Binary Star

Alanya, Turkey - Part I.

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 14:53:00 +0000

Okay. So before I disappear again for another week (this time to Belgrade, Serbia for a trade fair), I'll make good on my promise and tell you about my holiday in Alanya, Turkey and show you some pictures. As half the time I was too busy coping with an ear infection and a stomach infection, I don't really have that many, but hopefully they'll still give you an idea of what it was like there. (They're also not the best, but I didn't have time to fiddle with manual settings, so I just used automatic...)

Don't get me wrong though: sure, I was ill for more than 3 days out of the 7, but I still think of Alanya with fondness as I pretty much enjoyed (almost) every minute of my stay.

Okay, who wouldn't at a place like this?

The view from our room.
You can probably see a bit of our hotel's beach and then the peninsula and the fortress on top. You might even be able to spot the entrance to the Damlatas Cave if your eyes are sharp. ;-)

Some of you might remember me mentioning that this was the first time I would travel by plane, and that I had been terrified of the prospect of hovering 10 km above ground with pretty much no chance of survival if anything went wrong. Well, it's always nice to have one less thing to be afraid of. ;-) My colleagues were awesome: held my hand (yes, I admit to needing some serious hand-holding during take-off), distracted me so that I wasn't able to focus that much on my surroundings (weird noises, jittery motions of the plane, changes in cabin pressure, etc...), and poured all their confidence into me during the flight. I don't think I'll ever get used to (much less like) the moment when the plane takes off the ground, but I really enjoyed my second flight (the one back home), and look forward to doing it again sometime.

Only... Could families with really annoying crybabies spare me and book another flight? 'Cause having to deal with my first time jitters and having to listen to a 2-year-old baby girl bawl hear head off at full volume for the entire length of the flight (=2 hours and 5 minutes)... And then having that same spawn of the devil (a.k.a.: Inez) sit in the row right behind me on the flight back and wailing for another two hours... Heck, that's definitely something I do not have the nerves for. *

Aaaaaanyway, onto the next topic: the SEA.

Yeah, the SEA. Like that. With capital letters.

Sure, I'd seen the sea before: first the Adriatic Sea when my Mum and I stayed in Rome for a week (it was cold, stormy and absolutely unwelcoming), and then the North Sea which was during our trip to the Netherlands (again, ice-cold and windy).

Now this, this was something entirely different. Sure, we didn't get off on a very good start, the sea and I. You should know that I've always been sort of afraid of the water and although there have been several attempts to teach me how to swim, I've never really manged to. Still, that didn't stop me from walking into the waves as if they belonged to some tranquil lake. My colleagues told me to just jump up a bit when a wave was coming my way so that it would lift me up, and yeah, it seemed to work for them. Now, it was full moon at the time, so next thing I knew there was this enormous wave heading my way, and I'm like: "Ohboyohboyohboy, there's no way I'm gonna stay on top of that, no matter how high I jump." Yup, the wave munched on me for a while, and when it deduced we're just not compatible, it spit me out onto the shore. Hence little ol' me crawling on the beach, holding onto the sand (!) for support, trying to wipe the poison (=salt water) out of my eyes, spitting, hissing and swearing I would never ever even go near the damn thing again.

Now my colleague (and boss, sort of: I'm his personal assistant after all) heard about my first encounter with the sea at lunch and told me he'd teach me how to swim in 30 minutes and make sure I'd get to love the sea by the end of our stay. I did wonder for a while about how exactly he would manage that, but then I just decided to go with the flow and humor him. :-)))

He taught me the basics in the hotel's swimming pool and then an ear-infection, a stomach-infection and 3 days later he showed me how to properly go into the sea (and I did use a swimming belt this time). He was always holding onto me so I felt safe, and although the way the waves kept flinging me up and dropping me down was very scary at first, I soon got used to it and learned to love the sea immensely. (It was also excellent training for my flight back home. :-D) The water was always around 28°C (82 °F) and floating in that wonderful salty water was heaven on earth. (It was also the best natural cosmetic product I've ever come across: got rid of my pimples completely.)

The beach as seen from our hotel room's balcony.

Sand, pebbles, sunbeds and parasols as far as the eye could see... :)

Goodness, I wish I were there, floating on the waves... :-)

Btw, that pebbly sand in Alanya is the best exfoliator ever!

As it was usually 42°C (108 °F) during the day, 30 °C (86°F) at night with a humidity constantly above 85% we never ventured into town before 10 PM. By that time we had usually had dinner and were ready to roam around in the bazaar, or visit the marina on the other side of the peninsula. There were two guys in our group and they always accompanied us to the town: one of the reasons for that is that they wanted to keep us girls safe, and the other was that they really enjoyed boasting to the shopkeepers that all eight of us girls are their wives. ;-D The shopkeepers and sales staff called them Pasha and grinned ear-to-ear.

A typical street in Alanya by night.

We also had a lot of fun haggling in the shops: I'm the kind of person who likes to be given a fix price and pays it without complaint, but I really did laugh my head off at the antics of some of my colleagues. :D

All the magic carpets you'd ever need. :-)

We were also really surprised to have one of the locals introduce himself as Attila, but when another four or five of them called themselves by this very same name (after hearing we're from Hungary), it was starting to become hilarious. :-D I also got more marriage proposals during these seven days that my 5 aunts must have in their lives altogether. ^_^

On the other side of the peninsula the night-life was at full swing by 10 PM: discos everywhere (not my kinda thing, but it was an interesting sight nonetheless), people sometimes dancing on the streets, policemen in pairs (thank God for that!), and the marina of course.

Two of the myriad of discos in Alanya...

... and the song that kept playing wherever we went. (In the TV in our hotel room, on the streets, in the discos, in the pool-bar of our hotel, everywhere!). It's not really my taste in music, but it has forever ensconced itself in a little corner of my head and this post wouldn't be complete without it. :-)

The marina.

Alanya by night.

We also went to see a dolphin show with a few of my colleagues. It was the first time I'd seen dolphins and seals anywhere else but on TV, and it was definitely "the experience of a lifetime". :)

A beautiful parrot we saw outside the dolphinarium.

That's it for today guys (I really should go get some sleep now), but I think I'll post some more pictures and write more when I get back from Belgrade. (I'll be there from 28 September to 4 October.) Got any questions? Wanna know how I cured my stomach infection? Heading to Alanya and don't know what to expect? Leave a comment or drop me a line and ask. ;-)

* Please don't take me seriously: I understand that she may have been bored, her ears (or stomach) may have hurt or she may have had any number of additional problems. (Then again she was fine all through the check-in procedure and only threw a fit when she was forced to stay still, like during the flight.) In any case, I do sympathize with her and her family (and the other 164 passengers...), and wish her the very best.

Still Alive; Getting Well Is Just a Matter of Days

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:53:00 +0000

Hey girls!

First I'd like to thank Sagu, The Seeker, Sandra and Nimphetamin for their kind words and encouragement. I love you girls!

About my absence since I came back: the 30 °C difference between the temperature in Alanya and Budapest (42 °C and 12 °C respectively) has left me with a nasty cold I've been trying to get rid of, as I only have two weeks to get into tip-top condition for a trade fair our company will participate in in Belgrade, Serbia.

I'll be brief because I really have to get back to bed. :)

Flying was great and I can't wait to do it again!
I'm officially head over heels in love with the sea. ^_^
This one week in Alanya was the best team-building activity ever! Not only do I get along much better with the people I traveled with, but I'm also a lot more comfortable with those who stayed at home (and are staying in Alanya this week). I am very grateful to my boss for inviting me.
On a (not-so-) totally random note: dolphins are amazing! :-D
Detailed post about our trip coming soon! (With pictures!)
On a totally random note: Shut the h*ll up, Inez!!!!!! (Have I managed to pique your curiosity yet? I swear I'll explain soon... :-)))

Bye for now but see you very soon!

Lots of love,
Izar

Alive and Well

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:07:00 +0000

Hi guys! (And especially Nimphetamine and Epurica! ;-))

I'm very-very sorry for disappearing on you like that, but the past few months have been incredibly hectic for me. Lots of stuff happened, not all of it good, and it had managed to drain me of my usual creativity.
A couple of my students from a multinational I used to teach at have also called me back to teach them again, so I have a lot less time nowadays than I used to.

Remember when I got my job? Back then I said that from then on I'd have all the time in the world to blog. Yeah, right... It seems life always has something in store for us.

On the brighter side of things, I'm heading to Turkey today for a week-long holiday courtesy of my boss who takes the staff on a holiday every year. :-) We're going to Alanya, and we're going by plane. (!!!) It's going to be the first time I fly, so I'm all jittery and have wobbly feet... ^_^ Wish me luck! (Especially because I was the one who organized our trip, so if anything goes wrong, it'll be my hide my colleagues hang on the drier...)

On a more serious note: I know I owe people things (e.g.: a package, e-mails, responses...etc.), and I will get to them when I return from Turkey next week. I didn't intend to disappear like that, but for a long time I really didn't have the energy to deal with non-serious stuff (such as a beauty-blog).

I'll probably also start blogging again in the future, though I'm not sure in what form and how often yet.

Once again, I'm very sorry for neglecting my blog and my friends like that, but this time real life had to take precedence over the fun stuff.

Lots of love,
Izar

First Fyrinnae Haul - Part I.

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Sun, 09 May 2010 08:39:00 +0000

This post will have to begin the same way that all other "first-Fyrinnae-haul" posts do:

Fyrinnae, where have you been all my life?

I knew I was going to love their products, and I ended up being right. Some of you probably know by now that I'm a huge lipgloss junkie, but Fyrinnae are doing everything they can to turn me into an eyeshadow aficionado. Also, they've convinced me to expand Binary Star's technical potential and use my camera's video recording feature to show you how insanely sparkly one of their eyeshadows, Dokkálfar, is.

I can only show you one of them though, because as soon as I finished recording, the sun decided to take a well-deserved rest and hid behind the approaching stormclouds. More eyeshadow swatches to come in Part II.

Please excuse the quality of the video, but I was too excited to care about things like a script, angle or artistic vision. :) It is blurry on purpose though: the lack of proper focus allows me to show you the sparkles better.

Fyrinnae e/s Dokkalfar @ Yahoo! Video

Dokkálfar was, by the way, a free sample the guys at Fyrinnae threw in with my order. I was actually thinking of ordering it, but eventually decided to hold off and get it next time. (See? Even back then I knew there'd be a next time.) Anyway, it's a gorgeous, dark moss-green with lime, grass-green and turquoise sparkles, which, despite the crazy amount of sparkle, I can actually see wearing during the daytime as a liner to spice up my otherwise laid-back makeup. It's kind of like powdered hematite and pirite mixed together. :-)

You simply must click on the pic!

I did get some other things too. In fact, here's my haul:

What I got from Fyrinnae:

Lip Lustres in Visual Kei, Lollipop Pop, Romantique and Lickable
Pixie Epoxy sample
Velvel-Gel Silica Primer
Blushes in Enchant and Mesmerize
Eyeshadows in Changeling, Herbivore, Envy Me, Equality, Immortality, Bastet and Beholder
Arcane Magic Eyeshadow in Dark Fantasy

It's been a long time since I was so happy with a make-up haul. It makes me wonder why I stuck to EDM for such a long time when it came to eyeshadows and blushes. Sure, blushes are not Fyrinnae's primary products, but those 12 Glow Blushes that Fyrianne has will beat those of EDM (and other companies) anytime. I'm especially fond of Enchant: it looks scary in the jar, and even more scary in the picture as it somehow came out all orange-looking, but trust me that when you apply it with a skunk brush, it'll give your cheeks a beautiful coral glow just like its name suggests.

Fyrinnae's eyeshadows... I don't even know where to begin. One thing's sure: they are unique and are of exceptional quality. I was a bit skeptical about them first, but now that I've seen them with my own eyes, I probably won't be shopping for new eyeshadows anywhere else. The colors are very pigmented, intense, and look as if they'd magically been extracted from a peacock's feathers. :-) You have to try them to see what I mean, and I promise you, you won't be disappointed if you do.

They come in two sizes:

sample size (a very generous 1/3 teaspoonful that'll last you for ages) for 2 USD
full size for 5.9 USD

Their Velvet-Gel Silica Primer is another thing that made me jump with joy the moment I tried it: first off, it doesn't contain silicones. If that's not something to be happy about then I don't know what is. My skin hates silicones, and while I have found a very decent priming product sans silicones in Alverde's Tagesfluid Perle, I could very well do without all the oils in it. Fyrinnae's primer contains Aloe Vera juice, silica (totally not the same as silicone) and some gel-forming agent. It'll probably also last me ages, as it's possible to apply on wet skin, and even when applied to dry skin, you need the smallest amount. It creates a perfect, smooth canvas for my foundation and keeps the oilies at bay for a much longer time than anything I've ever tried before. I'll have to perfect its use though as it also tends to dry out my skin a bit, but I'll probably be able to solve that by applying it over a thin layer of moisturizer.

Of course, having read so many raves about Pixie Epoxy, I just had to get a sample. I was hesitating between a sample and a full size, but I'm glad I ended up buying the smaller size: you need so little of the product to cover an eyelid (think smaller that a poppy-seed) that the sample will last me very long.

Pixie Epoxy is not an eyeshadow primer. I can attest to that, as I tried using it as one and it's obviously not in the same league with my beloved Artdeco Eyeshadow Base. What it does, however, is make all that fooling around with water and mixing medium when foiling your eyeshadows a thing of the past. Just apply a tiny amount of the gel to your eyelid, smear it, let it dry a bit until it's sticky and brush on your eyeshadow (brushing is better than patting in PE's case). It makes a world of difference:

See? Mindblowing.

Being the self-professed lippie junkie that I am, I just have to share Fyrinnae's Lip Lustres with you. They are, indeed, not lipglosses in the traditional sense of the word. They really are more like lip tints, but very yummy and moisturizing ones. You can apply a tiny amount and top it with lipbalm or gloss if you only want a slight tint, or you can apply them as you normally would a gloss and they'll cover your lips in bright colors in no time as they're very opaque and will look the same on your lips as they do in the tube. The texture is nice and I guess I could say that these are to regular lipglosses what mineral foundation is to liquid foundation: sort of velvety and barely-there, they feel almost as if I didn't have anything on my lips.

Some of my color choices turned out to be a bit unfortunate, but I'll never blame Fyrinnae for that. I mean what the h*ll was I thinking getting a bright pink lippie??? (Visual Kei anyone?) Especially knowing that it'd be opaque... Okay, so I was in the mood for something bright and cheerful, but I really should have known better... :-)))

Visual Kei: The brightest of them all, sort of fuchsia with slight bluish shimmer. Not my thing, but I'll probably be using it as a tint under lipbalm.

Romantique: Again, not the best choice for my skintone. It's too light and washes me out, but will probably look nice over something else.

Lollipop-Pop: It looks sort of like a toned-down Visual Kei. Medium pink with blue shimmer and looks a lot cooler in real life than on Fyrinnae's website. I'll be able to wear this on its own.

Lickable: Okay, this is my favorite. :-) A pinkish golden-brown, quite complex although it looks unassuming in the tube. It makes my lips lighter than they are, gives them a subtle golden sheen and is perfect combined with a brown smoky eye or any sort of green eye makeup.
Also, what the heck??? Lickable is nowhere to be found on Fyrinnae's website anymore! What gives? *scratches head*

Oh, and another thing: Fyrinnae's Lip Lustres smell and taste delicious. I like the scent of Romantique the best (I mean I could sniff it all day), but all the others are equally mouth-watering.

Fyrinnae's Lip Lustres come in two sizes:

3 ml for 2.5 USD
5.8 ml for 4.5 USD

Both sizes come with doefoot applicators, and while I'm not fond of those, I understand why they would be picked for this product. Brushes just wouldn't work with this texture.

All in all, I'm ridiculously happy with my Fyrinnae haul and will definitely order from them again. As the Hungarian Forint has plummeted thanks to the financial crisis in Greece, that order will have to wait a bit, but I already have my wishlist full and can hardly wait to try some more of Fyrinnae's eyeshadows, Lip Lustres and blushes. I will also order a full size from their Velvet-Gel Silica Primer. ;-)

Have you ever tried Fyrinnae? What's your opinion? Have their products managed to bewitch you just as much?

Finally, here are some more swatches of the Lip Lustres.

Labello Fruity Shine Lipbalm in Strawberry

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:18:00 +0000

I've already talked about how Labello has recently managed to redeem itself in my eyes with one of its lipbalms from their new Fruity Shine line. I really love my Dragonfruit lipbalm and have been using it more often than my Silk Naturals lippies (heresy!), but I was also curious if other products from the same line would manage to perform just as well.

Now I've been trying to achieve this "just-ate-a-lollypop" look practically ever since I started using makeup and was particularly adamant in my wish to be able to get it by using one single product. Sure, I could always go and put on untinted lipbalm, after which I could meticulously apply the correct amount of lipstick (that which would only give my lips a nice sheer tint but no actual coverage), but who the heck wants to go to all that trouble at least five times a day, and more importantly, who the heck can? I certainly can't (and won't), so I am all the more grateful to Fan for introducing me to Labello's Fruity Shine line. You see their strawberry lipbalm is IT. The lippie that helps me create the highly coveted lollypop-look in approximately two swipes. Eeeeeasy. And I just love easy. Actually, don't we all? :-)

I suggest that if you're curious about other things than what this lipbalm looks like, you go and read my post on the dragonfruit version: they perform the same way, weigh and cost just as much, and have the same gel-like texture that feel sort of cushion-y on my lips and don't dry them (unlike Labello's previous attempts).

For now, just glue your eyes to the screen and watch as I show you exactly what I mean when I say this lippie is perfect (and is totally HG material). ;-)

Ah, the typical Labello packaging... :)

It may seem over-the-top, but it really isn't. Rest assured, it won't turn your lips that scary fire-engine red.

See? Pretty sheer. ;-)

And it packs a mean punch when it comes to shine. L-O-V-E

Yup, the ingredients are important too. :)

Schäbens Chocolate Mask

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:16:00 +0000

So today I got home with a splitting headache, which is weird considering that my head hurts perhaps once a year, and even then it's only because I bumped it into something...It only started when I left my workplace for the day and was all the more strange because there hadn't been anything stressful going on today. In fact, I can safely say it was a pretty neat day: I've been starting to get the hang of things lately and have been having the chance to teach again, so things are looking good. :-)

Anyway, by the time I got home I was desperate for something to pamper myself with and I had just the thing: a 15 ml packet of Schäbens' Schoko Mask I bought in Müller a while back. I had been putting off trying it, never deeming the time right to give myself over to the joys of a chocolate mask, but for someone who's totally not used to having her head being slowly split in two, a full-blown headache is justification enough to run around the house looking like an Oompa-Loompa for 15 minutes. (Just to stay on topic... :-))

Schäbens' Chocolate Mask is a strange little thing: the front of the packet already had me laughing. It says that the mask "tastes delicious". Now if it said the mask smells delicious, that I would understand. I mean we all like our cosmetics to have a delectable fragrance, but very rarely do we want them to double as a midnight snack too. However, one glance at the INCI list told me I probably wouldn't be worse off if I ingested the stuff, and being the little glutton that I am, I just couldn't resist the invitation. ;-P

One tiny lick later I can tell you that it really does taste delicious (a bit like chocolate ganache), but you'll probably be better off if you put it on your face instead of in your mouth. ;-) By the way, it smells heavenly too: it'll instantly transport you into the world of chocolate rivers, cocoa fountains and whipped cream mushrooms. :)

About the product and its benefits for skin: it's a very thick, buttery substance and somewhat difficult to rinse off completely. (I only managed to reduce the amount of mask residue on my face to an acceptable level with a terrycloth towel...) My skin has been pretty oily these days, so it didn't really appreciate being slathered with what pretty much qualifies as fragrant grease in my books, but people with dry skin might end up loving this stuff. It's rich, it's nourishing, and it leaves a protective layer of cocoa and coconut butters on your skin.

Did it manage to make the trolls with the big hammers get out of my head? As a matter of fact, it did. ;-)

Rating: 4 out of 5
Price: around 250 HUF (~1 EUR / 1.3 USD) for a 15 ml satchel
Available: in Müller stores
Ingredients: see above

Stila Lip Glaze in Mandarin Mist

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:05:00 +0000

Hey girls! I think I'm ready to believe that spring is finally here and intends to stay for good. The trees are blossoming, and I know it's not that big a deal, and that it happens pretty much every spring without fail, but it's still the most exciting piece of news today. The pigeons' heads are barely sticking out of the lawn and our neighborhood is practically bustling with dogs of all shapes and sizes.

It's just so good to be alive on a day like this!

Also, I'd like to say hello to my new student who, as it turns out, loves reading beauty blogs too. :-D Hey there girl! I hope you'll like what you find here. ;-)

Let's get down to business then. :)

-oOo-

I've been having this love-hate relationship with lipgloss for a while.

I love how it's sheerer than lipstick and doesn't sit in the tiny little creases of my lips but instead makes them look youthful and fresh. I love how it makes my lips full and shiny without being too over-the-top and how it coats them with a balmy layer of moisture and natural protective butters. I also adore it's delicious scent and taste and oftentimes wish it were edible. I'm fond of the brush that allows for precise application and the gorgeous packaging it comes in.

And I hate how usually a lipgloss manages to deliver only a few of the above.

How 'bout you?

...

Mmm-hmm, that's what I had thought. ;-)

I know we all have different requirements when it comes to lipgloss, but if you're like me and expect your gloss to be all of the above (minus the not-living-up-to-your-expectations part), then you'll probably love Stila's Lip Glaze in Mandarin Mist.

PACKAGING

I've read several less-than-favorable opinions concerning the mechanics of the pen-styled tube on MUA, but I personally haven't experienced any problems with it. My only pet peeve is the lack of information on how to make it work the first time. * After that, it's a breeze, just make sure you give the bottom of the pen only a few twists, otherwise you'll end up with a humongous blob of lipgloss on the tip of the brush.

* Twist the bottom of the pen clockwise until you see the product appearing on the brush. It may take ridiculously long, but it's worth it. ;-)

I also don't have any issues with the brush and much prefer it to doe-foot applicators. It allows for a more precise application, and were it not part of the pen itself, it'd even be possible to clean with some alcohol, water and baby-shampoo. (If you're a hygiene-freak, that is, but really girls, how many of us actually clean our lipgloss brushes...? Just curious. ^_^)

SCENT AND TASTE

Don't you all just want your lipglosses to smell and taste delicious? I know I do, and this product definitely hasn't let me down. Its scent reminds me of orange toffee and an orange-shaped chewing gum my Mum used to buy me when I was little. It even manages to taste the way it smells, which is no small feat in a world full of boring sugary and sometimes downright plastic-flavoured lipglosses.

COLOR

Okay, so the color is a bit difficult to pin down, as with this product everything depends on lighting conditions. In warm, natural half-light and in the presence of incandescent lightbulbs it tends to take on a warm quality and comes close to being a pinkish-coral shade. However, I would probably refrain from wearing it in Tungsten-halogen light, as it tends to transform into every woman's worst dream: the opaque, icy-pink lippie of the eighties. Yuck.... Also, it pays off to apply this gloss a bit more liberally than you might be used to, because it takes away from the iciness and makes it lean more towards the coraly goodness it really is. (Don't ask me how though, it totally doesn't make any sense to me...)

THE PRODUCT

First things first: it's glossy. Excuse me for stating the obvious, but as a girl who naturally gravitates toward sheerer, more natural-looking lip products this came as... well, certainly not as a surprise, but it's been quite a while since I last used anything glossier than Silk Naturals lippies, so it definitely needed some getting used to. :-D (Also, it's on the sticky end of the spectrum, but it's nothing I can't handle and a big thumbs-up goes to the Lip Glaze for not drying out my puckers.) After getting over that shocking little revelation, I didn't have any issues with the product. In fact, I like it a lot and will certainly reach for it when an occasion to crank up the pancake on my face a few notches presents itself. :-D

Stila wants you to shell out 22 USD for a 2.4 ml (0.08 fl.oz) lipgloss which, in my opinion, is a bit steep. Then again, anyone's willingness to pay that much for a lippie really just depends on what they want from the product in question. If you want a lot of shine and a delicious taste/scent, then it might be perfectly worth it for you. If you like your lips being more natural, with a little less bling-bling and more of a satiny sheen and some color, well then you might want to look elsewhere.

Make no mistake though: I love having Stila's Lip Glaze in my stash and knowing that whenever I'm in the mood for a bit more shine, I can get that (and a lot more) from this gloss. I might even buy another one (or two) in the future, but let's just say that Mandarin Mist and I are not exclusive. ;-) In the case of this lipgloss, there's scope for improvement, particularly in the stickiness department, but it has a lot more good qualities than bad: the delicious scent and taste, the lovely finish it gives our lips, the practical packaging and the wide range of shades available all speak in favor of trying Stila's lippies if you haven't already.

A big thank you goes out to Fan, my fellow beauty-blogger and friend, who sent me this lipgloss for my birthday two weeks ago. I'm ever so grateful for her that I got the chance to test one of Stila's famous Lip Glazes and hope to return the favor with something similar in May. ;-)

Rating: 5 out of 5

Available: Stila's website, Sephora, and probably other major department stores (Needless to say, Stila is not available in Hungary...)

Ingredients:
Polybutene, Octyldodecanol, Helianthus Annuus (Hybrid Sunflower) Oil, Lanolin Oil, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla Cera) Wax (Candelilla Cera\Cire de Candelilla), Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax (Cera Carnauba\Cire de Carnauba), Tocopheryl Acetate, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Ethylhexylglycerin, Flavor (Aroma), Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Benzoate, Limonene, Farnesol, Citral, Benzyl Salicylate, Eugenol, Cinnamal, Benzyl Alcohol, May Contain (+/-): Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090) (CI 42090), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163) (CI 77163), Carmine (CI 75470) (CI 75470), Red 6 (CI 15850), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Red 22 Lake (CI 45380), Red 27 (CI 45410), Red 28 Lake (CI 45410), Red 30 (CI 73360), Red 33 Lake (CI 17200), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Yellow 6 Lake (CI 15985)

Labello Lipbalm with Dragonfruit and Starfruit Extract

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 17:33:00 +0000

Just as Fan has been let down by Maybelline on several occasions, I too have had my fair share of disappointments with Labello. Many years ago, when shopping online was only a distant dream for me and I had to make do with what was available in local drugstores, I bought Labello lipbalms several times and was pretty unhappy with each one. There was a certain yuckyness to them that I can't really describe, and they would disappear from my lips quicker than I could say "Lipsmackers".

Not so with this new lipbalm of theirs. The one I got from Fan, which contains dragonfruit and starfruit extracts, is an excellent quality product and the more I wear it, the deeper I fall in love with it.

INGREDIENTS

Fine, it's not the kind of INCI list that would make me buy the product in question, but somehow it still works.

The stuff I'm happy to see on that list:

Butyrospermum Parkii (shea) butter
Candelilla Cera (candelilla wax)
Prunus Dulcis (almond) oil
Simmondsia Chinensis (jojoba oil)
Tocopheryl Acetate (vitamin E)
Vitis Vinifera (grape) Seed Oil
Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane (a.k.a.: avonbenzone; a chemical sunscreen that doesn't do much on its own, there's too little in there anyway, but hey, a little is more than nothing. By the way, according to Labello's website, this balm and the rest in the series has an SPF of 10.)

The rest is just artificial stuff we have to live with if we decide to buy non-organic, non-natural cosmetics...

COLOR AND SCENT

Labello's new lipbalm lends my lips a subtle shine (no pearly effect, thank goodness), and some moderate color. It also contains silver sparkles, but while they're visible in the solid product, once you apply the balm to your lips, they disappear completely.

When it comes to color and shine, I can best compare this balm to Silk Naturals' Soft, one of my favorite everyday glosses. It's a sheer raspberry shade that's perfect for daytime wear and provides this classic fresh look that's appropriate both in the office and for a walk in the city with friends.

It feels like a buttery-gel on my lips and so far it has only managed to protect and moisturize them, which is a big deal because many lipbalms actually tend to dry my lips. (Please note the absence of mineral oil on the INCI list, which is probably the reason why this balm performs so well.)

Its scent is delicious, exotic and mouthwatering, which makes it a perfect distraction from one's work. Imagine me sitting in the office, trying to label folders and catalog documents, but failing miserably thanks to an irrepressible urge to sniff said lipbalm every few minutes.
Epic fail... :-DDD
(I even ended up putting some on my wrists as if it were a solid perfume... *blushes like crazy*)

PACKAGING AND PRICE

The twist-up tube contains a generous 4.8 g (5.5 ml) and usually retails for 439 HUF (1.8-2.6 EUR / 2.5-4.0USD abroad) in DM in Hungary , so if you're on a budget looking for an affordable, good-quality lipbalm, this is definitely a product you should consider.

It's one of the best lipbalms I've tried in a good while, and I might even go as far as saying that it compares to my beloved Silk Naturals lippies. And that, my dear friends and readers, is a huge compliment from me. :-D

Available in: DM, Rossmann, Müller and Schlecker stores, and probably all major drugstores near you
Rating: a solid 5 out of 5

Okay... Since I'm a huge lipbalm/lipsgloss/lip-practially-anything freak, I am now asking you to tell me what your favorite lipbalm is. I'm risking a lot here, after all one only gets so much money a month, but what the heck, I'm still curious. :-)))

Also, check out the goodies I got recently:

Whipping Star by Frank Herbert, my favorite author ever (By the way, was it really necessary to insert the most unbecoming picture they could find of him into that Wikipedia article...? Check him out here, at least here he doesn't look like a hobo...)
Hypno Gloss mascara by Essence
Beauty Box from Artdeco for Sagu
Brochure from La Roche Posay full of samples

Fan's Birthday Gifts :-)

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:55:00 +0000

Fan and I have been writing each other for a while and promised gifts for the other's birthday. I had mine last Friday, so yesterday I got to be the ecstatic recipient of a lovely package from Belgium full of goodies. :-)

This is the third package I got from Fan (here are the first and second), and as usual its contents blew me away.

What I got:

A letter. A heartfelt, beautiful, handwritten letter. You don't get those very often now, do you? And it's a shame too, because while e-mails are great, there's just something about handwritten letters that adds a whole new level of "awesome" to one's life.
A Stila Lip Glaze in Mandarin Mist

Stila is not available in Hungary (does it even surprise anyone at all anymore...?), so you can imagine how excited I was to find this among my gifts. And you can probably also guess how difficult it is for me not to tell you all about it right now, but I'm planning to dedicate an entire post to each item I got, so you'll have to bear with me a little longer.
A blush by HEMA

Fan has already written a post about it, so if you're really curious (which you should be), then you can read about this product here. For now, let it be enough that it's every bit as great as Fan said it would be. :-)
A Labello lip balm with star fruit and dragon fruit extracts

I'm risking a lot here when I tell you that my first reaction was: "Ooookay...Labello. Right." Cause we kinda have it in Hungary, and I've had some not-so-pleasant experiences with the brand about five (or more) years ago.

Let me just quickly make amends for my cheek before Fan gets really angry with me and tell you that she knows her stuff when it comes to cosmetics and that this Labello is not the Labello of five years ago. In fact, this stuff is so good that after only two days of using it continuously (yeah, I kinda couldn't get enough of that juicy scent) I can wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who's looking for a good, reliable lip-balm for the summer. (There's added SPF, baby. )

So please Fan, don't hate me for my initial reaction: I've been keeping your name in my prayers ever since I tried this balm. *hug*
A lovely necklace with a gorgeous blue crystal surrounded by silvery stars that twinkle with each tiny little movement I make. To me, it symbolizes my love of stars, of endless space, and a literary genre that strives to wrap up the infinite and hand it to us on a ~~silvery~~ plasteel plate: science-fiction.
Some nice sheets of paper I can use to try my hands at origami. I should probably start with something easy and not be crazy enough to attempt the Kawasaki Rose, but then again, that Rose smells like a challenge. ^_^

Don't you fret for a minute over the brevity of this post: I'm planning to spend this week and the next with telling you about each of Fan's gifts in a separate post. ;-) There's going to be pictures, lots of details, ingredients lists and all sorts of other juicy stuff to keep you entertained. ^_^

No, I haven't forgotten. Like I ever could. :-)

Thank you so very much Fan!

You've truly made my birthday a special time of year with your letter, your thoughtful (and perfect) gifts and with just being my friend. *hug*

Happy Easter! + Freeman Love :-)

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 14:24:00 +0000

Hey girls!

First and foremost, I'd like to wish you a very happy Easter!

I don't exactly have a proper easter bunny to go with my wish, but I can offer up a fluffy easter kitty pretending to be a baby seal. Better than nothing, huh? :-)

Also, guess who's been cheating on her diet... :-D

-oOo-

Recently, while wondering aimlessly in Tesco, waiting for my Mum to finish with her grocery shopping, I spotted something that almost made my heart jump out of my chest.

You should have seen me weaving* my way across the throng of people, quickly and steadily, never losing focus, and approaching my target with deadly precision and determination. And with a sort of half-crazed look on my face too... Must have been a sight to behold.

I am beyond happy to announce that Freeman foot-care products are once more available in Hungary in Tesco stores. So far, I have seen them in two: here and here.

Why's that a big deal, you ask? Simply because I've been in love with these products for almost three years. Want proof? Check out these posts:
Freeman Peppermint and Plum Softening Foot Lotion
A Trip to the Beauty Store
Freeman Has Made Me So Sad... (Yeah, well, khmm, you should know better than to take me seriously when I whine...)
Want further proof that I seriously love the Freeman foot-lotion? Here:
Tagged! Here's My Purse

You see, I use the Peppermint and Plum Foot Lotion as an all-round body lotion: I apply it to my legs, arms and hands (and feet), as its consistency is perfect and I adore the scent. There's nothing in it that would make it unsuitable for anything else but one's feet, so I just go ahead and use it anywhere my skin needs a good moisturizing lotion.

Also, in the above mentioned whiny post I complained about how unlike the product in the sample sachet the product in the full-size tube smells different and not as nice as the sample did. Well, I'm happy to let you know that that's not the case anymore: the lotion in the tube has the sweet, plummy, and slightly candy-like fragrance that drew me in in the first place.

The foot-scrub seems a little less dense than it used to be, but I guess I can live with that...

Now I finally have something to put into my empty 4,5 ml bottle that my Silk Naturals Eyelash Conditioning Gel came in. It's the perfect hand-cream for spring and summer and it's also a nice base for berry-scented perfumes (eg.: Mora Bella by CSP). :-)

I wish I'd had Freeman's Peppermint and Plum Foot Lotion with me in Nuremberg: besides doubling as a hand-cream, a body-lotion and a base for perfumes, it's also a very nice foot-lotion. :-))) It's got a nice, not-too-thin and not-too-thick consistency (I'll even go as far as to claim it's perfect), has a refreshing scent and texture, and it's full of ingredients that soothe tired feet and prepare them for another day of heavy strain.

EDIT:
Ooops, forgot to mention the price...

Both are around 1300 HUF (4.90 EUR / 6.62 USD)

-oOo-

* Before I forget, let's all wish Mr. Hugo Weaving, my favorite actor, a very happy 50th birthday!

I own neither Mr. Weaving (guess how that makes me feel...),
nor the above image of him.
Photo of Hugo Weaving © Warner Brothers

7 Random Facts About Me

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:23:00 +0000

Today's about me in more ways than one, so I thought it fitting to do the award/meme-thingy Epurica passed on to me. Thank you Epurica! :-)

Rules:

Thank the person that gave you the prize
Give the award to blogs you've recently discovered and think that deserve it
Contact those bloggers and tell them about the award
Write 7 random facts about you

Okay, right, soooo... lemmesee... :-)))

Back in the good old days when I still worked out regularly in the afternoons, I used my English-Hungarian dictionaries as dumbbells. They had an awful grip, but I suppose my fingers could very well use some exercise too (in addition to the hours of drawing I used to do). Let's just say my dictionaries and I have a very special connection... :-)
I wowe bunnies!!! When I was a child, I didn't have a single Teddy-bear, but I had toy bunnies by the dozen. :-)
There's a notice board beside my desk where I put clippings from brochures and magazines. They're photos of all the things I want, and whenever I get something, I remove its photo from the board. Looking at all those pretty things makes me happy, which in turn puts me into a positive state of mind, one in which I'm capable of attracting the things I desire. Well, I believe so anyway. :-)
Right now, there's postcard I got from one of my ex-colleagues from New York, a printed picture of Lierac's Mésolift Serum, a photo of a lovely dark-blue summer-dress and a pair of brown leather sandals, a few pairs of earrings from an AVON brochure ('cause I want to have my ears pierced, but I'm sorta hesitant at the same time), a picture of LUSH's Veganese (should have removed that one... :-), and a postcard and a Dune fanart I got from my ex-students.
I can bend my thumb backwards at a 90° angle. Mum's always told me to pay attention not to do it in front of people, 'cause it looks weird and might freak some people out. I say, who the heck cares...?
I used to love ABBA and BoneyM when I was a little kid. Dad's musical taste must have rubbed off on me. (I still love ABBA though...)
I loathe jasmine in every shape and form, but love the scent of roses. Wonder what that says about me? (Besides the fact that I'm already an old lady at heart...)
When my music teacher heard me sing for the first time, he said I have perfect pitch and demanded that I sing in the school choir. I did that for about a year before I decided that I'd much prefer sleeping an extra hour to singing Kumbaya every morning, and flunked out (to my teacher's absolute horror). Though I love music, I haven't sung anything in 15 years...

Right, so now it's my turn to tag 7 people:

Spookuur
Sagu
Ale-M
Gabi
Niphetamin
DiAnais
Ladybird (You can do this in the comments, but only if you want to. :-))

Giveaway Winner (Skin MD Shielding Lotion)

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:44:00 +0000

Hi girls!

My Skin MD Shielding Lotion giveaway is now closed and the winner has been selected with the help of Random.org.

And the winner is *drumroll*:

SummerBabe

Hey girl, congratulations! Please provide an e-mail address that I can forward to Skin MD so that they can contact you regarding shipping. (I'm also going to notify you on your blog.)

I would like to thank everyone who participated, and I hope I'll be able to do some more giveaways in the future. :-)

See you around!
Izar

Things I'd Love Thursday #5

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:15:00 +0000

Nope, no typo in the title. It was intentional. :-)

Today I'm going to show you some things that I'd probably adore if I had the money to buy them, or if they were available in Hungary.

ARTDECO
BEAUTY BOX

Price: n/a (Couldn't find the product on their website...)

Should I spell it out? G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S ! ! !
By the way, it is available in Hungary (at least it was the illustration on the coupon in the April issue of Glamour Magazine), I'm just too frugal at the moment to even think about buying it. :-P

HOLD ME
LES FLEURS MAKEUP BAG

Available here for $100.
(You can choose from 4 designs.)
It's what I'm looking for in a makeup bag: easy to wash, holds my brushes, has a spacious interior and it's pretty in a not in-your-face kinda way.
(Image taken from http://holdmecompany.com)

DIOR
CRÉME APRICOT
FORTIFYING NAIL CREAM

Price: $23
There was this post on Blogdorf Goodman that got me smitten with this stuff. There's just something about a rich, peach-colored cream that lures me in and doesn't let go until... Well, either until I actually purchase it (which, considering the price is highly unlikely), or find some other stuff to lemming. :-D
(Image taken from Sephora.)

HOURGLASS PRODIGY
LIPGLOSS

Price: $26.
All that science fiction I read and watch has made me a sucker for everything high-tech and ultra-modern, and Hourglass's Prodigy lipgloss definitely fits that bill. I can imagine how it would fit into my palm smoothly and how I would grab every chance to flaunt it in front of my colleagues... Mwahahahah!
Okay, I probably wouldn't, 'cause I'm not that evil, but still, it's definitely something that'd be nice to own.
(Image taken from www.hourglasscosmetics.com)

So, is there anything here that's caught your fancy? Anything you actually own? Let Izar know. :-)

Silk Naturals Lippies Galore

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 04:30:00 +0000

I promised in this post that I would swatch my latest* lippie haul from SN as soon as the weather and lighting conditions allow it. Well, when I left to Nuremberg it was still winter in Hungary: cold, cloudy, silent, snow on the ground, short days and all. On my way back the sun came out of hiding, the sky cleared up and I saw its azure blue tint for the first time in months, even the last inch of snow melted, and the weather was finally warm. It's been like that ever since: the birds are singing, it's 17:39 right now and there's still some light outside, it was 10°C today (50°F), and the lighting was perfect for taking some well-overdue shots of my lippies.

* Only they're not my latest lippies from SN anymore: our group haul arrived last week and in it another 7 glosses I'm gonna rave about very soon. (SN glosses seem to be my very own version of Pokemon: if I carry on in this vein, I'll have collected them all. :-D)

Anyway, the lippies I'm going to tell you about today are:

Cultured (vegan)
Bisou (vegan)
Raindrops On Roses
Bitten

I ordered them before Christmas 2009 and immediately fell in love with Bitten. I can now safely say that I absolutely don't care for Bisou (neither the shade, nor the formula), would love Cultured if only it were a bit less pink and more brown/yellow, and have found a perfect way to wear Raindrops on Roses: mixed with Gold Blush it gives my lips a lovely bright coral tint and my complexion the perfect "I'm wide awake and happy as a lark!" look.

Anyway, let me give you some details and show you some pics.

Here are my bare lips for comparison's sake.

And now, lo and behold, the same lips wearing those four SN glosses:

Much better, huh? ;-)

Cultured

Karen's description:

"Cultured Vegan Lip Gloss is inspired by MAC's Slimshines...so sorta like Maiden- it's not quite as pigmented or "formal" looking as a lipstick- perfect for the office or more casual occasions. It's a lighter nude with a hint of plum and a little bit of pearl. In comparison Maiden is pinker, and more golden,Polished Pink is browner and more shimmery."

No, not quite as pigmented, but it still manages to accentuate every little crease on my lips... I have the same problem with the other Vegan lippie I have, Bisou: they both make my lips look cracked and badly taken care of (which I swear they're not).

My other gripe with Cultured is not Silk Naturals' fault: because it has too much pink in it, it washes me out and makes my complexion look really dull. I was actually hesitating about whether to buy Cultured, Polished Pink or Maiden, but eventually I ended up buying this one. Since then, I have placed another order and put Maiden in my cart so we'll see how that one looks. ~~(That order has yet to arrive though... I absolutely hate the Hungarian postal service.)~~

There is actually one very positive thing I can say about Cultured: its formula is incredibly smooth and moisturizing and I love the feel of it on my lips. If only it looked good on me...

Price: 4.75 USD
Rating: 3 out of 5

Bisou

Karen's description:

"Bisou is a lightly pigmented berry tone with a little bit of peach, balanced with a bit of cooler raspberry. It gives your lips just a hint of shimmer and a healthy pink flush."

Sorry, but WHAT? Lightly pigmented?? Healthy pink flush???

Folks, for one thing, this looks nothing like the swatch on SN's site. The shade is not what I expected at all: it more sort of an intense cool red in sunlight, no brown in it at all, nothing neutral about it.

For another, it is anything but "lightly pigmented". Compared to other SN lippies, it's actually very heavily pigmented and the color is very intense, it's just that when I try to put it on, it tends slide off my lips and streaks like bad quality nail-polish. And it tends to gravitate towards above mentioned wrinkles and creases on my lips.

Sorry, but even combining this with other lippies (Clear among them) has not yielded any acceptable/wearable results.

Price: 4.75 USD
Rating: 2 out of 5 (And I was very generous.)

Raindrops On Roses

Karen's description:

"Raindrops on Roses is a shimmery, slightly sheer pink with little hints of gold in our yummy original Kisser Slicker formula. It's understated, very seasonal and absolutely gorgeous."

Well, hallelujah, I don't have to grumble anymore. :-)))

ROR is indeed absolutely gorgeous and very versatile. It was also one of the two lippies I took with me to Nuremberg. The other one was Gold Blush, and the reason why I took these two is that Gold Blush is a perfect everyday color, ROR comes in handy for a business dinner or any other fancy occasion, and the two mixed together give the loveliest coral/golden berry shade I've ever worn, great for both everyday and formal occasions.

But back to the product itself. Raindrops On Roses is a cool-ish berry shade tempered by some golden shimmer so that it becomes more sort of neutral rather than cool. It's a bit more pigmented than my other SN lippies, sort of in the range of Berry Crush and Temptation. The gold shimmer in it is a brilliant idea as it makes the gloss just warm enough for me to wear, but like I said it's best mixed with Gold Blush: nothing's better than those two together. ;-)

It goes well with my skintone which is always a bonus, and the texture is all right too.

Price: 4.50 USD
Rating: 5 out of 5

Bitten

Karen's description:

"Bitten Organic Lip Gloss is the Fall version of Damsel. It's a true red, absolutely sheer- sort of like you ate a lollypop. It's deeper, and more red than Damsel, and a true red compared with the more purple Berry Nice."

I was bitten by the love bug the minute I tried this one. (Pun totally intended.) As a matter of fact, I fell for it the first time I saw it on SN's website: the description and the swatch looked too good to be true. I mean I've been wishing for a lipgloss like this for ages. I loved my Bourjois Les Cocktails lipgloss in Rouge Sunset and have been dreaming of a slightly more pigmented version from SN. And whaddaya know? Karen made my dream come true. :-)))

Bitten is a lot like Damsel when it comes to sheerness: both are more sort of lip stains than lipglosses in that they don't have such a high pigment content that would add thickness to their formula. Bitten is really just a sheer lollypop red that makes your lips look as if you'd been kissing. ;-) It does make your lips shiny too but that really just depends on how much you put on. One swipe, and it just tints your lips. Two-three swipes: yeah, it's obvious you've got something on. Full-on application (i.e.: swiping for ages): lovely, fresh red lips. :-) A bonus is that even when most of the gloss is gone, some color remains, so it's perfect for girls whose lips are not that pigmented.

Truth be told, I haven't been wearing Bitten non-stop ever since I got it (which, judging by the tone of my review, should be the case), but I have to be in the mood to wear red and that doesn't just happen every day. Nevertheless, it is an awesome lipgloss and the one I turn to when I want to wear red on my lips.

Oh, and the texture? Perfect. :-)

Price: 4.50 USD
Rating: 5 (or even 6) out of 5

Finally, here are some swatches on my arm to give you a better idea of what these glosses look like.
(Btw, why does Cultured look so darn nice in every picture??? It's really not as appealing as that... Gives my lips that sort of lilac tint that drowned people have... *scratches head*)

So has any one of these four Silk Naturals glosses caught your fancy? Do you actually own any on them? I know Sagu has ROR (I bought it upon her encouragement). Anyone else? Let me know. :-)

Skin MD Shielding Lotion Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:20:00 +0000

Lo and behold my first ever giveaway, sponsored by 21st Century Formulations! I'm really excited to be able to give my friends and readers a gift, and I hope that whoever wins will be happy with the prize. :)

Starting today, one lucky gal (or guy) can win the same package I got from 21st Century Formulations, containing a full size Skin MD Shielding Lotion and some extra and very generous samples.

Although their giveaways are usually restricted to the territory of the United States, 21th Century Formulations have kindly allowed the giveaway to be open internationally as I have many European and Asian readers.

The giveaway starts on Sunday 21 March and I'll announce the winner on Monday 29 March at 07 AM GMT.

The winner will be picked with the help of Random.org, and contacted by 21st Century Formulations in order to discuss shipping. I will, therefore, ask the lucky winner to provide an e-mail address by writing me at izar.the.binary.star [@] gmail [.] com. Your e-mail address will be handled confidentially and will not be handed over to any third party other than 21st Century Formulations.

Rules

You have to be a follower of my blog or a subscriber to my feed, so if you aren't already, it's time to click one of those buttons. ;-)
(If you subscribed, let me know what e-mail address you used.)
Comment on this post.
Visit www.skinmdnatural.com and include something you've learned there in your comment on this post.

EDIT (2010.03.22):
You have to meet all three requirements above to be eligible to participate in the giveaway!!!

I would also really appreciate it if you could let others know about my giveaway on your blog, on forums you frequent, or on any other social medium you're active on (though it's not a rule by any means).

Thanks and good luck everybody! Remember, you have until Monday 29 March 7 AM to enter!

If you have any question regarding the giveaway, don't hesitate to write me at izar.the.binary.star [@] gmail [.] com.

Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:09:00 +0000

Back in February I was contacted by a gentleman from 21st Century Formulations asking me if I wanted to try (and perhaps review) their star product Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion. Naturally, I did, so he sent me a box containing the full size (120 ml / 4 oz) product, and some very generous (3 ml) samples: 2 packets of their Shielding Lotion and 1 packet of the SL with added SPF.

Since then, I've had ample time and opportunity to try and test these products under both normal and extreme skin conditions (so to speak), and I can now claim that they have passed the test I put them to with excellent results.

What follows is a thorough review of both products, and the announcement of my first ever giveaway: it'll provide one of my readers with the opportunity to receive the same package I got and evaluate Skin MD's concoctions for herself (or himself :-)). Go for it people!

-oOo-

Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion

Skin MD Natural's Shielding Lotion is everything I've ever wanted a lotion to be. (I purposefully didn't use the expression "body lotion' here, because it's much more than that: besides your body, you can also use it on your face and hands.) It's light, has a gel-like consistency, doesn't really have a scent (aside from a very faint medicinal fragrance that disappears quickly), sinks in insanely fast, doesn't leave a sticky layer on my skin, and moisturizes really well.

Now let's break it down a bit, shall we? :-)

Packaging

It comes in a slightly flat, 120 ml (4 oz), white, plastic bottle that has a red flip top cap. The first few times I opened it, I also inadvertedly squeezed the bottle too hard and had a bit of the product fly through the room and land on the carpet. :-) I've been more careful ever since and haven't had any problems at all.

The design is clean and simple, and further enhances the message conveyed by the product's name, it being that the product is meant to be a treatment for dry skin and is widely recommended by doctors. All in all, the packaging is sturdy but sleek, and perfectly gender neutral (as is the product itself), so it's perfect for men as well.

Consistency and Ingredients

The lotion is thin, semi-opaque and it's easy to spread on my skin, which allows me to use the minimal amount of product to cover an area. It has a pleasant, barely-there scent that reminds me of a pile of freshly washed clothes, but even that disappears fast and is most likely just the scent of the ingredients.

Upon application the lotion has a cooling effect, as if I were applying aloe vera gel over my body, which is pretty much the case, as Aloe Barbadensis leaf extract is second on the ingredients list. (I imagie this product is ideal for treating sunburns or just cooling your skin after spending some time under the sun.)

Deionized water (Aqua) * Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract (Aloe Vera) * Cyclopentasiloxane * Dimethicone * Methyl Gluceth-20 * Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E) * Arnica Montana Flower Extract (Arnica) * Symphytum Officinale Leaf Extract (Comfrey) * Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Extract (Chamomile) * Achillea Millefolium Extract (Yarrow) * Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer * 1,2 Hexanediol * Caprylyl Glycol * Butylene Glycol * Aminomethyl Propanol * Phenoxyethanol

Knowing me you'll probably wonder why I still like this product when it has two kinds of silicones in it. Well, for one I've never had a problem with putting silicones on my body, though I do tend to avoid them whenever possible. For another, I used this lotion on my face for an extended period of time and didn't experience any breakouts. That, however, can be a result of me having used tretinoin on my face for almost two months now: it has changed my skin dramatically (for the better) and seems to have built up a greater tolerance for silicones in it.

Effect

In any case, my skin seems to like this lotion and practically drinks it up whenever I use it. Skin MD's Shielding Lotion sinks in amazingly fast (almost immediately upon application) and leaves my skin with a wonderfully soft texture without any sticky residue. That's especially important to me, because I handle paper documents a lot at work and at home, and hate having to wait to infinity for it to sink in.

After having sank in, the product makes sure that my skin stays soft and moisturized for long hours, practically until I wash my hands again. I was battling a particularly nasty case of the flu when I got the package, and my hands were dry, cracked and scaly from washing them every fifteen minutes. It was the perfect time to put this lotion to a test and see how it would fare in such unfavorable circumstances. See for yourselves:

Please excuse the embarrassingly poor condition of my hands in the first picture: like I said, all that hand-washing with antibacterial soap can do that to ones shakers... However, I find they're in a much better shape in the second picture, wouldn't you agree with me? :-)

A few paragraphs earlier, I mentioned that I've been using tretinoin for about 7-8 weeks, and I have also raved about it in several posts already. What I haven't told you yet is that it hasn't always been a joyride, especially in the beginning when my face was a big angry warning sign, telling me in no uncertain terms that it doesn't appreciate being the guinea pig and the poor victim of my newest beauty-obsession. That, and the fact that for a while my skin was drier than the Gobi Desert, and there were lines under my eyes the size of the Grand Canyon... Well, I had to do something, and my little bottle of Shielding Lotion was nearby so I thought "Why not?". I applied it to the tortured area around my eyes and felt immediate relief as my wrinkles disappeared (okay, diminished greatly) and heard my skin slurp it up with great delight. After that, I couldn't help myself and applied it to my entire face. I got the same results: I could practically hear my skin giggling from giddiness and was able to leave the house without looking like a monster straight from a cheap horror movie. :-)

This lotion is also an excellent make-up base, as it sinks in very fast so you don't really have to wait between moisturizing your face and applying make-up. It gives your face a lovely, smooth finish and makes it the perfect canvas to put make-up on. (Yup, that's the handiwork of the silicones.)

The gist of it all is that this is an excellent moisturizer and if you're treating your skin with any kind of harsh stuff (benzoyl peroxide*, tretinoin, tazarotene, Roaccutan, etc...) and your skin tolerates silicones in general, you should give the Shielding Lotion a try.

*As someone who had used BP for almost two years before I came to my senses, I'll never again understand why someone would want to put it on their face. Having my face hurt constantly during those two years and knowing what I now know about BP, I wouldn't touch that stuff with a twelve foot pole...

Price

On Skin MD's website you can purchase this product for 18 USD per bottle, and according to the information I found there, it should be enough for 1-2 months with daily use. I don't know about that, because I haven't used mine regularly (I save it for emergencies, when nothing else works to soothe and moisturize my skin), but since the product has great slip and is thus easy to spread on your skin, that might just be true.

The price is a bit steep (for me anyway), but check back soon, and Skin MD and I might just be able to do something about that. *hint-hint*

Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion
+ Sunscreen SPF 15

Okay folks, now this is seriously good stuff if you can forgive it for having an SPF of only 15.
If you're indoors most of the time though and absolutely can't suffer a greasy sunscreen on your face, this is the product to turn to. For example, if you spend almost your entire day in an exhibition hall with no natural light-source whatsoever, and don't have time to touch up your face with blotting paper because you have potential customers to catch with a lasso, well then Shielding Lotion SPF 15 and you were just meant to be. :)

As opposed to the plain Shielding Lotion, this product is totally opaque because of the following sunscreens in it:

Octinoxate 7%
Octisalate 5%
Homosalate 3%

(Otherwise the ingredients are the same as the plain Shielding Lotion's.)

The above are chemical suncreens, so you don't have to worry about the product leaving a white cast on your face. Even though the lotion itself is white, it applies totally transparent, and though it feels a bit less moisturizing than the plain Shielding Lotion, it has the added benefit of doubling as a very effective mattifying product. When I used this at home and in Nuremberg, I couldn't stop wondering how it managed to keep my face matte for long hours before I needed a touch-up. (It's one of the reasons why I packed this to take with me to Nuremberg: I'd known I'd need as many multi-functional products as possible to save space and this fit the bill perfectly.)

All in all, this is a great product in itself, but our knowledge of how the sun affects our skin would call for a much higher SPF (and PPD, while we're at it) than what this has. If it had an SPF of at least 30, I'd buy it for it's 25 USD price in a heartbeat, because aside the SPF issues, it's an excellent product.

Sensitive Skin

My Mum who has extremely sensitive skin has tried the plain Shielding Lotion and has only good things to report back: her skin didn't react, didn't flare up like it usually does when it hates a product. Her cheeks didn't burn and itch, and she felt immediate relief upon applying the lotion to her skin. She says it moisturizes really well, and that's really something coming from my Mum who has the driest, most dehydrated skin ever. The bottom-line: if your skin tends to be finicky about products, you too might want to give this lotion a try.

As a conclusion to my review, I can only recommend these two products: their greatest assets are how fast they sink in and how well they moisturize, but each has its own benefits as well. Sun protection is not one of their strong ones, and the silicones they contain might not work for everybody, but if you need some serious moisturizing action and want your skin to feel silky smooth, then these two are the best for the job.

Also, stay tuned for a giveaway on Binary Star sponsored by 21st Century Formulations, through which you'll get the chance to win the exact same package I got and test their products for free!

Things I Love Thursday #4

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:00:00 +0000

This post is the result of a heap of small things happening at the same time on Sunday:

I was just writing a post for this week...
... listening to Depeche Mode's album 101 when...
... Miss Munchkin burst in* through the door and demanded that I play with her...
... so I started to chase her around the flat (which is a pretty big feat considering our flat in 49 m2)...
... and suddenly a song came on that, despite it being one of my favorite ones, I had completely forgotten about until then.
At the same time, the sun came out of hiding and reminded me of all the pleasant things in my life, all the great things I am planning to do.

Are you still with me? ;-)

Good. Because I want to share these things with you. :)

*Yes, "burst". Despite her small size and lithe body, our cat can put fully armed SWAT teams to shame when it comes to entering a room with force.

♥ ♥ ♥

♥ The song in question: Nothing by Depeche Mode.
♥ My Also Vandini Sensitive hand cream. During the short time I've had it, it saved my hands from the cold, bitter wind on more than one occasion. Love it: the scent, the texture, the formula, the way it makes my hands silky soft! Thanks Ladybird! :-D
♥ The guided bus tour I went on last Saturday. I saw Budapest (my home-"town") in an entirely different light and have an entire list of places I want to go back to and check out again.
♥ The LUSH shampoo and conditioner I'm going to buy this week. I've been pining after Veganese for a while now, because I'd finally realized that it's the only stuff on the face of the planet that makes my hair shiny. I used up several bottles in the past and then started experimenting with other conditioners, but I'm starting to think that it was all in vain.
♥ Tretinoin. I love the stuff. It's got rid of my cystic acne for good, has made my skin smooth and its tone more unified, and has even cleared my face up for a few weeks before some still unidentified stuff messed it up again in Nuremberg. But it's starting to calm down again... :-DDD
♥ Star Wars. I've been doing a Star Wars marathon these last couple of days (one movie per night) and love being transported into this imaginary world of heroes, villains, aliens, princesses, "scruffy-looking nerfherders", spaceships and wise, green little midgets. ;-)
♥ My salary. Not that it's that much, but it gives me a freedom I haven't really had before. I'm going to visit museums, go to the theater/opera once of twice, and see a movie or two as well. Oh, and I'm soooooo going to buy myself a pair of good quality sunglasses the first chance I get. :)))

♥ ♥ ♥

What's on your list of things that make you happy this week? Let me know in the comments!

Random Tidbits II.

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:15:00 +0000

Remember this post? It was so much fun to write. :-)

When was the last time I posted something other than a product review?

I have all these little tips and tricks lying around, miscellaneous stuff I've found, things I'm happy about, random thoughts no one but you might be interested in, questions I need answers to, and a blog to tell others all about them, and... I still post friggin' product reviews. And it just sometimes happens that I want to talk about something other than cosmetics and make-up.

Sooo, it's time for Random Tidbits, Episode II.

-oOo-

Having a salary is so liberating: I can finally delve into the wonderful world of mineral make-up and order product samples from all those brands I set my eyes on a long while ago.

There's of course Fyrinnae whose eyeshadows, Lip Lustres and Pixie Epoxy I want to try, and Adorned With Grace where I hope to find the perfect match amongst their foundation, after all they are a MMU company creating foundation shades for people with yellow/olive skintones. Sagu called my attention to Sassy Minerals a while ago, and I've seen some great swatches of their eyeshadows on various blogs, so I'm probably going to raid their store in the future.

There's also LaurEss and their Neutralize corrector that I want to try, and though I've lost interest in Pure Luxe a while ago, there's still a small order I want to make, because I find it's hard to live without two of their eyeshadows from their Fall '09 Collection: Boy Toy and Tryst.

-oOo-

By the way, Pure Luxe also carries one of my favorite eyeshadows of all time: Golden Sands.

It's a gorgeous charcoal-brown with golden sheen and, according to PL, bronze shimmer. Well, the bronze shimmer is only visible in daylight, otherwise it's more sort of greenish to me. It's a very complex color, hard to describe, but until I tried to swatch it, I hadn't even noticed the bronze. I was totally convinced that it has gold and green shimmer in it, but apparently there's no such thing mentioned on PL's website.

Oh well, it's still a HG for me as it goes perfectly with my skintone, and somehow manages to be both subtle and extraordinary at the same time. It's great if you just want a wash of color on your lids, perfect for workdays when you want to look polished but not made-up and is also an excellent base for a more complex look created of browns, greens or even bronze/purple eyeshadows.

It wasn't love at first sight but now I couldn't live without it and will definitely get the full size when I place an order at PL.

-oOo-

Now comes my question. Back in Nuremberg I got a small jar of virgin coconut oil from Tropicai, an importer of fair-trade coconut food and cosmetic products.

It smells amazing: it has the purest, most delicious coconut scent I've ever encountered. I did use it on my short, wavy, bordering on curly, and annoyingly frizzy hair on a few occasions and got great results: only half a pea size (or even less) made my hair much softer and manageable.

But that's not the point. (Not even if this is a beauty blog and I should be telling you about things exactly like this. Will do so though, soon.)

The point is that ever since I got a sniff of that jar of coconut oil, I've been obsessed with everything coconut: the smell, the taste, everything!

So my question is: can you help out a girl with a serious fixation on coconut and let her know about your favorite coconut products? I'm mostly thinking about cosmetics here (body-lotion, hand-cream, shampoo), but you're more than welcome to share your favorite coconut recipe with me too. ;-) It doesn't matter if it's not available here in Hungary (although it'd be great if it were): there's always E-Bay to hunt these things down on, and dreaming about something unattainable has its benefits too.

Things to exclude from your suggestions: LUSH's coconut-scented products (I know them.. Wish they'd drop the vetiver...), Balea's coconut body-lotion and hand cream (Tried it, hated it, sorry.), The Body Shop's coconut line (I know about it, will hopefully sink my teeth into the body butter soon.)

So enable me girls and feed my coconut craze, will you? Thanks a bunch!

International Women's Day - Awards

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:00:00 +0000

My dear friends, readers and pen-pals all over the world:

Miss Munchkin and I wish you a pleasant International Women's Day!

I think it's high time I gave out some awards too. ;-)

I got the Golden Heart Blog Award from The Seeker a long time ago and would like to pass it on to some of my friends over the Internet.

I pass it on to:

The Seeker
(Who has the biggest, shiniest heart in all this world. Love you, my dear!)

Spookuur
(For being my friend, for her continuous friendship, kindness and support.)

Sagu
(Her fun and sweet nature, her kind words, and her continuous presence on my blog all entitle her to this award.)

Ladybird
(She doesn't have a blog [yet ;-)], but she's present on a forum I often read, and we've met many times already. With her open, easygoing personality she brought me out of my shell, befriended me, and I can never be thankful enough to her for that.)

Nimphetamine and Karen
(I think you both know why. ;-))

The Sparky Blogger Award was also given to me by The Seeker, and it's an award for blog friends who have sparked creativity, conversation, controversy and friendships with me.

I pass it on to:

The Seeker
Sagu
Spookuur
Grayburn
B

Anastasia
(Okay, so Ana and me haven't "talked" [yet], but I find her blog so inspiring and fun to read that I simply have to give her this award. And she likes Star Wars. How cool is that? :-D)

What started all of this award-giving is the Cute Blog Award I got from Sagu. It reminded me of all the awards I got but never managed to pass on, hence this post.

I pass it on to:

Sagu
(She recently created a brand new design for her blog from scratch, so in my books she deserves this award more than anyone.)
Anastasia gets another award: her blog is seriously one of the coolest beauty-blogs out there, both content- and design-wise.
Rocketqueen's blog, besides being very informative, is also very eye-catching.
Epurica's is one of the prettiest blog designs out there.

The You Make My Day Award was awarded to me by a handful of people and I would like to pass it on to all my readers, commenters and penfriends, but especially to:

Sagu
Spookuur
Nimphetamine
Karen
Ale-M
Epurica
Gaby
The Seeker

I have plenty of awards left to give out so you can expect another shower soon. ;-) Take care!

Silk Naturals - Pink Twink E/S

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:30:00 +0000

Pink Twink was originally a GWP at Silk Naturals last summer, and I was lucky enough to get it. It has been re-issued, however, and although Karen originally planned to have it on the site throughout the month of February only, she's decided to extend its availability by another week.

Why is this good, you ask? (And oh, why devote an entire post to one little eyeshadow?)

Well, because Pink Twink is the only pink I've ever been able to wear without actually looking like someone who has cried her eyes out or someone who hasn't slept in a week. Also, I'm not alone with this opinion: many of my friends who've received samples or managed to try it have said the same, and there were also people on Silk Naturals' forum (myself included) who had begged Karen to bring it back, if only for a little while. Karen, as we all know is a real angel, and has generously granted us our wish. :-))

It's a very complex but wearable color, and exactly because of that complexity, it's very difficult to photograph. At first sight, it may not even seem that wearable, especially when you notice how browinsh it looks in the picture. However, that brown is nicely counterweighted by the silver sheen this eyeshadow has. The minute light hits it, the brown is gone, and you have a wearable but never entirely cool toned pink eyeshadow. It's really just a neutral pink what with the brown base and the silver shimmer.

I'm going to show you another picture taken in direct sunlight: now the brown is balanced by the silver sheen.

Another one, this time you can see some product on the lid of the jar. Again, the picture was taken in direct sunlight.

Swatching this e/s was a real PITA: I never really managed to capture the essence of the product and why I love it so much. There's just too much brown, but when you're actually wearing the e/s it's not like that at all: every little movement you make with your head lets Pink Twink change from brownish-pink to silvery-pink and back, and so it's never boring but always very flattering on your lids.

It's one of my favorite eyeshadows of all time and I'll definitely order it this time around. I encourage you to do the same. ;-)

Aldo Vandini Sensitiv Hand & Nagelbalm

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:44:00 +0000

Okay. So I have all these cosmetic samples I got at Vivaness squeaking at me impatiently from their bag, nagging me to try them already. And what do I do instead?

Yep. I review a hand cream I bought only yesterday. [deadpan voice] Go me. Oh the sheer brilliance of it all. [/deadpan voice]

But I just wanted to tell you that sometimes even a 1000 HUF hand cream can do wonders with one's weatherbeaten hands. By the way, buying this hand cream was totally not my stroke of genius: it was Ladybird's, so my hands and I hereby thank her for it. :-)

Onto the product itself then.

I must admit I haven't paid much attention to the brand Aldo Vandini before, but that is definitely going to change. Aldo Vandini is a German brand selling natural beauty products, and in Hungary they're available in Drogerie Markt stores. They have several lines, each with a different fragrance. The Sensitiv line smells pretty tolerable to me: this hand cream, for example, has a sort of clean but powdery fragrance that even I, the gourmet scent lover, can stand.

The product comes in a 100 ml (3.4 FL.OZ) plastic tube that has a flip-top cap and a really nice design on its label. It's a bit too heavy to carry with me in my bag*, but I might just take it with me to my workplace one day and put it in one of my desk drawers to always have it at hand. :-D

* Want to know how much hand cream I'm willing to carry in my bag? Well, I only bought Silk Naturals' Eyelash Conditioning Gel because I figured that it'll have to run out eventually, and then I'll have the perfect 4,5 ml pump bottle to fill with my fave hand-lotion and put in my handbag. My previous job and lifestyle have made me abhor excess weight...

The cream itself is white and has an extremely good formula: it moisturizes really well and is also perfectly capable of sealing that moisture in. Also, a big plus is that even though it doesn't contain any silicone, it makes my hands just as soft as they would be if it did.

When I bought this product, I knew that Ladybird and her hands had not seen eye-to-eye on some issues in the past (e.g.: "To crack or not to crack?"), but I also knew that she has a pretty high opinion of this cream, and knowing that made me give the product a try.

Let me tell you I have not regretted it for a second. It beats all my expensive and hyped-up creams, such as LUSH's Smitten, The Body Shop's body butters, Bioderma's Atoderm hand cream and Atoderm body lotion (my fave), or even my second favorite dermo body lotion LRP's Lipikar. It sinks in fast, leaves my hands super-moisturized for the longest time ever, and makes my skin smooth and silky and also pleasantly fragrant. What more could a girl want from her hand-cream? Oh yeah: it's also relatively cheap. ;-)

Rating: a solid 5 out of 5
Price: 1049 HUF
Where to buy in Europe: in Drogerie Markt stores
Aldo Vandini's American website
Ingredients:
AQUA * GLYCOL STEARATE SE * GLYCERIN * OENOTHERA BIENNIS (EVENING PRIMROSE) OIL * GLYCERYL STEARATE SE * CETEARYL ALCOHOL * DICAPRYL ETHER * PARFUM * PANTHENOL * BISABOLOL *AVENA SATIVA (OAT) KERNEL EXTRACT * LACTIS LIPIDA (MILK LIPIDS) * SODIUM POLYACRYLATE * CITRIC ACID * PHENOXYETHANOL * BENZYL ALCOHOL * METHYLPARABEN * ETHYLPARABEN * PROPYLPARABEN * ISOBUTYLPARABEN * BUTYLPARABEN

Back from Nuremberg...

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:54:00 +0000

... with a truck load of samples and brochures. Okay, so I only had my Lavera bag full, but oh boy, oh boy, I'm gonna have so many things to review!!! (Like I don't already...)

Anyway, Nuremberg was beautiful, the city is amazing with all its churches and old little houses, our hotel was great, its restaurant offering delicious food, and last but not least we've also managed to form some great business relationships and do a good job promoting our organic products.

We got back Monday afternoon, but I'm still bummed and I didn't even have to drive 8 hours... We had a pretty intense day in the office yesterday preparing for an inspection (I can't say my job is all fun and games...), but I'm hoping things will settle down a bit, at least for a while. There's going to be another trip soon (by plane this time: my stomach is already churning whenever I think about it), but at least I'll be able to test all the samples I have.

By the way, my skin went haywire last week: I've been using tretinoin for about a month and it totally cleared my skin up by the time we left for Nuremberg. A few days after I got there, however, I started getting these little red bumps on my skin, some turning into real zits, especially on my forehead. It's clearing up now, but I'd really like to know what had caused it. Food? Stress? Silicone? (Indeed, I'm guilty...) Fabric-softener in the pillowcase? Weird things in the water? What?

Almost a year ago I promised myself that if my skin clears up, I'll get my ears pierced (like I've been wanting to all my life). I was just about to look for a salon and now this...

Anywhooooo, here are some pics of my loot. Besides the incoherent rambling you've just suffered through, these photos are the only things I can churn out right now.

The cute "little" Lavera cotton bag I got at their stand. It's going to serve me perfectly as a shopping bag.

Just to name a few well-known brands: Aubrey Organics, Dr Bronner's Magic Soap, Lavera, Logona, Sante, Weleda. Some not-so-well-known ones (for me at least): Farfalla, Kanope, NeoBio, Heliotrop, Tropicai, Styx.
Many of the little brochures in the foreground also contain samples.

One more pic. :-)
(Btw, the Alverde conditioner and the Essence hand-cream aren't from Vivaness. I got them in the DM next to our hotel.)

Gotta go and wash my hair (and try Lavera's shampoo sample while at it), but do let me know what you've been up to last week or maybe even what you'd like me to review first. :)

Love all of you to bits,
Izar

Away For A Week

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:30:00 +0000

This is just a very quick post to let all of you know that I'll be away from tomorrow (Feb 16) morning until Sunday this week (Feb 22). My colleague and I are traveling to Nuremberg to attend the annual BioFach 2010 trade show and present our company's products there.
Vivaness, the show featuring organic cosmetic products, will also be held at the same venue, so I really hope I'll be able to check that out too and maybe bring you some news on what's going on right now in the organic cosmetic industry. ;-)

During this time, however, I will not have access to the Internet and my e-mails, but I'll be back to answering them on 23 February. (Unless of course I'm dead from fatigue...)

I've been shopping and preparing non-stop all through the previous week and weekend and today. My feet are killing me, I still have to pack and hopefully fall into bed before midnight, as we're setting off at 5 AM tomorrow.

Please, please bear with me a little bit longer my dear friends and readers, and I promise you that after this whole thing is over, I'll be back and blogging like a good little blogger ought to. To those of you who sent me e-mails in the previous weeks: I'm awfully sorry, but first it was the flu that incapacitated me for good, and then I had to prepare for this !%#@%! trip which took all my time.

I know I'm kinda pathetic with all this whining and all, but I swear I'll be active again when this is all over. These last few weeks have been much too hectic for me... My job will not always require this of me, so I'm confident that I'll be able to take up blogging again soon. The difference between last fall and now is that now I honestly want to. I have so many things to write about and have so many new friends who seem to be eager to read my posts that I can't wait to start writing again. :-)

Till then, if you have any questions or want to leave comments on any of my posts, please do so: I'd love to hear from you when I get back. ^_^

Have a wonderful week!

Lots of love,
Izar

P.S.: Check out the 'Romanian Corner' on the right! I hope I've included all my Romanian friends there. :-)

Still Alive. I Think...

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:43:00 +0000

Guys, this is just a short update to let you know that I came down with the flu on Wednesday last week and have been having a high temperature and the sore throat of the century since then. I swear I haven't felt this miserable in years and still need some time before I can get up from bed, not to mention put together a blog post.

Please bear with me; I'm really trying to pull myself together, but no matter what I do, it doesn't seem to work. Urgh...

Till then, have a nice week everybody!

The Second Half of My Brush Collection

noreply@blogger.com (Viki) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 10:51:00 +0000

I promised Nimphe, Karen and the rest of my readers that I would get this post our at the weekend, and boy am I glad I'm finally able to stick to my promises...

Only God knows why, but I'm on a high today: I'm listening to Roxette (don't laugh, they were the only thing that kept me alive during high-school), cuddling with my cat, eating fruit gums (I know, I know, I shouldn't be, but I just don't care right now...), and generally feel like I'm on top of the world.

Reasons? Here are a few:

My job.
Actually, the fact that I have one.
No more nagging from my parents and my own conscience, no more self-loathing and hopelessness, and most importantly no more empty pockets. Life's good.
Oh, and that we a have an extremely cool PC in our office with Windows 7. You know what I like best about Win7? Yep: StickyNotes. It's a lot of fun, extremely practical and useful, and just plain and simple cool.
That I'm going to accompany my colleague to a trade fair in Nuremberg for a week in February, which gives me the opportunity to shop for a suitcase, a few sets of womens suits, shoes and other goodies.
Music.
The knowledge that if all goes well, I'll soon be the owner of another heap of Silk Naturals makeup.
The sort of sunny-spell we're experiencing right now where I live.

-oOo-

Sorry for gushing and bragging as if it was Things I Love Thursday, but I just had to tell the world how happy I am for the first time in... well, a very long time.

Now, about those brushes: out of the 4 I'm going to review today there's only one I haven't managed to befriend yet, so I guess you can start guarding your pockets/purses/wallets or any other accessories you use to store your money in. ;)

Silk Naturals

Fiber Optic Blush Brush

Brushes like this one are also called stippling brushes which is not something you want to forget. What's "stippling" you ask? Well, allow me to explain.

In art stippling is when instead of strokes or lines you use an insane amount of small dots to create various degrees of shading. Take a look at this artist drawing a portrait to get the idea. You can use the same method to apply blush and achieve a really nice, natural effect, especially if you have to work with an intensely pigmented kind of powder.

Since brushes like this have a very thin head with a small amount hairs scattered on a relatively big surface, it's easy to use them as if they were a bunch of pointed paintbrushes joined together. Actually, this brush has two kinds of hair: one is short and black, and it is there to separate the other kind of hairs which are long and white, and which are the ones that'll pick up the blush and disperse it on your skin.

Ever since I bought it, it's been my favorite brush to apply my blushes with. You can, of course, use it as a regular brush and put on your blush with sweeping or circular motions, but in my opinion it's best to just "dot-sot-dot" all over your cheeks. It can also be used to apply liquid- or cream-foundation too, but since I don't use any of those, I wouldn't know how well a brush like this performs at that.

However, here's a girls who does: check out beechbum06's video on YouTube to see what I've been talking about in the past few minutes.

Silk Naturals' brush is $5.99 and is practically a steal when you consider how useful it is. (I actually had store credit with SN at the time I bough it so it was "free" for me, but I don't think it takes away from my objectivity as I still had to pay for shipping and all the other things I bought together with it.) It's a bit different from the average stippling brush I think: most of them seem pretty big in diameter while this one is only about 2 cm. It's probably a bit weird for people who're used to larger brushes, but let me tell you that this one's perfectly usable if you're willing to give it a chance. In fact, I think it's much better this way, because it allows for more precise application and better control over where you put your blush.

All in all, I totally recommend this brush: it's a cheap alternative for MAC brushes and it does the job perfectly. It does shed more than an EDM brush and washing does bring out some black gunge, but that stops after a while and then you have a perfect blush brush.

Rating: a solid 5 out of 5

Coastal Scents
Chisel Mini Detail Brush

I know, I know: it looks very unkempt upon first glance.

Even upon second glance, to be honest.

Fine, all right, whatever... It does look disheveled and tousled no matter how many times you look at it.

It doesn't really matter though. I had thought it was an eyeshadow brush and as far as I can remember it was advertised as one, but I've been know for going off the beaten path and using things in a different way that they were originally intended to. So I use this as a concealer brush and it works perfectly that way. It's small, it covers nothing else but the zit I'm trying to hide, and when you use it like this, it really doesn't matter how rumpled it is.

It retails for $1.99 at Coastal Scents and is a great buy if you want to conceal blemishes but find concealer brushes too big and clumsy.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Coastal Scents
Pink Oval Taklon Lips Brush

Yeesh, photographing brushes is just like photographing your face: the camera catches every little detail and flaw you'd think doesn't normally show...

Okay, this one is a solid little brush, and since I've had it, I haven't once used it to apply lipstick with.

However, it's perfect for applying dark, matte eyeshadows to the corner of your eyes and to contour your lids with. In one word, it was meant to assist you in creating a gorgeous smoky eye. Using it is like drawing with a pencil, but it's never once rough on the delicate skin around my eyes. It allows for precise application, and because of how thin it is, it's great to line your eyes with too providing you're using eyeshadow (preferably dry) and want to blend it a bit.

It's one of my favorite brushes ever, so I encourage you to get it for yourself too. For only $1.99 it's a great deal!

Rating: 5 out of 5

Coastal Scents Black Deluxe Shadow Brush

I guess this is what I get if I don't read the product description... I know it's written there in plain black and white that it has a 5/8 inch hair span and it says "big", but I honestly didn't expect it to be THIS BIG...!

That's completely my fault though, so I'm not going to blame Coastal Scents for my own laziness and stupidity. But honestly, what can you do with a brush that big? Me, I'm a fairly tiny* person, so not much obviously.

* Tiny as in "vertically": I'm 155 cm tall. I'm still working on the "horizontally" part...

Anyway, I honestly can't tell you much about this one as I've only used it once or twice since I got it last spring. It's very dense, soft and pliable when I run my thumb over it, and I have a hunch that it's great to blend eyeshadow with, I just can't seem to figure out how to make it work on my eyes. Oh well, perhaps one day I'll experiment with it a bit, but for now it doesn't excite me that much.

It was $2.99, by the way.

Rating: 3 out of 5 ('3' only because it's a very well-made, good quality brush...)

Next post? Soon, I can tell you that much. ;) Topic? Silk Naturals lippies most likely with swatches. Also, I may just start swatching all my SN and Pure Luxe eyeshadows too. I've had them for ages and I still haven't managed to churn out a post about them...

Happy to Be Alive