NOTD: Sephora Welcome to my loft

I have recently received this nail polish from a very good friend of mine who went to Paris on holiday. Now since we don’t have Sephora where I live, getting something from the infamous place is a big deal!

This is also my first Sephora nail polish so I was curious to see how it held up, if it chipped easily and how long it takes to dry.



I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with the colour and application. It is very easy to use and dries fairly quickly.



It is a brownish colour called “Welcome to my loft” with subtle golden shimmers in it. You can find it here.



Next vacation I’ll be sure to pick up a couple more shades to try out!

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The Skincare Chronicles: Nivea Double Effect Make-up Remover

Since this is the first post of The Skincare Chronicles series I will do a little introduction. As the name implies I will be writing about products that I have come across that I think are amazing. I have very problematic skin that is combination/oily and that frequently breaks out namely because I stress myself. This is my journey through skin care products at affordable prices to help my skin without being too abrasive, harsh or cause even more damage in the long run. Any suggestions are truly appreciated as always. Also I will be reviewing some products that maybe are not so known or raved about but which I think are worth mentioning.


Last week I was shopping at my local supermarket when I came across the Nivea Double Effect Make-up Remover. As can be seen from the photo this is one of those products where you have two different liquids that you have to mix together to use. Namely you have an oily liquid and a less dense liquid that you shake together and use to remove make-up. Now I have seen many expensive brands coming out with these kinds of products and I’ve always been very curious as to how much they are effective. So when I saw this product for about 4 euros, I was all over it!

Nivea Double Effect Eye Make-up Remover


I am one of those persons who always removes their make-up before going to bed. I am also one of those persons that believes in the power of mascara and so tend to apply quite a good amount of it. This leads to me needing a good make-up remover especially for the eyes because we all know how harmful mascara can be if you don’t remove it all and that the lashes can suffer from this. So I was on the prowl for a good make-up remover that will take care of my eye make-up removal problems. As we all know products containing some oily substance are the best to break down the make-up and make it easy for you remove it. This is where the Nivea Double Effect Make-up Remover comes it. 

The product coming back to its original state

It is easy as 1, 2, 3… to use! You just shake it, apply some to a cotton pad or as I sometimes do to a face wipe and wipe away all your make-up in a few simple swipes. The description for the product on the Nivea website describes this product as a “bi-phase formula enriched with Cornflower Extract” and that is helps to remove waterproof make-up. This product does not leave any greasy residue behind however I do suggest you wash your face to make sure that no product is left on your face. Now to tell the truth I am not a big fan of the Nivea visage products, I have never had much luck with them and they are either feel like they do nothing or they irritate my skin because they have abrasive chemicals. However, I was very pleasantly surprised with this product and would definitely recommend it and will re-purchase in the future.

Hope you find this review helpful and that you will try it out.

What do you think about this product? Have you tried it or something similar? 

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Summer Essentials: Don’t Forget to Contour


As Summer is approaching, everyone feels like spending less time on doing their make-up in the mornings and due to the heat and to your sun kissed skin you won’t need much anyway. However it is important not to skip certain important steps, like using waterproof concealer (especially if you live on a hot island like I do), a bright fun lipstick, waterproof mascara and contouring your face!!

Why Contour?
Well contouring brings definition to your face, brings out your cheek-bones and makes your skin look healthier over all. If all you put on your face is some foundation, concealer and mascara then the contouring will make you look more polished without too much effort!

Two great products that I use for this purpose are the Sleek Face Contour Kit in Medium and the infamous NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder in Sunny! You can use them one at a time or in combination as I will explain later.


The Sleek Face Contour Kit contains
a gorgeous deep bronzer and a shimmery highlighter
Although the Sleek powder may seem very dark it applies gorgeously if used with a light hand. This product is a very fine powder that blends beautifully on the skin. Take a small amount on a big fluffy brush and apply to the hollows of the cheek, temples, neck and slightly on the sides of the nose. This defines the important points of the face without too much hassle and if you don’t feel like applying eye shadow why not use this to create a slight shadow in the crease of the eye for more depth?

The usual Sleek packaging, classic black!
In the shade Medium.
Swatches for the Sleek Contour Kit

The NYC Bronzing Powder in Sunny
is a very matte light nude shade
The NYC Bronzing Face powder is amazingly great if you are always in a hurry in the mornings and still very sleepy. It requires no effort at all and not too much attention to the detail. Because of its lighter shade it allows you to safely apply a little more than you would normally dare and with no harsh lines. With bronzing powders it is always suggested to start slowly and building up the colour, however with this powder it is very difficult to over-do it! Having said that don’t pile it on as this is never attractive.

The powder blends gorgeously on the skin and gives definition without looking like you spent hours doing your make-up. If you have medium skin like me or a lighter skin tone, this works really well but for darker tones I think this shade would be way too light. The product is totally matte without a trace of shimmer in it which I find is essential for contouring unless you want to look like a disco ball!

The NYC Bronzing Powder packaging
is very compact and light, perfect
to carry or travel w
ith
A swatch of NYC Sunny


What are your favourite contouring powders? Have you ever tried these?

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NOTD: Sparkly Blue & New Year Resolutions

What better way to start off the New Year than with a NOTD featuring Essence products. I start off by using the Sally Hansen Power Shield as my base, then applied two layers of Essence Stairway to Heaven, next I applied Essence Addicted to Blue on my ring finger and I finished off by using Essence Quick Dry Topcoat on all my nails.


Sorry for the poor paint job but I had just cut my nails and they are super short, which I like a lot actually. Also excuse my dry hands but the weather has been super cold and I have ended trying a number of hand creams which I might do a review on.

I also wanted to share with you some goals I want to set for myself for the year 2012:

1. Be more Confident
2. Blog more
3. Lose weight

I really hope to achieve these goals this year and I am sure that if I set my mind to them I can do them all! Hope to also keep you  updated on the blog on how I am doing. It might be a good idea to keep an on-line journal of my achievements.

Do you like Essence nail polishes? I am loving the brand at the moment, if you want me to review anything let me know!

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When in Rome…Mini Rome Haul

I know this has been a long time coming but this is my haul from my holiday at the end of Summer in Rome! It is fairly a small haul, this is just the cosmetic part as I did buy some clothes and other accessories too. Let’s get started with a closer look at the products:

Sinful Colors Nail Polishes in
(Left to Right) Vacation Time and Bubbly
Gorgeous neutral shades perfect
for every occasion and very classy colours
Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in Strut

The gorgeous gunmetal shade: Strut
Two H&M brand Face Masks in Raspberry
 and Chocolate flavours
A body lotion in the scent; White Musk and a
Body Mist in the scent; Vanilla
The brand is Project
Two gorgeous products from an Italian brand;
Kiko which I had been dying to try out.
An eye-shadow and a waterproof eye-liner marker
Kiko eye-shadow in shade 114
Random Nail Files from Sephora and the
flowery ones I bought from a random shop
Limited Edition: Labello Mint Magic Lip Balm
I love the Labello lip balms, they are identical
to the Nivea ones 🙂
Small purchase from MAC, my first purchases!
MAC powder blush in Coppertone and
MAC Creamsheen Lipstick in Modesty
Coopertone
Modesty
I hope you enjoyed my haul! Please let me know if you would like a review on any of these products 🙂

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Sigma Black Friday Offer NOT to be Missed!!

For all US people today is Black Friday, meaning there are massive sales on most US websites and stores. Sigma are offering an amazing offer, FREE SHIPPING for today ONLY! So don’t miss the great opportunity to buy from Sigma if the Shipping fee has always made you hesitate!

Happy Thanksgiving, I am so thankful for all of you who read my Blog. I am so sorry not to have posted in such a long time, but promise to be back very soon 🙂


Summer Favorites: Cream Eyeshadows

In Summer time the last thing you want to do is spend hours blending away on your eye makeup. Cream eye shadows are a great alternative to the powder ones. They offer you a fast and easy look with one swipe and long lasting color all day. These are some of my favorites that I have used all Summer long!

Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow/Liner
The Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow/Liner are great products. They give you a great selection of shades to choose from and they last all day on your eyes even without a primer. If you have oily lids and want to use a primer than the staying power is guaranteed. I have these in 3 shades; Tattle Tale, Sippin’ n Dippin’ and Bunny Hop.

From Left to Right: Bunny Hop
Tattle Tale, Sippin’ n Dippin’
They come in these cute little pots
containing
 4.5g/0.16oz
of product
Benefit’s Bunny Hop
Swatch of Bunny Hop

Benefit’s Tattle Tale
Swatch of Tattle Tale

Benefit’s Sippin’ n Dippin’
Swatch of Sippin’ n Dippin’
A little goes a long way with these products. They are easy to blend, they give you enough time to distribute over the eyelid and then they set to a near powdery finish. They can also be used as a base under your eye shadow for a more intense look. You can apply these with your fingers or using a synthetic brush.

Next are the Rimmel Colour Mousse 8Hr Eye Creams. I have these in only 2 shades, both wearable and gorgeous shades. Glitz and Sassy are the names of the shades.

From Left to Right:
Glitz and Sassy
These have a very cooling sensation on the eyes and they apply with a metallic sheen which I love. They also set to a lovely glossy finish that lasts for a long time on the eyes. I have tried these both with and without eye primer underneath and they last all day on me both ways.

These are slightly larger pots
containing
5ml/0.17oz of product

Rimmel’s Glitz
Swatch of Glitz

Rimmel’s Sassy
Swatch of Sassy
As you can see the consistency of the Rimmel Cream shadows differs from the Benefit ones. For longevity they are pretty equal in my opinion. The price differs a lot between brands as expected but I love them both nonetheless.

If you haven’t tried any cream eye shadows for fear of creasing, I urge to try some and I am sure you will not regret it. They have been my favorites this Summer and I’m sure they will continue to be in the other seasons too.

What are your favorite cream eye shadows? Do you like Rimmel and Benefit?


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P.S. I have just returned from my Rome holiday! So expect a haul soon!