Things I'm loving at the moment

The purpose of this blog is sharing what I love with you, and there are times when all I can think about has nothing to do with make-up! ;)

I am absolutely obsessed with Pinterest right now. I opened my account years ago when nobody used it and kind of forgot about it; last week I downloaded the app on my iPhone and now I can't stop scrolling! The amount of interesting things I found there is just insane. Some of my favourite Pinteresters (?) are Griottes, Twigs & Honey (my dream is to marry in one of their dresses) and Raising Up Rubies. You can find my boards here :)

I am in a serious DIY kick right now, which is not exactly ideal as it's so time consuming and I have exams coming up! Since I came back in December I have completed a little embroidery work you can see in the photo above, and I have started experimenting with calligraphy. I definitely want to get better at it - if you just type 'calligraphy' on Etsy, some seriously talented people's shops will show up!  

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon Oana Befort's website and the artsy side of me could not help but grab a brush and a set of watercolour paints and start experimenting! If anything pretty ever turns out, I will definitely update you about it :)

Elie Saab Haute Couture Spring 2014. Honestly. Too much beauty. And Valentino, too.. it truly amazes me that there are people that are still able to actually sew and embroider masterpieces like these.

What about you? What are you obsessed with at the moment? 

Essence 'I Love Extreme' mascara

About three months I was induced to buy the Essence I Love Extreme Volume Mascara, partially because every single girl on the planet loves it and partially because of it price - it's only 3,50 euros or something ridiculous like that. I also badly needed a new mascara, and I think those were the only three sensible reasons why I chose this product, as I don't particularly like the applicator, but I decided to give it a shot anyway.

As you can tell from the photos, the Essence I Love Extreme Volume Mascara has a huge plastic wand with lots and lots of bristles, to which you have to get used to, as it's quite easy to get smudges on your upper lashline if you don't pay enough attention. It definitely lives up to its claim, giving a lot of volume to the lashes; I also manage to give them some extra length by building the mascara up only on the ends. I'm not one to apply more than 2 coats of mascara, but I guess you could get an extremely voluminous set of lashes by building this mascara up!

Anyway, the formula is quite dry and I have to be super careful not to get clumps when using it. It wears nicely throughout the day, but I find that it smears on my lower outer corners just a tiny bit - nothing too noticeable. 

I would recommend the Essence I Love Extreme Volume Mascara if you are on a budget and you feel comfortable with big applicators - maybe this is not the best product for beginners. I won't be repurchasing it just because I think there are so many other mascaras on the market and I'm not completely satisfied with this one!

Have you ever tried it? What do you think about it?

Too Faced 'A few of my favorite things'

I don't know why I have been putting off writing this post for so long, maybe because the beauty I'm talking about -the Too Faced 'A Few of My Favorite Things' palette- was limited edition and you can't get it in stores anymore. As soon as I was done with my exams last month, I went on a shopping spree and this gorgeous thing was included! Even though you can only get it on Ebay for an insane amount of money, I am going to dedicate this post to this awesome palette just for the sake of sharing something beautiful with you ♥

The Too Faced 'A few of my favorite things' palette comes in a lovely pouch which chevron pattern recalls the packaging of the palette itself. I think the prettiness of the pink and gold combo was what drew me into the purchase! Inside the pouch you find a mini Better than Sex mascara and a full sized Lip Injection Color Bomb.
The star of the show, though, definitely is the palette. It comes with 20 eyeshadows, 2 blushes and 2 bronzers. The eyeshadows come in different finishes, from matte to satin to glitter. I had never tried any eyeshadow from the brand before and their quality literally blew me away! They all feel soft as butter and are extremely pigmented, except two glitter ones (1st on 1st row, 4th on 1st row) that feel a little gritty. As for the color range, it has a little bit of everything: lots of "not boring" neutrals (see Coquet, the most beautiful iridescent light pink), the most stunning golden shades I have ever tried (Tinsel, Crisp Apple Strudel), a gorgeous orchid colour, an oxblood colour, a green.. it basically has every single shade you could ever need to create a daytime and an evening look.

In the lower part of the palette you can find Raindrops on Roses, a very bright pink shade of blush which will be perfect in the warmer months, and Melt into Spring, a muted down peachy pink colour. Next to the blushes are the infamous Chocolate Soleil bronzer (it actually smells like chocolate and it looks great even on my Snow White skin) and Sun Bunny, a shimmery bronzer which gives a very pretty glow to the skin.

I cannot say more about this palette other than "I am in love with it"! Did you manage to get your hands on it? If not, would you ever have the guts to purchase it for three times its price on eBay? ;)

Coconut Oil: 5 Beauty Treatments

I have started including Coconut oil in my beauty routine a few months ago and I've been experimenting a few different ways to make the most out of that giant tub you can see in the photo above! 

♥ Hair Mask
The most common way to use Coconut oil is as a hair mask. Coconut oil comes in solid form and melts at 25°, so you have to melt it in your microwave beforehand. I usually melt a spoonful or two and then apply it generously on my hair until every strand is covered; I let the oil sink in for as long as I can and then I proceed to wash my hair. Coconut oil makes them incredibly soft and hydrated - it makes them smell lovely too! Clearly, this hair mask is only suited for damaged and dry hair types. :)

♥ Lip scrub
Whenever I feel like my lips are in need of a good scrub, I melt a teaspoon of Coconut oil and mix it with half a teaspoon of sugar in a little container. I then apply the mixture onto my lips and rub it gently; not only my lips will feel softer from the scrubbing, but also perfectly hydrated from the oil. I always do this when I want my lipstick to look perfect!

♥ Lip balm
I depotted a small quantity of oil in a tiny glass jar and I keep it on my bedside table at all times, so that every evening I apply some as a lipbalm. It's amazing how Coconut oil manages to hydrate my lips!

♥ Eye Make-up Remover

Coconut oil can be used as a make-up remover, too (extra-virgin olive oil works as well). I have only tried using it on my eyes even though I know lots of girls love to use it on their face - I bet it would work wonders as a moisturizer for dry skintypes! Anyway, it removes mascara perfectly well, but I found that it made my eye area slightly red, so I stopped using it for that purpose. I have a quite sensitive eye area anyways, so I advise you to try it and see how it works for you! 

♥ Cuticle oil

Everytime my cuticles and nails feel slightly dry, I reach out for that little glass jar I have mentioned before and apply some Coconut oil on them. Sometimes my knuckles get quite dry during this time of the year, so I generally put some on there while I'm at it ;) 

As you can tell, Coconut oil truly is an all-purpose product. It can be used as an emollient all over the body and for cooking too, of course! There are hundreds of yummy recipes including it that I can't wait to try :) 

Do you know any other use for Coconut oil? Have you ever tried it? 

Bioderma Sensibio Cleansing Milk

About two months ago I ran out of my beloved Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish hot cloth cleanser and I couldn't order it online, so I had to switch to another make-up remover for a while. Since my skin already loved the Bioderma H2O, I decided to explore the brand further and try their Sensibio Lait Démaquillant, or Cleansing Milk. 

I don't think I have ever seen anyone review this, so I thought I'd share my thoughts about it with you. The Bioderma Sensibio Lait Démaquillant is a make-up remover that is part of the Sensibio line, just like the infamous micellar water everyone raves about, so it is specifically formulated for sensitive skin types. It's fragrance-free, hypoallergenic and perfectly suitable for the eye area. 

This product, just like the name suggests, has a light milky texture which feels very fresh on the skin. The instructions advice to use it on cotton rounds, and it actually is the best way to use it (I've tried applying it directly on the skin and massaging it and it hasn't done a good job). 

Now, the Bioderma Sensibio Lait Démaquillant is not the best make-up remover if you have to take off a ton of foundation like I do. I found myself using 6 or even 7 small cotton rounds to feel like I had completely removed all make-up on my face; I found it way too impractical for me and as soon as I could, I stopped using it and replaced it with the Liz Earle cleanser I have mentioned before. 

It removes eye make-up and especially mascara fairly well, but i had to follow it up with some Bioderma H20 anyways, to make sure that every trace of mascara was gone. 

So, I would only recommend the Bioderma Sensibio Lait Démaquillant for someone who doesn't wear a ton of make-up (it would remove a tinted moisturizer or a light foundation in a sec), and, of course, to those who have sensitive skin. It didn't remove all of my make-up in one swipe, but at least it didn't irritate my skin in the slightest! 

Have you ever tried this product? What do you think about it?

Urban Decay De-Slick Make-up Setting Spray

Don't ask me why, but when I first moved to Rome in September my face started to produce more oil than ever - maybe because of the pollution. I have always had oily skin, but I had come to a point where foundation only lasted 3 hours on me before getting as shiny a face as a discoball. I decided I needed to do something about it, so I purchased the Urban Decay De-Slick Make-up Setting Spray!

The Urban Decay De-Slick Make-up Setting Spray is supposed, as the name suggests, to control oil and set your make-up, preventing it from separating and sliding everywhere. It doesn't contain parabens, sulfates or phtalates, which is always nice in a product. The instructions on the bottle advise you to spray it 8-10 inches away from your face, in an X and T motion - I usually don't follow that rule and spray it quite randomly, until I feel that it has reached my whole face. Also, they say you can use it before putting on your make-up, but I always feel a little strange putting any type of product that is not moisturizer on my bare skin; primers make me feel claustrophobic! I know it's silly, but I'm not the only one to say it! 

Anyway, the Urban Decay De-Slick Make-up Setting Spray comes in a very fine mist, and it doesn't feel sticky or anything like that. I have tried it without using a powder before spraying it, and it hasn't done miracles. If, however, I dust some blotting powder before, it makes my make-up last a bit longer indeed - about 5 or 6 hours without retouching. I wish it performed a bit better since sometimes I'm at Uni for longer than that, but hey - you can't expect any miracles from a setting spray.

Priced at  €24,90 for 120ml, I think it is a nice product and I am going to repurchase it not because I'm in love with it but because I need it, sadly. Maybe next time I could try the All-Nighter version - have you tried any of the two? What do you think about them?

Persunmall wishlist

1, 2, 3, 4

1, 2, 3, 4

Today I would like to share my top picks from Persunmall, an online store which offers tonnes of trendy items! I picked out four comfy and cozy sweaters (it's still pretty cold here), two beautiful clutches, a pair of mint green shorts and a blue skirt. What are your favourite items from Persunmall?