December Favourites | 2014

♦ BEAUTY

Maybelline The Rocket Volum' Express Mascara & La Roche-Posay Hydreane BB Cream Light - I have already talked about these two products here. I loved them at that time and I still do!

Barry M Natural Glow Palette - I don't think they sell Barry M's products here in Italy, so I bought it on ASOS. However, the shade that I most used is the darkest one, right next to the blush. Clearly, once it's applied it looks much lighter than how it looks in the palette, but that's fine, I don't think I could manage highly pigmented eyehshadows. 

Clinians Moisturizing Cleansing Milk with Mallow Extract (click) - I've been using Clinians cleasing milks for ages. I usually apply it in the evening and I remove it using a wet sponge (better with warm water) doing a gentle massage in circular motions. It leaves my skin much smoother and after using it I feel clean, if you what I mean. After this, I use a tonic and then a moisturizer.

♦ HOME

Yankee Candle, Snow In Love - I LOVE Yankee Candles so much, and for this Christmas I've received this one, which is the medium size, and a Christmas set with three little candles. 0 to 4, great! I've never bought one of them because I thought that 27€ (big ones) for a candle was way too much. But then, when I first lighted up Snow In Love and I didn't feel a weight on my chest, as the Ikea candles usually do to me, I thought that 27€ or 22€ or whatever it is, for a GOOD candle is not that much. 

♦ MUSIC

For this month, I've been obsessed with: 

The Kids Aren't Alright // Fall Out Boy

Baby Don't Lie // Gwen Stefani

Blame It On Me // George Ezra

I Lived // One Republic

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Instagram Diary 001

♦ 28/01 - The first snow of winter | ♦ My cat | ♦ St. Valentine's Day | ♦ Florence | ♦ Sala del Pisanello, Palazzo Ducale (Mantova, Lombardia) | ♦ 25/05 - Eva joined our family! | ♦ Beach walk with parents | ♦ Sunday pasta | ♦ The Faul in Our Stars | ♦ Polignano A Mare (Bari, Puglia) | ♦ Summer Sunset (Puglia) | ♦ Short hair, again | ♦ +20 | ♦ Almost Christmas | ♦ Winter Sunset | ♦ Eva 7 months later.

You can follow me here: daretodive

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2015 Goals.

Now that Christmas is over and my jeans became a bit too tight, I can plan my 2015 goals. Realistic goals.
We all do that, we all plan new goals for the new year -don't deny it- but the tendency is to plan unrealistc goals, which we know we'll never realize and most of the time it's because of our laziness. Am I right? 
So, here are my goals which I'll do my best to achieve (if not, please remind me of this blogpost):

♦ This is pretty material, but something that I wanted for so long: a DSLR camera, because photography has a relevant importance in my life and I need something that can give me more. If only cameras weren't so expensive...
♦ I wanna try to post 4 to 5 blogposts a week & follow more blogs, because I don't always have time (or patience) to scroll through bloglovin' and find new blogs;

♦ It will be hard, but I have to remind me of myself;
♦ I have to bring along the few things that I've learned (click) during this year, because they're very, very important;

♦ Last but not least, decide if I want to go back to Uni or not. I think this is the biggest one.

What are your goals for 2015?

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Sunday Catch-Up #7.

*As todays is the 28th of December it means that Christmas is over and this makes me a bit sad. But I had an amazing Christmas Eve & Christmas Day: the four of us were reunited and my brother's gf joined us on Christmas evening. 

The rest of our family lives in South Italy, and we live in the North, so going there on Christmas it would have meant money and since we went there on summer and money doesn't grow on trees...

*I've received some pretty good presents (I'll probably do a blog post about them) and one of those will probably allow me to buy a reflex *fingers crossed*;

*Since my brother doesn't live with us anymore, I can barely see him and the Christmas/New Year period is the only one where we often see each other which is... great, lol;
*This morning I woke up with SNOW! Woo-ooh, it's the second time I see snow this year, but there's not enough for a snowman. Ugh.

Hope you all had an amazing Christmas! :)

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It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

1, 2

Oh ehi, I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas, ❄. Hope you'll have an amazing time with the people you love.

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The 5 Most Loved of 2014.

A movie, a book, a tv series, a hairbrush and a shoe (I usually wear two shoes but whatever): all those things are my most loved of the year!

I've already talked about the Tangle Teezer and how much it is a saviour for my hair and trust me when I say that you should have one.

Then, I loved my Creepers, they're so comfy and they keep your feet warm. Also, if you're 5'1'' like me, you gain a couple of centimeters and you'll see the world in a different perspective.

Stuck In Love, I'm OBSESSED with this movie. Do you have a film that when you watch it you feel okay? Ah, I could never be tired of it. I mean, Lily Collins is in the cast, and so is Logan Lerman and Nat Wolff, COME ON! If you haven't, you should definetly watch it.

The Fault In Our Stars. Damn you, John Green. I read the book this summer and I finished it in two days - needless to say that I loved it. I'm so happy that the movie respected the book and the most important quotes. 

Okay, first thing, Once Upon A Time & I have a particular relationship. We love each other, but sometimes we need to take a break. 

I started watching this show in September 2013 and I've finished the third season last week. Now I'm watching the fourth season and clearly I'm obsessed with it.

2015, I'm ready for new obsessions! New tv series and goodbye social life, new books, new everything.

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What I've Learned In 2014.

2014 has been itself a year with positives and negatives and, obviously, as every year, has left something (perhaps more than others).

It's been a year of changing, of important decisions, of entire no periods, of unexpected things. I will treasure this year and all I've learned, especially about myself. 

Here are a few things that I should keep in mind for 2015 and... the future.

*Failure is fine: only in this way you can learn and improve;

*Keep close people who really matter and love you;

*Don't let people bring you down so they feel better with themselves: they don't deserve to be in your life;

*Time will take its course. It's true when they say that time can heal;

*Don't let anyone define you. You first;

*It's okay to change your mind, especially if you're 20;

*If something keeps living in your mind, it means that it's worth it.

What did you learn from this year?

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I Know Places We Can Go.

We all have a list with places we want to go, and here's mine:

New York

Paris

LA

Sydney

Athens

Dublin

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Pixie Cut: Yes or No?

Jean Seberg // Mia Wakisowska

Let's start by saying that I've already had a pixie cut: three years ago, when I was 17 and I loved it. I think it was the most liberating thing that I've ever done in my life and there are days in which I miss it, a lot.

In 2011 I cut my hair because of Miss Emma Watson and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who did that because of her! Even though I'm not as beautiful as she is. 

When I went to the hairdresser, my hair was pretty long and when I said to her that I wanted a pixie cut and I showed her several photos of Emma's hair she asked me: 'are you sure?' and I was like 'yes, of course. It's just hair'. And I did it (well, she cut it, I was watching).

I cut my hair in June and re-cut it around September/October. Needless to say that you'll feel very cold in winter (my ears were ALWAYS cold), but that's fine.

I then let everything grow and, in June 2012, I cut it again and this time I chose a different haircut (always short).

Now, I am at a point where I don't know whether redo the pixie cut or not. The problem is that phase between short hair and shoulder-length hair - I don't know how to handle it!

What do you think about short hair? (On women) 

Would you ever take into consideration the idea of cutting your hair short? (If you haven't already done so)

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5 Home Office Design Ideas.

Oh, how I wish that my workspace looked like one of these. 

I thought I'd share with you some home office ideas that I really like, where I'd gladly spend hours and hours working. 

  

 Image source 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

What's your ideal work space?

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Eva & Rudy.

 Let me introduce you my two little fluffy friends...

Eva is 8 month old and she's the fluffiest thing in the world. She's very clever, friendly and she acts like a dog, sometimes (I'm not joking, trust me). I'm a huge fan of guinea pigs, because they're pretty clever as rodents and each one is different 'cause they have their own personality. 

I've already had a guinea pig, when I was 7 and he lived for 7 long years! But he was the exact opposite of Eva: he was pretty anxious, nervous and he used to bite everything, even my fingers, so I was a bit scared when I adopted her, but everything went fine.

She eats a lot and she poops a lot, yes. A joy for me. Oh, and she also likes to sleep in my arms and this, my friends, makes my heart melts everytime.

Uuuh, a guinea pig and a cat, isn't it dangerous for the guinea pig? Oh no, for Rudy it's like Eva doesn't exist. When he first saw her, he was curious, of course, and he used to go near to the cage and sniff around but nothing more. 

This green-eyed cat is 8 years old and I think he's a dog reincarneted in a cat. Yep.

Rudy came to my house when he was about 2, I think, and when one day I openend the front door and I saw my brother and his ex gf coming with her cat I almost freaked out because one, I didn't know what was going on and two, at that time I hated cats, because of a cat that my family and I had when I was little: he literally scratched my face and thanks God, I didn't lose an eye. So from that time I said 'nope, cat, no no I don't like them' and so it was until he arrived. 

Now we love each other! :)

Oh, one last thing, we've always had pets in our house and since I can remember my dad's always said 'I don't want pets anymore'. 

Yeah, dad. No pets. Anymore.

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Sunday Catch-Up #6.

*This year, I've decided to decorate my room with Christmas things: a mini Christmas tree is on my desk, fairylights are on the headboard of my bed, festoons on forniture... oh, my room looks like a Christmas store!

*Yesterday evening, I was in town with my friends, to celebrate my best friend's birthday and we were just walking when suddenly we saw the guys from Nirkiop (italian youtubers)... needless to say that I freaked out (well hidden in my huge scarf). Ah, good things;

*Dad and I were talking about the possibility of coming back to uni or academy or whatever, and I seriously need to think about it, 'cause the first experience was pretty trumatic and I'm a bit scared now;

*The idea or spending the rest of my life in this little city runs through my mind every single day, but how am I supposed to go away from here? 

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First Time In Lush.

So, the time has come. After watching videos and videos about Lush products, I finally went to the nearest Lush store (which was as big as Harry Potter's cupboard under the stairs) and spent some money on two bath bombs and an exfoliating shower gel, and now my wallet is crying. 

First thing first, let me say that I only tried the Atollo 13 (it's the Italian site, I couldn't find it on Lush.uk) exfoliating shower gel and it smells A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I love body scrubs, my skin is so smooth after I used them, especially my shoulders and my back. This exfoliant containts sea salt, lime & exotic scents (and other ingredients, I guess).

Then I bought two bath bombs (they're so heavy, I didn't know that!): Shoot For The Stars and Twilight. I haven't tried them yet, but I'm so excited to see that colour explosion thing! 

I'm not a huge fan of baths, I think showers are quicker and there's no risk of turning your bathroom into a pool (I'd able to do so...), so these bombs are a great excuse to have a bath once in awhile. :)

What's your favourite Lush product?

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Winter Snapshots.

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better"

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Desk Organisation (Christmas Edition!)

Christmas is fastly approaching and, for this reason, I've decided to decorate my desk (and the rest of my room) with Christmas decorations! :) 

I'm such a happy baby now.

PS: A huge thank you to the sun who has finally decided to come out today and gave me the opportunity to take well-lighted photos. Thanks, mate.

♦

Your Face Is Your Canvas #1.

Okay, this canvas thing is pretty cool, but we should keep in mind to not exaggerate with make-up so we don't look like clowns (brr, I don't like them).

Since today I finally found a spot in my house where natural light is decent, I have decided to show you what's currently on my pretty face.

* La Roche-Posay Hydreane BB Cream - first thing first my skin is not the best, the T zone is the worst zone of my face and BB creams used to scared me a bit, until one day I found this one... by saying that I don't feel it on my face, I've said everything. It's not oily, it lasts for hours and, dear pale people, yes yes, you, it comes in a light shade! Woo-ooh! Which is the one I have. Actually it comes in two shades: light and medium.

It's always hard for me to find foundations/BB creams/concelears/etc. that match my skin, because EVERYTHING has that bit of orange in it.

Oh, and shoutout to French brands: Vichy, Nuxe, L'Oréal, La Roche-Posay... only their products work for my skin. Well done, France.

* Maybelline Fit Me Concealer (15 - I think is the lightest shade) - actually, I bought this concealer because the gorgeous Essie Button recommended it in this video. I've never really been into concelears that much, but two weeks ago I was at the drugstore and I saw it and now is in my make-up bag. 

At the end of the day, I like it! It lasts pretty long and it comes in various shades.

* The Rocket Volum' Express Mascara by Maybelline - again, bought this one under Essie's suggestion and I-love-it. You can barely feel the brush flowin' through your lashes and oh, this mascara is heaven. It gives volume and kindly separates your lashes.

* Rimmel Brow This Way Styling Gel (dark brown) - it's my first gel for eyebrows and I kinda like it. It colours your brows, keeps 'em in order and doesn't stick too much. 

* Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick - I think it's kinda obvious that I love all the lipsticks Kate Moss did with Rimmel. This is the n. 107 and it's like a dark raspberry colour, plus is matte. I love matte lipsticks, the only problem with them is that it's like your putting glue stick on your lips and they tend to dry your lips a lot. 

* L'Oréal Super Liner Perfect Slim Eyeliner - It's kind of easy to apply, if you have eyeshadow on, it requires a bit of patience. It doesn't smudge and it's black, not that sad grey that most of the eyeliners that I've tried were.

Sooo, yes! This is what's currently on my face and I'm sure I'll do other posts like this.

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