My summer BEAUTY favourites! #1

Better late than never, right?

Alright, time to roll up my sleeves and get down to (blogging) business: these are all the beauty products I've been loving to use during past summer!

Starting with the makeup bits:

The only bronzer I've been reaching for was (surprise!) the Soleil Tan de Chanel- aka Bronze Universel. Honestly, I can't fault it- it has a lovely texture and its colour matches my tanned skintone to the T. For my eye makeup, I've been solely relying on Groundwork Paintpot by Mac, a new entry in my makeup bag. It swatches one shade darker than my skin and achieves that off-the-runway soft haze around the eyes... So pretty!

As for my go-to lipsticks, my most used bright lippie was Maybelline's Vivid lipstick in 902-Fuchsia Flash*. For all you bright lipstick lovers out there, you must! check out Maybelline's Vivids range; some of them are actually brighter than what Mac has to offer! As for my nude lip of choice, it was Altered Beige by Mac which was part of the summer Temperature Rising collection. It's a no-fuss, easy to wear nude that gives some dimension to the lips thanks to its subtle sheen.

Another new product that I (over)used during summer was the #79 neon red nail polish by Marel. Lemme tell you this, it's the brightest -and prettiest- neon red nail polish you'll ever come across with a €3 price tag! I would urge you all to go buy it but alas, we're already past the beginning of autumn... The one I've been wearing on my toes is the Max Factor mini nail polish in 49-Fuchsia Salsa*. Although purples and violets aren't normally my thing, this little guy would definitely fit in my top 10 nail polish list!

Quite an achievement for a purple nail polish, if you ask me ;)

12 for 2012: LIPSTICK WARDROBE's favourites!

It's probably late to blog about last year's favourite products, my apologies!
Twas so hard to narrow them down to just 12- hence the delay...

2012 was pretty hectic, and I'm glad it's finally over. Despite all that, one of past year's positive aspects was that I managed to discover some great beauty products which have already gained a "staple" value in my collection. Here they are!

Surprisingly, 9 out of 12 are makeup related-
gee, someone needs to experiment more with skincare, body and hair stuff!

Citrus colognes will always have a special place in my heart. I've now come to use one every single time after the shower for a quick pick-me-up; 4711 cologne has been my favourite. Since its scent dissipates within 20 minutes, it means I'm the only one who can enjoy it while people around me don't notice I smell like a 80-year-old grandma! lol

I've also discovered one of the very best city sunscreens in the market, the -wait for it- Clarins UV Plus HP Day Screen High Protection. Brilliant for oily skin, non-greasy, and packed with antioxidants. If only it was a bit cheaper... The Body Shop Vineyard Peach body butter* is one of my recent addictions. There, I sait it! Seriously, I'll cry when TBS decides to discontinue the Vineyard Peach range, it smells exactly like the real thing!

Now for the makeup bits! Maybelline Fit Me foundation and concealer* were the absolute winners of 2012 and I'll definitely repurchase both. The foundation's finish is fresh and dewy, and the concealer has that peach undertone that suits my complexion to a T. The brush that I apply my foundation with is the Art Deco duo fibre brush; I've had it for more than 3 years now and it looks as good as new, so it deserves its place in this list ;)

As for the blush in the photo above, it's none other than The Body Shop blush in Toast, a versatile matte peach/tan colour that can be paired with any lipstick/eyeshadow combo. But whad'ya know, it's been discontinued! *sob sob*

An early Christmas whiff by the Body Shop!

Is there anyone who wouldn't love a bit of festive spirit ahead of December?
Personally, I'm all for it; if only we could celebrate Christmas for 3 months straight!

Like every year, the Body Shop launched their Christmas collection early in November. It's not only that the bodycare products have captured the holiday spirit spot-on, the new makeup range displays a definite improvement as well. You must step into a store to see, smell and touch all the uplifting Christmasy goodness!

Warning:
This is a picture-heavy post. All full of indulgent bodycare, makeup and nifty little treats.
Don't blame me if you grow any new lemmings after reading it!

 

The kind people at the Body Shop organised a fun bloggers' event where we were introduced to the new seasonal ranges, along with a glass of cranberry coctail and some yummy gingerbread bisquits. Goes without saying, I went nuts over the new makeup and body products- but the thing I enjoyed the most was the fun and optimistic atmosphere in the store, which is something that is missing a lot these days. Down with misery, I say!

So, what's to expect this time of year at the Body Shop?

What's new at The Body Shop?

It seems that the Body Shop is evolving into a considerable opponent among the brands of the beauty industry, competing with the very best on the market!

A couple of weeks ago, me and some fellow bloggers had the chance of getting familiarised with the new Fall product releases from the Body Shop. Taking into account the brand's revamp during past summer, it's safe to say that there's a whole lotta cool products we should be anticipating in winter ;)

Here's everything we witnessed that day:

First of all, the Body Shop is releasing the Vineyard Peach body range, a Limited-Edition collection of bodycare products with the best-ever, most yummy scent I've come across- no joke! Then, there's the new Scents of the World collection, that marks the re-entrance of probably the most longed for product from the old days, the perfume oils! There's also a couple of new skincare products that sound promising: the Tea Tree Pore Minimiser and the Nutriganics Drops of Youth serum.

But, wait: there's more!

My favourite body lotions for summer!

I admit I'm not a sophisticated buyer when it comes to bodycare products: anything that claims to do the job on the cheap while smelling nice, that's all it takes- I'm sold!

As far as body lotions go, I like to have different ones for each season according to their scent; because in my mind, I can only use a rose body lotion during spring or one that smells of spices in winter.

These are my picks for summer months:

See?
Mass-marketed, easily accessible body lotions that don't break the bank ;)
Each of them offers lightweight moisture to the skin, while having a crisp, green scent.

Garnier Intensive 7 days with Aloe Vera: Garnier was lacking in the body lotion department for many years, so this new range filled the gap nicely. What's remarkable is that they cater for 4 different skintypes; I chose the one for normal skin with Aloe Vera extract. Now, I haven't tested the 7 days claims- who could spend a whole week with just one application? Apart from that, it has a luuuvely cream-to-gel texture and a fresh scent, albeit a tad floral.

Dove Go Fresh Nourishing body lotion: I had to get this body lotion if only for its smell, the Dove Go Fresh cream bar is one of my most loved soaps! It's a lightweight green-tinted cream that offers adequate moisture to normal skin, with some extra menthol for that cool, tingly feeling. Smells distinctly of cucumber and green tea. Love it.

Vaseline Aloe Fresh light feeling lotion: this is probably my favourite body lotion of the bunch! In my opinion, Vaseline makes excellent body moisturisers for their price tag. This Aloe body lotion screams summer, period. It's such a pleasure to apply, the aloe scent is easily classified under "omg" category- I even adore its cheap packaging! In contrast, the Vaseline Aloe Gel was a let-down: while it felt oh-so cooling on the skin, I found it offered very little moisture.

Without a doubt, I would repurchase all three body lotions, despite the fact I love trying out new products. Goes to show you how much I love them! However, if I was somehow forced (?) to pick just one, I would definitely favour the Vaseline Aloe body lotion over the rest.

Have you tried any of the above products? Were you satisfied like I was?
If you favour another body lotion for summer, by all means let me know!

Evi   xx

May '12 favourites.

Surprise, surprise! Hear this:

There will be no makeup products featured in this monthly favourites post- purely because I don't want to bore you with how much I enjoy using Bronze Universel, the Shimmer Cubes or my Mac lipsticks.

For a change, this post contains only bodycare products with a bit of skincare.
Enjoy!

The Vaseline Aloe Fresh body lotion was my favourite rediscovery during May: this has got be my most "bought over again" body lotion! I love everything about it: its fresh scent, the light-feeling hydration it offers, plus its price-to-quality ratio is unbeatable. I'll probably do a post on summer body lotions and show you some of my favourites ;)

I also tried the Bioten Cellufight Drainage gel* and lemme tell you this: it works! Sure, it won't help if you don't exfoliate the areas with cellulite, or you don't eat healthily/ drink enough water, but it does help that little extra. Everything counts at taming the cellulite beast! If you're interested in the Bioten Cellufight range, I've done a full review on this article at Beautytalk.gr.

If you're Greek, you'll recognise the last item in the above pic: that's right, one of past month's favourites was the cult Myrto Lemon cologne! I wasn't planning on featuring this product at all, until ladyd made a post about it so I thought "screw pretences, I like it and I'm gonna give it some blog love"! Now, don't get me wrong- as much as I love citrus colognes, I don't go out and about wearing this thing; I only put it on after shower and the scent quickly evaporates.

You might remember that I desperately wanted a nice city sunscreen; that's why I picked out this Clarins Day Screen. I must write a full review on this; it definitely made me feel safer to step out in the sunlight with this potion on my face! Mac Strobe cream was a permanent fixture in my makeup routine during May, I think it deserves its own post as well! Let me know which review would you like to see tomorrow- the Clarins sunscreen or the Strobe cream?

On another note...

...I decided to sell my Mac 130 brush.
As much as I tried to love it, I simply can't. It would be a shame to keep it in my collection and let it collect dust, when someone else might find it usable. So, before this baby finds its way to ebay, I'm presenting it here: if anyone is interested in buying this, please contact me at lipstickwardrobe@gmail.com ;)

So, which review should be up next? Clarins or Mac?
Are there any Myrto cologne fans out there?

* The Bioten Cellufight gel was provided by the company for free. I'm not affiliated with Bioten and I wasn't compensated for mentioning it on this blog. The only reason I'm showing it is because I like it! Sharing my honest opinions, as always. My loyalty is to my readers ;)

Evi   xx

Kiehl's: some product reviews and an extra announcement...

For today's post, I thought of putting together some short reviews on the samples I got from Kiehl's two months ago ;)

Starting from my least favourite product and going up to my favourite...



Yerba Mate Tea lotion: please don't get me wrong, it's a lovely moisturiser for oily skin- it didn't break me out and it provided just as much moisture without my skin feeling greasy or tight. However, I can't find it on Kiehl's website so it might be discontinued, hence it's getting the first place of this countdown :(

Over-Night Biological Peel: I remember Lisa Eldridge mentioned in her skincare video that she loathes face exfoliants with scrubbing beads and that she herself uses an over-night exofiant with lactic acid from Dermalogica. This Biological Peel by Kiehl's is on the same line. It's meant to be used before bedtime and you're supposed to sleep with this on your face- but I guarantee you won't feel any itching or tugging or any kind of discomfort. This 5ml sachet lasted me for 10 generous applications and when I was through with it, my skin was a lot calmer and even in tone- plus I noticed a significant difference on my pores' size!

Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Whipped body butter: omg, that's pure lush... I can't think of a better way to describe it! Its texture is really whipped, you can see the air bubbles in the jar! It applies so rich and silky on the skin- and its scent, oh goodness... Just addicting! The 226 g jar may be pretty expensive for a body moisturiser, though the "you get what you pay for" quote couldn't be more appropriate: this body butter feels expensive and smells expensive. In a good way, obviously ;)

Now for a special announcement:

I've been informed that Kiehl's is going to host a Christmas party at Hondos Center Kolonaki where all proceeds from sales will be going to charity! Yes, all proceeds; in this case, Kiehl's will be donating the raised sales' fund to the "Eliza" Society for the prevention of cruelty to children. AND the sales assistants of this event will be no other than hip personas like Giorgos Karamichos, Dimitris Skarmoutsos, Eleni Psychouli and my fave- Alex Kavvadias!!! AND if this wasn't enough, there's even going to be a choco-fountain!!! *drools and searches kitchen cupboard for leftover chocolate*

          Click to enlarge for more info!

I'm so gutted I won't be able to make it as I'm taking an early Christmas vacation (hehe), I'm depending on your feedback from this event! And if you do get to see Alex Kavvadias, please take some extra pictures for my behalf ;)

So, who's planning on going to Kiehl's Christmas party?
Are there any products from Kiehl's you'd recommend? Do share!

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1/9/2011 haul; and I found a new hobby!

It was a hot and humid day, today.
And what better way to keep my spirits high than beauty hauling!

Seriously now, I don't need any excuses to shop on beauty products...
Just thought that ANY introduction than the meaningless "hey, look what I got" is always nicer!
No? Didn't work? Eh well, I'm still working on my English writing skills :P

Garnier 7-days body lotion with Aloe Vera: I'm so glad Garnier improved their bodycare line and came up with this! Anything with aloe vera "hits a nerve" on me, so naturally I was sold the minute I saw it on the shelves...

TBS Elderflower eye gel: back in my teens, I would dream of becoming older so as to be eligible to use this particular product! That's right, the Body Shop got me hooked in their skincare so early in age... I've read mixed reviews about it though :/

Apivita Bee Princess bio-eco lip care: tres, tres cute! I finally spotted it on my closest Hondos Center, as it was sold out in all pharmacies near my place. Specially packaged for little princesses, like myself! lol

Korres Mandarin lip butter in Pink: a repurchase! Mentioned it before and I'll say it once again: I simply adore the new revamped packaging of the Korres lip butters in the stick form. I'd also love to see a similar pattern on Jasmine lip butter...

TBS Seaweed face scrub: hmmm... Not that it's crap, but it seems that it has the same liquid base as the regular Seaweed cleanser with the sole addition of Jojoba stones... Not very thoughtful, if you ask me!

Apivita face mask sachets with Prickly Pear: what can I say, I'm hooked to Apivita's express masks! No further explanations here...

And to justify the latter half of this post's title:

Ta-daaa!!!

It's a pocket-size sketchers' box filled with 12 water colours.
Yep, I'm gonna start playin' all smart and sophisticated, strolling around the city and capturing the moment with my charming drawings...
*pukes from excessive cheesiness*

Ok, it's not as exciting as bungee-jumping but suits me fine!
I'm the extreme opposite of a thrill-seeker at heart ;)

What are your hobbies, old and new ones?
I'd love to know!

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Elizabeth Arden made in... what?!?

A total random post for you today but I felt I had to spread the news!
I hope you understand my excitement by the end of this post ;)

So yesterday, my sister returned from a business trip at Germany.
As she knows me (and my old love affair with Biotherm!), she had picked for me a body milk from the "Eau de Paradis" line by Biotherm; it has a lovely tropical scent and feels light and refreshing on the skin.

Oh yes, I'm saving it for my holidays!

So far, so good.

And as my sister trusts 100% the Elizabeth Arden 8-Hour cream for any problem skin issues, she thought of trying out the face sunscreen from the
8-Hour line of products. The price was friendly, as in all airport duty-frees.

As always, I took a look at the packaging's inscribings...
and what do you know?

You got that right, this product by Elizabeth Arden is made in Greece!
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.
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Moment of silence...

Now I don't know about you, but the first thoughts that spring to my mind are these:

* if an accomplished brand of that decent has one of its products manufactured in Greece, it probably means there's a greek cosmetics factory competent enough to put together a formula relative of the brand's quality status.

* given the above statement, one could speculate that the same factory could provide its technology and expertise to a greek brand for the same type of product. Why not, right?

In this case, the only greek brands I'm aware of that their sunscreens are produced in Greece are Korres and Apivita.

I would rule out the Korres sunscreens, as their packaging and texture are far different from the 8-hour sunscreen by Elizabeth Arden.
But could it be Apivita?

All guessworks aside, I can't help but take pride in this "made in Greece" tag, as it was completely unexpected from a company such as Elizabeth Arden!

Although I'm wondering, whose pocket would I benefit as a potential customer- my country's local industry or the interests of Unilever, who owns Elizabeth Arden?

I'd love to read your opinions on the matter-
or even better, if you've happened to come across a beauty product from a big cosmetics brand which is made in Greece, do let us know!

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October favourites!

Hello my lovelies!

How was your October?
Me, I got sick and was stuck indoors for almost a week :(

Anyways, this is my October favourites post- hope you enjoy!

Korres Body Butter in Quince: As I've posted a month ago, my skin was so horribly dry; funnily enough, the Korres body milk actually worsened the situation... I was ready to give up on Korres until I decided to give the brand another try with this body butter, and I'm so happy I did! This stuff is magic: all flakiness is gone and my skin is back to normal again. Oh, and the fruity smell lingers on the skin for a long time, too ;)

Atrix hand cream: a staple since my childhood; there's always a tin with Atrix hand cream around the house. It's probably one of the best affordable hand creams on the market!

The Body Shop Bronzing Powder in shade #1: I wish I could describe its colour... Think of a light milk chocolate colour- no orange hues whatsoever, and it's matte! It's so hard finding a matte bronzer in the high street, don't you think? I apply it on the hollows of my cheeks with the...

Art Deco Duo fibre brush: Up until now, I only used this brush for foundation. After seeing Pixi2woo's videos where she applied bronzer with the Mac 187 brush for a softer effect, I did the same with this Art Deco brush and now I'm a convert!

Spare blush brushes: Have a crappy brush that comes with the blush compact? Don't throw it away!You can use it do dust off the eyeshadow fallout, as such a job requires a stiff brush.

Apivita face mask with orange: I got this sachet after a recommendation from a lovely reader of my blog- it contains some orange beads that dissolve when you rub the mask on your face... It's so fun to use! Very refreshing, and smells of orange. Perfect for me ;)

Mac lipstick in Hue: Oh, how I love this lipstick... I've worn it continuously during day&night! In my opinion, this should be Mac's all-time best seller lipstick, on top of Creme d' Nude and Angel.

Old-Biotherm-jumbo-lip-pen-in-a-raspberry-colour: I've come to realise that blue-toned lipsticks are friendly to olive/mediterranean skin, so I started to use up the old ones from my collection.

The Body Shop Shimmer Cubes: I simply adore this palette, not only because it contains one of my favourite eyeshadows (the taupe shade at the bottom right) but because it's so easy to travel with! It's quite pricey but you're getting 4x4 gr of baked product. I won't ever run out of it, ever!

Bourjois concealer/ highlighter pen: I used this product as an under eye concealer, but during October I tried it as a highlighter on any dark areas on my face or to highlight my cheekbones. The difference is noticeable but this product is undetectable!

What are your October favourites? Share them below ;)

Happy blogging and reading and commenting to everyone!

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Korres, we have a problem...

Hello my lovelies!

I'm writing this post to address something to you:

My body skin is in the worst state ever; feels very dehydrated, even flaky on areas, looking old and I hate it. I tried exfoliating in different ways, didn't work.



For the past few months, I've been using the Korres body milks after my daily shower (religiously). First it was a bottle with Citrus, now it's the Mint tea one. And I believe they have a lot to do with my skin's condition. Mind you, my skin was never dry at all. My face is very oily and my stomach area and back (body parts I don't put moisturiser on) are perfectly healthy.

So I stopped using body moisturiser- it's been a week now and my skin, although not 100% healthy again, is definitely in a better condition.

To Korres defence, my skin was already dried up from another body cream prior using the Korres body milk. But, after using Korres it got a lot worse!

So I'm asking you: have you ever experienced a similar problem with Korres body milks? And, if you know any home remedies for baby-soft skin, I'd be so grateful if you shared it with me. Thanks ;)

Happy blogging and reading and commenting to everyone!

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Bodycare; Getting ready for summer

Hello my lovelies!

These are some products that I'm hoping will make me confident enough to go out and expose some skin =D
Here goes:


1. Elancyl Cellu-Reverse 14 Jours

I have high hopes with this one... It's a cellulite treatment that is applied once a day (big yay!!!) and promises smoother looking buttocks within 2 weeks! Cheesy enough, but I'm putting it to the test; I'll let you know how it goes with another post.

2. Garnier Ambre Solaire Original Moisturising Bronzer

Ok, I have a confession to make... I've never self-tanned before! If any of you kind people have some tips and tricks to share, please post them below!

3. Korres Citrus Body Milk

The moment I smelled it at the pharmacy, it instantly took a place in my top 10 body-moisturiser list (yep, I'm like that- keeping lists for everything!). I've tried Korres Body Milks before, they're quite moisturising leaving no greasy residue on my skin. This Citrus edition is so yummy! It has a fresh citrusy and peppery scent, just like a mens' cologne ;) ;) ;)

So what's your summer bodycare essentials? I would include a loofah glove in this post- but that wouldn't be so pretty...

Happy blogging and reading and commenting to everyone!

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