Protect That Screen

December was a month of new gadgets for me. I was finally up for a mobile upgrade and picked Smasung Galaxy SII. Also received amazing Kindle for my birthday from my lovely boyfriend.

Samsung’s screen is apparently non-scratchable so I was just shoving it into my handbag without any hesitation. Then my boyfriend got an upgrade, went for Samsung mobile too and guess what? It scratched. I started to look into a nice cover. There are so many pretty, bling-y, cute iphone style covers out there. I mean, who wouldn’t want Rabbit Phone Case??? But I decided to be sensible and bought something more practical. I got my purple slide out sock type thing from amazon for silly price of £1.50. This particular one isn’t leather but it’s fairly soft. I feel that it will definitely protect my phone for the next 2 years (that’s how long my contract is :/). It’s also very easy to use – just pull the thing-y on top and your mobile is ready to use.
 
Story with Kindle is similar. I needed something to protect it from scratching in my handbag. There are two more purposes for it. When it just sits on my bedside cabinet it gets really dusty and Scratchy the cat keeps walking all over it. I got this black leather cover from Amazon too for £7.50. Amazon sells original one with a lamp for about £50 but I don't feel any need for such an expensive cover. The one I got is well made and does its job.

Other bits:

I mentioned several times that I do not need any more skincare products in my life at this point. I was so good for a while and then Terri blogged about Benefit Radiant Skincare Set. It ended up in my Asos basket within minutes. I am looking forward to trying this out. While we are on Asos subject I would like to give it a little praise. I have ordered a dress and this little set on Saturday with free delivery up to 10 days. It arrived today! How amazing is that? Dress is beautiful too, by the way.

Mobile game update - very disappointed with Tiny Tower. I had 16 floors and it crashed. I am not starting again! I am also stuck on Angry Birds. I just can’t go any further. I suppose this should give me some spare time I could fill up with reading or blogging...
Is it sad that I miss those games?

Hope you're all well and enjoyed reading my random post :)

Sylwia x

Sunday Share 26.02

Time for another portion of Sunday share of my favorite posts from this week! Unfortunately for my budget reading these post ended in purchasing some products and adding some on my ‘to buy’ list. Hope you will enjoy reading as much as I did :)

1) Big Fashionista did a special edition of ‘Nom or Vom’ featuring Kermit the frog. Definite NOM from me :D

2) Terri did an awesome review of bargainus  Benefit mini set resulting in, me putting in immediately after reading in the Asos basket J

3) Great review of Inglot eyeshadow from Jenn Staz. It meant to be a dupe for Mac’s Satin Toupe. I checked and it is :D

4) Charli from SBTCD showed us her favourite Mac lipstics. Great swatches of some gorgeous colours! Crème Cup went on my ‘to get’ list.

5) Awesome review of No7 cream blush (I am on a lookout for one so this was very helpful) and interesting view on the whole No7 range on Incense Peppermintsblog.

6) Awesome video from Miss Chievous on weight loss and healthy life. Lots of motivational talk.


Hope you had a great week.

Sylwia x

ELF or OPI?

The minute I applied my first OPI polish which I believe was Malaga Wine I decided I'm not buying non OPI polish ever again. Off course I kept seeing these pretty colours by other brands and who can resist a nail polish?
I have tried a few brands and I can say that so far nothing beats OPI and Essie. Application, staying power, colour variety, it is all great. But I cannot only, not pass on pretty polish but also on a bargain polish.

Clearly my taste is very limited because I buy nail polish and it turns out I already have nearly identical colour already! It happened with Nerd and Brooch The Subject here. And it happened again with today’s contestants ELF Cranberry and OPI I’m Not Really A Waitress.

I’m Not Really A Waitress is one of OPI’s best sellers and I think every girl have heard about it. A perfect red – bit of shimmer, not too dark, not too light, super sexy. Then I found ELF Cranberry and you know what? It’s nearly enough the same! I would say little bit darker and slightly more shimmer but not much difference. But there is some other kind of difference - the price. OPI costs about £10 in the UK and you can get ELF for as little as £1.50! Althou I got it for a £1 in the sale so that’s like a double bargain.

But! There is a but. OPI stays on my nails for about 7 days without chipping, edges slightly rubbed off on the 5th day. ELF stayed on for 4 days with edges rybbing off after 2^nd day and chipping on the 4^th.
It comes down to one thing – whether you take pleasure in painting your nails every 4 days or you’re dreading the manicure moment each and every time. The decision is yours :)


OPI on my thumb nail, ELF on the rest. Please ignore creepy hand, looking sort of like The Addams Family pet.

How is your week going? Are you glad it's Friday tomorrow?


Sylwia x

The Naked Truth - Look no 3

Today’s day was (and still is) one of the most miserable days England can deliver. Rain, wind and gray clouds made it dark and sad.

When I was about to do my makeup for 3^rd Naked look I thought I will try to make it bright and awake looking to counteract the horribleness outside. This look is very simple but perfect for those days when you need some help with looking good when really you just want to stay in bed all day.

I mixed two foundations together for this effect. Revlon Photo Ready 007 Cool Beige and Revlon Color Stay 150 Buff. Photo Ready is a bit dark for me and I feel it has too much sparkle, plus it can be a bit dry looking when blended into the skin. Color stay (Normal/Dry skin) on the other hand has a very silky finish and great staying power. These two mixed together are a perfect combination for glowy and fresh looking skin.
For cheeks I used really pretty and girly pink blush from MUA. It makes the face looking awake and healthy.
I didn’t want to make it all too pink and on the lips went for dusty rose lip liner and nude gloss.

Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal.

Now onto the eyes! I applied Sin on the upper lid, it made them look bigger and brighter. In the crease and lower lash line I used Buck and Naked mixed in together. I smudged Whiskey pencil on the upper lash line but made the line really thin because I didn’t want to close up the eye. I also added white pencil on the water line, again for that fresh, awake effect.

Eyes:

*Mac Painterly as a base
*Sin all over the lid
*Naked and Buck in the crease and lower lid
*Max Factor 2000 Calorie mascara

Rest of the face:

*Revlon Photo Ready and Color Stay foundations mixed in together
*Garnier Roll On Anti-Dark Circles in Light ( I haven’t got a big problem with dark circles so this is perfect for me to cover up a bit and highlight the under eyes. If you suffer from dark circles this probably isn’t enough to cover them up)
*Mac Studio Finish concealer NC20
*MUA blush shade 2
*Barry M Natural Dazzle bronzer
*Maybelline Longlasting lip liner in Rosewood
*Sleek Pout Polish in Bare Minimum
*Max factor eyebrow pencil
*Elf eyebrow kit in medium

I also wanted to add this link for a smoky eye option. I created this makeup a while back with Gunmetal eye shadow from Urban Decay Book Of Shadows II. Since this shadow is in Naked palette I thought I will share my previous makeup experiments with you :)
If I was going to create that look now, I would definitely add black eyeliner all over the eye and smudged it with Creep eye shadow.


I hope you enjoyed my Naked miniseries. I really enjoyed playing with the palette and coming up with new looks. Hope it gave you some makeup ideas and inspired you to give those shadows some love :)

Sylwia x

The Naked Truth - Look no 2

For a second day with Naked palette I did another neutral day time makeup look. Just like yesterday pictures don’t really show how pretty this looks. I think my camera isn’t that good with focusing on shimmery things and that’s where the problem is. I hope this will give you some ideas anyway and you’ll try this lovely colour combination.

Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck. Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

I forgot to mention something yesterday. Naked and Buck - two matte shades you can find in this palette are great for toning down all the shimmer that this palette gives us. Both of those can be used as a lid colour (I used Naked today) with shimmery shades in the outer corner. Naked can also be a highlight to contrast the shiny lid. Another way to use them is to blend the edges of other shadows on the top lid. I often do that because I have a lot of space between my crease and eyebrow. This not only helps to blend the shadows but also fills the gap in between the crease shadow and highlighter.

Eyes:

*Mac paintpot in Painterly as a base
*Naked on the upper lid
*Toasted in the crease and outer corner
*Hustle to deepen up the outer corner
*Same colour combination on the bottom lid
*Virgin for inner corner and brow bone highlight
*Whiskey pencil smudged in the outer corner
*Halves of fake lashesand Max Factor False Fash Effect mascara


Rest of the face:

*Lancome Foundation - don't know which foundation this is. A friend gave me a sample and all it says on it 03 Aqua. I looked on the website and there is no foundation with Aqua in the name :( It is a really nice glowy finish and it blends like heaven but it started to shine on me after about 4h. I'd say it's suitable more for dry skin.
*Mac Select Cover up concealer in NW20 (pinky toned shade) for under eyes
*Benefit Stick it for the face (yellow toned concealer for redness)
*Max factor eyebrow pencil and Elf Eyebrow kit in Medium
*Barry M Natural Dazzle bronzer for contouring
*Sleek blush in Suede from Nude Collection
*Catrice Ultimate Colour lipstick in 010 Be Natural!
*Sleek Pout Polish  in Bare Minimum from Nude Collection

Sylwia x

The Naked Truth - Look no 1

I bought my Urban Decay Naked palette when I went Paris with my mum in November 2010. I treat it like a treasure because it reminds me of a beautiful city and a great time I had with my mum. But I have never actually used it. I did attempt to do so couple of times but just couldn’t come up with anything. Oh! I’m lying here. I did use it once. It was for a Indian wedding I went to and the occasion needed a day time smoky eye look. But that was it.

Not sure why but I have picked up this palette about a week ago I thought I really need to start using it. It deserves the love and attention :)

I'm not sure why I couldn’t come up with any looks before. It’s so easy! All of the colours go with each other and you can’t really go wrong.
Since I have a few days off this week I am going to create 3 different looks and hopefully give you (and myself) some ideas.

Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

Not going to lie here and say that Urban Decay has the best shadows out there. Yes, the colours are gorgeous, they creamy and easy to blend but these haven’t got the best staying power. Even with a primer they crease on me after about 6 hours. That might just be me because I haven’t heard anyone else complaining about this.

I am a bit disappointed with the pictures. It seems like all the colours just blend together and it always looks pretty much the same no matter what eye shadow I use :/ If you decide to re-create this look yourself then you’ll see that it actually looks so much better in real life. Can't even see the sparkle here :(

I went outside to see if the pictures would come out any better and wind was blowing quite strongly. My hair was all over the place. Despite that I think picture below came out looking quite art-y :D Off course if not the hair stuck to my lips LOL

Eyes:

*Mac paint pot in Painterly as a base
*I used Smog in the outer corner and the crease of the eye
*Darkhorse to deepen up the outer corner
*Sidecar on the inner part of the lid
*Naked as a brow and inner corner highlight
*Glide on pencil in Whiskey (came with a palette) smudged in the outer 1/3 of the lashline
*Used the same colour combination on the bottom lid and Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara (I believe this is European version of Cover Girl Lash Blast)
*Halves of fake lashes in the outer corners for extra added thickness

Rest of the face:

*Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation. I got this sample a while back from the counter. It takes forver to blend this in and final result is the same as my Revlon Color Stay
*Mac Select Cover up concealer under the eyes
*Benefit Stick It concealer for the radness and blemishes on the face
*Barry M Natural Dazzle Bronzer for contouring
*The Balm Frat Boy blush (I absolutely love this product, I use it nearly everyday :) )
*Max Factor pencil and Elf Eyebrow kit in medium for eyebrows
* Elf mineral lipstick in Runway Pink
*Mac Creamsheen Glass in Boy Bait


I really like this look. I consider this a daytime makeup but understand that it can be too much for some. If that’s the case then you can rock it in the evening :)

Sylwia x

Sunday Share 20.02 (or Monday in today’s case)

Hello my lovelies!

Yesterday I have been catching up on reading blogs I’m following and came up with an idea. It’s not entirely my own idea because I have seen this type of thing done on some other blogs but I hope no one will mind me coping them a little bit.

I am following so many awesome beauty and fashion blogs that I thought I need to share the love and tell you guys about them.

Every or every other Sunday I will share blog posts that I found interesting, funny or helpful. So this still will be my kind of style and taste but written by other bloggers.
I am also a big fan of you tube. I have learnt so much from there. So I will also post a link to a video that I really enjoyed watching.

I really appreciate what beauty you tubers and bloggers are doing and I am so glad to be a little part of it all.

Ps. I know today is Monday but I was a bit lazy yesterday :D I didn’t want to wait another week before posting this so decided to do it today. Enjoy!

1) Bourjois launched a pop up boutique in London to go along with the start of the Fashion Week. Unfortunately I couldn’t go but really wanted to! Milly from Pearls & Poodles attended on a Thursday and posted some awesome pictures from the event.

2) Makeup Savvy did a great review on Rose & Co Salves. I do love lip balm and I’m really tempted to purchase these now!

3) Very lovely Kristen from Glitter, Gloss and Glaze did a post on Facebook Friends. It’s a part 5 of her Friendship series. I found the whole series very interesting and so similar to my own opinions and experiences.

4) Tereza did a very cute and sweet post about couple of products from MUA on her Cityscape Bliss blog. Affordable and what looks like good quality products.

5) I recently unsubscribed from both beauty box companies. There was nothing wrong with them but I just got bored with it and decided to spend the money on products I actually crave for. Buy now, blog later is one of the first blogs I started to follow and still a favorite. Laura did an interesting post about the whole beauty box trend. I have a very similar view on it all.

6) Sometimes it’s very hard to find a review of a product that is completely crap. Many people say that if they don’t like something it’s not worth featuring. But I think if these were done then people could save some money on buying it. And maybe company that made the product would realize that they need to improve it. I know everyone is different and likes different things but I really like watching videos like this one by MissChievous about products she regrets buying. Can be very helpful.


Sylwia x

Empty magnetic palettes and my too long ramble about them

When my eyeshadow collection started to rapidly expand I have noticed a few practical problems with using them.
I have made many wrong purchases in the past and there are lots of eye shadow colours that I don’t really use. But thanks to that I have learned what I like, what suits me and what I will get the most use out of. And that is why I buy eyeshadows and make-up in general: to use it. I do not collect make-up because of its pretty packaging or because lots of beauty bloggers have it. Yes, you tube and blogs do have an influence on what I buy but I have learnt my lesson and think twice before spending my money.

What I’m trying to say is that having eye shadows in palettes, quads, trios or individual ones can sometimes be a pain. I often like to use shadows from three different pallets and that can take a lot of space.

Before my birthday my mum asked me what I wanted for a gift from her and I came up with a perfect idea. Magnetic empty palette, where I could put a lot of my neglected shadows. I have heard a lot about Z palette but it’s pretty expensive in my opinion. Then I remembered about DigitalGirl on You Tube. She is a Polish girl doing make-up tutorials and recently thanks to you tube she was able to create this magnetic eyeshadow palette. My mum kindly bought it for me and posted it to the UK :)

It’s a good quality, sturdy palette with a strong magnet. This product costs around £6! It’s an amazing price! Unfortunately I don’t think there is international shipping available at the moment. But… if you’ve got a Polish friend or colleague ask them to get this for you when they visit Poland. It’s such a great space saver and I can see many of my shadows at once now :)

I have depotted eyshadows from Urban Decay Book Of Shadows II into this palette. Urban Decay have a lovely and very creative packaging but it’s totally unpractical.
If you want to know how to depot your eyeshadows just  go to You Tube. They have lots of great tutorials on how to do it.
I also found this awesome video on how to fix a broken eyeshadow. I obviously did brake some in the whole process.

My mum also surprised me and got me this small version of magnetic palette from Inglot. This will be perfect for traveling. Inglot is a Polish brand which recently opened a few shops in America and the UK so it is a bit more accessible. They have a website but I couldn’t find this particular palette there :( So I don’t know how much it costs.

Just wanted to add one more thing :D You can obviously keep blushers, bronzers etc. in these palettes too. I just like to keep them in the compacts. It’s easier to use them that way because I don’t need a few colours of blush or bronzer for one make-up look if that makes sense :)

I wonder how many times I used word eyeshadow in this post? Any of you like this type of palettes or do you prefer to keep your eyeshadows (again) in its original packaging?

Sylwia x

Brooch The Subject Nails + No7 Illuminator

Hello my lovelies,

I hope your weekend was better than mine. I didn’t feel right for the past 3 days. Lots of headaches and general bleugh feeling. Only today I managed to kick myself out of the bed. Good job I have another day off tomorrow to sort myself out.

Ok, that’s enough moaning!

I have another nude nail look for you peeps. It’s Essie ‘Brooch The Subject’ (whatever that name means) and it’s a brownish creamy colour more on the darker side. When I applied this it suspiciously reminded me of another nail polish I own – H&M Nerd. After close inspection I can say that these two are pretty much the same. I am still glad I got Essie simply because it’s staying power. Althou H&M polish is opaque in two coats just like Essie and application is very nice, it chips like crazy after just one day. I really like this nude so I’m glad I’ve got Essie as it stays on the nails for up to 7 days.

Does this colour appeal to nude polish lovers out there?


Now onto the Illuminating:

For the past couple of weeks my skin looked awful. No amount of moisturizing would take away dullness and bring healthy glow back. My only option to stop looking like I’m lacking sleep was make-up. In my collection I found No7 Skin Illuminator in ‘Peach’. I didn’t use this product for a while due to its crappy packaging. I believe it used to be sold in glass jar with a pump and I don’t understand why this has been changed. But I will get back to that subject in a minute.

Make-up Artist Lisa Eldridge is responsible for re-launching No7 cosmetics few years ago. I have to say she is doing a good job because No7 products are becoming better quality in my eyes.

Skin Illuminator is a great product. It looks very natural, hasn’t got chunks of glitter and blends very well giving skin that subtle sheen. Now back to the crappy packaging. It comes with attached brush which is a good idea in theory. It would blend the product lovely onto the skin if not the fact that lots of the highlighter gets stuck in the bristles, dries there and clogs the dispenser. I cut off my brush in frustration. But that didn’t help much. Dispenser still gets clogged up all the time. I end up pushing very hard on the tube and in the end loads of product comes out and is wasted. It is a real shame because like I mentioned before, illuminator itself is lovely.

Back to my original point of this post. I have been mixing this with my foundation for allover glow. Only tiny bit is needed to bring life to the face. It makes my skin look awake, healthy and happy :)
I wouldn’t recommend applying it all over the face in the Summer as it can make you look to shiny and sparkly in bright sunlight.
It's also great for typical highlighting (bridge of the nose, cupid's bow, top of the cheek bones).

Like with all No7 products wait for the £5 off voucher before you purchase ;)

Anyone tried mixing highlighter with your foundation?

Sylwia x

Catrice Gel Eyeliner + My ‘new’ hair

I believe Catrice is a German brand available in few European countries. I picked up few bits from their range when I was in Poland last year. I am really happy with every purchase. Very good quality products for a great price.

Today I wanted to show you Gel eyeliner in 020 It’s mambo no.2

What it claims to do: Thanks to its ultra-smooth gel-texture, you don’t have to be a professional top model to create gorgeous and long-lasting eyeliner looks. The CATRICE Gel Eye Liner can be applied as accurately as a liquid eyeliner – for an especially silky finish and fascinating, intense eyes!

Formula: Soft and creamy. Super easy to apply.

How to use it: There are tons of kinds of brushes you could use to apply it. It’s a personal preference because I think this gel liner works great with any kind of brush.

My experience: Cannot fault it. It has greyish/purpuly slightly metallic colour. Great alternative to black for a daytime. Goes on smoothly and stays put for a whole day. I didn’t notice any smudging whatsoever. The only thing is: ‘you don’t have to be a top model to create eyeliner look’ ??? As far as I know models don’t do their own make-up for runway, photo shoots etc. I think what they meant was ‘You don’t have to be a professional make-up artist…’ but hey!

Price: I don’t exactly remember now :( I am pretty sure it was something silly like £3 or £4!

Where to buy: I know about Germany and Poland. Ebay?

Final score: 9/10 Like I mentioned before I cannot fault it! I had it for a few months now and it didn’t dry one bit so packaging is great too. I am taking a point away for availability. This brand should come to the UK.

Onto the hair:

So here’s my hair… not much difference isn’t there? I have gone for allover highlights in warm blond colour. This made my hair look so much healthier and natural. I have left my long fringe and went for middle parting (how adventurous of me, eh?) I like it but each time I look in the mirror I think to myself ‘I want long hair!’. I have heard about these supplements you can take to speed up hair growth. Any of you heard about those? Let me know.

Sylwia x

Empties #4

I managed to use up few things last month. I don’t think I’ve done bad, althou some of them are my necessity products that I always have to have so I didn’t really finish any of the bits that have been waiting to be used for ages? Does that make any sense at all? :)

So, let’s get to it:

*J’adore Dior Eau De Parfum – This is my favorite perfume of all time. I got it as a gift from a friend and didn’t want it to finish. It is a classic scent that I think everyone would like. I will be definitely buying this again at some point.
*Neom Organic Body Lotion – I got this sample in my November Carmine Box. It is a nice lotion and it does moisturize well. But what did put me off was the scent. It’s a very strong overwhelming flowery smell. For that reason I won’t even be thinking about buying a full size.
*Bioderma Sesibio H2O Micelle Solution – I have raved about it a few times already. Absolutely love it and can’t imagine removing my eye make-up without it. You can find more in-depth review here.
*L’Oreal Elnett Hairspray – Definitely my favorite. I have been using this for a few years now. I buy different finishes but ultimately this is the best hairspray out there in my opinion. It holds very well and doesn’t stick the hair together. I don’t know what possessed me couple of months ago to buy a different one! I am coming back to this!
*John Frieda Sheer Blonde Healthy Attitude Spray – I’m just going to say it (or write it, rather)! This did absolutely nothing to my hair. It didn’t condition it nor kept the blond lightness. Won’t be buying again.
*Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Mask – I didn’t like this as a hair mask. It made my hair nice and soft but they went really greasy the same day!  I started using it instead of a normal conditioner and it worked great. It smells great, hair are well conditioned and easy to comb though. I will get something else now simply because I am on a hunt for perfect hair conditioner (I have been my whole life but I am still hopeful).
*La Roche-Posay Rosaliac – It’s an awesome moisturizer for those with mild rosacea problems. I wrote a little bit more about it here. I will repurchase this for next year’s winter.
*Sanctuary Body Lotion - This was a part of a set I got for Christmas (last year lol) and just got round to using it. It’s ok, nothing special really. I think there are lots of good lotions out there for a lower price.


Attention!
For those who don’t like cats, please don’t look! There is seriously cute photo below :D

I thought I will include this picture for you to guess which paw is which :) The tail is also somewhere there in between the paws :D

Sylwia x

January Carmine and February FeelUnique beauty boxes + Blog Anniversary (sort of)

If you’re not sure what a beauty box is click here for a quick explanation.

Is it me or is Carmine running a little bit behind? Anyhoo, here’s what’s inside:

*Balance Me Radiance Face Oil – I need some extra hydration at the moment so this came in handy
*Eldora D135 eyelashes – not really my thing with the rhinestones but I might use them for a night out sometime
*Korres Wilde Rose moisturizer – to be honest I don’t think my skin is very happy with me changing a moisturizer every month (because of new samples in the beauty boxes). I’m gonna put that one to the side for now.
*WestLab Bath Salts – I don’t remember the last time I had a bath! I think it’s time to catch up on that one :)
*Eyeko Fat Eye Stick in Old Gold – me like-y! It’s like a dirty gold/moldy green colour – sounds gross I know but I love this type of shades :D


Feel Unique box is all about priming the skin before the big date because it’s the month of loooooove. Every month should be a month of love if you ask me, but hey ho! Yes, I am one of the people that re not so big on Valentine’s Day. Although it is nice to get a card (such a hypocrite, me) :D

*Nuxe Multi Usage Dry Oil – I am not sure I get this – is it oil or is it not? How oil can be dry and would you want to apply something dry on yourself?
*Decleor Natural Exfoliating Cream –always up for trying deeply cleansing products
*Philip Kingsley Elasticizer – I like the sound of intensive super-moisturizing treatment for all hair types
*Leighton Denny Nail Polish in Diamond Ivory – nude nail polish is welcome at any time
*Jean Paul Gaultier KokoRico – meah… I never use my perfume samples for some reason
*Elemis Exotic Lime and Ginger Body Wash – I have heard so many good things about Elemis. Looking forward to trying this.

Beauty Box Talk:

So this is my last beauty box post for the time being. I am unsubscribing from them for now.
The idea of beauty boxes is really awesome and I enjoyed them so much for the past few months. I loved having that surprise when opening them and trying products I would normally never think of buying or couldn’t afford. But I have accumulated so much stuff now that I cannot possibly use up with all the new bits arriving each month. Another thing is that I need to focus on saving money at the moment so I’d rather spend that £23 on something I really want or need.
I might get tempted again at some point in the future and subscribe again but for now – bye bye beauty boxes.

My BeautyFul World’s 1^st Birthday:

I started blogging in February 2011. My blog then was called Sylwia’s Foundations and I didn’t have enough confidence/energy/commitment to blog regularly. I have pulled my act together and started blogging properly at the end of November last year. I changed the name of my glog to My BeautyFul World and I am trying to improve it each time I post since then. Since I decided it should be my own relaxed approach and I stopped thinking it's not good enough, it became really enjoyable to me. I can only hope it is enjoyable to you – my lovely readers.
Oh! But that’s not what I was going to write about. I really consider my blog 2 ½ months old because that’s when I really got into it. I have left the old content for me to see how much it changed. So basically my point is… should I treat it as its Birthday or not really? I am not sure.
While I’m at the blogging topic I wanted to ask you guys something. Is my writing fairly ok? I mean, is there a lot of typos or sentences that don’t make sense? English is my second language and I am still learning to write/speak and I am quite conscious of it.


UH OH UH OH OH OH!!!! I forgot about THE most important thing! I am going hairdressers tomorrow!!! Yeeeeeey :) :) :) Insert ---> 'happy jump'

Hope your Monday isn’t too bad and melting snow isn't too much of a pain!

Sylwia x

Snow Day

I am probably the only person in the whole of England that’s not surprised by the snow. After all it is winter and it was snowing every year for the last few years. Why is everyone so shocked?

Also why is everyone panicking? I mean trains aren’t running, taxis are not taking any bookings, people say they're snowed in. It has been one day and it’s already melting. I wish people would stop panicking because it is really not that bad. At least not yet!

Saying all that and I did kinda join in. As advised stayed at home and had a snow day. I decided it’s going to be mostly lazy day with few bits thrown in. So this is what I did today:

1) Major hydration. I’ve applied a tone of body butter on myself and my body soaked it all up within seconds! It really was thirsty :) Sudocrem went on eczema patch on my arm. I really panicked when noticed it! Never ever had it before! Hope it will leave me alone.
I treated my face to a hydrating face mask and some deeply hydrating moisturizer :)

2) I had some fun in the garden… Meet Jerry! He was always little bit of an outsider due to his floppy celery nose.

3) I played Angry Birds :D Finished second level :D

4) Depoted some eyeshadows. More details about it soon!

5) Organized and labeled my beauty boxes. They turned out to be very handy. My nail polish organization sounds like separating the laundry :)

Sorry about the quality of this. My camera was going flash craaazy

*Eyelashes
*Big smaples
*Nail Polish - brights, darks, glitter
*Nail Polish - reds, purples, nudes

*Small samples
*Bits :) (back to mac, some muslin cloths etc)


6) Finished “Look at me” book. Ok, so I didn’t finished it yet but will get onto that after I publish this post :D

What did you guys do on a snow day? Anything fun? I hope none of you were stuck anywhere!

Sylwia x

Taking care of skin around eye area

Last post in the skin care series! I am hoping this was at least little bit enjoyable and helpful. Now onto the eyes! Or skin around the eyes rather.

We all know how delicate that area is. That’s where we notice first wrinkles (hopefully not for a long time thou!), where we get puffiness and dark circles when we need sleep. It needs special, gentle care. You can get an eye cream specially formulated for your needs and problems. Brightening for dark circles; energizing for puffiness; anti-wrinkle for fine lines etc. All that in mind, don’t forget that preventing is always better than treating. So make sure you get plenty of sleep, drink lots of water and off course moisturize.
Also make sure not to rub or pull the skin around your eyes! Treat it as gently as possible.

I haven’t really found an awesome eye cream yet. I am still looking for something nicely moisturizing with a reasonable price tag. For some reason eye creams can be extremely expensive and I refuse to pay around £20 for 15ml of product. Let me know if you’ve found any great ones, please!

So this is what I’ve got at the moment:

Boots Vitamin E Gentle Eye Cream – I have reviewed this cream here. It’s a great product but unfortunately not moisturizing enough for winter.

Garnier Roll-On – This is brilliant for those mornings when your eyes need a wake-up call. It really does get rid of puffy eyes. I mean probably for someone who suffers from it really bad it won’t do much. But if you haven’t got a major problem but just need that extra freshness in the morning then this is great.

Superdrug Vitamin E Radiance Eye Cream – I thought this is just like the Boots Vitamin E cream, just Superdrug version but it is not! It dries really fast into this powdery formula before I have a chance to blend it. And it has lots of goldy glitter in it! I guess it is meant to give that radiance appearance but it doesn’t in my case. I don’t really fancy shiny particles around my eyes in the morning or evening.

The Emu Oil Well Moisturizing Eye Cream – Forgot to include that in the picture (Sozzzz). This thing is funny. It does moisturize well, it’s not greasy or anything. Yet, something is wrong. I apply it in the evening and skin feels nice and soft. It is a different story in the morning thou. Skin around my eyes is a bit red, eyes often watery and from time to time I get these weird tiny red dots which aren’t spots or anything really. Khm… maybe I am slightly allergic to it? What do you guys think?

As you can see I haven’t really got a good moisturizing eye cream. If I want to stay away from wrinkles I need to find something good because moisturization is the key.


On a different note:

I am a desperate woman now :( I need a haircut and a hair colour! I think my roots are longer than my coloured hair now. It has life of its own, I cannot style it at all.
My hairdresser is not well and she does not know when she will be able to do it all for me :(
I could go to the different salon but I don’t trust anyone. As an act of desperation I think I will have to go somewhere else.
I am soooo looking forward to the new, fresh lovely haircut! Debs! Please get well!

Sylwia x

Face Masks and Free Mascara

I am not going to lie here and say I use face masks once or twice a week as recommended. I don’t because:

1) I forget
2) I can’t be bothered
3) I don’t have time for it

I do use them on my ‘relax days’ and when I feel my skin needs that extra something. It’s important where and when to apply the face mask. Back in college when I was practicing mini facials I was taught that you’d get most benefits from face mask when relaxing in lying position and with a steam directed on the face. Nice hot bath comes to mind. If you don’t like baths then don’t do it when taking the shower. The key here is relaxation so it’s better if you just lie down on the bed, close the eyes, forget all the troubles and let the mask work its magic. It should be left on for about 15/20 minutes.  If mask disappears from your face then you know skin needed that hydration.

I currently have two face masks that I picked up some time ago in beauty supply store.

Hydrating – my skin is normal/combination so I don’t really need to use this one much. It helps my skin during the winter thou. It did get colder in the UK lately and skin on my whole body definitely feels it. It needs extra hydration and I think I’ll have a little hydrating session this weekend :)

Cleansing – just another cleansing product for oily part of my face (chin, nose, forehead)

Soap&Glory Free Mascara:

If you want to try something from Soap&Glory make-up range then run to the store and get yourself a copy of Elle magazine. It comes with free full size Thick And Fast Mascara. I don’t normally buy Elle but I thought  I can’t go wrong with seriously thick copy of a fashion magazine + free mascara for £3.90. I have to say thou I didn’t expect first 120 pages to be fashion adds! I enjoy looking at the pictures and the trends but jeeeez. Anyhoo, I hope mascara will turn out to be nice :) I will let you know for sure.

It’s Friday tomorrow! Have a great day!

Sylwia x