PHOTO: Where Children Sleep by James Mollison

Anonymous, 9, Ivory Coast

 Before sleeping I usually use the few minutes before to check all my mails and news and to surf a bit on the internet. Last night just before going to sleep I dumped into this series of portraits by James Mollison via Travelettes. It really made me think a lot and made me appreciate the comfort our western life style gives us since we were children. We don't think enough about how the rest of the world looks like. I sometimes feel really bad when I overreact to something that doesn't appear to be how I wish it would be. Mostly it's small things we get angry about. It can be money, things we want or plans which don't come up as how we want them to be. But what about the rest of the world. What might they be thinking about when we stand in front of the supermarket shelf while having problems on deciding what to buy. What might they think when we go to bed being annoyed about the cold weather outside. All those small problems which annoy us each day seem to be so silly if you just compare these pictures. I want you to think about them and not just look at them. Try to think about these children and then think about your own childhood and who you are now.

Indira, 7, Kathmandu, Nepal

Li, 10, Beijing, China

 

Bikram, 9, Melamchi, Nepal

See more here.

Have a thoughtful weekend.

BEAUTY: Metallic frosty eyes

O.K. so after being so serious in the past days I thought of posting something less serious again. Thanks to my good mood since I was just told that I passed my horrible paramedic pre-exams today which I had from Monday till today or else I wouldn't have come up with an unimportant topic again. What a nerve-racking job. Well anyways, let's come back to the girlie topic:
As you know, I really love make-up. Not the ones which are like Bam-in-your-face-make-up but more the ones which just enhances your looks. So here are my favorite eye-shadows at the moment to make the perfect winter shimmer on your eye lids. But don't forget to use moisturizer during this frosty season. Bling bling!

 MAC  Paint Pot in "Bare study" // & Other Stories pressed eye shadow in "Calico White Lamé"

Have a frosty Thursday,

LIFE: Know yourself.

It is a gift when you know what to do with your life, when you have had the same dream since youth or childhood. And you know exactly how you want your life to be for the next 30, 40 or 50 years. You have the feeling that there is nothing else on earth that you are supposed to do in your future. You have the feeling that because you are meant to do this or to make your life become like in your dream you have all the control over your life and you want to do everything perfectly. I do agree that this feeling is true which sounds great of course but it has consequences and hints as well. And that is what I figured out again today when I did not fulfill my own aim during an exam.
My biggest dream was, is and will always be to become a good doctor. And there is no one or nothing that can prevent me from making this dream come true, except myself of course. But that luckily has not happened and will for sure never happen since I have had the same picture of how my life should be since my childhood. It is of course great when you have always known what you want to become and how you want your life to be like when you are older, especially if you have always stick to the same goal and you really know THIS IS IT! Figuring this out at an early age (I am now 22) is rare, yes. But it happens. And people envy you but sometimes you wish to be more open and to leave more things to chance like others.
The will to achieve a certain profession or position needs a lot of ambition, hard work and patience. But that definitely is not all. If you put your goals very high then you must accept that while climbing the way to your goal you will also fall very deep. It is dangerous when you will not get enough strength to get up by yourself and climb again getting closer to your goal. It is normal and it will happen more than once. It can be a small step which leads you closer to what you want to achieve which you just cannot get up on. Or it can be a lack of effort getting to the next step. There can be several reasons for this to happen but you should always do the best and as much as you can to achieve step by step. But it is important, too to know yourself very well. If you put your goals to high, you will have a hardship life if you cannot even climb the tiny steps leading to where you want to be. You must know yourself. You must know what you can, how much pressure you can bear and if you can push yourself enough to really get to your goal. And you must be able to do this by yourself and for yourself. There will be family and friends supporting you. But if you do not support yourself then you cannot get to where and who you want to be. Do not struggle and do not force yourself. If you think your life is hard, then do not continue with what you are doing. Cause if you really want to do it, you would not think it is difficult. You would just accept the fact that it requires a lot of work and effort but you would not find it difficult and you would not struggle. You would just DO IT. You would just do it without thinking too much about it and if you cannot make it, you would try again and again until you have reached the next step without losing your ambition. Actually your will and ambition getting to your goal will grow with each step you climb. If this is not the case, well then I am sorry to say that you do not know yourself enough to know what you actually want, what you are doing and for whom or for what sake you are doing it. If it is so then take a break and think over everything again, reflect yourself and ask yourself: Am I doing this for me? Or for someone else? Am I just trying to prove something to others? Do I really want to do all this work to achieve this goal?
I know it is not easy to know exactly what you want and to be sure what is the right thing to do. But I just want to say that you should know yourself and be honest. Do not fool yourself, do not persuade yourself of something you do not really want because you want to prove something. Just be yourself and do what is the best for you. Do never feel forced, struggle or lie to yourself. Do not compare with others. Compare yourself with who you are know and who you want to be. Know your own mistakes, you strength and especially your deficits. Accept that you can't do everything perfectly and that you do mistakes from which you can learn from. Listen to your heart. You are the only one who can control you life.

Be yourself and accept who you are.

MUSIC: Song of the Week

Banks - Warm Water (Snakehips Remix)

MUSIC: Pharell Williams - Happy (a 24 hour music video)

 This is for sure the best music video I've seen! So simple and yet to great. It's the first 24 hour music video on earth showing amateurs dancing through the whole video! I love it and it definitely makes you happy. So please watch it and I swear it'll for sure make you smile:)

http://24hoursofhappy.com/

Have a happy friday,

LIFE: Learn from mistakes.

.... well, sometimes it's not that easy.

There are things which we love doing. But sometimes not all of these things are fun but still we do it again and again. And instead of listening to our rationality we just think of having fun which leads us to disappointment and anger. And at the end we regret what we've done which is wrong for my opinion. We shouldn't regret things we've done which didn't lead to the result we were expecting but instead we should learn from our mistakes and improve what we do later on. But there are moments in which we don't think in this way. Of course it's not possible to act upon sanity all the time. We make decisions out of our heart. Which is good cause that's what makes us emotional humans.
We always hope of something to happen and do certain actions for these to occur. Even if one bad sign appears and we loose hope for a while we don't give up and continue as if everything will just be o.k. again. Everyone has done things which they wish they would have done differently or wouldn't have done at all. Some of my mistakes were repeated several times until I got hurt enough to finally understand that it's not always wise to listen to my heart  (or better say someone else's heart). Some situations can hurt you so bad that you lose your emotions when making a decision concerning a particular person and you can't do anything else than being aware of your own secure even though you probably would have thought differently just a few days ago. There are many aggravating surprises turning up in life which we just have to deal with. But most of all we have to learn out of these. Being hurt by someone e.g. should teach you how to think more about yourself and your feelings. It makes you realize that you've deserved better and it makes you think more about the other persons character in detail which negative sides for sure didn't strike you because you were probably in an emotional ingenuousness. But thinking about the mistake doesn't help at all. Why even call it a mistake? Cause you haven't done something wrong or else you would feel the guilt which you don't cause that's what the person should feel who hurt you. It's not a mistake. It's a lesson. It's an experience which you have to go through to make things easier in future. It's a part of growing up, becoming mature and more confident. So thank you, particular someone, for making me stronger and more confident. Just imagine what this person has lost by doing a stupid thing which can definitely be called a mistake. There are some many other great things to happen out there if you just take more care of yourself and do never let others hurt you before you hurt them.

Be nice to yourself,

RANDOM: I thought it couldn't get worse.

Ok, so waking at 5.30 am on Saturdays is NO FUN and I thought it couldn't get worse. But this is how it feels like getting up at 4.30 am on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays AND Fridays. Oh and I probably should mention that I spend my free time studying like stupid. I love paramedic/ hospital life. And yes, I DO need a break and I can't wait to travel on my own learning how to enjoy the dissolute lifestyle.
But always look into the future and never forget your goals. Work hard and travel hard. Haha.

RANDOM: How I felt this morning.

Waking up at 5.30 am on a Saturday is NO FUN.

... specially NOT when you flat mate drank the last coffee you were dreaming about while sleeping.

FASHION & BEAUTY: Angora and Pastels

Oh it's so cold this November. The weather has really spoiled us the last month and this is now what we get. I posted some of my favorite pieces which kept me warm, well-tended, busy and pretty. Some pieces from delicate jewelry to beauty products. As you might notice I've been really addicted with angora and wool and as you've read in my post Autumn's moisturizers with hydrating products as well, especially the organic ones.
 
1. This t-shirt, o.k. t-shirts might not be the proper clothing to wear during this season of the year, but with a thin cardigan on top this still keep you warm. It's navy-blue (almost black as it seems on the picture) and white stripes and it's 100% cotton. Tug it into your high-waist jeans, put on a light jacket and that's it. Simple but yet casual. From & Other Stories

2. I LOOOOOVE this scarf! Really! It was love at first sight. It reminds me of the wool canada scarfs from Acne only that it's softer, cheaper and the color is more mine. It's 70% Wool and 30% Angora, can it be any more better than this?! I could wear it all day long, day and night. And it's easy to match with anything. From & Other Stories

3. No my taste hasn't changed since years. I'm still in love with delicate jewelry and I just rediscovered an old post of mine which proves this statement. I don't easily find jewelry which I like and which is really time less. I think we spend to much money on useless accessories which we forget next season cause it's run out of fashion. That's why i rather invest in fine jewelry I can wear all year long without looking too 90s. Necklace and rings both from & Other Stories

4. Take a step into the fabulous world of Aesop and you don't want to leave anymore. That's how I felt when I visited the first Aesop store here in Berlin in the "Alte Schönhauserstraße". I could have tried all their products if I would have got a bit more time. For rough dried winter hands I recommend the Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm. It's rich in Beta-carotene and tocopherol, mandarin rind, rosemary leaf and cedarwood atlas. It deeply moisturizes and is easily absorbed leaving a soft and hydrated condition on your hands, cuticles and feet.

5. The Gentlewoman is a great magazine full of interesting interviews of inspring gentlewomen. This season's issue: Interview with the french actress Léa Seydoux. Great reading material when tugging into bed on the cold autumn days.

6. Always keep your head warm and protect yourself from colds. This angora beanie will help you. So soft and warm you just want to hold it in your hands all the time. 70% Angora (30% Polyamide) from & Other Stories

7. Nainsook body oil which I've been raving about since weeks mentioning it in my post Autumn's moisturizers. From & Other Stories

8. Not so known but recommendable is the organic make-up brand W3ll People. They produce 100% natural cosmetics and have such pretty, very slightly shimmering mineral blushes which I've been putting on my cheeks this week for not looking too pale (summer's bronze is slowly disappearing). My favourite is the Purist Luminous Mineral Blush in the shade "61".

Have a warm and fluffly thursday,

BEAUTY: Don't stop if there's still a drop - Empty bottles and tubes.

I would say that I've been very experimental in the last few months concerning beauty products while trying to figure out what is the best for my hair and skin. But it's obviously not as easy as I thought it would be but I've definitely learned a bit more about the ideal beauty buy. These are the products I've been using regularly in the the last two or three months and which didn't disappoint me.

First of all I was craving for finding the perfect facial treatment and accepted my aunt's hint on trying out Clinique. At first I was a bit over strained by their multifaceted offers of facial products sorted in different facial treatment series and again sorted in different product types. But once you spend a bit time in researching you get to find out which care products you need. I never have problems in finding out what skin type I am, because I've had the same problem since years. Blemishes.

1// I immediately decided to try out the 3-Step Anti-Blemish Solutions series containing the Anti-Blemish Solutions Cleaning Foam which I really recommend. It's a really light cleanser which can easily be applied and spread on the skin without needing much water. After rinsing with warm water the face feels smooth and not too dry as many cleansers do after rinsing it off the skin. I didn't have the feeling at all that it was aggressive to my skin or that my skin felt tight. But you should definitely remove your make-up beforehand or else the cleanser has no use at all because the nutritive substances can't enrich your skin and you would mix all the dirt and make-up with the cleanser onto your face. Well of course that doesn't make any sense at all.

2// So to remove my make-up I use the Bioderma Sébium H20. I swear I've never found something as good as this. I'm already emptying the second 500ml bottle. The make-up removes quickly and makes you feel clean. After removing make-up and cleansing the face I was recommended by the friendly saleslady at the Clinique counter to use an exfoliator afterwards to remove the dead skin cells. Well, this is the step 2 of the 3-Step concept but I should have left this out and instead have done a twice-a-week facial peeling instead. So doing what the saleslady recommended I of course purchased the over-expensive Clinique Anti-Blemish-Soutions Clarifying Lotion. This was the last time I will ever purchase this again. I didn't even get the reason why exfoliating the skin everyday should be good cause it seemed to be too aggressive for the facial skin due to it's sensitiveness. And I should have thought of this before! After strictly following the recommendation hoping for improvement of my skin, it just became worse. So using the cleanser which I'm really satisfied with didn't really have any use when afterwards the exfoliator just worsen the face issue. Next time I'll think twice.

3+4// But for moisturizing after cleaning and before applying make-up I do recommend the Bioderma Sébium AI cream and before going to bed the Clinique Anti-Blemish Clearing Moisturizer. These help my skin to be protected againt dryness during the day and night.

5// For the tired swollen dark eyes in the morning I use the Kiehl's Eye Alert. Well it doesn't really help I think but it's ok for freshness and under eye make-up. And I do belive it has a placebo effect or else I wouldn't apply it around my eyes every morning.

6+7// So enough about face products let's talk about hair care. Besides of make-up this is probably the beauty area in which I like to try out different products the most because I never have problems with my hair which I hardly can't solve. Since two months I've been using the same. For rinsing I use the Balea Glossy Braun Shampoo to give my hair an extra glint of brown tone. And to smoothen out my dry hair I use the Dove Intensive Repair 1-Minute Cure-Conditioner. I can't think of a better conditioner. It makes my hair feel so soft no matter if I let it dry in the air or even if I blow dry my hair. This wonder-conditioner is like a super-moisturizing-hair-smoothener and always makes me want to touch my hair when it's dry because I never can believe how soft it becomes.

I hope this post can help you a bit trying to find your ideal hair and face care products. Sometimes it's not that easy but it takes time, patience and curiousness finding out what is the best for you and you must be patient in awaiting the results you're hoping for.

Have an inspiring day.

FASHION: Alöe Loungewear by Clair Judge

Pullover: Massimo Dutti // Pumps and shirt: Zara // Jeans: Cheap Monday // Underwear: Alöe

Depending on what you wear beneath your clothes can certainly change the way you feel. I prefer wearing lacy ones on bright colors, especially if I'm gonna wear something not so eye-catchy. Today's date night and I don't want to look over-dressed but still want the feeling of looking good. This can be very influenced by what you wear under your clothes so I decided to wear lingerie from Alöe one of the prettiest lingerie collections designed by British designer Claire Judge. They are simple but yet extra vagant and very feminine just as I want my underwear to be.

Visit the online shop here: Alöe

Have a lacy Sunday,