How to get rid of frizzy hair

Hello darlings, it's Margaret!
I hope you're all well!
Summer usually means break, holiday, possibly seaside. That's when the hair start getting crazy: they become dry, uncontrollable and frizzy. Unfortunately some of us girls suffer from this hair problem during the whole year.. Like me!
I've been trying a few products in the last couple of months and today I want to show something that really works for me.
There is a cheap alternative and a slightly more expensive one: Phyto 7 Hydrating day cream and The body shop Coconut oil hair shine.

After I wash my hair I towel-dry them and try to brush them through gently a little bit. Once I've done that I put a peasize of the Phyto 7 Hydrating Day cream onto the lenghts of my hair. The consistency is not oily at all and it does not weigh your hair down  - I found this happens with a lot of anti frizz products. My hair do not feel an instant change but while blow drying them I notice the difference: the product will leave your hair smooth and shiny (in a good way). At the beginning I was a little reluctant because I didn't know if this cream would have worked for my normal to oily hair. I am really impressed with it so far!

Of course, I don't wash my hair every single day but usually every other day. So the second day my hair start to get frizzy again. What do I normally do? I choose according to the condition of my hair. If my hair are quite dry, I'll pick the Phyto 7 Hydrating day cream and put it on the ends of my hair  and on the roots if really necessary. Instead, if my hair are more on the oily side (who knows why?) I'll go for The Body shop Coconut oil hair shine. This solid oil melts between the fingertips and hydrates and removes the frizz. The Phyto cream can be used on dry hair as well.

Both these products are great. I must say that The Phyto cream is a bit more versatile than the oil because you can use it in different ways and I believe it works for most hair types.

I really hope this post helped some of you. 

Please let me know if you use any other product to solve this problem.

Lots of love, 

Margaret

OOTD #7 High waisted shorts

Lovely girls!
How are you doing? It's July and sales have finally started here in Italy too! Yesterday I found these awesome Levi Strauss high waisted shorts in a shop and since I'm very proud of my first purchase, I want to show you how I wear them. It's a very simple outfit, something you can wear quickly when it's hot outside and you don't feel like spending too much time on clothes.
If you have any suggestions about anything, please write them in the comments.

1. Levi Strauss High waisted shorts 19.50€

2. White top

3. Black Converse All Star

4. Stradivarius headband

5. H&M bag

6. Ray-Ban Wayfarer

"... I got Ray Ban vision!"

xoxo
Sara

NOTD #6 KIKO Caribbean Green

What's up girls?
Here is Sara! Today I'm gonna show you my nail choice of the week. It was a Christmas gift but I just started using it lately because I thought it was too full on. But now it's finally summer, so what time of the year could be better?
It's the number 388 by Kiko called Caribbean Green. It has micro glitters that give it a sort of metallic effect, perfect for night outs. I applied two coats and I've got it on for 3 days and it's not chipped (I didn't use the top coat!).

Kiko- N388- Link 

Love,
Sara

My desire post #4 London edition!

Hello everyone! It's Margaret!
Since I'm planning to go to London again, I'm now trying to make a list of some little beauty related British treasures... Today I want to share with you my choices, but if you have any other recommendations feel free to leave them in the comments!
Boots will be my dreamland!

- Boots Botanics 97% Organic Hot Cloth Cleansing balm - 8.99£ - Link

 

So curious about this stuff! I think I'll use this during cold months because it's quite rich and thick and not the best option during summertime for those with combination skin like me! I want to try it both because it has a reasonable ingredient list and because I can't afford the super hyped Emma Hardie one. I think it's a good compromise. Also, in Italy they're not that popular as in other countries. 

- Soap & Glory The breakfast scrub - 8£ - Link

 

Last year, I was obsessed with this stuff and I wanted to get it, but as soon as I smelled the Flake away Scrub I couldn't resist. I still remember the Breakfast scrub and its lovely perfume though and now I desperately want to try it!

- Origins Balanced diet Lightweight Moisture Lotion - 23£ - Link

As I said multiple times, I have combination skin: this means that I get both spots and dry patches - Brilliant! I'm always looking for a good moisturizer - light but hydrating enough. The Origins one seems to be suitable for my skin type although the price is ridiculously high. I still want to give it a go though because Origins is a well-known brand which uses good and reliable ingredients.

- Collection Lasting perfection concealer in Fair 1 - 4.19£ - Link

The number one of high street concealers!! I can't rave about this stuff enough,  it's glorious! 

- Rimmel Stay matte powder - 3.99£ - Link 

 Best drugstore setting powder I've tried so far, it matches my skin colour perfectly but I've noticed that it also gives some coverage. Great product :)

- Aussie Miracle Hair Insurance Leave-in conditioner - 4.99£ - Link

 

 I know, technically this is an Australian brand, but I'm sure it's a bit more difficult for me to go to Australia :) I've heard so much about this, it's supposed to be hydrating, smoothing and should make your hair shiny: need to try this!

That's it for this post! As you can see I love surfing the net, looking for some British and non-British beauty gems eheh. This is my list but it could eventually grow: if you have any other recommendations about beauty products and make up I should pick up from London, make sure to leave them in the comments - I would really appreciate that! If you want to check out my previous London beauty haul, here's the link! 

Thank you so much for reading!

Lots of love, 

Margaret

Beauty roundup #1

Hello girls! it's Margaret :)
I hope you're all well, I have an exciting post for you today. I was tidying up my beauty basket and I thought of a new series for the blog: Beauty roundups! Instead of writing in depth-reviews with all the details and everything, I think that every now and then I could do some on-the-go reviews: short, simple and clear reviews. Obviously I will keep doing my usual reviews but sometimes it could be more enjoyable to have an overview of different products at the same time.

Today it's a mixture of skincare and make up! I will tell you something about: Origins Super Spot remover Blemish treatment gel, Burt's Bees sensitive night cream and Korres Lip butter in Plum.

Origins Super spot remover Blemish treatment gel- 13£

Oh Gosh. This is a miracle product. I have combination and acne prone skin: this means frequent breakouts and spots. When I get them, I try to keep my skin always perfectly clear and I religiously apply this gel to the spot 2 times a day. Once you put it on, it dries out very quickly and creates onto the blemish a clear film which isolates the spot and disinfect it. I find that it works best when the spot has just appeared rather than when it's there since 2-3 days. After 3-4 applications you can feel and actually see the difference: the spot is almost disappeared, not red anymore and definitely smaller. Yo need a tiny amount of it, in fact the little bottle lasts over 8 months. It's quite a harsh product because it contains alcohol and salicylic acid but even on my super sensitive skin I didn't have any problems with it.

So, great product, effective, totally worth the hype and the price. Big thumbs up! Staple piece in my skincare routine.

Burt's Bees Sensitive night cream - 12.74£

This product was originally my mum's but she found it too light for her dry mature skin. So she gave me quite a while ago, probably 4 months, and I used it up completely. During winter my skin has some dry patches (although I still get breakouts)  and this cream seems to actually help get rid of them. It's really hydrating for my skin type. I would use it both as a day and as a night cream. Great make up base, it dries very quickly and does not leave your skin feeling sticky or shiny. One of the best moisturizers I've tried so far.

Korres Lip butter in Plum - 8£

I'm not a lipgloss kind of girl. I much prefer lipsticks and tinted lip balms. When I first heard of these little treasures I was lusting after them: Korres made some beautiful shades (click on the link at the beginning of the post to see the other colours) but I was impressed with Plum. It's a blue-toned dark fuchsia colour: absolutely great shade, suitable for those with a pink undertone. It's highly pigmented and you need a tiny amount for a full application. You can build it up: it can be a bit sheer with a thin layer but if you insist, it transfoms into an actual lipstick. It does not last very much on the lips because it's moisturizing and smooth. The only down thing is the application: you always need to wash your hands so it's not very handy. I regret not buying the stick instead of the pot but other than that it's a wonderful product: beautiful shade, really hydrating but still very pigmented.

So, this is it for this first roundup!

I really enjoyed writing it andI hope you find it helpful. 

Tell me in the comments if you like the idea of this new series! 

Love, 

Margaret

Yves Rocher Samples review!

Hello everyone!
How are you today? We are excited for today's post: last week we went a bit shopping and we both received 2 Yves Rocher samples, the Sexy pulp mascara and the Sexy pulp gloss volume after our purchases.
They are tubes of 2.5 ml of capacity so they are really tiny, but at the same time the perfect size for testing them out.

As for the mascara, you can see from the picture below that its wand is incredibly thick and you can get different effects:
- if you have long lashes, like Sara's ones, you will end up having extra long and very defined lashes
- if you have short and thick lashes, like Margaret's ones, you will get a volumizing effect.

 Sexy pulp mascara in the colour Black 16.95 €

                     Sara's lashes: Left: WITH mascara, Right NO mascara                    

Margaret's lashes

The lasting power is quite good, at least 10 hours. It does not smudge or anything like that, which is always a plus especially during summer - it's not waterproof though.

The price is not the best on the market but the mascara is totally worth the money for both of us.

As for the gloss, the result is not the one we expected: it's a simple clear gloss with a slight tint of light pink - you can definitely find other beautiful glosses at a much better price. Even if it's supposed to be plumping, it is not. It's not sticky at all.

 Sexy pulp gloss volume in the shade 03 Rose  9.95 €

Sara's lips

It lasts a couple of hours, but then you have to reapply it, as the majority of glosses. The price is too high for what you get: we expected a much more pigmented lip gloss.

So, if you're looking for an everyday lip gloss with not much of a colour, this might be the right choice for you. But if you expect some more tint from a lip gloss, you'll have to search for something else. 

We wanted to share with you our thoughts on these new products. As you can see, we raved about the mascara only. Unfortunately not everything we get is good for us, but maybe it could work for some of you, so keep in mind that this is our opinion, who knows? some girls will find the gloss absolutely glorious!

Tell us if you have already tried them. We really hope you enjoyed our post and found it helpful. 

Love, 

Sara & Margaret

NOTD #5 KIKO Light lavender

Hello ladies!
As I promised, here I am again! Since today sun is shining bright and I'm happy for summer to come, I want to share with you all my nail choice.
It's a delicate and pastel shade - I applied 2 coats of the varnish to get this opaque finish and I'm quite satisfied with it.

Kiko - N°338 - Link

I really hope you like it, let me know if you tried it or if you have similar shades! 

Love, 

Sara

Outfit of the day #6 Elegant casual

Hello girls!
It's been a while since we published our last post but we've been really busy with the last exams. Nevertheless, school is finally over, so stay tuned in the next weeks because we are going to post lots of things. Here's the first!
I usually wear this outfit both when I go to school and when I go out with friends during night-outs. It's very comfortable and keeps you warm enough.

Washed out jeans - Oviesse 19.95 € 

White blouse - Stradivarius 12.95 €

Black cotton blazer - Stradivarius 29.95 €

Shoes - Superga 55 €

Bag - Accessorize Gift

Necklace - Topshop 18 £

Tell me in comments below what you think about this and if you have any suggestions to make it look better.

Love, 

Sara

Lush Dream cream review!

Hi everyone!
It's Margaret! Even if I had a long break from my dear blog, this doesn't mean I've stopped trying out new products. I had the chance to test the Dream cream from Lush. I was really excited because it's one of their bestsellers and everyone on Youtube seems to absolutely adore it. I finally managed to buy it on a rainy saturday afternoon almost 4 weeks ago.

As soon as I smelled it, I was like "That is my little treat, I know, but I promise I won't get anything else" and so I did: this is my latest purchase. Yay!! (I have to resist :) )

 Lush Dream cream - 19.85 euros

So, this is supposed to be a body lotion - it's famous for being super gentle on sensitive skin and it  seems also effective at curing eczema. That's impressive!  As promised you can see here the ingredient list:

Oat Milk, Rose Water, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Cocoa Butter, Glycerine, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Tincture of Benzoin, Rose Absolute, Chamomile Blue Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Lavender Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Methylparaben, Propylparabenc.

As you can see the majority of the ingredients are really good quality. But let's see in detail the function of every substance:
Natural ingredients
- Oat milk, Rose water: super moisturizing, calming and soothing
- Extra Virgin oil, cocoa butter: extra moisturizing
- Glycerine: humectant and moisturizing
- Rose absolute, Chamomille, Tea tree, Lavender: soothing, relaxing and purifying essential oils
- Geraniol, Linalool, Limonene: allergens
- Tincture of benzoin: natural antibacterial
 Chemical ingredients
- Stearic acid + triethanolamine: combined to emulsify the cream; pH regulators, they do not respect the acid pH of our skin - they could cause allergic reactions
- Cetearyl alcohol: emollient fat alcohol
- Methylparaben, Propylparaben: bad preservatives, they could cause cancer - dangerous

So, this is not the ideal solution for hydrating our skin but I was really curious about trying this out. This did not cause me any problems. In fact I benefit from its soothing property quite a lot - I tested a body scrub which doesn't seem to work for me, my skin was really tight and red afterwards. This did miracles on that. It has quite a thick consistency, not too heavy at all. Actually, it's one of the lightest moisturizers I've tried. Once you rub it in, it disappears quickly, it absorbs fast and leaves your skin feeling smooth and with a lovely scent. It's ideal in the evenings, because lavender and chamomille are really good at making you fall asleep :)

It's a nice body lotion but I don't think I will repurchase it right after I run out because I'm still looking for a better quality lotion - parabens free and possibly entirely natural.
Anyway, if you don't really mind bad ingredients, this could be a great choice - the only meh-side is the price, but I must say that it lasts a long time, you need a little amount for your body.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Do you have any recommendations as for body lotions? Let me know in the comments! I'm curious!

Love, 

Margaret

Music discoveries #1: Birdy

Hello everybody! It's Sara!

As Margaret had told you in the last post, I will collaborate with Margaret in this blog. I'm very excited and I hope I won't disappoint you.

Something new for you today! There won’t be any beauty stuff or outfit of the day, I’m sorry, but I’d like to talk to you about music. I'm pretty sure everybody loves music, from classical to indie, which is my favorite one. Like Jimi Hendrix said: "Music is my religion" and this is why I want to share with you all my new "music discoveries". 

Picture from Pinterest

So... like a month ago, I saw this young girl in an Italian singing competition on TV. She was a guest -not a competitor- and as soon as she started singing I was like “MAMMA MIA!” (Which means OMG!).

Her name is Birdy, and oh gosh!, I wish I had found about her before. She sang her version of Bon Iver’s Skinny Love (have you ever heard of them?), simply accompanied by piano. Her performance was amazing, her voice was so sweet and left me speechless until the end of the song.

Anyway, I googled her name and this is what I found: she is a sixteen-years-old girl from England and if I’m not wrong, some years ago she won an English music competition. She recorded lots of covers such as Pheonix’s 1901, The xx’s Shelter that I think are pretty much different from the original ones, except for the lyrics and this is what I love about her songs. Some of her songs are also in the Hunger Games’ soundtrack, as well as in many episodes of The Vampire Diaries and Grey’s Anatomy. 

Over here you can see the official video of “Skinny Love”, while the second link shows “People Help the People”, which is originally sung by Cherry Ghost.

Skinny Love by Birdy (official video)

2 --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmLNs6zQIHo

What about you? Have you ever listened to her before? Let me know what you think about Birdy and most of all write to me if you have found some awesome singers or bands. I will be very grateful to you! Hope I didn’t bore you and thank you for reading :)

Love,

Sara

Aesop Parsley seed Cleansing masque review!

Hello ladies! I'm Margaret! 
Today's a beauty related post! It's been a while now - 3 months - since I bought the Aesop Parsley seed cleansing masque. It's really hard to find in Italy, but I finally got my hands on this super-hyped product. I saw this mask on Essie's blog for the first time: I was shocked by its visual effect on the skin once it's dry - stunning! Since it's a ridiculously expensive product I started reading loads of other reviews, looked at the ingredient list and checked the benefits of each substance.

Aesop Parsley seed cleansing masque - 28 euros

From now I want to introduce another point to judge a product: the safety of the ingredients - we must be aware of what we put on our body, so it's really important to know if it's safe or if it could damage our skin. I must say, the ingredients are really good apart from two preservatives, which are by the way at the end of the list. Here's the list:

Water (Aqua), Kaolin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Bentonite, Alcohol Denat., Glycerin, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Ormenis Multicaulis Oil, Carum Petroselinum (Parsley) Seed Oil, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Linalool.

This is specifically designed for cleansing deeply your skin. It is antioxidant as well - always a good plus. It has a fresh, but still lovely smell. The Aloe vera is one of the first ingredients, it's a soothing, purifying vegetal juice which is great for blemish prone skin. This mask is not harsh and it's incredibly gentle on my sensitive (but combination) skin. I recommend to use this once a week for a proper cleanse. It has a light and smooth consistency, I put it on very easily and after 10/15 minutes I rinse it off with warm water. The skin does not feel tight or dry, but smooth and clean. Always follow with the moisturizer, anyway. It's really good, I think it's a good choice for those with dry skin.

The properties of ingredients:
- Kaolin: white clay, known for the purifying and astrigent  properties
- Aloe Vera: soothing, cleansing, healing
- Bentonite: it is a gel with purifying properties
- Alcohol: solvent
- Glycerin: nourishing and hydrating
- Lavender: incredibly soothing and purifying
- Evening primrose: toning
- Rosa canina: hydrating, repairing and stimulating
- Parsley seed: cleansing and purifying
- Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone: the only chemical ingredients - preservatives (not good for the skin)
- Linalool: allergen

According to the list, the ingredients are excellent, with great properties. The mask is effective but bloody (ahah) expensive! Nonetheless, it lasts a long time - I've been using it for 3 months now and half of the tube is gone! So: good quality and reasonable price for the amount of mask you get.

I really hoped this review was helpful and detailed enough.

Lots of love, 

Margaret

A new start and a big announcement!!

Hi everyone!
So much time has passed without any post. I am really sorry for that, seriously. There are not that many excuses: simply I was not inspired anymore, I've been very busy with school in the last few months and I was always too tired to upload a new post. Though, you all were always on my mind and I was wondering: "Will they be disappointed?". I couldn't know the answer. I would have never thought of being absent from my blog for such a long time.

Things were hard for me, blog-wise, until a friend of mine, Sara, gave to me the inspiration and the right spirit back. She helped me gaining again the confidence and the enthusiasm I had before. I've been thinking about starting again for a while now and I can tell you - now I am determined to start updating my blog as frequently as before. I have so many things I want to talk to you about! (beauty and clothing-wise :) )

                              Picture from Pinterest                               

But before talking about these lovely things, I have a big and exciting announcement!! After all her support, I came up with the idea of a collaboration with Sara. She would be the other author of this blog. She loves the idea and she's really excited about starting this new experience. She's not into beauty and make up as I am, but she ADORES clothing and fashion, she has great taste and always finds the best outfits out there. And she loves music too! She plays the guitar very well and she's always updated with the latest releases. She introduced me to a lot of great rising artists. So, after all these rambling words, I think that she will do a great job here on the blog. We were thinking about sharing it - the blog would deal with more topics and vary more frequently. Different kinds of posts will be enjoyable for more people and we all could share our interests and be more open to new things!

We both are really really really enthusiastic about starting this new path and we would love you to follow us in this adventure!

I really hope you will stay with us, we won't disappoint you!! 

With all our love, 

Margaret and Sara