August Favourites (laaaaaate!) and London Haul

Hi, my fellow beauties!

Haha, yeah, I know September is almost over and I do have my September Favourites ready but I realised this morning I haven't posted my August Favourites here! Shame on me!

Because I'm really on the hop right now, I wanted to share last months favourites and my monstrously gigantic London haul with you, in case you haven't seen them yet on youTube.

Enjoy!

August Favourites:

Products I've mentioned:

Nivea Sun Protection & Refresh: You know me and my love of sun protection. This is a spray with a SPF 30 that you can use upside down, so protecting your back properly doesn't require someone else willing to rub your back which is pretty handy sometimes.

Catrice The Giant Mascara: My favourite non-waterproof mascara ever. It has a delicious smell, makes incredibly long and curled lashes and is pretty cheap as well!

Manhattan Professional Smokey Eyes Kit: A limited edition smokey eyes palette with rather natural and neutral shades. I have loved this palette to death (although it somehow disappeared...) and I'm super happy that I might have found a dupe for my favourite colour of it.

Astor Soft Sensation Lip Colour Butters: Lovely coloured lip balms, full review here.

Soap & Glory No Clogs Allowed Detox Mask: A self-heating detox mask that exfoliates the skin amazingly. I'm pretty short on this because there will be a review in the near future, so watch this spot. ;)

Orbit Balance Aloe Vera & Papaya: My favourite chewing gum ever! Surprised it's not mint? Yeah, me  too, but this is just too good. Fruity, but not too much and so refreshing!

Hay Day: Basically just your average iPad farming game, but I adore it! It is way too addictive, though.

London Haul:

I won't be giving you short reviews of everything I bought because I wasn't able to test everything as yet. You will just have to have a look, I suppose, haha.

That is it for today, guys. Pretty please, forgive me for forgetting to post my August favourites, I really do feel ashamed. But like I said, the September video is ready (though really short) and I will be posting it here in time this time.

As always, it would be so cool if you headed over to my channel and left me a comment there or gave me a positive rating and it would be beyond amazing if you subscribed.

Have a most splendid day!

xx

FOTD: Celebrations

Hi, fellow beauties!

I flipped through the pictures on my phone the other day and found pictures of my brother's graduation day. I quite liked my makeup that day and although it's already a few weeks past, I thought I'd share it with you!

Enjoy!

Sorry for the quality of that picture, my brother  made it!

The products I used:

MAC Matchmaster Foundation in A33 1.5

Maybelline Fit me! Concealer in 20
Essence Match 2 Cover! Cream Concealer
Annayake Translucent Powder

MAC Harmony Powder Blush

Manhattan Powder Rouge in Apricot

Estee Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelée Blush in 01 Heatwave

YSL Touche Éclat 2

alverde Transparentes Augenbrauengel

Catrice Prime and Fine Eyeshadow Base

MAC Naked Lunch (lid)

MAC Club (crease and under the eye)

Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner Black

Maxfactor False Lash Effect Waterproof Mascara in Black

MAC Lipstick in Ravishing

Essie nail polish in Mint Candy Apple

____________________________________________________________

Have a splendid day!
xx

London Calling!

Hi, my fellow beauties!

I wanted to give you a few little snippets of my trip to London from the beginning of September. I had such a fabulous time in this great city, the weather was great and the people were all ever so friendly.
The moment I left the plane I had decided I wanted to live there, if not for a few semesters than perhaps for an internship or a proper job, we'll see that.

But for now, enjoy some of the pictures I took!

Dinner at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen. Believe me, that was the best steak I've eaten in my entire life.

The Birdkeeper's House in St. James Park. The picture above is also from there.

The obligatory picture with the phone box.

Visiting my hero's house in 221B Baker Street.

Look who I met! Only at Madame Tussaud's unfortunately...

Welcome to the Tower of London! And yeah, I know that is only the bridge. 

The view from St. Paul's Golden Gallery. Isn't it breathtaking? 

And from the lower Stone Gallery. I love the sky!

So these were just a few snippets of the pictures I took. Again, I can't say enough how deeply I've fallen in love with this city.

One picture is missing though: I had the chance to meet Andrea aka Rosy Chicc while I was there and I forgot to take a picture with her! We need to take one next time, love! 

Unnecessary to say, I will be back. And soon, hopefully. Until then, London!

So, where did you go for holiday this year? Did you do a blog post with pictures in there? Please, leave me your links, I'd love to have a look around!

Have a most splendid day!

xx

What's in my Travel Bag? - Make Up Edition

Hi, fellow beauties!

So, welcome to the first upload on my second upload day. Actually it's the first in the week, all with Tuesday coming first before Friday, but you get the drift.

Today I have the second part of my travel bag contents for you, which is mainly consisting of the make up products that I took with me on holiday, but also of the perfume and the brushes I used in London.

As always I will be naming the products from left to right and, if necessary, rear to front.

Without much further ado, enjoy!

Face:

Estée Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelée Blush, Tease: I decided only to take two different shades of blushes and this light pink coloured one is the one I had been reaching for most often anyways. It gives the skin an amazing natural glow and flush of colour. Another big plus of this blush is that it can be used as a highlighter as well without any problems. Two birds with one stone.

Manhattan Powder Rouge, Apricot: The other blusher shade which is typical for me is coral / apricot. Thinking about it, this one was an obvious choice because it is in fact the only blush of that colour range I own that is not liquid. But also because it's lovely.

MAC Matchmaster Foundation: Matchmaster is my to-go foundation because it has a really good coverage that is not too heavy but good enough for my oily skin that is prone to blemishes. I just know, I can trust it in every situation.

Annayake Poudre Libre, Transparent (under the MAC powder): The very first plus of this powder is the packaging. I didn't have too much space in my suitcase and as this powder is loose and without a mirror and doesn't take up space that's needed for other products. But that's not the only reason, of course. This powder has a somewhat diffusing effect and makes my skin look so much better. Even though it is transparent, I have the feeling that it enhances the coverage of my foundation.

MAC Powder Blush, Harmony: Next to Benefit's Hoola Bronzer, this is my choice product for conturing. As it is easier to transport than Hoola, I chose to take this.

Thierry Mugler, Alien: I own the full size of this fragrance but I had some samples flying around and as I view this as an autumn smell, I just grabbed them and put them into my bag. Alien is a rather flowery smell with spicy notes. It's not a smell I would normally go for, but Alien had me at first smell because it is somewhat mysterious and different.

Eyes:

Catrice Eyebrow Kit * : My choice product for filling in my eyebrows. I don't own a real alternative.

Manhattan Eyeshadow Trios & Duo: I opted for two trios and one quad, all by Manhattan. Not because they are the best I own but because they are small and compact and pretty decent. The trios are smokey eyes kits in brownish (left) and blackish (right) colours and the duo contains two berry coloured eyeshadows.

Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner, Black: My favourite liquid eyeliner, no surprise I packed this.

Maybelline Fit Me! Concealer: Again, my favourite concealer. Of all the concealers I own it has the best combination of coverage and staying power. It does crease a little bit but I have very oily skin so products wandering around is no novelty to me.

Lash curler: No idea by which brand that one is because this is still the very first lash curler I ever bought and that was ages ago and in a pharmacy where there are only very small brands.

* No idea, if it's called like that, the print on the box is completely worn away.

Lips:

MAC, Russian Red & Ravishing: I wanted to have uncomplicated lipsticks that I can rely on so I chose MAC's Ravishing, a beautiful natural peachy tone and Russian Red, a long lasting matte red.

IsaDora, Bare Berry: IsaDora is a brand of which I haven't tried anything more than the one lipstick I own. Perhaps I should change that because the quality of the lipstick is amazing. It's really creamy and has a good staying power and the colour, a dark berry tone with hints of beige, is wonderful for autumn.

Burt's Bees, Nourishing Lip Balm with Mango Butter: One of the best lip balms without tint that grace my make up collection. It's rather small and compact and that was the reason why I chose this over other lip balms. Plus, it tastes delicious!

Eye Brushes:

Honestly, no idea why I packed as many brushes (or eyeshadows that is) because I'm usually too lazy to do something too elaborate. But still, I packed some blending brushes, one for the eyebrows and several that ended up as blending brushes for concealer. Save one by MAC, they are all by KokovonKosmo who is a German youtuber and has her own make up shop in which she is selling her own brushes.

Face Brushes:

These and my eyebrow brush are the only ones I used every single day. There is one blush brush by KokovonKosmo (right one) and the other two are by essence and I used them for contouring, especially the right one.

So, that's basically everything cosmetic related that flew with me to beautiful England. Needless to say, there was much more that came back with me, but that is another story. 

If you are interested in that, you'll have to wait until Sunday, I'm afraid, when there will be a gigantically long video about the make up I bought. You may as well be excited, haha.

What would you have taken additionally? Or would something out of my back have to stay at home if it was up to you?

Have a most splendid day!

xx

What's in my Travel Bag? - Skin Care Edition

Hi, fellow beauties!

I know, the time for being on holidays is drawing to a rapid end for most of us but still, seeing that I have been away from home quite a lot for the last two months I thought I would show you what made it into my travel bag.

These aren't the products I took with me to the Netherlands but the ones that flew with me to London. We only travelled with hand luggage which made it quite a hard time for me to decide what to take. I was literally devastated when I learned that lipsticks counted as fluids!

Another thing, I forgot to take the pictures when I left home (uuh, shame on me!) so I took them after returning from England. I'm sorry for some products being empty and the bad light!

Now, after that sermon, enjoy!

Face treatment, left to right:

Clarins, Cleansing Milk: My cleanser for in the mornings. Having oily to combination skin, it just won't do for me to not  properly clean my face before putting make up on. I didn't choose this because I particularly like this product, which I don't, but because I found a 100 mL version of it which could travel in my hand luggage. I'm afraid it is very likely this caused the major breakout I had in England.

Lancôme, Visionnaire Serum: This serum as well as the moisturiser I also took with me, I bought in a travel set and I was really intrigued to find this because I had a small sample of it in a magazine and I freaking loved what it did to my skin. As it is very very very expensive, I decided to first try this little version of it and I'm not sure I still like it as much as I did before. I can't see the effect it had earlier anymore somehow. It also really burns when it comes in contact with blemishes, that is in fact a bit worrying.

Clarins, Water Comfort One-Step Cleanser: This toner smells of peaches (most vital information first) and promises to remove all your make up without a trace and moisturise your skin in one step. It doesn't do the first at all and the latter to my contentment.

Clarins, Eye Revive Beauty Flash: My eye cream at the moment and one of the only representatives of my normal skin regime I could take with me. It promises to get rid of dark circles. I can't really spot a difference and although the moisturising effect is quite good, it's still not the one eye cream I am looking for.

Liz Earle, Cleanse & Polish: The old classic. I use this cleanser regularly in the evening to get rid of my make up and as I can't buy the brand at home I always have to order online. The positive thing about that, they always send me travel kits with this tiny version of the cleanser and a mini cloth which I also took with me. That there in the picture is a regular one because the one I had with me was very dirty obviously I didn't want you to have to see that.

Lancôme, Génifique Cream: This moisturiser came with the serum in a travel set but I'm a bit confused that they aren't the same line which was what I would have expected. This line is actually for older skin but I quite liked it. It sinks into the skin pretty fast, has a lovely smell and a little bit goes a long way. Nothing I would buy though.

Body care:

Phyto, Ultra-repairing Mask: This hair mask promises to repair severely damaged hair and although my scalp doesn't tolerate the shampoos of this brand, I really enjoyed using this mask. It is rather thick but washes off easily. But after drying and brushing it I was surprised how thick and nourished my hair felt.

L'Oréal, EverRich Shampoo: Samples of this shampoo are basically in every magazine nowadays. This is already the second one I used and I also own a full size bottle because this product is so fabulous. I like it although it contains silicons but once in a while I just need something to smooth my hair down and give it a nice texture. What is the use of silicon free shampoos if I can't enjoy how my hair feels afterwards?

Toothbrush: Obviously, haha. I don't think there's much to say about this.

CD, Citrus Deo Roll-On: My current deodorant. I honestly don't like it but I'm not one to throw products away unless my I can't tolerate them. The fact that I bought a new one whilst in England tells you all you need to know, though!

Braces: These aren't braces in the classic sense, but I don't know what to call them. After graduating two years ago I started grinding my teeth during the night which got to the point of my whole jaw aching. Unfortunately I haven't stopped since so these are absolutely necessary.

Contact lenses and solution: Another pretty obvious thing, I believe.

Phyto 7, Hydrating Day Cream: This baby is a leave-in conditioner which I like to use if my hair is completely stressed out but I don't have the nerve to wash it. Another issue was that I wasn't sure how good the hair mask that I took with me was so I thought bringing something I know would be a good idea.

Brush: And the third obvious thing!

Lush Massage Bar, Each Peach: This is the massage bar I featured in one of my last videos. It's not my favourite body lotion in the world but the huge advantage of this product is that it doesn't count as a fluid and I didn't need to put it in the plastic bag, that's too small for my taste anyway. I didn't use it, however, because the body lotion at our hotel was really lovely.

These were to skin care products I took with me. I decided to split the post up in two parts as it would get rather long otherwise. So keep your eyes peeled for the second part of it which will be the make up that was allowed to come with me.

I will be putting up the second part next Tuesday, because I have decided only posting once a week is not often enough for my taste. I don't know if I will be able to keep up with it but I will try to stick to it as hard as I can even after Uni started.

Have a most splendid day!

xx

Review: Astor Soft Sensations Lip Colour Butters

Hi, fellow beauties!

Seeing that I didn't do a July favourites post/video as I just lack new things I tried and loved, I figured it was time to tell you about the one thing, or rather the five things, I just loved to death.

You might say "Why, five things are enough for one monthly favourite", but those five things are all of one kind and I thought a whole review for themselves would be more appropriate.

So, let me introduce you to my favourite lip products, the Astor Soft Sensations Lip Colour Butters.

Those are basically coloured lip butters that moisturise your lips and have an amazing colour pay-off. I initially got interested in them because my favourite beauty guru on YouTube compared them to the Revlon Lip Butters, which I'm desperate to try but can't get where I live. Until I'll be able to get my hands on them, she promised those would be a proper replacement.

Ahead I went and bought some. They did thirteen in total, some I haven't come across yet, and for some colours it was a proper hunt that took me weeks because with them being priced at 5,95 € they're really cheep and amazing and were sold out as soon as they had hit the shelves.

They look like giant crayons, very much like the Bourjois Colour Boost Lipsticks I believe they are called, which makes it very easy to apply them and they go on really creamy. Also, they have a rather pleasant smell and taste of nothing which I'm really happy of because I just hate lip products with a taste, safe it's really really good. I might make an exception then.

In case of wearing comfort they are all really good but each colour is a little bit different so I'll be giving you my thoughts on every single one I own.

Here you go!

008 Hug Me:

Hug Me is the newest addition to my collection and it is the one that literally took me weeks to find because it was always out of stock. When I found it I had actually given up on it and was just bored so I popped into the drugstore and just imagine how delighted I was when I found my little friend there waiting for me! It has a downright beautiful dusky pink colour with a hint of tulipwood and shimmer particles in it. I can't say too much on how long it lasts because this colour comes pretty close to my natural lip colour but it feels really comfortable on my lips, more like a lip balm than a lipstick actually, it's really creamy without being sticky and gives you a really natural look.

010 Pink Lady:

Now that was a colour I instantly fell in love with and the first one I bought. Not only because I love this particular variety of apple, but when I left home that day it was with the resolution not to return home unless I brought a light pink lipstick with me. You see, when I buy pink lip products, it always ends up being a really bright, attention seeking pink and that was for once not what I wanted. This baby is exactly what I had been looking for and is also the most worn one up until now. Its colour pays off so easily and it stays on the lips for so long.

011 Feeling Feline:

Feeling Feline is still rather pink but has its share of orange which gives it a coral touch. This is the lipstick I'm least content with in fact. It's lovely but out of all the ones I bought, it has the shortest wear and whenever I touch it up I find it's getting a little bit flaky on my lips, do you know what I mean? And if that happens I can't get those flake like things off properly which makes me a kind of hesitant to pick it over other lipsticks in the morning.

012 Unguilty Pleasure:

Have I mentioned that I love the names Astor gave their products? Namewise, Unguilty Pleasure is my favourite and it's also so pretty as well! When I want to wear a bright colour but don't feel like a heavy lipstick this is my product of choice, because the colour comes so near a 'real' lipstick without losing anything of the lightness of the formula of a lip butter. I also love wearing this when I where no make up at all. Sometimes when going outside for a bit I feel I need a pop of colour and that one is just perfect. It doesn't stay on as long as a proper lipstick but still, this one is incredible.

015 Cheeky Cherry:

This is the lip butter I actually saw a review on on YouTube and made me buy all the other ones. One of my favourite colours for a lipstick is a red with loads of pink in it or the other way round, which is exactly what this one's colour is. It really reminds me of Dior's Red Muse (444 out of Rouge Dior, but they don't do it anymore, I'm afraid) which is one of my all time favourites. It has a really long wear and survives its share of eating and drinking but a real problem with this one is that it's bleeding. You do have to use a lipliner with it which I'm most of the time too lazy to do and even if you do it still bleeds a little. If it didn't look so gorgeous and had the exceptional formula of that range I wouldn't actually like it I guess. But I'm complaining on a really high level here!

To put it all in a nutshell, these products are amazing and really cheep so if you spot them, give them a shot, you won't be disappointed! They are super pigmented for lip butters and make really soft lips. Although some colours are really bright, they look as natural as reds and pinks get and can be worn solo without any make up if you like that kind of look.

Every single one requires a little bit of special treatment but it's not hard to work them out and have fun with them!

I hope you've enjoyed this review! Tell me in the comments if you have tried those lip butters and if in any case you tried them as well as the Revlon Lip Butters please do tell me if they really are comparable, I'm ever so curious!

Have a most splendid day!

xx