Just a little catch-up

One sign of a great party might be the lack of photographic evidence. You don't want to get your huge camera and start snapping pictures of others having a blast when you're having fun yourself, too. Last Saturday, however, at my friend Erica's birthday party, I did want to take a few pictures of our "amazing" '80s-themed outfits, but alas, my camera decided to stop co-operating. Since Trang hasn't sent me the pictures she took with her camera (and I doubt many of those pictures are worth showing to the world) this grainy and silly selfie (including a trout pout) I sent to D after Trang and I were finished with getting ready happens to be the only picture I can show to you.

Nevertheless, despite of my camera behaving like a proper diva and refusing to perform, we had a lovely time. '80s music, pizza, cheesecake and enough blue drinks, wonderful company and coming home at 4 am. No need to elaborate further, it was a very successful evening despite of the less fabulous state I was in the next morning. Luckily Erica and Maria came over to eat pizza and watch movies so I didn't have to spend the entire Sunday suffering alone. (even if I was the only one suffering)

On Monday I was supposed to clean but I ended up catching up with all the TV programs I had recorded on my Finnish version of TiVo. On Tuesday I was working and today I woke up early because of a doctor's appointment and afterwards headed to town with Maria. We walked around Helsinki pretty much the entire afternoon and visited interesting shops and sat down at one of my favourite cafes. This time my camera was working so I'll have pictures for you tomorrow!

How has your week been so far?

What's in my make-up bag?

I love doing my make-up. It's so much fun to accentuate the good features and hide the not-so-good. However I can go outdoors and see my friends without feeling the need to do my make-up. I have no problem posting make-up free pictures of myself here on my blog. Make-up makes me feel prettier and more confident but some days I couldn't care less about it.

When I buy make-up I tend to buy things recommended to me by friends or by other bloggers. Make-up can be so expensive at times and if the product doesn't prove to be worth the money... well, I'll get extremely annoyed. So I try to stick to products others have tested for me, even though I still wind up disappointed every now and then. Things that work for others might not work for me.

I've always had a love-hate relationship with foundation. Usually they are the wrong shade, they feel too caked on the skin, they aren't good for my skin etc.  Currently I'm using Diorskin Nude by Dior in the lightest shade (Ivory 010) and it's pretty much the perfect match to my own skin tone. I'll probably stick to this one for the rest of my life. (or at least as long as they manufacture it) I also use a highlighter/concealer, my current one is True Match Touche Magique by L'Oreal. I got it as a freebie from somewhere and I've been using it even though it isn't the perfect shade for me. It's a tad too yellow but it's doable. We'll see which one I get once this one is finished.

I'm not as picky with my mascaras as I'm with foundation etc. I got the Extra Super Lash Mascara by Rimmel as a freebie and I could actually consider buying it when I need a new mascara. The Chanel mascara I got from Trang, because it's brown and not water-proof. I quite like it though, it's perfect for those natural looks. A lash curler is a must for me, otherwise my lashes will stick to my glasses.

Considering that I love eyeliners, I haven't invested much in proper eye-liner products. I have tried so many eyeliners: liquid, gel and what not, yet I haven't found the perfect one. My current liquid eyeliner is from Primark and I got it as a Sinterklaas gift. It works surprisingly well, it's easy to apply but it gets a little dry and cake-y. Luckily it doesn't flake as bad as many other products I have tried. The black kohl pencil is by BeYu, a cheap German make-up brand. It's not too bad, even though it does smudge a little. I also use a white kohl pencil by We Care Icon, which is a Finnish household brand for one of the biggest Finnish department stores. It works well enough and it was quite cheap. Nothing extraordinary.

Ever since I learnt to do my make-up somewhat properly, I've been a fan of subtle eyeshadows. For a long time I kept on switching brands, looking for the perfect one until D got me the Naked 2 palette by Urban Decay. I truly love it, except for a couple shades and I can't imagine how I did without it.

I love Dior lipsticks and I would love to get more of them. I usually start by applying some vaseline (brand doesn't matter) and then I apply lipliner (also by Dior) and then lipstick. My go-to lipstick is Rouge Dior in Ara Red (999) but when I want to get a little more vampy look, I choose for the Dior Addict Extreme in Sunset Boulevard (829). I'm dying to get a lovely pink shade for spring and summer and I'd love to get the infamous Dior Addict lip glow.

Finally, there's my only perfume. I'm not a perfume-lover, as scents give me migraine but I got a sample of Nuit Pour Femme by Hugo Boss at the Vogue Fashion's Night Out in Amsterdam and I found myself liking it a lot. I actually liked it so much that I decided to buy it too! So whenever I go out of the house or even when I just feel like I want to be more glamorous, I add a whiff of the perfume.

Of course I have some other tidbits in my make-up bag but these are the products I mostly use. This post was not sponsored by anyone (I can only dream of being sponsored by Dior... that's the stuff dreams are made of!) and I am only sharing the links so you can find out a little more about the products in case you get curious.

What's in your make-up bag and are there any products you'd recommend to me?

Ordinary life

Sorry for not posting in the past days, I have been suffering from a cold and watching ER and Downton Abbey all day was much more attractive than using my brain and writing something.

On Friday I had my friend Maria's birthday party. It was so great seeing my friends again. First we ate cake and mini pizzas and drank sparkling wine at Maria's place, and of course we talked talked talked and talked a bit more. Then we headed to town, to a bar where Maria's sister knew the bartender so the drinks were cheap. We laughed and danced and had fun. Such a great time even if the club was quite quiet. Around 3 am we headed for pizza and then home.

Saturday and Sunday I spent at home, feeling sick, not because of drinking too much but because of the cursed cold. I had been feeling sick on Friday already but not sick enough to stay at home. So lots of tv and tea and bed rest for me. Not a very glamorous weekend.

On Monday morning I had my job interview that was supposed to be on Friday. Rescheduling didn't bother me though, because after the interview I went for a coffee with my friends P and Maria and with P we also decided to go window shopping, mostly for Dior make-up. I want a pink lipstick so I was trying to find the perfect shade. After I dropped P off for her bus, I went to the library and then I went for coffee with another friend. By the time I got home I was feeling rather sick again, probably from too much coffee.

On Tuesday and Wednesday I did nothing productive. Well okay, I did send out more job applications and I was invited to another job interview but apart from that, all I did was sneeze and watch TV.

Today I might go and get a package from the post office or then I'll just stay home and try to help my mother to clean up the house. But I did get invited to a job interview this morning so that's something. Two job interviews in the next two weeks is better than I imagined but I hope that more will come.

Tomorrow I am going to meet Trang, and perhaps I'll make her snap some outfit photos for me. We were also thinking about cleaning her closet (again) so that'll be fun.

I hope your week has been going well, I'll try to catch up with everyone's blogs asap!

It's all in the details

Details of an outfit I wore a few weeks ago.

Birthday outfit inspiration

1. LUO short dress from VILA, 2. Little Lulu black-silver from Minna Parikka, 

3. Vanamo/Twinflower earrings from Kalevala Koru, 4. Glitter tights from H&M

As I promised in the previous post, here's some of my birthday outfit inspiration. D bought me the dress as a birthday present and this is an outfit I built around it.

VFNO Amsterdam

© Fiona Makkink

curve used 'digital film' by julia trotti

I think I've managed to develop a burning hatred for Thursdays. Why? Well, nothing seems to go right on Thursdays. Two weeks ago I got lost and fell off my bike and a week ago, when it was supposed to be a great day marked by the VOGUE Fashion's Night Out in Amsterdam, well it turned out to be the most stressful day I've had in a long while.

First, while showering, one of acrylic nails broke off. No idea how that happened, it simply fell on the floor. Figures, since I did want my hands to look nice that day. I think I'm done with fake nails for now.

Then, while I was trying to put together an outfit, I got a message from the person who was supposed to come to the VFNO with me. Her school project needed more work than she had expected so she couldn't come with me. Of course, I couldn't be mad at her, it obviously wasn't her fault, but I was disappointed all the same. I didn't want to go alone, the social being that I am, so I considered just giving up the whole idea and staying home. Luckily D interfered my pity party and said he would come with me, even though VFNO is definitely not his cup of tea. I love that man so much.

Having used up most of my dressing up time while I was feeling sorry for myself, I had to quickly throw together a rather uninspiring outfit, cook dinner (which turned out to be disgusting... not the way I wanted it) and then rush to the bus stop to catch my bus to the train station. Too bad I forgot my key and I had to call my host-family's son to bring me the key to the bus stop. He was so nice to oblige, although in the end I could've just walked back to the house and got the key myself, as my bus never showed up. By now I've learnt that Dutch buses can't be trusted, it seems like I only see them when I don't need them. Then they are on schedule but if I have to take the bus somewhere... you can almost expect them to be a) way too early b) way too late c) the kind that never shows up.

Good thing I didn't wear heels because to kill time I decided to walk to the next bus stop... and the next one. There I sat and waited ten minutes for the bus that was nice enough to actually show up. Luckily there was a train going only 5 minutes after I arrived at the train station, and at least I had some travel reading with me in the form of the Dutch Vogue.

To be honest, I wasn't feeling very fashionable, albeit being more than fashionably late, as I hadn't even had the time to do my make-up or eat. I almost wished that I had decided to stay home after all, although I was happy to see D who treated me to McDonald's for dinner. Classy, but it did the job and got some strength into me. Besides, just being with D cheered me up a lot.

D and I made our way to de Bijenkorf that was packed with people interested in fashion, and others, like D, who had been dragged there slightly against their will. At first it was rather intimidating, and I felt like the ugly duckling in my boring outfit and make-up-free face. Luckily Chanel had a free touch-up booth so I got some eye make-up done, after which I felt a lot more confident. We walked to Burberry to take part in the Burberry trench give-away (didn't win) and we also took a quick look at the fashion show.

Then I went to the Dior make-up booth to look at lipsticks. I really love Dior's lipsticks, and every person buying things worth 40 euros got a free pair of specially designed false eyelashes. (worth 35 euros) Of course, it was all the motivation I needed, considering that I wanted a burgundy red (the color is off in the pictures) lipstick anyways. After I had found the perfect color, the salesperson treated me to a quick touch-up with the lipstick and other Dior products, and then it was time to get the lashes on.

At this point I was already feeling better, thanks to the lovely people at the Dior's booth (good salespeople, if it hadn't been for my tiny budget I would've ended up buying a lot more) and I was finally in the mood for the VFNO. However, to spare D, we stayed at de Bijenkorf, but luckily there was enough to see and do. There was a Hugo Boss photobooth, to promote their new fragrance 'Nuit' and upstairs there were plenty of things to do, although I only went to get a consult on my bra size (and a goodie bag of Simone Pérèle) and in the fourth floor I got my picture taken by Fiona Makkink, a Dutch fashion photographer, and I also tried on some wearable pieces of art by Bibi van der Velden. To please D we also went to the top floor to the Apple Store. 

While going back down to the fourth floor there were two rather familiar looking men in front of us on the escalator. I didn't take a picture, but when I got home I realised that we had been standing behind Viktor and Rolf. You can imagine how gutted I felt about not taking a picture. (and of course, now I have no proof for you that it did happen)

Before leaving I bought myself a Vogue T-shirt and then D dragged me out before I could spend any more money. After all, we are supposed to be saving money... sometimes it just doesn't work out that well!

All in all it was a rather successful evening, despite of all the hassle, and I will definitely go there again next year.

Today I had firmly decided to stay home, except for when I had to take my host-family's daughter to her friend. Luckily nothing bad happened and I didn't even get struck by a lightning...

Oh, and please reply to my poll on the sidebar!

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Ik denk dat ik een haat begin te krijgen aan donderdagen. Waarom? Nou, alles gaat fout op donderdag. Twee weken terug verdwaalde ik en viel ik van m'n fiets en vorige week, toen het een geweldige dag moest worden met als hoogtepunt de VOGUE Fashion's Night Out in Amsterdam, werd het de meest stressvolle dag in een lange tijd.

Eerst, terwijl ik aan het douchen was brak een nagel af. Geen idee hoe, maar hij viel gewoon op de grond. Logisch, want ik wilde natuurlijk dat m'n handen er mooi uit zouden zien. Ik denk dat ik klaar ben met nepnagels.

Toen, terwijl ik een outfit aan het uitzoeken was kreeg ik een bericht van degene die met me mee zou gaan naar VFNO. Haar schoolproject had meer tijd nodig dan verwacht, dus kon ze niet met me mee. Natuurlijk kon ik niet boos zijn op haar, maar ik was nog steeds teleurgesteld. Ik wilde niet alleen gaan, het sociale mens dat ik ben, dus had ik bedacht om helemaal maar niet te gaan en lekker thuis te blijven. Gelukkig stak D daar een stokje voor toen hij vertelde dat hij met me mee ging, ondanks dat het niet echt niets voor hem was. Ik hou zo veel van hem.

Omdat ik m'n omkleed-tijd al gebruikt had om me zielig te voelen, moest ik snel even een ongeïnspireerde outfit bij elkaar rapen, eten koken (wat echt smerig bleek te zijn… niet zoals ik wilde) en toen snel naar de bus te gaan om bij het station te komen. Helaas was ik m'n sleutel vergeten en moest ik de zoon van mijn gastfamilie vragen om m'n sleutel naar de bushalte te brengen. Dat had hij ook gedaan, maar ik had net zo goed zelf terug kunnen lopen, want de bus die kwam niet. Onderhand weet ik dat Nederlandse bussen niet te vertrouwen zijn, je ziet ze alleen als je ze niet nodig hebt. Dan zijn ze een keer op tijd, maar als ik ergens heen moet met de bus dan zijn ze gegarandeerd a) veel te vroeg, b) veel te laat of c) ze komen helemaal niet.

Gelukkig had ik geen hakken aan en om de tijd te doden ging ik maar lopen naar de volgende halte… en de volgende. Daar heb ik 10 minuten gewacht tot er een bus zo lief genoeg was om wel te komen. 5 minuten nadat ik bij het station aankwam vertrok de trein en kon ik de Nederlandse Vogue lezen.

Om eerlijk te zijn voelde ik met niet erg hip, ondanks dat ik 'fashionably late' was, omdat ik niet eens de tijd had om me op te maken of te eten. Ik hoopte bij na dat ik sowieso gewoon thuis was gebleven, maar ik was blij toen D me meetrok naar McDonald's voor het 'avondeten'. Lekker chic, maar het werkte en ik had weer wat moed gekregen. En als ik samen ben met D word ik altijd blijer.

D en ik gingen de Bijenkorf in, waar meer dan genoeg mensen waren die geïnteresseerd waren in mode, en anderen, net als D, die meegetrokken waren. Eerst was het een beetje intimiderend en voelde ik me het zwarte schaap in m'n saaie outfit en make-uploze gezicht. Gelukkig had Chanel een gratis touch-up stand, dus kon ik m'n ogen laten doen, waarna ik me een stuk beter voelde. We liepen langs Burberry om mee te doen met de Burberry trench giveaway (helaas niet gewonnen) en keken even naar de fashion show.

Daarna ging ik naar de Dior make-up stand om te kijken naar lippenstift, ik vind ze echt geweldig, en iedereen die meer dan 40 euro aan spullen kocht kreeg een gratis paar speciale nep-wimpers (van 35 euro). Natuurlijk was dat de motivatie die ik nodig had, omdat ik toch al een burgundy-rode lippenstift wilde. Nadat ik de goeie kleur gevonden had, deed de verkoopster was lippenstift bij me op en wat andere Dior producten en daarna kreeg ik de nep-wimpers op.

Op dat moment voelde ik me al een stuk beter, dankzij de aardige mensen bij de stand van Dior (goeie verkopers, als m'n budget groter was geweest had ik veel meer gekocht) en was ik eindelijk in de stemming voor VFNO. Om D een plezier te doen bleven we in de Bijenkorf, maar gelukkig was er genoeg te zien en te doen. Er was een Hugo Boss fotoshoot, om hun nieuwe luchtje 'Nuit' te promoten en boven waren er genoeg dingen te doen, al liet ik alleen m'n bh-maat opmeten (ook om een goodiebag van Simone Pérèle te krijgen) en op de vierde verdieping heb ik een foto laten maken door Fiona Makkink, een Nederlandse modefotografe, en heb ik wat draagbare kunst gepast bij Bibi van der Velden. Om D ook z'n zin te geven gingen we ook naar de Apple Store op de bovenste verdieping.

Terwijl we terugliepen naar beneden, kwamen we twee mannen tegen die er bekend uitzagen op de roltrap. Ik heb geen foto genomen, maar toen ik thuiskwam besefte ik dat we achter Viktor en Rolf hebben gestaan. Je kan je voorstellen dat ik me rottig voelde dat ik geen foto heb gemaakt. (en natuurlijk omdat ik nu geen bewijs heb!)

Voordat ik weg ging heb ik een Vogue t-shirt gekocht en daarna trok D me mee naar buiten voordat ik nog meer uit kon geven. We moesten namelijk geld sparen… soms lukt dat nog niet helemaal!

Ondanks alles was het toch een leuke avond. Ik ga er volgend jaar zeker weer heen.

Vandaag had ik besloten om gewoon thuis te blijven, behalve om de dochter van m'n gastfamilie naar haar vriend te brengen. Gelukkig ging het goed, ik werd niet getroffen door onweer of zo... 

Oh en geef alsjeblieft antwoord op m'n poll aan de zijkant!

Autumn inspiration board

Batchel via

Oversize knit on Pinterest

Pants via

Brogue via

French manicure via

Burgundy lips via

Tweed pattern via

Fishtail braid via

A reader asked if I could make an inspiration post for the autumn/fall season, and since I had been considering it myself already, I decided to grant her wish and make a post about things that inspire me currently. 

This is the very first inspiration board I have ever made with Photoshop so bear with me, I'm sure that I'll eventually get better. Of course, I could've just as well used Polyvore, or just embed my pins from Pinterest but I thought this was more fun. 

Anyways, this Autumn I have been increasingly inspired by the burgundy color, probably because it's so this season and it can be seen everywhere. (and there I thought I'm not enslaved by fashion) I already bought burgundy pants, but I want to get a burgundy lipstick too, as it would look great with my skin tone.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been also in the mood to wear pants. I'm quite happy that this season there are so many nicely fitting pants available. I'm not the biggest fan of low-waist pants so I'm overjoyed to find pants that rise higher and I don't have to tuck them up all the time. Slim fit and ankle-length pants seem to be the thing that catches my eye most often.

Even if I want my pants slim-fit (not too slim though, I do want to be able to sit!) I want my tops and cardigans slightly over-size. As the weather cools down I am going to wrap myself in big and soft clothes that keep me warm. Natural materials, wool and cotton are a must!

Out of natural materials I'm also into leather. Aged leather that is, in vintage-y brown and tan, in shoes and bags. Give me a pair of brogues and a satchel bag and I'm a happy girl. (brogues: check, satchel: on my wish list)

Vintage-feeling always inspires me, but it seems that during the Autumn season I'm most drawn to '30s and '40s. Back to school is always a big source of inspiration, I want plaid and tweed and skirts and so on. You get the idea.

Slouchy and boyish lines might be what I'm into what it comes to clothes, but in details I am very feminine. Flower patterns, lace details, pearls and colors. Burgundy is of course a feminine color, but I also love light pink and other girly colors. My nails, make-up and hair will also reflect the more girly side of me. I am totally in love with braids (I'm finally learning to braid my own hair) and curls and scarves. (although with scarves the affair has been going on for over a year already)

So this is my inspiration board for the Autumn season, I hope you like it!

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Syysinspiraatiota. Laiskottaa ja kiire, joten en rupea tämän enempää runoilemaan suomeksi...

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Mijn inspiratie voor de herfst seizoen. Ik voel me vandaag een beetje lui en ik heb heel veel dingen te doen dus ik zal de tekst niet in Nederlands vertalen...

Guest pen Trang: My weekend - Madagascar 3 and Pikku Nepal

Hello all chubby bunnies! So cause Senja is camping two weeks without internet connection I, Trang,  promised to help her by doing some blogging so you guys wouldn’t be bored.  Senja has multiple times tried to get me start blogging but I’ve insisted cause I know how lazy I can be so there wouldn’t be posts coming regularly… Anyway we made a compromise that I would try blogging as a guest pen so here we go!

 

                                       Did my make-up with Urban decay: Naked palette

 Dress&belt: Via Ebay, Jacket Banana republic, Bag: Marimekko, Shoes: Vagabond (model Florence)

My weekend started with a meeting at my sister’s workplace. There she decorated my nails cause we would be passing flyers on next week so she wanted to do something different to my nails. If some of you are interested, she works at Chenni’s world at Siltasaarenkatu 12 00530 Helsinki (Hakaniemi).

After we were done with my nails I had a date with my boyfriend and we went to see Madagascar 3 3D dubbed in Finnish. You have no idea how excited I was cause I’m big fan of animations! (Like Sensaatio I, too, H-A-T-E horror films.) I have to say it was very good and I bursted into laughter many times. People usually say that sequels sucks, but not at least in Batman’s case or for the animation movies that I have seen (Ice age, Toy story). 

                                                                        Our snacks

On Saturday we woke up very late and then we headed for Itäkeskus hunting a tunika for me. Of course I didn’t found the kind of tunika I wanted when I had a payman krhm boyfriend… (Do you see what we have in common with Senja here?)  Why do I find all the items I want and need when I’m broke and alone?? Does this happens to anyone else than me? Anyway I left with empty hands and heart-brokened cause I felt as a failure cause I didn’t find anything nice as a shop-a-holic. Buhuu.

                                                                        Picture here

Later that evening I was supposed to be cleaning up but instead I was reading this documentary director’s, Micheal Moore’s, book "Stupid, white men" (in Finnish Tyhmät, valkoiset miehet) which tells about how corrupted USA is. It’s 11 years old book but it’s still fascinating to read about a book that tells you how these greedy politicians are screwing up everybody and using taxpayer’s money to help themselves gain more money. Although this book is non-fiction, it’s very funny due to its heavy sarcasm and I recommend this to all people who are interested about what’s going on in this world.

           Dress: Cawaii, Jacket: Banana republic, Bag: Marimekko, Shoes: Adidas, Glasses: D&G

As for Sunday I did nothing wise since it’s my official lazy day. Just helped my sister to print those flyers and then I headed with my sisters to greet grandpa and grandmom. After that we headed to this restaurant named Pikku Nepal in Kamppi where’s Indian cuisine. I myself ordered lamb in coconut cream with cashews (Btw Senja couldn’t have eaten this since she is allergic to peanuts HA!) and it was very good with the rice and naan-bread.

So that was my weekend and I'm sorry that it became very long post and that's the reason why I'm not going to write it in Finnish, otherwise it would be just too long (this has nothing to do with my laziness of course). If you have anything to ask, then comment below and I will be replying you back by my username merssuliini.

Tuesday tag

Picture found here

Picture found here

Another weekly post. In this series I will be doing a small blog challenge, or tag, this week it's about my make-up style. I came across this one at the Oh so September blog, and I thought it would be fun to do so I translated the questions. Hope you'll enjoy reading my answers!

1) You have five minutes to do your make-up for a date evening, what do you do?
I'll quickly apply concealer and foundation mixed with moisturizer, and I'll add some eye-shadow, mascara and red lipstick. This is also my lifesaver make-up when I'm in a hurry.

2) Pick a trend: cat eyeliner, bright red blusher or fake eyelashes.
Hmm... I think I will go for the cat eyeliner, since it's the easiest to apply for everyday use.

3) Would you rather be a month without any make-up or a week without any skincare?
A month without any make-up. I have atopic skin so a week without any skincare would do so much damage that no amount of make-up could hide it.

4) Which beauty products do you always keep in your bag?
A lipstick and a lip balm... I'm lazy like that, I never fix my make-up during the day even if I could do with some fixing.

5) Do you have any beauty products that you keep on buying time after time?
Rouge Dior lipstick in shade 999 (Ara Red)

6) Smokey eyes or red lips?
Red lips.

7) Lipstick or lipgloss?
Definitely lipstick.

8) Which beauty product you never thought you would like has become one of your favorites?
I really don't know the answer to this question. I rarely try anything I think I wouldn't like, simply because with a small budget like mine it would be a little daft to buy stuff I wouldn't like.

Monday must-have

I'm starting a new series of small weekly posts, to bring some variety to my normal posts. The first one of the series is Monday must-have, which is pretty self-explanatory. I choose an item I have come across in the past week and share it with you!

These weekly posts are going to be in English only, purely out of laziness. It's such a hassle to write every post in three languages so I will keep these scheduled posts easy and quick to do. My normal posts will be in three languages as they have been.

But, this week my Monday must-have is the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette.

Trang bought the palettes on her trip to France and we tried the original Naked palette when getting ready for our Saturday night. Of course, I fell in love with the eyeshadows, such good quality and the shades were pretty too, although I think that the shades in the Naked 2 palette are more suitable for my blue eyes. Seems like I'll have to drag D along for some shopping...

Working from dawn till dusk

Bleiseri/Blazer: H&M, Mekko/Dress: second-hand (Monki), Farkut/Jeans: second-hand, 

Kengät/Shoes: DinSko

Another Finnish railway station

Paita/Blouse: second-hand, Chinot/Chinos: WE, Kengät/Shoes: DinSko

Well, not quite, but it sure feels like it at times... like yesterday, when D and I were "celebrating"our 2 year anniversary, if D watching me fall asleep on my laptop can be called celebrating. Not that our evening would've been anything special anyways, most likely we would've just talked to each other on iChat, maybe watched some series together...

At least my job is so nice that I actually enjoy going to work, for all that I come back home tired.

The first two pictures are from yesterday, they are the only ones I managed to snap before the fatigue took over... the other ones are from today, and the function of the last one is to showcase that blue eyeshadow is not just for the brown-eyed! Or what do you think?

Today I have spent most of the day working, and since I came home (to my grandparents' place that is) I have been chatting with my friends and catching up with blogging stuff, although I did squeeze dinner and sauna to my tight schedule. Sauna wasn't quite as relaxing as usually since the floor was wet and naturally I fell over. Don't worry, I managed to hit the floor with my arms so no emergency room visit for me!

Who is watching the Eurovision Song Contest tonight? I'm not, too busy blogging... and tomorrow I have absolutely nothing to do, sounds pretty heavenly to me!

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Niin no, ei nyt ihan, mutta tuntuu kyllä välillä siltä, että työpäivä kestäisi 12 tuntia 8 tunnin sijasta... eilen oli sellainen päivä, ja vieläpä kun D:n ja minun oli tarkoitus juhlistaa meidän toista vuosipäiväämme. Millainen juhla se nyt on kun toinen nukahtaa istualteen kesken lauseen? Ei sillä, että olisimme juhlistaneet päivää mitenkään erityisemmin, luultavasti olisi ollut ihan normi-ilta iChatissa sarjoja katsellen...

Onneksi nykyinen työni on niin ihana, että töissäkäynti ei tunnu pakkopullalta, siitäkin huolimatta, että iltaisin väsyttää.

Elikkäs kaksi ensimmäistä kuvaa ovat eiliseltä, ainoat kuvat, jotka onnistuin ottamaan ennen kuin väsymys voitti. Loput ovat tältä päivältä, ja viimeinen kuva on epätoivoinen yritys esitellä teille kuinka sininen luomiväri/rajaus sopii myös sinisilmäisille ja korostaa silmiä kivasti. Vai mitä mieltä olette?

Tänään olin siis töissä suurimman osan päivää, ja ilta onkin sitten mennyt kavereiden kanssa chattaillessa ja blogijutuissa, vaikka mahdutin kyllä päivällisen ja saunan tiukkaan aikatauluun. Saunareissu ei ollut ihan niin rentouttava kuin yleensä, koska suihkuhuoneen lattia oli märkä ja tietenkin minä onnistuin kaatumaan. Ei huolta, osuin lattiaan kädet edellä eli ambulansseille ei ollut tarvetta!

Kuka katsoo euroviisuja? Minä en, liian kiire blogatessa... huomenna vapaapäivä, oi ihanaa!

Catching up

Mekko/Dress: Mango, Trenssi/Trench coat: Zara, Huivi/Scarf: SIX, Laukku/Purse: SIX, 

Kengät/Shoes: vanhat/old

Täällä ollaan taas, blogimaailman syövereissä, sillä D.. ei kun Daniel (sain vihdoin luvan paljastaa D:n oikean nimen) on palannut Alankomaihin... niisk. Daniel palasi vastentahtoisesti kotiin eilen iltapäivällä/illalla, mutta onneksi iChat toimii, ja jos hyvin käy matkustan kesäkuussa Alankomaihin Danielin synttäreille, nyt kun välit anoppiin ovat lämmeneet kevään myötä.

Luonnollisesti minulla on kuitenkin kauhea ikävä Danielia, ja myös rentoa lomafiilistä. Leivoimme kakkuja, herkuttelimme karkilla ja sipseillä (joku ei oikein ymmärrä, että tarkoitus on nostaa painoa terveellisesti) ja katsoimme televisiohömppää ja elokuvia. Kinastelimme pikkujutuista, halailimme bussipysäkillä kanssaihmisten kauhuksi... kaukosuhteella on omat hyvät puolensa, mutta toivoisin, että Daniel muuttaisi jo Suomeen, tai asiat järjestyisivät niin että voisin muuttaa Alankomaihin. Olisi niin ihanaa tulla töistä kotiin viettämään iltaa toisen kanssa muutenkin kuin vain tietokoneen välityksellä... tietokonetta kun on vähän vaikea halata ja Mr Paddington on vähän pienen puoleinen.

Kuvissa muuten näkyy maanantain asu, kävimme Danielin kanssa ystäväni 20-vuotissyntymäpäiväkakkukutsuilla ennen kuin suuntasimme tätini luokse hakemaan matkalaukun. Isovanhempani veivät laukun tädilleni, kun he menivät sinne vahtimaan serkkujani, ja samalla säästivät meidät matkalaukun raahamiselta bussista toiseen, kun junat eivät kulkeneet. Kakut olivat herkullisia, ja Hysteria -elokuva oli ratkiriemukas, ja seura oli aivan mahtavaa kuten aina... ehkä vähän liiankin hyvää, sillä loppujen lopuksi Daniel melkein myöhästyi lennoltaan! Vaikka pakko kai se on myöntää, että minua ei olisi haitannut yhtään, jos KLM:n kone olisi lähtenyt ilman Danielia...

Tänään olikin aikainen herätys vanhempieni sohvalla, kun ensimmäinen työpäivä alkoi niinkin aikaisin kuin kello 7.45. Aamupalakin jäi vähän vajaaksi, jos nyt voidaan edes puhua aamupalasta.. aamutee voisi olla osuvampi termi. Töissä oli kyllä mukavaa, vihdoin löysin työn, joka ei aja minua burn-outin partaalle heti ensimmäisen työpäivän jälkeen! Ihanat työkaverit ja mukava työympäristö... ainoa miinuspuoli on jalkojen kipeytyminen jatkuvan seisomisen takia. Tällä kertaa jaloissa oli kuitenkin nk. terveyssandaalit eli selkä ei ollut moksiskaan, ja yllätin myös itseni harrastamalla taukojumppaa venyttelyn muodossa!

Töiden jälkeen suuntasin kaupungille, sillä minun piti käydä vaihtamassa Danielille ostamani paita sopivan kokoiseen (ei varmaan kannattaisi luottaa Danielin omaan arvioon hänen vaatekoostaan) mutta en sortunut ostamaan itselleni uusia vaatteita, vaikka kiusaus olikin kova. Sen sijaan päädyin ostamaan uuden meikkivoiteen, peitepuikon, kynsilakan ja valkoisen rajauskynän. Hiuslakka tuli Lumenen tuotteiden kylkiäisenä... Yleensä vaalea ihoni ei muuten häiritse minua lainkaan, mutta tänään tuli kyllä sellainen olo, että pitäisi varmaan värjätä iho laikukkaaksi oranssiksi itseruskettavilla (minuun ne eivät vain tepsi, lopputulos on aina kammottava) ihan vain että meikkivoiteen löytäminen olisi helpompaa. Loppujen lopuksi päädyin sitten Lumenen meikkivoiteeseen ja peitepuikkoon, joissa sävy on suhteellisen lähellä omaani. En ole aikaisemmin kokeillut Lumenen meikkivoiteita, toivottavasti tuote on hyvä!

Bussimatka takaisin vanhempien luo kesti tavallista pidempään kello viiden ruuhkassa, mutta onneksi illalliseksi oli herkkuruokaa: uunilohta ja parsaa ja höyrytettyjä kasviksia. Iltapalaksi oli vielä mustikkarahkaa, eli ainakin illalla tuli syötyä ihan hyvin, vaikka aamupala ja lounas ja välipala jäivätkin vähän vähäisemmiksi. Noh, huomenna uusi yritys kun menen aamusta Erican kanssa etsimään hänelle uusia kevätkenkiä. Makutuomarina olo on melkeinpä hauskempaa kuin shoppailu itsessään, joten uskon, että saan huomenaamulla tarpeeksi energiaa pääsykokeisiin lukuun. Alle 20 päivää englannin ja historian pääsykokeisiin, pitäisi varmaan stressata enemmän!

Nyt on pakko mennä pesemään silmät kylmällä vedellä, koivun siitepöly aiheuttaa sen verran kamalaa kutinaa... Toivottavasti teidän viikkonne on alkanut hyvin!

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I have returned to the blogging world now that D... no, Daniel (yes, I finally got the permission to use his real name) has returned to the Netherlands... snif. He flew back home yesterday, more or less reluctantly, on the late afternoon, but luckily iChat works and if everything goes well I will be visiting the Netherlands during the summer for Daniel's birthday.

Naturally I am missing him terribly, but I also miss the relaxed "vacation" -feeling. We baked cakes, ate way too much candy and chips (obviously someone missed the point about gaining weight in a healthy way) and watched TV-series marathons and bad movies. We were also bickering about silly matters, showing affection in public to shock (and disgust) other people... there are good sides to long distance relationships but I can't help wishing that Daniel would move to Finland already, or that things would work out so that I could move to the Netherlands. I would love to be able to come home after a long day at work to spend the evening with him, in person rather than via iChat... my laptop isn't very huggable and Mr Paddington somewhat lacks in size.

In the pictures you can see my outfit for Monday. Daniel and I went to my friend's 20-year-old birthday tea & cake party before heading to my aunt's to get Daniel's suitcase. My grandparents took the suitcase with them to my aunt's where they were babysitting on Monday, which saved us from the hassle of dragging the suitcase from one bus to another since trains weren't going thanks to some technical issues.  The cakes were delicious, the film Hysteria was hilarious and the company was the best, as usual... maybe a little too good since Daniel almost missed his flight! Although I must confess that I wouldn't have been heartbroken if the KLM-plane had left Finland without Daniel on board...

Today I had to wake up early on my parents' couch since my first day at work was kicked off to a good start as early as 7.45. I ended up skipping breakfast except for one cup of tea (which doesn't even count as breakfast) but I love my job! It's about the time I found a job that doesn't make me cry after the first day! I like my colleagues (at least the ones I've met so far) and I love the working place... the only thing I don't like is the standing up part because my feet ache, even with good and ergonomic shoes. At least my back is fine, and I made sure to engage in some "coffee break" yoga and stretching, which surprised even myself!

After work I headed to the town to take shirt I bought for Daniel back to the store. Either he has lost weight or then he has a very weird idea of his size because the shirt was way too big. I did manage to keep myself from buying any new clothes for myself even though I was tempted to do so with all the mint green dreams at H&M. Instead I bought myself a new make-up lotion, concealer, nail polish and a white kohl pen... the hair spray was a gift for buying so many Lumene (a Finnish cosmetics brand) products at once. Usually I don't mind my pale skin a bit, but today I felt like I should start turning myself patchy orange with tanning lotions (those really don't work for me, the end result is always something horrid!) just to make finding the right shade a little easier. In the end I bought the Lumene one since it was the closest match to my skin tone. I haven't used any make-up lotions by Lumene before but I hope it's going to prove to be a good product!

The bus trip from downtown Helsinki to my parents' place took twice the time it normally takes but luckily we had a wonderful dinner: salmon from the oven with asparagus and steam-cooked vegetables. We even had blueberry quark for dessert/evening snack so I'd say that even though my breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks were a bit poor nutrition-wise I ended my day quite healthily. Well, tomorrow I am going to make sure to eat properly since I am going to help my friend Erica to find new shoes. Shopping for someone else is even more fun than shopping for yourself, and it ought to give me enough positive energy to be spent on studying. Only a little over two and half weeks till the English and History entrance exams, so I should probably stress a lot more!

Now I'm forced to go and wash my eyes with cool water... I hate hay-fever, and the birch tree pollen is the worst there is... I hope your week has started off well!