My Spring/Summer wishlist: part 2

Oh God, I've finally come to that stage where I'm putting together wishlists with high-end products only; THE END IS NEAR!!! Seriously now, it seems I'm having a €€€ kick lately, I'm hoping it's just a phase- otherwise my wallet will mutiny against me and I won't blame it!

To be fair though, this is more like a this or that list.
So, not all hope is lost! lol

You might remember from my previous wishlist that I had my eye on the Vit C Daily Moisturiser with spf 30 by the Body Shop. Thank goodness I checked the tester before purchasing it- as soon as I applied a tiny amount on my hand, it rubbed off in pieces! Enough is enough, I'm done with crappy day creams; I've decided to finally invest in a proper, well thought and technologically up-to-date daily sunscreen. After a little search online, I came up with two options: the Shiseido Urban Environment Oil-Free UV Protector is brand new and sounds very promising: it's water resistant (so it's going to hold well during the hot summer weather), it's invisible on the skin and has a broad spectrum of 42 PA+++. The Clarins UV Plus HP Day Screen High Protection has more or less the same claims as the Shiseido one, but I'd rather go with the pebble-like packaging of Shiseido than that of Clarins!

I've been also tempted by some purrrty eyeshadows- namely the Burberry Sheer Eyeshadow in Pale Barley and the Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Illusoire. About the latter, I'll test it in-store; if it swatches too purpley for my liking, I'll be saving myself the €30+. The Pale Barley eyeshadow, omg... I need this in my life! 'Nuff said ;)

And of course, the biggest temptation of the moment: high-end lip products. Sigh, where do I start? I want a YSL lippie so bad- don't know whether it's going to be a Rouge Volupte or the new Vernis a Levres but I'm so getting one! Lipgloss-wise, I've been eyeing the lovely Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors that have that spongey applicator like my beloved Elf Luscious Liquid lipstick! And lastly, gimmicky or not, the Dior Lip Glow is my current lip balm crush!

So, what have you been lusting over lately?
Do share your spring/summer wishists, I'd love to read 'em!

Evi   xx

Violetta!!!

Yep, that's right-
yet another Mac lipstick I've been longing for the longest time ever!

I cannot describe to you my excitement when Ι opened the little Mac goodie bag my sister got for my birthday, to find out a small Strobe Cream and a lipstick box that read "Amplified" on the front: I knew it, I knew it was Violetta!
https://twitter.com/#!/cbsg5861/status/175894826108207104/photo/1

Violetta has actually a strange consistency for an Amplified lipstick: there's a significant amount of violet shimmer running through it, which makes for a shinier 3-d swatch than say, Vegas Volt or Impassioned. Colour-wise, it's not that scary as it shows in the bullet; in my best description, Violetta swatches as a violet purple with some fucshia undertones:

Yet again, my camera picked out all the blueness in Violetta! @%#$&!!!
However, the true beauty of this lipstick lies in its versatility: when dabbed lightly on the lips, you get a fuchsia/violet stain- and then with a heavier application, there's your purple goodness! Also, due to the shimmer that flashes back on flash photography, applying some lipgloss on top makes everything more even:

FIY, one of the reasons I desperately wanted to get Violetta was to start wearing this dark purple lipgloss! It was a YSL gift around Christmas; I tried wearing it alone or on top of Creme d'Nude- nothing worked...

    Swatch of the YSL lipgloss on the left

So, what do you think of Violetta?
Would you wear a purple lipstick?

Evi   xx

YSL Spring Look 2012: my thoughts

As some of you may remember, I was introduced to YSL makeup during December, on the launch of the YSL "Noel 2011" collection.

Since then, I've grown a considerable interest in the brand's seasonal makeup collections; like I've mentioned before, such high-end brands not only bring out intriguing (and sometimes revolutionary) products, but they also offer inspiring scenarios for season-appropriate makeup looks, from which you can draw inspiration and update your everyday makeup.

This spring, Lloyd Simmonds (the head behind YSL makeup since 2010) was inspired by all sorts of colourful candies: fruit jellies, juicy sorbets and cotton candy. The three key elements that translate his inspiration into makeup formulas are:
fresh colours, transparency, melting textures.

YSL names this collection's signature look as "Nude in Colour"-
I'm guessing from the picture above that what they mean by that term is
natural, glowing skin combined with diffused, soft colour on the eyes and lips.

So, the "Nude in Colour" YSL candy look is achieved with the new LE Ombres 5 Lumieres palette with pretty pastel eyeshadows, followed by 2 coats of Mascara Singuliere in blue. Lips are coated with a wash of Volupte Sheer Candy in a baby pink shade, while on the nails the iconic YSL french manicure is updated with hues of peach and baby pink.

Additional products to the YSL Spring Look: the LE Vinyl Candy Palette with 2 light frosty shades and 2 darker satin colours, four new Rouge Volupte Perle lipsticks, three more Volupte Sheer Candy lipsticks, two Golden Glosses (looove the looks of them both!), and the second version of Manucure Couture duo.

*** If I'm correct, there is also a range of water-based liquid blushes- though I don't think they will be marketed in Greece! What a shame!***

In most cases, Spring makeup collections from high-end makeup brands have an optimistic and youthful vibe to them; their fun bright colours are a step away from the dark vampy hues of winter, let alone the exception of any sexy bronze shades contribute to a girlier overall feel. In my experience, Spring collections aren't the most popular throughout the year- we always tend to buy more makeup during Christmas or summer!-, nevertheless they're a refreshing interval between winter smokeys and summery bronzes.

Personally, pastel eyeshadows are not my favourite. I could only make them work on my lower lashline, though I rarely do so. To be fair, I don't think the eyeshadows in the Ombres 5 Lumieres palette are meant to be worn together, and I can see from the promo pic that they're actually sheer. In this case, that's a good thing- as it makes for a more transparent and modern look.

The two main things I loved from this range is the absense of black pencil/mascara (brings more brightness to the eyes), and the transparent juicy lips.

Needless to say, you can always recreate this makeup look with what you already have!

Here's a close-up: you can see there's a light blue eyeshadow close to the lashline (almost indetectable), followed by a brightening lilac haze around the perimeter of the eyes and blended into the crease with a pink shade.

Now that I see the eye makeup zoomed in, I kinda like it!
What are your thoughts on the YSL Spring Look 2012 collection?

Evi   xx

YSL Parisienne, a review

Last month, my sweet boyfriend gave me this perfume as a present
(love you Κωστή μου!); and it came in perfect timing as I was in need of a nice grown-up scent for 2012 ;)



Parisienne is aimed at the woman who is too old to wear adolescent sickly-sweet perfumes like Aquolina Pink Sugar, but still too young to embrace bolder and old-lady scents like Chanel no5.

The Parisienne woman is best encaptured in the new ad with French fashion model Marina Vacht, and I must admit I prefer her loads over Kate Moss- sorry Kate, I love you and always go crazy over anything you put your face on, but in this case you failed me... Your Parisienne ad can't compare to this one:

Because I'm no expert on describing scents and words may fail me, I thought of borrowing Katie Puckrik's spot-on description of Parisienne:
a light, sweet, raspberry rose, fruity but sophisticated. It's interesting though that in between the official notes (cranberry, blackberry, damask rose, violet, peony, patchouli, vetiver and musk), other reviewers have detected notes of vinyl and lacquer, scents that one can find in stiletto heels or a cosmetic bag.

As far as describing the perfume's bottle, YSL says that the irregular striped glass evokes the complex Parisian stone-paved streets that are still wet from last night's rain and gleam during the early hours of the day. To me, it looks as if the design refrains from anything linear and predictable, but with keeping the preppy curvy volume of the older YSL Paris perfume. Rebellious and yet classy. I like that.

Now, my boyfriend chose the Parisienne gift set over the plain eau de parfum, and to be honest I usually prefer to own the perfumes' original cardboard boxes- but who am I to turn down the matching body lotion and shower gel? hehe :)

However, in case you're interested in buying perfumes packaged as gift sets, here's a couple of cute options for this Christmas:

    YSL Belle d'Opium

     YSL L'Homme Libre

     Lancome Tresor Midnight Rose perfume +Mascara Hypnose Drama 
     +Le Crayon Kohl

     I saved the best one for last: Victor&Rolf Flowerbomb gift set
    is packaged in a doll house!

So, are you a fan of YSL fragrances?
Which ones are you planning to haul for this Christmas?

CBSG5861

Yves Saint Laurent Noël 2011 makeup collection

Last week in Attica Department Store, an interesting event took place: Fred Letailleur, European makeup artist for YSL, presented the new Yves Saint Laurent makeup collection for this Christmas, notably named

"Look Noël".

And I must say, I was charmed.

First and foremost, the makeup collection itself is indeed so inspiring; it captures the essense of the iconic YSL black tuxedo and all the fine fabrics that create different shades of black. Me, being a total-black-outfit fanatic, I fell for it right away.

The most exciting product of this makeup collection is the LE Black Tuxedo eyeshadow palette that contains 4 variations of black and a shimmering white in the middle. Wrapped around this palette is a black YSL "belt" that you can actually wear as a wrist cuff ;)

Other LE products in this collection: the White Tuxedo palette (complexion illuminator with silver, pink and violet hues) and the Black Manicure duo (one matte and one glossy).

The Noël makeup collection is completed with a few products from the YSL permanent makeup range, as shown below:

Personally, if I was to grab just one product from this collection, it would have to be the Black Tuxedo eyeshadow palette (slightly biased cause of the black wrist cuff, can you blame me?); the White Tuxedo didn't catch my fancy- I'd rather have a golden highlighter than a cool-toned powder. And I think I can dupe the black manicure shown on the promo pics with cheaper nail polishes, hehe

As for the rest non-LE products, my eyes were drawn to the new Rouge Pur Couture lipsticks- if you're a lipstick lover like me, let me tell you that you won't find such bold and yet sophisticated shades at Mac, and that's a fact; see, I could easily imagine a mature lady wearing the YSL #39 purple lipstick, but in no way could she go out of the house wearing Mac's Violetta...
I decided to wait for everyone else in the blogosphere to have their go on the Rouge Pur Coutures, so then I can do my homework with their swatches and pick out my favourite ;)



Fred Letailleur was so lovely!!! I wasn't expecting a world renowned makeup artist to be so down to earth and kind with all the inquiring people surrounding him and just... cute! Only thing I wanted was to pinch his cheeks! Aww...



He did 2 makeup looks on gorgeous models Adela and Katerina; I managed to take notes of his invaluable tips, so here they are:

* It's best to start with the most dramatic aspect on your makeup- be it a dark smokey eye or a vampy lip, so that you can adjust the rest of the makeup accordingly without overdoing it
* To make a smokey eye look more modern, it's best to bring the focus to the eyeshadow shape dragging it towards the temples, than to apply lots and lots of black eyeliner around the eye
* For an understated cheek, all you have to do is to use a darker shade of Touche Eclat to contour under the cheekbones, and apply a shimmering powder high on the cheeks in a "C" shape
* And as for lips, plum is the new red for this season (so true!)

All in all, it was an enjoyable event and I did get closer to the brand- although I have to say I feel like I've betrayed myself for enjoying a LE makeup collection... No, my feelings haven't shifted 180 degrees- I'm still not loving the fact that you can't repurchase a LE product, but I came to realise that such makeup collections are there not only to sell-sell-sell, but to inspire as well.

It's the same as with high fashion shows- you may not always be able to afford all the outfits worn at the catwalk, but they sure serve as a style inspiration. Non?

So, what are your thoughts on this YSL makeup collection?

CBSG5861

October 2011 favourites

Well, well...
How did 3 Mac products make it to this month's favourites post?!?
It's not like I'm a Mac hoarder or anything...



So during past month I rediscovered my favourite eyeshadow palette, had an utter makeup revelation and came one step closer to fully worship my first ever Chanel acquisition! Read on...

Elf custom palette with TBS eyeshadows: my go-to everyday eyeshadow palette during September. May I just say for-the-zillionth-time that the matte brown shade is my absolute favourite eyeshadow? And that it's discontinued? Hate it when TBS discontinues all the good stuff!!! Aaanyways, moving on...

Mac Paintpot in Painterly: amazing product. A staple! Although it turns out I was using it completely wrong, so one of these days I'll write a review explaining how to take advantage of its full potential ;)

Chanel Bronzing Makeup Base: aka Bronze Universel ;) Ok, so I'm
half-way there on the Bronze Universel how-to... So far, I'm only using it on its own but I'll soon be exploring its versatility to the fullest! The glow it gives on my face is beyond gorgeous!

Mac 130 brush: using it solely to apply my Bronze Universel; I wasn't wowed at first with this brush, but now I'm totally head over heels for it!

Mac Pink Nouveau lipstick: been loving bright lips for my evening makeup cause it takes the least amount of effort to make a striking look! And I'm actually considering wearing bright lips on daytime too-
as I get instantly that feeling of uber confidence/ looking everyone down, tehehe... It's for sure the makeup revelation for 2011. Fact.

Aaaand...

Last weekend, my sweetheart surprised me with a totally unexpected present...

     This Yves Saint Laurent Parisienne perfume set!!!

And to think that I actually wanted to buy this perfume but never told him about it! How on earth did he read my mind and went out and got me this particular fragrance, I'll never know...
I love you, Κωστή μου!

So, what were your most loved products during September?
Have you tried any of the products pictured above?

CBSG5861