March Favorites | Beauty

Alright, is it just me or is has this year literally flown past so far?

Three months of it have already passed, and I feel like I got nothing done - okay, that's a lie. I've been in the process of moving out for months now.

Anyways, March has been a month filled with new products and redicovered past loves and I'm here to introduce you to them.

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette (47,99€)

While the first Naked palette had its moment for me in February, this month I've been all about the metallic shades the Naked 2 has to offer!

The pigmentation and staying-power of these are insane, but you've probably already heard that from at least twenty other bloggers, am I right?

This palette includes three matte shades as well as nine shimmer shades, it's got some rose tones ones, some gold toned ones, metallic shades - basically, no matter what shade you're feeling, this will probably have something for you.

The shades that I've used the most from this were Bootycall, Chopper, Suspect, Verve and YDK.

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder (3,30€)

This has probably been my biggest essential of the month, not a day passed where I didn't pop this into my handbag!

I'm not gonna go into too much detail as I have a review of this up here.

This does a very, very good job at keeping my skin matte for a few hours, even though it's pretty oily.

There shade I own, which is Transparent,actually suits my skin tone - wait, something like that does exsist?

It's also incredibly cheap, so the value for money you get for this is over the moon.

Mac Satin Lipstick in Twig (20€)

To be honest, I felt guilty as hell when I made this purchase, but oh boy has it served me well.

'Twig' is slightly red toned brown shade with a Satin finish, which is incredibly long-lasting and makes the product stay on literally all day while still leaving the lips feeling somewhat hydrated.
Even though this is a bit of a darker shade, I still found it to be great for every day wear.
I think I might've found my holy grail lipstick!

Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in 03 (4,40€)

While I've been wearing 'Twig' when I wanted some color, this has been my go to nude lipstick (which I also mentioned in my Top 5 Spring Lipsticks) for the past month.
I really, really like the formula of this lipstick. It dries to somewhat of a satin finish - not as stark as the one Twig has, though - while still being creamy.
Again, the longevity of this is great. For a good four to five hours, the lipstick stay in place, without dissapearing or smudging.

The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Body Sorbet (13€)

Okay, I've got to admit that I bought this sometime last summer because I saw Zoe Sugg raving about it, and I had really good intentions, but then I got a few other body lotions and body butters, and this kind of just dissapeared in the huge stash.

This month, though, I fell in love with it again.
Can I just stress how much I love body sorbets? I prefer them over other products because they sink in so much quicker - alright, maybe I'm a little impatient.

This makes my skin feel super soft - like the way your legs feel right after you shaved, but better.

Also, the smell of this is just delicous. The grapefruit smells like summer without being too heavy or sickish sweet.

So these were the products that have made the past month a lot more enjoyable for me.

What are some things that you've been loving throughout March?

Thank you so much for reading!

20 Things That Make Me Happy

[source]

It is Friday, the 27th of March - to a lot of high school students like me, that random date sounds like music - because it's the start of spring break!

The past week has been absolutely great for me, I've been in a good mood every single day which probably scared my Mom as she likes to point out how grumpy I sometimes am - my Dad, however, probably blamed it on my hormones.

Anyhow, being that happy and at ease made me think about something - what are some of the things 

that make me feel that great?

As y'all seemed to like the last list I shared with you (you can find that here), I decided to put together 20 of the things that make me smile and never fail to put me in a good mood.

1. Going for walks on warm summer evenings.

2. Discovering a new book and getting completely lost in it.

3. Friends who make you forget about all your troubles for a while when you spend time with them.

4. Eating a huge bowl of ice cream all by myself and not feeling bad about that in the slightest.

5. Wearing a bold lipstick and feeling like I'm ready to kick ass.

6. Going on rollercoasters and screaming on top of my lungs.

7. Snuggling up with a hot chocolate, a thick blanket and fuzzy socks on a cold winter day.

8. Digging out some brighter colours, no matter if clothes or make up, once spring rolls around.

9. Bumping into friends I haven't seen in ages by suprise.

10. Taking hour long baths with candles and a Lush bath bom. (totally just did that.)

11. Getting up and looking out of the window to feel the sunshine and its warmth on my face.

12. Puppies and kittens. Enough said.

13. Taking a stand and actually voicing my opinion, because, believe it or not, I might come across as tough and loud-mouthed, but I can be such a chicken shit.

14. Helping someone become better at something and seeing a smile on their face.

15. People who challenge me to become a better version of myself.

16. Taking my Mom out for a girl's day shopping downtown.

17. Waking up on Saturday morning thinking that I have to get up and realizing that I have the day off and can doze off into dreamland again.

18. People who smile at you when you walk past them - that little gesture just make me feel all warm and fuzzy.

19. Watching Pretty Little Liars. Yep, that's a thing. It's just that show that I'll turn to when I feel down because I'll still get excited about all the mysteries to solve after five freaki' years.

20. You guys. And I'm by no means trying to be cheesy, I just want you to know how much I appreciate your support. When I started this blog just about two months ago, I'd never thought that so many people would comment on what I've got to say and even follow me. This blog has easily become one of my happy places.

To be honest, I thought that this would take me quite some time to write because usually, whenever I get a great idea and want to note it down, my brain has some kind of meltdown.
But this wasn't hard at all.

I feel like, over the past few years, I've managed to become a much, much happier person and I've started finding joy in the little things.
Who thought I'd actually start reflecting on my life all of a sudden!

I hope that maybe one of the things on my list made you smile, or that my list made you think about what makes you happy and realize how far you've come.

Thank you so much for reading!

Rimmel Rita Ora 60 Seconds Nail Polish | Beauty

I've said it before and I'll say it again - my habit of buying nail polishes whenever I go to the drugstore is probably not healthy, and I've managed to cut back on it - who says that new year's resolutions are worthless? - but sometimes, I stumble across a few shades that are just too great to simply ignore.

One of those is Rimmel's Rita Ora 60 Second Nail Polish in "breakfast in bed".

I've been looking for a few new nail polishes to try out this spring (and also summer) and this one just fits perfectly for me!

Breakfast in bed looks like a slightly muted, grey toned turquoise shade while it's still in the bottle, but appears a little brighter when you actually apply it to your nails.

It dries to what I would call a semi matte finish - certainly not what I had expected, to be honest, but it does make it look somewhat more chic.

Applying one coat of this might not provide enough coverage, so if you're aiming for a more vibrant finish, you'd definitely have to go for two coats.

Rimmel claims that this polish dries in "less than 60 seconds" and while I wouldn't swear by that, I do agree that this dries a hell lot quicker than most of my other ones do - which is great if you're a busy bee like me and don't have the time (or patience) to wait for twenty minutes until your nails are completely dry.

The longevity of this is pretty great for a drugstore product that is priced at 2,60€.

I've been wearing this nail polish for the past week and for some reason this shade only chipped on three out of my ten nails (while the other shade I own of this had almost completely worn of after two days - Rimmel, step up yorur game!)

There is a pretty big variety of shades available of this polish, some of which you can check out here.

In my opinion, this nailpolish is great value for money.

For only 2,60€, you get a product that keeps what it promises and stays on for a few days before seriously chipping.

If you're not into brighter shades, fear not, Rimmel's got your back - there's also a few nudes and dark shades,

What's your opinion on Rimmel's Rita Ora nail polishes?

Thank you so much for reading!

All Hail This Naked Dupe | W7 Lightly Toasted

Urban Decay's Naked palettes have been all over the blogosphere for years now and as I mentioned in my February favorites, I myself am a huge fan of them, especially the original Naked palette.

So of course, when my parents got me W7's Lightly toasted eyeshadow palette, I couldn't help but notice how insanely similar it is to the Naked 1.

Now, after using both of those for well over a month, I can tell you that I might've discovered an absolute gem - and possibly one of the greatest dupe yet!

As you can see, this palette's packaging is different from the original Naked's, but at first sight quite similar to the Naked 2 and 3.

It is made of metal, which sadly is of rather poor quality - mine already had two dents when it arrived - but to be honest, at a retail price of 7,82€, this is something I expected.
It still does make a satisfying click when it snaps shut (we all know what I'm talking 'bout), giving you the feeling that your product is tucked away safely.

First of all - the brush that comes with this isn't actually useless!

I mean, the spongey side definitely is, just as I expected - it doesn't do a good job at applying the eyeshadows or blending them in - but on the other hand, I actually quite like the little brush, which transitions the eyeshadows very well into the lid without any of the pigmentation getting lost.

The palette comes with a total of 12 eyeshadows, 2 of which are matte, 10 of which are different degrees of shimmery.

The pigmentation of these is really, really good - nothing I would've ever expected from a drugstore palette. Even the lighter shades provide great coverage.

The shadows also nicely blend - not a great as the ones in Naked palette do, mind you - but they still make it work.

What I really like about this product is that the eyeshadows stay on all day - and I wear make up from 6 am up to 5 pm on most days - without fading or smudging.

Teddy Bear is a very light, slightly pinky toned white - the only of the shades that I'd class as "too light to wear" for someone with pale skin.

Wonderland is shimmery, almost glittery light pink.
Cracker is a really nice matte brown that gives you a nude-ish feeling - one of my favorite neutral eyeshadows; and also the one shadow I like to use to fill in my brows.
Happy, again, is a super shimmery darker pink, which goes great with Wonderland.

Lady Luck is a matte dark brown, which I love to pair with Cracker.

Twister is a super shiny, bright gold shade, which you might want to use sparingly as it has a lot of glitter in it.

Di Di is a little hard to describe. To me, it looks like a slightly brown toned, darker shade of gold which is slightly shimmery.

Delilah is a dark green shade, which again, has got some shimmer in it.

Magic is another one of my favorites. It's a pretty dark, shimmery pink shade.

It's A Dream doesn't really appear this way on camera, put it actually is a bit of a lighter, shimmery plum shade.

Up In Smoke is a deep rich black with some hints of shimmer in it.

Dawn is the only shadow that I haven't been brave enough to try yet - it's a sparkly, light blue shade.

I'm really sorry that Teddy Bear and Wonderland hardly even show up - their almost as pale as my skin!

Long story short, the only real downside of this product is it's packaging - you oughta be careful, or it might be covered in dents real quick - but other than that, the value for money of this has me over the moon. You literally pay 65 cents for a single eyeshadow of this palette - and the quality is hitting quite close to Urban Decay's.

This palette definitely made me want to look through W7's product range a little more because I had never heard about them before - but now, I can't get enough of 'em!

Have you tried any of W7's products before?

Thank you so much for reading!

Declaring War On Oily Areas | Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

Now, everyone and their mother has probably heard about this product, but for someone who, like me, doesn't have access to Rimmel products if they don't order them someplace online, this is a new discovery.

And where the heck has it been all this time?

I suffer from fairly oily skin that is mostly annoying me in my T-Zone, but is also pretty persistent in my chin and cheek area.

Because of that, I've been on a hunt for a powder that fights my super shiny face and stays in place for a few hours before it needs some touching up while also suiting my incredibly pale skin tone - yeah, no budget friendly product would do all these things at once, right?

That's what I thought, anyway - but then I picked up this powder after seeing quite a few bloggers praise this - and I never looked back.

I picked this one up in the shade 001 transparent, which works great for my pale skin and doesn't end up looking cakey or chalky at all. It also doesn't feel heavy in the slightest.

First of all, on of the most important things about this powder is that it doesn't break me out at all.

If you, unlike me, don't have too sensetive skin, then this will probably not be your highest priority, but for me, finding a product that doesn't leave my face covered in rash is like christmas coming early.

According to Rimmel, this is supposed to give you "5 hours of natural shine control", which I actually stand by - on an average day, my face stayed matte for four to five hours - which, for a price tag of 3,30€, is pretty damn neat.

The powder is also supposed to "minimize the appearance of pores", which in my opinion it only does to a very, very small extend - but as that wasn't what I was looking for in the product anyway, it didn't bother me too much.

However, if you're looking for minimized pores, I'd definitely use a primer before applying this powder.

Verdict:

This is one of my new make up essentials!

There are quite a few shades of this powder so even super pale girls like me will actually find a shade that goes with their skintone.

This does an amazingly good job at keeping oily skin at bay and giving my skin a matte finish.

And on top of that all it is super cheap - Rimmel is, as I mentioned, not availabe in stores in Germany, so I had to order it only - and it still was only 3,30€!

What is your go-to powder?

Thank you so much for reading!