Milk Makeup Ubame Mascara – Balls

25. April 201921. April 2019 / Linda, Libra, Loca

Advertisement info: This blog post uses affiliate links. Please read disclaimer.

I promised at the beginning of the year that I would write more mascara reviews, given that it is the one makeup item I do finish regularly. And I intend to stick to my promise by talking about the Milk Makeup Ubame Mascara.

It isn´t a new mascara, it isn´t even a new to me mascara, in fact the Milk Makeup Ubame mascara has been sitting in my drawer for around a year now.

Unopened, I might add, before the hygiene police shows up and starts yelling at me in the comments. It was unopened and gathering dust, and I only ever thought about it because Milk Makeup launched at Cult Beauty earlier this year and everyone went coocoo about that.

If you aren´t familiar with Milk Makeup, they are a cruelty-free, paraben-free and 100% vegan brand founded in downtown New York – basically a millennials dream, and known for their different take on packaging. Think Highlighter Sticks or, as with the Milk Makeup Ubame Mascara, squeezy tubes for your mascara.

Leave a comment

Beauty Empties April 2019

22. April 201922. April 2019 / Linda, Libra, Loca

Advertisement info: This blog post features PR-Samples and uses affiliate links. I did not receive any money to write the blog post or film the video. Please read disclaimer.

Do you enjoy reading about the trends in blogging? I admit I do. Not because I think about adapting my content, it is just part of my nosey nature to be interested in that.

It seems that the beauty community is taking a (long overdue) turn towards sustainability in 2019, which leads to Beauty Empties videos and Decluttering becoming more popular than the Hauls and Unboxing videos that seemed to dominate the You Tube space for years.

Beauty Empties April 2019 — What awaits us in my trash bag?

Now there is of course much more to sustainability then holding empty containers into the camera, but every little bit counts. Even if that little bit is concentrating on using up products instead of purchasing new stuff. (Which is what I do in my current Low Buy)

Leave a comment

Cosmeceutical products – Do you need them?

18. April 201911. April 2019 / Linda, Libra, Loca

Advertisement information: This blog post contains paid for content. Links used may be affiliate links. Please read disclaimer.

I admit I have a weakness for sciencey stuff. And by sciencey stuff I don’t mean “real science” (whatever that may be), but things like cosmeceutical products. (I even wrote about that before)

Now before you come at me, I am not telling you that there is a valid reason to my fascination.

I indeed intend this blog post to be a confession, which pretty much gives away that there is NO sensible explanation to the habit of paying extra for things that say cosmeceutical (or doctors brand) on the packaging.

What are cosmeceutical products — Cosmeceutical products – What are they?

Because while it helps that they usually come in sleek, clean and functional packaging, I am not going to pretend that it is for any other motivation than the fact that deep down in my heart I want to believe they offer more than your average skin care product.

I mean, surely there must be something special about them?

Let’s explore the term “cosmeceutical products” a little, shall we?

Leave a comment

Sephora Matte Perfection Foundation Review

15. April 201914. April 2019 / Linda, Libra, Loca

Advertisement info: This blog post uses affiliate links. Please read disclaimer.

You know how I keep telling you that I won´t purchase some products because I feel almost insulted by the names companies give them?

And I am not talking the tongue in cheek names here (I have a pretty high tolerance to that). No, I am talking about things like the Farsali Unicorn Essence. Unicorns? Really? I am grown up, I don’t want glitter and rainbows.

Although I admit I was seriously tempted to overlook that quite recently, because a Makeup Artist at Sephora used the Unicorn Essence on me before applying the Sephora Matte Perfection Foundation, and the foundation looked beautiful all day.

But after I purchased it (the Matte Perfection Foundation, not the Unicorn Essence, I stood true to my word there), I had a hard time getting it to look like that. In fact, it took me three weeks and a lot of different brush/primer combos to find a way to make it work, and judging by other reviews I have read online I am not the only one that struggles. Maybe the Unicorn Essence would have made my life easier? We will never know.

So don´t despair if you bought it and struggle, I´ve got you covered. At least if your skin type is oily.

Dry skins don´t need to read any further: The Sephora Matte Perfection Foundation is not for you!

Leave a comment

Instytutum Retin Oil – the problem with Instytutum skincare reviews

11. April 201929. März 2019 / Linda, Libra, Loca

Advertisement info: This blog post uses affiliate links and features gifted items (PR-Samples). Please read disclaimer.

I have published quite a few Instytutum Skincare Reviews already, but while I love the brand, I need to get something off my chest:

An online version of the ingredient list is incredibly hard to find!
A complete one, that is, one that doesn’t highlight the “key ingredients” only (whatever that may mean anyway). The website is no help here, not many retailers carry the brand and it isn’t as widely known that I could just copy and paste from another blog. (Only the ingredient list of course, I would never copy the whole review, pinky promise!)

So what am I left with? Slowly typing away, packaging in one hand, eyes squinted to be able to read all the small letters… I guess it is time to have my eyes checked again. Don’t they say that age-related longsightedness starts around your 40th birthday?

But before we get lost in the joys of growing older, lets get going with the Instytutum Retin Oil Review. Complete with ingredient list!

Leave a comment

How to create a Spring Capsule Wardrobe (if you have zero fashion sense)

8. April 201930. März 2019 / Linda, Libra, Loca

Advertisement info: This blog post uses affiliate links. Please read disclaimer.

Welcome to part one of my Spring Capsule Wardrobe journey. Today we are going to talk about preparation and planning, basically the first things you need to do if you want to create a capsule wardrobe.

And you know what? The most important thing you need to do is to actually start. Sounds obvious, but in my case it took around two years to finally take that step. Yes, you read that right: I first thought about doing it shortly after my son was born (March 2016, people!) and yet it took me until now, Spring 2019, to actually get started.

I will get into the reasons I kept putting it off a little later – for starters, let us talk about the reasons why a capsule wardrobe seemed like a great idea in the first place!

Leave a comment

Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil – Babylonian confusion

4. April 201911. April 2019 / Linda, Libra, Loca

Advertisement info: This blogpost uses affiliate links. Please read disclaimer.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, and even more if you are subscribed to my You Tube channel, you will know that I am no native speaker.

Most of the time that doesn’t lead to any difficulties. Not for me anyway, it is you that has to deal with my accent. But sometimes the difference between German and English gets really confusing. Take the Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil, for example. I wanted to write an introduction featuring the moon. Creative, I know.

Problem is, in German the moon is male. It is “he”, as opposed to “she” in English (and most other languages). So every sentence I wrote was confusing for me, I was switching gender way too often.

So I figured, I´d just get to the product. And say “it”. It is an oil, after all. But enough with semantics, lets get on with the review of Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil (what a name!)

119 Comments

Beauty Low Buy 2019 – March Update

1. April 20191. April 2019 / Linda, Libra, Loca

Advertisement info: This blog post uses affiliate links and features gifted items (PR-Samples). Please read disclaimer.

Now that we reached the end of March, I am pretty chuffed that I managed to stick to what I started in the New Year: Going on a Beauty Low Buy for 2019.
Yes, it might only be three months, and after a great January 2019 the February was kind of a very bad exception, but still, how many New Years Resolutions make it that far?

Low Buy for 2019 - March Update — Low Buy for 2019 – March Update

After all, it is the budget that I will have spent once the year is over that counts, and, maybe even more important, the social media influences and new releases that I resisted.

Not that I think my spending was excessive in the first place, but there is always time for improvement, no?

Also, after starting my Capsule Wardrobe Journey last month (video on that coming your way) I figured it would probably be the more sensible choice to invest in a third pair of bottoms rather than yet another lipstick anyway. Going out with a fierce red lip, but bottomless still isn’t widely socially acceptable.

So without further ado, how did I fare?

Leave a comment

Monthly Recap March 2019

30. März 201930. März 2019 / Linda, Libra, Loca

Advertisement info: This blog post uses affiliate links. Please read disclaimer.

Spring is here, my favorite season. And what a spring it has been so far. 18 degrees and sunshine, flowers and birds galore, then storm and rain just a few days later, with temperatures that made me layer up in my wool cardigans.

Emile Cordon Charlotte on lip and cheeks — Looking back… and wearing the Emile Cordon Miracle Lip Balm I reviewed last month.

Good thing I haven’t put them away quite yet, in my attempt to create a Spring capsule wardrobe. I was tempted, I admit, as it was so warm the weekend I sifted through my closet, but spring in Germany always is a bit temperamental, so they stayed.

Creating a capsule wardrobe had been on my mind for a long time, so the time when Mr. Loca decided to go to Algier to medically supervise the Touareg Rallye (cars, quads and motorbikes as well as a lot of desert) and I stayed at home with the kids, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to tackle that task. Because you can never be too busy I guess. But enough of that now (there will be a dedicated blog post coming your way on April 8th), lets look back on the stuff I wrote about last month.

Just in case you missed anything…

Leave a comment

Emile Cordon Miracle Lip Balm – Luxury

28. März 201926. März 2019 / Linda, Libra, Loca

Advertisement info: This blog post uses affiliate links and features gifted items (PR-Samples). Please read disclaimer.

In times where minimalism rules and we (rightly!) ask ourselves if our current culture of consumerism is really the way we want to continue on, it can be tough to write a beauty blog. It is a constant battle between being mindful with my purchases (read about my Low Buy 2019, for example) and allowing myself little luxuries that I don’t need need, but enjoy nonetheless. Like the Emile Cordon Miracle Lip Balm I wanted to review today.

In my defense, they are more than a lip balm. They are a lip and cheek tint, which makes them a versatile makeup item, and maybe a little bit less of a luxury? No, I get it, I am not convinced either.

Leave a comment