Top 13 Favourites of 2013.

 It's the last day of the year 2013, and what a better post to write than my top 13 favourite products of the year that is about to end in a few hours! You've may seen already these products many times in previous posts but that's the whole point of this post anyway, to write about the products that I've used and loved the most this year. So let's start!

 The highlight of the beauty products that I've tried this year has to be the skincare ones, because I experimented more with my skincare routine this year and I found some really good products that I love using this period. I changed the cleanser that I was using for many many years non stop, to the Apivita Creamy Face & Eye Foam Cleanser with Olive and Lavender. My skin now is not how it used be a few years ago, the continuous use of harsh cleansers dehydrated my skin a lot, so I had to change it. This one from Apivita is the best for those who have oily but dehydrated skin, you should definetely check it out! A moisturizer that I really love and purchased twice within a few months is the Frezyderm Moisturizing 24H Hydrating Cream, this one also helped a lot with the dehydration of my skin, it's not very  lightweight but it also doesn't leave a heavy feeling on my face. One more thing  is that it never broke me out and I have a bad history with break outs from various moisturizers, so this one is definitely one of the best moisturizers that I've tried so far. One more moisturizer that I really love, this time a little heavier and more appropriate for the nightime, is the Burt's Bees Sensitive Night Cream. It can be a little heavy underneath foundation, but it doesn't leave my skin feeling oily, so it's comfortable enough for the nightime, also it never broke me out and it's really good for those who are sensitive to perfumes.

My top foundation of the year hasn't really changed at all since last year, it's still the Mac Pro Longwear! I just love this foundation, it's long lasting and the coverage it provides it's really good. I like trying new foundations every once in a while but this one will always be my top one, you can read a full review about it here. My top beauty discovery of the year has to be this blush from Seventeen, the Cafe Au Lait Silky Matte Blusher. I've completely stopped using any of the bronzers that I own and I've been using only this one since last summer. I don't think I've ever used a better shade of bronzer before, it's a warm brown shade without any red undertones, it's also very longlasting and the texture is very velvety, I just couldn't find a better bronzer for sure!

 The Stila In The Know eyeshadow palette is also one of my best beauty discoveries of the year, an eyeshadow palette with only matte neutral eyeshadows. They have amazing quality and pigmentation, I wouldn't expect anything less from Stila, they know how to make amazing eyehadows! I've already done a full review about it here, check it out!

Even though  I included 2 blushes in my top 13 favourites, I'm gonna cheat and count them as one product. Essence's Silky Touch Blushes completely changed my mind about cheap blushes, I even think that they're better than my Mac ones, they have amazing texture and pigmentation. The ones that I love the most are the Secret it-Girl, a true peach shade, and Sweetheart, a light neutral pink. This year also I decided to try some of the Real Techniques face brushes, and they're definitely the best brushes that I've tried so far, especially the Blush Brush which I love using it to apply my bronzer and blushes, I'll definitely need a second one, really soon.

The lipgloss that completely blew my mind this year is the NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Beige! I'm not a lipgloss person, and even though I own many I rarely wear them, but this one from NYX is my weakness, I keep reaching for it and it's always in my make up bag whenever I go out. It's a medium pink that goes with every single look that I do, and the texture is very silky without being sticky but in the same time it's not watery, it has just the perfect texture for a lipgloss. A lipstick that I used a lot last spring and summer is the Dior Addict lipstick in Delice, it's a medium sheer coral-peachy shade, it's so easy to use it like a lipbalm, and that's the main reason why I love the Dior Addict lipsticks.

When it comes to nails, the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top Coat is definitely my baby and I just can't live without it! It dries my nail varnishes within a few minutes and it's way better than the famous Seche Vite which is very thick and hard to work with. The Insta-Dri does the exact same job as the Seche Vite but it's very lightweight and not sticky at all.  The perfume that I literally wore the whole year is the Vera Wang Princess, it has a light everyday scent that I love wearing all the time. If you like light scented perfumes, you should check this one for sure.

And I left the last favourite of the year for the haircare, the Sunsilk Nourishing Oil Spray for dry hair, which is propably the best product I've used on my hair this year. It's the perfect detangler, it makes my hair super soft super soft without weighting it down, I've tried many leave in conditioners but they never worked as good as this one.

So those were my top 13 products for the year that is about to end. Have you tried any of them? Let me know what were your favourite beauty products of 2013. I hope you'll have an amazing New Year's Eve, I'll see you next year my lovelies!

London Haul Part 2

This is the second part of my London haul, there are all the make up and nail stuff that I got while I was there. I bought mainly face products, I wish I had gotten more, but some of the things that I wanted were sold out from every single Boots store I visited.

Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation and Pressed Powder

I was lemming these two products since they were first released and I knew that I had to buy them while I was in the UK. They cost only 7 pounds each, comparable to Revlon's prices here that's a steal.

 I've tried them both together, twice, and I have to say that I'm seriously impressed! The foundation is very lightweight, and it provides a light to medium coverage. I got the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum because I thought it would be the same type of foundation but actually it's not. It gives more coverage than the Revlon one and it becomes more oily throught the day. Nearly Naked in my opinion is the perfect summer foundation, it lets your skin breath but at the same time it gives you a better coverage than a tinted moisturizer or a BB cream that most of us like to use at summertime. My only wish right now, is for the foundation not to break me out, because I'll be very dissapointed. I got the shade 130 Shell and it's the perfect match for my NC20-25 skintone.

The powder is very fine milled and it doesn't give that really matte look, it has more of a satin texture and I can still see a soft dewiness on my skin, especially on my cheeks. I got the shade 020 Light, but as you can see it's a little dark, darker than the color of the foundation, it's not very visible on my skin, but I'll have to wear it on its own to see if it gives any color at all.

Natural Collection blush in Peach Melba

I read so many good reviews about this blush and I was very curious to try it, since it's very cheap. It's actually a warm pink shade, I can't see any peach in it.The texture is so soft and velvety, when I apply it on my cheeks it's like it melts on my skin, it is also quite pigmented. I think it's the most versalite neutral blush, that everyone can wear with anything.  

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent

This powder is on of Rimmel's most famous products, and I had to try it! The pressed powder I love using is Mac's Blot, but I recently hit pan so it was a good opportunity to try this one from Rimmel and see if it's comparable to Mac's powder. I've only tried it once and I still can't tell if I like it or not, I noticed that it made my skin a little cakey, and I don't have that problem with my Blot powder. But I have to test it a few more times to be certain.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light

This concealer is so famous in the UK and also very cheap, and to be honest the price was the main reason that made me buy it because I already have too many concealers in my collection. I've tried it once so far, and I noticed that it's very drying, I have to use an eye cream before I use it under my eyes for sure, but it's very longlasting. I haven't tested it on pimples and scars yet, but I'm very curious to see if it works for them since it's very hard for me to find a concealer that will actually last a long time, most of them dissapear within a few hours.

Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Khol Pencil in Nude

I was looking for a nude khol eye pencil for a long time, I only knew Topaz Kajal from Stila but I didn't want to pay 15 euros for an eye pencil, and when Rimmel released these new eye khols I noticed that they released a nude one, I thought it was a good oppurtunity to try one without paying all that money. Until now I've been using my Korres white eye khol for my waterline, and it works really good. I quite often have eye allergies and my eyes turn red, that makes my eye make up look terrible everytime, so the Korres white khol really saved me. Trying a nude colored pencil was a little strange for me since I didn't know if it's going to help with my problem, I've tried it 3 times and so far and I'm really impressed! It doesn't brighten as good as the white one but it looks way more natural, and I noticed that it stays on for many hours. So far it's a winner!

Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat

I got a back up of my HG fast drying top coat, because I can't get it from Feelunique anymore so I bought a bottle while I was in the UK to last me a few months. It's the best fast drying top coat I've tried so far, way better than my previous favorite, Poshe, and the Seche Vite, because it's not as thick as they are, and it doesn't shrink my nail polish, which was a major problem I had with the Poshe one.

Model's Own Pink Punch

While I was in Boots at the Model's Own stand I notice a new collection with 4 new neon shades, and if you don't already know it, I'm a huge fan of neon nails polishes! Pink Punch was the one that I liked the most from all the shades, it's a such a gorgeous neon pink coral shade, perfect for the summer!

Rimmel I love Lasting Finish nail polish in Orange Your Life

Rimmel has such a great variety of nail polish shades, but I told to myself that I was going to buy only one, and it was so hard for me to choose only one, but this color was the first one I noticed from all their shades, and I trust my instinct. If you're familiar with OPI's Cajun Shrimp, Orange Your Life is very similar to it, a little more on the orange side but still on the coral red family. I really really love it, I wear it on my nails right now and i can't stop staring at it!

I hope you liked the make up stuff that I got from London, I know they're not much because I tried to limit myself, but I really like everything that I got and I'm very happy with them. 

As for my Greek ladies, stay tuned because I've planned a small giveaway with some UK goodies just for you.

March Favorites.

Yep it's official, March is over, and I was thinking what should I include in my monthly favorites this time, and honestly it was so hard for me to find products to show you because I didn't have that many favorites this past month! So you will only see six products this time, but for sure these six are the ones that I really enjoyed using within March. So let's begin!

La Roche Posay Physiological Micellar Solution

I only got this a few weeks ago but it became my favorite already! Its formula is very similar to my other HG, Vichy's Purete Thermal Micellar Lotion. I think it's perfect for oily skintypes like mine, whenever I use this to remove my face make up there's no need to cleanse my face right afterwards, because it doesn't leave my skin sticky, like the Vichy one does. I think it's the perfect micellar lotion for the summertime!

The Body Shop Shea Body Butter

Shea Body Butter from The Body Shop was actually the first body butter I've ever tried from them when I was still a teenager, and many years after it's still my favorite scent from all the ones I've tried. It has a warm buttery scent, that sometimes makes you want to eat it, and not that vanilla-buttery scent but more of a nutty-buttery one, which is mush better because it's more mature and less nauseous. I opened the jar at the beginning of March and I've already used 1/3 of it. I seriously love it, even though it's very thick, I don't mind that!

Urban Decay Buck Eyeshadow

Buck it has become my HG crease eyeshadow, it totally replaced my love for Mac Cork. Buck is a little darker and warmer, and goes well with all my neutral eye looks. This and Smog are definetely the only eyeshadows I'll definetely purchase in full sizes when I'll hit pan on my Naked palette.

Foltene Eyelash and Eyebrow Treatment

This product is a pure miracle! I noticed the good results even only one month of using it. My eyebrows look definetely fuller, and it fixed my problematic left eyebrow, which has always been the weakest one, now it looks way more fuller and I cannot tell a difference between my left and right brow. Love it!

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 02 Apricot Shimmer

I never thought that I would ever include this product in one of my monthly favorites, and that's because when I bought it last year I immediately hated it! I didn't like it at all, I thought it was sticky and nothing too special! I don't know what got into me and when I saw it in my make up stash I decided to give it a second chance. I was using it for a few days until I decided that I really like it, and now I can't stop using it. Most of the times I use it alone with a neutral pink lipliner. But I'm not sure if I'll repurchase it again because it's very expensive!

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat

This has totally replaced the fast drying top coat I was using from Poshe. It does the exact same job as the Poshe one, but it's thinner and also doesn't shrink my nail varnishes. I'll definitely repurchase it but only if I'll be able to find it in a reasonable price here in Greece. 

Non Beauty Favorites

Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience

This is my only non beauty favorite for this month. I love Justin Timberlake's songs since I was a teenager, and I was waiting for him to release a new album for seven whole years! Overall I don't think this is his best album so far, but it definitely has a more mature sound and  I really love 3 songs from it, the Tunnel Vision, Don't Hold The Wall and Mirrors, I can't stop listening to them for days!

I hope you enjoyed my monthly favorites this time, even though they were only a few!
Have you tried any of them? Do you like Justin Timberlake's new album?
Let me know!

Collective Drugstore Haul (Bourjois, Essence, Maybelline, La Roche Posay, Avene, etc)

It's been a while since I did a haul post , and that's because I was hauling only one or two things weekly in the past month and I was waiting untill I saw you all the things I got in one post. They're mostly drugstore stuff I got from various places, so let's start!

Avene Cleanance Gel cleanser
I've mentioned many times that this cleanser is my number one essential, it's the only gel cleanser I use for almost 15 years, and I buy one every 4 months. If you have oily and acne prone skin please try it sometime, it's amazing!

La Roche Posay Physiological Micellar Solution
A month ago I did a review about my HG micellar lotion, Vichy's Purete Thermale, and even though it's been my favorite so far, I always have this urge to try new things when it comes to beauty, and La Roche Posay's Physiological Micellar Solution was in my wishlist for a long time, so I decided to get the small bottle to try it out. I've only tried it twice and I actually really like it! It doesn't irritate my skin at all, and it leaves my skin matte, which actually Vichy's doesn't. I always use a cleansing gel after I take my make up off with a micellar solution because it leaves a sticky feeling on my face, but I could just easily use only the Physiological solution if I'm in a hurry, without having to cleanse my face twice, it's that good!

Sephora Waterproof Eye Make Up Remover
It's one of the best two phase eye make removers I've ever tried, and whenever I find it in a good deal I always grab one because it's a little more expensive than the drugstore one I use. It removes mascara very good without any effort at all, and it doesn't irritate my eyes which is very important to me because I have sensitive eyes.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation
This is a foundation I've been wanting to try for a long time, and when they had a 20% off deal at Bourjois I decided to get it. I've been reading mixed reviews about it, people with oily skin either love it or hate it. I've tried it 2 times so far and my first impression is that it's a very good light to medium coverage everyday foundation that actually lasts on my skin without dissapearing within a few hours. My main problem with light coverage foundations is that within 4 hours it looks like I haven't put any foundation on my face at all, I didn't have that issue with this one though. Yes it gets a little oily around my nose and I may need to blot my face more frequently but I don't mind that, I have oily skin and I've learnt to live with that! The coverage is not super light, is more light to medium and i didn't expect that, I thought it would cover less and I'm surprised of how good it covers some of my redness and red spots. The ultimate test is whether it will break me out or not, that's why I have to try it for at least a month to be sure.

Maybelline Color Sensational Vivid lipstick in Electric Orange
The Vivid line just released in Greece and I really wanted to try one, the 2 euros off promo also helped! I wasn't sure which one to get, I wanted the Shocking Coral but when i swatched it on my hand it looked so pink so I got for the Electric Orange instead, which looked like an awesome color to wear at summertime. But OMG it is so neon, I'm really shocked with myself for getting that color! When I first tried it on my lips I was like "there's no way I can wear this color in public", it took me a few tries to figure out how exactly to wear it and I finally found a way! I first apply some Liposan (Nivea or Labello at other countries), then I line my lips with a soft peachy coral lipliner, I use the Essence 09 Nude Coral Lipiner, and then I just pat the lipstick lightly on my upper lips then I pressed my lips together so the lipstick will transfer to my lower lips too, that way it creates a beautiful bright peach shade on my lips, which is much more flattering than the bright orange.

Essense Match Cover Cream Concealer
A new concealer in the Essence permanent line, and even though it comes only in one color combination I really wanted to try it. When I swatched it on my hand I found it was super creamy and that is the reason that made me buy it in the first place. Coverage - wise though this concealer is very week, it's not for those who have problem with dark circles like me, but I'll continue using it. I like to blend both colors with my fingertips, because the light one is too light and the darker one is exactly the same color with my skin.

Essence 3D Eyeshadow in Irresistible Chocolates
These 3D duo eyeshadows are new in the Essence permanent line, and while I was browsing the colors, this shade was the one that caught my eye! I still haven't used it on my eyes, but from the swatch on my hand the lighter one is like a warm beige taupe shade and the darker one is a grey-khaki one, I hope it will look good on my eyes!

Foltene Eyelash and Eyebrow Treatment
I ordered this from Feelunique one month ago and since then I've been using it every single day. I got it for my eyebrows because they're so thin, and I read the best reviews about this treatment. I don't know if one month is too early to notice any results but I there's a noticable difference on my left eyebrow, which is the most problematic one, it looks more thick and I' very happy with that. Even my mother noticed it so I think this product is a win-win!

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat
I also ordered this one from Feelunique because I don't think it's available here in Greece. I was in desperate need for a quick drying top coat because my Poshe became really thick and I find annoying the fact that it shrinks my nail polishes a lot! I'm really happy that I got the Insta-Dri because it's amazing, it has a thin texture which I love, it doesn't create bubbles while others I've tried with thin texture did. And the most important thing is that is doesn't shrink my polishes. Too bad Feelunique decided not to ship nail varnishes internationally anymore!



These are the things I hauled the past month. Have you tried any of these? Do you like them?
Let me know!