NotW: New Year´s Nails

As New Year´s is just around the corner, I wanted to share with you this New Year´s inspired nail design that will go pretty much with anything you chose to wear that night and is super easy to do.

How to recreate this design:

1. Apply two coats of OPI "Wondrous star".

2. Once your nail polish has dried (and it has to be completely dry otherwise this next step won´t work) apply one coat of Essence black crackling nail polish. You can apply a second layer where needed. I found that some places needed a little touch up because you could barely see the black polish. Applying the second layer while the polish was semi wet was no problem at all and as you can see it worked perfectly.

3. Apply a coat of your favorite top coat and voilà.. you´re done! 

I hope you enjoyed this design!

What nail design are you planning to wear on New
Year’s?

xoxo, 

Christina 

Update 2: Finish 6 by Xmas

Feel free to check out my previous posts on the "Finish 6 by Xmas" TAG here and here.

Double drum roll please.... after about 2 months I managed to finish 5 out of my 6 products and I am very happy about it! As I anticipated before I wasn´t able to finish my Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner in "Espresso" but I will keep working on it until it is done.

Bobbi Brown tinted moisturizer
It was the wrong shade for me and to be honest I realized that I prefer foundations over tinted moisturizers due to the coverage and lasting power. I am more than thrilled to have finished this because I have been working on using it up for about a year.Bobbi

Brown gel eyeliner in "Espresso"

I really like the Bobbi Brown gel Eyeliners because to me they have the perfect consistency (not too liquid and not to dry) and the color pay-off is very rich. Plus they last forever on my waterline, better than any eye pencil I have tried. While I like this dark brown color I think I prefer black, so I will (re)purchase that one the next time.

Maybelline the eraser concealer in "fair"

This is the wrong shade for me which is why I won´t repurchase this exact bottle. However I do love this drugstore concealer in the shade "light". It has a medium coverage, works great underneath the eyes and lasts quite well thrughout the day. It is definitely worth checking it out if you haven´t already.

Urban Decay original primer potion (travel size)
Works great on my oily eyelids and I can´t imagine my life without it. I want to try out some drugstore eye shadow bases to see if there is something that comes close to this base. I can definitely see myself repurchasing it in the future. Especially because this little travel size lasted me about 6 months.

Catrice lip liner in "rosewood"

It was a good lip liner. I just don´t reach out for nude/rose lip liners so I don´t think I will be repurchasing this one or any other nude/rose lip liner in the future. I noticed that it did prolong the wear of my lipstick and it didn´t try out my lips like some others tend to do.

 

Urban Decay lip gloss (sample) in "Naked"

I really liked the minty taste; unfortunately after using it consistently it seemed to be drying out my lips. I don´t think These are available anymore but if they were I don´t think I would repurchase it.

How did you do on your "Finish 6 by Xmas" products ?

xoxo, 

Christina 

NotW: Holiday Nails

I just finished painting my nails for the holidays and wanted to share with you what I came up with. I really like how no matter what outfit I am planning to wear over the next couple of days it will match my nails. Call me dorky, but I love my nails to complement my outfits, especially this time a year.

How to recreate this design:

1. Apply two coats of Essence "Hazelnut cream pie".

2. Carefully with the help of a sponge stamp on your fingertips with a white nail polish color. You basically want to achieve a faded French nail design.

3. Now to the fun part. Take some black stamping polish and stamp snowflakes across the tips of your nails. I used the Konad stamping plate m59.

4. I added red rhinestones to give the design a Holiday inspired look. You could also go with green and red rhinestones or chose whatever color you prefer. If you don´t have any rhinestones at hand, why not use a dotting tool (or toothpick) and a fun nail polish color and paint little dots in the center of the snowflake. 

5. Last but not least and to make everything stay in place, apply a coat of your favorite top coat and you´re done!

What are you wearing on your nail this Christmas?

xoxo, 

Christina 



Make-up declutter: out with the old and in with the new!

Recently I shared with you the nail polishes I decided to part with (here), today I want to share with the make-up products I am purging.

 I don´t see the point in keeping a product that changed it´s consistency or smells (like the Lancome lipstick and Too Faced lip plumper) as I don´t want to risk some sort of allergic reaction or something similar by using a product that has clearly expired. That is not something I will engage in, as simple as that.

If the pigmentation of a product is really bad (like the Rimmel eye shadow), there is a lot of fall out (e.g. this Catrice eye shadow) or that the color of it simply looks weird on me (Catrice blusher and bronzer) chances are I will not be keeping it either. 

  

I usually like to go through my collection twice a year and have a closer look at everything I own and if needed purge certain items. If I haven´t used a certain product in a while (and with while I mean years) I probably won´t start  doing so anytime soon (e.g. MNY lipsticks).

 A positive side effect of going through my collection was, that I got to rediscover some products I had almost forgotten about. Plus I now have some extra storage place and that can never hurt. 

I can only encourage you to go through your collection every now and then. That liberating feeling you get once you declutter is priceless, trust me ;-)

Have you also decluttered your make-up collection recently? If so, what items did you purge?

xoxo, 

Christina  

NotW: Catrice "Steel my heart"

While I was going through my nail polish collection, basically decluttering it (check out my previous blog post for more details) I rediscovered this nail polish I had almost forgotten about. 

I am talking about Catrice "Steel my heart" which is a grey/coal nail polish color with subtle multicolor glitter. As I wanted to bring out the multicolor glitter even more I added a coat of the Basic transparent multicolor nail polish (which unfourtunately hasn´t a name or number on it).

I am really impressed how it turned out and super happy about the simple yet elegant this nail polish looks.

  Have you rediscovered a nail polish you had almost forgotten about lately? If so, which one?

 xoxo, 

Christina 

Nail polish declutter - bye bye teal!

  

Every now and then I like to go through my make-up and nail polish collection and throw or give away products that for some reason or another I am no longer using.

Today I want to share with you the nail polishes I decided to purge and the reasons why I am doing so.

At some point in my life I must have thought I needed to have every nail polish color out there, otherwise I can´t really explain why I purchased these swimming pool blue look alike shades and these dirty green/teal ones. Let alone why I have two or three identical ones that I just never use. I really don´t like how these colors look on my nails which is why I never reach for them. Reason enough to let them go and pass them onto somebody that might enjoy these colors.

I also decided to purge the "P2" white crackling top coat. I really like the effect the black one gives but this white one just looks weird and there is no point in keeping something I know I am not going to use.

The OPI nail polish (“Shimmer Shimmer”) dried out which is why I am tossing this one away. I am sad to see this one go but then again I have so many other beautiful glittery shades that are just waiting to be used.

 

Have you done some decluttering lately?

 

 xoxo, 

Christina 

NotW: Essence "Only purple matters"

I love love love the color of this nail polish!! The purple with the fuchsia sparkles is just right up my alley, which is why when I saw the color I had to have it. Sadly, it is not fun to apply. It takes hours for the nail polish to dry and the application is anything else but smooth because the polish comes out quite thick out of the bottle. Anyway, I tried my best and making this work and I at least wanted to paint my nails once with it. 

How to recreate this design: 

 

1. Apply two coats of Essence "Only purple matters". Really make sure that this first coat is completely dry before applying the second one. As the nail polish comes out quite thick this might take a little longer than usual. Ok, a lot longer than usual (it took me about 40min). Maybe you can try applying a fast drying top coat before applying the second coat as it help the polish to dry faster.

 

2. Once the nail polish is completely dry (this is essential, as otherwise you will be smudging everything everywhere) I stamped this flowery design from one of my Essence stamping plates (unfortunately I can´t tell you which one, because I don´t see a name or number on it).

 

3. Apply one coat of your favorite top coat and place a rhinestone in the middle design. I chose this blue one because I liked the contrast between the purple/fuchsia with the blue.

 

4. Finally apply another coat of top coat to make sure that the rhinestone will stay in place and voila! You are done!

 How to you feel about a nail polish color that look so beautiful in the bottle but is complicated to apply?

 

xoxo, 

Christina 

 

Monthly Empties: November 2014

Another month has past which means another empties post is due. So let´s get started.

Aquafresh mouth wash // 500ml // £2

I like my mouth wash to have a strong mint flavor. So far my favorite, are Listerine mouthwashes, because they have exactly that. Every now and then though I like to try other ones, which is why I bought this Aquafresh one. While this mouthwash did a good job I have to say I still prefer the Listerine one over it, because the taste is stronger. Therefore I won´t be repurchasing it. However if you like a milder mint taste to your mouthwash, this might be a good candidate for you. 

Nivea happy time shower gel // 250ml // £1-2

Nivea shower gels are one of my favorites out there. They smell amazing, foam up nicely and I do really feel that they are moisturizing, compared to other shower gels I´ve tried. This particular one smelled like fresh squeezed oranges, perfect for a wake me up in the shower. 

Pantene Pro-V 3 Minute deep conditioning // 200ml // £2

I am really sad this conditioner is empty. This used to be my favorite deep conditioning treatments when I was in High School. Unfortunately they discontinued it a couple of years ago and I can no longer buy it, otherwise I would in a heartbeat. Soap and Glory 

Body sugar crush buttercream // 300ml // £10,50

This smells exactly like a lemon pie, amazing! I you haven´t smelled it, go now! No, honestly, I don´t really get so excited over a smell but this one really made me jump up and down the store. On top of smelling really good, it also did a great job at moisturizing my skin. The body cream has a nice consistency, it´s not too thick or thin, so it is easy to rub into your skin. I will definitely be repurchasing this one. 

Soap and Glory body sugar crush scrub // 300ml // £8

The body scrub smells exactly like the body butter. While I clearly love the scent I wasn´t too impressed of the peeling effect. I wish it felt more sugar alike, like fine grains. The scrub is very thick, so it´s very hard to rub the product onto your skin. I always felt I was wasting the product because half of it would land on my skin and the other half in my tub. I won´t be repurchasing this one, sadly. 

Essence nail polish remover // 100ml // £1-2

A good nail polish remover for little money, definitely a repurchase candidate. 

Essence stamp polish "white" // 5ml // £1.50

My favorite white stamping polish. I mentioned it in my "nail essentials post" if you want more details. 

Essence nail polish corrector // 4,5ml // £2.50

I always have one of these at home. It´s perfect to clean up the edges of your nails. Neadless to say I already repurchased one. 

L´Oreal Triple Action moisturizer // 50ml // £4

It was a good moisturizer, but it didn´t do anything amazing. As I want to try other ones, I won´t be repurchasing it anytime soon but I might in the future.

 

 

What did you use up lately?

 

 xoxo, 

Christina 

 

Update: Finish 6 by Xmas

I am so excited to share with you my update on my "finish 6 by Xmas" challenge.

My Bobbi Brown tinted moisturizer is starting the get harder to squeeze out of the tube and I could not be happier about it. Don´t get me wrong the product is not bad but it´s just the wrong color (medium) for me and realized that I prefer foundations over tinted moisturizers.

The Maybelline eraser concealer in "fair" is about to be done. Maybe two more weeks and this should be empty. I still think this is the wrong shade for me (I prefer "light" over "fair") but it is not as bad once applied and blended in, which makes it easier for me to use.

My Urban Decay primer potion is still going but after using this little travel size for the last 6 months (yes you read right, this little travel size lasted me 6 months!) it is about to be empty, I can feel and see it.

I took the stopper out of the Urban Decay sample size lip gloss in "naked" and although it´s still going I reckon it should be gone within no time now. 

I have some concerns whether I will be able to finish my Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner in "Espresso" by Christmas although I have been useing this liner every single day. I really like Bobbi Brown gel liners and something tells me this won´t be my last.

My Catrice lip liner in "rosewood" will probably last me one more week before it is gone. I not only lined my lips with it but also filled them in with in (see picture below). I have been enjoying using the "naked" gloss on top of the liner, nonetheless I will be happy when I finally finish this product and can move onto something else.

  

All in all I am very happy with my progress and hope to able to finish everything by Christmas. Are you also trying to finish some of make-up products before the end of the year?

xoxo, 

Christina

NotW: Essence "Gold Old Buffy"

I was going over my nail polish collection the other day and I found these two limited edition nail polishes from "Essence" and felt inspired to create this nail design.

How to recreate this design:

1. Apply two coats of Essence "Gold Old Buffy".

2. Once the nail polish has completely dried take your stamping plate (I got mine from Ebay) and go over it with your metallic nail color. Then scrape the excess and careful stamp the design on your nails.

I chose to stamp the design on all of my nails but if you prefer you can do it on one nail only for a little accent. 

3. Apply one coat of your favorite top coat and while the polish is still wet careful apply your rhinestone in the middle of your flower design.

4. Finally apply another coat of your top coat to secure the rhinestone and make your design last even longer.

 Hope you liked this nail polish design!

 

xoxo, 

Christina 

BUY or SKIP? Rimmel "Wake me up" foundation

 FACTS

Price: £9/$17/€12 

Content: 30ml

 Available at: Superdrug, Boots, Asda, Asos

 Shade: 100 Ivory (6 shades to choose from)

 

BUY or SKIP

The foundation has a slight sheen/shimmer which in my opinion is responsible for the "radiant glow" it claims to have. So if you like a glowy foundation finish you should definitely...BUY! If however you prefer a matt finish you might want to SKIP it!

If you like a light coverage then you might want to SKIP it! On the other hand if you prefer a medium to high coverage...BUY!

My biggest issue with this foundation is the color range. The lightest shade I have found is "100 Ivory" and it is just too dark for me (especially) during winter months (I am a NC25 at MAC in summer so it works fine then). So if you a have a light complexion (MAC NC15, maybe even NC20) you should definitly SKIP it! 


PLUS POINTS: I like that the foundation comes with a pump as it makes it easier to control how much product you are applying. I don´t think having a pump is a deal maker or breaker but definitely a plus when considering which foundation to purchase!

 Hope this helps you on your decision whether to BUY or SKIP this foundation!

xoxo, 

Christina

 

Nail Polish Essentials you should own

This post could also have been called my most repurchased nail polishes, but I feel the products I am about to show you are more so my essentials when it comes to painting my nails. I always have one (most likely two or three of them in stock) because I am constantly using them and cannot imagine my life without them anymore.

 

Essence "Ultra strong nail hardener"

Last year I was having a tough time with my nails. They were very weak and would break off constantly. Some nails were even peeling/ chipping which is why I was desperate to find something to help me fix it. I tried a ton of different hardening nail polishes and even put off painting my nails for a while but noting seem to do the trick until I found this one hardening polish.

I absolutely love it. I can finally grow my nails without them breaking off as soon as hit something. The peeling stopped and they feel stronger to the touch. Now that they are stronger I don´t use it every time I paint my nails but every other day to keep them strong. For only 2 Euros/Pounds/Dollars this product is not only a true steal but a life saver!

Essence "Better than gel nails top sealer"

It´s pretty safe to say that this is my most repurchased nail polish as I have buying this top coat for the last 3-4 years. It´s an amazing top coat and I highly encourage you to check it out if you haven´t already. It leaves the nails with a beautiful sheen (which is very gel alike) and dries quite fast. It is worth every penny and luckily 3 Euros/Pounds/Dollars are not so many.

Essence "White stampy polish"

I absolutely love stamping on my nails which by now probably is not a big revelation to you. Stamping polishes however be hard to find, in particular white ones as they need to have the right coverage in order for the white to show up on the nails. When Essence launched this stamping polish I was thrilled. I works perfectly for stamping, although I will admit that after about 3/4 being used the polish dries up but honestly how cares for only 1,5 Euros/Pounds/Dollars. I like this product so much that I currently have 4 backups at home because I fear they might discontinue it someday. I know. Silly, right? But on the other hand better safe than sorry. 

The following two products are relatively new in terms of how long I have been using them (probably under a year) but I also have grown to love them and wanted to share them with you as well. 

 

Essence "Ultra gloss nail shine"

I think my mom originally bought this top coat for me and I must say I am glad she did. It is definitely a fast dry top coat that is very liquid, so it runs fast on your nails. I personally prefer a more gel alike consistency because I love the sheen that it gives to your nails. But if you don´t really care about the finish itself and you are looking for a good top coat, this might be it. It´s definitely worth checking out.

Seche Vite

One of the most hyped up top coats out there and I do understand why. This is the fastest drying top coat I have ever owned. Within seconds I am good to go. By the time you are finish painting your second hand the first one has already dried. As I haven´t tested this nail polish as long I would like and the price is definitely higher than with my two Essence ones I can´t really say it’s a all-time favorite. Nonetheless I am glad to have it, especially for those days that hurray to get out the door.

 

 Do you  have any nail polish essentials you can´t live without?

 

xoxo, 

Christina

NotW: Catrice "Sandhopper"

  

When "Catrice" launched the "Luxery Lacquers" nail polishes back in march 2014 my heart skipped a beat. I am not even kidding, they all just looked so beautiful and sparkly, I just had to have them. Today I want to share with you one of my favorites out of that collection "Sandhopper".

 

  

How to recreate this design:
 

1. Apply two coats of "Sandhopper" nail polish.

2. Once completly dry take a darker teal nail polish (I used Essence "Choose me") and a apply some drops on a sponge. Then carefully start "stamping" it on to your nails.

3. Take a Q-Tip and clean out the edges of your nails and you are done! 

Tip: Just slightly damp the sponge with nail polish. You can always apply more nail polish on your sponge to reach the desired intensity on your nails.

 

    

What do you think about ombre nail designs with sandstyle nailpolishes, yeay or nay?

 

xoxo, 

Christina
 

Monthly Empties: October 2014

Nivea "sunny melon" shower gel // 250ml //~£2

I love melon (and coconut) scented products and this one is great. It’s not a very strong melon fragrance but it smells really nice and does a good job at moisturizing my skin (or at least at not drying it up). The only thing I missed is the foam which is probably missing due to the little oil beads in it. Anyway, it’s a great product which I definitely would repurchase.

Johnsons & Johnsons face wash // 200ml //~£3

There is nothing bad I can say about this face wash. It cleaned my face well and didn´t dry it up which is alwayls a plus. Would I repurchase it? Maybe. Right now I am looking forward to trying out other ones out there, like the hot cloth cleanser from Soap and Glory which so far I have been really enjoying.

Simple soothing eye balm //15ml // ~£3
I would say that this eye cream has a very light consistency, almost liquid. I wish it would be a bit more thicker. I really like the packaging because I think it’s more sanitizing to squeeze product out of a little tube rather than to dig your finger into a little jar. Overall not a bad product but nothing I was really impressed with.

Clinique gel moisturizer // 7ml // ?
Again I don´t think this is a bad product but it´s nothing I would repurchase at the moment. I used this mostly over summer, whenn I wanted a light moisturizer, now that winter is around the corner I need something more moisturizing if you know what I mean. 

E45 Moisturizing Lotion // 200ml // ~£3
The lotion claims to "soften and smooth your skin" and I can 100% agree with it. My skin did feel super soft and smooth after applying this lotion yet for some funny reason it didn´t feel like it was moisturizing it. I know it may sound weird, but I felt like that soft smooth feeling was only temporary. Not sure if I would repurchase it. 

Ponds cold cream // 50ml // ~£5

I bought this cream because I saw that Dulce (DulceCandy87) used it in her night time skin routine to take off her make-up and I wanted to try it out. While it does take off my face makeup nicely I had a really hard time removing my eye makeup, especially my mascara (which by the way is not waterproof). I will say that the cream leaves my skin feeling very soft and moisturized but I need to use an additional eye makeup remover, I wouldn´t repurchase it.

TRESemme split remedy hair masque // 300ml // ~£5

I am constantly trying out different hair masques. This one was ok. It honestly didn´t do anything great but also anything bad (like drying out my hair or so). Would I repurchase it? Probably not.

 

What have you used up this month?

 

xoxo, 

Christina
 

TAG: Finish 6 by Xmas

The lovely Amber F (here) started this TAG on YouTube a couple of weeks ago and I really liked the idea of finishing some products by Christmas, which is why I decided to join and try to finish up 6 products. Wish me luck!
 

1. Bobbi Brown tinted moisturizer in "light/medium"

I have been trying to use this up for ages, which is why this is a great candidate for this project. I just hope to actually be able to finish it by Christmas. 

2. Urban Decay primer potion (travel size)

This little travel size came with the UD Smoked palette and as soon as I finish it I will be repurchasing the full size. There is not too much left, so I think this should go rather fast.

3. Maybelline the eye eraser concealer in "fair"

I love the Maybelline eye eraser as a drugstore concealer. "Fair" however is the wrong shade for me as it has a slightly reddish undertone. I prefer a more brightening shade (like "light"), which is why this one has to go.

4. Urban Decay "naked" Lipgloss (sample size) 

I absolutely love that this gloss tastes and smells like fresh mint as it gives me the feeling of fresh brushed teeth. Too bad they discontinued it. 

5. Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner in "Espresso"

I mentioned in my "hit the pan" post, that this liner was starting to dry up, so what better opportunity to use it up than to include it in my finish 6 by Xmas project. Let´s see how far I get. 

6. Catrice lip liner in "Rosewood"

I never really use lip liner (especially nude/rose ones) which is why I wanted to include this product. It´s just taking up space in my collection, so it needs to go.

Are you also joing the challenge?

xoxo, 

Christina