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 

Shopping my stash #1...

I see a lot of these posts going around on blogs from one week to the next and I love the idea that it encourages using products that have long been forgotten and pushed to the back of the draw rather than going out and buying yet MORE new products. I had a rummage in the 'reserve' draws and pulled out these three beauties. 

Sax blusher in Rosy Glow, The Body Shop shimmer cubes palette 06, Topshop lip crayon in Coy.

This blush is a really beautiful rose pink with a lot of gold shimmer running through it. If you don't like any shimmer in your blushers, this isn't for you. I love the fact that it eliminates the need to add a highlighter afterwards….although thats not to say that I don't add one!

I've had this for longer than I can remember, but it really has laid unloved in my collection. The coppery and champagne shade in this palette are the kind of colours I reach for on a daily basis so I can see this becoming my everyday palette now I've bought it out of retirement. 

The Topshop lip crayons are very matte which is just how I like my lip products at the moment. They glide on beautifully (just make sure you exfoliate your lips first….) and have great staying power. This one in Coy is a beautiful peachy pink shade….and who doesn't love a peachy pink?! This will look gorgeous with a sweep of the above blusher and some of the copper shadow on the lids from the Body Shop shimmer cube palette.

Does anyone else do this regularly? What have you rediscovered from your stash?

Loves

xxx

Kryolan Illusion….

I feel about illuminators like a fat kid feels about cake just recently. Powder, cream or liquid, I'll mix them with my foundation, use them as an illuminating base, or use them as a highlight on the tops of the cheekbones and under the brow bone. Basically, they're my new makeup obsession. I went to the UMA expo at the weekend and spent ages browsing the Charles Fox stand checking out the Kryolan offering and, when I saw the Illusion highlighters were half price, I squealed. And I wish I could say that was an exaggeration. 

They're a creamy formula with lots of sparkle in them and come in various colours. I could have gone mad and got the lot (I think there's about 8 in the range) but to be honest I've got to the stage where I'd rather buy one great product and actually get to use it, rather than it being overshadowed in my ever growing makeup collection. I picked Organza which is a pretty pink shade (my cheekbone highlighter colour of choice). It looks quite scary in the pan but when it's on the skin and blended in it's so beautiful and leaves a lovely flush as well as being super light reflecting. A little goes a long way so I'm pleased I only picked up one (for now!)

Has anyone else tried the Illusion highlighters from Kryolan? What other illuminators do I need to try?

Loves

xxx

January favourites...

(insert generic 'I can't believe it's the end of January!' exclamation here)

So aside from the usual comments about how fast the years going already, I also wanted to say that this is the last favourites post coming to you from over in Aus! I'm writing this on the 1st of February which means this month I'll be heading back to the UK for the foreseeable future! So let's get cracking...

Kicking off with hair, my poor locks have been so de-hydrated that the only thing I've managed to get them to do is sit in a top-knot until next wash day. Roll on a mop chop. And for this I've been loving the Garnier Fructis Volume Flex and Hold hairspray to keep strays in place. 

Just one skincare product this month but it's completely revolutionised my skin care routine, and that's my much loved Rosehip Oil which you can read my review on here. 

My Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum has made it into yet another favourites post. I've been trying to use up almost empty products so I don't have to lug them home with me and it's made me fall back in love with this yet again. Follow that with my new Nars Creamy Concealer blended in with the Real Techniques contour brush and I have the perfect base. To add a bit of lift and glow to my skin I've been reaching for the NYX Illuminator for face and body which I reviewed here. 

It's been a month of no effort when it comes to makeup (it's too hot) so my lips have been fairly neutral...just a quick layer of my Nivea lip butter in vanilla and macadamia and I'm good to go. On the days where I need a splash of colour, I've picked up my Illamasqua Colouring Pencil in Indecent (review coming soon). 

Eyes have been kept simple too....a slick of the new Maybelline Hyper Glossy liquid liner, followed by lashings of Rimmel Lash Accelerator which I raved about in a post earlier in January. If I have needed some colour on the lids of I've felt like experimenting with some neutral tones for day-time smokey looks, I've gone straight to my Urban Decay Naked 3. Predictable, but for good reason!

What's everyone else been loving in the month of January?

Loves

xxx

'Budget brand does collections' alert...

A while ago, Essence did a collection to go alongside Oz the Great and Powerful film and at the time I was in need of a golden based highlighter. Now this isn't necessarily a full on review of this product as I'm aware you can't buy this anymore and that would be unfair to you guys! 

But I have heard that Essence is coming to/has hit some UK stores so keep an eye out for this bargain brand as not only do they stock some great nail varnishes and eyeliners among others, but unlike a lot of cheaper high street brands, they bring out some seriously lust-worthy collections with some incredible high end quality products. So, seeing as though I mentioned my favourite Essence product I guess I should show it to you...

It's a golden based highlighter that is really pigmented but can be blended out onto the skin for a beautiful golden glow. Perfect for the summer or perking up tired winter skin.

What do you guys think of Essence?

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