Author: lstruyf

Back to blogging?

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Hey there! How are you? It’s been a while, I know. Who would have thought? How a worldwide quarantine tricked me out of my blogging confinement.  A whole year has come and gone, a new one has started once more (and what a year 2020 has been up to now). I’ve been away for quite a while, and I’d love to reconnect with you. My lastpost dates back to December 2018, and I kind of hit a wall around that point. In the months prior, I had been running myself ragged, stressing and fretting constantly, not only about life or work, but especially about blogging. Inspiration had flown straight out of the window, that love and passion seemingly evaporated and all but lost, and I just did not want to blog anymore. Sounds crude, I know, but if I’m being completely honest, that’s exactly what it was. I just did not feel like blogging anymore. The ever-changing nature of blogging, Social Media and PR had thrown me for a loop, especially the whole (Instagram) Influencer …

Winter Bases

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Also known as “The One That Was Supposed To Be Called Summer Bases But Evolved Into Winter Foundations” ( somehow I hardly wore any bases between May and October). Foundations and coverage have found their way back into  my make up stash, and these 4 bases have been tried and tested these last few months. Spoiler alert, there were 2 absolute winners, one that was just so-so, and one that turned out to be a complete no-no. First up, I went straight fo the Shiseido Waso Colour Smart Day Moisturizer. After originally dismissing this little tube as not being moisturizing enough for my Sahara dry skin,  I dug it back out a month or two ago and reintroduced it into my routine, but with a little twist. Instead of just going by its moisturizing mismatch with my skin, I started layering it over my Sukin Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin as a base, a little cover-up operation without having to go for a heavy hitter foundation or a glitter-ball, all too quick at disappearing BB/CC Cream, …

The beauty of a beauty excorcism

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“The beauty exorcism” It was but a quick title in my inbox, with clickbait allures written all over it, designed especially to draw me in and extend my (already extensive) procrastination with another 15 – 30 mintes, but the words hit home and started living their own life, creating a story in my head and trickling into my subconscious. With Autumn in full swing, it is not only the perfect moment to transition into crisp skies, jaw-dropping foliage and sweater supremacy, but also a clear skin (and a clear mind). My skin has been playing tricks on me, so the need for a beauty detox matches that spin of words swindling around in my head, needing to be tamed and structurised for a greater effect. The last few months have been an (superfluous) overflow of products marching in an out of my cabinet, my routine, and while that much product testing is fun, it has been causing havoc. I’m talking blotchiness, redness, itchiness and that uncomfortable feeling of tightness and dryness, no matter how much water …

Easy Peasy Summer Breezy Breakfast

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Oh hey, I know, it’s been longer than usual. Life has been so hectic these past few weeks that I haven’t been able to keep up with the blog updates. As much as I love the blog, sometimes life needs to come first and take over. Today started as any other work-from-home day ( it is 10 pm as I’m writing this…). I woke up, had some coffee, got the kids ready from school, dropped them off, kickstarted my computer and went to make myself some breakfast… On the way to the fridge, halfway here to grab some yoghurt, something stopped me in my tracks. I spotted the Lima Spirulina Matcha Express Porridge* in the corner of my eye, and realized that it was time for a shake up of my boring breakfast routine of yoghurt and granola or two slices of bread. I’ve never been a big porridge fan, partly due to the blandness of the flavour of basic porridge and due to a prep time misconception on my part. However, I’ve really been …

Kneipp Patchouli and Shea Butter Body Cream

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I feel like I am going about this winter skin thing backwards, as I am only now getting round to writing about the “fattiest” cream that kept me going this winter, but somehow my skin only realized winter had kicked in about a month and a half ago. Up until the end of January, I was happily lathering myself with the La Roche Posay Lipikar AP+ Balm every two to three days, never feeling itchy or scratchy, and generally not feeling that winter blues. However, the unthinkable happened, I ran out of the LRP Lipikar AP+ (shock horror, my back up had vanished as well), and even my pharmacist had run out of it’s stock as well. I dove into the stockpile that I affectionately call my little beauty hall, and the Kneipp Body Cream with Patchouli and Shea Butter caught my eye. Though not the flashiest of my body care bunch, the soothing white and gentle green packaging almost seemed to echo the softness and creaminess inside. Silky smooth might be two words that sound beguiling …

Weleda Beauty Balm

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Now here’s a first: I am not madly in love with these balms. And I am not afraid to say it.  Just putting it out there. No cushioning, no beating about the bush, no diplomatic euphemisms, no nothing. My skin doesn’t like these balms, and these balms don’t like my skin. That being said, this in no way, shape or form means that the product on it’s own is bad. It just didn’t do anything for me. So what do I do? Do I launch a tirade, detailing everything that didn’t work? No, because a) Weleda and I go way back and while there is no love lost on this release, there still is a whole lot of love for Weleda and other of their products (Skin Food = divinity!), and b), just because it didn’t match well to my skin, doesn’t mean it can’t be the definition of beauty balm perfection for someone else. So that’s where I am leaving it at. The realisation that not every cream is my kind of cream, and …

Shredded Chicken Salad

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A bit of leftover chicken from the roast dinner I had the day before+ a little jolt of inspiration + a whole lot of ‘wanting to go healthy’-induced procrastination session led me to this gorgeous and delicious salad. Easy to whip up, healthy, yummy and the perfect dish with Spring and Summer just around the corner, this salad ticks all the boxes for me! You can start this recipe from scratch and include it in your Sunday dinner as the perfect, fresh partner to a beautiful and succulent roast chicken ( I’ll gladly include the recipe in a next post if you want, just let me know in the comments), but I am going down the lazy road today and am using the leftovers from our family chicken roast decadence. Minimal effort, maximal flavour! Ingredients: 300 – 400 gr roasted chicken 2 Romaine heads / Cos lettuce  (you can also add in a handful of rocket salad) 1 large handful of coriander / cilantro, chopped 1/2 handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped 1 whole cucumber, …

Friday Beauty

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Also known as back to basics. Some days you just wake up, jumping for joy at the idea of doing a three or four shadow look, foundation, concealer, eyeliner, the whole shebang. Today is not that kind of day! Today, less is more rules the roost! My skin is in tip top shape, my under eye area is neither blue nor baggy for the first time in God knows when, and I am just loving that ‘no make up’ make up freshness at the moment. Today I took that even further, and took Casual Friday to another level, and streamlined my beauty essentials to the bare minimum. Not pictured, but a firm fixture is my favourites in the Givenchy Teint Couture Balm. I’ve raved and raved and ravved about this one before, so I won’t go into details, but I’m on tube nr 3 (tube nr 4 has already been bought…), and it’s been used so much the lettering has faded from the packaging…. Givenchy and my daily make up stash have found each oher …

The Future Is Female

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Today is International Women’s Day. A day of tribute, of respect, of kindness and strength! A day to rejoice in what binds us, to find solace and encouragement universally, instead of zooming in on our differences. A day to recognize that these traits, these strengths, are not only to be celebrated today, but all day, every day! As the granddaughter of a strong woman, the daughter of an even stronger woman and the mother of the one I hope will the fiercest of us all, I feel honoured! As a friend to a few ladies who inspire me on a daily basis, I feel honoured! Honoured to walk amongst these giants, to live with and learn from them. To support them, live, love and laugh with them! The future is female. platform is here, it’s ours to take it! Love, Leen

Into the Glow

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Into the glow we go! After a long festive season, a polar vortex winter and the mother of all allergic reactions, I am more than ready to welcome Spring and reclaim that glow! I might have to wait a bit longer to feel that first crisp in the air or see those first buds on the trees, but I do have a few new tricks up my sleeve to lightly amp up the volume and get that soft lit-from-within effect I love. Preparation is key, no gorgeous painting without a pristinely prepped blank canvas, so after my morning routine, I apply a thin layer of the Elizabeth Arden Eight Arden Cream. A golden oldie, but as my nan always used say:  ” The classics never go out of style”, and this product is the textbook example of a classic! A thin layer of the thick cream seals in the moisture, acts as a barrier between my skin and the extreme elements we are battling this moment, and functions as a primer for the Bourjois Air …