Last weekend we went shopping, and I made some pictures, so here's an LOTD again:

The EOTD, was made with Manhattan, Bourjois and Sephora eyeshadow:
(It was really hot outside, look at that smudged eyebrow!)

And I used Essence liquid eyeliner:

For the rest of the look I used Catrice Absolute Moisture Lipsticks, Noisette Cocktail:

And Catrice Mineral Soft Powder Rouge, Light Burgundy:

On monday I was in Amsterdam, so after work I decided to go to the Kruidvat there, because they have more than 'my own' Kruidvat.

I chose 4 lipsticks, 1 light n shine lipglaze and 5 effect powders.

Velvet Touch Lipsticks, with flash:

Withouth Flash:


Light 'n Shine lipglaze, no. 5:

It has a usefull mirror and a light inside the applicators handle:



Swatches in daylight:

Swatches indoors, with flash:
 They are pretty shiney :)


Effect Powders:



Swatches in daylight:

Swatches indoors:

I think Gold Dust will be a great Highlighter, Steel is absolutely beautifull, and Purple Rain has golden glitters in it, I'm not sure what to think of those yet, but I love the purple in itself.

The EPswatches are made on Hema eyeshadowbase, so the colours don't look as intense as they are. If anyone is interested, I can make swatches from other EP's aswell. I could do them on Gosh eyeshadowbase or NYX jumbopencil Milk, so you could see the colours better. Maybe I should make pics and swatches of my Gosh products anyway...

I've had this one for a while now, but hadn't found the time to use it. Since it's sunny outside now, I thought this would be the perfect time to try it out.

This is another holographic polish, this time in a bright blue colour. It does have a tinge of green in it, but not as much as I hoped.


This is the colour in daylight without any sun:
It's a nice colour, but a bit too blue for my taste. Maybe I just have to get used to it, I don't know.

With sunlight:

The holographic effect is beautifull ofcourse, and gives it a bit of greener shine. But I don't like it as much as L8R G8R or LOL, maybe because with this colour the rainbow isn't as clearly visible as with the others. Or maybe it's just this shade of blue. It looks weird on my hands, but then again, I don't own many blues. I wonder why that is.

Goal: To find a 100% USDA Certified Organic body lotion that smells girly and really moisturizes!
Brand I Tried: Bubble & Bee Organic
Product: Raspberry & Vanilla Body Butter (or Butta as it says on the label) LOL.
Product Description From Their Website: "Sweet decadent Raspberry and Vanilla in a 100% organic body butter. Organic Shea butter moisturizes deeply, delivering essential protecting lipids to the skin. Organic coconut oil with retained coconut meat keep this formula smooth but not greasy. A little goes a long way---that is if you can resist reapplying it every 15 minutes because it smells and feels so good! Shelf life: 10 months after date of purchase".
Ingredients: Organic Shea butter, organic coconut oil with retained coconut meat, organic jojoba oil, organic raspberry extract, organic macadamia nut oil, organic sweet almond oil, organic vanilla extract. Product 100% USDA Certified Organic by UDAF.

• Price: $16.95 / $24.95 
• Size: 4 oz. / 8oz.
• Uses: Body Lotion
• Amount Of Product Used For It To Be Effective: Very little... a little bit goes a long way! I have to admit though- if it weren't so expensive, I'd use a little more.
• First Impression: Smells like cake frosting - not a health food store! Yippie for not smelling like a Hippie!
• Visual Attractiveness: Cute Packaging- label is wrapped around the container though instead of a sticker or printed on- kind of a pain in the ass, since it comes off!
• Texture: Just like home-made cake frosting... with a little gritty-ness. Not really greasy though. Described on their website: "may feel different from what you're used to feeling in a body butter. To cut down on a greasy feeling, we've added powdered coconut meat, so you'll feel this in the formula. This is not a water-based emulsion, so it won't have that wet feeling. It is best described as having the consistency and feel of home-made frosting."
• Scent: Like cake frosting... wait, did I mention that already?!?
• How Long I've Used It: for the past 2-3 months.
• Easy To Find And Where? Bubble & Bee Organic
• Acquired: Purchased with my own money.
• Customer Service: Please see my Bubble and Bee Organic 'Pit Putty Review.
• Sample, Trial, Travel Sizes?: No, unfortunately... I really wish they did though- I would try so many more of their products!
• EWG's Skin Deep - Cosmetic Safety Database Rating: 0! YAY!
• Product This Will Be Replacing: Jergens® Naturals® Total Nourishment Daily Moisturizer.
• EWG's Skin Deep - Cosmetic Safety Database Rating for Jergens® Naturals® Total Nourishment Daily Moisturizer: 5.
• Verdict: I love this product! I ordered the 4 oz. container the first time, just to see if I liked it... and recently got the 8 oz. container. I wish they sold it in larger sizes! I don't use this every single time I shower- as it's a little pricey, but I do use it at least 3-4 times a week.  It's not really greasy, and soaks into your skin quickly which is great. I LOVE that it's 100% USDA Certified Organic- since it's covering the largest organ on your body... your skin. I also must mention that before using this (and California Baby Super Sensitive Everyday Lotion which I will also review soon)- I really thought I had Restless Leg Syndrome. For 29 out of 32 years of my life- I was a figure skater...  and at night when I'd come home from the rink, I used to not be able to sit still on the couch, or even sleep. The skin only on my legs felt itchy on my thighs and got red, creepy and crawly sensations. So, I associated it with skating and had it for about 5 years. I would literally wake up in the morning with huge, long raised red marks all over my legs- almost like infected cat scratches! It was so uncomfortable. I tried every- everything I could think of while it drove me nuts! Changed soap, lotion brands, laundry detergents, my diet, etc... I was about to give up and go to a Dr. - when I decided to go with organic/ natural body lotions. I didn't think anything of it- until a few weeks ago when I realized that the problem went away out of nowhere. Seriously. Wooo Hooo!  

Here are some items I've recently bought:

A tight longshirt/dress in brightred and black, because Sid loves seeing me in tight longshirts/dresses and skirts, and apparantly I don't have enough of those. And a snakeprint legging, because I always look at those and this time hubs liked it :)

Some of you might have noticed, I have a thing for peacockfeathers. So when I saw this dress I really wanted to try it on. I was afraid the colours would be too light for me and make me look sicklypale. But luckely, the darker blue gives it enough colour to look good with my skin. I would love to have some clothing/fabric with reallife peacockfeather colours, but unfortunately, I never spot those. Still, I like this dress, especially the V at the back.


A tight bright pink skirt, which looks really 80s on me, but then again I'm an 80s child :). A star wars shirt, well, actually 2 of the same, but in 2 different sizes. Originally it was supposed to be for Merlijn, my 11yr old stepson, but the shirt fitted me aswell. So we decided to keep them both and be kewl together :)
Hubs likes and dislikes that, because he LOVES starwars(and I don't really care about it at all), and for some reason they don't have Tshirts in mensizes, just kidsizes and one time they had one for women. But at least he gets to watch me in it, which apparantly is a good thing. When I spotted the men boxers with starwars print(with big letters on the back), I just had to get them for my beloved. He has two now, and he has already dropped his pants twice to show it to people, hahahaha.

[update] I spotted Star wars tshirts for men at H&M, and today I bought one for Sid, so finally Sid has one aswell :)

• Price: $ 6.99
• Size: 1 Lb.
• Uses: Facials, acne, body wraps, clay baths, foot soaks, chilled for knee packs and insect bites, hair clarifying mask, plus many more!
• Amount Of Product Used For It To Be Effective: I followed the directions on the container using equal parts. You can make as little or as much as you want depending on what you're using it for.
• First Impression: Ooh... I remember this! I was always a beauty junkie... as a teenager- I made every Sunday a spa day. I guess, to keep it natural, my mom let me use this all the time.
• Visual Attractiveness: Ummm... not so glamorous (the packaging could use an update).
• Texture: Powder.
• Scent: Smells a little icky (like vinegar) if you follow the vinegar recipe on the container, otherwise- I guess like clay.
• How Long I've Used It: For the past 2-3 months (also used it years ago).
• Easy To Find And Where? Whole Foods, Amazon, most health food stores... just Google it.
• Acquired: Purchased with my own money.
• Sample, Trial, Travel Sizes?: Nope, not that I could find.
• EWG's Skin Deep - Cosmetic Safety Database Rating: 0... I had to type it in.
• Product This Will Be Replacing: Proactiv Solutions Refining Mask
• EWG's Skin Deep - Cosmetic Safety Database Rating for Proactiv Solutions Refining Mask: 7... I had to type it in.
• Verdict: Ok, so this is by far one of my fave facial masks! I use it once, sometimes twice a week especially when I'm breaking out. This has really helped to clear up my skin overall. I have used it on my face, in a bath, and as a body mask so far. I have also used it in my hair which BTW I do NOT recommend - it made my hair feel like rubber-bands and straw all at the same time. I know. You will really feel it tighten and pulsate - totally not kidding. Also note that your face will be really red for about an hour or so after you remove it... so don't freak out and don't do it right before you go out! Depending on how pasty / watery you mix, or how thick or thin you slather it on- drying time will vary. The key is to wait until it's completely dry. You will look like your face is literally cracking ha-ha. To rinse off- I take a warm soaked washcloth and saturate my entire face without rubbing- I do my whole face like this... and then go back and gently wipe- it should easily come off. As far as mixing: make sure you don't use any metal utensils. I have a designated glass or plastic bowl, with a plastic spoon and a rubber basting brush. I usually use my hands to apply it rather than the brush though. I like to use all water- but found it's hard to get the clumps completely out of the with only water. I came across a tip to use a splash of Bragg's Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar (which helps smooth it out much better) and the rest water. You can do all water or all A.C.V. too, it's up to you. You can also mix it with other things like honey, yogurt, etc... here's a site with some ideas to get you started: 12 Great Recipes For Aztec Secret Indian Healing Bentonite Clay . Go crazy!

As some of you might have noticed, I don't have a lot of hair, I think I can blame my dad for that one (thanx dad! Still love you though ;) ).
I used to wear fake ponytails and such, because I love ponytails, but I really disliked the tiny thin ponytail that my own hair produced. Untill I picked up a mini hairspray(travelsize) by Pro Set. I never found the right volume hairspray for my hair, untill now.

This products claims :to give volume without weighing down your hair. It also has a perfume made from rosemary, lavender and cedarwood. It has vitamin B5 for shiney and healthy hair and helps the hair against drying out. It has an ultra strong formula that last for 24 hours. Doesn't get sticky, easy to comb out and leaves no fibers.

Well, I totally agree with EVERYTHING they claim! I always hate using the smelly hairsprays that make my hair weigh down and leaves fibres in it when I comb it out. Especially on black hair, that's really yucky. The smell is lovely, very fruity and fresh and it really does make my hair shine. I can finally create volume in a ponytail withouth having to do much for it!

See for yourself:

(withouth this hairspray you would be looking at less than 1/3rd of that amount of volume)

My hair stayed that way even when I walked in a very strong wind, and at the end of the day I combed it out very easily. The spray I got was a travelsize and only cost 99 cents. They have bigger bottles aswell and they cost somewhere between 2 and 3 euros. This brand has a lot of different hairsprays, so I'll definately take a look at those aswell. Because this is a great spray for volume, it's not really for fixing the rest of your hair(to stay in place). So I might buy another one of this brand just for that purpose. But I love my travelsize aswell, because it's perfect to put into your bag :)

....Sanne!

Congratulations Sanne, an email has been sent to you!

Thanx everyone who participated, and blogged and tweeted about this giveaway. We are almost at a 100 followers!

I want to thank you all for the comments and requests given by you at this giveaway and will consider all of them.

If you have any request for looks or reviews or other questions, you can ask them in the formspring.me box on the right of this blog.

A while ago I saw these Eye Brightening Pencils at Hema, and decided they could be really handy for neutral/fast looks.

These pencils are a bit small, about as long as my middle finger, and a bit thicker than eyepencils. The thickness is more like the NYX jumbo pencils.
Anyway, I think there are only two in the collection, I bought both. One is a silvery white shimmer and the other is a more nude/soft pink (gives an almost golden) shimmer.

Swatches on my arm with daylight:

They are soft and very easy to apply. I think they work wonders when you use them as a highlighter below your brows and/or in your inner eyecorner.

Swatches rubbed a little with my fingers:

I use these when I have very neutral makeup(for me), for example just some eyelienr ans mascara. The pencil really brightens your eyes.
They cost only 2 euros a piece, and I'm not really sure if they are limited edition or not.

Today is the last day to enter the giveaway, so if you want a chance to win these products:

then make sure you enter before midnight tonight, european time!

At the moment there are 34 people that have entered, so you have a pretty good chance at winning.

And woohoo, we are almost at a 100 followers!

It's here again! From June 29th till July 11th, Kruidvat has the GOSH buy 1 get 1 for free bargain again!
Which means, you can buy a lot more Gosh products for the same amount of money, or just the same amount for less money, hahaha.

Some recommendations from me:

• Soft 'N Shine lipbalms, my favs: Soft Touch, Mocha, Aubergine
• Effect Powders, my favs: so many! Butterfly, Azure, Apple Jam, Aquatic, Greeny, Plummy, Paradise, etc (btw if anyone has Limelight, Lemonade, Midnight, Green Gate, Blue Whale, Steel or Green Python, and isn't using it, I'm interested!)
• Lipsticks, I don't have many yet, but the ones I have, I really like. I'm going to look at these next week myself.

What do you win?
A professional photoshoot with Gosh with the Gosh makeup artist and YOU will be the face of the products and advertisement for the Gosh Glasmourlook Fall 2010!

What do you have to do?
Like I said, save your recipts: they have a code on them that you have to use, then go to www.kruidvat.nl/goshand upload your Glamourphoto: Make a beautifull look with the most beautifull Gosh Products. You can vote for others aswell when the jury has chosen the best 15 photos, from July 26th till August 1st. Winner will be announced on August 9th.

Important: you MUST be available for the photoshoot between August 16th and August 20th!

Hello, hello! Today I'm reviewing Sebastian Volupt Spray volume-building spray gel. Volupt is Sebastian's newest line, which includes shampoo, conditioner, and Volupt Spray - and it's awesome! This product is descibed as a spray-gel, but I wouldn't say that at all. It has such a light mist and is virtually weightless in hair, but whatevs! The label reads: "VOLUPT SPRAY contains revolutionary cushioning-particles to create hair-raising root volume, leaving a defined hold that stays sumptuous and soft to the touch. With natural bamboo extract. Contains heat protection." Cushioning-particles? Sounds fancy!

A while back I saw the Claire Mood polishes on Serena's blog, and I immediately wanted them. I went to Claire's in Amsterdam, but they told me they weren't available in Europe. So when Ally told me she could get them for me, I squeeled. I've been doing that a lot lately...but that's a good thing :)

I really really wanted the Calm/Wild polish, but Ally is such a sweetheart so she included another aswell. This NOTD is with Calm/Wild though.


I absolutely adore the wonderfull colourcombination! It's almost like a gradient manicure, but one that changes all day long. I have to stare at them throughout the day, because everytime I look at them, my nails are different.

I thought this polish might not work on me, because I usually have very cold hands. But boy, was I wrong! When I get out of bed r am still in bed, they are pink all over, and when I go to the bathroom they turn purple all over, it's really funny. It's a lot of fun to play with cold water aswell, because the colour changes right in front of your eyes.
This is what they look like when my hands are colder (on this one theres still a hint of pink at the base):

Even when you're applying the polish, it's already changing colours. You have to watch how thick the layer is that you apply though, because otherwise the gradient effect isn't the same on all fingers(look at my pinky).
The polish applies pretty easy, and you don't need a lot of coats, one thick one is enough. Also, I thought it would be a gritty surface, but its pretty smooth to the touch.

I think this polish is just awesome and it's a bit sad that they didn't make more colourcombo's. I would love a mood polish with red, or blue or maybe even black? But this one is the most gorgeous one to me, especially because off the shimmer. Thanx again Ally! :)

Enchantingbeauty tagged me with this Award, which is supersweet of them!
You're supposed to share 4 passions and then tag another 4 bloggers.

I'm not sure if things are really passions of mine, because passion is such a loaded word, but let's see how far I get.
 
1.I'm totally addicted to books. Ever since I was a child I devoured every book I could get my hands on, even had 2 librarycards so I could loan 10 books at a time. Otherwise I had to get back way to fast. When I was a kid I totally lost myself in books, and was oblivious to my surroundings. Later on I lost my reading a bit, I just read in the bus to school and in bed, but not as much as before. But the last few years it has come back with a vengeance, hahaha. I read everyday if I can. I read in the train to work, in bed in the morning and/or evening, and I read during daytime if I can find the time. I even read fanfic online, but I prefer real books. I especially love pockets and old books. Pockets because they are easier to carry with me, and old books because they have had a life before they were mine, I just love old things. I've always been into fantasy, for example anything by Weis and Hickman or Terry Pratchett. But nowadays I'm more into the fantasy with vampires, lycanthropes and shapeshifters. And I don't mind a little smut either. Some of my fav series right now: Anite Blake vampire hunter, The Black Dagger Brotherhood, The Dresden Files, Immortals after Dark, Dark Hunters, Sookie Stackhouse, Twilight. Unfortunately for me, Ive read the whole series and I'm waiting for the new books to come out. So I'm always searching for new and interesting series. I love it that my husband likes reading aswell and we share a lot of love for the same series. Especially Twilight and The Dresden Files. (Yes I have a Twiguy, we even have the series twice, so we won't bother eachother when we want to read it again) :)

2. I love being creative, and I've had all kinds of hobbies. I've made stuffed animals from scratch, jewelry, cushions and the last few years a lot of clothing. But I also like to draw, paint or write a lot. I like to create something from scratch, and I love it when I can make other people happy with something I've made. Especially clothing has been a passion for years. As a kid I made ballgowns for my Barbies, and since 2002 I made my own clothing. That turned into a business of my own where I designed, made and selled (goth) clothing. But I decided to make it a hobby again, because it was so busy I didn't have any time to design and make new things, which for me has always been the most fun. I also like to make costumes for the Elf Fantasy Fair and Castlefest and such :)

3. Ofcourse my beloved is the biggest pashion I have, but because that is so obvious I won't put it on the list, so I'll put my cats on it. We have 3 cats, Greebo, Odin and Loki. Greebo is a silverhaired female who is really sweet, loves to be touched and gives kisses on command. She has a love/hate relationship with the other 2, because she is interestd in them, but doesn't really like their games. Odin is a 8 kilo weighing male withouth balls, literally AND figurarly. He's a sweet cat, but he's a bit...dumb. He is the biggest and strongest cat in the house, but most of the time he let's himself get scared away from how food by the others. Untill he's really fed up with it, and then he just sits on his brother, lol. He's really fluffy and mostly black with grey tribals on his fur. He likes to lay on the couch, and lay against me in bed, but sometimes when you hit his 'on' button, he really wants to cuddle and you can;'t get him to turn away. Usually that happens in the middle of the night, hehe. And Loki, well, he's my sweety, my little monkey. He's a brother to Odin, but he weighs 5-6 kilos and has a different fur. He looks more like his momma(my motherinlaws cat). He was the last of the litter and therefor the thiniest. He didn't even look like a cat when he was a kitten, more like a ferret or a monkey: hence my nickname for him. But he turned out the be the craziest and sweetest of the whole litter. Loki literally climbs in the walls and is a bit too daring: he has fallen of too many high things. He can do the weirdest things, and you can be entertained by just watching him for days. But he is also supersweet, he always wants to cuddle and he loves sleeping in the crook of my arm. He stands by the door when you come home to greet you and he has the most adorable look on his face when you catch him doing stomething wrong. I absolutely love him :) Loki is also a male withouth balls(literally) but he has no manparts at all anymore. He had stones in his blatter and because he was one of the worst they had ever seen he had to be amputated. So now he pees like a girl, but he doens't mind one bit :)

4. I think my 4th passion is makeup and everything around it. I've always loved makeup, but as a child I was very very very allergic to it. I did wear nailpolish and such, and that never really changed, although I did have a few years when I used it less. Later on, I could wear a certain brand of makeup, and through the years I started to get less allergic. Nowadays, I can wear almost anything withouth getting complaints, but I do have to watch what I use and how often. I love the way you can express your mood with fashion, and that's why I love makeup aswell: you can use any colour you like and you can combine a lot aswell. I love trying out new things: trying out different colourcombos or new products. And it's really great to share those with others.


I always like to tag people who aren't tagged yet, So hopefully these didn't have the tag yet:
Suzy @ http://www.simplysuzy.nl/
Suzanne @ http://deltacephei.nl/
Michèle @ http://www.lacquerized.com/
Hanne @ http://www.snowwhiteglamour.be/

Let's do something different today...I'm going to show you saturdays Eyes, Hair and Look of the day. Just because I can, LOL. Nah, some people have been asking me for LOTD's and I have to say I usuall forget to take those, or don't think they are relevant because I almost never wear foundation and such anyway. But hey, you ask, and I deliver ;)

On saturday it wasn't exactly feeling like summer, it was only 15 degrees celsius, sometimes even 11, so that explains my clothing. I'll be glad when the warm weather finally arrives, I need to soak it all up to get through winter :)

Anyway, the EOTD was pretty simple is soft/warm pink tones:

I used the eyeshadow Ally gave me, which gave a wonderfull soft smokey pink colour:
I applied some black eyeliner to go with my 'rockabilly' hair, because I like to try out diff styles with my hair:

My hair was pretty simple aswell, but since I've worn it seperated in the middle for -years-, it somehow 'remembers' that, which makes it harder to create the front. Still, it's different, and I like different once in a while:

Usually I tend to wear hairpieces if I do a high ponytail, because I don't have a lot of hair, and I don't really like a thin ponytail. But I recently discovered the Pro Set Volume spray, and it gives me enough volume not to use a hairpiece:

And the LOTD, together with Merlijn, posing very seriously in an annoyingly strong wind:
(I love those sneakers, I need more of them, but I can't find those high ones anywhere. And -yes- I know those belts are supposed to be worn in the waist, but they are all to big for my waist, so sue me :P )

Did I ever mention, Merlijn is very ticklish? *grins* :
----
Don't forget the giveaway, only a few days left!

And on saturday the rest of my Sigma brushes came in, I absolutely love them, a review will follow soon:)

Last week I got these 2 things at C&A, for not a lot of money:

On the left is a longshirt/dress of a very hard to descibe colour with black lace on the front. And on the right is a black tight skirt that has some gathered fabric on the front sides.
The longshirt/dress cost 12,95 euros, and I bought it a bit too large, so I could also use it as a dress. I'll take in the waist and such, so it'll fit perfectly.
The skirt was on sale, it cost me less than 5,99 euros orso, and fits perfectly.(which, with my measurements is pretty awesome)


As I said, the colour is very hard to describe, I would say it's a very vibrant dark purple blue. Yeah....that doesn't really ring a bell huh? I tried to capture the right colour on cam, which totally failed, because it turned a vibrant blue instead. So imagine the picture I posted above, but then the colour is a lot more vibrant. I think that's the best way to explain. :P

I also got a big envelope from Germany and at first I couldn't place what in the world it could be. But then I remembered: it was from Essence. Somewhere in the beginning of the year, maybe March?, I picked up a flyer by Essence, which told me you could save your receipts of Essence products and for every product you got one heart. When you had a certain amount of hearts, you could pick out a gift. Then send it to Germany and your gifts would be posted. Well, mine arrived so soon I hadn't expected them yet! Anyway, I've bought a lot of Essence for my blog, friends, swaps,giveaways, etc, so I had a lot of receipts. I crossed off 2 gifts, because I had so many, and I wasn't even sure if you could.
Anyway, this is what I got, accompanied by a nice letter written in Dutch(!):


I decided to use them for my nailstuffies, the small one for my nailhardener and remover and topcoat and such, and the bigger one for all my nail artstuffies:


I'm not sure if anyone is even interested in non makeup stuff, so please let me know :)