City Break Makeup & Skincare Bag

I absolutely love city breaks, discovering cities, doing some typical tourist stuff, eating new food, etc. just everything about a small getaway is total up my street.
This time I´m traveling to London (again) and I´m super excited. I just love this city so much and now that more and more bloggers share their favourite photo spots I, of course can´t help it and plan some of those spots into my schedule aswell.
To prepare my skin and look flawless for that upcoming shooting I tried to narrow down my collection to the best and long lasting products....

Makeup

My base needs to stay in place even better than on any other days, as we´ll be on the go all day and we´ll take lots of pictures and so I want to feel as comfortable and confident in my look as possible. For primer I´m taking the ThisWorks In Transit Camera Close-Up Primer with me, it gets quite sticky when it has sunk in, but doesn´t really have a thick consistency, so I won´t be getting the problems of getting blemishes cause my pores are blocked - happens too quick sometimes, haha.
I love glowy skin, especially the difference it makes on pictures. Right now I really like using the
L´Oreal Perfect Match Foundation, it has a medium coverage, is still really lightweight and blends in beautifully with a beauty blender. I hate to say it, but you get that "my skin but better" effect when blending this foundation in with a beauty blender. To brighten the area under my eyes I´ll take the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer with me. Not only does it sit really well and looks really natural when it´s blended in, but it´s also nearly empty so I might replace it while going shopping haha. To set everything I´ll use my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Powder, I´ve recently rediscovered it and absolutely love using it now. It gives that flawless, even finish that I absolutely adore. Seriously after gently pressing it on - instead of swiping it all over - I can´t see a single pore or blemish.

I don´t do much for my brows lately, I´m glad when they look full and kind of in a good shape, so the easiest and quickest way to fill in my brows is by using the Smashbox BrowTech To-Go. I´ve been using it for such a long time now, already repurchased it and I´m pretty sure it wasn´t the last time. Because of it´s triangle shape and waxy highly pigmented consistency, it makes it really easy to get your brows in a good shape and evenly filled in. The gel that is also included on the other side of the pen is amazing. It keeps my brow hair in place but doesn´t make them feel stiff.

The only thing that is missing now are my lashes. My talented self has used every sample of mascars that I owned, up so now I´m left to use one of my older, nearly empty mascaras. Atleast one of my absolute favourites for long lashes is still half way full. The L´Oreal Telescopic Mascara is amazing for getting the long lashes effect. It´s super simple to use, holds a curl wonderfully and leaves my lashes still feeling soft and lightweight - I absolutely hate those mascaras that makes lashes feel really hard and as if they would break any minute...

Finishing off the whole look I put a bit of highlighter on. I haven´t been a big fan of cream highlighter before, but since trying the Sleek Strobe Dome I love the wet highlighter look it can give you. I always do three swipes with it and then blend it in with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush.

For lips I decided on a really simple, rosy liquid lipstick. The Manhattan Stay Matte Liquid Lipstick in Rosefeller Center is that kind of "my lips but better shade" - oh well now I´ve used this phrase twice already... - even though it´s matte, it feels really comfortable and not dry at all.
The lasting power though, is absolutely amazing! It stays on no matter what I do, so perfect for a day out and about.

That´s it for my makeup. I don´t take a lot with me, as I know myself pretty well and will most likely purchase some new makeup bits and bobs...

Skincare

Deciding on skincare to take with me is even harder than deciding on makeup products.

Simply because - please tell me I´m not the only one - I feel like exactly in these few days I´m away I might feel the need to use products that I haven´t used in months. Products like overnight masks, facial oils, etc. I try to go through my daily skincare routine in my head and so only pack the products that I use everyday. I still feel like it´s quite a big selection but I really need all of it - I swear.

Starting by removing my makeup, I fill my favourite Garnier Micellar Water, into a little bottle so that it fits into the max. of 100ml that I´m allowed to take with me - this is honestly the part that makes packing so much harder than it already is, haha.

Now that my face is bare I apply a good amount of the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream. This moisturizer is a total bargain with 10 pounds for a tube that has lasted me a good 4 months now. It´s extremely thick, yet sinks in fast and pretty much smells like nothing. Probably the reason why it has cleared and still keeps my skin lovely clear. On top of this night cream I put my eye cream, the Clinique Pep Start Eyecream. I´ve put a full review here which you can check out after reading this post ;) No but honestly, it´s a gel textured cream, it feels very fresh and I find it has evened out the skin tone of my under eye area and kinda made it look healthly plump and so I look more awake.

The last step I do before going to sleep is applying the Revitalash Eyelash Conditioner, if you want long, darker, fluttery lashes, you should definitely invest in it! I had really short, barely visible lashes before using it and now after applying mascara, my lashes go up to my brow bone and stay curled - without using a lash curler before. That´s it with my night skincare products.

In the morning I only use the Clinique Moisture Surge. It´s a fab moisturizer! Even though it´s gel-based, it still feels quite thick but sinks in incredibly fast, is really hydrating and blurs my skin out especially the area where my pores are the biggest.

What are your travel makeup and skincare essentials?

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Review // WhiteWashLab Nano Intensive Whitening Strips

*this post contains PR sample

Whitening your teeth in the comfort of your own home, sounds good? Then I think I have the perfect product for you

So some time ago I was kindly sent this Intensive Whitening Strips Kit from White Wash Laboratories Nano. As I was always debating whether it´s worth to get my teeth bleached and not being sure if it would look strange and unnatural, I was very excited to try these strips as they promised to give me naturally white teeth in a matter of two weeks.

This kit contains 14 packs with 2 strips per pack - so 28 strips in total. I sadly forgot to take pictures of the actual strips so sorry for that, but they are simply clear gummy strips stick to a little plastic square. The side of the strips that is attached to the plastic thing contains the gel that will whiten your teeth. All you do then, is pull the longer strip of and put it onto your upper teeth row, the shorter strip is then for your lower teeth.

They are meant to have a mint flavour but I found they had a really weird taste to them.

Kinda hard to describe, as it wasn´t really a plastic taste but just weird, after getting the gel on my tongue accidentally - don´t ask me how I managed to do that - I was trying really hard as to not make that happen again. Bu don´t worry about having this weird taste in your mouth for the whole hour, I really only tasted it when I got it on my tongue, other than that it´s really comfortable to wear and didn´t cause any discomfort or has given me the thought of having to remove it immediately.

So after getting over the taste trouble, I put the strips on and put my timer on for an hour.

Most of the times I tried to use this as late as possible as you shouldn´t drink or eat anything while using them - you couldn´t drink anything with them in even if you really wanted to, haha, so I put them on at like 10pm and after removing the strips I went straight to bed.

I sadly have to say that I did have trouble with putting them on sometimes. As I found when my teeth were wet, the strips just didn´t want to stay in place, especially not the stripe on my lower teeth. 

It sometimes moved around a bit, but I figured out that it´s better to put them on after swallowing and drying of my fingers - just a little tip from my experience here to save you nerves haha.

Speaking of removing the strips, after wearing them for an hour they stuck really strongly on my teeth. I found I had to get a tight grip on them to be able to remove them. I flossed the leftovers of the gel with water and my toothbrush. They kinda felt even cleaner, than after brushing them.

Together with the stripes I was also kindly sent this three pack of products that should be used together with the strips in order to really get the full effect.

It contains a toothpaste, a mouth wash and floss.

The toothpaste had a different consistency to the normal toothpaste you get at any drugstore. It was a lot creamier, was very minty and kinda gave me an even fresher and cleaner feeling than an "average" toothpaste. The mouthwash had a very similar taste and effect than the toothpaste and the floss is really awesome. That´s a weird thing to say but up to now I still use it everyday as I find it cleans the space between my teeth a lot better and more gentle than a normal floss. 

Why? Well it´s kinda wider and so you really get everything out.

After the two weeks were over I did notice a difference - which was a positive suprise as even though it did sounded very promising, I was sceptical if it would really give me a visible result.

To be honest even after a few days I could already see a really small difference but after the two weeks I was very happy with how my teeth looked. 

Before they were kinda stained - you know from drinking tea, coffee, etc. - and after they were just brighter. I´m sooo happy with this product and since you can use it so easily and comfortable at home I would definitely recommend it.

Certainly something lovely to treat yourself to for the upcoming spring when we´re gonna wear brighter lipsticks, so you get a nice contrast and a pearly white smile.

Have you tried this Kit before?

Shop the Teeth Whitening Strips here: https://whitewashnano.co.uk/product/nano-intensive-teeth-whitening-strips/

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3 Drugstore Concealers That Help Me Looking Wide Awake - Even When I‘m Not

No matter what day of the week it is - apart from the weekends - you´ll clearly see that I´m sleepy and want to go back into my bed. I have to face reality though and get out and get ready for the day.

To also make it look like I´m ready for that I use concealer, a lot of concealer.

For this product I absolutely love reaching for the drugstore versions, not only because I find they give the best finishes but also because I run through them so quickly, that I just couldn´t afford repurchasing a high end concealer every time.

My most frequently used drugstore concealers are the following three...

Collection Lasting Perfection

Let´s start with the one that has the highest coverage. You all probably know this concealer and have hopefully tried it yourself already. On those really rough days I will definitely reach for this concealer, whether it be to hide my dark circles or any blemishes.

This concealer comes with a wand that I use to draw a triangle shape under my eyes and then blend it in with my beauty blender. Even though it´s high coverage I don´t think it looks heavy at all nor does it feel like it. Set with a baking powder it stays in place all day, doesn´t dry my skin out and does it´s job perfectly fine. I got this like a year ago when I was in London - cause it´s not available in Germany - so I´m not sure about the colour range, but I´ve got No. 1 and it suits my skin really well.

I´ll definitely stock up on it when I´m in the UK again as it´s literally an absolute lifesaver on so many days.

Maybelline Age Rewind

After a long break I got around to buying my second tube of this absolute glorious concealer.

It has a medium coverage, but is easily buildable, while still looking very natural. Since it comes with this sponge applicator you kinda already blend it in while applying it, which I really love on those days where I´m short on time - which comes towards the end of the week when I think it´s a good idea to snooze a bit longer. I don´t know why it took me so long to repurchase it but I´m glad I eventually did as now I´m using it almost every day and just love the natural, a bit glowy finish it gives me. Maybelline recently came out with new shades for this concealer and one of them is a brightening shade, which I´m definitely going to try next.

Maybelline Fit Me

The one with the lowest coverage is my old and trust Fit Me Concealer, I´m not too sure but this might be my third tube already and definitely not my last. It´s just one of those that you can wear all year round. As it has a lower coverage it´s also pretty lightweight but you can build it up to a medium coverage. The only two things that are "bothering" me with this product are that you need to blend it in with a brush as I find it kinda loses a lot of coverage when you use a beauty blender and also the colour numbers are soo confusing. Like No. 10 is the darker yellow shade and No. 15 is the paler, pinker shade. I find that was really confusing. 

All three of them are totally worth a try, if you haven´t tried them already.

What is your favourite concealer? Do you prefer high-end or drugstore?

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*this post contains affiliate links

The Foundation Wishlist

When there´s one thing I like to spend a lot of money on, then it´s definitely a good foundation.

Basically because I find the key to a good looking full face makeup is the base, you can be a pro at eyemakeup but if you´re foundation is not staying in place, gets oily and shiny, etc. you´ll never get the full effect.

As the state of my skin often changes between oily, dry and combination skin, and also the colour changes from pale as a ghost to a hint of tan - hard to believe, but my skin is actually capable of that - I have built a little collection of different foundations.

Some are drugstore, some are high end, most of them have a different finish and so you can imagine that I´m totally up to trying new formulars and new types of foundations.

I would say I´m quite happy with the foundations I own, but well, most of them are nearly all used up so I´m already thinking which foundations I want to try next and so I happen to put together a little - ok, I might have gone a little crazy - list with foundations I´m lusting over...

The Drugstore Ones

The High End Ones

The Luxurious Ones

So, I guess I´ll just start saving up now cause these foundations will definitely cost me a small fortune, haha.

A girl can dream though, right?

Which foundations are on your wishlist? Do you rather go for drugstore, high end or luxurious bases?

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My First Clinique Skincare Bits

Hard to believe but until recently I´ve never tried any skincare products from Clinique before.

With my skin being left really dry and flaky from the - finally over - winter months, and me not owning a moisturizer for the mornings or an eyecream for the longest time, I thought now would be a good time to try Clinique.

I was always really unsure of what I should purchase from their huge range, but I feel like I made a good decision with going with the following two goodies...

Moisture Surge

I´m very picky when it comes to my morning moisturizers - which was probably the reason why it took me so long to get a new one. I wanted one that is very hydrating, but doesn´t have a thick creamy consistency like my night cream. Well, I could have gone for any gel-based moisturizer then, but those are often too watery and don´t do much of a difference to my skin.
When I saw more and more girls saying how much they love this Moisture Surge from Clinique, I thought it was definitely worth a try.
So this moisturizer is oil-free, intensively hydrating and has a special aloe water in it, which lets fine lines and dryness wrinkles dissapear in seconds! On top it helps the skin to adapt better to changing temperatures, amazing for this time of the year!
I have noticed pretty quickly that my skin has become a lot finer and even looking, my pores have become a lot smaller aswell, which you can imagine is an absolute dream for going makeup free.
It´s now properly hydrated which I can that see everyday when I apply makeup as it sits a lot better, and just looks a lot more even and just better, haha.
Coming back to the consistency of this moisturizer. I find, even though it´s a gel-based one, it´s quite thick, yet sinks in pretty fast, so I apply it straight after I´ve washed my face in the morning and by the time I´m dressed it has sunk completely in.
That same moisturizer is also available in an intense version, for that extra dry skin,
I guess I´ll invest in this one at the end of the year to already prepare my skin for the cold.
Definitely a good choice that I´ve made here, haha.

Pep-Start Eye Cream

I might have said that I have a quite dark under-eye area about a trillion times already, but the winter has only made it worse - now it wasn´t only dark but also red cause my skin got so dry...

I knew I had to do something about it, cause I just couldn´t imagine going out of the house without any kind of makeup on. Again there were about a billion of different eye creams on the market but I remembered how everyone loved the pep-start eye cream when it was freshly out, so I invested in this one. I now use it every night after taking my makeup off and I can notice a slight difference already. My under-eye area is still quite dark but a lot better already than in the past.

This eye cream is also gel-based but a lot more watery than the moisturizer, which is actually totally fine cause it still does it´s job and I don´t look like I haven´t slept in a few weeks, haha.

As you can see it has like a ball thing as applicator, which I use to spread and massage the cream into my skin. I might try to put it into the fridge before applying it, so it also reduces that puffiness under my eyes. All in one it is a good product, I can´t say if it´s the best eye cream that you´ve ever tried in your life cause I don´t have anything to compare it to, but from what I can see so far, it does its job and I´m quite happy with it!

Have you tried anything from Clinique yet? What did you try? And did you like it?

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