Current Favorite Teas and Dark Chocolate

While the Anti Make-up Phase is still going strong (and by the way, thank you for all the amazing comments - you guys are obviously my tribe!), I thought I'd entertain you with a little non-beauty favorites post, focusing on my favorite teas and dark chocolate bars of the moment. Because let's face it: if I don't blog about them now, there soon will be nothing left to blog about in the first place :)

You may know from my '30 Random Facts About Me' post that I'm a discerning coffee drinker, but I actually drink more tea than coffee, and my tea consumption reaches about 4 mugs a day in the depths of winter - I just like hot drinks in my cold, cold belleh! I do try to moderate my caffeine intake, so some of the teas you'll see here are of the herbal variety. Recently, my husband also got me really into dark chocolate (I used to be a milk chocolate kind of girl, and Lindt's bars are still among my favorites) and now a nice hot cup of tea with some dark chocolate is my all-round favorite treat.

Let's start with the ever-so-popular David's Tea. One of the benefits of moving to New York is that we now have access to a physical David's Tea store and are able to smell all the goodies in person. My general impression of David's is that while they do have some wonderfully tasty teas, unfortunately some of the varieties they carry smell better than they taste (looking at you, chamomile-laden Mango Lassi!), but you know, there's always a bit of trial and error with previously untested teas.

David's Tea Organic Cream of Earl Grey (black tea with vanilla and bergamot flavor) is my ultimate favorite for the mornings. I think Earl Grey is a bit like Marmite in that some people love it and some people hate it, but if you enjoy this classic variety, try to hunt down something with a touch of vanilla as well. I also like Adagio Tea's Earl Grey Moonlight, which has the same taste profile.

Next up, a little night time treat: David's Tea Jessie's Tea, which is a rooibos blend with coconut and lavender. Jessie's Tea is a case of something that sounds pretty weird on paper, but tastes really good in reality - you get the slightly sweet, grassy notes of rooibos, creaminess of coconut and a bit medicinal, relaxing lavender finish.

Lastly from David's Tea, the unassumingly-named Citron Oolong. We bought it to replace sadly discontinued seasonal Tangerine green tea, and I love it just as much. Oolong ('black dragon' in Chinese) is a variety that sits somewhere in between green and black tea, and this blend is scented with jasmine (those are actual jasmine flowers you can see in the photo!), lemon myrtle and citrus essences. I'd also like a matchng perfume, please.

Now for an old favorite: Adagio Tea's Thai Chai. It's a comforting, warming black chai tea blended with coconut, lemongrass, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom. This particular blend differs from most chai teas in that it has the light freshness of coconut and lemongrass. I don't usually take my tea with milk, but I find that this benefits from a little splash to mellow out the spice and bring out the Thai flavors.

Now for the newest favorite: Mountain Rose Herbs Hibiscus High Tea. This is obviously an herbal tea (or what the French like to call 'tisane') - a blend of hibiscus flowers, lemongrass, mint, rose petals and orange peel. It tastes sweet, fresh, fruity, slightly cooling with lemongrass and mint; I actually need to try it as iced tea, I bet it would be pretty fantastic. It's a good substitute for fruit juice in the winter months, but quite difficult to get hold of (only available online from Mountain Rose Herbs store, and I found the shipping to be pretty extortionate), so I might move on to a diffrent hibiscus infusion after I finish this box.

Time for dark chocolate noms! Gourmet dark chocolate can get very expensive very quickly, so here's a little online shopping tip: I get my dark chocolate bars from Vitacost (this is my referral link, if you care for it*) - I find their prices a lot lower than any grocery store around me, Whole Foods included, and they have a very nice selection of fair trade, single origin, oftentimes organic dark chocolate. Their customer service is pretty outstanding and they have lightning fast shipping!

Madécasse is a Madagascar chocolate brand we've been buying for a long time now.  My older favorite is Citrus & Pink Pepper (63% pure cocoa) for it's bright, subtle spiciness, but now I've been cheating on it with Sea Salt & Nibs (63% cocoa) - it's a bit bolder, less sweet, with the delightful saltiness and crunchy texture from cacao nibs. Yum! Husband also really likes hot Cinnamon & Chili Pepper variety.

Our favorite inexpensive discovery: Equal Exchange Chocolates in Organic Very Dark Chocolate (71% cacao content) and Organic Panama Extra Dark (80% cacao). I used to dislike very dark chocolate because I often found a strange bitter/sour taste to it; these two have none of that, just super intense, concentrated cocoa flavor with a hint of vanilla bean. You really have to let a piece melt in your mouth a bit to savour all the amazing chocolate-ness of these... no rushing! Between the two of us, we go through a couple bars a week.

Let's wrap this up with a little bonus treat - my current favorite pastry. This is Tarte Framboise Meringuée from Maison Eric Kayser bakery here in New York. So far, I've found this international bakery chain to be the only one to properly execute a French tarte pastry; the crust has to be buttery and uhm, crusty, and this version (not to be confused with the regular Tarte Framboise, which comes with vanilla cream filling and no meringue) has a sweet and sour lemon cream, meringue AND fresh raspberries on top. Simply indulgent. Get their Torte de Meule, a large sourdough bread, and some Mini Cereales bread rolls while you're there.

Let me know in the comments your favorite teas and dark chocolate of the moment, or any other treat for that matter! I love discovering new things through your suggestions, and I need to replete my stocks pretty soon :) Also, if you're craving more tea reviews, especially of the bagged variety, check out my older tea favorites right here.

*Disclaimer: If you use my referral link to make a purchase at Vitacost.com, we will both receive a $10 coupon off of a minimum $30 purchase. You don't have to use my link - but it IS a nice deal. I'm not affiliated with or sponsored by Vitacost, I just genuinely like their service.

The Anti Make-up Phase

I confess: so far, I haven't bought any make-up this year. To be specific, I've only bought one beauty product thus far (Murad's Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum, mentioned here), so this post should probably be called 'The Anti Beauty Product Phase' - but well, that just didn't sound right and I'm all about catchy titles that actually reveal nothing of the forthcoming content (sometimes, anyway).

And this post isn't even about a make-up no-buy, which I'm NOT doing, by the way (so don't worry, I'll continue to blog about various beauty product discoveries!). In fact, it's about beauty products I've realized I don't need. Don't need, because I never use them, and have been able to satisfyingly cross out from all my beauty shopping lists. So, here are some categories of products I've eliminated, or I'm in the process of eliminating, from my beauty stash:

Foundation primers. I religiously reach for my NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base every time I wear eye make-up, but foundation primers are just so... meh. It might be that I just haven't found a game changer yet, but most of the time I just can't be bothered. You can see in the photo that I have a nice variety of samples to play with when I want to experiment, though I can't see myself actually purchasing a foundation primer for a very, very long time indeed.

Highlighters. I own two full-sized ones and some deluxe samples, and, uhm... almost never reach for them. The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Luminous Light (reviewed here) is definitely the best one I've ever tried and I like to apply a tiny bit here and there, but overall, I think I could really do without them; if need be, they could be easily replaced by a bit of highlighting eyeshadow, me thinks. I guess I'm lucky to have enough of my natural glow (shine, ekhem, ekhem...) to cover most of my highlighting needs.

Also a controversial omission from my make-up routine: eyelash curlers. I do own a great pair from Shiseido (raved about here) but I've come to realize I don't actually need them - my lashes have a natural curl to them! Adding the extra step of curling just makes them look strangely crimped, causes mascara transfer on my browbone, and makes them more brittle over time. So eyelash curlers... maybe not for everyone after all?

Lip liners. Fussy, drying, superfluous. I don't know you guys, I haven't actually noticed my lipstick ever bleeding outside my lip lines, and when I want a defined, long-lasting lip, I just carefully apply my lipstick with a brush, blot, apply again. I just can't be bothered to match a lip liner to all of my favorite bold lipsticks, and I can't be bothered with the extra step. So there.

And on the topic of lips - lip scrubs. I mean... just why exactly do we buy them? You can do all your lip exfoliating with a soft toothbrush, or a Q-tip dipped in some lip balm, or your regular face scrub, or like me, a damp towel. Or hey, you could even make your own scrub with some sugar and base oil. Why do we feel convinced that we need to add a lip scrub to our already lengthy beauty routines?

Self tanners. I know more of you are in the same boat with me - I embrace my pale skin. Gosh darn it, not even a full bottle of self tanner is going to turn me into a bronze goddess anyway; not with my coloring! I like bronzers for adding a subtle warmth to my face, and even with diligent applications of sunscreen, my body usually manages to get some sun in the warm months, and I think that's enough for me. The only time I feel like I could use some gradual self tanner is when I expose my white shins to the world for the first couple times in the spring - but these two samples you see here, mixed in with some body lotion, should be enough to last me the upcoming season at least.

Speaking of body care, I also don't use shaving cream - I actually don't have any to show you, because I don't remember the last time I bought one. I just find it's such an easy product to substitute: you could use a moisturizing soap/shower gel for shaving, or a body lotion, or a hair conditioner, or something like coconut oil. Why multiply the already numerous bottles in the shower? Multitask your products is what I say.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my stash reducing thought process! Are there any products you have succesfully eliminated from your beauty routine? Also, check out Beauty Reductionista's take on things she doesn't buy or need!

Random Giveaway! *CLOSED*

If you follow me on Instagram (click!), you may have seen that I recently scored an amazing gift with purchase goodie bag from drugstore.com, and I promised I would do a small giveaway with products I wasn't intending to keep for myself. So - here it is! I've also thrown in some extra goodies from my personal stash of brand new products.

The giveaway prize includes:
- TRESemme Keratin Smooth 7 Day Smooth Heat Activated Treatment for use with a flat iron
- Physicians Formula Super BB Cream in Medium/Deep
- Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Totally Toffee
- Zoya Nail Lacquer in Wednesday
- Stila Lip Glaze in Apricot (deluxe sample)
(seashells are not included :)

The giveaway is open to US residents only (sorry! International shipping costs are a bit prohibitive at the moment!) and be over the age of 18 or have parental permission to share their shipping address in the event that they win.

All you have to do to enter is be a follower through either Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin', and leave me a comment below with some requests/ideas for future posts you'd like to see on Rocaille Writes, or an existing post/series of posts you particularly enjoy. Please also share your email address or Twitter handle so that I can contact you if you're the lucky winner.

The winner will be randomly chosen a week from now and announced on Twitter, as well as the bottom of this post. Good luck to all!

The winner is... *drumroll*... commment no. 17,  Shea Caithaml! I'll be in touch with you shortly via email. Congrats and to those who didn't win this time - don't worry, there will be more giveaways in the future!

My Holy Grail Lip Balms: Osmia Honey-Myrrh Lip Repair & Nuxe Rêve de Miel

In truth, I originally planned this post to be a strict comparison between two fantastic honey lip balms, with one clear winner emerging at the end. But I can't do it, you guys - I just love them both, and nobody wants to be forced to pick their favorite child lip treatment. Still, would you like to hear my thoughts on these bedtime staples and why you need them in your life? Yeah, I thought so.

Osmia Organics Honey-Myrrh Lip Repair* ($22 for 0.28 oz) contains beeswax, cocoa butter, Vitamin E oil, manuka honey, as well as myrrh and bergamot essential oils to heal dry and cracked lips within one to two days. The balm also contains lanolin to help it stay on your lips overnight. Nuxe Rêve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm ($19 for 0.52 oz/ 15 g) is a concentrated formula to nourish and repair chapped and dry lips, and contains beeswax, shea butter, sweet almond, rosehip and Vitamin E oils, honey as well as grapefruit and lemon essential oils.

As you can see, both of these lip treatments contain beeswax, Vitamin E oil and honey (which hydrates dry lips beautifully on its own - you need to try it!), plant oils and butters, as well as essential oils; essentialy, the ingredients for both are very similar. Osmia's Lip Repair contains 79% certified organic ingredients, while Nuxe Rêve de Miel contains 80.2% ingredients of natural origin.

In terms of texture, Osmia Honey-Myrrh Lip Repair is more solid (you need to break the hard surface with your fingernail - I actually use my nail to scoop out the right amount of both of these balms) but thinner and more oily once warmed up on the skin. Nuxe Rêve de Miel is softer in the jar, but thicker and more waxy on the lips. Osmia's balm feels very smooth and quite light on the lips and gives a slight sheen, while Nuxe has an almost grainy, heavier consistency and a matte finish. I like the feel of both of them equally for different reasons. Both lip treatments stay on the lips overnight (I can still feel some in the morning), but Nuxe is probably a touch more tenacious - it can even withstand drinking and a small breakfast. The smell of Osmia's Lip Repair is resinous with a touch of citrus, while Nuxe's scent reminds me the most of candied orange peel with a touch of honey.

In terms of effectivess, both Nuxe and Osmia are fantastic at nourishing and hydrating very dry, peeling lips - which I get on a daily basis, so an intense lip balm like these is an absolute must in my night skincare routine, and I always keep one on my bedside table. The similarity of end result is in fact the reason why I can't choose a favorite; while you might nit-pick over packaging, texture, scent, organic versus natural ingredients, in the end those factors are simply a matter of individual preference - but the effectiveness of product is what matters most to all of us.

Lastly, let me touch on the price point and availability of both products. In terms of price per ounce, Osmia's Lip Repair works out to be roughly twice as expensive as Nuxe's already pricey balm. Osmia Organics products are also only available online through their website, while Nuxe products are offered by a number of etailers, as well as in some drugstores (Duane Reade Look Boutiques in New York, for example). Osmia's product are handmade in Colorado with high quality natural and organic ingredients, while Nuxe's are made in France with a touch more lab-derived fillers. So yes, it's cheaper and easier to get the Nuxe Rêve de Miel... but I really like my Osmia (support small businesses!), so I'll probably just end up rotating purchases of both.

Have you tried Osmia Organics Lip Repair or Nuxe Rêve de Miel? Which lip treatment is your Holy Grail?

*Disclaimer: Osmia Honey-Myrrh Lip Repair is a press sample I received directly from the brand for review consideration, and I purchased Nuxe Rêve de Miel lip balm myself. All opinions are 100% honest and unbiased, no matter if the products featured were purchased with my own monies or provided as a free press sample. All links are non-affiliate and simply provided for your convenience. Thank you for reading!

Not Another Naked?! bareMinerals 7 Ways To Bare Eyecolor Set

I like neutral eyeshadows. Beiges, browns and taupes are what I wear 90% of the time. But even I started growing tired of the ubiqitous 'Naked' bandwagon; I'm aware it makes sense in the marketing way of things, however I'd much rather cosmetic companies came up with something new instead of regurgitating spin-offs for what - 3 years now? Come on, we need some excitement here!

So as much I wasn't impressed with the theme of this mineral eyeshadow set, I was grateful to receive it as a birthday gift from a very thoughtful friend who knew my taste in eyeshadow shades. The bareMinerals 7 Ways To Bare Eyecolor Set ($38 for 7 x 0.28 g / 0.01 Oz. ea) is a seven piece loose mineral shadow set in a variety of universal neutral shades for a complete eye look.

The set comes in a sturdy pearly yellow box with a pull-out drawer housing seven little pots of eyeshadow wedged in a plastic insert; I'm not sure what I'm going to reuse the box for quite yet, but it's too pretty to toss! The drawback of this beautiful packaging is that it's definitely too bulky to actually store my eyeshadows in; well, let's face it, mineral eyeshadows are certainly not the easiest to store conveniently anyway...

7 Ways To Bare comes with the following mini Eyecolor shades (these are smaller than full size):

Pearl Sateen Eyecolor (described as vanilla cream), a warm off-white with a satin finish

Nude Beach Matte Eyecolor (described as matte warm sand), a matte light pink beige with grey undertones

Chic Nude Eyecolor (described as veiled nude), a light peach with a satin finish

Silk Stockings Eyecolor (described as peachy nude), a light tan with soft gold shimmer, reads as satin

Pamper Eyecolor (described as copper canyon), a metallic copper with gold shimmer

In the Nude Eyecolor (described as subtle bronze smolder), a slightly warm dark matte brown

Spiced Fig Liner Shadow (described as rich fig brown), a matte black brown with bronze shimmer

Close-ups left to right in the same order as listed above

The eyeshadows have a smooth, creamy feel in the pot and swatch well on bare (unprimed) skin. I would say most of the eyeshadows included in the set are not the most pigmented shadows I've ever worked with, with the exception of the metallic copper Pamper shade; my guess based on this one and another bareMinerals eyecolor I've tried, a light shimmery taupe Nude Beach (reviewed and swatched here), is that the intensely shimmery/metallic shades from bareMinerals are probably the most pigmented, as is the case with many brands as well. Don't get me wrong though - these are definitely pigmented enough to show up on the eye without difficulty, and they blend without a fault.

L-R: Pearl Sateen, Nude Beach Matte, Chic Nude, Silk Stockings

L-R: Pamper, In The Nude, Spiced Fig

I think the shade selection should suit both warm and cool skintones in the light to medium end of spectrum; I feel that the lightest 4 shades of the set may not work well as all over lid shades on deeper skintones, and there's probably little use in having a set with four highlighting eyeshadows. The set pulls slightly warm with the inclusion of shades like Silk Stockings and Pamper, but it also works on my cool skintone. In the look below, I used Silk Stockings all over the lid, Pearl Sateen in the inner corner to highlight, In The Nude lightly in the crease and Spiced Fig over a brown pencil eyeliner. The end result is a very subtle daytime definition but with a flattering sheen on the lid, and the added interest of some sparse sparkle in the brown eyeliner. I've used Bourjois Healthy Mix as my foundation, NYC Blushable Creme Stick in Plaza Pink on my cheeks, and Revlon Superlustrous lipgloss in Coral Reef on the lips.

Overall, I quite like this bareMinerals 7 Ways to Bare set; I'm especially glad to see three lighter lid shades (Nude Beach Matte, Chic Nude, Silk Stockings) that seem a bit more interesting than my standard shimmery beige, taupe or champagne. I'm not too keen on the hassle of applying loose mineral eyeshadows on an everyday basis, but they're fun to play with; I'll probably incorporate one or two shades from the set into my regular pressed eyeshadow arsenal and swap them out from time to time.

Are you still looking for your perfect neutral eyeshadow palette or are you over the Naked trend? Do you use loose eyeshadows in your everyday routine?

Everything's Coming Up Roses...

... but no, I mean it - just about everything. You guessed it: it's all because of the dreaded Valentine's Day, or Cupid's Day of Doom as I like to call it; well, maybe not exactly, but you might have correctly inferred that I harbor a strong dislike for February 14. I DO like roses though, so I thought we could meet in the middle - you'll be conjuring images of glitter, pink hearts and romantic dinners, if that's your thang, and I'll just talk about one of my favorite flowers. Deal? Or does everyone hate me now?

Anyhow. I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but it turns out I have a good variety of rose-centric beauty products - I won't lie, I mostly enjoy using them due to the sweet but sophisticated, feminine floral aroma, although rose (or more specifically, rose essential oil and rosehip oil) has a number of skin loving properties too. Rather nifty coincidence, right?

Starting with skincare, I've waxed lyrical about the Jurlique Herbal Recovery Advanced Serum ($54 for 30ml/$150 for 100ml) before, but here's a quick recap: it's a beautifully-scented hydrating serum rich in natural ingredients including anti-aging rosa canina fruit oil (rosehip oil), which helps to diminish scars, lighten pigmentation and nourish dry skin. I've also recently picked up a bottle of organic Rose Hydrosol from Mountain Rose Herbs ($4.50 for 3 oz spray bottle); hydrosols or flower waters are by-products of essential oil steam distillation and offer all the beneficial components of a whole plant. Rose hydrosol/ rosewater has antibacterial properties, helps balance sebum production and tighten pores, calms and relieves anxiety. I like best using it as a toner or a natural pillow spray.

My rose-scented bath selection includes an old favorite, Lush's Rose Jam Bubbleroon ($6.25 for 3.5 oz), previously metioned here (thank you Kar Yi for reuniting me with it!), and a new find: Neom Organics Complete Bliss Bath Oil ($56 for 100ml) with Moroccan Blush Rose, a perfectly relaxing, moisturizing treat. In terms of scent difference, Lush's Turkish rose is a bit sweeter, jammier and more edible, while Neom's Moroccan rose smells greener, sharper, more rose geranium. To complete our rose world tour, I was gifted this Bulgarian rose soap by my mom; this hot pink bar smells like garden rose petals, fresh, clean, slightly musky. The soap came in a set with a little vial of rosewater, which I can't wait to use for scenting pot pourri sachets or in a diffuser.

While browsing The Body Shop's hand cream offerings, I couldn't resist a purse size tube of their Wild Rose Hand Cream ($20 for 3.3 fl oz/100 ml, I believe my smaller size was $10). This luscious cream contains rosehip and brazil nut oil (by the way, I love The Body Shop's Brazil Nut Body Butter, it pretty much smells like nutty donuts) and it's aimed at more mature skin types but I find that it works perfectly for my dry, eczema-prone hands; it's richly moisturizing yet soaks in without leaving a greasy layer, and the rose scent is not too overpowering - it has a sharp, soapy edge to it.

Last but not least, my beautiful vintage-inspired bottle of L'Occitane Rose Quatre Reines Eau de Toilette ($22 for 0.66 fl oz/20 ml). This rose soliflore is composed of four different varieties of rose: the Grasse rose, the Bulgarian rose, the Moroccan rose and the Turkish rose. This light, refreshing EDT becomes more powdery and musky as it dries down on the skin without turning too old lady - it still retains an effortless, sunny, summery quality. If you're after a feminine, but not overly complicated rose perfume, I do recommend you give it a sniff.

Now that I've been smelling all these rose-scented products for the past hour, I may actually use one or two this Friday night... but I'm not promising anything! What are your favorite rose-themed beauty products?

Pastel Pretty: Lancôme Infinité 24H Eyeshadow in Evermore Lilac

A bit early for spring pastels, you say? Well, I don't really care - it's extra dreary and wintery this week in New York, and I had this colorful pretty idly sitting in my to-review box: Lancôme Color Design Infinité 24H Eyeshadow in Evermore Lilac 300 ($25 for 0.12 oz/ 3.5g). I hardly ever get any post requests (wink wink, nudge nudge), but there has been some mild arm-twisting on Twitter for me to show how I wear pastel shades on my eyes - so your wish is my command, especially when it involes sparkly blurples.

While Lancôme calls their Color Design Infinité 24H Eyeshadows 'a revolution in eye shadow.  Now, a unique creamy-powder texture creates effortlessly luminous, lasting looks. Purity of color meets exceptional long wear, for infinite intensity.' , we've seen this concept trickle down from luxe Armani Eyes to Kill eyeshadows to drugstore L'Oréal 24H Infallibles - the tightly packed loose powder eyeshadow equipped with a stopper that gives the effect of intense, shimmery goodness on the lids. 

I don't own any original Armani ETKs to compare the formulas, but I do have one L'Oréal 24H Infallible Eye Shadow in Golden Emerald (reviewed and swatched here) so I can pinpoint some differences for you. My Golden Emerald is slightly drier and less pigmented than Lancôme's Evermore Lilac and thus harder to pick up with a brush - I find that packing it on with a finger works best as far as application goes. I don't have that issue with Lancôme: it easily deposits pigment onto the bristles and takes a lot less effort to build up. Evermore Lilac also has bigger shimmer particles than Golden Emerald and thus is more prone to glittery fallout. I find it quite long-lasting on the eyes but I always wear it over primer.

Shade-wise, I don't own any purple eyeshadow that's even remotely similar to Evermore Lilac in tone or finish. Evermore Lilac is lighter and bluer than my other purples; in the pot, you can even see some blue duochrome where I picked the shadow up with my finger. Fyrinnae's When I Grow Up is a warmer, pinky purple, Inglot no. 439 is deeper and plummier, Stila's Glance and Wet n'Wild purple Crease shade from the LE Dancing in the Clouds trio are much darker but similarly on the cool side.

Clockwise: Lancôme Evermore Lilac, Inglot no. 439, Fyrinnae When I Grow Up, Stila Glance, Wet n'Wild Crease from Dancing in the Clouds trio

Swatches in the same order as above photo

Lancôme's Evermore Lilac also has the most multidimensional shimmer; in this intentionally blurry sunlit shot, you can see light blue, pink, silver and gold sparkles. What I love the most about this eyeshadow is that this beautiful finish is actually also visible once applied on the eyes. Evermore Lilac is bright enough to create a bold, colorful eye, but also works well as an accent color for shading the inner socket, inner corners or lower lashline.

In this eye look, I combined Evermore Lilac with Rouge Bunny Rouge Eclipse Eagle in the outer corner and up in the crease, and another splash of color by way of Fyrinnae's vibrant blue Dapper Mr Shark at the outer third of the upper lashline and slightly up. Rouge Bunny Rouge Unforgettable Oriole in the inner corners to highlight. Can you see the pretty sparkles on my brow bone? Oh yes, baby.

All in all, I have to say I'm quite surprised by how much I like this Lancôme Infinité 24H eyeshadow in Evermore Lilac. Lancôme is usually not a brand that gets me very excited, so I did not expect such multicolor shimmery fun from this shade. I'll definitely explore more of their eyeshadows in the future, hoping for some more hidden gems in the line. Have you tried these eyeshadows from Lancôme? What is your favorite way to wear lilac?