DIY: Bookmarks

I'm almost sure you've seen this many times, but I loved the idea of my own unique bookmarks so I did them and decided to share them with you. Also, if you're a passionate reader, this might be the right thing for you. (And yes, I'm a fan of Danielle Steel.)

You'll need (everything is optional - depends on what you'll do):

• needle pins
• buttons
• paper clips
• rhinestones
• beads
• jelly cord (remember this?) or shoe laces
• thread
• glue
• strip of decorative paper

Process:

• decide which style you'll do because you don't need all of these to make one bookmark
• the button bookmarks: I placed a button onto the paper clip or I pulled the button through the paper clip and glued it together
• the green flat bookmark: I placed a needle pin inside the strip of this green decorative tape and glued all around so the pin wouldn't move

I especially love the pink one with the black "fur" button and the green one with the paper and small bead. It looks weird like this, but it's supper cute once it's in the book (see the first picture) and when only the bead is out.

And that's about it. Are you a crafty person? Will you try this?

Which one do you like the most?

Mani Monday: Orange(ish) + nail polish review

As I got new Essence nail polish #57 ice cream party (post about me buying it is here), I had to try it out. I was super busy these past few weeks so, unlike usual, I only had time to do the simplest manicure. I chose this perfect spring color which turned out to be much prettier in person than here.

The coverage was amazing and I only used one coat of it. It lasted me for a week (could have lasted longer but I took it off) without a top coat. If you're into romantic, calming colors, I'd say definitely give this one a chance.

Do you like it? Will you consider buying it?

Greasy hair eyeshadow hack

I'm sure we all have some eyeshadow that's just there and we don't use it. If not, go on and buy some cheap one matching your hair. Why? Because it's the best thing to have when you have greasy hair or if you have small amount of hair. It can also help you with hairstyles when your hair is up.

She eyeshadow (no shade on my packaging)

First things first. I had this weird emo/all-black phase when I was still in elementary school, so I bought this dark, black eyeshadow (yes, I was "emo" and I loved glitter haha). I found it a couple years later and, of course, I'm not using that on my eyes. It was then that I got the idea not to throw away almost full container, but to put it to a better use.

I don't use it often, but it comes in very handy when I have greasy hair because when I do, my hair looks not as thick as usual and then the greasiness is visible even more. To cover this all up, I apply an eyeshadow to my scalp where my hair is parting. This immediately makes my hair look cleaner and thicker. Another bonus thing you can do is to apply dry shampoo before doing this. That way you get the full effect.

Also, I've seen people using it when they put their hair up to create an illusion of baby hair to frame their face. And it works! When you pull your hair up, the most likely place to be left out of hair is the upper side part (next to the forehead). You just apply a bit of eyeshadow there and it will create an illusion of hair.

This maybe looks like it's not a perfect match (cause it's not). But I promise you it is not as visible in person as it is here. Also, glitter eyeshadows are not the best option, but they work just fine.

That's all. Will you try this hack?

Spring make-up haul

As I'm weak for all the pretty and colorful stuff, me going into my local drugstore was a big mistake. Or the best thing ever? I got so many stuff I actually divided this post into two according to products I bought. Here's what I got.

Note: I'm not the professional make-up artist (I won't even say I'm that good at all of this), so I'm not going to spend a million dollars on make-up. Essence is my go-to brand as I find them a great balance between price and quality.

Nail polishes. As you were able to see, I'm a huge nail art lover so buying these two bright and spring colors was a done deal. Peach one is #24 indian summer and the turquoise one is #40 play with my mint. They are both by Essence and each was about $2. The sparkle one is by S-he. I needed a good glitter polish and I hope I found one. It's #110 and it was about $3.

Hair bands. I'm sure you've all seen this rubbery elastic twisted hair bands that are supposed to be better for your hair as they do not pull your hair as much as a regular hair band would. I bought these dark brown ones as they go great with my hair. I'm a bit skeptic as I love high ponytails and I don't think they'll provide enough support, but we'll see. I got five of them for $2.50.

White eyeliner. My friend sparked the interest with talking about this and bigger and brighter eyes so, when I saw this, I had to have it. It's waterproof gel eye pencil by Essence. I have to admit I'm pretty curious how this is going to turn out. I got it for $3.

Blush. It's mosaic blush by Essence. I immediately fell in love with this one as it has three colors which I find is more natural then just one pink one. We'll see. I also loved the look of it because it's not flat, but has like little pyramids. I payed $4 for it.

Highlighter. I never used this, but I love the idea. I also tried one by Essence, but it was creamy and I didn't know how it would apply with a brush (although I did try it on my hands and it looked amazing). I chose this High glow by Catrice. I loved how the packaging looks and how shimmery it was on my hands. I got this one for $6.

Concealer. This one in a stick form is Mastertouch all day concealer by Max Factor. I got one for Christmas and I just loved it. I got this one because I ran out of my old one and it's definitely worth repurchasing. It costs $8.50.

Concealer palette. It's All I need palette by Essence consisting 5 most important colors for color correcting. They are all creamy so I'm curious how it's going to apply but I loved the idea of all the colors in one place. Also, the packaging is cute and practical. It costs $4.50.

Do you like anything you see? Have you tried any of these?

Fitoval lotion and shampoo

Since I started college, I noticed a big change in my skin condition, hair and overall my body. I'll consider everything as a result of the stress, but I also wanted to reduce or even stop the impact of it. My mom noticed how I'm losing a lot of hair during washing it, so I went to the pharmacy and bought this shampoo and lotion.

These are both by Fitoval. They are said to be dermatological tested and proven to work. They are for preventing hair loss and for improving hair density.

Shampoo itself should stimulate growth of stronger hair. Also, it should reduce hair loss during washing and increase hair volume. Hair should be shinier and of a greater vitality after washing. I got this for Christmas and I'm still using the same packaging because I'm using it with my usual shampoo and because it takes only small amount of it to cover all the hair. The usage is really simple; put it on a clean wet hair, massage into the scalp and rinse off after 3 minutes.

Verdict? I love the silky formula and how the amount of the size of my nail is enough to cover all my hair (and I have long and pretty thick hair). I have to be honest and say that I haven't seen much improvement, but (!) this could be because I don't comb my hair during the week so I don't gradually lose my hair. I'd say give it a go because pharmacist recommended this so it has to be a somehow good after all. If not, you'll have one bottle of shampoo for a very long time. There's also one anti-dandruff version.

Lotion should keep more hair in the hair growth phase. There are two bottles for total of 16 applications. Usage is a bit trickier as you're supposed to use 5 ml of it every day on all of your scalp or three times a week. This lotion goes into the dry scalp and it's not to be rinsed off. I can't really say if this would work or not because I haven't used it properly.

Verdict? As I said, I can't really be the judge here because I used it for 3 months (so, that's not a proper use). I can only say that after applying this two times on my scalp, my hair looked greasier so I should wash it every two days which is unacceptable for me. Also, the smell and the formula are like pure alcohol which is not very appealing, but if it works, I wouldn't be bothered by that.

Will you give it a try? If you do, share your experiences in the comment section :) Any other advice for hair loss?