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Category: Beauty (page 45 of 49)

My final Turkey post! Ephesus and skincare…..

March 28, 2013 / / 0 Comments

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So I visited the southern Turkish city of Ephesus, which is well known for its connection to Biblical antiquity.  It is believed that this is the location of the final dwelling for Mary, Mother of Jesus.  Ephesus was also an important Greek and Roman city as well as it has major importance in early Christianity.  This is a haven for some amazing history and artifacts!

So while touring the ruins on a day that can only be described as Hades hot, we took refuge under one of the few fig trees.

Fig tree at Ephesus

The tour guide mentioned that the leaves of the fig tree have been used for its healing properties.  Of course this peaked my interest!

Fig leaf sap and fruit have been used for centuries for their moisturizing, healing and calming  properties.  More recently, it has been valued for its antioxidant qualities.

Fig leaf sap

Me, investigating!

Have you tried any products made with fig extracts? Do you have any favourites?

Related posts:  My visit to an authentic hammam!

Pictures of Turkey

What is a peshtamal?

My Byzantine/Turkish inspired LOTD!

Want to sprinkle ah li'l PixieDust on your nails? Check out Zoya’s new collection.

March 22, 2013 / / 2 Comments

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Hey!

A few years ago, matte nails were all the rage in the nail art industry.   I loved having the option to have a non-shiny finish.  But sometimes, depending on the colour, matte nails could look a little…you know…flat.

Now companies have come out with textured nail polish – which is a matte base nail polish but it also includes glitter/shimmer that when it dries, it leaves a sandpaper-like texture to the nails.  Have you ever seen freshly laid asphalt in the summer?  The matte black surface appears to be littered with tiny pieces of shimmer.  Well that’s just what it looks like.  So the matte polish has a sparkly effect when the light catches it.  It actually looks different to a regular shimmer polish or the original Zoya matte polishes.  You could actually see the sand-like texture on the nail.  Very interesting!

For spring, Zoya has brought out a collection called PixieDust and it contains 6 new colours (which I received from Zoya).

From PR:

Infused with Magic and Wonder!
Featuring the latest “must-have” nail polish finish – Textured, Matte & Sparkling.

This newly developed formula is sure to captivate with a magical sparkle and sugary finish like no other. The color experts at Zoya have created six, long-wearing stunners for the introduction of this look…

As with all matte polishes, make sure that your nails are free of dust and oil (swipe some nail polish remover on them beforehand) and don’t use any base coat or top coat for best results.

Zoya recommends using 1-3 thin coats and for these,  and I used 2 coats for all the swatches.

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Bargain gel liner….that works! Wet 'n' Wild Mega Eyes Creme Eyeliner review

March 13, 2013 / / 0 Comments

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I live for black liner – pencil, liquid, gel –  whatever.  And the darker the better.

I’ve heard a lot of people talk about the Wet n’ Wild Mega Eye Crème Eyeliner.  So I picked it up at CVS and paid $3.99.  Great price!

Wet ‘n’ Wild Mega Eyes Creme Eyeliner with brush

So some of the things that I look for in a good gel liner:

  1. Colour –  I like a richly pigmented gel liner and if it is black, it needs to be super jet, sooty black.  No off-black, grey-black for me.
  2. Consistency – it should be creamy, glides easily regardless of the brush that I use.  And it should dry or set fairly quickly.
  3. Durability –  My gel liner has to be long lasting, make it true a workout without running too much.  Especially on my waterline.  And it can’t flake as it dries or makes it through its 6th hour of wear.
  4. Price –  Eventually all gel liners will dry out and crack.  Constantly opening that jar and exposing it to air, they become thickened.  So I won’t want to spend an exorbitant amount on a liner.

I picked up the liner in Black and it comes with a mini synthetic angled brush, which is actually not bad at all.  It’s easy to apply this liner with this brush. It’s firm and wide enough for a newbie eyeliner user to use.

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Hair of the day! Simple side swept twist out

March 12, 2013 / / 2 Comments

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HOTD: Side swept twist out!

I just swept my hair to one side and secured it with a large hair comb.  Easy, quick style.  Just what I like!

New NARS product for Spring 2013 – Satin Lip Pencils with swatches!

March 12, 2013 / / 1 Comment

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Its seems as though this spring and summer is all about the bright, semi-glossy lip.  Intense colour like a lipstick with the glossiness of a lip gloss.   But not super shiny, more like a really slick lip balm.  All in a chubby pencil.  Cute, convenient. So NARS Satin Lip Pencils are a perfect example of this and are now available online at narscometics.com and at their boutiques.

NARS Satin Lip Pencil

Speaking of boutiques, I recently went  to the NARS boutique on 413 Bleecker when they unveiled their Satin Lip collection as well as I was able to see their new Radiant Creamy Concealers.  Some pics of that are below, but here’s the scoop on the new Satin Lip Pencils.

Via PR:

Arresting Color, Seductively Satin Finish.  This season, NARS dresses up lips in the new Satin  Lip Pencil.  Drenched in decadent moisture for an ultra creamy finish, thirteen statement shades smolder with rich pigments.  Created by Founder and Creative Director Francois Nars, the Satin Lip Pencil combines the convienence of a pencil with the application of a lipstick in a jumbo-size crayon design.

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