Julia Graf for Manhattan Cosmetics

Today is a very exciting day, because I finally get to tell you about something really awesome! Manhattan Cosmetics, a super popular drugstore makeup brand that is sold in all German speaking countries, is going to release a special collection completely designed by myself and eight other Bloggers, based on NEW YORK CITY!!!

So this is obviously a huge project that takes a lot of time and coordination with many different people, and we started to work on our collection in May 2013 in Germany. And when I say we designed this collection, I mean we came up with everything. We got to figure out what products we want to release, the packaging and finishes we want, and of course all the colors.

To get inspiration for our NEW YORK collection, we traveled to the Big Apple last summer (we all nearly died during the massive heat wave they had there) and really got to explore. It was an exciting time where we took the chance to see many different parts of the city, took loads of pictures, and really let the atmosphere sink in. We stayed at the super hip and trendy Standard Highline Hotel in the Meatpacking district, which offered an open rooftop bar with a simply stunning view over the Manhattan Skyline. I felt like I was in my own version of Sex and the City...well, without the sex! Hahaha...

Getting picked up by stretch limos at the airport.

Trend scouting in the City

The next day we went to the exclusive Soho House and gathered all our creative juices and all the inspirations we had gathered from our time in the City, and created fantastic Mood Boards to narrow down our ideas and really focus on the important elements we wanted to incorporate into the collection. It was super exciting to put all our ideas into action and actually get to play around with products to see what would work together. It was also quite intense as we didn't have unlimited time, so the pressure was on to finalize things. 

Mood Board creation at Soho House

Gathering ideas and inspiration from our time in New York City

Hard at work...or hardly working? The former, I think!

Ani, Özi and Paddi at work

The next day we actually got to visit the laboratory where Manhattan products are produced, and this in itself was a huge honor. These labs are often extremely secretive when it comes to letting in people that are not direct employees of the company due to company secrets, and it was fascinating to see the science behind makeup, how all these random ingredients are mixed together to create a nailpolish, a lipstick, an eyeshadow. We actually got to mix the shades directly in the lab, and then tell the technicians - here, this is what we want please! It was so amazing to be so directly involved, and have complete creative control. 

Since then we've received samples of our products, and we've been allowed and encouraged to make any necessary changes. For example if the color was different than we imagined, if we wanted a slightly different texture, or anything else. It was a lot of coordination at this point because we all live in different cities, so we had to discuss any changes as a group online. It was tricky! I really think all the hard will will definitely be worth it. The products will be available in stores in August 2014, after more than a year long process. It's crazy to see how many steps are involved in the creation of a makeup collection, especially when there are so many people involved. But I can't wait to see the final product, and for you to all see it!

Here are links to all the lovely ladies who are also involved in the NEW YORK collection:

Theresa from honeyandmilk.net
Magi from magi-mania.de
Mira from funnypilgrim.de
Anna from fashionpuppe.com
Anni from fashionhippieloves.com
Jetti from chocolate-bit.ch
Özlem from fashionmonger.net

Paddy from www.innenaussen.com

Grazia magazine, a popular German fashion and lifestyle mag, has also reported on our upcoming collection! See the report here: Link

Of course a huge thank you to Manhattan Cosmetics for such a wonderful opportunity and for allowing us such immense creative freedom with our collection. More updates to come before the release date in August 2014!

German Christmas Markets in Munich #Holidaze

I recently spent two days in Munich with my boyfriend, exploring the city and taking in the beautiful atmosphere of all the Christmas Markets dispersed around the city. Munich in itself is a gorgeous city, but the cheerful and festive mood make it unforgettable.

Around the core of the Old Town, you will see lots of little markets selling a host of Christmas things: lanterns, handmade ornaments, wooden toys, nutcrackers, candles, nativity scene figurines, lambswool slippers, and a delicious variety of yummy treats. Everything from grilled Bratwurst with Sauerkraut on a crusty bun, steamed dumplings with vanilla sauce, sweet roasted nuts, spun sugar, hot mulled wine and so much more.

You can spend the whole day strolling around the markets, dipping into stores to do some Christmas shopping (Munich has absolutely fab shopping), then warming up with some Glühwein (mulled spiced wine) when you're cold, and downing a sausage when you're hungry.

It's truly a magical atmosphere, one that I tried to catch on my video! Definitely gets you in the mood for Christmas.

Have you ever visited a traditional Christmas market in Europe? Where did you go and what did you think of it? Or do you live in a town that has them every year?

Travel: Backpacking in East Indonesia

I've finally recorded my travel vlogs from my trip to East Indonesia in December 2012, and I wanted to share with you my impressions of the country. My boyfriend and I backpacked around the Maluku Islands region, which is a very remote part of the country that is largely untouched by mass tourism. We visited the Banda and Kei islands, where tourists are few and far between. If you want more information about this beautiful (albeit sometimes hard to reach destination) this is the best website with relatively up-to-date information: http://www.east-indonesia.info/

I included a lot of pictures in the video to make it interesting, but yes the vlogs are long! A lot happened, and I unfortunately ended up getting extremely ill at the end of my trip which forced us to cut out journey short to seek medical help. It was a nightmare ending to an otherwise adventurous and beautiful trip.

Part 2 goes into detail about what happened to me after getting extremely ill with Dengue Fever, a tropical disease transmitted through mosquito bite, and how we managed to make it home safely after what seemed like a nightmare week and a half.

Enjoy watching! Have you ever had a terrible experience in a foreign country, health or otherwise? What happened? Share in the comments!

A Foodie visits New York City! Travel Diary

This will most likely be one motherlode of a post, so here's the short version:

I spent a week in New York! I've uploaded four "Postcard" videos so far on my Youtube channel to give you a small impression. Here are the links:

Postcard 1: Arrival at the Hotel & Limo
Postcard 2: Fashion Night Out in Soho
Postcard 3: Ground Zero on 9/11 & Times Square
Postcard 4: Amazing Sushi and Fuerza Bruta show

I also uploaded loads of pictures of my trip on Facebook, click here to check them out.

Now for the longer version...

My boyfriend and I arrived at Newark on September 7 to sweltering heat and humidity and a painfully long security process at the airport. Security was bumped up because of the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, and it took us about 1 1/2 hours until we finally exited Newark. The wait was worth it - we got picked up in a Limo!! Inside cold beers and cokes were waiting for us, a welcome relief.

We sped off to the W Hotel located right in the centre of Manhattan on Lexington Avenue, it was quite posh! We were on a corner room on the 9th floor so we had a really cool view of the skyscrapers around us. We also got some Bliss products in our bathroom and they smelled so lovely, and I've forgotten how nice it is to have a housekeeper clean your room everyday and make your bed.

You can watch the video I filmed about our arrival, the limo, and a room tour of our hotel:

During our time in New York, I had some of the best food ever. New York is a great place that boasts restaurants of every culinary direction that you could possible imagine. From shops specializing in rice pudding to sushi to hamburgers, there's probably nothing you couldn't eat in New York. I threw my diet to the wind and ate to my heart's desire! (Although with all the walking and sightseeing we did, it balanced out.)

Where to start? From scrumptious breakfasts at our hotel...

...to amazing burgers at Joy Burger Bar in Harlem. This place is great! It's a small retro diner where you can build your burger to your taste - everything from the size of the patty, to the toppings and sauces. There are a lot of varieties to choose from! I chose one with mango chutney, garlic mayo, and sautéed onions along with the usual toppings, with a side of sweet potato fries. The fries were served with maple syrup, it was a bit too sweet for my taste, but the burger was so good!

My boyfriend went for the larges patty but was a bit more traditional on the toppings, but it was still good nonetheless. The fries were home cut and so yummy!

Since I absolutely love Asian cuisine, we gorged ourselves on Japanese and Thai food. First up was sushi at The Loop restaurant. The calamari was mediocre but everything else was delicious! They make a lot of interesting, non-traditional sushi rolls too, which I had never tried before. They do brisk business with delivery and take-out, but have a small but nice restaurant as well.

One of my favorite restaurants we tried was Yakitori Taisho because it was like stepping into a backstreet in Tokyo. Yakitori is Japanese skewered meat prepared fresh before your eyes, and everything we tried was freaking fantastic! The prices were very affordable, although they don't take reservations so you normally have to wait a bit for a table. We ordered a pitcher of Japanese beer for about $12, our bill at the end for 2 came to about $85 (but we seriously pigged out.)

Another great Japanese restaurant we tried was Sakagura, which serves Izakaya (Japanese tapas.) It wasn't as young and lively as Yakitori Taisho, the crowd was a bit older and more conservative, but the food was really good as well. They had a ton of sake varieties available!

One evening I met up with an old friend of mine who now lives in hipsterville Williamsburg, Brooklyn and he showed us around the area. We hit up Sea Thai restaurant, which was a very club-like atmosphere with a DJ, dim lights, great decor, all set within an industrial designed restaurant. The food was pretty good too, I had green papaya salad as a starter, then crispy duck as a main. Didn't like the cocktails so much, they tasted really sweet and chemical.

Another great place to grab a bit to eat in New York is the legendary Katz's Delicatessen in the Lower East Side. This place has been around since 1888 when it was founded by Russian immigrants, and everyone from Bill Clinton to Snoop Dogg has eaten there. The best thing to eat here is hands down the pastrami sandwiches, which don't come cheap starting at $15.75 a pop. They are actually quite huge, so my boyfriend and I shared the Reuben, which also has Sauerkraut and cheese on it. Definitely worth it though, the pastrami is mouth-watering and falls apart in your mouth.

I could probably go on and on about the amazing food in New York, but believe it or not, we actually did a lot of sight seeing as well!

I went to check out Fashion Night Out in Soho, where all the stores have special events going on in celebration of NY Fashion Week - celebrities at the stores, DJs playing club music, and all the display windows are elaborately decorated.

Watch my video to see what I wore for this special night out, and get an insight into the atmosphere!

Another really special trip was our day on 9/11, it was actually the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, so the whole city had special memorial services and events going on, as well as anti-war and anti-racism protests.

We started out on the Brooklyn bridge...

...then walked down to Ground Zero where I did a lot of filming to capture the atmosphere and the demonstrations.

It was a moving experience. Here are a few more pictures from that day.

 

In the evening we went to Times Square where I took this fun picture. There were tons of tourists there of course, but you can't leave NYC without seeing Times Square at night. I also did some shopping at Sephora for the voters giveaway and got some goodies. ;)

Some more pictures from various places.

We had a overpriced drink in Little Italy. What a tourist trap! I wouldn't recommend eating Italian food here, there's probably many better places around the city. The waiter assumed I was a New Yorker and he seemed surprised to see a "local" there. It was just ultra kitch, no real Italian-American flavor left.

Sweating in Central Park! It was so damn hot but what a lovely park in the middle of such a metropolis.

Elmo is my homeboy! Around Broadway area.

The WTC memorial lights made for some spectacular night sky photography...

Nighttime around Lexington Avenue.

Saks on Fifth Avenue:

Flatiron building:

We did a lot of shopping! I have a haul video coming up about that, but in the meanwhile, here I am goofing around at Century 21, a massive department store where you can get designer duds for less. You can get lost in there, there's so many floors!

St. Patrick's Cathedral...the lady in green had awesome hair!

 

 

We also went to see an amazing show in New York called Fuerza Bruta - it rocked! Best show I've seen since Cirque de Soleil. I filmed a lot, so make sure to watch my video to get an impression. I highly recommend you check it out if you're ever in New York, it's a wonderful collage of sensory, visual and acoustic performance. Loved it!

Overall this trip was a whirlwind of impressions, sights and tastes. I would love to go back someday, even if it's just for the amazing food and shopping! Thank you so much to the nail polish company ANNY that gave me this amazing prize, and to my voters who made this possible. I am eternally grateful.