1. BEAUTY DISCOVERIES

It’s about time I tell you about the above products. I have been using Eve Lom’s eye cream for weeks and it’s one of the nicest eye creams I have tried so far. It does not irritate the area around my eyes but makes it feel nourished and calmed. Grade: A! When I was sent the new “Phyto Replenish Oil” by Dermalogica, I did not know what to expect. Now that I have been using it a few times, I can honestly recommend it. I am usually a little skeptical about face oils because my skin tends towards impurities, but when  I apply this oil in the evening, I wake up with skin that looks refreshed and smoothed! And talking about refreshed skin: You may know I am a big fan of face mists – and my newest addiction is the “Hyaluron + Bloom face toner” by Lovely Day Botanicals. So nice! I am also currently trying out their face nectar and “coco gloss” (coconut!) hair serum. All of their products look and smell amazing, they’re natural, vegan and they actually work! Another recommendation: I usually don’t take supplements but when I heard about Ogaenics’ “Vitamin B complex” I was hooked. The capsules are vegan and contain a mix of vitamins from organic ingredients that will help you to stay healthy during hectic times.

Also in the above photo: my beautiful, delicate gold bracelet by Anni Lu, which reminds me of summer, a mini version of Coqui Coqui’s “Coco Coco” perfume, which I am currently addicted to, and little cosmetics bag by Niche-Beauty.

2. GUCCI DIONYSUS BAG

I have already written about my new Gucci Dionysus bag here, but of course I have to include it in this list. It accompanies me almost every day at the moment.

3. HAIR CARE FAVOURITES (AND A BODY SERUM)

I have already shared some of my favourite shampoos and hair treatment sprays, but I need to tell you about Ouai’s hair oil, too. It smells wonderful and makes my (formerly) dry ends look really healthy! I also like their medium hair spray, which holds your hair in place and gives it a little more structure without being sticky. After using the hair oil I spray some sea salt spray into my hair upside-down to give it more volume. I currently like the “Elderflower salt spray” by Less is More. When I think my hair looks a little flat later on in the day, I sometimes use Yarok’s dry shampoo powder to freshen it up (just don’t use too much of it).

Okay, here’s a confession: it’s a bit paradox, but while I absolutely love hair treatment products I use almost no hair tools. Hair dryer, yes. But straightening iron, curling tong and the likes? Too much effort! However, I have recently discovered a hair brush which is actually, seriously amazing! It’s called “The No. 1 brush” and it’s by Michael Van Clarke. It doesn’t feel like you’re brushing your hair, because it’s so soft and careful, even when your hair is wet. It feels almost like a delicate massage. I love it! Same goes for Invisibobble hair bands – I was probably the last person to discover them but now I understand why they’re so popular. I love them because they don’t damage my hair when I tie it back for my workouts.

Last but not least: not a hair care product, but still a new favourite: the “Re-activating body serum” by Björk & Berries – it smoothes and nourishes the skin visibly. I use it on my whole body before I go to bed because it’s quite rich.

4. BAN.DO IPHONE CASE

I have been keeping my phone in a water glitter case every since I first discovered them last year. I had bought both my iPhone 4 and iPhone 6 glitter cases from eBay. When my case broke because I dropped my phone, I decided to invest in a “softcover” version by Ban.do which I found at Hello Love Hamburg. I think it’s a little more high quality. I added some Japanese stickers to make it even more fun.

The bracelets in the photo are by Missoma.

5. REARRANGED BOOK SHELVES

In my previous blog post I wrote about rearranging my book shelves, and here’s the result. These are (by far) not all of the books I own, but they needed some more shelves so they can stretch out a bit. Now I’m thinking about changing the pictures in the living room …

6. TEA TIME

Simple pleasures of autumn: rediscovering my love for tea after a several months long affair with iced coffee. My favourite is green tea, sencha and matcha to be precise. Kusmi Tea’s ginger and lemon green tea is very nice. And my personal tip: vervain tea. I love to drink it in the afternoon and evening. Give it a try!

The ceramic tea cup in the photo is by Sinikka Harms.

1. SUMMER MAKE-UP

I must admit, due to the rareness of sunshine in Hamburg my post-holiday tan has already disappeared again for the most part. So I love to use bronzing powder to recreate a bit of a sunny glow in my face. First I apply concealer, foundation and rouge (I currently love Rodial’s blusher in “South Beach” – it’s such lovely colour!), then I add bronzing powder along my cheekbones. Guerlain’s “Terracotta” in “02 Natural Blondes” looks very natural and pretty on my skin – a true summer staple! I carry Rodial’s “Aspen” concealer in my handbag in case I need to freshen up during the day (it’s amazing, it provides good coverage and is very easy to use!). Another thing I currently have in my handbag is Perricone MD’s “No lipgloss” lipgloss. It’s like your own lip colour, but better. If I want a little more girly look I’ll use YSL’s Rouge Volupté Shine in “41 Corail à porter”, a very pretty, light pink (and that scent!). And I also carry Eyeko’s “Eye Do” Mascara with me (it’s waterproof, so it even survives a spontaneous dip in the pool – or heavy rain, depending on the weather conditions). By the way, my make-up bag is by Liberty.

2. BALENCIAGA BEACH BAG

Speaking of bags … For my birthday my boyfriend surprised me with the most luxurious beach bag by Balenciaga (and the biggest Mytheresa box I have ever seen). Now I cannot wait for our next sunny holiday so I can put this bag to good (and stylish) use!

3. BIRTHDAY SPARKLE

My friends and family know me so well, haha. My girlfriends gave me this delicate silver bracelet by Pernille Corydon, while my sister surprised me with this moon necklace she bought in New Zealand, and Missoma gave me this beautiful lightning charm bracelet for my birthday. Thank you all! I’m wearing these pieces every day.

4. HAMBURG FOR WOMEN ONLY

If you follow me on instagram you’ve probably already seen this. Something very exciting happened this month: the book my colleagues and me had been working on for several months finally came out! It’s called “Hamburg for Women only” and it’s a new city guide with personal recommendations and interviews. We’re so happy to finally hold it in our hands. Check it out!

5. SUMMER WORKOUT GEAR

Yes, sometimes new workout clothes can actually give you a lot of motivation to work out. That’s definitely true for my new Nike training shorts and top and these supercool “Flyknit” training shoes (they absolutely need to jump, run, race and dance around, don’t you think? Then again, they’re so pretty they’d look amazing anywhere). And my friends from Hello Love kindly gave me one of the very pretty and sustainable water bottles by bkr, which I now take everywhere I go.

So after my post about things that help from the inside here’s:

2. BEAUTY PRODUCTS THAT HELP FROM THE OUTSIDE

On the above photo you can see two products that I love to use in the shower (especially after a workout, to increase its positive effects). Cowshed’s “Uplifting shower scrub” not only smells very refreshingly of tangerine, it also leaves your skin super soft. I like to use it with a massage brush (for instance this one) to stimulate circulation and to really wake up the body. If you’re brave enough you can take hot/cold showers, too (they’re very effective, I just cannot always bring myself to do them).

After showering I like to use a firming body lotion. I’ve already shared one of my favourite products in this post, but I recently got to try “Super fit size zero” by Rodial – stupid name, great product. The lotion feels and smells very good and absorbs into the skin quickly. For those typically dry areas of the skin (shin, knees, elbows, old scars from motorbike accidents) I like to use a body oil – especially in winter. Obviously there are a hundred luxury products but Bi-Oil is still one of the best-value products I know.

Let’s move to the face. And here I need to go further back a bit. My facial skin is quite schizophrenic, as it tends to be dry but is also blemish-prone in some areas. Especially after my over-indulgence in sugar during the month of December it felt like my skin was kind of out of balance. I have tried out a lot of different products but now I think I have found something that truly works for me. A beautician introduced me to the brand Gly Clean by med beauty swiss a while ago. Their “extra moisturizer” always feels like water to my parched skin and at the same time it has an antibacterial effect and calms my twitchy skin. If these problems sound familiar to you, I recommend you try it out. Gly Clean also makes a “gel” with 5% of fruit acid that I use every other night to improve my skin.

Apart from that, I like to use my Clarisonic face brush to clean my skin and to “renew” it (I’m still looking for the perfect cleansing gel/foam/product, I’ll let you know when I have found something I love). About once a week I use a face mask – currently I love JorgObe’s “refreshing scrub mask” which you can either use as a face scrub or leave it on for 10 minutes and use it as a deep-cleansing mask.

On the photo you can also see a product that Niche-Beauty kindly sent me to try out – and that I immediately fell in love with: Kypris’ “Antioxidant dew”. It’s a serum that moisturizes your skin and at the same time fights inflammations. The beautiful packaging is just an extra. (I think their “Clearing Serum” is great, too).

Okay, one more thing before I finish: I have rediscovered the “Tanaka face massage”. I actually believe that my face looks fresher after the massage. I recommend you use a moisturizer or face oil when doing it. Give it a try!