Have You Discovered…? - Foundation

Hello lovelies!

I'm really excited to be typing this post in the Have You Discovered…? series because I've been meaning to talk about this product for quite some time and now is the perfect time!

Today's topic in the series is foundation and I'll introduce you to my new favourite foundation: the Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Foundation by Collection!

I usually use up a bottle of foundation one at a time. But I found that my Rimmel London Match Perfection foundation looked a bit dark on me the last few times I applied it. So I picked this (to me undiscovered) product up on a trip to Boots a bit over a month ago.

I love the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer so I thought what better addition to my makeup bag, than the matching foundation to the concealer! And I'm quite happy I bought it!

The foundation is supposed to last for up to 16 hours, give flawless coverage and minimize imperfections. Since I never wear make up for 16 hours straight I can't tell you if that statement is true, but the foundation definitely stays put throughout a party night - which I think is already a winner!

The product gives me a fresh looking face and has kind of a dewy finish. It covers up very well, but I still use my (now matching) concealer to cover up some spots that still bug me. It also has SPF20, though I'm not one of those people who really cares about that or picks a foundation based on the SPF (don't know why but I'm never really bothered with that! Is that bad?). As you can see I got it in the shade "Ivory 2".

You can get this foundation at Boots for £5.99 - but I just checked their online store and it's on offer for only £3.99 at the moment! A great bargain for this great product!

I'd love to know if you've tried this foundation before or if you have thought about trying it! Also what's your favourite foundation that's still "undiscovered"?

I hope you have a lovely sunday evening - and don't forget to check out the posts by all the other great bloggers that are taking part in this series! Find the list of them here!

xx Ann-Kathrin

What I Got For My Birthday!

Hello lovelies!

Today I wanted to share the presents that I got for my 20th birthday with you! I really wasn't sure about uploading today's blog post but I thought it would be a nice variation to my other posts. 

First of I'd like to say that I don't want to show off or brag about what I got! I just really enjoy reading post like "What I Got For My Birthday" or "What I Got For Christmas" myself and that's why I figured I'd share this with you! I hope you'll enjoy having a nosey around!

As I mentioned in my February Favourites post I received the latest addition to Christina Aguileras perfume range called "Unforgettable". It was such a lovely surprise to open my birthday parcel (that came way before my actual birthday!) and find this little gem inside - I used to love her other perfumes and my dad remembered that and so he got me this one!

Another perfume that has been on my wish list for some time now was Lady Gagas "FAME". So I told my mum that I'd really like to own this one (she asked me for some tips for my birthday present!) and she got me the "Fame Box" which also includes the matching shower gel. Now I can walk around smelling all like Lady Gaga!

And the perfume I just recently discovered but wanted to badly since then is "Miss Dior". I usually never have expensive perfumes so I was over the top to receive this. I'll keep it treasured (in a wooden box with a big lock! haha I'm just joking!).

My host family treated me with a lovely and deliciously smelling gift box from The Body Shop. It contains a strawberry shower gel, a strawberry soap, a strawberry body polish, a strawberry body butter and a mini crinkle spongey - so I'll be smelling like a delicious strawberry!

I got lots of sweets as well! First I need to say some of the yummy austrian chocolates that I got sent didn't make it on the photo because, yes you guessed it, I ate them before I took the photos! Apologies! But you can see that I also received the Caramel Selection from Hotel Chocolat which was just delicious! I'm sad it's finished already! A french friend of mine got me some pink Gaufres Fines from when she went to Lille - also very nice!

My aunt treated me with this grey-black clutch from Diesel which was a combined birthday and belated christmas present! I especially love the fact that it's HOT PINK inside.

This cute pink notebook was a present from my mum as well and I've been using it to write down some blog post ideas!

A friend of mine got me one of my favourite books of all times "The Fault In Our Stars" by John Green. Unfortunately I already own a copy of this book but I still was so happy to receive it - I might have to reread it! 

My dad also sent me a pack of earrings and a necklace (which I forgot to included - oops!) and this cute Tiger Hat - YES I'm a now twenty year-old with a cute tiger hat! He said I could probably wear this as a carnival costume haha. All of those items are from Primark if you were wondering!

And I've already reviewed the two ASTOR lipsticks from the "Heidi Klum Color Last VIP Collection" that my mum sent me - read the post here!

I also received a super cute royal blue dress from a friend that I'll probably wear lots of times in the summer (please hurry up summer!!). And the Lush massage bar "Tender is the Night" is a deliciously smelling gift another one of friends got me.

I loved all of my presents and I'm so grateful that I have such a lovely family and circle of friends that gift me with such well thought-through presents!

I hope you enjoyed this little nosey into my presents! Please tell me when your birthday is coming up and what you'd like to receive in the comments below! Also would you like to see any in-depth reviews of some of the products?

Have a lovely day!

xx Ann-Kathrin

Have You Discovered…? - Primer

Hello everyone!

Another sunday, another blog post in the Have You Discovered…? Series! Today's topic is "Primer"!

As I don't use any face primers I thought I'd cheat with this one and talk about an eye primer!

I've just recently purchase the Pro-Base Eye Primer from Make Up Academy. So this product was also a new discovery for myself! And so far I really enjoy it!

On the product it states that it should be applied before eyeshadow to achieve vibrant, crease-free colour that lasts. So far so good! Even though I do like the applicator of the product, I usually dap it on my eyelid with my fingers, just because I feel that this way I don't waste any product or get too much on my eyelid. Afterwards I apply my eyeshadow as usual and I've really seen a difference. Not so much that the colours seem more vibrant but the eyeshadow lasts much longer! Even after a night out it still looks (almost) perfect!

I also tried this product before applying just my eyeliner but I found, that it doesn't make a difference. Sometimes I feel like my eyeliner creases even more with the product - but that could just be my imagination! 

The Pro-Base Eye Primer is also very inexpensive, you can get it for £2,50 in every Superdrug. All in all it's a great product and I'll certainly continue using it before applying eyeshadow!

I want to know what's you favourite primer! Any recommendations for a face primer newbie?

I hope you enjoyed reading and have a lovely sunday evening!

xx Ann-Kathrin

Beauty Procrastination Tag

Hello lovelies!

I hope you are all well! Today's blog post is going to be another Tag! I got tagged by the lovely Georgina to do the Beauty Procrastination Tag! You can read her blog post here! I love doing tags so here we go!

1. Are you a very open or private person?
I'm very open around my family and friends, but I'd say I'm a more reserved with new people or strangers.

2. If money was no object, where would you move to?
I'd probably move to England if I could take all my family and friends with me! Somewhere near the sea would be nice. Or I'd move to a greek island!

3. Who was the last person to make you cry?
I guess my parents because I really miss them! But it was crying because of happiness because I can't wait till they visit me here in England :)

4. Is there a song that can bring you to tears instantly?
Johann Pachelbels Canon in D - it gives me shivers! I just love it! If I ever get married this will be my wedding song!

5. Do you believe in soul mates?
I love the idea of having somebody that you're meant to be with! And I hope to find that somebody one day - so yes!

6. What age do people usually mistake you for?
When I was 16, people thought I looked like 18. But nowadays I don't really get mistaken for my age. Or at least people don't tell me haha

7. What are you wearing?
A cosy black shirt from Primark and my River Island jeans that I picked up from a charity shop for just £5 (aaah bargain!!)

8. Have you ever been in love?
No I don't think so.

9. How tall are you?
I'm 1,69m which is 5'6.

10. How much do you weigh?
I'll keep that a secret ;)

11. Any piercings?
Only my ears, but I want to get other piercings

12. Favourite TV show?
Probably How I Met Your Mother and also Doctor Who! But I've also been getting into food and architecture shows lately haha (Hairy Bikers, Mary Berry and Grand Designs for example!)

13. Quality you look for in a partner?
I'd like someone who can make me laugh, that I can feel comfortable with and somebody who's honest

14. Favourite quotation?
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart) - e. e. cummings

15. Fears?
snakes and spiders

16. What beauty essential couldn't you live without?
I'd say lip balm! Unfortunately I often have chapped lips :(

17. When going out somewhere how long does it take you to get ready?
If it's just going out of the house I can be ready in about 30 minutes. But if I'm getting ready for a night out it can take me up to an hour.

18. How organized is your makeup and nail polish collection?
Not really organized! My daily makeup is stored in a makeup bag, but all my other makeup and nail varnish is in a special makeup drawer - just chucked in! I should probably organize it better :/


So those are all the questions! I think it's a lovely tag to get to know the bloggers behind the blog!

The people I'd love to see the answers to those questions are:

Abby

Becka

Nicole

Rachel

Jone

Thanks so much for reading!

xx Ann-Kathrin

Have You Discovered…? - Skincare

Hello lovelies!

Today is 16th of March which means it's the first proper blog post in the Have You Discovered…? Series! And today I'll be talking all about skincare!

Now I know a lot of people probably have a way better (and more interesting) skincare routine than I do, but I'll share my daily skincare products with you anyways because I really like them! I hope you enjoy it (at least a bit!).

After removing my makeup I love using the Tea Tree Squeaky Clean Scrub by The Body Shop. This has been in my skincare routine since november - so quite a long time! It's a great peeling that exfoliates and removes dirt, oil and dead skin cells. It also helps fight blemishes and redness! I just recently repurchased it the Ultimate Cleansing Kit!

That's also where I got the Tea Tree Skin Clearing Foaming Cleanser from! I use this on my damp skin after I cleansed my face with the scrub! I like to let it "skin in" while brushing my teeth and clean it away with water afterwards.

After using the Tea Tree products my skin feels really fresh and clean. Even though the Ulimate Cleansing Kit came with three other products I just stick to those two, because I don't feel like putting too many different products on my face!

Last but not least I use my Simple Kind To Skin Replenishing Rich Moisturizer (wow now say that three times in a row! haha). I originally bought this as a daytime moisturizer, as a base for my makeup, but I found that it is a bit too thick or rich for the day. So after a friend of mine recommended me to use it as a nighttime moisturizer, I did just that and I find it's perfect for that use!

And my here is a top tip for on-the-spot spot treatment: I always put Tea Tree Oil (can you see a theme here? haha) on a cotton pad and dap it right onto the spot! I heard this tip a lot and I can just recommend it! (I got this little bottle from Boots - it's from their own brand)

I also wanted to say, that I do know that products from The Body Shop are not "undiscovered" - but I do think that the ones I mentioned don't get enough attention and that's why I wanted to share them with you!

So those are all my skincare essentials listed! I hope you enjoyed reading! I'm really excited to be part of this series and can't wait to write the other posts! And also read all the other posts by the other bloggers who are taking part!

I hope you have a lovely sunday evening!

xx Ann-Kathrin

Have You Discovered…? - Introduction

Hello lovelies!

Today I've got an exciting announcement for you: starting this sunday I will be taking part in the "Have You Discovered…?" Series created by the lovely Becka!

This is a weekly series dedicated to (maybe still) undiscovered beauty products that we love and can't live without! Each week will have a different category and I'll try to do my best and find a product for each category and not miss out! 

The posts will be uploaded every sunday. But don't worry, I'll still upload other posts on thursdays on a regular schedule!

Several other beauty bloggers are joining in on this project, so please check out their posts as well! You can find the list of all the bloggers that are taking part here!

And last but not least here comes the line-up for the future posts:

16th March - Skincare
23rd March - Primer

30th March - Foundation
6th April - Concealer
13th April - Powder/Blotting Methods
20th April - Bronzer
27th April - Blush
4th May - Highlighter
11th May - Brow tool
18th May - Eye Shadow/Palettes
25th May - Eyeliner
1st June - Mascara
8th June - Lip Product

15th June - Haircare

22nd June - Nail Care

29th June - Bath/Pamper Products

6th July - Beauty Tools

13th July - Storage Ideas

20th July - Fashion Brands

27th July - Round up & Giveaway!

I hope you'll enjoy this series! I'm already really excited :)

xx Ann-Kathrin

PS:  #Haveyoudiscovered...?

Beauty Haul

Hello everybody!

Today's post is about my latest beauty purchases! And let me just say: YES I needed aaall of these products (or so I like to tell myself!)

I could also call this haul a "Bloggers made me buy it Haul" because most of the purchases have been influenced by some of my favourite bloggers!

First of I went into Boots to take advantage of their 3 for 2 offer. For the last week or so I told myself that I really don't need any additions to my beauty drawer but in the end I just couldn't resist!

There I got the Soap & Glory Flake Away Body scrub. It's great for exfoliating dry skin! I love how my skin feels after using it. And also it smells soo delicious! It contains peach seed powder, shea butter and sugar, as well as smoothing sea salt, grapeseed and almond oil. The whole pot of 300ml was £8.

The second product I picked up was the Bourjois Délíce de Poudre. I've had my eye on this for some time now and now I finally brought myself to buying it! First of all it looks delicious - like a bar of chocolate (as you can see below). I must say I haven't tried it yet, but I read so many rave reviews so I think I won't be disappointed. I got the lighter shade of the two they offered. This product was £6,99.

The third and final product was a quick decision as I ran out of my liquid eyeliner pencil a few days ago I had to get a new one. This time I decided to go for the Collection Fast Stroke eyeliner in black. It comes in a little pot and it's supposed to give precision and definition for your cat flick. I've used it a few time already, but I'm not sure yet if I prefer it over my pencil, maybe I just need to get used to it! This product would've been £2,99 but as it was 3 for 2 I got it for free! 

Next I went to Tescos to get the St Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mousse and a Tanning Mitt by Velvotan. These purchases I "blame" on Abby because after I read her blog post about her fake tan routine (read it here) I felt like I could use a nice tan as well. And that's that really! I haven't had the best experiences with fake tan applications (streaky legs at my graduation party UGH!) so I'm looking forward to trying this mousse and see if it works little wonders on me! The mousse was £4 and the mitt £2.

I also picked up these two gorgeous shades of Barry M Nail Paint. The pastel blue one is "Mist 403" and the white pearl one is called "Pearl 401". They were on offer £6 for 2 nail varnishes so it was a no-brainer for me. I've been looking for a good pearl coloured nail varnish for some time now and I'm really happy I finally found it! Also I think you can't go wrong with Barry M products!

For the last purchase from Tescos I fully blame on the whooole blogger community! I hope I won't bore you if I tell you I got the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. Honestly, I didn't think I really need this in my life, but I gave in and wanted to give it a try! This 400ml bottle was £3,99. I might do a review on this product in the future - after it's tried and tested - so keep your eyes open!

On another beauty shopping trip I went into Superdrug to have a browse around and spotted some things at the MakeUp Academy stand. First of all I got the MUA Pro-Base Eye Primer. I never used a primer before so I was curious to try it and it was just £2,50. I also got a MUA Top Clear Coat nail polish for a pound - again a no-brainer.

The MUA Pink Shimmer Kisses Blusher caught my eye and I just popped it into my bag. I contains 4 pretty pink blush tones which I think will be perfect for spring and summer! This product was £3. I also picked up a new Slanted Blusher Brush by Superdrugs own brand. What can I say - I needed a new brush to apply my new blushes! Makes sense right? This brush was £6,99.

After Superdrug I went into a local beauty store called Blush Beauty Box (I found their online store so maybe check it out?). They sell a variety of beauty products from different brands, Sleek, Barry M, essie, Rimmel, theBalm and so on. I came across a cute looking bronzing powder by the brand W7 called Africa. I've never heard of this brand before but I thought I'd give this bronzer a whirl as it was only £2,99. Let's see if I like it and will purchase more of their products!

So those are all the products I picked up on my recent shopping trips! Wow this post feels like waaay to long! I hope you don't mind though and you enjoyed to see what I got. I love Haul blog posts because I love to see what other people get and just being nosey!

I hope you'll have a great day!

xx Ann-Kathrin

Life Update

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all well! Today I decided to do a little post about my life and what's going on!

Last week, on the 5th of march to be exact, I celebrated my 20th birthday - I can't believe I'm not a teenager anymore! My host family here in England took me out for a surprise dinner on thursday. We went to a Thai restaurant which was lovely and a great idea. We've been watching "The Hairy Bikers' Asian Adventure" on BBC Two for the last couple of weeks and drooling over the yummy food! And guess what we did after we came home from our dinner? Yep .. we watched that program haha!
Also: Would you like to see a "What I got for my birthday" blog post?

Friday evening we boarded a plane and went off to Ireland! I've never been before, so I was really excited. Even though we didn't do any sightseeing (we visited family there) I really enjoyed myself. Especially walking down the beach and having coffee and delicious smoothies next to the seaside! And also having drinks in a little pub in Dublin on saturday evening. As you can see the weather was wonderful on sunday, apart from being windy!

And another really exciting thing, not only for me but for you (hopefully!), is that I'll be posting new blog posts on a regular basis from now on! My upload day will be thursday! So keep your eyes open! :)

I'll try to be consistent with that and I'm also thinking about maybe posting cheeky little posts just spread over the week! Let me know if you would like that!

I hope you enjoyed this chatty blog post - let me know if you would like to see more of these on the blog!

xx Ann-Kathrin

PS: yes I do realize that there are a lot of questions in post - go on and answer them for me ;D

ASTOR Heidi Klum Lipstick Review

Hello everyone!

Today I want to show you two gorgeous lipsticks from ASTOR Cosmetics!

I was reading Denise's blog post about her drugstore haul and that's where I came across the "Heidi Color Last VIP Collection" lipsticks. I searched for the whole range online and fell in love with the colours!

As I don't know where in the UK you can buy Astor products (anyone any ideas?!)  I asked my mum to send me my two favourite shades as a small birthday present  (all the way from Austria) - and she did! (For anyone who'd like to know: she bought them from a drugstore called Bipa.)

First of all look at the lovely packaging! The two shades I got are "003 cheeky" and "007 bubbly" - cute names for cute colours :)

"003 cheeky"

"007 bubbly"

left: "003 cheeky" right: "007 bubbly"

My first thought when I opened the lipsticks was "oh god they look really pigmented and a way too bright"! But after I swatched them on my arm I was relieved - they look much nicer and not too bright on my skin and lips!

As you can see "003 cheeky" is a cute orange-red colour and as I said not too bright! I really like the glossy-looking finish this lipstick has. It will probably become my go-to lipstick this spring!

"007 bubbly" is a bright pink berry colour and also has a glossy-looking finish. It's a pop of colour that's perfect for a night out! Or maybe to brighten up a bad weather day!

I love that they don't wear off too quick, so you don't have to touch up often. I also think that Heidi Klum did a very good job with choosing the colours for this range. There are nine gorgeous colours that are personally designed by Heidi to celebrate many different qualities (see the names!)

And for the price of €4,99 I think these lipsticks are very good quality.

The only thing I don't like too much is the way they smell/taste - a bit too cosmetic for my taste.

Have you ever tried any Astor Cosmetics products? If so what's your favourite?

xx Ann-Kathrin