Moving blogs

Hi guys!

I just wanted to say thank you for reading my blog to all of you that are here. However, I feel like I need to start fresh with a new blog (it will be bilingual, just like me) and I hope you check it out!

<3 

Maria

Winter Edit: Lipsticks

One of my most favourite things to stock up on is lipsticks, in any form or colour, I'm just obsessed. And while I've been trying to cut back on spending so much (you can buy so many red lipsticks), I wanted to show you guys some gems I've discovered these past months (and one that I've been loving for a while!)

KIKO Lips & Cheeks in 105 (LE): This crayon lipstick thing has been with me for a while now and it's one of my most loved colours. I use it year round and it's this medium dusty rose that looks amazing on everyone and compliments fair skin really well in the winter! Sadly, it's a Limited Edition but by mentioning it here I'm hoping KIKO gets the memo and brings it back! <3

Sephora Long Lasting Lipstick in 23: Dark (darrrk) lipsticks have been my thing these past months and this Sephora one has been my best discovery. Honestly, I own like 7 different shades of this lipstick and it's a weird but amazing lipstick: very creamy and easy to put on, but dries down to a super comfortable matte (and it's definitely long lasting!) Also, I have another extra lipstick in 23 just in case I lose it, that's how much I love it!

Rimmel London The Only One Lipstick in 510 "Best of the best": Another great discovery is this cherry red. I usually never wear bright reds if they're not matte, but surprisingly this has a glossy finish but is not slippery, and fares extremely well with food and drinks. Best of the Best is such a beautiful colour (cool reds are my thing in the winter) and the texture is otherworldly (is that even a word...) Just check them out, they also have some mattes but this glossy non-sticky and extremely light texture is rocking my world!

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in "Cannes": I have owned NYX SMLC for a while now, but I just started appreciating them some months ago when I acquired this colour. Usually liquid lipsticks are way too drying or too opaque which makes a mess usually, but these NYX ones are creamy and non-drying (=comfortable) and while it takes a minute or so to dry down, they never let me down. Cannes is the colour I wish my lips were, and while the tube is brownish the actual colour is pinky brown (my nude fave hands down).

What lipsticks are you wearing this winter?

<3 M.

Checking in!

Saying I've been a little MIA might be an understatement at this point in time...

Hi guys!!!!

Life has been a little crazier than I expected when I last posted. But here's what I've been up to these last months:

I finally finished my double degree at uni! I finally visited Croatia (<3), plus I did a short trip to Milan and Lake Como too (I'm so excited to tell you guys all about these trips)! 

Suuuuch a crazy summer :)

And... now I'm on the search for an internship/job (I've been on the search for more than a month), which in Spain is proving to be quite difficult but I shall never lose hope!

Wish me luck <3

Love, 

Maria

Brand review + What to buy: KIKO Cosmetics

Since I discovered KIKO some years ago, I started using their products with the same awe a child has on Christmas day. At first it was only the nail polishes, but then my nail polish interest in general plummeted (I have like 100 of many different brands that I want to give away or just toss). Then it was the eye makeup, which is stellar. And then.. of course, my faves: lipsticks of all sorts!

Let's review some of these products!

LIPSTICK

For years now, lipstick collecting is my obsession. But I do tend to have some lipsticks that I never ever use, which is a shame. This, however, has never happened with my KIKO lipsticks because they are creamy (even if some are matte) and pretty long lasting (unless you go for a creamy sheeny one, of course). The picture above just shows 7 of dozens I have, so if you are interested in swatches, please let me know in the comments :)! 

My favourite ones are the Lavish Lipsticks (the three lippies pictured on the right) and I have the whole range of those but they were limited edition, which is why I had to buy a couple of backups. 

The new Gossamer Emotion (two on the left) are creamy, have a huge range and stay on, plus are not limited edition (and that embossing is suuuper cute)... However I'd definitely recommend swatching in person as some shades have microglitter (which doesn't show up A LOT but you can tell it's not matte) and others are just normal mattes, and sadly the website swatches are not specific about which is which. 

Above pictured are some sheeny creamy lippies that are also the bomb and I use very frequently (as you can see from the wear on the packaging of the pink one!) Definitely comfortable and you can find either sheer ones (sometimes you just need a little colour) and others (like the middle one) start shiny and then turn matte <3.

Quite honestly, even if I have MAC and NARS lipsticks, I usually go for KIKO ones (or L'Óreal but we'll talk about those on another post!) because I love the formulation and colour range that much. 

NAIL POLISHES

KIKO nail polishes have great opacity and range, plus are good quality and pretty cheap. Just recently I checked their nail polishes again and they just came out with a new version of their nail polishes, with a new and cuter packaging (pictured above), plus an even better formula. They are a bit pricier than before (4,90€ a pop) but they have loads of discounts on nail polishes pretty frequently. 

EYESHADOW

I have honestly never used a single powder eyeshadow from them (although I have swatched them in-store and are super buttery!) because for me their most stellar products are the eyeshadow sticks. If you have a limited budget to spend, go for THESE! <3 They have an amazing range of colours (04, 05 and 39 are my faves) and some are matte while others are shimmery. Once they're on, they literally won't budge or crease at all. I also have a couple of limited edition ones, like the golden in white packaging pictured above, which are the bbbbomb.

EYELINER + EYEBROWS

Eyeliner-wise, I only own three from KIKO: one liquid that has a flat paddle applicator and two pencil ones. Honestly, the pencil ones aren't amazing, I find they are not as soft as I like them but I actually haven't given them much of a chance since I usually don't use pencil eyeliner. The liquid eyeliner on the other hand is pretty good, I'm not sure if my favourite of all my eyeliners just yet, but pretty high up, although limited edition so I'm pondering getting a backup just in case. I'm sorry I didn't picture any eyeliner, I just got a bunch of stuff and forgot about these...

In terms of eyebrows, I have to say that I almost never do anything to mine. I have a Maybelline brow pencil that has a spoolie on the other side and that was about it before I got my KIKO eyebrow sculpt. I still won't do my eyebrows every day since mine are pretty dark and not too patchy (but they do need some perfecting) but whenever I do, I use the Eyebrow Sculpt over any other product. It looks like a similar concept (IMO) to the Hourglass Brow Sculpting pencil + Anastasia Brow Wiz but I haven't tried these so I can't really say much in terms of pigmentation, etc. but the KIKO Eyebrow Sculpt has enough pigmentation for my eyebrows (I need just *enough* since I use black for mine, it would be too much!)

MASCARA + LIPGLOSS

Why the hell did I pair these together, you might say. Honestly, I'm not sure. They are both products that I really like and use, but they're not products I'd choose over other brands. 

The lipgloss is really nice (not gloopy, not watery) and minty, plus it sheers out (which is something I need with lipgloss, I hate pigmented ones on myself!) which is why I have like four different shades. It looks really good on its own, but I do feel like if I don't put some balm underneath before applying my lips will look flaky when the gloss is gone. 

The mascara is volumizing and very black but I feel like it's too dry for me, or at least the one I got was very dry from the moment I bought it. This one is the only KIKO mascara I own and it's Kathleen Lights' favourite according to her Youtube videos, and while I get why she might like it (it does build volume), I can't say that this is my favourite mascara of all times (or even top 5).

FOUNDATION + CONCEALER + POWDER

This is my first KIKO *liquid* foundation and since cushion foundations are all the rage right now, I decided to try it out (mostly because I couldn't get my hands on the L'Oreal one just yet in Spain and I'm not buying foundations online ever). This is actually a CC cream which I prefer, but the lightest warm shade available is this one (Warm Beige 15) and it's still a tad darker for my skin (although that happens to me with almost all foundations). However, I really like it and use it every morning for work so I can't say it's my favourite (my Bourjois Healthy Mix is still top 1) but I got it recently and is way more useful to take on the go than foundation + brush/beautyblender.

I also use a powder to set my makeup and I love having compacts with their own applicators so that I don't need to bring any more stuff in my bag. It mattifies and doesn't look cakey, and the colour match is on point, so it's the only powder I ever use.  

In terms of concealer, I have to admit that I have never tried one from KIKO (although I hear great things of the Soft Focus one) and my most favourite high street one is from Bourjois CC Concealer (shade #21, always).

What do you think of KIKO? Have you tried it and what did(n't) you like? (+ would you like swatches of anything mentioned above?)

MARIA

I'm back (again) + life update!

So.. basically, I'm back. I never left, but I was taking an awfully long time to post. 

I've had a million ideas about what to post but I thought this first easing-in post should be an update of sorts.

For starters, my first semester (of my last year of uni) was absolute hell. I had a couple of nervous breakdowns and anxiety bouts. On the other hand, this second semester has been very relaxed (too much, actually). Ever since the start of September, I've been able to go on a couple of trips: London and also a weekend skiing in Austria and Germany (with my parents, which is not so glam haha) Plus, I turned 23 (I feel like time is passing me by sooo fast)! 

Plus, I just took my official end-of-college pictures with my class and I brought my camera along to take a couple of cheeky ones! 

Thanks for staying around guys, it means so much to me. 

This Saturday I'm posting: A Brand Review - Kiko Milano Cosmetics

A note on mental illness

Switching to feedly!

If you're a fellow blog addict, you probably use bloglovin' to keep up with everything going on with the blogs you like. I used to do too, however some months ago bloglovin' changed some features that made my life easier when reading blogs on my computer, plus i changed my phone (I now have a Nokia 925 - which means using windows phone, which means... no bloglovin' app! Booo..)... but hey, i definitely have to talk about my phone/os change later!

Whilst i decided to give a try to the new bloglovin' frame and changes (and maybe get used to them), in the end it was kind of a hassle for me, since i was unable to use it on the go. 

In the end, the only possible solution for me was using another feed service and after checking reviews on different ones, i decided to start using feedly. let me tell you this wasn't easy, but there's definitely lots of pros + cons to this decision, and here is my list of what you can expect if you ever make the switch:

PROS

1. You can add both blogs + youtube channels to your feed, plus the website lets you play the video directly (no link to youtube) and you can open it full screen (which some websites don't let you do anymore)
2. There's an app for that! - meaning, not only is there an official feedly app for android + ios, but there's also an unofficial app called nextgen reader for windows phone (which according to reviews is even better than the official one) plus you can also download this app on your pc or windows-powered tablet!
3. Lets you tag easily, creating collections and folders to organize your feed (i know the folder option is available too on bloglovin')
4. You can share to many other places like evernote, onenote, facebook, twitter... etc.
5. You can read the blog on the feedly website or go to the blog page itself (which most of the time i don't do)
6. I was able to do a huge clean out of blogs i didn't even read anymore or that weren't in existence at all, as i usually follow +100 blogs and you definitely get some lost in the mess

CONS

1. I miss bloglovin' sometimes, especially when I'd like to see the original blog's design whilst being able to skip from blog to blog, just by using the bar (which after those changes, evolved into a huge frame that was kind of in the middle, tbh!) - still, it's more convenient to use feedly in my opinion, as it's easier to read what you want and just erase what you just aren't interested in!

what do you use to read your blogs + feed in general? :)

-M