Treat Me Thursday

Hello my Beauties,

this is one of those days, where you simply know, you need a little treat to cheer yourself up, because so much went wrong…
I’m not talking about a huge shopping spread here, but a tiny little mini haul, that can instantly put a smile on your face.

Ok this technic might not be the best pedagogical move, but believe me, when you have to change 4 times the subway line and then somehow manage to take the wrong train (in between of 2 cities), that brings you to a “no name village” and you need about 3 hours to get back to your actual destination…you do deserve a little treat! 

So after a long day with a  million of tasks i decided to stop by my big local drugstore and get something, that i was having an eye on for a while (and just a few other things).
Any idea what my “center piece” was, that i was having an eye on for a few weeks now?

That’s right – it’s the Astor Soft Sensation Lipcolor Butter, that is really similar to the already so famous Chubby Sticks by Clinique.
I picked the soft pink color in “010 Pink Lady”.
“Astor Soft Sensation Lipcolor Butter is my quick and easy way to perfectly polished lips. I love how the slanted tip gives the precision of a liner for lip definition.
And because the color melts onto lips, I can achieve a brilliantly even finish every time.” – Heidi Klum

The idea behind the product is basically the same as with Clinique. It’s a moisturizing lip balm with different kind of opacity. The lighter colors are more sheer, than the darker ones.

Don’t you think the packaging looks really similar to the Chubby Sticks?! You can also twist the bottom to have access to more product. The difference is that the stick itself is not round, but angular, which remind more of the usual lipstick and makes the application easier in my eyes. I can’t wait to go wild with this lipcolor butter. (Will it have the texture of the Revlon Lip Butters?)
Besides the Astor Soft Sensation Lipcolor Butter cost only 5,85 €  if you compare them to the Clinique Chubby Sticks, which retail for about 20€ – that’s not bad at all.
In case you wonder – did she buy a nail polish too? Technically i didn’t. (The usual price of these nail polishes is 4,85€).
But the drugstore had a cool promotion going on. With every Lipcolor Butter you could pick a nail polish from their perfect stay line. Well – i thought i would go pink all the way! This is the 202 Pink With Envy.
They suppose to have a gel shine formula and stay on my nails up to 10 days. So why not!

As you can see, i couldn’t pass by a bar of chocolate with crispies inside and just not get one. 😉 I love a good crunch when it comes to chocolate!
And also to finish of a relaxing evening, i treated myself to a nice paper face mask with algae extract by Balea. If you remember me talking about different kind of face treatments in my last Sunday Read, you know how much i love this kind of relaxation.

So i hope this all will help me to feel refreshed and ready to have a relaxing night.

What are your latest “treat me” – goodies, my Beauties?
Share your little secrets with me.

Until next time – stay beautiful.

ps: Don’t forget to enter my current Avene Giveaway.

Super Sweet Blogging Award

Hello my Beauties,

have are you doing today?? 

I’m pretty well and in best mood, since i’ve been nominated by The Oxford Owl for the Super Sweet Blogging Award.
About a half year ago the lovely Mademoiselle Snow nominated me for this award as well and now i feel the need to say thank you and do this post the proper way. 🙂
Thank you very much dear bloggers for thinking of me and supporting my blog, i really appreciate that!! 

For the Super Sweet Blogging Award, you have to:

1. Thank the Super Sweet Blogger who nominated you.
2. Answer 5 Super Sweet Questions.
3. Include the Super Sweet Blogging Award image in your blog post.
4. Nominate a baker’s dozen (5) other bloggers.
5. Notify the nominees of their nomination on their blog.

The 5 Super Sweet Questions:

1. Cookies or Cake? Ok you know, this is kind of hard to decide, since i like both…nothing beats mom’s freshly baked apple & raisins cake, but when i see a double cookie filled with chocolate, i have to have it! 🙂 (So can i please just have both?!)
2. Chocolate or Vanilla? Sorry, vanilla lovers out there – but for me it’s a no – go. Chocolate forever!!
You see, even my cake is nuts for chocolate…;)
3. Favorite Sweet Treat? I just recently told you about my affection for crepe. That’s something i could eat every day.
But i want a little something for on the go, i will pick jelly beans.
I just recently discovered there are coffee flavored ones…omg so delicious!
4. When do you crave sweet things the most? Probably as almost every other woman during the evening, after dinner. I feel like my dinner has to end on a sweet note. It doesn’t always have to be a full dessert, maybe just a piece of chocolate, but i simply need that! Do you know that feeling?
5. Sweet Nickname? Ok don’t laugh, but i had a few people call me Ms.Coffee back in the day’s, because – well you can guess it, i was drinking so much coffee every day. Now i only have about two cups in the morning and switch to tea later the day.
I mean someone who is that tired ( see picture above )  after a shopping spread, simply needs a good cup of coffee, right? 😉

I nominate:

Sweet Jelly Bean

All That Slap

The charmed Cupcake

Glitter mama wishes

LatinoLook

Thanks again for this sweet award!
Until next time – stay beautiful!!

ps: Here is another award post, where i covered a few other ones and talked about great bloggers. 
Sisterhood of the World Blogger’s Award

MAY PHOTO A DAY CHALLENGE – Day 4 (FMSphotoaday – In My Cup)

Hello my Beauties,

happy weekend to you.
Hope it’s an especially warm and sunny day where you live, so you can enjoy a cup of coffee or tea somewhere outside. 

Speaking of a cup – we are coming along pretty well so far in this photo challenge, don’t you think? I’ve seen a few pretty great photo’s, that some of you have been taking these days. 
Today’s task would be to share a photo under the theme of: “In My Cup”.
I’ve been thinking about different things, that i use my cup for, like the obvious ones – tea & coffee, but also soups from those especially big cups or layered desserts. 

I’m going to share with you one of my favorite ideas of what just had to be in a cup. 
Ok i know, this is actually more than one particular photo, it’s more of a photo collage, but i really wanted you to have a good overview on what’s inside the cup.

On the left you have some of the most delicious freshly made mixed chocolate from the store Fassbender & Rausch, which makes amazing chocolate truffles and candies! The chocolate i have at the moment comes with ginger and red pepper.
I like it, when it’s a bit different. 

And on the right in my beautiful birch cup is the fresh Jasmine Dragon Pearls green tea from the Teavana store, that comes in form of those little balls and open up when you pour hot watter in.
A little bit goes a long way, you only need a few of them, to get a really great flavor. 
A friend of mine sent me this great tea to enjoy, since i’m a well known tea drinker.

What is in Your cup these days? Please share it with me.
Don’t forget to use the hash tag: #FMSphotoaday on Twitter so others can see your photos as well.

Until next time – stay beautiful.

♥ Twinkle Thursday ♥

Hello my Beauties!

Now that the season of storms, heavy rains & snow has come, we tend to stop by nicely decorated gifts stores to brighten up out days. Am I right?!

I was reading sweetjellybean’s Monday Retail Theraphy  post the other day and it made me think of all those times, when we simply need a cheer up by doing some window shopping or a coffee-house stop and a good book.
And as i looked outside of my window today and realized i would need Noah’s Ark to even cross the street – that heavy of a rain is coming down on us, there was no better solution than a little twinkle thursday at a sparkling gift shop.
And to answer your question sweetjellybean: “… I’m not sure if going in and taking pics for your blog is considered window shopping, would you?” – on a day like this – YES, that’s exactly the window shopping i had in mind.
I wanted some star dust sprinkles over this rainy & cold thursday and the result was – i was smiling big times afterwards! 

You can definitely tell Christmas is around the corner. All the gift & goody shops are already covered in fake snow, mistletoes, pinecones and chocolate fondue. I like to wander around and get some stocking stuffer gift ideas.
Let’s go, i take you for a walk 😉

I found those adorable looking  cupcake, santa and christmas tree ceramic candy can’s, that can be definitely used to store your brushes, lipglosses or the perfume samples. Besides they are such a sweet decoration for every makeup corner during this time of the year. Don’t you think?
Cupcake theme seems to be everywhere this season, even lipgloss comes in that packaging. really cute stuff.
Of course it smells like sweet candy. And it’s going to be nice as a topping for a holiday gift. Instead if a bow, you know! 
The other outstanding guiding theme that i noticed: snowmen.
Anywhere and everywhere. From traditional to modern version. Snowmen for every taste! Are they a kind of decoration that you like to put on your table, window or makeup corner?
When i saw the santa cups i had a few very fun ideas how to make little Christmas gifts. You know, the easy way of making a friend smile. Just get a holiday cup, fill it with some fun candy and put a few “center pieces” inside, depending whats the taste of the friend is. Like eye liners or mascara if it’s a beauty junky, tickets for a movie or another kind of gift card. Wrap it all in a nice see through paper, add some ribbons and there you go! Of course filling the cup with spicy tea or a great coffee blend is never wrong too!
Other really sweet goodies, that i often find during winter time in these gifts shops are chocolate fondue. Aways a party favorite and even a fondue for one can be a nice “let’s share a moment” thing. Have you tried one of those?
And of course a little baking book, that looks like a Nutella jar. (How adorable is that?) I’ve found so many delicious recipes in there, that it instantly made me want to bake.
Probably one of my very favorite things that i found today were the jewelry trees and wire frame dresses to fit a lot of your favorite earrings and necklaces. If you like a great way to show case your collection, this is the creative statement for sure. Seriously thinking about getting one for myself.
Tell me which one do you like the best and why? What style is your dresser & makeup corner?
So what’s your favorite goodie store and where do you prefer spending a cold & rainy (snowy?!) day like this?
Share your story with me!! I’d like to hear from you. Thanks for window shopping with me, my Beauties!

♥ Non – Cosmetic – Goodies ♥

Hello my Beauties!

As some of you remember i recently came back from my vacation in NYC, which was really impressive and interesting. Besides the makeup goodies, i also got some other nice things that are related to Big Apple in my understanding and i thought it would be fun reading about that.  

After watching and loving all the 94 episodes and 6 season of Sex and the City and now going to Barnes & Noble bookstore in New York for the first time, you can only imagine how i felt. So even more obvious was that i had to get a book or two while being there.
I think not one of you is going to be surprised if tell you, what books i got.
The Carrie Diaries & Summer and the City by Candace Bushnell.

To me it was part of my very own NYC experience and i can’t wait to start reading them.

Also, while visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art i discovered that beautiful book made by Marcia Reiss, that shows an unusual historic perspective, comparing scenes of today and of the past century. All that in black and white. As i’m a big lover of historic photography i just had to get it.

One of the most wonderful stops in NYC for me was the brunch at the famous Café Lalo, a special place for all out of towners, with small wooden chairs, many little lights, a bohemian-esque feel and really sweet service. (And yes, it’s the setting from You’ve Got Mail where Meg Ryan waits for Tom Hanks.) Of course you are also surrounded by so many different delicious desserts, that you just have no clue what to get (just because you want it all). But back to the actual brunch. I ordered the Italian Breakfast – Steamed eggs with goat cheese, tomato, oregano & fresh basil. And you know what? It was really really good. The bread was warm and the salad dressing just to the point! I would def order that one all over again if i had the chance.

As i’m a big postcard lover, i decided to get a nice Café Lalo card to remember my visit. And isn’t it lovely? I like that design so much.

Everywhere i go, i like picking up a few local sweets. It’s like tasting the flavour of the country, if that makes sense. So i got some chocolate and cookies.

And because i not only like chocolate, but also healthy organic gluten-free snacks full of antioxidants and fiber i also picked up different Pure organic bar’s. They are pretty good on the go, i’ve tried some of them already.
Have you ever?

The last thing in this non cosmetic haul would be something i didn’t purchase myself, but was sent along other things by a dear friend MyCupcakeMafia for my birthday. A cute groovy Halloween inspired handmade mini bag and a delicious Orange Pell in Dark Chocolate bar. You know that kind of chocolate bar where you have a poem or a sweet saying inside the wrapping paper. I love that, it’s such a nice detail. Don’t you think?

This upcoming weekend is going to be the right time to sit back, have a cup of tea, have some of the Pure bar’s and start reading my books. 🙂

What have been your non cosmetic buy’s lately? Tell me your story.