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?

Products I've Used Up // December

If you celebrate Christmas: Merry Christmas Everyone!

I thought that because it is Christmas today that the internet would be full of people posting Christmas-themed blog posts, pictures and videos (and whatever else you can think of), so I would just post something entirely unrelated to the holidays.

Cos Nature Pomegranate Eye Creme With Pomegranate: This was an emergency purchase. I needed an eye creme and could not get my hands on my usual one so I opted for this product by a brand that I had not even heard of before. It was not bad actually. It has a thinner consistency than my favorite eye creme by alverde but I did not have any kind of allergic reaction to it which was good. I still prefer my alverde one and will therefore not repurchase this. It still was not a bad product at all whatsoever, so if you are still looking for the perfect drugstore eye creme for you, you could still give this one a try.

L'occitane hand creme with almond milk:  This was a Christmas present from last year which means it took me pretty much exactly one year to use it up. In the beginning I did not want to use it because I wanted to save it for... well for what? So I did start using it and really loved it. This is the best hand creme that I ever had. It sinks into the skin quickly while still providing enough moisture and not making my hands feel sticky. I know that it is quite an expensive brand which is why I do not know if I would repurchase it but I can definitely recommend it.

Balea Cool Blossom Shower Gel: I did not enjoy this product. First of all I did not like the scent when using it (I do not plan to by citrus scented body wash for a while now). Secondly, it did dry out my skin a little bit instead of moisturizing it. That is why this time I got a Balea shower gel with oil pearls that are supposed to make it more moisturizing.

bebe Berry Smoothie Body Lotion For Dry Skin: I have found my favorite body lotion which is actually a body butter. It is the alverde body butter - then why did I not use that up? Because alverde changes their scents on a regular basis and right now their body butter is macadamia nut scented and I cannot stand that scent. Macadamia nut is just not my thing. That's why I tried other products. I got this body lotion by bebe because I loved the scent and I had heard good things about it from other people. In the end I really did like it. This a great body lotion but what I need is a great body butter. Body lotion just does not give enough moisture to my super dry skin.

Balea Creme Soap Raspberry & Lemongrass Moisture Care: Balea soaps are a staple in my household. They have a great selection and they are cheap. I really liked the scent and even got compliments for it from people that stayed at my house (which was kind of funny). The only bad thing I can say about it is that after a while the packaging looked really worn out. You can tell from the picture that it is not in the best condition and that just looked bad on my sink. Other than that I do not have any complaints. I already got another (this time sparkly!) soap by Balea to replace this one.

What products did you use up this month?

L'oréal Skin Perfection // Review

I have been using the L'oreal Skin Perfection for almost a year now. Instead of foundation I usually only wear this and a little bit of concealer. There are a few pros and cons to this product. In comparison to the Balea Teint Perfection (which is supposed to do about the same thing) this actually has a clearly visible effect. It actually minimizes my pores and does give an over all smoother finish to my skin.

On the downside it does not work well with concealer on top. That means that you got to decide on which part of your face you would rather apply this and where to put concealer. That - and the fact that it does not work well with dry patches on my face - is the reason I did chose not to repurchase this balm. If your skin is already in a good condition and all you want is to smooth it out a little this is a great product for you.

In the end I do like it better than the Balea Teint Perfection balm but I still cannot fully recommend it.

What is your favorite product to minimize your pores?

Beauty HAUL // December

I am trying not to buy that much stuff anymore and this it what that looks like. I am pretty happy with it. I only got thingy that I needed and well.. one palette - at least it was on sale, right? ;)

Balea Mild Soap Blossom Dream Hibiscus & Green Tea:  If that does not sound like a dream to you, I do not know what would. On top of that it sparkles. It is mint colored, sparkly soap with an amazing fresh scent. Did I ever mention I adore the packaging as well? I love it. (My boyfriend not so much)

Catrice Glamour Doll Mascara Waterproof: My all time favorite mascara, what is there more to say? Whenever I start to run out and get a new one of these I am still amazed at how well it works when I use the new wand for the first time. It just does everything for my lashes that mascara is supposed to do,

Weleda Skin Food For Dry Skin: An amazing but sticky night time moisturizer that I have repurchased multiple times. If you struggle with dry skin, give this one a try!

Sleek i Divine Au Naturel Palette: I am a big fan of Sleek even though I only own one other product by the company. I do not even know why it took me so long to get another of their eye shadow palettes. I will do an more in depth post about the au naturel palette soon, so look forward to that.

What have you been shopping for lately?

Balea Teint Perfection // Review

What I use instead of foundation is concealer and something to make my pores disappear. I used to use the L'oréal skin perfection that I got as a gift a long time ago. When I ran out of that I went to the drugstore to get a replacement. I decided to get the Balea Teint Perfection balm because I had heard great things about on YouTube and because it was by far the cheapest I could find. 

I have not used it for that long, it has only been two weeks, and I wanted to wait a bit longer to write a review about it. I am sure that if I had waited a little longer I could give a more detailed review but I decided that did not really matter because the product simply does not work for me. It has much more liquid consistency than the L'oréal version and feels a little lighter on the skin but it just does not do its job. I see hardly any effect on my skin. For that reason it does not matter how it works with my skin type or whether it still looks good with concealer on top. It does not do its job and therefor I cannot recommend it. 

What is your favorite skin perfecting product?

Products I've Used Up // November

Balea Shaving Gel Blueberry Love: This is my favorite shaving gel that I repurchase all the time. I try out new scents from time to time but in the end I always come back to this.

L'oréal hair expertise conditioner for damaged hair: This is a rather expensive collection by L'oréal. Considering that - even though I did like the product and it took good care of my hair - I will not repurchase this conditioner.

theBodyShop Lemon Sugar Scrub: I need to get my hands on another body scrub by theBodyShop. They are by far my favorites! They do always smell wonderful and work amazing on my skin. I think I prefer the gel ones over the sugar consistency but that is just personal preference.

Weleda skin food: This is by far my favorite night time moisturizer. It has quite a thick consistency and leaves your skin feeling sticky for a while but at night I do not really care about that. I do notice a difference when I switch my moisturizer out at night and use my normal daytime one - it is just not enough. My skin is really dry and this is the only moisturizer that keeps my skin from getting flaky. I already repurchased this one.

Catrice Glamour Doll Mascara Waterproof: I repurchase this mascara so often, I do not think I have to talk about how much I like it anymore, right?

Garnier Eye Make Up Remover 2 in 1: I already repurchased this. It is not a perfect product but it is the best eye make up remover for waterproof mascara that I know of.

tetesept cuddle-time bath salt: tetesept bath products are one of my favorites. I do not think I have ever been disappointed by one. Next time I think I want to try the new alverde bath salts but I will probably still repurchase this one.

What products did you use up this month?

Garnier Eye-Make-Up Remover 2 in 1 // Review

Finding the perfect eye-make-up remover for waterproof make-up is quite a hard thing to do. For non waterproof mascara I have already found my all time favorite eye-make-up remover by Rival de Loop. Another make-up-remover that I have tried and liked before is the Nivea double effect eye-make-up remover. The reason I stopped using it is simply that it is really hard to get a hold on. I do not know why but not all drugstores carry this product which is why I started using the Garnier one that I will talk about here today.

What I love about this product - which is a little strange - is that the two phases mix so easily. You give it one good shake and your done. I love that! That also means that you use up both phases simultaneously which is not the case with the Nivea double-effect eye-make-up remover for example. It also does what it is supposed to do - it takes your eye-make-up off. My skin is very dry and especially my eye area is rather sensitive. This make-up remover plus the Balea cotton pads (cotton pads do make a difference!) is the best pairing I have found so far to take care of that. There is no annoying oily residue and it does not burn too bad when you get some of it in your eyes. All in all I would definitely recommend this as the best eye-make-up-remover for waterproof mascara or eyeliner I now of.

What is your favorite eye-make-up remover for waterproof mascara or eyeliner?

Please leave me your recommendations!

Drugstore HAUL // November

I am on a strict ban from buying make up and so far I have been sticking to it. I have not bought make up in over a month by now. I soon need a new concealer and new mascara but that does not count. This is what I buy at the drugstore when I do not buy make up.

Gillette Venus Spa Breeze Razor: I already own this razor and I really do like it. Sadly it is quite expensive and so are the blades. My razor is a few years old and while it still works fine it is pretty disgusting by now and I was in desperate need of a new one. 

Balea Shower Gel & Oil Pearls: I struggle to find a shower gel that I really like. I do not have high expectations for shower gel but somehow I still cannot find one I actually enjoy using. Hopefully I will like using this one as much as I like the scent and packaging.

alverde Shower Gel with Pomegranate & Ginger: My quest to find a good moisturizing shower gel that also smells good is still going on. Maybe I have found it now? I have never tried alverde shower gel before but since I usually like alverde products I do have rather high expectations.

Balea Teint Perfection: This is supposed to make pores and fine lines disappear for a 'perfect teint'. I heard a lot of positive things about this on YouTube. We will see how it works.

Garnier Eye Make Up Remover 2 in 1: I did not set out to repurchase this but it is the best and cheapest eye make up remover for waterproof mascara that I know of. It is not perfect but it is good. If you know of any other eye make up removers for waterproof mascara, please let me know!

ISANA Nail Polish Remover: This is my favorite nail polish remover and I repurchase this all the time. I guess there is nothing more to say about this :P

What have you been shopping for this month?

Nail of the Day // Sparkle

Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer 300 Be My Millionaire

KIKO Fancy Top Coat nail lacquer 657

Both of these nail polishes are really special. The base polish is a perfect balance between gold and silver which is rather hard to find. The KIKO top coat is one of my favorite glitter polishes of all time. It is actually so sparkly it almost makes your nails glow. I just love the effect.

What are you wearing on your nails today?

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!

Autumn // Playlist

Frail Love - Cloves

Florenz + the Machine - Shake it out

Taylor Swift - Wildest Dreams

Comptine d'Un Autre Été- Die fabelhafte Welt der Amélie Piano [Large Version 2010]

Music under license via Cue Songs

I love all of these songs - that is why they made it into my Autumn Playlist - but my favorite right now must be the last one from Fleur de Force's lookbook. I freaking love it. I also love her sense of style and I would wear all of those outfits in heartbeat. That is probably also my favorite YouTube video of the season ;)

What are you listening to on repeat this time of the year?

Please leave your suggestions in the comments!

Products I've used up // October

Nivea shampoo long repair: I loved this in the beginning. It even made it into my June Favorites. With my hair shampoos change the way they work after a while. In the beginning it worked really well but in the end I did not like it that much anymore. My hair got greasy rather fast and I was really happy when I finally used it up.

Palmolive shower gel thermal spa aqua calm: I do not really get the hype. Maybe I just do not like Palmolive products. This was not an awful shower gel but I also did not love it. I do not think I will buy Palmolive shower gels again.

tetesept Limited Edition winter fairytale bath: This is an all time favorite of mine. I like the scent, the color and the way it feels on my skin. I generally really enjoy tetesept bath products and after I use up all my backups I will probably buy it again. 

October // Drugstore HAUL

Dove limited edition winter care body lotion: Do I like Dove products or not? I cannot think of one I liked at the top of my head. Yet I do somehow have a rather positive image of the brand. It is a little strange. Anyways, I did want to try one of their body lotions again because I cannot remember the last time I did that. There were a lot of scents to chose from but I could not help but go with the winter themed one.
Balea shaving gel sweet madarin: I am not so sure about what I think about the packaging (pink cheetah print?). At the same time the colors do look pretty autumnal. At the end of the day it is a new scent in the Balea shaving gel range and that is always exciting to me.
Balea cool blossom shower gel: What was I thinking?! There I was talking about how I would stay away form citrus scents in the future after being so disappointed by the palmolive shower gel and here I go again. At least it is blood orange. I do like the scent in the bottle, we will see how I like it when I actually use it.
Balea moisturizing face mask for dry skin: My skin is generally dry but now that the weather is changing from sunny autumn day to freezing cold October mornings it is getting even dryer. I have yet to find the perfect moisturizing face mask so maybe this will be candidate?

Shopping Tip // Jewelry

I have a little bit of an obsession with snowflakes. It is kind of my thing. When I saw this two sets of snowflake ring at H&M and they were on sale for a euro each - I could not resist. Even the cashier told me I got an incredibly good deal on these and I do not recall that ever happening to me before.

I used to only wear golden jewelry (obviously not real gold) but lately I have been getting back into silver pieces. I like the snowflakes & stars theme of these sets. They have a great size because they are not statement rings but are also not too dainty so you could not make out any details.

I adore all of these rings but I think my favorite might be the one with two stars on it. I like that they are two different sizes and also just two different stars. I also love that the last ring has a different band than all the others.

Maybe you can tell by now that I am really happy with my purchase. I can already tell I will get a lot of wear out of these sets. Winter here I come!

What did you get from the H&M sales this season?

Nail of the Day // amethyst

Astor perfect stay crystal effect nail polish 001 elegant amethyst

I am not usually one for effect polishes like this but I actually really like this polish. The polish does look very different in the bottle than on your nails. I did not put a top coat over this (because of the three-dimensional effect) but I might try that some time.

What are you wearing on your nails today?

Beauty HAUL // Catrice FALLosophy

The Catrice FALLosophy Limited Edition is one I have been looking forward to a lot. I could have bought every single product from that collection. The product design and the colors they used are so up my alley.

Catrice soft lip color FALLosophy C03 Little Red Riding Hood: Do I own way to many red lip sticks? Kind of... but I swear I do not own a color like this! 

Catrice soft lip color FALLosophy C02 Rustic Rose: I think this might be my favorite from this collection. It is a pretty everyday color that is special to me because it has more brownish undertones than your usual rose lip stick.

Catrice soft lip color FALLosophy C01 Fabulous Fox-ia: This is a stunning color. To me this is the perfect way to wear pink on your lips in autumn.

Dove advanced hair series pure care weightless shampoo: Do I not have way too much shampoo back ups? Yes, I do. This is getting ridiculous. I did not need it but it was on sale and I will use it up at some point. I need to stop buying shampoo.

NIVEA volume sensation shampoo: Another shampoo?! Yes, but this is a travel size. I do go on a three day trip at the beginning of October and since it was on sale I just thought it would be handy to have such a small size to travel with.

Golden Jewelry: Both of these sets were on sale. I tend to always were the same jewelry pieces - pearls and simple studs. In order to make myself switch it up a little more I am trying to incorporate pieces into my collection that are unlike anything I already own. Well, we will see how much I actually wear them.

Did you get anything from Catrice's  FALLosophy collection?