June favourites...

Glossy lips have been my go-to this month, and I've completely adored Tanya Burrs lipgloss in First Date (and not just because it smells like milkshake, although that helped). I've also discovered the l'Oreal L'Extrodinaire glosses which are super long lasting, beautifully glossy with just the right amount of colour to wear on their own or over a lipstick. I want to pick up more of these they're just gorgeous. For the face I've rediscovered the famous Benefit High Beam dupe by Me Me Me, Beat The Blues liquid highlighter. It's a super subtle, pale pink highlighter that looks great under foundation for a really subtle glow, or over the top of a liquid foundation for a bit more impact. I've loved wearing it teamed with the Borjois Exlusif cream blush - a really interesting product that adapts to your own skin colour and gives a stunning pink glow to the cheeks. Another re-discovery this month has been my brow tastic Illamasqua Brow Cake in Gaze. Holy Grail brow product without a doubt and, as you can see, very well loved! I've been all about the winged liner and lashes for eyes this month, and have been pairing my Kate Moss for Rimmel mascara with the Maybelline Lasting Drama Black Shock gel liner…another Benefit dupe! And lastly for makeup…Essie Blanc has been firmly on my toes for the entire month. Nothing screams SUMMER to me more than white nails!

I've started a new job this month so I've been all about products that make my life that little bit easier. The Batiste XXL dry shampoo has saved my hair through day two, three, and sometimes even four when I've had no time to wash and dry it. The Body Shop Camomile cleaning oil has been a great quick fix to remove my makeup at night before bed, and to save my tired, stressed out skin I've been applying the Avon Clear Skin pore penetrating black mineral mask. It looks a bit odd as it's black, but leaves my skin looking and feeling fantastic, I get a really great glow when I apply makeup the day after I've used this! Another Avon product I've loved is their overnight foot renewal cream…I'm on my feet all day every day at the moment so they've needed a bit of extra attention. Lastly for June, is f course a tan. Again another quick fix product, the well blogged about Cocoa Brown one hour tan. It says one hour, but to be honest I apply this at night and wash off in the morning and get a beautiful, natural, non smelly, non streaky glowing tan that lasts a week on my skin if I keep up with good skincare between applications.

What has everyone else been loving?

Loves

xxx

The best of The Body Shop...

First up we have skincare - something that I'm quite minimal with as my skin is extremely oily so doesn't need too much fuss and product overload. My most recent purchase is the Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil. I'd been using cream cleansers previously and found they were a real struggle to take off makeup with. This is an absolute dream; just one pump for eyes, another for skin, massage into dry skin until it turns milky and rinse off. Another night time product I've been loving is the Serum in Oil. I love using both serum AND oil on my face at night time but the combination of the two sometimes freaks my skin out, so finding this really light weight oil that combines the benefits of a serum was a dream! 

My favourite face mask of all time, in the history of face masks, is the Warming Mineral Clay mask. This warms up as you apply it and doesn't dry hard like a lot of clay masks tend to do, so there's non of that dry, tight feeling after you've taken this off. I've been through about 4 tubes of the Vitamin E eye cream (which I have a review on here), I love this stuff! It doesn't try to do everything, it just keeps the area hydrated and makes eye makeup apply so much smoother. Finally, another much re-purchased product is the Mattifying Seaweed Day Cream. Oh lord I love this stuff. I can sometimes even just use this without a primer and my makeup just sits so much better. Any oily skinned girls out there… you need this one in your life!

For makeup, I recently caved in to the hype and bought the Honey Bronzer in shade 03 medium matte. I love it almost as much as Benefit Hoola, and lord knows I'm a big fan of that bad boy! It doesn't have any shimmer, and is a very natural bronze colour - you won't see any nasty orange face streaks with this one! I also love that they come in such light shades, perfect for the paler ones among us! My Nan picked up the Body Shop Shimmer Waves highlighter in Blush for me as a present when I came back from Australia and, whenever I've been sporting a pale to mid toned pink blush, I'm also wearing this without fail. It's a gorgeous subtle shimmery highlighter that can be built up to look quite dramatic, and can even be worn without a blush underneath if you take the colour from the top of the palette. The Body Shop Shimmer Cubes are a bit of a cult product and for very good reason. I mentioned them in my recent shopping my stash post and have used them almost every day since - especially the copper colour all over the lid and underneath the lower lash line. 

Lastly are the Body Shop Lightening Touch pens; an absolute gem of a products and one that I think should be talked about a lot more. I have shade 03 which is perfect as a highlighter anywhere on the face, and my new discover in 01 which is a peach colour that I find counteracts my dark eye circles like a dream. 

What other products should I try from The Body Shop? Any other cult products or underdogs that I need to get my hands on?

Loves

xxx 

Holy Grail Skincare picks...

I don't tend to talk about skincare on here much, mainly because I'm really a budget skincare kind of gal, and I feel like a bad blogger not loving brands like Oskia, Kiehl's and Eve Lom. But realistically my view is that, if something works, why change it? So here's just a quick sneak peak into some of my holy grail skin care items, that I've been repurchasing since the dawn of time in some cases….

Bioderma. Not much needs to be said about this really let's face it; it's a cult favourite for a reason. I do quite like the Garnier offering and when I finish this (which won't be any time soon) I may pick that up again but really, my heart lies with Bioderma. 

The Body Shop Warming Mineral Mask. Any mask that warms up on contact with the skin has a place in my heart, and on my bathroom shelf. Clay masks are a firm favourite with me and my oily skin, and this one really draws all the impurities out and makes my skin feel tingly clean. 

Clean and Clear Deep Action Cream Wash. Speaking of tingly clean, this is one of those products that you KNOW has worked because you're face tingles and feels cold. I never feel like this is actually doing anything, until I stop using it. And then all facial hell breaks loose. So I've learnt to just keep this in my everyday routine, which is where it's been for about 8 years. 

The Body Shop Vitamin E eye cream. Nothing crazily special but this is light enough to apply makeup on top of, unscented and there fore my eyes don't swell up at the sight of it (which is what usually happens between me and eye creams). 

Nivea Daily Essentials Regenerating Night Cream. It's thick, it's moisturising, it feels like it's doing something. It doesn't smell offensive, it sinks in nicely, and it doesn't break me out. Add to that the fact that it's less than £5 and really….why would I spend upwards of £30 on a night cream that isn't guaranteed to work like this one??

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo +. This is another one of those that doesn't seem to do anything magical when I use it, but when I stop is when I see the true extent to it's fabulousness. This is my third tube of this and it's my absolute dream skincare product. On a side note….I can't see a difference between the original and the + formula. 

What are everyone else's skincare holy grail products?

Loves

xxx

Top 13 of 2013... the beauty edition...

Bioderma was a new discovery for me this year and I know it will forever be part of my skincare routine. I found my dream day cream and night cream this year, the Seaweed mattifying day cream from The Body Shop and the Nivea regenerating night cream.

To treat my skin I found a new love for clay masks, particularly the Body Shop warming mineral mask, which is great for really clearing out congested pores. My favourite cleanser of 2013 was a later discovery but it would be criminal not to include it; Let the Good Times Roll from Lush. For the smell alone this is a winner, but it also really helped me to steer away from harsh scrub cleansers and be a bit more gentle to my skin. 

When it comes to lip balm there could be only one winner...a real love it or hate it product from Nuxe, their Reve de Miel conditioning lip balm. Never again to I want to feel a sticky residue on my lips. 

For body I've been trying to combat pesky mosquito bite scars on my legs and Bio Oil has not only been a saviour for that, but it and will remain one of my life long holy grail products.

I've not done much tanning this year as I've been blessed living in the sunshine of Australia but for those in between days when I feel like I need a bit more colour, I've been loving the St Tropez gradual tanner. Top points for the bearable fake tan smell too! Of course no girl can fake tan on top of flakey skin so I discovered the Organi lychee salt scrub which not only smells delicious, but is an oil free scrub so won't interfere with any tanning products. 

2013 was a year I fell in love with hair products in a big way. I discovered the three products I'd been searching for. First the V05 dry texturising spray which is such a bargain but adds a really nice 'undone' look to straight hair. Then one of Lush's cult products Big shampoo, a sea salt shampoo that really adds some grit to the hair, and my newest discovery the Fudge Root Juice. The strangest product I've ever tried, but if you lust after volumised roots you need this in your life. 

The last hair product is an oil from Shwartzkoft, Daily Oil Elixer. This baby doesn't way down your hair but manages to keep my frizzy mane tamed and soft for the whole day.

What are everyone else's beauty favourites of 2013?

Loves

xxx 

October Favourites...

I won't go on for too long because I have a full review on it here, but The Body Shop warming mineral mask has been my life saver this month. The Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner duo in Tousle Me Softly has been my go to shower pairing for an everyday hair wash. It smells lush, leaves my hair soft but by no means lifeless, and makes it super easy to style. And for those days when I clearly haven't (but probably should have) reached for these two, the V05 Plump Me Up dry shampoo comes to my rescue. Again, it's bagged it's very own review here. 

I've got my sticky little hands on another of Lush's lip scrub offerings, this time in Popcorn. Not much to say on these as most people know or will have heard how much of a life saver these little bargain pots are. I've fallen in love with the Bourjois Happy Light foundation this month, although I do have to powder with with my Holy Grail Mac MSF Natural (I'm the shade medium plus). It lets me real skin show through while giving just enough coverage for day to day wear. Why oh why have I never owned a Mac 239 brush? Who let me get to 25 years of age without ever having one in my possession?

Benefit They're Real is back in my life (and, yes I know I'm sorry, back in my monthly favourites posts). I may have found an (almost) dupe for this from the drugstore but more on that later in the month. For lip wear, I've been dabbling in the Kate Moss matte range and in particular wearing 113, a pale nude, and 107, the infamous deep burgundy red that everyone, including myself) is going loopy for right now.

And, finally, what would a favourites post be without a product from The Balm? Mary Lou-manizer is everything I need a highlight to be. It lasts (for hours), gives a subtle shine to the desired areas (with the right brush and a very light hand) and comes in the cutest packaging ever.

What are everyone else's October favourites?

Loves

xxx

Review....The Body Shop Warming Mineral Mask...

I'm not sure if it's the odd changes in the weather over in Australia right now, but my skin is playing some horrible games with me. Not one to suffer with spots throughout my life, I've had some horrible sore red spots around my mouth and across my chin, and it's been really sensitive to most skincare that I've been using. I went into The Body Shop with the intention of getting the Vitamin E mask (something for sensitive skin) but was dubiously talked into trying this one out...

It does't dry to a hard, crispy finish like most clay masks, which means it doesn't strip the moisture out of my skin, and after one application (I use this twice a week) my skin feels fresher, clearer and my breakouts have considerably gone down! The best thing about this mask is, unlike most masks which cause you to break out shortly after using while it draws out the impurities, I didn't get any new breakouts after using it. 

If you like the deep cleaning feeling of a clay mask without that crispy dryness you get after the 15 minutes are up, I'd highly recommend this. 

What other face masks should I try?

Loves

xxx

Chermside collective haul, ft. Pop Tarts...

Expect lots of reviews coming up on some of these beauties! My first stop was Benefit to pick up a couple of re-purchases in the form of They're Real Mascara and Porefessional. I also picked up Stay Don't Stray no they've finally changed the packaging from a pump to a concealer wand like applicator. In fact, I spent a good 10 minutes discussing the benefits of this change, only to get home and realise she'd given me the old pump bottle. Annoyed much!?

I had a $50 Body Shop voucher and needed a new eye cream so picked up their Vitamin E offering. I love everything from the range so thought it was a safe bet. To make it up to $50 I also picked up one of their clay masks, I'm coming to the end of my current face mask so can't wait to give this one a go.

You have no idea how excited I was to see a Lush stand in the middle of the shopping centre...Lush is really hard to get over here! I am NOT loving my current lip exfoliator (more on that in an upcoming post) so picked up one of their trusty little pots in the limited edition Popcorn flavour, and finally bought their Big salt shampoo that I've wanted for who knows how long.

We found a really odd Japanese department store type shop, where everything was $2.80! I grabbed five pairs of lashes, and one of those weird applicator type things that I'm not convinced is any good but  at that price...why not!

My last big purchase came from Mac. I have so many 217 type brushes to blend and define the crease, but I felt my brush collection was lacking the in-famous 239 brush so I bagged one of those, as well as Mac Harmony to use as a contour (now I'm getting tanned I find contouring with bronzer just looks a bit odd) and finally a bright orange lip liner in What A Blast.

And, of course, when opportunity arrises, English sweets (Munchies) and some Pop Tarts are a must have!

I also went into Inglot for the first time in my life (heaven in a store!) but that's all a surprise for next week. Ty did snap me doing what I do best though...

So all in all, a good trip! 

Loves

xxx

Sunday treats....

It's only right, I think, that after an amazing Saturday night celebrating the besties 23rd birthday that a teeny tiny bit f retail therapy is needed. Rude not to really! I was in desperat need of a new lip balm as all of mine seemed to have ran out at once so I popped to Boots and went a bit wild...

I'd had a Burt's Bee's lip balm ages ago but never re-purchased for some reason so thought I'd re-buy. Of course it hasn't disjointed. I'd sen this Blistex lip massage in a magazine last week, and thought it seemed a bit of a nifty gadget so thought I'd pick this up too. It's so so nice, really tingly and the lip massager is a bit of a really gentle exfoliator too! I randomly picked up a cheapy Boot own Coconut & Almond lip butter mainly because I need something to throw in my draw at work but also anything coconut scented is a winner recently, my fave! Lastly I bought the more expensive (£8 for a lipbalm?!?!) Soap & Glory Mighty Mouth, but only because I was picking up some other things from the range and it turned out to be free on their 3 for 2 offer....

I've not tried the lip balm or the moisture lotion yet but I did pop the No Clogs Aloud mask on earlier for the full 5 minutes and can honestly say this has made my skin feel like nothing before, it's so smooth, even and clear. I'm practically glowing! I'll be putting a full review of this up some time this week, it's amazing!

Thought I'd also pop up a quick OOTN pic up while I'm here, my hair looks slightly odd in this pic but it's the angle of the pic I think, it looked normal in real life!

Leather gillet: Matalan

Black strapless dress, jeans and jewellery: Miss Selfridge

Allegra Boots: Topshop

Clutch bag: Matalan

Hope you've all had a fab weekend

Loves

xxx