Little something for my girlies

Today is my surprise hen's party. The only thing I know is that I have to be ready to leave the house at 3.30 pm, eat my lunch before that and preferably wear a white bra.

But my girlies are wrong thinking they're the only ones having secrets :) I prepared surpise gifts for them and this is how they look like:

I bought these heart-shaped boxes in a dollar store in Vancouver and filled them with Rafaello pralines, heart-shaped bath bombs and candles in a form of an angel (photo below):

Then I printed little cards saying 'Monika's hen's night', the date and 'Thank you girlies!' on a special pearlescent paper. I used a fabulous font I found online called Covent Garden, I really like the retro feel of it:

I cut the cards out and attached them to the boxes using a double sided tape. Voila!

I had a lot of fun making these, quite relaxing indeed compared to some other wedding-related activities. How do you like my little surpise boxes?

One week before the big day

It was a super busy week for me. I'm still working (until Monday), arranging things for the wedding and had to get at 5 am each day from Monday to Thursday. I wanted to post something about the wedding, but I'm too tired and tomorrow's my hen's night. It's a complete surprise, I know absolutely nothing, I'm only advised to eat a hot meal before and wear a white bra (sic!). I can't wait to see what the girls have come up with :)

Tomorrow I'm hoping to squeeze in a little post about the surprise gifts I made for my girlies, so watch out for that. For now, I'm leaving you with one of my favorite photos of me and my family which was undigged and used for a short film I created to be shown during the wedding reception.

Amazing how big basketballs were once...

French twist updo

This time I have a more positive experience to share :) Last Friday, I went to a hair saloon to have my trial wedding updo done. I thought I could kill two birds with one stone since I also needed an updo for a cousin's wedding, and the hair stylist promised me to do something a bit different for a trial so that the updos wouldn't be exactly the same and I could have something unique for the wedding day.

My stylist was Miss Ania, a very nice and cheerful girl who listened carefully to my expectations and tried to follow as closely as possible. Obviously, the result had to differ slightly from the photo I took there as an inspiration, because my hair is different to the model's, but I didn't mind a bit of originality.

Unfortunately the photos from my cousin's wedding are on my parents' camera, but I was quite pleased with the effect apart from the fact that there was WAY too much hairspray in my hair, even for updos' standards.

Today I went again to have my ends cut so I can grow long, healthy and strong hair, but as soon as Miss Ania saw me, she suggested doing another trail updo since I wasn't entirely happy with the last one. She convinced me it's better not to leave any changes for the day of the wedding, and I think she was right. She also listened to my hairspray concerns and some other suggestions I had and, after cutting the ends, came up with this:

Basically, it's another variation of a French twist. You can still see some bobby pins, but they will be covered under delicate flower decoration for the big day. I really like the messy effect and the loose strands, I think they add some personality to the updo and make it look more natural. Plus, there's actually very little hairspray in the hair, so it all looks and feels very soft, but is still quite sturdy because of the pins which don't hurt at all!

Yes, that's my natural hair color, but I think it looks so shiny because of the camera flash...

At the front, she created a loose wave and pinned the lock to the left. I think this will go really well with a delicate veil and the 40's inspired make-up look I'm planning. All in all, a happy customer!

On a different note, yesterday I went for a facial. I was really impressed with the customer service at the beauty saloon I visited and actually enjoyed the experience. A beauty therapist diagnosed my skin as oily (of course) but dehydrated, and suggested an exfoliation using ultrasounds to get rid of the dirt clogging my pores, which is recommended even for sensitive skin types, and then an intensive retinol therapy under an algae mask to aid the skin in healing any scars or blemishes. At the end, she applied a vitamin A cream which smelled divine, like a mix of marzipan and meringue. Yum!

My skin felt really refreshed and hydrated afterwards, but it was a bit irritated because of the exfoliation. Today all the redness is practically gone and I haven't noticed any new breakouts, so yay for that! I think I might go for the ultrasound exfoliation from time to time to help even out my skin texture, but the retinol therapy is unfortnately too expensive for a hard-working student :)

How do you like the updo? Have a lovely Friday evening everyone! xxx

MAC wedding makeover

Caution: lengthy rant! You've been warned...

After doing some research, I decided that I'd like to have my make-up done at one of the MAC stores in Warsaw. The fee is 150 PLN, quite a lot comparable to other brands, but redeemable on products, which is always a huge plus.

So on Monday I happily trotted to a MAC store, hoping to walk out with a gorgeous, long lasting make-up on my face. It was my first professional make-up application ever, but I think I was well-prepared, I took photos of the dress, the hair, a piece of fabric from my wedding dress... When I walked in and asked for a lady that I was supposed to have my appointment with (I asked specifically for her because she's been recommended by another MUA), she told me she's very busy and another person has to replace her. It was a bit odd, but I agreed.

Together with a MUA we decided that I wanted focus on my eyes rather than lips, I also said I have VERY oily skin and then let her pick the products for me. At this stage I began to be feel even more suspicious, because she went for Prep & Prime SPF 50 (I thought SPF reflects light in flash photography and is not recommended) and after covering my face in Studio Fix Fluid, didn't conceal any blemishes showing through. At the end she also went for some super glittery orange blusher that was not only gone within an hour from application, but also emphasized the shine on my face.

The strangest thing however was my eye make-up. She went for orange (Paradisco, I think, but I'm not sure since I wasn't given a face chart at the end) on the lid and dark purple in the crease and then she heavily applied some shimmery highlight shade under the brow bone. For my lips she chose one of the Slimshines, and the color she picked looked on me like Softlips lipbalm I put on BEFORE I do my make-up; it did abslutely nothing for my lips.

Here's the finished look:

My face got shiny within 2 hours, and, as I said, the blusher was gone even earlier. The shadow placement was uneven on both eyes as was the liner. Also, I don't think she used a waterproof mascara or liner (Blacktrack Fluidline) because it came right off with some cleansing water. But I think what pissed me off the most was the fact that the whole style of doesn't match the style of my dress or hairdo at all. FAIL!

Basically, I let her finish and told her right away I didn't like it and that we have to go for something entirely different. I suggested 40's inspired make-up with dramatic, reddish lip to match the retro style of the dress. I spent al least 15 minutes with 2 MUAs choosing a lipstick (they wanted me to get a lipgloss, but with the veil on my face I'd rather avoid having it glued to my lips). I settled on Cockney; somehow I have a soft spot for Lustre finish, and also got a Blot powder in Medium Dark, which still looks very light, so I hope it's a good shade. They booked me in for another quick makeover on Wednesday just to try a different eye look.

So I went there today again and despite having an appointment, the same MUA who booked me told me she was busy and had to hurry up because she had another client in half an hour. She was so rushed that she only took off the eyeshadows I applied in the morning and left my eyeliner and mascara ('Oh, you've already got the eyeliner, I don't have to apply it again'), then I told her specifically which colors I wanted and it took her maybe 3 minutes to do both eyes. Voila!

MAC Brule e/s on the lid, Wedge e/s in the crease and Vanilla e/s under the brow bone and in the inner corner

This was taken after I got home, so my mineral foundation is melted, I've got nothing on my lips, the eyeliner should be thicker plus there'll be some falsies, but maybe somehow you get the idea.

I'm seriously disappointed with the customer service at MAC. I think it's simply unacceptable. Today I made sure I was booked to a different MUA for the wedding, but as I've seen before, it doesn't guarantee anything. If I had all the products I need and wasn't worried that I wouldn't be able to do my own make-up on the big day due to stress, I'd rather do it myself.

I guess I AM being very picky here, but that's what happens when you know too much about something and are able to follow closely what a 'specialist' does on you. I'm trying to be positive and think that if I tell them in detail which products I want on my face and which I don't like, it's going to be fine.

What experience have you had with makeovers at MAC?

Birthday wishlist

My birthday is getting closer and closer and I've been thinking for quite some time about the things I'd like to get (possibly because I'm that shallow), so I thought I might as well share my cravings with you :) My 23rd birthday is on the 7th of September, 2 days after the wedding. I'm sure there'll be enough alcohol left after the big day to celebrate it too!

It all started with me wanting badly Benefit's Creaseless Cream eyeshadow in Skinny Jeans. This product is available in Poland, but when I saw its whopping price in Sephora, I decided I'd rather ask my fiance to pick that up for me, there's a Shopper's Drugmart with a Benefit counter about 3 minutes walk from our apartment so he can make that sacrifice... Then I thought I might as well ask him for some bits and bobs from Lush since they're unavailable in Poland, maybe a solid perfume I could carry with me... I'd also love some new stud earrings, these rose shaped ones are really adorable and elegant; I'm saving this wish for my mum, I know she'll pick something beautiful. To finish off, I'm really enjoying wide waist belts at the moment, and I think this plum shade is perfect for autumn. And, lastly, speaking of autumn, a nice square scarf would be ideal for chilly days.

What do you think of my birthday wishlist? Anything else I have to have? xxx

Fresh voluminous hair

... which I hope to achieve with the new haircare I bought at the hair saloon last week. It'll be my first experience with a professional line, so I keep my fingers crossed that higher price means higher quality!

My hair has been diagnosed as fine and delicate, and, from my everyday experiences, getting oily superfast as well as rather flat and lifeless. The hair stylist recommended L'Oreal Professionnel Volume Expand range and I decided on their Volumising Shampoo and Volumising Cream Conditioner for fine hair. The other products in the range include a face mask, a styling mousse and a root spray which I'm also lemming.

The effects that the shampoo is supposed to give are based on a MINERAL CA technology which uses calcium crystals and silica to build a structure in the hair that helps to achieve volume. The conditioner uses a different technology called NUTRITEX and promises to condition and volumise the hair without making it feel heavy or greasy.

So far I've only tried the conditioner once and I really liked the smell, texture and how soft my hair felt after using it. Also, I noticed it was much more prone to styling. As for the volume, I really hope for a lift at the roots and I couldn't observe that after using the conditioner which is meant to be used on the mid section and ends of your hair. I keep my fingers crossed for the result and will update this post as soon as I try the shampoo and conditioner combo!

The always gorgeous Tali at The Gloss Goss chose me for the famous photo tag. The rules are to open your first photo folder, scroll down to the 10th photo, and post it with a comment. So here it goes!

It's actually me in the photo, some 17 years old or so. It's from a photoshoot I did with my best friend's boyfriend who happened to be a photographer. The strange strings in the photo are just some fluffy wool in which I was covered to make the shoot more interesting. What I like most from this shoot is that my fiance (then boyfriend) was there in the studio and the photographer snapped some shots of us together at the end and they bring back so many memories.

I tag Ondine, Loveaudrey (Happy Birthday, hun!) and Nadia from Love Lipstick and Lime.

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely Monday evening! xxx

Nutrition tips for beautiful skin

In addition to my changed skincare routine, I'm trying to incorporate some 'inside' treatments to help me along and I thought you might be interested. I'm not a nutritionist or a specialist, but I'm just speaking of my own experience and what works for me.

1. Balanced diet. This is the first and most important point in keeping not only your skin, but also the whole organism healthy. Of course, following a balanced diet is sometimes really difficult, but we should always try and aspire to it, whether it'd be refusing another mojito or adding some fruit/veggies to a lunch box.

2. Moderation. Speaking of a balanced diet, the rule of the golden means definitely works for helping your skin out. Too much of anything may cause problems as well as ruling some products out of your diet completely. One example could be a skincare myth stating that eating chocolate may lead to acne, which caused me to avoid chocolate in any form for 2 years when I was 14. Not eating chocolate did not improve my acne, and I felt really miserable not allowing myself even a praline. On the other hand, devouring 2 bars a day will definitely cost you some pimples if not some more serious health conditions.

2. Drinking plenty of water. I know everyone says that and I am the first to completely forget about drinking it (like last Tuesday, when I got home at 7pm and realized I only drank 2 cups of tea throughout the day), but it really helps to get rid of the toxins and keeps your kidneys in shape.

3. Fruit and veggies. In the summer, we enjoy a wide selection of fresh fruit and veggies that contain essential vitamins and minerals that definitely play an important role in achieving healthy, dewy skin. Some nutritionist advise eating fruit or vegetables 5 times a day, which sounds quite unfeasable to a normal, hard-working human being. My methods to smuggle some fresh produce into my meals include eating sandwiches with lots of tomato and chive, berries for lunch and peaches for supper, eating out in a vegetarian bar, or if anything else fails, drinking organic carrot or fruit juice.

4. Fish. Eating fish is especially important for those of us who suffer from dryness, as some kinds of fish like salmon, herring, tuna or mackerel contain lots of healthy omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids that help to moisturize and condition the skin. If you dislike the taste, try taking cod-liver oil tablets, but you have to be careful not to overdo it as vitamin A overdose is toxic (thanks to Little Rus for the info!).

5. Supplements. Currently, we have lots of different food supplements that promise us a beautiful, healthy, radiant skin. What we have to remember though is that these products will not dramatically improve our skin as they're not medicine and as such have no clinically proved results. They can however help if we chose them appropriately and follow the recommendations for use. Right now, I'm using pansy (Violae tricoloris) extract pills to help cleanse my system, but unfortunately the immediate result in my case is having even more blemishes while the skin is getting rid of the toxins. For the next step, I'm going to take yeast tablets which help to regulate hormonal imbalance.

Also, I finally decided to go for a professional facial. I've never had one so far and I don't really know what to expect, but I'm so tired of what's going on with my skin and actually scarred that it might be very difficult to conceal for my wedding day that I'm planning to go this week. I'm thinking of a Dermalogica facial for acne-prone skin, has anyone had any experiences with it? xxx