The Reboot

It’s been quiet on here, a little too quiet for my tastes. For a while there I lost my drive and love for blogging. Inspiration had scurried away hiding in the depths of my world, seemingly impossible to find.

But after some much needed time off for soul searching, Netflix binges and laying down on a yoga mat eating crisps while Cassey Ho is telling me to ‘train like a beast, look like a beauty’ I thought it was time to get back on the proverbial horse. I’m ready to start over and get back into blogging.

Although there will be some changes to the balance of things. Expect to find more lifestyle related posts, maybe even a column or two, besides all the beauty related posts. Don’t worry, I still have the same unlimited love for pretty things, but I find myself buying less and less beauty items. And you can only write about the same items so many times.

So, I officially declare this radio silence as broken. My blog is back, and I’m ready to get back into it. Are you?

Also, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the lovely girl who works at the Starbucks I always go to. You recognising me and asking about my blog really touched me and totally lit the spark to want to start again. Thank you!

The Return

It’s been forever since I last posted something on this blog. Nearly a month! It’s quite a shock for me that my interest and motivation kind of seemed to die overnight. I can go into a long apology post and explain what I am going through but I just don’t feel like it. I’ve always been pretty open about my personal life on here but some things just need to stay for me and my direct environment.

I needed to take my time to work through some things but I feel like I am back in the place where I want (and need) to be. I’m not completely back to my natural self but I am confident enough to put myself back out there and return to something I love doing. So as of tomorrow I’m going to return to regular posting. Probably not as often as I did before, because that schedule was getting a little too intense and stressful, but I will definitely try to post once every two days.

Thank you for your patience and your continued support. This overwhelming support is what keeps me going.

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The Break

Hey girls, I am taking about a week off from blogging to focus on my recovery. My knee surgery last Wednesday went great, but I'm a little more immobile than I had expected. 

Taking pictures for the blog is pretty much impossible when your leg is constantly stretched out. Also, I'm in quite a bit of pain, making focusing on writing a task. 

I'm proud of my blog, and continuously want to put out content that I like and put a certain amount of effort into. And right now, I can't make due on that personal promise. 

I'm going to be back and at it as quick as I can, because I'm already missing it tremendously. 

Love you!

The Life Roundup

Usually I give a little roundup of my week in my Manicure Monday posts, but with the abundance of nail polish gracing the blog this December I decided to do a little roundup of all my Instagrams lately. I use Instagram every day. It's the app I open when I wake up, to look at all the great pictures of the people I follow. The app gives me fashion inspiration, DIY ideas and even ideas for this blog. But it's also the place where I document my life and thoughts. For the enjoyment of other people, but also as an online photo album for myself. I often find myself flicking through my older pictures to look back at some pretty great things. So without further a due, a pretty big roundup of all my recent pictures.

1. A gifted set of gorgeous smelling handmade body products are making my space smell beautiful 2. Miniature arm party 3. This healthy eating thing is really working out 4. Working on my blog post for this gorgeous palette 5. A little trip to IKEA resulted in a breakfast muffin and fresh fruit salad and a lot of throw pillows I didn't really need 6. Saw Catching Fire for the second time, loved it so much 7. My saddle was frozen, winter is really here. 8. My column on the introduction of Netflix in Tape Magazine 

9. Sushi with the mister is my favorite date, we do this at least once a month 10. This & Other Stories hand cream smells so amazing 11. Getting ready to start opening up the Ciaté Mani Month squares 12. Me time 13. Treated myself to some gorgeous lingerie. Truly the foundation of any great outfit 14. Intense retail therapy with my mommy 15. Morning skin care routine 16. Really interesting article on the damage bread does to your body  

17. After leaving my iPhone 4 in the train a few months ago, and hashing out with a constantly failing iPhone 3GS I finally returned to the proper smartphone family with a white iPhone 4S 18. Getting ready for our boyfriends' party 19. The boyfriend spinning at his own party 20. The tickets for our trip to Copenhagen are in, Scandinavia here we come 21. Torn jeans, leopard shoes and bright red lipstick, ready for a Nickelback concert 22. Five products one face 23. Lunch with the mister 24. Shot of an outfit post 25. Memories of Paris and the lock bridge where we made our love never ending 26. Eiffel Tower view at night from Trocadero, so much prettier in real life 27. Lunch with my colleagues, goat cheese, almonds and honey sandwhich 28. Stop, selfie time 29. High tea-ing with a gorgeous friend 30. Smiley cup from Starbucks made my day 31. Nuxe Reve de Miel is saving my lips at the moment 32. Got a new passport, ready to travel

BLOGLOVIN'  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK

App central: My current favorite iPhone/iPad app

I'm a real apple-file when it comes to their portable devices. I have loved my iPhone for quite some time and I am definitely loving every second I spend with my iPad, much to my boyfriend's dismay. It really is the perfect gadget. I use it for studying, a quick browse of my favorite blogs, a jump to eBay for the latest in super cheap accessories and so many more purposes. In this feature on secondhandspring I want to highlight my favorite apps. A different one each week.

The first one is the amazing new app called Room for Thought. It's a camera app that prompts you to take pictures at random moments. It does this once every day, so by the end of the year you have an entire album filled with accidental pictures. Showing you what you did, where you've been and who you have spent time with. You can also browse through other people's albums. Don't worry, you can set your album to private so only you can see what you did throughout the year.

My mother, of all people (she's a total technophobe), told me about this app a few days ago. So I'm missing the first few days of 2013, but that's okay.

If you want an accidental photo collection of your events throughout the year. I suggest you download Room for Thought now. It's available in the app store and is completely free.

Christmas Hauling!

We have just finished our annual secret santa giveaway at home. We are all gathered around the living room staring lovingly at our lovely new things. Including myself, of course. Yesterday was my twentieth birthday and to celebrate that big two oh, I gathered some of my savings and the gifts I got from my birthday and purchased myself an iPad 2. Which I have basically been glued to ever since I first took it into my hands.

But that is not the only thing that is new in my life. It turns out that my mother had my secret santa this year and she got me some amazing things from my wish list. Below are some pictures.

I love how my mom and dad both got me Zara gift vouchers as a christmas present, they must know that I am in love with that store. I plan to get some amazing things with these cards. The blue candle with stars has been a long favorite of mine. The Blond Amsterdam Vanilla scented candle was something that I was meaning to repurchase for quite some time, mom picked up on this obviously.

The electric blanket. To. Die. For. My parents each have one of these already, and how amazing is it to crawl into bed at night and already have it feeling lovely and warm. Finally I can enjoy this pleasure as well.

And then, not to be forgotten. The Lauren Conrad Beauty book. I have bought the Style book by her about two years ago and absolutely adored it. So when I heard that she was putting out the same concept but now solely focused on inner and outer beauty. I like the quote at the beginning of the book.

"To my mother. Who taught me that being a beautiful person goes beyond hair and makeup... but never failed to remind me to get my roots done."

It pretty much sums up my mother. She really is one of the biggest inspirations in my life. I hope I grow up to be as much of a strong and beautiful as she is.

Let's not forget that christmas isn't about gifts, it's about spending time with the people you love and being gorgeously comfortable.

Instagoodness

A little different kind of post again. Normally I'd make a collage of all my recent instagrams, with commentary. But as you probably know by now, my laptop has broken and I have to make do with my trusty iPhone.

Here are my favorite instagrams as of late. I'm enjoying my last week of summer before my sophomore year of college starts.

I hope to be back in full swing soon!

My life in instagrams #4

 

1. best stuff after a good workout 2. miniature armcandy stack. I need more bracelets 3. creepiest store in the country. entire building is filled with dressing dolls 4. the boyfriend looking sad because I'm leaving ♥ 5. the cutest wallpaper in the world 6. boyfriend likes soccer... pardon me, football, A LOT. 7. just what I needed, bounce bounce 8. amazing motto, no? 9. Giant 80s shoulder pads 10. box of yet to review stuff 11. secret food drawer 12. loving this nailpolish on my tanned skin 

 

13. beach, amazing day with my man 14.Kurhaus, such a pretty building 15. boyfriend bought me a cupcake 16. matte asphalt and BAM! neon 17. Jillz in the sun 18. Look at that pout, cake! 19. my new Cheap Monday glasses 20. favorite Beatles song 21. jam on toast 22. triangle nail art 23. separated my nail polish into drugstore and high end polishes. Because one drawer was no longer enough 24. gold studs, I loved this design

25. Zara shorts, gotta ♥ sale 26. Meet Gustavo Hernandez, my goldfish 27. favorite flavor in the world! 28. Went to IKEA for a fridge, came home with half a house 29. My nails were a right mess, work is breaking them down 30. Made cupcakes 31. Baklava at the Greek restaurant for my mum's 50th b-day 32. Studded my shorts! 33. Finally got falsies, couldn't bare the look of my peeling stubs anymore

My life in instagrams #3

1. coffee with a friend 2. finger candy on my way to a party in Doetinchem 3. Makeup for a party in Doetinchem, whipped out the falsies. It was such a good party that up until this day I haven't found the lashes again 4. Jazz in the Woods outfit. Mixing pleasure with work for school! 5. ANNY nail polish in Makeup 6. Subconciously bought all peach tinted products 7. Love love love this new shower cream 8. Zara changing room goodness 9. Signature makeup 10. My favorite flowers in the world 11. nail polish design with tape 12. the same design without the tape 13. finally recording again 14. adorable new iPhone case 15. new polish in the color of the night sky 16. gorgeous weather calls for popsicles!

17. classic red nails 18. snake skin pants are my fav 19. bright pink pumps for Ladies Night 20. cupcakes!
21. smokey eyes, nude lips. Not a very frequent combo for me 22. New Zara blazer is DIVINE 23. light pink nails 24. lilac top, me like 25. lilac ombre nails 26. SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS, AND MORE SHOTS PLEASE! 27. glowing nude smokey eye 28. gorgeous spike necklace 29. splatter nails 30. Mom fishtailed me. I have so much hair! 31. McNuggets, because you're worth it 32. I was bored. I made a pie.




33. breakfast 34. Hey boo! (Not the viking, it's a long story. We broke up and that's a really good thing) I was blind to the very amazing true feelings I'm having now. Slurp. 35. Smoothie time! 36. Nails inspired by Freddy Mercury 37. Holoooooooooo 38. Juice fest! 39. Turquoise heels, me like 40. Party outfit 41. Ice cream time 42. Life saver! 43. Spare ribs with colleagues 44. Soft waves in my ever growing hair 45. New amazing H&M shoes, expect a post soon 46. Tried a new hair mask, my hair feels so thick and lush 47. smokey eyemakup for work 48. summer perfume, it's lovely. Calvin Klein Eternity Aqua




49. Book haul 50. Bracelet that I wanted so bad. It was sold out at my local H&M but my boo went and got it for me! Thanks babe. 51. Playing with my super bright new Sleek palette 52. Colorful eyemakup 53. Smokey eyes for work, got sooooo many compliments. Thanks all you lovely people 54. Matte orange/red nails with golden flakes 55. Summer bronzed glow makeup 56. The book fair with thousands and thousands of book. It was a book-gasm.

Holy cow, I'm an instagram addict. Sorry for spamming with you with my oh so interesting life. I promise to make the next one shorter? I really like taking pictures of food, makeup, shoes, me, well... pretty much everything that I enjoy gets a picture snapped of it. Haha. Have a lovely weekend guys!

My Life In Instagrams #2

Hey guys!

Posting has been so slow lately, but I'm just really busy. No wait, that's a lie. I'm suffering from writer's block. I really want to do more fashion things on here, but I have noooo idea how to properly take pictures. My camera just isn't fit for it and I can't just depend on the lovely Tessa to take pictures any time I want to post a new outfit of the day. I'm planning to do a spring/summer lookbook for YouTube somewhere this long weekend. But for now, my life in instagrams.

 

1. handmade arm candy 2. makeup of the evening 3. statement necklaces 4. tea with mum 5. finally the weather permits me to wear my zara babies out 6. favorite spot in my bedroom, my jewelry tree 7. taste the rainbow! 8. now THAT'S a neon pink 9. spontaneous surprise from my boyfriend 'hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy books and 'lady of the rivers' 10. midnight milkshake 11. mother's day outfit 12. mum! 13. pizza time 14. big hair big shades 15. my favorite lunch: berry smoothie, blueberry muffin

16. the nailwheel from my glitter post 17. mani paris memories polish, amazing for €1 

18. getting my shop on with a friend 19. another day another fishtail 

20. nail experiment that failed, haha 21. greek yoghurt snack and gossip girl, perfect sunday 

22. another nail experiment, this one worked 23. sooo sleepy 24. getting my tan on on my day off. the weather has been lovely the last week 25. mint nails! 26. get to wear these shoes as well with the weather this awesome 27. heatwave outfit of the day 28. heatwave outfit. had an important class outing that required professional clothes 29. playing politician in the assembly hall, debate away! 

30. mint nails again, this time around the wondrous strap of my bag

My Skincare Routine

Hey guys!

About ten months ago I uploaded a YouTube video on my skincare routine and how Obagi products were changing my skin. I'm forever grateful for the amazing products that were prescribed to me by my skincare specialist at the time.  

But the real thing that cured my acne.. the contraceptive pill. Long story short, my acne was caused by hormones, and after asking the doctor for a contraceptive pill that not only prevented me having babies, babies, babies and more babies (I'm not even near ready to think about children?!) but also prevented acne outbursts my acne all but disappeared. 

I have the occasional spot when I neglect to properly clean my skin or don't stick to my lovely daily regime. In the above picture you see all the products I use in a week. Not every day, but in a steady routine throughout the week. I'll review each product starting with the daily stuff. 

Daily

To clean the makeup from eyes I use Doctor van der Hoog Purity 2 phase eye and lip cleanser. This is an oil based lotion that works perfectly to remove the eye makeup. However, I am looking to replace this with something else, because the oily substance smears the makeup without fully removing it and it also doesn't get most of the mascara off. Does anyone know if the Bioderma Eau Micellaire removes eyemakeup properly?

You see that chubby cheeky baby in the picture? I use Huggies Pure wipes to clean excess makeup from my face. I love using these wipes because they don't contain alcohol or perfume. I like keeping the products on my face as simple as possible, as not to irritate the skin. Alcohol can cause your skin to feel dry and tight, and why put perfume on your face? There's no use in perfume. 

To cleanse my skin after removing makeup I use Obagi's Clenziderm Cream Care Cleanser, this is a cream-like cleanser without soap in it. It removes any last bit of makeup and leaves my skin feeling clean and soft. I use this in combination with the Sigma Cleansing and Polishing tool. The head I use on the cleansing tool varies depending on the day. The medium head (pictured) three times a week, the soft head the other days. 

To moisturize and leave my skin feeling like a baby's butt I use Drs. Hans Schroder HPO Morning cream. This came in my Beautybox and it's perfectly refreshing and moisturizing. It is just amazing. I'm probably going to repurchase this after I run out of this pot. 

Weekly

Twice a week after cleansing with the Obagi Cream Care cleanser I use Dermologica's Daily Microfoliant. This is a scrub in powder form. You wet your hands and shake a bit of the powder in your palm, rub your palms together and create a paste that you then massage onto your face. After rinsing this off you will have baby smooth skin. No joke. It's amazeballs. 

Whenever I wash my hair (twice sometimes three times a week) I apply a cream mask onto my face while I wait for my condition to sink into my locks. I use Doctor van der Hoog 3 minute cream mask, the revitalizing kind. The smell of this stuff is wonderfully sweet and fresh and your skin feels brand spanking new after using this. 

And then there is the cult favorite. Sudocrem. This healing cream is applied whenever I have a spot of irritated, dry or inflamed skin. I apply this before bed and leave it on overnight while I catch my Zzz's. The next morning, pure and cured skin. 

I know it's a really long list of products and descriptions, but these are the things that help maintain my skin clear and fresh. Is there anything on this list that you have tried, let me know? Also, do you have suggestions for my skincare routine? I'd love for you to tell me!

What's in my bag?

Oi, what's this? No nail polish? Today I bring you a 'what's in my bag' picture. The contents of my bag change all the time, but these items are the solid fixtures. (Normally there's a ridiculous amount of food in it as well.)

In columns starting from the left

1. Pink notebook 2. iPod Classic 120 GB 3. LUSH Dream Cream 4. White leather business card holder 5. Coral card holder for my college ID, driver's license, bank card and public transportation card 6. INGLOT lipstick palette 7. Aviator sunglasses 8. Passport 9. iPhone 10. OPI edge file 11. A nude and a bright lipstick 12. Breathmints 13. Perfume sample

My week in photographs: wine, slutty brownies, food porn and two-toned lips

1. Baking time with my bestie!

2. Result, SLUTTY BROWNIES!

3. Wine and my lovely snakeprint laptop sticker.

4. Easter dinner. I was responsible for it, I made healthy grilled chicken wraps

5. The result

6. My favorite piece of decor in my room. My jewelry tree. Such a nice thing, isn't it?

7. Brushes all nice and clean, it was needed

8. Mom made Banana Royale as a dessert for easter

9. Amazing makeup on the cover of the May issue of Elle

10. Elle has these nice step by step hair tutorials. I'm going to have to try this look!

11. Two toned lips. Loved them so much!

12. New nails. I feel like a princess with these!

I need a little me-time

Sometimes, a girl needs a little her-time. As much as I love the company of friends, family and my beloved viking, I sometimes need to be a bit of a hermit. Time all by myself to process my thoughts and give them their place in my head.

The best part of this me-time is taking my time for a long, indulging hot shower. I know, I know, hot showers are bad for your skin. But once in a while, it's just what you need to unwind.

In the pictures above you can see all the lovely products I use when I want to pamper myself, my body, my face and my hair. Plus the picture of my most favorite scented candle ever.

Therme Skincare Finn Sauna Shower Gel (this baby right here feels/smells like your taking a bath in Vicks Vapo-Rub. Everything just opens up and your able to breath completely free!)

Dr. Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil shampoo and conditioner

The Body Shop Chocomania body butter

The Body Shop Moringa shower gel (what a gorgeous floral scent, very girly indeed)

Dr. van der Hoog revitalizing 3 minute mask

I Love.. Lemons & Limes scented candle

My week in photographs: lipsticks, dresses and tattoos

1. My favorite sight in the world!

2. I drew a heart tattoo on my finger. I might even get it tattooed, I really like it.

3. New purchase! You'll see what I bought in the next post.

4. Mom and I went shopping for a new ride, we have yet to decide on a color

5. Swatched some of the new L'Oreal Rouge Caresse lipsticks. I like the way they glide on, but I prefer much more opaque lipsticks.

6. Unhealthy eatin', because I can

7. Helped out my best friend getting his new apartment together.

8. Started reading this book! It's so difficult, one of the few times I remember that English isn't my first language.

9. Tried on a peplum dress at H&M. I'm not sure if it works on me, with my hips being all wide and such.

10. I sprained my ankle, at the beginning of this week. It's pretty much healed now, a bit of a sore spot. Walking was a bit difficult for a few days...