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Showing posts from 2015

Christmas 2015

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The time I've waited for all year long has finally come around and with it my whole Austrian family which makes this year's Christmas extra special. Thank god we moved into our new home last month otherwise I would have had to stuff 5 people into my one room apartment! But now that we have 2 spare rooms for guests it all works out perfectly and I'm loving the feeling of reunion with my little patchwork family. It's never completely silent and I love the noisy hurly burly! I'm also very excited that my mum finally gets to meet my boyfriend's family and vice versa. We'll be driving to South Yorkshire on the 27th, where my boyfriend's family lives, and since his family is also really huge (he has 6 younger siblings) this Christmas surely won't be a boring one! I'm really looking forward to catching up on stuff with his mum and play with the little ones but of course also exchange prezzies! I hope you all have a lovely Christmas as well and en

CATRICE All Around Concealer

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Catrice is a brand that sells very high quality products for a low price, that's why it's usually my go-to brand all things make-up. When buying this concealer palette, I had quite high expectations, since only having to carry one product that does the job of usually 5 different ones sounded very appealing to me. I'm a dedicated spot collector, therefore only using a dash of concealer almost never does the trick.  I'm now absolutely in love with this palette and usually take it with me when travelling since I like to keep the amount of make up in my travel bag low. However, when I first used this product, I was utterly disappointed. The problem was- I didn't know how to use it, and I figured I'm not the only one. It would be a pity for you to miss out on such a good product just because the instructions on the back weren't clear enough. So here it is- your ultimate guide to the CATRICE All Around Concealer! What's your favourite product

Mayr's Tea & Design

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As some of you may know, I'm a huuuge tea addict. I drink about 3 cups a day all year round simply because I love the taste and it calms me down very quickly, so when I moved to the UK I was overwhelmed by the variety of tea several shops offered. However, in my home town in Austria there's a little shop called Mayr's Tea & Design which beats all tea shops I've ever been in. Besides selling unique jewellery and decoration, they also produce all sorts of tea themselves only using natural and organic ingredients. I didn't want to miss out on such deliciousness of tea so I made my friend Phil send me tea this Autumn. Two weeks ago the package arrived containing 10 packs of tea. Obviously they all tasted heavenly, but I wanted to share only my five favourites with you! Wolkenschieber The title alone is beautiful! The term Wolkenschieber translates to Cloud mover and I think this sounds super Christmassy! I remember my friend Lily and me playing with our b

The Glow

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This year my boyfriend surprised me with a very special advent calendar. I got a book about DIY natural cosmetics, which is a topic that really interests me, since I've always wanted to avoid using all those products which include toxins and other stuff that's not good for your face at all. So everyday from now on, I get either a product I'll need for those recipes or supplies, which is such a creative idea and by far my favourite advent calendar since it's a nice alternative to just chocolaty ones.  The book was written by Anita Bechloch, a German writer who has experienced a lot of struggles using conventional skin products so she started producing her own. I also love how clear she informs you about all things worth knowing concerning skin care, for example she starts off the book by helping you find out about your skin type, telling you about the layers of skin and what their functions are and most importantly which impact the products she's using have. F

A guide to smart studying

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It's currently finals week at my Uni and I barely find myself anywhere else than either the library or on my desk at home. The fact that me and my boyfriend are moving out by November 30th doesn't help either since we're living between cardboard boxes and bags stuffed with all kinds of home wares. If you find yourself in stressful situations as well, good time management is the key. So I decided to put together a little guide on how to study efficiently! 1) Figure out what you have to study and where. I like to make a plan to organise when to study what- this also avoids procrastination ;) 2)Scan you textbooks, notes, worksheets, etc. in order to filter out the most important information.    Don't highlight everything! Usually, there's a lot of information you won't need- get rid of it. 4)Write a summary on your computer and print it out   I like to divide it into several sections and then add a lot of bullet points to each topic. This way i

November Baking II: Gingerbread Cookies!

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A LOT of stuff has been going on in my life lately, which is super exciting, but I barely spend any time doing relaxing stuff anymore. So when I came home last Wednesday, my boyfriend lead me into our kitchen where he has laid out all sorts of baking supplies, saying "Jay, please bake. Please have some you time, I can't bare to see you all stressed out, worrying about stuff you shouldn't even be thinking about" That's when I realised that my anxiety has increased a lot lately, my head was exploding because I was over thinking way too much- basically I totally overworked myself and gladly accepted his very kind offer. I decided to make some Gingerbread Cookies and I'm very pleased with the results! It took me more than three hours only to decorate them, but I felt so relaxed afterwards plus they tasted absolutely amazing! Ingredients & co. Gingerbread dough  (I bought one from the store, otherwise I'd have ended up with a totally s

Beauty Must-Haves for Winter!

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Today I want to share some products I find myself using every year as the weather gets colder. Here they are! Lips:  Balea LipBalm Outdoor Protect: Protects your lips from cracking, which my lips tend to do a lot during Autumn/Winter (This works amazing for skiing/snowboarding) Vichy Nuriextra for dry/damaged lips: Repairs when the damage is already done/moisturizes dry lips s-he stylezone No 140: A bright red colour, which adds some pop to your make up routine!  Skin: essence all about matt!: I've talked about this in my previous post, since this is holy to me. My skin tends to break out a lot at the start of the heating period and to avoid caking my face with make up, I've been using these lately! alverde color&care Make up (No 10 Light Beige) Super light colour, becuase my skin almost gets white in winter... However, it's very light coverage, almost like a BB Cream  Nails: s-he stylezone No 314 Maybelline New York 54 Cherry Sweet e

5 Must-Have Beauty Products For The Busy Girl!

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Recently, I find myself constantly in a hurry. In order to save time (and also money, you know me) I purchased some products that make life so much easier! Here are some of my favourites! LOOK High Speed Quick Dry Spray BALEA Dry Shampoo AQUA MINERAL Velvet Touch Hand & Body Lotion BEBE YOUNG CARE 3in1 Nurturing Cleansing Wipes ESSENCE All About Matt Oil Control Paper Thank you for reading! What are your time saving products? Let me know in the comments!

November Baking: Austrian Vanillekipferl!

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Some of you might know that I was born and raised in Austria. One of the things I loved most about the pre- christmassy time and still do is baking. I unfortunately can't bake with my beloved Granny anymore since she's quite a few miles away, but my boyfriend does a good job trying to replace her ;) One of the classics we made every year were so called "Vanillekipferl" and they taste so amazing, it would have been a shame to not let you know about the recipe! What you'll need for the shortcrust pastry: 300 g flour 100 g grated nuts 70 g powdered sugar 1bag vanillin sugar (those little ones, you know what I mean ;) ) 250 g  soft butter What you'll need for the topping:  a saucer filled with 1 little bag vanillin sugar and some powdered sugar

Affordable Hair Care? Yes please!

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I used to have quite healthy hair, until I started dyeing it. Since then it has always been a struggle to keep it healthy. Right now my hair is in a normal state, I'd say- not super healthy, not overly damaged.  Since I'm a student, I have a quite low budget and it's not easy to find affordable products that really do something for your hair. To spare you the quest I decided to write down my Hair Care Routine and some facts about my hair! I first dyed my hair at 15- a pink dip dye My natural hair colour is blonde and I bleached the tips for a cute ombre look! I wash my hair every second, somethimes third day I blow dry my hair only in Autumn and Winter Step 1: Product: Garnier Fructis strenghtening and structuring shampoo "Stop Agressions" Price: about 2£ Application: Massage into wet hair and rinse. Step 2: Product: Ombia Hair Xpert Repair Complex Price: about 3£ Application: Massage into wet hair (squeeze the water out before),

Easy Last- Minute Halloween Nail Art!

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If there's one thing I'm terrible at (except Math) it is nail art. I'm usually quite good at crafts and art and that stuff, but as soon as a nail polish brush is in my hand instead of a paint brush my hand starts to tremble and I end up messing up my whole nails. I mean- I can manage to apply nail polish. However, adding dots is already a too difficult task for me to undertake. BUT- I discovered a very sly trick! (Inserts mischievously smirking emoji) And that trick iiiiis... Permanent Marker! You can get them in various colours and sizes, making Nail Art SO much easier. What you'll need... Orange Nail Polish (Mine was the KIKO quick dry No 14) A Fine- tipped Permanent marker Top Coat to save your design and add shine (ESSIE all in one base) Paint your nails using the Orange Nail Polish, then wait until they've completely dried. Now it's time to create the spiders web. Look up a picture on the internet if you're not sure how to draw the st

Disclaimer and PR

All of the opinions written on this blog are completely honest and my own. If I have received an item from a company, this will be stated clearly with a (*). I only ever feature items/products that I would actually buy with my own money. I am a PR friendly blog, and I love the opportunity to collaborate with companies. If you're interested, don't hesitate to drop me an email at:     tptmermaid@yahoo.com   or for a quicker reply contact me on twitter:     @Julia_WalkerOfc

Fresh Make-up For The Broke Ones

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I personally find it quite hard to look fresh and awake on mornings, especially in Autumn and Winter. Don't get me wrong, I love Autumn, but getting up at 6 every moring is a struggle for me really, not gonna lie. I'd rather cuddle up under warm blankets and snooze for another few hours instead of getting dressed at stupid o'clock and jumping right into the crowded London tubes. One way or another, there's no escape. Recently I played a little with my make up and tried to achieve a fresh look to cover up my sleepiness. I then came up with this super simple look that really makes you look awake! (And also as if you'd have control over your chaos life) I went on Pinterest to search for a similar picture, becuase I don't feel comfortable enough to show my face to everyone on the internet.(Sozzzzz) This look doesn't only make you look pulled together but also saves a lot of time in the mornig! (and money, if you use the same products as me) Wh

About Me...

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  21 y/o Austrian currently studying English Literature and Drama at Queen Mary University in London, whose passion it is to blog about her favourite things in life such as Beauty, Fashion, Lifestyle and Food.  I try to spread positivity and attempt everyday to make this world a brighter place. I live in a terraced house with a tiny garden together with my fiancée. Pugs are my spirit animals and tea is my magic potion that gives me energy everyday. :) If you're also a happy little daisy out there that enjoys the things I blog about, join me on this whirlwind journey I am on while chatting about things I love! <3 FAQ... Why do you sometimes sound like English isn't your mother tongue? Because it isn't. I'm from Austria and started learning English at age 10. Although I've been living in London for 2 and half years now I occassionally make grammar mistakes. Oops! Umm...you don't look like 21?? Yupp, guess I don't. I've always

KIKO Haul!

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Hello beauties! As school starts tomorrow and the stress will start again, me, my mum and a friend spent the weekend in Trieste/Italy to unwind for a few days more. Fortunately, our hotel was right next to Zara, Mac and KIKO. What a coincidence… I personally have never heard of this brand let alone seen it in London, therefore I had no idea of how great this is! They also had a huge sale department of eye shadows and almost all nail polishes! Oh eem geeeh, I know right?! The first thing I picked up were this two lovely eyeshadows, which were at the clearance sale department and I am SO eager to try them out! This beauty is very similar to the Catrice one I showed you in my last post, maybe a little bit more purpley. It’s in colour 233 and part of the Infinity range . How gorgeous is thiiiiiiis one???? I imagine it going with literally everything, you could do a smokey eye, subtle with brown, autumnal with copper, fancy with pink… just woah! This one is in colour 238