Inspirational Tumblr-talk over, I'm going to talk to you about the products and other things I loved during this year. I will talk more than just makeup and beauty, so grab a hot chocolate and enjoy!
Garnier Micellar Water
Oh yes, my definite favourite from the entire year. I wear makeup more or less every day, foundation, powder, bronzer, brows, mascara, liner...and at the end of the day, when only a smudge of it is left, I want to make sure that I take off that smudge as best I can. This. Is. Amazing. It's a water, so it glides on easily, and apparently, it goes into your skin. breaks down the makeup, and then brings it up to be wiped off again. It leaves my skin so free of makeup and so clean, fresh and feeling unreal. I ran out of this a week ago, and used wipes for a few days- my skin felt gunky and horrible, until I went out and got this again. This is even amazing for eye makeup- I just use cotton pads and hold them over my eyes for a few seconds, and everything comes right off. 1000000000/10.
Canon 600D
My new baby and ultimate bae- my new DSLR, in all its glory. I got him for my 16th, and it's the best present I've ever received, hands down. I will have a Photography 2014 post coming your way soon, so you will see how much I have grown as a photographer these past few months. I am really happy with the photos this baby makes, and I am still fiddling round with it- even daring to use the Manual Focus and AF settings more often haha.
Red Converse
I got these for Christmas last year, and the minute I took them out of their box, my first thought was- 'They're so clean.' Over 2014, I've worn them probably over a hundred times- and now they are dirty, mud stained, lived in and well loved. I've had so many adventures in these shoes, they have carried me through cities, towns, gravel and tarmac roads, through rain, scorching sunshine and bad, gloomy days. I love them so much and I can't wait to update my Cons collection to black high tops (cough, Matty Healy, cough) and white, (cough, Mark Renton a la Trainspotting, cough) and destroy those too, with good memories and high grounds.
Inglot Personalised Palette
I got this in Vilnius, as the gorgeous Inglot ladies helped me pick my shades. I like how Inglot gives you the shades, and lets you do the rest- you can put together your own palettes, which can contain 1, 2, 5, 10 or 24 shades. I went for the happy middle, and for around 30euros, picked up 5 fabulous shades. I chose 2 rainbow colours, one contains warm browns and the other rosy light beiges, both matt. My 3 other colours were really a gamble- I wanted all matt shades, and these are metallic shimmers, the best kind of shiny shadows. I then chose 3 block colours, a light yellow champagne that is really MAC's Shroom, a mushroom-y grey-brown, and an orange Arabic inspired gold that reflects light like a dream. I love this palette and each shade and how blendable they are, but I do wish they were a little bit more pigmented and long lasting. However, they are all gorge shades and on the inexpensive side, so if you're curious on Inglot eyeshadows, give them a go.
Cocoa Palmers Lotion
Discovered this whilst doing my Christmas shopping last week and it's probably my best buy of these few months. My skin has taken a severe battering since summer began- my allergies kicked in, and I get itchiness and dry skin when the allergy demons come to visit. I used to have severe problems with my allergies to dust mites when I was a little girl- and they were pretty much gone, until earlier this year. I've had dry, itchy, flaky, scarred skin for months now- my legs and my arms are the worst places. I've gone through so many body oils and moisturisers, so many that I actually ran out of lotions (if you saw how many creams and lotions I get at Christmas, you'd be shocked at this). So I picked this up- and it is wonderful. It's thick, creamy, smells amazo, absorbs in quick, leaves my skin feeling super soft, and most of all, moisturises, heals up dry patches and works. If you suffer with dry skin, this is a winner. If you do get anything out of this post, make sure to buy this lotion and the Garnier Micellar Water as they will change your life forever.
Junior Cert
Not so much a favourite (faaaaaaaar from it, tbh) but worthy to mention anyway. When you get to secondary school in Ireland (13-12 years of age) you begin a 3 year curriclum for your very first state examination- the Junior Certificate. It consists of 12 subjects, and I did 5 projects to go along with it, all higher level subjects and 2 nerve wrecking weeks of exams in June at the end of the 3 years. It is so much work now that I think about it, and because the Junior Cert is going to be reformed here in Ireland, it is going to be continous assesment based from now on, with no state exam. Even though I now have the experience of state exams, to go back to school and begin an entire new, harder, complex curriclum for the Leaving Cert (the exam you do when you finish school) is a little disheartening, especially after all of my hard for for the stupid JC. Regardless, I was so thrilled with my results and I'm glad it's over now.
Lorde's Pure Heroine
I'm just going to say it- I loove Lorde. Pure Heroine came out a while ago now, but it's very obvious that she's a remarkable teenager- at only 17 years of age, Lorde has 2 Grammys, 3 WMA's, Mockingjay soundtrack and a platnium album. I admire her and plan to blog about her soon- she is all the world needs music wise. I love her electropop and indie vibes. I have been listening to this since the summer, and my Instagram is stained heavily with touches of her, shamelessly. My faves incluse A World Alone, Ribs and Buzzcut Season. Get this album and pray to it, it is flawless in every way.
Lana Del Rey's Ultraviolence
I of course loved my queen's new album, Ultraviolence. I mentioned it in a Life Lately and I even wrote a looong post on it , so do give those a read! Lana is probably the closest thing I have to a religion- she is pure perfection.
Amsterdam
Of course, one of my definite highlights of this year was visiting Amsterdam in mid July. Even though it was only for a weekend, I cannot wait to go back- it is such a beautiful city, lined with canals and terraced colourful buildings, littered with beautiful blond tall lads, pavements dented with racing bicycle tyres, a large cloud of softly flavoured but pungent cannibis hovering above the city- elements of art, history and familiar boldness lie deep within the city, and I loved every part of it. It is truly wonderful, do go and visit if you possibly can- every corner is colourful and noteworthy.
The 1975
I fell in love with The 1975 late 2013, and my love continued all through 2014. I wrote a blog post on their frontman, Matty Healy, and he definitely makes the band what it is- I love Matthew, not necessarily because of his looks (gasp) but because of the things he says, how he carries himself, his behaviour and profound opinion on issues. The 1975's music is upbeat, catchy, somehow 90's and vintage, with a really unique sound- I've listened to them practically everywhere, their music makes things so much more fun and gives you a break from the bubblegum pop trash that plays on the radio nowdays (no I don't care if you can shake shake it like you're *supposed* to, I have other things to worry about tbh). Their debut self titled album is a love letter to their teenage selves, and if it wasn't for Matty and his personal involvement in the writing, it wouldn't be as meaningful as it is. Their new album is meant to come out September 2015, and I literally cannot wait (except I will be in Leaving Cert by then, oh my god kill me now).
In general, I didn't have the most exciting year- but I got quite a lot of things finished, travelled and grew up as a person quite a bit. Some relationships ended and others changed quite a lot, but now it's done and dusted- and to be honest, I couldn't be more excited for 2015. I feel like I am ready for a lot of new things and like I am more myself than ever- here's to a great year! *imaginary pink bubbly glass clink*
Thank you so much for reading this year! This little blog is over 17,000 pageviews now, and I couldn't be happier that people read it and keep coming back to it. I am so thankful for every sweetie that has ever read this blog- and hopefully I will have enough courage to start a Youtube in 2015, but don't get too excited haha!
Gaby x
