Body Care Products: Dove Go Fresh (Fresh touch)

I ♥♥♥ Dove Go Fresh (Fresh touch) with cucumber and grean tea - the green edition. I got it as a deodorant, shower gel and body lotion. Unfortunately, I don't know where to get the shower gel and body lotion in Germany because I bought them in Switzerland and they are almost empty...

Have you seen them in drugstores? Could you tell me where? 

Maybe I just have bad luck but I never see them in my DM drugstore. Anyway, I love these products for the summer because it's refreshing and cools down my skin longer than any other products. As all dove products, they are also very gentle to my skin but I don't have big issues with my skin anyway.

There's also a soap bar and some liquid hand wash in that line which I will buy, as soon as I move out! ˆ.ˆ I love matching products because I don't have to worry about non-matching scents...

Nail Design: Flowers

This is one of the very few nail design that I can actually do... ˆ.ˆ It is very easy and I love how it accentuates the nails in a cute but nonetheless very femine way. Just find some nice matching colors and start practicing. I learnt this from my Japanese friend whom I met in the US - she's so cute, she's done the nails for a couple girls back then... Nail art in Japan is huge! You can buy sooo many things over there...

Anyway...  You can take any colors you like. I just happen to take the following nail polishes for this nail design:

1. Manhattan Crazy Colours LE #1304
2. Essence Nail Art #05 purple magic
3. Essence Colour&Go #02 White Secret (but with the cleaned brush of purple magic)

Then you can follow these instructions:

1. Start with the base color. 
2. After it's dry, paint the blossoms with a very thin brush - basically they are made of 6 slightly curved lines, starting at the middle of one side of the nail and spreading out to the other side.
3. Fill in those blossoms with another nailpolish, after they are dry.

Of course, you can always add a top coat but I'm just not as patient to wait for another coat to dry. Also, your nail polish with the design on top has to be absolutely dry, otherwise there will be streaks and then you might have wasted your time doing this nail art and have to start all over again... 

Outfit #16 - Salsa

Here's another Salsa outfit. It's great for hot summers without being too revealing. The hot pants are from Orsay. They were on sale last year and I've got them also in white, olive and black (5€ each). The top is from New Yorker. I like how simple it looks from the front - just like a regular tee - and it got all the details in the back.

It's also a great outfit to wear Mac's Russian Red (THE most perfect matte red lipstick on this planet) with simple eye make-up. Sorry, all my pics from my makeup were blurry :(

Btw, I've got new dancing shoes for Salsa and latin social dances - Masha BR21S from the brand Capezio. My boyfriend said it's a great brand for dancing shoes. Since he's a dance teacher, I fully trusted him with that... Otherwise I would have bought Diamant shoes which is also a famous brand for dancing shoes.

Capezio - Masha BR21S in champagne

I bought them on Kleiderkreisel << click >> which is a German website to sell and buy clothes / shoes / accessories / cosmetics. It was my first time buying something but the transaction went well. The girl who sold them to me bought them in size 5.5 US which is supposed to be EUR 35.5 but they were too big for her. I've got a US 6-6.5 (37 EUR size) and they fit perfectly. I got them for 45 € instead of the normal 70 €. For me, it was a great deal. They are comfortable and I've already danced a couple rounds Salsa this week-end...

Alaska Coalfish on Rocket Salad

I have been loving rocket salad recently. With its slightly nutty taste, it's perfect to be served with parmesan shavings and crema di balsamico. After experimenting a little, I found nectarines, tomatos and Alaska coalfish  to be perfect for this summer salad. The sweetness of the nectarines and the crema di balsamico works against the slight bitterness of the rocket salad. You can probably substitute the nectarines with any other fruit but I find it perfect the way it is...

vegeterian

Use the following ingredients for each person, if it is meant to be a main dish:

• 100g rocket salad
• 3 Cherry tomatoes
• 2 nectarines
• fresh parmesan shavings
• crema di balsamico
• salt and pepper to your own liking
• Optional: breaded Alaska coalfish

with Alaska coalfish on top

Trash TV to its fullest

I probably shouldn't even write this post because talking about this new show on TV will give it more attention but it's not like I've got a ton of readers so whatever... I feel like ranting about it!


First, to clear things up: Neither do I own a TV nor do I plan on watching the show. But ever since I've read about this new show on Sat1 ("Auf Brautschau im Ausland" - "Looking for a wife abroad"), I can't hold it anymore... This show is supposed to be for entertainment - a little like "The Bachelor" but with ugly, fat sociopaths, at whom no normal woman with any dignity would even consider to glance. These guys are searching for a woman in a third world country - preferably young and beautiful. How sick is that to watch s.ex t.ourism on TV for entertainment in the evening? I don't think German television has ever been that low... I'm grossed out! Children will even be able to watch that... it's like saying, it's okay to buy your future wife online in a catalogue. WTF! 


I detest people who think they can buy other people - no matter if it's a man or woman. I've met a few of those couples in my life and every f**cking time I get angrier and angrier. Some of them might be nice to their spouses but others behave like they own freaking s.laves... Others get cheated on - and that's when I laugh... It's their own freaking fault...

I am so grateful for being born in a rich country where I will never ever have to marry a man because of money! In my opinion, that's p.rostitution. No matter if it's a poor person from a third world country or a normal person marrying a millionaire - if they get married because of money, it's all the same...

And at last... I'm not sure, if you follow me at that point - but I will tell you a little story because this whole television show reminded me of it... When I was younger, I think there weren't as many Asians in Germany, I was walking downtown, browsing through some stores, when an old guy in his sixties suddenly started to talk to me. He had a beer belly and that certain look in his face, when I get immediately offended... He asked me for the way to some place but obviously thought I came out of a catalogue and was surprised, I spoke German at all and so well also. When he told me he was following me the whole street, I ran away in horror, hiding behind the security of another store and waited until he was gone... CREEPY STALKER... I felt so offended and harrassed just because he talked to me. It's such a long time ago but I still remember like it was yesterday... 

Shiseido Zen

I got the parfume from my boyfriend. It was my Christmas gift ^.^ It's too bad, you can't smell it over the internet but it is amazing! I still need to do the parfume tag from Miss W... But this is my favorite scent!

Here's what they say on their homepage:

A breath of floral freshness layered with amber and wood, conveying sweetness and femininity in a new, modern language. (shiseido.com)

I don't quite agree because I don't smell any flowers... It is very Japanese, I think. It is clear, fresh and reminds me of green tea...

I read that the golden square shape was inspired by Japanese golden room for tea ceremony. That fits quite well to my impression of the scent.

It doesn't last on my skin as long as I hope it would but if I spray it on my hair, it's great because it lasts a whole day... This parfume is not too strong so that it is great for day and night without giving anyone any headache.

Recipe: Strawberry Buttercream (Cup-)Cake

It's my favorite season of the year - it's strawberry time ˆ.ˆ

I'm going to show you my favorite new recipe - it's universal because it can be used to make little cupcakes / muffins or cakes. I also love buttercream, when it's homemade. I don't know what it is but I did not like any of those cakes in the US that were bought in the store instead of selfmade - I think it might be the shortening instead of real whipped cream or butter.

Doesn't this just look amazing? Hmm, yumyum... I made one round cake (28cm diameter), one squared (small IKEA baking pan) and four little cupcakes because the cakes had to serve different purposes (phd graduation of a friend, birthday of a friend and for my boyfriend and me).

There are different ways to make buttercream. I tried out butter and vanilla pudding which is not bad either but I like this version better - the sweetened condensed milk is like dulce de leche, especially after mixing it with butter.

So lets move on...

Ingredients for the above mentioned amount. If you take one cup instead of 1.5 cups, it will be enough for one baking tray.

• Dough
• 1.5 cups flour
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1.5 cups milk
• 1 cup oil
• 1 pck vanilla sugar
• 1 pck baking powder
• 3 eggs
• A pinch of salt
• Optional: 3tbsp cocoa
• Buttercream
• 250g butter (unsalted)
• 400g sweetened condensed milk
• Topping
• 1kg strawberries
• 2 pck red glaze (Tortenguss)

Instructions

• Mix all ingredients for the dough and fill it in your desired baking tray. I usually put baking paper underneath instead of grease.
• Put it in the oven (medium tray, air circulation) at 175ºC for 40min.
• Meanwhile make the buttercream by mixing butter and sweetened condensed milk and keep it in the fridge.
• Wash the strawberries and cut them into smaller pieces.
• When the dough is done, let it cool down completely before you continue to spread the buttercream on top because otherwise the buttercream will melt...
• Spread Strawberries on top.
• Prepare the red glaze as instructed on the pack and pour it on the strawberries.

Enjoy!

Outfit #15 Salsaparty

You might have already seen my dress from Urban Outfitters from my Chicago Haul << click >>. I wore it yesterday night at a Salsaparty in Heidelberg-Handschuhsheim. I love how flowy the dress is, like butterfly wings... If it was warmer, I wouldn't have worn the leggings but it was pretty cold and the party was outside on a terrace.

The nude pumps are from Taiwan, from the nightmarket for like 12 EUR... I love to buy shoes in Taiwan, it's crazy. They've got like the biggest diversity for the best prices. The quality is quite good, too.

 

Wedding Dinners, Reception etc.

Since my friend married twice (civil and church), she invited us for two dinners. The first dinner was at "Le caveau des vignerons (Chez Gloria)" << click >>. I had the best steak of my life! It was amazing... Unfortunately, I was soo eager to eat it that I missed out on taking pictures of the main course.

Here are some of the appetizers and me wearing that cute napkin thing for lopsters to save my dress from oil splatters. Looking like a Sir / Lady at the same time ^.^ The shrimps were marinated in mayonaise - they were soo delicious that I even ate two pieces.

On the day of the church wedding, same thing - too hungry for the main course and no pictures were taken... But I got some from the Hors D'Oevre at the reception at the "Hotel Victoria" and the first appetizer and dessert at the party at "La Terasse du Petit Palais" which belongs to the Montreux Palace. The locations were amazing.

The "Hotel Victoria" << click >> is on top of a mountain. The view over the Lake Geneva is absolutely stunning... It's also where my boyfriend me had the kissing picture of the former blog post.

"La Terasse du Petit Palais" << click >> is right at the lake, it was perfect for the wedding - they had a big ballroom for the round tables, a dance floor, the terrace outside with a bar to cool down, tons of waiters to serve the plates at almost the same time. 

Outfits #13 and #14 as Maid of Honor

I chose blue dresses for the civil and church weddings.

For the civil wedding I wore my Chinese Qipao dress. It's made of silk and is hand-tailored. I absolutely adore the dress and couldn't be more satisfied with the result of the tailor.

For the church and the big wedding party, I wore a blue-turqoise H&M long dress (49,99€). I love the colors, especially because it matched the lake so perfectly. No kidding, the lake looks like the Carribean Sea... I had to shorten the dress because I'm way too small for that dress. The tailor made a really good job, I think. It looks like it was sold this way.

The funny thing is, since I haven't posted any pictures of the bride, we got like a million congratulations because people thought that we got married in Switzerland... ^.^ just too cute... But I would definitely also wear white, not blue.

EDIT: I forgot to post the accessories...

The bag is also from China. I bought it from the same silk store as the first dress... great quality, same fabrique. Since it's dark blue, I also wore it with my second dress.
The necklace (~10 EUR) and bracelets (~3 and 5 EUR) are from H&M. The earrings are made of Larimar, which is a Dominican gemstone... I got them, when I bought some paintings on the street because they didn't have enough change for me - only unbelievable 2 EUR. I'm pretty sure, they would have been like 20 EUR in the gift stores of the hotels. I absolutely love those earrings!

Wedding in Montreux, Switzerland

Wow, it finally happened. My best friend got married. And it was absolutely beautiful - she had the fancy princess wedding of her dreams. Of course she looked absolutely amazing, though I can't show her pictures publicly. I'm sorry but here's her wedding bouquet and the wedding rings.

The couple had the biggest luck of all times. The weather forecast predicted rain and ~20°C but it turned out to be really sunny on both days with almost 30°C. Since they went on a photoshoot outside in the sun before the civil wedding, they were pretty sunburned - even more so after we spent a couple more hours on the boats at the Lake Geneva. But on the next day, it looked fine. Since the church was on top of a mountain as well as the reception, there was some wind which cooled us all down.

Isn't it beautiful on the lake? Next time, I have to see the castle (Château Chillon). It looks so majestic in the lake.

I enjoyed the time on the boats the most because there was no stress and we could just chill, talk and have snacks. It's wonderful and I finally understand the love for sailing boats.

My boyfriend and me loved the time in Montreux, Switzerland very much. It's such a clean and cute little city. There are no beggars whatsoever. I love it... Nobody trying to search the garbage for bottles with refundable deposits. I can't stand those people. I've even seen a mother dragging her kids into that...