Giveaway: The winner is…

The day has come for me to announce the winner for my mini giveaway! I had 43 entries and I used random.org to generate a winner.


The winner generated was number 27 on my list. And the winner is:




…..dewymeadows or Jamie. Congratulations!!!! I am so happy with this giveaway and tomorrow I will also be announcing the winner of the Sigma giveaway, so be on the lookout for that! 🙂

Breaking the Ice: Father Appreciation

SOURCE
I know this post is a little unusual for me, but please bear with me. I don’t know about you, but I have a really good relationship with my father and since yesterday was his birthday I felt the need to do a little blog post about it and about my father. I think that sometimes we always mention our mothers and how they understand us and we can share everything with them, but sometimes fathers remain in the background ever so vigilant and loving.

My father turned 51 yesterday! He is a quiet, shy and silent loving man who is always there for me whenever I fall or stumble in my life. He was the second born child and the first male in a family which grew to have six children. At the time he was born, they had little money and few means but they made do. Around the age of 15, he lost his father and just after his mother realized that she was pregnant once more. At such a young age, imagine having such a large family with one parent to support you. These were still times that women usually stayed at home and did not go out to work.

He became the man of the house, with all the responsibility that comes with it. He worked after school and went tried to support and help the family through the possible means. His youngest sister, was born never having met her father and I think she always looked up to my father as being a little hers too. They were four sisters and two brothers. But at the age of about 25 my father’s younger brother, died too having had some health issues.

SOURCE
My father is a man of few words and a very good listener. He has a quick mind and creative hands that led him to be able to carry out various jobs as the need requires. We were never rich but we always had all that we needed. If it was some extra lessons, clothes, shoes, food, he always provided. He was there all my life, lending a helping hand, if it is with driving us around or financially supporting us or little things like getting something from a store just because he knows we like it. He never grumbles and never expects anything from us. He just gives. For some time now, he has been having some health problems, such as backaches and all over pains, due to premature arthritis that makes him tire more easily.

When I was younger, I looked at my dad and I saw the most powerful and wonderful man on earth. When I have a problem, I know I can share it with him as he won’t try to judge me or make me feel better. He will be there to listen and to tell me what he thinks and leave the rest to me to do and decide. He respects me and always cares about me. He may not understand all my obsessions, like makeup or blogging but he accepts them and compliments me on them. He always tries to cheer me up or to tease me if he sees I am sad or unhappy. Last year, he had to be in hospital for a week and it was a wakeup call, to see him in a hospital bed looking tired. He is my hero and he is my DAD.

I hope you appreciate your dad and you try to build a open and trusting relationship, as they want to be a part of our lives too ❤

Haul: Inglot

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that I had went to Inglot for a makeup session, and of course I had to pick a few items while I was there. I got myself four shadows which were then put into a freedom palette and a Concealer Cream as I really wanted to compare a higher end concealer with my usual drug store brands and I liked how it applied when the makeup artist did my makeup.

Freedom Palette Quad
I got four shadows to add to my collection of Inglot products, all pretty neutral shades and an unusual color for me which is the olive green. I love these palettes they are so original and nice to use. The palette is €6.00 and each shadow is €5.00, as you can change shadow places or even palettes and just buy the pans if you have a freedom palette that has an empty slot.

Top, Left to Right: AMC Shine 45, AMC Shine 31
Bottom, Left to Right: Pearl 418, Pearl 409
I wanted to try something more neutral from the brand as I have some bold colors, so far. The browns look like nothing much in the pan but they apply wonderful on the lids 🙂 and the golden shade is really gorgeous! You get 2.7g/0.10oz per shadow.

Inglot Cream Concealer
Next I got the Cream Concealer in shade 38, which matches my skin tone. It comes in the ever classy black box with white writing. The concealer retails for €16.00.

The tube of product
You get a decent amount of product, 10ml/0.33oz in a squeeze tube, which I really like as it is very hygienic and you can tell how much product you have left in the clear packaging. For more information about the products you can look at the Inglot website. For some swatches of Inglot shadows you can go HERE and HERE.

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think about Inglot?

Product Review: Essence Cover Stick – True Nude

The Essence Cover Stick is a concealer stick that I got some time ago. The color I got it in is in the shade 04 True Nude which matches my skin fine. I like the concealer to be a little lighter than my skin to better cover any blemishes or spots, and if well blended it doesn’t look any different than my skin.

Essence Cover Stick for all skin types
The packaging for this really cute. You get the product which twists up in the little tube and a little cardboard cover to go with it. You get 5g/0.1oz of product and it says for all skin types. This concealer is a little thick and I don’t find that it would be good for under the eyes as it might cake up. However, for any blemishes or spots over the face, it offers really good coverage.

Swatch – 04 True Nude
I got mine from a local supplier of the Essence brand for €2.61 which is a good affordable price for the amount you get. I find it covers really well and once it is blended it helps your skin to look smoother and more even.To see more products I got from Essence, I did a haul.

Have you tried any concealers from Essence? What do you think of the brand?

Product Review: Elf Mineral Eyeshadow – Royal

This is the first mineral eyeshadow that I got from Elf, and so far the only one. However, I am sure I will get many more from this line as the texture and payoff of these is really great. This is the Elf Mineral Eyeshadow in Royal which is a gorgeous purple shade. You get a little pot with 0.03oz/0.85g of product for €3.50/£3.00 from the Elf UK website.

The product comes in a cute light nude colored box, that is recyclable
On the back it states that the product is made of:
100% Natural Minerals
,
has
No Parabens,
No Preservatives
and
No Chemical Dyes
The company also gives some of its profits towards charity, although I am not sure about the percentage. Elf is also cruelty free, which is very important and helps the environment by making use of recyclable materials.

The color – Royal is shown on the side of the box
The little round pot, in which you get the product
The product comes into a little round pot with a twisting top. The loose powder has a sifter and it is protected by a sticker when it comes to you. I just put two holes in the sifter as with eyeshadow you never want too much product to come out. Usually with face powder I don’t mind it much and remove the plastic all together, but with this I didn’t.

Product with sifter and protective sticker
Swatch of Royal
The texture of the eyeshadow is really soft and velvety and really easy to apply and blend. The swatch I did is on my hand and has no primer underneath. You can either use it this way for a slight wash of color over the lid or you can intensify it by applying a primer or a base underneath it and the color becomes more vibrant. I love it both ways. I will surely try and get more of these shadows from Elf as they are really gorgeous. For more Mineral products from Elf I recently did a haul too.

Do you own any Mineral eyeshadow from Elf? Do you like this shade?

Product Review: Clean & Clear Deep Action Cream Wash

This is a skin care product that I use. I have combination/oily skin, so the first thing I look in a product is that it is Oil-free as any oil in products will break me out and will make me even oilier. The Clean & Clear Deep Action Cream Wash was a purchase I made after I had used the Dermalogica Dermal Clay Cleanser which is the first deep action cream wash that I have ever tried. Since the Dermalogica one is a little expensive I was on the lookout for more affordable but just as effective products.

I also got the Noxzema Cleansing Cream which I loved, but I was still on the lookout for more products to try out, since they were being so effective. The Clean & Clear Deep Action Cream Wash is not as powerful as the Dermalogica or as the Noxzema however I still love it as it is more effortless.

Clean & Clear Deep Action Cream Wash Oil-Free
 The product comes in a hygienic tube where you get 150ml of product. With this product, a little goes a long way. I apply it with my hands on my face, without wetting my face beforehand. The product is a cream/foam white consistency that feels very light on the skin and it smells very fresh. You can apply it and leave it on for a minute or so for a fast face mask, but it does not dry on the skin, it more sinks into the skin and is absorbed for a more in-depth cleanse. Since this product is not so powerful, I can use it when I have dry patches on my face as it does not dry my face at all, unlike the Noxzema one which it sometimes tends to do.

Removes dirt, oil and impurities without clogging pores
I have been using this product for some months now and I have already finished this tube and re-purchased a new one. This is the first product I have ever tried from this brand as it is not found where I live. I am also trying a new product (for me) from Clean & Clear which is a face scrub especially formulated for removing black heads. I will let you know how that works. I truly love this product and would recommend it for anyone who has oily skin or combination like me and is acne prone. I also have very sensitive skin and this product is gentle enough to not cause any breakouts. I hope this was helpful and if you have similar skin to mine, maybe it will work for you too. I got mine from eBay.

Have you tried this product? What do you think about Clean & Clear?