Review: Nivea Long Repair Shampoo

Hey there!
Today I have a review for you guys, about a shampoo I've been using for a while now. I'm talking about Nivea's Long Repair Shampoo.

Information:

• part of Nivea's permanent Long Repair Series which also contains a conditioner and a hair mask
• available at most drugstores
• contains 250 ml
• costs 1,75 Euros
• made for long, damaged hair (which is what I have)

Positives:

• price
• availability
• smells nice, similar to that typical hair product scent
• cares my hair nicely
• makes it smooth

Negatives:

• dries out my scalp a little
• my hair gets greasy faster, I gotta wash it at least every other day

Bottom line, I don't think I'll get this shampoo again. It cared my hair nicely, it looked healthy, but the problems with my scalp and the greasiness are just too big to be outweighed. For now I stopped using it, and switched to baby shampoo, but at some point I might try it again (use the leftovers in the bottle that is). The possibility that the scalp problems are just due to hormones is there after all, but I don't know whether it plays a role.

I don't want to scare you away from this product, I know plenty of friends who like this stuff a lot. It just didn't work for me.
Did you maybe try it?

xoxo, Misch

NOTD May 30th: Flower Nail Art

Hey there!
Today I want to show you a mani I wore a couple of days ago, a really cute colorful flower nail art!
For the base of this mani I used Essence's Kiss Of The Mermaid from their current Show Your Feet Barefoot Beauties LE. Here *click* you can see the polish on its own.

For the flowers I used random colorful creme polishes, just everything that caught my eye. If you want to know what a certain polish is called, just ask me! I used a dotting tool to create them.

These flowers are so easy to create and they look so cute! I love it for summer, and really enjoyed wearing it :)
What do you think?
xoxo, Misch

Spotted: Manhattan Loves RockTopia LE

Hi guys!

Today I want to talk about a LE I found at my local drugstore yesterday, Manhattan Loves RockTopia by Manhattan.

This LE contains 6 colored nail polishes and 2 crackle polishes. Here *click* you can see the promo pics.

Somehow, with the promo pics only 5 polishes appear, but in real life they're 6. Some of the colors are cremes, others shimmers. The colors are all bright, and there are not only the basic shades available. Especially the light yellow-toned green and the warm brown are not the most typical shades for a summer LE. One nail polish retails for 3,50 Euros.

I bought one of them, called 5 Hippie Yeah!. It's a light muted grayed out sea green with a very subtle silver shimmer. To me it looks a little like the sea on a stormy day! Hence the sea green in my color description ;)

I compared it to the shades I have in my collection, and I'd say it's Essence's Mojito Green's lighter and murkier brother. Here *click* you can see Mojito Green on my nails.

The crackle polishes of this LE are the basic silver and black colors. Nothing unique to them, and Manhattan's kinda late with them, since crackle's been out forever now. Oh, well.

I really like the shade Hippie Yeah that I got, and I can't wait to wear it when I'm back from my vacation :)

What do you think of this LE?
xoxo, Misch

Off To Italy!

Hey there!
From tomorrow on, I'll be spending a week in Italy with my family. I'm really looking forward to this vacation!
But that also means that I'll be away from the computer and this blog for a week. Don't worry, it won't be totally quiet on here, because I've prepared quite a few posts for you guys. So, please still stop by, there'll be stuff up :) and don't hesitate to comment or send me messages, I'll get to them when I'm back :)
Have a wonderful time next week!
xoxo, Misch

Vacation Series: Sun Protection

Hey there!
Today I want to start with the first post of my Vacation Series, and I want to talk about Sun Protection and SPF.
In general, using products with SPF is really important, and it can be either actual sunscreen or a SPF included in your foundation/moisturizer. A lot of skin products nowadays come with a SPF or a uva/uvb protection anyway, so that is a good way to start. The reason to use a sun protection is to prevent the damage the sun can cause. Protecting your skin from getting sunburned will help prevent premature wrinkles and also skin cancer.
And especially when you spend your time outside in summer, at the beach or just somewhere where you're under the sun all the time, it's super important to protect yourself! I'd say you should always choose a rather high SPF, personally I always go for 30. But don't ever get something lower than 20! And even if you hardly ever get sunburned and you just tan right away, or are already a darker skin tone, still use your SPF! It's just better for your skin!
This doesn't only apply to your face, but also to the rest of your body! Always always apply sunscreen before you go to the beach, and do that already about an hour earlier, so the SPF can fully work. Also, don't forget to reapply your sunscreen during the day! Even if your sunscreen is waterproof, it'll fade eventually and you want your protection to be there all the time.
To enhance your protection make sure you wear clothes and spend some time in the shade! No body will be happy with spending hours and hours in just a bikini in the direct sun!
There are also sunscreens available for all things one can imagine, with a self-tanning effect, with anti-aging properties, for sensitive skin, with an extra-high SPF of 50+, as a creme, an oil, a spray,... just check your drugstore! The selection is especially big in summer. I always get the normal SPF 30 ones. Also, I'm not a big fan of using normal sunscreen on my face, because it's always so sticky and shiny and clogs my pores. So I found this Face Fluid at my local drugstore! It's such a good idea, made for the face especially, and I can't wait to try it at the beach :) A review will follow when I'm back from my vacation.

And, as an extra thing, I got myself a hair protection spray. I don't know whether it'll help my scalp or hair or anything, but I thought it'd be a good thing to try. Do you know anything about hair sun protection sprays?

I think sun protection is such an important thing, especially during the hot summer, and that's the reason why I chose it as the beginning episode of this series. Hope you found it helpful!
In the next episode I'll be talking about how to take care of your skin after a day in the sun.
See you soon!
xoxo, Misch

Introducing: Vacation Series

Hey everyone!
I want to introduce a little new series which I'll be posting about in the next couple of days. It's getting summer, almost every student has vacation now or soon, and everybody's ready to spend their time out in the sun!
For me my Pentecost vacation, which is two weeks here in Bavaria, is now, today, starting. I'll be going on vacation with my family to Italy in a couple of days, and I can't wait to be at the beach!
So in this series, starting tomorrow, I'll be covering all kinds of things like summer colors, SPF, making your make-up last long even when it's so hot, what to take to the beach with you can stuff like that! Do you have any special requests concerning this series? I'd be glad to include everything you're interested in :)
What do you think?
xoxo, Misch

NOTD May 25th: Nyan Cat Nail Art

Hey there!
Today I want to show you a piece of nail art I did lately. It was actually a friend's request, and I was more than glad to do it! What I'm talking about is Nyan Cat nails!
I hope all of you know Nyan Cat, it's pretty awesome! :D Here *click* is a video of it!

So for these nails I followed this tutorial by CutePolish *click*, because I thought it was the easiest method. What you wanna do is paint Nyan Cat on a sandwich bag or something, and when it's dry, peel it off and stick it onto your nails. That's what I also did for the rainbows :) It's super simple that way!

I really like these nails, they're so much fun! :D The base color is First Mate by China Glaze, btw. If you want to know the other colors I used, feel free to ask!

What do you think of Nyan Cat and these nails?
xoxo, Misch

Polish Finish Series: Metallic

Hey there!
It's time for another episode of Polish Finish Series! Today I want to talk about the Metallic.
Metallic polishes, like the name already suggests, make your nails look a little like metal. They mainly come in the traditional metallic shades such as gold, copper and silver. But there are more and more metallic finishes with other, brighter colors.
The thing that makes the metallic look like a metallic is the shimmer. It is very fine and most of the time silvery, but it's not really frosty. The shimmer of the metallic is a lot smoother than the frost, but the big amount of shimmer particles can sometimes cause visible brush strokes.
Metallics aren't one of the most popular finish, not every brand makes them. But they're still rather common and also a lot of drugstore brands have metallics.
Some metallics can look a little like foils *click*, since the shimmer can be very similar.
As some examples I have these here:
First of, Essie - Trophy Wife. It's a turquoise metallic, and you can see the metallic shimmer nicely. It's not a traditional metallic color, but super pretty nonetheless.

The other one I want to show you is Coquettish Brown by Shu Uemura. It's a very interesting copper/silver/lilac/bronze shade, super pretty with the metallic shimmer! It has this little foil-like look to it, but it is a metallic in my opinion.

What do you think of Metallics?
xoxo, Misch

NOTD May 22nd: Manhattan M&Buffalo Collection 2012 - 11 Sweet Ballerina

Hey there!
Today I want to show you Sweet Ballerina from Manhattan's M&Buffalo Collection.

Sweet Ballerina is a very very light pink that is cool-toned. It has a super fine silver shimmer that only peeks out in direct lighting, so it does look like a creme at most times. The color of it so light that it looks almost white, but it's still a light pastel pink.
Application of this one was great, it only needed 2 coats to be opaque. I still did 3 for these pictures, plus base and top coat, because I wasn't that careful and experienced some cuticle dragging. But this is nothing you can't handle, it will work.

The color is really really light, and even though I'm a pale girl, it makes my hands look dark. I'm not used to that and therefore find it a little weird on me. This really is a nice color, but I think that to me this isn't really a color to wear for a full manicure again, rather one to be used for nail art. That's also the main reason why I got it, because opaque light pinks always come in handy.
What do you think of Sweet Ballerina? Love the name, btw, it's perfect for this polish!
xoxo, Misch

Spotted: Essence A New League

Hi there!
I feel like I'm only posting NOTDs and Spotted posts lately, but there's just so much to talk about :D Today I have another Spotted post for you, but I think this is gonna be the last one in a while. I want to talk about Essence's A New League LE.
This LE contains 3 cream eyeshadows, 2 waterproof eyeliner pens, 1 lip tint, 1 bronzer, 4 nail polishes, 1 pocket brush and hair ties. Here *click* are the promo pics.
The cream eyeshadows come in nice shimmery neutral colors, and the consistency seemed to be great. I think they could definitely be good quality, but I decided not to buy one since I wouldn't use it often enough.
The eyeliner pens come again in shades that could definitely be nice for a daily wear, but that again was a case of not enough times to wear it.
The lip tint looks like a red gloss but it's really sheer jelly-like texture. It seemed nice but not outstanding.
The multi-colored bronzer looked nice, but I'm not a big fan of bronzer. I love to wear blush, but bronzer is super hard to wear for me with my light skin tone.This one had light brown, dark brown and white parts, and I think mixed it might not even be that dark, but I didn't want to risk it ;)
The nail polishes are nice, but not that exciting. Not exactly my type of colors, I already have similar ones anyway.
The two hair accessories are cute, but stuff you could buy at any drugstore.

This is another LE that doesn't excite me. I don't know, with one LE the products are to bright, these here are just not my types of products...I wish I could show you swatches, but I rather save my money for something better. That's also the good point to being a little picky, because I get to spend my money on stuff I really want :D
What do you think of this LE?
xoxo, Misch

NOTD May 20th: Manhattan M&Buffalo Collection 2012 - 07 Off The Socks

Hey there!
Today I want to show you the next polish from Manhattan's M&Buffalo Collection, called 07 Off The Socks.
Off The Socks is a vibrant orange creme, but it's not a neon. It's more of a very true orange. I'd say it's about Holland's Koninginnedag Color, a bright shade.

Application was great, it only needed 2 coats for full opacity which is great! I love the fact that these Manhattan polishes from this collection are so opaque! It went on super smoothly and I had no problems whatsoever.
In case you're wondering, it's darker and less in-your-face than China Glaze's Japanese Koi Neon, *click*. It also doesn't dry matte.

Orange is one of the trend colors this summer season of 2012, and OPI already launched the popular A Roll In The Hague, and compared to swatches you can find online, Off The Socks looks really similar. I never thought I'd like this bright orange this much, I expected it to be so hard to pull off, but it works so well! It's so much fun, it's great for summer and I love it!
What do you think of orange polishes?
xoxo, Misch

Spotted: Catrice Cruise Couture LE

Hey everyone!
Today it's time to talk about another permanent LE, Cruise Couture by Catrice. It's a nautical-themed LE that was launched around the beginning of May.
This LE contains 1 eyeshadow palette, 1 gel eyeliner, 1 mascara, 2 lipglosses, 2 lipsticks, 1 blush, 5 nail polishes and 1 beauty bag. Here *click* you can see the promo pics.
The eyeshadow palette contains 5 colors, and the pigmentation seemed to be okay. My problem is the colors: it's a little too colorful for my liking! When exactly do I get the chance to wear blue and pink eyeshadow? Sure, they're pretty, but I rather spend my money on things I use more often.
The gel eyeliner has a super pretty dark blue shimmer shade, but I already know that I wouldn't wear it often enough, so I left it at the store.
The mascara didn't seem interesting to me, I think there are enough permanent mascaras available that could also be great.
The lipglosses are nice colors for summer, but one of them is already permanent and the other one wasn't as much of my color. Nothing I need to own.
The lipsticks are both pink colors, and they're both part of Catrice's core line. That's why I didn't pay as much attention to them, I can also get them at any other time.
The blush is the next this that is already permanent. The peach shade is super pretty, but I own prettier blushes. Could get that any other time as well.
The nail polishes are all pretty shades, and I like the bottle print. The thing is just that there isn't really anything unique to them. I seriously didn't see a polish that would have been totally new to my collection. Got none of them, and that doesn't happen often!
Last but not least, the beauty bag. It's cute, but I have enough beauty bags.

So, guys, nothing for me here. I normally love the nautical theme, I'm a big fan of that, but I was a little annoyed by the fact that they just put in so many permanent products, and none of the colors was right for me. Money saved that I'll spend on something else!
What do you think of this LE?
xoxo, Misch

NOTD May 17: Manhattan Buffalo for Manhattan LE - 17 Rise Of The Fun

Hey there!
Today I want to show you the first polish I'm wearing from Manhattan's M&Buffalo 2012 LE. It's called Rise Of The Fun.

Rise Of The Fun is a bright yellow, and it's a creme. This shade of yellow is a  true sunshine yellow. It doesn't lean neither orange nor green, and it's just such a happy bright shade.
Application of this one was actually really good! You know yellows can be a pain in the *ss to apply, but this one really isn't! I only did 2 coats, plus base and top coat, and it was free of streaks and perfectly opaque that way. Thumbs up!

To be this color is just pure happiness. I mean, if this isn't happy, what else could it be? It makes me think of the sun when I look at it :) I know it's not the easiest color to pull off and it's not really discreet, but yellow is one of my favorite shades since it's so fun, and that's why I love it :)

I really recommend this polish! What do you think of it?
See you soon!
xoxo, Misch

Spotted: Buffalo for Manhattan LE

Hey everyone!

Just lately Manhattan launched a nail polish LE, which is a team-up with Buffalo, the shoe brand. 

Here *click* you can see the promo pics. It contains 20 bright nail polishes, and most of them are bright fun colors! When I first had a look at it I was about to buy more than half of the polishes, but I told myself to be reasonable. So instead I got these 5:

01 Over The Wedge

Over The Wedge is a nude creme, neither warm nor cold toned, it's perfectly neutral. It looks very close to Manhattan's 93E from their very first M&Buffalo Collection, and since that one is great, I decided to get this one. You can never have enough good nudes! And, it's great. Perfect coverage with 2 coats, that's also what my swatch is. It's great!

04 Asphalt Cowboy

Asphalt Cowboy is a light blue-toned gray, another creme. Coverage is great, it's an easy two-coater. The color might not the that unusual, but it's great nonetheless.

07 Off The Socks

Off The Socks is a bright orange creme. It's not quite as neon as China Glaze Japanese Koi Neon, but it's still bright. It's another twocoater, so great! And it totally satisfies my craving for OPI's A Roll In The Dark.

11 Sweet Ballerina

Sweet Ballerina is a very light white-toned baby pink with a slight silver shimmer. It's very cool-toned and light, and it also only needed 2 coats! That's so cool! An opaque baby pink!

17 Rise Of The Fun

Rise Of The Fun is a sunshine yellow. It's just a pure happy shade of yellow, not leaning orange or green. It's a creme, and it's again opaque with 2 coats. That's really not common with yellows, so cool!

After all, these polishes are great! They're so good quality, I really recommend them and can't wait to wear them! They retail for 3 Euros, but check your local drugstore, I bought mine for 2,25 Euros!
Did you already get some of them?
xoxo, Misch

NOTD May 15th: Essence Show Your Feet Barefoot Beauties LE - 25 Kiss Of The Mermaid

Hey there!
Yesterday I already talked about Essence's Show Your Feet Barefoot Beauties LE, and now I'm wearing the polish I got from it, which is called 25 Kiss Of The Mermaid.
Kiss Of The Mermaid is a coral-toned red. In some lights it looks a little pink, but it really is a coral red. It's a creme and very shiny on its own. It looks very juicy and yummy in my opinion!

Application of this polish was great. It has the typical squishy consistency every Essence Show Your Feet polish has, it glides on and is self-leveling. After one coat it was already pretty much opaque, but since I had a bit of visible nail line I added a second. In the pictures I'm wearing 2 coats plus base and top coat.
The color of this polish is not that unique, a lot of brands do this coral red this season. But it's super pretty nonetheless! I noticed I have a very similar color here, Raspberry Swirl from Essence's Marble Mania LE. But Raspberry Swirl is a tad pinker than Kiss Of The Mermaid. The difference isn't that big, however, so it could be enough to just own one of these polishes. They're both great in terms of formula, but if I had to pick one, I'd choose Kiss Of The Mermaid since it's a little better to apply. Raspberry Swirl also isn't available anymore, while Kiss Of The Mermaid is out right now.

After all, go get this polish if you like the color! For 1,95 Euros it's a great deal, and I really recommend it.
What do you think of it?
xoxo, Misch

Spotted: Essence Show Your Feet Barefoot Beauties LE

Hey there!
Yesterday I finally spotted Essence's Show Your Feet Barefoot Beauties LE. It's a summer-themed LE for nails and toes.
It contains 5 nail polishes, 1 pair of toe separators, toe protection gel stripes, gel pads for shoes and 2 different anklets. Here *click* you can see all of the products on Pinkmelon.
The nail polishes are all bright summer colors. None of them is really unique, but they're pretty nonetheless. I bought one of them, called 25 Kiss Of The Mermaid. It's coral red, a creme. Really pretty but also common, a lot of brands do this kind of color this season. But application was great, it barely needed a second coat and the consistency is really squishy.

The toe separators are things I actually hate, these only just hurt me, I never use them :D
The toe protection gel stripes are actually a good idea, especially for those of us who like to wear flip-flops. I might go back and get them!
The gel pads are things a lot of drugstores offer all year round, so you don't necessarily have the get these.
And last but not least, the anklets. They're cute, but not my style.

It definitely is a nice LE, but I rather have ones with "real" cosmetics. I could get all of this stuff somewhere else, too, it's not unique.
What do you think of this LE?
xoxo, Misch