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?

Products I've Used Up // January

Dove Body Lotion Winter Care: For a body lotion this wasn't too bad actually. I have very dry skin and therefore I do prefer body butter to body lotion. Since my favorite body butter is currently not available (which is taking longer than I thought!) I tried body lotion instead. This is the most moisturizing body lotion I have ever used which would make me repurchase it if I did not hate the scent. Somehow in the bottle the scent is not too bad but whenever I use it I really do not like it. I did not repurchase this but maybe I will try another Dove body lotion in the future?

tetsept bubble bath: This product has been in previous favorites posts for a reason. I really like it! If you want movie-like bubble baths with a lot of bubbles this how you get them. I have not repurchase it yet because even though it is still winter I only take baths in the autumn and winter time and so I will wait until the end of the year to get another bubble bath product. At least that is the plan...

Balea Shower Gel & Oil Pearls : Surprisingly I really liked this shower gel. Usually I cannot recommend Balea shower gels because They dry out my skin - this one was different. I liked everything about it, the only thing that bothers me is that the scent is not very strong and that there are no alternative scents available. That is why I have not repurchased this shower gel yet. I think I will buy it again but right now I want to try out other scents and other brands.

Garnier 2 in 1 Eye Make Up Remover: I guess this is becoming a regular in these posts. Again I will just post a link to a review I wrote in November you can check out here: click.

Nivea Long Repair Conditioner: This is one of those products that is not bad but not good enough to repurchase. I can tell a definite difference between using this conditioner and not using any conditioner at all. My hair is easier to brush through and it does not feel as dry as it would without using conditioner. In the end I like other conditioners better which is why I would not repurchase it but if you want to give it a try, go for it.

L'oréal Skin Perfection: This balm has lasted so long, it is ridiculous. This is not the perfect pore minimizing balm I am looking for but since I like the new Teint Perfection balm by Balea a lot less I do already miss this product. Since I already wrote a review about this I will link it here: click.

What products did you use up this month?

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!

Beauty HAUL January // PART II

This is the second part of my January Haul. I plan not to shop that much this year and even though I hauled a lot this month already I still do not feel like I have failed. The Catrice lipstick is the only time I slipped this time but everything else were reasonable purchases.

theBodyShop Body Scrub Raspberry, Blueberry & Peach: Maybe this is going to be an annual tradition?  I got a the Body Shop body scrub as a gift from a friend and I am hooked ever since. In the end/ beginning of the year the Body Shop always has a sale going on and every year since then I have stocked up on body scrub for the year to come whenever that sale comes around. This year was no different.

alverde shower gel mint & bergamot: I love the other alverde shower gel I am using at the moment so I decided to try another one of their scents. Peppermint is one of my favorite flavors and scents ever, so I really look forward to using this!

ISANA young Body Butter Wild Berries: I got to admit the packaging is not pretty and that is probably one of the main reasons I have not tried more ISANA products. Since I prefer body butter to body lotion and right now every body butter on the market seems to smell like shea butter or macadamia this seemed to me like a much better smelling alternative. It is also one of the cheapest body butter in the drugstore so I hope I will like this one.

L'oréal Super Liner Perfect Slim Intense Black: I love wearing black eyeliner which is why I am always looking for the perfect eyeliner. With the end of the year YouTube was flooded with "Favorites of 2015" videos in which somebody included this eyeliner by L'oréal - which is why I wanted to give it a try.

Catrice Ultimate Colour 210 Pinkadilly Circus: There is a sale going on at Catrice at the moment because they are changing up their range for spring. This lipstick color is going to be discontinued which means that if you want to get your hands on it you should act fast. I really like the color and I can generally say that I like Catrice lipsticks. We will see how much I will wear this :)

What did you shop for lately?

p2 Perfect Nail Hardener // REVIEW

Before using the p2 perfect nail hardener I used the older version of this nail polish by the same brand. I used that one for years and was really happy with it. That is why I wanted to get another p2 base coat.

If this was a normal colored nail polish the little brush would bother me. For a good base coat on the other hand it does not really matter to me. It does not have to do any of the things I would like a bigger brush for. The base coat keeps my nails from discoloration and keeps them in a better condition than they would be if I were to wear nail polish without a good base. I feel like it also makes my nail polish stay on longer but then again I do not wear nail polish without a base coat often enough to really be able to compare.

Another thing this nail polish is supposed to do is harden your nails. Does it do that? I am not so sure. I do not have great nails. They break easily and I can hardly grow them out. If I take care of my nails, do not let them get too long and am careful when cleaning the house I can get them to stay pretty healthy. I do think that this nail polish has a part in that because otherwise wearing nail polish does damage my nails.

I like the p2 perfect nail hardener as a base coat and would recommend trying it out.

What is your favorite base coat?

Beauty HAUL January // PART I

This is my first haul and first post of the new year!

Since one of my new year's resolutions is not to shop that much make-up anymore we will see how many hauls will follow this one. I bought these products between Christmas and New Year's Eve which is why I am posting this haul in the beginning of January. That also means that so far I have stuck to my new year's resolution! (It has not been that long but every day counts!)

Alverde Eye Creme for every skin type: Last year's favorites post included this as my newly discovered favorite eye creme. Now I finally repurchased it.

Ganrier Eye Make Up Remover 2 in 1: While repurchasing this make-up remover I noticed that is differently priced in different stores. It was the most expensive in Müller (which I expected) and less expensive in Rossmann. What I did not expect was for it to be even cheaper in dm. I never noticed pricing differences between Rossmann and dm but apparently there are.

Nivea Double Effect Eye Make Up Remover: I wanted to compare my favorite Garnier and my favorite Nivea eye-make-up remover for waterproof mascara again. This is a little more expensive than the Garnier one but If I like it better I would still repurchase it.

Catrice Liquid Camouflage High Coverage Concealer 010 Porcellain: On the packaging it says that this is supposed to be a waterproof concealer and I am not sure about how that is supposed to work. We will see. I swatched this in the store next to the Maybelline Fit me! concealer in number 15 and it actually looks slightly lighter. I am very excited about this and look forward to trying it.

Catrice Ultimate Stay Lip Liner 030 Boysenberry: Considering I did not like the last Catrice lip liner that I bought it seems a little strange to buy another one but I also love another lip liner by Catrice that I have owned for a long time now. Did they change their packaging again or do they carry multiple ranges of lip pencils?

Catrice Ultimate Stay Lip Stick 060 Floral Coral: I love this color. I wanted to buy this before but it was sold out. When I saw it again I did not think twice. I usually like Catrice lip sticks but I do not own any other colors from this range. We will see how I like it.

Accessories Earrings: These were on sale for only 3 euro and I could have bought a lot more jewelry that day but I held myself back. I really like the current trend of earrings that go behind your ear (there must be an official term for that?). I do not own any earrings like this and I will probably wear these a lot this year.

What did you shop for after Christmas?