Winter skincare

Taking care of your skin is always important, but especially so in winter. Cold weather, rain, snow, wind, the heating in your apartment... it all comes together at dragging your skin down. But do not despair! Treat your skin right, and it will thank you a thousand times!

Face
First off, exfoliate. You don't want to look flaky! Most people exfoliate about 2-4 times a month.
Always use a good moisturizer that suits your skintype. If you apply moisturizer in the mornings, try one that has SPF in it. Using sunscreen every day is very important, also in winter. If your moisturizer doesn't have SPF, then pick a foundation which does, or wear sunscreen underneath your makeup. My moisturizer, Dior HydrAction Visible Defense, has SPF 20.
A quick tip: The packaging that many moisturizers come in is big and heavy, including mine. I bought some small pots which each hold 10ml, and then scooped a bit of the moisturizer into it. It's so much easier to travel with your moisturizer when it is so small!

Eyes
Remember to use good eyecream. This is very important. Since I'm still young, I don't use one with "effective ingredients", but instead I use a moisturizing one with aloe vera, from The Body Shop.
A quick tip: For an extra refreshment, which also helps relieve puffiness, store your eyecream in the refrigerator between uses!

Lips
Dry and flaky lips are not attractive at all. Not to mention that applying lipstick on that kind of thing is a nightmare. So, number one: Exfoliate! You can buy really great lip exfoliators, but I fell in love with the one by YSL a few years ago, and have been using that one ever since (check out my review here).
Make your own lip exfoliator: Mix a bit of olive oil with a bit of sugar, until you have a grainy paste. Rub it on your lips, leave it on for about five minutes (longer if you have time and want seriously soft lips!) and then wash the scrub thoroughly away with water.

And second, moisturize your lips by using a good lipbalm. I love lipbalms by Origins (bonus: they last forever) but many companies make great ones.

Hands

Yes, you should also exfoliate your hands. I haven't seen a whole lot of handscrubs around, but one that I use, love and can deffinitely recommend is the "Butterfly kisses" by Alessandrio. It is scented with grapefruit and mint, and leaves your hands soft and refreshed.

Use a good lotion on your hands. In winter, my hands get very dry, so I use my Hemp Hand Protector by The Body Shop every night before I go to sleep. You might want to use something a little lighter, though, if your hands don't get seriously dry.

Also, take good care of your cuticles and nails. This "Cuticare Nourishing Pen" by Alessandrio does a wonderful job at moisturizing even the driest cuticles.

Finally, don't forget to take good care of your whole body. Once again, the steps are two and they are simple: Exfoliate, and moisturize! The two products pictured above, I got for Christmas. I love both of them. They are by The Body Shop, and the scent is "Wild Cherry". I hadn't tried it before, but I do really like it. I also love Vanilla and Coconut, try them out :)

In winter, I switch from body lotion to body butter, since the butter type offers deeper moisture. The Body Shop offers a great range of body butters (and lotions), I love trying out new scents.

Dry elbows? Try rubbing them with a bit of lemon juice! The lemon juice actually helps soften the dry skin and remove dead skincells. Afterwards, you can use a few drops of olive oil to soften them even more. (Of course, if your elbows are cracked, then you should not use lemon juice on them.)

That's it! Know any good skin tricks that I left out? Please tell us in the comments!

Love, Miss Diorista.

My Favourite Products of 2010!

Can you believe it? The year 2010 is almost over. I feel like it was New Year's Eve just yesterday... yet the whole year has passed!
But, that of course means, that it is time for a quick summery of the year, that is, the cosmetics of the year :) Enjoy!

First up, you see my most used perfume this year. It is the Miss Dior Chérie, by Dior, in the Eau de Printemps version. It is rather light, floral but sophisticated at the same time. I love this perfume.

In the upper row, from the left, you see the Tri Brow Color by the Make Up Store. This is HG for my eyebrows, I will do a separate post on it.

The lighter e/s is Eye Colour in shade 41 by The Body Shop. It is very smooth and pigmented, a shimmery golden, beige colour. Goes great over Rubenesque paintpot, which is what I have been using it for (mostly). The other e/s you see is MAC Satin Taupe, which is what I have then been using in the crease.

I'm sure that most of you are familiar with the Voluminous mascara by L'Oréal. If not, then you need to try it :) It is absolutely amazing if you're looking for way blacker than black, long lashes.

And the brush you see is MAC's 275. I actually got this one for Christmas, but I'm already in love with it. This brush makes shading a breeze!

The lippie is by YSL, it is a Rouge Volupté in shade 29, called Opera Rose. This is a brilliantly creamy lipstick, but the shade is also right up my alley. Bright, yet not too bright.

The lipgloss is by L'Oréal, it is one of their 6H Glam Shine ones. Mine is in colour number 103, called Forever Nude. It is basically a nude colour, with a hint of pink and it's fair share of shimmer. Pretty by itself but gorgeous over almost any lipstick!

And finally, products that have made my skin purr :) Well, almost. The powder (which you can tell is a lover!) is Hello Flawless by Benefit. Mine is in the colour Gee I'm swell, shell. It's a little too dark for me, but I can still make it work. Wonderful powder foundation.

Next to that is the Amber Diamond highlighter by Dior. I got it for Christmas, and didn't fall in love with it until yesterday (the trick is to use a blush brush for it!)... but I fell so hard that I decided to include it here. Really gives you a gorgeous, subtle glow.

The blush is MAC's Springsheen. It is a sheertone shimmer, and creates beautifully glowy (I'm in love with anything that glows!) cheeks.

Last but not least, the Dior Airflash foundation (mine is in shade 200). I actually never spray this on my face. I rather spray it on the back of my hand, and then use a brush or my fingers for applying it. This gives me just the right coverage, not too light and not too heavy, and I can't feel that I'm wearing foundation at all.

That completes it! I hope you liked it. What were your most-reached-for products this year? Please tell me in the comments!

Love, Miss Diorista

P.S. Looking for a review on any of those? Let me know!

Haul from Germany (part 5) - Chanel, YSL, Maybelline, The Body Shop, Sisley

It is time for part 5 in this huge haul... and we still have a few parts left :)
This part will include products from Chanel, YSL, Maybelline, The Body Shop and Sisley. I had never heard of Sisley as a cosmetic brand before, and I only bought one product, but I really liked their makeup (I swatched a few things in the store). So check that out if you can, and enjoy this part of the haul!

1) First, you see a Chanel Joues Contraste. It is in shade 82, called Reflex. It has loads of shimmer and I really love it. However, I have to be careful with it, since it is very pigmented. It gives me a very "warm", meaning kind of tan, look, which is nice, when that is what I'm going for.

2) Below the blush, you see a YSL Rouge Volupté lippie! I had wanted one forever, and I love mine so much! It is extremely pigmented, mine is shade 29 called Opera Rose. It is a rather bright pink, no shimmer, but so beautiful. I love the packaging, too, and the little mirror on the end! (If you checked out Temptalia's review on this, then note that this colour is much, much brighter on me than her...)

3) Next you see an ExpertWear blush by Maybelline, in shade 58 called Brown. Yes, it might have slight brown tones to it, but mostly it is a golden tan colour for me. I don't find myself craving it very often, but it is nice to have. The brush is crap, by the way.
The lippie in the middle is a Maybelline ColorSensational, in 148 called Summer Rose. I love this one so much, it is HG for me! It is a bright pink with shimmer, and I wear it next to always!

4) The third blush is by The Body Shop, in the shade Vibrant Rose. I like the packaging a lot, you kind of stamp your blush on and then blend well. I actually have the other shade as well, called Golden Coral, and have to say that this one is much prettier. The lipstick to the right is a Delipscious by The Body Shop in Sheer Watermelon. I like it, but I have yet to get used to the shade!

5) The white eyeliner is by Sisley, the shade is Snow. It is a true white, with subtle shimmer (I actually just realized that it had shimmer a few days ago, when I had owned it for six weeks already!). The texture is very soft, and I like the fact that it has a smudger on the other side.

This is it for now, as you can see, we are now getting to the "fun" part!
If you want reviews for any of those products, please let me know in the comments!

Yours,
Miss Diorista

Review - YSL Exfoliating Lip Balm

What a lovely, lovely product!

This is by far my favourite lipscrub, so I don't think I'm going to write a long review on it. It is just amazing. It is a little bit pink, and is actually suppose to make your lips a little bit more pink with regular use (I'm not going to say whether that is working or not...). It is a sugar scrub, and I love the feeling of sugar on my lips! Also, it has small strawberry seeds, which rub comfortly on. The scent and taste of peppermint/strawberry is simply adorable. It is always a happy moment when it is scrub-time! You can't really see it, but I have the product on my hand. It feels great on my lips, and is easy to rinse off. Does not feel oily, which is great!

I leave this on for about five minutes, then I rinse it off, and finish with a nice lipbalm. Perfection!



My best regards,

Miss Diorista.

Mascara Wishlist

My Dior Diorshow Iconic mascara is almost finished... sadly, 'cause I quite like it, but on the other hand, this is a great opportunity to try out a new mascara!

What are you currently using? Please tell me in the comments!
I'm looking into a few mascaras...


1. YSL's Faux Cils
I have heard that this one is simply beyond beautiful (though said to be a little wet...)

2. Helena Rubinstein's Lash Queen Feline
Haven't really heard anything, but have you? It just sounds nice, since I'm really into cats, LOL!

3. Maybelline's Colossal Mascara
My friend has this one (hi if you're reading!), it's her favourite and her lashes look aMaZiNg,
no kidding! They are just superlong, defined and so pretty! Have to buy this one... she completely "sold" it to me!

4. MAC's Haute and Naughty Lash
Sounds like a good idea to have two mascaras in one... I have yet to fall head over heals, but I'm pretty sure that I will buy this some day... *sigh*, some day! At least the packaging is super glamorous, definitely like that!

So can you help me choose? Please? Have you maybe tried any of those?

Yours,

MissDiorista

P.S. You can be expecting a cupcake post soon! And thank you, Temptalia, for the photo!