Mac Club

Mac Club eyeshadow has been a favourite of mine as soon as I had it in my collection. I love it and I know lots of other people do too (It is one of their bestselling shades for a reason).
Recently I started playing with it and looked for some combinations to make the different undertones show a bit more. This is what I came up with: The first swatch is just the colour without a base. Though I think it is beautful just as it is it does not show its  full potential at all. The second swatch is over a gold pencil eyeliner, the third over a green one and the fourth over Urban Decay Primer Potion. What do you think? I especially love it over the gold liner! I think it shows both colours equally well other than just picking up the green or the rusty red-brown tones.

 

I am really sorry I could not get Blogger to upload the picture facing up..But I know you'll get which swatch is which ;)

 Do you own Club? How do you use it? I'd love to hear about your ideas!

Spring!

Spring is finally on it's way and I recently saw a post by Dana (Wonderforest) where she showed her  adorable flowery manicure. I felt inspired to try it and attempted to recreate her look. I did not have a dotting tool so I sacrificed a bobby pin and used the tips for dotting and the other side for the leaves. It did not turn out very neatly but I liked the effortless but sweet look that gave. Dana's nails looked a million times nicer but I think for a first attempt it is not too bad. (This is the original post)


All the polishes I used are Essie:  'Mint Candy Apple' (base colour), 'Sew Psyched' (leaves), 'In Stitches' and 'Buy me a Cameo' (flowers).

What do you say?Do you like it or is it 'too much going on' for you?

January and February Empties

Ladies- I now present you - once again - a glimpse into my trashcan:)

I always feel slightly stupid when I keep products that should go into the bin, take photos of them and show them on the Internet. But then again I like writing these mini reviews and I also very much enjoy reading other people's posts about their empty beauty products.

So, let's get started!

Elmex Mouthwash

I really like it and have already repurchased it. I use it twice a day after brushing and flossing my teeth and it leaves your mouth feeling very clean and fresh without burning like hell (hello Listerine..)

Elmex Toothpaste

Love it and used it ever since I had teeth. I always have this one at my sink and I keep a different one in my shower. I am not fussy about the toothpaste in my shower I always switch that one up and try different ones but I have to have Elmex at my sink. Always. It cleans very well, has a nice taste and when I asked my dentist which toothpaste he would recommend he told me this one.

Ebelin  acetone free nail polish remover for sensitive nails

I like it. It is cheap and it works. I hate the smell though but I guess that is kind of the same with all of them. Already repurchased.

Garnier Mineral invisiDry deodorant

It works and I like it and have not used anything else for years (switched it up a bit within the range though) but I would like to try something more natural without Aluminium as that is meant to be a controversial ingredient in deodorants because it might be associated with breast cancer. I am not sure how serious I should take that but if I can avoid it - why not? When I have used up my backup I will purchase something else.

Lancôme Hypnôse Drama Mascara

I really liked it but i like the Maybelline Falsies Mascara just as much (and their wand also look kind of similar to me) so I will keep repurchasing the Maybelline one since it is much, much cheaper. But it is a really good mascara I think!

Yves Rocher Hamamélis shower gel for sensitive skin

Nice shower gel with a subtle clean smell but again I really don't care too much about shower gel. I am fussy about shampoo and conditioner but I will wash my body with anything you give me. If I like the smell I will most likely like the product too. I have not come across am shower gel I did not like apart from the smell yet.

Vichy Normaderm "Global  anti-imperfection hydrating care"

Decent moisturizer, right now I am using La Roche Posay's Effaclar Duo and when this one runs out I will repurchase one of them but I am not sure which one it will we. Until now I liked both.

Clinique "take the day off" cleansing milk

I am so glad that this is finally empty! I hated it! It left a very unpleasant residue on my skin even after rinsing it several times with water, it stung my eyes and it did not work that great I think. I will not repurchase that, for sure. I now use bioderma, an eye makeup remover by Sephora and my Normaderm cleanser for taking off my makeup and that works really well.

Dr. Hauschka "Gesichtstonikum" toner

I got a sample of this in a skincare sample kit for Christmas and used it when I went home for the weekend. It was nice and didn't dry out my skin. I did not like the smell though. But I don't use toner anyway so I will not buy the full size product.

Montagne jeunesse Anti Stress sheet mask with green mint anf teatree oil

I had a horrible allergic reaction to this. My face turned bright red withing seconds, it stung and although I removed it instantly I had red sore spots on my face for three days. Not very pretty I tell you. And I have never had any problems with teatree oil or mint. It does say something like 'test before use' on the sachet but be honest-how are you supposed to test a sheet mask? Of coure I could have opened it, rubbed a little bit of the fluid into my skin, sellotape the sachet so that it doesn't dry out, wait for 24 h and the applied it. Be honest girls - who would have done that? Well, I should have and I think I will be scared of sheet masks from now on and most certainly will not repurchase. Or any other mask from that brand.

I hope I could help some of you with my mini reviews. If you've done a similar post or have a question just leave it below.
Have a nice day!!!

xx

Share the love!

Hello lovelies!

Today I'd like to share the site of a fellow blogger girl - Sophie!

When I was wandering the Internet a couple of days ago I stumbled upon her blog and her latest post was about small blogs, the feeling of writing to oneself and the difficulties of building an audience. I am sure all of you who still have small blogs know what she is talking about. There are so many great blogs out there but because of that it is easy to be overlooked. And so she had the idea to link and talk about other peoples blogs on her site and in return they would talk about hers. I think this is a great idea. It is not exactly a new thing to do but I like it more than doing tags and tagging others (don't get me wrong, I think it is really fun to do that and I have done the Liebster Blog tag and I enjoyed that a lot!). It is more personal and also I think the Internet is all about communication and meeting people and through collaborations like that it is much more likely to get in contact with others. So we e-mailed back and forth a bit and decided to feature each other's blogs.

Sophie writes a german blog about beauty, baking, travelling,  DIY projects and lots of other fun things that happen in her life. She also loves Sweden (If you read my last post you know that I do too and even tried to learn swedish for 1,5 years) which I think is really a fun and nice coincident and I made a little collage of a few of my favourite pictures (which she kindly allowed me to use in my post, of course all the pics belong to her and must not be used without her permission) from her site. But see for yourself!

 

Don't these heart shaped mini cakes look delicious??

So, please, check out her blog and subscribe if you like! She puts a lot of work into it! 

xx

Liebster Award

Hello you lovely people!

I was tagged by Samatha from BlushingAppraisal to do the "Liebster Blog Award" questions - Thank you for that!

So here we go:
First of all of course there are rules (surprise surprise) and we shall follow them:

1. You must link back to the person who nominated you - Samantha
2. Write 11 random facts about yourself
3. Answer the 11 questions given by the person who nominated you
4. Tag and nominate 11 people
5. Come up with 11 questions for your nominees to answer
6. No tag backs

11 Random facts about me

1.

The smell of nail polish makes me want to be a bit sick but I love the smell of fresh paint.

2.

I like the taste of cough medicine.

3.

Growing up I always wanted to be an Archaeologist but now I study something completely different. God knows why..

4.

I am afraid of birds especially pigeons

5.

When I am stressed out I bake. A lot. While studying for my "Matura" we were constantly low on flour, sugar and butter. I drove my parents crazy because I got up in the middle of the night and started to bake copious amounts of muffins and other fun things like that. I still do it when I study for an exam.

6.

I always have hand sanitizer in my bag.

7.

I hate cheese.

8.

I have a thing for learning uncommon languages. Currently I'd like to learn Hindi and for 1.5 yrs I tried to learn Swedish (Not that that is a really uncommon language.. It is just uncommon for an Austrian girl to learn it. But what can I say, I love Pippi Longstocking and the funny, quirky sound of the language)

9.

My favourite flowers are lilies of the valley.

10.

As soon as I read the package inserts of pharmaceuticals I am convinced I will die. So I don't read them and do whatever the doctor said.

11.

I love chocolate but I hate gummy candy

Phew. That was surprisingly difficult and not very interesting I'm afraid.. So let's move on to Samatha's questions:

1. Are you a home-body or an outdoors lover?

More of a home-body I must say...I love being outdoors but I would most likely do nothing other that sitting under a tree and reading a book. So if the weather is not nice or warm enough to do that I will be inside. Doing the same :)

 
2. Would you prefer a five star hotel or sleep under the stars?

Though I love luxury things I think I would sleep under the stars. I like to travel and since I am a poor student I can't afford fancy hotels and I have spent my fair share of nights in not-so-nice youth hostels. So-sleeping under the stars sounds quite fun and romantic compared to that.

 
3. What is your favourite number?

Hm. I have not thought about that. Maybe 29.

 
4. What is your most popular post?

That one. A brush haul. I did not expect that to be honest because it is by far not my favourite. I like the ones about my DIY projects because I always have a lot of fun making the things.

 
5. What inspires your writing?

Nothing in particular. I write about the things I'd like to read about other people and sometimes I see/read/hear things that take my interest and I write about that. But since my blog is so new I still have a lot of ideas left and don't really have to look for new inspiration at the moment.

 
6. Coffee or tea?

Tea in the morning, coffee during the day. I love both.

 
7. How do you feel about ageing?

Funny you should ask :) Just a few days ago I was thinking how glad I am not be 18 anymore. I am currently 22, nearly 23 and I quite like growing up and getting older and wiser. Because I really feel like I gained a lot of life perspective and I feel so much more comfortable with myself now that a few years ago. So I am not scared of ageing at the moment I like how I started to 'grow into myself' and learning to live independently.

 
8. What is your favourite lip balm?

Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Lipbalm

 
9. What designer best reflects your style?

Oh God. I really do not know. I am much more of a makeup girl than a fashion girl. I like classic styles and cuts paired with girly materials like lace and pastel colours. 

 
10. What is a beauty secret/tip you swear by?

Take care of your nails and lips it makes so much difference.

11. What do you do to relax?

I love to light a candle, read a good book, take a long bath or talk to my friends on the phone while sitting on my bed with my pj's on.

I TAG:

Courtney - A cosmetic courtship 

Lilalaune - LilaLauneTrend
Rebecca - YouthGoneWild 
Sophie - SophiesWelt 

Many of the blogs I know that have under 200 subscribers (at least I think that is a criterion) have already done the tag so I will stick to these 4 ladies and add more as I find them. But if you happen to read this and have not done the tag please do and leave me a link!

So here come my questions for you:

1. Do you like to travel and where would you like to go next and why?

2. What do you love most about your best friend?

3. What is your favourite season?

4.What made you start blogging?

5.What type of handbag do you prefer? Teeny-tiny-only-phone,keys-and-wallet or carry-around-my-whole-world types of bags?

6.CD or mp3/Actual book or e-reader?

7. How do you keep organized?

8.What is your guilty pleasure?

9. Do you collect anything?

10. Are you superstitious?

11. What is your favourite TV Series at the moment?

So, these are my questions and I look forward to reading your answers. If you enjoyed my post and would like to take part, please do so! I am very new to the blogging world and I do not know too many blogs so please, please if you want to, leave me a comment with a link to your post, I'd love to read through your answers and look around your blog!

Have a lovely day!

xx

Crappy day?

Everybody knows ‚these’ days. The days when you feel like nothing can lighten your mood, you are tired, stressed and you don’t even want to think about looking into a mirror. We’ve all been there, haven’t we?

Well at least I certainly have and I will share some tips with you how you can pick up your looks in just a few steps.

Look after your nails. They do not have to be painted or long, keeping them shorter is actually easier to maintain, they do not peel as easily if they are a bit brittle and weak and I personally think that especially dark nailpolish looks better on short nails.

Try to file them all into a shape you like (I like my nails rounded at the edges) and use a nail buffer to make them shiny. That should not take you longer than 5 minutes. A little handcream afterwards and you are all set. However if you choose to wear nailpolish opt for neutrals for daytime. If your polish is chipping during the day it won’t be as noticeable and nude shades make your hands look very elegant and well looked after.

Have a few to-go hairstyles you can easily achieve in a short amount of time. No-one wants to spend ages on their hair if you are already in a bad mood (or a hurry). You can try the classics like a high bun (sock bun, messy bun,...endless options here) or a ponytail. Maybe a pretty headband or try creating a high pony, slide the elastic down a bit make a little ‚pocket’ above the elastic,and gather all your hair and tuck it into the ‚pocket’. That will keep your hair out of your face, it is office appropriate and it literally takes 5 mins tops to do! and if you have not had time to wash your hair dry shampoo(or baby powder) is your best friend. Just spray some on the roots, rub it in, brush out any excess and you are good to go.

Don’t go too heavy on the make-up. Look at your skin- if it does not need foundation use a tinted moisturizer or even leave it bare! Maybe a little powder if you tend to get oily during the day, concealer, mascara and tinted lipbalm and you will not have to worry about smudging or touch-ups during the day.

Look at your brows-do they need shaping? I am all for naturals brows but if there ist he odd stray hair just pluck it! And do not try to alter the shape oft hem yoursef! Leave that tot he professionals. Maintaining them can easily be done at home by yourself but any bigger changes should be done professionally to prevent tears and the urge to wear a paper bag over your head for a few weeks ;)

These few thing always help me feeling put together even if I do not feel like it on the inside. But only because you feel crappy you don’t have to look like it! It makes me feel a lot better to know I look presentable and not having to tell 26740273984 people that I am ok and feel great ( because-let’s face it- if you feel bad you will tell your friends but do not want everybody to know!)

Another thing to alway cheer me up is having something to look forward to. Before I go to bed I will always tahe a few minutes and think about the things I look forward to on the next day. Andi f I can’t find anything I will make plans for something nice. Just a small thing that makes me have happy and positive thoughts. For me this is usually taking the time to call a friend I have not seen in some time, bake a cake, paint my nails a pretty colour, treat myself to a Lush bath, cook my favourite dish for dinner or watch a nice movie in the evening. Just try to find something that makes you happy and carries you through the days that might be a little harder to face than usual.

I hope that helped some of you out there, everybody has a bad day (or week) sometimes! Life is not always all cotton candy, christmas lights and glitter even if it seems to be for everyone except yourself – believe me, it is not!

I hope you all have a fantastic day and if not I hope you can find that little something that makes you smile!

xx

What's in my make-up bag?

Today I thought I'd share the contents of my make-up bag with you. Not that I carry anything spectacular - these are jut the few little bits and bobs I like to have in my handbag when I'm on the go.

I keep all of the products in a little Clinique bag (I got it for my birthday a couple of years ago with some nice little beauty treats inside). That keeps everything from floating aroung in my bag and I can easily take everything out when I swap bags.

Inside I have a stick concealer (Astor, lightest colour), a black eye pencil (Catrice), a mini sized mascara (Lancôme 'Doll Eyes') which I will switch out for a full size one when I run out of mascara samples, lip balm (Carmex for really cold weather or when my lips are exceptionally dry, Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector for other days), face powder (Clinique Superpowder in 07) with a little synthetic Kabuki brush (Alverde) and hand cream (Soap and Glory Hand Food).

In the summer I might throw in some blotting sheets but I feel like I do not need them during the colder months and when I wear lipstick or quite pigmented lipgloss I usually take the colour I'm wearing that day too.

I feel like I can make myself look decent with only these products even if there is insufficient lighting and I can use the mirror in my powder compact. So if I have to get ready on the bus (which I hate by the way, I think there is nothing classy about a 'mascara face' and bumpy lipgloss application so I really try to avoid doing my make-up while I am sitting in some means of public transport)

What do you like to carry with you in your bag?

DIY easy jewelry storage

Hi!

Today I thought I'd share my storage idea for long and/or dangly jewelry with you. I hate it when my necklaces and earrings get tangled in my jewelry box. So I was looking for a way to display the pretty things and also keep them at hand without having to dig through a big lump of tangled jewelry first..

Excuse the rubbish picture, I just could not seem to get it right today..

I used an old pinboard with a wooden frame, painted it (I used gold acrylic paint but you could use any colour you like or maybe even some glitter, rhinestones,... whatever you fancy :) ) and hung my necklaces with some coloured pins from it. Of course this would work with earrings, rings, bracelets and all other things which can be pinned somehow. Even hair accessories would work well I think. Just find something pretty you have a lot of (oh boy, I think I could fill lots of pinboards with oh-so-pretty (let's be honest) clutter...)

I like that I can now see what I own because I am guilty of forgetting about my stuff, it really is true with me and my jewelry - out of sight, out of mind..

So tell me, how do you store your jewelry? I'd love to hear about your ideas!

xx

My daily make-up routine

Hi guys!

I find it really interesting to see what other girls use on a daily basis so I thought I'd share my basics with you. This is also what I would take with me when I go home for the weekend - maybe with an additional lipstick for the evening if I think about going out.

My current foundation is the YSL Touche Eclat foundation (I wear BD 10). I really like it because it has light coverage and looks very natural on the skin. It is also insanely expensive in Austria so I am not sure if I treat myself to it a second time when it is finished..
I set my foundation with the Clinique Superpowder (07 Matte Neutral) but only in the T-zone as my skin is quite dry on my cheeks but I get oily during the day on my forehead, nose and chin. If I feel like I have dark circles I will use a concealer (MAC Studiofinish Concealer palette in 'light') but on most days I just don't bother.
Then I define my brows a bit using the Alverde Eyebrow gel in '01 Blonde'. I have brunette hair but I find that the darker colour is too dark and 'Blonde' is just fine for everyday.
After that I create some sort of eyeshadow look with my MAC palette but sometimes I skip eyeshadow altogether and move straight on to eyeliner.
I use the Clarins 3-dot-liner on my upper and lower lashline and a black Khol pencil (by Catrice) only on my upper lashline.
To finish up I use the MAC lash curlers and either Essence I love extreme or Maybelline Falsies Mascara.
The brushes I use are the Paris Berlin 29 Foundation brush (I LOVE IT), MAC 217 and 239 and a Kabuki brush by Alverde.

I really do not like to wear too much make-up during the day, I hate to have to worry about touch-ups and possible smudging and these products have been working really well for me.

In the evenings I like to wear bolder looks as I tend to not be very experimental with my clothes and just stick to a few pieces I know that suit me and go for a red lip or darker eye looks instead.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my basics - I would love to hear about yours! So leave me a comment or a link to your post!Have a lovely day,

xx

Tips for studying

Hi there!

I was wondering if any of you are buried in work for school, uni etc too -like I am?

It took me quite some time to find a way to study efficiently that works for me and I thought I’d share this with you - it might help someone out there.

These are just some tips that make studying easier (and a bit less annoying) for me so here we go:

1.     Create a study friendly environment:

a.     De-clutter your desk as much as you can. If there is no space for your books you cannot work properly! Try to limit the amount of things on your desk as much as possible. Usually a few pens, post-its, extra paper and your computer (if needed for internet research. If not, put it away, things like checking Youtube, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and so on are much to alluring and can keep you from working for hours) is enough. Also at least mute you mobile phone or best would be switching it off completely and only check your messages during breaks.

b.     If you want to, light a candle, have a small plant next to you, a nice picture frame or something else you like to look at but will not distract you (like a nice book would)

c.      If you know that a messy room makes you make excuses to stand up and put something away take some time to really tidy your room before you start. If you do it efficiently (and have not neglected you room until it looks like a robber’s den) one hour should be enough time.

2.     Think about the things you might need/want that make you leave you room.

a.     Have a cup of coffee/tea beside you but try to not spill it over your computer. Have a bottle of water on hand. It is important to stay hydrated if you want your brain to work properly but there is no need to run to the kitchen for every glass of water you might want to drink- It will just distract you.

b.     Do not eat a packet of crisps or a whole bar of chocolate! You will feel sick (and maybe guilty) and it does nothing good for your concentration and body. Instead try having some fresh fruit, nuts, raisins or other little snacks that are healty and help you to keep your energy and concentration.

3.     Take breaks! Let some fresh air into your room, have a little chat with your flatmates/parents/...

4.     Organise your things. Use different coloured pens for different subjects, have all the things that belong together in a different pile or box, ...

5.     Make lists. Have a to-do-list with all oft he things that need to be done, have separate lists for the subjects and the dates of the exams. Try to work out a timetable so that you have plenty of time to get everything done and do not have to work through the last three nights prior to the exam. Maybe use post-its or cards on a pinpoard with all the things you need to do which you throw away when you have completed the task. It is nice and motivating to see the workload shrink gradually.

6.     Get enough rest. Try to sleep at least 7 hours per night!

7.     Do not imprison yourself unless you want to. There is nothing wrong with meeting some friends. Just try to limit it to 2 times a week, do not stay up too late, do not drink alcohol and only meet people if you know you have time for it. Try to do it in the evening when everything else is already done or meet up with someone who has to study too and study together (but only if you know that you will really study and not only have ‚a little coffee break’)

8.     Do not study in your bed. Of course you can read through the things you worked on that day once before you go to sleep but try to stay on a desk fort he rest of the study time. Studying in you bed might make you very sleepy.

9.     If you did well and you stuck to your timetable – reward yourself for doing so! Read a book or finally buy that dress on ASOS you’ve been eyeing for the last 2 weeks. You’ve earned a little appreciation!

I hope that helped some of you, if you have some great tips or tricks please leave them in the comments I’d love to hear what you do to stay motivated!

xx

Zoeva Brush Haul

Hi!

Recently I went online to click through some of my favourite make-up supply websites and doing so I also had a look on Zoeva. I own quite a few Zoeva brushes and I really like them! When I had a look at the site I saw that they had released a few new and re-designed some of their old brushes and I decided to buy some because the quality is usually really nice and apart from one time which I will tell you about in a minute I am really pleased with the quality.

I got some face brushes and the 'Eye Definition' set - but see for yourself:

101 Luxe Face Designer

124 Stippling

142 Concealer Buffer

102 Silk Finish

110 Face Shape

110 Face Shape vs. 102 Silk Finish

 I have washed all of them once and so far they kept their shape very well- I am a bit worried with the Luxe Face Designer as the bristles seemed to stick out a little after washing. I will see how that turns out because it was by far the most expensive one and sadly also the only one which did  not lose its yucky plastic-y smell. I hope it will all be ok, otherwise I will try and send it back. That leads to the story I wanted to tell earlier. I already have the 125 Stippling brush in a former design (I got it about two years ago I think) but never really used it because it lost so much colour when I washed it that I did not want to put it on my face. I was a little disappointed with that and decided to email to Zoeva's customer service to tell them about my problem. They were really nice and offered to give me a free 125 Stippling with my next purchase and I could also keep the old one. I thought that was really nice but did not order anything from their site until now. I did not think that their offer would still stand but decided to ask anyway and immediately they added a free stippling brush to my order although the price had increased and the design had changed too. I think that was really extremely nice and I wanted to share that with you. I think good customer service is really nice and I have never experienced anything like this from another website!


Here are some pictures for comparison of the old and current 125 Stippling brush:

above: old 125

left: new 125 right: old 125

left: old 125, right: new 125

The new brush is definitely a lot smaller and the bristles are more dense. They also told me that the old brush was not made entirely from synthetic bristles (which the new one is) and that that is why it lost colour and what made them change the design. Apparently I was not the only one to experience problems with it :)

The last thing I got was the 'Eye Definition' set. It consists of 6 brushes which come in a little pink metallic bag which I cannot show you because my sister liked it so much that I gave it to her. There is an eyeliner brush, a smudger, a blending brush, a 'precise shader', a pencil brush and a larger shader brush. They are all made from synthetic bristles, did not lose their shape after washing and seem like they are nice quality.

I will tell you after testing the brushes for some time how I feel about them. For now I am really excited to use them for the first time! Have you ever tried Zoeva brushes?

Talk to you soon!

xx

Discover new blogs

Well, hello there!

I thought since I really enjoy reading blogs and catching a glimpse of other people's lives - in particular if they enjoy similar things like I do - I might ask all of you to leave your site in the comments especially if you are new to blogging like I am! I love to discover new blogs and clicking through them but there are so many new ones everyday that I feel like one might miss out on some great ones! And why not start looking for something new among the lovely people who took the time to read through my blog? :)
So if you happen to read this and also have a blog / website of your own feel free to comment and let me know. I would love if you could describe your blog's topic, where you are from or whatever other little piece of detail you would like to share to make the comments more interesting.
So, if you like the idea please leave a comment and if you happen to like my blog and would like to follow me - that would be so great! If not, that is fine with me too :)

I hope you all have a lovely day!

DIY Peter Pan collar necklace / Bubikragen Kette

Hi there!

Recently I had a few creative hours and sat down to try and replicate a necklace I had seen on a picture. I changed a few things to make it more interesting (at least I think so) and that is the result:

Retrospectively I would not have chosen the golden beads as they differ in size and make the necklace look a bit uneven. Apart from me probably no-one would ever see that but I have to say -it bothers me :)
I will still continue to wear it because I enjoy jewelry that I made myself and know to be unique but if I ever make one again I will use other beads.

So what do you say- would you wear it? Do you sometimes make jewelry yourself?

xx

My Holy Grail hair products (wavy hair)

Hi everyone!

I have been changing up my hair routine recently quite a bit because I really did not like the way my hair looked at all. I started using a few new products and I LOVE the results!

My hair is naturally quite curly in the front and a bit more relaxed and wavy in the back. It is quite long and layered and a few months ago it started getting drier and drier. It was always a bit frizzy when I let it air dry - but hey, that usually is the case with naturally curly hair - and I did not mind that too much but when I blow dried my hair it always looked like a frizzy mess although it is not too difficult to blow out my curls. I could not go out with freshly washed hair I always had to wait for at least a few hours or use A LOT of products what made my hair really greasy. I normally have to wash it every three days or so and after such a product overkill I usually had to wash it again on the next day. So I started experimenting with new conditioners and shampoos, tried some drugstore brands and some salon treatments and some helped a bit but nothing really got rid of the problem. Then I strated using an oil treatment by Glisskur because I did not want to splurge on the Kerastase treatments right away but also that did not help. I did a lot of research and found that lots of people use coconut oil, argan oil and even olive oil so I thought I'd give it a whirl. And I am glad I did because it improved my hair so much! I bought a small bottle of pure Argan oil because that is the main ingredient of the famous Moroccan oil treatment and after washing my hair (I use Lush's ' Curly wurly' shampoo and 'American Cream' conditioner) I rub 2 drops (literally!) between the palms of my hands and apply it starting from the tips up to about my ears to my hair when it is towel dry. Then I blow dry like I normally do and if I feel it is still a little dry after that I use another drop of oil in my dry hair. And I am thrilled - my hair looks a lot better now, it is smooth, shiny and soft and not frizzy at all. I also tried using the oil on my curls and that works really well too. And it is really inexpesive wich is a huge bonus considering the price of all the salon brands treatments (I paid about 8 Euros for a 100 ml bottle). The pure oil will last you for ages you really only need a tiny amount and I like that it does not have a scent to it. My conditioner has quite a strong scent and anything adding to that would be too much I think.

I really recommend trying to use Argan oil on your hair if you have a similar problem. I could see an improvement after the first time I used it and it has been getting better and better ever since.
I hope this helped some of you, if you have any questions leave them below or send me an e-mail!

See you soon,
xx

December Empties

Hello Lovelies!

These are the products I managed to use up in December. I quite liked most of them so let's have a look, shall we?

 

Lush American Cream conditioner:

I really really like it and a bigger bottle is already waiting in my shower. I wash my hair two to three times a week and I use my Lush conditioner everytime I do so. From time to time I use a different product from the L'oreal professional line (my hairdresser recommended it to me) to deep condition my hair, then I will of course skip my regular conditioner but while I will nor repurchase the hairmask for deep conditioning I am very happy with American Cream. It is quite thin but I like that as it makes distributing the product really easy and it smells amazing. If you don't like the scent you should look for something different though because it lingers in your hair until you wash it again!

Herbal Essences 'Viel Feuchtigkeit' shampoo:

This used to be my special occasion shampoo as it makes my hair really soft and shiny but I also noticed that it makes my hair greasy very fast so I will probably not buy it again and look for a different shampoo that has the same effect on my hair. I am yet to find my perfect shampoo. At the moment I am using 'Curly Wurly' by Lush and so far I like it.

Caudalie Vinosource Body Moisturizer:

I used two sachets of this in November and was quite pleased with it. It is not greasy on the skin, leaves it feeling really nice and has a fresh subtle scent. I got the two samples of this when I purchased the 'Eau de beauté'. (I still cannot decide if I like it to be honest). I don't think I will buy the full size though as I am quite lazy with body moisturizers and find that a cheaper product works just as well for me. I like to splurge on different things than body lotion.

Essence better than gel nails top sealer:

Love it!Makes your nailpolish dry much faster, gives a nice shine and is not expensive at all. Already repurchased it.

Vichy Normaderm pore refining serum:

As I have mentioned before the pore refining serum by Clinique did not work at all for me. This one does, at least I think I see a difference. I will repurchase it and see if my pores continue to shrink because I am still not totally happy with the results. If I don't see a major difference after the second tube I will stop using it. I think 4 months should be enough to see a noticeable difference in your skin.

Elmex 'Intensiv Reinigung'

I do not use teeth whitening products because I have very sensitive teeth and thy are not really discoloured to begin with but I occasionally use this product when I fell like my teeth need extra cleaning (after a day of chocolate over indulgence for example--) and I like that it makes your teeth feel super clean and fresh. So I will repurchase that.

Guhl 'Feuchtigkeits Balance' leave in coditioner:

I liked that product a lot! I have naturally wavy hair that is dry, especially my ends are. I used it on mornings inbetween washes to freshen up my curls and it worked quite well for me. However, I will not repurchase it because I found my hair miracle - Argan oil! I will do a separate post on that when I know if it is really working but for now I am thrilled with the results!

So that's it for my empties this month. Which products have you used up lately?

Have a lovely day!