Lipstick Wardrobe's SUMMER wishlist!

Gah, I can't believe spring is gone already!
Predictions say it's going to be a scorching summer this year- excited much?

In all honesty, I'm not a summer kind of girl, though I'm determined to do my best and be 100% prepared for when showing (plenty of) skin is ultimately inevitable. If only breaking free from such insecurities was an easy task...

But that's another story ;)

So, here are a few of the things I have my eye on at the moment!

1. The Body Shop Spa Fit body scrub: one simply needs a good quality body scrub, come summer. This one is supposed to make skin look and feel firmer, plus it smells of citrus (score!). Although, being aware of a few reviews claiming it's not that exfoliating, I'll try my luck at asking for a sample...

2. A neon yellow nail polish: look at this picture of a french manicure with neon yellow tips- gorgeous! Surely there are dirt-cheap neon nail polishes out there, but I'd love to try the ones by China Glaze. Anyone know of a store that stocks China Glaze?

3. Maybelline Color Show nail polish, Go Go Green: if its promo pic is true to life
- green chartreuse - then I gotta have it!

Onto my lipstick lust list:

October '12 favourites.

Whoosh...
There goes October. One month closer to Christmas. Eeeek!

Judging from last month's favourites, my love for makeup has been officially revived; I've reached the point where BB cream+blush was simply not enough! Hence, the following good lot of makeup products. There's also a couple of hair treatments thrown in the mix, to go with my new ombre hair!

*** Don't ask: it was a fine experience overall-
still, the final outcome came out so natural that it barely looks any different =( ***

Alright, let's start with the makeup!

My lipstick of choice was the Chanel Rouge Coco Shine lipstick in Boy (click for review), its rosy colour is so appropriate for autumn days! But the ultimate stand-out was the new Maybelline Fit Me concealer*. Good coverage without being cakey, blends easily under the eyes and covers dark circles thanks to its slight orange undertones. I'm filing this under "products I would repurchase"!

I've also had a good use of the Mac Lingering brow pencil and I'm loving it to bits; brilliant waxy texture that helps to hold brow hairs into place! For my eyeshadows, I mostly used these few matte shades from the Body Shop in Vanilla Cream, Pink and Granite (click for review). Shimmer on the lids during dark and cloudy days can sometimes look a bit "off"! I'd much rather give some life to my face with a bright lip instead.

Which brings me to my quick fix...

A (much needed) Project-10-Pan

I can feel it, this is going to be a year full of changes ;)
Following my decision to turn to pharmaceutical brands for my skincare,
here's a second commitment:

As the title of this post suggests, I'm starting a Project-10-Pan. I'm sick of my ever-growing makeup collection, it's ridiculous and it has to stop! So, along with a few tossing of some old and forgotten makeup products, I've put aside 10 that I must go through asap.

Now, some of you may cringe on the type of products I've chosen for this makeup ban-
but mind you, I've deliberately switched the "rules", in order to make it a pleasant experience overall and help me be 100% committed to it!

     Someone's cheating BIG TIME!

I know, I know- lip balms and tiny foundation samples shouldn't be part of a proper P10Pan... Believe it or not, I tend to wear less makeup nowadays, so much so that finishing all these products will actually take me quite a while! Here's another "twist" I've imposed on this project:

August '12 favourites.

Wowza! That's the 250th blog post on Lipstick Wardrobe, woohoo!!!
Allow me to do a happy dance in the style of Chandler Bing :D

Right, onto the subject: as I'm currently sick of my HUGE makeup collection that has gotten out of hand (post to follow), last month I switched my focus to skincare products- and jewelry. 'Twas about time I started wearing the bargains I got during the sales!

So, grab yourselves a cuppa tea (or an ice-cold frappe, if you like) and enjoy!

To be frank, I'm not entirely satisfied with each and every product in my skincare routine. Habit won over prudent and considerate buying, so I've ended up with some bits that although nice, they didn't quite cut it for my current skin concerns. But, enough with the nagging; let me give praise to a few products that have stood out from the rest:

July '12 favourites.

It's funny writing about summery beauty products, when it's sooo gloomy outside!
Want proof? Scroll down to the last pic...

Much like June, July was a pretty boring month of no-makeup days. Same story every summer; I seem to lose interest in makeup when the days get hotter! Hence, July's favourites consist of only a few bodycare products.

Apivita Face Sunscreen for oily-combination skin, SPF30: yet another Apivita product that exceeds in quality its equivalent by Korres. It spreads beautifully on my skin with less amount of shine, plus it leaves no white film on the face as it's slightly tinted! And smells lovely, too. Can't help but feel proud that Apivita products can be compared with the very best on the market!

Korres After Sun with Aloe Vera: you know me, I go gaga over anything containing aloe vera... This body milk is perfect to quench my skin after sunbathing. I could do without the strong floral scent (jasmine, perhaps?)- still, it's a nice product and I enjoy using it.

The Body Shop Coconut Beautifying Oil*: these new all-round oils from the Body Shop are THE BOMB. They're loaded with natural oils with no parabens and they work brilliantly for face, body and hair. Actually, a little birdie at the Body Shop told me they're planning to transition all of their products to paraben-free, so that's good news.

Thanks to a suggestion by Ria, I own my very first glitter nail polish! I tried wearing it on top of a nude shade, but I think it looks fantastic over pastel colours. I'm seriously tempted to paint all my nails with this stuff, it would probably looks so damn kitch but I don't care!

[The baby blue nail polish I'm wearing in this pic is part of the new Colour Riche range by L'Oreal, I couldn't help myself and bought a couple of these babies! Xcuse the sloppy application- apparently, painting thick layers of nail polish while the fan is blowing air on your nails is not a good idea- hello lil' air bubbles!]

Also, I thought I'd mention how I spent most of my days during past month: the mandatory Agatha Christie novel -no fuss, easy-going storyline that doesn't dissapoint- and my new video game, Tales of Monkey Island! I mean, Age of Empires is nice, Sims are even better, but sometimes nothing can compete with a dorky RPG aimed at teens ;)

And you thought Greece couldn't compete with England? The hell we can't! There's your evidence: rain and cloudy sky during August. Unheard of, but we did it. Can't say I'm not enjoying it, though; Bring on the autumn!

Now, be random: which are your favourite crime fiction novels?
Any RPG games worth looking into? Do share ;)

* The oil from TBS was given to me for free. I'm showing it some blog love because, well, I love it! Sharing my honest opinions, as always.

Evi   xx

A spring-ish kind of haul!

Thank goodness, the weather got finally warmer! Just the perfect excuse to start making excessive spring and summer shopping lists, am I right? I know, shopping won't buy you happiness, but it sure does help to put a smile in your face! Non?

This is my first batch of spring essentials!

   Here's the break-down:

H&M eyelashes: I think I came one step closer to rock the Louis Vuitton makeup trend for this spring! Now I need to put these to the test- someone ask me out somewhere fancy so I can wear ma falsies!!!
TBS Tea Tree concealer: despite feeling 100% satisfied with my old concealer, it was time to try something new. My girl Athina raves about this one, so I have a feeling I'm gonna love it ;)
Kiehl's Lip Balm #1: one of the most popular lip balms ever! Full review to come.
TBS Baked-to-Last eyeshadow in #04-Quartz: for the record, I only bought it for the gorgeous burgundy shade on the right... Expect a detailed post on all baked eyeshadows from TBS within the month!

Korres Pomegranate tonic lotion: you might have noticed that Korres has recently revamped all of their skincare range. I'm glad to see they've expanded the Pomegranate range to cater for combination to oily skintypes! My only gripe- this tonic lotion contains alcohol.
H&M makeup bag: I purposedly wanted to buy a teensy-tiny makeup bag so as to motivate myself to pack less makeup when I'm traveling. Thought it would be nice to feel like a "normal" person every once in a while ;)

Also, now that I grew accustomed to tinted moisturisers thanks to the Garnier BB cream, I've been thinking of getting a new one- any recommendations? Oh, and if your local TBS  has in stock their gorgeous Baked-to-Last blush, please do let me know! I've been dying to get my hands on it way before Christmas and I can't find it anywhere!!!

Anything you've shopped recently?
Do share!

Evi   xx

My "Marni for H&M" shopping list

It's interesting that in late years, the minds behind H&M have decided to educate their customers about high-fashion houses; because to be honest, if it wasn't for this particular collaboration, I wouldn't have googled Marni to find out what the brand is all about...

Granted, the patterns in this collection are a bit crazy- but that's what Marni is all about, right? Personally, I don't do well with prints- especially on the upper part of my body. However, I managed to assort some items I'd love to see myself into- but the prices, ugh!!! I wish they were a little more affordable! I can't afford to risk €100 on a dress I might not want to wear the following year...

So, boring haul it is :(
This T-shirt lies on top of my shopping list:

Cotton T-shirt, €29,95: love-love-love its print! This would make an excellent addition for my short -but slowly growing!- collection of well-made, all-cotton T-shirts. The only thing I'm worried about is the black lining on the neck and sleeves, let's hope they won't leak black dye onto the white!

Now for the rest of the items I have my eye on, I'm still unsure whether I'll be buying any- nevertheless, here they are! As you can see, they don't look THAT much Marni-esque...
My point exactly!

1. Ankle-length trousers, €79,95
2. Leather/plastic necklace, €39,95
3. Silk shorts, €49,95
4. Leather bag, €79,95
5. 2-pack plastic bracelet, €29,95

Also, have you seen the men's collection? Every single piece looks so much more toned-down and just... wearable! Heck, they even come in friendlier prices!
Why, dear H&M, why do you favour the boys once again...

These items are what I'd love to see on a man:

1. Silk scarf, €19,95
2. Cotton shorts, €19,95
3. Striped blazer, €99
4. Shirt, €49,95
5. Drawstring bag, €39,95

So, what will you getting from this H&M launch?
Do you find the prints interesting or too "in-your-face"?

Evi   xx

January '12 favourites.

Could I ever start this post with the common "once again, this past month flew by so quickly" without repeating myself?
Probably not, but it's true!

Nevertheless, I'm not really complaining: the weather got so chilly and wintery, which meant I was finally able to wear a bright red lip without feeling out-of-place ;)

During January, I got reunited with one of my favourite blushes ever-
the Body Shop's lip&cheek stain! This is a repurchase, so that goes to show you how much I love it... It's my #1 choice for that "no makeup" makeup, looks so great on Mediterranean/olive skin, gahhh I could rave about this beauty non-stop! I also made good use of Russian Red by Mac, which I wore as a stain both on lips and cheeks.

As I've grown tired of wearing the usual suspects on my eyes -black pencil, black liquid liner-, it was about time I switched it up a bit with these 2 brown liners from the Body Shop. The Liquid Eyeliner, I love- it swatches as dark as I want it and goes on matte. The Carbon Eye Definer, I'm not so crazy about- there's something about its formula that just doesn't cut it for me, though I can't define it yet :/

   Swatches, with sunlight

   With flash

Aaand let us not forget these cute H&M nail polishes! I wore both two colours in alternation, with Rust being my absolute favourite. Now I must confess, I never expected to admit it as I'm not that drawn to nail polish in general but, damn: 7 ml is too little for a colour you simply adore...

So, that's it for me!
What have you been loving during January?

Evi   xx

What's in my bag?

'Twas about time I started uploading some tags I've been meaning to write down for the longest time ever!
I can be such a bad blogger sometimes, naughty Evi ;)

I'm starting with the ever so popular "What's in my bag?" tag-
though to be honest, you won't find anything exciting in my post-
read on...

So, the handbag I'm currently carrying around is this faux-leather satchel that I bought from H&M back in October for 30E. Now to put it bluntly,
I can't stand the looks of this thing!

See, when I first saw it I thought "haaaay, a Mulberry Alexa dupe for cheap? Bring it on!!!", then all through winter it was on every-freakin'-display in all H&M stores across Athens and well, it didn't take me much time to get over the initial thrill... But hey ho, that's the one I have ATM so it'll have to make do for this post :/

Inside my bag:

I always carry with me: tissues and wet wipes cause they're always handy and I'm a germ freak, a lighter for emergencies when I have to lend it to a cute stranger (never happens!), painkillers for the odd headache, my Ray-Bans (inside the case) and a white Wayfarer dupe from H&M, my humungous wallet from Zara that always sets off the anti-theft alarms when I walk into an Inditex store (FML...), the H&M nail polish I'm currently wearing (trying to fix my habit of chipped nails the easy way), a random Mac lipstick- this time it's Hue, a pressed powder for touch-ups throughout the day, memory sticks, my keys (notice the mini cooking whisk? aww...), my ancient cell phone that still goes strong, and a pen by Parker.

Not to mention the loads of receipts that nestle themselves deep inside the corners of the bag, the all-present Hondos Center plastic bag from my latest shopping spree and the numerous mint chewing gums- but such clutter wouldn't be too neat to snap it in a pic...

Hope you found it enjoyable? fun to read? sth along this line ;)
Thank you Irene for tagging me! Mwah xx
Feel free to do this tag or leave me your links if you've done it already!

Evi   xx

Winner of H&M nail polishes giveaway ;)

Big thanks to anyone that participated in my tiny giveaway!

Getting right to the point of this post:
the winner is...

Selehna!!!
Congratulations, girl!

There were 35 valid entries from the total of 39; I used randomizer.org to generate the lucky number. Selehna was the 9th valid entry.

P.S.: I already have a couple of goodies from Elf that I'm planning to give away in the near future,
so keep an eye for that ;)

Evi   xx

Christmas giveaway! H&M nail polishes

It's finally Christmas, yay!!!

How's everyone spending their holidays?
I'm currently staying at my parents' house, it's snowing and the weather is so wintery and cool- what a great excuse to drink lots of wine and just don't give a damn about the heaps of calories I consume...

As promised, I'm holding a giveaway on these 4 H&M nail polishes- think of it as a belated Christmas present to one lovely reader of this blog ;)

I know it's not much, but bargainous finds always make me ecstatic with joy- so I hope I can share some of my happiness with the lucky winner ;)

All you have to do to enter is very simple:

- be a public follower of my blog
- write ENTER ME in the comments section below, and
- please include your email address so I can contact you in case you win.

Easy peasy!

Giveaway is open internationally up until 8-1-2012;
then I'll pick a random winner.

***Please note that the nail polishes shown in the above photo are my own; I'm giving away 4 brand new nail polishes that come in their little plastic bags. Untouched. Cause I know there's nothing worse to find your giveaway prizes to have been swatched or slightly used :/

Merry Christmas everyone!
My warmest hugs and much love to all
xx xx

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H&M Fall nail polishes

Remember this cute red nail polish that I featured it in my
September favourites post?

H&M had launched these 4 nail polishes back during Fall season;
I've managed to locate the rest three colours so now all's good ;)

See, if you're a regular shopper at H&M, then you'll know that when you find something that tickles your fancy, you just grab it on the spot,
no seconds thoughts about it. I don't know what stopped me in the first place and only got the red nail polish- when I should have picked all 4! And then, when I popped back to H&M to pick up the rest of the colours, they were nowhere to be found...

Though lucky me, the God of shopping finally gave me mercy and one day, He led my footsteps up to the newest H&M store at Ermou str. which was all full with new stock! I rushed to the cosmetics section and what do you know, all 4 polishes were luring me and whispering MY name!

It's not just the 0.95E price tag that thrills me. Cause you should know by now that I'm so cheap with nail polishes! The colours are so lovely and on trend (if "on trend" calls for a late interpretation of 2010 trends...), they give opaque coverage with only 2 coats but most of all, there's a couple of Art Deco details that hit a nerve at my inner vintage loving self- notice the bottle's shape? the letters' font?

Pfffff, who am I kidding here...
At 0.95E per bottle, they're a steal and such bargains make me happy!!!

You can have a look at better swatches in this post, click!

***By the way, because I did my shopping on an empty stomach, I inevitably bought more than I had planned and ended up with 4 backups... Clearly I won't be needing those, so if you're interested in these particular H&M nail polishes,
let me know and I'll host a little giveaway for you ;)

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November 2011 favourites!

My my, how time flies by!
I can't believe it's December already; it doesn't feel like it, I'll tell you that... I mean, it hasn't rained for weeks and it's not that chilly yet; so when are we gonna get snow? There's no Christmas without snow, dammit!

Ok, rant over...
On to my November favourites:

Seventeen Waterproof lipliner, shade Pure Red: until I got my hands on Russian Red, I settled on this one. By the way, I find the greek "drugstore" lip pencils to be of excellent quality, give them a try if you're in need for one!

(p.s.: oh yes, Russian Red is crossed out of my X-mas list! hehe)

Elf Studio Matte lip colour, shade Natural: a pretty matte nude

"office-appropriate" lipstick that I used a lot in my morning makeup routine. Doesn't feel dry at all, and to be honest it makes my lips look fuller than good old lipgloss ;)

TBS Baked eye colour, shade Sapphire: my go-to choice for a navy smokey eye during past month. The thing is, I came to the wrong conclusion that baked eyeshadows photograph so much nicely than the regular pressed eyeshadows- but, after seeing the latest Pixiwoo vid, I realised it wasn't the baked formula that was to blame but the light coordinating shade blended in the crease. I urge you to try this method instead of blending the dark lid colour with your usual light brown shade, you'll be amazed by how much nicer it looks in photographs!

    Swatches from left to right: Seventeen lip liner, Elf Matte lip colour,
    Elf Celebrity eyeshadow, TBS Sapphire baked eyeshadow duo

Elf Mineral eyeshadow, shade Celebrity: when I first opened this little pot, instantly a contemporary makeup icon came to mind: JLo. This is THE most perfect shade to achieve that JLo look- both in terms of colour (golden light brown) and shimmer (sparkly but not glittery, almost metallic). Like all loose pigments, it creases after a good 5hour wear-
but who cares? Seriously, everyone should own Celebrity!

Dior Amber Diamond shimmer powder: my precious... My collection of highlighters is complete with this baby. Although after using it a lot the last couple of weeks, I noticed it looks "too much" for daytime wear- but it has that depth that enables me to pair it with a nice bronzer and just skip blush altogether.

I also popped into H&M and among other things, I bought these cute lipbalm tins with Disney's Bambi on the front- love the packaging and their scent, hate to admit that they dry out my lips so bad! Thank goodness for Apivita balms, they always come to my rescue...

So, what have you been loving during November?

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September 2011 favourites

Time for a monthly favourites post!

In all honesty, I didn't wear that much makeup in September, as this transitional period is far from makeup-friendly: golden shimmer and bronzers look so "off", and then the weather is not that wintery yet to wear intense smokey eyes or red lipsticks with ease!
Hence these safe colours...

Elf Natural Radiance blusher in Shy: this product caused me a makeup enlightenment- baby pink blush+olive skin= perfect combo!

Nothing more to add, you can see my review here

Elf Mineral lipstick in Runway Pink: this was my most reached lipstick during September, always accompanied with Shy blusher! Cause you know when sometimes you wear a pink cheek with a pink lip but somehow their undertones don't match? Well, these two products were meant to be worn together!

TBS Shimmer Cubes #20: my new favourite eyeshadow palette! The Body Shop has introduced 4 new shimmer cubes to their permanent makeup line, weeeee!!! I've been using all 4 shades to create a soft smokey eye and I even got compliments from a male friend who's against the philosophy of makeup :P

H&M nail colour: I'm so cheap when it comes to nail polishes; and since I really don't care and go out in public with chipped nails, I don't see any reason to invest in a big bottle of Chanel nail colour- knowing that I would never use it up... This one by H&M is just perfect- 7 ml of burgundy red for that autumn feel, only for 0.95 euros :)

TBS elderflower gel: it's a cooling gel that only offers basic moisture to the under eye area; however it gets absorbed in no time leaving no traces behind to interfere with concealer! Yeah, I've been there- courtesy of a Korres eye cream :(

On another note:

During past month I fancied some light read to get my mind off the stressful everyday things, so I bought an Agatha Christie novel. What a terribly cunning woman she must have been! Her writing style is always to-the-point, with no elaborate (but superfluous) depictions of landscapes or buildings.

FIY, the plot in all Agatha Christie novels is standard and goes like this: a dead body is found by an unfamiliar person, in a completely irrelevant place with zero or very few witnesses... And when you've read half of the book and you've formed a faint idea of who's the murderer, there's another killing to mess things up. So predictable but still, it manages to get you hooked till the end...

Oh! and another thing: whenever did my little blog gained 200 followers?
*blushes*

I can't express how grateful I am for you, my lovely readers, in that you spare a little of your time to read my everyday ramblings-
so as a "thank you", I'm planning to do a couple of small giveaways!
:* :* :*

What were your most used products during September?

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