Austria Wishlist

In the following months, I will have the opportunity to visit Austria again. Of course, the main purpose of the visit will be shopping. :) I live quite far away from the border, so this will really be an all day trip.

Right now, I'm making a list of where to go and what to buy in order to make my trip as effective as possible. On my wishlist are things that you cannot get in Slovenia or the ones that are cheaper in Austria. If you have any ideas what else can be bought in or around Graz that you can't get in Slovenia and if you know any cool stores, please let me know.

1) Ikea - the main reason for my visit. I've already visited it a few times and I always buy something new. They have great selection and the prices are really low. My whole kitchen was equipped with things from Ikea. Pots, pans, spatulas, graters, whisks ... The list could go on forever.

2) The Body Shop - I loved this brand ever since I bought one of their body butters in one of the duty free airport shops. When I was in England I raided the shop and I plan to do the same this time. My wishlist contains quite a few products from this store.

3) Müller - I've heard that their offer is quite bigger in other countries, so I'm planning to visit this store too, although we also have it in Slovenia. A lot of bloggers have been raving about Maybelline and Revlon products you can't buy in Slovenia, so I'll be sure to check these out.

So, once again... if you have any other places you visit regularily when you go shopping to Austria, please let me know. I only visit Austria once or twice a year, so I would appreciate your suggestions.

Sources: kombiprevozi.5erka.com, www.galleriadallas.com, everydayadventuresineurope.blogspot.com

New in 2

I can't believe the fact that there are sales going on and all I buy is make up and accessories. :s I can't help it, but I don't like anything on sale right now. At least, I should  be happy at the end of the month when I'll receive my bank statement. :)

Here are some beauties I bought in Müller.

Recently I've been watching some make up tutorials and I decided to try out applying loose powder. Some bloggers really recommend it, but I've never tried it before because I rarely use powder anyway. That is why I decided to buy some cheap loose powder and a brush to try it out. If I'll get used to it, I'll probably wear it for some evening outings.

And right next to trying out loose powders are my attempts at applying liquid foundation in some other way. So far I've been using the sponges in the picture, but now I bought myself a brush and will try to do it the way Fatalna did in her video.

So, here are Body & Soul powder brush, Body & Soul make-up sponges and QVS perfection brush

Here's the loose powder I decided to buy: Manhattan Soft Mat Loose Powder. The other two things are Essence Vintage District LE nail polish Get Arty and Essence decoration kit.

And for the end, some jewellery. Three pairs of earrings and a ring. The first earrings were bought in DM and the other ones in C&A. They are all priced from 4€ to 12€.

Empties 2

I'm sad to inform you that I forgot my camera at my boyfriends. So, for the time being, I will have to satisfy myself with pictures from the internet.

1) Fa Sensual & Oil Monoi Blossom Shower Gel

Ingredients: Aqua, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Glycerin, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Parfum, Polyquaternium-7, Tocopherol, Propylene Glycol, Laureth-2, PEG-55 Propylene Glycol Oleate, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Citric Acid, Hexyl Salicylate, Benzyl Salicylate, Linalool, Limonene, Coumarin, Hexyl Cinnamal, Benzophenone-4, Tetrasodium EDTA, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Salicylate, CI 47005, CI 16035

My opinion: I sometimes buy products that aren't natural. I fall for the pretty package and promises written on the label. I often do that with shower gels, because they are much better looking and they smell better than their natural counterparts. Then, after they are used, I sometimes check the ingredients and I promise never to buy such product again. I have copied these ingrediets from the label and found out that there are two of them that are labelled unsafe in my seach engine. So, never again... till the next time :) 

Otherwise, I quite liked this product. I didn't dry my skin out, but it made it soft and quite pleasantly smelling. Nevertheless, I won't repurchase.

2) Naturavit Cream Shampoo Anti-Dandruff

Ingredients: Water, Sodium trideceth Sulfate, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Propylene glycol, Sodium chloride, Cocamide MEA, Oryza Sativa Bran Oil, Salvia Officinalis Oil, Thymus Vulgaris Extract, Piroctone Olamine, Benzyl Alcohol, Citric Acid, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Mentha Piperita Herb Oil, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil, Bertholletia Excelsa Seed Oil, Citrus Medica Limonum Fruit Oil, Copaifera Officinalis Resin, Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Leaf Oil, Dehydroacetic Acid, Lecithin, Limonene, Tocopherol, Linalool, Ascorbyl Palmitate

My opinion: And now for something completely different! I love this product! It smells so gorgeus I could use it instead of scented candles in my room. The essential oils of rice, cinnamon, sage and lemon really give a full aroma. Plus, it does what it promisses. Since I stared using this product I have no (no!) dandruff. And I always had just a little after 4 - 5 days. Some shampoos made it even worse and I only found one other (Nivea) that helped, but it had very bad ingredients. That's why I'm so happy to have found this one. The only usafe ingredient is the alcohol, but it's not at the beginning and I couldn't care less about using alcohol on my hair.

I already repurchased this product and I strongly recommend it to you, too. You can get it at DM for around 5€.

Sources: www.smallflower.com, www.int.fa.com, naturavit.net

Vote!

Please, vote for my kitten!

Miša, the cat :D

Essence - new in 2013

When seasons change so do people. We always want something new. At least that's who I am. And this spring, cosmetic brands have been quite busy with keeping us happy.

So, today I found out that Essence is also planning to incorporate a few new products into their regular line. In my opinion, none of the products are as great as I expect the Catrice ones to be, but still. Here are the things I'll probably end up buying. (You can see the whole collection on Kosmetik Addicted, but it's written in German, so I hope you understand.)

1) Essence night club glamour to go palette - 3.49€

I prefer the right one. I contains beautiful colours (at the moment I'm in a red-and-purple phase) and some all time classic gray shades to go with them. It's also small enough to fit in any purse. I already own a brown one  that was released a few years ago and I take it with me almost everywhere.

2) Essence gel tint - 1.99€

In the picture, these gel tints look gorgeous. They promise a jelly finish on the lips, so perhaps I won't like the feeling, but I'm sure I will be tempted to try one out. And which colour should I choose? I'll probably wait to see them in person.

3) Essence make up sponge - 3.99€

Until now, you couldn't really buy these in Slovene stores, so they are a nice improvement. To tell you the truth, I had to watch a tutorial right now on how to use these sponges, but the thing I'm really wondering is how to clean them :s.

4) Essence colour&go nail polish - 1.59€

What would Essence be without their nail polishes? From this bunch, I like the purple (4th) and the shimmery green one (7th). Others are similar to what I aready have.

5) Essence nail art decoration kit – 2.49€

These two kits look great. You can really go wild and create various designs with different nail polishes if you use them. I'm sure I'll buy both and I already got something similar from the Vintage District LE collection.

What do you think? Do you like these products? Would you consider buying any of them?

Source: kosmetikaddicted.blogspot.com, www.chicprofile.com

Cooking 2

Well, here are some more of my kitchen creations. I really enjoy cooking, but only when I have time and when I get inspired.

1) Pizza my way - just regular with some corn

2) Good old fashioned beef soup with some leek

3) gratinated gnocchi with mushroom sauce and shrimps

4) tomato and pepper salad with mozzarella 

5) roasted potatoes and venison steaks in wine sauce

The 70th Golden Globe Awards

The day before yesterday, the 70th Golden Globe Awards honouring the best in film and television of 2012, took place in Beverly Hills. You can read all about the nominees and winners on the internet, but I was more interested in the beautiful dresses some actresses were wearing. And, well, some not-so-beautiful also.

The first one I really like is Kristen Bell. Her being pregnant didn't stop her from wearing a beautiful shiny gown (by Jenny Packham) . Everything fits, including the make up and hairstyle.

Taylor Swift. She was gorgeous. I don't normally like her flowery dresses, but this is something completely different. I love the style of this dress (by Donna Karan Atelier). It has just the right amount of "different", yet it manages to stay sophisticated with the bare back and all. Plus, I adore the colour! And the hair matches the dress. She should show her face more and stop hiding behind that hair.

Do you remember her? She's an actress from Downton Abbey and her name is Michelle Dockery. Her dress is tight fitting and very romantic (by Alexandre Vauthier), but I love it. The colour suits her well and it's something unexpected among all the evening gowns. Thumbs up.

Wow! Such a gorgeous dress (by Monique Lhullier), but I've never heard of Julianne Hough, who was wearing it before today though. Wikipedia said she's a professional ballroom dancer, country music singer and actress. Right now, I'm wondering what's with me and white-gold combination in dresses because I would never wear it myself (I don't like wearing white, because I'm clumsy and I would surely stain it and I prefer silver to gold), but it looks so adorable on other people.

And now, for the worst...

An absolute winner in this category is Lena Dunham, for sure. Do I even need to comment? She looks great in the face, I give her that. But the body is just plain weird. The proportions are off and I don't think she can afford to wear such dresses with her figure. She would probably look so much better in some other design.

Don't you agree that something went terribly wrong with Heidi Klum's shoulder pad? Besides that, this dress is just too worn out and "the leg" has been seen so many times it got boring. Plus, I don't appreciate the pointed shoes.

Why is Mayim Bialik from Big Bang Theory wearing a sparkly table cloth I will never know. Her face looks pretty, though. Some good work by the make up artists there.

Last but not least, Halle Berry with a cute dress, but totally inappropriate for the event. Too many cut outs, not the best choice of colour and weird prints make her drop to the poorly dressed bunch.

What do you think about these dresses? Do you also have your worst and your favourite?

The opinions in this blog have all been written according to my personal taste.

Sources: www.growingyourbaby.com, www.fabsugar.com, www.zimbio.com, en.wikipedia.org, www.nydailynews.com, movies.yahoo.com, www.popsugar.com

Gorjanci

Last week, a couple of friends and I took advantage of some sunny weather and decided to take a hike. We went to Gorjanci and had a lovely lunch there. I don't need to tell you how great it was, the pictures tell the story.

Catrice New SS2013

I recently found out that Catrice will be changing a part of their products in February 2013. I'm really excited about that, so I decided to mention what products I think look promising and which ones I'll probably end up buying. You can see the whole assortment with prices on Chic Profile.

1) Absolute Eye Color Quattro Eyeshadow (Before or after eight?) – €4.49

All three quattro eye shadows look very nice. But I'll probably only buy the last one on the picture. It's a nice mixture of purple and red shades that you can use for layering and look great with hazel or green eyes. There's also some blue in there, great for a contrast in make up.

2) Smokey Eyes Set – €4.49 and Absolute Nude Eyeshadow Palette – €4.99

I'm really excited about these two. I love purple eye shadows  plus they look good with green eyes. That's why it's a great idea to have a whole smokey eye set. It makes it much easier to take it with you wherever you go and I need that because I always carry make up from my to my BF house.

The nude palette is an obvious answer to all other ones that have been out there for quite some time now. I hope this will be pigmented enough. In any case, I'm planning on buying the MUA Undressed Palette too, as soon as they come into stock in any Slovene online stores. 

3) Re-Touch Light Reflecting Concealer – €3.99

These products are a necessity if you want to create an interesting make up. I will decide on the Smokey Eyes Pencil when I see it in person, but will probably not buy it. Calligraph Ultra Slim Eyeliner Pen looks very promising, but I already have two eyeliner pens which I rarely use because I never learnt how to make a proper line on the eye. 

The most promising from the bunch is the Re-Touch Light Reflecting Concealer. I'll have to be careful though because it comes in only 3 different shades and it's sometimes difficult to choose the correct one.

4) Eyebrow Filler – Perfecting & Shaping Gel – €3.49

I'm looking forward to using this. I recently bought a transparent eyebrow perfecter and I must admit it shapes my eyebrows very nicely. This one is coloured, which is another added bonus. 

I don't know about the waterproof top coat. I'll probably leave it in the store because I wouldn't use it enough.

5) Prime & Fine Eyeshadow Base – €3.99

I've been using the bigger version of this for the whole face and it's great. It's true I only use it on special occasions, but I think I'd use eye primer more. I already own one from Essence, but it's quite yellow in colour and I'm not sure it doesn't change the colour of the eye shadows I apply after it.

6) BB All Round Foundation SPF 30 – 30 ml – €5.99

This is the last product I'm really excited about. I will try this one out in the summer because of the SPF 30. Although it's not necessary, I always apply a BB cream over the cream I normally use and I hope I will be able to do that with this one as well. 

To sum it up, I don't know if there ever was such a great number of products I would buy when replacing Catrice products. That's why I find it so exciting. But I better start saving. If I only buy products mentioned in this post, I will spend 31.43€. It's not a lot to spend on make up, but I am trying to save up a bit. Summer will be here before you know it.

Source: www.chicprofile.com

Sad

Today, I'm feeling sad. For no apparent reason. Well, maybe there is a small reason, but so unimportant and all in my head. I mustn't let it ruin my entire week. So smile for me! They say it's contagious!

Sources: weheartit.com, bashzone.com, mayhemandmuse.com, favim.com, www.tumblr.com, batshite.com

Films 2

1) This is 40: A look at the lives of Pete and Debbie a few years after the events of Knocked Up.

My opinion: Managed to get through it, constantly waiting for the funny stuff to begin. Let's face it, its supposed to be a comedy but the only partially funny thing in this film are some similarities you might notice with your own life. Too long, lacking in humour with an occasional save by Megan Fox.

★★☆☆☆

2) Looper: In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by transporting back Joe's future self.

My opinion: An interesting concept. I love sci-fi and I love Joseph Gordon-Levitt. But. And there's a big but. The plot is complicated. I found myself rewinding and fowarding this film quite a bit, so I could finally understand the point. I still don't get one particular section of the film. And don't even get me started on the actors. Is it really so hard to find two actors who look just a bit more like each other. No way Gordon-Levitt ages to become Willis. No way, ever. And Willis looks funny with a long black wig (a brief scene when Joe's aging). So, to sum up... Worth watching, but could be a looooot better.

★★★★☆

3) Resident Evil: Retribution: Alice fights alongside a resistance movement in the continuing battle against the Umbrella Corporation and the undead.

My opinion:  Impossible to watch if you haven't seen the first 4 films. The plot is similar to the others and there are no special surprises. Great, if you like the franchise.

★★★☆☆

Sources: en.wikipedia.org, www.imdb.com, /www.comingsoon.net