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.