Laoura's Beauty Blog

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Κυριακή 17 Φεβρουαρίου 2013

Wedding in Santorini

Hello everyone!

How are you? Today is rather cold here in Athens but I have somehing that will warm you and make you anxious for the summer to come!

Last week I traveled to Santorini to do the bridal makeup of a beautiful Chinese bride in cooperation with the travel consulting agency Sunrise Greece owned by Greeks and based in Hong Kong. They specialize in organizing weddings and photo shoots for Asian couples in the unique and extraordinary scenery of Santorini.
I have worked with them in the past few months again and I have seen their work up close and is truly amazing and is too bad that not many Greeks do as the Chinese and honor one of our most beautiful places and one of the entire world.

For the Chinese, coming to Greece and more, marrying in Santorini is a dream come true.
All this white & blue that we, are used to, for them is something very special and different.
They feel awe and excitement under the blue Aegean sky, the wild morphology of the island, the deep blue sea, the white roofs, the blue bell towers of the traditional island churches.
It is a breathtaking sight that even me, being Greek takes me by surprise every single time.

But enough with the talking.
I want to show you exactly what I mean and I want you to feel, even at the slightest, how I felt.
I was also their wedding coordinator so you will get the chance to see photos throughtout the preparation, wedding and photo shoot.

I hope you liked it and took some ideas... ;)

And if you have any new & fresh ideas, Sunrise Greece Agency is looking for talented, willed & sociable partners in Greece regarding hair, makeup, styling, coordination etc.
Contact: sunrisegreece@gmail.com

I am looking forward for your comments!

Stay healthy & beautiful!
xxx

Κυριακή 16 Δεκεμβρίου 2012

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder Review

Hello my beauties!

How are you?
The holidays are getting closer and closer and I would love for you to tell me what you have planned to do. And I mean from where you are going to spend the holidays, to the outfit you're wearing to dazzle the crowds and the makeup you have on your mind for so many special nights to come!

But before that, let me tell you about a face powder I was hearing constanly on youtube and reading on blogs, that I had to try it myself.

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder

As a girl with a combination/oily skin I am always looking out for the perfect powder that will "seal" my foundation and cover my face with this invisible veil that will make my skin looks dewy but matte, natural but carefully made up. I know, this sounds a little bit dreamy to you, but a girl can always hope.
Day after day, for the last two months, while watching my favourite beauty youtubers, I noticed that most of them kept talking about this powder and placing it next to high end products. They were talking how this powder keeps your face matte for so long that no other, even high end, can.

So I decided to give it a go. As you may know, in Greece, there are no Rimmel products, so I had to order it online. This time I used for the first time the fantastic feelunique.com and with free delivery I got this baby for 5.19 euros!
I chose the shade Transparent beacause I wasn't sure how pigmented they are.
But it is rather whitish although it blends well with your skin and becomes invisible after a while.
The powder does what it says, to my big surprise! Normally, two hours after I have powdered my face, I would need to blot my face or re-powder or something. But with this one, I didn't have to do that not before 5-6 hours which is amazing considering I have extremely oily T-zone!
I love this powder! It is not cakey, it has a nice powdery smell, does not cloge my pores and lasts a lot!

I would totally recommend this powder to those you struggle with oily skin and shiny T-zone as it is amazing! It is ridicullously cheap so you won't regret buying it even if you don't like it. Unlikely though!

Have you tried this powder? Or you have another favourite to keep the shine away?
Please do tell!!!

As always....
stay healthy & beautiful

xxx

Παρασκευή 16 Νοεμβρίου 2012

The Body Shop All in One bb Cream

Hello my beauties!

A while back one of my favourite beauty brands The Body Shop organised an event for beauty bloggers, as myself, to introduce to some new products they came out.
One of them was.....

All In One bb Cream

As many of you might have already noticed, the past year everyone is raving about those and each brand after another is creating its one.
I have used some during the past months but today I am going to talk to you about this one.

When you first squeese it in your fingers, this white cream with tiny brown dots inside, comes out and you stare it with question!
But not to worry! Once you put it on your face and start working it with your fingers, the white cream becomes "fleshy" and takes the shade of your skin.
It is not thick and applies evenly.
The coverage that this cream will give you is very light to light. The ones of you that don't need that coverage or the ones that don't want your bb cream to feel heavy is ideal.
I want a tinsy bit more coverage than this as my face is not flawless. :-(
Also it may not be very suitable for oily skin beacause as I tested to myself, it tends to show off some shine after only one-two hours.
But anyway after years of trying various foundations, moisturisers and now bb cream, at some point you just need to make peace with yourself and realise that no matter what to do, your oily skin will never transform into a normal one. Of course you will have your good days, for which this bb cream is perfect!
A rather annoying thing about this bb cream is its smell. It smells really weird to me. But of course that is my nose, my opinion!!
Oh and don't forget to tell you that unlike most bb creams, this one does not has SPF protection.
Overall it is a good bb cream for everyday use for those who want ligh coverage and light feeling on their skin.

So tell me! Have you tried this bb cream?
What do you think?

Stay healthy & beautiful!
xxx

Πέμπτη 25 Οκτωβρίου 2012

Clinique Pore Refining Solutions Review

Hello my beauties!

How are you? The weather here in Greece is starting to look more and more like winter, not exactly what I had in mind but I will try to keep the summer and the sun in my mind!

Today I will talk to you about a new series that Clinique came out targeting again at another skin problem.
Pores.
We all have oner 300.000 pores in our face and they double in the ages of 25-50. As we get older, due to hormon changes, our cells mature and don't renew. The skin gets drier and pores multiply and get bigger.

Clinique created a special line to make pores less visible.

Clinique Pore Refining Solutions

Pore Refining Solutions correcting serum:
You use it before your moisturiser and it helps create a great base for your moisturiser to sink in. It contains salicylic acid, acetyl glucosamine and laminaria saccharina extract that help cells mature properly, control of the oil and make pores clean lesss visible.
52.50 euros

Pore Refining Solutions Stay-Matte Hydrator:
It is a light moisturiser that is one of the best that I have used. It keeps my skin matte while creating instanly great base for my makeup. You can feel the hydration on your skin due to hydrogenated lecithin.
40.90 euros

Pore Refining Solutions Instant Perfector:
This is a smart technology product. It is thick but you need only a tiny bit on your T-zone or the whole face if you wish. The specialized cross-linked silicone polymers cover the skin with an invisible film that fills up the pores for 8 hours and controls oil keeping the skin matte.
22.90 euros

And of course Clinique, that has one of the biggest variety of problem targeted foundations, has created one for our pores.

Pore Refining Solutions Perfecting Makeup:

Soft focus technology reflect the light and make pores less visible. It also contains salicylic acid that cleans gently the pores by removing the dead cells sitting on the them. It has a light texture that applies easily and evenly without closing your pores.

30.90 euros

I was sent these products and I have been using them for the past almost two months. I always liked Clinique skincare, makes me feel comfortable which is very important for your face products.

Pore Refining Solutions is a great line of smart products that do not do miracles.

But although my pores did not disappear, my skin got better, smoother and finer.

My skin loved them.

Also they may not be very suitable for dry skin, but great for combination/oily skin.

My two favourites products that I would certainly buy, are the Instant Perfector and the Stay Matte Hydrator. They are amazing! Together they are creating the perfect makeup base!

I totally suggest that you try some of them!

So what do yout think?
Have you already tried these products? How do you like them?

Stay healthy & beautiful
xxx

Σάββατο 6 Οκτωβρίου 2012

Revlon Colorstay Foundation Review

Hello my beauties!

I know it's been a long time but now I am back with many posts ready to come!

Without any further delay, today I want to talk to you about the famous Revlon Colorstay Foundation. I have been wanting to try this foundation for a long time now after I was hearing about it so many things everywhere, and I mean it. Everywhere!
So as it is ridiculously expensive in Greece, I told a friend of mine who studies in England to get it for me. She bought it 12 pounds and here is about 20-22 euros. ts ts ts...classic.

Anyway!
We guessed my shade through photos via whatsapp, ;-), and took my chances with shade 330 natural tan.
We were right. At first I thought it must be dark for me as it says natural tan and during my internet search about the shades, I came out to be sand beige. The truth lies between.

So here we go.

As you can see it is a very pigmented foundation and thick. I have used it 2-3 times and the truth is I don't seem to get used to it on my skin.
It is a little hard to apply as it tends to dry rather fast but that is not a problem. You can do quick.
Although it is a thick foundation I wasn't impressed with its coverage. To be fair, after all the ravings about it, I was expecting something like a miracle on a bottle. That was not the case for me.
I have tried other foundations less famous with better coverage. This one did not have the coverage I expected and still felt heavy on my skin and flat.
As you can see on the picture I chose the combination/oily formula as my skin, esecially the T zone, tends to gets oily after a few hours.
Sorry again but I did not noticed any difference. I got shiny after a few hours as well. To be fair again, !, it was during the extremely past humid days in Athens. The weather is not helping us to make a proper review!
One of the things I liked was that, besides my skin got oily, the foundation did not melt or moved. It stayed there, which means it is a rather difficult one to take off!
I was hearing a lot about a strong awful smell but I noticed nothing. Ok, it does not have a creamy high-end scent but I did not bothered me.

Below I am showing how it looked on my skin.

no makeup

with Revlon Colorstay on

As you can see I had nothing big to cover up but still my face does not look flawless.
You might say that it looks good, and it does, as you can see my skin through which makes it a natural looking foundation. But.....
When I was dreaming about this foundation I had in mind something like my dreamy skin on a small bottle.

Overall, it is a very good foundation with medium coverage that you can build it.
It stays for hours without moving around. It is a good price-good quality product. (if ordered online)
I know that many women around the world are raving abut this foundation but it simply did not impress me.
Well, that's the thing when you are expecting too much! I thought I had find the One but to me is just a simple heavy-feeling foundation.

I hope I helped you and strongly recommend that you give this foundaton a go.

Have you tried Revlon Colorstay Foundation?
If yes, what do you think?

Stay healthy & beautiful
xxx

Δευτέρα 10 Σεπτεμβρίου 2012

U see it? Conceal it!!

Hello my beauties!

How are you? I know it's been a long time but I am back with a hot issue!

Concealers!

They are as important as foundation. You have to find the one that suits your skin type and needs.
Every girl should have two concealers. One lighter than their skin for the undereye area and one similar to your skin tone to hide any blemishes or imperfections.

Below I am showing you my concealers which are not only two but what can I do? I am only a girl!

Let's talk about them one by one.
From up left:

1. Kryolan Erase Deckstift Neutralizer
It is a rather heavy green concealer that is suitable to neutralise intense redness to the face & body.
Above this you use your regural concealer to give your skin healthy look.

2. Kryolan Erase Deckstift X1
At first when I saw this concealer I thought I could never use it as it does not look like skin colour but it is a yellow based creme crayon that is perfect for highlighting any areas you want. Avoid big quantity on the face. Kryolan are meant to be stage makeup therefore rather heavy.

3. Vichy Dermablend ultra corrective foundation cream-stick #light clair 13
As you can tell by its name it is a foundation on stick. But as you all know, stick foundations are drier than the liquid ones, therefore heavier. But I always wanted to try the Vichy Dermablend and as I do not have that of a bad skin I preffered the stick foundation as a face concealer to cover up any blemishes.
I like it very much, it does't move a lot but needs good blending.

4. Clinique Even Better Concealer #natural
It is a rather new member to the Even Better family and it is here to stay. it is super creamy, yet stable. Blends really well on your skin and it is great for undereye concealer, if skin is not very dry, as well for covering imperfections.

5. Make Up For Ever Camouflage Cream # 17
It is another green camouflage creme which I prefer using on the face, instead of the Kryolan, as it is a little bit lighter and is buildable. I have occassionaly red spots in my face and this creme is perfect to neautralise everything.

6. Make Up For Ever Camouflage Cream # 20
This is an orangy colour camouflage creme which is used to neutralise the blueness of the dark circles under your eyes. As it is intense you use it carefully and build it. Above this you put your preffered undereye concealer to cover the orange and brighten the area.

7. Clinique Line Smoothing concealer # 03 moderately fair
This is an all time classic concealer. It is light weighted, moisturising and ideal for the undereye area. It is perfect for your everyday concealer but not very good for covering up any blemishes and imperfections as it does not has a very good staying power.

8. Clinique All About Eyes Concealer # 01 light neutral
This is maybe my favourite undereye concealer. It is neither light or heavy and a little goes a long way.
It is moisturising and has a very good staying power. I use it for my eyes only and not the face.

Well, that is all!
I always want to try a new concealer so I will probably be back with more of them!

Which is your favourite concealer and how many do you have?

Stay healthy & beautiful
xxx

Τρίτη 7 Αυγούστου 2012

H&M Blushers Review

Hello my beauties!

How are you? How are you handling with this hot weather? I am hoping near the sea!

Today I am going to talk to you about my beloved H&M blushers! I discovered them about a year ago in one of my many visits to the H&M and I loved them. I have many many blushes, as all of you I suppose, but I keep reaching for my H&M blushes. They are very pigmented, blend really well on your skin and last forever! I have MAC blushes which I love but somehowmost of the times I prefer these ones.

I have already told you about my love for the H&M Bronzer (check review here ) and now it is time to tell you about their blushes.

I have three of them and I am planning to buy more.

Tawny Rose, Sweet Rose, Dazzling Peach


with flash

no flash

All three have a nice shimmer. Tawny Rose has has a metallic finish, Sweet Rose a shimmery finish and Dazzling Peach a sheeny finish.

tawny rose


Sweet Rose

Dazzling Peach

I love them, I use them every day on me and on clients, stay on all day and with 3.50 euros each you can try as many as you like!

Have you tried one of H&M 's blushes?

How do you find them?

Stay healthy & beautiful

xxx

Τρίτη 31 Ιουλίου 2012

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara

Hello my beauties!

How is your summer so far? Are you hot? Are you on a beautiful island? Please make me jealous!

But before that, let me tell you about the wonderful surprise I had this morning.

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara*

I have been reading about this mascara and watching about it n a few YouTube gurus and I immediately fell in love! And now, time has come to try it and show it to you.

As you can see it has the tiny tinniest wand, ideal to colour your bottom lashes without smudging.

Its formula gives a 24hr result and it is water resistant.

It contains acrylates copolymer which make it dry right after application while protects you from cold water, sweat and humidity.

It also contains bentonite, a special ingredient that works like clay covering your lashes, while its jojoba oil nurishes and protects them.

To remove the mascara from your lashes wet some cotton with warm water and just pass it through your lashes.

It is great for those wearing eye contacts, like myself, and have sensitive eyes.

It is available in Black and its price is 15 euros. In stores on September 2012.

I wasn't wearing mascara on my bottom lashes because I always got black circles, even though I wasn't born with them! But now I think I might start!

What do you think of this product?

Have you tried it?

Stay healthy & beautiful

xxx

*pr sample

Τετάρτη 11 Ιουλίου 2012

MAC Oil Control Lotion Review

Hello my beauties!

How are you? I am sure you are hot hot hot! And times like this you are trying to make the best out of your makeup. I know. I struggle myself with that too.

I am trying to find the best moisturiser or primer that leaves my skin matte hot days like these.
During my search I came across to this oil control lotion by our beloved MAC.

As you can see it is light textured and a bit "runny". The girl in the store said that will keep my skin matte and that I wouldn't need to wear moisturiser under it when doing my makeup as it has moisturising elements on its own.

My opinion on this lotion is not so good as someone would expect.

Although it felt quite comfortable on my skin and absorbed quickly, I noticed not the slightest difference on my skin, my makeup or my T-zone. I was shiny 1 1/2 hour later tops.

And imagine I didn't wear it the last days that the weather is trying to kill us with heat and humidity.

This does not change my mind on the quality of MAC cosmetics, they are one of the best!

But I did thought that they would do good work on the sensitive subject of oil & shine control.

Have you tried it?

What is our opinion?

Which one is your best anti-shine primer?

Stay healhy & beautiful

xxx

Παρασκευή 6 Ιουλίου 2012

Razzle Dazzle!

Hello my beauties!

I am guessing you are happy, looking forward for your vacations while having a delicious coctail in the local bar.

I, myself, last week was in a bar in the centre of Athens, drinking strawberry mochito and let me tell you this. For three hours, I was feeling like I was in this exotic place, sipping my drink and listening to easy music.

But anyway, let me get back to my point. I was saying that summer is here, you have already tanned somehow, and your mood is in its highest point.

And I ask you.

Is there something that would make you feel even better?

Something that would make you look even happier and more glowing like you are showered by light?

Let me show you some magic tricks I have on my makeup bag!

Taaaa-Daaaaaa!

1. The Body Shop Sandstone #03 quartz hue

This small red treasure box was the first time I would come across to a highlighter. And still I used it as a eyeshadow! It looked really good on my eyes but when later I realised its true purpose I was thrilled! It has a beautiful rose champagne colour that matches any skin. I don't think you can still find the exact package but The Body Shop is full of highlighters!

2. Stila Illuminating Finishing Powder #Gold

This illuminating powder has a gorgeous soft gold colour that is shimmery not glittery. It gives a soft shimmery touch on the top of your cheekbones. This is for you who want something not too obvious.

3. Mac Cream Colour Base #Pearl

Anything I say on this black magic box it won't be enough! It is a creme highlighter that is best put with your fingers and it blends in your skin like heaven! I am sure a lot of you know exactly what I mean!

4. Gosh Bronzing Shimmer Brush # 102

I have shown this one before on the Bronzers post (see it here).

It is an ultra shimmering bronzing powder tha makes you shine like you never imagined. It is very easy to go wrong with this product as the packaging is not too tidy and tends to let a lot of product get away and onto your face! But overall it is a great one!

5. Clinique Fresh Bloom Allover Colour #03 Almond Blossom

This is the most subtle highlighter I own. It has the smallest amount of shimmer of them all and can be used as a bronzer or a blush. There are two colours as you can see when mixed with the brush, gives a rose bronze shimmery glow. It is very good to carry it in your purse as it has many uses.

Below I am showing you a face chart to see where is best to contour and highlight our face. I hope it will help those who are new to highlighters and want to try them out! The dark points are contouring your face to create angles and the rose ones are to create light to your face.

I hope you find your way to a new glowing You!!!!!

Stay healthy & beautiful!

kisses xxx

Σάββατο 30 Ιουνίου 2012

Day Make Up Tutorial

Hello my beauties!

I hope you are well, tanned and ready for vacations!

A few days ago my good friend Amalia came for a day make up and I thought it was a good opportunity to show it to you step by step and letting you know which products I have used.

So with no further delay .....here we go!