UPDATE

Hello you lovely people, I am alive and well if anyone has wondered haha. I am really loving my new blog base and I prefer it over wordpress. But I still miss my fellow bloggers here. I can’t follow wordpress blogs through my new blog and it sucks. So today I will be stalking a  lot of you for sure just to get up to date about all of your amazing blogs and lives around them.

My blog is exactly the same, I post about lifestyle just like I did here so it would mean the world to me if you checked out my blog. If you want to subscribe you can leave your email to my subscribe box.  Aaaaand if you want to see me rambling more about this outfit check out my new blog post !

Also before I go, I was wondering should I link my new blog posts here always when I publish them or is it waste of time? I don’t know.

xoxo

Jasmin

Something exciting is happening – my blog is moving

Hello you lovely people. I don’t know how to put this to words really so let’s just blurt it okay? My blog is moving. I am nervous and stressed but at the same time so happy and excited.  I have been working for this change for a long time now and finally all the pieces are coming together. My time with WordPress has come to an end, it offered me a great base for (almost) two years but now I feel like I need change and well, upgrade. Nouw is offering so much better deal than WordPress and in overall I feel like that site is more full of blogs, content and people similar to me.

Nothing else is changing really expect my site address which is nouw.com/ughmango for now. My own domain is still on it’s way. My content will be same as it has been: fashion, beauty and so much more.

I hope you all understand and give a chance for my ‘new’ blog which you can also follow (wink wink), and please note that you don’t have to be a member in now to be able to follow me. I will be following lots of you via e-mail, so no worries you won’t get rid of me.

I guess that is all I wanted to say. Thank you so much for everyone who has been part of my blogging journey here, I hope all the best for you and I hope to see you in my new blog too. Now it’s time for my new adventure! Cheers!

Jasmin

Please check out my new blog post where I talk about fanny bags https://nouw.com/ughmango/fanny-bags-are-back-back-again-34145892

My high-end beauty products | Are they worth the money?

High-end beauty products are usually thought as the products of better quality. And that’s a shame because there are lot of products out there with such a huge price but bad quality. Drugstore products are usually just as good as high-end beauty products. For example I own quite a few Chanel lipsticks but do they differ from Maybelline, well not much at least. Chanel’s packaging is beautiful and yes overall they look expensive but the product is just as good as Maybelline’s. But don’t get me wrong I do love the feeling when I spend money for makeup and get such an amazing quality in return. I do own quite a few high-end beauty products and I would die for some of them but some were just waste of money. So in this post we are gonna take a look at my top three high-end beauty products and then three products that are not worth the money in my opinion. Shall we start?

Oh and by the way, I consider all the products that are not sold in Finnish drugstores as high-end products. I know that some of  you probably don’t see all of these brands as high-end beauty brands.

Not worth the money

First let me introduce you a Photo Finish Foundation Primer by Smashbox. I really want to like this product but I just don’t. I feel like it does absolutely nothing, there is no difference in my skin when I wear it. And even though it’s supposed to be oil free, my skin still feels oily after I apply it. It’s weird I know.

Next on my not worth the money list is Hoola Bronzing Powder by Benefit. I also really wanted to love this product when I bought it because a) everyone said so many good things about it and b) I absolutely love Benefit in overall. But this just wasn’t for me. The shade was so orange that I couldn’t use it. No matter how little I applied it, it just didn’t look good on my skin. But I guess that’s just my pale skin and I am pretty sure this product works for other skin tones better.

And last on the list is this gorgeous Naked 2 palette by Urban Decay. And as much as I love love love the shades, they fall out SO much it’s not even funny. I have tried all tips and tricks to help the fall out but no there is always big amount of shimmer on my cheeks. It’s very frustrating. I know other make up brands make similar palettes for better prices and their quality is much better. I for example have switched to morphie because their palettes are bigger, better and there is so little fall out if any.

Definitely worth the money

Now first on my ‘definitely worth the money’ list is Mac lip products. Especially their matte lipsticks, but I also do love their lip pencils as well. I think that everyone who have ever tried Mac can agree that these are absolutely amazing. The shades are stunning and there is a colour for everyone. Also the lipsticks and especially their lip pencils are very long lasting (as good as a lipstick can be) and so creamy on the lips. My ultimate favourite shade is velvet teddy.

Since the Hoola bronzer wasn’t a perfect match for my skin I had to move on and find another one. It took me a while before I got my hands on this beauty by Too Faced. It’s their Soleil Matte Bronzer in shade milk chocolate. The shade is perfect soft brown which doesn’t look orange at all on my face. Oh and how long lasting it is… Just perfect in every way.

And last but not least on my must have list is this stunning Becca highlight in shade Moonstone. This is for sure one of my best purchases ever, I am absolutely in love with it. It gives such a perfect shine for my face with such a good pigment, it doesn’t look tacky or glitter-ish. I definitely recommend this if you are ready to put little more money on a highlight, it’s worth it.

So there you have my little list of favourite high end products and then not so much favourites haha. I have so many others I would and would not recommend but maybe next time. Let me know if you have tried any of these products and what you think of them! Until next time.

xoxo

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Some honest thoughts featuring the perfect breakfast

Hello you, yes you who still read my blog or you who just happen to stop by.  I haven’t been active for a month now and I know it’s bad but I think I really needed this little break. I was busy with work, I travelled a little around Europe, I studied for upcoming school applications and I went to few concerts. I first thought that I had lost my interest for this blog in general because no matter how busy I was I always managed to make time to write. It took me few weeks to realise what really was holding me back and I am so glad that it hit me.

I was so busy that I didn’t have time to be active and read other bloggers posts which made me think that ‘if I am not active no one will return the favour’. It drove me to a circle where I kept telling myself that I can’t post anything before I have read all the blog posts from others and been ‘active’ in wordpress. Blogging had became more of a thing that I had to do than just a hobby that I loved. It was all just because of the stress over stats.

I took some time to clear my head which is why I was gone for so long. I kept taking pictures and coming up with new idea for blog posts but I just couldn’t write. Now that I have reminded myself that I am not doing this to get comments, likes or activity in general I think I am ready to come back. I am doing this for myself and because I love it. I love fashion and trends, food, beauty and travelling and this is my perfect escape from reality. It’s great if someone actually enjoys reading my outcome but most importantly I want to be happy with it. And that’s what I will keep in mind now.

Now to make sure this blog post isn’t just full of ramblings, lets take a moment to admire my delicious breakfast. Me and my friend wanted to go have a good but aesthetic breakfast together. And Helsinki is full of pretty places where you can get good food so we decided to go to one of our favourite spots, Paulig Kulma. Definitely recommend that place, it’s full of vegan and gluten free snacks, and they make such a good coffees. My favourite is their raw hot chocolate. Their breakfast included a croissant with some jam, one drink from their list and two dishes from the breakfast menu. I chose mango overnight oats and matcha pancakes with some strawberries and syrup. It was delicious!

After the upcoming summer my blog will turn two and it’s safe to say that I am not going anywhere, this is only the beginning. And besides everyone has these moments when they doubt everything. Thank you for reading and understanding, see you in my next blog post (which goes up tomorrow)!

xoxo

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OOTD: My go-to outfit

We all have those few pieces in our wardrobe that we just find ourselves reaching towards over and over again. Maybe they are our safe choices when we don’t have any inspiration or maybe they just perfectly represent our style. For me this look fits into both of those boxes. It’s something that I go for when I don’t know what else to wear and at the same time I feel very me in this outfit.

When I think about my style in general I know for sure that I am dress and skirt kinda girl. I mean I do love jeans but dresses and skirts are the ones that I constantly reach for. This grey dress is my newest addition to my wardrobe. I will say with no shame that I have basically lived in it since I bought it. It’s really casual and comfy. And as you all know by now comfy is what I always seek for with my outfits. When I was trying the dress on I already pictured how good it would look with this biker jacket and surprise surprise now they basically walk hand in hand in my wardrobe.

Shop my look: Dress – Mango | Jacket – Zara | Hat – Carlings | Shoes – Timberland

And few more things. This outfit is in general my current go-to look, yes. But also all these pieces individually are something that I find myself wearing all the time. I usually  do match the jacket and dress together but the hat, oh the hat is something that goes with everything. I am not joking, I am obsessed with this hat. It took me forever to find original Brixton hat and now once I found it I can’t stop wearing it. Same goes with these Timberland shoes, I love love love them.

This is what I go for right now but after few months I will probably have something new to wear over and over again. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a chilled easter/weekend!

Do you have a specific go-to piece or outfit in your wardrobe? Let me know.

xoxo

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10×10 outfit challenge | Spring edition

I have seen this challenge going around for a while and it really caught my interest. The idea is to pick ten pieces from your wardrobe and mix them into ten outfits that you use each for one day for ten days. This challenge is such a great way to get creative with your wardrobe and for me it just came as a perfect opportunity to style my clothes in ways that I normally wouldn’t. And also I got to kick my comfort zones ass a little, hah.

So now before get into the challenge here are the ground rules/instructions for you who have never heard of this but you got just as pumped for it as I did:

1. Pick 10 pieces from your wardrobe (accessorizes etc. are not included, I for example did not include my hat, watch and tights into my ten pieces)
2. Style those ten items into ten different looks
3. Use ten days to do it
4. Have fun and don’t take it too seriously, this is a great chance to get creative!

Obviously rules are made to be broken so don’t take them too seriously just like I didn’t. Now let’s take a look at my ten pieces I chose for this challenge and then, I will introduce the ten outfits I came up with after lots and lots of planning yay!

2 pair of shoes,  3 tops + a cardigan, 2 bottoms and a dress

Outfit 1 and 2

Outfit 3 and 4

Outfit 5 and 6

Outfit 7 and 8

Outfit 9 and 10

 

So there you have my ten outfits. I am pretty happy how they turned out. I could have been more creative and maybe could have tried to get out of my comfort zone more but this was a good start. And I loved doing this whole challenge so look forward to another one once summer comes.

Ps. Let me know which were your favourite looks and clothing combos!!  Also sorry for such a horrible lightning and editing, I tried but the sun just wasn’t on my side. 

xoxo

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Three ingredient oatmeal banana cookies

I am one of those people who really want to live and eat healthy but I can’t go long without the need of something sweet. For those weak moments I have collected quite a few healthy recipes to take away the cravings. These banana oatmeal cookies are the ones I have found myself reaching towards for a lot lately so I thought why not share them with you lovely bunch!

I know these include dark chocolate so probably not everyone consider these as healthy snacks but I always use a chocolate that contains at least 80% cacao. It’s better than milk chocolate at least hehe. Well enough rambling, let’s get into the easiest recipe you have ever seen!

Ingredients

• Two ripe bananas
• 100g dark chocolate
• 2½ dl gluten free oats (all-purpose and whole wheat oats work too)

Method

Using fork, smash the bananas in a large bowl. The batter doesn’t have to be smooth, there can be blobs of bananas. Then roughly chop the dark chocolate using a knife. Add dark chocolate and oats to the smashed banana batter and mix them together.

Make about twelve round balls out of the cookie batter and place them on a baking sheet. Gently press down each ball so it flattens into a round disc. The cookies won’t spread during baking so there does not have to be much space between them.

Bake the cookies in 200 degrees for 10-15 minutes and enjoy!

And there you have the easiest and quickest recipe of delicious and healthy little banana oatmeal cookie snacks. I hope you like them as much as I do!

xoxo

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My 6 winter to spring wardrobe must haves

We are already on the third month of the year which should mean spring knocking on the door but no, at least here where I live temperatures are all over the place. Few weeks ago I was sure that spring would come soon and now all of sudden it feels like I am living in Antarctic. It’s SO cold, about -20°C and I am not even exaggerating. So since the weather can’t be trusted and spring seems to be far away still I thought I could share my current wardrobe must haves. A girl needs some key items in her wardrobe to rescue from the coldness right?

1. Big and cozy scarf

Scarves are a must have during any season basically. I either throw it over shoulders carelessly (at least I am trying okay hah) or just wrap multiple times to fight the coldness. I wouldn’t survive a day in the cold without something to wrap around my neck, it’s just the truth.

2. Ankle boots to the rescue from snow

If I could I would wear sneakers all around the year, but sadly these days just always come when the ground is frozen and there is too much snow. And when these days come ankle boots are the ones I turn to, they are perfect for any weather really. They keep my feet warm when it’s cold and when it rains they protect my lil toes from getting wet. These are the kinda shoes that everyone needs in their wardrobe.

3. The cosiest and warmest sweater

Everyone needs that one sweater that feels like you have your cozy and warm blanket from bed wrapped around you. And by one I mean like at least five obviously, oops. I am a sweater kinda person (but who isn’t). They are the must have of all must haves in my closet during winter and spring too. Because lets just face it – warm sweater goes with any kind of weather. You can wear either light jacket or warm coat with it, you can match a pretty skirt or jeans with it, anything goes.

4. Smart  trousers

In my opinion jeans are overrated. They won’t keep my legs warm when it’s cold and the coziness is nothing compared to trousers. And cold weather is all about coziness right?

5. Brixton hat

This is a trend that has been around for a while now and I am pretty sure that it’s here to stay. It took me forever to get my hands on a brixton styled hat and finally after long search I got one to add in my wardrobe. It has become my go to headwear, I rarely wear beanies anymore since this one warms my head just as much! I can’t wait for the weather to get little more warm so I could style this with everything that I have in mind hehe.

6. The neutral handbag that goes with everything

And last but not least, a handbag. This is one of these things that you do need all year around but I find myself reaching for this specific one more during cold seasons. It’s just the perfect add for the classy look that I seek for. When it’s summer and warm, I am more carefree and backpack kind of girl.

So there you have my six wardrobe must haves during this confusing weather. All these pieces work during winter but also when it gets little warmer, which I can’t wait for. I am sick of all the layers.

What are your current wardrobe must haves?

xoxo

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A day in my life|Valentines day edition

A while ago Anni from Glücksgeist.com asked me if I wanted to collaborate with her. And even though I have never done a collaboration before she being one of my favorite bloggers made me say yes right away. We decided to do the typic day in life post with ten pictures. I have never done or even read a day in my life kind of blog posts but it sounded fun, I mean getting to peek into someones life, it’s just perfect for a nosy person like me.

But since my days are quite boring, considering the fact that I work most of the day. I decided to add little twist to this and do a valentines day edition. Now you can take a look at my typical day and also see how I spent the evening ‘celebrating’ Valentines day. Yay.

So let’s start from the beginning. My alarm always goes off an hour before my work starts so I have enough time to get ready and grab some breakfast. I always snooze at least two times, I am just one of those people who can’t get out of the bed straight away.

Once I do get up I head to the bathroom and kick off my morning routine with washing my face and teeth and moisturizing my face. After that I do my makeup, yes on my bed because I am lazy and I just need to be wrapped in my warm blanket for as long as possible.

My work makeup is very different from what I wear on my free time. Usually if I am not running late I do my base with primer, under eye concealer and foundation. But sometimes I may just leave foundation out (like I did on this day) and move on to the concealer right away. Then I add powder and do my eyebrows, and if I have time I curl my eyelashes but I never ever wear mascara at work (or anywhere else either really).

When my makeup is finished I eat breakfast which is usually some yoghurt and muesli with pecan peanuts (my faves). I am also a tea person, always tea over coffee, just always. Little fan fact of me here: I never eat bread as breakfast, I just no. I am not a bread person, especially toast is a big no no for me.

Then once I am ready to go I get out of the house (or more like rush out because I am almost always running late) and walk to work. I work with little kids, eight hours everyday for five days a week. I have weekends off. What I wear at work is quite different from what I wear on my free time because I want my clothes to be practical. We don’t have any dress codes etc. though.

Usually after work I go to the gym or come home to just chill, I don’t do much on weekdays I always plan all the action for weekends. So this is why I wanted to do valentines day edition, I actually for once did something after work.

I have always hated valentines day, sorry not sorry. And I have never really even celebrated it but this year me and my friend decided to have a cheeky lil date together.

So what I did after work was got ready and drove to pick up my friend. Oh and yes I even had time to take few selfies heheh. This is rare, because let’s just say it again: I am always running late.

Our date contained a perfect movie for valentines day, fifty shades freed. I am a fan of these movies and the books that they are based on. And through my eyes this movie was perfect ending for the series. The plot followed the book just so well and the male lead Jamie Dornan is blessing for the eye. Plus the soundtrack is amazing!

I had really great time with my friend, being bitter but happy singles together. She even got me cute lil valentines day card. And since it was valentines day and I felt like treating myself a little and bought some flowers. Because who needs a man to buy you flowers when you can do it yourself right?

That was typical day in my life with pinch of valentines day. Hope you enjoyed this post even though it’s very different from what I usually write. And don’t forget to check Anni’s post if you haven’t already!!

xoxo

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A little chitchat – Why does social media value our worth?

I usually don’t do posts like these, but for a very long time something has bothered me and I know there are people out there who can relate to this. So lets have a little chat shall we? Why does social media value our worth? Why do we let apps like instagram, pinterest, twitter and sometimes even wordpress define if our work is good enough? For so long instagram has been my happy place in social media, I love taking pictures and editing them. I love to make sure my feed looks good, and oh how much I love following people. Twitter has always been the place where I share my thoughts and wordpress, yes the beloved place of mine where I get to embrace the things that fascinate me.

But slowly everything has changed, and I think most of all these apps, it’s instagram that has lost it’s game. Sadly the other apps seem to follow the downfall. I used to be very carefree with my instagram, I posted what I wanted and when I wanted. I got really nice feedback from my friends and followers. Now the main thing that people seem to care about is the numbers – as known as followers, likes and comments. I don’t even try to deny the fact that they don’t matter to me, because they do. So much that it actually defines my mood. I find myself questioning the value of my pictures all the time. When I don’t get as much likes as I normally do all that I can think about is ‘wasn’t my picture good enough’. And it makes me question the pictures that I post, even though I love them? But ‘so what, my followers don’t seem to love them’ I think. AND THAT IS HORRIBLE.

Why does it matter so much if we get 200 likes or 1000 likes? Just why? Sadly we can see this same circle going around in wordpress, not to even mention how much likes and retweets matter in twitter. When I post a blog post that I worked so hard for, but the stats aren’t ‘blooming’ I immediately think that ‘wasn’t my content good enough?’ ‘Didn’t people like my pictures’ and then this pops to my head: I haven’t been active enough to my fellow bloggers so no one is returning the favor. And yes that is harsh thing to say, but honestly isn’t that what we tend to do? To get activity we are active ourselves, give likes and comments. Of course that is not how it should be, we shouldn’t care about likes, comments and stats in overall. We should be happy with our content no matter what the feedback is.  But we just aren’t?

So again, why do we let apps like these define if we and our content is good enough? We should be the ones deciding about our pictures, content and thoughts. Maybe I am the only one who feels this way, but I truly hate the sad feeling that kicks in when my stats in any of these social medias aren’t what I hoped them to be. I don’t know, what do you think?

xoxo