2015 in Retrospect: Popular Posts and My Favourites

So another prolific year behind me, this time actually on two blogs, so if you count those reviews as well, I've written 236 posts. My blog had it's fifth birthday in September and I reached two million views not long after, which is just insane because this means I had a million just this year (gosh, I sound braggy), I updated it visually in August and I currently have most followers on Instagram instead of Bloglovin'. So yeah, big things happened this year, but not all good as I found five (there are probably more) complete copies of my blog. Some people are just the worst. 

I don't think I have changed much in the last year. I still do my type of in-depth reviews, my long new ins, favourites and I still take pictures for the blog with a smartphone. However, a lot has changed in the blogging world this year and the saddest thing to me is that a lot of my favourites simply stopped blogging or do it very sporadically. But I understand life gets in the way. I miss reading about favourites or drugstore discoveries on other blogs. I'm not saying there aren't any, but there is significantly less of such posts and videos as in the past when the raves about products actually felt genuine. But never mind my rambling...I still have my trusted set of bloggers, who are mostly Slovene and I'm glad us "oldies" still do the same thing.

So like every year and for every anniversary, I prepared a little recap with most read posts and those I most enjoyed making as well as posts on other blogs that I liked so much they ended up either on my Pinterest board, Bloglovin saves or bookmarked. Lets start with six most read posts in this year. Images are links to the posts. By the way, if you're interested in last year's version it's here.

Most read posts in 2015

My favourites
Last year I selected just five posts to highlight, but I had to include more this year. These are the posts I most enjoyed working on and mostly took forever to do.

Posts and videos I enjoyed in 2015
I've done this two years in a row already as I like to share other peoples work that I admired. When I like a post, I either pin it or save it on Bloglovin' (or I just remember it) and at the end of the year I pick those that were my absolute favourites. I picked 18 posts, but of course I'd love to share more, though you can find plenty of links to blogs on my Blogs I Heart page.

I'll do special mentions as well because they deserve it (the blogs are in Slovene): Keep calm and Wear Lipstick,  La dolce Vita, My Little Wonderland, Nail 2 Express, Sugarlove blog, (blogs in English): Kiss & Makep Beauty Blog, Polished'95, The Beauty of Nail Polish, UniqaPoly, (in German): The life in front of my eyes. I'm sure I've forgotten a few...

This is my last post this year, so I want to wish you a happy new year and thank you for every comment, subscription, save on Bloglovin', pin on Pinterest, like on Facebook, Instagram and just for reading my posts. Stay awesome, folks!

Best Products in 2015 Part 2

Best makeup products in 2015 and best buys under 5 € got their own posts and now for the rest of the stuff I got in this year that impressed me. If you'd like to read last year's such post, you can find it here.

DEBORAH Smalto Gel Effect

01 Pink Pulse

This is one of the best nude nail polishes ever, certainly as far as the formula is concerned. It's such a pretty nude shade with a cool undertone that makes my hands looks so polished. The formula is one of those new "imitating gel manicure" ones, a discovery of the year to me (pastels got like a million times better), which is so smooth and easy to apply, so there are no streaks even though it's an opaque cream finish nude and it also has a great glossy finish. It's no wonder everyone keeps stealing this one from me.

L'OREAL Les Blancs Nail Polish

858 Ocean Porcelaine

I love my mints that much is true, but this year I wanted to find the perfect light blue nail polish and after some exploring online, I found the one - L'Oreal's Ocean Porcelain. It's so gorgeous, just the right kind of pale blue as it has a white base so it ends up looking almost a bit grey. The formula isn't a typical pastel one because it's much thinner and it needs three coats for full opacity. The bottle only contains 5 ml, so it's not the best value and it's running out fast, but I love the shade so much.

ESSIE Nail Polish

Bahama Mama

Essies tend to land in these type of posts almost every year and it's not just because of the shades, but also because they have some great formulas (except Mint Candy Apple and Fiji. Those are nightmares coming to life). For years I admired Bahama Mama, it's definitely my type of shade, but I wondered if it will look the same on my nails than on Pinterest images and I only took the plunge after I had a 50 % off coupon. It is perfect, just as I imagined it, that perfect mix of warm purple and deep red and it looks so beautiful on the nails. It's my favourite shade out of all Essies.

ESSIE Nail Polish

Summit of Style

This is a very recent addition of mine, you would have only seen it on my Instagram if you follow me there, but I had to include it because this is what I wanted to find for years. I didn't know this nail polish even existed, but it's a part of luxeffects line (I think it's permanent, though I'm not sure) and I haven't seen it in our drugstores, but it was in a beauty box (My Beauty Box Slovenia) and it was love at first sight. It's a glitter nail polish with bronze small glitter particles and large hexagons. It's more of a top coat with medium dense shimmer, which you can built up. Of course, it is the type of nail polish that is excruciatingly hard to remove, but it's worth it.

How it looks on the nails here.

YUMMY Rhubarb and Orange Shower Gel

When it comes to shower gels, I'm a simple girl. The only thing that matters to me is that it smells nice. Yummy shower gels are nothing special when it comes to the formula (like Balea ones), but I adore the scent of this one. It's so refreshing, like a nice glass of tropical fizzy soda. Everyone I asked said it smells like Radenska Ace Tropik (one of those orange multivitamin drinks), so basically it's something like Escada summer edition fragrances.

L'OCCITANE Immortelle Oil Make-up Cleanser

I tried a few cleansers this year, but this one has the best effect on my skin and so far it's my favourite oil cleanser. It's the only one that didn't cause me problems after a longer use, in fact, it keeps my skin in a very decent condition plus it removes my heavy-duty waterproof mascara aside from all the rest of the makeup. I'm not a fan of how foggy it makes my vision, though that is a given at all oil cleansers and it's very expensive, but it's in my top three cleansers so far. I'll try their Shea Butter one next because it's cheaper that this one and I hope it works the same.

CREATEURS DE MONOI Face Cream

This has been my moisturiser for several months now. It's nothing special, just a basic face cream with a medium thick texture and a lovely Yves-Rocher-like scent, but it agrees with my skin and doesn't cause me any problems. It's a good moisturiser to use under foundation as well.

L'OREAL Elvive Extraordinary Oil Oil-in-Cream

This leave-in conditioner is quite unique in terms of texture because it actually feels like a hair oil in a cream form and coconut oil is on the second place among the ingredient, which is completely unexpected for a brand like L'Oreal. This fixes my dry ends without the high silicone content (though there are silicones in it) and without making my hair greasy or limp. It can be used on either dry or wet hair, which is just awesome, plus it smells lovely. I wish this was sold here, but so far I can only get this version on Boots, however, they have the version for normal hair already on Salma. The shampoo from this line is also amazing.

LE PETITE MARSEILLIAIS Huile Elixir Karité & Argan

This may just be one the best pre-wash treatments for super dry hair I've ever tried. It's a combination of soy oil, argan oil and shea butter oil, so it's super greasy and heavy, which is what makes it brilliant. I use this every time my hair feels really dry and I apply it generously all over. How long I leave it on depends on how much time I have, it can be just 10-15 minutes, but I get best result if I leave it overnight. This completely transforms my hair back into a normal state and it feels so nourished. So far I've only seen it in Leclerc, which is a bummer, but at least it lasts a while.

By the way, coconut oil works just fine before you go on a frantic chase to find this and you don't have a Leclerk around.

TANGLE TEEZER Compact Styler

Black & Gold

To be fair all such hair brushes are just fine, whether you get the original Tangle Teezer or a cheap knock-off for 5 €. They all do the same job, but the reason I like this one is because it's smaller than most. This won't matter to a majority of you, but if you have small hands like me, it's a big plus. The plastic cover is brilliant and it makes it actually travel friendly plus the gold/black design is very expensive looking. I also feel like it's better made than most such brushes I tried, so I know I'll have it forever considering how careful I'm with all my stuff. The prices for this brush really vary, so don't be one of those who buys it for 20 € because you can get it much cheaper.

SAPPHIRE 8 in 1 Complete Curling Wand

This is a very, very expensive curling iron, but I'm a big fan of it and use it all the time. The set includes eight barrels, so it's a very versatile hair tool. I used Remington's Pro Soft Curls for years, but now I prefer this one, even though I get same results if I use 2.5 cm barrel. Remington's is great if you're looking for something on a budget, but since I have both, it's the little things that make me use Sapphire. It doesn't have the annoying clamp, it's lighter, it heats up way faster, you can see it heating up, and of course there are eight different barrels to choose from, so it offers a ton of variety, though I tend to mostly use the 2.5 mm one. 

AQUALINA Pink Sugar

I found this impossibly boring when I first got a sample of it and I chucked it in my purse where I keep emergency samples next to the coins. Then on some random day, which seems ages ago and just reminds me how bloody long this stupid year was, I was sitting in the office getting ready to go grab a bite and me being me, I can't go out without a fragrance "like a total savage", so I dug out my emergency stash and drenched myself with this. I was immediately transported into this fantasy candy land with candy canes, cotton candy and rivers of vanilla essence. This fragrance is seriously so impossibly sweet, but dammit I adore it. I don't know what made this shift, maybe I changed so much, but I got home and ordered this straight away. Unsurprisingly given the notes, it's a proper silage monster and lasts very long on the skin. If you want to smell like a candy store, this is for you.

HUGO BOSS Ma Vie

I used up a considerable chunk on my perfume stash this year. I set myself I goal before I purchased a new fragrance and I've done it. I was dreaming about this fragrance ever since it launched and I'm so chuffed I finally got it. It's such a beautiful, fresh and floral simple scent that just makes you smell nice and elegant. Boss fragrances aren't the most exciting scents, but I love most of them. I also love the bottle and I keep it displayed on my vanity.

BEST COLLECTIONS

KIKO Rebel Romantic 

(August  2015 with some bits still available)

I think this is the best limited edition collection in history made by a drugstore-priced brand. They really nailed it with the rose gold and the packaging feels seriously high end, especially the lipsticks. The latter are absolutely amazing in every respect and are the best creamy lipsticks I've ever tried. Kiko should really think about making at least the lipsticks and the mirror permanent.

ESSENCE Merry Berry 

(November - December 2015)

Hands down the best collection Essence ever made. It is truly outstanding and people went crazy for it, me included. I got two nail polishes, two lipsticks and a hair fragrance, but there was plenty more. The colour scheme was beautiful, though incorrect on the press release, especially as far as the Red Rocks shades was concerned since it's not at all a red, but a Mac's All Fired Up like magenta, which just made it even more awesome. However, for me the real winner was the 03 pink & perfect nail polish, which is one of my favourite shades ever. The bottles of the nails polishes are outstandingly beautiful and I wish Essence changed their packaging of The Gel Nail Polishes to these. The lipsticks were actually quite nice quality, much better than the regular ones. More of this and less of the average performing products please Essence.

CATRICE Lumination 

(July - August 2015)

I'm the person who just walks past limited editions, but this one made me pause. I only have the blush from this collection and it's a complete stunner. I often speak of Illuminating blush in I'm Nuts About You, my favourite blush, which isn't actually illuminating at all, but this one called Flushed-Fiction is about the same shade, yet actually glowy. How I wish they would make permanent! The collection also included some pretty highlighters, a bronzer and a few lipsticks, all in some very attractive shades.  

And that concludes my favourites of year 2015. You can find all such posts under the best buys label or at the end of the All-Time Favourites page.
What were the stand-out products for you this year?

Have a great day!

Best Products in 2015 Part 1

The end of the year is here, which means it's time for my traditional posts with best products or best buys in 2015, so products that I got this year and they really impressed me. I already posted the budget version with all the products under 5 €, but I found many more excellent products that are above that price range. I think I covered almost every category, unintentionally that is, but it was a good makeup year for me, especially when it comes to foundations. By popular request I split my favourites into two parts. This one will include all the makeup bits and the next one all the rest (nail polishes, skin care, etc,…). Links to my previous such posts are at the end of my All-time Favourites page or you can search for best buys label, but here you have makeup favourites of 2014.

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation

After years of being on my wishlist, I finally got my hands on a bottle of Sheer Glow, which got for my birthday.  I call it my princess foundation for one simple reason - it makes your skin look so perfect. It is a medium to full coverage, so it's noticeable you're wearing makeup, but I really like the level of coverage it gives, even though I'm an "invisible foundation" kinda girl. I mostly don't even need to use concealer with this, yet it doesn't feel heavy nor does it sink into pores or make a cakey mess. The shade range is another huge plus at this foundation. They don't just have really pale colours, but they also thought about undertones, though Siberia, which I'm using, is very yellow (I'm neutral), but it works. It has no pump (did I mention this foundation costs 40 €?), but I found that the pump of Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum works fine. 

L'OREAL Infallible 24H Matte Foundation

This is my summer foundation when my skin is a little bit oilier. It's a foundation with a matte finish and it sets quickly, so you don't have a lot of time to work with it, but it gives medium coverage and doesn't look flat on the skin. The best feature of this foundation - it disguises pores like nothing else I've tried. I've got before/after in my review if you want to check. The downside of this foundation is that it can cling to dry patches, so it's not for dry skin and now in the colder months, I mix it with more moisturising foundations if I want to wear it, though currently I'm mostly using other bases. The colour range is a bit of a miss as both lightest shades, Porcelain and Vanilla, are pink toned and L'Oréal is terrible at making foundation colours, so it can end up looking a bit orange if your skin tone is very warm, but on my neutral skin, it's decent enough in the summer.

REVLON Colorstay Foundation Normal/Dry Skin 

I found this one when I had a sudden urge to re-explore our drugstores for very pale foundations. I was delighted to discover that things have very much improved over the years and this good old classic won me over. Colorstay foundations are not the most natural looking, lightweight products, but the medium-full coverage, fantastic staying power and a satin-matte finish certainly impressed me. With this my skin stays matte pretty much all day and it's not even a foundation for oily/combination skin. I got the shade Ivory which is a very pale pink toned foundation and it fits me so well, despite the fact that my undertone is neutral. The one downside at this foundation is the lack of a pump.  

KIKO Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow

06 Golden Bronze and 38 Golden Taupe

These eyeshadow sticks are the best cream eyeshadows around. I currently own just two, 06 Golden Brown and 38 Golden Rose, but I would love to expand my collection. These are so creamy and pigmented, they blend easily and last ages on the eyes. I love using these on their own or as a base.  

THEBALM Nude'tude Eyeshadow Palette

I got several eyeshadow palettes this year, an overwhelming majority were drugstore, but this one was the one that truly won my heart. I'm not a patient girl, so I don't like to build up colour for ages and at Nude'Tude I don't have to. The eyeshadows are so pigmented, soft and they blend beautifully, also the selection of shades great and I use pretty much all the colours. This has become my standard "I need to look good and I don't have time for building up the colour for a million years" palette. It's like Bourjois' Nude-ist, so the thing I grab when we're getting serious with the makeup.

BORN PRETTY Smooth Liquid Eye Liner with a Panda Design

I've tried a lot of eyeliners this year and it's a bit funny that this one, which looks like a toy for five-year olds is so impressive. The formula is really black, smooth and the applicator is one of those brush ones, so it's very precise and easy to work with. Actually I think I could include this one in the under 5 € post, since I've never seen it being full price, so it's very affordable as well. Plus the panda design is super cute.

NANSHY Eye Brush Set

Tapered crease, blending eyeshadow and flat definer

I have the whole set, but I'm mainly using just three brushes. The whole set suits small eyes, which is just perfect for me, so the tapped crease brush,  blending eyeshadow brush and the flat definer became my everyday brushes. These are very soft synthetic brushes, so they are great at blending and not so much at picking up colours (unless they are very pigmented like theBalm's and Urban Decay's eyeshadows). I also love that the handles are shorter than at the majority of eye brushes. It's a weird thing to say, but if you are near-sighted and you experience handles hitting the mirror all the time, I'm sure you get me. I think you can get these individually, but I'm not sure they are actually the same (the names are).

PHYSICIANS FORMULA Sexy Booster Sexy Glow Blush

There was a lot of Physicians Formula products on my blog this year, but this one is the true winner for me. Max Factor's űber hyped-up Creme Puff blushes left me cold as that famous glow was not all that visible on my cheeks, but this blush turned out to be exactly what I wanted. I have the shade Rose, which is a mix of two shades, a peachy-pink and the hot pink in the middle. It's a bit difficult to use them individually, but I always focus on the peachy pink more. It gives a nice rosy flush with a very glowy finish and the blush even smells like vanilla. Physicians Formula has some of the prettiest packaging ever and it's functional too. This one hides a very handy mirror and a brush in the back. 

MILANI Powder Blush

01 Romantic Rose

These blushes were on my wishlist since the moment I laid eyes on them. The design is the reason enough to get at least one. I heard these aren't the best as they are supposedly very powdery and I must say I don't have the foggiest what they are talking about. This shade, Romantic Rose, which I believe is one of the original ones, is beyond stunning. It's a dusty nude pink shade that is my type of shade. The quality is great, these are really strongly pigmented and apply nice as well. I would love to own more of these.

THEBALM Mary-Lou Manizer

Would you believe that this is only my second powder highlighter I own and my only gold toned as well as my only high-end one? Strange for a beauty blogger of 5+ years. There is nothing subtle about this highlighter, it was clearly designed for glow lovers. It's quite gold, but it still works for me even when I'm at my palest, I just avoid overdoing it. The glow it gives is very glamorous looking, so if you're one for more subtle highlighting, you'll probably save this one for special occasions, but believe the hype, it's worth giving a go.  

BOURJOIS Rouge Edition Velvet 

07 Nude-ist

And the top place in the best products of 2015 goes to… Nude-ist. I'm completely smitten with this. It is an outstanding shade and my most worn lip product in this year. I just instinctively grab it almost every time I leave the house. It's a beautiful muted rose-pink shade that is actually exactly the natural tone of my lips, however, a shade or two darker, making it look quite natural on my lips, but just giving that definition to my pale face. The staying power and the matte formula are winners as well. Gorgeousness in a tube. And to think this was the only shade I hated at first sight when I swatched them when they launched - silly me. 

REVLON Ultra HD Lipstick 

Rose

Meet the most comfortable lipstick I've tried to date. This is my standard goes-with-everything-shade in a formula that is basically better than a lip balm. It's nicely pigmented, super soft and light on the lips, it's moisturising plus best of all, it smells like Planica ice cream (a Slovene thing. Basically three flavours of ice cream in one: vanilla, strawberry and chocolate). On me Rose is a lovely, neutral pink shade that is a shade or two darker than my natural lip colour. 

I love the formula, but only in THIS shade. Why am I emphasizing that? Because this is a lipstick that doesn't contain wax, hence why it's very soft and a red or any bright/dark shade in this formula will be a mega huge mess. So stick to light shades in this formula if you don't want to be disappointed.  

MILANI Color Statement Moisture Matte Lipstick 

Darling

When lip products are concerned I'm a matte girl through and through and I think Milani's lipstick is one of the best, if not the best I've tried so far. The finish is actually matte, not creamy-matte, it kind of almost reminds me of matte lip creams, though it's most similar to Mac's Retro Matte formula, but these are a bit creamier. I only have this one shade, though and I hope all of them are like that. I got the shade Darling which is a beautiful peachy-pink shade that is similar to Catrice's I got you Babel lip pencil. I'd really love to have more shades of these, I thinking Love, Flirty, Confident and Passion. 

MAC Lipsticks

All Fired Up and D for Dangerous

I got myself five MAC lipstick samples when I last ordered on The Body Needs and I found two new absolute favourites - All Fired up and D for Dangerous. I'm head over heels in love with the latter, it's a shade I've been looking for at least five years - a warm purple-pink-red. The other one, All Fired Up is another stunning colour, a warm fuchsia shade, so a typical me colour. Both of these are retro matte, which is my favourite formula by Mac, however, it is quite a thick formula that some might find drying. I'd love to have full sizes of these two.

This completes the first part of my favourites in this year. Next will include all that isn't makeup and should be up soon.

Have a great day!