So yesterday I went to Kruidvat, to pick up a new Gosh mascara and Soft N Shine. On the way I decided I might want to buy the Lip base they created recently, but unfortunately, it wasn't in stock :( Being a person with extreme dry lips but with a tendency for bold lipstick, I'm always seraching for a good lipbase, so I was kind of dissapointed not being able to try it out.

Since I haven't been at Kruidvat in ages(I work store hours now), the whole store was new to me: they ahd rearranged -everything-.
So on my way to the makeup, I came across the bodylotions and bodyscrubs. I'm always in for a good bodyscrub(I love the lemon scrub from Kruidvat) and this seemed nice. Also, I seriously need to use bodylotion, but I always seem to forget. This one says to nurture the skin and to soak up fast. So that seemed perfect :)

Then I went to the makeup and I panicked: where was the Essence makeup? They had rearranged the makeup and Essence was now on the far left instead of the far right. Since I like using and trying out Essence stuff, I was really glad it was still there.
I saw A LOT of NEW essence stuff, including: nailpolishes, mascaras, blushes(the multiple ones were too bold looking for me), lipsticks, nail stamping polishes, fast drying nail art drops, eyeshadow quattros, smokey eyes palettes(with purple!), baked eyeshadows, and so on.
Unfortunately, they didn't have the new stam;ingplates yet.

Anyway, these polishes were the ones I bought:
Glisten Up! A light blue with flakies!! and shimmers. I had seen this on a blog months ago, so I was really excited to find it here.
Choose Me! A beautigfull dark green(I'm sucker for those! with gold shimmer in it, I already love it.
Hopefully these two will apply(and dry) better than other Colour&Go polishes: I 'm not a big fan of these. I -do- love the multidimension polishes though, they are awesome.
And lastly: a black stamping polish. I already own one by Konad, but I'd love to see if this one does the trick aswell.

Then I spotted the baked eyeshadows, I think there were 6 different colours. No green or purple though :( The other ones were copper, blue..and..don't remember, sorry.

Pretty Rockin' , Fabulous, Bling Bling

I thought I'd just try the white one as a highlighter, but then I spotted a tester drawer somewhere behind some stuff. So after rearranging it, I teste the brown and black one and LOVED the efect. It doesn't give just a darker/lighter colour depending on how it's baked, it really gives a black with a visible silver shimmer in it and a brown with a visible gold shimmer. If they stay good on my eye, I will definately love those!


Then I saw that the Pure & Nature line had a discount, and since I've been using the day, night and eyecream regularly, I bought another nightcream, sicne that one's been going fast lately.
I also bought the Catrice allround concealer because I;ve read so much about it, it was finally time to try it out.
The mascara is a PURPLE one, and also new by Essence. I'm curious to see if it will be visible, because most mascaras I've tried weren't really visibly coloured.

And then, the things I came for:

My fav mascara, and my fav soft n shine(the soft touch.)

I also bought some art supplies for my beloved, but  didn't photograph those.


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BTW, check out the new Poll in the sidebar! Please Vote and let me know what products you'd like to se swatched. Also, in the Formspring box you can ask any other questions or requests.

I want to thank everyone for their birthdaywishes!!!! And no it wasn't a fun day: I had a bad cold, had to work, and at the end of the day I had a sore thoat and a fever. So I mostly worked and slept, hahah.


I based this EOTD on some colours of a Sorcerers Apprentice poster, the movie we were going to see that night.(but we never got there, remember?) The poster consisterd mostly of black with some azure and blues.

Products used:

• Raffida Quartetta Palette(highlighter)
• Gosh Effect Powder, Azure
• Gosh Effect Powder, Blue Diamond
• Sleek palette(weet niet meer welke), black
• Essence Kajal, Nightfever

I've applied Azure on my whole eyelid and into the crease. Then I blended it above the crease and applied some highlighter. I've applied some Blue Diamon right above the Azure above the crese and blended it ith the highlighter.

Then I took a black eyeshadow and applied it into the crease. This gives a lot of depth to the makeup, and it gave a great colour(not black as all!) on the eye.

I think I applied Essence kajal liner below the eye...but it also could have been a dark blue from the Sleek (storm?) palette. It's been a while so I'm not sure, haha. THe highlight colour in the inner eyecores is probably from a bourjois smokey eye trio.....

Yeah, def don't want to write blogs about old EOTD's, because I'll never remember what I've used, ahhaha.

We all love bargains, but especially the ones where we get something for free.
From August 31st till Sept 12th, Gosh will be buy one, get one for free again! (at Kruidvat)

I'm really happy, because my fav mascara(the one with the gold top on the pic) has been used a lot and I want a new one. I think I'll buy an extra The Soft Touch Soft n Shine aswell, since that's my favourite.
Maybe I'll take a look at some Effect Powders aswell, but I own a lot now, so I might not see one I like.


Also, Kruidvat will be celebrating their 35th Birthday aswell!

You can win all kinds of prices(there's even a game!) at the Kruidvat website, but you can also win other things
You will get a scratching (lottery) tickets if you spend at least 10 euros in the store, you can win prizes through a radioprogramma and you can even nominate your fav person to win 1 min of free shopping!

Needless to say, it's a really good time to go shopping at Kruidvat this week ;)

Goal: To find a safer, more natural pressed powder foundation- that has decent coverage and lasts all day without clogging my pores.
Brand I Tried: Jane Iredale
Product: PurePressed® Base SPF 20 in the shade of "Golden Glow".
Product Description: (directly from their website) The look is sheer and semi-matte. The feel is weightless. Trust our pressed mineral foundation to look like your skin, only better. UVA/UVB SPF 20 broad-spectrum sun protection, A foundation, powder, concealer and sunscreen all in one,Very water-resistant and highly pigmented, Applies evenly and easily, providing long-lasting, gorgeous coverage, Light diffusing properties make skin look flawless, healthy and younger, Minimizes pores and fine lines, No oil, talc, dyes and parabens, Gentle, safe for sensitive eyes and formulated with good-for-the-skin ingredients, Crease-resistant and long-lasting, May be applied wet or dry to complement any look, Great for shading, highlighting, contouring and lining. Jane Iredale PurePressed Base is now recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation.
Ingredients: Active Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide 14%, Zinc Oxide 3%. Ingredients: Mica, Boron Nitride, Dimethicone, Stearic Acid, Plankton Extract, Algae Extract, Pinus Strobus (Pine) Bark Extract, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Extract. May Contain: Iron Oxides, Ultramarines, Chromium Oxide Greens.

• Price: $49.50. (Note: The first time you buy it you have to buy the gold compact. After that, you can just buy the refills for it for $40.00, I think).
• Size: 9.9 g / .35 oz.
• Uses: Facial powder foundation.
• Amount Of Product Used For It To Be Effective: Umm, I feel like I blow right through it! I wish you got more for your money. I am also used to using something with much heavier coverage, like MAC. I've gotten used to it though. I use much less now, than I did in the beginning.
• First Impression: I just paid how much for this??? And that's all that's in there?
• Visual Attractiveness: Case is nice, just really heavy! I'm terrified to drop it... it would shatter the makeup to smithereens, I'm sure! A plastic one would be so much more practical!
• Texture: Pressed powder. While I do appreciate that it's a pressed mineral powder, it flies all over the place! Why is it so hard to find pressed mineral makeup? Hmmm?
• Scent: N/A.   
• How Long I've Used It: Since May 2010.
• Easy To Find And Where? Not so much. I just so happen to have a Spa at the Nordstrom near my house who carried a VERY small selection of it. I hate buying makeup online! I just wanted to go somewhere to match my color. Ugh! It seems like only Dr.'s offices, high end salons, spas and boutiques sell it. You can buy it online at Janeiredale.com, Nordstrom.com and Dermstore.com- (which has free shipping and easy returns with a 100% Color Match Guarantee).
• Acquired: Purchased with my own moolah.
• Customer Service: N/A.
• Sample, Trial, Travel Sizes?: I wish they had free samples, or sample sizes you could buy to see if it's the correct shade. You can buy starter kits, but they come with other products like brushes, etc.. that I don't need, and by the time you pay for them- you just might as well purchase the full size product that you needed in the first place.
• EWG's Skin Deep - Cosmetic Safety Database Rating for Jane Iredale PurePressed® Base SPF 20: 2.
•  Product This Will Be Replacing: MAC Studio Fix (tears, sniffle, sniffle).
• EWG's Skin Deep - Cosmetic Safety Database Rating for MAC Studio Fix: 4 .
• Verdict: One of the few things I can't live without is a good foundation, concealer, powder, etc... Underneath this, I currently use a NOT so natural or organic liquid foundation... I'm grounded, I know LOL. As soon as I find one, you'll be the first know! I don't use a kabuki brush with it either- I actually use my MAC 187 brush. If you're not used to using mineral makeup (like me)... don't get frustrated. It will take a little practice to get the hang of the "Swirl, Tap, Buff" technique. There are plenty of YouTube videos on how to apply it. Long story short... if you just brush it on- you will think there is no coverage- the trick is in knowing that the more you buff and blend, the more coverage you see. I have combination skin with breakouts from time to time, Grrr. This doesn't clog my pores or make my skin feel greasy, and actually wears pretty well AND has decent coverage. I am all about pressed powders people! I feel like you loose too much product with loose powder, plus- it's unhealthy to breathe it in. So I am definitely happy to find this! One of my biggest pet peeves is this though: compared to other high end makeup brands, it doesn't seem like you get a lot for the $. The cost of this is nearly double what I was previously paying for MAC! I normally would buy a compact for my purse, and one for home which is not really affordable to do in this case. Another pet-peeve I have is that I'm afraid of dropping my purse or banging the compact around in my bag. It won't stand a chance to absorb the shock in the heavy, metal compact case it comes in. I definitely can't afford to break the makeup! I need a better solution. Other than the outrageous price, the weight of the compact, and a couple of so-so ingredients- I will be sticking with this in the meantime and until something better comes along. While I love the actual performance of the product- I'm not totally head-over-heels in love with the whole package overall. I would purchase this again and would definitely recommend this if you could get past my "issues" with it.  =)     

Today, it's my birthday, and I will be another year older. I will be (the still very young age of) 29 years.
I'm not really doing anything special, I'm even working today, because I don't really like being the center of attention. So on this birthday, YOU will be the center of attention, because today a new GIVEAWAY will start!

So what has Enchantra offered me for the giveaway?
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The 2 duochromes in this collection seem to be dupes for 2 of the polishes that MAC will release in the venomous Villains collection.  I'm definately going to buy those two for myself :)

Enchantra has kindly offered to not only sponsor the products, but the  international shipping aswell. Which means: this giveaway is open to everyone!

Rules of the giveaway:

• You must be a follower with google friend account. (1 entry)
• Following with Bloglovin will be appreciated but wil -not- give you another entry.
• Tweeting about this giveaway will also be very much appreciated(the more people participate, the more giveaways I will do), but will -not- give you another entry.
• For 2 EXTRA entries: make a partylook(eotd and/or fotd and/or  lotd and/or notd)  for my birthday. Can be anything, as long as it is creative. Post a link to the pic(s) in your comment, you don't have to be a pro or anything, it's the thought that counts. Make it a little bdaygift for me ;). It will be appreciated if you put everything in a single comment, but I'll understand if you don't.
• For 1 EXTRA entry: blog about this giveaway or link this giveaway on your blog.
• Leave your emailadress or another way for me to contact you.
• This giveaway will end at september 18th at midnight.
• Don't forget to thank Enchantra for sponsoring this great giveaway and check out their blog and shop!

For this NOTD I used Bourjois Rouge Backstage. It;s a pretty bright red, firetruckred. On the picks it shows up lighter and more irange toned than it really is though.

I used a Konad imageplate and black Konad special polish to stamp on the leopard print.


I really liked this mani and I think I'll be doing it more often.

I still wish Konad would make longer naildesigns, so I wouldn't have to make up the tips of my nails.

I was tagged by the sweet Michelle from beautification.(Check out her blog!) Thank you!

Some rules:
1. Post who gave you this award.
2. Share 10 things that you love
3. Give this award to 10 other bloggers and notify them with a comment.


1. My sweet, adorable, funny, romantic, smart and how-the-hell-do-you-stay-sane-after-being-with-me-for-so-long husband, my beloved. :) Love ya!


2. My 3 funny, too-smart-for-their-own-good, home-wrecking, oh so sweet and adorable cats.

Greebo Dante Burrfoot

Loki Raistlin Majere

Odin Caramon Majere

3. My 11 year old, oh-i'm-so-getting-into-the-puberty-state(-but-we-still-love-him) stepson Merlijn:

also known as oblivious-to-his-surroundings-merlijn :P

4. Family:
My awesome parents, who I totally adore and love to death. They are the sweetest!
My inlaws, who always have their door open for us and welcomed me into their family:
And ofcourse every other familymember that I have.

5. Friends: sometimes it seems that people have forgotten what true friendship is, but I am lucky to have met some who still know. You all know who you are, and I'm giving an extra shoutout to my Lexlings, you girls rule!

Even though there's now a sea between us, we'll always be BFF's

We can't go anywhere withouth making a Zoolander pic

going to festivals and fairs

hanging out in the garden, with fire, beer and sushi

6. Books, Im addicted to reading, always have been. I'm really into fantasy, and nowadays I'm mostly reading urban fantasy and fantasy with some smut. Most have vampires, shapeshifters, zombies, weres, etc. I'm a big fan of The Anita Blake series and the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Also: The Dresden Files, Dark Hunters, Mercy Thompsen, Alpha & Omega, Immortals after Dark, etc


7. Being Creative, I've always been creative, wit my mind and my hands, hahah. I've done lots of things: making stuffed animals, embroidery, knitting, making jewelry, writing, painting, drawing, and making clothing. The last one turned into a small business of my own. But it was getting too big to handle on my own, and the pleasure turned into work. So I quit the business and it is now a hobby again.



8. Going to Festivals, Fairs, Concerts and the like.
 I love going to to festivals, especially metalfestivals like Summerbreeze in Germany, fairs like Elf Fantasy Fair and Castlefest, Metal concerts, markets, whiskeytastings, etc. Not just with my beloved, but also with lots of friends and/or my inlaws.




9. Movies
I've always liked movies, as a kid I loved fairytales, and now I still do. I can watch almost anything, I'm just not into Horror or the 'I know what you did part 29626282' kind of movies. I have the privileg to have a husband who likes romantic comedy and we both love Tim Burton and fantasy movies. Our movie interests are pretty alike except for Horro and Star Wars, hahaha.



10. Music
I love music, and I have lots of it on my pc, mp3player and ofcourse on cd and dvd. I just bought the new Apocalyptica cd+dvd: 7th Symphony for my bday/. I like almost anything, except r&b and rap or hiphop. Oh, and I get annoyed with Ska, and certain peoples voices(Muse, Lacrimosa ).Can't explain why, they work on my nerves. I'm mostly into Folkmetal nowadays, bands like In Extremo, Lumsk, etc. But I can listen to lots of other stuff aswell. From Classical to Eighties Rock. :)







Now I have to tag 10 people, but these tags usually go around the blogcircuit pretty fast. So everyone who reads this and hasn't been tagged yet, NOW you are! Feel free to post a link to your tag in the comments :)

In case you needed reasons... here's a great little article from The Organic Consumer's Association.

Surviving The Big "C" is more than enough of a reason for me! Now all I need is a Fairy Godmother who can grant me natural products that work... and the money to afford them! I don't think I'm asking for much here =)

Oh, and check out The OCA's E-Newsletter - Organic Bytes - (located in the top, right-hand corner of their page) lots of interesting info. It's one of my favorite sources... Smooches!

Let's start with the sad news...
Last saturday when my skin was itching and flaming again, I took another antihistamine. In the middle of making dinner, my beloved called me. He was at his parents house and his father just got home from work. His father heard some disturbing news on the radio and that's why Sid called me.
Apparantly, my the store I worked at in my hometown, the store where my mom still works, for over 15 years now, was on fire.
Ofcourse, having the week I was having, my internet refused to work and I couldn't get any information. I called my parents though, who just got home from the fire.
The weirdest part? My mom had to work that day, and she got to go home early, because my dad had a day off. She could have been there when it happened, and something bad could have happened.
Anyway, this is what I heard:
Somewhere in the afternoon, smoke came out of the ceiling of the store. They immediately made sure all customers went outside. Not long after that the ceiling collapsed. The store burned. Now, there is a store next door, which belongs to the same building, aswell as an appartment. The store next door is lost aswell, and the appartment was still burning when I called my parents. My mom is pretty shaken, which I can understand.
I have no idea what will happen now, hopefully the insurance will cover everything. I feel really bad for my old boss, for the people of the store next door( I worked next to them for years), and also for the people who owned the appartment. Also, the previous store owners(who were boss to my mom then, I did some stocktakes for them aswell), had just gone on a vacation. I feel really bad for them.
Luckely noone was harmed, but when I saw the pics on Omroep Brabant, I was pretty shocked. Especially when I saw the vid that was made...how high can those flames reach? I mean, look at the old churchtower and then those flames?? And 8 other firedepartments had to help? For one building? That's pretty scary.
I can't even begin to imagine my howetown without the store. :(

Onto some happier things...
Here are I am with my beloved at Castlefest, in the shorter peacock costume I made:

And:
The back of the skirt is a bustle which is pleated. Every pleat(?) has one big peacockfeather on it. Considering the amount of time I had(alomst none) I think it turned out pretty good. The bolero has the same silver fastening clip as the previous(long sleeved) bolero, but with the wings I decided to unclasp them, sometimes I just don't want anything tight around my neck. :)

I didn't really made any pics this time, I was busy shopping :P
I did find some pics online though...

Here I was looking at some costumes in the distance, and then..I was blinded by a flashlight:
Don;t you just love those stone mugs? They keep your drink really cool. :)
And on that note, I totally adore the ways they prepare food on Castlefest, especially this way:

Steak, Salmon, potatoes, you name it...it was alllllll goooooood :)

And then I found this one, which I think is a pretty nice picture :)