My 2014

Hi there,

It's getting closer till the end of 2014. At the moment the toughest part of it for me. I've been signed off sick from work because there has been so much going on lately, that my head said stop and caused a panic attack. A feeling I know well enough from my youth to know that it was time to listen and take a break. Unfortunately there are a lot of us that feels the same way, and it's pretty much impossible to get help at the moment. I told the doctor I need someone to talk to to sort my mind out a bit and help me back on track. 12:th of February is the best so far, and I'm supposed to start working again next week. That being said, when I look back on the year as a whole it has been the most amazing year ever.

I started the year with a new friend, that gained so many more friends all over the world. Life of Anna S was born. I didn't really know where I wanted to go with it, but it I've always loved writing, I love makeup and fashion, and I needed something to keep my mind off from work, because 2014 started the way it's ending, with chaos at work and in my head. (In between it has had lovely moments though.)

In February my Grandmother turned 70, and so did her cousin that lives in HuaHin, Thailand. What was a better way to celebrate their birthdays than to go visit him in the sun? Me, Grandma, Mum and Sis packed the bags and went for an adventure. It was my first time outside Europe, and it was an amazing experience. Not only did I get to see a whole new culture, but I also got to know family that I haven't met before, because of the long distance.

March was a pretty calm month. It just came and left, without leaving too many memories behind. I spent a lot of time on the blog, and loved every minute of it. But let's be honest; if you have all that time of blogging (I posted more than once a day), even though you work pretty much full time, maybe you don't have that much else to do. I know I didn't.

Then April came, and turned my life upside down. Our store won a sales competition and was treated with dinner from one of our suppliers. After dinner the rest of the group wanted to go out for drinks, and I followed, a bit reluctant to be honest. My colleague got into a talk with one of the guys at a table nearby, and really wanted to set us up. I was so embarrassed and just wanted to get out of there. But in this gang there was another guy, starting of in the background. As the night went on he moved closer to me and we started talking. The conversation went really well, you could even say great, and by the end of the night he had my phone number and left with the words:

"They say you're supposed to wait three days, but I think that is too long. You'll hear from me in two."

Two days went, and by the end of the day I had gotten a text, replied and a long conversation was started. A few days after the first text, the first phone calls came. We talked for hours in the nights. I think the record is over 7 hours. But finding a time to meet seemed impossible. I worked in the days, he worked a lot of nights. When I had a day off, he hadn't and when he had, I was working.

In May, the 1:st to be exact, we finally got to see each other again. It started of with a walk to the restaurant Martin had picked (I could really recommend doing that on a first date, because it really broke the ice). During the dinner I got cards with clues of where he was going to take me next, and we ended up playing boules. It was so much fun! The night continued with a long walk, and ended of with a kiss. By then I really knew  this guy was something special.

We kept dating for about a month, taking every chance we got to see each other. Still it was hard to find the time, but an hour here or there just to take a coffee, worked as well. He got to meet my family, I got to meet his. Then the night between 5th and 6th of June he asked if we we're a couple, and we decided that we were.

June also offered a trip to London with my beloved sister, and the rest of the time I just spent with Martin. Every second I could!

In July it was time for our first trip abroad together. It had turned out that we both loves to travel, and since we both had been working a lot Martin wanted to take me away so that we got some time to ourselves. The trip went to Prague, which was a very romantic city. I think we both fell in love with the city and even more with each other.

August also offered a trip. Me and my sister took a chartered bus to Salzburg to watch a football game. It was a 19 hour ride, and we got time to eat some lunch, walk around the city for a few hours, see the game and then it was time for the 19 hours ride home. It was a great game, and an even better experience. Totally worth all the traveling time!

In September I turned 25. I had taken the weekend before, and the actual day, off because I was planning to have a birthday party. When I got the schedule it turned out I had gotten even more days of than I asked for, which lead to Martin asking:

"Do you want to have a birthday party or do you want to go to San Fransisco?"

I've always been dreaming about getting to the states, so the answer was easy. Really easy! Since we travel on standby tickets through Martin's job we're not guaranteed our seats and this time all the flights got full the night before the trip. We had to think fast, and ended up in Chicago instead. Something that neither of us regrets for a second! Such an amazing city. The post I wrote as we got home is still one of the most read on my blog. (You can read it here)

In October we took a trip to Madrid, for another football game. This time my sister didn't come, but I brought Martin as company instead. This was the time of the Lufthansa strike, and we had to re-book our tickets in panic, because we had to get there! This was also an amazing experience.

October was also the month where we started to look for an apartment together, found two perfect ones, was fooled by the estate agent and lost both. It was the month when we spent a night in Copenhagen, because neither of us was feeling good at work and with everything that happened with the apartments, and just had to get away. And it was the month when we celebrated an early Christmas with my sister. (Christmas in October)

In November another life long dream came true, when I finally got to New York City. There is a post  about my feelings about the city here. It's fair to say I LOVED it, and that I need to go back soon. It was all I could imagine and more than that.

December was when things were getting harder. My close friend at work got a better job offer and decided to leave. I know I will keep seeing her, but it made me start thinking. I realized I want to do more with my life to and with everything else around me (boyfriend, friends and family that hasn't been feeling really well, the issues with the apartment, changes at work... The list can grow long). Anyway, I decided it was time for me to do something for me. Just me, and no one else. That's when I signed up for the makeup specialist class, which I know will give me a great start of 2015.

These pictures have all been shown on the blog during the year, and gets to represent some of the most
important happenings in my 2014. The blog, Thailand, Meeting Martin, London, Prague, Salzburg
Chicago and New York

That was my 2014 folks. Even though it seemed bad before I started writing this post, it's quite obvious now that the year has been awesome. With this post I wish you a Happy New Year, and when I see you again I will let you know more about my plans and hopes for 2015.

Lots of love,

 

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Dolce & Gabbana - The One

Hi everyone!

I hope you all have had the loveliest Christmas. I know I did. Christmas Eve was spent with my grandparents, cousins and uncle and we had such a great time playing the Christmas gift game, eating a lot of food and goodies and just enjoying each other's company. Christmas Day was spent with my sister, brother, mother, father and boyfriend. Again lots of foods and goodies and loads of amazing Christmas gifts. I must have been really nice this year! I am not going to do a post with all my gifts, but some of my gifts might show up in posts where they are used for a review or maybe in makeup look posts. It's no secret that there was quite a lot of nice makeup because of my education starting soon and everyone wants to encourage that with what they can.

Enough of the rambling. This post is going to be about one of the gifts that I got in my stocking on Christmas Eve. The stocking is a tradition in Martin's family that he wanted to share with me, and I wasn't hard to convince. I must say that was a JACKPOT! Got a lovely gift set with a perfume from Dolce and Gabbana.

I got a tiny bottle of Dolce and Gabbana - The One to try out a while ago. I sprayed it out and Martin guessed the perfume immediately. His aunt used to work with perfumes, so he has learned quite much about them. It turned out that this is one of his all time favorites, but he has never had anyone around him to like it. He has tried with his sister and his mother, but they turned it down. I, how ever liked it a lot from moment the first drops touched my wrist joint.

It has top notes are from citrus, bergamot and mandarin, a heart of litchi and peach and a base of plum, vanilla and musk. The scent is described as oriental and modern with a strong personality, and I think that is a perfect way to describe it. It's a quite strong and grown up scent that is great for fall and winter. For me it would be to heavy for spring and summer, when I prefer a much lighter and sweeter perfume. Over all I'm crazy about the perfume and I know for sure I will be using this a lot in the future. Also, the packaging of the box is lovely. Just look at the pictures below!

A lovely box in a nice golden colour, with a silver bow.

Opening up the box you find a black tissue paper with golden print
for a very luxurious touch.

The bottle is very simple, but elegant and this gift box included
a matching body lotion

Have you tried The One from Dolce and Gabbanna? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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Little Christmas Eve

Good evening,

The day before Christmas Eve, is something we Swedes like to call Little Christmas Eve. When I was younger this was the day we got our Christmas gifts from our parents, before we changed that to Christmas Day.

Anyhow, we still always do something together on Little Christmas Eve. Today we ate some of the favorites from the Christmas table, and played Bingolotto. This is a bingo game on tv, that is shown every week, but we only watch the Christmas special. We never win, but it's taking part that counts, right? And the best part is that I can crawl up in the couch in my lovely PJ Salvage pj, with Christmas dogs on it, that Martin gave to me when we were in New York.

I also got two little gifts. The first one was a Lush gift box that was given to me from the company I work for. Martin was kind enough to drive by my job to pick it up from my boss. The second gift, from Martin himself, was a big bag of my favorite candy.

My last project of the day was to make knäck for tomorrow. Knäck is a sort of candy that needs to be eaten on a Swedish Christmas. Toffee with almonds, and it has become my job to make it every year. It tastes yummy!

Do you have any traditions for this day of the year?

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Christmas Inspiration | Gift Wrapping

Hi,

We're getting closer and closer to Christmas, and the past few days I've been spending quite a lot of time on the gift wrapping. This is something I love to do and put quite some effort to every year. Some more advanced than others. I tend to buy quite a lot of gifts, and this year I have my boyfriend and his family to gift to, so there is a few gifts under my tiny tree.

If you're not done with all your wrapping yet, and needs some inspiration to get going, this post is for you. I haven't taken pictures of all my gifts, but I have collected some to show. I am not the person that uses one or two different kinds of papers to make it all match under the Christmas tree (it never would anyway with six people putting their presents there). I like to mix match and give every gift their own identity. Enjoy the pictures, and if you're interested, read my thoughts bellow.

1. I love using miniature ornaments on my gifts. It's an easy way to show extra effort. If you look carefully at the picture you will also see a golden net under the red ribbon. One of my favorite wrappings this year.

2. I like to save small pieces of paper from other presents to use as a mat under the ribbon. An easy, and cheap way, to give the gift an extra touch.

3. Sometimes less is more. Just a little bit of ribbon, to show the beautiful paper with the reindeer.

4. Again, less is more. Just a simple bow to go with the old fashion Santa paper. 

5. No Christmas without glitter! Sometimes I like to go out of the box and not only use the traditional colours. This year I had no choice when I found that beautiful bling ribbon, and blue and pink where the only colours left.

6. Old fashion is beautiful. Here the traditional brown paper with God Jul (Merry Christmas) printed on it. 

7. Another way to wrap the ribbon around the gift. Still with focus on the really cute paper.

8. I always have to make one very special gift for my sister to open up. It's tradition! This year with double mats under the ribbon, laces and ornaments. I'm sure she'll like it.

9. The last gift was actually wrapped about three years ago. It was my contribution to the Christmas gift game. My Grandmother decided this was her gift and worked really hard to win it. She did, saved the box, put a present in it and gave it back to me for my birthday in September the following year. For Christmas I filled it up again and gave it back to her. We've been doing this ever since. It's getting a bit nagged, but that's part of the charm.

What do you think? Do you have a favorite from the ones above? Or a nice idea to share? 

Let me know in the comments! 

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GlossyBox December

Hi there,

I was starting to think they had forgotten about me this month, since I've seen people reviewing their boxes the whole week. When I got home yesterday and my sister's box had arrived, but not mine, I nearly flipped! But as I went thorough the rest of the mail I found a note that they had been trying to deliver the box, but there was no room left in the post box. The rain was pouring down, so my mother was nice enough to drive me to the delivery point so I could pick it up.

I wouldn't say this is the best box I've ever gotten, but I wasn't disappointed either. For sure worth the money I would say. For me a different shade of the nail polish could have made it a jackpot! 

Burt's Bees Lip Balm - I've actually never tried Burt's Bees before. I did buy one of their lip balms to my sister when I was in Chicago, but I never got one for myself. (Don't ask me why). Got this one with acai berries, that tastes lovely and feel very nice and smooth to the lips. I look forward to evaluate this lip balm with 100% natural ingredients further.

Bella Pierre Cosmetics Cosmetic Glitter - A glitter for body and face. I got mine in silver. I've gotten products from Bella Pierre before and been really happy with them, so I have high hope for this as well. Might be nice for a New Year's makeup look!

BaByliss Hair donut - A hair donat with a push button for various hairstyles. I don't know if I, or Martin, was the happiest about this one. He loves it when I wear my hair up, especially in a bun. I like that it was small to fit my thin hair and that it came with a string and some hair pins.

Make Up Store  Nail polish - I love Make Up Store. I love nail polish. The only downside is that it's blue and that is a color I don't use a lot on my nails, But it is a very beautiful shade, so I will for certain give it a go.

Sasco Aloe Vera Gel - They say Aloe Vera is supposed to be magic. I'm yet to discover that. I've been trying it once or twice, but never noticed that magic that they talk about. Will Sasco be able to change this?

Anthon Berg Dark chocolate stick with Chili, Honey and Almonds - This was a bonus, which is always a nice surprise. I haven't tasted it yet, but is sounds delicious!

  

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Christmas tag

Good evening!

I've been catching up a bit on my favorite blogs these past days and was inspired to do a Christmas tag. I've seen a few different tags out and about and have picked my favorite questions and mixed them as some answers might explain an answer further down in the tag. Hope you enjoy it!

Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?

In Sweden Christmas Eve is actually the big day. For my family it means that we gather with grandparents, aunts, uncles an cousins in either my family's house or at my grandparents, just before 3 p.m. That is the magical time of the year when Donald Duck's Christmas starts. It has been a tradition for generations, and a change in that is a very sensitive subject for all Swedes. During the show we eat all sorts of cookies and mulled wine or a sort of Swedish Christmas root beer. (Or coffee for Grandpa).

When the show is over we talk for a bit during the last preparations for the dinner is being made. Our Swedish Christmas smorgasbord contains pickled herring, salmon, eggs, ham, meatballs, chipolata sausage, potatoes, red cabbage, Jansson's temptation (a gratin of potatoes and anchovy), mackerel in tomato sauce, brussels sprout... The list goes on forever.

After the dinner, Santa usually comes to visit for a few minutes before it's time for the Christmas gift game. (Read about it in this post if you haven't heard about it before) During the game we of course eat all the candy we've made.

When the game is over and all presents are opened, it's time for the rice pudding, hoping to find the almond! I tend to find the almond every year and always win the glory and a box of chocolate. (Last year my grandmother put a second almond in the pudding to give everyone else a chance too. Guess who got both the almonds? Yup, that was me!) Then we just sit for a few hours and talk until everyone is ready to roll home.

Christmas seems to be all about the food, but we do have a lot of fun with all the loved ones as well. I'm sure you all know the drill!

Do you open your presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

As I just wrote about, Swedish Christmas is on Christmas Eve and that is the time when I get, and give, my Christmas gifts from Grandma and Grandpa. I don't get all of the gifts then though.
On Christmas day it's just me, my parents and my sister and brother. This year my boyfriend will join us too, since he has become a part of the family now. In the morning everyone is laying their last hands on the gift wrapping, maybe writing a last gift poem and such. For lunch/early dinner we eat the left overs from the Christmas Eve dinner and as soon as it gets dark outside we gather around the Christmas tree to give each other our gifts.

Do you like to stay in your PJ’s, or dress up for Christmas?

For Christmas Eve I always dress up, but Christmas day is usually PJ's all day.

Which do you like better, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

This one is impossible to answer! I love Christmas eve with everyone around me, and I love the quality time I get with my closest ones at Christmas day. But ever since I was a child there has been something special with Christmas Eve, and I do get to meet family that I don't see every day so maybe a little advantage for Christmas Eve.

Have you ever built a Gingerbread house?

I did sometime when I was younger. My mother built it and we helped with the decoration. Me and my sister have been talking about building one for years, but we never seem to find the time with everything else that we want to do.

What do you like to do on your Christmas break?

It has been years since I had a Christmas break. Working in a store, Christmas is the most busy time of the year. But since I'm not working this Christmas I look forward to just relaxing, watching movies and I really hope for some snow to play in!

What’s your favorite Christmas meal or treat?

This is a really tough one, but I do love the Christmas ham so I think I'll have to pick that. Or my Father's toffee.

What’s your favorite holiday movie?

This one was easier! The Grinch! No Christmas is complete without watching it at least once.

Have you ever made a snowman?

Yes, of course! I love building snowmen. One year I built about 20 tiny ones. I wanted to build the whole soccer team that I support.

Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?
I think my childhood Christmases over all. When my parental Grandmother and Grandfather was still alive, my cousins' parents were still married and everyone was gathered at our house. At that time when Christmas was only magic, because you weren't aware of all the stress that it can bring as well. I LOVE the preparations and Christmas as it is now, but there's still something special about Christmas as a child.

Favourite Christmas gift?
I've gotten so many lovely Christmas gifts through out the years, but an all time favorite is the season tickets to my football games. It's a gift that lasts for a whole year and bring loads of memories for a lifetime. Also, it's one of my father's favorite gifts to give, for the same reasons, and as happy I am to receive the gift, I am to see the joy in his face as he hands it over.

What tops your tree?

Well... I guess this is where most people answer a star, or an angel, or a spire. It used to be a star. But this year my dad helped decorating the tree.

What's the best part about Christmas for you?

I think that the best part of Christmas for me is everything Christmas is supposed to be. With all the tittle-tattle of Christmas gift, the preparations, the food, all family close and the natural joy in everyone's eyes.

Hope you found this post interesting. If you have any special Christmas traditions you'd like to share, I'd love to hear about them in the comments below.

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Christmas Inspiration | Nail art

Hi there!

Just about one more week, then it's time for my favorite season of the year! I've always loved Christmas, but the past few years I've been working crazy the weeks before and after, so the Christmas spirit hasn't really been there as I wish it to be.

As you may know I used to suffer from panic attacks as I was younger, and with everything that has been going on in my life lately I haven't been feeling very well. When I woke up in panic this Monday, and felt my heart beating in a rushing pace I decided to call the doctor. I know I've been stressed out for a while now, and I know my head and body well enough to know that this meant it was time for a break. The doctor put me on the sick list, and I won't be going back to work until the 4:th of January. It wasn't an easy decision to make, because in one way it feels like giving up, but I also know that it was the right thing to do and it will help me come back sooner.

Anyway, as I got a bit more time on my hands I've decided to go all in on Christmas. I will get my time to relax, and I have all the time I need to make nice wrappings, make candy and decorate for a lovely Christmas.

Today I'm going to show you my Christmas nail art. I found these lovely stickers from Allura in London this summer, and even though it wasn't the right season I just couldn't walk past them. Aren't they lovely?

For this look I've used Chip Skip from OPI. This was something that I found in New York that is supposed to make the nail polish last longer. Really look forward to see if it works. As a base I've used Second Nail from Isadora, and as a topChina Glaze First and Last. Both colours are from China Glaze as well, and are defiantly my Christmas favorites, 182 Ruby Pumps and 1261 This is tree-mendous. Love all the sparkles in them!

So what do you think of my Rudolph nails? Let me know in the comments bellow! 

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Exciting news

Greetings people!

Today I've got some really exciting news to share. For a while now I've been feeling I need to do something else than just work work work. Something that will be a step forward good for my personal development. I found that close to where I live there was an education that I would love to take part in. Last week I got an okay from my boss to have one day extra off every week, and yesterday a confirmation of my acceptance showed up in my mail box.

The 20th of January I will be attending my first lesson on a six weeks education to be a diplomaed Makeup-specialist. Overly excited about this, and really wished it would start tomorrow! I really look forward to do something that I love doing, and see what this education will bring for my future career.

Now that I've shared these lovely news I will get back do my happy dance that has been going on for a while now!

Ciao!

Bekräftelse is Swedish for confirmation

1920's look

Good evening!

This weekend me and Martin was invited to a party with a 1920's theme. A theme I liked since it meant all in on make up. I spent quite a lot of Unfortunately we were working under real time pressure since both of us were working all night, so pictures of the whole outfit and a pictured walk through on the make up fell out of the schedule. You will be able to follow my thoughts in text though.

The 1920's were much about a light colored skin tone, so I went through my make up collection to find the lightest of my foundations. The choice fell on my Matte/FX foundation from Beauty UK in color 01 Ivory. A light coverage was all I needed to my pale winter skin for this look. A bit of Collection's Lasting Perfection concealer in 01 Fair was used to brighten up under the eyes. I'm a big fan of bronzer but that was left out this time and I only used a little bit of blush on the apples of my cheek. I picked 2true No.1, which is probably my most used shade.

The eyes got a lot of attention. Starting with the brow, I used my Kohl Pencil from Kicks (Single Espresso) and More Brows from Model Co (Medium/Dark) to shape and draw the eyebrows downwards. With eyeshadows from MUA - Undressed I created a really smokey eye. I used Rose Ash as a base, and Cool Grey and Fuel for the smokiness. Fuel is the darker color of the two, and that's the one I used for the inner corners and faded out to Cool Grey in the outer corners. The other way around from how most people wear their make up now. To frame the eyes I used a black inliner from Färg and a felt liner from P.S.Love (Primark). With the felt liner I created a wing as well. For the upper lashes I used Diorshow mascara and for the lower lashes I chose False Lash Architect from L'oréal Paris. I find the L'oreal mascara perfect for the lower lashes since the brush is thin and the color is quite dry, which makes it easy to catch the small lashes without painting everything else around the eye black.

The lipstick was deep red applied with a fair Cupids's bow on the upper lip. I used my YSL lipstick in 204 and a small lip pencil for application.

I was very happy with the look, and I got so much nice response from people at the party. Will definitely go for this look again if I get an opportunity to, or just for fun! It's really not something I would go for for every day use.

What do you think of the look?

I made the picture black and white to catch the 1920's feeling, but if you click it you'll see it in the original colors.

Wyndham Garden

Hi everyone!

Time is running by so fast I barely manage to follow. Can't believe it's December already! I do still have a few New York posts I'd like to write and share, so hopefully I'll manage to get that done during this week.

At first we were looking at hotels on Manhattan, but found it was quite expensive if you wanted a private bathroom and wifi in the room. Since it's crazily expensive for us to use 3G or 4G abroad, wifi is essential for us, as we might want to look up things for the trip or re-book our flight as we travel on standby. We found a hotel that seemed okay and almost booked it, but through a deal on Secret Escapes we got to think of the possibility to live on Long Island instead, getting a lovely view over Manhattan. We looked at other hotels in the area and found Wyndham Garden. The reviews were great, and it was said to be really easy to get to Manhattan with the metro. For the same price we were about to spend on quite shabby hotel, we got a four star hotel, close to the pier with one of the most amazing views I've ever seen. (See pictures in my last post about New York here)

To not live on Manhattan was a great decision. It was so nice to get out of the city, to a calm area, after a whole day with loads of impressions. The area was great. People were out walking their tiny dogs, and not once, as we were out in the late evenings, did we feel unsafe in any way. The hotel offered a free shuttle bus to the Metro station every 30 minutes (it was just a four minutes walk though, so we went by foot) and it was just one station away from the first stop at Manhattan. It was also just one line to the AirTrain to JFK airport.

The hotel was very nice and clean and the staff was really friendly. The room included two double beds, which was perfect! One for sleeping and one for packing and showing off all the nice shopping. The bathroom had a small bathtub, just perfect for a foot bath after a long day of walking. No way near big or deep enough for two persons to take a full body bath. Not even for one person to be honest. But, since the first hotel we were looking at barely had a private shower in the room, this was perfect!

We would defiantly recommend this hotel, and we will for sure look at this hotel again, the next time we're going to New York.

Glossybox November

Hi,

 

After a week of running to the mail box everytime a car that could have been the mail man drove by, my November Glossybox finaly arrived. It was waiting for me when I got home from a crazy day at work, so it was perfect timing! And YES I was happy with the contant this time too!

 

Make Up Store Lipgloss Wand

Glossybox and Make Up Store is still giving away a full size product every month. I got the lipgloss in colour 381 Dahlia. It's a nice pink shade with loads of beautiful shimmer. I've been really happ with the eye products, so I'm excited to try this one as well.

 

Model Co More Brows, Eyebrow Thickening gel

A brow gel is actually something I've been planing to buy, but always find other things that seems more fun at the moment. I think I will re-think that thought from now on. I gave it a try right away, and I really liked the result. I got the colour medium/dark and thought it would be too dark for me, but with a light hand it works perfect.

 

Hot Make Up Glitter Glam

This is a really glittery gel, that works just as good on the eyes as on the nails if you secure it with a top coat polish. The colour isn't something I would pick myself, but I could see some cool Christmas inspired make up with this one. Look forward to give it a try.

 

Sumita Beauty Eye Shadow Pencil

A shimmery eyeliner in the colour Champagne. I think it's a little dark for it's name, but it does look fantastic! Neutral colours can never go wrong. It's very nice and creamy and gives lovely pigment even with a light hand, which I really appreciate working on the eyes. This one has lots of potential to be a favorite!

 

L'occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream

I've read lots of great reviews about products from L'occitane, but never tried them myself. I was actually planning to buy something at Woodbury in New York, but there was so much to chose from and I didn't know where to start looking, so I endend up buying nothing. Now they have a new chance to convince me!

The hand cream is with shea butter, honey and almonds. That does sound like something for me!

 

That's it for tonight. More New York posts are still to come, but when the box arrived today it jumped to the first place in the line.

 

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think about them? Let me know in the comments below.

 

 

 

New York, I'm in love

Hello!

Now we've been back in Sweden for a couple of days and been trying to get back on track from the jet lag. It doesn't make it easier with birthday parties and an all night out, but we're getting there. 

New York was AMAZING! I really didn't want to go home so soon, and I can't wait to go back. Hopefully I will just have to wait for a few more months before I go back with Martin and my sister, Fia.  

We decided to live in a hotel on Long Island, with the view over Manhattan, which was genius! We lived in a very nice and calm area, and it was really easy to get to the city center with the metro. Also we got a way better hotel for the price compared to what we found in Manhattan. (I'm planning a review on the hotel in the near future.)

Visiting New York has always been a big dream of mine, and it was just as fantastic as I had imagined. I got a little starstruck at Times Square, "I'VE SEEN THIS ON PROJECT RUNWAY", and a whole lot of other movies and TV-shows, but that's what got on my mind. Walking around, and eating breakfast, in Central Park was just as beautiful and fairy like as I had hoped, with all the squirrels and birds that allowed you to come really close. Rock of Ages was way better live on Broadway, than watching the movie from the couch at home. And 9/11 became real, when I stood there at Ground Zero and noticed all the names of victims. Not to mention the view from the pier in Long Island, both day and night, at the Manhattan skyline that gave me goosebumps all over my body.

Aaaand, for a shoppoholic like me that was an insane experience as well. We got time for a lot of shopping in the city and a whole day at Woodbury. THANK GOD, I have a boyfriend that loves shopping (almost) as much as I do, and don't mind spending the days in a whole lot of stores, and a whole lot of changing rooms. USA is extremely cheap compared to Sweden to start with, and if you go to an outlet or a sale it's impossible to not go bananas!  

I could write about this trip forever, but it's getting really late and I need to work tomorrow. Stay posted though, I do have a few more posts about New York planned. It's just a matter of finding spare time, which is sort of scarce commodity at the moment, but we'll get there!

Good night for now!

PJ Salvage

Hi there!

Long time no see. Things have been kind of crazy lately. Long stories short, we didn't get the apartment we were looking at, I got sick during our trip to Madrid, two colleagues quit our job (which is quite a lot since we're only five people in the staff) just before the Christmas sales are about to start and I found an education I want to take part that starts by the end of January. It's fair to say my head has been ready to explode for a while now.

Since Christmas is around the corner, at least in the retail businesses, we get a lot of news to the store at the moment. A brand new brand for us is PJ Salvage, that makes adorable PJ's. Cats, dogs, owls, elephants, cookies & milk. They all look lovely! And one of the best parts is that it's delivered in a pizza box! Who can not fall for that?

Recently we reached a sales goal at work from one of our suppliers, and they were kind enough to let us pick a gift from one of their brands. I had fell in love with the elephant PJ's, so for me the choice was easy. (Even though I did try the other ones as well, just to be really sure. And Oh, Lord it was a good choice! I've pretty much moved in to this lovely piece of clothing. The first thing I do as I get home in the evening is to jump into this one. Maybe I should invest in one more, so that I have one in each of my two homes... And my little fur ball, Max, would like you all to know that it's totally cuddle approved.

On Friday me and M are going to New York! It has been one of my  biggest dreams since I was about 15 years old, and now it's just a few days more until it comes true. Overly excited about that! Hit me with your best trip advises if you've been there!

   

When everything happens at once

Hi there!

 

My head is a real mess right now. There is so much going on I don't know where to start.

Me and M found an appartment that we really want, and yesterday we brought my parents and sister to see it. They liked it too and saw all the opportunities that we did. We did think we would be the only ones there, but the estate agent had invited other potential buyers as well. Made us kind of nervous to see how big the interest was. We booked an appointment at the bank this morning to make sure we would get the loan we need. They said okay, so we placed an offer and now we just need to wait and see if they accept it. Probably won't get any answers until the end of the week. It will be a constant stomach ache until we know. I don't know how many times I've decorated that appartment in my head.

Tomorrow we're going to Madrid, something that we've been looking forward to for months. What we didn't plan was that Lufthansa would strike today and tomorrow, which means our flight is cancelled. In panic we booked new tickets last night, and today M has been trying to get the money back for the first tickets and make sure our tickets home are still valid, even though we will cancel the first tickets. Still not sure what will happen since no one could answer, and didn't call back as promised. When he tried to call back they had closed their phone service. I like being spontaneous, but when things are planed and the time is limited I just want things to go as planed! But it will work out one way or another.

As this wasn't enough to mess up a girl's mind, I've also been thinking about education and there are things going on at work that I'm not sure what to think about. I really want to study to makeup specialist, but I need to know what happens with the appartment, and what happens at work so I know when it's a good time to start. It's just six weeks, and only one day in school, so I should be able to combine it with my job during the time. But still, need to fix that first! Why does everything always have to happen at the same time? It's close to impossible to think clear at the moment! A good night's sleep on that one?

See you soon, from another place in the world!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas in October

Merry Christmas!

Our lovely days in the woods are now over and it's time to go back to reality again. Christmas have been wonderful and we can't wait for the real Christmas with the whole family.

First night we decorated Gingerbread cookies to hang in the window for decoration during our stay. Everyone enjoyed it and made some beautiful creations. The focus was on top, as you might see on the pictures.

 The morning after we got up really early for a few hours drive to a big wholesale store. We did find a few Christmas gifts and some things to M's apartment. I don't know any other guy that would go there voluntarily, and not complain once! M is kind of great, I must say.

For dinner we made a traditional Swedish Christmas table. Or sort of, we took a few of our favorites that was doable at the time. Meatballs, sausages, eggs with mayonnaise and shrimps, potatoes, mackerel in tomato sauce, beetroot salad... And of course a few picks of candy with chocolate, oranges and marshmallows shaped like tiny Santas. It all tasted like Christmas is supposed to do. We only missed the ham, and the meatballs should be home made. And all of Grandma's cookies.

 

 After dinner we played the Christmas gift game. In case you haven't heard about it I'll run the rules quite quick. Every contestant bring one, or a few gifts, for a given amount of money. They should be wrapped nicely. It's more fun to see everyone fight over your gift. Everyone around the table takes turn to throw a dice, a six and you get to pick a gift. Do NOT open now! When all gifts are taken, one person sets an alarm clock on a secret time (usually around 15 minutes or so, depending on how many people taking part). The dice keeps walking around, but now when you get a six you get to steal a gift from someone else. When the alarm rings you get to keep the gifts you've won.

 We finished of with some hot chocolate before we went to bed, and today it was time to go home and work for a few hours. Overall it couldn't have been better. It was so relaxing and, I think,  very much needed for all of us, I wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of mini-Christmas again before it's time to celebrate for real.

Hope you enjoyed reading about our little celebration!

Christmas is here!

Hey!

Almost done with my packing. Tonight I'm taking two of the people I love the most, my sister and my boyfriend, to our cabin for a few days of Christmas!

In Sweden Halloween is not a very big thing. They sell a few pumpkins in the store for decoration, and there might be a few kids doing Trick or Treat, but not much more than that. The next big holiday here is Christmas and we are excited! 

We all work hard and could use a bit of relaxation. We all love Christmas. No one else is on the same level as we are yet, so we thought, 'Why not go away for a couple of days'. And now it's all in for Christmas. (Don't worry, we will not go with all this until December. It will be packed down in boxes for a month or two after this. We just want a pre-taste.)

Tomorrow we will go to a big discount store, a few hours by car from the cabin. I think everyone in Sweden knows about this place, and people go there from all over the country. We will see if we can find some things for M's appartment (since I'm pretty much moving in one step at the time) and if we find some Christmas gifts we will purchase them now.

If we find some gifts we will wrap them tomorrow night, watch a Christmas movie, eat Christmas inspired snacks, play the Christmas gift game and just have a cozy time.
Have you started thinking about Christmas yet?

Home alone

Hi everyone!

Tonight M is out with his friends, so I'm all alone for the evening. Even though I miss him a little, it isn't too bad to have some alone time. I decided to make some lunch boxes for the weekend, then take a long shower before I put on my PJ's and joined my friends Tea and iPad for a night in. The iPad was a birtday gift from my parents, and might be one of the best things ever. It makes blogging and keeping up with the social network around it soo much easier. I went straight to buy a Bluetooth keyboard, which is absolutely perfect! It's like a mini laptop that fits into pretty much any bag. For work, on the bus or train... I'm in love!

When I logged in toTwitter I noticed there was a Bloggers Do It Better Chat that was about to start and I was happy to join in. I realized how much I've missed interact with other bloggers. It has been a while now since I've been so up to just about everything else. One of the best things about blogging is all the lovely people you get to meet.

I also realized I miss the Bloggers Do It Better Challenge. I don't seem to get notifications or e-mails anymore, so I'll have to find out what is up with that and see if I can join in again.

How do you spend the time when you get a night for yourself?

 

 

Rituals - Mild Eye Make-up Remover

Good morning!

As you may know if you've followed my blog for a while, I am a big fan of Rituals. One of my latest purchases was their Mild Eye Make-up Remover. I've been finding it hard to find something that really works for me. I have really sensitive skin around my eyes, so I tend to get really dry and itchy from some removers. I've been trying removers made for sensitive eyes as well, but the ones I've tried doesn't remove the eye makeup as well as I want, which result in me rubbing harder and irritate the skin anyway. But here it is, the perfect one for me! It will take miracle product for me to ever change from this one!

It contains Lotus flowers, that naturally cleans and protect the skin and Rice Bran oil that keeps the skin healthy and soft. This one does it's job and removes the makeup very easily, and it doesn't itch. Not even a little! Another very good thing about this one is the price. I pay about $14,50 for a bottle of 125 ml. I will definatly be re-purchasing this as soon as this one is empty. I'm also very curious about the other products in this range.

Have you tried these products from Rituals? What are your toughts?

 

 

Chicago - Tourist tips

Hi there!

So it's time for the last post about Chicago, for this time. Since we got to Chicago on an impulse, we didn't know much about the town before we got there. In this post I want to share some of the things we learned and might be useful tips for a visitor.

Airport transfer

When we got to the airport we asked for the best way to get into city center and was recommended to take a shuttle bus. For $46 we got to go with a mini-bus that left us just outside the hotel entry. It took quite a long time (close to 1,5h) because of the trafic, and we had to sit stocked up with a few strangers, but it was still perfect for a first time visitor that didn't know where to find the hotel.

On the way back to the airport we realized how much better the train was. It took about 40 minutes and costed us in total $6. The walk from our hotel was just 10 minutes long, so we saved both time and money. At the hotel they asked us if we wanted them to call a taxi and when we told them we wanted to take the train they just said "Smart move". It's quite easy to get stuck in traffic during rush hour.

Next time we go to Chicago we will skip the shuttle and just take the train. Especially since we now have a clue about the city and isn't completely lost when we arrive.

Shopping

If you, like me, are used to European (not to say Scandinavian) prices the shopping is great. Both Macy's and Nordstroms was like heaven to me! The have just about everything you might need, good prices to start with and quite a lot of sales.

If you are from abroad and shop at Macy's you can ask for a discount card at the information desk, and show your ID-card. This gives you 10% off, which covers the taxes.

If you have a day to spend, I would really recommend to go to the Fashion Outlet (read previous post) It's impossible to leave without a great deal!

Sightseeing

Since we didn't have much time, we didn't do much sightseeing, but we did take a stroll in Millennium Park which was quite an experience. The modern art was really cool!

A walk down to the pier to watch the skyline in sunset is also highly recommended. It was so beautiful, and powerful, for someone coming from a little town like me.

If we would have had one more day, we would like to go on a guided boat tour around the town as well. It seemed like a really nice thing to do. Next time, Chicago!

Other

If you haven't checked out The Cheesecake factory, do so! Yummy!

Bring a pair of good walking shoes, because it's really easy to get around by foot. And don't forget a jacket! Chicago is called the windy city, so even when the sun is shining the air can feel quite cold.

Don't come with full bags. If you like shopping you will need as much space as possible. Just bring the most important stuff!

So what do you think? Is Chicago a place you would want to visit?


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Fashion Outlet of Chicago

When we decided to go to USA we were recommended to go to a Premium outlet. We had our eyes on one in San Francisco, but since we didn't end up there we had to rethink that plan. We asked our friend Google if he knew a place in Chicago and was told to go to Aurora. Good thing, we thought, but wasn't sure how to get there. We found a tourist information and went in to ask for help. The lady we met told us that they had opened up an outlet center close to the airport, and that it was a lot easier to go to than the one in Aurora. The center was called Fashion outlets of Chicago, which is why we didn't find it googeling Premium outlets.

From city center we took the train from Clark Lane to O'Hare, and a shuttle bus to the outlet. When we got back home we found out that you could take the train to Rosemont instead and get a free shuttle. We paid about $20 for our shuttle.

The center has 130 stores, which is quite a lot compared to the malls I'm used to at home. And the prices are not to talk about. USA is really cheap compared to Sweden to start with, and with all these sales I can tell you I was in heaven!

To give you a hint about the prices in USA compared to Sweden, I bought a shirt for my brother that he has been looking at here. I didn't buy it at the outlet, and it wasn't on sale, but still it was less than half price of what I would have to pay here.

When we arrived we went to the information desk because we wanted to buy Green Saving cards with additional discounts. As we told them we were from Sweden we got the cards for free (instead of $5/each) if we could show our ID-cards, proving we were visitors. Most discouts were something like "additional 10% off if you shop for $100". We did use quite a lot of those discounts, so they would have payed off, even if we hadn't got them for free.

We arrived around 11a.m. and left after 6p.m. And we did some great findings! Brands that I would never be able to buy at home, to prices that I usually spend. US Polo and Calvin Klein became the stores that we opened up our wallets to the most. Did some fantastic deals there. If I did have to pick my absolute favorite from the outlet I think it would be my DKNY "cozy", a cardigan that you can wrap in several different ways. Original price on the price tag was $175, I paid around $50, including taxes.

We found the center big enough to have everything we wanted, but not too big so we were able to check out all the stores and still go back if we realized we missed something. There was a big food court so it wasn't any trouble finding a place to sit when you needed a break.

We would really recommend going to this outlet center, especially if you're used to European prizes. Keep in mind though, that this is the first one I visit and have nothing really to compare with. We will for sure go back there next time we go to Chicago.

 

 

 

Glossybox September

Hi everyone!

Yesterday the Glossybox of the moth arrived. It's like Christmas every time. The theme of this box is Eyes. I loved the theme from the moment I heard about it. Eyes are my favorite part to focus on when I do my makeup. This is what I got in the box this month.

Garnier - The Miracle Cream

A face cream with an inovative color technology that's supposed to fit all skin tones. It will hide fine lines and even the skintone.

Absolute New York - Perfecting Eyeshadow Primer

This is perfect for me! I've been in the need to buy a primer for a while, but I tend to forget about it everytime I go shopping. Thank you Glossybox for taking care of this task for me.

Monu - Warming ginger oil

A massage oil to build up the skins elasticity and keep it soft and smooth. Hope M will help me use this one after a long day at work!

Benefit Cosmetics - It's Potent! Eye Cream

I'm excited to try another product from benefit. I know it's a quite hyped brand, but last time I got to try a product from them I wasn't really convinced. Hope this one gives them a jump up for me. It's supposed to tone out darkness under the eyes, even fine lines and moisturise the eye area. Convince me you're great, Benefit!

Make Up Store - Eyedust

I've always wanted to try products from Make Up Store, but it has been too hard for me to chose colours, and to expencive to buy plenty. In my box this month I got an eyedust in the colour Bamboo. It's a very lovely green shade, and I already know this will be a big time favorite this fall. It's very well pigmented and shimmery. Don't be surprised if a make up using this one turns up on the blog, sooner rather than later.

Bonuses!

The Body Shop - Drops of Youth Eye Concentrate

Make Up Store also offers make up consulting in one of their stores for me and a friend. Will see if I can find an opening for me and my sister to go to this one. Would be fun to see if they have something to say that I haven't thought about.

Over all I'm very happy whit the box this month. Definitely one of my favorites so far.

Stay tuned, a few more posts about our trip to Chicago will be posted in the next few days.

Skickat via Blogsy

Chicago - The Cheescake Factory

Hi there!

As both me and M are big fans of desserts and Big Bang Theory we couldn't not go to The Cheesecake Factory, as we found out they had one in Chicago. It was the perfect thing to do before we went to pick up our things and go to the airport for our trip back home.

When we got the menu we realized we wasn't in for an easy pick. Everything sounded so delicious. Since I'm crazy about raspberries my choice wasn't too hard in the end, and I think M was a bit affected about my love about Dulce de leche ice cream and the fact that I told him a few times that sounded like a nice one. So Dulce de leche and Lemon Raspberry Cream was served. We decided to split them and eat half-half, just to get a real taste at both. They both tasted like a little bit of heaven, but the final winner was the lemon raspberry. Mainly because the Dulce de leche was way to heavy for us. The first two bit was amazing, but then it just got too much. Lemon Raspberry was a bit lighter and was just perfect!

The service was great! We got a table quite quickly and we didn't have to wait long to get served. The girl taking care of us was lovely. Can't really remember her name. Vicky, I think? The only thing that we didn't like too much was that it was so cold in there! We weren't really tempted to sit there, so we ate up and got out as soon as we could. A bit warmer and we could have stayed longer, enjoying or cheesecakes to the fullest. That would have been perfect!

 

Chicago - Hotel Felix

Hi there!

In Chicago we stayed at the Hotel Felix. Since we booked last minute, we got a good price of the hotel, and it was much worth the money.

I'm used to staying at cheap places in London where you have to struggle to get the big bags up, or down, quite narrow stairs. That was far from the case this time! It felt quite luxurious stepping in to an elevator and having a well dressed man delivering the bags up to your room. A room that was very nice and clean. Not very big, but just perfect for two persons staying three nights. And that bed was impressive! It was so comfortable. I rarely sleep well away from home and my own bed, but here I slept like a baby. Free WiFi that worked without any trouble! Perfect for us that would be charged plenty from our operators if we used the 3G-net. Now we could still check out maps, transfer and other information we needed.

The staff at the hotel was really friendly, and helpful. They answered all of our questions and gave us useful tips about the city.

The location was great. It was close to everything in the city center. About ten minutes walk from the John Hancock Center and Water Tower Place. In the other direction it wasn't far to Millennium Park and the train station to the airport.

There are a few minor things that could have been better. For example they took a deposition of $50/night that they didn't inform us about until we questioned the way to high amount of money drawn from our card. Money that still isn't transferred back. Maybe this is common in the States, but for a first time visitor we would have wished for this info in advance.

We we're also hoping to be able to have a late check out, but the fee of $50/half an hour, was way too high in our opinion.

Overall, we were very happy about the hotel and can defiantly see this as a place to go back to next time we visit Chicago.

Chicago, we will be back!

Hi there!

Yesterday we got back from our little weekend in Chicago. Just in time to celebrate my birthday today. Woke up this morning to my family and boyfriend singing Happy Birthday (a Swedish version of it) and giving me some really lovely gifts. And my little dog was the center of attention as usual trying to help me open everything up. Oh, the disappointment when he realized there wasn't anything for him to play with.

Anyway, Chicago. What a lovely city! Both me and M are in love with it and have promised each other we will go back sometime! We have a few more places on the list, so it might take a while, but we will be back! No doubt about it.

What we liked about it was that it was so cozy even though it's so big. Also a big plus for how easy it was to get around by foot. Our hotel was at a very central location, so we could walk everywhere we wanted to go, except the airport and the Fashion Outlet of Chicago. And we loved the people! Everyone was so friendly, everywhere you went. In Sweden everyone is quite closed and private, but here people started talking by just the look from a stranger.

These two pictures are a  good example of what we loved about the city. In the level of sight it looked so nice and intimate, but when you looked up the town was rising to the sky. Pretty awesome! The highest building in our city felt kind of small compared to this town.

We went down to the pier to look at the city skyline, and happened to get there as the sun was setting. It was so beautiful! Had to take a selfie there, which we sent as a postcard to family and friends. Using an app from the Swedish Post, it arrived before we did! Very appreciated by the receivers.

Last day we had really lovely weather and we felt like we had reached our shopping budget, so we went to the Millennium Park to stroll around and watch the cool sculptures. I really enjoyed watching the modern art. Most places I've visited before is known for it's old and close to antique architecture, and I love that, but this was something completely new and exiting in it's own way.

During the week I will post more specific posts about the hotel, places we've visited and tourist tips that we learned during the trip. Stay posted if you're interested in more about our Chicago trip!

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