Things I Won't Spend Money On ( And Do At Home Instead)

A lot of women like to pamper themselves every now and then, getting their nails done or enjoying a beauty treatment for example. As us ladies know, it can take quite some time and money to look the way we look! For me personally, there are a few things I won't spend my money on when it comes to beauty or lifestyle. Not because I'm a total cheapskate - I tend to splurge on luxury handbags and fancy dinners instead - but because a) it's just as easy to do at home or b) I simply like doing it myself!

A while back when I talked to my friends and a few female colleagues about this, I realized that I actually have quite a few things that I don't spend money on where others would do that almost every month. Here's what I'm talking about: these are the things I won't spend money on and do at home instead!

Bye bye, hairdresser
Don't laugh, but the last time I went to a hairdresser I was about 10 years old. Okay, my mom (who has her hairdressers certificate) cut my hair when I was younger, but pretty soon after I was allowed to dye my hair I started doing that myself. It took a few wrong turns to eventually do it right, so now I've been cutting and dying my hair myself for about 8 years. Yes, also cutting bangs and trying out crazy hair colors. Even if you go to the hair salon to get the ends trimmed, it's still a lot of money. I once calculated that cutting my own hair, dyeing my own hair and doing my own (clip in) hair extensions saves me up to 400 euros a year. Yeah, I won't go to a hairdresser for as long as I can do it myself - and don't fail at it😜

Gel nails
Those long nails? They're fake! People often think they're my natural nails, which I take as a major compliment. When they ask me where I get them done and I tell them I've been doing my own gel nails for over 10 years they're pretty surprised. I am quite the creative type, I LOVE doing my manicures myself! I simply use tips, a good nail glue and a professional gel nailpolish - and that will keep my nails going strong for at least 4 weeks every single time. Let's say I were to go get my nails done professionally every month? It would cost me an average of 45 euro's.... Which I save up! The set of tips I buy (look on Ebay or Amazon) costs me less than 10 euros for 100 tips. A bargain😊

Selftanning
I have actually gotten a spray tan once and it was horrible. And way too expensive. As soon as the summer starts I take out my selftan mitt and a selftan lotion or mousse and I tan my entire body in the comfort of my own home. Scrubbing beforehand makes the tan last even longer, but usually I will reapply my tan after 4 days. Tanning beds are less expensive than getting a spray tan, but because I want to avoid getting skin cancer, I would never ever go lay under a tanning bed in the first place. A spray tan is about 20 to 30 euros for one treatment... You know what's cheaper? A bottle of tanning lotion (around 10 euros!) that will give me around 15 tanning sessions.

Beauty treatments
I do enjoy beauty treatments, as skincare is very important to me - and I would do anything to prevent wrinkles - but I am super picky. And I won't let anyone touch my eyebrows, ever. Over the years I've learned quite a lot about skincare, so I enjoy pampering myself with a nice scrub, face mask and luxury creams in the comfort of my own home. If you go to a beauty salon regularly and get your brows done as well, you would easily pay around 70 euros every other month... So that's not something I would do very quickly, as I can easily achieve the same results at home.

Whitening my teeth
I do have to start off by saying that getting your teeth whitened professionally gets you WAY better results. But at home treatments do work as well, the results just don't be as drastic as when you would get it done by a salon. I use the Crest White strips every few weeks, just to give my teeth a little touch up. After  every 30 min treatment I see a difference, so for me those strips work great! Getting my teeth whitened at a professional salon would easily cost me around 200 to 300 euros a year, whereas the Crest White strips are around 30 euros a year.

At home workouts
Okay. I have to admit that if I were to pay for a gym subscription every month, I would probably actually GO😹. Now I just work out whenever I feel like it. I am currently trying to get back into my hulahooping routine (with a weighted hula hoop, not those fun light hoops we had as kids). I used to hoop for 40 minutes almost every single day and I noticed a major difference in my stamina and I got stronger abs, back and leg muscles. There are so many exercises you can do at home - or go for a run outside- you don't need to pay for a gym to get some exercise. So if you like hula hooping to some fun music, it might be a fun (and INTENSE) workout to do at home.

So, these are the things I don't spend my money on and do at home instead. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section :)

Create False Looking Lashes With This Product

I've worn false lashes for probably 3 years straight, until I decided to ditch the falsies for a while. It became too much of a fuss to apply false lashes every day before going to work, so I just stuck with mascara instead. But there's just something about the look of false lashes ... I wanted to achieve the same results without actually having to apply lashes or invest in eyelash extensions. I tried this hack I read about online and it definitely works!

There's only one product you'll need to add to your mascara routine: babypowder! It doesn't matter what brand you use, as long as it's baby powder you'll achieve the look of falsies in just seconds.
All you need to do is apply a generous amount of mascara on your lashes, then dust some baby powder on small brush and sweep it along your (wet) lashes. It will form a layer on top of your lashes and it extends them as well. You can repeat this for as many times as you'd like, but this method does give you spider lashes easily! Don't forget to apply the last coat of mascara on top - other wise you'll look pretty crazy with white lashes ;)

I personally like the look of thick, chunky lashes over super seperated lashes, so this works wonders for me. I included a before and after photo below: the results are pretty obvious, right? I think it's definitely worth trying what this trick does for your lashes. If you don't like it, you can use the baby powder for many more creative solutions... like dry shampoo when you have greasy hair. Do you know more baby powder hacks we should learn about? If so, feel free to share it in the comment section👌

LONG LOCKS INSTANTLY WITH LUXURY FOR PRINCESS

It's every girls dream to have long, silky locks like the Disney Princesses we fell in love with when we were younger. The most popular hair extesions brand on the market, Luxury For Princess, offers just that! With their wide range of remy (human) hair extensions in tons of different colors, you can give yourself that princess look in an instant.

I've been wearing Luxury for Princess hair extensions for 4 years straight. I've tried many different brands in the mean time, but I always get back to my favorite brand. These hair extensions hardly shed, they stay smooth and they are super thick from roots to the ends. High quality and nothing less, which gives you value for your money. I also received the Luxury Storage Hanger, which is ideal to store your hair extensions when you're not wearing them. Also great for travelling!

The set you see below is the thickest set on the market! It's 320 grams of hair, which is a lot! If you wanna go for that glamorous look you can wear them all at once - the weight is spread out over 9 wefts so you won't find it too heavy- or just wear a few wefts for length and volume. I got the color Light Brown, which is a great match with my own hair.

If you want to get yourself a set of Luxuries, make sure to use my discount code especially for you! MALU5 will give you a sweet discount on all sets of hair extensions. MALU15 will give your 15 euros off hair styling tools like the Luxury Flat Iron Styler.

Simple Ways To Boost Your Energy

We all know the feeling.. That feeling of our eyelids sagging as the afternoon wears on. That feeling like you're in desperate need of a quick powernap to get through the day. When low energy drags you down, don't look to a candy bar, cup of coffee, or energy drink for a boost! Here's what to do instead, to give yourself a boost of energy.

Avoid sugars and caffeine
It's pretty crazy how much coffee most people need in the morning to function properly. But loading up on caffeine is not tackling the problem, it's just making it worse! The same goes for sugars.. This will give you a quick energy boost as your sugar levels rise quickly, but they drop down 2 hours later even faster, which will result in a super low energy level. So you crave sugar and caffeine again to feel energetic, and that's what keeps this vicious cirlce going.

Exercise

Working out, whether it's before or after work, will not only make you feel like you did something good and heathy... it will also make you feel SO energetic! Whenever you do it, oxygen-rich blood surges through your body to your heart, muscles, and brain. Regularly squeezing a workout into your day -- even if you can spare only 10 minutes at a time -- will help keep your energy levels at their peak. Move around every chance you get, even if it's just to pace in circles while you're on the phone. A quick walk around the block and getting some fresh air works wonders to fight that after noon dip, too.

Stretch yourself out!
Whether your at home, at school or at work: just a few desk stretches cam be enough to feel less sleepy again. If you really want to go for it, do some yoga. Studies have suggested that a little yoga could fight depression and anxiety or other stress-related disorders that can tire us out.

Eat nuts
Did you know, nuts are great little energy boosters? Eat a handful of almonds or unsalted peanuts, which are high in magnesium and folate (folic acid). These nutrients are essential for energy and cell production. A lack of these nutrients in your system can leave you feeling weary, so eating a handful of nuts every day is not only a healthy addition to your diet, (these contain the good fats) it will also help you boost your energy.

Power Nap
If you get the chance to take a power nap, do so! A quick 15 or 20 minute nap is all we need to recharge ourselves to get through the day without throwing off the night's sleep.

Style | When Nude Meets Black

I guess everybody's got a ritual when picking out an outfit. I always start with either the shoes I want to wear that day, or the bag. In this case, the bag was my first choice so I styled the rest of the outfit based on this eyecatching bag. I went for my favorite skinny jeans, a nude colored ruffled blouse, tailored leather jacket and bronze pumps. Which are the most comfortable pair of heels I own by the way.

I hope you like this look! Do share your own ritual on how you style your outfit in the comment section... So many girls, so many ways, I guess!

Zara jacket | H&M jeans | H&M blouse | Kenzaa bag | Ted & Muffy pumps

No boring green salads or super foods today, nope... we love life and with that comes enjoying the good food, right?! The guilty-pleasure type of food. If you want to impress your friends or family with a more extraordinary version of spaghetti, these crispy spaghetti donuts are the ideal recipe! And if you know how to make spaghetti, these donuts are super easy to make, too. There are just two ingredients you need to add to your spaghetti (and make sure you've got a donut tray) to make these spaghetti donuts.

This recipe was created by Pop Pasta in New York and their spaghetti donuts are taking over Instagram. They say their famous spaghetti donuts are great as a snack during a picnick or lunch break as they're not as messy as pizza but definitely just as tasty. When dressed with a salad on the side, these would be great for dinner as well. Yumm! If you want to make these yourself, you can make any type of spaghetti you want, with olives, tomatoes, other veggies etc. Once your spaghetti is ready, all you have to do is pop it in a donut tray, apply some egg wash and cheese on top and bake it untill it's crunchy! So easy 😋

Romantic Interior Inspiration

Romantic vibes don't have to be saved for February 14th. You can use them throughout your home all year round. Isn't a big house, decorated with romantic furniture and cozy vibes, the dream of every girl? Neutral colors, soft pastels, fuzzy plaids and many candles provide the dreamy interior that so many women love. And let's be honest, men do too! Let's show you some inspiration! 

If you want to turn your house theme into a romantic interior, think about what details like flowers, candles, pillows, mirrors and soft lighting can do! Small changes can already make a major difference. But if you like to dream big, take a look at the stunning photos below. Sometimes dreams do come true, who knows... you might be styling your house into one of these romantic interior examples one day!

3 Tips To Find The Perfect Bracelet For Men

Shopping for ourselves is a piece of cake, right ladies? Women know what they want and where to get it. But what if you're looking for a piece of jewelry for your husband, boyfried, brother or father? What are things to keep in mind? Today I'll be sharing my tips with you, so you'll easily find the perfect (birthday) gift!

Discover his style!

Someone's overall style will say a lot about what they like in jewerly. If you're looking for a men's bracelet, the options are endless. Beaded bracelets, leather bracelets or a silver bracelet for example, are very taste sensitive.  Men with a preppy style may be more into chic, leather bracelets, whereas men with a tougher style may like beaded bracelets more. In the end, keep in mind what type of bracelet would look good with the man's clothes to prevent a mismatch.

Buy jewelry in the right proportions

This goes for men just as much as for women. A wide, heavy bracelet won't look best on a super small wrist. I once bought a watch for my dad and he doesn't have small wrists, but the clock itself on the watch was really small.. It would have looked odd, so I looked further for a bigger watch that would look good on his wrist. The same goes for bracelets. A super thin bracelet on a bigger wrist will look a little off. Go for a chunky shackled bracelet instead, or a wide leather woven bracelet for example.

Be careful with materials
A lot of people have an allergic reaction to non silver metals, which people often forget to take into account when shopping for jewelry for someone else. Rings, bracelets and watches that are not made out of sterling silver can irritate the skin a lot. These are often the cheaper pieces of jewelry, but just looking at the product description will tell you if the product contains metal parts or silver / silver plated parts.

I wrote this article in collaboration with Trend Him, where I got the silver bracelet and beaded bracelets, too! Let me know in the comment section if you found these tips helpfull, and if you've got tips yourself to make jewelry shopping for men easier, share them in the comments 😊

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Dit artikel heb ik geschreven in samenwerking met Trend Him. Dit is een super leuke webshop waar je álles van sieraden tot accessoires voor mannen kunt vinden. Dat maakt de zoektocht naar dat speciale item al een stuk makkelijker! Op Trend Him vind je ook inspiratie en kun je ideeën opdoen voor wat leuk bij elkaar past qua sieraden. Zo ben ik ook deze leuke heren armband tegengekomen. Daarnaast vind je bij Trend Him ook horloges, ringen, manchetknopen en toilettassen voor mannen. Neem eens een kijkje voor inspiratie!