EVENT: Geox breathes

So last night another trip to Brussels was on the agenda. This time it wasn't for another round of shopping though but for an event. When I first saw the invite on Sofie Valkiers aka Fashionata's website I was doubting to attend the event. I never bought Geox shoes because they didn't really attract me. But then Sofie wore the amazing slip-ons in one of her outfits and it became clear that Geox is busy modernising their image. And with success I must say!

The event was organised at their shop in Brussels on the Rue des Fripiers which is very close to the Grand Place. Linde and Anouk, two of my best friends, joined me to the big city. The atmosphere was very relaxed and Sofie was super nice as usual. She's a real natural at attending these kinds of events and being a representative for a brand.

Geox and Claudia Wünsch Communication made sure that everything went very smoothly. We got offered lots of bites, healthy sandwiches but of course some chocolates couldn't be missing either.

As for the shoes I must admit that I was really surprised. Geox is known for great quality so when they say that their shoes "breath", it isn't a lie. But I was definitely struck by the modern and feminine designs from the shoes as well. I fell in love with the black slip-ons but unfortunately they made my feed look quite big so I passed on them. I will definitely keep my eye on Geox in the future.

I'm wearing

shirt: Mango

skirt: Supertrash

shoes: New Look

bag: Louis Vuitton

watch: D&G

bracelets: Stretch that dollar

EVENT: Par Fête fashion show

Last Friday I attended a local party called Par Fête. This is an afterwork party with a great buffet and afterwards there's a party with a dj. This time Chloe 2 Dress, I told you about this shop in my previous shoplog, organised a  fashion show to present their spring collection.

Chloe 2 Dress sells brands such as Darling, Lipsy London and Supertrash. The store has lots of pretty party dresses, accessories but also some basic pieces. Underneath you can find some pictures from the event, apologies for the bad quality but taking pictures was very hard.

photo credit to Par Fête

REVIEW: Zalando

As any good blogger I'm totally addicted to shopping. Often I see pieces of a certain brand in an ad campaign or online but I often don't seem to find them in physical shops. Luckily online shops are booming more than ever and the mother of all web shops is of course Zalando.

Zalando has already helped me through numerous clothing emergencies; from amazing party dresses to basic pieces and from shoes in every size to bags from every price range, Zalando gots it all.

Whenever I have some free time, I catch myself checking out the Zalando website over and over again. They offer huge amounts of articles. Nonetheless it's very easy to find exactly what you need because Zalando created different parameters to make your life easy. You can specify which product you search, which color, which size,...

Lately I have really been thinking about buying a new bag, more specific a Michael Kors bag. I have the two models below in mind. Which one would you choose?

Jet set shopper Bag

I would use this bag to go to work. It's perfect because there fits a lot in this bag. I don't have a red bag yet so I really need to add this to my wardrobe.

Michael Kors Blue classic bag

This bag is a bit more classic but also very chic to spend summer at the sea side with. The combinations with different outfits pop into my mind immediately.

The reasons why I love shopping at Zalando are their simplicity of ordering, speed of delivery and huge supply. You have different payment methods: online but also after receiving the package if you have doubts towards paying online. Your package will be delivered at home between 3 to 5 workdays. I know lots of you are probably a bit afraid of shopping online because it's always nicer to see how something fits on you. But for this problem, Zalando gots the perfect solution as well. If something doesn't fit you, you can return your order for free (!). In addition to that Zalando offers discounts regularly to their clients. Tip: subscribe to their newsletter to stay up-to-date about the new trends and promotions.

Zalando's website is available in a Dutch version and a French version. Do you have any experience with ordering on the Zalando website? Would you consider ordering online?

Instalab #14

It has been a while since I last updated you about my personal life. The reason for that is that I have been incredibly busy with work, posting 4 - 5 times a week a new article on the blog and lots of appointments in my personal life as well. As you can see below I attended some events but also checked out different restaurants,... Let me know which is your favourite picture!

Being busy means you have to multitask. So while I'm at the hairdresser, I also did my nails and tried to suck in new inspiration by reading fashion magazines.

One Wednesday per month, the event Overtime is organized in club Versuz. This is an afterwork party. My friends and I were vips at the Mini Store area.

This outfit shoot I did together with my mum. I called it A touch of red.

One of the events I attended the past month was the Men at Work Ladies night. 

The other event I attented was one of the most exciting events I ever went to: the Denvin Fashion show. The report from this event is my most read article so far, definitely check it out here. 

Trying out new places and things to eat are my favourite things to do. These nachos I had at Kiwi Maastricht.

The busy lifestyle and lots of partying had their effect on my weight unfortunately. Therefore I inscribed at a gym. I try to work out at least three times a week.

Sometimes I can't help myself but cheat on my diet.

Another hotspot to eat is Poco Piu in my hometown. I loved this place so much that I devoted an article to it. 

Another outfit shoot I did while spending the night at Luik. 

The past week I also went to Brussels to get my hands on some goodies from the H&M conscious collection. My best friend and I were too early so we decided to grap a healthy breakfast.

This is one of the pictures I shot while driving through Brussels. Big cities really give me some kind of overwhelming energy. I could easily see myself live in one. I really think we (myself included) don't pay enough attention to all the amazing buildings and scenes we have in our own country.

I eventually only bought this hear ribbon from the H&M conscious exclusive collection. Unfortunately some of the pieces I liked weren't available in the H&M store in Brussels.

HOTSPOT: Poco Piu

An Italian restaurant hit town and it was about time. Since I'm from a small village, Riemst, nice places to eat are not numerous. Being a huge pasta lover myself, I anticipated the opening from "Poco Piu" with excitement.

photo credit to Sofie

The location is perfect, it's on a busy road right on the border between Belgium and the Netherlands attracting a mixture of clients. The interior is amazing; the main colours are red and black. Different sightings from Rome and quotes are wall painted. There's not lack of decorations at Poco Piu with fake trees, curtains and red lights being all over the place. The staff is young, energetic and above all very friendly and helpful.

If you want to check out their menu or book a table, go to the Poco Piu website. As you can see, the prizes are very reasonable especially for the great quality and taste. I started the evening with a glass of Prosecco, this costs € 4,85. In other restaurants you easily pay between € 5,00 and € 7,00. Some of the usual starters and bites are available at Poco Piu. We opted for the bruschettas and they were made like the real deal, with tomatoes.

Choosing my main course was a very hard thing to do. The possibilities are endless. Normally the choices for a difficult eater like me, no fish and barely any meat, are limited. Pizzas, pasta, meat and fish menus; everything is available. I eventually chose the Rustica pizza with salami, tomato, cheese, mushrooms and peppers. The pizza was quite big and super delicious.

The name from my dessert slipped my mind but again the choices were numerous. On the menu were lots of different kinds of ice creams but you could also go for something special like I did. The outside is like chocolate cake and the inside was filled with vanilla ice cream.

I will definitely return to this restaurant. I would advise it for people who want a delicious evening out and who like Italian food.

Shoplog #2

Last Saturday my best friend and I did some shopping. We first went to the Dutch town Sittard. There I bought some Ray-Ban lookalike glasses. I opted for the aviator model with blue glasses for only 4 (!) euros. They are really good lookalikes if I say so myself. I didn't buy the real Ray-Ban because I recently already bought a pair of Jimmy Choo sunglasses.

If you want the real deal, than check out the Ray-Ban website.

As you probably already know, I'm a real dress addict. I felt the strong urge to buy some spring dresses so we visited one of my favourite local stores Chloé 2dress. I tried on 4 pieces and really doubted between 2 pieces. I eventually chose the short white dress from Lipsy London with golden embellishment. The sleeves are slightly see-through.

The other dress I tried on was a white maxi dress with pastel details from Darling. I opted not to buy it because they are not so many chances to wear a maxi dress in Belgium. Still I was over the moon when I found out my aunt and mother eventually bought the dress for me! *lucky me* You can buy the dress on the Darling website as well. 

Which is your favourite item I bought?

REVIEW: Estee Lauder - Idealist pore minimazing skin

What it promises to do?

This fast-acting serum delivers our most dramatic skin resurfacing benefits-more efficiently than ever before.

With Idealist, your skin looks and feels like your ideal skin:

Virtually poreless.
- Pores appear 1/3 smaller-instantly.
- See a 69% reduction in the look of pores in just 4 weeks.

Unbelievably soft and smooth.
- Repairs the look of uneven skin texture flakiness and roughness.
- Smooth it on and instantly enjoy that soft, seamless, silky feeling you love.

Incredibly clear and even-toned.
- See more clarity and luminosity.
- Gives skin an overall more even tone.

Underneath the skin you see, is the skin you want.
- Feel it.
- See it.
- Have it now, with Idealist.

Ingredients:

Water, Dimethicone, Isododecane, Cyclopentasiloxane, Polysilicone-11, Butylene Glycol, Ascorbyl Glucoside, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Gentiana Lutea (Gentian) Root Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Extract, Hydrolyzed Rice Bran Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Extract, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Morus Bombycis (Mulberry) Root Extract, Trametes Versicolor Extract, Hordeum Vulgare (Barley) Extract, Salicylic Acid, Caffeine, Cholesterol, Acetyl Glucosamine, Squalane, Yeast Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seedcake, Isohexadecane, PEG-6, Dimethoxytolyl Propylresorcinol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Propylene Glycol Dicaprate, Polysorbate-20, Glycyrrhetinic Acid, Polysorbate-80, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Sulfite, Sodium Metabisulfite, Acrylamide/Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Potassium Sorbate, Di-C12-18 Alkyl Dimonium Chloride, Fragrance, Tromethamine, Tin Oxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, BHT, Phenoxyethanol, Linalool, Limonene, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Bismuth Oxychloride, Carmine

Application:

"Apply every AM on clean skin. Follow with your moisturizer."

Package:

The product comes in an aquamarine coloured see-through bottle, the bottle is in a box with almost the same colours. The cap and the pump are both gold.

My own experience:

Something that really annoys me about my skin are my huge pores. I don't have a smooth skin at all. So about two years ago I complained about this at my local beauty shop. The sales person advised me to try out the Estee Lauder Idealist.

After a couple of weeks they really seemed to be smaller. I wasn't the only one who noticed that. Be aware that your pores won't disappear completely. Nonetheless I'm really pleased about the effect. I use the product on my chin and noise because these are my problem areas.
It's true that your skin feels slightly softer after using the Idealist for a while. Although if you use the Idealist purely for this purpose, I would advise other products.
I apply the product once a day, every morning before putting on my makeup. One pump of the product is sufficient for me. The product looks white but once it's smeared out, you don't see any residue. The skin absorbs this product very quickly.
Another plus side is that this product doesn't have a scent.

You can buy this product on the Estée Lauder website for € 63,11/30ml

If you're pleased about the Estée Lauders product please note that they have some other skin enhancing products such as the Idealist Skin illuminator and the award winning Advanced night repair.