In and out of this week

In:

• Chanel black pearl nail polish. I caved in. I am sooo late on the bandwagon, but I love that one. 

• Sephora nail patch art. How cute are these? So many patterns to chose from. Easy to apply too. I will report back if these chip within 1 or 2 days. I was reading the reviews and they seem to chip immediatly....
• I am going away to France for a week soon, and i am already overwhelmed from the vast ammount of skincare and beauty products I want! French pharmacies rule! Any suggestions from brands? I want to try Lierac!

Out: Burberry body EDP. I profited from the Sephora sales, and i have no clue what possessed me. Instead of getting the new Valentino, which smells divine by the way... I got this atrocious smelling cheap junk of a perfume. Not only it smells BAD on me, but also on my mother, grandmother, and best friend. So it can't be a chemistry thing...I got sucked in reading the notes (vanilla, and musk) NO! This smells like cheap lemony roses and it smells very cheap and sour. Do not get it! Picture not included, as i threw that horror. I didn't give it to any of my friends.

That's it for me! What are your ins and outs?

Skincare haul

I had to stock on on some of my favourite products, basics and also try new ones.

• For all you greek girls out there, don't you just LOVE the Apivita face masks? I am addicted, I admit. I got the apricot scrub and the papaya peel off mask which i both use every 2 weeks. Bonus, in some pharmacies you get a free undereye mask with rose for 2 purchases.
• Nuxe- Reve de miel lip balm in a jar. First time i use this, i like it...the scent is refreshing but it's matte on the lips, no cute glossy effect. So I use it before bedtime.
• I am really stocked to try the Nuxe teint eclat prodigieux, tinted moisturizer I got some samples from. I hope this will not irritate my skin, since it's heavily fragranced.
• Avene- cleanance face mask- Great for oily skin. A staple for me.
• Darphin- Gel lissant defatigant yeux. First time trying this product, we will see how it goes...I am on the haunt for the perfect eye cream. I was stuck between Liercac, Neostrata, Avene and this one. I will report back! (I have undereye puffiness :-( )
• Vichy Normaderm face wash. I was out of my Apivita one ( for oily skin) which i quite liked, but i wanted to try something new. I will report back! 
• Avene- thermal water. I use this every single day, when i wash my face, after the gym, when i want to feel refreshed, after shaving...but never to set my makeup. It's water, means it will dissolve it. I love it as it soothes the skin. It's a must for me.

What skincare items are your staples and what is your favourite eye cream?

xoxo

MAC disappoints

I bought MAC Hyperviolet paintpot (limited edition) on a whim at the MAC counter, without consulting temptalia, makeupalley and blogs first, what a shame. Now I'm stuck with a product far from great...I wanted something dark and vampy for my eyes, to go along with MAC Media lipstick so i purchased...but sadly:

• The consistency is quite dry.
• It goes on patchy and streaky.
• It looks more like an off-black than a purple, even a dark purple.
• Used as a liner it's just mediocre.
• It looks way too matte, and makes my eyelids look dry.

(Tip: If you own this product and do not like it, try adding some shimmery eyeshadow over the top, it looks more presentable)

Presented here: swatched lightly, and packed on heavily.

Which product disappointed you lately?

Can you tell i am obsessed with Shellac yet? I present you the shade Fedora, probably my ultimate favourite!

Have a nice weekend!

New year, new hair!

First and foremost, I want to wish everyone a happy new year filled with happiness and health. With that said, I took a decision and chopped my hair off! All the damage my hair suffered from the summer and dying my hair ombre, made me start fresh. I always used to say that I will NEVER cut my hair, that I will keep it long for the rest of my life, but never say never, right? I needed a change and voila the results...(Please excuse the poor quality webcam pictures and the shiny face...)

(Karma necklace from dogeared. Addicted to it!)

Since my hair is curly and i need to straighten it most of the time to maintain it looking sleek, I will do a separate post including which products I use and what helps to combat the curls and frizzyness. 

Here are some pictures that inspired me and that I want to experiment with this year, the colours, the cut...I can say i am addicted to bobs now, even though it is extremely high maintenance if your hair isn't pin straight!

If you fancied a change, what would you do to your hair? 

This week's makeup bag

Essentials that made it through this week's makeup bag.

• Book by Celine, very depressing. However i recommend it, the writting style is phenomenal.
• Prada Candy. Vanilla,musk and caramel, how lovely! It's an amazing scent for layering, its not overly sweet and strong but it goes very well with my body chemistry (I love to layer it over Benefit Carmella). You should give this one a try! If you do not like sweet scents, i would urge you to smell the new scent from BVLGARI jasmin noir, its an amazing musky sensual floral.
• MAC makeup bag
• Korres cherry lip gloss in light purple- I am not a lipgloss person but these are amazing, so smoothe non sticky and moisturizing. This shade is fantastic too, a very light natural pink.
• H&M black studs (came in a pack of 3, but these are my favourites)
• YSL #7 Lingerie Pink- This one is a gift, and I usually shy away from blue based pinks but I am starting to dig baby pink lips for some reason...
• MAC travel size #129 brush- Kinda scratchy but i use it anyway. 
• Clinique pressed powder i use with a MAC puff to blot away the excess oils on my face during the day.
• Bourjois delice de poudre bronzing powder #52, I use this as a blush and for contour, love the coconutty smell!
• MAC technakohl liner in Graphblack- Trying to use it up for B2M, a bit hard to work with but at least it doesnt smudge easily.

What are your beauty essentials this week?

Under eye puffiness & DIY

After watching the latest video of Lisa Eldridge concerning undereye bags and puffiness (here is the video in question), i got inspired to make my own ice cubes to reduce the puffy effect under the eyes i have when i wake up. I am really wanting the Anne Semonin eye cubes that Lisa showed in the video! All i needed was some organic green tea, vitamin E oil and voila!

These are some of my favourite products for the under eye area, i am addicted to eye creams lately, i want to try everything on the market!

• Garnier Caffeine Anti-dark circles tinted eye roll (LOVE this stuff!)
• Mey Techno-Eye gel. This was quite expensive, i believe 50 or 60 euros and recommended by the dermatologist. I store it in the fridge for a cooling effect and it works nice but next time i want to try Clinique.
• Green tea ice cubes with vitamin E.

What is your favourite under eye treatment or cream? 

Shellac love & Back into the groove of things (+update)

How are all my lovely bloggers? I am excited to be back and extremely stocked to see that lollipop26 and Tali are back into the blogging world!
I want to share my latest nail obsession, shellac. Expensive but oh so worthy to me (30 euros, gasp!). I don't even care about the new nail polish releases anymore. I for one, am a creature of habit. I don't mind having the same colour on my nails for a month and more as long as it looks clean, shiny and it doesn't chip. Shellac gives me all that. I only attempted dark colours on my nails like these:


Asphalt 

Masquerade

I also had rock royalty done, i forgot to take pictures sadly, but it's an amazing aubergine colour. My next one will be Fedora, a dark brown almost black vampy colour.

What is on your nails lately? Tell me your shellac experiences!

Hair update: After a failed attempt at ombre hair, i cut my hair into a bob. It is extremely hard to style curly hair when it's short and curly so i have to straighten it all the time. I loved my long hair, but the hairdresser ruined it so the only way to start fresh was to cut it.

Expect more posts from me soon!
Much love,
Elly xoxo