Style | Sporty Vibes

If you've seen my latest outfits here on BLES Magazine, you know my style isn't exactly anything sporty... But I've been secretly loving the combination of leather caps and sneakers combined with chic and more feminine items! I started wearing the cap because I needed a quick fix for my bad hairday last week, as well as a little protection from the sun.. It's ideal! If I need to run some quick errands or if I dont feel like wearing make up, this cap is a great solution. So here's how I've been styling it lately: bring on the sporty vibes!

Comfy pants like these look quite formal and chic, but because they're so loose fitted and made out of light material, they're like pajamas! I now have 3 of pairs of these trousers and I have been wearing them a lot lately, instead of skintight skinny jeans or biker leggings. I like to wear them with a plain t-shirt, a blazer or bomber jacket and sneakers. Always combined with a chic handbag. To me it's the perfect combination of chic and casual.

Let me know what you think in the comments, and be prepared for more looks like these 😙

Berschka trousers | Zara T-shirt | Primark trenchcoat | Elisestore sneakers | Topshop bag | Michael Kors watch | H&M cap

Drastic before-after pictures are my fave, especially when it comes to hair extensions. I've been loving Luxury For Princess hair extensions for years now and whenever I feel like changing up my 'do I easily clip in my hair extensions. This set I'm going to show you below is the 260 grams set in Golden Brown, 22 inches long. Every time I open a new package I'm amazed at how long, shiny and thick the hair is from root to tips. Keep on reading to get to know more!

This set is my favorite, as it is not the longest and thickest set they have (they go up to 320 grams!) so it matches my thin hair best. The color is a pretty good match too. My hair is a little darker in some places because I have multiple high and lowlights. The hair extensions are made of various different shades so they blend in so easily. They do have a very golden, warm glow to them. I really love that, but my own hair is a little less golden. Even with my short bob they blend in nicely and I personally think they look very natural.

I can't wait to curl these long locks for a great party look. That's the best part of these Remy human hair extensions, you can wash, curl, dye the hair like you would with your own hair. And they clip in and out of your hair in just a minute. Check out the photo's below, and make sure to use discount code malu5 at checkout for a sweet discount on your own hair extensions ♥

REVIEW | Vinada Alcohol Free Sparkling Wine & Rosé

As a true wine lover, I was very excited when I came across a press release in my mailbox of the non-alcoholic Vinada wines. I really enjoy a wine with my dinner or during the weekends, but as we all know: alcohol is not that great for you. I try to stick to two to three glasses of wine a week, but sometimes - especially on special occasions - it's just too good to pass up on! Imagine my joy and curiosity when I was sent two bottles (a white wine and a rosé) to try and review for you😋

First of all, it's good to know that Vinada wines are available in and outside of The Netherlands, as well in stores as online. Go and take a look to see if Vinada Wines are available in your country :) When I got a box of these wines in the mail, I was so excited to try these wines. They look REALLY good. The packaging itself looks very fancy, like an actual bottle of wine. After I chilled it in the fridge for a while, I tried the white wine first.

Like wine, but also like champagne
Pouring the non-alcoholic wine into my wine glass, I noticed that it's a sparkling wine (which was on the label, but I was too curious to read the label before tasting it) There are actual wines that contain alcohol and that are sparkling as well so nothing strange here... Then it was time for some proper smelling (hey, as a true wine lover, I follow all the steps involved in a good wine tasting). Sniff sniff... Yup, smells like wine! Also a little bit like apple juice, but just a teeny tiny bit. Then I took a sip and I instantly thought it tasted like a combination of wine, champagne and apple juice. Or perhaps the Jillz ciders. It's a slightly sweet and refreshing.

The funny thing is, I drank this like I would drink an alcoholic wine - with small sips. It just feels like you're drinking wine, instead of some sort of soda. I really enjoyed it! And what I enjoyed the most? No single side effect of alcohol! If I had to choose, I do prefer an alcoholic wine, just because it's got a stronger taste and of course, the 'real' wine taste. But for an alcohol-free wine, this comes super close! The Vinada wines are actually wines and had the same wine making process ( it's not just grape juice, haha), but the alcohol has been removed out of it. The wines come in 200ml bottles, but I really wish they would be available in 750 ml bottles.... I read on their website that they're developing new flavors and considering bigger bottles too, so fingers crossed! 

Why Vinada alcohol free wines are great!
✅ If you're pregnant and would like to have a wine, it's perfect!
✅ Great option for drinking at a party and being able to drive home
✅ Can't consume alcohol (anymore) for medical reasons? Vinada is perfect for you!
✅ Vinada wines contain less calories than regular wines

As you can see I also received a sparkling rosé, but I haven't tried it yet. I was so enthusiastic about the white wine that I decided to post this review already. Want to hear my thoughts on the rosé as well? Make sure to follow me on Instagram - I will share my experience in Instagram stories :)

Make Your Social Media Post Stand Out By Using Fonts

In a time were algorithms may not be on your side, it can be hard to make your post stand out in your followers timelines. Sure, striking images or videos can help you get someone's attention, but there is something else you can try. Something I've been doing for a while now - and I can tell you already: it works! I'm talking about using a different font to stand out from the online crowd.

You've probably noticed that all posts in your timeline have the same font as every other post. The only thing you can really stand out with is using emoji's, images or video's. But have you ever seen those nice fonts that people use in their Instagram names and profile descriptions? There's a website called Lingojam that allows you to enter text and it will convert the text to a few different fonts. You can then copy-paste your text in a nice font and put it in your Instagram bio, for example. But you can also copy-paste that text into your Facebook or LinkedIn post.

I usually only enter the headline of my post in a bold or italic font, that makes it obvious what your post is about in a glance. Just entering the headline of your post in a different font is enough to grab your followers attention, instead of posting your entire text in an italic/bold font. Here's an example of how I make my social media posts stand out by using a different font.

Go ahead and try it for yourself😊

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👌