// ON TOUR: Packing for Chicago

Hello Internet!

It‘s me, ya girl. 

I‘m currently sitting in a Starbucks in my town having breakfast after getting a few of my travel essentials at a drugstore and thought: why not blog about my travel preparations and the trip itself? 

So here I am, taking you from Germany to the USA and back!

The first thing I did was setting up a packing list in my bullet journal. I never know what to pack and once I‘ve left the house, I keep wondering whether I packed everything I‘ll need. To take that fear away from me, I checked some blogs, Pinterest and my own list that I made last year. Since I always include whole travel spreads in the journals I use at that moment, that’s exactly what I did this time as well!

Here‘s the one I came up with. Feel free to use it for yourself as well. :)

I‘ll be in Chicago for 11 nights so I‘m traveling with two suitcases. Like, a big one and a smaller carry on and I‘m always kind of struggling when it comes to that because I usually travel alone and I‘m quite short so I needed something to help me handling two suitcases that often like to just roll away on public transportation. On Amazon, I found a set of belts that will let me put the carry on on top of the suitcase. That way, I can walk and just care about not letting go of the bigger case and it will also save some space on trains and busses. The set included two straps and two additional belts and I thank god for that because I should’ve checked my suitcase before ordering blindly. The carry on doesn’t fit right on top of the other because of its height and without the belt, I wouldn’t know how to make the straps work.

So all in all, the „construction“ would look like this:

Now to the „fun“ part: actual packing.

When it comes to packing, I figured it helped me to put everything I want to take with me on a pile. One pile for each piece of luggage I‘m taking. So for this specific trip, I‘ll have three piles:

1. Suitcase

2. Carry On

3. Backpack

Then, I work myself from smallest to biggest luggage. Just because that way I can still sort out stuff from one pile to another. And I‘ll be able to put stuff that didn‘t fit in the carry on and backpack in the suitcase as well as making last minute decisions to not take specific items with me.

So, the first thing I‘ll pack is my backpack.

Did I get it specifically for this trip? Yes.

Do I regret it? HELL NO.

This Seventeen London backpack is amazing! It‘s waterproof, which my beloved Kanken isn‘t and that was pretty much the most important point why I bought it. You never know what the weather will be like in Chicago so having a durable backpack was important to me. Plus, it‘s not much bigger than the Kanken which makes it perfect to take on a plane with you. Another thing that I liked about it was that there’s a zipper on the back of it so you can access it with the top still folded and people can‘t put their stinky fingers in it to grab your wallet. Another thing that surprised me was the padded notebook compartment. It‘s soooo soft! 

And no, I‘m not sponsored by them, I had to pay for it. I‘m just really in love!

As I only pack stuff I‘ll need fast access to in my backpack, I‘m packing the following:

• Passport
• Important documents + copies (booking confirmations, healthcare card, ID, vaccination record)
• Wallet with cash and cards
• Liquid bag
• Charger + adapter
• iPad, iPhone and AirPods 
• Bullet Journal and pencil case/pen
• My meds
• Water bottle
• Brolly
• Tissues
• Wet wipes/deo wipes (which do NOT have to go into the liquids bag)
• Stuff to do on the flight (colouring book? Book? Maybe Netflix downloads?)
• Hairbrush
• Some toiletries

Now onto the carry on. I do have two of them so I‘ll decide last minute which one I want to take with me. I really want to take the Steve Madden one this time but the Harry Potter case does hold a bit more stuff.

As for my carry on, I like to pack a few outfits. So for like 2-4 days just in case something happens to the suitcase i dropped off at the check in. I’m a bit paranoid about this but when my brother and dad went on a trip a few years ago, their luggage got lost and whereas my dad had his after about 4 days, my brother only got his a few days AFTER he returned home.

What I pack:

• Shirts
• Jeans
• Leggings
• Pjs
• Socks
• Underwear
• Makeup bag + brushes
• Chicago Guide
• Hair accessories 

It‘s really not a lot but as I said: it‘s like an emergency packing. 

Nearly done now! Onto the final piece: the suitcase!

I don’t know what else to say than: Just put everything else you want to take in here.

This includes (but is not limited to):

• Shirts
• Cardigans
• Jeans
• Leggings
• Underwear
• Socks
• Curling iron
• Shampoo
• Shower gel
• Face creams/moisturizer 
• Earrings
• Laundry bag
• Jumpers
• Toiletries

And we D O N E :)

I could end right here but I won‘t. When it comes to putting together lists for toiletries and the liquids bag, I always felt like something was missing when taking inspiration from different websites. So since I listed everything else beautifully, I‘ll do that for toiletries, my makeup bag and the liquids bag as well.

Let‘s start with the toiletries:

• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Dental floss
• Tweezers
• Eyelash curler
• Face wash
• Face scrub
• Creams and moisturizers 
• Toner
• Cottonpads
• Curling iron
• Deo
• Perfume/body spray
• Makeup remover
• Razor
• Wet wipes
• Hair ties and bows
• Headband
• Bandaids
• Shampoo 
• Showergel
• Hairspray

Liquids

• Foundation
• Concealer
• Browgel
• Small shampoo/showergel
• Mascara
• Sanitizer (Hi corona, how are ya?)
• Moisturizer
• Toothpaste
• Inhaler
• Primer

Makeup Bag:

• Brushes: powder, blush, contour, highlight, eyeshadow
• Sponges
• Foundation
• Concealer
• Primer
• Fix+
• Eyeshadow
• Eyeshadow base
• Highlighter
• Contouring powder
• Blush
• Mascara
• Browgel
• Eyeliner
• Lipbalm
• Lipscrub
• Lipstick
• Mirror

I‘m aware that I listed a few things twice but that‘s where you have to decide what you‘re taking with you and if you can live without stuff like foundation for a few days if your suitcase may take some time to get to your hotel. I can‘t, that’s why I‘m taking mine in the liquids bag.

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// FIRST IMPRESSION: Thirsty Palette by Jeffree Star Cosmetics

Heya Internet! How are we doing?

As I promised in my previous post, I‘ll blog more often from now on! So that’s what I‘ll do today!

I recently used my Thirsty Palette by JSC for the first time even though I had it on my vanity for almost a year now. I just never got around to diving into it with work and simple tiredness dominating my life. Since I‘m slowly reclaiming my life again, I did find the joy of doing my makeup again as well! So I grabbed the palette and just.. started.:D I made a TikTok while doing that which will be at the end of the post.

So, shall we start? Y E S!

The palette:

I bought this palette at the Morphe Cosmetics store in London for about £45, if I remember correctly.

It‘s good quality with barely any fallout. I wouldn‘t say that the shadows in my palette are as creamy as they are in other JSC palettes I own, but I don‘t know whether this is usual for Thirsty or if it‘s because it‘s been sitting around for a while. Colour payoff is great, though. And they blend like a dream!

Here‘s the look I came up with:

I‘m sorry that this photo is not a professional one but rather taken using my iPhone. I do not have my DSLR at the moment. :/

Since I‘m having way too much fun on TikTok at the moment, I keep making some myself. Drawing, colouring, journaling... doing my makeup... :D here‘s the one for the Thirsty palette:

I‘m not sure if blogger will let you watch the video I uploaded, but I‘ve got you! Here‘s the Link :)

To wrap this post up, I‘d say that Thirsty is an overall cute and well thought out palette with colours that go really well with each other. If you want it and can still get your hands on it now that JSC discontinued it and these are your colours: buy it. However, I don‘t think you‘re missing out if you don‘t have it. I for myself am not sure, how often I‘ll use it from now on. I have a lot of eyeshadow palettes by now, nearly all JSC has released and I rather use those than Thirsty. Jawbreaker is my holy grail!

I‘ll see you guys in the next post! Stay cool!

X

// Still alive and finally well

Hello people of the Internet!

It has been a while since I last posted on here. A while as in 4 whole years!

And let me tell you: a lot has been going on since then! I moved to England for a year after school, came back, started Uni, left uni without getting a degree because I realised I didn’t want to do this for the rest of my life, I went from working part time to working full time at the green apron coffee company, ended up in a hospital for two months and just recently left my job to learn how to be myself again. Did I ever forget about my blog? No. I have so much to write about, I could probably post about that for 4 more years. But will I do that? Probably.

Lately, I‘ve been getting a lot of emails from Bloglovin as it seemed like my blog caught some attention and I gained a few more followers. HI EVERYBODY! How are you doing? You guys are basically the reason why I finally caved in and ended up posting again! 

This post marks the beginning of a new era on here. I will start posting about makeup again, as I intended and did when I first started. But I will include some posts about mental health and my puppy as well! I‘ll basically post about whatever comes to my mind and I‘m really looking forward to doing this again! A huge part of the next few posts will probably be my trip to Chicago this month! If you guys have any wishes/ideas you want me to write about, just let me know!

Here‘s to new beginnings!

X

// Review: The most hyped eyebrow product ever

Hi guys!

As you've probably seen in my post about my new babies (aka my Anastasia Beverly Hills contour kits), I also ordered one of the ABH dipbrow pomades.

And yes.

It is worth the hype.

I ordered the dipbrow pomade and the ABH brush 12 along with the contour kits on beautybay.com.

Before ordering, I did a bit of research as I wasn't too sure about which shade I should get. My eyebrows aren't blonde or brown so I had to get something in between. A shade not as dark as the NYX eyebrow pomade in "Chocolate" which I've been using for a while now.

So for me, it was pretty obvious that I should get the ABH pomade in "Taupe" but it was kind of hard to find some reviews of taupe that didn't only include a swatch but also a pic of someone wearing it.

Long story short: The only thing I found were swatches. That's why I'll put a pic of me wearing it at the end of this post.

I'm in love with this.

You don't need a lot of product and you can blend it easily.

And it's not too dark. For me, it's perfect.

I tried to take pics of a swatch that show the "real" colour but it's kind of hard. So, if your eyebrows are neither blonde nor brunette I would definitely recommend the ABH pomade in "taupe".

As swatch:

On your eyebrows:

(it's a bit blurry and yes, it's a pic I posted before but I'm not good at taking selfies haha)

// Review: BHcosmetics vs Sleek

 

G'day Internet.

I'm back with another review, or, this time, I would call it a competition. (yea, let's just pretend it isn't Valentine's Day)

BHcosmetics vs Sleek

First, you need to know that when Urban Decay released their Electric palette, I fell in love.

Those colours. Those bright, bright colours.

And that price.

You know, I own two Naked palettes but you can use those colours every single day but as long as you don't want to be an eyecatcher, like literally, or if you don't go clubbing regularly, 47€ is just way too much money. Eventhough UD is worth it.

Anyway, I knew I needed some bright colours along with my dark and nude shades so I ordered the BHcosmetics "Take Me To Brazil" palette (10,95€) and the Sleek "Ultra Mattes v1 Brights" palette (9,90€, both on kosmetik4less.de)

So, you get 30 colours in the BHcosmetics palette and 12 in the sleek one.

Below you can see some swatches. I used my ZOEVA eyeshadow primer.

Sleek palette:

The pink, purple and blue shadow on the right are the shades itself on the primer, the three on the right are on top of a white eyeshadow. I used the NYX jumbo eye pencil in "Milk".

BHcosmetics palette:

Same as for Sleek: only primer on the left, "Milk" as a base on the right.

I highly recommend a white eyeshadow base if you ever want to use such colours. That's the point of bright eyeshadow. You want the colours to pop!

So, the best way to really "test" bright eyeshadow is by creating a rainbow eye makeup.

Therefore, I used similar colours from each of the palettes.

Sleek

BHcosmetics

Left: Sleek

Right: BHcosmetics

Both palettes are great, you can't deny that.

The colours blend in easily and you can create various different styles.

But anyway, my fave is "Take Me To Brazil" by BHcosmetics. 30 shades for less than 1€ more than you would spend on the Sleek palette and their pigmentation is a bit better than the Sleek ones.

//Photo Series: My new vanity

Hi Internet,

I hope you guys are okay as I am ill. Again. Probably because school is stressing me out so much.

Oh well, just a few more weeks and I'm done.

Anyway, during my winter holidays I finally had enough time to assemble my vanity area and, as it's my favourite part of my room, I thought I should share some pics with you :)

I love it.

Haven't put all of my makeup in the drawer yet, and I probably won't just because it looks so clean right now haha 

// First impression: Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit

Hi, hey, hello Internet.

I'm back again. Well, for a while.

School is just very time and life consuming at the moment that's why I haven't posted for what felt like ages. But on the bright side: there are only like 6 weeks of school left. And like 8 until my exams. But I promise, once they are done I'm going to post regularly. (I know I said that before but you know, school is my number one priority at the moment.)

You guys probably know about my obsession with makeup so you won't be surprised if I told you that I bought quite a lot of new stuff during my absence. And I got some makeup for Christmas as well. Like the ABH Self-Made eyeshadow palette. Yes, I cried. :D

But today I want to tell you about the Anastasia Beverly Hills contour kits which I ordered about a week ago and received them after only 6 days. Well, it would've been 4 days but there was a weekend and concerning that it has been only 4 days, it was here faster than the shop, beautybay, said on their website. Thumbs up for that!

I also ordered the Dipbrow Pomade and the eyebrow brush (but there's going to be another post about that).

I got the cream contour kit in Fair, the lightest one, as highlighters so far never really worked on me and I can tell, this kit is the answer to all my prayers.

I tried it for the first time the other day and this cream contour kit is my holy grail already. I always wanted to try cream so seeing an ABH kit suitable for my skin tone was freaking awesome and I actually didn't mind spending 46€ on it. And I usually regret buying more makeup really fast haha

The highlighters really DO highlight my face. They make your cheekbones, bridge of the nose and forehead pop! The contour shades are a bit more ashy than in other contour kits and that's just another pro if you're looking for other arguments.

They also blend in so easily!

The only thing I don't really get is the "white highlighter" in the middle.

Whereas the other shades, contour and highlight, are richly pigmented, this is just like... nothing. It actually makes your cheeks or nose look wet. 

But 5 out of 6 shades are awesome anyway and I recommend this to everyone who wants a great cream contour kit.

Highlighters (left to right): Soft Light, Lustre, Fair 

Contour shades (left to right): Fawn, Shadow, Mink 

The powder contour kit was 46€ as well and I got it in case I wouldn't be able to handle cream contour.

And also because I wanted something different for my everyday contour.

I've been using my smashbox contour kit for almost one year now and yeah... I got tired of it so I needed something new.

The powders blend in perfectly and they're just as richly pigmented as the ones in the other kit.

I don't regret buying this one as well and if you prefer contouring using powders, you should definitely get one of these.

Highlighters (left to right): Vanilla, Banana, Sand

Contour shades (left to right): Java, Fawn, Havana

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