My skin saviour: Avène CLEANANCE K

I rarely feel compelled to write rave reviews on skincare products,
though today I must give credit where credit is due.

It's rare to come across a skincare product that meets all criteria for an A+ rate; one that is comparable to high-end skin treatments but without the hefty price tag, with top-notch ingredients that actually WORK. For me, the Avène Cleanance K lotion is one of them.

Note: I want to stress that this is my personal experience with the product. Not everyone is going to get the miracle results that I did, so please keep an open mind while reading this review; unless you share the same skin problems that I used to have, in which case you might find it pretty helpful ;)

So, what was my skin like?

In short- oily and prone to blemishes by nature, and yet dehydrated, with awful dry patches that any foundation would accentuate them even more, making my face look just nasty. I tried every trick in the book to get rid of those dry patches, including rich moisturisers and hydrating masks, strong face scrubs and exfoliating pads- nothing seemed to work...

That all changed when I started watching DermTV, the Youtube channel by dr Schultz who is a famous dermatologist from New York (thank you Dimitra for the suggestion!). He always goes on and on about how beneficial glycolic acid can be on nearly every skin type, and rightfully so.

Here's a little wiki info on glycolic acid: it belongs to the α-hydroxy acids family (AHAs), and it's a chemical exfoliator which "loosens" the glue that holds the dead skin cells clinged the surface of the skin. It thus improves the appearance and texture of the skin, while it can also reduce wrinkles, acne scarring and hyperpigmentation. It was first used during in-office treatments by dermatologists, though now one can find over-the-counter skincare products that contain glycolic acid (with a lower percentage that should make the product safe to use at home).

Don't judge a book by its cover.

Do not be fooled guys, this post isn't as deep as you might think-
it's more like when old sayings apply to cosmetics...

We've all been there: a cheap concealer that turns out to be amazing, a high-end lipgloss that's totally crap, or an eyeshadow that looks gorgeous in the pan but lacks pigmentation. Looks can be deceiving; and between us, it's the #1 rule in dating too!

But, I digress ;)

Sometimes it happens that a false, or rather a biased/prejudiced perception we have on a product may actually refrain us from ever giving it a try. I'll share my most recent experience: Dior's Pure Poison perfume.

If you're familiar with the original Poison and Hypnotic Poison perfumes, then you'll either belong to the "OMG, love it!" or the "too-heady-it-gives-me-headaches" camp. Me being the unfortunate kind, I fall in the latter group. Believe me, I've had some serious migraines after detecting either of perfumes on girls in the tube! It was only natural that I didn't give Pure Poison a sniff. To me, 'Poison' equaled to a sickly sweet and intolerably spicy, headache-worthy blend.

You can imagine how thrilled I was when I got to smell it after a recommendation from a friend: oh, the beauty of Pure Poison is hard to be captured with words! Starting out with a clean and fresh scent, it then settles to a gentle white floral bouquet with a hint of musk (to allude to the 'Poison' tag, I suppose). It was then that the clouds parted, the sun shined bright and I realised the blunt truth of the matter: looks ARE deceiving!
* In this case, the 'Poison' tag *

Same story with the Max Factor nail polishes.
I'll explain myself:

March '13 in pictures: people in Athens, a walk in the park, mementos of the past

     A pretty stylish guy. I asked him about his fabulous bag, said it was
     purchased in Italy...

     Girl on the tube. I complimented her for that awesome outfit-
     she also wore a beautiful red lip!

Giveaway: Garnier MIRACULOUS OIL x3!

Yep, you read that right:
it's yet another giveaway on the much-talked-about Garnier hair oil!

I know that you've already seen many of such giveaways popping up on beauty blogs- but believe me, you don't wanna miss a chance to win the new and fabulous Miraculous oil! I truly believe in this product (click for my review), so I'm thrilled that 3 of you will win Garnier's Miraculous oil ;)

Here's all you have to do to enter this giveaway:

1. You have to be a public follower of this blog through GFC (Google Friend Connect). This giveaway is targeted to my readers only; if you want to follow my blog, it's easy and it's free! Just click the "Join this site" blue button on the top right column.
2. Leave a comment on this post with your GFC name (the name with which you're following my blog) AND your email address, so I can contact you in case you win. Simple as that!

If you'd like to earn some extra entries, you can follow the next steps (optional):

1. Tweet about this giveaway with a link to this post, and state your Twitter username in your comment. +1 entry

2. Publish a link of this giveaway on Facebook, and state your Facebook username in your comment. +1 entry

The giveaway is open to residents in Greece (apologies to my international readers!) until the 27th of April. Then I'll pick a random winner through Randomizer.org.

Good luck to all that take part in this giveaway!

Evi   xx

Edit: the 3 winners are: ΧΑΡΙΚΛΕΙΑ, dimitra and Marilena Kat

A little GARNIER lovin'!

When was the last time you've fallen in love with a beauty brand?
That's me now, falling head over heels with yet another L'Oreal sister company...

It's no news that Garnier is quickly evolving into the #1 best-selling brand of the mass market; their products are affordable, innovative and deliver their claims, all while the name tag "Garnier" echoes vibes of sunshine, happiness and lots of smiles!

Personally, I'll go as far as to say that Garnier has grown into one of my most loved beauty brands- not only for the reasons mentioned above, but also because their products keep up with the latest customer demands that call for more natural ingredients and less controversial substances like parabens.
[In case you haven't noticed, all new Garnier products contain no parabens.]

But enough with the blab, here are my current Garnier favourites!

First things first, the Garnier Miraculous Oil* has been my go-to hair treatment to use right before blow drying. Up until now I didn't have much faith in hair oils to be honest; but then I met this guy, we "clicked", and since then me and him go together like peas and carrots! Seriously though, give it a try and you'll love it as much as I do: it's rich in pure Argan oil that nouriches and protects the hair with a weightless, non-oily veil of moisture. You get shiny, smooth hair in a matter of seconds, what's not to love about it?

A hot AUSSIE makeover...

* I'm warning you guys, you're about to witness an awful lot of my mug!
  Guess my camera spared me this time and captured me in a presentable state ;) *

Right, back to the point of this entry. As the title suggests,
a couple of months ago me and some fellow bloggers took part in a fun meet-up held by Aussie, including a hot yoga class and a hair makeover. Needless to say, my transformation gets an A+: it was frumpy hair turned to sexy locks in a matter of minutes!

So, the event took place in Hot Yoga Athens, an out-of-the-ordinary workout place where you can attend hot yoga or hot pilates classes. I should inform you though, the "hot" aspect of the story is not referable to the instructors' looks (heck, they might be hot but I can't confirm it!); it merely indicates that the classes are practised in a heated room
of 40C. It's said that the hot, humid air during a hot yoga class helps the body to release more toxins and heal its injuries faster- which is great news, right?

Yet, it didn't lure the exercise hater in me to give it a try (too hardcore, man!), so I shamefully stayed outside watching the rest of the girls stretching and posing to yoga postures :(

     The heated room. You can tell it's hot in there by the foggy windows!

     Practising hot yoga...