*Still Beauty

I decided to take this challenge last Saturday as I did my first food shopping in the new city I just moved in (on Friday). I am not the kind of person who tries to save on food because I think nutrition is the most important thing not to save on (and health) and I love eating. But I found myself in the situation where just after moving I had to pay my first rent and the deposit for my new flat, whereas the first paycheck will be received in a couple of weeks, so long story short I have to count pennies for a bit.

Portugal is a beautiful country with amazing people and wonderful food. There is something about Portugal that has always fascinated me and I think a lot of people too. This country has a very old history, from the ancient Evora, where you can still see ruins of roman temples, to the more lively Porto. When we think of Portugal we think of fado and "saudade", there is a malinconic feeling when you walk the narrow cobbled streets of Lisbon that open on the ocean; that same ocean that was considered for a long time the end of the world.
Portugal is blessed with a warm weather and the sun shines most of the year, but it is also extremely windy and perfect for surfing. And the language sounds like a cryptic poem read out loud. There are so many reasons to visit this country and I was lucky enough to make this trip, so here are my tips if you want to make this wonderful journey.

If you come from a nordic country of from a "cold place" don't come here in July and August (same tip applies to Italy and Greece) you will feel like melting on the streets. The cities were built in marble and stone so they retain all the hot from the sun and make them a living hell for those who are not used to it. September is pretty hot too. Portugal is beautiful under any season, winters are not too cold or rainy and the gloomy sky contributes to the fascination of this country. Be careful though that the wind becomes particularly strong in this season. Spring and generally more sunny months are ideal too for a holiday if you can stand the heat and you will be able to combine sightseeing to beautiful afternoons at the beach.


Sunblock is a must, also remember that if you want to visit churches and religious places you shouldn't wear too short shorts or too mini miniskirst. Don't get me wrong, people are very liberal, but it is a country with a strong catholic history, so it is more out of respect than anything else to dress appropriately when visiting sacred places. It is not like in Italy where they will explicitely ask you to cover up when entering churches, but as you are going to wear a scarf when visiting a mosque in Istanbul just make sure not too be too much uncovered when entering churches.

The Barrio Alto in Lisbon is a must see, especially during the evening/night, don't go clubbing, just walk around and mingle between bars. Prices are very cheap and they will treat you more nicely if they see that you are a foreigner. Listen to some fado if you have the possibility, it's the typical traditional portuguese music and a very interesting experience, especially if you are in a bar late at night drinking some port wine or wine from Madeira.

Talking about wines if you are an estimator, then you should take one of the tours of the canteens in Porto. Port wine is quite strong so if you are particularly lightweigh make sure you snacked before the tasting session. If you want to have some with your meal remember that port wine is quite fragrant as well, so it will go better with your dessert and does not work well as a table wine.


The best azulejos are found in Porto, you will see a lot of tiles and mosaics walking the streets, outside churches, in the train station or just on simple private houses. There won't be that many azulejos in Lisbon, but Lisbon is much better for the apreciation of Baroque art. Baroque art was born here (hence the origin of the name) and was later adopted in Italy and France. The Jeronimos Monastry is a great example of Baroque architecture. In Lisbon you should also check out the Sao Jorge castle for a magnificent view on the city and the ocean, really magical, but you have to climb a very steep hill to get to the entrance so if it is very hot or you have just had lunch take a taxi, they are also very cheap in general in the whole country.


You should also visit the University of Coimbra, whose library is among the most famous and beautiful in the world.


When in Porto visit Rua Bombarda, is the hip road of art galleries and hipster and indie shops and restaurants. It is surely a must to check out if you are staying in the city for a longer time. There is a very nice tea room that has an internal garden, it's called Rota do Chà and if you are a tea apreciator you should check it out, the choice of teas is outstanding and the atmosphere so calm and relaxing, perfect for a post shopping afternoon. From there you could walk to the Jardins do Palacio de Cristal for a very beautiful view on the river and the city, they also have peacocks roaming around freely in the gardens.


There is a long stading rivalry between the two major cities, Porto and Lisbon, where football is just one of the many ways this rivalry is shown. If you visit both cities remember that you will be asked which one you think is the best a lot, a lot. Just try not to offend anyone, but you will see that they are quite different cities and you will be able to find your way out of this tricky question.

This are the main tips I could think of, but if you have any questions don't esitate to write a comment about it and I will gladly answer all of them.

In the last month I switched around a bit the beauty products I use daily, spring has been around for a month or so, but rainy coldish days have interrupeted the warming up process. My skin also seems to have made peace with me and it looks quite good, not so much redness and oilyness. On the other hand, the end of exam season left me with a good pair of dark circles, which are not probably going to get better as I will be working all summer. But here are the products that made me survive this month:

1) Eau Thermale Avène. An incredible product, I am not really sure how just a spritz of water, even if thermal, can do such wonders on the skin, but it does and I bring it with me everywhere. I cut down on moisturising my skin and do it just once a day now in the evening but I spritz this water in the morning and evening and sometimes in between.

2) MAC BB cream. When I feel like I need a bit of coverage I go for this one, it has a very good broad spectrum protection of 35spf and it is slighly moisturising.

3) YSL Touche Eclat. The product. Simple, light-weight, I use it as a concealer under my eyes as it blends in perfectly with my makeup free skin. As I said my skin has been very generous with me lately so I need just very little touch ups and not a full makeup face.

4) Yves rocher brown mascara. This has been a staple for me, I bought this mascara for uìyears, because there is nothing better for a no-makeup look. My lashes are very short and light in colour, so a black mascara on its own looks quite fake, it emphasises my under eye circles and the shortness of said lashes. This one though has no specific effect, doesn't really make them look longer or with more volume, it just adds a bit of colour that looks natural with my overall complex and hair colour. It's just great for spring.

5) Chanel Soleil Tan. Doesn't look that great in the pot, too orangey and sparkly, to it sits on the skin fabulously. It gives you a very subtle glow and I use it on the cheeks, not as a bronzer but as a general colour. I feel it is very light to be a traditional contour bronzer, but it is perfect to give a nice natural-like undertone to the skin.

6) Yves Rocher loose powder. I confess I had this product for years, one of my very first beauty buys. Of course at the time I knew nothing about makeup and I just applied it liberally on my skin (at least the colour blended quite nicely with my skin tone, although it looks seriously too matte and powdery). But with age comes wisdom, and after abandoning it for years but always carrying it around with me (dosn't it feel so elegant to apply powder?) I rediscovered ths product. As my skin is a bit oily on the T zone, with some enlarged pores I apply it when I feel that my face is too shiny. It gives a very nice finish and smells amazingly.

These are the 6 products that I have been using religiously this month. Have you tried any of these? What do you think?

Summer has always been the best moment to refresh my life style. Some people prefer the new year, it's more symbolic, but for me summer represents holidays and chance to travel, destress and learn something new. Summer has also always been quite minimalist for me, maybe because what I usually do is stroll from home to the beach and then go out usually with my bikini under a dress, but somehow it has always been my detox season.

So here is how to have your own minimalist summer, or holiday.

1) Sunscreen. It goes beyond saying, it's all you really need. Get a good one that has moisturising properties as well so you don't have to carry around thousands of skincare products. Sometimes just leaving your skin in peace, to do it own thing, it's the best. Don't overwork it, don't overmoisturise it, don't overclean it. the sun has good antimicrobial properties, and gives you a nice vitamin D boost. Just protect it with a good sunblock.

2) Book. It's always nice carrying a book around in summer, it give a specific feeling to your holiday. Somehow the books I read during a specific holiday influence the way I remember it. Don't carry around some massive book though, it's very heavy and unpractical. "Bonjour tristesse" by Francoise Sagan, "Tender is the night" by Fitzgerald or "The sun also rises" by Hemingway are all relatively small books, set in summer between the South of France and Spain. They are total gems that everyone should read anyway.

3) One pair of earrings, one necklace, one ring. That's all you need in your jewellery box. You only need them at night if you go for a cocktail or for a dance, you don't want to lose them swimming in the sea or in the pool. A nice tan is the only accessory you need anyway. Snö of Sweden makes some adorable silver jewels.

4) Eau thermale Avène. The miracle in a bottle, it's amazing how just some thermal water can make such a big difference on the skin. Spray it during sunbathing and afterwards.

5) A lipstick. That's all the makeup you want to have with you. The sun will tighten your skin just like a toner, the nice glow you'll get will be your foundation, and the stress-free holiday will be your concealer. A lipstick, maybe dark, maybe coral will just give that little bit of extra polishness you need.

6)Meditation app. I use the one called "Breathe", it is freee on the Apple store and has various types of meditation programs, all quite short and easy to follow.

With only these little things you'll see that you need only a cabin bag to travel. No more stress, no more panting while carrying your luggage around some little cobbled streets in Italy. Just enjoy your holiday, rewind and live minimalistically for a while.

Some days you feel like slipping on your black underwear, because no matter who you are no matter is you are a business woman or a shop assistant, there is a part of your soul which is black.
In those days you feel like being kissed a lot and you long for that sense of excitement when the person you love touches your hair or kisses your neck. In those days you wear lipstick too and you cover you body in simple clothes, maybe black too. Black is the easiest elegance and is the easiest sexy, and you are looking for a man that is elegant and sexy. The one that wears and expensive watch but you can see his abs underneath a thin white linen shirt..
In those days you take black and white pictures and wear smokey eyes, just because you can.

Anja Rubick for La Perla

Monica Jagaciak for Victoria's Secret

Wear tones of mascara, and that dress that leaves your back naked. Buy yourself flowers and drink champagne in the morning. Paint your nails black as the night and tell a boy a made up name when he askes for your number. Then have a wonderful weekend away with him and never call him again.
Smuggle into a fancy hotel and walk through the corridors like you've always lived there. Buy Chanel, even just a lipstick, smile and laugh and get tanned. Get home in the morning and wake up at night.

Just lose yourself in the beauty of life, because we all deserve it.

Maybe because I have big lips or maybe I always found fascinating, slightly sexual, the way a woman puts on lipstick. It does not require pulling and making weird faces, you just open slightly your mouth, looking at the reflection of your lips in your pocket mirror and apply some colour. Lipstick colours also don't have so many strict rules as eyeshadows have. You can  wear any lipstick in the world and it will probably suit you, you might not like it, but it won't clash on your face.

As a confession, I can say that putting on lipstick really lifts my mood, I put some when I feel a bit worn out, even if I just end up staying at home. So here is a roundup of my favourite lipsticks.



1) Chanel Coco Rouge in Teheran. I am generally a fan of pinkish shades, I am not bold enough to pull reds, especially during the day. So this one would be definitely one I would wear everyday, it's the perfect shade because it is not too pink but also not too nude. It certainly gives that French allure we all want.



2) MAC Victoriana and Cherry lipstick pencil. They are amazing together, the wonderfully helpful mua at MAC helped me select these as I was looking for a darker and fuller colour. I have fair skin so a more purple colour is better than an orangey one. I am absolutely helpless without the lip pencil as it really gives a great definition to the lips. Again I have quite full and big ones so I really don't want to apply a blotch of colour that looks like an undefined big red spot on my face.



3) Rimmel 900 Pink Blush. This is my everyday lipstick, pink and soft, not too noticeable but slightly shiny and pink. It is great for both summer and winter,a s in summer it will make you look more tanned, while in winter it won't clash too much with your pallor. It is also pretty cheap and long lasting, always pros.



4) Rimmel Kate collection 05. This is a great slightly dark lipstick, the first one I ever bought (oh the memories!) great for a night out, it is less definite that the MAC lipstick so it can work for the day as well or fore a more laidback situation.



5)And last is Artdeco Hydra 22 Infrared. I am emotionally attached to this one as it was a Christmas present from my mom. The packaging is really sleek and elegant, just like the Chanel lipsticks. The colour has a bit of a shine in it and tend more on the orangey spectrum, but somehow it perfectly fits my skin colour. Moms always know best, right?

These are my top 5 lipsticks, which ones are yours?