Face Care: Velvety Facial Moisturizer by Yves Rocher

My face care is a bit complex as my face does not like most face creams: so many, even expensive ones, cause allergic reactions to their ingredients. Unfortunately, it includes anti wrinkles and serums too. Although I do not know which exactly ingredients bring that terrible discomfort to some part of my face, I have noticed one regularity: the more natural (considering the ingredients) a cream is, the better my face skin tolerates it.
Within years, I have found a few face creams which work well for me. One of them is Velvety Moisturizer with Organic Aloe Vera by Yves Rocher. It is a truly great product. It not only hydrates the skin well but it is also gentle enough to be used as an under eye area hydrating treatment, without any eye irritation. The creamy texture of the moisturizer is absorbed by the skin quite quickly, without leaving a greasy film, which makes it a good makeup base too.
The cream contains organic aloe vera  'which is known in traditional medicine as a multipurpose skin treatment'*. Some of the Moisturizer's ingredients also are:

• sesame seed oil,
• shea butter,
• vegetable oil,
• jojoba seed oil,
• cacao seed butter,
• corn starch,
• candelilla wax.

From the manufacturer:

• 99% of the total ingredients are from natural origin,
• the moisturizer is paraben, mineral oil and colorant free,
• for normal to combination skin.

The cream does comfort and revitalize my face skin (which is rather on a dry side) with a long lasting moisturizing effect. It has a delicate and pleasant scent. The price of the product is an advantage too (especially that it is often available with 50% discount).
All in all, I find the Velvet Moisturizer really good.
Thank you Yves Rocher!

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloe_vera#Traditional_medicine

DIY: Joy of Sewing And Clothes Making

My mum used to make clothes for us. She was not a tailor and she had not taken any tailoring courses. She just learned everything on her own. She had an old Singer's sewing machine which she had received from her mother. Grandma was not a tailor either but she was also a very creative and resourceful lady: during WWII, when shoes were not available in stores, she learned how to make shoes and made them for her children. She could make clothes too.

Mum with her mum

 Anyway, the machine was very good - you could sew anything and everything with it - from a leather school bag and shoes to a thin silky blouse. And mum made us wonderful clothes - all kinds: trousers and jackets, dresses and vests. In the evenings and late in the night she sewed, no matter how tired she was after a work day in the office and doing all the home chores after work. I loved the pieces of clothing she created for me!

When sewing and tailoring magazines appeared in the newspaper kiosks, she also used some of the patterns included in those magazines, to make all kind of fashionable pieces of clothing for us and herself. I especially liked Burda magazine trends, and later, I was also buying it myself.
At some point, I thought that making my own clothes could be fun. After all the years of watching mum while she was sewing, I decided I was ready - bought myself a sewing machine and started my home sewing 'career'. Mum helped me of course, especially at the beginning: I always had problems with fitting the sleeves in a blouse or a jacket, so she sometimes did that for me. Dealing with a lining was not my favorite part either. I simply found finishing the inner, lining part boring. Maybe because the lining is something which is usually not really seen when you wear eg. a jacket.

My sewing was not that kind of masterpiece work which mum did but I enjoyed it although it was a very time-consuming activity. Yes, making a piece of clothing takes rather a lot of time. But I did manage to create quite a few things including shirts, jackets, hats, skirts and dresses. I also learned that little details, for example, buttons, make a difference. It is enough to sew on new, colorful or nicely shaped buttons or a more interesting zipper to change the look of a boring dress or shirt.

The hat made by myself

These days I do not make my own clothes anymore but, thanks to my past sewing experiences, I know what to do with a needle and threads when something needs fixing. From time to time I improve a dress or some other items: shorten or narrow something. However, with no sewing machine and doing everything by hand (when I was moving I had to leave the machine at mum's), completing a simple project lasts ages. That is why I hardly ever sew nowadays.

Some of the clothes I have made.

Perfumes And Travels: Casmir by Chopard

I got this bottle of perfume when I was traveling with Ania - a friend of mine. Together we visited quite a few countries, and even more airport duty free stores. In one of them Ania bought herself some nice scent - perfume or eau de toilette (cannot recall what it was), I chose Casmir. When I smelled its sample at the store, I knew at once I loved the beautiful and elegant fragrance.

Casmir was created in 1992 by Michel Almairac:

• top notes: peach, apricot, blackcurrant, raspberry;
• middle notes: mandarin, carnation, cinnamon;
• base notes: vanilla, benzoin, tonka bean, opoponax ('sweet myrrh' - an oil plant native to the deserts of middle East).

It all makes quite a special composition, different to other perfumes which I have had. The fragrance - a rich and intense bouquet - is long lasting and certainly good to be worn during special evening/night outings.

Travelling with Ania - in Cyprus

Makeup for Cooler Weather And Valentine's Day

This is my makeup suggestion for any bigger winter outing including Valentines' Day celebrations. The luminous elements: foundation, concealer and face powder make the complexion look fresh and radiant without unnecessary excess or mask effect.

1. Face
Teint Miracle by Lancome
I love this hydrating foundation which reflects light and makes the skin face look flawless and great. It is light like a delicate veil but covers red marks really well. The foundation contains Sun Protection Factor No.15 and is a long lasting Miracle too - no need to correct it even if worn for many hours.
I bought it in Europe where the shades of the Lancome foundations are marked in a totally different way than in the US (do not know why). If I wanted to repurchase it here, I would need to compare my item with the samples available at a store and then decide what my tone is called here. A bit complicated but the product is worth doing that research for sure.

Teint Miracle Concealer by Lancome
It moisturizes my dry under eye area, brightens the dark circles and smooths fine lines. On top of this, it is also very good for sensitive eyes. The concealer contains micro-fluorescent particles which give the radiant (and younger :) ) look. Its tone harmoniously matches the shade of the foundation. Long lasting. Who would want more?

Teint Miracle Concealer: Rose Lumiere by Lancome

Lucidity Translucent Loose Powder by Estee Lauder
This light and luminous powder is great - it very much adds to the radiant look and what is more important, it does not dry out my skin. Unfortunately, it has been discontinued but it is still available in some online stores.

Lucidity Translucent Loose Powder No. 01 Light

2. Eyes
Pure Color 14 Enchanted Berries by Estee Lauder - great pigmentation, long lasting, anti crease and very efficient. More and less shimmery shades create quite a few dimensional, non-flat makeup.
How I use them:
#1 inner eye corner + under eyebrow arch;
#2 eyelid;
#3 crease - at first I used #4 to crease but I decided the result was not very interesting so I changed it to #3;
#4 sculpt;
#5 a thin line along the upper eyelashes line + 1/2 of lower eyelashes line (I draw the lines using a moistened/wet brush).

1. Satin, 2. Shimmer, 3. Shimmer, 4. Metallic 5. Matte

The little sponge applicators are good and work well but I prefer using eye shadow brushes, especially to draw lines on the eyelids.

Brushes: Elite Professional & by Sephora - both are good and very useful

 Kohl Eye pencil Luminelle by Yves Rocher
I moisten the tip with water and use the pencil to enhance the purple line (#5) on the upper lid - simply draw another line on the purple eye shadow line. In real, the shade of the eye pencil is a bit darker than in the picture.

Kohl pencil Bleu pacifique by Yves Rocher

Black-Brown Waterproof Mascara by Max Factor

 

I have always liked this brand, maybe because the very first foundation (which I used for some time) was by Max Factor too and it was great in every way. Anyway, the mascara has quite an interesting shade - a mix of two colors but still more black than brown. The rubber brush is flexible and allows to apply the mascara evenly, without any problems. It is waterproof which helps to avoid any makeup mishaps.

3. Lips

#310 Rose Anemone lip pencil by Lancome
Yes, I have had it quite long and have been enjoying using it. Its color goes well with most pink lipstick tones.

Michael Kors True Hollywood Lipstick by Estee Lauder 
The lipstick was part of a limited edition - a vivid and long lasting color, covers the lips with an even and moisturizing layer. Love this fuchsia shade - it looks gorgeous when, after applying the lipstick, you also add some touch of a transparent lip gloss to the lips.

4. Nails
Extreme Wear Nail Color # 320 Fuchsia Power by Sally Hansen
This long lasting and shiny polish finishes the Valentine's Day makeup.

Have a great and enjoyable Valentine's Day!

Anna Sui Cosmetics from Dave Lackie

In January I was the lucky winner of one of the Luxury Giveaways by Dave Lackie, beauty editor and Cityline expert. I came across his Beauty The Guide a few months ago and since then, I have been enjoying reading his articles on the news from the makeup and beauty world. I am really glad I found Dave's website, not only because I won, but also because I had missed that kind of good reading/magazine after moving to this part of the world.
I learnt about Anna Sui from Dave Lackie and his online posts. Having spent most of my life in Europe, I am more familiar with all the bigger and some smaller European brands/names. That is why - when I won this set - I thought I would look for Anna Sui cosmetics in local stores, to see what they looked like. Well, I did not succeed as they simply did not have any items by her.
Now, when I have already received my lucky set, I am glad I was not able to see the products before. It made the happiness of winning them even greater. When the package arrived, I was so amazed (and happy of course) how cute the little things are! And the shades are so pretty too! They are the cutest cosmetics I have ever had and each of them is special in its own way.
Thank you Dave! Thank you Beth!

1. Nail Polish No.305 - shimmery and lovely - and the little bottle! Of course I am going to use it soon.

 

2. Rose Cheek Color No. 602 - more and less shimmery (which I love) and wonderful shades. And the box - so girly...

3. Lipstick V 303 - the shape of the little container and the lipstick itself are truly original.  Shall I start using it and destroy the cute star or keep it as it is, to look at it and enjoy the art? :)

4. Glittery Lip Gloss No. 601 - I love glittery shades/cosmetics. The lip gloss looks great on the lips and smooths them nicely.

Hats Are Fun!

I mean real hats. And we do like wearing hats because of various reasons. Besides being useful - when we want to protect ourselves/our heads from the weather conditions (both in the summer and the winter), a hat is also an important component of the outfit, as it gives the image the finishing and closing touch. It may add to the cuteness of the look or totally spoil it and make us look ridiculous.
That is why, it is important to find a hat that matches you and your face, and enhances your style in a flattering way.

Hats also make the summer heat more bearable. Outfit: shirt and shorts made by myself.

While walking around a shopping center, we were also looking for some nice hats - trying hats on is fun too! To my disappointment, what we could see in most stores was totally not of my taste - not my 'kind of fairy tale' at all. All hats had too much of this and that, there was nothing I could call nice or at least entertaining. Surprisingly, we found many more interesting headcovers (meaning both quality and design) in men's departments.

Since I am not very much familiar with American fashion stores, visiting a shopping mall is always  in a way similar  to doing sightseeing - we watch and learn new things too. Passing by a store, I saw two letters 'CC' above the door leading into the place. I wondered what the acronym stood for so we entered the 'CC'. Almost at the same moment we heard: 'Welcome to Charming Charlie'. So we knew/learned. And surprise! We discovered many cute bags, accessories there .... and my kind of hats too :).
We came back to Charming Charlie a few days later and I chose something for myself. Guess what it is!

I was glad to find out that CC has also got an online store - now I can browse their collections on the net and see it all live in the mall too.

Eye Pencils: In Blue

I am so glad that the Big Makeup World has finally appreciated colorful eye pencils and eye liners. In my opinion, lighter shades 'open' the eye and add the light to the look. My favorites have always been various tones of blue and green (my eyes are brown), and I have worn them no matter what a current makeup trend says.

My choice of blue eye pencils:

all of them (besides no.3) are creamy and soft which makes the application quite comfortable. The colors stays on the eyelid long and do not fade/smudge.

1. Dessin Du Regard Crayon Yeux Haute Tenue - No. 9 Turquoise by YSL
The eye pencil contains jojoba oil. The blending tip is quite handy considering creating a 'smokey eye' look option.

2. Waterproof Eye Pencil - Turquoise by Yves Rocher is enriched with Chamomile extract. I really like its radiant shade. The built-in sharpener is quite and useful. The winner in my 'waterproof  qualities' test.*
  
4.  Flashy Liner Waterproof - No. 08 Flashy Blue - by Sephora
It is really great - a lovely vivid, metallic/shiny blue shade. The tip is soft and silky. I could not find more info on the pencil as it seems to be discontinued but it is long-lasting indeed. No.2 in my 'waterproof qualities' test*.

3. Sky Teal by Apple - this eye pencil (I do not know anything about its manufacturer) is actually the weakest (meaning quality) so it should be marked as no. 4. On the other hand, even though its tip is a bit harder, comparing to the other pencils, there are no problems with drawing a thin, precise line and defining the eye with the Sky Teal. I like the color. Also, the eye pencil was inexpensive, which makes it quite a good option to all the more pricey stuff.

* I tested all four eye pencils in the shower.

Below: an example of my everyday makeup with a blue eye pencil. I keep the makeup light as at my age more intense tones would not look good. On the other hand, it does not mean the older you get, the more boring your makeup must be - a blue/turquoise (or other color) eyeliner adds some freshness and lightness to the look.

What I used:

• eye shadows  (all blended together)  - beige, light orange-gold, light blue and lavender by Yves Rocher 
• Flashy Blue eye pencil - by Sephora 
• black waterproof mascara by Sephora