My August favorites. For the past 8 months I’ve been a huge fan of beauty gurus on Youtube. Every month they do favourites videos, reviewing most used products of the month that just ended. I decided to hop-on-the-wagon and do the same. So, here is my August review of products that I used, loved and didn’t care for.
Favouries:
MAC mineralized skin finish “Soft and Gentle”. Love it! I wear it on my cheekbones, cheek area and sometimes in the eye crease. I feel like a sun goddess, sparkly and glowing.
Fresh “Sugar” eau de parfum. I was sold on the smell, a fresh sugar, lime, verbena scent. It doesn’t linger for long which is OK with me, but now that I am almost over I am a bit tired of the scent.
Nuxe “Reve de Miele” lip balm in a jar. I keep it in my bathroom drawer and apply it in the morning and before going to sleep, it works greats and moisturizes my lips. It might not be to everyone’s taste because the texture is matte with sparse grains of honey.
NARS “Douceur” blush. I use it as a contour for my cheeks and it’s great. It contours my face with a slight blush, and it does not break me out. All other bronzers that I’ve tried I had pretty bad reactions to. Now it is my to go contour and in fall it might become my fav’ blush.
Moroccanoil “Oil treatment”. A gift brought to me from Israel that I love I apply it to my damp hair and it dries as a great moisturezer. I’ve heard that it manages frizz, but I haven’t noticed that. I really like the moisture and the vanilla smell. Also, I’ve been recently applying this to my hands and face (under eyes also) as a moisturizer, and within a minute it soaks up and provides a bit of moisture. I think when I am out I will buy cold pressed moroccan and passionfruit oils and will use them the same way.
Dior “Diorshow extase” mascara. It came in my Dior travel kit, and it is my current mascara. It separates the lashes wonderfully and it’s the first mascara which I enjoy using when applying it to my lower lashes.
Dior creme concealer “Light beige”. Also part of the kit, I’ve been enjoying it immensely. It melts into my fingers and applies nicely. I have noticed that under eyes have to be well moisturized otherwise it doesn’t blend well, leaving marks.
Caudalie “Eau de beaute”. I am hooked on its smell. I am not sure if it actually does anything, but it feels so refreshing and great for travel and long days. I am a lost out and I am buying it again. $15 for a bit of happiness is a small price to pay.
Green beaver “Citrus” deodorant. After I read all the bad things about antiperspirants I’ve decided to try a natural alternative. Well, this doesn’t block the sweat but it helps to mask the somewhat scent. My verdict is that I enjoy using it at home, but when going anywhere public I continue to use ‘the bad’ antiperspirants. PS I have it in Lavender and I don’t like the smell.
Lush “Turkish delight” shower smoothie. Mmm. Heavenly whipped creamy butter perfect for shaving. It makes me feel so spa-like every time I use it. I will repurchase it again and again.
Didn’t care for:
Fresh “Soy cleanser”. It is nice and it cleanses, but I don’t like the smell (it smells herby). So, once I am done with it we will part our ways.
La Roche-Posay “Hydraphase Intense” hydrating care. Got it as a gift for my Bday and I used it since as moisturizer for my face. It is OK, but I didn’t see my skin improving in moisture. So, I’ll continue looking for face cremes that will help me to restore my face from being dry to being normal on regular basis.
Origins “A Perfect World” antioxidant moisturizer. I purchased it as a face moisturizer, it is too rich for my face and with time the smell really annoyed me. So i started using it for shoulders and legs and loved it. But, $60 for a body creme is too much.
Klorane “Camomille” shampoo. decided to give it a go and it was nice shampoo, but it has SLS. When I am out I will go online and purchase an organic camomile shampoo.
Revlon “Sweetheart” balm stain. It’s OK. I apply it lightly and confidently leave the house with pinky lips. But it has tons of chemicals and you don’t want to eat those. This month I am making a switch to all natural lip products and this guy will have to go.
P.S. I took the photos of products myself, I figured it’s best to see that I actually have these products and how they look size-wise in relation to each other.
Spring is here! And it is all about pastels. Spring is always all about pastels. Why? Probably has a lot to do with pastels being Easter colours. So let’s stay within the canon and enjoy these beautiful subtle colours.
Holland. OPI came out with Holland collection for this spring. The colours are wonderful and break away from pastels by having grey undertones and in some cases shimmer. My favourite colours are: Did you ‘ear about Van Gogh?, Kiss Me on My Tulips, Dutch ‘Ya Just Love OPI?, and Thanks A WindMillion.
Natural. All-natural looks are always in and with pastels you can only look natural. Create a wonderful natural look with subtle pastel/beige eyeshadow, pinky blush, nude lipstick and your favourite mascara. My suggestions: lipstick Please Me by MAC, marble mineral powder in Pink by Pur Minerals, and two eyeshadows by Urban Decay, for brow bone Virgin and Sin for full lid. For a bit of spice line your eyes with pastel shades of green, lavender, silver or soft baby blues.
Refresh. Refresh your skin with a weekly gentle face mask and a body scrub. My current loves are Chocomania body scrub by Body Shop, and Fresh mask with lemon zest by Yves Rocher.
Corals. Add some coral into your life with coral lips, cheeks or nail polish. Personally I will be rocking corals with Chilli Tingle lip stain by Lush.
Gold. Dragging on from fall and winter gold trend shifts from clothes to makeup. If you love gold, wear it, this time as your eyeshadow. Try Sephora Collection eyeshadows ($15), MAC’s pigments, or if you own a Naked Palette look no further.
Classics. Classics stay with us this spring: the red lip, cat eye and smokey eye. Sigh, how boring. I would recommend adding some life to these looks by trying out different colour combinations. For example: replace black eyeliner with green or light blue. No need to buy a new eyeliner. Just use an angled brush and dampen existing eyeshadow colour with water.
Hairstyle. Based on NYC’s fashion week this spring we are into some hair! Reported hair styles are: slicked back, hair wraps, centre part, side part, top knots and retro. I’d love to try the top knots once my hair grows out a bit more.
For me February is all about love and Ventine’s. For some Valentine’s is lonesome holiday. Remember, you are never alone! Celebrate the month of February with colour and passion. And on the 14th go out with your single girlfriend or guy friends. Buy a new dress or that new red lipstick. Put on those fake lashes or 50’s bold wing tips. Go to a party, bar or restaurant. And say “Goodbye!” to that nagging feeling of loneliness. Remember, don’t rush into a relationship, keep an eye out for that perfect one and weed out all the “Mr. Right Now” guys.
The colour palette for February and Valentine’s does not have to be all red, look for beautiful cremes, blushes, black&gold combinations and even mint colours.
1. Wing tip. Retro is in this season, and what says retro better than a wing tip eye look. Merlin Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn and many more gorgeous women rocked this look. You can do it too ;) Wear this makeup icon daily, experiment with liquid liner, pencil, smudge eyeshadows or eyeliner markers.
2. A red lip. Everyone knows that a red lip is a classic. Also many women are fearful of the red lips and I fully understand their fear. Until recently I believed that red lips are impossible to apply evenly. That is when I discovered the art of staining. Instead of smudging the lip colour on, stain your lips with red. Apply a lip balm before hand to provide a rich moisture foundation. This way the colour will last longer.
3. Blush colours. Blush is a beautiful colour, a light touch of pink that makes me think of tea roses and Paris. And when thinking about Paris and makeup Chanel comes to mind. Oh… Chanel. I love their oh-so-classy makeup and packaging. I just saw their spring 2012 LE items and was glad to see wonderful fresh light pinks. My favourite products so far are blush in glowing harmony, nail polish in May, or a hydrating lip colour in Chalys. Also, I found their MUA tutorials elegant, inspiring and a great idea for V-day looks.
4. Artsy Appliques. I have been using these for years now in my photo shoots (I was so glad to see that this technique is getting lots of attention this winter). A fancy name of appliqués is just any cut out shape or glitter which is applied to your face, lips, eyebrows or an eyeshadow substitute. I would suggest going to your local dollar store, buy glitter shaped as stars, hearts or flakes and apply those to your face using an eyelash glue. Any evening and party look can be spiced up using an appliques, the most important part is not to overdo it.
5. Retro hairstyles. Retro is the theme and hairstyles are not to be neglected. Especially if you are looking go get inspiration for unique hairstyles. Need help? Look at the cast of PanAm TV series, the actresses are diverse and have amazing hair in each episode. Take these look ideas and turn them into your reality.
Stay beautiful!
Diana ♥
Huge trend!!! I have been dying to get this nail look for ages now! And here is a step-by-step insanely easy way how to pull it off. I would suggest doing the second “dark” layer when the 1st layer of colour is 100% dry. Great tip: Reversing the light and dark colours will add that extra oomph to the look ;)
Diana ♥
(via makeup-creations)
I love New Year’s resolutions. How about this for a resolution? Looking your very own best in the 2012! I decided to start this year by re-evaluating my beauty routines and products that I use. Some things are better to leave in the 2011 and move on. So here are some of my new and improved manifestos for the new year:
1. Stay Natural. Watching youtube beauty vids is addictive: they both inspire me and make me want to put more makeup on my face. I decided to let go of that obsession and return back to looking natural. Goodbye to: tons of blush (one swipe is enough), bronzing and highlighting face daily, full on daily eyeshadow looks, lining my eyes with pencil, and sinister thoughts about foundation.
2. Be Yourself. I will stop wearing/buying clothes that suit me best according to colour charts, and will return to wearing my favourite colours. Whoever says that grey doesn’t match cool skinned girls with my eye colour can shush it. I love grey colour! So be yourself, wear the colours that you love, and makeup that you think suits you most. Your taste might change eventually anyways. And for now you can be yourself.
3. Go Hair Products! Now for the first time in 10 years I have shoulder length hair and it’s my natural hair colour. Man, do I feel weird having it. I discovered the fun of: flyaway hairs, grey hair (I have a few!), dry hair, oily hair, hair getting glued to your glossed lips, hair curling and misbehaving. I had none of this nonsense with my bobs and boy cuts. So what is the solution? Screw natural products! They just don’t help my hair stay in place. Trust me, I tried. This year I will stock up on John Frieda, Fructis and other wonderful brands, which will be a great aid in taming my hair.
4. Soap 4Life. I used makeup remover solution two times (it was a Christmas gift) and now I am fighting back the worse acne breakout of my life. FU gentle lotion makeup remover (they had the nerve to say that it is “gentle” on the cover)! I am now back to soap for the entire 2012 and the rest of my life.
5. Trust Your Mascara. Got a good mascara that you have been loving for the past year or two? Stick to it. In the 2011 I decide to experiment and bought a bunch of new mascaras and ended up hating 90% of what I bought. One of the mascaras was an absolute worse, I wore it for the second time after purchase and in a couple of hours after application it started feeling chalky and flaked. So in 2012 I’ll be sticking with what I know & trust.
Hope you enjoyed my NY’s resolutions. Let me know what are yours?
Diana ♥
Muh face vol. 2
Nowadays there are so many products for our face and no guidebook explaining what they are for. Today I am going to talk about: blush, bronzer, and highlighter.
*This is a follow up article about makeup products for our face. Click here to read the 1st part.
Blush - A product that adds colour to our cheeks, adding a natural health look to our face. It is best to choose a blush colour which is most similar to how your cheeks look like when you are blushing or out in the cold weather. Blushes come in pressed or loose powder, creams and liquid tint or stain.
How to apply? Apply blush along your cheekbones and on the apple cheeks when you smile.
Bronzer - Is used to establish contour shadows if you have a round or flat face and want to add dimension or used instead of a blush during summer or year round if you have darker toned skin or if you are a frequent tanner. Bronzer comes in liquid, creme, pressed and loose powder, also it comes in different shades from matte to super shimmer, and at times in multiple colours which can be mixed together.
How to apply?Bronzer is usually applied a) on your neck right below the jaw bones, b) below cheekbones along the in-cave line when you make a fish face, and c) along the line of your temples and around hairline on the forehead. This way you add extra shadows to your face creating dimension.
Highlighter - Also known as shimmer, luminizer, illuminizer, illuminator, radiance booster, shimmering powder,brightener, up-lighter, glow, bright touch etc. Known by many names it serves one purpose - to highlight your face, adding brightness and dimension. Same as bronzer and blush it can come in any form from liquid to powder and can be found from compact cases to pen like packaging.
How to apply? Apply to the area just above your cheekbones, this will accentuate your bone structure. Highlighter should be just above your blush, not mixed with it. If you have a wide nose you can also apply a highlighter down the line of your nose, this will make your nose thinner looking.
Diana ♥
Three suggested to dos which are certain to change your life for better this November.
#1. Rejuvenate
When you grow older your skin needs a bit of help as it does not renew as easily on its own building up layers of dead old skin. As an aide daily or weekly peeling is a must. To kick off those old layers of skin and give way to new and healthy skin use either a scrub (it can be in form of a creme scrub or loofa) or fruit juices - acidic juices of lemon or orange can be applied to your skin for about 10-15 minutes and then rinsed, these acids will wash away the old skin particles.
#2 Hand sanitization
With viruses on the loose it is a good idea to take as many preventative cautions as possible. Always cary with you a small liquid hand sanitizer (if you don’t like the smell of alcohol, buy a scented one). Apply it frequently, especially when in public spaces (school, office, transport, mall, restaurant). Hand sanitizer reduces your risk of getting virus sickness such as flue 5-10 fold. Also don’t forget to wash your hands on a regular basis with antibacterial soap.
#3 Ingrown Nail
November is the time when we start wearing winter and late autumn shoes. As our toes are hidden and squished inside a shoe we often forget about them. Our lack of attention may result in ingrown nails. Gross, I know. To prevent this please pay attention to your toes, once a week inspect them and perform DIY (do it yourself) pedicures.
Stay healthy,
Diana ♥
Nails, an affair to remember
I have been in love with my nails since the age of 12. That is when I discovered the awesomeness of nail polishes. Ever since and to date I get complimented on my nails. Sometimes people even ask me “Are these real?”. I decided to share my “knowledge of nails” with you. Hopefully some advice will help you to take better care of your nails.
#1. Biting. Don’t bite your nails. Honestly, don’t. If you are doing it - STOP. Why? It is disgusting. Picking at your nails in public, biting them, picking at your cuticles or anywhere around your nail area is just gross. Do you want to be gross? I don’t think so. So stop with the biting. You can do it!
#2 Leave your cuticles alone! Don’t cut them off. There is no real need for this. They do it in spas in salons, so what? They grow back out anyways. In my 12 years nail experience I have done it only twice. Once in a spa, and they actually made me bleed a little and it hurt. Second time at home, and it was the biggest waste of my time. When you are painting on your nails just paint over your cuticles or around them. It’s really easy.
#3 No to yellow nails. If you don’t want yellow nails always use a base coat. You can also get pink nails or stained dark nails depending on what nailpolish colour you are using. So a clear base coat before application of the nail polish is key.
#4 So long dead skin. The skin around your nails gets dead sometimes so cut it off. Use small scissors and cut off the top layers only, don’t cut too deep or you’ll bleed. How can you tell old / dead skin? It usually feels a bit firmer than the rest of the skin around your finger. When in doubt, do not cut anything off. Please don’t injure yourself.
#5 Hands. Take care of them. You might have the prettiest nails in the world but if your hands are cracked or dry that defeats everything. Think of your hands as a frame for a beautiful picture, which are your nails. Wash your hands, moisturize them. And once a month use a facial scrub to exfoliate your hands.
#6 Fake nails. Never EVER do this. Fake nails always look cheap. The longer they are the cheaper you look. And I am talking about glue ons, acrylic , gel nails and every single other thing out there. When you get your fake nails in a salon or a spa they file down your natural nail to its core so it becomes extremely unhealthy and takes a long time to recover. Spoken from a personal experience. I got my nails done once as I was curious and my curiosity ended right there. I was $80 poorer and very unhappy.
#7 Square or round? The shape is up to you. Square nails have been trendy for the past decade. Personally I prefer round nails, I think they look more classy.
#8 How long? Anything in a range of 0.4 inches or 1 cm is considered to be in good taste. I got sick of growing out my nails so now I keep them true to their natural length (where my fingers end).
#9 Calcium myth. I don’t drink milk at all and my nails are healthy. I think that the health of your nails is not related as much to your calcium intake as it is related to your overall diet. To have healthy nails eat healthy - eat everyday, have raw veg and fruit, don’t ever eat processed meats, don’t drink pop on daily basis (twice a year is more like it), cut down on your meat intake (eat meat only once or twice per week) and never ever eat meals out of a box (the microwaveable kind). Every meal has to be cooked.
#10 Filing. File your nails once a week every week. Use any file of your choice. My favourite is a glass or crystal file, but if you drop it on the floor it shatters to pieces. Lately I have been using a file from my boyfriend’s Swiss Army knife kit and it is great. It really is.
I think I have covered all the basis of my nail routine and best advice (some of it I learned the hard way). If you have any questions about nails or nail care feel free to ask me. Sorry for some gross images.
Diana ♥
1) Daily cleansing - Wash your face every night before going to sleep, daily dirt and makeup clogs up your pores. Use a scrub or good old soap and water.
2) Weekly cleansing - Cleanse your skin once a week. Use natural clay or mud mask. This routine will clean up you pores, and will rid you of white and black dots. Want to spice things up? Try a peel. Also exfoliating your skin fights acne.
3) Diet - diet influences the oiliness of your skin as well.
A. FRUIT & VEG - Try eating food rich in protein. Include raw vegetables and fruits into your daily diet routine.
B. VITAMIN B2 - vitamin B2 prevents your skin from increasing the oiliness of your skin. Great sources of B2 are nuts, grains, oats, and beans.
C. SO LONG FATS - Decrease your sugar intake. Say goodbye to chocolates, pastries, pop, alcohol and fried foods. Or at least control yourself and consume these items in small portions.
D. SPICY? NO THANK YOU - Spicy foods dilate blood vessels, and make your skin produce more oils.
4) Hydration - You have to hydrate your skin. Drink lots of water (10 glasses per day is the norm). Good hydrating cream which is fit for oily skin will help to hydrate your skin as well.
5) Recommended products: Clinique’s 3 step system $49 , 3 step system from Yves Roche $7 , Moisturizer from Lush for oily skin $37.95 , Mineral clay firming masque by St. Ives $15 (get it in Shoppers Drugmart), Thermal mud face pack by Parrs $25.80, Estee Lauder oil control pressed powder $27, any mineral based makeup, any makeup by Bare Minerals
Get these routines memorized by heart and start practicing them. Let’s kick that oily skin’s ass once and for all!
Diana ♥
Beauty 101: Eyebrows
Get your tweezers and scissors out or get in touch with a spa and book a threading appointment because we are going to talk about eyebrows. One thing to know about them - they always have to be well groomed. If your eyebrows are thin and scarce use tweezers, if your eyebrows are thick and plentiful go to a spa and get them threaded (or go on youtube and learn threading techniques yourself). If your eyebrows are curly get those scissors out and start trimming. Before you do that though it is a good idea to figure out a couple of things about your eyebrows:
1. SHAPE: I would recommend to go for classy round eyebrows. In my opinion they are the ones that look most natural. If your eyebrows are anything like mine there is no way they can be as long as in the pictures above. I got a trick for you ladies, just use eyeshadow and angled bush to elongate the eyebrow line.
2. POINTS: Before doing anything to your eyebrow you need to find out the 3 natural points of your eyebrow -
A) Starting point, where your eyebrow starts. Get a ruler and position it to the inner corner of the eye, when it meets your eyebrow that is where it should start.
B) Arch, where your eyebrow arches and starts to decline. Rotate the ruler so it goes directly across the centre of your pupil and follow to the section of your brow where the ruler crosses. This section should be the highest point of the arch.
C) Ending point, your eyebrow ends here. Use a ruler and place its tip at the outer nose to the outside corner of the eye.Where it meets your eyebrow that is where it should end.
3. TRACE: Trace the shape of the eyebrow the way you want it to be, use white or blue eyeliner for tracing.
4. BYE BYE: Say “bye bye” to your eyebrows and start plucking or threading :)
5. TOOLS: You can buy your tweezers at Shoppers Drugmart or Sephora. I have heard great things about Tweezerman tweezers. Personally I own a pair of Lancome tweezers, when I ca’t find them I use tweezers from my boyfriend’s Swiss Army knife set.
Have yourself wonderful eyebrows!
Diana ♥
