Fabulous cuffs

With the weather starting to get a bit warmer again and prospects of 16 degrees, I am getting excited because that means no more winter coats!  Wearing cuffs in the winter time gets a bit annoying as they do not really make a good accessory to wear underneath anything.  The four cuffs I posted here are all completely different, but all gorgeous.  

The Aphrodite cuff by Aurélie Bidermann is a stunning statement piece that will catch any eye.  I especially like the little detail in the front that looks like a golden apple.  

The second, more bracelet type cuff, by Fashionology would make a great addition to my arm, as I mostly wear a silver Tiffanys cuff and several silver rings.  This will go with anything really, and I really like the contrast between the different silver textures, it transforms many silver rather plain bangles into something more exciting.

Monserat De Lucca's feather bangle is really something else and would go well with a more vintagy style.  On their website they have many other creative ideas, regarding what shape can be used to make a bangle!

In the same style as the ring I posted earlier, Zadig & Voltaire continues to amaze me with their jewelry.  I love their clothes, but this cuff is just perfect, so light and airy, despite it being to large.  

Perfect Fit

Experimenting with eye shadow can be a great thing to do, and I am sure that I am not the only one with countless eye shadows stacked somewhere.  But usually I don't carry these around everywhere, so I have quickly come to love MAC's Pro Palette for eye shadows!  It is the best solution for carrying around the colours you really want, and saving a lot of space.  I used to buy the MAC eye shadows separately, and I also have quite a few, I guess pre-mixed palettes by other brands, and there tends to be one shade I really love, and mostly there are two that I never even touch.  It is a shame to spend money on something that is only half right and MAC really has a solution here!  The palette comes either for four shades or 15 shades as far as I know, so depending on your needs you can choose the correct size.  I go with the ones for four shades, and always include a highlighter, corresponding to the other three colours.  Then I pick a lighter colour for the inside of my lid, and a darker colour for the corner.  These two colours are more for a casual day look, but I also get a really dark shade for going out, that I can use for the corners of my eyes and then use the darker shade used during the day as the lighter shade which goes more on the inside of my eye.  It works really well and allows me to take just one palette, unless I am going somewhere for a longer period of time.  They save so much space as the palettes are really slim and can fit into almost any make-up bag nicely.  My favourite palette has travelled to several continents with me, and I guess it is almost a relief to know that I don't have to take an excess amount of other eye shadows with me. I would also really recommend this if you are not someone with lots and lots of eye shadow and perhaps also with little experience; this way you can purchase something that really works for your eye and skin colour and then stick to this and feel more confident wearing it!  Besides, you do not have to fill your palette right away, and you can leave spaces if you want to wait, but always come back to complete it.  

Zadig & Voltaire Ring

Photo taken from net-a-porter.com

Just look at this stunning piece of jewelry by Zadig & Voltaire!  It looks so classy and understated when worn, although it covers the whole finger.  Its the perfect piece for all year round, giving any look that perfect finish.  I can imagine wearing it with jeans, a light grey oversized jumper just as well as I can picture it with the royal blue dress I posted a while back.  

Travel Essential

Having my family and friends scattered across Europe, I travel quite regularly and always find it difficult to decide what products to take.  Alongside my cleanser, toner and moisturiser I want to keep the extra tubes and bottles to a minimum and apart from my make-up I can get along with these basics most of the time.  

When I'm away from home for more than a couple of nights and I don't want to skip my weekly scrub and mask, I bring along the Aroma-Perfection Unclogging Thermo-Active Mask by Nuxe.  This truly is made for travelling as the tube is tiny and just fits into that last little space you have and it works kind of like a 2-in-1 treatment.  The texture is quite thick and the mask contains little pebbles which later works as the scrub.  The mask is put onto the skin and then it works its magic for 10-15 minutes; my face starts to get warm, as this helps to open and unclog pores.  Afterwards, I massage the mask into my skin lightly, making use of the pebbles as a scrub.  Then the mask is just rinsed off and I use a hydrating mask to finish everything off.  After a scrub, I always do this as my skin is perfectly prepared to take in all of the moisture and it does not leave my skin dried out from the scrub. 

This treatment is very handy, especially if stress from travelling shows on your skin, as it does with mine.  At the first signs of smaller breakouts, it feels like the thermo mask prevents any major damage from happening!

Day make-up

On my never ending search for the perfect foundation, I was shown the Double Wear foundation by Estee Lauder, and I must admit I have really fallen for it.  Usually I struggle with the foundation colours, as I always feel that even the lightest colour is too dark for me.  But I got this one in the lightest colour, which is Shell, and it is really light and there is no visible difference between my face and my neck.  That alone already qualifies it to enter the inner circle of foundations I like. 

I managed to bring myself to post a photo of myself without any make-up and to therefore publicly display what not many people get to see.  Whilst my boyfriend thinks I look cute with hardly visible eye lashes and eye brows, I feel like my face lacks definition and expression, which is the reason why I never leave the house without mascara.  

So the first picture shows me just after moisturising, without any colour or coverage.  You can see that my skin is a little bit red in some areas, like the cheeks.  The second picture shows me with the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation applied.  I know, I look very very pale, but the next darker colour was already too dark and during the day, with the oil of my skin, it darkened even more, which is why I stuck to the Shell colour.  The texture is like a normal foundation, but it is on the thicker side.  The coverage is really good, but I try to use it lightly unless my skin is really bad.  I might try to mix it with some moisturiser on the days where I don't want a full foundation, and just a little bit of colour.  It really evens out the tone of my skin and gets rid of the red bits really well.

Alongside the foundation, I used the Clarins Beauty Flash Balm underneath.  I got this as a tester last week and use it every day now, as it can also be used as a face mask.  It is hard to pinpoint what exactly it does but it just feels like it unites my skin with the foundation.  It might just be my personal favourite, and I will probably give it its own post soon.  

On top of the foundation is MAC's blot powder, my longest companion in my make-up pouch.  

The third picture shows me with all of my face on.  I did a post on a day make-up look and I used all of the things I wrote about there; three MAC eye-shadows, a MAC taupe kohl eyeliner, and the MAC eyebrow pencil in fling.  My mascara is Doll Eyes by Lancome.  It is quiet hard for me to use blush on my skin because I am afraid that even the tiniest bit always is too much for my face and it is difficult to get just the right amount.  Most of the time it feels like there is no blush at all, but I guess that is still better than too much blush.  The faint colour on my cheeks in picture three is a mineral blush my MAC, that has two tones; a highlighter on the inside and a very light pink on the outside.

Even after I put on the foundation and powder in the morning, it takes at least four hours before I put on some more of the blot powder to get rid of the slightly oily look.  I know that a dewy look is what most new make-up looks are going for, but I still have a bit of a phobia and prefer a very matte look, and I panic without my powder.  The foundation does what it promises and stays on for 10-12 hours nicely and still feels comfortable on my skin until I take it off in the evenings.   

Daily Cleanser for the cold

When it was starting to get colder I was still using a cleanser, by La Roche Posay, for normal to combination skin, it clearly was not helping as my skin started feeling tight and itchy.  Clarins never really came up on my radar until about two years ago when they released the Daily Energizer Cleansing Gel that was aimed at a younger clientele.  After some research I decided to give this Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser a try, as it contains shea butter, and I have had good experiences with this ingredient in other products.  It is used on damp skin, and applied with water to rinse the skin.  I really prefer to use something like this rather than a cleansing milk as it never really feesl like my skin has been cleared.  However, the cleanser is quite milky, but not too much so, and it is not like a gel or foam either, rather it has quite a thick texture and at first site actually reminds me more of a cream.  The smell is very light and it feels really comfortable on my skin.  It has been treating me very well for the last few months and although at first I was critical towards changing my cleanser because I thought my skin would not be cleared enough to stop spots, my skin most certainly is not worse than before and it even feels much smoother.  

Prada lovin'

photos taken from the Prada e-store website

Just found these adorable iPad and iPhone covers on the Prada website!  They are the cutest covers I have ever seen for iPhones or iPads and are not just the perfect Valentines Day gift.  The 'normal' covers are available in fabulous other colours including pink, yellow, green orange and blue, so there is something there for everyone.  

Sunshine on wheels

With all of this dull winter weather, I thought it would be a good idea to show off the Aston Martin Cygnet limited edition by Tom Dixon, as it is the most fulfilled accessory one could have!  There is not a single day this car does not excite me and I don't think I could ever get bored with the colour.

I'm wearing a Zara skirt, H&M waist coat and Bertie boots.

Photos by Fabien

My first Glossy Box

Today I got my first Glossy Box! I am very excited about the idea of getting new products every month without having to spend a lot of money, and then perhaps being disappointed.  This way, I can test each of these products, and if I do like them, full size products can be bought through the Glossy Box website. The first box includes:

- Weleda One-Step Cleanser & Toner (I am familiar with Weleda from Germany, as it is a quite well known brand for natural products there)

- First Aid Beauty Gentle Body Wash

-Murad Skin Perfecting Primer dewy finish

- Orly nail polish in the colour Ruby

- Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner in green

I will post about them as soon as I have the chance to try them out. 

All things blue

1. Céline bag blue (photo from polyvore.com)

2. Yves Saint Laurent Arty gold-plated glass ring (photo from net-a-porter.com)

3. Emilio Pucci two-tone suede gladiator sandals (photo from net-a-porter.com)

4. Asos Just Female Tunic Dress with zip front (photo from asos.com)

4. Marni Crystal-embellished leather waist belt (photo from net-a-porter.com)

5. Alexander Wang Prism leather tote (photo from net-a-porter.com)

Blue is an absolutely amazing colour and the blue Céline bag is just stunning, definitely on the top of my wish list!  The colour is so bold, yet it is elegant and always an eye catcher.