Featuring Sunshine Citizen and her Top 3 Dermacol Products

Hello my Beauties,

ones again it’s one of those days, where you find a new featured Blogger here on Beauty expression by Luchessa. 
Please give this lovely lady a warm welcome and be prepared to gain a beauty friend.

Meet Flori, who has always been inspired by anything beautiful and dreamed about making a change in the world, while not necessarily making a name for herself. How humble is that!
On her blog the Sunshine Citizen you will find great DIY ideas, recipies, beauty & hair products, as well as style posts.
I mean, look at her gorgeous & healthy looking hair – she simply has to have her “hair secrets”! Right?!
Swing over and leave Flori some feedback. You’re going to love her!

{My Top 3 Dermacol Products}

Hi, my name is Flori and I am the blogger behind Sunshine Citizen.
Luchessa generously offered me the chance to write a guest post for her and I couldn’t refuse!
Don’t you just love Luchessa?

She wanted me to showcase a Slovakian brand, since that is where I am from, but honestly I couldn’t find one. Instead I offered to do a post on my favorite products from Dermacol, an old brand started in Prague, as I have tried a fair share of their products and after all the Czech Republic is our neighbor and we once were the same country. I hope you enjoy the post! 

Product No. 1
{Dermacol Makeup Cover Up}

This is a must have! Honestly, I would call this the secret weapon of the Slovak and Czech women.
Dermacol Make-up Cover lists 50% of pigments in its ingredient list, making it possible to cover up just about anything with the tiniest amount. It can be used as foundation, but let me tell you this is heavy duty stuff, which will become one of your favorite concealers.

It’s so versatile that not only can you use it as foundation or concealer, you can dilute with the moisturizing cream you use to your preferred coverage and you have a tinted moisturizer!
You get 30 g of product in a gold metal tube, which will probably last you ages considering how little of the product is needed to get the job done.
It being waterproof, smelling lovely, and having a SPF 30 are some other things to take into consideration and in my mind adjectives to add to its list of qualities.

Product No. 2
{Lip Seduction Lipstick}

Not only is the packaging of the Lip Seduction Lipstick really cute, it is the lip product I find myself reaching for to take everywhere. Press the transparent end through which you can see the lipstick and with a click the lipstick comes out of the blue metal tube.
With the lipstick being extremely hydrating and nourishing, your lips are sure to be look beautiful and plump.
The lipstick is in fact so nourishing that it has replaced my favorite lip balm.
It has made it possible to enjoy the best of both worlds; the pigmentation of lipstick and the overall luxurious feel of a great balm.
Product No. 3
{Aroma Therapy Stress Relief Body Oil – Grape and Lime}

Not only does this smell so good, that it makes me want to make a summer drink inspired by it, it is amazing stuff!

The oil blend is very light and sinks right into the skin, leaving it soft and smooth. It is rich in vitamins so it is supposed to intensively treat and regenerate your skin. The scent of grapes and lime is rather strong, but so soothing that is does not bug me and leaves me wanting more.
The thing I love about this oil is that it doesn’t really contain a lot of chemical ingredients and it is very versatile!
It can be used as massage oil, a moisturizer after taking a bath, and even can be used in your hair care routine.
Personally, I love using it after a bath and it leaves the skin soft and since it has a thin runny consistency; it seeps right into the skin without leaving an oily film. It is definitely one of my favorite body oils I have ever tried and the scent embodies everything I love about summer.

I hope you enjoyed the post! And I would like to thank Luchessa for giving me the opportunity to write a little post for you.
Have a great day!

So my Beauties, i hope you found a new interesting brand to check out and a great fresh face in the blogosphere.
I especially liked the review on these lipsticks, since Flori somehow managed to pick out just the right “Luchessa-colors”.
And those of you know follow me for some time, know that i absolutely love vintage rose type of lip products, that are not having a  drying effect on my lips.

Here is the official Dermacol site, where you can take a look on the whole range of their products. 
And here is an online pharmacy Medcentrum, that seems to be shipping internationally, in case you get interested in any of Dermacol’s products. 

Find Flori on Twitter or Bloglovin’ and chat away!!

Until next time – stay beautiful!!

♥ International Beauty Giveaway ♥ – (closed)

Hello my Beauties!

Yesterday i checked my statistics and noticed my blog has reached over 100 followers. So to show you how thankful i am for all of your support, comments and tips, i’ve decided to do my first giveaway in the history of this blog. 🙂
I really appreciate all the kind words & all the smiles you gave me, my friends, readers and fellow bloggers.

I wanted to have a little ‘theme’ to the prizes in this giveaway. So i decided to go for a brand that probably most of you wont be able to get anywhere outside of Germany, as it seems to be a brand that doesn’t export yet. But as i really enjoy the products by P2 cosmetics, i wanted to share some of them with my dear followers! I picked some of my favorites, that you might want to use for your holiday looks and nail designs! (if you do, please don’t forget to share some pictures!) As you see its purple & gold inspired! 

I hope you are as excited as i am. 

Details to enter the giveaway are:
Please fill out the Rafflecopter below & follow the instructions.
It’s open internationally and one winner will be chosen at random.
(I really hope Rafflecopter will work as an external link – look at the end of the post – as i can’t insert it on my basic wordpress)
I assure you that all the products have been bought with my own money.

All entries from multiple or spam accounts, like accounts set up for giveaways only will be banned!!!
I want these goodies to go to my real followers & readers!

In order to be entered into this giveaway
you MUST be a follower of Beauty expression by Luchessa on WordPress or via email since it’s for my followers only (extra points if you follow me on Hellocotton or Twitter) AND you HAVE TO comment under this post, telling mo how you found this blog. The giveaway will be open until the 14’th of dezember (GMT + 1:00).
 

In the makeup bag you will find:

1. 860 ready to rock nail polish
2. 880 fancy fairytale nail polish
3. glamorous finish holo top coat in 040 just fantastic
4. nail food ananas – nourishing nail tretment for slowly growing nails
5. perfect face pore minimizer – reduces the visibility of pores, evens out imperfections
6. lovely doll eyes mascara (carbon black) in 010 twinkle star
7. khol eyeliner in 090 stylish great britain
8. fantastic chrome khol in 020 wild amethyst
9. fantastic chrome khol in 010 golden amber
10. keep the secret evermore daring lip top coat (extremely pearlized gloss) in 010 golden burst
11. sheer glam lipstick in 090 sex and the city (glossy and balmy with a sheer color)
12. beauty insider waterproof liquid eyeliner in 010 full action black

these four are def my favorites of the bunch!

Don’t forget to spread the word 😉

 Enter here
 open link & scroll down

There you have it my Beauties. Have fun and good luck!
If you have any additional questions, just email me at luchessa7@gmail.com

Tag: This or That

Hello my Beauties.
Hope you are doing well. Please do me a favor: stay save and dry during the time of hurricanes, storms and snow falls.  

I found this fun short tag on: http://niicolea.wordpress.com and thought i would participate. 

The tag:

1. Blush or Bronzer?
Most likely Blush! I have to admit, i barely use bronzer. (I have only one bronzer in my collection). But i’m a big blush lover. All the different shades that can make your cheeks glow! 🙂

2. Lipgloss or Lipstick?
Lately i became a lipstick girl. Some years ago i was only using lipgloss, since i was going for a bold eye look. But these days i discovered many awesome lipsticks and now i can’t go without.

3. Chopstick or Lip butter?
I like the highly mosturizing buttery feeling on my lips. So my choice is definitely going to be lip butter.

4. Matte or Sparkle Eyeshadow?
Actually i prefer metallic shadows. I don’t buy any sparkle ones. Usually i combine matte & metallic. Works for a daily eye look as well as for the night out.

5. Gel, Liquid, Cream or Pencil Liner?
Mostly pencil liner on my lower lashline & creaseless cream liner on my top lid.

6. Foundation or Concealer?
I often skip the foundation, but i use concealer most of the time. Especially when my skin feels pretty good (on those days i would only use powder), i only need to cover up a few spots and im almost ready to go.

7. Liquid or Powder Foundation? 
Liquid foundation! Works best for me, as i’m applying it with a wet sponge and working it in for the best result!

8. Neutral or Statement eye? 
As i mentioned before i go for a statement eye most of the times, as i feel with the neutral look i appear more “washed out”.

9. Pressed or Loose shadows? 
I’m not a big fan of loose shadows or pigments, it’s just not my cup of tea. I only use pressed ones.

10. Waterproof or Non Waterproof?
Non waterproof! Waterproof  seems to damage my lashes. I’m not saying, there aren’t good waterproof mascaras out there, but they just aren’t for my taste.

10. Brushes, Sponges or Fingers?
Brushes for my eyes & blush and sponges for applying foundation.

11. Powder, Cream or Liquid Highlighters?
I have a few powder highlighters, but as i don’t use them on the regular basis, it’s not my personal must have. My favorite is the Bronzing & Highlighting face powder duo 10 by Benefit, in case i want to contour my cheekbones in one sexy sweep, i have both ready to use.

If you had fun reading this tag i suggest you doing it as well. It’s great to share your beauty secrets 😉

I would love to tag a few bloggers:

http://mylucitedreams.com/

http://zibabynature.wordpress.com/

http://blog.mitziemee.com/

http://fashionforlunch.wordpress.com/

http://wandsandpliers.wordpress.com/

http://am1ec.wordpress.com/

http://misshollyberries.wordpress.com/

http://sweetjellybean.com/

http://cinnamonspring.wordpress.com/

http://sinfulstilettos.wordpress.com/

Wishing you all a beautiful & motivated day.

Take care! xoxo

Cosmetics around the globe – russian goodies.

Hello Beauties!

Every time I hear about exotic new brand names or see amazingly done packaging in a very feminine style, my heart goes “boom boom boom”.
Even if the product isn’t that easy to get, I still enjoy learning more about it, while comparing to the items I already have in my collection.

That and your answers in my beauty poll were exact my motivation to start this series about the cosmetic items around the globe. And let’s be honest, we all want to know what kind of fabulous things they are using in Japan, Australia, Belgium, Turkey or Russia.

So why not starting with the last one.
I was lucky to get my hands on some russian decorative cosmetics in a very distinctive vintage parisian chic style.
The brand name I’m talking about is Vivienne Sabo. It was created in 2006 in Samara, the sixth largest city in Russia, by Gradient Cosmetics (one of the leading distribution companies in the country).

After having a better look at their official site and the products itself, I realized it was quite a good marketing decision to create a “french brand” in Russia. It combines definitely some aspects of conservative traditional makeup along with fresh and innovative ingredients.

That’s what the brand claims: 
Vivienne Sabo is a brand with a romantic Parisian soul, modern and classic, enigmatic and democratic. When creating the cosmetic products from Vivienne Sabo we use up-to-date textures and formulas. Fresh violets fragrance makes you feel Paris’s air in spring, this delicate flower decorates the collection.
The packaging of Vivienne Sabo’s products has symbols on it. Polka dot is the most romantic French pattern, an absolute classic. Violets are a symbol of revival, love and spring, a symbol of Paris.

Make-up by Vivienne Sabo embodies the true Parisian chic and elegance. It is created with the modern cosmetic products and corresponds to the latest fashion trends. Vivienne Sabo is a company with a very beautiful history and named after a beautiful heroine.

Genuine cosmetic romanticism…

                                                                          (Photo was taken from the official Vivinne Sabo homepage.) 

Why not looking at the products a little bit closer and see what they are really all about. 

First up was a blush in light rose, which applies really sheer, but is also buildable. It gives you the chance to intensify the color if needed. The feel is very powdery & velvety. Might be nothing for the cream blush lovers out there. But over all it’s a nice every day product.

Next item is the beautify shaped eyeshadow trio – Fleur de Velours nr.73.

I didn’t even want to touch the flower, since it looked so lovely, but of course I was excited to see how well the color pigmentation was. Unfortunately I have to admit that only one of the three colors was pigmented enough for my taste. (The silvery blue shade looks very pretty on the lid.) We often see that phenomenon of drugstore eyeshadow being less pigmented than high-end products. In this case I hope to be more successful when using a primer beforehand.

Next two items have been the smoothing lipsticks with wine extract in nr.410 and nr.411.

First of all, how cute is the packaging? The polka dots are spot on at the moment, immediately giving the little box a vintage flair.

The shape and even the application is similar to the L’Oréal Paris Color Riche lipsticks, maybe a slight reminder of the Revlon Lip Butters through their creamy and moisturizing formula and very wearable colors.

They apply very well and leave a shiny finish. But the best is definitely the smell. When you take off the cap you instantly smell wild strawberries. It’s an incredible smell that reminds me personally of my childhood. So far the smoothing lipsticks have been my favorites from this collection. I enjoy wearing them a lot these days.

There are still two different mascara, powder pearls and a moisturizing brilliance lipstick in testing (which you can see in the main picture). So stay tuned for more of this brand.
Hope you liked the little overview of the russian cosmetic brand. Have you tried anything from that country yet? If so, what was it?

And if not, what are you most worn blushes and lipsticks of the past season? Share your secrets.

Summer Favorites 2012

Let’s talk summer favorites. Can you actually believe it’s september already? I think I’ve even seen the first yellow leaves covering the trees… 

Anyhow, for me the summer is almost over and it’s time to evaluate what kind of products I really enjoyed using and why.

• I’d like to begin with my all time helper in the morning. And that’s my Arabica coffee.

Yes I know, it’s not exactly a beauty item, but it makes me awake and smile every day, and as we know – smiling makes every girl (and boy) beautiful!

• In the area of decorative cosmetics I want to point out my highlights of this summer: the Ultimate Shine lipstick in 080 Corallicious Pink and the Ultimate Nail Lacquer 030 Meet Me At Coral Island. Both by the german brand Cartice.

I really enjoy wearing lipsticks from the Ultimate Shine collection, since they always fit my idea of shade, texture and formula. The  application goes on very smoothly, gives my lips enough moisture ( no one likes dry lips ),  doesn’t feel sticky and it stays pretty much shiny and in place for over 2,5 – 3 hours.  Personally thinking – the best feature is def the almost nonexistent traditional lipstick smell, which many can not stand! So all in one a really great summer lip product!

Matching the lipstick would be the Nail Lacquer by Catrice 030 Meet Me At Coral Island. Usually you only need one coat to get the wanted color on your nails. Depending on the light the color can look more corally or pinkish. Funny enough, even on the official Catrice Cosmetics website the color appears much more pinkish than it is in real life.

So because i was so much in love with the coral color this summer and had a few month to test them,  i can absolutely recommend both items. If you can get your hands on Catrice products, you should def give them a try!

• Going over to my top 3 hair and skin care items of this summer.

1. MoroccanOil Oil Treatment
2. Lumene Natural Code skin purifier 24h Moisturizer.
3. Balea erfrischendes Bodyspray Minze & Grüner Tee (refreshing body mist with mint & green tea by Balea)

So many ladies have been raving about the MoroccanOil Oil Treatment all over the net. By now we all are aware of the nourishing effect of the product. I instantly felt in love with the smell, which again isn’t  too strong. If you put it on your almost dry hair, the oil makes it smooth and almost silky. The hairstyle does stay in place all day long and even 2 days later it doesn’t feel more greasy than usual.

My favorite daytime oil-free moisturizer of this summer was Natural Code skin purifier 24h. The finnish brand Lumene claims the moisturizer  balances the sebum secretion and mattiefies the skin. The formula is pretty light, so your face doesnt feel like having a lot on, which is always nice during summer time and Lumene includes salisylic acid, to prevent possible breakouts. Great product, especially for combination & oily skin types.

And last but not least the body mist with mint & green tea by the german drugstore brand Balea, which launches different limited summer editions every year. The smell is not too strong (by now you should have noticed i’m not a big fan of really strong scents) and the green tea definitelly dominates over the mint. The mist is pretty fine and cooling on the skin and doesn’t feel sticky, so I liked to spritz myself all over with it on a really hot summer days.

Have you ever tried any MoroccanOil or Lumene products?

Glad if this post helped someone 🙂

Tell me, what your favorite summer product of the year are. I’d like to hear your stories!