My Favourite Make Up Brushes

Today I wanted to talk you through my favourite make up brushes which I use on an almost daily basis.
At the moment I only use drugstore brand brushes since they do exactly what I want them to do so I never felt the need to splurge on really expensive ones.

1. Real Techniques - Powder Brush

My favourite powder brush as it is so big and fluffy and soft and therefore perfect for applying powder on top of my foundation. This brush was very kindly gifted to me by my friend Alice as well as the blush brush that's coming up next.

2. Real Techniques - Blush Brush

Again a very nice and soft brush that is the perfect size for my cheeks. I also love how easy to clean these brushes are.

3. Real Techniques - Stippling Brush

This is my very first Real Techniques brush. I've had it for a few years now and still love it. I use it whenever I want to achieve a medium to light coverage.

4. B-e-cosmetics - Foundation Buffer

I first came across this brand on Youtube on the channel of Rebecca Floeter
who is the owner of the online shop www.b-e-cosmetics.de. I love this foundation brush a lot because it blends in my foundation very smoothly without making it look too cakey. It washes very well too and I'm quite impressed with the quality.

5. Ebelin - Concealer Brush

I picked this brush up from the local drugstore (ebelin is their own brand) and I'm really impressed with the quality considering its price of under 5€. I like using it to apply concealer under my eyes and around my nose. I occasionally use it to conceal blemishes and afterwards give it a good wash as to not spread bacteria.


What are your favourite make up brushes?

Julie xx

A sunday walk and some Italian food

Last sunday I went for a nice walk with some of my family and their dogs. The weather was absolutely gorgeous with the sun shining all day and the temperatures being nice and mild.
We encountered many other dogs and their owners, amongst them two super cute puppies who were playing with each other. Our walk took us along fields and through woods and I really enjoyed getting out of the flat and having a good ol' chin wag with my family.

After all that walking we were quite hungry so we decided to have some food at the local Italian. I ordered some rather tasty pasta with cherry tomatoes, garlic and parmesan topped off with some fresh rocket. It was absolutely delicious and the perfect ending to this wonderful sunday.

What did you get up to on the weekend?

Julie xx

Stationery Wants

Amongst my family and friends it's really no secret that I'm a huge stationery lover. I can spend hours browsing the web and my favourite stationery shops for nice notebooks, colourful pens, pastel coloured post-its and any other desk accessory that takes my fancy (despite having way too much already).

Buying new stationery always makes me want to write and be super productive which is a very good feeling.

I thought I'd share some of my most recent finds with you, so here's my latest stationery wishlist.

1. Emma Bridgewater Notebook 2. Kikki K Magnetic Pagemarkers 3. Pilot Pastel Pens

4. Personalised Mouse Mat  5. Do Your Chores Notepad 

6. Caroline Gardner Set of 3 Notebooks 

7. WHSmith Notebook 8. Cath Kidston Ballpoint Pen

Which are your favourite shops to buy stationery from?

Julie xx

Favourite Winter Reds

left to right: Essie-dress to kilt, Essie-forever yummy,Essie-bahama mama,Barry M-raspberry

I don't know what it is but this winter I've been craving red on my nails more than any other colour in my collection. Maybe that's because red brings some life into those dark, grey winter days, maybe it's just the simple elegance of it. No matter what the reason, here are my four most reached for winter reds:

Essie – dress to kilt

A deep dark red from a recent limited edition which is just the right shade. Neither too bright nor too dark.

Essie – forever yummy

A very classic red from the main Essie range which is an all year round favourite of mine. I love it around Christmas time as well as in summer paired with nautical outfits and navy and white stripes.

Essie – bahama mama

A firm staple in every bloggers collection and rightly so. I love it because it is such a beautiful and vibrant colour. Depending on the lighting it sometimes looks like a dark wine colour or toned down purple.

Barry M – raspberry

A pinky red that is somewhere in the middle between Essie dress to kilt and Essie bahama mama.

Which are your favourite reds?

Julie xx

A Parcel from Alice

The other day a lovely parcel arrived on my doorstep from my friend Alice (Pretty Wonderful on Youtube and her blog).
The things she sent me came in this cool Union Jack box (an old glossybox) which I think is such a nice personal touch as she knows how much I love Great Britain. She also wrote the nicest card. :-)

Everything was beautifully wrapped and I just had to snap a picture of it before I unwrapped anything.

First off she got me the Facial Scrub, Cleansing and Toning Lotion, as well as the Face Mask from the
Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel range which I had been interested in trying for some time.

She also sent me another Revlon Lipbutter in the colour Pink Lemonade and a Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick in Rose Tweed. They both apply like a dream and I really love them.

I also I received a sample of the John Frieda Sheer Blonde Shampoo and Conditioner, a super sparkly
Barry M glitter topcoat, a Barry M blusher (I don't own any Barry M blushes yet so I'm very pleased to be able to try one), some Invisibobbles (you know how much I love them from my last favourites post) and last but not least the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer (so handy as I just ran out of mine and can't buy a new one in Germany).

I'm really happy with everything I got so THANK YOU so much Alice. :-)
I hope my parcel for you will arrive at yours soon and in one piece.

Have you tried any of these products?

Julie xx

Some TK Maxx Goodies

In the last couple of years I've become a real fan of TK Maxx. Although I mostly don't bother with the clothes department as this can be a bit too messy for my liking, I always check out their homewares and beauty products as well as sportswear. I hardly ever leave the shop empty handed as there's always something that takes my fancy. 

This time I found these two notebooks which were 5,99€ each as well as this nice, spotty storage tin which was 3,49€.  I saw loads of other nice things too but I managed to contain myself at least a bit and didn't make my bank account cry too much. 

Do you like TK Maxx as much as I do?

Julie xx

January Favourites 2015

I know I'm probably not the only one who's thinking 'What? It's the end of January already?' With the new year being in full swing again I discovered some new favourite products and reached for some old favourites that I now want to share with you.

Got2Be Guardian Angel Heat Protection Spray

I've been using this for several years now and really like it. After using a different product for a few months now I repurchased the Got2Be Guardian Angel. It smells nice, makes my hair feel super soft and is also quite cheap. As far as I can tell it also protects my hair well from the heat, which is the main purpose of a heat protection spray really.

Neutrogena Visibly Clear 2 in 1 Wash and Mask

Another oldie but goodie product that I've been using on and off for the past years. Whenever I use it as a face wash it leaves my skin feeling squeaky clean and is very refreshing too. Occasionally I put it on as a face mask which feels particulary nice in summer when my face is super oily. The only downside to this product is that it can sometimes leave my skin feeling a bit “tight” and it mustn't get into the eyes because that really isn't a very pleasant experience.

 

Garnier Pure Anti Shine Moisturiser

This is definitely one of my favourite drugstore moisturisers as it works a treat on both my oily areas and my dry patches. I'm very pleased that it doesn't make my face break out in spots ( like so many other moisturisers do) and that it keeps my face nice and shine free just as it promises. It also smells very nice and fresh like cucumber which is always a winner with me and sinks in really quickly too.

Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil

One of my favourites in winter to soothe the dry areas on my face. I won't say too much about it though as I reviewed it here already so feel free to have a look at this more in depth post.

Ebelin Express Nailpolish Remover

When these type of nailpolish removers came out I thought them to be a bit gimmicky and wasn't very interested at all. This month though I finally caved and picked one up on a whim. Let me just say, I'm a total convert now. It works really quickly and is super clean without the need to waste loads and loads of cotton wool pads. Just make sure you don't tip it too much and therefore spill half of it on the floor (not that this would ever happen to ME ahem...)

P2 Lipstick in 006- friends forever

I really liked wearing this nice pinky colour on my lips this month because it is light enough for everyday wear and to get me used to wearing more colour on my lips in general.

Although it doesn't have the most amazing staying power I've ever seen I think it is quite ok considering that it is on the more budget side.

Invisibobbles

The Invisibobbles have been around for some time now but somehow never really interested me all that much. That might be partly because they were rather hard to come by (only online or in certain hairdressers) and also because I thought them to be just another marketing thing.

I ended up buying them at the beginning of the month when I discovered them in my local drugstore and happened to have a voucher too so I thought why not give them a try.

They promise to avoid split ends and be absolutely traceless. (oh how I hate getting that stubborn kink in my hair after wearing it in a ponytail...)

A pack of three costs 4,95 € and they come in loads of nice and bright colours. I however opted for the see through option as I wanted them to be as invisible as possible in my hair. The only issue with this is that they are harder to find whenever I've misplaced them ha!

Since I bought the Invisibobbles I haven't once reached for any of my other hairbobbles. They hold my hair firmly in a high bun even on first day ,usually rather slippy, hair which is great in my book and I definitely recommend them.

So there you have it. Which products did you love in January?

Julie xx