Murad's Oils Control Mattifier SPF15 Review

I was asked by Stavroula to make a review about Murad's Oil Control Mattifier ...so here it is! :D

Packaging : 50mL-1.7FL.OZ. Tube

Price: in Greece about 50Euros

Is sold at : Sephora

Ingredients : Pomegranate Seed Oil, Sesame Seed Extract, Glutamic Acid, Magnesium Carbonate, Tea tree leaf oil , Willow Bark Extract , amongst others.

What Murad says: "Provides long lasting oil-control and prevents sun damage by: 

• Immediately mattifying and controling oil up to 8 hours
• Delivering powerful UVA/UVB sun protection"

     Having combination-oily skin, summer used to be a nightmare for me. Excessive oil, shiny areas, make up wouldn't last for more than 2-3 hours and I felt so ashamed to walk around with my face and especially my T-zone in such condition(If my nose was larger, I bet you could see your face reflecting on it LOL) .

     I had already known murad's products (as a skin specialist at sephora) and they were quite effective at least for my skin.But this cream and I were met through a magazine tester. I loved it from the first minute. It's got a thick consistency, which was a surprize because thick consistencies are related to lipids and intensive moisturizing creams but this is so different.It's white, a little goes a long way and it's got a slight minty scent.It feels refreshing and cool as you apply.

     As it is easily getting absorbed, It creates a film, a barrier to your skin which doesn't allow oils to penetrate it.Your skin feels smooth and dry for a long time, it doesn't look shiny even after 8 hours.For me it's like it stops oil production , gives a 100% mat result and functions perfectly as a make up primer.

     Although it is said to be a moisturizer, as I was using it all over my face I noticed some signs of dehydration on my cheeks...so I added a moisturizer under.Oh and If you buy it make sure the expriration date is good enough for you -depending on how frequently you'll use it (murad's products are designed based on biotechnology and contain plant extracts so they are a little more sensitive than other products).

Overall I think this is a miracle product for everyone who has combination to extremely oily skin.It does what it says it does.Comparing it to other oil free products for combination or oily skin is wayyy far better , it is a winner.

XOXO

Beatie :)

     

Skincare routine...

Despite the fact that I am a program freak and a hard worker, I am a terribly lazy person  when it comes to taking care of my self...

I own many skincare items that I wear them before I put on make up or after I take my make up off...the days I don't wear make up I just neglect my skin with the excuse of  "letting it breathe" :P

So here are all my skincare products: 

 

• Murad Oil-Control Mattifier SPF 15

I have a combination to oily skin and during the summer I was facing great problems with my make up (it was melting on my sweaty skin) and I used to get really shiny .This is a holy grail product for me as it is a strong mattifier, it helps my make up stay all day long and I got rid of the discoball effect :) It's also slightly  moisturizing and I use it as a primer.

• Dior Bronze Protection Solaire SPF30

I rarely wear this, it's got a thick consistency and it's an ideal sunscreen for summer.

• OLAY Complete Multi-Radiance UV

 This is my every day moisturizer...It's lightweight, it contains illuminating elements and UV protection.I wear it under murad's mattifier and it keeps my skin soft all day.

• Clinique moisture surge 

I love this stuff! If you have dehydrated combination to oily skin then you need to try this! It's extremely hydrating, you can apply it as a moisturizer or as a mask (depending on the quantity), the results are instant! It's got a slight scent that reminds me of pharmaceutical product, it makes skin look fresh and ...as you can see I've finished the jar and need a new one...

• Clinique dramatically different moisturizing gel

 I use it after my clinique clarifying lotion and before my moisturizer...it helps restore the hydrolipidic film of the skin and I find it quite refreshing .

• Korres almond meal soft natural scrub

 This is my second tube, it's a decent scrub, it is for sensitive or dry skin. It helps to get rid of flaky areas (around the nose for instance) and it leaves my face soft and radiant.

• Clinique clarifying lotion 2

 This cleanses my pores and removes all the dead cells.It's quite strong and I use it rarely in combination with dramatically different lotion.

• Korres Mandarin Lip Butter Stick 

I love it and have already an in depth review  here.

• Coconut Milk Body Lotion by Body Shop

 This is a body moisturizer with an intense scent of coconut which I love.It comes in a spray form and it suits combination to oily skins.I use it mainly for my hands and feet :)

• L'Oreal Nutribronze

 This is a body cream (it is supposed to be a body milk but it's so thick that I refer to it as a rich cream) that progressively offers a golden tan and moisturizes.It's got a lovely peachy smell...Never put it before you go out,it gets absorbed very slowly , at least by my skin ...I remember my self in a crowdy club in the summer, being sticky and leave my marks on everybody's arms due to this cream haha! :D
 

Stylish Blogger Award!

I got awared by sweet Marcela Gmd in the Stylish Blogger Award!

So my turn on this....here are some of the blogs I read quite often

I give the Stylish blogger award to...

High Fashion Kotes

Omorfias Nea (Kerasia&Christina) 

Natalie's Beauty Land

cbsg5861 

Limonspective 

Make yourself up with Demi 

Nothing like fashion 

 Τhe cat hag

Beauty With Artemi 

Fashion Architect 

It's all beauty to me 

Products I dislike (wasted money)..

There are many products in my collection that I love, some others are just ok, but there also are some that however hard I try , I can't make them work for me at all...Of course that's my opinion on these stuff but some characteristics of them are unacceptable...

Nivea Beaute Eyes Wide Open Waterproof in 04 Black

    As I was at the supermarket I noticed that all nivea products had 50% off which is very weird for the greek market as most of the dragstore products are imported and quite expensive comparing to products sold in US and UK..I was running low on my DiorShow Unlimited mascara , so I decided to buy this mascara for the price of 6.50 Euros to try it (I was thinking at the time that 30Euros for a mascara are way too much to be spent again)...

    I thought "how bad can it be?" ...well it is bad LOL It does nothing for my lashes, absolutely nothing. I worked that wand so hard trying to get some volume and length but nothing. I was trying to convince myself that it I should have expected this, that how on earth could I accept a drugstore mascara to my world when I had been using chanel and dior till then...and decided to stick to high end till maybelline came to my life (but that's another story :) )

Revlon Colorstay Mineral Mousse foundation in 040

 

I am at the Hondos (greek beauty store) and I have money on me.I had just come from mac where I had bought my msf and felt happy with my buy...I was looking for revlon nude attitude lipstick (at that time was a hot purchase for youtubers) which was said to be a dupe for mac's myth.I went to the lady who was very polite, she gave it to me and then started promoting the revlon colorstay foundation which costed 18 Euros..well I told her I had already a foundation which pleased me and then she took me to the "sales" counter where products from all the companies where there...and started saying all the good things of the world for colorstay mineral mousse which was too dark for me but was "great for skin and lightweight for summer" (her words were...).I was so hesitant and she was so pushy, I should have known better (since I used to work for sephora years ago, I should have known better how to protect myself :-P) and be a strong character and tell her a big "NO", but..I didn't. Went home and tried it.It doesn't smell good (industrial smell) , It separates into oil and paint, it is disgusting and I am not going to put this thing on my face for all the money of the world!!!!!!!!!!!

Clinique kohl shaper for eyes in 201 black

I bought this during sales at sephora, it was a spontaneous buy really...This pencil is SO creamy it smudges instantly, I've put it on waterline (it starts to travel and give me sad puppy eyes within 10minutes), upper lashline (it transfers to my eyelids), as a base for my eye make up (it creases of course)....I've tried everything, the only good think is that it comes with a the sharpener which is quite clever but the product its self is a no.

Korres Watermalon Lightweight Tinted Moisturiser Oil Free SPF 30 in 01 Sand

 

This was a gift from a greek magazine so I didn't pay for it.It kind of...sits on the top of my skin and doesn't blend.It makes my skin greasy but at the same time it shows all the dry and slightly flaky areas ... I've tried everything (exfoliate and deeply moisturize before use, use it with my fingers,brush,sponge) but it doesn't work for me at all.Too bad Korres :(

Seventeen Silky Blusher in Coral (Pearly)

I wanted a cheap blush so I visited Seventeen's counter (Seventeen is a greek cosmetic brand). The lady there gave me the wrong color and I realised it when I went home.Pearly in Seventeen's dictionary means a ton of gold shimmer ... It's so shiny that it gives the impression I have overly oily face and acne scars (I actually don't) . It's pretty good for summer eyeshadow though, it works for that :)

H&M Hello Kitty Lipgloss in Lovely Raspberry

Sticky.I don't like the consistency at all, It's like glue on my lips. I can feel the glitter.I don't like the taste, it's plastic-y.I spent 2 or 3 Euros so no big damage is done...

Overall...

A)In Greece at least, you get what you pay for...Cheap products are rarely good and big offers should put everyone into thoughts about the quality...what's the point in buying "cute" cosmetics that will fail to satisfy my needs and never wear them?

B)Drugstore products are expensive here and I don't mean that are difficult to be obtained but I am not willing to pay 20Euros on a L'Oreal mascara when in the US is sold for 8-9 dollars...I prefer to spend 30Euros for my Dior one instead.I wonder how high the travel costs of these products to arrive in Greece are and their prices are so high...

C)I wish I lived in the US... :-P Endless options, dollar is cheap and donna karan stuff too! :-P

That's all from me for now..I hope this post is helpful..

XOXO

Beatie

How Much Is Your Face Worth? Tag

Vintage makeup (http://vintagemakeup.blogspot.com/) tagged all her subbies and I decided to do this tag as I keep avoiding considerations on how much I spend on cosmetics..and I feel it's time to see the truth :-P.Let's see:

Foundation: Mac's Studio fix fluid = around 22 Euros,not sure (on sales)
Powder:      Mac's Mineralize Skinfinish natural =around 27.00Euros
Bronzer:      Lancome's Poudre Majeur Excellence No3 = around 35.00Euros
Blush:          Mac's Fleurpower = around 15.00Euros (I've got the pan form)
Concealer:   Mac's Select Cover-Up=around 17.00 Euros
Lipstick:       Mac's Hug me= around 17.00 Euros
Lipgloss:      Chanel Glossimer No25 = around 23.00Euros (on sales)
Liner:           Mac's blacktrack fluidline=around 14.00 euros
Eye shadow: Kryolan Oak, Beige,Coffee = about 17.00Euros
Mascara:      Maybelline the Falsies Black Drama=13.00Euros

Total: 200.00 Euros

Omg, I need a Safe to secure my make up! 




I tag you all! :)
XOXO
Beatie

Spring/Summer 2011 Makeup Trends and a quick fotd of my favourite trend ;)

So here we go!

Sunkissed :)

Michael Kors

Natural :)

 D&G

Bright eyes :)

Derek Lam

 

 Colorful :)

Dior

Bright lips :)

Jil Sander

Bright lips and/or intense colors on eyes, fresh, healthy looking skin.
Rosy natural lips , smokey eyes without intense outer corners (intensify the inner lid up to the brow), bronzer.

The trend I adore: au naturel! The no-makeup makeup is my favourite.It needs a little bit of practice on blending and on imitating natural shadows,colors and curves of a face but it is so useful and flattering If it's done properly...You can wear it in the morning, when you have an interview or even for a first date , when you want to give the impression of "born with it" :)
What I do:

• Eye liner on the upper waterline - instantly my lashes look thick (I use Blacktrack Fluidline by Mac)
• Light makeup base or tinted moisturizer (I use Stila's Natural Finish Oil Free make up) with a brush (when I apply foundation with a brush my skin doesn't look cakey-it helps a lot to the "no-makeup" effect) 
• Mac's Painterly paintpot on eyelids 
• Kryolan's Oak to the crease blended well
• Mac's "Mineral" eye shadow (it's Limited edition, any medium brown will work) to crease-outer v
• Cream blusher blended very well (I use Stila's Convertible Color in"forget me not").You need a natural color of that, just to make you look flushed.Bright neon pink is a no-no.
• Powder the T-zone (I use Mineralize Skinfinish Natural by Mac, is such a light powder, you can barely see it on face)
• Mat bronzer to sculpt lightly nose , jawline and cheekbones (I use Mac's Golden Bronzing Powder which is not exactly mat but will work)
• Put some mascara (Projectionist by Estee Lauder is incredible for looking completely natural and thick lashes)
• Lip balm with color (I use Korres Wild Rose lip butter)

That's all from me for now... :) I'd love to know ...what's your favourite trend? Do you have a product that can be more wearable this season (green neon eye shadow for instance lol)?

XOXO
Beatie

Glamorama's Make up & Beauty SIGMA Giveaway

Winner will be selected using random.org .. and Winner will be announced on 21st April , 2011.

Enter this Giveaway here :http://glamorama-makeup-beauty.blogspot.com/2011/03/sigma-make-me-up-kit-giveaway.html

Good luck!!!

One of the sweetest, the best videos I've ever seen!

Enjoy!!!

Kryolan Eye Shadows- a Review

Well I 've heard a lot of things about Kryolan UV palettes and watercolors etc...but there's no information about the regular kryolan shadows.
I was lucky to be given some of them as a gift and I'm really impressed.
Their price is about 8 euros in Greece (including discount) and they're sold for 4,5-5 Euros in Germany.
Here's a picture of my mac palette which includes mac and kryolan regular shadows:

 From left to right:
1st row :Kryolan Beige G, Kryolan Oak, Mac Trax, Mac Swish, Mac Satin Taupe, Mac Parfait Amour
2nd row: Mac carbon, Mac Sketch, Mac Tilt, Mac Yogurt, Mac Phloof, Mac Plumage, Mac Patina
3d row: Kryolan blush in ??? (unfortunately I don't have the name of this), Kryolan shadows in Dusk, 517, Harmony, Coffee

Some of the Kryolan shadows are named, some have numbers.
The texture differs among them.Some are hard and chalky but pigmented, others are buttery and soft, some are extra powdery.There's a slight fallout in some of them (Coffee for instance is a beautiful colour but I need a tiny bit as it's extra pigmented and fall-out-y).One weird thing...they smell like baby powder!!!!!!!!!Here are some pics with swatches to get an idea:

Kryolan Dusk , Kryolan Harmony

Kryolan Coffe, Oak

I find that the quality-quantity-price combination is pretty good, I've used these shadows with a primer underneath (Too Faced Shadow Insurance , Artdeco Eyeshadow Base) and they lasted a long time.They're all pigmented, they smell amazingly and are quite blendable.

I intend to buy more of these in the future as they are of good quality for the price.

XoXo :D

I've been so away...and March favourites

Months have passed by since my last post.I decided to "revive" my blog by writing constantly 2 or 3 times a week as
1)I have some free time to make posts
2)I now have a good camera so as to take nice quality photos of some of my products
3)I am completely in the mood to dedicate my self to it :D

I will start with my March favourites...

1) Mac's Studio Fix Fluid in NC15

I wonder how I could live without it!Wonderful coverage, nice finish and lasts all day. (I have combination to oily skin for reference)

2)Essence moisaic compact powder in 01 "Sunkissed Beauty"

I was looking for a cheap bronzer ( I already have mac's "golden" bronzing powder but I want to use it only on special occasions) and when I was in Germany I discovered this.Beautiful color with some shimmer that it's not very noticeable.Con: a little too powdery but for 3 euros you can't go wrong...

3)Korres Wild Rose Lip Butter 

 Love the consistency and the color, my lips stay smooth and pigmented for hours. It's like I've bitten a bunch of strawberries :D

4)Mac's fluidline in "blacktrack" 

What can I say.An every day necessity.

What are your favourites for this month?Is there a product that you love but isn't famous enough?I'd love to know!

Korres mandarin lip butter stick spf15

Going back through the years, I remember my self I 've had quite a hydrated skin with a slight tendency to get oily in the summer...as I grow up (30's here I come!!!) I realize that my face gets oilier in contrast with my lips which are getting drier..
I find myself biting my lips during the day many times, which of course aggravates their condition.
I've used some products over time but the most effective is korres mandarin lip butter spf 15.

(image by www.pharmacyonline.gr - this is the colorless I have)

I absolutely LOVE this product.
I was surprised and relieved to see my lips in one day of use become smooth and healthy looking, I've never tried a product like that, the results were instant.It's even better than the korres lip butter wild rose (in the pot), in my opinion.
Pros:
-moisturizing with a healing effect (perfect for chapped lips)
-when it "wears out" it leaves my lips totally soft
-it is not addictive for the lips as other cosmetic products are
-gives a satiny feel on the lips without making them greasy
-it INSTANTLY hydrates
-it's got a soft scent of mandarin which makes it more of a girly than a farmaceutical product.
-non sticky
-affordable : I spent 4 euros-bought it at hondos center (greek cosmetics store), but I've seen it in pharmacies sold for 6euros.


Con's:
None, for me it works perfectly, the only con is that sometimes I want to eat it (it is delicious).

Other info:
contains shea butter, sunflower wax, mandarin oil

Getting inspired and inspiring :-)

I often look for inspiration and new ways to use my make up stuff  through internet...specktra,temptalia and youtube are some great sources of info and how-to...but the most "fun" part of make up for me is try to use my own imagination to come up with a classy or trashy or whateva make up style (depending on my mood).

So..recently I came up with this.


Eyes 

• toofaced shadow insurance
• all over lid yogurt as a wash
• trax on the crease and 1/3 of the outer corner
• sketch to intensify outer V blended with trax (diversify trax and sketch 2 times and BLEND upwards so as to sculpt and achieve dimension)
• carbon outer V (blend with sketch)
• sketch outer 1/2 of lower lashline and carbon 1/5 of lower lashline
• blacktrack fluid line (line half of your upper lashline outwards and 1/3 of your lower lashline outwards)
• line waterline with white liner
• phloof to highlight tearduct and  other half of lower lashline
• Tons of mascara estee lauder magnascopic only on the upper and outer lashes for an innocent princess-like effect

Face

Diorskin airflash spray foundation
Mac MSF in soft and gentle on the cheekbones
Mac blush in "Blushbaby" for a romantic "snow-whitey" look or a little bit of Mac's "Fleurpower" for a healthy flushed and warm  look :)

Lips

Korres lip butter in wild rose for a hint of colour