The One You Feed

There were not all too many things I lived by, I didn't have a life full of routines, although my cup of strawberry tea with milk and a little sweetener ever morning would never go away and I didn't get inspired or motivated very easily. Even though this was case for a very long time, I still tried my best to find a quote or saying that would suit me. I read through lists and lists of quotes, Pinterest became my best friend and I even tried coming up with my own! But I could find nothing that made me think differently, something that made me feel like it was something to live by and eventually I gave up...

This might sound terribly overdramatized, but I really felt as if I needed something like that to remind myself that I couldn't just sit around all day doing nothing, feeling miserable. Sometimes you just need to stop looking for things and wait till they come on your path. And on my path it came! The thing I was yearning for, not exactly a quote or a saying, but something to live by nonetheless. It was a tale and it goes something like this:

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson
about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between
two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil.
It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed,
arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies,
false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good.
It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute
and then asked his grandfather:
"Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

—A Native American Metaphor

 At first sight I didn't really think about it that much, yet somehow it got stuck in my head and for days I kept on thinking about it. And then one evening when I thought I had messed everything up that could be messed up, I was in my room crying and telling myself how stupid I was and that it was all my fault and after that I started to blame the world and everything in it and kept doing that with raising anger... Let's say that I didn't handle my emotions very well at the time... But then it suddenly hit me: I was feeding the bad! I was feeding the anger, the envy and the regret. I wasn't doing myself any good and I knew that it was only going to get worse if I kept doing this. So I got up, made myself some tea, wrote a letter to myself to get my thoughts straight and went for a run, to really let everything out.

 

Now, I have to be honest and say that this particular night didn't change my life drastically, but it did make me more aware of what I do everyday. I try to ask myself every evening whether I have fed the good more instead of the bad and somehow it gives me peace and goals to follow.

The reason I tell you this is because I'm really curious if you have things that you live for or quotes you truly stand by. Let me know!

♥ Love, Vivian

20 Random Facts About Me

Good morning! Today I wanted to share 20 random facts about myself with you, hope you enjoy!

1. I've had a Scoliosis surgery back in 2011. It sucked.
2. I have a secret passion for 80s rap music, but the Beatles will forever be my favorite band.
3. My biggest fear are sink holes. I get sweaty hands only thinking about them. *shivers*
4. I absolutely love sports and exercise, but I'm not very good at it.
5. I love travelling, it's my favorite thing to do. I practically save up all my money, just so I can travel.
   
6. I'm messy. My room is especially messy, but my notebooks never are.
7. I can't throw stuff out. I have the hardest time doing so.
8. I write myself letters, that I never send.
9. I adore books like Listography, Wreck this Journal and One line a day. It's really fun and I recommend you to try one or more.
10. I run instead of taking anti-depressants. It works really well for me. 
11. I adore attention, but I don't ask for it in a loud annoying matter
12.  I drink Strawberry tea with almond milk and sweetner every. single. morning. No exeptions
13. I don't eat meat, because I hate the way it tastes. I do eat fish.
14. My agenda is always full. Having to plan an appointment with me is never easy.
15. I can't dance. I just can't.
16. I ran my first 10 mile race yesterday and I'm pretty proud of myself ^^
    
17. My friends describe me as the most random person they have ever met.
18. History class is my absolute favorite class
19. I get forced every year to celebrate my birthday. I succeeded in not celebrating it only once.
20. I own about 200 bottles of nailpolish and I bought maybe 45 myself, the rest were gifts.

What are some random facts about you?

♥ Love, Vivian 

KIKO Energy Mask

Do you have an oily skin? A skin prone to breakouts? A skin that needs detoxifying? Or just a skin? Well, I might have found the perfect mask for you! This energizing mask by KIKO looks pretty cool because of its black colour, but is it any good? Let's find out!

 First of all, Kiko chose a very hygenic way of packaging their masks. You don't have to dunk your hand in a pot which will only get bacteria in it. The tube is pretty small so you can easily take it with you while travelling.
The packaging itself looks a bit too plain if you ask me, but I know that a lot of people like its look.

The active ingredients in this mask are the Kaolin and the Magnesium. Kaolin soothes dry skin and reduces oilyness and magnesium prevents wrinkles and combats skin allergies, such as eczema.

Now for the real test: my skin before and after the mask

So you'll probably notice the redness on my chin, but that's from the warm water I used. My skin does in fact look a bit smoother, though my pimples were only reduced a tiny bit the next day. Not as spectacular as I was hoping for.
My skin doesn't feel dry, which, for my sensitive skin, is a good thing.

The KIKO Energy mask costs: €5.99

Verdict:  Comparing price with quality, this mask is a pretty good deal. The packaging is pretty handy and stirdy but not expensive looking. The mask itself doesn't do wonders for your skin but it does make it look a bit better. Overall I would recommend this mask to those of you who have an easy to take care of skin, but still want a little extra.

What masks do you use?

♥ Love, Vivian

My Lake Garda Vacation: Day 13-18

Here it is! Finally the last part of my lake Garda picture diary. It took a while but we're finally ready to share it with you. The last days were days of hiking and visiting Venice as well as Milan. Here we go!

July 20th - Day 13

My Lake Garda Vacation: Day 7-12

Part 2/3 of my vacation diary. Day 7-12 where I went to visit Verona and Sirmione, hopped on a cable car and went swimming in the lake. Let's get started!

July 14th (Day 7)

The water of Lake Garda was pretty cold

Feeling like a child on the monkey bars :D

My Lake Garda Vacation: Day 1-6

Hey lovelies! I just got back from my vacation to Italy and I thought it would be fun to show you what I did there :P Here is the first part of my vacation adventures :) I've decided to split it in three separate post because I didn't want to make these too long. That would be boring. Let's get cracking!
Day 1 (Tuesday 8 July)

We started out leaving the rainy Netherlands with me driving. Since I'm only 17 I'm only alowed to drive in NL, so that is what I did. I was travelling with my mom and one of my friends.

L'Oréal Subtle Soft Micellar Make-Up Removers

Micellar water, models swear by it, celebs swear by it and even make-up artists like, Lisa Eldridge, use them in their daily routine. But what makes this water so good? And why would you spend money on cleansing... water..? Well, I will explain all of that in this post. Plus I'll review the new micellar cleansers by L'Oréal.