I know I haven't posted anything since September, I'm sorry about that. I would say life got in the way, but that's just an excuse. As it's the end of 2013 I thought I would do a post as a sort of conclusion to my year, and hopefully push me to be more active in the new year.

13 life lessons of 2013:

1. Snow is a lot of fun, until you have to be somewhere on time.

2. Missing a flight because of snow isn't so bad when you get an extra day with your loved one.

3. Working out and eating healthier works out best when you learn to love yourself first.

4. Don't speak before you think and don't act before you calm down. It will never end well, and you will always regret what you said or did.

5. You might dislike where you grew up, but when you leave you will still kind of miss it.

6. Moving to a new country on your own isn't as scary as it seems.

7. But you will miss your family more than you might actually think.

8. You will also miss your cat, just as much as you expect.

9. You will meet new people, some of whom will become very dear to you, some of whom will greatly disappoint you.

10. Being reunited with your best friend and loved one is well worth the wait.

11. Spending time with your brother and his fiance is always quality time.

12. Trust those who know you best.

13. Be kind to everyone, but don't let anyone stamp all over you.

August has been such a busy month for me, as I've packed my life into a suitcase and moved across the world, and will now be living and studying in England. Quite a big change after living in Kuwait all my life. Also, since I've been moving I haven't really been trying any new products, since I wanted to finish off the things I already had so that they wouldn't go to waste. All of the products are hair, skin and body products, cause it was too hot to wear much make-up this month and I kept it down to a minimum, as opposed to being adventurous like always.

The Bloggers Liebster Award

"The Liebster Award is given to up & coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. So what is a Liebster? The meaning: Liebster is a German & means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing & welcome. Isn't that sweet? Blogging is about building a community & it is a great way to connect with other bloggers & help spread the word about newer bloggers/blogs. "

Here are the rules for receiving this award: 

1. You must link back to the person what nominated you.

2. You must answer the 11 Liebster questions given to you by the nominee before you.

3. You must pick 11 bloggers to be nominated for the award with under 200 followers.

4. You must come up with 11 questions for your nominees to answer.

5. You must go to their blogs and notify your nominees.

I know that it's quite late to be posting my June favourites, as we're already in the second week of August, but oh well. They're late, as I originally wasn't going to post my favourites for this month, since I haven't been too adventurous and haven't tried many new things, however there were a few things I did really enjoy, so I thought I might as well go ahead and share them with you! So here it goes.

I've been tagged by the lovely Mel of It's Me Mel and the tag seems quite fun so I decided to give it a go. And I tag anyone who reads this to do this tag! :)

What La Roche-Posay says:

La Roche-Posay Effaclar K is a daily renewal fluid gradually exfoliates the skin texture to reduce pores and regain a smooth and clear complexion.

Who is this for? Combination to oily skin with an irregular skin texture.

What does it do? Both the skin's texture and pores feel smoother and tighter, while imperfections are visibly reduced.

How to use: Apply morning and/or evening to the entire face. Can be used as a make-up base.

Seeing as we are already in July (what?! when did this happen?!) I thought it might be suiting to make my first ever monthly favourites post. I considered making this a full-on beauty, fashion and others favourites, however I decided to stick to beauty for now. I might expand all the way later, or perhaps carry on doing only beauty related favourites. What do you guys think? What would you like to see? (: Anyway, enough rambling, and let's jump into this month's favourites!

Decided to do a quick tag post, since I enjoy doing them and it's always a nice way for you guys to learn something new about me! So here we go!

A few weeks ago I decided to go redhead and as I've been dying my hair black for a while now I needed to get it bleached first. I went to a hair salon, and it took two bleaching treatments to get my hair light enough to then dye it red, all in a space of 3 hours. I was quite satisfied with how it turned out, however needless to say my hair was rather damaged and needed some serious loving. I've discovered a couple of new products in the process, and decided to share how I got my hair soft and healthy again. Just keep in mind that my hair is extremely fine and many products tend to leave my hair looking greasy and weighed down, therefore all the products I used are great for fine hair.

I was itching to try the MAC Oil Control Lotion for a while now, but when I went to MAC they didn't have any travel sized bottles and I didn't want to invest in the full size bottle right away. The lovely lady there gave me a little sample jar, which I was excited to try out, and having used it all up now I'm happy to share my thoughts on this product! 

Recently I've not been very productive and I spent a lot of time window-shopping through my laptop screen. As I've also not been very productive on my blog lately, I decided to throw together a list of items I am craving to try, and will probably make it onto my beauty shopping list for the next couple of months. 

Chanel Vitalumière Aqua Foundation - £32.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair - £44.

Miss Dior Eau Fraîche - £52 (Although I'm undecided between this and the Eau De Toilette).

Elie Saab Le Parfum - £38 (Also undecided between this and the Eau De Toilette).

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette - £20.

MAC Blush in Frankly Scarlet - £17.50.

Glam Glow Super-Mud Clearing Treatment Mask - £45.

I've also really been craving to try the Bobbi Brown Extra Eye Repair Cream, but that's a definite on my beauty shopping spree this summer.

As I tend to spend all my summers in Poland, I became quite familiar with some of the Polish brands. Most of them were alright and just something I would grab because it would be cheaper than foreign brands, but wouldn't be something I'd fuss about keeping in my routine whilst living outside of Poland. A few of them, however, I found to be incredible and in some cases irreplaceable. Ziaja is one of those brands. I decided to look into the brand and see if it's available outside of Poland, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it is slowly beginning to expand worldwide. Therefore, I decided to introduce you to this affordable but brilliant brand. In this post, I will talk about some of my favourite Ziaja products. They are available on various on-line stores, such as Malayka, although some of my favourite products don't seem to be available on most websites, therefore I do recommend trying your luck on eBay, or grabbing them if you happen to be visiting Poland.

So let's get into it.

 ...My M.A.C. virginity, that is. Yes, I have done my first ever shopping in M.A.C.! And I think I'm in the process of developing a M.A.C. addiction now!

My skin tends to be quite problematic, it's very oily and prone to breakouts. I've been on the hunt for a good but inexpensive cleanser that would make my skin feel cleansed, control my oils and decrease the number of  breakouts I get. In this quick review I will show you the best and the worst of the cleansers that I've tried out recently.

Ever since I was very young, I was very self conscious about my teeth. Growing up, I had a pretty noticeable gap between my teeth, à la Vanessa Paradis. But as time passed, that narrowed down until it became pretty much non-existent. However, that was never really my main concern. What I felt the most insecure about was that my teeth refused to be white. Whenever I would ask a dentist about it, they'd always tell me that it's just my natural bone colour and I could never change it, which made me quite sad. But, I still tried, and finally achieved having pearly whites! So I'm going to share my teeth whitening story, and hopefully help a few of you out there who also struggle with stubborn teeth! Also, keep in mind that this is the method that worked for me, and although I personally swear by it, it might work differently for other people! 

I've been a bit lazy today, slothing around the house all day. I decided to do a quick and simple tag just to get my gears turning! And I tag you all!

1. GREED - What are your most expensive and inexpensive make-up items?

My most expensive make-up item is the Urban Decay Naked Palette.

My most inexpensive make-up item would probably be a Rimmel product, although I can't decide which one it would be!

2. WRATH - What make-up product do you have a love and hate relationship with?

The Benefit High Beam highlighter. It can look absolutely studding, but at the same time sometimes it just refuses to work with me! Maybe that's because I'm generally not a big fan of any cream high lighters, blushers or bronzers. I'm a powder girl all the way!

3. GLUTTONY - What is your most delicious make-up product?

The Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lipgloss in Naked. It is so yummy! Oh my! A chocolatey-minty flavour that tastes divine! 

4. SLOTH - What make-up product do you neglect due to laziness?

Primers. Just... Yeah. I always regret it later but I don't seem to realise that I'm undoubtedly going to regret it when I'm being too lazy to put it on!

5. PRIDE - What make-up product gives you the most confidence?

My Make-up Forever HD Foundation. It just makes my skin look great. And having problematic skin, I feel uncomfortable leaving without a foundation.

6. LUST - What make-up product makes you feel more attractive?

Red lipstick! Need I say more?

7. ENVY - What make-up product would you most like to receive as a gift?

The Naked Basics palette! I'm just trying to resist getting it myself but...could I say no to a gift? ;)

Back in December I purchased a couple of things from Clinique, and got a gift consisting of samples of various products. The Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Lotion was one of them. I was very excited, as I am always on the search for a good SPF, as I have not yet found an SPF that wouldn't make my skin feel shiny and oily, and break me out. 

What Clinique says:

Creates a more even appearing skin tone. Protects skin with a high level UVA/UVB protection, while instantly brightening and clarifying the skins appearance.

Product: 6/10.

I disliked this product. When I first got a bit of it out of the tube, I was pleased that it had a very milky consistency, as that made me think it would be very lightweight and would absorb quickly. However, when I spread it on my skin, I found that it would linger, creating a heavy, shiny film on my face. It was sticky, and any make-up applied over it would refuse to stay in place. I also disliked the strong sunscreen scent, as it was very unpleasant. A product with an SPF of only 20 should not feel this heavy. HOWEVER, this product is predominantly for people with an uneven skin tone, which is not a concern of mine. Therefore, I can't comment on the effectiveness of this product's TRUE purpose. I also have very oily skin, so someone with dry, normal or combination skin might not experience the extreme shininess, stickiness and heaviness of this product. The fact that this product protects against both UVA and UVB rays makes this a good sunscreen, as an SPF 20 is a good enough for everyday sun protection. If you suffer from hyper-pigmentation and don't have oily skin, I would still recommend trying this product. ALSO, I tested the old formulation of this lotion, which had been replaced by a new formula which is more friendly for oilier skin. Therefore, some of the things I disliked about this product may now be irrelevant. 

1) I LOVE cats!

2) I've had my cat since I was 4 years old and I grew up with her, so she's pretty much like my sister now! And we're both a little insane...

3) I have an incredible boyfriend who is the kindest and most inspiring person I have ever met! He's truly an angel with a heart of gold!

4) My birthday is on the 21st of October.

5) My real name is Katarzyna, but everyone calls me Kate or Kasha.

6) I have a phobia of dreamcatchers! 

7) My favourite book is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

8) My favourite movies are Amelie and Sweeney Todd.

9) I have a very mixed taste in music, I generally like anything rock-y in any way, so that includes metal, rock'n'roll, punk, indie or any other similar genre. I also really like trip hop and chill music, as well as 80s music.

I haven't been posting as often as I tend to, as I've got exams coming up in less than a week and I've just been pretty occupied with life! Yesterday I was actually seeing my friend who I haven't seen for a year or so as he studies abroad, but came back to visit this summer! Yay! Whilst being out with him, I got these a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e cat-shaped cookie cutters! I have a feeling everything I eat from now on will be cat shaped! It was a pretty long day, so I was pretty relieved when I got back home and had some cuddle-up time with my cat!

I also decided to film a make-up tutorial as I haven't posted anything on my YouTube channel since the introduction video, and I thought it's about time I did! So, whilst getting ready to go out, I set up a camera and everything, had it recording and was quite pleased with how well my make-up turned out! And then I flipped the camera over and it turned out the memory card ran out after like... 2 minutes? So I was left with a face full of perfect make-up and a 2 minute clip of a part of my make-up tutorial. I was really really annoyed! Ugh! But I shall try again after my exams are over, so be patient and stay tuned! I also couldn't decide whether I wanted scrambled eggs or pancakes for breakfast so I made both! Nothing wrong with a bit of variety in life, is there? Or maybe I just had too much free time on my hands. Well, either way, it was yummy! I scrambled one egg with some bell pepper and tomato pieces, and had that with some avocado and hummus, and enjoyed some banana and egg pancakes drizzled with honey and topped with low fat yoghurt and strawberries! Yum! What did you have for breakfast today? :)

I've had some sleeping difficulties lately, and ended up pulling an all-nighter a couple of nights ago. As a result, I had an insane craving for some cinnamon toast. But I didn't want to load myself up with half of my daily calories with one slice of toast, therefore I decided to 'skinny' it up a little. And this is the end result. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the 200 calorie cinnamon toast! I had mine with a banana and some yoghurt, but this would be perfect with a fresh fruit salad or even a fruity smoothie! Mmm...

I was craving something sweet again today, however I had a bit of a cheat day yesterday in terms of sweets, and I refused to let myself fall into a candy vortex again. Nuh-uh, not this time! So I decided to make some healthy cookies! It was generally a bit of an experiment, inspired by Blogilates' healthy cookie recipe. I didn't really know what I was doing, I just chucked together a bunch of things that I thought would work. And it worked! Each one of these cookies has 50 calories, which makes it a great snack! 

 I have always had incredibly brittle nails, they would always bend in ever direction possible, they would peel, they would break before even growing to an acceptable length. I would always hate the fact that I couldn't really wear nice nail polish like all the other girls, cause it would just look awkward on my tiny nails. Now, OPI Nail Envy wasn't the first miracle nail product I came across. It was, in fact, the Rimmel 5 in 1 Nail Care polish. It retails for £4.59 in Boots, and is just a great product for the price. It got my nails to a state where they wouldn't break all the time, where I could grow them to a certain length and keep them that length. So you're probably wondering why I reached for something quadruple the price when I had found such an incredible product. Well, as I said, the Rimmel nail polish did allow me to keep my nails strong(ish) and at a decent length, long enough to finally be able to use all those gorgeous nail colours. However, I wanted something more, cause I wanted beautiful long nails. Not just long enough. So I got searching, and found a lot of positive reviews about OPI Nail Envy, and decided to give it a go. And here is my review.

I have recently discovered the blog and works of the lovely and talented Éilís. Éilís is a gorgeous young Irish lady who seems to have an endless imagination, and creates contemporary, organic jewellery that is predominantly inspired by nature. Her blog is also filled with loads of great tips on designing your own nature inspired artwork. What more could you ask for? (: Check out her Etsy store, Facebook page and website! I am also going to be adding her website to my Lovely Links on the sidebar of my blog!

I had a mango lying around, but I didn't feel like just eating it on its own. I craved something sweet and creamy.. So I made a smoothie!

Ingredients:

As it is skin cancer awareness month, I decided to post some useful information and tips regarding sun protection. But first, let's talk about why sun protection is so important, and what a difference it makes aesthetically. 

Did you know that skin cancer is the most common form of cancer? 

Did you know that skin cancer is not uncommon among young people, even those in their early 20s?

Did you know that there is a very simple method of drastically decreasing the chances of getting skin cancer?

There are a few risk factors that can contribute to skin cancer, predominantly exposure to UV light, as well as moles. (read more about the risk factors here).

UV light can be split up into three categories:

Therefore, it is extremely important that when choosing an SPF lotion, we make sure it protects us from both UVA and UVB rays!

Now, the aesthetic side of things.

What Clinique says:

Chubby Stick Moisturising Lip Colour Balm is a lip treatment with sheer colour that relieves dry, cracked lips and provides immediate moisturisation. The unique pencil-style applicator provides easy to apply sheer soft lip colour and rolls up for ease of use.

Product: 2/10.

Not moisturising at all. In fact, I felt like it dried out my lips. It was alright at first, but it actually made my lips feel horrid in the long run. The colour is extremely sheer and requires a lot of layers to show up at all. I liked the packaging and the ease of use, but expected a quality product inside.

Since I've never done a fashion post before, I decided that a haul would be a good start. Also, I've gone a little shopping crazy these past three weeks. I blame it on the stress... Yep. Also, please ignore the predominant cat theme. It was a coincidence. I swear! I've also dropped a size since last summer, which was my excuse to get some shorts and a skirt. And was all up for some comfy tops for England's bipolar weather. Down below is a list of the shops which I've gotten these items from, with links if I could find them!

What Maybelline says:

Meet the 14 HR lipstick that won't weigh you down. Super rick colour with super staying power. No dragging. No drying. No letdowns at all.

14 HR Lipstick with an ultra-lightweight formula:

For best results apply your lip colour by starting in the centre of your upper lip. Work from the centre to the outer edges of your lip, following the contours of your mouth. Then glide across the entire bottom lip.

I was feeling a bit hungry and craving a sweet snack in the evening, but didn't want to go overboard on calories, so I prepped up this quick snack using rice cakes, low fat yoghurt, peanut butter, strawberries and dark chocolate. I mixed a tablespoon of yoghurt with half a tablespoon of peanut butter and spread it over two rice cakes, topped it with 5 small cut up strawberries and drizzled (or attempted to) with a square of melted dark chocolate. Yummy yum. You could also half the ingredients for a small 100 calorie snack.