Minty

I have a strong like for the colour mint...

I like it in my nailpolish...

MAC Haze Nailpolish (older bottle-but still a fabulous formula)

In my accessories...

COS 2010 spring collection

I like how the orange even makes the mint look fresher...

On my cheap t-shirts:

Primark t-shirt for € 3

When sending out packages:

Kawaii tape for packages and other decoration..

And on the street:

Dutch streetstyle: you cannot miss the plenitude of bikes

Some Dutch bikes can be really inventive and colourfully decorated!

And what is your favourite colour?

candy tripping

Hi all,

Sorry about this absence in the summer.

I have been tripping a bit too much...

city tripping, that is...

When most people like city trips for the sake of looking at art and culture, I often get a bit carried away by all of food that is around.

Ohhh, cupcakes and other cookies...

This is in front of a tempting shop window in Barcelona. I felt like a kid in front of a sweet's store.

(oh, I was, only as an adult!)

More cookies, caramels and other lovely sweets I found at La Cure Gourmande, also in Barcelona.

They also are in other countries, and seem to have an online shop (here).

Honestly, the shop people of La Cure were not too helpful to me, so I only bought 3 cookies or so. I was planning to buy a lot as presents.

Worst was, they offered free samples of cookies to all of the other customers and ignored me. Blah, I hate when that happens and I have no idea why they do that. And normally I will take my plans of buying a lot to another store, but I had to try one cookie at least.

Ha, and now I found out they have online shopping, so the shop in Barcelona can stick it to itself....

Sooo, do you have any idea what these people are waiting for, or looking so curiously at?

(open space)

(more open space)

(last open space)

Ok, they were looking at this...

Ha ha, I told you about Tripping in my title!

Come on, it is candy, folks...(still, my favourite choice for getting a sweet high)

The 'pils' are quite innocent, only for the ADD people and other people who get a bit hyper after sugar they might have an effect....

Inside of that 'Happy Pills' shop

And, if you think I am obsessed by anything about sweet candy-like food, then you are wrong.

(Silence, pouts at the idea you could actually think that)

I am obsessed about other food as well!

In that same Barcelona I went to Poble Sec in this street...

and had a predictable, but healthy salad.

I am not the salad fan that most girls and women are. I do not like diets and the excuse that salads are healthy is not always true. I mean, when they only have green salad leaves and not that many healthy vegetables it is only a bit of empty filling for the stomach. And those dressings can be even worse to the people who do like to keep an eye on their weigth.

But this is quite a balanced salad with healthy tuna (sooo fantastic, so much better than the Dutch canned version), Carrots for that bit of vitamine A, Tomatoes for the Lycopene and vitamine C, Red pepper for the Vitamine C, and olives and olive oil for the Omega oils and other skin-beautifying and internal beneficial properties.

And the corn must have a good function as well (tell me in the comments, and no, not that Chinese dude or girl who is spamming the comment box)
Haaa, I am not all healthy in Barcelona and keeping it to a salad...These croquettes were too good not too pass...

Uhum, fried food...but they were delicious and I had to compare then to our Dutch delicacy (or weird food habit) of the Dutch croquettes. These were filled with a potato mash...nice.

I saved the best for last....these were so tongue-tickling good that I was in culinary heaven when I took a bite...

These squids were flavoured in a mixture of garlic and other beautiful spices....

I am not really sure if the person that sat next to me in the airplane that next morning would have been too delighted with my choice of the squid...but it was too good to pass up...

So, if you read this and like to answer I would like to know if you experiment with food while travelling, are obsessed with trying on a certain type of food or if you take it the safe way and go to the McDonalds or other food franchises?

Or, perhaps a bit like me, you do both...(it just depends on where you are and if you are willing to sit through a wonderful but lenghty meal on the one hand, or just hop in that Mc Donalds for something you know when you are more in a hurry)?

Do you like any food at all? (most of the bloggers do, as they aaaalways tempt me with pictures of the fantastic things they ate...)

Or, are you more of a liquid person and go for the local beverages or other or other alcohol-type of drinks, for example...go for the wines in France/Italy and the Sangria in Spain (of fill in, I am not an alcoholic-afficionado so I have not that much of a clue)?

lipgloss on the beach...

Hey my dears....

The soft, salty breeze of the sea is still lingering in my hear....yes, I have been on a small but uberfantastic break for a couple of days.

I was somewhere were temperatures do not go lower than 23 degrees celcius, which meant that I was able to wear my summer-clothes again, the poor fellows did not see much day of light during the Northen European summer...They needed a break as well!

I wore ridiculously little makeup, which is often the whole thing about a vacation, a total break from everything. Actually, it did not scare the men, women or children that much either (I must not be a total hag, alright, LOL).

One thing that was a loyal partner in beach-crime was my Sephora lipgloss in 16.

Here she is lying on the beach...not for too long, otherwise the lovely sparkles will turn...

My regular readers know that I love everything lippy with a natural look...so why was this babe so precious to me? Well, it moisturized the mouth after a dive in the sea. It has such a wonderful, non-sticky texture. It reminds me sooo much of the Chanel Aqualumiere High shine sheer concentrated lipgloss---->and it stays on longer as well!!!

I am still too much chilled to give you guys a whole review. Anyway, I adore the colour, that looks good when really pale or with a slight tan. The green microshimmer is intensely flattering for my mouth and the sheer coral glow is just right.

Love it, period!

Ohhh, and I missed out on something as well for such a long time. I have been reading a lot about Bubble tea lately (on the blogs of my fellow beauty mavens) and I was finally able to buy some!

Gosh, that stuff is intensely good. Why can't I find something like that in Holland?

my chilled bubble tea in Passionfruit green tea.

Ha ha, delicious and new food is always one of the better things of exploring a new area...(also beauty thingies, and I bought some as well).

Aww, the weather is so poopy at home, I seriously need to plan the next vacation...he he.

Also, I feel like starting up a bubble tea company as well...I will probably be consuming most of it myself, but who cares?

Time for business

In order to 'sell' the brand called 'ME' I decided to create a couple of different business cards that I can hand out in various situations. I was really hesitating about picking 1 image, which was a bit of a dilemma for me, as I (brand ME) have multiple layers...he he: I needed some cards for fellow bloggers, some quirky cards, some business-cool cards, some purty cards, some for uni life, etc.


I found a lovely British company that ables you to upload different images for the same pack of cards, pretty nifty...I think. You can upload as much as 50 images for 1 pack. I bought the recycled edition for 18 euros including shipping @ moo.com.

The first picture shows a couple of the cards I ordered...

You can order the laminated version as well, but I wanted to be environmentally friendly, which, hopefully, gives a good impression when handing out the cards to high profile people...(also, I believe in being good for Mother earth as well)

Mmmm, I feel so much organised already! ;p

Life sjucks...

Uggg, very dissapointed again, as I have not been accepted for the interview I did yesterday!

Why did I worked so hard this semester? I do not know...I just feel intensely tired right now, and that without archieving my goal....

"Why are you into beauty?"

If you want a light-hearted post, do not read further. If you are afraid of rants, just skip this post.

For people who read my blog regularly and the blogosphere we reside in beauty and beauty-items are important and a fun way for us to express ourselves. We understand that society puts a lot of pressure onto us for being attractive and young, which might be one of the reasons to indulge into cosmetics.

Only, outside the blogworld, I find myself to be criticized by my interest in beauty-items. It is deemed at being superficial and flakey. I would not dare to express my hobby at University, as I would be totally burned down by some fancy 'intellectuals' who think their past-time is sooo much better than mine. And honestly, I find this to be offensive and the double standard is incredibly obvious in those circles, as people at University value each other on attractiveness as well!

So, I do feel the need to look young and attractive...I want that lipgloss to give me a nicer pout. I am not a natural beauty as some of the people are, so I need extra help. I am not into surgery or injectables (yet), so my beauty has to come from the products I use.

As for my inner beauty: it is present! I am a beautiful person within. Only, society sees the outside first and makes its judgement and first impression based on that, which makes me sad sometimes.

I would like to know from my fellow bloggers why they are into beauty, and how their friends/collegues/family think about that? Do you confess being a beauty addict? and to whom? Do you feel judged by being too 'superficial'?

Miffy's wonderful world...

In my last post I mentioned that I had been visiting the Miffy museum and giftshop in the city where I study. I have been studying so intensively lately, that I needed some superficial relief.

I am a weird person...I seem to switch from the intelligent, diligent, studying person into a very childish person....and I like it...he he. Anyway, don't we all have a little child inside that wants to play?

Anyway, I love to show you some of the picture I was able to make in the giftshop (and some sneaky pictures in the museum.

The first picture is the welcome board, and where to find the tickets. The Miffy museum is used to receiving Japanese visitors, as they have the instructions in Japanese as well.

But ofcourse, Miffy is incredibly Kawaii! Look at the overload of cuteness in the shop!

I loved the collection of China with Miffy on it. The China is made in the traditional Dutch, or Delft's Ware tradition (website of the official producer of Delft's Ware)

Except for the little Miffy key holder I bought, I was not able to resist some other items. These items are not all for me. Some have been send away (or will be soon....)

Last picture...he he, a bit of culture (are you bored yet?). It is the city I study in. It is quite small for international standards, but that makes it cosy and not so threatening. And, *smiles* lots of bicycles....

That was a bit of the Miffy day I had. I hope you will have a wonderful weekend filled with relaxation and peace. And, keep your inner child happy!

How has your Valentine been so far?

Hello my sweet and dearest Readers,

Sorry for the lack of updates this week, but life has been quite hectic this week. I have been running around from lecture to lecture, being completely buried in books and assignment. And, as the icing of the cake...I had to spend lovely Valentine day today doing my TOEFL test, which was a excruciating 4 hours of writing, answering and speaking....le sight...

Speaking about icings, I want to show you some pictures of my little pink cupcakes I made this week. Very princessy, aren't they cute?

Consider them to be your virtual valentine cupcakes from me!

Most of you are not here to look at delicious food, but I wanted to share them anyway. I always get tempted by the food pictures from my favourite bloggers, so I wanted to do the favour back-at-ya...MUAHAHA

I am planning to do a couple of reviews tomorrow or the next week. You can expect to see a review and pictures of

• The Lipstick Queen Oxymoron gloss in Minor Crisis, which I received from my precious glowchaser...
• The Visee Blackish Forming Eyes in B-1...a palette with scrumptious colours
• Skinfood Milk Mania Cleanser
• and perhaps I will show you some pages of my new Alice planner...

2008: my personal highlights

It has been quite a year, 2008. (this must be the least original sentence in 2009...he he)

Some events really stuck to our minds: the US elections, the credit crunch and financial crisis.
I want to start out positive by looking back at five of my personal highlights. I am pretty good in complaining...but let's look at the bright site of life (tada tada tadadadada (Life of Brian))

1. The very first place is dedicated to dear me gratuating from University which launched me from Undergraduate status to Graduate status. I started university and I was not even sure if I had the intellectual capacity or purely the dedication to finish a degree...but I did! Next goal is starting (and finishing) my Postgraduate level.

2. My holiday to Scotland: I hadn't been on a proper holiday since ages (7 years?) and I was really happy to go to Scotland with my beau. My skin was so good during that trip (lack of stress) and I felt at peace.

3. Creating Birkinbagbeauty, writing regularly and actually having people reading it!

I have started blogs earlier, however, I realised that I was simply writing things down for myself and the occasional person who stumbled on my blog by coïncident. This time I wanted to write something regularly, even if it is not that brilliant or important. The blog is still open for improvement and I do not consider myself to be as brilliant as some other gorgeous beauty and style-bloggers out there. But...I have to pinch myself...people actually read my blog...wow.



4. Not having touched a drop of alcohol in 2008. Ha ha, this is something I hardly ever do, so it is more of a status quo-thing...I am a goody-two-shoes in the alcohol department and I am probably one of the few people who is not really impressed by alcohol, so I simply do not drink it!
But it is still nice to remember my good traits in a flood of minor addictions such as buying make-up, loving candy, sleeping too much, being a lazy bum...

I did drink a couple of glasses in 2007 which had to do with my social life, still it is so moderate compared to many people.... I was still a goody two shoes with simply one glass per party (which made me tipsy afterall).

So, instead of looking at dodgy resolutions and punishing yourself with dreadful regimes in order to become a perfect (aka boring) person...look back to 2008 and find the good things in yourself: I am sure that you will find more than you expected to find (otherwise, ask a good friend to remember your strengths).

5. Loving meeeee!

Hauls: Gmarket, Silknaturals, Sephora

Ha ha! Yesterday was a lovely day in the life-of-a-cosmetic-junkie...I got some serious items by mail, and bought some seriously discounted sets at Sephora...

I received my Korean goodies...I have already been lusting over Kathy's and Inspiringbeautycreator's pictures of Etude "I can't stop smiling"-items and I was waiting anxiously for my order to come in, and finally...I received mine....



I only ordered the pearl blusher and the Cleansing Dream light oil...If I knew that etudehouse would dissapear from gmarket I would have ordered more...

I also ordered a Lioelle set and two Glissade lippies...I will review them in the new year (he he, so nice to say that).

I also received a small silknaturals.com haul. I love their natural lipsticks and mineral blushers! They are incredibly flattering.




The lipstick on the right is the Pink Gold lipstick from Avon Color Rich 24K lipstick line...We do not have any Avon representatives in our country anymore, so I ordered that one (and Rose Gold) from ebay...
By the way, it was Jen from A beautyful Sentiment that made me buy these lipsticks with her wonderful post and swatches of the lippies (here).

And if I did not have enough, I also visited the Sephora and they had a brilliant discount on several Christmas-sets: 40% off!!!! Wowza...I bought the Too Faced Glamour to Go set and the Cargo Holiday Nights collection.

Now I want to go back to Sephora and purchase the Benefit Love, Peace and Glossiness set and the Makeup Forever Back to Black collection...they are also 40% off. Unfortunately, I will not be able to go to Sephora today: I have to wait untill friday. I hope they are still available then.

The last picture is not makeup related. It is my dear boy playing on the frozen lake! The skating fever has struck our country and everybody and their grandma feels the need to skate on ice.


(btw, he did not fall down, he is just checking if the ice is sturdy enough for my weight, LOL).

like a virgin

Hair can become virgin again, unlike other 'aspects' of your body.

My hair has been quite unvirginalised in the past: I had it bleached, highlighted, permed, cropped, dyed, crimped and styled in a dye-hard way...Agyness Deyn would have looked tame compared to me (ok, highly exaggerated).

But now, my hair is long.... not normal shoulderlength long, but almost-behind-stroking-long...

And it is absolutely virgin hair...no dye, bleach, perms, etc.

(not my hair, nor my face...but a dramatically beautiful picture of a long-haired lass)



Does this make me less fashionable, I think not!

I love experimenting with my looks, but my hair remains (can I say) pure (?).

C'est Moi...