The Life Changing Art of Tidying! By Marie Kondo

This is the very first time that I am writing about a book. I only want to make a short note of it because it gave me an interesting way to look at my clutter at home and how I can be more arranged. 

I am not a messy person as such but I would also identify myself as a "using something and not returning it to where it belongs" kind of person.

So in her successful book Marie Kondo talks about the ways that are causing cutter in somebody's home and I did find myself in several of her examples. Ooops...

I liked her idea that the large well-known storage units usually are just bought by us to keep all our clutter allowing us to hide it from our eyes. Its so true, at least for me.

She is giving advice of how to get rid of things and more importantly what to get rid of. As we all have stuff that we feel emotionally connected to her method is not about throwing everything just out but to think about what to keep and how to storage it.

Her way of looking at belongings with more respect and care really touched me and I believe there is something about it. If you care for what you own that it will last longer. She also believes that living in a tidy space where we feel at home in, gives us a different look on things and helps us to achieve in life what we really want to do.

For everybody that is interested in getting more organized this book is a very nice guide into how to start tidying up your home. 

On a side note though...I am German so I have difficulties throwing away credit card bills and bank statements so I skipped that part of her book and filed them up neatly.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today I am sharing with you a very easy recipe for baking chocolate chip cookies.  I like home-made cookies of any kind and need to admit that cookies is what I am having for breakfast on a work day. I know... not a very healthy habit.

So how to make chocolate chip cookies?

You need:

• 250gr of flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• A bit of salt
• 170gr melted butter
• 100gr brown sugar
• 50gr white sugar
• 6 teaspoons of vanilla pudding powder
• 1 Egg
• 200gr chocolate chips (white/brown as you like)

1. Mix flour and the baking soda in a large bowl.
2. Melt the butter and mix it with the white and brown sugar in an additional bowl.
3. Mix the egg with the pudding powder separately.
4. Add the egg/pudding powder mix to the melted butter and sugar.
5. Add the mixture from no.4 to the flour and baking soda (no.1) and mix everything gently.

This is how the dough looks at this point.

   
      6. Put the chocolate chips into the dough.

      

      7. Form cookies

      8. Bake at 170C for 10-15min.

And thats it!!! I got almost 30 cookies! (Some were already eaten when picture was taken)

LANCOME Eau Micellaire Douceur

I do not want to spend much time on reviewing this as this product has not worked for me.

The LANCOME Eau Micellaire Douceur is a cleansing water for face eyes and lips.
It comes in a pump dispenser for easy dosage. It has a heavy scent which might be the reason why I got an allergic reaction to this.
I have used this product for about a week and burns on my skin and makes me feel uncomfortable. I thought that I might need to get used to it as it seems to do a good job removing make-up and mascara. Depending on your skin type it might be a decent product for you. For me unfortunatly this is not the case.

Now I am using the cleansing water for cleansing my neck and it works fine. However I would not repurchase this product.

CHANEL La Solution 10

La Solution 10 de Chanel is moisturizer for sensitive skin. The creme is alcohol, fragrance and oil-free.  The product is called la Solution 10 because it is only containing 10 ingredients. The small number of ingredients should allow people with very sensitive skin to use it. It is the first product of that kind that Chanel has brought to market. 

The 10 ingredients are:

1. Water
2. Vegetal Squalane
3. Soft Powder
4. Glycerin
5. Silver Needle Tea Extract
6. Shea Butter Extract
7. Emollient
8. Emulsifier
9. Humectant
10. Preservative

I was curious when I heard about this product because I like the idea of a moisturizer that is especially designed for sensitive skin. My skin is reacting to all kind of ingredients in skin care products so I decided to give this cream a try.

The moisturizer comes in a white pump dispenser. The container with 30ml costs about 80 Euros.

The cream is white, thick and without any scent. You need only one pump for the face. The moisturizer is very soft when it touches the skin and it is observed quickly. After the application the skin does not burn or itch even if the cream is applied on the eye area.

I have been using La Solution 10 for about two weeks now every morning and have had no problems with it. I need to add that I also do not feel that my skin condition has significantly improved but my skin feels as nice and soft as before. I have not had any allergic reaction using La Solution 10 allowing me to conclude that the product is suitable for my skin hence world-changing improvements of my skin are yet to be seen.

Guerlain Terracotta Joli Teint Powder

The Terracotta Joli Teint Powder from Guerlain is a very nice light bronzer. It costs about 50 Euros for 10gr. The Terracotta Joli Teint Powder comes in 4 colors: clair blondes, clair brunettes, naturel blondes and naturel brunettes.
The powders for blondes are having a cooler undertone while the ones named brunettes have a warmer undertone. In the end you need to chose the color that fits your skin tone and not base your choice on the hair color labeled on the product. I chose clair brunettes even though my hair is blond and not brunette simply because my skin color is on the warmer side.

The powder comes in a plastic container and has a mirror. It does not come with any type of brush but you can purchase the Terracotta brush that Guerlain recommends for this bronzer.

 

The bronzer consists of a brown side and a pink/peachy side. When applied with a brush those colors are mixed together. The powder as no shimmer or glitter of any sort which makes it very natural.

I use this powder as a bronzer over my foundation or for an easy look completely without foundation. I use the Guerlain Terracotta brush and apply it on my cheeks, nose, chin and forehead. As my skin is relatively light I do not use a lot of product because I do not want look too sun-kissed because it would not look natural on me.
In terms of scent the powder smells like sunscreen and makes me think about summer immediately.

For me this is a lovely every day bronzer for the summer because it is not too dark and last on my skin all day.

Summing up:

Pros:

·                     Natural Finish, brozer nice for people with lighter skin

·                     Long-lasting 

Cons:

·                     Quite expensive

·                     Scent might bother those with sensible nose

Guerlain - Météorites Compact Powder

The Guerlain Météorites compact powder is the compact version of the popular Météorites powder pearls. It is available in the same colors as the powder peals and is intended to give the same finish. 10gr cost about 55 Euros in the compact version as compared to 25gr powder pearls that you get for the same price. (25gr of powder pearls referring to the new edition of the product - the old container (2013) contained 30gr).

The product is packaged in a silver plastic container with a flower engraving on the top. It comes with a mirror but without any sort of brush. Depending on your preference you can apply it with a powder brush or the Météorites powder brush that was specifically designed for it.

I purchased this in color 03 medium. The idea of the different colored powder pearls from the original product is transmitted to the compact in a way that the powder looks like pressed pearls resulting in a powder that has different shades.

In terms of finish I do not feel any difference to the original Météorites powder pearls which I reviewed a while back.
Well, why did I actually purchase this, if the compact costs more than the powder pearls? Simply because of the comfortably of the compact format and because I was curious to see if there is any diffierence.

Summing up:

Pros:

·                     Comfortable packaging

·                     Natural Finish 

Cons:

·                     Costs more than powder pearls which have the same finish

·                     Exactly the same as powder pearls, hence both products are not needed

CHANEL Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder

The Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder is from the Chanel Les Beiges series which is aimed to create a natural look as if you were not using any make-up. The Healthy Glow Fluid is from the same series and the products can be used together. 

The Healthy Glow Sheer Powder contains 12gr. and retails for about 50 Euros.It comes in a little black velvet pouch and contains also a brush. The brush fits exactly into the comapct and is held in place by a little black cover that you set on top of the powder itself. The soft brush is moon-shaped with a wavy grip.

I am using shade no. 20 which is one shade darker than the lightest. The lightest shade is no.10.and it is too light for me. It makes me look pale. 
The powder smells like roses exactly like the Healthy Glow Fluid. Depending on how sensible your are to scents it can bother your fine nose. Once the product is applied though I do not smell it anymore. For me the scent is not disturbing but I am not particularly a fan of it. The scent is similar in strength as the scents of the Guerlain powders. 

The powder can be applied as is for a very natural look or as a setting powder over the Health Glow Fluid or any other foundation. It is very fine milled and has very light coverage. It feels very light on the face but it will also not cover any imperfections. 

I used it as a setting powder over a BB cream and it works just fine for me. In terms of lasting power I am not excited. On my skin the powder does not sit longer than 4 hours while other powders such as the Guerlain Météorites Powder Pearls stay put up to 8 hours.

Its very convenient that the product comes with its own brush that fits into the compact. Many people have remarked that they dislike the little moon-shaped brush as it is not working for them to distribute the product evenly. Well, I can not confirm it as I do not experience any trouble with the small brush but I do agree that a normal sized face brush is more comfortable when powdering my face. I have a better grip and I can cover my face evenly in a much faster way.

Summing up:

Pros:

·                     Includes a brush

·                     Natural Finish 

Cons:

·                     Lasting power is not more than 4 hours