SMOONSTYLE

A little trip to the beautiful 'Altes Schloss' in Stuttgart is always a good idea. On Saturdays not so much, but let's just forget that it was a Saturday. It is almost impossible to get through the Königsstraße or to pay for your chewing gum at the DM (local drugstore).
Saturdays are the best days to avoid the city haha. I decided against that.

Two of my (many) favorite spots in Stuttgart are the 'Alte Kanzlei' and the 'Altes Schloss' (museum). The Alte Kanzlei is a lovely restaurant that has delicious Käsespätzle, which is a Swabian dish. You can compare to MAC and Cheese, but then with caramelized onions on top. Farts are included.

It is scrumptious and kind of feels like the seven lambs filled your stomach with stones. I do not recommend to go swimming afterwards, you might drown.

Take my advice and share a Käsespätzle dish with a friend. You can thank me later ;)

Always have to do at least one silly pose...

Photos by Ines and Madeleine

What better opportunity to rock a mermaid make up look than on the 70K Metal Cruise?

Our second show on the cruise, was on the deck and it was the windiest EPICA show ever! Some people misread my Instagram caption... I wrote that it was the windiest show ever, and that I wasn't talking about my bowel movement, not implying that I was sick with the stomach flue. My bowel movement was perfectly ok, just my sinuses were completely closed.

I opted to wait my hair up in a ponytail, which was a first for me in the history of EPICA shows. From previous experiences, I knew that the shows on deck were a battle with my hair that was constantly flying in my mouth, nose and eyes. It felt a bit weird at first, but I was glad that I did it.
Headbanging was a bit of a challenge, but I just made other moves while trying not to be blown into the sea.

The show was magical, one of my favorites ever. I didn't mind the wind, nor the humid air. The sky was clear and the moon shown down on us. Our music was carried over the ocean.

My sequin dress was my inspiration for my make up. I wanted to create an Orange Blue look to compliment my outfit.

One of my most bought shower oils has to be the almond shower oil from L'Occitane. Vincent also loves it too.

Many years ago I used the almond face cream, that unfortunately was discontinued.
I have used all products from the almond/Amanda range. This Travel Set has two hair products from this range that I have never seen anywhere else. So without thinking twice, I bought this Almond Escape Set for €35.

Perfect for the 70000 tons Metal Cruise. This scent reminds me of home and I like to have it with me when I travel. Too bad I left the shower oil at the hotel in New York :(

The shampoo and conditioner are lovely.
I am hoping that L'Occitane will release full size products soon and that they will also be available in Europe!


What are your favorite products from L'Occitane?

Before I bore you with my swatches, I'd like to direct you to Natasha Denonas website where you can find pristine swatches of the Love collection LOVE COLLECTION






For my eye look I started with 'Soul' in the crease. I deepened the crease with 'Heartbeat' and 'Heart'. I used a brown liner and topped it off with 'Commitment'. For the lower lash line I used 'Passion' and blended it with 'Soul'. On the mobile lid I used 'First'.

On my cheeks I am wearing the 'Glow Cream Base' and the 'Glow Impact Powder'.




The LOVE collection is now available online. Just in time for Valentine's Day ;)


Available here: NATASHA DENONA *






*PR Sample

Eyeliner can be so tricky, especially graphic eyeliner. After so many years of experience with applying make up, I still have bad eyeliner days. Lately I have refrained from wearing eyeliner because it would ofter cause frustration and I would rather skip it. Stay on the safe side and go without a liner.

When I saw Altair Flash from Linda Hallberg Cosmetics, the love of playing with colourful eyeliners returned. I started off with just the orange liner and then decided I was going to add a darker liner on top. I love how it turned out and can't wait to try more looks in the future. It is fun to play around with and remember, you can go as crazy as you want. You can wash it off at the end of the day.

Are you into bold eyeliner looks?



*Gifted

Open up, I am going to feed you some delicious food for breakfast!

Raiza and me met up yesterday at a lovely Italian pasta restaurant called MISI in Brooklyn. MISI is the 'sister' restaurant from LILIA. Apparently Lilia is booked for a long time in advance, after Barack Obama recommended the restaurant. MISI is a little bit more underground, but the food is just as scrumptious!

Luckily, my sinus infection has gotten much better, so my palette almost back and I can finally taste again! Hallelujah!! That is one of the worst things about being sick for food lovers like myself.

Raiza knew what to get from the menu from previous experience, so I fully trusted her to choose for me. We ordered two starters, along with two Aperol Spritz'. Gotta have that Aperol Spritz ;)



Thank you Raiza for a lovely dinner for breakfast with mouth-watering dishes!
I can wholeheartedly recommend Misi. It is a bit on the pricey side, but well worth it!

Misi New York

Raiza has one of the most contagious smiles in the world!

Delicata Squash

Spinach Mascarpone Tortelli

Sheep's milk Ricotta filled Occhi with lemon. Aren't these super cute?!

If you are in Brooklyn and you are a pasta lover, you will not regret paying a visit to MISI.

First blog post of 2020!

Happy New Year everybody!!!! All the best wishes to you, health and happiness for 2020!

On the first of January, I travelled to Amsterdam to join the group for our North- American DYU adventure. You might say I started the year of right, travelling on the first day of the new year.
New Years Eve was fun and most of all delicious. We spend it with friends and had a lovely Swiss cheese fondue. I made the dessert for the evening. It was an orange tiramisu. The recipe that I used was from Sally's Welt.

On the 2nd of January I met with the group at Schiphol. We had two flights ahead of us, going first to Toronto and then to Montréal. Our first flight was delayed by almost 4 hours, meaning that we missed our connection flight to Montréal. It was quite the adventure getting to Montréal. We arrived around 1.30 am Montréal time, completely exhausted.

The day of the show was hard for me, I was falling asleep in the restaurant while eating me dinner. Jet lag can hit you hard. The show was great, but in my mind felt like it was a dream. It was a sold out show and the audience pulled me through the jet lag.

On the 4th we flew to LA via Atlanta, two more flights and a lot of sneezes later I became ill. It starts with that soar throat, the excessive sneezing and tired eyes. I tried really hard to battle the first signs of a cold with all the natural remedies I knew, but it was too late.

Luckily the weather in LA was so nice, that I tried to get a lot of vitamin D. I had plans to go out and about in LA, visit my favourite Donut show (Voodoo Donuts), but decided to stay at the venue to rest and enjoy the sun.

Isaac and I grabbed my camera and had a spontaneous shoot in the back alley of the Regent. The sun was hitting just right and I love how these images turned out!

For the whole duration of the 70000 tons of Metal Cruise, I was really sick and had to medicate my way through the shows and the All Star Jam.

Keeping my fingers crossed that the worst is behind me. I am so happy that my voice is unaffected.

Hope you like the photos!









Photos by Isaac Delahaye
Edit by me

Oops, I did it again. After being so in love with Lisa's Velvet Morning, I decided to get more.
A new range with beautiful nudes was released and in a moment of weakness, I ordered two new gorgeous nudes. Velvet Fawn and Velvet Muse. They do look quite similar in real life and and on the photos, however, Velvet Fawn is much lighter and more nude than VM. VM has a touch of a terra-cotta red.

I had to restrain myself from using them before properly taking photos. Don't they look stunning?
So happy that I did make the splurge and got these babies. It is not the only splurge that I did.
A luxurious item that I have been eyeing for a while is a cream and powder eyeshadow 'Naked Bronze' from Tom Ford. When I was at a Sephora in Paris, I swatched a lot of products and decided to wait to buy until I would have a good online discount code.

The price is insane (€53,99), but you are definitely paying for the impeccable quality, instead of just for the brands name. Douglas had a 20% discount code, so I paid €43 in the end.
It still is a lot of money, but you get a lot of product that will last you a really long time.

The cream shade is so smooth and gorgeous on its own. When you top it off with the glitter powder eyeshadow, your look is complete. On my complexion it looked a bit cool. To warm it up a bit, I took a Real Technique Setting Brush and added bit of L'Oréal  Glam Beige in Medium/Light. That did the trick and tied the look together.

My choice of lipstick was Velvet Fawn. After I applied it, I defined the edges with a lip brush and also slightly overdrew my lips. This lipstick is long lasting, without drying out the lips.
Each morning, I always apply some lip balm in the beginning of my get ready proces. Like this the lips are nice and hydrated and ready to rock a matte lipstick.

What are your beauty splurges? What are your most expensive make up products, and are they worth the price? Let me know in the comments!

Douglas.de has a 20% discount code that is still valid today! Minimum order €59.
The images of the products are switched on the website fyi ;)

Velvet Muse and Velvet Fawn

A close up on how the 'velvet' look is created.