Get your daily dose of VitC with Clinique's Fresh pressed system |Smugnificent

I had said that I will try to go to a no-buy period concerning skincare products as my cupboards overflow of brand new unopened skincare stuff for me to try and use and I try to make a schedule but as a genuine skincare junkie it is impossible to stay awake from super cool launches. It was inevitable therefore, to run and search the new Fresh pressed system by Clinique as soon as it hit the Swiss stores.

 

I saw this new 7-day system from Caroline Hirons (who else?) and I thought that my week long trip to Paris in late March was the perfect opportunity to give it a go since is also in a perfect size to carry with me. The system contains vitamin C and combines a cleanser with a vitamin C booster to promise brighter, smoother, glowy skin from the first use already!

Plumper skin with Revitalift Filler |Smugnificent

I have made numerous times clear my obsession with skincare both here and on my channel. So trying out skincare products is definitely my kind of thing. As you know I was away on vacation after the last few crazy months and soon after I got back home, I got a package in the post from Coolbrandz with L' Oreal' s latest skincare line.

I didn't had the chance to read a lot about the line beforehand but the moment I read that the L' Oreal Revitalift Filler [HA] has hyaluronic acid in I was immediately sold. I was very pleased with my current skincare routine but I have been always pleased with the results of hyaluronic on my skin so I was thrilled to test a more budget-friendly line.

Slowing signs of age: Vichy's new launch, Slow Âge |Smugnificent

Skincare products were always as equally interesting to me as makeup and as the years go by and I get older the balance tilts more in favour of skincare. And not only because good skin equals good makeup as many say, which is absolutely true to be honest. But most importantly because although makeup can be absolutely fun, artistic and amazing, skincare is actually an investment for your future. And the choices you make now about your skincare affect how your skin will look not only in a few months but also in the years to come. So although I was always into skincare, recently I am becoming more and more invested in my routine and I am finding products that suit my needs and prevent skin damage.

Vichy is a major player in the skincare game since many decades. It is a brand known for the variety of quality products for different skin needs at a reasonable price. Now Vichy is coming out with a new day cream, Slow Âge, focusing on slowing down signs of ageing. Coolbrandz launched a new campaign in Switzerland together with Vichy for the launching of Slow Âge so I received a testing version of the product and I have been using it since almost 3 weeks every morning.

EBeauty and Care Korean skincare haul |Smugnificent

I realised that it is been ages since I posted a haul post on the blog. I know that people love my haul videos and most of the times I let things gather and then they end up being too many for a post. So this time when I was opening my order from eBeauty and Care I immediately decided; this is a good amount of stuff for a haul post.

eBeauty and Care is a Swiss online store which is ran by Laetitia, one of the sweetest and nicest bloggers I have met in Switzerland. I knew since long that we shared a love about Korean Beauty with her, talking about Memebox orders when they were still shipping in Europe and when she ended up opening an online store delivering Korean products to Switzerland, Germany, France and Belgium I was thrilled. The store recently celebrated its first year anniversary and I am here to show you the things I included in my latest order.

Fighting blemishes without getting dry skin? Kiehl's has the answer |Smugnificent

Several weeks ago around the end of January I have visited my local Kiehl's counter in Globus Bern to use my coupon from December's advent calendar and after a nice discussion about my skin and its problems, the clerk suggested me quite a few products suited to my needs and prepared me a samples bag in exchange for the coupon. You can see these as well as a round up of the travel sized products my calendar had in and I am trying in a previous post.

From all the products she showed me there was one that caught my one as I have not until now used something similar; Kiehl's Blemish Control Daily Skin-Clearing Treatment. This product claims to be a treatment against imperfections caused by acne while helping blemishes clear quicker all in lightweight cream formula which can be used twice or even three times a day. There are a lot of interesting claims here so after using it indeed daily for almost 1.5 months I have some thoughts to share with you.

The product comes in a tube of 30ml and has a creamy but thin and quite fluid consistency which makes it easy to use up without it sticking in the walls of the packaging. It contains a trio of acids, idiotic acid, salicylic acid and lipo-hydroxy acid (LHA). With a bit of online research I found that it contains 1.5% salicylic acid but the product's pH is relatively high for the acids to be really effective as exfoliants. This certainly fits with my impression that this is not the miraculous product which will kill all your blemishes overnight. And it is also not one of these drying lotions or liquids which act like this either. What it is, is a mild, easy to use in your morning and night routine creamy product, quite effective in blemish control long-term. For me the most important thing is that although they warn you that you might experience dryness (cultivating the fear of acids) this product has not in any way dried my skin out. I am using it in combination with an exfoliating toner (the Clarins one currently), an oil or serum and under my moisturiser. As a precaution I chose to use a more hydrating cream at night (the Recifis Soothing restorating cream) but I feel that I don't necessarily need to as I have not experienced any dry patches or anything like that. I apply it all over my face in particular the areas I am more "spotty" and I have seen my blemishes as well as the marks they leave go away easier. I also believe that long term it helped preventing acne outburst although I still have of course the occasional hormonal or stress breakouts (I will never get rid of those I know). 

I think what make this special is not so much that it is super potent but that it is gentle to the skin while it does its job. I see it as one of those products working on the background, slowly and quietly helping you to get a better skin in the long term. What I fear is that after using it for quite some time its results seem to reach a limit and you cannot see much further improvement, but this also makes sense based on the ingredients. I will use this up with joy and try something else for a while afterwards, before repurchasing it which I certainly plan, just so that my skin doesn't get completely used to it. If you are serious with your acids (and you should) I advise you to combine it with other products but if you want to try out a mild and not drying solution which will help you to deal with imperfections you have definitely a good candidate in this one.

Overall I am quite pleased with this product, although it hasn't swept me off my feet or offered me any mouth-dropping moments. If you live in Switzerland you can get it in any of your local Kiehl's counters in Globus or Manor or at the Kiehl's store in Zurich or order it online from their online shop or Marionnaud. It retails for 49CHF. My Greek readers can find this at the Kiehl's counters inside Attica but I am sure Kiehl's products are available in other shops too.

Have you ever tried this product? Which is your go to anti-blemish clearing product?

New holy-grail face masks by Aesop |Smugnificent

If you follow me on Snapchat or Facebook you know why I have been away from blogging and vlogging the last few weeks. Personal and family issues and an extreme workload were too overwhelming and kept me away from posting but I just returned from a long exhausting work trip in Amsterdam and I am slowly getting back to program. So I am back with a long promised review on two new holy grail products in my skincare routine by the company Aesop, all the way from Australia: the Parsley Seed cleansing masque and the Chamomile Concentrate anti-blemish masque.

 

Αν με ακολουθείτε στο Snapchat ή στο Facebook ξέρετε γιατί απουσιάζα από το blogging και το Youtube τις τελευταίες εβδομάδες. Προσωπικά και οικογενειακά θέματα καθώς και υπερβολικά ωράρια στη δουλειά με κράτησαν μακριά αλλά μόλις επέστρεψα από ένα μακρύ εξουθενωτικό επαγγελματικό ταξίδι στο Amsterdam και σιγά σιγά μπαίνω πάλι σε πρόγραμμα. Επιστρέφω λοιπόν με ένα review που σας εχω υποσχεθεί από καιρό για δύο νέα προϊόντα στην ρουτίνα περιποίησης μου από την εταιρία Aesop, που έρχεται από την Αυστραλία: την Parsley Seed cleansing μάσκα και την Chamomile Concentrate anti-blemish μάσκα.

Unboxing Memebox Global #16 | Smugnificent

It's been long since I show you a new memebox but the last few weeks I got 4 boxes and I decided to film a couple and unbox the rest here on the blog. In case you don't know Memebox, check the huge playlist of Memebox unboxing videos I have uploaded on my channel.  As we have said it is a Korean Beautybox but instead of getting a monthly subscription you can order any box you choose from a huge selection of memeboxes. You can also check the unboxings of global #14 and cooling care boxes I have here on the blog. Today I am unboxing my latest Globalbox, Global #16, that comes again with a great variety of products.

Έχω καιρό να σας δείξω κάποιο νέο memebox αλλά τις τελευταίες εβδομάδες παρέλαβα μαζεμένα 4 κουτιά και αποφάσισα να γυρίσω κάποια σε video και τα υπόλοιπα να τα ανεβάσω εδώ. Σε περίπτωση που δεν έχετε ξανακούσει για το Memebox (τότε είστε σίγουρα νέοι στο blog), τσεκάρετε την μεγάλη playlist με Memebox unboxing videos που έχω ανεβάσει στο κανάλι μου. Όπως έχουμε ξαναπεί πρόκειται για ένα Κορεάτικο Beautybox όμως αντί για μηνιαία συνδρομή, επιλέγετε και αγοράζετε ένα (ή περισσότερα) κουτιά από την μεγάλη ποικιλία  memeboxes στο site. Aν θέλετε μπορείτε να δείτε και άλλα unboxing posts που έχω ανεβάσει στο blog, όπως το global #14 και το  cooling care box. Σήμερα θα σας δείξω τι έχει μέσα το τελευταίο μου Globalbox, το Global #16, το οποίο περιέχει μια καλή ποικιλία προϊόντων για άλλη μια φορά. 

Clarisonic PLUS+ Lancome: 7 days challenge: Is this a super combo for your skin?

 Some weeks ago I was contacted by coolbrandz to participate to a 7 days skincare "challenge": Using the new Clarisonic PLUS in combination with a wonderful Lancôme trio: Advanced Genifique, Dreamtone and Visionnaire. That is a great collaboration between 2 major companies in the field of skincare so I was truly excited. As some of you might know if you are old subscribers or follow me at Youtube, I am a fan of tools like Clarisonic and a own a dupe that I have reviewed in the past. I really wanted to try out Clarisonic since it launched in Switzerland (you can find it exclusively at Marrionaud) and I am already a fan of Lancôme serums (especially Visionnaire that I find fantastic, so the idea to test how these work as a combo really excited me. So today that I am writing this post I just finished my 7-days trial period and the compnies claim that you can already see results after the first week using this combination.

L' Oreal giveaway με προϊόντα περιποίησης (open for Greece only)

Ένα από τα αγαπημένα μας θέματα σε αυτό το blog είναι η περιποίηση του δέρματος και γι αυτό δοκιμάζουμε high end αλλά και drugstore εταιρίες για να ανακαλύψουμε νέα προϊόντα για μας αλλά και για σας. Ένα προϊόν που έχω ξεχωρίσει από τα πιο οικονομικά το τελευταίο διάστημα είναι το νερό καθαρισμού micellaire της L' Oreal Paris. To χρησιμοποιώ τον τελευταίο μήνα και μπορώ να πω πως το θεωρώ ισάξιο με άλλα πολύ ακριβότερα, ενώ βρίσκω την συσκευασία του πολύ "καθαρή" και όμορφη. Όταν επικοινώνησε λοιπόν μαζί μας η L' Oreal Paris για να προσφέρει σε 5 τυχερές αναγνώστριες από Ελλάδα από ένα νερό καθαρισμού micellaire αλλά και μια ενυδατική κρέμα ημέρας τριπλή φροντίδα, αποφασίσαμε ότι είναι μια καλή ευκαιρία για να δοκιμάσετε και σεις τα προϊόντα αυτά. Δεν εχουμε δοκιμάσει την κρέμα μέχρι τώρα αλλά θα χαρούμε να ακούσουμε τη δική σας γνώμη για τα προϊόντα αυτά. 

Αυτά λοιπόν είναι τα δώρα που θα κερδίσουν οι 5 νικήτριες με τις οποίες θα επικοινωνήσουμε μετά την κλήρωση για να μας στείλουν το ονοματεπώνυμο, τη διεύθυνση και το τηλέφωνο τους (για το courier). Tα δώρα θα αποσταλούν απευθείας από τη L' oreal Paris. O διαγωνισμός αυτός απευθύνεται σε άτομα που κατοικούν Ελλάδα.

Για να πάρετε μέρος αρκεί να συμπληρώσετε τη φόρμα παρακάτω. Όλοι οι όροι συμμετοχής είναι απλοί και υποχρεωτικοί.
Χρειάζεται 1) να ακολουθήσετε το blog μέσω GFC (το μπλε κουμπάκι στην αριστερή μπάρα) και 2) μέσω bloglovin (επίσης στην αριστερή μπάρα), 3) να κάνετε Like στη σελίδα της L' Oreal Paris στο Facebook και 4) να μας αφήσετε ένα σχόλιο εδώ στο post αυτό με ένα email επικοινωνίας.
Δεν υπάρχουν extra συμμετοχές αλλά φυσικά είναι πάντα ευπρόσδεκτο αν κάνετε share ώστε να το δουν και οι φίλοι σας.

Ο διαγωνισμός θα διαρκέσει μια εβδομάδα. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lierac Prescription skincare review

 If you have been long around this blog or my Youtube channel you know my love about skincare and that it is a thing I take seriously. I don't consider myself an expert in any case but I always try to stay informed and try out new interesting products in order to improve my routine. About 2 months ago I was sent some products by coolbrandz from the new prescription line by Lierac and I am using them all this time (with a couple of small breaks because of traveling). So that is what I think about them.

 Αν είστε καιρό μέλη στο blog ή στο κανάλι μου ξέρετε πως είμαι κολλημένη με τα προϊόντα περιποίησης προσώπου και πως είναι κάτι που παίρνω πολύ σοβαρά. Δε θεωρώ τον εαυτό μου ειδήμων σε καμιά περίπτωση αλλά προσπαθώ να μένω ενημερωμένη και να δοκιμάζω νέα ενδιαφέροντα προϊόντα ώστε να βελτιώνω την καθημερινή μου ρουτίνα. Πριν από 2 μήνες περίπου μου έστειλαν από την εταιρία coolbrandz μερικά προϊόντα από τη νέα σειρά prescription της Lierac (που με ενημέρωσε μια subscriber πως θα κυκλοφορήσει Ελλάδα στα τέλη του μήνα), τα οποία χρησιμοποιώ όλο αυτό το διάστημα (με ελάχιστες εξαιρέσεις λόγω ταξιδιού). Ορίστε λοιπόν η γνώμη μου.

Garnier Pure Active Make Up Remover Purifying Gel 2 in 1

  The ones of you that are not new to this blog or my YT channel, know that my persistence with skincare is even worse than with make up. I am very much in to skincare these last few years and I love trying out stuff and making my everyday routine better and better. So I quite loved the idea of testing a skincare product for coolbrandz; Garnier's new makeup remover purifying gel 2 in 1 from the Pure Active line.

  Όσες δεν είστε πολύ καινούργιες στο blog ή στο κανάλι μου στο YT, ξέρετε πως η εμμονή μου με τα προϊόντα περιποίησης είναι ακόμη μεγαλύτερη κι από ότι με τα προϊόντα  make up. Ειδικά τα τελευταία χρόνια επενδύω περισσότερα σε προϊόντα skincare και μου αρέσει πολύ να δοκιμάζω και νέα προϊόντα ώστε να βελτιώνω συνεχώς την καθημερινή μου ρουτίνα περιποίησης. Επομένως φυσικά και μου άρεσε η ιδέα να δοκιμάσω ένα νέο προϊόν περιποίησης για το coolbrandz: το νέο makeup remover purifying gel 2 in 1 από τη σειρά Pure Active της Garnier.

Essence Sublime Iris Angelique skin perfector by L' Occitane- my new skincare love| Smugnificent

 I always have tried to take good care of my skin and prevent future damage instead of crying over spilled milk after the damage happens. The last few years and as I grow older (well as we all do) I tend to invest more money and time to keep my skin in the good condition it is. I keep a really good skincare routine on a daily basis and I am always excited to try out new stuff! That's one of the main reasons I really was excited to try out this new product by L' Occitane, Essence Sublime Iris Angelique skin perfector. I have already uploaded a first video review (in English) on my Youtube channel but I thought I could also prepare a more extensive blog post.

 Πάντοτε προσπαθούσα να προσέχω την επιδερμίδα μου και να προλαμβάνω τυχόν μελλοντικές βλάβες αντί να κλαίγομαι αφού συμβούν. Τα τελευταία χρόνια ειδικά και όσο μεγαλώνω (κι όμως συμβαίνει σε όλους χαχα) επενδύω περισσότερο χρόνο (και χρήμα) για να διατηρώ το δέρμα μου στην καλή κατάσταση που βρίσκεται. Προσπαθώ να έχω μια εκτεταμένη και καλή καθημερινή ρουτίνα περιποίησης  και πάντοτε χαίρομαι να δοκιμάζω νέα προϊόντα! Αυτός ήταν κι ένας βασικός λόγος για τον οποίο ήμουν πολύ ενθουσιασμένη να δοκιμάσω αυτό το νέο προϊόν της εταιρίας L' Occitane, το Essence Sublime Iris Angelique skin perfector. Έχω ήδη ανεβάσει ένα μικρό video review στα αγγλικά στο κανάλι μου στο Youtube αλλά σκέφτηκα πως το προϊόν αυτό αξίζει ένα πιο εκτεταμένο blog post.

Sirius Skin Sonic System

 I had promised that I wanted to start a series of post concerning my skincare routine by which I am very satisfied in general and I follow it for several months with minor adjustments. The most reasonable for me is to start with a review of the most basic part of my skincare, my Sirius Sonic Skin Care System.

 Σας είχα υποσχεθεί πως θέλω σιγά σιγά να ξεκινήσω μια σειρά από posts σχετικά με την περιποίηση προσώπου που ακολουθώ το τελευταίο διάστημα και με έχει αφήσει πολύ ικανοποιημένη. Θεωρώ φυσικό να ξεκινήσω καταρχήν με ένα review για το πιο βασικό κομμάτι της περιποίησης μου το Sirius Sonic Skin Care System.