December 31, 2014

The Life: 5 Things I Love


Finishing my Bachelor Degree. Although you say 'the journey is the reward' this doesn't really count for me. I loved parts of my degree, especially learning a new language, but a lot of the time it was a real pain. But sometimes you have to struggle to get there. And I finally am! My Master is much more interesting and now I finally have the reward for working so hard.

Meeting new people and bond even more with old friends. I sometimes feel like I don't enjoy life as much as I should. Working had for your degree shouldn't mean that you're not meeting your friends and enjoy time on your own. I've really tried to live by that and have met a lot of new people. And I've taken time to meet up with old friends more often and show them that they really count. 

Travelling. Since I've really been trying to enjoy my life as much as possible I've been saving my money to make more short trips. It doesn't need to be abroad, but also just spending the day in a cute town a hour away. I've visited Malaga twice this year for just a couple of days and that soak of sun has been the perfect thing for me. And then beautiful summer holidays in France and Italy. I feel very spoiled and blessed when I look back at my holiday pictures!

Having my family around me. Every minute spent with my family is so precious and I'm glad that we're all somewhat healthy and happy!

My (Our) beautiful flat. Planting herbs and savouring morning light during spring. Sitting on the windowsill, sipping on icetea and talking late into the warm nights during summer. Watching the season change and admiring the beautiful red and yellow leaves of the big tree in front of our livingroomwindow during autumn. And watching netflix whilst drinking mulletwine snuggled up in bed or on the couch during winter. Our flat is beautiful and I enjoy it every day and every time I invite friends over to have a lovely evening at our long and always beautifully decorated dining table.

I'm wishing myself a lovely, enjoyable and relaxed 2015. May everybody stay healthy, merry and bright. And I wish all of you just the same! Happy New Year!
Lots of Love
Julie 


December 29, 2014

The Favourite: 2014 Beauty Staples

You might recognize some of these products from my 2013 Beauty Staples. I love discovering new products, but also really enjoy to cherish real gems over the years. 
2014 beauty favourites staples
Face & Body
I always thought that oils weren't much for my really dry but also combination skin. This year I've learnt the better. I've got more and more into skincare and have read quite a lot about environmental influences and eating healthy to have glowing skin from within. 
 
But nontheless I still suffer from eczema. Using the Alverde Faceoil Wildrose for dry skin every couple of nights (or mornings) under my moisturizer has really helped to keep dry skin at bay. 
 
Same for the Weleda Skin Food. This is a real gem for dry spots not only on my face, but also on my body. No itchy redness anymore!
 
To moisture my whole body I've loved the Rituals Honey Touch Indian Rose & Himalaya Honey Rich And Nourishing Body Cream. It simply smells divine and the texture sinks into your skin in a whim.
 
Nails:
Favourite colours on my nails have been this electric blue called Essie 'Chills & thrills' and the berry red Essie 'Bahama Mama'.
 
Hair:
Same favourite as last year! The Le Petit Marseillais Shampooing Nutrition Au Lait de Karite et au miel not only smells heavenly, but also moisturizes my hair amazingly. I almost never use conditioner, because this shampoo already enrichens my hair enough. It is really hard to get your hands on this product in Germany so I've bought a massive load whilst enjoying my holiday in France.
 
Makeup:
As I love my foundation to be sheer and glowing, but still with enough coverage to diminish any blemishes I've found the perfect match with the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation in '53 Light Beige'. 

Second year in a row the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush in 'Tipsy' has been my most worn blusher as it comes in the perfect peach shade for pale and tanned skin. 

If I'm looking a bit dull I slap on the The Body Shop Honey Bronzer in '03 medium matte' and it's also quite good to contour under my cheekbones.

To set my bushy and stubborn brows in place the Alverde Transparent Eyebrow Gel has come in really handy and at only 4€ it's a real keeper! 

Although I've recently discovered a even more affordable option (more on that next year!) I've been using the L'oreal Mega Volume Collagene 24H Waterproof Mascara almost all year. The waterproof formula holds a curl perfectly and really gives mega volume.

My biggest favourite has been my Kiko Clics Eyeshadow Palette. Like a mac palette you can buy single eyeshadows and put your favourite colours together in a bigger palette (but it's much more affordable than a mac system). The Clics System comes in a single pan, 3-, 4-, 9- and 24-eyeshadow palette. I own a quad (perfect for travelling) and the massive 24-eyeshadow palette that stays at home most of the time. Although I'm a real neutrals girl I've also got a small collection of vibrant colours (got two new ones for christmas!) to brighten up my look from day to day. The formula of the shadows is amazing and I will never want to look back to times where I used other shadows. They blend beautifully and have a great colour payoff.

You will have seen the Maybelline Color Elixir in '135 Raspberry Rhapsody' in my autumn essentials post and it truely has been an essentials during summer and still now in the winter. The Colour Elixir has a really moisturizing formula and looks delicious on your lips. When the gloss slowly wears off you will still be left with a beautiful berry stain.

What have been your favourite beauty products of 2014?

Lots of Love
Julie 


December 22, 2014

The Beauty: Christmas Makeup


With the holidays right in front of us (two days left, wow!) I've just planned out my christmas makeup. Since I will be eating cookies and a wonderful dinner I don't want to wear a bold lip and will just be applying a gloss. Coming to foundation I just love a dewy look winters and summers. So I'll apply a luminating primer and then a light foundation. As it's the festive season I will be applying a copperygold and a shimmering burgundy red eyeshadow to my lids. To not detract from my eye-makeup I will just be wearing bronzer and highlighter to brighten up my look even more.

Base
Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation
Bourjois Happy Light Primer
Kiko Powder in a darker shade as bronzer
Essence Eyeshadow in '02 icylicious' from the 'Me&My Icecream' LE as highlighter
Kiko Concealer in '02' 
 
Eyes
Kiko Eyeshadows in '234 Pearly Wine' and '257 Metallic Light Copper'
Kiko Eyeshadow in '242 Mat Dark Brown' for my brows
Alverde Clear Eyebrowgel
Catrice Lashes To Kill Waterproof Volume Mascara

Lips
Clarins Instant Lip Perfector in '04 petal shimmer'

Do you wear makeup on christmas eve? And do you even dress up fancy and make the extra effort?
Lots of Love
Julie 


December 5, 2014

The Style: Cozy Scarves Making An Outfit

 1 & 2
3 & 4
Sometimes a scarf can really tie a whole outfit together or just make it stand out although you've just thrown on some basics. I like to pair unicoloured outfits (preferably black..) with colourful tartan scarves. Or just match it with colours from that day's outfit. I prefer scarves as big as myself as I really like to cuddle myself into it when I'm fighting against the cold wind and weather outside. I've found my favourite ones over at Zara and Springfield and have also knitted some myself! 

Do you have any unique wrapping techniques or do you just throw your scarves around your neck and are good to go?

Lots of Love
Julie 


December 3, 2014

The Life: 5 Things I Love


As I'm back from my little blogging break I thought I'd share my current favourite things with you.

Watching Netflix. The boyfriend and I have had some cozy nights in watching movies and series on Netflix. Netflix has just arrived in Germany and doesn't have the biggest range of movies just yet, but we're really enjoying watching old favourites and new discoveries. We've been catching up with Luther. Discovering Fargo. And I've binge watched Orange Is The New Black already.

Planning the next few years. As my boyfriend will be staying in Japan for 6 months coming up April we've been talking about our plans for the next couple of years. And I love our ideas and plans so far!

Trip to Sweden. Recently a good friend from uni and I have decided to do a little road trip through Sweden next summer. We've both studied nordic philology so we're lusting to discover Sweden a bit more. Going by train we will visit the bigger cities like Göteborg and Stockholm, but are also looking forward to enjoying the beautiful nature. If you have any suggestions for places to visit, stay or eat feel free to comment below or send me an email!

Stocking up on new interior. Me and my boyfriend have just celebrated two happy years in our flat. We've changed up some small interior things over the last couple of weeks and it's getting more and more perfect. Althought we've felt like home from the first second on.

Listening to the 'Weihnachtsoratorium' by Bach. I'm normally not the biggest fan of classical music, but my family has been listening to Bach's 'Weihnachtsoratorium' every year during christmas time and I've been carrying on with the tradition in my own flat. It just reminds me of very peaceful and happy times.

Do you have any christmas traditions in your family that always make you happy?

Lots of Love
Julie 


November 21, 2014

Christmas - Giftguide for Him


Christmas Giftguide - Him
I really struggle to find gifts for the men in my family. And when I find something I really like it's probably way to expensive. Sometimes you just got to invest.. With this giftguide I want to give you some ideas and not everything is on the pricey side!

If you're wanting to give away a good bottle of whiskey my boyfriend suggests either 'Famous Grouse' (not too pricy and will suit everybody), Balvenie Double Wood 12 Years (not smoky) or Ardbeg 10 Years (really smoky) .
Lots of Love
Julie 


November 20, 2014

Christmas - Giftguide for Her


giftguide - her

I think it's easiest to find presents for women. Most of the time something beautiful for the home or beauty products for ultimate relaxation will do the thing. But nonetheless here's some inspiration for you!

Lots of Love
Julie 


November 19, 2014

Christmas - Baking Brownies!


I want to change up the christmas baking game a bit and so I'm not showing you another christmas cookies recipe, but instead an awesome (and easy!) brownie recipe. If you want some christmas flavour, just add a bit of cinnamon to the dough!
2 Eggs
90g Butter
120g Dark Chocolate
225g Sugar
90g Flour
50g Hazelnuts (roughly chopped!)

Preheat the oven on 180°C. Butter your baking pan.
Beat the eggs.
Melt butter and chocolate in the microwave and let it cool.
First mix the eggs, then sugar and flour to the melted butter and chocolate mixture.
Stir everythng quickly.
Intermix the hazelnuts.
Fill the dough into your baking pan and spread it evenly.
Bake for 30 minutes! The surface should be crunchy whilst inside it will still be soft.
Enjoy!

Lots of Love
Julie 


November 18, 2014

Christmas - Book Wishlist

Wishlist - Books
I've heard great things about all of these books and finally I'm putting them all on my wishlist for this year's christmas. I didn't want to get any books last year, because I still had quite the pile of unread ones laying around, but nor I'm ready again for a new load. Especially Lena Dunham's 'Not That Kind Of Girl' and Sophia Amoruso's '#Girlboss' are on my top priority 'to read' list!

Next in this christmas series will be a delicious brownie recipe tomorrow!
Lots of Love
Julie 


November 17, 2014

Christmas - Personal Wishlist



wishlist christmas

This week I'll be showing you all things christmas over on juliesdreams. There will be a recipe, giftguides and some personal wishlists! Starting off with my personal wishlist including mostly homewear and cosmetics.
 

Next in this christmas series will be my 'book wishlist' tomorrow!

Lots of Love
Julie 


November 12, 2014

The Music: Autumn Cozyness


Grab yourselves a hot cup of chocolate, your loved ones and listen to this playlist whilst enjoying autumn weather and the early darkness!

Lots of Love
Julie 


November 10, 2014

The Current Favourite #6


It's officially autumn and it's freezing cold outside where I live, so it's all about making myself comfortable and feeling luxurious.

I've been totally in love with the Rituals Summer Bliss White Lotus & Bergamot Caring Shower Oil. In addition to using this as shower oil I also love to put 5-10 pumps into my bath. It has an amazing, very relaxing scent and moisturizes your skin beautifully. When I get out of the shower I don't even have to put on moisturizer. Whilst I love to take a bath during the colder months it normally dries out my skin and triggers my eczema, but when I use this oil instead of normal bubble bath it helps wonders with my skin!

To keep my dry patches on my face at bay I've been using the Alverde Wildrose Face Oil for dry skin every night and my skin is loving it. I get really dry and sore skin around my eyes, my nose and my chin and I've started massaging the oil into my face and particularly in these areas (watch out to not get the oil into your eyes though!). After a small cold last week my nose didn't look red or irritated at all thanks to the oil!

Looking healthy, fresh and especially awake has been quite the task over the last few weeks and I haven't gone a day without using my Kiko Eyelashcurlers. Even when I don't use mascara I love to curl my lashes to give myself a bright look in the mornings. 

For a really natural no-makeup makeup I've been using the Alverde Blush in '01 apricot'. It's a lovely tone for my still (a bit) tanned face. Almost like bronzer, but a little more rosy. Love to mix up my autumnal berry makeup! I wish it would come with a mirror though, so I could easily bring it everywhere!

Do you have any favourite products at the moment? And what's your signature autumn look?

Lots of Love
Julie 


November 7, 2014

The Covet: Aritzia


aritzia
Althought I'm not able to shop at Aritzia, it's one of my favourite places to browse and find inspiration. If you're located in the US or Canada, you're a lucky one, as the company is located across North America. Maybe that isn't the worst thing, as my student budget wouldn't allow me to buy as much as I would like anyway. But to inspire this is perfect. In their Magazine, they showcase their pieces beautifully and combine everything very unique. Not to begin about their beautiful Instagram and Pinterest...

Do you have any blogs or websites that keep you inspired? Tell me below, I'm always on the hunt for something new!
Lots of Love
Julie 


November 5, 2014

What's In My Bag


I thought I'd show you the contents of my bag as I haven't done this in a while and have always loved a good 'what's in my bag' post or video. This is just my every day bag, so I don't carry anything too fancy around with me. Just the essentials!

1 leather notepad from Italy and a beautiful handmade pen from Il Papiro
2 my beloved iPhone 5s with this beauty of a mint case from SPIGEN
3 I always carry something sweet or a small snack with me as I tend to get hangry quickly
4 The Body Shop Vitamin E Lip Care SPF 15 will forever be my favourite lipbalm and with the cold weather breaking in it's a true essential 
5 keys with a handy chip to unlock supermarket trolleys
6 my clubmaster rip offs from Italy (love the retro vibe!)
7 small pocket mirror my grandma passed onto me
8 wallet from UrbanOutfitters (still looks great after having it for over a year!)
9 Dainty Doll eyeshadow in 'teach me tiger' which I use as a coral shimmery blush applied with the Ebelin blush brush (broken handle makes it the perfect travel size!)

Do you carry around any essentials? 
Lots of Love
Julie 


November 3, 2014

The Beauty: Nightstand Essentials


I got a little IKEA planter sitting on my nightstand that house some essentials products I like to have within reach of my bed. 

Norwegian Formula Hand & Nail Creme I apply this every night before bedtime and it leaves my hands (and feet!) feeling calmed and soft. During the day I never really have to use handcream as my hands are so hydrated from the night before. To hydrate my lips I use the Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm. I quite like this for night time, but for me it's not enough moisture to last all day. If I'm feeling really dried out I like to apply the Lavera Organic Cranberry & Argan Oil Regenerating Nightcream quickly before I fall asleep (on top of my normal moisturizer that I've already applied after cleansing). It's not heavy at all and combines beautifully with my Rituals Night Cream to combat any eczema areas.

In the mornings I love to take off my nights face with some Bioderma and apply the Lacura Hydraluron Gel. While this sinks into my skin I get up, wander to the bathroom and apply my moisturizer in front of the mirror.

Weleda Skin Food never leaves my side and I apply this to any dry or soar area. During the day this wanders into my purse and as soon as I get home I put this in place, waiting for me to get into bed at night.
Lots of Love
Julie 


October 31, 2014

October Roundup


 
As you can see me (and the blog) are all in autumnal mode right now. All in for heavy knits, dark berry colours and cozy afternoons. There haven't been much style things this months, but I've loved the lifestyle bits even more. My favourite posts have to be The Life: 5 Things I Love with a delicious soup recipe at the end and The Life: Study Hard & Enjoy Life.
 

P.S. I loved Estée's 'Found in Film' for beautiful scandinvian pictures, Rebecca's Fail Safe Outfits, Kate's Essie Collection (beaut!) and Charly's strong post about having (not being!) Bipolar II.

Lots of Love
Julie 


The Week's Nail #13


Oh I'm loving my greys at the moment. Pairing this comfy sweater with Essie's 'Take It Outside' (current LE) has been my favourite thing to do lately. On days on which I'm wearing a bold lip, the grey nails pull together everything really nice. Your perfectly fine with two thin coats and the polish lasts for about 5 days without chipping!

Lots of Love
Julie 


October 29, 2014

The Life: Day In The Life

On Thursdays and Fridays I don't have any Uni classes or work, so I stay at home pretty much all day long and get other things done. I thought you might be interested in a sneakpeak into my daily life.

08:00 I wake up around 8am everyday and have a quick browse through instagram and twitter. 
 
08:05 I get up and make myself some breakfast with which I crawl back into bed. Whilst enjoying some granola I really enjoy cathing up on youtube.
08:30 Hoping into the shower whilst listening to some music (Hozier!). With a towel on my head I quickly apply my every day makeup.

09:00 Whilst waiting for my hair to dry I have a read on blogloving (a little obsessed and jennypurr are always on point).
09:15 Blowrdying my hair (for hours..)

09:30 Then I love to snap some blog pictures as the lighting always is best in the morning. And photos really inspire me to write blogposts and gather new ideas.
10:30 On Friday nights I have to hand in some small Uni papers so I get stick my head into my textbooks for quite a while.
12:00 Taking a lunch break is really important for me to keep my inspiration and motivation flowing. On days that me (and the boy) are off Uni we really like to eat out. There are some lovely restaurants just around the corner and I enjoy my lunchbreaks most whilst chatting to the boy.

14:00 Getting back to uni stuff. Exciting times!

16:00 After hours of reading I especially enjoy editing blog photos and writing up new posts. A cup of hot chocolate and on I go!

19:00 Whilst watching youtube videos and reading blogs I quickly eat dinner and relax.
19:45 Now it depends on the night. Some nights I'll be at home watching youtube or some netflix (Orange Is The New Black!). Some nights I will go out and have a relaxing night with friends. Just a couple of drinks and chatting along.
23:30 I give myself a little pamper whilst taking of day's makeup and hop into bed where the boy's already waiting to catch up on some netflix.
00:15 After one episode of our current series (read: obsession) I switch off the lights and fall asleep.

What do your days normally look like? Do you stick to a certain routine or just give your day a go?
Lots of Love
Julie 


October 27, 2014

The Haul: Málaga


As I'm really busy this week I thought I'd just quickly share a few beauty items I bought during my recent trip to Málaga. Being on a trip with three guys made me decide quickly whilst browsing the drug stores and I'm really happy with the products.

My favourite probably is the Dolce & Gabana Perfume in 'Dolce'. This has been on my wishlist for about 7 months now and I finally made the purchase. In Germany this retails at 65€ and I managed to get my hands on it for 31€ in Malaga, so I'm one really happy girl right now. Besides the really adorable packaging I love the scent so much and am so glad I've finally got it.

At KIKO I got some new Infinity Eyshadows for my clics-palette. '258 Mat Yellow' '275 Electric Blue' '257 Metallic Light Copper' and '213 Mat Cocoa' are my picks and I will be sharing a review of the whole palette and my eyeshadows soon. I adore the big range of neutrals that KIKO offers and am also glad that I purchased some brights as well to spice up my eyeshadow game a bit!

I also got the 'Eyes 201' eyeshadow brush. With it's wide angle it fits perfectly into the outer-v of my eye and with this I can create beautiful eyelooks in just a couple of seconds. Really impressed!

This year Essie's autumn limited edition 'dress to kilt' really is on point. I've especially fallen in love with 'fall in line' - a muted muddy green (looks way more muted than in this picture) and 'take it outside' a light cozy grey. Beside dark reds I love muted colours that just look cozy and clean. You will get to see these two on my nails soon in one of my 'The Week's Nail'.

Lots of Love
Julie 


October 24, 2014

The Interior: Anthropologie Wishlist

anthopologie
latte bowls // leather and gold magazine rack // cream and purple ombre blouse // bottle caddy // 
copper desk organizer // textured dark turqoise bowl // ombre glass // textured mint bowl
 
I've put myself on a shopping ban for clothes and anything makeup, so I've been browsing homeware a lot. I don't really need anything at the moment and don't even really want to get anything new, but I enjoy browsing beautiful pinterest boards and homeware shops for inspiration (and early christmas wishes!). Anthropologie always gets me, especially with their beautiful bowls and kitchenware so I wanted to share a few of my favourite items. The bottle caddy is on top of my wishlist as I drink tap water a lot and would love to store it in different sized and shaped bottles in this caddy.

Lots of Love
Julie