Avon Advance Techniques Moroccan Argan Oil

I have been testing out these products for a few months now and now I'm ready to share my ideas on them with you: I'm talking about the Avon Advance Techniques Moroccan Argan Oil shampoo, conditioner and mask. After hearing lots of bloggers rave about them, I was very interested in trying Argan oil products, so I chose these three. Let's begin with saying I have very long hair (they come almost down to my bellybutton!), they're not straight nor curly - someway in between. They're quite frizzy, too. Using the three products together I have seen improvements in the texture of my hair - it's much softer and shinier. It also felt so much more nourished! When I went to have my hair cut, I asked my hair stylist if she thought my hair was damaged and she said it wasn't, at all.

All three products have a nice consistency, lather up nicely and don't leave any residue. They have a pleasant smell, nothing too intense, but it's nice nonetheless. These products are great and I really like them, but if anything, they're not really helping with the tangliness of my hair.. but my hair is the tangliest hair of the world anyway.

The price of the shampoo, mask and conditioner changes from brochure to brochure. Their full price is about €7 each, but there's always some good offer on them! If you have long, damaged hair I really suggest you try at least one of the three.

Have you ever tried anything from the Avon haircare line?

Today I want... #10

Hello! I'm back with a wishlist post :) Lately I've been lusting over chunky, sparkly jewelry. Just a few months ago I would have never thought I'd fall in love with this J.Crew Classic Pavé link bracelet! I think you have to be careful with what you pair it with, but it can be that something that makes an outfit 10 times more classy.

Urban Decay just launched two palettes for an upcoming Disney movie about the Wizard of Oz. I love the more neutral one, the Glinda Palette! Too bad it's even more expensive than the Naked palette, retailing at $49. But with 7 gorgeous high quality eyeshadows and an eyepencil, I bet it's worth the money.

I was browsing the Topshop website in search of a new bag and I stumbled upon this beautiful cream E-reader case. I don't even have an e-reader, so even if I wanted to get it I couldn't justify the purchase !

I think these Asos shoes look so elegant. With that gold plate they remind me of something YSL would do.

To top this awesome wishlist, a nail polish from Essie - Fiji! It's one of those shades so hyped up by bloggers, a light ballerina pink. I have already tried it in store a few months ago, but I think I'm gonna purchase it as soon as possible! 

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

After hearing every Youtube guru talk and seeing every blogger write about it, I decided to get the ever so popular Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation. I've been testing out this foundation for a few weeks now and I wanted to share what I think about it with you.

First of all, I paid about €15 for it, which is not the cheapest price for a drugstore foundation. But then again, everything in Italy is overpriced. About the packaging, I really like the fact that it comes in a glass bottle - it feels a bit more expensive!

The very first thing that you notice when applying this foundation are the glitter particles, which I find quite big and noticeable. However, you can't really see them from a distance - that's why I think this foundation is best worn in a sunny day, if you're not planning anything that requires close encounter! It has a creamy consistency and it glides onto the skin with no effort. This foundation provides a light to medium coverage; it will definitely cover up red areas, but for spots you'll need concealer.

I have oily skin and this foundation will give a dewy look by itself, so I like to wear it applying some blotting powder to the oilier areas on my face. However, I've worn this foundation for 6+ hours without problem.

I find the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation the perfect foundation to brighten up a tired face on a Monday morning! Have you tried it? What do you think about it? x

PS: I'm selling a Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Adjust for €15 on Ebay! Is anyone interested? (:

Some mail love #10

Soap & Glory is one of many brands that are almost impossible to get for me, as they don't even have an online shop. However with swapping everything is possible! I managed to get a few samples from a girl who lives in the UK: Glad Hair Day Intensive Conditioner, Clean, Girls body wash, Scrub of Your Life and an additional Dove Colour Radiance Express Treatment conditioner. I can't wait to try them.. they look so pretty!

Three current favourites

It's snowing outside, I'm listening to Florence + The Machine remixes on Youtube and I think it's the perfect time to write a new post! Today I wanted to talk about some products that have stood out for me lately. One of them is the China Glaze No Chip Topcoat, which I got months ago in a Glossybox. At first I didn't like it, but I recently started enjoying very much! It dries quickly and keeps my nail polish looking acceptable for days (:

Another product I've been enjoying lately is Kiko Pro Gel mascara. I'd had the feeling that my eyelashes were shorter for a while, and I wanted to solve that issue. So I remembered that a few years ago I used to use this product from Kiko and that it worked! I purchased it again and I started seeing improvements from the second week. If not noticeably longer, my lashes were noticeably thicker. This gel mascara is transparent and it doesn't clump, so I often use it as a base for regular black mascara. 

The last favourite is the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette. Yes, I know, I'm very late to the party, but I just got this for Christmas! I've been loving it ever since. I have been experimenting with it a lot and.. I don't know what else to say about it except that I love it. ♥

My life in photos #1

1. The Leopard by Luchino Visconti, such a good movie. The book is great as well, but I guess you should be interested in Italian history to enjoy it, haha! 2. Tea & a box of Ladurée macarons. The perfect afternoon. 3. My new slippers! I'd basically destroyed my old ones, so my mum gave me these cute Hello Kitty ones as a gift :) they're from Oysho by the way. 3 & 4. Last week I went to Rome with school to see a Vermeer exhibition. I have been countless times in Rome, but my Art teacher made us discover lots of new beautiful places (S. Luigi dei Francesi, S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, S. Maria della Vittoria.. check them out if you're ever in Rome!). 5. I have the cutest little dog. Look how short his forelegs look in this photo! 

+ a little announcement: I'm going to Wimbledon, UK with school in a month! I'm so excited I can't even. Apparently it's near London. I'm going to save up every single cent to buy loads of things there! Does any of you live in Wimbledon or has been there? :) 

A small beauty haul

Big sales have started here in Italy, and after saving up for months I decided to start spending my money. I went out yesterday and bought some clothes but mostly some make-up! Partially because I couldn't find anything interesting and partially because I didn't go out much in the past few months due to school, I had stopped buying new make-up. That was until yesterday! First of all I got a Bottega Verde Radiant touch corrector for the undereye area. Apparently, it's got Vitamin E and Vanilla extract in it. I don't suffer from bad undereye circles, but sometimes I could use a bit of concealer there.. especially on those dreadful Monday mornings. I used to use the MAC Studio Finish concealer both on the eye area and blemishes, but I wanted to switch to something lighter and suitable for the thinner, easily damageable areas such as the eyes area.

I also got (finally!) a face primer, the Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Adjust, also known as 'the green one'. It cost me a whopping €47,50! I've probably never spent so much on a make-up item (my Chanel Vitalumière Aqua foundation cost me a few euros less), so I'm expecting a lot from it. I bought it without reading any review first, and when I came home I discovered that most of the reviews on Makeupalley are negative ones! So far I've only tried it by itself, without any foundation on, and I must be honest - it didn't do anything amazing. But I'm still crossing my fingers.

Last but not least, I picked up a China Glaze nail polish in the shade Nasty. I was in the car with my father when I saw a shop with a China Glaze stand - I made him stop so I could go in the shop haha! You might think I overreacted, but you must know that China Glaze and OPI are so hard to get here where I live. Surprisingly, this nail polish was only €6,50! I'm definitely going to get more every time I can go to that shop, because China Glaze's are one of the best nail polishes I've tried so far. 

Some mail love #9

After waiting more than two months, I finally received a small packet all the way from Canada! It was from a swap I did with a lovely girl on Makeupalley.com, who sent me two MAC lipsticks and some extras. The lipsticks are M.A.C Red and the famous Girl About Town. I have tried them already and I can't wait to share my thoughts on them with you! 

Do you have those lipsticks? What do you think about them? 

Absolutely American Wishlist

This is an Absolutely American Wishlist, and I absolutely blame American youtubers and bloggers for making me lust over things I cannot get here in Italy! There's no place in my country that's even comparable to Bath & Body Works, Forever 21 or Victoria's Secret. All the hand-sanitizers I've ever had smelt like alcohol; all the candles I've ever seen in stores were cheap. I know I could get things from those shops online, but either they have insanely high shipping costs (see VS) or they don't even ship stuff here (see B&BW). I'm desperate! 

What would you get from these stores? 

Victoria's Secret tees, Victoria's Secret Sheer Love Hydrating Body Lotion, Victoria's Secret Sheer Love Deep-softening Body Butter, Bath & Body Works Frosted Cupcake candle, B&BW Cashmere candle (disappeared from the website), B&BW Winter Spice & Vanilla anti-bac, B&BW Pink Chiffon Shower Gel, B&BW Paris Amour Body Butter, B&BW Twisted Peppermint Hand Cream, Forever 21 Rhinestoned Heart studs

Topshop 'Innocent' lipstick

A few weeks ago I received a free lipstick in Innocent with my Topshop order. Their lipsticks and especially this shade are raved about in the blogging world, so I was super happy to get it!

The lipstick comes in a white rubberized packaging, which looks super cute. The shade is a blue toned light pink, with a slight lilac tinge. It has a creamy consistency and it glides on very smoothly. The pigmentation is great, and the formula reminds me of a MAC Cremesheen: very velvety and not drying on the lips. The finish is between matte and satin. The staying power is ok; it'll last about two hours before starting to fade and blend with my natural lip colour. Although I really like the formula and finish, I think the shade is not the right one for my complexion. I don't know why, but it washes me out, and makes my teeth look yellow!  

I will definitely try more Topshop lipsticks and make-up in the future, because I have heard many good things about them. I would have liked this lipstick if only it wasn't for the colour! I guess it suits lots of girls (see Lily Melrose) but not me. Oh well!

The Topshop lipstick in Innocent retails for €10 and is available on the Topshop website. What are your thoughts about the Topshop make-up line?

Favourite bloggers of 2012

I feel like I really need to thank the bloggers whose work I've drawn inspiration from the most in some way, and the only way to do it for me is speaking about them in my blog. Here is a list of the blogs I've enjoyed reading the most during this year!