B ♡ MAC

Hi everyone!

I hope you are all well (and if we have any readers in the UK that finished school this year, I hope all your A-level results went as you wanted!). I for one am sick, cuddled up in my old uni jumper on the couch, watching the BBC and having cups of tea brought to me by the boyfriend. Ugh.
The upside to this is that I have plenty of time for blogging. I did a few DIY's, a "what's in my make-up bag" photo shoot, a 5 piece mini-haul, aaaaand this little article here! A few days ago I was out and about in town and realized that The Hague does, contrary to what I believed, have a MAC Cosmetics counter in one of the biiiig shopping centers (right next to the Chanel counter, swoon!).
Obviously, I couldn't resist. I am trying to save money for my trip to Helsinki next week so I only got one piece: the MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in the shade Creme Cup.

From experience, i know that MAC lipsticks are my favorite out of any brand I've ever tried, and since my Creme In Your Coffee one is running out, I wanted to get another "your lips but better" kind of nude-y shade. I ended up going for Creme Cup, which is quite a pink-y nude, after remembering how lovely it looks on Sammi from beautycrush. Since the price tag for these is really high (18,50€) I wanted to pick one that I was sure I'd like with my skin shade, so I tried it on in the shop.
The formula is smooth and quite matte with the slightest shiny hint on the lips, the color come-off is a light gorgeous pink. (Sorry, you can see that I'd already used the lipstick in the below picture!)

I love the color because it is fresh and summery, and it's so easy to throw on when you're on the go, you don't need any lip liner, and if you want the pink to be even more obvious, just dab a little foundation onto your lips before you apply the lipstick (you can also dab a little powder onto the color to make it more matte, as it's a little shiny). Since it's a cremesheen, the formula is incredibly soothing and moisturizing for the lips, which I love, because it means I can wear it every day without my lips drying out, but the lasting power isn't as good as for MACs matte lipsticks and you have to reapply a few times a day and after having a meal. All in all, I am smitten. My heart forever belongs to MAC. Verdict? 10/10, will buy again and again and again.

My camera ran out of battery as I was taking these pictures, so you'll have to do with this picture from my macbook webcam to see how it looks on me! How have your holidays been so far? Have you done any naughty beauty product shopping? Let us know!

Kukee Jewelry

Hello!

I would like to finally share my Kukee experience with you. It is a small store full of trendy, super cute and super cheap accessories. The quality is impressive, I have owned some or their jewelry for months now and they are like new. You are not likely to find this jewelry somewhere in another store and certainly not for this price.
Every smaller order comes in a cute package like this one:

And when you open it, a bright pink paper appears, with a sticker saying "Thanks for your purchase". Isn't that super lovely? No bigger company would every invest so much time in packaging!

Another adorable feature is that you sometimes get a little gift item with your order! This time I got dangly feather earrings in orange. I am not as much of a fan of orange as Bianca is, but I love how big they are and you can't deny that it is very fashionable color at the moment. And I love feather earrings so much as well! This color has sold out, but the earrings are still available in blue and pink.

super cute bags!

I have ordered an open above knuckle ring, two silver above knuckle rings, a raw quartz necklace in gold (Nr. 9) and dangly feather chain earrings. You can find my unpacked items below:

My favorite piece in this order is the raw quartz necklace. I am very happy with it, I expected it to be smaller but it isn't so I am even more delighted. What bothers me is that I apparently ordered the wrong size for the two simple knuckle rings. Unfortunately they are too small, I will keep them anyway, maybe as a gift for a friend.

At the end, I have to tell you a little story about this order. I have ordered all of this once already, but the parcel obviously got lost. I have then contacted the owner and her reaction was surprisingly nice. She was so kind to resend my order and it finally reached me a week later. Thank you so much!

What is your Kukee experience? Do you have a favorite jewelry store?

Kiko Sugar Mat nail lacquer swatch & review

I have been obsessed with liquid sand manicure lately. The Barry M Textured Nail Paints in the color Kingsland Road (which is a light pink) has been in my possession for some months already, and I have fallen madly in love with it! By the way, what I find funny is how the brands can't seem to agree on one term; for OPI for example they call this kind of texture "liquid sand" and Kiko call it "sugar mat".

I have finally made my way to the shopping mall where the Kiko Cosmetics first shop in Vienna opened in May (yes, I know I'm a bit late). When I went to Berlin in 2011, I have first met this brand and was impressed of the price-performance-ratio! The nail polishes are long lasting and quick drying. That's why I decided to buy three different colors of the Sugar Mat nail lacquer collection from Kiko Cosmetics. I chose true red, mint and lilac, I own about a billion different red tones though.

My favorite color for accessories lately is mint. This one appeared really flashy, but natural light it isn't anymore.

It might seem a bit lame, but my all time favor color for nails is red. All tones of it. In summer I prefer the richer, brighter reds and in winter I choose darker red and burgundy tones more often. 

Lilac is one of the pastel tones I enjoy most. It is a really beautiful summer color. I have never been a fan of nail-polish-outfit-matching, so I wear the brightest colors with my black dresses and boring outfits, so they pimp them.

Do you like textured nail polishes? What are your favorite colors for your nails in summer?

Lipstick Sweetheart

Today I would like to present to you my absolute favorite lipstick: the Velvet Touch 86 Kitsch from Gosh Cosmetics. The lipstick looks very similar to the Crème in Your Coffee shade by MAC, also a very good lipstick that Bianca owns. I saw hers and fell in love with the color, but I thought that there must be a less expensive version of the color. After a couple of weeks of intensive search (I am a perfectionist), I finally stumbled upon this wonderful shade for half the price of the MAC version!

A mixture of plum, red and pink tones makes this lipstick perfect for every day wear. The color is very rich and intense, and also has good staying power. You only have to refresh it after a couple of hours, and even then it is not entirely gone. It can easily be worn without lip liner, too, which is great for a quick get-up-and-go styling. The look is very shiny and lives up to how it looks on the stick or on a swatch. It is also super moisturizing, which gives my lips loads of extra care. The lipsticks I usually know and own make my lips go dry after some days, which I absolutely cannot say about this one. 

I am very happy with the choice I made and carry this beauty in my bag all the time. I cannot go without it! 

What do you think about this lipstick? Do you own a similar color yourself?

Current Obsession: MONKI

Morning everyone!

 Today I thought I would do a little review of one of my current clothing brand obsessions.  Lately, I've been slightly bored with the fashion labels I usually shop from (I'm not a fan of the current photographic print floral designs, nor of the digital prints, and I'm not too fond of the whole girly floaty lace thing in pastel colors either because, well, it's not the most flattering for a girl like me!). So I've been on the look-out for an affordable brand that would make me swoon again, and I sure have found it. Via Sammi from beautycrush I've been aware of the swedish label Monki for a while, but hadn't thought of buying anything until I recently saw that ASOS started stocking some of their new collection. All I can say is: love at first sight. ASOS so far features about 35-40 items. Some of their collection does also follow the photographic / floral / digital print trend (though it's not my cup of tea, they succeed beautifully at it!). What really made my heart beat faster are the clean-cut, simple, minimal and monochrome designs. Geometric cuts, simple lines, floaty materials in black, white, cream and grey. I immediately ordered their cream/white 3/4 length sleeve jumper dress because I literally couldn't hold back - even though I was really worried that a white short boxy dress wouldn't be the best choice for my body shape.

                   

Upon opening my ASOS package I fell moooore in love. All in all, it's the perfect casual but classy summer dress. It's a bit floaty and short for a breezy freshness during the heat. It's white to keep the sun away and make your tan look darker, and the material is soft and smooth yet thick enough to warm you up on a cooler evening if you throw on a cardigan. Shockingly enough, I didn't even feel like it is too inappropriate and unflattering for my size/shape (I vary between a size 12/14).

Since falling in love with the dress, I have been browsing the Monki Online Shop and their ASOS collection every day, and there's two dozen items in my cart at all times. Monki also happens to have a super amazing sale at the moment, with prices ranging from 2/4€ for some accessories to about 10/15€ for tops and dresses. My fingers are itching - I just want to have it all! Since Monki shops are hard to come by in a lot of places in Europe, I'm incredibly excited to be heading to Helsinki in a couple of weeks to hit their two finnish stores. Let's hope I don't return with a completely empty bank account though! I was even so impatient that I just ordered their black foldover faux leather bag - great size, beautiful and slick design, absolutely perfect for traveling to Helsinki ;) - and at such a great price, too!

                     

A lovechild of the brands H&M and Cheap Monday, Monki offers typically scandinavian coolness and minimalism for really affordable prices. The quality is great, the designs meet my tastes to 100% and are perfect for both minimalists and individualists. The plain, well-cut dresses and tops offer a perfect canvas for big statement jewelry, and the prints bring a pop of color or a splash of humor to your outfit. Basically: I can't stop raving. My only advice: be careful, because their sizing is slightly odd, so that their size M for example equals a UK 14/16, so make sure to size down and check their sizing charts so you don't float in your top! I will definitely let you know what made its way into my wardrobe when I get back from Finland! Have you got any experiences with the label? What do you think?

Shop Monki here and here.