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February 27, 2012

Monday Questionnaire: 27th February, 2012

I remeber having done one of this questionnaires last year, and to kick off this week, I figured I would maybe do one again?
via weheartit.com
1.) Mood?
Actually amazing! Got great results in school and my "social life" is going well, too.

2.) What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
I had one bake roll w/ low fat cream cheese and some jelly on one side and some Nutella on the other side :-) And of course a cup of coffee (can't live without it)!

3.) What is the weather like today?
It's getting better, the temperature was OK (around 10°C), but it's still a bit grey and winter-ish. Can't wait for spring!

4.) Current nail polish?
essence "Walk on air". See The Daily Nail here.

5.) What ring setting do you keep your cell phone on at night: loud or silent? (Or the phone completely off?)
I keep it on silent, but it vibrates when I get a text message.

6.) Current Outfit?
Blue skinny jeans, black t-shirt, red sweat vest, floral printed scarf. Pretty simple!

7.) What is your favorite Disney movie?
Cinderella! I've always been that kind of dreamy girl and probably will always be.

8.) Can you whistle using your fingers?
Unfortunately, I can't.

9.) When doing laundry, do your separate loads /lights/darks, delicates, etc.) or throw everything together?
 I separate everything, that's what my mom always told me to do and so I do now.

10.) Weekly goals
Write the newspaper article, get some school stuff done, watch the last two Harry Potter movies.

What are you up to this week?

Love,
Nathalie xxx

February 25, 2012

The Daily Nail: essence "Walk On Air"

Shown: 1x base coat, 2x essence colour & go, 1x top coat
essence Colour & Go Walk On Air

I haven't done a Daily Nail post for ages, but as I'm in a hurry right now, this is going to be a very quick post. I found this nail polish on my last shopping trip: essence recently added some new colors to their collection and this royal, electric blue totally got me that I just had to buy it.
Colour & Go nail polishes go on quite sheer, so they absolutely require a second coat as well as a good top coat to protect them from chipping (which they LOVE doing!).

What are you wearing on your nails right now?

Love,
Nathalie x

February 24, 2012

Maybelline Moisture Extreme

I've started purchasing lipsticks last year (at the age of 16!) as I always loved lip gloss way more. But 2011, I decided that it was my #1 task to find amazing nude lipsticks to replace my ever present glosses (of which I was kinda tired). Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy wearing gloss, but now that I've found lipsticks like the Maybelline Moisture Extreme, I'm drawn to lipsticks WAY more.

PACKAGING


 Moisture Extreme lipsticks come in solid packagings which are whether metallic red or beige colored.


COLOR


I'm reviewing "Pinky beige" which I would describe as a beige nude with a generous amount of pink to it. To me, this is the most beautiful nude color I own at the moment. It's very neutral but does not completely wash you out and make you look more dead than alive. Hence is the perfect addition to your everyday makeup as it adds a tiny pop of color to your face (as I said, tiny!). Pinky Beige is part of the "Natural Nudes" Range.


 FORMULA


The formula of these lipsticks is wonderful, it glides on better than any chapstick I have (no lie!) and deeply moisturizes your lips (and yet it's so pigmented!). It almost leaves a glossy finish while feeling super soft on the lips.

ALL IN ALL

My new obsession. I've swatched a couple of other shades and I'm dying to get my hands on them as every single one of them is truly beautiful.

Love,
Nathalie x


P.S.: For further information, check out Adrienne's review.

Finished Product #3: p2 perfect look kajal


p2 perfect look! kajal 020 brown

I'm a sucker for dark brown eye pencils, I use them everyday to line my lower lash line and sometimes also to line my upper lash line. It's just a great alternative for black which I don't like to wear all the time.
This eye pencil is a nice deeper brown, not to chocolatey, rather slightly reddish. It has a very creamy and soft texture which makes it perfect for smudging. I enjoyed using this and yet did not repurchase as I was looking for a deeper brown (and a stickier consistency).

Have you finished any products recently?

Love,
Nathalie x

February 21, 2012

Get Healthy Week: Day 2

This is day 2 and it's not going to be as good as Day 1. I made club sandwiches for lunch and Mac'n'Cheese for dinner. BUT: I did exercise!

BREAKFAST:
• 1 bowl of homemade Bircher Muesli (375 calories)
• 1 cup of coffee w/ sweeteners and low fat milk (10 calories)

LUNCH:
• 2 club sandwiches (700 calories)
• 1 glass of ice tea (60 calories)

IN BETWEEN:
• 4 glasses of water
• 50g of red grapes (40 calories)
• 1 chocolate cookie (95 calories)

DINNER:
• Mac'n'Cheese!!! (Oh my, I don't wanna know the amount of calories!)

IN BETWEEN:
• 4 glasses of water

Total: I'd estimate a good 2000 calories. I'm not devastated though because that's actually the amount of calories a teen should eat (but you know, not on a diet). Anyway, tomorrow is getting better!

Nathalie xo

February 20, 2012

Get Healthy Week: Day 1

As I promised, I'm starting with my food diary today; I'm not going to leave anything out. Feel free to give my tips or to punish me for eating something bad. Just kidding, haha! But I always appreciate comments :)

BREAKFAST:
• 2 homemade waffles (2 x 250 calories)
• 100g of low fat yoghurt (65 calories)
• a few cherries (30 calories)
• a cup of coffee w/ low fat milk and sweeteners (10 calories)

IN BETWEEN:
• 1 glass of ice tea (60 calories)
• 3 glasses of water

LUNCH:
• 1 bowl of homemade vegetable soup (90 calories)
• 1/2 sausage (170 calories)

IN BETWEEN:
• 3 glasses of water
• 100g of red grapes (75 calories)
• 1 chocolate cookie (75 calories)

DINNER:
• 1 slice of multi-grain bread w/ some low fat cream cheese (150 calories)
• 1 yoghurt (150 calories)

IN BETWEEN:
• 1 apple (50 calories)

Total: 1425 calories

I'm satisfied, I'd say this is a pretty good start into this week. If I can keep it on that level, it's going to make a difference (maybe I can even lower this?)

xo Nathalie

February 19, 2012

Get Healthy Week

OK, I gotta admit something: I became very lazy when it comes to healthy eating. Of course I could use excuses like "Oh, I was so stressed at school" or "I just couldn't do it any other way" but you know: If there's a will there's a way. That's why I thought that this one-week school break might actually just be perfect for eating healthier and feeling better (and also: working out more!).

So from tomorrow, I'm going to document everything I eat on my blog (and I will try to figure out the calories, just to involve some calculus, haha)

I got some rules of thumb made for this experiment, here they are:
• No carbs for dinner
• No snacks like crisps
• If I have a snack in the afternoon (like a piece of cake which I'm trying to avoid), I'll have one yoghurt for dinner
• I'll drink eight glasses of water a day (and no soft drinks)
• One apple a day (+ some more fruit like grapes or mandarines)
• One mug of coffee a day (not more)
• One mug of tea a day (best would be green tea I guess)
• Try to go to the gym, if not possible, do some pilates and yoga at home

I hope I'm able to manage this, but on the other hand: I'm highly motivated!

Love,
Nathalie xo

February 18, 2012

Best & Worst: Makeup/Hair Looks

Best makeup and hair looks from 2/12/2012 until 02/18/2012.

BEST

Adele (Of course! But you already knew that)
The picture is from here
We all know that Adele is currently like the most amazing and beautiful and everything person on this planet, so this is just eyecandy for you. Flawless face, sharped eyeliner and perfect red lips. Need to say more?

Carrie Underwood
The picture is from here
Carrie is always looking extremely gorgeous, but at the Grammys this year, she seriously kicked it. This is perfection: just look at those feathery false lashes! And the effortless hair! No, I'm not jealous...well, maybe a little.

Miley Cyrus (Oh yeah!)

The picture is from here
I absolutely love Miley's new haircut, these short layers frame her face so well. I also love the dip dye! I don't think something like that would ever look good on me, but it definitely does on her.

WORST

Rihanna (Oh girl!)
The picture is from here
Besides the fact that her dress was showing off quite a lot, her hair was a mess. The first thing that came my mind when I saw it was "OMG, she looks like a cockerspaniel!". Pleeeease, get your hair dyed and cut Riri. Oh, and what I almost forgot: her makeup is fine, can't say anything bad against smokey eyes and a pale pink lip.

Lindsay Lohan (as always?!)

The picture is from here
I somehow feel sorry about putting her in this section, but I don't have a choice. Her overly platin blonde hair looks pretty damaged and then...where's the makeup? I can detect some improvements like evened out skin, but what's going on with the eyes? Even I put much more effort in my makeup (and I'm only going to school or what)!

What were your hits and misses this week?

xo,
Nathalie



February 17, 2012

Mini HAUL: Eyelash Curlers, Lush...

I'm having a mini vacation next week (YAY!) and so today I went to school for only 3 hours of class. It's a tradition to go to town with your friends afterwards, and my girlies and I did. I actually wanted to get way more things, but then I ended up buying these few beauty items.


Beliance Eyelash Curler
I repurchased this, my old one started to squeeze my lashes and make them fall out :(. I had had it for a year or so, I guess you can't expect too much.

Balea Clear-Up Strips
I'm having some massive issues with my face at the moment and so I was is terrible need of some strips to remove all the blackheads I have.

Balea Aqua Sheet Mask
I keep on repurchasing this over and over again: It moisturizes my skin perfectly making it soft and smooth and super hydrated. Plus the smell is really nice!

p2 Cuticle Softener Gel
My cuticles are a serious mess at the moment, completely dried out and cracked (even though I always use hand cream, cuticle cream and stuff). So during my vacation, I will have plenty of time to recover them and make them look nice and beautiful again.

LUSH Fresh Farmacy Sample
My oily skin is breaking out at the moment, not to much, but in a way that calls for extra treatment. I stopped by the new LUSH shop in my town and picked up a sample of this face soap. I hope this is going to turn my skin for the better! Review coming soon.


What did you recently buy?

Love,
Nathalie x

February 16, 2012

Shopping List Ideas #1 / Feb. 16, 2012

There are a few goodies that I'm really wanting right now, so I thought I'd share a few of them! You should know that I actually have a Word document on my computer where I write down all the things I'm interested in. I constantly update the list (I kick some out again) and after purchasing a product, I'll cross it out.


Here are some extracts:


NYX 10 Color Eyeshadow Palette Caviar & Bubbles


The picture is from here
This is one of the most beautiful everyday eyeshadow palettes EVER. 10 colors that work together in any combination plus, the quality of NYX eyeshadows is (almost) unbeatable. They glide on so smoothly and the pigmentation is outstanding!
Price: $8.50 / £ 10 / €10, available online and in drugstores/perfumeries


NYX Cream Blush Natural
The picture is from here
Talking about NYX, their cream blushes got me totally hooked! Everyone's raving about this color calling the perfect shade for anytime, so I wanna get my hands on this.
Price: $6.75 / £5.50 / €8.95, available online and in drugstores/perfumeries


MAC Paint Pot Painterly
The picture is from here
I know that this is probably THE eyeshadow base for anyone that enjoys makeup, but I'm still kinda struggling with the price tag. This might sound super crazy, and though I plan to get this somewhere special...maybe during my Paris trip in June? Until then, I surely have the money!
Price: $17.50 / £13.50 / €21, available online and in perfumeries


Korres Lip Butter Quince
The picture is from here
I actually wanted to purchase this on feelunique.com, but they're completely out of stock, and so I left my email with them so they can notice me when it's back. I recently became addicted to lip butters and now that spring is coming, the tinted ones caught my attention.
Price: $12 / £5.40 / €7.50, available online (and in stores I guess?)


Random Stuff I want:
• a pair of light blue jeans
• a new pair of black ballet flats (mine are completely worn out!)
• Hair oil (as it makes your hair so smooth and shiny)


What's on your list?


Love,
Nathalie x

February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day!

via weheartit.com
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!

No matter what you are doing today or who you are meeting, spread the love and try to enjoy the day!

Lots of love,
Nathalie xxxx

February 12, 2012

Sunday Shopping The Stash (+ included makeup routine)

I do these SSTS posts every once in a while: My collection is not too big, so most of the time, there are no massive changes in my makeup routine. But whenever I got a few new products or I found some pretty color combinations, I will go ahead and write a post. So to keep it short and sweet, these are my weekly faves:

 FACE
I'm still using my bebe tinted moisturizer (I wanna empty this!) as well as my astor Anti Shine powder (same!). I rediscovered my love to this p2 feel good blush in the color 05 innocent rose. It has some subtile golden shimmer to it which makes me look more awake at 6 o'clock in the morning. I've recently been obsessed with Rimmel's Match Perfection concealer (I'm 030 classic beige), it covers ANY undereye circles. Awesome for when you get 5 hours of sleep a night and drink lots of coffee!

EYES
I included two eye primers this week as I use both of them (Note: oily lids can freak you out terribly). I first apply elf eyelid primer in sheer and then a thin coat of artdeco eyeshadow base. When I use these two, my eye makeup will last for 6 hours after all.

My current eye makeup:
The lightest shade from the Catrice Smokey Eyes Set all over my lid. I blend a little of a matt brown essence eyeshadow (01 Always Hippie, Summer of Love LE, but not available anymore) into my crease and then I use a dark brown essence long lasting eye pencil (020 hot chocolate) to line my upper lash line (and to run this along my lower lash line, too). I use Catrice Eyebrow Set for my brows (the darker color) and some p2 eye brightener in my inner eye corners and under the arch of my brows. Then I apply two coats of my Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara (3rd purchase! It's LOVE).

 LIPS
In this cold weather, I'm keeping it fairly simple with my lips. I love all kinds of Boots lip salve and also I like this sheer nude lipstick by essence (52 in the nude).

So that's it for this week, lovelies!

Have a great week,
Nathalie x

February 9, 2012

Valentine's day Inspired Eye Makeup

I'm in a love/hate relationship with Valentine's Day.
On one hand, I love it because it's just so sweet and there's love in the air and that's just something I really enjoy feeling, on the other hand it's not a lot of fun when you're single (which I am).
But I still like dressing up and doing my makeup and a cute nail design, the difference is just that I'm staying at home eating chocolate watching 'Valentine's Day' on DVD. Haha, that's what I've been doing for the past years!

I'm going to wear this look February 14th because it's kind of special and sweet, but not too overdone for school. It's actually pretty simple and before I'm writing too much, let's get into it:

1. I prime my eyelids and let the primer set for a few seconds.
elf eyelid primer, artdeco eyeshadow base
2. I take a large flat shader brush and get a peachy/pink color with a pearl finish on it. I sweep the color all over my lid up to my crease.
BH Cosmetics 88 Neutral Palette 
3. I use a fluffy blending brush to contour my crease using a matte, midtoned brown eyeshadow.
essence e/s Always Hippie (Summer of Love LE)
4. I use a smudge brush and apply a pearly white eyeshadow under the arch of my brows and in my inner eye corners.
Catrice Smokey Eyes Set Meet me at the bonfire (I used the lightest color from the quad)
5. I use a black liquid eyeliner to line my upper lash line and I slightly wing out the line towards the outer part of my eye.
L'Oréal Lineur Intense Carbon Black
6. I use a dark brown eye pencil and lightly run this along my lower lash line to define it a little bit.
p2 perfect look eye pencil 020 brown
7. I apply to coats of my favorite black mascara.
L'Oréal Voluminous Million Lashes

Do you have any special plans for Valentine's Day?

Anyway, I hope you are going to have a great day, no matter what you're doing!

Lots of love,
Nathalie x

February 7, 2012

Simple and delicious: Banana bread

It's been really cold (I mean frosty! -10°C and less) for at least a week I guess and somehow this weather always makes me feel like baking something. This time I tried out a recipe by Sophie Dahl. It's featured in her book 'Miss Dahl's Volouptous Delights' which is an incredible cook book with lots of lovely recipes.
This is what the book page looks like (Note: German writing for sure)

 Here's what you'll need:
• 3-4 (very) ripe bananas
• 200g of brown sugar (or 150g of white sugar)
• 170g of all-purpose flour (or any other flour that you have)
• 75g of soft butter, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar (or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 egg

1.) Put the butter and the bananas into a large bowl and mash them together.
Sorry, this picture just won't do what I want it to! 
2.) Add the egg, the sugar and the vanilla sugar/vanilla extract and use a whisk to mix everything together .


3.) Sift the flour through a sieve and mix the batter until it's fully combined.


Your end result should look like this. If the batter is too thick, just add a little bit of milk.


4.) Preheat your oven to 180°C.


5.) Grease a loaf pan. Mine is quite short, but the brims are higher so that the batter will have a bread form rather than a cake form. I additionnally spread breadcrumbs in the pan because it helps to get the bread out of the pan.


6.) Put the batter into your prepared form and clean up any blobs you might have created.


Let your bread bake for 55-60 minutes. Use a wooden stick to check if it's fully baked before actually taking the bread out of the oven.


Here's the finished bread:



Tips for serving: I like to eat slices of this with some butter for breakfast, but it would also taste very delicious with a cup of tea in the afternoon. 

Love,
Nathalie x

Disclaimer: All rights of this recipe belong to Sophie Dahl and the publishing houses.

February 6, 2012

When One Door Closes, Another Door Opens


This blog is going to change, and here's why:

[To cut the story short]
I actually planned on spending 12th grade in the USA living in a guest family going to high school and having a ton of fun. Of course, things turned out differently. I'm going to stay at home now and first of all graduate from german high school before I go to university. I know that I'll be going to the USA one day, the exchange obviously was just not meant to be. Anyway, as sad as I am, I'm not going to stay at home being depressed and crying over being so close to my dream and then not reaching it.

I'm going to set up a list of things that I plan on achieving this year. They don't always have to be big or very important, but they aim to improve my life and my self-confidence.
On the page named "2012 I'm going to..." I will note down all the goals (and if I'm about to achieve them/did achieve them).

Please understand that this blog now is not a beauty or fashion blog anymore, it's now about me fulfilling my dreams and developing my personality (and yeees, of course I will post some fashion/beauty stuff).

Love,
Nathalie x

February 2, 2012

Finished Product #2: essence hand cream

YAY! I finally managed it to use up a product which I absolutely love (and have been loving for years!):

essence 24h hand protection balm

This cream absorbs in seconds, smells incredibly nice and really smoothes my hands. I think it's the perfect cream to keep in your hand bag (I also got a mini travel size of this). And it's such a bargain, guys! 0.99€ is really not the world.
Around christmas time, these come out in various christmassy scents of which I also own 1 or 2.

Are you in 2012 Project Pan?

Love,
Nathalie