Current Favourites

Hello! To distract myself from the horrendous weather we've been having here I thought I'd write a post about some of the products I've been loving lately. Without further ado I'll get started and show you a summary:

As you can see there are a few higher end products here. I promise this is just a coincedence and I'm not going all posh on you ;)

1. Kerastase Nectar Thermique - £16.10 from Feel Uniqe. I bought this after reading countless reviews on how wonderful this is and deciding that it would really suit my(fine, a little dry). I haven't been disappointed and despite the hefty price tag I'm certain that I will repurchase it. It protects my hair really well from the dreaded straightening irons, makes it so easy to style and incredibly soft. Although it's a creamy formula it doesn't weigh down my hair or leave it with any residue. Lovely stuff.

2. Benefit They're Real! Mascara - £18.50. I was a little unsure of trying this as I had a decidedly 'meh' experience with their Get Bent mascara, but again the rave reviews sucked me in. Oh and I'm glad they did! This is now the UK's best selling mascara and actually does lengthen, volumise, curl and separate lashes. I haven't experienced any smudging or flaking when wearing it either. Highly recommended!

3. Garnier Fresh Essentials Eye Makeup Remover - £3.15 from Boots. See, a drugstore product! I picked this up when I was in my local Sainsbury's doing a food shop and it was a half price steal. I'd run out of eye makeup remover and bought the first one I saw. This smells amazing and is so soothing to tired eyes. It claims to remove waterproof mascara and it does with a little persistance and a few cotton wool pads, but I wouldn't use it for heavy makeup unless I wanted to use half the bottle. Ideal for everyday use.

4. Bobbi Brown Face Touch Up Stick (in 00 Porcelain) - £19. I've been really impressed with this concealer, I haven't tried many Bobbi Brown products and this is the reason I might explore further into the brand in the future. It's a thick, full coverage product designed to cover up blemishes and uneven patches on the skin. As it's so thick I wouldn't recommend using it to conceal undereye circles as it may crease.

  

5. OPI Mermaid's Tears - £11. Quite simply this has to be one of my favourite colours. Just look at it. I love to add a coat of silver shatter polish over the top to make it look extra special. This polish is from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection.

6. Origins Checks and Balances - £17. This is a foaming face wash. I usually tend to use cream cleansers in my skincare routine, but I was looking for something a little different to use with my Clarisonic Mia. I have combination skin so a product that claims to soak up excess oil and moisturise my dry bits at the same time sounds too good to be true, but it's right here in this tube. It leaves my skin feeling fresh and smooth and as it's made from natural ingredients I can be happy knowing that nothing nasty is being massaged into my face.

 

I hope you've enjoyed this little update, let me know if you'd like me to review any of the products above in more detail. Have a lovely weekend!

 

June Favourites

Well hello there. Today I thought I'd reiterate and go into a little more detail on what I said about the products mentioned in my June Favourites video. I've included pictures and little labels where needed using a pretty little font that I got excited about and downloaded :)

1. Simple Kind to Skin Facial Cleansing Wipes - Pretty much what they say on the packaging! Simple, kind to skin and well...cleansing. I got these on offer and I think they worked out at about £2.99 for a pack of 25 which really isn't bad for what they are. They're unscented, unabrasive and completely safe for taking of even stubborn waterproof mascara; no sting or other unpleasantness when used around the eye area. Definitely worth every penny and very easily overlooked with so many competing products on the market!

2. Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Concealer (£4.99) - If you've seen the video you'll notice that I use this as part of my everyday foundation routine and there are plenty of reasons why! Well the main one is that it just works. It conceals even my silly dark circles that plague every morning of my existance with ease...and that makes me happy. You can see below that it is a really novel product, a mousse to powder formulation which is not cakey (providing you don't splat on too much or press too hard when getting it out of the pot) and really easy to apply. I'm not sure how long this will last - it doesn't look like there is that much in the pot and you have to consider there is a certain amount of air in the product itself, but either way I can definitely see myself purchasing this again.

3. Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Blush in Peach Satin (£4.99) - To keep it brief, it has exactly the same consistency and application as the concealer mentioned above. Peach Satin is a lovely colour and will match most skin tones. I've been loving this so much because it gives a hint of a rosy glow on my pale English skin :) A word of warning though if you don't like shimmery blushes, this is a little so I'd recommend checking it out in person to make sure it is your cup of tea.

4. John Frieda Frizz Ease Straight Ahead Style Activating Daily Conditioner (£5.99) - Ahh the source of my wonderful video blooper. You may notice that I don't have a picture up for this. I threw the bottle away in rage after I'd wrapped up the filming and washed my legs :) Despite that, I really love this conditioner. To me it has the effect of a deep conditioning treatment, but every time you wash your hair and use it (as it is designed to be used daily). It's pretty good value for money too as you get a lot in a bottle and it lasts a suprisingly long time (obviously this depends on how long your hair is). No frizz has been experienced in humid, windy or rainy conditions leading me to think that this really is another hidden gem on those drugstore shelves :)

5. MAC Easy Lounger Lipglass (£12.00) - Well it would have been rude to let the 'To The Beach' collection leave my MAC counter without me getting at least one item with a beachy graphic on it wouldn't it? Nothing else really caught my eye and I bought this on a whim because I thought it was pretty. And it is :) Not one for people who like matte or sheer lip finishes as this is VERY glittery. However it's very glittery in a very nice way. I wouldn't usually pick up something this bedazzled but the colour just drew me in and now I'm hooked. I'll mostly be wearing this to the beach where the sun can make me sparkle!

6. MAC Pretty Plush Plushglass (£14.50) - I originally picked this up because I wondered what there could possibly be in this to warrant the extra £2.50 on the cost of a basic lipglass. I am still wondering this a little, but this colour just goes so perfectly over a number of lipsticks and does give a slight plumping effect. This is a favourite mainly because of the colour and versatility and I've just found myself reaching for it a lot lately. It's shimmery but not disco ball-esque and gives a nice polished finish to your look :)

Now for the nail polishes...


7. Essie Van D'Go (£9.50) - Yes yes I know I could have picked this up much more cheaply than I did, but I was wandering in Liberty and couldn't resist. Bad me. Despite the widely known consistency problems this polish has, I have been completely sucked in to the colour. I'm finding it a more toesy shade and it really sets off a tan if you're lucky and happen to have one. My feet seem to be browner than the rest of me at the moment, so this is perfect for making them seem even darker.

8. Essie Lilacism (£9.50) - The second part of my Essie splurge, and oh what a worthwhile splurge. I adore this colour. I've usually been wary of purples because for some reason they seem to clash strangely with...me in general. This is just the right pastely shade for toes, fingers and anything else you fancy licalising. Unlike Van D'Go the application of this polish is a breeze :)

9. OPI Bubble Bath (£10.00) - Oops, a Selfridges splurge. People should really keep me away from London. I've been wanting to get this for a while and three weeks into owning it I have found myself reaching for it so much. It's the ideal baby pink colour and can easily be worn both casually and formally, matching nearly everything you could dream of wearing with it. A new firm favourite. (You should have seen my Mum's face when I got home brandishing a *pink* nail polish. I'm a notorious tomboy...I think she had an epiphany. That or a 'funny turn.'

That wraps up my June lovelies! Thanks for reading if you've lasted this long :) Hopefully I've made a promising start to this blog, I'll try to keep it up!