New make-up station

I already showed you my make-up storage in our apartment in Vancouver, but I was a bit at my wits' end when I came back home and realised I had literally nowhere to put my stuff.

First, I hesitated about setting it up in a chest of drawers in my bedroom, putting most products in an Ikea organizer I've had for ages. However, the drawback of this solution was that I wouldn't be able to sit at it. Then I thought that I could actually put everything in the bathroom, but again the disadvantages were a very diffcult access to a mirror where I'd have to lean across the sink and also bad lighting. Finally I decided against those two solutions and started preparing a station at my desk, where I can sit comfortably and the daylight hits my face directly from a window.

If you (like me) don't have a vanity table or a nice set-up in your bathroom, I highly recommend this solution. Here is what I did:

1. First I had to empty two top drawers so I could put all my make-up products in there. This was a bit of a challenge!

2. Then I cleaned the drawers with a damp cloth on which I poured a couple of drops of lavender essential oil, so they smell really nice when I open them.

3. The very top drawer now houses various face products and a kabuki brush, liners and mascara as well as single eyeshadows and eyeshadow bases.

The second drawer is filled with my two palettes, a brush case with mostly eye brushes (not in the photo), a container with lip products and some other stuff like samples, falsies, sponge applicators etc.

4. On the desk top, I put a cup with my most often used face brushes, a lit-up mirror and a scented candle. Right now I also added my MAC brush cleanser so I can have it handy whenever I need it.

I really like my station, it definitely saves me time when I'm getting ready in the morning. I'm also thinking about decorating it somehow, would you ladies have any suggestions how to prettify it?

PS. I'm away for a cousin's wedding tomorrow, so I'll blog all about my make-up, hair and outfit when I come back - watch out for that!

Monday award and a secret

I feel like at the Oscars - all because of you, bloggy beauties! Recently I've been nominated for an awesome blog award and I can't wait to pass it on :)

The absolutely lovely Suka & Spice (very promptly nicknamed a Tongan Princess by Tali ) gave me this hilarious award; thank you, cherie!

The rules are to list your 5 current obsessions, link back to the person who nominated you, and then nominate 5 fabulous blogs by linking to them and letting them know in the comments. Simple!

1. Wedding. Enough said :)

2. Lingerie. Seriously, my undies are a STATE. If I were in MTV Room Riders, I don't even want to imagine what the poor audience would think of my drawer. The biggest crime is that most of my bras are the wrong size and they're really uncomfortable to wear. But... I went lingerie shopping today, haul will be posted soon!

3. Beautiful photography. I discovered Tumblr through Magpie Sparkles blog and I never have enough. It really motivates me to start snapping my own photos pronto!

4. Tan. I want a perfect tan now! Any product recommendations, my lovelies?

5. Essential oils. I blogged about this last week I think, and I'm still lusting after some new scents to add to my collection. Currently, my favorites are levender, patchouli and eucalyptus.

I tag these amazing blogs:

Loveaudrey, with whom I share the Hepburn obsession

Tali at The Gloss Goss, another Slavic beauty junkie

Victoria at Lily loves Lola, a fellow dog person

Hele and Holly at The Nail Buff, which got me hooked on nail polish

Natalia at Fashion Titbits, who posts the most amazing fashion photos

Also, I decided to let you girls in a secret :) When I set up mu blog a couple of months ago I decided to keep it separate from my real life identity and not to share it with my non-virtual friends as I knew there'd be little understanding for it. I even disguised my name and settled on a French nickname ('rocaille' [pr. ro'kay] is an ornament in the shape of a shell/ spiral, widely used in the art of Rococo period) , even though I'm Polish. Anyhow, I know this has been a bit confusing to some of my readers and I thought that I also love knowing people's real names, so... My name is Monika, in Polish pronounciation stressed on the second, not first syllable; yes, I'm a a languages geek, you have to bear with me... :)

So, if you feel comfortable revealing it, what's your real name? I'd love to know! xxx

My top 3 nail polishes

Until recently, I wasn't really so much into nail polish. However, since I started reading beauty blogs, my small collection is constantly expanding and these are my 3 favorite shades that I wear over and over again.

The first choice is my only China Glaze nail polish in the shade Heaven. It's a gorgeous neutral color that goes very well with my skin tone and suits every outfit. It's got a slight pearlescent effect and usually I'm not so much into pearl finish, but this one looks fab on and makes your nails look clean and polished. I'm wearing it right now with a DIY French tip.

The next one, Miss Sporty in the shade no. 215, is a very unique color. I'd say it's a muted brownish raspberry, slightly darker than in the photo, and it's a cream finish. Miss Sporty polishes are mostly great quality for the price, and I like the smaller bottles.

My last choice is Rimmel Lasting Finish in the shade 061 Exotica. I'm not sure if you can see that in the photo, but it's a blue-based red with a golden/lime shimmer running through it. Again, applies very smoothly with no streaks and looks very vampish with my pale skin. One of my dad's favorite shades as well, so I guess men appreciate its looks :)

Check out Hele's blog, The Nail Buff, for nail polish swatches, reviews and tips!

Ins & Outs

I feel a bit sorry for not posting as often as I used to these days, but you girlies have to excuse me; this week I reached home every day at 8pm the earliest. But it's been a very fruitful week so far!

Ins:

1. Wedding planning and preparations. I managed to sort out so many things this week! First off, I had a meeting with a florist and decided on the venue and car decorations and also chose my wedding bouquet. The color theme will be off-white/cream shades combined with delicate apricot and some greens. For my bouquet, we settled on off-white lisanthius, small apricot roses and freesia (mmm, the smell...). What I also love about this florist is that she makes all the flower decorations in disposable containers, so we can give them to the guests or take them home after the reception!

The bouqet will be similar to this one, but with apricot roses instead of pink. Sorry for the poor quality, but I couldn't upload a better photo.

This week I also had a dress fitting, met with a friend to hand over an invite, met with 'special effects' people to discuss fireworks (this one was a catastrophy, unfortunately) and yesterday I met with a camera man. So many things to cross off my list!

2. New pair of cute ecru heels. They're meant to be worn for my cousin's wedding next week and also as a spare pair for the wedding in case my wedding shoes prove uncomfortable. These are made of super soft leather and the heel height is perfect for such an unexperienced wearer as me!

A bit dirty after one walk on the road from my parents' house to the bus stop...

3. Challenging project at work. So far, I worked as an English teacher at my company, but our boss is thinking of expanding the company's business activities and I've been appointed to deal with all the translation projects we'll have. I'll be responsible for developing our offer, gaining and dealing with the clients and managing projects. If everything goes well, it'll also mean a pay rise :)

4. Patchouli essential oil. Will it prove to be the new tea tree oil? It has similar properties as the latter, plus the smell is much more sensual and it keeps mosquitos and other bugs away, a huge plus for this summer, as I'm constantly covered in mosquito bites.

5. Tan. I do look so much better tanned than piggy pink. I'm still trying to find a prefect product to get the effect though. In terms of bronzer, I'm loving my Coastal Scents G Bronzer/ Blush. It gives a perfect, natural glow to the cheeks.

6. Hen night. I don't have a faintest idea what my girls are up to, but I know that even my mum and my future mother-in-law are engaged (or else they're engaged in some other surprise for us, I'm not sure). I love surprises and I'm so grateful they're organizing it, because initially I thougt I'd have to take care of it myself.

Out:

1. Being tired and stressed out. Work and wedding planning are sometimes too much for me.

2. Having a great idea for a post and not being able to execute it thanks to the lack of time.

3. The guests not confirming their presence at the reception. Honestly, do people really think is doesn't make a difference? I can sort of understand some old aunties hesitating to reach for the phone, but mine and fiance's friends?!

What are your Ins and Outs this week?

The prettiest shopping bag ever

Just a quick post to share with you... yes, the prettiest shopping bag ever (if you're a bit of an artsy geek like me).

Anyone recalls this painting? It's "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt, a XIX/XXth century Symbolist painter and a prominent member of the Vienna Art Nouveau movement (Vienna Secession). This particular art work is one of the most famous paintings from his critically acclaimed Golden Phase. As you may know from my Mucha inspirations, I definitely have a thing for Art Nouveau, so I had to get this shopping bag!

I heart it so much that I'm even thinking of converting this into a regular bag...

Then I also spotted this gorgeous flowy top at C&A for less than half price. You could wear it with a cami underneath, but for really hot summer nights, it's actually opaque enough to sport it on its own. These are definitely 'my' colors and it fits really nicely.

For those of you interested in my wedding updates, today I met with a florist to discuss the details of my bouquet as well as venue and car decorations. She turned out to be a really sweet, professional girl and I'm so happy to cross out such a big thing from my wedding preparation list! Tomorrow I'm having a dress fitting and a meeting with a fireworks man to see what 'special effects' he can offer for our big day.

Other than that, I'd like to thank all of you girlies for your super sweet and encouraging comments, especially on my last post, and say hello to my new readers! I really appreciate your support and enjoy meeting you through your blogs. THANK YOU! xxx

FOTD 60's style

Today I felt like doing a 60's winged eyeliner look to go with my poppies print dress I blogged about a couple of weeks ago. I was going to town to meet with a friend over some freshly squeezed fruit juice and icecream and, because it's super hot and sunny this weekend, I was a bit afraid as to how my make-up was going to last. I didn't use waterproof cosmetics but I'm still very impressed how everything lasted!

My tan, a result of sun rays, fake tan and bronzer... I really like it!

I also used some of my July favorite products here, so you can see how they perform!

Face:

MAC Studio Finish concealer in NW20

Coastal Scents Honey Fair 1.2 Flawless Finish Foundation mixed with CS Concealer A (much darker shade)

NYX blusher in Taupe

CS blusher in Dare

Wet'n'Wild MegaGlo Face Illuminator in Blushing

Eyes:

CS Eye Poxy primer

Revlon Seashells cream eyeshadow quad (peachy shade to cancel out blue veining on my lids)

Eyeshadows from 78 e/s and blush palette

GOSH pen liquid eyeliner in black

Covergirl Lash Blast mascara

Lips:

MAC lipstick in Jest

Do you also do a winged eyeliner look in the summer or only reserve it for the fall/winter time?

Updo hesitations

Finally I managed to cross something off my wedding preparation list! There's still some 50 to go, but I'm closer to getting there every day :)

I don't know if it ever happened to you, but I've had some serious problems booking an appointment with a hairdresser (for my wedding updo). I found the service at the saloon where my favorite hairdresser works quite impolite when I called and tried to book the appointment. I was told 'they don't know yet if she will be available', 'I might call later but, you know, she has her permanent clients', and generally 'This can be a problem'. This just reveals the reality of saloons were some customers are treated better than the others because they come more often and leave more money, and the most popular dates (like Saturday mornings, for example) are always reserved for them in advance. This really annoys me, so today I decided to cancel my trial updo appointment there and find another saloon (meanwhile, I also tried reaching 2 other hairdressers, but to no avail). I found one that had rave reviews online, and when I called them, the lady I spoke to on the phone was very nice and helpful. I hope that turns out ok!

It got me thinking about what kind of updo I'd like that would match my dress. First I thought of something more romantic with lots of messy curls, but while browsing the pictures, I actually liked another style the most... I've always been a big fan of French twist updos, and I found two styles that really caught my eye.

I really love how elegant yet a bit messy this looks. There's some volume at the crown and hair has a lovely texture. I actually think this is feasable on my not very long hair and would go nicely with the dress and delicate veil.

This is a bit more horizontal version of the classic French twist. It's still very simple, the hair seems voluminous and natural. Also perfect updo for the veil.

I'm undecided as to which one to choose... I think I like the first one a tad more, but that's probably because of the beautiful model with a long, swan-like neck. I need some advice... Which one do you prefer?