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

L'OCCITANE, Milk Shea Butter Extra Gentle Soap

Are you sill looking for a last minute Christmas pressie?
L'Occitane Milk Shea Butter Extra Gentle Soap, is a great idea. 100% vegetable based, embossed and elegantly wrapped perfect little gift for everyone.

It is generous in size (250g for £7.50 from www.uk.loccitane.com) it is great value for money albeit at the higher end of the soap market. I have been a big fan for the past couple of years and clearly I am not the only one as it is considered to be a cult favourite by many in the beauty industry(very highly reviewed on www.makeupalley.com) and is a Best Seller on the L'Occitane website.

As the name on the packaging would suggest it is indeed a very gentle and non irritating soap making it very suitable for delicate skin for the whole family. It lathers up beautifully and it is so creamy and rich.

The Shea Butter used in the soap which actually comes from Africa; soothes and protects the skin and is well known for its moisturising properties. L'Occitane are socially responsible company and their Shea Butter is harvested by hand by women in Shea-processing collectives of Burkina Faso, supporting economic recovery and heritage of natural harvesting traditions. From there L'Occitane take the harvested butter to Provence, France where it is used in their creams, lotions, soaps etc.

I really like this product and it will continue to be in my soap dish for years to come. I would recommend you to try it out for yourself too. :)

Till next time...
Christmassy Kiss Kiss Girly-G

Petite Bunny Gloss Bar by Tony Moly

Tony Moly (http://www.etonymoly.com/) is a South Korean cosmetic brand that is incredibly popular for their adorable packaging and reasonable price and I have to say the cute packaging is to blame for why I just had to try out Petite Bunny Gloss Bar. Aren't they just adorable?

Of course I did some research and bought four different bunnies;
No2 Juicy Grape, No4 Juicy Cherry, No5 Juicy Peach and No6 Juicy Orange (there are actually 9 different shades in all)

Looking at them reminds me of crayons you use in school. The cap of each Petite Bunny Gloss Bar has a bunny face with different expressions to easily differentiate the colour and scent better. The faint fruity scent is hardly noticeable after application. The product comes out by twisting from the bottom up, a few milimeters is enough as it does not twist back. I do end up reapplying because they don't have too much staying power but that does not bother me at all!

Although they are called gloss bar, they are actually more like tinted lip balm rather then lip gloss. The colour is sheer but buildable and can be intensified with extra coats. I love that it is not sticky at all. The texture is creamy and glides on easily. It is so much fun trying them out.

I really enjoy Petite Bunny Gloss Bars, they make me smile every time I pick them up from my cosmetics bag. I would recommend them to all those who like non-sticky lip balms and cute faces are just a bonus :)
Have you tried them too?
Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G

HANDROID, Robot Hand by ITK

Last Sunday at Hyper Japan Xmas 2012 showcasing their pioneering innovations Japanese engineering company ITK (www.itk.co.jp) had us all in awe. The star of the show was the HANDROID - a robotic hand

The show was very interesting and inspirational. It gave us a glimpse into a future where the HANDROID could be used not only in dangerous engineering environments but also as a prosthetic hand controllable by brain waves and cerebral nerves. And that would be so helpful to so many people. I am all for it. :)

What makes this HANDROID different from other robotic hands, is that it can move all five fingers and lift small objects like a human hand. And it looks amazing!

HANDROID is remotely operable, lightweight, durable and has a fluid motion. After the show visitors were given the opportunity to try it out, and of course I wanted to give it a go.

There are two ways of operating the robot hand; one being by glove controller and other just by positioning your hand directly above a motion detector, like that used for XBox. I have tried the latter one.

Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G

''KAWAII STYLE'' Japanese Street Fashion

click picture to enlarge

If you've never been, HyperJapan is an annual event celebrating all things Japanese. This weekend I went along for the first time. Even before I reached the Exhibition Centre in Earls Court, London I could not help but notice groups of girls dressed up in cute outfits. Straight away I knew they were off to HyperJapan Expo too and it just put a smile on my face to know there are so many others that share my enthusiasm for Japanese culture and fashion.

One of the main events on Sunday 25 of November was a Kawaii Fashion Show. Kawaii in few words means cute, cool, sweet ... As the words say this fashion show was like no other, it was cuteness overload in the most of loveliest ways.

The best part of the show to me was seeing the great diversity of crowed watching, from young children to older generation all gathered to celebrate Japanese culture and fashion.

As we walked around the exhibition hall we met many of the pretty girlies and they were kind enough to let us take their picture for me to share with you today. So if you were there, maybe you'll find your picture here; I'd love to hear from you!

click picture to enlarge

Coming soon: Handroid at HyperJapan. You have to see it to beleive it!

Till next time. Sayonara! (sah-yoh-nah-rah) Goodbye!

Kiss Kiss Girly-G

HYPER JAPAN XMAS 2012

Just back from London. HYPER JAPAN 2012 was so much fun. We had a day filled with watching the shows, checking out new games, browsing and taking lots of amazing pictures.

Big THANK YOU to all the lovely girlies posing for our photos.

More to follow very soon so please come back and check it out!

Kiss Kiss Girly-G 

LUSH Rub Rub Rub, Shower scrub

Just recently I acquired a new addiction... yes it was a Lush product.

I have avoided going into a Lush shops as every time I step in I'd find myself overwhelmed by fragrance and so many colours and products that are not necessarily what you might first think. Also, price wise I would put them in the not-cheep, but more of the ''I deserve a treat'' category.

As I have been stressed out recently a friend of mine suggested a nice bubble bath and a LUSH bomb. And it worked.

So, I was back in the shop again and this time I bought Rub Rub Rub, Shower scrub. Soon as I got back from work I just had to try it out.

The consistency of Rub Rub Rub is more of a runny gel like scrub. Salt particles are very fine and even looking therefore they leave body gently exfoliated.

I like to apply mine in the shower (make sure the tub is away from the direct water flow otherwise you'll end up wasting the product), stepping away from direct flow I apply a nice scoop all over.
I even shampooed my hair with it and I was so surprised that it lathered as much as it did. And then I just stepped back and washed it all off :) My hair did need a bit of conditioning afterwards but the skin was so soft.

I really like the smell of Rub Rub Rub (if you like the smell of sea and freshness this one is for you). This product is packed with mineral rich sea salt and organic lemon juice. Jasmin, mimosa and orange flower leave a lingering subtle scent. Just lovely.

Just in case you did not know LUSH produces fresh handmade cosmetics, it's a well known brand that started off in Poole, Dorset, U.K (www.lush.co.uk)

Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G

 

Great South Run, Portsmouth

Admittedly I am few weeks late but I still wanted to write about this event that makes me proud to live in Portsmouth.

For those you who do not know this The BUPA Great South Run is an annual 10 miles road running race. Its route goes through Southsea and passes some of Portsmouths naval heritage, including HMS Victory and Mary Rose (historic ships) and Spinnaker Tower (www.visitportsmouth.co.uk).

 

This race was on 28/10/12 and it has become one of Europe's most popular mass participation races over 10 miles and attracts some of the most successful runners as well as ordinary public (this year there were around 25000 runners).

 

For me, the most exciting part of the race was supporting and cheering on all the amazing people who were running and fund raising for charities of their choice. Including Ian Flemming who ran the 10mile distance over 3 days wearing a 200lbs diving suit running in support of blesma.org.

One of those amazing people was my dear friend who did outstandingly well finishing the race in 1:49:20 and raising money for the children charity CLIC Sargent (www.clicsargent.org.uk).

Well done E.B!!!

There were some interesting characters doing the race running in fancy dress. Have a look for yourself...

 

 

 

Till next time...

Kiss Kiss Girly-G



Nails Of The Day, Diwali Nightsky Nails

HAPPY DIWALI!

This is a celebration of lights and the time when sky is full of bright colours and all lit up by fireworks - which are set off to scare off the bad spirits. The sparkles of the fireworks have inspired my nails of the day.

To achieve this enchanting nail art I have used Berry M in Blue Plum as a base colour, Models Own in Gold Rush to create graduation and Rimmel London in Disco Ball for my stars.

If you wanted to know more about how I have achieved this pretty look, just leave a message in the comment box.

Till next time ...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G