my first homemade lip balm!

Lately I've been reading a lot about homemade beauty products and decided to start from the easiest recipe...lip balm!
I've been looking here and there for recipes and in the end adapted a bit what I found around, mostly trying not to buy a hundred ingredients but trying to make the most out of what I had already.
this is the recipe I used:

- 1 1/2 teaspoon of beeswax
- 2 teaspoons cocoa butter
- 3 teaspoons coconut oil
- 2 1/2 spoons of honey
- a few drops of vanilla flavour (for cakes)

I already had cononut oil, honey and vanilla flavour at home so I only bought the wax and the cocoa butter on ebay. it was extremely cheap and they will last for so many lip balms... I think at least 50 if only use them for lip balms.
the recipe said I had to wait for one day before I could check if the balm was ready, but mine actually was ready after less than one hour....maybe I did something wrong? anyway, the balm is amazing, it has a lovely smell of honey (you don't really taste vanilla, it's just slightly sweet and lost a bit the wax aroma).
I think I am going to refill every old lip balm tube that I finished! the balm is really creamy so I think I will go through it like crazy, I love applying it!

Project 10 Pan failed :((((

I just managed to finish the fifth item from Project 10 Pan (a melon lipbalm from LaVita) when my local drugstore put almost all the items by Essence at 50% discount AND they made a 3x2 offer....
the result? I spent around 20€ and I came back home with:
- 5 quad eyeshadows
- 1 nailpolish
- 1 powder
- 1 blush
- 4 mono eyeshadow
- 2 mascaras (as if I needed more...)
- 4 lipsticks
- 2 pencil lipbalms

for the first time in my life someone told me: please, you have to choose one more makeup item! it's for free...you HAVE TO!
to make matters worse, after that I placed a BIG eyeko order...
so, Project 10 Pan should start from the beginning again!
I am terrible!!!!!!

my summer favourites

some products I (re)discovered and I am using almost daily....

from top to bottom:

eyeko 3 in 1 cream (I absolutely love this!)

essence mono eyeshadow, col. 07 "love talk" (lovely color for a natural look)

liquid smackers, strawberry (rediscovered this in my beautycase, so yummy and nice on lips!)

eyeko, vintage polish (nothing to say about this, I guess...)

essence eye color booster mascara, col. 02 showtime (the color is not that visible but the mascara gives lenght and definition, and makes eyes appear brighter!)

essence pen eyeliner, collection "return to paradise", 01 jungle drum (also one of my daily additions, with Love Talk, lovely color and great lasting!!)

essence long lasting eye pencil, col. 10 almost famous (peachy color which makes eyes super bright!)

kruidvat pure and natural for sensitive skin, cleansing lotion and day cream (I just discovered that Kruidvat, my local drugstore, just released a whole range of natural products, with certified quality. it feels so comfortable on the skin, and smells fresh and natural! love it!)

and a couple of details....

we all know this little lovely thing....but I recently rediscovered it especially as an eyeshadow base, and it's becoming my daily base for makeup. it just works! the eyeshadow stays in place until night, and the cream gives to every eyeshadow a nice extra shimmer. I also use it everyday on my cheekbones for some nice glow. there is a LOT of product in there, though! so I think it will last really long.

the second detail is from the eyeshadow. I love this color! this is my everyday look when I do not have anything special to do and I want a natural - almost invisible but still super healthy and glow look.

updates about me

for some reason, I find it easier to make new year's resolutions in august rather than in january. that's why I started a whole new kind of life lately. first of all I am changing a bit my eating habits and eating healthier food. since I moved to the Netherlands I started eating really bad (lots of snacks for example...) because I was moving a lot going by bike and this avoided me to gain weight... BUT last winter was so long and cold that I didn't have as many chances to go by bike as last year, and unfortunately I gained some weight (my metabolism sucks). second, I started excercising at home in the morning. it's so good when your muscles hurt in places that you had no clue it could hurt! hopefully this will give me new inputs to start autumn with more energies and fun. oh! and today I had my first green monster, thanks to Becky (beckyeyes.blogspot.com) and it just tasted delicious. thanks!!!!

per qualche strano motivo mi viene più semplice formulare buoni propositi del nuovo anno in agosto invece che a gennaio. per questo motivo ho cominciato con un nuovo stile di vita ultimamente. come prima cosa sto cercando di cambiare abitudini alimentari e mangiare più sano. da quando mi sono trasferita in Olanda ho iniziato a mangiare parecchio male (sopratutto un sacco di snack ...) con la scusa che mi muovevo tantissimo in bici e quindi bruciavo tutto quello che mangiavo. ma lo scorso inverno è stato così freddo e lungo che non ho avuto modo di muovermi e così sono ingrassata (il mio metabolismo fa schifo!) come seconda cosa, ho iniziato a fare esercizio a casa il mattino. è bellissimo quando ti fanno male i muscoli in punti che non sapevi nemmeno esistessero! speriamo che questo mi dia nuovi input per iniziare l'autunno con più energia e divertimento. ah! dimenticavo! oggi mi sono preparata il mio primo green monster, grazie a Becky (beckyeyes.blogspot.com), ed è veramente delizioso!! grazie!!!

favourite lip product - summer 2010

some weeks ago I came across a review of this lipglosses by Essence and decided to give them a try. they used to be in one of the special collections (Fashionista I think) but then they became part of the regular range of Essence products.
I am not really a lipgloss girl, I am more into lipbalms, but they looked so great that I decided to purchase them anyway (and my local drugstore had a 3x2 offer on Essence...this was just a SIGN!!)
I could not decide between the colors so I purchased 3 pieces, and I am SO happy I did!!!
here they are:

I just LOVE THEM! ok, the volume is not really anything to write home about, but I have to say I don't need volume so that's just perfect for me. the colors are quite subtle as you see, just a hint.
the yellow looks actually a bit golden on lips, but they just give tons of gloss + a little hint of color.
the smell is yummy! the yellow one is some sort of lemon/pineapple/tropical/fresh smell. the pink one is bubblegum, and the orange is fruity. Plus, they contain menthol so the smell is mixed with some superfresh minty smell. they feel relly fresh on lips and the last is pretty good.
Price: 1.99€ (in the NL - might be slightly higher or lower in other countries)
basically I payed 3.98€ to have three of them!! yay! love them so much I could consider buying more to keep in storage...as soon as Project10Pan is over.


alcune settimane fa mi sono imbattuta nella review di questi gloss di Essence e ho deciso di provarli. erano inizialmente in una delle collezioni speciali di Essence (Fashionista mi pare!) ma poi sono diventati parte dell'assortimento dei prodotti di Essence disponibili tutto l'anno. Non sono proprio il tipo da gloss, preferisco decisamente i burrocacao, ma erano così belli che ho deciso di prenderli in ogni caso...e in più il mio drugstore aveva un'offerta in corso, con tutti i prodotti Essence in 3x2! L'ho interpretato come un segno! Non riuscivo a decidermi tra i vari colori così ne ho presi tre e sono davvero felice di averlo fatto! LI AMO! ok, il volume non è davvero nulla di speciale. ma devo ammettere che non avendo bisogno di volume, la cosa per me è in realtà un punto a favore. I colori sono appena percettibili. il giallo in realtà sembra dorato sulle labbra e in ogni caso questi gloss donano alle labbra un aspetto molto lucido e un velo di colore appena accennato. il profumo è meraviglioso!!! il giallo è una specie di profumo limonoso/ananas/tropical fresco che non so come descrivere. il rosa sa di bubblegum e l'arancio è un mix di frutti. In più, contengono mentolo quindi il profumo è mixato con il fresco della menta. l'effetto sulle labbra è molto fresco e la durata è abbastanza buona.
Prezzo: 1.99€ (in Olanda, quindi potrebbe essere un po' di più o un po' di meno in altri paesi)
in pratica io ho pagato 3.98€ per averli tutti e tre!! Potrei anche considerare di comprarne qualcun altro da tenere in "dispensa", appena avrò finito il Project10Pan.

Similar Addiction Giveaway

Almost too beautiful to be true!!!!

This is the giveaway by Similar Addiction: http://similaraddiction.blogspot.com/2010/07/similar-addiction-100-followers.html

go check it out!!

Project 10 Pan -6 !!!

First update about my Project 10PAN - so I can throw away/reuse the packagings immediately :)

First 4 products gone!
The bottle is from a Cleansing Milk + Toner from Yves Rocher. It's super fresh and I love to use it before I go to sleep because it leaves my skin really clean and healty. I liked it a lot, I just forgot it a bit because I bought new stuff, but I would definetly repurchase it.
Leocrema LipBalm in Milk+Mint: not so mosturizing unfortunately, but super fresh and minty on lips! I just loved applying and re-applying because of the lovely effect, but so far I did not notice any improvement of my lips
Yves Rocher Almond LipBalm: I love these lipbalms by YR! I have lots of them in all the flavours, but probably the almond is my favourite. really rich, super mosturizing and lasts really long. makes my lips feel soft and nice even in winter and with a lot of wind! I'll definetly buy more and more!!
Catrice All Around Concealer Beige: this concealers' palette is lovely and really creamy. they have a good coverage and pretty good last. it's a pity that of course you don't really use all of them. now I am trying to mix the light and the darker color to keep using them. the palette also has a pink and a green.
So, this is what I have done so far!!




Ecco i primi 4 prodotti finiti! (faccio subito la foto così posso gettare/riutilizzare i packaging)
La bottiglia viene da un Latte+Tonico di Yves Rocher. E' super fresco, e adoro usarlo la sera prima di andare a dormire. Lascia la pelle molto pulita e sana. Mi piace moltissimo, avevo solo dimenticato di averlo perchè ho comprato cose nuove, ma lo ricomprerei decisamente! 
Burrocacao Leocrema al LatteMenta: non particolarmente idratante purtroppo, ma molto fresco e "mentoso" sulle labbra! Mi piace molto applicarlo e ri-applicarlo per la sensazione fresca sulle labbra, ma non ho notato alcun miglioramento a livello di idratazione....
Burrocacao Yves Rocher alle mandorle: adoro questi burrocacao di YR! Ne ho tantissimi in tutte le profumazioni, ma probabilmente quello alle mandorle è il mio preferito. molto ricco, super idratante e con una buona durata! Le mie labbra sono morbide e idratate anche d'inverno e con tanto vento. Lo comprerò decisamente di nuovo.
Correttore Catrice All Around: questa palette di correttori è molto buona, i correttori sono cremosi, con una buona copertura e durata. è un peccato che ovviamente non si riescano ad usare tutti i colori, ora sto cercando di mischiare quello più chiaro e quello scuro per continuare ad usarli. ci sono anche un verde e un rosa in questa palette.
Ecco, questo è quello che sono riuscita a fare fino ad ora, come dicevo nel post precedente partivo avvantaggiata perchè tutte queste cose erano quasi finite, ora sarà dura con le altre 6!!