8th March the day we celebrate woman

Celebrate the WOMAN in you today! Be proud of who you are, walk with grace and embrace your femininity! You are beautiful! You are smart! You deserve the best things life has to offer! Live your life fully and be happy!

Cosmetic Plant Eye contour cream with Q10 and green tea - review

When I attended a magical event in January the BeautySwapByBeautyBarometer we had a lot of fun exchanging beauty and make-up products, finding out new information and talking beauty! At the end we were given a lot of products to test, one of them being the Cosmetic Plant Eye contour cream with Q10 and green tea, the subject of this review. But first let's find out something about Cosmetic Plant, its manufacturer.
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Founded in 1991 with private Romanian capital, COSMETIC PLANT passed through the years in continuous development. COSMETIC PLANT had the inspiration to gather from nature’s bouquet those elements, which, through their special properties, will satisfy the necessary care each one of us has. The natural extracts and oils of argan, olive, green tea, sea buckthorn, marigold, hip-rose, chamomile, basil or sage, are incorporated in creams, emulsions, lotions, or shampoos and tend for the complexion—be it normal, sensitive, mature or oily—for the different types of hair, hand, body or foot skin.

1991 – Cosmetic Plant is founded by Mrs. Ileana Mester, pharmacist with extensive experience in cosmetology. The initial investment was less than $ 1,000, the products being made ​​in a building of 40 sqm. The beginning was not easy, the creams were created in small batches with hand-written labels. Soon, with customers testing and assessing the products, Cosmetic Plant flourished and grew from year to year.
2004 – obtaining the ISO 9001:2000 certification, for quality management, DEKRA Certification, Stuttgart
2012 – Bronze Award for the Q10+green tea Anti-wrinkle day cream, World Quality Selections 2013, Monde Selection, Brussels
2012 – ISO 14001 Certification, for environmental management, QSCert, Praga
2013 – Grand Gold Award for BIOLIV Antiaging Anti-wrinnkle day cream, World Quality Selections 2013, Monde Selection, Brussels
2014 - Gold Award for GreenStem Mattifying antiaging day cream, World Quality Selections 2014, Monde Selection, Brussels            source : cosmeticplant.com
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Let's go back to the review of the Cosmetic Plant Eye contour cream with Q10 and green tea for normal/combination skin.
 
Formulated to provide the optimal care for the skin around the eyes, the Eye contour cream Q10 and green tea enriched with a mineral complex, is a source of essential actives in the fight against premature aging.
 
The active mineral complex (Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn) ensures the supply of minerals and electrolytes essential to enhancing the well-functioning of mitochondria, the energy factory of the cell. It improves cellular oxygenation and energy metabolism while limiting free radical production.
 
The efficient combination of coenzyme Q10, natural ingredients (wheat germ oil, grape seed oil, almond oil, green tea extract), vitamins (A, E and B5) with the moisturizing active and the mineral filter, provides protection, hydration, and skin firmness. Fragrance free and no parabens !
Recommended age : from 30 to 55.

Yves Rocher Néroli Secrets d'Essences - the freshness of Spring in a bottle

I love perfumes. I love to feel pampered, enveloped in a mist of sensation, to feel feminine, attractive and all woman! I love all perfumes from low cost to high-end, as long as it suits my mood and it represents me at a specific time and place. As I have told you before I am not faithfull to one perfume, the love of my life. I have many perfume loves, one of my favourite brands being Yves Rocher. The perfume I will talk to you today is my second favourite after Moments du Bonheur, my first love. It is Yves Rocher Néroli Secrets d'Essences .

Néroli is a plant oil produced from the blossom of the bitter orange tree (Citrus aurantium subsp. amara or Bigaradia). It has a refreshing and distinctive, spicy aroma with sweet and flowery notes. It is one of the most widely used floral oils in perfumery. At the end of the 17th century, Anne Marie Orsini, duchess of Bracciano and princess of Nerola, Italy, introduced the essence of bitter orange tree as a fashionable fragrance by using it to perfume her gloves and her bath. Since then, the term "Néroli" has been used to describe this essence.

Telling the history if the Néroli fragrance Véronique Nyberg its perfumer said :"This perfume is my tribute to Néroli. It emanates all the extractions of bigarade. The head notes give off essence of bigarade from the fruit, while essence of petitgrain from the leaf gives it a lovely sophisticated freshness, accentuated by bergamot. The heart notes express the luminous, sensual and voluptuous scent of the flower, thanks to orange blossom absolute and Néroli. The base notes envelop you in a lingering soft caress of voluptuous musk." 

Indeed the perfume is sensual and envelops you in a a refined freshness. My perfume comes in a 1 fl.oz. / 30 ml white bottle with a very elegant, classic design.

Gerovital H3 Derma Cleansing and Make-up Removal Fluid Face and Eyes - review

When I went to the Beauty bloggers meeting by Beautybarometer I received a few products from the new range Gerovital H3 Derma+ to test : the Soothing and Regenerating Mask-cream review here, the Shampoo for Sensitive scalp review here and the Cleansing and Make-up removal fluid face and eyes I have just finished, so it's the right time I share with you my opinion on it. 
  
It is a liquid formula, the association of gentle emollients and soothing ingredients recommends it inclusively for cleansing the sensitive skin. It is hypoallergenic and paraben free.

5 months anniversary!

   Yes, today my beauty blog turns 5 months! I can't believe it! Time went by so fast! I considered for a long time the decision of opening my blog, I tought I wouldn't have enough time for it, that I didn't know how to write or photo professionally and many more. After several months of going to and fro in the evening of 4th October 2014 I took a deep breath and hit the publish button. And this is how Monica's beauty in five minutes was born!
   And I don't regret it a bit!! I looove to write about beauty, care and make-up and more. Yes I have less free time than before and I am learning all the time, striving to make my little beauty blog the best it can be and look. It's a continuous process, a laborious one but also full of love, dedication and passion for all things beauty.

Artdeco Spring/Summer 2015 Beauty Meets Fashion collection

The newest make-up collection from Artdeco Spring/Summer 2015 is a fun and colourful collaboration with the fashion designer Emilio de la Morena entitled Beauty Meets Fashion.

Spring inspiration

I love Spring! It's one of my favourite seasons hands down! I love the warm sunshine, the sweet smell of flowers, the fresh green grass, the joyful singing of the birds ... the nature brimming with life. I am an optimistic person who loves colours, light and sunshine.

So here are some things that inspire me to bring the Spring closer.

Himalaya Herbals purifying neem mask - review

You know I love face masks, both to clean the face and to nourish it. I also love trying new face masks all the time. So when I received a sample of two masks from Himalaya Herbals, a brand I haven't tried before, I was really happy. I have combination skin, oily on the T zone and drier on the cheeks and mouth area. I happened to receive just the right mask for me : the Himalaya Herbals purifying neem mask.
But firstly something about the brand :
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Eighty one years ago, on a visit to Burma, Himalaya's founder, Mr. M. Manal, saw restless elephants being fed with a root to pacify them. The plant from which this was taken is Rauwolfia serpentina. Fascinated by the plant's effect on elephants, he had it scientifically evaluated. After extensive research, Serpina, the world's first anti-hypertensive drug, was launched in 1934.

1930 - Mr. M. Manal forms The Himalaya Drug Company. His vision: Put ayurveda on par with modern medicine.
1955 - Liv.52, a hepatoprotective, is launched and goes on to become one of the world's top-selling drugs.
2009 - Introduction of Organique by Himalaya, a range of personal care products formulated with organic herbs and oils.
2010 - Liv.52 HB, the world’s first herbal drug for the effective management of Hepatitis B, is introduced.
This legacy of researching nature forms the foundation of Himalaya's operations. Himalaya uses the tools of modern science to create pharmaceutical-grade ayurvedic products. The company has pioneered research that has converted Ayurveda's herbal tradition into a complete range of proprietary formulations dedicated to healthy living and longevity. Today, these products have found acceptance with medical fraternities and serve the health and personal care needs of consumers in 90 countries.     source : himalayaherbals.com
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Let's go back to the mask - I received a sample size one, with 2 sachets of 7.5 ml (the full size mask is 75 ml - 16.50 ron). It has a valability of 6 months.

Face care giveaway - CLOSED

My lovely ladies since it's officially Spring and us, women are celebrated in March, I thought I would make you happy again with a new giveaway. This time I focused on the face care and compiled for you a mix of products meant to help you pamper yourself.

Celebrate your mother every day

Happy 1st March! In Romania all the women are celebrated today: mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters. They receive flowers, candy, small gifts and a Mărțișor (an old Romanian celebration at the beginning of spring, on March the 1st, which according to old calendar was also considered as the beginning of the new year. Symbolically, it is correlated to women and to fertility as a means of life and continuity. The tradition is authentic in Romania, Moldova, and all territories inhabited by Romanians and Aromanians. Alike though not identical customs can be found in Bulgaria, while similar ones exist in Albania, Greece and Italy.)