Can't think of a title. Just another post with a look & swaps.

[Sorry if this post is badly written, I'm pretty tired.]

*The pics for the palettes collection post have been taken ;) & that'll probably be up next. Unless it's the tags. I'm behind on my tags again. (I always am, it's getting ridiculous...)

Swap 1 [The USA].

(For my Estee Lauder Idealist Pore Minimising Skin Refinisher mini, unused Veet facial wax tube, and some extras.)

I love Bourjois stuff :D. The extras were pretty nice too ;).

Swap 2 [England].

(For my mini Juicy Tube and lots of extras, 'cause I was just so happy about hers ^_^.)

Bourjois powder in Miel Dore (my new fave contouring shade), and as an extra, a Red Earth (my first item from that brand ^_^!) eye shadow in GR048 (a beautiful sparkly blue grey) :).

Swap 3 [Scotland].

(I got her a Korres Jasmine Lip Butter and added extras too ^_^.)

We agreed to swap for the Sleek Safari palette (and isn't it gorgeous :D?), and I also asked for the Jemma Kidd kabuki brush as an extra. But she added even more extras ^_^! I got a sample of Lush's Daddy-O shampoo (recommended - leaves hair clean but not dehydrated & does enhance its blondeness ;D), a Barry M kohl pencil in 4, and catalogues :D - well, a Benefit catalogue & a GOSH make-up look card ;). I love this kind of paper stuff but rarely receive any, so this was an incredibly lovely surprise ^_^.

Swap 4 [England, Kaleidoscope swapper].

(I got her a Korres Quince Lip Butter, Manhattan waterproof mascara, Oriflame Seeing Is Believing eye cream, Oriflame rose face cream, my two Lancome mini sunscreens, and of course, extras.)

The palette's by a UK brand called W7 - yes, I know I already have too many eye shadows, but I was craving a palette like this one :-P. Also pictured are GOSH On Stage Cool Lip Jams in 101 (blue) and 105 (purple), Lip Smackers lip gloss in Starburst Raspberry, Revlon eye shadow in Riviera Blue (had that, swapped it to her & got the very same one back, lol), NYX Chrome eye shadow in Java and ArtDeco eye shadows in 206 and 376. The double-ended lipstick (Astor Double Excellence in 017) was an extra ;).

Close-ups:

This swap actually arrived with a relatively large hole on the envelope, but somehow nothing was missing :D. (Am I lucky or what?) I suppose the palette stopped things from falling out ;D.

Oh, and this palette has 77 colours ;).

Now for the look. I promise to do a look with no blue on the eyes next :-P. This one's blue based again though, 'cause it's just such a pretty colour ;D, especially with dark eyes like mine.

This look's very simple (almost too embarrassingly simple to blog about :-P), yet has impact ;).

Apologies for this pic's [lack of] quality:

Skin: I tried my Avon loose mineral foundation (in Soft Ivory) for the first time today, & I must say I'm very impressed - it's so beautifully pale :). NYX Concealer In A Jar in Fair took care of the under eye area, and as usual I used my Tigi Fixx-It Stick on any spots.

Eyes: I started with Revlon Riviera Blue matte eye shadow, then changed my mind >:-D and covered my lids (over the Revlon, why not :-P) with Mark Retro Peacock. (The shades are quite close, but Riviera Blue is matte while Retro Peacock has fine glitter.) I filled in the area from lid to brow with white (I used the very top right shade from my W7 Paintbox - probably just to be difficult & make my products picture look bulky :-/, 'cause any white will do) and lined the lower lashline with silver (Oriflame Visions glitter pencil in Silver Snow). Finished off with curled lashes & mascara. That's it.

Cheeks: The cheek colour from my Too Faced Love Lisa palette on the apples & spread out. Looks nice & glowy but you can't quite pin down whether there's a product on there ;). I like that effect :).

Lips: Boots No7 Moisture Drench lipstick in Cameo.

More pictures...

I wish this next one hadn't come out faded. But I still like it & will post it anyway.

Or maybe I like it because it's faded >:-D?

I almost deleted that one because of that shoebox, but ended up keeping it.

Thanks for reading :). Regular quality blogging should resume soon.

Swap update, skincare sample mini reviews & for a change, New Acquisitions I've actually bought >:-D.

Here they are ^_^. I love Sephora :). (Who doesn't XD?)

Stila eye shadows in Poppy (was a wishlist item, yay ^_^), Mood and Toffee :).

Best part: they were a Euro each ;D :-P.

I love the quotes the Stila shadows come with :).

*Clarins Gentle Night Cream sample mini review: Makes an OK eye cream unless it gets into the eye - then it hurts like hell. [Like most face creams :(.] As a face cream, feels nice & soft when I put it on at night, but in the morning my face looks kind of drained. (That may be me though, not the cream XD.) Won't purchase ;).

*L'Occitane Honey cream sample mini review: Wonderful. I put this on at night, & when I woke up my face was lovely pale and glowing ^_^. I was literally shocked. Will look at the boutiques (I know 2, one in Kolonaki & one at The Mall - this is more for my reference 'cause I doubt I have any Greek readers, lol) for it - apparently it's been discontinued (>:-/?!?) but this is Europe, we keep things for way too long XD so I hope I can find some :). If I don't, maybe I'll check out the Korres honey cream, it'll probably be cheaper too. (I'm in Greece, remember ;D?)

*The Piz Buin sunscreen I swapped for is a bit irritating on my skin :(. Will switch back to Korres Watermelon sunscreen ;). I'll try the Piz Buin as hand sunscreen though, I hope my hands aren't as sensitive. If it doesn't work even there, I guess I'll have to get rid of it XD.

And here's the Swap Update of the moment ;D ^_^.

Swap 1 [Singapore].

(For my mini Elizabeth Arden Red Door perfume bottle, Elf white liner, and some extras.)

We swapped for the Strawberry Shortcake pouch & Barry M lipstick in 123, the rest are extras ;). Hello Kitty note papers, cherry tea and pink bracelets - she was so sweet ^_^.

The pouch was for my (soon to be 7 year old) little sister - she's jealous of all the parcels I've been getting so I thought I'd get her something too :).

The lipstick really is this purple, and full of large chunks of glitter...I opened the tube & my first impression was, "Oh God, no :(!", but I tried it on...And it's beautiful :). It'll look great with a futuristic purple & silver eye look ;). Definitely not a natural look lipstick though, lol XD.

Swap 2 [Canada].

(For my L'Oreal Essential Colours palette, Oriflame Pink Strass lipstick, Glamour gold palette and Max Factor eye shadow brush - she asked for that as an extra and I let her have it.)

Scrunchies for when I grow long hair again (they're cute ^_^), a Dior glittery gloss top coat, a Mary Kate & Ashley gloss for my teenage sister who's a fan of theirs, and a Clinique eye shadow quad in Plum Seduction.

Swap 3 [England, Kaleidoscope palette swapper again ;)].

(For a Too Faced foundation in London Fair I bought her, a Revlon eye shadow in Riviera Blue, the Ulta duo I got from one of my first swaps, a Pure Luxe blush sample, an Elf Baby Lips gloss, some Everyday Minerals Shopping Spree eye shadow I depotted for her, & extras.)

Lush Jungle conditioner (I hope this is good 'cause my hair's fried), [yet another] Wet & Wild I-Sparkle quad in Twilight, Pout glosses in Tickle My Fancy and Be My Baby, a Pout blush stick in Fuchsia Fusion, NYX Nude lipstick, Revlon cream blush in Just Peachy (wishlist item, yay ^_^), Hard Candy Shazam Loner eye shadow, an Avon moisturiser sample, and (lol) a lollipop XD. My sister was so happy ^_^ - I gave it to her XD.

I really love Pout :). Why did they discontinue such a lovely brand :'(?

That's the Pout blush & NYX Nude ;).

Swap 4 [The USA].

(For my L'Oreal Star Secrets Gong Li Coral. I ended up swapping it after all.)

An Avon cream sample I gave away (lol, I'm twenty - I don't need facial fillers yet >:-D), lovely Mark gloss palettes ^_^ (I think the colours are Candied Apricot & Candied Apple or something like that), a Hello Kitty mini lipstick ^_^, Revlon lipstick in Black Cherry, and Burt's Bees lip shimmer in Champagne :) - that one was new & sealed.

I'll be doing some reviews next week ;D. If you want me to review anything I own, just let me know and I'd love to :). I've received such a request in a comment recently & it makes me feel like a famous blogger, lol. Thanks for reading :).

My fifth (!?!) award, and MANY things received from swaps ^_^.

[Note to self: Must not neglect my blog or I'll just have way too many things to deal with!]

I received this lovely award from Vonnie ^_^. Thank you so much for your kindness :).

Terms & Conditions For the Award Recipient:

1. Paste the Award Logo in your blog

2. Give out the award to 10 Blogs that you feels the most inspired and most friendly.

3. Make sure u back linked the recipients' blogs to your blog.

4. Inform the recipients about the award by leaving them comments on their blog

5. Give some love to the person who give you this award.

[I won't bother with the broken English XD. But for the record, it's not me, it's the original award text as received by me :-P. And anyway, it's the thought that counts ;) :).]

I know that while reading one of the 200+ blogs I follow, I saw somebody wondering where these awards originate. It's true, you know - don't you wonder too? Perhaps I'll create one someday and see how far it spreads :-P ;D...

10 Inspired Friendly Bloggers:

*Chomsiri
*Ji
*Posey
*Sofie
*Gracie
*Claire
*Care
*Kristine
*Kasumi
*Miku

This is what happens when one neglects tags >:-). I tried to pick people who haven't received this yet, and it was hard. And I'm not even 100 % sure that I've succeeded XD.

Alright, and THIS is what happens when one neglects swaps >:-D...
Or rather, neglects posting up her swaps ;). If anything, I swap too often :-P. Here we go though...As you will see, it's about time.

Swap 1 [Australia]. A.k.a. My Swap With Claire ;D ^_^!!!

(For my Lancome Travel Exclusive Sublime Seduction palette, and some extra stuff ;D.)

This is not the swap XD. This is a lovely note she wrote me :). So kind of her ^_^!

This is the actual swap ;)...

2 Chi Chi eye palettes in Cheerleader and Doing Cool :). And extras too :D! Soap ^_^! I love soap :). Much prefer it to shower gel, nice people take note ;D.

[Her handwriting is so pretty...Mine's so unreadable in its cursive form that I have to write in print when I need others to be able to read what I've written >:-).]

I gave the Fig one to my sister 'cause she loves fig, natural products, and receiving little gifts from me :-P. Am keeping the Godmother though, it smells amazing :).

Cheerleader is a fun colourful selection ^_^. Doing Cool is more of a practical palette ;). For me at least, its colour selection works well for daily looks: there's blue & brown, and a pink and an orange :).
I love both :D. Thank you SO much Claire ^_^.

Swap 2 [The USA].

(For an Elizabeth Arden quad & Avon duo in Starlight.)

The jewellery was a much loved Easter gift to my sister ;D :). The Lancome pouch is mine though :). I normally abhor animal print, but for some reason I was really attracted to this, and I love it ^_^.

Swap 3 [The USA again, different swapper].

(For 2 Maybelline quads in Sapphire Ice & Emerald Isle, one L'Oreal Milla Jovovich Star Secrets trio, one Rimmel shadow in Saucy Mint, one Rimmel Duo in Sky, one L'Oreal lipstick in Nude and one Maybelline lipstick in Natural Rosewood.)

4 L.A. Colors palettes in Soiree, Wine & Roses, Enchanted and Tranquil, 3 KleanColor trios (they don't have names :-/), one Revlon Matte eye shadow in Riviera Blue, one Physicians Formula quad in Earth Minerals, and one lime waterproof mascara. Impulse swap on that one XD. Better than impulse buys :-P ;D.

I swapped the L.A. Colors & top KleanColor trio off 'cause I know somebody who had them on her wishlist, and I could survive without them ;). Will swap the Revlon off for the same reason. But I'm so happy with the things I'm keeping ^_^!

Swap 4 [The USA, yet another swapper].

(For my Elizabeth Arden lip balm tin in Berry Sun, Stila lip tint in Berry, Maybelline Forever Metallic Lites lipstick in Red Star, and extras ;D.)

Prestige eye shadow in Love (finally found it ^_^, it's the perfect true rose), an Estee Lauder gloss in Raspberry Pop, a Mike & Ike lip balm that is much more like a gloss, a Hershey's chocolate gloss that is much more lika a balm (lol), and a Bourjois mini pigment in 9. May swap that one off 'cause it's similar to my new Annabelle pigment in Azure, but I'm still undecided ;).

The Hershey's was an extra :), as was the Dove sample. Swapped that off, I hate Dove XD >:-).

Swap 5 [Sweden].

(For my Elizabeth Arden Perfect Cinnamon lipstick, and extras ^_^.)

This arrived gift-wrapped :'). I should've taken a pic, but of course I was too excited & opened it immediately XD.

What caught my attention about this BeYu (German brand, if I'm not mistaken) polish was the 'handle bitten by a 2 year old' in its description. I'm weird >:-).

But this is The most gorgeous lime I have ever seen. I am so happy to have it :). Will wear it a lot this summer ;D...

And she included some kind of purple hard sweets as an extra XD. They're surprisingly OK :-P, or maybe I just like the challenge of chewing them up >:-D.

Swap 6 [England].

(For my L'Oreal Transparent Red & Maybelline Forever Metallics Orange Fusion lipsticks.)

I got the Bourjois white chocolate powder ^_^!!!

And there's more XD. A Models Prefer blush in Pretty In Paisley that has the most beautiful blush compact I have ever seen, and a Dior lipstick in Golden Mirage (been looking for a gold for a while, I hope this works) ;).

Extras too: an Olay mask (that I gave away) and Milani Luminous. I know somebody who wants this & have messaged her about it ;D...

Unboxed:

Opened:

Swap 7 [Italy].

(For my Maybelline Burgundy lipstick, a L'Occitane almond soap and Lancome Miracle mini shower gel.)

This arrived in an extra cosmetics pouch ^_^! I'm not thrilled by the fact that it's Playboy >:-), but I love that sheer pink fabric so I'm keeping it :).

Sunscreen. Thank God. And since this has been tested on the Himalayas, it should work in Greece >:-). A blue mineral eye shadow in Cloudless Sky (can't find the brand written anywhere and I don't remember what it was >:-D), and an orange lip liner. For the summer ;). The brand is Goldfinger.

Swap 8 [Belgium].

(For a Korres shampoo I bought her.)

Clinique Comforting Cream Cleanser ^_^, Clinique Rinse-Off Eye Make-Up Solvent (had the chance to try this in the meantime & it's good, I may buy a full-size one), Estee Lauder mini Resilience Lift Extreme Ultra Firming Creme SPF 15 (that was for my mother), and Pupa loose eye shadow in 1. That Pupa is so much better than I'd expected - it's amazing. Swatch it if you have the opportunity & you'll see what I mean ;).

Swap 9 [The USA, another swapper].

(For a Saledo eye & lip duo, and extras ^_^.)

My first ever Mark palette :), in Sydney. 7 more to go XD. (Well, actually 6 'cause one is on its way to me ;D.) And a MAC extra...Black SolarBits :). Unbelievable.
Will need to come up with a good look for these, 'cause I don't want to waste them.

Opened:

And you can flip the palette around ;). Like this...

Swap 10 [The USA again & yet another swapper].

(For 2 Glamour palettes and one L'Oreal holographic eye shadow.)

Mark eye shadow in Vintage Khaki (will need to swap for a case), NYC blue liner (that thing is long), and a Skittles Lip Smacker :). The Dior foundation sample & Cover Girl shadow were extras ;D. Swapping the Cover Girl off, and I gave the Dior to my sister 'cause it was too dark for me ;).

Up next: Contest entries, reviews, and that HUGE swap ;)...

Thanks for reading :). And don't hate me for swapping so much - what can I say? I like nice things :-P ^_^.