I Turned 30 This Week & This Is How I Celebrated

That's right, the big 3-0! Happy birthday to me! This post is going to be a bit of a departure from all the recent product reviews; something more along the lines of 'A Week in Photos' series I once wanted to do on the blog so you could get to know me a little better on a personal level. As you may know from this ramble, or may have realized along the way, I don't post hauls here anymore. I know that 'What I Got for My Birthday' posts or videos are always click-worthy (and certainly a great way for the birthday person to look back on their special day), but I wanted to share something different instead: all the fun and extraordinary experiences I've had this week to celebrate the occasion. This is not to say that I haven't received (or bought for myself) any gifts - it's just to shift the focus a little bit from 'having' to 'doing'. I hope you enjoy!

On Labor Day (Monday), my husband and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. In general, we're not big on anniversary presents but we like treating ourselves to a fun night out together. This year we've been going to quite a few concerts; not those crowd-packed dancing by the stage type rowdy affairs because we're much too introverted for that, but more of a 'seated at the table, enjoying cocktails/ snacks and listening to live music' type of events. So for our anniversary, we booked a table at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola to listen to Robin Eubanks & the Mass Line Big Band. We love going to jazz concerts but it just so happens that we've never seen a big band performance before, so it was a very memorable experience. We were seated right by the window (the venue is located in Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle) so we could also enjoy the view of the park and shimmering lights of the city in the distance. Since cocktails are out at the moment (I'm 8 months pregnant and Mr is taking antibiotics), we decided to order dinner, and I was very pleasantly surprised by my vegan 'risotto cake' entree. Even though the dish was a simple combination of rice and veggies, it packed a ton of flavor from heirloom tomato sauce and firm, lightly sauteed pieces of squash and green beans. If you're a fellow New Yorker - or visiting - and you like jazz music, I definitely recommend Dizzy's.

On Tuesday, I relaxed at home and tried not to get too caught up on my regular to-do list. I didn't do anything special, but I wanted to take some time to pamper myself in the evening. I redid my badly chipped manicure - I opted for a never before worn bottle of Zoya Toni, a dark blackberry plum shade. I love those vampy shades on the nails but then I sort of ruined the mani by applying an old and gloopy top coat, which now - 48 hours later - is still not completely hardened and causing bed sheet creases and the like. Lesson learnt; and needless to say the top coat went straight into the empties bag. In the evening, I took a soothing cool shower using some new products I recently ordered from Ulta (even though I still think body scrubs are not absolutely necessary in my routine, I really enjoy my repurchase of Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrub), and applied a luxuriously hydrating face mask from Laneige (reviewed here). I currently tend to get very tired at night and can't get out of the bathroom fast enough before I fall asleep, but I really wanted to do a little something for myself and loved looking at my freshly polished nails.

On Wednesday (my actual birthday) I had a doctor's appointment in the morning to check up on the baby bean. You guys may think it was silly of me to go to the doctor on my birthday - I mean, people generally don't find doctor's visits very alluring - but I quite like going to my obstetrician. The entire office is friendly and efficient, but most of all, I get to hear baby's heartbeat and feel reassured that he's doing just fine in there. I also learnt that his head is very low now, so that's probably the reason right there why I have to get up every 2 hours at night for a trip to the bathroom, lol. On my way back, I stopped at a Sephora store to redeem my free birthday gift and have a little look around. I purchased Sephora brand Coconut Water Cleansing Wipes to pack in my hospital bag, and was seriously tempted by Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lovesick, but decided to put it on my wishlist for the November VIB sale instead. My cashier that day was genuinely kind as well - we had a nice chat about Zoya polishes, and she assured me the make-up wipes were really good :)

On my walk home from the subway station, I went into Sugarcube Patisserie in Long Island City for a decadent sweet treat. I opted for their tasting menu of handmade gelato + pastry, and I ordered a small latte to balance out the sweetness. I've had their gelato before and thought it was excellent - this time I got hazelnut as well as mango & passionfruit sorbet - and the Middle Eastern-inspired cheesecake I chose for my pairing didn't disappoint either. I'd definitely recommend Sugarcube for a sweet treat if you're ever in the area; but mind you, the pairing is a very large dessert and I kinda wished I could share it with someone :)

When I got home I had some PR packages waiting for me, and it just never gets old for me you guys - opening those up always feels like Christmas. But I satisfied myself with a quick peek and turned on the laptop to Skype with my parents, who wanted to wish me happy birthday 'in person'. In general, it was a day of long-distance video calls: later on I also FaceTimed with my brother, and then with my best friend late in the evening. I felt touched that they all remembered and wanted to chat on the day. I also received lots of birthday emails, and again really appreciated the thought - lots of people prefer now to write something quick on your Facebook wall and while that's nice, I don't really use Facebook anymore so I was doubly thankful a lot of people remembered that and chose to send an email instead. Other than that, I relaxed, watched some YouTube, and did a quick spot of blogging - I guess the latter was the most productive part of my day.

After my husband came back home from work in the late evening, he surprised me with an entire cake from one of my favorite French bakeries in the city, and he also bought 30 candles for me to blow out. I'm obviously not telling you my birthday wish - but I did manage to blow out all thirty in one go :) He also gave me a gift certificate to a nail salon in our neighborhood, which I was super happy to receive - while I still enjoy doing my own manis, at-home pedicures are nigh on impossible with my very large watermelon belly, and I would definitely like to squeeze one more in before I deliver. Apparently the certificate is also only part of the gift; he wanted to give me something while we're waiting for the other part to come in the mail. It's all very mysterious and I love the anticipation - it makes the present that much more exciting :)

Overall, I had a perfectly beautiful, peaceful and happy birthday. I felt pampered and cherished and even though we did not have some huge celebration, it was exactly how I wanted it. Early in the week, I also indulged in some online shopping: I ordered two make-up bags from Korean brands in incredibly cute patterns (I'll definitely show them to you once they get here, but as they're being shipped from South Korea, it will take a few weeks), and placed an order at The Body Shop for some bath and body products - I have been missing having their body butter in my stash, and I'm really unhappy with my current make-up remover so I got their Silky Cleansing Oil among other things. Oh - and I also bought lots of new knickers from Aerie. My current underwear is a state - and mostly too small to boot.

There you have it - I hope you enjoyed this glance into my birthday week. In case you're wondering if I feel any different or perhaps a little sad not to be 20-something anymore, than my answer would be no: I guess to me it doesn't feel like a milestone, it just feels like another date. I enjoyed my twenties, but I think my thirties are going to bring even better and bigger things; you know, what with the arrival of a new family member and taking on a whole new role in my life. Also thank you to everyone who wished me happy birthday on Instagram/ Twitter - I never cease to appreciate your guys' support and kind words. Thank you for reading!

Pregnancy Update: I'm Halfway There!

Just to forewarn you - this post features not only a lot of pregnant lady talk, but also a somewhat creepy 3D ultrasound picture of our baby. But if that doesn't scare you, carry on - and thank you for reading!

Happy Mothers Day to all the beautiful mamas out there! 💐 Chai latte, wind blown hair and an #18weeks bump 😊 #bbloggers #bumpdate #secondtrimester #pregnancyfashion #bklyn #greenpoint #mommatobe

Zdjęcie zamieszczone przez użytkownika Monika (@rocaillewrites) 8 Maj, 2016 o 11:51 PDT

As of writing this post, I'm 20 weeks and 6 days pregnant - and as you're reading it, I'm actually 22 weeks and some change, so actually already into my second half of pregnancy. I can't say it has all flown by super fast so far, and not because of any unpleasant symptoms; it's just that the first 14 weeks are rather anxious because of the relatively high risk of miscarriage, and to be honest, I just wanted them to be over and done with and not have to worry about the safety of our baby.

So, big news - at our 16 week initial anatomy scan that my husband accompanied me to, we learnt that we're having... drumroll please... a little BOY! He was not at all shy to reveal his gender and we could actually see it ourselves on the monitor before the ultrasound technician even told us. I had a rather strong feeling from the beginning that it was going to be a boy and we kept referring to the baby as 'he' well before we knew - I was actually so convinced at one point that I began to worry about feeling disappointed if I turned out to be wrong. More importantly, both at the 16 week and the 20 week scan (which I just had yesterday), the baby appeared to be developing well and he weighted exactly as expected - he's 14 ounces now, already twice the weight he was at the 16 week appointment. We saw his little hands and feet, and yesterday I was even able to see tiny fingers and toes. As you can see in the alien 3D ultrasound picture, he likes to keep his hands close to his face - he may actually be sucking a thumb in there for all I know :)

I can also feel his movements a lot more now. I first started feeling some subtle nudges at around 17 weeks, mostly after taking a bath in the evening and relaxing in bed with a book. My ultrasound technician said I have a posterior placenta, so I'm going to feel his kicks and somersaults all the more - and to be honest, now at almost 21 weeks, I think I can even feel them a little from the outside, although attempts to have my husband feel them too have proven futile so far; the boy quiets down as soon as Mr lays his hands on my belly.

Speaking of the belly, it has definitely grown and now looks a lot more like a proper baby bump versus a weird bloat. It's sort of a funny shape - it sticks out a lot in the lower part, which my husband finds especially amusing. It's beginning to be noticeable even to strangers; believe it or not, someone wanted to give up his seat for me on the subway yesterday, and that is not a common occurrence in New York. Because of the larger belly - and to an extent, my boobs as well - I now have to mostly wear the maternity clothes that I purchased so far. We've had a rather cool spring in New York City this year, so that one pair of maternity jeans I purchased from the GAP got lots of wear; some threads have actually started coming loose here and there. Right now, I feel that we're rapidly moving towards summer weather, so my maternity dresses and shorts are starting to be indispensable.

But other than the larger belly that sometimes gets in the way - especially when I'm bending over picking this up, or trying to polish my toes - I've been feeling pretty great. I have a lot more energy than in the first trimester, and especially in the mornings I can get a lot of things crossed off my to-do list. I do have to get up about 2 times at night to go to the bathroom, and then the third time in the morning, somewhat earlier than I would have liked to wake up, but all in all, I feel quite rested. I do sometimes get what I believe doctors call 'round ligament pain' - sharp pains at the sides and below my belly when I'm moving around a lot - but they subside quickly and are nothing to worry about; it's just my uterus stretching and things rearranging themselves to accomodate the growing baby.

In other news, we're leaving for a 2-week holiday tomorrow, and I couldn't be more excited! We're finally going to visit Iceland (this post is being scheduled in advance, so we're already there and enjoying our trip!). It's been on our bucket list for a couple years now, and we decided to go this spring/ summer even before we learnt about my pregnancy, although we booked the trip about a month earlier than we were originally planning to so that it'll be easier for me to fully enjoy it. It's not really a babymoon; to be honest, Iceland is probably not an ideal destination for a pregnant woman, and we didn't foresee this trip as our last holiday as a family of two - but when I thought about it, this is the first longer vacation just for me and Mr (without the rest of our families) since our honeymoon 7 years ago. Our plan is to rent a car and drive all the way around the island, staying in a different town nearly every night and exploring the great Icelandic outdoors. There is going to be mostly driving, hiking and taking lots of photos, which I'm hoping to share on my Instagram. However, we're going to take it all pretty easy and allow plenty of time for relaxing, dining out and bathing in geothermal waters; in fact, our first stop after the flight to Reykjavik is the Blue Lagoon Spa.

I think that's all I wanted to say for now, but if you have any questions - be it pregnancy or Iceland-related - don't hesitate to ask! I'm sure you're wondering if we already have a name picked out for our little boy, and we do in fact have one strong contender - but I'm going to be a tease and keep it a secret until he arrives in October. Thank you for reading!

And There Will Be Three...

This post is completely non-beauty related, but I have some big news to share. I'm 15 weeks pregnant!!! This is our first baby and both me and Mr, as well as our families and friends, are all very excited. We don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet, but I'll keep you posted :)

Baby bean at a 12 week scan

That's the most important part of what I was going to say today - I guess it's hard to top that, huh? - but if you're interested in MOAR BEBEH stuff, you can keep reading. So far (fingers crossed), both me and baby are doing great. Being a natural worrywart, I thought that expecting a baby would definitely cause me to freak out, both emotionally and physically. However, I feel great; I've had almost no pregnancy syptoms at all (haven't had nausea even once) apart from feeling somewhat more pooped in the evenings and now sporting a suspicious 'Is it a bloat? Is it a bump?' thingy around my midsection. I was told though that I look more vibrant by a coworker today, so that's something - right?

As far as my emotional state, I am - obviously - very happy. But I'm not just happier when I remember I'm going to meet my cute baby in the beginning of October; overall I feel more joyful, which is... not exactly my normal state of mind. Somehow my anxious thoughts have taken a backburner in this pregnancy, even though there are lots of bad things one could obsess about. But luckily, it's like my brain decided to take a chill pill and just enjoy the ride. I blame the pregnancy hormones :)

If you're curious what my expecting a baby means for Rocaille Writes, I'm not planning to introduce any big changes. This still is and will remain a beauty blog. You may have noticed however that I have been posting somewhat less frequently, the reason being that a) I was definitely more tired during my first trimester, b) I've been feeling more relaxed about stuff in general, and since blogging is not a job but a hobby, I've somewhat lost the motivation to push for more posts when there isn't anything in particular I want to talk about. But I will do my damn best to stay at about 2 posts a week at least until the arrival of the tiny human bean; I'm not committing to anything specific after that, but I won't just abandon this space. It's my baby too :)

In terms of content, like I mentioned above, I'm still going to be posting my regular product reviews and round-ups, as well as updates on my no/ low-buys and downsizing projects. I may post some pregnancy/ baby-related stuff sporadically if there's any interest; I guess my current skincare routine would be a topic that bridges both of these areas. I was also thinking of showing you my pregnancy capsule wardrobe, since I have talked about clothing capsules in the past. Let me know if that's something you'd be interested to hear about; I realize that pregnancy content is probably only useful to other women who are either currently pregnant or planning to get pregnant in the foreseeable future, but I don't know - maybe the rest of you guys are just nosy. Please share your thoughts in the comments below! That's it for now; and as always - thank you for reading!

My Blog Sale Is Now Live!

Yeah yeah, I know I said that I wasn't really interested in decluttering my make-up stash anymore. But! But recently I found a whole bunch of stuff I was just holding onto for the sake of having it. I don't want my pretties to sit unloved - so here's another blog sale.

Here's the entire list of products for your browsing pleasure; I have products from Rouge Bunny Rouge, Urban Decay, Guerlain, Chanel, Benefit and Tarte, as well as some very inexpensive drugstore gems. There's a lot of eyeshadows, lipsticks, eyeliners as well as some face and cheek products.

Please help me find new homes for these awesome products, and thank you for browsing!

Beauty Blogging: What if I'm not that into make-up anymore?

Whoa, hold your horses, people. I'm not actually saying I AM not that into make-up anymore (Wait...  Am I?) - I'm just analyzing, or rather, overanalyzing the blogging fatigue I've been experiencing lately. I really enjoy how people do this random brain dump when they're filming their Get Ready With Me videos, so I sort of decided to do a blog version - although let's not kid ourselves, I am not getting ready at the same time I'm writing this - although some things here have occurred to me as I was struggling with my eyeshadow this morning. Ekhm.

As you may already know, this year I'm continuing my efforts to both reduce the size of my existing make-up collection and to purchase less make-up and hopefully no skincare products (explained here in more detail). I've been thinking a lot about this goal this month and here's what it boils down to: at the moment, it really isn't all that hard for me. I didn't think it would ever be possible for me to say this, but I may be *a little bit* bored with make-up.

I like the beautiful products I have in my stash and I enjoy the process of putting them on, but I just don't feel a lot of enthusiasm - and I'm not overly impressed with the end result. Sure, I look nice and put together, but the vibe is somewhat off. Similarly, I'm not at all tempted or excited over new make-up collections or product releases. Sure, everything looks pretty, shiny and sparkly, but it just seems like the same thing over and over. Matte lip trend? Here, have some more matte lipsticks from another five brands. Spring 2016 make-up? No problem, pastel eyeshadows and blushy pinks coming right up. I'm about 99% sure that if I were to purchase anything at this moment, I'd be able to find a near dupe already in my possession.

I believe this is both the reason and the result for/ of a more paired down collection. In order to squash our lemmings, we unsubscribe from brands' newsletters, stop following the latest releases, or talk ourselves out of the new stuff by comparing it to what we already own. As a result of striving for that smaller stash and appreciating what we have, we start not having as many lemmings in the first place. But have those efforts inadverently killed my love for make-up?

I guess this question boils down to whether 'love for make-up' is synonymous with 'love for make-up products'. Make-up isn't some abstract art - I guess you could have just a theoretical appreciation for it by admiring looks in photos - but for us practitioners (lol), it can't really be separated from its tools. You do need adequate products to practice your make-up art and it's awfully nice to geek out over the best ones available on the market, but I'm sure we'd all agree that it's definitely not all that there is to it. There's the skill, the variety of techniques and approaches, the experimentation, the different styles. Looking back, it was my fascination with this more intangible aspect that caused me to get into make-up in the first place, NOT the products - of which I owned very few and had very limited means of purchasing more.

My current feelings are the exact reversal of that first love; I spend lots of time, money and mental resources acquiring and analyzing products but I don't focus nearly enough on the creative aspect. Some would be quick to blame writing a beauty blog as a past-time, what with its constant focus on  new products, relationships with brands and prompt reviews of PR samples. This is why I think so many wonderful bloggers have been going on breaks or quitting their blogs - most of us who have been posting for years now experience a general malaise, like maybe beauty blogging just plain isn't fun anymore.

I still think it is whatever we make it out to be. If beauty blogging means product reviews, page hits and monetization to you, then to me that sounds more like (at least part-time) work, and work sometimes isn't fun, despite how passionate you may be for the subject. But I guess that if you're more like me, then it can be fun, it can be creative and it can be independent of whatever else is going on in the blogosphere or on the beauty market. We just need to take it back.

(A little bit of a disclaimer - this is not meant as an attack on any person or blog. I'm not trying to insinuate anything or pass judgement; it's just quite obvious to me that as with any area of human activity, people have different goals and motivations, and that's great. And obviously things are rarely black or white, and they rarely remain constant. I think it'd be accurate to say that Rocaille Writes is in that grey area, and that it keeps evolving. It would make me proud to say that.)

What all this rambling means for me and my blog is that I would like to go back to the beginning and post more about my make-up experiments and looks. If I'm not a 100% content with my current make-up situation, than it is in my power to change it around and see what I would like better instead. Doing Project Pans and/or similar challenges is actually the first step - using the same products day in and day out really gives you the necessary push to try out different things you may have not thought of previously. So expect to see some more Face Of The Day posts from me, or maybe some recreations of inspiring looks, or even tutorials. Let's see what I can come up with!

Have you been stuck in a bit of a make-up rut lately? Are there any new products you can't wait to get your hands on, or have you been unimpressed like me? What do you look for in a beauty blog? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Capsule Collection 2015 Progress Round-up and Goals for 2016

It's New Year's Eve tomorrow, so prime time I think for a (probably overly lengthy) round-up of this year's attempts towards a smaller, well edited beauty stash in general, and a make-up capsule collection in particular. I'm very happy to say that in 2015, I've made some really big strides in downsizing my collection, and it's brought me a great satisfaction to learn more about my make-up preferences, curb impulse purchasing, and really use what I already own and love.

So what exactly have I been doing to reduce my stash? I've already discussed my various strategies in other posts on this subject, but let's rehash. I believe the key to my progress this year has been what I like to call a three-pronged approach. Firstly, I have been decluttering my vanity and passing on products that are no longer favorites to family and friends. Secondly, I've been slowly but surely using things up via Project Make A Dent and Project 10 Pan. And thirdly, I have stuck to my low-buy of only purchasing two make-up items a month. Alright, let's elaborate on these three points.

2015 could easily be dubbed 'The Year of the Declutter' in the online beauty community, mostly thanks to the popularity of Marie Kondo's 'Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up' (my thoughts on the book can be found here). However, this year has not been my first year of decluttering my collection. I believe I actually started going through my make-up with a fine tooth comb back in 2013, pulling products aside and gathering them into small pouches to give to coworkers and some family members. I also got rid of quite a few items towards the end of 2014 (read my post here). In July of this year, I did another bigger purge (documented here) on top of constantly weeding out smaller things here and there.

Box of products to donate, currently housing 4 face mask sachets, 3 blushes, 1 powder and 5 lipsticks.

I've now permanently assigned a box for products to give away that I keep close to my vanity, so when I pull out something I have not used in a while and after a few days of wear decide I don't care for it anymore, it doesn't go back into my drawers. This is how I would like to keep decluttering from now on - not in a some big way, deliberating on every single product I own, but on a case-by-case basis, only when I realize there's something in my stash I could definitely live without.

This year, I've also finished or very nearly finished the highest number of products since I started collecting (hoarding?) make-up 6 years ago. I have just published my Project Make A Dent 2015 and Project 10 Pan 2015 finale (here); I'm getting rid of 19 products through both of those challenges. I realize that for some seasoned make-up panners, that's not a very significant amount, but for me, it's an achievement I'm quite proud of. On top of those 19, I have also used up a fair number of other make-up products that I've been including in my quaterly make-up posts: there's been a whole lot of mascaras and lip balms as well as some face primers.

Box of finished make-up products from my panning projects.

In both of these Projects, as well as my Project MAD in 2014, I focused mostly on some older items in my collection, and while I'm happy to have them out of the way, I think for next year, I should include a lot more newer items; the thought of them sitting in my vanity drawers unused, gathering dust, makes me a little anxious. If there's one thing that panning make-up has taught me, it's that you need to make sure you're including firm favorites in your Projects; otherwise, you're forcing yourself to use mediocre stuff while your best products are going to waste, stashed away for hypothetical future use.

Lastly, in 2015 I have been really sticking to my make-up low buy of purchasing only two new products a month, which I started three years ago (I elaborated more on my low buy progress throughout that time in this post, if you're curious). One of the strategies that helped me the most was writing down every single make-up purchase in a journal. This may sound silly, but looking at how much I already bought this year, all listed in one place, month by month, often deterred me from placing another order. According to my notes, I actually purchased 21 products this year, so I came in just a little under my allowance; one thing I wasn't sure how to count were make-up brushes and gifts - some of them I included in my final count, some of them I didn't. I also didn't count gifts with purchase, but there weren't very many of them this year.

To sum all of these efforts up, I have definitely succeeded in reducing the size of my beauty stash in 2015, while both enjoying what I already have and occasionally treating myself to a new acquisition. I feel good about my progress; I think I'm pretty close to achieving my perfect balance of sustainable consumerism, lol - or being a make-up fanatic without so much waste, if you will.

For 2016, I want to continue my path, but focus less on decluttering and more on using up what I own as well as buying less. I will be doing more Project Pans next year (introduction post coming soon!) to move products out of my ownership, and I've already announced my 2016 Skincare (face and body) No Buy over a month ago (read more about it here), which so far has been a success.

As far as my 2016 Make-up Low Buy, I had contemplated making it even more challenging by going down to just one make-up purchase allowed per month, but in the end, I decided I don't want to do that - I think it may already be quite difficult for me with my skincare and bodycare no buy thrown in the mix. The 2016 2-item allowance includes all cosmetic purchases, as well make-up brushes and nail polish. It doesn't account for gifts from friends and family, gifts with purchase and PR samples. Rolling unused buys forward is allowed but not encouraged (by which I mean that if I only purchase one thing one month, I am allowed three products the next, but I'll do my best not to do that). I think these rules are quite fair and should definitely be doable for me. I will also continue writing all my purchases down - I have also applied this strategy to clothing and accessories purchases this year, and it's been very helpful.

And that's it! I hope it was at least somewhat interesting for those of you who are also trying to reduce; I would love if you shared your progress and plans for 2016 in the comments, or shared little tricks and tacticts that made it easier for you to work on your goals. Have fun tomorrow at your New Year's Eve parties - we need to celebrate our downsizing achievements, after all!

Getting Into The Christmas Spirit

Happy Saint Nicholas Day! In case you didn't know, today is the feast day of St. Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian bishop with a reputation for secret gift-giving such as slipping coins into the boots of the poor. Growing up in Poland, I used to put my winter booties out for Saint Mikolaj on the night of December 5th, hoping to find toys in them the next morning (and yes, I would still get my bigger presents on Christmas Eve - it's a win win, am I right?). So I guess this little coincidence now allows me to shamelessly talk about the holidays with you and share what's been on my mind lately.

Christmas is my favorite holiday, like it is for probably 98% of Christians. I have a special fondness for things associated with it, and I'm not really apologetic about it - there's so much hate and sadness in our world that I can't help but feel grateful for those little joys Christmas usually brings me. Twinkling lights. The smell of cold and winter in the air. Baking shortbread star cookies. The feel of fir and spruce branches in my hands. Even the gaudy decorations and glittery baubles. It's fun!

But this year, I'm not really feeling it *shrugs*. I believe it's a whole combination of feelings I've been experiencing lately, and I wish that maybe by naming, stripping them bare and sending them out in the world like itinerant snowflakes, I can get rid of some of my Holiday blues. Shall we try?

Regardless of those superficial moments of festive joy I've mentioned above, Christmas is the happiest time of the year for me because of my family. As some of you may know, me and my husband emigrated to North America over 6 years ago, and all of our family and most of our friends live in Poland. We go home for the holidays every year, and due to my husband's limited time off work and the cost of airfare it's the only time of the year we travel to Poland (although most years, we also see our immediate family when they visit us here in the US during summer months).

At any rate - I don't know about you guys, but my family is pretty high on my life's priority list. This combined with how rarely we get to see them makes Christmas extra special for me. And I'm not saying this year I'm not excited and looking forward to being with our loved ones - but I guess this year more than in the past I feel that our time together is just so limited. Unfortunately, parting doesn't get easier with practice, and every year when time comes to say goodbye for another six months or more, I'm simply heartbroken. I can't seem to be able to shake that feeling this past couple of weeks, and I don't want to think about our Christmas trip's end before it's even begun, but that's precisely what I'm doing.

Another big factor that's been adding to my Christmas ennui is, well... excess. You've surely noticed I've been talking quite a bit about minimalism on the blog this year, not because it's trendy but because many of its ideas are really resonating with me. For someone wishing to simplify their life, the Holiday season seems to be all about things that you must have and that you must do. Shopping for gifts, and shopping holiday sales. Buying the tree and tree trinkets, decorating the house. Christmas party obligations and associated stresses - hair, outfit, hostess gifts. Cooking and baking up a storm. That's a lot of things we may feel forced to do, without reflecting on their value in our lives.

I would say that compared to a standard American family (if such a mythical beast even exists), me and my husband have always been pretty minimalist when it comes to celebrating the season - partly because we can easily simplify as we're spending the holiday overseas. We don't put up a Christmas tree; it'd be a shame to have it go to waste when we're not home for two weeks. I don't decorate our home much, because we live in a small apartment and don't have the space for all the extra stuff. We usually go to one semi-formal holiday party, and we don't keep a large circle of friends we would feel obligated to entertain. I don't even send out holiday cards. I'm the beauty blogger who stole Christmas, am I not?

Yet even the small number of Christmas preparations give me very ambivalent feels. On one hand, I feel incredibly grateful to have the means to purchase nice gifts for everyone in my family. But on the other... I kinda wish we would skip the whole gift exchange. There's 12 people on my list, no kids. It has somehow transpired over the years that I always buy more than one gift for each person - more like two or three. That's at least 30 (?!) different things I'm having to carefully plan and research, purchase in advance, transport in my check-in luggage to Poland, wrap and place under the tree. It takes a lot of time, effort and energy - and money, of course. But what worries me the most is that in the end, I'm really not sure how useful or enjoyable these presents will be for my recipients. As for me, when it comes to surprise gifts, I've come to feel more apprehensive than excited when it's time to open the boxes under the tree, because I HATE receiving unwanted things and feeling ungrateful and wasteful as a result. And for the things that I've requested from my wishlist... I could just as well purchase them myself, couldn't I? It's really starting to feel like the whole gift thing isn't really worth it - for me.

Before you judge me as a bit extreme, I should tell you that I do believe it's okay to live a little during the holiday season. I think we should be feeling thrilled about Christmas indulgences, precisely because they're not strictly necessary. It's so much fun to experience things that are over and beyond - that's what makes them extra special, and we're all very priviledged to have that. Maybe it doesn't sound very minimalist to say that anticipating excess can make us happier, but, well, it's true - and I think that as long as we don't make ourselves feel completely overwhelmed and stressed out, it's all good.

So how am I attempting to fight the blues and get into that Christmas spirit? Well, now that I'm 95% done with buying gifts, I did decide to go ahead and purchase a few new clothing items for myself during Cyber Monday sales (I've never shopped Black Friday in store, but I did work retail on Black Friday one year, and it wasn't pretty). Some pieces will replace somewhat worn out staples (a few warm long-sleeved tops, a set of pjs), some are just for fun (a casual jersey dress) - and I'm looking forward to wearing them during the Holidays.

I'd also been contemplating the best way to inject a little bit of Christmas decor into our place, and I was inspired partly by my mom, partly by my fall-themed pumpkin centerpiece shown here, to put together this little arrangement for our living room window sill - it's my version of decorating the mantelpiece when you don't own a fireplace. I decorate our window with fairy lights every December, but this year I shopped around and purchased a bunch of these fir? or spruce? branches for a whopping sum of $2 at a nearby florist. Greenpoint, I tell you - and speaking Polish to Polish shopkeepers doesn't hurt either :) The branches smell absolutely incredible, and since they're just, well, branches, they can be easily composted at the end of the season without having to store another thing in the closet. I laid them out on our sill, added some baubles I had in my stash from that one year we did put up a tree, and voila! A touch of minimalist Holiday cheer.

Other things on my list include baking festive cookies, listening to Ella Fitzgerald's holiday album (well, okay, I'm also partial to some Buble), typing out emails to friends all over the world I usually have trouble keeping in touch with, gorging on tangerines and maybe even watching a seasonal movie or two (please leave your favorites in the comments below!). I also borrowed an easy Christmassy read from my local library - they always set up seasonal displays for kids, but I guess this time they were nice enough to put together a little corner for adults too. Christmas-time mystery seems to be a thing, and I like it. So... are you guys feeling the Christmas spirit already, or are you trying to fight the blues like me? What are you looking forward to the most during the season? I'd love to hear from you!

Minimalist Monday: Into the Heart of Darkness

Belying this extremely dramatic post title, this is just a simple update on how I've been doing in my minimalist explorations in the past month or so. In short: we've moved, we've unpacked, we're enjoying the new apartment and neighborhood. Despite my anxiety over the size of the kitchen and closets in NYC rentals, our new place actually has a bigger kitchen than we've had previously, and a small walk-in closet in the bedroom - it's the first time I've ever had one at my disposal! Granted, it's currently mostly taken up by sports equipment of various shape and purpose, but still really, really fantastic to contain miscellaneous clutter.

So, maybe I shouldn't have panicked about all our stuff, and started getting rid of things because I was worried about being able to fit into the new space (I most definitely shouldn't have - for that specific reason). But you know what? I'm still really, really glad that I did all that decluttering; I can honestly say that I haven't missed a single thing I discarded. What's more, I've actually been decluttering after the move as well - maybe not on such a grand scale as before, but a little here and there every week, and I believe that it continues to make a big difference to our home and my stress levels.

Since that first post, I've made a concentrated effort to familiarize myself with the principles of minimalism, and most importantly, the practical application of those principles in everyday life. I've now read quite a few minimalist and simple living books and subscribed to a couple of minimalist channels on YouTube, and I feel that I'm much better informed than I was even a month ago. When I started my big pre-move purge, I was under the impression that being a minimalist entailed a very strict set of rules, like 'You can only own an X number of clothing items', 'Your skincare routine can't be more than three products', 'Your living space needs to be clean, simple and mostly bare' - and it just didn't seem to fit my lifestyle. But in truth, none of the resources I've turned to advocated any such rules at all - because minimalism isn't a set of rules to follow, it's a mindset, a shift in perspective.

The minimalist mindset is about having MORE of what you love, and none of the things that you don't - and it doesn't just encompass material possesions. Many of the books I've read, in addition to giving tips on purging your closets and streamlining your bathrooom, discussed subjects such as work planning and organization, personal commitments, goal achievement, or even healthy diets. It seems that you can apply the concepts of minimalism to just about any area of your life, to help bring into focus what matters most to you, and stop worrying about the things you don't care about.

Which brings me nicely to the reason for the dramatic title: in order to develop that minimalist point of view, one needs to decide what it is exactly that matters most to them, what they love the most. I don't know about you guys, but it's been proving quite difficult for me - I'm a bit prone to over-analyzing things anyway, but since the beginning of my minimalist experiment, it seems that I'm starting to question anything and everything.

How many pairs of socks does a person need to function comfortably? Could I get away with just one cocktail dress for all my formal occasions? How many different snacks should I keep in the cupboard before I stop remembering what's actually in there? Could I own just one pair of casual sandals, since summer season is so short here? Would it feel better not to have any back-up toiletries under the bathroom sink? What are my daily priorities? What have I been neglecting and what have I been overindulging in? Which unnecessary activities are taking precious time out of my day, which things would I like to spend more time on?

To be honest, it's been a bit exhausting trying to figure out all these things for myself; trying to find a balance between what is too much and what's not enough in each area of my life. Which is mostly why I've been feeling a bit uninspired to blog lately - well, that, and the fact that I haven't actually been trying very many new products lately. So if you have any beauty-related post requests, I'd be forever grateful if you cared to type them down below; I have lots of minimalist post ideas floating around, but I understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea, so I'd prefer to space that content out a bit for you guys.

But in general, I feel that I'm moving in the right direction, and it's been good to do a bit of soul-searching and gain some introspective insight about myself, my preferences, priorities, passions. In terms of material stuff, I've found that I get overwhelmed very easily by the size of my wardrobe, and as I'm donating more and more of my clothing, I'm happier about what I have and the outfits I put together from what's left. There are some gaps in my closet, but I've also been trying not to go out and purchase a lot of new things all at once - just a couple things each month, again, so that I'm more mindful about my possesions. It's also becoming easier now to get rid of things I really don't like: a weird pink mug (I don't like pink!), an ugly glass sculpture I once got as a gift, a type of candy I never eat, an ill-fitting bra. It really does feel so much better to only surround yourself with things that are beautiful, or at least useful.

How are you guys doing with your spring cleaning or general decluttering? I was talking to Kar Yi the other day about the minimalist books I've been reading, and she remarked that minimalism has now become a trend and everyone is 'purging'. I however believe that yes, while everyone seems to be getting rid of their old unwanted stuff, that's where it ends for most people - it's not at all about changing one's point of view and habits, and few people are trying to make a lasting change in their lives. What do you guys think?

Minimalism in Manhattan

Woe is me you guys, we're moving in approximately a month - and it's stressing me out. Let me tell you, the apartment hunt in NYC is rather painful, the basic truth of which was recently highlighted by our friend moving from San Fran to Boulder, Colorado, where apartments are big, aplenty, energy-efficient and about a third of the price of renting here or in SF. We're actually moving OUT of Manhattan and into Brooklyn, but it doesn't really make a difference when it comes to what most apartments available for rent in our price range look like.

'Cause they're generally SMALL. I know it sounds kinda quirky and 'sooo New York' when a character in a movie is forced to sleep in what is basically a glorified walk-in closet, but no, it's not fun in real life when you're trying to find a comfortable place to live. Obviously, one of the solutions is to move farther away from Manhattan where you can get a bigger space in your budget, but Mr doesn't want to commute for over an hour and a half every day of the working week, and I don't blame him - he's already working so much that a longer commute would probably have to mean cutting out things like the gym or some relaxation time late in the evening.

However you look at it, if you live in or close to Manhattan, you better get used to having very limited space for your stuff. When we first moved here a year and a half ago, we already had to let go of a number of things: some furniture and lots of sports equipment like a crash pad (a mattress for climbing and bouldering), Mr's older snowboard, his mountain bikes had to go into storage in a remote location. Now that we're preparing to move again, I've begun the long process of culling our stuff again, trying to decide what's indispensable and what I can do without.

It's a bit of a different decluttering process - I'd say that generally, I'm quite organized and don't hoard completely useless stuff, so the decisions I've been faced with have proven quite difficult. Here are some examples: our bookshelf started to overflow thanks to some Christmas gifts and Mr's growing collection of programming books, so I had to donate some of my novels to the local libary (the knowledge that they're not going in the trash was what made it possible for me to say goodbye). I went through our kitchen cabinets and put aside pots and pans as well as foodstuffs that I wasn't reaching for regularly anymore. I have a separate bag of clothing, shoes and accessories in the closet that I keep adding to before finally donating the whole lot. The remnants of rarely used sports equipment lingering in the closet are regularly given the side eye, although I don't know if I can convince my husband to let go.

Some may say that this forced minimalism in Manhattan is a good thing because it teaches you how little you actually need for day to day functioning. I'm in two minds about this: on one hand, I dislike holding on to things I don't need or enjoy using, so yeah, that's great - no room for clutter anyway. But on the other, I also feel that these living space limitations are holding me back from things I may benefit from, or are making me feel wasteful for having to let go off things I'm still using but won't have enough space to keep.

To give you two tangible examples of what I'm talking about: I've wanted a Cuisinart mixer for years, but truth is, the kitchens in the apartments we've seen so far have so little counter space that it's just not doable right now, and at any rate, having so little space for someone who cooks from scratch every single day is pretty tough. To illustrate the latter problem, I feel pretty sad that I probably won't be able to keep my vanity table; it already had to be put out of our small bedroom and into a dark hallway in our current apartment, so I've gotten used to doing my make-up elsewhere, but I wish I could have that small space all for myself and my beloved make-up stash.

Let's try to stay positive: maybe I could embrace the tiny apartments, and attempt to live a minimalist lifestyle. In that vein, I've been mulling over the practicalities of capsule wardrobes that I've seen many fashion bloggers experiment with in the past couple of years. I have very little fashion sense so I sincerely doubt if I'd be able to put together satisfactory outfits from just a handful of things, and I guess my questions are pretty dumb: 'But what if you live in a climate that experiences both extremely hot and cold weather, and everything in between (like New York)?', 'What if you're into sports and need specialized gear for that?'. 'Do you have to throw away something you own every time you buy something new?', 'Do you just not buy any new clothes until something older falls apart?', and 'How do you not get bored out of your mind?'.

So I don't know if true minimalism is the way to go for me - right now it just feels like a panicky getting rid of a whole bunch of stuff. I can't help but feel wasteful for my past purchases that I have no use for anymore, even though when I first got them, my living conditions and needs were a lot different. I also realize that what I'm doing is not the fun 'I'm clearing out my closet for Spring, and now I can go shopping to fill all that extra space!', it's the 'I have no space for new stuff - from now on it's a strict "one in - one out" only'.

But even disregarding the whole limited space issue, I've been thinking about how much stuff we accrue over the years, where it's coming from and where it's ultimately going. I'm questioning whether in this day and age (in the first world), anyone wears out their things anymore - and so with the constant influx of the new and trendy, the old must end up being thrown or given away (and then I suppose it's mostly recycled into home insulation or something of the sort). The image of myself as a greedy monster continously devouring and spitting out goods doesn't sit well with me; but at the same time, I want to enjoy both thoughtful acquisition of new and possession of the old. I don't want to bar myself from the joy I feel from shopping for a small treat, and I don't want to force myself to use something I hate just to avoid the feelings of being wasteful. Where exactly do I strike the balance? I believe this is something I'll keep experimenting with, and doing what feels right in this moment is probably my best strategy, realizing that things will change as I grow.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this post anymore, so I guess that means it's time to wrap it up. I don't want you to come away from this post thinking that I'm complaining or feeling sorry for myself - I think what I'm trying to say is that I need to change a lot of lifelong habits and it's making me feel a bit apprehensive. I realize it's going to be a challenge, and I need you guys to hold my hand for a bit - but deep down, I know it's a good thing, and I'm going to enjoy it.

Have you attempted or are you currently living a more minimalist lifestyle? If so, please let me know your experiences in the comments - I'd love to know how it's been working out for you! I'm aware that a lot of you are working on decreasing the size of your make-up collections this year by purging unloved bits and/or Project Pan/ Project Make A Dent, but I'd love to know if that mindframe also spilled over to other areas of your life. Inquiring minds want to know!

This Make-up Wearer's Manifesto

I'm not sure what to call this round of random musings, and I'm not really sure how to begin - so I'm just going to start typing and see where we end up. This post is about me trying to change my attitude towards wearing make-up, and generally speaking, my lifelong habit of 'saving it for later'. Does this sound vague enough or should I muddle it even further in the preamble?

Well, here's the gist of it. As a stay-at-home wife who lives very far away from most of her friends and all of her family (husband excepted), I spend a lot of time alone, in our apartment. When we moved here to NYC from Bellevue, WA, and I transitioned from working part/full time to just hanging out at home, I decided it would surely be silly to get dolled up every day to do the dishes, read books and occasionally pop downstairs to pick up packages. It's just me, right? I don't need to prove anything or try to impress myself, so why bother?

It turned out to be a bit of a slippery slope. First, I decided against putting make-up on every day (I'm letting my skin breathe!), only reserving it for the times I was going out to run errands or having some sort of social obligations. Then, I couldn't get out of loungy pants (ok, pajama bottoms) and stretched out t-shirts, and often skipped brushing my hair in the morning. And then recently, I've noticed around lunch time that I forgot to eat breakfast that day, haven't touched some nicer pieces in my closet for well over a year, and haven't been to a hairdresser in a year and a half. Wait... what?!

Before you start judging along the lines of 'Wow, she really let herself go' - no, you wouldn't even notice my gradual decline if I didn't just tell you about. Because when I did go out, I still applied my make-up meticulously (come on, I'm a beauty blogger, remember?), spent some time putting together a nice outfit, or even attempted a hair style. I did not suddenly start looking like a bridge troll; I maintained a pulled-together exterior, just became very, very lazy when it was just myself I was keeping company.

What really got me thinking about my attitude towards my own appearance on my 'days off' was my mum, who's been retired for about two years now. I've noticed that she probably now takes MORE care in her make-up, hair and clothes than she used to when she had to get ready for work every morning. She's constantly experimenting with her fashion style, doesn't miss a hair appointment with her stylist, and she's even started to do her nails (big deal here, folks)! So... if she can look nice just for herself, why can't I?

Not an easy answer, that. But I guess what it boils down to is that I generally tend to think the person I am at the moment doesn't deserve the effort of making herself presentable just for her own enjoyment. That the current me isn't good enough to look and feel pretty just because - no, there has to be a reason for me to pull myself together, which usually involves being in the company of other people. So, other people (like, strangers in the street?) deserve not to be put off by an au naturel Monika, but Monika can absolutely make herself feel bad about her messy reflection in the mirror.

You may gather from this that I'm not a very self-loving person, and you're right, I know that, and I AM trying to work on it; I did go see a hair stylist this week, ok? I also realize that self-love extends beyond one's appearance, but since this is a beauty blog after all, I just thought I'd share this shallower aspect with you, hoping that some of you may have similar experiences, and even if you don't, knowing that you're sensitive, emphatic, amazing people and you feel me. But yeah; my first step towards accepting myself as I am now is making the effort to look and feel pretty on the regular.

This also includes (FINALLY!) not saving stuff for later (later, when what? I'm bigger and badder?). Just to clarify, this is not the good kind of delayed gratification like in the famous marshmallow experiment; what I do is more along the lines of: 'Let me torture myself with the crappy stuff right now, and then be so miserable that I won't even feel the gratification of enjoying my favorite products when the times comes to finally pull them out'. But - NO MORE!

So if I feel like slapping on my most expensive foundation to take out the trash, I'll do it, and even if I don't feel like doing it, I'll still make myself do it, just to prove a point. If I feel like wearing a cashmere sweater just to read my book, I'll put it on, and enjoy its warmth and fluffiness. If I crave the spicy scent of my newest Serge Lutens perfume, I'll spritz it on and sniff my wrist every couple minutes while I'm typing up a blog post. Because you know what, my 'good' stuff won't last forever, and I should enjoy it while I have it, and not make myself endure mediocre things in anticipation of using my favorites some day in the unforeseeable future. Right? Right.

I've also been thinking that lately, I want to wear my make-up pretties more often precisely because I don't have to. What I mean by this is that for years, I'd been mostly wearing base make-up to conceal breakouts and hyperpigmentation scars. But in the past couple of months, I've been getting a lot less pimples and clogged pores, the texture and tone of my skin looks more even, and I'm not even as incredibly oily on my nose and forehead as I used to be (have I just jinxed myself? Will report back!). So now that my skin looks alright - not flawless by any stretch of imagination, but really good for me - and I don't need to hide as much, I can enjoy make-up just for the fun of it: the beauty of the products themselves, the variety of textures and colors, the tactile pleasure of putting it on, the experimentation with different placements and shapes. Not that I didn't enjoy all of it before, but without the stressful element of 'Holy crap, pizza face, where's my concealer?!', wearing make-up makes me even happier.

Tell me, do you also struggle with the 'save it for later' attitude towards your clothes and beauty products? I sometimes feel that my stash-reducing projects like empties and Project Make A Dent make it even harder for me to enjoy my bestest things, forcing me to reach for blah products over and over again, while in the meantime, my favorites just sit there gathering dust at best, or even expire and have to be tossed at worst. I also recently realized that my beauty and fashion needs and preferences really change quite often - or, uhm, I'm growing and becoming more discerning, I hope? Either way, this means that something I've just bought thinking it the best thing ever may turn out to no longer hold my attention when I finally start using it couple years down the line, because I'd been so focused on using up other stuff first. Oh, first world problems...

For Fellow Bookworms: My Favorite Books of 2014

I often casually mention here and there what a huge bookworm I am, but I'm quite non-commital when it comes to actually sharing what I've been reading, maybe except for some few and far between library hauls on Instagram. Well, I've decided to put my money where my mouth is and finally pass on some book recommendations - especially fitting now as it's the time of annual 'Best ofs' and some such lists (yes, there IS a beauty round-up coming soon, duh!). Anyway, lo and behold, in no particular order, my favorite books I've read in 2014:

Btw, these are not the books I'm recommending (I'm especially NOT recommending you read Regina Brett), it's just one of the shelves in our bookcase. All of the books I'm recommending (with the exception of one) were library finds, and on that note, New York Public Library is a favorite too, even if they only let me keep the books for 2 weeks at a time.

Kristin Cashore 'Graceling' and 'Fire', 2008 and 2009
Fantasy has always been one of my favorite genres in fiction, and these two first books from the Graceling Realm series cement my love and hope in its future. Why yes, these are children/ young adult books. And yes, contrary to many teen reads making the rounds these days, 'Graceling' and 'Fire' are mature both in subject matter and literary means, but more importantly, they're moving, thought-provoking, gripping and relatable. I found the emotional upheavals of the main characters very haunting, in a similar way I've always found Astrid Lindgren's Ronia the Robber's Daughter incredibly beautiful in its melancholy. I'm probably doing a very poor job of convincing you to read these right now, but I absolutely loved them, and I think you would too.

Isabel Allende 'Ripper', 2014
Wait, what? Isabel Allende of magical realism, The House of the Spirits and Eva Luna, has written a murder mystery? I was intrigued too. Both me and Mr read this one and had some bones to pick with the plot at times, but 'Ripper' also has elements I've loved in other mystery books: a precocious child/ teen sleuth character (similarly to the hilarious and lovable heroine of Alan Bradley Flavia de Luce series) and a serial killers' fanatics club who takes on solving the 'Who dunnit' (similarly to Charlaine Harris' Real Murders/ Aurora Teagarden series). In addition, Ripper also features multiple points of view and a curiously matter of fact style of narrative. Maybe not a 'must read', but an engrossing choice for crime novel (and San Fran!) lovers.

Neil Gaiman, 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane', William Morrow and Company, 2013
Am I totally late to the party? Or maybe you too haven't heard that there's a new(ish) Neil Gaiman book out now? Either way, go read it, it's everything we've come to expect from the author, maybe even in a slightly more unsettling atmosphere. 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' bridges the realms of a short story/ short novel, memories and dreams, the world of adults and the world of children. It paints a beautiful, menacing landscape where things don't always turn out alright in the end, not without grave consequences. Just read it already, you can thank me later.

Donna Tartt, 'The Goldfinch', Little, Brown and Company, 2013
Oooh, Pullitzer Prize winner and shortlisted as one of 10 Best Books of 2013 by New York Times Book Review - are you impressed already? I feel that The Goldfinch has become an Ulysses of the past year, where a lot of people attempt to read it only to get stuck in the first few chapters. I don't think it's entirely fair; not that this is an easy read, but the difficulty lies more in the subject matter than the style of writing for me personally. The Goldfinch features a tragic young hero whom we follow through his struggles and let's admit it, mostly lows, but also some fascinating insights on the art world and the personal meaning of art, similarly to the book I'm going to recommend next. Overall, it's somewhat of a daunting read, but well worth the effort in my opinion.

Susan Vreeland, 'Girl in Hyacinth Blue', Penguin Books, 2000
Not the latest release - but I've actually started with the newer (2012) Susan Vreeland historic art novel, 'Clara and Mr. Tiffany' (also lovely, especially if you're interested in Tiffany's stained glass, early feminist movements and New York City in the 1890s), and worked my way back to 'Girl in Hyacinth Blue' - of which I slightly prefer the latter. This is more of a collection of short stories centered around the common subject of an imaginary Vermeer painting, and the meaning of that work of art in the lives of different people spanning from its creation to modern times. It's not necessarily eye-opening, but I enjoyed the various glimpses into the past and multiple narratives.

Michelle Nevius and James Nevius, 'Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City', Free Press, 2009
Can you see that strangely meandering pattern in the choice of my reading material? I've always enjoyed reading books set in cities I lived in, and living in NYC definitely has the benefit of a lot of fictitious reading material ('Clara and Mr. Tiffany', 'The Goldfinch', and a notable mention of 'The Golem and the Jinni' by Helene Wecker). But sometimes it's a good idea to build a solid basis of hard facts about your city by way of a history book, especially if you get a lot of house guests who enjoy little anecdotes here and there, but would never actually research anything on their own - can you tell I'm speaking from personal experience of a not-always-willing amateur tour guide? I've paged through a couple different books on NYC history but 'Inside the Apple' was definitely a standout: clearly divided into little nuggets of information, interesting, cross-referencing and comes with several guided walk ideas at the end. If you're a fellow New Yorker or a lover of the city, Nevius' book may be worth looking into.

Jonathan Carroll 'Bathing the Lion', St. Martin's Press, 2014
Carroll is back, baby! If you grew up in Poland in the 90s, you're probably very familiar with this American writer and his books, especially the covers of editions published in the 'Salamandra' series. I was trying to explain to my husband how his books were my favorite growing up, and he didn't remember ever reading one, so I did some digging, and get this: his first book, 'The Land of Laughs', couldn't find a publisher for a long time and was finally published thanks to a famous Polish science fiction writer, Stanislaw Lem, whose son Carroll taught in Vienna. Since then, Carroll's books are published first in Poland and often reference elements of Polish culture, as is the case in 'Bathing the Lion'.

The cover of the American edition likens Carroll's writing to Philip K. Dick, Italo Calvino, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Kafka. I do agree that 'Bathing the Lion' starts in a magical realism fashion, but then quite unexpectedly takes off in several different directions. It's a bit of a mind bender, and after devouring it through the course of one fine Saturday, my thoughts keep returning to the plot and its possible meanings. I definitely recommend it. If it helps you decide, Neil Gaiman recommends it too.

Enough with the favorites, time for the one major unfavorite for this year: Allure 'The Beauty Expert' (quote unquote purely mine) magazine, and women's magazines in general. Here's a bit of background to my story: a while ago, I used to have a yearly subscription to Allure, which I enjoyed, and when that was up and I found a very inexpensive subscription option for six months, I went for it it again. I've always treated women's lifestyle magazines as a very frivolous, brain fart sort of reading material, but with this round of Allure, I've ceased to enjoy it even in that role. I find the topic selection quite boring, the quality of writing sub par, the product recommendations untrustworthy, and overall content light years behind blogs and online platforms.

But get this - Allure probably felt beauty blogs encrouching on their territory, and wanted to appear progressive and generous of spirit, so they launched their own best beauty blogs competition. I am aware that the contest helped some bloggers build their audience and brand relationships (good for them!), but I can't help but feel that Allure is somehow taking advantage of participants to promote their own magazine. In the time of widespread outrage at undisclosed sponsorships, PR samples and hidden commercial content, doesn't it seem kinda convoluted to you that bloggers would be pointing their readers in the direction of a magazine where those practices are everyday bread and butter? Maybe I'm taking quite a radical stance, but either way, I won't be subscribing to Allure any longer, and I'm switching my in-flight reading material to National Geographic these days. What do you guys think - do you still read beauty and fashion magazines?

That big rant aside, I do hope you enjoyed browsing through my favorite reads for this year and have found something that piqued your bookwormy interest. Let me know if you've read any of these and if so, what were your thoughts, but more importantly PLEASE share your book picks for 2014 - I'm forever looking for good recommendations!

Cute Christmas Gift Idea: Korean Planners and Minted Custom Wall Art

I realize it's probably too late for most people to speak of any gift ideas, but these were just too cute not to share with you - and it's something a little different than beauty! So, even if these ideas are not entirely doable this year, you could keep them in mind for next Holiday season, or even a birthday or other special occasion.

One of the things I like to gift my friends and family for Christmas are cute calendars and planners. I feel that it's something almost everyone uses and needs (especially for the beginning of the new year) but maybe doesn't necessarily want to splurge on a really nice one themselves. In the past, I've gone the classic Moleskine route, but this year I thought I wanted something a little less run-of-the-mill. After a VERY long research session on various websites, Amazon and Etsy, I completely fell down the Korean stationery rabbit hole. I mean really - can you get ANY more adorable than this?!

2015 Gunmangzeung Simple Light Monthly Small Dated Planners in Circus and Bonjour patterns

2015 Gunmangzeung My Daily Life Dated Small Diary in Red, PlanD Matryoshka Index Sticky Note Set, Iconic Sticky Book in the Vintage pattern

I ordered all of the planners you see here from the Korean online store Fallindesign, but you can also search for the specific ones on eBay. The downside of ordering through Fallindesign was that I paid about $20 in shipping, while eBay shipping options are often free or very affordable, but the upside was that I was ordering from an established and trustworthy retailer, and my order was delivered within two weeks, everything inside packaged impeccably. The paper quality in all of these planners is great, and I love that they come with a plastic cover; however, please note that the patterned journals are not hard cover, which makes them less sturdy but not as heavy to carry around.

Gunmangzeung Monthly Simplanner Special Edition (undated) in the Apple pattern

2015 Indigo Willow Story Illustration Pattern Undated Monthly Scheduler in Yellow, Smile Sticky Memo Notes - Owl

Now, if you DON'T want to go through the hassle of ordering from the evil Bay or a store overseas, I have another option for you. Shortly after I placed my order for these Korean planners, I was contacted by the US-based custom paper goods retailer Minted.com. This was one of those times when I was genuinely happy to hear from a brand I hadn't known about beforehand, because I was sucked into Minted's offerings pretty much instantenously.

Minted.com is like a curated collection of beautiful things from graphic designers all over the world, which you can pick out and customize to fit your own needs. They have everything (do I sound like the Stefon character from SNL?): wall art in a variety of sizes and frames, customizable journals and notebooks, personal stationery, Holiday greeting cards, even fabrics and stickers. Not only are their adorable designs very hard to resist (I challenge you NOT to find something you like on their website!), it makes me feel good that I can contribute to the income of an actual living breathing designer. Here are some of my top picks with links:

I Love Baking and Math Art Print // Do Small Things with Great Love Customizable Planner, Address Book or Notebook // Read Textured Blocks Art Print // Blue Bird Personal Stationery // Hello Love Day Planner, Notebook or Address Book // New York City Map Foil Art Print // Classic Posy Personal Stationery // Mid-Century Moments Art Print

Again, it's probably a bit too late to use these ideas for this upcoming Holiday season, but how wonderful would be to pick out a custom gift for your loved one next year? Maybe a weekly planner with their photo and a meaningful quote on the inside cover, or an art print that relates to where they live or what their interests are, or even a personalized stationery for exchanging snail mail. I'm definitely storing these ideas for later.

Are you guys stationery-obsessed too? Do you like giving customized gifts? Let me know in the comments what your best Holiday gift ideas are this season!

Disclaimer: This post has been published in cooperation with Minted.com. I am receiving a store credit in exchange for featuring my top picks from Minted on my blog; this way I can also try out their services myself and let you know what I think of them. After I order and receive my goodies, you can expect an update with specifics on quality, turnaround time and delivery. I've purchased all the other products featured myself and they are actual presents I'm gifting some family members and friends this Holiday season. All links are non-affiliate. All opinions are 100% honest and unbiased, no matter if the products featured were purchased with my own monies or provided as (future) free press samples. Thank you for reading!

My Fortnight in Beauty

Hello, stranger! I haven't actually sat down to write in quite a while; the posts you've been reading in August were all pre-scheduled for the time I was entertaining the family, and then on top of that, we had another house guest shortly after, and THEN it was my wedding anniversary/birthday weekend, and the idea of being glued to my laptop didn't quite appeal - or maybe I've just gotten out of practice. But I'm back!

To ease my way back into the swing of things, I've decided to share two weeks from my beauty diary - not that I actually keep one, it's just to sum up what has been going on with me and the products I've been using. If you like this type of posts, please check out Kar Yi's 'The Fortnight Face' and Liz's 'Makeup Diary', which inspired me to pour my oh-so-deep skincare and make-up thoughts out on these pages.

Let's start with the skin. In short, it's been shitty. The nearly three weeks that my in-laws stayed with us, my skin's been really bothering me: oily and dehydrated, with lots of larger breakouts, mostly on both cheeks - and when the first wave had finally healed, new ones popped up in the exact same area. Why?! I'm still nursing my face back to an acceptable state, but I think what helped to stop the constant crop of pimples was my previously underrated tube of Coral Actives 5% Benzoyl Peroxide Penetrating Acne Serum Gel. BP usually doesn't work great on my skin, but this time, it seems to have done the trick; lesson learnt that hoarding various acne treatments in the skincare drawer for desperate times can actually be a pretty good idea.

I've also been working my way through Murad's Essential-C range of moisturizers; when I first tried these I liked the Day Moisture SPF 30 more than the Night Moisture, which seemed too heavy and sticky, but I've since changed my mind. In fact, it's the daytime cream that's now too greasy and never seems to fully absorb into my skin, while the night cream, especially when applied on top of Peter Thomas Roth Un-Wrinkle, sinks in nicely and feels comfortable. But I wouldn't actually repurchase either; what I am considering buying in the full size is the Ole Henriksen Ultimate Lift Eye Gel. Lightweight but hydrating, non-tacky and perfect for both mornings under make-up and overnight.

For the base make-up, I've been sticking to a long-lasting foundation by way of Estee Lauder Double Wear Light, and setting it with both Make Up For Ever HD Powder and Skindinavia No More Shine Makeup Finish (I remain unconvinced whether the latter does anything to keep my skin matte, but I'm desparate to use it up). For concealing those pesky spots, I just can't quit Becca's Dual Coverage Compact Concealer - can someone please tell me to finally throw it out?! I guess I really like the convenience of a cream concealer in a pot.

Cheeks are the area where I mixed the old with the new: still trying to make a more significant dent in both NYC Blushable Creme Stick in Plaza Pink and the NYX Powder Blush in Angel. I've been really enjoying using the Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil bronzer this summer, and for a warmer cheek, I've been pairing it with Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Dazzled. Over the years, I've noticed that I get into real phases with blushes, where I fall in love with a particular shade and reach for it over and over again, until I finally make myself swap it out for something else from my collection. I've also put on some Canmake Cream Cheek in Clear Pink Joy here and there, but it failed to hold my attention away from the Tarte Dazzled.

I've been all about quick and boring eye make-up, with cream eyeshadow sticks and smudgy eyeliner being my preferred eye make-up routine. Firm favorites: Clinique Chubby Stick For Eyes in Ample Amber and Mally Evercolor Shadow Stick in Dusk, paired with Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Whiskey and copious layers of Benefit BADgal Lash. Contrarily to 95% of the Internetz (the percentage has been scientifically eyeballed by yours truly), I much prefer Benefit's BADgal to They're Real, and the big bonus is that it doesn't smudge or transfer on me.

So here's my ultra boring, neutral warm face, abundant in enlarged pores, spots, acne scars and summer freckles. The only area where I experimented on a nearly daily basis for the past 2-3 weeks was my lipstick; I frequently swapped out formulas and shades to suit my mood or sometimes even my outfit - I know, FANCY. The experience of having very limited access to my vanity (which is awkwardly situated in our apartment hallway, so for the comfort of my guests I just piled up my makeup essentials into a basket, grabbed my mirror and brush cup and moved all that to our bedroom) hasn't been as tedious as expected; since I was pressed for time to get ready in the mornings, I enjoyed the smaller selection of products. Now that I can use all of my collection again, I feel that I already have a lot of fantastic products in my stash that I missed using, and I don't feel the need to buy any new make-up for the time being - but I'm already planning my wishlist for the Sephora VIB sale in late October :)

So how have you been, my lovely readers? I missed talking to you! And by the way, thank you so much for all of your happy birthday wishes on Twitter - it made my day that much happier.