Michelle in a Nutshell

So, I recently stepped into Manor (a department store in Switzerland) with the sole plan of picking up the Chanel bronzer. Well, as fate would have it, the MAC counter is right behind the Chanel counter and I naturally gravitated over to check out some products. And the rest is history, obviously....

Today I've got a haul for ya'll! (I'm a poet, I know...)

This, my friends, is my lovely new bag by the brand JUMP.

The other day, I ventured into The Body Shop on my lunch break on a mission to purchase three items... I ended up with seven - so surprising, I know...

I've gotten into using more natural skincare products lately and bought some things from Lush (see my haul here) and from Korres. 

Isn't it purrrdy? *sigh* Okay, so, the first time I read about this particular planner was on Elle Fowler's blog.

Well, I was at the MAC counter again...twice *shameonme* but I did get a few gorgeous items and have already used most of them!

I discovered the Jo Totes website randomly while reading through blogs a while ago. I was in the market for a laptop bag so I checked out the website and since then I've acquired not one, but two of their lovely bags!

Hi everyone, I'm back!

I've missed this little blog of mine :) 

My 10 day vacation was absolutely wonderful and I really enjoyed the time away from the computer and internet. But obviously, I'm glad I'm back to wi-fi and my laptop ;)

On December 5th, 2013 the first Inglot store in Switzerland opened in the Löwencenter in Lucerne!

I'm really into trying out various foundations at the moment. I've had some crazy breakouts in my chin area (you damn hormones!) and this has moved me to find a better full-coverage foundation.

In my last foundation post, I tried out the YSL Youth Liberator foundation. I liked it, but I feel like the coverage wasn't as high as I expected it to be.

Drumroll please.... it's MAC HOLIDAY HAUL time! Woo woo!

Okay, my excitement may be a teensy bit over-the-top but come on, the collections are just so beautiful.

Here's what I picked up at the MAC counter in Lucerne:

I chose this brush kit because I know that I'll use at least 4 of the 5 brushes. The 217 blending brush is obviously a must and the 239 eye shader brush is very useful. I own both of these in the full-size version and use them very often. They'll be perfect for travelling since they're in the "mini" size. The 212 flat definer brush is perfect for applying dark eyeshadow as liner on the bottom lash line and the 168 angled contour brush is great for contouring with bronzer or for applying blush. The only brush I'm iffy about is the 193 angled foundation brush. I've never been a fan of these flat foundation brushes since my foundation always seems streaky after using this type of brush. I'd much rather apply my foundation with my fingers or with a buffing brush. But we shall see :)

Here's a swatch of the rest of the products I purchased.

From the Divine Night Holiday Colour Collection:

Kohl Power Eye Pencil in Raven

Divine Night Lipstick in Private Party

Divine Night Cremesheen Glass in Private Party

And lastly, I also purchased the Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Frozen Violet which is part of the Stroke of Midnight Eye Bag in Violet but it's also part of the permanent paint pot line so I bought it without the kit. Frozen Violet is a frosted purple silver cream eyeshadow and it's so pretty in real life (not coming across in this crappy lighting). I've used this eyeshadow as a base so far, but I still need to use it alone, I'm curious to see how that comes out.

The eye pencil in Raven is quite a dry pencil but still applies nicely. It's described as an "intense black with red pearl" but it's a really interesting shade because in certain lighting it can come across quite bronzey and even burgundy-like. 

My absolute favorites from this purchase are definitely the lipstick and cremesheen glass in Private Party. The description of the lipstick is pretty spot-on: dirty plum mauve. I love it. The cremesheen glass is a plum mauve with pearl so these two are perfection when paired together.

For every day use in the fall/winter time, I like to apply some of the lipstick onto my ring finger and then I pat it onto my lips creating a stain-like berry lip. I then apply the cremesheen glass over that.

So gorgeous, trust me.

I'll definitely do a makeup look soon using all the products to show you how they look.

I'm excited. Are you excited?

*This is not a sponsored post.*

Welcome to my first instalment of the little series "Venice Haul" following our weekend in Venice from Nov. 1 - Nov. 3. Coming up soon: makeup haul and travel diary in photos :)

We stayed in a hotel in the area called San Marco. This is the city center and where you can find the Piazza San Marco where the famous Basilica di San Marco is situated. I'll show you photos in my travel diary post.

Anyways, on Saturday afternoon/evening, after our lovely and expensive ride in a gondola, we decided to cross the Ponte di Rialto (the oldest bridge in Venice) from San Marco to the area San Polo.

Here, we found a cute market! That's always a great thing to find :)

We came across this stand with a ton of different pastas - Italian style of course! It was so colorful and pretty, I absolutely had to photograph it.

After walking up the whole street of the market, we decided to turn back towards the bridge. When we passed by the pasta stand for the second time, we decided to buy some pasta and sauces for ourselves, my boyfriend's sister's family and for my parents. This type of gift is a great way of bringing home something traditional from the city and it's practical since they can cook and eat it!

This is what we bought for ourselves:

Farfalle Multicolore pasta // €3.50

Spaghettata alla Puttanesca sauce mixture // €3.50

Pomodori Secchi // €1.50

Holy moly, these 3 items cost a total of €8.50! That's nothing for us, since we're so used to high prices in Switzerland.

The colors of this pasta are so cool! I almost don't want to cook it...just put it on a shelf in the kitchen to stare at :) This pasta is made directly in San Polo, Venice and this package is 250g. The instructions on all 3 products are in Italian as well as in English so that's a big plus!

At first I thought it was such a shame that they didn't have packaged pasta sauce at the stand, until I noticed these little dry mixture packages - you can make sauce with these! We decided to buy the Puttanesca sauce for ourselves, which contains tomato, garlic, black olives, capers, salt, and parsley. Yum! This packet is 80g and the instructions on the back are also in English! All you have to add is water, olive oil and a bit of butter. Sounds pretty fool-proof to me :)

I also chose to bring home a little package of Pomodori Secchi (sun-dried tomatoes). I'm sure these will be delicious since you can even smell them through the packaging. I think you can eat them directly out of the package but on the back there are instructions on how to preserve them: wash the tomatoes, boil them in water (add white vinegar and white wine) for 5 minutes, drain them, put them into jars adding olive oil, garlic, parsley and capers according to taste, and after 15 days you should have a delicious appetizer or side dish to be served with white, boiled meat, ham and seasoned cheeses. That sounds heavenly!

Hope you enjoyed our italian market haul and I'll be back with more Venice posts soon!

A couple of weeks ago I happened to stumble upon a Clinique counter, once again. Oopsy.

Well, I was in the market for a new mascara since I wasn't really happy with my current Maybelline The Rocket mascara which I was just finishing up. I once had tried out the Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara and really liked it so I wanted to pick up a new one.

And what'd-ya know, the mascara came in a cute little gift set, equipped with a cute sample of the Take The Day Off Makeup Remover For Lids, Lashes & Lips and a (full-size?) Cream Shaper For Eyes in the shade Black Diamond, which is a matte black pencil with some subtle silver shimmer/sparkle in it. All of this for the price of the mascara alone! (By the way, here in Switzerland the cost of the mascara is quite a bit more than $19.50 like in the USA...ugh!)

Chubby Stick For Eyes in 04 Ample Amber

Well hey there! Long time no talk :)

I've been quite M.I.A., yes, but I suddenly felt the need for a blog post today since there's so much talk about fall fashion.

Some of the trends according to glamour.com: winter whites, classic patterns, over-the-knee boots, turtlenucks (ew), shades of green, slouchy pants, statement outerwear, folk-inspired pieces (huh?) and rounded shoulders.

Here are some of my purchases made in preparation for this beautiful season.

I'm in love with this item. It's the Haute Houndstooth Coat from Daily Look. It's elegant, the fit is nice, the length is great - I give it a 10 out of 10. AND it covers two of this season's trends: classic pattern and statement outerwear *pats herself on the back*.

Fine-knit Sweater from H&M. Cute, comfy and I'm totally into the length of this sweater. The quilted imitation leather sections on the shoulders make it perfect for fall, giving the sweater that teany bit of edge. Paired with black skinny jeans + biker boots = perfection.

I'll admit, I was definitely not rocking the pastel/colored jeans trend this spring/summer, since my limbs are not as slim as they could or should be. But I'm really loving the dark colored pants for this fall/winter. I bought a pair similar to these but in a darker, hunter green shade.

Gotta have some cute cardigans on hand for some serious layering this season. This one has a fun print, classic colors and will work with a lot of different outfits.

Found this uber cute bow scarf on Daily Look. I couldn't say no - I just love scarves. End of story.

A really great nail polish shade for fall is Chinchilly by Essie. It's elegant, has a bit of edge and just looks pretty. I have it on my talons today and added some tiny pearls for a bit more femininity. Other great shades are: Merino Cool, Lilacism and Going Incognito (fall trend "shades of green", anyone?)

Last but certainly not least, I've got a "Real Deal vs. Steal" for you guys.

 
The purse on top is the Rebecca Minkoff M.A.C. Clutch which sells for $295in the US - the "real deal" if you may. (I've seen this exact bag here in Switzerland selling for 500 Swiss Francs, which is nauseating!) The purse on the bottom is the version I went for from Daily Look, the Sleek Tassle Purse in gray. I'm much happier paying 45 bucks for it and honestly, I think it's a nicer shade of gray AND the faux leather is textured giving it a very elegant look.

Hope you enjoyed this type of fashion post, I know I love seeing what everyone's buying for the new season :)

Hi guys!

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day yesterday and TGIF!! Am I right, am I right??

A few weeks ago I was at my local Marionnaud (which is a Swiss perfume / high-end cosmetics store) and I saw a display with a few new Estée Lauder products. This item looked gorgeous on the stand and screamed BUY ME! (my wallet was resisting but it unfortunately never wins that battle...)

It's the Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelée Blush from the Pure Color Pretty Naughty Collection by Tom Pecheux for Estée Lauder. The name gives off a personality disorder feeling - am I a powder? am I a gel? am I a highlighter? am I a regular blush? BUT that's probably what makes this product so beautiful! It's a high polish blush and a powder/gel/liquid in one. I think that's what makes the texture so SILKY and soft. It's so nice to apply and quite easy.

This blush leaves a "high sheen" highlight so you have to be careful with the amount of product you apply. If you slap on too much, it can look very, VERY shiny and shimmery. So I experimented with it and found that for me, having oily skin, the "less is more" concept makes sense. And I apply it only to the tops of my cheekbones to highlight.

It's definitely worth going to your Estée Lauder cosmetic counter and trying this product out. It may surprise you! And I think it's quite unique and gives your skin a beautiful glow.

Have a great Friday ya'll, I'm enjoying a quiet Friday night in cuddling with the puppy :) Till next time!

Hi everyone! It's the weekend - woo woo!

It's a beautiful, sunny, winter Sunday today and before I go enjoy the sunshine, I thought I'd write a post since I didn't write one yesterday :(

Here is the second part of my recent Etsy order. If you haven't read the first part, click here :)

The first item in this post is this bracelet I ordered for my boyfriend. I wanted to give him a personalized bracelet but didn't like the idea of a silver plated "ID" bracelet since everyone who sees it on your wrist can read the text. I was browsing on Etsy and found this awesome men's bracelet.

This is the "Custom Men's Leather Bracelet - Quote Jewelry - Spiral Bracelet" from the shop Poppy Drops. The description of this bracelet on the shop's site is worded perfectly: This unique personalised leather bracelet not only looks great but lets you keep your message a little more discreet! That's exactly why I ordered it. It's made of heavy gauge aluminium hand-formed spiral and double length of 5mm black, mid brown or dark brown flat genuine leather with a stainless steel magnetic clasp (the one I ordered is with dark brown leather). You can choose from a few different fonts. I chose "Typewriter" and was able to use a message with up to 67 characters. Definitely check out this shop - especially if you're looking for a unique Valentine's Day gift! ;)

Bracelet: $40 AUD

The next item I purchased I actually have been wanting for a long while. I was browsing Etsy with the intention of finding a necklace like this and I found it! (No surprise, since you can find everything on Etsy.)

I found this necklace on the shop Nurjeweldesign. It's the "Monogram necklace - 925 Sterling Silver Monogram Necklace". The charm is 1.5" and it's 100% handmade. I chose to monogram my initials - MJK - and I'm very happy with it. I absolutely love the font as well, very feminine and makes the initials look a bit more mysterious and not so obvious. Check out the shop if you're interested in a monogrammed piece of jewelry.

Necklace: $41.99

Since most short dainty necklaces are a bit too short for me, I like to add an "extension". Last year, when I was visiting family in Poland, I received a necklace from Swarovski and there was a silver extension included, which I love to use for any of my necklaces that are too short. This is a great, cheap idea to make the length of any necklace flexible.

This extension may be a bit too thick for certain necklaces, but I'm sure you can buy a variety of different sizes of extension at your local silver/jewelry shop.

Hope you enjoyed my recent Etsy purchases and definitely check out the shops mentioned if any of these items sparked any interest. I'm very satisfied with all the purchases and their quality.

Have you discovered any awesome shops on Etsy lately?! Let me know & comment below! Or, tweet me @mischka13 with the hashtag #etsyshop. I love finding new shops and discovering unique items.

Until next time :) Thanks for stopping by!

Hi guys!

It's Sunday morning, I'm sitting in the living room, freezing my butt off and watching snowflakes fall outside. I have such a love/hate relationship with winter! ;)

Anyways, I have made a few purchases from Etsy lately and I want to share two shops with you! If you don't already know what Etsy is, check out my post January's Five Faves.

The first shop I want to share with you is HotMixCold. They sell "handmade jewelry with love" and ship worldwide (which is a must for me since I'm in Switzerland). Definitely check them out, they have beautiful items. And the bonus: They customize/personalize jewellery! Here are the items I purchased from the shop:

These are the only "gold" pieces I purchased. They are the "Sideways Anchor Necklace" (gold fill, monogram charm) and the "Gold Initial Leaf Bracelet" (gold fill, red garnet stone). I don't really wear gold all too often and my collection of gold pieces isn't too big but I love these two additions. They are beautifully made and unique since you can monogram them.

Bracelet: $35 / Necklace: $36

This beautiful necklace is the "Heart Initial Birthstone Necklace" (sterling silver). I didn't choose my actual birthstone, which is Emerald, because I'm not a big fan of the color green in my jewelry. So I opted for the turquoise version since I love this color in the Spring and Summer. Again, this is a super unique piece since you can monogram the little heart charm, which is precious.
Necklace: $33

These are my favorite purchases from this shop. You see, when I went on Etsy, I originally set out looking for an infinity necklace (and ended up buying 4 more things from the shop, of course...). When I saw the option of personalizing an infinity necklace or bracelet, I thought I just had to get that as well. So, here you see the "Infinity Sterling Silver Necklace" and the "Infinity Two Initials Bracelet". I've worn both of these already and I absolutely love them!! They look really nice and are good quality.

Necklace: $24 / Bracelet: $31

HotMixCold on Etsy - definitely worth checking out this shop!

I bought one more item from a different shop on Etsy: Litte Green Room. The shop sells "mod artisan jewelry" but is closed right now since the owner is on vacation. It will be re-opened Monday, February 4th.

This is the jewelry item I bought from LittleGreenRoom: the "Custom Initial Stack Rings", which are also sterling silver. As you can see, I went a little crazy in the personalized jewelry department. And with these rings, I went all lovey-dovey as well. But I love them! You can wear them stacked or individually and I bought them in a larger size so they fit on my middle and index fingers.

So, if you're looking for some nice jewelry and especially want some unique, personalized jewelry, definitely check out these two shops on Etsy! You won't regret it (although your wallet probably will...). And since Valentine's Day is coming up, these could make perfect gifts for your special someone, a friend or family member, or even for yourself!

Do you know of any great jewelry shops on Etsy? Please share in the comments section down below!

Thanks for stopping by the blog :) Until next time!