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Love,

Teja xoxo

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Deborah and Soul Fishing's Giveaway! (CLOSED)

Hello, lovelies!

Guess what Soul Fishing is giving away this time? 

YES! The gorgeous Deborah absolute volume mascara, the only beauty product that I'd given 10/10 since I've started blogging (read all about it here). Seriously, I love using it. With an oversized brush, it makes my eyelashes look naturally long and sexy, no annoying clumps, so it doesn't smell funny like some mascaras, which is a total win. And it has a very original packaging reminds me a bit of the swinging sixties:) 

Enter the giveaway by leaving a comment below this post and writing your email address, so I'll know who to contact in case you win;)

Then, very importantly:

LIKE Deborah Slovenija's Facebook page
and LIKE Soul Fishing Blog's Facebook page
and FOLLOW Soul Fishing Blog on Instagram  (@soulfishingblog)

And that's all you need to do. Just two clicks on the Like Button and you're in the game of winning this lovely Deborah absolute volume mascara.

The Giveaway only applies to people living in Slovenia!

The giveaway ends on Friday, May 23 2014 at 11:00 am local time.

How will Soul Fishing choose a winner?
By using a random number tool www.random.org

I have never entered a giveaway before. How do I do that? 
You can read my article here.

Happy liking! :)

Love,

Teja xoxo

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REVIEW: My Mascara Guide

I used to think that all mascaras were completely the same, the only ting differentiating them from another was the package. Okay, and maybe the slightly bigger or smaller brush. Well, now a few years later I have to admit that, well,... I was... less right.

I was sixteen when I started using my first mascara, I basically just picked the first thing that came to my hand, which happened to be the pink one, Great Lash, from Maybelline. At that time, I used to apply mascara only to my upper lashes, not the bottom ones because I thought that having mascara on the bottom lashes looked... weird. Mind you, I do apply mascara on my upper and bottom lashes now.

The Maybelline label is pretty solid, it did the job, and if you're looking for a simple, classic mascara for everyday look, I'd say go for the Maybelline Great Lash. I personally did repurchase it about three more times. Why I stopped using it, you ask? Because in the 00s, the advertisers started bombarding the customers with new full volume mascaras. And what teenage girl wouldn't want to have super big lashes to bat at her latest crush?

I've tried all kinds of full volume mascaras, from Maybelline's Full and Soft to the really cheap ones from Essence, I think it was called BIG LASHES. The Essence label kind of let me down, my eyelashes were clumpy and I just wasn't satisfied with the product. I did like Maybelline's Full and Soft, but it's no longer being produced.

Let's go back to the future, my current favorites, after more than ten years of using mascara almost every day would have to be (and I am starting at the bottom here) Max Factor's 2000 Calorie Dramatic Volume, L' Oreal's newest Miss Manga mascara and Deborah's 24 ORE Volume Mascara.

Max Factor 2000 Calorie Dramatic Volume: Okay, there really isn't that much ''dramatic volume'' going on with this mascara. Or maybe I just imagined what ''dramatic volume'' looks like a little bit differently. As far as I am concerned, this would definitely fall into the category of ''classic mascaras'', the ones you buy when you want to go for the simplest product and you basically just want to wear some mascara. Great for any day look with a simple brush with short and thick bristles. I'd give it a solid 8/10.

L' Oreal's Miss Manga Mascara: Cute packaging but funny smell. Seriously, I mean how much do you pay attention to the smell of your mascara, right? But as soon as you open it, it reeks of... I don't know... burnt tires, I guess. Which is a pity. Casting the funny smell aside, the brush is a total win as far as the 360 degree flexi brush that ''covers your lashes from top to bottom.'' End quote. It's sheer delight to apply the mascara with this brush! But on the other hand, it does make my lashes a bit clumpy. I don't know, maybe the guys at the L'Oreal wanted to go for the clumpy look on purpose, because after all, this look is about manga, but I'm just not... feeling it. I'd give it 8/10 only because of the amazing flexi brush.

Deborah's 24 ORE Volume Mascara: I like the very original packaging which reminds me a bit of the swinging sixties. It has an oversized brush that, sadly is not a flexi brush, but it does add that lash volume and the best part is that it is completely fragrance free, which minimizes the risk of irritations. So no funny smell of burnt tires gets a brownie point as far as I am concerned.

I googled this mascara and it is supposedly enriched with a Triple Carbon Black Complex, whatever that is, to create a pure and intense color. What I really liked about it was that it does not clump my lashes and it makes them look naturally long and sexy. I give this product 10/10 and I would definitely repurchase it.


I hope you've found this post helpful,

Love,

Teja xoxox

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How to Preserve Sun-Dried Tomatoes Like the Italians

Here is a little trick I'd picked up in Italy. I am a huge fan of the Sicilian sun dried tomatoes, I can't get enough of them. When I went shopping in Italy, I had as much fun shopping for food as shopping for shoes :)

While in Italy, I have also learned that I had been preserving my sun-dried tomatoes improperly. So, I've decided to write this post, in case there's anybody else out there, who is making the same mistake as I was:)

To preserve the sun dried tomatoes, you will need a bit of patience, but it's so worth it!

a clove of garlic

virgin olive oil

herbal salt

250 g of sun-dried tomatoes (check with your local Italian deli)

an empty jam jar

1 Soak the tomatoes in water and bring them to a boil. 

2 Sieve the wet tomatoes and let them dry on a grid for two days.3 Make sure the tomatoes are completely dry before you preserve them!

4 Divide the sun-dried tomatoes into three little piles. Place one pile in your jar.

5 Peel the garlic and place the little cloves all over the first little pile of tomatoes. Use as much garlic as you like, if you're not a garlic lover, that's okay, skip this part.

6 Sprinkle with herbal salt.

7 Add olive oil so the tomatoes are almost entirely covered.

8 Press the tomatoes down with a fork  or a cooking spoon really hard, so that the trapped air comes out. Repeat all the previous steps til you have used all the sun-dried tomatoes. 

Let the tomatoes soak in all the herbs and garlic for a few weeks, then they're ready for the first tasting:)

Enjoy your sun-dried tomatoes!

Love,

Teja xoxox

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The Perfect Mini Cakes

Makes 12 mini cakes as big as the palm of your hand:

700 g/6 cups plain flour

4 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

180 g unrefined dark brown sugar (I used Billington’s Natural Molasses Sugar)

50 g caster sugar

4 eggs

600 ml/2 ½ cups milk

230 g butter

2 tsp vanilla essence

100 g semi-sweet chocolate chips

50 g cocoa powder

Chocolate Coating:

200 g of dark cooking chocolate

50 g butter

3 tablespoons of water

1 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Grease the mini cakes tin:))

2 Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl.

3 Whisk together milk, vanilla essence and sugar, until frothy (yum!:))

4 Place the eggs and butter in a separate bowl and whisk together well. Gently fold in the flour and milk mixture, until the consistency of the dough is lovely and smooth.

5 Gently stir in the chocolate chips.

6 Spoon the mixture into the mini cakes cups, filling them just below the top. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the mini cakes are well risen and browned. And this is where we have a problem. The top of the mini cakes is risen. We don't want that. So take a knife and cut the little tops off, so that the mini cakes will be able to stand on their own.

7 Take the mini cakes out of the cake cups and put the on a grid, like this:

8 Stir together all the ingredients for the chocolate coating and let it gently simmer. When the chocolate is completely melted, pour it over the mini cakes and don't hold back:)

Love,

Teja xoxox

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