Beauty ponders

I'm a fan of mascara. If I had to chose one make-up item to owe for the rest of my life, this one would probably be THE one. If you don't have time for eyeshadow, a bit of mascara can do wonders to your face. So I'm always keen on trying new ones, I already have found a favourite in my Maybelline one but maybe I can find an even better one. There's always that little voice in me screaming to try more... Familiar with this, I'm sure you are?! Hence the reason I bought this mascara for a few dollars online to give it a go!

I ran into this dress online and in several magazines... I love it, I loved it from the moment I layed my eyes on it! Emma Watson wears it beautifully, it's a vintage dress and costs about 5000euros. Unreachable to sum it up, so I want to find a lookalike -preferable with less feathers on it-!

Nail polish and me are good friends... as you all know and noticed in my giveaway, I'm really happy you all enjoy it! Some time ago I bought new polishes from Catrice - this was one of them, they released a few new colours and I had to have this, it basically had my name written all over it. It's a lovely creme fall greyish colour that will suit everyone...

Application went smooth like all Catrice polishes and dries quite fast. I used 2 layers here. The only downside I experience with Catrice is its lasting time, as I mentioned before. After 2-3 days the tips wear off, which is not the case with OPI for instance. I just file my nails a bit to solve this problem fast. It is a budget brand, so I don't expect it to last me as long as a Chanel polish.

Roses, budget, lotion, pink... sounds like music to my ears!! So when I saw this half a year ago in an Avon catalogue (*a special edition of their care body lotion*) I didn't hesitate and ordered a bottle. It costed 4euros for 400ml.

And here it is, the new giveaway I talked about last week. I decided to do a polish giveaway including nail treatments and polishes because I am a polish lover and I know most girls share my love. The giveaway is open to everyone all over the world and will end on December 5, so it stays open for 2 weeks. I will anounce the winner the day after using a random-thing, so she/he gets the Christmas present on time. Let's have a look at what I've selected:

Water marbling... I have been reading a lot about it but hadn't tried it yet because it always looks so messy in tutorials and I tend to be quite messy when it comes to this stuff so I postponed it. But then again, I kept running into it and it does look so nice, I wanted to give it a try - the mess aside... Because of my uncertainty I opted for a clear base coat, that way if I would fail, it wouldn't be too noticable and I wouldn't have to start all over again. Now, onto the result:

I'm quite happy with how it turned out, especially my middle finger, thought it would be far worse. One thing that was/is annoying is the tiny bubbles on certain nails that I got. Any tips on how to get rid of them or not have them?? I used these 3 OPI colours underneath: Makes Men Blush, Pink of Hearts 2, Rumple's Wiggin'. One thing I noticed is that it dries very fast on your nails. Afterwards I applied a top coat as usual.

Before I began my mission, I browsed youtube and ran into this girl who has a lot of tutorials and tips on watermarbling, worth checking out as she is really good at it.I also used her method of taping of your fingers, this way you don't need to do a major cleanup of polish remover on your fingers and it worked like a charm. I will certainly try marbling again but next time with a coloured basecoat...

I started a new job so I wanted to look my best and created this look (neutral duhhh), which I've been loving and wearing the last couple of days. I took these pictures when I came home from work in the evening so my blush has faded quite a bit/lot - the rest held up nicely!

Face products used:
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Nude
NYX Creme Blush Boho Chic
NYX Powder Blush Angel
Anastasia Brow Powder
Tweezerman Browmousse
Diorshow Mascara
Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler
Sleek/NYX/Avon on eyes
Laura Mercier Setting Powder

Reviews of the NYX products are coming soon. I will also post a tutorial of the eyelook (it's really easy), along with the exact products I used for it. Hope you like it!!

I love Christmas but I don't love the winter that comes along with it... When the temperature goes below 15degrees it is cold, to me. So I tend to wear quite a lot of clothes these days!! A couple of weeks ago I went shopping with my mother for winter shoes and I wanted the concept of Uggs but better, because Uggs are so big and wide. I'm a fan of sophisticated narrow shoes... And yes, I did find what I was looking for, surprisingly enough!!!

Chapped lips, it happens to some of us and it really is annoying and not easy to get rid off... When my lips are chapped there is only one thing that cures them and this is Blistex Lip Relief Cream SPF10. Blistex offers different lip treatments and this is just one of them, the one that works best for me. It is available in most drugstores for 3-4euros.

This cream was recommended to me by my mother and she swears by it. At that point my lips were really hurting and sometimes even bleeding, it was that bad and no other lip balm had been able to do anything. I had been trying several from cheap to expensive, all bagger. When I applied this in the evening, the next morning I already had visible results and after 2more nights - and during the day - my lips were cured, this is a lifesaver. But not everything shines about this product: when applying it, it tingles a bit to me and with some people (my boyfriend for instance) it hurts. I haven't had any troubles with it, but it can be a sideeffect. Apart from the tingling, it hasn't got a good taste nor smell and after applying, it leaves a slightly white cast on your lips behind. This is understandable as it is a white cream, that's why it's better to use this before going to bed - although it has an SPF, usefull is it, not? And lastly the ingredients aren't all great: it contains perfume and alcohol denatol but the last one is in a very small amount, luckily otherwise it would have gone straight to the bin :)

Everyone has something about their brows: they are either too thick or too tiny, too wild or too invisible... We all have our discomforts. Myself I suffer from quite thick wild brows that absolutely need something to tame them. I used to use a brow gel from Essence but decided I wanted something better as I wasn't too pleased with it, it didn't stay put all day and clogged from time to time. So after some googling I ran into this Mousse from Tweezerman... I love my Slant Tweezer from this brand so I wanted to give this a try and at the same time had high hopes for it. Let's see if they were justified!

Ideal for getting a beautifully shaped brow line to stay put all day… or for taming “disobedient” unruly brows. The superior clear-gel formula smoothly styles and shapes without the flakes or gumminess of lesser quality brands. A favorite of top models and make-up artists for its precision, evenness and long-lasting wear.

Tips & Tricks: using the mascara-like wand, brush upward through brows to lift and shape. Formulated of the highest quality hypo-allergenic and fragrance-free ingredients, the feather-light application gently conditions as it shapes for a beautiful lasting look.

Just wanted to share that I'll be doing a new giveaway soon, wanted to do something for my lovely readers. Consider it an early Christmas gift for the winner! I'm such a fan of Christmas... How do you feel about Christmas?

I love nail polish, as you've all witnessed my NOTDs the past months you can easily state I like my nails with a gorgeous polish on them. I'm not a fan of bare nails, I don't think it suits me but it does some people... Nail polish can be a pain to apply and more precisely to dry, leaving you disabled untill it's dry. That's why fastdrying topcoats were invented, leaving it unnecessary for you to wait hours before your polish is dry. Today I'm going to talk about one of them, that I've been using the last few months...

The INM topcoat has already got quite some fame in blogland and has often been talked about. I bought this one over Seche Vite because of the horror thickening stories you read about it. It costed me 3-4euros online (ebay) for 15ml which is a very good price, I've been using it for 4months now and there's still 2/3 left in the bottle. The bottle itself is simple, but ok. Same goes for the brush, but I wished it were a bit larger. I'm used to OPI brushes and this one is so tiny in comparison...

Now onto the major part, the fastdrying topcoat!! This topcoat is meant to be dry in a few minutes, well that just depends on how many layers and how much polish you apply. Myself, I usually apply one base coat, 2 layers of polish and the topcoat. From my experience this topcoat dries from 10minutes to 45minutes, and by dry I mean very very dry! Usually I watch a bit of tv or youtube for half an hour and the job is done... I noticed that light shimmer polishes like OPI Give me the moon 2 layers dries in just 5-10minutes, kind of glitter polishes like OPI Sand in my Suit 2 layers take about 15minutes and then creme polishes like OPI Kiss on the Chic take the longest from 30minutes onwards... This has helped me in being selective chosing a polish depending on how much time I have to apply.

The topcoat itself is very good and lasts me at least a week without any chipping, but then again my polish rarely chips. After a few days the tips become slightly visible but you can easily take care of that with a file.

Overall I think this is a very good top coat for its price that I would recommend and will repurchase myself. But I might try the Seche Vite after all to see if it goes faster... This product doesn't get a Product Praise because my favourite polishes are creme polishes and I don't always have half an hour to spare.

Hands... are almost as important as my face when it comes to the caring part about it. People often neglect their hands in the process but remember, they have to endure quite a bit during a regular day. I like to keep mine healthy with the occasional scrub and daily hand creams... Apart from caring for your hands those creams also have a noticable impact on your nails as they moisturize your cuticles when used. All the more reasons to use hand creams. I have a lot of them and since I'm starting my Project Pan I decided to empty a few creams but not before I've written a review on them...

I'm starting with an Avon hand cream as they have a wide range at a very good price. When in promotion these creams cost about 2-3euros for 125ml, bargain and totally budget price! The cream comes in a tube packaging, which looks simple and nice. I like the purple to it.

Quickly absorbed, non-sticky hand cream with cucumber and lemon extracts help moisturise and tone skin, leaving it soft and supple and looking brighter. 125ml.


The cream itself is white and quite runny, it's more a lotion than it actually is a cream. It spreads easily but it doesn't sink in fast, it takes a few minutes (or more). That's why I only use this cream at night and don't carry it around with me - I always have a hand cream with me just to use when I'm waiting somewhere or having a drink -. Because this is a lotion, it isn't very moisturizing. I have dry hands and when I put this on they feel a bit moisturized but not as intense as I would like. Lastly, the scent, which is my favourite part of this cream. It smells so good, most present is the cucumber and it gives it such a fresh touch.

The goods: great scent, budget price

The bads: doesn't sink in fast, not moisturizing enough, alcohol denatol is at the lower part of ingredients list

Overall this is an ok hand cream, especially considering the price and is worth trying. Sadly enough it doesn't suit my hands skin type, they need a cream that provides more moisture. I wouldn't buy it again because of this and because it contains alcohol denatol. If this doesn't bother you, go ahead and try it.

Yesterday I had a job interview, so I chose for a neutral muddy fall colour... Basically you can't go wrong with a colour like this. These colours are perfect for any business event, they always look sophisticated glamorous but at the same time modest.

I used 2 layers, this provides enough coverage. It's OPI so it applies easily and dries fast with a topcoat. I've already worn this colour a few times and really like it. It's a light muddy colour that I think everyone would like.

As I've said before and I'm sticking to it, I'm starting Project X Pan because I have been buying too much stuff lately and need a stop. My boyfriend was really pleased when I told him wat Project Pan means. I've chosen for an "X" because I'm still going through stuff and may add new items to the list. Some of these things have been reviewed, others will come! Let's have a look at what's in it for now...

• La Roche Posay Anthelios XL 50+
• SKII Treatment Essence
• Nuxe Nirvanesque Eye Cream
• Avène Milk Cleanser
• Chanel Beauté Initial Eye
• Nuxe Crème Fraiche Riche
• Avon Brightening Lemon & Cucumber Hand Cream
• Murnauers Roses Bath
• Filorga Meso + Serum
• Louis Widmer Eye Cream
• Avon Foot Works Cherry Ice Lotion
• Avon Foot Works Vanilla Brown Sugar Cream
• Dermalogica Precleanse

Quite a lot to start with, but I'm really anxious to make this work, wish me luck!!!

A few weeks ago when I paid a visit to my dermatologist he also subscribed me this shampoo as it would help against my dandruff. I have a very mild form of psoriasis that comes out under stress, most people who have dandruff have psoriasis but just in a tiny form - they just don't know it, he told me. For as long as I can remember I suffer from dandruff. I have tried several shampoos available on the market and it never goes away entirely. I've learned to live with it as I don't have a bad form of it and it also has its ups and downs. Lately it has been lessening but I was keen on trying this shampoo... It costed me about 5euros for 125ml with subscription.

The packaging is really basic like expected, the shampoo itself is clear and doesn't have a scent. You only have to use this shampoo on your head - it doesn't foam up, leave it on for 15 minutes (important, let the ingredients work), rinse and continue as you would normally. Afterwards I just use my regular shampoo and conditioner/mask. The shampoo may only be used once a week but I've noticed using it once every two weeks also does the job. The product didn't sting or irritate me whatsoever.

I've used this product two times so far and it lives up to its claims: my head is dandruff-free... But there are a few downsides to this product:
- is best subscribed by a doctor (you can buy it at your pharmacy but at 4times the cost)
- on the bottle it says that you shouldn't use it 4 weeks after opening

On the last one can be given a turn. I have the 125ml which is the big bottle but there are smaller bottles as well. So it's best to let your doctor subscribe the small bottle on seperate doctors notes. That's what I plan on doing in the future.

If you suffer from dandruff and haven't been able to make it dissapear with other shampoos, ask about this when you visit your doctor. It's worth a shot, I'm glad I tried it and I will continue to use this every now and then when I need to - thanks to my dermatologist for the great tip!

Today is my last haul girls, before I start Project X Pan. I decided for myself that I'd better finish some stuff before buying new things, merely for my own conscience. I tend to use a product for a long time and when I nearly run out of it I quit using it just to preserve it. I have a lot of these products, I don't know why I do this but it's time for a change. I'm really curious as to how many of these products I can find scattered around here. But for now let's enjoy my Avon haul, which featured plenty of new stuff...

A new Avon polish called Luxe Lavender, from their limited summer line, I'm fan of pastels. Above a supershock liner in browngold. And 3 lipglosses, they were finally on sale (normally they cost about 10euros which has been holding me off from ordering them): 1 from the intense line with more pigment and 2 from the shine line.

We are descendants of very hairy people, back in those prehistoric days people had hair all over, with purpose of warmth and dirtpreventing and such... As the climate began to change, so did our hair and it minimized but still occured on several necessary places as it does today... But, us girls, we do not like all this hair - legs, armpits, lip, etc- we like to have it gone. I also live in this 'gone' department. And then we come to my eyebrows, who obviously are prehistoric in some way. If I don't do anything about them I look bewildered, they become very thick...

When I was in highschool I used to use my mothers tweezers (just a random no brand thing) but it was quite difficult to use and I occasionaly had a little wound from trying to tweeze too hard - not grabbing the hair but my skin. Later on I bought somewhat the same tweezer for myself and went on with the hard tweezing until 2 years ago... I had been reading a lot on blogs and decided I wanted to invest in a Tweezerman Slant Tweezer, normal version, but at that time they weren't available in my country so I had to buy them online. I quickly found them and chose a colour, sky. A week later, the Tweezer was mine and I was so impressed with it, tweezing became so much easier. It grabs almost every hair, doesn't leave wounds and works so precise - just love it!


It isn't cheap, its only downside, I paid 20$ and ordered from Strawberrynet, buying them in a store in Europe is more expensive though (Belgium - IciParis, around 20euros). They also offer a wide range of similar products, depending on your brows needs. On a side note, they also offer a special service: free sharpening. If you feel your tweezers ends are in for a treat you can fill in a form, post it along with your tweezer and they sharpen it for free and sent it back to you. Something really special, I'm certainly going to try it, but for now my Tweezer still looks like new!

I've had mine for 2 years now and it's still in good condition, it's worth investing in it. The price may frighten you, I felt the same way, but I'm glad a took the risk. I cannot live without mine anymore...

A while back I shared my MAC lipstick problem with you and told in the comments that I was going to send it back to ACW and get a new lipstick. This is their policy that can be read on their site. Well, it arrived today (same lipstick, colour Myth) along with 2 goodies... lovely gesture!

Only too bad that the Eye Bright Kit from Pixi doesn't suit my skin tone, so I'll be sure to include it in a giveaway soon. The other product is a sealer that turns eyeshadow into eyeliner when used on a brush, really curious to this one! In the end I only had to pay the postage for the lipstick, an envelope which cost me 1 or 2 euros. Good customer service from ACW, don't be afraid to contact them if something is wrong with your order.

Quite some time ago I talked about the exclusive brand of By Terry and shared my products with you. She offers make-up and skincare, both in the high end department. I've already talked about her make-up, today it's time for an item from her skincare line of Roses. I love the scent of Roses and the packaging of this line is very beautifull, a lovely soft pink all over...

A radiance booster par excellence, this fondant mask restores freshness and radiance to tired, dry and devitalized skin. Bursting with premium botanical extracts, its hydra-calming formula replenishes, smoothes and infuses the epidermis with softness and serenity. Its rich and creamy texture has a relaxing effect and plunges the face into a revitalizing comforting bath with an instant smoothing effect. Supple, silky and hydrated, the skin appears plumped up and illuminated with a rosy glow. The features are relaxed and the complexion perfectly even with restored clarity.

A lovely pink tube packaging with engraved letters on it, hello luxurious feeling - for 55euro/100ml. The cream itself is quite thick and also has a light pink colour. When squeezing it out of the tube, the scent hits your nose and it's perfect! The best roses scent ever, I could sniff on it all day... Apart from having a great scent, let's have a closer look at it.

Make sure you don't hit my cheek!! I apply a thick layer of this cream (picture above shows when a lot has sunk in already) and leave it on for as long as I have time, usually about half an hour. It doesn't come with a specific time so just adjust to your likings. When applying the cream I'm definitely aware of its freshness, it's creamy and the scent works relaxing. After half an hour I remove what's left with a few cotton pads. My skin feels hydrated and very soft/supple. The remains of the cream leave your skin glowing, but this is only temporary. If you wash it off, your glow is gone...

The goods: heavenly scent, rich (I have dry skin), relaxes, 100ml tube

The bads: price, glow is temporary, contains perfume

Overall this is a good masque, I just wish it wasn't so expensive, which doesn't make it recommendable for regular use. I would only use this on special occasions before your make-up, so you can benefit from the glow if you're willing to spend some. It does contain perfume, but my sensitive skin didn't get irritated.

I haven't come across an equally good masque with a scent I like, so I might repurchase this one to use once in a while. You do get 100ml *trying to justify me buying it*!

Yet another haul containing make-up and skincare, with some new brands - to me at least -! I might start project 10 pan soon... I've been buying too much lately!

First up I did a NYX order containing 2 cream blushes (rose petal, boho chic) and 2 powder blushes (angel, peach), I'm a huge fan of blushes and just had to try these. These are my first NYX products by the way, just hadn't come around to ordering them in the past.

Here are the promises of these products (all 9ml):

• Cuticle Remover: overgrown cuticles inhibit nail growth. Trind Cuticle Remover softens the cuticles and enables you to easily remove overgrown cuticles with the Trind (splinter free) Manicure Sticks. Your nails will grow visibly better.
• Cuticle Balsem: do you have dry cuticles? Or do you suffer from hangnails (painful pieces of horned skin around the cuticles that are very painful and in worst case van even cause infections) on a regular basis? Trind brings the solution!
• Nail Balsem: do you suffer from nails that won’t grow or do you suffer from brittle and dry nails? Trind Nail Balsam is the perfect moisturizer for example when your nails break or split.
• Trind Nail Repair is an effective nail strengthener which makes your nails strong and keeps them supple at the same time.

This remover is intented to be used once a month with the manicure sticks that come with it - this bottle will last you a very long time because you don't need much of it. I've used it 2 or 3 times so far as my cuticles don't overgrow that much but safe to say it does its job. Apply the product on the cuticles, let it soak in and afterwards they can easily be removed. It is a soft product and you won't wound yourself, which is why I like it. I don't actually notice my nails growing faster because of this...

The cuticle balsem has a lovely pink colour and smells delicious, I just love using it because of its scent... Again, apply on cuticles, let it soak in and afterwards massage the rest of it into your cuticles. My cuticles aren't particular dry, just normal I guess, so I don't use this product daily as Trind recommends. I use it once a week when I file my nails and again it gets the job done. It moisturizes your cuticles, leaves them soft and a lovely scent lingers afterwards. Depending on how much you use it, this will last me quite long as well.

Then onto the nail balsem, one of my beloved nail products! This one also smells good but can't beat the cuticle smell :). It moisturizes your nails and therefore leaves them less dry/brittle, hence the dissapearing of split ends. And it's true, it fulfills its promises. I always apply this after I've taken a bath which leaves my nails dry with a white cast. I then apply this product, let it soak in for a few minutes and massage the rest into my nails. Afterwards my nails look perfectly healthy with a lovely scent to them. I use it at least once a week but you don't need that much of it, depending on how long your nails are.

Lastly, the Nail Repair. As you can see I'm almost out of it, but I already have another bottle in my closset waiting to be opened. So yes, I like this product. Now, don't panic because this bottle is almost empty. Trind recommends that for 2 weeks in a row you have to take it off and apply it daily - along with the Nail Balsem. Which I did for for 4 weeks, because I wanted optimal benefit from it. So that's 28uses from those weeks only. Afterwards I went to once a week, as recommended. This product has made my nails stronger and it is also a very good base for polish. If I use a dark polish I use 2 coats of this base. My nails are less orange/yellow and I'm not afraid to appear with a clear base in public anymore. It applies easily and dries within a few minutes. Only downside I'm having now is that it's getting impossible to apply it. The remains, about 1/4, have become very thick and it's not easy to get product on the brush and apply it. I might use it a few more times before it goes into the bin. Defintely something Trind has to work on, as I don't like to waste product.

Conclusion time:
Overall my star products are the Nail Balsem and the Nail Repair, as they have fulfilled my needs. I don't have split ends anymore and my bare nails don't look dry. The cuticle products are also good but less necessary for me. If you are on the lookout for a cure for dry nails that chip, look into this line! I'm already sold...

Trind can be purchased in several drugstores or online. They also give information on their website about shops. All products are priced around 10euros/each.