Top products of 2013

Hello everyone,

Today's post is the last post of 2013 for this blog and an annual tradition, I bring to you the top products of 2013.
I thought about doing the top 13 of 2013 but I didn't wanna limit myself this year. Instead, I thought I would do 5 categories of products : Make-up, nails, skincare, misc & non-beauty favourites.
Without further ado and unnecessary rambling, here are my top products for 2013!!!

Make-up
Yes, I am aware I am a make-up junkie...but let's be honest guys...you probably share a bit of my make-up addiction :p

Urban Decay Naked 2 & Naked basics palettes 

Laura Mercier Loose setting powder 

Sigma F86 Brush

Real Techniques expert face brush

NARS "Madly" Blush

YSL Faux Cils mascara

NARS e/s Base

Stila Convertible colour in Gladiola

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendez-Vous

Inglot Freedom system e/s in 330 & 107 R

MAC Face&Body Foundation

MAC paintpot in "Soft Ocre"

MAC MSF Natural

MAC "Legendary" Blush

Benefit Watts Up Highlighter

Sephora Mat 04 lipstick

Revlon lipbutters in "Sorbet" and "Juicy Papaya"

MAC lipsticks in "Chatterbox" and "Betty bright"

Nails

Rimmel 60 Seconds "02"

Barry M "Dusky Mauve" and "Lychee"

China Glaze "Flip Flop Fantasy"

Sally Hansen "Plum Luck"

Chanel "June"

China Glaze "Champaign Kisses"

Orly "Confetti"

Essie "To Buy or not to buy" & "Luxedo"

Skincare

Lush Lip Scrub "Popcorn"

Korres Watermelon sunscreen stick

Nuxe Reve de Miel lip Balm

Bioderma Sensibio H2O

Origins Ginzing moisturiser

L'oreal Ideal Glow 

Kiehl's creamy eye treatment with avocado

Origins "Drink Up" 10 minute mask

Avene Mattifying Fluid

MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator

Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel and Tonic Lotion with Camomile

MISC

Rituals QI Serum

Cativa Diva hand cream

Elnett Hairspray

Elizabeth Arden 8Hour Cream

L'occitane Shower Oil

Urban Decay De Slick Make-up setting Spray

Essence Nail Cuticle pen

Soap and Glory "Scrub 'em and Leave 'em" Body scrub

Fructis Miraculous Oil

Rituals Magic Touch Whipped Body Cream

Elvive Keratine Shampoo 

Non-Beauty Favourites

 Marc Jacobs Handbag

Lucille Sunglasses

Dream by Black Eyeglasses 

Double ring from Top Shop

Heart Pendant from Forever 21

Small wallet from Accessorize

Michael Kors rose gold Watch

Custom made gold serpent ring 

aaaand last but definitely not least....

MacBook Pro

AAAAAAAND that is my last post for 2013 (oh my...how the year has flown by...)

Now before the new year comes I wanted to say how very grateful I am for all of you and for your love and support. It sounds cheesy but it is true. 

I would also like to wish you and your families happy holidays(for the remainder of this festive season) and I hope ALL of your new years' wishes will come true in a jiffie!!!

Love you lots guys...!

See you in 2014!!

;) ;) 

xoxo

Athina

My thoughts on beauty blogging...!The good, the bad and the in-between....

This is one of the posts I have been wanting to write for the longest time but never got around to doing so because frankly I didn't know where or how to start. So I thought I would skip the prologue and start with some facts. 

Picture taken from: http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2011/08/why-i-blog.html

• I started blogging in January 2008 
• I "switched" to beauty blogging in May 2009
• My blog(in its beauty form) has already celebrated its 4th birthday (going on its 5th this coming May) which makes it one of the oldest greek beauty blogs on the block.
• I don't like self promotion and I am particularly bad at it

So, having said all that I would like to begin this post. 

Since my early blogging years I have , always, thought that blogging is a fantastic hobby that can sometimes be the bearer of rare opportunities for the hard-working, honest and creative bloggers. Now that was all bullshit. Excuse my bluntness but it was. There are no real opportunities for the hard-working, honest and creative bloggers. The opportunities are reserved for those who enjoy free items and a fake sense of accomplishment that comes with those. The opportunities present themselves, mostly, to those who are open to "selling" their blog and their opinions to any company that will send them products. 

Blogging used to be a community, the size of a pool, made up of people who enjoyed reading each others' blogs, commenting, collaborating and who loved sharing opinions and ideas. Nowadays it is an ocean of badly written blog posts and of bloggers who will bend over backwards for some ill gained rise in their GFC numbers. 

I am aware that I sound bitter however I would like to make sure that you fully understand that this post is just my way of venting. I am sick and bloody tired of cookie cutter/ pre-written blog comments whose sole purpose is to increase traffic to the commenter's blog or website. 

Favourites posts that consist mostly of freebies (and also include sachet's or testers) annoy the hell out of me. And posts with a million and one grammatical errors make me incredibly angry. 

Now please don't get me wrong...there are great bloggers out there who receive products from companies and have the decency to pick and choose which products to feature and who write honest reviews, respecting their readers. Also, I am not saying that new blogs should not be created. Thinking that would be madness. However I am opposed to the creation of a blog that will serve as a means to an end (the end being , for the lack of a better word: freebies).
And ,of course, being sent products for consideration is definitely not a crime. It is a great way for our readers to learn about new products and to read reviews on those products before spending their money on them. However let's face it people...you are not helping anyone by saying that ALL the products are fantastic and flawless. What you are doing is deceiving your readers. Of course you are going to love some products, that is only natural, but you cannot possibly love every single product you are sent to review. We also have sponsored posts which, in my humble opinion, are fine provided that our readers are aware of the type of post they are reading so they can decide, for themselves whether they want to read said post.

Now let's discuss priorities...!Strangely enough (please sense the irony here) my readers are my priority. The people who have supported me , and still support me to this day, are the people that I aim to please with my posts. I have always respected companies with which I have been in contact with and from which I received products but bending over backwards to make every one of their products the "belle of the ball" when they are just another peasant, was never (nor will it ever be) my goal. 

I am, and have always been. an artist and I treat everything I do (including blogging) with love and integrity. I create original content, to the very best of my ability and I never take my readers for granted. I occasionally ramble and have my moments but never have I lured anyone to my blog under false pretences and that is what I believe, makes me an old-school blogger. All I ask of you is to not confuse me with people who have been deprived of other forms of excellence and/or social acceptance and who will do more or less anything to achieve what they consider to be "celebrity status" through their so-called blogs. 

I believe that's enough for a day's venting. Comment if you feel like it. I would love to hear what you think about all this. 

xoxo

A.

Belated November favourites

Hello Hello,

How are you today my dear readers? I have been sick for the past couple of days which, of course, sucks. And since I have been bed-bound I haven't really been in the creative mood. However, I really wanted to post my belated November favourites before the next post-mas. Now, November was my birthday month hence my favourite month :P. Having said that I didn't really have that many favourites this month. But enough with my usual rambling...Let's get on with today's post :)

Make-up

Lips

Revlon Lip butter in "Creme Brûlée"

Sephora Mat lipstick in 04

MAC lipstick in "Rebel"

Face

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer (No2 "Light")

MAC Face and Body Foundation (C2)

Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder (Translucent)

Physician's Formula Multi-coloured blush in "Blushing Nude"

MAC Beauty Powder in "Pretty Baby"

Eyes

MAC Fluidline in "Dark Diversion"

MAC e/s in Vainglorious

Maybelline Master Smokey pencil in "Smoky Brown"

Inglot Freedom System Duo (107R on the left & 330 on the right)

Lipstick swatches

Skincare

From Left to Right

Korres watermelon sunscreen stick SPF 30

Origins GinZing moisturiser (AMAZING)

Soap and Glory Hand Food

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream

MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator

Clarins Toning Lotion with Camomile

L'oreal Ideal Glow Cleansing oil

I hope you guys enjoyed my Belated November favourites. And as always let me know what you loved this past month. 

xoxo

A. 

PostMas 2: Christmas nails (ideas & designs)

Hello my lovely readers and welcome to PostMas number 2!!!!!!
Last year I attempted to create some Christmas nail designs and dare I say it was a success?! I had fun doing it anyway so I thought I should repeat it this year with some "new" designs and ideas for you. If you want to refer back to last year's designs you could do so HERE.
Without further ado here are the ideas and designs for this year's Christmas Nails.

On the left: Simple and easy Santa's Hat.

On the right: Snowman's Face

On the left: A simple french tip with some silver stars and a fine holographic glitter top coat)

On the right: A beige/french manicure base with a mixture of glitter polishes over top)

On the left: Easy christmas tree with gold and rose gold glitter dots, gold star and glitter detail around the design.

On the right: Black and with bow design with a fine holographic glitter, top coat and rhinestone.

Now since there are 6 designs/ideas here I thought that a DIY for all of those would be a bit much so I will commit to a DIY only if you guys want one. So if you do please comment below and let me know which of these is the most appealing to you and which one you'd like to see a DIY for. 

xoxo

A. 

PostMas 1: Christmas Giftguide

Yep from this day forth PostMas as an actual thing....!At least it is on my blog....:P
Much like Vlogmas I shall be posting some Christmas related stuff during the month of December starting today. Now the first PostMas is a gift guide. I decided to do a one-fits-all this year since I bailed on the "for him" one last year...!I have 3 gift categories to share with you today: For Her, For Him and Stocking stuffers.

For Her

Top(left to right)

The Body Shop sparkling ginger gift set (I'd rather not say how much I love this....it is kind of depressing to say that I wish someone will buy this for me...)

Oysho slippers and slippers in general are a great gift especially when they are cosy, fluffy and stylish

Inglot Freedom System is the perfect gift for the make-up enthusiast in your life. 

Sigma brush sets is another great present for a make-up junky. They are great value for money and the brushes' quality is amazing. 

Bottom(left to right)

Apivita natural serum line consists of 4 amazing products that are quite luxurious and will be much appreciated by any woman. 

Diptyque candles are incredibly luxurious and the scent pay-off will knock your socks off...!

Neil's Yards Remedies Bee Lovely Head to Toe gift Is the perfect all-in-one gift set. You can pick this up for the female in your life you wants to venture into the world of great quality organic cosmetics.

All of the above products are available in Greece, either to purchase in store or to order online 

Stocking Stuffers

Lip butters(Korres is widely available and their butters are phenomenal)

Lip balms(Apivita's lip balms are fantastic)

Hand creams (Bioten makes great and affordable ones)

Sets of mini shower gels/body lotions etc (L'occitane would be my personal choice)

Socks (Oysho make amazing socks)

Gift Cards are a great way to allow someone to purchase something of their choice, with your contribution and without the awkward part of giving them a tiny envelope with cash in it. 

All of the above products are available in Greece, either to purchase in store or to order online 

For Him

Clockwise starting at the top left corner:

A gift card for DON (an amazing Barber and Groom place in the centre of Athens/Kolonaki). I know this is awfully specific but the general idea is that you can purchase services like haircuts, grooming etc for the man in your life who needs some pampering. 

The North Face ETIP gloves that are taking the internet by storm. These gloves allow you to use your smartphone while wearing them...*Mind Blown*

Skull Candy Headphones are stylish and pricey so one often doesn't spend the extra money on them so it is a great gadgety present.

Moleskin Star Wars notebook for the geek in him(or her...) who still loves watching Star Wars ;) 

Neil's Yard Remedies Men Skincare Essentials is a great gift for a guy who is concerned with his skin and would like to take care of it more. 

All of the above products are available in Greece, either to purchase in store or to order online 

So these are my gift suggestions for your loved ones. I have included some links for your convenience ONLY.  I hope I gave you some ideas or even helped you decide.
See you soon for another PostMas. Next on the list iiiiissssss CHRISTMAS NAILS!!!

xoxo
A.

Disclaimer: I own none of the individual pictures shown above. If any of the owners would like them removed please contact me and I will remove them immediately. 

Empties!!

Hello my dear readers,

Ya'll know the content of this post just by reading the title soooo let's just get on with it...shall we??

Left to Right

 L'oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray in "Supreme Hold": The best hairspray in the history of the world....:P 

 L'oreal Ideal Glow cleansing oil *: I am already using a new one of these aaaand I have a back-up in my cupboard. It does the job, it is very affordable and it is comparable to lots of its high-end competitors. 

 Clarins Lotion Tonique with camomile: I love this tonic lotion. Right now I am probably going through my 5th bottle. 

 OPI Avojuice "Coconut-Melon" hand and body lotion: If you like coconut then you will love this. I wouldn't recommend it as a body lotion but it is a very good hand lotion.

Tresemme InstantRefresh dry shampoo(x2): HG product for sure...I have gone through countless containers.

Le Petit Marseillais Huile Seche: Love this dry oil for summer. It keeps the skin nice and soft and it smells yummy. 

At the bottom

Dermaglow Sensitive Gentle Foaming Cleanser: I was sent this from Canada and loved using it as a morning cleanser. I would definitely re-purchase if it was available over here.

Left to Right

LUSH Snow Fairy shower gel: Even though this is a christmas product I love using it during the summer.

Caudalie Hand and Nail creme: I wouldn't re-purchase this. It was a tad too greasy for me. 

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat Sebo-Regulating mosturizer: Not a fan of this product. All I can say is that it just didn't work for me. 

Sensodyne Gentle Whitening Toothpaste: Love it, love it, love it...!

Top to bottom & Left to right

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri anti-chip top coat: As long as this exists I shall never purchase another top coat.

Essie "Coral Reef" nail varnish: Lovely coral colour.

Essie "Sand Tropez" nail varnish : I think I teared up a little bit when I realised this was "gone". I hope I will be able to get my hands on another one of these in the future.

Apivita lip care with Pink Rose: You all know how much I love these lip balms. They are absolutely divine. 

YSL Faux Cils mascara in "Noir Radical": No mascara can even compare to this...HG...for sure. Also it is probably my 8th or 10th tube...eeeek

Tarte Clean Slate Flawless 12-hour brightening primer: Dear Tarte, please make your products available outside the U.S. PRETTY PLEASE!!!!!!!!?????

Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara: Liked it but ,as I said, nothing compares to the YSL Faux Cils, for me. 

Bobbi Brown corrector(mine is in Light to Medium Bisque): Lovely product which is worth the money and the hype. Love it.

Rimmel Stay Matte powder(Mine is in 004 Sandstrorm): I have mixed feelings about this product. It is affordable and a decent setting powder but I don't feel that it is the product for me. 

Benefit They're real mascara(travel size): I liked having this one to use as a morning mascara. I wasn't expecting to like it to be honest but it turned out to be quite good. 

Product count: 22

I hope you guys enjoyed this post....and that you are proud of me for getting through soooo many products.

And as far as the project no-buy is concerned I think I will be postponing that for after Christmas because I would like to make it longer than previously anticipated. I will keep you posted on that for sure.

Until next time....

xoxo

A. 

Halloween inspired nails...

Well hello again,

Fancy seeing you guys here so soon after my last post...!What can I say though, my brain has been working overtime so I thought "What the heck...one more post won't hurt"!
Now my nail art skills are not the most advanced in the beauty blogger community however I am trying to develop them as I go along. Some of my past attempts can be found HERE and HERE). 
Without further ado here are my designs for Halloween...:)

                                                                Getting ready...

I used all sorts of colours and techniques and as with most tasks there was a lot of trial and error...

However, one polish that is worth mentioning in this post is a recent purchase of mine and it is the Glow in the Dark nail varnish by American Apparel in the colour Moon. 

My inspiration for the nails was ,of course, halloween and in particular my favourite Halloween/Christmas film which is Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas". I also drew a lot of inspiration from designs on the internet.

The designs are not 100% accurate of course but I did give it my best try so I hope you like them :) 

I also tried to take a picture of the nails "in action"(glowing in the dark :p)

It is blurry but thankfully some of the designs are still visible. 

What are your plans for this Halloween?

xoxo

A.

The top 13 items on my beauty wish list...

Hello Hello......

How have you guys been? This week was pretty hectic hence the lack of posts...!

But, we are now about a week away from my birthday and I was inspired to write this post featuring the top 13 items on my beauty wish list(aka...what I would like to get myself for my birthday once I win the lottery-don't laugh...it's gonna happen :P :P ).

So...here they are...

Top to bottom, left to right: 

Apivita Natural Serum in "Lifting"

Caudalie beauty elixir

Josie Maran Argan oil Light

Philips HP6520/01 epilator

Kerastase Nectar Thermique

Caudalie Devine Oil

Top to bottom, left to right: 

MAC -Riri Loves Mac lipstick in "Talk that Talk"

Sephora Mineral Powder Brush

Narciso Rodriguez "For Her" eau de toilette perfume

Dior "Amber Diamond" face powder

Clinique "High Impact Volume" mascara

YSL "Youth Liberator" foundation

Benefit "RSVP" creaseless cream shadow

I have excluded the item on the very top of my list (which is the clarisonic mia 2) since I thought I have been rambling about that for far too long now...!!

Aaaand that is all for today...!Short and sweet ;) 

Please let me know what you think...

xoxo

A.

Random Post Sunday "My summer in pictures"

Random Post Sunday is back with a collection of pictures from my summer abroad. I went places, saw things, met people, felt happy, excited, amused, sad, disappointed...but most of all...I made myself some interesting memories....!!!I hope you enjoy a snippet of those memories...!

No more words...just pictures...:)

<3 nbsp="" p="">

xoxo

A.

What's in my shower/tub.

Hello and welcome back guys...
I am trying to get back on my blogging schedule which means I will be trying to write two posts during the week and a "Random Post Sunday" on......SUNDAYS! :p

Now, I have been cleaning out every single nook and cranny of my room and bathroom these days.
And since I am happy with the products that are in my bath (since I have a tub and not a shower) at the moment I thought I should do this post before I start hoarding products again.

This is my tub...with some non-slip smurfs...yep I am aware of my age :P

On the right, between the jacuzzi button thingies I have a shell with my sign carved in it. I think it makes my tub less dull. And, of course, a loofah hangs from the tap because I girl has got to exfoliate. 

I am still looking for the perfect placement of my products however this set up will have to do for now.

And here is a close-up of all the products that are currently in my tub.

On the foreground from left to right: 

L'oreal Mythic oil hair mask

Tiny loofah

Soap and Glory "Scrub 'em and Leave 'em" body scrub

L'oreal Ideal Fresh Foaming Facial Wash

In the metal basket from left to right:

Wilkinson's quatro razor 

Head and Shoulders "Classic Clean" shampoo

Foot file rasp

Organix Coconut milk conditioner

Lush Snow Fairy shower gel

Yves Rocher Apricot Gommage Gourmand

L'oreal Mythic Oil Shampoo

L'oreal Elvive Keratine Conditioner and Shampoo

Aaaand these are all the products I currently have in my tub. 

I didn't plan to give my opinion on any of these products however I would be happy to answer any questions in the comments ;)

 I have, also, been putting together an empties post since I have a few items that I would like to show you. However this will be up in a couple of weeks since I have several products about to run out.

Let me know if you like this post and please give me some suggestions on future posts that you'd like to see.

xoxo
A.

Autumn 2013 Wishlist

First and foremost let me say : I AM OFFICIALLY BACK!!

It has been a while since I blogged and I missed it ,as well as all of you, a great deal. I am still on the go at the moment and trying to figure out....well....life really...so I apologise if this post is a little short. I have made a list of some products (both beauty and fashion related) that are on my wish list for 

Autumn 2013. I have been thinking about putting myself on a no-buy project from the 10th of October until my birthday (2nd of November) however a wish list is still a wish list....who knows; these items might magically make their way to me. Please let me know your thoughts on the project no-buy...do you think I should maybe start after my birthday and make it a tad bit longer or what?

Now oooonto the wishlist... :) 

What do you guys think? ;) 

xoxo

A. 

Favourite products for summer!

Hello Hello!!!!!

Now, before I forget let me just say that the winner of my giveaway was announced a couple of days ago (check the post HERE and my Facebook Page HERE for the announcement). The first winner failed to answer me within 48 hours so I chose a new winner who hasn't contacted me yet. Something tells me we might be going for a third choice winner...! We'll see...
Now on to today's post....!!!!! I recently went on holiday to a place I haven't visited since I was a child. Aaand...since I haven't been on a proper holiday in almost 5 years I was thrilled to be by the beach with friends and to enjoy the lovely weather.
What did you say?? You'd like a sneak peak...? Well o.k...here it is...

Alongside the lovely weather and scenery I also enjoyed certain products that I wanted to share with you all...!!

From left to right: MAC lustre drops in "Pink Rebel", MAC "Face and body foundation", MAC "Solar Ray" mineralised blush, L'oreal Glam Bronze in "Blonde Sun"* and MUFE Aqua Cream in number 5.

From left to right: Oriflame Blue Lagoon lipgloss in "bronze shore", Revlon lipbutters in "Sorbet" and "Juicy Papaya and Revlon Kissable balm stain in "Rendez-vous" 

Here are some skin and body products that I have been enjoying these last couple of weeks as well...

At the bottom: Avene Eua Thermale "Thermal Spring Water"

From left to right: Victoria's Secret Sexy Little Things body mist in "Noir", Le Petit Marseillais Huile Seche, Bioderma Photoderm Max 50+ facial sunscreen, Carroten tanning oil (Please note that I use a 50+ sunscreen on my body as well as my face. However I do use oil on my legs on top of the sunscreen...!!Never EVER go out in the sun without sunscreen...). Aaand last but not least the Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun with coconut and papaya..(it smells yummy and it is the perfect product to use after you have been out in the sun...it hydrates and soothes the skin...) 

AAAAAnd that is all for my favourite products for summer. Unfortunately I will not get to use these products for much longer since I am off to the U.K. in less than a week. However I have been majorly enjoying them hence why I wanted to share them with you all...!!!!

xoxo

A. 

Make-up Clean-up project...

Hello my lovelies,

I have a post for you that I have been working on for a while. In the month of May, I went through ALL of my products (make-up, skincare, body care etc) and put together a bag of items that were either empty or had gone bad as well as products that I haven't used for over 12 months.
I hate clutter so this clean-up project felt sooo good. Now, let me show you the outcome of my little project...

I started in my bedroom where all my make-up is. This is the bulk of what I eventually got rid of. There is a mixture of stuff as you can see. For example my Garnier BB cream for oily skin which was actually empty, to the Rimmel Stay Matte foundation that I haven't used for over a year, to the Sleek waterproof mascara which I really dislike.

 Now this is what the little bag looked like with all those items in it.

I, then, proceeded to the bathroom where I went through all of the rest of my products. I went through some make-up bags and wash-bags aaaaaand...

I found some empties.......

And some other products that had been sitting there for waaaay too long....

This is what my little bad looked like at the end of my make-up clean-up project. 

I challenge you to go through your products and get rid of all the things that create clutter. 

During this process, I realised, that I really don't need to keep items that don't work for me and keep revisiting them in the hope that I will, eventually, love them. Sometimes you just have to let go....

I hope you liked this post. Let me know if you are planning to start your own make-up clean-up project...

xoxo

A. 

NOTD China Glaze "Flip Flop Fantasy"

I have a short and extremely summery post for you guys today!!It a NOTD featuring China Glaze's "Flip Flop Fantasy".

I love this colour on the toes but in order to avoid showing you my feet, I have some finger-nail swatches for you....Enjoy...;)

Have an amazing summer my lovely readers....;) 

My next post will feature more summer-related stuff so if you are interested, stay tuned ;) 

xoxo

A.