Le Minis de Chanel

This has been a bit of a crazy impulsive purchase, but it was worth every penny! (considering the fact that I only have one MAC 217 that's really old and two freshmineral brushes equally old) I have been wanting this brush set for a really long time because I love short handles brushes that are easy to carry in my purse and pack for a trip.

The value for money I find is really good, in the set there are 6 mini brushes, one foundation brush, one contouring/angles powder brush, a pencil brush, an angles eyeshadow brush, an angled lipbrush and a brow/lash brush. The brushes themselves are just as big as the regular brushes, the only difference is in the shorter handle (I had the guy at the Chanel counter take out all the regular brushes and let me compare them). 

-Foundation brush

-Eyeshadow brushes

-Lip brush and brow/lashes brush

-Angled powder brush

I love all of the brushes, they're really soft and apply eyeshadow, or any powder product very nicely, they're the best brushes I've ever had and I can absolutely tell the difference in the final result from when I was using my old brushes and these!

Price wise I paid 80€, which for 6 brushes is not an awful lot, and if I think that the foundation brush is worth 40€ and the angles power brush just as much I think this is quite a good deal!

If you're unsure about these brushes because of the short handle don't be, because it's long enough to allow us to use and hold it comfortably, you won't even notice while using it that a part of the handle is missing. In the end I'm very happy with my purchase!

hope you all had a great week-end!

Anna

Mini Amazon Haul

About a week ago I was surfing the net looking for a new book in english and I found myself on Amazon uk, where I think there are way more bargains that on amazon.it and I bought a couple things I'm really excited about!

First: two Sophie Kinsella's books, I LOVE the shopaholic series and her writing style so I can't wait to start these books.

And then, Eyelure Girls aloud fake eyelashes that I really wanted to try for quite a long time now...

and that's it! quite a short post today but I just wanted to share!

hope you're all having a great week! :)

Anna

let me know if you like any other british author that I could check out next!!

Say YES to body brushing!

As summer is getting closer (even though the weather has been awful and freezing here) I find myself taking more care of my body in general. Scrubbing and moisturizing are two very important steps but today I want to talk about something I just recently discovered, which is body brushing.

Body brushing is really simple and quick, and the benefits you get from it are quite significant. It stimulates circulation and  helps against liquid retention, tones and cleans the skin stimulating cell renewal.
It claims to improve your mood as well but I'm not so sure about that, it certainly feel energising! It would be ideal doing it every day once a day on dry skin, but I find3/4 times a week are enough.

The brush is not too soft but not too harsh either, the bristles are really dense and I find it does its job really nicely, leaving a tingly feeling on the skin after using it.  This brush is specifically design for body brushing dry skin and the company, Hobe Pergh, has a lot of know-how in this field. I particularly like this company because in an example of Italian excellence and is from my region, so it's really close to my heart.

Here is how you're supposed to brush yourself! I find it pretty self explainatory!

hope you like this post and will start body brushing too!!

Anna

Avene Gentrle Purifying Scrub Review

Exfoliating is one of the most important steps for achieving floless healthy looking beautiful skin, depending on the skin type everyone should exfoliate 1-3 times a week. It's important to take exfoliation easy, because overexfoliating is actually dangerouse and could get you broken capillaries, and could strip the lipids that protect and seal together the cells of your skin. Keeping this in mind I absolutely love exfoliating my skin using gentle scrubs and believe that it lakes a massive difference in how my skin looks and behaves. I exfoliate twice a week in the shower because I feel these products work better when your skin pores are open by the steam.

Avene gentle purifying scrub is a wonderful product, one of the best scrubs I've ever come across. It's "specially formuated to cleanse sensitive skin in depth by gently eliminating all impurities" as the box says, I find the micro-beads to be a bit harsher than the ones of the scrub I used before but still very gentle and suitable for sensitive skin, it's combined with a keratoregulating agent that helps skin renewal.

I recommend taking the necessary time when scrubbing, in fact I usually take 3-5 minutes because I apply the product to my hands and start with exfoliating my cheeks using my fingers in circular motions, applying as little pressure as possible, then when I feel that the sking is thoroughly exfoliated I move on to the chin area using the palms of my hands, and in the end I exfoliate the forhead using both fingers and palms of the hands. Once I'm done and get out of the showre I feel like I have a fresh new face on, the skin looks more glowing and just purified! Avene never stops impressing me!

If I have an active breakout I tend to be extra gentle on the area, or skip it, since the acne creams I use are already harsh and drying.

what are your thoughts on scrubs and exfoliation? which are your favourite products? I'd love to know!

Anna

What to pack when travelling!

I always like watching YouTube videos and reading blogposts about what people bring along when travelling, so I thought I'd do one myself telling you all what I brought to Crete!

Starting with skincare and haircare...

from left to right:
- L'oreal solar expertise Spf 30 sunscreen, this product is designed to help prevent pigmentation and brown spots ad has anti-wrinkle properties as well, I really recommend this product I find it works wonders and I will purchase factor 15 as well, for when I'll be darker and won't need such a high SPF factor. It doesn't clog pores but makes your face a bit white.

- Aveda Smooth Infusion Glossing Straightener, it's a new product so I've been using it only for a couple weeks and I still haven't made my mind up about it, I love the smell and really helps controlling frizzy hair while adding shine but since I've never used it with a blow drier I don't know how effective it is as a heat protector (as it claims to do that as well). So far I like it, but I always find it takes a while for my hair to go from "normal" hair products to organic ones so we'll see!

- Clinique anti blemish solution toner, my HG product! can't go anywhere without it. see review here

-Eugel hydrating face wash, another product that has been in my skincare routing on and off for ten years more or less, so needless to say I really like it!

-Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish hot cloth cleanser, I borrowed my boyfriend's because I ran out of mine and didn't have time to reorder it, that's why it's brown. I use it to remove my makeup every night, I haven't found anything that works better, not even the famous Bioderma H2O!

-In the little pot I depotter some Avene Hydrance Optimale Legere, as an evening moisturizer.

Makeup wise I decided to be very minimal (left to right):

-Chanel Rouge Coco shine in boy, review coming soon, because I love this lipstick!

-Max Factor False Lash effect mascara, aka Covergirl Lash Blast, I repurchased it after years and I still find it one of the best mascaras on the market, and by far the best if we think about the value for money we get!

-Guerlain Terracotta 4 season, see review here, I used it as both a contour and a blush!

-Sample of Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua liquid foundation, which I really like but I'm eager to try the new compact formula which should have a bit more coverage.

-Le Minis de Chanel brush set, which I bought the day I lets and so I haven't tried all of the brushes yet but I'll review them all once I've given them a good try!

and that is all I had with me! bare in mind that I had a checked in bag and didn't have to worry about the sizes of things otherwhise I would have depotted everything.

hope you like this post, and hope to see you back to my blog soon!

Anna

Crete snapshot

I'm back in Italy after a few amazing day spent on the beautiful Island of Crete. I had a really relaxed and enjoyable time there, stayed at one of the most beautiful hotels I've ever been to called Casa Delfino, and antique home in the historical centre of Chania that has a few suites and a fabiolus Spa where I had a Body detox massage that was heavenly! (I could go on and on talking about this Hotel but I'll stop here...) Hope you like these pics!

I wish I could just dive in this blue sea!

Port of Chania, with snow capped mointains in the backround!

see how happy I can be even at 8 am when I'm about to get a massage?

Pretty flowers...

even prettier flowers

ok I know...more flowers, but aren't they just so pretty?

look who we found? Santa on holiday!! 

breathless view of the south cost

how tiny are these olives? but they were delicious!

typical greek dipps

I wish every beach had pink sand!

Sheeps! 

Hope you all had a great easter weekend as well! :)

Happy easter!

Happy Easter to all of you who celebrate it today, and if you celebrate it next week, happy early Easter! I am on Crete taking a few days off!

hope you'll have a fantastic day!
Anna

New Couch, new life!

Last week I took a quick trip to Ikea because I wanted to change up my livingroom, and needed a few new pillows to decorate it. I decided to go black and white, and a bit fun!

I really like the contrast it makes with the red wall next to it, giving the room a modern twist that I find really nice and different.

This is by far my favourite pillow: Kajsa Trad, it's 100% cotton, pretty big and squared (65x65cm)

This pillow is fantastic to nap on, perfect shape to keep it behind your head and just rest on it.

These two are from the stockholm series and are really soft to the touch and about 65x65 cm each, they're really comphy, I love the whole look, and every time I sit on this couch I feel like a princess! They weren't as cheap as I would have liked them to be but they're still an ok price!

Hope you like it!

Anna