a long search

when you see the display of the entire collections of opi and essie, it is hard to imagine that sometimes you still can't seem to find the exaaact tone you have in mind....

that's what happened to me the last time i was at the nail salon.... tragic, i know.

i was looking  for a very dark red... oxblood. most of the colors i saw were too red... or too dark... or too brown. but then, after testing a couple of them, i found it (!)....and wicked (by essie) was her name.

pinned

i was at home, randomly playing around with my hair (to distract myself from what i was supposed to be doing... cleaning my apartment......). since the christmas party i went to the other day, i have been liking a more sleek look. i pulled my hair back really tight and added a bunch of pins to the bangs, to make a little wave. ....i think i might have to recreate this look some time and actually take it out on the taaown.

even if you are not going anywhere... have fun and experiment with your look!

ho ho ho

wishing everyone out there a joyful and relaxing christmas!

i hope you are spending it with your dearest, doing some thing you love. for me that is bowling, eating home cooked food, playing board games and watching movies.

what are your holiday traditions?

string of lights

photos of rachel by me

wishing you a beautiful, relaxing and loving christmas!

what is "holiday make-up"?

there are soooo many ideas for “holiday  make-up” out there… but honestly, i don’t know what "holiday make-up" is. party make-up? dinner make-up? naturally beautiful? sparkly  christmas inspired?  but also, i have never been invited to a christmas party (they are not exaaactly common in Germany…). until now. so i had to ask myself, what look i wanted to have while dinking punch and decorating cookies. i took it as a reason to do a completely different look than i usually would do.

hair: i straightened my hair (for the first time, since i had it cut). parted it on the side and sprayed it with kevin.murphy, shimmer.shine, repairing shine mist.

skin: very even pale matt skin, with subtle sculpting.

brows: strong graphic brows

eyes: i only used black color for my eye make-up. a very thick black liquid eyeliner and black shadow on the movable lid. i kept the bottom lid and lashes very bare. something i very rarely do is falsies. the few times i had fake eyelashes on i wanted to rip them off after ten minutes (which is usually what i ended up doing) i can handle individual lashes, though. that is what i used here.

lips: berry colored lip stain and lip liner.

what did your holiday make-up look like?

gray sweater and jeans

this is the winter-version of my grey t-shirt and jeans post.

the look: for a gray-sweater-and-jeans kind of day.... make-up that adds some color to my look…. fun colors like green and blue and purple on the eyes with a nude lips

skin: in this cold dry winter air i have only been using tinted moisturizer.... on the apples of my cheeks i brushed a light icy pink blush.

brows: defined brows without making them look too hard.... using medium brown eye shadow to fill them in. with an angled brow brush i made sure to draw a clean line along the bottom and finished them with brow gel.

eyes: mac, juxt... a light green on the movable lid and along the bottom lashes. when i use non-skin-like colors i like to blend them at the edges with a nudeish tone. that is also what i did here. at the inner sides of the lid i loosely brushed a light shimmering pink. for my eyes i don't like a strong eyeliner without defining my crease... using a brush with a pencil-shaped tip, i drew a light brown arch along my brow bone and blended it with a blending brush and a small amout of medium brown. to connect the outer end of the arch to the corner of my eye i swept on mac, swimming. now the liquid eyeliner... shimmering bright blue with the cat-eye swoosh. to the bottom edge of the swoosh i also added a little line of purple. black mascara for soft lashes. i still didn't feel like it looked... finished.... so i added highlights on the inner half of my bottom lid.

lips: to not add eeeven more color to this look i chose a sheer-nude lipgloss and lined only the top lip with mac, pro longwear lip pencil, electra.


have fun

i can't do without… clay pomade

i really don't have the greatest, most special hair (that'd probably why i change it, so much....). it's not super thick, or shiny, nor does it have great texture.... but luckily, the beauty industry decided to help me out! …this time it was the men's beauty industry.

for the most amazing piece-y, textured, not-trying-too-hard, out-of-bed look, that i basically want eeeevery day... i use baxter of california, clay pomade, firm hold/matt finish, styling tonpomade. i take a peanut sized amount, melt it, by rubbing it between my fingers, and work it into (mainly) the tips of my hair. it is the savior to any bad hair day.

oh! and i totally believe in choosing make-up/nail polish by the name it was given…. this nail color is opi, alpine snow. i mean, come on… i got my nails done with this color, on the first snowy day in new york… and i often think about seeing the alps on my way home, when i still lived in munich…. so, when i read the name, this was an obvious choice. 

room with a view

photos of new york, taken from my room, by me

kittyPhone… love at first sight

i found this incredibly amusing iPhone cover at colette, in paris. 

perfect for a crazy-cat-lady, such as myself. 

the hottest thing...

this bracelet is the hottest thing i have ever seen... and that is how it make me feel when i wear it. the power a couple of chains and leather can have……. but, just look at it!

the designer is bliss lau.

i wear it with eeeverything… from my skunk anansie (/the black keys) concert t-shirt to a printed silk maxi dress. there is nothing it doesn't go with… well, except sleeves, of course. thanx, winter! noooot.

seen on instagram @madeau

having dinner at wo hop in chinatown, photos by max höll

(and look, freddie was there, too)

quick update

we have all been there.... u have a evening-thing and no time to re-do your whole make-up. a quick update will have to do.  these are my four simple steps, using easy-little tools (because …even though you wouldn't think so... i am not one of those girls, who always has an entire make-up kit (with brushes and all that stuff) in her purse.... i like traveling light.) so when i know that i'll need a update this is what i throw put in my purse.

shimmer...
i love using mac, mineralize skin finish. it gives the skin that sexy glow, without being sparkly.
i applied it to my cheek and brow bones ...with my fingers (because, like i promised, there is no big-ol'-brush-schlepping involved, in this make-up update)

black eyeliner...
because, i am already wearing mascara, i will only darken the waterlines

mascara...
applying mascara to already mascara-coated lashes can be tricky. it caaan result in "fliegenbeine" (which essentially means "fly legs", in german. in my opinion, the perfect description for no-more-than six-thick-black lashes.) so, i recommend only reapplying mascara, if the first layer wasn't too thick and the mascara wand is one of the more full and fluffy ones, not the rubbery spiky ones (...that i am generally not a fan of, anyway....)

last but not least...

red lipstick...
granted... it is not the most creative evening-look, but(!) it undeniably instantly adds glamour/sex/drama/cool to the look. the most-impact-low-maintenance lipstick is stila, stay all day, liquid lipstick. i have already raved about it, many times.... how it glides on easy as a gloss... while still giving the lips an intense coat of saturated color… it does not need other products like lipliners/primers/long-lasting-top-coats... and(!) will stay on through dinner and drinks.

my burlingtons… little things that make me smile

ever since i was little... i have had a thing for socks..... (ask my mom).

now, burlington socks is all i wear.

 

choosing from all of these colors always makes me smile, and is one reason to be less sad, that it is not summer anymore...

 

 

picture of (part of) my burlington-sock-collection, by me

 

 

do you have something in your closet, that makes you smile every time you wear it?

when it rains…...

 

 

all photos of new york umbrellas, by me

foxy brown and dr. hauschka

last week i got my nail did. and when i say "did", i mean "diiiiid".  

i have always wanted long nails. an when i say "long", i mean "looooong-aaass nails"... ever since foxy brown in hot spot. man, i loved that video…. and her (ask my sis). in hindsight i would say it was a girls-crush. and watching it agin, just now, i gotta say… still love it.

anyway, i realize i am not the first person to get fake nails (even though it is totally exciting for me…… never thought i would actually have fake nails….. and as we know, i usually don't even get a pedi) but it brought me to talk to you, about hand care, and how hard it is to maintain nice hands and nails in the winter. i am really lazy with putting on hand cream, so i need one that is really good and effective. 

the one and only hand cream you will ever need is by dr. hauschka. i am not referring it because it is all natural… and they have "a mission"…  or because it is exclusive… and expensive. but because it immediately goes in your skin, and leaves it sooo much smoother (not just for half an hour). and most of all, it doesn't leave a greasy layer on your hands, that you feel every time you wash them. i hate that….

the nail polish is opi, hopelessly in love. 

beauty seeeeecrets

but not for long……..

going to share some of my favorite beauty products with all y'all (yeah. i live with a texan…) soon….

for now, her is my recipe for a garuantid fun weekend:
good girlfriends + wine + disney movies(!)


have fun!

fog is in the air

the weather in new york is… pretty… crazy. but this day was super crazy.

photos of foggy new york, by me