Greek Beauty Haul: What I Bought from Sephora and Attica

I didn't come to Greece to shop, but I have ended up having a pretty serious beauty haul to share with you today. I popped into Sephora (twice) and into Attica (twice) and basically bought anything and everything on my across-the-water, you're-not-available-in-the-UK wishlist. I feel as though I got a nice range of products in this haul - although you will note that I did pick up quite a few lip products - and I'm really looking forward to trying everything out and sharing my thoughts in future blog posts. For now, let me share what I picked up!

Aloe Plus Natural Cosmetics Apple & Cinnamon Body Butter

It was love at first smell! I know Christmas is over but I just can't get enough of these warm, sweet scents. There's something just a little bit sexy about them, no? The fragrance of this body butter really does pack a punch so it isn't something that you want to slather on too thickly. I've been wearing it kind of like a perfume, dotting it on my neck and behind my ear. 

Apivita Intensive Exfoliating Cream with Olive

This is one of two face masks that began a bit of an obsession... (see below)

Youth Lab Daily Sunscreen Gel Cream SPF 50

When I spotted this I was really intrigued! It's a nude-tinted (think along the lines of Benefit's The PoreFessional Primer) SPF that's designed for oily skin and  it feels a lot more like a primer than an SPF. One of my skin resolutions is to wear SPF daily. I've already found a fantastic moisturiser from Murad that contains SPF but I'm really happy to have found a product containing a high factor SPF that I can also use to prime my skin. If I like this I'll probably give it a fuller review nearer summertime. 

Apivita Face Masks

Initially I just picked up the Pink Clay Gentle Cleansing Mask (which I used whilst I was in Thessaloniki), however, I loved it so much that I decided to go back and get some more sachets. In England you can find Apivita face masks but you can't easily get your hands on the entire range. It might seem a little bit excessive but I thought I'd stockpile all the exciting options so that I could try them all out and then maybe I can invest in a full-size of my favourite next time I visit Sophia. I'll be featuring mini-reviews of these masks in my monthly empties posts. 

Sephora Cream Lip Stains in Always Red, Strawberry Kissed and Watermelon Slice

These cream lip stains have been talked about a lot recently, being heralded as a seriously long lasting affordable lip option. Aaaaand, the hype is real people. I started off by picking up the true red shade (Ever Red) and it was pretty much love at first application. It lasts through food, drinks and when it does fade it does so in a really flattering way. Sephora has had 35% off all week so I couldn't help but pick up two other options, a pinky-red and a watermelon coral. I'm sure these will be featuring on here again soon!

Sephora Rouge Infusion in Ruby Extract

I picked this up because it was on sale and it reminded me of L'Oreal's Glame Shine Stain Splashes, they even have the same scent. However, they are just a bit too similar to be of too much interest. I find that the colours are really beautiful, they go on evenly and offer a very glossy lip followed by a stain as the gloss wears away. However, there are definitely dupes available in Boots and Superdrug so I wasn't left overly excited. Still, this is a lovely shade and I can see myself wearing it a lot.

Sephora Nano Liner in Funky Fuchsia 

This colour is just perfect - Sophia (the friend I've been staying with) has been wearing it quite a lot this week as an all over lip colour and it really suits her. It's creamy but not too creamy, so it isn't going to smear all over your face. I think these Nano Liners are great value and coupled with that 35% discount I just couldn't say no.

BareMinerals Eyeshadow Palette "The Top Shelf"

I've wanted another BareMinerals Eyeshadow Palette for the longest time, but paying £20 for two shadows has always seriously put me off. I spotted this beautiful duo (the exact one I've had my eye on) for just €7 so I snapped it up pronto. Mixologist is the prettiest sheeny pink that looks gorgeous swept all over the lid and coupled with some black eyeliner. Whilst Cognac is a seriously sheeny bronze shade that looks gorgeous against a whole range of skintones. This was the bargain of my year (I know it's early days, but still) and I've been wearing it almost everyday since I bought it. [I've been coupling it with my Green People Eyeshadow Duo in Night Forest, using the darker shade in that palette as my crease colour for a bit more definition]

Sephora Triple Action Cleansing Water & Sephora Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover
After swatching what felt like the entire Sephora lipstick line on the back of my hands I used both of these cleansers instore and I was really impressed. The Triple Action Cleansing Water feels like a traditional Micellar water (but a really effective one), whilst the Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover is half oil, half something else and it works amazingly at removing lip stains. In short, I was intrigued and despite having too many cleansers to know what to do with I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try these out for myself. They both feel a lot more luxurious than their price tag!

Top to bottom:

Brow Liner (100)

Cheekbone Blush (51)

Pro Angled Shadow Brush (13)

Pro Airbrush Concealer Brush (57)

Pro Flawless Airbrush (56)

These brushes are the gold dust of this haul - they're the items I was most excited about finding and that I'm seriously excited about trying out. I picked up a range of brushes that fit the holes in my collection. Ideally, I'd have bought more but the store I visited didn't have the entire Sephora brush range. I'll probably be doing a full post on how I get along with these brushes. I'd considered doing an online Sephora order for a long time to get some brushes, so I'd like to share whether I think it would have been worth it to pay for shipping etc. to get my hands on them.


Greek beauty haul over... On reflection, I can see that I totally spoilt myself rotten. But it isn't everyday that you go on holiday I suppose! Let me know what you'd be interested in seeing reviewed first :)