Today we bring you something a little different that we thought you might enjoy!
Since summer is nearly upon us and you are probably trying to find a lovely yet affordable place to spend your summer vacations, we decided that we would give you some suggestions! :)
This week: PORTUGAL!
I know what you're thinking: "yeah right, of course you are going to talk about your own country!". But, hey! Who would give better advice on why you should visit somewhere than a local? Besides it is a true gem! Not only is it beautiful, it is also really affordable! :)
So, I would like to tell you how much you would love to visit this beautiful country! :)
I have been to almost everywhere here in Portugal and I can tell you: It is WORTH IT! :)
What I love the most about it is the fact that there is a little bit of everything for everyone! So today I will adress three locations: Oporto, Lisbon and Algarve. :)
If you love cultural tourism you should start by visiting cities like Porto (or Oporto):
It has beautiful piers.
Gorgeous monuments. This one is called "Torre dos Clérigos".
And a vibrant nightlife!
So this city is very vibrant and full of monuments and museums for you guys to visit!
Another city you should visit is, of course, the capital: Lisboa (or Lisbon) for almost the same reasons you should visit Porto!
It is so colorful and beautiful, it will definitly take your breath away :)
I mean, just look at that!!
And this is "Mosteiro dos Jerónimos".
Now, moving on to relaxation and sunbathing :)
If you know Portugal, you know Algarve. You might have heard something about it's beaches or you might have actually been there already. Anyway it's reputation is well earned :)
I don't know about you, but I think this comes realy close to paradise on earth :)
Now, we couldn't end this post withou even mentioning Portugal's AMAZING food so, here you go! :)
This is "Arroz de Pato":
This is "Tripas à Moda do Porto":
This is a sample of two of Portugal's finest products: Bread and olives.
Hungry yet? Here's a "Francesinha" :)
And finally, you cannot leave Portugal without having tried a "Pastel de Nata" :)
Hungry yet? :)
We hope you liked this post and we would love to know what you thought, so hit the comment section and leave your opinion!
So, it's true! We're finally in 2015! We hope you had a wonderful time with all your friends and family. We are so sorry, again, for being away from the blog for more than a month... I know it is not an excuse but the exams and the holidays killed us! But now we are back and we are here to stay! 2015 will be an even better year, we hope!
So, today I thought that it would be nice if I picked one of my recent palettes that I've received and make a review. So that is what I did!
Here I bring you, the NAKED BASICS palette.
I know it's not a new thing on the shelfs but here in Portugal they take a little more time to get it on the display to buy...
So, first, let's talk about the box, the exterior package.
It is a sleek box, in a taupe color which is very chic, in my opinion. The size of the palette is perfect for travel or just to have a quick and simple makeup on the run, in the elevator, in the car... In the back of the box, there's a description of the eyeshadow colors that are inside of the palette, and the list of the ingredients, of course!
The palette has six colors: one shimmer and five totally matte.
The shimmer color is a champagne color and the name is VENUS. I think that is a well known eyeshadow from urban decay, and you can find it in another palettes too. The matte colors are a yellow-toned beige, a pink-toned color, a nude base for the lid, a matte brown and a dark black. The first matte yellow-toned color is FOXY; the pink-toned one is WALK OF SHAME (or W.O.S); the nude is NAKED 2; the brown color is FAINT and finally the black is CRAVE.
These are the perfect colors if you want to create an easy, simple and chic nude eye makeup. They are so easy to aply and the pigmentation is awesome! It is so creamy too!
The size of this palette is also interesting. It is not too small or too big: it's perfect! For me, I'm always travelling and on the run, it's my favourite palette to get on THE GO! It is always in my purse because I can transform my day makeup to a night makeup in the bathroom, with this palette, in 5 minutes! How cool is that?!
Here in Portugal, the palette retails for 27 euros, but when I bought it at Sephora, I used a discount that I had from my birthday and it costed 23 euros. Not bad!
If you are interested in this palette go to Sephora!
So, that is all for today!
We missed you guys so much in this past month of December. We apologize again for our "disappearance".
If you want us to do something different or special, contact us here or through facebook, twitter or instagram! Today you might get more than one new post! We shall see...! Again, contact us and give us your thoughts and ideas. We need you guys!
One of my favourite hobbies is baking and today I want to share with you a Chocolate Cake Recipe that is to die for and is also really easy! My topping actually turned out to be too runny but, oh well, it was delicious anyway! :)
So, you will need the following ingredients:
For the batter:
- 225 gr. of chocolate
- 175 gr. of butter
- 6 eggs
- 4 tbsp of flour
- 225 gr of sugar
For the filling and topping:
- 225 gr. of chocolate
- 225 ml of double cream
Preparation:
1. Start by preheating your oven to 180ºC and greasing two cake pans and lining them with parchment paper.
2. Melt your butter and chocolate together by placing them in a heat proof bowl in a pot with boiling water.
3. Take your chocolate and butter out of the heat, sift in the flour and mix until there are no lumps.
Then add the sugar and mix.
4. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.
Add the egg yolks to the chocolate mixture always mixing to make sure that the egg yolks do not scramble.
5. Beat your egg whites until stiff and fold half of them in to the chocolate mixture. Then, add the remaining egg whites and mix,
6. Divide the batter between the two cake pans as evenly as possible, As you can see one of my cake pans is bigger than the other. Somehow I was under the impression that they were both the same size but obviously they are not (good one Dany!) so I just rolled with it! Bake for 20-35 minutes or until a tothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
7. Now, while our cakes are cooling, we can get started on the topping wich is as simple as it gets! Using the same method we used to melt the butter and chocolate, melt the chocolate and the double cream. When your cakes are completly cool you take one of them out of the pan and cover it with your topping mixture. Then, place the other cake on top, cover it with the topping and work it with a spatula!
I hope you liked this recipe! Don't forget to show us your results if you try it! Share them with us on instagram with #bakingwithdany !
So, first let me excuse for all this time without posting... We've been very busy with some jobs and me, personnaly, I've been sick :( So, now that I'm better, I'm here again to tell you about a delicious thing that I've found in THE BODY SHOP store in my town.
Here it is guys! The Chocomania Body Butter!
Since the brand started to appear, I was in love for all the products! The body butters, the lip butters, the body shower, the body creams, exfoliatings, etc.
So many products, so many scents to play with!
My first purchase was a body butter. A limited edition body butter in a blueberry scent. It gives my skin all the hydration that it needs for the winter time and, at the same time, it gives a fruity scent that makes me feel like a million bucks!
Then, when I decided to try again THE BODY SHOP products, I bought a dry oil. A dry oil for hair and body. I decided to buy it specially for my hair, to give some shine and life to my hair. And when I was looking for it, I found out that was a dry oil with chocolate scent! I WAS IN LOVE! When I smelled the bottle, I remember thinking:"is there a hole line with this scent?! I want it!"
So, I decided to buy the dry oil and a new body butter: everything with chocolate scent, the CHOCOMANIA LIMITED EDITION!
The CHOCOMANIA PRODUCTS can be found at any THE BODY SHOP store. The BODY BUTTER was 16 euros; the DRY OIL was 8 euros; and the SHOWER GEL was 6 euros.
These products are saving my life during this time of the year, because my skin dries so quickly and needs extra-hydration. You can buy them for yourself if you are like me, if you like to show your skin some love!
But, they can be super cute gifts for Christmas too! I love to get these kind of gifts from the people I love because they know that I love to take care of myself and be pretty :)
So, that is all for today!
We hope you love the post and stay tunned for more! Once again, we apologize for all this time without new posts, we promise: it won't happen again!
We love you guys all so much! Leave us a comment down below and follow us on facebook, twitter and instagram! Tell us your opinion, we want to hear it!
We have reached the end of October... eleven days ago... I know, ok? I'm sorry!! We have been absent but we are back and ready to show you some beautiful products! But first things first, we have to show you our monthly favourites! Now, Ju already showed you guys her favourites so now I will show you mine!
1. Beauty Favourite
For beauty I decided to go with this liquid eyeliner from Kiko. It is the Precision eyeliner and it is amazing! It stays on all day, does not smudge and it is so easy to apply because of it's brush! This was the eyeliner used in the Winged Liner Tutorial.
2. Clothing Favourite
My personal clothing favourite is this beautiful leather jacket from Mango. I love the studs and the zipper details. The quality is very nice and it is very warm!
3. Favourite Accessory
When it comes to accessories, the items that I buy the most, and by buy I mean hoard, it's earings! I love earings and I do believe that they can jazz up any outfit! My favourite pair of earings this month is this beautiful set of green, sparkly and big earings!
Besides my earings I have purchased a new bag in October and I have been obssessed with it since! It's this beautiful black bag from Parfois. It's very classic and because of it's simple look, it goes well with everything. Besides, it has a detail that makes it extra special and practical, wich is the fact that it has a little bag on the inside that you can carry when you're on the go!
4. Favourite Song
This past month I have been literally obssessed with Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud"! Guys, this song is so beautiful! The lyrics are just so well written and the melody itself goes so well with them. It's a beautiful and very romantic song! Besides, this music video makes me want to learn how to dance! Ed Sheeran is definetly one of the best musicians at the time in my opnion.
5. Favourite Movie
For my movie favourite I decided to go for "Annabelle" because, like every movie I have seen that is produced by James Wan is so brilliantly directed and written! He is very clever with the settings, music and even the way of filming which makes his movies terrifying! So, since I love scary movies this is the one I pick for my favourite!
6. Favourite Book
I know Ju has already chosen one of the books from "A song of Ice and Fire" but I can't help it! They are so addictive it's crazy! I am on a mission to catch up with the books before the fifth season comes out so my favourite book for the month of October is "A Glória dos Traidores" which translates to "The Glory of the Traitors". By the way, how cool is this cover?
7. Random Favourite
This October I found myself addicted to one very special series: Friends! I know it's from the ninety's but honestly, it is old, but gold! This series is so amazing I can't help but to watch it every single day. Besides, who doesn't love a classic?
Hope you liked this post! What were your monthly favourites for October?
So, since we left October and started a new month, we thought that would be nice if we told you our favourites of the month of OCTOBER!
As you know, we are two friends that love fashion and makeup, and bring new products to you, guys, so, I'm going to put my favourites and Dany is going to do the same thing.
We have different categories and tell us if you want us to review any product mencioned here today!
So, let's get this show on the road!
1. BEAUTY FAVOURITES:
The first of my beauty favourites is not a first here on the blog. Is the BABY LIPS by MAYBELLINE. This baby is perfect to this cold weather because it gives your lips the full treatment they need. They stay flawless and soft. It is the perfect combination of lip balm and lipstick (because it has a hint of color in it) for this time of the year.
Baby Lips, in Pink Punch. You can find it in any supermarket.
My second favourite is also a lip product. It is from a not so known brand and it is a LIP GLOSS. It is from ISEREÉ and I love it because it is not sticky at all! It is a very nude lip gloss and it has one little secret: it smells and tastes like capuccino! How cool is that? In the cold weather, the taste of a warm capuccino in my lips is the high point of my day!
Lip Gloss, by Isereé in Capuccino. At beauty stores.
The third favourite of this category is a cheek product. A very well known one. The famous POSIETINT by BENEFIT. This is one of the sisters of BENETINT, but isteed of that rich red color, we have a very soft pink tone. The liquid texture and the stain power is perfect for the fall and winter because it stays more on the skin and moisturizes it. It is less dry than the powder blushes.
PosieTint by Benefit. At your local Sephora.
And the last, but not the least: a skin care product!
You have to remember: the skin is the base for all your makeup. If the base is ruined, you can't produce beautiful and inspiring looks. You have to take care of your skin, to stay young and beautiful. No makeup can beat a glowing, perfect skin! So, this is my current skin day cream. It is a DAY CARE CREAM (I have one for the night), by DIADERMINE. It prevents all sorts of problems that can appear in your face, gives some nice texture to the skin and it makes it glow! It is an all-in-one product and a winner for me!
Day cream by Diadermine. At pharmacies.
2. CLOTHING FAVOURITES:
In the clothing section I have a special piece that I wanna show you. It is a midseason piece because you can wear it in the warm weather and in the cold weather.
It is a BLAZER! Everyone should have a blazer because it is a basic. A blazer can be paired with a skirt, with jeans for a more relaxed look, with a dress, to create a dressy look. So many ways, so little time! I would recommend you to buy a black blazer as your first, because black goes on with everything! But this piece that I'm going to show you is different. It is all black but it has a print: some little white stars! How cute is that?! It is a simple but a bold piece at the same time. It was my most weared piece of the month! It is from PULL AND BEAR.
Black Blazer with white stars, by Pull and Bear. At Pull and Bear stores.
3. FAVOURITE ACCESSORIES:
My favourite accessory of the month is one that I thought I would not wear in this time of the year, but I did! Here where I live, the cold has arrived in a very strange way: the temperature droped very fast and we felt the cold in a very harsh way. So, I took my GLOVES out of the closet!
Yes, GLOVES! This babies will do wonderful things for your hands. The skin of your hands need some love too, and you should protect them from the cold and the wind. So, gloves are you're best friend!
Mine are from ACCESSORIZE, and are very cozy. They are blue and grey, with some hints of color on the top. Some bright colors to bring hapiness to your day!
Gloves by Accessorize. At Accesorize stores.
4. FAVOURITE MUSIC:
It is hard for me to pick a song for this month because I hear a lot of music, I'm always with my iPod. But since October is the Halloween month, I pick for my favourite music of October, "THIS IS HALLOWEEN" from the soundtrack of "NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS" by Tim Burton.
5. FAVOURITE MOVIE:
As I said before, it is very hard to me to pick a movie for this month because I've seen almost 25 movies, just in October! But, there is one that stayed in my mind for a while and it is the new "SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR" by Frank Miller. It is the follow of the first SIN CITY movie, but, in my opinion, a lot better. It is a very caracteristic movie, all in black and white motion, has the first was.
6. FAVOURITE BOOK:
To me, is easy! I'm reading the GAME OF THRONES collection, by George R. R. Martin, and now I'm in the fourth book. So, my favourite book of October is the Game Of Thrones: A CLASH OF KINGS. In Portugal, the second book, in the american version, was divided in two books, the third and the fourth. Here, the fourth is o DESPERTAR DA MAGIA.
O Despertar da Magia: as Crónicas do Gelo e do Fogo, volume 4, by George R. R, Martin. At any book store.
7. RANDOM FAVOURITES:
At last, the final category! This is a random things category and today my random favourite of the month is an iPhone APP. It is a sleep app. It is called SLEEP BETTER and it helps you to scan and control how well you sleep.
I was very surprise with the habbilities of this app, and I use it every night to help me find out why I sleep better in some days than others. I recommend this app to all people who has trouble sleeping and don't know why! It is free at the Apple Store, but you can buy a more detailed app for 1,99€.
So, that is all for today!
I hope that you have enjoyed this post as I enjoyed doing it for you! Don't forget to check ou facebook, twitter and instagram for more news! Check our blog daily and become a member of our community: the blue oak tree!
We love you so so much, me and Dany, and we hope that you're having a great weekend!
