Coco Fashion Spring Review - Floral Tunic

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Spring is here and I wanted to review some spring style clothing that I got from Coco Fashion. What I picked this time is a tunic with an abstract painting of a flower. I liked the grey, black and white contrast. What I also liked is the combination of the textures. Cotton combined with the smooth silky  and slightly see-through material from which the sleeves are made. The pattern on the sleeves match very well the floral pattern from the from of the tunic.

If you are petite, you can wear this tunic just with leggings. In my case, I had to pear it with a short blue jean skirt and some leggings.

You can browse more tunics here.

Charleston Naturally - Skincare Review

- Sponsored post

Beauty and Aikido ©

I got some products sent over by Charleston Naturally and I tried them out for some month, so I am ready now to give you a review about them. All the products came in this nice little linen pouch:

Inside there were a number of nice products for me to test, peek-a-booo!

First one I tried out was the coconut butter cinnamon lip balm, it is yummilicious. It contains a few basic natural ingredients coconut oil, cocoa butter, organic beeswax, organic cardamon and cinnamon oils. I applied it for the first time in the office where I got the package and it just lit up my day. Tastes really natural, a lot more natural then the Japanese chocolate lip balm I purchased earlier from sasa.com. You can check that article here.

The next thing I tried out was the hand cream. I fist used it for the hands only. It is not too oily, very good consistency and gets absorbed in the skin really quickly. Then I checked the ingredients and realized I could sometimes use this as a night cream, like when I am travelling. It contains two basic ingredients: 

• Tamanu: restorative, healing, moisturizing
• Red Clover: soothing, nutritive, purifying

Other organic ingredients are: aloe gel, rose hip seed oil, cocoa butter, vitamin C, grapefruit, lavender and soybean oils, just to mention a few. It is also a vegan and gluten free product.

I was in the meanwhile using this eye cream too. I find it really soothing. I mainly use it in the evening, but sometime I applied it in the morning too under makeup. It absorbs quickly has a nice consistency and a really natural smell. I cannot talk about any regenerating effects as I don't really have any problems in my eye area yet.

Then as a wrap up, I would like to write a bit about the only decorative skincare item that I have received in the package. I was totally amazed by the ingredients and by the fact that these ingredients can give such a nice color (see picture on top of the post): fruit pigments of organic: blackberry, pomegranate, cranberry, raspberry, strawberry, cherry, rosehip oil. Then loads of organic butters: avocado, cocoa, flax seed and also Vitamin C. All the pigments, butters and oils are certified by Oregon Tilth Certification Organic. Here are some pictures of the blush: 

For more organic skincare products, please visit Charleston Naturally.

Clothes Review - Coco Fashion

I was putting off this post because I wanted to give you guys fabulous picture quality on my renewed blog surface, and here it is. I went for a blog face lift and for a bright white background that will put more emphasis on the content of my blog. I hope you will love it too! 

Last year before Christmas I placed an order at Coco Fashion. I loved the styles I saw there because I am a big fan of Asian Fashion, so I went ahead and contacted them with the information that I am looking forward to write a post about them. They evaluated my blog really quickly and offered me a 30% discount on whatever I was about to purchase. So here is the list of the purchases I have made:

As you can see the prices are really good, and with the discount they got amazingly cheap. I was really happy with this, but in case you order from Coco Fashion you have to keep in mind that they do not ship for free. So there I was before placing my order, I saw the shipping fee...

I was like...ouch...Then I compared the to other online Asian fashion shops where shipping is free, and I ended up with the conclusion that their prices were higher and included probably the shipping costs. The prices of Coco Fashion seem lower, but do not include the shipping cost. In case you are as keep as researching and comparing as me, you may find it more convenient to order in the end from Coco Fashion, depending on how heavy your item is, because shipping is according to weight.

And now that we discussed the financial part, let me show you the actual items! :D

The Kuma sports suit that I love so much! It is the cutest thing ever and it suits me perfectly. It has also been featuring on my Giveaway because it is so cuuuutee!!!

Then comes my no. 2 fave, the furry hoodie! I got loads of compliments on them and I love it because it is warm and comfy! It is also one of the top selling items of Coco Fashion. I had a bit of a boboo with the inner zipper that got broken off the first day I was wearing it, but the outer one remained whole. I will have to get the inner zipper replaced, until then I used a paper clip to pimp my attire :P

Wohoo and now to the girly pink stuff!!!! Girly  puffy, fluffy, waaaaaaaaaaaa, I love it! And the lace detail is also beautiful, though on mine something went wrong. As you can see in the picture, one side is hanging and the other side is sewn up. But could be this is only the problem of this particular item. It dos not worry me too much, I am wearing it as it is.

I also ordered these pants for the cold days, because they are really thick and warm. However they are too short for me, so I will give them to my younger sister. The sewing here looks good in general, only one thread on the bottom was bothering me a bit, but it can be cut off.

And last but not least, a polka dot long blouse that I love. I wore it to a night out with some shiny leggings and everyone complimented me. They are unique and very feminine. Totally fulfilled my expectations. I added some close ups so you can see the extremely accurate work on it, the texture of the material and the good quality.

So in case you are interested to get some of these unique Asian Fashion items, head to Coco Fashion and pick your own style.

Estee Lauder Foundation Review

In this video I am reviewing the Estée Lauder nutritious Vita-Mineral Makeup Foundation, SPF 10.

Blogging Year 2011- Conclusions

Dear Readers

This has been my first year of blogging and as the end of the year approaches, I decided to draw a line and evaluate my posts. As this is a fairly young but rather ambitious project of mine, I am looking forward with a lot of positivity to 2012 and hope to create even more valuable posts that will engage you, my dear readers. I also hope to get more feedback for the posts I am writing in 2012.

I have cathegorized my post in two groups: Most Read Posts and Post with Most Feedback.

1. Most Read Posts

I got most of the views for the Inspiring Quotes by Steven Segal post. I guess everyone needs some inpiration from time to time and if it comes from role models as Steven Segal, then it is even more interesting.

Then a Beauty post follows closely about some swatches I made from my one and only Dior Pallet I really price a lot.

Third is another Beauty related post, with the Cosmetic Calculator. I hope it helped you all be safe about the cosmetics products you use.

I decided to include this post also as forth, again a Beauty related one. I was showing you how Half Moon Nails are done with some O.P.I nail poishes. 

 2. Posts with Most Feedback

 In another cathegory I would like to review the post with the largest amount of engagement through commenting. I know that this is not much, but for me each and every comment from you meant a lot.

First in line is my post about a Haul that I put together after shoping with Joy Magazine Cupons:

Second in line is an interview with Anne Marie, that got also rather popular and got four comments. But it is not the number but the quality of the comments that made me so happy. So see the whole story click here. I hope this was as inspirational for all the aikidoka out there as it is for me.

Another post where readers felt like commenting was the "Waiting for Winter" nails, that you complimented as being cute. Thanks!

 Last but not least, this Review about some Yves Rocher products has engaged you also to comment. Hope you found the review useful!

This all being said, I wish you a Happy New Year and hope to have you as a visitor on my blog in 2012 also!

 

Eye Makeup Remover- Ahava vs. Yves Rocher

In this video I am comparing two eye makeup removers. In short, these are the two:

AHAVA- Gentle Eye Make-Up Remover

It was my all time favorite for a long time, but it has been discountinued （ToT）

The replacement is not very convincing. It is called Ahava Time to Clear All in One Toning Cleanser. It is just one of those typical make up remover lotions. However if you are so desperate after the Gente Eye Make-up Remover as I was, you might still be able to find it on StrawberryNet.

Yves Rocher- Express Cleanser for Sensitive Eyes with Cornflower

In the mean time I found a biphasic eye makeup remover from Yves Rocher which I really like. I will most probably repurchase it because it fights the most stubborn waterproof mascara also.

Marc Jacobs - Daisy

© Beauty and Aikido

Last night I slept at the Fiumicino Airport in Rome because my flight was delayed. This means I had pretty much time to look around all the shops at the airport. As for about 4 hours there was no gate displayed for my flight I pretty much ran around and got to know the whole airport. In the end this solid perfume necklace was my salvation and comfort among the sweaty and tensed people also waiting to finally get home. But today in the morning my flight landed safely.

This is the package

© Beauty and Aikido

This is what it looks like closed, just to have an idea because on the package you can see it only opened.

© Beauty and Aikido

It was very creative to put the perfume into the medal of a necklace. It can just hang in your neck and have multiple functions. I would always flip it open whenever I got too upset from waiting. If you take a closer look you can observe that the solid perfume also has light discreet shimmer.

© Beauty and Aikido

It comes with a pouch

© Beauty and Aikido

It was the lightness and the freshness of this perfume that caught my attention. I find it perfect for the summer. If I were to choose the liquid version, I would go for the eau de toilette not the eau de parfum. The reason is that when on the skin, it becomes somewhat heavier and more poignant. I don't like wearing perfumes that would put off people the moment I enter a room. As I also fell uncomfortable in such a situation I would not like putting others in it. I consider that one should smell my perfume only accidentally when coming a bit closer or as I pass. Heavy perfumes that fill the room are a big no go for me. I am really happy with this cute solid perfume in a medal. Do you also have similar solid perfumes that you love?