Essie's Autumn 2013 collection is THE BOMB!!!

I am all about bright, neon, hot pink, fluorescent nail polishes but I was amazed by this collection! It probably is the most beautiful nail polish collection I've ever seen and even thought I do not believe in "expensive" nail polish brands (my experience with China Glaze and even more expensive Chanel will tell you that :P ) I really REALLY want to get some colors from this collection.

Let's see the colors a bit better shall we?

From left to right:

After school blazer: is like a dark navy blue color which is one of the colors I want to get from this collection.

Cashmere Bathrobe: is a medium gray almost like the wet cement I could say.
ForThe Twill Of It: men do i LOVE LOVE LOOOOOOVE this color!!! This is DEFINITELY a color that I want to get (it's breaking my heart that I don't know if i will actually find it). It's sort of like a silverish dark teal (? - so weird to try to explain colors) with purple shimmer.
The Lace is On: is a perly fuschia which is another color that I would like to get if I find this collection.
Twin Sweater Set: is a pretty not too dark red almost like a bordeaux.
Vested Interest: Is a gray that tends to teal.... or a teal that tends to gray! ;) also a very pretty color.

I think if I could I would buy them all. However if I do find the collection one of the colors I would definitely get is "For The Twill Of It" so wish me luck ;)
Do you like this Essie collection? Which one is your favorite?

1st and 3rd for google search, 2nd photo from temptalia.com

TAKE CARE!!! And happy Autumn!!!

Summer Shopping Mania Vol. 1: INGLOT

If you can tell by the title, I went a little crazy on the shopping this summer. I decided to make separate posts for some brands since I got a lot of items from them.

About one year ago Inglot products came to Greece and I still can't believe it how women do not prefer them! They are of amazing quality and really good price! I was happy that I got the chance to go now that I am in Athens (most people leave from Athens for the summer holidays whereas I came to Athens, hehe).
Unfortunately the only Inglot store in Romania is at a town completely on the other side of the country so now that I am in Athens I had to visit one of the Inglot stores.
I went at least 3 times (hehe) because I simply couldn't get enough. (I'm not even promising that I won't visit them once more until I leave - bad girl).

Eyeshadows: ♥♥♥♥♥

 From the left to the right we have: 

465 

58

502

342

46

465 is a brown slightly glittery color that gives some gray undertones.

58 is a matte forest green with golden glitter

502 is a shimmery glittery gray that also has some purple-ish undertone to it

342 is a matte medium brown for that crease darkening :)

46 is a beautiful iridescent white with pink and purple undertone

All the eyeshadows are well pigmented, they feel really luxurious, not cheap, not powdery or anything like that. They are worth to take a look at because their quality is amazing.

Gel Eyeliners: ♥♥♥♥♡

77: your standard matte (i know it looks shimmery but it's not) black

87: teal 

The reason I give them a 4 out of 5 is that they are VERY stubborn. And my very I mean I accidentally touched a plastic surface with the teal one and I simply can't clean it! I used alcohol, antibacterial gel, makeup remover it won't go away! And the same applies for the eyes too (not that I applied alcohol hahaha). Especially the black simply refuses to go away. I used my "water" from Bioderma, I used other brands of this type, I used the double phase ones, I used coconut oil, I even used vaseline (the eye friendly one) and I still had the panda eyes until it went away from the face washing and showering after 3 days!!! So this is annoying! I am sure if you drop it on your clothes you will have to throw it. 

I mean, ok, we want gel eyeliners that last but this is too much! Other than that they are excellent, they stay put even in the waterline for hours and hours. 

Foundation♥♥♥♥♥  and concealer: ♥♥♥♥♡

Cream concealer nr.70

These are actually products for my mother. She has tired skin that has lost it's elasticity around the eye area and has several deep lines around them (for her age, that's what smoking does to you girls so quit it!). I had the chance to use it too a few times when I was tanner (because now I am whitening - is that a real word? - again!!!).

I have to say it is a very nice foundation. It's medium coverage but you can build it up and it looks quite natural. To my mother: it didn't sink in her lines so it gave her a more youthful and fresh look. To me: it didn't irritate me which I know it doesn't sound like much but almost every foundation in the world irritates my skin even though I am not allergic to any chemical substance. So it's good news. 

It also has a very good staying power even if you don't set it with powder. 

I didn't really use the concealer on me, only on my mother. It is a great concealer but it doesn't work as well not sinking in the lines like the foundation, so it probably won't be ideal for mature skin. So it will get a 4.

So there you have it. My part one of my shopping mania of the summer. I MIGHT be going back because I REALLY wanna use their powders too even though they didn't look that great at the store comparing to the eye shadows. They have lovely nail polish colors too but all the ones I wanted they were sold out and they won't stock soon because it's summer :(. I should also try the lipsticks but I already have enough. Maybe one of the free system ones that they are small??? :) 

I'll keep you posted.

DO try them out girls, they are really nice products. Let me know if you have already tried them, how you liked them, if you have any favorites, any suggestions etc.

Take care!!!

Heliana

How to get PINK HAIR!!!!

I was in need of a look change and since I don't really want to cut off my hair for now (who knows later) I considered bangs but since my hair is curly I kissed goodbye that option in the fear that I will struggle straightening it every day) so what was left, my hair color!

As you know if you have been a member of my blog for some time my hair is dyed very bright red. And when I say bright red hair I mean THIS BRIGHT ---->

If you are interested to know how I get this color I have made a post about it and you can click RIGHT HERE!!!

Anyway, to make a long story short after having bright red hair for more than 3 years I wasn't ready to give up and go on to the "normal" hair color side. So I sticked to alternative hair colors. After I ticked off my bucket list *TO GET ARIEL RED HAIR one more hair related wish is *TO GET CANDY PINK HAIR so here we are. I will say in a few words what you generally need to make your hair pink and if you have ANY questions at all please do not hesitate to ask me. NOTE: I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL HAIDRESSER I HAVE EXPERIENCE ON DYING MY OWN HAIR ALONE AND I ALWAYS GET CONSULTATION FROM OTHER EXPERIENCED ON ALTERNATIVE HAIR DYING LADIES. 

So, start with the basics. To get pink hair you need a light color base. Meaning you need anything from a light ginger color and lighter. If your hair is natural this is the easiest thing to do, you can use a blonde dye or some bleach and probably some silver (or purple) shampoo to tone and get rid of as much orange tones as possible and you are done. If your hair is dyed, the process varies depending on your existing hair color. For example if your hair is dyed blonde you have no problem what so ever and you can go ahead and put your pink die. If your hair is dyed other colors like mine you will need to remove your color and if needed lighten your base, tone etc before you put your pink dye on. The hardest case is if you have black hair which will take a good few months to get at an appropriate base color (without damaging your hair).

Since my hair was bright red I had to fade the red as much as possible which was easy to do in the summer since going to the beach and the pool really did the trick. 

Other methods you can do to fade your color (works better for alternative colors) is washing your hair with clarifying shampoo or dish soap, doing regular hot oil treatments and even apply a lot of hairspray to your hair let it dry and wash it off.

Anyways, from the color of the first picture I managed to bring my hair to a medium orange with yellow bits:

Even though the color was light it was dangerously orange and I wasn't sure if the pink I had was strong enought to cover it. Note that if you have stronge orange base your pink might turn into salmon and you won't get your desired color plus when it will fade it will be a yonky color. 

Since the hairdye that I use to lighten and dye my roots is a strong one I didn't want to use pure bleach on my hair so I did a BLEACH BATH. 

(To do a bleach bath you simply mix the same amount in ml of your bleach (powder and peroxide) with the same amount in ml shampoo. -for example if you use 50ml powder with 50ml conditioner you can use 100ml shampoo or if you do it on dry hair 75ml shampoo with 25ml water). You mix it all in a plastic bowl and you apply it all over checking your color every 5 minutes. WARNING: DO NOT LET IT FOR MORE THAN THE TIME STATED ON THE BLEACH'S CONTAINER EVEN THOUGHT IT IS DELUTED IT IS STILL BLEACH AND IT WILL HARM YOUR SCALP AND HAIR! To avoid extra damage on your hair you can apply beforehand coconut oil on your scalp and hair and let it sink in for at least 4 hours before your bleach.)

After I did my bleach bath my hair reached a lighter orange/yellow and after using some purple shampoo I got rid of a lot of the orange tones. Unfortunately I should have used pure bleach on my roots as it's not that strong to lift my natural color so my roots only lifted one tone, but it was still ok I can always bleach my roots later but ONLY at least after a month.

After I reached the desired base color it was time to apply my pink dye. Unfortunately I was in a hurry and I didn't have time to order the specific brand I wanted so I used only what I could find which is this:

Stargazer in "Shocking Pink".

It's not a terrible dye but it's not from those with the best staying power. If you go for pink hair I would suggest you pink from Directions or Special Effects dyes which is what i will do when I will refresh my color.

Just remember to be careful while using this type of dyes because they stain everything and you will have to rub a lot to take it out of your bathtub and for crying out loud wear OLD clothes that you don't really need!

But enough talk! You probably wanna see the results and here they are:

This photo is taken in the house with flash (excuse the lack of makeup).

This is outside in natural sunlight. 

The color will eventually fade to a lighter pink. I will update you with photos :)

If you have any questions at all about alternative or normal hair dying, feel free to ask me OR if you wanna hear advice from experienced people visit the "hairdyeforum.com" where there are lovely ladies that have GORGEOUS AMAZING colorful hair that can help you step by step with your hair and how to bring them to whatever color you want. I know they helped me very much! :)

Take care,

Heliana.

P.S 1. All photos except the first are mine, the first one was from google

P.S 2. I am not affiliated with the hair dye forum I am a simple member that i had lots of help from other members and admins. 

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

June's German "Glossybox loves Grazia"

Hi everyone!!!! I haven't posted anything in a while! I had my university exams and then I went on vacation where I didn't have internet so I didn't find the chance to post.
My amazing friend Usi who I cannot thank enough for her gifts and various advice she gives me, was so kind to get and send me June's German Glossybox.

I am pretty sure everyone knows about Glossybox but in case you don't it is a subscription that you pay 15€ (in Germany, price varies depending on the country) every month and they send you a box with goodies from various companies in full, travel or sample size. The purpose of this type of services is to try different products from a lot of companies, sort of like a promotion.

Usually you get 5 products and they are totally random, it can be makeup, skin care, hair care or hygiene related. But enough talk, let's see the products, shall we?

1. Kryolan - Lip n' Cheek 

(original product: 18.00€ /10ml)

I was SOOOOOO happy I got this, I LOVE Kryolan products and since they are pricey I don't get to buy a lot so imagine my happiness! It's a lip and cheek coral-pink color called "Petunia" and it's so amazing. And I didn't tell you the best part yet, it's full size!

2. Maria Gallard - 410 Creme Minceur Modelante

(original product 70.00€ /200ml)

One more product that I was happy to get. Maria Galland has amazing products! This is a body shaping cream which I haven't tried yet but I will sure let you know in the future my thoughts even though I am sure I will adore it. This is a travel size pf 30ml by they way which would probably be awesome for a face cream but since this is a body one it's kind of small but I am glad I got it even small.

3. Rituals Cosmetics - Yogi Flow Foaming Shower Gel Sensation

(original product: 8.00€ / 200ml)

I don't really know this company so I will have to get back at you on my opinion about it, it's a shower foam and it smells quite nice plus the packaging is so elegant. This is a travel size of 50ml.

4. Sans Soucis - Daily Vitamins Moisture Plus 24-H Feuchtigkeitspflege (Moisture Care - in english)

(original product: 14.90€ /50ml)

I haven't heard of this company either. Even though the name sounds totally fancy "vitamins moisture plus" it is slightly disappointing the luck of spf. Do we really need piling products on our faces in this heat? But I will let you know how I liked it. By the way this is a travel or sample size of 15ml only :|

5. Spa Ritual - Sparitual Mini-Lacquer

(original product: 7,90€ /5ml)

Last but certainly NOT least, I got a nail polish in a hot pink color called "Dreamsicle Cream" which I loooooooooved. This is full size since it's a mini nail polish :( too bad.

All of these products accompanied with Grazia magazine, a card that explains all the products and a coupon  of 10% reduction for Kryolan products which I am not sure if it applies only for Germany but since it is for online orders it might apply for all the countries, I have no idea.

I wanna thank for one more time my friend Usi for her amazing gesture! If you want to check out her post with her Glossybox click here and make sure you check out her blog.

Hair Myths and Explanations

I thought about making this post to explain some things that are not very clear to everyone about hair. I hope you will find it useful.


1. Hair gets stronger and grows faster by cutting it.
FALSE. Hair grows from the root so growing has nothing to do with the cutting. What gets stronger when you cut the hair is the ends of it so they don't split and when they don't split the hair doesn't break.

2. You need a heat protectant when you heat style your hair.
FALSE AND TRUE. You do need a protective layer of product so that your hair won't suffer as much damage as it would without it but it doesn't have to be a heat protectant, it can be a simple leave in conditioner. Not to mention spray heat protectants contain alcohol which dries the hair.

3. If you destroy your hair, you can fix it with some hair products.
FALSE. Your hair is made out of dead cells mostly and dead cells do not have the ability of healing back (like your nails, if they break they only grow they don't repair). At best you can make it a bit softer but not healthier once destroyed.

4. I can change my hair from black to blonde in a week.
FALSE, unless you want to fry it and get it cut really sort. Color changing needs a lot of patience and time especially when you go from dyed black hair to blonde. Your hair has to go through all of the color stages from black to blonde to keep it healthy. Meaning you will have to have for a long time disgusting brown/red/orange/yellow shades and be extra patient and willing to do it correct to get your desired blonde shade without having to cut more than half of your hair.


5. Trimming my hair often will make it to not grow.
FALSE. Hair trimming gets rid of split ends and destroyed ends so that the damage doesn't travel up so your hair doesn't break. Whereas not trimming it will allow the split ends travel up making every hair weak and break which means unnecessary length losing.

I guess that's it for now. I am not sure if I will be able to post my June favorites but I will try. Feel free to ask any questions or leave a comment, thank you!

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! :)