Did you miss me?

Long time no post and I have once again forgotten how this works 😅. However, I do have a good explanation for my absence: I was busy getting a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry. I may have not been posting but I have definitely been scheming for the masses (shout out to my faves: Imagine Dragons). I am not sure how long I will be able to keep posting but I hope that this time around I can keep up somewhat of a schedule or at least get in a post every now and then. 
I am also planning to start a new segment in which I will share some of my favourite recipes. Cooking has been a passion for me for years and during the past year I have started to be more creative and healthy with my food. This led me to (re)create and modify some fantastic meals, which I would love to share. I am also trying to include the guidelines of the 5 Elements Theory which gives me a lot of interesting spices and foods to work with.
I hope that you as readers will enjoy this :) See you soon!👋

2014 - Impressions

Wow I haven't done this in so long, that I forgot the font I always used...
It seems like I've figured it out though, so let's get on with the post. As the title suggests this is going to be me looking back at my past year and sharing some impressions.

Curry Wurst in Berlin

One year ago I wasn't too sure what to expect of 2014 I just knew that I had to crawl out of my shell of self pity and loneliness and take my life into my own hands. 
That process is a slow one, you can only make it step by step and often those steps will be tiny... Baby steps as they say... but you have to make them or you'll be stuck. That is one thing I learned and so I picked up Karate again, made plans with friends, tried new things and said yes to opportunities. 
Throughout the year I didn't really feel the change and I still thought that I wasn't going anywhere and didn't make any progress at all which brought more frustration and sometimes I let myself get sloppy again. But looking back now I can only see the good things and I have to say that 2014 wasn't half as bad as it sometimes felt. It was actually pretty great and I collected memories I'm very fond of.

Louis and his friend were very
nice and we even got to chat
a little

The first thing I want to talk about is that I finally had the courage and opportunity to go to a Youtube event. I wanted to do that since 2011 but either it had been too expensive or I just felt too weird because I'm not really the girl who waits hours in lines just to take a picture with someone. 
But last spring ITATube happened in Milan which is somewhat close to where I live and when a friend suggested that we should go I couldn't resist and so we went. 

Meeting Alfie, Jim and Marcus

And of course the Eiffel Tower

I also traveled last year, not as much and as far as I had hoped but I definitely discovered some nice new places and cities. One of my favourites was Paris where I actually went twice and I can't wait to go back again. The city has so much to offer and I love the general vibe there. It is also where I got to see some van Gogh originals and got to discuss art with my dad from whom I must have inherited my interest in it. 
Another favourite of mine was Amsterdam I loved the architecture and the feeling you get there. It's kind of a small city (not in a Swiss sense of small but compared with other international cities) which made you feel at home and it was cool that you could get from A to B by foot. 
There were two days that we spent morning, lunch and evening in different cities and once even three different countries. It was kind of surreal but that is also the joy of traveling.

About halfway through the year I rediscovered nail art as one of my passions and finally bought some proper brushes in order to achieve some more complicated and delicate designs. I'm particularly happy about this because I enjoy painting in general and this gives me the opportunity to paint more often.

Then I found a job in a lovely location that offered lots of different tasks and introduced me to many new and interesting people.
In September I finally started studying and while it was hard especially in the beginning, I'm glad I chose Biochemistry because it is what I want and what will make me happy. Proof of that is that I can freak out with excitement about genetics and mitochondria ;P
I met more amazing people who became friends and one of them I even fell in love with. I learned how to cook healthy and am constantly learning and experiencing new things. 

Now I'm done with my exams, enjoying the free time and looking forward to what 2015 might have in store for me.

(Also I broke the s key on my laptops keyboard and guess how hard it is to type proper text now ;P)

The canal infront of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam

Born Pretty Store Haul

first try with the brushes 

Today I have a nail art haul for you. It's actually weird that I haven't talked about it before as nail design is my favourite section of the whole beauty world but that's probably because I've only just started getting into it again.

I have decided to step up my game and try some more delicate and artsy designs but then I realized that my collection was missing some pieces. So I started looking for proper nail art tools online.

All the things I bought are from the Born Pretty Store which sells various beauty articles and has an especially big nail art section.

Brushes

I bought three thin liner brushes and those are the reason why I went to the store page in the first place. 

I was a bit scared of using them, as the brush part seemed to be a bit too long for proper handling but they are easy to work with. 

Dotting Tools

Then I came across a set of different sized dotting tools and since I've always loved to create flowers I had to get this one too. There are also tons of other designs you can use them for and I can't wait to experiment around. :P

The set came with five two-way dotting tools. The ball on one side is the same size on all five tools but the one on the other side is different, as you can see in the pictures bellow.

Rhinestones and Studs

I also explored the decorations they had and decided to buy some silver rhinestones. They are actually a bit smaller than I expected them to be but I will find a way to use them. 

Next I found cute star shaped studs which come in eight vibrant colors. I bought the silver ones but I'll definitely purchase some of the colored ones too because they look so lovely.

I left out the rhinestones as they were a pain to arrange for the picture and we all know what they look like :)

3D Decoration

The 3D nail art section seemed a bit too bold for me at first but then I came across some golden sea shells and I had to get those, especially since I've been trying to create some beach nails. 

The shells come in two sizes 3 and 5mm and thinking 3mm would be big enough (my nails are quite small) I ordered those. Next time I'll probably get the bigger ones though as they look smaller irl than on screen :P

Glitter

The last item I bought comes from the glitter section. I went for stars again. This time I chose some iridescent cutout stars and it was their colorfulness that caught my attention.

Fangirl - Book Review

I feel like I'm constantly neglecting the book part of my blog so here is another review for you :D 

As you can see by the title I'm going to talk about Rainbow Rowells Fangirl. It was published in September 2013 and belongs into the contemporary YA section.

Note: Once again crossed out writing marks SPOILERS.

Synopsis:
Cath and Wren are identical twins and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they're off to college and Wren's decided that she doesn't want to be one half of a pair any more - she wants to dance, meet boys go to parties and let loose. It's not so easy for Cath. She would rather bury herself in the fanfiction she writes where there's romance far more intense than anything she's experienced in real life.
Now Cath has to decide whether she's ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she's realizing that there's more to learn about love than she ever thought possible... 

Story:
The story is very typical for this genre... if you just brush its surface but deeper it's really not that typical anymore. What makes it unique is that Cath is a big fangirl, writing her own fanfiction and burying herself in that world. Naturally there are parts of fan culture etc in the book which is something I've never read anywhere else before and I think it's great that it is a subject in this novel. 
I also liked that she created the Simon Snow series as the Harry Potter series of Caths world but it confused me a bit when the actual Harry Potter was mentioned as well because why reinvent it, when you're going to mention it anyway?
The beginning of the story can be a bit frustrating, especially if you can not relate at all to Cath and her anxiety because she just turns down all the invites for any kind of social activity and mostly stays in her room. But it gets better towards the middle and you really start rooting for Cath. 
I was sad that it ended so soon because there were a couple more things that I would have liked to see. For example her finishing Carry on and the eight Simon Snow book or how her relationship developed. Second book please??

Characters:
This novel has the most relatable protagonist EVER! I could understand Caths issues and fears very well. Though I probably wouldn't have survived that long on protein bars and peanut butter ;) What I also loved about her was that while she is introverted and anxious she's not afraid to stand up for herself. 
Then we have Levi, probably one of the nicest and cheerful guys in all the books I've read so far. I just want to pick him right out of the novel so I could be friends with him. 
I also liked Reagan and her kind of forceful/brusque manner. She led to a lot of laughs. I'd also pick her out of the novel to be my roommate because while she might appear mean she's always there to give you a little push when you need it :P Here's an example of her interaction with Cath:

"I feel sorry for you, and I'm going to be your friend."

"I don't want to be your friend," Cath said as sternly as she could. "I like that we're not friends."

"Me, too," Reagan said. "I'm sorry your ruined it by being so pathetic."

Generally I really enjoyed how Rainbow Rowell developed the characters and the relationships between them. They are all different from each other and realistic which in my opinion is important in contemporary coming-of-age stories like this one.

Writing Style:
I don't really have much to say about the writing style. Rainbow Rowell managed to create lovely cute scenes and I particularly liked how she wrote all the fandom related scenes. They are very realistic and I guess many Harry Potter fans will remember what events etc are/have been like for them. The story is written from Caths POV but in third person which is perfectly fine since we stay pretty close to the protagonist and are able to sympathize with her as if it were written from a first person POV.  

Overall Opinion:
I really really enjoyed Fangirl and I think the biggest reason for this is that I could relate so well to the story and the characters. I rated it 5 out of 5 stars on goodreads and I would recommend it especially for girls who can see themselves in Cath or people who enjoy coming-of-age stories.

Kiko Mini Haul

A couple of months ago I discovered Kiko as one of my new favourite make up brands. The quality of their products is quite nice and the price is reasonable too. The brand is based in Milan and so when I went there recently I had to buy some make up.

They also had a sales action going and I really had to contain myself to not go overboard with my shopping.

I was actually quite good at that because I only bought four nail polishes and a liquid eyeliner when there were also tons of lipsticks that I could have bought. ;)
Three of my polishes are actual colors and the third is a mat top coat. I really like the colors 317 and 360 for spring, because they are bright and girly. The third one (226) will be great for next fall and winter as it is a dark burgundy red and I like wearing those colors during the colder season.

I got myself a new mat top coat

Number 317, 226 and 360

This is a dark grey metallic liner (Number 111), it is somewhat waterproof

Holy Grail Hair Product (Mini Review)

full size (100ml) bottle

Today I want to talk about my favourite hair product. It is the Nashi Argan oil which I first got as a free sample (not sponsored though).

I didn't use the product for quite a while after getting it because it was a hair oil and as my hair is naturally quite greasy, you can probably see why I was suspicious. Then my hair got really dry and since I've heard tons of good things about argan oil I finally tried it and was blown away. They promised shiny, healthy, nourished and tamed hair and it totally worked! My hair felt soft from root to tip. Even the dry parts! And over time this oil took really good care of my hair and made it a lot healthier and shinier. I couldn't notice any sign of my roots getting greasier than usual and even my waves/curls were enhanced by the product. Naturally I was very happy with it.
There is only one down side but luckily it's nothing that can't be fixed. The oil didn't tame the frizz in my hair. So despite the fact that Nashi Argan oil took care of most my little "hair problems" I can't get by using just this single product.
Another thing I should probably mention is that the oil is quite expensive but given what it does for my hair that is okay. Also since you only need a small amount of it, it will last you ages so it doesn't matter if you invest a little bit more.

A couple tips and tricks:
Don't use the oil after every wash because your hair will get used to it and the product won't work as well any more. I use it once or twice a week when washing every other day.
Don't use too much of the oil because even with long hair you can get by with a small amount (hazelnut or coin size) and too much of it will weigh down the hair a bit and it can look greasy. 

my sample of the oil (5ml) it lasted me for over two months

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer - Review

Yes these have been reviewed over and over again but I still like to throw in my opinion as well, so here we go: Rimmel Apocalips Review. 

I discovered the Rimmel Apocalips lip lacquers when I was searching for reviews of the Rimmel Kate lipsticks and they immediately caught my eye since I didn't yet have anything like them in my lip product collection. 

A lip lacquer is basically a crossover between gloss and lipstick. They usually have the texture and shine of a gloss but the duration and pigmentation of a lipstick.

So do the Rimmel Apocalips lacquers. Their pigmentation is amazing! Even with very little of the product you get an amazing color payoff! The duration impressed me as well.  It needs little touch-ups here and there throughout the day or after having food but else it lasts very well. The shine fades a bit depending on how much product you’re putting on your lips and for how long you've been wearing it but personally that doesn't bother me. 

You can see how it starts to bleed out

The product glides on nicely but you definitely need a mirror to put it on. Just like it is with lipstick, the high pigmentation stains very easily and mistakes while applying happen faster and can't be removed as easy. 

The doe foot applicator is manageable and helps to fill in the lips properly. I'm not massively impressed though by the hole at the back which is supposed to supply you with more product without going back into the tube. It does give you more product but to me that is too much because the more product you have on your lips the nastier it will bleed out. Also if you moisturize your lips before applying one of these, be careful to let that product sink in well before going over it with an Apocalips lacquer otherwise this will increase the bleeding out.

I own the shades Big Bang and Apocaliptic. Big Bang is a beautiful bright red, while Apocaliptic is a bright pink shade. Both are very pigmented as promised. Personally I like the red one better because it is more wearable. Even though I wear pink lipstick and am not afraid to show off bright colors the Apocaliptic can be a bit too much because it is a very "in your face" color. 

Big Bang

Apocaliptic - I couldn't get the color right on this one :/ It is a bit darker than it looks like here