My winter essentials

Today I am sharing my winter essentials with you guys. This might be different to what some of your winter essentials depending on how cold it is where you live. It has been anything from -5 to -15*C (23 to 5F) here recently so keeping warm has been the biggest concern. And without further ado, here are my winter essentials:

My skin gets really dry when it's cold, so moisturizers are essential for me, especially during the winter. For my face I use Benefit's Total Moisture facial cream. It is very thick so it moisturizes well, and the packaging is just adorable! I use the Hand Food from Soap & Glory for my hands, which I'm sure you all now is really good by now. For body lotions I will pretty much use anything I have, but I've been loving the triple moisture body cream from Bath & Body Works lately. It moisturizes better than a lot of other body lotions I've tried. Here I have it in the scent Country Chic and Sweet cinnamon pumpkin. My favorite is the Dancing Waters one, but that one is at my parents house at the moment. 

These have been crucial to me surviving the cold weather. Neither of them are the most fashionable thing in the world, but they keep me SO warm and I love them. The UGGs are in the style Classic Tall and I feel like I'm wearing slippers outside when I wear them. The jacket is from Bergans and is the warmest jacket I have ever tried. I don't think I've ever been cold while wearing it. 

 Hats and scarves have also been frequently used this winter. The left hat it from Abercrombie & Fitch, the right one was a gift and the headband is from H&M. The green scarf is also from H&M, the brown one is from Bianco and the beige one with tiny hearts on it was a gift. The green and the brown scarves are infinity scarves, and the beige one is just a regular rectangular scarf. 

I might have gone a little candle crazy these past couple of months... But I just love burning candles on dark winter evenings, and these ones from Bath & Body Works makes our whole apartment smell really good and cosy as well. They are called Vanilla Snowflake, Leaves and Twisted Peppermint. I might actually do another post on my favorite candles sometime if that's something you guys would like to see :)

 

Going a long with dark winter nights, a nice pair of pajama bottoms, some cosy slippers and a warm sweater-type-thing is really good to have. The pajama bottoms are from Abercrombie a couple of years ago, the slippers are from H&M and the jacket is from Mango, also a couple of years ago. 

One if the things I love most about winter is cuddling up on the sofa with a blanket, a hot cup of tea and a good book. I am currently reading Matched, and I'm really liking it so far. My favorite tea at the moment is from London fruit & herb company and is in the flavor Orange Spicer. It is pretty much my favorite tea ever. I am kind of particular with the teas I drink, but if you have any recommendations I would love it if you would leave them in the comments below. 

So thats it, I think. Let me know what your winter essentials are, and if I forgot something that you think I should have mentioned, leave a comment below and tell me! :) 

What's in my shower!?

 I have seen a lot of these posts and videos around, and I always find it quite interesting to see what other people keep in their shower (maybe I'm weird like that?). So I thought that since I like to read posts like that, there might be someone else out there who likes them, so I might as well do one myself! 

The shelf-system that's hanging on the wall beside the actual shower system is from the brand VacLoc, and stays on the wall with four suction cups. It is really handy if you want to get some extra storage space in your shower!

A tiny bit of background on my hair: it is pretty dry and it breaks very easily so I try to keep it as moisturized and healthy as I can. 

I have a couple of different shampoos and conditioners in my shower because I like to switch it up a bit and some of them are also targeted to do different things for your hair. 

The first ones I have are the Soap & Glory Glad hair day shampoo and conditioner. These smell absolutely amazing! They are not the best shampoo and conditioner I have tried, but they are pretty good, and I love both the smell and the packaging! So cute and feminine. 

The next shampoo and conditioner I have are these moisture repair ones from MoroccanOil. I have had their hair mask for quite some time and really like it, so when I received these for Christmas I was really excited. I have only used them a couple of times, so I can't say much about their long term effect on my hair, but I really like them so far! They leave my hair super soft and it feels really moisturized and hydrated.

The last two shampoos I have are the Origins no deposit and Define pure shine. 

I've had the Define one for  a really long time and there's only a tiny bit left of it. I really really like it. It leaves my hair feeling soft and shiny and it also smells really good.  

The Origins shampoo is a clarifying shampoo for when there is a lot of product build-up in your hair or when you just want to clean it really thoroughly. I like it a lot! It smells really fresh and citrus-y, and my hair looks really good after I've used this.

 Finishing off with the last hair product I have in my shower, the MoroccanOil intense hydrating mask for dry and damaged hair. I've had this for over a year (I think) and it is an amazing hair treatment. I don't use it as often as I probably should, but when I do my hair feels so good afterwards. I like to use it after I've used the Origins shampoo because I feel like that shampoo makes my hair very clean and then the treatment will get deeper into my hair. Don't know if that actually works, but I like to think so.
I also sometimes use this when I'm taking long haul flights because the air on planes is usually very drying. I just put a little bit in my hair and braid it, and when I arrive at my destination I was it out and my hair feels super soft.

For my face I sometimes use the Neutrogena pink grapefruit face wash. If I'm not having a lot of trouble with my skin I'll use one of the origins face cleansers, but I'm out of that at the moment. I really like the smell of this product, and it does the job of getting my face clean. 

 When I want to really exfoliate my skin I use this Seacret salt & oil scrub. It has minerals from the dead sea, and it makes my skin so soft and smooth. I don't know what else to say about this other than that I really like it! It also has a very pleasant smell, almost like you're in a spa.

This is another body scrub. This one's from the Sephora brand, and I'm actually not the biggest fan of this one. The exfoliating bit works fine, but it has a really sweet bubble gum smell to it that I don't really care too much for. It's still ok, but not my favorite.

 For other body washes I have this shower gel (left) which is actually from IKEA. It smells really good and does the job, so I like it. I also have the Summer's Eve cleansing wash for days when I want to clean up a bit extra..

And last but not least, these are the "tools" I use in the shower. My Venus vibrance razor and a pink loofa. I didn't actually start using a loofa until fairly recently, but I really enjoy how it lathers up the shower gel, and I just feel a lot cleaner when I use it compared to when I don't.

So that's it! You now know all the things that I keep in my shower at this moment. I hope you found this somewhat interesting. Please tell me what your shower essentials are, I'm always looking for new products to try out! :)

How to be happy - my new year's resolutions

So I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos recently, an one of my favorite people to watch, Nikki Phillippi, is doing a series this month called "How to be happy January". And that is actually something I've been thinking about a lot lately. I'm the kind of person who is very happy if everything is good, but once things starts getting a little rougher I'm not exactly a ball of sunshine. It doesn't have to be anything major at all, but it really affects not only my mood, but also the mood of people around me. I have a tendency to always look either to the past or to the future and never really enjoying my life right now. I will think about how good my life was last year or a couple of years ago, or I'll say to myself that in a few years everything will be a lot better, when I only have achieved that goal and gotten those things and so on. I've realized that this is not the way that I want to live my life, and that I am never going to be fully happy with anything later on if I can't enjoy my life right now.

"If you're not enjoying the journey you probably won't enjoy the destination"

- Joe Tye

There is nothing wrong with my life. I am not sick, I have a loving family that I am very close to, the greatest boyfriend and a handful of really good friends, a nice apartment and I'm taking a pretty good education. So what is there not to be happy about?
If you had asked me that question a little while ago, not that long at all actually, I would probably have named a dozen different things. But at the end of the day I've realized that these things are only minor details. Life is never 100% perfect, but that's just.. well, life. I am not going to be happy sitting around and waiting for my life to be perfect, because it never will be. But I've also realized that it's pretty darn close. So that is going to be my new years resolution this year. I am going to appreciate the things that are in my life right now and spend my time doing things that make me happy. I am not saying that I will go crazy and do fun stuff all the time, but I am going to try to focus on the positive and not the negative, which shouldn't be that hard as there are way more positive than negative in life.
I realize that you shouldn't just ignore your problems, but that's not really what this is about. I'm a big believer in solving problems contra ignoring them, but dealing with problems is a different thing than drowning in them.

And I also have the "regular" resolutions.. To be more active, eat healthily, be more organized, study regularly and so on, but I feel like all of these tie back to being happy. These are all things that I know will make me feel better and happier if I keep them up. If I work out regularly and eat food that's good for me, I know that it will affect my mood and how I feel. I will feel a lot better, both physically and mentally, and will therefore also be happier.

As any other new year's resolution I probably won't be able to keep this up every second of every day. I'll have days where I just want to crawl back into bed and stay there. But I feel like when your attitude toward something changes your actions will follow, and hopefully I will have a lot fewer "down-days" and a lot more good days as the year progress.

So, if you're still reading.. What are your new years resolutions? And what do you do to be happy?

The BEST of 2012!

As 2013 just began, I thought I would do a recap of some of my favorite products and things from 2012.

BEAUTY
1. Face product

I'd have to say the VitaZing moisturizer from Origins. It's an overall great product that moisturizes really well, has SPF 15 to protect your skin and also has a tiny bit of color which makes your skin look really healthy and glowing. 

2. Cheek product

I am not really big on blush on an everyday basis, but my favorite for special occasions and stuff like that has to be the Tarte Amazonian Clay blushes. They have amazing pigmentation and lasts all day. I have the colors Blissful and Exposed and if i had to pick, I would probably say that exposed is my favorite even though I love them both. I also really love and regularly use the NARS Laguna bronzer which is really fantastic. It might qualify as a face- and not a cheek product though, I'm not really sure. 

From left to right: Exposed, Blissful and Laguna

3. Eye product

The one that I have used and loved the most has to be the They're Real mascara from Benefit. I don't know what else to say other than that it makes my lashes look really great. I got that one when I was in NYC this summer and before that I was using the Maybelline One by one mascara which is also really good. 

The Urban Decay Naked palette is pretty much the only eye shadows I've been using this year. It is so versatile and also great to travel with. 

4. Lip Product

When I think back there are two lip products that sticks out from this past year; Clinique almost lipstick in Black Honey and Dior Addict Lip Glow color reviver balm. They're amazing both for everyday use and for a special occasion. 

5. Skincare Product

I have to admit that I am quite bad when it comes to skincare. I go through fazes where I am really taking care of my skin, but then sometimes I am just too lazy to care to much about it. One thing that I was especially enjoying this summer was the Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit oil-free cleanser. It spells so good and also cleanses my skin really well.

6. Nail Polish

For the entire year I would have to say Essie's Ballet Slippers. I always come back to that color when I don't know what to paint my nails. I also really like Essie's Bahama Mama, Cute as a button and Thigh high.

From left to right: Ballet slippers, Thigh high, Cute as a button, Bahama mama

7. Hair product

Probably the Oil miracle hair therapy finishing treatment from Schwartskopf. My hair is really dry and frizzy, but this oil has been helping out a lot.

8. Body product/Perfume

The perfume I've been using regularly for probably the last two years is the DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom. I use a couple of other perfumes now and then, but that's the one I always come back to. I really want to get the Chanel Coco Mademoiselle perfume, so that's on my wishlist for 2013. 

FASHION
9. Clothing piece 

How are you supposed to pick only one of a few clothing pieces from an entire year? From what I've worn most over the year it's probably my AE sweater, Forever 21 blouse and A&F dark washed jeggings. 

10. Accessory 

My pearl earrings. I wear them pretty much every day and I love them. And also my necklace from my boyfriend  and my new glasses that my dad got for me earlier this fall.

11. Pair of shoes

My Abercrombie & FItch flip flops. I've had them for a couple of years now and they are kind of starting to wear a little bit, but i still love them a lot. I also love my black ballet flats which goes with pretty much any outfit.

RANDOM
12. Favorite TV Show/Movie

I have way too many favorite TV shows. I love The vampire diaries, Pretty little liars, Glee, Grey's Anatomy, and the list goes on... But some new shows that I've started watching this year and really have been enjoying a lot are Game of Thrones, How I met your mother (I know I'm late on that one) and Modern Family. I really like Game of Thrones and have also read a couple of the books in the series, and How I met your mother and Modern family are just two very funny and enjoyable shows to watch. 

Favorite movie... Choosing from movies that came out this year, I really liked The Hunger Games, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Breaking Dawn Part 2. I also saw Life of Pi recently and I loved one that as well.

13. Favorite book

I haven't actually read that many books this year, but I really enjoyed reading A Game of Thrones and A Storm of Swords from the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin. They are kind of heavy books that takes some time to get into, but once you do you really get sucked into another world and they are just really good books. 

Another book I loved in 2012 was Divergent by Veronica Roth. It's the first book in a dystopian young adults book trio. In the book, people are divided into factions depending on which of five different values is the most important to you. You are born into the faction your parents are in, but when you reach a certain age you have to take a test to see where you best fit in, and after that you can choose which faction you want to be in for the rest of your life. The main character in the book has some unusual test results, and the book follows her through dealing with that, love and a society that might not work as well as it seems.  

14. Food

Sushi and fresh fruit like strawberries and pineapple. I could eat that any day!

15. Beverage

Kind of boring, but I have to say water. I've been drinking a lot of water recently, and it is pretty much the only thing I ever drink. I like drinking it and it is also really good for you, so that's always a bonus. 

Source

16. Favorite song

Again, that is just not possible... But here is a list of some of the songs that I have been listening to a lot:

Science and Faith - The script

Drive By - Train

Hey Soul Sister - Train

We Are Young ft. Janelle Monáe - Fun

Without you feat. Usher - David Guetta

Stereo Hearts ft. Adam Levine - Gym Class Heroes

Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga

Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift

Red - Taylor Swift

So Good - B.o.B

Summer Paradise ft. Sean Paul - Simple Plan

One More Night (Youtube Collab) - Alex Goot

Crash and Burn - Lifehouse
A Team - Ed Sheeran