Hello everybodyyyyy! Oh my god, I wanted to blog today so badly and I saw that this post was a concept since august! I'll just write it now and hope that you guys don't mind that another empties post will also be written soon because my empties-bag is overflowing. All my intern-assignments for school are finished so I decided to have a chill evening. And that means... blogging! 

As always, I'll write about the product, my experience with it and if I want to purchase it again. I'd say: let's get started!

Life Update: School, Internships, Piercings,...

Hi everyone! How long has it been? I think months! I know I have been off the radar lately but I have been sooooo busy with school lately, it's insane. I really miss blogging and I'm trying to find time to write again, I hope I'll be able to post a blog every now and then.

Where do I begin? For starters, I don't live in a studio in Ghent anymore. I only had one internship to go and I was able to find one close to my home. I didn't want to have a studio for half a year, so just decided to live back home with my parents again. It was weird leaving the studio where I lived for 4 years behind but hey, it's time for new adventures. 

So, for those of you who don't know, I started a new internship in October. I failed my internship last year in a resting home in Ghent so I had to redo it now. Luckily for me, it's at a new place, to have a fresh start. I now do my internship in a rehabilitation center for people that had a brain trauma. Accidents, bleedings, strokes, people that fell off stairs and hit their head. The first week was very hard and confronting at times, but now I really love it. So far it's all going great and my team of fellow occupational therapists are awesome. 
If this internship and my bachelor's paper go good, I can graduate in January and starting a new adventure: finding work. But with all the hard work for school, it leaves very little time to blog. But don't be alarmed: I miss blogging, I miss you guys and I really want to start doing it again.

What else is new? I got a second piercing in September. It's a Tragus piercing that I wanted for months now! I finally decided to get it, with my mom for mental support. I'm not very brave when it comes to needles and piercing. But I love how it looks. It hurt for about two weeks but so far, no infections. *Knock on hard wood* 

I have so many stuff to blog about: New make-up, jewelry, my empties bag is overflowing, Colourpop stuff, Diet plans... 

I'll speak to you guys soon <3

Have a lovely weekend 
xxx,
Astrid

Colourpop Lippie Stix 'Staycation' Set: Review and Swatches

Hello, hello, helloooooo! Girls, I'm back today with such an exciting post. I think most of you have heard about a lil brand named 'Colourpop'? Yes, COLOURPOP. It's becoming more and more popular the last year because of their pigmented yet affordable products. I always wanted to try some things out. I finally got the chance to order some products, like a set of their Lippie Stix. I've heard these were pigmented, creamy and AH-mazing. Pretty high expectations, I know. So how did they perform?

My Top 5 Favorite Perfumes

Hey girls, after a few days of playing Pokémon Go, I'm back today with a post about perfume. I picked out my 5 favorite perfumes of all time out of my collection. I usually don't use specific perfumes in a specific season, I wear them all year round. You'll notice in this post that I prefer floral scents. I just love flowers and their scents. I'm also a sucker for beautiful perfume bottles and love how all of these look. I searched descriptions on the websites of the brand, but will also include a personal review. 

Sales Sales Sales: Maasmechelen Village Outlet Haul!

July is sales month in Belgium and so the perfect time make a little trip to Maasmechelen Village, an outlet nearby the Dutch border. They have a few of my favorite stores, like Fossil, and they always have nice promotions. But this time, I really did find some awesome deals. I got some jewelry, a pair of awesome pants and my new all-time favorite shoes. 

Astrids Kitchen: Tasty/BuzzFeed Recipe Tested: Cheesy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake

Hello, lovely readers! After a long time, I'm back with a new recipe! I decided to do a sort of 'taste test' on a Buzzfeed/Tasty recipe I found online a few days ago. It's the Cheesy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake! Also known as penne pasta with chicken, white saus and cheese in the oven! If you like this combination, keep on reading and discover what, and my boyfriend, thought about it! 

Beauty Haul: My Trip to Italy!

Hey ladies! I recently got back from a trip to Italy with my boyfriend. We did a tour through Tuscany and visited Lucca, Firenze, Arezzo, Siena, San Gimignano and Pisa. Italy is the land of Kiko, you can find them in every city! Also, you can find Sephora in most of the cities! I picked up a few things from Kiko, Sephora and a local supermarket.

NYX Matte Lip Cream First Impressions

NYX cosmetics has opened its first store here in Belgium and I couldn't be more excited. It opened on the 23rd of June, but I was still on vacation then. I heard people waited in line to get in for three hours (!!). I had to be in Ghent Wednesday so I decided to take a look at what the store had to offer. I went in with one goal: finally pick up some Soft Matte Lip Creams. So I did! This is a first impressions post, to show you girls which colors I got, how they look and what I think about them so far.

Kruidvat/Drugstore Haul: June 2016

Hey girls! I'm here today with a very exciting drugstore haul! Kruidvat was having a VIP night last friday with -20% on everything (except book, but don't ask me why). I took the chance to completely go crazy and buy some products I've had my eye on for a while now. I also went a little nuts in the 'matte' liquid lipstick department. 

H&M Beauty: Review and Swatches

As a lot of you may know, H&M has recently brought out a FANTASTIC new beauty line. About two weeks ago, they were having a 'buy 2, get 1 free' sale. I bought some stuff and now, I'm completely hooked. I got a lipstick, a blush and a velvet lip cream. A week later, I went back to get another lipstick. In this post, I'll be showing swatches of everything. 

I got the following products: 
- Velvet Lip Cream in 'Le Beau Monde'
- Pure Radiance Powder Blush in 'Pink Peach'
- Cream Lip Color in 'Siena Piazza' and 'Penny Red'

Time to Recycle: Empties #12

You know it's time to empty your 'Empties Bag' when you discover a spider in it. This has been way too long: It's time to recycle! I know I've absent for a LONG time now, but things at school have been crazy busy. I had to concentrate on my internship and after that, I had an exam. I finally have time to blog again and trust me, I have so many blogpost planned for you guys! Let's start with one of my favorites: the empties! 

Sleek 'A New Day' I-Divine Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches

A few readers of my drugstore haul showed interest in the Sleek palette I purchased so I decided to do a review on it. This palette is called 'A New Day' and I think it's quite new to the Sleek collection. It reminds me a bit of the 'Oh so special' palette, but not as pink. There is also an 'All Night Long' palette, which is overal slightly darker toned and has more shades with a metallic finish. Sleek is known for their eyeshadow palettes, I did a review on 'Au Natural' and 'Storm'. But is this one as good as the other ones?

March Beauty Haul: Deauty, Di & Kruidvat

Can you believe it's already April? March was a very busy month but I managed to get some shop therapy every now and then. I got some things on sale at Kruidvat, received a Deauty box and splurged at Di (local drugstore). Some nail polish, cheek products, eyeshadow and lip stuff... I'm ready for Spring, bring it on!

I'm also very proud that after 4 years of blogging, I finally went Facebook official! You have follow me here. I'll be posting photos, links, new blogposts and so much more over there. Join me!

What I Got For My Birthday 2016

Cake, confetti, laughter and presents. Wednesday 23rd of March was my 23rd birthday and the past week, I got presents from friends and family. I still have to meet up with some friend, but I already wanted to share what I got this week. I don't write this blogpost to brag or show off, I just want to share the happiness! 

In this post, the presents from my parents, boyfriend, brothers, godchild, friends from Ghent and Sanja from Sparkle With Laughter will be included. That last one was such a nice surprise, I hadn't expected it at all! 

The End of Days Without Meat (Dagen Zonder Vlees): What Now?

40 days ago, I accepted a challenge to eat no (or as less as possible) meat or fish. The 40 days are over now and I want to tell you guys how's it has been, how my vision has changed and the most important thing: how it's going to go from now on. My eating habits have changed a lot the past 40 days and I think I'm going to take some new habits with me, for my future meals. So here's a quick update!

The last 40 days, I had to enter my meatless days in a 'counter' at the website of Dagen Zonder Vlees. I cheated a few days but I have eaten no meat of fish on 32 days of the 40-day challenge. For someone who didn't think she could never be a vegetarian, I think I did a pretty decent job! They calculated how well the vegetarian days are for the environment. I have saved 491m² at the ecological footprint. That's as much as 339 baths of driving 693km with the car. I'm pretty happy with those amounts. 

The last week was the hardest. I craved something with meat soooooo badly! However, I've discovered some really delicious vegetarian products and meals lately. Tonight, I'm going to treat myself to a huge spaghetti carbonara with my family. I've learned so much about food habits and eating different. I love vegetables so much and you can be so creative with them.

How are things going to go from now on?
I'm thinking about becoming a 'part time' vegetarian. I know that sounds very stupid and I think pure vegetarians wouldn't like it, but I can't give up meat and fish completely. I'm going to try and eat vegetarian meals as much as possible. But I'm not going to hold myself back when I want steak or salmon.

Happy Easter, sweet readers! <3

xx, 
Astrid

Unboxed & Tasted: Food Nomads Snack/Verwen Box (Joy Anna Thielemans)

Food Nomads is een bedrijf dat om de 3 maanden een unieke food box uitbrengt, in samenwerking met een bekende vlaming. De vorige doos was een ontbijtbox met Siska Schoeters. Via de website van Flair heb ik deze huidige doos, een verwenbox vol lekkere snacks geselecteerd door de getalenteerde Joy Anna Thielemans, aan -50% kunnen bemachtigen. Door deze dozen te bestellen, steun je trouwens ook het goede doel! Met deze doos wordt Make A Wish België gesteund. Food én liefdadigheid? Perfecte combinatie!

Food Nomads is a company that brings out a foodbox every 3 months, with the help of a famous Belgian. After a breakfast box, they know brought out a new box full of snacks, selected by the talented Joy Anna Thielemans, an actress/columnist. I got this box at -50% with a coupon code. Purchasing this box also means that you donate money to the Make A Wish Foundation.

Time to Recylcle: Empties #11

I was so happy to see the products pile up in my Empties bag again: Time for another one of my favorite posts! I've done a big declutter in my make-up stash last month and threw away everything I don't use anymore/haven't used for a long time. I'm not going to show you everything, don't worry. But I'm showing the products I've used up recently and will tell you if I would repurchase them or not. 

40 Days Without Meat: Update 1

Hello there, sweet readers. How was your weekend? It's been almost two weeks since I announced that I was doing this Meatless-days challenge. I'll just jump in and say: It's going quite well! I'm also going to be honest with you guys: it's been 13 days since I started, but I must admit: I have eaten meat on three of them *NOOOO*!

Nail of the Day: O.P.I. 'A Great Opera-unity'

In about two weeks, my new internship will start and I won't be aloud to wear nail polish. So lately, I've been wearing it non-stop! Today, I'll be showing you this gorgeous color from the O.P.I. Venice collection, that came out in the fall. It's called 'A Great Opera-tunity'. 

The Body Shop Honey & Oat 3-in-1 Moisturizing Scrub Mask

I think I have found my favorite scrub/face mask ever. The weather here in Belgium has been very weird lately: one day the sun is shining, the other it's pouring rain and than it's freezing. My skin can't keep up. It's been feeling a bit dry. While I was in Amsterdam, we went inside the body shop and they were busy training new employees. They asked us if we were interested in some skin care advice. I had a very sweet employee and she told be about this great face mask. I decided to try it out and it is amazing!

Challenge: 40 Days Without Meat #Dagenzondervlees

My favorite dish is spaghetti Carbonara. I love steak with pepper sauce. Domino's pizza with chicken, tomatoes and pepperoni is one of my greatest loves and Sushi. Just Sushi. The word says enough. So this might come as a shock to some people: I'm not eating meat for 40 days. 

Why am I doing this?
Too be honest, I have no idea. I went to the supermarket monday and I saw some delicious veggie burgers and I saw hummus and I bought A LOT of fruit. I really wanted to buy healthy stuff. When I came home, I noticed I hadn't gotten any meat. Pure coincidence, I admit. So I thought: Okay, I'll do a veggie week. Last night, I was watching TV and I saw that today, February 10, an organization in Belgium called 'Dagen Zonder Vlees' (Days Without Meat) started their annual meat-less 40 days. And was just like: Why not?
I want to eat more healthy and experiment more with veggies. I usually make paprika's or courgettes when I'm at my studio in Ghent. Delicious, yes, but it's time to explore more. I love vegetables and eat every single one of them, I just want to be more creative in my dishes.  

The days without meat challenge started today and will end March 26. Will I succeed?

Huge Kiko Haul: First Impressions & Swatches

After a month of exams, group assignments and classes, there is finally time to blog again! One of my resolutions this year was to blog regularly again but there was just no time. Until know: I have a week of vacation! Time to get back into the blog life! January was a very good month because... there were sales EVERYWHERE. So I went a little nuts here and there. I discovered that there was a Kiko store in Brussels (Since when? AND why wasn't this front page news here?) so I paid a little visit. I love browsing the sale sections and scored a few nice goodies. A lot of things were sold out already so I also paid the web shop a visit. Today, I can finally talk about everything. Here we go!