DIY project: My own homemade soaps!

You read that right:
I got real crafty last summer!

If you're like me -obsessed with beauty and cosmetics, that is-, read on because there's a whole 'nother world you can let loose your passion: making your own beauty products! I proudly present you my first batch of homemade olive oil soaps- which, contrary to what you might think, they're dead easy to make.

But why soaps, you might ask?
It was only because I didn't want to waste a huge 5lt can of olive oil that didn't taste quite right. Throwing it away was not an option, so I had to find a means to make it useful ;)

First and foremost, there's two things you need to keep in mind before experimenting with soap-making recipes:

a. Do your homework. Even the tiniest little search online will be enough to baffle you with contradicting recipes. So before settling on a particular recipe, learn about the characteristics of each ingredient, what quality of soap they produce, and the importance of accuracy in weighing each quantity.

b. Take all precautions necessary! It's very, very important not to let the lye get in contact with your skin. Or your eyes and nose. Get youselves some gloves, an old blouse with long sleeves, a face mask, and some vinegar in case you spill yourself with some soap mixture by accident (vinegar counteracts the lye in the soap).

A skincare experiment

This post is on a little experimental switch to my skincare routine-
and if it succeeds, then my views on treating skin are going to change forever.
p.s.: please excuse the dramatic tones of the above statement... It's true, though!

Just for reference, my skin is combination to sensitive, with the occasional break-outs and the red scarring they eventually leave behind.

So, after the Clarisonic craze and the Liz Earle hot cloth cleanser ongoing trend, it seems like it's not the cleansing product (foam or cream, it doesn't matter) that actually cleanses the skin, but the exfoliating tool that you use in conjuction with it, twice a day.

As for the cleansing product itself, it might as well be that it doesn't have to be fancy, with strong but potentially irritant ingredients and harsh exfoliating grains.

For these reasons, I bought the following products as the "beginner" and pocket-friendly option:

The Body Shop Vitamin E facial cleansing bar: it's marketed for normal to dry skin; I chose it because of its few ingredients (=less chance for the product to irritate my skin, maybe?), and it smells so great! It costs around 4 euros.
Natural sponge disk: it came in a pack of 4 at about 3 euros. When wet, it exfoliates the skin ever so gently-which is what I want for an everyday use.
Korres Guarana exfoliating glycerine soap for the body: so I bought this because I'm starting to realise that, just as anti-wrinkle creams won't save you from wrinkles, an anti-cellulite cream won't remove the orange peel just by the use of it. It costs 4 euros, too.

After a good amount of trial on these products, I'll be back with the results on my skin and my verdict ;)

What are your thoughts on using exfoliating tools on your everyday skincare routine?
Anyone having tried the Clarisonic or the Liz Earle cleanser?

CBSG5861

Tag: 10 things I love

Hello my lovelies!


I was tagged by Stavroula to do this tag. Hi, girl!


So, CBSG5861 loves:

1. Make-up! (Duh...)

I love the whole ritual of putting on make-up; deciding what to wear, combining textures and colours to find the perfect combination every time...

2. Lip balms!

I'm a big, big fan of lipbalms! They're my go-to choice for an everyday lip- chapped lips that have been slapped on with lipstick is one of my worst nightmares... My favourites are the Korres Mandarin Lip Butters; the grey tube makes a soft nude lip and the peach version looks so pretty with mascara and rosey cheeks!

3. Bars of soap. Lots of them

For the sake of this post I've included a pic from the Cleopatra soap bar that i used to love when I was a kid! Have you tried it? Post below ;)

4. Athens!

I love everything about my city, even its filth...

5. European films

I take great pleasure when watching good European films; I do enjoy some American block-busters, but only when I'm in a more relaxed mood. The picture above is from my favourite "Wings of Desire" by Wim Wenders.

***By the way, ET1 channel is showing an old film by R.Polanski with Catherine Deneuve. today at midnight. Don't miss it!***

Which brings me to...

6. Marcelo Mastroianni!

What a man, what a man... I recently saw a film in which he was starring with Sophia Lauren; all the time I couldn't get over how handsome he was! Sigh, the Mediterranean genes!

7. Sunday newspapers

They're the best company for my lazy Sunday morning cup of coffee ;)

8. Pretty little chocolate bites!

Even the smallest box of chocolates makes me so, so happy! I'm drooling by looking at this picture...

9. My two little dogs!

Don't they look cute? There's Cookie on the left and Rocky on the right... I love them to death!

And last but not least, I love...

10. My boyfriend

This picture was taken during last winter; despite the cold rainy weather we decided to go on a small fish tavern close to the sea... Weirdos!!!

K., if you're reading this and you're not comfortable with your picture uploaded on my blog, I'll take it down ;)

I'm tagging:

Blushing Loves

Dreamville

Efi's corner

La pazza ragazza e le fragole

Las ninas y los ninos

Meraldia

Pasiphae

Shopping&beauty blog

Happy blogging and reading and commenting to everyone!

CBSG5861

Etsy soaps

Hello my lovelies!

I was browsing etsy's website looking for natural skincare products; it was one of those "little" searches that turns up to a whole 3-hour business! Anyway, I particularly looooved the handcrafted soaps- there were some cute and luxurious, some organic or vegan-friendly, some funny or even bizarre (there was a soap looking like your grandmother's dentures- eeeek!), but all of them very-very interesting! These were my absolute favourites:

La Nuit Shea Butter Soap, by sweetpetula

Berry Lemonade Soap with Shea Butter and Blueberry Seeds, by FlourishBathBody

Pure Bar Soap wrapped in Vintage Children's Book Pages, by OwlNaturals

French Macaron Collection Gift Set, by KcSoapsNmore

Baby Cinammon Rolls - 6 Pack Goat Milk's Soaps, by soapopotamus

Sandalwood Vanilla Handmade Cold Process Soap Bar, by LippincottSoapCo

The Trio (Small) Tumbled Turquoise Soap, by amethystsoap

Marie Handmade Elagent Soap Vegan, by sherrifairy

Celeste Limited Edition Sweetheart Soap, by capricornsoapco

So, what do you think? Aren't they cute, to say the least?


Me, I'm redeeming myself with this lovely white jasmine soap. Seriously, if you ever come across a Zara Home store, you should definitely check out their bath&body line- especially this jasmine soap; it has a delicate, powerful yet light scent of jasmine, it's so, so... Oh well, my descriptions won't do it justice. Love, love, love it ;)

Happy blogging and reading and commenting to everyone!

CBSG5861

Best of 2009; CBSG5861 edition

Hello my lovelies!
Yep, this is my "Best-of" list for 2009.
Enjoy!


1. Blogging (obviously)


Where was I? I can't even remember how I stumbled upon this blogosphere- but man, I was missing so much all this time! Gone are the days when I was buying heaps of magazines, just to get informed about fashion and make-up. Nah, not for me anymore; what I appreciate the most is that whatever is written in a blog is probably more honest than what is published through magazines (hope I'm not being harsh with magazines, though...). Plus it's free (cheers!) and you get to meet all those lovely people.


2. "Comfort" Make-up


I'm so glad I've finally come up with a small array of products that do the trick of the "natural" make-up (well, as "natural" as my features allow it to get...) that boost my confidence levels to the limit. I'm telling you, there's nothing better than a "safe" look that will untie your hands on days when you don't have time to decide which products to choose from the bunch, or you just think that nothing suits you at the moment. I guess that it's the "make-up equivalent" of the "little black dress" ;)

3. Make-up Revelations; Eyeshadow Base, Brow Colour



Yeah, I was late on these... I have oily lids, and the old method of applying concealer with some loose powder lead to a lot of creasing. After the "Eyeshadow Primer Revelation", my eye make-up stays put for up to 8 hours with no touch-ups.
As for my brows, I never thought that colouring them with an eyeshadow was necessary- that, until I started testing it out. Now I can't leave the front door with my brows bare, it's officially a staple on my make-up routine! Currently I'm using the Art Deco Eyeshadow Base and The Body Shop Brow & Liner Kit (both seen above).


4. Gel Eye Make-up Remover


I'm so proud of this beauty-related "discovery"! People, spread the word; the only product that can get rid of every-single-strand-of-any-stubborn-mascara is a gel-based one. So far, I've only tried the Yves Rocher Bio-spécific Active Sensitive (seen above), and currently I'm in search of a different brand manufacturing a product of this kind. Because you know, I don't stick to products, even if they possess a "Holy-Grail" quality- I'm obsessed trying to test every single product out there! But that's another story...


5. Matte Eyeshadows
After watching many "beauty gurus" on youtube who swear by matte eyeshadows, I started to recognise their virtues. Again, it was a revelation to me! The trick of accentuating your best features and correcting your not-so-great can never be achieved with shimmer, and this applies to the eyes, too. The only downfall is that the application requires some practise and brushes of good quality to blend the color evenly on the eyelid. Shimmering eyeshadows can forgive a novice hand!

6. Soaps!



I don't know how I got seriously into this. I mean, I was always using soap to cleanse my hands, but it was until recently that I came to worship it. Sounds freaky, eh... I love this retro feeling about soap; liquid hand soaps, shower gels, for me they don't stand a chance against this "je ne sais quoi" quality of a chunky bar of soap. Whether it is sold at drugstores or the high-street market, it has become one of my favourite everyday rituals. If a kind friend is reading this and is considering to buy me a present for any occasion, I'm begging you dear friend, get me some soap!


7. Candles in a Glass

Big, big fan of those. They hold a nice flame, spread a nice aroma and- most importantly- you don't have to place them on a special surface or having constantly your eye over them for preventing ruining your furniture. My mum went to ikea and bought 4(!) sets of these Tindra candles (shown above)- the white for cinammon, the light brown for caramel and the dark brown one for... well, brownies scent! Although excited at first, now I'm sick of them. Any suggestions?


8. Pull & Bear Scarf


I love wearing scarves, they add sth interesting on your bust area without exposing your chest to the freezing temperatures of winter! This one is my favourite, in my head it matches every single outfit- plus it has a light fabric that wraps around my neck nice and loosely.


9. David Gray


Oh, how I love this man... I was introduced to his music 5-6 years ago with the song "Babylon"- the meaningful lyrics, the calming melody, his unique voice... just divine. I got so excited with his new album release in 2009, called "Draw The Line". He seems to have evolved in a more mature way, both in terms of music and style- by the way, doesn't he look irresistible in that suit and that glance? Or is it just me? Anyway, please check him out on "Fugitive", which I still can't get enough- love it! To those interested, check his interview on Big Think.


10. Tommy Hilfiger watch


This was a Christmas gift from my boyfriend.
Need I say more? Apart from the fact that it instantly took a special place in my heart...
So, that's it with this list. Phew...
Happy blogging and reading and commenting to everyone!

CGSG5861