This year went by so fast and I can only thank everyone that supported me. I'm so thankful for the amount of love and kindness, you guys have shown me... I am not one to care about statistics, but I gathered my top five most popular posts from 2015 and decided to add my personal five favorites as well. First of all, let's talk about the ones I think are worth checking out just in case you missed them.

Make Up For Ever HD Powder - This is a holy grail of mine. It really transforms your skin and it keeps your concealer from creasing. It has an incredibly soft texture and a flawless finish.

Blog Photography // Camera, Background & Lighting - When it comes to blogging, I know how difficult it is to figure it out all by yourself. So I created this long, but informative post where I shared everything you need to know about taking your pictures and getting them to stand out.

Sleek Makeup Antique Blush - This became my go-to blush the moment I bought it. It has the perfect amount of pigmentation and the color is so flattering on my pale complexion.

5 Lipsticks For Fall & Winter - I always find an excuse to talk about vampy lipsticks. These are a few of my favorite shades.

Maybelline Color Tattoo: Bad To The Bronze & Pomegranate Punk - If you love finding affordable dupes to high end products, you need to check out these eyeshadow bases. They are similar to the MAC Paint Pots, but way cheaper.

Now, moving on to your favorites.

MAC Antique Velvet Lipstick - This got so many views, I can't even believe. Let's be real, we all love MAC lipsticks (Right?!). This lip color is definitely one of my favorites and clearly, a lot of people feel the same way.

Nivea Men Sensitive After Shave Balm // The Best Primer - I believe the moment NikkieTutorials talked about using this as a primer, everyone went crazy for it. Of course, I had to try it out and share with you my honest opinion.

Sleek Makeup Havana Lipstick Palette - This post got so many views the moment Sleek Makeup shared it on their Twitter. I was definitely surprised by that, and of course extremely thankful. I love these lipsticks to pieces.

Sleek Makeup Birthday Suit Matte Me Lip Cream - Seeing how difficult it was to get this product, I knew people would definitely be interested in a review. This is such a beautiful lip color.

MAC Stone Lipstick - This lipstick is my absolute favorite for 2015. You could totally say that I'm in love with it.

Let me know in the comments below what you want to see here next year!  Have a great New Year's Eve and I'll see you in 2016!

I've always had trouble finding a powder to contour due to how pale I am. Usually, they turn out to be very warm toned, even when they originally look cool toned in the pan. I've heard many amazing things on this contour palette, so I decided to get it.

I truly appreciate this beautiful matte black packaging. It's made of sturdy cardboard, so it's not heavy at all. Some might say that this palette is not the most travel-friendly, because of its size. However, considering it comes with six powders, I don't mind carrying it around.

This comes with three highlighting powders and three contour/bronzers. They vary in shade, therefore they suit many skin tones. Even though I have a fair complexion, I find use for all of these powders. I will be showing this more in depth on my upcoming contour video. Overall, these are incredibly soft and buttery. They also blend really easily and the colors are just impeccable.

I have been using this kit every time I do my makeup for a while now, and you can't even see a dent on any of these powders. This is definitely a holy grail product of mine. They have the perfect amount of pigmentation. I know there are way cheaper alternatives out there, but for now I have to say this is the best one I've tried. If you have an affordable option, let me know in the comments.

Products:
MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot
MAC Oh, Darling
Urban Decay Naked Palette (Naked + Buck)
Sephora Pure White Nano Liner
Maybelline The Colossal Mascara
MAC Kinda Sexy Lipstick
MAC Antique Velvet Lipstick

If you go back to my older posts, you will notice how different my pictures looked like. I'm not saying I'm happy with every single photo I post, but nowadays, most of them make me feel quite proud of how much I learned and improved. Having a good camera, definitely helps, but I strongly believe the key is editing. A lot of people use Photoshop, however, I prefer to work on a budget (I don't like to spend money!). So all programs I use are free and very user-friendly.

PROGRAMS
Let's start with the basic, finding something that works for you. I have a few that I love, one of them is the free version of Photoshop. It is an online editor, which means you don't have to download and install a program. It has really incredible features.

PicMonkey is also very popular, and one of the easiest to use. I have to admit, this is my go-to at the moment. I mostly play with exposure, and in there, I change the highlights and contrast.

Finally, there is a program called paint.NET and you have to install it. It provides a lot of easy tools to improve drastically your pictures. I find useful to have a program that doesn't require WiFi signal. If you travel a lot or your Internet connection isn't the best, this is a great option.

BRIGHTNESS
This will sort of add a white cast to your picture. It will highlight everything, not only the white areas. I often avoid using this tool, because I like my pictures to look colorful, and this, for a lack of a better term, will suck the life out of your photo.

HIGHLIGHTS
I consider this my best friend. It brings out the white areas, and allows you to make it extra bright if you want. If overused, it will also look terrible. So keep in mind, moderation is the way to go.

CONTRAST
This is responsible for making my photos pop. It intensifies the colors. But I don't like to use this in excess, because it can make my photos look too bold.

SATURATION
If your white background looks blue or red, you can adjust it to look neutral by lowering or upping the saturation. I used to do this all the time, when I had a different camera. Now I only use this, when in my portraits I look like a ghost.

I'm a big fan of incredibly white backgrounds. If you prefer something more "realistic", just opt for subtle changes instead.

What program do you use to edit your pictures?

Related: Blog Photography // Cameras, Background & Lighting

No exaggeration, I've wanted to buy this lipstick for two years. For some reason, I would always choose another one instead. But I'm so glad I finally decided to purchase this product.

Kinda Sexy is described as a "neutral pinky rose". I agree partially with it, as I see a lot of peach in it as well. This is highly pigmented and it glides on so smoothly. Even though, this has a matte finish, I don't find it drying at all. Also, this lasts a little over four hours on my lips. I don't think I have ever mentioned this on my MAC lipstick reviews, but I'm obsessed with the vanilla scent they have.

This is a really versatile and flattering shade. You can either go for a basic everyday look, or a night out look. The quality is absolutely amazing.

I usually gravitate towards brownish/mauve colors, but I've been obsessed with light nude lipsticks. So I took advantage of Black Friday to get some gorgeous peachy shades.

Honeylove is described as a "light beige tone with rose", which I consider very accurate. This is definitely the most creamy and moisturizing matte lipstick, from MAC, that I own. The formula is fairly different from other matte lipsticks, this one is not as drying as those, and the color payoff is incredible. If you have any dead skin on your lips, you need to exfoliate before applying this product, or it will accentuate that area. This lasts around two hours, which is pretty good considering it's not a liquid lipstick.

I love this color and I know I will wear it all the time. Also, I find this kind of nude very flattering on many skin tones. I truly believe the quality makes this worth the price.

As a beauty junkie, I love buying and getting makeup for Christmas, or any time of the year. Here are some of my favorite high end products, that I think would be incredible gifts. As a matter of fact, a few of these I received last year on the Holidays.

One of my newest items, which I'm super excited about, is the Kat Von D Shade + Light contour palette. I've been using it nonstop, and this is perfect for any makeup lover. I'm obsessed with Dior packaging and the most important, the quality of their products. I swear by the 999 Rouge lipstick and the matching nail varnish. Let's be honest, Benefit makes the cutest kits. If I'm not mistaken, this one, She's So Jetset, was a limited edition. However, they always launch many new ones. I really like how this comes with some miniatures, so I get to test out the products without having to commit to the full size. Last but not least, highlighters. I highly recommend the MAC Soft and Gentle. It has a beautiful peachy champagne tone.

What is on your Christmas wish list?

If you're new to makeup, you might not see a reason to spend so much money on translucent powders. After all, they don't add any extra coverage to your face. However, they're one of the best powders to set your under eye concealer and prevent it from creasing.

This is quite a fine powder and it feels just like silk. It gives a beautiful matte finish and I love that when I use this, I won't have even a minimal crease. Unlike a lot of translucent powders I've tried before, this adds a "veil" on top of my cream products and it keeps them in place throughout the day. I can totally see this becoming a holy grail of mine.

Translucent powders can spark fear amongst some people, because they see pictures of celebrities at events with a white cast on their face. That's due to flashback, which is when you take a picture with flash and look way whiter than you should. But, if you use a little bit and blend it really well, this won't happen. Also, in day light you won't be able to notice that effect. So if you have an event to go at night, just skip this type of powder.