SMOONSTYLE

Balayage, Ombre and highlights. I got a little bit of everything. My cousin had gorgeous highlights in her hair and she told me that she always goes to 'Het Haerhuys' in Heerlen.

Normally I only get my hair trimmed at the hair dresser, so this was quite exciting for me. I took my sister with me so both of us could relax and get our hair done.

Het Haerhuys is a lovely salon, modern and chic. The ceiling is really high and gives a spacious feeling. I love high ceilings. One of their eye catchers for me, has the be the lamp. One of the pictures that I took I used as a desktop picture.

The eye for detail and color scheme is perfect. What I loved about the salon is that is also a barber shop! Too bad I don't have a beard to try out a new look.

They placed 3% bleach and dark brown layers in my hair. I call it: Autumn Hair. The different colors come alive best when my hair is slightly curly. I used my Remington hot rollers to achieve this look. I have a hate love relationship with hot rollers. I don't mind looking like a granny for 30 minutes, but my fingers don't like the heat. Practice makes perfect.

www.haerhuys.nl

💋 Simone

One of my worst fears is receiving that one phone call with bad news while being far away. It doesn't matter where you are, it won't change the bad news, but it makes things more complicated.

While waiting for my food at a restaurant in Boston, I received that phone call I feared the most. At that moment it feels as if someone pulls the ground away beneath your feet. I felt completely powerless.

My dad fell ill while riding his bike and fell on the road. Other people saw it happening and performed CPR on him until the ambulance arrived. They managed to bring him back. He went through the eye of the needle.

Seeing him lying at the intensive care unit attached to, what seemed like a thousand tubes, bruised and drugged, felt like a nightmare that came true. Truth is that reality is filled with nightmares. They come and go. Waking up the next morning doesn't always mean that the big bad wolf has run off. He was still among us. My dad was still fighting for his life and all we could do was wait.

Life has it ups and downs and the only thing we can do is take it from the moment we are currently living in and keep on looking forward. Not knowing what will happen the next days was hard. Hard for all of us. My family, the band, the fans. All was uncertain.

A fan wrote to me, "The last thing you lose, is hope." And that sentence kept on going through my head. Thank you to whoever wrote that. It really helped me a lot.

My dad is a very strong man and that was what we held on to. His recovery is a miracle that has left us speechless. I believe that we all helped him by connecting through music, something he also lives for. He loves him some Chopin. So many people were thinking about him and all the positive energy that was sent his way was very powerful.

At this moment he is doing better. We are awaiting what and if surgery lies ahead. He will need a long time to recover, but thank the Energy out there that he is still alive. He proved to us that he is one tough cookie.

Thank you for helping Epica and I, by being so incredibly understanding and caring through this unknown journey. Canceling a tour was the second nightmare that came true in a short period of time, but we will make it up to you! We were all so looking forward to go to North America finally again and then this happened. On top of that Coen also couldn't join us on this tour, but we were bound to make this tour happen.

We will be back, all six of us, full force!

I want to thank my band mates, our management and crew for being the best buddies to work with. It is unbelievable how kind and understanding you all have been. I am grateful to have you. We are a good team that supports each other through the good and the bad. It kind of feels like we're married. ;)

💋 Simone

I do not advise you to look any further if you are hungry at this moment. You have a chance to look away! These babies are so deadly tasty that you might suffer from severe drool edge.

Meet my Raspberry Pâte Choux, made again with the help of Dulce Delight. I basically did everything the way she made them except for the rose flavoring. I couldn’t find rose jelly nor did I have the time to make rose extract.

The first time that I tried to make Pâte Choux for eclairs went completely wrong. I made the dough too liquid and instead of making a second batch of cooked dough, I just threw in flour to make it thicker... So, I learned from that. They simply sucked. It was like biting in to bread rocks, the custard filling was amazing, though.

After calming down over the last few month, I decided to give it another try. I binge watched Dulce and studied her video about how to make mini rose Pâte Choux. It gave me confidence, so I put on that apron and started baking.

This time I was sweating in the kitchen during high summer. Drying out the dough and then adding the eggs one at a time. I almost failed again because after throwing in 3 medium sized eggs (instead of 4 to 5 large ones), I noticed that the dough was again too liquid. It went beyond ribbon stage. To the stove I went again to make a second batch of cooked dough. I mixed a small portion into the liquid dough and it turned out fine! Yay!

I filled them with a delicious classic custard and topped them off with a dark chocolate ganache. Delicious! My whole neighborhood enjoyed them with me. Good times, no, tasty times.

The third time I made them was just over a week ago when my parents where at my place. My dad loves backing as well, so I wanted to show him the new tricks that I have up my sleeves. I’d learned from my mistakes and was rewarded with perfect little (more like medium) choux. This time with the raspberry filling that came with the original recipe from Dulce.

Check out the recipe and enjoy baking them!

💋 Simone

Stuttgart is a wonderful city. I recently had my parents over from the Netherlands and we were exploring the surroundings a bit. One of our many favorite places in Stuttgart is Killesberg Park. We took the little railway train, had some drinks and ate ice cream. We enjoyed our stay very much. The weather was amazing and that plays a big part.

Here are some pictures shot by Oliver with my Canon 700D with the 40mm f2.8 lens. It is a great camera which I have grown very fond of. The lens is amazing too. My Nikon D300s I don't use that often anymore because it is too heavy for on the go. For studio shoots it still is amazing.

Could you recommend me a camera and a lens that would be a good upgrade from the Canon 700D, but still is kind of light weight? I have been researching the 70D and the 24-70f 2.8 mm lens. They seem like good candidates to take it to the next level.

I find the flip screen really useful for the family and self portraits. Built in WiFi is also great. The 7D doesn't have that. The 5D Mark III is very expensive, but if I were to sell both my Canon and Nikon including the Nikon lenses which are the 18-200mm and the 50mm f1.8, it would be no problem. The Canon 6D has built in WiFi, is full frame and still quite light weight. That could be the one.

A website I like to browse is: www.cameralabs.com but I still want to know the customer point of view.

Please let me know your experiences and expertise! Looking forward to reading the comments and thank you so much for helping me out!

Dress: Vero Moda Swing Dress Size XS (they have a large fit)

Shoes: Black Gizeh Birkenstocks

Sunglasses: Ray Ban Aviator size 52mm | www.smartbuyglasses

💋 Simone

Celine sunglasses are up and rising since quite some time now. Their most famous frame would be the Audrey. After trying on the classic Audrey, I decided to get the baby Audrey. Oliver said that the classic Audrey looked a bit like two big tv screens. That made me laugh. I love oversized sunglasses, but the classic Audrey was simply taking over my face too much for my liking. 

The lenses of the baby Audrey are 47 mm wide opposed to the 55mm from the Audrey. A better fit and no tv screens for me. If you like the shape of the Audrey, but also find them too big, the baby Audrey might be a good alternative. They come in a lot of great colors. If you want to switch up the classic black and add a dash of color, check them out.

The frame color of my Celine is a beautiful havana and the lenses are green. 

They are a bit on the heavier side, but these sunglasses are the ones I wear when I want to dress up. For a sporty occasion I mostly go for a different pair that I would be ok with if it were to fall off my face.

I got my Celines at: www.smartbuyglasses.co.uk

The lipstick that I am wearing is Revlon 006 Really Red.

💋 Simone

Are you guys ready for Beauty Bin number 11? There is a big list waiting for you!

To make it easy and kind of organized, I've split them up in the 'Hair', 'Make Up', 'Body' and 'Face' files.

Let's get to it!

💋 Simone

Being 'on time' isn't my strong suit, but I am working on it every day. Having a watch surely helps and besides knowing what time it is, you can always use it as a beautiful accessory that will fit any outfit you're going for that day.

My newest watch from JORD is a beautiful automatic timepiece made out of real wood. That is something you don't see everyday. Top it off with rose gold and I am sold! I love the combination of the warm brown koa wood and the rose gold. It fits together perfectly.

The watch I am wearing is the Cora 'Koa, rose gold'. I had my eyes on the turquoise Cora as well, but in the end I thought that the rose gold would fit my color scheme better. It almost has the same color as my hair.

Clockworks are very fascinating to watch. I love that there is a little window in the display. You can see the clock working. It is very calming and takes me back to the video of 'Quietus'.

Now I have to make sure to look at the time and not at the clockwork, or else I'll still be late. ;)

www.woodwatches.com

http://www.woodwatches.com/#smoonstyle

Thanks JORD for the unique watch!

❤ Simone

Orange is the New Black is everywhere. Every time I am on Netflix it is popping up. I managed to postpone watching it until a few days ago. After finishing Penny Dreadful (waiting eagerly for season 3), it was time to find a new series to entertain the brain. 

I swear I thought that Katy Perry was playing the lead role. Sometimes I still do, even though I know that she is definitely not Katy. Where these two separated at birth perhaps?

The story in a nutshell is about Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) is sentenced for a year in prison for a crime that she committed a decade ago. She smuggled some drug money for her girlfriend, Alex Vause, played by Laura Prepon.

The cast is very interesting and all of them are great actors. As the series unfold you get to see why the main characters are in prison. I won't spoil too much about the series because I want to avoid the risk that some of you are still new to it. 

The first episode was kind of a hard one to get through. Jason Biggs is a bit like Daniel Radcliffe. He can't shake off American Pie like Daniel always will remain Harry. For me he will always be 'Mister Super Glue'.

Now, after a couple of episodes, I can say that it has grown on me. My favorite characters are Alex and Sophia, two very different personalities but both very charming.

I've been to Alcatraz many years ago and was really taken by the ambiance, not that I want to live there, but I found its history and the thought of confinement compelling. 

Have any of you visited Alcatraz? A must see when you are in San Fransisco. It left a huge impression on me and Oliver as well.

❤ Simone

Currently I am high on highlighters. I simply can't get enough of that glowy finish it gives the skin. NikkieTutorials got me hooked on Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector in Moonstone and soon I wanted to try out more from Becca.

After getting over the fact that I dropped Moonstone right after I received my parcel from Sephora, I started using it and loved it! I had to press it two times because once it breaks, it will always be fragile. Unfortunately I can't take it with me for traveling because it will just break and create a highlighted chaos. I'll pass.

My old time favorite highlighter from Dior, Amber Diamond, was discontinued. So my search for the perfect replacement had begun. 

Moonstone is described as a pale gold and that pretty much hits the spot. Champagne Pop is a white gold with pinky peach undertones. I would say it is a skin colored highlighter with a warm gold finish. The powder is a bit dusty after I swirled my brush in it. I like to apply it with a fan brush or the highlighter brush from Zoeva.

Overall, Champagne Pop is a very nice highlighter. It gives the skin a glorious glow and can be build up to a very intense look. The pigmentation is great, it is not glittery and sits nice on the skin. The longevity is great, it lasts all day on me and looks pretty on the eyelids too. I did wet my eyeshadow brush after I dipped in the highlighter. This is better to prevent the powder from forming a seal.

Compared to Moonstone, this looks more like a skin like highlighter. I feel like it has more dimension than Moonstone. Moonstone is quite light and may be even too dark for my slightly tanned skin.

Honestly, I am not a big fan of the packaging. It looks nice, but is is very heavy, hence not great for traveling. The lid is not flat which makes it difficult to stack on top or place amongst the other powders. The rubber will make it look dirty fast. It does come with a mirror, that is always a plus.

The price is on the higher side €38, but you get a lot of product and the packaging is very sturdy. All in all you pay for good quality.

Do any of you own a Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector?

❤ Simone