My foundation shades

So I thought of making a post with the foundations that I've used so far so that I can have them concentrated in one place as a reference when I review a foundation and maybe help someone that has the same foundation shade with me to know aroung which other foundations (shade-wise) would suit their skin tone. Now this doesn't mean that if 2 people wear the same shade of a specific foundation they wear the same shades for EVERY foundation but it might be helpful for foundations that come in very little shades and have a difference from a shade to the other.

The truth is I haven't tried a whole lot of foundations in my 28 years since I didn't battle with a lot of visible problems so I didn't have the need to try a lot. But I will be trying more foundations and probably make updates of this post once in a while. I will mention any foundations, bb creams or powders that suit my skin and the season that they match my skin.

BB Creams:

Garnier Skin Naturals, Miracle Skin Perfector in Light/Medium (in the summer)

Foundations:

Avon Calming Effects - Ivory (winter)

Catrice BB allround foundation - 002 Rosy Beige (winter)

Catrice BB allround foundation - 003 Nude Beige (summer)

Rimmel Match Perfection - 100 Ivory (winter)

MAC Face and Body Foundation - N2

p2 Illuminating Touch Makeup - 25 Touch of Nude

p2 Feel Natural (01 in winter, 02 when slightly tanned or mix of 01-02, mix of 02+03 summer)

Seventeen (Greek Company) Time Plus - 02

Powders/ Powder Foundations:

Avon Color Trend Powder - Translucent

MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation - NC25 (all seasons)

Seventeen Natural Silky Compact Powder - 08 Beige (summer) 

Merry Christmas! - 100th Post, New Hair AND Makeup Tutorial!

Hello my dears! First I would like to wish you Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Happy Holidays or Happy anything that you celebrate!

I took a breath those last days and rested since I had caught a heavy cold (the charm of Romanian weather) but I wanted to make a post today. I also recorded a makeup tutorial (speed-tutorial basically) without voice over just so anyone can watch it. I also dyed my hair dark lol.

So here is my video and list of products (I know a lot of them might come from companies you don't have access to but you can always improvise with what you have like I do :) )

FACE:
Catrice "BB allround foundation" no. 020 & 030
Rimmel "Wake me up" concealer "Ivory"
Avon Eyeshadow Base (used as a corrector)
Bobbi Brow "Sheer Finish Pressed Powder" no. 07 White
Benefit "Hoola" Bronzing Powder
P2 "Powder and Blush Duo" no. 010 Beaute (from their "Beauty Stories limited edition")
MAC "Mineralize Skin Finish" in "Soft and Gentle"

EYES:
Essence "I <3 Stage" Eyeshadow Base
Maybelline "24hour Color Tattoo" no.35 On and on bronze
Maybelline "24hour Color Tattoo" no.65 Pink gold
Andriana Karembeu "The Flash" no.003 (The fuchsia pigment)
Seventeen Cosmetics "Sparkling Eye Shadow" no. 02 Rose (the rosey copper pigment)
Golden Rose "Terracotta Eyeshadow" no.107 (the berry rose color at the crease)
Leish pigment no. 73 (from ebay, the gold pigment on the inner corner of the eye)
Chanel Eyeshadow in "Premier Or" on the inner corner near tear duct
ArtDeco "Baked Eyeshadow" no.345 on lower lash line (out of the frame)
Essence "All about Nude" eyeshadow palette (cream pink color on crease and lower lash line, sparkling silver under brow and the dark burgundy on the lower lash line at outer corner)
Erre Due "Silky Eye Pencil" no.27 (the gold pencil on water line)
Erre Due "Silky Eye Pencil" no.23 (the light pink pencil on water line)
Manhattan Eyeliner 12.1 (the purple/pink pencil on lash line)
MAC "Fluidline" in Blacktrack
Rimmel "ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl" no.001 Black (upper water line)
Kallos Love "Perfect Volumizing Mascara"

BROWS:
Maybelline "24hour Color Tattoo" no.40 Permanent Taupe

I let the lips free with lip balm!
Enjoy!

Lots of love,
xo Heliana xo

Summer's Berzerk Shopping, Vol. 3 - Catrice (and possible high end dupes)

Hello to everyone! I hope you are doing well. Today I'll show you what I bought in the summer from Catrice cosmetics. I believe Catrice, even though is super affordable is an excellent brand with very good products. I honestly would have bought more stuff if there were more at the store but they are limited at the market in Greece so.... this is what I bought :P

ABSOLUTE NUDE and ABSOLUTE BRIGHT palettes:

As the name suggest, this is a palette of 6 "nude" aka neutral colors. It contains a frosty white with yellow undertone, a champagne, a sort of coppery light brown, a gold-ish beige/brown and two darker browns, one warm and one cool toned. This palette is much better pigmented than the bright one.I believe the price of these palettes are 5.5 or almost 6 euro.

Not sure why this palette is called "Bright" since you can't say that the colors are super bright. There is a frosty white, an almost white yellow, a light frosty champagne that looks white an almost white frosty baby pink, a gray frosty blue and a medium gray. Pigmentation is poorer in this palette. 

Overall, comparing fast the two palettes, the Nude is better as the colors are more pigmented and more blendable and much more wearable, whereas the Bright palette has a bunch of frosts that are not so ideal for daily use plus they swatch harder and they are slightly on the powdery side. Yet if you are fan of frosty colors then the "Bright" palette is definitely made for you.

ABSOLUTE EYE COLOUR:

I bought 4 colors, 3 of them are supposed to be dupes of high end eyeshadows (details lower). Price: 3.19 euro

640, Don't touch my Mosserati:

Medium to dark forest green with shimmer and very fine glitters. No fallout, very blendable, pigmented and vivid. It is claimed by other beauty bloggers/vloggers to be a dupe for MAC's "Humid" eyeshadow.

420, Talk like an Egyptian:

It is simply a gold shimmery color with bigger particles of glitter than the previous, blends easily, it's only a teeny tiny bit less pigmented. Said to be a dupe for Kat Von D's "Galore".

750, New in Brown:

Light champagne/brown color, pigmented and blends nicely. Can be a pretty everyday lid color. 

400, My first Copperware Party:

Nice medium brown with a copper touch, super creamy, blends like a dream, lovely and amazing color! Said to be a very close color to MAC's "Satin Taupe" and Urban Decay's "Toasted".

BB ALLROUND FOUNDATION and Camouflage Cream Concealer:

I am a big fan of the youtuber "Letzmakeup". I generally don't buy products that famous youtubers or bloggers suggest because (I may sound mean but) you don't always know if they really use and like a product or they promote it. One person that I believe is honest on her reviews is Siobhan McDonnell also known on youtube as "Letzmakeup". On one of her videos, she presented this bb cream as one of the products she really likes. Since I'm not a person that wants huge coverage and I am bored to make layers of sunscreen, foundation etc in the morning I gave this a try. I got 2 different colors. 020-Rosy beige and 030-Nude Beige.

I also bough the "Camouflage Cream" which is a very thick concealer in number 010-Ivory. (Reviews in future post).

That's all for now my friends. I still have a few more stuff from my summer purchases, I haven't decided if I will do one more brand haul separately since I didn't get a lot of stuff from other companies but we shall see.

Always take care and I'll talk to ya at my next post. 

Much love,

xo Heliana xo 

I haz a gift!!!! - Again!!!!

Helloooooooooooooooo!!! How are you doing? My schedule is so crazy that I don't even have time to post!!! :( I found the opportunity to make a quick post before I leave to uni, to show you the wonderful surprise gifts that my friend from Germany sent me out of the blue! (And I now realized that I didn't post the parcel she sent me before Xmas because I lost all the photos of the items before I used them :P).
Ok, let's make it quick....

~Nougat - "Sparkling Body Shimmer", Cherry Blossom: As the name states....can't wait to try it to be all sparkly!

~Biotherm - "Blue Therapy", repair cream 

~ Nicka K Absolute - Solid Perfume, Free Spirit 100... smells so intense! Like baby powder and something sweet

~ Oceane - Makeup Remover Pen.... I bet that will come in hand to correct eyeliner wings! Hehe

~ bellapierre cosmetics - Mineral Blush in "Desert Rose" ... pretty color but soooo much glitter lol!!! I might wear it as an eyeshadow :)

~ The Cheek of it - Blush stick..... pretty natural pinky color :)

~ Models Own nail polish

~ p2 - Impressive Gel, eyeliner in "030 dramatic taupe" this looks soooo nice!!! I can't way to try it 

Some good old AnneMarie Boerlind!

~ Body lind, Shower Balm :)

~ Facial Firming Gel 

~ BB cream in "Almond" ... it looks a teeeeeeeeeeeeeny tiny darker than my skin color but i'm trying it :D

Some goodies/samples etc...

~ Estee Lauder - Advanced Night Repair.... looking forward to try this!

~ Estee Lauder - Revitalizing Supreme, Global Anti-Aging Eye Balm :)

~ Mitchell and Peach - Body Cream, "English Growers"... i have the impression that it smells like tea!!! and also something fresh that i can't figure out. It's one of those smells that reminds you of something clean and freshly washed. 

~ Etre Belle - Liplift Peeling... will try and let you know :)

~MeMeMe - Shimmer Stack - "Pink Zest (?)", Illuminating Powder.... looks scary in the pot but i think it's actually sheer.... I have to post some swatches....

~ Catrice Cosmetics: Prime and Fine - Highlighting Powder in "010 Fairy Dust"... :)

~ Dermalogica - Daily Microfoliant... soooooo excited to try this. My skin is already thankful to my friend for the Biotherm daily exfoliant, it was so good that I got the full size! Let's see if my skin will like this one too :D

Lippiiiiiies!!!!

~ Becca - Glossy Lip Tint in "Grenadine"... never tried out a Becca item, seems like a lot of people like them, especially the highlighter. Smells fruity :)

~ p2 - Couture Lip Polish + Stain in "060 spotlights on!"... i love p2 items, i haven't tried one yet that disappointed me. It is quite intense color!

And last but most certainly not least.....................!!!!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Did you almost faint like I did? Hahaha

~ YES! This is a Princess Jasmine doll, I might be 27 years old but I am still a child in the heart :D my second favorite Disney princess yaaaaaaaaaaaay it stays proud in my vitrine furniture :D

~ HECK YES!!!! As I said, i am really a child in a grown up's body, therefore I melt for Hello Kitty!!!!!! So she made me my own Hello Kitty bag! It's sooooooooooooooo pretty!!!!!! <3

See clearer and more detailed pictures of the bag here (there is also a link to the e-book with tutorial for this bag design)

~ Being the lovely person that she is, she sent me a box of Kinder Eggs, the ones with the Barbie dolls :D Ehehehehehe

That is all guys!!! Did you like my gift??? I promised to my friend I would create something handmade for her but I have no skills for that (ahahahaha) so any ideas are welcome!!!!

Faves and Fails of June and July 2013

I know it's super late for this but we are on vacation so you understand! Since I didn't have the chance to post my favorite products for June I'm gonna make one post for both months (anyway in June i didn't have a whole lot of  products to post about).

Let's start with the products that impressed me first, shall we?

1. Yves Rocher - Organic Vanilla Eau De Toilette. 

Best vanilla perfume EVER! I have a review on it which you can read by clicking here. I love vanilla scent and this perfume is appropriate for any time or any season. I just love it!

2. Avon Naturals: Lily and Gardenia set

This set doesn't have something extraordinary than any other spray/shower gel/ body cream set as a texture or anything but it smells like heaven!!!! Definitely a favorite at the moment!

3. Catrice - Multicolour Blush in 060 Strawberry Frapuccino

This is a gift by my friend Usi, she had sent me not long ago a package with goodies from Catrice along with a gorgeous pouch bag that I love so much. This is a perfect blush because it looks so natural but it also gives a very nice color on the cheeks. LOVE IT.

4. Bioderma - Sensibio Ar with SPF 30

I am a fan of tainted sunscreens this however is something between a foundation and a sunscreen so it's absolutely perfect now in the summer. At first I wasn't sure about it to be honest because it only has like 2 shades and the lightest was sort of yellowish on me but it turns out now that I tanned it matches me very well. The best way to apply it in my opinion is with a wet (not dripping) flat foundation brush. Now in the summer I don't even set it with powder and it has a decent staying power considering that in Greece the temperature is dangerously high and we sweat all day. 

To move on with the products that I didn't enjoy....

1. Essence - Stay Natural Concealer 

I like Essence products a lot, but this is not a good one. I was excited to try it but it's simply rubbish. Besides the fact that you have to turn the end a lot of times to take product out, it lets out a big quantity so you waste product. Second and most important issue is that it's so thick that you can't blend it properly and the finish is not "stay natural" at all. Disappointing...

2. Avon - Nail Experts. gel strength base coat

I didn't expect anything to be honest from this product and I was right not to. My nails are usually long even thought they are thin and I can keep them long without breaking them. But lately, I think due to stress they were chipping off so I thought this might help. Good thing I didn't have my expectations high...

3. China Glaze Nail Polishes in general.

I know people will hate me for saying this (hahaha) but China Glaze has GORGEOUS nail colors but the quality is RUBBISH!!! I have at least 8 colors and they all do the same thing, the same day after I apply it, it goes away from the edges. Disappointing, considering that it's an expensive brand.

That's all for now. I'm preparing a small Inglot haul for the future so stay tuned! 

Take care!

Heliana

I GOT A GIFT!!!

I finally found time to make a new post. A couple of days ago I received a package from my friend Usi .
She made a BEAUTIFUL adorable bag and she sent it to me and she also sent me some Catrice makeup products to try (since I cannot find them in Romania or Greece).
So I wanted to show you the bag and swatches from the Catrice items that she sent me :)

This is the GORGEOUS, AMAZING bag that she made (I really went crazy when I saw it, it's the cutest thing ever!)

Isn't it fabulous! With the little strawberries and everything? I'm going to take this bag on my vacation and go everywhere with it! I love it! <3


Like the bag wasn't a kind enough gesture she also sent me cosmetics :D

Along with the Catrice products she sent me a travel sized body milk from Guerlain that smells dreamy and a sample from Moschino's parfume "Pink Bouquet" which sort of reminds me a perfume from Escada and I loved it!

The blush is the number 060 in "Strawberry Frapuccino" (I even love the name of it). I tried to the a photo of it on my skin but I couldn't capture it well but I'm telling you it gives the lovelies natural bronzed/blushed look on the cheeks.

The green color is number 610 in "Mint of Change" while the blue one is from the Intensif' Eye line - Wet and Dry Shadow, number 070 in "Dr. Bluelittle". The upper swatch of each color is the dry and the lower one the wet (it's hard to capture the colors properly). Please ignore the scratches on my hand (the joy of having a cat). 

She also sent me 2 lipsticks:

The one in the silver tube is from the Ultimate Shine line and it's the number 200 in "Get the nudes paper!"

The one in the black tube is from the Ultimate Colour line and it's the number 210 in "Pinkadilly Circus".

"Get the nudes paper!" is a very very pretty pink nude that matches pretty much with every eye look.

"Pinkadilly Circus" is sort of a strawberry-is pink/red, very pretty :)

I used the green color yesterday it's the one on the inner corner of my look :)

I want to thank my friend Usi one more time for her beautiful gesture and all the lovely things she sent me, I liked everything! :)