Collective haul: La Roche-Posay, Mac, Erre Due, etc.

Well well well, it's been four months since my last haul post;
that's quite an achievement!

If you know me, you'll be surprised by how little I've been shopping lately, cosmetics-wise. To be honest, I kinda enjoy it: it feels as if I've tamed my addiction and turned into a "normal" consumer. Seriously, this is EVERYTHING I bought during the last couple of months!

It's a mixture of some essentials, a couple of toiletries-
and a little makeup to sweeten the pot ;)

La Roche-Posay Hydraphase Intense Eyes: to everyone that commented on my eye cream post, thank you for making me come to my senses! I admit I was inclined towards Retinoids and eye roll-ons at first, though after reading your comments I realised that a good-quality moisturising eye cream was the best bet. I chose this one purely because of its ingredients: Caffeine and Hyaluronic Acid fractions? Swell, count me in! Paid: €18,10

Syoss Anti-Grease Dry Shampoo: isn't it a shame there's only three or four dry shampoos available in our stores? Booo... Rather than saving my hair from washing, I bought it in order to infuse some volume at the roots of the hair. By the way, if you happen to know any tips&tricks on the application of dry shampoo, do share! Paid: €4,80

June '12 favourites.

I hope you're not sick of these monthly favourites posts yet;
as much as I'd love to prepare a "products I've used up" kind of thing, I don't seem to finish anything! Well, anything apart from deodorant, toothpaste and soaps- but that's not fun talking about in a beauty blog, now is it?

For the most part, June was a month of no-makeup days: once again, I felt the need to go as "natural" as possible and wear less makeup products. That, and the fact I didn't have the time or the energy to do more elaborate looks...

That's why this attitude is reflected to the products I used the most during past month:
it all came down to the ones that were quick and easy to apply, while looking effortless.

Kiehl's Lip Balm #1: my go-to lip balm during June; I had purchased it during my
Kiehl's skin consultation appointment, as the one I was using in the tube form is prone to melting under summer heat. You wouldn't believe how little I paid for this: €8 for 17gr of product, that's insane considering the Korres Jasmine lip butters are priced at around €6 for only 6gr! I've already documented my love affair with this lip balm, you can read the full review here

Elf Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Baby Lips: as you can see, it's on its last legs... This is pretty much a clear lip gloss that feels minty-tingly on the lips and is a pleasure to apply because of its foam applicator. I'm actually surprised this lipgloss by Elf made it to my favourites list with no Mac lipstick on the side! Read my full review on this product here

Garnier BB Cream, dark: this has saved me from looking somewhat ghostly whenever I mixed Strobe Cream with my foundation! A tiny blob of this baby and, tada- skintone went back to normal. I really love mixing the dark BB cream or the light version with my foundation, it makes me feel like a little makeup connoisseur that does things other than the norm... *

Max Factor Liquid Effect pencil: this is hands-down the best eye pencil I've tried so far. It's so creamy, so pigmented, sooo easy to smudge, and when it sets it acts as waterproof! This was part of the Max Factor makeup bag that Yiannis Marketakis personalised for each blogger over at Makeup Lab, and the one that impressed me the most. *
Note: Please let me know if you'd like me to make a post on the rest Max Factor makeup products I was given; I gotta admit, I always feel a bit "guilty" when I show off products that were given to me for free... But if any of you would be interested in these Max Factor goodies, leave me a comment and I'll make a separate post for you ;)

Radiant Blush Colour #102 Apple Brown: it seems odd I've been enjoying wearing this autumnal shade of blush during June- however, on days when the only products I had on my face were foundation and mascara, this blush colour made my cheeks look warmer, without looking fake like the rest of my bronzers do whenever I have no eye makeup on. Such a pleasant surprise by a product made in Greece, it definitely deserves its own post!

Mac Prep+Prime Highlighter, Radiant Rose: I tried layering it on the high points of my face over foundation, and I loved it! On retrospeck, the yellow version would suit me best- I blame all the Youtube gurus that went on and on about how "brightening" pink-toned concealers look under the eyes, and I got screwed... Nevertheless, it's a handy tool to give some dimension to the face without messing with contouring.

    Swatches of the Max Factor eye pencil, Radiant blush, Mac Prep+Prime Highlighter

That's pretty much everything I loved wearing during June! I know, they might not be as exciting as colourful eyeshadows or bright lipsticks- let's hope July will be all about coral lips and turquoise eyes ;)

Now, share your favourites with me: what have you been loving lately?
Do you have any experience with the Radiant makeup brand? Let me know!

* Products marked with a * were given to me for free. I'd rather mention it every single time I feature a free product- mind you, this is not a given these days... Sharing my honest and truthful thoughts on these products, I woudn't let it be any other way.

Evi   xx

The Body Shop summer makeup haul

In the midst of Greece's football team losing to Germany *sob sob*, I needed an outlet to disperse my extra energy...

So, blogging it is!

Time for yet another haulage by yours truly :P
These are a few of the Body Shop goodies I've accumulated over the past month. Enjoy the photos and let me know your thoughts on the products!

     A bronzer, a new Shimmer Cubes palette (just because), some eye pencils and an
     eyeshadow brush- probably my last TBS purchases... until September, that is ;)

     Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder in #03. This is much darker than my beloved
     #02 shade, just what I need for my summer holidays.

     Four eye pencils- Eye Definers, to be exact. Standard quality, a bit on the hard side
     I should say. On the other hand, this means they won't smudge or come off quickly.

     Left to right: Rich Brown, Taupe, White, French Navy
     Taupe is my fave: it's a cool-toned brown that works with my eye colour, score! 

     A new Smudger brush; this thing gets ruined so easily, though it works pretty darn
     good with shimmery eyeshadows.

     And of course, the green Shimmer Cubes #22 which deserve a post on their own!

I hope you enjoyed my little haul ;)
P.S.: I'd love to read your thoughts on tonight's game, comment away!!!

Evi   xx

Three things I learned last week...

This is a quick and random post on some things I'd like to address:
two cases of cosmetics samples, and a makeup fail.

Enjoy!

1. Sephora samples!
Did you know that you can get samples of almost any high-end skincare product at Sephora? I say almost because the good ones are always tucked away inside the drawers, out of the customers' sight where they're supposed to be... Anyway, that didn't stop me when Argiro, Ria and I went on a little shopping trip last week, so here's my loot! Admittedly, I filled those little pots in the most generous manner ;)

In case you're wondering: the one on the top right is the Estee Lauder DayWear Sheer Tint Release moisturiser, the one at the bottom left is the Clarins Daily Energizer gel

2. Fresh Line samples!
Fresh Line has some amazing offers at the moment- last week, they were giving away a sample of a fruity face mask to any passer-by, so naturally I picked one up! Then, because I made a little purchase, they also gave me a sample of their best-seller Vanilla hand cream (and the free gifts get more awesome if you make a bigger order). Well done, Fresh Line!

As for the makeup fail of the week...

3. Elf Studio Cream Eyeliner, shade Coffee
If I could advice you only one thing on shopping at www.eyeslipsface.co.uk, it would be this: whatever you buy, use it while it's still new! I've had this particular product for 1,5 year and now it has dried out to the point where I can't use it anymore. In all fairness, it had an amazing staying power when it was still usable, though the colour wasn't as dark as I'd like it to be. Black would have been a better option!

I hope you found something interesting in those bits and bobs!
Now it's your turn: be random and comment about anything ;)

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

The Body Shop NEW shimmer cubes! palette #21. Oh, and a little haul ;)

This is the second palette I've acquired from the Body Shop's new Shimmer Cubes collection (here's the post on my previous purchase), and it ranks 4th in my Shimmer Cubes collection ;)

I won't get into much detail about the pros and cons of Shimmer Cubes, I'm sure you're already familiar with these. Having tried so many makeup products from the Body Shop, I've been let down by some- but never with Shimmer Cubes. Even if you're new to the Body Shop's makeup line, these are definitely worth the investment.

This particular #21 palette consists of an interesting combination of pinks with a silvery grey eyeshadow and a white. For me, a makeup look with pink and grey eyeshadows is way out of my comfort zone (!), however these ones are so beautifully made that they've taken away all of my hesitations.

Swatches from left to right:
Velvet Pink (a pretty girly light pink),
Soft Pink (the most interesting shade from the bunch, it's a light creamy
               shade with pink duochrome!),
Stardust Grey (a high shimmer silvery grey), and
Pearly White (your usual white inner corner highlight).

Then, just before leaving for my Christmas vacations, I took notice of an offer where you'd get a free Candied Ginger hand cream with purchases over 35E. Inevitably, it became impossible for me to pass over this lovely opportunity, so here's my (kind of) impromptu haulage at the Body Shop:

My sister got the Love etc... perfume- such a lovely warm fragrance, it's even approved by Katie Puckrik! For me, I purchased the Liquid Eyeliner in brown -yet another underestimated product from the Body Shop!- and the brown Carbon Eye Definer... Notice a "brown kitten flick" theme going on? I also got the Aloe Soothing night cream for my winter moisturiser, as I 100% trust their Aloe skincare line.

So that's it, my latest possessions from the Body Shop!
Have you hauled anything recently? xx

CBSG5861

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?

CBSG5861

The Body Shop Metallic Eye Definer

I've finally acquired them all, so here they are in all their colourful glory!

A couple of years ago, the Body Shop launched a seasonal makeup collection that featured a range of shimmering eye pencils; the latter became a permanent feature on the Body Shop makeup line.

The reviews found online on this product vary from the very positive to the extreme opposite. I attribute this misconception to the fact that not each shade works the same- some are trully brilliant while others fall short of pigmentation.

But first, let's talk about the good and bad news that are common in all shades:

The good news: all pencils are extremely soft, the softest I've come across!

The bad news: while it's ok to use them on top&bottom lashline or even as a wash of colour on the lids instead of an eyeshadow base (cause I've mentioned it above: they're sooo creamy!), if you want to use them on the waterline... forget it. Won't happen. Somehow they're so slippery that the pigment can't stick to the waterline!
Although I found out that if you apply a layer of black pencil on the waterline and then go over it with one of these, you're more likely to see some shimmery pigment there...

Now let's talk through each shade individually!
Starting with my least favourites up to my favourite:

The shades that dissapointed me the most were the ones I had high hopes for: the purple (Glowing Amethyst) and the green (Vibrant Emerald), with purple being the worst: the colour is not that purpley, while the shimmer is ever so little! The green one, let alone that is far too minty as a colour, seems to contain more emollients than actual pigment, which makes it difficult to leave some colour on the skin.

Next, we have the silver (Shimmering Steel) and bronze (Burnished Amber): both are equally pigmented and look amazing smudged on the lower lashline. A sales assistant had told me that she uses the bronze pencil on her lips too, and she tops it with a clear lipgloss!

But my absolute favourite pencil is the blue (Brilliant Blue) colour: again, the pigmentation is excellent and it makes brown eyes stand out like no other! And that's why I put it top of silver and bronze, tehehe! It's also the only pencil that is sold out from time to time... Coincidence? Don't think so!

Now, the best way to use these pencils to their full potential is to go over them with a matching shimmery eyeshadow- as a demonstration, I've used 4 eye shimmers by the Body Shop (for which I've blogged about here) and a silver eyeshadow:

Don't they look just gorgeous?
The pics don't do them justice, they're far more vivid and bright in real life! The silver eyeshadow, when used on top of the metallic silver pencil,
looks like liquid metal! No joke!

As a conclusion, I would totally recommend the blue, silver and bronze metallic pencils- it's a nice way to wear colour during daytime without looking too made up, and when they're smudged with an eyeshadow they can really glow in the dark! Although you must forget about using them on the waterline, that's their only drawback :(

What do you girls think?
Do you use colourful eye pencils during daytime and/or when going out in the evenings?

CBSG5861

What's in my summer makeup bag?

As I will soon be leaving for my summer vacations,

I had to sort out my makeup and pick out "the besties" to take with me while I'm away...

I don't know about you girls, but this little "project" took me like a week

to put together!

So here's what I collected for my summer makeup bag:

    Far from packing light, eh? lol

    Wrinkly skarf: H&M

    Detailed info:

    TBS Moisture foundation, TBS pressed powder, Mac Painterly Paintpot,

    Art Deco Perfect Teint illuminator- love this stuff!, TBS concealer pen

    TBS Bronze shimmer waves, Erre Due blush #410, Elf Warm bronzer,

    TBS blush #04, TBS Honey matte bronzer #02

    Eye products: Elf quad with TBS eyeshadows, TBS shimmer cubes warm,

    TBS Baked eyeshadow #07, TBS Eye shimmer #08,

    TBS brow set #02, Biotherm liquid eyeshadow,

    Art Deco mineral kajal liner #98, TBS shimmer pencil #10,

    Art Deco liquid eyeliner, TBS Carbon black pencil, TBS mascara,

    TBS brow gel, Elf Coffee cream eyeliner, TBS single eyeshadow #07,

    Elf cream eyeshadow duo in black licorice

    Elf Luscious Liquid lipstick in Baby lips- cause it's minty and cooling!,

    Mac Suntint from Surf Baby LE collection, Elf lipstick in Runway pink,

    Mac lipsticks in Hue and Impassioned

    Make-up brushes and tools: Elf powder brush, TBS blush brush,

    TBS blending brush, TBS brow/lash comb, Art Deco duo fibre brush,

    TBS travel blush brush, TBS tweezers, sharpeners by Kum and TBS,

    lash curlers by Elegant Touch (aka Eylure)

A notable absence from Chanel Bronze Universel&Mac 130 brush-

too bulky, still haven't got the hang of it, too complicated to mess with...

Wishing you the best summer holidays ever, girls!

Lots of hugs and kisses xx

CBSG5861

20% sales at the Body Shop! A haul

Hi lovelies!

As you all may know, the Body Shop holds a period of 20% sales twice a year-

so last week, I grabbed the opportunity and bought me some essential and some not-so-essential goodies ;)

Here's what I got:

Tea Tree Foaming Cleanser: I desperately needed a strong acne-targeted cleanser to help my skin heal from a recent  acne breakout. It also contains cooling menthol, of which I'm a big, big fan! So far, so good- I like it loads than the regular Tea Tree cleanser!

Tea Tree Facial Exfoliating Pads: if there wasn't any sales, I wouldn't be getting this... I used a pad last night- no decent exfoliation, the tea tree scent is so strong and sickening... I wish I had tried a sample in the store!

Cheek Colour in #04-Golden Pink: allegedly, it's a dupe to Orgasm blush by Nars- and I'm always sold by such bold statements! At first I was put off by the looks of it -a not so special orange?- but luckily it swatches just as the name suggests: a pretty pink with gold shimmer.

Baked Eye Colour in #07-Sapphire: ok, so this wasn't a necessity; I've done my share of buying baked eyeshadows and not feeling satisfied with the pigment pay-off... But this time I simply couldn't resist it! Both shades have beautiful and smooth shimmer, can't wait to use this duo during my vacations!

Metallic Eye Definer in #13-Burnished Amber: the girl at the cashier told me that it can be worn on the lips, too! It's extremely soft and, compared to the rest of the shades, leaves pigment on the waterline. Neat ;)

What about you, girls-

have you done any shopping from the Body Shop lately?

CBSG5861

My belated May favourites...

Hi lovelies!
Another monthly favourites post for you today...

Enjoy!

Elf eyeshadow palette in Brownstone: the darkest shade of this quad is a soft black that actually blends into a nice black/brown colour. I only use it to smudge my black kohl pencil to a kitten flick, so I have no issues with creasing. I do prefer this colour over the rest of matte black eyeshadows I own that blend into purple or blue hues...
Needless to say, I don't bother with the rest of the shades- they're terrible!

TBS bronze Shimmer Waves: since I rediscovered this compact, I fell in love with it all over again! I'm telling you, a generous swipe of this on your cheeks and you have an instant bronzer+contour+highlighter effect with minimum effort!

Biotherm liquid eyeshadow: this is an old an discontinued golden eyeshadow that I wore daily during past month; I'm hoping I'll finish this little tube in 2-3 months' time- cause I hate keeping old make-up in my collection as much as I hate throwing away unused products...

Erre Due nail colour: this was part of the brand's summer 2010 collection; as I desperately wanted a fun nail colour to clash with my new watermelon pink pants (!), this dark mint shade served me well for that purpose ;)

Korres lip butter stick in Peach: I won't go on and on about how much I looove the Korres lip butters... This one is a repurchase!

TBS Metallic eye pencil in Brilliant Blue: so this product won't show in my waterline on its own... But it looks gorgeous under my eye shimmers or even smudged on my lashes!

What were your May favourites?
Do share!

CBSG5861

March favourites!

Yep, another "favourite products of the month" post, albeit a little late...

But anyways, onto the products:

Contour colour from Elf: finally, I can contour my cheekbones! And make it look natural, not like having two orange stripes in my cheeks, hooray!!! The orange blush, I'm not so fond of- but that's ok. This product is a keeper!

TBS eyeshadow in 04-Granite: an old favourite, this has been my everyday choice for a natural shading on my lids. Although now that it's been discontinued, I should probably save it until I find a good dupe...

Elf cream eyeliner in Coffee: ever since I got this product, I use it almost everyday. It's not the darkest brown eyeliner in the market but still, it's more than decent for the price ;)

Art Deco black eyeliner: this past month I made good use of my liquid liner for a quick and neat evening make-up look. Sometimes, messing around with eyeshadows can be so time consuming...

Apivita mask with Cucumber: the pink clay Apivita sachet I was using was drying out my skin, so I made a change to this moisturising mask; my skin is loving it and I'm never going back to clay masks!

What were your favourites during March?

CBSG5861

Spring haul

Over the past few days I did some spring-appropriate make-up shopping!
Here's what I got:

Mac pro eye makeup remover: I opted for this water-based solution, since my previous dual-phase remover by Bourjois made my eyelashes fall in triplets! AND it caused me some nasty milia spots...

TBS Moisture Foundation SPF 15: I couldn't tolerate any longer my oil-free foundation by TBS, so it was a good chance to try out a different formula. This one promises light to medium coverage with a dewy finish. We shall se how it performs on my combination skin ;)

Radiant lip pencil in 06-Salmon: I'm in LOVE with this shade! A bright lemonade pink, that's how I would describe it- not exactly coral, not thoroughly pink... Am I making any sense here? I pair it with Elf's Hypershine gloss on top and it instantly brighens up my complexion! Oh, and it glides beautifully on the lips. I highly recommend it!

TBS Metallic eye definer in Glowing Amethyst: I was partly dissapointed in this eye pencil; the colour is gorgeous but sadly it doesn't show up on the waterline, if worn alone. However, I can make it work on top of a black kohl pencil.

TBS Baked eye colour in Jade: these two shades are a combination of green with blue hues and let me tell you, if you're brown eyed like me, these colours are bound to make your eyes pop! I can see myself using it a lot during summer...

Have you done any spring make-up shopping recently?

Oh and by the way, does anyone know whether Mac skincare items are eligible for the Back-2-Mac programme?

CBSG5861

Pink Nouveau lips + an eye make-up combination

As promised, here's a swatch of the infamous Mac lipstick...

    Meet my lips!

If you think that this pink shade isn't bright enough, take into consideration that my camera washes out the colours and enhances any blue tones.

That said, you can imagine Pink Nouveau as a deeper, more vibrant pink with less lavender hues...

The following photos are shot in various lightings, so you can see how it photographs:

As for my eyes, sadly I couldn't go completely bare as I'd wished!
My make-up looked somewhat unfinished :(

[See, after a lot of experimenting with make-up, I've come to realise that my eyes need some sort of definition- which means that I can't go out the door with just mascara; my eyes would look swollen and tired. As a result, eyeshadow and pencil/liner is a must for me.]

So this time I did a simple winged eyeliner look with a grey-silver colour on the lid:

Products I used:

Art Deco Mineral Kajal Liner 98: I've been looking for an off-white eye pencil for ages! This product didn't disappoint me to the least- it's mineral-oil free, sooo creamy that it goes on my waterline like butter! And it's so much better than plain ol' white... Love it ;)

Art Deco Liquid Star liner 01: as I've mentioned before, I'm not that comfortable with the "waterproof" factor of this liner. We'll see, maybe I'll get used to it.

The Body Shop Baked eyeshadow in Moonstone: a pretty little duo with a shimmering creamy colour and a silver-grey-taupe loaded with glitter.

    It sure served me well during Christmas holidays!

So, what do you think of Pink Nouveau? Likey? No likey?
What eye make-up would you pare it with?

Oh, in case you didn't notice, I have two tiny moles- one under my left eye and the other on my upper lip...
They're so-so tiny to be treated as "beauty spots", lol!

CBSG5861