30/04/14

Lightweight Bases Galore


Recently I'm all about lightweight foundations and bases as when it comes to makeup I don't really like anything too heavy going on there, and I have to admit lightweight bases are always been my first choose - I seriously can't remember an single time I decided to went for a full coverage foundation in my entire life. I went through a lot of tubes actually, but today I want to show you the ones that still have a firm role in my makeup life...

I don't know about you, but I'm super sick of the whole BB cream kind of thing and I tend to steer away from every new BB or CC cream release, but I still have some noteworthed in my little "lightweight" drawer. The Gosh BB Cream* (€13,99) is been in there for a while now, but this is the base I go with in summertime usually as I have a slightly too dark shade for my pale winter skin which pairs amazingly with the light tan I get in summertime instead. This super light and impalpable base aims to be a foundation, primer and moisturizer all in one but I actually am really impressed of how easly it sinks into the skin (pretty reasonable as it's water based) and how comfortable it is to wear even in the warmer months. The Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream (£6,50) is the most recent entry in my foundation stash, and I'm super impressed with this at the moment: it contains apricot pigments to conceal fatique signs, green pigments to contrast rednesses and white pigments to cover dark spots - this really has a very nice covering power but still being pretty natural and light on the skin and leaving a luminous complexion. This is my first choice on days when my skin looks a bit dull and I need to uniforme it and create a smooth texture.

Another water based foundation I really like right now is the & Other Stories Triple Moist Foundation (£15) which aims to have a super hydrating formula and leaving a very natural finish. I don't know about the hydration - I'm not a dry skin girl so I rarely notice if a base product tend to keep my skin hydrated, but this for sure doesn't make my skin oilier - but is really nice in keeping things pretty natural and light. It is slightly fragranced though, and if your skin is very sensitive like mine, you should consider wearing a primer underneath (not my favorite thing). It's still very creamy but blend and absorb super easly.

My "top of the class" lightweight bases are two though, the Rouge Bunny Rouge Sketches on Water Tinted Moisturiser* (£34,58) and the L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau de Teint (£9,99), both water based foundations but with opposite finishes. The former is one my skin didn't love at first as it caused a terrible breakout as soon as I tried it, but which is now super well loved as it leaves the most beautiful wet finish and smooth texture to the skin. This seems super thick when you apply it but it actually sinks into the skin pretty soon and gives a beautifully radiant complexion. It never looks cakey or feel sticky and it looks amazing in photos as well. The latter has been my go to winter foundation, which I actually still use if I'm looking for a super matte finish; it has the messiest packaging ever but a super nice and unique formula. It's very lightweight and never feels too heavy on the skin, and once blended it leave a silky and matte finish I really love. This combination and oily skin friendly foundation applies better with the fingers, helps in uniforming the complexion, is truely buildable and goes on super easly as well. You can read a full review on here.

One thing is for sure: I can't go wrong with water based bases and I have a good stock now, but they still are my first choise when I have to buy new foundations. However these were my favorite lightweight base finds so far.

Which is your favorite lightweight base?

28/04/14

Healthy antiox smoothie




I don't know about you, but for me as soon as it comes spring I'm all about good juicy smoothies in the morning and afternoon as they are delicious and fresh but also pretty healthy. Also I've actually never been a big green tea fan, but I know it is the biggest source of anti oxidants out there - just a quick one: a cup of green tea seems to contain the same amount of anti oxidants as seven glasses of orange juice - and they always suggest to drink more than a cup a day. But really, I think green tea's taste isn't for everyone, but I just recently found out that for me the solution is mixing it with a good fruit smoothie...

This super quick and easy recipe was inspired by one of my favorite food app, Filibaba Smoothies, which proposes a very similar way to incorporate green tea in your diet, and I found it so clever that being that I always keep some green tea at home, I immediately decided to try to customize it and make something I would really enjoy. And to stay on track with the all antiox theme, I threw in a good mix of ingredients which all have antiox proprerties.

For a cup of smoothie you will need:
  • A frozen banana
  • An apple
  • The juice of one lemon
  • 1/2 cup of green tea

First things first, I sliced the banana into pieces and put it in the freezer for one or two hours before starting preparing my smoothie so that the banana will be cold and almost frozen and will make your smoothie super resfreshing. Then I prepared 1/2 cup of green tea and let it cool for half an hour to avoid my smoothie to come out too warm, and finally I peeled my apple and cutted into pieces. Now it's time to start blending and mixing and using a blender I firstly blended together the banana and lemon juice, then added the apple and lastly the green tea. I blended it very well for a few minutes as I didn't want any big fruit pieces going on in there and then served it into a cute jam jar with two colored straws.

I'm not even a big fan of banana smoothies usually but this is seriously delicious, creamy, refreshing and amazing and I keep drinking and preparing it everyday since when I discovered it. This doesn't taste like green tea at all, and if you have a big blender I would suggest to prepare a good dose of it and serve it for breakfast to your family or store in the fridge and drink it within one or two days whenever you desire. You can also add a bit of sugar to your taste if you want, but I generally go without it as there's still the sweetness of an entire apple in there. Hopefully you will enjoy this delicious but healthy smoothie too!

Will you try this recipe? Which is your favorite smoothie flavor?

27/04/14

Wallpaper | Flower and Honey


Three long years have passed from when I used to use Photoshop on a daily basis and during these past years I just opened it to edit my blog pictures, resize and brighten them a bit, but nothing very creative was going on in there. Recently though, I launched my little design shop and even though Photoshop isn't always a necessity, I'm definitely everyday more into it and have restarted playing with a few fonts and pattern. I actually took a few pictures and blended them together, added some filters and a quote and used this as my desktop wallpaper. I liked it a lot and created a paired iPhone wallpaper and so I thought I could share it with you!

I don't know about you but I love freebies even if they're tech stuff as desktop wallpapers or to-do lists to be printed (next on my list actually), so I thought I could share some of my wallpapers more often and make it a seasonal or monthly thing, we'll see. My Photoshop skills are not so good as they used to be and I'm a bit rusty, but I really enjoy my Photoshop sessions now and again as there's always so much to learn and it's one of my favorite ways to be creative - so hopefully this sharing thing will help me going back on track and remember all the Photoshop function I used to know.

This time this wallpaper is very spring-inspired and the actual background pictures were taken in my backyard as I have this little paradise out there with plenty of flowering trees right now - and I get so excited and go ahead and take pictures of everything.

Hope you enjoy it and have a good Sunday!

25/04/14

Handbag essentials




There was a time when I used to bring with me only big, wide, ginormous handbags, but that time is definitely gone as now I only carry little bags which look a lot cuter in my opinion but are also pretty comfortable and not too bulky as a big bag. I recently got an even smaller bag and I had to halve my bag contents and completely minimize it, so I thought I could share my handbag essentials today...

First of all my new navy blue tote bag is the Vintage and Casual Tote Bag* (£11.88) from Sammydress which is such a cute and good quality little bag with the prettiest vintage brown details and a lot of wide pockets in the inside to keep everything very organized which I definitely love. This is the perfect size for my necessities as I can store all the things I need to carry with me when I go out and even more and it's actually not too big nor too small. I love the brown details and that this pairs amazingly with the majority of my wardrobe, and even though I wasn't too sure about getting it in blue, it turned out being a good choise as this is a bit of a change instead of my usual brown or black bags I use to go with in wintertime.

In the biggest compartment I always carry my Topshop wallet which my boyfriend bought me when we was in London and which I'm totally in love with. This is such a big wallet for a little bag, I know, but one thing with me is every wallet is always too little for my taste and for what I need to carry, so I need to go for a big one and make sure it fits it all. Also I always have in there a good old hand sanitizer as I'm a hygienic freak, a few little Ikea wooden pencils I got after a few Ikea trips, my Firmoo Brown Round Sunglasses* (£28.98) and my on-the-go camera which I recently decided to bring always with me to capture every little moment I want to remeber and maybe post on here too. Essentials to me are also my little Harrods Folk Floral Pocket Shopper Bag (£4,95) which comes very useful if I'm out and I need another cute bag to carry anything else I could have bought, and my little Accessorize Heart Mirror (£7), because, you know, a girl needs her mirror everywhere.

In the inside little pocket I always carry a handful of H&M Black Hair Elastics (£1.50) which are my all time favorite because they lasts forever and come pretty useful if you have long hair, but also a little old hair clip probably from Accessorize and my old Apple earphones, whilst in the bigger front pocket I always keep handy things I want to easly find like my super handy H&M Hand Wipes and Halo Moist Toilet Tissue Wipes (£1.09), but also a little jar I keep in there for when I'm out for some beauty shopping and need to ask a sample. This is such a staple in my handbag as I always hate when I get the wrong foundation or concealer shade, and the best way to avoid that is testing the product out before buying it maybe under a different light from the one in the shop, and maybe at home on my own. Little pots like this are super handy but also very affordable - you can find some here.

As for makeup I always carry around a few products to touch up any smudginess during the day, and for this purpose the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (£22) is always my best bet as it is super high coverage but lightweight and looks always natural, plus it's super easy to blend out with your fingers which is a must when it comes to on-the-go makeup. Also I keep in there the lip product I applied that day before going out, and at the moment I have two, the Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Lovelight (£15) and the Maria Galland Color Pencil in 200 Pamplemousse Rosé* which are both two pink and shimmery lip shades I'm loving wearing at the moment.

Something I need to get in the upcoming future is a cute and little notepad to be kept in my bag for any on-the-go idea to be written down, and a little makeup bag maybe where to put the makeup I carry with me and avoid it get lost in there.

What about your handbag essentials?

24/04/14

Embracing spring




So spring has always been my favourite time of the year and I was really looking for a lovely day to be spent outside without a coat on and that time has finally come when I can put on a cute spring dress and let it show completely and not only through my jacket. This was exciting, and something I love even more about spring are flowers, lovely walks in parks and cute roads and a good old on-the-go lunch.

This week my boyfriend and I had a lovely day in Vigevano, a city near Milan I used to visit a lot during my childhood, which is the cutest place to visit when spring comes around. It has cute little streets to walk down, a pair of cozy gardens and I expecially love the old square which according to my boyfriend totally looks like you are on a set of The Borgias. We had a good old flat bread from La Piadineria (our favorite place) and picked up our usual zucchini, mozzarella and tomatoes vegetarian piadina, which was delicious as always, but it tasted even better eaten outside under the sunshine. 

We also had a pair of stops in the green areas of the city, in the Sforza Castle garden and the little park with a cute lake filled of swan, fishes and turtles that have always been there since I can remember. It was just a super lovely day and this kind of trips far away from the crowd, the shops and crowded malls, always makes me think nowadays we tend to forget we can have a lovely time even far away from a big city like Milan, from the shops and the caotic metropolis. This made me remember my childhood, and I know there's nothing more bittersweet than that, but it also made me think there couldn't be a best way to embrace and welcome spring this year. We definitely need to plan more trips like this and have a lovely time exploring cute places this year, as we never tend to do that.



Which is your favorite open-air place to visit when spring comes around?

22/04/14

DIY Coffee and Coconut Scrub



I've always loved the scent of coffee and can't deny I was pretty tempted for a while to try making myself a DIY coffee based beauty product, but I had way too many body scrubs and lotions to be finished and never really found myself putting together a few ingredients to create something. But a few weeks ago I came up with the idea of a coffee body scrub and as soon as I finished my beloved & Other Stories Sugar Crush Body Scrub (and my heart is still weeping for seeing this one going - may need to repurchase it soon), I washed the little jar it came in and decided to try an impromptu body scrub recipe.

This is what I used:

  • 1/2 cup coffee (powder and beans)
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons coconut oil

I used both coffee powder and coffee beans as I wanted to give my scrub a bit of texture and I needed for it to be very harsh on the skin as this is how I love my body scrubs to be. I of course chopped the coffee beans very finely before adding them to the mixture. If you don't love super harsh body scrubs, go for only coffee powder or just a little bit of beans but not half of it, if you are like me instead and love a bit of good exfoliating action on those limbs of yours, then use half chopped beans and half powder and your scrub will have a beautiful texture! I also added a bit of white sugar to add more texture, but you can go for brown sugar as well if you want it to be more abrasive. Once mixed together all the dry ingredients I added the oils, the olive oil first and mixed and the coconut oil immediately after. I used the coconut oil when still solid and melted it down with my hands a bit before mixing it with the other ingredients always using my hands as things can be a bit tricky with a spoon.

I know this is a mess, but once finished you just need to decant it into a big jar and wash your hands (which will be already automatically scrubbed at this time). This scrub smells absolutely amazing and if you love coffee I'm sure you'll love this too, but if you don't the scent could be a bit overwhelming for you, just warning. Also if you use too much coffee beans this can be a bit messy in the shower and leave you something to clean on the floor, but to me this is not too annoying as I love the scent and how good this is in exfoliating my skin, plus thanks to the olive and coconut oils it also leaves your skin pretty hydrated and soft. The coffee scent actually stays on you for a few good hours even after rinsing it out which I love, and someone says coffee helps in mantaining the skin young and elastic, so...

Will you try this recipe?

20/04/14

Easter Treats




Wether you are pretty orthodox or atheist, Easter is always the perfect time to spend a beautiful day with your closest people, eating way too much chocolate, and treating yourself a bit more. And so it was my Easter Sunday this year, with a lovely sun in the sky, my family visiting our place and bringing chocolate to celebrate. And after filling up that belly of mine, I actually treated myself to some beauty stuff, because, well, you know me...

Holiday to me is pampering time, so I had a lovely and relaxing shower with a good old homemade coffee scrub (sharing this later next week) and a face mask time immediately after. I went for two of my most loved face masks, the Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey Mask (£21,50) on the dry areas of my face, and the Soap and Glory No Cloggs Allowed Mask (£11,50) all over my chin, forehead and nose where I'm getting very spotty recently. Those two make the world of good for my skin and I always feel regenerated right after, with a fresh new skin replacing my usual dull one. And of course I went for the L'Oreal EverRiche Absolute Oil Precieux (£7,99) all over my hair, as this lovely product not only is amazing in giving a subtle shine and making your hair so soft, but it also smells heavenly with that jasmine aroma.

Throw on my favorite lace blouse, an oldie but a goodie which actually looks pretty similar to this Oasis top, and went for my minimal makeup routine for lazy days including only foundation, concealer (and I'm so happy I can now wear the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer again as my skin is a bit less pale) and eyeliner, I decided to go for my new favorite shimmery pink lip shade, the Maria Galland Color Pencil in 200 Pamplemousse Rosé*, which not only has the cutest name, but is also lovely as an everyday basic since it's the most flattering color on me with a tun of gorgeous golden shimmers in it, and you know how I feel about shimmers recently.

I actually decided to treat myself to some Cult Beauty products and placed a little order there as they are having one of their free worldwide shipping on every order until Tuesday. I'm not revealing what I purchased yet but I've just written a Mini Cult Beauty Wishlist, so you can definitely guess, and if not, I'm sure I'm going to talk about them super soon. But for the rest I just had a good time with my family and ate my chocolate eggs, and now I'm super excited for tonight's episode of Game of Thrones, my new addiction!

What about your Easter Sunday?

18/04/14

A Cult Beauty Mini Wishlist


I was on a very restrictive shopping ban - beauty version these past weeks, and now after a month and a half I'm craving some new beauty products so badly and have actually decided to treat myself to something new very soon. Cult Beauty is having a free worldwide shipping promo right now until April 22th with the code FREESHIP1 on every order, and since I've always wanted to buy something from there, I think this could really be the right time. Also this is maybe the shortest wishlist I've ever write on here, but is very realistic and these are product I've eyed up since a long time.

The Peter Thomas Roth Max Complexion Correction Pads (£24,95) are actually the main reason I want to make a Cult Beauty order. This would be a very Jennypurr inspired purchase since, as soon as I read her review of the gentle version of these, I knew I had to buy these sometimes in the upcoming future, as she always is great in reccomending beauty products for acne prone skins. These are anti-acne and anti-aging pads containing BHAs in order to exfoliate over clogged pore and achieve a clearer skin appearance. These sound exactly like what I'm looking for right now, as if you read my Back to minimal feature you would know I'm recently fighting with a bad acne reaction to some skincare products. I'm sure these would do the world of good to my skin as BHAs are always well appreciated on my acne scars.

An item that has been in my wishlist since forever is the Sachajuan Ocean Mist (£18); if you know me and my hair issues, I'm sure you'd be already tired of listening to me saying my hair is so plain and flat and I want volume and texture, but this is how things go and I've always wanted to try this or the Bumble and Bumble version of this spray, but both are pretty expensive and I don't really know if they could ever work on my boring and wilful hair that doesn't ever hold anything really. This should be an hybrid of a hair spray and a salt mist, so it should give hold and volume while adding some texture. If any flat hair girl has tried it, please tell me if it really works, I would love to know!

Multi-purpose products always sound good to me and the Moa The Green Balm (£9,99) isn't an exception: it's a balm made out of green ingredients only such as coconut oil, sweet almonds oil, beeswax and tea tree oil, thought to sooth any kind of skin issue like eczema, dry patches, bites or even to be used after getting a tattoo or a piercing. It can also be used as a makeup remover or a cleansing balm, and it's perfect for sensitive skins too, so it really sounds as a wonder balm in a little pot!

Lastly the Omorovicza Glam Glow (£35) is a product that went in my wishlist only recently actually as when the temperature goes up I'm all about gradual tanners. I've tried a few last year and I wasn't truely impressed with any of them, but I read some amazing review about this Omorovicza offering that aims to very gradually build a nice and natural color on the skin, avoiding unflattering tide marks and being very easy to apply.

Also Cult Beauty is having its mid-season sale right now and I can't deny the Institut Esthederm Bronze Repair Body Lotion and the Stila Cosmetics Pertect and Correct Foundation are both very tempting too!

Let me know if you tried some of these products and what you think about them!

16/04/14

A pinch of pink


I'm always super excited about spring, my favorite time of the year, and when it comes to makeup I always love to go back in my drawers and pick up some products I've almost forgot during the winter in order to prefer some deeper colors, but spring and summer are all about bright shades, and pink has always been my favorite.

I definitely need to find a pink based but reasonably neutral cream eyeshadow, but for now the pink products I'm loving this spring are mainly lipsticks and blushers. I've always been very faithful to the Bourjois Cream Blush in 02 Healthy Glow (£7,99) as this immediately became my all time favorite blush as soon as I bought it a few months ago. This is a beautiful peachy pink which looks gorgeous on the cheek and gives the prettiest touch of color. I love the texture as well, as it is one of those cream-to-powder blushers which goes on very silky on the skin and looks always flattering. Another old favorite of mine is the NYX Cream Blush in Boho Chic* (£5,50), a very inexpensive product but a lovely barbie pink shade on the cheeks. It has a nice wet finish when blended and even though it could feel a bit sticky sometimes, I really like it for a soft touch of color. Lastly on the blushers front I have to mention another cream blush, the Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tint in Score which unfortunately is everyday more difficult to find, but these blushers really have the best formula as they are not too creamy but a sort of tint and are pretty sheer but buildable so that you can build up the color as you like. Score is a beautiful peachy pink with a tun of golden shimmers in it that brings a beautiful light and color to your face.

As for lipsticks, a pink shade I felt in love with last year is the NYX Round Lipstick in Paris* (£4), a lovely drugstore find in a shade I don't usually go for, but this very bright matte barbie pink really suits my skintone and create a lovely contrast against my dark hair, so it's the shade I usually go for when I feel a bit braver and want a bright touch of color on my lips. Two new lovely pink finds are the Paul & Joe Natural Lipstick in Pret-a-Porter (£13,27) and the Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Lovelight (£15), two super nice shades and formulas. The former I reviewed here and it's the lipstick I'm going for non-stop since I got it two months ago now, a beautiful sheer pure pink which goes on very creamy and super comfortable and brings a cute but elegant touch of color to my usually plain makeup. The latter is a more recent discovery, one of the UD Revolution Lipsticks everyone talks about, which has the best sheer formula that last a very long time once on the lips, and comes in a pretty peachy pink shade with a tun of golden shimmers in there. I think of it as a more shimmery lipstick version of the UD blush I mentioned above as they both have the same color and are sheer and beautiful. I must admit I sometimes apply this lipstick on my cheeks as well! Lastly the Korres Lip Butter in Pomegranate (£8) is a product I purchased last year and I felt in love with last summer, but this still is a firm favorite of mine as I always love super comfortable and creamy lip products, and this ticks all the boxes with that lovely coraly pink shade that goes on very sheer and the hydrating properties my chapped lips always crave.

So this are the products I'm going to use non-stop this spring, but I'm probably going to buy more and more pink blushers and lipsticks before summer is over, so you can definitely expect an update sometimes soon, but for now this are going to fill the pink hole in my current makeup routine.

Which are your favorite pink products?

14/04/14

Black Cherry & Chocolate (Ben's) Cookies



Last month I was in London and of course I needed to give some Ben's Cookies a whirl for the first time. Fair enough I felt in love with them, and once I came home I knew I had to try baking them myself. A month later I came up with a pretty custom recipe very Ben's Cookies inspired and totally Luke Evans based (oh dear, check his channel out because he makes the most beautiful videos) and thought I could share it with you as I'm pretty satisfied with the result. I assure you, these cookies are delicious, my entire family loves them, and if you're looking for something easy to make but very impressive to offer to your family or guests, you should give them a whirl!

For 9 big cookies you're going to need:
  • 300g brown sugar
  • 200g unsalted butter
  • 1 medium egg
  • 325g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • A lot of dark chocolate and some sour black cherries
As you can see the ingredients are pretty basic and the majority of them I'm sure you all already have in your fridge, the only thing you may need to buy are black cherries, but these cookies are very customizable and you can add whatever you want and make them as you prefer like nuts, almonds, white chocolate, everything really! They're also pretty easy to prepare, you just need to remember to preheat the oven at 220°C and having your butter at room temperature before proceding.

I simply beated all the ingredients together with a whisk as it's the easiest way: starting from butter and sugar, I wanted it to be very soft and fluffly so I beated those two ingredient together for a few minutes, then I added the egg and beated again. Once mixed flour and baking powder together, I added them to the butter, sugar and egg mixture little by little until the dough was formed and it was quite solid and firm and not too sticky. If you feel your doug is too sticky add a bit of flour and beat again. Then I chopped the chocolate and added it to the mixture with some black cherry as well and blended all very evenly so that all the cookies had the right amount of chocolate and cherry once formed. I created nine big balls with my dough, arranged them on a baking tin lined with parchment paper and flattened them a tiny bit with my hands. Keeping in mind these cookies will spread out, I placed them reasonably apart from each others. Then I baked them for 12/13 minutes in the oven at 220°C, and they came out very chewy and gooey, but you can definitely let them bake a few minutes more if you desire. Consider your cookies will continue cooking on the hot baking tin when you pull them out of the oven, so don't overcook. I left them rest and cool for 20/30 minutes before trying them.

I think the dark chocolate really compliments and balances the sweetness of the sour black cherries, but I can't lie, they are very sweet, and if you don't love super sweet things you may have to consider using a lot less cherries than I did. But these to me were perfection, and I'm really satisfied on how they came out, so I hope you can enjoy this recipe too and try them in the upcoming future! 

What is your favorite cookies flavor?

11/04/14

A fresh new start


You may have noticed I've stopped blogging regulary this last week, it was because I had plans for this blog of mine to change a little bit and have a new fresh interface, but things has changed a lot more than only that. It was a while I couldn't feel my blog like somewhere to truely and completely express myself, but this is exactly what blogs are meant to be, places where you can share things you love and enjoy doing it. I started worrying a bit too much about stats, I was a bit bored with my only beauty related content, and these and some other reasons brought me to the decision to refresh it completely and start blogging in a different way.

I was very inspired by some recent posts on other blogs and decided to stop worrying about stats and things, but only appreciate what I have, a place where I can completely express myself, and so I decided I'm going to widen my contents and start blogging about other things I love instead of only beauty, such as food, deisgn, home decor, and also to include some lifestyle posts more often, which are definitely my favorites to read. Of course my main passion is beauty so I'll continue blogging about that, but I'm going to try not treat it as my main and only topic on here and spice things up a bit more often.

You may have noticed my blog has a new name, which I definitely like a lot more. Also changing my blog name can be a bit a tricky decision, but really makes things easier when it comes to make a big change in the content. My old blog's name was too beauty related and didn't go well with my new purposes, this new one instead is definitely a lot more appropriate. The word Café always makes me think of a cozy place where to spend a beautiful afternoon, and Miel, well, you know I'm obsessed by honey!

I also decided to stop writing in italian, and this was probably my biggest decision and doubt as I know a lot of my readers read me in italian, but writing in two different languages takes a lot of time and is way too demanding, plus I always hated that moment when I had to translate all my post from english to italian, it was very boring as you can imagine. It really took all my inspiration and creativity away, whereas writing in one language only is definitely more quick so I can post more often and is never boring. Also I recently started hating the italian blogging reality for way too many reasons, it really made blogging something I wanted to stay away from, and this wasn't right, so I decided to finally escape from that reality.

Of course I changed my blog template, and this is nothing more than my favorite between my premade blogger templates, Lilac Tulips, edited just a bit.

I'm really excited to see my new content go live super soon on here since as soon as I decided to make this big change I came up with some beautiful ideas for the upcoming posts. Hopefully this way will keep my creativity always alive when it comes to my blog since I love blogging more than everything else! Hope you can appreciate this fresh new start and understand my reasons. 

06/04/14

Back to minimal


Recently I've bought way too many skincare products and incorporated all of them in my morning and night skincare routines all at once, since I was so curious to try them and report back to you. Some of them are true skincare gems on me, others actually aren't as loved by my skin and I blame them for some bad breakouts as I didn't see for a while on my face. This is why I decided to detox and purify my skincare routine and going back to basics and minimal, and for basics and minimal I mean only four products I blindly trust for morning and night to stick to, hoping I'll last at least one week.

I had to choose between serum, tonic, acne treatments, SPF and a lot more, and I decided the number one three things I can't survive without are eyecreams, an eczema treatment and moisturizer, and as I had to pick only four products I thought I could definitely have all of them and give my skin a little rest a few times a day. Eyecreams are never been my go to products before but I'm recently discovering a lot of benefits from them and I and my skin really enjoy the results as well, and as I'm troubling with some eczema and dry patches all around the eye area, I need my eyecreams to keep it at bay, so I went for my super reliable Botanics 80% Organic Hydrating Eye Cream (£5,99), which I mentioned a lot of times recently but which is really helping in getting rid of those eczema issues, and the Caudalie Polyphenols C15 Anti-Wrinkle Eye and Lip Cream* (£26), which is actually a new entry in my stash but which I'm really liking recently. The former I use in the moring as it's always very lightweight and perfect to go under makeup, the latter is better in the evening as it's a bit thicker and richer but very hydrating and soothing at the same time, and also has a lot of anti-aging properties which is always good. I use it only around my eyes and not next to my lips as I don't need it there and because I apply something different in that area.

If in the morning I can go for simply eyecream, in the evening my skin really craves a little bit of extra moist, so moisturizer is definitely needed and the one I adore and blindly trust is the Antipodes Vanilla Pod Hydrating Day Cream (£26,99), actually a day cream but which I love in the evening better, which not only is super rich and smells amazing, but is also natural, very hydrating and soothing and my skin loves it a lot as in the morning always look so pumped up and reinvigorated. I find shea butter and avocado are the way to go for my skin when if comes to hydration, and this contains them both.

Lastly to keep my dry patches and eczema issue at bay I can't live without the A-Derma Exomega Emolient Cream (£9,45), a very thick emolient cream that features oat meal and omega 6 fatty acids, which is thought to sooth atopic and very dry skins and can be applied on the face or any other body area that need a little treatment. This truely is a lifesaver and I apply it literally several times a day when my skin feels too tight and I want some rest.

I probably will go for a little bit of organic aloe vera gel onto those pimples and breakouts I now have on my face to try helping them heal faster, but otherwise I'm going to try sticking to only these four products everyday for a week at least, and I will for sure report back any result. I feel sometimes going back to basic and drain a too complex and overdone skincare routine can be good, expecially when you need to figure out which products do what and which are causing you some skin troubles. Of course I will reintegrate all the products I used gradually and little by little to really see what effects they have on me, but for now this will be the way to go for at least one week.

What do you think about the 'overdone' skincare routine topic?

03/04/14

Running my own business



Last month was the time of huge changes in my life, I went over a period in which I didn't actually know what to do with my life, and I finally decided to sit down and rationally think about who I wanted to be. I understood I was going the wrong way and what I was doing wasn't right for me. I'm young so a drastic change right now in my life didn't cause a lot of problems as I was just starting building my life, but now I'm trying to follow some of my modest dreams firstly by starting my own business.

01/04/14

Comparing Cleansing Balms


Since the first moment when the Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm started appearing in the blogging world, it was inevitably compared to the more expensive and hyped Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm, as they have a similar name but also a similar consistency and very close properties, but the former is a lot more budget-friendly and comes in a more pratical tube whereas the latter is very luxurious, falls within the more expensive cleansers out there, and comes in a cute but less hygienical big pot. But do they really are that similar? How do they compare?

Dal primo momento in cui il Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm ha iniziato ad apparire nei vari blog, è stato inevitabilmente comparato al più costoso e super acclamato Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm, poichè hanno un nome molto simile, ma anche una simile consistenza e somiglianti proprietà, ma il primo è molto più economico ed è venduto in un pratico tubetto, mentre il secondo è molto lussuoso, ricade nella fascia più alta di prezzo per un detergente, ed è venduto in una grande jar meno igienica. Ma sono davvero così simili? In cosa si somigliano?