Cosmetically related: beauty-ful cases

Lately I have been toting around my cosmetics in the side pocket of my bag. It actually makes little sense to have a beautiful set of cosmetic products for on the road and decide to randomly tug them in the side pocket. So I am eyeing up a couple of beauty-ful cases to give my beauty-lovelies a better way of travelling

A lovely and springlike classic floral from Diane von Furstenberg:

This one is from Anya Hindmarch and is in a lovely peach with some fringy sides:

Something cute with pink poodles:

Or this one in Paisley:

Or, the one I am really lusting about (although I would store my cosmetics in another bag inside because I wouldn't dare to tarnish it's inside: Miu Miu Matelasse clutch

Anything pretty you stumbled upon lately?

The Romanticised Leather Cuff

Hey everybody,

This morning in my Mid-Quirkies I talked about being crafty.

Well, I can finally show you something I created in my spare hours:

Before the sceptical ones are going to say: "you didn't craft that yourself"(which would actually be a compliment 'cause that would mean it looks professional), let me show you my steps...

Step 1: the Gathered material:

I still had a pastel green leather cuff I did not do that much with. And I had the idea I wanted to create I posted over here, so:

Step 2: Mid-process:

Sewing on the buttons, roses, beads and leftover of earrings. The needle is especially for leather, btw, but you still need some muscles to pierce through the leather :D.

Endresult: better view from the other side:

I quite like the outcome....♥

Lipbalm for Soulsisters

Today I wanna share you my latest lipbalm purchase from 'mother nature at the vegan disco', or Elladean.

I have been buying lipglosses from Elladean since 2008 or 2009 (eg. post here), and although I love to buy other kind of lipbalms for different reasons, I have these lipbalms as one of my favourites.

Simply:

* they just WORK for me: they moisturize, aren't too waxy, and have a delicious scent.

* I love the hippy-esque vibe

* The sweet messages behind them (and the sweet seller)

* Nicely priced

(I could go on a bit...so yeh, I like them a lot)

When I spotted the Wanderlust Sisters collections on Ella's new website I just know I had to have a couple of those.

So I did:

I ordered three of them, but regulars from Elladean know that she is always so generous to toss in another one ♥

I got the Rock Star Sisters, the Oversea Sisters and the free-flying sisters...The soul sister one was a gift.


I like the level of personal service she provides....

I haven't tested them all, but I went for my favourite one: The overseas sisters! For memories' sake :D

I love the description, ofcourse.

It is actually a tinted lipbalm that gives a hint of colour on my mouth.

She still sells on etsy in various theme-based shops (eg this one), but you can find this collection on elladeansnaturalproducts.com. They are $3 each and a pack gives you a bit of discount...

So, sisterly pucking up...:D

Pre-Xmas gift musings...

This necklace would make a perfect gift for the pug-loving people...

I personally like dogs myself, but they can be a bit much to take care of.

So, are you a dog person or a cat lover...or do you like both?

(spotted: Michellechangjewellery on Etsy)

something sweet and something a bit naughty

Meet my new little friend who is going to live up a space in my home...

♥ I love her heart-shaped mouth ♥

Proudly she stands...

And she has a heart...

And if you think crotchetting is a domestic and boring thing to do....think again...

Then you have never been crotchet-i-fied by Kimberly Tia...

She  made me a special new friend...

But, beware...

if you are still a little girl or boy at heart...

Although it can be seen as the sweetest little fellow, his shape is absolutely...
\

Phallic

Ohh, la la...it is definitely the happiest and cutest coloured one I have seen...

Yeh, not talking about the one on the right...

Sweet KimTia gave me that Panda Bear for Free....♥ and she needs some attention too, even though the coloured P-boy will draw most of the attention to him (just a lucky guess :D)

Now ms. Panda Bear and mr. Cocky are friends! Who could have thought about that?

Have a brightly coloured and happy weekend ;D

still a little miss shop-a-bit!

After a bit of seriousness, I feel like writing something about the fun stuff in life again. And, most readers will agree, that is a bit of girly shopping time too.
I do not always shop for myself, he he, I am not that narcistic, and buying presents for other people can be fun too.
One of my latest purchases from etsy will be a present for a friend of mine. She enjoys quirky things a lot, just like I do. I purchased this upcycled tshirt necklace, made from old tshirts(!!!) so it is environmentally friendly too, from a seller named etnyk.
This necklace is a bit different from the ones being sold on a more common base (Urban Outfitters, etc) as it has those little velvet beads added to it. Plus, it is called Gypsy so it is a perfect present for my travel-loving friend of mine, who thinks of herself as a modern gypsy.
I also purchased a couple of things on nonpareilleboutique . Nonpareilleboutique has become quite a popular place for Dutch beautygirls to find their NYX (together with Cherryculture.com) and I wondered how their customer service would be. So far, nothing to complain about their service.
One of the things I ordered was the NYX palette in Caviar and Champagne. I was afraid I ordered this too enthousiastically, because one of the most thorough beautybloggers, Pink Sith, found it to be lacking eyeshadow-power (post here).

Even though she is absolutely right that the eyeshadows lack consistency in colour depth and pigment and are somewhat on the sheer side, I still find some of them to be ok for me.

And being superficial...I love the name...Champagne and Caviar!

I also enjoy buying from mineral cosmetic companies every now and then, even though I downsized buying from them. Mineral foundations are still one of the most suitable for oversensitive skin, which mine oftenly is.

Often they also have good offers on samples of eyeshadows and blushes, which is ideally for the colour-addictive buyers like I can be. I can try a couple of newer colours, for example, experience with the returning 80s look, without breaking the bank on expensive eyeshadows

Meowcosmetics.com had a wonderful discount on labor day with the code catshatework. I am not a cat, but I am not a workaholic either ;P. Their latest release of Taboo blush colours looked so workable (no pun intended) that I ordered most of the samples. I also picked some brighter eyeshadow colours from the Rainforest collection.

The names of the Taboo range are, of course, taboo inspired. Expect names like Dirty Talk, Nudity, Scandal, Fetish, Lust, Racy and Promiscuous....oh la la.

Besides of the provocative names, the colours look very promising and wearable in real life as well. Not scandalous at all . ;D

The Rainforest eyeshadows have rainforest-inspired names, such as piranha, boa, touchan, and poison dart frog. I picked a couple of neutral shades, and a couple of vivid colours for adding a bit of zest to my eyes.

That was a part of my shop-a-bit...I hope everyone will have a splendid weekend.

In the land of the spoiled...

Now I have been the procastinating blogger: I haven't blogged for a full week. Ok ok, I was in Liverpool for a couple of days, and celebrated my birthday afterwards...But I could of have blogged a bit in the weekend. Oh well...

I received my second Illamasqua haul. I ordered it the 23th of July and received it exactly a week later. Nice...I ordered the medium pencil in Exert and Obscene, nail polis in Hectic, Powder Eye Shadow in Fatal, 4-Colour Lip Palette in Test, Scandal, Brink, Tramp. Also the sheer Lipgloss in Enchant and the powder foundation in PF210.

Shiny and sleek black boxes....


Those pencils are Exert (steely grey) and Obscene.


The sheer lipgloss in Enchant

Nail polish in Hectic: I love the moody, murky colour of Hectic...It will be a wonderful colour for fall!

The lip palette in Test, Scandal, Brink, Tramp (not in the right order). Mmm, I have been testing these, but I am not that enthousiastic....they are definitely MATTE. I am probably too spoiled with smooth and dewy Japanese lipsticks to appreciate these fully. The colours are wonderful, though.

I also made my second order at Unearthed, which is an Etsy store that specialised on cuffs with special skins (animal skins). My first order from them had been in 2007. I went to visit their shop again, and fell in love with this bright, pink fishskin cuff....how original and summery.

There is nothing fishy about this cuff (except that it is made from fishskin), he he.

Hello my pink fishy!!

Everything arrived meticulously packed and in a beautiful shape.

My last act of self-spoiling was...buying some products from Betsy's blogshop (Autumnmasquerade.blogspot.com).


I bought three eyepencils, one mac and two of Giorgio Armani. Sweet Betsy included a pencil sharpener ánd a gorgeous, glowy Armani eyeshadow as well!!!

Ohhh, I like all of those pencils. ♥ ♥ ♥ THANK YOU BETSY!!!!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

Continuing the pencil-mania: I also picked up the September edition of the InStyle Uk edition: it came with 2 free Body Shop pencils in black and another colour. I picked the Silver grey colour, but you could also pick the teal or purple.

I do not buy InStyle that often, because it is often crammed with Celeb-mania. I prefer beauty-mania and fashion-mania over the celeb-obsessed. However, the content of InStyle Uk september is pretty good as well: they have some wonderful previews of Autumn fashion and some refreshing beauty tips...

Do the Japanese magazines publish lots of previews of autumn during this period (mid summer) as well? I should visit my Japanese bookstore soon to find out myself ;P

Alright, a healthy dose of self-spoiling! My reviews on the Illamasqua will be posted this week. I also want to review the Jill Stuart Lip jelly in 15 as well, but I am not sure it that will be this week.

Etsy inspiration: Fall 2009 Fashionistas

Normally I browse the etsy site for cute and small things that are affordable and handy. But etsy is such a place for everybody who has a creative edge (or a good eye for vintage finds) that I could not help checking out some fashionable items as well.

Yes yes, I have been influenced by the latest heap of Glossy magazines that are chockfull of the 'IT' trends of Autumn 2009. It seems like summer has hardly started, and we are already looking at the things to wear for Autumn.

Anyway, I found some gorgeous and somewhat extravagant things that are absolutely lust-worthy.

Nostalgia's Fierce Fashion Scarf (or, a little bit of everything attached to your scarf)

I like this girl: she is normal, fierce and makes some wickedly fun creations. This scarf is everything wrapped in one, you can wear it in several different ways, and still affordable ($40).

Iheartnorwegianwood's cage skirt has been featured on various fashionista-blogs already. But it looks like so much fun! I love her Fringe necklace as well: it updates your ol' t-shirt and gives it a dash of A/W 2009 without investing too much $$ in it.

I have become slightly in love with these Tinkerbell ballet flats from spirocreations. Dainty shoes with a LAAAARGE pop of yellow colour.


They do not come that cheap ($140), but you will not be the average girl wearing Birkinstocks for sure.

attilladesign makes some awesome creations. I love her Mixed Media Indigo Blues reversible Choo Choo mad House Vest

And her Belle Epoque Bambi dress

Mmm, I found my imaginary, lust-have scarf, skirt, dress, vest, necklace and shoes...now I need the bag.

This one looks cute, original and is affordable ($55): the Dogwood Ruffle Bag from SweetgumHandbags.

And so I will dream on about cute, fashionable thingies for next Autumn/Winter 2009...only if the creditcard would be as willing as well...;D

buying birkie....

Hauling makes me happy every now and then...buying from bloggers I know (a bit, though) makes me extra glad.....

So, when I came home last saturday I had a bunch of packages waiting for me...it is the ultimate "happy return" welcome, I believe ;D.

I was pretty quick in ordering the Jill Stuart summer 2009 palette from Kathi (lotuspalacesales) which will probably has irritated some potential buyers. Sorry for you, but I was so selfish to pick it up! I haven't been buying eyeshadows for ages, and after seeing some swatches of JS summer 2009 I was really happy to snap it up for a good price.

Gorgeous, stunning muted colours. I think the palette of colours is not specifically screaming SUMMER, but that makes it very suitable for me.

I also included my very first Sonia Rykiel palette! This palette is very summery indeed! Gorgeous colours that remind me of diving in tropical seas....mmmm

For the people who have been following Kathi's superpopular blog (and I guess most people who read my blog are certainly reading hers) are already aware that she has been buying a fantastic variety of cute stationary, deco tape, memo letters, etc. And yes, my envelope was already a gorgeous present, decorated with cute tape and kawaii stickers...

The cutest stationary: this letter is printed on both sides: I think it is Malaysian or Indonesian language?

The cat that cooks the best dinners!!!

Sweet Kathi also included two scented Miffy pens. They really smell like candy when you write with them.

Even more, she has been so incredibly generous! You know what she did: she included this FABULOUS RMK eyeshadow in 04 Silver Blue Beige as an extra. Those hearts are toooooo adorable ♥ ♥

I cannot wait to try and swatch all of the eyeshadows....

How do you like her new businesscard? It has the same, kawaii logo as her blog.

She also suprised me with some facial treats....my new passion: sheet masks....

This is bathsalt from Tabinoyado and it is absolutely amazing!!! It turns the water into a deep pink colour and smells like delicate flowers mixed with cherries. I absolutely need more of this.

Kathi, you have been so generous and really sweet to send me all of this:

Thank you soooo much!

I also snapped up another gorgeous necklace from amorevintage. I became mesmerized with another creation of Aileen.

Ohhh, my favourite Finnish jewelly maker included some matching earrings as well (as an extra)...awww, they are really dainty and pretty.

Everything came in the cutest packaging: the letter is so lovely with the roses, and the pink box makes everything look like a real treat!

I loved the polka dot envelope.

Some fantastic samples she included...

Wow, I love my new necklace and I cannot wait to let it decorate my neck.

Thank you, my dearest Aileen!