March Favorites

I was a little bit afraid that my monthly favorite beauty related products might end up being the same thing month after month. However, that doesn't seem to be happening right now! After this post I can actually say that I have had three months with different favorite products! You can see my previous favorite posts here.

So, without further ado, my March favorite beauty products!

1 - L'Oréal Paris - Studio Secrets Professional - Universal Lip Glow
This has been my go to lip product this month! It gives my lip a nice glow without being unnatural.

2 - Clinique - Chubby Stick - 07 Super Strawberry (Reviewed here)
Always a favorite of mine. Couple of reasons, it is from Clinique and it is just amazing. I am pretty sure this lip product is what drove me into starting a beauty blog!

3 - Elizabeth Arden - Eight Hour Cream - Intensive Moisturizing Hand Treatment
I really love this hand lotion and it is pretty much finished! There are couple of things that bother me about it but I will write all about that in my first Empties post that I will post tomorrow. I feel that this lotion or "hand treatment" isn't oily, absorbs quickly and doesn't smell that bad.

4 - Beauty Essentials -  Purple Power
I got this from Melissa (Bubbles on: Beauty, Fashion and Life!) in the Valentine Swap, I swear I have almost been using it every single day since then. It is purple and I love it!

5 - Gena Laboratories - Healthy Hoof Intensive Protein Treatment  (Reviewed here)
As I wrote in my review this is amazing cuticle and nail cream, I don't have anything negative to say about it and they are cruelty free! How amazing! Just love it! Would recommend it to anyone, boys and girls, this is the best cuticle cream I have ever used!

There they are my five favorite beauty related products for March, since the sun is starting to shine like a big ball of fire I can forecast that most of my April favorites will have a high spf!

Bisous!

Sponsor Tarte Aux Fraises in April!

I am so happy about March, I reached all my mini blogging goals that I had set for myself! As you might know both HelloCotton and Google Reader is shutting down! But don't worry I am on Bloglovin' and you can easily follow me >here< and while you are it you have to remember to claim a username on Bloglovin' and I wrote a tutorial on it >here<

There is a change I want to start in April and that is to have my button swaps and all go through Passionfruit ads! The reason for this is because it makes things easier and just generally neater and that is something I love! The ads are of course still free and it is super easy to do! You can see all the details on my sponsor page.

Statistics: March 2013 (30/03/13)

Page views per month: 3'500

Bloglovin': 52

Twitter: 210

Google Friends: 75

Feed/Reader: 87

Things that will happen in April:
- three new regular blog series.
- the 100 Days of Decluttering will come to an end
- the nail polish challenge will go on strong
- the perfume challenge will keep on going
..... and a secret thing that will be revealed in the second week of April!

Bisous

Book Review: Exit Music by Ian Rankin

I have been reading this book for such a long time! The problem is that this is such a slow book, I am not asking for a action thriller I am just asking for a book that isn't in such a horrible snail pace!

It's late autumn in Edinburgh and late autumn in the career of Detective Inspector John Rebus. As he tries to tie up some loose ends before retirement, a murder case intrudes. A dissident Russian poet has been found dead in what looks like a mugging gone wrong. By apparent coincidence, a high-level delegation of Russian businessmen is in town - and everyone is determined that the case should be closed quickly and clinically. 

But the further they dig, the more Rebus and DS Siobhan Clarke become convinced that they are dealing with something more than a random attack - especially after a particularly nasty second killing. Meanwhile, a brutal and premeditated assault on a local gangster sees Rebus in the frame ...

Not even half way through the book I just wanted to quit reading it! It was just dreadfully slow and horribly boring.

"Rebus had dropped her home and then driven through the silent pre-dawn streets to Marchmont, an eventual parking space, and his second-floor tenement flat. The living room had a bay window, and that was where his chair was." Page 15

I wondered if the story might be more interesting if I had read the other 17 books written about Inspector Rebus but somehow I highly doubt it.

The book spans nine days and an extra day epilogue which can be what makes the story develop so slowly. To be fair, there is almost no movement in this book! It is just a repetition from day to day with just little bit of new information and just page-loads of nothing.

"He turned his attention to the windscreen and the bleak car park beyond. Clarke could see that he wanted to wind down the window so he could smoke. But the smell was out there, lying in wait just above the level of tarmac." Page 64

I wonder if Ian Rankin wanted just to stop writing about Inspector Rebus, since he is supposed to retire in this novel, and the publisher made him write another book with this is the result, an awful book! But in reality there is an eighteenth Inspector Rebus novel that came out after this one.

"The moment the flashing blue light was plugged in, it began working. Goodyear reached out of the window and attached it to the roof. The light ahead was still red. Clarke sounded her horn and watched the driver examine her in his rearview mirror." Page 396

I think Ian Rankin will go into my "do not read" author list, along with Kathy Reichs (see review here). Life is just too short to keep on reading bad books!

What should I put on my reading list?

Bisous

100 Days of Decluttering #7

I now have about a month left of my decluttering challenge! I really don't think I have done enough so I am going to try to do much more in the next month! I feel like I am going the right direction and that does feel good!


Thrown Away
Yves Rocher - Couleurs Nature - Pastel Cream Eyeshadow - 02 Mauve Brume
H&M - Blue tights (see here)
An old bra that the underwire poking me.


Otherwise Accomplished
- Melted some lipsticks so I could use them again (see here)

I really want the last month to count! I just need to get motivated!


Bisous

Perfume Challenge Update #4

From left to right: Jil Sanders - Style Soft, Estée Lauder  - Pleasure, La Prairie - Life Threads: Ruby, Moschino - Toujours Glamour, Lolita Lempicka - Si Lolita 

Moschino - Toujours Glamour

Fragrance notes: Red berries, Violet leaves, Cardamom, Jasmine, Muguet, Bitter almond, Benzoin, Heliotrope, Musk

Duration: shockingly bad, it couldn't have lasted more than an hour!

Me: It was alright but it was missing that special something that makes perfumes good!

Verdict: Not buying it

Estée Lauder  - Pleasure 

Me: Horrible, I actually gagged when I smelled this perfume on me!

Verdict: Not buying it.

La Prairie - Life Threads: Ruby 

Fragrance notes: Bergamot, Lily of the valley, Orange blossom, Jasmine, Rose, Saffron, Ylang ylang, Musk, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Vetiver

Durability: Strangely good! Lasted throughout the day!

Mr. Handsome: liked it
Me: I think I liked it, I really would like another sample of this because I am about 75% sure I like it
Verdict: I want to say yes because it did smell nice but I think I will say probably and see if I can find another sample or spray some on me in the store and make sure I love it. 

Jil Sanders - Style Soft 

Mr. Handsome: Liked it

Me: It was okay, not sweet enough for me.

Lolita Lempicka - Si Lolita 

Fragrance notes: Pink peppercorn, Bergamot, Mandarin, Wallflower, Sweet pea, Heliotrope, Elemi gum, Amber, Patchouli, Tonka bean

Me: it smelled quite spicy, I felt like a spice cake. 
Verdict: Not buying it.


This weeks reviews is somehow filled with nothing, the problem was that many of the samples had to little of perfume in them for me to establish things as durability and to make Mr. Handsome smell me.


My next week perfumes are:
Givenchy - Very Irrésistable 
Chanel - Chance 
Issey Miyake - L'eau d'Issey
Lancôme - Trésor Midnight Rose
DKNY- Pure

Bisous!

Review: Gena Laboratories - Healthy Hoof Intensive Protein Treatment

I have to say that this cream is one of my favorite creams for my nails and cuticles. I can't say that there is anything that I don't love about this cream.

The cream has quite thick consistency and gets absorbed quickly into the skin, it isn't oily. I can easily rub it into my cuticles and nails and keep on working couple of seconds later. I probably use it several times a day!

 I love how this cream smells, the scent isn't really strong which is good. I really believe that this cream helps with my dry cuticles and  might even help strengthen my nails! The jar isn't big but you don't need a lot of the cream for all ten cuticles and nails so the jar lasts for a long time!

I did send Gena Laboratories e-mail asking if they were cruelty free but I haven't received an answer. There wasn't anything about it on their webpage and they aren't on any lists. If they aren't cruelty free I won't buy another jar of this product!

Update: 
I got an answer from Gena Laboratories and they do not test on animals and do not buy raw material from companies that do! Amazing!

Bisous

Outfit of the Day #5

Two outfit posts in one month! I must be crazy!  Well, not really! I'm just trying to feel more comfortable doing an outfit post  so I just must practice. One thing I have to say about this dress, it is made out of flannel and it is the most comfortable thing in the world. The only thing I don't like about it is the frilly bit on the chest area. 

Shoes: Converse Tights: H&M (old) Dress: UNIQLO (old) Belt: thrifted

Couple of weeks ago I dyed my hair purple again, I love having purple hair and have wanted to go back to purple for a long time. I am super glad I went for it again. It is just amazing having purple hair! 

Bisous

Why I am Going to Boycott H&M from now on.

Today there is a bit of a different type of post, it is something that has been on my mind since H&M announced that Beyonce would be their summer face. For me that was the last nail into the H&M coffin.

A sign from Roskilde Festival that I found fitting with this post

First I would like to tell you my back-story of H&M, I have worn their clothing since I can remember myself. Most of my closet has been filled with clothes from H&M but from now on I won't even step into their store.

But why now, why because of Beyonce. Well, I find that how Beyonce uses animals for fashion to be horrendous and it seems to be the opposite of the image that H&M seems to be trying to fool us with.

I say fool us with because it seems that what H&M seems to sell to us is nothing more than a mirage. The organic cotton seems not to be so organic (See this report from 2010). In 2010, workers died in a H&M factory fire, the workers were knitting sweater for H&M all night long (See news story here). There are many many more examples that I could give but because of their political reasoning I am not going to write them here. 

Let's move to Beyonce and why she brings the H&M brand down. I think we should start with her sneakers (see news story here). These sneakers are made out of: Calf hair, ostrich, crocodile, anaconda and stingray skins. These sneakers were custom made for her. Then we have her Super Bowl outfit was made out of cows, pythons and iguanas, there seems to be a pattern emerging! (See news story here)  My last sample will be from the the inaugural address when she not only wore a mink fur coat but as well mink fur eyelashes.  (see news story here) 

To conclude, I have just had enough of the mistreatment of animals and for H&M to stoop to the level of having a person that uses animals for fashion as their summer face was a real slap in the face for me. 

Au revoir H&M, our friendship is over. 

DIY: Melting Lipstick

On my 25 thing before my 25th birthday list I wore that I wanted to write two do it yourself posts and this one is my first!

I have been thinking about this for ages, or since I realized couple of my favorite lipsticks broke in transportation so I wasn't really able to use them! I felt it was such a shame and really didn't want to throw them out! 

The little jar I am using is actually a jar for medicine. It has three compartments, morning, lunch and evening, perfect for what I wanted to use it for!

Step One

Choose the lipsticks you are planning on melting!

The lipsticks I used were:

Elizabeth Arden -  Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick Sheer Tint - Plum (Reviewed here)

Yves  Rocher - Luminelle - Rouge Dragée - 64 Rouge Piment

Catrice - Absolute Moisture - 030 Spicy Coral

Step Two
Chop the lipstick into couple of pieces and scoop out the rest and place it into a metal spoon.

Step Three
Melt the lipstick over a small flame, be careful to not hold the spoon over the flame and not to let the lipstick start to boil.

Step Four
Pour the lipstick into the mold.

Step Five 
Continue with the other lipsticks



Couple of tips:
- Always have paper ready to wipe the spoon after each lipstick
- Allow the lipstick really to melt until you pour it into the container
- The lipstick won't have a different consistency when it is back to being cold
- Be careful of not letting the lipstick boil


Bisous

Review: Yves Rocher - Sheer and Shine Lipstick - Gelée Litchi

I wanted to start writing about the make-up I have and slowly decide if it is something I want to keep or throw away. The Sheer and Shine Lipstick from Yves Rocher is a lipstick that has been in my maybe pile for some time now.

The thing is, I love the texture of this lipstick and I think it looks amazing as a swatch but on my lips the tone just doesn't suit me. Neutral colours just aren't my thing. The colour that I chose was the Gelée Litchi, I think that I will buy a new lipstick but in a different colour (maybe the Gelée cassis)

The Sheer and Shine Lipstick is amazingly smooth and doesn't dry the lips at all! It is an amazing lipstick but just not the colour for me, therefore it will go into the bin!

Yves Roche - Sheer and Shine Lipstick - Gelée Litchi - $8

Bisous

100 Days of Decluttering Update #6

Thrown Away
Dior - J'adore (See perfume challenge #3)
Lancôme - Trésor

Van Cleef & Arpels - Oriens

Chloé  - Love, Chloé
YSL - Parisienne
Bourjois - So Laque Ultra Shine Nail Enamel - Bleu Mystérieux 32 (see here)
Yves Rocher - Sheer and Shine Lipstick - Gelée Litchi (see here)

Otherwise Accomplished

I started doing a load of laundry a day and started to sort the clothes that I plan on keeping and what I plan on selling! 

I ordered some business cards, I know it doesn't have anything to do with decluttering but it has to do with my blog and soon to be shop. 

Bisous

Photo an Hour - 20th March 2013

I wanted to do a photo an hour that would be just photos that are completely real, no cropping or photoshopping just 100% my life. For that I as well don't need any words. So without further ado, photo an hour

Book Review: Déjà Dead by Kathy Reichs

I had some high hopes for this book, I really thought it would be a great book. I have heard so many amazing thing about the Temperance Brennan books but I had never read one. I decided to go for it and I regret it.  

Déjà Dead is Kathy Reichs first novel and for me most likely the last that I will read by her. 

The bones of a woman are discovered in the grounds of an abandoned monastery and the case is given to Dr Temperance Brennan, Director of Forensic Anthropology for the province of Quebec. 'Too decomposed for standard autopsy. Request anthropologic expertise. My case.'

Researching recent disappearances in the city convinces Brennan that a serial killer is at work, despite the deep cynicism of Detective Claudel who heads the investigation. Dr Brennan's forensic expertise and contacts at Quantico finally convince him otherwise, but only after the body count has grown... 

Tempe takes matters into her own hands, re-examining remains from past, unsolved murders. She is driven to unravel shocking acts of violence by reading the bones of the dead. But even before Tempe makes her crucial breakthrough, the killer closes in...

I think main problem I have with the book is that it is written in first person, I find that just way way to annoying. There is too much of inner conversations that are just useless and make Temperance character simply annoying. I really wouldn't want to know her in real life.

The second problem was just too much detail, for me the only thing it did for the story was to fill pages and was just plain and simple boring. I threw the book down almost at every other page because reading this book is super frustrating!

The only character I could relate to was Temperance daughter, Katy. She really just wanted her mom to stop annoying her so much.

"What I saw made my blood race even faster, as if the thumb had been slipped from the shaken soda bottle in my chest and a geyser of fear allowed to erupt." Page 71

"Back in the imaging program, I called up Tang.tif and double-clicked it open. Tanguay's impression filled the screen. I retrieved the bite mark in the Rue Berger cheese, and tilted the two images side by side. Next I converted both images to an RGB scale, to maximize the amount of information in the pictures" Page 464 

The description on how she is editing pictures goes on for 7 pages! 7!!! Horrible. The same happens earlier in the book when she starts describing different types of saws.

I am only including two quotes since I just can't make myself type more of horrible written words.  I will never reach for another Kathy Reichs book and I wish I hadn't forced myself to finish this one!

Bisous

Perfume Challenge Update #3

So here is the verdict to the third week of my perfume challenge, it is strangely hard to try new perfumes everyday. For me perfumes have so much to do with daily things like mood and how I feel, so whenever I have a bad smelling perfume on or even one that I just find bland I hate it! I don't like not smelling like I love smelling! But back to the perfume samples!

Dior - J'adore
Fragrance notes: tangy mandarin, ivy leaves, champaca flower, red orchids, white roses, violets, Damascus plum, amaranth wood and blackberry musk.

Durability: Very good. 

Mr. Handsome: Loves it. 
Me: It's fine. 
Verdict: This one is a bit tricky, it is apparently the perfume of an ex-girlfriend of a friend of mine. I do like it a lot and I am thinking about buying it. 

Lancôme - Trésor in Love
Fragrance notes: pear, musks, bergamot, rose, nectarine, pink pepper, violet, jasmine, cedar, peach

Durability: Not that good

Mr. Handsome: Bland
Me: Bland
Verdict: Won't buy it

Van Cleef & Arpels - Oriens

Fragrance notes: Jasmine, Patchouli, Raspberry, Blackcurrant, Amber, Vanilla

Durability: decent

Mr Handsome: it has vanilla
Me: Don't like it, smells bad.
Verdict: Won't buy it.

Chloé  - Love, Chloé
Fragrance notes: Orange Blossom, Pink Pepper, Iris, Lilac, Hyacinth, Wisteria Blossom, Powdery Musks, Talc, Rice Powder.

Durability: Not that good

Mr. Handsome: Mehh
Me: Mehh.
Verdict: Won't buy it

YSL - Parisienne
Fragrance notes:  blackberry, violet, patchouli, sandalwood, vetiver, cranberry, peony, musk, damask rose

Durability: Not that good

Mr. Handsome: Meh
Me: Don't like it

Verdict: Won't buy it

The perfumes which I chose for the last week were just horrible bland, the only one that I could imagine myself wear daily would be the J'adore from Dior, I do have a bigger sample of that somewhere and I think I will use it after the challenge! 

My next week perfumes are:

 Moschino - Toujours Glamour

Estée Lauder  - Pleasure 

La Prairie - Life Threads Ruby 

Jil Sanders - Style Soft 

Lolita Lempicka - Si Lolita 

Review: Ole Henriksen - African Red Tea Exfoliating Lip Salvation

I wanted to write a review about his lip balm since it is one of my favorites! It is a mix between a lip balm and a lip exfoliator. It has tiny little soft grains in it that softly exfoliates the lips throughout the day, that combined with the lip balm leaves the lips super soft and looking amazing. Another positive thing about this lip balm is that it is petroleum free! Something I appreciated. To top it all of it isn't tested on animals! Perfection in a small pot. 

I love this lip balm because it really helps with my super dry lips and has the perfect tint for a simple natural look.

Ole Henriksen - African Red Tea Exfoliating Lip Salvation - $15

 Bisous

Face of the Day #2 - Australis/Clinique/MAC/MUA

I have done so many things today! Super proud of myself! I still wanted to do a quick Face of the Day! Today I am using some of the MUA that I won in a giveaway that was held on Hannah's Blog (Midnight Violets) I am as well wearing a lip gloss that I got from Melissa (Bubbles on: Beauty, Fashion and Life!)

Face:
Clinique - Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion - 50 ml/$14
Clinique - Age Defense BB Cream - Shade 01 - $37 - Reviewed (1)


Lips: 
Australis - Mint Condition Lip Gloss - An Evening With?  (2)


Eyes:
Clinique - High Impact Mascara - Black - $16 (3)
MAC - Eye Khol - Smolder - $16 (4)
MUA - Undressed - Shade 4 and Shade 5 (5 and 6)
MUA - Eyebrow Pencil - Blonde (7)

The number in the brackets are the numbers for the swatches below.

I have started watching Body of Proof and just completely fell in love! I have already finished season 1 and started on season 2! Great show, I totally recommend it!

Bisous

Nail Polish: Yves Rocher - Mini Nail Polish - Maxi Colour - Vert Noir

By doing my nail polish challenge I am forcing myself to try all the nail polishes that I have in my stash. Some of them are awful and I have thrown out but some of them are amazing and I am happy that I found them again. This is one of the amazing ones.

It isn't sold anymore so I can't buy another one when this one is finished. Yves Rocher does have other Mini Nail Polishes and I think I will get some of them later because I really love them! They are a tiny 3 ml / 0.10 fl oz so it should be easy to finish them! 

I had to use two  coats for it to look right but it wasn't a problem since the formula isn't too think or otherwise unmanageable. I love the colour, it is a bit darker than emerald green and just amazing.

I will definitely use this nail polish again and hopefully I will be able to find this colour again when I finish this bottle!

Bisous

Sponsor Tarte Aux Fraises in March for FREE

I was wondering if I should write up this posts or not and that is why it is late! But I decided to do it, mostly because I wanted to have a record of how my blog is growing!

So if you want to swap buttons or even just have your button on my blog just contact me on twitter or just send me an e-mail to contacttarteauxfraises at gmail.com if you want my button you can just grab it from here.


My numbers from 28th of February:

Page views per month: over 5'300 

Bloglovin': 11 

Twitter: 191 

Hellocotton: 9 

Google Friends: 66 

Feed/Reader: 82 

My numbers for 31st of  January:

Page views per month: 4´000

Bloglovin': 10

Twitter: 177

Hellocotton: 8

Google Friends: 60

Feed/Reader: 73

For March I plan on posting two book reviews, photo an hour, outfit of the day, my favorite lip balms, and a new series of posts that I will reveal later! 

So if you want to swatch buttons or just have your button on my blog be in touch! 

Bisous

How to get the most out of Bloglovin' - Part I - Be a visible follower and see your followers

I wanted to write this post because I keep on noticing that not everyone that is using bloglovin' is really getting all that you can out of it!

Did you know that with bloglovin' you can see who is following your blog! But there is a catch, you need to do couple of things first to see and be seen!

Step One
Begin on the homepage of bloglovin'. In the upper right corner there should be a button, it it circled red on the picture below.

Step Two
Click on that button and click on settings.

Step Three
Add your name (or the name of your blog) where it says Full Name and your username by Username.

Step Four
Scroll to the bottom and click Save Settings

Step Five
Go back to the homepage and click on the button that should now have your name on it, but this time press View Profile.

Step Six
On your profile press your blog link (where my red arrow is pointing)

Step Eight 
Click on the followers tab

Step Nine
Here you can see your followers, but only those that have chosen a username! So spread the word so everyone can be visible!

I hope this quick tutorial will help in making bloglovin' work for you! You can follow me via bloglovin' riiiight here!

Bisous!