Dior sneek peek...

This post could be uploaded with no words from my behalf- I mean really, what else is there to say about the gorgeousness!!! of the Amber Diamond shimmer powder...

Mind you, I was a little sceptical before heading to the Dior counter (as with anything that is over-hyped about). But as soon as I swatched it, well... It was love at first site!

I'm currently going through a phase where I open the pan and just look at it, admire it, feel it... Can't bring myself to actually wear it yet! So until I get to use it and write a proper review, enjoy the pics!

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"Save the Donkeys" with Kiehl's

Yesterday evening, Kiehl's hosted a fun event at their corner in Hondos Center Glifada, in order to raise awareness for equine welfare in Greece. Anyone could attend it so I thought, why not?

And it was a double joy as I also got to meet two fellow greek beauty bloggers- Tina from All the Vanity and Arietta from Stripes and Scarlets!!!

    Tina, Arietta and me! photo courtesy of Arietta

As I'm so unfamiliar with these kind of events, at first I thought
"yeah yeah, we're gonna stroll around for like 5' and then go off for some chatting and shopping". Wrong! There was so much going on, so many lovely people to talk to, so in the end we stayed there for over an hour ;)

This is what we did:

We had a taste of "donkita" coctail -a mix of carrot juice and lime syrup with a shot of vodka and a celery straw- accompanied with these cute cupcakes...

We got to stroll around the Kiehl's stand and look at all the products with no sales-assistant-supervision on our back! A shopper's dream!!!

Then Giota came to our call and kindly informed us about the new products by Kiehl's and offered us samples specified for each of our skin types. I normally keep such samples for when I'm travelling but with these ones, hell no!

We were also informed from the people at ΕΣΠΙ (Hellenic Society for Equine Welfare) about the donkeys' abuse that seems to be the fixed state in Greece. Now I'm not the kind of person to shove animal rights activism on anyone's throat, but the stories we heard of maltreated donkeys really touched my heart. It would mean a lot if you took a look at their website: www.greekhorseprotection.gr

It was also exciting to see some celebrities as well- we spotted the fashion designers Orsalia Parthenis and Deux Hommes, Vicky Kagia, Alexandros Parthenis and many more- but, the highlight of my day was...

...when I got to meet and talk to Alex Kavvadias!!! *faints*



    photo courtesy of Arietta

Alex needs no further introduction; for my international readers, he is the former leader of rock band Matisse and now he's going solo; you can listen to his latest single here. He was so down to earth and willing to take a pic; I was giggling like a little girl and thinking to myself
"omg! omg! omg!!!" lol
I'm officially an Alex groopie from now on!

And here's a little Alex eye candy, back with the band Matisse:



All in all, I had a great time thanks to Kiehl's and Hondos Center! There are going to be two t-shirts sold for 15 E at the Kiehl's counters which are specially designed by Orsalia Parthenis and Deux Hommes for the Kiehl's "Save the Donkeys" campaign; all profits will be donated to ΕΣΠΙ for the protection of donkeys and horses from abuse.

Oh! and in case you want to see a really akward photo of me and the girls posing like pre-celebrities in front of the "Kiehl's Kiehl's Kiehl's" wall, click here...

I told you it was akward! tehehe

P.S.: I know this post contains some pics with my mug, apologies for that... I'm not pretending to be a massive socialite or anything, but these photos were kindly taken by my friend Arietta and I look much more presentable in these pics than any photo I could take with my own camera, so there you go... Spare me some vanity please! xx


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Oops! Yet another Elf haul

    Sometimes I just can't help myself...

    My third Elf loot!

    What I got this time:

    Plumping lip glaze in Peach Passion
    Studio matte lip color in Natural
    Waterproof eyeliner pen in Midnight
    Shimmering facial whip in Lilac Petal
    Studio blush in Gotta Glow
    Mineral eyeshadow in Celebrity

I also got another empty eyeshadow palette, as my previous depotting experience was pretty successful, and 2 Studio eyeshadow brushes- the angled to use with my brow powder and the contour brush as an extra blending tool.

And in case you want to see some more Elf haulin',
here's my first and second orders at eyeslipsface.co.uk!

Have you shopped recently any Elf products?

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Giveaway: Win a Mac lipstick!

Oh yes!

It is blogging through which I've come to meet so many witty, sweet and gorgeous people. I cannot express my gratitude to each and every one of you who leave me sweets comments under my posts, and this whole interaction is trully what makes blogging ever so worth while.

So as a thank you to my lovely followers, I'll be holding a small giveaway on a Mac lipstick of your choice! (Well, kind of...)

Woohoo!!!

All you have to do to enter is:

- be a public follower of my blog.
- Go over at the post on my Mac lipstick collection and pick your favourite
  out of the 6 shades available,
- then come back to THIS post, and in the comments section write
  ENTER ME, the Mac lipstick of choice and your email address.
  Simple as that!

The giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY and will be open until the 31st of October; then I'll pick a random winner.

Good luck to all!
xx

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My Mac lipstick collection!

I've been planning to gather up my Mac lipsticks in one single post for months... But today I was a good girl and conquered my procrastinating issues, so here they are!

It's a small collection as I'm quite new to Mac- but it's definitely, positively bound to grow and flourish! I looove me some Mac lipsticks, haha

    Creme d' Nude: pale muted peach shade (Cremesheen)

One of Mac's best-seller lipsticks, and yet Creme d' Nude is a tricky shade to pull off: for it to be worn on its own the "right way", it requires the darkest and most dramatic smokey eye- but if you top it off with a pinky/peach lipgloss, it's far more versatile with eyeshadow combinations. If you own a vivid lipgloss shade and want to show it off at its best, Creme d' Nude works brilliantly on blanking out your lips beforehand! Cremesheens feel moisturising and give an almost glossy shine to the lips, while offering opaque colour.

    Hue: soft pale pink (Glaze)

Another Mac best-seller, Hue is a much more wearable pinky nude lipstick that matches any eyeshadow shade, be it warm- or cool-toned. It's my absolute favourite, most worn Mac lipstick! I call it my "safety" lippie, as it's the first thing I grab when I'm in a hurry or not sure which shade to wear. It's a glaze finish, which means that the natural lip colour shows through the lipstick, however it can be built up to a more opaque coverage; that's why I always throw it in my travel makeup bag- as depending on the layers I wear, I can enjoy two lipstick shades with one product. Highly recommended to Mac begginers!

    Angel: soft pink (Frost)

A Kim Kardashian favourite, Angel is a very pretty blue-toned pink shade that is flattering on all skin tones. Notably, I consider it a "first-date appropriate" lipstick, as it doesn't stray that far from the lips' natural pigmentation, but gives a girly blue-based shade of pink that instantly brightens up the face. It's odd that Angel falls under the Frost finish category, as there's no visible shimmer either on the bullet or when applied on the lips.

    Pink Nouveau: bright pink (Satin)

Pink Nouveau is a bright pink with violet undertones; it got hyped up when Lady Gaga spoke about it as her favourite Mac lipstick during her teens, and her inspiration behind her signature Viva Glam lipstick. Nicki Minaj followed Gaga's footsteps with her Pink Friday lipstick, thus making Pink Nouveau ever so popular. It's a perfect choice for the nude lipstick lover wanting to experiment with brighter lipsticks; Pink Nouveau is a daring bright lipstick but it's a pink, so it feels much more comfortable to wear than purple or fuchsia lipsticks. It's a satin, which stands for semi-matte finish with a small amount of shine to it.

    Impassioned: amped-up fuchsia (Amplified Creme)

Not for the faint-hearted! Unique shades like Impassioned are so hard to describe; I would say it's a vivid, almost neon coral-watermelon pink... Confused? What I mean is that there's definitely some warmth to it, making it stand out from fuchsias like Show Orchid, but not enough so to classify it as a warm-toned lipstick. It enhances a tan like no other colour and needs lots of contouring and highlighting, as it's sooo bright that it takes away all dimension on the face. Amplified Creme lipsticks give opaque colour with a fair amount of shine.

    Vegas Volt: full power coral (Amplified Creme)

In 2 words: true coral. Not orange-milky-peachy, nor pinky-coral.
Vegas Volt is the real thing! Period. It requires lots of bronzer if your face is not that tanned, and seems like it needs some definition with lipliner. By the way, a Mac makeup artist suggested to me a dark brown lip pencil to go with it... Is this normal? Vegas Volt is my least worn lipstick because as much as I love its colour, I've found that cool-toned lipsticks look better on my Mediterranean olive skin (shoker!). Again, it's an Amplified- which provides opaque coverage with a shiny finish.

And here's a few swatches shown together:

    From left to right: Creme d' Nude, Hue, Angel

   From left to right: Pink Nouveau, Impassioned, Vegas Volt

   Impassioned really pops out from the rest shades, don't you think?

So, do you own any of the lipsticks pictured above?
Which is your all-time favourite Mac lipstick?

Oh! and if you happen to know a nice "my-lips-but-better" Mac lipstick in the Lustre family, I'd love it if you let me know about it!

Kisses xx

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My Christmas wishlist

I know, I know- it's way too early to even speak out the word "Christmas", but it's nice to anticipate a big and exciting event, isn't it? Besides, I want to be 100% ready when the 2012 countdown begins- I have this weird habit of saving up some special products only to start using them on the 1st of January :P

Dior Amber Diamond powder: it's been like 1,5 year since I first heard about this beauty over at theGlossGoss, and it's still in my wishlist! I think it's about time I crossed it off my list, don't you think?

A red matte lipstick by Mac: I'm torn between Russian Red, Ruby Woo or Lady Danger... It's so hard to pick just one! Any recommendations, please?

Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation: As much as I hate having duplicates of foundations, concealers, powders, etc., I'm starting to realise that a girl needs to have 2 different foundations at hand: one offering light coverage for daytime and the other with a medium to full coverage for evenings out or when the skin's condition really needs it. This Bourjois foundation falls under the 2nd category; word has got around that it smells like my beloved Chanel Bronze Universel!!!

The Body Shop new Shimmer Cubes: I've already purchased the top right palette and got nothing but good things to say about it! 2 more shimmer cubes to snatch until Christmas!

A new perfume: ahhh, there's so many new scents to choose from! Although I desperately want to try out the new Aqua di Gioia Essenza; I've always been a fan of the Armani perfumes, with Aqua dio Gio (the men's cologne) being my favourite. Can't wait to have a peek at the new perfume sets, too!

Fancy candles: For once, I'd like to step away from the generic Ikea candles, please! The ones pictured above are reasonably priced- for a fancy candle, that is! Nothing like the Diptyque candles' price tag- 46+ euros? Hell no to that!!!

What's in your Christmas wishlist? Do share!
xx

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10 Runway Makeup Trends for Autumn/Winter 2011-2012

I've gathered up a few of the most inspirational makeup looks brought out by the big fashion houses for this A/W season.

Have a close look and let me know which are your faves!

 

    image source

    Spiky lashes with burgundy lips, as seen on Gucci
Can I just say that this is my #1 favourite makeup look from the bunch? And I'm so happy it looks gorgeous on brown-eyed girls, yayyy! I think it's genius that they've combined the vampy 3-dimensional lip with the girly doll-like lashes. Notice the soft haze of brown eyeshadow around the eyes, too?

    image source

    Charcoal smoked eyes with red lips, as seen on Diane Von

    Furstenberg

This is a much more wearable (and sultry!) version for wearing red lipstick. The charcoal shadow smudged only on the top lashline gives a certain clarity to the model's eyes. Which of these two trends would you go for?

    image source

    Luminous skin and pastel lips, as seen on Nina Ricci
Thick but softly defined brows accompany this makeup look dominated by the matte pastel shades on the lips that brighten up the complexion. As I've said before, I find it to be the ultimate modern recession-chic makeup; just like in the 40's era, where women invested in optimistic shades of red liptick and only that. Needless to say, I'm digging both of these lip colours and already searching for similar Mac shades!

      image source

    Camel eyeshadow with bubblegum pink lips, as seen on Donna

    Karan

Ok, this is obviously not that wearable outside the runway- but the combination is quite interesting. Makes Barbie pink lipsticks like Saint Germain by Mac a bit more sophisticated, dare I say! With a little definition around the eyes and less eyeshadow, this look would be easily wearable even on daytime.

     image source

    Graphic eyeliner, as seen on D&G and Stella McCartney

The rest of the face is kept natural, so as to take the edge off the hardness of the eyeliner and give a youthful feel to the look. I think the models' allusive glance isn't coincidental: plain black eyeliner can be so sexy just by itself and it's extremely guy-friendly, as sometimes men can be intimidated byt a bright lip.

     image source

    Metallic smokey eyes, as seen on Roberto Cavalli
Ever since Lisa Eldridge did a tutorial on this makeup, I fell in looove! It looks pretty time-consuming though, probably would take more than 40' to a makeup amateur (like myself) to complete it; and time-consuming makeup makes me feel ever so uncomfortable each time... I don't know, am I the only one experiencing this? Still, it looks dead gorgeous!

     image source

    Metallic olive eyeshadow, as seen on Chanel
Not going to ramble about the much anticipated Illusions d'Ombre eyeshadows... Except from the fact I loathe the LE factor- I don't see a reason why they shouldn't be part of the Chanel permanent makeup collection! What do you girls think of this eyeshadow colour? I haven't played around with olive eyeshadow, but in these pics it looks pretty sophisticated and classy.

     image source

    Vampy blue smokey eyes with soft wine lips, as seen on Dior
Come on, would you expect anything less from Dior, even now that is Galliano-less? The alabaster skin and crimped hair also add to this modern 20's glamour. Again, it's probably not that wearable outside the runway; I wouldn't mind going around the house in this makeup, though! Sometimes I find it such a shame that women are so judgemental when it comes to other womens' makeup- but that's another story...

     image source

    Winged-out smokey eyes, as seen on Max Azria
The most modern approach on the smokey eye trend, this look is a cross between a cat-eye and a smokey eye. Skin is kept looking natural and lips completely bare. I always found difficult to recreate a modern approach on smokey eyes without reminding of trashy late 00's; in this look, it's interesting that there's no eyeshadow or liner on the lower lashline.

     can't remember where I found this pic! Sorry...

    Eyeshadow up to the browbone, as seen on Diane Von Furstenberg
Finally, a makeup look appropriate for girls with shorter lid space like me! I cannot express my enthusiasm enough, as this "eyeshadow all the way" thing was a complete and utter no-no, up untill now. The model looks stunning in this pic, no denying about that (I'm also envious of her ombred hair!), but I still have some reservations about whether it looks ok outside the runway.

I'd love to have your feedback on this subject:
What are your thoughts on this season's makeup trends?
Do you feel inspired, bored or disappointed, maybe?

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