Blogmas #7: Who is Low Maintenance Beauty?

If you've been following my blog for a long time, you probably only know me as Maša. That Maša who never publishes her own photos. As mentioned many times I had a solid reason for keeping my privacy in that aspect, but now some things have changed and today - for the first time - I'm happy to share my face with you.

Če me spremljaš že dlje, me poznaš samo kot Mašo – tisto Mašo, ki nikoli ne objavi svoje fotografije. Že večkrat sem napisala, da imam za to tehten razlog, vendar pa so se zdaj okoliščine nekoliko spremenile in svoj obraz danes – prvič – z veseljem delim s teboj.

Naturally, this also means that my blog will change a bit. Now, I'll be able to show you the make-up on my face, create a make-up look for special occasions or share my photos from events. I'm looking forward to the freedom this change will give me.

To seveda pomeni, da se bo nekoliko spremenil tudi moj blog – sedaj vam bom lahko ličila pokazala na obrazu, lahko bom ustvarila kakšen videz za posebne priložnosti, ali pa fotografijo s kakšnega dogodka. Veselim se svobode, ki mi jo prinaša to, da vam lahko pokažem – sebe.

 I only see it fitting that we catch up on a couple of moments from past years when you had to take my word for everything I was doing and testing. I'd like to share some photos with you - photos that show me for who I am and what I love in life. These are not professional photos - just those that mean something to me and captured special moments of my life. Hopefully, you like this change and will continue my journey with me.

Ker pa se mi zdi prav, da prineseva noter vsaj kakšen trenutek iz preteklih let, ko si mi morala vedno le na besedo verjeti, kaj se mi dogaja v življenju, pa s tabo delim nekaj fotografij, ki so mi še posebej pri srcu in kažejo, kdo sem, kakšna sem in kaj me v življenju veseli. To niso profesionalne fotografije - le takšne, ki mi nekaj pomenijo in ki so ujele meni dragocene trenutke. Upam, da ti bo ta sprememba všeč in da ostaneš z mano še naprej.

I love to travel, in fact that's one of my favorite things in the world. I've seen over 40 countries and look forward to add more to the list. This photo is from one of the travels - Death Valley at 50'C. ***** Ljubim potovanja, ki so ena mojih najljubših stvari v življenju. Videla sem že več kot 40 držav in komaj čakam, da jih na seznam dodam še več. Fotografija je iz enega bolj zanimivih krajev na svetu - Doline smrti pri 50'C.

Pool is a large part of my life. I am a multiple national champion, member of the Slovenian national team and a referee. ***** Biljard predstavlja velik del mojega življenja. Sem večkratna državna prvakinja, članica slovenske reprezentance, po potrebi pa tudi sodnica.

My friends are priceless. I daresay this was one of the more magical dances in my life. ***** Moji prijatelji mi pomenijo ogromno. Rekla bi, da je bil to eden najbolj čarobnih plesov v mojem življenju.

I am one of those people who will clean the house in a red lip. By the way, this is me cleaning the polish my cat Maybe broke ***** Sem ena tistih žensk, ki nosijo rdečo šminko tudi, ko čistijo hišo. Mimogrede, tu čistim lak, ki ga je razbila moja razvajena ragdollka Maybe.

Through blogging, I've meet some incredible people. Gabi from blog Parokeets is my sister from another mister, my guide and mentor, and in many cases, my rock when I need some kind words. ***** Zaradi bloganja sem spoznala veliko neverjetnih ljudi. Gabi z bloga Parokeets je moja duša dvojčica, moja svetovalka in "mama", predvsem pa mi je v veliko oporo, ko potrebujem kakšno prijazno besedo.

For the past eight months, my main role is taking care of my little boy. I feel incredibly lucky that such an amazing little man picked me to be his mum. ***** Zadnjih osem mesecev je moja glavna vloga skrb za mojega fantka. Srečna sem, da me je tak neverjeten mali mož izbral za svojo mamo.

But besides all that, I am also a person that will take THIS photo in front of Sephora - because precious moments need to be cherished. If you're looking at my under-eye bags, let me explain: this is day 5 in Las Vegas. ***** Ampak poleg vsega naštetega pa sem tudi ženska, ki bo hotela TOLE fotko pred Sephoro - ker je treba tako dragocene trenutke pač ovekovečiti. In če gledaš moje podočnjake, naj pojasnim: slika je nastala 5. dan žuranja v Las Vegasu.

Now, as promised, I am also going to show you the giveaway present for these holidays. It includes a number of brands, some of which are hard to come by in Slovenia and some which are Slovenian. I had so many ideas about what I wanted to include that in the end, I really think that there are many things in here that you will enjoy. 

Kot obljubljeno ti sedaj pokažem še darilo za letošnjo božično nagradno igro. Vsebuje ogromno znamk - nekaj takih, ki se jih v Sloveniji težko dobi, pa tudi nekaj slovenskih. Resnično so se mi letos vse od poletja porajale ideje, kaj želim v darilo vključiti, zato mislim, da je res lepo in da bi se ga razveselila vsaka od vas. 

Prize includes: Real Techniques miracle sculpting sponge, Essence blending brush, ELF Mineral Eyeshadow primer, Dvorec Trebnik shampoo and shower gel, Batiste mini dry shampoo, Le Couvent Des Minimes manicure set, Balea Aqua tuchmaske, Labello Neon Edition, Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara (mini), Benefit They're real Push-up liner (mini), Avon Luxe eyeshadow palette (glamorous roses), Caudalie Micellar water (mini, 50ml), L'Oreal Micellar Gel, Bath&Bodyworks PocketBac - Fresh Strawberries, Avon nail polish (Perfect Reds, Ruby Slipper), 2x Trend It Up nail polish - Holo dimension (n. 29 and n. 35), Nabla Magic Pencil (nude), Avon Shine Burst Gloss stick, Trend It Up Ultra matte Lipcream, Essence XXXL Nude lipgloss, Catrice Velvet Matt Lip Cream and L'Oreal Inffalible Sexy Balm (109 - Such a babe)

The rules of the giveaway are simple. I will post the last word of the thought you must put together from the colored words in all Blogmas posts on the 31st of December (click *here* for additional instructions). You have until 4th of January 2017 to send me the complete thought (in a sentence) to the e-mail lowmaintenancebeautyblog@gmail.com. This giveaway is for my Facebook subscribers only so make sure you follow me there.  If you have a funny name on Facebook that is not the same as your real name, don't forget to write it into the e-mail that you send me. This giveaway is also open EU ONLY. I'll appreciate it if you follow me on Instagram (@low_maintenance_beauty) and share some of the Blogmas posts with your friends. The winner will be selected at random and posted on my Facebook page on January 5th. If this person doesn't send me his or hers information by January 12th, I will select another winner.

Pravila nagradne igre so preprosta. Zadnjo besedo misli, ki jo moraš iz obarvanih besed v Blogmas objavah sestaviti, bom objavila 31. decembra (klikni *tu* za podrobnejša navodila). Celotno misel mi moraš poslati do 4. januarja 2017 na e-mail lowmaintenancebeautyblog@gmail.com. Ta nagradna igra je odprta samo za moje sledilce na Facebooku, zato poskrbi, da mi slediš tudi tam. Če na Facebooku uporabljaš kakšno drugo ime, mi to zapiši v e-mail. Nagradna igra je odprta samo za države EU. Vesela bom, če mi boš sledila tudi na Instagramu (@low_maintenance_beauty) in kakšno od mojih Blogmas objav delila s svojimi prijatelji. Zmagovalec nagradne igre bo izbran naključno in objavljen na moji Facebook strani 5. januarja 2017. Če mi zmagovalec ne bo poslal podatkov do 12. januarja, bom izbrala novega zmagovalca.

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

Wellness experience in hotel Špik: perfect pamering

As a beauty blogger, I sometimes get opportunities that I would not otherwise get - and sometimes, I get to visit places I probably wouldn't find by myself. Last Friday, I had an amazing experience I want to tell you about. 

On a gloom, rainy day, Tara, Gabi and I set of from Ljubljana via Kranjska Gora (more specifically, Gozd Martuljek) for an adventure. Greeted by sun on our arrival, we were in good spirits that were lifted even more by the kind and warm welcome from our hosts in Hotel Špik - Simona and Gordana. 

Our hosts welcomed us in the Alpine wellness which, I'll admit, I never heard of before I got the invitation for the event. First, we grabbed a bite of food to eat while Simona explained the concept of Alpine wellness to us. The food was organic and mostly made from home-grown ingredients. This is not a coincidence because healthy food represents one of the key benchmarks of wellness along with relaxation, beauty, cosmetics and nurturing the soul. 

Life update and blog plans + giveaway

Dear beauties, 

those of you who follow me on social media know that my life changed a lot in the past couple of months. 7 weeks ago I became a mom and my little bub is now the center of my universe, my little prince, my everything. Little one was born on 1^st of April (hence many people didn’t believe me when I announced it to the world) and has been really good to his new and a tiny bit scared mum – growing a lot, sleeping a lot and generally being the best baby in the world. And no, I’m not biased at all :)

After all of these weeks I can now finally say that we’ve got a daily routine going on, meaning that my life is slowly again getting back on track and I can afford myself an hour or so every day to concentrate on my blog. But one thing that a baby taught me is that a schedule is important, so I’ve decided to give a little more structure to my posting. I decided on a schedule that goes approximately like this...

On the 1^st Monday of the month, I will write a post about everything new I bought and received in the past month. This will not be reviews, but a haul type of a post. If you are interested in anything you see in that post, keep your eyes open on the 3^rd Monday of the month, since I’ll be doing a review of all the new products then. 

On the 2nd and 4^th Monday of the month, I’ll be doing a bi-weekly make-up & skincare basket, showing you the products I’ll be using for the next two weeks. This will keep me in check and ensure that I keep using and trying new products and not only neglecting them for old favorites.

Tuesday (as well as Saturday) will be my days off when I’ll only post if I feel like it or a very exciting thing happens (like a giveaway or an event). 

On Wednesdays, I’ll be showing you new product launches that I’m excited about and occasionally doing a wish-list post about everything that I would like to purchase for myself.

I’m using Thursday as a “free” day – the day I will write about anything I want, but you can certainly expect more lifestyle posts and random rants about my life and motherhood.  

Each Friday, I’ll do a post about the Superstar of the week – the product I’ve been loving most that past week.

As I’ll be taking the Saturday off, expect a big post each Sunday. This will be a very “beauty blogger” sort of post – Favorites, Top products, Dupes, Routines, Blogging and Photography, to name just a few.

It’s a big plan, but I hope I can stick with it, since I’ve missed my blog a lot in the past few months and I can’t wait to get back to writing about one of the big passions in my life. I mean, I did my make-up before heading off to give birth, so I think that it’s only fair I give it the place it deserves in my life.

Since I’ve been away for so long, we also missed the birthday of my blog – it’s now two years old! To celebrate, we’ll be doing a giveaway with some products that will make sure that one lucky lady (or lucky lad) will be looking great for the summer!

The lucky winner will receive Avon’s Footworks Soak and Scrub so you can get your feet ready for the flip-flops. I’m including the Avlon Keracare Silken Seal which will help your locks be silky and luscious. A Labello is a definite must in each handbag and as someone who can never have enough lip balms, I ensure you’ll love this one. To have a beach ready body, the package will also include a Rituals body cream that smells like a dream, and a Monu Tan Work tan maintainer that will keep your tan lasting long into the autumn.

As an extra bonus, the package will also include 3 surprise beauty products!

To enter, you have to follow me on Facebook and Instagram (@low_maintenance_beauty), so don’t forget to leave your Instagram name in the comments! I would appreciate it if you share this post on Facebook or Instagram with your friends and give them a chance to win this bundle of products as well. And if you have the time, leave me a comment on this post telling me what you’d like me to write about – it can be a product, a routine, ... anything you’re interested in and I’ll try to make it happen.

The giveaway is open to EU only and will last until 30^th of May when I will randomly choose a winner with the help of my hubby. The winner will be notified via Facebook. He or she must send me their address in 3 days, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

Best of luck everyone. Until next time, stay beautiful!

This or That – Beauty Edition Tag

As you are reading this, I am already on my way to the airport. I’ll admit that with all that is happening in my life, it was a bit difficult to plan a lot of posts ahead, especially with the fact that I can barely do any photos since I get home around 17h and poof – the sun is already gone. 

So today (and once more in the following week) you will get to learn a bit more about me. Hopefully, you enjoy the tag. I also tag each and every one of you who would be willing to do this tag as well! Let’s get right to the questions!

PART 1: MAKE-UP

Via Daily Mail

1. Blush or Bronzer?

Easy – I love buying blushes but only use them once in a blue moon, but I go through my bronzers like crazy. Bronzer it is. Many bronzers, in fact. 

2. Lipgloss or lipstick?

Lighter shade of lipgloss and darker shades of lipstick. But if I had to choose one for the rest of my life, I would choose lipstick. 

3. Eyeliner or mascara?

Again, an easy one – I could not live without a good mascara (or three, to be exact).

4. Foundation or concealer?

This is a bit tricky, since I do love my concealers, but I would still go for the foundation, a full coverage one to really cover any imperfections. 

5. Neutral or color eyeshadows?

I am trying to be bolder with my make-up looks, but considering that I work in an office and deal with clients, I would still choose neutrals. 

6. Pressed or loose eyeshadows?

I would choose pressed, since I’m regularly out of time and I don’t need the hassle of loose eyeshadows all over my bathroom. But I love admiring the loose eyeshadows in stores, especially the duochrome ones that don’t come around often in pressed form. 

7. Brushes or sponges?

With the exception of my Beauty Blender, I don’t really care for sponges. So I would choose brushes since I can do everything with them. 

2nd October 2015 – Early Christmas for Slovenian Beauty Bloggers

I already wrote a post about everything exciting that happened at the first Beautiful Bloggers Meetup in Ljubljana a week ago, but I didn’t want to go into all the presents that the wonderful sponsors and partners prepared for every blogger at the event. 

Most of us had problems carrying everything home, since all the bags together weight close to 20 kg. And let me tell you – the next morning when I was opening the bags, it really was like Christmas. Thank you to every one of the companies – I am super excited to try everything out and to include my reviews in my #blogvember project, which is just around the corner. 

Without further ado, here is everything I got in the bags (minus notebooks, pencils and similar), hopefully in alphabetical order of the companies. The reviews won’t come in the same order, though, since some products require more testing than others. But if you’re really anxious to hear about anything as soon as possible, let me know in the comments below. 

AFRODITA

Afrodita was the general sponsor of the conference. Bag included: Extra sensitive intimate wash – delicate care, Argan Oil – total repair (6 in 1), Sugar scrub for body (brown sugar and shea butter) and samples of Pearl Prestige skincare line. 

ALESSANDRO

Alessandro bag included: a nail file, Mini nail polish from the new winter line, Take Off nail polish remover gel, a lovely USB stick with PR materials and a Veggie nail cream. 

AUSSIE

Aussie provided us with full size Repair Miracle shampoo and conditioner. Everything was nicely packaged in a bag, but unfortunately, mine ripped somewhere in the schlepping process.

Top 5 moments from the 1st Beautiful Bloggers Meetup

Yes, the first Slovenian Beauty Bloggers Conference (#bbmulj) happened this Friday. I am still trying to process it all (and find my way through all the gifts), but nevertheless, here are my top 10 moments from the event! 

1. The venue

Grand Hotel Union has the perfect location in the city center close to the bus and train station. The staff was very helpful and  friendly and no little detail was left to chance.  

Source: Hotel webpage

2. The participants

I met all of my fellow bloggers for the first time and without exception, they were all very pleasant and friendly. I look forward to sharing more wonderful moments with them in the future. A special shout-out, however, goes to Nika from Beautyfull Blog who made the event happen, so go follow her and tell her I sent you :)

3. The refreshments

I was so busy stuffing my mouth I forgot to take any decent photos, but I will insert one here from my fellow blogger Simona from Beauty of a lemon. Everything I put in my body that day was healthy and delicious at the same time, very appropriate for such an event! 

Photo by Beauty of a lemon

Birthday Gifts + Haul 2015

As some of you might know, I share my birthday with our lovely Slovenia, which is awesome because I get a day off each year to properly celebrate – and so do you! I almost didn’t make it through the pre-birthday party this year though – we were having dinner at Ljubljana Castle on the 24^th of June and in the middle of the dinner, without any warning, cannons went off right underneath our feet! Of course, it was just a part of the official celebrations, but still – a warning to all that might attempt something similar in the years to come :)

Anyway, what’s lovely about being a beauty blogger is that you get to ask for all kinds of make-up products as presents and nobody finds that strange. So here are the gifts and some things I picked up for myself with gift cards I received. 

I won’t go much into detail since I want to write a separate review on most of these products. Starting in a clockwork order, we have two Sigma E40 tapered blending brushes. I already have one and it’s so amazing it’s always dirty, so a couple more were necessary. 

Decluttering like a pro: everyday cosmetics (a long post!)

Every single time I bring home a new product, I feel the need to use it right away. It doesn’t really matter if I already have 3 hair sprays opened, or 5 body lotions – surely, this new one will be so utterly superior to them that I will throw the old ones away and only use the new one for the rest of my life. Sounds familiar? If it does, then you probably have seen something like this before. 

Every once in a while, I reach a point when everything starts falling out, I have no place for new things and I really, really need to clean stuff out. So I did something similar as with nail polishes – got everything out and went through it. Here are the results with small reviews on each of the products and whether I tossed or kept it. I suggest you get a snack, since it’s going to be a long post!

Let’s start with hair products.

L’Oreal Elnett de Luxe – strong hold which also offers extra heat protection. I don’t like the pump, would prefer a spray, but it’s a good hold, and I don’t really use hair spray all that much. Keeping.

Taft Cashmere Touch Power Spray.  This was sitting in the back of the closet for about 2 years and I distinctly remember why I stopped using it – it made my hair so hard that I had problems combing through it after I used it. Trash.

Aiko Styling Heat Protecting Spray. I did not know it was a Müller brand until this very moment. Did not care for this product – I didn’t see any difference in how my hair behaved or how good it looked whether I used it or not. Trash.

Syoss Anti-Grease dry shampoo. This smells like lemon, which I like a lot since it makes my hair smell fresh. It does work to give second day hair a bit of volume, but I wouldn’t necessarily use it instead of washing my hair after that. Good value for money – lasts a long time. Keeping.

Nivea Volume Sensation Styling Mousse. Number 4 (out of 5) – extra strong. I normally put it into wet hair before washing to give it a little extra volume around the base. There’s not really that much left, so I am keeping it.

In my previous post about hair botox I talked about the frizz in my hair and their general dullness. I have quite a few products to combat that, not including the Morrocan oil and Keraste oils I just purchased.

Spring giveaway!

My lovely, beautiful readers, I’m so happy I’m able to do another giveaway for you. We’re quickly approaching 100 Facebook subscribers (reason for another giveaway?) and I’m so happy that I’m able to reach out to so many of you. I know that it may not seem like much, but I really love my blog and every one of you :)

Lifestyle favorites

It's been a really hard week last week and has not improved a great deal by now. A lot of my co-workers and my family got ill and I've had to sort out a lot of additional things, while at the same time running around my clients and generally being busy as I always am. 

As I already mentioned, November is my least favorite month of the entire year and it is really hard to be excited about anything when being down. But there are some things in my life that brought smile to my face in the previous month and I would like to share them with you.

I know I've talked about these already and they are also included in my giveaway. But it gives me real comfort to come home and light a candle that brings a touch of warmth to your life. I generally like all of the Christmas collection and I will be burning it well into January.

  

I also got this last week... a bit of bragging never hurt anyone, right? I must admit it feels good that it's finally over. 

Below are some of the presents I bought for "my" children in the Santa for a day project. I am a firm believer in giving back since I count myself very lucky to have all the things I need in my life. If you missed your opportunity to participate this year, follow them on FB and make sure you sign up next year. 

What is this, you ask? Why, it's a PILE of felt :)

I always like to do some DIY presents during the Christmas season for the people who appreciate them. I am looking forward to actually finding the time to do them, but for now, just looking at these wonderful colors puts a smile on my face. 

Next, my all time favorite scent, which I supersized on this month. I know, you can't see it clearly - it's Chloe by Chloe. Very original, I know, but to me, this smells of warm kisses, fuzzy socks, orchids and the feeling of a roasted chestnut bag in your hands.

 

Meet my favorite purse. I've had this for several years but it's quite... different, so I usually only wear it in the winter when I can easily match it with a black, grey or beige coat. Each year, I splurge on one bag from Marjeta Grošelj (or I receive it as a gift, depends) and I've never regretted a single € spent. I think that while her bags are unusual, they are timeless and worth the spend. 

Last but not least, the one thing that made me smile is the Rafflecopter counter climbing up and up and up. I'm soo excited to announce the winners on Thursday! Make sure to enter if you haven't yet!

Until next time, stay beautiful, stay awesome.