New In The Skincare Drawer

Welcome to a new post!

I haven't done a beauty related post in quite a while, and I thought since I have recently ordered some new skincare bits, I might as well show them to you today, and maybe some of you will be inspired.

It is one of my goals of this year, not only to use up all the skin and body care bits that I already own, but also invest in some better skincare. And since I got some vouchers for my birthday and Christmas, I just couldn't resist ordering some straight away.

I really focused on trying brands I haven't tried yet but wanted to, and also get a variety of brands and different products instead of getting pretty much the same things from just one brand.

If you are interested in seeing a proper review of any, or maybe  even all products, please let me know, and I'll totally do one! :)

Clinique Extra Gentle Intro Kit

I had been walking past these Clinique sets for so so long, yet I never got one because I was a little scared I would spend money on it to either not end up using it or my skin reacting badly. Yet, this time I somehow forced myself to do it, especially because I wanted to get the moisturizer and it was literally the same price without the other two products, which is pretty much why I decided to go for this.

It includes an Extra Gentle Cleansing Foam (45ml), a Clarifying Lotion (100 ml) and a Dramatically Different Moisturizing Cream (30ml).

So far, I am pretty happy with it, although I am still not quite keen on the smell of the clarifying lotion. But I will report back once I have properly tested it!

Origins Mask Samplers

Bloody hell I cannot tell you how happy I was when I realized that Origins are now selling small one use pots of their masks. I have been wanting to try them for ages, but never got them because the thought of spending so much money on a mask that either me or my skin might hate kept stopping me. But this time I just had to go for it, and I cannot wait to try them. Let's hope my next order will include a full size because I have completely fallen in love with it.

If you've ever tried any of their masks, please tell me what you think and which one's your favourite, I'd love to find out. :)

Khiels Turmeric & Cranberry Seed Energizing Radiance Mask

To be honest with you, I actually didn't buy this one, but you got it for free if you ordered for a certain amount of money, and I just could not resist trying something from Khiel's. And can we just talk about how freaking cute this tube is?? It's so small, I'm still not over it and I've had it for like two weeks already. I'm so ready to try this, and I am definitely keeping the tube once it's used up, just to stare at it haha.

I really hope you enjoyed this post, especially because I don't do as many beauty posts anymore. I'm really sorry if that's annoying you.

If you would like to see some more beauty related posts, or maybe you would like to see something completely different, definitely contact me, I am open for any inspiration! 😊 Definitely leave me some inspiration on what other products and brands I should try this year as well, I really want to invest a little bit more in my skin!

Have a phenomenal week! ♥

Love, Jacqueline Xx

Happy 1st Birthday!

Welcome to a new post!

I can't believe I'm actually typing this post already! Time has gone by so quickly, I can't even believe it. It feels like yesterday that I was preparing my first few blogposts to go up, yet today we are celebrating the first birthday of this blog! How? :o Exactly one year ago I published my first blogpost, welcoming you all to this new adventure.

I've owned a blog before, but never managed to keep it going as I wasn't only talking about things that I wanted to talk about, nor did I have the motivation to keep on writing posts. To be honest, I had that feeling a few times in this year as well, but I guess that's pretty normal. Everyone feels stuck at some point in their life, whether that's with school, work, friends, love, life in general or simply their hobby.

Leaving that aside, I've had the best time ever sharing my thoughts with you on so many different topics, and there are so many more on my list that I want to talk about in the future. I didn't force myself to write certain posts. Instead I posted the stuff that I felt like both writing and posting.

View numbers keep telling me what posts you guys love, which ones you didn't like as much, and which ones I definitely didn't promote enough. That is definitely a goal for the future year of blogging. I really need to get better at sharing.

I would like to say that I also want to write more posts in the future, but you should never promise anything on the internet, and with A-Levels getting closer and closer each month I'm pretty sure that's not what is going to happen. However, I do have so many fun things planned already for next year, and you will probably be bombarded with pictures and posts during those fun times, and I can't wait for you to see it. Not everything is fully secure yet, so I'm going to keep you on hold with that for a little longer, but if everything goes well in a few weeks I will be able to tell you about some cool plans for the next year! :)

One thing that has kept bothering me whilst owning this blog and blogging it away, is that I never feel like I engage with my readers enough. I've only gotten one comment on this blog the whole year, but I guess I can't blame any of you, and I am really not doing that. Please don't take this in the wrong way. Not even I comment 98% of the time when I read a blogpost, because I purely want to read and enjoy it. As my blog is still really small as well I can't expect that to happen.

Wow, I sounded so moody there, didn't I? I'm really sorry, I'm actually in quite a happy place right now. I haven't got any part of this blogpost planned, so again I'm just sprinkling it down as it gets into my head. I'm so so grateful that I have the opportunity to even share all of these thoughts and things that I enjoy and love with you. A few generations back I would have never been able to do this, and I don't know how I would've coped with all this inspiration and creativity wanting to burst out of my head. (To be honest, I probably would have found a way, but still.)

I'm so grateful that you guys read my blog, and that some of you actually keep coming back to it from time to time. Even if I don't know anything about you, I am so grateful that you take that time out of your day to read the words that I wrote. I've always loved writing, and I still do. I've always wanted to share my stories with people, and in some way this blog really satisfies that part of me and my childhood.

How crazy even is it that we now have the technology to share out thoughts with people that are thousands of kilometers away from us without needing to travel anywhere? We are so privileged, and we really need to be more grateful for it, as many negative sides there may be to it as well. We take it as self-evident (I hope that's the right word for it?), that we can do all of these amazing things, and that we don't need to read through a whole library in order to find an answer to our homework or have to travel somewhere to be able to chat to people all over the world and all that stuff.

Gosh, were is this leading, a few seconds ago I was still talking about this blog and you guys haha. Sorry about that.

Thank you so much to everyone who has read anything on this blog in the past year, whether it was one or a million times. Thank you for taking your time to read these weird thoughts that my head creates and makes me put down and publish for you. Thank you for giving me this tiny and cozy space on the internet and making me happy. I feel like my readers are my friends, even if they only listen. I can tell you whatever I want, and there's always at least one person that cares enough to listen.

Blogging has given me so much, and I feel so relieved that I no longer need to search for ways to share my opinions on things, instead I can share them with you directly. One day I might be looking back at this post and cringing at what I wrote. It's always that case anyway, isn't it? I'll probably be cringing about it by tomorrow, but whatever, that's life. Sometimes you need to put in a little cheese.

This one year has gone by so quickly. It feels like it passed in the blink of an eye, and now we are already off into year 2! So many things happened over this year, so many different blogposts and insights, so many pictures and words. Looking back, I don't regret any of them. Whether the post had 5 or 50 views.

Numbers don't always matter. My blog has currently been read a little over 2,8K times in one year. To some of you that might be such a small number, but to me it means a lot. I am thankful for every single one of them. This blog might be growing slowly, but who said big bloggers were able to pay their taxes etc from their blogging money after just one year of doing so? Zoella didn't become a huge blog from one second to another, nor did SprinkleOfGlitter or TheAnnaEdit.

Right now I am pretty happy with what I have achieved on this blog, and I never would have thought to even reach 1K views in a year, so that is pretty awesome. Who knows what will happen in the upcoming year of blogging?

There are so many possibilities, but we will all have to accept and live with whatever life throws at us. That's how life works. I have really been trying to work on that part in the past few months - accepting that things happen for a reason. There's a reason why you missed your bus this morning, because otherwise maybe you would've ended up in a car crash. There's a reason why you didn't do well on that exam, because maybe you need to stop thinking that you are too good to even study at all. There's a reason why you are having a bad day today, because there would be no rainbows without a little rain. What all of us need to remember at the end of the day is that:

(Source)

There's a reason why this is my favourite quote, and there's a reason why it was the inspiration for my blog name. It doesn't mean that I think my life is perfect and that I'm happy with everything that is happening in my life. I rather see it as a motivation to think more positively and remember that bad things happen in life, but there's a reason for that, and you need to make the best of it.

You've all probably stopped reading this already, right? :D Sorry if I bore you. I get a little carried away with my writing sometimes, but that's what you might get to see a little more often if you read this blog for a little longer. :)

As you are also part of this blog, because you are reading it, I thought it's only fair to share some 'numbers' with you. Here's a little recap for you. So here's a list of the most read posts:

1) Rituals Carpe Diem Shampoo Review

2) Girl Online On Tour by Zoe Sugg #BOOKREVIEWS

3) FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Danielle Peazer's Peace Eye Shadow Palette

Funnily, the number 1 post is actually one of my least favourite posts. I don't really know why, but you seemed to have loved it, so I guess I'm going to keep those reviews coming in the future. I love the other two posts in your favourites though! Great choice :D My favourite posts are all in the TOP 10 so I guess we pretty much agree in that case, which I'm really happy about.

Now let's talk about the least loved blogposts, you got to show some negative sides as well. Maybe someone actually would have liked this post and has just never seen it before? Think positively :D.

1) Beauty Wishlist

2) My Kindle Bookshelf Tour

3) 17 years, 17 places I have loved

Whaaat, I actually loved those Wishlist posts :o Wouldn't have guessed that, but okay good to know I guess. :D I'm not even going to try and bother to find an excuse why that happened. All three sadly are posts that took up quite a lot of time to write and edit. I'll take that into consideration on my future blogpost choices, and hopefully get an even better idea of what I will post about on my 18th :P

Let's talk about where most of my readers are from, as well, because why not? :)

1) USA

2) Germany

3) France

4) Russia

5) Ireland

I love that my readers come from so many different places, a few of them actually being on my list of places that I want to visit, so that is awesome! Also, these places are very different, so that's also lovely to see! :)

I guess you all must have enough of my talking that just won't stop. So I will try to keep this ending short, before we officially start into the second year of DANCINGINTHERAIN23. :D

Thank you so much for being part of this blog. Thank you for reading and thinking about what I am saying. Thank you for being awesome readers! Let's hope we'll one day be able to look back at this together and laugh about the good old times! I really hope you found joy in it, and will keep doing so. No matter what life throws at you, always remember the quote behind this blog name. Thank you for everything.

Have an incredible day!

Lots of love ♥

Jacqueline Xx

The Autumn Make-Up Bag

Welcome to a new post!

Hot chocolate, big sweaters, candles and dark lips. It's finally getting autumnal outside, and I am SO exited for it! I mean it's not as cold and drainy outside as I would like it to be, but still. I thought it would be the perfect time to put some Autumn in my make-up bag and share it with you, because who doesn't love a good autumnal make-up look, when it's finally time for dark shades on both lips and eyes?

Sleek - A New Day Eye Shadow Palette

L'Oreal Miss Hippie Mega Volume Mascara

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer

Tanya Burr - Enchanted Forest Lipgloss

Urban Decay Rush Lipstick

As Sleek is finally available in German drugstores now, I obviously had to get myself something. I treated myself to a new eyeshadow palette by them. I already own one, but 'A New Day' is much more of a year round palette for me compared to my other one. It contains lovely shades of brown and also a few highlighting glittery shades that are really beautiful.

Then there are the obvious things that I have always got in my bag, talking about the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer and the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder, which are the bomb!

Also one of the most recent mascaras by L'Oreal, which is the Miss Hippie one. It is a really beautiful mascara and definitely VERY waterproof because not  even my best make-up removers get it off easily at night, which can get a little annoying when you are quite tired, but in the end, it's pretty amazing.

Last but not least, one of the most important bits, especially in Autumn - Lips! I picked two options, one dark and one neutral one. Firstly Tanya Burr's Lipgloss in Enchanted Forest, which I am not sure whether you can still get it, as well as the Urban Decay Lipstick in Rush, which are both really lovely lip products, depending on your mood.

What are your Autumn make-up favourites? Do you have a particular look you prefer during this season? Are you ready for Autumn yet?

I hope you have an amazing day, and a good start into the new week ♥

Love, Jacqueline Xx

Garnier SkinActive Hydra Bomb Sheet Mask Review

Welcome to a new post!

I recently went on a German website called Sparwelt, where you can find really good offers if you want to save some money. There's also a page on which you have an overview of samples to sign up for, and I found this one for a new Garnier mask. As my favourite spot-reducing mask is from Garnier, I got pretty exited about trying it. This isn't sponsored by the way haha :)

To be honest, I had never tried a cloth mask before, so this was a whole new experience for me, which I thought would be really lovely to share. This is going to be a pretty small review, but I hope you enjoy it, as I feel like there's nothing better than a good mask during a pamper session! :)

The packaging says that the mask is supposed to be intensivly moisturizing and revitalizing, and give you a fresh and shiny skin, straighten fine lines and be easy to use. It's meant to be for pretty dry and 'tired' skin and moisturize your skin for a whole week.

I have a really nice app where you can check ingredients, called Codecheck - not quite sure if it's available anywhere apart from Germany though - and here are the results.

The mask includes 2 ingredients that are hormonally effective (Methylparaben and Propylparaben), another ingredient named is Pvm/ Ma Copolymer, which is makes it easier for all shitty bits that fly around to get into your skin. There are also 4 ingredients that are only recommended limitedly (is that even a word :D?).  The other 17 are all good. That isn't too bad I guess, but I am really not the biggest fan of hormonally effective bits in the stuff that I put onto my skin - I've seen a lot worse though, so it's alright, I guess.

The mask is pretty pretty drenched in the serum, so be prepared for that. It stays on for 15 minutes, before you either take the excess off or massage it into your skin. I definitely have to say that I prefer putting the mask on the places that I need it, but it hasn't put me off of sheet masks completely.

It felt pretty pretty moisturizing once I had it on, and I had the serum everywhere. When I took it all off, and had massaged the last few bits into my skin, my skin felt a little weird, inbetween being full of last bits of serum and feeling a little dry. As soon as the last few bits were dry, my skin definitely felt a little dry as well. That lasted for a little while.

It is now about an hour and half after I took it off, and I actually feel like I look slightly more glowy, especially around my eyes and my nose, as I don't look as dead anymore. My skin doesn't feel dry anymore, but it doesn't feel moisturized either. It's pretty much back to normal, I would say.

At the end of the day I have to say, that my skin basically feels as smooth as it would be on a good day. I can't really say anything about the results for really dry skin throughout the whole day, as I've got normal skin, but it might help you slightly.

To sum it all up - a nice sheet mask if you fancy one but don't expect too much from it. I don't think I would buy it, but who knows, as it deffo wasn't terrible, just not good enough for what I expected. However, the other mask that Garnier sells, which heatens up on your face, is incredible! So have a look into that if you want something that does amazing work when it comes to spots.

What's your favourite mask? Do you prefer sheet masks or normal ones? Leave me some comments, I would love to find out :)

Have a great day ♥

Love, Jacqueline Xx

A New Chapter

Welcome to a new post!

The time has finally come, that my blog has had a makeover! I've been wanting to change the look of it for a few months, even though I've not even owned it for a whole year! But I'm a person that loves a change of design, whether it comes to my room, my school supplies or my blog.

I have to say, I learned whilst playing around with the settings and templates, that I am not as good with this thing as I thought I could be. I really want to have some swishy pictures at the top, and have it really monochromy but still really pretty and full of colours. That didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it to, but I feel like I've still come up with a pretty decent result, which I am a lot happier with.

I added a little more purple, as I really like that colour, came up with a new header, changed up my whole side bar, to make it better and prettier at the same time, I corrected my 'ABOUT' and 'CONTACT' pages, and added some other little things.

I'm really looking forward to working on this blog even further, and write more and more blogposts. I've got quite a few lovely ones planned for the next few months, which I am really exited to share with you.

I've also put up a little poll on the side bar, where you can vote your favourite type of blogposts, so I have an idea of what you would like to see most of. You can also find my most popular blogposts of the past few weeks in the side bar, as well as being able to translate my posts, view every blogpost I ever made There are all of my Social Media links, where you can follow and contact me, as well as my most favourite quote, which gave me the idea what to name blog in the first place.

I'm now at 2,2K views as I am writing this, which for some of you might be pretty lame and not a lot, but to be honest, I am happy about every view I get, and I love seeing where all of you come from, and what blogposts are most popular. I won't end up as the new Zoella, I know that, so I'll not take any of these views for granted. I love this blog a lot, as I can talk about everything that I feel like getting off of my chest. I really want to thank every single one of you, that have ever read a blogpost of mine, everyone that is reading this right now. Thank you for giving me this space. Thank you for listening and reading.

If you are thinking about starting a blog, I can only recommend you to start right now. Go do a little research, and then start straight away. What the hell are you waiting for? You ain't going to be able to talk about all the stuff you love, if you don't start right now. It might be a little hard to keep up at some points, but if you really want it, it will be worth it! We spend way too much of our life time doing things we don't want to do, and waiting till we do the things that we actually do want to do.

I'm still not 100% happy with the design, but it's a start. I might as well take it as a chance to learn more about this stuff, to keep on making it better. I'd love to see you guys engage in it. What do you want to see? What don't you want to see? What do you want me to talk about that you would love to hear about? Is there a certain topic you think I should address, or a certain product you would like me to try and talk about, would you like to see more personal stuff, or stuff about people I adore? Tell me anything, and I will make it work out. This isn't only my blog. It's also yours, and I want you to be part of it.

I'm going to spend a few days in Berlin soon, where I'll have some blogposts prepared, and I am about write something else that I am pretty exited to post about, apart from my Berlin adventures of course,  - Potterheads get exited! ;)

Also let me know, how you like the new design! And tell me how your day has been so far!

I hope you have an amazing day, and an amazing week ♥

Love, Jacqueline Xx

Sephora Wishlist

Welcome to a new post!

I haven't been looking that much into getting new make-up recently, purely because I have enough of it (though it isn't that much) and I am trying to save money. Yet, there are a few things I like looking at if I ever feel the need to treat myself again. I don't really have the chance to order on Sephora without spending a huge amount of money, nor do I often go to France to have a stroll around the store. I thought I'd make a little list of bits I'd like to treat myself to in the future, and share them with you, as my wishlist posts seem to be quite popular on this blog! :)

Smashbox Try It Kit - Primer Authority

I cannot even tell you how many times I've put Smashbox bits into my basket, but then decided against buying them. Yet, I am still quite interested in trying them, as a lot of people are raving about them. I don't really own any good primers, probably making this the perfect set to start off with. $29 isn't that much either for that many different samples to try, even in Euros!

Tarte Tartelette In Bloom Clay

I've always been a massive eyeshadow palette freak, as I love experimenting with different colours, and I would rather invest in a full package of new colours, instead of a single eyeshadow. This palette seems perfect, as it contains both brown and pink shades, which I personally love using. $45 is pretty much the same price as an Urban Decay palette, which I think is okay if it's just as good as that one!

Sephora Cream Lip Stain

These lip stains are so hyped up on the internet, that I can't do anything but feel the need to try them. They are definitely the one product I want the most from the original Sephora collection. I mean they are $14, but I guess that would be alright to pay if they are as amazing as everyone says they are. They also come in various different shades, so there is something for each type of person to find.

Origins 24 Hour Glow

Origins is another brand that I have been putting in my basket, only to order everything except that product that I had chosen. This set seems perfect, even if it is $45, as it includes several different products to try. There's a mask, a moisturizer, another moisturizer with SPF and an eye cream - everything I am looking for. If you have any experiences with Origins skincare, I would love to find out! :)

Sephora Face Mask

I think I've already put this on my actual beauty wishlist, but I still haven't had a chance to purchase it, even if I really want to try it. There are plenty to try, even if I think they might be a little pricey with $6 each, but yet they are worth a try, aren't they? ;)

Tarte Tarteist Lip Contour Set

Maybe I mainly want to try this, because Tarte packaging is so nicely designed, but I truly think this is a very nice set. It's quite travel friendly, and I think $12 is alright for that. This set only comes in this shade, but it looks alright to me. I don't currently own any Tarte products, but I feel like this would be a nice way to try some of their products.

Nudestix Love Is Louder Lip + Cheek Pencil

Yes, I am slightly obsessed with lip products, but this is another product that has been on my list for quite a while, ever since Danielle Peazer started talking about them on her blog in fact. They are pretty expensive, as one of these pencils is $24, but they look really elegant in my opinion, and worth a try.

What is on your beauty wishlist? Have you ever tried any of these brands before? I never get any comments on my blogposts, which I guess I have to accept, but I would truly love to chat to you. :)

Have an amazing day ♥

Love, Jacqueline Xx

P.S. I do not claim any copyright for these pictures! All rights go to their owners! I am not using these pictures to gain money, I am using them purely for fun and to inspire!