Name: Terive Swerts
Location: Antwerp, Belgium
Day job/current gig: Makeup enthusiast and assistant to Noodles the Cat
Hangouts online: BellaChique.be, Twitter and Facebook
Current favorite product: Giorgio Armani Maestro Fusion Make Up
Beauty inspirations: music, images, nature, the people I see around me,
films
One word that best describes your outlook on beauty: Fun!
What makeup/beauty products can’t you live without?
Without a doubt my beloved Shiseido Nourishing Mascara Base. It’s great for anyone having issues with curl hold. It also protects your lashes from drying out. My other pick is the Shu Uemura Lash curler because, you see, I need all the help I can get with my puny little lashes.
When did you start getting into makeup?
Well, makeup and I have had a bit of a complicated romance. I first got obsessed with it when I was around 14 years old. (Imagine bronzer, glitter and eye kohl overload!) A few years later, I hit my tom boy stage and suddenly makeup was out of the question. Then around 19 I rekindled my obsession again, got into beauty blogs, foundation and cultivated a slight obsession for lipsticks.
And so it began!
What’s your best beauty time-saving trick?
When rushing I try to pick one feature to highlight, mostly opting for brighter lips like fuchsias to draw attention to one place. I groom my brows, too, and try to make them look polished.
Do not underestimate the power of a well-kept brow!
What’s your favorite beauty tool?
Again, without a doubt, my beloved Shu Uemura lash curler! I’ve tried lots of lash curlers, and it’s my one true love because it lasts forever and doesn’t pinch my eyelids. Just my eye lashes. I also love the curl it makes. Some curlers really crimp lashes in a very unflattering angle, but this one gives a nice round curl. I also really love my good old Tweezerman tweezers. They stay sharp for ages!
What’s the best beauty advice you ever received?
Use sunscreen! My mom never taught me this. She still doesn’t really understand the importance of sunscreen (even though I try to convince her!). We used to live in tropical and sub-tropical climates, and you can see the sun damage over time. I’ve battled with pigmentation spots ever since, and they are incredibly hard to get rid of.
Better to prevent them in the first place.
What’s your skincare routine?
I wake up and do a good cleanse with the Clarisonic Mia 2 and Paula’s Choice Moisturising Cleanser. Then I use Estée Lauder’s Daywear SPF50.
At night, I do the same cleansing routine and use either Paula’s Choice Skin Recovery Serum, Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Lotion or Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum. Those are the main products I use, but sometimes I throw other things into the mix.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve tried in the name of beauty?
I guess I’m a bit boring, but I did paint a bandit mask on myself. It was an awesome moment shared with my little bandit kitty!
Do you have a trademark look (hair/styling/makeup)?
Coral lips for sure!
Make that coral everything! I’m a very big believer in coral. Everyone should have it in their stash because it’s just so flattering, fun and pretty!
Are there any beauty decisions you’ve made that you look back on and ask yourself, “why?!”
Yes! I guess I was a confused teen because I got lost in the big world of beauty. I overly tweezed my poor brows into thin little sad lines, and I definitely overdid it on the bronzer. Not just any bronzer, but really dark glittery bronzer! I thought I looked like a beach babe, but I think “Oompa Loompa” was a better choice of words.
Where are your favorite places to shop?
I love the local beauty stores here, but most things I order online because we don’t have the largest selection of brands where I live. Beautybay is my favourite online shop because they have so many great brands, and the shipping is free!
Haaaai Teri (and Noodles)! Fancy seeing you here! Now I’d like to see a photo of you with dark glittery bronzer, pretty please 😉
Lol, it’s not going to happen any time soon, hon ^^. Or maybe with Halloween? I’ll think about it :p. And yay, I’m so happy and grateful to be featured here, it’s awesome! ^^
Yay!!! SO happy to see you here Teri!!! I was going to suggest you–along with a few others. Totally deserve it. That mask is just–WOW <3!!!
Thank you so much Jenny! The mask was an interesting challenge for sure, lol! ^^
Woohoo, yay, Teri! I’m laughing that you picked the bandit mask as the crazy thing…I think I might have to agree, haha. But yours is so beautiful and intricate! It’s amazing artwork, really.
Yeah, I’m not that adventourous, haha ^^. Thanks a lot for liking the mask, it was such a pain in the ass :p.
It’s Teri! 😀
Nothing we didn’t know already except I never pictures you for an overload on glittery bronzer kinda girl.
Well uh, I was young and lost once… :p. Never going to happen again tho!
Yay, Teri I was excited to see your face here. I love that you used a Lipstick Bandits picture. 🙂
♥ Jessica
Oh yeah, I just had to include that one :p. Thanks Jessica! It’s so awesome to be here, right? ^^
Another Belgian! Great, I’m definitely going to check out your site. 🙂
Yay, I was unfamiliar with you guys. It’s awesome to find Belgian beautybloggers ^^. Go Belgium! 🙂
It’s very exciting! 🙂 There don’t seem to be many of us out there…
Great interview, Teri! My mom is the opposite – she ALWAYS uses sunscreen and then complains to me when she has a white cast in flash photos, haha! She still doesn’t believe me that it’s because of the SPF. And I never would’ve guessed that you once over-tweezed your brows. They look perfect now!
Lol, you are lucky to have a mom who realises the importance of sunscreen tho ^^. And yes, I really abused my poor brows when I was a teen, horrific!
I love the advice to use sunscreen!
Oh yeah, do not underestimate the power of prevention and sunscreen ;). I think it’s still one of the best anti-aging tips right now :).
Yay Teri (and Noodles)! Dark glittery bronzer look please? 😉
Lol, you would like to see that, eh? :p I’m so glad I can’t find any pics of that stage in my life ^^.
I too love and use Paula’s Choice skincare. I couldn’t agree with you more about the importance of diligent sunscreen use, especially in Asians as we tend to get dark spots due to sun exposure. I avoided the sun religiously as a teen due to Retin-A use for acne. I wasn’t too diligent about sunscreen use in my 20s and part of my 30s — I have NEVER been a sun worshipper — but as we all know, sun-induced damage is due to incidental exposure. For the last 4 months, I’ve been alternating between nightly applications PC’s Dark Spot Eraser with 2% BHA and the Resist Retinol Serum. For sunscreen, I’ve been a very diligent user of a mineral-based sunscreen, and am now a huge fan of the Resist Super-Light Wrinkle Defense SPF 30, and I make sure to reapply! You’re right, it is very, very hard to get rid of any hyperpigmentation due to sun exposure, and while my spots have lightened to the point that no one else notices them, I STILL can see them!
Oh yeah, I totally understand. We all see our own imperfections just a little bit too well, lol ^^. It seems like you have been taking care of your skin just wonderfully, I wished I started like you earlier. I also favour mineral based sunscreens, they seem to work a bit better on my skin. I’m going to try a new one from Paula’s Choice soon, I’m pretty excited about it ^^.
I just discovered your blog and it’s great! Can’t wait to see what you and Noodles are up to! 😀 BeautyBee~
Hey Beautybee!
Thank you so much for taking a look, I love new readers!
Noodles is always up to no good here, she is such a crazy kitty, haha!
I might place some pics of her soon!
Hello gorgeous! Noodles could be my Fifi’s sibling! Love that bandit picture. Hmm, are you sure, no dark glittery bronzer? 😀
Aaaaw, I have a weak spot for black and white cats, they seem like totally crazy, right? Or maybe I attrack all the crazies, hah! ^^
Karen, I am a huge fan of your blog & have read it for years! However I must say
I’m not liking the new focus on “This is my Makeup Life”. All these different voices -It’s confusing! I love & trust your opinions, I enjoy your unique voice & writing. I would prefer to read other blogs than have your blog overrun by other Makeup junkies, even if they have good tips! Is any one else missing more of Karen? – Lisa
Hi Lisa,
Wow! I feel quite flattered. Thank you very much for thinking so highly of my voice, but not to worry. I’ve actually been on vacation since last Wednesday, and rather than not post at all over my trip, I wanted to do something worthwhile, to post something different and interesting. Not my usual fare, and I’ll be back to blogging more often again soon.
But I strongly encourage you to give the My Makeup Life series another chance. I’ve really, really learned a lot from the posts in the series. I think it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done on Makeup and Beauty Blog, and I’m very proud of these ladies.
Have a good week, and thank you for reading and liking the blog.
Teri is so pretty! Thank you, Karen for introducing us to other beauty bloggers. Now I read Teri’s blog too. 🙂