"Legendary" NOTD!!

Just a NOTD for you today!The legendary "Peppermint Patty" by MAC (from the "Sugarsweet" collection) with some orange dots created with "Peachy keen" by China glaze. Very colorful, I must admit, however it seemed appropriate for the sunny and warm weather last weekend! Maybe it isn't everyone's cup of tea however I still think it's fun to do as well as to wear. Hope u like it! :)



ta-da
Athina

Review: John Frieda "A brilliant brunette" shampoo

Hello lovelies!How have you been? I am well, in general, but Spring just doesn't agree with me!I feel ill even though I am not.Anyway...!I have a review for you today and it is a review of the John Frieda "A brilliant brunette" shampoo. I have to say I am completely in love with this shampoo and the effect it has on my hair.
I purchased it about a week ago from Sephora (which is where you can find it in Greece as well as the Hondos Center branch in Ippokratous). I, normally, don't buy moisturising shampoos since I have oily roots and a dry scalp that tends to have some flakes every now and then. For all these reasons I used to wash my hair with the "Head and shoulders" shampoos which helped with both of these issues. However, now that I am growing my hair out I have been noticing that the ends of my hair are very dry and most conditioners weight my hair down. I did used to use the Aussie mega shampoo and conditioner(alternating between these two and the "head and shoulders") which were brilliant but, unfortunately I cannot get my hands on them at the moment so I had to resort to something else.
Now, this shampoo costs a little more than 8 euros which is not too expensive, nor is it cheap. As far as I am concerned it is worth every penny. Let me , also, say that you need very little product to wash your hair so it should last me quite a long time given the fact that I use it every other day.
The product:

What they say:
Salon-inspired formula contains Enriching Technology with sweet almond oil and crushed pearls.
Rehydrates and revitalizes dull, dry, brittle hair for renewed silkiness and exceptional shine.
Brings out natural highlights and multi-dimensional shine for ultra-rich, ultra-luminous brunette.
With regular use, dry lackluster brown hair will develop incredible radiance and a silky texture.
For all shades of natural, color-treated or highlighted brunette hair
(taken from: http://www.johnfrieda.com/en-US/ProductDetail/Hair-Care/Brilliant-Brunette/Shine-Release-Moisturizing-Shampoo-For-All-Shades)

My experience:
A HG product for me that really works. I moisturizes my hair and makes it smoothe. It makes blowdrying a peace of cake and gives my hair incredible shine.
The only thing I would have to say to people with oily roots is that you should start lathering from bottom(ends) to top (scalp) so that most of the product will go to the ends that need to be moisturized as opposed to the roots. You could even dillute it with some water in your palm before putting it on your hair. I have been doing this with most of my shampoos and it helps not to use excessive product hence minimizing build-up. I hope you enjoyed this review and the small bonus tip and that you are well!
Thanks for taking the time to read this post and for stopping by my blog!
xoxo
Athina

NOTD Barry M "Cobalt Blue" & EOTD "Pink for Spring"

Hello lovelies!
I have a NOTD for you today and it is "Cobalt Blue" by Barry M. It is a lovely medium toned blue(no shimmer/sheen etc). It is great for spring as well as summer and the payoff is so good that I only used one coat to do my nails. Surely a second coat could turn the color darker but it looks very pretty and opaque with just one coat. Hope you like it!!


And the second part of this post is just a pink look I did a couple of days ago on a a really pretty and warm day.I don't normally wear pink eyeshadow but I was inspired by a very pretty pink-toned sunset...!!

Can't wait for your feedback!!!!!!!
xoxo
Athina

MAC "Technique" seminar!

Hola my beautiful readers! I have a very different post for you today. It is a post on a seminar I went to ,with some friends, last night. I wasn't aware of these seminars until a friend phoned me and asked me whether I'd like to join her. This seminar is part of a series of seminars by MAC called "Technique". Basically, what it is, is a demonstration of the use of different product to achive a specific look. The MAC artist who did this seminar was trying to achieve the look on this face-chart...

Using these products...

I love this look and I think it is great for a night out during Spring. Of course, like most of us, I would definately change things (e.g. I would skip the lip liner) but, overall, I think I would definately try a similar(possibly, slightly toned down look) for my next night out.
As far as the seminar itself is concerned I didn't learn much but it was interesting to watch a MAC artist and compare a professional's take on application and use of different products, to your own. There was a lot of scraping and mixing and ,also, a lot of layering of products which definately looks interesting but , realistically, a person who isn't a make-up addict or doesn't have an hour and a half to do her make-up in the morning, won't be able to do all this. Surely, the look presented wasn't a morning-time look but the base of the face make-up was presented as if it was the perfect way to get flawless skin. Nonetheless, the MAC artists were keen to answer any questions that came their way and they explained, to the best of their ability, techniques and uses of different products.
After we left the seminar room we went to the MAC counter and had a look at several different products including the products from the "Wonderwoman" collection and the Viva Glam Gaga II lipstick and gloss(which I tried on). Nothing wow-ed me from the former collection except for the "Mighty Afrodity" blush which I didn't purchace purely because it was a tad too expensive. I did love the new Lady Gaga viva glam lipstick though and I seriously thinking about picking it up soon. WOW...I wrote lots didn't I?ooops :P
Last but not least, we got this little case/pack from the MAC artists which includes some leaflets with the different MAC permanent products(Brushes, lips, eyes, face, prep and prime), a notepad and a pencil.



If I am correct the next seminar will take place in the beginning of May at the "Golden Hall" mall in Athens. If you wish to check it out then contact the MAC counter in Attica in the "Golden Hall" mall and let them know you'd like to attend.
Have a fun weekend guys!! :)
xoxo
Athina

NOTD Essie "Fiji" and new wellies!!

Hello my lovelies!
How are you this Sunday? It is really sunny in Athens today but unfortunately I am spending my Sunday indoors so far...!Who knows?The day is young ;)
So, I have a NOTD for you guys today and it is Essie's "FIJI" nailpolish.


I like this nailpolish however I have to say it is a little streaky. It might just be the fact that I got it from my mom and she, in turn, had had it for a number of years. However, I have to say that after checking out the "French Affair" collection by Essie, I don't think that I "need" any polishes since I have "FIJI". Also, let me note that the streakiness kind of goes away after you put on a top coat. Let me know whether you have tried "FIJI" and, also, whether you liked it or not. Also let me apologize for the state of my cuticles but they tend to look like this when it is cold outside. However, I am getting a manicure tomorrow which will hopefully help.
Now on to my new pair of wellies. Actually, it is my first pair of wellies ever. I have been looking for wellies for a long time and I finally found a pair that fits perfectly. From what I understand the collection they are from is called WOZ and it is a CROCS collection(I only just realised that after I googled the name on the box...lame...I know). I bought them for just 30 euros which is a bargain as far as I am concerned and I am looking forward to wearing them even if it doesn't rain any time soon...:P


Let me know what you think!
Hope you are all doing well!
xoxo
Athina

How I store my make-up brushes (and how to paint the tips of the handles)!

Hello my lovely readers....!I know I promised a post about the carnival looks I created and I am still working on that.The "problem" is that we took lots of photos on Saturday and we need to share them with each other soon so I can sort through them and pick the ones I would like to share with you!Now, on to today's post...!
I got some questions about where I keep/store my make-up brushes and I really don't have a fancy way of doing that.I had a clear-glass vase that I filled with plastic purple "beads" that I found in Jumbo(my greek readers can definately get their hands on these beads that come in several different colors). The beads are super cheap and you could probably find something similar to them in your country. I do have a tip for you though.Don't put your brushes in pebbles or small rocks because they will get scratched. So my brush holder looks like this...

Front

Side
Now, I also painted the ends of my brushes so that I could distinguish them whenever I am working with other people's brushes as well as mine. I decided on a dark purple which does the job, it looks pretty and doesn't stand out too much.
I used the nailpolish method to paint them and it turned out fine. I used Barry M's Vivid purple nailpolish.

I started of by taping the tips off the handle like so...


Then I painted the ends with my nailpolish and left them,on a piece of cloth, to dry.

Afterwards I ,carefully, removed the tape and left them laying flat for another hour or so to make sure the nailpolish was as dry as possible. That was it...as simple and easy as that and it only took me 15 minutes to do(excluding drying time, of course).

I hope you liked this post and be on the look-out for my post on the Carnival make-up looks I did! :)
Hope you are well!Lots of love!
xoxo
Athina

Quick update!

Hey you guys!I have had issues with both my computer and the internet for the past couple of days hence missing in action quite a bit. I would like to apologize for not posting anything the last couple of days but I would like to let you know that I am working on it at the moment and I will, hopefully, be back online properly within the next couple of days with pics of some carnival looks I have been working on and I thought you might be interested to see what I created.

Hope you are well and that you can excuse my short absence!Expect some interesting posts from me by the end of this week...;)

xoxo
Athina