here you have my beauty routine. several readers have been asking about my favourite products for some time, so i decided it was time to finally share.

i am not a super girly girl with drawers full of cosmetics, but i have always had a constant interest in beauty products.

my moisturising cream is the very basic but irreplaceable nivea soft. i buy their biggest pot and i use it every day on my face but also pretty much on everything else. i have been using it for ever and i doubt i will ever change it, even if i buy and use other face creams in the mean time. i even carry around a tiny pot: i use it every time i wash my hands as i have quite dry skin.

my under eye product. i use several but i prefer oligo 25 eye stick by vichy.

my make up remover is the wonderful micellar lotion by ivatherm. it serves its purpose and it has a great smell my bf loves.

my lipstick. when i was a teenager, an older guy who liked me told me that he could see me with red lipstick on. at the time, it sounded preposterous, something i would never do. well, not anymore: my bathroom shelf is lined with various kinds of chanel lipstick. all of them shades of red or darker. most of them unfortunately discontinued now: the very red lover, the very wearable barcelona red, the cool excentric or even the very difficult maniac.  i don’t know how, but i somehow got stuck with chanel. i don’t mind paying for it and i always seem to find another interesting shade i just need.

my blusher. the only constant is my natural hair blusher brush. otherwise, i don’t have a favourite. every time  my current blusher runs out, i buy a different brand and shade. please send me your favourites, perhaps i can finally settle on one product.

my mascara. i have tried many mascara brands but i always go back to maybelline. i love their classic great lash and i have been using their volumizing products as well. everything always in black.

my eyebrows. by chance, many years ago, i came across a body shop brow kit in a vienna store. i must have paid a mere 50 cents for it. i have been using it ever since and it’s barely half empty. i use the darker shade as i am a brunette. i cannot recommend it enough: well shaped eyebrows can do wonders for your face. get experienced in tweezing and in shaping your brows with product: you will thank me!

my nail colour. i buy and use any colour that catches my eye. the latest purchese was a selection of sephora‘s little nail colours. the wide brush is perfect, the coulours are interesting and well-pigmented. i do my own mani/pedi as my nails are kiddie small and i was never happy with the job professionals do. i try to wear varnish as rarely as possible, so i do it mostly during summertime.

my shampoo and conditioner. i don’t have a favourite. i use pretty much anything and everything. but i do have a strict drill: shampoo twice, conditioner only on the end half of my hair, rinse with warm and then cold water, towel dry and never ever blow dry. i have never dyed my hair and i use an iron once a month probably, so there’s not so much damage anyway.

my body wash: the same as above. i will use anything that smells nice, with a scrub glove. i occasionally dry brush my body with a natural hair brush.

my body lotion: i have been using the anti drying body milk with citrus extract by biotherm for many years now. and i always stock up on body oils: the basic johnson’s baby oil but also pretty much anything else i like.

my body scrub: in 2010, during my first trip to japan, i cut my hair in harajuku, at toni and guy. after getting what i now call my benchmark haircut, my stylist walked me to the door and hugged me goodbye, while putting some samples in my hands (everyday occurrence in japan). the samples were a biore product. i loved the samples so i went out and bought it. it’s a blue scrub: i love it, i use it carefully so that it’ll last me until i can get some more. i sometimes use it as a face scrub by combing it with a face wash and a rough face sponge i got in body shop years ago. it buffs away the dead skin but it’s abrasive so i don’t do it often.

extras: i like film face masks. i have a big pot of petroleum jelly that i use instead of cuticle oil and on minor scratches. i use fruit and vegetables for quick face masks. i don’t use make up or powder. i stock up on cosmetics samples and hotel toiletries and use them during travels – i love tiny containers of any kind!

my fragrance: when i was younger, a friend was using this hermes unisex. later, it became my signature fragrance: hermes concentre d’orange verte. i love it and i can’t get enough of it. i have plenty to last me a few years from now on. i do have several other perfumes but the only other worth mentioning is chanel egoiste platinum.

what is your beauty routine? please share: i would love to find out more about eyeliner and perhaps bronzer. and about your favourite products and brands in general. thank you!

photo credits: chanel, hermes

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