What's In My Travel Make-up Bag

Every December, me and my husband fly out to Poland to spend Christmas with our families. It's just such a magical time of the year and there's no way we could miss being with the loved ones, with our heaps of delicious Polish food, Christmas carols, crackling logs in the fireplace, and of course, mountains of presents under the Christmas tree.

This year I'm actually flying home quite early, and as you're reading this post, I'm in the midst of packing my suitcase and counting the time until the departure for JFK airport. I usually dread flying, but since we moved to the East Coast, Warsaw is so much closer than before - just one 8-hour flight away! But anyway, while I'm packing I thought I'd show you what's in the make-up bag I' bringing with me (you can also check out the contents of my last year's carry-on pouch here). Shall we take a peek inside?

I recently got this 'Beauty on the fly' bag from Sephora so that I could stop using those ridiculous ziplock baggies; I'm not planning on packing my make-up in my carry-on, but I wanted to show you the design and how roomy the bag actually is. First off, let's start with base: I like to travel with smaller and/or more compact make-up products, so I chose the small bottle of Face Atelier Ultra Foundation, Bobbi Brown Corrector for under eyes and Becca Compact Concealer for blemishes. I was thinking for the longest time about taking a mineral foundation as well for days when I don't need as much make-up, but decided against - in the case my skin will be behaving particularly well (which it never does during the Holidays), I could try to sheer the foundation out with some moisturizer. I also packed a travel size of Stila Convertible Color in Lillium, my natural warmer blush option and an Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused to set everything.

For my eyes, I decided to overpack my eyeshadows a bit; I feel like I haven't played with eye make-up enough recently and hopefully with some holiday downtime, I'll have more time to experiment while I'm away. I filled my small Z Palette with a lot of shimmery neutral Fyrinnae shadows, Rouge Bunny Rouge Unforgettable Oriole and Eclipse Eagle, one cool matte brown from Inglot to blend out edges, and a La Femme blush in Flamingo Pink for the more vibrant, cool-toned blush option.

I also REALLY want to take my bareMinerals The Finer Things palette although I realize it's probably a bit of eyeshadow overkill. We'll see if I have enough space to squeeze it in! I'm also taking a NARS eye primer, a Laura Mercier Caviar stick in Grey Pearl for lazy days, some eyeliners (fun colors from Sephora and a boring black from GOSH), and a sample size of black mascara. I forgot to include my brow pencil in the photos, but that obviously has to come as well.

Lastly, for lips I've managed to be quite restrained and only pack three products: a Guerlain Rouge Automatique in Shalimar for a cool bold pink, a MAC Viva Glam V for a pinky neutral, and a Fresh Sugar Treatment lip balm in Passion for a sheerer juicy red. I might also pack a neutral lipgloss like Clarins Lip Perfector in Rose Shimmer in my carry-on for shine and hydration on the go.

And that's it! Well, ok, I realize it's actually quite a lot of make-up - but I'll be gone for about three weeks and also need to be prepared for Holiday parties, family gatherings, theatre outings and similar special occasions. As you can see, I like to still have options when I travel, especially for my eye make-up, but otherwise I try not to take colors that are very similar or that I know I don't like wearing often. I'll focus on making an effort to take lots of photos while I'm in Poland and I'll be posting them on my Instagram, or maybe I'll even eke out enough time to write an actual blog post - well, apart from regular blog programming I have scheduled for you when I'm gone.

Do you pack light or are you a make-up overpacker? What is your system for packing cosmetics and skincare? Let me know in the comments!

New York City Bound

Another housekeeping post - so if you're only interested in ohmahgerd, lipstick swatches, you can safely skip this - otherwise, it's pretty amazing stuff, if I dare say so myself. You might have noticed my posting has been a bit sketchy these past couple of weeks, and the simple reason is this: we're moving to NYC.

An old photo from an NYC trip we took two years ago - hence the short do!

Yes, I know, NYC!!! This past week we just came back from a short trip to the city we took in order to find and rent an apartment, which was very successful (you can follow my exploits from the trip on Instagram, if you wish), and by the end of next week, our stuff is going to be professionally packed up and driven across the country to Manhattan. It's all very exciting, maybe except for the part when we'll be living in our current apartment without any furniture and just a couple of suitcases - but ya know, you gotta do what you gotta do.

All this madness means that blogging is a bit challenging these days, but fear not, I'm planning to make it up to you once we settle in a bit. The biggest reason we're moving is because of Mr's awesome new career opportunity, but for me, due to some visa restrictions, it means no job for quite some time - but all the more time for blogging, right?

Big hugs to all of you and let me know in the comments if you have any recommendations for must-see places in New York or anything we should absolutely know, since we're pretty new to all of this :) Thank you for reading!

My In-Flight Beauty Essentials

As you might know from my previous post, I was spending the Christmas holiday with my family at home - and home is Warsaw, Poland, at least15 hours of flight and exactly 9 hours time difference away from here. I'm sure anyone who has ever spent more than 2 hours on a plane knows how devastating the cabin air can be for one's skin and overall well-being - so imagine what I usually feel like by the time I reach our Warsaw Frederic Chopin airport. Which is why I've decided to put together a little S.O.S onboard beauty kit this time to take with me, and here's what's in it:

My in-flight routine is very much inspired by this video posted by Lisa Eldridge. I start by removing any face make-up I might be wearing to look more human at the airport, first by using a make-up removing wipe (a sample packet of Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes - I'm not a huge fan of wipes in general but they'll do in a pinch) and then by massaging a cream cleanser to get the last bits off; here I was using a sample of Dermalogica Ultracalming Cleanser and really liked how it made my skin feel. I leave my eyes alone - I was just wearing mascara at the time and wanted to avoid the hassle of getting it all off and then reapplying.

I then generally spritz my face with a toner; depicted is an Arcona toner but I was actually using some decanted Allafia toner in a little spray bottle. I am now all ready to apply my hydrating mask; here, as per Lisa's recommendation, I had a sample of Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Masque, which is pretty much invisible on the skin. Unfortunately, it's hydrating effect was also pretty invisible, as my skin was very tight and peeling badly by the time I reached Warsaw. I also keep a little tube of moisturizer for when I'm done with my mask, which I remove with my wipes again, as well as some hand cream and lip balm for added moisture.

I love that L'Occitane shea butter hand cream and this tiny tube is probably the cutest thing I've ever seen!

Just before landing, I apply some make-up to look a bit less tired. This time, I took with me a powder foundation (Physicians Formula Healthy Wear), a concealer I could use under my eyes and on blemishes (Becca Compact Concealer) and a tinted lip balm (Fresh Sugar in Passion).

Overall, I was pretty happy with what I packed in my little beauty kit but next time I would probably try to find a more effective face mask or even just use a good hydrating serum instead. The whole routine made me feel a lot more relaxed and I think I was looking a bit more fresh-faced at the end of our journey.

On a different note, I hope you guys are all well and happy in the new year and I'm sorry for my prolonged absence; I had big plans for blogging when I was away but family quality time had to take priority. I have however a lot of things planned out for you, starting with some personal and blogging New Years resolutions. Stay tuned!

What's In My Travel Skincare Bag?

... Because I bet you're dying to know - well, maybe not. I will start my discussion of the contents of my travel skincare bag by saying that I love minis; that's probably why I find Birchbox so hard to resist and always look for deluxe sample coupon codes for Sephora. So, the products featured were either part of Birchbox one month or another, or a gift with purchase of some sort.


The above skincare bag was packed for our 5-day vacation in New York this past week. You may recognize the bag from my previous post; I find it a perfect size for a shorter stay and even this excessive amount of stuff fits quite nicely in it.


Let's start with bodycare and fragrance, shall we? I decided to take St. Ives Intensive Healing Body Lotion, also to double as a hand cream - but I haven't used it even once. I was too tired to even think about putting on a body lotion, and as for a hand cream, I had to get one at Duane Reade, because I left this at the hotel and my hands had got unbelievably dry. Fail.

For showering, I took the Korres Mini Showergel in Fig, but to be honest, I'm not a fan of neither the gel itself nor the scent. I also tucked in a little sample of The Body Shop Brazilian Nut Body Scrub; now, this is deliciously fragranced and quite effective, and I'd used up the pot in 2 applications. Last but not least, perfume: my current favorite is Tocca Cleopatra, a beautifully warm and feminine 'floriental' with a touch of fruit. I've been using my sample for at least 2 weeks and it's still going strong!


Now, skincare - can you tell I'm slightly obsessed? For cleansing and removing make-up, I packed Clinique Take The Day Off Makeup Remover and Philosophy Purity, both of which I like, but believe one can find cheaper alternatives of. For fighting pesky flight-induced spots, I took Mario Badescu Special Cucumber Lotion, which I only use on acne-prone areas after cleansing, and the Drying Cream to dab on little buggers overnight.

For every other day maintenance, I chose Yonka Alpha-Complex Wrinkle Defense Retexturizing Gel with AHA, which I will not repurchase for sure, as the stuff smells and looks like liquid glue, as well as Lift Lab Lift & Fix serum, which I can't say anything about just yet. I was also delusional enough to believe I'd have enough time for a mask (100% Pure Brightening Scrub & Mask), but no, no such luck.


I also managed to squeeze a small bottle of shampoo, deodorant and some hair putty in there; for the size of the bag, I definitely championed in the number of products I filled it with. How do you pack your skincare for shorter stays?

A Sunday Trip to Mazovia

My blog's stats are telling me that not all of you, dear readers, are acquainted with Poland and Polish culture; otherwise I would probably be writing this in Polish. I don't often mention here much about my heritage, but when I've had, many of you seemed to be genuinely interested. This is why I've decided to share my Sunday trip and show you some beautiful places in Mazovia, which is a central region in Poland where I had lived before moving across the pond.


On Sunday, me and my parents first headed out to Żelazowa Wola, the birthplace of Polish pianist and composer Frederic Chopin (this is especially for you, Citrine!). We'd all been to the museum when still in school, but let me tell you, a lot has changed since then. The Chopin's family mansion and the surrounding garden are well maintained and beautiful at this time of the year, and small strategically placed speakers play beautiful music composed by Chopin as you stroll between the trees.


Then, through fields blooming with red poppies and blue loggerheads, we drove on to Nieborów to see a barocco palace and a park, which used to be owned by one of the most powerful noble families in Poland, the Radziwiłłs. The palace is unique in that it retained its original decor and furnishings and wasn't plundered during WWII, unlike most Polish historical sites. The park features many ponds and alleys, but most of all, beautiful old trees, like the plane tree in the photo below.



We then had to make a stop for dinner, which was traditional Polish cuisine, something we don't enjoy that often. I had delicious pierogi with lentil and minced meat filling, yummy!


The last place we visited was Arkadia, a romantic English garden founded in the 18th century by Helena Radziwiłłowa. The most interesting aspect of the park are faux ruins, like the aquaduct pictured below, which were all the rage at the time. Walking through the park, we managed to burn off some of that pierogi we had earlier!


The trip was fantastic and I'd recommend it to anyone visiting central Poland and especially Warsaw, since it's so different from the hustle and bustle of the capital. I was supposed to be studying for my exams on Sunday, but I'm glad we escaped to the countryside, it was lovely and peaceful.

Let me know if you liked this little peek of Poland and whether you'd like to see more, I could sneak in some photos of Warsaw if you like!

My Air Travel Essentials

With Christmas drawing closer and closer and many of us hitting the road for family get-togethers, I thought I'd share my air travel essentials with you, my lovely blogettes. Now, I'm no expert, but I've had a fair share of transatlantic flights in my twenty and some years of life, with even more to come in the future. For me, preparing for a 15-hour plane trip requires a bit of strategic planning: what to do the night before, what to wear, what to take with you, what to do during the flight, how to unwind afterwards. Most of you won't probably need to know all that if you're just hopping between cities (within the US or Canada) or countries (within Europe), but I hope you'll find some of the tips helpful.

Before the flight:
1. Make sure to thoroughly hydrate your body and moisturize the skin. It will prevent you from feeling absolutely crappy after the journey and also minimize the effects of a jetlag.
2. Dress in layers. In my experience, the air conditioning in the cabin is usually cranked up so high that I shiver even underneath the fleece blanket. I find that a warm wide scarf can be a lifesaver: you can use it as a wrap or make a bundle to use as a pillow.
3. Make a packing list to ensure you've taken all the important stuff like passport, medicine, mobile phone charger and so on.
4. If you're a contact lens wearer, wear your glasses this time. Dozing off in your lenses is not the best idea, plus your eyes will feel so dry from the air in the cabin that it's best to put up with your eyeglasses just this once.


What to pack in your carry-on:
1. A water bottle. I know that flight attendants are supposed to bring you water every time you ask them, but sometimes it's too much of a bother, like when everyone's asleep and you don't want to disturb. You can empty your water bottle before the search and then fill it again before boarding or even ask a flight attendant on the plane to fill it for you. I absolutely love my Camelback for kids!
2. A travel pillow. A must-have for those long overnight flights if you don't want to end up with a cramp in your neck. The one in the photo is from a Seattle-based company called Bucky and has a super soft, bamboo fabric, millet hull filling and a strap to attach it to your bag.
3. Warm fuzzy socks! Take your shoes off once you're on board and put warm, soft socks on instead. It makes a huge difference!
4. A good book (or two). No explanation necessary.
5. An mp3 player. I do need to take my music with me... I might even have a Christmas playlist on my iPod to put me in the holiday spirit.
6. A good lip balm. Absolutely indispensable and can be used on other parts of your body too. My favorite is still the Badger Creamy Cocoa Organic lip balm.
7. Moist towelettes and a toner in a small spray bottle. These two together get rid of the yucky feeling that settles in towards the end of the journey. You won't feel like something the cat just dragged in as your family gives you a warm welcome at the airport.
8. Dispensable tooth brush with a paste bead (e.g. Colgate Wisp). They don't require water or rinsing, so they're perfect on the go.
9. No matter if you're carring your toiletteries in the carry-on or check-in luggage, transfer your everyday necessities into smaller pots and bottles. Also, I collect different samples and travel sizes with this purpose in mind, like the Angel Face Botanicals Jasmine moisturizer, Clinique All About Eyes eyecream or the deluxe sample of Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume (however, check if you're not allergic to these products beforehand!) I'd also recommend taking the body stuff in a solid form if possible, like Lush soap bars or Massage Bars as body moisturizer; they won't spill all over your luggage!

After the flight:
1. Again, drink lots of water to rehydrate your organism.
2. Take a nice, not-too-long bubble bath and put a moisturizing mask on.
3. For the big differences in time zones, try to adapt to the new time zone from the first day. If you arrive in the middle of the day but it's nighttime where you're travelling from, don't go to sleep right away if you don't absolutely have to. Persevere and believe me, the jetlag won't last nearly as long.

Here you go, just a couple of quick tips from me for all of you world travellers! Let me know your air travel essentials, tips and experiences in the comments. x

Golden Fall at Ingalls Creek

... or what we were up to this past weekend. Enjoy!







How was your weekend? Are you enjoying 'Golden Fall' where you live? Thanks for stopping by, lovelies! xxx

New hair!

Hello sweethearts, just a quick post to show you My! New! Hair!

I haven't dyed my hair, it's forever changing the color in different lights.

Ok, it's not that revolutionary, but the hairdresser hacked off at least 10 cm for some layers and much more for the others, so it feels very different - certainly much lighter! I don't know if I like it yet, I'll have to wear it for a couple more days to see how it behaves. I'm thinking it might be a bit too short for my liking; but it'll grow back soon with my rate of hair growth. Speaking of hair, I decided that I don't really like trips to the hairdresser's; despite my love for all things beautiful and vain, these places make me feel out of place and uncomfortable. How about you?

On a different note, I'm leaving Warsaw tomorrow at 6.45 am and after a VERY long journey will finally arrive in Seattle. I'm in the midst of frantically packing my belongings and worrying about everything. I didn't envisage feeling so stressed out; in my mind, I imagined myself calm and anticipating the move, but it's none of that. I guess I've realized that I am in fact turning over a new leaf.

Have a wonderful Friday evening and next time I'll be posting for you from the other side of the pond! How does that sound? xxx

Voyages canadiennes

Wondering what I was up to when I wasn't posting?

Me and hubs went for a goodbye trip to the east of Canada. I'm saying 'goodbye' here because in fact we are no longer Vancouverites; as some of you know, I've had to go back to Warsaw to study, and hubs, after a day of frantic packing, has just moved to the Seattle area. We will miss Canada a lot and make sure to visit often - fortunately, Seattle is only some 3 hours drive away from Van City!

Anyway, about the trip... Our first stop was Toronto and Niagara Falls, and then we headed to Quebec City to see Le Vieux Quebec and Hotel de Glace (Ice Hotel) nearby. It was freezing cold the whole week, but it was worth it! See for yourselves.

Look at the steam! It looks like factory fumes to me...

Surprisingly, ice cream vending machines were not in great demand...

Not sure what I was thinking here...

Ice Hotel! Somehow an idea of sleeping on a bed of ice didn't seem very appealing?

But the bar was cool!

In Quebec, a high collar is definitely a must.

Not so happy about the temperature (-17 Celsius, to be precise).

I think the Christmas decorations in the Old Town were the most beautiful I've ever seen!

Where's Rocaille?

It was a great way to say farewell to Canada! xxx

My weekend has mainly been spent...

(stolen from the oh-so-fabulous Loveaudrey)

Photo source: http://weheartit.com

- crying my eyes out at the airport saying goodbye to hubs and Vancouver

- crying some more watching "Love Happens" on the plane

- perousing the MAC counter in a duty-free when having to wait 6 hours for my delayed connection in Toronto

- treating myself to mum-made food

- memorizing economy-related English glossary and different French glossaries for tests this week

- trying to be good to my skin in an attempt to clear it a bit

- fighting jet lag and, as a result, always falling asleep in my suburban bus

- testing Revlon Colorstay foundation

- trying to be optimistic despite all the winter slush

- feeling sorry for not posting as often as I'd like

Have a fantastic and sunshiney week, lovelies! xxx

Christmas in Vancouver

I know I vanished a little unexpectedly, but I thought I could squeeze in a couple of posts before going to Vancouver for Christmas, but well, I didn't - so those other posts will have to wait until I get back as the photos for them are still on this other camera which I didn't take with me.

This is (or was) my first Christmas away from home, just me and hubby this time, and it was both interesting and a bit sad to spend it differently than I usually do. My family is very close together and each year we gather at my aunt's apartment to celebrate, talk, stuff ourselves silly, all the good stuff. But this year, with my husband's work, he had to stay in Canada and I decided to join him, so it's both the first Christmas we spend together as a married couple and the first Christmas we spend away from our family.


Due to weather conditions last week in Europe, I had to have my airplane ticket changed completely and for a couple of terrible hours at the airport in Warsaw I thought that I wouldn't even depart at all! It was a close call, but after another 20 hours or so, I did finally arrive in Vancouver, finding my husband grinning in the arrivals hall and some deliciously smelling Lush stuff in the bathroom after we got home.

I spent a considerable time in the kitchen this year, making pierogi (obviously not nearly as good as my mother's, but hey ho, she had years to practice, and actual access to Polish ingredients!) and Christmas star cookies, for which I am quite renowned by now.


We spent Christmas meeting friends, reading, devouring great food, talking, going for walks, drinking coffee and vanilla bean tea, sleeping late and just being together. All of that in Vancouver. Not bad, huh?

Enough rambling for now, my dears. I have at least a couple post ideas resurfacing, and I hope to lay them down before New Year's. How have you spent your Christmas? What are your plans for New Year's Eve? Drop me a line below, I'd love to know! xxx