What I'm wearing - four and a half years anniversary

Hi babes,

On the first of October me and Anais celebrated our four and a half years anniversary. 

We went for dinner and for once in the past month I wore anything other than scrubs because I was still interning. 

You can imagine I was quite pleased to take the time to get ready, dress nicely and put on my make up.

What I'm wearing
Zara dress
Bershka trench coat
Scapa heeled sandals

Mac studio waterweight foundation in NC20
Estee Lauder liquid lip potion in Strange Bloom

I hope you liked this short blogpost.
Goodbyeeee 

DUPES - MAC edge to edge lipliner vs Catrice that's what rose wood do lipliner

Hi babes,

How are you doing? Everytime I make a blogpost promising to blog more often life gets in the way and I end up not blogging at all. So here we are it's been another month but let's try this again. I case I need to re-introduce myself; 'Hi I'm Nikki-The-One-That-Makes-Promises-She-Can't-Keep. Nice to meet you.' 

Today I'm doing something I haven't ever done before and that's write about dupes. I've never come across a very good dupe in my collection but I while  ago I found a great one, one that I haven't heard anyone talking about.

I'm comparing MAC Edge to edge lipliner to Catrice That's what rose wood do longlasting lipliner. (let's ignore I wrote the name wrong in the photo's, very professional I know). The colour can best be described as a pink with a slight mauve undertone. Depending on the light it can come across a bit more pink/peach but there definitely can be a mauve undertone. It's that wonderful kind of nude that doesn't wash you out. It still gives a bit of colour instead of looking like concealer lips.

When you compare them you'll see they're the same in colour but the Catrice lipliner is a bit softer in texture, that's why writing with this one came out so much thicker. They are both pretty longlasting but once you've eaten they're gone, sadly. 

On the swatches below you can see there's barely any difference. I reach for both products which makes me conclude I can't feel much difference.  MAC is the left picture and Catrice on the right.

The MAC one is a bit longer so it contains more product but that still doesn't mean it's worth its 15€ pricetag compared to the 1,99€ pricetag of an equally good product. 

If you've found any other drugstore dupes please let me know in the comments below.

Goodbyeeee

-Nikki

Working with natural light turned out a bit harder than usual today, the colour doesn't seem to be the same in any of the pictures but the colour on the lipswatches is the most accurate.

Empties round up #6

Hi babes,

There is this thing that's only acceptable amongst beautybloggers. Already guessed what it is? Yes you're right. We're discussing my empties. In case you're still like 'huh? What does she mean?!' I've kept my empty beautyproducts to review for you. YES YOU. The things I do for you... (My mother still asks on a weekly basis if she can please throw it away) Today I'll tell which of these products I would repurchase and why. Let's get started!

The rules

1. We start of with the name of the products of course.

2. We discuss it's status : Repurchase Right Away / Maybe Someday / Nope Nope Nope

3. Reasoning

4. This is a rule for you. Grab a cup of coffee or any other drink because this is going to be a long one.

Bourjois Wake Me Up shower gel - Maybe Someday 

Why? It smells really nice, fresh and fruity. It really does wake you up.

Bourjois Undress Me shower gel - Maybe Someday

Why? I have loved this one for years and will repurchase it someday but I want to explore different scents. This shower gel smells sexy and lingers.

L'oreal #TXT07 texturising spray - Maybe Someday

Why? It smells nice, adds lots of volume but my hair doesn't stay voluminous for long. I'm trying a new one right now but I think I'll repurchase this after this new one, try it again and hairspray it afterwards.

Batiste XXL volume dryshampoo - Repurchase Right Away

Why? It cleanses the hair, smells nice, does not make feel like I can't breath after spraying and it keeps the hair voluminous for long. It does sometimes make your hair sticky and tacky if you spray it from too close or too much.

Got2Be Beach Babe seasalt spray - Repurchase Right Away

Why? It's a great and cheap seasalt spray.

Kruidvat volume lift dryshampoo - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It doesn't do much for my hair and it takes my breath away in the bad way. After spraying I felt like suffocating and needed to run out of the room to breath.

Dove Wintercare showercream - Maybe Someday

Why? It smells delicious and moisturised my skin but it's a limited edition from 2 winters ago.

Hema Mild Nailpolish Remover - Repurchase Right Away

Why? It takes of your nailpolish and smells like cherries instead of that bad nailpolish remover scent.

Rexona Maximum Protection (purple, pink and green) - Repurchase Right Away

Why? It's a great deodorant but I've used it for so long that I've associated the pink and purple scent with my sweaty smell so now I'll only repurchase the green one or other ones I haven't tried yet.

Nivea micellair water - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It's not as good as the other drugstore micellair waters, it's a smaller bottle and it's more expensive. I prefer the Garnier one.

La Roche Posay micellair water - Repurchase Right Away

Why? This one has a permanent place at my girlfriends home. The packaging is small so it doesn't take up much space in her toiletry bag. The product is great and for some reason I just love it.

Corine de Farme Micellair water - Maybe Someday

Why? Let's just say I love the pump. This is my favorite after the Garnier one. The bottle is massive, it lasts forever and has a great pricepoint.

Shiseido benefiance Balancing Softener - Nope Nope Nope

Why? I was just using it up because nobody else in my home did. I don't even know what it does or saw a massive difference in my skin. I didn't purchase it in the first place and wouldn't buy it again.

Kruidvat cleansing pads - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It didn't take my make up off, hurted my eyes and sadly it just wasn't any good. Lazy me is very disappointed. 

Garnier Hydra-adapt normal to combination skin - Nope Nope Nope

Why? As you can read here I have dry skin and this just wouldn't be right for my skin. I liked the texture and smell though.

The Bodyshop vitamine E Aqua Boost Sorbet - Repurchase Right Away

Why? I love how cooling and fresh it feels on my skin. It sinks in quickly and does feel really moisturising.

Clarins Superrestorative daycream - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It didn't wow me and would be a little bit too expensive.

The Bodyshop seaweed mattifying daycream - Nope Nope Nope

Why? I loved this, it mattifies and sinks in quickly but in the long run it wouldn't benefit my dry skin considering this is from the combination skinline from The Bodyshop.

The Bodyshop seaweed clarifying night treatment - Nope Nope Nope

Why? Same reason, it wouldn't benefit my dry skin.

Physicians Formula Organic Wear mascara - Maybe Someday

Why? It was so voluminising but dried out really quickly. For right now I'm loving the L'oreal Miss Manga mascara.

Hema Volume mascara - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It really didn't do anything for my lashes.

Kiehls Marvelous Mineral mascara - Nope Nope Nope

Why? I found an old back up of this mascara. I loved it. It was my favorite mascara in high school but unfortunately it's discontinued.

Essence Get Big Lashes mascara - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It didn't do anything, was flaky and smudged.

Catrice light reflecting concealer - Maybe Someday

Why? I liked the product but I'm trying a different concealer right now.

Essence Superfine Eyeliner - Nope Nope Nope

Why? This liner stained my eyelid blue, it's just to scary to keep using. I don't want to have a blue line around my eyes forever!!!

Essence I love Punk jumbo liner - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It was more grey than black and I need my eyeliner to be black!!

Primark felt tip eyeliner - Nope Nope Nope

Why? It just wasn't great, not really black, not really longwearing.

There weren't so many absolute great products in this empties roundup but I try to use my products up anyways. I mean I did pay for them so I should use them up, otherwise my mother would be right when she says I throw my money away and we can't have that ;)

As a disclaimer I also want to say that just because I don't like it or it just doesn't work for me doesn't mean that it won't work for you. My fails could possibly be your holy grail product. Do your research and if you think you'll like it, try it for yourself.

Goodbyeeee

- Nikki

What I Bought - Lush & The Bodyshop

Hi babes,

Yesterday I went shopping in Maastricht. I bought mainly skincare bits, if you're interested I'll show them below and add some context and information about the products. 

I went to Lush and The Bodyshop. I adore both of these shops, I always have the best experience. The sales assistants are always prepared to help and give plenty of information. The lady in The Bodyshop even gave me a skintest which made it easier to choose the right product. It sounds so obvious but nobody ever offered me one and I thought I had normal skin and could use about everything, turns out my skin is dry. I knew I had dry skin in Winter but in Summer? That was a surprise. Luckily I was already shopping in the right range but that was a happy accident. I just bought what was new and popular. 

I repurchased my summer moisturiser which is the vitamin E aqua boost sorbet. This is genuinely the nicest moisturiser. It sinks in so quickly and feels very light on the skin whilst still giving a lot of hydration. I also purchased the drops of youth eye concentrate. It feels so nice and cooling underneath the eyes. I'll have to update you on whether it's still good for my skin in Winter because I do get really dry undereyes. For Summer it's certainly the best thing ever. I also got the peppermint cooling foot spray as a freebie from the lovely people at The Bodyshop. It isn't something I would purchase but now that I've tried it... It definitely felt great to spray on my feet after a long shopping day. I guess it's up to you if you would be interested in this sort of thing.

I first became interested in Lush for it's bathboms but recently I've looked into the brand some more and they have lots of great other products. I especially wanted to try the Superbalm. This is a balm you work into your scalp (only using tiny amounts because it contains a lot of oils) let it sink in for 20 minutes and wash out afterwards. It's meant for people who suffer from eczema or psoriasis (which I do suffer from). So I decided to try this because the products my dermatologists had recommended didn't do anything. Why not try something natural instead? I also purchased the Seanik shampoo bar. The shampoo bars are told to last as long as 3 250ml bottles of shampoo which is better for your purse and the environment. I got the Seanik bar which will hopefully make my hair voluminous due to the seasalt. Anais got the Jumping Juniper shampoo bar (the purple one) for greasy hair. I will probably steal this away from her multiple times that's why I included it in this haul. Last but not least I stayed in the blue theme by buying the Big Blue bath bomb. It's impossible to leave a Lush store without buying a bathbomb, let's face it. As a freebie I got the Prince shaving cream.

Goodbyeeee

- Nikki 

What I wore - Wedding edition

Hi babes,

Ah summer, the ultimate weddingseason. The best part? I got to go to the first wedding within my friendsgroup. Last weekend my sister-in-law and her girlfriend, Melanie got Married. Hooray! When they went to get their wedding pictures taken I obviously wanted my own. They got their pictures taken in the most beautiful private parc. You really need to see this for yourself.

What I Wore

                           Dress - Zara

                         Sandals - H&M

Goodbyeeee

- Nikki

What I wore - Crop tops and midi skirts

 Hi lovelies,

Today is the first time I felt like blogging in almost half a year. Lately I just wasn't feeling it. During the previous months I used the excuse that I was just so busy with school and I really didn't have the time and although that's true... It's not the whole truth because I was bored with blogging. It felt like a chore instead of the thing that I used to love. At the end of April I tried to do a shoot for outfit pictures. I call it 'shoot' but technically I just kept asking my girlfriend to take pictures until she was sick of me asking. These are the pictures that made the cut.

 As I mentioned these were taken at the end of April and only now I'm finding the courage to even begin writing something surrounding these photographs. There is only so much you can say about clothes so I'll keep the outfit information short and use this blogpost as a life update.

 What I Wore 

                         Crop top - New Look

                Floral midi skirt - New Look

                       High heels - Asos

                              Bag - Zara

What else can I tell you besides the fact that I really didn't want to blog?

The past few months I was quite busy with school. From the taking classing till interning and taking exams, it was quite hectic. For the first time in years I passed every single subject and got fantastic grades so I'm quite proud. I can finally go on to my last year of nursing school. I honestly thought that I would never get there as I have been studying and failing for this long.

Since the start of summerbreak I've been focusing on doing a lot more things with my new found free time. 'So much room for aktivities'. Besides working I took a trip to the beach... twice. I had a great time both weekends. I went for walks with friends, went out for food and drinks, went shopping (way to much shopping, trust me). I felt like I didn't make the most of my free time as I'm always watching shows in bed. Now that I'm getting out of the house more I feel more content with my life. It isn't always the biggest thing that I'm trying to do, it can be just going for a walk with the dogs or going out for drinks. Even those small things has stopped the feeling that I'm waisting precious time doing nothing. You're only young (and without responsibilities) once and I realised I should be making the most of it (or at least more as I'm taking baby steps. Let's just accept that I'm never going to be a partyanimal that goes out till morning every weekend)

Besides the fun stuff I just mentioned I've also started working out. After seeing these pictures I realised that I gained a few pounds (to put it lightly). I've started running a few weeks/maybe even months ago. During exams and the heatwave a few days ago I stopped but I'm trying to pick it up again.

My summer has been great so far, let's hope it continuous to be as nice.

How has yours been?

Goodbyeeee

- Nikki

My Morning Routine - Skincare Edition

Hi lovelies,

Todays morning routines turned out to be green-orange-themed. It was too cute to not take pictures so here it is.

Let's start with the orange side of my skincare. 

- The Body Shop papaya body butter to keep my body soft and moisturised

- Shiseido benefiance creamy cleansing foam to cleanse my face

- Essence colour & go nailpolish in flashy pumpkin to give my toes that summer feeling 

- Bio oil which I put on scars to help them heal

The green side was all part of a skincare kit from Clinique that was in promotion after Christmas. You got a bag with a full size moisturiser and 2 generous samples for a price that was less than a full size moisturiser. I of course could leave it the store without it. It's a great set that really works for dry skin. It's the only thing that I've tried when I get a skin reaction where my skin turns bumpy and dry that actually works. Ofcourse it also works great for every day. My skin hasn't got the memo yet that it's spring now and can stop being dry. So what am I exactly using?

- Clinique 7day scrub cream after I cleansed my face

- Clinique superdefense spf20 age defense eye cream

- Clinique superdefense spf20 daily defense moisturizer for very dry to dry combination skin

I love my cute green-orange-themed skincare, what about you?

Goodbyeeee

- Nikki

The essentials - Shower edition

Hi lovelies,

After the last fashion blogpost we're going back to the beautyside of things with a post that hasn't been done on the blog before : My shower essentials. Lately I've accumulated a couple of new bits that I really love and deserve to have their place in the spotlight.

 The haircare edit

I start my showersession with haircare because all of these products need their time to work into the hair so start with that first and do your bodycare in between while your products soak in your hair. I wash my hair with Bioderma Node K shampoo. My dermatologist recommended this because I have a condition that's similar to psoriasis on my scalp, it helps a little with the itchiness and cleans quite well but it isn't a miracle worker so the itchiness probably won't ever leave. After I washed and rinsed my hair twice I apply a hairmask. My hair is quite sensitive and gets split ends so quickly. I only need to look at an curling iron and my hair dies. To keep my hair healthy and growing without splitting I use the Lee Stafford treatment for hair that never grows past a certain lenght. Longest name ever but I really noticed a significant difference in my hair. My last step for hair is conditioner. I refused to use conditioner until last year but I finally caved and I just need to accept that it really does keep your hair healthy and not just makes it too soft and flat. My conditioner of choice is the Aussie 3 minute miracle reconstructive deep conditioner. It works miracles, trust me. The fact that it smells like bubblegum doesn't make me mad either.

The bodycare edit

I start with washing my face using the Shiseido benefiance creamy cleansing foam. It's meant for older skin but that also means it's more hydrating, which I really like with this cold weather we've been having this winter. My bodywash changes with my mood but I really love the fruity scents from The Body Shop. I featured the papaya shower gel but I also like other scents and the showergels from Bourjois. I've only ever used The Body Shop scrubs to scrub my body but I really like them. I do prefer the shea scrub over this jelly pink grapefruit one but it does the job. The last product I use is when I get out of the shower. I use a Body Shop body butter in the papaya scent to moisturise my body. It smells delicious and makes you feel soft and non-flaky in the past cold winter months. 

Looking back on this post I really am a Body Shop fan, which are your favorite products?

Goodbyeeee

- Nikki

F*ck it - The final thought before making a desicion

Hi lovelies,

Last week I wore an outfit I personally really like so I decided to feature it on the blog. I love knee high or over-the-knee socks but I'm usually a bit afraid to wear them because people tend to stare. Sadly enough they only come out the closet on the days I feel most confident and can face the stares. I should really learn to care less about other peoples opinion.

Outfit

                                                                       Dress - H&M

                                                                 Cardigan - New Look

                                               20 deniere stockings - Zeeman

                                                     Over knee socks - Primark

                                                                      Shoes - Converse

                                                                Necklace - H&M

Goodbyeeeee

- Nikki

Review NYC Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil

Hi lovelies,

My search for the perfect black kohl liner continues. Finding a decent one seems to be harder than you'd think. There are a couple of boxes that need to be ticked : 

                                              - cheap / drugstore prices

                                              - readily available aka in my local Kruidvat

                                              - smudgeproof

                                              - doesn't crumble during the day

                                              - doesn't get in lines

                                              - lasts all day

                                              - needs to be pigmented 

                                              - needs to be soft to apply

Me picky? Nooooooooooooo?!

 Contestant of choice : NYC waterproof eyeliner pencil. You may now enter the ring. Let's see how it will do. Let's start with the good : The pigmentation is great, is has a a great deep black velvet finish. It looks gorgeous when swatched and on the eyes. It's soft to apply and the price is great, 2.99€ a piece in my local Kruidvat. Meaning that it also ticks the box of being readily available. Sadly that's were the good part ends.

 Onto the bad part: It starts as soon as you apply. I started my eyemake up with a light layer of the maybelline color tattoo in permanent taupe as a base. After that I applied the eyeliner around my eyes but when i looked up to do the waterline, the liner on the upper lashline had already left a black line in the crease which turned out to be incredibly hard to remove. Micellair water just doesn't cut it, which makes it hard to remove any smears during the day or at night when you remove your make-up. My eyes were still black the next morning.

When I came home at the end of my school day and looked in the mirror I was horrified. I looked like a panda. Black smears everywhere, my entire under eye area was one black stain. The picture below doesn't even show how badly it really was. The kohl crumbled in some places, smeared on other. It definitely isn't waterproof or stays all day. It managed to get into every fine line it could possibly find. It looked horrendous, let's be honest. It was so disappointing especially because it swatched beautifully and was completely smudgeproof on my hands.

As illustrated by the photos above it will probably be clear that my search for the perfect kohl pencil continous. Any recomendiations?

Goodbyeeee

- Nikki

What I bought - Lush valentines edition

Hi lovelies,

Valentines day is almost here and what better way to celebrate than to visit Lush and take a look at their Valentines collection. Baths are a great way to relax and Lush bathstuff is amazing. From bathboms to bubblebars, your bath will never be boring again. Considering it's Valentines day, whether you take your bath alone or not is up to you. 

 Products 

- Love locket bath bomb - 10,75€

- Unicorn horn bubble bar - Sold in the 'in your dreams' giftbox for 13,95€

- Big shampoo sample - free

- Heart throb bubbleroon - 5,95€

- Sakura bath balistic - 4,95€

- I love juicy shampoo sample - free

- Granny takes a dip bath bomb - Sold in the 'in your dreams' giftbox

These are the items I bought from the limited edition Valentines collection. The love locket is pretty big and can be used in 3 times by breaking it in half and use both sides and the tiny heart inside separately. Of course it's up to you in how many pieces you break your bath bomb considering it's pretty pricey. But for this one just throw your piece in your filled bath and enjoy. The red smaller heart is the bubbleroon. It consists of 2 halves held together with gold glitter which makes it easy to use twice. Last but not least, the unicorn horn, this was sold out everywhere but I managed to get my hands on one by picking up the 'in your dreams' gift box which consists of the unicorn horn and granny takes a dip bathbomb.  

Ah the extra purchases I couldn't leave behind even though I swore to only buy valentines stuff. My shopaholic side took over and bought more than I was supposed to. In fact I bought so much I got free samples. I chose the Big shampoo and the I love juicy shampoo, I also got a prince charming sample but I gave that one away to my sister in law. Shop with 3 people, get 3 samples, I never expected to each get a sample. Onto the other products, I got the Granny takes a dip bathbomb in the same giftset. I'm hoping all the circles will make my bath go colourful. The last thing is the Sakura bath ballistic. It has dots everywhere, so cute. It's supposed to make you a bit sleepy so great to use before bed.

Of course I'll be sharing all of this stuff with Anais, little valentines gift from us to us.

I hope you liked this article.

Goodbyeeee

- Nikki

Princess Marshmellow has a new home

Hi lovelies,

How are you doing? Today I'll my showing Marshies new little Queendom. I've had a circus hamstercage for the past few years but after a few cagetours on YouTube, I've realised that it's actually pretty small even though it's supposed to big enough if you believe the info you find everywhere. But think about it if you're going to be caged and can't leave... you should at least be in a big space so you can move somewhat freely. I just wanted for her to have a satisfying and fun life. I don't want her to be miserable in a small space. So I went to Ikea and made my own hamstercage. 

 I purchased the Samla box which is 78 cm long, 43cm wide and 56 cm high. It's a lot bigger than the previous one and cost me only 14.99. It comes with a lid but do remember to cut out quite a big piece out of the lid and place some kind of wire in it because when you close it it creates a vacuum and your hamster will probably die and you obviously don't want that. You'll also need to bring in some fresh air because it would get smelly otherwise. The only other problem with a cage that hasn't got bars is that you can't place a bottle of water. I tried everything from Velcro to duct tape, it just doesn't work so I made 3 little holes to place the bottle through and to secure it and that works wonderfully.

 I've decorated it with 2 coconut halves as little hideouts, a hideout house from the previous cage, toiletrolls and 'treerolls' and a ladder to crawl through or on. She has 3 wooden bridges who also work as hideout places to possibly make a nest in. She also has another treethingie but it has food on and in it which is a nice addition to her regular food in the red bowl. Last but not least a finally fully working waterbottle, a silent spinner wheel that is not as silent as I hoped it would be and a flying saucer to run on but she hasn't fully grasped the concept yet, she just sits on it.

 As nesting material I go for the standard wood shavings on the bottom, cotton bedding in the nesting places and corners because it absorbs well and edible hay which she also used for her nest. I also throw in some toiletpaper because she likes to play with it and tear it apart for her nest.

She seems to like her new cage a lot but there are still some changes to be made. I need to find a way to install a platform so she can climb because she loves that.

Hamster for comparison, ghii

Goodbyeeee

- Nikki