Best Moisturizer EVER for dry skins!

Hello!!! I found a free Sunday from my crazy program and I thought I should make a small post-review about the best moisturizer EVER (as stated in the title- for dry skins).
If you have followed my blog for quite some time you would know that I really struggled to find a moisturizer good enough for my very dehydrated skin. And I finally did.

My good friend sent me a try out set of Biotherm's Aquasource line for dry skins. (the salmon-y/pink one).

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A dehydrated dry (and sensitive) skin, is usually red with sometimes dry patches on the cheek area. Especially in cold weather it has the "pulling feeling" and sometimes it feels like burning. So this type of skin needs a cream that will moisturize well enough with results that last throughout the day and possibly to improve the texture of your skin.

And boy did this do its work nicely!!! This cream is excellent! As soon as you apply it you feel your skin soooo much relieved like you feel your thirst going away after you drank a long awaited glass of water! 

This cream not only moisturized well my skin so dry patches wouldn't show under my makeup but it made them go completely away! Amazing huh!? 

Not greasy, not thin either, my skin didn't complain not once even when i had full face foundation/powder products on for a whole day!

For the time that I used this sample my skin was feeling amazing! The effect even lasted a few weeks after my sample was over. Of course after stopping the use the skin started coming back to it's situation and that's normal.

I will definitely purchase the full size of this product once the Shiseido refining moisturizing that I am using is over - if not sooner - because it doesn't do anything amazing to a dry skin which is a bummer since it was SO expensive but that is for another post/review that I will make in the future.

The downside for this product is the price here, it costs around 50 euro at the Romanian Sephora but if I am lucky enough I will get it with reduction for the big beauty department store in Greece :)

If you  have dry, itchy, patchy suffering skin do give this a try, you will looooove it! This is a holy grail item!!!!! I wouldn't recommend it to oily skins as this product is super hydrating so it's not necessary to an oily skin.

- Are you satisfied with this product?

- HECK YEAH!

- Do you recommend it to others?

- Yes, to people with skin similar to mine.

- Are you gonna repurchase it?

- OH HECK YEAH! LOL

My rating: A+++++

New makeup look video (in Greek)

Just a super short post to post the link to my newest makeup look (it's in Greek) I was planning to dub it in English but this particular video i had to edit it so many times that i was tired with it :P

Products Used:

Face:

p2 illuminating touch makeup (review here)

Nyx blush in "Taupe" as contour

p2 Cheeks and Lips in "Sleeping Beauty Wake Up"

Bourjois Blush nr.34 "Rose D'or"

Kryolan's Glamour Glow in "Natural Tan"

Avon's Luxe Illuminating Face Powder

Eyes:

Various Blue eyeshadows from the 88 matte palette

The 2 blue eyeshadows from Sleek's "Acid Palette"

Boirjois "Blanc Diaphane" eyeshadow

MAC's "Blacktrack" fluidline

Lips:

MAC's "Creamcup"

Maybelline's "Lilac Boom" Lipstick

Goo Hoarding Vol.2!!! Cleaning my makeup stash!

Ho y'aaaaall. How are ya? :D This is a similar post with the one I did in October. I'm tossing away makeup products that are too old and started to look/smell/feel funny or in this particular post, stuff that I couldn't use anymore cause I didn't like them.

2 lip glosses from Avon. The white pink one on the left is Avon's Color Trend in the shade "Angel". You can tell that it's super old because I still have the one in the old packaging :P. The wine red on the right is Avon's Shine Supreme in the shade "Glossy Rose".

Both of them were starting changing color and smelling weird which is totally normal since I have them for a few years and lip gloss is totally prone to bacteria if you use it directly from the wand. The good thing is that at a point I started using my glosses by putting some on my (clean) hands and apply it with the brush so I don't transfer bacteria from my mouth so the rest of my glosses are gonna last much more.

2 mascaras. The upper one is Farmasi's Catwalk Illusion mascara in green color. This mascara was straight up NASTY! It was dry, poor and gross. I have it from the summer but I haven't used it in so long that I even forgot I had it so besides the fact that I had it for a few months I didn't even like it soo... to the trush!

The lower one is Avon's ColorTrend Bright Lash Tips in the color "Vibrand Violet". I forgot I had this too since it's so old but I only used it like twice because it dried out the lashes so much and they felt gross, not to mention it gave no color whatsoever to the lashes. 

Garnier's BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector

When I first used this I sort of liked it - I even made a positive review about it - but I don't know what happened suddenly it felt bad and like my skin was so heavy from it. I believe some ingredient in it oxidized or something. Also the color changed so that couldn't be a good sign so I am tossing it. I will not repurchase it since I don't like it.

Avon's Ideal Flawless Cream to Powder Foundation

I didn't like this CRAP at all!!!! I made a review about it. This foundation is horrible, it blends badly, it makes the skin look old and disgusting. Even so, I gave it a chance. I used it a lot in the summer when I was on vacation since I was wearing makeup only in the night for a few hours so I didn't really care to look super flawless so it didn't bother me. I also used it very lightly because this crap made me feel like I had a mask on :P Anyways, I have it a few months now, I could keep it to use the rest the next summer but I really hated this product and I used a fair amount of it, as you can see in the photo I hit the pan big time so I can't say that I am throwing away a full product. I will of course NOT repurchase this again, EVER! Lol

Don't forget to clean your makeup stash every once in a while (like twice a year or so) to get rid of products that are too old or that have gone bad because you risk getting bacteria on your face and that can only lead to dirty skin = break outs even infections (especially the eye products). So take care my friends and also take care of your makeup ;)

See you at my next post

XO Heliana XO

E.L.F. Haul

Hello my dears! I hope you are doing well! I don't have a lot to say in this post I will only show you what I purchased recently from ELF. I always wanted to try elf products but here in Romania they sell each product for at least 2 euro more than the normal price so if you pick a one dollar item and you have to pay 3 euro it's not really convenient is it? But they recently had an offer with some reduction so every item was around 1 euro more than the normal price which still sucks but hey what to do now. :P Anyway let me show you what I got. Will come back with reviews for all of them in time :)

HD Powder - the normal white one

Studio Blushes in "Tickled Pink" and "Candid Coral" A.K.A the Nars "Orgasm" dupe.

Studio Blush and Bronzer Duo in "St. Lucia" 

(the bronzer is known to be dupe for Nars' "Laguna"

Healthy Glow Bronzer in "Luminance" and "Matte Bronzer"

Makeup Mist and Set

Daily Moisture Stick

Studio Powder Brush

I'd like to point out that I am VERY DISAPPOINTED not just because the one item I was super excited about came broken but also when I contacted them about it they just ignored me so I will most probably will NOT be ordering from the Romanian distributor for Elf again. Too bad for them :P 

That's all folks! Have you tried any ELF products? Do you have any favorites and any items I should stay away from? Let me know :)

Avon SuperFULL Mascara Review

Hello everyone! I hope you are having an entertaining weekend, me not so much I had a very hard exam at the Uni today and it didn't go very well :P

This will be a review about Avon's SuperFULL mascara. Now I got this a long time ago as a set with a lipgloss - I think - for quite cheap but I never opened it till December, I had read positive reviews about it so I said well okay let's try it.

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This is what it looks like. A classic plastic tube with a very thin and plastic wand.

To the review:

First of all the wand is AWFUL! It's hard and scratchy and it's completely annoying to apply.

The mascara itself is really not great at all, it's not even nice as a generic mascara. It doesn't do anything to my lashes on the contrary it makes my lashes look really horrible and short (and I have very long lashes in reality). So pretty much ZERO effect on the lashes - if not negative. No length, no volume, NOTHING.

Another disadvantage is that it makes the lashes stick with each other to the point that I get annoyed and I have to try to separate my lower from my upper lashes with my hand all the time. And the paradox is that even though it makes the lashes so gross and sticky it dries them out really badly to the point that mine look more sparse and poorer than how they really are.

It's easy to see that my lashes are stuck together and they are clumpy and looking weird. Epic fail mascara!

Furthermore, I haven't been using this mascara for not even 2 months and it's already dried out and clumpy fact that I don't even care for because I am tossing this loser mascara out!

- Are you satisfied by the product?

- NO WAY!

- Do you recommend it?

- Absolutely not!

- Will you repurchase it?

- Heck no!

Final verdict: F-

P2 ILLUMINATING TOUCH - Makeup - Review

Hello people! I know I said I'd probably wouldn't post till my exams are over but since I am sick and tired of studying I took the chance to make a break to post a review.

P2, as I said in previous posts is a German company that sells their products only at the DM stores but unfortunately only the DM stores of Germany. They have a great variety of every makeup product, eyeshadows, foundations, lipsticks, powders, you name it, they have it. And they are great quality too and really affordable. This foundation was sent to me from my friend from Germany :)

What the site says:

"The illuminating touch makeup perfects the complexion and evens it out - without a mask effect. Soft pigments ensure a radiant complexion. The moisture retaining elements define the velvety-light makeup".

Basically, this is their moisturizing foundation. I have to say, my basic problems when it comes to foundation is that they make my face look flaky with dry patches and after a few hours my skin feels even more burning and pulling than it already does due to its dehydration and the freezing weather.

This foundation is really great. It has a light to medium coverage but you can build it up to a medium to heavy coverage. It doesn't give the mask effect like it says and it does give a radiant look. It doesn't annoy my skin and it doesn't really show any flaky spots only MAYBE if I really haven't drunk any water and the weather is really terrible it might show a crack on my cheeks but not even noticeable. It doesn't pull my skin or make it feel any worse even after hours of the application. The lasting power is okay, I am satisfy with it considering that I don't set my makeup with a powder. 

I should mention that it comes in a 30ml (like most of the foundations) glass bottle with a pump so it feels quite luxurious as a packaging too. It's also vegan and it has no perfume. The color that I have is "25 - Touch of Nude" which is basically a completely neutral beige color and that is amazing because it's not always easy to find a foundation that is not too yellow/orange or too pink. I have a neutral undertone so I can pretty much pull off both warm and cool toned colors but I really prefer a neutral foundation because it looks more natural on skins with neutral undertone. 

So the PROS:

- Has a pump (heck YES)

- Pretty packaging

- Affordable

- Super dry/sensitive skin friendly

Cons:

- Doesn't have a huge range of shades

- It doesn't photograph well if you don't powder on top. - will show in pics...

The one complain I have from this foundation is that it gives a white cast on pictures with a flash. 

Without flash:

You can definitely see how beautiful this foundation is. It evens out the skin like it claims.

With flash:

You can easily see that at the spots were the foundation is not topped of with any powder product (bronzer/blush/highlighter - since I don't use face powder) (front part of cheeks, nose and chin) it does give a white cast when you are using a flash which makes it not useful when you want to go somewhere where you know there's gonna be a lot of pictures taken, like a wedding or somewhere formal which is a downside to have an "everyday" and a "special occasion" foundation. Other than that I really love it.

The final verdict: A (I'd give it an A+++ if it wasn't for the photographing con :/)

That's all for now. Take care of yourselves!!!! 

XO Heliana XO

What I got for Christmas and New Year.

Well helloooooooo! I know I haven't posted anything in like more than a month and I apologize. I was away for 2 weeks to Greece for the holidays and when I came back I started the hard core studying for my semester finals which are still going on but I thought I should make a quick post to show you what gifts I got for Christmas and New Year (note: in Greece we exchange gifts on New Year mostly, in case you were wondering).

I also wanted to say that I had not one, not 2 but THREE makeup looks done and edited but just a few days ago my almost brand new PC died on me and I lost everything including videos, even class notes that I need for my exams. SO.... yeah :P Let's get started....

1)What I got from my boyfriend...

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Sephora Supreme Cleansing Oil:

I've heard about this from a you-tuber called Melissa (channel: memphs, i think), she has very dry skin and she raves about it. So naturally I had to try it on my dehydrated, pulling, suffering skin. No more info about it though cause I will do a review on it ( i know i said that a month ago but give me a break I am studying like crazy :P )

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Essence Sun Club - Matt bronzing powder (unfortunately for brunettes)

And I say unfortunately cause I got tricked from the lighting of the store and I thought that this is close to the hoola bronzer but actually the closer one is the one for blondes. This product is so big that who knows if I will ever be able to finish it since I use other bronzer at the moment. Maybe I will give it to a friend. 

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Essence Long Lasting Lipstick - no.03 Dare to Wear

Simple creamy cherry red. Nothing more to add. 

He also got me some smaller stuff that I already used like bath bombs etc :P no need to go on about them.

2) What I got from my mother:

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Shiseido IBUKI refining moisturizer + Camelia compact

One of the most popular beauty stores in Greece had an amazing reduction of 30% in a lot of makeup brands which is cool because beauty products are already being sold much more expensive in Greece so the reduction was okay. The actual price of the moisturizer is 63 or 66 euro (can't remember exactly) and with the reduction it costed around 40 something which is the price of the product in most countries and the Shiseido site. The cool thing is that the moisturizer came in a set with a limited edition blush so I basically got the blush "for free" let's say. But the awesomeness doesn't stop here because in the holidays Shiseido was gifting one lipstick for purchases of 35 euro and up so I actually got 3 Shiseido products while I paid only for one.  Here's the lipstick:

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Shiseido - Perfect Rouge - RS 448 "Sensation"

3) What my friend Usi got me: 

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BeneFit cosmetics: Bronze 'n' Dandy set

I was sooo pleasantly surprised when I saw this! She basically sent me a huge box fuuuull of goodies (which i never got the chance to talk about and now all my photos got deleted :P but I will make a post in the future about it) and in the box there was a smaller package that I had to wait to open on Christmas eve. Usi knew that I wanted to try the Hoola bronzer sooooo badly but I was skeptical to buy it because of the price. So she gifted me this!!!! Not only it has the bronzer but 3 more other BeneFit products so I can try more stuff!!!! How cool is that! <3 Thank you my friend!!! ^_^

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Narciso Rodriguez - For her body lotion

I apologize for the bad photo I couldn't find an appropriate one :/ I love the perfume so I loved the lotion too! :) 

4) What I got for myself :P

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YSL - Rouge Volupte Lipstick - no.9 Rose Caress or Pink Caress or Caress Pink (depending on the county I guess? )

I think that's pretty much it. I was so happy getting all these gifts (I know I am one selfish lady that enjoys gifts, lol). 

I hope you had a great holiday, I'm not even sure if I wished you Happy New Year, so I case I didn't, HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D hahaha. I will not be posting for a few days (around 2 weeks) till my exams are over and then I will be back :)

Be healthy, happy and take care!

XO Heliana XO