RiRi Loves M.A.C. Holiday

Hello everyone, hope you're all doing okay. First of all I want to apologize for not being active these past weeks. I had a lot of exams for which I had to learn a lot (think entire book within two days or so) as I fell behind. Even though I had a lot of ideas and posts I wanted to share with you, school had to be my priority. So I hope you all forgive me for that. As I'm typing this I also suffer from the flu, but I just couldn't wait to show you guys what I got from the RiRi loves M.A.C. Holiday collection.

I didn't feel all that well when my alarm went off yesterday, but knew that if I didn't went to the store as soon as it opened I wouldn't have any chance to get my hands on these babies. At 10am I wasn't expecting a line, but unfortunately there was one. Everyone seemed to want the lipsticks, which is why the store only allowed you to buy one of each color. I let one of the salesmen swatch the pink lipstick as I was doubting if I should also get that one besides the other two when I heard another salesman say that the infamous Riri Woo was already sold out. 

*insert cry face*

I immediately ran out of that store (remember that I had the flu and was feverish) onto the next one, which luckily had a shorter line. I immediately asked how many they had left of each color or else I would have ran to the last store in Amsterdam that carried them. Luckily for me that wasn't necessary.

*insert happy dance*

I was able to get my hands on all three colors (the last Riri Woo and the second last of Pleasure Bomb). It was kinda sad though when others arrived asking if the store still carried some as it turned out that all stores' lipsticks basically sold out within 7 minutes after opening the store. 

Enough chit chat, let's look at the goodies

Isn't the packaging just gorgeous?  

From left to right: Bad Girl RiRi, Pleasure Bomb, RiRi Woo

Plain lips 

Bad Girl RiRi

The nude color of the bunch, a very wearable lipstick for all skin tones in my opinion. It's this soft rose cream that just looks flattering and I will probably wear this one everyday. 

Pleasure Bomb

This hot fuchsia lipstick will grab everyone's attention for sure. I like this one although I have never worn a bold lip and I will have to get used to this one. Paired with a calm eye look and due to the matte finish, this can work in daytime as well.

RiRi Woo

A true classic red that suits every skin color. I finally understand why this was sold out super fast every time it came out. For those that missed out I have asked the saleswomen to swatch this besides their regular Ruby Woo and there is barely a difference to them. RiRi Woo is just a bit darker, richer of color but really though I bet no one could tell if you wore one or the other until you compare them side to side.

I really do not regret my purchase even though I had to go outside with my flu and feverish head. I would have never been able to get my hands on them if I didn't unless of course for the ridiculous prices on Ebay. 

Have you purchased anything from the RiRi Loves M.A.C. Holiday collection?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

How I Chemically Straighten My Hair

Since I have thick curly hair a lot of people have asked me how I do my hair and/or if I chemically straighten it everyday etc. The answer is no of course, as no chemical substance should be applied to the skin on a daily basis. Some of you have seen Chris Rock's movie Good Hair but still don't understand everything. That's okay though. Some wonder why people use those chemicals on their hair, while they never ask they same thing from blonde-haired ladies. The chemical (bleach) is almost equally as strong as a relaxer and while black people normally do this every eight weeks, I've seen caucasians bleach their hair with an almost equally strong chemical every four weeks. My point is that ALL of those things can do harm if not used professionally and one should never do them if it's not necessary.

I do this every 13 weeks now instead of eight, just because I can handle my thick hair better than before and therefore do not find it necessary to do this as often as I used to.

What I use for the entire process:

• Chemical relaxer: enables you to chemically alter the structure of the hair (I use Organic Root Stimulator)
• Neutralizing shampoo: used to stop the relaxer from processing the hair (I use Maven) 
• Hair mask: softens and strengthens hair after the entire process (I usually mix whatever brands I have at the moment)
• Gloves
• Plastic combs and brush or spatula
• Protective base: to protect the scalp, ears, hairlines from burning (I use Maven)
• Hair clips: to keep hair in parts

I normally start by applying a thin coat of the protective base all over my scalp, hairline and ears. Unfortunately I didn't have enough left, so did it without it this time. Next I divided my head into four square parts (quadrants), braided them and clipped them out of the way. Normally I start in the back, but because I also wanted the length (excluding the ends) of my hair a bit straighter I started in the front to be able to rinse it out in the sink. 

I applied the relaxer on the first two centimeters of hair from my scalp (so on the new grown hairs) on the first quadrant. Immediately after that I applied some on the length of my hair and combed it a bit with a wide tooth comb to get it more straight. As I was doing one quadrant at a time, I kept smoothing the hair with my fingers to help with the straightening process. As soon as my scalp started to tingle a bit, I quickly checked if my hair was straight enough with a fine tooth comb. When this was the case I quickly rinsed that quadrant until none of the chemical relaxer was left in my hair. Next I applied some neutralizing shampoo (left it in my hair) and repeated the same steps with the other quadrants. 

When all quadrants were done I washed my hair once more with the neutralizing shampoo and after rinsing I applied a protein based hair mask for a few minutes. After that I washed my hair about three times more with the neutralizing shampoo until the foam color turned white (the shampoo has a color indicator which shows whether or not there is still some relaxer left in the hair). Next I used a moisturizing hair mask for a few minutes as the shampoo can be a bit drying for my hair. After this long process I just proceeded to dry my hair. 

Important Do's and Don'ts:

Do's:

• Work really fast; the relaxer starts working immediately when you apply it, so this is a must to get uniform results and avoid chemical burns on the scalp
• Keep all of your necessary items for the entire process ready
• Use gloves to protect your skin as the chemical will otherwise sink into your hands and this is unnecessary and not healthy especially if you do this every time
• Shampoo your hair at least four times with a neutralizing shampoo, letting it sit in the hair for 2-3 minutes each time
• Use plastic utensils as metal parts could possibly cause a chemical process with the relaxer and we're no chemists so it's a no no
• Use a protective base on your scalp especially if you have sensitive skin 
• Protect the length and ends of your hair with a silicone and/or oil based substance (I've used Pink lotion and oil over that as well)
• Use a hair mask after as this will help smooth the hair again since the shampoo can be a bit drying

 Don't's:

• Scratch your scalp in the week before your relaxer (I'm guilty of doing this one though)
• Leave the relaxer on too long just for the sake of getting your hair as straight as possible
• Wash your hair with a normal shampoo as this will NOT wash the chemicals out of your hair and scalp
• Use these kind of products if you are not a professional, these are heavy chemicals and one should be cautious  

Note:

This treatment should be done professionally. I have worked in salons for a while so I know how to do this on my own hair. Everyone is responsible for their own decisions and I am in no way telling you to do it the way that I do it. I'm merely informing those who were wondering. 

If you any questions that I failed to answer, please ask them in the comments below.

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

M.A.C. ESPRESSO EYE SHADOW

So I've wanted to get this eyeshadow for so long, the classic M.A.C. Espresso eye shadow used to define everyone's eyebrows. I wanted it so bad but just couldn't buy it at the time, I mean come on...splurging around 17 Euros for an eyeshadow? I just couldn't do it so I tried to find a cheaper alternative , a dupe as they call it, and thought I had found it with Catrice's (We'll see below if I was right though). 

Anyway this seemed good enough at the time and I've been using it everyday since I bought it, but I'm almost out and felt it was a good time to look at M.A.C. again. Still a bit annoyed about its price tag, I decided to look on eBay and there it was…offered a few Euros less than in-store. Haven't used it yet, did swatch it on my skin though for the comparison, but that wasn't visible enough on camera so for the comparison I've swatched them onto a white paper. Let's have a look...

 

 

Comparison M.A.C. (left) vs Catrice (right) 

As you can hopefully see in the pictures, they appear to be very good dupes. The M.A.C. is a bit lighter and warmer of color while the Catrice seems a bit darker. The latter also looks a bit cooler, ashier if I might say and I did notice this sometimes when I was using the Catrice eyeshadow on my eyebrows. I haven't used the Espresso yet, but I can already tell that it will never look ashy on the skin.

Some important information for those who are interested...

Net Weight: 1.5 grams / 0.05 US ounces

Price: 17 Euros

Ingredients:

Talc, Zinc Stearate, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Isostearyl Neopentanoate, Tocopheryl acetate, Caprylyl glycol, Hexylene glycol, Phenoxyethanol, [+/- Silica, Mica, Titianium dioxide (CI 77891), Iron oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Bismuth oxychloride (CI 77163), Blue 1 lake (CI 42090), Carmine (CI 75470), Chromium hydroxide green (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide greens (CI 77288), Ferric ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Manganese violet (CI 77742), Red 40 lake (CI 16035), Ultramarines (CI 77007), Yellow 5 lake (CI 19140)] <ILN29076>

Have you also used M.A.C.'s Espresso eye shadow for your eyebrows? If not, what do you use to define your brows?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

NOTE:

You've probably noticed that my font is different than before. The reason for this change is that my former font is not offered on my new computer. I also can't seem to paste my website onto my pictures, but I'll try to figure that out. Photos were taken with my Canon 600D btw. xx

When Everything Seems To Go Wrong

Do you ever get the feeling that you just have some bad luck? 

Could you imagine having that feeling for an entire week?

Well..I can... *insert sad face*

I just can't imagine why this all had to happen at once. I don't even wanna know when I last uploaded a post, but you'll soon know why. I will tell you what happened this past week. (Beware: long post)  

Monday started off quite well although I still can't get over the early classes at school starting at 8:30 in the morning. I mean no one (not even the teachers like that time). This was our last week of school and so the lecturers gave either tips and/or mock exams for the upcoming tests. It was rainy but the day went on well until I remembered that I had to call my doctor (again!). Little background info: I did a test some time ago and was told that the results would be in in three days or so…Well those days turned into weeks and while that's not really an issue at all (if mentioned from the start), it is when you're constantly on the phone with the assistants and they keep telling you to call back in a few more days.

Anywho...Fast forward to past Monday again...I called them to hear that they couldn't find my results at all, that the lab made a mistake and I had to retake the test. Thumbs up for that one right, cause this kickstarted my terrible week.

Tuesday and Wednesday I was working on some stuff for my exchange of course. I have to for example send a so called study plan which basically means that I have to choose subjects and have to explain why I chose them. Went to the bathroom and when I came back my laptop shut down out of nowhere. I thought there was something wrong with the power adapter (was using this solely as the battery of my laptop died in the beginning of the year). So not a good day to say the least, but hey I was going to get a new adapter the next day so no biggie right?

On to Thursday…had class but was running a little late just to do a mock exam in class (still helpful though). Went to Mediamarkt to buy a new power adapter for my HP laptop (yay another 40 euros disappeared). Came home…well not really as I stood before my door finding out I'd lost my keys (this week couldn't get any better right?). After the initial panic came logic…what did I do exactly and where did I need to go or who did I have to call. I phoned Car2go immediately as I'd used one of their cars in the morning. Unfortunately the specific car I had used was located at the other side of town (great), so in order to get there fast I took another one of their cars and drove there. Can you guess what I'd found?…

Yes, exactly nothing, my keys weren't there and I had just spend more money. I asked my boyfriend if he could go to the final stop of the public transport that I had used earlier in the day. This of course again resulted in nothing. 

Lot of bad luck so far right…Well there is more

Came home that evening crossing my neighbor in the street, telling her about the lost keys and you know what… she saw them laying in the street in the morning but left them there as she thought that the owner would immediately run back. Unfortunately I never noticed it as my bag was way to full that day and the keys probably flicked out of my bag when I swayed it over my shoulder. As is was too late I couldn't ask the other neighbors if they had my keys. So finally tested my new power adapter of course only to find out that it wasn't working…my computer still couldn't be turned on. Great…just great...slight panic attack, maybe I did something wrong, I should try it again in the morning was what I was thinking as I was very sleepy. Oh and did I already mention that I had a deadline for a certain subject? (at friday evening…but still)

Friday morning came... couldn't go to school due to losing my keys in the neighborhood and my mom freaking out about potential burglars. Tried to start my laptop again…failed once more. Googled to see if I could find a solution for my problem, didn't work so I called HP. After a numerous amount of minutes where I explained the problems and I had to test it, they came up with a diagnose. Drumroll…it was the motherboard and they didn't have the one for my model anymore. Only thing they could do was offer me a reduction on a new computer

*insert panic attack and sadness now* 

Why so many things all at once…I  work so hard and this is what I get? Now you see I luckily was able to get a new computer on black friday and was allowed to return and get a full refund on the power adapter that I bought earlier. The hard drives of my deceased laptop were saved but I will have to see how an external hard drive works.

To top it all off…I overslept this morning, first time in at least one and a half years. I feel like I should deserve a lot of positivity (and some money) after all of this and I should pass all of my exams as well (LOL and crying)

Have you ever had a lot of bad luck at the same time? How did you cope with it?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa 

GLOSSYBOX | MODERN ROMANCE

Hi readers today I'm showing you another awesome Glossybox, November's Modern Romance issue. This month is Glossybox' two year anniversary and because of this they included two more gifts as well, a Zalando coupon code and a Pink Gellac nail file. Let's have a look shall we..

First Impression

This month's box makes me very happy, because awhile ago I wanted to buy Benefit's They're Real Mascara but I completely forgot about it. So hooray for this sample box as I now can test a mini version to see if it's really as fabulous as people claim to be. Anatomicals' Showergel smells divine kinda like cola flavored candy (yumm right), so I can't wait to try this one as well. 

The TONI&GUY hairspray is suppose to protect against humidity, something that's very important when you've spend hours curling your hair for example. The thing is that I'll probably curl my hair for the holidays, so I'll try it out then. I'm still searching for the perfect (and affordable) skincare products that can not only clean my skin but also remove my makeup at night so we'll see if this will happen with Avène's Skincare set. The Balance Me lip salve seems to be a nice color and packed with awesome ingredients.

All in all I think that this month's issue has some good stuff that people really need everyday. Good job Glossybox. 

Have you tried one of these items before or would you like to?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

CLAIRE'S GLITTER SAND NAIL POLISH - NUDE

Hello everyone. How have you been? I’ve been so busy trying to arrange things for Mexico. I’ve had some vaccinations already and felt really tired the entire week and combined with some muscle aches is not helping at all. Muscle aches you ask… yep I’ve finally started training again and it’s one of the worst feelings ever, realizing that you’ve basically lost all of your muscle power. But I will regain it again one day and till then I will focus on other things. I’m thinking about just also posting about my day to day rambling as I feel like they just don’t fit into other posts such as in this one lol. Anywho...Let’s have a look at my manicure shall we..

Sooo anyway this is the color I’ve been wearing for the past three days, it’s from the company Claire’s and as the polish bottle shows that it’s one of their glitter sand polishes. I really like these kind of textured polishes and this is no exception. If you can remember I bought this a while ago on sale with some other beauties, one of which was a seafoam-green sand polish from the same brand.

This polish is so beautiful, looks like it actually sparkles in the light probably because of the silver glitter that’s mixed in. The color is a light nudish (don’t even know if this word exists..haha) pink. It’s the most wearable shade of the three Claire’s sand polishes I currently have. I even got this for my friend who actually didn’t like textured polishes, however she loved the effect of the seafoam green one and I therefore picked up this one for her as she’s more into those natural colors. 

For this manicure I’ve used three coats although two would’ve been sufficient. I just didn’t like the way it looked on my index finger as that one really needed an acrylic refill. That nail actually bend in the wrong direction today so I had to refill them asap today.

For some reason Claire’s doesn’t name their polishes which kinda sucks as I like being able to quickly find brands and colors online. Oh well guess we’ll just have to deal with it and use peoples swatches to find the correct colors.

Have you purchased any textured polishes yet? Do you think I should also ramble about day to day life, even picture-less posts? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

GLOSSYBOX | OCTOBER

Hello there how have you been? The title states October and I know what you're thinking (it's already freaking November right..), but these past two weeks have been quite busy for me, arranging things for my exchange to Mexico, finishing the first draft of an investment plan, preparing for a presentation etc. And so I totally forgot I ever received this box and therefore of course didn't upload this post in the month it was issued. Too bad on my part sorry.

For last month's edition Beautybox Glossybox collaborated with a well-known Dutch beauty blogger named Mascha Feoktistova, creator of Beautygloss. She has apparently been receiving these boxes for a few years now and for this edition she was asked to create her own box filled with 5 of her favorite products. Lets have a look shall we..

Box Contents:

• Christina Aguilera - Unforgettable body lotion and perfume (both samples)
• Miners Cosmetics - Color Quilt Blusher (full-size)
• Golden Rose - City Style Mascara (full-size)
• The Body Shop - Honeymania lip balm (full-size)
• Andrélon - Make it Shine Spray (full-size)

I haven't tried them yet unfortunately, but I do think this box contains nice items. Basically the necessary products that every girl should have. I believe these are very good for the girl on the go that just needs 4-5 products in total for her hair and face and I think these products do exactly that.

Do you see anything you would like to try from this box?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

Note 15 November:
So I just found that I had titled this post as Beautybox' october while you can clearly see that this was suppose to be about the Glossybox. Of course I now have two posts with the same permalink, but oh well...I just shouldn't blog when I'm tired. Xoxo

NAIL ART | SPIDER WEB AND ORANGE GLITTER

Hello everyone how are you doing. Hope you're having an awesome Halloween party night even though it's Thursday. I've been dying to upload this nail art as soon as I saw it at Robin Moses' YouTube channel this week (you should really watch her beautiful nail designs). I basically removed my previous design immediately, but just couldn't take pictures as I came home after sunset. Today was the same problem again, but I just had to upload it anyhow. I tried to lighten them a bit so they became as realistic as possible. I also totally forgot to use some moisturizer before taking these, so please excuse the dry hands.

Manicure Details*

Index finger, middle finger and pinkie: 

• 1 coat of China Glaze - Sun Worshiper (too neon for this look)
• 1 coat of China Glaze -  Papaya Punch
• 1 coat of Hema - Clear polish mixed with Inaz - Pennywise Glam
• Gradient with Herome - St. Moritz
• Black acrylic 

Thumb and ring finger:

• 1 coat of Hema - Black 
• 1 coat of Herome - St. Moritz
• Acrylic paints - Silver and white

*Seche Vite topcoat was used on all nails

One of the worst scenarios when working with glitters is of course when the container drops out of your hand and sadly I experienced this. I should be thankful though that in fell onto the plate I was working with, so I was at least able to scoop more than half of it back into the container. Because of this drama the black nails needed another coat as the orange glitter couldn't wait to stick to those nails. I felt like Sun Worshiper was way too bright for this look (duhh it's a neon), so that's basically why I used a more regular orange on top.

I really love this look as it’s quite simple to do. The orange glitter on top of a basic orange polish really makes it sparkle even more. I never knew I could paint a spider, but I think mine came out pretty good. I do have to practice with making my spider web way thinner to be more realistic, but I don’t have a  striping brush yet so my regular paint brush will do for now.

What do you guys think of this design? Have you celebrated Halloween?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

REVIEW | AHAVA - Hydration Cream Mask

Promises:* 

A creamy textured, hydrating mask enriched with the best Dead Sea Minerals, mud, and powerful moisture ingredients to provide an active hydration boost in just 3 minutes. Skin's moisture is instantly restored and left with a smooth, plump, and supple complexion. Approved for sensitive skin.

Directions:
Massage into clean skin until fully absorbed. Apply 1-2 times a week. Can be rinsed off after 3-5 minutes or left on all night for a more intense hydration. 

Ingredients:*

Aqua (Mineral Spring Water), Glycerin, Ceteareth-20 & Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Propanediol (Corn derived Glycol), Cetyl Alcohol, Alanine & Creatine & Glycerin & Glycine & Magnesium Aspartate & Saccharide Hydrolysate &Urea, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Caprylyl Glycol & Chlorphenesin & Phenoxyethanol, 1,2 Hexanediol & Sodium Hyaluronate & Aqua (Water), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract & Propylene Glycol, Maris Sal (Dead Sea Water), Peg-40 Stearate, Xanthan Gum, Sorbitan Tristearate, Tocopheryl (Vitamin E) Acetate, Silt (Dead Sea Mud), Parfum (Fragrance), Lactic Acid, Saccharide Isomerate, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Hexyl Cinnamal ,Limonene, Benzyl Salicylate, Linalool, Hydroxycitronellal

*Retrieved from www.ahava.com 

Price: 

30 Dollars for 100ml

Fragrance: 

Has a light muddy and sea salt smell

Packaging: 

I personally love crèmes in a tube so that contamination is practically out of the question.

Consistency: 

Soft creamy texture, applies very easy and smooth on the skin.

My view:

I've received a 20 ml sample with September's Glossybox. I've used this twice now, applying it to a clean and dry face and neck. Left overnight, because I could and well you can never have enough moisture for your skin right. The mask doesn't dry hard like most others do, probably because of the moisturizing ingredients. Feels a bit like aloe gel once its drying, kinda sticky but not in an annoying way. I will finish the sample tube that I have now, but probably won't reorder unless I can find it on the ground. 

Have you ever tried products from AHAVA?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

NAIL ART | GREEN SCALES

Hello everyone, I hope you’re doing fine. I’ve finally received my email regarding my exchange to Mexico, but am so stressed about finding a residence. Wouldn’t be so stressful if only I didn’t have to arrange this before the end of November (I know this seems far away but it really isn’t if you’re also busy with school).

Anyway for this look I was once more inspired by one of Robin Moses’ designs, one of her collabs with anaarthur81 (I hope I got the number right, if not my apologies). Anywho they came up with this design for the TV-show “V” and I really liked the green scales that Robin did. The plan was to also try to do the face she made on the ring finger, but I didn’t have time or energy to try it so green scales it was.

Products used:

• Black acrylic paint
• Scraperfect - best glue ever
• Mufe - black tango green black
• Essence - crystalliced glitter froster (LE)
• Seche vite topcoat
• Inaz - clover glam
• Green nail art foil

Overall I really like this look on my nails, something black with lots of shimmer and glitter. For next time I’ll try to topcoat the foil before I start using the acrylic paint. I should also try to remember to topcoat every other day to try to keep this looking neat for a few days. I also didn’t think I’ve used enough glitter for the design. Ah well better luck next time right.

What do you think of this look? Have you ever used nail art foil?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa 

REVIEW | OCÉANE - MAKE UP REMOVER PEN

Description

Use for removal of excess makeup around your eyes, lips, and those corners that smear every time you apply makeup. The tip of the pen contains a liquid makeup remover without fragrance that does not dry out the skin. Full size (3 ml) / 4 Euro

My thoughts

I love to use this on moments I suck at applying eyeliner (you know when you're in a hurry and the application of eyeliner is the worst ever...). It's very easy to use and does indeed work. For the price it's a handy item to have especially when you're on the go and don't want to be bothered with carrying around cotton buds with you. What's also great is that you also receive 3 refill tips, so this could last quite some time really.

Ingredients

Laureth-12 meadow foam seed oil, 1.3-butanediol, water deionized, liquid germall ®plus.

Note: received in the Glossybox september issue

Have you ever used a makeup remover pen?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

BEAUTYBOX | OCTOBER

 Yay another box filled with goodies, I feel so spoiled haha. Beautybox’ October theme is “Beauty Secrets of the World”. Unfortunately delivery of this box got delayed though, as one item couldn't be delivered on time. There was suppose to be an argan oil in this edition but there were some difficulties with the supplier. I received this box about a week ago, but wasn’t able to write about it. You have no idea how many items I’m reviewing at the moment and I wasn’t sure if I should already write about this box when I was still reviewing September's Glossybox. Decided to do it anyway, because life would become way more complicated if I didn’t ^_^.

Enough rambling, back to the Beautybox....

I'm not sure how I feel about this box though, OK I needed a new eyeliner (mine dried out last week *sad*) and I love to try new products for my hair and skin, but the feet crème...well not really my thing. It seems to be directed to diabetics which I'm not and I don’t really think this is a good alternative for the argan oil (the item that couldn’t be delivered on time *insert sad face again*).

Would you be happy with this months’ Beautybox? What do you think would have been a better replacement for the missing argan oil?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

HEMA - OPALESCENT 17

Hi everyone hope you’ve been doing well this past week. I’ve been quite busy as I’m trying to decide which mini laptop I should get (Mac book air maybe?). I’ve also been eyeing this Canon 600D camera as I’m kinda disliking the quality of my pictures. I know almost everyone has crappy pictures when they start a blog, but I’ve seen what difference the camera and lighting can make. I will improve, it just takes some time (and money). Anyway enough rambling...back to nails.

Even though I have a lot of nail polishes I still didn't have a simple, but elegant pearl shimmer. When I saw this on sale for just 1 Euro at HEMA I knew I had to get it. I've saved a few nail art design inspiration photos which also used a colour like this. 

Opalescent 17 is an off-white pearl shimmer nail polish that reflects pink and purple. For this manicure I've used 2 coats, you could use more though but I think you'd still see the visible nail line (VNL) so it didn't bother me. This polish did dry a bit streaky though even after a layer of topcoat. 

Do you own a classic pearl nail polish like this one?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

Glossybox: The September Issue

Hi everyone how have you been this past week? School is really killing me, have to read so much stuff that I decided to not start up my computer at all past week as I know how I can get while browsing online. Good news though...almost done catching up one of my subjects and passed my first French written test with a 8,9 out of 10 whoop whoop. I can do this, just a few more weeks till the exams.

Anywho a few weeks ago I read about these beautyboxes that you can order online for a small fee, around 15 Euros per month. These boxes contain sample and sometimes even full sizes of high-end beauty products which is totally awesome. Since I've quite found my favorite products so far (I think), I thought this would be a perfect way for me to test and review certain items that would've otherwise never be purchased.

Since I ordered this quite late I still received the September issue, but I don't mind that at all. I mean look at the pictures below at how beautiful this box and the content looks. 

Box Wrapping

Glossy  magazine and Glossybox

Small greeting card

Product Information

Glossybox Content:

• Yves Rocher - Sexy Pulp Lipgloss (Full-size)
• Elie Saab - Le Parfum, Scented Body Lotion (30ml sample)
• Elie Saab - Le Parfum, Eau de Parfum (1ml sample)
• AHAVA - Hydration Cream Mask (20ml sample)
• OCÉANE - Make Up Remover Pen (Full-size)
• EMITE MAKE UP - Eyelash Curler (Full-size)

Isn't the box design just plain gorgeous? I absolutely love it. Designed by this amazing artist named Cil Laurens. This was a collaboration though as Glossybox really wanted a special September issue and I really feel like this design suits this perfectly.. Don't you agree? I also liked the product information as it shows which items were sample sizes and which weren't. In addition to that it also shows you how much each product costs so you do indeed get your money's worth. 

Well I'm really happy that I've ordered this and can't wait to try them all out for you and write my review for them soon. Ooh btw I've also ordered the beautybox, so I should receive two boxes filled with new goodies per month ^_^ So stay tuned.

Have you ever ordered a beautybox or something similar? What goodies have you found through this?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa