Category: ENGLISH


Aug
2019

Which (face) mask to use for what?

categories: ENGLISH, Hudpleje

I know face masks have been around for ever and ever, but I feel like they have really gained popularity in recent years. Maybe it has to do with me maturing. When Maria and I were teenagers (gosh, it has been a while!), we used face masks mostly for pre-party entertainment, snapping pictures of our muddy green faces (I will spare you all). Now, that we are older, I believe ingredients are more important than colour – luckily – but which one to pick? It can be a jungle when you roam the isle of your local beauty pusher.  

Clay masks

There are a number of clay masks on the market, and they seem to be some of the most popular ones – at least on the high street. For our Danish readers we have previously mentioned the L’Oréal Clay Masks. In our opinion they are decent masks at a decent price. This is important when it comes to masks because I find that if you want a life-altering mask, you will have to splurge. Anyway, clay masks are known to be pore cleansing and drying, making them perfect for anyone with a tendency to combination to oily skin!  

Charcoal masks

Charcoal masks were the first masks I tried when I switched from buying the cheap green mud masks (not real mud, mind you!). They seemed to be all the hype for a while and with good reason for the combination to oily teenage (or mature) skin. Most of them seem to be peel off masks meaning they strip the skin for stuffed pores and excess oil.

Sheet masks

Lately with Korean skincare finding its way to Europe, sheet masks have become all the rave. They are essentially face shaped sheets of paper drowned in liquid. Therefore, to get an effective sheet mask you have to read ingredients because it is all in the liquid! I find that sheet masks generally tend to be advertised as hydrating. They truly are a love hate thing, and I personally am not really a fan. You often end up paying per mask, and I would rather just pop the liquid/product straight on my face than bother fitting the sheet over my skin. However, they are fun!

Acid masks

If you are looking for a mask that will change your life it will most likely be in this category but be prepared to splurge! Acid can do wonders for our skin but the effects all depend on which type of acid we are talking about. Hyaluronic acid ties moisture to the skin and therefore can do wonders for dry, dull, or aging skin. In my opinion, we can all benefit from hyaluronic acid at some point in our routine! AHA is great for exfoliating and evening out the skin tone. Salicylic acid is often used against combined to oily skin, as it dries out bacteria and is able to penetrate the oil! Retinol is for the aging skin or hyperpigmentation. As you can tell, the ingredients do all the work here, and wow, do they work!

Lotion-like masks

Lotion-like masks – like the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask – tend to be extremely easy going on the skin making them perfect for anyone looking for extra moisture without the aggressiveness of acid. I am looking at all the sensitive skinned people, yes, you!  


Jun
2019

My go to everyday makeup look [ENGLISH]

categories: ENGLISH

This is a classic. I feel like every blog has one of these posts and yet ours do not. If you are a Danish follower and you have been following us for a while, none of the products I will mention should be a surprise. They have all been mentioned before but this time I will talk a little bit more in depth about how I use them, and this time our international readers will also understand! I am not one of those makeup bloggers who gets up every morning and applies a dramatic look of makeup. In fact, this post contains no eye makeup except mascara because I truly do not wear any on a daily basis. I will once in a while, but on a day-to-day basis I do not find I have the time or the desire to so – especially during spring, or as I like to call it, allergy season.

Skin

My base always consists of face cream and on top of that I apply the IT Cosmetics CC Cream. It is great for this season when the sun is popping out because it has SPF 50, and the application is quite light on the skin so I do not feel it throughout the day as it gets hotter out. I apply it using my fingers like I would my moisturiser. It can be applied with a brush or a sponge but I find that it can make it look a little pasty and less natural on the skin. After application, I like to let it sit and evaporate a bit before going in with a thin extra layer in the areas needed. For me that is usually my cheeks because they are redder than the rest of my face. Beware that it does not cover up spots – heck, even my freckles show through. It is light to medium coverage at best(!) but I quite like that for the hotter season.

After doing my eye makeup for the day, I come back to my skin to add blush. I will add bronzer and highlighter occasionally but at the moment I quite like the look without it. The blush I am using at the moment is the Dior Rosy Glow in 001 Petal. It is stunningly beautiful, hot pink and perfect for my pale skin. As I am quite pale, I do not get that natural sun kissed glow that suits the warmer skin tones. Instead I opt for this hot splash of colour that also reminds me of summer though it has no glitter or shine (something I try to be a little careful with on my pale skin). I apply it with a brush, sometimes to the apples of my cheeks other times more in a movement similar to the position of my cheekbones. I find that it can be toned up or down depending on occasion. It is not cheap, but it is definitely worth the splurge!

Eyes

I like to keep my eyes simple, yet defined and the best way to do this is a good, dark coat of mascara and defined brows. I start by curling my lashes using the Tweezerman Lash Curler and then I apply one layer of the L’Oréal Volume Million Lashes So Coture. It separates my lashes really well but leaves a lot to be desired in terms of definition. While the mascara sets, I fill in my brows using the NYX Micro Brow Pen. In my opinion it is as good as the more expensive but very similar looking products, and it gives me the definition I want by allowing me to work in detailed little strokes with the small tip. I finish off by running the brush through my brows. I finish off my eyes by adding a good coat of the Essence I Heart Extreme Waterproof Mascara. It is not the most separating mascara of all time, but it is pitch black, very defining and holds a curl like a dream. If you struggle with the heat, you might want to add a waterproof mascara to your routine – this one lasts me all day long summer and winter!

Lips

For me, this is the most fun step. I start my routine by brushing my teeth and applying lip balm so it can seek in a little while I apply the rest of my makeup. When the rest of my makeup is done, I will finish off the look with a lipstick. I must admit that I do not have a daily go-to in terms of lipstick. Some days I choose a bright red and others a subtle nude. I do not pay too much attention to matching it to my blush because I apply quite a subtle layer of blush. At the moment I find myself reaching for my all time favourite Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Rhubarb, a stunning ‘your lips but better and slightly darker’-colour, or the Marc Jacobs Cream Lipstick in 246 Slow Burn, a ‘slightly darker than average’ stunning blush nude colour. To make them last all day I always always always use the Milani Anti-Feathering Lipliner in 01 Transparant. It is like glue between the lips and the lipstick.

There you have it. My very subtle, very rushed Monday morning makeup routine. It is not glam or especially fancy but it works, stays throughout the day and it suits my daily life in a quite traditional and old school field of work.


Dec
2018

Christmas Beauty Wish List 2018 [ENGLISH]

categories: ENGLISH

As we are nearing Christmas (and last month was my birthday) I have had to sit down and write down my wishes. Usually, I have a lot of practical things on my list (and books for school are always nice!) but this year I am very fortunate because I did not immediately have anything on my mind that I absolutely wanted/needed. With that in mind it might seem strange, that I am doing this post but it occurred to me that I might not be the only person struggling to fill my list and now that I have made mine, maybe it can inspire others. I am not doing a list to show off or request things, and I do not mind if I do not get anything on my list but the list, I believe, is a great help for my relatives whom I do not see as often, as I would like. I know my grandma who loves Christmas shopping and gift giving as much as me surely appreciates it even though she rarely sticks to the list.

On top of my list are more Tom Ford Lip Colours to add to my collection. They are the best lipsticks I have tried, and I have tried a lot! The formula goes on smoothly, and the colour distributes evenly. There is no dry or cracked feeling when wearing, and they last forever. They are a little on the pricey side for lipsticks but that is what makes them a perfect gift – and they are well worth the money, I promise!

A thing that is always on my list is the Dior Miss Dior Eau de Parfum. It is such a stabile that I often even forget about it. Luckily I have made sure to tell everyone I know how much I love this and usually someone remembers even if it is not on my list. I am not a perfumey girl – I have my two perfumes that I switch between and that is it. This is the most extravagant of the two which makes it perfect for a gift. I just saw that they also do a soap bar in the same scent, and I must admit I am a little tempted. In my opinion, it would make a sweet little gift for someone – and it is definitely something most people would not buy for themselves.

Maria and I have both previously mentioned the Clinique Moisture Surge 72-hour Hydrator on the blog (in Danish here), and it is no secret that we both LOVE it. It saved my skin, when it was dry, cracked and nothing else was working. It would make a great gift for any woman this Christmas, especially those with a tendency to dry skin.

I have yet to try any Kiehls products but I really fell in love with their concept while travelling this year, and I would love to receive any product from them (you have to start somewhere, right?). As I am getting older, I find that my skin is becoming more normal to dry rather than normal to combination so skin care would be a great gift this year as I have a whole new area to play with. The same goes for teens moving into early adulthood or adults maturing, as our skin changes when we age. It can be tricky to buy skin care for someone else but the main thing is to keep their skin type in mind when shopping, and I am sure they will love to try something new if they are into beauty at all.

Obviously, I have many more products that I love or would like to try but these are my top picks this year. I hope it can inspire, if not someone who is gift shopping for me then someone who is writing a list for themselves. If you are unsure what to buy for someone else new products, products they love, products you love, or decorative products are always good ideas!


Jun
2018

Concert makeup Taylor Swift Edition [ENGLISH]

categories: Blush, Bronzer, ENGLISH, Foundation, Lips, Makeup Look, Mascara

If you aren’t following us on Instagram (you totally should though!) then you won’t know, that I went to a Taylor Swift concert in London this past weekend. I can only recommend going to one of her shows, as every show exceeds the last one. This past weekend was the best concert ever! I could go on about the concert forever but we are here to talk about the makeup that I wore to the concert. A Taylor Swift concert is definitely one of those types of concerts where it’s appropriate to dress up and be a bit extra, you know? That’s just the vibe of the scene!

Thinking of Taylor Swift, a classic red lip immediately comes to mind even though she has changed it up for this tour. I still wore a classic red lip which I would normally pair with a golden glitter eye but this time, I was feeling something different.

Eyes

I started out by applying my Essence I Love Colour eyeshadow base and added my waterproof Gosh eyeshadow stick in the colour Love that Pink on top, blended the edges with a brush and it all kinda melted into the skin. On top I added a small, classic winged liner so the overall look wouldn’t become too much. For the winged liner I used my Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper. For my lashes I applied a couple of coats of the Clinique Fit Workout 24-hour mascara in order to make my lashes more dramatic than usual. That’s it for the eyes. I wanted to keep it fairly simple and do something that wouldn’t take too long though a winged liner can cause enough trouble on its’ own. I did it on the first try so I was proud of myself for that.

For my brows I used the L’oreal Paradise Pomade Extatic, and I topped it with the Defining brow gel 001 from Gosh.

Face
As my base I used the Clinique Beyond perfecting foundation + concealer. I applied a thin layer and added extra coverage to the places that needed it. The heavier the makeup, the more likely it is to melt off during the event so I wanted to keep things light. I topped the foundation with Kat Von D’s Translucent setting powder. To add some colour to my face, I used the Inglot HD sculpting powder in 502. For blush and highlighter I used the Too Faced Sweet Peach Glow palette. The highlighter is so pretty when you use the right brush with it! The blush gives a bit of colour, but not too much, which I like. I set the look using Revlon’s Photoready prep, set, refresh mist, which I actually ended up buying in London, as I had forgotten mine at home and I liked the spray on this one. It has a beautifully fine mist.  

Lips
There’s not too much to say here. I made sure to moisturise my lips throughout the day as well as when I started my makeup. I lined my lips with NYX slide on, glide on, stay on & definitely a turn on waterproof colour lip liner in Red Tape, and I topped it with my favorite red lipstick, the Nars Velvet Matte Lip pencil in Dragon Girl.  

Tips
I always start with the eyes before doing anything else. That way mistakes are easy to correct and clean (especially when doing winged eyeliner) without it showing on the skin. For the same reason I also applied my lip liner before applying makeup to my face, as red can be hard to clean up with no signs on the surrounding skin. When it comes to the face, I apply the foundation and then do my brows to allow the foundation to set before applying powder on top. I feel like the application of powder is nicer looking this way. Finally, I set the look using the setting spray before applying my lipstick. With the lipstick I apply one coat, let it dry, blot, and then apply the final coat.

I really liked my finished look. It was effortless and easy to do, and I managed to not get red lipstick everywhere so that was a success in itself. The look stayed on well even though there was a lot of dancing, singing, and jumping (did I mention it was the best concert ever? Did I? Really?). Anyway, I thought this look was worth sharing, and I would love to hear what you wear when you go to concerts? Do you switch it up or do you have a go to?


Feb
2018

The Ritual of Ayurveda Shampoo & Conditioner (English)

categories: ENGLISH, Hair Care

To all the people who haven’t been able to follow this blog previously, let me start by saying  that I LOVE Rituals! It’s one of those brand that just works for me. I’m close to finishing all the Rituals bath products, I had collected even if I had collected enough products to last me a year – I just can’t get enough. However, now that there are Rituals stores in Denmark, it’s a lot easier to get my hands on the products.

Today, I’m gonna tell you about the shampoo and conditioner from Rituals. Two products that actually have been defining for the time in my life and the people I have surrounded myself with. I got the products as a birthday present from Tanja so this review has been a long time coming (my birthday is in august), and not only has she given me two products I really wanted to try but she also picked my favorite scent (Indian Rose and Almond Oil). If that doesn’t define a good friendship, I don’t know what does!

To give you a bit of a reference point, my hair is thick with highlights, a slight curl and frizz. My scalp is oily, and the ends are dry because of the highlights.

The shampoo is a nourishing, ultra-shine shampoo which should make the hair shiny while adding moisture. Normally, I don’t need a shine shampoo because my hair is naturally shiny, and in fact, I normally avoid shine shampoos because I find, that they dry out the hair while trying to make it shiny. BUT! This shampoo doesn’t do that. It’s brilliant. It adds the perfect amount of moisture without making it greasy looking or feeling, and the hair will feel soft and nourished as well as clean.

The consistency of the shampoo is normal, and it’s easy to distribute it through the hair and easy to wash it out again. I always shampoo twice because it makes my hair feel clean for longer.

Looking at the conditioner, there isn’t much to say. It does what it’s supposed to, adding extra moisture to your dry ends. The consistency is a bit thinner than your average conditioner but that might just be because I’m used to using a hair mask as my conditioner. Either way, it’s not a problem.

Finally, let’s talk about the important thing… THE SCENT!! If you’re familiar with the Ayurveda series then you know how good it smells. To me, it’s an amazing scent. The rose and almond is just a perfect combo and I love using it in my hair. The scent lingers even the day after I’ve washed my hair without being overpowering. I think it’s perfect and I hope Rituals will venture into dry shampoos using this scent.

I’ve previously complained about the packaging on products from The Body Shop, saying that they could look to Rituals and learn. Again, the Rituals packaging is pretty and luxurious without putting the price up too much. The packaging holds perfectly in the shower, and though it’s a small thing, I think it’s worth mentioning.

I would definitely recommend this shampoo and conditioner. They feel a bit extra when you use them, they smell amazing and they do a good job at cleaning my hair. I’ve looked into Rituals’ other shampoos as well and I’m tempted to try more as this combo didn’t let me down!

The name that my bottles have doesn’t match what it is called now, so you have to look after the Ritual of Ayurveda to find this series.

You can buy the shampoo online here  for 85 kr.

I wasn’t able to find the conditioner on the danish webside, but I’m sure you will be able to find it in one of their stores.


Feb
2018

ENGLISH The Balm – Plump Your Pucker in Spike My Punch

categories: ENGLISH, Lips

This post contains affiliate links.

As our blog recently turned 2 (yay!) we started debating what our next step should be? Looking at our views, we can see that quite a few of you are based abroad. This led us to thinking; maybe we should target you and try our luck at creating content in English? So here we go. Our plan is to publish one post in English every month (it’ll be the one coming out before our Monthly Favorites so either the very last post of the month or the very first post of the month). We thought one post a month would be a good place to start since not all posts and products are relevant for viewers abroad but also in order to see if you’re at all interested in these posts?  

Today, I’ll review The Balm Plump Your Pucker in Spike My Punch. Though I love all things lippie, I’ve never been one for the lip plumpers (odd considering my tiny lips!). Sure I’ve tried a few in the past but I never thought they did anything more than make my lips tingle/sting a little because of the heavy peppermint or menthol. Let me just say, this is no different. It’s not great in the plumping department and to be frank, I don’t know if it’s even possible to find an actual lip plumper in this price range and without getting actual lip fillers.

I’ve searched the web high and low, and I am aware that people say the plumping effect starts after a month of daily usage. I have tested this product about a month now, applying it more or less daily and I haven’t seen any noticeable difference.

That being said, I do enjoy this product. It applies smoothly and in mere seconds my lips start tingling because of the menthol, I suspect. It feels great and refreshing to me even if I don’t see a noticeable difference in the plumping department. My lips aren’t normally sensitive to this kind of stuff, so I can’t comment too much on that but I haven’t experienced any discomfort of uncomfortable stinging when using this!

The texture of the product falls somewhere between a gloss and a lip oil for me. It’s a bit thick like a gloss but the feel on the lips is smoother like an oil. For this reason, it’s not a product that’ll take you from day to night without reapplying. Wear it for an hour and it’s gone, that’s just how it is with these products so I wouldn’t expect anything more. I really enjoy using this, it has the smoothness and color that I usually get from a gloss, yet it’s smoother on the lips like an oil and less sticky than a gloss, what more could you possibly want?

It is quite heavily scented (maybe to cover up the menthol?) and the scent sticks around for as long as the product. I don’t mind this specific scent but it’s very heavy and artificially fruity – if you were a kid in the 90’s you’ll definitely recognize it, as it smells like a 90’s candy (can’t put my finger on which one).

If you’re looking for an efficient, Hollywood-wives-lookalike lip plumper, this is not for you but if you’re looking for a smooth, gloss-like product with a bit of color, I’d totally give this a go!

For our international readers, this should be available at Sephora (forgive me if I’m wrong, I haven’t been everywhere but it’s on my list) and for our Danish readers it’s available at Spashop.dk.

The next post in English will be out on February 28th!