All posts filed under: Budget

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 …

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 …

A Tale Of Caving In (Into The Ordinary)

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Us bloggers are at the same time a critical and impressionable bunch. Sure, years of testing, trialling and studying have taught us a thing or two, which makes that we approach new launches with caution, but when friends and fellow beauty afficionada’s start raving about that same new launch, we end up throwing that same caution to the wind, hop on the bandwagon and end up ordering the product anyway? Me? Guilty as charged! Case in point: The Ordinary. I steered clear from the brand for a long time, not quite trusting the low price / high quality claim and feeling bulldozered by the extensive catalogue of products… something about not seeing the wood for the trees and such… But still, curiosity won, and I caved. Cue back to a few weeks ago, when my serum stash was dwindling and my skin was in need of a shake up of my skincare routine. My curiosity was getting the better of me, so I dove in, did my research and ordered the 100% Squalane Oil, the …

Twinning is winning, even with bodycare

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DNA is a thing of wonder, often baffling me when I recognize little things my kids do or have and that I can trace back directly to me. Case in point, my daughter’s extremely dry and sensitive skin which is so much a carbon copy of mine that it is almost scary. Equally parched, itchy, reactive and prone to contact dermatitis, I am even more obsessed when it comes to keeping her skin in tip top shape as I am about my own. So far, I’ve looked at a lot of brands, tried only a few and loved even less, so you’ll understand my caution when the Dermalex Supreme Moisturizer* and the Dermalex Baby Eczema Cream* arrived on our doorstep. I know I can handle an itchy reaction or an allergic flare up, but when it comes to Little Miss C and her skin, I’d rather take no chances at all. So first I did a little pre-testing, and then, you guessed it, testing became twinning. ‘Cause twinning is winning. With years of extensive body …

Summer Favourites

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Summer really did flew by. Seems like only yesterday I was writing my June favourites post, fully intending to do one for July and one for August as well. Family issues took over, summer did not  feel like summer and before I knew it, September 1st had come and gone. However, there were a few products that I used (and repurchased) religiously these last two months, and it’s safe to say they’ve been crowned my summer favourites. I’ve gushed about the Avène Gentle Exfoliating Gel before (see this post), and described it as ‘gentle enough not to aggravate or strip my sensitive skin but efficient in it’s exfoliating ways’. It was inevitable that this was going to be one of my summer loves, it’s been repurchased, used, loved and recommended, and between this beauty and the Pixi Glow Tonic, I’ve got my exfoliation covered. Make up-wise, I’ve been loving the Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire Universal Tinted Gel, Rosy Cheeks and Lips (what’s in a name), and not much else. Remember how last year’s summer somehow …

Close Brussels

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Belgitude – not just an attitude but a way of life.  Being Belgian, you’re constantly aware that in the grand scheme of the world, your country is but a tiny dot, but when it comes to attitude, excuse me, Belgitude, we sure kick some global ass. Kings and Queens of contradictions, bipartite conundrums and a big love of quality over quantity, we take everything seriously except ourselves and we’ve got balls but manners rule the roost. If ever there was a brand that personified Belgitude, all of the above and so much more, Close Brussels would be it! The proof is in the pudding on this one! Founded by strong women for strong women, Close Brussels is the brainchild of Tineke Bracke and Charlotte Walckiers, a gorgeous Flemish brunette and a stunning blonde francophone. The perfect Belgian yin & yang, so to speak. Tapped by Planet Parfum to rebrand and –launch their in-house line Close, they stripped it bare and kept nothing but the name, and started afresh. Result: Close Brussels. Luxurious but affordable, quality …

La Roche Posay Eau Micellaire Ultra

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Sometimes, bigger really is better! Just have a look at this beauty… Or beast, depending on how you look at it. 400 ml of translucent goodness, designed to soothe even the most reactive and sensitive of skins, the La Roche-Posay Eau Micellaire Ultra* takes micellar waters to the next level. But is it the right level? Tried and tested, my skin never reacted of acted up after using this, nor did it feel itchy or tight. The description says that the Eau Micellaire Ultra can be used for cleansing, taking of your make up and soothing your skin. I can vouch for the soothing your skin part and for the cleansing bit (as in the 2nd part of a double cleanse), but the taking my make up off and cleanse in 1 go was a bridge too far for me, so I did what I always do with micellar waters, and I treated as a toner. In that perspective, it really did pass the test with flying colours. No stripping the skin of the softness …

June Favourites

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6 months have come and gone, 2017 is halfway, and it’s time for something new on this blog! I’ve been blogging for over 4 years, and in all those years, I’ve never done of the great classics of beauty blogging, the ‘Favourites’ post. Never one to let something go by untried, I realised this was the perfect moment to line up my favourites as I discovered some exciting products! The DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, I must admit, has been a favourite of mine for a long time (check this article!), and after a litle time apart, I fell in love with this golden beauty all over again. Nothing takes away my make up like this one, and not a dry skin-moment in sight. I’m on my 4th bottle, and nr 5 is already waiting it’s turn. All the next bits really are brand spankin’ new ones, pinky swear! It wouldn’t be the LeenLovesStyle favourites if it weren’t filled to the brim with skincare, and my skin has been particularly loving the Uriage Eau Thermale Water …

Schwarzkopf Nature Moments

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Hair… When it’s looking good, you’re on top of the world, when it falls flat, so do you. With the organic beauty movement still gaining momentum, our desire to go green, soil associated or natural for our  haircare, skincare and make just keeps on growing, and the people at Schwarzkopf understood that this was the perfect time to marry all natural ingredients to their know how and drugstore prices for a pontential triple win. The Schwarzkopf Nature Moments line is brand spankin’ new, pH neutral, contains extracts from 100% natural origin (quite a smart cliam this one, dancing around the 100% green and organic sourced nature of the ingredients) and consists of 5 sub lines , based upon different hair types and needs. The LLS family bathroom has seen some heavy rotation and rigourous testing , and all 5 lines have been tried, tested and assessed. Mediterranean Olive Oil & Aloë Vera AKA the family favourite!  Designed to tend to and nourish damaged hair without weighing it down, the olive oil puts the bounce and shine …

50 Shades Of Spring… On My Nails

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April has come (and almost gone) before I could even wrap my head around the fact that Winter has ended. My head is already longing for June, and my body is still stuck in February judging by the amount of thick cream my dry, parched skin still demands every night and the dark polishes still dominating my mani’s. Time to do a bit of an overhaul, both mentally as physically! And where better to start than, quite literally, at the end, ie my tippie toes and fingers? The whole girlie, full on bubble gum pink has never been my thing, not when I was a young girl myself nor now when it comes to my own little girl, but over the years I have come to differenciate and appreciate certain shades of pink that do not bowl me over or frighten me into thinking I’ll look like a walking talking Barbie. Coral, dusky, dusty pink and soft ballerina rose, here’s to you this season! Only You Vamos A La Playa is currently gracing my nails, …