Products I want to use up in 2017 ***** Izdelki, ki jih želim porabiti v letu 2017

I'll admit that my make-up collection isn't exactly tiny. And also, I don't really like thinking about it as a collection. I have more make-up than the average woman so I can compare products when I review them, but I really don't want to hoard my make-up to the point where I no longer have anywhere to put it. Consequently, I decided that for the first time I'll try to use up some of the products in the upcoming year.

Priznam - moja zbirka ličil ni ravno majhna. In o njej nerada razmišljam kot o zbirki. Seveda imam več ličil kot povprečna ženska, predvsem zato, da jih lahko med seboj primerjam, ko jih ocenjujem, vendar pa si v resnici ne želim toliko ličil, da ne bi vedela, kam z njimi. Posledično sem se letos prvič odločila, da bom nekaj izdelkov namensko skušala porabiti do konca tekom leta 2017.

The first product is the Catrice Chocolate Nudes Palette - you can find the review and more photos *here*. The biggest issue I have with small palettes is there is always something missing - a light matte shade for under the browbone, a shimmery shade for the inner corner or a good neutral crease color. This palette has it all so I can use it alone, but I simply don't remember about it often enough. Hopefully, I'll be able to use up the whole thing since all the shades are lovely and well pigmented.

Prvi izdelek je Catrice Chocolate Nudes paletka - oceno in več slik lahko najdeš *tu*. Problem manjših paletk je, da jim vedno nekaj manjka - bodisi svetla mat senčka za pod obrvi, bodisi svetlikajoč odtenek za v kotiček očesa, bodisi dobra nevtralna barva za v pregib očesa. Ta paletka ima prav vse to, zato jo lahko uporabljam tudi samostojno, vendar se premalokrat spomnim nanjo. Upam, da mi jo bo uspelo porabiti v celoti, saj so prav vsi odtenki zelo lepi in dobro pigmentirani. 

The second product I'm less excited about is the Freedom Pro Conceal & Correct palette of cream concealers. Except for the shade top right (a bit too pink for me), I'll probably be able to use it up for covering up imperfections or for contouring. This palette is well curated and not too expensive, but the product is really sticky and hard to blend, especially in areas with wrinkles. I'm still putting it on the list and I hope I make it through.

Drug izdelek, ki me nekoliko manj navdušuje, je Freedom Pro Conceal & Correct paleta kremnih korektorjev. Razen skrajno desne barve zgoraj, ki je nekoliko preveč roza zame, jih bom verjetno uspela porabiti, bodisi za popravke nepravilnosti, bodisi za konturo. Pri tej paleti, ki je sicer dobro sestavljena in ni preveč draga, me moti predvsem lepljiv občutek izdelka, saj ga je kar težko lepo zabrisati, še posebej v predelih z gubicami. Vseeno jo dajem na seznam in upam, da bom pri uporabi kar se da uspešna. 

The third product on the list is a recent purchase - the BeYu Strobe&Define palette. Inside, you can find a mat strobing powder, a highlighter, a blush and a bronzer. All the shades are great and very appropriate for my skin tone, but I am extremely disappointed in the texture. The product is very powdery and difficult to apply evenly, and above that, it likes to stick to imperfections on the skin. I am not impressed by this palette at all so I want to use it up and forget about it. 

Tretji izdelek na seznamu je relativno nova pridobitev, in sicer BeYu Strobe&Define paleta. V njej se skriva mat osvetljevalec, svetleč osvetljevalec, rdečilo in bronzer. Vsi odtenki so super in povsem primerni za moj ten kože, vendar pa me je pri tej paleti izredno razočarala tekstura, saj so senčke izredno pudraste in se težko enakomerno nanesejo, poleg tega pa se rade oprimejo nepravilnosti na koži. Gre torej za paleto, ki me nikakor ni navdušila, zato jo želim porabiti in pozabiti nanjo. 

The next product is the Lush Bubblegum lip exfoliator. Since it's a natural product that needs to be used up in a certain time frame, I don't want to waste it, especially because it's absolutely fantastic and prepares my lips for all types of lipstick beautifully. It comes in handy when I'm using a matte lip. I've used up about a quarter or the jar so far.

Naslednji izdelek je Lush Bubblegum piling za ustnice. Ker gre za naravni izdelek z omejenim rokom trajanja, ne želim, da bi ga morala vreči v smeti, sploh, ker je naravnost fantastičen in moje ustnice res lepo pripravi za vse tipe šmink, še posebej pa je takšna priprava nujna za mat šminke. Do sedaj sem ga porabila približno četrtino. 

Although I'm not the biggest fan of blushes, I chose one more that has been among my favorites for about two years now - the Milani Baked Blush in the shade Dolce Pink. It's a subtle pink shade with shimmer in it which can be applied in layers without worrying that the pigmentation will be too strong. Although it's one of my go-to blushes, I can barely see any signs of use on it so I think that using this product up will be the biggest challenge out of all.

Kljub temu, da nisem največji ljubitelj rdečil, sem izbrala eno, ki me navdušuje že kakšni dve leti, in sicer Milani Baked Blush v odtenku Dolce Pink. Gre za nežno roza rdečilo s svetlikajočimi delci, ki se ga da lepo nanesti v slojih brez nevarnosti, da bi bil nanos premočan. Kljub temu, da ga kar redno potegnem ven iz predala, se mu uporaba komaj kaj pozna, zato mislim, da bo ta izdelek največji izziv med vsemi. 

The last product I want to use up is the Laura Mercier eye pencil. Considering I only use eye pencils for tightlining my eyes, I don't use that much of the product and I keep receiving new ones so I'd like to use up at least one of them all the way to the end. The pencil itself is quite stiff so I use far less product than with the creamier ones (like Lord&Berry) and lasts all day so I'm looking forward to using it. 

Zadnji izdelek, ki ga želim porabiti, je Laura Mercier črn svinčnik za oči. Glede na to, da svinčnike uporabljam skoraj izključno za tightline, je tudi njihova poraba precej majhna, skoraj vsak mesec pa prejmem kakšnega novega, zato bi rada vsaj enega res porabila čisto do konca. Svinčnik je precej trd, zato se ga uporabi še manj kot kakšnega drugega kremnega (npr. Lord&Berry), pa tudi izredno dobro obstojen, zato se uporabe veselim.

This is my goal for 2017 - to use these six products up. What do you think - will I be able to do it? Until next time, stay beautiful!

To je torej moj cilj za 2017 - da uporabim šest izdelkov čisto do konca. Kaj meniš - mi bo uspelo? Do naslednjič, ostani čudovita!

Blogmas #16: Goodbye 2016! ***** Zbogom, 2016!

Another year is coming to an and it's only right to say a few words about it. My year as a blogger has been extremely eventful despite the fact that I took a few months hiatus in the beginning of 2016 because of pregnancy. Luckily, it resulted in an incredibly happy-go-lucky baby so I can easily find time for my blog even with Baby M around.

Leto se danes zaključuje in prav je, da pod njega potegnem črto tudi na blogu. Moje blogersko leto je bilo izjemno pestro kljub dejstvu, da sem si prvih nekaj mesecev vzela prosto zaradi nosečnosti. Srečo imam, da se je ta končala z neverjetno pridnim in potrpežljivim otrokom, saj si lahko za moj blog vzamem čas tudi sedaj.

Year 2016 also brought along collaborations with a few new brands. I'm excited that Slovenian market is becoming more and more open for foreign brands, but I'm even more excited to try out new Slovenian products. Regardless of these collaborations I still want to say that I purchase around 90 % of things you see on my blog with my own money. I was always open and upfront about which products I received to review and by now you surely know that I can be a harsh critic.

Leto 2016 je prineslo sodelovanje s kar nekaj novimi znamkami. Veseli me, da se tudi slovenski trg odpira za tuje znamke, še bolj pa me veseli, kadar lahko preizkusim kakšen nov slovenski izdelek. Ne glede na vsa sodelovanja ocenjujem, da je še vedno okrog 90 % vsega, kar vam predstavim na blogu, kupljenega z mojim lastnim denarjem. Vedno sem in tudi v prihodnje ti bom odkrito povedala, kateri izdelek sem prejela v oceno, verjamem pa, da zdaj že veš, da so moje ocene lahko tudi pošteno kritične.

In the past year, Slovenian bloggers came together for different events, the piece de resistance being the Beautiful Bloggers Meetup. I thoroughly enjoyed this years' events because many of the bloggers have become true friends to be, so I am not only getting new knowledge but plenty of laughter from these events.

Tudi v tem letu smo se blogerke družile na različnih dogodkih, med katerimi je seveda glavni in osrednji dogodek Beautiful Bloggers Meetup. Letos sem v dogodkih izjemno uživala, saj smo z mnogimi dekleti postale prave prijateljice in se lahko poleg novega znanja na vsakem tovrstnem dogodku nadejam tudi veliko dobre volje in smeha.

Last but not least, I was able to finally show you my face this year. Personally, I find this decision liberating and I'll be able to blog with even more enthusiasm from now on, while I also believe that you'll find the posts more informative and better.

Nenazadnje pa sem letos končno lahko sprejela odločitev, da ti pokažem, kdo sem. Mene osebno je ta odločitev osvobodila in bom lahko blogala še z večjim veseljem, verjamem pa tudi, da bodo objave zate še bolj zanimive.

These are the most viewed posts of the year/Najbolj brane objave preteklega leta so bile:

Pink October collaboration (*click*)

Delivery services in Slovenia rant / Bes nad dostavnimi službami v Sloveniji (*click*)

Best of 2016: make-up (*click*)

My favorite posts of the year/Moje najljubše objave leta so bile:

Wellness in Hotel Špik (*click*)

Lancome Juicy Shaker (*click*)

My top 10 make-up brushes / mojih top 10 čopičev (*click*)

Thank you for sharing this year with me. Thank you for all the nice comments, wishes, for every time you asked my opinion on something, for every click and every like. Thank you for being part of the Low Maintenance Beauty family and I hope that we'll continue our journey together in 2017! Have a great New Year's Eve and a wonderful new year. Don't forget - today's secret word was the last of the bunch so you can now go through all Blogmas posts, send me the hidden thought and by that participate in the giveaway. For more instructions go to Blogmas #7. Until next time, stay beautiful!

Hvala, da si to leto delila z mano. Hvala za vse lepe komentarje, želje, za vsakič, ko si me vprašala za mnenje, za vsak klik na objavo in vsak stisnjen všeček. Hvala, da si del Low Maintenance Beauty družine in upam, da bova pot nadaljevali skupaj tudi v 2017! Želim ti čudovito silvestrovanje in nepozabno novo leto. Ne pozabi - danes sem objavila tudi zadnjo skrito besedo, tako da če pobrskaš po Blogmas objavah, mi lahko že danes pošlješ skrito misel in s tem sodeluješ v nagradni igri, več o pravilih pa lahko prebereš v Blogmas #7 objavi. Do naslednjič, ostani čudovita.

Blogmas #15: Slovenian bloggers Secret Santa ***** Slovenske blogerke postanejo skrivne božičke

Opportunities for Slovenian beauty bloggers to connect in an informal way are rare, but this December we once again joined forces and organized a Secret Santa. Or better said, since we are all girls, Secret Clara. This year I again took on the role of organizing the whole thing which means I could not participate myself, but I enjoyed watching gifts other received and I was happy with them.

Slovenske lepotne blogerke smo se tudi letos povezale in organizirale Skrivnega božička. Bolje rečeno, glede na to, da smo sama dekleta - vse smo postale skrivne božičke. Tudi letos sem naše blogerke organizirala jaz, kar pomeni, da sodelovati nisem mogla, ampak sem z veseljem gledala darila drugih in se veselila skupaj z njimi.

We set no limits or boundaries regarding the gifts - the girls can give whatever they want to each other, but it is important that they get to know the person they're gifting to as good as possible. That way they can really put together a gift that is pretty, useful and makes the recipient happy.

Pri obdarovanju ne postavljamo nobenih meja in nobenih omejitev - dekleta se lahko obdarujejo, kakor želijo in s čimer želijo, pri čemer pa je seveda pomembno, da svojo obdarovanko čim bolje spoznajo. Tako jo res lahko obdarijo z darili, ki so lepa, uporabna in se jih obdarovanka iz srca razveseli. 

Even though organizing such a project takes quite some work, it suits my character perfectly so I enjoy doing it. I'd like to show you some of best gifts that Slovenian beauty bloggers received from their Secret Claras this year.

Čeprav je z organizacijo takšnega projekta kar nekaj dela, takšna naloga ustreza mojemu karakterju, zato se je lotim z veseljem. Tebi pa bi rada pokazala nekaj najlepših daril, ki so jih dekleta letos prejela od svojih skrivnih božičk. 

Gabi (Parokeets blog) received this gift from Kvina (Kvintopia blog)

Polona (UniqaPoly blog) received this gift from Nasja (My Last Dinner Cost Me My Lover)

 

Kvina (Kvintopia) received this gift from Nataša (Ana Krejevska blog)

Larisa (21st Century Girl) received this gift from Gabi (Parokeets)

Mikela (Dora Ward Blog) received this gift from Nina (Nina Novak blog)

Nasja (My Last Dinner Cost Me My Lover) received this gift from Polona (UniqaPoly)

Nika (Beautyfull Blog) received this gift from Cindy (All Things Artsy)

You only need to find the secret word today and the last one will follow on New Year's eve. Then, check the instructions on how to participate *here* and do it! Do you still remember the prize of the giveaway? It might be yours! Are you as eager as I am for the following year? Until next time, stay beautiful!

Današnja skrivna beseda je predzadnja, zadnjo poišči na silvestrovo, potem pa si *tu* še enkrat preberi pravila sodelovanja v nagradni igri in seveda sodeluj. Se še spomniš nagrade? Mogoče bo prav tvoja! Ali tudi ti že nestrpno pričakuješ prihodnje leto? Do naslednjič, ostani čudovita!

Blogmas #14: What I got for Christmas? ***** Kaj mi je prinesel božiček?

Santa stopped by our house and I must admit that I was more excited to see Baby M open his gifts than I was about opening my own. Not because my gifts wouldn't be great, but I was more happy to see him all excited, tearing the paper, playing with the ribbon and gushing over his building blocks and stuffed animals. But as I've been good all year long (or so they say), Santa also got me a few presents of my own.

Božiček se je ustavil tudi pri nas in priznam, da sem se letos veliko bolj veselila daril malega M-ja, kot pa svojih lastnih. Pa ne zato, ker moja darila ne bi bila super, ampak mi je veliko več pomenilo njegovo veselje, ko je trgal papir, se igral s trakci in navduševal nad kockami in plišastimi igračami. Ker pa sem bila bojda celo leto pridna, je božiček vseeno nekaj prinesel tudi meni. 

The first gift was from me to myself, namely my L'Occitane advent calendar that certainly didn't disappoint. I'm stocked up on hand creams for the year and I'll also get to try some products that I haven't tried before. I'm looking forward to a new calendar next year.

Prvo darilo sem si podarila kar sama, in sicer moj L'Occitane adventni koledar, ki me tudi letos ni razočaral. Sedaj sem za celo leto preskrbljena s kremicami za roke, preizkusila pa bom lahko tudi kar nekaj izdelkov, ki jih še poznam. Veselim se že, da bom naslednje leto preizkusila kakšnega novega.

I often mention Dolce&Gabbana Light Blue as my favorite perfume and I recently used up my last one. Santa must have noticed because I got a brand new perfume and the deodorant to match, which is very thoughtful of him.

Dolce&Gabbana Light Blue pogosto omenjam kot svoj najljubši parfum in ravno pred nekaj meseci sem porabila zadnjega. Božiček je to očitno opazil in mi prinesel novega, pa še pripadajoč deodorant po vrhu, kar je zelo pozorno od njega.

Santa has obviously been paying a lot of attention to my wishes lately since he made some serious effort to bring gifts from overseas. I must say that I was really surprised by this gift - I got two cream sticks for contouring from Colourpop and I can't wait to try them out.

Božiček je bil letos očitno tudi zelo pozoren na moje želje, saj se je potrudil in darila prinesel kar preko oceana - moram reči, da me je to darilo res presenetilo. Prejela sem dva kremna stika za senčenje in osvetljevanje Colourpop in komaj čakam, da se lotim preizkušanja. 

We've been living in our apartment for seven years now and somehow I never get around to ordering the glass for the wall in the kitchen. Santa knows that I hate it when that wall gets dirty so he brought me a gift certificate so I can choose a glass of my own choice and bring some extra color into our home.

V najinem stanovanju sva že sedem let in nekako mi kar ne uspe naročiti stekla za steno v kuhinji. Božiček ve, da ne maram umazane stene, zato mi je prinesel darilni bon, s katerim si bom lahko izbrala steklo po lastni izbiri in naš dom spet malo osvežila z nekaj barve. 

I actually asked Santa for the last gift since my previous electric toothbrush retired after seven years. He brought me the Megasonex ultrasound toothbrush thus making sure that my teeth stay clean and healthy, for which I thank him greatly.

Za zadnje darilo pa sem božička prosila, saj je moja zadnja električna ščetka po sedmih letih izdahnila. Prinesel mi je Megasonex ultrazvočno zobno ščetko in tako poskrbel, da bodo moji zobje še naprej zdravi, za kar se mu najlepše zahvaljujem. 

I must say that this Santa is really a cool guy - he knows what I need and also what will make me happy. I hope that you also received something that you wanted or needed, or that perhaps Santa surprised you as well. You know - the good men know even our most secret wishes.

Ah, ta božiček je res ena faca, točno ve, kaj potrebujem, pa tudi, s čim me bo razveselil. Upam, da si tudi ti dobila kaj, kar si res želela ali potrebovala, morda pa te je tudi s čim prijetno presenetil. Saj veš - dobri mož včasih pozna tudi naše najbolj skrivne želje in se jih potrudi uresničiti.

We are only a couple of days away from the end of the giveaway - have you found all the words yet? I'm sure that the task won't be too hard. Until next time, stay beautiful!

Samo še nekaj dni nas loči do zaključka nagradne igre - si že poiskala vse skrivne besede, potrebne za sodelovanje? Verjamem, da jih ne bo pretežko najti. Do naslednjič, ostani čudovita!

Blogmas #12 & #13: How to bake a "potica"? ***** Kako speči potico?

Two Blogmas in one? Yes, that's life. I planned my posts up front but quickly realized that baking a potica and entertaining a nine month old child is too stressful, and making photos and writing this post at the same time would be an impossible task to fulfill. But still - in our house, we eat potica long into January so it's never too late for a good recipe.

Dva Blogmasa v enem? Da, takšno je pač življenje. Seveda sem objave načrtovala vnaprej, vendar pa sem ugotovila, da je peči  potico in zabavati devetmesečnega otroka hkrati preveč naporno, da bi zraven še fotografirala proces in napisala objavo. Pa vendarle - pri nas doma potice jemo še daleč v januar, zato za en dober recept ni nikoli prezgodaj. 

This recipe comes from Hungary and is a bit different because you won't be using leavened dough but potato dough. You need about an hour for preparation and 45-50 minutes for baking. The amount of ingredients in this recipe is intended for two portions, because I prepared walnut potica and a potica with poppy seeds. If you only want to prepare one just cut the ingredients in half. This dough is also very good with cheese fillings and can be used for dumplings and similar dishes.

Ta recept prihaja iz Madžarske in je nekoliko drugačen, saj se ne uporablja kvašenega testa, ampak krompirjevo testo. Za pripravo potrebuješ približno eno uro in še kakšnih 45-50 minut za peko. Vse količine so navedene za dvojno porcijo, saj sem naredila in makovo in orehovo potico - v kolikor želiš pripraviti samo eno, jih enostavno razpoloviš. To testo je zelo dobro tudi s kakšnim sirovim nadevom, uporabiš pa ga lahko tudi za svaljke, cmoke in podobno. 

Za pripravo testa potrebuješ/To prepare the dough you will need: 

- 1 kg krompirja // 1 kg potatoes

- 1 kg moke // 1 kg flour

- 4 jajca (rumenjake za testo, beljake za premaz) // 4 eggs (yolks for the dough, whites for the spread)

- 4 pecilne praške // 4 baking powders

- 400 g masla // 400 g butter

- 400 g sladkorja // 400 g sugar

- 2 vrečki rumovega sladkorja (opcijsko) // 2 bags of rum sugar (optional) 

Za pripravo makovega nadeva potrebuješ / To prepare the poppy seed filling you will need:

- 400 g mletega maka // 400 g ground poppy seeds

- 100 g sladkorja // 100 g sugar

- 300 ml mleka // 300 ml milk

Za pripravo orehovega nadeva potrebuješ // To prepare the walnut filling you will need:

- 400 g mletih orehov // 400 g ground walnuts

- 100 g sladkorja // 100 g sugar

- 300 ml mleka // 300 ml milk

- 200 g rozin (opcijsko) // 200 g raisins (optional)

Peel and cut the potatoes, cook them and mash them really well. Add butter, egg yolks, baking powder and sugar. Mix well and start adding flour and making dough. This dough is quite crumbly so it's important to add the flour slowly. After kneading the dough well, separate it into four pieces (or two, if you have an enormously big oven).

Krompir olupiš, narežeš, skuhaš in dobro pretlačiš. Dodaš maslo, rumenjake, pecilni prašek ter sladkor. Dobro premešaš in počasi dodajaš moko ter pričneš oblikovati testo. Takšno testo ni gibko, ampak se rado drobi, zato je počasno dodajanje moke res pomembno. Po tem, ko testo dobro pregneteš, ga razdeli v štiri dele (ali pa dva, če imaš res ogromno pečico).

Both fillings are super simple to make. Mix the poppy seeds/walnuts with sugar, boil 300ml of milk and simply mix it in. That's it.

Oba nadeva sta super enostavna za pripravo. Mak/orehe zmešaš s sladkorjem ter dodaš 300ml vrelega mleka. In to je to!

When rolling the potica, I suggest you use a baking paper so you don't need to touch the dough much as it tends to fall apart. Don't put the filling on the top and the bottom of the dough, but rather in the middle. After you're done rolling, you can put a bit of the filling at both ends and tuck them in. Spread some egg white on top. Now, your potica can go straight into the oven. Bake at 190' C for 45-50 minutes.

Pri zavijanju potice ti priporočam uporabo pekovskega papirja, da se ne boš preveč dotikala testa, ki rado razpade. Nadeva ne razmaži čisto na vrh in na konec testa, ampak bolj proti sredini. Ko končaš z zvijanjem, lahko malo nadeva potlačiš še na oba konca, nato pa testo zaviješ skupaj. Po vrhu potico premaži z beljakom. Sedaj je tvoja potica pripravljena za v pečico. Peci jo pri 190'C 45-50 minut.

And this is the final result. This kind of potica is a bit different but a big hit in our home since my grandmother used to make it following this recipe. It's not too sweet and the walnuts or poppy seeds add a bit of bitterness so I can guarantee you it's really awesome. 

In to je končni rezultat. Takšna potica je nekoliko drugačna, pri nas doma pa je vedno velik hit, saj je po tem receptu potico pekla že moja babica. Ni presladka, mak ali orehi dodajo tudi malo grenkobe in garantiram ti, da je res odlična! 

Ne pozabi, da danes v tekstu iščeš dve skrivni besedi, nova objava pa sledi že jutri, ko ti bom pokazala, kaj mi je letos prinesel božiček. 

Until next time, stay beautiful! ***** Do naslednjič, ostani čudovita!