Favorite Apps

Hey guys, it's no secret, I love my iPhone. So today I thought I would share my favourite apps with you; hope you enjoy and maybe even download them!
*In no particular order

Cloth
The first app is, of course, a fashion app. You can upload pictures of outfits you like, and 'cloth' will keep them organised for you. This way, when you're in a rush or just out of ideas, you already have a selection of fashionable outfits waiting for you!

BuzzFeed
I hate to admit it, but I fricking love this app. First of all, I'm a sucker for BuzzFeed quizzes. Whenever I have nothing to do, I will open up the quiz section and just go crazy. I also really like that you can customise the app to your preferences, so all the articles that appear in your feed are things you actually want to read.

Instagram
Instagram has got to be my favourite social media (maybe after tumblr, but their app has some improving to do). I love being able to share photos so that my friends can see them and also so that I have a place to look back on. I also really like seeing other people's photos, so I can see what my friends are up to. Instagram just always seems to put me in a better mood.

Snapseed
I have almost 20 apps dedicated to editing photos (yes I know, I'm crazy) and lately 'snapseed' has been my favourite. I love the 'tune image' function because it makes it super easy and quick to adjust things like brightness, contrast, shadows, saturation, etc.

8tracks
Last but not least, a music app. I actually prefer this to other music apps for two reasons. First of all, it's free. But also, I really love that you can search up a genre, or an activity, or a mood or anything of the sort, and 8tracks will provide you with a variety of different playlists created by other users. I really love this because if I'm studying or something, and I don't want to think about what music to play, I can just search up something like "studying, acoustic, chill", choose a playlist, and enjoy.

Playing Tourist

As I said in my last post, this past week I got to play tourist around Rome and I visited a lot of amazing places. I took some, bad quality, pictures but I hope you'll forgive me since the places were magnificent and a bad picture is better than no picture.

One of the first things we did was the Vatican museums where we even saw the Pope! Okay... a tiny dot in the distance dressed in white robes but it counts!

The museums were stunning, so if you're in Rome and thinking about going there I recommend it (just be sure to pre-order online or you'll waste the whole day in line). Though the rooms were filled with priceless works of art, my favourite parts were the ceilings and the floors.

Each ceiling was painted with so much detail and the gold details were beautiful. By the time we were out my neck was aching from staring up all the time!

Old Friends and New Beginnings

Well hello everybody!
It really has been some time since I've written anything, I do apologise to my big audience of zero, however, to everyone's joy, I am back. This time I am determined to increase the quantity and quality of my posts, and to make this small blog into something. I am already very proud of the little makeover it underwent (no matter how simple it was a very big accomplishment for the technology imbecile that is writing this post) and I am actually thinking about writing a very quick and extremely simple tutorial on how to make  a header.

Before I do that, however, I wanted to share what I did over this last week as it was wonderful for me.  One of my best friends came all the way from New York to visit me in Rome.

When I heard the door bell last tuesday afternoon I rushed down the stairs, something that should not be taken for granted since what you run down you have to climb up, and met my best friend Klara (that is not her real name but it shall be her nickname on this blog). I was met with a hug, a hug I'd been waiting for for 9 months. I spent the whole week taking her around the city and catching up and just having a real good time.

Before I continue I should let you know a couple of things about Rome:
1) Almost everything is extremely pretty, even in the simplest ways
2) Nobody that lives in Rome seems to really appreciate it
3) All the famous places are nice to visit but the real beauty is in the smallest streets, it's a open air museum
4) Every old door, every climbing vine, every homeless cat, every good cappuccino: it's a hipsters paradise
5) The food is really, extremely delicious in the most addicting and unhealthy way possible
6) The rule that every italian is hot only applies when you're not actually italian-- though I really wish it did

Since we did a lot of different things over the course of the week I have decided to split it into two blog posts: one about tourist-y type places and one on more unknown beauties.

I shall be back soon don't worry, this time I won't let life get in the way of this blog.

Concealer review: MAC Select Moisturecover Cache-Cernes

There are two main reasons a great concealer is a must for me: first off I'm a teenager and I have oily skin (aka the perfect formula for horrible breakouts) which means I always need a good cover; second of all I go to school. This means I usually don't wear foundation as it can be a bit too much and so a good concealer is needed to make up for the lack of cover foundation would normally provide.

Recently (while looking through the stash of nice cosmetics my mom stupidly ignores) I found MAC Selcet Moisturecover Cache-Cernes concealer in NW20. This shade is a bit darker than my natural skin tone which made me reluctant to use it, however I did really want to try a high end concealer and I'm really glad I did.

The Good:

Since this is supposed to be a moisturizing concealer the formula is really creamy. I really like this characteristic because it makes the product pleasant to apply and, most importantly, the concealed area doesn't end up looking dry and flakey (which many other concealer will do). It is also really easy to blend (I use my finger which works perfectly fine) and when it's blended I don't even realize that it's too dark for my skin tone. My favorite things about this though is that it's pretty long lasting; if I set it with powder it will stay on most of the day.

The Bad:

Mac claims that this concealer is a moisturizer,and even though it does feel nice on the skin, it hasn't actually made any difference to me. If you are actually looking for a moisturizing concealer, this is not for you. My only other fault with this is the actual coverage: it does the job well but not as good as another concealer could.

To Summarize:

I really like this concealer because it has a nice creamy formula, it's easy to blend, and it's long lasting. However it does not moisturize (as the company claims) and it doesn't have the best coverage. Over all it's a really nice concealer and I'm really enjoying using it but it's not the perfect concealer.

Have you ever tried this concealer?

What did you think? Is it your perfect match

Or have you found something better?

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Concealer Review

If you know me you'll know that my must have makeup item is concealer. I'm crazy about it; I will honestly refuse to leave the house without concealer on. Unfortunately though it's one of those products that is extremely difficult to find peace with: does the perfect concealer exist? That's my question for the world. I'm still searching the world for the perfect concealer but in the mean time the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Concealer is my go to under eye product.

Maybelline instant age rewind eraser dark circles in shade "fair Clair"

I do not suffer from horrible under eye circles (though they aren't invisible) and I'm obviously not in need of an age rewind treatment as I am a teenager however I have been loving this concealer. It was first recommended to me by a friend and I was very skeptical due to the very unhygienic looking sponge applicator. However I did try it once at her house and loved it. The concealer applied so smoothly and actually had really nice coverage.

The Good:
The sponge applicator makes it easy to apply and usually produces the right amount of product (to get the product out you twist the top and the concealer is pushed onto the sponge applicator). I also find the coverage is good and long lasting. I apply this in the morning over moisturizers skin and set it with powder and when I get home from school my under eye circles are still well covered. It also gives off a pretty radiant glow to make me look more awake which I really like since, as I've previously mentioned, I look like a zombie in the morning. Another quality I really enjoy about this product is its light weight formula; I don't even feel it on my skin.

The Bad:
Though the sponge makes it easy to apply the product I do have doubts about it's hygiene. Maybelline does claim that the sponge is made to keep itself clean, which I'm sure to some extend it does, but the sponge ends up looking dirty after a while. Another defect is that the product finishes very quickly; I've had mine for a few months and it's almost done (I do use it almost every day though for a couple of weeks I ignored it). However it is a drugstore brand so it is pretty affordable. The last thing I don't like about it is that it can give the skin a bit of a flakey appearance; this is very easily avoidable as long as one moisturizers before application however I would not recommended it to people with dry skin.

Would I recommend this?
Yes I really like it! I would tell people with dry skin to avoid it and people with a darker skin tone (as it lacks darker shades).

Have you ever tried this concealer? 

What did you think of it?

Wish list: face edition

The beauty community is always buzzing with new products so it's no surprise that some of us new bloggers get a bit left behind. This face edition wish list is products that many people have long since raved about but that I still desperately want to try!

 

1) Real Techniques Buffing Brush

So many beauty bloggers like Zoella and Tanya Burr have raved about this brush and since the first time I heard about it I've wanted to get my hands on it! It's technically a powdered foundation brush but most reviews state that's it's also great for liquid foundation, which is what I'm planning to use it for. Everybody says it's great for blending foundation into the skin, and personally I also think it's very stylish. The only doubt I have about this brush is that I'm afraid it's only sold in a pack. If this is the case I think I'm going to have to settle for the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush- I've heard really good things about this too but not as many as the buffing brush.

 2) Rimmel's Wake Me Up Concealer 

This concealer (also raved about by Zoella and Tanya Burr) is an under eye concealer that states to give off a radiant "awake" glow. Since the horrid school system forces me to wake up way too early five out of the seven days a week, I usually look like a zombie when I get up. I'm hoping this concealer will make me look radiant rather than like a corpse that's just been dug up. In other words I'm super excited about this product and, if does what it claims to, I'm sure it's going to become one of my favorite products ever.

3) Taaj Eau Micellaire Makeup Remover

Apparently micellaire water is the miracle worker of the makeup removing industry, and since my current makeup remover is practically useless, this is in my must haves. This product is supposed to remove even water proof mascara with just a sweep of the hand; I really hope it lives up to its standards because leaving makeup on is extremely irritating and really bad for your skin.

BYOBoy nail polish review (sephora by OPI)

*rings: (1)mid rings- urban outfitters (2)a gift (3)elephant ring: brandy Melville (4)brandy Melville 

I'm not a big "nail person" but a few nights ago I decided to go through my old nail polish collection and brighten up my nails. One nail polish stood out to me right away due to its perfect autumn color. It was Saphora's (by OPI) vernis à ongles nail colour in BYOBoy. Though the name is odd and hard to pronounce the nail polish in itself is wonderful.
First of all the color is really pleasant. I would describe it as a "medium rose" or "deep pink/red" almost maroon but not quite; anyway a perfect fall color. Seeing it in the bottle I thought it was going to be very opaque but in truth it turned out quite bright and deep at the same time.
The best thing about it, however, wasn't the color but the application. I'm horrible at painting my nails! The nail polish usually doesn't respect my nail boundaries and often expands to my finger and the part that does end up on the nail always looks messy. With this nail polish however the application process was easy and quick. The brush was easy to control and the strokes were neat and in place. Personally I thought it looked nice with only one layer which is perfect for anybody in a rush, however I added a second one to obtain a richer color and I got just that. The nail polish also seems long lasting (though I've only had it on for a few days so it's early to tell) but so far I have no chipped nails and the color still maintains it's bright glow.
I bought my bottle a few years ago but I just went online to the Saphora website and it's still available and actually currently on sale for $4.50 which I think is a bargain for such a nice nail polish and a real deal compared to saphora's usually very expensive prices! As an added bonus to the already nice nail polish the bottle is also very stylish in my opinion and a good size.
*random nail painting tip: if like me you hate waiting for your nail polish to dry you should place your hands in ice water after painting your nails as it helps set the nail polish quicker. In my opinion the cold water pain is worth it.