I love all things to do with fashion & beauty. With beauty, the stuffs gotta work and be at a reasonable price. That said I don't and paying for something that produces effective end results and is simply amazing, than opting out for something cheaper and not so great. Given a comparison, beauty in Greece comes with a whopping price tag. I haven't quite gotten used to and neither found the ideal equivalent to Rimmel or should I say 'high street' beauty & make up. My supplies are running low ladies, which inevitably suggests a flying trip to the UK soon. Yippee!!! I've already started drafting up my initial list of beauty goodies I want & need. I don't know about you, but these products have never failed me and depending on budgets these are some of the most amazing, really works wonders beauty products. This one sensational product doesn't really fit into any particular category purely because it does everything - my best friend & I used to carry a tube everywhere!!! Elizabeth Arden's 8 Hour cream - great for chapped Lips, glossy cheeks, soothes scrapes (& burns) and you can mix with powder eye shadow and create a oil slick kinda look.
Face/skincare:
Simple Vital Vitamins Night cream - in the morning my skin feels soft, what a delight. I also love the Clarins Multi-active Night/Day cream, Clarins Beauty Flash Balm (£26.50) for those emergency days and the Olay range of day creams with SPF. My mum used to use the Olay Classic care beauty fluid - 100ml religiously and has great skin (but i might put that down to genes). After they changed the brand name from 'Oil of Ulay' to 'Olay' the scent and the actual lotion seems to have changed too. I'm not loving it so much now. Have used Lancôme and also Estée Lauder too, they're ok for me but why pay more when you can get something that works just as well? I've got some Dr. Nick Lowe anti ageing creams I bought before to use next, so will report on that another time. I don't really buy into the anti-ageing cream stuff but I am reaching the age where lines are showing. Right now I just make sure I slap on the SPF everyday & try (being the operative word) to eat well to prevent further damage. Greece is getting sunnier by the day now and getting a sun tan just isn't a priority anymore. Not when you know that 10/20/50 years down the line you'll end up looking leathery - think the lady from 'There's Something about Mary' (shudder).
Make-Up: I love to play so much and experiment on my girls.
Lips:
Cheap & expensive glossies in tubes are great as long as they don't have an overly sticky consistency, which i find that this is the case with Lancomes Juicy Tubes (but I just so love the smell and yummy colours). You do get super shiny lips though.
I love Pout's Lip plump - in clear, i have no idea why they've shut down but i miss their gorgeous girly products - they absolutely rocked the lips department. Equally good in the plumping department is 'Sexy Mother Pucker' which you can buy at Boots for around £8.
Other amazing Lip glosses i adore are: L'Oreal Glam Shine Lip Gloss - £8
Benefit Lip gloss in 'Kiss' - it's a very soft shade of pink - £14
Also love the Dior lip gloss sticks too. Very delicious.
Mac lipstick in 'Girl about town' - i love this hot pink colour - £12.50
Love Mac for their vibrant variety of Lipstick colours and also YSL lipsticks.
Eyes:
I could go on forever on this section but maybe another time. I have short eyelashes, and as a kid growing up I wanted so badly to have my friends eyelashes which were like 12mm long. What's a girl to do but try every kinda lash extending mascara?
What's working for me are:
Max Factor's Master Piece Max Mascara - £10 - This rocks! Clinique High impact Mascara - £14.50 - This is really good and the wand doesn't clog up to much too. Rimmel Extra super lash mascara w/curled brush - £5 - I also wanted to have curled/upwards lashes too, so i bought this in hope. It's a good all round mascara for everyday use but there are better mascara's. Bourjois Volume Glamour - £8 - Have used this over and over again - tis pretty good.
Someone's just bought me the Dior Showcase Extase mascara - will report back on this another time and also Maybelline Colossal mascara - £7 with it's rubber wand.
Eye shadows
Love YSL, Bobbi Browns Shimmer wash range, Mac for colour and staying power, Shu Uemera - Iridescent colour crayon set - my lovely friend bought this gift from the states and they can be crushed and blended using the finger and has great staying power. I love that you can use the sticks as a high lighter, eye-liner and eye shadow too.
Benefit's Show Offs - £12 Super shimmery product for eyes, lips and cheeks.
Rimmel soft Kohl Eye Pencil - £3 - I cannot live without this product, it's inexpensive and incredibly effective. Easy blending too.
Foundation:
I don't really use foundation anymore, living in a hot climate just doesn't do any good whatsoever, either that or the fact that I'm much more comfortable in my own skin now. In the past I've used L'Oreal's True Match Foundation - £10 or Bobbi Brown - where the colours were matched perfectly to my skin tone.
Concealer
It's worth splurging here mainly because you want to cover up big time and have good staying power! Mac - Moisture cover concealer - £12.50 - doesn't dry out the spot in question. Rimmel Stay matt concealer - £5 - provides a much thicker cover but colours available are not so great which is where Bobbi Brown comes in. Her Creamy Concealer is amazing as is the Corrector (for under the eyes/uneven skin tone) both £16.50. Talk about saving the day...
Bronzer/Blushers
Hmmm, I love bronzers, they transform me from scary, pasty ghost into a glowing human being. I was also bought a gorgeous hot pink cream blush from Milan years ago and all I can say is that it changed my life. Carrie Bradshaw eat your heart out girl! An orange or hot pink cream blush added (by finger tips) in a sweeping upwards motion on your cheekbones/upper apples of your cheek area - mind you only need a little can just give you that healthy, rosy look. Most of my cream blushers and hot coloured powder blushers are from Hong Kong from either Sa-Sa or Bonjour.
I love and religiously use Rimmel's Natural Bronzer - £5.50 but am currently using one by Marbert (at Harrods - i bought this on sale for a fiver-bargain!!) There are a great range of iridescent, shimmery bronzers/blushers out there with varying shade in one set, so as you sweep along you get a highlighter and a deeper colour-depending on what you look you're going for. Bobbi Brown, Dior, Givenchy amongst a few others have excelled in this department.
Highlighters:
Benefits High Beam - £17.50 - I luuuurve this product for adding a swift bit of shine to your cheekbones, under the brow and a few other places... There are more inexpensive versions out there, this is just one 'splurge' product i love to use. I also love H & M (yes as in the fashion chain) for their Shimmer Powder in Gold which I use on the eyes and cheeks sometimes - it's really shimmery! I bought it for around £3-4.
Face cleansers:
Clarins One step Cleanser - £17.50 - I always pick this up at the Duty Free for a lot less, this removes all the nastiness and make-up on your face leaving it soft and smelling wonderful. A cheaper version without the frills but also amazing? Simple Conditioning Eye Make-up Remover - £3 - mainly for the eyes note! Problem skin - I know breakouts are the worst thing that can possibly happen, especially around the time of the month amongst other things. Clean & Clear Deep Cleansing cream wash - £3 or Clean & Clear Blackhead scrub - £3-4. To be honest i can't remember which one rocked it, but it was the one that exfoliates well, leaving no shiny skin and also felt tingly.
Body moisturiser:
Palmers Cocoa Butter Body Lotion - £3.50 - Holy Bananas this is my can't live without product ever! It's cheap, smells so yummy you want to eat it, leaves the skin feeling properly soft and re-hydrated and is simply Wow. I've used this product for like 16 years and counting.
Also need to get more of The Sanctuary's Body Moisture Spray - £5.50 - this is also amazing, smells amazing and leaves the skin super soft. It's not too oily either.
Oh my god, this post is like an essay and i haven't even added images yet. I'm officially a beauty junkie, yikes!
However, if you don't fancy that (I'm not sure I would, but then i don't wear foundation) try using a primer such as an Marini Skin Research Prime, £55 or Benefits 'That Gals" brightening face primer - available in the US, to UK & in Sephora.
Elizabeth Arden's 8 Hour cream is first aid in a bottle. Yes, I know it has a unique scent, not everyone loves it, but i've been buying this beauty SOS in a bottle for years. I carry it everywhere all year round, as you never know when you need to help soothe & rehydrate chapped lips, skin (if caught in full gale force winds), burns, scrapes...it also looks great as a natural lip gloss, can be smoothed over eyes and cheekbone area for a healthy sheen and natural glow too. See it's like miracle in a bottle! I always pick this up from Duty Free or Superdrug in the UK who always seem to do the most amazing offers! Oh and a little goes a long way! 
Clarins Beauty Flash Balm - Clarins just works for me, this product pops out a lot - to brighten up winter complexion, but more importantly there's something in this product which helps give boost radiance. I use this after i've slapped on my daily moisturiser with SPF, then give my cheeks a quick pinch for colour if you don't use blusher! I don't really wear much make up in summer, but for a night out, water proof mascara is a lifesaver, you don't really want it smudging and sliding into the corner of your eyes, no one like to see a mascara bogey!
I love a good leave-in conditioner like the one by Aussie Miracle Hair Insurance, smells yum and does wonders if you've been for a swim in the sea or are caught up in the summer sun. 
Some of you guys are on holiday or have just returned - if you want to keep that tan, keep moisturizing! Have always loved Palmer's Cocoa Butter - cheap and bloody efficient, also love the Soap and Glory ranges of butters, and the Body Shop range of Body butters - i'm a sucker for body butters, please don't judge! There are also lots of products which do After Sun Tan prolongers too such as Piz Buin & Nivea.
Last of all... Totally random and unrelated - Alka Seltzer - I wish they sold this in Greece. I usually stock up when in the UK. This is your hangover & headaches fixer upper! Honestly, this works brilliantly - i think the equivalent in Greece is Dupon - the effervescent version.
