Boredom Inspiration

  by maria-maniataki featuring christmas home decor

                  

 

 So, being one of these very lucky people, I got sick right after New Year's and had to stay in bed for two days but today I was feeling much better so I decided to go out and dress up. While looking random stuff on Polyvore this is what I ended up doing. Making sets of clothes I unfortunately don't own. But I 'm in love with that skirt. And the boots. And the coat. And yeah, the top...

You could obviously swap the top for something a bit more dressy like a dark red sheer button shirt. Like this. The rest is perfect except for the cross bag. I could have gone with a clutch but I wanted something more casual to tone it down. Oh well...

 

xoxo

Fashion and Beauty Resolutions 2014

                                                    HAPPY NEW YEAR!
 


With 2014 coming up everybody makes resolutions they usually don't keep for more that 2 months. And I don't blame them, life catches up with you and you forget to take care of yourself. I 've been a victim of this situation for many a year. But upon the 20th year of my life, I decided to make this year count in more ways than one. Personal aspirations are put forward, but since this is a fashion & beauty blog, I 'm gonna talk to you about my related goals.
To begin with, I guess I should state I am on the verge of obecity, which is something I 'm determined to change this year. I ve been on diets and I ve lost weight, but then I let loose and gained it all back. This year I 'm gonna rock those beaches with bikinis I feel comfortable in and in general I m gonna be a lot more careful. I m seing a professional and I joined the gym.




This information was necccessary because it affects my style. I want to start dressing more womanly and not like a school girl any more. I 'm conastantly with my Converse shoes, jeans and tops, which is a nice laid back look, but sometimes I just want a bit more. Especially for dressier occasions I want to be able to wear something that I really like and turn a few heads! (female vanity)
Once I feel more comfortable in my own skin, I'm planning on wearing more skirts and dresses, buy some high boots and a leather jacket and follow many of the trends I haven't been able to so far.



In addition I want to adopt a different make up style! I 'm all about the eyes when it comes to make up, with soft or strong smokey eyes and eyeliner, whereas I 've never really been a lipstick person cause I don't particularly like my lip shape and out of fear of going bald. But since for the past two winters it's been all about strong lips, I decided to buy a few bold lipsticks and work with them to see how I could make them work on me! Other times as a lip stain, other times really full on with lip liner and so on. With such lipsticks I want to  try out the pin-up look, with somple winged eyeliner and no shadow and a strong lip!


To many people it would seem that this post is so selfinvolved and silly but it actually is a plan I got  for myself this year and a promise I 'm making to  stay on top of it! When I feel comfortable enough I will make sure to take a photo for everyone to see the progress.
*Oh yeah, this year I'd like to take more photos to remember all the good times of 2014!
XOXO

Is It Worth It?

HAVING YOUR NAILS PROFESSIONALLY DONE....

Having "nice looking" nails is something every woman wants to have but is so hard to achieve and maintain! Well shaped and clean nails, without chipped nail polish or dry cuticles demands a lot of time and skill to achieve on your own, a lot of products as well and is so hard to keep for a long period of time! It takes a lot of work to give yourself a manicure and having a manicure kit at home and all the necessary "equipment" can be a bit pricy! Speaking from personal experience I find nail polishes dry off way too easily, I make a mess and it often takes me a lot of time to get it right! But the irony of it all is that even after I 'm done with my manicure and I am somewhat happy I always find a way to ruin at least one nail which is frustrating! In addition, having your nail polish chip is so easy, typically lasts a good 3 days tops for me! And that's just about painting my nails! The actual manicure process I 'm completely incompetent of doing, by which I mean I always end up with bleeding cuticles :(
Determined to make my nails look better and keep them that way I decided to go to the nail salon across the street from my school and get them done professionally! I had shellac done on me, which lasts up to two weeks if not longer and you typically need to take it out because your nails grow! It essentially is a type of polish that is "baked" under a LED lamp, which makes it durable! The process takes around twenty minutes as it consists of 4 coats - a base coat, two colour coats and a top coat, each of which is baked right after application. Your nails are completely dry once you 're done and you can do anything like opening cans or scratching without causing any damage! It costs me around 15€ to get a full treatment and when I need to take them out I have to go to the salon cause I can't do it on my own without damaging the nail! It looks natural as if you have regular nail polish on and not fake or thick like gel or fake nails! It has helped me grow my nails longer because they don't break off that easily and with the manicures the shape looks great even if I don't get another manicure done!

HOWEVER, seeing as not everyone is willing to spend that kind of money on t heir nails, or want to change up their manicure much more often, you can give yourself a manicure at home! And if you can't do it yourself you can invite a friend over and help each other out! Here's a great guide on how to give youself a manicure at home!

Fall Colours! Make up and Nails!

 This fall make up is all about colors! Dark reds, dark greens, blacks, mauves, extravagant eye liner looks and also, BOLD eyebrows! In addition, nude lips, nude nails and nude, no make up-make up have been seen on the runway a lot! Here are a few photos to draw inspiration from!





 

Fall Trends

With fall creeping upon us tis the time to add a few key pieces to our wardrobe inspired by the latest fall trends!We shall talk about a few staple pieces that you need to have in your wardrobe to accumulate the fall trends into your everyday style, on a budget!!!

~ Burgundy or oxblood has been a must for the past two fall seasons and still is! Oxblood cardigans, pants, shoes, accessories, nail polish and lipstick are a must this season! You can style it with basic pieces such as denim or black jeans and basic white/black/ beige tops to really make the oxblood colour stand out! 

~Dark Green is also a must this season and even though it's a gorgeous colour I find it sometimes is a bit hard to pull of, you know without looking like a tree! I usually prefer to wear it on accessories rather that tops, pants or shoes to avoid looking elvish! Therefore I keep it on accessories, nails and make up!






Both oxblood and dark green work great with beige that's why I opted to pair them with it! Beige is a basic colour that actually works with anything and manages to maintain in style all seasons!

You don't have to buy a ton of things to freshen up your look or follow the trends! Having a few staple pieces that go with anything, will help you keeping up with the trends by accessorizing accordingly! In addition, you need to be careful not to work too much colour into your outfit to avoid looking all red or green!

  Are you going to try any of these fall trends? Let me know in the comments below!

Your face! (make up for summer) vol.II

So, we talked about morning make-up and beach make-up, which means that this post will be all about afternoon make-up! By this term, I mean make up you can wear on a relaxed afternoon shopping, or over a cup of coffee near the beach or even in the city! Normally I would jump straight ahead to evening make up, but I find that afternoons are a tricky time of the day, make up wise, as you want to be a bit made up but not too much! Also afternoons are a transitional  "stage" to evenings, where you usually need to be a lot more made up and polished, so you need to already have the basics covered!

STEP 1. - FOUNDATION!

In the afternoon, you might want to have a bit more coverage, but still look natural and glowy, yet flawless! You could use a lightweight make up, like Loreal's True Match and True Match Lumi, which are great for the summer as they offer coverage without looking or feeling heavy! However you could use a foundation you feel suits you best, your skin type and skin problems! This is when you want to apply your concealer to the problem areas of your face (as long as it matches your skin tone) and under your eyes! I personally like to use it in a triangle shape underneath my eyes to mimic Kim Kardashian's look! You set everything with powder, optionally and you're done!

STEP 2. - COLOR!

Especially now in the summer you need to add some color to your face by which I mean bronzer blush and optionally again highlighter! You can use the bronzer to either contour or just add some colour to your face by dusting it on the places the sun would naturally hit you (nose, temples). For blush you could use any shade you'd like, but peach and bronze once again are always great for summer. You could however use a hot pink colour or any shade you want, for that matter! Finally you can add some highlighter to really bring out that summer glow!

STEP 3. - EYES AND LIPS!

There are soo many eye looks you can try out this summer, that I could rumble on for ages! Since the make up looks for evening are always a lot more work, I picked out my favourite Youtube videos with night out summer looks to take your pick! In the videos there are also lipstick options that fit each eye look!

Thank you for your time!

Your face! (make up for summer)

In the midst of summer I thought it would be a good idea to talk about your face! And by that I mean the kind of make up you could wear while on vacation from the beach to your night out!


In this post we 'll be talking about the morning routine!



In the morning, and especially during summer, you don't need to wear much make up! You need to be able to accentuate your features in the most natural way possible, so that you look fresh and beautiful but not overly made up! Yes! we 're talking about the "No make-up, make-up". The clean look of beauty and health! I personally use what some would say is a lot of products but i can assure you that the outcome is quite natural yet flawless!
To begin with, I use a base, Garnier BB cream for combination to oily skin! This is to me a quite thick BB cream that offers a lot of coverage, that still looks like nothing on your face! I use that Real Techniques buffing brush and I prime my skin using Nivea aqua effect day cream, for mat skin! I do not powder my face even though I get oily throughout the day because this lets the foundation blend in with my skin and gives off a healthy glow, rather than an oily mess!
On top of that I use my powder blush in a bright pink shade and I also do a bit of contouring on my cheekbones, but nothing excessive!

On my eyes I use a  lot of black mascara and  a brown pencil to line all around the eye, which i blend out for a natural look! Sometimes I wear a shimmery champagne shadow all over the lid, or my Two Faced Shadow Insurance primer in Candlelight, which has a shimmery tint to it!

Finally for the lips, you can use a lip gloss with spf or a tinted lip balm for juicy lips! Corals, hot pink and berry colour are really trendy right now! I personally use nothing though cause I find lipstick tends to smudge all over me!


If you were going to the beach however, you would have to make a few changes to your routine. It's generally acknowledged that wearing make up while on the beach is not a good thing for your skin! It can cause premature aging, wrinkles and dark spots! But if you must wear something you need to be very picky about it!
If you need coverage you must choose a very light BB cream with SPF, like Maybeline's perhaps to even out your skin tone and do some spot concealing with a concealer that matches your skin tone! Do not opt for powder cause it's gonna look cakey and muddy after you come out of the water! And  to add a bit of color to your face choose a cream blush that offers radiance and pigment without looking like you've got too much on! Also I would avoid contouring as it 's bound to look like you've got a streak on your face after you get out of the water. As far as mascara goes, you can use (nothing!) a clear one just to make your lashes Be there or a waterproof one to avoid smudging! On your lips you need to wear a lip balm with SPF cause believe it or not you can get a lip-burn, plus the sun dries out your lips really bad!



Wish I could be here this summer!
http://www.visitgreece.gr/deployedFiles/StaticFiles/Photos/Chania_500_2.jp

How to revamp you spring wardrobe!

 Fall Winter Spring Summer, the four season of March as it would seem, cause the weather here has been so unpredictable! March is the first month of spring and therefore an opportunity to play around with different colors and textures and change your dressing, make up and hair style! But with this crazy weather it's hard to go about getting spring clothes and wearing bold colors ,cause before you know it, here comes the rain!But we shall not be startled!  We will wear our spring clothes like we don't care!
So to begin with floral prints is for another year the big fashion thing! Floral jeans, leggins, dresses, scarves, bags, shoes... Floral everything!

However an also very hip fashion trend has been fun, bright, neon colors! Now many people are afraid of this trend because it's very bald and because it's so out there that it's easy to be too much! That's why you can accessorize and bring a spring sensation back to your style!




 And finally because you just can't get out the door without a jacket or proper shoes in this weather you need your staple denim jacket or trench coat here's a few ideas! For this I chose more neutral colors so as not to clash with whatever 's going on underneath your outerwear!




 Are you going to try any of these spring trends? Let me know in the comments below!

How to prep your skin for night time!

So this is my every-night routine which goes from taking off my makeup- to cleansing- treating my skin! So I follow a few simple steps religiously every night in a desperate effort to keep my skin above "presentable"!

1. Take off your make up!                                                        
It doesn't matter whether you wear really light or heavy make up, or if you are wearing only eye make up, nor if you are really really tired. Removing your make up as best as you can is a must, if you want to protect your skin! In my routine I leave the house in the morning and return after the sun has set! Therefore I have make up on for a long period of time! When I do return home, however I wash my fave with Johnson's baby shampoo, which is really delicate and does not irritate the skin, in order to take away most of the make up, but if I am in a hurry I use make up removing wipes (any brand will do depending on your skin). I have tried using baby wipes as a cheap alternative, but they are much drier and thinner, therefore I fell they don't do as good a job and I find myself rubbing my face, which ain't good!         

HALLOWEEN!

So with Halloween coming up, YouTube has been overwhelmed by make up tutorials and costume ideas for the season!
Now when it comes to dressing up for Halloween there are 2 types of people, I recon. Those who want to look pretty and sexy, usually women and go for costumes of super-heroins such as Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Xena or even fairies, Barbie,  witches, sexy nurse, sexy nun and many many other things!(like the Doctor Who Companions!)
On the other hand there are those who find Halloween a time to go crazy, creative and buy, rent or even make a costume unique, not necessarily flattering, but something they'd really enjoy! Those who fit into this category, usually men dress up like their favourite fictional character such as Superman, Batman, my personal favourite Doctor Who, Frankenstein, The Hulk, Bloody Vampire or anything they find inspiring for the season!

Berries and Chocolate Tart

So I know berries are supposed to be summer fruit, but my favourite tart for fall has to have berries...
This is a simple recipe that goes great with coffee on a Sunday, or as a desert after a  meat-dinner.

It takes about half an hour to prepare,  fifteen minutes for the base to bake in the oven and another hour for it to chill in the fridge!


You 'll need:

For the pastry:                                                            For the filling:

• 175 g butter                                                      100 g dark chocolate
• 50 g caster sugar                                               500 g full fat  crème fraîche
• 1 egg yolk                                           
• 250 g plain flour                                      

 For the topping:

• 750 g summer berries (mixed or not)
• 2-3 tbsp orange liqueur (you can skip this, but, man, it adds flavour!)
• 2 tbsp powdered  sugar
• zest of a small orange (smell and flavour)

 And...

• 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin

 In your mixing bowl, take the butter and sugar and beat together until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. Then add in the egg yolk and continue until it's mixture is smooth! Now add the flour and again bring the mixture together. Afterwards wrap it the bowl with plastic wrap and let the mixture rest in the fridge for 25 minutes.
 Preheat the oven to 200C.
 and line the base and sides of the tin. Then put it back in the fridge for another 10-15 minutes.
Again take the pastry out of the fridge let it sit for a minute and put to the oven to bake for 10-15 minutes, until it's golden and crisp.

While that's in the oven, that's your chance to melt the chocolate. Put it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or use a  bain marie. ( put the chocolate in a tin over a pot of almost bowling water to melt it)

Once you take the pastry out of the oven let it cool down for a couple of minutes and then apply  the chocolate on top evenly in a thick coat. Don't forget the sides as well! Then put it in the fridge for another 10 minutes!


Now beat the crème fraîche until it becomes fluffy and then put it on top of the chocolate!  

1. Let it in the fridge for another 10 minutes before topping off with the berries so that they don't sink in. Sprinkle the berries with the liqueur and decorate with the orange zest! Keep it in the fridge until serve!


                                                                         -OR-


2. Add some berries and top off with another layer of  crème fraîche, or chocolate, or both repeating the process we did above! And then add some berries to decor the top, sprinkle with the liqueur and the zest and again keep in the fridge until serve!
For this one you will need some more chocolate, I' m guessing another 70 g and some more crème, I'd say another 250g. For this one you need to make your layers thinner to fit into the tin or use a bigger tin! 
x,
Maria

Avene Eau Thermale Cleanance

                                                   PURIFYING CLEANSING WATER




 





So about a month ago I was looking to buy a toner, to balance out the "oiliness" that my cleansing lotion, or on a lazy night my face wipes, left behind. I wanted something that could take off any make up all my other efforts hadn't managed to... But primarily I wanted something that would leave my skin feeling fresh and clean that would work for eye make-up as well (even waterproof)!
So I went to the pharmacy and asked them for a lotion to do the cleansing part and then a toner that would take care of the rest! And then the lady proposed that since I have oily skin I would go for something that would not add more oiliness to it! And so she showed me this Avene product! It's a cleansing water, aka toner! It has cleansing properties that can remove even waterproof make up and leaves your skin feeling clean and fresh and moisturized but not greasy at all! I've been using this product for five weeks now and I haven't noticed any breakouts (or at least none that I can blame this product for) or excess oiliness ( as I ususally do with other make-up removing products).  It doesn't smell of anything as the key ingredient is thermal spring water. Also on the label it says that it's hypoallergenic and is marketed for young and problematic skin!
Truth is I 've grown to love this product and therefore I 've come up with a couple of different ways to use it!

At night I take a cotton pad and pour a little bit onto it and then gently begin from the bridge of the nose moving outwards and upwards! That way I tone and relax the face muscles before I go to bed so that I relief all tension! Afterwards, I remove my eye make up trying not to tag on my eyes! There are many videos on youtube on how to remove your make up properly without causing problems to your skin! Afterwards I don't wash my face cause I simply don't need to!

In the morning after I 've washed my face (with gels, or soaps) I use this to moisturize and remove anything left behind before I put on my make up simply because I don't want any impurities to layer underneath it and remain trapped all day on my skin! Also, on a Sunday or any other day I 'm not wearing any make up I tend to reach for this product to remove any oiliness gathered up on my skin throughout the day! I know I could simply remove with some water and soap but ... for me this product does not compare to anything else!


This product is a must-have for me right now! I 've still got plenty to go trough! Probably a good two months of excessive everyday use, or even longer than that! I bought the big bottle (400ml or 13.52 oz) which cost 16 euros (originally 18?). That's an amazing price given the fact that here in Greece everything is so much more expensive than the rest of Europe, not to mention the US!

 I would totally recommend this to young girls who want to control oiliness and deduce the concentration of sebum on their skin! Actually this is an incredible fix for acne prone skin!
 It's also amazing for school girls or busy women who are into make up but can't afford the time to cleanse properly or the money to buy many individual products!

If you 've tried this product please tell me what you thing in the comment section below!

xoxo,
Maria

Back to school Vol.2

        

 This is the second part of my series for back to school outfits! Make up will be coming up as well! This is pretty self-explanatory.... Just take a look at the assemble below!
Key piece is this almost cropped thin purple sweater and every other item is matched around it! The perfume is really irrelevant/optional but it worked with the purple color theme!


                                           
 

back to school 2 by maria-maniataki featuring nina ricci perfume

Hello Fall!

                                                                                                                                                            Fall's here and I 've been waiting for it! I've been preparing, staying up to date with the latest trends and working them into my fall wardrobe! So I 'll let you in on a little secret: Crimson is on! It' s on for clothes, it's on for shoes, it's on for nail polish, it's on for accessories,house decor,  it's ON!
                                                                              
     Therefore this is an outfit that I saw on the urban outfitters catalog and I paired it with a few other things to make it more special!
My most favorite item out of all these is the new Lady Gaga perfume! I didn't have high expectations for it but I fell in love instantly! Besides smelling good it 's also really cool! The bottle is awesome and the perfume comes off as a black liquid, that turns clear and does not stain!
So here you go!

                                                                                       

Halo Fall! by maria-maniataki featuring platform boots