I GOT (another) HUGE GIFT!!!

A few months ago I wrote a post about a lovely parcel I received from my friend Usi . Later in that same month (i think) she sent me one Glossybox from germany. Lately we were talking about beauty products (as usual :P) and since she knows that I can never find skin care and foundation appropriate for my skin she suggested me the foundation from P2 company since she likes it so much. So she offered to send me this foundation since it's only available in Germany. When I received the parcel I was literally with my mouth open. She sent me SO MANY CUTE STUFF!!!! I still cannot believe it! I would like to show you what I got :)

1: p2 Fell Natural Makeup in shades 1,2,3,4
Since you don't know my friend personally, I'll have you know that she is very organized and when she does something she wants to do it right! So since she didn't know which exactly of the 4 shades of the foundation would match me, she just sent ALL 4 of them!!! I tried today no.3 and no.4 as a contour but the result was a bit too dark for me so I think my color is no.2. Will test it more and I will let you know what i think.

2: p2 Spectacular Volume Mascara in shade 010 "Spectacular Black"
Really excited to try this. I always use mascaras that give volume and not length because I have very long lashes but they are blonde and very sparse! :)

3: p2 Cheeks + Lips, cream blush in shade 020 "Fancy Snow White"
I LOVE the concept of cream blush because sometimes my skin gets so dry that I don't want to use ANY type of powder product (because my skin hurts and looks patchy) so I like to use cream products. I still love my Cheeks and Lips stain from Kryolan, from the Glossybox she sent me. Also, the color looks very good match for my skin color.

4: dm Ebelin Professional beauty blender
When I saw this beauty blender it felt REALLY weird because everyone knows that I use brush to apply foundation but secretly I was looking to buy a blender like this because I see on other people that it works really well. How did she know???? It's like she was in my mind!

5: p2 necklace
This was soooooo cute! The second thing I love after makeup is accessories. I also LOVE pink. So a necklace with pink ribbon looks totally adorable to me!

6: p2 Lipsticks
In the silver tube: p2 Pure Color lipstick in shade 043 "Pont Neuf":
A simply gorgeous pinky nude creamy color, rich in color and texture. You can't go wrong with pinky nude!
In the red tube: p2 Sheer Glam lipstick in 011 "French Kiss":
A sheer pinky red with glossy finish. It's the type of lipstick that the first application looks soft and sheer like a balm and you can build it up.

Here is a close look of the lipsticks (swatches of them and the foundations when I do my review :) )

These were all gorgeous and it's so kind of her to send me all these things but if you think that that is all you are terribly mistaken!

She knew that I wanted to buy brushes from Essence, the problem is that they are rare to find here because they bring very limited number so you can't find them easily. I had luck to find them in Greece but that didn't stop her from sending me 2 more: a blush and a powder brush, which is more than fine because I use different products everyday, depending on how my skin is (the joy of having weird skin :) ) so when I don't have time to clean my brushes I will not mix different products together :D.

Almost done with makeup, hihi.

Dior Addict Gloss in 643 "Diablotine"

It's very hard to pick the exact color on camera so I will try to explain. It is a coral almost going red with fine gold glitter and I can't wait to try it out. I had tried Chanel glosses when I had a person from my family working at Chanel, I have tried Lancaster (for the exact reason) but I never tried a Dior gloss before! Actually I haven't tried a Dior product except mascara I think! So this is really great! <3 I love it!

She also sent me samples of 2 YSL lipsticks but I will swatch them in another post and after I know which lipsticks they are exactly :D hihi.

1: Beauty Friends Vitamin Essence Mask
I find cute that the name is "beauty friends" because we talk all the time about beauty and products and stuff related to beauty so it's kind of what we are, beauty friends. :D Never tried this type of mask with an actual mask that has product on it because I can't find a good one. But since this is made in Korea and they are known that their skin care products are the bomb, I'm sure I'm gonna love it!

2: Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream
I wanted to try this cream (only tried it once on my lips for a makeup course) because my skin is always suffering from dehydration so this will be so good for it!

3: Anny nail polish in 389 "blue hour in town"
I've seen this brand in some blogs, never tried it before. Lovely light blue color!

Are you tired yet? Because we are not even close to the end...

As I said many times, I always struggle to find skin care products that will not irritate my face, break it out or make it dry and patchy. So what is better than some special sized products of Clinique? 

1: Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 15

2: All About Eyes, eye cream

3: Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+

I can't even explain how happy and excited I am to get these because they are a decent size to try them for a few days and I hope they will be good for me because I am tired of trying moisturizers and eye creams that don't fit my skin :( I will of course let you know what I think and how they worked for me!

My friend has also a sensitive skin and the Biotherm Pure-fect Skin products made her happy. So she sent me these with the hope that they will work for me too :) Also very nice size to try out. Shame that the biggest cosmetics store in Athens never have samples. I can never buy a skin care product without trying it first.

1: Pure-fect Skin, micro-exfoliating purifying toner

2: Pure-fect Skin, anti-shine purifying cleansing gel

3: Eau Oceane, eau de toilette

4: Pure-fect Skin, pure skin effect hydrating gel

Can't wait to try them out!!!!

1: Lancaster Sun Beauty, Infrared Technology, Silky Milk

2: Lancaster After Sun, Tan Maximizer

I have tried Lancaster's makeup before but I don't think I tried their skin care or sun protecting products. Not really a chance to try them this year since in Romania it's already too cold but will try them the next summer :D

Come on you really thought that we are done???

Victor & Rolf Flowerbomb: 

One of my all time favorite perfumes! I have a miniature of it now!!! How cool is that?

My third favorite products (after makeup and accessories), perfumes! She sent me many many perfume samples :)

1: Thomas Sabo's "Glam 'N Soul"

Addictive lychee, pink pepper, juicy bergamot, rose accord, waterlilly, pure magnolia, cedarwood, vanilla, creamy musk.

2: Jil Sander's "Eve"

Wild rose, grapefruit flower sublimated by a luxurious cashmere wood.

3: Betty Barclay's "Tender Blossom"

Fruity notes, delicate blossoms and exquisite woods.

4: L by Lolita Lempicka

I love perfumes by Lolita Lempicka! They are always sweet, feminine and mysterious.

5: Issey Miyake's "Pleats Please" Amazing!!!

6: Calvin Klein's "Euphoria"

Exotic fruits, rich black orchid, sensual woods.

7: Eisenberg's "Eau Fraiche"

Bergamot, cardamom, pink pepper, anise, mint ginger, lavender, neroli, precious wood.

But we don't stop here. Besides from very generous, my friend is also very talented at sewing. If you remember I showed you a pouch bag that she had sewn and sent to me back then. I asked her to make me a small makeup bag and a launch bag and she she sewed me the cutest that I've ever seen!

How cute is thaaaaat???? Pink and pretty and very well made. She was kind enough to even add a long strap for me to carry it on the shoulder.

As you can see they were both well made and with cute details inside and out because as I said, when she does something she does it right!

So that is aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the stuff that I received. I am so happy I will try all these products and those 2 cute bags that only I have them because they were made for me - HOW COOL IS THAT????? 

I'd like to thank once more my friend Usi for these gorgeous items! Thank you so much!!!!!! <3

Kay Color hair dye review.

So, as you know I recently changed my hair from bright red to bright pink. And the first step to renew my roots it's to make them light blond. So I went to a "PROFESSIONAL" place with hair dyes to get a platinum blonde hair dye to lighten my roots. She recommended the "Kay Color" in "Luminous Very Light Blonde".

I have used A LOT of platinum blonde colors in the past and even though they didn't give me a quite platinum color, it gave me a really light sort of yellowish blonde that I could neutralize with some violet shampoo. So I used this. The results. My roots are FAR from light blonde. It made my roots and muddy orange HORRIBLE HORRIBLE COLOR that it's not even light enough to cover it with a semi permanent hair dye.

I should call first that store to let them have it that they have totally clueless employees that recommend products that they don't even know if they are good or not and second of all the company.

THIS HAIR DYE IS TOTALLY CRAP and I am very frustrated about the results. Now I will have to wait a month to use another dye with developer in order to not destroy my hair to fix this color. So a month I have to circulate like a clown in the streets with a crappy muddy color on my roots. Not to mention even with coconut oil it damaged my hair REALLY badly and I have really healthy hair. After I washed the dye my hair was totally dry and messed up like hay not to mention I had A LOT of breakage and hair fallout which disappointed me. I was very frustrated but now I am just sad cause it damaged so much my hair.

Shame on the company DO NOT PURCHASE KAY COLOR PRODUCTS!

This products doesn't even get a rate from me it's a ZERO! 

Avon Luxe Eyeliner Review!

Boy oh boy! I haven't done a review (a normal one) in a long time!!! Today I am making a short and to the point review about Avon's liquid eyeliner from the line Luxe.

It looks like above. It gives the impression that is a long tube but it's actually not that long. It comes in 2 colors, black and brown and of course the price varies depending on which country we are talking about and if it's in offer or not. I got mine in black in an offer from around 4.5 euro that is it's normal price to around 2.5 if i remember correctly, I got it a couple of months ago. I wanted a black eyeliner to take with me on vacation because I was sure that I was gonna get bored to remove gel eyeliner at night with make remover and whatnot and this is easily removable with a bit of Dove soap.

Unfortunately it's easily removable in general. It has crappy staying power and even though in the picture the tip of the applicator looks thin and fine it really is not. The applicator is of bad quality and it messes up soon after you use it 2-3 times, even if you use it lightly and carefully. As a result, the application becomes hard and messy since the tip is deformed.
After you apply it you have to wait 2-3 minutes because it WILL run somehow on your nose or cheeks leaving black marks.

Even though Avon presents it as a "luxe" product, it has no quality of a luxe product. Not even of a generic liquid eyeliner.

In my opinion, save your money for something else.

Pros:
- Can't really find any pro in comparison with any other simple liquid eyeliner.

Con:
- Depending on the offer or not, it can be pricey for its quality.
- Of poor quality.
- Not easy to work with.

In a nutshell:
- Did you like this product?
- Can't say that I did.

- Do you recommend it?
- Definitely not.

- Would you repurchase it?
- No way :P

★☆☆☆☆


Photosource:              avon.saglikliform.com

Summer (and Fall, as it seems) Shopping Mania Vol.3 and final: Various Brands

This will be the last post from my summer and early fall beauty purchases. I spent a LOT of money (shhhh don't tell) but I had a hard year (my first year at a university in another country) and I went through a LOT of stress which lead to causing me a lot of health problems throughout the year so I did deserve this shopping therapy (not that i need to have an explanation lol).

Anyway, let me show you the products -from various companies- i will not mini review them as I did at my other 2 posts because I want to make a separate normal review for a few of them. :)

1: Accessories, Camera earrings (around 2 euro)

2: Essence "Smokey Eyes" brush (1.99 euro)

3: Seventeen "Long Lasting Makeup" nr. 02 (around 8 euro)

4: Essence "Nail Color3" Left color "Walk in the park", right color "Stop for ice cream" (gift with purchases"

5 Toyoko Foundation brush (got 2 of them lol) (around 9 euro).

I am a huge lip balm junkie especially because my lips are always dry and I hate if I put a lipstick and cracks will show up on my lips, gross. So i always apply lip balm before i do my makeup.

The lip gloss of the picture is from Deborah Milano company "24 ore Euphoric Shine: nr.4 (gift with other purchace)

In the tin: Nivea Lip Butter: Vanilla & Macadamia (3 euro)

1: Balea young in "Sweet Wonderland" (around 1-2 euro)

2: Dalon Sport: Chocolate (2-3 euro)

3: Dalon Sport: Cherry ( <<)

4: Nivea's Vitamin Shake : Acai & Wild Apple

5: Alverde's Lip Balsam: Vanilla Mandarin 

I also made some swaches for the lip gloss and the balms just to see how they look like. Here is the lip gloss:

And here are the lip balm swatches (in the same order that were displaced in the previous photo):

As you can see the Balea (1) and Alverde (5) don't give any color which is nice.

Dalon's chocolate (2) has a brown color which can look weird if you apply it too much while the cherry (3) one gives a very cute pink color like you just had a popsicle and your lips got tainted :)

The Nivea (4) one has a very subtle color that you don't even observe on the lips. :)

They ALL smell gorgeous!

Last but most certainly NOT least 2 of my favorite purchases. I was very excited to get both of these items and I for sure will make separate reviews for them.

Maybelline's 24 Hour Color Tattoo: nr. 35 On and on Bronze (5 euro)

Such a pretty color!!!

Aaaaaaaand............. 

MARY-LOU MANIZER, highlighter from theBalm cosmetics (sooooooo excited to try this!!!) (around 16 euro)

Doesn't it have the cutest packaging EVER????

And swatch:

nr. 1 is more blended and nr. 2 is swatched with the finger.

So this post wraps up my HUUUUUUUGE summer haul. I am pretty sure that I forgot a few things (hihi) and I also didn't include hair and skin care products or clothing :P

Have you tried any of these products???

Take care!!!

Heliana

Summer Shopping Mania Vol. 2: Essence

I never got around to show you the rest of the stuff I bought in the summer. This is our second volume (yes, there are more :P) and it's about the essence products that I bought.
I love most of the essence products, especially their single eyeshadows, I find them very pigmented and good quality for really good price. So what else could I ask for???
So, let me show you what I bought....

Blush brush (pink/black) and Powder brush (purple/black):
I was really amazed by these brushes. I am very picky when it comes to brushes because I can't stand a scratchy/hard or cheap feeling brush. And let me tell you these are really soft! They don't feel like those cheap brushes at all, they are well made and they do their job really well! I believe their price is around 3.5 or 4 euro each, I can't remember exactly. You should REALLY give these brushes a chance!

I ♥ STAGE eyeshadow base:
Let me tell you about THIS product. It costs around 3 euro right? It is even comparable to Urban Decay's primer potion and I am not even kidding. It's just amazing! It makes the eyeshadows stay all day long and by "all day long" I mean from morning till the night that I removed my makeup. Seriously, BUY IT!

Eyebrow Designer pencil in "04 blonde":
My hair is usually a crazy bright color but my natural hair color is a mousey blonde. Something between grey, brown and gold shades all together blended. I very rarely match my eyebrows to my hair just because I am not that brave to go out with pink eyebrows even thought I would like to pull that off. So, when I do my eyebrows I stick to my natural color. A big part of my eyebrows (like my eyelashes) is not visible because it has blonde hairs so sometimes I really like defining my brows. It is a standard brow pencil. I like that it's not hard at all, I don't have to press again and again to let product on my eyebrows and it also comes with a small brush on the cap so you can brush your brows with. I think the price was around 2 euro.

I also got me some eyeshadows because as I said the single eyeshadows from are probably my favorite products from Essence. I'm sad I didn't buy more than these since their price is ONLY 2 euro :( (hihihi)

From left to right:

nr. 60 "kermit says hello" (shimmer effect): 

I love love LOOOOOOVE this color. It is a shimmery sort of lime green color and I love how it compliments my eye color. It's pretty much beautiful for any eye color.

nr. 35 "party all night" (metallic effect):

It's hard to believe how pigmented and shiny this eyeshadow is. It's hard to find a metallic color that is so rich, they are usually very sheer but this is amazing!

nr. 22 "blockbuster" (matte effect):

I was looking for a matte neutral cream like color and this is a really nice one for a soft natural look, or for a glamorous pin up lid color or even for an under brow highlight. Simple and gorgeous!

That wraps it up! I hope you liked my haul and mini review. I really do suggest you try essence products out if you haven't already, because they are simply gorgeous and SO affordable.

What are your favorite essence products? Do you have any suggestions for product for me to try out? :)

Take care.

Heliana.