Parcel from America

So so so exciting! After little bit of drama with shipping etc. (all forgotten now) I finally received long awaited for parcel from super lovely Kristen GlitterGlossAndGlaze!

This was a swap we arranged a while ago and my parcel came in just in time for my Birthday/Christmas! Yeey!

I asked Kristen to get me these Lori Greiner makeup cases as they are especially designed for storing makeup, nail stuff or even jewellery. These will be absolutely perfect for my travels to Poland and weekends away. All other bits were a total surprise and I love every bit.
I’m really curious to try Blinc Mascara and NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat Powder Foundation. I have always wanted to try Macadamia Oil Treatment and Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips. It will be so much fun trying everything out!

Sylwia x

Budget Christmas Gift Ideas

Being on a budget doesn’t mean you can’t buy great Christmas gifts. It just means you have to spend little bit more time researching and put a little more thought into the process. Think about the person you’re buying for. What do they like, what hobbies do they have, where do they work? There are so many great things you can buy for under £10! In my opinion it doesn’t matter how much you spend but how thoughtful the gift is. 

Places like Primark, ebay or amazon are always great for bargain hunting. So definitely keep those in mind.

Another great way to give caring loving present is making it yourself. There are loads of awesome crafts you could look into like knitting, jewellery making, baking etc.

If you’re completely stuck and have no idea what someone likes, here are few simple ‘can’t go wrong’ gift ideas under £10.

Pyjamas – who would resist a set Muppets pj’s? Off course men’s pyjamas are extremely boring and it’s hard to find non-stripey or non-checky but I’m sure they would be happy to wear them even if there’s no Kermit printed on it.


Slippers – it’s cold and everyone’s feet need to be kept warm. If the warmth comes in a shape of a fluffy bunny it’s an added bonus.


Socks – everyone needs socks and everyone loves funny faces, cute owls or Family guy characters on them :D

Books – this option is off course for those who like to read. Amazon has great deals on books and £10 should be enough to buy 2 or 3 which could make a lovely little box set (sometimes it is cheaper to get them separately).

Scarfs, gloves, hats – just like with slippers – it’s winter and it’s cold. Everyone needs to keep themselves warm.

Cosmetics – we all like to smell nice, we need to wash and moisturize and occasionally put some makeup on ;) Boots always has this 3 for 2 across all Christmas gifts which gives great savings.

I hope this was somewhat helpful for you guys!

Sylwia x

Empties #10

*Dr. Organic Manuka Honey Hair Conditioner – the thing I love the most about this conditioner is the scent. This isn’t surprising because I love everything honey scented but this fragrance stays on my hair for ages. I have not experienced anything like it in my whole life (you’d think I’m talking about something massively important here lol). Honestly thou! My nose always gets used to any fragrance I put on myself within few minutes but with this conditioner I was getting a lovely honey weft every time my hair moved! I felt like I was in the shampoo commercial – wanted to swish my hair all over the place ha ha. Other than that it’s a nice conditioner, quite rich but not heavy on the hair.

*Naked Volume Shampoo – love it, purchased it several times already. Raved about it here.

*The Body Shop Grapefruit Shower Gel – lovely refreshing scent but I find their shower gels quite drying :(
*Tresemme Extra Hold Hairspray – doesn’t hold that great and smells so strong that I wanted to puke every time I used it. I was actually left with that horrible bitter taste in my mouth after breathing it in for a few seconds. Not buying it again for sure.

*Benefit Bad Gal Mascara – nice formula but too big of a brush for my eyes.

*The Body Shop Hydrating Body Spray – I didn’t notice any hydration with this but served lovely refreshing purpose especially in the summer. Strawberry scent was just right – not too sweet.

*Superdrug Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser – I have to say this is an amazing product for the price. It’s a great budget alternative to Liz Earle but…. I wish there was no but….  but I prefer the Liz Earle one. It’s not really my choice but my skin’s choice. It felt little bit softer, happier and glowier (is that a real word?)after using Liz Earle.  Nothing wrong with the Superdrug cleanser thou, highly recommended if you’re on a budget.

*Palmolive Liquid Soap – smells gorgeous and isn’t as drying as some other soaps so thumbs up.

*Batiste Tropical Dry Shampoo – best thing since sliced bread – love love love!

*Spa Sea Salt Scrub – not very impressed with this. It seems like this is just coconut oil mixed with sea salt which I could do myself at a significantly lower price. I wouldn’t do it though because this was way too harsh for my skin. My body was actually red as if scratched by a bunch of kittens :/ Plus it stung like hell if put on damaged/spotty skin. I wouldn’t like to experience it again.

Sylwia x

Sunday Treat Corner

I’m guessing most of us dedicates their winter Sundays for lazy and cozy behavior with an occasional beauty treatment? Well I definitely do! Apart from reading a book, watching crap tv and getting on top of my washing (it’s a Sunday job :D) I give my skin and nails a little pick me up.

On my skin I apply cleansing and nourishing face mask to bring it back to life after a week of wearing makeup and dealing with indoor heating and outdoor cold. I’ve recently purchased Organic Surge First Class Mask which nourishes, deep-cleanses and rehydrates the skin. What more would I want? That’s like three main problems tackled with one pump of creamy goodness. I’ve used it only once so far but liking it very much. I will do a proper review once I have more thoughts.
 While the face mask is on I soak couple of cotton pads with Liz Earle Eyebright and place them on my eyes. This soothing eye lotion is truly amazing. Scent itself is very relaxing but most importantly it cools and calms my eyelids and delicate skin around the eyes which gets very puffy and tired looking by the end of the week.
After around 10 minutes of relaxation with both of these on I wash it all off and apply tiny bit of Balance Me Radiance Face Oil to nourish the skin ready for the new week. I don’t use oils like that on daily basis as my skin is quite oily and I find them too heavy. But it works a treat as an extra boost once a week.

I file my nails with Crystal File by OPI. It’s quite a high price tag for a nail file but believe me it is worth it. I had one of those crystal files (can’t remember what brand) for about 5 years and it would still go strong if I didn’t drop it on the floor and then stepped on it :/ After that I kept buying these cheapo glass files but the filing bit kept coming off after few uses which was seriously getting on my nerves. I decided to invest in another good quality file and OPI has been brilliant so far.
I moisturize my cuticles with Nuxe Dry Oil which stops them looking dry. I don’t cut my cuticles out anymore but push them in from time to time but I don’t even do that very often. I found that moisturizing them regularly and not applying any varnish on them makes them look nice and neat. Finally I apply clear polish or conditioner (using Trind Nail Repair at the mo) and voila! Sometimes I’d paint them with a coloured polish but I’ve been very lazy lately and avoiding it like fire.

Loving Yankee Warm Spice at the moment! It’s very comforting and warming but not overwhelming or sickening fragrance.
Tissue holder you can see in the background has been made by my mum, she is so talented!

I would love to hear what your Sunday beauty routines are!

Sylwia x

London baby!

Just wanted to share few pictures I took when in London. It was just a day trip to go around museums.

It takes a long longer than one would thought to see everything, so we (me + friend Louise) only managed to go Tate Modern and Natural History Museum.

It was an awesome day at a little cost. We had packed lunches (tuna wraps by Louise :D) so only had to pay for the train ticket and off course we stopped to get hot cup of caramel latte :)

Sylwia x