April Favourites

 

I can't believe it's now May! It really feels like only a few weeks ago I was popping open the Bucks Fizz on Christmas morning... Now it's time for the warmer months (hopefully) and I've been enjoying adding a little more colour to my face. The perfect product for this has been Soap & Glory's Solar Powder.

January Favourites

I thought I'd post a 'Favourites' post this month, I haven't done one in forever but I've been loving a few new things this month so thought I'd share.

First up is the Naked 3 Palette which I've used every single day. I'm still trying to figure out which are my favourite shades and which ones compliment each other the best but I've been loving it for any look I want, natural, formal or smoky, the Naked 3 can give you what you're looking for.
Seeing as it's the depths of winter, my skin has been in dire need of a pick me up and what better than MAC's Strobe Cream to give you a healthy glow? I used this in the summer and loved mixing it up with my foundation but this month I've been using it as a base and applying my foundation on the top and it's worked really fantastically at making my skin just look more fresh and dewy, plus my foundation has applied more smoothly over the top too.

I got the Origins Mask Marvels set for Christmas and I've been using the Clear Improvement and Drink Up Intensive masks a couple of times a week. I tend to use them both in the evening and leave the Charcoal mask on for up to 45 minutes and then apply the Drink Up Intensive mask straight after. I'm not sure my skin has been looking clearer but it's definitely been more hydrated.
I've found that my Java Rice Powder hasn't been cutting it recently and my skin has been looking shiny throughout the day, I rediscovered my L'Oreal True Match pressed powder which I've had for years (they've redesigned the packaging now) and that seems to be doing a much better job at keeping any oil away and mattifying my skin.

Finally, I made a little order on Latest In Beauty when they had free delivery for a weekend and got a couple of hair products to try. I've recently discovered I don't have to spend nearly 2 hours straightening my hair and a 15 minute blow-dry and a top layer hit with the straighteners is giving my hair a lot more volume and less heat damage, win/win. One of these products was the Nicky Clarke Instant Calmer serum and I've been applying a 10 pence sized blob through the lengths of my hair and it's been looking really sleek and feeling a lot smoother, when the sample runs out (think it's 20ml but I've used 3/4 times now and still got a few uses left) I think I may pick up the full size.

What have you been loving this month?

August Beauty Favourites

I’m blogging from the land of no internet… I’m in Wales for a week and I've had to try and use my phone as a hotspot and it’s not working too well haha! So that’s why this post might be a little more basic than usual.

I thought I’d do one of my infrequent monthly favourites posts as I actually made quite a few purchases during August and ended up really liking all of them.

MAC Strobe Cream – This was given to me for my birthday during July and I reviewed it here and I've just been loving it for adding a healthy radiant glow to my skin. Mixed in with my Healthy Mix Serum and it just looks so dewy!

Tresemmé Liquid Gold – I had been looking at purchasing a hair oil for a while, I’d obviously been eyeing up the infamous Moroccan Oil but just couldn't justify the price tag. When I saw this on offer for half price I snapped it up and it’s really helped to tame the frizz and make my hair look shiny and healthy.

Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara – I've raved on about Max Factor’s Masterpiece Max mascara numerous times but I think this may have just knocked it off the top spot. It’s volumising and stays put all day keeping the curl in my lashes and it has no clumping, I couldn't ask for anything more. I even accidentally picked it up in Black/Brown rather than standard black but it hasn't looked any different fortunately.

Collection Eyeshadow Pencils – These are quick and easy to apply when I’m in a rush in the morning and they do a few different shades but these two were the stand out shades for me as I’m not a fan of bold colours on me at all. I’m going to feature them in there own post shortly so keep a look out!

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush – This brush is just perfect for applying my foundation. It leaves no annoying streaks across my face and buffs it in beautifully to a flawless finish. It’s really soft and I've not had any fallout from it either. For only £8.99 it’s a bargain and I really want to pick up all the Real Techniques brushes!

So, that's it for the monthly round up, what have you been loving this month?

June Beauty Favourites

 Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Pink Quartz

 Bobbi Brown Bronzer in Golden Light

 theBalm Blush in Fratboy

 l-r - Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eyeshadow Primer, Lacura Beauty Concealer Pen, Max Factor Masterpiece Max Mascara, Bourjois Kohl & Contour Eyeliner Pencil

Rimmel Rose Libertine and Garnier Moisture Match in Protect & Glow

Swatched

Swatched

 Hey everyone!
It's the end of another month, we are already over half way through the year, I can't believe it! This month has obviously been pretty eventful with the arrival of Oscar but I've still managed to find time to find some lovin' for some beauty products.

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick - I received both the Shimmer Brick and the Bronzer for my 21st so I've had them for nearly a year now, but I've never featured them on my blog. I have been loving using this to highlight my cheekbones this month, I've not really used it over the winter months. It's beautifully pigmented and gives a nice subtle glow on your cheeks without looking over sparkly.

Bobbi Brown Bronzer - Again, not really used this in the winter months but it's a really natural looking bronzer, I did initially want it for contouring but I have struggled to be able to contour with it successfully, not sure if it's my application or if it's not quite dark enough to do the job. It does however give my skin a really natural, healthy bronzed look when applied with a powder brush all over my face.

theBalm Fratboy - I received this in a Beauty Box well over a year ago now (I think it was Carmine?) and it's pretty much been my go-to blush for daily wear for that long as well. It's just a gorgeous peachy, coral shade and it's really pigmented too.  I apply it to the apples of my cheeks and although it does seem to wear off by the evening, it's still my all time favourite blush.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eyeshadow Primer - This is the only eyeshadow primer that I've tried but I've been impressed with it. You only need a tiny amount and it covers all your eyelid neutralising any veins or discolouration and  helping my eyeshadow stay put and crease free for the whole day.It's quite pricey at around £16 but as I've said, a little goes a long way - I've had this for a year now and I can barely tell I've used it.

Lacura Beauty Concealer Pen - I picked this little gem up from Aldi of all places - I'd heard rave reviews saying it's a Touche Eclat dupe and whilst I don't own that to confirm or give a true comparison, I've certainly found it great for brightening my under-eye area and at £3.49 you really can't complain! The applicator pen works by clicking the button at the bottom and I don't have any issues with it dispensing too much/little product. It applies crease free and doesn't fade off through out the day.

Max Factor Masterpiece Max mascara - I've mentioned this quite a few times on here expressing my love for it and nothing's changed. It's still my number one mascara and nothing compares. It gives my lashes the perfect boost of volume and length without being too much for daily wear but it can be amped up for a night out. I love plastic bristle brushes, they just seem to work with my eyelashes. It doesn't flake or smudge (unless you cry and then you will definitely have panda eyes, but it doesn't claim to be waterproof) and doesn't transfer either above or below my eye. It's just perfect!

Bourjois Kohl & Contour eye pencil - This is in the shade Brun & Caramel and it works so well with hazel eyes. Both ends of the pencil are lovely and pigmented and are the perfect consistency - not too hard or soft. The lighter end is a lovely shimmery bronze shade and the dark is a chocolaty brown, perfect for lining your waterline. I use the bronze pencil under my eye and the brown to line the top and waterline. It lasts for a good 6 hours on me before I notice it looking less intense and I've not done my eyes without incorporating it in some way since I bought it earlier this month. There are shades to suit every eye colour and I am definitely going to pick up more at only £4.99!

Rimmel Rose Libertine - I featured this in a recent post here if you want to see it and it's been my go-to nail polish this month. As usual, I got great wear out of it as I always do with Rimmel. The application is super speedy with a nice wide brush and the colour is perfect for the spring/summer months although I love it so much it will definitely be being worn in winter too!

Garnier Moisture Match moisturiser - I also featured this in a post here but I've been loving it for the recent sunny weather as it has SPF 20 in it. It's not greasy and hasn't made my skin breakout at all. I'll definitely be looking at other items in the range for when my skin changes come autumn/winter.

What have you been loving this month? Do you have any recommendations?

Favourite Spring Polishes

Having had some free time recently, obviously some of it had to be spent wandering the aisles of Boots and Superdrug in search of, well... anything really.

This time however, it happened to be nail polishes that ended up catching my eye. I'm sure you're all aware of the Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine nail paints and I couldn't help but pick myself up the shades Lychee, Papaya and Greenberry as they're so bright and pretty. I loved pretty much all of the shades in the range but I have quite a few similar ones already so thought I'd go for some different ones.

Of course, trusty ol' Rimmel didn't disappoint and I found Coral Romance too good to resist.

Coral Romance - Rimmel - This is from the Lycra Pro range and I think is the most pricey of the Rimmel polishes at £4.59. This shade is my favourite of the four and is so vibrant without washing me out. It claims up to 10 days chip free and whilst I didn't wear it on my nails for quite that long, I did get a good 6 days of it with no chips which really impressed me. It only requires one coat to become opaque but I put on two just for extra strength.

Lychee - Barry M - I don't actually own any nude colours at all for my nails but I'd seen a lot of swatches of this and thought it looked worth a try. Formula wise, it certainly doesn't disappoint and applied beautifully and fully opaque in two coats but I'm still not sure that nudes really suit me all that well... I'll give it another couple of tries on me though as I do like the colour.

Papaya - Barry M - This shade is lovely, again it's coral toned but it's a rare thing that I can actually wear a bright colour, so I'm going to obsess over it! I did find it slightly irritating to apply; it streaked quite a lot and the brush seemed to be bare on some nails and then put giant globs onto other ones making it tough to judge drying times. This one for me definitely needed two coats and could probably have benefited from a third but it was worth it in the end as it dried with a glossy streak free finish.

Greenberry - Barry M - I really love this colour, it's so bright and fresh looking. I'm currently wearing a combo of Lychee and Greenberry so I'm going to try painting them all one shade to get the full effect of each shade, but this looks really great for spring and brightens up any basic outfits nicely - a definite bonus when I have about 3 different sets to wear at this stage! This one applied nicely and again, opaque in two coats. 

What are your favourite shades for Spring? Do you have any of the above?

February Favourites

Hello!

I was inspired this morning by the beautiful sunshine and so thought I'd join all the other bloggers out there and do a monthly "favourites" post.
This month I've been loving a mixture of beauty, haircare & skincare products - all of them nice and cheap as well.

St Ives Invigorating Apricot Scrub - This has been a favourite of mine for a while, it smells amazing, it exfoliates your skin perfectly making it feel smooth and clean without being over scrubbed. It also lasts me quite a while and as it's usually on offer in Superdrug for £1.99 - you really can't complain! Plus, I will pay full price for it if it's not on offer. I have found though that the other scrubs in the range aren't as good, I hated the sensitive one and the olive oil version just didn't exfoliate at all.

Seventeen Three Way Eyeliner - This is brilliant. I'm not the best at applying eyeliner, especially when I'm rushing to get ready for work in the morning choosing time in bed over beauty time. It's super easy to apply taking literally seconds and it makes your lashes appear fuller and thicker without looking like you're wearing eyeliner if you're going for the au naturel look.

Natural Collection Sapphire & Sea Mineral Body Spray - This smells amazing! So fresh and what surprises me is that the smell lasts all day. I'm usually a fan of floral/sweet scents but since being pregnant for some reason I can find them overbearing and just prefer to spritz a little of this on.

Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm - I actually despise the taste and scent of this but I find that it works wonders on my dry lips and also makes a great base for any lip products that I want to apply on top. The scent disappears pretty quickly fortunately and it leaves your lips feeling smooth and replenished, just like it says on the tube.

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Papaya - I snaffled this from Superdrug after telling myself not to buy anything but they reeled me in by placing it right next to the till, sneaky! I couldn't resist - and I'm glad I didn't. It's a beautiful, bright coral colour and it makes me feel nice and Springy. I did initially have a few problems with application finding that the varnish would blob down the brush and be sparse in some areas and too thick in others. I found that just whacking a generous amount on as quickly as possible solved those problems and it's stayed relatively chip free 4 days after application.

Seventeen Doll'd Up Mascara - See my post here. I still love it, it makes my lashes look so long and it lasts all day.

Nivea Gentle Cleansing Cream Face Wash - My skin is still really dry and I was looking for a cheap face wash that would make my skin feel a little more nourished in the shower. I found this for a bargainous £1.48 in Superdrug. It's smooth with little beads in and I use this as my daily face wash alongside the St Ives on alternating days. It lathers up nicely and leaves my skin feeling refreshed and moisturised.

John Frieda Frizz Ease Protective Styling Spray - This smells delicious, I love spraying it on my hair. I use it before I blow dry and then on every section of hair that I straighten. As I have to apply quite a lot of heat for a long time on my hair, I find it can look frazzled and even still frizz despite nearly 2 hours of straightening. This helps put a stop to that and leaves me with frizz free, divinely scented hair.

You can pick up all of these products in either Boots or Superdrug and each one costs no more than £7.

What are your favourite products this month?