Thursday, May 30, 2013

London Haul Part 1

 Some of you may already know that I went to a trip to London two weeks ago, and as a beauty addict and blogger I HAD to visit Boots, which was a heaven on earth for many high street brands that I wanted to try for a really long time. I hauled from brands that I can't find here in Greece, and even though I didn't get many stuff I decided to seperate my haul in two parts, one for skin and body products and one for make up and nail products. The first one is going to be about the skin and body products that I bought. Please excuse the photos, I had to use flash this time because the natural light in my house has been terrible this whole week.

Soap & Glory The Breakfast Scrub
Soap & Glory is the brand that I wanted to try the most from the UK, and I got many body stuff from them. I really needed a body scrub because my Sephora one is pretty much useless,I did a research before I leave, about which one from the many body scrubs Soap & Glory has is the most popular one, and I saw that The Breakfast Club is really popular because of its smell, and they were so right. It smells like brown sugar and vanilla, not really a summer scent but oh it's so delicious! The texture is a little bit weird though, it's like a sugar based body scrub but it's very thick and I have to apply it on a really wet skin in order to start melting and being able to work it all over my body, it takes some time and it crubles all over the bath tub but it's worth it, it does a really good job at exfoliating my skin.

Soap & Glory Smoothie Star Deep Moisture Body Milk
OK first of all the bottle is huge! You get half a litre of body lotion for the price you get half a Body Shop Body Butter here, I'm just saying. It's a very good body milk without being heavy at all, and the smell is pure heaven, it smells like a vanilla milkshake, and it's not a strong smell at all  Now that I'm thinking about it I should have gotten a second bottle.

Soap & Glory Clean,Girls Skin Softening Creamy Body Wash
Also a body wash was something I really wanted to try from Soap & Glory, I got the Clean, Girls just because at that moment I believed it had the best smell of all the ones that I smelled but now that I'm thinking about it I may have been wrong, just because this one has a very unique floral smell. On the bottle it says that it has natural vanilla fruit and orchid extracts, but I can only smell the orchid. It's a light manly scent, which is not bad, I like masculine scents sometimes but not all the time. Of course I'll use it up because it's very creamy and it lathers up really well, but it's not one of my HG body washes.


Soap & Glory Hand Food
This hand cream is one of the most popular products that Soap & Glory has, I got this for my mother because she always love using hand creams, I rarely do. But I decided to try it out, the texture of the cream is really good but I really can't stand the smell! I don't know what it smells exactly but I cannot smell the Shea Butter neither the marshmallow, maybe it's the macadamia oil I don't know but I don't like it and it's really powerful for me, but my mother likes it, so it really depends on your own personal preference.

Soap & Glory Heel Genius Amazing Foot Cream
I also got this foot cream for my mother, but I like it so much that we're going to share this one for sure! The texture of this cream is what made me love it, it's very lightweight but it does a good job and that's what I'm always looking for in a foot cream because I can't stand heavy creams on my feet. It doesn't have a powerful smell but I still can't really tell what it smells like exactly. 


Batiste Dry Shampoo Coconut & Exotic Tropical
I can't say much really about this dry shampoo because I haven't try it yet, I only wish it will be a good one. So far I've only smelled it and it smells very coconuty, very summerish, I hope the scent doesn't make me nauseous.

St. Ives Invigorating Apricot Scrub
An Apricot scrub by St.Ives was in my wishlist for many years! I decided to try the Invigorating one because it's oil free, and I guess that it's perfect for oily skintypes. So far I've only tried it once, and my first impression is that I really like it, it has the same texture with my HG face scrub, Korres Pomegranate, only slightly drier, the Korres one is more creamy, so I need to really wet my face before I start exfoliating it. It left my skin very soft, exactly like the Korres one does, my only complaint is the smell. It's really strong and I can't smell the apricot at all, but I can smell alcohol which is not very good.

Nivea Lip Butters in Original and Caramel Cream
Since these Lip Butters were released I wanted to try them like crazy. I love the classic Nivea Lip Care, it's called Liposan in Greece, it's my HG because it's very creamy. These Lip Butters comparable to the Lip Care ones, are more thick but still very moisturizing, and the taste of the Caramel Cream one is amazing! What really surprised me is that you get 19 ml of product for only 2.5 euros, while the Lip Care is only 5 ml for the same price, which is crazy!! For sure these tins will last me forever!



So that's it for the first part of my London haul, the second part with all the make up stuff that I got will be up in a few days! Let me know if you've tried any of the products that I mentioned, and if you like them or not. I really wanna know!





Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Empties - Products I've Used Up #2

It's been so long since I did my last empties post, and I noticed that I gathered too many products within the past 5-6 months so it was about time to do another empties post.
Please excuse the bad light in some of the pictures, when i took them the weather was acting crazy! 


Vichy Eau Thermale Water Spray
I love using mineral water sprays on my face especially at summer time and when my face has some kind of irritation, burning sensation or itchyness. Vichy's water spray is a typical mineral water like most of the ones I've tried, but my favorite so far is Avene's, because I actually saw a difference on my face when it's irritated. One thing I don't like about the Vichy one is that it sprays all over my clothes except my face, they sould fix the spray in my opinion.

Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends Shampoo
I never thought I would even mention a shampoo in my blog, ever, and that's because all of the shampoos I've tried irritated my scalp after a while. But this one not only it hasn't irritate me so far, but I actually finished a whole bottle and also I'm almost done with my second one! It's the perfect shampoo for those who have long hair because it leaves it super soft without weight it down. One more positive thing is that is OK for oily scalps, most shampoos that are not targeted for oily scalps make my hair greasy within a day, but I never had this problem with this one. For me it's definitely a keeper!



 The Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream
This has been my HG moisturizer for almost half a year now, I seriously love it so much that I'm almost done with the second one that I got in January. It's perfect for oily skintypes, it hasn't break me out and I'm very acne prone when it comes to moisturizers. I'm not planning to change this moisturizer in the near future, right now for me this is perfect!

Sephora Waterproof Eye Make Up Remover
I've already talked about this eye make up remover and how I think this one is better than other duo phase eye make up removers. It doesn't stink my eyes, which is a huge plus for me since I have sensitive eyes, and it removes mascara and eyeliner very easy. I will continue repurchase this one!

Sephora Triple Action Cleansing Water
I got this micellar water long ago in a mini bottle just to try it out. The only thing I like about this one is the smell and the fact that it doesn't make my face oily afterwards. But it irritates my skin, especially my cheekbones and I cannot use it for 3 days straight. There are way better micellar waters outthere like La Roche Posay's Physiological and Vichy's Eau Thermale, both perfect for sensitive skintones.



John Frieda Frizz - Ease Extra Strength Serum
Before I found out about Sunsilk's Perfect Straight leave in cream this serum was the only one I was using before I blow dry my hair, it really manages the frizzyness and straightens hair super quick and easy. But it's way too expensive here, it costs 14 euros for only 50 ml of product, and I find that Sunsilk's Perfect Straight Leave In cream ( the purple one) does the same, maybe even better, job with only 3 euros for 150 ml of product. As you can see Sunsilk is definitely the winner in this battle, so I won't repurchase the Frizz Ease serum in the future.

Korres Olive Stones Deep Cleansing Scrub
This scrub along with the Pomegranate, also from Korres, are the best face scrubs I've ever tried so far, and I've tried lots of them. It smells amazing, like summer,  and the olive stones do an excellent job at exfoliating my skin without irritating it. If you like non salicylic acid scrubs you should try this one, it's superb!

Korres Pomegranate Cleansing Mask
This is a great cleansing mask for oily skintypes, way better than others I've tried. It cleanses the skin without drying it out, and I really saw a difference on my nose pores. Like the rest products from the Korres Pomegranate line, it smells amazing! In my opinion, you should try at least one product from the Pomegranate line just for the smell!


Mac Pro Longwear Foundation
I don't know how many times I've already mention this foundation, last time it was in my April favorites. This is my old one, now I'm using the new bottle I got a few months ago, and I've already used almost half of it. Best long lasting foundation in the market and it doesn't break me out. I'll definitely repurchase it in the future.

Escada Taj Sunset Fragrance
I love Escada's summer limited edition fragrances, every year they release a new one, Taj Sunset was released 2 years ago, and I really loved it. It's super fruity and summerish, and if you like that kind of scents for the summertime you should check out Escada fragrances. I'm pretty sure I'll get the new Cherry Blossom one really soon, it smells amazing!

L'oreal Mega Volume Collagene 24H mascara
This is propably the best mascara I've ever used for years and certaintly the best mascara that L'oreal has right now.  It makes my lashes super long and voluminous, but the best part is how soft it feels, it has a consistency that feels like mousse, perfect for those who have sensitive eyes. Most mascaras by the end of the day make my eyes watery and itchy, this one never did that. I only wish it was less expensive, but I'm definetely planning to repurchase it in the future.




So these were the empties I managed to collect these past few months, I hope my next empties post will be sooner than this one was. Let me know if you've tried any of the products that I mentioned above, and if you like them or not.


Monday, May 6, 2013

April Favorites.

I know it's been too long since my last post, and I'm a little late for posting my April faves now, but I wasn't in the mood for blogging with the Easter holidays and stuff, but now I'm back. I hope you all had a great Easter, for those who celebrated Easter yesterday of course! Oh and please excuse some of the bad pics, when I took them the light was so bad, and it was changing all the time!


Clinique Even Better and Mac ProLongwear foundations
I've mentioned these two foundations so many times in my blog already, but lately I decided not to use them individually, instead I mix these two together and that creates the best foundation EVER!
The Even Better foundation I find it to be too beige-grey sometimes and not super long lasting like the Mac ProLongwear, and the ProLongwear is too yellow on it's own and a little bit drying. So mixing them together I create the perfect beige-yellow shade that it's so much flattering for my skintone and the lasting power is superb!


Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soft Matte Bronzer
This is not only an April favorite but an all year round favorite, but for some reason I rarely mention it. This is the best bronzer I've ever used, and even though I always like to try different ones I always come back to this, because of the color and the texture. The brown shade it has it's not orangey or peachy, it's a warm brown perfect for skintones around NC20 and NC30. And the texure is just great, smooth and matte, and stays on all day. One more plus is that this compact is HUGE, it's 21 grams, double the size of most bronzers, I have it for 4 years and it's still going!


Shu Uemura Glow On Blush in P Peach 47
This is one of the very few Shu Uemura products I own, it was given to me as a gift many years ago, and I'm not so sure if they make it anymore. It's one of the prettiest peachy blushes I've ever owned, it's not a peachy orange shade but more of an apricot peachy one and it's super super soft! If you can get hold of it, please get it, it's amazing!


Essence I'm Sailing Lipstick
This is propably my most favorite Essence product I own, and the best lipstick Essence has ever released! The texture is identical to a Mac Lustre, and the color is so beautiful and peachy, and not so easy to find even at high end brands. But of course it was a limited edition shade 2 summers ago with the 50's Girls Reloaded collection, the good part is that I bought a back up!


Korres Mango Lip Butter
I love Korres Lip Butters, they have a unique glossy but balmy texture that it's not sticky and moisturizes my lips very well. Mango is propably my favorite shade from the whole range, but not my favorite taste because I hate mangoes. It's a true coral shade, perfect for summertime when you only want to wear some lip balm on your lips and nothing else.


L'oreal Elvive Total Repair 5 Conditioner
I never mention conditioners or shampoos in my monthly favorites because my hair's so weird and I change them all the time, because most of the times I can't even notice any difference on my hair. But this conditioner is seriously very good, it leaves my hair smooth and frizz free without making them feal heavy, even at the second day. And if you blow dry your hair you'll notice a huge difference on how easily you can straighten it!




Non Beauty Favorites

Well I didn't have a lot of non beauty favorites in April but there are a few songs that I want to share with you that I really enjoy and cannot stop listening to them!



Daft Punk - Get Lucky



Ciara - Body Party



Drake - Girls Love Beyonce (feat. James Fauntleroy)





I hope you liked my favorites for the month of April, see you in my next post really soon!