Christmas gifts and buys

I am not going to hide it. Christmas is my favourite time of the year...
I absolutely love everything about it, the family gatherings, the delicious Christmas dinner, Christmas tree  decoration and of course the exchanging of gifts.
Above are some of the gifts I received and bought over Christmas. (Top and to the right)
1. Babyliss curler
2. Leopard pillowcases
3. Illamasqua Gleam highlighter in Aurora
4. Jurlique Rose powder
5. MAC prep and prime highlighter in light boost
6. Thermal Socks - cause my feet are always cold!
7. MAC diva lipstick
8. Illamasqua Skin Base foundation
9. Bobbi Brown high shimmer lip gloss in HOT
10. Anastasia tinter brow gel in blonde
I will soon be back with reviews.

Merry Christmas!!

Pointy pumps

I personally adore pointy pumps, I find that they are so feminine and chic yet quite sexy. They are often uncomfortable -being so narrow on the front- and often quite high, but they will upgrade each and every outfit. Here are my favourites for this Winter....

1.Casadei

2.Gianvito Rossi

3.Prada

Which one do you like?

Hey sweeties, I will soon get the I phone 5!
So excited about that!
I have already begun searching for a case- which of course should be stylish but most importantly it should protect my phone. Dont know if I have mentioned that before, but I tend to be kinda clumpsy!!

Silver Ambition (cases from left to right):
crystalrocked.com, zazzle.co.uk
Gold Desire (cases from left to right):
zazzle.co.uk, shopbop.com, laudtec.com
Animal Instincts (cases from left to right):
gumtree.com.au, gullei.com

In search of the perfect red lipstick

Do you have any favourite red lipsticks?

I do, and unfortunately there are more than a couple. In fact they are eleven! Eleven different shades of red, most of them warm and some cool, some bright and others dark. I totally understand people who just have one favourite signature red lipstick but this never works for me cause I get bored too easilly plus I like experimenting with new shades and textures- although not everything I try works for me.

Below is a picture of the lipsticks' swatches in the sunlight.

And here are the lipsticks' swatches under artificial light.

Hope this post was helpful......

cause to me photos of swatches come particularly handy when shopping online!By the way my colour currently is between NC25 and NC30.

Cat eye sunglasses

Cosmetic craves

 

Hey my beauties,

just sitting in front of my PC having the worse mood ever and a small breakout which also drives me insane. It is quite pathetic but I need to share this superficial concern with someone...

Oh well, I have some really special beauty products I would like to share with you cause they are simply amazing!!!

From top left and clockwise: Dermalogica daily microfoliant, MAC mineralize blush in love thing, Alpha H Liquid Gold, Darphin age defying lip balm, Giorgio Armani Maestro foundation, Giorgio Armani eraser concealer and finally MAC's lipmix in orange and crimson.

Dermalogica daily microfoliant: 
This is a mild rice based exfoliating powder that activates as soon as it comes in contact with water. It makes the skin bright and smooth. The reviews on this thing are awesome.
MAC mineralize blush in love thing:
I definately dont need another blush but this color is awesome and it comes with a delicate sheen.
Alpha H Liquid Gold:
Overnight resurfacing and firming lotion, what more can one want?!
Darphin age defying lip balm
Seriously, probably the best lip balm out there. Soft, soothing and anti aging.
Giorgio Armani Maestro foundation
Probably the most innovative foundation currently in the market. Very light, applies like second skin yet it has the ability to offer coverage. Unfortunately it costs around 60 euros and I need two shades to achieve the perfect color: 4.5 and 6.5. Hmmmmmm
Giorgio Armani eraser concealer
Like the foundation, the concealer is amazing too. Not only does it cover dark circles but it promises to diminish them over time, plus it does not crease.
MAC lipmix
The Orange and the crimson lipmixes are perfect when you wish to create the perfect red lip. They can be worn alone or mixed with other lipsticks to produce the most amazing shades of red.
Conclusion: I need money!

NYX cosmetics is here...

NYX opened its first store in Thessaloniki just yesterday!

It is situated in 65 Ermou str, so all of you beauty and makeup lovers get ready and rush tomorrow. Since we dont know when it will open in Athens and the rest of Greece, the company has an e-shop nyx greece which will be up and running in a few days.

NYX is an American cosmetics brand created in 1999 by a young woman called Toni Ko. She always loved and experimented with makeup and being a consumer herself she realized that good cosmetics came at hefty prices. NYX was born based on the idea that good cosmetics can be affordable yet of great quality.

My recommendations:

I personally love the NYX lipliners because they have great color payoff and have great pink shades (which MAC doesnt) as well as the Jumbo pencils. For details and photos check out my nyx review! I also love the company's blushes and mega shine lipglosses!!!

Barbie is a plastic doll, remember?

This is Valeria Lukyanova, a Ukrainian girl who looks just like...a childhood memory...Barbie. I wonder how far can female vanity drug us women? Why do we always have to look like someone else? In this case not even like a real person but rather one of Mattel's greatest marketing inventions. This is probably the best and most succesful human replica of a doll, I trully have to congratulate the doctors for mastering the art of plastic surgery and changing the human nature.

 I chose these photos of her past and present because her pose and posture are most similar. As it is apparent in her early days, she was definately an above average beauty- or let me just re-phrase the "early days" part because afterall she is just 21 years old.

It is said that she has had many cosmetic surgeries in order to achieve this result like: rhinoplasty, botox, filler injections, breast implants, liposuction and fat transfer to the hips. It is even said that she has removed a few ribs to make her waist tiny. It is important to mention that in order to capture this "synthetic look" she uses the art of makeup and styling. Makeup wise, a combination of heavy coverage foundation and powder, false eyelashes and lots of contouring especially around the nose area.

Valeria Lukyanova does not admit she has had any plastic surgeries! Well, I guess that the conclusions are all yours......

Kim Kardashian: In the name of Plastic Surgery

Who can doubt Kim Kardashian's beauty?

Her features, lovely hair, stunning makeup, combined with the latest fashion trends and most known reality shows have turned her into one of the most famous divas around the World! The strange thing in her case is is that she does not even have a real profession -well, in the sense that would award her with such publicity.

I believe that some people have a "star" (whatever they do, makes them successful) where as others have to work very hard in order to succeed, she definately falls in the first category -without this meaning that she hasnt worked to get the things she wanted.

After Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian was among the first to change the stereotype of beauty in the U.S, she was dark, curvy and had a typical middle eastern beauty, yet so, in a State filled with skinny blonde girls she made a difference. And sometimes, this -along with some luck- is all it takes..

Kim Kardashian has always been pretty, we have all seen photos of her early days, the truth is though that even this beauty has undergone some plastic surgeries. In the pictures below it is apparent that some of her features have been "refined" like her nose, jawline, lip volume and cheekbones.

Kim looks awesome throughout the years, but I strongly believe that too many refinements often cause people to look alike and sometimes can even add years. Of course I can totally understand that the pressure forced upon all these celebrities is immense, but at the end of the day being unique is still the most important. Although the photos above show the refinements through time, there are less forgiving photos from various sites that definately reveal sharper differences. No words...

 

Naked Palette 2 review

Eventually in my hands...

What a lovely "warm neutral "eyeshadow palette, one that is filled with nude colors and a fair balance of light and dark colors as well as shiny and matte consistencies. The pigmentation is very good and the eyeshadows are of great quality. In my opinion, this is a palette that can create a number of different eye looks and matches all skincolors, hair and eye colors. Moreover, the double ended brush that comes with, is great for both the application and the blending of the shadows. 

I personally recommend this palette to all of you that are in search of good quality nude eyeshadows. At 43 euros you get 12 eyeshadows, one double ended brush and a small neutral Urban Decay lipgloss, to me that is a pretty good deal.

TIPS:

-Use Halfbaked, bootycall and verve as a highligherlitte

-Use the application side of the brush as a glitter applicator after you wet it, or spray it with MAC fix+

Matte: Foxy (pale beige), Tease (taupe), blackout (black)
Shiny: Halfbaked (gold), bootycall (shiny pale beige), snakebite (golden olive brown), suspect (cool gold), pistol (warm grey), verve (warm silver), busted (chocolate brown)
Glittery: Chopper (bronze), YDK (high shine bronze/brown)
Below are some swatches both indoor (no flash) and outdoor without any eyeshadow base or primer.

Indoor swatches

 

Outdoor swatches

Sisley Express Flowel Gel

Hello everyone,

I am back with another review, this time of a quite expensive face mask that I purchased during the sales a while back. If you have a look around the internet at the reviews on the particular product  you will discover that a striking percentage of them are positive, exalting I would say! 

I guess this is the reason why I spend 70 euros -yeap you heard right- (and this is the final price after a 25% sale) on it, so as you can imagine my expectations were more than high to begin with.

Sisley is a high end French skincare and cosmetics brand -do not mix it up with the clothing firm- that was among the first to introduce the use of botanical active ingredients and essential oils in beauty products. Enough said, back to business..

In order to make the review I have already used the mask twice, within a week, and imagine that I wasted some product without any particular reason, meaning I didn’t really have any special place to go to –but oh, well- I couldn’t wait to review it for you guys. To be honest I currently have it on….and does it stand up to my expectations? I am really sorry to admit, but IT DOES.

This mask is supposed to “chase away the visible signs of fatigue and stress, moisturize and tone the skin and create a feeling of significantly firmer skin” and all that in just 3 minutes. Did I use it for such a short time? NO! I mean, I spend half a fortune on this mask so I might just get the best of it. I applied a thin layer and about 15 minutes later I removed the excess with some paper, guess what, this mask continues to work miracles on the skin. The smell of the mask is very natural and herbal, kinda reminds me of some organic creams like Organic Pharmacy, Lavera, Neal’s yard etc, the truth is that you won’t fall in love with it but at least bare in mind that it is not synthetic. What can I say, my skin feels and looks firm and has this gorgeous glow to it –without appearing oily. One more thing, if you have combination or oily skin or even acne prone, do not be afraid cause this mask will totally hydrate your skin without appearing oily or breaking it out. Finally, another great thing about this mask is that it can even be applied close to the eyes –gives you an idea of how gentle this is- oh, and you could even sleep in it if you wanted and wake up with the best skin ever. So, to conclude, I do recommend this product (although I wish it was more affordable) for all skintypes and ages - as long as you use it on special occasions....

The Naked Palette is finally here!

Once again, this post will mainly make my Greek friends happy.

After such a long wait I am happy to tell you that the Urban Decay naked palette#2 can be found in Greece. On Friday, I went to Sephora Mall to grab a few exclusive Sephora products since I had a 40% off through a great coupon I found in Vogue magazine. After buying a few goodies I saw a lovely TOO Faced lipstick that was out of stock - so the next day I visited the Sephora near my house to receive my Estee Lauder card and to see whether they had the gorgeous lipstick....But unfortunately they didn't... Waiting for the lady to bring my card,  my eyes fell on a tiny rack near the cashiers where a few palettes were (UN) uneatly stashed the one on top of each other... Was I really seeing the word NAKED on the front?! As I got closer and -to my big surprise- I realized that the naked palette#2 was actually in front of me, looked around to see whether the naked palette#1 was nearby -how greedy- was that!!!

Anyway, the palette's price is 43 euros and at this price you will get 12 gorgeous eyeshadows (3matte and 9shimmer eyeshadows) ranging from light beiges, bronzes, grays all the way to dark browns and blacks! You will also get a shadow/crease brush which is of relatively good quality! What a bummer, if they only had it one day earlier at the mall I would have purchased it with 26 euros...OMG

Oh, well next time :)

Victoria's Secret - Athens

Finally, we can get our hands on various VS goodies...

For all of you travelling (or not) -stop by El.Venizelos Airport for a little haul. A Victorias Secret beauty and accessories store has opened its doors to travellers and visitors. Unfortunately, the store does not carry VS or PINK clothing and underwear apart from a few briefs, brazilians and strings from the PINK collection at about 15euro per piece. Generally, the prices are quite reasonable compared to some stores in Athens and Kifisia that carry some VS items!! Moreover, you will find a number of interesting PINK bags, cosmetic and laptop cases even a few sunglasses!! Finally, you will be able to shop most of the VS perfumes and all of the suplementary products like body creams, mists and shower gels - oh, and a few lip products.

Some more good news, is that one of the employees informed me that they are considering opening a VS clothing store soon.... Cant WAIT!

Here is what I got, two gorgeous body mists: the pure seduction and the mango temptation. They are very fruity and floral and are great to use during the summer cause they are quite lightweight!! 

Oh, and one more thing, arent these VS just amazingly pretty??

June faves...

Ever since I watched the movie rum diary, I was trying to find the perfect orange based red after seeing it on Amber Heard. Afterall, such a color looks amazing against warmer skin tones and can can have a striking effect without wearing much eye makeup. I am glad to tell you that after many hours of searching, I did find this perfect red.

From top to bottom:
Lancome l'absolu rouge 134 - Seriously the best orange based red you have ever tried!!!!
Love perfume by Chloe - Sweet, somewhat soothing and delicate...
Nude Bronzers by Dior - Great shades, lasting, matte with amazing texture...
Waterproof eyepencil by YSL - The perfect blue for summer!

Summer vacation beauty secrets

Wanna look gorgeous in your summer vacations? Carry these 10 beauty items and you will!
Yeap, you have counted correctly, I only show 9 items, so where is the tenth? Well it is the one and only sunscreen, which shouldnt be abscent from any summer beauty bag.
Here are the rest: (top left and clockwise)

1. Blot papers by Shiseido -avoid looking too shiny
2. Beach Mist by Philip B. -get sexy textured hair effortless
3. Hair Teaser - give your tousled hair some serious volume
4. Hair Waver by Babyliss -get mermaid hair waves
5. Finishing treatment by Rahua - repair your hair from the sun
6. Crystal gloss by Clarins -hydrating and voluptuous lips
7. Bronzer by Christian Dior - give yourself the best tan
8. Sunshine by Paul Smith - smell exotic and light
9. Aqua smoky lash by MUFE - have the perfect lashes even when you are swimming!!