If you ask me which has been my first makeup product ever, I’d surely reply it was a Maybelline one. I remember even my first makeup review blog post was about a Maybelline mascara (and we’re talking of times when this blog didn’t even exist in my own mind!). So when I was invited to celebrate Maybelline’s 100th birthday by trying out some of their new products launched during Milan Fashion Week, I was as excited as my younger-teen-self when picking up her very first mascara after praying her mum for it for so long. Now, after 100 years of being into this world, Maybelline has renewed its claim to “Make It Happen”, and their new products seem to be pretty loyal to the new slogan too!

BASE

You might know I’m a lover of very natural and soft makeup, and everything that aims to give my skin a natural smooth finish I’m sold for it! So you can imagine how happy I was to add another very natural foundation to my collection! Their new Dream Satin Fluide foundation has that cream-to-powder finish I’m so in love with since it has been invented: when you apply it on your face it firstly feels very creamy and easy to smooth out, but then it almost magically turns into a sort of powder when it settles down, and the skin feels soft and looks smooth but very natural. It has a very decent covering power, which is great in this period of the year, and lasts for a very long time on the skin too – always looking as when you applied it.

It has quickly become one of my favourite base products, feeling so lightweight on the skin during the day but providing a nice amount of coverage at the same time, while giving a nice natural finish to my skin.

LINER

As I said I’m one that always sticks to a very natural makeup routine, and as a result the eyeliner step doesn’t always feel mandatory when I put my makeup on in the morning. However, I do am a fan of a well-defined eye, and I go through phases when eyeliner feels like a proper life-savior to me. It’s the quickest and easier option to enhance the eye without going for a complete eye makeup.

Maybelline has launched their new Master Ink eyeliner in both a satin and matte finish. The satin one has been on my eyelid ever since I received it and tried it for the very first time: I first thought I would have liked the matte finish best, however when seeing the satin eyeliner on my eyes, I totally liked the different look it created. This eyeliners are perfect for creating a very thin and precise line (which is great also for bold looks, as you can easily build up the line into something thicker without overdoing) thanks to their applicator, and are both extremely black.

They aim to last all day without smears, and as much as the satin eyeliner totally passed the test and lasted even more than 24h on my hand when I firstly swatched it, the matte one didn’t really impress me as it lasted only a few hours and also started fading and looking not that precise anymore.

LASHES

It has been a while that I haven’t used a Maybelline mascara anymore, probably because one of their old product wasn’t a fan of my poor eyes. I’ve been quite afraid of trying a new one ever since, even if with different formulas, but their new Lash Sensational mascara has been good to my eyes this time, and it’s not an understatement to say I have found my Holy Grail makeup product with it!

I have very straight and boring lashes, so for me something that can’t miss in every makeup look is lovely curled long lashes. For this, I’ve always used a good old eyelash curler and waterproof mascaras, as those were the only ones that could hold the curl throughout the day. However the Lash Sensational mascara, without even being waterproof, holds the curl so perfectly, but not only that, it also enhance it somehow. It mixes the practicality of a non-waterproof mascara (because being able to remove your makeup completely with only one gentle makeup remover is always a plus) and the holding power I’ve only previously found in a waterproof product. And it’s super black too!

These are three products I’ve been wearing non-stop ever since I tried them, and some that will stay between my everyday makeup picks for a while, I’m sure.

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Have you tried these products? Can you believe Maybelline has been around for 100 years?! x

*POST IN COLLABORATION WITH BLOGGERITALIA*

March is already over! Can you really believe it?! I’m ready for the new month to come though, as April is by far my favourite time of the year; with Easter, spring coming to its climax, a few exciting opportunities ahead and my blog’s birthday, how couldn’t I be as excited as ever for it to come?! Springtime it’s cheering me up (bye bye winter blues!) and this not only means I’m pretty excited for literally everything, but also that I’m trying as much as I can to improve my mood and positivity… and also that I started enjoying and appreciating everything I have around, both material or abstract. So yep, expect a huge list of favourites this month! Ready?

Stationery.

You might have guessed I have quite an insane obsession to stationery by now, but this month a pair of little treats has been added to my collection. No notebooks in sight (I have way too many, right?), but I’ve got that beautiful trio of colourful washi tape from Tiger last week, and I’m obsessed! The leopard print one must be my favourite! That adorable cat pencil case is from Petite Mila: made out of 100% organic cotton and the cutest designs, her pouches (which easily double up as pencil cases or whatever you want them to be) and tote bags are probably the most adorable things I’ve seen in a while, and the quality is amazing too!

Candle.

If it’s not a mug than it’s a candle that seems to always appear in my monthly favourites! But I love them! Ikea candles: sometimes they’re lovely others not that much. They are super duper cheap, as cheap as a full size candle can get, but sometimes they don’t really smell of anything really. That’s not the case! This LUGGA Soft Vanilla Candle is one of the best I’ve got from them (especially on the vanilla department) and it won’t last as long, but it surely makes my room smell intensely sweet as sometimes only expensive candles can do!

Kitchen.
No new mugs this month (I’ve been forbibben to buy any other!) but a new entry between the ceramic bowls (similar) was needed when I spotted this cute hearts bowl in a local shop. It’s the cutest thing to eat breakfast in, and pastel colours make the whole experience even more enjoyable. I mean, there must be a theory of something that says colorful tableware makes people happy, right?

Style.
My wardrobe definitely needed a few spring new additions as everything looked a bit too grey and black and white and… woolly. I’ve got this Forever21 Coral Ruffled Dress on sale on a very impulsive online shopping session and I couldn’t have been more right. I’m obsessed. I love the ruffled collar and neckline and the flowy skirt is the most flattering on me. I can already see me wearing it non-stop this spring!

Makeup.
I’m not one that mention makeup that often on here anymore, but I’ve been loving this Rimmel Scandaleyes Thick And Thin Liner – not sure where they are going with the “thick and thin” thing, but I surely like the waterproof formula and the thin felt tip for a fool-proof application. I seem to be able to make my eyeliner look almost identical on both the eyes with this one and it’s something that rarely happens to me!

Drink.
Jasmine green tea, what a lovely invention! I’ve become quite the fan of green tea (only think I didn’t like it at all and now I drink a cup practically everyday) especially when combined with floral or citrus flavours (I’ve rambled about tea flavours lately here if you’d like to read more on the topic) and I’ve discovered jasmine green tea is probably my favourite thing ever! The tea in the pictures is from RealTea which I think is only available in Italy, but the Jing Jasmine Silver Needle Tea is another favourite of mine.

App.
Believe it or not I’m quite over Instagram and that’s all thanks to Steller (and the fact that Instagram pictures never come out as I like, arg!). Steller is a way like another (but neater and surely well-arranged) to tell a story. It allows you to put together a few pictures and phrases and displays them in beautifully disposed pages users can flip through like they’re reading a real book. It’s like a pocket-sized blog, where photography and writing meet into creative stories! I love reading and flipping through others stories as well as creating my own. I’m completely obsessed and have decided that would be the place where to publish all those never-seen blog posts I thought they weren’t that relevant to appear over here (including never-seen recipes, I’m warning you!) – so if you like to have a peek or give me a follow type ‘mielcafeblog’ in the search bar of the app or check my stories out over here.

Workout Clothes.
I’ve treated myself to some new yoga clothes recently as I’ve been good and stuck with it until now! I’ve especially been loving these super inexpensive Striped Knit Tops from Forever21 as they’re just the perfect material for moving into them without feeling too tight or too loose.

Now that 2014 is done and dusted and we’re all ready to welcome 2015 in, I have one last post to honor a few of the things that made my 2014 a very nice year. These are the best discoveries I’ve made the past year, that really needed to be shared: some of them are smart, other revolutionary, other just pretty damn cute, but just in case you weren’t aware of their existence, I have a small list of things you should know about!

In 2014 I’ve discovered chai latte, travelled to beautiful London and found out it’s my favourite between all the cities I’ve visited so far, tasted macarons for the first time, gone for my first ever road trip, made lots of day trips to beautiful Milan to see it flourish in every season of the year, bought pretty things, wore pretty dresses, eaten lime infused dark chocolate and a lot more chocolate, spent countless hours sipping tea of every flavour, discovered new favourite recipes and enjoyed it all until the end! It was a good year after all – it’s easy to say ‘this year was not as I wanted it to be’, it’s more difficult to see what was good about it after all!

Below you’ll find a few of the material objects I’ve discovered the past year that are definitely worth to be shared! Others that are not pictured must be: my beautiful ASOS Scallop Stitch Satchel Bag, my cozy IKEA Gurli Throw, the ingenious Interstellar and Masters of Sex and the fascinating Game of Thrones!

Yankee Candle Vanilla Lime Scented Sachet // Harrods Pocket Shopper Bag //
H&M Sweatshirt // Diptyque Baies* // Kikkerland Scented Tea Erasers

Lush 
Let The Good Times Roll // Dior Creme de Rose Lip Balm //
L’Oreal Telescopic False Lash Effect Mascara

Lindt Excellence Dark Lime Intense* // Ladurée Macarons // IKEA ENIGT Mug //
Clipper Tea Zen Again // Yogi Tea Black Chai