May Beauty Favorites

Looking back at it, I'm seriously shocked at how quickly not only this month, but the entire year has been flying by. I feel like it was my birthday just a few weeks ago, but that was all the way back in February. Say what?

For me, May has been such a refreshing, feel-good kind of month.
I've had the past two weeks off which means that I've had some time to take a few breaths, take a step back and treat myself a little, and it's definitely helped me both mentally and physically.
It's also been the month my skin condition finally started looking up - and that's mainly because of the products I introduced into my routine!

Face Up! Acne Device (179€)

I've mentioned all the problems I've had with my skin ever since the beginning of the year here and there - after being acne free for years, I had an insane flare-up at the end of January that would continue bugging me for months.
At times, most of my face was made up of red, inflammable patches and spots. Yuck.

I tried pretty much everything I could get my hands on, most of which made my skin look even worse, so you can imagine how desperate I was. Desperate enough to take the plunge and purchase this little device when someone pointed it out to me.

I'm going to give an in-depth description of how this works in a review of it next week, but it basically works with warmth and magnetic fields to get everything that's clogging up your pores out, get rid of your spots and treat your skin to keep your skin acne-free in the long term.

I didn't believe this would get rid of my acne, but it actually did - after a month of using this every night, all that is left of it are some small red areas where spots once were and my skin still needs time to heal.
This is definitely worth every single cent I spent on it!

Lush Bunch of Carrots Reusable Bubble Bar (9,99€)

I got these carrot-shaped bubble bars for Easter - originally, there was a pink one as well, but I've already used that one up, woops. I'm so sad that they're only available around Easter because they're absolutely amazing!

They all share the same wonderfully pleasant smell of lemon, bergamont and buchu which is very refreshing and definitely also fit for people who don't like very heavy scents; and they make the water feel soo soft on the skin so you get out of the bath feeling absolutely luxurious.

The 'Bunch of Carrots' is a little more pricey than Lush's other bubble bars, but as you can easily use each carrot for two baths, you can get up to six baths out of this, which is really good value for money if you ask me!

MAC Lipstick in 'Kinda Sexy' (20€)

This must be one of the most featured products of all times on my blog (I actually have a full review of it up here) and some of you must be getting tired of seeing this, but I'll never stop preaching about how much I love it. Soz.

'Kinda Sexy' is the ideal nude shade for very pale people like me - it's a mauve-ish pink with some brown undertones, but I've also come to find that it looks different on people with different skin tones, so you should definitely check it out for yourself.

On top of that, it also has a matte formula, which is my absolute favorite of MAC's formulas because it's incredibly long-lasting without being majorly drying on the lips.

VK Cosmetic's 'No For Problematic Skin' Care Range (37€)

I've mentioned how much I adore this skin care range before, but it's helped me so much that it more than deserves a place amongst my monthly favorites.

It includes a cleanser, a toner (which has not been available for a while, so I don't actually own it yet) and a skin cream, all of which are designed to treat acne-prone, inflammable and oily skin - and these products work a treat!
They've been nothing but good for my skin - I haven't experienced any allergic reactions to it and have beeen using it for over a month now, which is extremly rare for me.

What's also a huge plus about this range for me is its smell.
Products that are designed to treat acne usually stink, if I'm being honest here, but these products smell of raspberry! It's such a light, pleasant smell that lingers on my skin for quite a while after application.

What products have you been loving this past month?

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The Wardrobe Edit #3

I think we're past the state of denial here - all of you know that I'm somewhat of a shopaholic by now, especially since my previous two wardrobe edits, which you can find here.

However, I’ve hardly had any time to so much as just check out one single store ever since my finals started in April, so my bank account had some time to rest. Thank god, because during my much needed two weeks off I picked up a few pieces here and there, some when I was away on holiday and some when I randomly decided to hit the town with my Mom.

First off I have some really laid-back pieces that go somewhat against my usual love for more elegant clothing.

I couldn’t resist picking up this hoodie from Soxx for 49,99€ while I visited the Europa Park with my family – if you’re interested in finding out more about that glorious theme park, I already shared my experiences last Friday!. It’s actually from a limited edition range that’s only available in the park itself and says “A thrilling experience – more than one hundred attractions – incredible roller coasters – excitement, great amusement & enjoyments”. Not only is it a nice souvenir that’ll remind me of my time at the park, but it’s also of really good quality and keeps you really warm and cozy!

And how adorable is this tank top? As someone who lives and breathes everything Harry Potter, this Hogwarts University of Witchcraft and Wizardy just had to come home with me, and at a price of 19,99€, it wasn’t even as expensive as a lot of Harry Potter merch is. I stumbled upon this one in a store called “Elbenwald” downtown – it’s basically the place to be if you, like me, are a total geek as they sell merch for all kinds of different franchises such as Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Doctor Who!

This next top has already become one of my favorite items in my entire closet!

I’ve been looking for an off-the-shoulder top for absolute ages until my Mom pointed this one out to me when we were browsing our local Urban Outfitters, and it’s an absolute dream at 29€. Not only does its material feel so soft and flowy, but its color is absolutely adorable. This light, somewhat washed out pink has been of my favorites for a while now – if you’ve seen my latest wardrobe edit, you’ll already know that it’s overtaking my wardrobe.

These last two items are from C&A.

I’ve been looking for some khaki colored pants for a while now, and I was so disappointed when I saw that these cute shorts weren’t available in my size anymore – but turns out I actually fit into ones that are a size smaller because of how wide and flowy these are. Neat! And they were only 15€, which is a really great price for a pair of shorts as well.

The sunglasses were a bit of an impulse buy, even for me, because I literally saw and grabbed them while the cashier was already taking the shorts out of my hand. Totally not sorry, though, as they were only 5€ and look so damn dreamy with the rose gold frame and rosy glasses.

What's a store that never fails you when it comes to amazing pieces of clothing? Please let me know in the comments so I can check it out!

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Recent Reads #10 | The Serpent King

I don't think I've ever gone into a book completely blind, as in I literally knew nothing about it besides the title and the author because I didn't read any summaries or previews.

Due to that, "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner has definitely been a first for me - the book showed up as a recommendation on my Goodreads feed and it had suprisingly high ratings, so as I was looking for new books for my "to be read" bookshelf anyways, I just decided to order it without even knowing the slightest thing about the plot.

Let me tell you, I was in for a suprise.
Going with the title, I had suspected everything but the story that unfolded before me as I started reading the first few pages, but I'm glad that that didn't make me put down the book because once again, Goodreads wasn't lying.

This book was great on a lot of levels, and you're about to find out why.

The the story is told from the points of view of three teenagers from a smalltown in Tennessee, all struggling with different problems - some sad, some sadder and some absolutely neck-breaking.

Dill's father, a preacher, serves a prison term for owning child pornography, leaving Dill and his mother struggling not to drown in the "family debt" - so much even that Dill's mother urges him to drop out of school to work full time.
Lydia is a popular fashion blogger, harassed in her tiny hometown for speaking up about things she doesn't want to put up with anymore and dreaming to finally break free from the smalltown to go to college in New York.

Travis prefers reading fantasy novels to escape his real life, in which his older brother has died serving the military, leading his father to turn to alcohol and abusing his son and wife.

It seems that those three don't have anything in common, but that's what makes their friendship so extraordinary. All three are outcasts, struggling to break free from everything that's holing them back, and their friendship is the one thing that carries them through it.

The novel is a breath taking portrayl of how smalltown life can make, break or shape its inhabitants in different ways, some predictable and some so unpredictable they hit you in the face while you're reading, and hard.


So, now that I've tried to lay out the plot in a way that doesn't give away too many spoilers - because the book is so amazing that I think everyone should experience the story for themselves - what makes this damn book so special?

First off, I love how this book depicts smalltown life - most of the books I read are set in really big cities that tend to feel a little disconnected and overwhelming, but in "The Serpent King", you find yourself in a tiny town where everyone know everything about everyone - or so it seems.
Also, as someone who has a soft spot for the South of the US after spending some time in there ,myself, I adored how realistic the area's portrayal was - the fact that Jeff Zentner actually lives in Tennessee made it feel ten times more authentic.

I don't think I've ever read a book that covers religious themes, even though I'm a quite religious person myself - I explained how religion was a very personal thing for me before on here.
Because of that, I was somewhat sceptical about the book once I realised how religion was a major part of it, but I was overwhelmed how great the author handled it.
The book in no way tries to force beliefs onto the reader but rather deals with how people can also struggle to have faith and question their religion, which I really enjoyed.

If you're not new to my 'Recent Reads' series, you'll know that for me, characters either make or break a novel.
As for "The Serpent King", I was sort of unsure of how I felt about the three main characters, especially during the first few chapters when you still know so little about what's hiding under the surface, but I've come to really feel for them.
While Lydia, with her ambition and willpower and fear of failure was one of the most 'me' characters I've ever stumbled upon, all three of them are so raw and relatable, they feel like they were taken right out of the real world, like they could be your neighbors.


Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to everyone who isn't afraid to delve a little deeper into all different kinds of angst and to touch base on topics that could essentially concern all of us, no matter how heartbreaking and breath taking they sound.
"The Serpent King" is available for 11.40€ on Amazon.


Have you read any outstanding novels lately? Please let me know, I'll happily add them to my 'to read' list!

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4 Things That Help During Your Period

When the idea for this post popped into my head as I laid crouched over my desk, pondering how I had not fainted from the pain in my stomach and lower back yet, I thought that people would probably wrinkle their noses at the title at first.

But judging by the fact that 95% of my readers are female, at least according to Google Analytics, I figured that I might as well go for it.

Periods are something that all of us girls have to go through for a period of our lives, some with less, some with worse side effects, ranging from cramps to moodswings to breakours.

As someone who was cursed with extremly bad period cramps that often leave me lying in fetus position for the first two day of that time of the month, I thought I'd be a nice idea to share the top five things that keep me from losing it during the most difficult time of the month.

1. Cozy up

I think this one is pretty obvious - when you feel pretty much like crap and just want to crawl under a blanket and cry, that's what you should do. Seriously, your period is the time you should be good to yourself.

Grab yourself a hot beverage, a hot water bottle and crawl under a blanket on your sofa, or even into your bed and do something that makes you feel at ease, like reading a good book or watching an episode of your favorite TV show. Being in constant pain isn't fun, but taking some time to tune out of everything life's throwing at you on top of it can be very soothing.

2. Light exercise

I know that a lot of people will think that I'm nuts for even mentioning exercise to someone who's on their period, and I don't blame you because exercise, or moving in general, is the last thing I want to do when I'm on my period.

But light exercise such as stretching, yoga or pilates will help you relieve cramps and often even prevent them - studies have shown that your menstrual afflictions, such as cramping and heavy flow, can often be prevented if you are more active.

3. Have a hot bath

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of bathing and relaxing in steamy water, so naturally, I choose to treat myself to a luxurious bath with a bath bomb or bath melt, rose petals, candles and all that good stuff at least once during the worst week of the month.

Baths work the same way against your period pains as they do against aching muscles or illnesses, they calm you and leave you feeling refreshed and rested while also relieving cramps the way a hot water bottle would.

4. Watch what you eat

When on my period, I often crave foods that include heavy levels of sugar and salt or drinks such as coffee - but no matter how much I want them, these foods will actually make me feel a lot worse.
Salt, for example, causes water retention, leaving you feeling even more bloated up - yuck!

Instead of foods that include the above, try to keep to healthier options and eat those more regularly, as in five smaller meals as opposed to three large ones - it keeps your metabolism up and running which gives you energy and thus, makes you feel better.

On top of that, you should try to keep hydrated - even more than you usually should, anyways! Dehydration will also make you feel worn out and tired.


Is there anything that helps you when you're on you period? Please share it in the comments so myself, and maybe even some others, can try those methods out!

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Visiting Europe's Biggest Theme Park - Europa Park

If there's one place in the world that I would call my happy place, it would have to be the Europa Park.
It's been a huge part of my life ever since I first visited it when I was eight years old - that was almost a decade ago, how am I so old? I've returned to the park almost every summer since then.

For those of you who don't know the park - it is a theme park located in the very South West of Germany, only a few kilometers from the boarders to France and Switzerland. It's Europe's biggest and most visited amusement park only rivalled by Disneyland Paris and is divided up into several areas, which are all themed around different European countries such as Italy, France and Portugal, featuring not only rides but also national foods and other things that add to the overall atmosphere.

I've already talked about how excited I am that this year's summer is reserved all for our holiday to Teneriffe, so my parents suprised my brother and me with a two-day trip to Europa Park during our spring holidays - how adorable are they?

We set off for the trip around 4am on Saturday, and I swear I could not sit still for the entire weekend ever since then.

As we've already been to the park five times prior to this one, my family and I had already planned out a lot of our trip to save as much time as possible because waiting times are your enemy here.

We entered the park as soon as it opened at 9am and took the park's very own overhead railway to the very end of the park so we could go on all the rides there while all the other visitors took their sweet time walking.

 

As you can see, I'm quite a big fan of rollercoasters, both your normal ones and water rollercoasters.
If you're looking for a real thrill, Blue Fire and Euro Mir are your friends - while the former includes loopings and a lot of air time, the latter sends you flying down right next to the facade of a sky scraper. They're breathtaking - but sadly, so are their waiting times. My brother waited 70 minutes for a ride on Blue Fire on our second day!

The water rollercoasters were not as popular during our two day stay because it rained on and off, but as it wasn't too cold my we enjoyed riding both Poseidon (the blue one) and Atlantica Supersplash (the turquoise one) without having to wait at all!

Looking back at our lunch, which we had at the "Petite France", I really have to praise the park's catering. All the restaurants serve such a broad variety of foods and have a whole load of vegeterian and vegan options, so you can dine very well during your stay and don't have to only eat fast food - unless that's what you into, because there's loads of that to be had as well!
They also do really well on snacks and desert - I loved the Mini Donuts they sell. I could in fact eat these right now, the picture makes me that hungry.

 

During the afternoon of our first day, my Mom and I explored the park on our own because we wanted to explore all the themed areas without my little brother dragging us right into the next ride.

What is so special about this park is that there are so many little details that you can still discover things you've never seen before, even if you've been there before.
Also, the architecture of the different areas gives of the atmosphere of the countries they represent - after a while, with all of the smells of traditional food and the buildings around you, you'll actually start feeling like your in Greece, Finnland or Russia.

After finishing the day off with a few more rides on our favorite rollercoasters, it was already time for us to head back to our hotel - but before that, I took the chance and finally had my photo taken with some of the park's mascots, which I met at random on my way out. Ed Euromaus, the mouse, has been the parks symbol ever since the beginning and was one of my childhood heroes, so you can imagine how happy I was!

The park had a lot more visitors during Sunday, our second day in the park, so we opted for some of the more relaxing rides as we had actually managed to fit in almost all of the thrilling rides into our first, jam-packed day!

Because of that, we rode the Djungle Raft-Trip, which is actually soo relaxing and cute, even though it's mostly aimed at kids, rode the mono-rail (which you have the most amazing view over the park from, might I add) and watched a 4D movie in the park's very own cinema, which was incredible and will have a sequel that's coming to cinemas worldwide!

 

We did a lot more things, but really, this post would go on for hours and I don't think anyone would bother to read that, so I'll just leave with these photos of some of the other amazing rides that park has to offer that I didn't even get to touch base on yet.

Overall, these two days were some of the best I've had in a very long time.
Not only the park and its atmosphere, but also its staff members do everything to make you feel welcome and wonderful, so this has been yet another amazing, magical experience for me that makes me want to come back to the park forevermore.

Have you ever been to Europa Park? If so, how was your stay?

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I'm Not A Relationship Person

I'm one of those people who use their shower time to have long, hard thinks about their life - I'm pretty sure you've done this before, right?

And during one of those long, hard thinks I came to a sudden realisation that I didn't know how I felt about - I'm not a person for relationships.

Now, just looking at that sentence, you might just think that I'm an anti-social person who doesn't like any form of human interaction, but that's really not true.

There's so much more than that to that statement.

[source]

First off, I actually am an introvert.
I'm not even going to deny it - while I've always had a few very good friends, I've never been much of a social butterfly. I'm timid when I meet people for the first time, I often think too much before opening my mouth and social interactions often leave me feeling exhausted.

But it's not just based on the social part of things because clearly, I can form close bonds with people I vibe really well with.

It's also that I feel like I'm too busy at the moment - when I hardly have any time to sleep, how am I going to make time for someone else in my life?
It sounds pretty sad, I know. But when someone does mean a lot to me, I want to devote a lot of quality time to them and not just be like "yeah, I kind of can't see you right now because I'm crying over my studies".

In saying that I'm not a relationship person, I don't mean that I'm not able to love anyone. I actually love very fiercely, which the story of my first love shows.

I mean that I'm alright with being on my own, and that I don't want a relationship simply to have someone who can tell me how wonderful I am, because I've come to a point where I'm able to love myself.
I mean that it's probably a good idea for me to spend my spare time working on myself, on my problems and the things that are nagging at me rather than spend my time with another person and carry all of my bagage into what could be a great relationship.
I mean that I'm not someone who "dates" like a lot of girls my age do - one boyfriend for each month. I'm way to emotional and sensitive for that. Maybe it's because I'm afraid of being hurt.


I don't really know where I'm going with this entire rant, but I do know that I needed to write this down to get it out of my system because I've been thinking about it a lot.

I'm still very young, and I've got plenty of time to figure the mess inside my head out and meet someone who can fill the grey areas of my life, but in a society where you're frowned upon if you don't have a boyfriend at the age of seventeen or eighteen, you do sometimes start to have long, hard thinks about these kinds of things.


How do you feel about this topic? Are you alright with being on your own or do you feel like something's missing when you don't have a significant other? Please let me know in the comments!

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Beach Wear Haul

This summer, I'm going to do something I've never done before - I'm going to go to the beach!
Yep, I've never been to the beach before and for some reason, everyone always makes it out to be as if I'm some uncultured ape because of that. It's just that my parent's either didn't get off work long enough for us to fly to a far away country, or that we didn't have enough money. 

But this year, my parents decided to treat us all and booked a holiday to Tenerife in August, and I'm beyond excited to go there!
Just thinking about relaxing at the beach for hours or exploring the island makes me feel all giddy and warm inside.

And because I'm going to spend two weeks at the beach this summer, I decided to buy a few beach and swim wear clothes in a bulk - I'm sure there's more to come leading up to my holiday, but as I'm so in love with everything I bought that I wanted to share it with you!

Everything I've bought is from C&A - the store's a bit of a hit and miss for me, I either find nothing I like in there at all or stumble upon beautiful pieces galore, like I did this time!

As for bikini's, I actually didn't get my absolute favorite one - it was the same model as the peach colored one, but in a very bright red. It was gorgeous, but only available in cup sizes that were twice as big as what I would've needed. Dang.

I didn't accept defeat, though - as I already mentioned, I picked up the same bikini in a different color. The peach one is very cute as well and looks flattering one me even though I'm still very pale - I can imagine it'll look amazing once I've tanned.

This one's top was 9€, the bottoms were 7€ - and they don't feel cheap at all, they're actually so soft on the skin!

The violet bikini is a right gem as well - this one has straps that tie around the neck, which add a nice touch and should stop waves from trying to rip my top off me. The bottoms are pretty standart and don't have any cute details like the peach one does with it's straps at the sides, but they fit very well, which is great for someone like me who never finds any bottoms that fit perfectly.

 This one's top was 12€, the bottoms were 9€ - only slightly pricier than the peach one and still very affordable!

Next off I have an accessory I've been wanting to buy for a few summers now, but I was always too timid to actually wear one of these out - and why would you wear a big sun hat in Germany anyways?

However, my upcoming holiday was reason enough for me to invest 9€ into this big white sun hat - and not only does it look absolutely adorable, it will also help shield my head and face from the beaming sun so I'll hopefully avoid any bad sunburns this year!

And last but not least, this adorbale black and white patterned beach dress, which was the priciest item at 15€.
 It's very see-through, but as I intend to wear this over my swim wear when heading to the beach or to the pool it's the perfect thing to cover me up a little so I don't feel completely naked.


Now I want to know about you - have you bought any new swim or beach wear pieces yet?

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A Letter to The First Boy I Loved

[source]

I don't really know how to start this. "Hi you, how are you doing?" seems to be way too much small talk when someone means as much as you did. Still do, even when it has been so long since I've last seen you, let alone talked to you.

I feel like I've known you all my life.
I know that isn't true and that there has been a time when you weren't part of my life, but if I'm honest I cannot remember it. I've known you for a decade, for all it's worth.

I often reminisce about the first memories I have of you, when we were still so young. I like them because they aren't filled with self loathing and what-ifs like like so many others are.

Truth is, I have loved you for years and never said a word.
And why would I have? You were my best friend and I was afraid, terrified that if I showed you how I felt, you would've never talked to me again. Now we're back to the endless list of what-ifs I keep in my head, huh?

I don't think I've ever truly stopped loving you, not for a day. I know that I've seen other people because I settled for the fact that you'll never know what I feel because I was just so damn scared, even if you had any feelings for me at all. But even when I was with them, my heart was in my throat the second I saw you. You still captured my attention in the same way you've always done.

It isn't fair to all the other people I've seen and will see throughout my life, but I will always compare them to you.
I will measure how their humor lives up to yours, if they make me laugh as loudly and ugly as you managed to do. I will measure the way they look out for me to how you did, how you always noticed when I need you without me saying a word, how you always made sure I got home safe, no matter how inconvenient it was for you.

I feel like I'm being unfair towards you as well because I'm spilling the beans now - even if you'll probably never see this, because how on God's green Earth would you know about my blog? - and I'm just hurling all of this at you like it's your fault.

Nothing about this is. It's not your fault that you're living your life because you're a grown adult and have every right to do so - and I want you to be happy. I truly, truly do.

It's not your fault you went and joined the military. You clearly didn't have to ask for my permission, and yet I still felt deceived because it appeared so easy for you to move on and live while I was stuck in this damn town without any way out.

That didn't stop me from worrying about you. I thought about you nearly every day, even though we hadn't spoken for a long time then. I don't know what would've become of me if anything happened to you.

And now you're back, and I still hardly see you. I think the last time I saw you was months ago, which seems so strange when we used to see each other almost every single day.

I still look for you in crowds, I guess I always will. I thought I'd moved on, but reading through this letter made me realize that I clearly haven't.

It must be true what they say then. That you never truly get over the first person you love. That they'll always have a piece of your heart.
You do. You're imprinted on my heart. I've never stopped dreaming of you, my dreams painting the brightest, most vivid image of you.

I'm sorry I'm such a soppy mess, when really, all you ever wanted to do was make me happy.
And you did. Thank you. For everything you've ever done.
Still, I can't help but wonder what would've become of us if we ever could've had one last dance.

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A Skin Care Range For Problematic Skin

I make no secret of the fact that my skin and its condition are far from great - it's blemish prone (and even that is an understatement for someone who has dealt with acne on and off for over six years), sensitive and has allergic reactions to a lot of products and other influences. Sweet.

Because of how problematic my skin is, it's always been really hard for me to find brands that do skin care products I can work with without making my head look like an ultra red, blown up ballon - while ranges courtesy of the likes of Clearasil and even Nivea worked fine for my friends, they didn't at all for me.

Well, bless my Mom - she randomly stumbled upon a skin care range called "NO for problematic skin" by a brand called VK while browsing Amazon.

Now, I had never heard of said brand before, but in a really desperate hour of hating my skin and wanting to just scrape it all off, I decided to just give it a go as the reviews were really promising.

I purchased their cleanser as well as the cream that goes with it. The brand claims both of the products to disinfect highly inflammable skin that suffers from acne.

Both of the products have a very light and pleasant smell of raspberry to them, which I found very nice as all acne products I've tried over the years really stank, if I'm being honest here.

Now, I use the cleanser both in the morning after I get up and at night before I go to sleep.

As I have pretty dry skin in all areas of my face but my T-Zone to begin with, I found this one to dry out my skin a little, which must be due to the fact that one of its ingredients is salicylic acid, which helps the skin rid itself of dead skin cells.
What I love about this is that, while it can be a little drying, it never gives my face the burning sensation every other face wash I have tried left me with.


As for the cream, I only apply a pea sized amount of it to any area that shows blemishes or big red patches before going to sleep.

Much like most products that include strong ingredients, it sometimes causes my skin to sting for a few moments right after application, especially if I apply it open wounds.
I've used this for just over three weeks now and I feel like it not only makes my skin feel a lot smoother and my pores appear smaller, it also helps blemishes to regress in size - it even works on bigger ones as well! After three days, most blemishes will have become very small and almost not noticeable at all.


Overall, I would wholeheartedly recommend this skincare range to anyone who struggles with problematic skin.

For one, I have never experienced any allergic reactions to the products, which is quite a big deal when you're pretty much allergic to 80% of all ingredients used in beauty products.

On the other hand, these products have helped improve my complexion a lot when everything else failed me. I often use a product and it works fine for a certain amount of time, until it suddenly appears to lose all of its affect on my skin. Not with these - they still do a great job after three weeks of usage.

The only downside to this range is that it's not really low-end - the cleanser is available for 13€ on Amazon, the cream for 23€. 
However, you do achieve great results with these, so I would rather invest a little more money into better quality products rather than buying cheaper ones that might make my complexion look even worse.


Do you have a holy grail skin care product or skin care range? If you do, please let me know in the comments, I'd love to check it out!

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One Year Blogiversary Giveaway!

Exciting news -  FRANZIZZY recently turned one!

Well, not so recently, really. I actually started my blog on the 8th of January in 2015, but I hardly ever had the time to blog properly back then and only really started investing a lot of time into my little corner on the internet towards the end of April and beginning of May, so it technically still counts, right?

I was quite anxious about how people would react to the things I wrote about at the beginning, but I feel like I have become so much more confident during the last year and don't fret to touch base on controversial, touchy topics such as politics or feminism nowadays - because that's me as well, passionate about all kinds of things, not only beauty and fashion!

I've also met some of the most amazing people through starting this blog, be it blogger friends who have always been so supportive and never hesitated to help me out with any problems, or my awesome readers who always make me smile with their sweet comments. You guys are the bomb.

And because everyone has been so great to me, I wanted to be able to give something back for all the love I've received, so I decided it was time to host a giveaway to celebrate this anniversary!

When I asked you guys on Twitter what you'd like to be included in this giveaway, most of you chose a mix of beauty products and stationary, so this is what I opted for!

I wish I could've included more, but I'm sadly a broke student who struggles to pay her bills with two different jobs, so I just couldn't afford more stuff plus the horrendous shipping costs this time - the next one will definitely be bigger though!

Because we're moving closer and closer to summer, my favorite season of all, all of these items have somewhat of an ice cream theme to them - and here's what you can win:

- Tiger A5 Sprinkles Notebook
- 2 Tiger Ice Cream Postcards

- P2  Volume Glass Gel Polish in "280 Pony Farmer"
- Trend IT UP Ultra Matte Lipcream in "45"

I'm completely obsessed with Tiger's stationary and their current collection includes so many ice cream themed pieces that I just couldn't pass up!
P2 and Trend IT UP are two Germany beauty brands that produces very great quality products for affordable prices - I picked two of my favorites out for you.

Conditions:
- The giveaway is open Europe wide.
- It ends at 12pm on the 1st of June.
- I will contact the winner via email. You will have 72 hours to respond - if you fail to do so, I will have to pick a new winner.
- If you are under the age of 16, you will need the permission of your parents to give me your address.
- I cannot in any way be hold responsible for additional fees that may occur during customs or in case the parcel gets lost.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Good luck to all of you!

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Recent Reads #9 | The Art of Being Normal

I have come to the realisation that I might have a soft spot for coming-of-age stories. A very big soft spot. I refuse to call it an obsession because I like to keep up the illusion that I can control myself at least a bit.

Keeping that in mind, you can imagine that I was thrilled when I saw that Lisa Williamson's "The Art of Being Normal" was our first read for The Girl Gang Book Club on Goodreads - I'm very active over there, so feel free to send me a friend request!

I went into this read knowing nothing about the book other than the fact that it's a coming-of-age story and that one of its main characters was transgender, but that had me sold on it right away because for me, it was the first time I saw a transgender character in the spotlight of a novel.
I had great expectations for this, but were they all met?

"The Art of Being Normal" is told from two teenagers' points of view, David Piper and Leo Denton, both outcasts in their own way.

David has always known that he's different than the other kids - he wants to be a girl. He's way too timid and nervous to tell anyone but his two best friends about how he feels, but the other kids at school still sense that there's something different about him and because of that, they call him "Freak Show" and bully him.

Leo appears to be the complete opposite of David. He's the rough, dark and somewhat mysterious guy that transfers to David's school at the beginning of the new year - no one knows for certain why he transfered, but there's a lot of fantastic stories surrounding him.

The two of them meet for the first time when David is being bullied in front of the entire school in the cafeteria and Leo sticks up for him, punching one of the bullies right into the face.
In the detention that follows this event, the two boys get to know each other better, and even though Leo doesn't seem to be interested in any form of social contact, he even goes as far as helping out David, who struggles with Maths a lot - over the course of a week, they become somewhat close to friends.

But both of them have things that are eating at them that put their still fresh bond to the test - David cannot bear to tell his parents, or anyone else, for that matter, about how he feels and it claws at him from the inside, while Leo hides the haunting secret of his past that brought him to David's school in the first place - sooner or later, it will be revealed. But how will Leo cope with that?

I really enjoyed this book's plot, which is why I tried to spoil as little as possible about it in my summary - it might seem predictable at first glance, but there were so many turns and twists that I didn't seem coming which kept the book a good read for the entire ride.

The characters, however, were really driving force of this novel.
If you've read any other installment in my "Recent Reads" series, you'll know that I'm a sucker for character development - and there definitely was a lot to be had in this babe.

Obviously David changes a lot as a person throughout the book as he learns how to accept who he is and even gets confident enough to start dressing as a girl, which made me feel like a proud mother and want to give him the biggest hug.
But Leo was on a whole other level regarding the character development - while he doesn't want to talk to, let alone befriend anyone at his new school, he starts to slowly open up to David and grows so close to him throughout their journey that he trusts him with his biggest secret. But it's not that Leo learns how to trust people again, he also learns who to love himself more, how to stop beating himself up and that there is a future for him to live and work for. I was cheering him on from the sidelines the entire time, and it was so heartwarming.

Seeing the relationship between these two develop was the most precious thing ever.

Most importantly, though, I feel like Lisa Williamson's portrayl of transgender characters was so satisfying - in most pieces of pop culture, they're still displayed in a negative light most of the time and used as a target to get some good gags running.
But not in "The Art of Being Normal". Williamson's characters are raw and real, they're relatable and they explain in depth how they feel and how they work with it to become the person they want to be - in my eyes, it's a valuable clarification for all the people who struggle to understand what being transgender means for those affected, or even worse, those who put them down for who they are.

Overall, I think it's pretty clear that I absolutely loved this book.
It deals with an important topic that still isn't talked about nearly enough in the media, and it gives it's readers a better understanding about this topic in a way that is easy to understand and to emphasize with - with a good plot and outstanding characters who make it the great piece of work that it is.

If you're interested in finding out about everything there is to this story yourself, "The Art of Being Normal" is available on Amazon for 10.45€.

Have you read any books that knocked your socks off? If you have, please let me know in the comments - I'm always on the hunt for a good read!

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Why I Am A Feminist | Lifestyle

I'm a very passionate person. If I'm convinced of an idea, a concept or a value, I will stick to it and, what is even more important, stick up for it.

That doesn't mean that I hate everyone who doesn't agree with me or who has a different view on life, not at all actually - I won't yell at you over whether you pour milk or tea into your cup first. You do you, everyone does it differently.

But when it comes to important topics that affect my and a lot of other people's every day life, I have no tolerance for people who talk trash.

There are different topics this could refer to, and I bet you can think of some cases where yourself got so frustrated about a fellow human's mindset you felt like crying, but I'm referring to some very interesting views on women's rights I was confronted with this week.

Me being me, I could not keep my mouth shut when faced with such satetments, which lead to a heated debate that still makes me want to shake my head. That is what inspired this post, and you're about to find out what the hell I'm going on about.

[source]

We were discussing Kesha's court case - in case you didn't know, she took her producer to court for sexual abuse, not even wanting him to go to jail, just to get out of her contract with him - and whether we think she's acting sincerely or just pulling a publicity stunt.

One of the boys in my class actually had the guts to suggest that "she kept quiet about the rape for over ten years because she didn't mind what he did to her, maybe she even enjoyed it". At that,  my jaw dropped. I didn't believe my ears, I didn't want to.

But as much as it shocked me, that experience reminded me of why I need feminism, why I am a feminist myself.
I'm a feminist because I cannot bear to listen to people preaching "She was asking for it!" anymore, I cannot take another person defending a rapist and blaming the victim for being too provocative, naive or careless.
I don't want women to be considered inferior, because we're not. We're equal to men. We have the same rights, the same abilities, but in a lot of people's minds we don't.

And that's the crucial point in this entire debate.
I'm not a feminist because I think of women as the superior species and want them to run over the world's men, which a lot of people believe feminism is about - I support the idea of equality, it's as simple as that.
I'm fighting for a world and society in which we stop victim blaming and shaming and taking the offenders under our wings, and start focusing on sorting out what really is wrong.

I'm doing this because I want to live in a world where I, and everyone else, for that matter, can feel like, if I ever get into such a horrible situation, I will get justice, not stones thrown at me.
For all of my female friends, my future daughter and all the women out there, because I want them to be treated in a fair manner, not one that makes them feel bad about themselves, that makes them feel unworthy and useless.

So no, I will not keep my mouth shut about this, no matter how often people will tut or shake their heads at me or call me all kinds of nasty words I don't even want to get into.
I will never do that until some fundamental changes are done, because I do not want to continue living in a society like this.


I know that this is a very heated topic, so I'd love for you to let me know how you feel about this in the comments!

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