Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Awkward OOTD


“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.” - Dr. Suess

Hi beauties! Hope you're all having a wonderful day! <3

Shoes are Tommy Hilfiger, top is Brandy Melville and jeans are from Zara 


Tuesday, August 20, 2013

FOTD: Happy Birthday to me!



Face: Benefit Fake Up concealer
Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow mix of Honey and Ivory
MAC blush in Fleur Power
Annayake Bronzer

Eyes: 
Lid and eyebrow highlight: All that Glitter
Crease: Buck (Naked Palette)
Mac Gel liner in Blacktrack
Inner corners: Fresh Ice (MAC limited edition)
Dior pencil liner in Black
Mascara: Laura Mercier waterproof mascara


Sorry about the bad quality camera, I was in the car driving across Germany on my birthday.

xo,
Kate

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Bling it Yourself: Glam Shorts!






This is a quick and easy way to add sparkle to an old pair of shorts or jeans. If you buy the glue accordingly, you can also bling out your shoes, bags or any other fabric!

What you’ll need:
Rhinestones of your choice
Fabric Glue (make sure it also glues plastic, not just fabrics to each other)
An old pair of shorts

Step 1: I arrange the rhinestones the way I want to on my shorts. I do this before applying glue so I don’t end up with a glue-y mess if I change my mind.

Step 2: Next, I either glue the rhinestones on individually or put the glue where I want to add rhinestones later. On the pocket I drew a line, on the left side I glued individually.

Step 3: Wait to dry!

Tip: If you wash your shorts before hand, the glue supposedly sticks better.

Let me know how your attempts go- I would love to see!

xo, Kate

FOTD: Bold Brows and Cotton Candy Lips

A day spent at Tegeler See in the sun eating ice cream followed by a delicious steak dinner in Prenzlauer Berg.

Face: Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation in Honey
Benefit Hello Flawless Powder
MAC Fleur Power Blush

Eyebrows: MAC Omega shadow

Eyes: MAC All that Glitters
MAC Blacktrack Gel Liner
Laura Mercier Waterproof Mascara

Lips: Kiko Luscious Cream Lipstick in 519

Top: Mango

Hope you're having a great day!
xo, Kate



Thursday, August 15, 2013

Haul: Black and White

As mentioned in my previous post, I went from a medium to an extra small in clothing size, so I get to go shopping for an actual reason and not feel guilty (not that shopping should make anyone feel guilty, it's a necessity after all!)

From left:
Mango: €19.99, it has gold buttons on the back. I will take my pictures soon!
American Apparel: €16, this bandeau will look great under simple shirts.
American Apparel: €28, this skirt can be worn as either a high waisted skirt and as a (very, very, very short) dress. Clearly I bought this for the skirt option.
Mango: €29.99, Where do I begin? Not is it high-low, but it's bedazzled. Im thinking of wearing this with leggings and brown boots or flats. It will also look great with the skirt I got. 
Scünci: €7, these were pretty expensive in my opinion, but I just wore one to the gym and it did not budge and didn't pull out any hair- well worth the price!
Cheap Monday: €79, I will take more pictures of this, the details are too good to miss. 

xoxo,
Kate




Tidy Closet, Happy Life?!


After losing 10 kg (or  22 pounds) this past year I was terrified of the jojo effect. But I am glad to report that I am not jojo-ing; however, my closet was a MESS. All of my clothes were too big. I was trying to make them work as oversized clothes, but most of them looked like what they were: ill-fitting.

After months of trying to make do with these clothes and realizing that I am keeping my weight, I decided to purge. It has taken me months, and I am still in the process of sorting out ill-fitting purchases, but I can say genuinely that when my closet is filled with only the things that fit, I love and I wear has made me, yes, a little bit happier.

As your closet is one of the first things you see everyday and one of the objects you see on a daily basis, I recommend keeping it in a way which you like and makes your life easier. Here are some of my best strategies which I’ve learned over the past few months:
My (crooked) rolling rack- only all of my most worn pieces, the rest are in my closet and shoe rack- this saves me time and nerves in the morning. The golden bag is my bag of clothes which do not fit, when it is full, I'll bring them to charity.

TIP #1: Fluctuating weight?
If your weight changes keep only the clothes which fit you at your current weight where you can see them. Keep them on the middle shelves, towards the front, on top, in a certain section you can see easiest—whatever works for you!
What doesn’t fit momentarily: put towards the back, lower shelves... you get the point.

TIP #2: Sentimental pieces.
Make a pile of clothes your unsure about parting with until youre sure about it, then toss. Nothing worse than giving away a sentimental piece of clothing, even it it doesn’t fit. Try getting it taken in or wearing it with a belt, sometimes you can "make it work“ (Tim Gunn we're looking at you, baby!)!

TIP #3: Coziness before all!
Uncomfortable, scratchy clothes... even if they fit—toss them! Life is too short to be uncomfortable there are way too many cute and cozy options.

TIP #4: Seasons of Love
Only clean out clothing from the season you’re currently in or the past season. You’re not going to know what you’ll want in snowy, cold weather while you’re sweating in August.

TIP #5: Toss as you go.
Tried the same blazer on 5 times and it still just looks, well, weird? Keep a bin, basket, bag, whatever in your closet to throw things in as you go.

TIP # 6: Memory loss?
Can’t remember wearing a piece of clothing? Adieu, on the pile of give away clothes it goes!

TIP #7: Classics
Do not throw out your well-made classics. What you can get altered you should. Classics are easy, fool-proof and always appropriate. There is no outfit easier to put together and look pulled together in, than a classic ensemble. I'm talking classic sweaters, blazers, slacks, jeans- all easy to combine which each other.

TIP #8: Rolling Racks
Get a rolling rack for your most worn pieces. You can see them and they won’t get dusty since you wear and wash them frequently. Add your trendier items too since your style might evolve elsewhere.

Conclusion: If you can see what you have, you will wear your clothes more and actually like what you have!

Also, try not to throw clothes away which someone else could still enjoy. Trade with friends and family or donate it to local charities. 

Good luck!

Xo, Kate

Monday, August 12, 2013

Face of the Week Marble Eyes

Eyeshadows:
*Bitter
*Rule
*Da Bling
*Coppering
*Nocturnelle (all MAC)
*Blacktrack Gel Liner (also MAC)
*Laura Mercier Waterproof mascara
*Kiko Crystal Sheer Lipstick in 409

An Ode to Benefit







Let’s face it: Benefit has always had the coolest packaging. They just suck you in with all their bright colors, whimsical patterns and fantastic names.  For some reason, until a few months ago when I was just having a „blegh“ day (don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about) I went to go get my eyebrows done at their Brow Bar. After dying, waxing and plucking my brows the sales girl freshened up my make up and it is very possible that I bought most of what she was using. Since then I am extremely impressed! So far their face products have been my absolute favorites and their service was flawless (I opted for their counter at the Galeries Lafayette on Französische Straße).

The Hello Flawless“foundation and powder are by far my favorites along with the Fake Up concealer. The foundation is marketed for dry skin, but my skin is fairly oily and I have had no problems. It’s lightweight, not full coverage, but still gets the job done. Also, the tiniest pump will go a long way, I am currently using a deluxe sample in “Honey” as I’m darker in the summer and it has lasted me almost 2 weeks now. Another plus: Plastic packaging.- I can’t even count how many bottles of my Estee Lauder foundation I smashed!

The Hello Flawless powder offers more coverage then the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish and does not break me out and keeps my skin matte for longer than any powder I’ve tried. On good skin days I can get away with only this and some concealer.

Now to the (in my opinion) best part: the „Fake Up“ Concealer. First off, the packaging... could a concealer be any cuter? I think not!
Now I was skeptical about the moisturizer around the concealer for blemishes, but the girl at the counter made a good argument: When covering up blemishes you need to smooth them out first and she was spot on (no pun intended.. or was it?) .The coverage is great and with a little setting powder it does not budge all day.
(I know this looks messy- I've used this... a lot!)  



What are other Benefit products I need to try? I picked up the World Famous Neutrals palette the other day which I have been loving and was a great deal considering it being 4 powder eyeshadows and two cream shadows, and again I fell in love with the packaging!

Xoxo,

Kate

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Summer in the City Outfit

Sunglasses: Michael Kors
Earrings: Pilgrim
Top: Hollister
Bag: Longchamp
Shorts: H&M
Shoes: Topshop 


Monday, August 5, 2013

Review: Laura Mercier Waterproof Mascara

Hi all!

I have heard nothing but great things about Laura Mercier Products and when I got the chance to try one I got right on it! All I have to say about this product is A-MAZ-ING.
I have not been happy with a mascara since using the Dior Show; however, I find it quite pricey and mascara is one of those products which has to be exchanged quite frequently. I can't justify spending 30€ on a mascara.

This product has not let me down. No matter how sloppily I apply my mascara or in how big of a hurry I am it does not clump my eyelashes together. Also, it creates a really wonderful natural day look with just one or two coats, but creates an equally dramatic night-time look when layered. 
Removal: With any gentle make up remover, from my Nivea make-up removing wipes and cheap drugstore eye make up remover to MAC cleanse off oil this comes off flawlessly without tugging on my eyes. Some waterproof mascaras can be a pain to remove but this is no problem at all!

Conclusion: Great product I would recommend to anyone and only slightly more expensive than some drugstore mascaras (I paid 17€ for mine, which was completely worth the money!). I will definitely be purchasing more Laura Mercier Products in the future!!


Recent Purchase: Pilgrim Earrings





Hello there!

As I was taking a stroll down the jewelry aisle at the Galeries Lafayette today these earrings caught my eye and I just could not resist. I'm sure these have been around for a while, but I have never seen anything like these. They are dainty and elegant, yet (for lack of a better word) blingy!

They are absolutely perfect for a high bun with a casual outfit. They also come in gold and silver along with the rose gold which I got.