Tutorial: Greek Goddess (Halloween)

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Halloween videos!! My favorite time of year, and I hope yours as well? For my first Halloween video this year I decided to go for this Golden Greek Goddess look. This costume idea can be used for a whole variety of Gods and Goddesses.

Watch my video tutorial to learn how to do the makeup, hairstyle, accessories and what costume goes with it.

Face
Kryolan Shimmering Event Foundation, L'Oreal True Match foundation, Sleek Makeup Glo Face & Body Highlighter in Peach Shimmer, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Global Glow, real gold leaf (craft store)

Eyes
MAC Uppity Fluidline, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Loose Color in Auric, Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Beguile, MAC Golden Lemon Pigment, MAC Blacktrack Fluidline, LitCosmetics liquid glitter base, Cinema Secrets cosmetic Glitter in Oscar, Illamasqua Precision Ink in Alchemy, Catrice Eyebrow Stylist Nr. 30, Amazing Shine Lashes Nr. 47, Rimmel Scandaleyes mascara

Lips
MAC Myth, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Loose Color in Auric, Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Beguile

Hair accessories
metallic gold spray paint, plastic vines and apples on wire, gold metallic glitter, L'Oreal Elnett hairspray, hair doughnut from Claire's Accessories

Nails
Orly "Glitz & Glamour"


What are you dressing up as this Halloween? Share in the comments!

Recipe: Autumn Pumpkin Salad

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I came up with this salad a while ago and have been making it on the regular - I just love early autumn seasonal produce like freshly harvested blue grapes, pumpkin, blue figs and red cabbage. I combined them in a salad with tomatoes and spinach, added some blue cheese, roasted nuts and seeds, and a nice dressing, and you've got a very filling and utterly delicious dinner salad.

I'm not very particular with measurements, as you can see in the video, so I'll try to write down about how much I used of each ingredient, but please adjust to your taste accordingly. You'll also just have to use however much salad leaves you think you can eat, as everyone is different.

Watch my video tutorial on how to create this dish!

Ingredients (Makes 2 large portions. For an appetizer this will serve 4.)
Fresh spinach
1/2 Hokkaido pumpkin 
Pumpkin seeds
Red Cabbage
2 Tomatoes
Handful of blue grapes
2-3 fresh figs
Handful of nuts (I used Hazelnut and Pecan)
150g of any kind hard blue cheese (for eg. Stilton or Roquefort)
Ras el Hanout & Curry mix spices

Dressing
2 tblsp. best quality extra virgin olive oil
2 tblsp. vegetable oil (eg. Canola, Sunflower)
1 1/2  to 2 tblsp. white balsamic vinegar (depends how tart you like your dressing)
1 1/2 tblsp. plain unsweetened yogurt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Salt & pepper
1 big garlic clove (minced)
Splash of water to thin sauce
Salad herbs (fresh or dried, for eg parsley, chives, basil, etc.)


1. Cut pumpkin in half & de-seed. Chop into bite-sized bits. Spread on a baking sheet and sprinkle with spices of your choice (I used Ras el Hanout and Curry) and a splash of inexpensive olive oil. Toss with your fingers, then bake in a preheated oven at 210 C / 410 F for about 20 minutes until the pumpkin is roasted and slightly crispy on the outside.

2. Coarsely chop up the nuts coarsely and roast in a hot pan without oil until toasted slightly brown. I added some pumpkin seeds to the nuts.

3. Wash spinach and chop up and slice all the vegetables and fruits. Whisk together all the ingredients of the dressing in a large salad bowl. Assemble all the fruits and vegetables on top. Sprinkle with the nuts and seeds, and crumble the blue cheese on top. Top with the hot roasted pumpkin. Mix the salad and serve immediately! Tastes phenomenal paired with a glass of red wine.

Let me know how you like this recipe! :)

Fall Fashion: Outfit Ideas

The good thing about the end of summer is the beginning of fall - which means fall fashion and style! I love this time of year, where it's not too cold yet so you don't have to bundle up completely, and you can really let your personal style show with accessories and outfit combinations.

Check out this video I put together of some of my favorite fall outfits that I can't wait to wear. Sheesh, did I ever sweat up a storm filming this! It's not very cold here yet, and doing all the filming, camera work, and posing without any help is quite a process, I tell you. Not so cozy to be bundled up in woolies when sweat is trickling down your back.

What I'm wearing...

Outfit 1: Smart Casual

Shorts: Forever 21
Tights: Can't remember where I bought these
Sweater: New Yorker
Blazer: Vero Moda
Leather purse: From the leather market in Florence, Italy
Shoes: Steve Madden (last season)


Outfit 2: The Statement Coat

Coat: asos.com
Jeans: Berschka
Tanktop: H&M
Scarf: Vero Moda
Shoes: Bull Boxer


Outfit 3: Street Chic

Leggings: Zara
Top: Vero Moda
Belt: Kult
Crop jacket: H&M
Scarf: New Yorker
Ring: Just Access from asos.com
Earrings: asos.com
Shoes: Vagabond
Purse: Sami Quilted bag from handbagheaven.com


Nailpolish

Illamasqua Charisma

Taylor Swift Makeup Tutorial

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Today I'm recreating Taylor Swift's signature look, inspired by her perfume ad for Wonderstruck. It's her first perfume, and is newly released on the European market. Wonderstruck is a very fruity-floral combination, and I'm sure than many of Taylor's fans will absolutely love this scent. Here's a picture of Taylor at the Wonderstruck release for Macy's, which is one of many images I based this off.

I had so much fun filming and shooting this look. I grabbed my camera, my tripod and remote control, and got creative outdoors! I even had a few curious onlookers, check out my video for a snippet at the end.

Here's the tutorial!

Let me know how you like this style of filming? I personally think it's a lot more fun than just sitting at home, I love being outdoors, especially when the weather is nice. I have a lot of ideas for upcoming videos - Switzerland has some beautiful locations for shooting. Heck, film crews from Bollywood fly over from India to film here all the time, and I've got it right at my doorstep. I should take advantage!

Face
L'Oreal True Match foundation, L'Oreal Visibile Lift foundation, Ben Nye Natural Blush, Make Up Store Cover All concealer

Eyes
Mabelline On and On Bronze Color Tattoo, L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Hourglass Beige, Catrice Starlight Expresso, MAC Shroom, MAC Feline kohl pencil, MAC Blacktrack Fluidline, Red Cherry Lashes (not sure which number),

Lips
MAC Red Enriched Lipliner, Giorgio Armani Rouge d'Armani 400

Nails
OPI Malaga Wine

Review: Hermes L'Ambre des Merveilles

Hermès has released a new perfume, called L'Ambre des Merveilles, which translates to The Amber of Wonder in English. By amber they mean the amber stone created from the resin of trees, fossilized over many thousands of ears within the Earth. The bottle above (100ml Eau de Parfum) resembles the stone, and stands leaning slightly to the side.

Amber

The perfume was created by the perfumist Jean-Claude Ellena, who wanted to create a decidedly feminine note without floral elements, rather with woodsy elements. The scent is a mix of vanilla, Patchouli and Labdanum, the latter of which is a sticky brown resin attained from rockrose shrubbery, often used for perfume. Perfumes that are named after amber don't actually contain the precious ingredient, but is often used to describe the type of scent created by mixing vanilla and Labdanum, which creates the honey-amber-colored perfume.

So what do I think of this scent?

I admit I was skeptical at first, because Hermès is not the type of brand I would ever choose to describe my personality. I always picture rich old ladies shopping there for purses and scarves; however, I also associate it with timeless, classic style and sophistication. This is exactly how I would describe the scent.

It is a beautiful perfume that is very elegant, high-class and sophisticated, without being edgy, cool or adventurous. It is feminine without being baby-ish, grown-up without being stuffy, elegant without being cloying. It might not be the first perfume I would grab off the shelf to buy, but it has definitely grown on me and I would wear this on a night out when I want to feel like a perfect lady. The lasting power is also incredible, since it is an Eau de Parfum, not an Eau de Toilette. A little goes a long way and lasts for many hours.

Two negatives: For one, it doesn't come with a proper bottle cap. There was a round plastic tube "thingee" supplied with it, but it's not a proper cap. So you cannot really close the perfume bottle for traveling, which is a nuisance. I like to take my perfumes with me for touching up, so unless you fill this into a travel size bottle, you run of the risk of it accidentally spraying in your bag. Definitely a "leave at home" bottle then. It struck me as very odd.

Second - well, let's face it: The Price! Hermès isn't exactly in the same price category as Bath and Body Works, or even mid-range perfumes like D&G or Boss, etc. I only was supplied the prices for the Swiss market (50ml Eau de Parfum 128 Swiss Franks, 100ml Eau de Parfum 182 Swiss Franks) but I imagine the prices are pretty high for other countries as well. The question then becomes, are you willing to pay for Hèrmes prices, or are you able to find another similar perfume in a slightly lower price class that you like equally?

If you like grown-up (but not old-lady) perfumes and don't mind spending a bit more for Hermès, I would definitely check this one out.

What is your favorite perfume for fall and winter? Share in the comments!

Tutorial: Ombre Lips

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I love ombre lips, more than actual ombre clothing which I'm not a massive fan of. They are so beautiful and eye-catching, and allow you to use several colors on your lips at once.

See my tutorial below for three different color combinations I like, and there's even a nude option for the shy, or if you just don't like strong lip colors. You will be bang on trend for fall with these stunning lips.

Lip Combo 1: Tropical Orange
Illamasqua - Atomic (top lip)
Make Up Store - Dare (bottom lip)
MAC Beet lipliner

Lip Combo 2: Vampy Red
MAC Bing Mattene (LE) - (MAC Cyber is a good alternative) (top lip)
Giorgio Armani Nr. 400 (bottom lip)
MAC Velvetella Lipliner

Lip Combo 3: Nude
Afterglow Cosmetics - Allure (top lip)
MAC - Myth (lower lip)
Rimmel nude lipliner

Nailpolish
Illamasqua - Rampage

Do you like the ombre lip trend? How would you wear it? Let me know in the comments!

Food Porn: This is How I Roll!

I've been on a healthy food kick again since the end of August - not that I was pigging out before but I've been really inspired to try out new combination of foods and use ingredients I've not tried yet. That might be a bit hard because I think I've tried every single vegetable and fruit that is for sale at our huge grocery store.

My mission is to find Kale. It's pretty hard to find here in Switzerland, even though it's a very common form of cabbage. It's one of those superfoods, chock full of antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and even protein! Anyone living in Switzerland seen it somewhere? I really want to try it!

Here's some food porn as inspiration to kick-start your own weight loss and/or health journey. These are all pictures of food I have cooked, from my Instagram stream  - which you can follow me by the way under my username mizzchievouz, or on Tumblr.

  

I've been making an effort to eat less meat, and more vegetarian meals. Since I try not to eat too many refined carbs, I opt for legumes or root vegetables, which are filling and delicious. I don't have specific recipes for the above dishes; my method is more like, "throw a bunch of veg and salad together, add some protein and done." The more colorful and varied, the better. There's nothing worse than boring food, boiled in water. Yuck! I love to work with fresh herbs and spices to add a lot of natural flavor to my dishes, instead of using ready-made dressings and sauces which are often chock full of sodium and sugar anyway.

What are your health goals for fall? Share in the comments!

Review: Illamasqua Generation Q Collection

Hello dear Readers!

Today I've got some bits and pieces from the Illamasqua Q (Fall/Winter 2012) collection. The collection slogan is "Where Beauty has no Age Limits" - one that I find very empowering. Generation Q is a celebration of beauty, regardless of age and restrictions. Beauty is not young or old, black or white, male or female, but includes everyone.

I absolutely love that they have used models from all different walks of life and of all age classes. Here are some backstage pictures from the shoot of a few of the models, as Creative Director Alex Box works her magic. I applaud Illamasqua for not photoshopping these gorgeous women half to death in the final promo pictures to magically get rid of all wrinkles!

Now on to the collection, which encompasses two eyeshadow palettes, two lipsticks, two lipglosses, two nailpolishes, two powder blushes, one liquid eyeliner, and one cream highlight product. Here are some of the products I have to show you.

Left to Right: Intense Lipgloss in Opulent, nailpolishes in Charisma and Creator, and Aurora Gleam (cream highlighter)

Gleam in Aurora

Aurora swatched

First up: Gleam. It's described as a lightweight compact highlighter, with an iridescent formula. I haven't played around with this too much but it feels a bit greasy. I'm not sure how well I will fare with this as I generally use shimmering powder highlighters, so this will be something different. I can see how it could add a wet look to the skin, which looks good on older skin, but it could also look a bit oily if you already have oily skin to begin with. To be honest, it's a bit underwhelming if you ask me.

  Charisma & Creator

Creator & Charisma

The polishes look absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to wear them! I've never been disappointed by an Illamasqua nail polish yet, and these look so wonderful for fall. Charisma has a beautiful raspberry-magenta shimmer, and Creator is black with a lot of silver glitter.

Opulent Intense Lipgloss

Above you can see a swatch of the Intense Lipgloss in Opulent. This is the one products where my immediate reaction was, "Oh HELL no!!" I have several Intense Lipglosses by Illamasqua and they are all that - lovely, intense glosses that apply like liquid lipsticks. This one has barely any color pay-off, the rainbow shimmer is barely discernible. This could be applied over another nude lipstick, but by itself it's a bit bland.

Now here's the real doozy - the packaging. Illamasqua have recently repackaged some of their products (I know of the nail polishes and the lipglosses) and wow, major downgrade! The bottle for the lipgloss looks and feels like a cheap lipgloss you might expect from the dollar store, and the brush head is just terrible. As you can see from the above picture, the fibers of the brush wand are spiky, stiff, plastic-feeling, and not uniform. It's an absolute pain to apply this gloss on the lips - to me, this is definitely not on the level of a department store lipgloss.

They have also repackaged the nail polishes. Because of the square bottle head, you used to be able to take off the top cap and re-align it so it's flush with the sides of the bottle when screwing closed. Now, you can't do that anymore, so you end up with a bunch of square heads that often won't align with the polish bottle. It's ugly and annoying for storing.

I really dislike these changes the brand has made and think it has downgraded the overall appearance and usability of the products. Illamasqua, please go back to the old packaging, or find a better bottle for your lipglosses. These wands are just awful!

In conclusion, I really like the polishes, am a bit underwhelmed with the Gleam, and completely dislike the lipgloss due to terrible packaging. The eyeshadow palettes look absolutely beautiful from what I have seen.

You can see the full collection on the Illamasqua Website. They also ship internationally.

Website: Illamasqua Generation Q

Will you be picking up any of the products? What do you think of their promo images and all-inclusive age campaign? Let me know in the comments!