Nail Of The Day: La Moss by Butter London - an old favorite

As soon as it gets colder outside, I have the urge to wear dark polish on my nails. While I love my forest greens and dark navies, my absolute favorite colour to wear during autumn and winter is a dark, blood red. La Moss by Butter London is the perfect choice.

I love it because it looks sleak and sophisticated but is still something different from your average pink or nude. It's easily something that I wear to formal functions, birthdays and in every day life.

Butter London polishes are not the cheapest but they are great quality. They apply very smoothly and dry quickly. I've never had problems with any of their polishes! What is the one nail polish you take out when the leaves start changing?

Style: Blink Boots with Cuban Heel

I have been looking for cute and stylish booties for a long time now. I've been on the hunt for them everywhere but I haven't found anything that I liked. I wanted a bottie that has a small heel but is not too long in the front because I don't like that look with my short legs. I recently browsed the website of Anna Saccone again (can you tell I'm obsessed?) and found these super cute boots in a mid brown color. What I love about them is that the back part has a slightly different color and half of that is studded. They look fancy enough to spice up a boring jeans/sweater outfit but still understated enough to wear with a statment piece.

I am absolutely in LOVE with these shoes! You do need to wear them for a while to be comfortable as they are quite tight in the front. I wear lacy socks with them at the moment because it makes it easier to slip into them. As soon as they're broken in, though, I'll be fine to wear regular socks. Oh, the burden of new shoes...:) Oh, also they're on SALE at the moment!!

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Blink Booties with Cuban Heel in Mid-Brown for €53.91 from Asos

Autumn: Shower Gels - Ponche and Warm Cinnamon Nights

I LOVE taking showers. I'm not one to take a bath very often but when I'm in the shower, that's my time to relax. For that reason, I prefer nice scented shower gels - they're my treat! At the moment I am obsessed with two shower gels, which scents fit perfectly into the colder months. 

 

On the left is a well known favourite, Lush's Ponche. This shower gel only comes out around Christmas and I absolutely love it. It is described as a mix of plum, orange and tequila. I could never recoginize the individual components but it has a very fruity and spicy fagrance which is perfect for getting in the autumn mood and still very nice for Christmas.

On the right is a very recent buy from my local drugstore. The brand is called treaclemoon (www.treaclemoon.de) and currently only available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Warm Cinnamon Nights is a limited edition shower gel by this brand and it's one that reminds me more of Christmas than Ponche. It's beautifully sweet and smells strongly of cinammon. It has an underlying fruit scent, though, so it's not too sickly sweet. Also, it doesn't dry my skin out at all which many shower gels do. It's are a little more pricey than your regular shower gel from the drugstore but nowhere near as expensive as Ponche (8.99€). Another thing I appreciated a lot, is that Warm Cinnamon Nights is available in a try-me size in the travel section. This 60ml size is the one I bought and it gives you a fair chance of trying it out for a couple of weeks. I take a shower every morning and have used Warm Cinnamon Nights every day so far. It's about half way empty, so I'd estimate that there's enough product for 2 weeks or so.

Do you have any shower gels which you take out/buy for autumn and Christmas? I'd love to know!

Becoming healthy again!

 Getting Back To Healthy Eating!

I'm on a diet! 

Well, not really a diet, but I'm trying to get back to healthy eating. I've always been pretty good with my diet but somehow I started to get into all different kinds of food and ways of eating. All this threw me off and my routine became a routine no more. 

Two years ago, I went to Italy on vacation and I gained around 2-3 pounds, as you do on vacation, especially when the food is as good as in Italy. I mean, is there anything that doesn't taste good in that country? Anyway, I never lost those 2-3 pounds and here and there, over the last two years, I gained another one and another one....you get my drift. It all amounted to around 10 pounds that I gained. I was at a really great weight, so I'm still not overweight, but I don't feel comfortable in my skin anymore and I think that's the most important part -

As long as YOU feel good, 2 or even 5 pounds more are fine. If you don't feel good anymore, it's time to make a change.

I'm making that change. I've tried different diets and even tried eating as much raw food as possible. Nothing worked! I gave up on the different diets because they were too strict or didn't fit into my schedule. Then I stumbled upon Anna Saccone's (www.annasaccone.com) youtube channel and I watched her What I Ate Wednesday videos. Finally, I remembered how I used to eat, which is very close to her concept. Nothing is forbidden but it's about moderation and choosing the healthy option 80% of the time. The other 20% you can sin in moderation. Her videos are really inspiring. She eats regular food and just uses her head on what choices to make when it comes to her diet. I needed the help of her videos to get back into a routine that feels good. A regular diet in which I eat healthy food but allow myself a small treat every day. I did count calories at first, just wrote them down on a sheet of paper, to keep track of my meals during the day and to get an idea for what is okay to eat and what would be too much.

I've only been back to a good, healthy diet for one week, but I feel great. 

I won't be doing 'What I ate' posts every week, but I plan on doing them once in a while. If you need some inspiration and are interested, check out Anna's website and youtube channel! It's really made a difference to me.

Michael Todd Skin Discovery Kit - Normal/Combination Skin

I've heard so much about Michael Todd and his organic skincare and I finally decided to order a try-me kit for my combination skin. This kit includes 

• Honey Oat gentle deep pore cleanser, 30ml
• Blue Green Algae Antibacterial Toner, 30ml
• Jojoba Charcoal Facial Scrub, 30ml
• Citrus Cream Moisturizer, 30ml
• Pumpkin nutrient-rich facial mask, 30ml

I have tried these products for a little over 2 weeks now and I still have a little bit left of every product. I love the individual sizes because they are great for traveling but also really give you enough product to thoroughly test everything over a longer stretch of time. I also received one pumpkin facial mask extra which you can see in the pic on the very left. It's actually a larger size than the one in the kit. While I'm very happy about the very large sample, I would have liked it to be something else because the mask is already included in the original kit.  

After trying every product individually and the whole range as a skin care regimen, I have to say that I am not as impressed as I expected to be. I initially came across Michael Todd because many posts on blogs and youtube videos are dedicated to this brand and they all speak highly of it. I was disappointed because the products did not work for my skin at all. The cleanser is not too bad but only average in my estimation. It actually left my skin red and feeling slightly dry and tight afterwards. The facial scrub and toner are, again, average and don't stand up to many drugstore face scrubs I have tried. The moisturizer actually failed completely for me. It made my skin greasy throughout the day, overly so. I had to powder every two hours or so to get rid of the shine. At the same time, my skin didn't feel particularly hydrated. The Citrus Cream Moisturizer gets a big miss from me!!

The one product I LOVED and would actually consider repurchasing is the pumpkin facial mask. It is slightly exfoliating but still gentle and leaves my skin feeling soft and gives it a nice even complexion. I was very pleased with the result and am happy about the second sample after all!

Have you tried this brand before? What are your thoughts? I would love to know! 

For the price of the product and the shipping from the States to Germany, I will probably not shop at Michal Todd again. The face masks are something to consider but there are many amazing ones easier to get where I live that do a similar or even better job. If you live in the States and Michael Todd is easy to get where you live, I would recommend trying out the Pumpkin Facial Mask.

Michael Todd Skin Discovery Kit for Normal/Combination Skin on www.michaeltoddtrueorganics.com

for $36

Nail Of The Day - Essie's Play Date

I went to my local drugstore yesterday and found this beauty. I just had to pick it up!

Gestern bin ich zu meinem örtlichen Drogeriemarkt gegangen und hab diese Schönheit gefunden, die direkt in meinen Einkaufswagen gewandert ist - ich konnte einfach nicht anders.

 

I love corals and bright colours in summer but I like to switch it up a bit from time to time. I love this lilac shade so much because it's bright and summery but different from the average summer and spring shade and still easy to wear when fall comes around. The blue undertones really suit my skintone as well.

Ich liebe Koralltöne und leuchtende Farben im Sommer, aber es ist auch schön mal etwas anderes auszuprobieren. Ich liebe diesen lila/lavendel Ton, weil er sommerlich und fröhlich ist, aber trotzdem mal was anderes von den 0815 Sommer- und Frühlingsfarben. Play Date ist eine Farbe, die in jede Jahreszeit passt und immer gut zu tragen ist. Die blauen Undertöne passen auch sehr gut zu meinem Hautton.

Essie Play Date - 2 coats/2 Schichten

 

 

 

Like every other Essie nail polish I have, the polish applies smoothly and easily. The brush is perfect for easy application and while I always go for 2 coats, 1 would have sufficed.

Wie jeder andere Essie Nagellack, den ich besitze, lässt sich auch dieser sehr gut und einfach auftragen. Der Pinsel ist flach und breit und perfekt für einfaches Auftragen. Aus Gewohnheit trage ich immer 2 Lagen Nagellack auf, aber einer wäre auch genug gewesen.

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Essie Play Date: local drugstore - 7.95€

Jouer Blushing Beauty Collection

'Jouer' ist noch eine eher unbekannte Marke für mich. Bei neuen Marken kaufe ich gerne Paletten oder Sets, damit ich verschiedene Produkte auf einmal ausprobieren kann. Nach ausreichender Recherche habe ich mich für die Blushing Beauty Collection von Jouer entschieden. Die Farben in der Palette sind sehr natürlich, was für mich im Alltag am Praktischsten ist.

Jouer is a fairly unfamiliar brand to me. With new-to-me brands, I like to try palettes or sets first, just to test a wider range of products at the same time. After extensive research, I decided on the Blushing Beauty Collection by Jouer. The colours in the palette are very neutral which is great for me for every day make up looks. I tend to go for a very natural face.

Foto von cultbeauty.co.uk

Die Palette beinhaltet ein Gesichtspuder, Bronzer, zwei Lidschatten, einen Lipgloss, Highlighter und ein Cremerouge. Die Farben sind nicht sehr stark pigmentiert. Man wird nie starke Looks mit dieser Palette kreieren können, aber für natürliche Looks oder Makeup Anfänger ist es perfekt. Meine Favoriten sind der Bronzer, der einen sehr leichten Schimmer hat, und der braune Lidschatten. Wenn man diesen am Rand verwischt, sieht es fast so aus, als ob man mehrere Farben auf dem Lid hätte, obwohl es nur der eine Lidschatten ist. Er kreiert einen wunderschönen bronzfarbenen Schimmer auf dem Lid, was für verschiedene Gesichts- und Augenfarben super passend wäre.

The palette includes a face powder, bronzer, two eyeshadows, one lipgloss, a highlighter and a cream blush. The colours aren't very pigmented. You'll never be able to create a strong look with this palette but it's perfect for a natural make up look or beginners. My favorites are the bronzer, which has a very slight shimmer to it, and the brown eyeshadow. If you blend in the edges properly, it almost looks like you have several colours on your lid instead of just one. It creates a beautiful bronzy shimmer on the lid, which suits different complexions and eye colours.

Von oben nach unten: Lipgloss, Bronzer, Puder, Lidschatten in braun und creme, Highlighter, Rouge
From top to bottom: lipgloss, bronzer, powder, eyeshadow in brown and cream, highlighter, blush

Obwohl die Farben alle schön und natürlich sind, erwarte ich bei dem Preis von 45 Britischen Pfund einfach mehr - mehr Pigmentierung und mehr Produkt. Zum Verreisen ist dies eine super Palette, aber das ist es für mich, bei dem Preis, einfach nicht wert. Da ich die Palette jetzt habe, werde ich sie auch benutzen, aber nochmal würde ich sie nicht kaufen. Die einzelnen Produkte sind allerdings nicht schlecht und ich werde mir noch mehr von 'Jouer' angucken.

Even though the colours are all beautiful and natural, I just expect more from a product with a price tag of 45 pounds - more pigmentation and more product. For travelling, this is a great palette, but the price doesn't make it worth it. Of course I'll use it now because I have it, but I wouldn't repurchase it. The individual products are not bad, though, and I'll keep trying some more Jouer products.

Jouer Blushing Beauty Collection: cultbeauty.co.uk - £45.00