KIKO Siberian Flowers Luxurious Eyeshadow Palette - review and swatches

*Disclaimer: these products have been provided by PR for reviewing consideration. This is not a sponsored post, I have not being paid to do this*

 Le Luxurious Eyeshadow Palette sono le stupende palette della collezione Siberian Flowers di KIKO, contenenti cinque tonalità di ombretto ad alta pigmentazione wet & dry.
Gli ombretti di queste palette hanno delle texture diverse fra loro: ci sono gli opachi, i satinati, i metallizati ed i perlati. Questo consente di creare un'infinità di combinazioni, oppure semplicemente di avere in una sola palette un ombretto per ogni occasione e per essere sempre diversa.

Luxurious Eyeshadow Palette are the wonderful palettes from KIKO's Siberian Flowers collection, which contain five shades of high pigmentation eyeshadows that can be applied both wet & dry.

Each eyeshadow have a different texture from one another: some are matte, some are satin, some metallics, some others are shimmery. This allows you to create infinite combinations, or simply to have an eyeshadow for each occasion in one versatile palette.

Per quel che attiene alla qualità di questi ombretti, devo dire che in almeno due delle tre palette che ho l'ho trovata ottima: pigmentazione eccellente sia da asciutti che da bagnati, buona durata anche senza primer.
Da quel che ho potuto constatare, però, le palette non hanno tutte la stessa scrivenza. Ad ogni modo, anche in quelle che non lasciano di stucco la scrivenza è abbastanza buona.

As regards to the quality of them, I really have to say that at least in two of the three palettes I own, I found it to be great: pigmentation is excellent both wet and dry, good durability even without a primer.

In my experience, though, the palettes do not have the same kind of color pay-off. Anyway, even in those that do not impress you right on, color pay-off is good enough.

Oltre a ciò c'è da dire che il packaging di queste palette è semplicemente stupendo e questo le rende un regalo ideale per Natale.
Decisamente le raccomando e vi lascio agli swatches. Fatemi sapere cosa ne pensate nei commenti.
Queste palette sono vendute a € 16,90 e si possono ordinare dal sito ufficiale www.kikocosmetics.com

Moreover, the packaging of these is simply amazing, so much so this is a perfect Christmas gift.

I definitely recommend them, and now I'll leave you to some swatches.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

PS: It only retails for € 16,50 and it is available on their official site, 
www.kikocosmetics.com 

External packaging. - clockwise: Green Mooreland, Cool Indigo Eccentricity, Siberian Purple

The lovely packaging: each palette comes with a velvet pouch, and it's golden with a lovely theme carved on it, and a Swarowski crystal.

 Siberian Purple

Green Mooreland

Cool Indigo Eccentricity

Swatches, fatti con luce artificiale al neon, ma senza flash - in alto gli swatches da asciutti e in basso quelli da bagnati:

Swatches, taken in artificial neon light, but no flash - First row is dry and the second one is wet:

Cool Indigo Eccentricity - the color pay-off of this is less powerful then the other ones. Nevertheless, it is still good, especially for the indigo shade.

Green Mooreland: I love the greenish taupe shade in the middle (third one from the left)

Siberian Purple: my favorite, I wear these shadows a lot!

Haul: Vivalanails and Madina Milano

Universal Magnetic Palette  € 9,90 - Lip Favourites palette € 4,00 - Blush brush € 25!

 Yay, I have finally received my Madina Milano Christmas gift (from me to me LOL) yesterday, consisting of the Universal Magnetic Palette (much like a Z palette), a blush brush from the silver collection, and the Lip Favourites palette - they have added in a lovely gift with my purchase, which is the Solar Powder.
Take a closer look at it:

Solar Powder (Art & Design All Over) - gift with purchase

The only thing I am not satisfied with is the lip palette, as it looks completely different on the site, and I look horrible with browns on my lips. I will end up using the nudish shade only. :( Everything else looks great, and I will show you my palette with some depotted eyeshadows very soon. I will also review the brush and the powder for you.

I also received the blogger sample pack from vivalanails.co.uk - containing some stickers and water decalcs for my nails. I will have some fun doing my Christmas nails this year :)
These packages have really brighten my day, I must say. I shall report soon ;)

what I love the most: roses water decalcs. You can't see them, but there are some white ones as well!

a surprise Christmas gift from Illamasqua

In no way would I have thought this package would be in my mailbox, therefore, it left a lovely feeling in me.
The super beautiful Alex from Illamasqua sent a thoughtful Christmas present to me, that came completely unexpected: their infamous Medium Pencil in Sophie (if you still do not know anything about it, click here - Sophie's story is very touching, and I encourage you to support the cause).
Alex has also attached a Christmas gifts guide, a bit of information on the recent Vicky Mc' Lure commissioned clips that they have on their sites (have a watch at them, they are perfectly made, and the script is also interesting) and a lovely hand-written note that I have appreciated more than anything, as it shows that she reads my blog constantly.

Thank you so much Alex, and thanks Illamasqua for taking the time to read my blog. I wish the whole staff a very happy, colorful, shiny and shimmery Christmas. 

Easy wintry nail art using Layla Ceramic Effect 25

Morning all,
what's the weather like where you live? It's very cold here (for what I am used to, of course) so this has been my inspiration: pre-Christmas weather.
It is super simple: I used a gorgeous dark teal nail varnish by Layla Cosmetics and then a french manicure tip pen to draw the bows and little dots, and on some nails I have added a nail sticker with some bows.
I topped it with a KIKO glossy top coat and that's it. Done!
Very simple (LOL, may be ridiculous to nail art experts) and wintry.

Hope you like it, or even if you do not, leave a comment with suggestions. I am no nail art genius, so every head-up is highly appreciated!

A Christmas gift from Madina Milano

I came home last night to find a very nice pink envelope on my desk. It was a Christmas gift from Madina Milano. How thoughtful of them to send a customized gift to some of their favorite bloggers?

The product that you see in the pictures is called Customizing Powder, which is Madina's lovely gift idea. You can personalize a powder with your phrase of preference, they chose "Madina Loves Alice in a new Wonderland", how cute is that?
The powder that has been sent to me is number 057, which is a hot peach shimmer color suitable for both cheeks and eyes.

I have really appreciated this and I am very thankful to Mrs. Madina Ferrari (who attached a personal message) and the super lovely and professional Antonella and Anna - who are part of the staff from Madina.
I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and I was delighted to get this in such a period in my life. That's some cheering up! :)

If you think (and I do) this is a super cute idea for Christmas or any other special occasion, just know Madina will customize your powder for € 12,90 -  visit this page for all information.

And remember: Alice in a new Wonderland loves Madina :)

a letter to my grandfather

It feels so weird not having you reaching for my hand and holding it.
It feels weird to know that you are gone, yet pretending like you're just sleeping.
It feels so weird to know that I cannot hug you, and that starting tomorrow I will not be able to even kiss you anymore or see you anymore.

You will always be my role model. You will always be my grandfather and my father too.
You will always be with me. Everytime I will look at myself in the mirror and see your eyes and cheekbones on me.
I will make you proud of me, just in case heaven really exists and one day we can meet again. Sitting on the porch in a hot summer day, remeniscing of the past, dreaming of the future, laughing for the present. Just like we have always did.

I will keep my promise to you. At all costs.

And you, nonnino mio, my beloved and dear nonnino, you make sure you watch over for grandma, because she misses you already, and I couldn't bear the pain of losing her too.

You know, nonnino, I still remember the day I upset you.
You had never been angry at me, so I was really saddened and felt guilty. I understood that disappointing you was the thing that hurt me the most. I understood how important you were to me.
You must have read that in my eyes.
I remember it was Easter time, and that you just said "come on, let's go buy you an easter egg". That was your way of saying "I don't want to see you so sad. I know you learnt the lesson, sorry if I hurt you".
You bought me a big yellow and white teddy bear with a blue bow around its neck (and the chocolate egg, of course). It wasn't the most beautiful teddy bear, but to me, it was the most lovely one. Have I ever told you I wrote a little essay on that, in elementary school? I even made a drawing. :)

That time, my nonnino, I understood that you were my inspiration, my role model, my hero. The one who did not need to say a word to made himself clear. The one who loved me, who looked out for me, who has always believed in me. The one who pushed me to education and was proud I had one.

I could write a milion words, a milion memories about you, but the truth is, my nonnino, that I will never find the most appropriate words to describe how much I love you, how much I miss you, how much it hurts not to have you here anymore.

YOU WILL BE WITH ME, IN ME, FOR ALL OF MY LIFE. UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, NONNINO MIO. UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN....

TAG: My Make-up Story

One of my favorite bloggers, Saratu from Shakespeare.and.Stilettos made a video-tag about her make-up story.
I loved listening to her story and decided to participate to the tag here on my blog.

Basically you have to answer these ten questions:

1. How old were you when you started wearing makeup?
I was 14 years old. Of course, it was limited to the eyes, and occasional lipstick/lipgloss.
However, I loved   going heavy on the eyes. I looked like a clown, I must say.

2. How did you get into makeup?

I have always loved the colors in my mom's and aunt's make-up bags. And being an artsy kid, I couldn't resist the temptation. Once I tried, I loved the possibility of transformation it gave, and how much confidence it conferes to people.

3. What are some of your favorite brands?
KIKO Makeup Milano, Madina Milano, Ellis Faas, Clarins, Sleek Make-up and Urban Decay for their eyeshadows.

4. What does makeup mean to you?
It means freedom of choice and self-expression. It means art and transformation. It means confidence, and finally, creativity.

5. If you could only wear 4 products on your face what would they be?
Foundation, Mascara, black pencil, lip & cheek tint.

6. What is your favorite thing about makeup?
The infinite possibilities and confidence it gives me.

7. What do you think about drugstore makeup vs high end makeup?
Needless to say, I do like a bargain. I am not a make-up snob at all, although I do recognize that some high-end brands are such because of the quality which is visibly superior. However, I have managed to find quite a few gems in drugstore make-up as well.

8. What is one tip of advice you can give to a beginner?
Ah, this is easy: do not do what I did. Do not overdo things. Experiment a lot while at home, but don't charge too much until you mastered some basic techniques. Get rid of those sponge applicators and invest in some brushes, which will help you through the learning process. Learn to blend, blend, and blend.

9. What is one makeup trend you never understood?
Black lips. Amy Winehouse-like eyeliner. Brown shadow & lipstick. ...ok, that was 3!

10. What do you think about the beauty community on YouTube?
Personally, being a blogger I see a big difference between the blogging and YT community. I much prefer the first one, to be honest.
YT is now filled with self-professed beauty gurus, who are really not worth watching. Same way it is filled with haters who spend their days badmouthing and trashing everyone via comments or private messages.
Nevertheless, I must admit YT has been pivotal in learning some great techniques, due to the presence of real gurus, that can be either professional or very talented people.
I feel the need to mention few of them: Pixiwoo (the Chapman Sisters), Lisa Eldridge, pixi2woo, (and as much as I hate her voice and crazy jabber) Kandee Johnson (she's good, we all must admit that), TheMissRettore, Wklize (Claudia Pelagatti), Petja Channel, Makeupzonedotnet.

I tag you all, my dear followers.
I am really curious to read about your own stories!