Review | ZOEVA Sweet Glamour Blush Pallet

A girl can never have enough blushes, right? And when I saw this blush pallet I just knew I had to have it. This Zoeva Sweet Glamour Blush Pallet is a cool-toned beautiful trio: two enchanting, dreamy blush colors and a soft, lustrous highlight. Perfect for both an everyday make up and a more glam look.

This pallet is just so stunning. First, the packaging! It is so magical. It's glamorous and elegant and it looks stunning just laying on my desk. Zoeva's attention to details is just remarkable and mind blowing... 

One of the thinks I'm just obsessed about on this packaging is the unicorn-metallic-rainbow lettering! I just can't stop staring at it!  The pictures don't really capture it, but it's really beautiful IRL.

Both of the blushes are fully matte. They are super pigmented but extremely blendable. I know that they look rather rich and vibrant on the pan, but honestly they look quite natural when applied to the skin. The give just nice pop of color and vivacity to the face. The highlighter, is pearly white, iridescent with incredibly fine silver-ish shimmer all thru it. It's soft, and gives you a natural glow that is amazing. It works amazingly well mixed with the blushes! Specially with ideal love, which I have to admit is my favorite blush right now. 

Inbox | Embelleze Christmas Kit

Thank you so much Embelleze ! You guys spoil us with so many goodies! 

Stuck In My Head | Hourgalss

This song chills me to the bones. It does things to my brain. And describes exactly and perfectly what I want.

And I'm so impatient when you're not mine

I just want to catch up on all the lost times

And I'll say I'm sorry if I sound sordid

'Cause all I really ever want is you

Offer my hand and I'll take your name

Share my shower, kiss my frame

'Cause I wanna carry all of your children

And I wanna call them stupid shit

Almost too cute to eat, don't you think?

Origin \\ Dan Brown

I bought this book as soon as it was out. Dan Brown is on my favorite writers. I love his books. I love the mystery, the adventures, and how plausible his stories are. For me, his books are a complete escape from reality. This always happens to me: I just get completely sucked up into his stories, that I just forget about the world. It took me less than a week to read these 550 pages and when I finished I felt like I had no idea what to do with my life.

I really enjoyed this one in particular. Because it takes place in cities and places I know so very well and that are really dear to my heart...The story is really well thought. It's complex yet I feel like it could be completely true!

The cover kinda of gives away the location -- Yes, it's Barcelona. I lived there for a while, and I've had so many adventures on that beautiful Catalan city. So yeah, while reading this book I could feel and smell that city, and since Dan Brown's descriptions are always so accurate I almost felt like I was the one living this story. It's a great book. Totally recommend.

INBOX | NOVEX Mystic Curls Shampoo & Conditioner

-- how cute is this rapping?! and the little sticker! love it --

One of my favorite brands to work with is Embelleze Portugal! I love being a blogger ambassador and I love receiving and trying out all the goodies that they occasionally send me!

This time, they have kindly sent me two products from their Mystic Black line. I'm honestly excited to try these out! I have wavy hair. Not curly. Wavy. And I'm always straightening it because it's just easier to control. When I don't do it, my hair just gets all frizzy and tangled and it just looks bad. I'm going to try these out and see if they make any difference. It's says it's suitable for all hair types, so we'll see.  Oh, and I have to tell you -- these smell like magic.

How to take care of an expensive bag

Recently I bought my first expensive leather handbag. It's something that I've wanted for a while, finally I felt like it was the time to splurge. It's a Furla Like S in Onix. I spent a lot of money on this bag. And I want to give it the best care possible. I've done some research to see how I can ensure this handbag will last me a long time, and always look good. 

Here go some general tips.

The first tip is really basic: Be extra careful! Not that I'm not careful with my other handbags, but just try to avoid careless mistakes! To be more specific: 

1. Avoid handling your bag if your hands are dirty or if you have lotion on them.

2. Avoid squishing your bag or stuffing it with too much stuff, avoiding stretching it out. 

3. Avoid -- at any cost -- getting your bag wet. Apply regularly an water-repellent spray.

3. Keep your bag out of direct sunlight, or heat sources.

4. Rotate which handbag you carry regularly so that they don’t wear out too quickly.

5. Use a suede brush to clean and revive suede.

6. Regular use of a leather moisturizer will keep the leather supple and free of cracks.

7. Wipe your bag down on a weekly basis (when in use) with a soft cloth.

Keep the inside gunk free: Use pouches to store cosmetics and liquids, which will protect the handbag lining from spills. Avoid click pens at all cost, go for pens with caps instead. Better yet, put those in your pouch too, in case of dreaded ink leaks. And candy! Don't put candy in your bag. Just don't. 

Store them properly: up right position inside the cotton dust bag they normally come in. Good substitute: cotton pillow case. Never, NEVER, store them in plastic bags, because it this traps moisture. Cross the handles over each other to avoid wear on the bag and unclip any removable straps. If the bag needs something to keep it's shape up, stuff it with scarfs, or a t-shirt, or acid-free tissue paper -- it's really inexpensive on eBay, and you can keep using it over and over. I asked for some in the store where I bought my handbag and they were super kind and gave me enough to stuff my bag.

Products that were recommended to me:
- BÚFALO Leather Protection Spay. This spray nurtures and protects the leather and it can be used on anything that's made of leather around your house. It's cheap and It really helps keeping your bag smooth and beautiful. I got it a local supermarket.
- Waterproof spray for leathers. I've gone thought many cans of this -- from may different brands, I always get at my local supermarket... I apply it on shoes all the time too. It's perfect for suede!
- Magic Eraser (also known as melanine sponge). Bought a bunch of them off of eBay, really cheap. It's great for cleaning hardware and little decorations. Also works really good on shoes btw. You don't need any product, just a tiny but of water and it just makes everything shinny and lovely again.

How do you take care of you bags? Let me know your tips and what works for you in the comments!

Review | ZOEVA Cocoa Blend Pallet

Lately I've been hearing -- and reading -- a lot of good things about Zoeva products. Everybody talks about how great their brushes are, and how good their pallets are... So yeah, I caved in and I bought a pallet. Honestly, it was kinda of hard to choose one, Zoeva pallets are all so beautiful. From what I've seen, their pallets are all really complete,  meaning, I could do a complete eye look without needing any other shade. And this of course, applies to the one picked up.

I ended up getting the Cocoa Blend Pallet. Which is inspired in one my things in the word -- Paline Chocolates! 

Honestly, I feel in love immediately with two metallic shades on this pallet as soon as I saw it: warm note and pure ganache. And even tho I'm not too into really bold eye-looks, I have to admit I'm absolutely dying to wear these two on my face.

First of all, just take a good hard look at this mother fucking packaging! I honestly think it's the most beautiful pallet I've ever seen. I love how the gold picks up and reflects the light... I love the pattern, I think everything about it is just stunning.

The pallet comes with 10 shades, which is pretty good. It has 4 fully matte shades (bitter start, beans are black, substitute for love, and freshly tosted) 5 metallic shades (sweeter end, warm notes, subtle blend, pure ganche and delicate acidity) and one shade that I think we can call glittery (infusion). 

-- here are some poorly performed swatches, as usual. enjoy --

All the shadows are super buttery. They glide on very easily and they are super blendable. Really. I've been fooling around with this pallet a lot -- manly because I want to create a cool look to wear at my office's Christmas party this year -- and even these eye-shadows are super pigmented, they blend almost seamlessly with almost no effort. I am so in love with warm notes and pure ganache. 

Oh and one more thing -- although this is inspired by chocolates, it does not have that disgusting, sweet, chocolate smell that the too faced chocolate pallets have. Thank god, because I hate that. It's so nauseating. 

Overall, this pallet is awesome. And it is not that expensive. I believe was 27€ or something around that. I really think these shades are perfect for everyday, but also for when you need a little unf. And  I need unf  in my life. Don't you?

BlindBag Madness | LEGO miniFigures Season 17

Cute things to brighten a grey, cold, rainy day! So adorable.

Review | COLOURPOP Ultra Matte Lip

I'm not too into lipsticks, you know that. I like soft, natural, pink-ish tones. I prefer lipstick' colours close to my natural lip shade. And when I find one that I really really love, I pretty cable of wearing it every single day. I have a Chanel one that I love -- it's a very classic looking lipstick, my favorite ever. For me it's just perfect for to wear every day. 

Lately I’ve been having some selfestime issues. I haven’t felt like my self, to be honest… I’ve had more anxiety issues in the last few months than I’ve had in my whole life. And this is something that is very hard for me to deal with. I’m not the prettiest girl alive, but I’ve never had this lack of selfestime, body-image issues, and lack of confidence that I’m really feeling now. But I’m know how to deal with this, and I know I can deal with this – I’m already dealing with this! And one of the best ways to make you feel amazing is with make up. Just spicing up my every day routine makes me feel way better. Really. And I know that this shade isn’t really that outside of my comfort zone, but it’s different than what I’m used to. This shade is called Sunday and it’s slightly dark dusty pink.

It’s a ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip Liquid Lipstick. And yes, it lives up to its name. It’s super matte but I don’t feel like it drys up my lips. The applicator is small, which is kinda good, if you, like my, have small lips. It’s really easy to apply, the formula is very smooth and, much like most of ColourPop’s products, super pigmented. It’s not streaky and one coat is enough to cover you lips.

And I honestly love the packaging. You know I really like simple, sleek and clean packaging, and I think this tube really checks every box for me. The chrome lid, the clear tube, the simple lettering.. Perfect. And very beautiful to pull out of your make up bag in the middle of the office. And I honestly think this colour is perfect for the holidays!

Because this blog is not just to talk about stuff I like, but also to show you things that disappoint me...

I bought this buffer brush from H&M a while back. I don’t use it that often, because I honestly prefer my beauty bleander to any brush. But I like to use this one to buff out my bronzer when I put a little bit too much. I only use it for that. And I think I’ve washed this brush maybe twice since I got it. And look at it state. The wooden handle is chipped and the part that holds the bristles is all loosened. I remember that this brush was’t that cheap: I don’t remember exactly how much it was, but I think it costed me close to 10€.

I’ve always liked H&M make up and accessories, even before they re-branded their beauty section. But this is the second make up related product that I get from them that I don’t like. 

Cinnamon rolls are just the most cozy thing ever. Soft, sweet and warm. 

Always with extra-cinnamon.

Review | BENAMÔR Miracle Face Soap

Benamôr. This is an iconic Portuguese brand, established in 1925. It's a brand with an very unique and timeless identity. I have a clear memory of my grandmother applying their famous face-cream, the one that comes in a pink tube, that she kept on her dressing table, next to a beautiful pink bottle of rose water. That's an image I'll cherish for ever. And because of that, I have to admit that I love having this soap on my daily routine, along with the Ach Brito Soap that I talked about a while back.

If you have been here for a while you know I'm crazy about soaps! And this one is the most beautiful, girly soap I've ever seen. Like the rest of their line, the packaging is vintage and adorable. And the soap it-self is stunning. The blush tone with the simple logo on the top feels so exquisite! 

It's a face soap, so yeah, I use it on my face, usually in the morning. The formula is super nurturing and moisturizing. It lathers really well, and creates a super creamy foam. The scent reminds me of the old days, you know? It's a classic rose water smell... I can't really explain. It smells like roses, but at the same time it's fresh and clean. It's really really good.

Reviews.com | Makeup Brushes Shopping Guide

I was never too into make up brushes. I have my trusty Beauty Blender that I use and love, and because I never really do any elaborated eye shadow looks, I used to have a couple of eye brushes that honestly I never really used. However, now I've decided to buy some brushes, just to give it a try.

We all know that there are so many makeup brushes, so many brands, and it's not an easy task to know really good brushes that I feel comfortable paying for.

So, there is this website called reviews.com, and yes, as the name clearly gives it away, it's a website with reviews of everything. I mean, laterally everything. It's super fun to read. Actually since I've discovered it I've been just randomly reading their articles, and it's really fun to find out which is the best robot vacuum cleaner, or the best electric toothbrush on the market. And they give you options according to your budget. They don't just suggest you a super expensive thing that of course is good.

Anyway, they wrote an article about makeup brushes.

They looked at 16 brands, and 70 individual makeup brushes, they tested them out and consulted with makeup artists and they came out with a nice guide to makeup brushes shopping. It's actually fun to read, you should check it out! -- they explain their process and really explain their findings. And at the end they give you 3 options: Top Pick, Best Luxury Brand and Best On a Budget! 

I decided that I wanted to get the Best On a Budget -- from ELF --  because I know I'm not going to use them that often. However, ELF doesn't ship here. That's the only downside... the suggested products may not be sold in your country. And getting it from amazon may make it more expensive... 

But honestly I'm really enjoying this website, and I know a lot if you will like it too! 

Review | NIVEA 1 Minute Urban Detox Mask

I love face masks. A relaxing day for me always includes a face mask of some sort. And when I saw this new Nivea face mask I was excited! It's an 1 minute mask! You apply it to your face, leave it for a minute and remove it with some warm water. Simple and easy, don't you think?

 

This is basically an exfoliating mask. In it, it has Kaolin (also known as white clay) that is really good for the skin, specially acne prone skin. As for texture, it is extremely creamy and soft, and you can definitely feel the little exfoliating particles. It has a very pale green color and the very characteristic Nivea smell. I always apply it with a little synthetic brush, but you can definitely apply it with your hands. You should apply a generous amount over clean skin, avoiding lips and eyes. If you've tried other clay face masks you know that one minute is not enough time for it to complete dry. And if you want you can let it be for a while longer... Take it off with warm water and do some circular motions for some extra exfoliation... and trust me, your skin will feel super soft and smooth!

I'm really liking this for the days where I feel like doing a face mask, but I'm not really in the mood for waiting 20 minutes for the mask to completely dry... The effect, of course, is not the same, but it's just perfect for busy week days.

90's kids will know...

My Cien Favorite Products

A while back, I ranted about the Heidi Klum's Collection with Lidl. And, yes, it's true, I prefer expensive products to supermarket brands, but there are from Lidl's in-house-brand Cien that I
find to be super good and just amazing for their prices!

- from left to right -

Eye Contour Cream with Caviar Extract

Aqua Rich Daily Exfoliating Facial Wash

Make up Removal Disks

Professional Heat Protection Spray
-

The eye cream is really good! It really helps me in those mornings that I have extra puffy eyes. It has a very gel-like consistency, slightly serum-y. I like it.

The exfoliating facial wash is very well known already. It's cheap, smells good, and does what it claims. I use it to wash my face in the shower. 

The face disks -- I've talked about them before. These are my favorite. For me, these are the best in the market and they are the cheapest. 

But the big surprise is this Heat Protection Spray. Fist of all, I was so surprised to see that Cien had a Professional line! And this works super super good. It's super cheap as well, and so far I feel like it does it job perfectly. 

Dry Shampoo | Batiste vs Garnier

The dry shampoo trend has finally arrived to Portugal! And OMG, it was about time! When I was living in France (two years ago) I was able to buy dry-shampoo at any supermarket. All the regular  supermarket shampoo brands sold dry-shampoo, and I could even find Batiste on my grocery store. 

Since I've tried it for the first time, I became an huge fan of dry shampoo -- I really hate washing my hair... and having to deal with all the hassle of drying it and straightening it... It just takes too much time! So if there is a product that can make my hair look good for a couple more days, I'm all up for it!

Recently Garnier lunched dry-shampoo and suddenly everybody started talking about dry shampoo. And I got curious! So I went to my local grocery store and picked up a can. Garnier offers 3 scents -- citrus, chamomile and oats. I lightly smelled the 3, and I wasn't really fan of any of the smells, but I ended up picking up the one in the pink bottle. I guess they should all work the same, right?

Anyway, I've been using it for a while now. And it works pretty good. Compared to the Batiste one that I use all the time, I can say that it is pretty much as good. There is, tho, a huge diference between them: the Garner one is much wet than the one from batiste... You can see what I'm saying from the picture. Batiste's product is much more powdery, and if you are not careful with the application it can leave a white residue on your hair. However, I feel like the powder absorves the oils much more effectively. The one from Garnier is wetter and I'm not sure if that's better or worse. I prefer the way the one from Batiste feels, but I honestly cannot say if it is more effective or not.

Overall I still prefer the Batiste one, because of the scent and the texture of the product. It's is harder to come by and I have to buy it online, but is way cheaper. Batiste's 200ml can costs 3,99€ while the Garnier one has 150ml and it costs 7,99€. It's way too expensive. 

Happy Friday!

Review | MAYBELLINE Instant Age Rewind Concealer

Getting out of the bed in the morning has not been an easy process for me lately. Yeah, I'm back to being sad, and feeling alone, like my world is falling apart. The only thing that keeps me motivated is my job -- I really like what I am doing, even though I come home every day very tired. And because I am always tired, I get HUMONGOUS dark circles under my eyes. And because getting ready in the morning needs to be a swift process I've narrowed down the products I apply to my face to 7: Moisturizer, Concealer, Powder, Bronzer, Mascara, Brow-stuff and Lipstick . And that's it -- takes me two minutes tops, and I don't go out the door looking like a zombie. Here, the concealer is the star. I've been using the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer for a while now and I it's amazing. I love it specially for how easy it is to blend!

It has a dome shaped, dense but really soft, cotton puff, where the product will be disposed. You twist the top a couple of times, and the product rises to the puff. It's cool. 

As for the consistency, it's not to thick nor too creamy, and it blends perfectly. Really fast. It gives me a medium coverage which is exactly what I'm looking for, since I'm not wearing a full face of make up. It just hides my dark eyes, without looking too heavy or cake-y. But you can totally build it up if you want to. It honestly doesn't have any smell. I also like that. I got the shade light. And it works fine for me.
Like so many other concealers, it tends to crease a little bit. To avoid that I just apply a little bit of powder over the areas I applied concealer and it's good for the day. 

BlindBag Madness | Shopkins Season 5

Shopkins are the most adorable and useless thing ever! They’re just too cute! 

Review | ACH.BRITO Pumice Stone Soap

You know how much I love scrubs and exfoliating products. And I've wrote about many different products here on the blog, I've tried many body and face scrubs, but I don't think I've ever encountered a product like this before!

This is a soap from a centenary Portuguese brand - Ach Brito - and it's a Pumice Stone (in Portuguese: Pedra Pomes) Soap. What's so special about it? Well, it's a hard soap that has pieces of stone in it, made for full body scrubbing. It can be used on your harms, legs, feet, hands, and of course, face. It has a supreme decreasing power and it's amazing when it comes to remove dead skin and yucky stuff from your pores.

It is made of coco nut oil and grounded-up pumice stone. Yes, when you are using it you can actually feel a very thin sand being released from the soap. And yes, I've been using it on my face. And to be honest I don't think I've ever tried such an effective and cheap scrub, that really helps me get rid of all the nastiness on my face. Because it's a soap, and a solid peace, it's really easy to reach all the contours of you face, specially around the nose and chin.

The soap can be a bit rough if you are not careful when using it directly on your face. But you can control the pressure you use when exfoliating. I use it directly on my face, but if you have sensitive skin, pron to redness, you should be careful. If you feel it's to abrasive for you, you can always lather it up on your hands and use that on your face. It will work just fine too.

I also really, REALLY like to use it on my body -- I scrub everything. It is really good at removing and helping avoid in-grown hairs. And of course I love to use it on my harm-pits to insure that everything is clean and bacteria-free.

I bought one for my mom too, who is always scrubbing her feet to get rid of callus and dead --yucky-- skin and she said that it works actually very well. It’s not as abrasive as a file but it’s great for some day-to-day scrubby-scrubby action.

And lets just take a second to appreciate the packaging, ok? The soap comes in a beautiful, vintage looking paper box that I just can’t seem to trough away because of how cute and adorable it is. And it smells really good. It has a light warm woody scent that perfectly combines with the coconut oil giving the soap a very soothing scent. Smells of something that will clean you soul. Love it.

EAT | Bala Mexican Food, Lisbon

Tacos are life. I love tacos. And burritos. And nachos. And anything Mexican really. And I am so happy that I've found this not so fast food restaurant inside Amoreiras Shopping Center, really close to my office. 

They have really huge yummy burritos that you can fill up with a bunch of yuumy things. But really, my favorite are the tacos. You can make your own tacos, since they let you choose the toppings and mix 

up pretty much anything. The menu is for 3 tacos, and you can play around and create 3 totally different tacos. They have coriander rice, and brown rice, two or tree varieties of beens. They have marinated, crisp and slow-roasted chicken. They have pulled pork and beef. And, of course, fajitas. And a so many different sauces for you to choose from, I cannot even mention them all. 

I find the menus relatively cheap -- compared to other places like this. And this includes chips and one sauce for the chips -- that can be guacamole (usually guac is extra!|). The menu also includes lemonade or tea. 

And one thing that is really cool and unique is that they don't serve it up on a regular fast-food type of tray! No, no. They serve it an super adorable cardboard box, ADORABLE!

Heidi Klum #LETSWOW

As you’ve probably heard by now, Heidi Klum lunched a small fashion collection with Lidl. When I heard about his I was excited! I thought that this could be great! Heidi is such a fashion icon, she is stunning and always looks amazing! But this collection for me personally was very disappointing. The clothes look and feel cheap, they look poorly constructed, the patterns are tacky and the pictures online and on the box are really deceiving. I had my mind set on this blue long cardigan.. I had seen it online and. I thought that that shade of blue was stunning and perfect for my life. But I guess I misguided by the pictures and I really really don’t like this shade of blue — you can see from the picture how different the color from the box from the actual fabric... I was really sad and disappointed...