I wrote a post on my favourite products some time ago and I was thinking about doing it on a weekly or monthly basis, but since I’m not really a beauty or a fashion blogger who buys tons of products every month, I decided to do it when I feel like I have something interesting to share with you. So here it is; the list of things I’m loving at the moment, and two products that I’m not too crazy about.
I’ve always loved Beyonce, her work and her amazing voice, but I’ve never been her biggest fan or seen her in concert (which I regret). And to be honest, I probably wouldn’t have rushed to hear/see the new album hadn’t it caused such a stir in the media. The first time I was watching it, I was so mesmerised and moved, I cried the whole way through and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. This album is pure art, shocking, uncomfortable and revealing, just like a work of art should be. Every second of it and every detail was thought through and has its purpose and meaning. For example, at the beginning of the reconciliation song “Sandcastles” video, there is a shot of a kintsugi bowl. Kintsugi is a Japanese art of repairing ceramics with precious metals to demonstrate that broken things can be made whole and even more beautiful than before. Also, people she collaborated with are fascinating, like Warsan Shire, a young Somali-British poet who wrote and adapted the interludes between the songs, and a Nigerian-born, Brooklyn-based artist Laolu Senbanjo who designed the intricate body artwork. It’s a pity that the media got so crazy about “Becky with the good hair” when clearly, it’s not the only thing the album is about. Womanhood, motherhood, family, gender roles, father figure and above all, blackness. As a non-American and white, I don’t think I can fully comprehend the message, nor am I supposed to. I’m supposed to see it and respect it. And I do respect it, I’m in awe of it, I cheer it and salute it. When it comes to the subject of marriage, cheating and being hurt, I love how raw and real she is, without trying to explain anything to anyone. Except herself. That’s what you do in a betrayal: you have to explain it to yourself. When you’re hurt and you suffer, it’s hard to see things, but she laid everything so clearly, like a map. And the femaleness, the imagery, the blood-red lights, the costumes, the doorways and walls… The visual aspects of Lemonade are incredible. In my opinion, this is her best and most important album ever. I feel like Beyoncé has matured and become relevant on a whole new level and all she is supposed to be: strong, powerful, unapologetic and black.
Favourite quotes:
I tried to make a home out of you. But doors lead to trap doors, a stairway leads to nothing. Unknown women wander the hallways at night. Where do you go when you go quiet?
You remind me of my father, a magician… Able to exist in two places at once. In the tradition of men in my blood, you come home at 3 a.m. and lie to me. What are you hiding?
The past and the future merge to meet us here. What luck. What a f***ing curse.
I think of lovers as trees… Growing to and from one another. Searching for the same light.
Favourite songs: Hold Up and Sandcastles.
I’m sure you all know that acai is one of the healthiest berries you can find. Full of antioxidants, it’s immune-stimulating and energy-boosting, it helps with weight loss and digestion, promotes skin health, reduces irritation, improves mental function and so on. Basically, it’s amazing and delicious. You can get dried acai berries in almost any supermarket, but I prefer acai powder which I mix into my smoothies or banana ice-cream or make an acai bowl with bananas, chia seeds and nuts. We all love it so much and it’s been our favourite breakfast lately. Would you like to see some breakfast ideas in one of my future posts?
I have to admit, I’m not really into this dark-lip trend that everybody has been obsessed with lately. I’m a nude-lip kind of girl so you won’t find any crazy colors in my make-up bag. A month or so ago I bought a MAC lipstick in color “Faux”, which is a nice pinkish color. I would say it’s a dull pink color, almost nude, perfect for every day, for office or school, but also for a night out when you want to play down on your lip color. I really love it and I wear it with this lip pencil. The perfect couple.
I’ve heard so many good reviews on Marc Jacobs make-up that I had to try it so I decided to start with nail polishes. “Rita” looks like a perfect dark-red color, really rich and warm, wonderful for wearing throughout the year. The bottle is also really nice, the brush is perfect, it covers the whole surface of the nail and it dries really quickly. However, this is where my love for this product stops. It never lasts more than one day, regardless of how many coats I apply. Yes, I have a toddler and I’m pretty active around the house so my hands are constantly wet, but I always use gloves. With the price of around 20 euros, I wouldn’t say that it is pricey, but I think you can buy much better nail products for half the price.
My dry skin loves this product very much and it helped me survive the winter without going crazy. So yes, this cream is amazing, hydrating, not too greasy, not too heavy, but squeezing it out through the tiniest hole you’ve ever seen can be really frustrating, especially if you’re in a hurry. However, there is the same product packed in a jar, so I would definitely recommend you get that one instead of the bottle.
Bisous,
Fée
Prije nekolilo sam mjeseci pisala o svojim omiljenim proizvodima te sam imala namjeru objavljivati takve postove na tjednoj ili mjesecnoj bazi, no s obzirom da nisam beauty ili modni bloger koji stalno kupuje ogromne kolicine proizvoda, odlucila sam objavljivati ovakve postove kad budem zeljela nesto zanimljivo s vama podijeliti. Za danas sam vam pripremila popis proizvoda u kojima trenutno uzivam te dva s kojima nisam previse odusevljena.
Beyoncé je oduvijek bila jedan od meni omiljenih glazbenih umjetnika zbog svojih nevjerojatnih glasovnih mogucnosti, no nikada nisam bila njezin najveci obozavatelj, niti sam bila na njenom koncertu (zbog cega iskreno zalim). I vjerojatno ne bih pozurila s preslusavanjem i gledanjem novog albuma da nije podigao toliko prasine u medijima i na drustvenim mrezama. Rijetko mi se dogodi da se zaljubim u neku pjesmu ili album na prvo slusanje, no s ovim se albumom dogodilo upravo to. Beyoncé me uspjela duboko dirnuti i toliko opcarati da danima nisam mogla prestati razmisljati o pjesmama, gutati kritike i razlicite interpretacije. Ovaj je album cista umjetnost, a umjetnost katkad zna biti sokantna, neugodna i previse otvorena. Svaki je detalj na ovome albumu jako dobro promisljen te ima svoju svrhu i znacenje. Primjerice, na pocetku videa za pjesmu “Sandcastles” koja govori o pomirenju, vidi se keramicka posuda restaurirana japanskom kintsugi tehnikom, prema kojoj se slomljeni keramicki predmeti popravljaju s pomocu plemenitih metala, cime postaju jos ljepsi negoli prije ostecenja. Ljudi koji su radili na ovom albumu takodjer su fascinantni, poput Warsan Shire, mlade pjesnikinje somalijskog porijekla koja je napisala recitirane interludije izmedju pjesama, te Nigerijca Laola Senbanja, umjetnika koji je osmislio i oslikao tijela glumaca. Prava je steta sto su mediji toliko pozornosti posvetili prici oko prevare i bracnih problema, jer to nije najvaznija tema ovog albuma. Uloga i polozaj zene, majcinstvo, obitelj, razlike u spolovima, ocinska figura i povrh svega, polozaj crnaca. To su teme i poruke koje ja kao bjelkinja i ne-Amerikanka necu nikada moci do kraja razumjeti, ali to se od mene niti ne ocekuje. Od nas se ocekuje da je prihvatimo i postujemo. A ja je postujem, divim joj se i pozdravljam je. O temi braka, prevare i povrijedjenosti, Beyoncé govori otvoreno, bez imalo skrivanja ili uljepsavanja, bez teznje da ikome ista objasnjava. Osim sebi. Kad covjek pati, tesko mu je trezveno razmisljati i jasno vidjeti situaciju u kojoj se nalazi. No Beyoncé ju je opisala detaljno i precizno, kao da crta kartu svijeta. A njena zenstvenost, kostimi, vrata, napuknuti zidovi, krvavocrvena svjetlost… Vizualni aspekt albuma je nevjerojatan. Po mojem misljenju, ovo je najbolji i najvazniji Beyoncéin album dosad. Osjecam da je sazrela i dostigla jedan potpuno novi nivo u svakom pogledu. Postala je ono zbog cega se rodila: snazna i mocna crnkinja koja nikome ne duguje nista.
Sigurna sam da je acai svima poznata kao jedna od najzdravijih vrsta bobicastog voca. Puna je antioksidansa, podize imunitet i razinu energije, potice gubitak kilograma, probavu, zdravlje koze i rad mozga. Danas u gotovo svakom supermarketu mozete kupiti susene acai bobice, no ja vise volim prah koji umijesam u smoothije ili u sladoled od banana na koji potom dodam voce, chia sjemenke i orasaste plodove. Nevjerojatno zdrav i zasitan obrok. Uskoro ocekujte post s nekoliko prijedloga za zdravi dorucak.
Priznajem, ne svidjaju mi se tamni ruzevi za usne koji su u posljednje vrijeme toliko popularni. Ja vise volim njezne, neutralne, roze i nude nijanse, tako da medju mojom kozmetikom necete naci nikakve lude boje. Nedavno sam kupila MAC ruz za usne u boji “Faux”. To je zagasito ruzicasta boja, odnosno malo tamnija, toplija nude nijansa, savrsena za dnevni make-up ili pak vecernji, u slucaju da zelite naglasiti oci. Otkad sam ga kupila, nosim ga svaki dan u kombinaciji s ovom olovkom.
Nema blogerice koja nije nahvalila Marc Jacobs kozmetiku, stoga sam je i ja odlucila isprobati. Za pocetak sam kupila lak za nokte u boji “Rita”. To je ona divna tamnocrvena, topla, bogata boja prezrele tresnje, koja tako savrseno pristaje u svako doba godine. Bocica je divnog jajolikog oblika, kist je savrsen i jednim potezom obuhvaca cijelu povrsinu nokta. Medjutim, ovdje moja ljubav prema ovom proizvodu prestaje. Koliko god slojeva stavila i cime ga god zastitila, ovaj se lak pocne ljustiti nakon samo jednog dana. Da, dosta sam aktivna, imam malo dijete i ruke su mi cesto mokre, no kod svakog doticaja s agresivnim sredstvima nosim zastitne rukavice. Cijela od oko 150 kn nije grozno visoka, ali sam sigurna da za upola manje mozete kupiti mnogo kvalitetnije lakove.
Moja suha koza obozava ovu kremu za tijelo i zahvaljujuci njoj je izdrzala dugu zimu. Ova je krema doista izvrsna, hidratizira, nije masna niti teska, njeznog je mirisa, no ambalaza je veliki nedostatak, zbog male rupice na otvoru boce kroz koju je gotovo nemoguce istisnuti kremu. Stoga preporucam da kod kupovine odaberete ovaj proizvod u posudici s poklopcem koja ce biti mnogo laksa za upotrebu.
Bisous,
Fée
Bisous, Fée 