Veggie semi-fastfood
A few days ago I made chili sin carne. SO easy! And it tastes really good. Just as good as chili con carne.
I mean, just imagine, the spices are all there, the veggies as well. It tastes so rich, you won’t miss the meat at all.
If you really do miss it though, there’s enough alternatives out there.
This Quorn one for example,is a nice choice.
You can pretty much add it to any dish that would require minced meat, and just prepare it as you would normal meat.
And the most awesome part is, you can just put it in the freezer. This way you will have instant food for when you’re lazy. YAY!
Eat it with a good piece of bread, or potatoes, whatever the heck you have laying around.
Let’s get cookin’!
What you’ll need:
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 big carrots
- one full red bell pepper
- white/red beans in tomato sauce
- spices: salt & pepper, paprika, pilli pilli, optional for extra spice: harissa
- sweet chili sauce and ginger syrup
Take a cooking pot, and heat up some olive oil so that the base is covered.
Chuck in the minced garlic, and let it simmer in the oil. This way the aroma will spread throughout the oil.
After a minute, add the chopped onion. Let this glaze up. (Glaze, not fry. Don’t let them get brown. That’s a tip my grandma tought me LOL. If you just let them soften up, they’ll get nice and sweet)
When the onions are all delicious and glazed, add the chopped carrots and bell pepper to the mix. Stir a little, give it a minute, and then add a bit of water into the pot and cover it with a lid.
Now we’re going to give the veggies some time to soften up nicely, let them sit for a while on medium heat, and check back every now and then to see to it that there’s still some water in there.
(by putting the lid on there, you’re making sure all of the juices stay in there, and you’re essentialy steaming the veggies)
It’ll take about 15-20 minutes, or longer, depends on how soft you like them.
After they’ve softened up nicely add the beans in tomato sauce.
THEN lastly, add the spices, chili sauce and ginger syrup to taste, give it one more minute, and done! ^_^
Bon appétit!
Do you like SPICE? ^_^
Bananas over banane
So ever since it’s been known that everyone + Jennifer Aniston uses it, there’s been a hype going on about T. LeClerc’s setting powder in Banane.
And seeing as I live in Belgium, it’s super duper easy for me to acquire this hype product! For once! LOL yay!
I buy it at my local pharmacy across the street, and use it every single day, so why not throw my opinion on the worldwide web!
One of the most oldschool powders out there:
T. LeClerc Poudre Dermophile Stérilisée, Banane
What it is, is a setting powder for your foundation that’s been around for aaaaaages. Since 1881 to be precise! (Amazing right?)
Simple as that.
It has no significant coverage to it, so can’t be used as a foundation by itself.
It mainly consists of rice starch, and is therefore very mattifying.
Besides that it’s hypoallergenic, which is why it’s sold in pharmacies.
Even super sensitive skin should be able to handle it.
But what’s unique about these, is that T. LeClerc powders come in so many different colors for different skin “issues”.
So let’s get into it!
Colors & pigmentation
A lot of the times my skin has the problem that it looks a little dull, it can often do with some brightening. Besides that, it’s yellow-toned.
If you recognize one or both of these things, give Banane a try. You may like it!
However, if your counter sells these powders, they should have samples of all of them anyway.
Give them a whirl and see what they do for you!
In total there are 14 colors available. I’ll go over the special ones LOL.
The purple color, Parme, can be used to visually brighten and WHITEN up the skin and make it look flawless.
So if you have pale skin, and want to look like a doll, this one’s awesome!
The green one, Tilleul, is meant to erase any redness you may have going on.
The pink color, Orchidée, will relieve tiredness, it gives you a subtle flush.
The yellow, like I said, brightens up your face as well as just suit yellow skintones.
All of the other ones are basically meant to cater to any skin color/tone.
If you want more information on them, check the powder section here, on their website.
As far as the pigmentation goes, like I said, there’s no real coverage to it. It just gives a subtle tone to the skin, and sets your make up.
Texture
A luxurious feeling, finely milled powder. With a subtle sweet scent to it. (Or maybe that’s just me)
It’s not as soft as other powders I own, but for some reason it blends into the skin perfectly. It just dissapears.
If you have oily skin like me, don’t be afraid to use too much with this fantastic powder.
Keep those golden era movie stars in mind, pack this onto a powder puff, and pat pat away. With all those tiny little particles fluttering away from your face like a dream. ^_^
If you need to reapply during the day, you definitely can. It won’t cake up unlike many other setting powders. This powder is super light!
Staying power & quality
Good, but I own powders that stay put longer on my oily skin. Then again, those tend to be cakey. I’d rather apply this one and go powder my nose later than have a cake face!
It does mattify your skin very well, every single time you apply it. And it just breathes some life back into it as well because of the yellow color.
Sometimes I wish it had a tad bit of a satin finish though, to give the skin just that liiittle more oomph.
Luckily, these come in cute little travel cases too!
The travel cases have loose powder in them by the way, not pressed. So it’s just as lightweight ^_^ they come with a tiny powderpuff in them as well.
Price
Around 40 euros for a full box of 25 grams, and 35 for the 7 gram travel size. Yes, crazy price for so little product.
However, you can refill the travel size, and it has a sifter as well.
So it’s really handy if you travel a lot like me. Just depends on what your wishes are!
Oh and if you can, get one of these cute limited edition ones!
If you’re going to put in the money, might as well get the nice version!
The verdict
4 stars! I deducted one star for the insane price.
But I have to stay honest, and I do really really love it and use it every day!!
Do you own this powder? Or do you not even need a setting powder? Lucky bastard!
Let me know!
Easy as 1, 2, hot key
Go honest, go cruelty free
Yes it’s horrible what we do to animals in the name of testing, but it can also be seriously aggrivating to be standing at the counter, forgetting what brands tests again…
But you NEEED a new moisturizer.
What to do what to do!
The leaping bunny list is one of my favorite resources. I used scan their website, and copy the names of all the brands I recognized to my agenda.
I had a testing and non-testing list, just so I could check everything.
What a mess it waaas…. I hated it!
HOWEVER, they have phone apps for that now!
Throw them on your phone and you’re ready to go. I love it!
Oh you need laundry detergent? Just type in the brand, *ding*, there you go.
Awesome!
You’ll have to find out what system your phone runs on. If you have an Android or iPhone, you’re in luck.
At the moment, sadly enough.. these are the only systems that support the Leaping Bunny app.
They’re working on supporting other mobile systems as well though.
Android phones
iPhone, iPad
(Another official option is PETA.
However i’m NOT a fan of them. One of the reasons is because PETA collects money from beauty companies. It’s not entirely sure if they’re 100% legit.)
Luckily everyone and their mother seems to have an iPhone or iPad these days. The easier it gets to keep track of animal testing, the more people might join the anti cruelty force! LOL
Here are some more random, cool animal apps you might want to check out:
Palm
Windows phones:
Android phones
iPhone, iPad
- FREE learn how to speak vegetarian everywhere
- FREE worldwide vegetarian restaurant guide
- FREE list of hidden animal ingredients
- FREE vegetarian fastfood guide
If you use any of these animal rights apps, or know of any good ones, definitely share!
FOTD Candy Cane Swirl
Whenever i’m feeling extra sugary, I grab for my Catrice Pink Rock Superstar eyeshadow. Today, when grabbing for it AGAIN I realised if I love it so much, why not share a review about it!
I’ll combine it with a FOTD (face of the day).
Eyes:
I used a random turqoise from the 88 palette in the middle of my lid and up toward my nose. And then the Catrice shadow.. everywhere else.
Around my tearduct I applied a sky blue.
Just ’cause you gotta love clashing colors!
Popped some highlighter under my brows, and in my inner corner (Bourjois eyeshadow, 94 Citron Givré).
After that I winged out some liquid black liner, and added mascara.
Face:
Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, 52 Vanilla
Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer, 51 Light Radiance
T. LeClerk Loose Powder, Banane
Cheeks:
Blush: 2B Cosmetics Mineral Blush 01
Contour: NYC Sun 2 Sun bronzing powder
Lips:
NYC 16h Lip Stain, 490 Persistent pink
As for the review:
I’ll cover all of the catrice shadow’s i’ve tested so far.
First some pics and swatches of course!
inside (without primer)
full daylight (also without primer)
Packaging
I know, packaging is no big deaal… but I am in LOVE with the packaging! It’s very sturdy, i’ve traveled with them a lot. But at the same time it feels classy and sleek! I love the see-through design.
Also, has to be mentioned, the names. COME ON! Dalai drama? How awesome is that!
Colors & pigmentation
Some Catrice shadows are better than others. The voilent voilet for example, is not as pigmented. It’s pretty, but not the shadow to go for if you want a full-on purple. Then again, the pink rock superstar and Dalai Lama are super nice and vibrant!
If we think twice though, you have that same issue at MAC, and so many other brands.
For the price of these Catrice shadows, the pigmentation is absolutely wonderful!
Besides that, they have quite a few colors available to experiment with. ^_^
They currently have 27 in their range. But come out with limited editions all the time, my fairy dust is one of those.
Texture
Tap off the excess, i’d say. These do have fallout.
But even though they have fallout, they’re not crumbly. So you can build the color onto your lid, if you want a vibrant application.
Use a dense brush, and lay the color down for the best result. Don’t swipe it over your lid. Just pat it on. You can blend after.
Price
These run for 2.79 euros a pop and they contain 2 grams of product!! >_< yeah! Go go! Get ‘em!
Verdict
They have a bit of fallout, but that’s no biggie! You can always apply your foundation after.
Just look at what you get for the price!
Dragon’s whisper
I came across something awesome today that I needed to share!!
Silver dragon earrings from Etsy
They’re dragon earrings! Don’t they just look the dragon’s whispering secrets into your ear??
The ones on the picture can be found here. In martymagic’s Etsy shop.
They’re pretty expensive though. Currently running at 159 dollars.
In case you don’t have that kind of money on hand at the end of this month, like me, here’s a budget-version that looks beautiful as well:
Budget earrings from Alchemy Gothic
I could live with those!
These can be found here at Attitude Clothing for 15 pounds, so 19 dollars!
Did my little dragons capture your imagination too? Will they be whispering in your ear soon? Leave me a comment!
FOTD: Bejeweled
How completely over the top and fun are these phone cases?? Me and my mom found them at some random store and fell in love!
Besides that, the sun has been shining like crazy over here. It’s been so nice the past couple of days!
That lovely combination made me want to stick rhinestones on my face as well. Soo I did! LOL
Here’s my beleweled eye look to kickstart the summer!
What I used!
Eyes:
the famous 88 matte palette
I used a dark blue (1) in the inner & outer corners of my eye, and connected the two in my crease. I took it up pretty high, and inwards toward my nose as well.
Then I applied a light turqoise (2) onto the middle of my eyelid.
After that I used a skintone color (3) to blend the harsh edges toward my browbone.
On my lower lashline, I applied some black eyeliner and a mossy green (4) for an extra pop of color ^_^
Lastly, I applied a highlight to my browbone and inner corners. It’s just a shimmery beige.
(I won’t name the brand, since i’m finishing up the product and won’t be repurchasing. The brand tests on animals.)
Something awesome I learnt from a guru: if you have veins in the inner corners, like me, it really brightens up that area if you apply the highlight all the way onto your nose. Not just your tearduct.
To finish it off, I applied some winged out liquid eyeliner and false eyelashes. And OF COURSE a rhinestone. ^_^
I got mine at a craftstore, there the self-adhesive kind.
Cheeks:
Blush: Dior Rosy Glow 001 Petal
Highlight: same as on my eyes
Contour: NYC Sun 2 Sun bronzing powder
Lips:
Rouge Dior, 351 Elegant Pink
Face:
Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, 52 Vanilla
Hope you like! What’s your favorite color for your eyes during the summer?
Are you feeding or sealing?
A gorgeous natural beauty guru I follow, called Grace, shared an interesting article today.
It ties right in with the DIY scrub I just posted.
We often just don’t know what we get in our fancy, 1000 ingredients-list, skin care products anymore!
There’s actually a lot of stuff in there that’s used as a filler, to save the companies money.
It doesn’t contribute to your skin’s health, and some ingredients even do more bad than good!
If you’re curious, definitely read the acticle here. And then check the ingredient list on your products.
1st ingredient on the list here: paraffin, a filler that can clog pores and cause break outs.
As with everything though, what works for you is personal. If it works for you, why not.
I think it’s just generally important that we know, as consumers, what the ingredients are.
Not only because it’s good to know possible side effects, but also because there’s no need to pay a crazy amount of money for fillers.
The good news is, there’s a lot of brands out there that boycott these fillers as well.
Just be a conscious consumer and pick the right ones! LOL
What do you think? Do you think it’s important to check ingredients, and do you do this already? Let me know!
DIY scrubbing!
Let’s start off by saying I have oily skin.
YAY less rinkles! BOO blackheads and powdering our nose.
A while back, I officially declared war against my blackheads!
I’d splurge on getting a nice scrub and all that stuff..
The Clinique 7 days scrub cream is a lovely one.
But that’s 20-30 euros down the drain o_O
And to be honest, if you look at the ingredient list….. not that spectacular either.
After some time, I moved onto a cheaper brand, the Hema scrub cream for combination skin.
Which was fiiiine…. but it didn’t add much to my skin either!
Then I read about using sugar as your scrub.
This would be your main ingredient, and from that you could add whatever you like, to nourish your skin.
Enter the honey-olive-lemon-scrub!
My skin has really been benefiting from this concoction. LOL
The ingredients are:
- Any sugar (I use unbleached cane sugar)
- Honey (the runny kind)
- Olive oil (I use extra vierge)
- Optional: fresh lemon
And here’s how we make it!
Take a bowl, and poor in the sugar first. This way you can measure how much of the scrub you want. (let’s say 4tbsp)
Add the honey, not too much, you want it to stay clumpy and griddy. (about 2 tbsp)
And then your olive oil, until you’re satisfied with the consistency. (about 1 tbsp)
When my skin is feeling a bit dull, I like to squeeze in a fresh lemon too.
Then when I hop into the shower, I clean my face, put this scrub on, let it sink in for a minute, and rinse it off.
It makes my skin feel so fresh!
Keep your scrub in the refrigerator, and you can use it for up to 3 days.
Let’s discuss ingredients!
Sugar
It works as a mild exfoliant, and is alpha-hydroxy rich.
So it will make your skin radiant. (not the nuclear kind, I promise) ^_^’
Second, is honey.
Honey is amazing, the list of positive effects on the body goes on and on.
It works as a natural antioxidant, has anti-macrobial properties, moisturises, heals and slows the aging process.
It’s no wonder women have been using it for AGES to treat their skin right?
Thrid is olive oil.
Don’t be afraid of olive oil. It will moisturise your skin without clogging it.
The molecules are too small to clog your pores.
Fourth is lemon.
Lemon brightens and softens up your skin.
It helps fade freckles and age spots you might have.
The citric acid in it works as a mild peeling, and it acts as a toner for oily skin as well. (FIGHT the blackheads!)
If you plan on brewing up this mixture at home, let me know what you think!
Bourjois Countour pencils
My mom and I hung out together this weekend, and I came across an awesome deal on some Bourjois and UNE make-up! YAY!
I’m not quite sure how I feel about the UNE products yet, so i’ll share my thoughts on the Bourjois pencils first.
Bourjois Countour pencils
left 3: Bourjois Khôl&Contour. right 2: Lèvres Countour
Bourjois has always been high up in my list.
They don’t test on animals, and deliver great quality for the price range they are in.
(their Healthy Mix Serum foundation has been compared to the Chanel Aqua Lumière!)
As you can see on the swatch picture, Bleu évasion and original have a satin finish.
The other ones are all matte.
First of all, the eye pencils.
- The colors are pretty nicely pigmented.
Why they are all called blue? No idea.
Bleu surprenant is a very vibrant grape colour, and the Bleu original is a teal..
They are okay as far as the pigmentation goes, not the best but buildable.
One swipe will get you a subtle color, 5 swipes a rich rolor.
- As for the formulation
They go on pretty smooth, But aren’t AS creamy. They’re not as easy to work with as the make-up forever pencils for example.
But the formulation is good, especially the Bleu original goes on nicely.
The Bleu surprenant does need some smoothing over to look even though.
It’s a bit more dry and tricky, probably because it’s a matte.
- Staying power
Even with an eyeshadow on top, they didn’t stay on my lower lashline for 16 hours (which is what they claim to do).
They started smudging about 8 hours after. But to be honest, for the price… Not bad at all.
- The verdict
These retail for 5 euros, so the quality is good for the price range they are in.
I would say if you don’t wear bright eyeliners very often, and you want to step outside the box, try these.
They’re not crazy pigmented so wearable for everyday. And they won’t burn a hole in your wallet.
Now the lip pencils.
- These ARE crazy pigmented
I love ‘em! One swipe is all they need.
You could fill in your lips with these and you’re ready to go! The colors are amazing.
- Formulation
Ahh.. So creamy.
No pushing down on your pencil required, one swipe and your lips are outlined.
- Staying power
They smoothe on like a dream. And DO not budge.
Right when I got home, I swatched these, and they stayed on my hand throughout the evening. I did the dishes, hung out in the couch, showered.
I had to use an oil-based make-up remover to get them off.
- The verdict
Love love love the lip pencils, and they’re only 6 euros!!
Definitely pick these up if you get the chance!
I’d love to know what you think of them if you do!
