Beauty Favorites // February

This month I did not shop for any new products (which I am very proud of) but focused on the products I already had. That is why all of these products I have owned for a long time or - in the case of the perfume - have been around the beauty world for a long time.

Christina Aguilera By Night Eua de Toilette: Didn't I just talk about how I am not the biggest fan of perfume? Well, I guess it means a lot then that I included one in this months favorites. This perfume smells exactly like what it looks like - at least to me. It s a rather heavy vanilla scent which usually isn't my thing but I really like this one. The warm scent comforting to me and it lasts really long on my skin while not being overpowering.

essence I Heart Nude Eye Shadow 03 Crème Brûlée: This is a beautiful, shimmery nude shade that is really close to my skin color. I like wearing this all over the lid or on the inner corner.

essence I Heart Nude Eye Shadow 05 My Favorite Tauping: This taupe color has a more of a satin finish I either wear all over the lid or in the crease and at the bottom of my lower lash line.
 

essence Cookies & Cream Trend Edition Eye Shadow 03 Last Night A Cookie Saved My Life!: This is a wonderful, deep brown with a satin finish to it that I love to use to darken my crease.
 

I loved combining all of these shadows together and wore different looks like that all throughout the month. I wore  Crème Brûlée on the inner third of my lid, My Favorite Tauping on the rest of the lid and on my bottom lash line and Last Night A Cookie Saved My Life! in my crease. When I felt like wearing something a little darker I liked to add a little smudged, dark brown liner to my top lashes.

The quality of these eye shadows is good but not amazing. I did all of the swatches on top of the Urban Decay Primer Potion because that is what I always use when I want to wear eye shadow. When I compare these shadows to MAC, Inglot or Urban Decay they cannot keep up. They do not last as long, they are not as easily blendable and the color pay off is not as good. All that said, I still like them. The price is a lot lower that all of those high end products and they work fine for everyday wear. When you try to layer up My Favorite Tauping to get a more intense color it can get a little blotchy so I would not recommend you do that - but because all of these colors are lighter neutrals you cannot see their weaknesses as well.

What are your ffavorite rediscoveries of the past month?

Favorites // January

When I put together the collage at the top I actually thought about excluding a product or two from this post just so the collage would look better. Pretty pictures are undeniably a big part of a blog but to include or exclude products because of the way they look seems hypocritical because I do want to talk about the products I actually like. That whole concept just seems a little messed up...

DoveNutritive Solutions Oil Care Spray: This is a wonderful new discovery of mine. I have written a review about this product already so I do not want to talk about it for too long but if you struggle with brushing your hair after washing it maybe you should give this product a try.

Astor Perfect Stay Gel Shine Nail Polish 502/503 Crème Brulée & Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer Effect Coat 41 Two Million Dollar Baby: I have been posting a lot about this Astor nail polish over the past few months but I just keep coming back to it. I have worn this combination of nude and golden glitter twice in January - which is a lot for me. I hardly wear the same nail polish on my nails two times in a row.

batiste Dry Shampoo For Brunettes: About two months ago I got a hair cut - which is nothing that special but this time I finally did it: I got bangs! Now they are pretty much grown out and I am going to have to get them re-cut but when I still had full on bangs I had to change my hair care routine. With that my biggest rediscovery was dry shampoo. I generally like using dry shampoo whenever I want to avoid washing my hair for another day. With bangs it was the most practical product ever. I wash my hair about every other day and there was nothing better for my second-day-bangs than this product. I love the look and texture it gives to my hair and especially my bangs.

alverde Limited Edition Winter Love Body Butter: It is no secret that I am a big fan of alverde body butters. This is one that has a thicker texture and I do prefer a 'softer' texture when it comes to body butters but I still like this one. It still sinks in quicker than any other body butter or lotion and it moisturizes my skin wonderfully. This is a rare limited edition version of the alverde body butter but I hope that in the future they keep coming out with special editions because to be quite frank I do not like the 'original' scent that much.

H&M  Little Black Handbag:  This is the bag I bought on Black Friday last year and is one of the best 'fashion investments' I have made in a long time. I use this bag almost everyday. It s small but still fits a lot of stuff and it looks good with any outfit I wear. This is basically the little back bag of my dreams.

Shape of You by Ed Sheeran: When there is a new song that I really like I just listen to it on repeat and any other musics tends to get neglected. This is one of those songs. It has been so long since Ed Sheeran's last release and I am so happy he is back.

What were you favorites in January?

Best Products of 2016 // Favorites

Happy New Year!

Hello 2017! I am very excited about the new year and everything that will come with it. At the end of the old year and the beginning of the new it is always fun to look back on what happened in the past 365 days. On my blog I like to look back on my favorite products of the year.

My boyfriend got me the Fleur de Force Eyeshadow Quad 020 Lunar Rose as a gift and I just love this quad. They are by far my most used eye shadows of the year. The qualit is brlliant and the color combination is simply wondeful.

The other make up product I discovered in the 2016 that I wouldo not want to miss anymore is the Catrice Liquid Camouflage Concealer 010 Porcelain. I use concealer everytime I do my make up (like I guess everyone does) so it is an essential product in my routine. I am as pale as a vampire which means that it is hard to find products in the drugstore that actually fit my skin tone. To be honest I would like this concealer to be even lighter than it already is but so far it is still the best match I ever found.

On of my resolutions for 2016 was not to by more than five nail polishes - I only bought three and two of those three are now part of my yearly favorites! Both Astor nail polishes and the Maybelline polish are great quality. The color is opaque and they last as long as I want my nail polish to last. All of these things are good but what I ike the most about this polishes are the colors. The Astor Perfect Stay Gel Shine Nail Polish 502/302 Crème Brulée is the perfect darker nude with rose undertones. The Astor Quick & Shine Nail Polish in 502 Hot Chocolate Season has a really unsual shimmer to it. The dark metallic polish is a mix between gold and silver and the name actually describes it perfectly. The Maybelline Forever Strong Professional Rouge Couture 287 Midnight Red is the only nail polish I ever repurchased. It is a deep, dark red shade that can last over a week on my nails and it definitely deserved a spot in this list.

One of the biggest rediscoveries of the year for me was the Alverde Wid Rose Facial Oil. I have generally dry skin but it gets even worse in the winter time and this is the best day time moisturizer to help with that. At night I still use the Weleda Skin Food moisturizer but the oil sinks in quicker so I use the Alverde facial oil in the morning.

What are your favorite products of 2016?

Favorites // September 2016

September has been a great month for beauty products. I have tried a lot of new things and rediscovered old favorites. In fact there have been a lot more products I liked to use this month but because there were so many I only included the once I used the most and have formed a well thought-out opinion on already.

Nivea Anti-Age Handcreme: I am not good with hand creme. I forget to use it most of the time and so it takes a long time for me to use one up. That also means I hardly ever try new ones. I want my hand creme sink in quickly and moisturize well. I do not really believe in the anti-age effect this product claims to have but I do like the added UV-protection. This hand creme works well for me and the price is fine as well.

KIKO Mirror Nail Lacquer 629: I wrote a post in September about my Top 10 Autumn Nail Polishes where I talked about the nail polishes I was looking forward to wear again now that autumn was about to arrive. My nails were painted in those colors the majority of the past month but one nail polish I also wore that was not included in that post was this one by KIKO. I could have included either one of the nail polishes I wore but because this is the only one I did not talk about in the post I wanted to included here in my September favorites. There will be a Nail of the Day post coming up soon where you can see what it looks like exactly on the nails and I will talk about it some more there.

Fleur De Force Eyeshadow Quad 020 Lunar Rose: I have worn these eye shadows at least every other day that I wore make up. I love this. My favorite colors are all of the shimmering ones. They are very pigmented, easy to blend and there is no fallout. The quality is amazing and so is the color selection. The colors also remind me of Fleur herself and I think they were a perfect choice for her collection. The only problem is - now I want the other one!

alverde Body Butter Macadamia: The fact that this made it into my monthly favorites even though I do not like the scent should mean something to you. It sinks in quicker than anything else I have ever used to moisturize and it works like a dream. The scent is not too strong so I can ignore that. I have dry skin and moisturize every day. This might be one of the products that makes it into my favorites of 2016...

What were you favorite products of last September? 

Favorites // August

It's a little late for August Favorites but I still wanted to talk about my favorite products and things rediscovering right now. This time it is basically all skincare products which is really interesting to me in the summer time because I do not really wear make-up in the heat, so I go 'back to the basics' most of the days.

Nivea Creme: This is one of those products I have never heard anybody say something bad about. Everyone seems to like it. When I got a cold last week and my nose was as red as a tomato this is what helped cam my skin down again. You obviously should no apply this on wounds but on dry or rough patches it works really well.

alverde Teint Perfection Beauty Serum: I did not realize for how long I have already been using this product in my everyday routine. I got this moisturizer in April and I cannot believe I have not talked about it since. My skin has been changing over the last few months and its getting less dry and more balanced lately. I am very happy about these changes but it also meant I had to change up a few things I used to use on my skin. This serum is the only moisturizer I used on my face in the last month and I love it. Until it absorbs into my skin it just feels wet which I do not like but that feeling only lasts a few minutes and then it really does make your skin look really healthy and good.

alverde Apricot & Calendula Face Scrub: I don't think I have ever talked about this product since I got it. I have been using it off and on for months now and I just like it more and more. I do not use a face scrub everyday - I just use it when I feel like my skin needs it. To me this face scrub is the perfect mix of actually having an effect and not being to harsh. A lot of face scrubs are too drying and too aggressive for my skin or they have no effect at all. If you have sensitive or dry skin but you still want a scrub to help with getting rid of dry patches or clearing out your skin you should definitely give this a try. 

Nivea Sun Anti-Age Moisturizer SPF 50: I just typed up a review about this product that I will link here: click. The fact that I am including this in my favorites should already tell you that I am really happy with this moisturizer.

Pretty Little Liars: Don't worry - there will be no spoilers. I just wanted to include this show in this month post because lately I have been getting back into it. I almost forgot how much I used to love it. Pretty Little Liars is one of those shows that is really good when you just enjoy it and blend out all the things that don't really make sense or how dramatic it can be sometimes. Yes, people do not dress like that in real life and yes, A might not have been able to pull all these terrible things off in reality - but it is still an amazing show! (And I love the fashion!). It is definitely addicting - so be warned.

What are your August Favorites?

Favorites // July

This July it was ridiculously easy to think of my favorites for the month. Most of the time I find it pretty hard to narrow it down or decide what products to include. This time it was very obvious to me.

Sun Dance Après Creme: Summer has finally arrived and with sunshine and the heat, sunburns were also back. I get sunburned easily (even though I wear sunscreen almost every day) and the only thing I find helps with sunburns is moisturizer. This one helps especially well. I really think my sunburns heal faster - plus this Après Creme has a nice cooling effect on the skin. It does leave your skin feeling a little sticky but when it is as hot as is has lately been I take multiple shower anyway.

Garnier Eye-Make-Up Remover 2 in 1: After having to use the Garnier Skin Active Waterproof Make-Up-Remover All-in-1 for almost a week I was so happy to have this back in my routine I had to include it in my favorites! It remover waterproof mascara well and is gentle to the skin.

 Catrice Liquid Liner Waterproof 010 Don't Leave Me: There is a review of this product coming up soon, so I won't talk about it too much. It is obviously going to be a positive review since it is included in my favorites. Liquid Liner is my favorite type of eyeliner and since this is back in my collection I realized how much I missed it.

I am Earrings: These are by far my most worn accessory of the past few months. I love how simple yet special they are. You can combine them with everything. They slightly curve following the edge of your ear but you only need your ears to be pierced once to wear them.

What were your favorites for this July?

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?

May Favorites // 2016

I only just realized that this moths favorites are almost all Astor products. Maybe I should check out more of their stuff? Do you have any favorite Astor products?

Catrice Liquid Camouflage High Coverage Concealer 010 Porcellain: I am as pale as a vampire so it is rather hard for me to find products in the drugstore that match my skin tone. The shade 010 Porcellain is definitely lighter than the Maybelline Fit me! Concealer in the color 15 and I do prefer the formula of the Liquid Camouflage High Coverage Concealer. It does not dry or darken up during the day, nor does it draw any unwanted attention to the little wrinkles around the eye. It is easy to blend and the coverage is buildable.


Astor Perfect Stay Gel Shine Nail Polish 502/302 Crème Brulée: I only wore this polish twice since I got it but it is already one of my favorites. It is the perfect darker nude color that stays on my nails longer than most other nail polishes ever did.

Astor Quick & Shine Nail Polish 502 Hot Chocolate Season: At first I was hesitant about this polish because I do not wear a lot of metallic nail polishes. On top of that it is not a typical spring / summer color to me (like the name would already suggest) - but I still love this nail polish and I am so happy I got it. The quality is amazing and you do not need to apply more than two coats to get an opaque, even finish. This is a perfect going-out-at-night nail color to me. While it is still a classic metallic shimmering polish the color and finish are quite special - at least I do not have anything even remotely like this n my collection.

Astor Soft Sensation Lipcolor Butter Matte 027 Elegant Nude: This is definitely my most worn spring lip color. I have yet to find a 'truly nude' lip product that actually looks good with my skin tone - so for now this is my version of a nude lip. I freaking love it.

Do you have any recommendations for me when it comes to trying out new products from Astor?

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?

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?

September // Favorites & Flops

I cannot believe September is already over! How can it already be October? When it comes to beauty and fashion autumn is definitely my favorite season. I am so excited for the months to come!

essence all about nudes eye shadow palette: I love  this. I resisted buying this palette for a while since I already own a lot of eyeshadows and really did not need this (do you ever need make up?). When it went on sale I could not hold back anymore. I love every color in this palette. There is not one I do not use. This is definitely one of those products that I will use in my everyday make up a lot. So worth it!

Urban Decay primer potion: When you want to wear eye shadow you need a primer - or at least I do. Nothing ever stays on my lids for more than  five minutes without an eye shadow primer. I have had this for a while now but I do not talk about it a lot since it is pretty much a no-brainer. I do prefer this over the NARS eye shadow base and over any other drugstore primer I ever tried. It is pricey but in my opinion totally worth it.

tetesept bubble bath: I have talked about this before in my February Favorites of this year. With the weather getting colder and the beginning of autumn I have rediscovered my love for bubble baths. This is an amazing product for movie-like bubbles to fill up your bath tube. I am not the biggest fan of the packaging but that probably won't keep me from repurchasing.

FLOPS

alverde eye creme for dry skin: I had such high hopes for this! My eye area is very sensitive and there are a lot of eye cremes that do not work for me. Sadly this is one of them. It might even be the worst. It dried out my skin and left some really strange white residue on my skin. It made my eye area feel really tight (not in a good way) and really uncomfortable. I do not know whether I might be allergic to it or whether this is simply a 'bad' product. Usually I never have problems with alverde skin care. I stopped using this and got an alternative eye creme after giving it a try for a few days. I cannot recommend this product.

Nivea eye make up remover: I think I have owned this before. I do not know when but somehow I have bad memories of this product. Why did I still buy it? I love the other make up remover by Nivea I used recently. After trying it once I already decided I had to get another one. I hate it. It burns in my eyes and it does not do a good job at removing my eye make up. What little mascara that it does take off my lashes it just gets it all over your eye area and you just end up looking like a panda.

What are your favorite products of September?

June Favorites 2015

I cannot remember having such a long list of favorites ever before. Sometimes I do not use any new products or just do not like them enough to write about them here but this month that is not the case!

Catrice Glamour Doll waterproof volume mascara

Allergies are annoying. You sneeze all the time and your eyes get all red and teary. It is not fun. The only good thing allergies did for me was making me realize how freaking amazing this mascara is! I can cry, sweat or even go to bed (do not do that!) without this mascara smudging or crumbling anywhere. On top of that it also keeps me lashes looking good. It basically looks the same in the end of the day than it did in the morning when you put it on.

Manhattan Glowing Goddess Shimmer Powder Pink Paradise

Pink blush and warm weather go hand-in-hand in my world. This is my favorite right now. It is super pigmented so you have to be careful with that. 

theBodyShop lemon sugar body scrub

I never would have guessed this but I think this is my favorite theBodyShop body scrub so far. It is a sugar scrub which gives it an interesting texture. The sugar basically melts away as you massage it into your skin. It is also the most moisturizing scrub I have ever used. It almost feels like you have already used am in-shower body lotion.

Garnier fructies hair mask oil repair 3

This is a long lost favorite of mine. I remember loving this mask when I last owned it - why did it take me  forever to repurchase it? I wanted to try other products - but my conclusion is: there is nothing better than this in the drugstore. Of course I have not tried every single hair mask available on the planet but I kept comparing other hair masks to this one and that is when you just know you should probably buy this again. I have dry hair and colored ends (what is left of an awful ombré hair disaster - note to self: do not do that again!) and this hair masks really helps with that. On top of that it makes my hair a lot easier to brush through.

Herbal essences shampoo with honey and apricot for stronger hair & Nivea long repair shampoo

Somehow this combination works amazingly right now. I usually use two to three shampoos at the same time. By switching from one to the other every time I wash my hair my hair does not get used to either one of them and they keep their good effect on my hair for longer periods of time. Maybe I am imagining this whole 'my hair getting used to a product' thing but it works for me so it is fine.

Avril Lavigne, Give you what you like

I listened a lot to Avril Lavigne when I was a teenager. Lately I have been digging up my old records and also looking up some of her 'new' stuff. It just makes me feel so nostalgic...

What are you favorites for the month of June?