In the end of June I had an opportunity to attend Giorgio Armani make-up workshop with Armani guru Reza Zaimeche at the newly opened Hilton Hotel in Tallinn. After this workshop I realized that meeting Reza was such a great opportunity - he definitely is very inspiring person.

An I was so lucky that I was given one more opportunity to see Reza in action. The next day after Tallinn he was in Riga where he demonstrated 2 iconic Armani looks & shared the backstage tips of success as he is the person creating all Giorgio Armani runway beauty looks.

So now I want to move on to products that I have been testing lately. Here in the photos you can see four products that are totally new for me and one that has been my favorite for quite a long time. And that is Armani Lasting Silk foundation that I bought in the beginning of this year and it is definitely in my TOP 3 foundations I am using. There were few products on my wishlist for some time already and now I finally got an opportunity to try them out.

I will start with the one I was most excited about - GA Eye Tint. Who hasn't heard about it? The most difficult thing for me was to choose the shade as there are so many beautiful to choose from. I have mine in 8 Flannel and I have already 9 and 10 on my wishlist. The colour is beautiful and it provides 16 hours of smudge- and crease-proof wear.

The second thing I wanted to try after lots of reviews that I have read and videos I have seen was Eye&Brow Maestro. You want to hear what can this product be used for? It is a waterproof, multipurpose brow shaper, eyeliner, eye shadow, and root touch-up in one. Sounds unreal, right? Of course it depends on the colour you choose, because I actually saw how Reza used the gold one as a bronzer and it looked perfect. And it can even be worn as a daring lip color what I still haven't tried. Mine is in shade 5 Auburn. 

Another great thing is Black Ecstasy Mascara. The thing I like most about it is the bursh - it actually captures and coats every lash. As well as how pretty is that red stem which is inspired by the red carpet :)

Which are your favorites from Giorgio Armani?

At the end of June there was an opening of a brand new Bobbi Brown counter in Stockmann here in Riga and I had an opportunity to experience Bobbi way of makeup and have an individual Makeup Lesson with Bobbi Brown regional Education Executive – Magdalena Atkins. First of all I need to say that it was an amazing hour with Magdalena and I actually found out many new things as well as she gave me few very useful tips I haven't heard of before.

“When a woman comes to the Bobbi Brown counter she receives a makeup lesson, not a makeover. We empower women with the knowledge and products they need to look and feel their best.”

Education is the key component of Bobbi’s philosophy. Bobbi Brown makeup artists teach women to be their own skincare experts and makeup artists. Bobbi’s artists take into account a woman’s personal style, her lifestyle, and her preferences, before applying makeup. Every Bobbi Brown makeup lesson concludes with the creation of a Personalized Face Chart to help a woman re-create her look easily at home.

I experienced every single thing of what is mentioned above and I also took my Personalized Face chart home with me. And in the end of this lesson I got an opportunity to pick 5 of my favorite products that Magdalena used when creating my look. And now lets get to these 5 favorites that I am using for almost two weeks already.

I spent one Saturday morning while drinking my espresso to take these photos and write a review on these products that are my daily routine for 10 days already.

I want to start with the product I am so impressed that I even don't know what to add besides that it is the best primer I have used so far and believe me I have tried a lot of different primers from most of the brands. My favorites before this Bobbi Brown one were Benefit Porefessional, MUFE mattifying primer and Smashbox Photo Finish. 

 This product - Vitamin Enriched Face Base is completely different from those primers that I liked before. It is a lightweight cream that sinks instantly into the skin and creates a perfect base for makeup. It has an oil-free formula and feels rich but not greasy at all. Besides all of these advantages there is one more - it smells soooo good. It also has she butter in its formula and it instantly hydrates, softens, and cushions skin. When I first tried it on my hand I thought that I love how it smells and it is very moisturizing but I also was very unsure how it will work with my combination/oily skin. I was very surprised when I found out that it is perfect for my skin and it is gives just as much moisturizing as I need and there is another great thing about it - it is a 2-in-1 product - moisturizer&base and that means that I need less time in the morning to prepare my skin for makeup. 

When I needed to pick 5 products that I liked the most it was really hard to decide whether I want to go with this Nude Finish Tinted Moisturizer or Skin Foundation Stick. I decided that it is summer and that means time for lightweight foundations. With this tinted moisturizer Bobbi Brown says that skin looks like skin, but softer, smoother and naturally radiant. And what is also important SPF 15 provides perfect everyday protection.

And then I also couldn't resist to pick this Nude Finish Illuminating Powder in shade Porcelain. Isn't it beautiful? 

"An ultra-soft, translucent pressed powder that instantly gives skin a lit-from-within glow with a natural-looking blend of skin-brightening botanicals and light-reflective powders." - it is written in product description but I liked the way Magdalena described it - Photoshop powder it is for her :) And I totally agree with her. Skin looks so beautiful and has that natural-looking glow. It can be used all over the face (as I do) or as a highlighter.

Highlighters - they can never be too much right? So this is the newest addition to my collection.

I want to say just few words about this Long-Wear Cream Shadow stick in shade Stone. I love it as it is so easy to use and the colour is so intense and long lasting. One of my favorite eye products this month

What are your favorites from Bobbi Brown?

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A bit less than two months ago I attended the launch of Lancome newest skincare line. When I felt that it is too late to make a post only about this event I realized that I will wait for few weeks and make a post not only about the vent but also about my first impressions and thoughts about these products and now is the time. 

"Énergie de Vie takes hydration to new levels with surprising textures and Goji Berry extract and Lemon Balm oil. Now you can say yes to everything as your skin will still look great in the morning, like you went to bed at 8pm." 

Energy de Vie is inspired by nature and Asian skincare traditions and that is why all three products has some very unusual features. Why am I so excited about these products? They are designed for women living an intense lifestyle fulfilled with stress and suffering from lack of sleep what results in rough, dull or dry and tired looking skin. Well, I guess that I just perfectly described myself. And of course I am not saying that it is the right choice not to sleep appropriate amount of time or live in stressful conditions all the time but I guess sometimes we almost don't have a choice. And for those kind of days or weeks Energie de Vie is definitely a life saver. 

So, as I already mentioned there are three products in this range and there is one product that I now can't imagine my life without - my absolute favorite, one product that I really like and one that is nice to have. As I am always in rush and can't find time for anything including putting on and taking of a mask for example, the night mask is my absolute favorite from this product range and using it for two months on a daily basis I can say that I can definitely see how my skin has gained that healthy glow and it doesn't look that dull anymore. And of course the fact that I can sleep while the magic happens is the best part of it. There are 2 ways of using this mask - you can use a small amount as a night cream or cover your skin in a generous amount for 10 minutes before removing gently with a tissue. I am have chosen the first option and I am very satisfied with it. The reason why I wasn't a fan of night masks was because I don't like that you need to wash your pillow cases more often as well as your hair. Besides this Lancome night mask I can also suggest the one from Origins - Drink Up Intensive. Have been using it few times a week for last few months and I really like them both.

The second product - Smoothing & Glow-boosting Liquid Care . I definitely like this product because of many things and one of the most important is it is lightweight you almost can't feel it after few seconds after applying it on your skin. As I have a combination/oily skin I don't use heavy day creams and I am always looking for my day cream/moisturizer to be as lightweight and non greasy as possible. This product is actually all in one. It is lotion, serum and moisturizer in one bottle. Besides moisturizing this liquid care gives also that healthy glow we all are looking for. 

The third product Pearly Lotion which contains translucent pearls can be used under Liquid care or on its own to give skin a boost. I have heard many good reviews about this lotion from my friends and other bloggers. For me this product is in the category 'nice to have' because I see the same results when I use Liquid Care on its own without this lotion. Yes, the texture is really nice and it also provides that healthy glow but as I don't like to put too many layers I would go with Liquid care only. But as I said I have read and saw many reviews where people say that this Pearly lotion is THE hero of this product range. So as always we all are different and that is why I suggest to try at least something from this skincare line. And if you would ask me - I would say that the night mask is a MUST! 

Photos: Natalija Petruhina

I can't explain how happy I am for the fact that we finally have this brand here in Baltics and although we are still waiting for a physical store to open here in Riga I got a chance to visit Tallinn for a Urban Decay corner opening in Kaubamaja as well as Blogger's masterclass with UD international makeup artist Jillian Ward. And I have to say that she is amazingly inspiring person and I am very happy that i got a chance to meet her in person.

I have been using some of the Urban Decay products already for few years and as you already know I am not a bold makeup person, so my favorite products have been naked palettes I bought my first - Naked 2 palette during my trip to the US in 2013 and it is still one of my favorite eye shadow product. The next product I decided to try was the Primer Potion - definitely the best eye shadow primer in market.

In last few weeks I have been trying a lot of new Urban Decay products and some of them are one of the newest the brand has right now like Naked Skin One & Done Hybrid Complexion Perfector and Beached Bronzer. I am very impressed by the most of the products I received lately. In my introduction box there was a 24/7 Glide-On eye pencil, Revolution High-Color lipgloss in Liar, Naked Basics palette, Matte Revolution lipstick in Bad Blood and anti-ageing eyeshadow Primer Potion. After masterclass with Jillian we also received Naked Smoky eyeshadow palette and Perversion mascara. I still need more time to really try out the Smoky palette and even though I am that Naked nude person I already have some favorite shades in that Smoky palette. 

 

And of course when I saw full range of products in Tallinn during the opening I couldn't resist myself from buying some of the things I have been thinking about for the long time and they were Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup and the famous concealer -  Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer. These are the two product I am using pretty much every day for almost two weeks already and I am as satisfied as I could be. Yes, I am a foundation junkie and I have tried almost all famous foundations from the big brands like MUFE Ultra HD, Two Faced Born This Way, Lancome Teint Idol Ultra 24h, Diorskin Forever, Giorgio Armani Luminous silk foundation and they all have their pros and cons. I would say that my favorite foundation of all time has been MUFE Ultra HD but of course it is very heavy and not the best option during the summer, so now I have found my new friend for summer which is extremely light and on the same time it provides buildable coverage if you need it. And of course In the end I decided that besides those practical things like foundation and concealer I need something more FUN - and by the moment I heard that just an hour after the opening there were only 3 Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Highlighters in SIN left I was sure that I need to take one home. And that highlighter is so good that I am surprised that I have to admit that there is better highlighter than NARS famous Albatross in my makeup bag right now. 

!!! Good news for those living in Latvia - although we are still waiting for Urban Decay corner opening in one of the Douglas stores, we can already buy some of the products in Douglas online store here. 

This is where I spent last Friday. Dior brunch which was organised in a backstage atmosphere. We got to see and test all the brand new products including some that will be in shops only from mid April. I fell in love with the new fragrance Poison Girl and Diorskin Forever foundation.

The backstage atmosphere was delivered in the best manner and felt so real.

The food was amazing as it was from one of the best restaurants in Riga - 3 Pavāru restorāns "Tam labam būs augt". If you want to experience something special for dinner then this place is definitely the best to go for. It is not just about the food which is amazingly delicious it is also about atmosphere, service and creativity. This is why you can see on the photos below that they are specialists in unusual experiments like mixing different flavours, sweet and salty, beetroot and cherries etc. And I would never believe that lipglosses can fit in this kitchen atmosphere so perfectly. The colour combination was so cool. 

This story is about one beautiful Friday morning when I got a chance to attend amazing brunch which was organized by Lancôme. Event took place in a very cosy and beautiful hotel Neiburgs which is located in Old Riga. Everything I wanted to do when I entered the room was to take photos which I did a lot. And you know how I felt? Like a kid in a candy shop! And as you can see from the photos the new Lancôme spring collection products actually looks like a candies. Look at them: