F&F

Another theory blog post? Oh yeah, I'm on fire! :)

I've found some fun beauty facts recently and thought I might them with you.

I bet there are at least 5 facts in this list down below that you didn't know. Scroll down if you're eager to know them!

Did you know:

• Studies have shown that the lipstick sale goes up on a rainy or cloudy day.
• Women use upto 2kg of lipstick.
• 40% of women own 20 lipsticks, but only 1% actually throws their lipstick away.
• You leave about 5% of the lipstick you're wearing behind on glasses, mugs, clothing and men.
• They say 'Blondes have more fun', but did you know they have more hair on their head than any other girls. Blondes have about 140,000 hairs, brunettes have 110,000 and red heads have "only" 80,000.
• The first polish ever made was produced in China. It was a mixture of egg whites, bees wax, gum and colored powder.
• 40% of women are satsified with their feet depending on the look of their toe nails.
• Women stopped dieting after 5 weeks, 2 days and 43 minutes.
• 75% of women who have nonsurgical procedures done such as botox, hide it from their family and friends. More than half the women don't even tell their partner.
• 96% of women have skin problems. Dry skin (43% ), acne (30%) and wrinkles (22%) are being considered as annoying.
• Glass may block out the UVB rays, but 50% of the UVA rays go right through it and it's UVA which causes ageing... (To read more about UVB and UVA, click here to read more info I've written)
• 95% of women have cellulite Yes, even thin women!
• 97% would change a party on their body if they could. 82% would replace their belly, 62% would change their thighes, 50% opt for their bum and 37% pick their upper arms. 
• The longest hair someone owned was almost 3 metres long.
• The skin on your body has about 19,000,000 skin cells. 
• Going to be wearing make up ages your sking by 7 times.

Hope you enjoyed this post! For more requests, comment below :)

NYC beauty haul

Hi everyone!

If you remember well, my last haul was a beauty haul from Thailand. If you haven't read it yet, click here to give it a read :) This time I've got another interesting beauty haul from the other side of the world: New York City baby!!

I went ALL OUT to get myself goodies, so let's jump right into it, shall we

Here you'll see my little beauty collection I got from  Victoria Secret/Pink (their junior line).

I got 2 body mists, a pink glittery nail polish and a rollerball of one of their best sold perfumes: Night.

Since I heard so much from US drugstores, I just had to drop by a Walgreens to get me some stuff :)

• Yes To Tomatoes moisturiser 
• Aveeno Postively Radiant moisturiser with SPF30
• Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub
• It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product Keratin
• Maybelline Mega Plush mascara
• Essie polishes
• Tweezermans
• Tresemme's heat protection spray
• Eye shadow palettes: CoverGirl and Wet 'n Wild
• Maybelline Dream Matte Powder

3rd stop: Sephora, oh yeah!

If there's one place I splurged like a nut, it's Sephora. We don't have a Sephora in Belgium, we used to have one in the Netherlands, but unfortunately they've decided to break the Dutch beauties hearts and remove all Sephora's (all 2 :p)...

• Fragrance samplers are a great way to introduce scents without splurging a ton of money. There's a voucher included as well to exchange one of the rollerballs for it: I got the Viva La Juicy rollerball.
• Boscia luminizing black mask
• First Aid Ultra Repair Cream (travel size)
• First Aid Deep Cleanser
• Deborah Lippmann La Vie En Rose. I've already posted a NOTW on this polish. If you want to see how this looks like, don't hesitate to have a look.
• Butter London polish
• Fresh Sugar tinted lipbalm
• Boscia blotting sheets
• Shiseido eye lash curler
• Sephora dual end brush: powder and blush
• Dior Serum Maximizer
• NARS eye shadow palette: Charade
• NARS concealer: Custard

You haven't shopped in the Big Apple, unless you've stopped by Macy's :)

• Tarte Maracuja Oil
• Simple exfoliating wipes
• Maybelline clear mascara
• L'Oréal polishes
• Benefit Porefessional primer
• Benefit They're Real mascara (sample size)
• Maybelline Instant Age rewinder 
• Milani blush: Luminoso
• Revlon eye shadow palette
• Benefit PoreFessional: Zero Agent Shine

And my last stop was at Bath&Body Works. I wanted to shop here for a couple of years now, but unfortunately they don't ship to Belgium. I was extremely excited when I ran into a Bath&Body Works. This is what I got: 

Paris L'Amour: fragrance mist, body cream

Cherry Blossom: shower gel, fragrance mist, body cream

5 hand sanitizers: Pink Chiffon, Paris L'Amour, Cherry Blossom, Sweet Pea, Market Peach

I have to admit, I never went that crazy with buying beauty stuff as I have been this time. 

I got very enthusiastic when seeing all goodies I've been seeing in video's all these years, and finally... I could get them myself, in person!

Hope you all like this post. I'll be posting some reviews on some of the items, but if there are some you'd like me to post my thoughts on, you can go ahead and comment in the bottom box below :)

Products I've used up January-February '14

Hello hello there!

I haven't posted anything in a while, but that doesn't mean that I haven't rigorously been using my beauty products. December, January and February have been very satisfying months when it comes to empties actually. Let's get right into it, shall we?

Lioele Auto Eyebrow

Lioele Auto Eyebrow in dark gray has been my HG eyebrow pencil for quite a while now. It's specific shape fits the eyebrow perfectly to color them in, and the color is just a perfect shade for my dark hair.

Fairy Drops Scandal Queen mascara

As for the eye balls, I have used up another Fairy Drops Scandal Queen mascara, because... they're awesome :) I like the fibres which make my eye lashes longer, the pigmentation makes my lashes look darker, the brush gives it volume and the waterproof formula holds up my short stubborn lashes. What more can a girl ask from her mascara? You can click on this link to get you some long lashes in a tube :)

L'Oréal BB Perfect base coat

L'Oreal Paris' base nail polish is a drugstore brand, but I think we all agree that it's not because it's a drugstore brand that's necessarily bad. Au contraire mes amies! This base polish has prevented my nails from turning into yellow and the consistency is just as good as a Chanel base coat, only I paid about 3/4 less money. Complaint? I don't think so!

Sally Hansen nail polish remover

Polish and nail polish remover go hand in hand of course. I've used this Sally Hanssen polish remover for a few months and I admit that this is one of my favorite polish removers so far. It gets the job done, it doesn't dry out my nails thanks to its moisturizing ingredients and the smell is way better than most acetons.

Batiste Tropical

Batiste Original: travel size

As for my hair, I often change my shampoo so my hair doesn't get used to a certain shampoo. Unfortunately my hair has its own way of life and likes to go to grease ball land every other day. To avoid washing my hair too often, I use dry shampoo on a regular basis. I have grown to like Batiste's dry shampoo. Here's the original and tropical version. I really like the original version, because there's no scent to it and it makes my hair like it has just been washed. If you'd like me to do a review on it, please comment below :)

Elvive Nutri Gloss hair mask

Next to using dry shampoo vigorously, I have finally used up my hair mask by Elseve. Man oh man, I don't often use hair masks treatments, but I have had that jar for YEARS! :D

This are the empties for this post. I'm already working on my next stash of empties, no worries :)
See you soon!

Beauty meets food: I don't eat no ham 'n eggs

 
To egg or not to egg?
By eating eggs, you'll get some vitamin B, proteins and a whole lot of nutrients in your body. The feeling of being full will withhold you from gravitating towards snacks. Let's see what other things an egg can do for your body.

• Brain: Egg yolk contains vitamin B and choline. Choline is important for neurotransmitter function, cell membranes, liver function and lipid metabolism. Pregnant women, this one's for you: choline's supposedly to be good for you too because it stimulates the development of the baby's brain.
  If that wasn't enough good news, egg yolk helps to produce the happy hormones such as serotonin and dopamine. 
• Face:For those with hyper pigmentation here's a face mask you can easily make. Take some lemon juice and egg white, mix it up and apply to your face. The lemon juice will whiten the areas where you need it and the egg white will tighten those pores. Wash it off with cold water after letting it sit for about 15 minutes, et voilà, hello fresh face!
• Body: Haven't you noticed that a lot of sport athletes prefer eating eggs after a work out? That's because they need to take in their proteins. Egg whites can be absorbed entirely by the body.  
• Hair: Since you have some egg yolk left over from your face mask, use this to condition your hair. Egg yolk contains proteins to fight against hair loss, moisturizes and strengthens the hair.

How do you like your eggs? In your mouth or for beauty purposes? :)

Beauty meets food: Oh honey, honey, sugar sugar

Honey, just a delicious sweetener, or is that much more?


Let's go over some of the home remedies you can make with some honey:

• Hair: Have you been out a lot during the summer? Is your damaged from the UV rays, chlorine and the humidity? Well, let's pop out a honey mask to bring some shine and to take care of those split ends you have. Mix 1 cup of water with 2 table spoons of apple vinegar, 5 drops of rosemary oil and 1 tea spoon of that delicious honey. Leave it in for about 10 minutes, rinse it off and welcome back shiny hair!
• Face:
• Lips: Who doesn't dislike dry, chapped lips? Take some olive oil, brown sugar and a bit of honey, mix it up and scrub away! Your lips will be ready to be kissed like it has never been kissed before :)
• Scrub: Personally I like scrubs with bigger beeds in them, it makes me feel like my skin is actually being cleaned. But some of you prefer scrubs with the tiniest beeds. Instead of going out to the store and buying one, why not make one yourself? At least you're sure of what you're putting on your skin, right? Take your lip scrub, add some lemon juice and apply it to your face. This will get rid of the dead skin cells and it will leave your skin as smooth as a baby's bottom.
• Breakouts: Honey is antibacterial which will take on the impurities in your skin. Redness will reduce when honey is applied to sooth the inflammation.
• Body: 
• Throat: If you mix some pure honey with water (and maybe a tad of lemon juice), this can soothe a sore throat.
• Bath: Did you know that legend has it that Cleopatra loved taking milk&honey baths? Milk contains AHA (Alpha Hydroxy Acid) which can make the skin more firm and smooth. Honey contains enzymes will make the skin softer. Who needs fancy bath bombs if you can take a bath in Cleopatra style?
• Wax: Sometimes you just don't have the time to go to the beauty salon and get something waxed. You can make your own wax by mixing water, honey and brown sugar (lemon juice can be added if desired). Cook the sugar and water until it's caramelized, add the honey (and lemon juice) until it has reached it's boiling point. Set it aside and let it cool off before using it on your body.
• Scarves: Scarves, you're stuck with them for the rest of your life once they have appeared. Put on some raw honey, cover it with a bandage. Remove it the day afterwards and clean the skin.
• Sunburn: Although you should always wear sunblock before going out the door, a sunburn can always occur. Apply some honey to the sunburns to alleviate the pain.
• Moisturize: Add honey to some shea butter and you have just created your own moisturizer.

As to my first question... It's so much more than just a sweetener :)

Beauty meets food: Oh my hair smells like chocolate

tyyu!è § ,wsftyké:àç!èyktkazeee v cpmoi

Oh, I'm sorry, I was just wiping the rest of the chocolate away that fell on my keyboard.
For real, who doesn't likes to eat chocolate from time to time. Ladies? Don't you hide now, I need you to back me up on this one.

But hey, for all you chocolate lovers out there, did you know that eating chocolate is actually healthy! YAY! I'm not saying that you can finally justify eating tons of chocolate, but it has got some benefits that I think you should know. Let's jump right into it, shall we?

• Hair
• Dull: Let's start off with a dark chocolate hair mask? Sounds good? All you need is honey, yoghurt and dark, unsweetened chocolate. Wrap it up with a plastic foil so the mix can do its job. Rinse it off with cold water after letting it sit in for about an hour and hello shiny hair!
• Length: Dark chocolate contains iron, calcium and 10 kinds of vitamins and minerals. By eating a tiny amount of dark chocolate on a daily basis (yes, every day!), you'll get much healthier and stronger hair!
• Skin
• UV-protection: Have you ever heard of flavonoids? They're like antioxidants that can protect your skin from sunburns, redness and other signs of damage caused by UV. Did you know that you can actually recover and moisturize your skin with dark chocolate after it has been exposed to the sun?
• Anti-ageing: Cocoa in chocolate can reduce the stress hormones, which means that collagen won't go anywhere, and that means less wrinkles.
• Dry skin: Remember that dark chocolate contains iron, calcium and 10 kinds of vitamins and minerals? Well, these make sure that your skin is being nurtured as well which will give it that dewy look you always try to create with your foundation and highlighter.
• Body
  
  • Heart: Guess what helps to protect blood vessels from rupture, enhance the activity of vitamin C, prevent inflammation of the body? Yes! Flavonoids! These can actually lower your blood pressure and reduce your cholesterol by up to 10%. 
  • Mind: Did you know that dark chocolate can actually serve as a feel good treat? It can give you that mental boost whenever you're in need of it. It stimulates the production of endorphins, which are chemicals in the pleasure section of the brain. Next to endorphins, we also have serotonin which acts as an anti-depressant. No wonder we gravitate towards chocolate when we're feeling a bit down...

Whenever it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Well, in this case, it's actually false. Chocolate is good for you, especially dark chocolate. Can I get a whoot whoot!! *cricket noise*

Anyway... Do you know any other chocolate secret that you use in your beauty regimen?Go ahead and share with me, because I'll be more than excited to try it out!

Beauty meets food: She wore lemon

Lemons.
Pro, they can be refreshing in your beverage.

Con, they make you make funny faces.
Pro, it can take the fishy smell out of a fish.
Con, they are just way too sour.
Pro, it can be your bbf (yes, bbf), your best beauty friend.

Let me tell you about the benefits a lemon can have for your beauty regimen. And let's face it, who doesn't have a lemon laying around in their kitchen? If you're really one of those exceptions, I'm sure the supermarket isn't too far away from you.

Lemons have calcium, vitamin C, magnesium, kalium and minerals, which are healthy for your hair, skin, teeth and nails. If you're thinking "wow, good stuff those lemons", you're wrong. Bare in mind that lemon juice cannot, again canNOT, have too long skin contact. Please do pay attention to the warnings in the explanations.

This being said, let's get this sour party started!

• Hair
• Dull: Nowadays there are plenty of people who like to color their hair. If they go lighter, the hairdressers use chemical bleach on your hair. Instead of using something chemical why not use lemon juicy? If you add a bit of lemon juice to your conditioner, brush it out, go sit in the sun for a few hours and wash it out afterwards. Warning: Sitting in the sun for too long won't do good to your hair. If you want to have your hair lighter, repeat this process until satisfied. It may take longer and you may not be putting anything chemical on your hair, lemon juice can dry out your hair.
• Dandruff: Do you have a dry scalp? Do people keep asking you whether it's snowing outside? Do you happen to have coco oil, honey and lemon juice near you? Well, then let's start making your own hair mask! Mix the 3 ingredients, let it work into your scalp for about 10 minutes and rinse off with a lot of water.
• Teeth: Who doesn't want whiter teeth? You can easily make your own teeth whitening home remedy by adding baking soda to lemon juice. This will bubble when mixed and can be applied to your teeth with a cotton swab. Warning: Let it sit for about a minute, depending on how sensitive your teeth are. Afterwards make sure to brush your teeth because otherwise the lemon juice will erode your teeth.
• Skin
• Breakouts: Lemons are antibacterial, period. This can be used as a natural method to fight against those breakouts. Just rub some lemon juice over your face, let it work in for about 5 to 10 minutes and wash it all off with water. Warning: Do I need to say to be careful to not get the lemon juice into your eyes? If so, rinse it off with plenty of water.
• Hyperpigmentation: Unless your skin is perfect and don't have dark spots or scarves from former breakouts, you can skip this part. The sour of a lemon juice can lighten the dark spots on the face.
• Oily skin types: Those with oily skin types, I got your back folks! Lemon juice can be used to soak up the oils on your face. Warning: Don't overdo this because if your skin thinks it's too dry it will produce some more oils, and we do not want more oils on our slippery faces!
• Body
• Armpits: Did you know you can lighten your dark armpits with some lemon juice? You can cut the lemon so that you still have something comfortable to hold, put some sugar on top of it and rub it into your armpits. The sugar will exfoliate to remove the dead skin cells and the lemon juice will make the darkened armpits lighter. Warning: don't do this after you've shaved. your skin's already quite sensitive and eventual razor cuts and lemon juice don't really go together.
• Nails: If you didn't know, yes I'm a nail junkie. If my NOTW's aren't good enough of a proof, I'm a nail polish hoarder who likes to try out all colors of all brands. This had made my nails quite brittle and yellow. To strengthen them and get their original color back, just apply a mix of some olive oil and lemon juice.

Do you have any home remedies you'd like to share using lemon juice? Or let me know whether you have tried out one of these remedies. Don't be shy and keep me posted in the comment bar below.

Me against UV rays

Hi there everyone!

If you've read my last blog post, you know I'm whined over and over on UV rays and how it's important that you should protect your skin from any damage.

Today I'll be talking about a couple of items I've been using this year to protect myself from those evil rays!

First off, the face!
If you've read this blog for a while, you may know by now that I have a combination to oily skin type. In other words: the kind where you can fry your fish and chips in!
During the summer the oils decide to have a party in my face and stay there for a about the entire season.

Eucerin sun fluid mattifying face - SPF50

When applying a sunscreen on the face, the oils are dying to come out. That's why I've been on the look out for a mattifying sunscreen. Believe me, I never knew about its existence until I accidentally bumped into one when I was in the doctor's waiting room. It's the Eucerin sun fluid mattifying for the face.

Turns out this sample is a pretty darn good sunscreen for me :)

It leaves a semi-matte finish on my skin and it has a high SPF of 50. What more can my skin ask for?

And yes, I'm planning on getting a full size bottle!





Before discovering this baby, I actually did some research on a good sunscreen and I heard/read several good reviews on the following:

 

Shiseido Expert Sun Aging Protection Lotion - SPF30

The Shiseido sunscreen is known for its blue bottle and the orange cap. This sunscreen is meant to be applied for the face as well as the body. When going to the beach, I thought it would come in handy to get a 2 in 1 and one which is very water resistant and sand-proof.

It's a light, non-sticky sun protection lotion that will fight against the UVA and UVB rays. Don't give those wrinkles and sunburns any chance by protecting you against both rays!

I did try to apply this on my face, but my face became rather greasy after a few hours. I prefer this sunscreen for my body and will be using the Eucerin one for my face :)




And something you often forget to protect from UV rays as well: your hair!
I have black hair, but after getting a perm the sun damage has caused my hair to turn slightly dark brown. I must admit that I like the brownish hints of colour, but honestly... I know that the discoloration is merely a sign of sun damage.

Wella Professionals Lifetex vitamin shake

When going on a sunny holiday I make sure to bring along my hair protecting vitamin shake!
This is a vitamin shake that will nourish and protect your hair from sun damage. As you can see on the picture, it has a milk base and an oily base which you should shake up (hence the name vitamin shake) before spritzing it into your hair.

The milk base has sun protection ingredients, while the macadamia seed oil protects your from damage from the sun, sea and chlorine.

It gives a lot of moisture to the hair so the hair doesn't dry out. Do keep in mind that this shake contains a UV filter, to make sure it combats those UV rays!
 




These were my 3 essentials that I'll be rocking this summer.
Tell me, what are your must haves for the scorching hot season?

Review Kérastase Resistance Ciment Thermique by L'Oréal Paris

Or you're a Kéristance noob and would like to get to know the hair care line of Kérastase.
Or you've been a Kéristance user for ages and are wondering what else new information you can find on this blog post that you don't already know.

Anyway, welcome you!

I've been using the Kéristance Resstance Ciment Thermique for a few months now. I always like to use a product for some time before posting my opinion on the net for the entire world to read :)

Kérastase Resistance Ciment Thermique

I have an oily scalp with dry ends, so I can use all the conditioning is can get, BUT I cannot use too much otherwise my hair can get quite oily after 1 day.

This product has a milky consistency and is supposed to treat damaged hair. It says it's a heat-activated reconstructing milk. So the moment you put heat on your hair the product will start to work.

I put a pea size amount into my hands and put it ears downwards, concentrating on the end. Since you only need a little amount of the product, the bottle will last you for quite some time. Luckily, because the price isn't that cheap... After blow drying or heat styling your hair you're not supposed to rinse your hair, hence why it says leave in :D

I must admit, I'm not easily impressed by hair products, but this one has left my ends in a better conditions than they were before.
I'll continue to use this and I would repurchase this goodie.

Overall, good product, healthy hair, happy me :)