La Roche-Posay ANTHELIOS XL SPF 50+ Dry touch gel-cream Anti-shine

Ελληνικά / Greek

Summer under the super warm sun of the Mediterranean is really difficult for me as I get sunburnt easily. It seems my Mediterranean genes have betrayed me and that wonderful bronze colour that most Greeks get  in the summer is but a distant dream. Since I don’t want to get sunburnt I use a high SPF all the time. I’ve read up quite a lot on the matter and usually prefer a mineral sunblock or mixed types of sunscreen, but this year I decided to try a chemical sunscreen. 

La Roche-Posay’s ANTHELIOS XL SPF 50+ Dry touch gel-cream Anti-shine(non-affiliated link) is my current favourite and I’m already on my second tube. It does everything I needed it to do and a bit more. Let’s bullet-point the positives to keep things short: 

• Protection from both UV-A and UV-B (high SPF),
• Water-resistant, which means it’s not going to slip away when you sweat(something inevitable when it’s 35+C outside) and it’s not going to wash away when you’re sea bathing.
• My skin feels velvety soft afterwards and it doesn't shine,
• It can be used as a primer if you choose to wear a BB cream or foundation on top since it has silicone in. In fact I find it to be better at that job than actual primers which simply don’t cut it in such a warm climate,
• It keeps my skin from getting dehydrated and it’s moisturising for the dry areas of my face,
• No white cast,
• No irritation. There is also a non-perfumed version for those who do not like perfume in their products. I would prefer this one, but it doesn't seem to be available in Greece at the moment.

My skin feels a lot better since I started using it and though I was sceptical when I started using it, it’s definitely won me over.

Here’s the ingredients list :

AQUA / WATER,HOMOSALATE, ETHYLHEXYL SALICYLATE, SILICA, STYRENE/ACRYLATES COPOLYMER, ETHYLHEXYL TRIAZONE, BIS-ETHYLHEXYLOXYPHENOL METHOXYPHENYL TRIAZINE, DROMETRIZOLE TRISILOXANE, BUTYL METHOXYDIBENZOYLMETHANE, ALUMINUM STARCH OCTENYLSUCCINATE, OCTOCRYLENE, C12-15 ALKYL BENZOATE

I hope you’re having a nice summer so far! Have you been on a holiday yet?

XxX
Elysse

Grab a mojito and wear this: Flormar QD15 Fresh Mint

Ελληνικά / Greek

Whoever thought of naming the colour mint like that? The plant mint is a very different green to ‘mint’and its flowers are white. Oh well! I love the colour and wear it all the time. It’s so pleasant, so refreshing and when it’s the right hue it can be so flattering. 

Flormar QD15 Fresh Mint is my mint-love-of-the moment. It’s leans slightly more blue than green, it’s just perfect, stays on forever and is smooth and opaque in two layers. Just the colour I need to keep me cool in the summer heat. Now if only I had a mojito to go with it. 

XxX

Seventeen - 91

Ελληνικά/ Greek

A kind of 'smokey' light blue ceam that is so opaque it's great for stamping, too.

A-england - Avalon: a purple homage

Ελληνικά/ Greek

When I woke up today I really wanted to paint my nails purple. No designs, no stamping, just pure purple. A-England's Avalon is the prettiest of my purples, therefore a suitable homage for the man who made purple his signature colour.

 

 

"But life is just a party and parties weren't meant to last"
RIP Prince

Beautiful lavender greys: Sixteen 648 & Stargazer 235

Greek/Ελληνικά

This has got to be one of my favourite combos ever. The base is pale lavender grey and the stamping polish is chrome purple. The way these two colours interact with each other is amazing and ever-changing. The lavender brings out the grey hues in the chrome polish and they both look very different depending on the light conditions. One minute the base looks lighter and the stamp darker, then I’ll walk into a different room and the effect will be reversed and both will look greyer. I step outside and they’ll look purple, sit under the shade and they’ll be grey. They are a colour lover’s dream! 

Base: Sixteen - 648
Stamp: Stargazer -Chrome 235
Born Pretty plate L005

 

 

Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castile soap as shampoo

Greek/Ελληνικά

Dr Bronner’s soaps are famous the world over for how ethically produced they are as well as for their excellent quality. They have not been tested on animals,, they are made with fair trade ingredients, plus they are completely vegan and biodegradable. The label mentions at least 18 different uses for them, but I am going to focus on one today: using them as shampoo.

I have Seborrhoeic dermatitis, the dermatitis that gives you dandruff, flaky red skin and annoyance. For years I was using the recommended medicinal shampoos, but at some point I decided to stop and start using the mildest shampoos I could find. In fact, when not using Dr.Bronner’s I use the shampoo I make myself, that’s how determined I was to find a way to control my dermatitis. Suffice to say that using soap instead of shampoo and therefore not allowing any of the harsh surfactants that most shampoos contain to go on my skin has done me a world of good. My skin is in such a good condition now that I never would have believed it five years ago.

In order to use the Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castile soap as shampoo all I do is dilute it a bit and then proceed to apply it. I add approx.3 tablespoons of water for 1 tablespoon of liquid soap (1:3 dilution). I have used most, if not all, of the scents of soap it comes in and find them all equally great. I love the way my hair feels and the beautiful smell they have afterwards. I even like combining them to create different scents like rose&lavender, rose&almond, almond&citrus. I wish they would bring out a Geranium one, too since I love it.

As with most soap based shampoos, the hair feels a bit rough afterwards and can be a bit harder to brush them. I have found an easy solution for that, but I will have to come back to that on a different post.

Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castile soap has become a staple for me, particularly when I travel. With one little bottle I can wash my hair, my body, brush my teeth and even hand wash things. They are amazing and if you haven’t tried them yet, I definitely suggest you do.

Bellow you will find a list all the ingredients.

They do not contain
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)/Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES), Ammonium Laurel Sulfate (ALS), parabens, synthetic fragrances, petrochemicals, artificial dyes, preservatives or any other harsh chemicals .

Ingredients list
Almond Liquid Soap
Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Olive Oil*, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Natural Almond Fragrance, Citric Acid, Vitamin E

Baby Mild Liquid Soap
Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Olive Oil*, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Vitamin E

Citrus Liquid Soap
Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Orange Oil, Organic Olive Oil*, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Lemon Oil, Organic Lime Oil, Citric Acid, Tocopherol.

Eucalyptus Liquid Soap
Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Eucalyptus Oil, Organic Olive Oil*, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Vitamin E

Hemp Green Tea Liquid Soap
Water, Saponified Organic Coconut*, Organic Palm* and Organic Olive* Oils (w/Retained Glycerin), Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Essential Oils**, Citric Acid, Vitamin E.

Lavender Liquid Soap
Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Lavandin Extract, Organic Olive Oil*, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Lavender Extract, Citric Acid, Vitamin E

Peppermint Liquid Soap
Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Olive Oil*, Mentha Arvensis*, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Peppermint Oil*, Citric Acid, Vitamin E 

Organic Rose Liquid Soap
Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Olive Oil*, Natural Rose Fragrance, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Tocopherol.

Tea Tree Liquid Soap
Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Olive Oil*, Tea Tree Extract, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Vitamin E 

*Certified fair trade ingredients
** None remains after saponifying oils into soap and glycerin

Caroline Bingley's dress

Ελληνικά/ Greek

An old manicure I had forgotten to post. I probably would have done it differently now, but I still like the idea behind it. It’s based on one of the costumes that Anna Chancellor wore as Caroline Bingley in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice series. The Bingley sisters wore the most amazing costumes in that series. I think I remember this costume best due to the conversation happening during that scene and Anne Chancellor’s grimace when she gets shot down by Mr.Darcy’s reply. It’s towards the end of the first episode, for anyone who wants to (re-)watch it.

The deep red is Ciate – Dangerous Affair and the black is A-England’s Camelot. For the stripes on the red I sheered it out a bit. I can’t remember which one of my golds I used for this, I think I mixed one. 

And as the French have it, au revoir!

Inglot HD Sculpting Powder #504

Ελληνικά/ Greek

The Inglot HD Sculpting Powder in 504 is my new favourite sculpting powder! I am really not a fan of Kardashian levels of contouring as I find it looks really overwhelming, however, I do like giving my face a bit of definition. Most sculpting powders are too yellowish brown for my skin which make it look dirty, but this is a perfect pinky taupe shade. It suits my colouring so well that I sometimes don’t feel the need to add blusher. It’s a bit dry to the touch, but is easy to blend and stays put all day. 

I love the packaging. So hygienic.

 I've also compared it to MAC's Wedge eye shadow, my other sculpting powder of choice.

direct sunlight

shade