March Favorites / 2015

Face:

• Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water - I've been using this cleansing water a while now, and because the bottle is so big it's still half full. I don't use it on it's own, i remove my make up with wipes first, and then i remove the make up residues with this micellar water. It does what it says, it really does remove make up residues, it dries quickly and leaves the skin very smooth and soft. It's very gentle and it doesn't irritate my skin at all. I also use it for cleaning my face in the morning, before applying foundation.
• Rimmel London Stay Matte Mousse Foundation - This foundation is best if you have oily skin. My skin is normal, in general, but it does get a little bit shiny in some areas during the day, especially if the weather is warm and i'm on the go. So i needed something that would stay on my face all day. I bought it and i don't regret it, because it's an amazing long lasting foundation with great coverage. The only thing i don't like is that it doesn't have SPF, which is pretty important, but i guess i can compensate that with other products that have SPF.
• Bourjois Paris Happy Light Concealer ( http://octobergraves.blogspot.com/2014/12/review-of-day-bourjois-happy-light.html )
• AURA Highlighter / Blush - #219 - Earlier this year i used a highlighter/blush from AURA from this same range, and i absolutely loved it, but sometimes it felt too pink on my cheeks, so i wanted something with a "cooler" undertone and i bought this. It's really shimmery and gives great glow to the cheeks, without being too bright. The formula and pigmentation are amazing which makes it really easy to apply and a little product on the brush goes a long way.

Eyes:

• Rimmel London Scandal Eyes Mascara Extreme Black - I've used the regular Scandal Eyes mascara for years now, and last time i went to the store to buy it, they were out of it. But they did have this newer Extreme Black Edition so i gave it a go. It is absolutely identical to the "normal" one, they just have a different packaging. My all time favorite mascara.
• Deborah Milano Eyeshadow Palette -#2 - Nude Beige - I love this palette, the colors are perfect for spring time & the pigmentation is amazing. I didn't get to use all of the shades, i only used #1 and #3. #1 is just a plain shimmery white shade and #3 is gorgeous subtle taupe shade which is perfect for day time. 

Lips:

• AURA Matte Lip Cream - #609 - Candy Pick ( http://octobergraves.blogspot.com/2015/02/aura-absolute-matte-lip-cream-swatches-2.html )
• Labello Fruity Shine Watermelon lip balm - Hydrating & smells lovely - i love it.

Nails:

• Eveline X-treme Gel effect  - This thing is magic, it keeps my manicure nice for two weeks, the basic nail polish doesn't change color and also it doesn't crack, which happened to me with other top coat nail polishes that i've used.
• Golden Rose Rich Color #76
• Golden Rose #27

Hair:

• Balea More Blond Hair Spray - Lightening spray - As my ombre was growing out i felt the need to lighter the upper part of my hair a.k.a. my natural hair which is medium brown, but i didn't wanted to dye it. This spray does wonders. It's so efficient that my hair is 3-4 shades lighter, and it almost looks blonde. It says that it's not meant for brown hair, but i used it anyway and i love the result.
• Balea Trend It up - Heat protection spray - Since is started using this spray i don't have a problem with split ends, even though my hair is bleached and i use a hair dryer almost every time i wash my hair. So i guess it does the job. The only thing i don't like is the smell, but the good thing is that it goes away after a while.

And that's all folks. These were my favorite products for this month, of course i used other things as well, but i loved these the most, and i used them without exception 99% of the time.

Hope you like this post!

Until Soon

© Donna October

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Banana Oat American Pancakes

You'll need:

• 1 banana
• 1 egg
• 60 ml milk ( 1/4 of a cup )
• 1 cup ground oats ( oat flour )
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar

Blend together the egg, the milk and the banana.

Add the mixture in a different bowl and combine it with the dry ingredients. If the batter's not thick enough, add more oat flour.

The consistency can vary due to the size of the egg or the banana.

Leave the batter to rest for a 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, turn the burner on to a medium. Use a non-stick pan, and spread a thin layer of coconut oil on it.

Then, put some amount of the batter onto the pan, using a ladle.

The size of your pancakes it's up to you.

You need to turn around the pancake once you see bubbles creating on the surface, and the bottom part should be golden brown.

My suggestion is to serve these with honey, because it goes great with the intense flavors of the banana and the cinnamon.

Enjoy.

Until Soon

© Donna October

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Ombre Lips

I'm sure you're all familiar with this new trend - ombre lips. If not, it is basically using more than one lipstick shade to get the ombre effect which is gradually going from darker to lighter color. It is supposed to give depth to the lips and make them look fuller. Honestly, at first glance it looks kinda interesting, but on second thought i don't really like it. I think it looks messy and it's definitely not worth the hype.

I tried two different looks, and these are the products i've used, but after trying it out i'm now sure that this trend it's just not my cup of tea.

My method is very simple, i just outlined my lips with the darkest color i chose. Then i applied the lighter lipstick all over my lips, starting from the middle. Then i gently rubbed my lips together which helped blending the two colors. Rubbing your lips together or using a lipstick brush for blending is the most important move, because the transition between the colors is gonna be more subtle. And finally i used concealer in the center of my lips for enhancing the ombre effect.

And finally... Does this trend look interesting? Maybe. Is it worth the effort? Definitely not.

Products:

• AURA Nano lipstick #89 Nantucket
• AVON Ultra Colour Lipstick - Max Mocha
• S-he lipliner #001
• Avon Lipstick - Matte Blossom
• AURA Nano lipstick #83 Tokyo
• AURA Absolute Matte Lip cream #612 Matte Mess
• Bourjois Happy Light Concealer #21 Ivoire

Until Soon

© Donna October

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Blackberry Pie

Crust:

• 2 cups of flour
• 90 gr cold butter 
• 10 tbsp cold water
• pinch of salt

Mix the flour, the salt, and the butter, until the butter is crumbled into small pieces. Then, slowly add the cold water, and mix until you make a dough. If it seems too crumbly add more water, until everything is well combined.

Divide the dough into two pieces, and it's important to make one of the pieces a little bigger - because you'll need more dough for the bottom crust to be thicker. Wrap them with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge until you prepare the apple filling. ( It's best to keep the dough in the fridge for over an hour, but if you're not patient 30-40 minutes will do. )

Filling:

• 500 gr blackberries
• 150 gr sugar
• 20 gr butter
• 3 tsp vanilla sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch ( if you're using frozen berries, you might need more because they're gonna release lots of liquid )
• orange or lemon peel 
• 1/2 tsp ginger

Additional ingredients:

• egg
• bread crumbs

Melt the butter in a bigger sauce pan ( medium heat ) and add the sugar and the vanilla. After a few minutes, when the sugar starts to melt add the blackberries, the orange/lemon peel and the ginger. Cook for 5 minutes and then add the cornstarch. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, until it starts to bubble, because the liquid needs to evaporate. Let it cool for about an hour, because the filling needs to be cold when you start filling the pie.

Roll out the first piece of dough and put it in a previously buttered dish.

The dimensions of this crust should be as big as your dish, and the ends of the crust need to reach the edges of the dish.

Sprinkle a little bit of bread crumbs on top of it, then add the filling and then put the top crust on top. You can do whatever you want with the top crust, you can add a whole layer, or you can make lattice crust, like me.

Whisk the egg, and then brush the egg wash all over the pie.

Bake for 10-15 minutes in a preheated oven at 200'C, and then lower the temperature on 180'C and bake for another 30-40 minutes, or until the crust gets golden brown.

You should have in mind that every oven is different, so your pie may take less or more time to bake.

Let it cool and then serve it with sweetened whipped cream or ice cream, or sprinkle some powdered sugar on top of it because the blackberries have a tendency to be quite sour.

Enjoy!

© Donna October

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Spring Haul

I've already used some of these products, some i haven't tried yet. I will do a review on the eye shadow palette, the highlighter & the hair products in a couple of days, so if you're interested in that, stay tuned.

As far as the clothing, some of these items are bought earlier this year, i didn't buy everything at once, but since they're meant to be worn in spring i included them in this post as well.

I'm a dedicated lover of edgy and comfortable clothing and everything i bought now has that kind of a vibe, all of the clothes even look "boyish", which i absolutely love. And i'm gonna be honest, i bought the t-shirts in the men's section of the store. :) There's just something about baggy men's t-shirts that i love so much. And i am 100% sure that i'm not the only one that enjoys wearing clothes that are meant for men. :)

Alright, that's it for now, i hope this post is somehow helpful and gave you an idea or two.

Until Soon.

© Donna October

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