Rituals is one of my favorite brands. Their shower foams are cult items and feel so luxurious even though they are not that expensive. They have expanded their range and totally got me hooked on the Organic White Lotus and Yi Yi Ren scent. Too bad that the shower foam has green tea, which funny enough is not so much my cup of tea.

I got this body cream at the airport in Schiphol where I got a nice discount.

During my stay in New York, I also saw a shop! Rituals is a Dutch brand and I am happy for them that they are getting really popular!

Did any of you try out some Rituals goodies?

Price: 200 ml €15

www.rituals.com

One of my purchases in the States is this gorgeous nail polish from Sally Hansen - 450 Kook a Mango.

Although it doesn't come close to the color of a mango, it is a great warm, soft neon pink for spring. The neon level is just about right, it doesn't hurt my eyes.

What I love is that the brush is super wide.  It's opaque and has a creme finish. Two coats and you're good to go! 

For almost 15 ml you pay around $7. 

What are your favorite spring colors?

Let me begin by telling you that I love multi purpose beauty products, or how I like to use them for more than just what they are categorized for. For example: a lipstick as a creme blush, hand cream to take away the frizziness of my hair, aspirin to take away the redness in pimples and more.

For years I have been using blushes as eyeshadows and now I have found the perfect eyeshadow that works great as a blush too. A huge bonus; it is tiny and great for traveling.

I am talking about a new Catrice eyeshadow 'Payapa don't Preach'. A great name for all those that love Madonna, peaches and papaya's @Funnypilgrim.

Since a while I have been searching for a nice peachy, salmony eye shadow. In my collection there was not that particular color that I wanted, but thanks to Catrice I now have it!

For €2,79 a great two in one product. Perfect for spring and summer, even though I love this color all  day every day, eyes, lips, face and clothing.

Don't you just love it when you find a great beauty product that is affordable? 

After all those colorful make up looks for the Epica video and promo tour, I was up for a natural look that is created within 5 minutes and makes me think that I've slept more than just 5 hours.

I have been rocking this look all week with Burts Bees Rose tinted lip balm. Today I wanted a more peachy lip and searched through my collection.

The Look

First there was Clinique that launched the Chubby Sticks. Soon all the other brands followed.

There are tints, lipsticks, lip butters, lip balms, every lip product in chubby stick shapes, you name it. My first Astor Lipbutter was 005 Pretty Poppy, a lovely orange coral. For some reason it emphasized the dry patches on my lips and I always needed to give my lips a good scrubbing before using it. Lazy as I am, it ended up in my drawer. 

Limited editions always get to me. The second lip butter was 020 Flirt Natural, a my lips but better color. The texture was better than Pretty Poppy and I was positively surprised. 

Soon my eyes wandered to the other colors in their normal range and before I knew it, Loved Up ended in my basket and I did not regret it. It is a soft nude with pinky undertones and a nice metallic sheen that won't make you look like Miss Doubtfire. 

They are moisturizing, comfortable and super glossy. Exactly what they write on the packaging.

The shape is like a lipstick, so the application is really easy. Only little downside is that the description wears off super fast. They could also just be in a lipstick packaging, but the hype is what catches the eyes and makes you buy them. ;)

The price is around €5 which is great! 

Do any of you own any lip butters, and what are your favorite brands? 

As promised a little London haul for you!

London is one of the best places to go beauty shopping. They have lovely high street products. I really wanted to get the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer since so many people raved about it and I am always on the search for the perfect concealer. I went to a couple of Superdrugs and Boots to find it. They are sold out almost everywhere! I did succeed after a while and got some other beauty products as well.

Not on the picture, but in my tummy are the Cadbury chocolate eggs. Yummy!!

Long time no see!

Things have been so crazy lately. Epica is in full promo mode and little Vinnie is taking up all of my time. I can't believe he is already 5 months old. At this moment he has 6 teeth and loves to bite me. Even though I repeatedly tell him that mommy is no food, he disagrees.

The Quantum Enigma release is coming closer. Today we rehearsed some acoustic tracks and tomorrow Mark and I will fly to London for two days of promo. Really love London and hope that I can also do some shopping and eat my Ginger Chicken Udon at Wagamama.

Are there any beauty must haves that I have to get while being in London? I already have my list. Curious about the Charlotte Tillbury line. Let's see if I even have time to quickly sneak out.

Beauty posts are coming your way. Maybe you'd like to see a UK haul?

For a while now, I have been really strict with lathering on the body lotion, oils and now soufflés. It used to be a step which I always skipped after the bathing, but now I must say that I can't go without moisturizing my whole body, and not just my face.

Besides Balea, I am a big Nivea fan. I managed to empty the 400 ml bodylotion version of this soufflé (soft lotion). It will be featured in another Beauty Bin.

This soufflé (300 ml) has a lighter texture and is slightly more oily than the lotion and I must say that I prefer this one. It is also nicer to take with on travel. It has a more luxurious feeling when applying this to the skin. It doesn't leave the skin feeling sticky, nor does it put a weird film on your skin. 

My must have for glowy skin!

What are your favorite body lotions/oils/soufflé?

One of my most used kitchen tools is my blender. I make soups, smoothies and sauces with it on a daily basis. Couldn't live without it! Even when we are on tour I make sure that we have a blender on the bus. The boys love it too!

Here is a recipe for a quick, creamy and healthy green smoothie! This is so refreshing and saturating. It is not too sweet super creamy. 

Lekker lekker!!

For one person you need:

Tomorrow I will try avocado, banana, soy yoghurt and a shot of vanilla mmm!

Blend and slurp away!

Who doesn't love food? Here's a simple, quick recipe for a tomato quiche which I posted on Instagram.

What you need:

Warning! Do not eat this before you go on a first date :) Extreme garlic alarm...

Eet smakelijk!

Before my drawer is about to pop, I'll post another Beauty Bin for you!

It feels somehow weird to collect garbage, but it's all for the BB posts.

Andrelon Oil and Care Conditioner

The best conditioner in the Dutch drugstores. I have emptied quite a lot of them, but I won't feature them over and over. You'll be seeing a lot of the same stuff then.

Andrelon Oil and Care 1 minute hair mask

Also the third tube that I finished. This range is really amazing and does wonders for my hair. The one minute is of course very appealing for mommies. Saving minutes wherever I can.

The Body Shop Banana Conditioner

An old friend of mine and keeps coming back to my bathroom closet and shower. Don't always like the scent, but again a great conditioner for slightly dry, frizzy hair.

Bebe More Melt away cleaning mouse

I collected about 3 of these, but only put one in this post. My skin is very sensitive and I am very hesitant to try out new stuff in order to prevent an allergic reaction. This whole new range from Bebe totally appealed to me and my skin approved of it. I wouldn't call it a mouse, it's more of thicker peeling gel. The peeling beads are very tiny and gentle on the skin. 

Balea Ultra Sensitive Cleansing Milk

No need to tell you more about this, it's my best friend :)

Maybelline Waterproof Make Up Remover

Besides the one from Balea, I use this the most. It sweeps my Maybelline Rocket waterproof mascara away and is still affordable. No need to spend a lot of money on it because you'll need a lot of it.

Balea shower creme in mango pineapple

Love me some Balea, but these bottles are extremely hard to get anything out. I've tried all scents from this range and like this one the most. Too bad you need to squeeze until you look like a tomato.

Maybe DM can change the packaging. The product itself is great. 

Balea soft oil body lotion

My skin always thanks me when this little friend has landed in my shopping basket. I've got all my friends and family using these. Couldn't live without. I like to try out different ones from time to time, but always have a back up from this one at hand. It is great all year round. In winter and summer. It gives your skin a super beautiful glow. I also used this for shows on my arms. Good smelly, moisturized and glowy during the whole show. A little disclaimer; I am not sponsored by Balea. It is just an amazing brand and I pay for it myself, will keep on doing so ;)

Bebe Brighten Up day creme

The second one already and still loving it. It makes my skin look super healthy, even in these dry air heating times where the skin is sometimes rebelling. My skin is soft like a baby's bottom.

Bioderma Sensibio/Crealine 

Still loving these and will get me some back ups when I am in Paris next month. 

L'Occitane Almond body milk

Here's a fancy product from my favorite skin care line of L'occitane. Too bad they discontinued my moisturizer from this range. I love almonds, to eat thema and anything almond scented. The lotion is divine. It is not for traveling, though, so I kept it in my bath room closet and lathered it on after each shower. 

Beauty posts/videos about make up storage and collections are some of my favorites. 

I'd like to show you my everyday make up and how I store it in my writing desk/beauty desk. The one I have was the last one in the shop and is not for sale anymore. It has some defects, but I didn't care about that. Sam Chapman (Pixiwoo) posted once a picture of her beauty desk and it was similar to mine. I really liked the design and find if practical for every day use. 

To organize my make up, I used lids from boxes and taped them to the desk so that they wouldn't move around. I was quite happy with this system, but wanted something else. A lot of shop offer draw dividers and baskets at this moment. You can find them everywhere. What caught my attention were the draw dividers from 'Hema'. For €10 you get one pack of 6 dividers. I got myself two packs and started puzzling to see how they would fit in my drawer.

How do you organize your make up?