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.

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

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Irresistible Me, who sells mostly hair extensions and they offered me some to try out. At the time my hair was 72 cm/28 inches long (I know, I know), so trying extensions would be a little bit ridiculous and that was almost the end of it, but then they kindly offered me to try out a curling iron instead. You might have noticed that I love wearing my hair curly, so this is totally up my alley. I've been using Remington Pro Soft Curls for years and it doesn't really offer that much variety, I do have another one from Babyliss with a 3.2 cm barrel, but it's astonishingly rubbish. I've been googling for the best 32 mm curling wands several times before and for some reason nobody talks about these things and the only brands that I could find were only available in the US, which was remarkably unhelpful. Sapphire Wand comes with 8 barrels, so you can make basically any type of curls you want, which should come very handy for me as I do others people hair occasionally. I'll admit that the price isn't the kindest to an average individual living here, especially considering we have to pay custom charges as well (expect a bill for 40 € in Slovenia), but I'm seriously impressed by it and just feel in love with it. I don't think we have anything similar in Slovenia, at least not something that would be of some decent quality, which is a shame, but luckily online shops exist.

First off, the important technical details you might need to know. The curler is dual voltage (110-240V 50/60Hz), which means it works in the US as well as Europe, so there is not worry about that. The original plug is American, so you'll need an adapter if you live elsewhere, which isn't that expensive or you do what I did and just change the plug.

I love how this shows the warming up process. It shows the exact temperature when it's heating up and that is so handy, because at my old Remington I have no idea how much time I have before it's ready. It heats up pretty fast, I'd say about a minute or so. You can set the temperature with those two arrow buttons. It goes up to 230°C (450°F). The temperature is in °F when it turns on, but you can easily change it by holding the right button for a few seconds. Totally cool to use in Europe is the summary. I also appreciate that the screen blinks when it's plugged in but turned off, so I don't forget to plug it out. It has an auto shut off feature as well.

There are 8 ceramic, tourmaline infused barrels ranging in sizes and shapes. There is a super thin 13 mm, the classic 19 mm, 25 mm which is the same as my Remington Pro Soft Curl, the big 32 mm, smaller cone shaped 18/9 mm, bigger cone shaped 25/13 mm, a pear shaped 13/25 mm and pearl.

The base is very light, to me it almost felt cheap at first because I'm so used to my Remington that's much heavier and my Babyliss one weighs a ton compared to this one, but actually the quality is pretty good. The buttons should be separated more because now they all move inside when you press them, but they don't interfere each other’s functions. I'm a weakling so it takes me a bit more effort of push the barrels in or pull them out, but for most of you it'd be easy. You're supposed to twist the round part at the base, so the barrel is locked in place. 

So far I've tried five barrels, the thin ones don't really interest me to be honest. The pearl one was the first because I really wanted to see what kind of curls it makes. It creates those beachy waves - very textured and messy curls. The pear shaped one was interesting to me as well. It creates curls that start high on the head giving you a more voluminous look. My absolute favourite is the 25 mm one. It’s the same as at my Remington one, which is the one I use all the time. The effect it gives is the same, I went for retro waves and it was my favourite style by far. The reason I might like it more than Remington is that it's lighter and more importantly; there is none of that annoying clip. I've never been a fan of clips, I always wrap my hair around the barrel and leave the ends out because that gives a more natural effect and the ends are the most fragile part of the hair, so I don't want to damage them with the heat. My second favourite barrel is the 32 mm. I have an old such curler form Babyliss and it completely useless because my curls drop within an hour with it. This one managed to create the same soft, curls that later dropped but not completely. They turned into very loose waves, more reminiscent of a blow-out. It's basically way better than my old one. I also tried the spiral one, which I also used to own a similar one (Remington Pearl) and its again better than that one I had before because at that one my hair got tangled in the bit between the barrel and the plastic cap at the end, but I’m not a fan of the curls this type of barrel creates. They are just so chunky.

Apart from retro curls, these are all pictures from already posted or upcoming reviews, so are you essentially having a sneak peak.

Curls last well at this curler, though that is also due to my natural hair texture, the techniques and products I use. Retro curls lasted particularly well at this curler, I've just happened to take pictures every day for all the swatching and future posts, so I though I might as well include it here. I kept the curls in a bun that was twisted in the direction of the curls over night. This was the last day of the curls. 

You get a very useful and well-made bag with the curler. The faux leather is soft to the touch and the inside has compartments for each barrel, the curler's base and even one for the heat resistant glove. With seven years of curling experience under my belt, I don't use the glove at all, they are actually very clumsy, but it's nice that they added it for all the beginners because they'll need it.

I'm really happy with this curler. I know I've only used budget versions so far, so I might be dazzled by a fancier one, but it's really good. I like that it's light, displaying how the wand is heating is super handy, there is a nice selection of barrels - I really find no fault in it. The price is really high, I know it's eight different barrels, but even so it's not something you just casually buy like groceries. It's an investment, but if you like playing with your hair like me, you’ll enjoy this. It has a 1 year limited warranty and you can get it on Irresistible Me website for 199$ (it had a discount once during the time I have it and I think it was 159$. I don't know if that happens often there). 

Have a great day!

*PR product