The CLOSET CONFIDENTIAL TAG

I felt like doing a tag today and I recently saw this floating around YouTube so I thought I'd give it a go. It was created by Fleur, from Fleur DeForce and gives you a little insight into my closet.

1. What is the oldest item in your wardrobe/closet?
I am not completely sure about this one, but the dress with blue and white stripes from H&M must be eight to ten years old and it used to be one of my favorites. In the summer I still sometimes wear it, however as you can imagine it has gotten a lot shorter over the years.

2. What is the newest item?
Yes, it is a faux fur zebra print jacket from H&M. I do not know when I'm going to wear this but I just love it so much. I don't know, there is just something about it that really appealed to me. I think it can be worn many different ways: casual, with jeans and maybe a red lip or for a night out, over a little black dress.

3. What is the most expensive item?
I don't really know if this counts, because I don't exactly keep it in my closet. However, since I wear my Chanel glasses basically every day, I thought it would be acceptable. I adore them!

4. What is the cheapest/most affordable item? (that you wear/use a lot)
My H&M tank tops in black and white. Basic, keeps you warm and just very useful in general.

5. What was the biggest bargain?
I really can't remember this one. But I've wanted one of the HOMIÈS shirts from Urban Outfitters for ages and they are originally 40€ (which is equivalent to $55) and I think that is a little ridiculous for a simple black shirt. But then I spotted them on sale, 50% off and I grabbed the last one. So that was my recent bargain. I don't know if it was the biggest, but it was a good one anyways.

6. What was the biggest waste of money?
I really don't know what I was thinking back then. I got this brown dress for my "prom" when I was 13 and I've never worn it since that day. Why brown? 

7. Show us your three favorite items right now.

high waisted skirt form "Hallhuber", grey shirt with embellishment from "Aerie" (picked it up at "Winners")  

black bag with faux fur from "Zara"

Keep smiling,
xoxo

Pichen

#2 Music Monday

It's Music Monday here on Miss Pichen, you know what that means...
Today I have a recommendation for all the music lovers and worshippers out there. The 1975. Ever heard? If not, here we go: The british band, formed in 2002 consists of four guys. After having released four EP's throughout 2012 and 2013 the band came out with their debut album (The 1975) in September 2013, which landed No. 1 in the UK Album Charts one week later. Deservedly. I love every single song on the album, without exception. Though generally acknowledged as an alternative rock group, they have been influenced by diverse genres including electro-pop, electronic music, guitar pop and R&B. 

For the past few months The 1975 have definitely grown to become my favorite band. I cannot stop listening to their music and I never will.
So if you're open for some new tunes, check them out. Can't rave about them enough.

Keep smiling,
xoxo

Pichen

My LUSH Loves

Okay, let's just be serious for a minute. How amazing is LUSH? 
I've never really been aware of this brand and have just recently gotten into it. But, oh man, they got me. 
Their cosmetic is...
1. handmade out of fresh fruits, vegetables and essential oils
2. free of animal testing, 100% vegetarian, 83% vegan
3. 60% free of preservatives
All three criterions already sound really good to me. But now that I've tried a few products I'm convinced by the brand. Not only do their products smell delicious, but for me they all work as well. Since everything is made with natural ingredients it is very soothing and easy on the skin. 
My two current favorites are Grease Lightning and the Lip Scrub in Mint Julips. 

Grease Lightning

Grease Lightning is a gel that fights blemishes and spots. Some of the ingredients are thyme, rosemary and most important tea tree oil. Tea tree oil has a sanitizing effect and is indeed the most effective product to get rid of blemishes with. Whenever I have a spot (which we all do from time to time, so don't feel alone), I include this blemish gel into my skin care routine, at night and in the morning. Since it can be drying sometimes, I put it on before moisturizing and after cleansing my face. A tiny drop on the actual spot already works wonders. Say you were to have a big red blemish right on your forehead (haha, sorry for the horrible example) and you were to put on a little Grease Lighting before you go to bed. I promise you, the next morning, your spot will have vanished almost completely. If you are left with a little bit of redness, you could always use a tiny little bit of concealer to even it out. There is one downside to the package of this product. I find it difficult to measure the perfect amount with the pump. Sometimes, I end up having to smear the gel all over my face because I can't get it back into the bottle. Apart from that, I love this product and I would recommend it to everyone, especially teenagers (I know what I'm talking about, haha) who struggles with blemishes, no matter what skin type. 

Lip Scrub in Mint Julips

First of all, can we talk about how amazing the Mint Julips Scrub smells?! The scent was actually the reason why I bought it in the first place. It smells exactly like mint chocolates, like After Eight. So if you're a sucker for fresh and deliciously sweet flavors, you're going to love it. Especially, because it is made out of all natural ingredients, so that you can lick it off your lips after scrubbing them. The product mainly consists of sugar, jojoba oil, vanilla extract and peppermint oil and is completely vegan. It is perfect to scrub all the dead skin off your lips and because of the essential oils it makes them incredibly soft. It is not too rough on your lips either, but gives the perfect amount of exfoliation. I usually use it at night, before putting on a rich lip balm. In the morning, I wake up with super soft lips. Who doesn't want lips that feel like baby skin? 

Keep smiling,
xoxo

Pichen

#1 Music Monday

You might have heard this song before. It is from a band called "The Frames" and featured in the Irish movie "Once" (a very beautiful and heart-warming film, by the way). The band has been quite influential in the Dublin rock music scene since being founded by lead singer and guitarist Glen Hansard. They play a mixture of rock, indie rock and folk and have brought out six albums over the years. However, my favorite song still is "Falling Slowly", sung by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova for the movie "Once".
The original is very slow and pretty with a guitar and a piano as instruments. I do still really love the original, but I thought I'd put a new spin on it and do a little up-beat cover version. So here it is. Enjoy :)

You can also find it on Sound Cloud.

Ps.: I was thinking of making this a series. So every monday, I'm going to do a short post on something related with music. Either a song tip, or a cover or whatever comes to my mind?!

Keep smiling,
xoxo

Pichen

Maybelline Color Tattoos vs. Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow

Maybelline Color Tattoos vs. Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow

I'm going to kick this blog off with a post about one of my favorite and most essential beauty product of all time. Let's talk eyes!
Since I'm still going to school, and to be honest I don't really have time and patience in the morning to put on a lot of make up, a cream eyeshadow is a great option. Also, I don't fancy looking all dolled up for school, however, if I were to go out for drinks later I could easily dramatize my eye look by building up the product. 
The Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow as well as the Maybelline Color Tattoo are both perfect to slap on and quickly blend with fingers. Good to just wear on it's own with a simple make up look but also useful as a base for loose eyeshadows to stick to. Even though they basically do the same job, after testing them both out for a while now, I did develop a preference. 

The Maybelline Color Tattoo

In the pot, the consistency of this product is like every other cream shadow quite hard. However, the second you touch it with your finger it warms up and turns into a cream that is perfectly easy to blend. If I wear it on it's own I usually don't even need a brush to blend it. After you've put this baby on and it has dried, it is not going to budge!!!
I don't quite approve of the 24hr lasting power, which it claims on the package. But who wears an eyeshadow for 24 hours anyway? Based on my experience it usually lasts about 10 to 12 hours without creasing, which is a miracle with my eyelids. I seem to have super oily eyelids that's why I tend to still wear an eyeshadow primer underneath it. However, I'd say if you have normal eyelids you would be perfectly fine without a primer. Just depends on what you prefer. 

35-On and on Bronze

I own the color 35-On and on Bronze, which is the most perfect brown-ish bronzy tone and an easy day to day color. My other favorite is 70-Metallic Pomegranate. I don't think the name is all that fitting since it is more of a cranberry color. A dark purple with a touch of red and tiny gold particles running through it, but very easy to wear. So if you are scared of trying red eyeshadow, this would be a great option to test as a gradation of the scary color. 

70-Metallic Pomegranate

They are both eyeshadows with a subtle shimmer but very easy to wear and perfect for make up newcomers. In my opinion this does the job perfectly and is great value for money. 
Retail prize: $8,50, €6,99 (save 20% right here)

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow

Skinny Jeans

The Creaseless Cream Shadow has the same texture as the Color Tattoos, however I find that it is a littler harder to blend. With this one I need to use a primer and it still smudges so easily. After a couple of hours I usually notice some creasing going on already with this product, which is very disappointing.  It doesn't claim any specific lasting power on the package, however from a product with the name "Creaseless" shadow I would expect at least a few hours without creasing. Am I not right in that perspective?
I've only tried the color Skinny Jeans, which, I must admit is maybe not the right color to judge the whole range on. It is sort of a light grey shimmery shade which is too dark for me to wear on a day to day basis. I've had my eyes on the colors Birthday Suit and Bikini Tini for a while so I might look into getting them. I'll keep you posted.
Retail Prize: $26,35, €19,38 (buy right here)

All in all the Maybelline cream eyeshadow is the best drugstore one out there for sure and I would say it is great value for money. I prefer it over the benefit ones and I recommend you all to try it out :)

Keep smiling,
xoxo

Pichen