Summer empties...

It appears I have a favourite deodorant….Also loved how long the Soap & Glory Foam Call shower gel lasted and it smelt delicious. I'm fairly fickle with body products though, and I can't say I've repurchased any of these...

Elvive Fibreology shampoo is my all time favourite I'm well into my second bottle of this stuff and I'll 100% keep using this for the foreseeable future. Also loving the Batiste XXL dry shampoo…forever a staple in my hair routine. I didn't love the Philip Kingsley Elasticiser as much as I expected to - it's one of those cult blogger products I just couldn't get into. Another re-purchase has been the V05 dry backcomb spray - it's the perfect texture and not sticky at all, an absolute livesaver in my freshly washed hair. 

The Garnier Micellar water is an empty from my professional makeup kit…I get through this SO quickly its ridiculous but it is a perfect dupe for Bioderma. The only two products I've not repurchased were the Nivea eye cream (an eye cream is an eye cream and I've since found cheaper alternatives) and the Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser. This was nice but a bit heavy for my oily skin. 

The second my Seche Vite top coat ran out, I could have cried. Don't fear though, I've got back ups of this as it's probably one of my top five holy grail products of all time. The Elf brush shampoo and Scandaleyes mascara were definite no-loves. My top tip of the day is STAY AWAY from this mascara, awful awful awful. 

What has everyone else used up over the summer months?

Loves

xxx

New dream mascara alert..

Now, I don't want to say anything rash here but I think I may have found something special. We're talking Benefit They're Real special. The newest offering from 17, the Falsifeye HD mascara, claims to lengthen and add volume to lashes creating something pretty special. I'll admit, the before and after picture on the box sold it to me (yep, an ex advertising student being sucked in my the packaging…awkward). 

The actual mascara packaging is spot on. Sleek, black, simple, nice and substantial. The wand is everything I love from a mascara wand. Plastic, short bristles, easily loaded up with loads of product to make a quick 'one swipe' mascara job a real possibility. The wand reminds me a lot of They're Real, minus the spiky ball on the end, but this one tapers down to a nice fine point which makes it really easy to get into the inner lashes and coat the bottom lashes nice and easily without making one big mess.

So, to business. Bare lashes on the right, two coats on the left. I've since loaded up with three to four coats of this stuff and, thanks to the wand, it doesn't clump at all. It's super black, easily to manoeuvre the wand around the upper and lower lashes and get right into the roots thanks to the super spiky wand. I saw no signs of flaking or smudging, and I've done the ultimate test of sweating it out in the gym for a solid hour after an 8 hour shift at work and it looked just as perfect as when I'd applied it at 5am in the morning. And at around the £6 mark (they always have offers on so you can probably pick it up a bit cheaper) it's probably my new favourite find and a staple in my makeup bag.

Winner

What other drugstore mascaras does everyone love?

Loves

xxx

What's new….

I've decided I needed to inject some new and exciting products into my makeup routine. I've come to the end of my trusty The Body Shop mattifying seaweed moisturiser so decided to try a purse friendly version of this day cream from Garnier and so far I'm really enjoying it! I also needed some lashes for a few events coming up, and thought I'd be brave and branch out from my usual Demi Wispies and try the Ardell 117's which are a bit longer (slightly scared at the length of these!) and not quite as, well, wispy! 

My Rimmel Stay Matte is coming to the end of it's life so thought I'd give into the hype and pick up the Soap and Glory Kick Ass powder that I've hear many a beauty guru raving about. It's extremely yellow based but it really suits my skin tone and is such a perfect under eye setting powder. Can anyone say Kim Kardashian?!

I was extremely intrigued by the concept of the L'Oreal Intense Matte Glosses. A matte gloss? Hey? They apply like a really opaque gloss and try to a matte texture (which is my current lip product finish of choice) and I'd heard a lot of mixed reviews on these. They don't wear that well over a long period of time but the colours I picked up (coral denimista and fuchsia flare) and so beautiful. 

I'm not going to go on about this one too much as there's a review coming up on this soon, but I may have found a Benefit They're Real dupe. I know, right? The 17 Falsifeye HD mascara makes promises that it manages to keep, and then some. Stay tuned for more on this. 

Lastly I needed a new liquid liner - I think I eat these in my sleep I get through them so fast. The 17 Tattoo Liner promised semi permanent, up to 48 hour wear. If you intend to wear this for a short period of time, don't bother. It's a royal pain in the ass to apply, it's so thick and gloopy, and if you're a beginner in the winged eyeliner game I'd avoid this at all costs. If you deal with the application process and love a long wearing liner that's really going to put the hours in, go and buy this immediately, if not before. This does NOT move. No flaking, smudging, moving, transferring, or any sort of annoying eyeliner behaviour in sight. When it comes to removal, set aside a little bit of time for this one. 

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

April favourites….

Unsurprisingly, my April favourites is fairly lip product heavy. April also saw some resurrections from makeup favourites past…. one good thing about being on a budget is being more aware of raiding old makeup and digging into the long forgotten stash!

Bright lips have been the order of the day, particularly in shades of orange. First up is the Mac Pro Longwear lip pencil in What A Blast…I love this under almost every orange lip I wear, it makes it super long wearing and the colour so vivid. On top of this I've either been wearing my Napolian Perdis Set lipstick in Noosa. I don't actually think this is available in the UK but for any Aussie readers I have on here…..if you don't own this then WHY NOT? If I want something less matte and with a bit of sheen for the day time I'll pop on the Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in In Love With Ginger. If you saw my last post you'll see my other favourite lip colour is purple, so of course my favourite (and cheapest!) purple lipstick of the month has to be the Collection Little Mix lipstick in the shade Perrie. Lastly for lips, my neutral lip shade of choice has been the Benefit lip gloss in Sugarbomb, a beautiful pink with some shimmer running through it. 

Eye favourites have been all about the old faithfuls. You'll almost definitely have seen me talk about The Balm What's Your Type Volumising mascara over the past 18 months and it's still up there as one of the best mascara's I've ever used. I've been going back to basics on eyes with just a sweep of the Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeshadow stick in Bulletproof Beige over my eyes with loads of mascara, or a sweep of neutral shadow from my very old and very faithful Sleek Oh So Special palette. I love the pink shades in here for spring/summer, and the black is one of the best I've tried. As my eyelids are, and will forever be, particularly oily, I've re-discovered Benefit Stay Don't Stray eyelid primer which, I'll admit, I was not a fan of to start with. I still think the pump dispenser is wasteful but I've learnt that less is more with this one and I've really been loving it. 

Just a couple of face products, both from one of my favourite brands, NYX. First off is something that I'm sure has been in the last 3 months favourites and I'm almost certain everyone is fed up of hearing me harp on about; the NYX matte bronzing powder in light. And for a splash of colour I've been loving the NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Hot Pink blended (VERY lightly….this product has some serious pigment to it) into the apples of my cheeks and up lightly onto the cheekbones.

What are everyone else's favourites from April?

Loves

xxx

March Favourites...

So with me being in London studying at the beauty and makeup academy, I've barely worn makeup and it's been such a chaotic few weeks living out of a suitcase! Which leaves my favourites a bit sparse this month but here we go anyway…

The hype around the L'Oreal Elvive Fibreology shampoo and conditioners is extremely well deserved. I am lucky enough to have naturally very thick hair to start with but this just makes my natural curls so thick and full which means much less time wielding a pair of straighteners. In my attempt to find a more readily available Bioderma alternative I have really started to love the Garnier Micellar water, and I've even decanted it into a smaller bottle for my kit to use on clients! Putting makeup on, taking it off, putting it on again, and then taking it off. While I was at the academy we were practicing on each other and my skin really suffered, so I turned to the duo of the St Ives apricot scrub followed by a long standing favourite, La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo, only this time it's the new improved '+' version. I don't know what's changed exactly, but it still works just the same so thats fine by me!

My base has been all about Nars this month, and on the rare occasion I've done my own makeup I've gone for the classic Nars Sheer Glow and Nars Creamy concealer paring which I have reviews on here and here. Another well hyped product has been the L'Oreal Miss Manga mascara which I wasn't expecting to love quite as much as I do…it's super thickening and makes my lashes look so black and full! My Nan bought me the Body Shop Illuminator in pink when I got back from Australia and it's such a perfect pinky shade as a blush or on the tops of the cheekbones for a glow in the evenings. 

Finally my favourite lip offering this month is my newest addition to my ever growing lipstick collection - Mac Pure Zen. It's a peachy nude shade and perfect for the sunny weather we've been having these past few weeks!

What's everyone been loving this month?

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

Everyday eye look featuring Rimmel Lash Accelerator mascara..

More often than not I find myself reaching for the liquid liner to do a winged-out cat eye look which, combined with big thick lashes, I've found myself rocking on a day to day basis. Having ran out of my favourite mascara (Benefit They're Real) I reached into my stash (and trust me it's a big one) and pulled out my next mascara victim; Rimmel Lash Accelerator. 

I thought the wand seemed a little plasticky at first so wasn't intending on being too impressed but the thin want and short bristles make for perfectly defined lashes from corner to corner, and makes bottom lash application a dream. It take a lot of coats (this took about four) to reach my desired lash thickness, and a lot of time and patience, but the results are so worth it.

I used the Shu Uemura eyelash curlers first, then applied multiple coats of the Lash Accelerator mascara. I used a wash of coral eyeshadow across the lid and liner the top lash line with the Topshop liquid liner, and used Soap & Glory smoulder kohl liner in the waterline. 

Has anyone else tried and loved this mascara?

Loves

xxx

Disappointing Products #1...

Quite a small selection of products for my first ever disappointing products post, but considering how much time I spend on YouTube, reading blogs etc I like to think I do my research before going out and spending any money on cosmetics these days. I'd rather be sure that I'm buying something worthwhile than just wasting money on crap.

I bought Maybelline The Falsies mascara because, I'll be honest, Tanya Burr loves it. That's usually a good enough reason for me to go out and buy something. The first thing that should have rang alarm bells for me was the wand; I usually like skinny plastic wands with spiky combs much like They're Real from Benefit. I didn't find this volumising at all, it gave nice definition to my eyes but I like really thick, exaggerated lashes and I don't think this delivered. 

The second disappointment was the Bliss Fabulips exfoliating lip scrub. Not living near a Lush, I was missing the benefits that their lip scrub has always offered me and felt the need to have one back in my life. I picked this up from the Feel Unique sale a few weeks ago and can honestly say, bring back my Lush scrub! It's a really oily, thin balm that sits on my lips and doesn't sink in, and the exfoliating particles are so sparse that I need to dig out loads each time I use this. 

What's everyone else's disappointing products at the moment?

Loves

xxx

The Balm review...

I love makeup, I love finding new products and reading reviews on products, and I love finding things I  enjoy using enough to make them part of my everyday makeup. But it's not all that often that I get excited over a brand like I have over The Balm. I first discovered them in Brisbane where I picked up their What's Your Type mascara on a whim and realised it was one of the best thing's I've ever applied to my face. Probably ever. 

I'd not been able to get my hands on them over the past few months when I'd moved away from Brisbane, until I popped into & Other Stories on Regent Street a couple of weeks back. I actually squealed. Of course I had to pick up another of their What's Your Type mascara's immediately. It's a thin plastic wand that holds a lot of product and creates incredible volume that you would not think you could find in a mascara tube. If you love a volumising mascara, this should be your next pick.

Being blushers number one fan, it would have been completely wrong to not pick up their Big Mama blusher, the most beautiful rose/coral/gold colour with a stunning gold shimmer through it. Not only does it eliminate the need for a highlighter (hello golden glow) it lasts on the skin all day and makes your skin look perky and fresh.

There's not really enough words to explain how much I love this, and I don't want to bore you all to tears telling you how in love with the brand I am, but honestly, one of the most exciting brands and products I've used in a very long time.

Has anyone else used any of The Balm products and can recommend any more to me?

Loves

xxx

London and Paris haul...

Of course, being in London the first stop I had to make was & Other Stories. I'd heard so much about their Fig range I decided to pick up a hand cream and a re-purchase of my favourite mascara ever, The Balm What's Your Type body builder mascara. Then, just because, I picked up another of their blushers for my collection; Big Mama! Love this, will pop a full review up soon.

Next to Camden. First up, WHY DON'T I LIVE THERE!?! I picked up a couple of scarves from the market, and a cute Pug t-shirt that I'll be styling over Disco pants with my black Dr Martens and a big gold chain. 

Then off to Paris... and of course it would be rude not to go into one of their amazing pharmacies. I picked up a replacement for my La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo and decided to try their Effaclar Matt product as a makeup base. I also wanted to give Nuxe Reve De Miel lip balm a go, and it wouldn't be a trip to a french pharmacy without a bottle of Bioderma!

Last stop was Sephora (again, rude not to) where I picked up their daily brush cleanser, a Sephora lipstick, the UD de-slick setting spray (due to the massive hype around the original setting spray) and the Make Up Forever smokey lash mascara that I've been dying to try since there was a huge blogger hype around this not too long ago. 

Loves

xxx

Most reached for items #1....

John Freda Frizz Ease leave in conditioner to treat my hair after long days in the sun and sea....

Palmers Cocoa Butter SPF 15 because the sun has finally shown it's face again and I'm enjoying making the most of it (safely)...

Nivea lip butter in Caramel Cream has such a rich formula and keeps my lips moisturized all day...

I love...strawberries & milkshake hand cream helps keep my hands and cuticles soft before during and after working hard on the farm...

Cover Girl clump crusher mascara deserves all the hype it gets, it separates and lengthens and holds curl all day....

Maybelline colour sensational in pink pop is my go-to bright lipstick when all I want is minimal makeup on hot days. It has a gorgeous creamy finish and wears really well while I'm sweating it out in the Australian sunshine...

Organix macadamia oil is an extra little treat for my hair and helps keep frizz at bay when things start to get humid, plus really affordable...

L'Oreal Nude Magique BB Cream is a holy grail face product for me, light enough to wear on hot days, with great coverage and matches to my skin tone perfectly...

What are your most reached for items?

Loves

xxx

Face of the day....

Not normally one for eyeshadow, I donned my (limited collection) of Mac shadows and tried out a bit of a golden/purple smokey eye for mine and my Ty's 6 month anniversary meal (altogether now....ahhhhhh).

Dress - Jay Jays (Australian)

Foundation - Revlon photo ready

Concealer - Benefit erase paste

Brows - Rimmel eyebrow pencil

Eyes - Mac shadows Retrospeck, Sketch and Cognac, L'Oreal HIP colour truth cream eyeliner

Lashes - Cover Girl Clump Crusher

Blush - Mac Well drressed

Highlighter - Essence Circus Circus in It's Magic

Lips - Chi Chi in Shake that booty and Revlon gloss in Glitz and Glam

 

I'd love to start a Mac palette one day, any suggestions of some first basic colours to get me started would be much appreciated...

Loves

xxx

READ THE BLOODY LABELS....

Just a quick one, I went into Boots before work today and made a few purchases. I am in serious need of new eyelashes so I thought I'd go wild and try some different ones that I've read quite a lot about on people's blogs recently...

I'm usually all about Eyelure. I've tried every single pairs of their lashes from natural daywear ones to double thickness dramatic ones. But I'd heard a lot about Ardell lashes so I went for number 105 which look similar to my favourite Eyelure ones. I'm not convinced I'll like the glue in these as I have never found one I like as much as Eyelure, but saying that I've got about 9 bottles in my makeup bag!

On the subject of eyelashes, HOW excited am I about the new Superdrug handmade eyelashes. For under £5 for a set of single thickness lashes, I REALLY can't wait to work my way through the collection. I've got July 6th written in my diary as a date to remember!!

I also took the plunge and went for an Illuminating pen for under my eyes. I don't really notice it much usually but in pictures my dark circles under my eyes are disgusting. I really want a top range one but went for Collection 2000 for my first one to see how I get on with it. I've heard great reviews on this for a cheaper end of the range product, although I think all of the shades looked REALLY pale for my skin so I might just use the tiniest amount and blend blend blend!

I also bought a new Mascara because I feel like I need to get out of my mascara rut. I always use Bourjoir clubbing in blackest black (normal in the day, waterproof at night) and wanted to see what the fuss was all about for these 'false lash effect' mascara. 

Only problem is I didn't read the blood label and I picked up a brown/black colour which I CANNOT use so I'm going to have to give it to mum and go and buy a new one. Really annoyed because I wanted to use it straight away and test it out but nope, I'm an idiot and didn't buy the right one. So that's me off to boots on my lunch break tomorrow...