Favorites // June

This display looks kind of christmassy, doesn't it?

Red can be a very summery fresh color and who does not think that 'golden beaches' sound like hot weather? Summery night skies are also easy to picture - but somehow together red, stars and gold make me think of winter. Well, the weather isn't really that sunny lately anyway so maybe that also influences my associations.

Maybelline Super Stay Nail Polish Rouge Laqué 501 Cherry Sin: For some reason I forgot how much I love red nails in the summer time. I just put the color on one day because I could not decide on anything so I went for a classic shade. I am almost surprised by how much I love it.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes: This had to be included in my monthly favorites. I flew through this book as soon as I got it. It is not my new favorite book ever but it was still great. I usually do not read contemporary books so maybe this one was my entry to a whole new genre for me to discover. I am generally trying to read out of my usual comfort zone of fantasy or dystopian. While I do know now that thrillers are not my cup of tea (even though I have only ever read two) maybe contemporary is.

Dove Advanced Hair Series Pure Care Weightless Oil Shampoo: I am sorry this bottle does not look that clean anymore but that is just what happens when you use your products - and I have been using this for a while now. I actually shy away from using it because I do not want to use it up. I have dry hair that I want to wash every other day - so that is what I need my shampoo to be able to handle. This shampoo does that beautifully. It is meant to help with dry hair and make it shiny again and that is precisely what it does for my hair. It feels moisturized, looks shiny and keeps looking good for two days until I wash it again.

What are your favorite products or books of the moment?

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes // Review

I am not quite sure how to categories Me Before You by Jojo Moyes - contemporary maybe? I do not want to spoil anything for you my summary of the plot is very vague. The story is set in a small town in England in 2009 and follows the main character Lou who - after losing her job at a cafe - starts a new job as a carer for Will Traynor who is a quadriplegic person.

This is my first book by Jojo Moyes and I loved it. I flew through it - I only had to take a little break to sleep for a few hours. Those are my favorite kinds of books, the ones you cannot put down and basically read in one sitting. I loved all the characters, the setting and I cried multiple times. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads and I would definitely recommend anyone to pick it up who is in the mood for a good, emotional, not too sugar-coated read.

I have worked as a carer myself and even though there were a few parts that were a little unrealistic to me the author still created a story that felt very authentic to me. I have heard negative opinions from people that are disabled and felt very misrepresented in the novel. I am not disabled and do not want to speak for these people but my personal opinion on this is that while I think I can understand what upsets them I still think this story is very specific to the characters involved. Every person has a different way of dealing with their circumstances and how they effect not only themselves but the people surrounding them. To me this novel was about people having very different but at the same time valid opinions about certain subjects and while you can try to change somebody's mind they are still entitled to their on opinion and have the right to follow through with their decisions on how to live their life. (I am sorry. I am not a native speaker and I find it quite hard to put these things into words without giving anything away about the plot).

The movie Me Before You is hitting theaters right now - but if you have not read the book, be warned: there are spoilers in the trailer! Even though I have not seen the film yet the trailer makes the story look a little more cheesy than the book actually was. I actually bought the book after picking up a brochure advertising the movie at the cinema when I went to saw the new X-Men movie that included a little extract form the book.

What did you think about Me Before You?

Please do not leave any spoiler in the comments!

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer // bookreview

This is a collection of short stories by Marissa Meyer about characters we all know from the Lunar Chronicles.

There are stories that take place before the events we read about in the previous books and others that take place later. There is a story included where we read a scene we already know (and love) form an other character's point of view. Another one of the short stories is a retelling of the little mermaid where we learn about characters that we never even heard of before.

I absolutely loved the Lunar Chronicles and was so very excited when I found out this book was coming out. You can imagine my expectations where high - probably a little too high. I did like this book but I did not love it as much as I expected to. The stories were all great but I would have preferred to read about what the individual characters did after the last book ended. (A little like the scenes after the credits of a movie... does that make sense?).

These stories were all short stories, so I understand that we have to skip over a few details but I did not like the way how major problems from the last book were simply explained in a few sentences. I would have rather not known how they solved it and for it to simply remain a mystery.

I still enjoyed Stars Above and loved seeing all my favorite characters again. If you loved the Lunar Chronicles I would definitely recommend to get your hands on this book.

What did you think of Stars Above?

January Favorites // 2016

alverde Shower Gel With Pomegranate & Ginger: Maybe I found my perfect shower gel brand? I cannot tell you why I have not tried alverde shower gels earlier since I generally like the brand you would think it was the first brand I tried. Now I am so happy I tried it! The scent is intense and different from any other shower gel I used before. It moisturizes my skin and there are a lot of other scents to chose from - I already got a new one to try after I use this one up!

p2 Perfect Nail Hardener: I just wrote a review on this nail polish that you can check out here: click. I started doing my nails regularly again this year and noticed that I had never really talked about this polish on my blog before. I am really happy with it and that is why it was time to include it in one of my favorites!

Lost Ocean by Johanna Basford Coloring Book: I got this as a Christmas gift from one of my best friends and I just freaking love it. I had my eye on these coloring books by Johanna Basford for quite some time now and I am so happy to finally have one! I like drawing and art in general but sometimes you just do not know what to draw. When I am lacking inspiration and just want to relax I love coloring. The drawings in this book are fantastic and I love the mix between very small patterns and bigger open spaces. If you want t try coloring I can highly recommend this book.

What were your favorites of January 2016?

Gone Girl // book review

Gone Girl is a psychological thriller by Gillian Flynn - or at least that is what I would call it. I have never read a 'crime story' or 'thriller' or whatever you want to call this. I am new to the genre so Cannot compare this book to any other of its kind nor do I know if the things I do not like about the book are due to the story or simply a matter of genre.

I do not want to spoil anything for you and because I think that it is best to start any book (or movie) knowing as little as possible here is all I will say about the plot: Amy and Nick are a married couple that lives in the US and one day Amy goes missing. That is all.

It took my a long time to read this book - which had nothing to do with it being almost 600 pages - I just took a longer break from it. I had to. The first half of it was not boring but it also did not capture me. The interesting stuff - in my opinion - happens in the second half.

Over all I liked it, but I did not love it. It did not capture me to the point that I had  to continue reading. I am also not so sure I enjoy the rather dark atmosphere of the whole story. That part - I guess - is simply part of the genre. I do not mind a story getting really dark, I am simply not a fan of a book that stays that way throughout the entire story. I will soon read another thriller and we will see how enjoy that one.

Over all I gave this book three stars on Goodreads and I guess I can recommend it. It is not a bad book, it is simply not one of my favorites.

What did you think about Gone Girl? What other thrillers can you recommend?

Please leave me recommendations n the comments!

Favorites of 2015 // Reviews

Last year I did my first ever yearly favorites post. I still love everything I mentioned back then and I really enjoyed writing that post. That is why I decided to do it again this year! These are all products I repurchased in 2015 and want to recommend for everyone to try!

Catrice Glamour Doll Mascara Waterproof: This my favorite make-up product discovery of the year! Never have I ever owned or tried another waterproof mascara so I cannot compare this to any other one. Before I use mascara I will use an eye lash curler and this mascara helps my lashes keep their shape better than any other one did. It also separates my lashes very well and helps them keep their volume.
A problem I had with every other mascara I used before (not so much with the non waterproof Glamour Doll Mascara but still) is that after a while of wearing it started crumbling. I do not wear mascara on my bottom lashes (they are naturally black, so I do not really need to (not that anybody "needs" to)) but I still had problems with that. This has never happened with the waterproof version of the Catrice Glamour Doll Mascara.

Garnier Fructies Hair Mask Oil Repair 3: One of my (probably not that important but still) new year's resolutions is not to buy any other hair mask but this one. I tried other brands and formulas but this just works best on my hair. I have dry hair and this really helps me keeping it sleek and shiny. I can tell a definite difference in my hair after using it which is not the case with every hair product. This one is probably my favorite hair care product in general.

Pantene Pro V Conditioner For Straight Hair: This is another all time favorite hair product that I have repurchased multiple times. This does make my hair feel moisturized, sleek and shiny but it also makes my hair "straighter" than usual. It also helps my hair stay straight after I straightened it or blow dried it straight.

Lunar Chronicles By Marissa Meyer: Best book series I have read in forever! I freaking love it and I am so sad I have already finished it. It does not happen very often but this book series actually had an amazing final. Cinder is the first installment in the Lunar Chronicles which is a science-fiction retelling of Cinderella (which is even more amazing than it sounds). The story continues in Scarlet where we still follow Cinder on her path but also get to know Scarlet's story which is a retelling of the Little Red Ridinghood. The third (and thickest) book is called Cress where we meet a new main character of the same name who is stuck in a satellite orbiting earth - and not in a tower like we would expect from Rapunzel. The last and final book is Winter where we meet our last main character. By book four we are following a lot of main characters but that just makes the whole plot just so much more interesting and unique. If you do not know what to read next and you like science-fiction, fairytales or adventure - give the Lunar Chronicles a try! I have yet to hear about somebody not liking this series. Have I mentioned I love it? ;)

What are your favorites of 2015?

Winter by Marissa Meyer // Review

Winter is the fourth and (as far as I know) the final book in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. It actually comes out today  (11/10/15) but Amazon sent me my copy early.

You can check out spoiler-free reviews of Cinder, Scarlet and Cress on my blog if you are thinking about starting this series (which you should!!!).

Winter is retelling the story of snow white while still following the stories of all the other characters. Basically, with every book there are at least two main characters added. That means that now we are following eight (or nine) main characters (and of course queen Levana) which could be confusing but somehow it is not. I like switching perspectives with almost every chapter, I do not think I have ever read a book that does that.

It is an wonderful conclusion to an even more wonderful series. I am hardly ever happy with endings when it comes to book but this time I am - I am also devastated that I finished the book way too fast. Well, let's just hope Marissa Meyer will come out with a new book as fast as possible - tomorrow maybe? Needless to say I gave this books 5 stars on Goodreads, right?

PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS!

Cress by Marissa Meyer - Book Review

Cress is the third book in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.  I will link (spoiler-free) reviews of Cinder and Scarlet. This one is a retelling of Rapunzel.

I gave this book five stars on Goodreads. This is the biggest book in the Lunar Chronicles so far but if it was up to me it could be more than twice the size - I cannot get enough of the series! Why is Winter coming out in November?! Thinking about this makes me sad...

I still love all the characters and I love where the story is going. It was fast pace and funny while still leaving room for each character to develop and have their own part of the story be told. I do not want to tell you more because I just do not want to spoil you on anything. Just go read it, it is amazing!

What are your thoughts on Scarlet?  NO SPOILERS PLEASE !

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - Book Review

Scarlet is the second book in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. If you have not read the first book I will link the review here click because this review might contain some spoilers from the first book. There will be no spoilers for Scarlet though!

I gave Scarlet five stars on Goodreads, I read it in one sitting. It was impossible to put down. This book series consists of fairy tale retellings, every book focusing on an other fairy tale and another main character. Even though there is a new main story the story line from the first book Cinder still continues which I was very happy about. This was clearly a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood but that did not mean you know what was going to happen. I loved this book which is not that common for a sequel and would recommend anyone to start this series. It is something new and exciting, the characters are great and you can truly dive into this futuristic world.

There is just one thing I have to warn you about and that is that there are pretty and there (sadly) are very ugly covers for this series. I have accidentally ordered one of the not so pretty versions of the book and though normally I would not care so much about the cover it annoyed me a lot. It does have the same design but it is 'placed' differently so just be careful if you care about these kind of things!

What are your thoughts on SCARLET? Do you have any book recommendations for me? Please do not leave spoilers in the comments!

CINDER by Marissa Meyer -Book Review

Cinder is the first book in The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer that was published in 2012. I do not want to spoiler this story so I will say is that it is fairy tale retelling set in the future. It is the most amazing thing ever.

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads. First of all I love fairy tales and the only thing sad about it is that this book is more a retelling of the Disney Cinderella version while grew up with the 'original' German version. I still loved this novel. I have never read anything like it before so I do not know what to compare it to. I liked the characters and the 'world' it is set in. What impressed me the most was the seemingly natural incorporation of typical fairy tale  themes like the evil stepmother. To me it never felt like they were just added to remind the reader of the fairy tale but all served a specific purpose in the story line.

This book is most definitely one of the best books I have ever read in my life. I have already ordered the sequel and cannot wait to get into it.

What are your thoughts on CINDER by Marissa Meyer? Please DO NOT LEAVE SPOILERS in the comments! - Thank you.

Beauty & Random Favorites February 2015

 tetesept bubble bath

If you ever wanted to take a real bubble bath you need to try this! It looks just like in the movies. You only need one cap full of product for one bath. The only thing it is missing would be a scent. It is labeled as scented but once you put it in your bath tub it is basically lost. I still love this and cannot wait to get my hands on some of the many other bath products by tetesept!

Maybelline FIT me! Concealer 15

I have talked about this product a lot before, so why include it here again? - Well, because I got a back-up and when I compared my new and my old one I was quite surprised to find to completely different colors! They both were in the shade 15 which is the lightest one you can get in Germany but my old one had gotten a lot darker over time. I have not used it up quite yet but right now I think I won't do that. When a concealer goes that dark it is time to say goodbye, isn't it?

KIKO Skinny Fit Kajal 05

I do not think I have worn liquid liner even once this month. Right now I am really into kajal, especially this one. It has the perfect color and texture: link to swatches here. I do not own a lot of KIKO products but I the ones I do have are great. I do not have a KIKO store near where I live (at least I do not think so) but when I see one I will definitely check it out.

p2 Color Victim nail polish 130 passion

This is a very old nail polish of mine.  Maybe even one of the first I ever got. I have not worn it in forever but now that I reapplied it I am falling in love with classic colors like this all over again. I planned not to buy any more nail polishes in the next few months but maybe I could just buy one more classic red one...?

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Reviews for all three books Cinder, Scarlet and Cress will be up soon - I already wrote them. The Lunar Chronicles are the best book series I have read in a long time. They might even be my favorite ever but I do not want to label them that yet since I have only read the first three books in the series. Endings can really ruin a series but with this one I liked them so far and I like the direction the story is taking. Both thumbs up for Marissa Meyer.

The Walking Dead

I got really into this show lately. I like that with this show I am not on anybodies side. Of course I am on 'the main characters' side' but there is not one particular character I support. There are good and bad sides to everyone and so this is not a good vs evil kind of show which I think is great. Go watch it!

What are your favorites this month? Please do not leave spoilers in the comments!

LEGEND by Marie Lu - Book Review

LEGEND is the very first book I read in 2015. I hope it will not be the last and so in order for me to feel more motivated to read I have decided to write reviews on my blog.

PLEASE NO SPOILERS!!!

LEGEND is a dystopian novel by Marie Lu. It is told from two different perspectives: fifteen year old girl named June who is looking forward to a great and fast carrier in the military and a fifteen year old boy called Day, a criminal the government has been searching for for a long time.

I gave this book three stars on Goodreads. I do not really get the hype about LEGEND but maybe I would have enjoyed this book more when I was younger (maybe 14 to 16). To me the way the characters act is rather unrealistic. They change their opinion way too easily and 'the way they discover things' seems a little staged. I did enjoy the way the book was written but I did not relate to any of the characters (Tess is my favorite though). Ultimately that is why I do not think that I will pick up the sequel PRODIGY any time soon. Maybe when there is a movie coming out? ;)

Over all I am sorry to say that I would not necessarily recommend this book but maybe if you are younger it is a cool story to read from the perspective of somebody your own age.

What are your thoughts on the LEGEND? Please do not leave any spoilers in the comments!

February Favorites 2014

It is the end of the month and that means it is time for favorites! I had a really stressful time this February which is why I did not bother to wear more make up than the usual concealer and mascara. That's why this moth there are no real beauty makeup favorites but skin care and random ones.

My skin was going crazy this month! It just got really dry and generally bad :(
What helped with that were the Weleda Skin Food and the Balea hydrating eye cream. I did a review on the Weleda Skin Food earlier this month after just using it for a week and promised an update in my February favorites  post, so here it is: I still love it and would repurchase it over and over again!

I got the eos lip balm in cranberry for my birthday and will soon do a review on that. But it is in my favorites this month so I gues you can already tell I like it very much ;)

Allegiant is the third book in the Divergent series by Veronica Roth. I have not been ready a lot in the last month which is why I have not finished it yet (no spoilers please!). I am not good at book reviews so all I will say is that this series is definitely worth reading. Because I have not been readying for the last year in general I set a reading challenge on Good Reads for myself. Good Reads is an amazing website for book lovers! You can rate books, keep track of what you want to read in the future and check out reading lists of other people! I spent way to much time on there....

Guess what I got for Valentine's day? - Right! Taylor Swift's first album. I have been listening to this a lot. You can check out what else I listen to this month in my Spring Playlist post from last week. Another song that totally got stuck in my head this moth was this one:

Acapella by Karmin

On to my two last favorites. The first one has to be Pull&Bear. I love that shop and if I could I would by almost every single piece in their store o.o The other one are my cream white rose studs. I bought them last year in the sale so you will not find these exact ones anymore but you can get rose studs everywhere. I wore these almost every single day.

Do you have a Good Reads account? If so let me know in the comments :)

Thank you to everyone who ever reads one of my posts <3

- Myra 

Dm, H&M & Osiander Haul

   
      <3 NIVEA, hydro care Feuchtigkeitspflegeshampoo (1,75 Euro)
      <3 Balea LE, Barzil Mango Bodylotion (1,25 Euro)
      <3 essence, color and go - that's what i mint! (1,55 Euro)
      <3 The Death Cure von James Dashner (8,99 Euro)
      <3 H&M, Kleid (10 Euro)

Einige der Produkte sind schon in meinen März Favoriten aufgetauch - das liegt daran, dass ich sie schon Ende Februar / Anfang März gekauft habe und somit schon genug Zeit hatte sie ausgiebig zu benutzen.

Von dem Kleid sieht man auf dem Bild ja nicht wirklich viel^^ also hier noch einmal ein paar Aufnahmen:

Das Kleid ist am Rücken durch die bloße Spitze durchsichtig - ich suche also noch nach eine passenden Top zum darunter tragen. Leider habe ich noch keins gefunden :(

Ich habe diesen Monat kein einziges Kleid getragen :/ hoffentlich habe ich im April endlich die Gelegenheit dazu.

Was habt ihr in letzter Zeit so geshoppt?

März Favoriten - Travel Edition

Diesen Monat habe ich meine Eltern besucht - ich habe also nicht alles da, was ich vielleicht benutzt hätte wenn ich es da gehabt hätte (haha - Grammatik....).

      <3 The Death Cure von James Dashner
           Der dritte Teil der Maze Runner Reihe! Ich liebe es - aber so langsam macht es mich
           wahnsinnig, dass ich selbst jetzt (ich habe das Buch circa zu Hälfte gelesen) immer noch nicht
           weiß, was ich wissen will (tja, so endet ein Satz wenn man nicht spoilern will.... sorry^^)
      <3 NIVEA, doube effect Deo
           Ein All-time-Favorite! Warum? - Es brennt icht bei frisch rasierten Achseln ;)
      <3Catrice, Liquid Eyeliner
           Ein Must-Have für den Taylor-Swift-Signature-Look!
      <3 Vittel :D
           Ein bisschen random, aber egal^^ Wasser trinken ist gesund und ich versuche es mir
           anzugewöhnen. Vittel ist einfach mein Lieblings-Wasser
      <3 Pinselrolle von Zoeva
           Die Marke ist eigentlich egal - Pinselrollen sind einfach praktisch! - Vor allem wenn man, so
           wie ich diesen Monat, viel unterwegs ist.
      <3 Carmex Lippenpflege
           Mein Lippen sind der Horror, desewegen trage ich auch kaum Lippenstift :( Das einzige was
           da Hilft ist das gute alte Carmex.
      <3 essence color and go nailpolisch 146 that's what i mint!
           Mint ist meine absolute Frühlings-Obsession! Diesen Monat jedoch musste ich arbeiten und
           durfte bei der Arbeit keinen Nagellack tragen :( Wenn ich dann jedoch mal zwei Tage frei hatte
           habe ich that's what i mint! sofort wieder lackiert :P
      <3 22 - Musikvideo
           Haha - der Song ist sowieso klasse und das Video, das diesen Monat erschienen ist ist es auch
           :)

Was habt ihr diesen Monat besonders gemocht?