Thursday, June 30, 2011

Benefit Boxed Powders - Old Packaging vs. New

 A few months ago, Benefit changed the packaging of their famous boxed powders. Some people have been wondering what the difference is between the old and the new packaging, so here are the main changes. Please note that I'm not sure whether all the boxed powders have gone through the changes or just some, since Benefit isn't sold here in Iceland.

The old boxes had lids that came completely off (Sugarbomb, to the right), but the new ones have lids that flip open, and a mirror has been added (Bella Bamba, to the left). I'm personally all for those two changes - you don't lose the lid, and you can do your makeup on the go, since you have the mirror with you.


The accompanying brush has also been changed a bit (old to the right, new to the left). The new one has a shorter handle, the bristles are softer and the brush is a bit more rounder (as opposed to almost square). The old brushes were sometimes hard to use, but the new one is a bit better.


Finally, the new box (new to the left, old to the right) is smaller than the old box, and holds a smaller amount of product. The old boxes usually held between 10 to 12 grams of product, but the new one holds 8 grams.

So, which packaging do you like better? I have to say that I think the new packaging is a winner... I'm really liking the mirror.

I went shopping today for some skincare items, haul will be shared soon. However, I also bought the product for the upcoming celebrational giveaway! I will be announcing the giveaway and the prize tomorrow, but for now, I'll give you a little hint: It's a high-end product which I've been using every day this month (my own product, the winner will get a brand new one)... it is from a brand I love, and it is perfect for summer! I'm so excited to announce this, I can hardly wait!


Love,
Miss Diorista

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Summer Trend - Big, Bold Rings!

I'm starting a "short and sweet" series of summer trends! Those trends will be ones which I've spotted around me, on other blogs, in magazines, on TV or somewhere else, but they will all be ones I love! I'm really excited about this!

This first trend is big, bold rings (as you could probably tell from the title ;). There are endless possibilities here. You could go big and bright (I'm thinking yellow... or orange!), big and glam (a few sparkles won't hurt, promise!), or... you could go big, bold and dark! I fell completely head over heals when I spotted this ring two or three weeks ago, and have been wearing it almost every day since!

As you can see, it is pretty big and a solid black. It is made out of a bunch of metal roses. How pretty is that? I bought it in NEXT, when looking for a birthday present for a friend (I always end up getting something for myself when shopping for others! In my defense, I did buy her something really cute as well :)
And as if this ring isn't chic enough on its own, it goes amazingly well with fun, quirky polishes! Above I'm wearing Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Mint Sprint, but I also love it with yellow polish, such as OPI's Need Sunglasses? (both are soon to be reviewed).

So, have you been wearing any big, bold rings lately? I'd love to see them, leave me a link if you've seen a cute one!


Love,
Miss Diorista

P.S. Would you be interested in seeing guest cooks on the blog?

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Weekly Gratitude - Kiwis and Great Weather

I feel like it's been ages since I last wrote a weekly gratitude post... has it been? Anyways, enjoy, and there are lots of beauty posts coming up!

  • Thank you to God, for the safe journey we had on our vacation.
  • Thank you for the yummy vegetables I had today!
  • Thank you for fruit being in season those weeks - it feels like summer when your snack cabinet is filled with fruit of all kinds!
  • Thank you for the super nice and beautiful weather we've been having here lately - I don't expect it to last, but I'm sure going to enjoy it while I can!
  • Thank you to my co-workers, for all being in a great mood yesterday (as if they aren't always!), when we were having a Mexico-themed day. We played sports, grilled and had an amazing time!
  • Thank you to my mom, for being great at finding things... I am so good at losing things, but I can't find anything, even if it's right under my nose! That's where my mom comes in ;)
  • Thank you for kiwis and pineapples, they're so delicious!

Love,
Miss Diorista

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

A few changes, a poll and an upcoming giveaway!

Howdy!

You might have noticed some slight changes on my blog lately... I felt that a few things were lacking and I needed a bit of a "spring cleaning" (although it's technically summer :).

I have added two more options for following; you can find me on Bloggers.com, and you can subscribe by e-mail. I personally really like subscribing to my favourite blog by e-mail, so I hope this makes things a bit easier and more convenient for my readers.

I also added a search bar for searching Miss Diorista (it only searches this particular blog, which is convenient if you are looking for a specific article). It is located at the bottom of my blog, so scroll down if you need it.

An updated "About Miss Diorista" was needed, so the old text is gone and the new is already there. Please read it and let me know what you think! I think it's a lot better, since the other one was written when I was just starting out with the blog and didn't really know in what direction I was going to take it. Now I have a clear view of what I like Miss Diorista to be and what I want my readers to get out of it, so I think the new text is more appropriate.

Finally, I added a poll. I am really into nail polish (and have been getting more and more interested in it the last few months) and I want to know what kind of polish posts you like to read, so that I can write them for you. Please take a moment to vote (there are 18 days left to vote today, June the 22nd), it would mean a lot to me.

And before I wrap this post up, I wanted to let you know that there is a giveaway coming up! Miss Diorista turns 1 year old the 1st of July, and I will be hosting a giveaway for my followers to celebrate! I haven't decided the prize yet, but I will probably pick something I have and love myself, so that I know I'm giving out a quality product. If you aren't a follower already, make sure you follow soon, so that you don't miss out on the giveaway!

Please tell me what you think about the changes!

Love,
Miss Diorista

Sunday, June 19, 2011

MAC - Surf Baby

I'm so late showing you this product, that it's almost funny... hope you don't mind this little reminder of MAC's summer collection 2011, Surf Baby.
I only bought one product, but I was going to get more... there's a story to tell here, a sad one! I loved Hibiscus lipstick, Strange Potion lipglass and the blush/beauty powder they had (with the golden flower on top). When I arrived to my MAC, all of those were sold out! Therefore, I only bought one product, Studio Careblend/Pressed powder in Gold-Go-Lightly, shown on the pictures below.

The packaging from Surf Baby is very sporty, yet feminine. The compacte is off-white with shimmer, and has a mirror inside (like beauty powders).
I love the print on the powder, it says "MAC" a million times!
The texture of this powder is really nice and smooth, I almost want to say creamy. The colour is matte, and I do like it (I mostly use it for sculpting), but if you're not careful, it has a tendency to lean slightly orange. That orange tone doesn't show up if you use a light hand.
Swatches. The left one is blended out, the one to the right is full colour.

I was pleased with this product, but I'm still looking for a great bronzer which doesn't look muddy or orange. Any good recommendations? I just bought a Chanel bronzer (from their new summer collection) and I will share that one with you soon, but I'm also looking into investing in a Bobbi Brown bronzer, since I've heard they're good. Have you tried Bobbi Brown bronzers? If so, please tell me how you liked them!

Now, over to you: What is your favourite bronzer, and why? Tell us!

Love,
Miss Diorista

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Videos from Mjóifjörður, Iceland

Here are three short clips, showing the landscape in Mjóifjörður (the first two) and Dalatangi (the last one). You can see my pictures from those two places here. Those videos can also be found on YouTube.





Love,
Miss Diorista

A trip to Mjóifjörður, Iceland

 I spent a week with my family in Mjóifjörður (direct translation: Skinny Fjord :) just recently, which is a fjord in the eastern part of Iceland. It is a 10 hour drive from Reykjavík (the capital city of Iceland), and only about twenty people live there. In the winter, they often have to use a boat to go and buy necessities (there is no shop there) because the snow closes off the road. Staying there was fascinating, as I hope you can tell from my pictures.

 First up are a few photos which I took on the way. Above is the mountain "Þríhyrningur" or "Triangle".


 You can see the glacier hiding in the fog and the ash, from the recent eruption.


Some places, the sun was dimmed a bit because of the remaining ash. This picture is taken around 3 or 4 o'clock in the daytime!

 Can you see the ash on the road?

This one is taken in Freysnes, where we had dinner on our way.

The black "tongue" coming down from the mountains is a glacier. It is usually white or slightly blue, but it is black now, because of the ash (the ash is in a limited area though, don't worry, the whole of Iceland isn't dark!).

Jökulsárlón in the evening. It is fascinating to see all this ice from the glacier, so close. I even sailed on this water once when I was younger, it is absolutely beautiful. Taken from inside the car when we were crossing the bridge.



 There was a lot of fog.




 Finally, Mjóifjörður is getting closer!

To get to Mjóifjörður, you have to cross a heath (isn't that what it's called?). The road is rather steep and there was snow and fog everywhere (it was the 10th of June!).


Coming through the snow and down to the fjord was magnificent, and the view was spectacular.

 A mountain in Mjóifjörður.

 The fog completely filled the fjord the evening we arrived, so you couldn't even see the water.



I was playing with some different settings on my camera, I really like this one.

 There were small waterfalls and fountains everywhere, and the water from this one was the best I'd had for quite some time.








We had a visitor! On Monday, a whale swam into the fjord. You could see him (or her) quite clearly when he was on his way back to the ocean. I have to admit, that before this, I had thought of swimming across the fjord... but I'm not quite up to swimming with whales just yet, although the local people told us that they were very friendly. Once, a man was fishing on a small boat in the fjord, when he saw a whale nearby. He sailed towards it, and the whale showed him his tail, as if he was performing for him!

We drove to Dalatangi, which is even more closed off than Mjóifjörður. There were some absolutely beautiful cliffs on the way.


 The view from Dalatangi.


 The new lighthouse at Dalatangi. I love how yellow it is!

 The old lighthouse at Dalatangi, which is a whole lot smaller and out of use now.

 From Dalatangi, you can see the fjord next to Mjóifjörður, which is Seyðisfjörður.


On the way from Dalatangi back to Mjóifjörður, we met this momma with her children. They were having a cozy time inside the ruins of an old house. You can still see the stove (the rusty white one in the middle of the picture).

We found this house in Mjóifjörður, in which nobody lives right now. Something fascinates me about old houses which haven't been lived in for years.



 And now, on the way back to Reykjavík. This river is "Lögurinn", and we have an old story about a monster living in it (a humongous worm, to be exact...). Needless to say, we hurried by.

At first, we were going to go back the same way that we came, but we made a last minute decision about going the other way home, stopping by in Akureyri (a town in the northern part of Iceland). Therefore, we actually drove around the whole country, which I had never done before.

 Before arriving at Akureyri, we had to drive through the Mývatn area, which is a very beautiful area, with many small and larger waters, as well as lava formations, which play with the water to form a fascinating unity, as can be seen below.


 Meet on of Iceland's most popular ice cream shops - Brynja. Driving through Akureyri without stopping at Brynja for some ice cream would be a shame, to say the least! If you ever go to Akureyri, be sure to taste Brynja's ice cream!

 Almost home...

And finally, home. Somehow, it always feels so good to be back home, even though the trip was amazing.

Have you had some time for travelling yet? Tell me!

Yours,
Miss Diorista

P.S. I have two short landscape videos from the trip, which I plan to upload on YouTube soon. I'll probably post them on the blog, too.
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