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

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

Monthly favourites and goodbye....

Hey lovelies....I kind of can't actually do this post because I've packed my bloody camera for my holiday, so I thought I'd just keep this brief! A lot of my favourites have been things I've been using ready for my holiday, like the Weleda pomegranate body oil that came in the July Glossy Box (I really think this is a total miracle product!) that I've been smothering my thighs/ bum/ stomach/ hips in, in preparation for getting in the bikini's next week!

I've also been loving my new wave makers by Andrew Barton, I really want to take these away with me but they won't fit in my suitcase :( so I'll just have to settle for the GHD's! Luckily I won't need it much longer but I have been loving the my Fake Bake self tan lotion (the one in the pink bottle), it gives an amazing natural streak free glow! As for makeup, I've been all about the strong brow's with my Gosh eyebrow kit, and the Gosh clear eyebrow gel (which make my newly waxed/tinted brows look even more fabulous!) and a bright lip with my new Papaya Punch or Baby Doll lipsticks from Sleek. There's only really been one blush that I've reached for this month and it's been my Famous by Sue Moxley shimmer brick (which is most definitely coming with me to Cyprus) in Rose.

Sorry about the lack of pictures in this post, but hopefully I'll be taking lots of outfit of the day pictures while I'm away so I can get some good posts done when I get back, and I intend to go a bit wild in duty free so you can expect a haul on my return!

See you all when I get back

Loves

xxx

June favourites...

I love this time of month, I think monthly favourites may be my favourite posts! I was going to do this as a video post again but I'm still having problems uploading, and I've also got a horrible cold so I look a bit like an out of season Rudolph. I'm still trying to upload my 11 most reached for products video, and I've STILL got a hair tutorial to upload which I promise I will over the weekend hopefully. 

Anyway here goes....I've not actually loved much this month, I've been to busy to go shopping and buy anything to be honest. My first two are tanning products, as I'm trying to perfect my tan at the moment. I used to love to be ORANGE and, whilst I hate the pale look, I'm trying to achieve a nice glow which I think the combo of these two do nicely...

This was £4.99 from TK Maxx, originally £9.99 and I love the colour it goes. It goes on smoother than St Moriz, but doesn't come out as dark. After a shower it pretty much all comes off but over a few days it builds up a reasonable colour. 

I was desperat for a facial tanner that didn't smell like biscuits and that didn't leave me a crazily dark colour. I risked it with this one, as it was a bit pricey (about £7.99 I think) but it builds up the faintest healthy glow that looks so natural. 

Considering I'm so in love with my Superdrug vitamin body moisturiser, the fact that I've found another that I love is pretty impressive. I LOVE the smell of this it's so summery. It's got a much thicker consistency than I'm used to, and I probably wouldn't use it every night but it's quite nice between tanning when I need a lot of moisturiser. I'd repurchase this in every flavour to be honest! 

Bit of a random one having perfume in here but I cannot believe how much I love this. It's one of those smells that is perfect for everything. It's not too heavy to wear going to the shops and it's got a long lasting scent if you want to wear it at night. I love the simple bottle, it's just amazing in every way. 

Yes OK I know I'm late on the Peach Melba band wagon, but I was trying to avoid buying any more nail varnishes for a while. Couldn't resist in the end though. I bought this last week and worn it every day since. 

Apologies for not having much makeup in this favourites post but, as I said, I've not bought lots, and the things I have bought haven't been in my 'I have to reach for that every morning' pile. This is the eyebrow kit from Elf in dark, and it's literally amazing, gives me flawless brows. The wax gives just enough hold for the day, and the colour is really natural.

So that's it for m favourites, not a very exciting one but these are literally the things I've used every day this month and will buy over and over again. 

I also went for it and popped to the River Island sale (well come on, it had been trending topic on Twitter all day) and picked a few bits up. It was late in the day by the time I got there and it was what can only be described as a nightmare. Clothes literally all over the floor. I spent less than £20!

I picked a couple of scarves up, the top one isn't really my sort of thing I mainly bought it because I thought Mum would like it (yes I know, model daughter) but the bottom one is gorgeous. It's a chiffon BRIGHT pink with a chain and coin detail, thin enough to wear as a huge head scarf and tie in a bow, or decorate a plain handbag with. These were both £5 each, bargain!

This was £7 and I bought it in an 18 because I loved it soooo much! I don't think I've really got anything lilac in my wardrobe so this made a change, I actually might wear it on Saturday when I go shopping in Birmingham with some denim shorts and a sleeveless leather jacket, and probably some over the knee socks. 

These were my favourite buy, I nearly bought them at full price last week but today they were down to £2!! My turquoise obsession is growing rapidly.....

Can't wait to read everyone's monthly favourites!

loves

xxx

Big, bigger, biggest....

Yet another volumizing success. Schwarzkopf volumizing powder was an absolute godsend this morning when I woke up with freshly washed (read; FLAT) hair. I hate hate hate my hair when it’s just been washed, I prefer it the day after when it’s not so soft and floppy. Anyway I got up this morning and very careful poured a bit into my hand as instructed, rubbed my hands together then ran my hands through my hair. I had to do this three times because I was putting so little on at a time for fear of looking like I had some dandruff type problems.

The results were exactly what I wanted. Nothing to dramating and huge as my past experience with the Batiste XXL Volume spray, or with my usual back-comb the hell out of it and set it with Tresemme Freeze Hold hairspray, but then I was only going to sit at my desk all day anyway. It gave it just enough structure to not be all over the place, a bit of lift at the root, but wasn’t too sticky so I’ll still be able to do something half decent with my hair over the next couple of days (yes that’s right, I only wash my hair about twice a week….)

Anyway enough of that, I’ve also done my May favourites in another little video for you so take a look….

I do apologise though, I could have gone on for hours because this is my first of these types of posts so I have a silly amount of favourite things, I promise my next one won’t be so jam packed, I just couldn’t narrow it down to just a few!