Avene Nettoyante Mattifying Cleansing Foam

Hello my beauties!

How are you?

Here, in Greece, the last few days the weather is hot and humid like it’s August! That hot!

And with heat comes sweat. And with humidity comes shine.

So all we can do is change some of our skincare and makeup routine choosing oil free and mattifying products depending our skin type, but even drier skin girls make some changes as well.

The first thing that all of us do is choose a oil free moisturizer and sunscreen in order to reduce the oil production and the shine.

But have you ever thought that it all begins with your morning cleansing?

I have never given it a serious thought until this product knocked my door.

Avene Mousse Nettoyante Mattifying Cleansing Foam*

Let me first talk to you about my cleansing routine.

The first and last thing I do is wash my face. Until now used to have one cleansing gel for all uses.

I am not the kind of girl to use cleansing milks first to take off my makeup, right or wrong, and I always used foaming gels to take off my makeup and clean my face.

And the same goes for the morning. I wash my face with the same gel.

And then came Avene Mattifying Cleansing Foam*.

I started using it in my morning routine as it does not do a good job removing my makeup.

Well, actually it is not a makeup remover even though they say that works for that too.

It is a super gentle, foaming, not drying cleansing gel for normal/combination/oily skin that takes away all the oil from my skin prepping it for my everyday makeup routine.

It smells like old fashioned crème, at least to me, which I love and even though it does not feel dry at all, you feel and see your face clean, refreshed and nourished.

As every other Avene product, it contains pure Avene thermal spring water which soothes irritated skin.

It contains base soap that tightens pores and glutamic acid that regulates sebum production.

Of course it is paraben free as all Avene products.

It is Avene’s answer to all that super drying cleansing gels for normal/combination/oily skin and I really like it!

You don’t need to drain your skin for not the oil come through. It will either way and you will have dehydrated your skin.

They say it works best with the Avene Mattifying Fluid Moisturizer which targets the T-zone and claims to eliminate the shine but I haven’t tried it yet!

It retails at  14, 00 euro.

Which is your favorite cleansing gel?

So, have you tried this one?

If not, you should give it  try especially if you have combination/oily skin.

As always,

Stay healthy & beautiful

xxx


*PR sample

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Clinique Even Better Compact Makeup

Hello beauties!

How are you? Did you have a good time during Easter?

I, like I told you, was in Naxos, a Greek island in the middle of the Aegean Sea. As you can easily imagine I did my first visits at the sea. And I say visits because the Aegean is still really cold!

But the color came back to my skin, even with the use of SPF 30, and I feel already refreshed and summery, what do you think?

Plaka

Naxos Chora

Plaka Beach 

Saturday night

After all that catching up let's start!

So, today I will talk to you about a new product that came out just a couple months ago and worth to be mentioned.

Clinique Even Better Compact Makeup SPF15*

As you may remember Clinique has a skincare series called Even Better, that already has a liquid foundation.

Well, this year Clinique took that series to another level.

They transformed the liquid foundation to compact, making it easy to carry with you for touch ups and convenient to use with the stiff sponge that comes with.

It is specially designed to even out your skin tone, covering up any discolorations and imperfections.

It has a long wearing formula although I would suggest that you set it with a powder whatever your skin type is.

It is medium to full coverage, has an SPF 15, which is not enough but always good to have and feels quite light on your skin when used correctly.

It is filled with antioxidant ingredients including vitamin C & E, which contribute to skin tone correction from the sun damage, dark spots even acne scaring.

It comes in a sleek classic Clinique silvery-white package with a large mirror inside making it ideal for your bag.

There are 6 shades suiting most skin color and retails at 37,00 euro.

So, have you tried the Even Better series?

What do you think?

As always,

Stay healthy & beautiful

xxx

*PR sample

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Golden Rose Cosmetics Review

Hello my beautiful summer ladies!

I am in a summer mode and that is because this time as I write to you I am packing my bags off to a beautiful Greek island to spend my Easter holidays, have my first swims and with a little luck my first tan!

How about you? Where are you spending your holidays?
Do send me photos!

So, let's get down to business! To Beauty Business!

Not long ago I was introduced to a worldwide brand since 1983 in Istanbul, now found in more than 80 countries in the world.

Golden Rose Cosmetics

They are high quality products with really low prices prices.

Really pigmented , long lasting and many many colors.

I was sent some to try and I will show below what they look like.

Terracota Sparkle Trio Eyeshadow in # 410*

It is a trio eye shadow as you can see at the photo that feels like baked. 
It is super shiny and glittery which is why I can't talk much about longevity. 
Especially the medium color, the gold one, is very sparkly and flies everywhere! 
You have to be careful as they tend to have a little falldown.

price: 8,90 euro


Mettalic Style EyeLiner in # 11*

It is a very good eyeliner that sets very quickly and stays on really well!
The color is perfect, summery and glittery. I wear it as an winged eyeliner for a modern pin up look or on the waterline and lower lashes for a beach summer one. 

price: 3,80 euro


Long Lasting Lipstick 2000 in # 104*

When I first saw this lipstick, I knew we would get along just fine!

I am always on the hunt for the perfect nude-pink lipstick and this is getting real close.
It applies smoothly, it is very hydrating and has a medium staying power as you would expect from a moisturizing lipstick.

I love it!

price: 2,50 euro

Rich Color Nail Polish One Step in # 17*

It is a very vivid summery color that I have loved! It applies perfectly with its different wider brush, dries in 5 minutes and stays on for at least 4 - 5 days.

price: 2,00 euro

The prices are unbelievable and the quality similar to known brands.
I should definitely recommend that you give it a try!

Until they finish building their own site, you can order
                                                              Golden Cosmetics online at Beauty-Town


Well that's it from me!

Have you tried any Golden Rose Cosmetics?
Do you feel like you discovered a hidden little treasure?

Have fun on your Easter Holidays and get some tan!

As always
stay healthy & beautiful
xxx


*PR sample

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Garnier Ambre Solaire BB Cream Review

Hello my beauties!

How are you doing?

I know some of you already had their first swim on the hot beaches of Greece!
I hope I will in the next days during Easter vacation...!

So as the weather is getting hotter and hotter many things keep popping in our heads such as sun protection, oil free, long lasting, color, coverage and other stressful words!

As many of you have noticed, BB creams are popping out like crazy!!

Today I will talk to you about Garnier Ambre Solaire BB cream*.

You all know and most of us love the classic Garnier BB creme but this one comes from a different series.

It says it provides sun protection for the face & neck, with a very important SPF30, illuminates your skin, evens out any imperfections, hydrates and has an anti-dark spots formulation.

Personally, I think that it feels a lot like a sunscreen than a bb cream, which means it is a little heavy, at least for my combination skin.

It has a decent coverage, certainly evens out my skin and it takes at least 5 minutes to dries on your skin before you set it with powder, which is something I think you must do with this bb cream.

It comes out in one color as you see in the picture which is quite dark and difficult to match all skin colors, but you can blend it really really well and set it with lighter or darker powder.

Before I started using this bb cream, I was wearing the classic Garnier bb cream for combination skin but as I had bought it during winter in the shade light, now it is a little light for me.

Sooooo the thing I started doing is mixing the two Garnier bb creams and guess what.

It gives the perfect color, an extra SPF protection and evenness!

I would certainly recommend this bb cream for those with drier skin and wanting to look flawless on the beach! 

Actually yes. I now think that it is a Beach BB cream not a City BB Cream as the first one.

But I am really happy with the result so I think I found my everyday summer bb cream!

Well, that's it from me.

Have you tried this bb cream? What do you think?

As always
stay healthy & beautiful
xxx

*PR sample

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Guerlain Fresh Bronzing Gel

Hello my beauties!

How are you? 

I am doing great as long as I see that sun popping outside my window!

But even though I adore the sun and its glowing effect on my skin.......

we all have learned by now that it is not good for our skin. Not good at all....

We have figured out many many ways to "cheat" the sun effects on our skin and this is exactly what we were discussing with my very good friend Vicky and she just happened to have the most brilliant idea ever! 

She would review her new bronzing gel for my blog and all you!

Let's hear it straight from her!

"Hi everyone!

My name is Vicky and today I will be sort of a "guest lecturer" in Laoura's Beauty Blog. The reason for this, is that I tried a certain product and wanted to share it with everyone else.

I am talking, of course, about Guerlain's Fresh Bronzing Gel, from the Terracotta series. 

It is not a foundation, not a self tanner, and not a primer. It is pure magic, in my opinion!

There are two ways to use it.

First, you can apply it on your face (or neck, arms, and wherever you wish) by itself and achieve a beautifully bronzed skin tone and a healthy glow. This is great for the months of summer, when we usually don't need heavy coverage. 

Second, you can combine it with a foundation of your choice and apply it on top of it. You still achieve the bronzed skin tone and the glow, but now your face looks flawless and healthy.

It is extremely light and easy to use. Due to its gel-like texture you hardly feel like you have anything on, but it stays in place for several hours. 

There is also a bit of sunscreen there, which is always good.

As a downside, it is a bit expensive so keep an eye out for sales and offers! At least, that is how I got it and I haven't regretted it at all.

Thank you for your time, and a special thank you to Laoura, for letting me use her wonderful blog!"

Thank you Vicky for the lovely review! 

As always

stay healthy & beautiful

xxx

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AVON. Eyes Wide Open.

Hello everyone!

How are you? Do you enjoy the weather?

How are you spending your days? Are you doing something special? Do tell!

Today I will talk to you about an event I went to, not very long ago at AVON Headquarters in Athens.

They invited 40 beauty bloggers in order to present the already world known AVON, show us their new products, inform us about the best sellers and most importantly walk us through the fundraising  campaigns they are running as a company.

I am sure that all of you are familiar with AVON.

It is a brand who’s been around since 1886 and founded by David McConnell in the United States. There are about 6,4 million Avon Representatives in more than 100 countries. That says a lot, don’t you think?

During the presentation, they showed us new products that are about to be released and classic best sellers, some of which were given for a try.

The thing that caught my eye was of course was the new bb creme.

Everyone is talking about bb cremes and we want to try them all!

The Avon Skin Loving Beauty Balm comes in 6 natural skin shades, loaded with vitamin E & SPF 15, reduces any redness, softens your skin and even out your tone.

It is a great product worth trying!

However there was one thing, no, three things that really hooked me.

Avon is currently running 3 campaigns:

Avon Foundation against Breast Cancer

Since 1955, Avon Foundation has helped millions of women through information, updates, prevention. They offer over 850 million dollars in more than 50 countries for education, diagnosis, support and scientific research.

Here in Greece, Avon is a true supporter of the Greek Cancer Society and together they have managed the sponsorship as well as the purchase and operation of a mobile mammography unit art.

The mobile mammography unit began its precious journey in Greece in April 2010 and since then they have performed over 14.500 free digital mammograms!

Everyone can help support and expand this action by purchasing some special Avon Products such as the Pink Calendar.

For more information: http://www.avoncosmetics.gr/PRSuite/crusade.page

Avon Foundation against Domestic Violence

This campaign launched in 2004 in the United States. Through educational programs, prevention and information, they support mostly women and their families who suffer from Domestic Violence.

Avon Greece with the cooperation of WIN Hellas, they finance educational seminars within the families suffering from this, focusing mostly on the children affected in order to stop the cycle of violence.

This campaign is supported through the sales of products empowered such as the Empowerment Necklace.

For more information: http://www.avondomesticviolence.gr/

Hello Green Tomorrow Campaign

“Avon Hello Green Tomorrow is mobilizing a global environment movement to nurture nature and help end deforestation”.

With mottos like “Helping Protect Forest Worldwide” & “Paper is a sustainable Resource” they are trying to unite people, educate them and mobilize them to do good and give back in this important cause.

Help Avon protect the Forests can make a huge difference in the world we live in.

Selections of special fundraising products have been creating in order to expand the life and the purpose of this campaign such as the Green Bag.

For more information: http://www.hellogreentomorrow.com/ 

Companies such as AVON inspire women and people around the world to do good around them in so many ways that is beyond touching.

We should all give it a minute to look to the person next to us, advise them and support them.

Eyes wide Open should be our new thought.

See their products & find an Avon Representative near you at

http://www.avoncosmetics.gr/PRSuite/home_page.page

I hope you liked all the above and given you something to think about.

It is worth it.

As always…..

stay healthy, beautiful, aware & active.

xxx

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Maybelline SuperStay 24hr Review

Hello beauties!

I hope you are well and prepared because summer is getting closer and closer!

As most of us do, we tend to change our skin routine because of the weather changes and the temperature rise. We start from our cleanser, our moisturizer and our foundation.

I will start from the last. The foundation. 

Now that the weather is getting hotter and hotter we are searching for a light yet with good coverage, durability, staying power and SPF protection! You think it’s too much? No.

Most cosmetics brands are aware of our needs and the conditions change and they adapt. And evolve.

This is what happened with Maybelline. 

They created a modern foundation with many benefits.

Maybelline Superstay 24hr micro-flex stretch formula foundation with SPF 19

&

Maybelline Superstay 24hr Concealer

Let me start from the foundation.

It has one of the most velvety consistency I have ever felt in a foundation.

It applies very easily giving you the time to work it in your skin and once you are done blending it, within 2-3 minutes it transforms from liquidy to powdery, giving a really really nice finish. 

I have combination/oil skin and it does give me a matte finish that stays without touch ups for a 3-4 hours. 

But I really want to say something here. If you have combination/oily or even very oily skin, you should know that there is no magic potion/foundation/powder that will take away the shine for the entire day. Seriously. The only thing we can do is to always use a good primer, try different foundations for oily skin in order to see which one sits well on our skin, powder and take that powder with us in order to touch up when needed. Just saying, so you know. 

Back to the review. 

Its coverage is medium but you can build it up, although if built a lot can look a little cakey and make your pores more visible than before.

It comes in a 30ml glass bottle and has a pump which is a very good thing for our hygiene.

As declared by its name, it has very good durability and does not fade away or slide off your face.

It has an SPF 19 which is something really good if you are wearing this as your morning foundation. It's not enough, you have to use a regular sunscreen underneath but an SPF is always a plus! Unless you will be photographed!!

I gambled and ordered it online in the color 021 Nude. It is not the perfect shade but suits quite well on my NW25 skin but it is a little pink which I hate. I make sure I mix it with a hint of a lighter yellowy foundation and blend it all the way down to the neck.

As I was quite happy with the foundation I thought I would try the concealer as well.

I first tried it on my under eye area. That didn’t work very well.

Even though I don’t have visible dark circles and don’t need to cover something, I want to put something there!

But my skin there is rather thin and this product is a teeny tiny heavy for an undereye concealer, at least for me.

But as I noticed that it has a quite good coverage I tried it on my blemishes and minor flaws that need extra concealing. It was great. It covers up anything you have, although you have to put little by little because it will cake and blend really well around the edges with your brush.

I like it very much. Once it set with a powder, stays on really well and for at least 6-8 hours.

I am really happy that the last years drugstore brands come up with such quality cosmetics for a good price. We can try out new things without making our bank account to bleed!

Well that’s it from me!

Have you tried the Maybelline SuperStay 24hr?

What is your opinion if you have?

stay & beautiful

xxx

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