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?