Yay for CHRISTMAS!
I'm so excited for the holidays and Christmas vacation and going to Serbia & Bosnia and for gifts! Receiving and giving, of course...
Seeing as I love reading other bloggers' wishlists and gift ideas I thought I'd share my personal wishlist this year.
Something kind of funny is that I already (sorta) own three of the items on my wishlist...oops....
Anyways, here we go!
Hi guys!
Today I wanted to show you and introduce you to my sister Daisy's handmade jewelry collection called Calysto. She makes beautiful, unique and creative pieces all by herself!
While I lay at home sick with the flu, I'm reminiscing about a trip to Venice, Italy my boyfriend and I took over a long weekend, Nov. 1st - 3rd. It felt way too short spending only 2 nights there but it was so lovely being able to get away for the weekend and experience a new city.
We arrived on Friday at about 4pm after driving for about 8 hours. The road trip was supposed to take us about 6 hours but we ran into a huge traffic jam in Italy which made us arrive 2 hours later than planned. We parked our car in a humungous parking garage and were told to take the water taxi into the city center. They don't allow cars to drive into the city - which is so cool.
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:
So pretty... *stars in eyes* *drooling a bit*
Sorry for the crappy pictures in this post but I unfortunately had to take these under normal lights in the evening.
But still, the products are really lovely and hello, can we take a second to stare at that packaging?! I love it.
Let's start with the star of the show: the makeup brushes.
I chose the brush kit "Essentials" from the Stroke of Midnight holiday collection. This kit includes:
168SE Large Angled Contour Brush
217SE Blending Brush
212SE Flat Definer Brush
239SE Eye Shader Brush
193SE Angled Foundation Brush
very cute limited-edition black, white and gold bag
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:
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.*
Hi guys! I thought I'd share my "Face Of The Day" today since I'm testing out some new products.
This was me this morning, please don't mind the wierd expression on my face, I was in no mood this morning, haha...
Today I'm trying out my new KIKO Makeup Milano eyeshadows which I purchased in Venice a week ago (HAUL coming soon!). They're neutral shades, and here I used one which is a shimmery champagne shade and I used a matte brown in the crease.
I also didn't have any natural lighting for these photos so they didn't come out the greatest, but hey, I'm workin with what I got.
I'm also trying out the YSL Youth Liberator Serum Foundation. I've heard and read a lot of love online for this foundation so I thought I'd go by a YSL counter and ask for a sample. This is by the way a great way to try out a foundation without buying it right away. Most counters will give you a sample for free which should be enough for at least one use. This way you can wear the foundation all day and see how you like it and how your skin reacts to it. This liquid foundation is medium-to-full coverage, has SPF 20 and "skin-firming" benefits. It's obviously meant for more mature skin but I was really curious.
I applied it at about 10 a.m. and now it's 5 p.m. and I must say I quite like it. It's not as full-coverage as I thought it would be, which surprised me and let me down a bit. But, luckily, it's not too heavy for my skin which can get quite oily and shiny throughout the day. We'll see if I have enough product in my sample container for another use :)
This is the sample which I received at the counter and the lady working their recommended I try the shade B30 and it's a perfect match for my skin - so kudos to her!
They obviously don't fill up the sample all the way but they are quite generous so that's a plus, seeing as the foundations are hella expensive.
Speaking of sample containers, here's a little tip:
I've heard many YouTubers/bloggers complain about when they use the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer, that the bottle pumps out way too much at once - which is true, it does! (And, this concealer is awesome so it's a real waste to have to wash off excess concealer.)
A few months ago I went to the MAC counter and asked for the concealer in the shade NW20 and apparently this shade is really common and sells out really quickly so the lady working there was kind enough to send me home with a sample of it to use for a while. And the sample lasted for a long time, since you never really use that much concealer on a daily basis. The next time I went in she re-filled my sample since they were still sold out, but the third time I went I was finally able to buy the 9ML bottle! So here's my tip: ask for a little sample container and re-fill this with your concealer every few days. This way, you can only use as much product as you need and you won't have to wash away excess concealer which gets pumped out of the bottle!
And finally, on my lips, I'm wearing my new MAC Cremesheen Glass in Private Party. This lipgloss is part of my MAC Holiday Haul which is COMING SOON on the blog!
It's a gorgeous shade and I actually used the lipstick in the same shade as a lip stain (more on that in the MAC haul) and then applied the lipgloss over top. I think it's so pretty and the shade is very berry-like so perfect for the fall & winter.
Hope you enjoyed today's post & keep your eyes peeled for those two hauls mentioned ;)
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!
I love this image. I found it somewhere when surfing online and had to save it for myself. (If anyone knows where this image comes from, let me know so I can link the credit.)
Do. More. Of. What. Makes. You. Happy.
Simple as that, right? Well, I think many of us struggle more with this task than we can admit or even than we are conscious of. We get so caught up in our daily, busy lives full of errands to take care of, work, things that need to get done, checklists of annoying tasks, etc.
I mean, we work pretty hard to earn a living to be able to pay for whatever we want to pay for, so why not make better choices and really do the things that make us happy.
In some cases, it means saving more money to be able to do things like travel - which I want to do way more of. Like making use of a long weekend and hopping over to a neighboring country's beautiful city. Obviously, that can cost quite a lot, but doesn't it make more sense to save money for trips like these than to buy material things we don't even really need?
I guess it all depends on what makes you happy - like the image says. Life is too short not to do the things we love with the people we love.
Obviously, I'm quite a material girl myself. And yes, that lipstick or this handbag really does make me happy. I guess it's important to enjoy everything in moderation. And to of course be grateful for everyone and everything in your life.
Also, remember to enjoy all the little or big moments. Don't think about pesky tasks or events waiting for you in the future, because if those thoughts consume you, you'll totally miss what's happening at that moment. And that'd be a shame, wouldn't it?
This was kind of a rambly post but I had the need to share :)
And, something that's making me happy right now: my new blog template! Yay! Finally finished. I really love it and this motivates me even more to blog. I got the blog template on Etsy in the shop Mlekoshi Playground. In their main shop Mlekoshi they do business branding and web / e-commerce. Definitely check them out! Their customer service is out of this world!
My boyfriend and I spend this past weekend in Venice, Italy and it was amazing. I had last Friday off so we took advantage of the long weekend and headed to Venice for two nights. What an adorable city!
While we were there, I just had to step into an H&M and I of course picked up a couple of items. Nothing crazy, but I got lucky in finding a new pair of pants which fit me and are ubercomfy.
So I thought I'd share my OOTD with you!
(I unfortunately am not able to take a photo of my actual self since I'm at work and by the time I get home, it will be pitch black outside. Ugh...stupid office job...)
(I unfortunately am not able to take a photo of my actual self since I'm at work and by the time I get home, it will be pitch black outside. Ugh...stupid office job...)
This is (almost) the exact outfit I'm wearing right now. Only the boots are a bit different since I couldn't find mine online (I bought them in some random shop in Amsterdam 2 years ago.) I basically just googled camel ankle boots - and these are pretty cute and affordable!
Printed Scarf in camel // H&M
Cotton Blouse in red // H&M
Camel Ankle Boot // Reflection
Silver and White Horn Watch // Michael Kors
Jet Set Logo Travel Tote // Michael Kors
This is such a cute, comfy and very fall-inspired outfit. The pants I bought in Venice and they are sooooo comfy! They're very stretchy and they don't lose their shape after one day's wear so that's a plus right there. And I really love the button detailing at the bottom of each leg.
And, let me just say, I'm obsessed with this scarf. It doesn't really match everything so you have to plan out which outfit to wear it with, but when you do match it well, it's fabulous. So comfy and warm, you feel all cuddled up when wearing it!
And the red blouse - well - who doesn't love a lady in red?
** Keep an eye out for my Venice MAKEUP haul - coming soon! **
*None of the links above are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.*
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!)
I've tried out all 3 products and quite like them all! I've liked the mascara since I tried it the first time since it has quite a large and firm wand. I can easily add some volume and length with this mascara, it holds a curl well, doesn't fall all over my face throughout the day and I use at least 2-3 coats (since my lashes are practically non-existant...).
Since I had been eyeing the Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tints For Eyes for a while, I decided to finally purchase two of them: 04 Ample Amber and 03 Fuller Fudge.
I really wanted to swatch the shade 02 Lots o' Latte but the Swiss Clinique counters don't seem to stock that shade, boo :( But these two shades are very beautiful, long-lasting and don't crease much. I still need some more practice with these to find the best way to wear them (with a colored base, no base, straight from the stick, applied with finger, etc.).
And lastly, because of my purchase of the mascara and two chubby sticks, I received a FREE sample of the Clinique Chubby Stick Intense Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in the shade 07 Broadest Berry.
What a beautiful shade! I really love it. AND it's quite a large sample if you ask me. Personally, even if I really like this shade, there'll be no need for me to go out and purchase the full-size since it'll take me a long time to use this sample. I really like the fact that you can lightly apply this to your lips for a touch of berry or you can apply it full-on and have a darker, sultry berry lip.
I really recommend the Chubby Sticks For Lips from Clinique, I'm a big fan of the originals and of the intense colour balms.
Here's a swatch of all four products (top to bottom):
Cream Shaper For Eyes in Black Diamond
Chubby Stick For Eyes in 04 Ample Amber
Chubby Stick For Eyes in 03 Fuller Fudge
Chubby Stick Intense For Lips in 04 Broadest Berry
*This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.*
For my lacquered tips at the moment I've chosen this combination:
Essie's Chinchilly and Butter London's No More Waity, Katie.
Essie's Chinchilly and Butter London's No More Waity, Katie.
Chinchilly is a granite gray shade without any shimmer or sparkle. Very elegant, very autumn and I think it looks quite nice with my light skin tone. I often wear this shade alone but sometimes I like to spruce it up a bit.
No More Waity, Katie is a soft lilac glitter polish. You would think that this comes out as a dark gray polish with specks of lilac glitter but it's actually quite sheer. If you layer it over a dark purple, for example, it just makes the dark purple shade a bit milky. But layered over Chinchilly, it's perfection I tell you! I really love it.
I think the lilac glitter matches the gray shade so well. It's actually quite a subtle look, so I decided to layer the lilac sparkle over every nail, instead of just doing one accent nail.
And just like it says on the Butter London website: "One day my prince will come, and I will wrap him around my tiny, sparkling finger." ;-)
Yummy, yum, yum - I've really gotten into this whole "juice" trend. I'm sure everyone and their mother knows what I'm talking about. Seems like everyone has tried out juicing, either buying juices at the shops or making the juice themselves. Some have stuck to it, and some, well, haven't.
I started getting into juicing when I discovered this juice shop we have here in Switzerland called "Suc". They have a huge juicer and offer different kinds of juices and prepare the fresh juice on the spot. It's really delicious - and incredibly expensive!
So, for at least a few months, I've been interested in purchasing a juicer and we finally found one that was on sale!
The brand is called Solis and the juicer has two speeds: "low" and "high". I didn't want to spend a ton of money (hello, 500 bucks for a juicer?!) so I decided to go for a machine which has at least 2 speeds.
So, I thought I'd share a juice recipe which I've been using lately. It's basically a bunch of fruits and veggies which I enjoy. And you can totally decide on your own how many of each fruit or how much veg you want to add to your juice. It all depends on your taste, if you rather have your juice be sweet, sour, bitter, etc.
Ingredients:
1 grapefruit
2 oranges
2 apples
1 kiwi
about 2 inches of ginger
2 pieces of kale
2 pieces of chard
I've got to mention, instead of chard I usually use about 2 handfuls of spinach leaves. The juice tastes a little more "green" with the chard and if you use spinach, you basically can't taste it. (The small rest of spinach which I had went bad, that's why I used chard today.)
I can definitely give you the tip of always using apples in your juice since they're ultra healthy and they give a nice sweetness to the juice.
I love adding ginger to my juices since it gives a nice kick. But don't use too much since it can very quickly be a very overpowering taste. And ginger is apparently really healthy for you.
Here's a little tip for peeling oranges. I've never seen anyone peel them like I do so maybe this might help if you have trouble or just don't like peeling them.
I like to cute through the skin of the orange one way around and then the other way around, just cutting through the skin, not the whole orange. Then, I cut off the edge of the orange on one side. Then you can start peeling all 4 pieces of skin off the orange, as you can see in the photo above. For me, this is the easiest way of peeling an orange and it's better than peeling with a knife since I tend to cute too far and take too much fruit off with the skin.
I really love that there's this piece of plastic on my juice container which catches the froth when pouring your juice into a glass. The piece of plastic catches the froth on top and lets the juice flow out. I noticed this to be a cool feature since I watched Estée's video where she mentions that she hates the juice froth, just like me haha!
Et voilà ! Enjoy :)
*All photos are done by me. All opinions are my own.*
OK, I just wanted to quickly share this Tumblr which I discovered through a friend on Facebook the other day and since then I've gone through each and every post and it's freakin' HILARIOUS!
It's called WHATSHOULDASIACALLME and it's run by a girl or a few friends maybe? And the title description on the Tumblr page reads "What happens when you put a bunch of Americans in Singapore for 5 months? Some pretty entertaining shenanigans."
I tell you, it's genius. Every post is simply a title and a GIF and they're so spot on!
Okay, okay, I've never been to Asia but I can somehow relate with many things since I lived in the USA and now I'm living in Europe, so I can understand the whole "foreigner" concept.
They're just so FUNNY, definitely check it out!
(Even if you don't have your own Tumblr, like me, you can "favorite" the page and check in every once in a while. Definitely worth it.)
