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?