Effortless beachy bed head

Hey everyone,

Want to know how I got this quick effortless no heat beach hair? Simply by using L'Oreal studio line #TXT06 wave creating spray. I was quite curious and wanted to test this out, it's actually quite similar to salt spray and definitely gives you an effortless beach / bed head hair style. There's actually multiple ways to use this. The first way ( which is the actually instructed way on the back of the bottle) is to apply this on damp hair, twist a strand around your finger and dry. Now I found this way the less effective, plus it takes forever to dry you hair if you have to do strand by strand.

I have two different ways for doing this and to acheive the actual look! 

My first step is to apply this on damp hair at night and then crunch it alot, then just let your hair air dry and you'll have real beach waves bed head hair. You can also braid your hair for more defined waves. You can also twist it into a bun and tie it at night so in the morning you have big hair, but I wouldn't recommend the bun. It get's quite messy, especially if you have thin hair.

My second step is to apply the spray on dry hair, and then just crunch with your hands. I find it best to crunch your hair and hold for a couple of seconds. This is especially if you forget to do it the night before while your hair was still wet. And there you have it! Beach bed head hair.

For a more honest opinion, your hair will not create natural defined curls, but more waves. It's an ok product. I actually like using it but not too often as I find it dries your hair out! My best way to apply this is probably at night once I've showered, I apply it on damp hair and then I keep crunching from time to time. In the morning your hair will look fab-u-lous!

xox Lucy

Lipstick Haul

Hey everyone,

Today I'll be sharing my lipstick collection. My collection isn't complete but these are my favorite ones and the only ones I had present with me in my apartment today. I have quite a few more at home in my hometown, but I'm not missing too many.

I know how hard it is to find the perfect shade, especially if you're buying lisptick online. There are no good valuable swatches to actually see what the lipstick looks like on one's lips, so I thought I would share my collection and lip swatches! Enjoy!

My lipsticks are:

• NYX round: marrakesh pink, Strawberry milk, Narcissus, Indian pink
           matte: Hippie chic
• Paul & Joe: n°202
• Sephora: little treat, lip attitude, n°3162B
• ModelCO - party proof matte lipstick: Red Velvet
• Bareminerals - marvelous moxie: Get ready
• Urban Decay: Shame

NYX collection

Good night February

[picture does not belong to me - find it here]*

Hey everyone.

So as you all OBVIOUSLY know we are now in February..... already!!!

The months are going by so fast we'll soon be blogging about Christmas again!! Oh god no not yet, please, before that we still have 11 months ahead of us and good news is, summer's included! (Yay - I love summer).

I spent my 1st of February celebrating a friend's bachlorette party which by the way was my first. It was great fun! The only thing that I was not looking forward too was how much sleep I was going to get. Knowing me, sleep and I do not get on together at all! I'm always tired no matter what (but that's due to a small stomach problem that I might have) but other than that, I have difficulty falling asleep, always waking up during the night and once awake in the morning I can't fall back asleep! All in all, restless nights and yawning every 2 minutes sums me up! If I were put into a deep sleep for a month, I could wake up and still be tired! Its horrible I know, but what I'm actually trying to point out in this post in relation to my bachlorette party is that I got home around 4:20 am and woke up at 9 am..... that's not even 6 hours sleep (which is considered the minimum). And knowing me of course I can not get back to sleep even though I'm dead tired. Hence today I thought I would share a few tips and tricks for those of you who have restless nights like me and how to make you look up and energetic (20 hours of sleep).

What always makes me feel more serene is a nice cup of tea! I love it, I love it, I love it! I have every flavor you could possibly imagine.

Next a nice warm shower or bath always helps you to relax. So if it's a sunday and you're not planning on going out but planinng to lay in bed all day this is definitely recommended. (Notice: highly relaxing and a definite back to sleep mood maker).

But right now i'm just pin pointing things that will put you back to sleep, I was meant to do the opposite.

Tip1:

 Put two tea spoons in the fridge or freezer for a couple of minutes. When cold, take them out and press them under your eyes (that part where most of us have dark circles and constantly like to conceal). This will help get rid of any swelling. Great for those puffy eyes in the morning.

Tip2:

 Next if you have one of those rollers for tired eyes that's a great help. Or you can put green tea tea bags on your eyes for a couple minutes.

Tip3: 

Hydrate your skin: this is key to healthy glowing skin.

Tip4:

 A great day saver for those of you who have had a little too much to drink and need to be up and jumpy: banana milkshake! Cure for nearly everything! Great for hangovers! This will give you all your energy back and restore magnesium! Also gets rid of muscle pains and cramps.

Tip5: 

This one is nothing most of you didn't know but of course it does the trick for covering up anything and everything: concealer and makeup! This will definitely be your best friend for the day. But I would only recommend this if you're going out for the day, otherwise you would be better off with a make up "free" day.

It is quite important that you all have one makeup free day a week! Your face and eyes need a rest from all your powders, foundations, creams, mascara, eyeliner and so on. Products strip off the natural oils from your skin just like hair. Oily skin for a day is actually a good thing. But if you cant stand it, like I, I love treating myself to great "at home face masks and scrubs," following up with a face massage and hydration. Doing this twice a week is great for your skin, I just never find the time to do it twice a week so I do it at least once a week and that's on a Sunday! Results: smooth, clear, cared for and glowing skin! I promise you'll all have angelic faces.

I hope my tips have helped and that this post was of use and a pleasure to read. I wish you all the best of luck for February and of course, lots of new posts!

[This is me alright - picture from here]*

Kisses -

cycy

#photoshoot I

* We're all in our private traps.... clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out 

- Sometimes we deliberately step into those traps

* I was born in mine; I don't mind it anymore

- Oh but you should, you should mind it

* Oh I do, but I say I don't

leather skirt jennyfer - waterfall cardigan H&M - scarf H&M - top zara 

kisses -

cycy

just back from ST. Tropez!

Hey my fellow bloggers. I would first like to add a few words before starting this post. First of all I excuse myself for my short absence, I have been busy with university exams. Also, I would like to thank you all for your support even throughout my absence, it means a lot to me.

Now, back to blogging. I'm just so excited to write billions of new posts and I'm thinking about sharing some new outfit posts! I hope that you're all as excited as I am and you're all looking forward to my new posts.

Today I thought I would finally share something special. Nowadays everyone wants a nice glowing tan. If you live in europe, it's quite hard to acheive that healthy glowing look when it's dark and rainy for 5 months!! Lucky yous, who live in places where it's sunny all year round.

How many of you girls have tried billions of self bronzers/self tanners but have never been fully pleased or satisfied with the result? Me! Many times, until I finally got down to try the St. Tropez self tan mousse. 

One word: ADDICTED.

To set things straight this is how it is: I have pretty white skin, but I tan easily. I was looking for a self tan that gave me a glow and a proper tan look and not make me look orange. I hated those self tanners that left streaks or wouldn't even last a day. So I opted for Dark from St. Tropez. 

Why? 

Because with light, you have to apply quite a few times before seeing any results as with dark you see it straight away. Instead of selftanning 5 times a week, with dark I only have to self tan 2 times a week. The second best thing about St. Tropez is that it doesn't leave you smelling like Indian food or something. (No offence to anyone, but that is the best described smell of the self tanners I can get). And third, the mousse is easy to apply and comes with a mit so your hands don't get all patchy and stained. With St. Topez I swear it's the closest I've ever come to for a natural beautiful fake tan.

My self tan routine:

• ALWAYS exfoliate before applying any self tan lotion/mousse. This helps prevent getting those horrible patches when self tanning. Exfoliating gets rid of all the dead skin cells.
• Moisturise elbows, knees, wrists and ankles. I like to moisturise my fingers, toes and in between them. Also moisturise any other area on your body which seems dry.
• Shake your st. Tropez mousse before applying with your mitt.
• key to good full coverage: go in long strikes and upward motion.
• Apply two pumps for lower leg and two for upper. So 4 pumps per leg. After doing the bottom half go with the excess over your foot and ankles and don't forget to get in between your toes.
• 2 pumps per arm starting with the top side of your arm first and then going under with the rest
• Claw your hand like a cat and go with the rest of the mousse on top and in between your fingers
• Then apply 5 pumps for the body. Divide it out a little, so do two pumps for stomach and lower back than two for top half. Then if you see a few gaps or you think you need more add a little pump.
• After you've done all that, you can take a wet wipe and wipe your palms and in between your fingers. For safety, moisturize your wrists and in between your fingers again just to be sure to not get any patchy bits.

Now the hardest part is doing your back so if someone can do it for you great, if you're very flexible even better. But for those girls who are a bit like me and can't reach that small area behind you well we're doomed! We have to go around with a tan free back haha. 

Right now I don't mind too much because it's winter and no one will see my back, but I'm going to have to think of a way to get my back!!

Leave the mousse on for a least 4 hours before showering for a good result. For better results leave on longer. When you shower you'll see a brown colour wash out but don't worry your tan is still there. That's just the guide colour.

For longer maintain of your self tan remember to exfoliate regularly and moisturise!

First impressions:

• Goes on very lightly
• Blends easily
• Look dirty in the beginning but after a few hours you'll look tanned
• One application with st tropez dark already gives you a beautiful colour!
• Doesn't smell in the beginning but throughout the day you do get a small smell of that typical self tan

Here you can see a difference between my neck (self tannend - 1 application) and my face (no makeup no selftan)

My legs - You can't see really well, I guess I should of taken pictures to show you a before and after. This is after one application. I'll take more pictures after a second to show you the difference.

If you take St. Tropez dark you will see a difference straight away. As with the light, you might need to apply a few times before getting an actual tanned look.

Which self tan do you girls use?

kisses cycybeauty!