Over a year ago, I wrote a post on some of my favourite beauty/fashion blogs out there. Now, while I did include a couple of Portuguese blogs at the time, I'll admit I didn't follow that many to be able to come up with a full list dedicated to them alone. The blogosphere is so immense nowadays that it can be hard to find blogs from your country, especially if your first language isn't English.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking. Why is it such a big deal to find bloggers from your country? It's true that just about anybody can give you some style inspiration or review makeup in their blog. However, sometimes you'd rather read an OOTD post where all of the brands are actually in your reach without shopping online, the same goes for makeup. In a smaller country like Portugal, where we can't get brands like Topshop, River Island, Boohoo, Colourpop, Tarte, Milk Makeup, Glossier and many other brands without either shopping online and risking paying an absurd amount in taxes, it's nice to hear about the brands you do know and can get your hands on during a simple trip to the mall. In some cases, it's even better to rely on Portuguese bloggers to let you know how their online shopping experience went with their own purchase before making your own, because they already know what's coming your way!
I've rambled on long enough, let's move onto some amazing blogs you should be following, no matter where you're from!
The European Closet is mainly a fashion blog, though you can also find some beauty, lifestyle and blogging tips as well. I've been following Rita for over two years now and I love every single thing she posts, it's always so put together and appealing, which always helps me stay motivated to work harder on my own content. Not to mention how much of a sweetheart she is! Rita has helped me several times when it comes to blogging and I know I can always reach out to her whenever I'm at a loss when it comes to my blog.
Pink Ivory Makeup is my guilty pleasure when it comes to makeup. Raquel is always tormenting me with new exciting products I just have to get my hands on and my bank account isn't having it! Both her blog and her instagram are perfect, her photography in general is on point, and I know I can always count on her reviews to keep me away from splurging on duds. Her blog is a must for any beauty lover out there!
Majestic Marta is an overall aesthetic goals! Nobody can make their instagram or their blog look that good, it's impossible to not instantly recognise her content from the photos alone. Not to mention she always knows what's up at Sephora, you can always count on her to deliver all of the news on what's good and what's bad (aka all of the terrible deals we get every single month).
The Pink Elephant Shoe is run by the lovely Cátia, who slays every single time a new post comes out or a new picture is posted onto her instagram. What always called out to me when it came to her content was how colourful it was, while most bloggers prefer to rely on plain white as the main colour to everything they put out there, Cátia is always betting on bright bold shades that make me want to go out and do a vibrant blue smokey eye!
Gi and Lills are two extremely stylish ladies I always have my eye on whenever I'm looking for some outfit inspiration. I first ran across them on Instagram, but I quickly started catching up with their blog, it's filled with so many different looks that will help you stay casual yet cool at the same time. They definitely have a minimalistic approach to fashion, in my opinion, with some pops of colour and prints here and there to spice things up, which is why I love them!
Now, I know what some of you are thinking. Why is it such a big deal to find bloggers from your country? It's true that just about anybody can give you some style inspiration or review makeup in their blog. However, sometimes you'd rather read an OOTD post where all of the brands are actually in your reach without shopping online, the same goes for makeup. In a smaller country like Portugal, where we can't get brands like Topshop, River Island, Boohoo, Colourpop, Tarte, Milk Makeup, Glossier and many other brands without either shopping online and risking paying an absurd amount in taxes, it's nice to hear about the brands you do know and can get your hands on during a simple trip to the mall. In some cases, it's even better to rely on Portuguese bloggers to let you know how their online shopping experience went with their own purchase before making your own, because they already know what's coming your way!
I've rambled on long enough, let's move onto some amazing blogs you should be following, no matter where you're from!
The European Closet is mainly a fashion blog, though you can also find some beauty, lifestyle and blogging tips as well. I've been following Rita for over two years now and I love every single thing she posts, it's always so put together and appealing, which always helps me stay motivated to work harder on my own content. Not to mention how much of a sweetheart she is! Rita has helped me several times when it comes to blogging and I know I can always reach out to her whenever I'm at a loss when it comes to my blog.
Pink Ivory Makeup is my guilty pleasure when it comes to makeup. Raquel is always tormenting me with new exciting products I just have to get my hands on and my bank account isn't having it! Both her blog and her instagram are perfect, her photography in general is on point, and I know I can always count on her reviews to keep me away from splurging on duds. Her blog is a must for any beauty lover out there!
Majestic Marta is an overall aesthetic goals! Nobody can make their instagram or their blog look that good, it's impossible to not instantly recognise her content from the photos alone. Not to mention she always knows what's up at Sephora, you can always count on her to deliver all of the news on what's good and what's bad (aka all of the terrible deals we get every single month).
The Pink Elephant Shoe is run by the lovely Cátia, who slays every single time a new post comes out or a new picture is posted onto her instagram. What always called out to me when it came to her content was how colourful it was, while most bloggers prefer to rely on plain white as the main colour to everything they put out there, Cátia is always betting on bright bold shades that make me want to go out and do a vibrant blue smokey eye!
Gi and Lills are two extremely stylish ladies I always have my eye on whenever I'm looking for some outfit inspiration. I first ran across them on Instagram, but I quickly started catching up with their blog, it's filled with so many different looks that will help you stay casual yet cool at the same time. They definitely have a minimalistic approach to fashion, in my opinion, with some pops of colour and prints here and there to spice things up, which is why I love them!
I like to think of myself as the complete opposite of an impulse buyer. I make lists, I compare prices and I weigh in all of the pros and cons before making a purchase to make sure my hard earned money doesn't go to waste. It used to work out for me really well until a couple of months ago. Slowly, I started buying more out of impulse. Whenever a new drugstore release popped up all over Instagram and every blog I read, I felt the need to buy it, not only to see if it was worth the hype, but also to keep up with what my readers might want to hear about here on the blog.
I'm pretty sure this is something all of us bloggers go through, every now and again. We are constantly on social media, taking in all kinds of different ideas and we tend to get so wrapped up in the entire world of blogging that we can lose touch of our reality. As much as we see some people haul 100€ worth of makeup every week like it's no big deal, the harsh reality is that I don't have that kind of money to spend every month, let alone every week. I can't afford to try out every single drugstore release, especially when some of the items are things I have no actual use for in my daily life. Let's be honest, as much as the metallic lip trend was something I loved to admire from afar on Instagram and Youtube, it's not exactly something I can rock to the office, is it?
By the end of August, I had finally come back to my senses while I was doing a massive clear out of my makeup collection. After only keeping what I actually used enough to justify the purchase, I realised I needed to drastically cut back on my spendings, at least when it came to makeup. Not only that, but fall was also approaching, so I had to prioritise my spendings into updating my closet for the season rather than using it to buy yet another foundation when I still have 5 unfinished bottles glaring back at me from their drawer. That's when I decided I wouldn't purchase any more makeup until the end of 2016 (except whenever something ran out, then I was allowed to buy a back up). And I've got to say, so far I've been doing a great job, if I do say so myself!
I'm not going to lie and say it's been easy. It really hasn't, especially now that both Kat Von D and Huda Beauty are finally being sold at Sephora here in Portugal. I've been tempted plenty of times, but I always try to remind myself not to jump onto the hype train because, believe it or not, I can live on without Kat Von D's Bow and Arrow or Huda Beauty's Trendsetter. On the plus side, I've been able to invest in better clothes and expand my rather small closet. I've also fallen back in love with some of the items in my current makeup collection that used to be hidden in a sea of clutter.
Of course, this doesn't mean I'm never again going to hop onto that hype train. I know I am, eventually. Am I finally going to try out Bow and Arrow or Trendsetter in January? Probably! But I like to think I'll have a better perspective when it comes to my purchases and I'll be able to limit those impulse buys to what I actually want to use or might even need, rather than what everybody in the beauty community is gushing over at the moment.
So don't worry, I'm not going to stop writting about makeup because of this ban. Only two more months (and a half) for it to be over, anyways! Instead, I'm going to focus on what I already have on my collection until the year ends. And, of course, already start working on a Christmas wishlist filled with gorgeous eyeshadow palettes since I need one to replace my very old Makeup Revolution Flawless palette!
I hope you enjoyed this post and don't forget to let me know if you also struggle with keeping up with trends and leave some eyeshadow palette recommendations as well so I can start doing my researching to decide which would be a better investment!
Hello everyone! I hope you had a lovely week (and if you didn't, don't worry, there will surely be better ones ahead!). This week's chatty post will be mainly dedicated to my trip to In Beauty today.
For those of you who don't know, In Beauty is an event where you get to see tons of different brands and special offers and this year it even featured Nyx, which was a big deal for me since the only store in Portugal isn't necessary close (plus you have to pay a bridge toll to get there) so it can get a bit expensive to plan trips there just for the sake of getting some goodies from Nyx - and worse, the demand is so high you rarely ever see the most popular shades, like London or Abu Dhabi from the Soft Matte Lip Cream range. Nevertheless, my friend had two VIP tickets and we decided to visit In Beauty today before starting another busy week of balancing work and university.
Those of you who follow me on Instagram might have seen the picture of all of the swatches I did at the Nyx stand, yet I didn't end up buying anything, much to my dismay. Unlike all other stands, Nyx's was the only one that didn't accept payments in cash, so it was a real hassle to try and find an ATM at a Sunday, past 3pm, where me and my friend could deposit the money to actually return and get our hands on those lip shades we've been dying to own (aka the Liquid Suede liquid lipstick in the shade Sandstorm, for one). Unfortunately, we couldn't find any nearby, so we tried our best not to sulk and redirected our attention to the bath bombs from Bomb Cosmetics, which we both grabbed a handful to drown our sorrows in.
I'm just very disappointed that Nyx didn't think this decision through. A lot of younger girls were at that event, many of which I'm sure didn't even have bank accounts to begin with, so expecting everybody to pay with a card was just a big strain, even more so if you were one of the few that attended the event (to which you have to buy a ticket to get into) only to purchase goodies from Nyx. In the very least, they should have warned us of this detail beforehand, considering they were the exception to the rule across all of the booths we visited. Personally, I had been set on getting Sandstorm and Club Hopper from the Liquid Suede range, plus Dubai from the Soft Matte range - three products that now have to go on my enormous Nyx wishlist, in the vain hope they will be available when I manage to stop by their store (and I say this with many reservations, considering there hasn't been one time Sandstorm was available in the last three times I visited the store).
Besides that little fiasco, we had an amazing time. It was a very nice gathering that I'd definitely visit again (with the company of my card, of course). There was really nothing bad to point out to the event itself, though we only stayed for two hours because very loud music plus crowds equals major headaches for the two of us. I do recommend you visit one of these whenever you get the chance, just be a bit more careful than we were so you can be prepared for these kinds of bumps in the road!
As for the rest of my week, it's been pretty good! Nothing too important to share, though I'm beyond excited for Glory Days and I can't be the only one, right? I am already 1000% in love with the album and it hasn't even debuted yet! Plus, how freaking amazing was Shoutout To My Ex?! Excuse me while I fangirl all night, just like I did when Niall performed at Graham Norton.
If you went to In Beauty or you're just as excited for Little Mix and Niall, let me know in the comments below! I hope you have an amazing week ahead and I'll be back tomorrow at 9am sharp with a Weekly Style Inspiration post to get you through this rainy week we have up ahead!
It seems like forever since I've written one of these chatty posts! They're a personal favourite of mine, not only because I get the chance to vent about what's going on in my life, but also because I feel like I can involve all of you who read my blog into the content I create and my daily struggles (that are as mundane as they can possibly get, but still). Today's chatty post came forth because I wanted to share some news about the blog with you, plus share a little bit about what's been going on in my everyday life since my previous Sunday Chatty Post.
Starting with the blog related topics, the most observant of you might have noticed I added a new link to my top bar, that will redirect you to my posting schedule - that's right, I'm setting a schedule for myself to follow through strictly this time around. It's no secret I used to only write one post per week, sometimes not even that due to hefty university work or actual work related topics that drained any kind of strength I had left. Sadly, that made me neglect this blog far more than I'd like, since it's something I've truly enjoyed doing for the past two years since I've started Amaze In Style.
Now that I finally feel like I'm capable of handling college and work well enough to start being truly productive on the blog, I've decided to go for three posts per week. The first will be posted every Monday morning and it will be a Weekly Style Inspiration post, since I love that little segment and you guys seem to be enjoying it as well, so we're keeping it up and on the actual start of the week from now on! The second post will be a random one, posted every Thursday morning. It can be a lifestyle, fashion or beauty post, be it a haul or a review or just something else that I really want to talk about that week. Finally, the third post will come every Sunday and it will be a chatty post just like this one, where I'll address whatever is on my mind that week, be it Netflix, music, personal life stuff or blog related content.
Moving onto my personal life, as many of you may know, I've gone back to college to finish the third year of my Translation course (though I'm still going to have to come back next year to finish a few classes I had to leave behind, but after that I'm truly done!). Most of you know I had to take a break from college due to financial reasons, because it's no secret I'm not made of money and it really had gotten to the point where I needed to get a job to help pay for my tuition. I've had a steady job for nearly a year now and although it's not the most gratifying one, it pays for my tuition and it helps my mom pay the bills, while still allowing me to buy a few treats for myself on the side, so I truly can't complain. Do I see myself in that job for the rest of my life? Of course not, telemarketing isn't a field I'd like to dive into, but it's a start until I can either get this blog truly going or I can find a job as a translator.
I've also been hauling a few things lately, so I'm thinking of posting a haul this Thursday, including a few high end makeup bits and some Fall clothes as well! In case you don't know, Fall is my absolute favourite season, even if we don't really get those in between seasons any longer here in Portugal, at least not where I live. The weather is still insanely hot in the middle of the day and ridiculously chilly in the early morning and at night time, so I can't go around bundled up in cosy sweaters just yet, but just you wait! I'm already breaking out the deeper lipstick shades as well, which I know for a fact I will be wearing twenty four seven as soon as the temperatures drop.
Before we finish off this week's chatty post, can we just take a moment to collectively fangirl over Harry in Another Man? I've never been prouder of this small bean. Also, I'm still not over This Town or the amazing outfit Jesy Nelson wore to Leigh Anne Pinnock's birthday party! And, as always, Leigh Anne looked absolutely stunning in both her outfits for the night.
If anything happened in your week, feel free to share it with me! Or if you have any other topics you'd like to point out (brand launches, celeb news, etc), I'm a
Even though this blog might not completely show it, fashion has always been a huge part of my life. It's the reason why I started my tumblr, to share my personal style and to find others who inspired me as well. That's how Amaze in Style came to life, because it was just about that - style. How did makeup consume my blog, you ask? Very easy: my body confidence hit an all time low soon after I started this blog.
I've always had a bit of a body complex, even as a child. I was always the chubby girl, the one people teased for how round her cheeks were or how big her stomach was. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about the way other people treated me - it wasn't their fault I weighed as much as I did and I certainly didn't eat more because of their mean words. It just reinforced the same idea over and over again: you're fat. As if I needed a reminder!
It only got tougher growing up. In my teens, I struggled fitting in, because I was still too self conscious of the way I looked, especially when I started comparing myself to other girls my age. Never do that, please. It was my first mistake, to start wishing I could be like other people, since no one is the same - and I speak as someone who has a sister half my size, both in height and weight. If someone who shares my genes looks nothing like me, I should have never ambitioned to be like people completely foreign to my own person. So, please, if you're going through what I did, stop comparing yourself to others. You'll be a whole lot happier if you focus on yourself instead.
My lack of confidence got to a point where I never wore tight clothes and I was sucking my stomach in as much as possible during the day - to the point where I did it without even realising it. Now, don't worry, this post isn't heading where you may think it's heading. No, I didn't develop any kind of eating disorder or anything like that. Instead, my body confidence kept deteriorating and I dreaded being weighed in P.E. classes, knowing I'd be so above average in comparison with everyone else. Even as my growth spurt hit and I suddenly became 5'7'' (1.70 meters for my fellow European peeps) it didn't really help. Sure, all the fat was making its way somewhere else as my body grew, so I didn't look as chubby as before, but I was still overweight and I hated it. I hated not being able to wear crop tops like other girls. I hated having to cover my stomach with my arms crossed in front of it while out on the beach.
The worst part of it was the fear of being teased. Of being called fat and having people laughing at me. It's pretty hard to enjoy your time on the beach with your family when you're constantly thinking whether or not your love handles or your fat rolls are showing. It's even harder to go out shopping for clothes, knowing half the stuff will be too tight, the other half will look downright weird on your body shape, and in the end you leave the changing room frustrated with not only yourself, but also the fashion industry altogether. Because even though you're not obese, you still can't find clothes that fit nicely if you're overweight. You're either a size 34 or you're too big for most clothing stores.
Despite it all, I still loved fashion. I had so many bloggers, youtubers and also celebrities whose style inspired me to dress better, but none of them had the same body type as me, so I was only wishfully thinking at that point. That's why I sort of gave up on fashion, because I also felt like it gave up on people like me, who are looking for clothes for a pick me up, not a cold reminder of how inadequate they are in comparison to everyone else.
I pretty much started wearing only baggy knit sweaters, that went down to my mid thigh, so that it hid my stomach altogether. I avoided shorts like the plague and I even stole a considerable amount of baggy sweatshirts from my younger brother, who was also overweight for his age (he's doing much better now, lost almost 20kg). I was wearing what hid my imperfections the best instead of working hard to change my outlook on my body.
I know a lot of you will think: why didn't you just go on a diet? Why didn't you exercise? It's easy to sit around and mope about what you wish you could have, but you didn't really try to get healthier, did you? The truth is I'm not an athletic person. I'm not using my lack of coordination and stamina as an excuse. But years of being mocked in P.E. classes for not being able to run for as long as everyone else, for truly sucking at basketball and other sports to the point where people are yelling at you and blaming you for their team losing doesn't exactly promote exercising to me. I truly hated team sports the most, because I felt like I was always the dead weight and no one was willing to teach me and help me improve. It was so much easier to blame me for the team's loss instead. Solo exercises weren't as bad, I actually quite liked dancing and overall warming up exercises, but just the thought of joining a gym so I could run a treadmill at a sub par pace, to imagine everyone in that same gym looking at me as if I didn't belong there - that was my biggest hurdle to overcome.
So yes, for the longest time, I refused to exercise, due to past experiences and current social anxiety. It finally took one hell of a P.E. teacher in my senior year of high school to shape me up (and I'm still ever so thankful to that woman for knocking some bloody sense into my head and those of my fellow classmates) and helping me lose 10kg. It was a great start, don't get me wrong, but it was nowhere near the finish line for me. In case you're wondering, back at my lowest point, I weighed 75kg. Now, some of you might not think that's such a big deal for someone who is 1.70 meters, but on my body structure it was. I had fat in all the places I shouldn't have and lacked in the places I'd love to have some (aka my flatter than pancakes bottom).
But the real question still remains: why choose makeup over fashion? I always loved writing and I didn't want to give up on this blog, so makeup seemed like the next step. In it, I found the kind of acceptance I couldn't find when I wore nice clothes. The good thing about makeup is that it's universal - sure, I may be too fair for some brands foundations to work and we don't all contour with the same shade, but there's options and your makeup can look on point, no matter what your gender, age, body type is. Makeup allowed me to stop feeling crappy about my weight and start focusing on the features I liked and wanted to enhance instead. It was a breath of much needed fresh air.
In case you're wondering, I'm currently 65kg. Yes, the same weight I was back in my senior year. I'm still not one hundred percent happy, I do still want to lose a bit more weight and especially tone my body, but for now I don't feel the need to cover my stomach with my arms when I'm down to a bikini - so that's an improvement! Since I'm not in highschool anymore, I can't rely on my trusted P.E. teacher to help me work out, so instead I'm relying on my mother, who is amazing at motivating me to do better - plus it gives me a chance to hang out with her more often. Overall, I'm happy with the path I'm taking and I'm excited for Summer to arrive, because I usually eat the healthiest when the warm weather rolls up.
But the question remains: have I given up on fashion altogether? Of course not. In fact, I'm hoping to start bringing fashion back into the blog, one way or another. As soon as I feel confident enough to start posting OOTD's again, you can be sure I will! I never intended for this blog to be solely about makeup and I still want to keep that oath to myself. Of course, this doesn't mean I'll stop writing about makeup altogether, especially since it's not a major part in my life, but I hope to bring back some more diversity into Amaze In Style. Even if my fashion posts never attracted as much attention to the blog as the beauty posts did, I still want to write them for myself. I want this blog to be something I'm proud of, so it would be unfair to neglect my fashion side for analytics sakes. So stay tuned, a lot more fashion coming your way in the near future!
I hope you all enjoyed this post (if you managed to read through all of this, you're awesome). I just really needed to get this off my chest. If you're stuggling with body confidence, please know I'm here if you need someone to talk to. You shouldn't have to go through it alone. And if you have your own thoughts or stories you'd like to share about this topic, feel free to do so in the comments below.
It's been a while since I've done one of these! Too many months, actually (and yes, I am aware my last chatty post was on a Friday, but I decided to put a #2 anyways, since this is the second one in the series). The truth is, since so much stuff happened this week that kept me busy, I didn't have enough time to put into another beauty post. So instead of cranking up a mediocre post on a rush, I decided to take this time to just let you all in on what's up in my life - the good, the bad, the new, and so on! As per usual on my more personal posts, the images I use are taken from my Instagram, to give you a better feel of what's been going on with me outside this blog.
First of all, I finally joined Snapchat over this week. I was always a bit unsure on whether to make an account or not, since I wasn't sure if I'd be able to be active on it, but here we are! You can find me there as amazeinstyle and let me know if there's anything in specific you'd like me to show you there, be it my makeup collection or anything else of the sort.
Moving onto what actually kept me so busy during this week, I kept job hunting (going to some interviews and whatnot), which took up a lot of my time. The good news is that I did manage to score a spot, I believe! It's nothing too fancy, and I'm only in training starting tomorrow through to the 25th. But fingers crossed, if I pass the training stage, I'll have a steady job! It is a part time job, only 4 hours later in the day, so it shouldn't mess up my blogging schedule at all, don't worry. Besides, it will allow me to start buying some more things to review in the future!
I also managed to go out for a bit on Saturday with one of my friends. We went downtown to Chiado, did a little bit of window shopping and updated our Christmas lists, and of course, we had a Starbucks skinny Mocha and Caramel Macchiato for the way. I'm really excited for Christmas and all the goodies I'll be getting, I can't wait until the time comes when I can make a post showing you all I got!
Also, who else is obsessed with 5SOS new album? Jet Black Heart is definitely one of my favourites right now. I feel like so much good music is coming out lately - first if was Ariana's Focus, then Get Weird (love A.D.I.D.A.S., Secret Love Song and Love Me Or Leave Me) and Sounds Good Feels Good, not to mention Made in the AM ... I'm not sure I can handle much more! I'm thinking of sharing with you some of my current favourite songs at the moment, so let me know if you'd like to see that in another post.
Guess who changed their minds about their hair again? In October I was all about going blonder, hopefully more platinum than the current golden/strawberry blonde shade I have going on. But as time went by, I realised my ends are very damaged, so I really need to cut it - and then I came upon that picture on Pinterest and it completely changed my mind. I'm not going to cut it to medium-ish length next month, plus add on a couple more highlights all over. It's not such a radical change as what I originally had in mind, but I think it will suit these colder days perfectly!
Onto darker subjects, we all know by now the tragedy that took place in Paris (and Baghdad, Japan, Beirut). My heart goes out to all the families who are currently dealing with their loss. I know a lot of people are uncomfortable with the hashtag #prayforparis and alike, since they are not religious and they believe praying won't help their current situation. Not being very religious myself, I can understand where they're coming from. So I'll simply tell you all, if you're unfortunate enough to be affected by these tragedies, that my heart goes out to you in these hard times.
