My cheesy New Year msg

I've been a lazy blogger lately, but I have many many awesome exciting posts to write in new year!! Including 'tips how to lose weight' (you'll thank me later :P), '2012 favourites' and I have planned 2 makeup series.

I want to say thank you for being part of my team, commenting, reading, encouraging ... I can say I've made many friends during this year, I am so thankful and grateful for each and everyone of you! I love you!
Year 2012 was amazing, I bet 2013 will be even more awesome!

I want to finish this year gracefully, remembering only good things, so I would like you to write 3 best things you did/happened to you this year.
My turn: I quit my job, I started writing posts in English + started posting more regularly and I got a Lasik surgery. :))

I wish you all the best in upcoming year. Love people around you and most importantly, love yourself. Happy New Year!! ❤

Kisses ^^

Weekly makeup tag: Festive holiday

Another Wednesday, another makeup tag :)

This week's theme was "festive holiday", makeup suitable for holiday season, not just Christmas. I wanted to incorporate green and red, but also include darker colours with shimmah shimmah :). I wore this makeup on Monday, although I wasn't too happy with it, I decided to post it anyways, since yesterday I was too lazy to take a picture of my makeup. :)

Check out what other lovely ladies created on Aqeela's blog: click

Eyes:

- Artdeco eyeshadow 602

- Artdeco eyeshadow 49

- Bella Pierre pigment Tulip applied with Kiko mixing solution

- Barry M Bold black waterproof eyeliner

- Catrice Lashes to kill mascara 

- Sleek Au Naturel cappuccino & bark for eyebrows

Face:

- Missha BB cream

- Bourjois Healthy mix concealer

- MUA Bronzed perfection

- Essence Shimmer powder 01 prettylicious

Lips:

- Catrice 100 Lobster love 

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that you spend it with your loved ones. Sending you love, hugs and kisses.

<3

Anti-Christmas makeup look (collaboration with Gone2RehabBRB)

There are probably one billion tutorials, posts and videos on Holiday looks, so I decided to do something different, something not suitable for Christmas/holidays. And it's much harder than you think! So I went with black eyeshadow with pop of colour on the bottom lash line and dark lips. No green, no red, no glitter, no metallics! This is what I came up with:

Btw, this is a collaboration with Vanesa from Gone2RehabBRB. Check out what she created ;) CLICK.

Eyes:

- NYX jumbo pencil Black bean & Milk

- black matte eyeshadow Sleek Au Naturel

- Essence pigment WOW It's orange!

- Barry M Bold black waterproof eyeliner

- Catrice Lashes to kill mascara

- Catrice 350 Starlight Expresso - eyebrows

Face:

- Essence Clear&matt foundation

- Bourjois Healthy mix concealer

- Catrice setting powder

- MUA Bronzed perfection

Lips: 

- Artdeco Soft  Lip liner waterproof 91

- Catrice Ultimate colour Tell me Berry-tale

My camera wasn't cooperating with me today! ^^

Anyways, you can be the judge and tell me if this look is anti-Christmas/anti-holiday enough :)

Ta-ta!

New Dawn Patchouli Healer REVIEW

One day I was searching for an "anti-wrinkle cream" on eBay (better to prevent than heal when it's too late!) and found New Dawn Patchouli healer in travel/sample size. The product (and the shop in general) has many great feedback, so I decided to try one. I was really surprised! In a positive way of course. Not so long ago, I bought the bigger size :)

250 ml. 

New Dawn Patchouli Healer is made out of certified organic ingredients. is hand made and it's not tasted on animals. It's a face and body moisturiser, I mostly use it on my face before bed time. It has light texture. I can have quite dry skin in the winter time, but for now this works well, I use Moa balm if I need extra moisture (review here).

It claims it heals stretchmarks, acne scaring, wrinkles, scars, chapped skin ...  

I've been using it for more than 2 months now and I'm super excited what has done to my skin. I have had black heads on my nose since I remember. And also I have them on my cheeks, forehead and chin. This moisturizer really made my pores smaller! My overall skin texture is different: it's silky smooth and some scaring I had from picking my pimples (yeah, bad thing to do, I know!) are fading away. My skin is more healthy looking and more radiant.

I use one pump after I cleaned my face in the evening. It glides on smoothly, texture is quite light, so if you have really dry skin, this maybe won't be enough moisturizing. At first, I felt some tingling, which didn't bother me, I just assumed that means it's working its magic. Now that my skin got used to it, I don't feel any tingling, but I still see it's working :). 

It comes in a plastic packaging and I'm so happy it has a pump, so it's more hygienic that way. I am not a big fan of moisturizers in a jar. The smell is not that strong, but definitely noticeable, it goes away soon once you applied it. Patchouli is a herb from mint family, so if you are allergic to essential oils, this product is probably not for you then. But I have sensitive skin, and I haven't had any problems or allergy reactions to it.

Overall, I think it's a great product, suitable for all skin types and it works :).

You can buy a travel size (25 ml) one here: click and 250 ml here: click.

Official eBay shop: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/New-Dawn-Handmade-Soap.

I'm super excited to try more products from them! :)

Have you tried any of their products? What are you using as a night moisturiser?

Have a nice day! :))

Weekly makeup tag: Geisha

I love Wednesday's, how about you? :)
This week's theme was Geisha. I already did one Geisha look for Halloween (check it out here), this time I skipped white face, and I also did a modern version of it, because traditional Geisha makeup is not that challenging (it's still beautiful, don't get me wrong).

Check out Aqeela's (momma of weekly makeup tag) blog, and see what have other participants created :) CLICK.

Face:

- Missha BB cream

- Bourjois Healthy mix concealer

- Artdeco setting powder

- darkest red eyeshadow from Coastal Scents 88 palette for contour

Eyes:

- Coastal Scents 88 palette (darkest red, pink and the lightest eyeshadow; black and red for eyebrows)

- Essence gel eyeliner

- Artdeco All in one mascara

- Boujois eye pencil

- Elf falsies 1713, #D19

- Bella Pierre pigment Tulip on top of Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy

Lips:

- Bourjois lip pencil 20 rouge soyeux

- Fyrinnae Dragon's blood

Hope you like it.

 Have a lovely Wednesday!!

Recipe: Cabbage roll-ups/wraps

Yesterday I mentioned on my Twitter what I ate for dinner and some of you asked me for the recipe because you need more ideas for healthy meals. So, here it is: my famous (or not so famous :P) vegan cabbage roll-ups, wrap-ups, wrap or however you'd like to call them.

Like I said, it's healthy, super easy to prepare, it takes around 15 minutes and I've been preparing it at least 2 times a week, it always tasted different and you can improvise a lot. :)

Ingredients:
- cabbage head,
- mixed veggies (I used: aubergine/eggplant, onion, garlic, carrot, brussels sprouts, green pepper)
- beans,
- salt & pepper (any other spices according to your taste),
- extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil.

Preparation:

Firstly, you put whole cabbage head (is this correct? :P) in a bowl, boil water and pour it in a bowl with cabbage in it. It should be completely covered. You leave it for about 10 minutes, this will make leafs softer so you can unwrap them without breaking (although I still manage to break them sometimes ^^).

Meanwhile you can prepare your filling. Chop all vegetables and put them in a pan with heated olive oil (or coconut oil). I left only carrot and use a skin peeler to get really thin slices and I add them at the end. Add salt, pepper and any other spices. Mix few times while cooking. Like I said, I add thin slices of carrot last 5 minutes (or less) of cooking and in last minute I add beans (1/3 of can). Mix again.

Drain you cabbage head, let is cool a little (you can pour cool water over it) and carefully peel some leafs. It depends on how your cabbage head is big/small, if it's bigger, use only one leaf, if it's smaller use two or three leafs (for one person).
You put leafs on a plate and fill them with veggies. I eat wraps with my hands just like a sandwich. Veggies will probably fall out of your wrap and you will have dirts hands, so I don't recommend eatting that on a first date :P.

Other options:
You can even just boil your veggies or fill them with a salad. Instead of beans you can use other lean proteins, such as: white meat, salmon, eggs, tofu, quinoa ... I like using beans, because I am a vegetarian and I always have beans at home. Sometimes I even add avocado and tomatoes.

Tell me how it turns out if you try it!

Enjoy your meal! Bon apetit!

Better looking skin without skin care PART 2

I already posted "Get a better looking skin without skin care" a while ago (you can read it here), but some of you mentioned some other points in the comments and I came up with some points, so I decided to do part 2 :).

1. Eat clean. Processed food is toxic for your body and that also shows in your skin (sooner or later). Eat a lot of fresh veggies, fruits, healthy fats, lean protein, good carbs ... Unhealthy diet can cause many skin issues - pimples, acne, premature aging, dry skin, skin doesn't have any "glow", etc. You get the picture.

2. Of course, drinking plenty of water is also important. Drinking water helps you clear up your skin, flushes out toxins, hydrates your skin and gives overall healthy glow. But remember that doesn't happen overnight, try to drink only water for a week (with healthy balanced diet of course) and you will see good effects on your skin already. Sugary drinks, sodas, sweetened juices are a no-no.

3. Avoid alcohol, drugs and smoking. Alcohol dehydrates your whole body, causes dull looking skin, enlarges blood vessels, irritates the skin, blemishes and blotchy bumps appear, causes wrinkles ...
Don't do drugs, drugs are bad, mmm-kay? (big South Park fan :)). Have you seen what happened to Lindsey Lohan?
And have you ever seen smoker with beautiful dewy skin without deep wrinkles? (someone who smokes for longer period of time) ... I thought so.

4. You won't believe it, but exercising helps, too. It increases blood flow, which nourishes skin cells and keeps them vital. Defined muscles help you look better overall, too. :)

5. Protect your skin from the sun, you don't want skin cancer and premature aging, do you? Don't sunbathe for a long period of time, stay hydrated when you are out in the sun, wear sunglasses and Ph-balanced sun screen.

6. Last but not least, is face yoga and massage. Gravitation is a bitch, isn't it? Face yoga and massaging  help with blood circulation, your skin gets tighter, reduces cellulite, prevents wrinkles, stretchmarks ...

Do you have any more ideas/suggestions how to get a better looking skin? Share them with me in a comment section, share them on facebook or tweet them to me, would love to hear them! :)

FOTD: Sorceress

I was kinda lazy with my makeup today, so I did single eyeshadow smokey eyes because it0s so easy to do :). I used Fyrinnae cosmetics loose eyeshadow in Arcane Magic: Sorceress, which I love! I like doing single eyeshadow smokey eyes. Do you?

Picture taken with flashlight.

Eyes:
- Artdeco Eyeshadow base
- Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
- Fyrinnae Arcane Magic: Sorceress loose eyeshadow
- Catrice face powder to blend the eyeshadow
- Catrice Lashes to kill mascara
- Avon Super shock gel eyeliner
- Catrice single eyeshadow in Starlight Expresso for brows

Face:
- Bourjois Healthy mix foundation & conceler
- Catrice Transparent fixing powder
- NYX Taupe contour
- MUA blusher shade 2

Lips:
- Catrice Ultimate colour 130 Frozen Rose

Thank you Vanesa from Gone2Rehabbrb, who introduced me to this cosmetic line :)
You can check their website here: click.

Have a nice weekend!

Lippie of the day: NYX Twist

I love rearranging my makeup, because I always rediscover some products I've been neglecting. I went through my lipstick collection last week and found this NYX one.

I've decided to wear it today. It's in colour LSS 633 TWIST.

It's reddish brownish orange-y colour (I suck at describing) with teeny tiny gold shimmer in it. I prefer matte lipstick in general, I actually hate anything shimmery or glittery on my lips, but I started liking this one for some reason.

It has really creamy texture, it applies smoothly, you slightly feel shimmer on your lips if you squeeze them together. It wears off even if you don't drink or eat, so you'll need to reapply it.
Other than that I think it's a really autumn/fall colour. I combined it with pretty simple eyes (blue eyeliner and black on lower lashline) and coral blush.

Do you own any of NYX lipstick? What do you think about this one?

Weekly makeup tag: butterfly

Thank you Youtube and Pinterest for inspiring me for this look :D. I was so clueless what to do for a butterfly look, searched a little for butterfly makeup and found "ice butterfly" and decided to recreate it.

Check out Aqeela's blog to see what other lovely ladies created: click

Face:

- Missha BB cream

- Bourjois Healthy mix concealer

- Sleek blush Suede

Lips: 

- Revlon Lip butter Cherry Tart

                                

Eyes: 

- BeautyUK palette 

- NYX palette Smokey eyes

- BeautyUK palette Glitz

- NYX jumblo pencil Milk in water line

- Artdeco All in one mascara

- Baci falsies no. 670

- Essence Crystalliced 02 Diamond dust

- Essence liquid eyeliner waterproof

- Essence gel liner 

- smaller crystals for nail art and bigger from some old shirt :)

Eyebrows:

- matte black from NYX Smokey eyes palette

- Essence Crystalliced 02 Diamond dust

Hope you're having a lovely day!