June Favorites | Beauty

This morning, while making breakfast (aka a bowl of cereal, because who has time for anything else?) something crossed my mind. "I  feel like I haven't done a monthly favorites in aaages."

Well, apparantly June has been messing with my head even more than I was aware of, because it has been around four weeks.
Finals, work and finally living on my own have most definitely left their marks on me - as you might have noticed by my absence or general attitude, so beauty wise, the last month has been more on the comfortable side of things because when I'm not feeling my best, I'll at least want to look my best.

So let's have a look at the items that made be feel like kicking ass this June, shall we?

MAC Matte Lipstick in 'Kinda Sexy' (20€)

If you read my in-depth review on this lipstick, you will know that I actually won it in a giveaway after admiring the shade from afar for months!

Even though the days are noticeably getting warmer here in Germany and I usually prefer wearing really light make up during this time of the year, I've found myself reaching for this at least every second day.

'Kinda Sexy' is a more pale pink tones nude lipstick which looks great on gals with lighter skin. It works for both day and night looks and because of its matte formula, it lasts for up to five hours, which is marvellous.

Essence "So Glow!" Highlighter in 'Bright Up Your Life" (2,79€)

I actually picked this product up around early May and already spoke about it back then, but it's been getting a lot more love over the past weeks as I've been loving dewy, glowy skin which sadly doesn't come to me naturally.

I love that this does add a subtle glow which mostly shows up in the sun without being to out there or making me look like I came straight out of a Twilight movie. It's a cream to powder product, which took a little for me to get used to, and it's available in two shades, one of which is more sparkly, and one champage toned shade, which is the one I own.

Avon Magic Effects Matte Nail Polish in 'White' (8€)

I'll admit it - this is the first ever matte nail polish that I bought. I know, I know. I don't know why it took me so long, either, because I fell absolutely head over heels in love with this one.

I own around fiteen polishes by Avon, and as I trust their products to be of good quality while still being affordable, I decided to go for this new product when I spyed it, and I wasn't let down.

Within a minute, this dries to a matte finish - you will need two coats for a full coverage as this is a white shade, but with that drying time, that's totally doable.
The polish lasts for three to four days before seriously chipping, which isn't too shabby, especially as I didn't have the time to take care of my nail a lot in June.

Urban Decay Naked 2 Eyeshadow Palette (47,99€)

I've mentioned this in a previous monthly favorite back in March, but I have no shame including it again because without fail, I have used this palette every.single.day. I was mentally slapping myself on the wrist everytime I went back to it because I didn't want to neglect my huge collection of eyeshadow palettes, but I just couldn't help myself. It's that good.

You'll all know the deal about Urban Decay's palettes by now - the quality is outstanding, the shadows go on buttery smooth and are very blendable, while also lasting for a pretty long time.
What I love about this one in particular is that there are so many nice shades for summer. There's pinks, golds, silvers, some darker shades for when you're feeling something bold - if I could only ever use one eyeshadow palette for the rest of my life, it'd be this one!

What have you been loving throughout the past month?

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Being Brave | Lifestyle

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Even though I like to put on the front of someone who really has all of their life together and doesn't care about things like decisions or their consequences at all, I'm actually actually scared shitless of life in general.

You might think that I'm exaggarating, but I'm not. Let this little anecdote illustrate how serious I am - on Monday, my English teacher asked what we'd like to do once we graduate. While the rest of my class was happily chatting about university, police school, going abroad and all that good stuff, I was quietly having a breakdown as I feel like I'm the only one who has absolutely no idea what she should do with her life. I was actually starting to feel dizzy. Nice.
Anyways, that's an issue for another day.

What I was trying to achieve with that introduction was to clarify that I'm easily intimidated and quick to panic.

I shared one of the goals that I had in mind for this year with you guys in March, and as I felt like writing it down made me realize how far I had come back then, I decided to share something else with you, something that I sturggle with a lot but try hard to better myself.

Being brave.

Even though I'm someone who has some very strong opinions on a variety of subjects, and even though I might come of as snarky and/or sassy, I'm usually too scared to share what I've got to say.
Not so much in situations like a simple discussion, but more in times where I will actually have to stand up for myself and stop others from treating me badly.

Why? I'm not sure.

I guess I'm just afraid of people being angry with me, or dissapointed in me, or thinking that I'm a complete bitch. But let's be real, we all have those days.
Basically, I think that it's my low confidence that is the root of all evil.

I really don't want to cry about how I always feel like I'm not good enough and that I always feel like I could be doing better, but that's reality.
And when I'm talking to people and mentioned that I'm not sure on my outift, I'm not trying to fish for compliments, I'm actually concerned. Same goes for hair, make up, my apartment. The list goes on.

And with that confidence problem comes the fact that I simply cannot open my mouth once things get serious.
Someone calls me stupid? I'll take that. Someone runs into me? Cool. Someone not so accidentally hits me? Whatever.

No.

I think it's time for me to stop letting others run me over and tell them how I think about things.
I think it's time for me to say yes more, to take chances that I might not have again, even though they make me feel nauseous.

I think it's time for me to let go off the crippling thoughts at the back of my head telling me "What if it goes wrong? What if it backfires?"


It's time to  realize that I will never know the answers tom all these questions if I don't simply go for it.

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PS: You will probably have realized by now that I have changed my schedule from three post per week to two for the past few weeks, and I'm very sad that I had to do that, but most of my final exams were taking place this June, so I was - and still am - very stressed out about and busy with those.

My last final is on the last day of June, so after that day, I will go back to the way I used to blog before.

I also have some very exciting things planned for July, including a trip to Berlin which I will obviously cover, and maybe even a giveaway, so stay tuned!

The Least Boring Nude Lipstick Ever | Beauty

A few weeks ago, something completely out of the ordinary happened to me.
I feel like sixteen years of bad luck have been leading up to this because I won a giveaway. For the first time ever. (Actually won a second one shortly after this one, but more on that when the time comes.)

And as if I wasn't already on cloud nine, the lovely Romana was going to send a MAC lipstick of  my choice my way. For someone like me, who has an entire page in my notebook filled with MAC lipsticks I want to try, thast was heaven. I might've cried a teeny-tiny bit.

After going through said list over and over again, I finally settled on the shade "Kinda Sexy", and let me tell you, that was one hell of a good choice.

I think I comment on this a lot, but I simply love the sleek, black bullet the lipstick it comes in as it looks very classy. And I'm also in love with the the scent of vanilla all of MAC's lipsticks have, because there is nothing worse than a lipstick of great quality that smells like an old lady's perfume.

"Kinda Sexy" is a nude color, but due to the fact that it has quite of a pink undertone to it, it goes on more rose-ish and looks a lot more interesting than your average nude.

The one thing I was worried about, though, was the lipstick's formula. This shade has a matte formula, which I had never tried before as I was afraid that it'd cling to all my dry patches and dry out my lips alltogether.
Luckily, that didn't happen. After preparing your lips beforehand by using a lip scurb and lip balm, this goes on suprisingly smooth for a matte lipstick, there was no tugging or fighting needed at all.

The color pay-off is really great, the shade is insanely pigmented due to its matte formula and stays on for up to five hours. It also fades very evenly, leaving a nice stain.

The only thing that you might keep in mind is that the shade turned out to be a little lighter on me than it looked in the bullet and the swatch.


Again, thank you so much to Romana for holding that awesome giveaway!
This way I got to try out a lipstick that has been on my wishlist for a really, really long time and found out that shades like "Kinda Sexy" works way better for me than most brown-toned nudes do.

What is our favorite nude lipstick?

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5 Things I've Learnt Since Moving Out | Lifestyle

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Never in my life would I have thought that by the time I'm sixteen, I would have my own place. Nu-uh. I'm at a point in my life where everything is kind of overwhelming and I'm expected to have everything that I want to do with my life after graduation figured out soon, when all I really want to do is grab a bag of potato chips and watch an entire season of Pretty Little Liars in one day.

How the hell am I supposed to be a functional adult?

Alright, maybe I'm overexaggerating. But the introduction to this post basically sums up the thoughts that kept me up during the first night I spent completely alone, and that seriously wasn't pretty. I would say that I was having a major quarter-life crisis, but I'm not even in my mid-twenties yet.
This is getting out of hand y'all.

Anyways. Ever since that anxiety and chocolate filled first night, I've learnt quite a few things that I never really struggled with when I still lived with my family, and I felt like sharing them with you would be a nice way to reflect on how far I've come - and to be honest, some of them might be pretty darn amusing.

1. There is a difference between being alone and being lonely.

As I mentioned, the first night I spent completely alone was absolutely horrible. I felt insanely isolated and lonely, and even though I live in a pretty large house and I'm basically surrounded by other people - including my family, who actually live in the same apartment complex I live in, I felt like the only person on earth. This might sound rather stupid, but as I'm a huge family person and used to someone being around me almost 24/7, that was the biggest change I had to face.

Ever since then, though, I think I've been improving. I like spending time alone now and I'm very happy about the fact that I get to have some "me" time without anyone killing my vibe.

2. Cleaning can actually be fun?

Before sitting down to write this post, I had a major cleaning spree. I was putting that off for days now, when I suddenly thought "You know what? Let's fucking do this."
And off I went. Hoovering, scrubbing the floors, taking out the trash, the list goes on. I basically went into full on Cinderella mode, and I was having way too much fun doing that.
Is this normal? Why am I suddenly enjoying something that I've always looked upon as a chore? Send help.

3. Sleep is precious, but sadly rare.

Being used to living together with three other people who with a sleeping schedule very similar to mine, I managed to actually go to sleep at human hours due to the fact that studying all the lights on at midnight simply isn't going to cut it for a household full of people who get up at 5 am.

Living on my own though, I have no one to remind me that hey, it's a quarter to midnight and now you'll only get five hours of sleep - more likely less than that. What the hell have you done.
While I usually don't struggle with time managment at all, I seem to not be able to keep up a reasonable sleeping schedule now. My alarm like to mercilessly remind me of that every single morning.

4. There is a reason behind "best used by" dates.

I'm not talking about that box of cereals that is a day or two past its date - obviously, those are still very well edible.

No, I'm talking about fruit and/or vegetables that have been living in my fridge for weeks on end before I actually remembered to throw them out - resulting in the fact that I will never look at cucumbers and mangoes the same way. Seriously, after I had that incident earlier today, I had to sit down and use anti-bacterial on half of my body. I'll spare you with the details.

5. Cooking is super rad - once you know how to actually do it.

Now, I know how to cook a few basic meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner - but let's be honest here, there's only some many times a girl can eat scrambled eggs, noodles or tacos.
This is where I'll start complaining that school doesn't educate you in basic knowledge that you will need later on in life - things like taxes, managing a household, or cooking.

I guess I'll have to annoy my Mom some more with this, borrow her cookbooks and learn through trial and error.

Until then, scrambled eggs it is,

If you have already moved out, what is something that you learnt along the way?

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My Everyday Make Up Bag | Beauty

I'm that person that is hardly at home. I'm almost always on the go, whether I'm at school, work or actually trying to keep up somewhat of a social life, I heavily depend on the stuff that I carry in my bag (which is a ton of stuff. Please tell me I'm not the only one who seems to carry around half of her belongings.)

As most females, I like to have some of my make up with me at all times, and as I'm really nosey and like to read these kinds of posts to get to see what everyone else wants to have with them, I decided to share my on-the-go essentials with you!

Make up wise, I'm trying to keep it simple at the moment as we've been experiencing a major heatwave in Germany lately, and having all of your make up shift down your face as time goes by is something I'd like to avoid at all costs - because I've been there, and it's not a good look. At all.

My Manhattan Wake Up Concealer in the shade '02 classic beige' works great with my skin now that I have a little bit of a tan going on, and I use it to touch up the area under my eyes up throughout the day - it has medium coverage and doesn't look cakey at all. As I usually don't carry my foundation with me, I also cover up my blemishes with this.

As you might know, I have oily/combination skin, which is already hard to handle on most days, but now that it's getting a lot warmer, I need to touch up my powder even more frequently. Because of that, my trusty Rimmel Stay Matte Powder, which I have an in depth review on here, has not left my handbag in weeks now, and it looks like that's not going to change for a while.

The heat and the fact that I'm sweating more than I'd like to has a similar effect on my eyeliner - after  a few hours, next to nothing of the feline flick that took me what felt like half an hour to perfect will be left on my lids, and I'll have to crack out my Maybelline 36h Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner to take care of the panda eyes I'm developing.

During both spring and summer, I like to add a healthy glow to my rather pale skin - because y'know, even if I'm tan, I still look ill compared to everyone around me, so I like having my Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in 'Nude Mauve' handy.

My lip products vary from day to day, and most of the time I'll end up throwing in three or four different ones, 'cause you know, just in case. Yesterday, the Kiko Velvet Mat Lipstick in '602 Natural Rose', a gorgeous dark pink, which you can learn more about here, was making an appearance.

Usually I'll also carry a pocket mirror and some sort of make up brush with me as well, which is the Avon Blush Brush on most days, because you know me, I'm literally just too lazy to make the effort to cram my pretty large powder brush into my fairly small make up bag.

And finally, the two things that I would be totally lost without - hand cream and hand sanitizier. Oh who I adore thee. I have really dry, chapped hands, so I'll put on my I love... Body Milk in Raspberry, which I own a oh-so-convenient travel size of, on every other hour. And, as I'm out and about a lot - and so are a lot of other people - I will sometimes feel the need to use the Bath and Body Work PocketBac in 'Cozy Vanilla Cream' in order to get rid of all the nasty dirt that I might've touched.

What is are your handbag essentials?

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Recent Reads #2 | The Young Elites

I've got a confession to make. When my finals started mid May, something changed. And by changed, I mean that my life turned into somewhat of school, eat ,work, sleep, repeat.
You might've guessed that there was next to no space for any other interest there, and you're damn right. Guess how long it's been since I picked up a book. Two months. Two months.
Alright, technically I have picked up a few, but those have been books that I not so voluntarily read for classes, or books that I actively did not want to read, but obviously that had to be done anyway. Long story short, my assigned readings totally took the pleasure out of my private ones.

However, I was looking for something that would help me get my mind off everything that has been going on lately, so, just as I used to, I turned to my bookshelf. And I realized that one book had been sitting there for a while - ever since I got it for Easter, to be precise.
It was time to give it some love.

"The Young Elites" is a fantasy novel - yes, this is kind of a first for me, too - and is the first installment in what is going to be a trilogy, which is written by Marie Lu. If you feel like her name sounds familiar, you might've heard of the Legend series, which was another trilogy of hers. (That was really flippin' good as well, might I add.)

The story takes place in Kenettra, a city that is losely based on acient Venice in 1361. It revolves around Adelina Amouteru, a sixteen year old girl who survived the blood fever which swept across the country, killing all of the infected adults and leaving its young survivors, the malfettos, marked - changes in hair- or eyecolor, streaks of color across their bodys, the like. Adelina herself lost an eye due to the disease, making her stand out and being an outcast.

Rumor has it that some of the malfettos have mysterious abilities - people call them "The Young Elites". Trying to provoke those abilities in Adelina, her father both physically and mentally abuses her for years, until she manages to kill him and escape.

Her freedom does not last long, though, as she is captured and meant to be excecuted for showing signs of having those mysterious, "demonic" abilities. But before that can happen, the Dagger Society, a group of Young Elites saves her.

Adelina learns that the Daggers did not save her out of pure kindness, but because they were looking to recruit her for their mission - their leader, the crown prince Enzo, was banished from the palace after being marked as a malfetto, leading to his sister marrying a Duke who then became king and soon started his mission to rid the country of all malfettos.
Adelina decides to join them, and so her stories really begins...


Let me say this first and foremost. This book does not have a real protagonist. Adelina is not a nice girl, and she definitely is no hero. She is drawn to fear and anger, both of which help her powers grow stronger, and also power itself.
I like that she is no victim. Obviously, she might seem inferior due to her disability, but Adelina can definitely still kick ass.
But seeing the story unfold from her point of view is nothing for the faint-hearted. Being in her head is quite scary - because how could it not be? Adelina's past is dark and filled with pain and terror, which keep following her every step of her way. As her powers grow over the time she spend with the Daggers, so does the darkness inside of her.

I'm not saying that she is entirely bad, because she certainly is not. There are scenes that bring out the good in her, scenes that make it seem like there is hope for her. Where she resists doing the wrong thing. I think those scenes were the most important ones in my eyes.
Adelina's flaws make her human, even among all those things that are so unhman about her, and it's clear that she is not entirely lost.


In my opinion, "The Young Elites" is definitely a novel that is so worth the shot. Yes, even though you might've been sceptical ever since you heard the word fantasy. I myself had never read a fantasy book before this one, and while it took a while to get used to at first, the effort I had to make then was so worth it a hundred pages later.
It's an unusal book for sure, but passing it up would definitely be a waste.

"The Young Elites" by Marie Lu is available on amazon for $11.54.


What book did you pick up recently?

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Summer Beauty Wishlist | Beauty

I love summer - the days get longer, the water gets warmer, my hair gets lighter - basically, my life gets a whole lot better, especially as I'll be off school once the end of July comes around.

With summer comes a new season, and with a new season comes a completely new wishlist of mine.

Now, if you've read my most recent post, you will know that alongside some other bloggers, I have decided to not spend a single penny on beauty products this month - but a girl can still dream, especially as all of the products that have made it on my wishlist are so damn dreamy.

Seriously, some of them are prettier than me.

1. Nars Satin Lip Pencil in "Biscayne Park" (23,39€)

This may be shocking coming from a beauty blogger, but I actually don't own a single Nars product, even though I keep stumbling across rave reviews on them.

What stood out to me, besides their infamous blushes, are their lip pencils.

This one in "Biscayne Park" is a pink toned nude, which is the perfect summer nude for me and nothing like the shades I own.

2. Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette (27,99€)

If this wasn't so ridiculously expensive, I would already own it. But obviously, I don't, as I'm a more or less broke student who'd have to live off toast for two weeks to be able to afford this.

Alright, serious talk. I feel like this might be the first time I'd use all of the shades in an eyeshadow palette (except the black one, obvs, as that is more than just out of my comfort zone) as they're all neutral shades, which I'm enjoying a lot at the moment.

I own all of the Naked palettes so I know that the quality of these shadows shouldn't let me down.

3. MAC Satin Lipstick in "Cherish" (20€)

There might be a slight pattern going on amongst a lot of my lipsticks - the satin finish. It's the perfect middle between too creamy and a matte, which is harsh and unforgiving on my lips. It's basically a more creamy version of a matte. It's wonderful.

It's also no secret that I have a thing for MAC lipsticks, and I feel like "Cherish", which is a light nude brown, would fit into my collection perfectly.

4. Kiko Tri-Bal Soul Baked Blush in "Deluxe Coral" (14,90€)

Blush is a beauty product that I treat with caution as I have very fair skin - if I don't watch out, blush will make me look like I ran up some stairs and my face went bright pink.

However, I've swatched this particular blush in store before, and it's perfect for me.

There are three shades that you could use on their own - a light pink, which works as more of a highlight, a light orange and a darker pink - or you could swirl your brush around to combine them, so you could create several looks with one product, which I find very practical.

5. Rimmel Good To Glow Highlighter in "Notting Hill Glow" (7,04€)

During summer, I don't use highlighters as frequently as I would during colder seasons, simply because I feel like I'll look like a sparkly vampire in the sunlight.

I was still very intrigued when an increasing number of reviews of this product were appearing on my Bloglovin' feed, and as it's price isn't all to high, I'd be happy to try this once my spending ban's over.

6. Soap & Glory Hand Food (9,99€)

One of the most raved about hand creams of all time, if not the most raved about.

I have really dry, chapped hands so I'd love to try this miracle product out and see if it'll end up doing anything for the issues I have with my hands.

7. Dolce & Gabbana Floral Drops EDT (103€)

In my opinion, a woman can never have too many perfumes.

Going along with that, I've recently discovered this parfume when I was downtown and I instantly fell in love with it.

Just as my beloved Daisy Dream, Floral Drops is, as the name suggests, a flowery scent, which I never used to like, but apparently that's becoming my thing now as I haven't been wearing anything but floral scents over the past few months.

Let's just ignore the price tag, shall we.

8. Lush Mask Of Magnaminty (7,95€)

As I'm about to run out of my beloved Cupcake mask, I've looked into what other masks Lush has to offer and discovered this one.

The "Mask Of Magnaminty" is a deep cleansing mask that will rid your pores of all the dirt that is in them and remove your dead skin cells, leaving your face feeling fresh and renewed,

9. Biotherm Aquasource Total Eye Revitalizer (29,99€)

I got a freeby of this product in a magazine a while back, and it worked wonders on my dark circles, which are a serious issue for me. Think lilacy blue. They'll look like that, even if I get ten hours of sleep.

Can you believe that this discovery changed everything for me?

After application, this instantly cooled the under-eye area and after a few uses, my dark circles seemed a lot lighter and the skin itself a lot softer, so I'm keen on getting my hands on this.

Looking back at it now, I think it was a good idea to actively try to not spend any money on my favorite guilty pleasure this month as I'll have enough time to save up for some of these treasures - if I do end up getting some of the items I included, I will make sure to update you guys!

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No Spending June | Beauty

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If you are no stranger to my blog, you will know two things about me - one, I am in love with all things make up; and two, willpower is not one of my greatest qualities.

A few days ago, I had to realize that I'm soon going to run out of storage for my make up - someone who doesn't share my obsession hobby might wonder who it could come that far.

I'm guilty of buying a bunch of products and using them regulary, until, well, I read a few blog posts that feature some really pretty pictures of shiny products, and before I know it I'm in a shop, holding them in my hand while I wait in line for check-out.
I know this is not exactly healthy, you don't need to remind me. Why am I this way.

Being a student who lives in their own place, you can imagine my budget is kind of tight-knit anyways, even though I do work two jobs, so my bad shopping habbit is doing a lot of unecessary damage as I'm sure I could easily avoid spending a huge amount of money if I really wanted to.

After I read Ana's post on how she decided to try and not spend a single penny on beauty products all throughout June, I decided to pluck up the courage and join her on her journey, and believe me, it's going to be an interesting one.

But in all honesty, all the unused and unloved products that are starting to fall out of the cupboards they're stored in once I open them are way too precious to just let them go to waste - and I need to start saving up some money anyways - why is a story for another post - so why not do it now?

I hope I'll get to re-discover some of my past loves along the way so I can share them with you guys because I'm pretty sure that there are some serious gems hiding in those huge piles between my six eyeshadow palettes, ten mascaras and all the other stuff that I'm not sure how it all ended up there, but it somehow did.

Now I've made it my misson to use them all.
Are you in?

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30 Things To Smile About | Lifestyle

Happiness is a tricky little thing. Sometimes, you don't really realize that it's there until, well, it's not, and you feel like a big black cloud is hanging over your head and that are doomed to feel this way for all eternity.

That migth've been a bit of a dramatic intro, but at the moment I've been having quite a few ups and downs and with those came moments where I thought that I had literally nothing to be happy about.

I'm sure that there are many people out there who will know exactly how that feels, and for both you guys and also myself, I put together a list of thirty small things that will always be there for you to be happy and smile about.

1. Rain on a warm summer day.

2. The smell of freshly washed pjamas,

3. The first page of a new book.

4. Petting random dogs and cats on the street.

5. Holding someone you haven't seen in what feels like forever close to you.
5. People who smile at you when you pass them on the street.
6. The first snow of a winter.
7. Photo booth pictures.
8. Old diaries - even though they're oh-so-cringeworthy.
9. Someone playing with your hair.
10. Jeans that fit perfectly.
11. Cats that meow back at you.
12. Jumping into a lake or river on a hot day.
13. Knowing all the words to a song.
14. Finishing an assignment.
15. Laughing so hard you actually start to cry.
16. Eating ice cream straight from the tub.
17. Knowing that you don't have to set your alarm.
18. Finding money in random places like bags or the pockets of your old jeans or jacket.
19. The feeling you get after a run.
20. Not messing up your nails right after you painted them.
21. The cold side of the pillow.
22. Road trips.
23. The smell of freshly cut grass.
24. Family reunions.
25. Walking away from something that makes you unhappy.
26. The smell of coffee.
27. Concerts.
28. People who share your sense of humor.
29. Chocolate cake. Cake in general. All the cake.
30. Realizing that life is actually pretty alright in this moment.

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