Weekly Gratitude - Friends, Readers, Memories

• Thank you for sleep - it's so valuable when you're tired :)
• Thank you to Maja, for being such a sweet friend.
• Thank you to the ones who have kept me sane through this week - what would I do without you?
• Thank you to the readers of my blog, who are always there with their nice comments! You make my day ;P
• Thank you for the movie I just watched - sad but beautiful.
• Thank you for the German Film Festival here in Iceland - it's really eye-opening to watch films from other countries, as well as fun. And hey, they're German! You know me, I love Germany ;)
• Thank you to God, for giving me memories which I will treasure forever, and for showing me the strength which can be found in every single human heart.
• And an extra! Thank you to Script Frenzy, for opening up my mind to writing scripts... I've written a novel, many short stories and a truckload of poems, but I never considered scripts until now, so thank you! It might be an interesting thing to try :)

xox,
Miss Diorista

Haul from Berlin (part 2) - Revlon, The Body Shop

It's time for part 2 of this haul of mine from Berlin... and I think I'll try to post another one this evening. I really need to get this haul out of the way, so that I can start reviewing the products for you!

This part of the haul features products by Revlon and The Body Shop. I was especially excited about Revlon, since we don't have it here in Iceland! 

As usual, L-R, and we will begin with Revlon.

• The lipgloss is Revlon's Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Coral Reef, which is a beautiful coral colour. Very bright.
• The lipstick is Revlon's ColorBurst Lipstick in Crimson. Again, Crimson seems to be an exceptionally pretty shade. I usually don't go this dark with my lips, so I can't wait to try this deep, rusty red colour.
• Finally is Revlon's Grow Luscious Mascara in Blackened Brown. This mascara is supposed to make your lashes stronger while you wear it. I don't know about that (haven't used it long enough to tell), but I can tell you that I love it, and I also love the colour. I usually go for the blackest black I can find and I haven't found brown mascaras very flattering on me in the past. However, this colour almost looks black - yet it isn't. So it gives you a softer, more natural look, but still I go "wow" every time I use it... ok, I'll stop rambling about it! Review coming up, obviously!

Now on to products by The Body Shop!

• The squeezy tube thingy there (I love to hate and hate to love the word "thingy"... but I do love it...) is from The Body Shop's Spring Collection, and it is the Tailored Cheek Tint in Hot Pink. This is a gel blush which comes out clear, but turns a beautiful pink once you apply it to your skin. Review coming up, I love this!
• The Body Shop's Hemp Hand Protector is a staple for me (as you can read in my Winter Skincare post... though I use it all year round). I had run out of this and I can't tell you how happy my hands were to see their best friend again :)
• The last item is The Body Shop's Tea Tree Blotting Tissues. Those are blotting sheets with tea tree oil in them, so they're supposed to help with acne/blemishes. I have become addicted to blotting sheets, so I really look forward to giving those a try.

That's it for this part, stay tuned for part 3, which will include Manhattan, Artdeco and Maybelline ;)

Love,

Miss Diorista

P.S. As always, if you would like to see reviews on any of those, please let me know.

Spring is... almost here!

I'm feeling spring here!
I realized today that I hadn't baked cupcakes for ages - so of course, I had to set that straight :)
This is what I came up with - vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream. I coloured the buttercream light green and decorated the cuppies with flower sprinkles. The cupcake cases are yellow. Believe me, those are summery to look at, but eating them just feels like summer! I'm ready for spring here...

I love that you can actually see the snow outside my kitchen window there... and here I am, talking about spring... I guess you can never be too positive :)

Since the recipe I used has been my go-to recipe for cupcakes the last few years, and it tastes amazing, I really want to share it with you. I originally found it online, and I believe it comes from the famous Magnolia bakery in New York (those are the cupcakes they eat on Sex and the City!)

Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes

*1.5 cups self-rising flour

*1.25 cups regular flour

*1 cup (2 sticks or 250 g) unsalted butter, softened

*2 cups sugar

*4 large eggs, at room temperature

*1 cup milk

*1 tsp vanilla extract

(makes 24 cupcakes)

Heat your over to 350°F or 180°C.

Line your cupcake tins with cupcake cases.

Blend together the two flours in a bowl and set aside.

In a big bowl, cream the butter (medium speed). Add the sugar slowly, and beat until light and fluffy (usually about 3 minutes).

Now add the eggs, one by one, and beat well in between.

Add the flour mixture, the milk and the vanilla extract in three parts each, alternating flour and milk (so: flour, milk, flour, milk, flour, milk). Beat well in between, but don't overdo it.

Fill the cupcake cases about 3/4 full, and bake for about 20-25 minutes.

Magnolia's Vanilla Buttercream

*1 cup (2 sticks or 250 g) unsalted butter, softened

*8 cups powdered sugar (I only use 6, which is more than enough)

*0.5 cup milk

*2 tsp vanilla extract

*Food dye (if wanted)

(more than enough to ice 24 cupcakes)

In a big bowl, beat together the butter, 4 cups of powdered sugar, the milk and the vanilla extract for about 3-5 minutes, using medium speed.

Add 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, beating 2 minutes in between cups.

Add food dye (if wanted).

Now you can decorate your cupcakes, and believe me, the possibilities really are endless!

Hurry into your kitchens and start baking, folks ;)

Love,

Miss Diorista

  

I never say "Good Bye" because they seem like forever. I rather say "See you later". - Anonymous

Weekly Gratitude - Cupcakes, Japan, Titanic and Beautiful Moments

• Thank you to the cupcakes I just baked... and ate! You were delicious and you made my day :) I will be posting pictures of those cuppies soon!
• Thank you to the kind-hearted and brave people who are helping in Japan - you have given so many people their faith in the human being back.
• Thank you to my mom, for making such a nice rice pudding today :) How delish!
• Thank you for the small things in life - for they are not small when they are close to your heart.
• Thank you to my niece for finally making me see the movie "Titanic". Why didn't I see that movie before? It is so beautiful, yet so tragic... I'll have to watch it again some day.
• Thank you for the weekend ahead of me - and for making it seem so long when I know it really isn't!
• Thank you to God, for keeping my loved ones safe, and for allowing me to treasure some absolutely beautiful moments in my heart. Thank you.

xox,
Miss Diorista

Haul from Berlin (part 1) - Garnier, Douglas, Essence

Just like last summer, I am going to divide this rather large haul into 7 or 8 parts... in fact, the MAC - Wonder Woman haul was the first post in this series, but we'll still call this post "part 1" :)

L-R:

• First up are two lipglosses by Douglas, and they were given to me as a gift with my purchase. They don't have specific shade names (at least none that I can find), but one is clear with white and multi-colour glitter, the other one is slightly pink (but almost clear) with red and multi-coloured glitter. They feel kind of gritty on my lips...
• I was so glad when I found the Garnier Caffeine Anti-Dark Circles 2-in-1 Roll-on, since I don't think we have Garnier here in Iceland (except for hair products). This is basically a concealer and an eyecream in one product, with some added caffeine to it, as well as some lemon essence. Mine is in "fair to medium".
• The mascara is All Eyes On Me in Forest Green (shade 04). This is basically supposed to be a green mascara, but from what I've seen (I have yet to try it), it is more shimmery greyish-green with some blue, than a true forest green... I'm not sure that this is a great mascara, but it will be fun to try out.
• The last item is also by Essence, and it is a small packet of French Manicure Tip Guides. I actually rarely crave a French mani, but I thought that if I ever will, this could come in handy :)

That's it for this first part. I'm beginning with drugstore items, and gradually we will be moving over to high-end products as the haul goes on :)

Love,

Miss Diorista

P.S. If you would like to see reviews on those products, then please let me know!

Star Gazer - Nail Polish in Nr. 134

 Oh my, love at first sight! This polish is the most beautiful I've tried in a long time. It's a gorgeous blue-based bright pink, but it can definitely have a magenta feel to it in certain lighting. And the shimmer! Man, the shimmer makes the polish! I should even rather say glitter, since we have some glittery particles floating around there... so pretty.

It really surprised me how much I loved this polish just instantly (usually I have to get used to a new shade on my nails for a bit, before I start to really like it). Especially since it doesn't look that special in the bottle. But let me tell you, this one is magic in a bottle. The pictures do not by far show its full beauty.

So bright, so pink, so glittery... so ME!

A blurry picture to show you the colour in different lighting. This colour looks so good on fair skin, but it would also look great on darker skin tones, since it's so bright!

The formula was nice to work with and dried fairly quickly. I did get a bit of chipping after about two days, but I just touched it up a bit and it looked like new. Taking the polish off was ok - this is of course a very strong, bold and bright colour so you wouldn't expect it to go away very easily.



Product (65%) - 9/10

Value (10%) - 8.5/10

Would I repurchase? (15%) - 10/10

Packaging (10%) - 8/10

Overall - 9/10

Love,

Miss Diorista

The greatest weakness of most humans is their hesitancy to tell others how much they love them while they're still alive. - Orlando A. Battista

MAC - Wonder Woman

*fainting* :)

I haven't been this excited about a MAC collection for a long time, let me tell you that! First of all, unlike so many, I absolutely love the packaging - both of the products themselves and the cardboard (shown above). Second, the products seemed pretty and they had some daring colours, and last but not least... I completely fell in love with a few of the product names! Haha, MAC knows how best to draw me in :)

Isn't this just so pretty? Love the stars on the inside!



Here are the products I got, L-R: Lipglass in Athena's Kiss, lipstick in Marquise'd and a blush... I'll tell you the name later, just you wait! ;) *shuddering with excitement*

 Just wanted to show you how completely oversized the lipglass is - the lipstick is regular size, and looks so small next to the gloss!

Marquise'd lipstick. It´s a lustre finish, a nice nude-pink shade with shimmer. Nudes usually wash me out, and this one barely hangs in there, I have to use a pink gloss with it to make it work... or maybe I just have to get used to it a bit, this is as nude as I go! Love the star on the tube!

Athena's Kiss lipglass. Oh my, I confess that I only bought it because of the name! However, I don't regret buying it, since the gloss is a really pretty pink or almost lilac colour, with shimmer. Actually goes great with Marquise'd. And that wand is way oversized!

And now for the biggie... I don't know what the saleslady thought of me when I read the name of this one, shrieked with happiness and instantly bought it, without even taking a further look at the product :) Yes, I again only bought this because of the name: Amazon Princess!

In case you haven't heard of the Amazons before, they are (or were) a legendary tribe of women who were warriors. I completely fell in love with this Greek myth, and especially that of the Amazon Penthesilea, who in fact was an Amazon Princess. So quite understandably, I had to have this blush in my collection :)

The blush is oversized like the lipglass, and it holds two colours; a bright pink (satin), and the prettiest plummy colour I've ever seen (slightly more shimmery). Will be wearing those a lot!

See, Amazon Princess :)

And finally some swatches. L-R: Athena's Kiss, Marquise'd, Amazon Princess (bright pink, then plummy).

So what did you think of this collection? Many thought the packaging looked cheap, I on the other hand loved it. I mean, we´re talking Wonder Woman here, not Yves Saint Laurent! It's supposed to look a bit childish and cheap, in a fun way, and I think MAC did a great job with this collection.

Did you get anything from it?

xox,

Miss Diorista

P.S. I bought those items in Berlin, so they're kind of the first part of my haul from Berlin. However, I didn't mark the post as such... just so that it would be in sync with all my other MAC posts :)

The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart. - Helen Keller