colour is the highlight of my life ~ half year favourites // beauty

i haven't done this for a while right? it's the end of august, i skipped almost half a year, wow. but this results in having a half year favourites series. this is the beauty post, obviously, you can read... next one is gonna be fashion and then, widely speaking, others. but let's get into this.

let's start with skincare, since it's the base. in the beginning of the year i received a book about korean skin rituals and care and it flipped my entire routine upside down, or rather right side up! this is material for a whole another post, which i'm planning to make in a couple of months, but in general i added new steps, especially for the night.

one of which was using a toning water after cleansing and pore-tightening toning. 

mario bodescu ~ facial spray with aloe, herbs and rose water

i picked this one on recommendation of essie button in the beginning of march, just to try something out. it sounded great and it kinda is. my favourite thing about it is the scent, it's very relaxing, great to just spray at night, let it sink in and breath in the good vibes. now, i have to be honest, i don't really know if it does anything for my skin per se, it's mostly an extra step for my pure pleasure since i found myself enjoying skincare very much. i used it as a make up setter after too much powder and it worked great, very refreshing after a long, hot day too. i'm very intrigued by other products by this brand now, have you used it?

~~~

tonic is something i use every day but i also discovered something to pamper myself. i'm always on the look out for interesting and cool masks and this is a favourite right now.

skinfood ~ black sugar wash off

following my korean skincare adventure, i came across a website, yesstyle.com, and this brand. this is, clearly, from their black sugar range, so it smells wonderful, like caramel. i use it after cleansing but before the rose toner, as a sort of scrub. i get a small amount, scrub my damp face around a bit and leave this on for about 15 minutes. it melts a bit from the heat of your skin, get's glossy and the scent is more intense so if you don't like that, i suggest some other product. after washing off, you're left with a teeny bit of a film but your skin is so soft and supple, you can also feel the difference in the morning. as you can see i'm almost out, so i have to definitely get more!

~~~

on the topic of taking care of your skin, body skin is also important. i've never really used balms or creams on my body, i feel sticky and gross and like i need to shower right after applying them. but this thing, oh boy.

bath & body works ~ lavender chamomile body cream

this was such a surprise to me. i don't even really look at balms but i had an offer of a free one so i thought this looked promising. it's amazing! first of all, the scent! i'm apparently a very scent driven person, it's all i care about haha! as it says right there, it's chamomile and lavender so it's obviously very relaxing, aromatherapy done right. it also lingers very long, once you use it every night your covers will smell just like the actual cream, you get the whiff when slipping in bed. the scent is important right, but since i have a problem with just sitting there and letting it sink in properly, i was interested in the consistency. this, as the tube says, is a cream so it's not runny, more like a thick custard, it's not as slippy though. it melts right into your skin after shower and when i visit warsaw in september i'm definitely getting my third one!

~~~

now that i took care of the skin, let's put some colourful stuff on it! i've visited sephora a lot lately, gold card member baby, so these next two are from there.

 sephora ~ 10hr fix & correct concealer

after i fell in love with the cushion foundation, described here, i decided to pay more attention to the sephora brand, especially skin stuff. i rarely look at face makeup because there's rarely something to look at for me. i'm very pale and even though i live in europe, where lots and lots of people are pale, there aren't a lot of options. sephora brand always looked quite yellow from afar that's why i got very surprised when i came across this. lo and behold, dual tip corrector in number 13, pink as hell and pale as hell. the two formulas are a bit similar, in that they are very thick and creamy, but since the two sides have different purposes, they do have some distinct features.

this side is thin and tiny. the corrector is quite heavy duty, i would say, but isn't as oily as bobbie brown, for example. since it's specifically for spot correcting so it's very matte, you just blend the edges a bit and you're good. the only problem i have is that because it's a stick and is quite hard, it can be a bit painful when you have a fresh pimple (i get zits that kind of react like tiny wounds).

this is the more interesting part, at least for me. since i am so pale and the skin around my eyes is naturally very thin and dark, i have pretty much permanent dark purple half moons under my eyes. it's quite difficult to cover them up because oily concealers don't really work on the area and thinner ones don't have enough coverage. this is a great middle ground. it's creamy and thick enough that it doesn't blend into nothingness yet it's not as heavy as a spot concealer so it blends even better and doesn't look like you just put cut outs of your actual skin under your eyes. oh, and it's even a tiny bit brighter than the other end so it doubles as an under eye highlight!

~~~

since i've been to the sephora website way too many times this year, i eventually stumbled upon the forgotten pieces. and here we have this.

sephora ~ duo reflects eyeliner (mermaid tail, sea horse, stormy seas)

sephora ~ colourful eyeliner 24h, waterproof (engagement ring, firework)

in the sales i found three duo chrome eyeliners, with sea related names too, so of course i had to get them, no question. i consider myself a mermaid so this was needed asap. they turned out amazing, just what i wanted, the website photos don't serve them justice at all. 

following this beautiful mermaid discovery, i got a white (i've been looking for one for a long, long time) and a purple glittery ones, waterproof. they all are sooo long lasting, no smudging at all, even my eye makeup remover needs some time to get to them. the glitter and duo chrome pigments are nice and opaque, maybe just stormy seas needs some layers. i'm a bit of a makeup artist, definitely a makeup lover, but i always hesitant this brush business when it comes to eyeliner. the colours got to me though and it turns out it's way better for me than pen or marker! when i run out of my black precision liner, i'm gonna get this one.

i'm so happy and thankful that the sephora brand improved so much lately. they always slayed colourful makeup but now all products are such good quality yet the price didn't change, it's way more affordable than the higher shelf right beside them. i'm looking forward to trying out more stuff from them. 

~~~

next we have the highlight part of the title, let's get sparkly.

 sleek makeup ~ solstice highlighting palette

when i saw some highlighters late last year, i decided that 2016 is the year i'm gonna sparkle and shine. and here we are, putting on highlight with barely any makeup! although, have you seen the all highlighter face challenge? ''i wanna be seen from space''. i got this palette, along with midas touch one (which isn't gold at all, weird), in march but i have been using sparkly stuff for longer. 

there are 3 powders and a cream, i love the names btw.

it was so difficult to photograph this, especially because i fucking can't take photos.

the powders are really powdery so you have to be careful when applying. look out for fall out, although who's gonna be mad at more sparkle, and don't apply this with your fingers, or the brush inside either, you'll be able to see marks. i use this old school sephora duo fiber brush, a nice soft and sparse brush will do.

since either i'm crazy, my camera is crazy or i'm just dumb, i couldn't take a good enough photo of the colours (which don't show that much on the skin actually) so here's a video from my phone. 

since i am so pale, with hardcore highlight i look a bit other worldly (especially if it's blue like in the midas touch), but i honestly love this look and i think i look great in it and the pastels i've been wearing all summer. i'll see how this glittery love affair progresses and let you know!

~~~

and last, but definitely not least, we have ze lipz.

 maybelline ~ color sensational matte in 940 rose blush

i love lipsticks. when i wear makeup i prefer to focus on the lips instead of eyes, since i wear glasses anyway. i tend to go for matte since it's way more practical and because my lips need some reshaping and that's best done without sparkle. unfortunately, matte formulas tend to be drying and to show all the imperfections in smoothness. after a while my lips need a break, not after this one though! oh gurl, the formula, it's so phenomenal. it's very very creamy, long lasting and smooth. in addition, it's really, truly matte, not ''matte'' but really satin. since wearing pastels i prefer more pink tone lipsticks so this is perfect for now, but the colours... why so little, maybelline? they usually have so many, but this series only has like five and none of the other shades suit me, sad sad. 

and here we have a selfie, the lips and concealer are present. new glasses too!

~~~

this is probably the longest post ever! i've been sitting in this starbucks for almost 2 hours, because of technical difficulties (grr, orange internet) i had to go out, that's why this is late, sorry.

i have showed you my faves, what about yours? are there any makeup holy grails i don't know about (probably) or skincare must-haves (most definitely)?

hope you enjoyed, even though i suck at taking photos.

love,

qofr

p.s. do you like the writing on photos thing? i really like it, should get better at it, but what do you think?

bit of everything ~ march favourites

hello dear, welcome to my embarrassing den of wonder, nice to meet you.

sorry i've been away for so long, life just kinda got in the way and i became super discouraged after first week without a post... i know, it makes no sense but that's just how i roll.

anyway, march ended, it's the first monday of april (one of my favourite months) so let's get down to my favourite things.

first things first, food. i'm a massive fan and easter is my jam but! there is something that stole my heart and it surprisingly isn't my 'one-hand brownie' (recipe coming this month). 

fig bar

this the actual bomb. imagine this. you're kinda hungry but there is still a couple of hours till dinner, you don't really like figs but you love raspberries though and the packaging is basically screaming buy me at you. that was me one afternoon 3 weeks ago. and here i am, buying this stuff by a dozen and eating it instead of breakfast (don't kill me please). 

what this basically is, it's a duo of small fig bars (15%) with addition of raspberries, blueberries or solo. they are made from wholemeal flour with some oats. and that's it, no gmo, no trans fats, no milk products, suitable for vegans. sounds really simple, and it kinda is, but i find myself reaching for that instead of chocolate which is really something, i like my cocoa.  

~~~

syoss ~ 10 in 1 essential wonder treatment

when i was travelling in february, i sadly forgot my usual hair oil and my hair was in dying need of something. i couldn't find my usual stuff (why do chain drugstores not offer the same thing everywhere?? isn't that the point??) so i opted for something new, it sounded kinda good. 

now, here's the situation about my hair. i've been dyeing, curling, bleaching it since i was about 13. it's even more damaged after bleaching it for blue-purple in december although now it's in a really good condition. anyway, since it's kinda poorly, every time i wash it, i treat it with oils and some keratin shampoo, masks and all that stuff. i don't really blow dry it but i try to use nice things after washing as well. right now i'm using this and it's basically magical. i haven't heard about it before, but then again i don't really read reviews ever, just used it. and it's so good! smells fantastic, makes my hair really smooth, fixed my cotton candy ends and my hair is finally manageable when dry! now the weirdest thing, writing this post i checked this product online. it turns out that it's not very liked at all! i assume that those reviews are from people whose hair is much healthier than mine used to be. i don't know if it's any good for a pick me up for nice hair but i definitely recommend it for dry and kind of hopeless hair.

~~~

origins ~ drink-up intensive overnight mask

i've been getting kinda into skincare a bit lately, there'll be more about this later, so when the brand origins came to our sephora i was very excited. i've heard a bunch about them, especially their facial masks, this and the charcoal one. the charcoal needs a bit more time for my review but this one is definitely worth the hype! i'm new to the whole overnight mask thing, but it's quite convenient, since you don't have to wait around, and turns out it's good for my skin. this one is very hydrating, as the package says, smells really good too. origins stands for all natural ingredients so this contains apricot kernel oil, plant glycerin and hyaluronic acid to bring moisture, avocado oil and mango butter to lock it in for the morning and japanese seaweed to prevent future dryness. it's very easy to use, just like a normal mask/rich night cream and the results are visible in the morning. the only downside to this is the prize, for now at least, but if you have a coupon, which is frequently, at sephora it's definitely worth it.

~~~

kitty collector

now something purely innocent and for fun. neko atsume. you've probably heard about it but if not, let me introduce you to this just wonderful app. neko atsume (kitty collector in japanese) is kids play but it brings me so much joy. i don't have a cat, and i don't think that i'll be getting one soon, so this is my outlet of being a crazy cat lady. in the game you have a back yard with space for food and cat toys. you leave the food out and cats come to you all on their own. when they leave they give you fish (which serve as money for more food and toys). the premise of the game is to have all the toys, all the food and all the cats! there are 53 cats, i think, they all have different tastes and needs. all you have to do is give them food and change your yard around once in a while. you can take photos of them and name each one differently if you want.

i know, it's kinda immature but let me have my adult fun. i never had a console, i wasn't very into sims (you know the drill, 4 days straight and then nothing for 4 months) so this is my tamagotchi in a phone. 

the game is free for ios and android, you can buy fish but it's not necessary, and it's just good fun.

~~~

meΔia meΔea

the last thing i want to talk about it media medea. this is a play being shown in the polish theatre in wroclaw. it's made by marcin liber and marzena sadocha. here is the info from the theatre site. 

my last couple of plays where very disappointing and since i haven't heard any praises of this play i wasn't expecting anything big. i went with one of my school friends, we were just curious really. but what a good decision that was! 

this is a very, very expressive play. there is a lot happening, there are about 4 stories happening at once, intertwining and connecting. each has two actors, medea and jazon. each touches on love, be it young, lost or burnt out. there is also some social commentary on refugees and the way we treat the history of things that are no longer there. there are pieces of betrayal, revenge, loss and being lost. i feel like every body can find something to relate to in this play, the stories of families, repeated archetypes, are universal. every character has a moment of realisation, a breaking point and it's very interesting to see those on stage, with a bang a lot of times.

the practical side of the play is really good too, the costumes are very modern and interesting but they don't take away from the action. same with the use of video clips. i don't know why but our theatre recently uses video in every single play, a lot of the times it doesn't make sense (cause it's a theatre right? live action things should be happening) but here it's quite well combined. the stage is a whole big space but it doesn't confuse the audience when difference scenes are happening. even the nudity is not very overused, which i feel like is an exception in modern plays (but that's a whole another post 'on nudity'). 

go if you want. just beware of quite a lot of smoke machine, and if you don't like cigarettes don't pick a seat in the front right. 

that would be it, it think. i'm sorry again, for not being here, forgive me.

~~~

sockabrate is really coming back, i'm just a total slacker. 

love you,

qofr

for your face and soul ~ february favourites

another month gone. 2016 is passing by quite fast for me, scary. but let's lighten up the mood instantly with some favourite products, that always cheers me up (you know those hours spent on youtube, looking up beauty gurus and trying to find a good enough reason to splurge on yet another red lipstick).

this month has been full of travels, i feel like a true adult, i have my own case and everything. my traveling hacks learnt from numerous times in london always come in handy, even with trains (pendolino is good stuff).

but here is some stuff i've been loving not only while traveling, although that changed my use of them.

~~~

magic cushion

ever since i became more interested in asian, korean especially, culture i've wanted to try cushion foundations. the girls there and in the west are all big fans since it's supposed to be super light yet longlasting and the formulas are usually very watery, moisturising. also... come on! it's such a fun application method!

the only thing that was not so great about those foundation was the fact that they were freaking impossible to find! i try to avoid buying products for my skin online, just because i'm so fair and pale that most of them are too dark or yellow, even if the photos say otherwise. in korea the trend is to be lighter then here so it probably should be fine but the shade ''light beige'' by etude house doesn't sound convincing to me.

but the patience paid off. the sephora brand came up with a cushion foundation probably like 2 months ago, it's available here for 79 zlotys, which is fine really for a bit of a higher end foundation. the colour range seems small at first but try it out, it fits both me and my mum and she's quite tan. of course i'm using the lightest 14 ''soft beige''.

the product comes in, surprise surprise, a cushion. when you open the compact you get a mirror and a small puff, the actual product is hidden inside the case. out the cushion on your three fingers and press it into the cushion. the trick is though not to press it hard, the product is there, believe me, you can always come back. once you have that just pat it into your beautiful face, starting from the center. don't rub, i know the urge, just pat. you don't need a lot in my experience, three pushes is more then enough for me.

the coverage is just what it says, very natural and delicate yet it unifies (is that the correct word?) the skin tone. the truly amazing thing though is the freaking lasting effect!

i touch myself a lot. ok, that came out wrong. i touch my face a lot during the day, like resting my chin on my hand and such. usually a bb cream doesn't last all day, i get just a tiny bit of colour on the cotton pad in the evening. but this! this is different! freaking all day running around the city and it didn't budge. set with just powder (which isn't a must really but i can get a bit oily in the t-zone) and it's amazing.

~~~~

mischievous grapefruit  

here i am being a bit of a bitch cause it's not available any more, but it's so good! l'occitane's ''pamplemousse-rhubarbe'' from their pierre herme collection. it was a limited edition during i think holiday time and i have the eau de toilette, shower gel and hand cream.

i'm not gonna go on about the actual gel or cream, you probably know l'occitane's products, if not, their hand creams have 20% shea butter and it's the bomb.

another thing is writing about the scent. i'm quite sensitive to smells but don't know the science at all. the things i found that can maybe tell you something:

top notes: rhubarb, grapefruit, lemon, cypress

heart notes: clove, nutmeg, lavender

base notes: cedar, vetiver

i don't really know if they are all here. what i can say though is that it smells citrusy, fresh with a bit of sweetness. it's a daytime perfume for sure, probably more summer appropriate but who cares. it's marketed unisex and i definitely agree, i would love a man to smell like that. the only downside is it's not so great lasting power. the gel and hand cream are good but the perfume itself i feel fades quite quickly. the one thing i found to be very good (i'm new to perfume so it's probably new only for me) is to spray it on your hair when it's almost dry, like one extra blow with the hairdryer. the smell doesn't overpower you and others really, subtle but i think that the rhubarb addition gives it a nice original touch.

i say that like you're gonna buy it or something. the only way i can think this information could be useful for you is if you want to know what i smell like. weird but now you know.

oh, and the mischievous part is a quote from the original description...

~~~

the only good thing about valentines

i feel like valentine's day is only fun for couples and since i'm not a part of one, it's not fun for me. but! a lot of shops and whatnot come out with special offers and things because of that and i'm sure you take advantage of that too. so now i'm willing to give up my already battered hipster card for your possible pleasure.

i love coffee, any pretty much. so when i noticed that starbucks here came out with new flavours i had to try. and what a good idea that was...

i've been obsessed with flower flavoured things for ages and rose, apart from the all mighty lavender, is my favourite. the starbucks coffee is rose and pistachio flavoured with pink whipped cream, wha?! cool, right? it's good, go try it, unless you're not a fan of starbucks which i get. 

~~~

tiny wonders

in january my favourites mostly included (or solely really) beauty products. in march i feel like i'm gonna have more of those cause i found a lot of new things to test, but in february it's mostly other stuff i liked. the last thing i really want to talk about but i'm not sure if i have enough info is an exhibition i saw in cracow. it's in my favourites cause among all the stuff and works i've seen this month this has been the best (and believe me, i've seen masterpieces).

this is a tiny exhibit by takayuki hara held in manggha (a japanese/asian arts centre) in cracow. the title is ''before we fall again'' and consists of around 30 works done in various techniques. most are drawings but there are also graphics and these crazy sculptures made from blown out egg shells.

his works are very intricate and detailed, he must have a crazy good pencil sharpener. or a mechanical pencil... duh... anyway. the works are centered around the darkness of falling/failing, the different stages of that, the changes we go through. it's also dedicated to the artist's uncle who passed away, which i think is saying a lot. the whole thing is showing the ideas of a man between his falls and the magical world in his head, i guess.

but the interpretation is to each his own, that's how i see it. the works are very valuable on an artistic level too, that's why it's one of my favourites this month. here are some of my faves in the collection:

innocence (detail)

blind embossing on paper

accumulator (detail)

graphite on paper

my friendly neighbour, jellyfish (detail)

watercolour, pen and ink on concertina book

this last cat is a part of this:

and this is absolutely magnificent

even the rooms were decorated with his characters

if you want to see this exhibit, it's on till 13th of march, the ticket is for the whole gallery for 20/15 zlotys.

~~~

hope you enjoyed that, i'm so proud of myself. 

this has been your monday dose of pure pleasure.

love,

qofr

p.s. sockabrate is coming back and coworking with new people is great.

treat yo self ~ january faves

i decided that this year i'm going to make monthly favourites posts. i like watching those videos on youtube and i feel like it's the most practical thing to do. i trust those recommendations and i hope you'll like mine. we can even share some finds!

since i'm kinda into beauty and more likely to use different products rather than buying new clothes, most of my favourites are from that category.

let's do skin care first:

~ mia 2 ~ clarisonic

wonderful massage for your face.

ok, maybe it's a bit tmi, but here i go. i don't have many skin problems, i don't really get pimples, if there are any they are under my fringe anyway and heal quite quickly, but i won't go into my questionable methods now. the thing about my face is that the t zone is super prone to blackheads, like i really can't get them out (okey, that is really kinda gross). i know there are the strips and some hardcore cleansers but i can't use those, my skin is really delicate, i can accidentally scratch myself and it's gonna be red for days, and it's the worst in the problem areas. so here i am, with a sephora coupon in my hand, getting the famous clarisonic with my mum. i was kinda sceptical but i'm really into trying new stuff so i used it the first night in early december and haven't stopped since. i mean i did stop that evening but continued... you know what i mean!
this is a quite basic model, it came with a normal head, charger and a travel case, oh and a facial wash but i use another one. the tool is really nice, it's light and has two speeds, and the best thing, it beeps! it says in the manual that you're supposed to use it for a minute, 20 sec on your forehead, 20 seconds on the nose and chin and 10 sec on each cheek. yeah sure, am i supposed to count that? no! it beeps when you need to switch! cool stuff, cool stuff.
the real thing though, it really helped me with the blackheads, especially on my forehead and chin. mechanical cleansing is the shizz. i use it with simple kind to skin moisturising facial wash, curtesy of zuza (thank you, thank you, thank you). it's exactly what it says, very delicate and simple. nothing fancy but that is just the thing i need.

~~~

~ ''wonderful dreams'' eyeshadow palette ~ sephora

wonderful dreams, on your eyelids for a change.

i'm not a a big eyeshadow fan, so this is really weird. since i kinda do makeup professionally, i know how many great things you can do with good shadows but i didn't really use them for my personal makeup (i wear glasses, big ones, so it would all just disappear behind them). the only thing i can say about shadows is that for a while i had my eye on the biggest palette ever, naked 1,2,3 from urban decay. it came to my sephora, i tested the pigment and it sucks! like come on! i can only imagine that beginners like them cause it's safer for building up on the lid! but if i'm gonna pay in gold for shadows, they better be gold. but sephora brand came to the rescue, rather genius of them tbh. they made a couple of simple palettes with colours like the naked series and the two chocolate creations from too faced, for a fraction of the price. i know the brand name is not there but the shadows! as you can see, they are super pigmented and easy to blend. there is a nice mix of satin, glittery and matte ones, and i love them even though i'm usually not a neutrals girl. i haven't experienced any fallout or creasing, which is a problem for me sometimes (hooded, deep set eyes). the colours have such nice names too!

in the palette order

~~~

~ ''flushed'' blush ~ sleek

i'm healthy looking, kind of.

i'm difficult with blush. since i'm ghostly white and naturally have a rosy undertone, lots of blushes make me look either like a doll or like i have a severe fever. but this one, i think looks great. it's almost matte and looks quite scary in the tin. fortunately, if you just swipe it once it leaves not a lot of colour and loses a bit of darkness so on the cheek it's quite lovely. for me it's great for winter sun cause with a bit of a warmer colour i would look green. oh, and it matches my scarf quite nicely, so that's a bonus.

~~~

~ ''island hopping'' nail polish ~ essie

                           and

~ ''bloom boost'' nail treatment ~ ciate

boring but great combo.

i love doing my nails, it relaxes me, i can watch scooby doo and i can do it however i like it, i'm really weird at the nail salon. since i have them painted most of the time, i try to use some good stuff under the polish to make them nice and strong. and the nail treatment does just that. i got it in my advent calendar as a mini and i'm really considering buying a full size bottle (btw, the ciate calendar was sooooo good! buy it in december and thank me). and the nail polish... i'm usually a blue girl, i have like every drugstore light blue/lilac available. then why the rosy, dusty grandma colour (the real colour is the one on my nails in the photo, i am not a photographer...)? i don't know. but it looks so nice! and is really good quality, to be fair, a week without chipping for me (and i wash my hands quite a lot). if you're not blown away by the pink, just let me recommend you essie polishes in general, they are a lot of colours, two coats are opaque and they dry quite fast.

~~~

ok, that's it i think. i don't know if that's how those favourites are done, i hope i did a good job. let me know if you want to see more, or suggest other categories. starting march or even february, i'll put up favourites as an additional post, not on mondays, but today that's gonna be it.

this has been your monday dose of love for inanimate objects.

love,

qofr

p.s. i know that these photos aren't really good. i had to retouch the lighting cause i'm stupid enough to wait till evening. i'm sadly not a photographer and macro is not my best genre but if you would like to see some better photos, of the shadows perhaps, let me know.