The Tanya Burr Nail Polishes

For me, personally, YouTube has nearly completely replaced TV for quite a long time now. However, I like to think that it’s a rather recent phenomenon that some YouTubers’ popularities seem to have absolutely gone through the roof. Nowadays, especially some specific British YouTubers appear like real filmstars when you hear how whole crowds go crazy once they have spotted one of them somewhere (seriously though, the screaming can be quite mental).

It’s also kind of become a habit for Internet stars to bring out their own merch like books, clothing, posters or similar stuff. I certainly don’t mind that at all, but most of these things just don’t really manage to catch my interest … maybe with only one exception to the rule: cosmetics!

What intrigues me most about beauty products brought out by YouTubers is how good the actual quality of these items is. Hitherto, my assumption has been that most of the budget would be spent on cute packaging as well as clever marketing and less on decent ingredients, nice formulas et cetera. Nonetheless, I was definitely willing to adjust my opinion, in case a product that I’ve tested out myself could actually persuade me!

It’s usually quite hard to get hold of most of these beauty items here in Germany, but when I spotted something from the Tanya Burr cosmetics range in TK Maxx I just had to get it – especially because it’s a set of nail polish that I’m talking about (not that I actually own nearly every colour of the rainbow, anyway).

There were different sets to chose from, each with three out of the ten polishes in total that Tanya has brought out by now. I actually managed to find one that includes all three of my favourite colours from her range! I don’t know exactly how much they originally are in the UK, but I paid about 10€ for the set which seemed like quite a good deal to me.

The shades I got are called Penguin Chick, Peaches & Cream and Little Duck.

But now, let’s see how they actually look on the nails!

1. Penguin Chick

I find this a really nice take on a grey nail polish. The slightly brown undertones in it add kind of a warm effect to the whole shade. It is a rather subtle hue which makes it the perfect colour to wear every day!

Nivea / Labello Lip Butters (+new flavour!)

Okay, so I must confess that I've been having a slight addiction to lip balms for quite a long time now. Seriously though, I got to know that it is in fact a real addiction .. even though that sounds a tiny bit too drastic in my opinion. However, having thought about it, I don't really get a problem on a day-to-day basis BUT I do have a problem when I forget to take a lip balm or some sort with me in my handbag when I go out. The urge to smear something on my lips can seriously get unbearable!

Luckily, my collection of lip balms has gotten big enough in the mean time to have at least one in every handbag that I own.

Right now, my favourite kind would have to be the Nivea / Labello lip butters. Originally, the Nivea lip butters were only available at the Nivea houses in Germany (I purchased mine in Hamburg). Fortunately, they are not only available in the Nivea online shop by now but German drugstores have also incorporated the Labello lip butters into their assortments. Although they are sold under different brand names, you get the exact same product as they are both produced by the Beiersdorf group.

The price is at 2,69€ when ordering online but you can often get them for cheaper in the drugstores. The lip butter comes in a small tin containing 16,7g / 19ml. 
To get some product out of its package you first have to necessarily swirl your finger around in it and then apply it to your lips. The product that will inevitably be left on your finger might in fact be the only downside to the lip butters. At least I wouldn't recommend making use of it during the winter time whilst wearing gloves. However, the remaining product on the finger is not really a problem for me personally as I simply apply it to the back of my hand, which certainly needs some extra care most of the time anyway.

Until recently, there were 5 different sorts out on the market:

1. Original
This is the neutral version of the lip butter as it has no scent or flavour. This is the perfect product for you if you're looking for simple and effective lip care without a lot of other fuss around it.

Pie In A Bottle

As I've already confessed to my love for apple-/bakery-scented things, it will probably come as no surprise to you that I just couldn't resist buying a product with the enticing name of "granny's apple pie".
While I was on one of my much-loved trips to TK Maxx there was a huge rack of highly reduced items. It looked pretty rifled through already which was why I kind of expected only the crappy stuff to be left. Far from it! A pretty packaging showing a girl wearing some sort of apple costume caught my eye. The product I'm talking about is a shower gel by philosophy.

Although I've always loved the smell of philosophy products I have to admit that I'm just too stingy to buy one of them for myself. As I was in TK Maxx, I knew of course that I wouldn't have to pay the full price for it but I certainly wasn't expecting it to be such a steal: 3€ instead of 16€! Without thinking for much longer I grabbed the item and threw it in my basket euphorically (slight exaggeration).

The Body Shop Winter Sale 2014/15

In my opinion, a good shop to always have a quick browse around when it comes to the end of a season would definitely be The Body Shop. I personally love the range of their different scents as well as the very nurturing effect most of the products have on my skin. One thing that I certainly DON'T love as much is the pricing in this shop. Of course, there are many other brands that charge much more horrendous prices, but for someone who is used to buying most of her products in the drugstore it still seems like quite a lot of money.

For all of those reasons I'm always more than happy to see a sale going on in their shops. Luckily, the last time I've been to one of their shops there were in fact many reduced items PLUS a "buy 3 pay for 2"-offer ! ☺

These are the products I ended up buying:

These three lovely, little bodybutters came together in a gift set of which I've unfortunately already ripped of the packaging (simply too much excitement). You're getting three 50ml pots from the Shea, Coconut and Chocomania series for 10€ (reduced from 15€).