August 2013 Beauty Favourites.

August has been such a busy month for me, as I've packed my life into a suitcase and moved across the world, and will now be living and studying in England. Quite a big change after living in Kuwait all my life. Also, since I've been moving I haven't really been trying any new products, since I wanted to finish off the things I already had so that they wouldn't go to waste. All of the products are hair, skin and body products, cause it was too hot to wear much make-up this month and I kept it down to a minimum, as opposed to being adventurous like always.

Eye Defining Contact Lenses.

I have been a contact lens wearer for quite a few years now, and have been loyal to my Acuvue TruEye daily lenses for the past two or so years. Prior to that, I used to wear monthly lenses, however after trying the TruEye daily lenses I couldn't go back, as these were just so soft and comfortable, and there was no hassle of 'oh crap, I just ripped my monthly lens and it's only been a week'. I've heard about circle lenses being a big thing in Asia, however I also heard that they weren't the healthiest for your eyes due to their size and various other factors. Needless to say, when I heard that my favourite daily lenses now come in the Define version, I was intrigued. All the benefits of wearing daily vision-correcting lenses AND bigger, brighter and more defined eyes, the healthy way? Yes please.

July 2013 Beauty Favourites.

I know that it's quite late to be posting my June favourites, as we're already in the second week of August, but oh well. They're late, as I originally wasn't going to post my favourites for this month, since I haven't been too adventurous and haven't tried many new things, however there were a few things I did really enjoy, so I thought I might as well go ahead and share them with you! So here it goes.

The Skin Care Tag.

I've stumbled upon J'adore Jade's skincare tag, and found it quite fun and informative, so I decided to give it a go myself. Similarly to Jade I wanted to 'perfect' my skincare routine before I do a proper skincare routine post, and thought this tag would be a fun way to share some of it now.

Product Review: La Roche-Posay Effaclar K.

What La Roche-Posay says:

La Roche-Posay Effaclar K is a daily renewal fluid gradually exfoliates the skin texture to reduce pores and regain a smooth and clear complexion.

Who is this for? Combination to oily skin with an irregular skin texture.

What does it do? Both the skin's texture and pores feel smoother and tighter, while imperfections are visibly reduced.

How to use: Apply morning and/or evening to the entire face. Can be used as a make-up base.

My Top 5 Nail Polishes.

June 2013 Beauty Favourites.

Seeing as we are already in July (what?! when did this happen?!) I thought it might be suiting to make my first ever monthly favourites post. I considered making this a full-on beauty, fashion and others favourites, however I decided to stick to beauty for now. I might expand all the way later, or perhaps carry on doing only beauty related favourites. What do you guys think? What would you like to see? (: Anyway, enough rambling, and let's jump into this month's favourites!

Dealing with damaged hair.

A few weeks ago I decided to go redhead and as I've been dying my hair black for a while now I needed to get it bleached first. I went to a hair salon, and it took two bleaching treatments to get my hair light enough to then dye it red, all in a space of 3 hours. I was quite satisfied with how it turned out, however needless to say my hair was rather damaged and needed some serious loving. I've discovered a couple of new products in the process, and decided to share how I got my hair soft and healthy again. Just keep in mind that my hair is extremely fine and many products tend to leave my hair looking greasy and weighed down, therefore all the products I used are great for fine hair.

Product Review: MAC Oil Control Lotion.

I was itching to try the MAC Oil Control Lotion for a while now, but when I went to MAC they didn't have any travel sized bottles and I didn't want to invest in the full size bottle right away. The lovely lady there gave me a little sample jar, which I was excited to try out, and having used it all up now I'm happy to share my thoughts on this product! 

Summer Beauty Wishlist.

Recently I've not been very productive and I spent a lot of time window-shopping through my laptop screen. As I've also not been very productive on my blog lately, I decided to throw together a list of items I am craving to try, and will probably make it onto my beauty shopping list for the next couple of months. 

Chanel Vitalumière Aqua Foundation - £32.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair - £44.

Miss Dior Eau Fraîche - £52 (Although I'm undecided between this and the Eau De Toilette).

Elie Saab Le Parfum - £38 (Also undecided between this and the Eau De Toilette).

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette - £20.

MAC Blush in Frankly Scarlet - £17.50.

Glam Glow Super-Mud Clearing Treatment Mask - £45.

I've also really been craving to try the Bobbi Brown Extra Eye Repair Cream, but that's a definite on my beauty shopping spree this summer.

Brandspotting: Ziaja.

As I tend to spend all my summers in Poland, I became quite familiar with some of the Polish brands. Most of them were alright and just something I would grab because it would be cheaper than foreign brands, but wouldn't be something I'd fuss about keeping in my routine whilst living outside of Poland. A few of them, however, I found to be incredible and in some cases irreplaceable. Ziaja is one of those brands. I decided to look into the brand and see if it's available outside of Poland, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it is slowly beginning to expand worldwide. Therefore, I decided to introduce you to this affordable but brilliant brand. In this post, I will talk about some of my favourite Ziaja products. They are available on various on-line stores, such as Malayka, although some of my favourite products don't seem to be available on most websites, therefore I do recommend trying your luck on eBay, or grabbing them if you happen to be visiting Poland.

So let's get into it.

Summer Skin: Banishing Razor Bumps.

As summer is already here in most places, I decided to do a quick post talking about shaving. As my skins pretty sensitive, I have to stick to shaving, as waxing and hair removal creams tend to irritate my skin. Shaving does tend to bring about certain disadvantages as well, as a quick shave usually ends with razor bumps, which tend to look displeasing and are generally annoying. Through reading other bloggers' advice as well as doing a bit of trial and error, I have managed to practically avoid developing razor burn. So I decided to share some of my tips with you! Also, keep in mind that some of these tips aren't necessarily only for the female viewers. Share them with the men in your life and they will thank you!

Beauty Haul: I lost my virginity...

 ...My M.A.C. virginity, that is. Yes, I have done my first ever shopping in M.A.C.! And I think I'm in the process of developing a M.A.C. addiction now!

This not That: High Street/Drugstore Cleanser for Oily Skin.

My skin tends to be quite problematic, it's very oily and prone to breakouts. I've been on the hunt for a good but inexpensive cleanser that would make my skin feel cleansed, control my oils and decrease the number of  breakouts I get. In this quick review I will show you the best and the worst of the cleansers that I've tried out recently.

Shine Bright Like a Diamond.

Ever since I was very young, I was very self conscious about my teeth. Growing up, I had a pretty noticeable gap between my teeth, à la Vanessa Paradis. But as time passed, that narrowed down until it became pretty much non-existent. However, that was never really my main concern. What I felt the most insecure about was that my teeth refused to be white. Whenever I would ask a dentist about it, they'd always tell me that it's just my natural bone colour and I could never change it, which made me quite sad. But, I still tried, and finally achieved having pearly whites! So I'm going to share my teeth whitening story, and hopefully help a few of you out there who also struggle with stubborn teeth! Also, keep in mind that this is the method that worked for me, and although I personally swear by it, it might work differently for other people! 

Seven Deadly Sins of Make-up.

I've been a bit lazy today, slothing around the house all day. I decided to do a quick and simple tag just to get my gears turning! And I tag you all!

1. GREED - What are your most expensive and inexpensive make-up items?

My most expensive make-up item is the Urban Decay Naked Palette.

My most inexpensive make-up item would probably be a Rimmel product, although I can't decide which one it would be!

2. WRATH - What make-up product do you have a love and hate relationship with?

The Benefit High Beam highlighter. It can look absolutely studding, but at the same time sometimes it just refuses to work with me! Maybe that's because I'm generally not a big fan of any cream high lighters, blushers or bronzers. I'm a powder girl all the way!

3. GLUTTONY - What is your most delicious make-up product?

The Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lipgloss in Naked. It is so yummy! Oh my! A chocolatey-minty flavour that tastes divine! 

4. SLOTH - What make-up product do you neglect due to laziness?

Primers. Just... Yeah. I always regret it later but I don't seem to realise that I'm undoubtedly going to regret it when I'm being too lazy to put it on!

5. PRIDE - What make-up product gives you the most confidence?

My Make-up Forever HD Foundation. It just makes my skin look great. And having problematic skin, I feel uncomfortable leaving without a foundation.

6. LUST - What make-up product makes you feel more attractive?

Red lipstick! Need I say more?

7. ENVY - What make-up product would you most like to receive as a gift?

The Naked Basics palette! I'm just trying to resist getting it myself but...could I say no to a gift? ;)

Joined Product Review: L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand and Foot Creams.

 A while ago, a friend of mine gave me a sample set of the L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand and Foot creams. They came in little 10 ml tubes, which made them the perfect travel items! However, I couldn't resist and used them at home just to test them out. And here is what I think about them! I decided to make a joined review, as a lot of what I have to say is the same for both products. 

Shea Butter Hand Cream: 

What L'Occitane says: 

Enriched with 20% Shea Butter, this super-creamy hand cream penetrates quickly to protect, nourish and moisturise hands. Honey, almond extracts and coconut oil are blended with shea butter to create this extremely effective care. The rich texture is rapidly absorbed to leave the hands soft and smooth with no oily traces. 

Product: 9.5/10.

This is probably one of the best hand creams I have ever used, if not THE best one. The consistency of the cream is a bit on the thick side, however when rubbed into the skin it is absorbed instantly, leaving the hands soft but with no greasy residue. Perfection. My hands also remained very soft for hours after applying the hand cream, which meant that I did not use it that often, simply because I didn't need to! Also, a small amount of it goes a long way, and so this tiny tube has lasted me for quite a long time now! The scent is very creamy, and reminds me a bit of thick baby cream, which I personally don't mind.

Product Review: Clinique Even Better Lotion SPF 20.

Back in December I purchased a couple of things from Clinique, and got a gift consisting of samples of various products. The Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Lotion was one of them. I was very excited, as I am always on the search for a good SPF, as I have not yet found an SPF that wouldn't make my skin feel shiny and oily, and break me out. 

What Clinique says:

Creates a more even appearing skin tone. Protects skin with a high level UVA/UVB protection, while instantly brightening and clarifying the skins appearance.

Product: 6/10.

I disliked this product. When I first got a bit of it out of the tube, I was pleased that it had a very milky consistency, as that made me think it would be very lightweight and would absorb quickly. However, when I spread it on my skin, I found that it would linger, creating a heavy, shiny film on my face. It was sticky, and any make-up applied over it would refuse to stay in place. I also disliked the strong sunscreen scent, as it was very unpleasant. A product with an SPF of only 20 should not feel this heavy. HOWEVER, this product is predominantly for people with an uneven skin tone, which is not a concern of mine. Therefore, I can't comment on the effectiveness of this product's TRUE purpose. I also have very oily skin, so someone with dry, normal or combination skin might not experience the extreme shininess, stickiness and heaviness of this product. The fact that this product protects against both UVA and UVB rays makes this a good sunscreen, as an SPF 20 is a good enough for everyday sun protection. If you suffer from hyper-pigmentation and don't have oily skin, I would still recommend trying this product. ALSO, I tested the old formulation of this lotion, which had been replaced by a new formula which is more friendly for oilier skin. Therefore, some of the things I disliked about this product may now be irrelevant. 

Product Review: OPI Nail Envy.

 I have always had incredibly brittle nails, they would always bend in ever direction possible, they would peel, they would break before even growing to an acceptable length. I would always hate the fact that I couldn't really wear nice nail polish like all the other girls, cause it would just look awkward on my tiny nails. Now, OPI Nail Envy wasn't the first miracle nail product I came across. It was, in fact, the Rimmel 5 in 1 Nail Care polish. It retails for £4.59 in Boots, and is just a great product for the price. It got my nails to a state where they wouldn't break all the time, where I could grow them to a certain length and keep them that length. So you're probably wondering why I reached for something quadruple the price when I had found such an incredible product. Well, as I said, the Rimmel nail polish did allow me to keep my nails strong(ish) and at a decent length, long enough to finally be able to use all those gorgeous nail colours. However, I wanted something more, cause I wanted beautiful long nails. Not just long enough. So I got searching, and found a lot of positive reviews about OPI Nail Envy, and decided to give it a go. And here is my review.

Daily sun protection talk.

As it is skin cancer awareness month, I decided to post some useful information and tips regarding sun protection. But first, let's talk about why sun protection is so important, and what a difference it makes aesthetically. 

Did you know that skin cancer is the most common form of cancer? 

Did you know that skin cancer is not uncommon among young people, even those in their early 20s?

Did you know that there is a very simple method of drastically decreasing the chances of getting skin cancer?

There are a few risk factors that can contribute to skin cancer, predominantly exposure to UV light, as well as moles. (read more about the risk factors here).

UV light can be split up into three categories:

• UVA - cause cells to age and can cause some damage to cells' DNA, and are linked to long-term skin damage, such as wrinkles, but are also thought to play a role in some skin cancers.
• UVB - can cause direct damage to the DNA and are the main rays that cause sunburns. They are also thought to cause most skin cancers.
• UVC - don't get through our atmosphere, thus are not present in sunlight, and they do not normally cause skin cancer.

Therefore, it is extremely important that when choosing an SPF lotion, we make sure it protects us from both UVA and UVB rays!

Now, the aesthetic side of things.