Fragrance Favorites

Today I have for you my top 3 current Fragrance Favorites. These are three completely different fragrances in no particular order suitable for many occasions.

1. Bvlgari – Blv II Eau De Parfum Spray. This scent is described as soft and a little fruity for elegant women, which is hard to argue with. I think is the most elegant and fruity scent between these three perfumes. I don’t like fruity perfumes, but this has a very mild fruit scent which don’t bother me at all. The lasting power is somewhere in the middle, you might want to refresh it by midday or late afternoon. If you are looking for something elegant you can wear to dinners or important meetings this would be the right scent for you.

2. DKNY – Be Delicious Eau De Parfum Spray. Most of you probably heard and saw this perfume a lot. As many other people I also fell in love with it, mainly because of it fresh scent. In all perfumes I wear I look for light and fresh scents, which would keep me awake all day, but also would not overpower my personality when I meet people. This is a great scent for that, it very fruity, which supposed to smell like fresh apples, cucumber and fresh grapefruit. Be Delicious is my favorite from all DKNY fragrances. For me this is a great all year round scent, but I like is especially for summer and autumn.

3. Paul Smith -Rose Eau De Parfum Spray. As the name suggests if is a very floral perfume (mainly violet and rose scent), which typically I am not a fan of. I would not pick up this perfume myself, but since it was a gift I started using it and after 4-5 times i fell in love with it. Even though description suggests that its very fresh scent, I would say its a bit heavier than most others. Also, it is very sensual and has a very distinct scent which lasts all day. Because of that it became my signature scent, people started recognizing me by this scent, they could tell if I was in the room before them, etc. I recently bought my second bottle of this perfume. It you like roses or floral perfumes you should definitely consider it. For me this is a great winter scent, it does add a touch of summer in your everyday life.

I would suggest you give a little sniff to all these three lovely perfumes next time you are in the store, and maybe you will like at least one of them just as much as I.

What is your favorite perfume at the moment?

Rapid Lash – Eyelash Enhancing Serum – Review

Here is my quick review of the Rapid Lash – Eyelash Enhancing Serum based on my personal experience with this product. Eyelash enhancing serum caught my attention because of very strong claims as “clinically proven up to 50% longer and 75% voluminous looking lashes”. It supposed to nourish and strengthen your lashes, consequently letting them grow longer, thicker adding shine and elasticity.

I have this product for about 5 months now, I used it for about 3 months almost everyday. I did not notice any results first 1-3 weeks, but be week 4 I was very surprised with results, my lashes were never that long. My lases naturally are quite short, so I was very happy with the result, however the length of my lashes increased by only about 30-35%. Unfortunately, I did not notice any major improvement in terms on volume. I still think this is a great product, if you have naturally short lashes and don’t want to wear fake lashes. I usually never have time or skill to apply fake lashes so, I prefer to use this product before Christmas period or other special occasions, when I am going out more.

One think you should bare in mind, that once you stop using it, your lashes will be back to the previous size quite quickly. On average our eyelashes fall out after 6 weeks, so here is a rough guideline for you.

Also, be smart and careful before using it, test it that it does not cause any irritation for you, which can be a case I saw in some reviews online and be careful applying the product, so it does not go into your eyes. Another problem my friend experienced with Rapid Lash serum, that it dried out after 3-4 months. It is not the case for me fortunately, hence, I decided to start using my serum again (after a break due to my laziness).

Finally, it is quite pricey product (around £41.00 in Boots), but it is currently on discount, which makes it more affordable for some of us.

Let me know what are your thoughts, if you tried this product and what are your thoughts or are you considering buying it? Do you know any other Lash Enhancing Serum you prefer to this one?

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Have a beautiful weekend everyone, wherever you are !

Products I have used up + their replacements (Proactiv Solution 3 Step System Review)

Hi everyone!

I have just finished 2 products from my everyday skincare review , hence, decided to share with you my thoughts and experiences on these Proactiv Solution 3 Step System products. It has a lot of negative reviews online, you might wanna read them too, but here is what I though of it.

I got a Proactiv Solution 3 Step System last year. I used it for 2-3 months did not notice any major differences. So after a while I gave up and moved to the clinique skincare set. 4 moths ago when i run out of my cleanser and moisturizer I decided to finish my Proactiv set before buying new products and I was pleasantly surprised.

I do not now how they choose the size of the bottles, but I run out of the toner very quickly, hence it is not in the picture and honestly I do not even remember if I liked it or not.

I remember I decided to stop using Proactiv because Of the Renewing Cleanser, it has a little beads in it so it is like a gentle scrub, and at that point I did not like the idea of using something like this on my skin everyday. I thought it was too harsh on my break outs and making my them more red. As my personal preference based on my experience with my skin, I much more prefer to use gentle cleansers on my face if my skin is a little stressed or I have a few spots.

When I started to use Proactiv again, my skin was mostly clear, I enjoyed using Proactiv cleanser everyday and every morning for the little exfoliation and as it says renewing of my skin. For me it wasn’t to drying either. The only thing I would want to be different is more gentler beads. You do need a small amount of cleanser so, that bottle will last you very long.

Repairing Treatment (moisturizer) was my favorite product of the whole set. I definitely, fell much more in love with it using it second time. I mostly used it once a day in the evening, unless I had a few spots, then I would use it twice a day. As the name, of this moisturizer suggests it is a repairing treatment for your skin, which I need and like the most. It contains Tea Tree Oil Rosemary and Chamomile extracts, which helps to heal my skin, reduce redness and clear out small breakouts. Non other moisturizer or skin treatment made my skin looking so much better the next morning. It will not clear your bigger breakouts or do another magic overnight, but in relation to small “repair works” on your skin it is the best product so far or me.

As most of the blemish fighting skincare these products can dry your skin, some more than others. I tend to have a bit drier skin in the winter, however, I still did not stop using the Proactiv, just a different moisturizer in the morning and a hydrating mask from time to time was enough for me to avoid dryness. Not using Proactiv toner also contributed to not drying my skin as much.  Everybody’s skin is different, hence, it might not be the case for you, especially if you already have dry or sensitive skin.

Also, important to know that this set contains salicylic acid, which does not irritate my skin, but might be the case for others. If you considering getting this product, you should study all the ingredients for yourself to check wherever it will be suitable for your skin and test it out first.

Lastly, I am going to give my opinion on the major purpose of this product about preventing and reducing breakouts. As any other skincare I tried I did not prevent or reduce my breakouts. Whatever skincare I use, I will have periods when my skin will be clear and when it will be not. I learned that rather that buying lots of products and trying them out, you need to understand the cause of your breakouts and treat that rather than pile products on your skin. Proactiv Solution and other treatments might help you to recover or reduce the visibility of your breakouts, but if your breakout causes are from within, piling products on top and drying your skin will not help much.

Overall I did enjoy using these products, but for now I am not going to repurchase them. At the moment the full set in Boots cost £39.99, which I think is a bit pricey, however products (expect) toner do last you a long time. Maybe, after few months if I see this set on discount I might buy it again, but for now I want to continue to experiment with my skin and these are the products I bought as a replacement:

1. Gentle Skin Cleanser by Cetaphil – usued it before, and I liked it. At the moment I am all about the as simple skin care as possible. I do not want to overwhelm my skin with heavy products, but want to let my skin calm down and balance itself out.

2. Superdrug Tea Tree Foaming Facial wash – I used a lot of tea tree oil containing products before and they are my favorite when it comes to fighting breakouts. I haven’t used this one before, but I did use a similar one by Body Shop. I am planning to use this one only when I am having spots or small breakouts on my face.

To replace the moisturizer I looked through these two unfinished products:

1. Dramatically different moisturizing lotion by Clinique – it is my favorite morning moisturizer at the moment.

2. Skin  Repair Moisturiser by Liz Earle – I decided to give it another go and see how i like it this time. I thought it will be nice to use it in the evenings and see how this repair moisturiser will “repair” my skin.

Have you used any of these products and what are your thoughts? Let me know if you have any questions or want more reviews on the products I have mentioned in the future.

Have a great weekend everyone!

January Nail Art Ideas

January is the month when I feel inspired to put more effort in the things I do. This week/month I want to put more effort into painting my nails. Below are a few simple and quick ideas how to add an extra touch to your nail art.

For all the designs I choose blue as my base colour. The dark blue nail polish colour from nail inc was my favorite winter colour for the past 3 years. The nail polish itself is long lasting, the colour is very pigmented, shiny and just beautiful on its own.

For the designs and colour choice I got my inspiration from the picture above. You can use any other nail polish colour for these designs.designs. They work especially well on red nail polish too, creating a very Christmassy look (which unfortunately is already over).

You can either create these or similar designs on all of your nails or just make one accent nail on each hand. It will definitely add an extra touch and other people are much more likely to notice and admire your effort. In the picture you can see the supplies I have used to make create these nail art ideas. Hence, you can use anything you want or anything you already own of the similar type.

Sorry in advance for the poor demonstration, but from my experience these designs look much better on real nails.

1. If you want a very quick, easy ad cheap method to decorate your nails, buy some stickers. You can find them very cheap online (I got mine from amazon) or in the 1 pound shops, etc. You can see in the picture I put 3 snowflakes stickers going across the nail. Using stickers is very simple, you can apply them on the dry or wet nails, just need to be careful and precise where you want it to be and follow up with a topcoat. For me stickers usually lasts for 3 days or longer, but even if it peels off, it does not destroy the nail polish underneath, so your nails still look tidy.

2. If you want a 3D effect and something more sparkly, add some rhinestones on your nail design. I have added two stars to my nail on the picture. You should apply them on the wet nail and for the better precision great to use a special stick or a wooden toothpick. Rhinestones add a lot of elegance to your look, they are great for special occasions. Don’t forget to follow with a topcoat for a longer lasting design.

3. Add some sparkles on your nails to create a snow effect. Depending on your preference you can have a stripe of sparkles on the bottom or on the tip of your nail. For this design, paint your nails base colour and allow it do try half way.Then paint over the areas you want your sparkles to stick (e.g. tip of your nail), dip it into the sparkles and allow the excess sparkles to freely drop on other parts of your nail, creating a snowing effect.

I hoped you liked any of these ideas or it inspired you to some of your own. It is really simple and fun to play around, you can even combine stickers with sparkles and create your own winter design nails. If doing all nails seem to much effort, then just try doing only a ring finger on each hand: it will make a big difference and you will love it.

Let me know what are your thoughts.

2014 Make up favorites (Part 2)

Here is a second part of my 2014 favorites, which for me is a little more fun:

6. Eye-shadow: Maybelline Colour Tattoo and Naked 3 palette by Urban Decay. The brown shade of Maybeline creame eye-shadow is my favorite. This are probably the best cream eye-shadows I have tried: they don’t crease, stay on all day and are so easy and quick to apply. You can also build up the colour if you want a darker eye, or just add extra in the corners. These eye-shadows work well on its own, or if used as a base. Whenever I want something different, I use my Naked 3 palette, which I already wrote about in the previous blog. In order, to not repeat myself will just say I like the colours and a great mix between shimmer and matte eye-shadows.

7. Eyeliner: Super Liner by Loreal and 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencils by Urban Decay. The first one is a liquid liner, which is easy to apply and is a great black colour. You might need to reapply it throughout the day. I like it because its the only reasonable cheap liquid liner which does not smudge on me.  It is very easy to use, once applied it dries quickly, hence, no unwanted lines on the top of your eyelids. The product itself lasts for long time, I have it for more than 6 months and it still haven’t dried out. The 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencils by Urban Decay are my most favorite product of all eye make-up. I bought a set of pencils exactly a year ago, and since then I was using them almost everyday. They are incredibly smooth and easy to apply comparing to any other pencil eyeliners. Obviously, as any other eyeliners they do not last all day, and you definitely need to touch up throughout the day, but I guess its the case with all eyeliners. My favorite part about them is the range of colours and different eye options you can do. The day I don’t wear any eye-shadows (which happens quite often) I like to wear a colorful eyeliner or even a combination of two, they do transfer any boring make-up look into something special.

8. Lip Product: Colour Rush Balm by Rimmel. I did not hear anyone talk much about them, most people usually mention Revlon Colour Sticks or Gloss sticks by  Soap and Glory. Personally, Rimmel once are my favorite. I am definitely are not a fan of Soap and Glory Mother Pucker sticks, since I find them too drying and too unpleasantly sticky on the lips. In comparison with Revlon Colour Stick, I prefer Rimmel once just because of the colour range, I think Rimmel Colours are more warm, hence, suits me more. I wish I could tell you my favorite colours, but unfortunately, all the labels are rubbed off due to my high usage if these products. I should add that the colour doe’s stay on your lips reasonably long and it is not drying or sticky on your lips at all, which is great to me. I think these colour sticks is a great discovery for me in 2014, I definitely prefer using these to using lipsticks or lip-gloss.

I would like to finish off these favorites and start 2015 with something very cute, warn, soft, fluffy and very meowy 🙂 These are my most favorite creatures of 2014:

I just could not resist this bunch of fluffiness. Happy New Year Everyone!

What are your favorite moments of 2014 or any major plans for 2015?

2014 Make-up favorites (part 1)

Here is the list of my 2014 make-up favorites. I made the list based on what make-up I wear everyday and always pack if I am going away. I used all of these items for most of the year and loved some of the items for more than that. Here is my list and reasons why:

1.Make-up primer: Benefit Porefessional. Its a primer loved by many. I like how it feels, it does look like it fills your pores and also has a tint which helps with evening out the skin tone. I always try to use the primer if I have a little bit more time for doing my make-up in the morning, so my foundation lasts longer and I don’t need to touch up later in the day.

2.Foundation: Estee Louder Double Wear. I like this foundation a lot. It serves all my needs: it has a great coverage, lasts long time, looks natural, has great colour range and easy to apply. I like to apply it with my fingers, it makes it quick and easy, looks good and no need to clean brushes. For a special occasions it looks great if applied with beauty blender, but that uses much more foundation. Hence, fingertips work great for everyday application.

3.Powder: Rimmel Stay Matte. Its my favorite drugstore powder, I used it for about 3 or 4 years. I don’t set my foundation with powder everyday, especially if using Double wear by Estee Lauder. However, if I am going to use a powder it will be this one.

4.Bronze: Body Shop Honey Bronze. I use the second colour shade of this bronze and its just perfect for the most time of the year (when not tanned) . It is light enough, so doesn’t  look muddy on your face, but also great for anywhere on your face. You can apply it with a big brush for sun tanned look or use more precise brush and highlight your cheekbones.

5.Blush: Estee Lauder Hot Sienna Satin. Its probably more autumn/winter colour blush, but I like it anytime of the year. I think this blushes are great, they are buildable, lasts long, blends nicely and very pigmented, hence, saves the frustration. The colour of the blush is more a personal choice, whichever suits you better.

Here is the first part of my 2014 make-up favorites. Let me know what you think, what are your favorites  in these categories. Part 2 is shortly to follow, which will include my favorite eye-shadow, eyeliners, mascaras, brow and lip product.

April Favourites 2014!

1. Liz Earle skincare.

                                     

This month I have been in love with two of Liz Earle’s skincare products. First one you may have probably heard a lot about is the ‘Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. It’s a great product to use by itself and I especially love it during spring and summer months. Unlike most other cleansers, this one doesn’t dry your skin, and leaves it moisturised. After cleansing my face I follow up with Liz Earl Instant Boost Skin Tonic, I love this one a lot not only because it has a nice scent to it, but more than that I can feel it refreshing and soothing my skin. These two products together do magic to cleanse my skin and leave it feeling refreshed and moisturised. After using these two products I can get away with using a light moisturiser on my face instead of my thicker one, which just simply sweats off my face at this time of the year.

 2. Pepta-bright by indeed

This is another skincare favourite of mine this month. I like to get my skin in the best possible state for summer, because I prefer not to wear as much make up when travelling or going on vacations. This cream-serum says to diminish the appearance of dark spots and hyper-pigmentation. It definitely does work for me, I use it every day with other brightening products and I did notice results in just 3 weeks. I have quite strong pigmentation on my face and I don’t expect to get rid of it completely in the near future, but after using it for several months most of my dark spots have faded away, they are almost unnoticeable. If you are going to try this or any other product to brighten your skin, it is important to remember that you must use sunscreen, if you going to be in the sun, otherwise all the effort are worthless.

3. Naked 3 palette by Urban Decay

 

We all know it and most of us own it. It had already been in my and most other people favourites list months ago when it was just first launched, but seems to be forgotten about now. However I think it’s about time to find your naked 3 palette again and start using it. It has such a wonderful pink toned colours, which are perfect for this time of year. You can definitely make a lot of fun, spring looks using this palette. My favourite colours to wear at the moment are Buzz, Liar, Factory and Dust. I tend to go for more shimmery colours during spring and summer and matt colours during autumn and winter.

As you may have noticed that my favourites are all about changing your look for spring and getting ready for summer. Come back for more posts, when I will share my little ideas that you can combine in your spring looks for more fun, along with a few tips on getting ready for your perfect summer.

Review of Advanced Night Repair serum by Estee Lauder

It’s not a new product and you probably have heard a lot about it, in fact the chances are you own one yourself. It is claimed to be the #1 bestselling product by Estee Lauder, which has recently been reformulated, improving already acclaimed formula.  This begs the question, what’s so great about it this serum?

It is marketed as an anti-aging product coupled with various other benefits. Certainly, it is not that easy to review its anti-aging goodness however, I can definitely shed some light to the other so talked about features, like brightening the pigmentation spots, improving the texture and colour of your skin, etc. Overall, I think it’s a really great product. If you don’t use any serum as yet then it is an easy pick to add into your skincare without the need to give up any other of your favourite products. I use it every night after the toner and before using the moisturiser.

The serum itself has got a rich texture to it which makes it easy to absorb in the skin very quickly and doesn’t leave your skin feeling greasy or oily. If you have an oily skin you don’t need to do anything more, as for me I have to follow up with a moisturiser.

Having been using this serum for a few weeks now and I can definitely see some improvements in my skin the next morning. My skin looks more rested, the colour is more even and it has a nice glow to it. To be really honest, I am sometimes very surprised to see the difference this one product can make to my face in just one day.

I use the Advanced Night Repair serum as a treatment for my face, especially if I have used any acne treatment products that week. It definitely helps improve the dull and pale looking spots on my skin. In the long term, this product will helps to reduce redness on your face like sometimes I don’t even feel the need to wear a high coverage foundation.

If you have dry patches on your face this serum probably will not be a solution for you as you will still need to use a moisturiser to target those problem areas. However you can achieve better results on your skin if paired with the right moisturiser, which I did by trial and error. Unfortunately, it did not work with my thick in texture cream for dry skin, it just gets to greasy. I found that this Advanced Night Repair Serum works best for me when followed by a moisturiser, which has vitamin C in it or brightening face washes. Both products complement each other in improving the colour and complexion of your skin. I don’t think this serum can tackle strong pigmentation spots on its own, or it will probably take several bottles and very long time before you see any results, however, it definitely compliments other treatment I use for pigmentation spots.

Others have mentioned in their reviews that this serum helps reducing spots, unfortunately, in my case it didn’t.

To sum it up, I really like this product, it does make my skin look healthier and that’s what I expected from it. Unfortunately, the price is a bit on the high side, but if I could only afford to buy only one expensive skincare product, that would be it. If you are looking for different benefits you might be better off using something else.

What are your experiences using this product?