Amélie

The weather here has recently been dull, drizzly and depressing, which makes me feel quite demotivated. To counteract the signs of autumnal crisis, I recommend this: "Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulin". It was a huge success a couple of years ago, and I went to see it in an old, art-déco cinema with my brother. I've seen it a good couple of times since and it never fails to make me smile. If you like a beautiful collage of warm colors, surreal humor, romantic music, quirkiness, and, of course, Paris, you have to see this film.

To encourage you further, these are my favorite stills.

What is your favorite comfort movie?

Monday Ins & Outs

I haven't done one of those for ages!

Ins

1. Stud earrings. I went through a phase of wearing very chunky, dangling earrings, but recently I've been preferring the studs more, especially the silver and semi-precious stone ones.

2. Starting fitness classes this week. Back to shape!

3. Knitwear. We didn't have autumn weather at all this year in Poland, winter came almost immediately after summer. Warm, soft sweaters and cardis are a must.

4. Fall/Winter colors, especially reds, plums and... ultramarine.

5. Longer hair.

Outs

1. Shorter and shorter days. I leave home in the morning at night and come back home in the evening at night as well.

2. More and more coursework. Plus, I made a jerk out of myself today in the interpreting class. Why did I have to get the most difficult text to interpret?

3. Drinking too little water throughout the day.

What are your Ins and Outs for the beginning of this week?

Autumn berry lips

Recently, I've become an obsolute berry shades fiend. I'm very much fond of plums, raspberries, blackberries, red wine, cranberries and anything at all that could even vaguely resemble a ripe color of autumn fruit.

I'd been lusting a berry lipstick shade ever since I came from holidays, but didn't want to splurge anymore on make-up. Luckily, when rummaging through my make-up drawer, I found this little beauty: NYX Long Lip pencil in the shade Deep Purple. I usually dab a bit of lip balm or petroleum jelly onto the lips and follow with the lip pencil tilted sideways, so that the color doesn't come off that intense. Of course you could also use the tip and achieve a more dramatic look, that'd be perfect for a night out. The advantages of using this pencil are that it's very buildable, it's dirt cheap plus it'll last you ages; I've been using it almost every day for 2 weeks and it still doesn't need to be sharpened.

Today I paired it with a silvery taupe smokey eye using Covergirl eyeshadow in Tapestry Taupe on the lid and Benefit Creaseless Cream eyeshadow in Skinny Jeans in the outer V.

I also used some NYX Jumbo Pencil in Cottage Cheese as inner corner and brow highlight. I think it might be a good dupe for Benefit Eyebright or Mr. Frosty, so I'd recommend to check the NYX ones out before you decide to splurge on the more costly alternatives.

What is your favorite lip combo lately?

Wedding photoshoot

I think I kept you waiting for long enough, so here goes a couple of photos from the shoot before our wedding, which took place in the park surrounding the reception venue and in one of the rooms. It was a rather cold and terribly windy day, and we feared rain any minute. Hopefully, there was no rain, but still I managed to ruin my make-up as my eyes got very watery from the wind and at some point I had a trail running across my cheek. Oh well...

The photos haven't been properly edited yet, but I still like the atmosphere and feelings they convey. Somehow, in the majority of the photos taken from the day everyone is smiling. I think this is how I'd like to remember my wedding day, no stress, no last moment changes, no problems, just fun and joy among the people close to our hearts.

My hen's night

I finally settled on chronological order in my ramblings, I thought that might be easier to follow, plus, I'm trying to build some drama here before I show you the photos from The Big Day.

My hen's night took place one week before our wedding. It was a total surprise party, I wasn't even entirely sure who was going to be there, and one of the biggest surprises was that my mum-in-law was not only the participant, but one of the main conspirers.

The evening started in my high school, which is the place where I met my husband, at that time, a senior. I was forced out of my clothes and into this cheerful outfit (honestly, I'd seen that coming):

You wouldn't believe how many guys think such an outfit looks attractive.

The only time I'd been allowed to drink something alcoholic in the high school building.

The girls were dressed as my 'gang' in hats, black trousers and white shirts, so we certainly drew a lot attention walking on one of the main streets in Warsaw with me interviewing male volunteers on the aspects of married life (that was after having climbed a 5 metre wall, breaking a nail and drinking lots of champagne on the way). The questions included: 'What does a good wife do for her husband?' (answers varying from 'Everything', 'She has to cook him a spaghetti/ an Apfelstrudel' to 'Nothing'), 'Will I be a good wife?' (after some intense evaluation of my looks: 'Sure you will') and 'What advice would you have for my future husband?' ( 'Go out with your wife, she seems such a party girl').

On duty.

That's me, vodka and tea.

Then we headed for a pub in the Old Town, where I was put to the test if I know Mateusz well, and if I answered wrong, I had to drink a shot of vodka. Of course, the quiz was very tricky and I drank a lot... But after completing that competition I was given a backpack full of presents, some a bit obscene, some made by the girls themselves. These were my favorite: a decoupage decorated breadboard, a customized recipe book, a 'Good wife's guide' and a photobook with the photos of me in every possible situation, thematically ordered and commented. I was properly moved, I think I've never been given so many beautiful, carefully thought-out and prepared gifts.

The night ended in Platinium, a high-end night club near the National Theatre, where I could burn some of that alcohol by dancing my butt of. I collapsed into bed at about 3.30 am.

I was greatly touched by the effort the girls made to prepare everything and I think we had an amazing time. What was the most memorable situation you had at a hen's party?

First swap

I'd been lemming some UK make-up for ages, so when I saw Amy-Louise (lipgloss86) asking for volunteers to do a swap, I was instantly up for it. The package arrived exactly 2 days after the wedding and a day before my birthday, so that was really great timing, Amy!

I LOVE and use everything I got, thanks to Amy being such an expert in UK brands (go check her blog out to see what I mean). I know I'm so behind on everything, but I have to say I was especially happy to get my hands on the Sleek Storm palette, which I used every day during my holidays, and Barry M Peachy Pink Lip Paint, another summer favorite. It's a perfect nude shade when you're really tanned, or if you're more of a Marie Antoinette in terms of complexion, it's a bright but very wearable color. In terms of finish, it's a matte so I find it a bit on the drying side, but with some lipbalm it's just perfect.

I also got two Barry M Nail Paints, a Shocking Pink (my husband's little sisters' favorite) and a famous Mint Green. I've only tried Shocking Pink so far, but I'm so impressed by the consistency and longevity of wear; I don't know whether to be sorry or happy that the range is unavailable in Poland because I'd probably snatch it all.

Amy also included a Natural Collection SunTint Bronzing Powder in the shade Sun Shine in the package. Currently, the above mentioned bronzer and Coastal Scents' G Bronzer/Blush are competing for the 'Best Bronzer of My Make-up Drawer' title and the judges have a really hard time trying to make their decision. Right now, Natural Collection is being used more often.

Then I received The Little Pink Tin lipbalm with SPF 15, carried everywhere in my purse, Eylure Kimberley Girls Aloud falsies, what a gorgeous shape, beautyuk eyeshadow palette, hmm, still unopened (why?) and James Brown dry shampoo.

Again, thanks so much Amy for doing a swap with me! What's your favorite item you've ever received in a swap?

Birthday gifts

I have a lot to show and tell, but I can't really prioritise the pending posts, so I thought today I could share with you what I got for my birthday.

Remember my birthday wishlist? I almost got everything I asked for and some things I didn't.

My lovely husband got me Burberry perfume (I love it!), Benefit's Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in Skinny Jeans (my favorite shade right now) and a handbag (it didn't photograph well, so it's not included in the photo, but I carry it with me every day). The perfume is perfect; sweet but not overbearingly, with an undertone of a more heavy scent, and I really like the design of the bottle, it looks so pretty on my desk... As for the eyeshadow, thanks to it I get complimented on my make-up really often lately, even from my mum, which really says something about how pretty and shimmery it shows up on the eyelids.

In the photo you can also see the most beautiful letter knife I've ever seen in my life which a good friend bought for me on her trip to China, as well as two make-up brushes from my mother-in-law. She said she didn't know what the fan brush was for, but she thought it'd look pretty in my brush cup... She also gave me a jar full of milk and honey scented bath salt (yum!), Mateusz's sisters got me a yellow toy monster to cuddle, and his grandma... a pair of black thongs. Interesting, huh?

My mum gave me those earrings which I adore and was really upset when I nearly lost them on a beach in Cyprus. Luckily, I found the missing earring among my shoe laces.

As you can see here, I'm really tanned right now (as for my standards) and also I'm very much into berry shades lately. But that's a subject for a separate post, I think...

What's your favorite shade for the autumn? xxx