THURSDAY RAMBLINGS: My love affair with the summer

I really, really love two months in a year. December, since it means spending time with family, joyful experiences and good food, and May, because it brings the beginning of the summer. This year, I had to wait a bit longer for that, but now summer is really here and I couldn’t be happier. 

Here are ten things that make me happy in the summer, in no particular order. 

~ Long days. I am miserable during the months when I get to the office in half-darkness and leave when it’s pitch dark. I feel like a vampire and it drains all my energy. I love it when the days get longer and I can enjoy the sun for hours and hours after I get home from work.

~ The taste of great ice cream. I am super picky when it comes to ice cream and I often ask for a tiny sample before ordering my two scoops. I would say that about 8 times out of 10, it doesn’t cut it. I am quite partial to Zvezda and Lolita ice creams in Ljubljana but won’t say no to Carte D’Or, Haagen Dazs and Ben&Jerry.

~ My birthday. I am a summer baby and I always get the day off since I celebrate on the day that Slovenia won its independence. Special bonus: I can celebrate the day before with my friends and nobody has to go to work with a hangover :)

~ Wide selection of fruit for pennies. Tangerines, watermelon, strawberries and cherries. I can live off fruit for most days in the summer. I had to make some cutbacks this year because I have to think about baby M as well, but I still manage to get my fair share of the tasty fresh goodness.

My monthly make-up basket - July 2016

Originally, I was planning on doing two make-up baskets per month, but let’s face it, even I don’t have that much make-up to constantly swap items, so I am afraid that it would become rather boring. Instead, I’ll be doing this once a month and doing some additional reviews on the Monday I now have free to post whatever I like :)

So here are some of the products that I’ll be using and hopefully loving for the next few weeks.

Starting with the face, I’ll still be using the L’Oreal Infallible primer, but I actually bought the foundation to go along with it – the L’Oreal Infallible 24h-matte (in shade Sand). I hear that the combination works well together so I’m excited to give it a go.  The shade of foundation is perhaps a tad too dark at the moment, but as I’m typing this from my seaside vacation, I’m sure that will probably change in a couple of days or so.

SUNDAY SPECIAL: My top 10 nail polishes for the summer

I love changing the color of my nails as often as I find the time (which is not that often now with the baby M around, but still often enough). Going through my collection packing up for vacation, I found myself searching for very specific polishes and instantly decided to share my pick with you. 

Starting off with the lightest shades, we’ve got Ciate Snow Virgin, Delia Coral (n. 159) and Essie Sittin’ Pretty. I would say that Ciate and Delia work well with two coats, but I’m not a big fan of the Essie formula in this particular shade. Still, it’s a lovely violet color and I am willing to make an effort. 

FRIDAY SUPERSTAR: Pfeilring crystal nail file

My nails have never been great. I suspect I'm missing a vital nutrient that would make them stronger, but so far, I've had little luck with supplements. Some make my hair grow like crazy but my nails stay more or less the same all the time. So I decided that it was time to try something else.

Lovely Tara from The beauty of nail polish suggested I go ahead and try a glass or crystal nail file. I actually ordered one from Czech republic but we had some shipping problems so unfortunately, I never got it. So I simply walked into a Muller store and bought one. I thought that it probably won't do much good anyway.

THURSDAY RAMBLINGS: My view on blogging

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while for a while, you know I have a full time job. I wouldn’t even call it a full time job, more of a 1+1 job, since it’s not unusual for me to reach 250+ hours per month. I also have different hobbies, a house, hubby and a princess kitty to take care of and quite recently, I added a baby to the mix. So it’s not like my life was boring before I started blogging. 

When I wrote the first post, I seriously doubted anyone will ever read anything I wrote. I didn’t know how to take photos (I mean, they are still not excellent, but looking back I will say that I’ve come a long way in the past two years), I didn’t know how to tag, how to address people, what information to include and so on.

Two years later, I don’t really care about blogging rules that much I like my photos as they are and I’m not willing to invest more money into new gadgets and aids to make them any better. I don’t buy subscribers on any platform. I don't really use GA. I know that people prefer shorter posts and more photos, but I don’t care about that – I will give you long, like super long posts most of the time. I love writing so that’s the way I roll – if you don’t like it, nobody is forcing you to read it.

WEDNESDAY SELECTION: Artdeco Latest Trends in Makeup

The new products that I showcase in the Wednesday selection post are more often than not something that I receive a PR notification about, but today's post is a bit different, since I got some first hand information about this line. 

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to attend the launch of a new line hosted by Artdeco and Grazia Magazine. I brought baby M along and he had a blast, being one of the two men (the other one was a baby boy one day older than him, so he was in good company) in a crowd of adoring women, meaning I had my hands free to take some good pics for you :)

The new line is all about layering - contouring and strobing, to be more precise. It includes eleven new products:

MONDAY MADNESS: NBB (New Bits and Bobs) from May - review

Two weeks ago, I published a post with all the new products I bought or received in May (*click* to view the original post). Now, it’s time for short and quick reviews of the products – if you want a more detailed review for any of the products, let me know in the comments!

The L’Oreal Make-up remover says it’s not greasy, but it definitely is. I don’t mind it as much as I thought I would. It removes my make up great, even the waterproof mascara, so I'll continue using it.

SUNDAY SPECIAL: My top 10 make-up brushes

I often get asked which brushes are my favorites – do I prefer drugstore brands or is it worth investing into more expensive brushes. I also get asked about fake brushes that you can purchase from various websites – if you want to know about my experience with those, let me know in the comments below!

Anyway, I own both drugstore and high-end brushes – too many of both, to be quite honest with you, since I love buying and trying new ones. As you will see, my favorites consist of both. These are the brushes I use on a regular day when doing my go to make-up look. I listed some prices below, but to find the best deal, check out *this post* I wrote about my favorite online stores and their offers!

FRIDAY SUPERSTAR: Grazia Beauty Award Winners 2016

This Thursday, the Slovenian issue of Grazia Magazine gave out the Beauty Awards for the first time in Slovenian history. Among 111 products, seven beauty experts chose winners in different categories. We also got to vote, but I haven’t gotten any feedback from Grazia if our votes counted in any way (will update if I find out).

Anyway, here are the winners. All the photos (which are gorgeous, are from the Grazia website, give them some love *here*).

Life changing product: Vichy Dermablend

I have not tried this product yet. It is supposed to cover minor to major imperfections, such as redness, dark circles and uneven skin surface).

I voted for: Vichy Dermablend, because Nika from Beautyfull Blog gave it a big thumbs up :)

THURSDAY RAMBLINGS: A world without hate

Let me start off this post by saying that I have a soft heart. I certainly don’t look like that, but those who know me well know this is true. I feel for humans and animals in need and I make a conscious effort to try and help in any way possible. I am lucky enough to have been born into a safe 1^st world country and a family that doesn’t struggle and if I can do a bit to make someone’s life better, I will do it.

The level of impact that sad stories have on me has multiplied by a hundred since I’ve had my little man. I feel much more grief for children who live in fear or poverty and for families that cannot afford what we consider normal everyday necessities. And above all, my heart breaks for parents who lose their children.

WEDNESDAY SELECTION: Essence trend edition SUMMER FUN

For some reason, I get the most excited about the summer and Christmas special edition make-up. I find that I’m much more willing to experiment in the summer – more color, more shimmer, more everything! 

This is why I’m on my toes waiting for the Essence The Beach house collection (*click* to find out more about it) to finally hit the stores, and while waiting for that one, I’m already looking forward to the new line called Summer fun. Essence says it includes bright colors, exciting cooling textures and must-haves for hair.

I’m always most drawn to the nail polishes. This edition includes four of them, all with a wet look effect. I wonder how pigmented these will be, especially white and pink polish, but to tell the truth I’m most excited about the turquoise polish named “Meet me at the pool”. These will retail for 1,79€.

SUNDAY SPECIAL: Knowledge is power (a.k.a. all about SPF)

The topic about sun protection is close to my heart since I inherited a skin with many birthmarks that I always need to keep an eye out for. I also didn’t pay much attention to my skin in my early 20’s and I’m trying to be better about it now.

Before we start looking at different products that can help you with keeping your skin safe, let’s start with some basics. Sunscreen helps prevent the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays to penetrate the skin. UVA and UVB rays (which sunscreens protect from) cause wrinkling and sagging of the skin and are one of the primary culprits for skin cancer. So, in short, it’s not a joke.

Wondering what SPF (sun protection factor) to use? Here’s how to interpret the numbers. First, we are talking about the length of time that the SPF will work for. If it takes your skin 20 minutes to get red, then SPF15 will prolong that times 15, so for almost 5 hours. But I don’t really find this as important, since we should be reapplying sunscreen much more often than that. In fact, it’s recommended that we reapply it every two hours and every time we do things that can get rid of the sunscreen we put on our body (going swimming, drying with a towel, sweating etc.). Many make-up products do have some SPF in it, but remember that it’s really not enough to keep your face safe!

FRIDAY SUPERSTAR: Lancome Juicy Shaker

Usually, I don’t really care about how my make-up looks on the outside. Sure, I want the packaging to be sturdy and not leak, but “pretty” or “cute” are not words I use to describe the visuals very often.

But you know what? Lancome Juicy Shaker looks like a little tumbler that needs to be “shaken, not stirred” and is one of the cutest things I’ve seen in a long while!

Although I would normally associate the phrase “flavored lip gloss” with something I’d wear in high school, I was kind of intrigued what the hype is all about. This lip gloss pairs nourishing oils with pigments, meaning it gives a soft glow and tint to your lips while keeping them nourished.

THURSDAY RAMBLINGS: Some of my favorite online stores

I love shopping online. It’s quick, easy, and convenient and luckily I’ve never had a single bad experience with any stores regarding delivery, data protection or payment. I also find that I spend less this way since the amount of money adds up as we go and I am able to hold my horses a bit better than in a regular store. The prices are often lower and I can also get products that are not available in Slovenia. All of the above is why I figured that you might be interested in the stores I like the most.

Let’s start with the stores that I most commonly visit to check out their offer of cosmetics. As this is the category that I most often shop for, there are quite a few of my favorites. Where I can, I will do a price comparison for a couple of products among stores.

ASOS (*click*)

While it’s best known for their wide selection of clothing and accessories, Asos also holds quite a large beauty department (*CLICK*). If you scroll to the bottom you will find daily offers (for instance, today’s offers are 20 % off Barry M, Korres, Yes to and 50 % off Nip & Fab body lines).

Although they only ship some brands (like Benefit and NARS) only to UK and Ireland, they still hold a bunch of brands that I like (NYX, Bourjois, Lord&Berry, Maybelline, Pixi, Rimmel, Yes to etc.). The prices are not necessarily the lowest but they really stock up on new arrivals and you can get things here literally years before they hit Slovenian drugstores (if they ever even do). However, I rarely shop here for products I can also get in Slovenian drugstores where I can usually find a better deal.

WEDNESDAY SELECTION: Nivea Sun Protect & Refresh line and DM goodies

Summer is coming and new launches of products we need for the summer are popping out at all corners. I am a summer baby and I get a lot of energy from sun and sea so I am very much excited for this moody weather to be gone – nothing under 30 degrees Celsius counts as summer in my book!

With new baby, I spend a lot of time outside which is something that’s new to me. I got a slight sunburn more than a month ago when I spend about 30 minutes in the noon sun and that’s one of the reasons that this Sunday, I’m doing a big post about sun protection, but today, I want to talk about a new launch from Nivea.

MONDAY MADNESS: NBB (New Bits and Bobs) for May 2016

 I’ve been shopping online quite a lot in the past few months, since I was basically tied to the couch for the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy and have not left the house for the first month much. 

Basically what I’m trying to say is that the products you see above were not all bought in May, but I’ll try to keep up from now on with my monthly shopping report. I also completely forgot about my Lancome Juicy Shaker since it’s been in my purse ever since I’ve gotten it, but I think I’ll be writing a separate post about it very soon. I should also mention a present from Licila.si – the Freedom Brush Bath that I’ve already reviewed in a post you can read here.

SUNDAY SPECIAL: Disappointing make-up of 2015

The last installment in the recap of 2015 takes us over to the disappointing make-up products section. Luckily, there haven’t been many of them last year but two of them were quite expensive so the year could have gone better. Let me just say that although the product didn’t work for me that doesn’t necessarily mean they wouldn’t work for you. Also, I do like these brands and many other products from them, so the items mentioned below were just unlucky coincidences.

FRIDAY SUPERSTAR: Urban Decay De-slick Makeup Setting Spray

As the summer draws closer and closer and the days grow longer and warmer, many make-up lovers are hard pressed to find make-up that will last all day and not melt off or require constant corrections.

Personally, I like to know that my make-up will last me the 8-10 hours I’m usually out and about and while mineral powder will do some of the job with my foundation, my true friend in the next few months will be the Urban Decay Make-up setting spray.

THURSDAY RAMBLINGS: Pregnancy Q&A

I know that many of you are still young and not really thinking about kids yet, but there are quite a few readers and bloggers who have been following me on this journey from the big fat positive to birth of my beautiful baby boy and I’m grateful for all the positive vibrations and nice wishes I got along the way. Since it’s my rambling day, I thought I’d do a Q&A tag about my pregnancy (I borrowed the questions from Beautifymeeh blog). Spoiler: my pregnancy was great so don’t freak out before you read through :)

1. When were you due?

I was due March 25^th (Mother’s day over here) but the baby decided to hang tight for a week longer and arrived on 1^st of April, making a fool out of both of us (we were hoping for April 2^nd since it’s also my hubby’s b-day and it would be a special bond for them to share).

2. Can different emotions from a mother affect the baby inside in any way? 

I firmly believe they do. I could feel him moving around a lot more when I was stressing out at work, even if I was just sitting behind my desk. Happiness and overall well-being are key to a nice pregnancy.

3. Exercise for pregnant women?

I did regular pilates until about 6 months. Then, I switched to pregnancy pilates. I also did a lot of Kegel  exercises and breathing techniques. Otherwise, I just went for walks as much as I could. Regardless of pregnancy, I continued with my daily life until about 36 weeks (out of 40 or better said, 41 for me).

WEDNESDAY SELECTION: Sephora shopping list

I am fortunate enough to do quite a bit of traveling, but since the long travels will have to be postponed for a year or so with the baby in the house, I’m also lucky enough to have friends that travel and are willing to indulge my obsessions (addictions, insanity – however you want to call them). 

Anyway, I have a very good girlfriend leaving for the States in a couple of weeks and this is my shopping list for her. Let me just say that June is also my birthday month so technically I will be getting some of these things as gifts, so it’s not as crazy as it looks. Really, it’s not. I promise. 

I’m a sucker for the value sets which really are great value for money in my opinion. This time, I have four  quite a few on my list.

SEPHORA LASHSTASH TO GO (28 $, 57 $ value)

 

This set includes five deluxe samples of mascaras (Marc Jacobs O!Mega Lash, Milk Makeup Ubame, Too Faced Better then sex, Tarte Tarteist and Ciate London) and a voucher for a full size mascara of any of the above. I’m debating whether to go for a repeat of Too Faced mascara or try the Marc Jacobs one – I’m still undecided about this. 

SEPHORA PAINT IT PINK (40 $, 122 $ value)

  

I really hope this set will still be available by the time my friend hits the stores. It includes: Benefit Cosmetics Roller Lash (deluxe sample), Deborah Lippmann nail polish in Baby love, Laura Mercier Velour, Lovers lip color (full size - $28), MakeUp Forever Artist Plexi-Gloss (deluxe sample), Urban Decay eyeshadow in Scratch (full size - $19), Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Rose Gold (deluxe sample), a Beautyblender (regular - $20) and the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush in Blissful (deluxe sample). As you can see, the full size items alone are $67 so it really is great value. I haven’t used a single item from this except for the Beautyblender so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Alternative: BECCA SHIMMERING SKIN PERFECTOR (20 $) 

Since I really want to see what the fuss is all about with the Becca Shimmering Skin perfectors so if the option above fails, I would like to get my hands on the Glow On The Go set that includes deluxe samples of Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal in both pressed and liquid version.

SEPHORA FAVORITES TIME TO PRIME (25 $, $51 value)

 I am a big sucker for primers and so far all of the best ones in my life were purchased at Sephora. But these are not just face primers – no, no – these are ALL the primers: Bite Beauty Line & Define (lip primer), Formula X Prime Base Coat (nail base coat), Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer with SPF 15 (face primer), Living Proof Prime Style Extender(hair primer), Smashbox 24hour Finish Shadow Primer (eye primer) and Urban Decay Subversion Lash primer. Let’s get primed!

BEAUTYBLENDER TWO BB CLEAN ($40,00, $58 value)

Ever since I tried the Beautyblender for the first time I’ve been hard pressed to find a sponge that would be just as good. This set includes two regular sized Beautyblenders as well as a Blendercleanser fluid that can be used on other sponges as well if I don’t use it up on my Beautyblenders alone. Since a single BB costs 24 € here (27 $), it’s a great value and I plan to stock up for some time.

BENEFIT COSMETICS CHEEKATON BLUSH & BRONZER PALETTE ($58, $145 value)

This palette seems almost too good to be true, but it isn’t. It includes  six full size bestselling blushes and a bronzer from Benefit: Dallas, Dandelion, Coralista, Rockateur and Hoola Bronzer. Check out the value – I’m getting five products for a third of the original price and they are all neatly stored in a lovely palette. What more could a girl ask for?

And that is it for my wish list. I’ll probably be adding some last minute items to it but these above are the ones I’m really looking forward to using and I can’t wait to get them. Let’s all say a big thank you to Urša who will be schlepping them around the world for me (but then again, she is flying business class so she’ll at least be well rested while doing so) :)

Do you have a MUST TRY from Sephora for me? Let me know in the coments!

Until next time, stay beautiful!

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All photos property of www.sephora.com or Pinterest

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