Life Lately - Where Have I Been?

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I've tried to sort out my thoughts over and over before sitting down to write this post, debating whether or not to just whack out a normal kind of post or actually adress the elephant in the room.

It's about time I call myself out on this - I've been really absent from my blog lately. It's been on my mind constantly, but I was - and still am - so overrun with what life has been throwing at me lately that I pushed it back to the far corner of my brain, where it stayed, reminding me that I'm really neglecting my blog.

And I didn't disappear all too voluntarily - I tried to sit down to write every now and then, if I was to actually find the time to, but to be honest, I either just sat there, starring at my screen and hoping that the words would somehow magically start coming out of my fingertips (they never did) or literally just falling asleep out of sheer exhaustion.

So, what has been keeping me on my toes over the past few weeks?

Well, for one, you might know that I started school again back in mid September, which started off rather slowly and then, all of a sudden, hit me damn hard. Hard as in, I spend around eight to ten hours at school each day and then come home to another two to four of homework and preparation, which means that I hardly even see the sun anymore, nor do I get remotely enough sleep - which has lead me to apparently pay Starbucks one too many visits as the baristas are starting to recognize me. 

Besides that, I also started to work more - two seperate jobs, might I add - in order to A, pay for my growing coffee addiction, and more seriously, to earn the pile of money that I'll need in order to visit my friends all the way in America next summer. 

And, on top of that, I was lucky unfortunate enough to make my year's swimming course, which means that I hardly ever shower at home anymore because I spend a lot of evenings and/or weekends at the swimming pool in order to practise - because let me tell you, the requirements to score high are absolutely insane. I kid you not, I had to swim 25 meters yesterday - underwater. Holding my breath the entire time. And it was a god damn near death experience - but that's a story for another post.

So now that I've been crying you guys a river about how damn stressful my life is, I probably seem like the whiniest person alive. No lie, I probably am - I kind of love complaining, and it did feel really great to just vent and get all of this off my chest because it has been getting heavier with each day and started to feel like it was suffocating me.

I know that I'm not the only one this is happening to, but that voice inside my head often tells me to man the hell up because there's a lot of people who have more on their plate an appear to be dealing just fine - which, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, leaves me feeling pretty guilty.

I mean, I've basically been neglecting my child.

I have, however, picked up on my notes again and am currently working on a few new ideas I want to share on this blog, and as soon as Sunday rolls around, I should be back on my original schedule, which is Wednesday - Friday - Sunday, again.

Thank you so much if you sticked with me through not only this rant-y post, but also the past few weeks. I'll try to make up for all the lost time in the near future - even more so than you might think right now.

Keep your eyes peeled!

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Comparison - And Why It's Unnecessary | Lifestyle

I feel like it's been quite some time since I've brought an issue that has been spooking around my head to this blog, but since it's the end of one hell of a week where I was busy with what felt like a hundred things, none of which involved blogging and I'm currently trying to have a good old pamper session to cool down, I felt like it was important to voice my thoughts on this one.

I don't consider myself to be a very jealous person. Not at all, really. Yet, for some reason, I always find myself comparing myself to other people.

I'm not quite sure where that comes from, but I suppose living in a society where you're always forced to compete with those around you in one way or another, be it in a professional environment, with your siblings or even when it comes to a hobby like blogging, leads to that sort of thing - you see others as competition, so naturally, you start to ask yourself why you can't outshine them or, at the very least, be equal to them.

And while comparing yourself to others in itself is a natural process that could probably help you bettering yourself when used rationally, it can very well have a heap of negative consequences.

It poisons relationships, but even more importantly, it poisons you as a person.
You start becoming bitter, constantly comparing yourself effects your mood, your thoughts. After a while, you might even feel like the fact that everyone is out there is doing so much better than you are is starting to feel somewhat depressing.
That's kind of scary, right?

And nowadays, it's so easy to stay updated on how everyone's life is going, what they're wearing, what they have for dinner, where they're going for vacation. Especially Instagram is overrun with pictures of pretty people and their pretty lifes, and it's fairly easy to get sucked right into that make-believe world when you're sat on your bed in your pjamas, scrolling through your feed while eating ice cream.

Notice how I said make-believe world? Because that's exactly what it is.
Think about it. Would you ever share the things in your life that are nagging at you, giving you headaches or making you cry under the shower? Yeah, probably not.
And that's what everyone out there does. They share the glamorous things, the extravagant events. The nights out with friends, the vacations to white beaches with sky-blue water.
But they would never let you know that a few hours after that group photo with their friends was taken, they were throwing up in front of some pub after drinking too much, all while trying to get over a really hard break up. Or that they took on a loan to afford the vacation to that beautiful island and have no idea how to ever pay it off.


To round off that rant that kind of just erupted out of me - nice little image for you there, you're welcome -  people only show you what they want you to see, each and every one of us is creating some sort of illusion for those around them.
But no one's life is a roller coaster that only goes up. It's all ups and downs and ups again. Only that the downs are slightly less glorious than we'd like them to be, and because we feel like we're the only ones failing, we hide them.

You just need to be aware that everyone has things they hide, and things they like to show off to distract from those.
So the next time you're oooh-ing and aaah-ing at those pretty people in the pretty pictures, think about what uglies they like to keep from the world. Do you still want to be them?

Didn't think so.

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7 Super Spooky Recipes To Try Out This Halloween | Lifestyle

I don't know about you, but over the past few years, Halloween has become one of my favorite holidays. I think I might even love it equally to my favorite holiday of them all - Christmas.
And we don't even celebrate Halloween all too much here, so I'm not sure where all of this excitment came from originally, but I do know for sure that it is here to stay, and it only grows with every year that passes.

So, as we're well into the wonderful month of October, it's about time to start thinking about Halloween preparations in my eyes - there is no such thing as too early, am I right?

And even though thinking of costume ideas is way too much fun for someone who is kind of entering adulthood, there is something that is even more exciting to me - preparing food for a Halloween party!

Yeah, you heard that right. Spooky finger food - quite literally. 

So, as you do, I headed over to Pinterest for some inspiration, and I stumbled upon so many amazing recipe ideas that I just had to share them with you guys!

1. Candy Corn Caramel Apples

(via howdoesshe)

My tummy rumbled literally the second I found this photo. Caramel apples are one of my favorite fall treats, and these decorated ones definitely set the mood for Halloween.

Also, these aren't caramel apples only - you add candy corns to the caramel to give the apples that extra kick.

I want these in fornt of me. Right now.

2. Zombie Head Cheese

(via not martha)

This cheese dip just looks too amazing to pass up, and it's also really easy to prepare.
All you'll need is a plastic skull, spredable cheese and some coctail onions for the eyes - and without much fuss, you'll be able to display one eyecatcher of a cheese dip!

3. Monster Claw Cupcakes

(via bakingdom)

Tell me that these are not the most adorable cupcakes you've ever seen, I dare you.

While these are definitely a little trickier to get right - because oh my god, how do you get the fur to look so god damn real? - with some work and dedication, these will come out looking pretty darn fine.

These are especially perfect for when you're planning a kids' Halloween party!

4. Guacamole Puking Pumpkin

(via ameessavorydish)

This might not tickle everyone's pickle because it might look a little too real, but it definitely is another creative way to serve some kind of dip.

All you'll need for this is a carved pumpkin, some guacamole and your favorite chips - if you're feeling adventurous, you could even dye them to look more spooky, like the ones in the photo above!

5. Dracula's Dentures

(via the-girl-who-ate-everything)

This recipe is totally adorable, and people with a sweet tooth will have almost as much fun prepin' those as they'll have eating them.

This definitely takes baking plain cookies to another levels, but it's also fairly easy to follow - and obviously, will leave you with an awesome result.

6. Nutella Banana Mummy Rolls

(via ourbestbites)

This recipe features one of my favorite combinations, bananas and nutella - yes, I sometimes dip my bananas in Nutella, okay? Ssssh, nothing wrong with that.

And it's also totally okay to eat a few of them since they contain fruit. So healthy.

The mummy rolls also look super cute once finished up with the candy eyes, and I can just imagine how delightful biting into these must be. Mhmmmm.

7. Halloween Party Cake

(via cookingwithsugar)

With a recipe that's as easy to follow as this one, even dummies like me can manage to bring out the freaking coolest cake ever at the next Halloween party they host.

Food coloring allows you to give this cake its mega bright appearance - and even though it might look a tiny bit poisonous, it'll taste absolutely delicious!

Do you have any favorite Halloween recipes that you love to whack out during this time of the year?

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Essie Does Mattes Now? | Beauty

One of the reasons why I like reading my fair share of magazines every month is because they always  include some sort of promotion for a beauty product that I didn't even know exsisted.

That way, I found out about the new 'cashmere matte' limited edition polishes Essie brought out in Germany back in August. And, as I absolutely adore both matte nail polish and Essie polishes in general, I decided to give them a go.

Easier said than done, though, as I literally had to visit every single drugstore downtown to hunt the shade that I desperately wanted down. If that's not dedication, then I don't know what is.

The shade I'm talking about is called "all eyes on nudes" and is, in case you couldn't guess by the name, a light brown nude shade, something that was nowhere to be found in my considerably large collection of nail polish.

As the color is very light, you will have to apply either two or three coats of it for a full coverage, which isn't really too much of an issue as it's insanely quick-drying - no smudging with this one!

The matte finish is also very lovely. It doesn't look overly dry or cling to any specific areas but is even and soft while still staying true to its intended finish.

Sadly, this is a very impractical nail polish for busy gals like me.
I do a lot with my hands - writing, cleaning, organising - the list goes on. That means that my hands, including my nails, are faced with tons of influences that wear them out - and that really doesn't go well with the finish of this polish, because as much as I love the matte look, it also chips super easily.

If I'm lucky, I can go two days without having to touch them up - if I'm not, they could also chip just a few hours after I applied the polish.

So, overall, I think it's safe to say that this collection is not worth 7,99€ per bottle, even if the matte finish does look very elegant once applied to the nails, it doesn't stay there for very long - even less so if you get most of your work done with your hands.

The cashmere matte collection is not available in stores anymore, however you could still purchase this particular one for around 12,99€ on Amazon.

Did you try out any of these limited edition polishes? 

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Favorite Fall Lipsticks | Beauty

Fall and lipsticks - two things that are very high up on my list of favorite things, and now that October is here, it's finally time to combine the two and crack out those forgotten-about fall lippies 

again!

To celebrate that, I thought it'd be a nice idea to share my five favorite fall lipsticks with you guys so you get the chance to maybe discover a new favorite for the season - or even get reminded of an old love that you forgot about!

MAC Satin Lipstick in 'Twig'

One of my all time favorite and most worn lipsticks, Twig will definitely have its time to shine throughout fall as well as winter. I've come to realize that this lipstick looks different on people with different skin tones, but on someone who's as pale as me, it's a very dark rose shade that's almost a little burgundy.

This gem has a satin finish, which means that it almost has the longevity of a matte lipstick while still being a lot more creamy and forgiving on the lips.

KIKO Rebel Romantic Intensely Lavish Lipstick in '02 Pretty Mauve'

When I first saw the 'Rebel Romantic' collection KIKO came out with some time ago, I knew that the collection's lipsticks would be ideal for fall. After swatching all of them in store, I decided that Pretty Mauve was the most suitable for me.

For some reason, my camera didn't pick up this shade completely because it is definitely quite a bit darker and more pigmented on me than it looks in the swatch - while it looks mauvey there, it's more berry like on my lips.

I love how creamy this lipstick feels on my lips, it's like applying a tinted lipbalm! The formula keeps my lips feeling super soft for at least two hours.

Sadly, due to its very creamy formula, the lipstick isn't all too long-lasting, but it does fade very nicely and, as the shade is very pigmented, leaves a strong stain.

Avon Beyond Color Lipstick in 'Divine Wine'

I wore this lipstick religiously after I got it last winter and I was so excited to dig it out of my drawer again!

'Divine Wine' is, as the name suggests, a slightly glittery deeper berry color that is still light enough for fair skinned people to wear without it washing them out completely.

This one also has a pretty creamy formula, which is not as extreme as KIKO's, but still very nurishing on the lips.

Sadly, this lipstick is a bit tricky to work with while eating and drinking because it does slide off the lips rather easily due to its formula - and because it's very pigmented, it will leave dark stains around your lips if you're not careful enough!

Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick in '07'

The classic. How could I not possibly include one of the most hyped fall/winter shades?

I got this lipstick after hearing several bloggers going on about how much they love it, and I definitely wasn't dissapointed.

This shade is definitely not one for the faint hearted - it's a dark berry shade that kinda looks a little red on me, and it really is a 'look at me' kind of shade.

Also, Rimmel really don't joke around when they call it a matte lipstick. If you don't apply any lipstick before applying this lipstick, it will dry out your lips big time and accentuate all the dry patches. Not a cute look.

The good thing about the matte formula, though, is that the lipstick stays in places for a fair few hours without budging at all.

MAC Viva Glam II Lipstick

Alright, this might not look like a very seasonal shade to you first, but let's be honest - do all of your outfits go with a berry lipstick? Yeah, mine don't either.

So, because pinks and the like just don't feel right to me during the colder seasons, I had to include my favorite nude lippy in this mix.

I love this lipstick so much that I dedicated an entire post to it a few weeks ago, so I'll only touch base on it briefly.

It's the perfect neutral nude shade for us fair skinned gals and goes with next to every make up look and outfit. It also has a satin finish, which, as I explained earlier, is basically a more creamy version of a matte lipstick that is still very long lasting and pigmented.

top-bottom: Twig, Pretty Mauve, Divine Wine, 07, Viva Glam II

So there are my favorite lipsticks for the up and coming season - they're now all set up on my dressing table and ready to get used all day every day. I've never been more ready for fall.

What is your favorite fall lipstick?

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