Too Coal for school...

If you dare to watch the US every now and then, perhaps with the help of comedians like Trevor Noah in the 'Today Show', you might find coal being the hot topic of last week's news...Thanks/due to The US president it is probably the negotiations with China this week, something new and conflicting about the POTUS every week, right? Anyway, coal should not become a fuel anymore.

On the bright site, charcoal has never been hotter in skincare. So let's hear it for the positive about some of my skincare finds...

• I have been trying out a couple of Charcoal soaps, and I find the Bamboo Charcoal soap from Funky Soap London to be one of the purest with the best bit of mint inside. As I said in my last posts, my psoriasis had been flaring up like a Australian forest fire in their summer and this has been one of the few soaps my skin could  1. tolerate 2. clean gently and 3. clear up the flare ups partly. Now my skin is a lot healthier, this soap feels amazing in purifying the skin and I love to wash my face with it too, as a part of step 2 of the double cleanse. Funky Soap London sells these big chunks of soap on etsy (here) for €4.00 and shipping is rather reasonable too.
• I think that Boscia Detoxifying Black Cleanser has been discussed frequently on blogs and the Gram. I agree this is a gorgeous facewash and the warming element makes it feel like it's working even more effectively opening and purifying the pores. Hence, it gets my supporting vote as well.
• I stumbled upon Ecodenta Black whitening Toothpaste after I was looking for a more affordable option for the very hyped Sister & Co Raw Coconut & Activated Charcoal Tooth Whitening. Ecodenta is indeed under a fiver and I already see a whitening effect on a more natural base. Perhaps the ingredient of €30-ish Sister & Co would have been a tad more pure, nevertheless the shipping -carbon waist- would add more polution to the environment. Ecodenta is produced in the Baltic States but Holland & Barrett import it in a larger frequency. Oh heck, the price is better ; )
• The mascara featured has nothing to do with added charcoal but I really liked the look of it, and the brush. This Outdoor Girl mascara has a dryer formula but I use the brush only right now with my other mascara's.
• I bought a couple of travel sized Byredo candles during the christmas season, and Bibliothèque has been one of my favourites because of the bookish, vintage scent. Do not worry you will only smell old books as the violet's will bring in that hopeful scent of young femininity of a girl who hopes her lovelife will be as exhilarating as the romantic novels she is reading.

Charcoal can be effective as a purifying product, and with some additional ingredients they can work in synch with helping your skin to get the desired effect. For example, by adding Tumeric you can also help to calm down inflamed skin, and turmeric would even function as an anti-ager. Personally, I had extremely sensitive skin and charcoal has been one of the few ingredients I could tolerate.

Besides these featured products, I have also tried some other hyped charcoal products. One of them was Freeman Charcoal & Black Sugar Facial Polishing Mask. I found that Freeman version to be so incredibly overfraganced compared to the purer versions featured above, and my facial skin got irritated after using it. Hence, I do not believe every and any charcoal product would be best, so better do your research and use the purer versions when having sensitive skins.

Multiple Masking Mania: Clay's the new Sheetmask

Don't you often get that feeling that when something is a true hype, you start looking elsewhere? 

As with sheetmasking, I have been into Asian trends since the beginning of my blog (about 2007) and the occasional sheetmasks has often been a part of my facial routine. Don't get me wrong...I am so happy about the variety of sheetmasks popping up everywhere, instead of waiting for days for my gmarket Korea packet to come in...Sheetmasks are brilliant in moisture and adding a essence/serum really effectively, but when it comes to getting that pure, porepurging feeling...Clay is the word! 

Since I am still lazy to borrow from my own Instagram, ofcourse meticulously taken and edited photos, I had the theme "#spooning for #singlegirls is all about Multiple Masking". So there you go: 4 gorgeous colours of clay-based masks that each have a different purpose for the skin.

Left to Right:

• Lush Don't Look At Me Mask is as fresh as its smurfblue colour. It has a good whopping of citrus juice combined with the base-clay of Kaoline. Citrus Juice is nice for brightening skin and purifying pores, but I would steer away from the sensitive parts of your face. This one went on the nose and chin. It is quite fraganced of neroli essential oil...The blue colour, unfortunately, is a colourant and not derived from any natural clay-source.
• Cattier Paris Pink Clay Mask is the perfect type of clay for purifying sensitive skin. The list of ingredients is short: Pink clay, Organic sheabutter, Organic peppermint extract, Lactic acid (vegetable), Organic Aloe vera but that is enough to purify on a gentle level. The price was under a fiver and the cream-to-clay formula is easier than handling the power version of pink clay.

•  Before Herbana I never heard of Purple Clay before. According to Herbana (here) "Violet clay is a combination of a few natural clays which contains low concentration natural minerals. It is rich in silica and less absorptive than green clays" and I get a similar summing up of minerals from this and this site. Now Herbana amped up the youth-boosting factor for adding argan oil, Rosehip Oil and Aloe Vera gel. It still dries to a dry and violet mask but the effect is incredibly soft. I really like the effect this masks gives me: I feel purified without that overly dry feeling some clay masks can give. This retails for a reasonable € 13 on Etsy, and will make fun selfie/masking/scaring your cat/loved one game.

• You might have heard a lot about NIOD and their Flavavone Mud Mask. Niod often has an incredibly story behind their innovative ingredients, and this one is no exception about their triple faces of 1. Purifying ; 2. Protecting & 3. Responsive Phase. For the whopping amount of € 35 a good story should be behind it, right? Personally, I was not really wowed by this mask. During my most sensitive phase of my psoriasis, it actually felt quite drying and not really helping my skin. The Cattier Pink clay actually worked at that same phase, so I guess price, an elaborate story and innovation are not always an all-cure-for-all. Now my skin is a lot calmer, I find it just ok but not as good as the Cattier or my gorgeous new Herbana. I still like a lot of NIOD's products, especially the Copper serum, but this one did not float my boat.

Just as sheetmasking can be a lot of fun, I think the added natural or unnatural colours of the claymasks can look fun and also have an a beneficial value. Most people would think of claymasks as drying and more suitable for oily/combined skin but the gentlier versions of pink and purple clay can be quite beneficial for dryer, dehydrated and maturing skins thanks to the additional minerals. Closing off the skin from air and other elements, similar as taking a sheetmask, often helps the regeneration/purifying process some more. However, take in mind that clays can draw out the occassional pimple as well so perhaps before a date or special occasion, the sheetmasks would be a tad more smoothing.

Gettin' Soapy with Naomi Pure Beauty

There is something wonderfully old-school about a good piece of clean soap. 

Nowadays it does not have to be that all-removing type like our mums use to treasure. We can have both worlds of gentle care and practical hold. And how convenient is something non-liquidy for travel? 

I have already been testing some gorgeous Osmea Beauty soaps lately. But for shipping reasons, I wanted to look closer and more European. 

Yeh, I know! I should buy locally Dutch at the rural market but somehow the soap-making qualities have not been as esthetically pleasing as Naomi Pure Beauty. And carbon offset from Ireland is not as bad as US right? And for some reason I find the air more pure in Ireland than my own little (crowded/polluted) country so there you go...

1. Black Magic

 My first choice is not based on some eerie need for potential voodooooooo; I was simply looking for something with active charcoal after seeing it featured as "wonderproduct" on far far away US Osmeabeauty site. Claimed as healing for eczema and congested skin, I wanted to give the active charcoal a shot.

Naomi Pure Beauty is even more positive about Black Magic with Activated Charcoal as it can be a "Acne Remedy, Reduce Blemishes, Skin Perfection, Clean Skin, Detoxify, Purify". 

I have been using it a couple of times, and it is a strong soap. With strong I mean that it has the properties to make your skin wonderfully clean like one of those hamman experiences. I soaped myself in and got the exfoliating body brush to accompany it. Afterwards, my skin became even more clean than the grainy sugar/salt scrubs I use frequently.

The water will mix in greyish when you use it. That seems like proof that the charcoal is not just a gimmic.

It is not the type of soap I would use every day, due to overexfoliating. However, how delightfully detoxifying this one is when using one or two times a week.

2. Seaweed Soap

I picked up my second soap on the same account I frequently pick up a anti-cellulite lotion: Slimming! I am normal sized but the thighs are always demanding. Winter time often brings in the warming chocolaty drinks, mmmmm, so slathering them in seaweed soap makes me think that they can stay in their trusted pair of skinny jeans.

I have only used it once, and it smells like a mix of soap and something leafy. I'm not a seaweed expert but I guess that is probably it. The embedded seaweed bits function as a exfoliating tool so you actually stimulate the so-called problem area twice.

3. Cafe Mocha

  

 I just bought this soap for scentual pleasure. Good for me: no agenda! Ok, getting clean ofcourse or I could just sniff the coffee I brewed earlier, right?

It smells nice and coffee-ish but it could be slightly stronger. Perhaps I have to use it some more times to let the fragance cure a bit more.

4. Coconut Soap

 The coconut soap is marketed as a shampoo soap. My hairstory is extremely difficult: My damaged hair only tolerates Alterna Caviar Repair X line lately so I did not expect miracles from this one.

That said, I tried it and it is a pure way of washing hairs. My hair did not look too bad afterwards, but I still need the Alterna Caviar Repair X to make it look like it has not been traumatised (it has). So I like it as a more neutral soap for the body.

 *

Overall, I really like these soaps and the price has been fantastic for the quality thinking it is about 3.50 per soap. The labels looks instagram-worthy and that is important these days.

I gotten the four in a set over here for €12 which is a fab deal. It will make a cute holiday gift for those people you do not really know that well, but are still on you "to know better"-list.

Resolution '14: Better Cleaning the face; the house is a different priority

Do we need yet another resolution? Yes, when it's in the cutest bottle!

Cleaning up is one of the key-elements of healthy skin and I've never really skipped on that. I only wanted to stop using 'the chemical' and leap over to 'the organic side' to see if my flake-prone skin would improve.

Since I had gotten a sample of cultproduct May Lindstrom 'the Clean Dirt' I wanted to explore cleansing grains/clays. May Lindstrom is quite expensive and also quite potent with warming spices and cleansing clays. That is fine on some days, but when skin is sensitive...soothing is a better option.

 The Rose Cleansing Polish has been branded as their most gentle and still effective cleansing scrub:

 

source: FrenchGirlOrganics

This sounds really credible looking at the ingredients such as softening Rose Hip, Hibiscus, Lavender and the ayurvedic wonderpowders such as Neem & Tulsi.

French Girl Organics has gotten a couple of a good reviews on various blogs. And ofcourse I've gotten too enamorated on the cute packaging...

Hence, my new powder habit is a healthy one:

 

I have only used it a couple of times; too little for a full review. However, I will discus it when I have used it more oftenly.

I bought it over on etsy from FrenchGirlCosmetics (here).

Autumn Newbies

Uhoh, reading blogs can be so enabling...

I've been more curious about organic brands lately, thus stumbling upon the organic beautybloggers has given me a million new lemmings for trying out facial oils.

Face oils have already been my skinsaver option for this summer. For Autumn I am eager to try out the wonderfully named 'Glow Serum' from Astor & Bay. This time it has been SeedtoSerum enthousiastically uttering the words "airbrush-like effect" & "instant radiance".

 

Those words gotten me weak in the knees wallet, which as not that bad as the oil is under €25.

I'll keep you updated to see if I will utter similar words of enthousiasm as well.

I also found some sample sizes of Greek brand Apivita:

 

The clay-masks have gotten quite the cult-status on makeupalley.

I do not need clay-masks as much as in summer, less oiliness and I do not have the full-duty sunblock on every day. Still, cleansing up the skin is always a good way to keep it clear and luminescent and a better way for your serums etc do work optimally.

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

Comb-i-nation

One of my necklaces I like to comb-ine...

(I Puchased this one on Etsy over here. I love their quirky variety of necklaces)

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)

wishlist: a happy print

I have been harvesting a slight  crush on this happy print:

Description: "She's in love with music wich makes her hair polka dot colored :)"

Now I want the print, and polka dot coloured hair!

(spotted on Etsy from seller Rosiemusic)

Summerisms

Welcome in mid-summer...

Summer is season that either appeals to you, or not. And even if you totally adore summer season, as I do, there are some things that are to be considered in order to enjoy it fully (and keep the negative sides of summer away from you).

First, the bugs, and I am not talking about pesky men, can be quite irritating when enjoying your summer drink. Browsing etsy I found this natural-based spray with the cutest themes from the lovingly named heartbroken mosquito shop. I skipped the ubercute sounding 'unicorn safe mosquito detergent' and went straight for the 'repel guys who are players' mosquito spray...

Ha ha, it is supposed to work in both ways: repelling both the pesky player guys and the mosquitos!

Honestly, I am not the most delicious food source for either mosquitos and players. But there have been some irritating bugs bugging me in my life.

I do not want to generalise either players nor mosquitos, although the mosquitos are a bit easier to pin down. Biting mosquitos are females, and players can be both male and female.

Only women get different names: when the female player has a kind of mystery surrounding her (or nobody knows anything about her) she is often branded femme fatale. The less kind word for the woman with a large capacity of man-magnetism (and the ability to act in a similar way the male players do) is branded 'sl*t' or something similarly unflattering sounding and meaning.

The male players...mmm, it depends on the level of game they like to stick...Some can indeed be pesky when they suspect you might not be into them...but some will go for a different target...just like mosquitos.

The side has the next description liste:
*Ladies are you sick of going to a BBQ, outdoor concert, camping etc. & getting hit on by guys, who are players & nagging mosquitoes just won't leave you alone either. Then this is the vegan, all natural repellent for you!! It's time to take charge!! It really works amazingly well (see ingredients below)!!!

This repellent has an extra essential oil in it for an extra kick booty, supergirl power move...Ahh, the power of 'Wintergreen Essential Oil.' So with the power of over 10 essential oils, all known to repel mosquitoes naturally...we must break their hearts & tell them to move on (in a very kind, earth friendly way of course).

To the ingredients:

Does it work? Ha ha ha, I cannot really point out about the players when I was wearing this, because some come in sneaky disguises of sweet-or-standard-looking-boys/men-who-are- supposingly-genuinely-interested in you (they come in different forms)...I did find the DJ looking at me at some point at a summer Fête, and DJ are often quite player-like. But he could not smell me because it was at some distance so I cannot really tell ;P

Mosquitos often go for other people too, but if I am alone in a mosquito crowded area they sometimes settle with me. With this spray, they even went away and searched for someone else.

The scent is still quite lemon-like, like those drugstore anti-mosquito repellants. It has an earthy note added to it. It would not be a scent I would like to sport for going out, or such, but it has that earthy vibe around it.

And when you have been sucessfully fighting the mosquitos and players, you still have to take care of not making yourself look like a lobster, or harming your preciously build skincells with those damaging UV sunrays.

I went for Japanese skincare to tone down those rays. That is somewhat random and somewhat decisively picked out by me. Sunblocks have improved tremendously over the last years, so the often hyped about French La Roche Posay has been having some fierce competition of other brands from other countries.

What I love about the Japanese sunblocks I have tried is that they feel really light on the skin, and do not make you look like a greased up person with sunblock --> they often are targeted for people with combination to oily skin, and often tone down the oilies.

I like to multitarget, and I like browsing Sasa and filling up my cart until I have reached the amount to receive free shipping. With these considerations I bought a sunscreen suited for both face and body: Mentholatum Sunplay Water & Sports SPF 130 PA++

It has gotten superb reviews on SASA, and I really wanted to know if it was worth the hype. Plus, I really like to be active when going to the beach, and the formula targeted for active people going into the water and doing sports was something right up my alley (instead of lying pretty on a towel, which is also something that is good, but personally I prefer to be more active).

I have tried it a few times, and it is really lightweight and effective against tanning. The formula is realy thin and liquidy, so watch out that you do not squeeze out too much when applying.
The colour is white, which is not too bad, because the whiteness will dissapear after application (around half a minute).

I also like the cute litte tiger on the bottle:

After a day with sunscreen on your skin, I suggest removing the sunblock from your skin, in order to let the pores breathe again. Well, pores can still breathe with the sunblock, but just like makeup, it is always better to remove it from your face and/or body.

For my face I use one of my favourite cleansing oils, for example Kanebo Naive Olive Oil.

For my body I use the least favourite cleansing oil in my collection. That is right, the least favourite (sorry Etude House Cleansing Dream, but you just stay too oily on my skin and I need to rewash my skin after applying this).

I am still too frugal to throw away this cleansing oil, and it works to get the sunblock of my body. I do not mind the slightly oily feeling that lingers on my body afterwards, but with my face I would mind, so it still has a function for me.

Keep it cool this summer (or warm if you like the warmth), keep an eye on those mosquitos and/or players, and be protective to your skincells!

Queenly lace and dainty portraits...

I have been such a good girl lately, as I have not indulged too much in buying and purchasing new things.

However, this is incredibly boring news for my blog readers...Who could ever though that my less-virtuous habit of buying too much makeup could ever be a source of entertainment for others?

To honour decadence, although in a more moderate form, I bought some cards with the image of a Aristocratic Lady receiving courtly affection of a equally poised Gentleman...

Ah, how lovely were the days when courtly love had some codes and regulations...

At least, it seems so nostalgic to think about this. These days, our contemporary selves are thrown in the weird world of dating were rules are based on everything and nothing...

Rules of romantic texting? Not immediately (otherwise you are too eager) but do not wait longer than three days or you seem too uninterested...

Come on, who makes these rules...? What a nonsense...

I would be awful if I would ever be lauched back into the 'dating sphere'....The idea of dating would seem like a total nuisance to me.

I would probably stay single forever......

Anyway, I am drifting off...back to the buying part...ha ha.

I also bought some lace to decorate around the house, or to apply on my clothes.

Lace will be a big thing for the Spring/Summer season. I am really happy to see more feminine clothes making a comeback in fashion, because I already complained about the overly tough fashion trend in this post.

And Vogue is predicting everything pastel, frilly and candy coloured to come back into fashion. Not that I really care what Vogue says, but if these clothes are declared 'trendy', I will have a better chance to find it in the shops...score!

(I bought the card and the lace at an etsy shop called 5dollarfrenchmarket...and guess what, they sell everything in their shop for $5...Très Chique)

For the Geek in me...Geek Bliss lipbalms

I have been geeky lately....staying up late browsing in books, being totally enthralled by everything technical and enjoying everything that is so uncool that it is almost cool again.

Nerdy lipbalm, I never heard of it until I browsed on Confessions of a balmaholic. They had a BOGO sale when I ordered, so I ordered two of them.

These balms are not cutesy, but entirely nerdy with the old-school computer language on the tubes. You could easily pass these balms to your brother or boyfriend without giving them the feeling of acting too girly. I mean, men must have dry lips in cold winter weather as well...

I ordered I kissed a Cullen, ha ha, ofcourse the Twilight Cullen with the brooding eyes and floppy cute hairdo...(played by Robert Pattinson)

Ha ha, in reality I would not stand any change kissing a boy this young and attractive and famous...but the teenage girl inside me is loving the eyebrows so much...

(oh, and I love the scent of Creme de Menthe that comes with this balm)

So reality sucks...which is the name of my next balm, ha ha.

So what other flavour to give it than the always dreamy scent of chocolate...mmmm.

I have only tried Cullen's balm, and it is such a gorgeously moisturizing balm. It has not that hardness that some handmade lipbalms have. You know, the ones that you have to rub over and over again before your lips are finally moisturizes. This balm leaves your lips instantly moisturized, and when the balm has vanished after some time, it leaves them soft as well.

They make a cute gift for the nerdy friend, the dreamer, any Twilight fan or for the non-prissy person using lipbalm. They retail for $3 on etsy, and you get your second one for free this month.

New Year's Eve: the perfect party

Christmas has been celebrated! I hope everything has been wonderful!

Thus, it is time to think about the next celebration towards a new decade! 2010!!! Ready for it???

Parties have always been one of my favourite pasttimes. Even though I have not been to that many parties anymore, the idea of dressing up, socializing and dancing has always been a true event. It must have something to do with my horoscope...Leo's love to party!!!

I am sure that most of my readers have some wonderful NYE-parties to attend, or spend their time with their loved ones. I am also positive that most of you have already thought up what to wear and what makeup to put on for the celebration. Still, I would like to show you some gorgeous items I found (which is probably too late to buy for New Years Eve, but hey, they make a gorgeous set for the next party)

I love originality...and still feeling confortable. This picture looks like such a cool party outfit: the fedora is a bit masculine, and she teams it up with curly locks, a poofy striped dress, some sexy fishnet tights and some gorgeous boots...It is a cheeky and feminine way of party dressing portrayed by Misty.

So I searched a bit on etsy for some cool fedora's...Glowstoes (what's in a name) has this sophisticated variety with flapper-esque lace.

Or this one has a bright orange and red feather....

from stacyleighatelier

And how to stand out in a sea of Little Black Dresses?..simply wear white!

Clairedelafaye on etsy

But be careful for those drunk people spilling their drinks on everybody.

Or adorn yourself in a delicate and eyecatching soft aqua colour. This hollystalder dress would look wonderful with a light complexion.

Team up with your aqua eyeshadow and accessorise with this gorgeously matching fascinator:

from BaroqueandRoll...

This is one of my favourites...a vintage flapper dress from the 20s:

flapper dress from stacyleighatelier at etsy

And I would probably team up the dress with a hairpiece such as this one from annashoub

Whatever your partyplans and your outfit will be, I hope it will be a wonderful New Year's Eve and a gorgeous new year.

Fasio PU-3 swatches & Prettypanda's scarvelicious haul

What a week! I had the pleasure to celebrate my first year's anniversary as Birkinbagbeauty! I gave a giveaway and had my 200th follower as well.

I had a request from Blair to swatch my latest acquisition of eyeshadow: my lovely Purple Fasio palette PU-3 I had proudly showcased in this post. I love my readers and I think Blair is fantastic. You should check out her blog if you haven't done that yet.

I really like the name Blair as well, for the odd reason that ........Blair is my favourite character in Gossip Girl...he he. I think her twisted 'relationship' with dark boy Chuck is so brilliantly portrayed in a teen-meets-adult kind of way that it appeals to women beyond the age of ...ehm...twenty as well. I could go on why the beyond-teenager-age women like me still watch the odd serie of Gossip Girl every now and then, but hey, this is a beauty blog so I will return to the beauty part ;P

I have tried to swatch and photograph my palette perfectly with the right light, etc...but I failed a bit because of the autumny weather. I will still publish them, because I should give Blair and other readers a look of how the colours are in swatched glory. So here they are.

The colour on the left is a glittery cream. The next three colours are soft, buttery powder colours. The last colour (dark) is intended for eyelining, thus suitable to use with a liquid, and a hard texture.

The next picture is made in natural, cloudy daylight. The colours are swatched in the order of the palette itself.

This picture has been made with flash-light. The far right colour is a dark eggplant colour, thus not a black colour, and contains some glitters. I am sorry for this poor picture, but my camera only seemed to focus on the lighter colours on the left, so I could not photograph this properly.

Again, sorry for the poor quality of these pictures. I hope it still gives some impression of the colours.

My personal impression of this palette is quite positive.

I love the texture of the three colours in the middle, as the quality is buttery and they hardly crease on the eyes.

The glittery cream on the left is ok, however, glittery creams are a bit useless as I hardly use them.

The darker eggplant eyeliner is such a brilliant colour for people who think that black eyeliner is a bit too harsh and brown eyeliner too soft (and colour, well, too eighties??). The eggplant hue is fantastic for making green, blue and hazel eyes pop a bit. The glitter is not obtrusive for more mature or OL makeup purposes. I would recommend using it with a wet substance, for example with Mac mixing medium, a homemade mixing medium or distillated water.

I have to show you something clotheswise as well. I purchased this scarf from etsy lately, from the sweetest seller named Prettypanda. Ulung from Prettypanda is such a dear and is excellent in the communication with the seller. She notices when you add one of her scarfs as your favourites and does her ultimate best to make the purchase as fine as possible.

I love a nicely packed present, even when I gave it to myself ;D

So many ways to tie up your scarf...amazing! These instructions are very helpful. I normally just throw on a scarf and always envy the girls who have these perfectly tied neckscarves. Now I can be one of them...yey!

I bought the Rosy Morning Scarf...a composition of colours that remind me of a perfect sunrise (often not seen in this tiny Northern country with murky weather). The scarf is thin enough to wear for the summer (I brought it with me on holiday, and it was perfect as a sarong, headscarf or protection against overzealous sunrays). I love it for unpredictable autumn weather as well.

Ulung from Prettypanda included TWO amazing freebies...a couple of hair accessories that would not look unfamiliar on Blair from Gossipgirl...sweet little ribbon clips with cherries on the fabric!

Wow, and this pink rose!!!

Her scarf and everything from her shop will not exceed the $15 price tag.

Overall, I am really enthousiastic about Prettypanda. (why else would I blog about it?)

So my dears, I hope you will have a wonderful sunday and I hope the weekend gave you the rest or excitement (or both) you wished you had.