Top five of the month

Another month has come and gone, so it’s time to share my favourites of March!

My skin has been acting crazy and breaking out lately, but the Pai Rosehip BioRegenerate has been my saviour! This orange oil sinks in immediately into the skin without leaving any residue or feeling greasy. It leaves the skin very soft. It's an amazing product for dry patches, red marks, for healing blemishes and to boost your skin's moisture.

Makeup wise, I've been using these some makeup products so much during this month. The L'Oreal Color Riche Eyeshadow Over the Taupe is such a lovely all over the lid shade, a taupe brown that is not too cool or too warm. The texture of this is so creamy and pigmented. 

I featured a couple of times this Maybelline Color Elixir in the shade Caramel Infused on the blog but I've been obsessed with it! It's the most perfect nude colour and it has an amazing formula. It looks like a gloss, leave a glossy finish but is pigmented and hydrating like a balm!

I'm not sure how I managed to live without this Sephora Pro Airbrush Concealer brush for so long! It applies undereye concealer so well. It's really soft and helps to blend everything perfectly. It really is worth the money.

I'm also loving the Mac Cream Colour Base in Hush at the moment. This is so multipurpose. The colour is super gorgeous! I use this as a highlighter on my cheeks and a little bit on the nose and on the inner corner of my eyes. The texture is creamy but not sticky. The finish is dewy without any shimmer or sparkle so it looks super natural.

Let me know what you've been loving this month too!

Cosmoprof 2015: Experience and Haul

Cosmoprof is a worldwide event for the professional beauty sector and an international platform for the cosmetics and wellness industry. The exhibition space is dedicated to the various sectors of the beauty industry like Perfumery and Cosmetics, Natural Health, Packaging, Beauty Salon and Spa, Hair and Nails. It's one of the most important fair of the cosmetics sector and is held in Bologna ( Italy) every March. The event is also held in other cities such as Hong Kong and Las Vegas.

This was my first time attending Cosmoprof but I was fortunate to be able to get the press pass as blogger. The convention center is huge and can be a bit overwhelming with all the different brands and exhibitors. That's why I did some planning before the exhibition, in this way I could focus just on some brands that I was more interested in. As a blogger this is an amazing experience. You get the opportunity to interact with different beauty brands, create collaborations, discover more about the products, future collections, etc. I had several lovely meetings with brands like Zoeva, Lavera or Faby where I learned a bit more about the products and collections that are coming up.

Another positive and cool thing is that you can get a lot of samples that brands are kindly giving so you can try so many different products. There were also some companies selling their products with special discounts so it's a great a great opportunity to make some shopping and purchase products that are more difficult to get.

I managed to get some items that are difficult to get in Italy like the Queen Helene masks, Milani products or Makeup Revolution. This is my haul from Cosmoprof 2015:

• Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask
• Queen Helene Cocoa Butter Scrub
• Milani Illuminating Face Powder in Hermosa Rose
• Makeup Revolution Powder Blush Hot
• Makeup Revolution Baked Blusher Loved me the best
• Makeup Revolution Eyeshadow Mocha Love
• Bomb Cosmetics Fairytale Fantasy Bath Blaster 
• Essie First Base Base Coat
• Essie Winter 2014 Mini Collection

It has been a great experience and I can't wait until the next edition in 2016!

Did you know about this beauty exhibition?

Current Drugstore Favourites

I've been using these products from the drugstore a lot lately and I've been loving them. I love finding some good drugstore gems. This is a roundup of some current favourite drugstore loves.

Let me know what your current drugstore favourites are!

Essence Stay No Matter What Cute Copper. I love a good eyeshadow pencil and I've been really enjoying using this one from Essence. The colour is a light copper/bronze that looks beautiful alone or paired with other eyeshadows. It's creamy and pigmented and long lasting.

Rimmel Wonder'Full Extreme Black Mascara. I also been loving this mascara from Rimmel. It has Argan oil in it which is quite innovative for a mascara. It feels nice on the lashes, lengthens them and doesn't clump.

Maybelline Colour Elixir. I'm so impressed with the formula of these. They are something between a lipstick, lip gloss and lip balm, but they really feel amazing on the lips. I'm completely in love with the shade Caramel Infused, a natural pink with brown undertone, it is the perfect nude!

Maybelline Baby Lips Dr Rescue in Coral Crave. Another great lip product from Maybelline. I wasn't a great fan of the original Baby Lips balms but I do really like this new version. They are really moisturising and I like the menthol scent. It's true they don't last for long on the lips and they need to be reapplied often.

L'Oreal Color Riche Mono Eye shadows. These are so pigmented and the colour selection is amazing. The formula is extremely creamy that it really feels like a cream eyeshadow. I love the shade 200 Over the Taupe, a taupe brown that is not too cool or too warm.

Rimmel Mono Blushes. These are one of the best drugstore blushes! They are long lasting and the colours are beautiful. I love the shade Santa Rose, is one of my go-to daily blushes, is a soft peach/pink that gives a healthy dewy glow on the cheeks. I also got the shade Live Pink, a gorgeous pink with gold shimmer.

Have your tried any of these products?

Little Beauty Haul: Sephora & MAC

Getting Sephora discounts in my mailbox makes me so happy! :) So I made a journey to my local Sephora to pick up a couple of things I wanted for so long. I also managed to stop at Mac and buy something that has been on my wishlist for a while as well.
This is what I picked up:

Dior Vernis 999 Rouge. I'm a sucker for a classic red nail, A girl can never have too many red nail polishes right? I'm still trying to find "the one". This Dior nail varnish is pretty close to perfection. It's a true classic red, exactly what I was looking for, not too brown, or orange or maroon.

Sephora Pro Airbrush Concealer brush #57. These brushes from Sephora Pro line are specially good and I've been wanting to try this one for so long, I've read so many good things about this, I'm so exited to try it!

Mac Cream Colour Base in Hush. A multi purpose product that can be use as a highlighter or eyeshadow. This shade is so gorgeous, almost like a rose gold colour! I'm so in love!

Have you tried any of these products?

Blogs I love

I read and love a lot of blogs, so I thought I'd mention some of my favourites. I also love discovering new blogs and talented bloggers so please tell me you favourites as well.

Make sure to check all these lovely ladies out. They're all wonderful!

Mateja's Beauty Blog
She is such a talented beauty blogger, her detailed reviews and photos are fantastic and she is very creative.

I Covet Thee
I'm pretty sure you all know Alix from I Covet thee already. She is one of my all time favourite bloggers. I could stay all the day looking at her blog! Her photography is stunning!

Sian Marie Beauty Blog
Sian's blog is adorable and so lovely to read. I like every single thing she posts.

That's Just Fabulous
Faith's blog has a great design and the photography is amazing! I love reading her beauty and non-beauty posts, they're so inspiring.

Thatsaleaf
Her blog is a recent discovery of mine and I'm in love with it! Her blog is beautiful and really inspiring.

Sarah Loves Makeup
Since I discovered her blog a few months ago I have not missed a single post! I absolutely love everything she posts!


There are so many wonderful blogs that I like and follow, you can check a longer list in my Blogroll :)

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Love, Tanya Book

Love, Tanya

She’s one of YouTube’s most-loved personalities and I have to admit it: I adore her. She was the first youtuber I started watching. I remember I found her when I was looking for a Olivia Palermo's makeup look, already five years ago. I instantly fell in love with her personality, her lovely face and her talent for makeup. Tanya seems like such a gorgeously lovely person.

Her book is packed with basic information like practical beauty tips, lifestyle tips and personal stories with a simple writing style. There are twelve chapters in total and it covers a range of topics such as fashion, skincare, makeup, which is specially helpful for younger audience. Other topics she covers are confidence, baking and recipes, love or youtube where she gives advice for aspiring vloggers. 

I liked a lot the top ten lists she made at the end of each chapter, like her top ten books, ten ways to feel more confident, top ten must haves for your make up bag, etc. There are also a few pages in each section where you can write your own lists.

The photography is beautiful with seriously stunning photos. I love Tanya's pictures at the beginning of each chapter. She is gorgeous! 

I don't think I'm the target audience for this book but I do enjoy watching Tanya's videos on Youtube and I really enjoyed knowing more about her with this book.

Will you be getting a copy?

Top Nars Products

Nars is one of my favourites high end makeup brands. I have loved Nars products for quite some time, since my first purchase, the iconic Nars Orgasm blush. I really like all the Nars products that I have at the moment, some are staples in my makeup bag.

But there are other products that I tried and didn't like the Nars Sheer Glow foundation that everybody raves about. My skin didn't look good with this, I was extremely disappointed. The products aren't exactly cheap so spend the money in something you don't like isn't cool at all. So make sure to ask for samples before purchasing.

There are still products from the brand I've never tried but I really want, like the eyeshadows or the multiples however I think they are slightly pricey...

These are my top products from Nars:

Their blushes need no explanation! Nars is known for its blushes. The range of colous is amazing and they last all day.

The iconic Orgasm probably is the most popular blush ever, and it was my first Nars purchase, of course. This peachy pink with golden shimmer blush is universally flattering, looks great on everyone, gives the cheeks a gorgeous and healthy soft pink glow.

The other blushes that I have are Gilda, a matte orange-coral, and Douceur, a soft pink brown which is the perfect neutral cheek colour that it goes with any make up look.

Nars Bronzer in Laguna is one of its best sellers and no wonder why. You can see in the photo this has been well loved. I'm not a fan of shimmering bronzers but this is subtle and gives you a natural, warm glow. I love this specially during Summer. It also provides a lovely and natural contour on the cheeks and it's great for fair complexions. I do also use it as a eyeshadow sometimes, it looks lovely!

The only downside is that the powder breaks easily, mine broke and crumbled only after one month so you need to be very careful.

The Nars Illuminators are great. They are liquid highlighters, they're super pigmented and can be placed on the high points of the face, or neck and decollete for some dimension, or can be also mixed with your foundation to give you some extra glow. I own the called Copacabana, a pale pink colour that gives such a pretty glow.

I adore the lipsticks. They have so many different colours, the  formula is amazing, so long lasting (specially the matte formula) and varied range of finishes. They're so easy to apply and precise.

Nars sheer Lipstick in Dolce Vita is probably my all time favourite nude lipstick!. It's a sheer dusty rose but provides nice pigmentation. It's hydrating and is the most perfect nude colour in my opinion. (Check my favourite nude lipsticks here)

For me the Velvet Matte Lip Pencils are the MUST HAVE! They're pigmented and long wearing. They are also creamy and don't leave the lips as dry as other matte lipsticks. The only downside is the pencil packaging because you do need to sharpen it.

All the colours are so beautiful but I'm obsessed with  The Velvet Matte in Dragon Girl, is such a unique pinky-red that looks gorgeous on the lips and last on for hours. (Check my favourite red lipsticks here)

The Satin Lip Pencils are amazing as well. Great colours choices. These are super creamy and beautifully pigmented. They have a satin texture leaving a lovely sheen on the lips. I love the shade  Rikugien a muted rose with a frosted finish, perfect for everyday looks.  (review here)

Have you tried any of these products? What's your favourite Nars product?

Post Gym Beauty Essentials

Post workout beauty essentials

I stock my gym bag with all my favourite beauty minis for a post- workout beauty routine that will leave me fresh and presentable afterwards. Here's a look at what's in my gym bag.

• Deodorant. Ok this is an obvious one. I love this mini Nivea Pearl & Beauty, smells so good.
• Micellar Water. For quickly clean the face. Bioderma Sensibio is my favourite and this mini size is so cute and perfect for the gym bag.
• Face Mist. I like to spritz myself with a vitamin-infused facial spray to refresh and revive the skin. My favourite is the Caudalie Beauty Elixir.
• Dry shampoo. Specially if you don't have time to wash your hair afterwards, in this case dry shampoo is a like saver. Lately I'm using the thi Colab dry shampoo, I spray it into my roots and instantly get clean-looking hair. Plus this leaves such a lovely scent in the hair.
• Concealer. I love the Maybelline Fit me Concealer. It's hydrating and is great for quickly cover up blemishes without looking too much on the skin.
• Mascara. A few wipes of mascara will make you look great. I use this Maybelline The Rocket waterproof mascara. 
• Lip Balm. An essentials to keep your lips hydrated before and after a workout. I like to carry a moisturising lip balm with a hint of colour like this Maybelline Baby Lips D. Rescue in the shade Coral Bliss.
• A mini fragance.  Specially something that smells refreshing and soothing. I always keep this Lush Karma Solid Perfume in my bag, the scent is fresh, exotic and citrus.

What things are a must in your gym bag?

Kiko Cosmetics Haul

Kiko Cosmetics haul!

Here are some new things I recently picked up at my local Kiko store.

Universal Fit Hydrating Foundation. I really wanted to try this new foundation, specially after hearing so many good reviews. It's quite hydrating and lightweight but still gives a good coverage. I really like the tube packaging, is great for traveling and it comes in a good range of shades. Also the price is amazing, super cheap. However I think the lighter shades are a bit strange, I went for 02 Light Rose but I think is slightly dark for me now.

Color-Up Long Lasting Eyeshadow #10 Bold Rosy Taupe. I picked this eyeshadow pencil specially because it was only 3 euro! but it's a gorgeous taupe colour with a pink undertone. I really like the jumbo eye pencils from Kiko, they're creamy and long lasting.

Smart Lip Pencil #712 Rose Mauve. This cheap lip pencil has the potential to become my new favourite lip pencil. It's very creamy and pigmented and can be used on the entire lip. It's a very natural colour, a my-lips-but-better-colour kind of shade and very Kylie Jenner like. It's a must girls!

Smart Lipstick #918 Classic Rose. I already showed your this lipstick in this haul, but I picked up another one because I just love this colour so much and I though it would be a lovely gift to make. It's such a lovely natural, pinky nude colour for everyday.

Have you picked up anything new from Kiko recently?