P2 volume gloss gel look nail polish #080 grande dame

I'm in love with these strawberry raspberry colors. Thus, seeing this new volume gloss nail polish by P2 (080 grande dame), I just couldn't resist...

Here you see only one coat of polish, using clear base and top coats. It is long wearing as well - holding up for 5 days without tip wear.

Day light

 

At night using flash

 

It actually quite reminds me of Essie - too too hot. In the bottle it looks similar.

 

 

But on white paper and also on my nails, you can see the difference. Essie is much darker and a bit more raspberry-like.

 

 

I just don't look the new P2 brush not because it's wide but because it's irregular which makes it a little challenging to paint.

 

 

Outfit #20 Business Look

This was my business look for the way to Beijing. I even got a blazer but it was just freaking too hot to wear on the way...

Pants by Zara, blouse by H&M, blazer by New Yorker, shoes by Deichmann

 

Actually, I survived almost two working days in this outfit because I started the day with a 2h train ride to a business meeting on the day of our flight. Otherwise I would have chosen something else for the plane and the weather. Between the meeting and the flight, I worked on my notes, some more background information on the physical matters and company. We went straight to the airport (1.5h by car, 11h flight) and straight to the Chinese company. No time to shower. I didn't see any showers at the airport in Beijing either (is that a German thing?) but I wished I did. Thus I'm glad I had some refreshing wipes for a small touch up and only changed the blouse at the airport.

Btw how do you like my suitcase? I got it at the Taipei Nightmarket in Shilin when I went to Taiwan with my dad. I love the color, the size and the fact that it turns 360° on its four wheels... All that for only about 25€.

So anyway to my makeup.

 

Face makeup

1) Instead of foundation, I was wearing the pink Korean Skin 79 Super BB cream with triple functions: whitening, UV protection SPF25 and wrinkle improvement which I've bought in Taiwan as well (500NT = 12.50€). I applied it using my fingers. Either I've got the right skin color or it really adapts but I've never quite believed that. How does the BB cream know which color I have?

 

2) Powder: Manhattan clear compact #75 beige (brush: Ebelin professional)

3) Bronzer: P2 sunshine powder #030 Bali heat (brush: Ebelin professional)

4) Blush: Essence LE flower grunge "Be Flowerful" (brush: Ebelin professional)

Eye makeup

My eye makeup was simple. It's my go-to-look. It's fast and simple. Only matt neutrals.

 

1) All over the lid: Essence Ballerina Backstage LE - Eye soufflé #01 dance the swan lake (application: finger)

2) Outer corner of the eye: Maybelline Color Tattoo #40 Permanent Taupe (application: finger)

3) Eye shadows: P2 matte dream #050 rose charm and #070 grey pleasure (brushes: Sigma tapered blending brushes E40 and E35)

4) Eye Liner: brown Catrice Gel Liner #020 It's Mambo Nr.2 (brush: Sigma eyeliner brush E05)

5) Lashes: Shu Uemara eyelash curler, Maybelline False Lashes Volume Express black waterproof mascara

5) Eyebrow Powder: Catrice Eyebrow Set (brush: Essence eyeliner brush)

 

Lips

1) Revlon Colorburst Lipbutter #050 Berry Smoothie

 

 

Beijing - The Imperial Mansion

My first business trip got me to this fabulous hotel in Beijing - The Imperial Mansion Beijing, Marriott Executive Apartments << click >>. It is a 5-Star hotel with excellent service.

My hotel room was three times as big as my appartment. There was a walk-in closet including a safe, iron and iron board... I had a whirlpool that I didn't use because it was too warm and I was too busy.

There was a kitchen, two flat screens, a living room area and some office area... I seriously didn't use half of my room.

Since most guests are international, there were also international plugs. I love these... I've bought quite a few products abroad and everything is so chunky using an adapter. Where can I get these plugs?

The breakfast was the only meal that we took in the hotel. So I can't comment on the restaurants. I liked the breakfast - it is mostly international standard... So there are eggs - freshly prepared in any style you want - scrambled, sunny side up, boiled, etc. I had omelette on both mornings, which is not on the picture because the chef was still preparing it for me. As you can see, there was also bacon, fresh fruits, and sweet potatoe. You could also have cereals, lots of juice, cooked and fried vegetables, ham, cheese, bread, etc. Coffee in China is horrible! Drink tea, if possible.

I didn't go to the gym or the pool. So I don't know about that either...
Anyway, I only stayed for a couple nights and didn't quite need such a huge hotel room but it was excellent and I enjoyed the whole trip.

Besides...
Unfortunately, I didn't get the job because it was coupled to the deal with the Chinese company. They don't produce everything themselves which the German company needs, thus it is more expensive than what the Germans expected, leading to the failure of the whole deal. It is too bad. Now, I'm back where I began...

 

Palms Garden - Chinese Restaurant

I love traditional Chinese food. It's really quite difficult to find a good place in Germany as most Chinese restaurants have adapted dishes that sometimes don't even exist in Asia. I hate all-you-can-eat buffets normally because usually there aren't enough customers so the food stays in the trays for hours which changes its flavor... Besides, Chinese food can be cooked within minutes. Whenever I'm hungry and tell my dad (he's a chef), he'll have the food done in no time. Unfortunately, I don't live that close that I could visit him every week. So I'm always looking out for new locations...

 

I live an hour away from Frankfurt but I still go to that restaurant Palms Garden because it is THAT insanely GREAT... Even though it is all-you-can-eat... but the Chinese Hot Pot is to die for... There are so many customers every day, not only on special occasions. Every time we need to wait for a table to be cleared. There are a bunch of Asian people every time. That's a very easy indication of great traditional Chinese food btw ;-) not only in Germany.

We always choose the half-spicy-half-non-spicy broth. But be careful - spicy really is spicy...

The incredible amount of ingredients for the hot pot is cooled in the open fridge (left picture). You can take small plates to carry them to your table. On the right-hand side, you can see the main ingredients for the dips. You can mix whatever you like. I mostly go with satay sauce (not saté as peanut butter but a Chinese BBQ sauce), some garlic and spring onions... There's nothing like great satay sauce... Yummy :)

On the lower pictures, you can see the normal buffet. I'm not a big fan of that but if you only choose the normal buffet, it's cheaper.

I mostly take a lot of seafood and spinach... There are also some weird looking mushrooms which aren't on the picture - I think they are called Miso in Japanese.

 

The dessert consists of ice cream, fruits (seasonal and canned), sesame rolls, cream puffs, fried bananas, coconut pearls, etc.

For dinner, we usually pay around 17€ per person (including 1€ for all-you-can-drink soft drinks). One little hot pot stove costs around 5€, which is enough for four people. So depending on the amount of people, it might be a little more than 17€... If you come during lunch time, it is cheaper but there's also less variety. If you don't chose the hot pot, it'll be less as well.

 

China, here I come again

Last week, I went to a job interview where I was spontaneously invited to go on a 4- day business trip to Beijing. It's only a couple days but I'm very excited but also anxious as I don't really know what I can contribute to the trip. If I pass the test, I will be signing the contract after the trip.

Now, I have two more weeks to prepare myself. Not only information about the company that we will visit but also some special vocabularies about the machines and stuff like that. Besides, I was asked to study a special treatment which is supposed to be quite promising. I will be reading publications and stuff about it, treating it like one of my research subjects...

I must say, I'm still quite baffled that I was asked to join the trip. On the second day, I told a couple of my friends about the offer and one of them jokingly said "maybe they want to sell you in China"... Don't hope think so... Everything seems quite legit. I got the flight information, the booking confirmation for the hotel. The company exists for almost 10 years. I've got the invitation letter and they will handle my visa. I hope everything will work out just fine... So long... I will keep you updated about my journey.