York, so hello again!

Truth be told, it was an utterly overwhelming experience. I could have taken 100 photos but still it wouldn’t be enough! There is even a restaurant there, so if you get exhausted/overstimulated from all the grandeur and luxury, you can sit down to replenish your energy.

Smets is located at 650-652 Chaussée de Louvain, Brussels. Take a look at their website for all the brands they stock up on!

What do you think? Have you been to a store like this? Would you like to?

Sunny xx

Special thanks to Smets for allowing me to take photographs so that I could share all the awesomeness with you!

News: Bobbi Brown in Brussels!

I know it’s weird to be so excited about it, but Bobbi Brown finally opened shop in Brussels about a month ago! I walked past by this Monday, but they were doing works, so I went back yesterday. This is the picture I took on Monday. I was so overexcited that I completely ignored all the machines! It was not until I pushed the door open did the workers tell me the shop was closed :p

This is how their display looks:

I was not really looking for anything, but thought I would try some lipsticks on. Unfortunately I was in a hurry and all the SAs were occupied, so I didn’t find anything I like (that and the SA couldn’t find Sweet Nectar on display. It is supposed to be a pretty good coral). However, the SA gave me a pamphlet about Bobbi Brown Makeup Lessons.

These include Instant Pretty (5 minutes. It’s supposed to refresh your look), Cheeks & Lips (20 minutes), Smokey Eyes (20 minutes. Apparently they’ll pay special attention to liner), Secret to Perfect Skin (20 minutes, concentrating on skincare and foundation), Makeup Face Lift (20 minutes. They promise to help you “look fresher instantly”). These are free, so it’s a good way to learn some new tricks and try some new colors! There are three more including Everything Brows (20 minutes, 25 euros. They’ll show you how to define, control, and shape your brows), Pretty Powerful Makeup Lesson (45 minutes, 55 euros. It’s Bobbi Brown’s signature 10-step lesson), and Special Occasion (45 minutes, 100 euros. This could be for your wedding, evening out, or just a romantic dinner).

I am personally very interested in Cheeks & Lips (especially lips. You have probably read about my problem with lip colors) and Smokey Eyes. You can make an appointment by calling +3225132000. The shop is located at Rue A. Orts 11A (Dansaert), 1000 Brussels. It is in the city center, very close to the metro station Bourse/Beurs (next to Cosmeticary where you can find Laura Mercier and so on).

Bobbi Brown has an amazing range of basics. If you just can’t seem to get your concealer or everyday makeup right, I would suggest you explore this brand a little.

How about you? If you live in Belgium, have you visited Bobbi Brown? Would you like to some day? Are you thinking about taking a couple of lessons? Do share!

Sunny xx