Beauty Review: Submariner by Harvey Prince

Submariner is the first fragrance by Harvey Prince for men. Unlike his previous creations for women backed by clinical trials and developed not only to make a woman smell deliciously but also to attract the opposite sex, Submariner does not have the scientific side to it. But Submariner does promise to attract women with intoxicating, fresh and spicy aroma. Submariner combines “punchy” Caribbean island spices with a touch of soft vanilla and almonds and flavorful, mouth watering cinnamon.

I personally liked it as I find that often male fragrances are way tooooo heavy and earthy. This one has enough adrenaline and excitement to it with a touch of sweetness which brings a promise of a soft, sensual and deep side to him :-). What girl doesn’t like this?!

As for my husband, he is not the type to wear a perfume daily but for special occasions he does like his fragrance quite strong… or should I say intense… well, as he puts it “it has to hit me on the face”… even though in my view Submariner is not so intense, it did appeal to him… and, what’s even more important, I liked it! That’s the best combination :-)




FTC Product Review Disclaimer: The author of this blog received a sample product for this review.

TGIF: The Only Girl in The World

Enjoy Rihanna's Only Girl (In The World)!

Beauty Shopping: Clarins Renew-PlusBody Serum

Look what I got onsale! (50% damn percent off! - sorry for that!) I am very excited to try this Renew-Plus body serum by Clarins. Clarins describes this product as Intensive Renewing Beauty Treatment. It combines Water Lily extract with Pre-Retinol to "eliminate dead skin cells, enhance cellular renewal and tone skin" I mean the description is sooo good, I wonder what it will deliver :-)

Beauty Find: Annmarie Organic Skin Care

Recently I had a chance to learn and even test a new completely organic and 100% chemical-free skin care line from the sunny California. This line has been just recently launched in the US and is not yet available in Europe. It is named after its creator Annmarie. The idea behind Annmarie Skin Care is to offer completely natural skin care products that do not have synthetic preservatives or any other synthetic ingredients. Annmarie’s goal is also to offer effective products that do show results. Her motto is: Organic. Natural. Wild-Crafted!


I had a chance to try out some products from the line:

I liked Aloe herb cleanser which provided a nice cleanse without any feeling of tightness. I was very impressed with Annmarie’s ayurvedic facial scrub. First of all, I have never tried anything like this. It comes in form of a “herbal powder”. You add some cleanser to it and rub it on your face. After I washed the green mass off, my skin felt sooo soft and smooth and sort of lighter! My pores looked smaller! Very impressing! Another product I tested was a coconut honey mask. It smelled delicious and according to Annmarie it is so natural you could eat it. However, I am not sure it’s suitable for my slightly oily skin. It felt very rich and left oily residue on the skin. I liked the Neroli toning mist which feels very refreshing and moisturizing, it smells divine and calms not only skin but soothes senses as well.

I personally am not an expert on 100% natural products but out of what I've tried before this line definately stands out as a quality one. So check it out!

FTC Product Review Disclaimer: The author of this blog received a sample product for this review.

My Beautiful Presents

At the beginning of this month I had a birthday! And just now I got around to bragging to you about my presents :-) Yep, among the maaaany presents I got were the following beauty related presents:

Nourishing Shampoo (dry Hair)
Nutrition Nourishing Conditioner (Dry Hair)
Arnica Night Repair Balm
Arnica Hands and Nail Smoothing Fortifying Cream

All of the above is by Yves Rocher. I actually requested cream and balm for hands as my friend gave those to me as a present a couple years ago and they were VERY good! I don’t know why but it is usually hard for me to find a good hair product. I either get allergic to it or it doesn’t work so well. (Dove’s conditioners I tested recently were good though!) So I am a bit skeptical but at the same time am looking forward to trying Nourishing Shampoo and Nutrition Nourishing Conditioner on my dull dull blonde locks :-)

Another interesting beauty present I got was Light Apricot Cleanser Apri-Cleanse by Nature’s Sunshine. I do not use peelings with irregular pieces like crushed apricot or almond kernel because I have sensitive skin and I get breakouts after using such cleansers or peelings. But I was told that in this particular product the particles don’t have sharp edges and the peeling is very soft. We will see!

Beauty Review: Eau Fling Perfume by Harvey Prince

I had a wonderful opportunity to test one more genius creation by Harvey Prince- Eau Fling. Backed by science, this fragrance makes you irresistible, fills him with passion and makes him crazy about you :-)

So what is in this magic potion? In fact Eau Fling is a sweeter and lighter version of Harvey Prince’s previous creation Eau Flirt. The same notes of pumpkin pie and lavender used in Eau Flirt are featured in Eau Fling as well. If you are wondering, why , on earth, pumpkin pie?!!! The answer lies in science! Surprisingly Clinical studies conducted by Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation have proven that pumpkin pie and lavender evoke sexual response in men. Well, maybe it’s not such a big surprise after all… :-D Those seductive notes of nutmeg and cinnamon (classic aromas of pumpkin pie) lie at the heart of the new fragrance. Other middle notes include flowery fragrances of jasmine and ylang. Top notes are berries and fruits: black currant, plum, raspberry, apple, and black licorice. And at the bottom Eau Fling has musk and rare precious woods.


Here are my impressions about Eau Fling. It’s sweet and flowery but not overwhelming headachy type of sweet. The sweetness is warm and soft but then there is a little fresh “kick”. The sweet notes are balanced out by the fresh notes of orange and Pink Grapefruit. The fragrance feels fresh and exciting. It seems to me more versatile than Eau Flirt because you can wear it easily as a day perfume and at night. I really like it!!



FTC Product Review Disclaimer: The author of this blog received a sample product for this review.

TGIF: Sunshine!

Rap is not really my thing but this video by Rye-Rye has a nice sunny energy :-) Enjoy and have a nice weekend!

Beauty Tip: Brighten Up Dull Locks

I think yellow hue or brassiness is the beauty headache of almost every dyed blonde. Recently I came across this interesting beauty tip in Marie Clare which promises to help fix this problem. It sounds a bit extreme though… Would you do the following to your hair to make it brighter blonde??

Mix 1 cup baby shampoo with 2 tablespoons of baking soda, comb through hair, cover with a shower cap, sit in the sun for 10 minutes, then rinse.

What do you think?

Beauty Preview: Harvey Prince – Beauty Products With a Concept

I love beauty products with a concept. I do appreciate a product with a cool idea behind it! I also love multi-tasking products. Won’t you agree with me - multi-tasking is the style of life nowadays. Today living at the speed of light, we need products that help us to achieve several goals at a time! And Harvey Prince is the company that offers both: a cool concept and multi-tasking products. Harvey Prince develops perfumes and perfume based beauty products that not only make you smell nice but help you to appear younger and sexier. Their concept is to combine beauty with science and psychology. Isn't that amazing!? They definitely take beauty products to another level! That is why I was so excited to try out new products recently released by Harvey Prince and to share my impressions with you. So reviews on the following products are coming up very soon:

Flirty Dermastase Soap
Soap perfumed with the Flirty scent or as described at harveyprince.com a "moisturizing body bar"
Ageless Ultimate Anti Aging Bar Soap
"anti-aging body bar"

Eau Fling Perfume
Promises to help you to “evoke a sexual response in males”
Submariner Perfume
Perfume for men that expresses not only masculinity but also promises to help attract the opposite sex
Nightshift Perfume
Is composed of night flowers scents and promises to keep you sexy and energized through out a wild night out.

Eau Flirt Body Wash Liquid Loofah
Not only hydrates and washes but stimulates the senses with “intoxicating” and “love-evoking” scent

Beauty Shopping: Mani-Pedi Essentials

I usually go for a mani-pedi to a local beauty salon. However recently I have been wondering how much I would be able to save if I started doing at-home mani-pedi from time to time... So I decided I needed to get some essentials. I am not completely mani-pedi oblivious, of course. I do take care of my feet and hands and I do have certain tools like nail files, scissors, cuticle softener and callus remover file/razor, creams… even a foot mask and soak! But of course this is not enough. I need some more tools and products. So here is what I got:

* Cuticle and Nail Plier (manufactured in Germany, Dont know why but in this part of the world they think German mani-pedi tools are the best!)

* Cuticle Scissors by Solingen, Germany (I have a couple of those but very old and not so good)

* Exfoliating Cuticle Treatment by OPI (why did I buy it! I still have some cuticle cream by Mavala left
* Nail Polish Corrector

* China Glaze (Octa Gone Wild) Nail Polish (I got obsessed with purple this summer and am still attracted to the lavender-purple shade!)

Beauty Fact: Hairy Legs Are OK in Brazil

I was surprised to learn this (culturally shocking for many of us) fact on J.Simpson’s show “Price of Beauty”. It appears that in Brazil some women do not shave but bleach hair on their legs. They consider it sexy! After some surfing online I did find several discussions on this topic and apparently it is true and is mostly done by those very tanned beauties with beach bodies.

This interesting fact made me wonder once again: when did it all begin? When and why did the body hair become inappropriate? How did women end up shaving, depilating and eradicating hairs on their bodies? I’ll share what I’ll find out in my next “beauty fact” post.

Beauty Shopping: Clinique SPF 40 Face Cream and Garnier After Sun Ambre Solaire Spray

We are finally going on holiday!!! Yes I know everyone has already had their fix of swimming, lounging and cocktailing… aaand we just got around to finally treating ourselves to a nice relaxing holiday. What can I say? We travel off season… weather is still good, it’s not so crowded and prices are better…
Anyway, I am so excited to finally go to Greece! We are going to Crete to an all inclusive resort! How cool is that?
So, of course, I have been shopping for some stuff for the trip!

I am going to use sun protection creams I have since last year. One is by L’Oreal and the other, developed specially for kids, by Eucerin.(I think) What I don’t like is to put sun protection developed for the body on the face. Because usually it feels very oily. So I thought I should get something else for the face. Without any prior research, just based on the fact that Clinique’s SPF 40 face cream has no fragrance and is allergy and photoallergy tested , I bought this cream today.

I also wanted something soothing and hydrating for the skin for after the sun. So I bought Garnier Ambre Solaire After Sun with cactus extract.
...in Greece, Rhodes about 2 years ago... gonna pack this dress! ;-)

Beauty Review: Baggage Lost Puff Reducing Eye Gel

Promise:
“instantly targets the appearance of puffiness under the eye area”
Product Profile in Short:
invisible and lightweight gel that helps target and reduce the appearance of puffiness under the eye area. It “helps provide an overall youthful-looking appearance.”
Close-up on Active Ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond Seed Extract), Sodium Hyaluronate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Carbomere, Wheat Protein Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Caffeine, Yeast Extract, Grape Seed Extract, Triethanolamine, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Ethylparaben, Butylparaben
This is one of the best ingredients lists I’ve ever seen. Yes, ok, there are parabens at the end but look at all these extracts at the beginning. Those are precious! All of them are very beneficial for the skin around the eye as they help to moisturize, protects against free radicals, drain excess water build up, stimulate collagen…

Experience:
Texture: light gel
Fragrance: free of perfume

The good news is that Baggage Lost Puff Reducing Eye Gel works. However it still does not completely solve the problem for me. Yes the eye area looks more lifted and less puffy after application but the puffiness does not completely disappear… I would say improvement is about 30-50%... I can also appreciate that Baggage Lost Puff Reducing Eye Gel fights eye puffiness on several levels. It physically lifts up eye bags because I can feel skin tightening when it dries up. It also provides drainage plus stimulation with caffeine and soothes with Sweet Almond Seed Extract and Aloe. It moisturizes and provides anti-aging plus anti-oxidant effects with Cucumber, Wheat Protein Extract, Grape Seed Extract.
There is one thing to watch out for. If you apply powder over the Baggage Lost gel, it tends to crumble. Not good, I agree... However I noticed that if you use cream under-eye-concealer over Baggage Lost, it works very well...

Price Tag:
$ 23

Bottom Line:
It’s definitely a high quality product. Very well thought through, great ingredient list. But I am not getting the effect I need. Be it the fault of the product or the age or whatever other reason… I don’t think Baggage Lost Puff Reducing Eye Gel will be on my regular skin care list but I would recommend to try it out if you just are starting to get the cursed eye puffiness problem. Because, trust me, there are not so many products out there to help you deal with it :-(

FTC Product Review Disclaimer: The author of this blog received a sample product for this review.

Beauty Shopping: Diorshow Iconic High Definition Mascara

Guess what I finally got??? I made up my mind and got Diorshow mascara! Yay!!! It took me looong... The problem was tooo big choice and since mascara is now my daily quick make-up essential, I had to make a good choice!
When I was looking for the best mascara out there I asked on twitter for advice. Several people said they really liked Diorshow Mascara. However, one person said she would sometimes get raccoon eyes from Diorshow but she anyway liked it most of all. I decided to try out a couple other brands before getting it. But since I am not so much out shopping these days and because I am always in a hurry, I just couldn’t really completely focus on making the right mascara decision. So once I dropped by a store together with my Mom and painted my eye lashes with 4 different mascaras. Which do you think she thought was the best? Diorshow! You are right!
So last week I went shopping determined to finally get it! And I even got a present with it – an adorable miniature eyeshadow palette with 5 shades for creating a classic “iconic” look!


Diorshow Iconic Look (Mascara + Mini 5-color-eyeshadow)
O90 Noir-Black High DefinitionLash Curler Mascara

My present!!!

Quick Fix: Toothpaste Helps to Get Rid of Orangey Palms!

I cam across this tip in Cosmo and thought you may like it as much as I did. You know how pals get all orange after you apply self-tanner. It appears whitening toothpaste can fix this problem! I would have never thought of this! It should contain peroxide and silica. The peroxide helps to lighten the tint and silica exfoliates the top layer of skin. Just put a small amount on your palms rub together a little and then wash it off! That’s smart!