Best of 2013

When I decided to write this post, I went to my (pretty little) make-up collection and at first I thought I had just a couple of things that I were worth mentioning, but after further consideration I realized that I definitely had enough! I'll just briefly go through each one in no particular order. 

1. I have been using my Avéne Antirougeurs Dermo-Cleansing Fluid for almost 6 months now and I'm still completely in love with it. It's the most gentle face cleanser that you will ever find; it perfectly cleanses my skin without completely stripping it of all the moisture and making it feel tight - on the opposite, it soothes the skin and, as the name suggests, diminishes the redness. It has a lovely fresh scent, which I love; and after using it every day for 6 months I have only used half of it! 

2. I haven't reviewed it yet, but you can expect it a post about the Make Up For Ever HD Foundation soon. My acne-scarring situation has gotten worse over the last three or four months and the light coverage foundation-full coverage concealer combo wasn't working anymore. So, I decided to get this foundation and it was a very good choice! Although it kinda clings to dry patches, it covers 80% of the red spots and it has made getting out of the house possible for me. Which is very sad to hear, indeed, but what's a girl got to do? 

3. On the same 'acne scarring' note - I have started using a green liquid concealer in combination with the MUFE foundation, and I noticed it makes a huge difference in the way my skin appears! You definitely need to be careful when applying it -you don't want to leave the house with green dots all over your face, do you?- but I highly recommend adding this little step to your make-up routine if you have troubled skin. The green concealer I've been using recently is the KIKO Natural Concealer in the shade 04.

4. As for lips, I have been still loving my Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie, which is the perfect 'my lips but better' shade. I always turn to it when I don't know what lipstick to wear or when I'm in a rush! The NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Sao Paulo is basically the same colour, but it's way more intense and it's been my product of choice when I wanted to go for a 'statement lips' kind of look all throughout the year. The third lip product I want to mention is my beloved L'Oréal Color Riche Balm in Caring Coral. It gives my lips a hint of colour, and it makes them look more full with its lovely glossy finish.

5. I have used the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish every single time I took my make-up off this year, without fail. I ran out of it about a month ago and started using a different product - worst mistake ever! I shortly realized I couldn't live without my Cleanse and Polish, it's seriously the most cleansing product ever. It manages to remove every trace of make-up from my skin - I will absolutely continue to use it!

6. The infamous Bioderma Sensibio H2O has quickly become my favourite micellar water, after trying it for the first time a couple of months ago. I use it after removing my make-up and I must admit it's my favourite step of my night-time skincare routine!

7. My favourite face brush this year has been the Real Techniques Powder brush. It's just so soft and dense, and I love how it can stand up on its own! Real Techniques brushes are incredibly high quality for their price, and I definitely am going to try more from their range :)

Honourable mentions: my MAC Era and All That Glitters eyeshadows, my all time favourite nail-polish Essie Sand Tropez and the gold nail polish from the Dior Golden Jungle duo!

I wish you all an amazing 2014. ♥

A little update

Hi everyone! I haven't written a post in more than a month and it feels so good to be blogging again :) I had exams these past two weeks and I knew I wasn't going to have time for my blog, so I scheduled a month's worth of posts when I still had a bit of free time. 

My first two Uni exams went great and I couldn't be happier! I'm proud of the good results that I got, because I put so much effort in it. I am now back home for the holidays and I will stay here until the end of January, so you can expect a lot more posts coming your way! 

On that note - is there any specific post that you would like to see? I wish I could have done Blogmas, but I have been extremely busy for the past three weeks. I am also planning to redesign the blog layout; I'll see what I can do. I was so good with HTML and coding just a few years ago and now I can't remember almost anything about it! 

I think that's it for now - I hope you're having a great time and you are enjoying Christmas time as much as I am! x

Bioderma Sensibio H2O

I know you're looking at this post's title and thinking "Seriously? We don't need another post on Bioderma H20!". I know Bioderma is probably the most popular micellar water on the planet and thousands of bloggers have sang its praises, but if you want to know what I think about it, then keep reading!

Bioderma Sensibio H20, which everybody refers as just 'Bioderma', is a micellar solution - in other words, water that you can use to remove your make-up. Bioderma is a famous French pharmacy brand and their Sensibio range is specifically targeted towards sensitive skin. This product can be used on face and eyes, and it's fragrance free; it honestly feels and looks just like water. 

Removing the thick layer of concealer and full coverage foundation that is usually on my skin every day using just the Bioderma would be time-consuming and a waste of product too: I'd have to use 100 cotton rounds. So, I like to remove my make-up first with a more 'potent' cleanser and then use the Bioderma. I just pour some drops on a cotton round and swipe it on my skin: every time I use it I am shocked at the amount of foundation that it manages to remove even after I cleansed my skin one time. It's seriously amazing! It makes me think of how many times I thought I'd perfectly removed my make-up and happily went to bed, not suspecting anything.. sigh! 

It takes off every trace of face make-up that's still left on my face, making it feel fresh and deeply cleansed. Needless to say, it doesn't irritate or make my skin feel tight: it's absolutely fantastic for troubled skintypes that need soothing, like mine.  

The Bioderma Sensibio H20 may work great for taking off face make-up, however it's not as good as an eye make-up remover, and I don't even use waterproof mascara; so I usually take it off using a different product.

Bioderma is definitely not hard to find here in Italy - it's sold in lots of pharmacies for less than 15 euros. I am definitely going to repurchase it in a bigger size when I run out, as it's quickly become a must-do in my nighttime skincare routine.

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion

Aveeno isn't a very glamorous skincare brand, I know, but I have always wanted to try something from them. What best way to introduce myself to the brand than trying a body lotion? 

The Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion comes in a tube packaging; I believe that it's sold with a pump in the US.. so much more handy. However, the product is exactly the same. As all Aveeno products, it contains Colloidal Oatmeal, which is supposed to protect the skin while moisturizing it. It's also fragrance free, which makes it perfect for sensitive skin types, but I have heard that they do a scented version as well. In fact, I would have preferred to get that one, but I couldn't find it in the store! Anyway, the product itself has a quite thick consistency: not as liquidy as a lotion, not as thick as a body butter. It doesn't feel sticky or greasy at all and it absorbs quite quickly. The driest part of my body during this time of the year are my legs, and the Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion is moisturizing enough to make them feel smooth and nourished. 

Would I repurchase this body lotion again? Yes, probably, but in the scented version. I like my body lotions to smell nice - it's amazing how good a nice scent can make to your mood :) 

Have you ever tried anything from Aveeno?

Today I want... #20

The less money I have to spend on unnecessary things, the more I crave them. My number 1 craving of the moment also is the most expensive one: it's the NARS Sheer Lipstick in Dolce Vita, a dusty rose shade which I think could be my next favourite "my lips but better" lipstick.. too bad it costs €26, and I simply can't justify spending that much on a lipstick *sigh* 

One of my favourite type of nail polish to wear is metallic gold shades. Essie Penny Talk is a beautiful rose gold-coppery shade that I think would be perfect for this time of the year. It was part of last year's Mirror Metallic collection, so I'm probably going to hunt it down and purchase it online!

I was browsing the Bioderma website yesterday and got lost in the Sébium section. The range is targeted towards people with oily, acneic skin. They were probably thinking about me when they created it! Just kidding - anyway, I really want to try some products from the line. There are so many, it's actually hard to understand which one works for what! 

Much raved about in the beauty blogging world, the NYX Butter Glosses are supposed to feel as moisturizing and smooth as -you guessed it- butter. All the shades look super pretty, but I have my eyes set on Vanilla Cream Pie!

It's full-on Winter here and my lips are in need of more hydration: I really want to try the Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm, because everybody says it's the best lip balm ever! The only thing that's putting me off buying it is the fact that it's in a pot, and it's not the most hygienical thing ever. :(

Have you tried any of these products? What are you craving right now?

Sheerskin review

The stars of today's post will be three products that Cosmetic Love kindly sent me, all from SheerSkin: the Good Bye Trouble Brightening Bubbles Cleanser, the Good Bye Trouble Soothing Mist and Good Bye Trouble Soothing Fluid. 

SheerSkin, as all brands sold on Cosmetic Love, is a Korean brand. You know how much I love trying new stuff from Asian brands! Their website is only written in Korean, but from what I understand they try and use only natural and safe ingredients that even children can use. That's always good :)

The three products come in very simple yet pretty packaging. I especially love the Good Bye Trouble Soothing Fluid, which is made out of glass and feels more expensive than it actually is ;) again, I wish I could read what's written on the products, because it's all in Korean characters. They definitely need to work on this!

The product I enjoyed the most was the Good Bye Trouble Soothing Mist. As you probably already know, I have acne and I'm always on the lookout for refreshing mists that will help my skin feel a little better. The SheerSkin Good Bye Trouble Soothing Mist is supposed to control sebum and extra moisture, control acne spots, hydrate and brighten the skin. It contains five different Korean herbs such as Taraxacum and peony, which are especially good for sensitive skin types like mine. Moreover, it also contains fig, aloe, licorice, and centella asiatica: it's jam packed of natural ingredients! It feels so refreshing and soothing when sprayed on the skin, especially when it itches or looks particularly red. It also has a nice floral scent which I find so nice!

I also found the Good Bye Trouble Brightening Bubbleless Cleanser a good product. It's supposed to eliminate dead skincells and blackheads, brighten the skin and deeply cleanse the pores. Like all SheerSkin products, it has lots of natural ingredients in it such as papaya, white willow tree and sunflower seed oil. I found this product cleansed my skin well and brightened it, but it didn't remove impurities like I expected! It's a nice cleanser nonetheless, but nothing to write home about!

The third product from SheerSkin I tried out was the Good Bye Trouble Soothing Fluid, a mix between a serum and a moisturizer. As the other two products, it has a very pleasant fresh floral scent, which makes applying it so nice and luxurious :) It has a liquidy consistency and it sinks easily into the skin. Like the other two products from the 'Good Bye Trouble' range, it's targeted towards sensitive skintypes and it's meant to soothe and brighten the skin - which I found it did, especially right after applying it. The effect starts to disappear a few hours later, so I think I need to use this product a bit more to start seeing the difference :)

You can check out the ingredients of these SheerSkin products all on this page, where you can also find more products from the brand. Let me know what you think about SheerSkin if you decide to try anything from it! :)