ultimate-blonde

the other day my dear friend anna texted me. she told me about how she died her hair blond and now she doesn't think the make-up she was doing before looks good anymore. yes, of course, changing your hair color will change your whole look... and that's the fun part right?

 

well it has been a while since i was blond (currently i am still some version of red....) but if you also happen to be a new-blond (like anna...) and want to change your make-up accordingly.... i will post some different make-up looks to inspire you. just try out different things.... i don't like following or giving general rules. everyone is different and actually it is aaaall about having fun and what you feeeeel best/prettiest/hottest/most bad-ass with.  

 

so, to get us in the blooonde-mood... here are some (of my favorite) pics of the uuuultimate-blone... marilyn (one of my always-and-forever loves)  

 

 

and remember..... a smile is the prettiest thing you can wear.

schlaaaaaand!

 

here is my worldcup post....

tomorrow germany is playing the usa in the soccer worldcup.......

i took these pictures 4 year ago after germany won against argentinia (who is playing nigeria today... fyi) even if you are not into soccer... is it not nice to celebrate, cheer and be... patriotic together? in muuunich anyway the whole city is a big party (manly after a win of course) and since i will be watching the game on live stream, at my office tomorrow... and will not be able to walk up the leopold strasse with eeeeeveryone else, waving the flag, drinking beer and screaming "schlaaaaaaand!"..... i will put up more pictures of last world cups celebrations.

 

 

intention...

carrry-on beauty secrets...

here i am again... packing. i love traveling but i haaate packing. but not as much as i hate unpacking. having said that... packing my on-board beauty products to keep me hydrated and all that good stuff, is easy.

daily roll-on moisturizer, lavender chamomile by naturally susan's.... i found this wonderful little multi-puirpose oil last summer at south street sea port. the founder, susane started making her own all natural organic beauty products.... to be kind to her body. (and you know (for the most part.... hey, i'm only human...) i am all about that) so far this is the only product of susan's i have, but i love it. it is my favorite directly-under-foundation moisturizer, because it is so light and doesn't mess with the consistency of my bare escentuals, bare minerals, original foundation. one thing i would like to add though is that i was recommended to not use the roller application directly on my face (because it will pick up the bacteria and spread it around) but rather roll the oil on my (clean) fingers and then gently massage into my face.

i loooove mac's lip conditioner (tube) because (even though it is not a chap stick) it will not cover your lips covered in a greasy sticky-ness or some sort of strong taste. (don't get me wrong... i aaaam a fan of good-old carmex, but i can't use it when i am about to eat..... and you don't want to interfere with that good airplane-food.....) this conditioner will give your lips a healthy moisturized shine for a looooong time and leave them super soft.

pssssst! instant dry shampoo.... (travel size, of course). my hair tends to get greasy on the plane.... i guess i touch it a lot or just because the air on plains makes everything a bit.... sticky. especially when you have someone... special (i guess...) picking you up from the airport, or you might have a meeting directly from the plane... it is nice to have something to give your roots a quick little lift.

 baxter of california, clay pomade.. .this is not a muuust for the plane, but because... i am addicted and when is the intentional-unitenional messy look more appropriate than fresh off the plane?

like my hair, i feel like my skin just gets... dirty. to take off my foundation or for a quick freshener i will use simple, cleansing facial wipes. you can even use them in your seat (those bathroom lines are alwyas sooo long)

i hope these beauty secrets will help you look fabulously refreshed when you step off that plane. 

trust yourself....

matte smoke

i like doing a stronger look on fridays so i am ready for... whatever..... (or i'll have my little helpers with me...) and haven't done a good-old smoky eye in a while. for this look i only used matte colors. the eye shadows are all by mac... in quarry for the base. deep damson to deepen the crease and carbon at the outer v and along the lashes. my other favorite matte products are golden gate blush by bare escentuals and revlon just bitten lipstain + balm.

 

comfort....

sometimes everything happens at once...... changes in life.
in those times i will resort to familiar things. like my favorite totally-authentic-new-york-diner. when i go there i know i will get get greeted with a smile by the owner. when i took my parents here for breakfast (on their visit to new york) he told them (in his cute greek accent) "don't worry about her. i will keep her fed."
....and i know i will get a good old bacon-eggs-and-hash-breakfast.


 

compliments.... mid-week quote

i don't generally liiike getting compliments. because i feel like most of them are not creative.... or genuine, for that matter. well, lets say i am not gooood at getting them. ask anyone guys who have said something like "you are beautiful" or "i love your style" to me.... he will usually get an awkward  stare or (worse) an eye-roll. (i was told to smile and say "thank you" instead....)

if the compliment is creative or randomly specific.... thaaat's another story.

i haaave gotten a couple of compliments that i appreciated. i might still do an awkward stare, but i will smile giggle inside (i am a total inside-giggler) and.... remember it.

this one (for example) i would accept... appreciate and remember....

to explain..... this was me last weekend.... (after jumping up and down out of excitement... after my friends and i decided on zum schneider for our lunch spot) my vintage-prada-fany-pack (shout-out to christa who gave it to me) opened and everything fell on avenue a.....

i aaaam a chaotic mess.....

do you remember the best compliment you have ever gotten?

monday-blues.....



 

munich... photo by me

back on track

after my visit home to germany (where i indulged in my love for pastries and home-cooking) and a weekend at the beach (filled with bbq and ice cream)…. the only issue was actually that i totally got out of my work-out routine, and not only does my body start hurting when i don't do yoga for a couple of days... but i really missed it. and that is the key. you have to reeeeally enjoy your workout.

whatever kind of fitness routine you choose... and whatever food you eat... do it because it makes you happy. not because it is "good for you" or "healthy" (one of my top rated over-used-words-in-new-york... by the way). i never force myself to the gym. yes, sometimes i have to give myself a little shove... and those stairs up to my gym can be soooooo steep... but i know that there is really only the slightest of chances that i feel wooorse after my yoga class (for example). on the contrary... ever been on a runners-high?

anyway, it i had to get back on track after a gym break (which everyone shouldt take from time to time) but remind yourself of how far you have come. be your own fitspiration! in fact i believe that is the best one…. you know you have done it before... and you will remember how good and proud it made you feel.

so if you take a little gymcation… enjoy it! and enjoy getting back on track. you are strong and beautiful.

missing munich.....

when i was back home in munich, to visit my beautifully crazy family, i had a coupe of days to do... eat... and enjoy everything i miss about my home town.

like....

 

 

... fountains. i love the fountains in munich.

 

 

 

... the sky. the bavaian flag resembles the blue sky and the white clouds and in new york you don't really see a lot of sky. (a pretty freaking amazing skyline, though!)

 

 

 

... the summer. everyone looooooves  the summer in munich. before my first summer in new york i didn't understand how people could haaate on summer..... until it hit about the middle of july...... then i understood.

 

 

... beer gardens. in new york this word is used-and-abuuuused. dear new yorkers, a beer garden is oooonly a beer garden if it is under chestnut trees, has beer benches and beer tables, you can bring your own food (but not drinks) and has this kind of deliciousness ....

 

 

 

... "steckerlfisch" (fish that is smoked over open fire), bavaian beer served only in a "mass" (one liter), and a "brezn" (which is not the same thing as a pretzel). everyone who knows me, knows my obsession with "brezn".

... and every other kind of german bred. that we have for our weekend family breakfasts. 

 

 

... sister-time. i spent a day with my sister... eating ice cream in the sun... laying in the grass and laughing about the dumbest stuff.... and she made me this beautiful flower crown.

 

 

did you leave your home town? if yes, what do you miss about it? (i know... most of the answers are going to be "the food!")

your own kind....

don't forget the lips

it is easy to forget the lips when doing an eye-make-up look.....

lips: mac, lipstick, twig. i got his product in a mac goody-bag. and i have to say that this is a color i would usually not purchase, because i would think "oh, this is so close to my natural lip color anyway... why bother? i'd rather spend my money on a more noticeable shade (like craving or my newest lip pencil nightmoth)". but (after using it) that is actually why i like it so much... it doesn't overpower the stronger eye make-up, but with it's matte flesh-color it subtly completes my make-up look (as oppose to bare lips).

eyes: with a larger eye shadow brush i placed aquadisiac, by mac on the general aria of both of my lids. since the shimmery turquoise is not exactly a close-to-skin-color color, i placed all that glitters from my crease to the edge of the already painted aquadisiac. i used a smaller brush for bare escentuals, soiree along the rim of my eyes. for sculpting i dusted a frosted pink on the centre of my movable lid, before drawing a taupe colored eye liner at the outer half of my eyelashes. the finishing touch was a gold eye liner on the bottom tear duct. i didn't use toooo much mascara, in order to keep my lashes soft and full.

brows: mac eye shadows in swiss chocolate and embark finished with browgel

skin: revlon, bb cream and bare escentuals, blush in golden gate


have fun

summer… family… and friends

time flies…. i haven't even had a moment to share some of my pictures from my visit to munich. if you follow me on instagram you might have seen that i spent my time with eating and simply enjoying that munich was showing me her best side.

most of all i enjoyed being around the people i miss sooo terribly. of course my crazy… loving… fun family, that i am incredibly grateful for, but also my friends.... the ones that just knoooow me. i hope all of you have a group of people where you can be yourself and they love you exactly the way you are.


stay tuned for more munich summer pics…..

soft spring

i haven't been doing a lot of heavy make-up looks lately. must be a spring thing..... but i do feel like fun colors…..

eyes: i used vanilla sugar (by bare escentuals) on the entire lid. in the natural indentation of my crease i painted mac's all that glitters in a c-motion. with a small flat shadow brush i placed purple along the lashes of my upper lid as well as at the outer corner of my crease. the bottom lashes got some lovin with a turquois eyeliner. with an angled eyeliner brush i drew plumage (a dark blue eye shadow color, by mac) along both lash rows and at the very outer corner to connect the purple and the turquois pigments.

lips: maybelline, color whisper, rose of attraction