Matte Me - Sleek Make Up

Sleek Make Up has been known for their super affordable eyeshadow palettes. Besides those, they also have some amazing blushes as well. Rose Gold is a great dupe for Nars' Orgasm.

A new product that they added to their collection are the 'Matte Me' lip products which are described as an ultra smooth lip cream.

Boy, it is smooth, super opaque, pigmented and fragrance free and most of all, the most matt/mattest lip product that I own! They are very comfortable on the lip and last really well. The wand is quite easy to work with.

Originally I got two colors when I was in London in December. Shortly after trying them, I ordered more on the sleek make up website.

Limecrime has their Velvetines, which I don't own any of. They are quite expensive and for some reason I haven't bought any of their shades yet. They have some very unique colors.

Do any of you own Velvetines?

Matte Me come in six colors and I'll show you the four that I got.

431 Fandango Purple (never thought I'd love a purple lip on me, but I do!)

434 Party Pink (a cute coral)

432 Brink Pink (neon pink, doesn't come off so well on camera)

432 Rioja Red (a classic that will be everybody's friend)

Fandango Purple, Party Pink, Brink Pink and Rioja Red. I absolute adore them!

♡ SIMONE

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50 shades of - Le Vernis Grey - L'Oréal Paris

In all the shades of grey, there is a color for every girl. I love to wear a light grey for day time and metallic grey with a lot of sparkles for Epica shows.

L'Oréal came out with 'Le Vernis Grey' nail polishes during the '50 Shades of Grey' madness that is going on. I'm sure you've all heard about the books. Naughty, naughty love story with lot's of baby making. Now the movie is making a lot of hearts beat faster in the cinemas.

Here are the colors that I was sent to test and swatch for you guys!
There is a great variety in colors and effects. I was very excited to try out the Wax Effect and the Spiked Effect since I do not own any of these kind of nail polishes.  Black and white are always great basics to have.

Which are your favorite shades of grey? Did any of you read the book?
I myself read the first one, the second one I didn't finish because it was becoming a bit boring.
The movie trailer looks promising, but I am not sure if I want to watch that in the cinema. I will check it out once it becomes available on Netflix.

001 Snow in Megeve, 885 Aux Chandelles, 890 Masked Lover, 891 Noir Whisperer, 893 Metallic Cuff, 603 Parisian Rooftops, 604 Metropolitan, 702 Black Swan

891 Noir Whisperer -Spiked Effect-

885 "Aux Chandelles" -Wax Effect -

♡ SIMONE

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MAC Stereo Rose Dupe

Dupe Alert!

One of MAC all time hyped Mineralize Skin Finish would be 'Stereo Rose'. It was a limited edition item that had been released in 2012 and re-released in 2014. However, the version that came out in 2014 was quite different from the 2012 edition. I own the first edition and can tell the Stereo Rose lovers out there that I found a pretty close dupe of this beauty.

It is a mineralize baked blush from Milani called Rose D'Oro 02. After my Luminoso Affair, I wanted to get to know more Milani blushes. Rose D'Oro and Bella Rossa are now part of my blush collection. When I swatched Rose D'Oro, I grabbed Stereo Rose to swatch them side by side.

With all of MAC's MSF's I have to say that each and every one of them are unique. They all have a slightly different structure of veins flowing through them. I have a feeling that this also goes for this baked blush from Milani.

Applied on the cheeks they both look almost identical. Swatched on my arm, Rose D'Oro looks a bit more bronze than Stereo Rose.

All in all I am happy that I found a close dupe to a very popular product, and that also for a fraction of the price. I got my Milani blush on Amazon.de, but I'm sure that Ebay can also help you out.

Have any of you found a good dupe for hyped products?

(left) Stereo Rose, (right) Rose D'Oro

♡ SIMONE

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Chit Chat #4 – European Enigma, a Sold Out Success –

Never ever did we dream that this would be one of the most successful tours we've ever done! Together with a great team, we've accomplished 8 sold out shows, had the best time ever and are truly happy Epicans. We made new friends and saw new and familiar faces.

Dragonforce and Diablo Blvd are awesome bands to tour with, very relaxed and very professional.

The guys from Dragonforce spoiled me on my birthday and got me some lovely flowers, booze, a heart shaped pillow and a birthday card, which was very endearing. My boys got me a cake, the people at the venue baked me a chocolate cake, a friend from Berlin made me a apple cake. You are all so sweet! I was spoiled so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

From the beginning of the tour I had a nasty cold that was sitting on my vocal cords. In Berlin (on my birthday), I woke up without a voice. A doctor had to come and gave my an IV with several liquids.

Right before the show, my voice was almost gone. I had to sing some weird variations of the songs that we played that night and drank tea instead of beer ;) Some tunes were absent and I tried my best to just ignore that. It was my birthday and I didn't want to let it get the best of me. Always think positive, it is the best natural medicine :)

The cold accompanied me the whole tour and was like an annoying 7th band member. I was fighting it 'till the end. I was so happy that no shows were cancelled and that my voice pulled through. Thanks to many teas and smoothies, work outs with Isaac, Mark and Coen, I managed to kick ass, even with a bloody cold.

I would like to thank our wonderful, hardworking crew, our crazy cute colleagues from Dragon Force and Diablo Blvd, our bus (that didn't break down) and got us safe to all our destinations, and (save the best for last), our loyal fans that came to see us play live and have a good time with us.

Dankjewel allemaal!

I've added some funny out take pictures of our VIP sessions and live shows to this post. Enjoy!

Our upcoming tour will be in South America, starting on February 26th. Kicking ass on stage together with our South American Epicans!

Where's Simone?

There she is!

She Devil in Poland.

Goofing around is what we do.

We like!

Coen's face cracks me up!

Hair-whipping symphonic metal.

♡ SIMONE

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Beauty Bin #9

This Beauty Bin is extra large so I divided the products in 'face, hair and body'. Like this it is a bit more organized and you can have a better look at the products.

Let's jump right into them. Starting with the BB items which I've used for my face.

Face

• Balea Ultra Sensitive Face Milk: I use this in the morning to cleanse my face from oil and sleepiness. It is perfect for my sensitive mixed skin. A staple in my routine.
• Bioderma Crealine: This is always the second to last step in my skin cleansing routine. I've tried other cleansing waters like these, but keep on coming back to Bioderma.
• Nivea Waterproof Make Up Remover: Bought this one because Lisa Eldridge raved about it. On my eyes it stings, so I won't be repurchasing this again.
• Mac Mineralize Volcanic Ash Exfoliator: This used to he a limited edition product, but is now in MAC Cosmetics permanent range. It is a sugar face exfoliator that contains volcanic ash. It is black as night and when you start to rub it on your face it foams slightly and turns grey. You can also use this as a face mask. It leaves my skin soft and nicely exfoliated. It is also fun to use and scare your partner or yourself when you've forgotten that you put it on and then look in the mirror.
• Weleda Almond Face Creme: My husband uses this and I got curious and tried it myself. Now I love it. It is quite rich especially for a combo skin, but it doesn't break me out and keeps my skin nice and hydrated. I am already on my third tube.

Hair

• Andrelon Keratine Repair Conditioner: This is my favorite Dutch drugstore brand for hair. It contains silicone, but I need that due to the limestone in the water in my hometown. It smells divine too!
• Andrelon Keratine Repair 1-Minute Mask: Great for people with little time. It is very rich and creamy. You don't really also need this one. I now only just use the conditioner. Didn't notice a difference between the two to be honest.
• Alterra Hydrating Pomegranate Shampoo: The home brand from the German drugstore 'Rossman''. I am a huge fan of the scent and the fact that it is free of silicone. Sometimes you need to give the hair a break. This is one works well with the limestone, but I can only use it for a short time. It doesn't lather so well.
• Alterra Hydrating Pomegranate Hair Mask: Instead of getting the conditioner, I got the hair mask. A total recommendation. No silicone, but still that kind of soft feeling that silicone gives.
• Rituals Brilliant Bliss Shampoo: Rituals is a my luxury/spa brand. This shampoo makes my hair shine really beautifully, it smells sooo good. It is quite harsh on my scalp, so can't use this too often.
• L'Oreal Absolute Repair Hair Mask: A product that I have been using on and off for years. A great hair mask, a bit pricy so I prefer to go to drugstore hair masks since I use them quite often.

Body

• Nivea Creme Care Shower Creme: Love this scent and that it is so affordable. Works good for me.
• Dove Shower Gel: I'm a Dove shower gel junkie. This is my favorite at the moment. Makes my skin super soft.
• Balea Body Lotion: The best. Ever. Great for dry skin and for shiny summer legs.
• Ebelin Nail Polish Remover: This nailpolish remover is acetone free. It does the job and is affordable.
• Dusch Das Golden Cashmere Deo Roller: Love this scent. I don't use deo sprays anymore because they get me into a coughing fit. Rollers are the way to go for me. I am using up the sprays I have and then it is bye bye deo sprays for me.
• Nivea Satin Sensation Deo Roller: A great deodorant, but not travel or clumsy friendly because of the fact that is comes in a glass bottle. Tried it once, but will continue to use my Dusch Das and Sebamed deos.

♡ SIMONE

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Charlotte Tilbury - K.I.S.S.I.N.G Mini Lipstick Charms

During my visit at the Charlotte Tilbury counter in Selfridges in London I picked up some more items.

She came out with these super cute lipstick charm versions of her K.I.S.S.I.N.G lipsticks. For me the perfect opportunity to try out three shades, without having to spend a lot of money on buying all three in full size.

• Penelope Pink is a warm soft pink nude
• So Marilyn is a beautiful classic red that leans more to the cooler side, but the camera picks it up as a more warmer toned red. 
• Bitch Perfect is a slightly more cool toned pink nude. It is more opaque than Penelope Pink.

I've swatched them all for you to see how they look like when worn on the lips.

So Marilyn I already showed on my first Charlotte Tilbury post and many of you wanted to know which lipstick I was wearing. Now you know :)

The formula is super creamy and hydrating. They feel very comfortable on the lips and even though they are tiny, they do apply really well directly from the bullet.

Unfortunately these were limited edition, so maybe if you're lucky you can find them still on some websites, stores, but on CT's website they are sold out.

From left to right: Penelope Pink, So Marilyn and Bitch Perfect

See how tiny they are compared to a MAC lipstick.

From top to bottom: Penelope Pink, So Marilyn and Bitch Perfect

Which one is your favorite color?

♡ SIMONE

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