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Quick Makeup Routine For Bloggers

20130521




Quick Makeup Routine For Bloggers

The life of a blogger being as permissive as it is, is still a working life and that means that we often find ourselves trying to make ends meet as we juggle priorities and a never-ending pile of work. I asked the lovely Madeline of Daria Daria if she could give me a hand with this post because I know that taking that little bit of time for yourself before you start with your day will go a long way in the way you feel, the way you go through your work and even the quality of your work.

Here are Madeline's quick makeup tips:

STEP ONE: Use BB creams - they give you moisture, sun protection (not all of them) and an even coverage.
STEP TWO: Mineral powder is applied quickly, gives the skin a matte finish and lasts all day.
STEP THREE: Bronzer and blush in one: gives you rosy cheeks and a hint of tanned skin.
STEP FOUR: Apply eyeliner in a nice color that matches your eyes (like this dark green one for brown eyes) and mascara.

Faster than you can say "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"
Visit Daria Daria for more tips.

Conversation: Anonymous

20130517

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Conversation: Anonymous
This subject has been brought up so many times by so many Bloggers and no matter how many more of us write about this, I know for a fact there's no magical potion we can drink or make haters drink that would stop the occasional hatred-filled comment by the infamous "anonymous".

I had restrained myself from writing this post for a long time because part of me feels that by writing this I'm giving the minds behind hateful messages a place they do not deserve. Having said that, I know many of you struggle with this and because of that I decided to share my personal thoughts and feelings on this matter.

The first thing I need to establish is that even with the number of years I've been doing this and this being my full-time job, I do not have 100% of the answers and solutions, all I've learned has been a mixture of trial and error with a pinch of meditation, restraint and the fact that the older I get, the less of a bleep I give about people whose only intention is to tear down and not build.

You might have already heard this but this business requires 2 top things: one is that you become resilient... and two, that you get your tough-cookie face on and understand that no matter what you say and how you say it people who don't have the same views as you and who have low tolerance levels can easily get offended... but the MOST important thing to grab on to when your receive a nasty comment is the fact that someone who has the best intention in mind will contact you personally, not to judge but to help.

Personally, this is the way I see it. The internet is a vast place, and as invested as we get in peoples' blogs, we are not part of their lives and won't get to know them fully because the stories written on a blog, no matter how personal they are, do not fully portray a person's values, struggles, upbringing, cultural background and beliefs.

We already live in a world deprived of privacy, liberty and kindness, so to pay attention to these horrible comments is just as damaging as writing them.

Again, I do believe this will never stop and given that I did go through a rough patch in the past with people being vocal about my opinions to the point of bringing my daughter into the mix, I disabled the ability of writing anonymous comments / comments with empty trackbacks on my blog. It has nothing to do with me not valuing my readers' opinions, as some may think, but rather with this same thought in mind, that if someone cares so much as to set aside the time to express their disagreement about something I wrote or something another commenter wrote, they'll do it the right way and understand that I'm trying to maintain the integrity of my blog and the opinions expressed by my readers.

I've received so many requests for this post and some emails broke my heart. People who are pouring out their thoughts and daily struggles, who are being bombarded with nonsense every day. If you are one of them, know that this happens to every blogger at some point. Putting your heart and soul into what you're getting out there, being fair and not stirring up controversial topics without being prepared always helps. What I'm trying to say, is that if you are not prepared to have comments from overly-opinionated people who will try their best to make you think otherwise, do not even venture into those parts of the woods... and if you do, do not feel it's an obligation to defend yourself. Be sure of what your opinion is and respect the opinion of people who have properly signed the comment so you can have a healthy conversation with someone with a face and a name.

I believe that if you know yourself, the intention behind your words and you are striving to be your own person, with your own ideas nothing that "anonymous" could write would ever get to you.

Above all, I just want you to remember that you are beautiful and special and that your opinion has weight and value and that keeping positive and protecting those you love doesn't mean you are weak or a fake. Do what feels right for your blog, you and those you love and never allow anyone to make you lose the passion for writing and encouraging others.

I believe that someone's success should never come at the expense of another. As in everything you do, remain fair, true and honest to yourself and those around you. The only person who can judge you is none other than yourself... so love yourself and cherish this time of your life because it is a wonderful one.

Please feel free to share your stories, struggles or advice.

WEAR: PULL&BEAR

20130515

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WEAR: PULL&BEAR
Pull & Bear is one of my favorite shops. It's affordable, comfortable and it suits my inner tomboy-fashionista girl nicely. Now that that's out there, you'll understand my obsession with Pull & Bear's Portugal Lookbook with the Gorgeous Kate and Yumi. Oh boy! I'm now obsessed with that patterned skirt and everything listed on Look #4. Help us!
What are you wearing today?

Paper + Tea

20130509



Paper + Tea
 You know the feeling when two of your favorite things come together? Like cookies and cream, pineapple and mint... You catch my drift. That's the feeling x 1000 that I got when I found this shop. Paper and Tea is a Berlin gem. The products are carefully curated, combining the best tea around the world in one space.

I'd love to rant about their decor but I'm sure it already had a jaw-dropping effect on you.

Let's meet there for tea.

Moodboard: Recovery

20130506

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ohmegee!
It's May. Can someone help me find the brake?
... Days have flown by and I'm a few sleeps away from traveling again. I'm a lot more nonchalant  about it this time around as I happen to be recovering from the worst illness of the Century and I have my eyes set on recovering alone.  I wanted to make my self-motivational morning rituals part of my recovery process. I have to swallow about a thousand pills a day and get painful shots and drips but somehow thinking of what lies ahead and how wonderfully simple and calm my life is at the moment gives me all the encouragement I need. So, if you are going through a rough patch: Make a moodboard and keep positive. Thank you for all your tweets, facebook messages and kindness, they've surely lighten up my days.
Happy Monday!

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Blogging Through Adversity

20130423



Last week I announced via Twitter that I was taking a week off blogging, and even though I never mentioned the "why" many of you pin-pointed that it was related to the latest Boston Marathon tragedy. I received quite a few comments / questions asking what blogging etiquette had to say in regards to this... and I truly didn't know. I replied to some of you saying I just did what my gut was telling me to do, but I also respected other bloggers' schedules who decided to keep their regular program, and left it at that.

I try to be very careful that I don't regret the things I publish on the blog and to me at that point just as it happened with Sandy Hook it felt very insincere to continue my schedule when I was not at all thinking about any of the blog-related things but rather wanted to be present and have time with my family. Now, this is a thing that took me a while to learned. When we get into the habit of blogging and we start making this our job we feel like the Internet couldn't survive without us and the truth of the matter is that things are ok without us here and those who read what we have to say and are genuinely  interested will wait and will understand.

I thought about all this throughout the week and yesterday did a bit of research myself. One thing caught my attention. Social media can be very useful in weighing what a certain group of people feel in regards to any matter, and in this case I was rather stunned to see how there's no gray area. It's black and white. A lot of people find it absolutely wrong to continue with a regular program while tragedy is happening around us and some others think the show must continue and feel it's their obligation to "cheer people up" by offering them a distraction from all the media bombardment.

Because of what I'm about to say, this will sound more like an opinionated comment and not a piece of advice... but since this is based on what I believe, it works for me. I just say: Go with your gut. There's nothing worse than feeling trapped in a space that is yours, where you should have the freedom to express yourself in a unique and personal way. So, if you feel like you deal with it better by not saying anything in regards to tragedies, politics and worldwide shocking events, don't. On the other hand if you feel like you can bring some light and encouragement to the table, do.

I guess the important thing is that you deal with it personally in your own way. Not many realize this, but behind every blogger there's someone who hurts, cares, feels and who might have different ways of sorting through the shock and the scare that these events cause when they come crashing into our world. We cannot expect everyone to be open on a blog and talk about matters that we deem important.

No matter what the conditions are, do what feels right for you and those who read your blog... and most important of all, do not feel pressured to meet everyone's expectations. Worry about being present and empathetic to those around you and those, who even if not close to you, are suffering tonight from a devastating loss.

I hope you're all having a wonderful and safe week.
Do feel free to comment and tell how you think a Blogger should handle themselves during tragedy.

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