In a golden cage

Fine Belt Mesh Dress*

You can't call yourself a fashion blogger if you don't own it - ladies and gentlemen, I'm talking about the infamous cage dress! Lots of online shopping websites stock it, but I got mine from Choies. As always with Asian based-websites, you need to be extra careful with sizes because they tend to run small. I got my dress in a size M, but it's still a little too short, so I will probably tuck it into some jeans and wear it as a top. Anyway, I love dresses with interesting upper bits like this one - I think they can make a great evening outfit paired with bold lips and simple accessories. I'm sporting neither of those in the photos, but you get the idea! I have a few events coming up and I think I may wear my cage dress as a top and pair it with a ponytail and a bright fucshia lipstick :) 

What do you think about it? Is it a bit too risqué? ;)

Essie Mint Candy Apple

I know that Summer is long gone now, but I feel like Essie Mint Candy Apple is such a cult nail polish that it's acceptable to blog about it even during Fall! 

Mint Candy Apple is a pastel light blue shade with a green hue, similar to the colour of a Tiffany box but a bit lighter than that. When I bought it, I was originally looking for something way lighter than it (more like & Other Stories Moire Green), but I ended up liking it a lot anyway. As all the Essie nail polishes I have tried so far, Mint Candy Apple has a very nice formula: it's creamy and it applies smoothly without streaks, which I think is due to the fact that the brush is quite wide. It's perfectly opaque in two coats and it doesn't chip easily - you can't notice much tip wear before the 5th or 6th day of wearing it.

The only thing I have to complain about this nail polish is the price - here in Italy Essie nail polishes retail for almost €14, which is insanely expensive! To think that in the US they retail for $8.. I want to move to America!

Do you own Mint Candy Apple? What do you think about Essie nail polishes?

Quick reviews #1

For today's post, I decided to write short reviews for three products that, in my opinion, don't deserve a post all for themselves - they aren't necessarily bad products, there simply isn't enough to write about them!

I usually do single posts about nail polishes I like, but since this Dior Gold Nail Lacquer #148 was part of a limited collection and you can't purchase it anymore, I felt like there was no point in writing about a product that is so hard to get hold of. Anyway, I got this nail polish in a swap through Depop (it's an iPhone app that is kinda like eBay), hence the fact that it has no cap. I wonder if I can purchase one somewhere.. anyway, back to the nail polish. It's a gorgeous yellow gold shade with a foil finish, which I love! It's actually very similar to one of my favourite H&M nail polishes, 'Golden Treasure'. The Dior one applies like a dream and it's opaque in one coat, it's actually one of the best formulas I've ever tried.

As you can see from the half-empty bottle, I've been using the Nivea Daily Essentials Double Effect Eye Make-up Remover for a while now and I like it so and so. It's a two-phase cleanser with an oil phase (the blue part) and an aqueous one. What I don't really like about this product is that when you shake the bottle to mix the two parts of the cleanser, you have to be really fast to pour it on the cotton wool otherwise they will separate again and you'll have to shake the bottle again. In fact, you can see that there's more oil than water left in my bottle, so I will be soon left with the oil part only. It removes my eye make-up pretty well, but I don't think I'm going to repurchase it straight away because I would like to try something else.

The third product I will be mentioning today is the Maybelline The Rocket Volum'Express mascara, which I've been using since June. This mascara has really started working for me only a month after I opened it - does this ever happen to you too? I understand that it has to dry up a bit, but it cannot take a whole month! I originally tried this mascara because everybody was crazy about it, but for me it's not a revolutionary mascara. I'm actually starting to think that I liked my Avon Supershock better! What do you think about Maybelline The Rocket? 

My life in photos #5

A few photos from my trip to Sicily (cannoli, the beach, granitas, oleander flowers, OOTD, myself being happy in Taormina, Cefalù, Taormina again) + the view from my grandma's house :)

Instagram: francivusk

Prom dress inspiration with DressFirst

Where I live there is no such thing as prom, and God knows how many times I wished there was whenever I was watching a teen movie! Even though it's not prom season yet, I think it's never too early to start searching for prom dresses inspiration :)

1, 2, 3

DressFirst offers a huge selection of prom, wedding, cocktail, evening dresses and so on - they basically cover every formal occasion you can ever imagine. Short dresses, long dresses, rhinestone-embellished ones; taffeta, organza, chiffon... they really have it all! If only I had some extra money to splurge, I would probably get one of those dresses to wear around the house when I want to feel like a princess ;)

1, 2, 3

I think the best thing about DressFirst is that every dress is customizable - if you like the shape and the fabric of the dress but you don't think its colour would suit you, you can change it choosing from a wide range of shades. Oh wait, that's actually not the best thing about DressFirst - it's the fact that 99% of the dresses available are under $200, which I think is amazing! Their shipping rates are also quite cheap, and you can choose between a fast, standard or 'super saving' service. Another good thing about DressFirst is that every dress is pictured in multiple photos and from different angles, so you know how each part of the dress is made. Moreover, in all the pages you can find all the details about the silhouette, neckline and embellishments of dress you are currently viewing if you just scroll down the page. 

If I were to go to prom -or any special event, really- I would definitely choose something similar to one of the dresses in the photos above. As you can see, they all have almost the same shape: a tight, embellished corset with a flowy chiffon gown. I think it's the kind of dress that suits me the most, but of course you can find many other types on DressFirst just by clicking over the 'Special Occasion Dresses' tab. 

Next time you are looking for inspiration for formal dresses, I suggest you take a look at DressFirst :) What are your favourite dresses from their website?

* Sponsored post

My MAC quad

I have finally managed to get a MAC quad to put my four little babies in -they've been out of stock on the MAC website for months-, so  now I can show you my MAC eyeshadows! I only have four because I don't have a MAC store near me (yet) so I got them all online and I went for shades that I felt safe with. I use these shades whenever I need to create a light daytime look, and I like the fact that I can mix and match all of them to achieve a pretty neutral look. 

Honeylust is a peachy golden shade with rather chunky glitters in it. I don't notice much fallout when using this eyeshadow, but I like to use it in conjunction with a primer to make it adhere to my eyelid better. Texture-wise, it's a bit gritty and not as soft as the other eyeshadows in my palette, probably because of the glitter. Ricepaper is a light shimmery beige that is the perfect to apply all over the lid. Is it just me, or this particular shade tends to crease, even with primer? I do really like it anyway, I wear it all the time! The infamous All that glitters is a beautiful rose gold shade; it's quite pigmented and I find it's the one of the prettiest, most effortless everyday eyeshadows ever. Era is a very soft light brown shade with a slight shimmer that I like to wear all over the lid or just in the crease to give the eye some definition, but it can be also used as a transition shade. Both All that glitters and Era have a buttery soft texture which makes eyeshadow application easy-peasy!      

What are your favourite MAC eyeshadows? Which other ones do you think I should get? :)

Mng Cut Perfume by Antonio Puig for women

Sometimes finding a nice, lightweight perfume to wear in the daytime can be tricky – the choice is so wide! Have you ever smelled Mng Cut by Antonio Puig? It is a perfume for women released by the Spanish fashion brand Mango back in 2002. Mng Cut is a clean, refreshing scent with notes of neroli, mandarin, lotus, black locust, musk and jasmine. Its floral and fruity blend really makes it a perfect daytime wear perfume, great for every season.

Iconemesis iPhone case giveaway

Finding a pretty, high quality iPhone case can be hard. Have you ever heard of Iconemesis.co.uk? They have such a nice selection of covers for iPhone 4, 4s and 5! My favourite cases are the Coffee Collection, Floral Print, Pink Floral and Teacup by Fifi Lapin. You have the chance to win your own iPhone 4, 4s or 5 case by entering the Rafflecopter form :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

KIKO DOES CUSTOMIZABLE PALETTES!

I might be hyperventilating. I just saw the KIKO Milano Facebook page publish this and I thought, I have to blog about this. Looks like they are finally doing customizable palettes like MAC and Inglot! They are called KIKO Infinity eyeshadows, while the palette system is called [CLICS] System™. The KIKO Infinity and Infinity+ eyeshadows are supposed to have high pigmentation and a lasting power of 12 hours. As you can see in the photo, we will be able to have singles, quads, trios and huge 24-pans palettes, for super affordable prices! Something like this was definitely much needed - I finally won't have to depot my Kiko eyeshadows in old CD cases! Stay tuned for more info and reviews about the KIKO Infinity and Infinity+ eyeshadow system :)

For those of you who don't know KIKO, it's probably the best Italian drugstore make-up brand. They have an online shop too - I definitely suggest you check it out! 

3 honey beauty recipes

When I was a little girl and I had a sore throat, my grandma always used to give me a spoonful of honey to soothe it. Well, honey isn't only good for curing sore throats - it's very beneficial for the skin, as well! Honey has moisturizing and antibacterial properties so it's great for acneic skin. Today I wanted to share with you 3 quick honey beauty recipes I've been enjoying recently!

♥ Honey mask

When I feel like pampering my skin, I'll do a quick mask using honey. All you need to do is literally cover your face in honey, leave it for 15 to 20 minutes and wash it off using lukewarm water! Your skin will feel soft, smooth and hydrated and not at all tight like some masks can often do. This little at-home treatment is great for people with dry skin, but it's perfect for blemish prone-skin too. I have acne myself and I find my face feeling much less irritated and soft after this mask! 

PS: don't be scared of putting honey on your skin - unlike olive oil which can also be used in at-home beauty treatments, honey rinses off super quickly. :) 

♥ Honey and sugar scrub

I haven't bought a body scrub in months - you want to know why? I've been making my own honey and sugar scrub for the past few months, and it's been working wonders! First of all, it's much more gentle than most scrubs on the market, it exfoliates and nourishes at the same time; and second of all, it's cheap as chips and it lasts for ages! All you need to do to make your own honey and sugar scrub is pour some honey in a jar, then add some sugar and mix them until they reach a 'scrubby' texture. You can make a harsher scrub by adding more sugar (great to use on feet!), or a more gentle one by adding just a bit. Also, you can use it not only on your body, but on your face as well! 

♥ Honey bath cream 

When I really want to relax, I take a bath mixing a few spoonfuls of honey in the water. When I go out of the bath, not only my skin smells amazing, but it feels silky smooth and hydrated too! I will definitely be sure to do this in the warmer months too :)

Guest post: Hair Heaven With A Halo For All

Halo hair extensions are taking the market by storm. Like all the best ideas, it’s very simple and has brought genuine speed and convenience to the hair extension process – which we all know can be time consuming if you want a great finish. It’s award-winning and Glamour magazine called it revolutionary, the miracle wire at the heart of the product is patent-pending – this is a genuine breakthrough in hair extensions for everyone.

Tokyo Milk wishlist

♥ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ♥

Help. I think I may pass out from one moment to another! I have just discovered the brand Tokyo Milk and I'm absolutely in love with everything on their website! I have picked out a few favourites from their huge selection - sooner or later these six products will end in my cart! The packaging on all of their items is to die for. What is your favourite Tokyo Milk product? 

Kiko Ultra Glossy Stylo #804

I was in Sephora a few days ago, looking at the new Fall collections and crying over the fact that everything was, as always, unbelievably expensive. I completely fell in love with the new Dior Addict Extreme lipstick in Diablotine and I was about to head to the register with it, but then I thought, 'There must be something like it for less than half the price'. And indeed there was. Kiko Ultra Glossy Stylo #804 is a lovely peachy pink with subtle golden shimmer - it is not an identical dupe for Dior Diablotine, but still, it's quite similar. The photo below definitely doesn't do it justice! The Dior lipstick is a little bit more orange, but formula-wise they are very alike: they both have the lightweight texture of a lipbalm. I find that the best way to apply the Kiko Ultra Glossy Stylo is to dab it on the lips to achieve a beautiful, natural finish. It's so pretty for daywear! I am definitely going to try out more from the Ultra Glossy Stylo line :)

Dolled Up

Outfit post! I think it's the first one that I do on this blog. It's just because the lighting in my room is very hit or miss, otherwise I think I'd do more. I love reading them on other people's blog - I feel like my style is so boring in comparison to all the other fashion bloggers I admire! Anyway, I got this sleeveless chiffon dress from Chicnova a few days ago - shipping was super fast considering they're based in Hong Kong! 

I absolutely love the floral print and I think it's a very easy dress to accessorize as there are many different colours going on it. The only downside to it is that it's very short! I thought it'd fit me but it barely covers my derrière... checking the measurements is one thing you have to be careful about when ordering from Asian websites. Anyway, it's gonna be perfect with leggings :)

Have you ever bought from Chicnova? What do you think about their selection? 

Where have I been?

Hello, everyone. ♡ I know I haven't posted here in a long time, and I'm sorry. The past two weeks have been quite busy and boring at the same time: we've had the air conditioning installed in our house last week, so I had to help my parents clean the whole apartment up - it was a mess! Then I spent this week at my grandma's house who lives in a very small mountain town and I only had access to a super slow internet connection there, so I spent my time watching Hugh Grant movies (I might be developing an insane addiction to that man) and buying overpriced stuff I don't need. 

My lack of posts is also due -believe it or not- to the fact that I have nothing to post about! I haven't been shopping in quite a long time and I seriously cannot wait to go to the mall on Tuesday and get my hands on some new beauty products. If you have any requests or ideas on posts I could write, please let me know! Regular reviews are hopefully coming next week. I've missed blogging so much!

Maybelline Color Whisper in Lust for Blush

I know, I know. The Maybelline Color Whispers have been out for months now, but hey - better late than never! I got mine, which is in the shade Lust for Blush, a couple months ago. The packaging looks so pretty, almost prettier than the Revlon Lip Butters (the Color Whispers are supposed to be dupes for those): the cursive font looks lovely, and I like the fact that the tube matches the actual shade of the lipstick. Unfortunately, the packaging is all I love about this product. Why? First of all, the shade is not the right one for me, but I guess that's my mistake. After all, there are 20 shades in the Color Whisper range, so I may have picked the only one that doesn't suit me! That's the bad side of shopping online. However, 'Lust for Blush' is a cool toned light pink and it reminds me of Topshop Innocent a bit - both don't suit me at all! All cool toned pinks make my teeth look yellower than they are, and I hate that. 

Moreover, I don't like the formula and finish. It has a creamy texture which settles in the fine lines of my lips, it's more opaque than my Revlon Lip Butters and L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm which I absolutely love, although it doesn't have any shimmer in it (which is nice). I feel like the product is sitting on the top of my lips - it's suffocating! 

I haven't tested this lipstick outside the house, so unfortunately I can't tell you about the lasting power. 

Maybe it's the fact that I picked the wrong shade that ruined the whole thing for me, but I don't like this product very much. What do you think about the Maybelline Color Whispers?

My Empties #2

I think I have accumulated enough rubbish since my previous empties post, so here I am with another collective review of the products I've recently used up!

I don't think I have reviewed the Lycia Micellar Water with Lotus Flower because it's not sold outside of Italy - however I think it's a very nice micellar water. It's gentle on the skin and it has a very pleasant scent. I like to use it on a cotton pad after removing my make-up, just to be sure that every residue of make-up is gone. The next product is the Avon Advance Techniques Moroccan Argan Oil mask, which you've heard me rave about in this post - I have loved it so much, but unfortunately I can't get my hands on it anymore unless I order it online. I would absolutely recommend it if you have dry or damaged hair in need of some extra hydration, and I would definitely purchase it again. The third product is the Avène Eau Thermale which I've reviewed a few months ago, and which I've already repurchased. It's a miracle product if you have irritated, sore skin - it will soothe it in minutes. I absolutely love it!

I've managed to get my hands on some Soap & Glory products, namely the Scrub of Your Life and the Clean, Girls body wash. The first product is a very nice scrub; I like it because it really exfoliates the skin and it ladders pretty well, unlike some exfoliators I've tried in the past; same thing for the body wash. 

Since I've reviewed the Avon Supershock mascara here, I've changed my mind about it. As most mascara, it got better with time and after a month or so of using it, I started liking it a lot. 

I use a nail wheel for  my nail polish posts - that must mean something about my actual nails! I have a very little nail bed but I don't like my nails to be long, so I always end up with having super short nails. I decided to try fake nails for once and I've posted the result on Instagram here and here. I absolutely loved the effect, but I'm not used to having long nails, so I removed them the day after :( I would definitely recommend the Essence French Click & Go Nails, applying them is foolproof!

My last empty product is a packet of Dove Beauty Cleansing wipes. I always like to try new types of make-up removing wipes - I think they all do the job pretty much the same way. These were nice, but didn't blow me off! 

Essence 'Always in my mint'

About two weeks ago I picked up a nail polish from the new Essence 'Me & my ice cream' collection, which is all about the pastel shades. Always in my mint is a lovely mint green colour, or a white with a tinge of mint green in it, I should say. It also has a light shimmer to it and although I've never tried it, the shade reminds me a lot of & Other Stories' Moire Green. 

I have seen other people's swatches of this nail polish and I don't know why, but it performs super sheer on me, so sheer that I can still see my nails underneath after three coats. I guess I could apply a white base underneath, but I simply don't want to - a good nail polish should be pigmented enough to be opaque in two coats. Moreover, the first two coats were kinda splotchy and the nail polish was hard to apply. I guess I can't ask a lot from a €3,29 product, but I've tried other nail polishes from Essence and they were way better than this one. 

I really wanted to like this nail polish, but I guess my quest to find a good pale mint green has to continue :( Have you tried Essence Always in my mint? What do you think about it? 

Avène Antirougeurs Anti-Redness Dermo-Cleansing Fluid

You'll all probably know by now that I've undergone a harsh dermatological treatment during the past winter, since I mention it in every other post here! However, since the skin is more exposed to the sun during Summer, I had to stop using the cleanser that my dermatologist gave me, which was rich in salicylic and glycolic acid. So, I got the Avène Antirougeurs Anti-Redness Dermo-Cleansing Fluid, a much more gentle product. All Avène product's first ingredient is Avène thermal water, which has soothing and calming properties (by the way, I've already reviewed the Avène Eau Thermale spray here) that my skin, I have discovered, really likes. 

The Avène Antirougeurs Anti-Redness Dermo-Cleansing Fluid comes in a 300ml bottle with a not very practical pump (it's kinda hard to push). However, the product itself has a gel texture; it has a nice fresh scent that is not overpowering in the slightest. I use it just like a regular cleanser - I wet my hands, get some of the product, apply it on my face in circular motions, and then rinse it off with water. Right after using it I notice that my skin looks way less red and definitely soothed. I love this cleanser because it purifies the skin without stripping all the oil from it and making it feel tight, which was exactly what I was looking for.  

I would definitely recommend the Avène Antirougeurs Anti-Redness Dermo-Cleansing Fluid to everyone that's maybe affected by rosacea or couperose, or who's just looking for a very gentle cleanser. 

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

Essence I ♥ stage eyeshadow base

About a month ago I picked up the Essence I ♥ stage eyeshadow base because I'd never tried an eye primer (I know, I know) and I wanted to try one without spending too much money. In fact, 99% of Essence products cost less than €5, so it's the perfect brand for make-up newbies! I think one of my first ever lipsticks was from Essence.. but that's another story. 

The Essence I ♥ stage eyeshadow base looks pretty much like a concealer, in that it comes with a doe foot applicator and it has a skintone colour, with a rather yellow undertone. It has a good consistency and it's easy to blend. A little goes a long way, too: I only need two small drops to cover the entire eyelid. Apart from making the eyeshadow colour be more vibrant -which is always a plus- it prevents the eyeshadows from creasing, which is what I was looking for! I usually wear eyeshadow for not longer than 5-6 hours, but this product definitely prolongs the wear of any eyeshadow I'm wearing on top. All this at a ridiculously inexpensive price - only €2,49!

What are your thoughts on the Essence I ♥ stage eyeshadow base? Have you ever tried anything from Essence?