GARNIER ULTRA DOUX VANILLA AND PAPAYA MASK - REVIEW

I've been putting my hair through a lot this past month, many parties and dinners were on the planning so a lot of styling, staightening and curling went along with it! Time for some sweet love and care for my hair!

I picked up this Garnier Ultra Doux Vanilla and Papaya mask and tried it out a couple of times so I could give you an honest review!

 What I like about the Garnier Ultra Doux Vanilla and Papaya mask

If you like sweet vanilla scents, you will love this mask. It literally smells like you're putting vanilla pudding all over your head. 

If you leave the mask in for at least 10 minutes, your hair feels smooth, soft and healthy. I don't know if it really repairs damage, but it certainly gives the impression of healthy and smooth locks.

It only costs €4,60. A bargain! 

What I don't like about the Garnier Ultra Doux Vanilla and Papaya mask

The packaging says to leave in the mask for 3 minutes, but this is definitely too short. You won't get the soft result as when you leave it in longer. You can even let it sit for a couple of hours or overnight to get the best result. I also want to note that it's important to massage the lengths and ends of your hair with any mask, don't just smack it on and hope it will work. Make sure every hair is wrapped with the product.

Would I buy this mask again? 

Yes I would. Overall I really like the Garnier Ultra Doux masks, but because of the vanilla scents this is my favorite so far. 

You can buy the mask at the drugstore for €4,60. 

x x x

CANNES 2014 - BEST DRESSED CELEBS

The 67th Cannes Film Festival is almost over, tomorrow is the last day, so it's the perfect moment to look back with "ooh's" and "aah's" at all the beautiful women in gorgeous dresses gracing the red carpet. I always look forward to the high fashion celebs wear to this festival. They look very sophisticated and perfectly styled from head to toe. 

I gathered 10 favorite looks from the last couple of days. 

Aishwarya Rai

Amber Heard

Love the style of this Gucci dress. It's kind of casual and simple, but still has a very stylish feel to it. 

Blake Lively

The actress definitely has a specific style, as her dresses are always thight and sexy. But with a body like hers you can't really blame her for wanting to show it off!

Freida Pinto

Alessandra Ambrosio

The Vicotira's Secret model went for a feminine dress with lovely details.

Irina Shayk

Ok, I admit it's a bit much. But I really love the complete look! Irina reminds me of a Disney princess in this Versace dress. 

Marion Cotillard

Natasha Poly

Zoe Saldana

Zoe shines in this Victoria Beckham dress.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

The model/actress opted for a very simple dress that accentuated her slim shoulders and collar bones. I also love her sultry eye makeup! 

What's your favorite look?

x x x

GREEN SMOOTHIE RECIPE

As you might already know, I love to incorporate smoothies into my daily diet. They're a great way to take in vitamins and minerals and are super healthy when you make them yourself. However if you're a green smoothie virgin they can be a bit intimidating. Mixing green vegetables with fruit might put you off, but I promise you will barely taste it! The sweetness of the fruit strongly overpowers the flavor of the greens, which basically means you get the best of both sides; the yummy sweet flavors of the fruit and the vitamins of the veggies! 

Here's the recipe for my green smoothie!

1/4 cucumber

a handful of fresh spinach

1 banana

1/3 mango

250 grams light cottage cheese

3 tbsp almond milk

3 tbsp light multivitamin juice

(stevia or 0% Teisseire grenadine if you want to add more sweetness)

I found the easiest way to blend is to put the cottage cheese in first, then the fruit and veggies and finally the liquids. 

Mix all of the ingredients and decorate with a slice of cucumber. 

This smoothie is a great snack before or after a workout. It really fills you up and is super refreshing thanks to the cucumber! Definitely try it out!

x x x

PEPPERMAYO PLAYSUITS - FIRST PURCHASE REVIEW

You know the feeling when you're purchasing something for the first time on a webshop? 50% of you feels excited, 50% feels scared? Excited for all the new clothes you've been missing out on for who knows how long, but scared for that "will they rip me off?" first purchase. The main things that can go wrong are extra costs, long delivery time and lastly the sizing is off. 

I was recently looking for some playsuits for summer online and bumped into the Australian webshop Peppermayo. And I have to say, it was love at first sight! So many gorgeous playsuits, dresses, tops and sweaters all in one URL, it was a night filled with clicks and saves I won't easily forget. 

After browsing through all pages at least three times, I had made my decision and picked out three different playsuits to test the brand. As I live in Belgium and the company is Australian, I was a bit nervous about extra import costs. I have been surprised one too many times ordering items from across the pond and ending up paying more at the door than for the original product! But miraculously, not with Peppermayo! I didn't pay one euro more than I had paid online during checkout. 

Next up was unwrapping and fitting.
Do you agree the unwrapping is such a stressful proces...? "Will the fabric look the same as in the pictures? And are the colors as pretty as you imagined?" But again, no complaints! SCORE. Only at closer look I noticed some loose threads here and there...

Now the last step, the fitting. All playsuits fit great, except the flowerprint one is a little short. I'll probably cut out the inner part and will wear a thin short under. 

These are the playsuits I bought: 

Smother Playsuit - Neon Pink (currently sold out)

How it looks like on me

Unstoppable Playsuit - Autumn Print 

How it looks like on me

Velocity Playsuit - Navy 

How it looks like on me

(Sorry for my messy room in the background, but when a package arrives I can't control myself...)

Overall I'm very happy with the clothes and service of Peppermayo. Only the flowerprint playsuit is a bit too short, but I'll make it work! I'll show you in another post how I fix the length.

I will definitely repurchase from the website, and if you are interested you can check them out right here: http://www.peppermayo.com/

A last tip if you decide to buy on Peppermayo for the first time is to sign up for the newsletter. Wait a couple of hours and you will receive a coupon code that gives you $10 off!

x x x

Note: There were no additional costs to pay at the door in Belgium, I don't know if this is for other countries.

BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS 2014 - 5 BEST BEAUTY LOOKS

Yesterday the Billboard Music Awards 2014 took place in Las Vegas, and I have to say I'm kind of disappointed in the celeb clan. Some big names like Beyonce, Britney and Rihanna decided to skip the event and the ones that were there didn't care to think out of the box and surprise us with their creativity! 

Normally I do a Best Dressed list after an event like this, but because there was so little to choose from I decided to go for a Best Beauty Looks list! Luckily there were still pretty hair and makeup at the Billboard Awards thanks to the glam squads! 

Here are my five faves.

Sarah Hyland

The Modern Family actress went for flawless skin and natural tones. I love her lighter locks and the way she styled it to the side. Can you believe she's already 23? She looks 18!

Jennifer Lopez

'Miss Jenny from the block' is rarely seen with bad makeup or hair, but well she probably has the best and most expensive glam squad in Hollywood too... I saw a comparison between this pic and the one in the green Versace dress at the Grammys in 2000, and the singer has barely aged a wrinkle! It's unbelievable.

Kendall Jenner

Kendall might messed up her on stage introduction to the boyband 5 Seconds of Summer, but she didn't mess up the makeup part! Kendall went for straight hair and smokey eyes, and is clearly following big sis Kim K.'s makeup tips. Don't you think she's starting to look like her more and more? 

Kylie Jenner

This is probably my favorite look of the whole night. I don't know many girls who can rock out blue smurf hair without looking ridiculous, but Kylie is definitely one of them! I also love how her lips and eyes look so big but still natural. Plastic surgery or just great makeup? I'm not quite sure yet...

Jordin Sparks

That big smile makes every makeup look pretty right? Jordin went for a playful style, choosing a fun braided hairstyle and added some colorful earrings. 

What was your favorite beauty look of the night? And were you a bit disappointed in creativity of the fashion choices? 

x x x

CURRENT FAVORITE FRAGRANCES - AN ARMANI TWOSOME

The final touch to every day or nighttime look? A couple of sprays of your favorite perfume! I seriously can't leave the house without wearing perfume. I don't know what it is, but I don't feel complete when I forget those sprays. 

I guess smelling bad is still a bit of taboo, since bad odor is associated with bad hygiene. 

On shopping days I always go in a perfume shop to check out new scents, I love to discover new ones. But the last couple of months I haven't been able to find better ones than these two! 

The first one is the Armani Code Summer 2014 fragrance. 

My mom gifted me the scent after a holiday and I've been hooked since. 

This is the official description: "The brightness of the southern Italian sun and the freshness of the Mediterranean air: the newest interpretation of seduction - Armani Code Summer. Features orange blossom, pear sorbet, ginger and musk creating a fresh sensual fragrance." So basically a summer vacation in a bottle, what's not to like about that? 

My second favorite fragrance is an Emporio Armani one. The Emporio Armani Diamonds fragrance was on my birthday wishlist last year, and will probably be on it this year again! I know this scent has been around for a while, but there aren't expiration dates or OUT stamps on scents in my book. 

The official description: "The sensory blend is a surprising gourmand fragrance to give a stone a flavour and to a woman a self confident and audacious feeling. The rose, a symbol of femininity is made edible and succulent through the addition of a touch of litchi and raspberry." 

I prefer to wear this fragrance at night since it adds an instant sexy touch thanks to the feminine ingredients. I have gotten many compliments when wearing this perfume from both girls and boys! The fact that Beyonce promoted this perfume is only the cherry on top! Because who doesn't want to smell like Beyonce right? 

Do you have a favorite fragrance? I love to try out new ones so let me know in the comments which one I should definitely try out! 

x x x

EVERYDAY MAKEUP ROUTINE - UPDATE

Hi everyone! I did an everyday makeup routine post last year and wanted to give you a little update. As you probably notice yourself, your everyday routine changes as you discover new products and techniques. For example last year I didn't fill in my eyebrows, and today I can't imagine not to! I have also ditched black eye pencil during the day and switched to a different mascara.

These are the products I use on an everyday base. 

And this is how my routine looks like in 8 steps:

1. Moisturize - Diadermine Hydra Balance Day Moisturizer

2. Apply foundation with foundation brush - Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid 21 Nude

3. Fill in eyebrows - Catrice Eyebrow Pencil

4. Next I do my eye makeup: a white or very light beige eye shadow in the inner corners of my eyes, bronze shadow in the crease, dark brown eye shadow under eyes, L'oréal False Lash Wings Mascara on top and bottom lashes

5. Concealer: under eyes, around nose, on blemishes - Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer 02 Nude

6. Bronzer on cheekbones - Biguine Terre Doree Bronzing Powder

7. Pink or red blush on cheeks 

8. And finally I apply lipbalm (with sometimes lipgloss or a natural lipstick over it) - Labelo Classic

You can compare my current everyday makeup routine with last year's here http://beautiesmoothie.blogspot.be/2013/02/everyday-make-up.html. Even looking at the picture from last year, you can tell I made some changes in makeup choices. 

I love natural eye makeup and shiny lips at the moment! 

So what do you think? Improvement or should I go back to my old routine? 

x x x

MET GALA 2014 - BEST DRESSED

You might have noticed from the selfies on Instagram and Facebook yesterday, Hollywood was getting ready for one of the biggest fashion events of the year. The MET Gala is one of the most exclusive events in New York where funds are raised for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. 

The Gala has a different theme each year and this year it was Charles James - Beyond Fashion. Some celebs got inspired by the creative designer, some played it safe. I personally always look forward to seeing the celebs at this event since so much is allowed, except for playing it safe! 

Take a look at the best dressed fashionistas from last night.

First up are the Classic dark beauties. 

Kim Kardashian

Beyoncé

Marion Cotillard

Jessica Pare

Next are the Pretty in whites.

Rihanna

Victoria Beckham

Posing in nudes.

Blake Lively

Kendall Jenner

Rita Ora

Suki Waterhouse

Kate Bosworth

And finally Popping with color.

Solange Knowles

Emma Stone

Reese Witherspoon

What did you think of the dresses at the MET Gala 2014? Happily surprised or kind of disappointed? 

x x x