Thursday, November 28, 2013

Recipe: Stuffed apples + exciting announcement :)

Made this recipe few days ago and I loved it so much, I decided to share it with you. 

Ingredients:
- 2 apples
- handful of walnuts (or any kind of nuts)
- handful of raisins
- lemon (zest & juice)
- cinnamon
- coconut sugar (you can substitute it with honey or maple syrup or stevia)
- coconut butter

 
1. Scoop out both apples, so they get in a bowl like shape :). Set aside.
2. Put walnuts in a plastic bag and beat them with hard object until they form into smaller pieces. Chopping or grinding them in a food processor will do too, but I prefer beating them ;). Transfer them into a bowl.
3. Add raisins, dash of cinnamon, little bit of lemon zest, 2 tea spoons of coconut sugar and 1 tea spoon of lemon juice. Mix all ingredients together until well combined.


4. Fill the apples with the mixture you just did. Put 1/2 tea spoon of coconut butter on both filled apples. This will spread over them and add creaminess.
5. Transfer the apples on cookie sheet and put it in a preheated oven for 10 minutes on 175˙C. Serve and eat them while still warm :)


I love surprises, but I'm bad at keeping them secret for too long! And today's announcement is that I'm writing a cook book! Yes, my very own cook book. All recipes are healthy, vegan and gluten-free, but I also give you options how to make them vegetarian. And it will be an e-book, so it'll be easily accessible.
I have told that I'm writing a book to some people, but never really announce it out loud, so here it is :).

Tell me if you tried out the recipe and how you liked it :)

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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

The Hobbit makeup series: Elves

And finally, the last look in The Hobbit series. This one was inspired by the beautiful elves. I went with "minimalistic" makeup, clean eyes and skin, lots of white and silver shimmer, fuller brows and heavy contour.

Check out other looks I did for The hobbit series:

Gandalf the Grey: CLICK
Shire: CLICK
The Ring: CLICK.







Products used:
- Bourjois Healthy mix serum
- Bourjois Healthy mix concelaer
- NYX blush Taupe
- Catrice Starlight cappucino
- Eye like ... summer day eyeshadow palette Summer days
- Essence pigment 02 Diamond dust
- Max Factor masterpiece HD mascara
- Essence Liquid ink eyelinerr waterproof
- MUA eyeshadow shade 16 - matt
- Revlon lipbutter 060 Gumdrop
- Everyday minerals eye Our first date

 
Tell me which one of the looks is your favourite? :)
And fear not, I have new makeup series planned for December and I hope I'll manage to do them all, since I'm planning to blog every day of the month. Wish me luck :D

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Thursday, November 21, 2013

Current skincare

I have quite dry skin, even though my T-zone can get a little bit more greasy during the summer. My skin is also sensitive, it can get irritated quite easily, I can break out if not using right products or using dirty brushes ... It's a challenging combo, but my current skin care routine is really good for my skin, that's why I decided to share it with you.

Bare in mind, that skin care is personal, what works for me it may not work for you, same goes the other way around. For me 'less is more' works best and I'm also not using any fancy expensive products, because most of them didn't work for me.


Before bed time I always make sure I clean my makeup. For that I've been currently using Alverde clear Waschcreme. I wet my face, I put little bit of product on my hands and gently massage it into my skin, it's gentle enough to use it around the eyes as well. After I wash the product off my face, I repeat the first step to really clean my makeup-less face, so product can do its magic. If I don't wear makeup that day, I usually skip this step and go directly to step 2.

After that I pat my face with a little face towel (I have a separate towel for my face and change it every few days, so I am not putting bacteria on my face). I continue my skin care with my good trusty Kahne Witch hazel toner. It's so gentle, that I can use it even around my eyes and it gets rid of any last traces of makeup. I reviewed this product: here.


Then I apply Balea Aqua serum. This product provides extra moisture to my face, gives me nice glow and smooth skin. I let it dry for few minutes, then I apply Alverde Wildrose Nachtcreme for dry skin. I always wake up with moisturized and glowy skin, but I'll probably switch to a Argan oil for winter time, just to provide extra moisture.

Around my eyes I apply Derma E Peptides Plus Wrinkle Reverse Eye Creme. This one is probably the most expensive skin care product, but I got it on sale, because Derma E repacked their products. It provides good moisture, I've noticed that my under eye skin is less dry. But you have to be consistent with application and I usually forget to apply it. Bad Deja :)


This is my main night skin care routine, but sometimes I use exfoliant or face scrub to get rid of dead skin cells. For that I love to use Derma E Fruit Enzyme Facial Scrub with Dead Sea Salt. Even though it's a daily cleanser, I cannot use it daily, my skin is too sensitive and I will break out if I exfoliate every day, so I use it once or twice a week, depends on a season and how my skin feels.

When my skin is having a bad day (or week or two) I like to calm it down with good ol' oatmeal. Yes, you've read that right. No other product works that well for my skin as oatmeal does, I even have a little container of oatmeal in my bathroom :). I put little bit of oatmeal in my hand, wet it and massage it in my skin for good minute or so and rinse it. Sometimes I even let it sit on my face for some time. It works as an exfoliant, but it also provides moisture to my skin.


If I get a naughty pimple, I will cure it before bed time with Nixoderm. I bought it on eBay and it was really cheap. It says it cures eczema, pimples, blemishes, rash, athlete's foot, ringworm, scaling skin ... The only complain I have about this product is that it has a really strong not so pleasant smell and it tingles. Once I applied it all over my face ... I will never repeat the same mistake again :)

Every two days or so I exfoliate my lips with Everyday naturals Sumptuous lip polish or I make my own exfoliant with olive oil and sugar. I think that this step is more important for dry lips than using a lip balm.

In the morning I usually just wash my face with water, pat it dry, put some Witch hazel toner on a cotton pad, clean my face, apply Balea Aqua serum and Alverde Sensitiv Tagescreme, which also contains Witch hazel and chamomile. I'm still testing out this moisturizer, but currently I can say that it works ok. I repeat those steps before I apply my makeup during the day, if I don't apply it in the morning, which I usually don't.

As it goes for face masks ... I always forget about them and don't take time to apply them. But when I do, I usually buy those little masks for one use. Usually from Balea or Jeunesse. But my favourite masks have to be homemade masks. If you want any recipes, I can share them with you, let me know :)


Like I said: simple and inexpensive.
I hope this post helps to some of you and if you have any questions, please ask in the comment section. What product do you use?

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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Let's film YouTube videos :)

I decided to start filming (more) YouTube videos, because I am ready to challenge myself ;) My pronunciation is awkward sometimes (but I'm an awkward girl usually :D) so I hope you can understand me.



I don't promise you a video every week or so, but I'll do my best to be more consistent with filming and uploading.

Let the awkwardness begin ;)

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Sunday, November 17, 2013

The Hobbit makeup series: The Ring

It been FOREVER since I started The Hobbit makeup series, and I think it's time to finish this. This is third look in the series, you can check out other two here:

Gandalf the Grey: CLICK
Shire: CLICK.

Today's look was inspired by The Ring. Beautiful precious ring, which is represented by gold colour (glitter and gold on the lips), but it posesses you and controls you, that's why I picked black and cracks around the mouth.







Face:
- Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum
- Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer
- Elf HD powder
- NYX blush Taupe
- Sleek Au naturel (Noir)
- Essence pigment 02 smell the caramel

Eyebrows:
- Bourjois black pencil
- Sleek Au naturel (Noir)
- school glue
- NYX concelaer
- Elf HD powder

Eyes:
- Essence I <3 stage eyeshadow base
- Avon Gel eyeliner
- Sleek Au naturel (Noir)
- Essence Get big lashes mascara
- Barry M gold glitter
- Essence pigment 02 smell the caramel
- Essence Liquid ink eyeliner waterproof

Lips:
- Essence pigment 02 smell the caramel
- Rimmel Glam'eyes professional liquid liner
- Sleek Au naturel (Noir)


I hope you like it ;).
Happy Sunday <3

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Monday, November 11, 2013

Oatmeal saved my skin

I had a little break out series on my face during the summer. I was eating clean, cleaning my brushes regularly, drinking plenty of water, taking off my makeup every day before sleep ... but still I got annoying pimples and the worst part is that I get a pleasure from squeezing them. GUILTY!
Luckily, I know how to make my skin feel better and today I'll tell you how.

I use oatmeal in my skin care routine. Yup, you've read that right.



Oatmeal acts like an exfoliant, it's really gentle and moisturizes the skin.
I actually keep some oats in a plastic container in my bathroom. Make sure you clean up the mess afterwards, my mum was asking me if I ate my breakfast in bathroom :D

How do I use it?
I put some oatmeal in my hand, put some water in there and oats become softer. Then I massage it all over my face avoiding the eye area, because it's extremely delicate. I massage for about a minute or so and then rinse. You'll notice how your skin is soft, fresh and brighter. I was doing this routine for about a week and my skin got (almost) back to normal.

You can also make a face mask. You can mix your oatmeal with some yogurt or honey, apply it to your face, wait for 5-10 minutes and then rinse.

You can also use it in the same way for your body. You can just use it as a body scrub (you'll just need bigger amount) or make a bath out of it or even just for your feet or hands. You're creative people, you can figure out other innovative ways of using oatmeal on your body :)

Hope this helps to some of you!
What is your "secret" product for skin care?

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Saturday, November 9, 2013

1 year after Lasik eye surgery

Guess what day it is?! It's exactly one year asince my Lasik eye surgery! :) I already shared a lot of information about it and my experience, so today I want to share how getting rid of glasses and contact lenses benefited me. :)

Read about my experience: HERE.
Read about my recommendations: HERE.

Before surgery I was reading how most people were happy about how "free" they feel after surgery. And I have to agree with that. I don't have to think "Where are my glasses?", I don't have to calculate if I can put my lenses out before I go out again (they have to be in solution for couple of hours before you use them again), I don't have to bring solution, case for lenses or glasses with me whenever I slept over etc. If you are glasses or lens wearer and if you combine both, you know it can bothers you. Not wearing glasses and lenses allows you to be more spontaneous and stops you from over thinking. Example: when I was still wearing glasses and lenses I usally always had to think before sleeping over at someone else's place or going out after whole day of wearing lenses already.


I never talked about this issue out loud, but sometimes when I was wearing lenses, my vision went completely blurry and I had to put some fake eye drops in my eyes, even though it didn't really help a lot. I assumed that blurriness was caused by combination of makeup or unclean brushes and sun. But I got that even with clean brushes and minimal makeup or no makeup. On top of that, my right eye was watering a lot and it constantly ruining my makeup. It looked like I don't know how to apply makeup ^.^

I haven't had any issues with blurry vision or excessive watering after surgery, so I guess the problem was in contact lenses. The only problem I had after surgery were dry eyes, but I already told you that I started drinking more water for hydration. I think that problem was solved pretty quickly. And I had broken capillaries in my left eye for more than a month after surgery. But that's just me, someone else maybe won't even get broken capillaries or will heal faster.

Almost forgot to mention: you don't have to be careful about breaking your glasses anymore! This used to be one of my biggest fears, even though my glasses were plastic. They still could have got smashed in one second of not paying attention, especially if you put them on bed, couch, chair, at the end of the table ... And no more calculating when do I have to buy new lenses or new solution.







Are you thinking about getting an eye surgery? Why? Have you already got it done? Share your thoughts and experience with me :)

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