L'Oreal Infallible 24H Foundation

A few weeks ago I was arranging a makeup course for the moms in my baby group. I thought I'd head to the store and pick out some cheaper foundations than the ones I usually use.* But omg that was hard! Most of them were rubbish! Often too pink (I mean... who has that colour really?!) and the coverage sometimes non-existing. 

But then I found L'Oreal Infallible 24H Foundation which seemed promising. And I must say I think it's pretty good! It's got more coverage than I usually wear, I'd say pretty much full coverage. I bought the shades 120 Vanilla and 140 Golden Beige.

It's a matte foundation, and claims to be "touch proof". I really get what they mean because it's definitely drier on my skin than I'm used to which means it doesn't rub of so easily during the day. I usually leave foundation marks on my phone, on my sons clothes if I'm not careful and so on... But this foundation stays om better. Does it last 24 hours? Of course not. That would actually be weird... But it stays on pretty good during the day so definitely thumbs up from me.

And although matte it somehow gives you that little bit of glow as if it was a dewy foundation. Extra bonus points for that!

* Parents in Sweden have the right to a pretty long parental leave from work (we stay home at least a year), but that means a period of time with less income. That's why I wanted more budget options. 

Garnier Eye Make-up remover 2in1

My usual L'Oreal makeup remover was out of stock in the store one day and I reluctantly chose this Garnier Eye Make-up remover instead. I had very low expectations, but it was cheap and I thought it would do until I could buy my usual one again.

But omg... what a surprise! It's so gentle on my eyelashes and it removes my waterproof mascara so easily. This is actually the best one I've ever tried! Who knew?!?

It's just 35 SEK (which is about € 3,50 / $ 4 / £ 2,50) and you can find it in any supermarket (at least here in Sweden). So it's cheap, easily available and great! Love it!

Urban Decay at Kicks

Great news for all swedes out there! Kicks (the largest retailer of makeup in Scandinavia) have started selling Urban Decay! Let me just say: Yaay! Love it!

Kicks carry a lot of brands, some in stores and some just online (at least not all stores carry all brands). E.g. I can't get MAC at my local store, but they have a large range of their products online. I'm so happy that they decided to start selling Urban Decay as well and I have a sneaky suspicion I'll be doing a lot more shopping of Urban Decay products in the near future.

Company party with beauty gifts for the ladies

My husband works for a norwegian company and every year in January they organize a fancy party. We are treated to music, entertainment, good food, a hotel stay, and my favorite part: every lady gets a gift with beauty products! Yay!

It's called "Damegave" in norwegian, and basically means "gift for the ladies". The company is traditionally male dominated and somewhere a long the line in the company history someone came up with the idea of giving the wives a gift as a way of saying thank you for letting us borrow your husbands so much. Cute! :)

This year's gift was a hand cream and a lip balm from Decleor. Lovely!

I also want to treat you to some pictures of us at the party. 

My husband and I in our hotel room before the party.

My outfit.

 

At 24 weeks pregnant I'm getting huge!! 

The party was at the Quality hotel in Fredrikstad, January 10th.

I bought a pair of new shoes from Roots Exclusive for this occasion. I had to buy them one size larger than my normal size since my feet are so swollen from the pregnancy. Aren't they gorgeous?!

I bought them on sale at Eurosko for 620 SEK, which is about € 66 / £ 55 / $ 90.

Tigi Bed Head Colour Goddess

I thought it was about time I did a post on my favorite shampoo and conditioner. I simply adore my Tigi Bed Head Colour Goddess. I've used them for years and sometimes I make efforts to try other brands, but I'm always so disappointed that I come back to these without even finishing the other bottles.

It it just so amazing at taking care of your hair and leaving it naturally healthy and smooth, without weighing it down. I have fine hair, but a lot of it. And I simply hate (!) those silicony shampoos that make your hair smooth in that fake kind of way, which makes any attempt at keeping volume in your hair impossible. They just make your hair too soft. But not Tigi Bed Head Color Goddess, because it has that perfect balance for me.

This shampoo and conditioner is made for red heads and brunettes and claims to keep the color from fading and battles dryness. I have to be honest and say that I can't judge them on the color fading part since I've never had that problem. Color clings to my hair like crazy and fading isn't an issue for me.

Maybe it's unfair of me to review these products without having an opinion on one of the major facts they are made for, but they're just too damn good not to blog about.

And I haven't even mentioned the scent yet. Omg! I love it!! It smells quite distinctly of caramel/toffee which makes the experience even better for me.

So if your struggling to find good quality shampoo and conditioner that makes your hair feel naturally soft, but won't make styling impossible - why not give these a try. There's also a version for blonde hair called Dumb Blonde.

I usually buy these large bottles since it's so much more value for money. These cost about 400 - 450 SEK (for both bottles), which is about € 43 - 48 / £35 - 40 / $58 - 65.

Brighten my monday makeup

So today's a holiday in Sweden so there's no work. Not that I've been working for the last 3,5 months, but I'm feeling so much better now that I'm actually going to start working 25 % tomorrow. It's very grey here right now so I wanted to make myself a little pick me up makeup in more golden colors. Like it was summer... only with very pale winter skin... ;)

Skin: 

Dior Nudeskin mixed with Chanel Vitalumiere, Chanel loose powder, 

Benefit Hoola bronzer, Benefit Coralista blush.

Concealer: 

Clinique Airbrush and Eve Pearl under the eyes, 

MAC studio finish on the skin.

Lips:

Sleek Makeup Glossed lipgloss in Whisper.

 

 Eyes:

MAC Ricepaper, Woodwinked and Espresso eyeshadows, 

Maybelline The Rocket Waterproof Mascara.

Brows:

MAC Omega and Charcoal Brown eyeshadows. 

New Year's Eve

Me and my husband celebrate our wedding anniversary on NYE, which makes that day extra special for us. We had originally planned on going to Marbella in Spain because we love that place so much. We have access to a luxury apartment there, which makes me want to go there as often as possible. We had planned on going there for a few days around New Year and for another week in April.

But something happened that made us change our plans… that something is the little miracle growing in my belly. <3 I've wanted a baby for ages and are so happy about it that I don't care too much about having to cancel our two trips to Spain.

So instead we checked in at our favorite hotel in Gothenburg (Scandic Opalen) with spectacular views of the city. We went out for a delicious meal and stayed in bed the rest of the night watching fire works all around the city. The following day we saw the Hobbit at the cinema.

Here's our NYE in pictures.

 Getting ready...

The dessert was sooo good. 

Warm fried apples in cinnamon and sugar, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Yum!

Me and the love of my life. <3