Linda-Marie - an inspiration

A 20 year old girl from Sweden recently did what most of us wish we where brave enough to do; She posted a picture on Facebook OF herself in a bikini. That sounds trivial, thousands of young people post bikini pictures during the summer, whats so special about this one?

Well Linda-Marie is not slim. She is plus sized. Chubby. Some may even call her fat. But she still posted the picture, she still shared her body in all its glory with the world and with the risk of being made fun off because of her size. 

And the world bend down and said "respect!" 

The picture got 10.000 likes in no time, got shared all over facebook and soon the media picked up. Not just the Swedish media, but The Sun brought the story of this inspiring girl and her brave picture. Now it has over 80.000 likes. Every single like is well deserved!

Linda-Marie is like all of us. She hated her body once. She been teased and put down because of it. She been on diets and suffered the same things as we all have, all us plus sized fabulous woman have. She is no different from us and that is why she is worth admiring. She´s not putting down slim people, she just asks that  we accept that not everyone is slim. That every body is beautiful. 

Today Linda-Marie love her body! Every single curve and every single soft love handle. She stopped fighting herself, she stopped hating herself. She fought a battle yes, but she changed the battlefield. It is no more a fight of hate but one of love and learning, learning to love one self. 

Linda-Marie is my new hero. She touched my heart string. I see in her a lot of myself, a lot of my own battles. She posted that picture for the same reasons I started this blog. She been trough the transition of learning to love her body just as I have. I still remember one year ago when I got some old pictures from my mom and I didn't recognize a girl on one of the photos. That girl was ME!

This girl

I recall when I first saw it. Two days after it was taken. I saw a fat ugly girl with pig eyes,  stupid smile with hamster teeth, pig nose and troll hair. I saw UGLY. That was all I saw.

Now? I see a beautiful slender young girl with a charming smile. The picture lied to me when I saw it the first time.

Now I look like this 

Older, bigger and with glasses.

 I AM actually fat now but I think I look amazing. I think I'm a very pretty fox. Sure I'm not exactly in the model category, my size is 52/54 but I really LIKE what i see now. I got days when I feel fat and ugly but they aren't everyday. Ironic isn't it. How I feel better about my body now than when I was skinny. 

Linda-Marie you are an inspiration! I salute you for your bravery, your wit and your amazing body!

You can check out Linda-Marie´s blog HERE

E.l.f lip stain

E.l.f launched lip stains, their own version of Revlons Just Bitten, GOSH´s long lasting lip marker, Max Factors liptint and Cliniques chubby sticks. I never tried this type of... lip coloring thing before, honestly it kinda looks like a tush. I'm probably going to try E.l.f´s anyway tough just to try something new. They retail for 23,00Dkr 

Fun fact of the day: In the renaissance porcelain pale was the ideal but achieving this demanded a lead based foundation that caused several health risks, including open wounds on the skin

Wednesday Wishing Well

Every Wednesday ill blog about something I wish for. Something I cant buy right away or maybe ever, things that may be to expensive or to hard to get my hands on. And now presenting this weeks wish!

Igigi Stella Gown

This is my dream dress! It is flowy, the design is in complimenting colors and the whole fall feel fits me very well. I love fall colors and I love skirts with SWOOSH and tops that fits my chest despite their size. I already own a few Igigi dresses and I know how they compliment the big girls body. I would love going to a ball in the Stella but alas - its out of stock. Not only but they don't expect it to come back. On my budget I couldn't afford to spend 200$+ on a dress I couldn't use very often. I hope I can get it off Ebay someday.

You can see other delight full items on Igigi´s WEBSITE

Fun fact of the day: in the 19th century the ideal waistline was a mere 10 inches. To achieve this, woman used corsets that was painfully tightly laced, causing organ damage, bone fracture and more

Lily Cole lip gloss

Another lucky bid on Ebay! I'm a sucker for girly stuff and Body Shops Lily Cole collection just hit me in the right place! I adore the products and the design! 

The Body Shop Lily Cole Lip gloss, 02 Go Wild

Standard tube but with the hip pink Lily Cole design on. The gloss itself gives a nice color to it. Of the 17 EDC´s there is only Propylparaben in it, as preservative. That isn't to bad and Body Shop is CRUELTY FREE. In a choice between EDC and Cruelty I choose the EDC´s.

The gloss got a neat tropical fruit scent, and very mild taste. The color is nonexistent to be honest. The gloss is very thick and sticky. I'm not going to keep it, as i don't like my glosses sticky. I got it for 1,55$ plus shipping on Ebay.

Fun fact of the day: L'Oréal owns and produce a lot of your favorite brands, including Lancome, Garnier, Biotherm, Helena Rubenstein, Maybellline, Vichy, and Yves Saint Laurent

July Goodiebox

Goodiebox is the danish equivalent to Glossybox and Birchbox

EDC means Endoctrine disrupting chemicals. 

So, I was very disappointed with the previous Goodiebox (May) and I never got around to review it since I was suffering from severe hay fever. Never the less I was less than impressed with how things was handled, how late the boxes where shipped and so forth. I had decided not to order the next box. 

A few days ago I received a notice from the delivery firm that I had a package waiting from Goodiebox. I was of course surprised, checked my account - sure enough the money was drawn and my profile said they charged from my mastercard now (I used paypal, which meant that id have to order each box separately). I figured I paid, might as well check it out- and I'm awed! This box is fucking amazing!

This months box is dedicated to Coco Chanels mantra: Believe in yourself! 

Nice pink ribbon, and look it matches my fabric! The Goodiebox is 119Dkr pr month with delivery!

And will you look at that! Big sizes!

Decubal Ecological Face Cream

Decubal is a Scandinavian brand that has been sold on pharmacies for more than 30 years. I personally know the brand from a hand creme that I used for very dry skin, and it was always my favorite. I'm always exited about eco products and this is perfume and pharaben free! Its filled to the brim with nice stuff like apricot seed oil, almond oil and my all time favorite jojoba oil! 

Retail is 119,95Dkr

Decubal Ecological Body Cream

Moisturizing body cream, and like the face cream there is no perfume or parapens! The key ingredients is elder flower, and there is also almond oil in. Cant wait to use it!

Retail is 104,95Dkr

Jurlique Eye Makeup Remover

This is quite interesting. Jurlique is a firm trying to help the environment and woman's rights. They believe in bio dynamic beauty products with ingredients from their own bio dynamic farm in Australia. Basically it is the more elegant and a tad more expensive version of Yves Rocher

The tube is... Dull. It screams silent movie pharmacy. The toothpaste looking cap isn't helping the matter

I find it very interesting with the eye makeup remover in creme form. The box says to use it with a cotton ball and gently remove the makeup and then rinse or wipe off the excess creme. I like the ingredients in this Jojoba, sunflower and dandelion all chosen for their unique abilities. Jojoba hydrates and soothes sensitive skin, sunflower oil help the skin keep its elasticity and dandelion protects fragile skin. I'm looking forward to try this!

Retail is 195Dkr

BodyNordic lip gloss, Brown

Bodynordic is a brand I'm unfamiliar with so I googled and found their website. They are a danish company with danish production - and in these days local produced is a good thing! The tube is a normal glide on and its very smooth. I found none of the 17 EDC´s in the ingredients list. 

Its a nice brown with lots of sparkle but still subtle enough to use in a regular day. I think it will go great on top of a lipstick for a party. It is smooth and not sticky - I swear my lips are less dry just by trying it on!! (on a side note, check out how freckled I am! That's how you know its summer XD)

It retails for 99Dkr

Schwarzkopf Osis+ Session Extreme Hold Hairspray

A hairspray for extreme styles, the kind where your hair turns into hard plastic lol. I usually don't use extreme hold hairsprays (or hairspray at all) but I'm sure it will be fun at Halloween. Maybe experiment a little

It retails at 129Dkr

Depend Holographic Nail polish, Plum

Depend is a low price brand with seat in Sweden. They make some neat nail polishes!

Its pretty easy to put on, and 2-3 layers is enough. The color is really nice and the picture isn't doing it justice! 

Retail is 45Dkr

All in all - I am one impressed costumer! KUDOS Goodiebox, KUDOS! If you want to buy Goddiebox then go to their WEBSITE for further info :)

Fun fact of the day; Eyeliner was invented in ancient Egypt and used to protect the eyes from the desert sun as well as "evil eye" or sickness. Modern research has shown that the Egyptians eyeliner actually did have an effect protecting their eyes from infection.

Wednesday Wishing Well

Introducing the Wednesday Wishing Well!

Every Wednesday ill blog about something I wish for. Something I cant buy right away or maybe ever, things that may be to expensive or to hard to get my hands on. And now presenting this weeks wish!

Escentric Molecules' Molecule 01

The Molecule 01 is a perfume unlike any other. The perfume melts with your natural pheromones and thus creates a unique fragrance! Everyone will smell different! The active ingredients ISO E Super, an aroma chemical. They claim that you most likely wont notice the scent yourself but everyone around you will - its like those pheromone sprays but according to the raging reviews this one actually works!

The travel size retails for 38£ on Cultbeauty but you can also buy the Refill for merely 27£ 

I am quite intrigued by the prospect of unique perfumes. In theory the scent should change with the pheromone levels, and that is quite amazing! The bottle is simple and plays on the geeky (01100101 is binary for E, referring to the chemical) and that pleases my inner geek! 

Fun fact of the day: Wet hair can stretch up to 50% without breaking 

ELF Haul

 ELF recently had a 50% off promotion, and I of course had to get me some goodies! I used the opportunity to purchase a few things I been unsure about and a birthday gift to a friend. I'm aware that e.l.f isn't exactly angels in the EDC department, but for a cheap brand that is cruelty free, I'm willing to compromise. ALSO when I say "EDC´s" I'm referring to the 17 that has proven to be harmful by danish EPA

E.L.F Primer Eyeshadow, Misty Mauve

This liquid eyeshadow works as a primer as well! You can use it as is, or under a regular eyeshadow, to achieve a new effect. The container is standard e.l.f, the White cap makes it seem a little discount like tough. It retails at 23,00Dkr 

The applicator is a standard one. The shadow is as easy to work with as their liquid eye shadows, you can build it up to show more color or keep it subtle. 

It is a nice purple/brown color with loads of shimmer. It is more purple irl.

It contains Methylparaben and Propylparaben.  Again, both preservatives. 

E.l.f Translucent Matte Powder

I'm running out of my old powder (Rimmel Stay Matte) and thought I might as well try a new one. I like the mirror in the case, the powder has no significant scent and seems to be very translucent- perfect! There doesn't seem to be any EDC´s in, Hooray! It retails for 34,50Dkr

E.l.f Cool Bronzer

A bronzer for those with pale skin. I am a bit weary about this since I'm porcelain toned but I am hoping to be able to use it to shape my face. Again no noteworthy scent and a nice little mirror. I like the blending option! No EDC´s. It retails for 34,50Dkr

I tried a blend on the left half of my hand (upwards on the pic), it seems subtle enough to use to contour!

E.l.f Cream Eyeshadow Palette

Neat little palette with 6 adorable and shiny creamy shadows. They are easily applied with a finger, and like all the other cream shadows I own from this brand, nicely pigmented and a breeze to work with. TIP! Use a powder on your eyelids before applying, that keeps the cream shadows from creasing. It retails at 34,50Dkr

I love how they put mirrors in everything! The colors are shimmery and almost like lip gloss.

Neat eh? It contains Methylparaben and Propylparaben which as mentioned above is preservatives (why TWO?) Beside that, there is mineral oil and paraffin in as well which is some good stuff! 

E.l.f Mineral Eye Liner, metallic purple

I'm long overdue for some colored eyeliners. I decided to play it safe and get my favorite color purple! I already got these eyeliners in black and brown and they are just awesome! It retails for 27,60Dkr

Its a really good dark purple, not to much drama but juuuust a little edge with the metallic. No EDC´s but plenty of oils and wax! I'm not kidding, the list of the different oils and wax used is long! The best part is the Jojoba oil, perfect for sensitive skin! 

E.l.f Flawless Finish Foundation, porcelain

Sometimes I get outbreaks that needs a little extra coverage, and the mineral powder foundation just don't do the job, so I'm going to try this out. It retails at 62,10Dkr

I'm a little insecure about the color but it seems to blend well on my hand. Fingers crossed! None of the 17 EDC´s in this.

E.l.f  3-palette On-The-Go compact

Extra cases to the 6 in 1 beauty palette since it only comes with one. So far I kept them in the cardboard box they arrived in, so its going to be nice to be able to bring more than one along! It can hold 3 palettes and one is removable. The retail is 55,20Dkr

E.l.f Eyeshadow Applicators and Mascara Wands

Used the opportunity to grab some basic tools. You can never have enough applicators (retail is 13,80Dkr) or wands (Retail 34,50Dkr). I use Mascara wands all the time, saves a clumpy mascara every time!

All in all I think I got some good stuff!

Fun fact of the day: During economic down times the top seller in beauty is LIPSTICK strongly followed by nail polish. The reason is that it is cheaper to treat yourself to a new lipstick than any other beauty product

Body Shop Lily Cole, Puff on Radiance

You thought I was gone for good didn't ya. But I'm not- I'm right here! Sorry about the unscheduled hiatus, I should be back now. You know how it is when the real world gets in the way.

Any who, I been very lucky on Ebay and snatched myself some Lily Cole goodies for a fraction of the price (Saved 50% compared to the danish prices) and yesterday I received the Puff on Radiance!

The Body Shop Lily Cole Puff on Radiance

This is a nifty highlighter! The container is girly and I'm a fan of anything with a puff and in pearl form lol. I bought it off a private seller on Ebay for a winning bid of 6,50 GBP plus shipping

There is a little plastic holder between the puff and the pearls, very practical!

The puff itself is worthy of a princess

Look how pretty they are! Shimmer shimmer shimmer! They have no remarkable scent

I know this is a shitty picture but it was almost impossible to catch the subtle highlight with the camera. I had to put on a really thick layer and turn down the flash! The pearls are soft on the skin, I got no allergic reaction at all either. As allways I looked through the EDC´s and sadly this contains Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Methylparaben and Propylparaben. The most mindbogglingly about this is that all 4 of those are PRESERVATIVES! I mean seriously? You need four different preservatives? Ill make sure that when I use this, I wont have any other products with the EDC´s in (to mix EDC´s is the most risky). On the positive side, it does contain talc and seed oils.

All in all tough, a great purchase. Its cruelty free but got EDC´s. I guess you just cant have it all