At the end of the year I like to make a general overview of the blogging year. You know the classics: most read posts, my favourite posts I wrote and my favourite bloggers/posts from others.


2016 marks my 6th year of blogging, I really hope you're not growing tired of me, I try not to be very annoying with stupid click bait tittles and preachy content. Biggest change this year is that I finally got a proper camera, Olympus Pen E-PL 7, so I'm not using just my smartphone anymore. In the next year I would love to upgrade it with a 45 mm lens if I decide to afford it (why does it have to be so expensive? Is it even worth it?) and my photography set up needs a spruce up as well. 

Let's 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 2016

MY FAVOURITE POSTS

POSTS I ENJOYED IN 2016

Again I'm sharing other people's work that I admired. When I like a post, I either pin it, save it on Bloglovin' or just remember it and at the end of the year I pick those that were my absolute favourites. They are mostly wishlist inducing - don't say I didn't warn you.

NAIL POLISH

L.O.V. LOVinity Long Lasting Nail Polish

I took an instant liking to these, not just because of the Marc Jacobs like packaging, but because I like their basic selection of colours (though they are so missing a sparkly navy and a good proper nude). I bought one shade first, the deep red-purple 210 Alluring Amethyst, which impressed me so much, I got the taupe 290 Ash Allusion too. Formula is smooth and the brush fits my nails so well, so the application is much less messy than usual. The staying power is great, though most nail polishes last well on my nails, but I feel I get a few days extra from these.

ESSIE Nail Lacquer

Eternal Optimist

This year I finally found the muted powdery pink that I've been searching for. I wanted Kiko's Bois de Rose to be it, but it's too dark and too pink on my nails, while this is perfect. The formula is another fantastic one from Essie - it's so smooth, a simple two coater and very easy to apply with their brush. It looked so inconspicuous on the stand that I didn't pay it much attention for years, but online swatches showed me its true beauty, Thank the stars for beauty blogger community, well those who still do swatches.

SKIN CARE

GARNIER Biophase Micellar Cleansing Water in Oil

Micellar waters got an upgrade this year. Garnier added a bit of oil into theirs, which works like a hybrid between the classic micellars and duo-phase removers, so it's stronger than regular formula, but it still doesn't remove waterproof mascara because it's not greasy enough. This leaves my skin feeling very soft, almost like I used a silicone primer, it removes makeup and feels ok on dry skin. The scent is lovely too, but it may be heavy to some. I heard very conflicting opinions about this micellar, but I like it. 

GREEN LINE Natural Clear Cleansing Cream + Scrub + Mask + Antibacterial Effect

This is one of those products that the moment I tried it, I said to myself - yup, I really like this. It's a better scrub than cleanser or mask and it's actually quite a harsh-ish scrub, but not that much. As a mask, it's one of those clay masks that never dries fully, which I read recently it's supposedly a good thing, but then I feel it doesn't pull out enough from the pores, however, it contains zinc which helps with inflammation. As I scrub I love it, as a mask I think that L'Oreal's are better, but I didn't include them here because I only just got them.

PALMER'S Flip Balm Ripe Mango

When it comes to lip balms, I've only used Palmer's Swivel stick for five-ish years now and I don't buy others at all because I already know I won't use them, but when I saw Palmer's made these Flip Balms, I needed to have them.This is a bit lighter and a much more fun version of my old favourite Swivel Stick, which is a very soft, non-waxy lip balm and it doesn't feel like that coat of product on the lips which merely keeps the existing moisture locked in, but I genuinely have a feeling it's nourishing my lips. The scent is lovely too, though not what you'd expect from the name, but Palmer's original chocolate cake batter scent is still there, just mixed with a tropical fruit note (not mango though). It even tastes delicious. 

BODY

SOAP & GLORY Orangeasm Super Rich Body Butter

Just like their Righteous Butter this one is again a great body moisturiser and even though it's called a body butter, it's not super thick like some Balea's can be, so it sinks into the skin quite fast for such a product, though not immediately of course. It fixes my dry skin, still I could need something extra for my elbows, but on the rest of the body it's excellent. The scent is lovely too, more like lemon citrusy and bitter fresh than orange juice sweet.

L'OCCITANE Melting Honey Exfoliating Sugars

Although I believe this isn't sold anymore or at least I can't find it on the website, I had to add it here because it's such a lovely scrub and I hope L'Occitane keeps it/brings it back. This is my favourite scrub so far because it basically ticks all the boxes - it's thick and balmy, it's sugar based so one of those more harsh scrubs that I like, it nourishes the skin, so no need for an extra moisturiser, but the winner for me is the scent. It is utterly divine! It smells more like a flowery version of honey, but that flowery note is the same as in my favourite fragrance by L'Occitane Vanilla, which they discontinued years ago, I think it's orchid, but definitely a darker floral scent

SOAP & GLORY Hand Maid Antibacterial Hand Cleansing Gel

I got a few antibacterial gels this year, all new to me and all a lot more fancy than regular ones we get here. It's the best anti-bacterial gel I've tried. It leaves the skin completely residue free and smells so amazing, like 505 s crtom sweets. BBW's smell amazing too and are so cute to keep in the pocket/bag, but S&G's are slightly better for the skin.

I also loved: 

BATH & BODY WORKS Pocket Bac Anti-Bacterial Hand Gel

DVOREC TREBNIK Shea Butter Cream 

HAIR

NEUTROGENA T/Gel Total Shampooing

So far it's the most effective shampoo I found and in combination with Matrix ScalpSync my scalp gets a bit of rest for a few days. It smells like burned rubber and it's not moisturising, but you get used to it. It was recommended to me by a reader (thank you) and as you can see it's already empty, so I need to repurchase it because the version for dry hair I have currently, isn't as good.

L'OREAL Professionnel Série Expert Intense Repair Masque and Série Expert Absolut Repair Lipidium

I still feel stupid for not picking either of these sooner, even though I had them on my list to try for years, but I was being weird because I though these can't be that good considering how much cheaper they are from other salon brand treatments. I have never been more wrong. I have very demanding hair, it's not only dry, but also very thick and coarse, so a lot of hair treatments fail at making a difference and truly nourish my hair, but these both work so well for me and do everything I expect from a hair mask - really nourish my hair, make it more manageable, smoother and easier to style. I will invest in a 500 ml pots, which are very affordable online and stick to them. 

MATRIX Biolage ScalpSync Exfoliating Treatment

I've tried a few scalp exfoliators before, most notably the highly praised Phillips Kinsley Scalp Mask, but nothing worked so well as this thing. I know that I can't be without this if I ever want my scalp to feel normal at least for a few days. I'm still stuck with this stupid dandruff, it's a never ending battle, but this purifies my scalp, it exfoliates it and completely removes all signs of dandruff, but without drying out my skin. Based on official description this bottle should only last you a couple of applications, but I stretched it far more.

DOVE Style+Care Frizz Free Cream Serum and Quench Absolute Supreme Crème Serum 

This. Is. Gold. Oh my word, this just as good than Kerastase or Sebastian's Professional Potion 9. I first found Absolute Quench in our drugstores, fell madly in love with it and went to stock up only to discover it has vanished from every shop here. Only at the end of the year I found a dupe also from Dove, their Style + Care Serum which works exactly the same and isn't sold here (why?!). Both are creamy serum leave-in products that can be used on both damp and dry hair. When I blow dry my hair it leaves them so silky and smooth, frizz is significantly reduced I don't even need to use a round brush and my hair is so smooth, plus it leaves it nourished enough, though my hair does get dry as the days go by, but a pump of this with some Orofluido on dry hair, helps to fix it. This was just made for my hair and my cousin adores it too. 

I also loved: 

BALEA Beautiful Long Wunder Serum

PERFUME

PACO RABANNE Olympea

I just adore this scent. I've been a fan of Paco Rabanne fragrances for many years, but this one is such an untypical scent for this brand. You won't find their almost signature notes of patchouli and pepper in this, instead it's a more mellow floral vanilla mix. It's actually got a very complex character as I feel it changes scent on me a lot. Sometimes I get that Monte hazelnut chocolate note, on other occasions jasmine and another variation is some gorgeous high-end note, which might be cashmere or wood. All versions are fantastic and it just makes my day when I spray this. The lasting power is excellent, which is not that surprising given the notes and the fact it's an eau de parfum. I can smell it faintly at the end of the day and it lasts so well on clothes. The bottle is outstandingly gorgeous to me, though I wish I had the 50 or 80 ml, which has a rose gold laurel leaf design instead of just glass. 

HUGO BOSS The Scent for Her

Another fragrance I absolutely love and just like Olympea, it was a fragrance I knew I needed from the first time I sprayed it on my wrist. As a fan of peach, this obviously appealed to me even before I had a chance to test it and the beautiful bottle caught my eye too, but the scent is so utterly gorgeous to me that I wouldn't mind if it were in a boring plastic bottle. It starts with a peach note burst and then it centres around osymathis and cocoa, so it's a fruity-floral like most Boss fragrances, except as a base it has cocoa, which is something new to Boss, making this scent a bit more special even though it's another in the long line of Boss' office appropriate, "clean with a fruity-floral twist" scents that won't offend anyone.

SOAP & GLORY Mist you Madly Body Spray

Before I got this I immersed myself into a slew of Soap & Glory reviews and this had such a high feedback - it's well deserved. This is very different from my usually modern fruity-floral-vanillas and it has a vintage high-end fragrance vibe. It just reminds me of classic perfumes before it was all about heavy vanilla in everything. It smells so nice, classy, vintage-y, floral-clean (citrusy). Staying power on the skin is weak, so I prefer to spray this on clothes and hair to make it last longer. Notes list bergamot, blackcurrant, magnolia, freesia, vanilla and musk.

First part with all the makeup products is here. You can read lasts years Best Buys here, here and here is the under 5 € version. For all years I have a link list on this page.

Have a great day!

BASE

PHYSICIANS FORMULA Nude Wear Glowing Nude Powder

Light

I'm not a fan of the traditional mattifying powders because they make my face into this fake-looking cakey mess that I hate (I want my skin to look like actual skin) and this is one of those radiance powders, though I can't say it gives any type of glow to the face, but it looks very light on the skin, like there is nothing on. It takes away shine, but not all and doesn't look powdery matte (those with oily skin avoid this. It's more for those who merely need to set the makeup, including for moderately dry skin because it doesn't catch on the dry patches). Another star of this product is the packaging which is so adorable and handy because of the big mirror in the back. It's my upgrade of the Bourjois Java powder, only in a more convenient compact form.

BOURJOIS Radiance Reveal Concealer

Bourjois launched their best concealer so far this year and it became an instant favourite of mine. I love this concealer because it looks so natural. It's no where near full coverage, however, it doesn't look heavy and cakey on my skin, a problem that tends to happen to me a lot for some reason. It has a natural "no-makeup makeup" finish, it offers about a medium coverage and the formula is very lightweight.

I also loved: 

L'OREAL Infallible Sculpt Contouring Palette 01 Light/Medium 

ESSENCE Soft Touch Mousse Concealer 

MILANI Conceal + Perfect 2-in-1 Foundation + Concealer  

EYES

REVLON Ultra Volume Mascara Waterproof 

I'm still loving I <3 Extreme Waterproof from Essence, but this is a waterproof mascara that managed to impress me this year. It doesn't create massive lashes, instead it's makes your lashes look naturally pretty and perfect because it catches every one, it defines them, fans them out and gives enough length, but doesn't coat them with a ton of product. I tend to use it as a base coat, so my lashes are defined before I apply Essence's mascara.

MAX FACTOR Voluptuous False lash Effect Mascara 

2016 was the year when I found regular mascaras that don't suck on my lashes. This one creates massive lashes, but doesn't coat them with a ton of product, so they are still defined and it even holds my lashes curled at least half way. BeYu's is similarly amazing, but the reason I choose this one for the post is because I had it longer and it's the first regular mascara I've repurchased in many years.

L'OREAL Superstar Super Slim Eyeliner 

I've tried so many liners this year, from the overpriced Stila one, which disappointed me, to the inexpensive Wet n Wild's, but the one that impressed me the most is Superstar. It's been months since I got it and it still works so well - this is what I expect from a liner. The applicator, thought it looks gimmicky, is great for drawing flicks quickly, however, it is quite big, so it's not the best for thin lines. The liner lasts well, it doesn't smudge and it's nicely black. 

ESSENCE 2 in 1 Eye Shadow & Liner

06 she's got the mauve

Who would have thought that Essence would make the best cream eyeshadows? They seriously nailed it. Unlike 99 % of stick cream eyeshadows, these have a satin finish with much smaller shimmer, so they are a lot better to use as a base. The formula is firmer than most, but it glides on the lids with ease and these blend out with a finger in a matter of seconds. Staying power is outstanding as well and it's not uncommon that they last all day on my normal lids. She's Got The Mauve is probably my favourite creamy eyeshadow so far because it has that something unique and such shades look really good with my colouring. 

TOO FACED Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette

I knew the moment I tried this in January that this will land in my Best Buys. It was so worth spending a fortune on this because it became my first choice when doing makeup. It's such a wonderful palette for fans of neutral looks because the colour range is more versatile than in any of my other palettes since it has a lot of medium "lid" shades and I use pretty much every shade in it apart from that purple and pink. The pigmentation of this palette is outstanding and the eyeshadows apply and blend so nicely. 

I also loved: 

BEYU Beauty Queen Volume Mascara

WET N WILD Eyeshadow Palette Comfort Zone

WET N WILD Eyeshadow Trio Silent Treatment

THEBALM Nude'Dude Eyeshadow Palette 

LIPS

SEPHORA Cream Lip Stain 

03 Strawberry Pink and 13 Marvellous Mauve 

I just got this in December, but I'm so in love with both of the shades. This was a year of matte liquid lipsticks for me, they are my favourite makeup item and these are supposedly many people's favourite. While I think TheBalm's are better, these are another ones with a perfect matte finish and an excellent pigmentation, only staying power isn't quite as good as at others, but the both of the shades are fantastic. Strawberry Pink is a stunning warm pinky red, while Marvellous Mauve is a medium pinky-mauve shade that's so far my favourite such shade because it's neither too brown, nor too grey or purple on me.

REVLON Ultra HD Matte Lipcolour

600 Devotion

Last year I fell in love with shade Rose from the Ultra HD lipstick range, which I called the most comfortable lip product I found. Well, these are an upgrade of those. While I'm miffed about the name, since they aren't matte and it bothers just about everyone, I can't deny the formula is still so lovely. These have the benefits of a proper matte lipsticks, meaning excellent pigmentation and great staying power, they just aren't matte (at least for the first few hours), but they are very comfortable on the lips. I have a medium warm pinky shade called Devotion and I reach for it a lot, plus it smells the same as Ultra HD, so like Planica ice cream (vanilla-chocolate-strawberry).

THEBALM Meet Matte Hughes 

I've tried many liquid lipsticks this year and these are my favourite. I started with one and then bought two more after being impressed with the formula and I wouldn't mind if my collection expanded. The formula is creamy, super pigmented, applies evenly with no sheer patches, smells like After Eight and dries to a velvet matte finish after a few minutes. It lasts so well on the lips and wears off nicely too. I have three shades and I love all, but Committed is the one I reach for most because it's such a stunning, everyday muted peachy-pinky nude shade. Charming, a muted rosy-brown, is my autumn shade, while Adoring is a rich burgundy and even though such shades tend to be very uneven, this one applies so lovely and lasts great. 

MILANI Amore Matte Lip Creme 

Gorgeous

Surprise another matte liquid lipstick. I just love them. This one sets to a perfect a matte finish in a minute or so, making it not the best for dry lips, but if you're looking for the Instagram matte finish, these are great. Formula is creamy at application and very pigmented, the only thing is that is sets to a uniform layer and it can fade in patches, but it's on rare occasions. I have the shade Gorgeous, a magenta-purple shade and it was my favourite until I discovered More Better from Colourpop, but it still very much deserves its place here.

COLOURPOP Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick

Sollow and More Better

While I won't say that the formula of these is comfortable, their pigmentation is fantastic and staying power definitely wins, but I had to put these here primarily because of the shades. Sollow and More Better completely caught my heart, I ordered several shades but these are so much better than I expected. Sollow is a light muted peachy pink shade, a hundred times prettier than in the tube, while More Better is just my shade, a good enough approximate for my all-time favourite Mac's D for Danger, so a rich deep berry shade that's just a bit more purple than Mac's offering. 

COLOURPOP Lippie Stix

Cami

The moment I put this on, I was completely in love. Even as I was applying this, I was thinking to myself: "These are so amazing, I love it!". The formula is so light on the lips, but it's intensely pigmented and the finish is just out of this world gorgeous for a lipstick and closest to a liquid lipstick I found, better than Milani's Matte. The colour became an instant favourite of mine as well. It's similar to theBalm's Charming, but lighter because it doesn't oxidise on the lips and less warm, more neutral rosy. I love it. I hope I'll get to try more of these in a Matte finish.

I also loved: 

SLEEK Matte Me Lip Gloss Birthday Suit 

JORDANA Matte Lipstick 47 Nude 

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream Cannes 

BRUSHES

ZOEVA Rose Golden Complete Eye Set Vol. 2

Setting my obvious obsession with matte liquid lipsticks aside, apart from the Too Faced chocolate palette, this was by far the most useful set of products I bought. I've been fighting taking the plunge for a long time because these are so crazy expensive and I still think that if I knew which brushes are 110% worth it, I could save a few euros, but it was a fantastic investment. It true what they say, until you don't have a good set of brushes, your makeup will never look just right. All the brushes are fantastic quality, they feel well-made, they wash nicely with no shedding and just feel premium. Zoeva blending brushes just changed my routine. I'm really impressed with 231 Luxe Petite Crease, 228 Luxe Crease, 235 Contour Shader and 227 Luxe Soft Definer. Now I understand why these are hailed as some of the best brushes out there, but I wish they were cheaper.

BEAUTY & CHIC Clean Brush Cleanser

Before I tried this, I didn't truly believe in these spray-and-swipe brush cleaners (Essence's didn't quite meet my expectations), but I was proven wrong. It actually does a very decent clean up, the brushes feel fresh, like they were just washed and it takes off about 80% of the colour that was used with the brush, but for something that doesn't use water, it's really good. I also feel that the brushes are dry faster with this than with Essence's. It is heavily fragranced (which I love) and it smells like chamomile, plus the scent lingers for quite a while. 

BEAUTY & CHIC Contourliscious Oval Foundation Brush

When I first saw oval brushes, I believe Mac was the first, I thought to myself: "What useless gimmick is this?" and honestly, I would never buy them myself because I thought they looked so stupid. I was wrong, so wrong. While I remain unconvinced about the use of these for any type of eye makeup, for foundation I've never tried anything better. I got this set about two-three months ago and I haven't used any other foundation brush or sponge since. It's so quick and it blends perfectly with no streaks or visible edges. Granted Real Techniques brush will leave you with the same finish, but this is faster. I don't find it absorbs that much foundation, only that they don't ever look as good as new once they are washed, but they still work the same. I was so impressed that I ordered two more cheap ones for my friends because I wanted to share these with them.

I'll post the second part with nail polishes, skin care and hair care in the following days. You can read lasts years Best Buys here, here and here is the under 5 € version. For all years I have a link list on this page.

Have a great day!

I took a liking to this already in the shop and the reason it appealed to me is because it actually has everything you need in one palette, plus the blush looked like my type of shade, though I discovered at home it's a lot peachier than I imagined. You get a contour powder, a matte powder, a blush and a highlighter. Apart from the highlighter, all shades are matte, but the highlighter is not as strong, so this is a palette for those who want a more mat look.

Texture: All shades are very powdery and loose, so when you swipe your blush in one shade, it's not uncommon that bits fly into other pans. I don't find these the best powders, since you need to be very careful at application because if you don't swipe the brush with product on the back of your hand first to basically distribute the powder better, it applies blotchy on the skin, thought it's not that odd for more pigmented products. I forgot to do that once because I was in a hurry and I ended up with an espresso eyeshadow stripe on my cheek, which I had a hard time blending it nicely/fixing it. The blush is much the same, applies unevenly and I have trouble blending it. I got a Trend it Up blush at the same time and the difference in ease of application is vast. The other two powders are so light in tone that you can't mess up anyway, but the Strobe Matt powder actually has some more coverage which comes handy under the eyes.

Contour: is a cool brown shade that's very pigmented. It should fit most of light-medium skin tones, but on very pale like mine, it could be a bit more grey. Compared to Catrice's Contour palette, it's a shade darker, but similar in tone, maybe a bit more brown.

Strobe Mat: a light, yellow-toned skin tone shade. It has some additional coverage and it matches my skin tone almost exactly, so I can't use it for highlighting, but it will work on medium skin tones.

Blush: a muted peach shade. It looks pinker in the pan, but there is almost no pink when on the skin, at least on me. I have nothing similar in my collection and all my peach blushes are much brighter.

Strobe Pearl: Highlighter doesn't appear to be much of anything in the pan and also as you can see on my arm swatch, it's barely visible, however, on the cheeks is gives a decent glow. It's not strong, but it gives a nice amount of radiance on the skin that will please those who like a more natural look, but I feel it will be underwhelming to many glow lovers. The shade is one of those that fits many skin tones - a classic champagne colour.

Staying power: It lasts averagely on the cheeks and the base itself has a lot to do with it. 

Packaging: The whole thing is like a little thin book. It's made of durable cardboard and it feels like it's going to last if you don't plan to shuffle it in makeup bags, though it's very light and travel friendly. I'm a fan of the idea of having everything in one place, I just wish that the texture were a bit better pressed so shades wouldn't mix. You also get a good set of instructions.

Price and availability: These are sold for 14.99 € in Slovene DM's, it's probably about the same in Douglas. This comes to 3.75 € per pan for 3.8 g, which is a similar price to Catrice's Illuminating blushes.

This is a palette that has so much potential and it's a decent palette with everything you need, yet I wish the powders were smoother and easier to blend. The shades are good for light-medium skin tones, so it should fit a lot of people, though those with cooler skin tones may find the blush a bit too warm. The price isn't too high for the amount of product you get, though cheaper, really good options exist as a direct competition, but I have yet to see one that includes a mat skin toned powder for which BeYu gets a plus from me.

Also read Taya's review here for more opinions.

*PR product.