Friday 30 September 2016

Makeup Do's and Don'ts

It's finally Friday πŸ˜†πŸ˜†! First week of uni is officially done and dusted (there's a long waaaay to go thoughπŸ˜“). However for the time being we can just enjoy the weekend ❤.

Let's start off this weekend by helping you look better next time you do your makeup. The following are makeup Do's and Don'ts which I learned through videos and past mistakes. I'm sure we all are guilty of doing some of the things mentioned below. Let's jump right in!

  1. It's extremely important to prime up your face before applying any makeup. This can be done with any primer you might have bought. It also helps if you apply moisturizer beforehand which can also act as a primer. 
  2. Make sure (please really do!) that your foundation matches your skin tone. If you have a lighter tone to your face compared to your neck, match the foundation to your neck so that both skin tones match. 
  3. Also, do blend your foundation down to your neck so that everything will be seamless and no edges will be seen. 
  4. Apply eye shadow before concealer so that any fallouts would be easily cleaned up by the concealer without having to apply tons of makeup. 
  5. Concealer should be one or two shades lighter than your foundation for under the eyes. I'd recommend using the same shade as your foundation to cover up pimples and imperfections so that these areas are not highlighted. 
  6. Concealer under the eyes should be applied in a downward triangle to illuminate the area without drawing too much focus directly under the eyes. 
  7. Once concealer is applied, set it with translucent powder to make it last longer. 
  8. Don't apply a huge amount of blush - we don't want any clowns around!
  9. While filling in your eyebrows go in with a light hand and don't use shades that are too dark compared to your natural shade. Remember that for your eyebrows to look more natural; the inner part of the brow is lighter than the end of the brow so don't fill them in too much!
  10. Don't apply concealer around your entire eyebrows as this would make them look very fake and unnatural. 
  11. However, do conceal under the brow bone to accentuate and highlight the area. 
  12. Do use an eye primer, this will help the colours stay put and last longer.
  13. Start your eye shadow by applying a light colour all over your eyelid, this will help with building up the colours and with blending. 
  14. Don't apply shimmery colours in your crease, the colour used in the crease has to add depth. 
  15. If your eye shadow look is dark apply a light colour on the insides to brighten and open your eyes up. 
  16. Don't clump up your eyelashes! 
  17. Don't over-line your lips too much - this will not look good!
  18. Apply lip balm before applying matte liquid lipsticks so that your lips will not dry out and crack.
  19. If you need to clean up the edges of your lips from excess lipstick just grab a small angled brush dip it in concealer and go over the areas you need to clean up. This will also make your lips look more sharp and accentuated.
  20. Highlighter should only be applied in small amounts - you don't want to look like a discoball!
Hope you find these tips and tricks helpful and if you were doing something wrong now you know! 
Happy weekend to all 😘
With love,
DP XXX


Don't forget to find us on social media for little sneak peeks of blogs before they are public, preparations, planning and more of Distorted Priorities!

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Wednesday 28 September 2016

Travel Series #1 - Greece Part 2

Welcome to the 2nd part of Travel Series #1 ! If you missed the first one and you'd like to start from there just click here!

Let's start off this post with possibly the highlight of Athens - the Acropolis! It is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating things that exist in the world. I'd recommend giving this gem a whole day's time to explore each and every nook of it with extreme ease and detail. I suggest that you'd travel to this place by metro as there is a stop which gets you exactly at the foot of the hill and it's a perfect starting point.

Acropolis means the highest point of the city. Various ruins were found here dating back to the Neolithic Age. When I arrived there all I could think and imagine was how it was back when the Greek Gods ruled. I'm quite keen on Greek mythology as I'm both a Percy Jackson fan (great book series and films!!) and also I studied philosophy at intermediate level. My imagination did run wild seeing those huge and vast temples now in ruins but still majestic. What awes me the most is how did they build them!? Those high ceilings , massive columns and intricate details in the rocks. I was awestruck the whole time I spent exploring this magical place.

Going up the hill you'll start encountering the ruins of temples and the theatre of Dionysus which is the first theatre in history! The front seats are made out of marble and it had the capacity of 17,000 spectators.

Dionysos' chair.


Going up further you'll find, in my opinion, the second greatest thing that you'll find on this hill. This is the Odeum of Herodus Atticus which is another theatre this time Roman-type. Back in its day it had three stories and was covered by a roof of cedar wood. At present its roofless and two-storied as it was destroyed by time. However its grandeur still stands with its impressive facade and the view which compliments its splendour. This is still used every summer to host performances of ancient drama, concerts, ballet and opera. If you get the chance to attend one of the events there I'm sure that it will be an unforgettable experience - unfortunately there wasn't an event at the time that I was there.

Odeum of Herodus Atticus
Moving on you'll continue your journey on a winding road which will lead you to a breathtaking entrance to the main temples. Flights of steps all made out of marble leading to huge columns and architectural treasures - truly an entrance of Gods.

As you'll climb these steps watch out for the temples and buildings of the sides such as the Temples of Athena Nike and the Pinakotheke.

Its time to talk about one of the miracles of architecture - the Parthenon. I was awestruck and literally lost for words seeing this magnificent building live for the first time in my life. The pictures do it no justice and no matter how many different photos from different angles and what not, they do not measure up to a fraction of its actuality. I felt so small near the huge columns which surround and support the whole temple. Today's buildings are shit near it. No machinery and they still managed to build a huge temple with intricate detail, columns in Doric style - 46 in total - and it survived the age of time. At present there are major restoration works in progress, they are reconstructing the temple from the ruins found on the hill itself. It's no easy job but the dedication and endless work is leaving its mark.




The whole list of temples and other sanctuaries found on the Acropolis is 
  • Erechtheion
  • Parthenon
  • Pinakotheke
  • Chalkotheke
  • Proplyaia
  • Brauroneion
  • Stoa of Eumenes
  • Temple of Athena Nike
  • Odeum of Herodus Atticus
As you can see it is impossible to write about each and every one of them so I discussed what most impressed me. However, I'd recommend that you'd research briefly about each of them before visiting as it would make much more sense once you're there. Knowing their story would place a picture n your mind about how they were used and when seeing them they would not just be a pile of stones. 

Also, I'd recommend visiting the new Acropolis Museum as there are numerous remains which were found on and around the Acropolis such as marble statues and sculptures. Worth a visit for sure! 

Moving on to other places around Athens we'll now go to Plaka which is found under the Acropolis. This is a very small town which is easily and best discovered by foot. There is a settlement known as 'Anaphiotika' which is uniquely built by immigrants back in 1840. Their houses were built without planning permission and everyone did as they liked. This resulted in many houses near each other, many of which have very strange layouts. I remember we went up high in their winding and narrow streets exploring the way ahead. At one point we reached a house built very high which had a stunning view! Some of these houses are still inhabited and very curated.




Plaka is also very popular for its night life. With is many restaurants and bars offering Greek food and music there is no doubt that you'll find somewhere spectacular to eat and enjoy the night. One of the most popular bars is actually Brettos Bar - it dates back to 1909 and it kept the same technique of distillery and style of bottles. The colourful bottles alone invites you in into a unique experience! 

Typical restaurants found in Plaka.

Brettos Bar 

Another attraction which deserves a mention is the Panathenaic Stadium. This is one of the most impressive monuments in Athens. It was constructed initially in the fourth century BC. Here the first athletics competitions were held. Then it was rebuilt in the 2nd century AD by Herodes Atticus much larger and with marble seats, it could accommodate 50,000 spectators . It again fell into ruins and was then restored to its glory in order to host the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. 


The last neighbourhood which we'll be visiting in today's post is Psyrri. The is one of the oldest working-class neighbourhoods of Athens. Until a few years ago, Psyrri was a mosaic of humble houses, numerous churches, small manufacturing businesses, machine shops and workshops. 

Today this picture has changed radically. The neighbourhood is being upgraded continuously and has developed into the place where young people hang out. Bars, clubs, restaurants, theatres and mezes bars with live music create a lively entertainment scene, especially at night. 
For those 'Friends' fans, there is an ice cream shop named for the show😁.
While in Psyrri I'd highly recommend eating at Krasopoulio. The food is delicious, prices are highly affordable and most importantly the service is very good! Find their Facebook page here!


That's it for this post, hope that you found it useful and enjoyable! In 2 weeks time it will be the last Greek post that we'll post so stay tuned for the last Greek blastπŸ˜‰. Thank you all for reading our posts and for leaving feedback. 😘

With love, 
DP XXX

Don't forget to find us on social media for little sneak peeks of blogs before they are public, preparations, planning and more of Distorted Priorities!

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Monday 26 September 2016

September Favourites

Happy Monday beauties!😘

So with the month of September drawing to an end I decided to share with you my favourite things that I used or wore non-stop in the month of September from makeup, clothing to music. You'll find all the links to the products (if you wish to buy them) and links to the music (if you wish to hear them!) down below. Let's not waste time and get into today's post! Hope you enjoy it 😁.

Beauty and Makeup
1. ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip - 'Chi'
A couple of months ago I bought a few lipsticks (and by a few I mean A LOT) by ColourPop which is probably my favourite lipstick brand right now (I will insert a photo of the package below). I found out about this brand while watching my favourite youtuber 'Jeanine Amapola' swatch these beauties ❤. 'Chi' is a brownish-nude colour and it's also matte which I love. However when you apply it, it does not dry too quickly so it gives you time to fix it and apply it however you want. I also bought the matching lipliner which is not expensive at all. I bought them using Malta Post's Send on as they did not ship to Malta, but, GOOD NEWS, ColourPop now does international shipping! You're welcome πŸ˜‰.




2. Kiko Pearly Eye Base Primer
I bought this together with the Kiko Face Primer (which will be my next favourite) while I was in Cologne (Germany) a couple of weeks ago. They had 70% off almost half of their store so you can imagine my happiness once I entered the store! What I loved about this product is that apart from being a great eye primer, it does not crease my eyeshadow and it really highlights your eyelids.

3. Kiko City Filter Sunscreen (FacePrimer)
This product has SPF 50 plus it is also a great primer for using it before applying your foundation or concealer - highly recommend.


4. Benefit Hoola Matte Bronzer
I've tried contouring a couple of times and although I'm not perfect - I got the gist of it! I started using the NYX Contouring and Highlighting palette and I love it. However, I received the Hoola Bronzer as a birthday present a couple of months ago and I've heard so many great things about it that I was really excited to try it out. I love it particularly because it is not of thick consistency or hard to shape with and therefore it allows you to use your brush properly to shape your face to give it more definition.



5. Benefit Roller Lash Curling Mascara
I got this product as part of my birthday present from my friends too. I always knew it was a good mascara but I never thought it was this good. To begin with the brush is quite small compared to other mascara wands. This will help when applying mascara especially to the lower lashes as you can easily apply a coat of mascara to each individual lash without any clumps. Also, with just two coats (I normally apply an average of 4-5 coats to give my lashes more of a fuller look) it gives your lashes a lot of volume and length as if you are wearing fake lashes when in fact you're not!


Clothing
6. Black and White Leotard
I love this piece. You can wear it with shorts or skirts or even with high waisted jeans especially now that the colder days are soon upon us. And the best part is that it won't even show that you're wearing a leotard!
I wore my leotard when I was in Gozo last week. I paired it with a black skirt and white converse.

Music
7. Let Me Love You - DJ Snake ft. Justin Bieber
8. Perfect Strangers - Jonas Blue ft. JP Cooper
9. Closer - The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey
10. Hey - Afrojack
11. Gone - Afrojack
12. Say You Won't Let Go - James Arthur

That is all for today! Hope you enjoyed today's post and we'll see you on Wednesday for Part 2 of the Travel Series 😊. Links of the makeup and music mentioned above are listed below.

Take care,
DP XXX

Links:
Makeup
1. ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip - Chi
    ColourPop Lipliner - Chi
2. Kiko Pearly Eye Base Primer
3. Kiko City Filter Sunscreen (Face Primer)
4. Benefit Hoola Matte Bronzer
5. Benefit Roller Lash Curling Mascara

Music
9. Let Me Love You - DJ Snake ft. Justin Bieber
10. Perfect Strangers - Jonas Blue ft. JP Cooper
11. Closer - The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey
12. Hey - Afrojack
13. Gone - Afrojack
14. Say You Won't Let Go - James Arthur

Don't forget to find us on social media for little sneak peeks of blogs before they are public, preparations, planning and more of Distorted Priorities!

'Like' us on Facebook: Distorted Priorities
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Follow us on Twitter for regular updates: @distortedblogs
Follow us on our official Instagram and our personal ones too:
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Friday 23 September 2016

How to clean makeup tools + makeup organization

Hi everyone πŸ™‹ It's Friday and that can only mean one thing! New blog post is up πŸ˜„

After all that makeup we used during summer for parties, dinners, lunches and other activities; our brushes and sponges are probably disgusting right now. I washed mine a couple of days ago - just to get an idea of how dirty they were .. I spent about 10 minutes squeezing foundation and concealer out of my beauty blender..😣

Therefore today I will be sharing with you how I clean my brushes and what I use to store my makeup. Just a little disclaimer - this is my way of cleaning my brushes, there are hundreds of ways that you can do this but I thought this was the best way to do it plus there is no incorrect way here. As usual you'll find the links to some of the products mentioned at the end of the blog. Let's get cleaning!

I first start with my brushes. I use 3 things to do this - water, soap and disinfectant. What I like to do is grab a small plastic container (you will be throwing this away after you're done or keep using it only for cleaning your brushes) and 'mix' all these 3 together - so a little bit of water, some soap and some disinfectant (the amounts vary according to the number of brushes you need to clean). You're going to grab the brush, dip it slightly into the container (make sure you dip all of your brush) and then you're going to move the brush on the back of your hand in a circular motion.You will see the product (especially if it's a foundation or contouring brush) coming out of the brush on the palm of your hands. Keep doing so until no more product comes out of the brush - dip the brush multiple times if need be. Then simply rinse it off with water. I then place some tissue paper on a clean surface in the bathroom and place my brushes on it and let them air dry. It is important that you place the brushes horizontally and not vertically in some type of container because otherwise the excess water will get inside the brush and slowly starts to remove the glue that holds the brush together.

Brushes placed on a clean surface ready to be cleaned.

This is the antibacterial I use. You can purchase this from any pharmacy.
For the beauty blender, as you know, you cannot repeat the previous process because the sponge will simply absorb the water and soap. So I had bought a specific beauty blender cleaner and I apply a generous amount on the areas where I see foundation and concealer.
The product I use to clean my beauty blenders.
Move around the product on the sponge and then squeeze it - you'll start to see all the foundation and concealer coming out of it. I like to place it under tap water and squeeze it under the water until it is clean and fresh. You'll probably have to repeat the process a couple of times to get the beauty blender completely clean. Leave it to dry on a piece of tissue paper.

Tip: You'll realize that you have to change your beauty blender when you notice holes that are slightly large and you feel the beauty blender too light.

A dirty beauty blender that needs to be cleaned - it will be as good as new!

A dirty beauty blender that needs to be thrown away. Notice that you can barely see the edges.
After all of the brushes and makeup tools are dry and clean, you'll need somewhere to put them. Now I used to store them in a white makeup bag (from Carpisa) but once my makeup collection started expanding it was getting irritating to 'dive' for my makeup brushes or small makeup products at the bottom of the bag.
Makeup bag from Carpisa.
Therefore, I use this bag only whenever I travel or whenever I'm going to my friends' house and I have to take my makeup with me. I purchased all of my makeup organizers I use at the moment from Ebay for super cheap. You just type ''makeup organizers'' in the search box and choose your favourite.

I have two organizers where I put all my foundations, primers, eyeliners and lip liners, concealers, blushes and mascaras. I just place them wherever I feel they fit best.  Then I have another makeup organizer which I use only for the lipsticks and lipglosses (yes, I'm a lip junky). For my brushes I purchased two black containers with a butterfly detail on the front to place them there.

This is how I store them (you can move around the items however you like). I do have another makeup organizer but it's very similar to the first one so I did not include a photo of it. I included photos of the organizers with makeup in it so that you'll get an idea of how it will look plus the empty containers do not really show since they're transparent.







That is all for today! I hope this helped you in some way and that you found this post useful πŸ˜€
Don't forget to find us on social media for little sneak peeks of blogs before they are public, preparations, planning and more of Distorted Priorities!

'Like' us on Facebook: Distorted Priorities
Send us an email - we'd love to hear from you (could be from response to blog suggestions): distortedpriorities@gmail.com
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Follow us on our official Instagram and our personal ones too:
Official Instagram: distortedpriorities
Deborah's Instagram: deborahsaliba97
Yanica's Instagram: yanica97

Links:
Beauty-Blender Cleaner (similar to mine)
Brush Holder (butterfly detail)
Makeup organizers

Happy weekend beauties! Take care and we'll see you next Monday πŸ’œ
DP XXX

Wednesday 21 September 2016

Back to School Outfits

Hi everyone πŸ˜„

I'm stoked to be writing my first blog post! I hope you enjoy it and find it useful πŸ˜ƒ Let's begin!

So school is coming up and even though we try to deny the fact that the summer bliss will soon be over; it won't make our last couple of days of summer break go by any slower!! So I decided to prepare for you '5 Back to School Outfits' which will get you in the 'school spirit'. The outfits can be worn for school, university or even simply on a day-to-day basis.

I asked 5 of our friends to help us showcase these five outfits. I hope that this will help as an outfit inspiration.

Outfit #1

This is my go-to outfit.....ALL YEAR ROUND πŸ˜‚ It's my monday-ugh-back-to-school outfit  πŸ˜΄ Let's face it, all I want to do on a Monday morning (especially if I have an 8am lecture) is just over-sleep, so naturally I just don't put any effort in my outfit because most probably I am running late! This is why I created this look; it's super comfy and easy to re-create while still looking presentable wearing it. Here, Jessica is wearing a ripped ankle-length denim jeans. Then she wore a baggy striped shirt and paired it with a pair of red converse to complete this comfy look. As a bag we decided that a backpack would go great with this outfit so we opted for a simple brown one.



Outfit #2


This is what I like to call the neutral outfit. Ilona paired a white tank top (you can wear a black or white kimono over it if you cannot wear tank tops to university or school) with some light washed high waisted jeans and a pair of simple white sneakers. You can switch up the shoes to any colour you want if you're wearing a white tank as white goes with literally anything. You can also opt for a blank tank top instead. For carrying the school necessities we opted for a long strap white handbag with brown and black.



Outfit #3

For the third outfit I decided to go for a 'pastel-themed' look. Beverly wore a light pink lacey t-shirt with some light washed jeans.  Keeping the number of colours to a minimum she paired it with pink sneakers that give the outfit that pop of colour it needs. You can do this with any colour obviously; though my favourite colours would have to be brown, red, blue or pink. If the lacey t-shirt is see-through because of the lace detail you can wear a tank top underneath it - in this case Beverly's shirt is a light pink (almost nude) so a skin colour or nude tank top would be great. For handbag we chose a simple black one for those days when you don't have too many things to carry.



Outfit #4

If you're looking for a simple outfit with that extra pop of colour, I got you covered! Denise here is wearing a dark washed jeans with a simple black ballerina shoes. What ties this outfit together is the sleeveless shirt that she is wearing both because of its colour and its style. This shirt is a neon coral shirt which has the bottom part of it tied in a knot. You can obviously opt for a long sleeve shirt or simply throw a cardigan over the shirt ! We chose a backpack with an aztec design for Denise's look.




Outfit #5

So I decided to name this outfit 'The Friday Look'. This outfit is that kind of outfit that you prepare on a Thursday night for you to wear the next morning because you're too excited that the next day will be the last school day of the week! Megan paired a black ripped jeans with a checked shirt. She also wore a simple necklace that I believe ties the outfit together, however, you can remove the accessory. For shoes, we opted for a black and white Nike's which I really love with this outfit. You can wear any type of sneakers from converse, regular sneakers or even in particular the Adidas Superstar sneakers that would also look perfect with this outfit. A simple black handbag that is slightly bigger than that in Outfit #3 is perfect for this look.




That is all for today! I want to say thank you to these lovely ladies for helping us out with this post. You can find their Instagram accounts below if you'd like to give them a follow! As usual don't forget to follow us on all of our social media (links below) to stay updated and be notified when new blog posts are published. Feel free to comment any suggestions or citique regarding our blog. You may also send us an email on distortedpriorities@gmail.com.

Like us on Facebook: Distorted Priorities
Follow us on Twitter for regular updates: @distortedblogs
Follow us on our official Instagram and our personal ones too:
Official Instagram: distortedpriorities
Deborah's Instagram: deborahsaliba97
Yanica's Instagram: yanica97


We'll see you next Monday for another post! Happy weekend beauties πŸ˜™
DP XXX


Jessica's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessbriffa/
Ilona's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilonavella98/
Beverly's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beverly_x_x/
Denise's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denisebartolo97/
Megan's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megan_briffa_/