Best Of 2016 : Beauty ( Garnier, Ziaja, Rimmel, Manhattan, Golden Rose)

Happy New Year from Me and Maya!

I hope you all had a great start into the new year! I was just relaxing, studying and working two days so far, so I guess my start wasn't too bad. However, on New Year's Eve my camera broke, which doesn't make me happy because I can't vlog at all, but therefore I decided to try and blog more instead.

Since today is a holiday, I have enough time to blog and study, and I decided it would be nice to have a look at a few things that I absolutely loved using throughout the last year.

Starting off with skincare, I discovered two amazing products, that are also very affordable, so totally worth trying out.

I was looking for a micellar water that would work just as good as the famous Bioderma one ( which I love), and everybody here will know the best (?) dupe for it- the Garnier micellar water that comes in the bottle with a pink cap. Yes, I also tried it and I like that it removes make-up quick and easy but the smell that it leaves on my skin is just so gross that I absolutely can't use it. There is also a Garnier micellar water with a blue cap, which also had the same effect on me, and a green one, which I haven't tried yet because I was sure it would do the same. However, when this All-in-1 micellar water came out, I first had to smell it and realised it actually had a very pretty scent, so I knew this wouldn't stink for sure. And i have to say that I already had two or three of them and I just feel like it is by far the best one I've tried so far. ( I also remember buying one from Simple, which was amazing, but it's not available here in Vienna.) This micellar water smells good, and thanks to it's oils the make-up just melts off quickly and you're all done. However, the oily part is also a thing that I don't like too much about this micellar water because the oil stays on your skin after you've taken off your make-up, so I always have to wipe the excess off- but this is still better than the smell of mould on your face, right?

Another skincare product I discovered in 2016 is the Ziaja Manuka Tree purifying deeply cleansing peeling paste ( I know the name could be a bit shorter, but somehow I like it because it already gives away all the information about the product). This peeling paste is created for oily and combination skin and it's nothing I've ever seen before. It is kind of a mix of a face mask and a scrub, it looks kind of like a tooth paste and it feels like sanding paper. But OMG it's so good! It really gets rid of all dead skin cells, blackheads and any other skin imperfections within seconds. It is a pretty harsh product so if you have very sensitive skin, be careful. Still, it is perfect for me and I will definitely repurchase it once I've used up this one.

Next up: nail polish. I like having nail polish on but the bad thing is that when I paint my nails in the morning, they will be already chipped or faded at the edges in the evening. I also used top coats and everything, but nothing seems to help. So, when the first "gel nail polish" by Sally Hansen came out I was so desperate to try it out but I never saw any reviews and also didn't want to spend over 20 Euros on it. And after some time I found this nail polish duo from Manhattan and I instantly fell in love. You can choose from a few different nail polish colours ( though I have to say that I don't think the colour range is too versatile) and you also pick the black bottle, which is the "gel top coat". You put on two coats of the colour ( mine is 175- time for taupe) and one coat of the top coat and your nail polish will literally stay on for a week. And I am seriously impressed because no other nail polish stayed on for longer than two days on my nails before. Also, they are really affordable and I will definitely have to stock up on some new colours soon.

I don't think I have to say too much about my favourite mascara ever, because I already mentioned it in like every single post I wrote, but yes, the Rimmel Scandaleyes Lycraflex mascara is my favourite drugstore mascara, it makes my lashes really long, they are not clumpy, the mascara keeps them up all day long and I just love it. I've also been using it for about three years now, so it really is a favourite product of mine. ( And again, so cheap!)

The three last products that I absolutely loved last year are the Golden Rose Velvet Matte lipsticks and the Waterproof lipliner that matches one of the lipsticks too. 

The top/ left swatch is number 14, and the lipliner I have is number 53 and it goes perfectly with this lipstick. This colour is a dark dusty pink shade, that also looks pretty much like my walls in my bedroom. I absolutely love this colour and I think it matches my complexion very well. It is delicate, yet bold at the same time. It can be worn at any occasion, from day-to-day, to celebrations. I am sure it would fit so many different skin types!

The bottom/ right swatch is number 16, which is more of a browny shade. I would say it's still kind of nude-ish with some terracotta and brown in it. And this is again another colour I just absolutely love wearing. It looks a bit more natural than the previous one, and I never liked this kind of colour but this year I totally fell in love with it. I think it looks great on girls with dark eyes and hair but I can also imagine it on very pale girls- so again, the perfect shade for nearly everyone, and any occasion.

The lipliner is very creamy and it glides on like butter. It is retractable and even has a tiny sharpener at the other end, but I never used it before. 

The Golden Rose Velvet Matte lipsticks come in soo many colours, and I absolutely love them because they are really pigmented and stay on throughout the whole day! 

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any blog post suggestions. :)

-Olivia

~06.01.2017~