My tumblr blog

Hey guys,

I've recently updated the design of my tumblr blog.
Feel free to visit it.
Thank you very much <3

https://natalinska.tumblr.com/

xNat

MAKE UP | Swatches: H&M Beauty CURATED EYE QUAD DREAM COME ECRU

Hey there,

I just wanted to share a small swatch post with you.
It's about the new eyeshadow quad by H&M. The makeup/cosmetics section in this high street fashion retailer store is surprisingly good. I've purchased a few H&M makeup products already and am satisfied with the quality and lasting power.
This eyeshadow quad I've particularly purchased because it contains my favourite eyeshadow colours. Soft pinks and gold. I think one may create a festive eyeshadow look using the metallic colours especially.

The products are high quality, yet I find them being overpriced.
I purchased this product on a discount, so this wasn't a matter in this purchase.
It contains 4 colours and a mirror.
The quad is made in Italy. The shadows are buttery but not very pigmented due to the fact that they are very light.

xNat

NEW INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT

Hey there,

yesterday I've created a new Instagram account. Please visit it:

https://www.instagram.com/natalinska_online/

@natalinska_online

xNat

Fragrance collection

Hey there!

Today I want to show you my collection of perfumes. 

All the details on the perfumes (like the main accords and notes) I have obtained from the webpage fragrantica.com

I highly recommend this page for all the perfume lovers that are interested in detailed information on popular scents!

Let's begin!

Number 1. Escada Born in Paradise Eau de Toilette

main accords: fruity, coconut, sweet, tropical, aquatic

top notes: green apple, watermelon, guava

middle notes: coconut milk, pineapple

base notes: sandal wood, cedar, musk

This perfume is summer in a bottle. It smells so warm, so tropical. People who know me do know that I am coconut obsessed. For example I use coconut oil for everything: I moisturize my body with it. I apply coconut oil on the dry ends of my hair to make them smoother and obviously you can cook with it to add a sweet nutty flavour to your dishes. You have to love the scent of coconut to be able to stand this perfume as the smell of coconuts is very overpowering in this one. I have the feeling that it can get on my nerves when I use it too often. It is a scent that I only wear a few times in the summer. It is definitely not an everyday scent for me! But every time I smell it my thoughts just wander into passed summers…(LIMITED COLLECTION SCENT)

(Lipstick by p2/ beauty blues waterfall lipstick in 010, necklace by h&m, ISANA hand cream with coconut scent)

Number 2. Jo Malone London Nectarine Blossom & Honey Cologne

main accords: fruity, sweet, green, powdery, fresh

top notes: green notes, black currant, petit grain

middle notes: nectarine, black locust

base notes: vetiver, peach, plum

I’ve had this perfume for a few years now. So many memories are connected with this one. It is such an everyday scent. You can’t compare the scent intensity to an ordinary perfume. Colognes have a weaker scent. But at times I just can’t stand heavy perfumes on my skin and on these days I reach for colognes or body sprays. I don’t know if you are familiar with the concept of Jo Malone but the description of the scents is exactly what you get. They produce very natural scents. I once tested a scent of this company called ‘Orange Blossom’ and it smelled exactly like squished orange blossom petals. So of course this number just smells like the blossoms of mandarines, very fruity/ floral. The honey gives it a bit of sweetness. It is a cologne so don’t expect it to last very long on your body. The scents of Jo Malone are meant to be combined with other perfumes or other scents from the Jo Malone range. On their own they are very weak. But I love the brand of Jo Malone. Their products are made with natural and high quality ingredients.

(essence the gel nail polish in 35 engaged, earrings can't remember)

Number 3. Dolce&Gabbana Intense Eau de Parfum

main accords: sweet, white floral, powdery, citrus, woody

top notes: green mandarin, neroli

middle notes: orange blossom, tuberose

base notes: sandalwood, marshmallow

This scent is pure seduction! It is the kind of perfume that will get you all the attention when you are wearing it. The problem is, in my daily life I don’t particularly want to smell that seductive. That is the reason why I don’t wear this perfume often. I guess it can only be worn on a few occasions. When you are meeting a special person for example. One can say this perfume is in fact intense. It gives you intense feelings when you are smelling it, believe my words. Oh boy, the italians know how to play with temptation. I wouldn’t recommend this scent to younger girls. Moreover in my opinion it isn’t suitable as an everyday scent.

(Lancôme lipstick in L'Absolu Rouge 132 cream, chocker by forever 21, yes I included chocolate in this picture as for me chocolate is quite a seduction...)

Number 4. Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau de Parfum

main accords: ozonic, white floral, powdery, aquatic, citrus

top notes: violet leaf, blood grapefruit, strawberry

middle notes: gardenia, violet, jasmine

base notes: musk, white woods, vanilla

This is a scent for younger women. Day-to-day scent appropriate. It is very fresh and I used to adore it. However in the last months I started to dislike it for any unknown reason. It is a very nice scent. I can’t say anything bad about it. The wearing time of this one is outstanding. One spray will last you for a day for sure. I guess I just wore it too often in the last years so now I am a little sick of it. It is quite citrusy so you do have to love citrus scents or else this perfume will be a fail for you. Still it is included in my favourites because it used to be my signature scent and maybe after a little 'Daisy' break I will fall in love with it once again.

(ring by I AM, lipgloss by essence)

Number 5. KENZO L'Élixir Flower by Kenzo Eau de Parfum

main accords: sweet, powdery, vanilla, fruity, rose, citrus

top notes: mandarin orange, raspberry

middle notes: bulgarian rose, orange blossom

base notes: praline, powdery notes, bourbon vanilla

So this has to be my favourite scent out of the five, though I love all of them. But I would even describe this number as my signature scent. It is a sweet scent but doesn’t give you a headache like some sweet perfumes tend to do. It is a scent for younger women I suppose because it has this element of sweet candy scent. I think this scent can suit a lot of women. It is very subtle and mixes with your individual scent into something unique. Perfume smells different on each person and I do think that this scent simply underlines your personal scent and doesn’t cover it too much.

(lipstick by p2 full matte lipstick in 140 match my ambition)

I can summarize my perfume picks as following: Sweet like vanilla, citrusy fresh and fruity like red berries. I guess I am more drawn to fresher scents. The heavy, seductive scents tend to get on my nerves very easily after a few uses and sometimes I can even get headache of a strong scent or feel dizzy. I just love the scent of fruits like peaches or red fruits in general. And I am a fan of warm scents like vanilla. I guess the powdery aspect in those scents gives it a delicate feminine touch. White floral seems to be included in my perfumes of choices very often. And I can confirm that I am obsessed with scents like Jasmine or Orange blossom. If I were to have an own garden I would plant Jasmine plants everywhere and go crazy over the marvellous smell they’ll produce. And I would plant all kinds of citrus fruits. Guess I have to move to a warmer place for that plan but time will tell!

Please comment your personal favourite perfume of the moment!

I am very curious to hear about that.

#Escada Born in Paradise Eau de Toilette

#Jo Malone London Nectarine Blossom & Honey Cologne

#Dolce&Gabbana Intense Eau de Parfum

#Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau de Parfum

#KENZO L'Élixir Flower by Kenzo Eau de Parfum

xNat

Russian roots

Hello.

My Name is Natalie or shall I say Natalija Alexandrovna?

I am German. Sort of. Well, I was born in Kazakhstan and moved to Germany when I was 1 year old. Basically my life only really started in Germany one can say. But why did my family move away?

Our family background story is a little bit difficult. If you are interested in World History you can just research the topic: Russian Germans or Volga Germans or Kazakhstan Germans. In a few words: my family’s roots are German. They emigrated from Germany to Russia a long time ago to start a new life in Russia, blended by high hopes. They lived in the territory of Russia for a few centuries but in World War 2 many Germans who were living in the territory of Russia got expelled from their home. A lot of people were forcibly departed to Kazakhstan. This happened against their will, of course.

This was a very short description of my families’ past.

My blood is mostly German, a little bit of eastern european is mixed in it (mostly because of my grandfather). I had my first transcontinental flight when I was a baby. I was about 1 year old. The route was from Kazakhstan to Germany. One way ticket, of course. I know this very flight was the most exciting flight my parents have ever been on. I didn’t experience that flight to be that exciting. I slept the whole journey. I mean I was a toddler.
Though we got the German citizenship as soon as we got on German land because of special regulations during that time, my parents until now even don’t consider themselves as German (after 24 years in Germany) and culturally speaking I have to admit that my family lives out their Russian habits more than their German habits.

I can tell that my parents have dedicated their lives for their children who are my brother and I. They gave up their safe careers in Kazakhstan and decided to start from zero in Germany so that their children could have better career chances globally. The degrees they have obtained in the Soviet Union aren’t supported here in Germany. They had to start from the bottom.

But they just haven’t seen a bright future in their homeland.

My mother sometimes tells me about their very first days here in Germany. She is able to laugh about the fact that they only had two small suitcases when starting their new life. I was a baby so the only concern I had at that time was when to eat or sleep. I didn’t experience their first years in Germany with a conscious mind.

If I’m honest there were times I was angry at my parents.

I was angry at them that they were immigrants, that they couldn’t speak proper German, that we weren’t as rich as others, that they had jobs that weren’t as fancy as the jobs the parents of my classmates had. I was ashamed at times when school has invited my parents to talk about grades. I was afraid that my teachers would laugh at my parents’ accent.

Luckily I do know how life works now, though I still have a lot to learn and I am so thankful from the bottom of my heart that my parents have made that decision. They have tried their best and now my brother and I both received higher education and we have the aim to build a career. I no longer feel ashamed of my family background. I am proud. We as children will forever be in our parents debt.

I am forever grateful.

But I really want to tell the people that want to immigrate to Germany one thing: If you don’t want to work your ass off, your chances in this country are very low to reach a good standard of living.

You have to be determined. You have to have a certain goal when immigrating to Germany or else you will simply fail. The competition is very high in Germany. On the plus side, you won't be the only foreigner here in Germany. But the real challenge is to stand out of the crowd. You won't get anything for free. You have to work for your goals.

A goal could be a certain degree of studies that you want to obtain in Germany as the standard of teaching is very high here. A goal could also be to pursue a certain business idea or simply just work in your own profession (the higher the academic degree the better) in which you haven’t found a job in your home country. I guess engineers or medical graduates have good chances to get a job.

Let's talk about respect.

I think it is very essential for immigrating families to have respect for the laws and behaviour of their guest country. Respect is the most essential aspect when it comes to immigration. Respect and acceptance. Without those key factors immigration could end up very badly.
I am very lucky in a sense that I got to experience two different cultures in such detail. It helped me  crossing the world with open eyes, being able to understand and accept different ways of living. Moreover speaking more than one language opens many doors for you.

If you were to ask me which country I identify the most with I would straight up tell you: Germany.

I guess the country you grew up in, will always be your home you return to no matter how far your life journey has brought you.

I love exploring different countries and cultures. Maybe that is because of my own family background. Having a mixed heritage makes an individual just so interesting.

Germany is a country full of immigrants, no one can deny that. And this is exactly what makes this country so special. It is a very modern country and the influences of so many different cultures in one country is exceptional in Europe.

I do think that Germany profits from having different cultural influences. It opens our minds. We can profit from the ideas and spirit of foreigners.
On that note I want to tell everyone reading this post, appreciate your heritage, don’t feel shame for your culture. Keep in mind that your parents have left their homeland to gift a better life to you! Therefore take the chance, make the best out of your situation and never belie where you come from. And treat people with respect!

Did you grow up in an immigrating environment?

What is your experience?

Feel free to share your story in the comments below.

xNat

Red berry dream

So today I want to inspire y'all to eat more fruit during the winter season. It is very important to eat fresh unprocessed fruit during the cold season in order to stay fit and healthy. Of course it doesn't need to be fresh red berries. They are quite expensive during that time of the year. But you can buy frozen fruit all year round! So there is no excuse for you to not eat fruits during winter!

Here's the recipe for the smoothie that I have freestyled during a dark winter evening.

I won't tell any quantity because it highly depends on how many glasses you want to prepare.

You will need:

- berries of your choice (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry)

- milk

- honey

- coconut rasps as decoration

The preparation is very easy. Just mix all the ingredients together. Leave a few berries for decoration. 

You can add coconut rasps or other flakes / crisps of your choice for a decorative purpose. The honey will handle the sourness of the berries.

Stay healthy!

xNat