Event ⎪Di Lookiss store

Hello girls! Last week I went to the new Di Lookiss boutique in Leuven. Di, which is the biggest drugstore in Belgium, has launched the Lookiss concept. A store, with clean design where you can buy every single one of your favourite beauty products from make-up, to nails and skin care! Some exclusive brands are available in the first Lookiss store : Physician's Formula, Orly and House of Holland press on nails. I was so excited to discover this new concept with some fellow belgian beauty bloggers. The great thing about the Lookiss store is that you can have your make-up done by a professional for only 20 euros and try every products available then you get 20% off every products you buy after! Great deal. I had such a fun night, I can't wait to get more details on where will the next Lookiss stores open. I'll keep you posted! 

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Hello les filles! Dernièrement je me suis rendue à l'ouverture de la nouvelle boutique Di Lookiss à Louvain. Lookiss c'est quoi? C'est une boutique Di avec un design hyper épuré qui donne envie de tout acheter où l'on trouve les marques 'habituelles' aussi bien niveau skin care que make-up mais également des marques exclusives - Physician's Formula, Orly et les faux ongles House of Holland. Le bonus de Lookiss c'est que vous aurez la possibilité de vous faire maquiller par une professionnelle pour 20 euros en testant les produits de votre choix disponibles en magasin pour ensuite bénéficier de 20% de remise sur tous vos achats après la séance de maquillage! La première boutique du genre se trouve uniquement à Louvain pour le moment et d'autres ouvriront prochainement en Wallonie mais je n'ai pas encore plus de détails. SUSPENSE! J'ai passé une super soirée en compagnie de la crème de la crème de la blogo beauté belge et j'ai hâte de pouvoir me rendre dans un Lookiss pour une petite virée shopping prochainement! 

So, what are your first impressions on the Di Lookiss store ladies?

XO,Marilou

The weekend manicure ⎪Peace & Mauve

Happy week-end! YAY! Saturday, how I love you. It's the perfect day to do your nails. I have been playing with my new manicure Bourjois goodies today and this is the result! On my nails I'm wearing my favourite colour for this spring : Peace & Mauve. It's the most gorgeous pale lavender color ever. It's absolutely perfect for everyday and it's not as 'in your face' as white nail polish. You do need a good three coat as the texture is pretty thin. I have also tried the new Bourjois  Graphic nail tattoos. How cool are these? I'm obsessed with them. They're so easy to apply and instantly give you that cool nail look. Bourjois has also released a new Nail polish remover 1 second - you know how much I love the pink version of this - with this time a little applicator to remove the nail polish off your toe nails which is brilliant. I often bring the 1 second nail polish remover with me when I'm going away as it comes so handy but I always regretted the fact that they didn't had invented a system to remove the one for your toe nails as well....it's done now! Thank you Bourjois for being so cool, girly and inventive. 

What do we think ladies? Are these graphic nail tattoos up your alley?

I hope you'll all have a wonderful week-end!

XO,Marilou

Instalife #25

Hi lovelies! I've had so much fun showing you more outfits insta pictures lately, I hope you like it too. I have been doing a massive closet revamp. Out with the old and in with the new! I'm so done with some trends from last year, I need a massive closet refresh. I can't wait til Madrid to splurge on Topshop and Zara big time haha. The weather has been quite amazing lately, so I have been wearing my new Zara black or nude sandals. I'm obsessed with them, they're so comfy to walk in and they give such an edgy touch feminine touch to any outfit! Only 40€ for a pair. It's such a great deal as these are the kind of heels that are timeless and you can wear with everything! I also got my hands of these H&M man repeller birkin looking like sandals, which I HAD to get after watching Barbara's video from The Persian Babe. She's such a huge source of inspiration for me, I really enjoy her videos. 

I'm off to meet with my sisters and little cousin to celebrate his birthday and have some sushis!

Let me know if you would like to see more outfit posts!

XO,MARILOU

The travel outfit

1. Monki Cardigan (here) / 2. Topshop sunnies (here) / 3. H&M blinged sandals (here)

4. Zara black shopper (here) / 5. Topshop white tee (here) / 6. Topshop boyfriend jeans (here)

Hello girlies! Here's a quick inspiration for a future travel outfit I will be wearing very soon, I'm still waiting for my orders to arrive haha. I'm so excited to be heading to Madrid in May for a few days. I really need some days off, visiting a city, eating great food and shopping my life away. I love city trips, they're my favourite kinda trips. I do love a good old vacation on the beach, don't get me wrong, but it's so exciting to visit a new city. I'm half spanish so I'm even more excited to going back to my 'roots' and eat some delicious tapas and gambas a la plancha. I'm not gonna lie, the fact that Zara is much cheaper in Spain is also a huge part of my excitement haha. 

That black shopper from Zara is the most gorgeous bag, not only for travel but also for a daily basis. It's quite roomy so you can fit all your life in it. Nothing can beat a good long cosy cardigan with a pair of boyfriend jeans and a white t-shirt. It's such a comfortable and effortless look to travel in style while not looking overdone or anything. To add a little glamorous touch, I'll wear that pair of blinged crossover sandals by H&M. They look so pretty, I already have the black version but these are to die for. I hope I'll find them in store in time. To finish the look, I will be wearing some sunnies of course as I won't be wearing any makeup - except the BB cream, the lipgloss and the concealer of course. 

Have a lovely day,

XO,MARILOU

Get that glow on!

There's just something about getting that extra glow to my complexion that makes me feel good about myself. I feel so not myself when I don't wear highlighter which seems weird as almost a year ago I wasn't such a huge highlighter fan. I have discovered how it can brightens my make up, makes my skin healthy looking and really illuminates the whole face. Highlighters are everywhere these days, you can use them in a stick, powders, liquid, creamy... I have a preference for liquid highlighter as I find it much more 'glowy' than others and really lasts all day while powdery highlighter tend to fade away more quickly on my skin. I have also learn that to get that glowy skin on, highlighting is good but using a glowy foundation is even better. I'm a huge fan of the Bourjois Happy Light but these days I have been obsessed with my Olaz CC Cream. It is so comfortable to wear and really give my skin that instant glow. You might hate this if you have oily skin to begin with but I'm a girl with absolutely no shine in my game, so any extra glowy-ness is more than welcome! The trick to get that extra glowy-ness? I'm using my Beauty Blender! It works like magic...trust me. 

After using my new favourite CC cream, I powder my face with a translucid powder than, it's time for that highlighting moment - also known as my new makeup obsession! My favourite highlighter for a very long time was Benefit High Beam and previously Moon Beam - which is now discontinued I think. It's an amazing liquid highlighter with pink undertones. I love it and I would buy it over and over again except that the price is so ridiculously high! I have bought my last Benefit High Beam last August and finished it in February. Less than 6 months! I have been using it every single day. I love it but I wanted to find a cheaper, more affordable replacement. When I saw swatches of the 17 Wow highlighter online, I just knew it was the one. I received it today directly from the UK - thanks to Ray - and it's love. It's such an amazing highlighter, even more pigmented that the Benefit one and it costs around 5£. Can you believe it? New favorite for sure! 

I also have been loving my Mary-lou Manizer highlighter powder by The Balm, which is stunning and needless to say that I have now my eyes on the Cindy Lou Manizer as well! An other good affordable highlighter is the Topshop Glow in the shade Polished. Although I just wore it today for about two hours, I just know this is the kind of product I'm gonna love and buy over and over again. It's a creamy highlighter with the most gorgeous pearly white shade. It's super pigmented and absolutely perfect to brighten my face. 

For a more sunkissed look, I have been obsessed with my UNE BB cream enhancer which is a creamy golden BB cream, I wouldn't use it all over my face as it's super sparkly but applied as a highlight on the cheeks it's gorgeous! The second one, I'm still learning to use. It's the new UNE Skin Ideal Youth Serum Bronzer. It doesn't work at ALL as a bronzer for me, it was a catastrophy when I applied it all over my face before my foundation - which is its main purpose - it left me with weird brown patches all over my face but I'm trying to use it as an highlighter as it's super shimmery and perfect for a sunkissed look. So far I have been applying it with my Beauty Blender, it was a massive fail so I used my Real Techniques Buffing Brush and it was pretty decent but nothing spectacular. If anyone knows how to use this gorgeous product...let me know!

Do you have any favourite highlighter?

XO,MARILOU

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"Le teint lumineux et glowy - la quête de toute une vie by Marilou" Je pense que ce titre pourrait être le nom de mon premier livre. Oui, je rêve d'une peau naturellement lumineuse et glowy que je n'ai malheureusement pas. Bonjour le teint terne, la peau sèche qui ne brille jamais - dans le genre jamais, c'est vraiment jamais, je n'ai jamais eu le plaisir de devoir me repoudrer le nez toutes les 5 minutes pour enlever l'excès de sébum d'ailleurs j'évite les poudres matifiantes à tout prix au risque de me taper un teint encore plus terne. Oui vous l'avez compris, je suis en quête éternelle d'une belle peau lumineuse et donc de l'highlighter parfait. Ce fameux highlighter dont je ne raffolais pas tant que ça il y a à peine un an car 'too much' à mon goût, préférant de loin les fond de teints lumineux. Maintenant que j'ai passé le cap, j'en suis absolument accro. Si je n'en porte pas, je me sens hyper fade et terne toute la journée : horreur et damnation. 

Le matin c'est devenu mon rituel préféré, après avoir appliqué au préalable un fond de teint lui aussi lumineux - ici pour le coup c'est la CC Cream Olaz, mon chouchou du moment - avec ma beauty blender pour un effet ultra lumineux. Je fixe ensuite le tout avec une poudre libre Bourjois (la Java Rice ou la Flower Perfection) et j'applique enfin mon highlighter. Qu'il soit crémeux, liquide, en poudre...je ne saute jamais cette étape cruciale. Pendant tout un temps, j'utilisais le High Beam de Benefit - un magnifique highlighter liquide rose perlé - qui me donnait une super touche glowy au quotidien. Malheureusement, cette petite merveille coûte un bras. Oui vous connaissez les prix Benefit et je me vois mal 'investir' tous les 5 mois dans un nouvel highlighter Benefit à 35 euros. J'ai donc trouvé des alternatives qui se sont révélées tout aussi bien, voir même mieux! 

Tout d'abord, le 17 Wow Highlighter, que j'ai reçu aujourd'hui grâce à une blogueuse basée en Angleterre car il se vend chez Boots, me faisait rêver depuis super longtemps car c'est un dupe exact du Benefit High Beam de ce que j'avais voir d'après les diverses swatches présentes sur la toile. En vrai, il est encore plus beau. Plus lumineux, plus pigmenté et ne coûte que +- 5 euros. Oh my god! Mon nouveau saint graal de l'highlight quoi. (C'est celui que je porte sur la photo pour info !) Il va falloir que je fasse un méga stock au plus vite. J'angoisse déjà à l'idée de le vider....(Vous pouvez le trouver sur le site de boots - ici - ils livrent en Belgique, thank god). Heureusement pour moi, j'ai également reçu l'highlighter Topshop Glow dans la teinte Polished. Un highlighter crémeux cette fois-ci, qui est tout aussi magnifique. Hyper pigmenté, une couleur dorée hyper lumineuse et un prix très abordable. Sans parler du packaging über cute, of course! 

Ensuite, dans les petites basiques, j'utilise assez souvent mon Mary-lou Manizer de The Balm - un incontournable de la blogosphère - que j'aime beaucoup mais dont je commence à me lasser  depuis que le Cindy-Lou Manizer est sorti...comme par magie! Pour un look plus sunkissed -  plus été -  plus fun, j'aime aussi utilisé des highlighter dorés. Mon préféré dans le genre c'est la BB Cream soleil doré de UNE. Je ne l'utilises pas comme BB Cream car trop scintillante à mon goût pour l'entièreté du visage mais elle est parfaite en touche highlighter. La petite touche bling qui fait du bien!

J'ai également reçu le nouveau Skin Ideal Youth Serum Bronzer de UNE en teinte 07, qui est décrit comme une base bronzante illuminatrice = le genre de produit dont je raffole d'autant plus que j'adore le fond de teint Skin Ideal Youth de la même marque car il laisse ma peau illuminée et lui donne un aspect plus lisse. Ni une, ni moins j'ai donc testé cette fameuse base bronzante et là, grosse déception : la teinte est beaucoup trop foncée pour moi et elle me laisse des marques brunes sur tout le visage. Impossible de l'appliquer uniformément, pourtant j'ai essayé la Beauty Blender, le pinceau et même mes doigts. J'ai essayé de l'appliquer en touche highlighter, et là ça va déjà mieux mais l'application reste une tâche périlleuse, dommage car les reflets sont sublimes. Peut-être c'est juste la teinte qui est trop foncée? J'ose l'espérer.  Je pense craquer pour la teinte plus claire car j'adore ce concept de bases illuminatrices et à la fois 'bonne mine' et j'ai bien envie de lui donner une seconde chance!

Et vous les filles, des highlighters préférés? 

XO,MARILOU

Event ⎥ Geox SS14

Hey girls! Here's some pictures of the Geox event last night. I went with Lindsay and we had so much fun! It was a first for me as I have never tried Geox shoes before, to be honest with you, I thought they were a bit too 'mature looking' for me much to my surprise when I tried on so many cool shoes last night! The floral espadrilles, the glittery snickers, the strappy sandals,... Honestly, I have never tried such comfortable shoes in my life! It was soo hard to decide which pair of shoes I wanted to bring home but I finally went for a pair of nude and black high heels. I'll post you an outfit with them very soon! Thank you Geox for such a fun night and the lovely pair of shoes!

Now I'm off to work than I have an other event later on. Have a lovely day! 

XO,MARILOU

My big hair routine

Since I've been watching #RHONJ , #TOWIE and #Jerseylicious, I have had an obsession with big hair. I have naturally thin and pretty much flat to slighty wavy on some parts hair so I need that extra va va voom. I wish I had voluminous hair naturally but I don't so I'm getting a little bit of help here and there. My routine has not been perfect, I'm still on the hunt for perfect long lasting big hair  but I'm getting there slowly. Here's my current big hair routine.

#1 S H A M P O O S 

 I find it sooo hard to find a good voluminous shampoo. They seem to work on my hair one day then some other days they just don't and my hair are getting even more flat. I think that using a voluminous shampoo works if you don't over use it. It's good from times to time to get you that extra va va voom in your hair but I wouldn't use it every day - well at least for me! I have been using the CHI Magnified Volume shampoo for a good two month now and although it was more on the pricey side, the tiniest amount of product works so I'll last for awhile. It's a good shampoo if you want to add some body to your hair but it's nothing extraordinary. I do love some the slightly banana scent and the fact that it is quite moisturizing.

The next shampoo is from Urtekram - a danish brand -  and I have purchase it over and over again because it is made from natural rhassoul - a marrocan clay that gets rid of the excess of oil naturally - and has pretty much no chemical products in it but mostly because it gives my hair A LOT of body and volume. The down side is that it doesn't hydrate my hair and leave them feeling pretty 'rough' but I personally don't mind the hair roughness - I much prefer the rough feeling that flat feeling! I also love the fact that my hair get oily less faster when I'm using this shampoo as it's made from natural components! It looks like pure mud when you apply it when it foams really well and leaves you with a minty smell - from mint essential oil -  in your hair which I love!

And last, my beloved Aussie Aussome Volume that I've been using for quite a while too now. I just love everything about this shampoo, it smells di-vi-ne and really give some extra volume to my hair. It's one of that shampoo that you shouldn't use on a daily basis though, it's good to use it once a week mixed with other shampoos the rest of the week to get that aussome volume feeling!

#2  L E A V E - I N   S P R A Y

The leave-in spray has to be my favourite part of the big hair routine. I love how a spray can give you that extra body in your hair without having any weird crispy feeling. You must use it before blow drying your hair and you should instantly feel that extra volume, especially at the roots!

I have been trying the Jäson Thin to Thick leave-in spray and I'm still in that trying to figure out if I love it or hate it. Some day I seem to love it and some other days I really don't like it that much. Today has been one of those love it moment, because it has given me that extra body I was looking for. It doesn't have any smell as it's also doesn't use harsch chemicals and perfume. Then, my favourite of them all, is the Aussome Volume leave-in spray. It's not a-mazing but it's ok, the thing that drag me into buying it over and over again is the smell. I just love that Aussie smell in my hair, it lasts all day and feels great.

#3 H A I R S P R A Y

Big hair, lots of hairspray! This has become a daily habit in my hair routine. I also add a little bit of hairspray just because it gives that extra body that I love. Finding a good hairspray is - believe it or not - such a difficult task. I don't my hairspray to smell like an old lady with cats - yes, I'm looking at your Elnett - neither do I want it to make my hair feel cripsy and looking absolutely disgusting. I have find the perfect hairspray, not too strong yet holding my curls or keeping the volume on! Kruidvat Shiny &Strong is my savior! Not only does it cost only 2,99€ - hooray - but it does its job perfectly! You can brush it off and it's less obvious that you're wearing hairspray but still make it look like you have body to your hair. Ah-mazing!

The second one, I also have a bit of a love/hate relationship with. Batiste XXL Volume does give some extra amazing va va voom volume and body to my roots but it leaves my hair feeling soooo weird. I only use it in case of extreme volume needed - clubbing, going for a night out, recording a Youtube video, date night etc - because it couldn't deal with that feeling all day long. The other Batiste dry shampoos don't have that cripsy horrible feeling but they're not as 'volumizing' as the XXL Volume one !

Share if you have any product recommendations for good jerseylicious hair!

XO,MARILOU

Favourite coral lipsticks ♥

Catrice 'These Lips Are On Fire' /  Maybelline Stay 14h 'Stay With Me Coral'  

Revlon 'Unapologetic' / Maybelline Colorsensational 'Shocking coral' / Rimmel Apocalips 'Stellar

Catrice 'These Lips Are On Fire' /  Maybelline Stay 14h 'Stay With Me Coral'

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm 'Unapologetic' / Maybelline Colorsensational 'Shocking coral' 

Hi girlies! I'm so happy about this post as I have been obsessing over coral lipsticks. I already know that coral will be my top favourite lipstick colour for this summer. Last year it was all about pink and neutrals but this year...bring on the bright coral! Coral can have many undertones from orange to pink so it can be super versatile. I think that it's the best colour for my skin tone, it really brings out my eyes and give me a healthy looking skin. I've had 5 favourite lipsticks that I've been wearing a lot but the reason why you will only see 4 of them swatch above is because the fifth one - Rimmel Apocalips in the shade Stellar - was impossible to capture in picture color wise, although is it the most perfect bright coral pinky lipstick in picture it captures as a 'true red'. The other swatches were good so I'm sharing them with you so you can get an idea of what these beaut look like in real life!

My favorite of the bunch is my Maybelline 14H Stay With Me Coral because of the gorgeous shade and the long lasting side of it. It's perfect to wear for work and for going out. My second favourite has to be the Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Unapologetic. A true coral with pink undertones, the texture is so velvety and comfortable to wear. I don't mind the minty smell but I'm not obsessed with it either.

The Catrice 'These lips are on fire' is more a coral with orange/red undertones but it's such a gorgeous yet very edgy shade to wear. It's pretty bright and not to easiest to wear though. Then, the oh-so famous Maybelline Colorsensationnal in 'Shocking Coral' which was also super hard to capture. The shade is a vibrant coral/pink, I would say that vibrant is an understatement to describe this baby as it's almost neon in real life. It's the kind of shade I love to wear with a plain simple white tee and blue jeans outfit.

Which one is your favourite?

Share if you have any good coral lipstick recommendation :)

XO,MARILOU

Event ⎪Up To Do

Hi girls! I had such a fun time at the Up To Do Event in Brussels the other day. Not only was I soooo happy to see my dear fellow blogger Lindsay but I was really curious and excited to discover the new Up To Do beauty atelier within the Francis Ferent store. Up To Do is a really concept born from two sisters fed up to not being able to get trendy, cool and affordable hair do at hair dressers. Therefore they have launched the Up To Do beauty atelier in which you can get a gorgeous hair do in less than 20 minutes and from 15 to 30 euros maximum! You know in those The Hills episode when LC and her clique are going to the hair dresser just to get wavy hair every two weeks, that is such a rare thing to do here in Belgium -and that's unfortunate, as I want to live the life LC is leading of course.

They have so many amazing look to offer and they're team were super friendly and welcoming. I went for the Laetitia, which is very much Lauren Conrad's inspired in my opinion. Don't you think this braided do is absolutely stunning? It's perfect if you have a wedding to attend or a formal party at work. They also offer some more 'casual' looks like vintage waves or the simple yet always effective braided hair à la LC! My friend Lindsay went for a similar hair do but with a more vintagey vibe to it with the braided side bun . I'm completely in love with their concept and will definitely try it next time I'll need some extra glamorous perfect looking hair! For more infos, go check their website here

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Hello les filles! J'espère que vous avez toutes passées un super bon weekend. Perso, c'était top du top, j'ai bien dormi, bien mangé, bien rigolé et en plus de ça il a fait bon, mais que demande le peuple? Jeudi passé je me suis rendue avec ma copine Lindsay à l'event Up To Do Beauty Ateliers au sein même du magasin Francis Ferent - Avenue Louise. Les deux soeurs, créatrices du concept, se sont lancées dans l'ouverture d'un deuxième beauty atelier après celui du Shopping de Woluwé! Le Up To Do c'est un atelier qui vous permet d'avoir la coiffure de vos rêves en moins de 20 minutes et surtout pour maximum 30 euros - parce que bon les coiffeurs qui te coûtent un bras à Bruxelles pour au final sortir avec une coiffure de mamie sur le retour, j'en connais pleins perso - non ici les coiffures proposées sont hyper fraîches et trendy. 

Des 'simples' boucles vintages ou naturelles au chignon tressés à la Lauren Conrad - devinez lequel j'ai choisi hi hi ? - tout y est! L'équipe est super sympa, le service est rapide mais convivial, les coiffures sont super réussies. J'ai vraiment a-do-ré ma coupe  à la 'Lauren Conrad' et je me sentie comme dans un épisode de The Hills - mais si vous voyez quand elles se donnent rendez-vous chez le coiffeur pour se préparer avant une soirée - ouiiiii ça! Vous pouvez aussi allez vous faire maquiller et passer une bonne début de soirée entre copines! Pour plus d'infos sur les ateliers Up To Do c'est ici 

What do we think ladies? Which hair do is your favourite?

XO,MARILOU