Please help! Cosmopolitan blog awards 2014

I am after 2nd glass of wine (I wrote it yesterday evening- I don't that early in the morning lol) and I finally got to courage to tell you what I did. I have put myself into Cosmopolitan blog awards 2014. I think when applying for such an honour, you need to have self-esteem in what you are doing on your blog. And I can say that having a full-time job and doing my blog, I feel very proud of it. It is my baby. This is the way I see my progress and can share my humongous love for beauty.  

And here comes the favour I need to ask you. Please help me to get nominated to be "Best new beauty blogger". It would mean a world to me to be nominated by YOU.

The steps to do so are here:

1. Firstly go to: here. 

2. Click "Next Page"

3. fill in details shown above:)

for blog URL copy and paste: http://www.luciaknowsbeauty.com

4. press "Submit"

So PLEASE, help me by nominating, I am grateful for any of you taking time from your own helping me as this would be such an honour to be part of such an amazing community.

THANK YOU. 

Empty products #7

I have been putting aside all of the products I have used up and it is again the time to share them with you. Finishing and using my products somehow makes me happy as it is kinda worth it all that buying!?!lol
Products mentioned: Timotei with Jericho rose Golden highlights shampoo Soap&glory Rich&famous body wash St. Tropez Bronzing mousse - my blogpost Ojon Full detox Rub-out Dry cleansing spray Listerine Cool mint mouthwash Clinique Turnaround overnight night moisturiser Indeen Laboratories Retinol reface - my review Clinique Lash building primer Oral-B 3D White luxe healthy shine toothpaste Aussie Miracle moist conditioner - more in depth info:) Bodyshop bodybutter in Olive Lancome Genifique eye light pearl Eye illuminating youth activating concentrate - an old love Rituals Wai Wang Organic White Lotus&Yi Ren exfoliating body scrub Origins Make a Difference night Skin rejuvenating gel-cream Origins Make a Difference Plus + Rejuvenating treatment - separate blogpost Bleach London Rose Super cool colour  Clinique Super city block in spf 40 Clinique Bottomlash mascara in Black GrowGorgeous Hair growth serum - 1 month of use - 3 months of use Aussie 3 minute miracle reconstructor Palmer's Cocoa Butter formula Natural bronze Body lotion Gradual tanning moisturiser - review Rituals Magic Touch Cherry blossom & Rice Milk ultra rich, whipped body cream Origins plantscription anti-ageing concealer - blogpost here Clinique High impact extreme in Extreme black L'oreal Absolute makeup remover eye&lip Herbalife NouriFusion Multivitamin clarifying mask with vitamins A,C & E

How to find the right foundation?

It can be very tricky when coming to buy foundation, so in this video I am sharing main things to keeping mind when looking for your perfect one. I hope this helps:)
THE FOUNDATION MATRIX One info that I didn't say in the video was something that was told just today by my manager (thanks Jess) and that is website where you can put your existing colour in the foundation that is your perfect match and it gives you other foundation shades ready for you. So making it so much easier for us, isn't it? If you are not sure of your perfect match already there is option of starting from scratch as well, so definitely such an amazing website. Click here to check it.

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April 2014 Favourites

Another month is finished and is time for monthly favourites. Excuse me being hyper in this video, but I was after 3 coffee and it was quite late. I hope you enjoy nevertheless :) 
Products mentioned:
Smashbox Brow tech trio in Blonde L'oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in 001 Time Resist White Chanel Illusion D'ombre Long wear luminous eyeshadow in Emerveille Mac lipstick in Creme cup Too Faced Perfect lips  lipliner in Perfext nude (I have the old packaging, it comes as a twist up now)
Paula's Choice Skin perfecting 2% BHA Gel exfoliant Benefit It's potent! eye cream
OPI Nail envy (you can get one on eBay for very good price:)) Jo Malone Rose Water & Vanilla
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Being on skincare kick

As I have mentioned before I have different times in my life when I am obsessed with something. Certain things definitely come back to my attention again and again and one of them…you know it is skincare. 

Whenever I finish a moisturiser, cleanser I am questioning myself what else to get? Which brand to turn to? Who has the PERFECT product?

Well, as I said, I am having obsession with SKINCARE again and while I was doing millions of research I have learned few new things which I wanted to share:

- OILS are great for the skin. Every type of skin.  Not essential oils (those are actually not good at all- lavender oil…) but regular oils like coconut, olive. They are great for skin as cleansers (makeup removers) or moisturisers. Some of them contain great SPF (the best spf should be in CARROT SEED OIL: SPF 40, coconut oil & olive oil : spf 8, ), but you need to keep in mind not all of them are great for acne prone skin. So coconut oil is great for my body, hair, but not for my skin. So do research before choosing YOUR ULTIMATE OIL. 

- When choosing products, there is no reason to choose according to the scent. And best advised by aestheticians and people who know skin is to choose skincare FRAGRANCE FREE. Fragrance is the top trigger in skin reactions. 

- We have to CLEANSE our skin TWICE in the day. Our skin gets dirty, sweaty and oily through the night, so it needs cleansing. It depends on you what you choose, but go for gentle and effective source if you can. 

- You moisturiser should be packaged not in a jar as a lot of active ingredients loose the strength when with contact with air. And the germs when you put your fingers in a pot. 

- When I read about different skin concerns, the most frequent option was chemical EXFOLIATION. Unblocks the pores, helps with ageing, redness, pigmentation.

- Last thing: SUN PROTECTION. Is it said that 80% of our skin concerns till age of 60 are due to sun exposure? You NEED sun protection EVERYDAY. Even in England. I have constantly clients with pigmentation coming and living in UK. It is not difficult to choose a day moisturiser with spf:)

If you ever had a chance to pick a book Don't go to cosmetics counter without me from Paula Begoun, let me tell you something about it. Paula (you know calling her name as I know her:)) is explaining each product that is on the market and not giving you reviews according to her liking, but ingredients. If ingredients are bad for you, she will tell you. You can find products online on her Beatypedia which I love to use whenever I am going for a product, just to be on a safe side.

Clothes and jewellery wish list (cheap)

I think I am nowhere near stylish or cool in fashion department, but recently I have been creating slowly my wish list for things, clothes and jewellery I would love to buy after my wedding. (I am still saving last bit of money for it, so everything goes smooooth-btw: wedding is 24 of May, it is coming soon:))

I have found few websites and loved certain pieces for spring which just makes me excited and happy. 

I certainly don't splurge on my clothes. Like at all. With my life experience, you can get great piece in primark as well as getting rubbish Zara. (well, maybe not Zara, but you get my point? Someone at least?;))

As I said, being cheap, that is what you will see here. 

Starting with website Dresslink that holds a lot of products from Asia. Again, you can get great piece or sh*tty one, but who cares when you pay only like £5.00 for a hoodie, right?:) I will not show you which pieces I want to get as there are too many, price is too good to pass and most pieces are my style - cute and comfortable. 

Next is Bcpjewelry. All the pieces are absolutely stunning, but my favourites are Amethyst moon slice, Nicki Quartz Point necklace Junior and Druzy start mystery colour. All of the stunning crystal jewellery is hand made by Barbara C. Pellegrino and it is just amazing.  The crystals used have healing properties and it is just beautiful. LOVE. 

And last but not least jewellery from eBay. I found another great Asian seller who sells the statement necklaces that everyone is so love in for just few pounds. The seller's name is Mallbead and she/he sells so many different necklaces and they are cheap as chips. 

Can't wait to actually purchase some of these and tell you if it is good price for good products or otherwise. 

What are your current things in your wish lists?

 I would love to hear your recommendations.

My haircare routine 2014

So it has been a year since I have done my haircare routine and as you know it, it changes. I am very pleased with all of my products that are currently in my routine and the definitely deliver results that I love. 

Products mentioned in the video:

Tangle teezer

Aveda Invati exfoliating shampoo

Aveda Invati thickening conditioner

Aveda Blue malva shampoo

Aveda Blue malva conditioner

Kallos Blossy Crystal hair serum

Bumble&bumble thickening serum

Batiste XXL Plumping powder vs. Bumble&bumble Pret-a-powder

My hair is nowhere near voluminous. It never was. For that reason I like to get some help from volumising powders. Today I will do a quick review for you of 2 I have been trying out and telling you which one I love more.
Let's start with Batiste XXL Plumping powder (£3.99). I own this powder for few months now and have to say, whenever I was after good volume, this delivered it. I sprinkled a little bit into roots of my hair, massaged and there was volume. The volume was there, but hair got very coarse and unmanageable, tangly even in the roots area. I would have to leave my hair, don't brush it, otherwise I would take all of the hair with me. Volume there, but the hair would feel dirty. 

Next is Bumble&bumble Pret-a-powder (£21.50). This one is not only volumising powder product, but also dry shampoo and style extender (whatever this means, but that's what they say:)) This one feels light in the hair, almost like you have not put anything in there, but still gets rid of the oiliness (if your hair is crazily oily, not sure how well it works, but refreshes my hair really well-PS: my hair is more normal) You achieve good amount of volume with no crunchiness at all and hair feels very airy. 

Overall judgement: Bumble&bumble Pret-a-powder is definitely my favourite. Feels light, fresh and natural in the hair. But….for that extra volume and special occasions I would still reach for Batiste XXL Plumping powder. It doesn't feel great in the hair, but gives volume and stays for those sexy dates.

My fitness routine update

Nike free 5.0

In the beginning of the year I have done a blogpost mentioning my goals for the Year. One of the biggest ones for me was starting to work out and I have been keeping quite strong I must say. 

I would like to break down a little bit what I have learned, what workouts I have been doing and all that jazz.

- Main thing that has been really working for me is giving myself sticker star into my calendar whenever I would workout. First of all, I would be more organised and be more able to know if I need to go more times that week or I am good to go. First I was working out 3 times per week, last month I went for 4 times per week (I tried 5 times in the beginning of this month, but with full-time job I felt just exhausted, so 3-4 times is just perfect.)

The star system I kind of got from my sister who was giving stars to my niece whenever she would eat whole dinner. Somehow giving myself a star is very satisfying and I know I am on track with my goals.

- As I once mentioned in my video, I love to workout in the morning when I have a lot of energy and it sets my day really well. I just drink my water, coffee and go to the gym. I do my skincare routine after I workout.

If you want to know what skincare I take to gym click here.

- First I am always starting with 30 minutes on cross trainer. I try to do 6 kilometres, which sometimes I push myself to go faster and then slower. That is the way I get the best results. 

After I am going to lifting, squats, sit-ups and all of that:) It always depends on a day and what I feel like I want to work on.

I am doing sit-ups according to this video: (from BodyRockTv- the girl Zuzka in this video has got new channel ZuzkaLight which is absolutely amazing, link to her channel is here)

and recently I have started 30 day squat challenge with my colleagues and I am currently on day 14:

I normally spend 45 minutes to an hour working out at the gym. If you are interested in what exactly I do, I can do a video as I feel like I have no exercising vocabulary to explain myself just like that:)

First few months I was concentrating more on my legs, bum and arms. Then I added love handles and my tummy as well.

I can definitely tell that I am overall stronger and more energetic.

As my diet goes, I started to eat much more fruits and vegetables. Not forcing myself, just doing little steps.

And this is my overall strategy: Going step by step, day by day, one fruit at the time. I wasn't exercising for long time, so it needs time to get fit.

Are you trying to get fit and healthy as well? How is your journey going? Share in the comments, I would love t know any of your recommendations:)

Fake tan battle series: St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse

St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse

In the past I have done a blogpost featuring this product as one of my favourites. And still, after trying bunch of different products I have to say, it is really nice. The application is easy, being a mousse it doesn't feel heavy, I have never any streaks and the colour is always perfect tan (never orange-y, almost more greeny tan).

I would definitely say that the biggest rival to this one is my Xen-tan Dark lotion, because these two just win it for me. I have to say I much more prefer the mousse as it feels light and really easy to distribute. (keep in mind though that my skin is not dry specifically, so I don't even like products that are butters or too moisturising:))

Overal I can see why it is loved by so many people. I think the best way to know if a tan is great if it works on pale girl. And this one certainly does. 

The only down side, it is still quite pricey. It lasts for long time, that's true, but…

It is currently on offer in Boots 120ml for £15.50  and 240 ml for £25.50.

Overal rating: 10/10. (no objections with this one:))

Fake tan battle series: St. Tropez Naturals+Vegetan Self-tan milk

St. Tropez Naturals + Vegetan Self-tan milk
This one is quite lightweight milk, which certainly gives just a hint of tan, so it would be perfect for the very fair ladies that want just a tiny bit of colour to look a littler healthier. Being natural it definitely becomes one of just a few.
The application suggestion on the bottle is to hold pump approx 6' away from the skin and lightly spritz allover. You know me and just easier for me (and not loosing too much product spritzing it into air), I have spritz it into the fake tan application mitt few times and then applied. It just felt like much more economical way to use it. 
Otherwise this is certainly not one of my favourites. I am going to use it up, but it is just too expensive for NOT being as AMAZING. 
The colour that it comes out is certainly nice brown, but just too light for my liking.
Overall rating: 3/10 (for being natural and lightweight)
You can buy at it at Beautyfresh website for £25.99 Next fake tan: St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse.

Fake tan battle series: La Roche-Posay moisturising self-tanner for sensitive skin

La Roche-Posay moisturising self-tanner for sensitive skin

Let me start with saying that I absolutely love La Roche-posay. It used to be my go-to skincare brand when I was in Slovakia. They are very gentle and really work well with my skin. That being said, I have always high expectations when I am getting any of their products. 

And… I am extremely disappointed in this one. As said in my previous posts, I prefer to go with self-tanner that already have some tint as it is that much easier to apply. Let's say it wouldn't be a problem if the actual result would be streak-free as promised. But it is not, even with application mitt. 

I just don't like it. It doesn't have scent which is nice and I am sure it will be very gentle for any skin, but it just doesn't deliver. However I tried to blend it in (it was so much work when compared to others) and still there would be unevenness and streaks.

Not impressed.

My rating: 4 points from 10 (just for being for sensitive skin with almost no scent).

You can check the product here for originally £16.00, now on offer for £13.60.

Next fake tan: St. Tropez Naturals+Vegetan Self-tan milk

Fake tan battle: Palmer's Cocoa Butter formula Gradual tanning moisturiser

Palmer's Cocoa Butter formula Gradual tanning moisturiser
When I first tried it, I though "it is only gradual tan, how intense can it be?" so I have tried to apply it with my hands and oh, man, it was strong and streaky. So I have put it aside and had unimpressed opinion, but when I wanted to use it up, I thought why not try to apply it with the mitt? And OMG, this was a life changer. Well, not maybe life changer, but certainly made this product work amazingly, it gave me very beautiful even tan which looked natural as well.  I have to confess that normally I prefer to go with tanning products that already comes with a little bit of colour as they are more easily distributed, but with a mitt, I didn't have any trouble at all.  The texture is nice, not too greasy, not too light, but the only thing that I really hate (and this is just my opinion) is the scent. Don't get me wrong, I love cocoa, but I have realised that Cocoa in body products just makes me feel dirty and like I need to get in the shower, like NOW. (I have always put quite a bit of perfume on which killed the scent or put it only on lower part of my body.) Despite that fact it is an amazing product and the cheapest, so I highly recommend this one.  For being just a gradual tan, you are getting very intense, beautiful colour (which is not as strong as the others I would say, but comes very close and sits well). Plus, because it is a moisturiser I didn't have the need at all to moisturise my drier areas prior the application. I would give 7 points from 10. It retails for £5.35 here. Next fake tan will be: : La Roche-Posay moisturising self-tanner for sensitive skin.  

Fake tan battle series: Xen-tan Dark lotion

I am really sorry I have been quiet for a while, but… For the past few weeks I have been trying for you different fake tans, so hopefully this blogpost will make up for it?:) I will make few blogpost breaking down each of them for you.  Before I talk a little more about first of them I have to say it is crucial to use application mitt. I have been using the one I got with St. Tropez and without it none of these would deliver as good or at all. 

Xen-tan dark lotion
Starting with one of the most well-known and loved fake tans. The application is so easy, never had any streaks or flaws, the tan is natural. As you can see the colour how it comes up, right away you have beautiful tan, which when you shower the next day, lot of it comes of.  The only thing I don't like about this one is that is very hydrating and takes my skin a little longer to absorb it, so mostly the 20 minutes after application I really hate as I feel sticky (and the smell is quite noticeable - fake tan smell) First I was applying 2 pumps into each section of my body and it felt like too much. Then I tried one pump and it felt much more comfortable and not too greasy, but still with visible results and great tan.   Otherwise I am giving: 9,5 points/10 It is one of the more expensive ones, retailing for £28.99 (for 236 ml) and you can get it here.

Next fake tan: Palmer's Cocoa butter formula Gradual tanning moisturiser.

2 months preparation for wedding | skincare, makeup

I have constantly clients coming to me with need of help with their wedding makeup and skincare. It is beneficial to start with this a little earlier, definitely at least with skincare. I am mentioning few of my favourites that are helping me. 

Products mentioned:

Skincare

Clinique turnaround instant facial and overnight moisturiser

Aveda hydrating masque (Hydraluron hydrating sheet mask)

Bodyshop Vitamin E serum-in-oil

Rosewater 

Makeup

Tom Ford Illuminating primer

L'oreal Lumi magique primer

Mac Soft&gentle mineralise skin finish

Tom Ford Shade&illuminate 01 Intensity one

Smashbox Artificial light in Flash

Bare minerals Illuminating mineral veil

Boujrois Java rice powder

Urban Decay Long-lasting makeup setting spray

Grow gorgeous hair serum | after 3 months of use

I am bringing you another update of my Grow Gorgeous serum, this one after 3 months. If you are interested in what I think, check out the video:

Please subscribe to my youtube channel by clicking here.

Do you have a secret to make your hair grow faster?

Spring perfumes

As you can tell, I am just too excited about spring and when spring comes, I love to change up everything. My makeup, skincare, nail polishes, clothes and also my perfume. 

In winter I tend to go with rather sweet scents and for spring I love fresh floral scents. Here are my favourites:

Clinique Happy

Clinique Happy (Fresh floral): Heart notes: Morning Dew Orchid, Lily, Magnolia
                                                 Top notes: Ruby Red Grapefruit, Mandarin
                                                 Bottom notes: Musk

Marc Jacobs Daisy

Daisy by Marc Jacobs Eau so fresh (Fruity floral): Heart notes: Wild Rose, Violet, Apple Blossom
                                                          Top notes: Raspberry, Grapefruit, Pear
                                                          Base notes: Plum, Cedarwood, Musk

Jo Malone Wild bluebell 

Jo Malone Wild bluebell: From Jo Malone website: "Vibrant sapphire blooms in a shaded woodland. The delicate sweetness of dewy bluebells suffused with lily of the valley and eglantine, and a luscious twist of persimmon. A mesmerising fragrance."

Dior Addict Eau Sensuelle

Dior Addict Eau Sensuelle: Heart notes: Indian Jasmine
                                            Top notes: Damask Rose Essence, Absolute
                                            Bottom notes: White musk, Cedar

Which is your favourite spring fragrance?

Easy, quick & sophisticated hairstyle | for weddings, work and spring/summer

I have seen the fairytale Frozen few weeks back and since then I absolutely fell in love with Elsa's hairstyle. It is very easy, sweet. (I just wish I would have so much hair as Elsa;))

What you need: Hair oil (to give hair a little bit of life, make it smoother and more manageable) - Blossy Crystal Fluid for blonde hair from Kallos Brush (to start with tangle free hair) - Tangle teezer Volumising powder (to create air in the hair, to make it look more rich & voluminous) - Bumble&bumble Pret-a-powder (review coming soon:)) Bobby pins (to secure the whole hairstyle) - here  Hair spray (to make sure it stays:)) - Ojon Restorative Finishing Spray

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Have a great Saturday everyone:)