Looking Back | 50TH POST!!!

Hello lovelies! How are you today? I'm really, really excited for this post because I'll have the chance to evaluate these past months since I decided to start a blog, something that has changed my life quite a lot. We're celebrating that this is my 50th post, that I just got my 3999th view AND that I just got 50 followers on Bloglovin! I know many people have more, but it's a great deal for me and I can't thank you enough. And today, on this 50th post, I wanted to share my thoughts with you, and I'll do it by giving awards to different categories! You'll see how it goes :) Enjoy!

My favourite post
This one is really hard for me. I feel like my favourite posts are the most heartfelt ones, and even after almost six months, I think I would go back to Little Me as my number one favourite (gosh, I've just reread it and I'm crying so much.) It was such an important post for me and I think it explains a lot of who I am, I poured it all into those words. Those early posts, when I had no clue what blogging was about and just wrote about whatever felt important, are all among my favourites. The second place would definitely be for QOTW #6 (Down Syndrome Day). Special mentions to Blank Pages, My Blessing, QOTW #1 (The Sun Will Rise) and QOTW #5 (Being Light).

My least favourite post
QOTW #9 Short Wisdom is THE LAZIEST post I've ever written. I was just too tired, so I gathered small quotes I liked and added pictures for all of them. I keep thinking I could have focused on a quote or two and write some thoughts about them. Maybe it would have taken me as long as gathering the quotes did, and the post would have something mine. Maybe that's what I regret the most. All my posts have like a print of myself, and that one doesn't.

Best thing about being anonymous
You can write ANYTHING you want. "Oh, I can't say this because my friend who reads it will know who I'm making a reference to and..." no. It's like a fresh start. And this freedom makes you take it more seriously. People here are getting to know you from scratch, so you better work hard for them. It's not like I hide who I am really, because if someone who knew me stumbled upon this blog they would absolutely know it's me, and I don't care that much to be honest. But right now... I'm loving being anonymous :) And if you wonder, I've told some people I write a blog, but I haven't told the name to anybody.

Worst thing about being anonymous
When something exciting happens, like when you get an incredibly nice comment, you can't share it with your friends or acquaintances. You feel like you want to say "Look how nice and awesome this person is!", but you can't. It's okay though.

Most mindblowing thing
THE WORLDWIDE REACH. It just... it's unbelievable to me! People from maybe 50 countries have read my words and that is craaaaaaaazy. When I had readers from 7 different countries I printed a blank world map and started to paint a country every time I had someone reading my blog from there. And look at this beauty. (1- I haven't finished the outline of the sea, I knoooow! 2- If you don't see your country coloured PLEASE let me know!)

It keeps getting more and more coloured. Shoutout to the 10 countries I get the most reads from, in the following order:
-US
-Spain
-UK
-Australia
-Philippines
-New Zealand
-Taiwan
-Poland
-Canada
-Bahrain

Most nervewrecking thing
When I'm about to post something really personal or my opinion on a controversial topic. You always feel vulnerable and exposed, right? It's okay though, because you're the best and are always so supportive :)

Most exciting thing
When I read certain comments, mainly on said personal or controversial posts and see people get what I'm trying to say 100%. Have I already said you're the best?

Most curious thing
It's always curious to see your reactions to certain posts. My beauty posts are usually the ones with the most views and comments, but the ones with the most saves and +1 on google are the thoughts ones, such as the quotes of the week. I sometimes think maybe there are too many quotes and you'll get bored, but then I see that even though not so many people find it interesting, they really help and they're really embraced by those who do. Something else that's really curious as well is how Easy and Happy, which is one of the most read posts, only has 4 comments (and 2 are mine!)

My favourite thing about blogging
It has to be all the people I interact with. You guys are the reason for what I do. Reading your posts, commenting on them, reading and answering your comments, taking what you say into consideration, emailing some of you... this is something undeniably awesome. Thank you, thank you and thank you for sharing this ride with me.

My least favourite thing about blogging
When I'm busy, posts and comments I owe keep piling up and they might become a burden. I want to comment on all of your posts and I carry the weight of my conscience until I do! I feel like I might put too much pressure on myself because of that.

Advice I would give to bloggers
Just have fun with it. Don't get too worried and pour your soul into your blog. If you're honest and natural, you'll find people who will connect to you. Write about what is important to you. Don't worry about the views. Interact with others, don't forget about people who comment on your blog and comment back. Just enjoy the ride alongside the people who are willing to take it with you :)

Thank you, all of you, for these past months. Blogging has become something key to my life and I feel like I've grown so much. I'd love to know your opinion on what you'd like to see for the following 50 posts and all the posts that come. What posts have been your favourites and you would like to keep reading. Just your general opinion!

I'll see you on Friday. Until then...

A big big hug,


Acqua

Top Essence Products & 2000 views!

Hey hey hey! Today I'm reaaaally happy because I REACHED 2000 VIEWS! It's been only a month and a day since I told you I reached 1000 views and I did not in a million times think I would double it in just a month. This blog is a blessing. Thank you so much for trusting me and spending a little bit of your time in my corner of the internet ^^ I'll be forever grateful!

I've been requested before to talk a little about the makeup I use, and I thought I could share it! I started this post as a "Makeup Bag" post, but then I saw how much Essence there was and I decided to make it just Essence. But before starting, let me warn you that I don't use makeup that often and I'm not an expert. I haven't owned a lot of products so I can't really compare quality-wise... So forgive me if I say something that's completely wrong! What I can do, though, is share what I use and maybe you can tell me about what alternatives I can find and if you have used them as well.

Also, my makeup is bought exclusively in a place in my village, and the only brands that they have are Maybelline, Essence, Basic Cosmetics and Rimmel. I've been asked that too, so there you go! That's why I'm jealous when I see all of the cheap and awesome brands you use hahaha Now that I've told you that, let's move on to the Essence products I like the most!

 EYES

All About Bronze Eyeshadow Palette
They're quite new, but I've put them on on a couple of concerts and they work pretty well! They're not as pigmented as I would've liked them to be, but they're quite shiny and long-lasting. I think they cost me about €5, so it was definitely a good deal!

These are from left to right, first row and then second row

Multi Use Eyeshadow Brush
This is honestly perfect for me because I have everything I need in one brush: you can see in the picture there is an angled brush, a sponge and a crease brush! It doesn't have the best quality but it works the way it needs to. I don't think you should buy it if you use makeup often, but for a few occasions it's the perfect one.

All Eyes On Me Mascara
I put this mascara on my March Favourites and I stand by it. It gives that little extra and I've been putting it on everyday recently; no other makeup, just mascara. It lasts all day long and it doesn't make my lashes look too big, it just accentuates them. I really like it!

I <3 ROCK Gloss Eye Pencil
I actually rescued this one a month ago from old makeup, I think I hadn't worn it for over a year! I don't use it a lot but it's my favourite one from Essence. It tends to fade a little bit, but apart from that, it's a good eye pencil! (I don't even think they make it anymore, but whatever hahaha)

LongLasting Eye Pencil in the shade 09 Cool Down
Okay, this eye pencil is really good, but it has a problem: I'm not crazy about the shade! I messed up when I bought it hahaha But the eye pencil itself is long-lasting and precise. I'm definitely gonna but a black one if I can find it! It's kind of bittersweet, because it's good but I don't wear it because of the shade. If blue eye pencil looks good on you I totally recommend it!


LIPS


XXXL Nude Lipgloss in the shade 03 Taste The Sweets
This one was actually on my Lip Product Tag! It's my favourite lipgloss I've ever owned: it has a beautiful pink tone and it's not sticky at all. It doesn't dry your lips, which is not easy to find in drugstore lipglosses! I still have to try their matte lipglosses, which I got recommended, I'll let you know if I like them as much as this one! ^^

Lipstick in the shade 13 Love Me
I didn't like it in the beginning to be honest, but I've put it on again after some months and I'm finding myself liking it! I find it looks a lot better if you apply it over a lip balm (maybe that's obvious but I didn't know it, okay? hahaha), this one especially. It's just a simple pale nude pink, and I think it only goes along well with a certain skin tone (maybe that's why I didn't like it in the beginning, I'm paler now haha).

Lipgloss + I Feel Pretty + Love Me

Lipstick in the shade 09 I Feel Pretty
I also put this one on my Lip Product Tag and it's my favourite! I think it gives life to your whole look. It's the one I wear the most on concerts (if you haven't realised, that's when I wear makeup hahaha). I have a problem with lipsticks: I feel really weird when I wear them full-colour, to put it in some way. These two let me apply them just slightly and they look really good like that. They are pigmented enough to be noticed but not too much, and that's something I love about them.


NAILS

Hello Autumn's Nailpolish in the shade 02 Meet My Pumpkin
This is quite misplaced because it's Spring and it's an Autumn shade hahaha But you know I had to include nail products in this! This is an AWESOME nail polish because it's thermo changing. It goes from a very pretty orange shade when it's hot to a brown shade when it's cold and you can't tell me that's not the greatest thing you've ever seen hahaha Essence released this range last Autumn and I fell in love with it. It's not really long-lasting but it can't have everything!






And that's it! Have you really gotten here? I might have gone off the rails a little bit, there are a lot of products hahaha I hope you didn't get bored! Let me know if you have any Essence products or just drugstore products in general that you recommend. Thanks for reading and I'll see you on Monday!

A big big hug,


Acqua

Top 5 Spring/Summer Nail Polish Shades & 1000 VIEWS!

Heya! How are you guys? As you see, there isn't a Quote of the Week this Monday, and this is because I've decided to change things up a little bit!

Looking back into my older posts I've realised that a lot of them are really similar. And I like that kind of posts, but I think I have to combine them with other things so this blog will cover more areas and you won't get bored with it! Don't worry though, it doesn't mean the QOTW is over, it just means that my schedule will change a little bit: on Monday, I'll alternate a QOTW and a Favourites post, and on Friday, who knows what might come! What do you think about it? Do you like the new schedule? Let me know if you have any suggestions!

I also want to thank you BECAUSE I REACHED 1000 VIEWS! This is honestly so crazy. Thank you so, so much for taking a little bit of your time to read and comment, it means the world to me! I started this blog a month and a half ago and I feel like I've come such a long way since then. And I also made the appearance of my blog a little more personal... what do you think about it?

So thank you again, and on with the post!

As you know, I'm not someone who wears make-up everyday, and I'm definitely NOT an expert on beauty-related things, but if there's one thing I absolutely love is having tons of colors to wear on my nails! I'm actually in a hiatus of buying new nail polish shades because I just had so many I didn't use all of them hahaha (I kept buying more and more, I love it!)

Spring is around the corner, and it's my favourite season, so I'm pretty excited about it! I'm seeing lots of people talking about their favourite Spring products, so this post was just meant to be. Again, I'm a drugstore girl, so my FAVOURITE brand to buy nail polish is Maybelline! They are so cheap (€1.99) and honestly, they dry so quickly, they don't crack until a long time has gone by... you can wear them for a couple of weeks and they still look amazing! I do have more brands, but my favourite Spring shades happen to be all from Maybelline's range Colorshow (previously called Colorama) hahaha Well, I hope you won't mind! So without any further ado, here are my absolute faves!



1- Canal Street Coral (shade 329)

This isn't only my favourite Spring/Summer shade, this is my FAVOURITE SHADE EVER. You can tell because I'm about to finish it (and it's not the first one I bought!) It's so bright and cheerful, the tone is reaaaaaally pretty (it's a kind of bright pinky orange), and I also have a t-shirt of the same shade, so when I wear both I just feel so well combined hahahaha I haven't worn it since September, I think, and I cannot wait to put it on again! It's also a lot better than it looks on the picture haha Trust me on this one!


2- Park Avenue Pink (shade 333)

It's a deep and bright pink, and it's the perfect shade to cheer you up! The only problem is you can't wear red clothes when you have it on, because they just don't match hahah But I love the tone, I highly recommend it!


3- Candy Apple (shade 15)

This is my favourite red because it's a bit darker than most reds and it's perfect when you want to feel a little bit more dressed up (you can't quite appreciate it in the picture.) It has a wine-y tone to it, but if you apply more layers it will be more plain red. It's up to you, depending on your mood and on what you decide! My personal preference is the wine-y shade :)


4- Urban Turquoise (shade 120)

This one can be controversial hahaha one of my best friends hates it because she only likes reds, pinks and so on, but I love it because it's such a statement and again, it just cheers me up when I see it! It definitely draws attention to the nails and it's a bold choice, but if you like this kind of shade, it's really good!


5- Broadway Blue (shade 335)

You know I had to buy it when I saw the name! You can honestly wear it all year long, because it suits all the seasons (I wear it a lot on Winter too), but I think it looks good on Spring too. It helps you get away of the typical colours but it's still bright and it has a cool vibe. I don't know if that made any sense hahaha I just like it a lot!


So there you go! I'm really happy about this post because I get to share one of my favourite things with you :) Let me know your favourite nail polish shade in the comments, and see you on Friday!

A big big hug,


Acqua