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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
(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.
(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.
(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?
What were the stand-out products for you this year?
Have a great day!
