EOS Sweet Mint Lip Balm

For a while I wanted to write a little bit about this brand and one of my currently favourite lip balms. The brand itself comes from America and I have been a fan for a while now. Beauty gurus have been talking about it and word just spread. Evolution Of Smooth (or shortly EOS) earns its popularity in my opinion because of its natural ingredients and little sphere shaped lip balms.
They have quite a nice range of products such as lip balms, hand and body lotion and shave creams.





My personal favourites are lip balms. Some of them come in eye catching sphere shapes and delicious flavours such as Pomegranate Raspberry, Strawberry Sorbet, Honeysuckle Honeydew, Summer Fruits, Sweet Mint, Medicated Tangerine and Lemon Drop with SPF 15.

 

 

My current favourite is refreshing Sweet Mint in a stick form.

 

I do love the fact that it is 95% Organic, 100% Natural. Also, from the website (www.evolutionofsmooth.com) it claims to be Paraben, Petrolatum, Phathalate and Gluten Free, so no nasty ingredients, always great news.

 

Sweet Mint is also rich in soothing Shea butter and vitamin E.

 

When you apply it on it gives your lips a little tingle, smells lovely and natural; even if I lick it, which I do try not to do ;) it tastes nice.

 

It goes on smooth and clear and gives lips lovely moisture; ideal as a base for applying lipstick over.

 

I am sure it is just a matter of time when EOS products become available in UK too. Until then shopping online for it will have to do.

 

Have you tried it too?

 

Till next time...

 

Kiss Kiss Girly-G

 

 

EPISTICK, Hair Removal Tool

  

There are lots of interesting looking gadgets on the market that claim to do wonders but they don't. This little one actually does what it says on the packaging.

It is called Epistick and is a spring coil that removes unwanted facial hair with the exception of eyebrows as they require more precision.

It works on the basis of threading, or plucking the hair out.

 

Perhaps it looks complicated  but if I can do it anyone can. After a few attempts I found it so easy to use and now every few days (if you are dark haired like me) I simply distract myself with TV while I tidy up my top lip. Yes, it does hurt a little bit but then everything else that involved plucking or waxing hurt even more. My skin is very sensitive and goes red very quickly but with Epistick to my relief  there are no problems at all.

To clean it you just blow on it to remove the hairs.

Before I bought mine I did a bit of a research as I usually do and it looks like Epistick variations have been on the market for few years now.

Even though I have not seen them in the shops in U.K the Epistick is easily available on www. EBay.co.uk for around £2 including the shipping. I don't see why I should pay more if the cheaper tool does the job. Such great value for money, probably the most useful tool I bought recently I think.

Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G

Fur-effect Nails by MUA

Fur-effect Nails is another new and interesting nail product by British company called MUA (Makeup Academy). www.muastore.co.uk

The idea of this product is to create a furry or fluffy effect on your nails; Well it does and it looks mad!

The effect is easily achieved by following these instructions:

 

I have bought a light pink version for myself for £2 from Superdrug store www.superdrug.com. To be honest it cannot be compered to high-end branded products in terms of longevity (in my experience it lasts only up to 24 hours) and quality can be improved on, but I think it is still a product worth having in your collection to create a fun design on a budget.

Let me know if you have tried it out yet and what do you think?

Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G

January Smiley Faces

Bye, bye to a long January with cute smiley faces. As the days are getting longer and today was such a nice day I suppose it all put a smile on my face :)

This is a very simple design to do. First of all I used an unbranded clear base coat. Then two coats of Bourjois Paris Ultra Shine in 46 Apricot. After the nail polish dried I used Claire's Two Way Nail Art Pen in Black to draw the smiley faces on. To top it off I applied unbranded glitter nail polish and top coat at the end to make it last longer.

That was it, easy-peasy hehe 
Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G

Coco Mademoiselle for £3.99?!

Did you hear about this little dupe for Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel yet?

 

Since its release last year just before the summer it has been cooking up a secret storm in the beauty blogging world.

As one can see looking at the packaging it does not look much and the name sounds silly too.
But, it hides a pleasant little surprise that you discover as soon as you spray this fragrance on.
According to lots of women including myself and my colleagues it does smell very much like Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel. When I tried it out for the first time I just could not believe how similar they actually were. And with a price tag of only £3.99 you can afford to keep on spraying to convince yourself too!

Here is a video with a more indepth review on Suddenly Madame Glamour by Lidl

 



Till next time...

Kiss Kiss Girly -G

 

 

 

THE BODY SHOP, Madagascan Vanilla

 

''On the tropical island, under a blazing sun, a vanilla orchid winds around a tree, reaching for the sky. As its pods ripen, a heavenly scent fills the air.'' This is how The Body Shop entices you into their magical web :)

While the weather is cold and snowing outside this Madagascan Vanilla creates exotic, warm feeling of being somewhere far away.

Both Body Lotion and Eau de Toilette are part of the collection called Scents of The World. The scent has sensual blend of floral and oriental notes, fresh Vanilla, hint of Amber and Frangipani flowers.

I purchased this set in the January sales at my local Body Shop store, but it can be also found on www.thebodyshop.co.uk. I usually create my own scent by adding Madagascan Vanilla to my other fragrances for truly unique blend.

Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G 

KOH Thai Tapas in Southsea, UK

Our friends are coming over to visit soon we were thinking about where to take them out for dinner. As we live in Southsea we noticed Koh Thai Tapas (http://www.koh-thai.co.uk/) opening up recently. After reading great reviews on Trip Adviser (www.tripadvisor.co.uk) we decided to try it out for ourselves.

The restaurant is located in a lovely old building. As we walked in we were welcomed by friendly staff and taken to our table. Walking through the restaurant I could not help myself  from thinking that this place looks really inviting. Immediately I was drowned in by the warmth of colours, amber and reds on the walls, high ceilings, dark woods and leather bound seats.

The interior has lots of character with traditional Thai sculptures it just oozes chic.

Few minutes after taking our orders my Pina Kohlada ;) arrived. I must say that I was impressed by its quality, it tasted and looked amazing.

We ordered five different tapas dishes to share between us two and that was more then enough. They were very tastefull too. The whole concept of having Thai Tapas is new to me but, why would only Spanish cuisine be associated with tapas style? It's new and innovative way to try out classic Thai food and make the dinning experience truly unique.

We loved Koh Thai Tapas so much that it will definitely be our next IT place to take our family and friends out to eat.

Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G

LET'S SAVE THE NAIL POLISH

Doing free style nail art is one of my favourite past times. Over the past couple of years my nail polish collection has grown bigger and bigger. I therefore now own a little treasure box full of all different kinds of nail lacquer. Some of them I have received as presents and some I bought. Brands vary from cheaper such as Rimmel London to more professional ones from OPI.

I could also say there are some colours I just adore, so when they start to become thick and gloopy I am not a happy bunny :)

So here comes the saviour, the mighty OPI NAIL LACQUER THINNER (www.opi.com).
This is a chemical solution that restores thickened nail polish to its former glory.

OPI NAIL LACQUER THINNER is made from butyl and ethyl acetate which are the same ingredients found in nail polish. That means it will not effect the colour or the quality or shine of the nail polish.

It is very simple to use, just add 2-3 drops into the nail polish. Instructions on the bottle advise to shake it but that can cause air bubbles. So, I prefer to hold the bottle of the nail polish between the palms of my hands and roll from side to side until thinner is thoroughly mixed into the polish.

Then to test the consistency I can apply to my nail. The correct consistency of the nail polish should allow two coats of nail polish before needing to re dip the brush into the nail polish bottle.

Nail polish has a limited lifetime too, usually about 2 years and darker colours tend to clump up faster because they have so much pigment; so having a nail polish thinner is a must in every nail polish collection.

Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G

SOY CANDLES

A few weeks ago whilst looking around in TK Maxx for a present for a friend I stopped by the candle section in their homeware department. Nothing unusual about that as I love to see what is new in store and I do appreciate a nice candle. But look what I found...

These lovely looking candles by American brand FOR EVERY BODY (www.foreverybody.com) attracted my attention. So, I smelled one and another and the rest of them, spending far too long admiring each scent while my hubby stared at me not understanding what is taking so long.

Finally I choose Citrus & Vanilla Vintage Candle and Spa Therapy Bamboo Leaf (£5.99 each). But, I wanted them all really... :)

Citrus & Vanilla Vintage Candle scent made me think of freshly squeezed tangerines with a large amount of vanilla. The fragrance is so true-to-life, a perfect candle for the kitchen, where I keep mine.

Spa Therapy Bamboo Leaf is amazing too. I have difficulty removing myself or my nose from the jar :) It has a gentle and relaxing scent and makes me think of pandas relaxing. Yes, I do like this brand of candles.

To be honest I did not think too much about what some candles are made of until now. After purchasing these soy based candles I read up about them. Soy candles are made from soybeans making them an easily renewable resource and as they are vegetables soy wax based, the byproducts of the manufacturing processes are biodegradable. Soy wax is non-toxic and burns clean. Candles burn at a slow rate creating long lasting experience (18 oz or around 0.5kg lasts around 90hours). FOR EVERY BODY also uses lead free wick and wax spillage is easy to clean with soapy water.

Therefore there are so many more benefits of using soy candles over perhaps cheaper paraffin candles that leave black soot and some bad chemical vapours.

No doubt I'll be back to top up my supply of these little treats soon.

Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G

Jewel-light Waterproof Eyeliner from Holika Holika

What a lovely little gem. These Jewel-light Waterproof Eyeliner pencils from Holika Holika are so great. One might even say that they are highly comparable to or as good as Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliners, which are really popular but on the expensive side.

They are made by South Korean brand Holika Holika. Packaging is of course adorable carrying on the theme of  ''magic'' and little, cute witch on the packaging throughout the range of products.

I have bought mine online from www.ebay.co.uk for about £3.52 each with free postage. Great bargain!

The colours I picked  are; 01 Black Gem (matte black, great for tight lining the waterline), 02 Black Crystal (multicoloured fine shimmer), 03 Lapis Lazuli (dark blue with fine blue shimmer) and number 11 (light brown with bronze shimmer).


Click to enlarge

All colours are gorgeous, richly pigmented and shimmer has no fallout. Texture is creamy, glides on like gel eyeliner.

Their main selling feature is that they are really waterproof. I tested it by applying them on my hands and washing my hands with soap and water. Colour did not smudge a bit. To remove it you only need eye makeup remover. They need ordinary sharpner to tidy up the tip.

The good tip to remember while using these eyeliners is to apply them on the eyelids (or waterline) and let it dry for few seconds. After the colour dries it just stays on for hours.
They can be used as eye shadows too by smudging the colour on the eyelids before it dries.
Have you tried Jewel-light Waterproof Eyeliner pencils too?
What are you favourite colours?

The Holika Holika Shop

Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G

Kawaii phone accessories

After struggling for the last six month with my old phone and my dear friends suggesting I ought to move with the times ;) I have finally been upgraded with a new phone. Thanks to my lovely hubby it arrived under the tree in time for Christmas morning - well midnight actually 'cause I couldn't wait!

Of course I had to dress it up. A plain case is not my kind of thing so I bought these cute cases/skins or whatever you want to call it and a couple of phone dust plugs (the thing that protects the headphone socket) too.

As I get a grip on learning how to use my new phone, I can also get excited about how it looks by changing the cover according to how I feel that day. I do not have to use my phone for business so having a not so right and proper looking phone case just cheers me up.

Three of these cases are silicone and one is a hard cover.

The phone dust plugs are also adorable, light cream flower and green shade bow. All of them are easily available and I have bought mine on www.ebay.uk

Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G