What’s in my beach bag?

Hopefully, by the time you are reading this, I’m either on my way to my well-deserved vacation or possibly already lying in the sun. Either way, I needed to do some packing and I thought I’d bring you along for the ride. 

This is most likely just a part of everything I will be hauling to the beach every day (and by that, I’m sure you can tell I really mean that my hubby will be the one at risk of a spinal injury). I will add tons of books, magazines, some temporary tattoos, fruit and water, phone, tablet and other bits and bobs I pick up along the way. But in the beauty sense, these are the main things that absolutely need to come with me. 

My bag was a freebie from Max Mara Weekend a couple of years ago and I love it. It’s a lovely boho-chic bag that doesn’t look too fancy and I don’t really care if it would get dirty (or worse, stolen). I can easily pack it away in the suitcase since it’s very soft. 

Inside the tote, I always keep a smaller bag – this one is another freebie from Decleor and I really like it since it can be pulled out and sealed (see the pink part), but when tucked in, it can also act as a large wallet & phone holder when you want to go get a drink at a cafe whilst at the beach. 

Of course, SPF is the bare essential when going to the beach. I normally keep two large bottles at hand. First one is for the first days when I’m still pale as a ghost – it’s the Nivea Sun Kids Pure&Sensitive lotion with SPF 50. The other one comes in handy when I get a bit of tan and I don’t risk getting sunburned as much anymore – that’s the Garnier Ambre Solaire with SPF 15. 

Naturally, we mustn’t forget about the face. I got this Decleor Aroma Sun Expert with SPF 30 this year and I’m hoping it will do its job well.

Speaking of getting a tan, here’s a product that has been all the rave this summer – the Afrodita 100 % Bronze Skin Fast Tanning Jam. I have had a little dip in it just to make sure I didn’t have any reaction to it, but I could hardly contain myself not to eat the whole jar. I’m curious to see how it will perform!

I like to dive and go snorkeling on my vacation, so my hair is always a bit of a mess. This year, I’m bringing along my new Wet Brush (from the Look Fantastic Beauty Box), since I am more willing to lose this as my Tangle Teezer. My hair stylist also hooked me up with the Schwarzkopf Sun protect Spray conditioner which I can use throughout the day to give my dry and frizzy hair some TLC. 

Since I do like to hang out with people when I’m on the beach, I also always bring with me a random deodorant and my lovely Body Shop Pink Grapefruit body mist. It’s a refreshing, rejuvenating smell that isn’t too heavy, but rather just gives the hint of freshness in the heat. 

On that note, I also always bring some make-up, just in case we decide to go to dinner straight from the beach. This year, I’m bringing my Avon Flawless CC cream and Lancome Virtuose Drama. Another perk from the Look Fantastic Beauty Box – my Cowshed lippy cow natural lip balm – is coming for the ride as well. 

And last, there are the accessories. As you can see from the first photo, I always bring a light scarf which I can wrap around my shoulders if the sun is hitting me too hard when we are walking to the beach. Other than that, I have some accessories that I couldn’t ever rock in Ljubljana, but go great together with my summer attires. 

And that’s it for my bag. Did I forget anything? Let me know - perhaps you won't be too late to save my skin! :)

Until next time, stay beautiful!

My simple manicure routine

I don't have a lot of spare time, so I tend to really simplify anything that I can – including my manicure routine. It's simple, straightforward and works for me. First, I prepare everything I'll need.

Basically, I put together all the necessary tools – nail files, cuticle nippers, cuticle pusher, small scissors and the likes.

Then, I go through my nail polishes and gather up everything I think I'll use – sometimes I give myself more than one option (like here, where I debated between matte finish and glossy finish). 

Next up, it's time to get that old nail polish off. I just bought this Delia polish remover which smells like strawberries and doesn't contain any acetone. I kind of prefer it this way, since I find that acetone really dries up my nails. 

My one brand skincare routine with Ole Henriksen

In December, I was shopping quite a bit as you might have noticed already from my posts. Since I've hoarded so much make-up, I decided to go for the skin care instead and ended up choosing a set of different face products on Lookfantastic.com  - the Ole Henriksen Magnificent Seven Holiday Kit. 

I paid about €33 for this set of 7 deluxe samples, which is bargain really, since each of the full-size products costs an arm and a leg, but we'll get to that later. Apparently, the set is worth £89, which brings us close to €120.

Now you'll probably agree that the box looks fab on the front, but I find what is in the back even more important. The box actually provides you exact information about each of the products (it's also printed on the sides), also advising whether to use it in the morning or in the evening. 

I would have kept the box until I ran out of the products anyway, since it's a cheat sheet and at the same time stores the products really nicely. Of course you don't have to keep it – there are simple paper instructions inside as well. 

Anyway, as already mentioned, the set includes 7 deluxe samples. I'll just do this review in the way I use them throughout the day. I start of every morning with the African Red Tea Foaming cleanser. The instruction is to simply massage it into damp skin and rinse clean with warm water. 

My Fall and Winter Skincare Routine

I'll be the last one to claim that I always stick to my routine, go through all the paces, take 20 minutes to get my face ready in the morning or clean at night, never sleep with my make-up on. Let's face it, we're all working people in some way or another. I don't have half an hour a day to go through each of these steps. But when I do take the time and put in the effort, this is my normal autumn & winter skincare routine that is quite different from what I do to my face in the summer. 

 

In the morning, there are four steps I try to take before putting any make-up on. First, some warm water never hurt anyone and apparently, it opens up your pores and prepares them for everything that is to follow. When dry, I follow up with the moisturizing part which is my absolute favorite thing to do in the morning – it really helps me feel fresh and ready to start the day. I've recently switched up my daily moisturizer to Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. 

So far, so good. It's a little dry for my taste so I will probably try the lotion from the same line next time, but it does not break me out which is a step in the right direction. Normally, I've had luck with Clinique skincare products in general, so it's a positive trend. 

I try to take off my make-up when I get home from work, but it still  normally has a good 12 hours to jump around my face clogging my pores, melting away and doing all kind of other silly business. I don't tend to do the entire skincare routine at that moment though – I just use some cleanser (right now, I'm using the Nivea Pure&Natural Cleaning Milk) and a facial wipes. I've written a long post about many of these already and I'm currently using the Yes to Blueberries wipes which I again adore :)

In the evening, the real pampering (or torture, depends on the type of person you are) starts. About 3 times a week, I try to exfoliate with my Olay Pro-X and the Neutrogena purifying pore scrub. I've also gotten my hands on some Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 1 % BHA gel and I'm excited to try this stuff out to see how my skin will like it. When I exfoliate, I always end the process by putting the Nuxe (Huile Prodigieuse) oil on my face and let it really nurture the skin properly for about 15-20 minutes before doing anything else. I feel that exfoliation is quite stressful on the skin and it deserves a little pampering afterwards. 

But as a part of a regular, everyday routine, I first take off my make-up as described above. Then I let my skin rest for a couple of minutes before applying Mixa Soothing Toner. It's good, but it is not my favorite. That would have to be the Nuxe  Eau Demaquilliante Micelaire (Micelar cleaning water). I've only had a deluxe sample of that and I am quite ready to invest in the whole bottle. 

Then I apply the eye cream. I am currently using the Eveline Argan Oil Anti-wrinkle rejuvenating eye-cream, but I doubt that I will finish the whole serum – it does not seem to do anything to have any benefit whatsoever on my skin and I am a bit disappointed in it. Last but not least, I apply my nightly moisturizer. I switched this one as well, so I am using the L'Oreal Triple Active night moisturizer (I dropped it one day hence no lid because it broke). It's very, very nice – quite oily, but I like that in the night cream since it has plently of time to really do its thing to my face throughout the night. I also apply down my neck as well. 

And that is IT. It's really simple in my opinion, although my husband would probably not agree.  

What is the one thing that cannot be missing from your skincare routine when you want to pamper yourself? Comment below!

Until next time, stay beautiful, stay awesome!

Fun Friday - Low maintenance?

Yesterday, my significant other watched me put on make-up from start to finish while he was taking a shower. When I was done he was utterly amused by the fact that I am writing my blog under the »low-maintenance beauty« name. Because, in his words, I'm anything but. And you know what? After reviewing my morning routine I realized he is right. What I want to know from you is if you find the bottom list something normal – something you do as well – or am I taking it a step too far?

This is the list of everything I put on yesterday + all the tools I used for application in the exact order I use them.

• moisturizer (Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel) and lipbalm (EOS)
• face primer (Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser) + fingers
• eye primer (Too Faced Shadow Insurance) + fingers
• liquid foundation (Rimmel Match Perfection) + Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge
• compact powder (Bourjois Healthy Balance) + BH Cosmetics Powder Brush
• light concealer (Make Up Revolution Concealer) + Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge
• under-eye concealer (Instant Age Rewind Concealer) + Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge
• bronzer (Tarte Mineral Bronze Powder) + Ecotools powder brush
• blush (NYX Blush in Pinched) + BH Cosmetics Blush Brush

• eyebrow powder (NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder) + brush that comes with it
• eyebrow gel (Essence Lash and Brow gel)
• eyeshadow (Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette) + 3 BH Cosmetics eyeshadow brushes for application and blending
• eyelash curler (no idea of the brand, picked it up at Walmart for a few $)
• mascara (1 coat of Maybelline Volum Express Colossal Mascara + 1 coat of Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara)
• eyeliner (Maybelline Master Precise liquid eyeliner)
• lip liner (Uma Cosmetics)
• lipstick (Barry M)
• setting spray (e.l.f. Make-up Mist & Set)

 Total? 19 products and 9 tools.

I'll be the first to admit that this is a full face of make-up, although I apply it in a way that is still appropriate for daytime. I mainly separate daytime and night time looks by the amount of contouring and the darkness of the eyeshadow – there is probably some other things that could also be taken into account? How do you change your daytime/night-time make-up?

At the moment, putting this on takes me a good 15 minutes, which is a ridiculous amount of time. I hope to get a bit faster eventually, but so far it is what it is. What I will say though is that I absolutely love the mornings now because every day I get to play around with make-up and try something new, which is something I never did before. 

What is your favorite part of mornings?

Until next time, stay beautiful, stay awesome!

40 beauty questions TAG

Since my camera is still not cooperating and I'm unable to take the photos of my second online shopping haul results (and everything else I bought since then as well), I decided this would be a good opportunity to go through a new beauty tag that recently caught my eye. It's going to be a long, long post so by the time you are done with this, my camera will be working for sure. So here we go!

How many times do you wash your face daily?

- Normally 3 times - in the morning, when I get home from work and take my make-up off and in the evening.

What skin type do you have?

- A mixture of dry and oily - oily cheeks and chin, dry nose and forehead.

What is your current facial wash?

- Neutrogena Natural Purifying Pore Scrub. Read about that one in my July favorites

Do you exfoliate?

- I think I do? Everyday?

Update: In the last month or so I learned that if it sounds too simple, it probably is. So I found an article about the difference between scrubs and exfoliators. And no, I don't exfoliate. I learn something new every day...