100 followers giveaway!!!

Darknova girl...
You're my 100th blogging friend and I love you dearly!

Yes, the number next to this blog's "followers" tag just grew to 3 digits!
Woot woot!!!

So, last week I went out and bought 2 products I've used and absolutely love; now I'm going to give these away to one lucky follower of this blog!

    The winner will get:


    As you can see, both items are brand new ;)

Korres lip butter stick spf15 in Pink: this is one of my favourite lip balms, ever. Look at the gorgeous embellished packaging! I don't know if it's going to be permanent or LE, still it looks unique ;)
The Body Shop lip&cheek stain: you probably already know that I swear by this product. Now you get a chance to love it, too!

If you wish to participate, all you have to do is:
a. be a follower of this blog, and
b. write "ENTER ME" in the comments section below, telling me what's your favourite lipbalm.

The giveaway is open internationally- Greece included, of course...
It's running up until 9/2/2010; then I'll randomly pick a winner.

Thank you for all your support and lovely comments...
You guys are the best!

Much love and good luck to all ;)
 
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I got my first Elf fix ;)

Forgive this short and unnecessary post,
my excitement from opening the Elf carton box can't be described and I wanted to share it with you!

So, my Elf order is here, yayyy!!!
It was my first-ever online purchase and I gotta say,
it can be addicting...

Paying by debit card, forgeting about it and then getting the box delivered days later, it almost feels like you're getting a present by a secret admirer!

This is what I got:

All over colour stick in Pink lemonade
Brightening eye colour in Brownstone
Hypershine gloss in Bubblegum
Blush and bronzer duo
Cream eyeliner in Coffee
Mineral lipstick in Runway pink
Studio powder brush

A little talk about delivery and customer services:

After I made my order, it took 9 w.days for it to arrive. Considering the Sign-for delivery service, which I opted for, supposedly takes only 3-5 w.days, it was a significant delay.

That said, the customer services were brilliant; I got 3 replies in total, the guy who wrote them was very helpful and kind so, despite the delay, I can't fault them...

Oh, and another thing:
I thought the Sign-for service meant that the postman would deliver himself the goodies to my doorstep, hence the increase in delivery costs. Instead, I got a notification to pick up the package from the Post office... Oh well, I've still got a lot to learn about online shopping :(

I'll do a proper review of the products after I've played with them for a good amount of time...

Do you own any of the above?
What was your experience from shopping at Elf's website?

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Pink Nouveau lips + an eye make-up combination

As promised, here's a swatch of the infamous Mac lipstick...

    Meet my lips!

If you think that this pink shade isn't bright enough, take into consideration that my camera washes out the colours and enhances any blue tones.

That said, you can imagine Pink Nouveau as a deeper, more vibrant pink with less lavender hues...

The following photos are shot in various lightings, so you can see how it photographs:

As for my eyes, sadly I couldn't go completely bare as I'd wished!
My make-up looked somewhat unfinished :(

[See, after a lot of experimenting with make-up, I've come to realise that my eyes need some sort of definition- which means that I can't go out the door with just mascara; my eyes would look swollen and tired. As a result, eyeshadow and pencil/liner is a must for me.]

So this time I did a simple winged eyeliner look with a grey-silver colour on the lid:

Products I used:

Art Deco Mineral Kajal Liner 98: I've been looking for an off-white eye pencil for ages! This product didn't disappoint me to the least- it's mineral-oil free, sooo creamy that it goes on my waterline like butter! And it's so much better than plain ol' white... Love it ;)

Art Deco Liquid Star liner 01: as I've mentioned before, I'm not that comfortable with the "waterproof" factor of this liner. We'll see, maybe I'll get used to it.

The Body Shop Baked eyeshadow in Moonstone: a pretty little duo with a shimmering creamy colour and a silver-grey-taupe loaded with glitter.

    It sure served me well during Christmas holidays!

So, what do you think of Pink Nouveau? Likey? No likey?
What eye make-up would you pare it with?

Oh, in case you didn't notice, I have two tiny moles- one under my left eye and the other on my upper lip...
They're so-so tiny to be treated as "beauty spots", lol!

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The Body Shop 20% sales!

That's right, my fellow Greek readers:

If you're thinking of popping into the Body Shop for some make-up or bodycare goodies, hurry up and do your shopping this week...

They're currently having the most anticipated (by me at least!) 20% sales tag on all items!
Ummm... Did I ever say about a 25% percentage? Apparently, I was wrong...

For the record, the sales have been going on since past week but I only found out about it last Saturday :(
Provided that they usually last for 2 weeks, the sales should probably end on Saturday 22/1.

And what do you know?
While I was there, I did some shopping!
Wow, that is so unlike me...

Here's my little loot:

Bronzing Powder in shade #03
Brow/Lash comb
Brow/Lash gel
Eye Definer in Vibrant Emerald

And these are some products worth looking into:

Watermelon lip balm: the Body Shop makes great lip balms but if I had to choose only one from the brand, this would have to be it. It has a soft, gel formula and it gives a pretty pale pink effect on the lips. And it tastes like watermelon, yum!

Shimmer cubes eyeshadow palette: apart from the beautiful shades of this quad, it's of great value too: you get 16 gr of eyeshadow, which is huge! They are a little pricey though, so now is the perfect time to buy them ;)

Bronzing beads: as with the above, it's great value (28 gr!!!) but a little pricey. As for another illuminating bronzing powder, you can look for the best-selling Shimmer Waves.

Concealer/highlighter wand: excellent product and great value! You get 3 ml of product when drugstore brands give you only 1,5 ml for the same price...

Lip/Cheek stain: need I rave about this again? Go get it!!!

Baked duo eyeshadows: I recently found out about these eyeshadows, they have the most beautiful shimmer! Definitely worth checking out ;)

So, if you happen to pick anything from the Body Shop sales, let me know!

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Another Mac lipstick... Pink Nouveau

Yep! I did it again...
Another pretty lipstick to my new and growing Mac make-up stash ;)

The reason?

I was browsing online for the Spring/Summer make-up trends, and this "statement lips" thing caught my eye:

 
Diane von Furstenberg
 
Fendi
 
Jil Sander

I must say, I've fallen in love with this look:
Flawless glowing skin, bare eyes and matte, bold lips...
Who cares it's still cold outside, I just had to embrace the trend right away!

Naturally, I made a little list with shades of Mac lipsticks I wanted to try out, and then headed to the store...

...where the sales assistant approached me and said "oh you should get Pink Nouveau cause it looks so cool on brunettes, blondes can't pull it off... You can use it on top of a red lipliner to make it more of a fuschia colour, blah blah... It's a satin, THE perfect formulation..."

Eh well, she had me at hello!

    Insert pointless evidence pic...

It's such a gorgeous pink, I wish I could photograph the real depth of its colour! Maybe if I shot it in daylight, hmmm.....

So now that the "bright pink lips" is crossed out of my summer wishlist, I'm thinking of getting a bright coral Mac lipstick. Or a gloss, I've yet to own a Mac lipglass!

Have any recommendations? Please share them below ;)

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Late night randomness, part 2

Hi loves ;)

Another post with the randomness of the moment!

I've been lacking a lot of energy lately... Bored of studying, procrastinating projects for Uni... I desperately need some sort of vacation!

I've been also uninspired to do my make-up routine. Foundation wise, I'm still trying to use up this bottle from the Body Shop, the god damn thing has an air-tight pump that can't let you loose a single drop from it!



Another thing that kind of let me down is the new Art Deco liquid liner I got last month:



Don't get me wrong, it's an excellent eyeliner...
What I'm not so comfortable with is the waterproof factor. It takes ages to get off and the next morning I'm left with tiny little black flecks of eyeliner under my eyes. Which are a pain to remove :(

On another note, there's something to keep me excited till the end of next week:
I got my first order from Elf!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!



During the last couple of weeks I've been literally stalking Elf's website to see when my most-wanted blush&bronzer duo would be available for purchase... So yep, now it's back on stock! And I hurried up and made my order ;)

Oh! One more thing before I'm off to bed:
I didn't write a post for my December favourites, as I made one for the best make-up products for 2010.
2 posts with some "favourites" during the same month was going to be a tad too much...

However, there was a product that I've been using a lot during December and it's the Body Shop's pink Shimmer Waves.



Now that bronzers look a bit "off" on my pale skintone, I've been using this product to brighten up my face- especially during gloomy and cloudy days. It's got a lovely pinky glow that looks lovely both in daylight and nightime!

That's it for now... Man, I can't stop yawning!

What about you, guys?
Share your randomness below, I mean ANY randomness!

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Best of 2010!

Hi lovelies!
This is a list of my most loved & used make-up products of 2010.

    Family pic! Click to enlarge

Onto the products...

Art Deco magnetic eyeshadow palette: As I'm organizing-obsessed, I love anything that gives me the option of neatly storing my make-up. This palette can hold up to 12 single Art Deco eyeshadows, can't wait to fill this baby up with some neutrals, sigh! (I hope the colours I'm after are going to be available to purchase. Soon enough.)

Art Deco duo fibre brush: this was my take on last year's trend of Mac's 187 lookalikes. It wasn't as cheap as I thought a brush from Art Deco would cost (I paid aprox. 18 euros), but I don't regret a single cent I spent on it! It gives a flawless finish and works for everything- foundation, powder, blush or bronzer. And I love the short handle! Anything that can fit into a small travel make-up bag makes me happy ;)

The Body Shop blending brush: Since I tried this brush, my eyeshadow blending skills have been improved! Now I'm looking forward to get Mac's 217...

Kum sharpener: need I mention this again? It's probably the best cosmetic sharpener you'll ever come across, for a decent price!

Mac Angel lipstick: I got into Mac during 2010; this lippie has to be my favourite! I think I've had it with nudes like Hue or Creme d' Nude, a nice girly pink lipstick can do so much more to brighten up my smile ;)

Art Deco longlasting lipstick in #40: a layer of this combined with some Jasmine lip butter, it's been my favourite daytime combo for lips. Pretty pale pink lips are foolproof, right?

Korres Jasmine lip butter: this product is the exception to my rule "no lip balms in a pot". Dipping my fingers into the pot to get some product isn't my favourite, but its colour and texture compensates for it! It has rightly become a favourite among Youtube beauty gurus and bloggers.

The Body Shop lip&cheek stain: I'll never, ever get bored of this stuff. It gives the most natural flush on the cheeks and it stays on all day! If you have combination/oily skin and cream blushes don't really suit you, try this one instead and you'll be hooked with it for a lifetime!

Seventeen #79 nail polish: quite a dark colour, it's not for everyone's taste but personally, I feel more comfortable when wearing this shade on my nails! I hope Seventeen never discontinues it, as it must have been brought out a long, long time ago...

The Body Shop #04-Granite eyeshadow: this colour has been my trusty friend during days I'm in a hurry/ don't know what eyeshadow to pick. Every make-up bag should have at least one dependable eyeshadow which you're 100% sure it matches your eye colour. This is my top choice, followed by...

The Body Shop taupe eyeshadow from Shimmer Cubes #06: it's the most perfect shimmering taupe, ever! I'll probably never run out of it (as this little cube weighs 4 gr. of product!)- but if I do in the future, I won't have any problems purchasing the whole palette again (despite the fact I'm not really using the rest of the shades).

Art Deco eyeshadow base: it's not included in the photos because I'm out of it :(
Still, it's a decent eyeshadow primer and it's worth a try if you can get hold of it.

Have you tried any of the above products?
Let me know which were your 2010 favourites ;)

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A thank you

My girls!
Happy New Year!

How you've been? I missed you, guys...

Today I feel like celebrating, cause this informal diary of my ramblings about beauty and make-up (aka my blog) just turned to 1 year old.
Woot woot!!!



On January 2010, when I made the decision of starting a blog, it was because I felt the need to release my daily stress by writing about things that make me happy. Make-up makes me happy ;)

Today I've reached 86 followers, something which I've never asked for but secretly wished...

So this post is about thanking you, my dear readers of this little blog.
I've met so many wondeful girls through blogging last year, and I dare say I regard you all as my friends.

My Greek friends,
thank you for supporting my posts with all your kind and encouraging comments, it means the world to me! I hope I'll meet you in person, sometime ;)

My friends from various places all over the world,
thank you for sticking up with me despite my limited English! I wish my writing skills were wittier, but Greek is my mother language and I couldn't be able to meet you girls if I maintained a blog in Greek.

I wish you all a happy 20011...



Ooops! There's one extra zero there in the middle...
That's what happens when you're baking your first New Year's cake and want to make the perfect zero digit with cinammon... "That's alright, I'll make the second one better". There's no "second one" zero in 2011, you fool!

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