Week In Pictures # 21

Hello Hello and welcome back to your regular Week in Pictures schedule! This week was half London and half home, so it will have some London pictures in it, but stay tuned because next week the London Photo Diary will be up in its entirety. It was really really lovely to meet up with Grace and Kat who almost gave me a chocolate happy stroke in Liberty.

A respectable Monday begins with Pimm's O'Clock / And continues with rose lemonade.Delicious.

One cannot ignore Ben / The coconuts that almost killed my friend

Liberty London: What a department store should look like / And then the chocolate began...

My OCD was very content with this display / Shakespeare...and his floating head

The INCREDIBLE creations I got to wear yesterday / With the less than comfy shoes and the overdose of energy drinks

Those shoes! So much detail / Happy conclusion of a summer night

Hope you had a great week and a better one to follow! And stay tuned for the humongousness of London pics I'll have up next week 

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New Favorite: Statement Jewelry

All my life I've been careful with the size and degree of ostentatiousness of my accessories and the choice had always fallen on "less is more". Only recently I've realized that things can go the other way around and a well picked "more" can actually be the better "less". If that makes sense. 
Luck has had it, that I've managed to find some great pieces along the way so I figured it would be nice to share them with you.

Never have I been a true fan of gold, but it seems that with age *cough* that also develops.Truth is, if you use gold well, it can look amazing. The pieces that I have here are mish-mash of things like the necklace to the left from Accessorize, the Forever 21 bracelet, a lot of H&M rings, the silver necklace in the right corner that I know I got in the Netherlands but cannot remember the name of the place, and my favorite, the silver and ruby necklace from Tibet. I know that's not a statement piece per se, but it's very dear to me as I've always had a weird attraction to Tibet.

And here are my newest babies, the feather wrap one being my absolute favorite at the moment. It looks gorgeous on any finger! What I have yet to find and add to my collection are finger tip rings. The range of designs I've found really weren't cute at all, but as soon as I find great ones, I'll proudly present them to you. Unless you know a nice place in the world of the online where I could find some?

But how about you, do you like the big bling trend?                            




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The Real Kajal

At one point or another we have all used a kohl pencil for your eyes. Either for contouring or for completing a smokey eye look, the handy dandy black pencil is something most women put in the must-have category. Well, it was only last week that I realized the true shape and form that the Kajal comes in.Kajal is simply the hindi name for what we call Kohl.
The friend I went with to London took out a lipstick looking thing out of her purse and aimed it towards the eye. You can imagine the look on my face at that point. Not to mention the fact that a black, round-topped pyramid seemed to appear out of the package. 

She then explained that she had gotten it from a friend who had it from pure Indian sources and that this is the actual shape they make it in there.
Now, beside the fact that it was a creamy piece of heaven, it was also deep deep dark and did not seem to want to smudge.

Here's how Wikipedia says it is prepared:

Preparation of homemade kajal begins with dipping a clean, white, thin muslin cloth, about four by four inches square, in sandalwoodpaste or the juice of Alstonia scholaris (Manjal karisilanganni), which is then dried in the shade. This dip and dry process is done all day long. After sunset, a wick is made out of the cloth, which is used to light a mud lamp filled with castor oil. A brass vessel is kept over the lamp, leaving a little gap, just enough for the oxygen to aid the burning of the lamp. This is left burning overnight. In the morning, one or two drops of pure ghee (clarified cow's butter) or castor oil is added to the soot which now lines the brass vessel. It is then stored in a clean dry box. 

Don't know about you but that sounds pretty magnificent and so much better than the things we usually put on our eyes. Not to mention how impressed I was with its lasting power.What I can say is that if you have the chance, grab one of these original Kajal sticks and enjoy feeling like an oriental goddess.

                          

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And We're Back! - A Quick Update

Hello everyone! Got back yesterday from my London trip and managed to get  around 2 hours of sleep in 24 hours so yesterday and last night was all about catching up with that and feeling slightly less a zombie. I think I'm mildly succeeding. But I wanted to let you know new posts will be up ASAP so thanks for baring with me through the past days of un-updated existence! 

Until then, I will leave you with the St. Paul's  Pigeon, a magnificently brave and daring creature that seems to like liquorice for no apparent reason.

                             


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Farmec Spring Nail Polish Collection and Swatches

You might not have heard of farmec, and that is a pity. They are a Romanian cosmetic brand that make surprisingly great nail polishes. I think the first nail polish that lasted more than 5 days on my nails was one of theirs. And now, they were lovely enough to send me all of their polishes from the Farmec Summer Collection *.

At first glance I looked a bit  suspicious at these little bottles because the colors didn't seem that summery, BUT as soon as I swatched them, I realized they were indeed Puh-retty awesome!

All of them are two coats. Just that the bright blue one wouldn't have needed a second coat, it covered perfectly on the first try.  The texture is absolutely brilliant, no streaks, no trouble, no issues.

From left to right  you have: 
Deep Dive - a really great deep blue with a gorgeous shimmer
Pool Party - doesn't look that electric now, but on the nails it reminds me of Nails Inc. Baker Street
Spring Break - a green that looks much deeper in the bottle but turns awesome on the nail
Exotic Dream - one of those coral reds that everyone should have at hand for summer
Flip Flop - definitely the girly one of the bunch but so pretty on the nails.Not pink, not neutral and not red.        Just pretty.
                            
If you live in Romania, you have a list of shops that carry the polishes Right Here , if not, you can always get them online on the Farmec Website.
So what do you think of these nice colors?





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My Travel Skincare Mini Kit

By the time you read this, I'll be in London so you will also notice less posting until sometime next week. But for that trip, and because I'm only traveling with hand luggage, I need some minis for my face to stay happy. 
I didn't really find all of the things that I use, for example, you will see my Vichy Eye Makeup Remover replaced with one from Sephora. Not as gentle on the eyes as Vichy but definitely gets the job done.
The Bioderma Sensibio has also been replaced with two Micellar Waters from Vichy. Why, you ask? Well because I couldn't find minis of the exact products I was looking for.

                             

Here's the List:

- Vichy Normaderm Micellar Water

- Vichy 3 in 1 Purete Thermale Micellar Water

- Sephora Waterproof Eye Make-Up Remover

- Mario Badescu Cleansing Milk

- Mario Badescu Ceramide Eye Gel (very handy for tired eyes that I always seem to have)

- Mario Badescu Honey Moisturizer

- Mario Badescu Caviar Night Cream

- MOA Balm ( cannot travel without this )

- Mario Badescu Enzyme Revitalizing Mask

- REN Biomimetic Lip Balm

I'm quite glad I managed to cover all my bases and actually find minis or sample sizes of my favorite things. You can see I put a lot in the "face cleaning" section because that is the most important thing to me: having a clean face.

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Monday Blues : The Favorite Manicures

There was going to be an actual post with an actual new manicure. Until I deleted it off my card after I took the nail polish off, of course. Cause that's how I roll. In a remarkable manner.

So then I figured, it would be a good idea to show you some of the manicures I am utterly proud of. The ones I wore and stared down at my hands as much as I had the chance because they were so pretty. And of course blue!

Now first up, can you tell what my favorite nail polish color is yet? No? You sure? Take a better look. Gaze deeply into the pool of Orly smiling back at you.

That's right: Orly Gumdrop

Let's begin with some gold on top and might I say, it looks quite nice. The whole post is HERE in case you missed it.

Then, my absolute favorite of the bunch: the geometric tips. Here's the link to that post in case you wanna know how it was made.

And then, the cuties of the bunch, the gradient dots. And hey, I even used another polish besides Orly's Gumdrop! You can find that post HERE 

                              

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Week in Pictures # 20

Hello Summer! is what I want this week to be themed. 33C and plenty o'sun has ensured a happy week-end. Not to mention the beauty expo happening yesterday and today which has made me a very happy camper. I have finally managed to find an eyebrow pencil that fits my color spot on and it was not an easy feat. So thank you Inglot and Inglot lady for thy hard work. 
A quick head's up also: there don't be a Week In Pictures post next week because I'll be in London and deprived of my laptop by choice, but I'll make it up double when I get back, so don't worry.

The sweet manfriend came home all smiles with this bunch of roses last week / On Monday I needed a break from work so the computers ended up being Loki'd (if you're unfamiliar with what Loki'd is, Here's the Video ) 

You know me, the eternal sunset fan /  My new bar best buddies

Inglot stand, you pretty thing / The Chanel bottle nobody has the heart to finish

  

Went all out with the lilac on my toes / Does seem that I'm all set with Mario Badescu things to try   

Don't forget Google Reader is gonna be gone in a while so make sure you jump over to Bloglovin while you have the chance.

             

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Do It While You Can!

Well folks, it's almost the end of June and that means Google Reader  is about to leave us. It also means that if you haven't done backup of the blogs you follow yet, you might not find them anymore starting next month. So that's why, I'd like to give you the saving option: Bloglovin

I've always liked Bloglovin more as there is more structure and you can follow any blog on any platform with just one account.  So if you want to keep seeing my cupcakes, nails and other tidbits here's the link for you:

 

Just Click on the little Lady and you will be able to follow me on Bloglovin.

Look forward to greeting you from now on with my Bloglovin' smile! :)

                             





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My Little Obsession : Pots for Storage

Storage is a hard thing to find, and especially pretty storage. So my easy solution, for a while now, has been to find pretty pots and use them for all different kinds of things 

                            
This gorgeous lavender pot came as a 2 in 1 deal, with a smaller one inside the bigger pot. In this case, I'm actually using the small pot for a plant but the bigger one...oh a bright future is in store(age) for it!

Then we have these incredibly lucky finds! They were sitting there on a shelf in a home decor shop and while passing my my neck kinda stayed behind, like in one of those cartoons where the face goes around the corner from the body to take another look. How pretty are these things! I now use them for make-up storage. One is for brushes and the other for my most used things.

And of course, the sick pot. Well, that was a bad way to put it, but it has held my essentials while I had the flu. Now it has some nail things and a hand cream because I tend to get an urge to moisturize my hands before bed. It's still sitting on my bedside table and it has the perfect size, shape and look for it.
I'm sure I would have never found any actual storage to fulfill the roles as great.

How about you, do you use pots the same way I do?





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Summer Gradient Nails

Besides dotting, I'm also a sponger. As disturbing as that may sound, it simply means I like to sponge polish on for that nice faded effect. 

Which is basically what I did here also, but this time I tried the 4- color approach. Usually I take a base color and dip a sponge in the color I want on the top but since I was using 4 colors now, I went for the "paint it on the sponge" approach. Let me tell you, it was messy!
Spent more time cleaning up than actually putting the color on my nails.  

Initially I wanted it to be just hues of blue but I'm quite proud for throwing the yellow polish in the mix as well, it makes it all just a wee bit better,does't it? Gives it a proper summer feel.

And now, for the polishes I've used:

The base was the currently numberless white polish from Kallos. It may have had a number in its young days, but by now it's lost. Then there's China Glaze Sunday Funday, Orly Gumdrop, Sally Hansen The Real Teal and Sally Hansen Yellow Kitty.


Tell me, would you like me to make a tutorial on the "making of" this thing? It's not that hard but I suppose some might be interested.

                 
                   And don't forget to check out the Summer inspired GIVEAWAY I have going on!

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Week in Pictures # 19

Can you believe it's been 19 weeks already? I remember starting this thinking "this is fun, I should keep doing this" , and now look at it!This week has been quite productive, especially since I'm finally over and done with my cold and managed to get some running and biking in. There is no greater feeling than making your body work and then resting while still being completely energized. I really encourage anybody to try it and see how great it feels after. I know everyone says that and I know it's hard in the beginning, but with some perseverance you will be one very happy camper.
That was the motivational part of the story, now for the picture part

                             

You might have noticed my love for sunsets by now | The essentials

It has been the week of oatmeal for sure | This is actually the view from my livingroom 

Overdosed on these things | Violet Chocolate? Mais oui!

The new pretty pots I cannot wait to use |  If I could take pictures of the sky for a living, I'd be set

                  And don't forget to check out the Summer inspired GIVEAWAY I have going on!

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Top Tracks Of The Month

This month has been pretty full of new songs and a couple I've been dusting off and playing a lot. Basically, the way I pick my new worthy songs is: Can I run on them?
Of course there are usually many more criteria but since, once spring is here I finally can go running outside again, it plays a pretty big part in picking favorites.

Best example is the following song. I has the perfect rhythm to go with great running. When I'm outside I obviously don't time myself, but when I'm on the treadmill I can see my speed and time and with this song, I've been going on insane speeds without my lungs breaking. This qualifies as my ultimate running song.

*Some of these you will need to watch on Youtube as they don't want to be embedded
Click on each to see which one works that way*

Macklemore - Can't Hold Us

Then, once summer happens, I go into a feelgood music phase that needs to have a proper groove in songs. The following two songs are pretty much the definition of that. Especially the Daft Punk one, that has probably been specifically created to get that 70s sound back.

Daft Punk Ft. Pharrell Williams - Get Lucky 

Naughty Boy - La La La

Then there's a song I have on replay at work. It's basically one of those songs that makes you get things done. As far as motivating tunes go, and songs that make you feel pretty badass and powerful, I don't think there's many that can top this one.It's also a good one when you're pissed off, as it somehow makes the anger dissipate, which is the complete opposite of what you'd expect from it.

Prodigy - Poison

The next song is all kinds of interesting, because it has a good rhythm but it's clearly not a cheesy pure dance song. If you watch the video you'll actually see a message in it but it also seems to be happy go lucky if you don't focus on content. It can basically be listened to in any mood.

Rudimental - Waiting All Night

The following song is one of those things where it's a feeling that dominates. And I'm really liking the feeling of this tune. I remember listening to it when the weather wasn't playing along and it really made things nicer.

Bastille - Pompeii

And actually there is one more song that will ruin my perfectly rounded Top  but I'll include it anyway. Not sure why I like this one but it's got a nice vibe to it that fits with spring and summer. For some reason the melody of the chorus is quite good and that whistling is spot on. Now for the rest...I could live without it, but I mean, why not?

Ke$ha - Crazy Kids 

($ee, I even wrote it grammatically correct)

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DIY Idea: Strawberry Lemonade

You might not know this but I have a bit of a fascination for sour beverages, which just makes lemonade the perfect drink. Sometimes it gets a bit too sour though, so it's time to add some sweetness to it. That's where strawberry comes in. And the combination of lemon and strawberry results in a great spring/summer treat.

                           
Not to mention that it's super easy to make. You of course need strawberries, lemons and/or limes, brown sugar and water.
To make it easier, just cut the peel of the lemon and remove the seeds, then throw it in the blender as it is. You get more of the lemon's vitamins and don't have to squeeze it trying to get all the juice out.
Add your berries and some brown sugar ( I prefer brown sugar but regular one works just fine also), top it off with water and blend that mix.

You'll be left with a yummy fresh drink for warm days or for a delicious breakfast!




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May Favorites

                         

Quite pink this month, aren't we?
I've managed to get a sorta flu last month, which has led to some magnificent revelations, like how the MOA Balm can basically do anything, from cleaning your face, to keeping it hydrated to curing rashes from constant nose blowing. I'm not sure there's enough space here to go on about how incredibly grateful I am to this thing.
Then  we have the oils, one that is almost empty and in need of refilling is the Burt's Bees Lemon & Vitamin E Body Oil. I'm quite sure I will pledge allegiance to Burt's Bees soon.
The generic Castor Oil has also proven to be a grand ol' invention of nature. Apply it on lashes and brows and it will make them fuller and stronger. Same goes for your hair and the hardening part for the nails. I will say though, I heard stories of wild hair appearing anywhere this oil touched the skin. I'm here to tell you "not really". It takes a while for this thing to have effect, so don't panic if you drop oil on your chin. No goatee will pop up.
A surprising favorite is the L'Erbolario Rose Shower Gel. I say surprising because its smell reminds me more of hospital and almost not at all of rose, but it has such great ingredients and leaves the skin so nice that I've been tempted to ignore the sanitary smell.
The nails have seen a significant increase of Orly Gumdrop use, as you can see on my nails here, here and more recently here.
And of course: the face. I'm still using the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream and my one true lash friend, the Eyeko Fat Brush Mascara. Both still impressing me a long time into using them. You can read the respective reviews by clicking the links and I must say, my opinion has only improved since.

And what are some of your favorites?





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Geometric Tips - The New French Manicure

This week I've been hooked on Pinterest. Even got my mother a Pinterest account and the sheer fact that my mother is surfin the web is a miracle in itself. So you can imagine that picking Pinterest as her go-to account is a big deal.
In any case, on Pinterest, apart from bunnies and food, I have been looking at nails. What a great place for ideas it is! Well, the fact is that I've seen a lot of geometric manicures happen so I wanted to do my little twist on it. Which meant, just base coat and then a nice color on the tips. I'm really not a fan of tips of any sort, especially since the so gracious french tip has been turned into an atrocity. But this, I must say, is a very flattering thing. It elongates any nail and makes it even look "thinner", or you know, less wide.

What do you think?
To my surprise, I think it turned out really well and all you need is scotch tape! I mean ok, it takes some practicing with the left hand, but even a mildly botched up manicure on my right still looks good.

Of course you can do this with a color underneath also, but I seem to have a little fascination with this splash of color on a naked nail.

And with that being said, let's take a peek at what everyone else did to get their blues on today!


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                And don't forget to check out the Summer inspired GIVEAWAY I have going on!