Project Samples End of Week 6

Hi dolls,

I know this post is about a week late. So many things happened at once, and I usually don't plan post in advance. I usually type them the day of or even like in the moment. The past weeks I have been busy with the 12 days of Christmas, organizing my giveaways and also of course I had to celebrate Christmas and prepare for New Years Eve.

So now onto the little reviews of the samples I used up.

The first one is the Number 4 Hair Care L'eau de Mare conditioner, I first thought it was a serum type of product but it is not. It is actual conditioner to use after shampoo. This conditioner however smelt pretty nice but it was very heavy. Something that is named water of the sea or lake (my french is not that great) it is not very light it is very heavy. It is also pretty expensive to purchase, so I won't purchase the full size of this.

The second is the Schwarzkopf BonaCure sun protect shampoo, I had to use this up. Because it was bothering me, for a sun protect shampoo it is very greasy feeling. This did however smelt like typical hair dresser product.

The third sample is the meridol mouth wash, I used this before. It is ok, not the greatest, I like my mouthwash to be a bit more menthol. Not menthol enough for me.

Ok now I shall clarify what will be going on for Project Samples, this will continue for the new year but I won't do a new week tomorrow. But next week Monday. Because at the moment I have other things planned and I don't want to bomb you guys with all my blogposts.

Have a great New Years Eve tomorrow!!! Be safe!

Daxon's VIP Bloggers

Hi everyone,

When I saw some blogposts about this, I had to blog about this too. Because this is too good to pass up.

For people who have not heard about Daxon, they are an online webshop. That does not only sell womens fashion but also mens fashion and even have a section for the plus sizes. They have shoes, a section for homes and healthcare. Sounds good? But is it reliable? Yes it is, they are part of Redcats which is the 3rd largest home shopping organisation in the world. 

They currently have a huge January sale on and also a promo for free delivery if you order for 40pounds and up with the code 8063.

So what do you have to do to sign up? There are 3 simple steps that you have to follow.

1. Add the Daxon NetWork badge to your page.

2. Write a post about the VIP network, like this one, and include a link to www.daxon.co.uk

3. Then send a quick email to katy@mediayeti.co.uk to let them know you've signed up.

Easy enough right? Well for signing up you receive an Amazon voucher worth 50 pounds but only if you sign up by tomorrow. So hurry up!

What I Got For Christmas

Hi dolls,

I cannot believe this is the last weekend of 2012. Wow! Time really flies, anyways all the chatter about 2012 will be in another post.

This post is about what I got for Christmas, I know I have been very blessed this year and I am in no means trying to brag. I thought I would share this with you all and it has also been requested.

Enjoy the video! Please let me know what you received for Christmas.

What I Got For Christmas Video

p.s. I apologize for the short message on the blog today, I am absolutely shattered and cannot wait to fall asleep... and you probably don't want me to go on and on and on... about anything anyways lol..

Giveaway Feather Hair Extension Review

Hi dolls,

Yes another giveaway this one however coincides with a review of the product. I was contacted by hairextensiondeal.com if I wanted to do a review for them and do a giveaway for you. Well obviously I said yes, I am happily do a review if I can give something back to my readers as well.

I had the opportunity to choose a hair extension to try out and to giveaway. I choose a red feather hair extension.

(taken from their website)

The hair extension looks pretty red on the website however when I received it, I thought it looked a little more fuchsia. But maybe that is me. My first impressions of the hair extension were that it was really nice and soft and that it really felt like real hair, not plastic. I thought it looked really nice and would be really great to wear if you wanted to spice things up a little bit but still wanted the option of taking it out when you were sick of it. The clip is really sturdy and when you clip it in, it won't budge which is very important when using hair extensions. It all came packaged real nicely with extras like a tail comb, some clips to pull your hair back. Overall a very nice packaging. The shipping was really fast as well it took about a week to get here which is usually the case with international packages that I receive.

The brand of the hair extension is Magic Queen but the website where you can buy it is www.hairextensiondeal.com

Overall I think it is really nice, and all of their hair extensions are really affordable. And if you don't know how to put in hair extensions, they have a step by step guide on their website. I would check it out if I were you. Their website is www.hairextensiondeal.com

Now onto the giveaway, it is my first time using rafflecopter. So fingers crossed everything will work out. Good luck! The giveaway will run for 2 weeks and also don't forget to check out my other giveaway on YouTube.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Starlooks Starbox December 2012 Unboxing

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. I know I enjoyed my time with my family. Did you know it was the very first time none of us had to work this Christmas and we could actually spend it with each other.

Also does everyone celebrate 2 Christmasses? Meaning you got Christmas day on the 25th and in the Netherlands we call it the 2nd Christmas on the 26th. I know UK calls the 26th boxing day, where still loads of people have to work and shops are open for the sales. Here both days are closed and you spend time with the family. I know some of my friends in the US had to work yesterday already. So they only had 1 Christmas day.

Anyhow I am totally getting off topic here. But I am back after my 2 day Christmas break. Did everyone see my Holiday Giveaway? The giveaway post is before this one, and the value is about € 100.-!!
What will you be expecting this week from me? Well I still need to do last Sundays end of the week project samples post (Christmas totally got the best of me), I have a review post or 2 coming up and also I am thinking about filming a haul with what I got for Christmas anyone interested in that?

Now onto the actual video of the Starlooks Starbox of December, this month's box arrived earlier than normal. I have to say I am pretty impressed it was nice and festive and you should check out the video to see what I got and to see all the swatches of the products.

Starlooks Starbox December 2012 Unboxing

12 Days of Christmas (Day 12) Giveaway Time!!

Hi dolls!

Merry Christmas Eve!!! Yes it is Christmas Eve and that only means one thing on this blog. It means giveaway time!!!

You have no idea how exciting I am for this giveaway. The value of this giveaway is around € 100.-!!! I didn't realize the value was this high until I calculated everything because I am weird like that. It is all beauty products, so 1 lucky winner will win all of it.

I have made a video of it, all the rules are in the downbar of the video but I will list them here as well.

Huge Holiday Giveaway!

The Rules:
1. Have to be a subscriber of this channel (I will check)
2. Have to be 18 or over or have parent's/guardians permission
3. Open internationally
4. Comment with a video request. You can comment every day if you like.
5. Of course it would be great to like this video.
6. This contest will run until 20th January 2013 midnight GMT+1
7. If you only follow to enter this giveaway, and don't watch any of my videos don't bother. Because you won't win, I want to give this prize to someone who truly supports me.


EXTRA Entries
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12 Days of Christmas (Day 11) Dear Santa...

Hi everyone,

I cannot believe this... just this blogpost and tomorrow's left. It was challenging but fun to do.

Now as you all might know, tomorrow's going to be a big exciting blogpost featuring a giveaway!!! I am super excited about everything and cannot wait to upload it and share it with you all but still 1 sleep away.

Anyhow for Day 11 I decided to ask you what do you want for Christmas? I know, Christmas is not about the presents but sometimes it is ok to be materialistic. I do know there is the Christmas spirit and all but I want to know what is on your wishlist for Christmas this year. Besides we all wish the happiness and healthyness of our loved ones. So what product is on your wishlist?

(taken from Amazingdesigns.com)

So what is on my Christmas list? Well I really want some MAC eyeshadows, preferably one of those 15 pan pro palette with eyeshadows. Which I don't think I will be getting because just the 15 pan insert plus the palette and no eyeshadows sets me back about € 31.- yeah a bit expensive just for packaging lol. My next wish is the Nars Foreplay blush palette which is just too pretty for words.

Other items are 1 of the Too Faced Christmas sets, I just love it for the packaging alone.

(taken from beautyzine.com)

What else... well anything makeup or beauty-wise would make me very happy and cheery. What is on your wishlist?

12 Days of Christmas (Day 10) Favorite X-mas Episodes

Hi dolls,

I am still not feeling the greatest so I had to brainstorm a little bit and try to think of something Christmas themed. The two I had planned was a Christmas nail tutorial and a Christmas makeup tutorial. Unfortunately I had to film this still and I am not able to film a tutorial whilst sniffeling and you know not looking fresh or sounding fresh. (If I feel better I shall try to film something for New Years Eve inspiration)

So what I always like watching besides Christmas movies are Christmas themed episodes from my favorite TV Shows.

I have quite a few TV shows that I watch religiously basically (Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Beauty and the Beast, Gossip Girll, 90210 well you kinda get it... Also I love watching junk reality tv shows from mtv like jersey shore and real world) But my favorite Christmas themed episode or the most memorable so far is from the Big Bang Theory. I love that show although the last season has been a little meh... Anyhow, the episode I am referring to is where Penny gives Sheldon a present and Sheldon is so shocked he doesn't know what to do.

The episode is from Season 2 and called The Bath Item Hypothesis.

(Taken from deviantart.com)

Do you have a favorite Christmas themed TV show episode? Or most memorable one?

Only 2 more sleeps til Christmas Eve!

12 Days of Christmas (Day 9) Christmas Miracle?

Hi dolls,

You cannot have ignored it as it has been announced well forever ago and all TV stations somehow mentioned it at least once in the last couple of days. Of course I am talking about the end of the Mayan Calendar. Or as some people have called it doomsday.

To be honest, I have been sceptical from the beginning about this day. As it was reported a long time ago that the end of the Mayan calendar just meant that it was the end of that period of time and that a new period would start. Kind of like we would start with a new year every 1st of January. 

Of course this doomsday scenario wasn't really helped by the fact that there are a lot of paranoid people out there and is only encouraged more by those disaster movies. I think one of the most famous ones is the Day After Tomorrow, I have to admit I love that movie it is so nicely done. But a more recent one is of course 2012, where the world as we know it comes to an end as all the continents basically shift or the north and south pole change places anyways it was something very geographical like that. 

As I am typing this, 21st of December 2012 is almost over, only 1 an hour left to be more precise. Nothing drastic has happened, everyone living in Asia however are already couple hours into the new day and they have all survived.

There were many theories on how the world would end today... I think 1 of the most talked about theories was the planet is going to collide with us. This however was shot down pretty quickly by astronomers who said that if we were going to collide with a planet we would have seen a planet coming our way days or maybe even weeks before it would actually happen.

(taken from the guardian.co.uk site)

What do you think? Is it a Christmas miracle that we survived doomsday? Or were you as sceptical about it as I was. Have you really experienced a Christmas miracle? Or are you hoping to see one this year? Also did you wake up today feeling different about ''doomsday''?

p.s. I was planning on doing something else for 12 days of Christmas but I have been in bed all day. I think I have caught a cold. 

12 Days of Christmas (Day 8) Last Minute Gift Ideas

Hi dolls,

I know everyone has been crazy busy especially with buying all the Christmas presents but what to do if you are still missing a couple of presents for people and you have no idea to buy them? Well I am going to give you a couple of tips and ideas of what to buy your friends and family.

First thing that I think will make a great gift is a gift subscription to a sample subscription service. Most gift subscriptions are for 3 months which I think is a pretty decent amount of time and your friend gets a present every month. For the beauty lovers we have all sorts of beautyboxes and there are also food boxes available now. And in The Netherlands there is even a chocolate box.

(Taken from TeenFashion)

Of course there are other subscriptions you can gift like a magazine subscription, or for the book lovers there are book clubs out there that send you a book every month.

Other safe presents are gift cards which can be for anything, Starbucks, stores like Wallmart & Target, even webshops like asos.com & hqhair.com offers a lot.

Also a lot of webshops are offering last day delivery if you order now. I know Benefit Cosmetics, BH Cosmetics and Sigma Beauty are among them.

My final tip/idea are gift baskets, you can put together a gift basket of tea for the tea-drinkers or coffee for the coffee-holics. Lush has been having super cute gift sets. 1 of my favorite is the Mr. and Mrs. Frosty gift sets.

(Taken from lush.com) Mrs. Frosty

I hope I have given you some inspiration if you still need to do some last minute shopping. The time is really drawing close now, only 4 more days left.

12 Days of Christmas (Day 7) My Favorite Christmas Movies

Hi dolls,

After yesterday's more serious post I thought I would post a bit more light hearted post my favorite Christmas movies that I love watching every year. I picked out 3 of all the Christmas movies out there, or there is only 3 that I can think of right now that I love and basically watch every year.

The first is Home Alone, this is a classic that I have been watching ever since I was little. This movie is on TV every year and I happily watch it every year. Last year I spend Christmas in China so I made sure that I was watching it online lol.

(taken from IMDB)

The second is Grinch, I just love this movie a lot. And Jim Carrey is unrecognisable as the Grinch. Although I don't watch this movie religiously every year. It is always on my mind though.

(taken from 1amgeek.com)

The last Christmas movie I watch every year is Love Actually, it is a typical romcom with a bunch of stories of different couples that all tie together.

(taken from IMDB)

Those are my 3 favorite Christmas movies that I love watching every year. What are your favorite Christmas movie or movies?

12 Days of Christmas (Day 6) My Dedication Post to the Sandy Hook victims

Hi everyone,

I was planning on doing a Christmas post but decided to dedicate 1 of my 12 Days of Christmas to the Sandy Hook victims.

It truly is heartbreaking of what happened in Newtown. When I first heard about it, I just could not believe it that there was someone who could do such a horrid thing to children. These were innocent children who thought that were just going to school and learn something new in class. Even though I don't have children myself I do hope someday I will. This is something that comes from a parent's worst nightmare. To think your child is safe at school and then to hear that your child will not be returning home.

When I read about what 1 of the parents of the victims said it also shows that we should not forget about them. 1 of the victim's parent said the following ''I feel sorry for the killer's family as they are dealing with loss as well'' this shows that even though he lost his own child he can still think of someone else. If we could take an example from that and just think about someone else once in a while and just to be kind to another. The world will seem a nicer place.

During the holiday season we celebrate with the family and this year those families will have to miss their little angel. I would like to dedicate this post to everyone who has lost someone and to remember to light a candle during Christmas for that person or light a candle for the Sandy Hook victims. We have to value every day we get to spend with our loved ones even in this fast world where we seem to not stand still and keep being on the move. It is important to reflect and realize how lucky we are to still be here.

Project Samples Week 6

Hi dolls,

this week's project samples is not going to be very exciting mostly because my skin is having an off-week and need to use my trusted products in order to get it back in shape. Therefore no skincare products this week, hopefully I might be able to do some next week. But I am not sure yet, as it will be Christmas and to be honest I will be so busy I don't know if I will be able to do all of the testing and also have some other things I want to test out and review for you all. So I might just skip next week. But we'll see.

Anyhow on to my samples of the week. My apologies for the bad lighting in this picture, it is completely dark outside and it has been gloomy all day.

First sample is from Number 4 Hair Care, it is the L'eau de Mare hydrating condition. I thought it was a conditioner but it is not. It is a hair serum, it says I can get 3 uses out of it. We'll have to see about that.

The second sample is the Schwarzkopf BonaCure Sun Protect hair shampoo, I know I should actually use this in the summer but I have started to use some of it already. And it is bothering me that I still have some left from the summer so I need to finish this.

The third sample is a repeat from a couple of weeks ago when I had the same Meridol mouthwash. Well I had 2 samples of these and decided it needs to go so it is put in this weeks project sample.

I do apologize for not having such a great selection this week. But some samples need to go!! 

Also I will be doing a 1-brand only project samples very soon as requested by Natasha, if any of you have any other request please do leave a comment.

3 Dutch Beautybox Unboxings

Hi dolls,

if you follow me on my YouTube channel you must have seen the videos already as I was uploading them in the last 2 days. But I know some of you are not subscribed to my YouTube channel yet but are still curious on what I receive in my beautyboxes that I am subscribed to. I always like to see what other countries put in their beautyboxes.

These 3 boxes all arrived days after each other. I thought it was a bit much having them all in 1 week. But then again it felt like Christmas almost every day last week.

The first one is the Glossybox of course this was the holiday edition and the box was silver. If you were wondering what the value of this box was please do check the downbar, I forgot to edit it in.

Glossybox December 2012 Unboxing

The second unboxing that I uploaded is the Beauty ByVicky December box, I have to say the most disappointing one out of all 3. I have not been impressed by any of their boxes and after 3 boxes I thought it was enough and cancelled my subscription.

Beauty ByVicky December 2012 Unboxing

The last one is the Truly Yours, in the video I said I was quite happy with the box. But looking at it and seeing if they did put extra effort in the box as a holiday box. I have to say it is ok, I expected more from them. Although they did tell me that they were going to replace my miniature perfume I received with another one.

Truly Yours December 2012 Unboxing

All of the links will open in a new window. Please do subscribe and let me know what you think. 

p.s. I will not be posting a new project sample today, I will do a post tomorrow. I think 2 blogposts a day is plenty.

12 Days of Christmas (Day 5) Gift Ideas for Men

Hi dolls,

as promised yesterday I have Gift Ideas for Men for you today. I know sometimes it can be very difficult to decide what to buy for the opposite sex. I have to admit, every time I have to buy a present for 1 of my male friends I am struggling. However there are always a couple of presents I can fall back on as a safety net. 

If he likes beer, go to a liquor store or one of those specialized beer stores. There are plenty of special beers out there and some even come in a gift set with a matching glass. 

A DVD or blu ray box of his favorite TV show or movie is always a hit. Especially if you can find a special edition with those added on extras. I know they release them just in time for Christmas. 

(taken from google search) 1 of my favorite movies as well.

If your man is a total T-shirt fan, you can always buy a nice t-shirt for him. Please do check out his closet first to see what kind of style he wears otherwise he will be disappointed. And check sizes too!!

If your man is a sports fan any kind of sports, get him tickets to see his favorite team. If you can't get tickets, any sports jersey is always a good thing too. Or you can get both. (He will absolutely love you for it)

Gadgets are always good, if you find something that you think James Bond will like then he will probably like too. Because boys will always be boys and love to play with their toys.

(Taken from google search) Hello mr. Daniel Craig!

Another great thing is arrange a day for him to go racing or letting him drive in his all time favorite car. For him it will be a day to remember. It might not sound exciting for you but trust me he will love it!

One of my favorites, is getting him a watch. I myself am a huge watch person I have about 6 watches at the moment. If his watch is smaller than mine, I am not impressed lol. But yeah watches are a great thing, you have watches for different budgets. If your man is a bit more colorful when it comes to like clothes. You can get a more funkier watch.

If he is a bit more trendy you can get him a watch with a nice leather strap and a big dialface. There are a lot of watches out there, and usually their return policies during Christmas are great.

So thats it for my suggestions for gift ideas for men. If you think I have left out anything, add it in the comments down below.

Project Samples End of Week 5

Hi dolls,

it is Sunday which means it is the end of Project Samples week 5 already. It seems like the weeks pass so fast like it is unreal. I always feel like it was just yesterday when I picked out the samples for the week and then it is the end of the week already and I have to write the short reviews of the samples.

Maybe you still remember this week I only had 3 samples and have to admit I could not finish the Biosilk sample, as it is pretty decent size and I don't actually use the serum every day because it makes my hair always really heavy so I use it every other day.

The first sample is the L'Oreal Youth Code Luminize serum, I did not really like this, it is a huge difference from the Lancome Genefique serum. When I applied this, it left this residue which felt like my skin was peeling off and then on some areas on my face it felt like it was breaking me out. So yeah this kind of scared me but luckily the next day it was ok, I applied this at night btw.

The second sample is the BioSilk, I have to admit I love this product. You only need a little bit and I usually apply it on towel dry hair. It smells exactly like how a hair salon smells when you first walk in. This product really makes your hair feel silky smooth, but as I said I only use this every other day even though I do wash my hair every day. I try not to wash it every day but I just can't help myself.

The third and final sample of this week was the Biotherm Biosensitive cleansing milk, it said it was for sensitive skin, it smells like a typical sensitive skin scent (if you get what I mean?) it just smells much softer. It took of my face makeup fine but I don't think I would purchase the full size as I don't really find it necessary there are plenty of other nicer products out there.

What kind of product sample should I pick next? Or shout out a random brand maybe I actually have a sample of that brand.

12 Days of Christmas (Day 4) Gift Ideas for Girls

Hi dolls,

It is day 4 of 12 days of Christmas and I bring you the topic Gift ideas for girls/women. I know shopping for girls is far easier than shopping for men. Don't worry tomorrow's post will be gift ideas for men. But as we sometimes still strugle on what to buy for our gender I am going to give you a few suggestions that you could use.

Depending on your budget you have the more expensive side of things and then also the cheaper side of things. 

Now for a beauty/makeup junkie like me if you buy me makeup I am like over the moon! I love all the holiday sets that brands come out with and they are great value even as a present for yourself. 

For someone who is a bit more difficult to shop for. The idea I like most is getting a gift basket and fill it with goodies (can be expensive but can also have some more inexpensive if you have a budget). These goodies you will have to match that person of course. But great things that are in generally a hit to put in those kind of baskets are warm fuzzy socks, a nice scarf, a hot water bottle, home deco stuff like candles or a nice little vase even little extras like Christmas ornaments are always cute to include. You can add like cute deco soaps. Your friend's favorite treats or a bakery voucher for cupcakes. If you enjoy drinking (legal age drinkers of course) you can add a bottle of wine or nice wine glasses or martini glasses for the cocktail drinkers. If your friend is a jewellery lover, you can always add a cute box with a jewellery piece inside this can be expensive/inexpensive depending on your budget. If your friend/family has a pet, put in a pet treat for the pet. Just have fun with it, if you receive a basket or a box filled with little things and some Christmas ornaments it is like the perfect Christmas gift because you have multiple gifts into one. 

Of course you can always just buy a set of the same theme, for example wine lovers get a bottle of wine with a set of 2 glasses and maybe a wine book.

A get-through-winter-warm set containing hot water bottle, fuzzy socks, a nice blanket, with a candle and some chocolate.

For the sweet-tooths, you can buy like a cupcake holder, cupcake themed things, a DIY cupcake set with all sorts of sprinkles, her favorite candies ok for the sweet-tooth the possibilities are endless. Well all sets are endless possibilities. 

Of course receiving a big thing is great but sometimes it really is a gamble whether or not it will be a hit or it will be passed on (you know you receive gifts you don't like and decide to give it to other people. You have all done this before so don't act shocked) or gifts that are returned. Yes a lot of the gifts are returned to the store. When you buy multiple smaller things, you have a higher chance of success with your friend/family and it saves disappointment. Especially when you have a lower budget you can be creative and just make something fun out of it.

I hope I helped you a little bit in the right direction, if you have already finished your Christmas shopping I say koodos to you! Happy Holidays!

Taken from google

12 Days of Christmas (Day 3) Christmas Traditions

Hi dolls,

for today's 12 days of Christmas, I have decided to focus on Christmas traditions. I know a lot of you have them and I always like to hear what other people have as their traditions. 

In my family, we don't really do much for Christmas. Ever since I remember every year for Christmas someone had to work or we all had to work because we had a restaurant and Christmas is the busiest time of the year. This year my parents lost their restaurant and so for the first time ever we are all together for Christmas. No one has to work, we can all enjoy each others company, have a nice dinner without rushing through the eating or having to still us being hungry because we are working and there is no time for food, we can watch Christmas movies on Christmas. I love Christmas movies but always had to watch them around the Christmas time. 

This year is going to be so different, last year I didn't get to spend Christmas with my family as I was in Shanghai. I have to say I felt pretty lonely. I would hear my friends talk about what they do for Christmas and be a little bit jealous because it seemed like they had so much fun. I never knew that, I do consider myself very lucky though and even though we don't really celebrate Christmas I still love the Christmas feeling.

I still can't believe we actually get to celebrate Christmas this year. And important note, I did see the Coca-Cola Santa advert on TV already! So Christmas is coming very soon.

Let me know what your favorite Christmas traditions are or what you like to do during Christmas?

12 Days of Christmas (Day 2) My Favorite X-mas Songs

Hi dolls,

it is day 2 of the countdown to Christmas as promised earlier I am doing a more related post to Christmas. I do have to admit it is pretty hard to actually come up with 12 themes for blogposts relating to Christmas that is interesting for both you and me.

I know you are probably getting swamped with Christmas songs but as everyone I have my likes and dislikes. Every year I go back to these songs so these are my all time favorites! I know some are old classics that everyone knows about and know every single word to it.

The first song that I love is of course the all time classic that has been covered by various artists every year.
Of course I am talking about Wham! - Last Christmas

The next song is another classic made by the diva of all divas Mariah Carey, you can guess which song I am talking about right? Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas

The next song I am picking is from a girl group formed by P. Diddy, and this song is not very known but I love the song. Danity Kane - Home for Christmas

So that is it for my top 3 picks for Christmas songs that I think are classics. What are your favorite Christmas songs?

12 Days of Christmas (Day 1) The Lip Factory Inc. Unboxing

Hi dolls,

I do have to apologize for this and totally missed yesterday. I was so busy yesterday and I don't really plan my blog posts and write them up front unless I know I am busy. So yesterday was a busy day in general when I came back home, I had to edit this video and then rendering it took forever!!! Like literally forever!! By the time it was finished, I started at 5 p.m., it was 1 am and time for me to go to bed and really I did not had the energy to stare at a computer screen much longer and write a meaningful post going along with this video. (Also uploading the video would take another hour)

But I shall stop and you will receive 2 blogposts today relating to the 12 days of Christmas. The first is something that I am extremely excited about and that is the Lip Factory Inc. December Beauty Kit unboxing + review video I have for you. This beauty box is a newcomer on the subscription services scene and their first beauty kit was launched in October. So this is their 3rd box, they offer you a monthly beauty kit that goes along with a makeup look. Basically you receive a box of makeup samples to try out. As the name implies it's main focus are the lips. Good thing I love my lippies so I was super excited to find a bunch of lip products. 

Now you are probably wondering how much is this going to cost me? The beauty kit costs $ 22.- per month and is a monthly subscription service. They send out their beauty kits from Florida, USA so if you are international (like I am. The Netherlands) it will probably take a little bit longer for your package to get to you and you pay some extra shipping. They have great customer service so if you have any questions just send them an email. 

Enjoy the unboxing! And let me know what you think!

Lip Factory Inc. December 2012 Beauty Kit Unboxing + Review

Happy 12/12/12

Hi dolls,

Happy 12/12/12! I know I am a dork for doing a post celebrating 12/12/12 but you have to realize this is the last date that will have all the same numbers for now. The next will be on January 1st 2101, which means I will be 112 if I ever am allowed to live that long. 

So I thought it would be fun to create a blogpost to remember this date. I am assuming a lot of people got married today, and for the person who turned 12 years old today Happy Birthday!! 

So in honor of the 12, I am going to do a countdown type of blogposts for the next 12 days up until Christmas Eve. I will be calling it 12 days of Christmas, I know not very original but to be honest it is only 12 more days. So every day for 12 days there is going to be a blogpost relating to Christmas, this can be christmas beauty boxes, wishlists, last minute gift ideas. I have not figured it entirely out yet but on Christmas Eve or the day after I will announce my Holiday Giveaway! I know there are currently a lot of giveaways going on right now in time for Christmas. I want to be different and also we do celebrate Christmas but not as much as we do New Years I guess it is a Chinese thing. 

What would you like to see in 12 days of Christmas? Suggestions are welcome!

Project Samples Week 5

Hi dolls,

As promised the project samples week 5 post with new samples!! I have to admit, doing this weekly sample posts for some reason makes the week go by so fast and most importantly Christmas is only 2 weeks away!!

Anyhow onto my project samples week 5 samples.

The first one is the L'Oreal Youth Code Luminize super serum, just a face serum. I think this is suppose to be a dupe for the Lancome Génifique serum. Probably could get more uses out of it but the packaging makes it a bit hard and it probably will dry out if I wanted to use it the next day.

The next to that is the Biotherme neutral cleanser gentle milk for face and eyes. Just one use probably, I use a cleanser milk sometimes after I have taken off my makeup with makeup wipes so it really takes off all the makeup as wipes usually leaves some makeup on your face. 

The last is the BioSilk silk therapy hair serum, this is a very popular serum and although I have been using it, I thought I would still put it with this bunch as it lasts forever and I have another bottle of this laying around somewhere. (review will follow at the end fo the week)

What do you think of the picks for this week? Have you used any of these products before? If so let me know what you think.

Have a great week everyone! xox Ellen

End of Project Samples Week 4

Hi dolls,

I know I am a day late with my post and to be honest I completely forgot, I got so caught up watching CSI last night that by the time I realized I needed to write this blogpost it was already 1 AM and I needed to go to bed because I was so tired. I wasn't even paying attention to what they were saying anymore, so I really have no clue what happened lol.

Anyhow, the end of week 4 already. This week we had 4 samples, 1 of the samples was from week 3.

Ok so the first 2 samples at the top there were the shampoo and conditioner duo from Sabon. The packaging was quite nice although not the best thing when you realize that the packaging gets wet (the outer packaging is like this paper) I tried my best to preserve the packaging drying it immediately after I was done in the shower. The scent didn't really do it for me, it had this plant/herbal scent to it that was fairly strong. I like my shampoo and conditioner to have a more soft, sweet powdery scent or the hair salon product scents.  The scent on this was quite overpowering and therefore it kind of put me off immediately. The shampoo was ok to use but the conditioner really weighed my hair down or so it feels like. Obviously this was an 1 use sample so the true effects cannot be judged upon. But I will not buy the full size of this just because the scent put me off.

The third sample is the Weleda Buckthorne body oil, this was an interesting product to use as I never used a specific body oil, I have had oil massages before but this was different. I previously tried the Weleda buckthorne body lotion but was put off by the strong scent. This had a similar scent but not as strong, it has a very citrus/herbal scent to it which does not appeal to me at all. But this was very tolerable actually. I have been using this body oil on my legs because using it on my upper body it would have been too much and the scent would put me off. But after a couple of uses this body oil really hydrates and moisturizes my legs so well. My legs felt super smooth and this body oil was not oily at all, the skin took it in really nicely. Still I would not purchase the full size of this, because of the scent just not my thing.

The fourth sample is the Lancome Rouge In Love lipstick sample, this was such a nice color on the lips. Very pinky coral, a very nice summer color. It says it lasts for 6 hours, I wouldn't say 6 hours necessarily but it did leave a stain of the lipstick. Because I had to apply this with my finger, it left a stain on my finger! But I do like this and it wasn't drying on the lips either. So I might actually pick up the full size of this.

A post of the new samples for week 5 will be up later tonight.

xox Ellen

Cute & Easy Hair Styles for the Holidays ft. Zenner Accessories

Hi dolls,

I have a tutorial type of video for you. I spend a lot of time editing this video so I hope it will turn out ok. Zenner accessories was so kind to send me a few hair accessories to make cute and easy hair styles with that can glam up your look within seconds. This line is only for the holidays and it called ''Glossy Glam'' which is super appropriate for the holiday season. 

I love glamming up my hair during the holiday season with a piece of shiny accessory and that is exactly what Zenner plans to do too. They have a whole line of it and it is avaialable in stores now!

What is your holiday go to hairstyle?

I hope my tips are slightly helpful and of course if you have any questions or requests I would love to hear them. Or any feedback at all is greatly appreciated.

Enjoy!!

Cute & Easy Hair Styles for the Holidays ft. Zenner Accessories

Essence Fantasia & Snow Jam Limited Edition Collections

Hi dolls,

I know I have been announcing and showing you a lot of new products for this month or for next year lately. But I love to keep up to date and also prepare for the new products that I want to buy. 

First up is the Essence Fantasia collection, a collection inspired by fantasy and fairytales. Expect a lot of shimmer!

In this limited edition collection there will be 3 eyeshadows retailing at € 1.99 a piece, 2 metalic eyeliners retailing at € 1.89 a piece, 2 lip laquers retailing at € 1.99 a piece, a highlighter retailing at € 2.99, 4 nail polishes retailing at € 1.89 a piece and eye jewels that stick to your skin for € 1.59

This limited edition will be available in stores now! I think I am going to pick up the highlighter it looks too pretty to pass up!

The next limited edition collection by Essence is called Snow Jam, inspired by Snow season with all the snow bunnies on the slopes. I have to say I am pretty excited because it contains such vibrant colors.

There are 3 different eyeshadows in cream consistency retailing € 2.39 a piece, 2 jumbo duo eyepencils retailing € 1.99 a piece, 2 lipbalms retailing at € 1.59 a piece, 4 nailpolishes retailing at € 1.69 a piece, mini nailfiles for € 1.39 and a 24hour hand protection balm retailing at € 1.99

This limited edition collection will be available from January 2013 onwards for about a month or two. I might pick up a couple of the nailpolishes the eyeshadows don't really appeal to me that much.

First Look of Khroma (Beauty line by the Kardashian sisters)

Hi dolls,

I am super excited to write this post and show you photos of the Khroma products that are available for sale in the pre-launch state of the entire line. The entire Khroma line will be available in the Spring of 2013 but this is just a selection of their products that will be available right now!

Khroma is the beauty line by the Kardashian sisters Kourtney, Kim and Khloe. I have to admit I love the Kardashian sisters and admire them for the fact that they are great business women. Some people may say they have zero talent but making the right marketing choices and setting up a business and establishing themselves is quite an achievement. Of course I cannot let it slide that their makeup is always flawless and have great fashion sense! I am so jealous! They make girls aware that you don't have to have size zero and that you should embrace the curves you have.

In this pre-launch of Khroma Beauty, there are 5 products that each represents 1 of the sisters or all of them. 

The first 3 products are palettes these are face palettes with eyeshadows, blush, bronzer and highlighter to create that Kardashian look. These remind me of the Too Faced glamour to go palettes. Each of the Kardazzle palette that is the name of the palette contains 8 eyeshadows to create various eye looks (4 shimmer and 4 matte), a blush, a bronzer and a highlighter to create that amazing contouring and highlighted Kardashian cheek. 

This is Kourtney Kardazzle, it contains some more mature eyeshadow colors but you can create beautiful eyelooks with this palette. The blush color looks more of a dusty rose color.

This is the Kim Kardazzle palette, as you can see this has a far more emphasize on the more smokey eye colors. Which is a signature Kim Kardashian look. Kim is often also seen with pinky cheeks so it was an obvious choice that she would have a pinky blush in her palette. 

The last but definitely not least of the palettes is the Khloe Kardazzle palette. Her eyeshadows seem to have a more neutral tone and seem to have a more peachy pink toned blush. She does have a lighter skintone than her sisters which would make sense her cheek colors are a bit softer.

All three of the Kardazzle palettes retail for € 16.95 which is pretty decent for a small palette with 8 eyeshadows, 1 blush, 1 highlighter and 1 bronzer color. I really like the print on all the palettes.

The fourth product in the pre-launch of Khroma Beauty is an Au Naturel Nude Lip Set, no Kardashian beauty collection would be complete without a great nude lippy. This set contains a lipliner, lipstick and lipgloss to create those perfect nude lips. Kim knows how to pull off a great nude lip, this set claims to be suitable for both day and night looks and also suits all skintones.

This set retails for € 17.95

The last of the five products in the pre-launch of Khroma Beauty is the SheBang Quick Transformation Set, it is basically a nice neutral set of shadows, pair of false eyelashes and a waterproof eyeliner. You get several shadows to create a nice neutral eye look, add false lashes and line your waterlines you are good to go when it is your eyemakeup concerned. 

This set retails for € 17.95

Now you are wondering this is all very nice, but probably only launched in the US. FALSE! This is going to be launched in Europe as well, and you can now get it online! All 5 of these products you can get online at http://www.khromabeauty.eu/

Which of these products will you be buying? I think I might get one of the palettes either the Kim or the Khloe one as they appeal to me the most. Let me know what you think of this pre-launch collection of Khroma.

Preview of the New Viva Glam Nicki!

Hi dolls,

You have no idea how excited I was when I heard about this lipstick. Yes MAC has teamed up again with Nicki Minaj for their Viva Glam lipsticks and lipglasses. I recently bought the original Viva Glam Nicki, and I assume you have all seen swatches and photos of it so I won't go on about it too much. But I love it!!

Now 2013 Nicki will be the sole spokesperson for the Viva Glam line, earlier this year you saw that she was teamed up with Ricki Martin. 

I am pretty excited about this and here is an official press photo of the new Viva Glam Nicki 2 and the new Viva Glam Nicki is a very pretty lavender color. This color will be released as both a lipstick and a lipglass. Now when is this fabulous color going to be released? For the US territories this will come a little bit early on February 9th 2013 to be exact. Me as a Dutch person have to wait until March 2013, I know it is so unfair but what can you do about it? Nothing....

All proceeds made from the Viva Glam line goes to HIV/Aids charities. So will you be getting this lipstick? or which one has your preference?

$500.- Firmoo Giveaway! Open Internationally

Hi dolls,

I have an amazing giveaway for you courtesy of Firmoo.com. You might have heard of Firmoo before, they are a glasses website where you can buy your glasses really inexpensive whether you have prescription or they are just for fashion you pick the glasses you want and you get them shipped to your door.

I will be giving 25 lucky winners a voucher worth $20.- each. If you would like to win 2 and give one to your friend or family you can leave 2 seperate comments. 

So what do you have to do?

The rules are;

1. Follower of this blog through GFC (please leave your GFC name in the comment as well)

2. Tell me which glasses you would like from www.firmoo.com and leave your email address so I can contact you.

3. Like Firmoo on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/FirmooGlasses

This giveaway will close on the 12th of December Midnight Central European time. Winners will be contacted after that.

EXTRA ENTRIES

If you follow me on my twitter, instagram, bloglovin and youtube channel (please leave your username in the comments as well) 

REMEMBER if you would like 2 vouchers please leave 2 comments. 1 with all your details and another saying extra entry or I want 2 vouchers something along those lines.

Project Samples Week 4

Hi dolls,

I wanted to post this yesterday but I think I posted like 3 posts and thought it would be a little bit over kill if I posted another one which is why project samples post got delayed to today. Which also turns out better because I took the product photos in day light today even though it has been raining all day so it is not the best lighting.

Anyways I seem to be coming along pretty nicely with my project samples and for some reason even though I have a lot of samples I have a difficulty picking the samples for this week. I want to use some of the samples and then decide not to because it has cute packaging does anyone have that? Because it has cute packaging you don't want to use it?

From left to right;

The first is the Sabon conditioner for smooth and glossy hair. I have not tried Sabon products before so I look forward into trying this.

Second is the Sabon shampoo for normal hair, as I said I have never tried Sabon products before I look forward into trying this. (I should've put shampoo first and then the conditioner *epic fail!! )

The third is the Weleda buckthorn body oil, if you remember I received this in 1 of my Glossyboxes I believe. I hated the bodylotion because of the scent but the body oil is actually tolerable for some reason. I need to use this up because it bothers me.

The fourth is a leftover sample from last week, which I looked forward to trying out but ended up overlooking. It is the Lancome Rouge In Love lipstick sample.

MakeUp Academy (MUA) Haul

Hi dolls,

as promised here is my MakeUp Academy haul I don't like uploading multiple videos on a day so I only do 1 a day. This is the last one of the bunch that I filmed on friday, so enjoy this haul. If you would like to see an in depth review on any of these products just let me know either in the comments here or at the video.

MakeUp Academy Haul Video

Also I will not be putting a project samples up today, instead that will be up tomorow. Don't want to overload you with blogposts today lol.

My Sigma Beauty X-Mas Wishlist

Hi dolls,

ever since I started YouTube I have seen Sigma brushes everywhere!! So I have always wanted to see what the hype is about, I personally own 2 sigma brushes the flat kabuki F80 and their kabuki (buffer brush) F45. I love them both, they are the softest brushes ever, they don't shed, they don't bleed, the bristles are nice and densely packed together. 

Now I know Sigma had an one-off free worldwide shipping for black friday but now Christmas is drawing nearer and nearer. I thought I would share with you what would be on my Sigma Wishlist. (promo codes and special offer at the end of this blogpost)

1. Paris Palette by Sigma. This is a limited edition palette by Sigma inspired by the city of amour Paris. It contains 8 eyeshadows, 2 blushes, 1 highlighter and 2 of their brushes. ( 1 is E55 eye shading brush and the other is the F40 large angled contour brush) This palette now retails for $49.- was $59.-

2. Any of their essentials brush kits. They have 7 different colors to choose from to suit your personal style. These brush kits have 12 different brushes so you are set for your entire face. This brush set retails for $120.- which looks a lot but you are getting 12 brushes which comes to $10.- per brush. Also it comes with a container to store your brushes in. My favorite has to be the Make Me Blush set or the Mrs. Bunny set. (pictured the make me blush set, why I love it? Isn't it obvious its pink!)

They also have travel kits of these brushes with 7 travel sized brushes for $65.-

3. Synthetic Essential kit 10 brushes, these are the brushes you need if you already have the essential kit brushes or for people who already have a lot of the ''standard'' brushes and need more unique type brushes. These brushes are very densely packed and aim to give you an HD finish or so it says lol. But I really like the look of these brushes. This kit retails for $131.- for all 10 brushes. But you can also buy just the eye brushes as a set (named New Synthetic Precision kit 5 brushes $65.-) or just the kabuki part of the brushes (named New Synthetic Kabuki kit 5 brushes $76.-)

Of course, if you are looking for individual brushes they retail between the $10.- and $21.- of course my musthaves are the F80 flat kabuki ($18), I swear once you have applied your foundation with this you don't want to apply it with anything else. What I still need is a good fluffy E40 Tapered blending brush ($12), when you have multiple eyeshadows the key is blending especially at the end with a clean brush to give that fluid eyelook.

Now onto the good stuff, if you decide to purchase from Sigma you receive 10% off your entire purchase with the code DEC2012 also if you order for at least $30.- you will receive an E05 Eyeliner Brush for free!!

Go To Sigma Beauty Website!

All images taken from Sigma website.