The Exit Interview Series: Volume #10

This month I have used a few products and as I usually do, I will share them and my thoughts on them with you.

I'm going to start with two products that were in my Project Ten Pan, the e.l.f. Waterproof Eyeliner Pens in Black and Coffee.  These have lasted me a long time (almost two years) before drying out completely and I really liked them when I first got them as they were very much pigmented and the black one was truly waterproof (the brown one was not).  The thing is that the felt tip was not thin any more after a few uses and the colours were not as pigmented as they used to be.  I am not going to re-purchase these as I much prefer gel eyeliners.

Another two products from e.l.f. that I am not going to buy again are the Studio Brush Shampoo {as it didn't clean my brushes that well especially the foundation brushes (regular hair shampoo does a much better job) and I think it is a bit overpriced (€4.50 for 120ml)} and the Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Mascara as the Essence one is much better value for money and does the same job.

The other three products, namely. Effaclar M, Essence Stay Natural Concealer and Witch Hazel skin toner, all passed the test and I already bought back-ups for them.  The concealer is my all time favourite concealer and I buy back-ups in two, the moisturizer is now marketed as Effaclar Mat and I love it for keeping sebum production to a minimum and my skin seemed to love the Witch Hazel toner so I bought another one.

What have you used up this month ladies?

June Collective Haul

Long time no post! Life in general has been quite busy these days so I didn't have much time on my hands to blog. I'm starting again with a collective haul which consists mostly of cosmetic products so let's dig into it...

...starting with a New Look purchase, accessories and my new bikini from Yamamay. 

I bought this turquoise suede and silver stud clutch bag and this cute pair of sandals which are very stylish comfortable to walk in from New Look as they were having a 20% off sale. They totalled to €40 something with discount applied.

From ebay, I bought this pearl double ring (€0.02!), snake print bib necklace (€4) and this enamel bracelet (€2.50). The Eiffel Tower earrings are a gift from Johan's mother when she visited Paris earlier this month (lucky her!).

The last clothing related purchase for this month is this scarf print Yamamay bikini which I have had my eyes on as soon as I saw on their website so when I finally saw it in the shop I just had to get it. It cost €41.80 but I'm so happy with it I just can't wait to wear it! (yeah, shame on me I haven't been to the beach yet).

This month I bought a handful a lot of Essence products so here is all I got:

Violet & Sapphire nail polishes (gifts from Johan's mum trip to Paris)
Essence Gel Look Top Coat, Gel Eyeliner in London Baby (brown) & Miami's Ink (silver)
Brow Mascara, Gel Eyeliner Brush, Eyeshadow in Dance All Night
BYS Lipliner in First Kiss

The Essence gel liners are seriously the creamiest I have ever tried and I really like the brown one for everyday use as it is not as harsh as black. I also love the brow gel as it is really good value for money and the Gel Look topcoat is one amazing top coat that doesn't smudge nail art and is the best one I have tried in a long time. The nail polishes are a much appreciated gift and I have used them in the Club Tropicana nail art tutorial last week.

Since I was out of my Effaclar moisturizer, I bought the new version of it, the Effaclar Mat which can also be used as a make-up base. Also, I was lucky enough to be chosen for a new hair clip promotion and I was sent this Black Midi Linziclip from the distributors in Malta. I have used it when my hair was longer and it feels much more comfortable than traditional hair-clips as it has a flat back and the grip is fantastic too!

This week saw the opening of the Malta Trade Fair and I had a voucher from a local magazine distributed to beauty professionals for a free goody bag worth €25 from Look Amazing (local beauty online store) so I obviously couldn't miss it! I also bought a China Glaze polish from the retailers as they were being sold for only €5 for the occasion. The staff at the stand were very friendly and bubbly and they even gave me a China Glaze bag for free :)

I also bought my favourite sun protection spray for my hair from Angel Hair Care for €10.50 from the Trade Fair and I scored a shampoo and a styling gel sample too :) The Tres Emme mousse is a new purchase for me and I bought it to give my now short hair some volume.

And, leaving the best for last, this is absolutely my favourite thing this month...

Again, Johan's mum brought this from Paris and if you twist the base, you get blue and red lights alternating on the Eiffel Tower figurine which proudly sits on my desk for me to look at it and think about La Belle Paris.

That's it for this month! Until next post, stay beautiful!

Some lipstick info worth sharing....

I have recently received this email and I thought it was worth sharing...

"This comes from  Dr. Nahid Neman who works in the breast cancer unit at Mt.. Sinai Hospital , in Toronto

Recently a lipstick brand called 'Red Earth' Decreased their prices from $67 to $9.90.

It contained lead.

Lead is a chemical which causes cancer.  The higher the lead content, the greater the chance of causing cancer. 

The lipstick brands that contain lead are:

~ Christian Dior

~ Lancome

~ Clinique 

~ Y.S.L.

~ Estee Lauder 

~ Shiseido

~ Red Earth

~ Chanel (Lip Conditioner)

After doing a test on lipsticks, it was found that the Y.S.L. Lipstick contained the highest amount of lead.

Watch out for those lipsticks which are supposed to stay longer. If your lipstick stays longer, it is because of the higher content of lead.

Here is the test you can do yourself:

1. Put some lipstick on your hand.

2. Use a Gold ring to scratch on the lipstick.

3. If the lipstick color changes to black, then you know the lipstick contains lead."

It was quite shocking to find out that after all the awareness about cancer brands still use lead in their products. I am going to try this test on all my lipsticks and I will get back to you with the results. In the meantime, if you try it, please don't hesitate to share your results here and feel free to circulate this post (just leave a link to my blog please).

NOTW: Club Tropicana

Good afternoon everyone :) Weather is nice and warm today but I slept through the whole morning after a hectic night duty and this evening, I will be watching the big match of the year for Malta... Italy vs England in the Euro 2012 tournament.

Anyways, here's a quick nail art tutorial for a manicure I wore a few weeks back with new polishes that Johan's Mum brought me from Paris. And what better way to wear Parisian polishes than a French manicure?

1. Start off with a base coat and when dry paint on a French tip with a shimmery blue nail polish.

2. Leave to dry thoroughly and sponge some apple green polish on half of your French tips.

3. Using a fan brush and some shimmery purple polish, paint on small strokes on either side of the French manicure and when dry, repeat with some white acrylic paint or nail polish.

4. Apply some pink hexagon flitters just under the tip to accentuate it and seal the manicure with a top coat and you're done!

Review: Witch Anti-Blemish Skin Clearing Primer

I have recently discovered Witch Hazel as a very good astringent against spot causing bacteria and although I use a toner made out of Witch Hazel extract I still wanted something to treat my skin especially when wearing make-up.  So I looked up some reviews on YouTube and there was a considerable amount of videos raving about Witch Skin Care products.  I have heard of the brand before but since we don't get it in Malta, I looked up the products on ebay and got the Anti-Blemish Skin Clearing Primer which I will be reviewing today as well as the Blemish Stick which I will review in a separate post.

  

As I said, I will be focusing on the primer today which comes supplied in a box that I threw away for storage reasons and the bottle itself is a transparent plastic bottle with a pull-off cap and a pump. I like a pump dispenser on such products because it reduces product waste since you can control the amount of product that comes out and it is also more sanitary. A little uncovered area on the side of the bottle, enables you to see how much product you have got left.  The bottle holds 30ml of product.

This primer is a white light-weight cream that melts onto the skin and although Witch claim that the product is fragrance-free, it does have a slight odour of Witch Hazel.  It feels lighter than the Inglot primer which is silicon based and it is oil free.

Now I have mixed thoughts about this primer as I haven't really seen a difference as to how much my make-up lasts and also, at work my face still gets oily when I use this alone under make-up. However, I do like the fact that it is light-weight but I'm not sure if I'd buy this again once I get through it.

As for the skin-clearing part, I still get some spots on my face and when I use it I can definitely tell that it is working because it dries out the spots and sometimes, I get flakes on those areas which I eliminate by spraying on a make-up setting spray. This is not always possible so I am only using this when my skin is having its good days.

So the bottom line is I don't think I will re-purchase this primer and I will stick with my Inglot one as I have never had any problems with it for all this time that I have been using it.

Have you ever used any Witch products? What are your views on them?

Review: Born Pretty Store Super Lustrous Natural Cream Sensational Effects Lipstick #618

A few weeks ago, Born Pretty Store sent me another package with products to review for you all and amongst them was this lipstick, which is a new addition to their online store.

The lipstick comes in a small cardboard box and the packaging itself is very girly and cute. The bullet shape is a bit different as it is diamond shape and I quite like this as it also adds a unique touch to the lipstick. The shade number can be found both on the bottom of the box and the lipstick itself. Other than that, the lipstick is pretty much what you would expect. One more thing I like about the packaging is that the bullet goes all the way down the tube so I don't have to worry about nicking the tip.

The colour is a nice summery red with silver and gold shimmer going through it and I quite like the creamy and moisturizing texture.  I cannot detect any smell to this lipstick but I would have liked it better if there was a list of ingredients in English on the box as they are only listed in what I think is Korean. However, on the website, BPS claim that this lipstick is free from parabens and preservatives and contains natural oils and waxes in addition to Vitamin E  and Aloe Vera.  The colour payoff is fantastic and you don't have to tug at your lips to get colour on as the product glides on smoothly. Here are the swatches:

This lipstick lasted an average of 3 hours on me and it didn't dry out my lips at all.  I totally recommend this lipstick to all those looking for a lipstick that wouldn't break the bank but is still very good quality.

There are 12 shades to choose from and they are priced $4.56 each for 3.5g of product. While you're on the website, don't forget to check out the nail art section for very affordable nail polishes and nail art decorations that will have your nails looking perfect in no time! And don't forget to use the code EBABK31 at checkout for 10% off site-wide with no minimum spend and free shipping!

PR Sample

Something Fishy About My Feet ~ The Fish Lounge Review

A few weeks ago, I won a voucher in a Just Beauty Magazine (a magazine for local beauty professionals)  competition for a 30 minute treatment at The Fish Lounge in St.Julians or Bugibba and needless to say, I was over the moon as I have been intrigued by this whole fish spa idea ever since they started popping up on the island. Yesterday was the perfect opportunity for me and Johan to try this whole fish spa thing out as a little treat for his birthday so off we went to the Bugibba outlet so what all the fuss is about.

First, let me give you some general information about fish spas and then, I will 'review' the whole experience at the end.  To start with, let me tell you that fish spas are not a new concept; in fact, the most famous of all, the Kangal Spa (Turkey), has opened its doors in the early 1900's.  Furthermore, historians suggest that similar spas have been in use for much, much longer!

Basically, two types of fish are bred for this purpose, namely, Garra rufa and Cyprinion macrostomus.  These fish can be termed 'comb fishes' in the sense that they only feed on dead skin and leave the healthy skin to grow.  Such softness on the feet is very difficult to achieve with conventional foot exfoliation methods.  However, courtesy of les fishes, clients at the spa leave with baby-soft footies :)  The fish, or as they refer to them at The Fish Lounge, little 'skin specialists', give you a natural pedicure as they gently suck away unwanted superfluous skin off your feet whilst cleaning your pores.  While doing so, they softly massage your feet, increase blood circulation and stimulate acupuncture points.  In turn, this helps regulate the nervous system, enhances natural immunity, relaxes the body and releases fatigue.

Moreover, such a treatment is highly recommended for those who suffer from Psoriasis and Eczema type skin disorders as the fish used in these spas apparently secrete an enzyme which upon studying, was found to be of great benefit to treat such skin disorders.  In fact, laboratories worldwide are even looking into the possibility of producing a topical application out of this enzyme!

Now onto our personal experience! First of all, you do not need an appointment! Yes that's right! You just pop into the spa and they fit you for in for 15 or 30 minutes of relaxation while the inch-long fish do all the work for you! The staff at the spa are mostly foreigners and are all very cheerful and friendly :)

As soon as you go into the salon, your feet are gently cleansed and examined for any cuts or contra-indications prior to treatment.  For example, Johan had a small cut on the upper part of one foot and the lady that washed our feet put on a band-aid to ensure that the fish do not nibble on the scab and cause blood to ooze out.  Afterwards, you are given a pair of plastic foot caps (similar to shower caps for the hair but your wear them on your feet) to wear while waiting for a spa unit to be vacant.

We removed the foot caps before we immersed our feet into the tank and as soon as we put our feet in, this fish were instantly nibbling away and tickling our feet in the process.  In fact, my first thought was if I would be able to go through all the 30 minutes with all the tickling I was experiencing but after a little while, it all turned out to be a fun experience!  It didn't hurt at all as they fish have no teeth.  It felt more like my feet were suspended in a jacuzzi pool with bursting bubbles. You can also bring in your smart or tablet pc as the place is equipped with a free WiFi system.  The only thing I am not sure of is that they claim that there are over a 100 fish per aquarium when Johan's aquarium had much less fish than mine.  Once the treatment was over, they handed us a disposable cloth to wipe our feet in and that was pretty much it!

Other than that, I was pleased to know that the water is sterilized every 6 minutes through a UVC filtration system and the fish cannot transmit any disease to humans. Lastly, the final results are totally what I had expected! We both left with baby-soft feet free from dry skin! The fish did a very good job at removing the superfluous skin, uncovering the hard skin underneath and made it easier for me to reach it and removing with a conventional foot scrub when I got home.

Overall, I rate the experience 4.5 stars out of 5 (0.5 less because of the number of fish) and I recommend this treatment to everyone wanting a fun and unusual way to care for their feet!

Treatments cost €9 for 15 minutes (€7 for kids) or €15 for 30 minutes (€12 for kids). The Fish Lounge can be found both at 46, St.George's Road, St. Julians or at 210, St. Simon Street, Bugibba (the outlet we went to).

For more information and contact numbers, you can visit their website or facebook page.

Guest Post: Preparing Our Feet For Sandal Season... How To Do A Pedicure At Home

Hello Fabulous Followers of Every Beauty Addict's Bible! A big thank you to goes to Lara who has given us this opportunity to do a guest post for her! If you haven't checked out her guest post on our blog you may read it here.

So, for those of you who don't know us, I am Denise and together with Martina we form part of All Things Fabulous, a beauty blog!

The weather is getting hotter as we’re slowly welcoming summer 2012 . . speaking for ourselves,  we’ve already ditched spring-time clothes for summer-time clothes and that also means summer footwear! Are you guys dreading showing your feet after lots of months of hiding (and maybe neglecting) you feet in boots? Well, the news is, now’s the time to take extra care!

 Unless you have anything that needs to be professionally treated, you don’t need to go and spend a fortune on a pedicure! You simply need to make time for some self-pampering. We all deserve it!!

We suggest creating a relaxing spa-like ambiance by lighting some candles and maybe light on an oil burner for an extra treat. Also make sure you have all your products and equipment.

Start off by removing nail varnish from your nails. Then, soak your feet for about 5 to 10 minutes in warm water with added foot soak. Now, grab a foot or body scrub and exfoliate your feet. Rinse off and dry.

Next step is to remove any hard skin with a good foot rasp and aim to work in one direction at a time! If you have a build-up of hard skin, it is unlikely that you will get this off at one go, so every time you shower, make sure you rasp!

If your toe nails are long, make sure you cut and then file them straight. Please – don’t ‘sea-saw’, as this causes the layers of your nails to split!

After filing your nails, apply some cuticle oil and push back your cuticles.

Now, moisturize your feet using a super nourishing foot cream or body lotion.

If you need to apply nail varnish, wipe over the nail plate with an acetone-free nail oilish remover to take away any oil before applying a base coat, colour and a top coat. And you’re done!

Thanks for reading our post, if you would like to check out our blog you may visit www.allthingsfabulousblog.blogspot.com and like our facebook page www.facebook.com/allthingsfabulousblog

Denise 

o.b.o The Fabulous Team o.b.o Every Beauty Addict's Bible XOXO

My Top Summer Lipsticks

Finally summer is here to stay and along with it come brighter coloured clothes and make-up.  In this post I will show you my favourite summer lipsticks. I tend to go for bright pinks, nudes and corals on my lips for summer as they add a pop of fun colour to my face while I keep the rest of my make-up minimal and fuss-free.  As you will see from the photos they are mostly creme finishes as this is the lipstick finish I like most. 

L to R: Essence All About Cupcake | Catrice Ultimate Colour in Frozen
Catrice Ultimate Colour in The Nuder The Better | Chanel Rouge Allure in Confidentielle
Catrice Ultmate Colour in Pink Me Up! | Catrice Ultimate Shine in Shy Flamingo
Max Factor Hint of Red (top, natural light; bottom, flash)

Out of all these, my most favourites in terms of colours and staying power are the Catrice ones followed by the Chanel one. What are your favourite summer shades? Do we have common favourites?

NOTW: Flowers 'n' Flakes

I'm so relieved at the result the Italian national team ended the match with! Way to go guys! Now this may sound strange but yes, I root for the Italian national team in football competitions because the Maltese team never makes it and second to that I also root for the French national team (however, Italy always gets first preference). Now, while I have some spare time, here's an easy manicure tutorial that I want to share with you :)

1. Prep nails with a base coat and apply two coats of a nude beige polish.  Here I used e.l.f. Desert Haze.

2. Apply one coat of a flakie polish such as Essie Shine Of The Times over all the nails and allow ample time to dry.

3. Using a fine striper brush, create some thin lines starting from 3/4 of the nail to the tip.  I used Essie Very Structured to create my lines.

4. Next, with a burgundy polish, paint a 5-petalled flowers over the area where the lines intersect and paint in two thin strokes on each petal with an orange nail polish such as Essence What Do You Think?

5. Finish off the design by painting three leaves on one side of the flower using a khaki green polish. I used Essence Legends of the Sky nail polish in Leo's Pilot Jacket.

6. Apply a pearl rhinestone in the middle of the flower and seal with a good top coat.

I have also re-created this design on a wedding guest this morning but this time, I used Desert Haze on all the nails except the ring fingers where I used Smoky Brown (also by e.l.f.) and applied Shine OF The Times on the ringers only. I then proceeded to paint the flower using e.l.f. Teal and China Glaze Midnight Kiss for the lines. I then added a gold stud in the middle of the flower and sealed with top coat.

OOTD: Flower Shorts

The weather these days is so beautiful and summer is exactly what I like most about Malta! The sun is shining and the days are getting longer and hotter so it is the perfect weather to wear my new summer clothes. Yesterday was a Public Holiday here and we went to Mdina and I wore my new flower denim shorts. Here are the photos of this rather feminine outfit :)

Top, Bossini | Floral shorts, New Look | White plaid kitten heel sandals, Zara
Belt, Pull & Bear | Bag, Mango
Diamante charms bracelet, Orsay | Chamilia Spring Bangle & Spinning Rings, 202 Jewellery
Earrings, vintage