My Love/Hate Relationship with 13 Reasons Why

Trigger warnings for this post: sexual assault and suicide.

In case you missed it - if you did, how? - "13 Reasons Why" has been all over the internet for the past few weeks. Everyone and their mother (and probably the family dog) has watched it and is discussing it on social media as well as in real life so naturally, I wanted to see what all that talk was about.

The eponymous book was a mandatory read for my class in 8th grade, so I already knew the outline of the story. In case you don't, let me enlighten you:

"13 Reasons Why" starts off with Clay Jensen, a junior in high school, receiving a box which contains audiotapes. When he inserts them into a cassette recorder, his life changes forever. What's on these tapes isn't music, it's Hannah Baker's voice. Hannah Baker was a friend of Clay's - was, because Hannah committed suicide after she had recorded the tapes in the box. On these tapes, she explains the reasons why she ended her life, all of which are connected to certain people who were once part of it - 13 in total. All of these people are to receive the box containing the tapes in a certain order, or else the tapes will be published - which would be fatal for people mentioned on them.

Recent Reads #14 - You Know Me Well

Remember that time when I talked about how I was going to turn my Recent Reads series into a bimonthly thing? Yeah, I kind of slipped up on that on the second issue for October. As I was ill, I just couldn't bring myself to shoot the photos and write the post - sorry about that!
However. I'm now back, better than ever, with one of my favorite books from this summer.

Bildunterschrift hinzufügen

When I picked up You Know Me Well by David Levithan and Nina LaCour I knew next to nothing about it as I wanted to be suprised when reading it by the pool in Tenerife, and let me tell you, I was suprised.

You Know Me Well follows the story of the two teenagers Mark and Kate.
 Mark is hopelessly in love with his best friend who is afraid to come out of the closet, yet occasionally hooks up with Mark without wanting any commitment.
Kate is in love with a girl she was only ever heard about but never met. Violet is her best friends' cousin, well-travelled and cultured and extremely intimidating. When faced with the opportunity to finally meet the girl of her dreams, Kate is more than overwhelmed and runs away.

When a series of incidents leads to a meeting between the two of them, a whirlwind friendship develops. Even though they hadn't ever talked to each other before, they grow extremely close to one another in the space of just one week as they learn about the other's past and become each other's support system as they try to tackle their more than complicated romantic relationships.


Something I instantly loved about this book was all the representation it offered. Both of the main characters are gay, a lot of their friends or other side characters are also part of the LGTB community and the book is set during Pride Week, which I found super cool. I've been trying to read more books that feature LGTB characters this year (such as The Art of Being Normal), and the immense amount of representation and pride to be found in this one was amazing.

I also found it really easy to relate to Mark, he seemed like such a real character and all of his emotions and actions were so understandable I sometimes felt like I could reach into the pages and give him a squeeze. I rooted for that boys from the first few pages on, y'all.
Kate is a very interesting character, especially because she's a talented artist and by the way her paintings were describe, I could imagine them so vividly I almost saw them, and I also enjoyed her storyline, but at times she was a little too headstrong for me to comprehend. But you know, that's alright because it's also part of her character.

The only thing I didn't particularly love about this book is the short timespan it is set in. That one week is just too little to watch all of the characters grow and their development unfold and leads to a lot of my questions unanswered. I would've loved to see more about all of these unique, quirky characters - and believe me, there's a lot of them - but there was so little time!


Overall, however, I think that this is such an adorable read for when you feel like reading but don't want to start a too demanding lecture - there's of course some drama, but most of all it's the incredibly sweet story of two people how accidentally become best friends filled with lots laughs as well.
You Know Me Well might come off as your typical YA book, but I'm sure that this is one that not only young readers might enjoy.

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Recent Reads is a bimonthly series and comes out on every first and third Wednesday of the month.
If you want to keep up with all my readings, you can add me as a friend on Goodreads as well!

But Is It Really Better Than Sex?

You might have noticed that I've been a bit - or quite - absent from my blog during the last week or two, and I'm really sorry about that. That was due to a nasty computer virus that literally took my laptop apart, so I had to give it away to have it fixed - it seriously broke my heart. I wish I was kidding.

However, I've got something really exciting to tell you about today.
Technically, most of you will probably have heard of Too Faced's 'Better Than Sex Mascara' by now because a ton of bloggers have been raving about it, but as Too Faced products aren't available here in Germany I've always admired the mascara from afar.

When I went to Rome, however, I managed to snatch the last one in Sephora (if you're interested in finding out about all the other cool stuff I picked up on my trip, you can find it here.)
During the past month, I've been testing it and noting down my thoughts so I can now break it down to you - is it really as great as the hype makes us believe?

The first thing I noticed while using this mascara for the first time was its wand, which is definitely out of the ordinary as it is a little wider at the bottom and top, a shape of wand that I haven't come across yet.

The wand does make application harder, at least during your first few tries - you do learn how to handle this, but it takes time and a few smudges.
Talking smudges, I also have to mention that the wand picks up quite a lot of the product, which means that you should carefully get rid of any excessive product if you don't it to clump your lashes,


I feel like I have, up to this point, only been moaning about the Better Than Sex Mascara, which I didn't even intend to do!
I just had to get all of the small issues I've had with it out of the way at first because even though they are there, the effect this has on my eyelashes is definitely worth it.

If you're no stranger to me and my blog, you'll know how much I love my Maybelline Lash Sensational because that mascara was the first one that made me look like I actually had long, full lashes.
However, Too Faced's mascara does the job almost twice as well, especially when used with an eyelash curler - with just one coat, my lashes double in lenght! Another coat lenghtens them even more - however, I wouldn't advise applying a third layer of the product as it will clump your lashes together sooner or later.

Longevity wise, this mascara is alright.
It lasts on my lashes half a day - incase I do remember that I'm wearing make up and don't rub it away - but after that, it does tend to disappear more and more as time progresses, especially on hotter day - but it doesn't leave any fallout, for some reason. Just dissolves into nothing.
Well, at least it doesn't give me panda eyes, so who am I to complain, huh?


Overall, this a through and through good product, even though it has some minor weaknesses. It's not as flawless as the hype surrounding it makes us believe, but if you can look over the few issues you might experience with this, you'll still love it nonetheless.

At a price tag of 23€ it is definitely not a beauty product you'll buy for yourself light-heartedly - even though it gives you amazing results, you might want to have this applied at Sephora for you to find out whether it's something you'll want to splurge on.


What is your favorite mascara? I'd love it if you let me know in the comments!

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My Favorite Palette from the Drugstore

You could say that I'm an eyeshadow palette snob. Pretty much all of my favorite palettes are high-end ones, such as Urban Decay's Naked or Naked Basics palettes - they might be rather expensive, but the quality they have to offer is more than worth it.

However, that doesn't mean that I don't like to branch out because there's definitely great alternatives to high end products - Essence, which is one of my all time favorite drugstore brands, never fails to come out with new exciting products that I love to try out.

Because of that it just so happened that I was browsing the Essence counter and stumbled upon their new "Blogger's Beauty Secrets" range which includes both nail polishes and palettes designed in collaboration with four beauty bloggers!
I was really intrigued by the concept, and when I saw that they also came out with a palette that can be used to both form eyebrows and create eyeshadow looks, designed by the wonderful Mary from strikeapose,  I had to get it - which wasn't so bad as it's merely 4.99€.

As you can see in the pictures above and the swatches below, the palette includes five powder products, three of which - 'hazel grace', 'audrey highbrow' and 'brigitte brown' - can be used to fill in eyebrows, while 'marilyn metallic' is a wonderul bronze eyeshadow shade that contains quite a bit of glitter; and 'billie vanillie' is the ideal highlighter for the inner corner of your eyes - or even an usual eyeshadow if you're feeling extra sparkly.
Besides that, it also comes with a wax that can be used in two ways - for one, it's supposed to fix your brows and set them in place and on the other hand, it can also be used as an eyeshadow primer.

without flash / with flash

After using this, I can finally say that I've found a shade that works for my eyebrows.
Even though I have dark blonde hair, the lightest shade is actually too light for me; however the second to darkest shade is a suprisingly good match for a drugstore option.

The quality of the products that are supposed to be used on the eyebrows is overall really good.
The wax works wonderfully, it keeps my brows in place all day; however, I have yet to try using it as an eyeshadow primer.
The darkest two eyebrow powders give off a high pigmentation, which I sadly can't say about the first one. If you either have really light eyebrows or want to use it as an eyeshadow, you might end up being disappointed. At the very least, they do stay on all day when used in combination with the wax.

The shimmery shades, on the other hand, are phenomenal.
Pigmentation wise, I dare to claim that they outshine even my beloved Naked palettes - my camera sadly didn't pick it up completely, even when I used the flash. The shades are so amazingly vibrant!
Their longevity is also amazing; even when used without any form of primer, they stayed on for around five hours, which is incredible for such a low price.


Overall, I would definitely recommend this palette to anyone, not just absolute eyeshadow lovers like myself.
With this little palette - it's actually so small and compact that it can easily be thrown into a handbag for when you might need it on the go - Essence covers both your need for eyeshadow and eyebrow powders, and they do it in such a clever way with high-quality products you wouldn't expect from a drugstore brand; and everything for less than a fiver!


Do you have a favorite eyeshadow palette - and is it from the drugstore or is it a high-end one?

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The Device That Got Rid of My Acne for Good

Acne is a very unpleasant topic, especially if you've been dealing with it for a long period of time and not a single one of the products you've piled up over the years seems to work for your skin.

I've recently mentioned how much I've been struggling with my recent wave of breakouts when I talked about my favorite skin care range for problematic skin, but like most skin care products do when it comes to my skin, even those products have their limits.

However, I was pointed into the direction of a fairly new invention by a friend of my Mom's in early April - a device that is supposed to rid your skin of acne and work to prevent further breakouts.
I was more than sceptical about this, to say the least, but after testing it for two months, I can report that I'm officially acne-free - thanks to Face-Up!

The Czech company which developed the Face-Up devices claims it to employ magnetic fields and warmth to accelerate your body's metabolism, which means that it will at first make your spots grow at an immense speed, only for them to reduce in size after just a few days until they eventually disappear completely. Effects - as in, acne-free skin - are likely to show between the first 14 to 30 days after the first use.

Using the device is fairly easy.
After turning it on, its lower side (as shown in the photo above) will show a red, pulsing light. I usually let the device run for around five minutes before I start using it on my face so that it's already warm.
Then I touch the device to my face and move it in circular motions over an area of my face that shows spots or redness for 10 minutes. After those 10 minutes have passed, I move on to the next area.

Now, onto the actual effects my skin showed due to my usage of Face-Up!

It's definitely true that the skin gets worse before it gets better, While my face was already covered in pretty big spots, but within the first few days of using this, they turned into actual bumps. And I mean real big bumps that visbily stood out from my face. It was gross, to say the least.
Besides that, a lot of new spots started to emerge from their hiding place within the first week.

I knew that that was what's supposed to happen, but I couldn't help feeling discouraged.
However, after around two and a half weeks of usage, my skin started to clear up more and more. Smaller red patches were fading nicely, smaller spots were almost not noticeable - only the really big bumps took a little over three weeks to finally get gone.

What's really positive, though, is that none of the breakouts and other skin problems such as rashes and extremly dry skin have come back to haunt me - after using this amazing invention for just a little under two months, all that's left of an entire face that was once covered in spots are some little red spots of healing skin where the spots once were.

To summarize it - if you're suffering from acne and nothing seems to work for you, I'd wholeheartedly recommend this to you because it works insanely well.
Usage wise, it's feels really pleasant on the skin, besides the fact that it can get a little warm.

With a price tag of 179€, it's quite the investment, but in my eyes it's better to splurge on this device once as it gives you such great results than to buy products that don't work half as well.

Have you ever tried a device similar to this one?

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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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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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Recent Reads #8 | The Martian

I always read a book before I watch its movie adaption. For some reason it's so much easier for me to enjoy a movie even though I already know the story, but reading a book when I already know everything that is going to happen just bugs me. It feels so wrong.

That is exactly why I haven't seen 'The Martian' yet, even though everyone keeps praising it - I wanted to read the book first, but as I hardly had any spare time since the beginning of the year, it just sat on my shelf and judged me.
But I finally managed to pick it up, and man, it really was a ride!

'The Martian' by Andy Weir tells the story of Mark Watney, an astronaut who strands on Mars after he is pierced by an antenna in a crazy sand storm, leading his crewmates to believe that he is dead - so they just abandon him. On a planet where Mark should be doomed.

But Mark Watney isn't just an astronaut, he's an engineer and also has a degree in botany, so after he miraculously survives his accident, he's as inventive as one can be to find a way out of what seems like a lethal situation.
He uses some of his supplies - potatoes, to be precise - and works out a crazy way to actually grow them in his base.
The storm destroyed his base's means of communication, so he cannot contact NASA to let them know that he is in fact not dead, so he takes a tiny Mars rover that is supposed to be used for short distance drives only and drives for twenty days just to find an outdated communication system that he tries to fix up - and manages to do so.

Meanwhile, Mark notes his experiences down in a log - at first, just so someone could find it long after he had died, but as the story progresses, it becomes so much more than that.

As all of this unfolds, the entire world is watching.
NASA works day and night to work out means to get supplies to their stranded astronaut and eventually, how to save him - but the pressure of time prompts them to make some horrendous mistakes.

And then there's Mark's crewmates on the Ares 3, lightyears away from their friend as well as Earth.
At first, they're kept in the dark about Mark being alive, but how will they cope when they have to face that they just left him there? What insane ideas will it make them have?

'The Martian' is honestly one of the best books I've read in a long, long time.

Mark obviously is the driving force of this story - and he's the realest damn person to ever be a character in a book.
He's funny, dorky and relateable, and even when he is faced with situations that might possbily kill him - which there are a lot of on Mars - he keeps his wit. But then he also writes an e-mail to his best friend, telling him how to explain their sons death to his parents. There are many faces to Mark Watney, the geeky botanist, the clever engineer, the reckless survivor - but also the somewhat broken human. And it's wonderful.

I'm not going to lie, there's quite a lot of science involved, because we are technically talking space travel here.
But even though I was a little overwhelmed when Mark described the way he worked on all sorts of things or people working for NASA spat out some crazy terms, it's actually all explained fairly easily once you've settled in and gotten used to it, even for people like me who don't know the first thing about science.

What I also really loved about this book was the way its plot was structured.
There are so many twists and turning points that it always stays fresh and gripping - you don't get tired of this story at all. There's always something going on that keeps you turning the pages, muttering "just one more chapter" at three am.

All in all, I'd wholeheartedly recommend this book to everyone.
'The Martian' is a book about space travel, but then it's also so much more than that. It's a story about how much one person can endure, a story about the lenghts humans will go to to help someone else, a story about insane devotion and friendship.
It made me laugh, it made me sniffle, and most importantly, it also made me think.

If you're interested in reading this book yourself, it's available on Amazon for 7,58€.

Have you read any good books lately? Feel free to recommend them to me!

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The Best Concealer For Blemishes | Beauty

I feel like I'm forever on the hunt for the perfect concealer. I either find one that works great on dark circles but is no use when you're trying to cover spots - like my beloved Erase Paste - or one that creases in my under-eye area likes there's no tomorrow.

And when they're the full package, they never come in a shade that is light enough to match my insanely pale skin. I can never win.

So I was very intrigued when one of my friends told me how much she loved her NYX HD Concealer - she praised it high and low for how well it works for covering blemishes, and because I still am to find one of those that works for me, I decided to test it out!

This concealer comes in nine different shades to suit all kinds of different skin tones, ranging from very light porcelain to even a pretty dark brown, which is basically unheard of for a high-street brand. They also do this concealer in a lavender, yellow and green tone if you're looking for shades to correct different pigmentations

I got Fair, the second lightest shade, mainly because the lightest one was sold out. It's a tad too dark for me as of right now (my face is a little more tan than my hands), but it'll be the perfect match as soon as I've tanned a little more. Sun, where are you? Come out of hiding please.

I've got to say that my friends was right on this one - it is the best concealer I've ever tried when it comes to covering up any form of blemishes. NYX claims it to be medium coverage, but it acts almost as if it was full coverage, no lie - once I've applied this, there is no redness to be seen anywhere!
It also doesn't get patchy or disappear from my face at all; even if I wear it out all day long it only wears off a tiny bit - and we're talking ten-hour days here!

If you're looking for a concealer to cover your dark circles, however, this might not be the one for you.
I've tried to use it on my under-eye area, but it hardly stayed there at all - it started creasing less than an hour after application and slid off my face completely not long after that.
I have no idea why it acted out this much when it worked so well on any other part of my face, but oh well. I already have an incredible concealer to cover those dark beasts, so I'm all good.


So if you're looking for something to cover any redness or blemishes that you might be struggling with, you should definitely give this one a go! The quality you get for the low price of 6.99€ is incredible - I've payed over three times that for concealers that didn't work as well.
For anything other than that, it sadly won't work out as well - but there's quite a few amazing under-eye concealers to be had, like Maybelline's Eraser Eye or Benefit's Erase Paste!


What is your holy grail concealer? Please let me know in the comments so I can check it out!

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Mario Badescu Drying Lotion | Beauty

It's not secret that I don't exactly have great skin. I actually have quite the opposite - I suffered with severe acne for three years, and I still have periods of time when I can hardly look at myself in the mirror without wanting to smash it in. I actually talked about how much I struggle with feeling good in my own skin before, so I won't get too into that now - if you're interested in reading that, you can check it out here.

After struggling with some sort of weird breakout/rash for over two months, you can imagine how desperate I was. None of the products I tried helped my condition, most of them even made it worse, so I was really intrigued when I saw Iva rave about the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion.

Mario Badescu is a company that produces products suited specifically for people struggling with acne, and their Drying Lotion is claimed to get rid of all sorts of spots without doing any harm of skin.

Sounds too good to be true? That's what I thought as well, but apparently miracles do happen.

Even though it's not quite visible in the photo as the ingredients combined while I tried to shoot my flatlay (blogger problems right there), the Drying Lotion actually consist of a translucent fluid and a pink mixture at the bottom.

Application wise, this is a rather easy product.

Once you've placed your bottle on an even surface and its contents have seperated again, you simply use a cotton stick and dab it into the pink mass. Then you apply a generous amount of it right onto any nasty spots you want to get rid of.

Let your skin absorb it over night and wash off with warm water in the morning.

Now to the interesting part - did it really live up to its rave reviews? Totally.

I was amazed by how well this product works for me, especially on whiteheads. It actually got rid of smaller spots pretty much after a one-night use, while it obviously needs to applied a little more often when it comes to bigger blemishes and ones lurking below the surface - but even those will have shrunken after one use and also appear a lot less red than they did the night before.

The only downside to this is that, as the name suggests, it does a lot of its magic by drying out your spots, which also means that as you use it, it may dry out your skin in the process, especially if you use it ever single night, like I do.

If your skin is on the drier side, you should avoid applying this to larger areas and try to apply it precisely to your spots - that way it will not affect the skin around them.

Nonetheless, this is probably the best product for acne I've ever tried.
It's ridiculous how quickly, and especially how effectively, it helped me with battling my breakouts - my entire mouth and nose area was covered in redness and small spots, but now almost all of them have faded without any scaring!

It definitely isn't the cheapest product on the market with a price tag of 25€, but let's be real - it's better to invest some money in some good products that will improve your skin than to save some Euros and end up doing more bad than good.


Have you ever tried a skincare product that changed the game for you? I'd love to know!

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Recent Reads #6 | Cinder

When I was a child, I was pretty much obsessed with fairy tales - I would always get my Mom to read some to me before bed, or forced my parents to watch pretty much every Disney movie with me.
Those fantastic worlds fascinated me, and they still do to this date, so when I heard that there was a book series that was basically a modern spin on the stories I loved in my childhood, I was more than excited.

What I'm referring to are the 'Lunar Chronicles', a series by Marissa Meyer.
I had never read a book of hers before picking up "Cinder", and boy am I annoyed at myself for not doing that earlier!

"Cinder" is set in the futuristic town of New Bejing, which was founded after World War IV. So much damage had been done during that war that the Earth was split into six big countries - the United Kingdom, the European Federation, the American Republic, the African Union, Australia and the Commonwealth, which New Bejing is part of.

The book follows the story of Cinder, an European teenage girl who was turned into a cyborg after barely surviving a horrible car crash that killed her parents at the age of eleven. Following her surgery, she was adopted by Linh Garan - who ended up dying soon afterwards, leaving Cinder with a stepmother who hates her. Sounds familiar? I told you, it's a futuristic Cinderella story.

But it's not just Cinder's stepmother who hates her - all over the Commonwealth, cyborgs are shunned and despised - so you can imagine that Cinder's job as a mechanic isn't exactly a walk in the park for her.
Well, up until one day, the Commonwealth's prince, Kai, shows up at her booth, practically begging her to fix an android of his that appears to hold some extremly important information.

And if Cinder's life couldn't get any more overwhelming, her younger stepsister Peony, the only human being that showed any sort of affection for Cinder, catches a lethal ilness called "letumosis" - one there isn't a cure for.
When Cinder's dreadful stepmother loses it and sends Cinder to a scientific organization looking for a cure for letumosis as a "volunteer", the scientists discover that there is something more special to Cinder than her just being a cyborg - she is immune to the disease that millions of people have fallen victim to.

What results from that is an even bigger downward spiral of chaos.
Cinder becomes so devoted to finding a cure to save her sister's life, and then there's Prince Kai who appears to be falling for the young mechanic - until the Queen of the moonfolk, the Lunars, comes to visit Earth to negotiate about peace between the two nations.
There appears to be only a small price the Earthern Union has to pay - she's asking for Kai's hand in marriage...

Looking back on that summary of the book, I can see how it might appear pretty confusing and all over the place at first - I did feel that way when I started reading the book, not gonna lie.
I feel like with fantasy books, I always need some time to make myself comfortable with the world, its rules and characters - but once you're fully settled in, you're in for a real treat with "Cinder".

There is so much the book has to offer.
For one, it has an amazing plot, one that keeps you hooked and has interesting and unforseen twists and turns that keep the book exciting. 

Besides that, I really love Marissa Meyer's writing style. It's easy to read without sounding like it was written for kids or teenagers entirely, and it contains a good portion of humor and sarcasm, which is basically me in a nutshell, so I thoroughly enjoyed that.

And then there's the characters, which to me either break or make a book. In this one, they're so complex and carefully structured, that sometimes you feel like you might actually see them in front of you or hear them talking. Especially Cinder and Kai often felt so damn real to me that I couldn't help but not only relate to them, but actually feel for them - I got so attached to this book's characters that I sometimes squealed or swore out loud while reading, no joke.

All in all, I can definitely recommend this book to everyone, even if you're not too into fantasy books or the like, because Cinder is so much more than that.
It's a gripping story told from the view of two rare, relatable main characters - and the best things is that this is only the beginning! There are three more books for me to explore - in fact, I have "Scarlet", the second installment in the series, already sitting on my shelf, patiently waiting for me.
Yes, I'm that excited about this series. That's when you know it's great.

If you want to check it out for yourself, "Cinder" is available on Amazon for 9,05€.

Have you read a really good book recently?

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The Lipgloss For Me - Essence's Velvet Matte | Beauty

I have never really liked lipglosses because let's be real, they are pretty impractical, especially for people like me who have long hair - it will always end up getting stuck in the lipgloss. Not only when it's windy - that's a nightmare in itself - but also when you're just casually letting your hair fall into your face. Nice.
On top of that, I also can't deal with my lips being all sticky. It's just weird. I don't like it. Leave me alone.

I've stayed away from any sort of lipgloss for as long as I can remember for all of the reasons I just mentioned, but I realized that when Essence had come out with a new range of 'Velvet Matte' shades as an addition to their 'XXL longlasting lipgloss' line, I was intruiged. For one, I have been a faithful lover of Essence, an affordable German drugstore brand, ever since I started experimenting with makeup, and secondly, I just have a thing for matte lippies. They always end up coming home with me - and as this one was only 2€, I really couldn't resist trying out a matte lipgloss for the first time ever - I went for the shade, 06 which is called "soft nude" - as you can see in the swatch below, it's a medium brown shade with pink undertones.

The first thing I noticed about this product was its scent - it smells deliciously sweet, a little like vanilla. However, the scent is not sicklish or overpowering.

Application wise, this is fairly easy to work with, the product doesn't come out clumpy or smudge while applied with the wand, although it would be great if the wand picked up a little more product because it often comes out a little sparse.

After applied to the lips, the product dries very quickly (very much to my satisfaction due to my hate for anything sticky), leaving a velvety looking finish. It looks like your usual matte lipstick! I'm so amazed that I actually does what it claims to do.

Wear wise, this is amazing! Hardly any of my lippies sit this comfortably on my lips. It doesn't make my lips sting or leave them feeling tight, either.

It lasts for around two or three hours without budging, however it does not last through heavy/long meals, but compared to the longevity of an average lipgloss, that's still really good.

Altogether, I think it's safe to say that this lipgloss is outstanding! As I mentioned, there are a few tiny things that I don't exactly love about it, but the overall quality you get for such a low price is amazing! And they're a great alternative for people like me who aren't too fond of the average lipgloss but still don't want to give up on them altogether.

Have you ever tried a matte lipgloss?

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The Most Hyped Lipstick Ever - MAC's Velvet Teddy | Beauty

If you're into your beauty products, you're probably no stranger to the lipstick in question. Ever since rumors started that MAC's 'Velvet Teddy' was the lipstick Kylie Jenner used, people rushed to the stores to try it out themselves, because really, we've all dreamt of having those full, perfect lips of Kylie's before, let's not lie to ourselves.

When more and more bloggers started to rave about how great this shades is, however, the hype around it was taken to a whole other level - it sold out literally all around the world, which means that I have been chasing this lipstick ever since Spring 2015. I kept going back to my local MAC counter to check whether it was back in stock, and the lady working there had to tell me that it sold out only a day after they got it every single time- it was craziness.

At the end of the year, when I had offically given up on this godforsaken lipstick, I opened a box on Christmas Day just to find it in there. I have no idea what my Mom had to do to get it, but she's an actual angel.

So, no that I finally got to try out what must be one of the most hyped lipsticks in the blogging community, do I still find it as great as everyone made me believe it to be?

First of I have to say that I'm in love with the shade itself. Because of my really pale skin, it's pretty hard for me to find a nude that compliments my skin tone, but 'Velvet Teddy' works perfectly for me. Besides that, my mother, who has medium dark skin also owns this shade, and it suits her a lot as well, so this one's a nude that's worth checking out for several kinds of skintones!
It's a beige shade with slight rosy undertones, so it's a very laid-back shade and great for every-day wear.
The color-payoff of this lipstick is also really, really great, because you don't need to apply a lot of this at all for the shade to transfer onto your lips.

'Velvet Teddy' has a matte finish, which has it's pros and cons.
As for the pros, the matte finish obiously makes the lipstick sit in place nicely for several hours on end, not smudging or sliding around at all, even when you drink and eat.
Sadly it also dries out the lips a lot and defines all the dry patches you may or may not have got, and during cold days, I've found my lips feeling like they're going to burst into pieces after wearing this for an entire day - so if your lips are usually dry, you should definitely moisturize and exfoliate them before using this lipstick, or it won't look good - or feel good, for that matter - at all.

Wear wise, I mentioned a lot of apects already. Ahead of my time, whoops.
I've worn this lipstick out for a few really long days, and it usually sat in place for at least three to four hours, which in my eyes, is amazing. It also doesn't budge when you're eating or drinking, which is great for clusmy eaters like me who sometimes end up smudging their lipsticks all around their mouth. Oh the shame.

All in all, I really love this lipstick. The shade is so versatile and goes with a lot of the make up looks I create, so I have gotten an insane amount of wear out of this already - I've worn it for almost the entire month!
Obviously, it's a pretty pricey option at 20€, especially as there are some really great drugstore dupes out there for like Essence's "In The Nude" lipliner or Maybelline's "Color Drama Lip Pencil" in Nude Perfection which are almost identical in shade for just a fraction of the price.
However, if you, like me, appreciate the quality you get with MAC's lipsticks and prefer them over drugstore ones, this one is definitely a nude you should try!

Have you ever tried a product that had a lot of hype around it?

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Urban Decay's Naked 2 Basics | Beauty

It really is no secret that I'm a fan of Urban Decay's eyeshadow palettes - ever since my friends got me the three Naked palettes for my birthday last year, I've been basically praising their quality non-stop. I apparently talked about them so much that my Mom picked up on my on my love for them and got me the Naked 2 Basics eyeshadow palette for Christmas, which made me insanely happy because I had been eyeing it up for ages!

Now, I gave myself some time to truly get to work with this before giving you guys my two cents about it and as I finally had the time to sit down and think, here you go!

I'm not going to lie, I had pretty high expectations when using this for the first time because I absolutely loved all of Urban Deacy's products I have tried so far, and thank god I wasn't let down.

First of, I really love the size of this palette - because it's so tiny (it does appear to be a lot more bigger in the photos) and still includes a mirror,  it's ideal for when you're on the go.
Besides that, its shade selection is superb, all of the shades are neutral, which I love because they're very easy to work with when you're going for a more natural make up look. However, the shades don't really work well with one another in my opinion, so don't expect to create any extravagant looks with this.

Now, as you can see from the swatches, the color pay-off of these is really great, except for the "Skimp", which is the first shade - a really pale yellow that sadly hardly shows up on my equally pale skin.

Applying the shadows is an absolute dream, they apply super smoothly and are very easy to blend, so if you don't like all the fuzz that comes with creating a banging eye look or don't have a lot of time on your hands, these are ideal for you!

Wear wise, these have definitely proven themselves to be equally as great as the original Naked palettes. I hardly experienced any fallout with these, and if I did, it was after six hours or more weartime, which means that if anything, they are definitely long lasting.

My favorites out of the shades included would definitely have to be "Stark", which does look a little orange in the swatch above, but is actually a soft pink shade, and "Frisk", which is a light grey shade.
Something that I definitely need to work on is stepping outside of my comfort zone when it comes to darker shades because "Cover" and "Primal" are really pretty shades that do somewhat bring out my blue eyes, but they're just so damn intimidating. Does anyone else feel that way about darker make up or is that just me being weird? Who knows.


Overall, this palette is for you if you are looking for some really great quality when it comes eyeshadows, or if you're really into your neutral shades - and if you're not afraid to pay for that.
 Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely in love with this and I've been using it a lot ever since I got it for Christmas., but as of right now, this gem is 30€, which is quite a bit of money, especially if you, like me, are still trying to make your peace with darker shades.


Have you ever tried any of Urban Decay's eyeshadow palettes?

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Essie Does Mattes Now? | Beauty

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Did you try out any of these limited edition polishes? 

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Recent Reads #5 | Love Letters To The Dead

I seriously have no idea why I'm often drawn to books with rather dark plots because in all honesty, I'm pretty much a chicken shit in real life, but for some reason there is something about reading about sad or scary things that just gets me.

And, knowing that about me, a friend of mine recommended 'Love Letters to the Dead' to me - without really giving me any hints about the plot, just saying that I would probably really enjoy it.

So, I did what I always do - I looked for it in my local bookstore. And to my suprise, it was sitting there as if it was waiting for me - so home with me it went.

Now, maybe you're not so much about diving into a book without knowing anything about it as much as I am, so let me break the plot down to you first,

'Love Letters to the Dead' follows the story of Laurel, a fifteen year old freshman in High School whose sister May just died. The twist, though, is that it is told through letters that Laurel writes - letters to deceased, well known personalities. The entire thing starts as an assignment for English class in which Laurel's teacher asks them to write to someone who is already dead - so Laurel decides to write to Kurt Cobain because her sister loved his music so deeply.

 But after a whike, it seems like Laurel can't stop - she continues writing those letters for almost an entire year, to Amelia Earhart, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin, River Phoenix - to name a few. And with each letter, Laurel reveals a little more about herself and all the things that have led up to her sister's death, but also lets the reader in on happier things, like the new people she meets and becomes friends with at her new school and her personal growth.

Through the letters, the reader eventually discovers that May, who was older than Laurel, was a very outgoing and social person who loved to party. Both her and her sister's life changed when she started seeing an older guy, whose friend sexually abused Laurel whenever they met.
When confronted with what had happened to her younger sister after meeting up with the men one night, May gets furious, climbs onto a bridge and ends up falling to her death. It is unclear to Laurel whether it was suicide or a horrible accident.

Following that incident, Laurel's live falls apart. Her already divorced mother moves across the country, she has to switch school.

I will admit that the entire letter situation made it a little difficult for me to get into the book and connect with Laurel at first - I had the exact same issue with 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower' back in the day - but eventually, I warmed up to it. 

And thank god I did, because this book has amazed me on so many levels.

For one, the way that the story unfolds for us as the reader might seem slow at first because we obviously only get as much information as Laurel is comfortable with sharing, which at the beginning is basically none. But every time she does reveal something about herself and/or her past, you get so sucked into it - you want, no, you need to know more about what happened to her.

That way, you actually start to care about the girl telling your her story, you start to connect with her, even empathize with her.

I also really enjoyed the character development taking place throughout the story - not only Laurel's, even though hers was definitely the strongest, but also her family's and her friends'. There are so many different people involved in this who all have different stories it might seem confusing at first, but it does tie together quite nicely and gives and insight into various difficult issues like toxic relationships, illnesses and homosexuality.

Overall, 'Love Letters to the Dead' is an amazing coming-of-age story about grief, friendship and recovery that is definitely not a light read but will leave you with some very deep, raw feelings.

'Love Letters to the Dead' by Ava Dellaira is available on Amazon for only 7,30€.

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