Extra, extra, read all 'bout it! Blix is hosting a HUGE giveaway!

The gorgeous Blix from Glitter is my crack is hosting a huge giveaway and there will be 5 (yes, you read correctly FIVE) winners!

More information on the giveaway can be found on the official giveaway blog post. So click on the link and make sure you're in! Be also sure to check out her numerous glitter-filled posts as they are amazing.

OHWTO Lip Tint swatches

Sooo yesterday I mentioned that OHWTO makes tinted vegan lip balms. I also promised swatches so here here they are.

I have three of the shades OHWTO is offering: Caroline, Arlette and Victoria. All of the balms are very smoothing and give a nice glossy finish to the lips. These are tinted lip balms but I think their pigmentation is better than with tinted lip balms usually (unless you count Aromaleigh's tinted lip balms, there are as pigmented as they were). Also, all of these are flavored and scented. I'm very sensitive to smells but I can smell these only for a couple of seconds after applying them. However, I don't taste the flavor in these tints and I'm renowned for eating my lip products when I'm nervous (not straight from the tube, of course, because that would be silly). My lips are extremely dry and chapped but the colour doesn't get "stuck" on the flakey parts of my lips. It just glides over them and hides them.

The swatches are taken on bare lips and pphotographed inside without flash directly in front of a window (so you can see how they look in natural light). Shade descriptions are taken from OHWTO's Etsy site.

Caroline: a bright, bubbly pink with a pearlescent sheen, she's the girl everyone can't help but love. This pink is on the cool end of the spectrum but it works great with most skin tones due to the transparency of this formula. Caroline is very lightly flavored- but not sweetened- with bubble gum lip balm flavoring.

Caroline is maybe the most used of my OHWTO lip tints. It's perfect for nude looks and also grey-ish smoky looks. It's very pink and the bubble gum scent (Juicy Fruit-type) is appropriate for the shade.

Arlette: A warm sheer red, but she's not one to follow conventions. Arlette stands out from the crowd with surprising green sparkles. Arlette is lightly flavored- but not sweetened- with my Absinthe essential oil blend of anise, lemongrass, peppermint and blood orange.

Arlette is a wonderful colour for my undertones and gives a great warm glow to my lips and face. However, if you don't like the scent of anise, you might be turned off by this one. I can smell the anise and not much else and the scent lingers a bit longer (and is also more powerful) than the scents of Caroline and Victoria. The green sparkles are very subtle and I couldn't catch them on camera but they are there!

Victoria: a dark queen indeed, Victoria is a mocha plum with subtle shimmer because you would not expect to see her Royal highness unadorned with sparkly things! Victoria is very lightly flavored- but not sweetened- with black tea flavoring oil. How appropriately regal!

I expect to wear the hell out of this one during this autumn.  It's such a gorgeous colour! Again, the shimmer in this is very subtle and definitely on the elegant/regal side. A delicious, vampy shade. The scent in this one is barely noticeable compared to Caroline and Arlette.

I found these lip balms very conditioning and nicely tinted. I love the glossy finish and how they don't clump on your lips. As these are quite light and glossy, one does need to re-apply these a bit more often than a regular lip gloss or lipstick if one wants to keep the colour as vivid as possible. I love these colours and I love the formula of these tints so I'd recommend these for anyone who has chapped/dry lips and wants a nice wash of colour.

Have you tried OHWTO's lip tints? What do you think of these? Any favourites?

Review: One Hand Washes The Other (OHWTO)

Hi everyone!

I really need to get back on this blogging thing but lately I have had tons of stuff to do. Some good news: I got a new job! I've been a temp for over 2 years and I finally got a steady job in a better position. I'm starting in my new position next month so I'm really excited!

So, back to the business. One Hand Washes The Other (or OHWTO for short) is a company selling soaps, perfumes, lipbalms and other sweet smelling stuff made by the very sweet owner, Becca. Most of the stuff is vegan and ingredients are clearly marked.

I think I first heard about OHWTO in Twitter and maybe read one of Grey's reviews. My first purhase was two roll-on scents, Green Tea and Black Tea.

Green Tea: Long prized in Asian countries for its health benefits, this is a true-to-life scent.

Black Tea: smoky, sexy and sophisticated fragrance is reminiscent of roasted tea leaves with strong overtones of tobacco. With surprising top notes of Italian Bergamot, Sicilian Lemon and Southern Orange, the blend winds down with Black Tea Leaves, Star Jasmine, White Cedarwood, Amber Crystal and a rich musk. This is a bold and unusual scent sure to intrigue.

I wasn't terribly fond of Green Tea but something in Black Tea made me go to that scent more and more often.

Now I've made 4 orders from OHWTO in quite a short time.

I love that everything is made by Becca herself. The scents are very true to life and her blends are exceptional. You can find the list of the scents here. Not only are the products top-notch, her packaging is lovely.

International shipping is extremely affordable and my orders have come to me in a week after Becca has mailed me my shipping notice. Every time I've stared at the package thinking "How come it's already here?" and then of course ripped it open and sniffed everything till I've passed out.

The customer service is just amazing. Becca'll answer any questions you have. I made some questions about her scents in Twitter and I had a reply every time. She also notified me right away when she was having some trouble with Paypal.

Although I originally ordered roll-on perfume oils, I'm now partial to Becca's solid scents. They're easy to use, the scent says on the skin for hours, they don't have the greasy side smell like some solids have and they make good travelling companions (since the liquid control is still on).

Here are some of my favourite scents from OHWTO:

Ginger Ale: This one smells JUST LIKE ginger ale, and I always get thirsty when I smell it. You'll swear that there are bubble tickling your nose when you get a whiff of this one!

I love ginger ale and now I love Ginger Ale. This smells EXACTLY like my favourite organic ginger ale I treat myself to every once in a while. It really does tickle your nose. The scent is very refreshing, not overly sweet.

Twigs&Berries: The smell of a deep forest and the wild berries that grow within. A bold, somewhat masculine fragrance, it's sweet without being food-y, if that makes any sense.

This is another go-to scent. I wore this to my job interview and now it's my official feelgood scent since I got the job. It smells autumn-y with the sweet fragrance of berries.

Viva La Juicy!: After reading the descriptions of what this boutique fragrance duplicate smells like, I HAD to get it for my shop. It's fruity and floral, with the two balanced very nicely. You'll smell wild berries and mandarins, honeysuckle, gardenia, and jasmine, complimented nicely by notes of amber, vanilla, sandalwood, and praline. It sounds like there's a lot going on in this one, and there is- it reminds me of Pink Lady, in that it smells a little different every time you sniff it. This one is definitely a fun fragrance to wear.

This is a very sweet scent but I love it. It's definitely a juicy scent and it makes me think about champagne for some reason. I wear this scent when I'm wearing a short denim skirt. Don't ask.

Yuzu: Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit. This scent has wonderful sparkling overtones of grapefruit, citron, and a hint of mandarin orange.

Sweet and a bit bitter at the same time, I find this scent really refreshing.

Calaveras: Named for the sugar skulls which adorn the Day of the Dead altars, this fragrance is sweet and spicy. Cinnamon, sugar, orange, and sweet bread dressed up with a smattering of dried roses on a sandalwood altar.

 This is a bit of a food-like scent but not in a bad way. It's sweet and spicy, just like the description says. This is a Halloween limited edition scent so snatch it up if you want one!


I also have some of Becca's lip tints, which I love, so I'll try to make a separate swatch post about those!

I have nothing but praise for OHWTO so if you love scents, I'd recommend checking their stuff out.

Have you tried OHWTO? What are your favourite scents?

More Fyrinnae Lip Lustre lip swatches

Hi there! I'm home sick so I figured I'd post you some Lip Lustre swatches I took before I got sick.

I still have some shades I haven't swatched so I'll probably deal with them soon-ish. The red blotch on my lower lip is NOT herpes, it's a pimple. Also featured in the photos are black strands that obviously have come from my face towel. FAIL. But at least the Lustres are pretty! Descriptions are taken from Fyrinnae website.

All the photos have been taken in a direct sunlight without a flash.

Backstage Kisses: Light, yet vibrant peach enhanced with tiny reflective sparkles (not gritty glitter!). The sparkles are varying hues of blue and purple, changing to pink/orange in some lighting, making this a multi-dimensional shade. Similar in hue to Meloncholy, but considerably lighter and with a more "milky" appearance. (Tangerine-Vanilla scent)

I think of all the lustres with reflective sparkle (at least from my stash), this is the less-glittery one. There is some sparkle but it's not as prominent as in, let's say, Puppy Love that makes your lips glitter like crazy (and also the rest of your face too as the day goes by). I love this shade. It looks bright orange in the container but on lips it's a lovely shade of peach. The scent is nice, not too overpowering.

Ultra Phantom: Sheer aqua sparkle (not plastic or metal glitter, but soft, non-gritty sparkle!) that turns to pink in different light or angles, and sometimes almost pale orange. Looks cool worn alone, stunning over black or dark purple lipstick, or perks up a plain pink. (Dark chocolate peppermint scent)

This looks mint green in the container. On my lips (if I wear it on its own) it looks almost silvery white but the colour keeps changing according to how the light hits it. In the swatch photo you can see that in some parts of my lips it looks more greenish and on some parts it's almost pink. I hate to admit but... I hate the scent of this. I usually don't like the combination of chocolate and (pepper)mint and the scent makes me crazy! I tolerate it when I wear the colour on its own (because it looks slightly minty and smells minty) but when I wear it with another lipgloss or lipstick, I get slightly annoyed. (I know, I know! I'm crazy, no need to tell me! :) )

Mega-Hold: unfortunately this shade has been discontinued. It's a creamy beige-ish pink that looks a bit frosty. I bought it because someone had said that it looks like a low-class stripper shade on lips and then Mindy had said that it looked awesome. I'm with Mindy on this one. The scent is mocha, I think.

Candy Decadence: Looks quite green/teal, or rather forest green on purple in most light, but changes to a deep shimmering plum with pink shimmer at different angles and closer to light, or in sunlight. Looks good layered or alone especially on deeper skintones. (Candied kiwi scent)

I couldn't get this one apply evenly for the life of me! But as you can see, it looks very plummy with green cast to it. I got this one as a sample and I'm thinking about layering it with a lighter shade because on it's own it's way too dark for my complexion.

Shangri-La: Vibrant, azalea purple-pink. Much brighter than Hysteric.(Strawberry cotton candy scent)

I LOVE this colour! It's my all-time favourite of all the Lip Lustres! It makes my skin look all glowy and stuff and it's bright but not eye-searingly so. Very juicy shade, applies like a dream.

Beloved: Semi-sheer mauve-pink enhanced with tiny reflective sparkle (not gritty glitter!). The sparkles are varying hues of blue and purple, changing to pink/orange in some lighting. This shade also has a slight aqua shimmer that changes to pink in sunlight or as it's closer to light (almost a light version of Candy Decadence, but not nearly as dramatic). Gives noticable colour and sparkle, or apply lightly to enhance your own natural lipcolour. Also looks good over lipstick. (Melon scent)

This one is another favourite of mine. It's mauve (looks darker in the container) but it's not too cool for my skin tone. I think if Shangri-La and Candy Decadence had a baby, this would be the fruit of their forbidden love. I love the aqua shimmer to bits. I'll be definitely wearing this one a lot more. It's also a perfect autumn shade.

See anything you like? Have you tried any of these colours yourself?

Day at the beach avec moi

Hi everyone!

I know summer is almost over and autumn things are starting to pop up everywhere so maybe this isn't the prime time to talk about beaches. However, I haven't been on a proper holiday this summer, yet. We are going to the southern coast of Croatia with my boyfriend next month and although I'm not a beach person (you have seen how pale I look, right?), I'm actually looking forward to a beach holiday because my knee is still a bit unstable and wouldn't endure our usual tight-paced city holidays.

Since our holiday is drawing near and I'm making some confirmations with hotels and trying to figure out how to pack, I wanted to share my beach favourites.

That plaid bikini from H&M is currently my favourite one. It looks a little 50s retro on me and it actually creates some curves to my body. Also, I'd never go to the beach without SPF50. I like sun lotions that can be sprayed on because they apply more easily. That one is from Eucerin, it doesn't have perfume in (which is a must for me). That floppy white sun hat was bought yesterday when I realized that I don't have a proper sun hat. Yes, it has some sparkly rhinestones on it but I decided not to care.

I don't wear much makeup on the beach because I don't want to look like melty face so I want to wear light and shimmery products. Meow Cosmetics Pampered Puss foundation is light enough to not make you feel like you have a mask on but it does cover any unwanted blemishes. It also comes in a munchkin jar size that doesn't take much room in your bag. I wear it in Inquisitive Himalayan. Evil Shades blush in Burlesque is a lovely peach blush with a hint of pink and gold. Also, I've never gone on a holiday these last couple of years without Fyrinnae's eyeshadow in Polar Bear. Waterproof mascara is a must so my trusty Lumene Blueberry Curl waterproof mascara is coming with me. Fyrinnae Lip Lustre in Lace Gloves will keep my lips moisturized and pink. I'm painting my toes with OPI Catch Me In Your Net which is a shade that morphs between blue and green and gold. On my nails I'll be wearing China Glaze Hi-Tek, a lovely rosy golden shade.





Close-up on the beach beauty products.

I'm trying to get a FOTD posted this weekend so don't give up on me yet!