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:

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

My Spring/Summer wishlist: part 1

I'm still not over the fact we spent the Easter holidays with the worst possible weather ever!!! In an attempt to cheer up my mood, I decided to "think Spring" and start compiling lists of everything I'd like to own till warmer days arrive. (Can't help it really, it's the little list-making geek inside me that kicks in!)

Naturally, my first Spring/Summer wishlist is TBS-exclusive!
Old habits die hard...

1. Limited-Edition Summer Fragrances: Ahhh, they all sound lush: Love Etc... Sun Kiss holds a blend of jasmine and nectarine, Dreams Unlimited Sun Fresh contains notes of neroli blossom and watermelon, and White Musk Sun Glow blends together peony, peach and lemon. As with all perfumes from TBS, they come in a travel-friendly size and at a reasonable price. I think I'm gonna have a trouble picking just one!

2. Honey & Oat 3-in-1 Scrub Mask: ever since I saw that Bubzbeauty vid where Lindy said she used oatmeal alone to cleanse her face, I've been intrigued to try out this Honey & Oat multi-purpose mask. I bet it smells amazing, too!

3. Vit C Daily Moisturiser spf 30: after some recent tiny little moles that were brought up on my face, I realised that a mere spf 15 is not enough for everyday use under the mediterranean sun. Fingers crossed this Vit C moisturiser won't leave a white cast on my face like the Korres sunscreen did :(

4, 5. Shimmer Cubes #22-Green, #23-Purple: you know me, I love my Shimmer Cubes! These are the last ones I've yet to own...

6. Colourglide Shine Lip Colour: I have a feeling the Body Shop got it right this time! The previous Delipscious lipsticks were such a failure, I'm glad they were replaced by the Colourglide Shine range. You guessed it- I'm planning to get ALL shades as well!

7. Baked-to-Last Blush: I've been hunting this baby way before Christmas; thankfully, my blog-friend and fellow TBS-addict Mariza (<3 you girl!) informed me about a store that still stocks this blush, so now I'll have to get my butt over at Marousi area and finally purchase it!

I'll be posting a couple more wishlists with non-TBS items soon ;)
Will you be getting anything from the Body Shop for this summer?

Evi   xx

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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Korres Thyme Honey scrub + mask review

As you can see, I've made good use of this little duo-
so now I can put my thoughts together on a review:

First off, I'd like to point out that my skin type is combination to oily,
with a medium to high sensitivity level;
these two products are marketed for normal to dry skin,
so please bear that in mind when reading this post ;)

Thyme Honey scrub:

the smell: well naturally, it smells of honey!
the texture: it contains bamboo and walnut stone particles; they're fairly big and rather sparse in the scrub formula, which ensures a gentle exfoliation and eliminates the risk of red skin.
my verdict: to my skin, it feels so gentle that I can safely use it daily. The honey smell is not my favourite, however I'm thinking of getting a little tube of this scrub for my holidays to replace my usual facial wash!

Thyme Honey mask:

the smell: now that's odd... I could swear it smells of bitter almond! Seriously! It definitely smells nothing like the scrub. Just sayin' ;)
the texture: it's a white moisturising paste with a silky texture- not like a hard body butter or a runny body lotion. After I washed it off, my skin was soft and moisturised.
the verdict: hmm... If it was given to me as a gift, I would use it up for sure- but I'd rather try out a mask for oily skin, instead. Still, it should work brilliantly on dry skin.

Two more things that ought to be mentioned:

the 10ml tube packaging: hygienic, travel-friendly and it won't take you ages to finish a tube and move on to another scrub/mask!
the price: if I'm correct, it's 2,90E for each tube- bargainliscious!

Have you tried any of these little tubes before?
Which is your favourite face scrub+mask combination?

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Korres haul

So yesterday I was strolling around Hondos Center-

and naturally enough, I couldn't leave the place without doing some little shopping to cheer up my moods ;)

This time, I headed to Korres:

Wild Rose face cream: after feeling terribly bad for not using a daily moisturiser with SPF, I thought of making a nice and mild introduction to SPF with this moisturiser, which has an SPF 6. As you can see, the packaging has changed- for the better, IMO. What do you girls think?

Mandarin lip butter in Purple: having now tried all 13 lip butters by Korres, I can conclude to my favourites: Jasmine in the pot, Pink and Peach in the tube form ;)



Thyme Honey cleansing scrub+mask: after using a couple of products marketed to normal/dry skin and liking them a lot, it was a nice opportunity to make a little break from my Apivita olive scrub and express masks with this duo... We'll see how they work on my combination skin!

Honeysuckle hand cream: this was a rather impulse buy; it reminisced of the aroma of honeysuckle flowers that my dad used to bring us every week when I was little... <3 <3 <3

It all cost me around 30E-
heck, brands like Mac may be pricier in Greece,
but we always have good ol' Korres to splurge on without guilts!!!

So, have you tried any of these products?
Which are your favourites from Korres?

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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?

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Current Skincare

Hi lovelies,

During past month I've switched my skincare routine because I can't stop feeling some kind of bitterness towards some products I previously used-

I'm looking at you, Korres Materia Herba moisturizer:
you've been a great match but I don't fell like scooping out 35 euros just for your sake >:(

So these are the products I'm currently testing out:

Korres 3 in 1 Cleansing Water: love this, wrote about it in my previous post.
The Body Shop Nutriganics face wash & toner: hmm, both average- not harsh but they seem to do nothing on my skin. Won't repurchase those...
Apivita Aloe mask: what can I say, I'm amazed by Apivita's little sachets- I've yet to find one that doesn't live up to my standards!
Apivita Aqua Vita eye cream: a nice moisturiser for under the eyes, although I'll definitely buy a different product once I'm through with this one.
The Body Shop Tea Tree oil & blemish gel: I'll probably write another post about these two treatments when I've tested them long enough to see if they work... or not.
The Body Shop Aloe day cream: I like this moisturiser a lot, much like the whole Aloe range by the Body Shop- all products are high in aloe juice (it always comes first in the ingredients list) and they contain the least amount of preservatives (so they have a shorter shelf life). Mild formulas, excellent for my combination and sensitive skin. Thumbs up for aloe! 
Apivita face scrub with Lavender and Olive: another favourite, this is probably one of the best face scrubs I've tried so far! It contains crushed olive stones, salicylic acid and menthol- hence the cooling effect when you wash it off ;)

So, any of you tried these products? What's your skincare routine?

P.S.: Today was a marvellous day which called for celebration: we had snowflakes in Athens, yay!!! During past week, the weather was awfully hot for December standards; so at last, winter is officially here and I'm over the moon about it! If you read my blog long enough, you'll probably know I'm more into chilly days than the hot and humid summer season. Too bad there was no wine and biscuits in the cupboard for a proper little fiest :(

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November favourites!

Hi lovelies!

Once again, it's the time of the month for some favourite products!

    Family pic

I hope you'll enjoy ;)

The Body Shop Glow Enhancer: the foundation I currently use is a tad too dark for my skintone and looks quite matte. I mix a drop of this stuff et voila, problem solved! I think it's now reformulated and available with the name "Radiant Highlighter".
H&M 36-colour eyeshadow palette: ok, so the quality sucks... But, I got to experiment with so many colours that I'd never thought they suited me! I would recommend this kind of palette to all beginners in make-up like myself ;)
Art Deco liquid liner: it's waterproof, glossy and super black. I've been using it day&night!

Art Deco lipstick in #40: I love this colour so much! I apply a sheer wash and it gives me a natural finish. A couple more layers and I get a pale nude pink- very friendly for my skintone, no freaky concealer lips! I'm mostly pairing it with Jasmine lip butter by Korres.

Korres secret new product: full review coming up asap!
The Body Shop Aloe face cream: Last month I switched my skincare routine; this is the stand-out of all the new products I got! My skin is combination to oily and although this cream is meant to be used to sensitive skin, I find that it helps to soothe my acne spots.

Apivita Aloe face mask: another winner, this is a moisturising mask that smells fantastic and feels cooling on the skin. The Apivita mask sachets never cease to amaze me!

Korres Plum lip butter: Another addition to my lip balm stash... This one gives a very flattering red wine tint on the lips. And it smells so sweet! When I'm at home, I apply a light wash on my lips (and perhaps a touch of cheek stain by the Body Shop, but don't tell anyone!) and I instantly feel more glamorous ;)

What were your favourites for November? Anyone tried the above products?

P.S.: Last night I couldn't sleep because of a freaking mosquito buzzing around my head! I mean, come on!!! Mosquitos during December? When are we going to get some winter days in Greece? Christmas is coming, for God's sake!

CBSG5861

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!

CBSG5861

Korres Wild Rose Mask

Hello my lovelies!

Product rave again, this time about the Korres Wild Rose mask. Lately I had been complaining to myself that my skintone was so so dull that it looked as if it had a greenish tint! Not anymore, though ;)


The website describes the mask like this (note the highlighted words):

A pure white mask for a clear and radiant complexion, suitable for all skin types. An instant brightening effect is immediately visible from the first application. Wild Rose oil is a natural source of vitamin C, which demonstrates significant repairing activity to fine lines and skin marks. At the same time, a complex of herbal extracts targets skin discolorations, adding brightness and radiance to the skin.


At first, I was a lot sceptical with all these promising claims. Come on, results from the first application? Shame on you, Korres, for giving too much false hope like giant companies do!

And then I tried it. Applied a thin layer, waited for 15 minutes and rinsed it off. Saw my face on the mirror. And thought "nah, my skin looks brighter because of the new lights" (having changed previously the old bathroom lamp with a lot brighter one).

After 2nd application: "Nah, there must be too much sunshine and my face looks brighter".

3rd application: "You know, maybe it's not the light, could be that the mask is actually working!"

4th: Admitted that the mask really worked. What's more, I noticed the tint of those old acne scars on my face fading out! I was so excited, I thought I could never get rid of them! What it means is that when I'm doing my regular make-up routine, it doesn't take me too much time working the concealer to cover those scars. Yay!!!


I really-really recommend this mask if you want an instant brightening effect or to combat skin discolorations. Plus you only need a very thin layer to cover your whole face- so this little pot will last you months ;)

Happy blogging and reading and commenting to everyone!

CBSG5861

I'm going skiing!!!

Hello my lovelies!

Oh yes, after years of postponing my encounter with the skiing equipment, I've finally decided to give it a try this time. For real!

See, I have never been into sports (apart from some spare months at the gym - but that doesn't count, right?), I'd much rather sit beside the warmth and cosiness of the fireplace and read a book or watch a documentary on tv. But I really wanted to try skiing before completely rejecting it. We'll see what happens...


Other than that, I've been preparing my skin to stand the cold and low humidity levels of extreme low temperatures. For the last three days, I've been using this Korres face mask with yoghurt. Preferably, I would apply it before I went to bed and sleep on it, but as I'm a sloppy sleeper it would end up all over my pillow and my hair... After it is rinsed off, it leaves my skin moisturised and soft with no signs of greasiness, as it is meant for oily and dehydrated skin.

Wish me luck on my ventures ;)
Happy blogging and reading and commenting to everyone!

CBSG5861