Best Of Beauty 2015 | Beauty

Happy New Year's Eve guys!
You saw this one coming, didn't ya? Being a beauty blogger, I obviously needed to fulfill my duty and share the best beauty bits I used this year with you. It wouldn't feel like New Year's Eve otherwise, right?

If you've been here before, you will probably have seen me mention some of these products a couple of times - I actually reviewed most of them during the year, so I will link to those down below - because really, they're the best of the best. The Crème de la Crème. The products that I always reach for when in doubt.
You get the gist, so let's get into it. 

Base:

Up until this year, I did not have such a thing as a steady base and that was mainly due to the fact that I just couldn't seem to find a foundation that fits my extremly pale skin tone and didn't make me break out into a rash. As I looked to other bloggers for advice - as I do - many recommended Rimmel for drugstore bases, so I bit the bullet and purchased the Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation (full review here), and that might've been the single best thing that I've ever done. It matches my skin tone almost perfectly, my skin accepted it without any fuss and on top of that, it gives my rather dull skin a healthy glow.

Another struggle of mine has always been nasty dark shadows under my eyes that appear even when I get ten hours of sleep each night for a week. That wouldn't have been an issue, though, if there had been a concealer that covered them up. Only that there wasn't.
But when I decided to go on a spending spree after finishing my finals this past summer, I picked up Benefit's Erase Paste (full review here) up on a whim. To be fair, the shade selection isn't ideal and I could never use this one on spots or red patches, but for concealing my dark circles, this is perfect. Even on days when I was running on 2 hours of sleep, this kept them hidden away neatly.

Eyes:

Urban Decay's Naked 2 Eyeshadow Palette has definitely been one of, if not my most used product this year. It was a gift from my lovely best friends for my birthday back in February, and ever since then, I have barely used any other eyeshadows - except the other two Naked palettes. No joke.
The quality and lasting power of these shadows really is as great as everyone claims it to be, even more so if used with a primer. At one point I've worn one of these shadows for 20 hours on end, and I experienced only very little fallout. Insane!

Another game changer I stumbled upon this year is the Lash Sensational Mascara by Maybelline (full review here). You might not know this, but I have insanely short eyelashes. They're stumps, really, so most mascaras make them clump together more than lenghten them. I was actually pretty tempted to try out Benefit's much raved about Rollerlash, but as this one was rumored to give you similar result for a third of the price, Maybelline it was. Good choice - only two coats of this mascara make my lashes appear to be three times their original lenght!
Another great thing about this mascara is that it hardly ever smudges, which is pretty handy for us clumsy girls.

Lips:

2015 has been all about the lipsticks for me. I mean, I've always loved a good old lippie, but throughout this year, I've managed to collect over 30 of these babies. It's an addiction, but I'm not going to stop, soz.
I've been especially big on the MAC lipsticks this year - all of the ones I own - except for one - were purchased this year. I completely fell for the quality and shade selection MAC offers, so it's really no suprise that my two most used lipsticks are by MAC.
They're both nude shades as well, but they couldn't be more different. 'Kinda Sexy' (full review here), one of their Mattes, is a light rosé toned nude shade, which wore none-stop throughout summer. During the colder seasons, I leaned more towards 'Viva Glam II' (full review here), which is a brown shade with rosey undertones and a Satin finish. Every time I wear this, someone compliments me on my lipstick - definitely one of those 'feel-good' shades for me!

Nails:

As much as I collect lipsticks, I'm a nail polish horder - I own an entire drawer full of those, and I bet some of them have already gone bad, but I just can't bring myself to throw them out. I know, it's bad.

Because of that, I didn't purchase heaps of polish this year, but I did have one favorite for each summer and fall/winter.

During summer, I mainly wore Essie's 'Bikini So Teeny' (full review here) after purchasing it when I was in Berlin upon hearing about it from either Anna or Lily. It's a gorgeous light blue shade that has tiny bits of glitter running through it - doesn't that just scream summer holidays? It damn right does to me. It's longevity is insane, by the way. It only starts to chip after around five days - great for when you're away and just can't be bothered to do your nails.
For fall and winter, Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure in '610 Red Zin', a deep, rich wine red, which is funny because I actually received this as a freebie in a magazine and didn't pick it out for myself. Thank god I did, though, because it's absolutely amazing. It's gel-like finish doesn't budge whatsoever - I've been doing loads of swimming ever since the ongoing semester started, and not even chlorine does anything to it. I can wear this for a week and it'll still look good. I need more of these. Soon.

Perfume:

There was only one really significant perfume for me this past year, and that's Marc Jacob's Daisy Dream. It's pretty much the only perfume I have worn this year and it has definitely become my signature scent, so I'm pretty sad to see that I only have a few spritzes of it left.
It's very much my style of scent, being, as the name suggests, very floral, with notes of wisteria and jasmine, but also fruity, with notes of blackberry, pear and litchi.
The only downside of this is that isn't too long-lasting, it'll stick around for around two to three hours, and then it'll dissolve into nothing - but really, when a scent's this great, I will happily deal with this.

And there we have my favorite products of the year 2015. I feel a little weird saying this, like I haven't fully accepted that this year is almost over. This one has been an insanely good year for me, I have been more happier and I feel more like myself than I ever have.
So thank you all for making 2015 an amazing success for me, and I'm looking forward to improve as a blogger and provide even better content for you in the new year.

Happy New Year to all of you lovelies!

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What I Got For Christmas

So, it's been quite a while since I've sat down and written a blog post. Over a month, actually. I almost feel a little weird typing away at my laptop again. It's been way too long!

I know that I promised to write more, but then finals came in crashing over my head like a wave and left me struggling not to drown in them. Seriously, I was so stressed and emotionally strained that by the time I finished the last final before Christmas break, I went to the bathroom and cried. Nice.

Anyways, now that I'm on a break and have more time to look after myself, I found my fingers aching to write more - and as the Christmas holidays are now well over, I thought it'd be a fun idea to share what I got for Christmas with you guys!

Just a quick disclaimer - I in no way intend to brag about my presents, I now that I was spoilt rotten this year, and I'm eternally grateful for everything. I'm just a seriously nosey person myself, so I thought there'd be a few people like me out there who'd like to have a snoop.

I sadly couldn't take a photo of my main present, which is an iPhone 6s in gold because I was actually taking the photos with it. But look at the quality! Compared to this one, the photos my trusty old Samsung took are dust.
I totally wasn't expecting this one as I didn't even wish for it as I assumed it would be way to expensive for my parents, but thanks to a few good connections, this miraculously landed under the Christmas tree. Again, I might've shed a few tears. I weep easily, alright.

These two presents also made my heart leap in joy. I had more than once mentioned to my Mom how whenever I'd wanted to purchase MAC's 'Velvet Teddy', it had been sold out - for what felt like the entirety of 2015. Again, I don't know how she managed to do it, but she got both herself and me one of these bad boys. 

In addition to that, my parents also got me Urban Decay's Naked 2 Basics eyeshadow palette, which I have also been eyeing up for ages. I already used both this and my new lippie to create a look for when I went to visit my aunt on Boxing Day, and the quality of the shadows is definitely as great as I expected it to be.

Gifting perfume has become a tradition in my family, and so I watched in awe as my Mom unwrapped the new Dior parfume my Dad got her, but when it was my turn, I was equally as excited - Lancôme's 'La Vie Est Belle' has been on top of my 'to-try' list ever since I found a sample of it in a Cosmopolitan magazine, and my Mom even got me the largest bottle available!

I love the scent of this as it's quite unique, it's both sweet and also floral and has notes of vanilla, pears and pralines to it.

This is already sitting on my dressing table as well after I first wore it out on Boxing Day, looking absolutely stunning.

My Dad really did suprise me this year, as he got me another perfume totally out of the blue. He stumbled upon Santini's 'Miriam Modemoissele' when he was in the Czech Republic for work and picked it up for me on a whim - and it turned out to be a total success. It's totally my kind of scent - flowery with notes of roses and freesia, but also sort of wodden with notes of amber and cedar.

In fact, it smells so good that my Mom secretly sneaked a few spritzes onto herself - that didn't go unnoticed though because the scent is damn strong and persistent!

My little brother might often sometimes be a pain in the ass, but look at how sweet he can get! He got me KIKO's Romance & Desire Scented Set, which includes a roll-on perfume, a body lotion and a candle. All of the product share the same scent of vanilla, passionfruit, caramel and cedar.

The scent is subtle yet absolutely amazing, so for a candle (and perfume, for that matter) lover like me, this is an ideal gift set.

On a total different note,  with the next few presents my inner geek really comes to show.

As for this one, I've been a fan of the Sims franchise for as long as I can remember - I think I got The Sims 2 soon after it came out, which means that I must've been around five or six at that time!
And in the decade that followed that faithful day, these games have not lost the ability to get me absolutely hooked. In all seriousness, ever since I got The Sims 4 for Easter, I have played it for over 2000 hours in total. That's over 80 days. See you guys in rehab, huh?

My growing addiction has been fueld even more by the new expansion pack 'Get Together', which came out mid December - and it really lived up to my expectations and even exceeded them by a lot!

My family know me too well. Seriously, my Mom probably monitors me when I'm oooh-ing and aaah-ing at books while in the bookstore downtown because I've wanted to read all of these for soo long but never really had the money to get them or the time to acutally sit down and read them.

'The Rose Society' by Marie Lu might be the one book I was the most excited about - it is the sequel to 'The Young Elites', one of the best books I read this year (it's actually so great that I wrote an entire review on it) and as the first book ended on quite a cliffhanger, I was aching for answers to the thousands of questions inside my head.

This fantasy triology (with the final book in the making) tells the story of Adelina Amouteru, a sixteen year old girl living in Kenettra, a city that is losely based on ancient Venice, in 1361 and how her life changes when a plague sweeps across the country, leaving its children with weird marking and even weirder powers.

'The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire' by Dan Howell and Phil Lester is technically not a book in the traditional sense, but more of an autobiography mixed with comical elements and the like.

Part two of my confessions - I love these two. I've been subscribed to their YouTube channels ever since early 2012, so you could say I did kind of grow up with them, and as cheesy as it sounds, they did help me become who I am today.
And if you're thinking "They're just some silly guys who think they're famous" - they're very much the opposite, they're down-to-earth, relatable dudes who never fail to make me smile.

I honestly don't know why I didn't already own 'The Bane Chronicles' by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson. Fun fact, if you need to know anything about me, it is that I love Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series to death. As in, throw a quote at me and I'll tell you in which book you'll find it, the context and who said it. I'm serious about these books.

This book however is not part of the series but rather a collection of short stories about one of the serie's characters, the warlock Magnus Bane, who is an absolute babe and has a sense of humor that sometimes leaves me speechless, so this'll be a trip and a half.

Rainbow Rowell's 'Carry On' is actually a companion novel to her much hyped novel 'Fangirl', which I too loved. While Fangirl revolves around Cath, a struggling college student who is a huge fan of the 'Simon Snow' book serious and writes fanfiction about said series, this gem right here is the actual fanfiction Cath was writing throughout the novel. Rainbow Rowell actually sat down and wrote the whole damn thing. I squealed when I saw this because even though I have not read a single page yet, I know that everything she does turns out to be amazing.

Lastly, another long awaited sequel I got was 'Girl Online On Tour' by Zoe Sugg, also known as Zoella. Now, while I used to watch Zoe's YouTube channel sort of religiously last year, I don't really anymore - I still make time to read her blog from time to time, though. But I loved what she did with her debut novel 'Girl Online' so much that I read it in less than a day and then was left aching for more.

The protagonist of the story is a teenage blogger called Penny - can you see why I found this intriguing? - who meets a young rock star called Noah and eventually falls for him. As the sequel's name suggests, Penny now joins Noah for his Euorpean tour and is faced with a lot of difficulties on the way.

To close it up, my lovely aunt got me a mini cake stand along with some of my favorite chocolates from Ferrero - yum!

I think I'll use the cake stand for displaying jewelery rather than actually cakes though.

So there we have all the gifts that I got for this year's Christmas. I don't deserve them, really. I know how annoying, stubborn and skittish I can be; and that makes me appreciate all of this even more, especially as I've also experienced very different Christmasses in the past.

What did you get for Christmas?

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How To Deal With Stress | Lifestyle

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Seeing as my finals are coming up next month, I figured that a lot of others are probably struggling with just as much stress as I am right now. I mean, I'm literally running on a couple cups of coffee (I have seriously lost count) and loads of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
Oh the sweet life of a student.

In all seriousness, though, I think that most of us don't really know how to deal with stress properly - and I'm not at all excluding myself here - and might start feeling overwhelmed once a certain amount of pressure is put onto their shoulders, so I thought it would be a good idea to share a few ways to wind down when the entire world is constantly winding you up.

1. Fresh Air

Whenever I feel like I'm starting to drown in the workload that's pilling up on my desk, I try to get fresh air in one way or another, whether that's by simply opening the window or even going for a walk.
It's amazing how much calmer you'll find yourself to be after you have taken a few deep breaths of fresh air and cooled down a little.

Also, going for a walk can feel like an actual for of therapy when you feel like you're going nowhere with your tasks because you'll get to see something else than your workspace while also physically moving - which leads me to my next point...

2. Exercising

Don't panic, I'm not telling you to go for a run every time you feel stressed out - I bow down to people who can keep up with running, because I sure as hell cannot.
Anyways, fret not, because it is proven that literally any form of excersise, from aerobics, to boxing, to yoga, can act as a stress reliver, so even if you consider yourself to be rather unfit, there will be something for you.
I myself have found yoga to work best for me when I need to calm myself down, and swimming when I desperately need to move and let out some negative emotions that have been pilling up over time.

Doing any form of sport will bump up the production of endorphins in your body, which basically act as your brain's feel-good neurotransmittors. It usually also needs you to completly focus on what you're doing, which obviously takes your mind off whatever is stressing you at in that moment.

3. Treat Yourself

I feel like there are a very few things that a hot bath can't cure, especially if you add one of Lush's bath bombs. The hot water will not only relax your muscles, but also your mind - especially when you, like me, love a good read while you're soaking in all the goodness.

Afterwards, I love to do my nails and out on a face mask, all while sipping ona hot chocolate and binge-watching one of my favorite shows or jamming out to some Spotify playlist.

You wouldn't believe how good a proper pamper session will leave you feeling!

4. Writing

This might just be the creative gene in me, but over the years I've realized that writing about the things that bother me in a way helps me deal with them - do you realize why I'm writing this right now?

Laying out all of the thoughts that are tangled up in your mind, the things that keep you awake at night or haunt you while you while you try to relax - write them down on paper, or even type them out. Seeing them right in front of you can help you think about your problems and even possible solutions to them.

5. Put Yourself First

In an achievement-oriented society like ours, it's very easy to just ignore the signals your body's sending you when you're working on a challenging task, but something you have to remember that no matter what it is that's causing you all this stress is much less than your health.

Take me as the best example - I'm such a damn perfectionist, I can literally not rest peacefully until I have gone through with something and I will literally find myself waking up at night in cold sweat because my stress followed me into my dreams and turned them into nightmares.
Don't do that to yourself. This might sound totally stupid, but getting not that much of a good grade or not getting that promotion you wanted or handing in that project a week late will not define your worth as a person, but stepping back from something that is making you feel negative in any way can only bring profits for you and your mental health with it.

How do you deal with stressful situations?

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Christmas Wishlist

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Once we hit mid-November, my family starts decorating for Christmas and cracks out the Christmas cookies and mulled wine, so there was no way I could escape the rising excitement and warmth in my stomach. So I'm typing this while looking out at the lights I put up on my balcony and munch on some gingerbread. I'm not even ashamed at this point.

I've also found that it was really hard for me to make up my mind on what I could wish for this year. Usually I'll have an at least one foot long list by early September because whenever I'm broke, I just chuck the things I'm lusting over on there. However, there's only a few things that would make me cry were they to land under the tree - and here they are!

1. Yankee Candle Christmas Cookie (27,99€)

I've been lusting after Yankee Candles for the longest time, but as they're pretty hard to get a hold of in Germany and on top of that, quite expensive, I never had the courage to commit to pruchasing one.

However, I stumbled across their Christmas themed scents when I was downtown the other day, and I fell head over heels for this one - it was basically love at first sniff. I had to have it.

Christmas Cookie smells, as the name suggests, like delicious, sweet cookies, without being overly sweet or sickening, but very much making my tummy rumble.

The jar is also huge, so this one will definitely last you for quite some time.

2. Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Camera (90€)

How cool are polaroid cameras? I'd love to take one of these to a special event and just snap away - without getting to see the outcome on a screen, or editing them, or pressing 'delete' 99% of the time. Those would be some damn rare and real photos.

The only reason I don't own one of these yet is their price tag - ninety Euros is quite a lot for a stundent who is barely scraping by. I'd have to live off of toast and cereal for much longer than two weeks to both pay my bills and afford one of these.

3. iPhone 6s in 'Gold' (849€)

It's so beautiful. And so shiny. And just checking the price tags downtown made me see stars.

Truth is, I'm a true Android girl. I've never ventured into the world of Apple before, simply because I'm not made of money and holy hell, these things are so expensive. Especially when you, like me, need at least 64GB of memory because you simply can't delete any of your pictures.

Even though this is by far the most far-fetched wish on this list of pretty things, I could not not put it on here as I've literally been oooh-ing and aaaah-ing at it ever since it's been released.

4. Lancôme La Vie Est Belle EdP (106€)

I actually mentioned the 'Intense' version of this perfume in my fall wishlist, but somewhere along the way, I started to realize that it was way too overpowering. Overpowering in like, I spritzed some of it into my hair when I checked it out while shopping and then went home to wash my hair - only that it still smelt of the perfume after I had washed it. What even?

La Vie Est Belle is both a sweet and a fruity smell and has notes of vanilla, pear and pralines in it. It's such a wonderful perfume for the colder seasons and could both be worn during daytime and for a night out.

5. Benefit 'Do The Hoola' kit (37€)

I've only ever tried one of Benefit's products before, which is their Erase Paste, a concealer that I loved so much that it became a staple in my daily routine. Other than that, I've always admire the Benefit counter from afar.

The 'Do The Hoola' kit, however, does make my fingertips tingle just a teeny tiny bit. It includes the 'Dew The Hoola', a product exclusive to the kit (which is a good enough reason to get it, let's be real), as well as minatures of their infamous Hoola bronzer, They're Real mascara and the Benebalm, which means that you get to try out four of the brand's products for a relatively small price - compared to what they'd usually cost - and make up your mind about them before you go ahead and buy a full size!

6. Urban Decay Naked2 Basics Palette (28,99€)

It's no secret that I'm in love with Urban Decay's much talked about Naked palettes, and while I sadly didn't get the opportunity to pick up the smoky one, I have been eyeing up the second of the 'Basics' palettes for a while.

I love that it's so small and compact which makes it very well suited for travelling (unlike the pretty bulky other palettes) and also the shade selection, which is right up my alley.
Also, with Urban Decay, I know that I'll get good quality, so this definitely is money well spent.

7. 'The Rose Society' by Marie Lu (8,70€)

This book right here is the long awaited sequel to 'The Young Elites', which was one of my favorite reads this year - I even wrote an entire review on it here.

Ever since finishing that book, I've been waiting patiently anxiously for its follow-up because I was so desperate to find out how Adelina's story continues. The wait was actually physically painful - that's how dedicated I became to this story and its characters, woah.

And on top of all the goodness that Marie Lu's books are anyways, I haven't had the time to read in months, so having a good book to sit down with over the holidays would be really freaking nice.

8. Ted Baker Reubin Large Zip Around Purse (~99€)

I don't know what it is about Ted Baker's bags and purses, but somehow I'm magically drawn to them. Everytime I pass them in a store, I just have to take a look at all the pretty, shiny goodies - only to leave with a sigh.

I've wanted to get a Ted Baker purse for so long now, but I never really had the spare money to do so - or, when I actually did, I thought I'd feel way too guilty about spending so much money on a purse that I didn't. So I totally added it to the Christmas wishlist, because who knows, maybe someone who loves me might have less inhibitions than me when it comes to being so spendy. (If only.)

9. The Sims 4 Get Together (39,99€)

I grew up with the 'Sims' franchise, and I've been obsessively playing it ever since 'The Sims 2' came out. Major throwback, right?

The Sims 4 is definitely the reason why I never get shit done. I love the game so much that I like to accidently let it consume next to all of my free time - I'll sit down to play and suddenly it's two hours later. Woops.

So, being the addict that I am, there was no way I would miss the new expansion pack that's coming out at the end of November, which is called 'Get Together'. 

I'm so ready to pull an all-nighter, and I wish I was joking.

Which lusted-after products made your Christmas list this year?

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Lush Christmas Haul | Beauty

I've had the past week off and should feel all refreshed and chilled out, but no, Mrs. Perfectionist over here obviously can't sit down until all the work is done. Essays, presentations, studying for exams - throw it at me. Also, hosting parties and going out to meet people? Sure. And all the cleaning up afterwards? Whatever.

Keeping up an academic career as well as a social life is impossible and if you manage to do it, please let me in on your secrets.

So, stressed out student I was, I decided to take yesterday off and treat myself to a day downtown with my Mom and how could I not drop into Lush while I was there?

I have to admit that when I saw all the products from their Christmas range, I might've been a little overwhelmed. All of them were so cute, and all the products smelt divine (I felt slightly high after leaving the store, not gonna lie) so picking out which of them I wanted to take home with me turned out to be quite the challenge.

So, how about we have a look at the ones that made the cut?

Candy Mountain (Bubble Bar) 4,95€

I've been dying to get this all year! 'Candy Mountain' is my all-time favorite Christmas product out of all the ones Lush offers and I've been purchasing it for years, so obviously I had to get this. I think I smiled like an idiot while smelling this. Yes, I'm a nutter.

This has an insanely sweet smell of vanilla which I believe is either exactly the same scent as the 'Snow Fairy' shower gel or at least a fairly similar one - so if you love that one, you'll be guaranted to fall in love with this product as well! The scent also sticks with you after you get out of the bath for a couple of hours, so this could be perfect for a bath before a Christmas party.

And, on top of all that goodness, it is also a bubble bar, which means that I'll get at least two, if not three uses out of this so it's definitely worth every cent. I shall get more of these.

Father Christmas (Bath Bomb) 5,95€

I'm no stranger to this product either as I first picked it up shortly before last year's Christmas and absolutely loved it, so I was also looking to stock up on more of these this year.
It's also a really suprising bath bomb because it looks quite rosey on the outside, but once you plop it into the bath it'll turn the water a vibrant shade of green! On top of that, with this in the bath my skin always ends up feeling insanely soft afterwards, so that's another plus.

This actually has a really similar smell to Candy Mountain, only that it's not as strong - so if you don't like sicklish-sweet scents, you might want to look into this one rather than my beloved bubble bar.

Peeping Santa (Bubble Bar) 5,50€

How cute is this little guy? I could simply not leave him at the store, he was too adorable.

The 'Peeping Santa' bubble bar is a new product that Lush brought out this year and due to it's scent it was definitely the most appealing new product to me! It smells of strawberries, one of my favorite scents, and has some bergamot and geranium oil thrown in there, so it's not your typical sweet Christmas scent, but rather fruity and fresh!

I'm really looking forward to get a few baths out of this one and watch my water turn red and full of bubbles! Oh so festive.

Butter Bear (Bath Bomb) 2,95€

Much like with the 'Peeping Santa', the cutesy factor was strong with this one.

I don't expect this to have a massive effect once it's thrown into the bath, but it's described to make it feel creamy, and it also smells of cocoa, so it'll definitely have a 'feel-good' effect on me.

Also, it has a pretty low price for a Lush product, so there's another reason to totally go out and pick this dude up.

What's your favorite product from Lush's Christmas range?

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