August/Recent Favourites.

MAC Bite of An Apple Blush, Viktor & Rolf Eau Mega pefume, MAC Matte Gel, MAC Studio Fix Fluid, Alterna Caviar Hair Rapid Repair Spray, Too Faced Natural Eye Palette. 

01. MAC Bite of An Apple Blush; this was from the Venomous Villains collection and is a matte powder blush. I'm partial to a matte blush now and again, especially as you can add your own highlighter if you fancy it. This gives the perfect "rosy" blush, which is buildable so looks good on fair skin or tanned. Probably my "go to" blush at the moment.

02. Viktor & Rolf Eau Mega perfume; Overshadowed by it's older brother "Flowerbomb" (which I also have), this perfume just doesn't get the recognition it deserves! It's like nothing else I've ever smelt, which is why I love it. I hate going out in the typical branded perfumes, I like something a bit different. This is floral and fresh, and really does smell so nice. I'd say it's a bit heavier than Flowerbomb, so definitely a good Autumn perfume if you enjoy something fairly light and refreshing.

03. MAC Matte Gel; I've had this for a while and only recently started taking it seriously. I rarely use primers, even though I have quite a collection, as I feel they don't help my oily/combination skin type. I spread a bit of this mattifying gel on the t-zone (after a very honest girl I know told me I was a bit shiny round the ol' forehead, thanks pal...!) to help combat any shine I get throughout the day. It also works as a really great primer, it gives such a smooth feel to the skin!

04. MAC Studio Fix Fluid; I stopped using this for so long and have recently come back to it. I think it is one of my favourite foundations, it's really versatile and loved by so many! A great foundation whatever your skin type/coverage you prefer.

05. Alterna Caviar Hair Rapid Repair Spray; This came in the first Glossybox and has to be one of my favourite products. I dropped it on the floor once and it cracked, I sobbed and then promptly wrapped it in tape. Problemo solved, although it does look a little unsightly. I spray this on wet hair pre-blowdry, it smells incredible - I'd quite like to wear it as perfume. On days when I use this, I literally cannot stop touching the ends of my hair! It makes hair so soft and glossy!

06. Too Faced Natural Eye Palette; Another forgotten favourite. This was found tucked away in my drawer, and I love the matte colours in the 'day' eyeshadows, all of the shades are so easy to wear, are very pigmented and all blend so well together. I think I prefer this to my UD Naked palette just because the colours are a lot more wearable.

If you haven't already seen, I've done a guest post on Sofias blog with my beauty favourites!

 

July Favourites: Part One.

I've decided to do my July favourites in two parts, the reason being that I'm at home in Scotland so I don't have all the products I usually use with me so I couldn't do a full selection, so I've picked a few things I bought with me that I've been loving recently and also a few I've picked up over the last few days.

I bought this Rimmel nail polish in Misty Jade recently as an alternative to Barry Ms Mint Green, it's slightly different, perhaps a bit more green than pastel but has a good finish. I sometimes think my Barry M polishes go a bit gloopy after awhile but I've never been massively keen on Rimmel polishes. I do like the quality of this, I think I've used three coats though, which is a lot. I hate painting my nails, after one coat I get restless! A lovely colour, it seems to have lasted well without chipping too.

I bought this Witch Blemish Stick after Lucy recommended it to me, I've never really been bothered about Witch products just because I like products which are a bit stronger and since I'm not particularly bothered about products being natural, this brand just didn't really appeal to me. However, this stick has really helped my skin recently. I like that it's clear so you can apply it continuously and it doesn't contain benzoyl peroxide so doesnt a) dye my clothing/bedding and b) dry my skin out after continued use. If you haven't already tried this, you definitely should!

Liz Earles Skin Repair Moisturiser for normal/combination skin has become my all time favourite moisturiser, I'm so glad I've finally found a moisturiser I want to stick to as up until now I've just used whatever I lay my hands on. This lives up to the Liz Earle hype, it's light and not at all greasy, absorbs in well, and works on my dry and oily areas. I'd definitely recommend the Liz Earle products if you haven't already tried them!

I often use MAC powder blushes, the one I use most often is Springsheen which I think is so much like NARS Orgasm. If I'm going away, I'll take Springsheen as it's a bit cheaper so I'm less likely to be gutted if I lose it or drop it. Its described as a peach with pearl sheertone shimmer. Probably one of my most used blushes.

Finally, I've been wearing my Chloe perfume lots as of late. It lasts so long, even days later I can smell it on my coat/clothes. If you're looking for an elegant, long lasting scent this is for you.

daily makeup.

I've not done a post like this in so long! Although I have millions of cosmetics, my makeup doesn't change that often. I go through phases of things, and I rotate foundations and wear a different blusher each day (I get a use out of all my blushers) but things like powder and eye makeup doesn't usually require changing.

This is just a simple post on the products that I've been using recently. At the moment I'm mixing foundations (apparently thats a massive no no but I find mixing a £20 foundation with a £10 foundation works just as well and is more economical) at the moment it's usually Cliniques Even Better foundation which the Bourjois Healthy Mix (which is a bit dark for me so I mix it with a Clinque one which is too light). For applying foundation, I use the Sigma Flat Top Kabuki brush which is absolutely perfect! 

I usually use MACs Pro Longwear concealer under my foundation as a sort of primer (I don't usually wear primer as my skin can become oily) and it always hides any redness. 

I've been wearing the Me Me Me! blush in Coral which is lovely and so worth the price. On my cheek bones I use my Topshop Highlighter in Sunbeam, I often get people asking what I'm wearing and I do think this is my number one product. I think it might be sold out now, but hopefully they'll restock. 

For my blusher and highlighter I use a Topshop blush brush which is very good. 

I use a powder every day to set my makeup and get rid of any shine. This is usually a MAC MSF Natural in Light/Medium but I think I might need to invest in the Medium. I love this powder, it's the only compact powder that works for me. I usually use loose powder but it can get a bit messy. I use an ELF complexion brush for powder, it's lovely and soft and the bristles rarely fall out.

Moving on to my eyebrows, my Youtube tutorial will go into more depth but I use the Benefit Brow Zings powder with an ELF small angled brush. I don't think I'll every change this, except maybe switch to just plain brown matte eyeshadow as I don't use the wax in the Brow Zings so it becomes a bit of a waste. 

I usually use Rimmels liquid eye liner, but recently bought the maybelline gel eyeliner. I have a Smashbox and a MAC gel eyeliner and never really could get the hang of it. Its the same with the Maybelline version although I am getting better. I find that the gel does smudge off on my brow bone though. 

I've been using the Smashbox Full Exposure mascara for a while now and it's almost empty, I think I will repurchase though as its one of my all time favourites. It doesn't smudge often either, which I find is rare in mascaras. 

I don't usually wear eyeshadow but today I'm wearing Half Baked and Dark Horse from the Urban Decay Naked palette. I find eyeshadow hard to do as I always get a lot of fall out when I'm doing it and it's just quite messy. I wear enough makeup as it is! 

Finally, I always use my Jurlique Rose Love Balm before applying a matte lipstick like this Barry M in 147. It means it applies on a lot easier and doesn't make my lips look caked and dry yet the colour is still very pigmented. 

I think I've covered everything! That's my updated daily makeup routine. 

June Favourites

♥ Nivea Q10 Firming Body Lotion: Although I don't believe the claims that it will firm my skin, my flatmate told me this is a really good body lotion so I've been using it lately. It is really nice, lovely scent and absorbs well. My legs were really dry recently and this has sorted them out & prolonged my fake tan.

♥ Kiehls Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleanser: I've spoken about this before, I tried a sample and fell a bit in love. I've been trying to stick to a regime for a while, but I only use this every few days. It leaves my skin so smooth as it has small exfoliating particles to buff the skin. Very good for oily/blemish prone skin.

♥ Clinique Take the Day Off Eye Makeup Remover: I actually blogged about this and said I didn't like it, but my flatmate Dora (very wise) told me to use water on my face first and then the eye-makeup remover and it works so well. I just wet my face, apply the remover to a cotton wool pad and gently wipe and it removes every trace! This was a free gift, so I'm not sure if I'll pay full price for a big one because there are good ones for a few pounds that do an almost as good job.

♥ Sigma Flat Top Kabuki Brush: I have so much love for this brush! Recently I've been using it for applying foundation and it's honestly INCREDIBLE. I doubt I'll ever use anything else. It buffs in the foundation so well, making my skin look really flaw-less (as in less flaws, because my skin has been horrific recently). If you haven't tried this for applying foundation, you must!

♥ Missguided Nail Splashes in Misstique (pictured) and Misstaken: I was actually sent these a couple of months back and wasn't a fan of the colours at first. When they're actually on, they look lovely! Misstique reminds me of Models Own Top Turquoise (except TT looks blue on me!) and Misstaken is similar to the Nails Inc. polish included in In Style magazine recently (it has no name). I only used one coat and they dried quickly, lasted a good few days and look amazing! Just goes to show you, never judge a nail polish by its colour. Or something.

♥ MAC Wonder Woman blush in Amazon Princess: I love digging out products that haven't seen any love in months. This is such a lovely colour, I think it will be my blush of the moment for a while!

March Loves.

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion

I have rediscovered this little lovely after leaving it in Scotland for a few months. It's really moisturising but also dries in seconds, making it a good makeup base. 

I've had this product for about a year or two and to be honest I've never been that interested in it before, I'm not sure why. I guess most people have this, it's just one of those products isn't it? This really is a dramatically different moisturiser, more like a gel than a cream and not greasy at all. 

Kiehl's Amino Acid Shampoo & Condition

I've had this sitting in my cupboard for a while now and not even noticed. Graeme was on tour in America last year and he collected up all the hotel miniatures for me. I thought they would be your usual lavender scented rubbish, but he'd actually uncovered an amazing miniature Bliss collection! I'd never heard of this shampoo so it was pushed to the back of my bathroom cabinet, that was until I was in Space NK recently and I saw the bottle there! 

So I've been using it recently and it's absolutely amazing, both the shampoo and conditioner make my hair so soft, shiny and really lightweight. I know I shouldn't have, but I definitely judged this product by it's horrible, plain cover. Has anyone else tried this? It's amazing! I haven't seen the price of a full size bottle though... 

John Frieda Luxurious Volume Thickening Blow Dry Lotion

I've been using this for a while now, and it's definitely one of my favourite volume boosting sprays. I have to wash my hair everyday or I feel yuck, so my hair is always soft and sits flat. I would love to have big, voluminous hair but it's just not meant to be. This does put a bit of volume into my flat hair, without being greasy or crispy. 

Clinique Even Better Foundation

Another Clinique product! I've had this for a while, and it's a really great foundation. I have some marks where past blemishes haven't quite faded so I got this to help. It's just the right coverage and easy to blend. I actually use MAC Pro Longwear concealer underneath to make my skin look heaps better. I know you're not meant to put on concealer before foundation, but I think if it works for you then it's okay. I've actually never really checked to see if it helps the marks on my face as they seem to disappear on their own after a while anyway, but I think it probably does help. 

Lush The Olive Branch Shower Gel

The smell of this is absolutely gorgeous. I would describe the scent as "musky" but i'm terrible at describing scents so it probably isn't musky at all. The smell stays on for ages afterwards, and my whole bathroom smells of it. Such a lovely product, it's a lovely strong smell to wake me up in the morning too. Love this! 

I'm sure there are many other products I've been reaching for recently, but these are the ones I can remember at the moment. Tell me your favourites! 

Currently loving: Breakbot - Shades of Black.